TamilNet

Tamils witness false dilemma in Geneva as geopolitical formations pit against each other

[Fri, 26 Feb 2021, 11:53 GMT]

SL President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s ‘balancing act’ has tightly pitted the US-UK-India axis of bandwagoning strategic partners against the China-Russia-Pakistan formation at Geneva. US Ambassador Ms Alaina Teplitz in Colombo was making a North trip as Pakistan’s prime minister visited Colombo. Simultaneously, the politics of human rights was unfolding in Geneva at the Interactive Dialogue on Thursday after Ms Michelle Bachelet, the UN Human Rights High Commissioner and the former president of Chile, presented her report on Wednesday. As usual, the UN High Commissioner’s Report was strongly worded than what one could expect from a resolution being tabled by parties with a vested interest. Eelam Tamils, who demand specific referral to the main crime of genocide from the UN High Commissioner and the UNHRC Resolution, have to confront a false dichotomy once again.

Full story >>

UK not prepared to push for ICC option in new UNHRC Resolution

[Fri, 19 Feb 2021, 14:02 GMT]

The South Asia Department of the Foreign Commonwealth & Development Office of the UK has stated that it still believed that the UNHRC framework is “the best way” to establish the truth and achieve justice and lasting reconciliation for “all communities in Sri Lanka”. The Tamil organisations demanded both ICC referral and investigations on genocide in their letters to the British Foreign Secretary. However, the FCO was dodging any reference to genocide in its reply. On the ICC option, it said: “The ICC could only exercise jurisdiction if the situation is referred to it by a UN Security Council Resolution, or if Sri Lanka accepts the Court’s jurisdiction. Our assessment is that this step would not have the support of the required Security Council members and that it would not advance the cause of accountability for an ICC referral to fail to win Security Council support or to be vetoed.” Full story >>

2ND LEAD

Gotabaya sets up deceptive COI citing ‘sovereignty’ and ‘non-aligned’ foreign policy

[Fri, 22 Jan 2021, 08:01 GMT]

Adding to the series of deceit by his predecessors and using the same modus operandi, SL President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has now appointed another domestic Commission of Inquiry (COI) on accountability. The three-member COI, announced through an extraordinary Gazette Notification on Thursday is tasked to find out about the preceding domestic COIs and Committees revelations on “any human rights violations, serious violations of the international humanitarian law and other such serious offences”. Further stating in the gazette that even though Colombo has withdrawn from “co-sponsorship policy”, it would continue to “work with the United Nations and its Agencies to achieve accountability and human resource development for achieving sustainable peace and reconciliation”. Full story >>

Tamil national parties demand UN to inquire into crime of genocide and set up IIIM

[Sat, 16 Jan 2021, 11:03 GMT]

All the three alliances of the Eezham Tamil national political parties in the island have come together demanding the UN Human Rights system and the Member States of the UNHRC to inquire into the crime of genocide and raise unaddressed accountability issues to higher forums. A referral to the International Criminal Court and an evidence-gathering mechanism similar to the International Independent Investigatory Mechanism (IIIM) established by the UN for Syria in 2016, were among the four main demands. The joint letter by the Tamil political parties and the Tamil civil society organisations on the ground including the families of the people subjected to enforced disappearances, also demands the President of the UNHRC to refer the matters on accountability back to the UN Secretary-General for action. They also want the OHCHR to monitor current human rights violations on the ground. Full story >>

Colombo destroys Mu'l'livaaykkaal memorial monument at Jaffna University

[Fri, 08 Jan 2021, 23:51 GMT]

The occupying SL military and the police have razed to the ground Mu'l'livaaykkaal Tamil genocide monument, situated within the premises of the University of Jaffna. The destruction took place Friday night sending shockwaves across the occupied homeland and the diaspora. Despite the students' protest, the SL military went ahead bulldozing the statue. The Tamil people and their civic leaders who rushed to the site to protest were blocked at the university entrance. The Sinhala military and police personnel used abusive language against the protesters, the students said. The destruction has taken place a day after Indian External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar wrapped up his three-day visit to Colombo. In the meantime, Tamil political party leaders are scheduled to discuss their demands to the United Nations on international investigations of Tamil genocide on Saturday. Full story >>

3RD LEAD

Boyle prefers IIIM demand over ICC-referral, says specific reference to genocide essential

[Thu, 07 Jan 2021, 00:04 GMT]

The Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL) has made it clear that it will not cooperate with the UNHRC. It is time for the UNHRC to take action against the GoSL, said Professor Francis Boyle, an international law expert who teaches at the University of Illinois College of Law in the USA. Human Rights High Commissioner Michelle Bachelet could forward the situation to the Security Council or the General Assembly if she wants to, he said, responding to a set of questions coming from the Tamil politicians on the ground. However, getting a new resolution with specific reference to genocide is essential, Prof Boyle said. “You have to keep up the reference to genocide. This is the gravamen of your Complaint against the GoSL.” Asked whether he preferred the demand for ICC-referral over the IIIM demand, he said: “I would go for the IIIM along the lines of Syria and for the same reasons”. Full story >>

TNPF's reluctance, NGO-meddling pose challenges to formulating joint Tamil demands to UN: Shivaji

[Tue, 05 Jan 2021, 07:08 GMT]

The three alliances of Tamil national parties with SL parliamentary representation have entered into negotiations to formulate joint demands to the UN System on two key issues. Firstly, the parties discuss how to demand the UN System to specifically address the crime of genocide, which was lacking in the UNHRC-led process so far. Secondly, they debate how to effectively request the UN system to prosecute those responsible for genocide and the already established crimes in the UN findings. Although the Tamil parties have been brought into a negotiation process, mainly by the larger community's efforts, there remain two key challenges, according to veteran Tamil politician and activist M.K. Shivajilingam. The first challenge was the reluctance shown by the Tamil National Peoples' Front (TNPF) to discuss the main demands with an open mind with other Tamil alliances, parties and politicians. Full story >>

Unprecedented P2P uprising paves the way for rights-oriented politics of Tamils and Muslims

[Sun, 07 Feb 2021, 23:16 GMT]

The Tamil-speaking people in the North-East have waged an unprecedented post-2009 march from Poththuvil in Ampaa’rai in the East to Polika’ndi in Jaffna. Confronting the legal barriers and the roadblocks put up by the SL Police and the notorious Special Task Force (STF) commandos, the people across the eight districts of the North-East mobilised outmanoeuvring the ‘disciplining mechanisms’ of the Sinhala-Buddhist ethnocratic rulers in Colombo. The five-day march, named as “Poththuvil to Polika'ndi” (P2P), was organised ahead of the 46th session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva. The rally concluded on Sunday demanding international justice for genocide reiterating the fundamental principles, the Right of Self-Determination and Eezham Tamils’ nationhood. The P2P mobilisation also demanded an immediate end to the discriminatory forced cremation of COVID-19 Muslim victims. Full story >>

Tamil activists resisted three sources of outside influence while drafting demands to UNHRC

[Mon, 18 Jan 2021, 23:44 GMT]

The joint demands formulated by the Tamil national political parties towards the United Nations make specific reference to genocide twice. The four-point document gains significance as Parliamentary Group Leader of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) Mr R Sampanthan has endorsed it with his signature, said former Northern Provincial Council Minister Ms Ananthy Sasitharan. Mr M A Sumanthiran representing the TNA in the negotiations finally agreed to make the specific reference after TELO Parliamentarian Selvam Adaikalanathan seemingly insisted for it, she said. TELO is a party of the TNA with three parliamentary seats. In an explosive and lengthy comment to TamilNet, Sasitharan narrated how the foreign powers and NGO agenda-setters were attempting to influence the process from three fronts. She considered Dr Guruparan Kumaravadivel as the behind-the-scene drafter of the final document. Full story >>

Demolition of Tamil genocide monument, fourth emblematic trauma since 1974: Rev Fr Sakthivel

[Sat, 09 Jan 2021, 09:37 GMT]

Tamils experienced one of their first collective trauma when Colombo’s Sinhala police massacred nine Tamil civilians at the World Tamil Conference in Jaffna in 1974. Then came one of the worst acts of cultural and heritage genocide, the state-backed burning of Jaffna Public Library in 1981. The 2009 genocidal onslaught caused the third emblematic trauma. Now, the demolition of Mu'l'livaaykkaal Genocide Monument at the Jaffna University has triggered the fourth wave of trauma to the same extent, said Rev Fr Sakthivel, a prominent rights activist of Up-Country origin. He urged the Tamil political parties to unite and demand justice for the protracted genocide that has caused waves of collective trauma to the genocide affected Tamil nation. Full story >>

2ND LEAD (Correction)

With emphasis on genocide, Suresh calls for ICC-referral, IIIM and referendum

[Thu, 07 Jan 2021, 11:22 GMT]

Clarifying three main demands formulated by the TMVK alliance, EPRLF Leader Suresh Premachandran, a former parliamentarian, urged Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam of the TNPF not to be only preoccupied with a one-point demand of the ICC option. A group of three persons, Mr Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam, Mr M. A. Sumanthiran and Dr K Sarweswaran, would be meeting in Colombo on Thursday to formulate the demands towards the UNHRC. If the parties do not agree on a joint formulation, they would be placing their demands separately. However, all the alliances and parties represented by the said three persons, were firm in demanding UN action against Tamils' genocide in the island, informed sources in Jaffna said. Full story >>

2ND LEAD (Correction)

Indian Minister of External Affairs Jaishankar trades off Tamils’ sovereign rights

[Wed, 06 Jan 2021, 14:26 GMT]

Indian Minister of External Affairs Subrahmanyam Jaishankar during his recent three-day visit to SL spoke of an imaginary “united Sri Lanka” and “meaningful devolution” within the framework of the rotten 13th Amendment that fails to deliver any equal rights to the genocide affected nation of Eezham Tamils. This at a time when Colombo is consolidating the unitary system. India was again trading off Tamil homeland’s territorial integrity in the North-East and Eezham Tamils’ Right of Self-Determination against territorial integrity of the unitary state of genocidal Sri Lanka and maritime cooperation. Dr Jaishankar’s visit aims to expand New Delhi’s maritime security, trade and investment cooperation with Colombo to counter the growing influence of China in the region. Full story >>

Colombo’s brutal suppression of Tamil Heroes’ Day counter-productive to stated objectives: Tamil MP

[Sun, 06 Dec 2020, 15:44 GMT]

Emboldened with a two-thirds majority in the SL Parliament, the regime of Rajapaksa has chosen to suppress Tamil remembrance days, particularly the Maaveear Naa'l (Tamil Eelam Heroes’ Day) this year. The Rajapaksa regime was short-sighted in using the opportunity to showcase to its southern audience that it was more determined than its predecessor in blocking November 27 Remembrance. However, the brutal manner in which the SL State and its judiciary suppressed the collective remembrance events received more attention not only among the Tamil youth in the North and the East but also in the South, said ITAK (TNA) Parliamentarian from Batticaloa Shanakiyan Rasamanickam. “I received phone calls from Up-Country Tamil youth from Deniyaya and Matara in the down south to Kandy and Colombo,” he said adding that even fifteen and sixteen-year-old youth were posing questions. Full story >>

In a republic this rule ought to be observed: that the majority should not have the predominant power

-Marcus Tullius Cicero
Roman philosopher, statesman, lawyer, political theorist, and
Roman constitutionalist.
January 3, 106 BC – December 7, 43 BC
Born in in Arpinum, a hill town 100 km south of Rome
Considered one of Rome's greatest orators and prose stylists.
Wrote influential letters to his friend Atticus.
During the chaotic latter half of the first century B.C.
...marked by civil wars and the dictatorship of Julius Caesar,
...Cicero championed a return to the traditional republican
...government.

[05.03.18]
FIU of CBSL emerges as networked Intel outfit against Tamils in homeland, Diaspora: The so-called Financial Investigative Unit (FIU) of the Central Bank of the unitary State of genocidal Sri Lanka (CBSL), which is led by a Colombo-based ‘Sri Lankan’ Tamil, Indrajith Coomaraswamy, is scheming rigid controls on Community-Based Organisations (CBOs) in the North-East with a ‘counter-insurgency’ role.
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[15.02.18]
Wives of enforced disappeared exposed to nightmare on Valentine's Day: At a stage event organised by the so-called Families of Disappeared (FoD) operated by Colombo based NGO and diplomatic community, Tamil women from the East were exposed to the traumatic experience of narrating their love stories with their husbands.
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SL harassment against resettled Tamils in Madu, Mannaar

[20.01.18]
STF, SL departments harass resettled Tamils in Madu: The guards and officials of various SL departments as well as the notorious commandos of the StF are repeatedly harassing the 300 resettled and poverty-stricken Eezham Tamils of Ira'ndaam-kaddai (2nd Mile Post), which is located between Madu Shrine and Sinhala militarised Madu Road Junction in Mannaar district.
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[15.01.18]
Sinhala Buddhicisation stepped up in Trincomalee North: SL Presidential Secretariat in Colombo is exerting pressure on Tamil Divisional Secretary not to interfere in the affairs of extreme Sinhala Buddhist monks, who are engaged in cultural genocide in Kumpu'rup-piddi in Trincomalee North.
Related Story >>

[01.01.18]
Colombo demonstrates ‘foremost place’ to Buddhism at Champoor: The SL Archaeology Department, extremist Sinhala Buddhist monks, Sinhala governor and his wife are all jointly working for Sinhala Buddhicisation of Champoor, where SL Navy, groomed by the U.S. Pacific Command under the notion of 'military-to-military' engagement, is having its training base for the marines of genocidal Sri Lanka.
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[25.12.17]
SL Army wages Sinhala-Buddhicisaton of Baron's Cap in Batticaloa Northwest: With the collaboration of ministries of Fisheries and Tourism, 232 Brigade of the Army of occupying Sri Lanka is Sinhalicising the Kudumpi-malai area of Batticaloa district.
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[17.12.17]
Enduring psychological disaster of families of enforced disappeared conveyed through film: The story writer and director of the award winning short-film, Uru (Trance), 49-year-old Gnanadas Kasinathar, narrates the depth of psychological disaster as witnessed by him on the ground. The film, shot in Batticaloa, is inspired by the stories of long enduring sufferings of the enforced disappeared families.
Related Story >>

[13.11.17]
Factoring political solution more important than addressing human rights: Not only did the Sri Lankan regime won the war against the Tamil liberation force, it might even win the propaganda war if the problems of Tamils in the island are exclusively focused on human rights to the neglect of the fundamental question of a long lasting political solution, commented Deputy Chief Minister of Penang state in Malaysia, Professor P. Ramasamy, told TamilNet on Monday.
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[08.10.17]
SL constitutional discourse seen coupled with ‘Vision 2025’ policy of genocidal Sri Lanka: The World Bank, the IMF and the WTO are behind the agenda that seeks to permanently lock Eezham Tamils into a Colombo-centric single-unit of genocidal Sri Lanka. The interim report on the constitutional discourse should be seen coupled with ‘Vision 2025’, launched by the Agent State in Colombo in September 2017.
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[20.09.17]
Sathasivam papers on Sumerian-Tamil connections see the light of day: Four pioneering research papers on the Dravidian connections between ancient Sumerian and Tamil, written between 1964 and 1987 by Eezham Tamil scholar, the late Prof A Sathasivam, gain new significance today because of the current advancements in coupling linguistics with DNA studies.
Related Story >>

Quisling politics from the horse's mouth

[04.07.17]
Understanding ‘Quisling politics’ and facing it with ‘Navaratnam School of Thought’: Eezham Tamils should grasp the synthesis of the Colombo-centric Quisling politics, which is being brought into them by the global powers and regain their strength to address it through the school of thought embraced by enlightened leaders of Eezham Tamils in the past.
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[08.06.17]
Netherlands-funded CEPA project wages political ‘counter-insurgency’ on Tamils: Colombo-based NGO outfit, Centre for Poverty Analysis (CEPA), is tasked to recruit gullible and opportunistic sections of the diaspora expanding Rajapaksa-time ‘KP-Diaspora’ programme. The programme is funded by the foreign ministries of the USA, The Netherlands, United Kingdom, Norway, Germany, Switzerland and Australia.
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[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 >>

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US Ambassador Ms Alaina Teplitz in Colombo was making a North trip as Pakistan’s prime minister visited Colombo. Simultaneously, the politics of human rights was unfolding in Geneva at the Interactive Dialogue on Thursday after Ms Michelle Bachelet, the UN Human Rights High Commissioner and the former president of Chile, presented her report on Wednesday. As usual, the UN High Commissioner’s Report was strongly worded than what one could expect from a resolution being tabled by parties with a vested interest. Eelam Tamils, who demand specific referral to the main crime of genocide from the UN High Commissioner and the UNHRC Resolution, have to confront a false dichotomy once again. Full story >> Latest Reports: Feb 26 11:53 Tamils witness false dilemma in Geneva as geopolit.. Feb 19 14:02 UK not prepared to push for ICC option in new UNHR.. Feb 07 23:16 Unprecedented P2P uprising paves the way for right.. Jan 22 08:01 Gotabaya sets up deceptive COI citing ‘sovereignty.. Jan 18 23:44 Tamil activists resisted three sources of outside .. Jan 16 11:03 Tamil national parties demand UN to inquire into c.. Jan 09 09:37 Demolition of Tamil genocide monument, fourth embl.. Jan 08 23:51 Colombo destroys Mu'l'livaaykkaal memorial monumen.. Jan 07 11:22 With emphasis on genocide, Suresh calls for ICC-re.. Jan 07 00:04 Boyle prefers IIIM demand over ICC-referral, says .. Jan 06 14:26 Indian Minister of External Affairs Jaishankar tra.. Jan 05 07:08 TNPF's reluctance, NGO-meddling pose challenges to.. Dec 06 15:44 Colombo’s brutal suppression of Tamil Heroes’ Day .. << Flashback More Reports >> UK not prepared to push for ICC option in new UNHRC Resolution [Fri, 19 Feb 2021, 14:02 GMT] The South Asia Department of the Foreign Commonwealth & Development Office of the UK has stated that it still believed that the UNHRC framework is “the best way” to establish the truth and achieve justice and lasting reconciliation for “all communities in Sri Lanka”. The Tamil organisations demanded both ICC referral and investigations on genocide in their letters to the British Foreign Secretary. However, the FCO was dodging any reference to genocide in its reply. On the ICC option, it said: “The ICC could only exercise jurisdiction if the situation is referred to it by a UN Security Council Resolution, or if Sri Lanka accepts the Court’s jurisdiction. Our assessment is that this step would not have the support of the required Security Council members and that it would not advance the cause of accountability for an ICC referral to fail to win Security Council support or to be vetoed.” Full story >> 2ND LEAD Gotabaya sets up deceptive COI citing ‘sovereignty’ and ‘non-aligned’ foreign policy [Fri, 22 Jan 2021, 08:01 GMT] Adding to the series of deceit by his predecessors and using the same modus operandi, SL President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has now appointed another domestic Commission of Inquiry (COI) on accountability. The three-member COI, announced through an extraordinary Gazette Notification on Thursday is tasked to find out about the preceding domestic COIs and Committees revelations on “any human rights violations, serious violations of the international humanitarian law and other such serious offences”. Further stating in the gazette that even though Colombo has withdrawn from “co-sponsorship policy”, it would continue to “work with the United Nations and its Agencies to achieve accountability and human resource development for achieving sustainable peace and reconciliation”. Full story >> Tamil national parties demand UN to inquire into crime of genocide and set up IIIM [Sat, 16 Jan 2021, 11:03 GMT] All the three alliances of the Eezham Tamil national political parties in the island have come together demanding the UN Human Rights system and the Member States of the UNHRC to inquire into the crime of genocide and raise unaddressed accountability issues to higher forums. A referral to the International Criminal Court and an evidence-gathering mechanism similar to the International Independent Investigatory Mechanism (IIIM) established by the UN for Syria in 2016, were among the four main demands. The joint letter by the Tamil political parties and the Tamil civil society organisations on the ground including the families of the people subjected to enforced disappearances, also demands the President of the UNHRC to refer the matters on accountability back to the UN Secretary-General for action. They also want the OHCHR to monitor current human rights violations on the ground. Full story >> Colombo destroys Mu'l'livaaykkaal memorial monument at Jaffna University [Fri, 08 Jan 2021, 23:51 GMT] The occupying SL military and the police have razed to the ground Mu'l'livaaykkaal Tamil genocide monument, situated within the premises of the University of Jaffna. The destruction took place Friday night sending shockwaves across the occupied homeland and the diaspora. Despite the students' protest, the SL military went ahead bulldozing the statue. The Tamil people and their civic leaders who rushed to the site to protest were blocked at the university entrance. The Sinhala military and police personnel used abusive language against the protesters, the students said. The destruction has taken place a day after Indian External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar wrapped up his three-day visit to Colombo. In the meantime, Tamil political party leaders are scheduled to discuss their demands to the United Nations on international investigations of Tamil genocide on Saturday. Full story >> 3RD LEAD Boyle prefers IIIM demand over ICC-referral, says specific reference to genocide essential [Thu, 07 Jan 2021, 00:04 GMT] The Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL) has made it clear that it will not cooperate with the UNHRC. It is time for the UNHRC to take action against the GoSL, said Professor Francis Boyle, an international law expert who teaches at the University of Illinois College of Law in the USA. Human Rights High Commissioner Michelle Bachelet could forward the situation to the Security Council or the General Assembly if she wants to, he said, responding to a set of questions coming from the Tamil politicians on the ground. However, getting a new resolution with specific reference to genocide is essential, Prof Boyle said. “You have to keep up the reference to genocide. This is the gravamen of your Complaint against the GoSL.” Asked whether he preferred the demand for ICC-referral over the IIIM demand, he said: “I would go for the IIIM along the lines of Syria and for the same reasons”. Full story >> TNPF's reluctance, NGO-meddling pose challenges to formulating joint Tamil demands to UN: Shivaji [Tue, 05 Jan 2021, 07:08 GMT] The three alliances of Tamil national parties with SL parliamentary representation have entered into negotiations to formulate joint demands to the UN System on two key issues. Firstly, the parties discuss how to demand the UN System to specifically address the crime of genocide, which was lacking in the UNHRC-led process so far. Secondly, they debate how to effectively request the UN system to prosecute those responsible for genocide and the already established crimes in the UN findings. Although the Tamil parties have been brought into a negotiation process, mainly by the larger community's efforts, there remain two key challenges, according to veteran Tamil politician and activist M.K. Shivajilingam. The first challenge was the reluctance shown by the Tamil National Peoples' Front (TNPF) to discuss the main demands with an open mind with other Tamil alliances, parties and politicians. Full story >> Unprecedented P2P uprising paves the way for rights-oriented politics of Tamils and Muslims [Sun, 07 Feb 2021, 23:16 GMT] The Tamil-speaking people in the North-East have waged an unprecedented post-2009 march from Poththuvil in Ampaa’rai in the East to Polika’ndi in Jaffna. Confronting the legal barriers and the roadblocks put up by the SL Police and the notorious Special Task Force (STF) commandos, the people across the eight districts of the North-East mobilised outmanoeuvring the ‘disciplining mechanisms’ of the Sinhala-Buddhist ethnocratic rulers in Colombo. The five-day march, named as “Poththuvil to Polika'ndi” (P2P), was organised ahead of the 46th session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva. The rally concluded on Sunday demanding international justice for genocide reiterating the fundamental principles, the Right of Self-Determination and Eezham Tamils’ nationhood. The P2P mobilisation also demanded an immediate end to the discriminatory forced cremation of COVID-19 Muslim victims. Full story >> Tamil activists resisted three sources of outside influence while drafting demands to UNHRC [Mon, 18 Jan 2021, 23:44 GMT] The joint demands formulated by the Tamil national political parties towards the United Nations make specific reference to genocide twice. The four-point document gains significance as Parliamentary Group Leader of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) Mr R Sampanthan has endorsed it with his signature, said former Northern Provincial Council Minister Ms Ananthy Sasitharan. Mr M A Sumanthiran representing the TNA in the negotiations finally agreed to make the specific reference after TELO Parliamentarian Selvam Adaikalanathan seemingly insisted for it, she said. TELO is a party of the TNA with three parliamentary seats. In an explosive and lengthy comment to TamilNet, Sasitharan narrated how the foreign powers and NGO agenda-setters were attempting to influence the process from three fronts. She considered Dr Guruparan Kumaravadivel as the behind-the-scene drafter of the final document. Full story >> Demolition of Tamil genocide monument, fourth emblematic trauma since 1974: Rev Fr Sakthivel [Sat, 09 Jan 2021, 09:37 GMT] Tamils experienced one of their first collective trauma when Colombo’s Sinhala police massacred nine Tamil civilians at the World Tamil Conference in Jaffna in 1974. Then came one of the worst acts of cultural and heritage genocide, the state-backed burning of Jaffna Public Library in 1981. The 2009 genocidal onslaught caused the third emblematic trauma. Now, the demolition of Mu'l'livaaykkaal Genocide Monument at the Jaffna University has triggered the fourth wave of trauma to the same extent, said Rev Fr Sakthivel, a prominent rights activist of Up-Country origin. He urged the Tamil political parties to unite and demand justice for the protracted genocide that has caused waves of collective trauma to the genocide affected Tamil nation. Full story >> 2ND LEAD (Correction) With emphasis on genocide, Suresh calls for ICC-referral, IIIM and referendum [Thu, 07 Jan 2021, 11:22 GMT] Clarifying three main demands formulated by the TMVK alliance, EPRLF Leader Suresh Premachandran, a former parliamentarian, urged Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam of the TNPF not to be only preoccupied with a one-point demand of the ICC option. A group of three persons, Mr Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam, Mr M. A. Sumanthiran and Dr K Sarweswaran, would be meeting in Colombo on Thursday to formulate the demands towards the UNHRC. If the parties do not agree on a joint formulation, they would be placing their demands separately. However, all the alliances and parties represented by the said three persons, were firm in demanding UN action against Tamils' genocide in the island, informed sources in Jaffna said. Full story >> 2ND LEAD (Correction) Indian Minister of External Affairs Jaishankar trades off Tamils’ sovereign rights [Wed, 06 Jan 2021, 14:26 GMT] Indian Minister of External Affairs Subrahmanyam Jaishankar during his recent three-day visit to SL spoke of an imaginary “united Sri Lanka” and “meaningful devolution” within the framework of the rotten 13th Amendment that fails to deliver any equal rights to the genocide affected nation of Eezham Tamils. This at a time when Colombo is consolidating the unitary system. India was again trading off Tamil homeland’s territorial integrity in the North-East and Eezham Tamils’ Right of Self-Determination against territorial integrity of the unitary state of genocidal Sri Lanka and maritime cooperation. Dr Jaishankar’s visit aims to expand New Delhi’s maritime security, trade and investment cooperation with Colombo to counter the growing influence of China in the region. Full story >> Colombo’s brutal suppression of Tamil Heroes’ Day counter-productive to stated objectives: Tamil MP [Sun, 06 Dec 2020, 15:44 GMT] Emboldened with a two-thirds majority in the SL Parliament, the regime of Rajapaksa has chosen to suppress Tamil remembrance days, particularly the Maaveear Naa'l (Tamil Eelam Heroes’ Day) this year. The Rajapaksa regime was short-sighted in using the opportunity to showcase to its southern audience that it was more determined than its predecessor in blocking November 27 Remembrance. However, the brutal manner in which the SL State and its judiciary suppressed the collective remembrance events received more attention not only among the Tamil youth in the North and the East but also in the South, said ITAK (TNA) Parliamentarian from Batticaloa Shanakiyan Rasamanickam. “I received phone calls from Up-Country Tamil youth from Deniyaya and Matara in the down south to Kandy and Colombo,” he said adding that even fifteen and sixteen-year-old youth were posing questions. Full story >> Top Flashback: 2020: 2020 Mar 05 23:21 Increasing pattern of Sinhala officials control... 2019: 2019 Mar 05 19:42 Tamils mark Shivaratri at base of hill seized b... 2017: 2017 Mar 05 23:22 Collaborate with Colombo or get lost in Geneva:... 2016: 2016 Mar 05 18:34 Sri Lanka still precarious for returning Tamil ... 2016 Mar 05 16:50 Largest donor US orchestrates UN OHCHR actions,... 2016 Mar 05 11:11 Colombo resumes surveillance of Eezham Tamils t... 2015: 2015 Mar 05 08:57 ICP asks UN to confirm receiving NPC Genocide R... 2014: 2014 Mar 05 14:57 USA ignores requests of Mannaar Bishop on UNHRC... 2013: 2013 Mar 05 17:16 Veteran Eezham Tamil journalist, poet, Parvathi... 2013 Mar 05 02:42 BJP cell of Tamil Nadu ex-servicemen apologises... 2012: 2012 Mar 05 23:06 Nimalarajan murder-suspect rapes and kills 13-y... 2011: 2011 Mar 05 23:23 Two die in election related violence in south 2011 Mar 05 23:20 Jayantha Ketagoda to succeed Sarath Fonseka in ... 2011 Mar 05 15:09 Sri Lankan state shows ‘reconciliation’ in the ... 2010: 2010 Mar 05 18:37 Police collect information of Vanni IDPs living... 2010 Mar 05 12:17 UN can't go against member states, says French ... 2010 Mar 05 11:47 Government continues to deceive IDPs in resettl... 2010 Mar 05 09:11 Police arrest Udappu residents in Batticaloa 2010 Mar 05 01:32 Swiss Tamils set benchmark in political organis... 2009: 2009 Mar 05 21:36 2 Tamil youths arrested in Uppuve'li 2009 Mar 05 21:10 Police arrest owner of Poobalasingam Book Depot... 2009 Mar 05 20:42 SLA shoots dead Tamil youth in Batticaloa 2009 Mar 05 17:36 President of Women’s Society threatened to deat... 2009 Mar 05 15:06 No democracy in Sri Lanka – TNA parliamentarian 2009 Mar 05 13:51 Perpetrating civilian starvation is violation o... 2009 Mar 05 12:40 Woman killed in Vellave’li not the mother of ra... 2009 Mar 05 07:05 SLA fires cluster shells near hospital, scores ... 2009 Mar 05 06:59 Dengue fever claims life of 7-year-old boy in B... 2009 Mar 05 06:39 2 SLA home guards killed in Puththa’lam 2009 Mar 05 05:58 Emergency extended in Sri Lanka for another month 2009 Mar 05 01:32 Diarrhea claims 13 lives in Vanni within 14 days 2008: 2008 Mar 05 12:18 Salesman reported missing in Mannaar 2008 Mar 05 12:09 SLA hands over 3 female cadres dead bodies to P... 2008 Mar 05 12:08 Armed men abduct 2 teenage girls in Vaazhaichch... 2008 Mar 05 10:51 Key paramilitary operative's residence attacked 2008 Mar 05 09:04 Ambush wounds SLA soldier in Vilpattu border 2008 Mar 05 08:29 SL Police arrests 2 Tamils at Anuradhapura rail... 2008 Mar 05 08:26 2 policemen injured in claymore explosion in Va... 2007: 2007 Mar 05 22:29 3 Jaffna youths arrested in Chilaw 2007 Mar 05 21:36 UNP to launch campaign against abduction, killi... 2007 Mar 05 21:27 UNP demands to know JVP, JHU's position on SLFP... 2007 Mar 05 17:23 Trader shot dead in Jaffna 2007 Mar 05 12:07 SLA readies for Manalaru offensive, Tigers warn... 2007 Mar 05 11:54 Mail overflows Trinco storage, lies outside in ... 2007 Mar 05 11:35 6 fishermen reported missing in Kalpity Sea 2007 Mar 05 08:21 2 family men shot dead in Valaichenai 2007 Mar 05 03:42 Two SLA troopers, officer killed in second clay... 2006: 2006 Mar 05 20:44 Tsunami affected NorthEast teachers to receive ... 2006 Mar 05 20:42 Valaithoddam village gets own medical clinic 2006 Mar 05 16:09 Workshop on "Peace and Muslims" held in Kalmunai 2006 Mar 05 15:52 SLN fires at fishermen inside LTTE areas- Elilan 2006 Mar 05 15:22 Ex-SLA soldier shot dead in Valaichenai 2006 Mar 05 12:50 Southern NGO donates books to Muttur students 2006 Mar 05 11:39 Jaffna students burn SLA Commander's Effigy 2006 Mar 05 08:27 Italian NGO donates boatyard to Muttur east fis... 2005: 2005 Mar 05 23:36 German Foundation assists tsunami hit Veloor vi... 2005 Mar 05 18:31 Jaffna agitation to student's death, spontaneou... 2005 Mar 05 17:31 Thousands attend Thulashika's funeral 2005 Mar 05 15:41 Army desecrates Muslim cemetery, Pulmoddai vill... 2005 Mar 05 13:35 Norwegian ambassador meets Thamilchelvan 2005 Mar 05 12:11 Taxes on Tsunami Aid not channeled through Sri ... 2005 Mar 05 12:07 LTTE member killed in Batticaloa ambush 2005 Mar 05 09:29 Suspected Karuna Group operative killed 2005 Mar 05 07:20 Paramilitary cadre shot in Batticaloa town 2004: 2004 Mar 05 16:16 UNICEF provides school building for Nochchikula... 2004 Mar 05 14:25 TNA campaigns, Thiriyai to vote after two decades 2004 Mar 05 12:06 Police provides protection to Vavuniya candidates 2004 Mar 05 11:47 CTTU urges members to work for TNA's victory 2004 Mar 05 11:37 Cushnahan condemns election violence 2004 Mar 05 08:02 Batticaloa military commander says crisis being... 2004 Mar 05 04:23 Monks' Sinhala Buddhist call will derail Kumara... 2004 Mar 05 03:48 "Let us function directly under your leadership... 2003: 2003 Mar 05 18:49 NE volunteer teachers to continue sit-in protest 2003 Mar 05 18:47 Court releases Indian fishermen on police appli... 2003 Mar 05 11:54 SLA soldier, Constable, in LTTE custody released 2003 Mar 05 07:05 PM urged to solve Tamil medium teacher shortage... 2003 Mar 05 01:58 CTTU to protest against army presence near schools 2002: 2002 Mar 05 20:22 Parliamentary debate on truce concludes 2002 Mar 05 17:43 Appeal Court to inquire JVP's petition 2001: 2001 Mar 05 17:16 Solheim leaves after meet with President 2000: 2000 Mar 05 20:08 Search for abducted soldier futile 2000 Mar 05 20:07 Withdraw Hinduism text: CTTU 2000 Mar 05 09:37 Rape by soldiers alleged 2000 Mar 05 05:10 "Windowless" buses carry devotees to temple 1999: 1999 Mar 05 22:50 Northeast bureaucracy re-organised 1999 Mar 05 22:47 News in Brief: 1999 Mar 05 10:58 Replacement judge clears Chemmani visit 1999 Mar 05 10:45 Eight Tigers killed - STF 1998: 1998 Mar 05 23:59 Police officer's rifle snatched 1998 Mar 05 23:59 Mannar fishermen face more problems 1998 Mar 05 23:59 Powerful bomb explosion in Colombo 1998 Mar 05 23:59 President calls emergency meeting 1998 Mar 05 23:59 Colombo blast: details emerge In a republic this rule ought to be observed: that the majority should not have the predominant power -Marcus Tullius Cicero Roman philosopher, statesman, lawyer, political theorist, and Roman constitutionalist. January 3, 106 BC – December 7, 43 BC Born in in Arpinum, a hill town 100 km south of Rome Considered one of Rome's greatest orators and prose stylists. Wrote influential letters to his friend Atticus. During the chaotic latter half of the first century B.C. ...marked by civil wars and the dictatorship of Julius Caesar, ...Cicero championed a return to the traditional republican ...government.	Know the Etymology: 332 Place Name of the Day: (332 of 500 revised) Koyilā-maṉai/ Kōyilā-maṉai The temple house; or the house of the temple servants Read more >> [05.03.18] FIU of CBSL emerges as networked Intel outfit against Tamils in homeland, Diaspora: The so-called Financial Investigative Unit (FIU) of the Central Bank of the unitary State of genocidal Sri Lanka (CBSL), which is led by a Colombo-based ‘Sri Lankan’ Tamil, Indrajith Coomaraswamy, is scheming rigid controls on Community-Based Organisations (CBOs) in the North-East with a ‘counter-insurgency’ role. Related Story >> [15.02.18] Wives of enforced disappeared exposed to nightmare on Valentine's Day: At a stage event organised by the so-called Families of Disappeared (FoD) operated by Colombo based NGO and diplomatic community, Tamil women from the East were exposed to the traumatic experience of narrating their love stories with their husbands. Related Story >> [20.01.18] STF, SL departments harass resettled Tamils in Madu: The guards and officials of various SL departments as well as the notorious commandos of the StF are repeatedly harassing the 300 resettled and poverty-stricken Eezham Tamils of Ira'ndaam-kaddai (2nd Mile Post), which is located between Madu Shrine and Sinhala militarised Madu Road Junction in Mannaar district. Related Story >> [15.01.18] Sinhala Buddhicisation stepped up in Trincomalee North: SL Presidential Secretariat in Colombo is exerting pressure on Tamil Divisional Secretary not to interfere in the affairs of extreme Sinhala Buddhist monks, who are engaged in cultural genocide in Kumpu'rup-piddi in Trincomalee North. Related Story >> [01.01.18] Colombo demonstrates ‘foremost place’ to Buddhism at Champoor: The SL Archaeology Department, extremist Sinhala Buddhist monks, Sinhala governor and his wife are all jointly working for Sinhala Buddhicisation of Champoor, where SL Navy, groomed by the U.S. Pacific Command under the notion of 'military-to-military' engagement, is having its training base for the marines of genocidal Sri Lanka. Related Story >> [25.12.17] SL Army wages Sinhala-Buddhicisaton of Baron's Cap in Batticaloa Northwest: With the collaboration of ministries of Fisheries and Tourism, 232 Brigade of the Army of occupying Sri Lanka is Sinhalicising the Kudumpi-malai area of Batticaloa district. Related Story >> [17.12.17] Enduring psychological disaster of families of enforced disappeared conveyed through film: The story writer and director of the award winning short-film, Uru (Trance), 49-year-old Gnanadas Kasinathar, narrates the depth of psychological disaster as witnessed by him on the ground. The film, shot in Batticaloa, is inspired by the stories of long enduring sufferings of the enforced disappeared families. Related Story >> [13.11.17] Factoring political solution more important than addressing human rights: Not only did the Sri Lankan regime won the war against the Tamil liberation force, it might even win the propaganda war if the problems of Tamils in the island are exclusively focused on human rights to the neglect of the fundamental question of a long lasting political solution, commented Deputy Chief Minister of Penang state in Malaysia, Professor P. Ramasamy, told TamilNet on Monday. Related Story >> [08.10.17] SL constitutional discourse seen coupled with ‘Vision 2025’ policy of genocidal Sri Lanka: The World Bank, the IMF and the WTO are behind the agenda that seeks to permanently lock Eezham Tamils into a Colombo-centric single-unit of genocidal Sri Lanka. The interim report on the constitutional discourse should be seen coupled with ‘Vision 2025’, launched by the Agent State in Colombo in September 2017. Related Story >> [20.09.17] Sathasivam papers on Sumerian-Tamil connections see the light of day: Four pioneering research papers on the Dravidian connections between ancient Sumerian and Tamil, written between 1964 and 1987 by Eezham Tamil scholar, the late Prof A Sathasivam, gain new significance today because of the current advancements in coupling linguistics with DNA studies. Related Story >> [04.07.17] Understanding ‘Quisling politics’ and facing it with ‘Navaratnam School of Thought’: Eezham Tamils should grasp the synthesis of the Colombo-centric Quisling politics, which is being brought into them by the global powers and regain their strength to address it through the school of thought embraced by enlightened leaders of Eezham Tamils in the past. Related Story >> [08.06.17] Netherlands-funded CEPA project wages political ‘counter-insurgency’ on Tamils: Colombo-based NGO outfit, Centre for Poverty Analysis (CEPA), is tasked to recruit gullible and opportunistic sections of the diaspora expanding Rajapaksa-time ‘KP-Diaspora’ programme. The programme is funded by the foreign ministries of the USA, The Netherlands, United Kingdom, Norway, Germany, Switzerland and Australia. Related Story >> [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 >>
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