NorthEast Tamils still under military rule, says TNA MP

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 03 May 2011, 03:16 GMT]
Two years after the end of the war, Tamils in the North and East are still living under the yoke of the Sri Lanka Army (SLA), said Batticaloa District Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarian Mr.P.Ariyanenthran. "Colombo government and its supporters are saying that the peace has returned with the end of the three decade old war.
Full story >>

Sinhala extremist federation wants Rajapaksa to terminate talks with TNA

[TamilNet, Monday, 02 May 2011, 05:42 GMT]
The Federation of National Organizations, a coalition formed by ten Sinhala extremist groups in the south, has requested the Mahinda Rajapaksa government to terminate its talks with the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) in a statement issued on May Day, coinciding with the protest show of Mahinda Rajapaksa against the UN Expert Panel report. Meanwhile, Tamils from several parts of the island were forcefully taken to Colombo by Sri Lankan military, paramilitary and other agents to showcase as people from all ethnicities were united in the protest against the UN. However, a dead silence prevailed in the SL occupied country of Eezham Tamils throughout the whole day on May Day.
Full story >>

Colombo propagates UN report as against Muslims

[TamilNet, Sunday, 01 May 2011, 08:51 GMT]
Amid vicious propaganda by the Colombo government that UN Experts Panel is against the interests of the Muslim Community, Mr. Basheer Sego Dawood, deputy minister in the Mahinda Rajapaksea government said that the report should be considered as a foundation to find a lasting political solution for the ethnic conflict in the country.
Full story >>

Sri Lanka war-crime alleged over killing of TECH Director

[TamilNet, Saturday, 30 April 2011, 00:08 GMT]
Emerging evidence on Sri Lanka military targeting civilian leadership of Eezham Tamil development organizations at the end of Vanni war further reinforces the credible allegation that Sri Lanka's war crimes and crimes against humanity had genocidal intentions. C. Sivalingam Suhunan, alias Thilak, the executive director of TECH (The Economic Consultancy House), the flagship development NGO of the de-facto state of Tamil Eelam and a registered NGO in Sri Lanka, was one of the victims, according to a Senior official of TECH, who has identified Thilak's body in a recently leaked photograph taken by Sri Lankan soldiers. Mr. Suhunan had phoned his family last on 18 May, 2009 at 6:15 a.m. local time, informing that he was among a group of persons in civil clothes, going into Sri Lanka Army (SLA) controlled territory in Mullaiththeevu.
Full story >>

Sri Lanka plans criminal show of ‘reconciliation’ in Colombo, Jaffna on May 1

[TamilNet, Friday, 29 April 2011, 20:51 GMT]
In a cruel show of ‘reconciliation,’ Sri Lanka’s occupying military in full swing has gone to the houses of released LTTE cadres, family members of the captives and ‘resettled’ Eezham Tamils living in open prisons in north and east and intimidated them to participate in Mahinda Rajapaksa’s demonstration show in Colombo on 1 May, to oppose any international justice coming to the crimes committed against them. A fleet of buses are organized to herd the people from Vanni and Jaffna to Colombo, after warning them of dire consequences if they don’t come. Meanwhile, a group of thugs has been brought from the south for violent demonstrations in the locality of UN offices in Jaffna city on May 1.
Full story >>

‘Solheim transforms from peace facilitator to facilitator of war crimes indictment escape’

[TamilNet, Friday, 29 April 2011, 06:50 GMT]
Norway’s former peace facilitator to the island of Sri Lanka, Mr. Erik Solheim, speaking to Norwegian state owned media NRK (Dagsnytt 18) on Wednesday, argued against any immediate international investigation on the war crimes in the island and said that it is only correct and fair to expect the Sri Lankan authorities to domestically investigate the UN panel material. According to him, this is what the ‘broader international community’ including nearly all the Western countries want. Solheim defended Ban Ki Moon, as his situation is difficult, accused the Tigers for not listening to his surrender call since five months before the end of the war, and suggested a new principle for international law that since Tiger leaders are now eliminated, domestic handling should be given a chance than ‘one-sided’ international indictment of Sri Lankan state.
Full story >>

Colombo’s crimes grotesque – The Times

[TamilNet, Thursday, 28 April 2011, 00:04 GMT]
The Times newspaper (London) said Wednesday that the UN expert panel’s report on Sri Lanka’s war crimes confirms the newspaper’s reporting in May 2009 that the “Sri Lankan Government was party to the mass murder of civilians.” Referring especially to mass bombardment of civilians in so-called no-fire zones, the paper demanded that “perpetrators of this war crime should be pursued and targeted with sanctions by the UN and other international organisations.” Dismissing Colombo’s claim that the UN panel’s conclusions would inflict “irrevocable damage” on postwar efforts of reconciliation as “disingenuous”, the paper singled out India especially to act over Sri Lanka’s war crimes.
Full story >>

New evidence leads to war crime committed on LTTE's Col Ramesh

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 27 April 2011, 22:47 GMT]
The wife of slain Batticaloa Commander of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), on Thursday verified that the dead body shown in the photo released on Wednesday was that of her husband, Col. Ramesh. On Wednesday, a former member of the LTTE identified a photo leaked in recent days by the soldiers of the SLA as that of showing the dead body of Col. Ramesh, who had come to SLA controlled territory with civilians during the final hours of Vanni war in May 2009.
Full story >>

Colombo forces Tamils to sign petition against UN: Srikantha

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 27 April 2011, 05:53 GMT]
Former Tamil National Aliance parliamentarians N. Srikantha,and M.K Sivajilingam, who formed Tamil National Liberation Alliance (TNLA), blamed Colombo on Monday for continuing to lead the Sinhala masses on a racial path and for forcing the Tamils in Colombo to sign their petition against the United Nations Expert Panel report. Tamil civilians traveling in buses in Colombo are being forced to sign the petitions by extremist Sinhala elements, Mr. Srikantha, a Colombo based Tamil politician, told journalists in Jaffna at a press meeting held in Jaffna Monday evening.
Full story >>

'Thanthai Chelva pioneered political course of Eezham Tamils'

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 27 April 2011, 05:37 GMT]
“The first Republican Constitution of 1972 gave the last rites to the slow death for ethnic relations in this country that started when a unitary constitution was handed to us by the departing British,” said Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarian Mr. M A Sumanthiran, while delivering Thanthai Chelva Memorial Speech at New Kathiresan Hall in Colombo, Tuesday, remembering 34th death anniversary of SJV Chelvanayakam, who founded Ilankai Thamizh Arasuk Kadchi in 1949. To prove Tamil opinion rejecting the 1972 constitution, Chelva resigned his parliamentary seat and won a by-election. After leading the most favoured Tamil political party and struggling for federal solution for more than 25 years that found no success with Sinhala leadership, Chelva ultimately presided over the Vaddukkoaddai Resolution that called for Tamil independence in 1976.
Full story >>

SL Military ‘abducts’ two Tamil youths in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 26 April 2011, 14:44 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army (SLA) from the notorious Uduvil camp in Jaffna on Monday assaulted civilians in the streets of Tholpuram, situated 30 km away from Jaffna city in Valikaamam, till it finally managed to trace and ‘abduct’ two Tamil youths who had a quarrel with an SLA soldier in their village, the previous day, on Sunday. The parents of the youths who were taken away by the SLA Monday night said the Sri Lankan Police did not know the whereabouts of their sons. Tension prevails in Tholpuram.
Full story >>

UN panel report oversteps by rejecting homeland of Eezham Tamils

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 26 April 2011, 11:54 GMT]
Eezham Tamils hoodwinked by war crimes indictments that are doubtful of materialising into actions, should carefully note that the UN panel report has said nothing on the burning question of colonization of the Tamil country by Colombo in listing obstacles to ‘sustainable peace and reconciliation’. On the contrary, it advises especially the diaspora to realise that all ethnic communities in the island “share a common homeland.” Anyone could see that in the context of the island nullification of the historical homeland of Eezham Tamils amounts to dismemberment of their nation and completion of genocide. What is the mandate of the UN panel to imply a political model rejecting the territorial identity of Eezham Tamils as a ‘lasting solution’ and in the process paving way for further crisis to them, asks a Tamil politician in Jaffna.
Full story >>

Kaaththaankudi UC defends Arabic usage in name boards

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 26 April 2011, 10:22 GMT]
The president of the Urban Council of Kaaththaankudi, a Muslim dominated town in the Eastern Province, has defended the use of Arabic on par with English in the name boards following protests from certain quarters in Colombo and in the provincial council in the East. Mr. S.H. Mohammed Anzar, the president has said it was a decision solely within the authority of the urban council.
Full story >>

SL Police threaten Tamils in Colombo to sign petition against UN

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 26 April 2011, 10:18 GMT]
Sri Lanka’s State Intelligence Unit personnel are threatening Tamils walking along roads in Colombo, forcing them to sign petitions prepared by the Rajapakse led government in an attempt to collect one million signatures against the UN Experts panel report. Tamils who refuse to sign are threatened and subjected to bodily harm, Tamil civil sources allege.
Full story >>

ITAK chooses Colombo to observe SJV's 34th death anniversary

[TamilNet, Monday, 25 April 2011, 13:49 GMT]
The Ilankai Tamil Arasu Katchchi (ITAK), main constituents of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) is scheduled to hold the thirty fourth death anniversary of its founder leader Thanthai S.J.V.Chelvanayakam on Tuesday in Colombo-Bambalapity New Kathiresan Hall, projecting the topic of the memorial event as "finding lasting peace through power sharing". The event is being keenly watched by Colombo political circles at a time when the country is in tension with the leaking of the UN Experts Panel report alleging war crimes allegations against the Rajapakse government and the TNA welcoming the UN Experts Panel report.
Full story >>

Police sentry in East University to continue says SL Minister

[TamilNet, Saturday, 23 April 2011, 11:51 GMT]
Sri Lankan Minister of Higher Education S.B.Dissanayake has said that the SL police sentry located in the premises of the Eastern University of Sri Lanka (EUSL) at Vanthaa'rumoolai in Batticaloa district would not be removed for any reason and the security of EUSL would be handed over to one of the three ‘security establishments’ of the government, the Sri Lanka Army (SLA), Sri Lanka Navy (SLN) or to the Special Task Force (SLF) if necessity arises.
Full story >>

Germany supports Colombo’s colonial archaeology in Tamil country

[TamilNet, Saturday, 23 April 2011, 07:25 GMT]
After a discussion between Colonial Colombo’s ‘National Heritage’ Minister Dr. Jagath Balasuriya and German Deputy Ambassador to Colombo, Stefan Weak Bark, it was decided that Germany would support Sri Lanka’s initiatives to declare important ancient archaeological sites in the Northern and Eastern Provinces as World Heritage Sites. Quite typical of genocidal Sri Lanka’s indiscrimination between Army and Archaeology in the Tamil country it is occupying, the Sri Lankan Ministry of Defence website on Tuesday, citing the government media Daily News, said that Kurundugoda temple [?] in Jaffna which belongs to prehistoric period [?], Girihandu Seya which is considered the first stupa built in the world [?], along with Jaffna fort and Thirukethiswaram Kovil [Koayil] will be proclaimed ‘world heritage sites’.
Full story >>

'Srebrenica moment'

[TamilNet, Friday, 22 April 2011, 23:37 GMT]
In an article in "The Australian" news paper authored by Gordon Weiss, a former UN spokesperson who accused Sri Lankan Government earlier of killing 10,000 to 40,000 Tamil civilians by discriminate shelling during the final stages of war, Weiss says that with the release [leak] of UN report on Sri Lanka's war crimes, the parallel, with the mass execution of 8000 Muslim boys and men by the Bosnian Serb army and how the horror reached the world from David Rohde, an US reporter, who had hiked through frontlines to reach the outskirts of the empty town, is apt, that Sri Lanka has reached its "Srebrenica Moment,"
Full story >>

India must act over Sri Lanka’s war crimes - AIADMK

[TamilNet, Friday, 22 April 2011, 22:29 GMT]
Citing the leaked UN expert panel’s report on Sri Lanka’s war crimes, Tamil Nadu’s main opposition AIADMK party has demanded India take steps to ensure Sri Lanka’s leadership stands international trial. "The UN Panel report is very clear. It lists out the war crimes of the Sri Lankan government," AIADMK leader and former Tamil Nadu chief minister J. Jayalalithaa said in a statement Friday reported on by PTI and IANS.
Full story >>

Rajapaksa uses SL military to distribute Indian aid

[TamilNet, Friday, 22 April 2011, 12:12 GMT]
Much controversy arose at the Jaffna District Development Committee (DDC) meeting held on Tuesday over the selection of the beneficiaries for the houses to be built by the Indians and the way the SL authorities were handling the distribution of tractors gifted by India. The SL Presidential Secretariat has instructed the Divisional Secretaries to send ‘recommendations’ through the area Brigade Officers of the SLA. The SL Government Agent, Imelda Sugumar, who denied knowledge of the housing project proposed by the Indian Government, said the SL Presidential Secretariat was handling the distribution of Indian aid.
Full story >>