Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission Archives

The Sri Lankan Civil War: A Historical Overview-by Kalani-eLanka The Sri Lankan Civil War was a protracted and devastating conflict that lasted from 1983 to 2009, fought between the Sri Lankan government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), a separatist militant organization seeking an independent Tamil state in the northern and eastern regions of Sri Lanka. The roots of the civil war can be traced back to ethnic tensions between the Sinhalese majority and the Tamil minority. After Sri Lanka gained independence from British rule in 1948, successive governments implemented policies that marginalized Tamils, such as the Sinhala Only Act of 1956, which made Sinhala the official language, and university admission policies that reduced Tamil representation. These grievances led to the rise of Tamil nationalist movements demanding greater rights and autonomy. The conflict escalated on July 23, 1983, in what became known as “Black July,” when anti-Tamil riots ...

‘Do what you can, with what you have’-BY PRAMOD DE SILVA Source:Sundayobserver “I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear.” – Nelson Mandela Nelson Mandela International Day, also known as Mandela Day, is an international observance in honour of the revolutionary Nelson Mandela, celebrated annually on his birthday, on July 18 (tomorrow). His 104th birth anniversary falls tomorrow. The day was officially set by the United Nations in November 2009, with the first observance of Mandela Day held on July 18, 2010. Nelson Mandela devoted his life to the service of humanity — as a human rights lawyer, a prisoner of conscience, an international peacemaker and the first democratically elected president of a free South Africa. November 2009 – in recognition of the former South African President’s ...