Tamil activist film director Manivannan passes away in Chennai

5TH LEAD (Adds video, audio and TULF documents from 1987)

Gajendrakumar exposes New Delhi’s deception behind 13th Amendment

New Delhi that had wanted the LTTE to commit on federal solution as condition to bring in ceasefire, started arrogantly imposing the unitary 13 Amendment once the war ended in genocide, Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam exposes, bringing out the roles played by new Delhi’s National Security Advisor, M.K. Narayanan, and the former Foreign Secretary and the present NSA, Shivshankar Menon. When some of the TNA members attempted to explain that the 13th Amendment couldn’t be the way to find a political solution to the national question, Mr Narayanan responded in an angry tone stating that India knew what was good for Tamils much better than the Tamils themselves. The Indian delegation categorically told us that the 13th Amendment was the solution, Mr Gajendrakumar said. Full story >>

Paa'nama model envisaged to Sinhalicise Ukanthai in East

The SL government move to construct a Buddhist temple adjacent to the Saiva-Vedda, Murukan temple at the Ukanthai hill sanctuary is now abandoned after heavy protests by Tamils in Ampaa’rai district of Eastern Province, but Sinhalicisation of the place continues unabated following the model of another Tamil village Paa’nama, 16 km south of Ukanthai that is now dominated by Sinhalese, news sources in the East said. In front of the Ukanthai Murukan temple, in the one and a half acres of land claimed for the Buddhist temple, hundreds of Sinhala fishermen from the South are camped now. The Buddhist temple claim is based on this camp settlement and the one who spearheads the move is the incumbent of the Paa’nama Buddhist Vihara, who was born a Tamil and converted to become a Buddhist monk, news sources further said. Full story >>

Rapp disappointed at Sri Lanka's lack of accountability to atrocities

US Ambassador at Large on War Crimes Issues, Stephen J. Rapp, during his visit to the UN in New York June 11, said on Sri Lanka, he is disappointed on the "accountability for the alleged grave atrocities near the end of the conflict on both sides," and on the lack of implementation of the provisions of the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission, Inner City Press (ICP) which covers UN, said. Full story >>

British archaeologist makes no difference from PM of his country

If the conscience of academics and intellectuals especially in the field of culture is not prepared to boycott the genocidal State of Sri Lanka, at least in subject matters and institutions that have a bearing on genocide, how to expect politicians to boycott events such as CHOGM hosted by Sri Lanka, commented an academic in Jaffna responding to British archaeologist Prof Robin Coningham choosing to address Colombo’s Postgraduate Institute of Archaeology on a topic related to Buddhism on Saturday. Just like there were mass killings every day during the genocidal war, mass-scale structural genocide now takes place every day in the Sinhala military-occupied country of Eezham Tamils. Buddhism and archaeology are pivotal to the process. In 2010, British journalist Jeremy Page alerted the world on “the army and the archaeology department” of Sri Lanka. Full story >>

Canada youth initiate ‘Thazhumpakam’ for genocide awareness

”The end of May completes the first stage of a genocide memorial project called ‘Thazhumbakam’ targeted toward civil society in an effort to educate and to raise awareness about the ongoing structural genocide of the Tamil nation,” says Shagana Thangaraj, a coordinator for rights advocacy in the Canadian Tamil Youth Alliance. Thazhumbakam project by the CTYA has started in the form of a traveling mobile art exhibition that has made appearances at remembrance events, University campuses and other high traffic public areas. The collection of artwork by Eezham Tamil artists depicts many of the ground realities faced by the nation of Eezham Tamils subjected to a protracted genocide. Full story >>

Vedda priest of Saiva temple murdered in Chella Kathirkaamam

70-year-old, Rajapaksa Mudiyansalage Premadasa of the aborigine Vedda culture, and the chief folk priest (Kapuraala) of the Siva temple at Va’l’li Kukai cave in Chella Kathirkaamam, was hacked to death by unknown assailants in the jungle area near the temple on last Tuesday night. The killing took place amidst the currently on-going drive against Saiva temples in the country of Eezham Tamils occupied by the Sinhala-Buddhist State in the island. The Vedda aborigines are either Tamil-speaking or Sinhala-speaking, depending on the territories they live in. The Kapuraala tradition of them worshipping Saiva deities Murukan, Siva etc., is a unique strain of religion in the island. Sinhala-Buddhist priests spearheading colonisation marginalising the Veddas and erasing out their culture have gone on record in the past several decades. Full story >>

US Tamils join "One Million Bones" genocide protest

Several Tamil activists attended the "One Million Bones," protest, a project conceived by a U.S. visual artist, Naomi Natale, to raise awareness of ongoing genocides and mass atrocities in places Sri Lanka, Sudan, South Sudan, Congo and other countries, held in the Mall in Washington D.C. Saturday. The event was attended by more than four thousand volunteers who laid several hundred thousand man-made bones in the rectangle covered by the 3rd, 4th Streets and Madison and Jefferson streets, and several thousand spectators including tourists. Tamil volunteers displayed prominent posters describing Sri Lanka's troubled history, and the genocide of Tamils, and distributed leaflets describing the mass atrocities committed by Sri Lanka military during Mu'l'livaaykkaal killings. Full story >>

Ampaa'rai officials overstep into Batticaloa district to Sinhalicise Tamil village

Sinhala authorities from Ampaa'rai district in the East have laid a brand new carpet road to the ancient Tamil village, Chuvaami-malai that comes under the jurisdiction of the Batticaloa district administration. The name of the village has been changed to Booja-boomi. New cottages are being built using beaten earth by Sinhala settlers with funds provided by the Sinhala Buddhist extremist outfit Bodu Bala Sena (Buddhist Power Force), Tamil civil officials from Paddippazhai division of Batticaloa district told TamilNet Friday. At least 100 acres of lands have been appropriated at Chuvaami-malai for Sinhala colonists, the sources further said. Full story >>

Spectators to Sri Lanka genocide ascend in Obama's inner circle

President Barack Obama Wednesday announced that he is reshuffling the US national security team by appointing the current United Nations Ambassador Susan Rice to the White House and nominated Samantha Power to take Rice's place in the UN. Sri Lanka observers point out to the ineffective role played by the two appointees during the Sri Lanka conflict, and despite the high flown rhetoric of the author of the acclaimed "A Problem from Hell" author, Samantha Power, who met with Sri Lanka's alleged genocidaire Rajapakse after the Mu'l'l'vaaykaal massacres, Rice and Power have been noted silent spectators to the Sri Lanka genocide. Full story >>

SL military, Mannaar GA blamed for sabotaging seminar on land resources

The occupying Sri Lankan military, with the help of the SL Government Agent of Mannaar district has blocked Tamil officials employed in the civil administration from attending a seminar organized by the Centre for Human Rights and Development with the support of the Citizen Committee of Mannaar on Saturday, according to Mr D.P. Sinnathurai, the secretary of the Citizen Committee in Mannaar. The seminar, which was to be held on matters relating to land resources, was intended for the officials working at government departments. Full story >>