Home  ⁄  Tag Archives: Richard de Zoysa

Richard: Whose Life Guides My Own – By Roel Raymond Source : colombotelegraph I never really knew my uncle Richard. I was five when he was murdered on February 18, 1990, and would have just entered kindergarten. The earliest reference of him came through a childhood incident that involved his mother, Manorani Saravanamuttu—‘Babbia Sinnamma’ to me. For a period after his death, Babbia Sinnamma lived in our house, in Colpetty. She had two Ridgebacks, a male and a female. The grumpy male was Porgy, and the sprightlier female, Bess; titular characters of Dorothy and DuBose Heyward’s play Porgy. One day, when I was about 11, and playing in the garden, I tried to feed Porgy a snail, and he bit me in the ear. In the ensuing caterwaul, I demanded my mother exact revenge—I wanted retribution for having my generous offer rejected so cruelly.  My mother, who, together with Babbia Sinnamma had rushed out ...

Sep 2, 2022 Posted by In Articles Tagged , , ,
Read More →

Richard de Zoysa: ‘A life brutally taken away 31 years ago’ Source:FT I was first planning to make just a comment to Roel Raymond’s article on Richard de Zoysa, her departed uncle (Colombo Telegraph, 14 March). But after rereading the extremely sensible and topical article ‘Remembering Richard: And the Silence that Empowers Those in Pursuit of Power’ I finally decided to write this short tribute. I have used in the headline of this article a phrase in her column–– ‘a life brutally taken 31 years ago.’ In Raymond’s article, she has brought the despicable nature of power politics, in Sri Lanka and elsewhere, to the forefront. As she says, “In understanding the nature of power — I have argued with those who will listen — I understand that small men and women will be continually crushed by the men and women who are single-minded in pursuit of power.”  ...

Mar 31, 2021 Posted by In Articles Tagged
Read More →

The heritage of Richard de Zoysa as a victim of State-terror-by Vihanga Perera Richard de Zoysa was killed on February 18, 1990 Source:Dailymirror Both as a writer and a youth, he represents a suppressed lobby in Sri Lanka for whom justice continues to be denied.  Richard de Zoysa, who was kidnapped and killed by a death squad operating under the knowledge of the state on 18 February 1990, has over the past three decades been commemorated as an icon of State-sponsored suppression of free expression in Sri Lanka. De Zoysa was a multifaceted prodigy with a background as an actor in theatre and film, as well as an emerging poet composing in English.  In the late-1980s, with the escalation of political violence in the south, De Zoysa took a keen interest in the killings and disappearances of thousands of men and women: the majority of which was carried out by the ...

Feb 26, 2021 Posted by In Articles Tagged ,
Read More →