François Houtart passes away in Ecuador

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 07 June 2017, 23:33 GMT]
Belgian Marxist Sociologist Emeritus Professor François Houtart has passed away in Quito, the capital of Ecuador on Tuesday at the age of 92. Rev Fr Houtart's demise occurred while he was taking part in a conference on Eezham Tamils with German-based Viraj Mendis at Quito. Fr Houtart was one of the first world intellectuals to recognise the genocide on Eezham Tamils after the 2009 onslaught on Vanni. He chaired the People’s Tribunal on Sri Lanka, which was held in Dublin in 2010. The investigation process was finally concluded in December 2013 at Bremen in Germany with the findings that Eezham Tamils have been subjected to Genocide. “He was a reference, a voice and a heart for hundreds of thousands of people all over the world, more particularly in Asia, Africa and Latin America, from heads of State to the most humble of landless peasants,” one of his colleagues wrote on Wednesday.
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Increased ethnic harassment by Sinhala police in Kaathaankudi

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 06 June 2017, 15:31 GMT]
Sinhala policemen employed at Kaaththaan-kudi police station, which is located at Magnchan-thoduvaay in Batticaloa district are ethnically targeting Eezham Tamils subjecting them for harassment and extortion, Tamils from Ma’nmunaip-pattu and and Ma’nmunai North complain. Both the Criminal Investigation Division policemen and the Traffic police attached to the station are asking for favours from travellers on the road who are from nearby Tamil villages.
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IMF agenda, new SL Finance Minister to manipulate Diaspora Tamils

[TamilNet, Sunday, 04 June 2017, 23:12 GMT]
The advisors of the International Moneteray Fund (IMF) and the World Bank were instrumental in allowing the genocidal State of Sri Lanka to wage the onslaught on Vanni in 2009. This was clearly exposed by an email exchange dated 04 May 2009, which was between the then US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and one of her key political consultant Burns Strider. The same IMF has now determined who is to be the Finance Minister in the island. This is part of an unwritten and unspoken condition from the deliberations between the IMF and the genocidal State as part of a three-year Extended Fund Facility arrangement, informed circles in Colombo told TamilNet this week. As part of the secret deliberations, the Colombo Establishment was under extreme pressure from the external quarters attached to the IMF to install Mangala Samaraweera as Finance Minister.
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Vaṇṇār-paṇṇai, Uvāyaṭip-paṇṇai

[TamilNet, Sunday, 04 June 2017, 18:30 GMT]
The pond, workplace or assembly of the community of washermen

The farm in the locality of an Uvāy tree
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Sinhala police blocks night-feast events at Tamil folk-temple in Batticaloa

[TamilNet, Saturday, 03 June 2017, 23:29 GMT]
The occupying Sinhala police of genocidal Sri Lanka has blocked Thiruk-ku'lirththi night-event, which is to be observed at Ka'n'naki Amman Temple on the night of 09 June, news sourcs in Batticaloa said citing the trustee board of the temple. Sinhala Officer-in-Charge of Kaaththaan-kudi Police Mr Wedagedara has refused the temple administration to proceed with the temple event which features devotional songs throughout the night. Ku'lirthi is a rituals observed to propitiate the deity as a remedy for drought, natural calamities and other miseries. It is performed during the Tamil month of Vaikaasi every year. The all-night event has not been blocked by the SL Police in the recent years after the war.
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Cāvakac-cēri

[TamilNet, Saturday, 03 June 2017, 18:30 GMT]
The Javanese settlement
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Tamil Diaspora youth protest in front of Indian Embassy in Switzerland

[TamilNet, Friday, 02 June 2017, 21:41 GMT]
Eezham Tamil Diaspora activists in Switzerland mobilized a protest on Friday in front of the Indian Embassy at Bern, demanding the release of Tamil Nadu activists Thirumurgan Gandhi from the May 17 Movement, and Daison, Ilamaran and Arun from the Tamil Vidiyal Kadchi. The four activists have been detained without trial in Puzhal Jail by Tamil Nadu State Police under the influence by the New Delhi Establishment since 21st of May, following a peaceful candle vigil Mu’l’livaaykkaal Remembrance at Marina Beach in Chennai. The Indian Embassy officials responded with ‘surveillance threat’ by taking photos of the activists.
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Stranded Mu'l'lik-ku'lam villagers seek attention towards their grievances

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 31 May 2017, 23:37 GMT]
More than 100 families of uprooted Tamils from the coastal village of Mu'l'lik-ku'lam in the Musali division of Mannaar district, say they are stranded at the church and the school for one month since 29 April. They are still not allowed to inspect their properties that remain occupied by the SL Navy. The uprooted people say they have been deceived by the SL Establishment. “None of our lands have been released,” says 28-year-old fisherman Theepak Revel in an interview to TamilNet this week. “We have been completely deceived. We are living as displaced people in our own village. There is no freedom of movement,” he said. 56-year-old Christophu Mariyathas said there was no information from the SL Navy about releasing their lands houses.
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100th day protest demanding answers on enforced disappeared shocks Colombo, Sirisena exposed

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 30 May 2017, 23:04 GMT]
The 100th day of continues protests by the families of enforced disappeared Tamils was marked at Ki'linochchi on Tuesday with more than 1,000 people attending the protest. The protesters were blocking the A9 Highway demanding SL President Maithiripala Sirisena to come and meet them in person with a time-bound answer on the whereabouts of their kith and kin, who were handed over to the occupying Sinhala military of genocidal Sri Lanka at the final days of the onslaught in May 2009. The SL Establishment caught in shock has asked for 2 weeks of time for a meeting through SL Governor Reginald Cooray in North. But, the hidden agenda of Colombo was again exposed as Mr Cooray went on record at a press conference stating there will be no response other than the offer of ‘certificate of missing person’ and monetary assistance to the families.
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Draconian laws used to suppress key grassroots activists in Tamil Nadu

[TamilNet, Monday, 29 May 2017, 21:12 GMT]
Thirumurugan Gandhi, the convener of the May 17 Movement and Daison Jose, the leader of Thamizh Vidiyal Kadchi, its District Coordinator Ilamaran and activist Arun, have been detained under the so-called ‘Goondas’ Act in the Tamil Nadu State in India. The activists were initially detained on May 21 when they organised a peaceful candle vigil to remember the Eezham Tamils who perished in the genocidal onslaught on Tamil Eelam in 2009. It is widely believed that the New Delhi Establishment, which is proxy meddling with the affairs of Tamil Nadu following the demise of the late Chief Minister Ms Jayalalithaa, is behind the suppressive move through the Police in Tamil Nadu. The Goondas Act is a draconian law that stems from the times of the British colonialism.
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Rigid military ‘pass system’ continues to restrict freedom of movement in Paduvaankarai

[TamilNet, Sunday, 28 May 2017, 23:30 GMT]
Nine years have elapsed since the end of war in East. Still, the occupying military of genocidal Sri Lanka is controlling freedom of movement in the interior north-western hinterland of Batticaloa district, which is known as Paduvaan-karai. The SL Army personnel manning a check post at Kiraan Bridge are refusing entry to civilian vehicles at random. The Community Based Organisations and Non-Governmental Organisations visiting the area are being redirected to Welikanda military base (Polonnaruwa district) with the instruction to secure permission to their entry into Paduvaan-karai in Batticaloa with a pass document. Around 5,000 Tamil families live in the area which comes under Koa'ra'laip-pattu South (Kiraan) division.
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Islamophobic monks from Myanmar visit genocidal Buddhist project in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Saturday, 27 May 2017, 23:40 GMT]
A section of Theravada Buddhist monks from Myanmar (Burma), who are opposed to Rohingya people in their country, were seen as part of a delegation comprising South-East Asian and Chinese monks visiting Nayinaa-theevu islet off Jaffna on Saturday. The genocidal ‘Sri Lanka’ Navy is now engaged in Sinhala-Buddhicisation of the islet and is pushing for the controversial move of constructing a 67-feet Buddha statue, completely disregarding the objections from the people of Jaffna peninsula, their democratic civic bodies and even the sections of officials employed in the civil service of Colombo government. The Sinhala-Buddhicisation project should also be seen as a systematically conceived military cum demographic security threat against Tamil Nadu, India and the entire region in the long run, political observers in Jaffna said.
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Sirisena diverts water away from Tamil farmers to Sinhala projects in East

[TamilNet, Friday, 26 May 2017, 18:19 GMT]
Eezham Tamil agricultural farmers, who are dependent on irrigation from Vaakaneari tank in Koa'ra'laip-pattu South DS division, complain that the water intended to the tank is being diverted to Sinhala military run farms West of Vadamunai and by re-channelling the water from Vaakaneari tank to Sinhala-owned tourism industry in Paasik-kudaa. In the meantime, more than 1,200 Eezham Tamil fishing families, who are dependent on fresh water fishing in the tank, have also been severely affected by the diversion of the water. The SL President and Mahaweli minister Maithiripala Sirisena is directly responsible for the diversion of the water. The Tamil farmers and fishermen have condemned Maithiripala Sirisena for re-channelling the water away from tanks used by Tamils in Batticaloa to his Sinhala electorate of Polonnaruwa.
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Tamil Nadu activists warn New Delhi for proxy meddling with Tamils’ affairs

[TamilNet, Thursday, 25 May 2017, 11:56 GMT]
The Police in Tamil Nadu, under the pressure of New Delhi, has forcefully clamped down on the peaceful Mu’l’livaaykkaal Remembrance Day on 21st of May. The brutal conduct by the Police has its origins from Jallikkaddu struggle, which was won by the masses of Tamil Nadu earlier this year. Following the victory of the mass struggle, the Police force in Tamil Nadu, initially supportive of the Jallikkaddu struggle, was suddenly let loose against the activists and particularly targeting the grassroots with violence as never witnessed before at the instigation by New Delhi. Ideology oriented Tamil activists of movements such as May 17 Movement have been targeted on both the occasions. The BJP and the Central Government of India will be sharply opposed for meddling in Tamil affairs through its proxies in Tamil Nadu and for instigating police violence, the activists in Tamil Nadu have warned.
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Western funding deployed to suppress voices of Tamil women in Batticaloa

[TamilNet, Sunday, 21 May 2017, 16:59 GMT]
An Oadda-maavadi based NGO outfit, known as ‘Eastern Social Development Foundation’ (ESDF) is actively engaged by the occupying Colombo to contain the protests from female-led Tamil families in Batticaloa, Tamil activists in Batticaloa say. The families of persons subjected to enforced disappearance at the hands of SL military and its paramilitary groups are being selectively targeted. The ESDF is deploying funds from USA and UN agencies, Tamil activists in Batticaloa alleged. However, an informed source close to Buhary Mohammed, the founder and CEO of the outfit, said that the funds were in fact flowing from UK-based Commonwealth Foundation, Luxembourg based Government agency and PADEM and a Luxembourg-based NGO which is funded by France.
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Resettled Tamils complain increased harassments by SL military at Kudumpi-malai

[TamilNet, Saturday, 20 May 2017, 22:09 GMT]
The deployment of Sinhala military belonging to 232 Brigade Headquarters of the occupying Sinhala military at Kudumpi-malai (which is also known as Thoppik-kal and Baron’s Cap) in the interior of the northwestern hinterland of Batticaloa is not only a demographic and structural threat, but also a cultural threat, complain Tamil villagers. More than 500 Eezham Tamil families were living there during the times of the LTTE. Only 120 families have managed to resettle there amidst the deprived infrastructure and basic facilities to them. Their temples are still under SL military occupation. Tamil Heroes Cemetery, which was the largest one in the district, has been fully bulldozed and a Sinhala military base is built there. Monuments of SL military’s genocidal victory are showcased to the Sinhala visitors, who are promoted to tour the area as visitors to ‘Thoppigala Heritage Park’.
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Irish, Tamil, Sinhala activists expose British colonialism as root cause of their national conflicts

[TamilNet, Friday, 19 May 2017, 23:36 GMT]
“Ireland and the Irish are no strangers to State oppression [...] Over 70000 Tamils were killed during the final phase of the last war [...] The World [establishments], in some instances, encouraged it,” said Joe Austin, the president of the National Graves association at the Mu'l'livaaykkaal Remembrance Day in the north of Ireland on Friday. He was addressing a workshop participated by Irish activists, Eezham Tamil survivors of genocide such as Tamilvani who was featured in the documentaries by the Channel 4 and exiled Sinhala activists. Rev Fr M V E Ravichandran, a civil society activist from Jaffna, also participated in the event. Sinn Féin politician Pat Sheehan said people should not look at the conflict in Ireland through the prism of colonialism. The conflict in Ireland is about Colonialism, he said. Professor Jude Lal explained how the Colonialism formed the genocidal SL State.
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Eezham Tamils mark Genocide Remembrance braving veiled threats from Colombo

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 16 May 2017, 23:39 GMT]
Northern Provincial Councillors, including Chief Minister Justice C.V. Wigneswaran, Tamil Peoples’ Council (TPC), Tamil National Peoples’ Front (TNPF), Tamil civil society, political parties of former Tamil militants including the EPRLF, TELO and PLOTE and TNA parliamentarians from Vanni electorate, have vowed their commitment to mark Mu'l'ilvaaykkaal Remembrance as Tamil Genocide Remembrance calling for the public to attend various events scheduled at Mu'l'livaaykaal on Thursday. The Catholic community associated with St. Paul’s Church in Mu'l'livaaykkaal have organised 800 stones to be engraved with the names of those who perished in the genocidal onslaught and called for a memorial monument at Mu'l'livaaykkaal where a statue was erected last year.
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Remembering Mu’l’livaaykkaal in proper context: Professor Jude Lal Fernando

[TamilNet, Monday, 15 May 2017, 23:15 GMT]
Martin McGuinnes, the former first minister of Northern Ireland (2007 – 2017), who was previously the chief Negotiator of Sinn Féin, which has been the political wing of the Irish Republican Army (IRA), in 2006 travelled to Colombo and Ki’linochchi. At Ki’linochchi, he openly stated that the EU leaders had committed a huge mistake by proscribing the LTTE. The EU ban harmed the parity of status in the talks and paved the way for genocidal onslaught. Professor Jude Lal Fernando of Trinity College, Dublin, an exiled Sinhala activist who has been actively engaged in seeking global justice to Tamil genocide said the idea to mark Mu’l’livaaykkaal Remembrance in the north of Ireland this year was conceived with due respect to the parity of status promoted by the Irish during the peace process between the LTTE and the Colombo government in 2006.
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Tamil Genocide and Resistance to be commemorated in north of Ireland

[TamilNet, Sunday, 14 May 2017, 20:02 GMT]
Irish and exiled Sinhala activists are this year joined by Eezham Tamil diaspora in organising remembrance events on Mu’l’livaaykkaal Genocide on May 18 in the north of Ireland. The Remembrance Day is to be marked at Belfast and in Derry, with memorial functions at republican cemeteries and at memorial sites followed by screening of documentaries and public meetings. The move reflects increasing efforts at solidarity-building with the grassroots of oppressed nations and progressive forces in the Western hemisphere in order to internationalize the Eezham Tamil struggle and to build solidarity for their quest for equality, self-determination and justice, the organizers told TamilNet on Sunday. The Sinn Féin has also expressed its support to the Mu’l’livaaykkaal Genocide Remembrance, whcih is to be held in Derry and Belfast, the organizers further said.
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