Kalaignar Karunanidhi passes away at 94

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 07 August 2018, 16:58 GMT]
Former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu State and the Chief of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), Muthuvel Karunanidhi, popularly known as ‘Kalaignar’, has passed away at the age of 94 in Chennai, TamilNadu, on Tuesday. Apart from his acumen in adjusting policy to the prevailing circumstances and persistent role in dialectically shaping the politics of Tamil Nadu, Kalaignar was also a veteran writer, playwright, scriptwriter, poet and an orator contributing to Tamil literature and cinema. His demise marks the end of a political era, represented along with the late former chief minister personalities such as C.N. Annadurai (Anna), M.G.Ramachandran and J Jayalalithaa, all of whom originated from the secular Dravidian movement, which emerged as a counter-hegemonic force in Tamil Nadu politics in the early 20th century.
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Protesting grassroots Tamil activists targeted in Jaffna, Vanni

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 01 August 2018, 18:12 GMT]
Unknown attackers, who are believed to be the operatives of the occupying SL military or the intruding Sinhala fishers in Vadamaraadchi East, Jaffna, have burnt down another boat of a Tamil fisherman activist in the early hours on Monday. Arulappu Nimal, a father of two, lost his boat at Thaa'laiyadi. This is the second incident within the last ten days in which the attackers have targeted the vessels that belong to Tamil fishers who staged a self-mobilised action against the Sinhala sea cucumber poachers in Vadamaraadchi East. In the meantime, the SL Police has acted against a leading Tamil woman activist in Keappaa-pulavu, Mullaiththeevu, allegedly on the instructions from the occupying SL military.
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Sinhala colonisation chokes off territorial contiguity of Tamil homeland at Thennai-maravadi

[TamilNet, Friday, 29 June 2018, 23:05 GMT]
The occupying Sinhala colonists have stepped the land grab of Pa'nikkar-vayal in Thennai-maravadi, an ancient Tamil village situated in the north of Kuchcha-ve'li division of Trincomalee district. The encroachment targets the strategic border between the Northern and Eastern provinces choking off the territorial contiguity of the Tamil homeland. The move is also seen as an attempt to annex Thennai-maravadi with the Sinhala division of Padavi Sri Pura in the west to create a sea-access corridor to that division. Besides, the move also threatens the neighbouring Tamil-speaking Muslim village of Pulmoaddai, Tamil and Muslim grassroots activists in Kuchchave'li told TamilNet this week.
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SL policemen fire to kill Tamil man at Church premises in Mallaakam, Jaffna

[TamilNet, Sunday, 17 June 2018, 23:51 GMT]
The policemen of the genocidal state of Sri Lanka opened fire at a Tamil man, who was trying to protect his nephew when an opposing gang targeted the latter at Ku'lamangkaal in Mallaakam, Jaffna, Sunday night around 7:00 p.m. The 32-year-old man later succumbed to injuries at his shoulder. The police violence has taken place within the premises of the Church of Our Lady of Perpetual Help (Chakaaya-maathaa), 11 km northeast of Jaffna city. The episode comes following a minor gang rivalry on the road. SL Policemen who arrived at the entrance to the church intentionally fired to kill the innocent man who was trying to protect his nephew, who was targeted by the opposing gang, eyewitnesses told journalists in Jaffna.
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Tamil fishers rise against Colombo's exploitation, activists threatened by SL Navy

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 30 May 2018, 16:06 GMT]
Fisheries traders from South have deployed more than one thousand sea cucumber poachers along the coast of Vadamaraadchi East with the backing of the occupying Sinhala Navy of genocidal Sri Lanka and the SL Ministry of Fisheries during the last two weeks. The intruders have put up more than one hundred huts and brought in thousands of oxygen cylinders and lighting equipment to exploit the entire coast of Vadamaraadchi East from Chaalai in Mullaiththeevu to Thaa'laiyadi in Jaffna district for the catch of sea cucumbers. The native Tamil fishers have risen against the exploitation as it directly affects their livelihood and the fishing ecosystem. The Tamil fishermen staged a protest on Sunday. Now, the intelligence wing of the SL Navy has issued death threats against the organisers of the rally.
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Mining firm facing resistance in Thirukkoayil shifts exploitation area with fresh tactics

[TamilNet, Sunday, 13 May 2018, 16:18 GMT]
Damsila Exports Pvt Ltd., a big company exporting phlogopite mica and other minerals from the island, has shifted its plan of excavating Ilmenite resources in Thirukkoayil North of Ampaa'rai district after the people mobilised against the move in December 2017. The company is now trying to deceive the people along the southern sector of the same division, Tamil activists in Thirukkoayil said. Damsila Exports is the premier mica mining and export company headquartered in Colombo. It is exporting phlogopite mica from the island under semi-processed and powder form to Japan, China, Germany and India. At present, about 65% of phlogopite mica product is sent to Japan according to the website of the company.
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NPC Chief Minister urged to witness Ira'nai-theevu peoples’ plight in-person

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 02 May 2018, 22:47 GMT]
The uprooted people from Ira'nai-theevu, who courageously landed on their native twin-islet on 23rd April after almost one year of continuous protest, said they were anticipating a much-awaited visit by Northern Provincial Council Chief Minister Justice C.V. Wigneswaran to witness their plight, especially at this juncture. They further complained that the SL authorities and Tamil politicians have failed to secure their basic needs so far. Around 200 people are staying there, and the families have put up temporary huts along the coast and started to cook food in their shelters during the daytime, and they flock to the school and the church for sleep during the nights, said Mr Michael, a community leader of the uprooted people.
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Uprooted Tamils embark on courageous sea landing, SL navy restrained at Ira'nai-theevu

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 24 April 2018, 21:35 GMT]
Four hundred uprooted Eezham Tamils, who have been waging a continuous protest since May 01, 2017 at Muzhangkaavil along the western coast of Vanni, embarked on a historic sea journey to the twin-islet of Ira'nai-theevu on the 359th day of their protest on Wednesday. They were vowing to resettle back in their native place braving any objection coming from the occupying SL Navy, The Sinhala sailors present at the naval detachment restrained as their officers were embarrassed by the courage of the people. The people went there in 46 boats. Seven Catholic priests, including their parish priest Fr Arudchelvan, accompanied them. The people are now staying at the premises of the Church of Our Lady of Holy Rosary and at the Catholic Tamil Mixed School in the twin-islet, which is located 12 nautical miles from the coast of the mainland in Mannaar facing the Palk Bay.
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Mano Ganesan challenged in Jaffna, politician complains of threat

[TamilNet, Monday, 16 April 2018, 20:02 GMT]
The SL Minister of so-called ‘National Dialogue’ Mano Ganesan, projecting himself as competing with Mangala Samaraweera in winning the hearts and minds of the Tamil diaspora [towards the Colombo-centric agenda promoted by certain foreign Establishments], has gone to the extent of threatening a Jaffna-based political activist this week. Mr Ganesan was visiting Jaffna this week on a propaganda campaign to promote the so-called ‘National Secretariat for Non-Governmental Organizations’ (NSNGO), also known as NGO Secretariat, which is trying to control the civil society, Community Based Organisations and local NGOs by creating ‘federations’ at district-level.
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SL Forest department blocks access to 300 acres of agricultural lands in Ampaa'rai

[TamilNet, Thursday, 12 April 2018, 19:03 GMT]
The SL Department of Forest Conservation has put up border stones covering 300 acres of agricultural lands belonging to Tamils uprooted from a previously militarised area across three divisions of Ampaa'arai division. The SL Forest Department has taken over the grounds immediately after the SL military relocated from the places, the people said.
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Occupying soldiers harass Tamil women in coastal village of Batticaloa

[TamilNet, Sunday, 11 February 2018, 22:35 GMT]
The Sinhala soldiers of the occupying military of genocidal Sri Lanka are harassing Tamil women in the coastal village of Thaazhang-kudaa, which is situated 14 km south of Batticaloa city, the residents complain. The SL military is further expanding its presence by extending its military base at Thaazhang-kudaa with additional 6 acres of public lands. In the meantime, the SL military intelligence is setting up several small huts within the expanded area of the camp, the residents further said.
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SL Forest Department grabs agricultural lands of 45 Tamil farmers in Madu

[TamilNet, Monday, 05 February 2018, 19:19 GMT]
Colombo-based SL Forest Department is blocking 45 Eezham Tamil families in Madu DS division of Mannaar district from accessing their own agricultural lands in extent of 175 acres at Chinnak-kungchuk-ku'lam, the villagers of Periya-kungchuk-ku'lam complain. All the land-owners are in possession of land deeds or LDO permits provided by the Assistant Government Agent of Madu. The families were owning the agricultural lands for more than 40 years. Due to the war and displacement, they were unable to engage in agriculture for almost 15 years and the SL Forest Department has put up border stones seizing their lands. The people having valid documents of ownership to their agricultural lands are being confronted by the guards of SL Forest Department, which disregards the rights of resettled Tamils. Some of their land deeds are from 1930s.
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Karuna paramilitary appropriates pastureland in Paduvaan-karai for electoral exploitation

[TamilNet, Thursday, 18 January 2018, 21:42 GMT]
Vinyagamoorthy Muralitharan alias Karuna, a paramilitary leader who has been collaborating with the Rajapaksa regime in the past, is again deploying violence and various intimidations, now against a section of dairy farmers from Chiththaa'ndi in Batticaloa district. In an attempt to woo voters for his political party from his native village of Kiraan, he is grabbing public and forest lands to convert these into agricultural lands for farmers, who had distanced from him since his betrayal to the Tamil cause in 2004. Paramilitary personnel carrying weapons have shot and killed cows belonging to Chiththaa'ndi farmers who are using the disputed area as pastureland for their cattle. 200 acres of lands have already been seized at Paalaik-kaaddu-veddai, which is situated close to Mayilaththamadu in Koa'ra'laip-pattu South division.
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Elder generation activists prepared to sacrifice lives to win Ira’nai-theevu resettlement

[TamilNet, Sunday, 31 December 2017, 23:44 GMT]
The uprooted people of the twin islets of Ira’nai-theevu, located 12 nautical miles from the western coast of Vanni, have been waging a continuous protest for more than 8 months since 01 May 2017. They have been demanding resettlement in their native islets, which lie facing the Palk Bay. 8 years have elapsed since the end of genocidal war, the occupying Sinhala Navy is still adamant in its refusal to release the occupied residential, livelihood lands and the fishing coast which belonged to more than 2,500 people comprising at least 740 families before displacement. “We hoped that we could resettle in our village and celebrate 2018 New Year. But, we were deceived. If this situation continues after 01 January, we will have no other option than advancing our peaceful protest by proving our determination through sacrificing our lives even if it is necessary,” say the protesters.
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SL Eastern Governor should publicly apologies for his wife's hate crime against Tamil devotees

[TamilNet, Sunday, 24 December 2017, 22:04 GMT]
The wife of Sinhala colonial Governor to East, Mrs Deepthi Bogollagama, on Friday desecrated the temple of village deities Kaa'li, Murukan and Vairavar worshipped by resettled Eezham Tamils at the hill-top of Maththa'la-malai in Kooniththeevu, a traditional Tamil village located near Champoor in Moothoor division of Trincomalee. While even the Sinhala police constables, accompanying the couple on an official visit, had removed their footwear before walking into the temple premises, the wife of SL Governor behaved in a desecrating manner. After being reminded by the Tamil female devotees, she started to verbally attack the devotees with a hostile body language and issued an open threat in Sinahala: “tamuselā okkomalāṭa denavā vẹḍē,” (තමුසෙලා ඔක්කොමලාට දෙනවා වැඩේ), which could mean anything from ‘you all would be dealt with trouble’ to collective death threat.
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Sinhala Buddhicisation targets Champoor, riddled with Sinhala militarisation

[TamilNet, Saturday, 23 December 2017, 22:35 GMT]
Two Sinhala Buddhist monks who had come from Seruwila division in Trincomalee entered into an ancient Eezham Tamil temple in Champoor of Mooothoor division on Tuesday and Wednesday this week. The intruding monks made a false claim that the small hilltop of Maththa’la-malai, which is surrounded with ponds and reservoirs north-west of Champoor was an ancient Sinhala Buddhist site. The monks then high-handedly demanded the management of the temple of Paathaa’la-Vairavar, the village-deity, not to construct any structures at the locality anymore. The SL Archaeology Department was going to seize the temple on their instructions, the monks told the villagers. The occupying SL Navy had already seized the agricultural lands. The move comes after US Pacific Command has started to groom a marine force for the SL Navy. SLNS Vidura situated in Champoor is the training base of the Sinhala ‘marines’.
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Landowners fear military repercussion, reluctant to dismantle Buddha structures

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 24 October 2017, 21:39 GMT]
The occupying army of genocidal Sri Lanka has left behind temple-structures, which were used by the Sinhala soldiers to house Buddha statues, intact even though it dismantled all other structures from the private property at 5th Mile Post in Ma'nmunaip-pattu (Aaraip-pattai) Division in Batticaloa. The owners of properties at the 5th Mile Post and the nearby rice mill say they were reluctant to dismantle the structures fearing reprisals from the SL military and Police. The removal of such structures are interpreted as hostile acts by the SL military regardless of their private ownership, civil sources said citing request from landowners to dismantle the structures. The SLA has relocated from the private property to Thaazhangkudaa in the same division last week.
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Unitary constitution imposing choice irrelevant to fundamentals needs rejection by Tamils

[TamilNet, Saturday, 21 October 2017, 21:46 GMT]
Imposing conditions on Eezham Tamils to denounce their sovereignty is denial of their right to self-determination. The Eezham Tamils are a distinct nation with sovereignty-based claim to exercise their right to Self-Determination. A framework for political solution should therefore recognise the nationhood of Eezham Tamils, their geographically contiguous homeland and their inalienable right of self-determination. The interim report of the Steering Committee of the Constitutional Assembly [of genocidal Sri Lanka] has not only denied the right of self-determination, but it also attempts to force upon Tamils the unitary system with a ‘Sri Lankan’ identity, both of which have been historically and democratically denounced by Tamils. Therefore Eezham Tamils should not hesitate to reject it, says Jaffna-based Tamil political analyst S.A. Jothilingam in an exclusive interview to TamilNet.
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Uprooted people find houses destroyed by SL Navy in Ira'nai-theevu after 2008

[TamilNet, Monday, 18 September 2017, 18:18 GMT]
There were almost 190 concrete-built houses, which stood in good shape when the SL Navy occupied Ira'nai-theevu twin-islands, which are situated 12 nautical miles west of Muzhangkaavil along the coast of Vanni in the Palk Bay. There was no military confrontations wihtin the islands in 2007-2008 when SL Navy occupied the islets. However, last week, three representatives of the protesting villagers, who went to witness the surveying of the lands, were shocked to see majority of their houses being razed to the ground by the occupying SL Navy. Only around 45 houses have standing structures. Among these, 15 to 20 houses could be reconstructed without much investment. The occupying SL Navy should bear the responsibility for the full and partial destruction of 187 houses, they said. Prior to 2007, the owners had dismantled only 3 houses, the villagers further said.
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Risking legal action, Hakeem wants to transfer lands to Hizbulla’s colony in Batticaloa

[TamilNet, Monday, 11 September 2017, 12:10 GMT]
Rauff Hakeem, the SL cabinet minister of ‘Urban Development, Water Supply and Drainage’ is trying to illegally allocate 35 acres of public lands to put up a Muslim colony being schemed by M.L.A.M. Hizbulla, an appointed UPFA parliamentarian and State Minister of ‘Resettlement and Rehabilitation’ at a traditional Tamil area in Batticaloa district. The controversial move is taking place at Kalladi, 7 km southeast of Batticaloa city. The lands initially taken over from Tamil people back in 1963 for the purpose of expanding water supply and irrigation from Unnichchai tank to other areas, civil sources in Batticaloa said. The SL ministers are engaged in hostile activities setting Batticaloa Tamils against Tamil-speaking Muslims from Kaaththaan-kudi, the sources further said.
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