Sinhalese language prioritized in the North

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 27 April 2010, 19:43 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army (SLA) and Sri Lanka government are accused of prioritizing Sinhalese language in the name and information boards in the predominantly Tamil areas in the North, by public organizations in Jaffna peninsula. Tamil language which had occupied the first place in the name boards and government information boards in the North has been brought down to second place by SLA and government, the organizations said. This introduction of Sinhalese as the first language in the North though appears as intended to cater for the Sinhalese people pouring into Jaffna peninsula as tourists the real motive is to impose Sinhala as the main language in the Tamil areas, they added.
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All in the game in the name of archaeology

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 27 April 2010, 03:19 GMT]
The Sinhala academics cannot compare their plight of opposing totalitarian social fascist system of governance with that of the Tamils who bear the entire brunt of fascism amounting to genocide set against them by an ethnic-powered state mechanism, says a Tamil academic in Jaffna responding to professor Sudharshan Seneviratne defending the archaeology agenda of Colombo. Genuine dialogue on culture, co-existence etc and partnership in opposing fascism come only when sovereignty snatched away from Tamils is restored as a priority and when there is parity. However patronising in overtures, individuals and organisations serving Colombo cannot escape from being ultimately colonial. Academics who are always on the side of enjoying the comforts of state power in the island are yet to explore ways of contributing to their ideals better by coming out of the system they identify as oppressive.
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British candidate calls Tamils victims of genocide

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 27 April 2010, 02:45 GMT]
Dr Rachel Joyce, Conservative Parliamentary Candidate, Harrow West, UK, in a statement circulated to her constituents, said she believes that since Sri Lanka's independence "the acts perpetrated the Government of Sri Lanka on Tamils including the burning down of Jaffna library...disappearance of Tamil individuals...and the use of concentration-style camps for internally displaced Tamils should be classed as Genocide." Dr Joyce further made a campaign promise to "work with the Tamils to get the acts perpetrated on the Tamils classed legally as a genocide so that the UN Convention can be used to address the problems."
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Police administration in North continues in ‘Sinhala Only’

[TamilNet, Saturday, 24 April 2010, 05:14 GMT]
Police administration in police stations and in courts in the North and East continue only in Sinhalese language causing immense difficulties to public as their complaints and statements are recorded in Sinhalese, a language not known to them, sources in Jaffna said. Despite the repeated insistence by magistrates in the North police administration is still carried out in Sinhalese language as the police officers being Sinhalese are not proficient in Tamil language to record complaints or statements in the language of the people. Six moths ago, Mahinda Rajapakse government had made great publicity of appointing Tamils in the police stations in the North and had held interviews to select candidates for training but nothing has come out of it, sources in Jaffna said.
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Indian aid to resettled Vanni civilians left undistributed along A9 road

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 20 April 2010, 16:06 GMT]
Materials to construct shelters given as aid by India meant for the resettled families in Vanni have not been fully distributed to them and are left unattended along A9 road due to noncooperation of Sri Lanka Army (SLA) authorities in Vanni and their refusal to grant permission for distribution, sources close to Ki’linochchi Secretariat said. SLA authorities purposely delay and obstruct distribution of these materials with the aim to give them to Sinhalese families to be colonized in places including Kokkaavil and Maangku’lam in Vanni, according to some Tamil National Alliance (TNA) newly elected representatives. The distribution of the materials had not been carried out by the government officials due to noncooperation by SLA authorities in Vanni.
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SLA blocks Hindus performing rituals in Keerimalai

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 20 April 2010, 10:14 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army (SLA) authorities in Jaffna have obstructed Hindus performing religious rituals to their ancestors in the temple pond as well as dissolving the ashes of their cremated relatives in Keerimalai seas around the historically famous Nakuleasvaram temple claiming that Keerimalai has been declared as a tourist spot and no one should pollute the springs and sea therein, sources in Jaffna said. This infringement on religious rights which had been observed by the Hindus for ages has angered the Hindu organizations in the peninsula, the sources added. Keerimalai is one of the major tourist attractions in Jaffna peninsula and SLA has imposed this restriction in order to please the Sinhalese tourists who continue to pour in their thousands after the opening of A9 road, representatives of the organizations said.
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JNU convention condemns Sri Lanka war crimes

[TamilNet, Sunday, 18 April 2010, 14:15 GMT]
"[C]onditions in Sri Lanka cannot improve unless the Tamils are given a respectful place in society as equal citizens. Unfortunately, that is not happening,” said Rajinder Sachar former Chief Justice on Delhi High Court in a conference on Sri Lanka's war crimes held at the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) Thursday, a summary report of the convention issued by the organizers said. The convention concluded with passing a resolution condemning "the genocidal war crimes perpetrated by the Sri Lankan government on the Tamils," and demanding that the war criminals in the Sri Lankan government be brought to justice, Tamils who have been forcefully detained in camps be released and settled in their native homes, an immediate end to colonization, and suspension of military aid by India.
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"Sri Lanka sets precedent for internationally acceptable genocide model"

[TamilNet, Saturday, 17 April 2010, 14:56 GMT]
Kolathur T. S. Mani, president of Periyar Dravidar Kazhagam, during a conference at Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi titled "Unspoken Genocide: Convention on War Crimes and Genocide in Sri Lanka," held at the Speaker Hall, Constitution Club on Thursday , said that Sri Lanka has presented to the world a viable model of genocide by successfully killing "hundreds of thousands of civilians without any witness" and not eliciting international or national censure or condemnation. Rajinder Sachar, former chief justice of High Court of New Delhi, a member of the Dublin war crimes Tribunal, Justice V R Krishna Iyer, former judge of the Supreme Court of India, and Syed Ali Shah Geelani, All Parties Hurriyet Conference (APHC), Kashmir, participated in the event among others.
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JMC evicts Sinhalese pavement traders in Nalloor

[TamilNet, Friday, 16 April 2010, 21:28 GMT]
Due to pressure from Jaffna Traders’ Union (JTU) and civil society organizations in Jaffna peninsula Jaffna Municipal Council (JMC) administration has begun evicting the Sinhalese pavement traders who had illegally set up stalls in the surroundings of historically famous Nalloor Kanthasuvami Koayil, sources in Jaffna said. Some of the above Sinhalese traders along with Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers had on 22 March demolished the memorial pillar of Lt. Col. Thileepan located behind Nalloor temple and this had enraged the residents of Jaffna peninsula who had accused JMC authorities for not evicting the illegal pavement traders from the streets around the temple.
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New Year celebrations dull in North

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 14 April 2010, 07:00 GMT]
The Tamil New Year was observed in a low key in the North as well as in the East of the country. The Vanni uprooted civilians held in Vavuniyaa Sri Lanka Army (SLA) detention camps, not allowed to resettle in their own places despite countless promises and dates announced by the government, had other unfulfilled basic needs in their minds than the arrival of the New Year, according to sources in Vavuniyaa. Meanwhile, Sinhalese Buddhists from the South attended in unprecedented numbers in the religious ceremonies held in Nainaatheevu Naakavikaarai, Aariyaku’lam Naakavikaarai and the newly built Buddhist Vikaarai in Ki’linochchi, sources in Jaffna said.
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New party to be launched in Tamil Nadu with Leaping Tiger as its flag

[TamilNet, Monday, 12 April 2010, 05:26 GMT]
Popular Film Director and Tamil activist S. Seeman has introduced Tiger flag for a new political party "Naam Tamilar" (We are Tamils) Saturday, claiming that the establishment of Tamil Eelam should be the moral goal of Tamils in Tamil Nadu as the leaders of the Indian Union and Tamil Nadu State had betrayed Eezham Tamils. Mr. Seeman has called for a major rally towards Mathurai on 18 May 2010, one year after the military subjugation of Eezham Tamils, marking the day as Black Day of Tamils and has announced that the new party would be inaugurated on that day. The event of introducing the flag took place at Thilagar Thidal of Thanjavur, the historic capital of the Cholas, whose emblem was Tiger.
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Sinhalese pavement shop burnt down in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Sunday, 11 April 2010, 05:04 GMT]
Unidentified persons Saturday night set fire to an illegal pavement shop set up buy Sinhalese traders from South in Naachchimaar Koayiladi in Jaffna, sources in Jaffna said. Friday night a local shop in this area had been burnt down. Conflicts and disputes between local traders and the Southern Sinhalese and Muslim traders who continue to pour into Jaffna after the opening of A9 road are on the increase with each day and Jaffna Municipal Council (JMC) is reluctant to evict these traders who encroach the streets of Jaffna, the sources added.
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Army and Archaeology Department at work in Tamil homeland

[TamilNet, Saturday, 10 April 2010, 06:56 GMT]
If the fort of Jaffna which was the symbol of colonial and post-colonial oppression of Eezham Tamils, and which continues to be the seat of occupying forces of the Sinhala State, has to be preserved with the funds of the Netherlands government, why should the monuments built by Tamils in their own land, remembering their own struggle, have to be destroyed, asks an academic in Jaffna, responding to the destruction of the memorial for Thileepan who fasted unto death in the struggle against Indian imperialism at Nalloor.
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EPDP continues to intimidate other contestants in the islets of Jaffna

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 06 April 2010, 14:35 GMT]
Eezham People’s Democratic Party (EPDP), an ally of the ruling United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA) in the islets of Jaffna which is under the absolute control of Sri Lanka Navy (SLN), has spread a false news in its website and media that 3 local youths had been attacked with swords in Naaranthanai in Oorkaavatu’rai in the islands of Jaffna with the aim of scaring the polling agents of other contestants from appearing for duty in the islets of Jaffna on the election day, sources in Jaffna said. Sinhalese thugs from South brought to Jaffna by United National Party (UNP) had slashed the youths, according to news spread by EPDP, the sources added. However, residents of Naaranthanai denied any attack on youths in their village while Jaffna dailies did not carry any such news.
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Eezham fishermen not responsible for attack on Tamil Nadu fishermen

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 06 April 2010, 14:11 GMT]
The president of Jaffna peninsula fishermen society federation, C. Thavarathinam, said Tuesday that the Tamil fishermen from Jaffna peninsula had nothing to do with the attack on Tamil Nadu fishermen on Kachchaitheevu seas Monday night. While refuting the rumour blaming Jaffna fishermen for the attack he said that there is a strong suspicion that the Sinhalese fishermen from the South who engage in deep fishing on Northern seas in large numbers had attacked the fishermen from Tamil Nadu with the assistance of Sri Lanka Navy (SLN) soldiers who are in full control of the islets of Jaffna and the seas around. Meanwhile, fishermen who were attacked said that SLN soldiers had assaulted them and cut off their nets besides confiscating their catch, sources in Raameasvaram said.
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TNPF manifesto cannot be faulted: Brian Senewiratne

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 06 April 2010, 02:10 GMT]
There has been no “General Election” in Sri Lanka since 1977. Most of the Tamils in the North and East have been effectively disenfranchised and only marginally better than the Plantation Tamils, says Brian Senewiratne. The options for the Tamils in the North and East are limited. They will not vote for the sympathetic left led by Sinhala leaders. This leaves the choice between the two, TNA and the TNPF. If I were a Tamil, there is no way I would vote for the TNA. The TNPF seems to have got the message that the Sinhala-Buddhist chauvinistic regime has to be confronted, and challenged, not pampered. The election choices facing the Plantation Tamils are serious, mainly because their political party is as ruthless as the government. Facing discontent the CWC is intimidating the Left working in the plantations, Brian writes.
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USA aids, awards Colombo supplier

[TamilNet, Monday, 05 April 2010, 22:56 GMT]
A Colombo-based supplier of horticultural produce to McDonalds, Burger King, Unilever, Heinz and also to Japan has been provided with US aid since 2008 to initiate its activities in the Eastern Province. Mr. Mohan Pandithage, chairman of the supplier group, Hayleys, a Multi National Corporate (MNC) of Sri Lanka, received an award from USAID for the achievement of economically linking conflict-affected East with the Colombo-centric system and through that with the other multinational corporates. While Eezham Tamils were butchered, starving, suffering from acute malnutrition, deprived of their land and were incarcerated, sections of their cultivable lands were producing gherkins, jalapeno, peppers and pineapples to MNCs under the programme of the USA, commented a university academic of the East.
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Elections for ‘Asian’ model of dictatorship

[TamilNet, Sunday, 04 April 2010, 10:27 GMT]
Even though the present elections are imposed ones and are deviation tactics of the oppressors, if it is properly understood where the game is heading for, Eezham Tamils will know to whom should they vote to keep their aspirations alive. Despite all odds, the TNA line of politics has to be challenged by the Tamil national cause, at least in some token constituencies, to send the message loud and clear to India and to the outside world. Such a challenge only can be the inspiration for Tamils to eventually evolve the much needed new genre of polity of their own to meet the local and global scenario and once again, such a challenge only can nullify forces conspiring to divide Eezham Tamils in the diaspora and at home, writes TamilNet political commentator in Colombo.
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“Winning the hearts of Sinhalese should be the main aim” – Varatharaja Perumal

[TamilNet, Friday, 02 April 2010, 12:36 GMT]
“All the Tamils in Sri Lanka together should strive to win the hearts of the Sinhalese,” Varatharaja Perumal, the leader of Eelam People’s Revolutionary Liberation Front (EPRLF) said in the press meet he held Friday at the EPRLF office of Pathmanaba faction located on Hospital Road Jaffna. “If all the Tamil factions agree on a common solution for the ethnic issue India will exert its pressure on Sri Lanka to implement it,” Varatharaja Perumal said.
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Mahinda Rajapakse displeased with Jaffna election meeting

[TamilNet, Thursday, 01 April 2010, 11:01 GMT]
Despite efforts by Minister Douglas Devananda and the candidates of Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) and Eelam People’s Democratic Party (EPDP) it was possible to bring in only less than 400 persons to attend the propaganda meeting in which Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse participated Thursday in Jaffna Duraippah Stadium, sources in Jaffna said. Mahinda Rajapakse appeared disturbed and displeased on seeing a small crowd and delivered an address which failed to cover the much expected and vital issues like political solution, resettlement of uprooted families in Valikaamam North in Sri Lanka Army occupied High Security Zone (HSZ) and restoring normalcy in Jaffna peninsula.
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