Jaffna Catholic organization urges Bishops to see illusion of development, reconciliation

[TamilNet, Sunday, 13 January 2013, 23:50 GMT]
The Commission for Justice and Peace of The Catholic Diocese of Jaffna urged the President and Members of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the island, who recently visited the North, to do justice to the existing realities by working for addressing them in the right direction. Cautioning against ideas of cosmetic development and “enforced rehabilitation” as solutions to the conflict, and listing out some of the fundamental and practical issues faced by the Tamil people, which might not have been “visible” to the Bishops during their short visit, the Catholic organization in its statement on Thursday said that “If the present situation continues we fear that it will be paving way for another cycle of violence. The country cannot afford to pay such a heavy price as in the past.”
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SLFP threatens Tamils filing cases against Sinhala land grab in Ki'linochchi

[TamilNet, Sunday, 13 January 2013, 23:12 GMT]
Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa's ruling Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) men in Ki'linochchi have been threatening the Tamil land owners who have been filing cases against the Sinhalese from South who have occupied their lands. The SLFP men are behind ‘providing’ lands to the family members of the Sri Lanka Army soldiers and other Sinhalese from South. At least 15 cases are pending the Ki'linochchi courts against illegal land grab of priviate lands by the Sinhala settlers from South, legal sources in Ki'lnochchi told TamilNet.
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SLA ex-officer testifies on orders to plant bomb at TNA MP's house in 2008

[TamilNet, Sunday, 13 January 2013, 20:27 GMT]
A former commissioned officer of the Sri Lanka Army (SLA), testifying to the Canadian Immigration officials after fleeing to Toronto from Sri Lanka, said that a Colonel of the SLA had ordered him to plant bomb materials in the home of Mr M K Sivajilingam, a Tamil National Alliance parliamentarian in 2008, reports a Canadian newspaper, the National Post, on Sunday. The revelation gains significance in the context of alleged ‘recovery’ of explosives at the office of a current TNA parliamentarian Mr S Sritharan last week.
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Nambiar, India's proxy in UN, complicit in white flag killings?

[TamilNet, Saturday, 12 January 2013, 23:55 GMT]
While the International Community which, blinded by the 9/11 terror, architected the annihilation of Tamils' primary safeguard, the LTTE, is left to savor the resulting horror state and the autocratic dystopia in Sri Lanka, Rights groups have accused the U.N. of being derelict in its duty to protect civilian lives. Vijay Nambiar, the Chef de Cabinet, who was a key official in shaping UN's Sri Lanka policy, is also accused of complicity in the "Whiteflag" incident where several surrendees were executed by the Sri Lanka military after being given assurances of safety by International actors. Nepotism and family connections between Ban Ki Moon and Nambiar, with personal links to India and Colombo, may also have contributed to the U.N.'s unwillingness to stop the Mu'l'livaaykkaal massacre, observers say.
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Colombo’s military establishment steps up psyop war on Eezham Tamils

[TamilNet, Saturday, 12 January 2013, 23:32 GMT]
The Sri Lankan “Terrorist” Investigation Department (SL-TID), which had summoned Mr Sivagnanam Sritharan, the Tamil parliamentarian from Ki’linochchi, to Colombo Police Headquarters in June 2012 to grill him on his interviews published in diaspora and Tamil Nadu media, was first looking to frame the parliamentarian as someone who had violated the 6th Amendment to the Sri Lankan Constitution. Three months later, the police bodyguards provided to him from the Ministerial Security Division were withdrawn by Colombo without any explanation. On Saturday, the SL-TID entered the office of Mr Sritharan alleging that they had information on explosives. Later, they “discovered” 300 grams explosives inside the kitchen allegedly after “planting” the evidence. Two of the TNA activists, working at Sritharan MPs office, were subjected to interrogations.
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SL “Terrorist” investigators allegedly plant bomb at TNA MP's office in Ki'linochchi

[TamilNet, Saturday, 12 January 2013, 12:32 GMT]
The Sri Lankan “Terrorist” Investigation Department (TID) personnel, who receive instructions from SL Defence Secretary and presidential sibling Gotabhaya Rajapaksa “recovered” C4 explosives from the office of the Tamil National Alliance parliamentarian Sritharan in a move to trap the Tamil parliamentarian, on Saturday, sources close to the TNA MP told TamilNet. The SL-TID operatives who came to the office with a TNA supporter who had campaigned for Sritharan during the election, planted the explosives inside the office and “discovered” them, the sources close to the Tamil parliamentarian alleged. The latest move by the TID, deployed in systematic campaign against the democratic voices of Eezham Tamils, only indicates the level of paranoia prevailing in the Colombo Establishment at the moment, the sources further said.
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SL military orders civil officials to supply residential information of Jaffna University students

[TamilNet, Friday, 11 January 2013, 23:06 GMT]
As an overwhelming majority of Jaffna University students, demanding release of the detained student leaders, are still boycotting classes despite SL military intimidation on University administration and the teachers to resume the classes, the officers of the occupying military stationed across Jaffna have instructed the Divisional Secretaries to gather residential details of Jaffna University students through Village (GS) Officers, civil sources in Jaffna said. There are also reports that the SL military was summoning students to nearby military camps and instructing them to attend the classes. Several students in Vadamaraadchi East have been taken to SL military camps and threatened against staying in their homes.
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‘Pro-SL UK parliamentarians stoop to mockery in shielding genocide’

[TamilNet, Friday, 11 January 2013, 19:16 GMT]
Commenting on some pro-Sri Lanka UK parliamentarians citing a naïve conversation of Sampanthan in their speech at the UK parliamentary debate on Sri Lanka on Tuesday in urging toleration towards the genocidal State, TCC-UK activist Mr Sasithar Maheswaran said that “The use of such twisted arguments to cover-up the worst genocide of the 21st century is a mockery not just of democratic traditions in the UK, but of humanity at large.” Describing the citation of the UK parliamentarians as a “below the belt tactic to divert attention from genocide,” when there is no other credible point, Sasithar, who is an elected representative of UK Tamils with the TGTE-Democrats further said, “Citizens of the UK, Tamil or otherwise, must be aware of such tendencies among certain politicians and the grave threat it holds for peace and justice in the world.”
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Colombo ignores flood affected Tamils in Trincomalee in providing relief

[TamilNet, Thursday, 10 January 2013, 23:24 GMT]
Colombo government has been ignoring to provide relief to people affected by the flood in Tamil District Secretariat divisions in Trincomalee district.Thirteen DS divisions have been affected by flood by rain and spill water from tanks. But flood relief and other assistance are being provided to people in Sinhala DS divisions Gomarankadawela, Padavi Siripura and Seruwila. No such relief has been provided to Tamils affected by flood in Moothoor East and those uprooted people from Champoor now being sheltered in temporary tents.
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Kurdish women activists, including PKK co-founder, assassinated in Paris

[TamilNet, Thursday, 10 January 2013, 15:26 GMT]
Sakine Cansiz, a founding member of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), was found shot dead along with two other Kurdish women activists in an execution style murder inside the Information Centre of Kurdistan, Paris in the early hours of Thursday. Sakine Cansiz, a senior female member and a former commander of the PKK, was a close ally of PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan who is in jail in Turkey. The killers have targeted Ms Cansiz at a time when negotiations were taking place between Turkey and PKK. Sources close to PKK leadership have ruled out allegations of internal dispute and said the execution style killings and the use of silenced weapons indicated that the killers were professional assassins. A similar assassination had been carried out on a key Eezham Tamil activist in Paris in November last year and the matter is yet to be resolved.
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Pro-Sri Lanka UK parliamentarians cite Sampanthan in debate

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 09 January 2013, 23:54 GMT]
The UK Parliament on Tuesday debated the question of participating the CHOGM meet in Hambantota in the island of Sri Lanka in November this year. Even as many voices among the parliamentarians urged the UK government to consider boycotting the CHOGM meet, there was however a section that argued for a conciliatory approach towards Colombo, despite the worst ever genocide of this century it committed and continues to commit against Eezham Tamils. This section cited the TNA leader Mr R Sampanthan in support of their argument. Obviously the intention of the pro-Sri Lanka section in citing Sampanthan was malicious, but Tamil politicians should take a note of it in guarding against providing undue space for adversaries through infirmity in political fundamentals, commented new generation political activists in the island.
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Kuruppu-mulla, Kochchi-kade

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 09 January 2013, 23:16 GMT]
The Kuruppu’s Corner
The Kochchi Bazzar
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Peace activist grilled by terrorism department in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 09 January 2013, 10:24 GMT]
Sri Lanka’s Terrorist Investigation Department (TID) grilled Rev. Fr. Praveen OMI, Director of the Centre for Peace and Reconciliation (CPR) in Jaffna, for 7 hours on Tuesday, news sources in Jaffna said. TID personnel who went to the office of the centre at No 8, Grousseault Road in Jaffna by 8.30 am, subjected the priest to intense investigation until 3.30 pm. The entire office was searched and files and documents were scrutinized. In addition, Fr. Praveen has been ordered to go to the ‘Fourth Floor’ (CID headquarters) for further investigations on Friday. The CPR, an organization affiliated to the Catholic Church in Jaffna was actively involved in dealing with cases of abductions and disappearances of people in Jaffna.
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‘Australia’s foreign policy on Sri Lanka greatest sell-out in its history’: Trevor Grant

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 09 January 2013, 00:38 GMT]
“The Gillard Labor Government has decided to dance cheek-to-cheek with a war criminal because it wants to stop Tamil refugees fleeing to Australia before this year's election,” veteran journalist Trevor Grant told TamilNet, dubbing Australian’s current foreign policy on Sri Lanka as “one of the greatest sell-outs by government in Australian history.” Responding to questions sent via mail, Mr. Grant, former chief sports writer at The Age with over 40 years of experience in journalism, further criticised Australia’s, particularly Foreign Minister Bob Carr’s support for the CHOGM conference in Sri Lanka. “I find it astounding that Australia is going to help Sri Lanka set up CHOGM,” he said, adding that Australia should be leading the boycott of CHOGM to be held in Sri Lanka. Criticising the LLRC as “Rajapaksa eyewash”, he opined Australia should help prosecute war criminals in Sri Lanka.
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Less than 50 out of 5000 attended Jaffna University on Tuesday

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 08 January 2013, 23:52 GMT]
In a meeting held on Monday at the Jaffna University by the Vice Chancellor Prof Vasanthi Arasaratnam, it was decided to resume classes on Tuesday, after much persuasion by the Rajapaksa-appointed Tamil VC that she would resign if the students were not agreeing for an immediate reopening. The SL Education Secretary has come out with an open threat that the government would close down the university for one year if it were not resuming. The student representatives under pressure agreed for the resumption, but students didn’t come on Tuesday. Only less than 50 students out of a 5000-strong student population were seen at the university. Most of them were emotionally unprepared while their activists are in detention and they were also scared about security in and around the campus, news sources in Jaffna said.
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Canadian minister cuts double image in Colombo

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 08 January 2013, 19:57 GMT]
Beginning a ministerial visit to Colombo since the Vanni War, the Canadian government once again prepares itself for climbing on the geostrategic bandwagon that detracts or deviates from delivering righteous solutions to genocide-afflicted Eezham Tamils, political observers in the island commented. They cited the double image cut by the visiting Canadian Minister portrayed in two separate news releases of the Canadian government: one denying the right to flee to the people subjected to genocide and the other showing concern to ‘human rights’ situation in the island, but both upholding integrity of the genocidal State. A different set of citations of the minister appeared in the SL government news release. The minister also cut a double image when media quoted him referring to “Sri Lankan immigrants” and “Tamil Canadians.”
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Documentary evidence on orders to teach Sinhala as second language surfaces

[TamilNet, Monday, 07 January 2013, 23:32 GMT]
Following decisions from the genocidal SL government in Colombo, the Zonal Director of Education in Ki'linochchi, Mr K Murukavel, has sent instructions to 103 Tamil schools in the four education circuits under him, asking the principals to commence teaching Sinhala as second language in grades 4 to 7 in the first phase and to proceed with the same to grades 8 and 9 in the second phase. The ‘language instructors’ are actually from the occupying SL military who come in military uniform to teach Sinhala language. The move breaches all norms of school education, teachers in Ki'linochchi said. In the schools of the island, English is the second language after mother tongue. Now the occupying military is teaching Sinhala as the second language to Tamil children.
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Jaffna University reopens at the height of intimidation

[TamilNet, Monday, 07 January 2013, 12:45 GMT]
Proving to the entire world, how a single mind as that of Gotabhaya Rajapaksa’s, suffering from paranoia related to power and genocide but unchecked by the world, could take a realm of institutions and people such as a university, vice chancellor, education secretary, Bishop, military commander, deans, professors and students for a ride, the Jaffna University reopens for classes on Tuesday, sources in Jaffna said. At a meeting held by the VC of Jaffna University on Monday, student representatives and the university community decided to resume classes from 08 January, after an SL government intimidation was conveyed to them that if classes were not resumed immediately, the university would be declared closed for a year and then even after a year resumption would be doubtful.
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CPI questions communist parties of Russia, China, Cuba, on Tamil issue

[TamilNet, Monday, 07 January 2013, 00:23 GMT]
What is the position of the Communist Party of Russian Federation (CRPF)? What is the position of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and what is the position of Cuba, asked Communist Party of India’s (CPI) National Secretary D. Raja, bringing the issue of international investigation on Sri Lanka at the round table of experts from different communist parties of the world held in Moscow last month. “You comrades have to reconsider your position and voice your concerns in favour of Tamil people in Sri Lanka,” Raja urged, expressing concern over the lack of understanding among the communist parties on the issue. In the contemporary history a massacre of people in such a scale happened nowhere. It was genocide of Tamils in Sri Lanka, Raja told the world communist parties.
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Batticaloa Bishop slams collaborators, Jaffna Bishop eulogises SL military

[TamilNet, Sunday, 06 January 2013, 20:36 GMT]
While the acts of Eddappans (traitors) betraying others for self-interest and contributing to violence are not going to end, we find even non-violent struggles demanding just rights being suppressed by military might. This has become the daily routine in Ilangkai. Authoritarianism is at its height here. Despite the development propaganda aimed at the outside world, freedom and human rights are yet to reach our people. The underlying factors [of the conflict] remain unresolved as ‘sleeping fire’, said the Bishop of Batticaloa, Rt Rev Joseph Ponnaiah in his New Year message in Tamil, broadcast by Vatican Radio on 30 December. Meanwhile, the Bishop of Jaffna addressing in English the Christmas Carol organized by the occupying SL military in Jaffna, was “grateful” to the SL government and military for “all the beautiful services they rendered to our people.”
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