Orhan Pamuk

PUBLISHED ON WEDNESDAY 8 FEBRUARY 2012. Filtering, denial of service attacks, withdrawal of content – censors use many different methods to silence news websites. In addition to drawing attention to these acts of censorship and providing the victims with legal, material and financial help, Reporters Without Borders has now decided to provide them with technical assistance as well. So that independent news websites that are targeted by cyber-attacks and government blocking can continue posting...Read Full Story

“Tamil Imprints in New Zealand” by 87-year-old Eezham Tamil author A.T. Arumugam, now living in New Zealand, re-documents and discusses in detail a bronze bell inscribed in Tamil in c. 14-15 century writing that was in the possession of the native Maori people of New Zealand. Originally written in 2007 in Tamil, the book has been translated into English and will be released shortly in Wellington. The publication is sure to give a sense of pride and belongingness, and would contribute to...Read Full Story

Sri Lankan media rights activists participated in a protest in Galle on Saturday and distributed leaflets highlighting media suppression and human rights situation in Sri Lanka. The protest was held near the venue of the annual Galle Literary Festival where international authors are attending. The organisers said that the objective of the leaflet campaign was to draw international attention to media freedom and harassment to journalists. Writer and activist, Sunila Abeysekera who is attending...Read Full Story

By Charles Haviland  19 January 2012 The festival attracts attention from writers around the world An annual Sri Lankan festival of books has officially begun, featuring authors from 10 countries and an enthusiastic audience of book-lovers. Last year the Galle Literary Festival was the subject of a boycott call from some prominent writers. There has been no repeat call this year. But campaigners are eager to highlight what they say is the patchy human rights situation in post-war Sri Lanka...Read Full Story

The Galle Literary Festival, which is scheduled to begin Wednesday is reported to involve diverse participants with the funding from a variety of corporate houses and Western embassies in Colombo. But the prevailing opinion in Eezham Tamil circles is that such occasions and the participation of high profile writers only serve the purpose of providing cultural and ideological legitimacy to the Sri Lankan state and the structural violence it imposes on the Tamil people. While the moral thing to...Read Full Story