Unintended consequences and deeper dynamic of the IIFA in Colombo

[TamilNet, Friday, 04 June 2010, 00:24 GMT]
“The decision to hold this year’s International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) awards in Colombo was clearly a political, even geopolitical, calculation. Whereas the previous award ceremonies … were meant to bring India ‘to the world’, this year’s event was intended instead to bring the world to Sri Lanka – or, more precisely, to the Sinhala south. It has done that, but in ways unintended. …The clumsy rush to whitewash the regime in Colombo has thus, perversely, served to focus attention on, and further highlight, Sri Lanka’s grotesque past and present,” the Tamil Guardian newspaper said this week. “[Moreover] the hosting of IIFA event in Colombo is symbolic of a much deeper dynamic: … while the Sinhala south is showcased and touts for economic inflows, the Northeast is isolated, hidden and scorched. This is not a mere legacy of protracted war, but of a long institutionalised, racial logic.”
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Former SLA Commander to be appointed as Mullaiththeevu GA

[TamilNet, Thursday, 03 June 2010, 16:53 GMT]
One of the former Commanders of Sri Lanka Army (SLA), Major Gen. C. R. de Silva, is to be appointed as the new Government Agent (GA) to Mullaiththeevu district in Vanni, sources in Vavuniyaa said. Colombo government and SLA had already begun changing Mullaiththeevu district into a Sinhalese area by declaring it as Weli Oya district consisting of Pathaviyaa, Ma’nalaa’ru, parts of Vavuniniyaa North and Anuradhapura. The appointment of a former Sinhalese military commander to Mullaiththeevu district as GA is another calculated step in making Mullaiththeevu district a Sinhalese area, the sources added.
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Father of victim in Channel 4 photo identifies son as LTTE member

[TamilNet, Thursday, 03 June 2010, 16:15 GMT]
The father of a victim in the photos released by Channel- 4 in mid May identified one of them as his son as a member of Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), arrested by Sri Lanka Army (SLA) in Mu'l'livaaykkaal between 18 and 19 May 2009. The father told TamilNet that the LTTE combatants could not have been arrested in April 2009 as it was reported earlier as he had met his son on 11 May in 2009. A mother and her daughter have earlier identified another victim in the photo as 40-year-old Thuraichamy Harikrishanan, a native of Vavuniyaa, an ex-member of LTTE. Meanwhile, close relatives living in the diaspora of another LTTE member also claimed the same person as their relative. Efforts are under way to clarify the identity of the victim, a Tamil group working on genocide documentation told TamilNet Friday.
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Protests against controversial IIFA event draw attention on Tamil genocide

[TamilNet, Thursday, 03 June 2010, 01:15 GMT]
As protests gathered momentum in Tamil Nadu and Mumbai, with the support of South Indian Film Chamber of Commerce (SIFCC), against holding International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) Awards weekend in Colombo, big stars from the Indian film industry have decided to avoid participation, media reports from Mumbai said. Hindustan Times reported that the event was turning out to be IIFAs most controversial, even before it has been held. The protests in South India have also brought media attention in New Delhi. The NDTV has timed a documentary, titled ‘Blood on Water,’ accommodating Tamil perspectives and an Indian doctor who was part of an Indian paramedic team present in Vavuniyaa last year, during the final phase of the war in Vanni, has spoken out on the scale of the slaughter as "massive casualties" among the civilian population.
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Sri Lanka's politicization of judiciary complete, says AHRC

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 02 June 2010, 10:12 GMT]
Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC), a Hongkong-based rights watchdog, condemned Sri Lanka's president Rajapakse's "move to bring the Attorney General's Department, which is the department with the power of prosecution of all serious crimes, as well as the power of providing legal advice to the government, under the control of the president," and added that the "direct interference with the prosecution will "politicize" the function.
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Bishop's House appeals to Vatican to urge Colombo to renovate Vanni churches

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 01 June 2010, 16:49 GMT]
Jaffna Bishop House sent an appeal to the Holy See in Vatican to urge Sri Lanka government to renovate and restore the churches in Vanni destroyed or badly damaged during the war on Vanni, sources in Jaffna said. No one except Jaffna Bishop had been permitted by Sri Lanka Army (SLA) in Vanni to see the churches in Vanni after the war and Jaffna Bishop, Rt. Rev. Thomas Saundranayagam, had been greatly shocked and distressed to find the churches destroyed and plundered, Bishop House circles said. Meanwhile, Sri Lanka government has announced financial aid for renovating the churches in Vanni where people have been allowed to resettle.
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SLA hastens to destroy skeletal remains of victims killed in Vanni

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 01 June 2010, 16:18 GMT]
Following the disclosure of five male corpses in a toilet pit in Ki’linochchi Monday Sri Lanka Army (SLA) has ordered all skeletal remains of persons assassinated or killed in war lying visibly in Mullaiththeevu district in Vanni, an officer of a humanitarian de-mining organization who had personally seen some skeletal remains along the roads in Mullaiththeevu and the frantic efforts of SLA soldiers to burn them without any trace told TamilNet Tuesday. Colombo has sent in a team of Sinhalese officers from Vavuniyaa to survey the areas and evaluate the extent of de-mining that has to be done, with the assistance of SLA, sources in Vavuniyaa said.
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Big explosions heard in the outskirts of Palaali east HSZ

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 01 June 2010, 15:51 GMT]
Residents in Jaffna peninsula were shocked by the deafening explosions heard Monday evening intermittently for nearly an hour from the outskirts of Sri Lanka Army (SLA) High Security Zone (HSZ) in Palaali, sources in Jaffna said. An official of a de-mining organization said that the explosion could not be due to the destroying of landmines as it was generally rumoured because SLA has not permitted any de-mining in or near its HSZ in Palaali in Valikaamam.
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'Freedom Flotilla symbolises new dimension of humanitarian struggle'

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 01 June 2010, 12:48 GMT]
A project manager of the Vanni Mission ship of the Tamil diaspora has said the courage displayed by the organisers and activists of the Freedom Flotilla and the sacrifices made by the activists have brought a new dimension to the global humanitarian struggle, exclusively revealing to TamilNet how Tamil Nadu government was 'forced' to act in delivering the aid carried by the Tamil mission last year. S. Noel, the France based project manger of the Tamil diaspora project said humanitarian activists world over should not hesitate to initiate similar actions in future if the humanity is serious about changing the attitude of oppressors, who cause untold sufferings to innocent children in besieged situations of genocidal proportion, and urged Tamil diaspora to express solidarity with those affected in the tragedy.
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‘Era of impunity is over’, ICC to go beyond African cases – Ban Ki-Moon

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 01 June 2010, 08:48 GMT]
The United Nations Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon, has said with the establishment of the International Criminal Court (ICC), those who commit the worst human crimes will be held responsible. Speaking at the opening of the ICC review conference at Speke Resort Munyonyo Monday, Ki-moon said no government or justice system complicit in international crimes can shield criminals from justice. “Whether they are rank or military commanders, civil servants following orders, or top political leaders, they will be held to account,” he said, in comments published on Uganda’s ‘New Vision’ website. “The old era of impunity is over. In its place, slowly but surely, we are witnessing the birth of a new age of accountability.” The UN chief added that the ICC will soon be handling cases beyond Africa.
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SLA permits conditional worship in St. Mary’s Church in Valikaamam North HSZ

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 01 June 2010, 04:58 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army (SLA) authorities in Palaali Military Head Quarters Sunday handed over Oddakappulam St. Mary’s Church located within Valikaamam SLA High Security Zone (HSZ) to the parish priests of the church to conduct services. The permission is given on condition that the devotees should go through the SLA check post to the church in the morning and return in the evening while no one will be allowed to live permanently in the area. There were more SLA officers in the Sunday event held in the said church than civilians, one of the Catholic priests participant said.
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5 male corpses exhumed from toilet pit in Ki’linochchi

[TamilNet, Monday, 31 May 2010, 11:43 GMT]
Five male bodies estimated to be between 20 to 35 years of age, in highly decomposed state and packed securely in five separate bags were exhumed from the toilet pit of a house in Ka'neasapuram in Ki’linochchi under the supervision of Vavuniyaa Judicial Medical Officer (JMO) Dr. P. Sritharan and in the presence of Ki’linochchi magistrate Monday morning, sources in Ki’linochchi said. Some of the bodies had clothes with Tiger stripes, some in Lamb Black uniforms used by Sri Lanka Army (SLA) and some in ordinary civilian dress, the sources added.
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UN Rights chief renews call for Sri Lanka war-crimes probe

[TamilNet, Monday, 31 May 2010, 10:41 GMT]
The United Nations human rights chief, Navaneetham Pillay Monday reiterated her call for an "independent international probe" into Sri Lanka Government's final offensive against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam during the final months of the war in 2009. While noting the appointment of "post-war reconciliation commission" by Colombo, Navi Pillay said, "based on previous experience and new information, I remain convinced that such objectives [looking into alleged human rights violations, and provide justice to victims] would be better served by establishing an independent international accountability mechanism that would enjoy public confidence, both in Sri Lanka and elsewhere," AFP reported.
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3rd death anniversary of slain journalist Thevakumar observed in Moo’laay

[TamilNet, Sunday, 30 May 2010, 20:01 GMT]
Public organizations in Moo’laay in Jaffna observed Sunday the third death anniversary of Jaffna correspondent of Sakthi TV station, Paranirupasingam Thevakumar, 34, abducted while he was returning to his residence in Moo’laay and hacked to death in Kaakkaitheevu, a barren land near Naavaanthu’rai in Jaffna on 28 May 2008, in Ganesha Community Centre Hall in Moo’laay, sources in Jaffna said. Immediately after the killing, his wife in her statement to three Sinhalese journalists from Colombo had said that men of Eelam People’s Democratic Party (EPDP), a constituent of ruling United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA), were directly involved in her husband’s assassination.
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Corpses located in toilet pit in Ki’linochchi to be exhumed Monday

[TamilNet, Sunday, 30 May 2010, 16:01 GMT]
The plastic bags containing six corpses found dumped in a toilet pit of a house in Kaneasapuram in Ki’linochchi are to be dug out Monday in the presence of the Judicial Medical Officer (JMO) from Vavuniyaa Government Hospital, on the directive of Ki’linochchi magistrate who visited the site. Members of the family resettled in the said house in February had located Saturday dead bodies of massacred victims, buried inside their toilet pit. Ki’linochchi parliamentarian Sritharan who visited the house and saw the toilet pit said that the killings must have been a planned affair.
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Chandran Ratnam arrested for "possession" of explosives

[TamilNet, Sunday, 30 May 2010, 11:04 GMT]
A well known film producer and director of several films Chandran Ratnam was taken into custody by the Sri Lanka police Sunday on an allegation that he had been in possession of explosive materials in his former residence in Nugegoda, according to police media spokesman Preshantha Jayakody. In a recent video interview Chandran, who comes from a mixed parentage, explains that he is not averse to risk taking, and prides in the reconciliation theme he has advanced in his movies.
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Sinhala names given to junctions in Mullaiththeevu district by SLA

[TamilNet, Sunday, 30 May 2010, 09:59 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army (SLA) forces that occupy Vanni after the recent war have put up new name boards in Sinhala language only with new Sinhala names for many road junctions and streets in Mullaiththeevu district. SLA, besides erecting special camps and High Security Zones in strategic places in Mullaiththeevu, is engaged in changing the entire district like any other typical Sinhalese area in the country, sources in Vanni said. The photos here were taken a few weeks ago and the SLA soldiers posted at the junctions explained what the Sinhala names mean and why they had been chosen.
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Treaty discussion, reminder for appointing Sri Lanka War Crimes panel, says Boyle

[TamilNet, Saturday, 29 May 2010, 21:53 GMT]
While Secretary General Ban Ki Moon extolled the contributions of the UN's International Criminal Court (ICC) as an effective instrument to uphold peace, justice and human rights, in a Washington Post article, as UN's member nations convene Monday in Kampala to formally review the Rome Treaty, Professor Francis A. Boyle criticized Ban for delaying action on establishing accountability for Sri Lanka's "massacre of about 50,000 Tamils" and urged Ban to "immediately appoint the International War Crimes Committee for Sri Lanka that he had already promised to do several weeks ago."
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Records of persons fleeing Vanni destroyed by Special Action Committee of Basil Rajapakse

[TamilNet, Saturday, 29 May 2010, 19:51 GMT]
The Special Action Committee (SAC) of Basil Rajapakse, the brother of President Mahinda Rajapakse, the present Sri Lankan Economic Development Minister and the former senior advisor to the President during the war on Vanni, had ordered the records of all persons who fled Vanni at the end of the war to be destroyed so as to conceal the recorded particulars of more than 17,000 persons who were suspected as Liberation Tigers and who had later disappeared without any trace, an official of the Ministry of Disaster Management and Resettlement (MDMRS) said. Rizard Badudin who was then the minister of the above ministry is alleged to have functioned as a puppet in the hands of Basil Rajapakse in destroying the records, sources close to MDMRS officials who had recorded the details of persons fleeing Vanni said.
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Rajapaksa extremism cannot be changed: Lee Kuan Yew

[TamilNet, Saturday, 29 May 2010, 17:17 GMT]
Singapore's Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew, in a newly released book titled "Conversations with Lee Kuan Yew,' says that Tamils have been in the island of Sri Lanka as long as the Sinhalese, and that Sri Lanka is not a happy "united" country. The present president of Sri Lanka believes he has settled the problem now that the Tamil Tigers are killed, and wants others to believe that too," and Lee observes:"I don't think they [Tamils] are going to be submissive or go away." Referring to the Sri Lankan president he said: "I have read his speeches and I knew he was a Sinhala extremist. I cannot change his mind."
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