News.
Conflict, Reform and Reconciliation
by Dayan Jayatilleke
The New Year brought a valuable gift in my email. It was a dossier entitled ‘Seeking Space for State Reform’ and carried an even more beguiling subtitle, ‘Consensus and Contradictions in Public Perceptions’. A publication of the ICES (the International Centre for Ethnic Studies, from and of which I hadn’t heard for quite a while), it was a product of the Politics of State Reform Project. What made it compelling reading was that it was nothing less than a ‘National Survey of Grassroots Perceptions of State Reform’, which, translated, meant that it was a recent survey of public opinion across all communities, about the ethnic conflict and the various reform proposals to address or resolve it.
Vacancy for the Post of Executive Director, International Centre for Ethnic Studies
Vacancy for the Post of Executive Director, International Centre for Ethnic Studies
The International Centre for Ethnic Studies (ICES) is looking for an Executive Director to lead its operations with effect from January 1, 2012.
Why social reconciliation through cultural exchanges is important, and more is better
by Shakya Lahiru Pathmalal
Two years after the war the importance of social reconciliation among different communities is more important than ever. Reconciliation, as John Paul Lederach puts it, is ‘the restoring and healing of torn-apart relationships’, For some of us in cosmopolitan cities such as Colombo, Galle and Kandy, the interaction between individuals from different communities is a daily occurrence. But a large portion of Sri Lankans do not, in an entire life-time, interact with individuals from different communities. The lack of such intermingling of communities would be an obstacle to reconciliation and a meaningful peace after a 30 year war.
Threat of Extermination
by Ishara Jayawardane.
Imagine a world ruled by the Nazis or the Khmer Rouge. Imagine the devastation and the charnel houses. The violence and the cruelty; the genocide; ethnic cleansing. Imagine multitudes of soldiers burning villages and putting innocents to the slaughter. The barbarism and the destruction of human lives. Being prepared for an ethnic conflict or violence in any part of the world is the key to a peaceful world. That is why an early warning system is so important. After all preparation is half the battle.
Northern Youth enjoy Southern Hospitality
by Michelle Karunaratne
Edith Wharton once said, “there are only two ways of spreading light – to be the candle or the mirror that reflects it”. In that enlightened spirit of cultural give and take, the International Centre for Ethnic studies (ICES) conducted a program from August 18-21 called Exposure Visit.
Children should be treated primarily as victims, not as perpetrators
Remarks by Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict stressed at the Human Rights Council.
Asia’s New Great Game
By Thant Myint-U.
China and India are both hungry for Burma’s vast natural riches. But will Burma’s people pay the price or can this Southeast Asian backwater finally enter the 21st century?
Stop paramilitary activity in north; US tells govt
The United States today called for paramilitary activity in the North to be controlled and for Tamil Policemen to be deployed to the North. The US Assistant Secretary of State Robert O. Blake also expressed his concern about Human Rights in the country.