'LLRC lessons advocate permanent subjugation of Tamils'

[TamilNet, Friday, 10 September 2010, 02:30 GMT]
LLRC, the Rajapaksa appointed Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission, is created “neither to learn lessons nor to reconcile but to make Tamils accept and tolerate the crime and cruelty of the Sinhalese and live with repression forever,” says a reader, Sam Thambipillai, in sending a comment on Jayantha Dhanapala’s submission to the LLRC. Colombo’s diplomat Jayantha Dhanapala, who once attempted to contest for the UN Secretary General position, in his submission to the LLRC last month said: “We have learnt a great deal of lessons from the experience of combating one of the most ruthless terrorist groups […] We would be providing something innovative to the international community […] to give some guidance to armies of nation states as to how they should react to such a situation”.
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SMS misstep reveals Colombo's information control

[TamilNet, Thursday, 09 September 2010, 02:12 GMT]
Sri Lanka government’s information department on Wednesday sent out a premature SMS (Short Message Service) alert to all mobile phone users in Sri Lanka, announcing that the 18th amendment to the constitution was passed in parliament with the government obtaining a two thirds majority for the bill. The SMS alert was sent 30 minutes before the bill was actually taken up in parliament for voting.
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'Colombo teaches lessons of political culture for South Asia'

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 08 September 2010, 14:22 GMT]
The 18th Constitutional Amendment was passed in Sri Lankan parliament Wednesday with a majority of 144 votes. The Amendment, which has been passed in a rush by the government without pubic debate enables Mahinda Rajapaksa to contest presidential election for any number of terms besides bestowing additional powers in the appointments of key government posts. What is happening to state and democracy in the island of Sri Lanka is a warning to people who are deceived in the ‘democratic’ practices of dynasties and families in the rest of South Asia, political observers said. Sometimes back, a key diplomat of a leading power, looking after South Asia, tolerantly sounded that family rule in the island is typical of contemporary political culture in the region.
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Debate on 18th amendment begins in Sri Lankan Parliament

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 08 September 2010, 07:53 GMT]
Sri Lanka’s seventy nine year-old Prime Minister D.M. Jayaratna tabled the 18th Amendment to the constitution in Parliament Wednesday morning. According to the 18th amendment, the restriction of the two term executive presidency system is to be removed allowing the incumbent president to contest any number of times.
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UNP MPs enter parliament clad in black

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 07 September 2010, 09:18 GMT]
Majority of parliamentarians of the main opposition United National Party (UNP) Tuesday afternoon entered the parliament clad in black as a mark of protest in opposition to the 18th amendment to the constitution. One dissident parliamentarian of the UNP Abdul Cader of Kandy district was present in the house in his usual attire and not in black.
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SLA Commander declines to comment on Jaffna GA’s announcement

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 07 September 2010, 05:30 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army (SLA) Commander Major Gen. Mahinda Kathurusinghe declined to endorse Jaffna Government Ms. Imelda Sukumar’s announcement that uprooted families from Valikaamam North SLA High Security Zone (HSZ) will be soon allowed resettlement in a recent meeting at Jaffna Veerasingham Hall, representatives of welfare organizations for uprooted families from Valikaamam North said. The GA is acting as if she is the spokesperson of Sri Lanka Defence Ministry, they accused. SLA Jaffna continues to deny permission for resettlement as Defence Secretary Gothabaya Rajapaksa is unyielding in his decision not to permit resettlement in Valikaamam North HSZ, they said.
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TNA to vote against 18th amendment

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 07 September 2010, 04:42 GMT]
The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) that has a parliamentary strength of fourteen members Monday decided to vote against the 18th amendment to the Constitution of Sri Lanka, according to Colombo media reports quoting TNA media spokesman and Jaffna district parliamentarian Suresh Premachandran.
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Pro-government left parties to vote for 18th amendment

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 07 September 2010, 04:37 GMT]
The Communist Party of Sri Lanka (CPSL), Lanka Sama Samaja Party (LSSP) and Nava Sama Samaja Party (NSSP), constituents of the ruling United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA), Monday decided to support the 18th amendment in parliament. CPSL is led by Minister D. E. W. Gunasekara, LSSP by Minister Tissa Vitharana and NSSP by Vasudeva Nanayakara.
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Sivathamby denies involvement in Tamil writers conference

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 07 September 2010, 02:19 GMT]
Veteran Eezham Tamil scholar Professor Karthigesu Sivathamby, Emeritus Professor of Tamil of the University of Jaffna, Sunday denied a report that he had been in the forefront in organizing the so-called 'World Tamil Writers Conference' in Colombo scheduled for January next year. His denial was carried in the Sunday edition of a leading Tamil weekly, Thinakkural, published from Colombo.
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'India should stop calling Eezham Tamils a minority'

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 07 September 2010, 00:30 GMT]
Eezham Tamils are a nation having historical sovereignty and territory in the island called Sri Lanka. Members of the Indian Establishment should stop humiliating them any further by calling them as ‘minority’. Tamil brethren of Tamil Nadu should be sensitive enough and stop such fundamentally faulty approaches and psyop war of the New Delhi-Chennai-Colombo axis on the historical nation of Eezham Tamils in the island. Edification of Chennai and New Delhi is basic to make the world see the crisis in realistic perspectives. Eezham Tamils, in their casual and social interaction should consciously stop using the recently invented name 'Sri' Lanka of genocidal connotations, when an official Tamil name Ilangkai and another ancient Tamil name Eezham are available to refer to the island, writes TamilNet political commentator in Colombo.
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All island District Government Agents conference in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Sunday, 05 September 2010, 15:27 GMT]
Sri Lanka Public Administration Affairs Ministry held its first all island District Government Agents conference in Jaffna Monday in District Secretaiat hall at 9:00 a.m presided by Sri Lanka Minister of Public Administration, John Seneviratne. Jaffna Government Agent Ms. Imelda Sukumar told Tamilnet that past development activities in the North and future devolpment projects were discussed in the meeting. Allocation of funds for various projects was also considered, the GA said.
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Boycott Colombo International Tamil Writers Conference - Tamil Nadu Creativists

[TamilNet, Sunday, 05 September 2010, 06:36 GMT]
The Association of Tamil Creativists in Tamil Nadu against the Colombo International Tamil Writers Conference to be held in Colombo from 5th to 8th January 2011 has appealed to all Tamil writers to boycott the Colombo conference in a message to media released Tuesday in Chennai. Several leading Tamil creativists including writers, artists, film industry persons and journalists who took part in the Tuesday press meet have signed the appeal.
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Police arrest 2 JVP members in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Saturday, 04 September 2010, 16:12 GMT]
Sri Lanka police in Jaffna arrested two members of Janatha Vimukthi Party (JVP) while they were putting up posters against the proposed 18th Constitutional Amendment at Hospital Road junction in Jaffna Saturday early morning, sources in Jaffna said. One of the men arrested is Veeraraj Lalithakumar who had contested as the chief candidate of Democratic National Party of Sarath Fonseka in Jaffna district in the last parliamentary election and lost. The police had removed all the posters pasted.
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Hard questions for India and Eezham Tamils

[TamilNet, Saturday, 04 September 2010, 06:33 GMT]
Nirupama Menon Rao expressed satisfaction at the progress in resettlement of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) and development activities of the North, said state-owned Colombo newspaper Daily News Thursday, titling the news as “Indian investment interest rising”. But, reporting on Nirupama’s visit, The Hindu on Friday titled the news “Political solution should be priority” and cited her saying to Colombo-based Indian journalists that “While the focus on development and rehabilitation is very welcome, a long term perspective that also includes the issues relating to the political settlement that would meet some of the needs of the minorities should also be kept in mind.”
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Opposition groups declare September 8 Black Day

[TamilNet, Saturday, 04 September 2010, 05:04 GMT]
Opposition parties’ Movement Against 18th Amendment stated that 8 September, the day Sri Lanka government tables the constitutional amendment bill in Parliament, has been declared a Black Day and that a protest demostration will be held at the Borella Ayurveda Junction in Colombo on the same day. The convener of the Movement described the amendment as “undemocratic” leading to dictatorship and said it should be defeated.
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No-confidence motion against SL Minister Peiris

[TamilNet, Saturday, 04 September 2010, 05:02 GMT]
The main opposition United National Party (UNP) Friday handed over a No-confidence motion to Speaker Chamal Rajapaksa against Sri Lanka External Affairs Minister G. L. Peiris charging him for the failure in handling international affairs.
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Ranil Wickremasinghe in India on official visit

[TamilNet, Friday, 03 September 2010, 09:02 GMT]
The leader of the main opposition United National Party (UNP) Ranil Wickremasinghe Thursday evening left for India on an official visit. He flew first to Chennai to meet Tamilnadu politicians soon after meeting the visiting Indian Foreign Secretary Ms Nirupama Rao in Colombo, sources in Colombo said.
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3 UNP MPs to support Rapajaksa's 18th Amendment

[TamilNet, Friday, 03 September 2010, 08:36 GMT]
Three parliamentarians from the main opposition United National Party (UNP) Friday announced in Colombo that they will support the proposed constitutional amendments. Badulla District Parliamentarian Lakshman Seneviratne and Polonnaruwa District Parliamentarian Earl Gunasekera made this announcement at a joint press conference. Meanwhile Galle District UNP MP Manusha Nanaykara also said he had decided to support the proposed constitutional amendment.
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SLA commander invites Indian Army commander to visit Sri Lanka

[TamilNet, Friday, 03 September 2010, 07:54 GMT]
Indian Army General Vijay Kumar Singh is scheduled to visit the island 05 September on a five day visit on invitation by Sri Lanka Army commander Lt. Gen. Jagath Jayasuriya.
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2 Eastern Province youths arrested in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Thursday, 02 September 2010, 18:53 GMT]
Sri Lanka Criminal Investigation Department (CID) special police from Colombo arrested two youths from Eastern Province Thursday in Nalloor in Jaffna claiming they were robbers, Jaffna police sources said. Jaffna magistrate directed the police to place the youths in remand in Jaffna Prison for two weeks when they were produced in the court by Jaffna police.
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