This book contained interviews that I conducted over the last few years as a journalist with various people who have their own causes and reasons to make their lives meaningful. Most of them talked freely and expressed themselves with the facts that they felt important. Some of those expressions were fantasy while some of them were based on the illusion in which they were engaged. It was no surprise that many "specialists" or "experts" on the subject believed that the LTTE would never be totally defeated, and never achieve the state of Tamil Eelam. But one senior member of the TMVP, which is break-away faction of the LTTE under Col. Karana Amman, who was later lucky enough to deserve a ministerial post in the ruling party, told this writer several times that the total defeat of the LTTE would be possible when the government started fighting against the LTTE in the Eastern Province of Sri Lanka. It was a myth and the result of an exaggeration by the media that many people believed that the LTTE would never be defeated or wiped out, he said while laughing. "This is non-other than a psychological warfare," he added while recounting his experiences with the LTTE for over 10 years. The undeniable truth is that, people who live on the ground and experience reality knows the facts than those who engaged at a distance and articulate their theories to fulfill their emptiness. But unfortunately those who are on the ground rarely come forward to share their views. It is then that society needs to stir itself and search for the truth. I have no better way to express this than to quote the serge words of Edward Abbey, "Society is like a stew. If you don't stir it up every once in a while then a layer of scum floats to the top." But, the country which lost hundreds of thousands of lives for the cause of freedom did not evaluate the real cost. And there is hardly any research or factual analysis which is able to tell the story that we are forced to ignore by the 'power'. Attempts to publish a few voices from the various fields will not fulfill that large vacuum but it may be a small contribution to participate in the debate. This is time for Sri Lanka to get rid of its political vulgarism and politricks. This is the time for Sri Lanka to restore a system which is based on justice and freedom of all citizens. - Nilantha Ilangamuwa ---- Any journalist who desires to be a true journalist and not merely a pen (or laptop) sold to the highest bidder faces a challenge. They must make a living yet be true to their desire (indeed, their need) to discover the truth behind the official lies and obfuscations. Nilantha Ilangamuwa knows this fact quite well. - Ron Jacobs author of All the Sinners, Saints, The Way the Wind Blew: a History of the Weather Underground and Short Order Frame Up and The Co-Conspirator's Tale. ] ------- It is quite fitting that this Anthology begins by the interview given by Nilantha Ilangamuwa himself in April 2012 nicely captioned "Public Awakening against Injustice." It traces how he came into journalism, what were his social values transcending the ethnic divide, how he came to lock horns with the authorities, and how he ventured onto start the Sri Lankan Guardian, first in Sri Lanka and then abroad, after its banning inside the country. - Prof. Laksiri Fernando, BA (Ceylon), MA (New Brunswick) and PhD (Sydney), is former Professor of Political Science and Public Policy, University of Colombo (2000-2010), and thereafter a Visiting Scholar at the University of Sydney (2011-2013). ---------- This emotional, powerful work primarily examines the war-torn past of Sri Lanka and the role of the Tamils in their struggle for self-determination... While focusing on Sri Lanka, the author also broadens his discussion in these interviews on subjects such as torture, the erosion of civil liberties in the West, and the role of the International Criminal Court... - Dr. Binoy Kampmark -Commonwealth Scholar at Cambridge.