Earlier this week Sri Lanka Tourism launched a new look. Whilst the Video etc looks good the website is still not functional. This is the sad part as now you cannot afford to market destinations without having a professional presence online. Compare the Campaign “The Best Job in the World” which was done by Tourism Queensland. It managed to bag Lions in the direct and PR categories and...

This is a well balanced article which appeared in The Washington Times yesterday. It actually should be a warning to all those countries which support terrorist as it can one day haunt them. Osama being the best lesson to the US. “Sri Lanka recently emerged victorious from one of the world`s longest-running conflicts, once termed an `unwinnable` war with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE),...

Do I know what it means… To stand in the queue as a mere 13 year old, Collecting charity for my younger brother and widowed and aching mother, a  wound in my stomach which hurts and oozes. With no one to care for the pain To live on, not knowing why or the reason or meaning of hope. Do I know what it means… To be orphaned  – a helpless little child playing with others like myself, Without...

By Michael Roberts Article from Frontline, 6-19 June 2009 “One can win the War, but lose the Peace.” Cliché this may be, but it also a hoary truism that looms over the post-war scenario in Sri Lanka. The triumphant Sri Lankan government now has to address the human terrain rather than the fields of battle. In facing this challenge both government and concerned people must attend to another...

Michael Moore in his bitingly satirical book ‘Dude Where’s My Country?’ refers to Osama bin Laden and asks “Who’s his travel agent? Well, the same can be asked about Kumaran Tharmalingam alias Kumaran Pathmanathan alias KP who was appointed head of ‘LTTE International’ by Velupillai Prabakaran in January 2009.  Michael Moore asks the question a bit late in the day and considering what...

Last week Centre for Policy Alternatives (CPA) filed a fundamental rights case, citing President Mahinda Rajapaksa, Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa and Competent Authority for Northern Province G.A. Chandrasiri as respondents. Excerpt from the article from The Hindu (14th June 09):  The petition said the IDPs had begun arriving in government-controlled areas in March 2009. “These IDPs are housed...

Today I was watching Anderson Cooper’s show AC360 in which he was speaking about the shooting at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C. As mentioned by many during the program there are many in the US who still believe in white supremacy. The statistics of these groups are alarming. Many think America changed with a African American president well think again. From some of the...

A visit to the Madhu Church as a little boy still remains faintly in my thoughts. This is nothing compared to the experiences my parents had when they were young. My mother still recalls how my grandfather used to take them on the Dragon Rapide as little children to Jaffna and the how my uncle thought the Rassum dish was the finger bowl and nearly washed his hands in it. The last visit during peaceful...

I received this email from a good friend of mine living in Canada. I wanted to feature him on this blog for his contribution and this is the response I received “Hey, I’d rather you didn’t given the situ for Sinhalese in Canda at the moment. Its not just me who might be targeted but my wife and kid too. It is pretty tense right now and I’d rather not be an object for any idiot(they...