Author: Mark Salter

Here are the details for the Oslo launch of my new book, to be held 2 November at the Peace Research Institute of Oslo (PRIO). The panelists are Erik Solheim, Professor Anne Julie Semb from Oslo University, Iselin Frydenlund, a Senior Researcher at PRIO and myself. Henrik Syse, also a Senior Researcher at PRIO, is moderating the event. Details below and at: https://www.prio.org/Events/Event/?x=8370 Related Research Groups: Regions and Powers Related people: Henrik Syse Iselin Frydenlund Related locations: Sri Lanka To End a Civil War: Norway’s Peace Engagement with Sri Lanka Book Launch Time: 02 November 2015 13:00-14:30 Place: PRIO, Hausmanns… More

Good to see Hurst using this post from last week . . . . http://www.hurstpublishers.com/sri-lanka-and-the-politics-of-justice/

Customers at the bar in The Golden Lion. Photograph: David Levene for the Guardian Here’s an absolutely brilliant piece of reportage from Tom Lamont in the UK Guardian‘s ‘Long Read’ series. A must-read for all Londoners and indeed city-dwellers anywhere concerned about the impact of the property-acquisition vultures circling over anything with a hint of tradition – and thus potentially unrealized profit – about it. In this case meaning Victorian and Edwardian era pubs, with which London is blessed with its fair share. Simplest thing would br to quote the intro: ‘Across the country, pubs are being shuttered at an… More

Here’s a longish thinkpiece on the current state of the debate regarding appropriate strategies for pursuing accountability – and reconciliation – in post-war Sri Lanka. It’s published today by openDemocracy. ———— Sri Lanka and the politics of justice Mark Salter 14 October 2015 Truth and reconciliation is a project which inevitably needs to balance short term politics against long term justice. There are signs that Sri Lanka’s new government understands the challenge For Sri Lanka it’s been something of a roller-coaster start to the autumn. First, mid-August parliamentary elections handed former president Mahinda Rajapaksa his second defeat of the year… More

Below is a the link to an excellent recent piece by Tara Zahra, a Professor of East European History at the University of Chicago. She views the current Central Europeam standoff over receiving incoming refugees from Syria, Afghanistan, Africa and the wider Middle East against the historical backdrop of these countries’ own – and in some instances, fairly recent – experiences of population upheaval born of war. In particular stories about of how, in the runup to World War II, Jews from neighbouring cpountries – Poland, say, or Austria – who were attempting to flee Nazi depredations ended up caught… More

We’ve just played overnight hosts to Dan Biswas, a Danish man working for a Danish-Greek NGO, Faros, that supports unaccompanied refugee children and teenagers in Athens. Dan flew to Stockholm yesterday with Hamid, a 13 year old Afghan boy who has spent the last year on his own in Athens. His mother and younger brother, already in Gothenburg and in the process of seeking asylum in Sweden, travelled up to Arlanda airport to be reunited with Hamid. It was a real pleasure to have Dan stay and learn more about the inspiring and important work they’re doing with mostly Syrian… More

Michael Dwyer @MikeDwyer 2h2 hours ago Camden Town, London SOON: @marsal61 @francesharris0n @robpinney @SolheimDAC @vidar @AmarAmarasingam Review copies en route. ‪#‎Sri‬Lanka I THINK this tweet is telling me the book is finally back from the printers . . .

The launch of my new book To End A Civl War: Norway’s Peace Engagement in Sri Lanka, published by Hurst, was held in London on Weds 28 October 2015.  A series of European launch events was held over the following month in London, Oslo and Stockholm, followed by events in North America (Toronto, Ottawa, Washington DC) in January 2016. South Asian launches were held in Colombo (3 March), Chennai 7 March) and Delhi (8 March). Details   Latest launch related information at: www.marksalter.org Further book related information at: www.hurstpublishers.com Watch this space for the latest details!

Ishara S. Kodikara/AFP/Getty Images During a demonstration in Sri Lanka, relatives of Tamil activists held placards demanding the release of their loved ones who have been held in detention without trial for long periods of time. —————————————————————– Here’s a useful c. 25 minute discussion of the UN’s recently released report on war crimes in Sri Lanka further to the investigation conducted by its human rights arm, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR). What makes this discussion distinctive – and in this instance particularly useful – is the fact that it’s taken from a Indian current affairs… More

Here’s a brilliant piece from the eminent Yale Professor Timothy Snyder summarising the argument of his new book, Black Earth: The Holocaust as History and Warning. The Holocaust, and other mass killings, occured – and continue to occur – in conditions of destroyed states. That, Snyder argues, underlies the connection between the Nazi Holocaust and such contemporary meltdowns as the US invasion of Iraq, with its devastating (and continuing) consequences; and most recently, the bloody Russian annexation of Crimea and invasion of Eastern Ukraine. I don’t doubt for a moment that Snyder’s basic thesis will be challenged from all sides…. More