This is the first interview that Tamil journalist J.S. Tissainayagam of the local Sunday Times newspaper has given since his release in May 2010. It is about the state of the media in Sri Lanka. Tissainayagam received the Peter Mackler Award for journalistic courage and integrity in October 2009.
Showing all posts tagged Sri Lanka
Do we care where we send the most vulnerable?
Many Western states are very keen to prematurely return asylum seekers to their country of origin despite the inherent dangers. Afghanistan or Sri Lanka yet safe? Of course not, but at least it’s one less problem for the government. And now this: Two asylum seekers who were deported to Baghdad and claim they were tortured…
Asylum seekers have rights, in case we’ve forgotten
This is wonderful news for human rights, refugees and decency: The [Australian] High Court has ruled in favour of two asylum seekers in a move that could undermine the Federal Government’s offshore processing system. The two Sri Lankan Tamils had their refugee claims denied and wanted to challenge that decision in the courts. But they…
How to get the BBC close to the Shell bosom
Looking for an efficient campaign to discredit critics, embrace friendly media and turn black into white? Israel, Sri Lanka and others, take note, truth could be on your side: Secret internal company documents from the oil giant Shell show that in the immediate aftermath of the execution of the Nigerian activist and writer Ken Saro-Wiwa…
More evidence of Colombo’s atrocities
Al-Jazeera airs new photographs of Sri Lankan government massacres of Tamils in the final stages of last year’s war. Just another global citizen dealing humanely with terrorism:
Colombo and Tel Aviv gaze deeply into each other’s eyes
Sri Lanka and Israel seem to admire each other deeply. Both have a blatant disregard for civilian casualties and use the “war on terror” to justify brutal policies against Tamils/Palestinians. Read on: Eli Belotsercovsky, Deputy Chief of Mission, Embassy of Israel in New Delhi was on a visit to Sri Lanka recently. He toured Anuradhapura,…
Rajapakse gets a taste of his caged future
It’s not just Israeli war criminals who have to watch where they travel; justice will follow you everywhere: The president of Sri Lanka has called off a visit to Britain after exiled Tamil groups announced that they would attempt to have him arrested over alleged war crimes. The trip by Mahinda Rajapakse, which would have…
Talking sense in the Sri Lankan media barely happens these days
Behold a true rarity. This article in Sri Lanka’s The Sunday Leader shows that there are still a few voices of reason in that authoritarian state: Contrary to the attempts to spin-doctor every excess of the current regime and its sins of omission by those whose names hardly need specifying to anyone familiar with the…
Colombo is being watched and we won’t stop
At least some Western countries want to hold Sri Lanka to account. Australia remains silent, gutless as ever: David Cameron made clear today that given the serious allegations and alleged evidence that continues to surface in relation to war crimes during the closing weeks of the civil war in Sri Lanka an independent investigation was…