Pandemic underscores need for reviving Cooperative Societies in North-East

[TamilNet, Friday, 01 May 2020, 21:36 GMT]
SL State-owned retail chain and private supermarket food cities have failed to provide critical supplies at subsidised prices to the people of North-East during the pandemic measures. However, the Multi-Purpose Cooperative Societies (MPCS’s), which were almost in stalemate for years, have again found their use invaluable during the pandemic curfew and lockdown in 2020. The cooperative societies played a crucial role in providing reasonably priced products for a long time, especially during the times of war. The MPCS’s were particularly active during the LTTE-run de-facto state of Tamil Eelam as they were effectively organised and managed without corruption.
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Accuracy of COVID-19 tests carried out in Jaffna called into question

[TamilNet, Thursday, 30 April 2020, 23:41 GMT]
Director of Jaffna Teaching Hospital Dr T Sathiyamoorthy has been issuing daily reports, including the cases both within and beyond his area of responsibility, covering the entire district of Jaffna. The Jaffna Hospital is unable to carry out tests effectively using its test equipment. The tests were being carried out externally at the medical faculty of the University of Jaffna. There were issues with the test equipment as verification tests with distilled water failed to perform as expected at both the labs in Jaffna. In the meantime, the supplier of the reagents has also questioned the possibility of contamination of the test environment, triggering concerns among the laboratory technicians, informed medical practitioners said on condition on anonymity.
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SL military seizes up to fifty schools in North for quarantine purposes amidst public objections

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 28 April 2020, 20:05 GMT]
The occupying SL military has seized around fifty schools in the Northern Province in recent days intending to convert these as Quarantine Centres (QCs) sparking protests from the public and educational organisations. People were protesting at Araali in Vadduk-koaddai in Jaffna. General Secretary of the Ceylon Teachers’ Union Joseph Stalin has condemned the move. However, the SL military continues to relocate the furniture away from the schools and bring people to the seized schools. While there was no identified pattern of COVID-19 spread in Mullaith-theevu, Ki'linochcih and Mannaar districts of the Northern Province as well as the islets off Jaffna, the militarised QCs in large numbers in the midst of densely populated areas have caused fear among the public.
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Gotabaya faces test on balancing foreign powers’ access to Trincomalee

[TamilNet, Sunday, 26 April 2020, 11:50 GMT]
Sinhala nationalist hardliners, who are opposed to the UNP-led alliance have stepped up their campaign against the continued leasing of China Bay Tankfarm in Trincomalee to Lanka IOC PLC, a private subsidiary of Indian Oil Corporation in the island. The pro-China sections also have reservations about SL President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s US background, informed sources in Colombo said. In the meantime, the oil farm of the World War II vintage has gained attention at various levels as oil prices continue to fall due to the pandemic and there is an increased demand for the storage of crude oil.
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India-Pakistan rivalry deprives regional focus on fighting pandemic in South Asia

[TamilNet, Friday, 24 April 2020, 15:32 GMT]
Pakistan broke the almost one month silence of the regional grouping, South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) as it initiated a virtual conference of health ministers on Thursday. The move comes a month after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the initiative for COVID-19 Emergency Fund through a video conference with his counterparts last month. The meeting on Thursday was attended by all member states and the SAARC Secretary-General, Esala Ruwan Weerakoon. However, most countries had reduced their representation to below ministerial rank, Indian media noted.
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COVID-19 deaths pass 1000 in South Asia, Maldives faces various challenges

[TamilNet, Thursday, 23 April 2020, 11:15 GMT]
More than one thousand people have perished in South Asia due to COVID-19 pandemic as of Tuesday, and the cases of infection stand at 35,000, according to a news report filed by Turkish Anadolu Agency on Wednesday. India is the worst-hit country passing more than 20,000 reported cases of infection, followed by Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan. Meanwhile, the International Monetary Fund has approved a disbursement of US $28.9 million to the Maldives on Thursday. The Maldivian economy, which is dependent on tourism revenues standing for more than 60 per cent of the country’s GDP, is struggling to cope with the challenge of diversifying its economy.
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Colombo brings 1,100 persons from South to military-operated Quarantine Centres in North

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 22 April 2020, 16:29 GMT]
Civil authorities in the North were not informed in advance about SL authorities in Colombo starting to bring a large number of people, around 1100 persons, to military-operated Quarantine Centres in the Northern Province. Northern Provincial Regional Director of Health Services (RDHS) Dr A Ketheeswaran said he was yet to receive details when contacted by TamilNet on Wednesday. However, he was told by SL Army Commander Lt Gen Shavendra Silva that the office of the RDHS, as well as the Government Agents of the districts in the province, would receive the details. The SL military has started to quarantine ninety-nine persons in Palaali, informed sources said. Earlier, there were reports of cross infections due to “dormitory” type of isolation centres operated by the Palaali-based military at KKS.
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GMOA deploys “genocidal society” attitude against Tamil specialist on epidemics

[TamilNet, Saturday, 18 April 2020, 15:54 GMT]
The secretary of SL Government Medical Officers’ Association (GMOA) Dr Haritha Aluthge, a Sinhalese, has baselessly attacked Consultant Community Physician (CCP) Dr Murali Vallipuranathan, an outspoken Tamil from North. Without providing any credible evidence, Aluthge was blaming Murali Vallipuranathan for “unacceptable & controversial conduct during the present COVID-19 pandemic situation” and was accusing the UK-trained Tamil specialist on epidemics of “expressing views detrimental to the Health Department & Sri Lanka Army”. The GMOA Secretary was also claiming that Dr Vallipuranathan had a “controversial & racist previous history”. The GMOA letter, dated 17 April, comes after Vallipuranthan’s case studies called into question the “dormitory” type of COVID-19 isolation centres on 06 April and on 15 April.
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Colombo issued Gazette banning burials amidst objections raised by UN Rapporteurs

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 14 April 2020, 22:19 GMT]
The SL State seems to have gone ahead with an extraordinary Gazette notification instructing the health authorities to cremate the corpses of all persons who have died of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) on 11 April, ignoring a joint letter from four UN Special Rapporteurs dated 08 April. The Special Rapporteurs were urging the SL President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to reconsider the SL Ministry of Health Guidelines that had been modified on 31 March banning the burial of the corpses of dead COVID-19 suspected and confirmed patients in the island. They were seeking five clarifications from the SL President, including whether the SL authorities had any consultation with health experts, civil society and community members before to make sure that the instruction was non-discriminatory, necessary and proportionate to the objective pursued.
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SL Police detains social media activist for posting against vilification of Muslims

[TamilNet, Monday, 13 April 2020, 23:02 GMT]
The Muslims in the island have no other option than utilising pens and keyboards to confront their adversaries, who have unleashed an ideological war upon them, wrote Ramzy Razeek, a social media activist from Central Province on 02 April. He was reacting to the conduct of a section of Sinhala journalists and politicians, who were exploiting the fear of the Covid-19 pandemic to incite anti-Muslim sentiments among the Sinhala people. Only a strategically conceived information struggle could defeat the anti-Muslim tendency in the island, he wrote. Ramzy was referring to the non-violent information struggle as “ideological Jihad”. Seven days later, he was detained by the SL Police, which is now attempting to charge him under the ICCPR Act of 2007 alleging him of inciting religious hatred.
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Colombo's racial prejudice against Tamils stands exposed in prisoners release

[TamilNet, Sunday, 12 April 2020, 23:57 GMT]
The SL State released almost three-thousand prisoners from its prisons to halt the spread of the pandemic in jails. However, none of the eighty-four Tamil Political Prisoners were among those released. Although a massacre convicted Sinhala Army soldier was set free, the SL State was not prepared to release even a single Tamil political prisoner (TPP) who has been indefinitely detained for years without trial. At a time when the entire island is supposed to confront the pandemic jointly, why does the SL State discriminate the TPPs, asked 35-year-old Komahan Murugiah, a former TPP from Jaffna. If the SL State was genuine as it claims of being united in the fight against the pandemic, both the state and the collaborating politicians must prove their credibility by releasing the TPPs who are languishing in the jails, Mr Komahan told TamilNet.
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Colombo uses COVID-19 situation to militarise civil administration in North

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 07 April 2020, 20:19 GMT]
The Community Based Organisations and Non-Governmental Organisations involved in assisting the people, who have lost their livelihood due to the long-lasting curfew imposed to control the spread of COVID-19 pandemic, are complaining about military restrictions hampering their work in Jaffna. The occupying SL military has beefed up its checkpoints on the main highways that connect peninsular Jaffna with the Vanni mainland and the rest of the island. The SL soldiers operating the Elephant Pass (EPS) and Poonakari (Pooneryn) checkpoints are refusing to accept the documents provided to the organisations even though the SL Police has sanctioned such permits at the request of Village (GS) and Divisional Secretaries in the public sector.
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84,000 families face livelihood hardships due to curfew restrictions in Jaffna district

[TamilNet, Monday, 06 April 2020, 22:46 GMT]
Although the SL President announced that Samurdhi beneficiaries and Samurdhi cardholders would receive an interest-free advance of Rs 10,000 ($50) per family, the progress is at snail's pace in Jaffna and the Northern province, officials at the District Secretariat in Jaffna said. People below the island-wide poverty line are entitled to the Samurdhi beneficiary programmes. Currently, there are 72,000 families registered under the Samurdhi programme in Jaffna district. Around 12,000 more applications are pending for approval, sources at the District Secretariat said.
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Sinhala-militarised COVID-19 deterrence whips up anti-Muslim sentiments

[TamilNet, Sunday, 05 April 2020, 23:52 GMT]
Two of the early COVID-19-related deaths in the island have been those of Muslims. The SL authorities have forcibly cremated their remains, most probably with the instructions from the SL military hierarchy. A few days ago, SL Army Commander Lieutenant General Shavendra Silva, who is also the acting chief of defence staff went to the extent of mentioning two specific instances of persons testing positive for COVID-19 infection as Muslims. Shavendra Silva, who also heads the “National Operation Centre for Prevention of COVID-19 Outbreak,” was reiterating that both those tested positive were Muslims in a video comment to Hiru on 29 March. Coupled with the body language of his insinuating smile, what Shavendra Silva uttered in the Hiru should qualify as a hate speech.
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GMOA criticises Colombo’s Health Ministry for inadequate COVID-19 testing capacity

[TamilNet, Saturday, 04 April 2020, 22:08 GMT]
The SL Health Ministry of the unitary state system of Colombo, which is primarily responsible for the provision of comprehensive health services in the public sector has claimed that it was possible to conduct COVID-19 testing for 750 to 1,000 persons daily. However, the examination is underperformed in the population, according to the Government Medical Officers Association (GMOA). The public sector medical institutions are conducting 250 tests or even less than that, according to Dr Samantha Ananda, the spokesperson of the GMOA.
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Shavendra-ban, COVID-19 no hindrance to SL Navy “Balanced Style” training with US Green Berets

[TamilNet, Friday, 03 April 2020, 22:23 GMT]
Members of a US Army Special Forces (Green Berets) Operational Detachment Alpha (SFOD-A) team, attached to the US Indo-Pacific Command (USINDOPACOM) have conducted a four-week-long training with two notorious wartime formations of the occupying navy of genocidal Sri Lanka in Trincomalee in March. The Green Berets providing specialised training to SL Navy has a long history. The “Operation Balanced Style” sessions went on at secret locations in the South in 1996 and 2001. After 2009, the USINDOPACOM started to conduct naval port visits, various training programmes including the latest Joint Combined Exchange Training (JCET). The US military has also experimented with “temporary air logistics hub concept” as well as grooming a marine force for the unitary state in the Sinhalicised and militarised district of the capital city of the occupied country of Eezham Tamils.
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Politics of statements failing to call a spade a spade

[TamilNet, Monday, 30 March 2020, 21:51 GMT]
The latest presidential pardoning of a massacre-convicted SL Army soldier is an outcome of the Mahawansa mindset, which is the ideology triggering the specific intent (Dolus Specialis) for Tamil genocide. In the chosen island of “Sri Lanka,” it is the genocidal Mahawansa doctrine that ultimately determines the delivery of justice as well as sustaining the unitary character of the state. Any roadmap, which seeks to improve the Colombo-centric system through gradual reforms without reconfiguring the underlying state structure in the first place, only paves the way for reversing even the cosmetic outcomes of the concerned deceptive progress. Those who contribute to such an experiment, directly or indirectly — even if they intend to disprove the approach through partaking in it — are complicit in sophisticated genocide denial as long as they are not prepared to call a spade a spade.
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New Delhi's prolonged Kashmir-lockdown causes concerns amidst Corona pandemic

[TamilNet, Saturday, 28 March 2020, 20:07 GMT]
Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Makhdoom Shah Mahmood Qureshi has demanded the regional grouping SAARC place the COVID-19 Emergency Fund under the disposal of the Secretary-General of SAARC. New Delhi offered an initial contribution of US $10 million, which was followed by Colombo offering $5 million, Malé $2 million, Dhaka $1.5 million, Kathmandu $1 million and Thimphu $100,000. While the heads of states of seven countries took part in a video conference, Pakistan deployed Dr Zafar Mirza, a ministerial rank special assistant to its prime minister to represent the country. Dr Mirza was urging India to relax the lockdown in Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir. In the meantime, news reports from Srinagar said anxiety and fear were high in the Indian-administered Kashmir as the speed restriction imposed by New Delhi on internet services continues under the pandemic outbreak.
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Monk praises Gota for releasing SLA soldier from death row, celebrates genocidaire soldier as “hero”

[TamilNet, Thursday, 26 March 2020, 23:38 GMT]
While all attention remains focused on the lethal Corona pandemic, SL President Gotabaya has chosen to silently release a Sinhala soldier, Sunil Ratnayake, who was sentenced to death in 2015 for one of the brutal massacres committed on Eezham Tamils. In a genocidal act, eight Tamil civilians, including a five-year-old child and two teenagers, were massacred by Ratnayake and five other soldiers at Mirusuvil in Jaffna on 19 December 2000. Ratnayake, a non-commissioned officer of the SL Army, was the only soldier to be punished by the court. The case was put off several times to facilitate escape routes to commissioned rank officers, except Ratnayake, whom the system intended to release at a later opportunity, as it has happened now, Tamil rights activists in Jaffna commented. In the meantime an extremist Sinhala Buddhist monk celebrated the release posting a video comment on Facebook.
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Island-wide Corona infection estimated at 550 with spread risk to 19,000 persons

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 25 March 2020, 23:06 GMT]
With 101 medically confirmed cases so far, the number of actual Corona-infected persons circulating within the peoples in the island could be around 550, according to a situation report issued by the Government Medical Officers’ Association (GMOA) on Wednesday. The Colombo-based association estimated the contact-risk by these possible 550 patients at 19,000 individuals at present. It identified districts of Colombo, Gampaha, Kalutara, and Puththa'lam as high-risk areas. If the curfew is lifted, social distancing would be considerably affected, the report said proposing to extend the lockdown to 07 April.
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