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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Hindu temples in East face forcible removal, destruction

[TamilNet, Thursday, 01 July 2010, 10:54 GMT]
Two Hindu temples in Trincomalee are earmarked for forcible removal by the Colombo government and another temple in Batticaloa is being subjected to Sinhala militarisation, Tamil National Alliance (TNA) MP for Batticaloa C.Yogeswaran told journalists in Batticaloa on Wednesday.
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60 new political parties apply for registration as deadline closes

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 30 June 2010, 19:42 GMT]
The deadline to submit applications to the Elections Secretariat for the registration by new political parties closed Wesdnday June 30. Sixty political groups have submitted their applications to the Elections Commissioner for registration. Except two, details of other new political groups are not available to media immediately.
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Basil Rajapakse fails to reply TNA allegations

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 29 June 2010, 14:47 GMT]
Economic Development Minister Basil Rajapakse has failed to respond to questions raised by Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarians at the Batticaloa District Development Council (DDC) meeting held on Monday at Batticaloa District Secretariat over the resettlement of displaced Tamil families and settling Sinhalese from the south in traditional Tamil villages in the district under the pretext of resettlement.
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Disappeared persons issue not discussed in Batticaloa DDC meeting

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 29 June 2010, 14:41 GMT]
The assurance given by the Government Agent of Batticaloa that discussion on the disappeared persons’ issue would be taken up at the Batticaloa District Development Committee meeting held on Monday was not fulfilled, the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarians told media Tuesday. About 130 civilians have been reported disappeared in the last three years according to reports the TNA received from the relatives of missing persons. The TNA had assured the relatives of the victims that the alliance would raise the issue with the Sri Lankan Minister Basil Rajapakse when he attends the Batticaloa DDC meeting and wanted them to make written representation about those missing relatives in the offices of TNA parliamentarians.
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SLA harasses resettled civilians in Vanni - TNA

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 29 June 2010, 03:15 GMT]
Tamil National Alliance (TNA) Jaffna district parliamentarians informed visiting British Acting High Commissioner to Sri Lanka, Mr. Mark Gooding Monday, that the resettled civilians in Vanni are harassed by occupying Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers according to several complaints they had received from the resettled civilians in Vanni, sources in Jaffna said. TNA parliamentarians Mavai Senathirajah, Suresh Premachandran, Sritharan and Appathurai Vinayagamoorthy met the visiting British envoy in a hotel in Chu’ndukkuzhi. The TNA parliamentarians also explained how the resettled civilians in Vanni have been left to suffer even without basic facilities that should have been provided prior to resettlement by government authorities, the sources added.
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KP-Diaspora programme operated by SL Military Intelligence: Doctor Arudkumar

[TamilNet, Monday, 28 June 2010, 21:31 GMT]
Sri Lankan Director of National Intelligence, Major General Kapila Hendawitharana, the longest serving intelligence officer of the military, is in charge of the covert and overt programme of dividing and conquering the Tamil diaspora, alludes British Tamil doctor Velauthapillai Arudkumar, who visited the island recently as part of a ‘Tamil diaspora visit’ organised by Colombo through Selvarasa Pathmanathan alias KP. TamilNet releases an exclusive video interview with Dr. Arudkumar taken two days ago, in which he reveals the details of the trip. SL Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, Maj. Gen. Hendawitharana and External Affairs Minister G.L.Peiris, all spoke in a well-synchronised way. Military counterinsurgency and 'post-war development' are intertwined aiming at Tamil subjugation, the doctor infers in his interview.
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Fasting political prisoner in Jaffna Teaching Hospital ends protest

[TamilNet, Sunday, 27 June 2010, 17:03 GMT]
A Tamil political prisoner arrested by Sri Lanka Amy (SLA) in 2006 in Chaavakachcheari and detained in Jaffna prison had been continually fasting for the last 21 days requesting not to be transferred to Anuradapura or Vavuniyaa prison and to conduct his case in Jaffna courts in protest against the instruction issued by Attorney General (AG). When his condition grew critical he was transferred to Jaffna Teaching Hospital (JTH) where he continued to fast in protest against AG’s order to transfer him to Anuradapura or Vavuniyaa. The fasting political prisoner ended his fast Sunday following the cancellation of the AG’s order, sources in Jaffna said.
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Dengue fever claims 113 lives in Sri Lanka

[TamilNet, Friday, 25 June 2010, 12:32 GMT]
The number of deaths due to dengue in the country has increased to 113 while the number of diagnosed patients has increased to 17,411. The highest number of patients, 2,354, was diagnosed from Colombo, the most developed district of the country. The districts of Jaffna and Gampaha have also shown high prevalence of the disease, 2181 diagnosed in Jaffna and 2,219 in Gampaha. In Mannaar district 45 positive cases of dengue have been detected last week, but no death has been reported so far, according to the latest statistics issued by the Epidemiology Unit of the Health Ministry.
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Development without politics dangerous to Tamils

[TamilNet, Friday, 25 June 2010, 06:06 GMT]
By blackmailing the Tamil nation through the plight of its people and by handling ‘development’ in counterinsurgency style, Colombo is trying to lock the diaspora away from political cause, and by demonstrating it, Colombo is seeking acquittal of its crimes in the international arena as well as money for its greed. De-linking development from decision-making political sovereignty of Tamils is advantageous to sectarian Sinhala polity, it is convenient to the international polity of the corporates, but how it is beneficial to the affected, is the question. Diaspora Tamils taking individual or petty-group decisions on development is suicidal. Rather they should demonstrate that they have collective polity and political control independent of Colombo, in dealing with their development. It is for such purposes the diaspora has elected a number of bodies and they should do the orientation.
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Jaffna youths overlooked in International Olympics Day celebration

[TamilNet, Thursday, 24 June 2010, 07:22 GMT]
Young men and women athletes in Jaffna peninsula complained that they were not given due place in the International Olympics Day celebration held Wednesday in Jaffna Duraiappa Stadium presided by the Minister of Sports, C. P. Ratnayake, sources in Jaffna said. They were not invited to participate in time while hundreds of young men and women who had been brought from South were given prominence in the events, they further said.
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Continuing ‘counter insurgency’ approach to chronic national question

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 23 June 2010, 11:41 GMT]
Colombo’s latest deployment of Selvarasa Pathmanathan (KP), a victim of circumstances, to blunt the Eezham Tamil struggle only reveals that ‘counter insurgency’ is the style continued to be envisaged by some powers in approaching the chronic national question in the island, commented Tamil circles watching the developments. The move, bereft of any political promises, but aiming at roping in the diaspora for ‘development,’ comes after the visit of G L Peiris to Washington, Robert Blake lamenting that still “some polarisation” exists in the island and amidst heavy visits of dignitaries in the last couple of weeks. The move is not surprising. It is a sequence of a long-existing design, operated simultaneously through good and ugly faces of the West, observers said. The KP operation in Colombo is handled by a controversial group of foreign-trained Sri Lankan military intelligence personnel.
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130 Tamil civilians reported disappeared in Batticaloa district since 2007

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 22 June 2010, 05:04 GMT]
One hundred thirty Tamil civilians are reported disappeared during the last three years in the Batticaloa district since 2007, relatives of the disappeared told Batticaloa district Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarians at a discussion held Sunday at Batticaloa American Mission Hall. They requested the TNA parliamentarians to help trace the disappeared. Most of the disappeared were between the ages 20 and 35, they said. TNA parliamentarians P. Selvarajah, S. Yogeswaran and P. Ariyanethiran participated in the discussion.
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Funds allocated for resettled persons remain unused in Batticaloa district

[TamilNet, Monday, 21 June 2010, 16:20 GMT]
Tamil National Alliance (TNA) Batticaloa district MP, P. Selvarasa, accused that the 5792 million rupees allocated to provide basic facilities to the resettled persons uprooted from areas in Batticaloa district during the 2006 military offensive on Paduvaankarai have not been utilized by the related authorities. Selvarasa’s accusation comes when reports are issued claiming that the needs of the resettled civilians have been considerably met, following the recent official visit to Batticaloa by Minister of Resettlement, Milroy Fernando and Depurty minister, Vinayagamoorhty Murlitharan.
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PAC instructs government heads to invite SLA Commander to official functions in North

[TamilNet, Sunday, 20 June 2010, 07:07 GMT]
The Secretary of Presidential Action Committee (PAC) has issued strict instruction to the Government Agents of the five districts in North to invite Sri Lanka Army (SLA) Jaffna Commander, government parliamentarians and the key members of PAC to all official functions and ceremonies of the government departments.
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Akashi visits Ki’linochchi for the first time after war

[TamilNet, Friday, 18 June 2010, 19:06 GMT]
Yasushi Akashi, the special envoy appointed by Japan during the Norwegian facilitated negotiations between the Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL) and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), accompanied by Basil Rajapaksa, handed over agricultural implements to some of the resettled Vanni civilians Friday in an event held in Ki’linochchi town. Yasushi Akashi who had held talks with the LTTE in Ki’linochchi was visiting the town for the first time after Sri Lankan military occupied the entire Vanni.
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TGTE announces 11 committees, urges focus on Genocide investigation

[TamilNet, Friday, 18 June 2010, 10:10 GMT]
The Interim Executive Committee of the Transnational Government of Tamil Eelam (TGTE) on Thursday said it did not expect a change in the world scene turning in Tamils favour in the immediate future, but added that the TGTE was determined to seize every opportunity to advance the struggle, and was formulating the tactics in accordance with that belief. "We are drawing up our plans of action on the one hand to cultivate relationships with governments, and on the other hand to garner support among the people in our new home countries. With this in mind, convenors have been appointed to the various committees and planning work has been initiated," the statement of the TGTE said, announcing 11 committees and the names of representatives coordinating the committees.
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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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Political transformation should start in Tamil Nadu: Prof Ramasamy

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 16 June 2010, 22:45 GMT]
Political transformation of the Tamil mind at the global level starting with Tamil Nadu is a fundamental prerequisite for the achievement of Eelam, said Prof. P. Ramasamy, Deputy Chief Minister of the Penang State of Malaysia in an interview to TamilNet. Tamil Nadu should go beyond DMK or AIADMK to handle the global plight of Tamils. Tamil groups in Sri Lanka have no vision or capacity and some are goaded by India. Some in the West don’t understand the historical and contemporary trajectory of the national liberation of Eezham Tamils. Discussing Tamil question with the Sinhala State is counter-productive at this stage, he further said, adding that he is presently working on exposing the misdeeds of India and the DMK and will push for international investigation of Sri Lanka’s war crimes and India’s strong role in them.
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JVP leader fails to present a specific political solution for ethnic issue, in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 16 June 2010, 16:23 GMT]
Somawanse Amarasinghe, leader of Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) and parliamentarian, was unable to deliver an unambiguous answer to questions raised by media persons who wanted to know the position of his party in finding a political solution for the ethnic issue, in a press meet held in Jaffna town Wednesday evening. Meanwhile, Somawanse Amarasinghe who had come to Jaffna Tuesday evening after a three-day visit to Vanni said that his group was subjected to harassment by Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers who did not permit them to visit the resettled Vanni residents in some parts of Vanni.
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