“The two Main Candidates have Placed only the Sinhalese and their Future well-being at the Centre of the 2015 Presidential Elections” by Tamil Civil Society Forum

This statement by the Tamil Civil Society Forum is being released to clarify our stance with regard to the upcoming Presidential Elections to be held on the 8th of January 2015.

It is beyond debate that the Tamils have suffered immensely under the incumbent President’s regime. It was under his rule that the worst and most destructive chapter of the genocidal process against the Tamil people was carried out. Even after the end of war his Government continues to ferociously implement a multi-faceted genocidal programme that aims at destroying the collective existence of the Tamil people. The suffering of the Tamil people continues unabated in the form of land grab, Sinhala Buddhisisation, Militarisation, violence against ex-combatants, illegal arrests etc. Hence the question of Tamil people voting for the incumbent President just does not arise.
via: https://t.co/ANyOuvf8m5

“The tsunami: 10 years on” by Groundviews

Groundviews commissioned The Picture Press to capture through photography the tsunami that hit Sri Lanka on Boxing Day, 2004. As journalist Amantha Perera notes,

The tsunami took a dramatic toll on unsuspecting Sri Lankans – 35,322 were killed, half a million were displaced, and more than 100,000 houses were destroyed. Half of the damage struck areas had been hard-hit by a 21-year armed conflict, making access complex and politically charged. The country was left with a reconstruction bill of over US$3 billion and an unprecedented humanitarian challenge.

The 2004 tsunami keeps coming up as a key turning point in Sri Lanka and TPP was asked to interrogate to what extent it really influenced how ​the country deals with hazard warning and disaster risk recovery. Echoing more academic writing on ‘building back better’ TPP was also asked to look at how, and to what degree, we had recovered and learnt lessons from the 2004​ tsunami, going to the field and speaking with a range of individuals.

The first dozen photos from this project are published today. Another set will follow in the first quarter of 2015.

Best viewed in full screen, click here for more details or here to go directly to the feature. 

Click on photos for larger version.

source: Groundviews

“Assorted Regime-Change Issues” by Kumar David

The first part today is on the a-b-c of Leninism for a few small Left groups such as the Frontline Socialists and the USP’s Siritunga Jayasuriya who, like the larger JVP, are disoriented by the Common Candidate (CC) phenomenon, the un-socialist MoU, and the UNP-Chandrika-My3-Fonseka-JHU chop-suey (formal name: National Democratic Front, NDF). Some readers may find the leftist lingo in the this part of this piece a little awkward, but it is imperative to address the JVP, FSP and like minded groups, and it has to be done by a fellow Marxist using a shared argot.

via:https://www.colombotelegraph.com/index.php/assorted-regime-change-issues/

“Tamils Lacks Political Leadership” by TU Senan

The TNA chiefs are looking for a stunt of some sort to defend their sustained inertia in the context of a profound need for clear leadership for Tamils in Sri Lanka. Of course, the current regime complies – its continued repression of some TNA leaders provides opportunities for them to escape their responsibility. In fact, the TNA leaders intended to keep to the TULF tradition of supporting the right-wing UNP candidate. However, this was spoiled by Maithiripala Srisena’s announcement as an opposition candidate.

Prior to the election announcement, the TNA put time and effort into convincing a section of the diaspora leadership to support the UNP. TNA leaders met some diaspora leaders in a not-so secret meeting in the US. It was made clear that the TNA leaders were ready to compromise on key demands, including the demand for the right to self-determination, and that this was not just a strategy but a political stand that they are taking. Sadly for them, the diaspora organisations are still to the left of the right-wing TNA leadership and refused to give into all that was demanded.

A section of the TNA who dare to speak out are supressed by the TNA leaders. The current leadership spent more time manoeuvring against their opposition within the TNA than actually developing a political strategy to advance the right of Tamils. Creating illusions in the Indian government and western governments is their only consistent policy. This serves no purpose other than to transform them into a tool of the west and India depite the claims that they propagate among Tamils in the North and East – that the west and India are coming to support the Tamils’ cause.”

via: https://www.colombotelegraph.com/index.php/tamils-lacks-political-leadership/

“Mahinda Rajapaksa Who Stole 83 Million Rupees Of Tsunami Funds Is A Callous Thief: Mangala” by Colombo Telegraph

“I am very sad to say, that this politician is a callous thief. He stole 83 million rupees of Tsunami relief funds and used them for his personal gain.
The former Chief Justice has publicly apologized saying that the Helping Hambantota judgement, which he presided over and which protected that thief from conviction and ultimately jail, was the biggest mistake in his entire life. What right does this man have to speak of the people’s development and the country’s development? His achievements and energy over the last nine years have been spent only on own his family’s development and enrichment.”

via: https://www.colombotelegraph.com/index.php/mahinda-rajapaksa-who-stole-83-million-rupees-of-tsunami-funds-is-a-callous-thief-mangala/

“BJP’s social media expert logs in for Rajapaksa” by Meera Srinivasan

President Mahinda Rajapaksa, who is running for a third term in office, has roped in an Indian IT expert to help with his social media campaign for the January 8 elections, The Hindu has learnt.

via: http://www.thehindu.com/news/international/south-asia/bjps-social-media-expert-logs-in-for-rajapaksa/article6725507.ece

“For Sri Lankan President, Renounced by Aides, Confidence of Re-election Dims” by Ellen Barry

In the days after Mahinda Rajapaksa, the Sri Lankan president, was betrayed by a group of his longtime aides, comparisons were made to Judas Iscariot and the serpent in the Garden of Eden, but nothing expressed the depth of the president’s hurt and bewilderment like the fact that the desertion had occurred just after a shared meal of hoppers.

via: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/26/world/for-sri-lankan-president-renounced-by-aides-confidence-of-re-election-dims.html?_r=1

“Asia remembers devastating 2004 tsunami with tears and prayers” by Gayatri Suroyo

“Survivors of Asia’s 2004 tsunami and relatives of its 226,000 victims cried and prayed as they gathered along Indian Ocean shorelines on Friday for memorials to mark the 10th anniversary of a disaster that still leaves an indelible mark on the region.

When a 9.15-magnitude quake opened a fault line deep beneath the ocean on Dec. 26 a decade ago, it triggered a wave as high as 17.4 meters (57 feet) which crashed ashore in more than a dozen countries, wiping some communities off the map in seconds.

Memorials were held in the worst-affected countries – India, Thailand, Sri Lanka and Indonesia – where monks, imams and priests held ceremonies to honor those who perished.”

via: http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/12/26/us-tsunami-anniversary-idUSKBN0K30PR20141226

“Remembering the tsunami, 10 years on” by Tamil Guardian

“Ten years ago today, over 35,000 people perished during the catastrophic tsunami that hit the coasts of the North-East and South of the island of Sri Lanka. The United Nation High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) said five days after the disaster that almost two thirds of those killed were in the Tamil homeland of the North-East. “The North-East is the region worst affected by the tsunami,” the World Bank, Asian Development Bank (ADB) and Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) said in a joint report.”

via: http://www.tamilguardian.com/article.asp?articleid=13250

“Indian Ocean tsunami: Britons caught up in disaster help Sri Lanka rebuild” by Mark Tran

“For years, Rob and Paul Forkan were reluctant to set foot in Sri Lanka where their parents, Kevin and Sandra, died in the Indian Ocean tsunami 10 years ago – one of the world’s worst natural disasters on record.

The brothers, then 17 and 15 respectively, were spending Christmas with their family in Weligama, a small fishing town on the south coast of Sri Lanka. On that Sunday morning, the family woke up to screams and huge waves crashing through their hotel rooms. The parents struggled against the rush of water to put the two youngest children, Mattie and Rosie, up on the roof.”

via: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/dec/26/indian-ocean-tsunami-britons-sri-lanka-rebuild

“Sri Lanka president pledges fresh war crimes probe” by Amal Jayasinghe

Sri Lanka’s president, under pressure from his main opponent in upcoming elections, on Tuesday promised a judicial inquiry into allegations that his troops killed thousands of Tamil civilians at the end of the civil war.

via: http://news.yahoo.com/sri-lanka-president-pledges-fresh-war-crimes-probe-003856427.html?soc_src=mediacontentstory&soc_trk=tw

“Sri Lanka: From ‘Pandemonium’ to Constant Alert” by United Nations Development Programme

No one was aware and no one was prepared when the first waves of the tsunami struck Sri Lanka’s east coast at 6:40 a.m. on 26 December 2004. The tsunami was not done. It was still roaring and thought it would be much later before it thundered across Sri Lanka’s western coast, even then, no warning message was sent out. As a result, more than 35,000 people lost their lives.

via: http://www.asia-pacific.undp.org/content/rbap/en/home/ourwork/crisispreventionandrecovery/tsunami-10/SrLanka-Alert/

“Lessons Learned from the Sri Lanka’s Tsunami Reconstruction” by The World Bank

On the morning of December 26, 2004, a 30 meter high wave struck 1000 kilometers of Sri Lankan coastline without warning, devastating hundreds of thousands of lives and livelihoods. The tsunami, which was the most devastating natural disaster in Sri Lanka’s history, resulted in losses of over $1 billion in assets and $330 million in potential output, according to government estimates. Approximately 35,000 people died or went missing. The damage included 110,000 houses, of which 70,000 were completely destroyed. Around 250,000 families lost their means of support.

via: http://www.worldbank.org/en/news/feature/2014/12/23/lessons-learned-sri-lanka-tsunami-reconstruction

“Decision making on unsafe abortions in Sri Lanka: a case-control study” by Carukshi Arambepola and Lalini C Rajapaksa

Following an unintended pregnancy, not every woman would invariably choose to undergo an unsafe abortion. It suggests that in the decision making process, women face both ‘push’ factors that favour abortion and ‘pull’ factors that work against it. This study assessed the circumstances that surrounded a woman’s decision to undergo an unsafe abortion, compared to a decision to continue, when faced with an unintended pregnancy in Sri Lanka.

via: http://www.reproductive-health-journal.com/content/pdf/1742-4755-11-91.pdf

Reference: Carukshi Arambepola and Lalini C Rajapaksa “Decision making on unsafe abortions in Sri Lanka: a case-control study”, in Reproductive Health 2014, 11:91