Dushy Ranetunge
Encyclopedia
Dushmanthe Srikanthe Ranetunge (born 25 December 1960), commonly known as Dushy Ranetunge, is a Sri Lanka
n journalist based in London.
and the London School of Economics and Political Science
(LSE), he worked in merchant banking in the city of London before becoming a journalist.
Ranetunge's foray into Journalism was as a result of an accidental meeting with Rohan Gunaratna
in London during the late 1990s. Gunaratna was in Scotland, reading for his doctorate in international relations from St Andrews University, where he was a British Chevening
Scholar. Gunaratna encouraged Ranetunge, who was in London, to exploit his Merchant Banking experience to initiate investigations into the financing operation of the LTTE (Tamil Tigers) in London.
Ranetunge has traveled widely following the early rise of LTTE, covering LTTE meetings in the UK, Europe and North America, their proscription as terrorists worldwide and more recently Sri Lankan-LTTE peace talks in Geneva. The early visits covered separatists international Peace Conferences in Australia, Canada and the United Kingdom and other separatist events in Europe organised to raise the international profile of the secessionist movement. Exposure of these events in The Island in Sri Lanka disrupted them.
After the publication of his article "Dinosaurs of the Tamil cause congregate in Ottawa" in The Island in Sri Lanka on 4 June 1999, the secessionists were not able to organise any more international conferences of that magnitude and international participation, as the host countries began denying visa's and deporting participants.
The publication of his article "British Charities fund Terrorists" on 4 October 2000 led to the British Charity Commission
raiding the LTTE's premier fund raising vehicle, the Tamils Rehabilitation Organisation
(TRO), freezing bank accounts and initiating an investigation which resulted in the TRO being de-listed from the British Charities register.
On 28 February 2001 Britain listed the LTTE as a terrorist organization under the Terrorism Act 2000
.
Similar Action followed against the TRO in the United States more recently.
Ranetunge has been a fierce critic of the LTTE. From the late 1990s, he has contributed regularly to The Island in Sri Lanka and more recently to the Tamilweek. A Buddhist and a supporter of Sri Lanka, he is freely critical of both. As a result he has attracted censure from nationalists on both sides of Sri Lanka's ethnic divide.
He has appeared on BBC TV, BBC World Service Radio, BBC Radio 5 and others to discuss politics in Sri Lanka.
) and Julian (Winchester College
).
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
n journalist based in London.
Biography
Educated at Royal College, Colombo, the University of North LondonUniversity of North London
The University of North London was a university in the United Kingdom from 1992 to 2002. On 1 August 2002, it merged with London Guildhall University to form London Metropolitan University. The former University of North London premises now form the new university's north campus, situated on...
and the London School of Economics and Political Science
London School of Economics
The London School of Economics and Political Science is a public research university specialised in the social sciences located in London, United Kingdom, and a constituent college of the federal University of London...
(LSE), he worked in merchant banking in the city of London before becoming a journalist.
Ranetunge's foray into Journalism was as a result of an accidental meeting with Rohan Gunaratna
Rohan Gunaratna
Rohan Gunaratna is an international terrorism expert. He is the head of the International Centre for Political Violence and Terrorism Research ] at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore...
in London during the late 1990s. Gunaratna was in Scotland, reading for his doctorate in international relations from St Andrews University, where he was a British Chevening
Chevening
Chevening, also known as Chevening House, is a country house at Chevening in the Sevenoaks District of Kent, in England. It is an official residence of the Foreign Secretary of the United Kingdom...
Scholar. Gunaratna encouraged Ranetunge, who was in London, to exploit his Merchant Banking experience to initiate investigations into the financing operation of the LTTE (Tamil Tigers) in London.
Ranetunge has traveled widely following the early rise of LTTE, covering LTTE meetings in the UK, Europe and North America, their proscription as terrorists worldwide and more recently Sri Lankan-LTTE peace talks in Geneva. The early visits covered separatists international Peace Conferences in Australia, Canada and the United Kingdom and other separatist events in Europe organised to raise the international profile of the secessionist movement. Exposure of these events in The Island in Sri Lanka disrupted them.
After the publication of his article "Dinosaurs of the Tamil cause congregate in Ottawa" in The Island in Sri Lanka on 4 June 1999, the secessionists were not able to organise any more international conferences of that magnitude and international participation, as the host countries began denying visa's and deporting participants.
The publication of his article "British Charities fund Terrorists" on 4 October 2000 led to the British Charity Commission
Charity Commission
The Charity Commission for England and Wales is the non-ministerial government department that regulates registered charities in England and Wales....
raiding the LTTE's premier fund raising vehicle, the Tamils Rehabilitation Organisation
Tamils Rehabilitation Organisation
The Tamils Rehabilitation Organisation was established in 1985 in Tamil Nadu in southeastern India by Tamil refugees fleeing the violence in North and East Sri Lanka. Its operation to provide relief to the refugees in India continued until 1987...
(TRO), freezing bank accounts and initiating an investigation which resulted in the TRO being de-listed from the British Charities register.
On 28 February 2001 Britain listed the LTTE as a terrorist organization under the Terrorism Act 2000
Terrorism Act 2000
The Terrorism Act 2000 is the first of a number of general Terrorism Acts passed by the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It superseded and repealed the Prevention of Terrorism Act 1989 and the Northern Ireland Act 1996...
.
Similar Action followed against the TRO in the United States more recently.
Ranetunge has been a fierce critic of the LTTE. From the late 1990s, he has contributed regularly to The Island in Sri Lanka and more recently to the Tamilweek. A Buddhist and a supporter of Sri Lanka, he is freely critical of both. As a result he has attracted censure from nationalists on both sides of Sri Lanka's ethnic divide.
He has appeared on BBC TV, BBC World Service Radio, BBC Radio 5 and others to discuss politics in Sri Lanka.
Personal life
Ranetunge emigrated to the UK at the age of 18, where he lives with his wife, Nilmarnie Panabokke and their two children, Annaliza (Queenswood SchoolQueenswood School
Queenswood School is a girls-only private school located near Hatfield in the English county of Hertfordshire. It offers admission at ages 11, 13 or 16 . The current headmistress is Pauline Edgar.-History:...
) and Julian (Winchester College
Winchester College
Winchester College is an independent school for boys in the British public school tradition, situated in Winchester, Hampshire, the former capital of England. It has existed in its present location for over 600 years and claims the longest unbroken history of any school in England...
).
Selection of articles published
- http://www.island.lk/index.php?page_cat=article-details&page=article-details&code_title=14819 Are Tamils waving LTTE flags "terrorists"?
- http://transcurrents.com/tc/2010/09/kaballeva_in_kandy_rare_photos.html "Kaballeva" in Kandy: Rare photos of a Sri Lankan armadillo
- http://www.island.lk/index.php?page_cat=article-details&page=article-details&code_title=1773 The Great Game
- http://www.island.lk/2010/04/25/features12.html Educating Jeremy Page
- http://www.island.lk/2010/03/14/features7.html Missing the Wood for the Trees
- http://www.island.lk/2010/03/28/features13.html The Politics of Akon,
- http://transcurrents.com/tc/2008/10/post_44.html Sri Lanka is a Republic, not a Sinhala country
- http://www.nowpublic.com/world/was-prabakaran-and-his-entire-family-executed-army "Was Prabakaran and his entire family Executed by the army?"
- http://federalidea.com/focus/archives/51 Paranoia and Prejudice Exacerbating Ethnic Discrimination in Employment
- http://www.asianewsnet.net/home/news.php?sec=1&id=5283 Mexico refuses to give legitimacy to the LTTE
- http://www.dailynews.lk/2007/05/18/fea01.asp Terrorism: What have we learnt?
- http://www.island.lk/2001/03/06/featur01.html Terrorist — the bell tolls for thee!
Quoted in Research
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liberation_Tigers_of_Tamil_Eelam wikipedia; Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam
- http://www.nationalpost.com/documents/081120-ccra-tro.pdf Canada Customs and Revenue Agency letter from Elizabeth Tromp, Director General Charities Directorate, Canada Revenue Agency, Ottawa ONTARIO. pages 14 & 15
- http://www.rand.org/congress/terrorism/phase2/insurgent.pdf Trends in outside Support for Insurgent Movements, by Daniel Byman, Peter Chalk, Bruce Hoffman, William Rosenau, David Brannan; Rand, 2001
- http://www.hinduonnet.com/fline/fl1525/15250570.htm LTTE IN SOUTH AFRICA - Dr Rohan Gunaratna
- http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1P2-19211501.html Tigers recruit at British schools, The Sunday Telegraph London | November 26, 2000 | CHRISTINA LAMB Diplomatic Correspondent and CHRIS HASTINGS
- http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Talk:Asia-Pacific_Foundation Talk:Asia-Pacific Foundation
- http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/content~content=a747353546&db=all Conflict, Security & Development, Ravinatha Ariyasinha Volume 1, Issue 2 April 2001 , pages 25 – 50
- http://www.groundviews.org/2009/04/01/the-needs-of-the-hour/ The needs of the hour April 1, 2009 Colombo, Peace and Conflict, Politics and Governance | by Michael Roberts
- http://www3.qeh.ox.ac.uk/pdf/qehwp/qehwps99.pdf Queen Elizabeth House, University of Oxford, Rajesh Venugopal, The Global Dimensions of Conflict in Sri Lanka
- http://www.rand.org/congress/terrorism/phase2/phase2.pdf RAND, Congressional Resource Package, The War on Terrorism Phase II: Home and Abroad
- http://www.dtic.mil/cgi-bin/GetTRDoc?AD=ADA500867&Location=U2&doc=GetTRDoc.pdf U.S. Army War College, Carlisle Barracks, Mission from anti-Terrorism to Peace in Sri Lanka, Major General Laksiri Amaratunga, Sri Lanka Army
- http://www.bicc.de/uploads/pdf/publications/papers/paper35/paper35.pdf A Preliminary Exploration of the Linkages between Refugees and Small Arms, Bonn International Center for Conversion, Edward Mogire