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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LLRC, a farcical attempt at accountability: paper

[TamilNet, Sunday, 18 December 2011, 16:59 GMT]
Noting that the "LLRC has for too long been the international community's fig leaf, used by governments across the world, including the US and the UK, to stall calls for accountability and a credible investigation into allegations of war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide," the Tamil Guardian in its analysis of the report, points out that the report exposes the lack of mandate and the will to investigate international crimes the world was expecting to see, and asserts that "International law is uncompromising in this regard - responsibility for war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide goes to the very top. In the case of Sri Lanka, the defence secretary, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, the then head of the army, General Sarath Fonseka, and the commander in chief - the president - Mahinda Rajapaksa are principally answerable."
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Fonseka verdict signals trend to come out of LLRC

[TamilNet, Friday, 18 November 2011, 16:51 GMT]
Colombo High Court Bench on Friday convicted Sri Lanka’s former military commander Lt. Gen. Sarath Fonseka to three years rigorous imprisonment for him alleging that the SL President’s brother and defence secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa had ordered the execution of surrendering LTTE officials in the white flag incident. Fonseka was found guilty of “spreading rumours and causing public disorder.” His rigorous imprisonment may mean that he should perform manual labour in prison. Fonseka’s conviction signals what directions the LLRC findings and following actions might take, commented political observers in Colombo. “This conviction happens under a dictatorship,” Fonseka told the court rejecting the verdict. "People will rise against this judgement and only then will the independence of the judiciary be restored," he added.
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US knew Rajapaksa election was irregular

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 04 October 2011, 20:24 GMT]
A classified cable of the US Embassy in Colombo, made available through WikiLeaks, shows that the US Ambassador Patricia A. Butenis has informed the US government about a Rajapaksa order to eight SL Government Agents to send election results directly to SL President’s house for his review before sending them on to the SL Election Commissioner. The Ambassador also has cited other irregularities, frauds and intimidations in the last SL Presidential Elections. However, the US Government ‘congratulated’ Rajapaksa on his election and it regularly used to appreciate ‘democracy’ in the genocidal State, Tamil politicians commented.
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Targeted attacks in Jaffna show war of Establishments against Eezham Tamils

[TamilNet, Monday, 26 September 2011, 23:50 GMT]
The US Asst. Secretary of State visiting the island recently, wanted the ‘Grease Devil’ attacks to be stopped as though the ‘switch’ was in his hand. But targeted attacks taking place in Jaffna after his visit, against the backdrop of dubious manoeuvrings currently engineered in the West, only show a continued and concerted war waged against Eezham Tamils by elements in the Establishments guilty of genocide trying politics of intimidation, commented political circles in Jaffna. A house of a judge, two doctors and a bank official were targeted in the attacks in Jaffna last week taking the life of one and injuring at least seven in localities swamped by occupying SL military. The student community in Jaffna would have performed much better by showing righteous resentment to the visiting US dignitary rather than allowing the EPDP to hijack the show, the political circles further said.
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Hambantota port commercially not viable: Sarath N Silva

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 17 August 2011, 06:38 GMT]
"We have built a mega port in Hambantota, but it is not commercially viable yet," the Reuters reported Wednesday quoting former SL Chief Justice Sarath N. Silva at a JVP organised meeting in Colombo on Tuesday. “From the top to bottom, corruption has become a systemic issue... Foreign investors will be discouraged from investing here if this goes on,” Mr. Silva has said. "The anti-corruption law is ineffective. The anti-graft commission can investigate only if they receive a compliant and if the complaint is wrong, the complainant will be given an up to 10 year jail term," the former SL chief justice has said.
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India answerable for both genocide and structural genocide of Eezham Tamils

[TamilNet, Sunday, 14 August 2011, 09:05 GMT]
The Speaker of the Indian Parliament, Meira Kumar, conceding to an objection from a Congress member, altered the topic of discussion in the parliament from “Alleged killing of Sri Lankan Tamils by the island nation’s Lankan army in 2009 as recently revealed in a United Nations report” to “On the steps taken by Government of India for relief and resettlement of Tamils in Sri Lanka and other measures to promote their welfare.” The deviated discussion scheduled for last Thursday has also been postponed to coming Tuesday. But whether in war or in post-war, New Delhi cannot escape answering for its partnership in committing genocide and structural genocide of Eezham Tamils, commented Tamil political circles in the island, citing the activities of India-partnered SL Army in the war and its aftermath.
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Media organisations in Colombo protest against attack on Tamil editor

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 02 August 2011, 10:46 GMT]
Five Colombo-based media organizations held a protest campaign at Lipton Circus, Colombo, Tuesday afternoon, against the assault of Uthayan newspaper's News Editor Gnanasundaram Kuhanathan in Jaffna. Meanwhile, Sri Lankan Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa talking to foreign journalists on Tuesday said the attack on Kuhanathan was an 'isolated' incident and a 'petty' crime. Since year 2000, six employees of Uthayan newspaper including two journalists, Raji Varman and S.S.R. Sugirtharajan, have been killed. But the Sri Lankan authorities have not arrested a single person to date in connection with the killings.
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India adopts a genocidal Army to achieve military integration

[TamilNet, Saturday, 02 July 2011, 05:45 GMT]
As Sri Lanka ‘successfully’ ended its war with the LTTE and India is still fighting ‘insurgents’ in Jammu and Kashmir and the northeast states, India will share more experience with the SL military particularly in tackling ‘insurgency’ and will give more training to SL military in building capacity, particularly in adventure sports and English language, media reports from India said on the first ‘Army-to-Army’ talks between the two militaries that took place from Wednesday to Friday. Both sides have agreed to send their instructors to each other’s military academies. India has allotted more seats for training SL military personnel in its military academies. As Sinhala and Tamil politics are hostile, economic and military integration are the ways for political integration of the entire island with India, is the line of thinking in New Delhi, political observers said.
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Sivajilingam, Sri Kantha decide to join TNA, restructure TELO

[TamilNet, Saturday, 25 June 2011, 14:46 GMT]
Former Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarians as well as Tamil Eelam Liberation Organization (TELO) leaders Mr. Sivajilingam and Mr. Sri Kantha have decided to dissolve their newly formed party Tamil National Liberation Alliance (TNLA) and to re-join TELO and TNA, with a view of strengthening TNA and restructuring TELO to meet the demands of the times. They took the decision after a group of former TELO members in the diaspora taking the initiative to speak between them and the TELO president cum TNA parliamentarian Mr Selvam Adaikalanathan. The decision revealed in a press meet in Jaffna on Saturday will be officially announced in the 20th Annual Conference of TELO convened to take place in Vavuniyaa on Sunday. TELO is one of the constituent parties of the TNA. Mr. Selvam Adaikkalanathan confirmed the reunity that is taking place in TELO.
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U.S. case: Rajapakse ducks service, Court order sought for alternate service

[TamilNet, Thursday, 02 June 2011, 00:04 GMT]
Attorney for the three Tamil plaintiffs who filed civil action against Sri Lanka's President Mahinda Rajapakse for monetary damages under US's Torture Victims Protection Act (TVPA) in the District Court of District of Columbia, informed the Court Tuesday that defendant, Mahinda Rajapakse, has avoided service of process by not accepting mail sent by recorded delivery to the Sri Lanka embassy and "Temple Trees," and that Plaintiffs are in the process of attempting to serve via Sri Lankan central authority in accordance with the provisions of "The Hague Convention," to which the U.S. and Sri Lanka are signatories. Plaintiffs will seek authorization from the court for alternate means of service, such as notification via a legal publication.
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Aftenposten-Wikileaks shows shallow understanding of US diplomats

[TamilNet, Monday, 16 May 2011, 19:18 GMT]
Classified cables of US diplomats sent between February 2009 and January 2010, made available by Wikileaks and released in the Norwegian media Aftenposten earlier this month, show how shallow and wanting the understanding of the US diplomats in dealing with the decades-old and still continuing national question and genocide in the island of Sri Lanka, writes TamilNet political commentator in Colombo. The primary responsibility of the diaspora, rather than being ‘guided’ by such diplomacy, is the edification of the neo-Orientalist thinking in the Western capitals, especially in Washington, London and Paris for the replacement of this kind of diplomacy, he further writes, citing what the public opinion has achieved in Tamil Nadu and pointing to where the public opinion has to be directed to in the world by the diaspora.
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War crime, genocide case against Rajapaksa placed in Norway courts

[TamilNet, Sunday, 08 May 2011, 00:06 GMT]
Leading Norwegian Lawyer on Human Rights, Harald Stabell, has filed a case under the Norwegian national law, against the Sri Lankan President and Commander-in-Chief of the SL armed forces, Mahinda Rajapaksa, his brother and Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, and former Sri Lanka Army commander Sarath Fonseka, now in Rajapaksa's custody, and several other SL commanders, for allegedly committing War Crimes, Crimes against Humanity and Genocide against Eezham Tamils. The case is filed on behalf of the Norwegian Council of Eezham Tamils (NCET) and 15 affected Norwegian Tamils. Following the latest revelations by the Norwegian Minister Erik Solheim in Norwegian national media NRK about his knowledge of the white-flag surrender, which turned into a war crime, the lawyers have indicated to the Chief Prosecutor of Norway that evidence may be sought from Mr. Solheim.
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UN war crimes report to be produced in White Flag case

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 04 May 2011, 12:21 GMT]
The Colombo High Court Wednesday issued notices on two more witnesses cited by the defense to be present at the next date of trial in the controversial white flag case in which the former army commander Sarath Fonseka has been indicted by the Attorney General, legal sources in Colombo said. Fonseka was charged for causing disrepute to the government by giving an interview to a English weekly alleging that the Defense Secretary Gotabahaya Rajapakse had ordered the army to shoot all LTTE cadres, who come to surrender holding white flags at the last leg of the Vanni war, dead.
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Colombo High Court postpones “White Flag” hearing

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 20 April 2011, 12:44 GMT]
The Colombo High Court Wednesday allowed an application by the accused Sarath Fonseka, retired Commander of the Sri Lanka Army (SLA), to reconsider his decision to give evidence on behalf of the defense in the controversial “white flag” case due to the current tense situation in the island following the release of a portion of the UN Experts Panel report to the UN Secretary General, legal sources in Colombo said.
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Panel’s report ‘cannot erase the stain on the UN’

[TamilNet, Sunday, 17 April 2011, 15:10 GMT]
The damning UN report on Sri Lanka’s mass killings of Tamil civilians in 2009 submitted last week to Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon by a panel he appointed last year, “cannot erase the stain on the UN over its silence” during the bloodletting, The Times newspaper’s writer who first comprehensively reported on the violence said in a comment Friday. Catherine Philp recalling UN officials saying how the Ban’s chief of staff, Vijay Nambiar, had ordered UN staff in Colombo to cover up the mass casualties being inflicted on Tamil civilians by Sri Lankan forces in 2009, so as not to “rock the boat” by criticising the Sri Lankan Government during its onslaught.
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Three opposition MPs to give evidence in “white flag” case

[TamilNet, Thursday, 10 March 2011, 02:41 GMT]
Two parliamentarians of the main opposition United National Party (UNP) and a parliamentarian from the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) are among ten witnesses who will be giving evidence in the white flag case in which former Commander of the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) Sarath Fonseka is charged for causing disrepute to the Sri Lanka government by making allegedly false statements to The Sunday leader, an English weekly published in Colombo.
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Jayantha Ketagoda to succeed Sarath Fonseka in SL parliament

[TamilNet, Saturday, 05 March 2011, 23:20 GMT]
The Democratic National Alliance (DNA) Saturday decided to appoint Jayantha Ketagoda to the seat that fell vacant following the imprisonment of Sarath Fonseka by the Court Martial. DNA national list parliamentarian Tiran Alles told media that according to the unanimous decision of the party Jayantha Ketagoda is to be sworn in as new parliamentarian on March 8 before the Speaker.
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Appeal Court to review Fonseka writ petition

[TamilNet, Friday, 25 February 2011, 12:55 GMT]
Sri Lanka’s Court of Appeal (CA) Friday decided to conduct inquiry into the writ application by the former Commander of the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) despite the preliminary objection the Attorney General, legal sources in Colombo said. The Attorney General (AG) requested the court to dismiss the writ application without inquiry as the Supreme Court had determined that the court martial is also court under the constitution of Sri Lanka. Sarath Fonseka has filed the Writ Application in the Court of Appeal against unseating him from the parliament following the order of a Court Martial.
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Colombo deports Thirumavalavan, rejects participation in Parvathi Amma's funeral

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 22 February 2011, 10:01 GMT]
Indian parliamentarian Thol Thirumavalavan, the leader of Viduthalai Chiruththaikal Kadchi, was denied entry to the island Monday night when he arrived at Katunayake International Airport in Colombo to take part in the funeral of Parvathi Amma, the mother of LTTE leader Velupillai Pirapaharan. After being deported back to Chennai from Colombo airport, Mr. Thirumavalavan told media in Tamil Nadu that the deportation was an insult to the entire India and urged the governments of Tamil Nadu and India to condemn his deportation from Colombo.
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