Environment endangering life in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 04 January 2011, 00:31 GMT]
News reports from the south of the island, Saturday, said that Colombo government had yielded to the protests of fishermen and Church in the south, and had dropped a project to have sea planes in the Negombo lagoon. The fishermen in and around Negombo feared affliction to fish catch by the sea plane project. But on the same day, a budding young environmentalist having concern for the sand dunes and the drinking water of his people was shot dead in Jaffna. SL military intelligence occupying Jaffna and paramilitary are suspected. An academic in Jaffna brings out the environmental background of the issue.
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Imelda accuses police, prefers military

[TamilNet, Monday, 03 January 2011, 18:49 GMT]
The Sri Lanka Police has failed in its duty to arrest killings, abductions and anti-social activities in Jaffna, Imelda Sugumar, the Sri Lankan government agent in Jaffna accused on Monday. In a press meeting at her office, she briefed the journalists about her preference to induct the occupying SL military to police the situation further in Jaffna. The police are corrupt and no ‘development’ work is possible in the district under the current circumstances, she claimed. Two weeks ago, while meeting a section of Tamil politicians, the Sri Lankan president Mahinda Rajapaksa was also vocal about his preference to the military than the police in running the affairs of the Tamil land. He said this in reply to the visiting politicians when they expressed concern about SL military cantonments in the country of Eezham Tamils.
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Escalating killings, abductions: ‘Diplomatic civilities will not work with Colombo’

[TamilNet, Monday, 03 January 2011, 00:06 GMT]
Fatal attacks and abductions against educationalists, environmentalists, priests and youth activists in recent days in the Jaffna peninsula seriously question the wisdom of some sections of diplomats and politicians in the international community who sometimes back advocated unassuming participation of Tamils in ‘development’ and ‘reconciliation’ without resolving political and military questions. Diplomatic civilities as shown by the US ambassador Patricia A. Butenis in taking pride of what Rajapaksa government is achieving in resettlement, while making it a beneficiary of USAID, will not work with the kind of people at the helm of affairs in Colombo. The IC is once again demonstrating its impotency in handling the national question of Eezham Tamils without political solution and without removal of occupying military, a Jaffna based human rights activist told TamilNet Sunday.
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Sen’s case exposes India in the shoes of colonial Raj

[TamilNet, Thursday, 30 December 2010, 12:40 GMT]
A sedition law of colonial oppression enacted in 1870 by British India, which was later used against Mahatma Gandhi and Tilak, has now been deployed against committed social worker Binayak Sen in sentencing him to life imprisonment. 22 Nobel laureates across the world have joined in condemning the Indian court decision, says a feature in Hindustan Times Wednesday. A lacuna in the struggle of Eezham Tamils in attracting attention of the alternative world is the lack of highlight to the kind of organised and committed grassroot social movement like that of the one Binayak Sen was engaged in. The diaspora that is capable of doing that is either disillusioned by the ‘development’ that opens avenues for the very powers that ditched them or has gone astray in dumping money on temples.
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'Only China and Pakistan could prod New Delhi'

[TamilNet, Thursday, 30 December 2010, 00:58 GMT]
Paying tribute at the memorial for the IPKF that killed more than 6000 Eezham Tamils in the late 1980s, the visiting Defence Secretary of the New Delhi establishment offered training programme for 1400 personnel of the genocidal military of Sri Lanka in the Indian defence academies. Indian Express on Sunday reported that a key outcome of Russian president recently meeting New Delhi’s prime minister was India helping Colombo’s nuclear power generation, to counter Chinese power hold in South Asia. Meanwhile, the thrust of a recent article by India’s former envoy in UK, Kuldip Nayar implies that rather than the merit of the national question of Eezham Tamils attracting Indian attention, only the involvement of China and Pakistan may prod it to do something.
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Opposition mounts against India’s treatment of human rights activists

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 29 December 2010, 01:54 GMT]
Life imprisonment sentenced on human rights activist and medical practitioner Binayak Sen by Chhattishgarh court, on flimsy grounds of sedition that he was carrying messages for the Maoists, finds growing opposition from Indian media and intellectuals. Nobel laureate Amartya Sen on Tuesday boldly condemned the Indian court decision that the conviction on sedition charges was a "ridiculous" use of laws. Outraged and upset, Amartya Sen wanted his opinion that there was a deep miscarriage of justice, be known to the people as well as the court, PTI reported Tuesday. The Chhattisgarh court judgement was a "huge perversion of our system of justice, and particularly of the laws concerning sedition [...] the whole thing seems a ridiculous use of the laws of democratic India," Amartya Sen said. Meanwhile eminent lawyer Ram Jethmalani came forward to argue the case in the Supreme Court.
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'Disaster management' observed with Sinhala anthem in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Monday, 27 December 2010, 00:03 GMT]
Sri Lanka president Mahinda Rajapaksa did not attend disaster management event (National Security Day), remembering Tsunami, took place this time in his colonial territory of Jaffna on 26th December. He was scheduled to preside over it according to earlier announcements. SL Prime Minister D.N. Jeyaratne substituted him and school students of Jaffna were ordered to ‘sing’ the SL anthem in Sinhala only for the occasion. The students clad in Tamil traditional dress, veaddi and chealai, said that they were never accustomed to sing the Sinhala anthem before, but were rigorously ‘trained’ in the last two days for it and were forced for the performance. The function, ignored by the public and participated mainly by officials, made SL minister Douglas Devananda to comment that public in future should be prepared for participation.
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Tamil Nadu leftists in South Africa gathering expose anti-humanity in Sri Lanka

[TamilNet, Sunday, 26 December 2010, 17:51 GMT]
Tamil Nadu leftist youth who went to South Africa for the gathering of international leftist students and youth, attended by 15,000 delegates from 126 countries, exposed the anti-human war Sri Lanka waged against Eezham Tamils. Speaking on the occasion, Dakshinamoorthy Lenin, the Tamil Nadu head of All India Youth Federation, described the war last year as genocide against Eezham Tamils, condemned Colombo’s treatment of Tamil youth, accused India for abetment through inaction, and pointed out that the war has not brought in political justice. Meanwhile, Colombo sent 180 politicians and youth to the event in a chartered flight along with Namal Rajapaksa and higher education minister S.B. Dissanayake. Unruly in defending Colombo, the SL team was reminded by the organisers that it was not ‘Sri Lankan parliament.’ Rallying international students stopped Dissanayake addressing a session.
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India continues grooming genocidal military of Sri Lanka

[TamilNet, Saturday, 25 December 2010, 14:36 GMT]
As a goodwill gesture, India is expected to gift some military equipment such as shoulder-fired missiles and radars to Sri Lanka when Indian defence secretary Pradeep Kumar undertakes a two-day visit to Colombo from Monday, PTI reported Friday. The equipment, part of the assistance provided earlier to Sri Lanka to fight Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), is planned to be gifted apparently to demonstrate India's efforts to help build the defence capabilities of Colombo in the backdrop of Chinese attempts to make inroads there, PTI further said. Kumar, who will hold talks with his counterpart Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, is also likely to discuss the future defence requirements of the Sri Lankan armed forces. If the war with the LTTE is over, against whom India is grooming a genocidal military, wonder Eezham Tamils.
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Schools in Jaffna ordered to ‘sing’ Sinhala Only Sri Lanka anthem

[TamilNet, Saturday, 25 December 2010, 09:59 GMT]
Implementing a decision of Rajapaksa, students in Jaffna are ordered to sing the SL anthem in Sinhala only in an event to be attended by him in Jaffna Sunday. Students of Jaffna Hindu College became the first to succumb. The move comes contrary to news in a section of press that Rajapaksa cabinet never took any decision on the anthem-issue as India and USA reportedly opposed it. A few days ago, when the Inner City Press asked for clarification on the SL cabinet decision from a UN spokesman, there was no reply. Meanwhile, Eezham Tamils should never demand the right to sing the SL anthem in Tamil, as it is contrary to the spirit of Eezham Tamil nationalism. Rather, every time they are asked to ‘sing’ the Sinhala anthem they should remember the colonial legacy of the Portuguese, Dutch and the English of the past and should be prepared for liberation struggle, said a student activist.
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U’rukaamam, Urugamuwa, Urumutta

[TamilNet, Thursday, 23 December 2010, 01:02 GMT]
The big village
The big hill or peak
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Nambiar, UN, undermine war crimes investigation on Sri Lanka, Burma

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 21 December 2010, 08:48 GMT]
Unchecked for the role he played in the genocide of Eezham Tamils last year, Vijay Nambiar’s UN villainy is now targeting ethnicities struggling in Burma. The Burmese military now plans to adopt the Rajapaksa doctrine of military solution to the national question in Burma, with the backing of the same establishments that backed Rajapaksa, and Vijay Nambiar is in the scene again, facilitating the agenda and shielding the war crimes. A few days ago, UK has urged the UN to replace Vijay Nambiar by another fulltime envoy to deal with Burma. According to Mizzima News Wednesday, the London-based Burma Campaign expressed extreme disappointment on the approach of Nambiar befriending military generals and ignoring nations struggling for liberation. Meanwhile, the UN panel on Sri Lanka meeting Colombo’s LLRC has raised eyebrows in the human rights circles.
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Imelda, Daya Master, felicitate Asian ‘peace laureate’ Hathurusinghe

[TamilNet, Sunday, 19 December 2010, 01:51 GMT]
The commander of Sri Lanka’s colonial military in Jaffna, Maj. Gen. Mahinda Hathurusinghe, was felicitated by SL government circles in Jaffna, Thursday, for the Guci Peace Prize given to him in Philippines, which according to SL military web sites, ‘Asian equivalent of Nobel Peace Prize’. Mrs. Imelda Sugumar, the SL Government Agent of Jaffna was the chief guest for the felicitation that was coordinated by Daya Master, former LTTE spokesperson and now executive director of a paramilitary-backed television supporting Colombo. In a press meet the previous day, Hathurusinghe accused former LTTE members conniving with SLA as responsible for the robberies and other atrocities committed on people in Jaffna. While felicitating Hathurusinghe, Imelda attacked the editors of diaspora media for their bias and said that SL government and its military only help people in Jaffna.
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Iluppaik-kadavai

[TamilNet, Sunday, 19 December 2010, 01:32 GMT]
The Iluppai tree locality to pass through
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India-China contention benefits Kashmiris, Tibetans

[TamilNet, Friday, 17 December 2010, 07:32 GMT]
Since China has started issuing special visas to Kashmiris, India retaliated by not declaring Tibet as a part of China in the joint statement of the prime ministers of both the countries after their meet in New Delhi, Wednesday and Thursday. For the last 30 years as a prerequisite for dialogue with China, at every meet of both the countries India was reiterating its official position that Tibet was part of China. The long oppressed and suffocating Himalayan states, hemmed between the two powers, could see new light if the states and the concerned peoples concertedly come forward to intelligently negotiate the unfolding equation between the two powers, political analysts on South Asia said.
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Philippines awards peace prize to SLA, joins Colombo boycotting Nobel ceremony

[TamilNet, Thursday, 09 December 2010, 15:40 GMT]
Philippines on Thursday decided to boycott the Nobel peace prize award ceremony in Oslo Friday. Sri Lanka will also boycott the ceremony that awards the peace prize to Liu Xiaobo, who in his struggle for political reforms in China was sentenced to 11 years imprisonment last year. Meanwhile, during the Heroes Day week of Eezham Tamils, Major General Mahinda Hathurusinghe of the war crimes accused military of Sri Lanka was awarded Gusi International Peace Prize in a ceremony held at the Philippine International Convention Centre, Manila, on 24 November. Colombo’s military website run in Jaffna said on 27 November that the award given to Hathurusinghe was the “Asian equivalent to the Nobel Prize”.
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Refreshing investigation in Assam on national question in India

[TamilNet, Thursday, 09 December 2010, 13:42 GMT]
Recent upsurges in tensions and violence in ongoing conflicts over borders in the Northeast of India, attempts by the Indian state to gain control of territory by settling villages in camps in parts of Chhattisgarh and other states of central India, and the pursuit of autonomy in Telangana and Gorkhaland demonstrate the multiple ways territoriality is politicised in contemporary India, says the concept paper of a seminar on Shared History and Contested Spaces, convened by Dibrugarh University of Assam. The participants to this seminar in Northeast India were refreshingly different from the usual names coming from New Delhi or from certain social groups. The Northeast states of India share many commonalities with the nation of Eezham Tamils in facing unresolved national questions and military oppression of state with a colonial mindset, writes TamilNet political commentator in Colombo.
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Time for Eezham Tamils to think afresh

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 07 December 2010, 02:23 GMT]
Despite two nasty wars India got involved against Eezham Tamils in crushing their national aspirations, and despite constant demonstration that whatever genocide may take place or whatever counter-Indian alliances Sri Lanka may make India would continue to hang on to any devil that is sitting in Colombo, Eezham Tamils are so far not stirred up to evolve an integrated foreign policy to meet the equation. Just as Mahinda Rajapaksa told N. Ram of The Hindu that “What we refused to give Prabakaran we won’t give to others”, what India refused to act on so far, it is not going to act, whatever exclusive dependency Tamils may continue to show. The relentless may try and everyone should be happy if there are any yields, but it is time for the mainstream to think and seriously act on other avenues that are complimentary to Eezham Tamil interests.
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Rajapaksa vengeance orchestrates political shield of captive Tamils in Vanni

[TamilNet, Saturday, 04 December 2010, 11:45 GMT]
Sri Lanka’s president Mahinda Rajapaksa, crest fallen in London, tried to simulate support for him Saturday, by intimidating Eezham Tamils living in captive conditions under his military in Vanni. On Saturday early morning, amidst heavy rains, Sri Lanka army rounded up ‘re-settled’ Tamil civilians in Vanni, including pregnant mothers, elderly and children, and brought them to Ki’linochchi forcing them to carry placards in a ‘demonstration’ that Rajapaksa was doing good to them and it was wrong for the diaspora Tamils in London to reject him. About 500 civilians were caught in the military harassment and those who resisted were attacked by the military. Rajapaksa is determined in demonstrating that the genocidal conditions set by him is the reality to comprehend with, as opposed to diaspora articulations, and he is backed in it by the position taken by India, observers said.
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Leaked documents reveal UK lacking practical approach and India unwilling

[TamilNet, Saturday, 04 December 2010, 09:38 GMT]
Though there was recognition for the need of a political solution and intention to stop human tragedy, lack of insight on the nature of the Sri Lankan state, lack of a serious and practical policy in handling a state like Sri Lanka long known for its chauvinism and lack of perspectives in addressing a national question as a national question, paved way for the failure of the Miliband-led British foreign policy on the war in the island, reveals leaked classified documents of British Foreign Office by Wikileaks. The documents also reveal that the British saw India “ambivalent and unwilling to undertake any heavy lifting on Sri Lanka” during the last days of the war. In this regard, a British diplomat confessed that he had trouble in getting meetings with India’s political level.
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