France to setup Genocide, War Crimes court

[TamilNet, Sunday, 10 January 2010, 11:23 GMT]
The French government announced Wednesday that it will set up a special judicial unit to investigate and bring charges against people accused of genocide, war crimes or crimes against humanity in France or abroad, the Washington Post reported. The move is likely to create tension between the French Government and other Governments, such as Sri Lanka, which are alleged to have participated in war crimes and/or genocide, legal sources in Washington said.
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Basil Rajapakse announces election concessions in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Thursday, 07 January 2010, 03:39 GMT]
Basil Rajapakse, the brother and senior advisor of President Mahinda Rajapakse, who arrived in Jaffna Wednesday, announced several concessions in an attempt to get Tamils to vote for Mahinda Rajapakse in the forthcoming presidential election. The concessions are being promised to counter the rising wave of support in the peninsula for the joint opposition candidate General (retd) Sarath Fonseka, political observers in Jaffna said. One of the concessions announced by Basil Rajapakse is the opening of A9 route, 24 hours a day, with effect from Wednesday midnight, sources in Jaffna said.
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Sampanthan: Majority of TNA MPs back Fonseka

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 06 January 2010, 15:27 GMT]
Tamil National Alliance (TNA) Parliamentary group leader and Trincomalee district MP Rajavarothayam Sampanthan on Wednesday said majority of 18 members of the alliance who were present at lengthy deliberations were of the view that the "only meaningful way" to thwart the desire of the Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa to seek a mandate to hold office for a further term would be urging the Tamils to vote for the joint opposition candidate General (retd.) Sarath Fonseka. The announcement by Mr. Sampanthan comes amid strong opposition from the Tamil diaspora against supporting either General Sarath Fonseka or Mahinda Rajapaksa as Tamils believe they are both implicated in war crimes and crimes against humanity.
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Plunder for business, double enterprise of Sri Lanka Army

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 05 January 2010, 16:25 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army deployed in Mullaiththeevu has started dismantling and destroying the houses belonging to the Tamils, an eye-witness who recently visited Ki'linochchi and Mullaiththeevu districts told TamilNet Tuesday. The SLA soldiers were seen shifting valuable timber used in buildings, windows and doors to other Sinhalese areas through Weli-ioya.
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"I will not accept partition of the country" - Sarath Fonseka, in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Sunday, 03 January 2010, 04:25 GMT]
"I am not prepared to allow partitioning the country, be it proposed by the minority or majority community," Sarath Fonseka, the common opposition presidential candidate, said in a press meet held Saturday in Jaffna town. In response to a question Sarath Fonseka took pains to explain the difference between the role he had to play as a military officer in the past and his present role as a politician. He had to give priority to the safety of soldiers as the Military Commander and now as a politician he gives priority to the benefit of people, he added.
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Fourth Anniversary of Trinco Students' extra-judicial killings

[TamilNet, Saturday, 02 January 2010, 19:35 GMT]
Dr Kasippillai Manoharan, the father of high school student Ragihar who with four of his friends were extra-judicially executed in what is widely believed to be pre-meditated killings by Sri Lanka military, told TamilNet today, at the fourth anniversary of the killings, that there is not even an iota of chance that he would receive justice from the Sri Lanka court system for his son's death, and that he is working with a select group of international organizations to bring war-crime charges against the culpable Sri Lanka military officials. Dr Manoharan who, with the surviving members of his family, was relocated to UK with the assistance of a UN organization, said that he will not rest until his son's killers are prosecuted in an international court of law.
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Sarath Fonseka visits Jaffna seeking Tamils' votes

[TamilNet, Saturday, 02 January 2010, 10:24 GMT]
Main opposition presidential candidate and former Chief of Sri Lanka Armed Forces and Sri Lanka Army (SLA) Jaffna Commander, Major General (retd) Sarath Fonseka arrived in Jaffna Saturday morning accompanied by the Leader of Opposition, Ranil Wickremasainghe, Parliamentarians Mano Ganeshan, Jayalath Jayawardene, JVP Samaraweera Amarasinghe, Anurakumara Disanayake, Hakeem and several other political personalities to engage in election campaign in Jaffna peninsula. Sarath Fonseka and his team made it a point to first visit Saiva temples in the peninsula before meeting the public and other important persons. Sarath Fonseka and his associates also visited Jaffna Bishop, Rt. Rev. Thomas Soundaranayagam at his residence where they spoke with the representatives of civil organizations in the peninsula, sources in Jaffna said.
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Tamils, Muslims should reject both Mahinda and Sarath - Wickremabahu Karunaratne

[TamilNet, Saturday, 02 January 2010, 04:37 GMT]
Tamils and Muslims should not cast their votes either to Mahinda Rajapakse or Sarath Fonseka in the presidential election so that niether of them poll more than 50% of the votes cast, as a clear message to both, Dr. Wickremabahu Karunaratne, leader of the New Left Front (NLF), contesting the forthcoming presidential election said in a press meet held Friday in Jaffna Bastian Hotel. The defeat of Liberation Tigers has also affected the lives of the poor among the Sinhalese, he said.
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Tamil political parties should unite to find a decision in facing presidential election - JUSU

[TamilNet, Thursday, 31 December 2009, 03:54 GMT]
Jaffna University Student Union (JUSU), in a press report Wednesday, said that all Tamil factions should forget their political differences to arrive at a united decision in regard to the forthcoming presidential election. Decisions spurred by emotions in the past and their consequences should be remembered and Tamils should not be allowed to be exploited like puppets in the hands of Southern political forces, the report further said.
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Heritage genocide abetted by decades of Western funding

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 30 December 2009, 11:57 GMT]
Ever heard of ‘archaeology’ being first priority in a conquered territory? If not, then you don’t know Sri Lanka, writes an academic from Jaffna on Colombo’s heritage genocide. Colombo’s use of archaeology against Tamils is not new. But the dimensions to which Tamils are now exposed to are not only its acceleration but the tragedy of facing imposed ‘knowledge supremacy’ that only the Sinhalese can explore, excavate, manage and teach heritage. Sri Lankan state is not the only culprit. The West, especially the UK, US, Germany, France and Holland as well as India, Japan and Australia, the main countries that have been giving funds, training and scholarships to Sri Lanka and also the UN agencies have to be equally indicted for blindly following only State protocols and vested interests, without considering the long-term genocidal impact of their assistances in the island, he further writes.
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‘Tamils without Tamil’

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 30 December 2009, 09:15 GMT]
“Why we need 1700 temples for only 3 million Indians in Malaysia? It does not make sense but we still continue to build temples and fight for it. We only have 450 Tamil schools in Malaysia and it is getting lesser,” says a news-group posting from Hindraf, New York. At least the Indian Tamils raise the issue, but the more affluent Jafanese or Ceylonese have forgotten Tamil and Tamil schools with their first generation. Now, even to give ‘tuition’ in Tamil only a few of the old generation remain, commented an Eezham Tamil refugee recently went to Malaysia.
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TNA engaged in gathering Tamils' opinion on presidential election

[TamilNet, Monday, 28 December 2009, 03:26 GMT]
Four TamiL National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarians are presently in Jaffna actively engaged in learning the opinions of several prominent persons and bodies regarding the stand to adopt in the forthcoming presidential election. Pathmini Sithamparanathan, one of the four MPs, said that they had already met many important persons and intellectuals besides consulting Jaffna University personalities and Jaffna Bishop, Rt. Rev. Thomas Soundranayagam gathering their opinion on the approach to presidential election, she added.
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ACTC decides to boycott presidential election

[TamilNet, Monday, 28 December 2009, 03:21 GMT]
All Ceylon Tamil Congress (ACTC) political party decided to boycott forthcoming presidential election and not to support any of the candidates contesting the election, in the ACTC National Conference held Sunday in Jaffna, presided by ACTC leader Vinayagamoorthy. 75 prominent members of ACTC and Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarian Gejendrakumar Ponnambalam participated in the conference, sources in Jaffna said.
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Virginia GAP draws boycott campaigners attention

[TamilNet, Monday, 28 December 2009, 00:47 GMT]
Tamil activists from Washington D.C. metro area and suburbs engaged in "boycott Sri Lanka campaign" focused their attention on the GAP and Banana Republic stores in the historic Old Town, Alexandria where they held a protest Sunday from 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Meanwhile, more than 20 Tamils from the Delaware Valley Region (Delaware, Pennsylvania and South Jersey) held protest rally at the same time in front of the Concord Mall in Wilmington, as part of the campaign currently being organized by the United States Tamil Political Action Committee (USTPAC) and the NoToSriLanka teams.
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Police arrest 6 Batticaloa Tamils

[TamilNet, Sunday, 27 December 2009, 13:59 GMT]
Six Tamil farmers, two each from Unnichchai, Aayithimalai and Vavunatheivu in Batticaloa district were taken into custody by Maha Oya Police Saturday near the border of two districts Batticaloa and Ampaarai when they went in search of cattle that have strayed across the borders.
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India denies entry visa to Sivajilingam

[TamilNet, Sunday, 27 December 2009, 13:31 GMT]
Tamil National Alliance (TNA) Jaffna district parliamentarian M.K.Sivajilingam arrived in Colombo Saturday after Indian Immigration officials at the Thiruchchirappalli airport in South Indial refused to allow Sivajilingam to enter India to attend a conference in support of Eelam Tamils, Tamil media in Colombo reported.
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Maha Oya Police arrest 6 Batticaloa Tamils

[TamilNet, Sunday, 27 December 2009, 12:35 GMT]
Six Tamil farmers, two each from Unnichchai, Aayithimalai and Vavu'natheevu in Batticaloa district were taken into custody by Maha Oya Police Saturday near the border of two districts Batticaloa and Ampaa'rai when they went in search of their strayed cattle.
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Asylum seeker dies without Indonesian medical aid

[TamilNet, Saturday, 26 December 2009, 18:11 GMT]
One of 250 asylum seekers from Sri Lanka who have spent the past eleven weeks refusing to leave their boat in Indonesia has died after being denied medical help, Australian press reports said. The 29-year-old Tamil man died late Wednesday after falling ill several days earlier, AAP said. The group’s spokesman, Sanjeev "Alex" Kuhendrarajah, said the man had been vomiting blood for two days but authorities ignored his pleas to be taken to hospital until after he had a seizure on Wednesday night. Refugee advocates have called on the Australian government to intervene and bring the asylum seekers to Australia.
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Diplomatic misstep

[TamilNet, Friday, 25 December 2009, 21:33 GMT]
Professor Rajiva Wijesinha, permanent secretary to the Ministry of Disaster Management and Human Rights, appears to have received a reprimand from his Department's Minister after making disparaging remarks on Philip Alston, United Nations Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary and arbitrary execution, and for dismissing as "another nuisance," the letter from Alston requesting explanation to Sarath Fonseka's allegations that Colombo may have committed war-crimes. In an interview, Mr Wijesinha calls Alston "a sad man," "an excitable man," and "a bit of an excitable chap." The Sri Lanka Government announced that it has withdrawn Mr. Wijesinha's self-publicized response to Alston.
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Tamils staying beyond 30 days in Colombo should report: SL Police

[TamilNet, Thursday, 24 December 2009, 13:45 GMT]
Tamils coming from other countries or from North and East, should register themselves with the Sri Lankan Police in Colombo if they are staying in the city for more than 30 days, Sri Lankan Police Department said in a note to media on Wednesday.
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