Prof Sitrampalam visits China on invitation

[TamilNet, Sunday, 27 February 2011, 15:10 GMT]
The Vice President of Ilankai Thamizh Arasuk Katchi (ITAK), Professor S K Sitrampalam, representing his party, is on a visit to China on the invitation of the Chinese government, ITAK leaders said in a press meet in Jaffna Sunday. Even though the ITAK leaders said that this is a routine invitation extended to party leaders in the island, they didn’t answer the question when in the past the ITAK had been invited or visited China. ITAK is the main component of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA). The Deccan College trained Dr. S.K. Sitrampalam, retired senior professor of Archaeology of the University of Jaffna, was widely appreciated by Eezham Tamils when he boldly countered the Indian Foreign Secretary Nirupama Menon Rao in Jaffna, last year.
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Appeal Court to review Fonseka writ petition

[TamilNet, Friday, 25 February 2011, 12:55 GMT]
Sri Lanka’s Court of Appeal (CA) Friday decided to conduct inquiry into the writ application by the former Commander of the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) despite the preliminary objection the Attorney General, legal sources in Colombo said. The Attorney General (AG) requested the court to dismiss the writ application without inquiry as the Supreme Court had determined that the court martial is also court under the constitution of Sri Lanka. Sarath Fonseka has filed the Writ Application in the Court of Appeal against unseating him from the parliament following the order of a Court Martial.
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Tamils say Sri Lanka's new envoy to Australia, a war-criminal

[TamilNet, Friday, 25 February 2011, 00:49 GMT]
Australian Tamils held a protest rally in front of the Parliament House, Canberra, Thursday urging the Australian Government to reject the nomination of retired Sri Lankan Navy Commander Admiral Thisara S.G. Samarasinghe as the new High Commissioner to Australia. The rally was jointly organised by two of the member organisations of Australasian Federation of Tamil Associations (AFTA), the Eelam Thamizh Association of Sydney and the Canberra Tamil Association. The protesters also demanded independent international investigations into war crimes committed in Sri Lanka during the last phases of war, and particularly the crimes of Dr Palitha Kohona, an Australian citizen and a current Sri Lanka diplomat at the UN.
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India hands over 16 Sinhala fishermen to SL Navy

[TamilNet, Friday, 25 February 2011, 00:11 GMT]
16 Sinhala fishermen from Puththa'lam who had been imprisoned by the Indian coast guard one month ago have been handed over to Sri Lanka Navy Wednesday. The move comes after the recent release of Tamil Nadu fishermen who were seized by the fishermen from Vadamaraadchi and Maathakal in Jaffna.
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TNA rejecting 13th Amendment is crucial to spirit of Tamil national polity: TNPF

[TamilNet, Thursday, 24 February 2011, 13:30 GMT]
Tamil National Peoples Front (TNPF) will boycott elections to Provincial Council, an outfit of the 13th Amendment that has to be rejected, said Mr. Gajendrakumar Ponnampalam, Vice President of TNPF in a press meet held in Jaffna Wednesday. The TNPF is prepared to work with TNA on this matter and discussions are already initiated. If there is any fear that undesirable elements may exploit the vacuum, both the TNA and TNPF could jointly field suitable candidates of reputation outside of the parties to meet the situation. But it is crucial that the TNA should reject the 13th Amendment to uphold Tamil national polity. Achieving acceptance to the nation of Eezham Tamils in the island is the aim of TNPF. Territory is fundamental to continuity of the nation and chauvinistic Sri Lanka is keen on Sinhala colonisation to destroy that continuity, Gajendrakumar further said.
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TNPF announces Central Committee, prepares party constitution

[TamilNet, Thursday, 24 February 2011, 13:24 GMT]
Popular Economics teacher Mr. Sinnadurai Varatharaja and former TNA parliamentarian Mr. Selvaraja Kajendran have been respectively announced as President and General Secretary of Tamil National People’s Front (TNPF), in a press meet held in Jaffna Wednesday by the TNPF. Former TNA parliamentarians, Mr. Gajendrakumar Ponnampalam and Ms. Padmini Sithambaranathan, as well as Mr. Visvalingam Manivannan, Mr. Rajakon Hariharan and Mr. R. E. Anandaraja have become Vice Presidents. Two nations in one country is the fundamental principle of the party and the constitution of the party would be announced within three months, the committee members said.
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Tamil Nadu needs non-political movement for Eezham liberation: Sathyaraj

[TamilNet, Thursday, 24 February 2011, 04:45 GMT]
Sathyaraj, a popular film actor from Tamil Nadu state of India, while addressing the gathering in Chennai on Monday on the occasion of paying tribute to the late Parvathi Amma, the mother of LTTE leader Pirapaharan, urged the leaders and activists supporting the Eezham cause to forge a non-political movement with the sole aim of taking forward the cause of Eezham Tamils. Calling the leaders and activists to put an end to rhetoric, the artist, who played the award-winning role of Periyar E.V. Ramasamy in the documentary film, Periyar, said the cause of Eezham Tamils is beyond any identity of sectarian politics, castes or groups in Tamil Nadu and addressed Pirapaharan as the leader of World Tamils.
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Remains of Parvathi Amma cremated amidst military harassment

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 22 February 2011, 14:10 GMT]
Braving harassments by occupying Sri Lankan military that has been forcing the people to remove black flags they had flown to mourn the late Parvathi Amma, people from various parts of the peninsula took part in the funeral procession Tuesday together with former and current parliamentarians representing Tamil National Alliance (TNA) and Tamil National Peoples Front (TNPF) Tuesday evening. Politicians and activists from Tamil Nadu and the diaspora addressed the mourners paying tribute through phone calls at Theeruvil grounds. Defying the order by SLA soldiers to remove the black flags, people of Vadamaraadchi closed their shops and flew black flags.
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SLA restricts movement of IDPs in Kodikaamam Camp

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 22 February 2011, 12:43 GMT]
The Sri Lanka Army has instructed outsiders to get prior permission from its sentry points to visit the uprooted civilians from Vanni staying in Kodikaamam Ramaavil IDP camp in Thenmaraadchi, Jaffna. The inmates who were earlier allowed to leave camps and work without any restriction, are from this week onwards have been instructed to register themselves with SLA sentry point, before leaving for work and after their return.
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Colombo deports Thirumavalavan, rejects participation in Parvathi Amma's funeral

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 22 February 2011, 10:01 GMT]
Indian parliamentarian Thol Thirumavalavan, the leader of Viduthalai Chiruththaikal Kadchi, was denied entry to the island Monday night when he arrived at Katunayake International Airport in Colombo to take part in the funeral of Parvathi Amma, the mother of LTTE leader Velupillai Pirapaharan. After being deported back to Chennai from Colombo airport, Mr. Thirumavalavan told media in Tamil Nadu that the deportation was an insult to the entire India and urged the governments of Tamil Nadu and India to condemn his deportation from Colombo.
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Hundreds of Eezham fishermen silently agitate before Indian mission in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Monday, 21 February 2011, 08:26 GMT]
Around 400 Eezham fishermen and their families from Maathakal in Jaffna, led by parish priest S.M.P Anandakumar, silently agitated in front of the Indian consulate at Kantharmadam in Jaffna, Monday morning, demanding security for them and assurance against poaching by Indian fishermen. Their mouths tied in black cloth they carried placards, damaged fishing nets and empty pots. There was a heavy presence of occupying SL military to provide security to the Indian mission. According to the fishermen, the Indian Consul General, Mr. Mahalingam dodged assurances when fishermen representatives met him some days ago. Since he secured the release of the poaching Indian trawlers and fishermen, he is also now responsible for stopping poaching and providing security in the seas to the affected Eezham fishermen, the agitators said.
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Bodhi-ma’luwa, Changku-maal, Aa’rukaal-madam

[TamilNet, Monday, 21 February 2011, 06:09 GMT]
The fig-tree terrace,
The shed or yard to keep dived conch shells,
The six-pillared resting-place

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Occupying SL military intimidates mourning for Parvathi Amma

[TamilNet, Sunday, 20 February 2011, 21:47 GMT]
Colonial military of Sri Lanka occupying Jaffna, intimidated people of Valveddiththu’rai on Sunday to remove the black flags displayed to mourn the demise of Parvathy Amma, 80-year-old mother of the LTTE leader Pirapaharan. Hundreds of SL military intelligence personnel in civil dress, deployed at Theeruvil grounds where the remains are kept for public homage, made the local people themselves to remove the flags of mourning. Angered by the SLA harassment, representatives of civil organizations in Valveddiththu'rai warned the military personnel of repercussions if they continued to harass the people, when the occupying soldiers were instructing the people to remove the name of Mr. Pirapaharan from posters paying tribute to Parvathi Amma. Colonial Colombo behaves the same way the British treated the Kandyan Sinhalese, commented a journalist in Jaffna.
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Jaffna mourns Parvathi Amma amidst SLA harassment

[TamilNet, Sunday, 20 February 2011, 07:52 GMT]
The people of Jaffna have flown black flags on Sunday, mourning the demise of 80-year-old Parvathi Amma (Vallipuram Parvathi), the mother of LTTE leader Velupillai Pirapaharan. Community organisations have flown their flags at half post amid harassments by the occupying Sri Lankan forces. The funeral of late Parvathi Amma is to take place at Valveddiththu'rai (VVT) Hindu Cremation Grounds on Tuesday. Born on 07 August, 1931, Parvathi Amma, resolved to stay with her people at her native village, after being denied entry to Tamil Nadu for medical treatment last year.
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British MPs urge UK to seek ‘robust and independent’ probe into Sri Lanka war crimes

[TamilNet, Saturday, 19 February 2011, 21:59 GMT]
Several dozen parliamentarians from Britain’s three main political parties have written to Prime Minister David Cameron urging an independent international investigation into war crimes in Sri Lanka. The petition, organised by the All-Party Parliamentary Group For Tamils (APPG-T), called for “Britain’s support for a robust and independent international investigation that would clarify what occurred during the conflict and offer the best hope of a sustainable peace in Sri Lanka.” The letter also referred to a similar call recently by several members of the US Congress.
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Tamil man from UK reported missing in Vavuniyaa

[TamilNet, Saturday, 19 February 2011, 12:34 GMT]
A 31-year-old Tamil man, who was visiting his family in Jaffna and was on his way to Colombo was reported missing in Vavuniyaa on 13 February 2011, sources in Colombo said adding that the relatives of the missing person have complained to Sri Lankan Police in Colombo.
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Milk production drops 50% as flood destroys cattle in Battlicaloa

[TamilNet, Saturday, 19 February 2011, 03:36 GMT]
Milk production in Batticaloa district dropped by more than 50% as nearly 250,000 cattle were killed and owners of at least 28 cattle farms in the Batticaloa District were directly affected by the recent two major floods in December last year and in January this year, according to District Animal Production and Health Assistant Director Dr. Mallika Amirthalingam. Livelihood of those involved in rearing catte has been badly affected by the floods, the official added.
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Indian fishermen released, Indian Consul-General intimidates Tamil judge in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Friday, 18 February 2011, 18:40 GMT]
Following an urgent ‘instruction’ from the Sri Lankan Chief Justice in Colombo, the Indian fishermen held in remand in Jaffna, were released Friday without any inquiries and were set free to leave the island in their trawlers that had been seized by the local fishermen. The move comes following an ‘instruction’ from the Indian Foreign Minister S.M.Krishna to his Sri Lankan counterpart, G.L.Peiris, on Thursday. Meanwhile, the Indian Consul-General in Jaffna Mr. Mahalingam has been blamed of intimidating a prominent Judge of Point Pedro Courts, Srinidhi Nanthasekaran, by visiting her residence and insisting her to release the Indian fishermen. Mrs. Nanthasekaran, who was earlier transferred away from Jaffna for her stern actions against the Sri Lankan military, during the war, came with hard remarks on the interference by the Indian Consul-General in the legal affairs in Jaffna.
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Seizure of Indian trawlers, a token action: fishermen representatives

[TamilNet, Friday, 18 February 2011, 00:15 GMT]
Around 500 Eezham Tamil fishing society representatives who gathered at Point Pedro in Vadamarradchi refused Thursday to hand over the poaching Indian trawlers, which they had seized from the intruding Indian fishermen on Tuesday. Declaring that their action against Indian poaching was a token one, the representatives urged immediate action from the Indian authorities. The fishermen representatives also refused to hand over the vessels to Sri Lankan military, urging the concerned authorities to resolve the dispute by civil means.
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SLA terrorizes TNA candidates in Vavuniyaa, Killinochi

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 16 February 2011, 02:10 GMT]
The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) has complained that Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers are threatening an intimidating TNA candidates contesting in the forthcoming local elections in the Vanni region. Jaffna district TNA parliamentarian Mr.S. Sritharan has accused the SLA soldiers of unleashing terror in the Vanni region creating fear psychosis among the TNA candidates. TNA parliamentarians Selvam Adaikalanathan and Sivasakthi Aanandan have also alleged that they are being intimidated by SLA soldiers and intelligence unit men against holding election meetings in Vavuniyaa.
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