JDS condemns silence of Colombo media over terror campaign in North

[TamilNet, Saturday, 08 January 2011, 08:27 GMT]
Detailing the recent killings, abductions and other atrocities in the SL military occupied North, the Journalists For Democracy in Sri Lanka (JDS), an exiled organisation of journalists, on Friday condemned the silence of Sinhala and English media in Colombo over the terror campaign. Instead, these media highlight only the explanations from the side of the SL government, the report said. The JDS statement exposed the latest twist of portrayal of the situation by SL media minister and government spokesperson Keheliya Rambukwella, who wanted to pass the blame on "elements seeking tarnish the image of Colombo government internationally". The JDS statement, with details of earlier unreported crimes, noted that human rights violations not being exposed is high in Vanni as journalists and aid workers were barred from entering Ki'linochchi and Mullaiththeevu districts.
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Terror campaign in Jaffna: abducted youth tortured and beheaded

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 29 December 2010, 21:27 GMT]
Mahendran Thiruvarudchelvam, known as Chelvam, abducted 9 days ago was tortured and beheaded as evidenced by his remains reaching Jaffna Teaching Hospital. Even though initial reports said that he had been abducted for a ransom of 8 million, his background and prevailing terror campaign in the SL-military-occupied Jaffna point to deeper motives behind his killing, human rights activists in Jaffna said. Mr. Chelvam, 28-year-old, and father of a child, was living in Vanni to the end of the war, spent some time in the internment camp and was released for resettlement. He returned to his native place Meesaalai North near Kanakan-pu'liyadi and started doing business as a vehicle dealer. The former residents of Vanni, whether they are in captivity or released, are viewed by the occupying military and paramilitary as objects for exploitation and then extermination.
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Veteran Tamil scholar, politician Kaa. Po. Ratnam passes away

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 22 December 2010, 08:55 GMT]
Pandithar Kaarthigesar Ponnambalam Ratnam, a veteran Tamil scholar and a former parliamentarian who represented the electorates of Ki’linochchi and Kayts (Oorkaavaththu’rai) in Jaffna district on the tickets of Ilankai Thamil Arasu Katchchi (ITAK) and later on Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF) since 1965 to 1983 passed away peacefully in his Colombo residence at the age of 96 Monday evening. His funeral is to take place Wednesday evening in Kanatte cemetery in Colombo.
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Hathurusinghe, Imelda, deny existence of ‘High Security Zone’

[TamilNet, Sunday, 19 December 2010, 10:48 GMT]
Addressing media in Jaffna Friday, the Jaffna Government Agent (GA) Mrs Imelda Sugumar said that according to the briefing she had from Sri Lanka’s military commander in Jaffna Maj. Gen. Mahinda Hathurusinghe, the nomenclature High Security Zone (HSZ) is inappropriate in the present context. According to the General, in the past as there was war between the LTTE and the SL government, people were evacuated from that area in order to save the public from getting trapped in the war, and as the SL government was providing security to that area it was called High Security Zone. Now it is only a zone ‘restricted to the public,’ the GA said. Meanwhile, the GA also said in the same press meet that it would take another 10 years to clear mines in the HSZ and resettle people there. But a map obtained from mine clearing agencies show a different picture.
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Sinhalese VC for Eastern University?

[TamilNet, Saturday, 04 December 2010, 20:25 GMT]
A Sinhalese academic is likely to be appointed as the Vice Chancellor of the Eastern University by the Sri Lanka Ministry of Higher Education. The Eastern Provincial Council Chief Minister and several deputy ministers in the eastern province have given consent to the appointment, according to reports emerging from education sources in Batticaloa. Meanwhile, Batticaloa district Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarian, Mr.C. Yogeswaran, made an appeal in the parliament recently that the steps now being taken by the government to appoint a Sinhalese as VC should be stopped as the Eastern University is located at Vanthaa'rumoolai in the Tamil dominated district.
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Poet Kasi Anandan speaks to Palaka'ni

[TamilNet, Saturday, 27 November 2010, 05:03 GMT]
Mu'l'livaaykkaal is only a turning point in the Tamil Eelam struggle, says veteran national poet of Eezham Tamils Kasi Anandan to the audience of Palaka'ni, the TamilNet window for cross-views that features its inaugural programme on Saturday. “The Tigers have silenced their guns. To what extent the chauvinism of the Sinhala state could go, the international community has yet another opportunity to understand now. But, has it ever accepted that what is being committed is a genocide," he questioned. Any struggle that is based on righteous principles will win. Eelam Tamils should understand this and proceed, said the 72-year-old Batticaloa-born poet, who has been associated with Periyar E.V.Ramasamy Nayakkar, S.J.V Chelvanayakam and Velupillai Pirapaharan.
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North, East already established as Tamils’ Homeland – Prof. K. Sitrampalam

[TamilNet, Sunday, 14 November 2010, 06:08 GMT]
“Banda-Chelva pact and Indo-Sri Lanka pact were based on the acceptance of North and East as the homeland of the Tamils in Sri Lanka. This concept should be first accepted and a constitutional reform based on it be brought to find a lasting solution for the ethnic issue,” Prof. S.K. Sitrampalam said Friday giving witness before the Lessons Learnt & Reconciliation Committee (LLRC) in Jaffna Secretariat.
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Tourists not allowed to visit Jaffna Public Library

[TamilNet, Saturday, 30 October 2010, 17:16 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers posted at the entrance of Jaffna Public Library did not allow any of the tourists who wished to visit the library Saturday, sources in Jaffna said. SLA officials had informed the Chief Librarian of Jaffna Public Library that tourists will not be permitted to visit the library according to instruction issued by government authorities. This instruction had come in the wake of a gang of Sinhala tourists storming into the library and vandalizing the premises of the Thanthai Chelva memorial monument located next to the library last on 22 October. SLA authorities had posted four soldiers at the entrance of the library Friday to guard the library along with the guards of Jaffna Municipal Council Administration.
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Jaffna Public Library out of bounds to tourists

[TamilNet, Friday, 29 October 2010, 17:27 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army (SLA) officials Friday informed the Chief Librarian of Jaffna Public Library that tourists will not be permitted to visit the library and that SLA soldiers will be posted outside it to maintain order, sources in Jaffna said. The officials who said that they had been instructed by high level government authorities did not, however, disclose who the authorities were. This instruction comes in the wake of a gang of Sinhala tourists storming into the library and vandalizing the premises of the Thanthai Chelva memorial monument located next to the library last Saturday. SLA authorities have posted four soldiers at the entrance of the library Friday.
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Thanthai Chelva memorial monument site in Jaffna vandalized

[TamilNet, Thursday, 28 October 2010, 12:29 GMT]
The unruly Sinhala tourists who stormed into Jaffna Public Library Saturday are suspected to have vandalized the premises of Thanthai Chelva (Late Mr. S. J. V. Chelvanayagam) memorial monument located next to Jaffna Public Library, according to Ilangkai Thamizh Arasuk Kadchi (ITAK) circles in Jaffna. The plantain and coconut trees in the premises were found cut down and the flower plants in the premises trampled and damaged in acts of vandalism, they said. They alleged that on earlier instances the decorative palms in the premises had been plundered by Sri Lanka Armed Forces men and that some of them are now found planted in front of the Sri Lanka Navy (SLN) base in the islets of Jaffna.
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Birth centenary of V. Navaratnam, pioneer of Tamil Eelam polity

[TamilNet, Monday, 18 October 2010, 05:35 GMT]
18 October 2010 is the birth centenary of V. Navaratnam, doyen of the Tamil Eelam cause and founder leader of Thamizhar Chuyaadchik Kazhakam (TCK) in the late 1960s. TamilNet interviewed him in July 2005 when he was 95 years old. He passed away on 22 December 2006. Eezham Tamils and Sinhalese could never live under one government, even a confederation will not work and separation is the only way, he asserted in his interview. When his party contested the 1970 election there was only a little support. He was criticized for dividing the vote bank of the Federal Party. But within a few years all the mainstream Tamil political parties fell in line with his polity. The Vaddukkoaddai Resolution of 1976 was a copy of his party manifesto, said Mr. Navaratnam. His interview in voice is reproduced here.
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Resettlement in Valikaamam North HSZ not possible – Jaffna SLA Commander

[TamilNet, Monday, 04 October 2010, 07:12 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army (SLA) Commander, Major Gen. Mahinda Kathurusinghe, who had earlier admitted the possibility of resettling uprooted families in Valikaamam North SLA High Security Zone, however, said that resettlement is not possible due to the danger of landmines. He told the representatives of the Committee for Peace and Goodwill so in a meeting held in Jaffna Bishop House Sunday, presided by Bishop Rt. Rev. Thomas Saundaranayagam. Meanwhile, the Coordinating Committee for De-mining in Jaffna Secretariat said that SLA had not permitted de-mining in its HSZ in Valikaamam North. Mahinda Kathursinghe’s announcement has caused shock and despair among the families uprooted by SLA from their properties in Valikaamam North, sources in Jaffna said.
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SL government appropriates Tamils’ lands in Batticaloa district

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 28 September 2010, 05:48 GMT]
Aaraiyampathi Social Development Organization (ASDO) in Batticaloa district alleged Sri Lanka Deputy Minister M. L. A. M Hisbulla of converting lands of the Tamils in Kaangkeayanoadai village into a Muslim village in the name of ‘The Village of Peace’ with funds from Iranian government. The foundation stone has been laid for this purpose without the knowledge of the Local Government Body (LGB) of the area and it is said that Muslim families of Kaaththaankudi are to be settled in the village to be built, T. Mahendran, the Secretary of ASDO said.
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EPDP suspect in killing of student released on bail

[TamilNet, Friday, 06 August 2010, 05:24 GMT]
Jaffna High Court released on bail Thursday Eelam People's Democratic Party (EPDP) Thenmaraadchi organizer Allexander Soosaimuthu alias Charles, a suspect in the killing of student Thiruchelvam Kapilnath in Chaavakachcheari, detained in Jaffna prison. The magistrate ordered the suspect not to leave the country and to sign at Jaffna police station every Sunday, sources in Jaffna said.
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New Delhi academic comments in Colombo on diaspora transnationalism

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 03 August 2010, 06:31 GMT]
“Nationals settled in distant lands often nurture identities that may well be historically untenable and outdated in the culture of the home country. But they are a source of solace to the migrant in an alien culture and underline a claim to connectedness. Such identities frequently deny the plurality of South Asian civilisation and the intersections within it. The replacement of these becomes a problem of transnationalism,” said Romila Thapar, emeritus professor of Jawaharlal Nehru University, delivering on Sunday Neelan Thiruchelvam Memorial Lecture of the International Centre for Ethnic Studies, Colombo. Responding, an academic in Jaffna said, the Eezham Tamil diaspora is not settled but forced, carrying contemporary historical memories to which India was a party.
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ITAK stalwarts in Jaffna oppose TNA abandoning alliance concept

[TamilNet, Thursday, 01 July 2010, 18:39 GMT]
The concept of TNA as a broad alliance has become a legacy with Suresh Premachandran's move in convincing Mr. Sampanthan to make the alliance into a political party, blame opponents of the latest move by the TNA hierarchy, which has applied to register the alliance as a political party. The TNA has applied to register itself as a political party with R. Sampanthan as the leader and Mavai Senathirajah representing ITAK, Suresh Premachandran of EPRLF Suresh faction and Selvam Adaikalanathan on behalf of Tamil Eelam Liberation Organization (TELO), as joint secretaries.
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India was not happy about Norwegian peace: Prof Shanmugaratnam

[TamilNet, Thursday, 17 June 2010, 10:40 GMT]
India was not happy about Norway being given a role in peace brokering in Sri Lanka. Japan was keen to be the broker, but India was more against Japan than Norway, said Dr. N. Shanmugaratnam, Professor of Development Studies and Head of Research of the Norwegian University of Life Sciences, while addressing a session on the failed peace process and Norway’s role in Sri Lanka, at a conference held in Nansen Peace Centre in Norway last Friday. The Norwegian Tamil academic also said that in his view the key challenges to the peace process were internal than international and the internal has always been decisive. Post mortem of the peace process has become a hot topic in Norwegian circles nowadays since the failed envoys of Sri Lankan process have embarked upon fresh peace initiatives elsewhere.
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TGTE member from New Zealand speaks on Vaddukkoaddai Resolution

[TamilNet, Monday, 10 May 2010, 00:13 GMT]
Mr. S.J.V. Chelvanayakam, in his last ever speech in the Sri Lankan parliament on 19 November 1976 said: “Our Party is moving with the idea of establishing a separate state. It is not an easy matter to get a separate State; it is a difficult matter. We know it is difficult. But either we get out of the power of the Sinhala masses or we perish. That is certain. Therefore, we will try and get this separation.” Citing the speech Mr. A. Theva Rajan, member of the Transnational Government of Tamil Eelam, from New Zealand, said that the relevance of Vaddukkoaddai Resolution today is unique in historical terms as "the reign of Percival Rajapakse" fully demonstrated to the world that the Tamils are facing a genocidal onslaught. "Rajapakse brothers made the Tamil genocide open, indelible and internationally recorded,” he said.
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UN failed to protect Tamil civilians - Lord Patten

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 05 May 2010, 01:24 GMT]
Noting British foreign policy is unlikely to change after the May 6th election, and that United Nations is better at "normative diplomacy than at launching action on the ground," Lord Patton, current chancellor of University of Oxford, and who as European Commission External Relations Commissioner visited Kilinochchi during the ceasefire, said, while having endorsed the principle of Responsibility to Protect (R2P) to prevent atrocities, "UN was paralysed when political and diplomatic intervention was required to protect Tamil civilians in the Sri Lankan government campaign to wipe out the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam," in an article in Financial Times.
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31,000 vote in Canadian TGTE elections

[TamilNet, Monday, 03 May 2010, 21:48 GMT]
25 representatives have been elected from Canada in the elections where 31,072 voters took part. Tharani Prapaharan topped Toronto GTA and Vicinities list with 4,967, Vanitha Rajendram topped Eastern Ontario with 8,451, Iyampillai (Shan) Shanmuganathan received 5,049 votes in Western Ontario and Maharajah (Nanthan) Nanthakumar in Quebec & Eastern Canada. Five candidates have been elected without contest in Western Canada.
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