BBC: Fox and Love lobbied for Sri Lanka after junkets

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 23 March 2010, 04:00 GMT]
Two British MPs, Mr. Andy Love of the ruling Labour party, and Dr. Liam Fox of the main opposition Conservative party, made visits to Sri Lanka paid for by the government there, and while not declaring their trips, spoke in support of Sri Lanka in parliament, a BBC investigation has revealed. Both MPs were hosted by Mahinda Rajapakse regime in the past three years amid Sri Lanka’s onslaught in which tens of thousands of Tamil civilians were killed. Mr. Fox, some of whose trips coincided with international outrage over the ongoing slaughter, told the BBC his visits were to “promote peace and reconciliation in Sri Lanka.” Following his second visit in 2008, Mr. Love urged British ministers to send more aid to Sri Lanka.
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Italian Eezham Tamils conduct referendum, form country council

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 23 March 2010, 00:04 GMT]
Eezham Tamils in Italy successfully conducted a referendum on independent and sovereign Tamil Eelam and simultaneously elected a 20-member country council Sunday. 98.8 percent of those who voted said 'yes' to Tamil Eelam in a turnout of around 75 percent of eligible Eezham Tamil voters in Italy, the organisers of the polls said. Youth figured prominently among those elected to the Council, Ms. Sinthuja Nagendram in her twenties getting the largest number of votes in the national list. The polls organised by an independent election commission of Eezham Tamils in Italy were nationally supervised and monitored by an Italian federation of NGOs, COCIS (Co-ordination of Non-governmental Organisations for International Development Co-operation). In Italy, Sinhalese expatriates are large in numbers compared to Tamils who make only less than a tenth of them.
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‘Sinhala Only’ in a government office opening event in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Monday, 22 March 2010, 17:15 GMT]
Local media reporters in Jaffna peninsula staged a walkout Monday from the official opening of Sri Lanka Foreign Employment (SLFE) branch in Nalloor in Jaffna Monday when it was conducted in Sinhalese language only. Tamil Minister Douglas Devananda was also present at the event along with Northern Province Governor, G. A. Chandrasiri. Meanwhile, the Governor and the Minister later participated in the foundation stone laying ceremony for the new building of Jaffna Municipal Council in its original premises. The government is fervent in opening various offices and laying foundation stones for new buildings in an attempt to entice the voters of Jaffna peninsula, civil society circles in Jaffna observed.
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Popular TV station Sakthi, Sirasa attacked

[TamilNet, Monday, 22 March 2010, 17:04 GMT]
A popular television station MTV came under attack by an armed group led by a notorious Deputy Minister Mervin Silva Monday evening. MTV office located in Braybrooke Place has been badly damaged in the attack. MTV runs Sakthi TV in Tamil, Sirasa TV in Sinhala and MTV in English. The minister who led the group was not seen at the site when the attack took place. The attack continued till the police arrived at the scene, MTV sources said
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‘Engaging’ Tamil diaspora to elude the cause

[TamilNet, Sunday, 21 March 2010, 21:45 GMT]
Engaging sections of vested interests in the diaspora to elude righteous causes of struggling people, in order to achieve imperialist goals in war and peace, is a long time strategy of powers. International foundations, firms and other such outfits are created from time to time for this purpose. How such outfits envisage to blunt the cause of Eezham Tamils by locking vulnerable sections of the Tamil diaspora into a Sri Lankan diaspora identity, and how the outfits wish to achieve it behind the back of Tamil people and their media, is clearly revealed in a ‘confidential’ Assessment Report and Program Strategy of the Public International Law & Policy Group (PILPG), prepared in March 2009. Engaging the diaspora should take place confidentially and by neutralizing ‘spoilers,’ says PILPG, citing a failed initiative in Malaysia in 2008, exposed by TamilNet.
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EPRLF releases election manifesto in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Sunday, 21 March 2010, 18:03 GMT]
Eelam People’s Revolutionary Front (EPRLF) released its election manifesto Sunday around 10:00 a.m in a press meet at EPRLF Pathmanaba faction office on Hospital Road in Jaffna, sources in Jaffna said. EPRLF and People’s Liberation Organization of Tamil Eelam (PLOTE) are jointly contesting in Jaffna and Vavuniyaa districts in the forthcoming parliamentary election. The EPRLF election manifesto was released by Sritharan, the leader of EPRLF Varathar faction. A political solution based on the right to self- determination in the Tamil provinces, creating a true democratic atmosphere and implementing speedy economic development are the main propaganda aspects mentioned in the manifesto.
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JVP opens office in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Sunday, 21 March 2010, 17:15 GMT]
Somawansa Amarasinghe, the leader of Jantha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), opened the JVP office for Jaffna peninsula Sunday afternoon in Uduppiddi-Valveddiththu’rai area on Jaffna-Point Pedro road, sources in Jaffna said. The JVP leader said that while governments of United National Party (UNP), Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) and the ruling United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA) had killed innocent Tamils and subjected them to untold difficulties in the past, JVP had not killed a single Tamil. He further stressed that JVP is not a racist party as some call it. JVP is opening its office in Jaffna after 27 years. Prior to 1983 when Rohana Wijeweera led JVP there were JVP offices in Jaffna, Chu’n’naakam and Ki’linochchi.
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Britain names Sri Lanka as a country of concern

[TamilNet, Sunday, 21 March 2010, 07:16 GMT]
Sri Lanka is the only country added on the annual human rights report by Britain this year as a country of concern by the Foreign Affairs Committee, according to British Foreign Office. The Annual report on Human Rights 2009 presented 17 March to British Parliament says, ‘Since the last report, we have added one country of concern. We agreed with the Foreign Affairs Committee’s recommendation to include Sri Lanka. This reflects our concern about allegations of serious conflict violations, as well as the deteriorating status of the rule of law and freedom of expression.’
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Sri lanka boycott draws Congressman's attention

[TamilNet, Sunday, 21 March 2010, 04:26 GMT]
Congressman Rush Holt (D-NJ) from 12th Congressional district in New Jersey stopped at the Tamil protesters' "Boycott Sri Lanka" campaign rally in Princeton New Jersey Saturday, and inquired about the current situation of Tamil refugees in Sri Lanka, organizers of the protest campaign said. The Congressman also showed interest in educating himself on the details on Sri Lanka's garment industry and the extent of the presence of the big U.S. apparel manufacturers in Sri Lanka. Organizers of the Saturday's campaign, the US-based activist group, USTPAC, said the campaign-day was successful with protesters holding rallies in Boston (MA), Raleigh (NC), Baltimore (MD), New York, Atlanta and San Francisco (CA)..
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Prof. Boyle: PCIJ precedent brings GoSL's war-crimes within UN jurisdiction

[TamilNet, Saturday, 20 March 2010, 20:58 GMT]
Quoting a landmark 1923 decision on rules governing international agreements by the Permanent Court of International Justice (PCIJ), Professor Boyle, an expert in international law, referred to Colombo's claim that UN is infringing on the sovereignty of a member state, and said, "I am not going to spend a lot of time here refuting this erroneous and disingenuous interpretation of international law and the requirements of the United Nations Charter by the GoSL (Government of Sri Lanka) and its Foreign Minister. There is one definitive answer to their objection. Namely, the GoSL Army undoubtedly inflicted numerous violations of the Four Geneva Conventions of 1949 upon the Tamils in Vanni a year ago, and in particular but not limited to gross violations of Common Article 3 thereof, which constituted war crimes. Sri Lanka is a contracting party to the Four Geneva Conventions of 1949."
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Real war is just beginning, get involved: Brian Senewiratne

[TamilNet, Friday, 19 March 2010, 18:47 GMT]
“Despite my involvement over many years, I was taken aback by the result,” writes Brian Senewiratne on the overwhelming mandate for Tamil Eelam in the referenda of the diaspora in several countries. The time for federation has long since gone. Until the Tamil areas are separated from the control in Colombo there will be neither peace nor prosperity in the island. If there is a genuine referendum in the Tamil areas of the island the ‘yes’ vote might be 100 percent and Delhi will have to duck for cover if such a ballot is taken among the 70 million Tamils of Tamil Nadu, he writes. According to him this major crisis of global dimensions, the genesis of which lies in British colonialism, and the global fall-out in resolving it, demands global response. The real war, not in a military sense, is just beginning. Loss of hope has achieved nothing and the ray of hope is the Tamil youth, he says.
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9 injured in head-on collision on A9 road in Chaavakachcheari

[TamilNet, Friday, 19 March 2010, 18:22 GMT]
A vehicle from Colombo carrying passengers to Jaffna along A9 road and another vehicle on its way to Colombo from Jaffna met in a head-on collision, injuring nine persons in Chaavakachcheari , sources in Jaffna said. The injured persons are Tamils who were travelling to Jaffna to attend a funeral. They were first admitted to Chaavakachcheari government hospital and later transferred to Jaffna Teaching Hospital for further treatment.
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Cutting UN ties will earn Sri Lanka rogue status, says Prof. Boyle

[TamilNet, Friday, 19 March 2010, 00:28 GMT]
"If the Government of Sri Lanka ruptures relations with the United Nations, then it will turn itself into a pariah state along the lines of apartheid South Africa or the genocidal rump Yugoslavia, both of which the United Nations General Assembly suspended from participation in the activities of the United Nations for their criminal behavior. In fact and in law, the same principles should apply here.," said Professor Boyle, commenting on Colombo's recent warning that "ties with the United Nations (UN) is in danger of going sour if the present conflict with UN Secretary General Ban ki-moon over his move to appoint a panel on Sri Lanka is not resolved."
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Government engaged in Sinhalese colonization in Kokkaavil – Suresh Premachandran

[TamilNet, Thursday, 18 March 2010, 18:17 GMT]
Suresh Premachandran, Tamil National Alliance (TNA) former Jaffna parliamentarian and a TNA candidate contesting Jaffna electorate, accused Sri Lanka government of systematically colonizing Kokkaavil in Mullaiththevu district along A9 road with Sinhalese, in the TNA election campaign meeting held Thursday in Chuzhipuram-Tholpuram area, sources in Jaffna said. He also accused Sri Lanka Army (SLA) officers and soldiers of dismantling the vehicles abandoned by Vanni residents when they were driven to Mu’l’livaaikkaal and selling the parts in Vavuniyaa and Anuradapura making huge profit.
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“Mahinda’s Sinhala regime will swallow Eastern Province in 10 years” – Sampanthan

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 17 March 2010, 17:53 GMT]
“Mahinda Rajapakse’’s Sinhala regime plans to take over the Eastern Province under its complete control by wiping out Tamil representation but Tamil National Alliance will certainly defeat this insidious plan,” R. Sampanthan, leader of TNA, said addressing the first TNA election campaign meeting in Jaffna district held Wednesday at Aavarangkaal, sources in Jaffna said. “In the context of Tamil representation being reduced in Eastern Province TNA can only get maximum representation in the North and therefore all the voters in Jaffna district should help to achieve this by casting their votes to TNA,” Sampanthan appealed.
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EPDP obstructs other parties campaigning in the islets of Jaffna

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 17 March 2010, 14:57 GMT]
Candidates contesting Jaffna district electorate allege that supporters of Eelam People’s Democratic Party (EPDP), a constituent party in the ruling United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA), obstruct other political parties from electioneering in the islets of Jaffna which are under the complete control of Sri Lanka Navy (SLN). EPDP is trying to secure a seat in the parliamentary election in the islets of Jaffna with threats and physical harm to the contestants and supporters of other political parties, the candidate of a national political party who had been to the islets for election campaigning told TamilNet.
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Expert panel for Sri Lanka will not infringe on sovereignty – Ban Ki-moon

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 17 March 2010, 07:09 GMT]
The panel of experts being set up by the United Nations as part of an accountability process following the end of the civil war in Sri Lanka will not infringe on the country’s sovereignty, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said Tuesday. Mr. Ban told journalists that the establishment of the panel is in line with a joint statement he issued with Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa during his visit to the country last May after Government forces defeated the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), according to UN News Centre press release Tuesday.
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TNA candidates meet SLA officers in Ki’linochchi

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 16 March 2010, 20:55 GMT]
Former Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarians Mavai Senathirajah and Suresh Premachandran, held a meeting with Sri Lanka Army (SLA) officers in Ki’linochchi Tuesday where they brought to their attention about TNA candidates as well as contestants of Tamil National United Front (TNUF) being obstructed from canvassing among the resettled people in Ki’linochchi district recently, according to Suresh Premachandran. The SLA officers have now agreed to allow candidates to meet the resettled people in Ki’linochchi and canvass among them but whether the SLA soldiers manning the check posts will carry out the instructions of their superiors is yet to be seen, he added.
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Koapaay Teacher trainees boycott lectures

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 16 March 2010, 16:50 GMT]
Nearly 300 teacher trainees of Koapaay Government Teachers’ Training College (GTTC) began a boycott of lectures Tuesday demanding better basic facilities and the removal of their principal alleging that he is involved in malpractices swindling college resources, sources in Jaffna said. Ninety-five percentage of the teacher trainees are Muslims from Eastern Province of whom many had sought refugee with Tamil families in the peninsula because of the lack of basic facilities, the sources added.
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Election campaign gains momentum in Jaffna peninsula

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 16 March 2010, 16:28 GMT]
Election campaign activities by contesting political parties and independent groups have gained momentum in Jaffna peninsula and leaders of political parties including President Mahinda Rajapakse of United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA), R. Sampanthan of Tamil National Alliance (TNA), Ranil Wickremasinghe of United National Party (UNP) and Somaratne Amarasinghe of Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) are expected to come to the peninsula to engage in electioneering, sources in Jaffna said.
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