J. S. Tissainayagam
Advisor
“I am a Tamil from Sri Lanka who is a victim of State terror. For sustainable peace, all peoples in Sri Lanka should have the freedom to exercise their right to self-determination, nationhood and a homeland. I would like to contribute to realising that peace.”
J. S. Tissainayagam
He worked in English-language national newspapers in Sri Lanka for over 20 years. In 2009 he was sentenced to 20 years imprisonment for writing critically of the Sri Lanka government. Released after 675 days in detention following an international campaign, he now lives in the US.
He was awarded the British Press Freedom Award – Foreign Journalist of the Year (2010) and the CPJ Press Freedom Award (2009). He was Nieman Fellow at Harvard and Reagan-Fascell Fellow at the National Endowment for Democracy.
He contributes to Foreign Policy, GlobalPost and Asian Correspondent. His article ‘Fear of Ethnic Reconciliation Reason for Post-War Censorship in Sri Lanka’ appears in the South Asia Review (Pub. University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown, Vol. XXXIII No.3 Jan 2013).