Global consortium of Tamil corporates needed to address Eezham question

[TamilNet, Thursday, 15 April 2010, 09:35 GMT]
In the present world of corporate colonialism, the national question and the liberation of Eezham Tamils have to be negotiated with the international community in the language of the corporates. But the Tamil corporates, existing in Tamil Nadu and in the diaspora across the world, are yet to be awakened to the prospects of forming a consortium among them to deal with the situation in a concerted way for the mutual benefit of them and the Eezham Tamils. The potentiality of the Tamil corporate world and what it could achieve by coming together globally are still not realised due to lack of initiatives and lack of insight in Tamil political thinking.
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Diaspora and Tamil Nadu have to play their cards

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 13 April 2010, 10:51 GMT]
Diaspora's self-organised structures of experimental democracy polarising political will, is inspiration as well as fallback to the polity of the silenced people at home, writes TamilNet political commentator adding that diaspora Tamils have an immense responsibility in seeing right people come forward and right people elected to these bodies. On current geopolitical perspectives he writes: “The West and intelligence circles in India invariably acknowledge that much significance is attached to the role Tamil Nadu could play in the given scenario. But how effectively the people of Tamil Nadu are going to play their strength to achieve a decisive solution overpowering deceptions of detractors is the concern of Eezham Tamils.”
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Sri Lanka Boycott campaign buoyed by British MP's endorsement

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 13 April 2010, 00:02 GMT]
The Sri Lanka boycott campaigners staged co-ordinated rallies in US and UK cities Saturday and were enthused by the endorsement to their campaign by the British Member of Parliament, Siobhain McDonagh, who in her publicized video and urged consumers to step up pressure on the Sri Lanka Government by sustained economic boycott, US organizer of the boycott, Dr Ellyn Shander said. Boycott rallies were held in several cities in the U.S. and in U.K. "The campaigns in the future are likely to take the form of globally co-ordinated events to increase the effectiveness and to elicit wider publicity," Shander said.
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Army and Archaeology Department at work in Tamil homeland

[TamilNet, Saturday, 10 April 2010, 06:56 GMT]
If the fort of Jaffna which was the symbol of colonial and post-colonial oppression of Eezham Tamils, and which continues to be the seat of occupying forces of the Sinhala State, has to be preserved with the funds of the Netherlands government, why should the monuments built by Tamils in their own land, remembering their own struggle, have to be destroyed, asks an academic in Jaffna, responding to the destruction of the memorial for Thileepan who fasted unto death in the struggle against Indian imperialism at Nalloor.
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SL Foreign Minister loses election

[TamilNet, Friday, 09 April 2010, 23:58 GMT]
Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollagama, who was recently blamed for abusing his position by seeking a UN advisor job for his son has failed to secure parliamentary seat by preferential votes in the elections held on Thursday, media reports in Colombo said. SL Justice Minister Milinda Moragoda has also failed to secure a seat, the reports further said. Mr. Bogollagama has demanded a recount.
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Overwhelming Tamil majority rejects elections under Sri Lankan State

[TamilNet, Friday, 09 April 2010, 11:04 GMT]
A record number of candidates, numbering more than 1800 contested for the parliamentary seats in the North and East, but Eezham Tamils responded to it by a record low in participation. The turnout was only 18 percent in the North. Even after including the displaced it is only 23%. The clear verdict of Eezham Tamils, said in the most profound democratic way under circumstances possible, is that they have no confidence in democracy under Sri Lankan State. Another interesting observation is that in the entire Jaffna district, the leading Tamil National Alliance (TNA) totally polled just 65,119, only as much as the 64,256 votes cast in favour of Vaddukkoaddai Resolution by the diaspora in UK alone. The silent but vast majority of Eezham Tamils at home demand new genre of political organisation and leadership is the message of Thursday's polls.
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Lowest number of votes registered in Jaffna electoral district

[TamilNet, Thursday, 08 April 2010, 18:31 GMT]
Only 18 to 20 percent of the voters in Jaffna electoral district cast their votes in the parliamentary elections Thursday recording the lowest in island, while the voting percentage in the whole country was from 52 to 55 percent, according to Election Monitoring Agencies. Jaffna electoral district, compared to other electoral districts, recorded the lowest turn over of voters where voting percentage in Thenmaraadchi was higher than that of Vadamaraadchi while voting was very low in the islets of Jaffna, the sources said. Compared to the recent presidential election where the voting was low the voting turn out was even less in the parliamentary election in Jaffna electoral district.
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Self-organised democracy of Tamils receives global attention

[TamilNet, Thursday, 08 April 2010, 09:59 GMT]
The Tamil community in Australia is trying to test its aspirations of its people through a referendum of its own while Sri Lanka goes for parliamentary elections, reported Australia Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) Wednesday about a referendum on independent Tamil state organised by Australian Tamils on April 17th and 18th. "This ballot has nothing to do with the parliamentary elections held this week in Sri Lanka. This is a referendum to test the will of the Tamil diaspora," Liam Cochrane of the ABC reported. "Self-organised democracy, the most meaningful of all democracies, has become the need of the times for Eezham Tamils, who are cornered for subjugation, not only militarily, but also through imposed elections in the island," TamilNet correspondent in Australia cited the mood of the diaspora.
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SL parliamentary election: low turnout in morning

[TamilNet, Thursday, 08 April 2010, 08:42 GMT]
Polling began Thursday morning to elected a 196 member parliament but a poor turnout was reported from many parts of the country, according to monitoring and observers group. The turnout was about 25 to 30 percent by about noon, monitoring sources said.
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High ranking Tiger officials in SLA custody feared assassinated

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 06 April 2010, 15:39 GMT]
Basil Rajapakse, senior advisor of Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse and his brother said Monday in Colombo that if the name of anyone not found in the list of 11,000 persons held in the rehabilitation camps for Liberation Tigers, published in government websites they could be considered no longer living, in a conference he held with the Non-government Organizations now functioning in Vanni. In response to a question raised by HUDEC Caritas representative on the situation of the persons gone missing and arrested during the final stage of the war on Vanni Basil Rajapakse referred to the list of 11,000 persons held in the rehabilitation camps but failed to mention the websites he referred to, an NGO representative who attended the conference said.
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Police forcibly remove fasting monks demanding release of Fonseka

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 06 April 2010, 03:44 GMT]
A group of police men in civil Monday evening forcibly removed some Buddhist monks who were fasting unto death in front of Colombo Fort demanding the release of General Sarath Fonseka. Several Buddhist monks joined the fast which commenced last Saturday.
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USA aids, awards Colombo supplier

[TamilNet, Monday, 05 April 2010, 22:56 GMT]
A Colombo-based supplier of horticultural produce to McDonalds, Burger King, Unilever, Heinz and also to Japan has been provided with US aid since 2008 to initiate its activities in the Eastern Province. Mr. Mohan Pandithage, chairman of the supplier group, Hayleys, a Multi National Corporate (MNC) of Sri Lanka, received an award from USAID for the achievement of economically linking conflict-affected East with the Colombo-centric system and through that with the other multinational corporates. While Eezham Tamils were butchered, starving, suffering from acute malnutrition, deprived of their land and were incarcerated, sections of their cultivable lands were producing gherkins, jalapeno, peppers and pineapples to MNCs under the programme of the USA, commented a university academic of the East.
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Elections for ‘Asian’ model of dictatorship

[TamilNet, Sunday, 04 April 2010, 10:27 GMT]
Even though the present elections are imposed ones and are deviation tactics of the oppressors, if it is properly understood where the game is heading for, Eezham Tamils will know to whom should they vote to keep their aspirations alive. Despite all odds, the TNA line of politics has to be challenged by the Tamil national cause, at least in some token constituencies, to send the message loud and clear to India and to the outside world. Such a challenge only can be the inspiration for Tamils to eventually evolve the much needed new genre of polity of their own to meet the local and global scenario and once again, such a challenge only can nullify forces conspiring to divide Eezham Tamils in the diaspora and at home, writes TamilNet political commentator in Colombo.
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Buddhist monk begins fast unto death demanding release of Fonseka

[TamilNet, Saturday, 03 April 2010, 09:06 GMT]
A Buddhist monk affiliated to the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) launched a fast unto death campaign Saturday morning opposite Fort railway station in Colombo demanding early release of Retd. Gen. Sarath Fonseka who was taken into custody following the presidential election held on January 26. He was defeated by the incumbent President Mahinda Rajapakse in the election.
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Colombo UNP candidate arrested on sexual abuse complaint

[TamilNet, Friday, 02 April 2010, 11:49 GMT]
The Colombo Police Friday morning arrested a UNP Colombo district candidate, Susil Kindelpitiya, over a complaint lodged by a woman last night alleging sexual abuse and harassment, Police spokesman S.P Jayakody told Colombo media.
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Douglas Devananda intimidates Yarl Thinakural editor, manager in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Thursday, 01 April 2010, 06:50 GMT]
Douglas Devananda, a minister in Mahinda Rajapaksa's cabinet and the leader of the paramilitary-cum-political party Eelam People’s Democratic Party (EPDP), has publicly warned the editor of Yarl Thinakural K. Vamathevan and its administrative manager A. Nadarajah for having published front page news on the attack on Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) candidate Ankajan, stating that the reporting has negatively affected election propaganda for his party besides damaging his reputation. Douglas Devananda openly threatened that Vamathevan and Nadarajah will not be able to go for work Friday if they fail to apologize to him at a press meet he held for the local media in Jaffna Srithar Theatre Thursday morning. The open threat by Devananda to the lives of the news editor and the reputed manager of the Jaffna daily has created fear and panic among the media persons in Jaffna peninsula.
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2 suspects produced in court over journalist Lasantha killing

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 30 March 2010, 17:21 GMT]
Terrorism Investigation Division (TID) officials Tuesday produced two suspects allegedly involved in the killing of Sunday Leader founder editor Lasantha Wickremathunge and the alleged abduction and attacks of Rivira Editor Upali Tennakoon and Deputy Editor of the English weekly Nation Keith Noyhar, in the Colombo additional Magistrate court. The additional Magistrate Sujeeva Nissanka ordered continuous detention of the suspects under the detention order issued by the Ministry of Defence, legal sources said.
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Why welcome and caution to Transnational Government

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 30 March 2010, 07:09 GMT]
Many Eezham Tamils are elated at the idea of Transnational Government of Tamil Eelam. But it seems the concept has been hijacked at the outset itself to turn it into another CEO of corporate colonialism. TamilNet, which was advocating for Transnational Government even before the pronouncement of the present move, will not advise Eezham Tamils to abandon the move. Rather, the diaspora has to face the elections just like people at home face a series of imposed elections. The diaspora is free and better disposed in identifying elements that should be kept at a distance and in electing right candidates to bring in the necessary course correction in the outlook of the Transnational Government. In the meantime, moves for grass root political organizations in the diaspora should proceed unabated, because they are going to be the real fallback for the independent polity of Eezham Tamils.
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Appoint Prof. Boyle to UN advisory panel, Tamil Groups urge Ban Ki Moon

[TamilNet, Sunday, 28 March 2010, 22:56 GMT]
Key expatriate Tamil organizations, the US-based Tamil Political Action Council (USTPAC), and Global Tamil Forum (GTF), in a press release issued Sunday following the announcement by UN Secretary General to appoint an advisory panel on Sri Lanka's war-crime issues, said "[w]e appeal to the Secretary General, that in the interests of fairness to the victims that the Secretary General consults the Tamils also in appointing the advisory panel," adding, "the USTPAC and the Global Tamil Forum strongly recommend Professor Francis A. Boyle to the advisory panel."
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Dengue claims 63 in first three months, 16 in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Sunday, 28 March 2010, 18:15 GMT]
More than eleven thousand people had been inflicted with dengue fever between 1st January and 25th March this year, and more than 63 have been reported dead. The Jaffna district reordered sixteen deaths, highest in Sri Lanka, and second is Colombo with thirteen deaths. The rest of the death occurred in Gampaha, Kandy, Matara and Negombo, according to the Dengue Task Force meeting held at Health Ministry Friday.
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