US engagement irks Colombo, Norway ousted from Sri Lanka peace mission

[TamilNet, Monday, 13 April 2009, 15:30 GMT]
Sri Lanka in a formal letter handed over to Norway's ambassador to Colombo, Tore Hattrem, Monday, has stripped the peace facilitator of its role in the Sri Lankan process, AFP said in a report Monday. "The government of Sri Lanka perceives that there is no room for Norway to act as (peace) facilitator," AFP quoted an official as saying. The announcement comes following recent reports leaked in Colombo press suggesting that the United States had contacted the LTTE leadership through a third party and that the LTTE, concerned of the security of the civilians, had proposed a longer period of ceasefire. Diplomatic circles in Colombo said that Sri Lanka's action was precipitated by the revelation that the United States Government was using Norway as a third party to facilitate a week long ceasefire.
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'Three insults to Tamils for the traditional New Year'

[TamilNet, Sunday, 12 April 2009, 19:32 GMT]
Disguised insults meant against Tamil struggle this week bring out a picture of the attitudes operating in Colombo, New Delhi and Chennai, writes a political analyst in Colombo. “It is not exactly the Sri Lankan government, but the Sri Lankan state that is the core symbol of oppression in the island. Ethnic chauvinism is the cornerstone of this state. No liberation can come to Eezham Tamils unless this symbol is deconstructed. It is important for both Tamils and Sinhalese to see that accepting this symbol as it is now, or imposing this symbol as the basis of any political discourse, will never pave way for peace of both.”
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31 civilians killed in SLA shelling, gunfire in 'safety zone'

[TamilNet, Sunday, 12 April 2009, 09:11 GMT]
At least 31 civilians were killed throughout the day on Sunday inside the 'safety zone'. Exact figure of wounded civilians was not known, but at least 36 injured were rushed to the makeshift hospital at Puthumaththa'lan Sunday morning as Sri Lanka Army (SLA) was embarked upon concerted attacks on the zone since the early hours of Sunday. 30 of the victims were wounded in shelling and 6 in gunfire, medical sources said. Two of the victims had succumbed to their injuries at hospital.
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Tamil people subjected to Genocide - TNA

[TamilNet, Sunday, 12 April 2009, 07:18 GMT]
The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) in an urgent statement issued on Sunday pointed out the dramatic rise in Tamil civilian casualties over the last two weeks and said over 4,100 Tamil civilians have been killed and over 8,800 gravely injured within the four months of this year. The Foreign Affairs Committee of the TNA, in the statement said that 707 Tamil civilians have been killed within the last 9 days alone and over 1,000 gravely injured. Sri Lankan State's armed forces were deliberately targeting Tamil civilians and that the Tamil people in the island of Sri Lanka are clearly being subjected to Genocide, the TNA said. It urged the International Community to compel the Sri Lankan Government to stop all military operations immediately and to bring about an immediate ceasefire between the Sri Lankan State and the LTTE.
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Ottawa protest continues for Fifth day

[TamilNet, Saturday, 11 April 2009, 21:45 GMT]
Protest by Canadian Tamil expatriates continued Saturday with several thousands joining the protest, CTV news broadcast announced. "The demonstrators, who arrived largely from Toronto and Montreal, are part of worldwide Tamil protests against what they describe as a deadly military offensive by the Sri Lankan military. Shouting "Tamil Tigers, freedom fighters," the protesters called on Canada to reverse its 2006 decision to list the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam as a terrorist entity under the Anti-Terrorism Act. They are also calling for an immediate ceasefire," Canadian daily Globe and Mail reported.
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Two-thirds of British Tamils march for Ceasefire and Tamil Eelam

[TamilNet, Saturday, 11 April 2009, 19:14 GMT]
In a historic show of solidarity, more than 200,000 British Tamils, nearly two thirds of Tamils resident in Britain, marched through the streets of London Saturday demanding immediate ceasefire and recognition of Tamil Eelam. Sparked off by the initiative of second generation diaspora Tamil youth and students four days earlier, the Saturday's march became an unprecedented rallying point for the entire community, attracting the old students associations of the educational institutions of Eezham Tamils, functioning in London. The spirited participation of teens and mothers with babies in pushchairs significantly marked the level of community involvement in the agitation.
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Nadesan: there will be no post-LTTE scenario

[TamilNet, Saturday, 11 April 2009, 12:35 GMT]
Head of Liberation Tigers Political section, B. Nadesan, in an interview to India's weekly magazine Tehelka, said that, "[t]here will not be a post-LTTE scenario. Look around the world, and you will see the desire for freedom and dignity in the hearts and minds of all Tamils. The LTTE is seen as the way to achieve the political aspirations of the Tamil people," and added that the International Community should work towards "fulfilling the political aspirations of the Tamil people by recognizing their struggle for self-determination and a homeland," instead of waiting for a "post-LTTE scenario, which is never going to come."
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New York protest extends to US, Mexico, India missions of UN

[TamilNet, Saturday, 11 April 2009, 03:16 GMT]
Three days of hunger-strike and protest against Sri Lanka's egragious rights violations and horrific killings against the more than 200,000 Tamil civilians caught up in the war held in New York from Tuesday concluded Thursday, organizers of the event said. Several hundred protesters from different states took positions in front of the Indian mission from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., protested in front of the Mexican mission from 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m., and assembled to protest in front of the U.S. mission between 3:00 pm and 5:00 p.m. The protesters appealed to the UN missions to take steps to facilitate a ceasefire.
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RSF repeats war-crimes complaint against Colombo

[TamilNet, Friday, 10 April 2009, 22:50 GMT]
Reminding Colombo to to fulfill its international obligations to let journalists into the Vanni conflict area where "a major humanitarian crisis in unfolding," Asia-Pacific Desk at Reporters sans frontiers (RSF), a Paris-based media watchdog, in a press release issued Friday said, "[t]he death of at least two journalists in the so-called "no-fire" area tends to support allegations that the Sri Lankan security forces are responsible for war crimes against civilians," and that the [Sri Lanka] government is violating UN Security Council resolution 1738 about protecting journalists in war zones."
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TNA Ex-MP on hunger-strike calls for immediate ceasefire

[TamilNet, Friday, 10 April 2009, 20:51 GMT]
Member of Tamil National Alliance (TNA) and Ex-Member of Parliament of Sri Lanka, Mr Eelaventhan, on his second day of hunger-strike in South Africa's Sri Mariamman Temple, in a press release, said that the "slight hunger pangs I feel now are nothing compared to the pain that pierces my heart when I see the needless suffering of my people," and echoed Tamil diaspora in demanding the international community to bring about an immediate and permanent ceasefire. 'He [Eelaventhan] is also calling for humanitarian aid, supervised by INGO's, to be allowed to reach the Tamil people affected by the war. He asks that local and international NGO's be granted unrestricted access to the detention camps,' the press release further said.
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Canada calls for immediate ceasefire

[TamilNet, Friday, 10 April 2009, 03:37 GMT]
"We've asked [the United Nations] for an immediate ceasefire. We're very worried, of course, of the hostilities that are taking place but particularly worried for the civilians that are in the combat zone [in Vanni]," said Canada's Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon Thursday, according to a report in National Post. The call comes amidst continued Tamil protests for the third consecutive day that have severely disrupted the traffic in downtown Ottawa.
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Tamil hunger strikers' condition deteriorates in London

[TamilNet, Friday, 10 April 2009, 02:36 GMT]
Two British Tamils, 21-year-old Sivatharsan Sivakumaravel and 28-year-old Parameswarn Subramaniyan, who are on a hunger strike in the Parliament Square since 10:00 p.m. Monday, have refused to consume any food or water until there is a ceasefire in Sri Lanka. The hunger strikers have also demanded that food and medical aid should be allowed to reach the civilians immediately with international monitoring committees and to allow "Mercy Mission," the diaspora organised ship carrying humanitarian supplies.
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US Tamil groups meet with State Department on Sri Lanka crisis

[TamilNet, Friday, 10 April 2009, 02:17 GMT]
A group of American Tamils representing different diaspora organizations met with US Assistant Secretary of State Richard Boucher, and US Ambassador to Sri Lanka, Robert Blake, (via video link) on 8th April in Washington, D.C., to discuss the current humanitarian crisis Tamils face in Sri Lanka. The Tamil groups pressed for an immediate ceasefire and pointed out that no durable political solution is possible without the participation of the LTTE, and told the State Department officials that "...[N]egotiations should not preclude separation as a solution, and that confederation with power sharing at the center may be a viable alternative to total separation."
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Ramsey Clark to address New York protest

[TamilNet, Thursday, 09 April 2009, 04:52 GMT]
Ramsey Clark, former US Attorney General in President Lyndon B Johnson administration, is to attend a protest fast by five American Tamils in front of the U.S. Mission to the United Nations in New York Thursday to conclude the protest campaign. The protest is organized as part of a world-wide diaspora campaign to highlight the horrific killings of Tamil civilians by the Sri Lanka military in a near genocidal campaign in Mullaiththeevu district, organizers of the protest said.
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Tamil protesters bring traffic to a halt in Australia

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 08 April 2009, 20:00 GMT]
More than 4,000 Australian Tamils converged in the cities of Melbourne and Sydney Wednesday, causing police to block Elizabeth Street and bringing evening peak hour traffic to a standstill. The rally which was organised overnight, called on the Australian government to use their diplomatic powers to pressure Sri Lanka into entering a ceasefire.
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TNA Ex-MP to begin hunger strike in South Africa

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 08 April 2009, 18:12 GMT]
M.K.Eelaventhan, a former Tamil National Alliance (TNA) Member of Parliament in Sri Lanka, in a press statement issued Wednesday, announced he will begin hunger strike on Thursday, 9 April 2009 at 8:30 am at the Mariamman Temple, Mt. Edgecombe, South Africa. He said by starting his protest on "the soil from which freedom struggle of South African people was won," he hopes to draw the attention of freedom fighters nobel laureates like Nelson Mandela and Archbishop Tutu to recognize the plight of the Tamils in Sri Lanka.
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'Immediate ceasefire is the only way' - Jayalalithaa

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 08 April 2009, 12:35 GMT]
"I strongly insist that an immediate ceasefire is the only way to save the Tamil civilians in the safety zone," said AIDMK General Secretary and former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu Ms. J. Jayalalithaa in a signed statement in Tamil, issued on Wednesday. Ms. Jayalalithaa in the strongly worded statement blamed Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi and the Central Government of India for the current plight of Tamil civilians. "People of Tamil Nadu will wash their hands off of such elements whose hands are jointly at work causing misery to the Tamils in the island of Sri Lanka," she said.
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'It is not the way for post-conflict ambitions,' say London protestors

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 07 April 2009, 16:33 GMT]
“The spontaneous demonstrations that are taking place in world capitals are a result of the failure of deliberations between community elders and the ruling circles of the International Community," said 17-year-old M. Kavitha who got injured in police charging during the protest in London on Tuesday. "The younger generation of the diaspora, disillusioned over the elder’s faith in the IC governments, has taken to the streets now,” she said commenting on the continued agitation taking place outside the Houses of Parliament in London since Monday by angry Eezham Tamil protestors demanding Britain to act immediately to bring in ceasefire in Sri Lanka. The protestors defied normal British procedures of getting prior permission in staging their demonstration.
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British Tamils block Westminster Bridge, demand ceasefire

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 07 April 2009, 01:16 GMT]
More than 5,000 British Tamils on Monday launched a sit in outside the House of Commons in London demanding an immediate stop to Sri Lanka's "genocidal war" against Eezham Tamils. The protest, led by youth, started in the green opposite the British parliament Monday noon and the demonstrators moved to Bridge Street blocking all traffic through Westminster Bridge and Victoria Embankment around 3.00 p.m. The protesters waved hundreds of Tamil Eelam national flags and carried signs and placards depicting the plight of civilians being killed in the attacks by the Sri Lankan forces and demanded an immediate ceasefire.
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David Miliband calls for 'humanitarian' ceasefire

[TamilNet, Thursday, 02 April 2009, 17:29 GMT]
British Foreign Secretary David Miliband on Thursday renewed his call for an "urgent humanitarian ceasefire" to "allow the remaining civilians to leave the conflict area" and sought unhindered access for humanitarian agencies to the civilians displaced by the fighting, including those, whom he referred as "still trapped" in the conflict area. Mr. Miliband's call comes a day after LTTE's Political Head B. Nadesan conveying the Tiger stance to the Norwegian International Development Minister Erik Solheim that the attacks by the Sri Lankan forces on Tamil people aimed at total subjugation of the Tamil nation, and that only an immediate ceasefire could put an end to the humanitarian catastrophe caused by the Sri Lankan aggression and pave the way for a negotiated settlement to the conflict.
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