SLA occupation of Madu, triggers fears of renewed Sinhalicisation

[TamilNet, Sunday, 27 April 2008, 17:42 GMT]
The Madu Road junction located on Mannaar-Madawachchi Road, which branches off the main route to Madu shrine, situated in the middle of traditional Tamil area, became the center of a Sinhala settlement in the 1970s. The Sri Lanka Government had the agenda of transforming the area into a full-fledged Sinhala colony, by using the lands of a cashew farm between the Madu Shrine and the junction. However, the settlement was later abandoned, fearing repercussions following large-scale massacre and arson committed by the Sri Lanka Army in December 1984 after a landmine blast. The spectre of a Sinhalicised Madu area has now become a dangerous new reality with SLA's occupation of Madu shrine.
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Mannaar Bishop demands open declaration of Madu as Peace Zone

[TamilNet, Sunday, 27 April 2008, 09:09 GMT]
Bishop of Mannaar, Rev. Dr. Rayappu Joseph, on Saturday told media that the warring parties should openly declare the Madu Shrine and its environs as Peace Zone in order to bring back Our Lady of Madu statue to the Holy Shrine. Meanwhile Sri Lankan Defence ministry in its official news on Sunday quoted Sri Lanka Army Commander Lt. Gen. Sarath Fonseka as saying: "those who were in charge of the statue have the responsibility of bringing it back". The SL defence ministry added that Madu "would be declared as a security zone," without specifying what it meant with the term, 'security zone.' Vicar General Rev. A. Victor Soosai on Saturday visited the Shrine for an inspection.
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SLA enters Madu shrine

[TamilNet, Friday, 25 April 2008, 11:55 GMT]
Government of Sri Lanka on Friday officially admitted that the Sri Lanka Army had entered the Madu Shrine. Analysts in Colombo observed that the move, which comes in the wake of the SLA debacle in the Northern Front, was timed to divert increasing focus on recent SLA casualties prior to the provincial elections in the east. Meanwhile, Informed sources in Vanni told TamilNet that the SLA had been stationed 1.5 km away from the Shrine for weeks and it could have entered the Shrine at any time as LTTE defensive units were strictly kept away from the peace zone.
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Silence is eloquence: last remarks of Rev Fr Karunaratnam

[TamilNet, Monday, 21 April 2008, 11:32 GMT]
Barely two weeks before he was killed in a Claymore attack, allegedly carried out by a Deep Penetration Unit (DPU) of the Sri Lanka Army, Rev M X Karunaratnam was interviewed by the National Television of Tamileelam (NTT). While answering questions on the Madu Shrine controversy, he said, the Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL) was entirely responsible for politicizing the issue of the Shrine as it had attempted to achieve a militarily favourable situation by choosing to launch its offensive drive through Madu, a greatly revered Catholic holy pilgrim center. The Reverend Father also explained the silence of Vatican and the Sinhala bishops.
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15-year-old girl killed in SLAF airstrike

[TamilNet, Thursday, 17 April 2008, 07:26 GMT]
A 15-year-old girl was killed Thursday morning around 6:30 a.m. when Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) bombers attacked Punnaineeraaviyadi in Visuvamadu in Mullaiththeevu district, according to Tamileelam Police.
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SLA imposes travel restrictions on Mannaar Tamils

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 16 April 2008, 05:58 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army (SLA) has recently imposed travel restrictions on Tamils traveling to and from Mannaar. Tamils who leave Mannaar are only allowed to travel in train from Mathavaachchi while the Tamils, returning to Mannaar from other areas are filtered by their native and residential addresses and refused entry into Mannaar if they carry a National Identity Card with a residential address in South at Kaddaiyadampan SLA checkpost, located between Madu Road junction and Murungkan, on Mannaar Mathavaachchi Road. Family members are separated and refused entry, residents complain.
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30 SLA killed in 4 fronts in Mannaar - LTTE

[TamilNet, Saturday, 12 April 2008, 17:00 GMT]
Liberation Tigers of Tamileelam (LTTE) Military Spokesman Irasiah Ilanthirayan said at least 30 Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers were killed and 75 wounded when LTTE defensive formations in Mannaar confronted a four-pronged SLA attempt to advance west of Giant's Tanks in Mannaar. Tigers lost 3 cadres in the fighting that lasted from 5:30 a.m. till 1:30 p.m. The SLA continued to target Madu area with artillery and mortar fire and sporadic clashes were reported west of Thadcha'naamaruthamadu, according to Tiger military spokesman.
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12,000 Madu IDPs redisplaced, says report

[TamilNet, Saturday, 12 April 2008, 12:34 GMT]
More than 12,000 Internally Displaced People (IDPs) from Madu have moved out to safer areas along villages located close to A-32 Mannar-Pooneryn highway north of Madu, a situation report from Tamil Rehabilitation Organization (TRO) issued this week said.
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International Community should learn from experience, Vaiko tells Norway

[TamilNet, Friday, 11 April 2008, 23:03 GMT]
Expressing that the lack of implementation by the Government of Sri Lanka on the agreed principles of the February 2002 Cease Fire Agreement (CFA), especially disarming of army backed paramilitary groups, led to the ultimate breakdown of the peace process, Vaiko, the General Secretary of Marumalarchchi Dravida Munneatta Kazhakam (MDMK), told Norwegian International Development Minister Erik Solheim and Jon Hanssen-Bauer, the Norwegian Special Envoy, that the International Community should prevail upon the GoSL to reinstate the ceasefire in order to engage in a meaningful process for a negotiated settlement.
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Restore peace, sanctity to Madu Church - Jaffna Bishop

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 09 April 2008, 07:15 GMT]
"Both parties engaged in war activities in the sacred area of Our Lady of Madu Church in Mannaar should immediately vacate the area creating a sanctified and peaceful atmosphere conducive to conduct religious practices," Rev. Justin Gnanapragasam, resident principal priest in Jaffna Bishop House said in an appeal sent Sunday to the Bishop of Mannar, sources in Jaffna said. The letter expressed concern for the forced relocation of the holy statue of Our Lady of Madu, and said all Christians share the grief with Bishop of Mannar.
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A church in Madu destroyed, dreaded stage of ethnic cleansing, says TNA MP

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 08 April 2008, 13:03 GMT]
The Sacred Heart Church of the Madu Shrine complex has been destroyed in SLA shelling after the priests had taken away the image of Our Lady of Madu last Thursday, reveal the photos taken by K. Baskaran, a photographer who visited the Madu church on Sunday. "Any desecration of Madu is likely to be understood as an effort of the Sinhala Buddhist chauvinism to erase out the symbols of other religions and thus serving a spiritual blow which is the most dreaded stage in the process of ethnic cleansing," Vanni District Parliamentarian Selvam Adaikkalanathan told TamilNet Tuesday.
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LTTE urges Norway to take steps to end military assault on Madu shrine

[TamilNet, Monday, 07 April 2008, 15:52 GMT]
Liberation Tigers Political Head B. Nadesan on Monday sent an urgent letter to Norwegian International Development Minister Erik Solheim, placing a request to the Royal Norwegian Government to take steps to immediately end the military assault of the holy Madu shrine in Mannaar district. "The international community together with the international institutions that are concerned about protecting the historical treasures of the world must be brought together and we hope the Royal Norwegian Government together with them will take the necessary actions to end the attacks on the church," Mr. Nadesan urged Norway.
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STF shoots dead 2 Tamils in Vavu’natheevu

[TamilNet, Monday, 07 April 2008, 08:57 GMT]
Special Task Force (STF) commandoes shot dead two Tamil civilians at 8:30 a.m in Paalcheanai area in Vavu’natheevu police division in Batticaloa district, following a Claymore attack on a STF road patrol unit in Paavatkodicheanai in Paalcheanai, sources in Batticaloa said.
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All India Catholic Union condemns attack on Madu Shrine

[TamilNet, Monday, 07 April 2008, 07:45 GMT]
"There is no defence for attacking a church which has saved hundreds of refugees from death," said Dr. John Dayal, National President of the All India Catholic Union (AICU) in a statement to media on Sunday. He also called upon the "International Community which has a stake in this cauldron of ethnic strife which poses its own threat to stability in the region, and thereby to global peace."
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Lankan ploy of Buddhism for subversion in Tamil Nadu: Viduthalai Rajendran

[TamilNet, Monday, 07 April 2008, 06:08 GMT]
Circumstantial evidence supports the hand of the Lankan government’s National Intelligence Bureau in the Buddhist temple-building campaign in Tamil Nadu, observed political analyst TSS Mani in Win TV’s News and Views, reported Tehelka Magazine, on Saturday. It further quoted Viduthalai Rajendran, General Secretary of Periyar Dravidar Kazhagam (PDK), saying “ the temple-building a ploy to woo Indian Dalits and pit them against Sri Lankan Tamils on religious lines” A Sinhalese delegation of prominent Buddhist monks laid foundation stones for Buddhist places of worship in Tamil Nadu. Most of them are archaeological sites.
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Our Lady of Madu statue reaches Theavanpiddi

[TamilNet, Friday, 04 April 2008, 15:45 GMT]
The fleeing reverend priests and sisters with the statue of Our Lady of Madu reached St. Sebastian Church at Theavanpiddi, located around 70 km northwest of Madu, Thursday night, according to Bishop's House in Mannaar. Theavanpiddi is situated north of Iluppaikkadavai in Liberation Tigers of Tamileelam (LTTE) controlled Manthai West DS division.
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Our Lady of Madu reaches Theavanpiddi

[TamilNet, Friday, 04 April 2008, 15:45 GMT]
The fleeing reverend priests and sisters reached St. Sebastian Church at Theavanpiddi, around 70 km northwest of Madu, Thursday night, according to Bishop's House in Mannaar. Theavanpiddi is situated north of Iluppaikkadavai in Liberation Tigers of Tamileelam (LTTE) controlled Manthai West DS division, which belongs to Mannaar Diocese.
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The temporal and spiritual conquest of Tamils: Mahinda's book of dreams

[TamilNet, Friday, 04 April 2008, 07:18 GMT]
More than security concerns, the sentiments of Tamil Christians and their mistrust of Sri Lankan State seem to be the impelling force behind the decision of taking away Our Lady of Madu from her abode. Those who could look at how Kathirkaamam was confiscated from the predominance of Tamils and how the ancient temples behind the Tamil Saiva myth are inside ‘High Security Zones’, could understand the fear of Tamil Christians. The question is whether the International Community and India, which contribute to the military option, don’t understand or don’t want to understand the fact that if there is anything to be defeated militarily in Sri Lanka, it is the chauvinism of the Sri Lankan State.
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'Sinhala regime transforming holy land into battlefield': LTTE Political Head

[TamilNet, Thursday, 03 April 2008, 19:59 GMT]
Liberation Tigers of Tamileelam (LTTE) Political Head B Nadesan in a statement issued Thursday from Ki'linochchi strongly condemned the indiscriminate shelling on the Madu Church and urged the International Community and Human Rights organizations to condemn the Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL) for 'barbarically' transforming a sacred shrine that offered refuge to displaced people into a battlefield. He criticized GoSL for unleashing its army on an area that was ought to be free of war according to war ethics and UN conventions.
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Our Lady of Madu becomes refugee in her own land: Bishop

[TamilNet, Thursday, 03 April 2008, 12:36 GMT]
Bishop of Mannaar, Rev. Dr. Rayappu Joseph, told TamilNet Thursday that he had instructed the remaining four reverend priests, four reverend sisters and five civilian assistants to flee the premises of the Madu Church with the statue of Our Lady. "This is the first time Our Lady of Madu becomes refugee in her own land," Mannaar Bishop said. "She has been giving shelter to IDPs. In 1990, she gave shelter to 36,000 IDPs." Meanwhile, according to the latest reports from priests who were staying in bunkers, shells exploded inside the Church premises Thursday noon.
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