The encounter between the fox and crow is an ancient tale heard by most Sri Lankans in their childhood days. The crow has a vadai or kavun or piece of cheese in its beak. The crafty fox wants it and flatters the crow into thinking it is a harmonious

The once-powerful Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) waged war against the Sri Lankan state for over thirty years. The LTTE known popularly as the Tigers was the determining force in Sri Lankan politics for nearly two decades. The decline of the

The course of war between the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and the Sri Lankan armed forces was drastically altered by the 2004 Eastern revolt headed by former tiger commander of the Batticaloa and Amparai districts Vinayagamoorthy Muralid

In the first article published last week (“Col” Karuna’s Eastern Tiger revolt against LTTE 20 years ago) the background and reasons for the Eastern Tiger revolt were discussed in detail. In this second article, the course of events leading to

The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam(LTTE) organization fought the armed forces of Sri Lanka for 33 years in pursuance of its political goal of establishing a separate state called Tamil Eelam in the Northern and Eastern provinces of the Island. Th

The ascension of Junius Richard Jayewardene to the premier seat of political power in 1977 paved the way for a drastic transformation of Sri Lanka’s politico-economic landscape and environment. J.R. Jayewardene known popularly as “JR” ushered

The Ilankai Tamil Arasu Kachchi (ITAK) known in English as the Federal Party (FP) is in the eye of a legal storm. The premier political party representing the Sri Lankan Tamils of the Northern and Eastern provinces is currently undergoing an internal

Today (Feb 17) is the birthday of Sri Lanka’s popular business magnate Philip Upali Wijewardene. If Upali Wijewardene were among the living now, he would have celebrated his 86th birthday this year. Alas, this was not to be as the Lear Jet he was

“The best laid schemes of mice and men often go awry,” penned the Scottish bard, Robert Burns in his poem, “To A Mouse”. This truth was brought home in an explosive manner to the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), 37 years ago, when a m

The media spotlight is focused to a great extent on Jaffna District Parliamentarian, Sivagnanam Shritharan these days. The 55 year old former school principal has been elected as the President of Sri Lanka’s premier Tamil political party, the Ilank

Nandasena Gotabaya Rajapaksa was portrayed as a monument of efficiency who could uplift Sri Lanka by his ‘Viyathmaga’ cronies and his family party the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) at the Presidential elections of 2019. More than 6.9 million

“Suma, Shri and Yohes in Triangular Contest for ITAK/FP Leadership” was the heading of my article published in the “Daily Mirror” of 16 December 2024. The article was about the forthcoming election for the party Presidency of the Ilankai Tham

Had the LTTE transformed its military strength into political bargaining power at the appropriate time, the Tamil people would certainly be in a better position. But this did not happen, and today the Tamils as a people are in a difficult situation

The focus of this two-part article is the tragic plight of Lionair 602 flight twenty-five years ago. The first part of this article published last week related how the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) shot down an Antonov 24 carrying 48 passen

Twenty-five years ago an Antonov 24 aircraft carrying fifty-five civilians from Jaffna to Colombo was shot down over the Gulf of Mannar by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) on 29 September 1998.

The Ilankai Thamil Arasuk Katchi (ITAK) known in English as the Federal Party (FP) is the premier political party of the Northern and Eastern Sri Lankan Tamils. The ITAK/FP was formed on 18 December 1949.

Veteran scribes who have been enriching journalism for decades are like great oaks that leave lasting voids when they fall. Gamma was unarguably one of them.”

Today November 11th is observed in many parts of the World including Sri Lanka as Remembrance Day or War Memorial Day.

As stated last week, one of the CID officers quizzing me on the fourth floor had told me confidentially that I was going to be detained indefinitely to prevent me from reporting on the fighting between the Indian Army and the Liberation Tigers of Tam

The first and second parts of this article published on 14 and 21 October respectively narrated the story of how I was arrested by the CID in October 1987 and detained on the 4th floor for having exposed....

As stated last week, the CID director DIG Bennet Perera showed me the letter written by Defence Secretary Gen. Sepala Attygalle instructing the Police to question me for information regarding the murder of four Rupavahini employees in Jaffna.

Thirty-six years ago in October 1987, I was arrested by the Sri Lankan Police and detained at the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) Office on the fourth floor of the Police Secretariat in Fort, Colombo.

The first part of this article was published in the Daily Mirror of 16 September 2023 under the heading Who is Hanzeer Azad Maulana the Whistleblower on Channel 4?.

The first part of the article titled Who is Hanzeer Azad Maulana the Whistleblower on Channel 4? Was published in these columns last week. Even as I was writing the second part of the article, I received some interesting information about an event in

Britain’s Channel 4 TV aired the documentary Sri Lanka’s Easter Bombings in its Dispatches programme on Tuesday, September 5, 2023, at 11. 05 p.m.

The Tamil cinema firmament has produced a galaxy of stellar comedians over the years. Arguably the greatest comedian ever seen in Tamil cinema was Nagesh.

Sri Lanka’s one and only Field Marshall Sarath Fonseka is very much in the news lately. The Gampaha District MP and Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) Chairman launched a People’s Revolution protest campaign against waste, corruption, irregularities

The conduct and pronouncements of some prominent Sinhala Buddhist monks have in recent times contributed greatly towards the deterioration of inter-ethnic amity and inter-faith relations in this country. It is indeed a matter of grave concern that th

Sri Lanka’s finest Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar was assassinated in Colombo by a suspected sniper of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) on August 12, 2005.

History was made on July 26, 2023, when Sri Lanka-born Gary Anandasangaree was appointed by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as Minister of Crown–Indigenous Relations to his Cabinet