WEBCAST: Sri Lanka Briefing #2: After The Fall of Kilinochchi

SAJA presents the second of its series of briefings on the situation in Sri Lanka (briefing #1 here).

On Jan. 2, the Sri Lankan government said it had captured the rebel Tamil Tigers' capital of Kilinochchi. The news has brought renewed attention to the 25-year civil war in Sri Lanka. What's next?  What might a political solution mean in light of recent military developments? How do recent events affect the country and its status within the region, as well as with the U.S.? How can journalists cover this evolving story?

Learn about all this and more with a distinguished panel of scholars, experts and journalists. Please post your questions in the comments section below or e-mail saja[at]columbia.edu (subject=webcast)

Monday, Jan. 5, 2009
10-11 pm NY time
Tuesday, 8:30-9:30 am Colombo time

Listen live via BlogTalkRadio or to a recording:
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/saja/2009/01/06/SAJA-BRIEFING-Sri-Lanka-2
(you can go and set an e-mail reminder for yourself)
or listen live via your phone by dialing this NYC number +1-347-324-5991

Speakers include:

• Sanjana Hattotuwa, senior researcher at the Centre for Policy Alternatives (CPA) and Head of ICT and Peacebuilding at InfoShare. He created and is the editor of Groundviews (www.groundviews.org), a pioneering online citizen journalism initiative with content on peace, governance, democracy and human rights that mainstream media cannot and will not publish in Sri Lanka today.
• Ahilan Kadirgamar is a spokesperson of the Sri Lanka Democracy Forum, an international network of Sri Lankan activists that formed in 2002, and is committed to democratization, human rights and a political solution in Sri Lanka. He has written about the international dimension of the peace process and worked on human rights concerns related to the conflict.
• Muttukrishna (Sarvi) Sarvananthan, principal researcher of the Point Pedro Institute of Development, Point Pedro, Sri Lanka; Fulbright Visiting Research Scholar at the Elliott School of International Affairs, George Washington University; was involved in the post-conflict needs assessment undertaken by several UN agencies, WB and ADB in the conflict region in early 2003 and specialises on economic dimensions of civil war in Sri Lanka and other conflict-ridden countries.
• Jayampathy Wickramaratne, constitutional lawyer; former senior advisor, Ministry of Constitutional Affairs; member of the team that drafted the 2000 Constitution Bill; member of the panel of experts to assist the All Party Representative Committee and signatory to the "majority report" that proposed a strong power-sharing arrangement with extensive devolution and power-sharing at the centre.

Moderator: V.V. Ganeshananthan, SAJA VP and author, "Love Marriage," a novel set in Sri Lanka and the diaspora.

See SAJAforum coverage of the fall of Kilinochchi, and news sources about Sri Lanka.

Listen to SAJA Briefing #1, Dec. 12, 2008, "Sri Lanka: Why you should pay attention now".

The Sri Lankan war was #3 on Time's list of the "Top 10 Underreported News Stories" of 2008. "The Sri Lankan conflict deadlier this year than Afghanistan," the magazine said.

Please post your comments below.