Colombo rushes ahead with exploitative expansion of salterns in North

SL Police threatens Tamils for observing annual temple festival in Vavuniyaa North

A group of SL police officers from the Nedungkea'ni station in Vavuniyaa North have been questioning and recording statements from the trustees of Vedukkul-naa'ri Aathi-linkeasvarar temple in Vavuniyaa North on Saturday and Sunday. Furthermore, the SL Police was making phone calls to selected people in the area, stating that a case had been filed against those who were actively involved in the temple festival that completed on Saturday. The trustees and devotees have ‘violated’ the SL Antiquities Ordinance by using a ladder to reach the hilltop, the SL police claims. The SL Police was demanding the removal of the ladder before 10:00 a.m. on Sunday. Full story >>

3RD LEAD (Update, Adds video, photos)

Sinhala police, mob intimidate Saiva Tamil pilgrims at Kanniyaa

Tens of uniformed Sinhala police officers along with persons dressed in civilian clothing stormed at a group of Tamil Saiva pilgrims who were chanting prayers at Kanniyaa Hot Wells around 7:00 a.m. on Friday. The Sinhala policemen behaved aggressively against the devotees instructing them to remove their vehicle away from the promises, said the organiser of the pilgrimage, 41-year-old V. Mohanathas. The devotees were not allowed to conduct their Bajan worship at the Pi'l'laiyaar temple grounds. Half of them were disturbed from their bathing ritual at the Hot Wells. Even though the Tamil pilgrims explained the reason for their presence, the Sinhala group behaved aggressively, Mr Mohanadas said. Full story >>

Colombo-centric ‘development’ threatens Tamil as medium of instruction in North

Jaffna Fisheries Societies Federation has expressed concerns over the looming danger of Sinhalicisation of Fisheries Education in the North. The Sinhalicisation is done through making English as the medium of instruction and populating the students from the South. The move should also be seen with the Sinhala colonisation of the jetties and ports in the Tamil homeland through the so-called mega-development schemes such as the recently started construction of the fishing port in Point Pedro and projects such as the “Enterprise Sri Lanka,” spearheaded by various ministries, departments and authorities of the occupying unitary state in Colombo, according to V. Thavachelvan, the president of Jaffna Fisheries Federation. Full story >>


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UNF schemes Sinhalicisation as ‘development’ transforming Jaffna into ‘megacity’

SL Prime Minister Ranil Wickramasinghe and SL Finance Minister Mangala Samaraweera were visiting Jaffna during the weekend along with SL minister for Megapolis & Western Development, ‘Patali’ Champika Ranawaka, the secretary of Sinhala-Buddhist ultra-nationalist Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU). Mr Wickramasinghe was reciting the mantra of ‘development’ and was repeating the talk of ‘devolving more powers’ to the provincial councils through securing a majority in the forthcoming parliamentary elections. However, Mr Ranawaka, who is opposed to the concept of Sinhalese sharing political power with Tamils in a federal arrangement, was claiming that a ‘megacity’ project would be transforming the city into one of the four main economic hubs in the island. Furthermore, Ranawaka contended that the plan was part of an integrated ‘national physical plan’, which conceived at Battaramulla in Colombo. Full story >>

Tamil-speaking Veddahs confront large-scale land grab in southeast Trincomalee

The settlement pattern of the Tamil-speaking aborigines, who were looking after their own administrative affairs in the southeastern sector of Trincomalee district has been severely disturbed after 2010, says Nadarajah Kanagaratnam, the chairperson of Kuveani community organisation from the village of Nalloor. The villages of Veddahs are now riddled with various demographic changes carried out by the Sinhala-dominated SL State and the encroaching settlements facilitated by a section of the Muslim politicians in the East. The latest land grab was carried out by MLAM Hizbullah, the former SL Governor to East. After the controversial politician was forced to resign from the portfolio, the aboriginal people entered back into their lands in the hope of regaining them. However, a group of settlers from the nearby Thoappoor village have started to threaten the indigenous people in August 2019. Full story >>

SL Police bans playing devotional songs at Vedukku-naa'ri temple in Vavuniyaa

The SL Police from Nedungkea'ni police station has instructed the trustee board of Vedukku-naa'ri Aathi-Lingkeasvarar temple in Vavuniyaa North not to use loudspeakers to play devotional songs during the annual temple festival. The SL Archaeology Department started to claim the locality as coming under its purview last year in August and deployed the SL Police to block Tamil devotees from setting up a ladder to the hilltop. When the dispute went to the courts, the local community was allowed to proceed with the deity rituals without engaging in any construction work. This year, the SL Police has restricted the devotees even from playing devotional songs, commented Thamilchelvan Thurairajah, an elected councillor at the Civic Divisional Council of Vavuniyaa North. Full story >>

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Activist women allege premeditated accidents targeting them

Last week, an unknown motorcyclist hit the motorbike of a leading Tamil woman activist S. Chandraleela, who is one of the main organisers of Keappaa-pulavu continuous protest. 43-year-old Chandraleela was on her way to her house from Mullaiththeevu with her daughter seated on the bike. Both the mother and the daughter were thrown into the air during the crash. All those involved in the accident were admitted to Maagn-choalai hospital with injuries. However, the man who hit them has been either freed or transferred to another hospital in secrecy. The identity of the man being hidden from the records has raised serious doubts of the accident being a planned one, rights activists in Mullaiththeevu said. The SL military intelligence is capable of experimenting with different techniques from time to time, be it ‘white-vans’, ‘grease-devils’ or ‘intended-accidents’, they said. Full story >>

Buddhist monks whip up anti-Muslim hate twisting facts on coastal lands in Poththuvil: Civic Chairman

Poththuvil Divisional Council (PS) Chairman MS Abdul Wazeeth has blamed the extremist Sinhala Buddhist monks for waging hate-campaign against Poththuvil Muslims. An extremist monk based at the newly constructed vihara has claimed that the Muslim villagers were attempting to assault him and he keeps alleging that the ancient Buddhist monuments found close to the beach were being destroyed as the SL Government in Colombo, particularly the UNP led by Ranil Wickramasinghe, had allowed the Muslims to encroach the lands of the so-called Muhudu Maha Viharaya. The archaeological monuments and the monks are protected by armed Sinhala soldiers and the police round the clock. How could the villagers assault them, he asked. It was the monks who had encroached into the areas that come under the purview of the SL Archaeology Department, MSA Wazeeth said. Full story >>


3RD LEAD (Update, Adds photos, video)

Protests on International Day of Disappeared signal emboldened resolve for justice

The families of Eezham Tamils subjected to enforced disappearances at the hands of the occupying Sinhala military and its paramilitaries in the past staged two coordinated demonstrations in the North and East on the occasion of the International Day of the Disappeared on Friday. More than 500 people, including the grassroots activists and supporting politicians, marched for two hours from Pa'nrik-keytha-ku'lam to Oamanthai, the former entry point to the erstwhile de-facto state of Tamil Eelam. Those handed over to the occupying Sinhala military at the entry point in Vavuniyaa, and at Vadduvaakal in Mullaiththeevu were taken to undisclosed detention camps, and their whereabouts are since not known. The wives and the mothers of the missing persons denounced the reparations mechanisms of the so-called Office of Missing Persons (OMP) and demanded international justice. Full story >>

Sirisena’s promo on harbour ‘development’ in Jaffna reveals imminent Sinhalicisation threat

SL President Maithiripala Sirisena has come up with a promotional video advertising the launch of the so-called development of a fisheries harbour at Point-Pedro in Jaffna. The video itself turns out to be the “proof of concept” of Sinhala colonisation of Tamil fisheries industry in the North. A similar project was abandoned at Peasaalai in Mannaar recently. However, the SL Governor in North Suren Raghavan is determined to speedily commence the project amidst the objections from the grassroots including the three fisher associations and two prominent colleges of Eezham Tamils in the area. SL President Maithiripala's promo video exposes the agenda by featuring the intruding Sinhala fishers in Point Pedro. The Asian Development Bank is abetting the genocidal project, branded as a mega port project. Full story >>

Widespread logging backed by SL military in Mannaar continues to escape scrutiny

The commanders of the occupying Sinhala military stationed in three of the five divisions of Mannaar district have been partnering with millionaire wood traders from the South in a widespread and systematic illegal logging going on for a long time after 2009, Tamil officials in Mannaar District Secretariat said. The massive-scale exploitation has reached dangerous proportions and was causing severe environmental effects, the officials told TamilNet. The SL Forest Conservation Department or the SL Police do not act against the conduct of the SL military officers. Now, the SL military is also enjoying the police powers, overriding the authority of the SL Police, the officials further said. Full story >>

Tamil representatives urged to boycott OMP office opening in Jaffna

The coordinator of Mullaiththeevu district organisation of the families of persons subjected to enforced disappearances, Mariyasuresh Easwary, has urged Tamil politicians and representatives to boycott the opening event of the Jaffna office of the Office for Missing Persons, scheduled for Saturday. “We have already received information that Minister Mano Ganesan has abandoned his plan to attend the ceremony. It signals that they understand our concerns and respect the call made by all the five district organisations of the families of the missing persons that jointly appealed to the media four days ago,” she told TamilNet. Full story >>

SL Forest Department remains unmoved by uprooted Tamils’ demand for resettlement

The uprooted people of Kanakar-kiraamam village, a Tamil settlement located 7 km north of Poththtuvil in Ampaa'rai district, are yet to see any change in the attitude of the SL Forest Department, which has seized their lands violating the law of the SL State itself. The people have been staging a continuous protest since 13 August 2018. Former Eastern Provincial Land Commissioner Kathrigamathamby Kurunathan confronted the SL Forest Department on 20 July exposing the mischievous way the land grab was executed, and the officials attached to the department agreed to release the lands. However, nothing has taken place, even as the protesters completed 365 days of protest on 13 August. It is the SL Forest Department, which is the chief trouble-maker, says Mrs Rangathenna, a mother taking part in the protest. Full story >>