TamilNet

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 Further stating in the gazette that even though Colombo has withdrawn from “co-sponsorship policy”, it would continue to “work with the United Nations and its Agencies to achieve accountability and human resource development for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 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 >>

China launches world’s biggest regional trade agreement without Indian participation

[Mon, 16 Nov 2020, 18:45 GMT]

The ten-member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and five of ASEAN’s major trade partners, Australia, China, Japan, New Zealand and South Korea that also includes critical US allies and defence partners, have signed the trade agreement known as the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), at a virtual conference hosted by Vietnam on Sunday. Asia’s first, second, and fourth-largest economies, China, Japan, and South Korea, and advanced economies like Singapore are signatories to the RCEP constituting almost a third of the world gross domestic product. “India withdrew from the RCEP talks late last year, following Prime Minister Modi’s increasing cooperation with the US-led Indo-Pacific initiative,” observed the official paper of the Chinese Communist Party, China Daily, in an opinion piece on Monday. 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 >>

Occupied Tamil Eelam marks Heroes' Day indoors, SL military detains seminary principal

[Fri, 27 Nov 2020, 16:44 GMT]

One of the flames of sacrifice lit inside a building in Valveddith-thu'rai, Jaffna

The Police of the occupying state of genocidal Sri Lanka detained a Tamil Catholic priest, S. Baskaran, who is the principal of St. Martin’s Seminary while conducting Tamil Eelam Heroes’ Day remembrance at the entrance of the seminary, located near the Bishop’s House in Jaffna. Amidst tightened harassment from the SL military and the police against public remembrance events, the people and their political representatives resolvedly and emotionally marked the commemoration lighting flames of sacrifice inside their premises. The mobilisation for indoor remembrance has drawn the attention of the younger generation of Tamils like never before in the post-2009 context, journalists in Jaffna said. All the occupying Sinhala soldiers and the police personnel were deployed in the public places, junctions and along the road everywhere, reminding the people the level of military occupation. Full story >>

Tamils risk Kashmir-like status revocation if Gota continues Trinco military cooperation with US

[Sat, 31 Oct 2020, 10:58 GMT]

Certain quarters have been misplacing the significance of the recent visit of US State Secretary Mike Pompeo to Colombo vis-à-vis the national question of the Eezham Tamils. SL President and Commander-in-Chief Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s choice to continue the already on track military cooperation with the United States Indo-Pacific Command (USINDOPACOM) is the determining factor, particularly at the strategic port city of Trincomalee of the occupied country of Eezham Tamils. One has to judge the geopolitical orientation of the SL State based on the defence-related choices being made and not based on polemics of Rajapaksa's ‘non-alignment’, or the escalating ‘predator’ vs ‘friend’ rhetoric between the US and China. Wherever Pompeo goes, be it London or Colombo, this rhetoric is the same. Full story >>

In the First Amendment the Founding Fathers gave the free press the protection it must have to fulfill its essential role in our democracy. The press was to serve the governed, not the governers. The Government's power to censor the press was abolished so that the press would remain forever free to censure the Government. The press was protected so that it could bare the secrets of government and inform the people.

-Justice Hugo, Supreme Court, 1971
Government employee named Daniel Ellsberg
gave New York times copies of a Pentagon report
that contained classified information about US actions
in Vietnam. Times began to print the Pentagon Papers;
Federal Government began a legal battle against the
paper. Court ruled Pentagon papers was protected
by the First Amendment.

[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.
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[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.
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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.
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[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.
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[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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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 >> Latest Reports: 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 .. Nov 27 16:44 Occupied Tamil Eelam marks Heroes' Day indoors, SL.. Nov 16 18:45 China launches world’s biggest regional trade agre.. Oct 31 10:58 Tamils risk Kashmir-like status revocation if Gota.. << Flashback More Reports >> 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 >> China launches world’s biggest regional trade agreement without Indian participation [Mon, 16 Nov 2020, 18:45 GMT] The ten-member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and five of ASEAN’s major trade partners, Australia, China, Japan, New Zealand and South Korea that also includes critical US allies and defence partners, have signed the trade agreement known as the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), at a virtual conference hosted by Vietnam on Sunday. Asia’s first, second, and fourth-largest economies, China, Japan, and South Korea, and advanced economies like Singapore are signatories to the RCEP constituting almost a third of the world gross domestic product. “India withdrew from the RCEP talks late last year, following Prime Minister Modi’s increasing cooperation with the US-led Indo-Pacific initiative,” observed the official paper of the Chinese Communist Party, China Daily, in an opinion piece on Monday. 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 >> Occupied Tamil Eelam marks Heroes' Day indoors, SL military detains seminary principal [Fri, 27 Nov 2020, 16:44 GMT] The Police of the occupying state of genocidal Sri Lanka detained a Tamil Catholic priest, S. Baskaran, who is the principal of St. Martin’s Seminary while conducting Tamil Eelam Heroes’ Day remembrance at the entrance of the seminary, located near the Bishop’s House in Jaffna. Amidst tightened harassment from the SL military and the police against public remembrance events, the people and their political representatives resolvedly and emotionally marked the commemoration lighting flames of sacrifice inside their premises. The mobilisation for indoor remembrance has drawn the attention of the younger generation of Tamils like never before in the post-2009 context, journalists in Jaffna said. All the occupying Sinhala soldiers and the police personnel were deployed in the public places, junctions and along the road everywhere, reminding the people the level of military occupation. Full story >> Tamils risk Kashmir-like status revocation if Gota continues Trinco military cooperation with US [Sat, 31 Oct 2020, 10:58 GMT] Certain quarters have been misplacing the significance of the recent visit of US State Secretary Mike Pompeo to Colombo vis-à-vis the national question of the Eezham Tamils. SL President and Commander-in-Chief Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s choice to continue the already on track military cooperation with the United States Indo-Pacific Command (USINDOPACOM) is the determining factor, particularly at the strategic port city of Trincomalee of the occupied country of Eezham Tamils. One has to judge the geopolitical orientation of the SL State based on the defence-related choices being made and not based on polemics of Rajapaksa's ‘non-alignment’, or the escalating ‘predator’ vs ‘friend’ rhetoric between the US and China. Wherever Pompeo goes, be it London or Colombo, this rhetoric is the same. Full story >> Top Flashback: 2020: 2020 Jan 24 22:18 Pentagon strengthened military ties with Colomb... 2018: 2018 Jan 24 13:20 All departments at work to seize lands in Trinc... 2016: 2016 Jan 24 23:36 SL police refuses to register land grab complai... 2015: 2015 Jan 24 23:43 Resettling Tamils silently expelled from Champo... 2014: 2014 Jan 24 23:49 Veteran lawyer urges China to ensure UN investi... 2014 Jan 24 23:37 SL military steps up monitoring patrols in Jaffna 2013: 2013 Jan 24 20:15 SL military presence beefed up in Trincomalee 2013 Jan 24 19:58 Badurdeen supporters grab Tamil lands in Mannaar 2013 Jan 24 07:47 Turkish ambassador to Colombo welcomes ‘Sri Lan... 2012: 2012 Jan 24 22:45 Award winning filmmaker presents documentary on... 2012 Jan 24 12:18 Chaos inside Welikade prison, Tamil prisoners s... 2012 Jan 24 12:14 Unidentified gang ransacks Tamil NGO office in ... 2012 Jan 24 02:59 Colombo-backed gang threatens resettled Tamil f... 2011: 2011 Jan 24 23:50 Teachers Union condemns one-day pay cut in East 2011 Jan 24 22:29 Forced recruitment of traders by Colombo to con... 2011 Jan 24 15:41 Riot in Anuradhapura jail, several prisoners fe... 2010: 2010 Jan 24 23:00 Overwhelming turnout of voters in Germany, 99% ... 2010 Jan 24 13:36 Commonwealth Union observers arrive in Colombo 2010 Jan 24 13:29 Chandrika Kumaratunga extends support to Fonseka 2010 Jan 24 03:55 “Tamils’ votes indispensable to send Mahinda ho... 2009: 2009 Jan 24 14:00 12 civilians killed, 87 wounded, SLA continues ... 2009 Jan 24 13:33 Delhi students on hunger strike to protest Colo... 2009 Jan 24 13:07 Fleeing civilian youths misused to fabricate SL... 2009 Jan 24 11:54 Intent of Genocide provable in Sri Lanka - Fein 2009 Jan 24 11:10 ‘Stop killing innocent Tamils in Vanni immediat... 2009 Jan 24 08:07 Human chain protest demonstration in Paris 2009 Jan 24 07:47 Police arrest Eastern University Tamil student ... 2009 Jan 24 02:37 American Tamils urge India to intervene in Sri ... 2008: 2008 Jan 24 15:55 3 SLA killed, 16 wounded in Mannaar - LTTE 2008 Jan 24 15:34 AG to submit report on security to Mano Ganeshan 2008 Jan 24 14:59 Tigers seize SLA weapons in Ma'nalaa'ru 2008 Jan 24 14:29 Ex-president of Co-operative union shot dead in... 2008 Jan 24 12:49 17 dead bodies located in Kebitigollewa 2008 Jan 24 12:03 Pilfering of goods at KKS Harbour adds to mater... 2008 Jan 24 11:05 Rantembe reservoir security tightened 2008 Jan 24 10:57 Youth returns back to HRC for protection 2008 Jan 24 10:52 18 Tamils arrested in Polonnaruwa 2008 Jan 24 10:46 Yala sanctuary to be closed again 2007: 2007 Jan 24 17:21 SLA troops shoot dead youth in Jaffna 2007 Jan 24 15:18 Youth surrenders at the Jaffna Rights Group office 2007 Jan 24 15:14 6 reported missing in Chavakachcheri, SLA bans ... 2007 Jan 24 12:50 Journalists call for media freedom 2007 Jan 24 11:59 Demonstration held in Colombo against spirallin... 2007 Jan 24 03:46 Tsunami affected Maruthamunai residents discont... 2006: 2006 Jan 24 18:23 Journalist killed for reporting on paramilitary... 2006 Jan 24 12:15 Maaveerar family member shot dead in Varani 2006 Jan 24 11:47 Muttur Co-operative officer shot dead 2006 Jan 24 11:17 FMM condemns killing of Tamil journalist 2006 Jan 24 05:46 LTTE condemns Tamil journalist's killing 2006 Jan 24 04:20 Tamil journalist shot dead in Trincomalee 2006 Jan 24 02:22 Aussie MPs attend Pararajasingham memorial event 2005: 2005 Jan 24 17:40 Tamil youth shot, injured in Wellawatte 2005 Jan 24 13:42 Temporarily fixed Eastcoast causeway reopens 2005 Jan 24 12:30 Amparai undergrads receive financial support 2005 Jan 24 12:30 Tamil absent in tsunami relief forms sent to Ja... 2005 Jan 24 05:36 Don't include LTTE in post-tsunami rebuilding e... 2004: 2004 Jan 24 20:12 UNICEF underage list under review - LTTE 2004 Jan 24 16:57 Valvettithurai fishermen remanded pending AG re... 2004 Jan 24 03:11 Sinhala leaders lack capacity to understand nat... 2004 Jan 24 00:10 TNA refuses to sign electoral reforms interim r... 2004 Jan 24 00:03 Workshop for NE cultural officers begin in Trin... 2003: 2003 Jan 24 16:16 SLA intelligence said bullying Mannar farmers 2003 Jan 24 11:02 Fifth Session of Talks in Berlin 2003 Jan 24 10:47 New SLMM head appointed 2003 Jan 24 02:03 Record inquiry in Tamil, MPGA demands 2003 Jan 24 01:33 GA requests data on SLA occupied private proper... 2002: 2002 Jan 24 19:33 SC orders compensation to woman raped at checkp... 2002 Jan 24 17:17 Kadirgamar's conduct in peace initiative suspec... 2002 Jan 24 13:31 Ex-garrison town schools await succour 2001: 2001 Jan 24 20:12 Union demands Tamil GA for Trinco 2001 Jan 24 11:09 Blast kills 11 soldiers 2001 Jan 24 04:44 Kaluatara political prisoners say conditions dire 2000: 2000 Jan 24 19:20 Magistrate demands swift end to Chemmani probe 2000 Jan 24 19:17 MP urges inquiry into shootings 2000 Jan 24 19:11 Senior Norwegian official arrives in Colombo 2000 Jan 24 19:06 LTTE urges Vehicle Association against SLA transit 2000 Jan 24 16:45 Mannar rice farmers shot 2000 Jan 24 11:42 Search operation in Mutur 2000 Jan 24 03:14 School girl succumbs to injuries 1999: 1999 Jan 24 19:56 Paramilitaries assigned larger role 1999 Jan 24 19:34 Election violence will affect polling 1999 Jan 24 15:47 Jaffna PLOTE leader shot Dead 1999 Jan 24 15:13 Northeast development under military control 1999 Jan 24 13:11 Youth shot dead Jaffna 1998: 1998 Jan 24 23:59 Mud flies in Jaffna campaigns 1998 Jan 24 23:59 SLA operation in Jaffna blocked: LTTE 1998 Jan 24 23:59 Suresh case adjourned 1998 Jan 24 23:59 EPDP preparing for massive rigging 1998 Jan 24 23:59 Search operation in Jaffna 1998 Jan 24 23:59 Batticaloa prisoners transfered to Kalutara In the First Amendment the Founding Fathers gave the free press the protection it must have to fulfill its essential role in our democracy. The press was to serve the governed, not the governers. The Government's power to censor the press was abolished so that the press would remain forever free to censure the Government. The press was protected so that it could bare the secrets of government and inform the people. -Justice Hugo, Supreme Court, 1971 Government employee named Daniel Ellsberg gave New York times copies of a Pentagon report that contained classified information about US actions in Vietnam. Times began to print the Pentagon Papers; Federal Government began a legal battle against the paper. Court ruled Pentagon papers was protected by the First Amendment.	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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