Rajapaksa to visit Ukraine

[TamilNet, Monday, 21 June 2010, 03:18 GMT]
Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa is expected to make an official visit to Ukraine before the end of June, according to media reports from Colombo. Military co-operation between Sri Lanka and Ukraine will be among subjects he will discuss with Ukrainian leaders, according to these reports.
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Japan backs UN war crimes probe into Sri Lanka war

[TamilNet, Sunday, 20 June 2010, 18:28 GMT]
Japan is backing efforts by the United Nations to investigate war crimes committed in Sri Lanka during the final months of the island’s war, Tokyo’s visiting envoy, Mr. Yasushi Akashi, said Sunday. Amid Sri Lanka’s vehement rejection of any international scrutiny into the conduct of its armed forces, two days ago, Mr. Akashi had seemed to imply his government was supporting Colombo when he told reporters "It is up to the Sri Lankan government to define the precise role [of an inquiry]”. However, speaking on Sunday Mr. Akashi endorsed a UN probe and suggested Colombo was not heeding his advice towards a proper accounting of the war.
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Alston assails Sri Lanka's "Reconciliation" commission

[TamilNet, Sunday, 20 June 2010, 16:25 GMT]
United Nation's Special Rapporteur on Extra-judicial Executions, Philip Alston, in an interview Colombo weekly dismisses Sri Lanka's local commission as ineffective without a mandate to probe war crimes, questions the independence of the same commission pointing to the past dismal performance of its Chairman, Chitta Ranjan de Silva, and cautions that "detailed and deeply troubling allegations won’t magically disappear." He adds, "the very idea that any Sri Lankan could acknowledge that war crimes might have been committed, despite the fact that they have been reported by a wide range of other sources, is treated as a hanging offence," means that this "approach does not bode well for the prospect of a genuine national inquiry into war crimes any time soon."
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Tissainayagam arrives in US

[TamilNet, Sunday, 20 June 2010, 13:44 GMT]
Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) said Saturday, jailed Senior Tamil journalist, Jayaprakash Sittampalam Tissainayagam, arrived at Washington’s Dulles International Airport on Saturday morning where he was met there by friends. According to CPJ representative Kamel Labidi, who was on hand to meet Tissa, “He was all smiles, and said to thank everyone who helped him gain his freedom,” CPJ website said.
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Venezuela and the 'law of the fishes’

[TamilNet, Sunday, 20 June 2010, 00:18 GMT]
"Instead of making connections with the illegitimate opposition of Sri Lanka, Venezuela should be strengthening the hand of an ally that is also suffering imperial aggressions," says Eva Golinger, a friend of the President of Venezuela and English editor of the Venezuela government newspaper Correo del Orinoco. Writing a feature of factual and perceptual errors, Golinger says, Rajapaksa who is supported by left and communist parties put an end to the LTTE that has strong ties with the CIA. Tamil circles don’t believe that the reputed left-wing writer failed to do her homework on Sri Lanka or on the Eezham Tamil struggle. Instead, they think that in a world where the villains and the heroes are together nowadays, some forces are working on luring Latin America to enter into South Asia from the wrong direction, hanging onto the deceptive red shawl of Rajapaksa soaked in genocidal blood.
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Sri Lanka stands by its dud commission, UN interested in its progress

[TamilNet, Saturday, 19 June 2010, 02:12 GMT]
When United Nation's Under Secretary General for Political Affairs Lynn Pascoe announced Thursday the imminent appointment of advisory panel to advise Ban Ki Moon on the alleged war crimes committed in Sri Lanka during the last stages of the war, Colombo toned down its rhetoric with Media Minister pontificating, "it is best to allow the locally appointed commission to do its work prior to involving international actors or taking further unwarranted actions." Pascoe, while asserting that Sri Lanka's President has assured him that the local "reconciliation panel" will be "credible and accountable," said "[w]e will be interested in its progress."
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Akashi visits Ki’linochchi for the first time after war

[TamilNet, Friday, 18 June 2010, 19:06 GMT]
Yasushi Akashi, the special envoy appointed by Japan during the Norwegian facilitated negotiations between the Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL) and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), accompanied by Basil Rajapaksa, handed over agricultural implements to some of the resettled Vanni civilians Friday in an event held in Ki’linochchi town. Yasushi Akashi who had held talks with the LTTE in Ki’linochchi was visiting the town for the first time after Sri Lankan military occupied the entire Vanni.
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Sinhalese undergrads demanding 'victory' money assault Tamil students in Batticaloa

[TamilNet, Friday, 18 June 2010, 16:10 GMT]
Some second year Sinhalese undergrads in Eastern University in Vanthaa’rumoolai, under the influence of liquor, assaulted first year Tamil students Wednesday night in their hostel for not contributing money to celebrate the ‘Victory Day’ that Sri Lanka Army (SLA) was to Celebrate in Colombo Thursday. On learning this, third and final year Tamil undergrads had joined together and attacked the Sinhalese students. The situation, however, was brought under control by Vice-chancellor S. Premkumar who intervened.
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‘Biggest betrayal and greatest tamasha’

[TamilNet, Friday, 18 June 2010, 11:53 GMT]
Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa who presided over 'Victory Day' celebrations in Colombo on Friday, marking one-year of the victory by the Sri Lankan forces in their war against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, described the attempts to bring disrepute to the armed forces by saying that they shot at ‘terrorist leaders who came carrying white flags,’ as biggest betrayal. Mr. Mahinda Rajapaksa, who is also the Commander-in-Chief of the Sri Lankan armed forces, came with the greatest tamasha of his career so far by saying that his troops went to battle carrying a gun in one hand and the Declaration of Human Rights in the other. The Sri Lankan President also came with a warning aiming at diaspora Tamils: “What those from abroad who seek to strengthen separatism are really doing is, to once again corral the people of the north into camps.”
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Ban Ki-moon to appoint Expert Panel next week - UN Political Under Secretary

[TamilNet, Thursday, 17 June 2010, 17:21 GMT]
United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon is expected to appoint a panel of experts to advise him on accountability issues related to Sri Lanka next week, said UN Under Secretary General for Political Affairs, Lyn Pascoe said at a media briefing held Thursday evening in Colombo. He added that a report on Sri Lanka will be handed over to UN Secretary General next week. The expert panel will be appointed only to brief UN Secretary General and it would also be available as a resource that the Sri Lankans can turn to if they wish.
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India was not happy about Norwegian peace: Prof Shanmugaratnam

[TamilNet, Thursday, 17 June 2010, 10:40 GMT]
India was not happy about Norway being given a role in peace brokering in Sri Lanka. Japan was keen to be the broker, but India was more against Japan than Norway, said Dr. N. Shanmugaratnam, Professor of Development Studies and Head of Research of the Norwegian University of Life Sciences, while addressing a session on the failed peace process and Norway’s role in Sri Lanka, at a conference held in Nansen Peace Centre in Norway last Friday. The Norwegian Tamil academic also said that in his view the key challenges to the peace process were internal than international and the internal has always been decisive. Post mortem of the peace process has become a hot topic in Norwegian circles nowadays since the failed envoys of Sri Lankan process have embarked upon fresh peace initiatives elsewhere.
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6 new political parties apply for registration

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 16 June 2010, 14:44 GMT]
Six new political parties have applied to the Commissioner of Elections for registration. They are waiting for the return of the Election Commissioner Dayananda Dissanayake who is on vacation overseas following the two major elections, presidential and general elections earlier this year, sources in Colombo said.
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Dengue death tolls reach 104 in five months

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 16 June 2010, 14:00 GMT]
The number of deaths related to dengue in the island has increased to 104 till the end of May and the number of dengue affected persons warded in hospitals has increased to 16,341. 120 dengue cases have been reported during the last week alone. Sri Lankan Health Department sources said the highest number of 2,118 dengue cases was reported from the Jaffna District followed by the Colombo District with 2,070 cases.
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UN Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs visits Vanni

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 16 June 2010, 12:12 GMT]
The United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs B. Lynn Pascoe, who arrived Wednesday morning Colombo on a two day visit, left to Mullaiththeevu on an inspection tour, sources in Colombo said citing Sri Lankan External Affairs ministry officials. Prior to leaving to Mullaiththeevu Mr. Pascoe met G.L. Peiris, the Sri Lankan foreign minister. The visit by Lynn Pascoe takes place after Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa visited India and the arrival of top officials and envoys from the USA and Japan.
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German Ambassador on sudden visit to Jaffna

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 15 June 2010, 17:05 GMT]
German Ambassador to Sri Lanka, Mr. Jens Ploetner, whose visit to Jaffna Monday was suddenly cancelled due to undisclosed reasons, however made a sudden visit to Jaffna Tuesday, sources in Jaffna said. The ambassador took part in an event in Chaavakachcheari Hindu College Tuesday to which he was invited as the chief guest by the alumni of the college. Meanwhile, German Embassy in Colombo had announced the ‘German Week in Jaffna – 2010’ which was to take place from 14th June to 18th June at the Centre for Performing Arts in Jaffna. This event was cancelled at the last moment, the sources added.
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Colombo's 'Victory Parade' to be held every year

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 15 June 2010, 16:21 GMT]
The Government of Sri Lanka announced Tuesday that the 'Victory Parade' commemorating the victory over Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in the three decade old war will be held every year. In this year first Victory Parade that is scheduled to be held Friday at Galle Face Green about nine thousand security personnel from the Sri Lanka Army (SLA), Sri Lanka Navy (SLN) and Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) who took part in the last leg of the war against LTTE would participate, military spokesman Major General Prasad Samarasinghe said at a media briefing held Tuesday.
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Obama's Genocide Expert meets Mahinda Rajapaksa

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 15 June 2010, 13:58 GMT]
Samantha Power, Director of Multilateral Affairs and Human Rights of the National Security Council in the Obama administration, David Pressman, Director for war crimes atrocities and civilian protection of the US National Security Council, and Ms. Patricia A Butenis Ambassador of the US Embassy in Sri Lanka met with Sri Lanka’s President Mahinda Rajapakse Tuesday, reports from Colombo said. “The meeting was cordial and friendly and both sides discussed matters of mutual interest,” Daily mirror said quoting statement from Sri Lanka President’s office.
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Genocidal Colombo gets unlimited chances from US, India

[TamilNet, Monday, 14 June 2010, 23:38 GMT]
"The US and India have a very similar view of the situation in Sri Lanka and the steps that need to be taken,” said US Asst Secretary of State Robert Blake Monday to rediff.com, acknowledging, "We have worked very closely throughout the last several years on the situation in Sri Lanka, and again we have a real convergence of view on how that situation has evolved." Commenting, Tamil circles said the US policy compelled by the geopolitics of the Afghan war is tagged with New Delhi’s perception of the crisis in the island and unless the diaspora and the people of Tamil Nadu are not vigilant Colombo is likely to be encouraged with chances after chances to blunt the national struggle of Eezham Tamils and to complete the genocide. Tamil circles anticipate a long orchestrated plan soon unfolding to hoodwink their national cause as well as to make them economic slaves in their own land.
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Don’t trade Tamils’ political aspirations for mere concessions: Tamil academics

[TamilNet, Monday, 14 June 2010, 15:30 GMT]
The Tamil parliamentarians, during this period after war, should not give up the political aspirations of Tamils merely for concessions but should act independently to win the lost rights of Tamils, said a resolution passed in a meeting held Sunday in Colpetty in Colombo, arranged by Tamil academics, sources in Colombo said. Many who participated in the discussion expressed their discontent over the current political activities of the Tamil MPs and emphasized the need for them to observe the calculated moves of the government to settle Sinhalese in the North and East and to engage themselves to counter them. It was stressed that the Tamil parliamentarians should demand a just and honorable solution for the ethnic issue.
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Japanese envoy Akashi to visit Sri Lanka

[TamilNet, Monday, 14 June 2010, 13:54 GMT]
Yasushi Akashi, the special envoy appointed by Japan during the Norwegian facilitated negotiations between the Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL) and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), is to commence a five day visit to the island of Sri Lanka on Tuesday June 15. Japan was the largest donor besides Europe and the United States, before Rajapaksa government turned towards China, India and Iran in its war against Tamils. Japan, together with the USA, the EU and Norway constituted the Tokyo Co-Chairs, which formally represented the role of the 'International Community' in the disastrous peace process that altered the balance of power in favour of Colombo, enabling the Sri Lankan state to wage a genocidal war on Tamils.
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