New Delhi knows better about Pakistan in Jaffna: TNA parliamentarian

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 23 October 2012, 17:38 GMT]
Answering a question put by media in Jaffna on Monday, whether a Pakistani intelligence outfit is in the making in Jaffna, the TNA parliamentarian and one of its leaders, Maavai Senadhirajah said that they are aware of the news, but New Delhi knows more about it. During the talks in New Delhi earlier this month, the TNA was able to sense that India knew more on the matter, the Tamil parliamentarian said. The TNA will come out with its views once the details are known and verified, Mr Senadhirajah further said, when the media asked him about unconfirmed reports that Pakistan’s intelligence plans to open an official outfit in Jaffna city, named as Pakistan Information Centre.
Full story >>

Jaffna protests Sri Lanka’s oppression of Tamil civic bodies

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 23 October 2012, 12:51 GMT]
13 elected civic bodies in the Jaffna Peninsula organized parallel agitations in their respective offices on Monday, protesting against occupying Sri Lanka’s violent intimidation and machinations blocking the mandated functions of the elected bodies. The protestors condemned the recent brutal attack on the Nalloor divisional council (Predeasa Sapai) chairperson Vasanthakumar, allegedly by SL military intelligence operatives, while he was attending legal procedures for recovering a civic body land occupied by the SL military. When even the grassroot institutions are treated in this way, Sri Lanka has nothing at all in its agenda to offer as solutions to Tamils, accused TNA parliamentarian Maavai Senadhiraja, addressing the demonstration that took place in front of the divisional secretariat at Nalloor.
Full story >>

Court injunctions leave UK deportation flights half empty - paper

[TamilNet, Monday, 22 October 2012, 23:15 GMT]
British High Court is regularly issuing injunctions banning the removal of Tamils because they are at risk of being tortured in Sri Lanka, and these court interventions are resulting in chartered deportation flights commissioned by the UK Border Agency leaving UK half-empty, the Independent reported in the Monday edition of the paper. "Despite the regular setbacks in the High Court, which can cost tax payers tens of thousands of pounds each day in legal fees and court costs, the UK Border Agency shows no sign of rethinking its deportation strategy for Sri Lanka, a country where the torture of returned asylum seekers has been empirically documented," the paper said.
Full story >>

Fighter plane gift to British in WWI: diaspora mindset of Jaffna Tamils revisited

[TamilNet, Monday, 22 October 2012, 03:27 GMT]
On special requests sent to colonial communities by the British to support them in the war against Germany, on 22 Dec 1915, Jaffna Tamils living in Malaya, donated the cost of a fighter plane and named it “Jaffna,” says an informed source, adding that it shows the ‘characteristic of Eezham Tamils supporting the war efforts of guardians of safety, justice and economic prosperity.’ But almost during the time, poet Bharathi in Tamil Nadu welcomed the Russian Revolution of 1917. During WWII, a number of Eezham Tamils joined the Tamil Nadu Tamils in Malaya in supporting the Indian National Army of Subhas Chandra Bose, aligned with the Japanese. Some among them saw the imperialist games and joined the Malayan Communist Party led by Chinese in Malaya. What is the ideological course of the diaspora today, in response to the establishments-led genocide, ask Eezham Tamil activists in the island.
Full story >>

Sinhalicised division formalised in Mullaiththeevu district

[TamilNet, Sunday, 21 October 2012, 22:41 GMT]
A newly created division, Sinhalicised in demograhpy and acquired a name ‘Weli Oya’ changed from the Tamil name Ma'nal-aa'ru, has been formalised with a divisional secretariat of the civil administrative structure of occupying Sri Lanka in the Mullaith-theevu district of the country of Eezham Tamils. This is an explicit move of colonisation and structural genocide aiming for the annihilation of the territoriality of the nation of Eezham Tamils in the island for the edification of those who ask for evidence, commented civil society activists in Vanni. Why should the Tamils have territoriality in the island is a question raised by the Mahinda Rajapaksa regime that opts genocide as means and argues that anyone could settle anywhere in the island, under the blessings of the powers that insist on treating the island as one unit whether there is genocide or not, said civil society activists.
Full story >>

US institute honours genocide-accused SLA’s Demining Unit

[TamilNet, Sunday, 21 October 2012, 17:11 GMT]
The Marshall Legacy Institute (MLI), an American non-profit organization based in Virginia, has honoured a ‘Humanitarian Demining Unit’ team of the genocide-accused SLA as the best Mine Detection Dog team for the year 2012 at its annual “Clearing the Path” event, at Washington on October 10. Eezham Tamil activists, however, criticized the move as a legitimization of the structural genocide occurring in the occupied Tamil homeland in which SLA’s demining unit also plays a part.
Full story >>

Colombo’s claims of diaspora dialogue challenged in the diaspora

[TamilNet, Saturday, 20 October 2012, 13:45 GMT]
None of the Tamil diaspora bodies that have democratic or institutional mandate of Eezham Tamils have opted to engage in talks with the Sri Lankan government, which continues to negate the nationhood and right to self-determination of Eezham Tamils, said Dr Panchakulasingam Kandiah, the president of the democratically elected Norwegian Council of Eezham Tamils and a director in the board of the Global Tamil Forum. He was responding to a question by TamilNet on Saturday, on the statement of Sri Lanka's cabinet spokesperson and minister Keheliya Rambukwela telling that Colombo was “making headway in its dialogue with the Tamil Diaspora”. The ‘dialogue’ will be held in Colombo shortly under the direct patronage of SL President Mahinda Rajapaksa, media reports from Colombo said.
Full story >>

Eezham Tamils in Canada launch petition campaign demanding referendum

[TamilNet, Saturday, 20 October 2012, 09:32 GMT]
On October 12 the National Council of Canadian Tamils (NCCT) organized the launch of a petition campaign directed towards the United Nations to conduct a referendum amongst Eezham Tamils originating from the North-East of the island to determine their political aspirations. Launched at the Scarborough Civic Centre in Toronto, the event saw participation from community members, elected officials and human rights activists. Most notable was the endorsement for the campaign by the Member for Provincial Parliament, Glen Murray endorsing the campaign through a letter addressed to the United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon.
Full story >>

TNA seeks bearings while Gotabhaya proves futility of Indo-US cosmetic solutions

[TamilNet, Friday, 19 October 2012, 16:09 GMT]
Genocidal Sri Lanka’s presidential sibling Gotabhaya Rajapaksa on last Thursday called for the abolition of the New Delhi-architected 13th Amendment to the constitution without further delays, reported The Island, last Friday. Gotabhaya compared the Amendment to the 2002 Ceasefire Agreement (CFA) in facilitating separatism. Rejecting SL military pullout from the Tamil territories and upholding ‘majoritarian’ rule of the island, he also implied what course would be taken by the LLRC implementation legitimised by the USA at Geneva. Meanwhile, writing to The Island on Thursday, TNA’s nominated parliamentarian Mr Sumanthiran, asked what hope is there in TNA participating the Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) of Rajapaksa regime to discuss solutions.
Full story >>

SL Supreme Court fixes date to hear FR petition by uprooted Maathakal Tamils

[TamilNet, Thursday, 18 October 2012, 13:57 GMT]
Two members of the Sri Lanka’s Supreme Court Wednesday fixed the hearing of the Fundamental Rights violation petition filed by six uprooted residents of Maathakal from the Valikaamam division of the Jaffna district for November 12.
Full story >>

Tamil politicians, activists protest against SL military attacks on civic leaders in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Thursday, 18 October 2012, 01:20 GMT]
Tamil politicians and civil activists on Wednesday protested condemning the brutal attack Sunday on Paramsothy Vasanthakumar, the elected chairman of Nalloor Piratheasa Chapai (PS). Vasanthakumar was on his way to prepare a legal suit after lodging a formal complaint against the illegal SL military occupation of 5 acres of land belonging to the civic body when he was attacked. The attackers, alleged to be the operatives of the SL military intelligence, had followed Mr Vasanthakumar in motorbikes, assaulted him using sharp iron rods at Kokkuvil and forcibly removed the legal documents on the SL military occupied land together with a sum of money. The protestors on Wednesday openly blamed the SL military intelligence in Jaffna for carrying out a systematic campaign of terror, targeting elected civic leaders in the peninsula.
Full story >>

Uprooted Maathakal residents file FR petition in SL Supreme Court

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 17 October 2012, 22:35 GMT]
Six uprooted residents of Maathakal from the Valikaamam district secretariat division of the Jaffna district have filed a fundamental rights violation petition in the Sri Lankan Supreme Court (SLSC) last week seeking an order that they should be allowed to resettle in their own lands and houses. They have cited the SL Defense Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa, Commander of the Sri Lanka Army Lt. Gen. Jagath Jayasuriya, Commander of the Jaffna Security Forces Maj. Gen. Mahinda Hathurusinghe and the Attorney General as respondents.
Full story >>

Colombo opts for anti-Tamil campaign to handle constitutional case

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 17 October 2012, 12:31 GMT]
The petitioners of a constitutional case against the ‘Divineguma’ Bill that will snatch away even grassroot development and social welfare powers of the provinces in genocidal Sri Lanka are currently targeted through a Sinhala poster campaign of ‘counterinsurgency’ style that collectively names the petitioners as ‘Paikiasothy Gang’ aiming ‘separation of the country’. The Centre for Policy Alternatives (CPA), headed by Colombo-based Tamil, Dr. Paikiasothy Saravanamuttu, in a statement on Tuesday hinted at the connection between the posters and Sri Lanka Army coming for ‘investigations’ of the Centre on Monday. The SL Supreme Court on Monday decided for a separate hearing of the case filed by the TNA and has fixed it to next Monday, while four more writ petitions challenging the bill will be taken up for hearing by the court on Thursday.
Full story >>

German translation of NESoHR’s book on pre-2009 massacres released in Frankfurt

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 16 October 2012, 15:51 GMT]
The German translation of a compilation of large-scale massacres of Eezham Tamils by Sinhala forces from 1956 to 2008, brought out by the North East Secretariat on Human Rights (NESoHR), has been released at the famous Frankfurt Book Fair, reputed to be the largest book festival in the world, on Sunday. The book release of “Damit wir nicht vergessen” saw the participation of Peter Schalk, Professor Emeritus Uppasala University, Christian Weiss, the owner of the publishing house that brought out the book, apart from several Eezham Tamil activists. Speaking at the release, Prof. Schalk said that this book contained important evidence indicting the GoSL of human rights violations and genocide and it would be an asset in hauling the Sri Lankan state before the International Criminal Court.
Full story >>

TNA, New Delhi, harp on LLRC implementation

[TamilNet, Monday, 15 October 2012, 11:23 GMT]
The TNA parliamentary delegation that visited New Delhi last week thanked the Government of India for its consistent interaction with the SL President in bringing about reconciliation and political solution through implementation of LLRC recommendations. The complaints of the TNA were confined to the lack of progress in the implementation of ‘constructive’ recommendations of the LLRC and lack of commitment on the part of Colombo in evolving an acceptable political solution. The TNA earlier rejected the LLRC recommendations but was later made to harp on them for non-descript solutions. The TNA has also refused attending Rajapaksa’s all party process for solution, without guarantees. But last month, the genocide-accused President on a Buddhist visit to India told TNA that the matter would be pursued after his return from India.
Full story >>

UK Tamil tortured in Colombo, returned after payment of ransom to CID

[TamilNet, Monday, 15 October 2012, 07:46 GMT]
Sivasubramaniam Jeevan, an Eezham Tamil youth citizen of UK living in Scotland, who was on a visit to the island of Sri Lanka on 3 October, was detained by the notorious Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of Colombo from the day he landed to 9 October, and was allegedly tortured under suspicion of “LTTE links”, after taking away his passport and other documents. He was released last Tuesday after managing a payment of a sum of 1.5 million rupees, plus 325 pounds, as ransom money to the CID. Speaking to TamilNet from his residence in Scotland, 33 year old Jeevan, who is now undergoing psychological treatment owing to the trauma of interrogation, said that the CID officers tortured him by beating him, verbally abusing him, and threatening to kill him. He was also interrogated on diaspora activities in the UK, he said.
Full story >>

Media questions fate of missing report on UN inaction during Vanni war

[TamilNet, Sunday, 14 October 2012, 18:25 GMT]
Nearly a year has passed since a heavily criticized UN Secretary General, had asked the former Executive Director of the UN Population Fund, Thoraya Obaid, to submit a review within 4 months on UN inaction during the 2009 Vanni massacre. However, in an un-announced change in the committee leadership, UK's Charles Petrie replaced Thoraya Obaid. Even Petrie, is now engaged in Norway's Myanmar Peace Support Initiative (MPSI). But, the report on the UN in Sri Lanka is yet to come out. Where is the report, asked the Inner City Press, on Friday. Answering the question, the UN spokesperson, Martin Nesirky, confirmed the incompletion and non-availability of the report.
Full story >>

‘A right way and a wrong way to protest’

[TamilNet, Saturday, 13 October 2012, 13:42 GMT]
In May 2009, before the civil war in Sri Lanka came to a fiery end with Sri Lanka armed forces killing tens of thousands of unarmed Tamil civilians in what has been labelled as the "crime of the century," several thousand Canadian Tamils, in protest, blocked the busy Gardiner Expressway angering Canadian motorists, and drawing condemnation from politicians. Gillian Philipupillai, a second generation Canadian Tamil, in a research paper, explores the position of diasporic Tamils in the "white settler state" through a focus on colonialism, movement, violence and sovereignty, and concludes, "[b]y racializing Tamil protesters as an intrusive mob of illegal occupiers, the Canadian state normalized and further justified mass Tamil civilian deaths and casualties on their homelands in the state of Sri Lanka."
Full story >>

Veteran Eezham Tamil educationalist passes away in Seychelles

[TamilNet, Friday, 12 October 2012, 06:12 GMT]
Mr V. Sivasupramaniam, teacher, educational administrator, trade unionist and social worker, passed away in Seychelles on Wednesday, at the age of 81. His funeral takes place on Friday. Mr. Sivasupramaniam taught at Jaffna Hindu College between 1953 and 1972. Besides his reputation as an eminent, committed and inspiring teacher, he was also a leading trade unionist, long associated with the Northern Province Teachers Association that was the predominant teachers union of the region at that time. Later, the newly independent Seychelles government was benefitted by his services in developing educational infrastructure and institutions there. Serving Seychelles for nearly quarter a century, Mr. Sivasupramaniam was also a key person in building a cultural centre, a temple, for the South Asian Hindu community there.
Full story >>

‘Sri Lanka model of COIN sets a dangerous precedent for humanity’

[TamilNet, Thursday, 11 October 2012, 18:26 GMT]
After the International Community of Establishments working in tandem with a genocide-intending Sri Lankan state oversaw a brutal military solution over the armed struggle of the Eezham Tamils in May 2009, the ‘Sri Lanka model’ of dealing with insurgencies is now being incorporated into the science of Counterinsurgency (COIN), opines RM Karthick, observing what dangerous ramifications this could have for struggling peoples worldwide in an article published on Sanhati, an Indian online journal, on Wednesday. Outlining internal and external factors in shaping the conflict, using the politico-military analysis of the late TamilNet senior editor ‘Taraki’ Sivaram, the author explains how internationally coordinated measures against the LTTE and the genocidal intent of Sinhala nationalists led to Mu’l’livaaykkaal and the systemic repression of the Eezham Tamils in their homeland that followed.
Full story >>