Colombo's landgrab unrelenting in Mannaar district

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 30 October 2018, 14:13 GMT]
The SL departments of Forest, Wild-Life and Archaeology have seized 30,272 acres of lands in Mannaar district while the occupying SL Army and Navy continue to retain 2,583 acres of public and private lands, the officials of Mannaar District Secretariat said. The occupying military of genocidal Sri Lanka is less willing to release lands in Mannaar in comparison to other districts in the North. At the same time, SL Departments of Forest and Wildlife conservation have emerged as the most aggressive agents seizing lands of Eezham Tamils in the district. 32,855 acres of lands have been absorbed into the so-called sovereignty of the SL State from the country of Eezham Tamils.
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UNP promoted Sinhala colonisation of Vanni allocating housing scheme

[TamilNet, Monday, 29 October 2018, 09:25 GMT]
The United National Party (UNP) has allocated more than 10% of houses provided to resettling people in Mullaiththeevu district to Sinhala colonisers in Ma'nal-aa'ru, which is Sinhalicised into Weli-Oya and is functioning as a separate division within the district, civil sources at the District Secretariat said. The houses have been provided within the past three years, the sources further said.
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Professor Boyle calls for BSD Campaign against genocidal Sri Lanka

[TamilNet, Sunday, 28 October 2018, 17:14 GMT]
Transitional Justice does not work with genocide. The Eezham Tamils must now conceive a Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) campaign against genocidal Sri Lanka, Professor Francis Boyle, an eminent American expert in international law at the University of Illinois College of Law, told TamilNet after SL President Maithiriapala Sirisena installed Mahinda Rajapaksa as the SL Prime Minister in the island. “Now with Rajapaksa back in power, we are going to need BDS. In today’s New York Times his son said he is going to run for President next year and they will win. We will be back to where we were in 2009, a Decade ago. As I argued in my lecture, Transitional Justice is not going to work here. Time for BDS!,” Professor Boyle said on Sunday.
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Colombo released only 50% of allocated 2018 funds to NPC

[TamilNet, Thursday, 25 October 2018, 09:07 GMT]
The unitary state of genocidal Sri Lanka, both under Mahinda Rajapaksa and Maithiripala Sirisena, have been waging propaganda that the Northern Provincial Council was ineffective and that it has even returned allocated sums without deploying them for projects. In reality, Colombo was not even allocating the required funds to the NPC, and it was running a parallel system competing and isolating the elected NPC. The NPC has only received 2,035 million LKR of 4,314 million LKR which was supposed to be released by the SL General Treasury until the end of the official term of the first Northern Provincial Council on Thursday.
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SL Police steps up harassment of Tamils after Sinhala extremist MPs heritage-trip

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 23 October 2018, 08:26 GMT]
The SL Police at Nedungkea'nii n Vavuniyaa has again harassed the trustee board of Aathilingkeasvara deity at the heritage hill of Vedukku-naa'ri in Vavuniyaa. The SL Police has told the temple trustees that even putting up a rope ladder is interpreted as construction work which is prohibited. The latest harassment comes after Sinhala parliamentarians belonging to Jathika Nidahas Peramuna (JNP) or National Freedom Front, an extreme Sinhala nationalist JVP-breakaway group, which is aligned with former SL President Mahinda Rajapaksa, visited Mullaiththeevu and Vavuniyaa earlier this month and confronted the Tamil villagers.
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SL Navy harasses resettled Tamils in Musali by blocking access road with barbed-wire

[TamilNet, Monday, 22 October 2018, 17:07 GMT]
The occupying SL Navy of genocidal Sri Lanka has blocked the access route to the pockets of released lands in the coastal village of Mu'l'li-ku'lam in Mannaar mainland on Saturday. Barbed-wire was put up blocking access along the main road, which is also the main supply route to the military base. The SL Navy base is located in 35 acres. However, it retains hundreds of acres of lands in Musali division. The coastal village of Mu'l'lik-ku'lam lies 45 km south of Mannaar city bordering with Puththa'lam district. The resettled people started to protest in front of the SL Navy base on Sunday. The SL Navy lifted the barbed-wire only after Parish Priest Fr Lawrence negotiated between the protesters and the Navy. The people said the SL Navy has started to behave in a more hostile than before.
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New Delhi owes a public apology on Jaffna Hospital massacre

[TamilNet, Sunday, 21 October 2018, 19:04 GMT]
Thirty-one years have elapsed, but the Indian state is yet to tender a public apology to Eezham Tamils for its brutal massacre of more than 60 civilians, including 21 doctors, nurses and other medical staff as well as the warded patients at the Jaffna Teaching Hospital in one of the brutal massacres witnessed in the history of Jaffna. The killings took place during the invading Indian military was at war with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in 1987. The war crimes committed by the IPKF on the soil of Eezham Tamils have not been adequately investigated, said the medical staff who marked the 26th year of the massacre committed by the so-called Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF).
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Sinhala armed guards block monsoon rice cultivation in Vadamaraadchi East, Jaffna

[TamilNet, Saturday, 20 October 2018, 20:00 GMT]
Armed guards belonging to the Wildlife Department of the unitary state of genocidal Sri Lanka are blocking Eezham Tamils from engaging in cultivating rice in Maruthang-kea'ni in Vadamaraadchi East. The SL Wildlife Department has seized 12,000 acres of paddy lands owned by Eezham Tamils who have land deeds for the property. The Wildlife Department had 18,000 acres in 1938. However, occupying SL military was blocking resettlement for an extended period during which time the SL Wildlife Department has seized additional 40,000 acres without consulting with the Divisional Secretariat or the District Secretariat. The motive behind the converting of the lands into ‘State Lands’ was aimed at choking Jaffna Peninsula and Vanni mainland, the officials said.
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Tamil heritage projects launched as NPC's last-minute manoeuvre

[TamilNet, Thursday, 18 October 2018, 20:09 GMT]
The Northern Provincial Council, which was able to advance and confront the traditional food court of Tamils successfully, has failed to challenge the larger heritage-genocide of Sinhala Theravada Buddhist establishment at a civilisational level. However, as a last-minute manoeuvre before its expiry in one week, the NPC has managed to launch two heritage initiatives on Thursday in the country of Eezham Tamils, a Heritage Centre at Nalloor in Jaffna peninsula and a model heritage village known as Tamil's Civilisation Hub at Maanthai East of the Vanni mainland.
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Jaffna University students urge UN to act on releasing TPPs

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 16 October 2018, 17:36 GMT]
The Jaffna University Student Union has urged the United Nations to demand the SL State to free all the political prisoners, who are languishing in the prisons of the island without any attached conditions. The oppressive Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA), which is used to suppress the Tamils, should be abolished and the legal system should be conditioned to function impartially. The accountability of the SL State on enforced disappeared, should be addressed at an international level, the JUSU has urged the UN in an appeal handed over to the residential representative of the UN system in Jaffna on Monday.
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Colonists in Vavuniyaa North demand Sinhala-only sub-office

[TamilNet, Monday, 15 October 2018, 12:41 GMT]
Sinhala civic councillors who represent the colonising settlers in Vavuniyaa North Civic Council are demanding a distinct Sinhala-only sub-office for the colonists in the civic council. It is a calculated move to create a new electoral divisional council for Sinhala colonisers, Tamil civil sources in Vavuniyaa North said. Already, there is a Sinhala Divisional Council and Tamil Divisional Council in Vavuniyaa South.
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Colombo's NGO Secretariat trains NGO activists to collaborate with SL military

[TamilNet, Sunday, 14 October 2018, 09:05 GMT]
The Director-General of Colombo's NGO Secretariat Shakya Nanayakkara, who was giving a lecture in Batticaloa to NGO and CBO activists on Thursday, was questioning the Tamil activists in Batticaloa why they were reluctant to collaborate with the SL military and police, NGO workers who attended the training programme said. The so-called ‘National Secretariat for Non-Governmental Organizations’ (NSNGO), also known as NGO Secretariat, has been trying to control the civil society, Community Based Organisations and local NGOs by creating ‘federations’ at district-level.
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TPPs conclude hunger-strike as University students vow to watch politicians

[TamilNet, Saturday, 13 October 2018, 18:04 GMT]
The student activists of Jaffna University who walked for four days passing 200 km from Jaffna to Anuradhapura along with the representatives of the grassroots organisations, the Tamil National Peoples’ Front politicians and the students from Eastern University met the Tamil political prisoners in Anuradhapura and urged the TPPs to end their hunger strike. The activists vowed to watch the Tamil politicians who are dealing with the SL President Maithiripala Sirisena and the SL Government authorities in Colombo to act without fail in future. The request comes after the public organisations met NPC Chief Minister Justice C.V. Wigneswaran in Jaffna on Friday and resolved to take responsibility for the advancement of the TPPs cause. Rev. Fr. S. Sakthivel, who is coordinating the mobilisation met the TPPs as part of a 10-member group, which was allowed to meet the TPPs on Saturday.
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Colombo refuses resettlement of 173 families in coastal village of Batticaloa

[TamilNet, Friday, 12 October 2018, 17:31 GMT]
SL Forest Department is refusing to release more than 200 acres of agricultural and residential lands that belonged to 173 Eezham Tamil families of Kaara-munai, a coastal village located 47 km northwest of Batticaloa city, civil sources at the Batticaloa District Secretariat said. The people were chased out from their village first during the anti-Tamil pogroms in 1983. Then, during the times of war, they were again chased out in 1990. Also after the end of the war, they were again chased out in 2015. The uprooted people are languishing without proper livelihood elsewhere in Maangkea'ni and urge their lands to be released back to them.
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TPPs vow to continue hunger-strike confronting Colombo's deceit

[TamilNet, Thursday, 11 October 2018, 14:09 GMT]
The twelve Tamil political prisoners (TPPs) on a hunger-strike in Anuradhapura prison on Wednesday said Colombo was trying to suppress the fasting protesters in Bogombara prison in Kandy and Magazine prison in Colombo by deploying Tamil politicians of the TNA to dilute their hunger-strike. Confusing messages were being conveyed from Colombo to Fr S. Sakthivel, a veteran human rights defender who is working hard to coordinate outside support to their campaign, the protesters on hunger-strike said. In the meantime, Jaffna University students, who started a protest walk on Tuesday reached Ki'linochchi on Wednesday. The hunger-strikers said they were encouraged by the outside mobilisation.
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SL military has not released 63% of deed lands seized from Tamils in Mullaith-theevu

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 10 October 2018, 13:21 GMT]
The occupying military of genocidal Sri Lanka is still keeping 4,859 acres of title-deed lands that belong to private land-owners in Mullaiththeevu district. The real extent of areas seized by the occupying Colombo and its military accounts to thousands of acres if one takes into account the permit lands, forest lands that have been captured by the SL Forest Department, SL Wildlife Department and the heritage lands that have been seized by the SL Archaeology Department, civil sources in Mullaiththeevu District Secretariat said.
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SL military launches ATMs, postal office in occupied Jaffna

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 09 October 2018, 16:01 GMT]
The occupying military of genocidal Sri Lanka wants to control the civil administration and all aspects of the civilian life in the former ‘High-Security Zone’ in Valikaamam North, Jaffna. The commander of the occupying Sinhala forces in the peninsula has instructed the military to install ATMs and to operate postal offices in Palaali. The SL military, which is running the ATM stations has also started to run a post office in Palaali. The latest move comes amidst increased criticism of SL military intervening in the civil affairs.
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Uprooted Vaakarai Central residents identify SL military-seized lands after 13 years

[TamilNet, Monday, 08 October 2018, 11:15 GMT]
The occupying SL military, which has seized the lands of Tamils in former LTTE-administered Vaakarai central area, is running a resort for southern visitors in the properties confiscated from Tamil villagers, the people who were allowed to identify their lands for the first time on 01st October after 13 years, told TamilNet. SL Survey Department officials were present at the site when almost 26 of 55 land-owners were allowed to identify their lands at the presence of Ooriyan-kaddu Village Officer of Ooriyan-kaddu and the officials of the Divisional Secretariat.
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Jaffna University students resolve to strengthen TPPs protest

[TamilNet, Sunday, 07 October 2018, 17:09 GMT]
The student community at Jaffna University has jumped into strengthening the struggle of the hunger-striking Tamil political prisoners. The leaders of the Jaffna University Student Union have called for an awareness protest meeting on Monday. The following day, 20 students are going to launch a protest walk from the University of Jaffna to Anuradhapura prison, they said. In the meantime, SL Minister of Justice, Thalatha Atukorale (UNP) has gone on record reiterating the position of the SL State there are no “political prisoners” in the prisons. SL President Maithiripala Sirisena (SLFP) has also dodged to discuss the matter with Opposition Leader R. Sampanthan at a meeting and told Mr Sampanthan that he would discuss the subject over the phone.
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Sirisena has deceived Tamils: ITAK Leader Mavai Senathirajah

[TamilNet, Saturday, 06 October 2018, 05:58 GMT]
ITAK Leader and TNA Parliamentarian, Mavai Senathirjah, has blamed SL President Maithiripala Sirisena as having betrayed the trust of the Tamil National Alliance. Mr Senathirajah was addressing the Tami protesters in front of the District Secretariat of Mullaiththeevu on Friday. The demonstration was staged in support of the hunger-striking Tamil political prisoners. In an emotional speech, Mr Senathirajah said, the SL Government has failed to appoint a special commission as it had promised to look into the matter of imprisoned Tamil political prisoners. Colombo has failed to revoke the notorious Prevention of Terrorism Act, and it has not implemented what it promised in the “US-Sri Lanka Consensus Resolution,” which was passed at the UN Human Rights Council in 2015.
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Rajapaksa ally vows to erect Buddhist viharas in Vanni

[TamilNet, Friday, 05 October 2018, 09:29 GMT]
Sinhala parliamentarians belonging to Jathika Nidahas Peramuna (JNP) or National Freedom Front, an extreme Sinhala nationalist JVP-breakaway group, which is aligned with former SL President Mahinda Rajapaksa, visited Mullaiththeevu and Vavuniyaa on Thursday confronting the Tamil residents. The Tamil villagers opposed the group, but it vowed to erect Buddha statues confronting the Eezham Tamils. The JNP parliamentarians were accompanied by an extremist Buddhist monk who has been blocked by Mullaiththeevu Magistrate from erecting Buddha statues under cover of so-called conservation.
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42 TPPs in Colombo join hunger-strike

[TamilNet, Thursday, 04 October 2018, 19:39 GMT]
Forty-two Tamil Political Prisoners in Colombo's Magazine Prison have joined the hunger-strike initiated by the TPPs in Anuradhapura prison on Wednesday. In the meantime, the health conditions of one of the twelve TPPs on hunger-strike worsened on Wednesday and the TPP has been transferred to hospital, the families of the TPPs said.
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SL-AG Department finds new excuses to dodge hunger-striking TPPs demands

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 03 October 2018, 15:07 GMT]
SL Attorney General's Department has told TNA Parliamentarian M.A. Sumanthiran that it would not be considering the demands of three of the twelve hunger-striking Tamil political prisoners at Anuradhapura prison at all. The families of the TPPs said the explanation given by the SL-AG was illogical and condemned the TNA for passively tolerating the Colombo establishment citing ongoing disputes between the SL President Maithiripala Sirisena's UPFA and the UNP led by SL Prime Minister Ranil Wickramasinghe.
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SL Archaeology Department's collusion with intruding monks questioned at Magistrate's Court

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 02 October 2018, 21:43 GMT]
The extremist Sinhala Buddhist monks, barred from erecting a controversial Buddha statue under cover of so-called conservation work in Mullaiththeev in September, have approached the Magistrate's Court in Mullaiththeevu to nullify an interim order issued following the dispute. The officials of the SL Archaeology Department and the SL Police in Oddu-chuddaan were backing the latest move of the monks regarding the hilltop of Kurunthoor-malai. The case was taken for hearing at Mullaiththeevu Magistrate’s Court on Monday. The lawyers representing the monks and the SL Archaeology Department argued that the monks had the right to proceed with the “conservation” work as the SL State had already gazetted the site as “Gurunda Asokarama”. They also said that the SL Archaeology Department had “outsourced” the conservation work to the monks.
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Occupying Colombo erects 2nd Buddha temple at educational suburb of Tamils in Ki'linochchi

[TamilNet, Monday, 01 October 2018, 22:57 GMT]
Sinhala extremist monks from South and the occupying SL military in civilian clothes along with Sinhala students launched a second Buddhist temple within the Ki'linochchi campus premises of the Jaffna University a week ago on 24 September. The move comes amidst strong objections from the Tamil students. The University administration was also critical as it had allocated a venue for the construction of places of worship for all religions enjoying equal status. However, Sinhala Buddhist Establishment and the occupying SL military want to put up a grand Buddhist site as the unitary Constitution of genocidal Sri Lanka is giving ‘foremost’ place to the Buddhism, Tamil student leaders said.
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