Indian Foreign Minister Krishna visits Colombo, holds talks with TNA

[TamilNet, Monday, 16 January 2012, 23:02 GMT]
India’s External Affairs Minister Mr. S.M. Krishna arrived in Colombo Monday evening on a four-day official visit. He was scheduled to meet the parliamentary delegation of the Tamil National Alliance the same day evening around 6:30 p.m. at Taj Hotel in Colombo, according to TNA leader Mr.R.Sampanthan.
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TNA, GTF join ANC centenary celebration, Sri Lanka boycotts

[TamilNet, Sunday, 08 January 2012, 09:48 GMT]
Delegations from the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) and the Global Tamil Forum (GTF) are amongst international attendees of the centenary celebrations of the African National Congress (ANC) on Sunday. Sri Lanka has refused to participate at the event in Bloemfontein because of the ANC’s invitation to the GTF, the Sunday Times reports. Dozens of heads of state and representatives of other governments, as well as large numbers of dignitaries from across Africa are joining over 100,000 politicians, members and supporters of the ANC in the historic celebration. In the meantime, a Tamil academic based in Colombo cautioned Eezham Tamils to be aware of the duality of South Africa. While the ruling party has been engaged in a show of solidarity with struggling forces across the world, the South African State has joined hands with anti-people regimes as it did during the 2009 voting at the UNHRC.
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Majority ITAK members welcome civil society report, seek course-correction

[TamilNet, Sunday, 01 January 2012, 14:16 GMT]
Majority of the key members of the Ilangkai Thamizh Arasuk Kadchi (ITAK), who met Friday for a central committee meeting at the residence of TNA parliamentary group leader Mr. Rajavarothayam Sampanthan in Trincomalee, have welcomed the recent memorandum submitted by leading members of the Tamil civil society. Calling the TNA leaders to engage with the civil society, the ITAK group sought a course-correction in the process. Two civil society and ITAK senior members, and signatories, Professor emeritus of Archaeology, S.K. Sitrampalam, an ITAK stalwart, and Senior Lecturer at the Department of Hindu Civilisation of Jaffna University, Mrs. Naachiyar Selvanayagam, were present at the committee meeting and explained their concerns of accountability. The meeting resolved that Mr. Sampanthan should engage with the civil society as early as possible in January 2012.
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ITAK activists threatened by SLA intelligence operatives in Mullaiththeevu

[TamilNet, Friday, 30 December 2011, 14:34 GMT]
Activists of the Ilangkai Thamizh Arasuk Kadchi (ITAK) in Mullaiththeevu of Vanni, who were engaged in organizing party activities this week have been threatened with death by intelligence operatives of the Sri Lanka Army, sources in Mullaiththeevu told TamilNet. The intimidation by the occupying SLA has come following the leading activists of the ITAK Mr.C.V.K.Sivagnanam and Mr. Kunanayagam, went to the district distributing forms to enrol members to the party. The SLA intelligence personnel have targeted the activists of the party in Mullaiththeevu for accepting these forms.
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Indian aid to war-affected Tamils diverted to Sinhala colonisers

[TamilNet, Monday, 26 December 2011, 08:02 GMT]
Sri Lankan Colonial Governor of the Northern Province, Major General (retired ) G.A.Chandrasiri, has diverted a portion of India-donated aid, meant for ‘resettled’ Tamil civilians in the five districts of North, once again as in the case of the India-donated tractors. This time, 2,000 bicycles were donated to each district. G.A. Chandrasiri has diverted 500 of 2,000 bicycles allocated to Jaffna district to Sinhala colonisers who have occupied the Ma'naalaa'ru division in Vanni. Even the aid provided by India to the people of North, as a public relations maneuver in camouflaging its anti-people collaboration with the genocidal Colombo's structural genocide on the country of Eezham Tamils, is being exploited by the SL military-led civil administration, commented civil officials in Jaffna.
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TNA demands internationally mandated mechanism for war-crimes accountability

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 20 December 2011, 15:30 GMT]
Rajavarothayam Sampanthan, parliamentary group leader of Tamil National Alliance, in a forceful articulation of the stand of the TNA on the report from the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC) said that the report “categorically fails to effectively and meaningfully deal with issues of accountability, and added that “the findings of the LLRC offend the dignity of these victims [deposed before the LLRC]," according to a report appearing in the Hindu. In a previous statement nominated TNA MP, and attorney, M.A. Sumanthiran told Sunday Leader that "the Commission has severely contradicted itself by concluding that the civilians had not been deliberately targeted by the security forces in the final stages of the war."
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Building consensus with universal ideology

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 20 December 2011, 06:02 GMT]
The struggle of Eezham Tamils has to be waged with the strength of unity and consensus in ideology; both in the immediate task of dealing with a three-cornered international struggle in a multipolar world as well as in the long-term universal task of pursuing the Right of Self Determination for nearly a third of the world that is currently denied of it and in the world-wide struggles of the 99 per cent of the peoples in this planet seeking a more equitable world against the one per cent that constitutes today’s globalized Establishments, writes TamilNet Economic and Geopolitical Analyst in the Asia Pacific. The days of alignment with any power are gone in the multipolar world set-up, where the alignments are shifting every now and then though the underlying element among the Globalised Establishments is Cooperation via UN & its agencies, he further writes.
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Eezham Tamil Diaspora activists in UK question SL reconciliation motives

[TamilNet, Monday, 19 December 2011, 00:41 GMT]
While structural genocide continues unabated in the homeland of the Eezham Tamils, certain well funded Sri Lankan NGO’s that harp on peace and reconciliation are steadily pursuing a war by other means on the Eezham Tamil Diaspora. Programmes initiated by organizations like the One Text Initiative, which receives generous funding from foreign donors as well as support from the Sri Lankan state, in the name of ‘engaging with the Sri Lankan diaspora’, are attempting to marginalize the Eezham Tamil diaspora polity that is pushing for international investigation into genocide committed by the Sri Lankan state as well as recognition of their political sovereignty. This agenda was evident from a recent meeting in London where such proponents of reconciliation were challenged by Eezham Tamil activists of various shades.
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TNA leadership faces admonition from civil society of Eezham Tamils

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 13 December 2011, 23:50 GMT]
Prominent members of the Tamil civil society of all walks of life presented a memorandum to the Tamil National Alliance leadership on Tuesday, strongly condemning deception and deviatory polity of the leadership while times demand well-defined solutions to a long struggle. The civil society members urged firmness of leadership in political stand in convincing India and the US of the indispensability of addressing fundamentals of the aspirations of Eezham Tamils, i.e., nation and the right to self-determination. Tamils are not a ‘minority’ requesting concessions, but a nation demanding self-rule, the memorandum said. The impressive list of signatories included prominent religious leaders, academics, educationalists, professionals, trade unionists and community leaders. For the first time the TNA leadership faces such an open challenge of the first magnitude from the civil society.
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TNA loses the best opportunity to be forthright: Tamil Nadu reader

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 09 November 2011, 05:50 GMT]
“You are leaving us confused back here in Tamil Nadu,” especially when we “do not see India doing the right thing in Sri Lanka,” says a TamilNet reader in Chennai in sending a feedback responding to TNA leader Sampanthan’s current political stand. “The best opportunity to be forthright was lost by him,” the reader said in the feedback Tuesday. “An unclear goal and actions will not lead anyone anywhere. The kind of statements that Mr Sampanthan makes is making it difficult even for supporters of Eelam in Tamil Nadu to take a stand. No matter what you do, i.e., even if you act to please the power, New Delhi does not care. It is better to catch it by its collar and put it to shame. The result will only be the same. It would be in our best interest to look after our interests ourselves rather than waiting for someone else to look after us, the reader further said.
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TNA relays US-India paradigm for ‘nondescript’ model of solutions

[TamilNet, Monday, 07 November 2011, 07:21 GMT]
Addressing a diaspora gathering in London on Sunday, The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) politicians elucidated on trying a ‘nondescript’ model of solution for the national question of Eezham Tamils. The TNA relay on the paradigm comes after conditioned for long by New Delhi and after conferring with ‘creative thinking’ in the US State Department on the models for solutions. The TNA leaders didn’t hide the fact, but said it is worth trying, as the UN, EU, India and the USA are watching and any failures could be suitably addressed. Commenting on the nondescript nature of the model, Tamil political observers said that it is ideal for imperialism to get leverage and time for ‘development’ inroads and would provide more legitimacy, time and bartering power for genocidal Colombo to complete the annihilation of Eezham Tamils as a nation, while engaging them in a prolonged day-to-day struggle.
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Politics of the Way Ahead

[TamilNet, Thursday, 03 November 2011, 20:22 GMT]
The contradictions between the Establishments and Peoples are likely to be the most antagonistic in the Indian subcontinent and hence that is the region for the next major change in the World. Our alliance with Tamil Nadu is of utmost priority in this regard. It appears that India used the Vanni War without witness as a ‘Field Trial’ for its developing wars against its own Nations without State. In due course, the Indian Establishment will become the main enemy of the region and at that time coalition of Establishments supporting the Indian Establishment will be quite different to the coalition that supported genocidal Sri Lanka. With this in perspective, we should keep our eyes open to new opportunities including progressive Sinhala forces that recognize the Right of Self Determination of the Nation of Eezham Tamils, writes TamilNet Economic and Geopolitical Analyst in the Asia Pacific.
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Chelvanayakam statue decapitated in Trincomalee

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 01 November 2011, 00:14 GMT]
The statue of Thanthai Chelva (SJV Chelvanayakam) located near the Sivan Temple at Thirugnaanasampanthar Street in Trincomalee was decapitated on Sunday night. People who were enraged to notice the desecration on Monday morning placed a cloth on the headless statue. Local people suspect genocidal elements occupying Trincomalee for timing the act, when the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) team led by Mr. R. Sampanthan, MP for Trincomalee, is on an international visit seeking solutions for the national question of Eezham Tamils. The statue is located in a recently Sinhalicised part of the Trincomalee city.
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TNA MPs advocate for Tamils rights in U.S. capital

[TamilNet, Friday, 28 October 2011, 03:33 GMT]
Four Tamil National Alliance (TNA) Members of Parliament visiting the U.S. on an invitation by the State Department arrived Tuesday night and have completed two days of meetings at the State Department and with Congress persons including members of the Sri Lanka caucus, sources close to the MPs said. The team led by Parliamentary group leader Mr Sampanthan said that they were aware of the political significance of this unique gesture by the State Department in inviting a non-State political party and that they would use every opportunity available to articulate Tamils position to the decision makers in Washington.
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No bartering of war-crimes accountability for political concessions: TNPF

[TamilNet, Sunday, 23 October 2011, 16:02 GMT]
Tamil National Peoples Front (TNPF), a post-war Tamil political formation in the island of Sri Lanka, in a press conference held Sunday morning 11:00 am at a Colombo residence, congratulated TNA leadership on the forthcoming visit to the USA, and said that the visit is a significant historic first where the US-State Department has extended invitation to a non-State Tamil political party, adding that the visit has potential for improving the political status of the Tamil people who have suffered within a majoritarian democracy for several decades. While pointing out that the TNA is carrying a tremendous burden on its shoulders to articulate clearly the aspirations of Tamils, TNPF cautioned that TNA, under no circumstance, should barter away Sri Lanka's accountability for war crimes for ‘political concessions.’
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Rift in TNA citing dissatisfaction in struggle spirit

[TamilNet, Saturday, 15 October 2011, 06:36 GMT]
TULF politician Mr. Anandasangaree, who was earlier supporting Rajapaksa’s war, has born again now, being furious at the TNA’s lack of spirit in fighting against Rajapaksa over the land re-registration issue. He publicly accuses the TNA leaders, particularly Mr. Sampanthan and Mr Premachandran for not leading a people’s struggle against the issue. Mr. Anandasangaree and the PLOTE of Mr Siddharthan, both who earlier backed the genocidal Colombo, have joined the TNA in contesting the last civic elections and they were successful in capturing three local bodies. This week, Mr. Anandasangaree has convened a ‘general body’ meeting for the TULF in which he and Mr. Kanagaraja have respectively been named as General Secretary and President of the TULF. Sampanthan has responded by protesting to the election commission that the meeting was illegal and was breaching earlier court rulings.
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India refuses landing to GTF leader, TNA plans visit to USA

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 12 October 2011, 05:55 GMT]
The Indian government on Tuesday refused landing permission to the President of the UK-based Global Tamil Forum (GTF), Fr. S.J. Emmanuel, when he went to Chennai via Dubai. He flew back to Dubai. The GTF is a confederation of large Eezham Tamil diaspora organisations in leading western countries and Australia as well as democratically elected country councils in the West. Meanwhile, the Tamil National Alliance parliamentarians led by Mr. R. Sampanthan are planning a visit to the USA on the 23rd of this month to discuss current political situation, media reports from Colombo said on Tuesday.
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War or post-war, Sri Lanka’s explicit genocide is unchecked

[TamilNet, Monday, 10 October 2011, 20:58 GMT]
Whether one shows legal land deeds of heredity or not, to establish the private ownership of land in the country of Eezham Tamils, the occupying Sri Lanka Army would place a signboard that the land is out of reach. Thereafter, if the owner of the land is not prepared to bribe the occupying Army, the land will be given to anyone who collaborates with the occupying Army. This is the reality about fertile cultivation lands especially in Vanni, since genocidal Sri Lanka has embarked upon ‘re-registering’ lands in the country of Eezham Tamils under a programme ‘Bim Saviya’ of Sinhala nomenclature. The explicit land-related structural genocide has made even a Rajapaksa-supporting Tamil politician like Anandasangaree to become more vociferous than the TNA in calling for a non-cooperation movement of Tamils.
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Tamil opinion backs Bahu, Mano

[TamilNet, Thursday, 06 October 2011, 18:54 GMT]
The Tamil National Alliance and the Tamil National Peoples Front have urged the Tamil speaking people in the Western Province to support Wickramabahu Karunaratne and Mano Ganesan of the Democratic National Front (DNF) in the civic elections in the South. While Selvam Adaikalanathan and Mavai Senathiraja of the TNA in their speeches have urged the Tamil speaking population in Colombo to back Dr. Vickrmabahu and Mr. Mano Ganeshan, Mr. Gajendrakumar Ponnampalam and Selvaraja Kajendren of the TNPF came out with a statement urging the Tamils to back the courageous leaders of the DNF who have been openly expressing support to Tamils Right to Self-Determination at a time when some individuals of Tamil parties claiming to represent Tamils were displaying dubious conduct on the fundamental principles of Tamil Nation.
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India’s indirect campaign backs Sri Lanka’s military and genocide

[TamilNet, Monday, 19 September 2011, 09:36 GMT]
Choosing a time when Geneva is supposed to decide on investigating Sri Lanka’s war crimes, New Delhi has scheduled a large-scale joint military exercise with Sri Lanka in Trincomalee in the country of Eezham Tamils. Meanwhile, a senior leader of India’s major opposition party, Dr. Murli Manohar Joshi of BJP, chose to deliver a lecture in Colombo on Saturday commemorating a Sinhala-Buddhist revivalist, and according to The Hindu, Dr. Joshi “was left with the impression that everyone wanted an early solution leading to a united Sri Lanka under one constitution.” Both the Administration and Opposition of New Delhi indirectly signal against investigating genocidal Sri Lanka’s war crimes and the ‘impression’ Joshi conveyed to The Hindu has no moral validity as Tamils are constitutionally prevented from telling their opinion on the national question, commented a Tamil politician in the island.
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