Colombo deports Thirumavalavan, rejects participation in Parvathi Amma's funeral

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 22 February 2011, 10:01 GMT]
Indian parliamentarian Thol Thirumavalavan, the leader of Viduthalai Chiruththaikal Kadchi, was denied entry to the island Monday night when he arrived at Katunayake International Airport in Colombo to take part in the funeral of Parvathi Amma, the mother of LTTE leader Velupillai Pirapaharan. After being deported back to Chennai from Colombo airport, Mr. Thirumavalavan told media in Tamil Nadu that the deportation was an insult to the entire India and urged the governments of Tamil Nadu and India to condemn his deportation from Colombo.
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Diaspora legal activists speak to Palaka'ni on ICC case

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 22 February 2011, 01:31 GMT]
It is colonial mentality to expect that others on their own will give us justice and solutions. We should seek them on our own. For well over 60 years the Eezham Tamils were waiting for political justice and now for nearly two years they have been waiting for justice on war crimes. If they are not forthcoming, the younger generation should work for them with the same spirit of united uprising that was seen before May 2009, was the opinion expressed in a panel discussion on Monday by new generation politico-legal activists, Rajeev Sreetharan in USA, Lathan Suntharalingam in Switzerland and Sam Pari in Australia. The activists who are engaging directly with the International Criminal Court (ICC) in seeking legal action against Palitha Kohona, said that such cases are only the beginning, but the real focus should be on emancipation and independence of Eezham Tamils.
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Kohona could face court over Tamil Tiger deaths - Sydney paper

[TamilNet, Monday, 21 February 2011, 13:33 GMT]
"An Australian citizen and senior Sri Lankan diplomat has been accused of complicity in the murders of three surrendering Tamil Tigers in an application to the International Criminal Court in the Netherlands," Sydney Morning Herald said in its Monday edition, referring to Dr Palitha Kohona, who is currently attached to the United Nations Sri Lanka Mission in New York. "...two international Tamil organisations have made a series of war crimes allegations to the International Criminal Court involving Dr Kohona and his role in the negotiated surrender of three Tamil Tigers who are believed to have been killed," the paper said.
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Search operation intensified in Colombo, residents asked to register

[TamilNet, Monday, 21 February 2011, 12:52 GMT]
Sri Lanka Police have directed all residents in Colombo and its suburbs to register their details with the respective police stations without delay. Residents in Grandpass area have been ordered to furnish the names of their relatives and visitors staying with them in the nearby police stations, according to reports from Colombo.
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Maathakal fishermen foil SL military attempt to sabotage silent protest

[TamilNet, Monday, 21 February 2011, 11:45 GMT]
While hundreds of fishermen from Maathakal were staging a silent protest Monday morning in front of the Indian consulate in Jaffna, Sri Lankan military intelligence brought a group of their men, numbering around 100, posing as fishermen in a march from Naga Vihara Buddhist temple through Palaali Road to the Indian Consulate and attempted to create a violent episode outside the mission, around 10:00 a.m. The representatives of the Maathakal fishermen society, grasping the sabotage attempt by the occupying Sri Lankan military intelligence, handed over the appeal to Mr. Mahalingam, the Consul-General of India, and left the site peacefully.
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Hundreds of Eezham fishermen silently agitate before Indian mission in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Monday, 21 February 2011, 08:26 GMT]
Around 400 Eezham fishermen and their families from Maathakal in Jaffna, led by parish priest S.M.P Anandakumar, silently agitated in front of the Indian consulate at Kantharmadam in Jaffna, Monday morning, demanding security for them and assurance against poaching by Indian fishermen. Their mouths tied in black cloth they carried placards, damaged fishing nets and empty pots. There was a heavy presence of occupying SL military to provide security to the Indian mission. According to the fishermen, the Indian Consul General, Mr. Mahalingam dodged assurances when fishermen representatives met him some days ago. Since he secured the release of the poaching Indian trawlers and fishermen, he is also now responsible for stopping poaching and providing security in the seas to the affected Eezham fishermen, the agitators said.
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Bodhi-ma’luwa, Changku-maal, Aa’rukaal-madam

[TamilNet, Monday, 21 February 2011, 06:09 GMT]
The fig-tree terrace,
The shed or yard to keep dived conch shells,
The six-pillared resting-place

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Occupying SL military intimidates mourning for Parvathi Amma

[TamilNet, Sunday, 20 February 2011, 21:47 GMT]
Colonial military of Sri Lanka occupying Jaffna, intimidated people of Valveddiththu’rai on Sunday to remove the black flags displayed to mourn the demise of Parvathy Amma, 80-year-old mother of the LTTE leader Pirapaharan. Hundreds of SL military intelligence personnel in civil dress, deployed at Theeruvil grounds where the remains are kept for public homage, made the local people themselves to remove the flags of mourning. Angered by the SLA harassment, representatives of civil organizations in Valveddiththu'rai warned the military personnel of repercussions if they continued to harass the people, when the occupying soldiers were instructing the people to remove the name of Mr. Pirapaharan from posters paying tribute to Parvathi Amma. Colonial Colombo behaves the same way the British treated the Kandyan Sinhalese, commented a journalist in Jaffna.
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Jaffna mourns Parvathi Amma amidst SLA harassment

[TamilNet, Sunday, 20 February 2011, 07:52 GMT]
The people of Jaffna have flown black flags on Sunday, mourning the demise of 80-year-old Parvathi Amma (Vallipuram Parvathi), the mother of LTTE leader Velupillai Pirapaharan. Community organisations have flown their flags at half post amid harassments by the occupying Sri Lankan forces. The funeral of late Parvathi Amma is to take place at Valveddiththu'rai (VVT) Hindu Cremation Grounds on Tuesday. Born on 07 August, 1931, Parvathi Amma, resolved to stay with her people at her native village, after being denied entry to Tamil Nadu for medical treatment last year.
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Parvathi Amma passes away

[TamilNet, Sunday, 20 February 2011, 01:47 GMT]
Mrs. Vallipuram Parvathi, the mother of LTTE leader Velupillai Pirapaharan, passed away Sunday morning at Valveddiththu'rai hospital in Jaffna around 6:30 a.m., Dr. A. Maylerumperumal, District Medical Officer (DMO) of Valveddiththu'rai told media. Her husband, Thiruvengadam Velupillai, had passed away in Sri Lanka Army detention at Panagoda in January 2010. After the demise of her husband, Mrs. Parvathi was released and was later allowed to go to Malaysia for medical treatment in March 2010. However, she was denied entry to Tamil Nadu and deported back to Malaysia last year. Later, she was brought to her home village of Valveddiththu'rai and was taken care of the doctors and the staff at Valveddiththu'rai hospital till her last breath.
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British MPs urge UK to seek ‘robust and independent’ probe into Sri Lanka war crimes

[TamilNet, Saturday, 19 February 2011, 21:59 GMT]
Several dozen parliamentarians from Britain’s three main political parties have written to Prime Minister David Cameron urging an independent international investigation into war crimes in Sri Lanka. The petition, organised by the All-Party Parliamentary Group For Tamils (APPG-T), called for “Britain’s support for a robust and independent international investigation that would clarify what occurred during the conflict and offer the best hope of a sustainable peace in Sri Lanka.” The letter also referred to a similar call recently by several members of the US Congress.
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Tamil man from UK reported missing in Vavuniyaa

[TamilNet, Saturday, 19 February 2011, 12:34 GMT]
A 31-year-old Tamil man, who was visiting his family in Jaffna and was on his way to Colombo was reported missing in Vavuniyaa on 13 February 2011, sources in Colombo said adding that the relatives of the missing person have complained to Sri Lankan Police in Colombo.
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Indian fishermen released, Indian Consul-General intimidates Tamil judge in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Friday, 18 February 2011, 18:40 GMT]
Following an urgent ‘instruction’ from the Sri Lankan Chief Justice in Colombo, the Indian fishermen held in remand in Jaffna, were released Friday without any inquiries and were set free to leave the island in their trawlers that had been seized by the local fishermen. The move comes following an ‘instruction’ from the Indian Foreign Minister S.M.Krishna to his Sri Lankan counterpart, G.L.Peiris, on Thursday. Meanwhile, the Indian Consul-General in Jaffna Mr. Mahalingam has been blamed of intimidating a prominent Judge of Point Pedro Courts, Srinidhi Nanthasekaran, by visiting her residence and insisting her to release the Indian fishermen. Mrs. Nanthasekaran, who was earlier transferred away from Jaffna for her stern actions against the Sri Lankan military, during the war, came with hard remarks on the interference by the Indian Consul-General in the legal affairs in Jaffna.
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UNP leaders conduct election campaign in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Friday, 18 February 2011, 12:08 GMT]
The main opposition United National Party (UNP) said by defeating the ruling United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA) in the forthcoming local election Tamil people could teach a good lesson to the government in power. UNP deputy leader Karu Jayasuriya said so in responding to a question why his party has been contesting in the local elections in the districts of Jaffna and Vanni, at a media briefing held Thursday in Kaarainagar in Jaffna district.
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Seizure of Indian trawlers, a token action: fishermen representatives

[TamilNet, Friday, 18 February 2011, 00:15 GMT]
Around 500 Eezham Tamil fishing society representatives who gathered at Point Pedro in Vadamarradchi refused Thursday to hand over the poaching Indian trawlers, which they had seized from the intruding Indian fishermen on Tuesday. Declaring that their action against Indian poaching was a token one, the representatives urged immediate action from the Indian authorities. The fishermen representatives also refused to hand over the vessels to Sri Lankan military, urging the concerned authorities to resolve the dispute by civil means.
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Sinhala colonization in Vellaave'li discussed in Batticaloa DDC meeting

[TamilNet, Thursday, 17 February 2011, 23:19 GMT]
The encroachment of lands belonging to Tamils in Vellaave'li division by Sinhalese and the establishment of a camp of the Sri Lanka Army in Punaanai area in Koa'ralaippattu South DS division were brought to discussion. A group of Sinhalese settlers from the 36th colony, with Police protection, has encroached into more than thirty acres of land belonging to twenty Tamil families located in 35th colony, south of Batticaloa district and north of Ampaa'rai district in the Vellaave'li DS division.
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Plan to “Sinhalacise” Eastern University discussed

[TamilNet, Thursday, 17 February 2011, 04:32 GMT]
A plan to appoint Sinhalese academicians as the Vice Chancellor, Registrar and Dean of Faculties to the Eastern University of Sri Lanka (EUSL) was seriously considered at a meeting held to discuss the development of EUSL presided by Minister of Higher Education Mr.S.Dissanayake, education sources in Batticaloa said. The meeting was held amid protests made by the Batticaloa district Tamil parliamentarians against the appointment of Sinhalese as the Competent Authority to the EUSL.
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India failed to provide alternatives to trawler fishing in the Palk Bay

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 16 February 2011, 07:51 GMT]
Commenting on the fishermen issue in the Palk Bay, an Eezham Tamil social worker in Jaffna, long covering the crisis, told TamiNet that the Governments in New Delhi and Chennai have failed to take initiatives in providing alternatives to Tamil Nadu’s trawler fishing that had saturated the sustainability of fishing in the Palk Bay. It is not an issue between the fishermen of Tamil Nadu and Eezham alone, but a long existing crisis between the trawler fishermen and country-boat fishermen of Tamil Nadu itself, the activist said. The TN trawlers captured Tuesday in Jaffna, were staying on the sea for two days without getting any catch, before moving towards Jaffna.
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SLA terrorizes TNA candidates in Vavuniyaa, Killinochi

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 16 February 2011, 02:10 GMT]
The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) has complained that Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers are threatening an intimidating TNA candidates contesting in the forthcoming local elections in the Vanni region. Jaffna district TNA parliamentarian Mr.S. Sritharan has accused the SLA soldiers of unleashing terror in the Vanni region creating fear psychosis among the TNA candidates. TNA parliamentarians Selvam Adaikalanathan and Sivasakthi Aanandan have also alleged that they are being intimidated by SLA soldiers and intelligence unit men against holding election meetings in Vavuniyaa.
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LTTE ban to be challenged in European Court

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 16 February 2011, 00:07 GMT]
The proscription of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in the European Union will be challenged in the Court of Justice of the European Communities in Luxembourg, said Amsterdam based lawyer Victor Koppe while giving an exclusive interview to TamilNet, Tuesday. Unlike the previous legal instances, now there is direct community involvement. Eezham Tamils in the legal field are actively involved in making this case, and the move is backed by a democratically elected body of Eezham Tamils in Switzerland, the Swiss Council of Eelam Tamils (SCET), said Arulnithila Deivendran, the spokesperson for the SCET. The attitude of governments to negate the sovereignty of Eezham Tamils by deliberately confusing it with the LTTE, has prompted the legal action, she further said.
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