Madagal army camp in the Northern coastal line of Jaffna was known for its peaceful surroundings and the beautiful sea lapping at the edges of the camp perimeter. That July night in 1983 was like any other and the soldiers cheerful, as they always were in "Charlie" company, 1st battalion the Sri Lanka Light Infantry. A young lieutenant, twelve infantrymen and two soldier drivers were preparing to set out on a vehicle patrol. They would not have imagined for a moment that thirteen among them would never return. Twenty five years later when a soldier takes his mind back to circumstances in which comrades have been lost, strange events seem to string together. [ full story | comments ]

It was 25 years ago this week that a minor insurgency in Sri Lanka began to turn into a full-scale civil war. An attack by Tamil Tiger rebels in the north sparked rioting across the country targeting members of the Tamil minority. The events came to be known as Black July. More than 70,000 people have died in the conflict. Now the army says victory is finally in sight. In recent weeks the pace of the advance has quickened, but the Tigers deny they are facing defeat. The army is recruiting hard, especially from rural areas. Not long ago the Defence Ministry sent out a text message to mobile phones nationwide. [ full story | comments (1) ]

This week marks the 25th anniversary of the outbreak of the Colombo riots, when members of the South Asian island's ethnic Sinhalese majority turned violently against the minority Tamils. The riots ignited a brutal civil war that continues to this day, and galvanized support for the Tamil Tigers rebels. They also changed the face of Canada: A quarter of a million Sri Lankan Tamils now live in Canada, mostly around Toronto. [ full story | comments ]

The Sri Lankan Army Chief and the Rajapaksha regime have sent out signals, as if, they are on the last legs of a victory march into the Vanni – the heart-land of the Tiger territory. Sadly, most Tamils seem to view this as a colossal error on the part of the Sinhala armed forces. Suicidal it will be. The consequences of such psychotic actions might be unthinkable. However, we don’t need to go that far. The Sinhala armed forces will have to satisfy themselves with fanciful dreams. The conquering weakness of the Sinhala mind is to subjugate the Tamils – it doesn’t matter whether they are from the North, East or the Hill country. On the whole however, the liberation of Eelam is just more than a fickle aspiration. [ full story | comments ]

Today marks the 25th anniversary of the communal riots that engulfed most of Sri Lanka; one of the worst in the modern history of the country. Many cities were ablaze for a day or two when marauding mobs went on a rampage killing many innocent Tamils and looting their homes and shops. Tamils lived in the grip of fear when lawless elements took the upper hand with the open support of some of the rogue elements of the armed forces and dishonest politicians. The tragedy could have been averted if the then government had taken prompt action to control the situation, but unfortunately it lacked the will and the desire to do so. [ full story | comments (7) ]

Ayubowan, vanakkam and assalamu alaikkum although such time honoured multi racial and multi religious greetings seem irrelevant if not irreverent as we commemorate the 25th anniversary of the Black July holocaust. Today July 23 marks the anniversary of that horrible day and the week that followed and there is little sign of any silver lining...Capturing the territory is like locating the Tiger, keeping the territory would be like capturing the Tiger. Almost miraculously the Tigers transformed the tale yesterday by declaring a unilateral ceasefire for the summit period. though the government initially rejected it and the SLAF bombed the North again, many clung to the hope that the declaration was the dim light of a distant dawn. [ full story | comments ]

Ahead of a South Asia regional summit in early August, the Sri Lankan government has dealt weddings yet another blow by ordering five-star hotels to cancel all banquet hall and restaurant bookings for a week. As if wedding nerves, guest lists and the right dress were not enough to deal with, Sri Lankan brides-to-be are finding their big day dominated by heavy security, inflation and even global politics. Tighter security at hotels that are popular venues for both weddings and terrorist attacks has left lovestruck couples caught in traffic jams and missing the "lucky time" chosen for their marriage by astrologers. [ full story | comments ]

A senior former British diplomat has strongly criticized the British support for the US-led war on terror. Former British High Commissioner to Sri Lanka, David Gladstone, told BBC Sinhala Service that the idea of war on terror offers legitimacy to criminal groups whose strategy is to terrorise civilians. “I don’t believe on war on terror. I don’t know what it looks like. I live in London and I can’t say that I feel like in a war situation. It only glorifies those who are setting up bombs,” he said. [ full story | comments (5) ]

Sri Lanka's Government has rejected the unilateral ceasefire offered by the Tamil Tiger rebels. The ceasefire would take effect this weekend and last for eight days during a regional summit in the capital Colombo. [ full story | comments (25) ]

Throughout the month of July, the Canadian Tamil Congress (CTC) in collaboration with various community organizations will be hosting events commemorating the 25th anniversary of the arrival of Tamils in Canada as a result of the anti-Tamil violence of Black July in Sri Lanka. Black July is poignant for the global Tamil diaspora and especially for Tamil Canadians for the welcome they received in Canada as they fled the violence in their homeland. [ full story | comments (1) ]

Some 150 delegates from 17 countries are expected to participate in the 13th Annual Meeting of the Asia Pacific Forum (APF) of National Human Rights Institutions (NHRIs) to be held here from July 28 to 31. Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam) Commissioner Tunku Datuk Nazihah Tunku Mohd Rus said the meeting was aimed at enhancing cooperation among the NHRIs in the region. "We will be discussing issues and reporting to each other on the various aspect of human right. Other issues to be discussed is food governance. This forum is also timely because the United Nations is also looking into this issue," she told Bernama Wednesday. [ full story | comments ]

People For Equality and Relief in Lanka (PEARL), an advocacy group composed of over 1,800 Americans concerned about the crisis in Sri Lanka, is organizing a protest rally and vigil in Washington DC on Thursday at 12 pm to remember the victims of Black July 1983, an ethnic pogrom, where organized mobs backed by the Sri Lankan government killed approximately 3,000 Tamil civilians, displaced several thousand Tamils and destroyed over $300 million worth of Tamils’ property. The rally will be held at the Russell Senate Park, at the intersection of Constitution Avenue and Delaware Avenue, Washington DC, according to the organizers. [ full story | comments ]

The latest estimate of the number of IDPs inside Vanni is around 110,000 and 35,000 of them are preschool and school children. People moving with their possessions in carts and tractor-trailers on the roads are a common sight in Vanni. With the Sri Lankan Government artificially creating severe shortages in Vanni there are long delays in providing even the very basics like food to the displaced people. Neither are the international media present in Vanni to cover the disaster. [ full story | comments ]

In Ceylon, when the first Colonial master, the Portuguese landed in 1505, there were three Kingdoms. One of these was Tamil, and was known as the “Jaffna Kingdom”, covering the area of the North and East, the Tamils' hereditary regions. The other two Kingdoms - Kotte in the South and South West and Kandy in the Centre were known as Sinhala Kingdoms. The Portuguese ruled Ceylon from 1619 to 1658; followed by the Dutch until 1795. The British took over from the Dutch and ruled until independence in February 1948. During the colonial period, all three Kingdoms were ruled separately until the British amalgamated them in 1833, under the pretext of easy administration. This is the history of the Island. [ full story | comments (2) ]

Even as a top diplomatic source told this column last week Pakistan was doing its best not to make Sri Lanka a playground for bitter Indo-Pakistan relations, the animosity between Sri Lanka’s most strategic neighbours grew more intense with the SAARC Summit drawing near. Already the up coming summit has served only as an opportunity for the LTTE to shore up another tactical move for the benefit of the international community in the form of a Unilateral Ceasefire. A clever gesture given the LTTE presents itself as a reasonable player in the battle especially in the backdrop of an over excited government gone berserk. [ full story | comments (2) ]

Anoma Rajakaruna has warm memories of her childhood in the diverse suburb of Panadura, where she went to the market and the pharmacy with her mother and chatted with neighbors in a mixture of English, Sinhalese and Tamil. Then bloody riots targeting minority Tamils exploded across the Sri Lankan capital. The Tamil neighbors she once greeted disappeared. And her country was plunged into a civil war that continues to consume it. As Sri Lanka marks the 25th anniversary of the riots Wednesday, two exhibits by artists from the Sinhalese majority seek to prod their countrymen into acknowledging a quarter century of suffering, in the hopes of offering a path out of the violence. [ full story | comments ]

It's been a long journey for Suntharamoorthy Umasuthan. He never thought when he was living in an overcrowded refugee camp 25 years ago that he would one day be living with his family in Canada in what he viewed as the promised land, let alone be working as a chartered accountant for Revenue Canada. For Umasuthan, hiding in banana bushes during the Black July savagery of 1983 saved his life. His escape was due to his quick-thinking and his determination to survive. [ full story | comments (2) ]

Sri Lanka's hoteliers say the industry is heading for the worst crisis in its history amid an ongoing internal conflict, while a senior government official said the economy and tourism was targeted by Tamil Tiger guerillas. Foreign visitors to the island fell 9.3 percent in May, hard hit by travel warnings, though intensive action by a restructured tourism promotional body and the industry may be helping ward off some of the negative fallout. Tourism secretary George Michael said the government was now trying to hard to stop Japan issuing a travel warning against Sri Lanka, with the deputy foreign minister making a flying visit to Tokyo. [ full story | comments (7) ]

In a press release issued today the LTTE Political Wing announced, “As a sign of this goodwill, our movement is glad to inform that it will observe a unilateral ceasefire that is devoid of military actions during the period of the SAARC conference from 26th July to 4th August and give our cooperation for the success of the conference.” We wish for the success of the SAARC conference and we also extend our goodwill and support to the countries of our region, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan and Maldives. [ full story | comments (28) ]

The European Union Parliamentary delegation led by a former MP from UK, Mr Robert Evans is visiting the island nation on a seven day official sojourn. During the course of their stay they are expected to meet senior ministers and officials of the government. They will also visit the eastern province of the country to take a first hand look at the political make-over and also meet the chief minister of the region. The status would facilitate the country to export garments and other products to the EU nations with either exempted or reduced duties. This move on the part of the EU is expected to provide an impetus to the country’s garment industry. [ full story | comments (8) ]