TamilNet

Colombo steps up hate campaign against Wigneswaran

[Fri, 30 Sep 2016, 21:29 GMT]

The Chief Minister of Northern Provincial Council was only raising questions in a cautious speech at Ezhuka Thamizh uprising on Saturday. Justice C.V. Wigneswaran didn't even refer to the Genocide Resolution passed unanimously by the elected NPC assembly. Further, the resolution drafted by the organisers was limiting the scope of the Tamil aspiration just at self-rule, an out-dated demand which was abandoned by the late Tamil leader S.J.V Chelvanayakam in favour of Tamil sovereignty-centred aspiration as he realised that Colombo would never reconcile with Tamils without any compulsion beyond the parameters of SL parliamentary politics. Now, Wigneswaran asking simple questions with a mobilised mass, is being intentionally projected as ‘extremism’ by Colombo, commented Tamil activists in Vavuniyaa, who witnessed a hate campaign by Sinhala Buddhists in their town on Friday.

Full story >>

3RD LEAD

Monk sets ablaze Hindu temple as Maithiripala proclaims ‘Buddhist Sri Lanka’ at UN

[Thu, 29 Sep 2016, 23:01 GMT]

A Sinhala Buddhist monk from the so-called ‘Pashana Pabbatha Rajamaha viharaya’, which has been put up with a Sinhala name in the occupied Tamil village of Kalladi in the Eastern province by occupying Colombo after 2009, set ablaze the building of a Madam (mutt) of Malai-neeli-Amman temple (the dark goddess of the hill) on Tuesday. It happened within a week after the SL President Maithiripala Sirisena addressed the UN General Assembly in New York claiming the island as a Buddhist country. Eechchilam-patttai (Verukal) is the south most coastal Tamil division in the Trincomalee district bordering Batticaloa and was under the de-facto Tamil Eelam civil administration during the times of the LTTE. The division is now facing Sinhala-Buddhist occupation from Seruvila and Welikanda. Sirisena's ‘Mahaweli’ ministry is spearheading the structural genocide in the area. Full story >>

Ezhuka Thamizh has sent sharp message to all corners: Fr Ravichandran

[Tue, 27 Sep 2016, 18:36 GMT]

The main message coming from the ‘Ezhuka Thamizh’ uprising, especially from the people, who participated in their thousands, was that Tamils on the ground were not prepared to compromise their collective demand for self-rule in a merged North-East, said Jaffna-based human rights and civil activist Rev. Fr. M.V.E. Ravichandran in a video interview to TamilNet on Monday. Tamils reject the unitary system and the message has now been conveyed clearly to all the corners, he said. “Tamils want to live as a People and they don't want their cultural and national identity erased in any way. They are opposed to structural genocide,” the director of Jaffna Diocesan Catholic Youth Federation further said. Tamils should be given the right to appoint international judges to ensure the credibility of any model of investigations with international participation, he said. Full story >>

SL military, Buddhist monk bring Sinhala ‘War Heroes’ project to Batticaloa

[Sun, 25 Sep 2016, 23:27 GMT]

The so-called ‘Ranaviru Seva Authority’ (War Heroes Welfare Authority), an outfit operated by the Defence Ministry of genocidal Sri Lanka to support the families of war-dead soldiers and the wounded soldiers of the occupying Sinhala military has expanded its work to Batticaloa in close association with the Sinhala extremist monk Venerable Ampitiye Sumanarathna Thera, informed civil sources in the city of Batticaloa said. The main intention is to bring in poverty-stricken families of ‘Sinhala war heroes’ to occupy the country of Eezham Tamils through so-called ‘welfare settlements’ in the Tamil-speaking district. Full story >>

Tamil POWs denounce Colombo's latest announcement, continue fast

[Fri, 23 Sep 2016, 23:35 GMT]

Tamil Prisoners of War waging a continuous hunger strike at Anuradhapura prison told TamilNet on Friday that the latest announcement of Colombo's Ministry of Prison Reforms of sending 23 of the detained Tamil prisoners under the notorious ‘Prevention of Terrorism Act’ to the so-called ‘military rehabilitation’ before their release was a deceptive move. Most of those in the announced list were mentioned together with one case per person. But, most of the detainees were facing three to four cases in different courts and relieving them of one case with the outcome of ‘military rehabilitation’ will not deliver freedom to them from the other cases, they said. In addition, the announcement also contained names of those already released and subjected to military rehabilitation, which exposed the level of ignorance on the part of Colombo in addressing their PTA cases, the Tamil prisoners said. Full story >>

Sinhala colonists step up assaults on Tamil cattle herders in Batticaloa

[Wed, 21 Sep 2016, 18:56 GMT]

Three Sinhalese colonists severely assaulted a 44-year-old Tamil cattle farmer, who was taking care of his cattle Monday evening at Mayilaththa-madu in Maathava'nai pastureland situated in Koa'ra'laip-pattu South (Kiraan) division of Batticaloa district. The wounded cattle herder, a father of three, was admitted to Chanthi-ve'li and transferred to Batticaloa Teaching Hospital on Tuesday with badly injured legs. The incident took place around 3:30 p.m. on Monday. This is the second assault on Tamil cattle herders in the area, Tamil farmers said. Full story >>

2ND LEAD (Adds voice)

Tamil POWs relaunch hunger-strike, urge cases to be heard at Jaffna, Vavuniyaa

[Mon, 19 Sep 2016, 23:02 GMT]

Tamil political prisoners languishing in the prisons of genocidal Colombo have decided to launch a continuous hunger-strike campaign starting from Wednesday. The Tamil prisoners are demanding immediate action from the Colombo government and its international ‘partners’ on their release. “At least transfer our cases to the High Courts in Vavuniyaa and Jaffna from the clutches of Anuradhapura Special Courts,” a spokesperson of the political prisoners jailed in Anuradhapura prison said while talking to TamilNet over the phone and reading a statement on behalf of the detained prisoners. Full story >>

SL Intelligence sabotages NPC-organised medical inspections on ex-LTTE members

[Sat, 17 Sep 2016, 22:18 GMT]

SL Military Intelligence operatives, clad in civil clothes, have been deployed inside the premises of the hospitals in the five districts of Northern Province. The occupying Sinhala military has increased its surveillance on former LTTE members, who were coming for medical inspections, especially after allegations of suspicious injections or unauthorised medicine given to them under the genocidal custody of the SL military during the so-called ‘military rehabilitation’. The medical authorities in North have made arrangements for the former LTTE members to start medical inspections according to a publicly announced schedule in each district. This has made it more easier for the SL military to identify and harass those who appear for medical inspections, the sources further said. Full story >>

Criticism emerges in Jaffna over USA training SL military, IC soft-pedalling Tamil genocide

[Wed, 28 Sep 2016, 23:18 GMT]

In spite of all the accusations against the Sri Lankan government of war-crimes and other atrocities committed during the war, USA and other governments continue to have naval and military exercises with the Sri Lankan forces, as they also had these trainings with the SL military during the regime of the Mahinda Rajapaksa, said Rev Fr S.V.B. Mangalarajah, the chairman of the Commission for Justice & Peace of the Catholic Diocese in Jaffna in a follow-up video interview to TamilNet after the Ezhuka Thamizh uprising held in Jaffna. The implied message coming from the veteran human rights activist based in Jaffna was that the international community and its approach towards the national question of Tamils in the island was lopsided and unless that problem is seriously addressed by Tamils, the SL Government and the South would not deliver anything substantial for Tamils. Full story >>

Sin of US, UN in Eezham War sets paradigm for Russia in Syrian War

[Mon, 26 Sep 2016, 18:12 GMT]

If the US bandwagon and the UN are really keen in seeking peace and justice in Syria, they should first set their paradigm right, by bringing in expeditious international justice to the war crimes and genocide committed on the nation of Eezham Tamils and by openly acknowledging the sin of their sponsorship in the Vanni War. Without that, shedding crocodile tears for the grave sufferings of the Syrian civilians, or coming out with empty threats against Russia and Syria that follow just the same model set by US bandwagon and ‘Sri Lanka’, would neither help world humanity nor would bring in any credibility to the UN or to the US bandwagon, commented Tamil activists for alternative politics in the island. Full story >>

2ND LEAD

15,000 Tamils attend historic uprising in Jaffna, reject Unitary Constitution, ITAK draws flak

[Sat, 24 Sep 2016, 16:10 GMT]

Ezhuka Thamizh (Let Tamil rise up), the biggest uprising to take place in the country of Eezham Tamils after the Pongku Thamizh uprisings during the times of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), declared on Saturday that the ‘consultations’ staged by Colombo for the new constitution completely failed to include the genuine political aspirations of the Tamil people. The Ilankai Thamizh Arasuk Kadchi (ITAK) with a hijacked leadership and the powers operating it, received a serious message from the people at the grassroots, regardless of the organisers of the event, that the people on the ground are fully prepared to replace the ITAK hierarchy once a good leadership takes shape to lead the nation of Eehzam Tamils in the next phase of their struggle. It is now time for NPC Chief Minister Justice C.V. Wigneswaran to prove the case, commented Tamil political observers in Jaffna. Full story >>

2ND LEAD (Adds video)

Mobilisation towards ‘Ezhuka Thamizh’ uprising in Jaffna gains momentum

[Thu, 22 Sep 2016, 22:26 GMT]

Grassroots organisations, academics and students of University of Jaffna, business community, religious leaders involved in civil activism and various political parties voicing for the rights of Eezham Tamils are extending their support to the public rally named ‘Ezhuka Thamizh’ (Let Tamil rise up) to take place in Jaffna on Saturday. Despite the deviatory sections of the TNA hierarchy, led by M.A. Sumanthiran and Opposition Leader R. Sampanthan, have been fully busy with causing obstacles to the move taken forward by the Tamil People’s Council (TPC), the mobilisation has gained support from the people on the ground, activists close to the organisers said. Full story >>

‘Reconciliation prospects’ look as grim as ever: Rev Fr Mangalarajah

[Tue, 20 Sep 2016, 22:55 GMT]

Colombo government is keeping the people in the North and East under heavily militarised conditions and is not even prepared to let the people remember their war-dead freely, which is essential for any meaningful reconciliation, said Rev. Fr. S.V.B. Mangalarajah, the president of the Justice & Peace Commission in Jaffna, in a video interview to TamilNet on Tuesday. Now, People on the ground have realised that Colombo is not even prepared to involve foreign experts in the local investigations. The people are also dissatisfied with the Tamil leaders who are collaborating with the government and asking the people to have patience, he said. “The United Nations should realise that the SL Government is well-known for extending promises just to backtrack on them later.” Full story >>

Colombo deploys discrimination in housing assistance to Peasaalai war-affected families

[Sun, 18 Sep 2016, 19:42 GMT]

Fishing families from Peasaalai in Mannaar with widows, war-dead family members and those who displaced several times to Tamil Nadu and resettled back without any assistance so far, continue to be discriminated based on their past association with the Tamil struggle, informed civil sources in Mannaar said. Colombo's ministries and its local agent Divisional Secretary Mr Subramaniam Vasanthakumar have been blamed of being selective and practicing discrimination, according to the complaints coming from the affected people themselves. Full story >>

Catholic Peace Mission in Jaffna challenges Colombo’s propaganda on ‘reconciliation’

[Fri, 16 Sep 2016, 23:16 GMT]

While the President of genocidal Sri Lanka has brushed away the objective criticisms on the utter failure of one-way-determined ‘Sinhala-Only Reconciliation’ as mere propaganda coming from ‘fundamentalist media’ in the North-East, Rev. Fr. S.V.B. Mangalarajah, the president of the Justice & Peace Commission in Jaffna, has issued a report exposing some of the fundamental failures of this ‘one-way’ determined campaign of ‘reconciliation’ and the so-called ‘good governance’. Lands of the people not returned, political prisoners not released, lack of accountability for missing persons, serious apprehensions regarding the OMP, the PTA still being enforced, denial of memorial rights, lack of official arrangements to look after the victims of war, poisonous injections causing concern, failed local investigations and unabated erecting Buddha statues are pointed out in the report. Full story >>

Like an unchecked cancer, hate corrodes the personality and eats away its vital unity. Hate destroys a man's sense of values and his objectivity. It causes him to describe the beautiful as ugly and the ugly as beautiful, and to confuse the true with the false and the false with the true.

-Martin Luther King Jr.
Civil Rights Leader, USA
1929 - 1968

[20.02.16]
The Tamil Genocide by Sri LankaThe second edition with over 150 new pages traces the ongoing engagement in the Sri Lankan conflict of Professor Francis A. Boyle, an eminent American expert in international law, from the conflict’s last years to the present pursuit of UN recognition of the Tamil genocide and call for reparations. It is the first book to develop an authoritative case for genocide against the Government of Sri Lanka under international law. The book is available from Clarity Press, Amazon in soft cover or in Kindle version.

[11.11.15]
South Africa to Singapore: global Tamils grasping geopolitics to act: The South African conference held in Durban has come out with many demands that are dear to the heart of Tamils, such as demilitarisation, stopping Sinhala colonisation, repeal of the 6th Amendment to facilitate free negotiation etc. But the slip was still showing when the conference avoided the term genocide. What was more ironical that betrayed the deception was the slogan of the conference organizers that called the country they want to salvage as ‘Sri Lanka’, boldly written in Tamil.
Related Story >>

[04.11.15]
Tamil leadership need not shy away or react to unfair challenge coming from Sumanthiran: Eezham Tamil polity seeking pardon from Tamil-speaking Muslims should be unassuming, but it should come in an enlightening way to the edification of the Colombo-centric agenda or the powers-guided agenda, pursued in the past as well as in the present. Otherwise, it may only amount to conferring impunity to the State in Colombo and its abettors.
Related Story >>

[06.05.15]
Retired land commissioner of Eastern Province on Structural Genocide against Eezham Tamils: The systematic seizure of traditional lands belonging to the Tamil speaking people of the North-East have been widespread under the guise of archaeological, forest and wild-life conservations and subsequently carried out through the acts of demarcating these lands under the purview of the state apparatuses such as the Archaeological Department, Forest Department and the Wild-life Conservation Department, says retired Land Commissioner of the Eastern Province Karthirgamathamby Kurunathan, in an in-depth video interview to TamilNet.
Related Story >>

[05.05.15]
TNPF rejects ‘domestic investigations’ upheld by USA: The fact that the United States and the US Secretary of State John Kerry would consider the post January 08th 2015 situation in Sri Lanka, with the new government favourable, is understandable. But, for him to suggest that there is a favourable condition for the Tamils, is stretching too far, said Tamil National Peoples Front (TNPF) Leader Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam, responding to a question from TamilNet.
Related Story >>

[02.05.15]
Sivaram, Wigneswaran saw futility in convincing Sinhala polity: senior editor: The failure of Sivaram and his transfer into a staunch Tamil nationalist is analogical to the political course and current stand of the NPC Chief Minister, Mr C.V. Wigneswaran, said veteran Tamil journalist and editor, Mr. V. Thevaraj, addressing the 10th assassination anniversary meet of Sivaram held in Batticaloa on Wednesday.
Related Story >>

[02.05.15]
New generation of organic intellectuals needed to continue Sivaram’s work: Informed by Tamil literature as much by Tamil history, Marxism as much as Poststructuralism, Thucydides as much as contemporary COIN theorists, Sivaram worked for the Eelam Tamil cause as a leading politico-military analyst and as a true “organic intellectual,” writes RM Karthick.
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[02.05.15]
Sivaram commemorated in Tamil Nadu on 10th anniversary of his assassination: Journalist Revati Laul, who served as special correspondent at Tehelka and NDTV, journalist Priyamvatha Panchapagesan, an associate editor with News X, journalist Radhika Sudhakar, writer Aazhi Senthil Nathan and activists Thirumurugan Gandhi, coordinator of May 17 movement and Dr. Ezhilan Naganathan, the founder of I'laignar Iyakkam were among the speakers at the memorial event held in Chennai on the 10 anniversary of Sivaram's assassination.
Related Story >>

[29.04.15]
Constitutionally recognise Tamil homeland to prove bona fides, exiled poet tells Colombo: “Would the Sinhala rulers of Sri Lanka ever be prepared to constitutionally recognise the joint North-East as the homeland of Tamils,” questioned exiled Eezham Tamil poet Kasi Anandan on Wednesday, speaking from Chennai, in an Internet-based video address on the occasion of a memorial event held in Batticaloa on the 10th anniversary of the assassinated TamilNet Senior Editor and popular columnist Sivaram Dharmeratnam (Taraki).
Related Story >>

[24.04.15]
Break vicious circle of political obfuscation: Sivaram in 2003: Educating the masses on the designs of Powers and politically mobilising the people for the struggle was the central theme of the piece late Senior Editor of TamilNet Sivaram Dharmeratnam wrote to Northeastern Herald on May 02, 2003, two years before he was assassinated by the Sri Lankan military intelligence.
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[24.04.15]
Task of real Tamil political leadership: Sivaram in 2003: Sivaram Dharmeratnam alias Taraki, the late senior editor of TamilNet, wrote an article in January 2003, explaining the deadlock of the Sri Lankan unitary constitution which cannot provide for a solution within its framework. The international backers were also aware that a federal solution to the ethnic conflict was practically, legally and politically impossible with the Sri Lankan Constitution, he wrote.
Related Story >>

[13.03.15]
New Delhi should stop looking at Eezham Tamils through Colombo: Whether China or the USA, or both – whatever may be the ultimate foreign policy concern of India, the times are such that New Delhi should learn to approach Eezham Tamils as a nation of its own right.
Related Story >>

[10.03.15]
Ki Pi Aravinthan's 2008 interview to TamilNet serialized: TamilNet serializes this week a 2008 interview with veteran former Tamil militant, poet and writer Ki Pi Aravinthan (Christopher Francis alias Sunthar), who passed away on Sunday in Paris at the age of 62.
Related Story >>

[14.02.15]
Palaka'ni: NPC resolution gives hopes on Tamil political unity The recent resolution presented and unanimously adopted in the Northern Provincial Council on historic and recent genocide against Tamils in the island, has rung alarm bells at necessary diplomatic quarters, say Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarian Suresh Premachandran (EPRLF) and TNA Councillor M.K. Shivajilingam (TELO). In a Palaka'ni interview to TamilNet this week, Mr Shivajilingam said there were attempts afoot to influence certain Tamil diaspora activists to issue sophisticated statements urging the UN Rights Chief to postpone the OISL report.
Related Story >>

[13.02.15]
Opinion: Understanding accountability: international investigation on outlook crime: NPC Chief Minister Justice CV Wigneswaran observed that such an investigation would make Sinhala people to see the truth and would help getting justice. Equally important or more important is an international investigation on the adamant ‘outlook crime’ of certain powers that fundamentally contributed to the genocide, especially in the recent decades.
Related Story >>

[12.02.15]
Wigneswaran exposes US delay tactics at Geneva: “In my recent conversation with Ms Biswal, I understood that the USA wants to be in favour of the present Sri Lanka government, as this government is favourable to the USA,” Wigneswaran said. “When Ms Biswal asked what could be the appropriate time for the release of the Geneva report and when I replied that it should be in March, she didn’t accept it,” the NPC-CM said.
Related Story >>

[11.02.15]
Key to struggle is to change outlook of powers: Gajendrakumar: The outlook of Powers with regards Tamil national question in the island doesn’t come from lack of knowledge, Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam said in a Palaka'ni interview last week, naming US-dominated West, India and China as actors primarily involved. The change in their outlook to accommodate Tamil interests is certainly not going to be through education, it is something that has to come through a struggle, he said.
Related Story >>

[10.02.15]
Wigneswaran calls for international investigation on genocide: In a key development, the Chief Minister of Northern Provincial Council (NPC), Justice CV Wigneswaran, on Tuesday called for real international investigations on genocide against Tamils committed by the successive governments since Ceylon's independence from the British in 1948.
Related Story >>

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Justice C.V. Wigneswaran didn't even refer to the Genocide Resolution passed unanimously by the elected NPC assembly. Further, the resolution drafted by the organisers was limiting the scope of the Tamil aspiration just at self-rule, an out-dated demand which was abandoned by the late Tamil leader S.J.V Chelvanayakam in favour of Tamil sovereignty-centred aspiration as he realised that Colombo would never reconcile with Tamils without any compulsion beyond the parameters of SL parliamentary politics. Now, Wigneswaran asking simple questions with a mobilised mass, is being intentionally projected as ‘extremism’ by Colombo, commented Tamil activists in Vavuniyaa, who witnessed a hate campaign by Sinhala Buddhists in their town on Friday. Full story >> Latest Reports: Sep 30 21:29 Colombo steps up hate campaign against Wigneswaran Sep 29 23:01 Monk sets ablaze Hindu temple as Maithiripala proc.. Sep 28 23:18 Criticism emerges in Jaffna over USA training SL m.. Sep 27 18:36 Ezhuka Thamizh has sent sharp message to all corne.. Sep 26 18:12 Sin of US, UN in Eezham War sets paradigm for Russ.. Sep 25 23:27 SL military, Buddhist monk bring Sinhala ‘War Hero.. Sep 24 16:10 15,000 Tamils attend historic uprising in Jaffna, .. Sep 23 23:35 Tamil POWs denounce Colombo's latest announcement,.. Sep 22 22:26 Mobilisation towards ‘Ezhuka Thamizh’ uprising in .. Sep 21 18:56 Sinhala colonists step up assaults on Tamil cattle.. Sep 20 22:55 ‘Reconciliation prospects’ look as grim as ever: R.. Sep 19 23:02 Tamil POWs relaunch hunger-strike, urge cases to b.. Sep 18 19:42 Colombo deploys discrimination in housing assistan.. Sep 17 22:18 SL Intelligence sabotages NPC-organised medical in.. Sep 16 23:16 Catholic Peace Mission in Jaffna challenges Colomb.. << Flashback More Reports >> 3RD LEAD Monk sets ablaze Hindu temple as Maithiripala proclaims ‘Buddhist Sri Lanka’ at UN [Thu, 29 Sep 2016, 23:01 GMT] A Sinhala Buddhist monk from the so-called ‘Pashana Pabbatha Rajamaha viharaya’, which has been put up with a Sinhala name in the occupied Tamil village of Kalladi in the Eastern province by occupying Colombo after 2009, set ablaze the building of a Madam (mutt) of Malai-neeli-Amman temple (the dark goddess of the hill) on Tuesday. It happened within a week after the SL President Maithiripala Sirisena addressed the UN General Assembly in New York claiming the island as a Buddhist country. Eechchilam-patttai (Verukal) is the south most coastal Tamil division in the Trincomalee district bordering Batticaloa and was under the de-facto Tamil Eelam civil administration during the times of the LTTE. The division is now facing Sinhala-Buddhist occupation from Seruvila and Welikanda. Sirisena's ‘Mahaweli’ ministry is spearheading the structural genocide in the area. Full story >> Ezhuka Thamizh has sent sharp message to all corners: Fr Ravichandran [Tue, 27 Sep 2016, 18:36 GMT] The main message coming from the ‘Ezhuka Thamizh’ uprising, especially from the people, who participated in their thousands, was that Tamils on the ground were not prepared to compromise their collective demand for self-rule in a merged North-East, said Jaffna-based human rights and civil activist Rev. Fr. M.V.E. Ravichandran in a video interview to TamilNet on Monday. Tamils reject the unitary system and the message has now been conveyed clearly to all the corners, he said. “Tamils want to live as a People and they don't want their cultural and national identity erased in any way. They are opposed to structural genocide,” the director of Jaffna Diocesan Catholic Youth Federation further said. Tamils should be given the right to appoint international judges to ensure the credibility of any model of investigations with international participation, he said. Full story >> SL military, Buddhist monk bring Sinhala ‘War Heroes’ project to Batticaloa [Sun, 25 Sep 2016, 23:27 GMT] The so-called ‘Ranaviru Seva Authority’ (War Heroes Welfare Authority), an outfit operated by the Defence Ministry of genocidal Sri Lanka to support the families of war-dead soldiers and the wounded soldiers of the occupying Sinhala military has expanded its work to Batticaloa in close association with the Sinhala extremist monk Venerable Ampitiye Sumanarathna Thera, informed civil sources in the city of Batticaloa said. The main intention is to bring in poverty-stricken families of ‘Sinhala war heroes’ to occupy the country of Eezham Tamils through so-called ‘welfare settlements’ in the Tamil-speaking district. Full story >> Tamil POWs denounce Colombo's latest announcement, continue fast [Fri, 23 Sep 2016, 23:35 GMT] Tamil Prisoners of War waging a continuous hunger strike at Anuradhapura prison told TamilNet on Friday that the latest announcement of Colombo's Ministry of Prison Reforms of sending 23 of the detained Tamil prisoners under the notorious ‘Prevention of Terrorism Act’ to the so-called ‘military rehabilitation’ before their release was a deceptive move. Most of those in the announced list were mentioned together with one case per person. But, most of the detainees were facing three to four cases in different courts and relieving them of one case with the outcome of ‘military rehabilitation’ will not deliver freedom to them from the other cases, they said. In addition, the announcement also contained names of those already released and subjected to military rehabilitation, which exposed the level of ignorance on the part of Colombo in addressing their PTA cases, the Tamil prisoners said. Full story >> Sinhala colonists step up assaults on Tamil cattle herders in Batticaloa [Wed, 21 Sep 2016, 18:56 GMT] Three Sinhalese colonists severely assaulted a 44-year-old Tamil cattle farmer, who was taking care of his cattle Monday evening at Mayilaththa-madu in Maathava'nai pastureland situated in Koa'ra'laip-pattu South (Kiraan) division of Batticaloa district. The wounded cattle herder, a father of three, was admitted to Chanthi-ve'li and transferred to Batticaloa Teaching Hospital on Tuesday with badly injured legs. The incident took place around 3:30 p.m. on Monday. This is the second assault on Tamil cattle herders in the area, Tamil farmers said. Full story >> 2ND LEAD (Adds voice) Tamil POWs relaunch hunger-strike, urge cases to be heard at Jaffna, Vavuniyaa [Mon, 19 Sep 2016, 23:02 GMT] Tamil political prisoners languishing in the prisons of genocidal Colombo have decided to launch a continuous hunger-strike campaign starting from Wednesday. The Tamil prisoners are demanding immediate action from the Colombo government and its international ‘partners’ on their release. “At least transfer our cases to the High Courts in Vavuniyaa and Jaffna from the clutches of Anuradhapura Special Courts,” a spokesperson of the political prisoners jailed in Anuradhapura prison said while talking to TamilNet over the phone and reading a statement on behalf of the detained prisoners. Full story >> SL Intelligence sabotages NPC-organised medical inspections on ex-LTTE members [Sat, 17 Sep 2016, 22:18 GMT] SL Military Intelligence operatives, clad in civil clothes, have been deployed inside the premises of the hospitals in the five districts of Northern Province. The occupying Sinhala military has increased its surveillance on former LTTE members, who were coming for medical inspections, especially after allegations of suspicious injections or unauthorised medicine given to them under the genocidal custody of the SL military during the so-called ‘military rehabilitation’. The medical authorities in North have made arrangements for the former LTTE members to start medical inspections according to a publicly announced schedule in each district. This has made it more easier for the SL military to identify and harass those who appear for medical inspections, the sources further said. Full story >> Criticism emerges in Jaffna over USA training SL military, IC soft-pedalling Tamil genocide [Wed, 28 Sep 2016, 23:18 GMT] In spite of all the accusations against the Sri Lankan government of war-crimes and other atrocities committed during the war, USA and other governments continue to have naval and military exercises with the Sri Lankan forces, as they also had these trainings with the SL military during the regime of the Mahinda Rajapaksa, said Rev Fr S.V.B. Mangalarajah, the chairman of the Commission for Justice & Peace of the Catholic Diocese in Jaffna in a follow-up video interview to TamilNet after the Ezhuka Thamizh uprising held in Jaffna. The implied message coming from the veteran human rights activist based in Jaffna was that the international community and its approach towards the national question of Tamils in the island was lopsided and unless that problem is seriously addressed by Tamils, the SL Government and the South would not deliver anything substantial for Tamils. Full story >> Sin of US, UN in Eezham War sets paradigm for Russia in Syrian War [Mon, 26 Sep 2016, 18:12 GMT] If the US bandwagon and the UN are really keen in seeking peace and justice in Syria, they should first set their paradigm right, by bringing in expeditious international justice to the war crimes and genocide committed on the nation of Eezham Tamils and by openly acknowledging the sin of their sponsorship in the Vanni War. Without that, shedding crocodile tears for the grave sufferings of the Syrian civilians, or coming out with empty threats against Russia and Syria that follow just the same model set by US bandwagon and ‘Sri Lanka’, would neither help world humanity nor would bring in any credibility to the UN or to the US bandwagon, commented Tamil activists for alternative politics in the island. Full story >> 2ND LEAD 15,000 Tamils attend historic uprising in Jaffna, reject Unitary Constitution, ITAK draws flak [Sat, 24 Sep 2016, 16:10 GMT] Ezhuka Thamizh (Let Tamil rise up), the biggest uprising to take place in the country of Eezham Tamils after the Pongku Thamizh uprisings during the times of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), declared on Saturday that the ‘consultations’ staged by Colombo for the new constitution completely failed to include the genuine political aspirations of the Tamil people. The Ilankai Thamizh Arasuk Kadchi (ITAK) with a hijacked leadership and the powers operating it, received a serious message from the people at the grassroots, regardless of the organisers of the event, that the people on the ground are fully prepared to replace the ITAK hierarchy once a good leadership takes shape to lead the nation of Eehzam Tamils in the next phase of their struggle. It is now time for NPC Chief Minister Justice C.V. Wigneswaran to prove the case, commented Tamil political observers in Jaffna. Full story >> 2ND LEAD (Adds video) Mobilisation towards ‘Ezhuka Thamizh’ uprising in Jaffna gains momentum [Thu, 22 Sep 2016, 22:26 GMT] Grassroots organisations, academics and students of University of Jaffna, business community, religious leaders involved in civil activism and various political parties voicing for the rights of Eezham Tamils are extending their support to the public rally named ‘Ezhuka Thamizh’ (Let Tamil rise up) to take place in Jaffna on Saturday. Despite the deviatory sections of the TNA hierarchy, led by M.A. Sumanthiran and Opposition Leader R. Sampanthan, have been fully busy with causing obstacles to the move taken forward by the Tamil People’s Council (TPC), the mobilisation has gained support from the people on the ground, activists close to the organisers said. Full story >> ‘Reconciliation prospects’ look as grim as ever: Rev Fr Mangalarajah [Tue, 20 Sep 2016, 22:55 GMT] Colombo government is keeping the people in the North and East under heavily militarised conditions and is not even prepared to let the people remember their war-dead freely, which is essential for any meaningful reconciliation, said Rev. Fr. S.V.B. Mangalarajah, the president of the Justice & Peace Commission in Jaffna, in a video interview to TamilNet on Tuesday. Now, People on the ground have realised that Colombo is not even prepared to involve foreign experts in the local investigations. The people are also dissatisfied with the Tamil leaders who are collaborating with the government and asking the people to have patience, he said. “The United Nations should realise that the SL Government is well-known for extending promises just to backtrack on them later.” Full story >> Colombo deploys discrimination in housing assistance to Peasaalai war-affected families [Sun, 18 Sep 2016, 19:42 GMT] Fishing families from Peasaalai in Mannaar with widows, war-dead family members and those who displaced several times to Tamil Nadu and resettled back without any assistance so far, continue to be discriminated based on their past association with the Tamil struggle, informed civil sources in Mannaar said. Colombo's ministries and its local agent Divisional Secretary Mr Subramaniam Vasanthakumar have been blamed of being selective and practicing discrimination, according to the complaints coming from the affected people themselves. Full story >> Catholic Peace Mission in Jaffna challenges Colombo’s propaganda on ‘reconciliation’ [Fri, 16 Sep 2016, 23:16 GMT] While the President of genocidal Sri Lanka has brushed away the objective criticisms on the utter failure of one-way-determined ‘Sinhala-Only Reconciliation’ as mere propaganda coming from ‘fundamentalist media’ in the North-East, Rev. Fr. S.V.B. Mangalarajah, the president of the Justice & Peace Commission in Jaffna, has issued a report exposing some of the fundamental failures of this ‘one-way’ determined campaign of ‘reconciliation’ and the so-called ‘good governance’. Lands of the people not returned, political prisoners not released, lack of accountability for missing persons, serious apprehensions regarding the OMP, the PTA still being enforced, denial of memorial rights, lack of official arrangements to look after the victims of war, poisonous injections causing concern, failed local investigations and unabated erecting Buddha statues are pointed out in the report. Full story >> Top Flashback: 2014: 2014 Oct 01 12:34 SL investigators harass senior journalist in Ja... 2013: 2013 Oct 01 23:49 SL military expands military cantonment in VVT,... 2013 Oct 01 10:22 TID operatives harass Thinakkural journalists i... 2012: 2012 Oct 01 08:09 600 families in Vellaave'li division denied vot... 2011: 2011 Oct 01 17:07 Rajapakse, an enemy of all mankind, filed U.S. ... 2011 Oct 01 16:01 Congressman Honda calls for war-crimes accounta... 2011 Oct 01 06:47 Canadian parties join in screening Channel-4 do... 2010: 2010 Oct 01 21:01 Body of Sinhala officer found in Ampaa’rai 2010 Oct 01 09:03 Former SLA commander Fonseka in Welikada Prison 2010 Oct 01 08:54 Swaminathan, Aswer nominated to PAC 2010 Oct 01 05:51 SLA denies permission to reopen Central College... 2010 Oct 01 01:49 One-person dominated TGTE decided by narrow margin 2009: 2009 Oct 01 17:51 Vavuniyaa camps meant for detainees, not for ID... 2009 Oct 01 13:04 Medical doctor arrested in Vavuniyaa 2009 Oct 01 04:57 5 Tamil youths arrested in Colombo 2009 Oct 01 02:43 JVP demands Tamil political prisoners to be pro... 2009 Oct 01 02:36 Jaffna prisoners call off fast on assurance by ... 2009 Oct 01 02:31 IDP from Vavuniyaa camp arrested by Kandy Police 2009 Oct 01 02:23 Tamil, Muslim party leaders call for end to for... 2008: 2008 Oct 01 19:14 Trinco High Court orders inquiry into Habeas ap... 2008 Oct 01 19:02 Ramzhaan saves lives in airstrike - KNC 2008 Oct 01 18:41 Sri Lankan airstrike targets civil administrati... 2008 Oct 01 15:08 Norwegian politicians express concern on humani... 2008 Oct 01 14:20 SLA shelling blocks A9 2008 Oct 01 12:32 TNA condemns grenade attack on Tamil MP's house... 2008 Oct 01 12:26 Tortured Tamil given asylum in U.S. after 7 yea... 2008 Oct 01 12:22 Rebuilt SLN base in Nedunththeevu officially op... 2008 Oct 01 11:27 JB Jeyaratnam passes away 2008 Oct 01 06:14 2 civilians killed, 13 wounded in SLAF attack o... 2008 Oct 01 05:56 Grenade attack on TNA MP's house in Ampaa'rai 2007: 2007 Oct 01 16:30 2 SLAF troops injured in Vavuniyaa 2007 Oct 01 13:10 British oil firms to explore Mannar amid UK ‘wo... 2007 Oct 01 13:04 Civilian abducted, 3 seek HRC protection in Jaffna 2007 Oct 01 13:02 2 injured in Claymore attack in Veala'nai islet 2007 Oct 01 07:24 Naakarkoayil offensive thwarted, weapons seized... 2007 Oct 01 05:21 UN Special Rapporteur on Torture visits Sri Lanka 2007 Oct 01 04:20 Explosives recovered in Mannaar 2007 Oct 01 01:18 Robbery suspects arrested in Mannaar 2006: 2006 Oct 01 17:43 Norwegian peace envoy arrives in Colombo 2006 Oct 01 12:21 ICRC calls for worker safety, unhindered access... 2006 Oct 01 12:10 IPU assistance sought to forge consensus betwee... 2006 Oct 01 11:46 Rajapakse to meet JVP leaders this week 2006 Oct 01 11:41 Former RAW chief protests India’s ‘ambivalence’... 2006 Oct 01 11:38 Sea-mines recovered in Kalpity coast 2006 Oct 01 04:21 Sri Lanka backs Korea’s candidate for UN secret... 2005: 2005 Oct 01 17:01 IOM boosts buffalo and cattle farms 2005 Oct 01 16:44 International children's day celebrated in Vanni 2005 Oct 01 12:59 Kumaratunge leaves for Paris 2005 Oct 01 12:34 NLF supports Tamil Resurgence Conventions 2005 Oct 01 12:30 UNP to hold 120 rallies after nomination day 2005 Oct 01 07:09 Trinco children home administrator sentenced to... 2005 Oct 01 00:28 SLFP to begin work on manifesto 2004: 2004 Oct 01 19:44 'Guardians for Children' office opened in Ampar... 2004 Oct 01 19:03 Tigers kill paramilitary operative in Batticalo... 2004 Oct 01 18:24 LTTE Constitutional Affairs Committee meets in ... 2004 Oct 01 17:37 Refugee children's drawings express anger, frus... 2004 Oct 01 16:41 SLA gives eviction order to Valalai resettIed IDPs 2004 Oct 01 13:54 First LTTE medical service in SLA held area 2004 Oct 01 11:03 Book on Pirapaharan to be released 2004 Oct 01 07:54 'Police acting partially'-Mannar MP 2004 Oct 01 05:43 Tamil artistes honoured in Trincomalee 2004 Oct 01 04:02 Large crowds attend Vallipuram "Theertham" fest... 2004 Oct 01 03:32 Civil group requests re-opening of Kerativu-San... 2004 Oct 01 02:12 Curfew in Mannar after attack on LTTE office 2004 Oct 01 00:45 TNA MPs meet U.S Ambassador 2004 Oct 01 00:10 Advisory Council, ploy to delay peace talks- Pr... 2003: 2003 Oct 01 20:28 Tenth anniversary of Charles Anthony brigade ob... 2003 Oct 01 19:47 Book on LTTE’s first conventional formation lau... 2003 Oct 01 19:43 SLA agrees Vadamaradchi NECORD work can go ahead 2003 Oct 01 17:43 PNM vows to thwart 'foreign attempt to divide' ... 2003 Oct 01 17:23 Habeas Corpus filed for Jaffna disappearances 2003 Oct 01 17:15 Palaly teachers' college has no permanent place... 2003 Oct 01 14:42 JVP awaits invitation to resume talks with SLFP 2003 Oct 01 04:15 Foreign NGOs' plans in Jaffna said ineffective 2003 Oct 01 00:02 Sports meet in Vanni marks Tamil Eelam women’s day 2002: 2002 Oct 01 18:47 Action committee demands release of PTA suspects 2002 Oct 01 18:43 Rape case reported to UN official 2002 Oct 01 17:02 SC commences inquiry into constitutional amendm... 2002 Oct 01 14:52 New Tamil daily launched in Jaffna 2002 Oct 01 11:20 Demonstrators seek free access to Valaichenai i... 2001: 2001 Oct 01 19:13 Fears for displaced children 2000: 2000 Oct 01 14:26 Court frees PTA detainee 2000 Oct 01 14:24 PA extended conditional support 2000 Oct 01 13:31 Boy bathing, shot dead 2000 Oct 01 08:32 Skirmish in Batticaloa 1999: 1999 Oct 01 23:12 Tigers attack Police Post 1999 Oct 01 23:01 One killed, five wounded in clashes 1999 Oct 01 13:27 US-Lanka extradition treaty is 1999 Oct 01 13:25 Soldiers harass widow, daughter - MP 1998: 1998 Oct 01 19:15 Vanni military activity continues 1998 Oct 01 16:12 Lion air flight located- official 1998 Oct 01 11:35 Kilinochchi reversal, not setback - SLA 1998 Oct 01 09:36 SLA faces tough choices 1997: 1997 Oct 01 23:59 Relatives of Jaffna's 'disappeared' protest 1997 Oct 01 23:59 Tigers repulse SLA assault 1997 Oct 01 23:59 Buddhist clergy stage protest rally Like an unchecked cancer, hate corrodes the personality and eats away its vital unity. Hate destroys a man's sense of values and his objectivity. It causes him to describe the beautiful as ugly and the ugly as beautiful, and to confuse the true with the false and the false with the true. -Martin Luther King Jr. Civil Rights Leader, USA 1929 - 1968	Know the Etymology: 220 Place Name of the Day: (220 of 500 revised) Hīnaṭi-pana, Kīra-panē, Nāraň-panāva The place or field of Hīnaṭi paddy The place or field of leaf vegetables The place or field of orange trees Read more >> [20.02.16] The Tamil Genocide by Sri LankaThe second edition with over 150 new pages traces the ongoing engagement in the Sri Lankan conflict of Professor Francis A. Boyle, an eminent American expert in international law, from the conflict’s last years to the present pursuit of UN recognition of the Tamil genocide and call for reparations. It is the first book to develop an authoritative case for genocide against the Government of Sri Lanka under international law. The book is available from Clarity Press, Amazon in soft cover or in Kindle version. [11.11.15] South Africa to Singapore: global Tamils grasping geopolitics to act: The South African conference held in Durban has come out with many demands that are dear to the heart of Tamils, such as demilitarisation, stopping Sinhala colonisation, repeal of the 6th Amendment to facilitate free negotiation etc. But the slip was still showing when the conference avoided the term genocide. What was more ironical that betrayed the deception was the slogan of the conference organizers that called the country they want to salvage as ‘Sri Lanka’, boldly written in Tamil. Related Story >> [04.11.15] Tamil leadership need not shy away or react to unfair challenge coming from Sumanthiran: Eezham Tamil polity seeking pardon from Tamil-speaking Muslims should be unassuming, but it should come in an enlightening way to the edification of the Colombo-centric agenda or the powers-guided agenda, pursued in the past as well as in the present. Otherwise, it may only amount to conferring impunity to the State in Colombo and its abettors. Related Story >> [06.05.15] Retired land commissioner of Eastern Province on Structural Genocide against Eezham Tamils: The systematic seizure of traditional lands belonging to the Tamil speaking people of the North-East have been widespread under the guise of archaeological, forest and wild-life conservations and subsequently carried out through the acts of demarcating these lands under the purview of the state apparatuses such as the Archaeological Department, Forest Department and the Wild-life Conservation Department, says retired Land Commissioner of the Eastern Province Karthirgamathamby Kurunathan, in an in-depth video interview to TamilNet. Related Story >> [05.05.15] TNPF rejects ‘domestic investigations’ upheld by USA: The fact that the United States and the US Secretary of State John Kerry would consider the post January 08th 2015 situation in Sri Lanka, with the new government favourable, is understandable. But, for him to suggest that there is a favourable condition for the Tamils, is stretching too far, said Tamil National Peoples Front (TNPF) Leader Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam, responding to a question from TamilNet. Related Story >> [02.05.15] Sivaram, Wigneswaran saw futility in convincing Sinhala polity: senior editor: The failure of Sivaram and his transfer into a staunch Tamil nationalist is analogical to the political course and current stand of the NPC Chief Minister, Mr C.V. Wigneswaran, said veteran Tamil journalist and editor, Mr. V. Thevaraj, addressing the 10th assassination anniversary meet of Sivaram held in Batticaloa on Wednesday. Related Story >> [02.05.15] New generation of organic intellectuals needed to continue Sivaram’s work: Informed by Tamil literature as much by Tamil history, Marxism as much as Poststructuralism, Thucydides as much as contemporary COIN theorists, Sivaram worked for the Eelam Tamil cause as a leading politico-military analyst and as a true “organic intellectual,” writes RM Karthick. Related Story >> [02.05.15] Sivaram commemorated in Tamil Nadu on 10th anniversary of his assassination: Journalist Revati Laul, who served as special correspondent at Tehelka and NDTV, journalist Priyamvatha Panchapagesan, an associate editor with News X, journalist Radhika Sudhakar, writer Aazhi Senthil Nathan and activists Thirumurugan Gandhi, coordinator of May 17 movement and Dr. Ezhilan Naganathan, the founder of I'laignar Iyakkam were among the speakers at the memorial event held in Chennai on the 10 anniversary of Sivaram's assassination. Related Story >> [29.04.15] Constitutionally recognise Tamil homeland to prove bona fides, exiled poet tells Colombo: “Would the Sinhala rulers of Sri Lanka ever be prepared to constitutionally recognise the joint North-East as the homeland of Tamils,” questioned exiled Eezham Tamil poet Kasi Anandan on Wednesday, speaking from Chennai, in an Internet-based video address on the occasion of a memorial event held in Batticaloa on the 10th anniversary of the assassinated TamilNet Senior Editor and popular columnist Sivaram Dharmeratnam (Taraki). Related Story >> [24.04.15] Break vicious circle of political obfuscation: Sivaram in 2003: Educating the masses on the designs of Powers and politically mobilising the people for the struggle was the central theme of the piece late Senior Editor of TamilNet Sivaram Dharmeratnam wrote to Northeastern Herald on May 02, 2003, two years before he was assassinated by the Sri Lankan military intelligence. Related Story >> [24.04.15] Task of real Tamil political leadership: Sivaram in 2003: Sivaram Dharmeratnam alias Taraki, the late senior editor of TamilNet, wrote an article in January 2003, explaining the deadlock of the Sri Lankan unitary constitution which cannot provide for a solution within its framework. The international backers were also aware that a federal solution to the ethnic conflict was practically, legally and politically impossible with the Sri Lankan Constitution, he wrote. Related Story >> [13.03.15] New Delhi should stop looking at Eezham Tamils through Colombo: Whether China or the USA, or both – whatever may be the ultimate foreign policy concern of India, the times are such that New Delhi should learn to approach Eezham Tamils as a nation of its own right. Related Story >> [10.03.15] Ki Pi Aravinthan's 2008 interview to TamilNet serialized: TamilNet serializes this week a 2008 interview with veteran former Tamil militant, poet and writer Ki Pi Aravinthan (Christopher Francis alias Sunthar), who passed away on Sunday in Paris at the age of 62. Related Story >> [14.02.15] Palaka'ni: NPC resolution gives hopes on Tamil political unity The recent resolution presented and unanimously adopted in the Northern Provincial Council on historic and recent genocide against Tamils in the island, has rung alarm bells at necessary diplomatic quarters, say Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarian Suresh Premachandran (EPRLF) and TNA Councillor M.K. Shivajilingam (TELO). In a Palaka'ni interview to TamilNet this week, Mr Shivajilingam said there were attempts afoot to influence certain Tamil diaspora activists to issue sophisticated statements urging the UN Rights Chief to postpone the OISL report. Related Story >> [13.02.15] Opinion: Understanding accountability: international investigation on outlook crime: NPC Chief Minister Justice CV Wigneswaran observed that such an investigation would make Sinhala people to see the truth and would help getting justice. Equally important or more important is an international investigation on the adamant ‘outlook crime’ of certain powers that fundamentally contributed to the genocide, especially in the recent decades. Related Story >> [12.02.15] Wigneswaran exposes US delay tactics at Geneva: “In my recent conversation with Ms Biswal, I understood that the USA wants to be in favour of the present Sri Lanka government, as this government is favourable to the USA,” Wigneswaran said. “When Ms Biswal asked what could be the appropriate time for the release of the Geneva report and when I replied that it should be in March, she didn’t accept it,” the NPC-CM said. Related Story >> [11.02.15] Key to struggle is to change outlook of powers: Gajendrakumar: The outlook of Powers with regards Tamil national question in the island doesn’t come from lack of knowledge, Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam said in a Palaka'ni interview last week, naming US-dominated West, India and China as actors primarily involved. The change in their outlook to accommodate Tamil interests is certainly not going to be through education, it is something that has to come through a struggle, he said. Related Story >> [10.02.15] Wigneswaran calls for international investigation on genocide: In a key development, the Chief Minister of Northern Provincial Council (NPC), Justice CV Wigneswaran, on Tuesday called for real international investigations on genocide against Tamils committed by the successive governments since Ceylon's independence from the British in 1948. Related Story >>
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