Thirumavalavan courts arrest with thousands of cadres, asks India to stop proxy war

[TamilNet, Thursday, 23 October 2008, 12:05 GMT]
In a powerful state-wide railway blockade of a scale that has not been witnessed in recent years in Tamil Nadu, Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK) President Thol. Thirumavalavan courted arrest Thursday morning with thousands of his cadres urging the Indian Government to stop the genocidal war against the Tamils within the next twenty-four hours. He said that the ongoing war in the island was "clearly a proxy war being waged by the Indian Government through the Sinhalese forces" and he urged upon New Delhi to put an end to it at the earliest.
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Paradigm shift is the need of Sri Lanka

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 21 October 2008, 15:41 GMT]
The International Community and especially India, should not burden any further the peoples of Sri Lanka by insisting on a united Sri Lanka. The first step to diffuse tension is to recognize the right to self-determination of Tamils, not necessarily to mean partition, but to achieve parity and to provide a conducive platform needed for meaningful negotiations of the concerned parties to decide the future of the island of Sri Lanka, peacefully. The way sentiments have been built up, initially it may stir emotions among the Sinhalese, but it may not take long for them to realize that it was for their good as well, writes opinion columnist Chivanadi, quoting paradigm changing global thinking on ethnonationalism.
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Time for India to re-think, says Singaporean scholar

[TamilNet, Friday, 17 October 2008, 16:21 GMT]
The all-party resolution in Tamil Nadu should provide New Delhi an opportunity to do some introspection about its Sri Lanka policy, says TS Gopi Rethinaraj of the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, National University of Singapore in an article that appeared in Hindustan Times on Thursday. Unless India is able to lock SL in a broad bilateral security relationship, their leadership will have no qualms about allowing China or Pakistan to get a foothold, he says. "This is the real danger of India's current policy facilitating the military defeat of the LTTE. If India were to take a hard-nosed view of its interests, a subtle shift in its position on the LTTE will go a long way in safeguarding its strategic interests in the region besides securing the interests of ethnic Tamils in the island."
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CPI-led hunger strike draws thousands in Tamil Nadu

[TamilNet, Thursday, 02 October 2008, 11:14 GMT]
Thousands of people Thursday took to the venues in Tamil Nadu's capital city Chennai and other district capitals in the southern state of India to participate in a fasting campaign on Mahatma Gandhi's birthday demanding New Delhi to withdraw military assistance to Sri Lanka. Several Tamil leaders, including Panruti S. Ramachandran, who was actively engaged in the Sri Lankan process under the late Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, M.G. Ramachandran (MGR) in the mid-80's addressed the participants at Seappaakkam. CPI National Secretary D. Raja, in his address, charged that New Delhi was clandestinely assisting Sri Lanka in its war against Tamils and questioned what the Indian personnel who came under attack in the North of Sri Lanka were doing there.
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Protests in Tamil Nadu gain momentum, Jayalalithaa extends support

[TamilNet, Sunday, 28 September 2008, 00:50 GMT]
In a significant move amid the building momentum in Tamil Nadu where Tamil leaders are voicing their support to the Eezham Tamils as the Sri Lankan forces intensified their attacks on Vanni, the former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu and the Leader of All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, J. Jayalalithaa, Saturday extended her support to a fasting campaign being organised by the Communist Party of India (CPI). In a letter to D. Pandyan, the general secretary of the CPI in Tamil Nadu, Ms. Jayalalithaa said her party extended wholehearted support to the success of the campaign, which highlights the problems and urges to safeguard the lives, properties and the rights of the Tamils in Sri Lanka.
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Veeramani, Thirumavalavan court arrest to condemn Indian aid to Sri Lanka

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 23 September 2008, 19:17 GMT]
Tamil leaders in Tamil Nadu, K. Veeramani, President, Dravidar Kazhagam (DK) and Thol. Thirumavalavan, President, Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Kadchchi (VCK), courted arrest along with five hundred cadres while attempting a rail blockade in Chennai to protest against Indian aid to the Sri Lankan state. "The Indian Government should not assist the Sinhalese regime in any manner either through imparting military training, or deputing Indian defence personnel to help Sri Lanka unleash its genocidal war," Veeramani said while he addressed an enthusiastic gathering of thousands of cadres of both the parties.
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Eezham Thamizh and Tamil Eelam: Understanding the terminologies of identity

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 23 September 2008, 00:43 GMT]
Many readers, Tamils as well as non-Tamils, wonder at the way words and phrases such as Eezham, Thamizh, Eezham Tamil or Eezham Thamizh, Tamil Eelam or Thamizh Eezham, Sinhala, Sri Lanka, Sri Lankan etc., are presented today in the media and the connotations implied by them. Culture Columnist Akazhaan discusses the etymology, historical linguistics and sociolinguistics of these terms in the context of the Tamil and Sinhala national questions in the island known as Sri Lanka today.
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Jaffna Catholics stage peace rally

[TamilNet, Monday, 22 September 2008, 10:13 GMT]
More than two thousand Catholics from different areas of Jaffna peninsula, heeding the call by Commission for Justice and Peace (CJP) of the Catholic diocese of Jaffna to mark the International Peace Day, assembled at the respective parish churches Sunday early morning before proceeding in a prayer procession towards Manippaay St.Anthony's church.
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SLN imposes restrictions on Catholic devotees in Chaaddi, Jaffna

[TamilNet, Thursday, 18 September 2008, 15:59 GMT]
Sri Lanka Navy (SLN) in Allaippiddi has instructed the Catholic devotees attending the annual festival of Our Lady of Chinthaaththirai in Chaaddi, Veala'nai, in the islets of Jaffna and popularly known as Chinna Madu Maathaa (The little Mother Mary of Madu), to hand over their identity cards at their checkpost in Allaippiddi before entering the Church premises.
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5-Day Bishops' Conference to discuss peace in Sri Lanka

[TamilNet, Friday, 12 September 2008, 11:46 GMT]
The Bishops' Conference of Catholic Church of Sri Lanka is expected to discuss the volatile situation prevailing in the north, east and other parts of the country and to explore ways in which the Church could contribute to peaceful resolution when it commences its five-day sitting on September 18. Bishops of seventeen dioceses in the island including Jaffna, Mannaar, Trincomalee and Batticaloa are also to attend the conference.
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Catholic commission in Vanni highlights IDPs plight

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 27 August 2008, 00:19 GMT]
Amid pouring rain and thundering blasts of artillery and mortar shells, more than 170,000 Internally Displaced Persons in Vanni are facing a great human tragedy, which is calculatedly concealed from the world outside, said Rev. Fr. James Pathinathan, the president of the Vanni branch of the Justice and Peace Commission (JPC) of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Jaffna, in an urgent appeal to the U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki Moon, on Tuesday. "If the International Community doesn't act at once, it will be too late," he told TamilNet after handing over the memorandum to the Residential Representative of the UNHCR in Vanni.
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Jaffna Catholics raise one million rupees to help Vanni IDPs

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 26 August 2008, 10:10 GMT]
In response to the recent appeal by the Commission for Justice and Peace (CJP) to all Catholics in Jaffna peninsula to generously contribute to a relief fund towards helping the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Vanni, 1.2 million rupees were collected during the special mass and Holy Communion held Sunday in the Catholic churches throughout the peninsula sources close to the Bishop of Jaffna, said.
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Violence marks election campaign in North Central and Sabaragamuwa provinces

[TamilNet, Thursday, 21 August 2008, 16:13 GMT]
The election campaign in Sri Lanka's North Central and Sabaragamuwa provincial elections to be held on August 23 came to an end Wednesday midnight with scores of election related violence that topped up to 250 reported incidents from both provinces including a murder, arson, attempted murder and intimidations. Ten political parties and eight independent groups are contesting in Polonnaruwa while 11 parties and seven independent groups are contesting in Anuradhapura. More than 21,000 police are being deployed in the provinces as well as Sri Lanka Army soldiers.
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SLA deprives Tamil devotees from attending Madu Shrine

[TamilNet, Friday, 15 August 2008, 21:14 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army (SLA) hierarchy in Mannaar blocked Friday Tamil Catholic devotees from taking part in the special mass of blessing from Our Lady of Madu. Tamil Catholic devotees from Mannaar and Vavuniyaa were deprived from taking part in the mass, according to sources associated with the Church. Around 500 Catholic devotees from the South along with three Sri Lankan ministers were escorted by the Police to take part in Friday's blessings in Madu. However, Tamil speaking devotees who were present at Madawachchi were refused entry by the Police.
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Jaffna Catholics to raise funds to help Vanni IDPs

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 06 August 2008, 05:17 GMT]
The Commission for Justice and Peace (CJP) in Jaffna peninsula has extended an appeal to all Catholics in the peninsula to generously contribute to a relief fund when special mass and Holy Communion will be held Sunday in the Catholic churches in the peninsula towards helping the 50,000 Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Vanni, according to the Catholic Guardian religious magazine.
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Jaffna/ Yaazhppaa'nam/ Yaazhppaa'nap Paddinam/ Yaazhppaa'naayan Paddinam

[TamilNet, Friday, 01 August 2008, 13:36 GMT]
The city of the bard / minstrel
The city of the lord of bards / minstrels
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Oslo Forum delegates urged to adopt principled approach to Sri Lanka peace process

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 25 June 2008, 23:09 GMT]
Welcoming the reiterated stand of the International Community (IC) that there is no military solution to the conflict in Sri Lanka, a Norwegian Tamil organisation urged Tuesday global mediators to adopt a principled approach to the conflict in Sri Lanka. The organisation called on the IC to recognise the historical realities that there is a legacy of oppression by the Sri Lankan state against the Tamils and that the constitution of Sri Lanka has been a major hurdle in implementing agreed arrangements under the ethnic-majoritarian rule. The appeal further urged the IC to affirm that the Tamil people have a justifiable concern to safeguard the territorial integrity of their homeland.
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Prayers for peace observed in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Sunday, 22 June 2008, 08:29 GMT]
Leaders and followers of Saiva, Protestant, and Catholic religions in Jaffna peninsula participated in a joint prayer event for peace in Sri Lanka, organized by Northern Region Sathiya Seva institution at Nallur Saturday around 2:30 p.m, presided by Jaffna magistrate Vasanthasenan. “Love is God, Live in Love” was the main theme on which the devotional singing prayer programme was held, according to the attendees.
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Moscow film festival features Arnestad's Black Tiger documentary

[TamilNet, Friday, 20 June 2008, 04:45 GMT]
Norwegian Director Beate Arnestad's documentary on Black Tigers, "My daughter the terrorist," is to be featured in the Moscow International Film Festival to be held between 19th and 26th of June. The documentary, produced after Tamil Tigers for the first time allowed a foreign film team to "hand-pick, follow, interview and dig deep" into the lives and faiths of two female Black Tigers, was premiered in Oslo in March, was featured in the North Carolina, US film festival, and also in Paris.
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Consecration of Deputy Bishop held in Batticaloa

[TamilNet, Sunday, 25 May 2008, 00:46 GMT]
The Episcopal Ordination of the Bishop-elect Msgr. Joseph Ponniah was held Saturday afternoon at St. Mary's Co-Cathedral, Batticaloa by His Lordship Most Rev. Dr. Kinglsey Swampillai, the Bishop of Trincomalee-Batticaloa, sources in Batticaloa said.
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