Muthukumar triggers off mood of defiance in Tamil Nadu

[TamilNet, Sunday, 01 February 2009, 02:11 GMT]
Muthukumar was not there but his spirit was there. The lamentable self-immolation of the youth and the last statement he distributed had significant impact especially on the youth of Tamil Nadu and triggered off a series of consequences, unprecedented in such acts earlier in Tamil Nadu. Apart from public unrest, tension and street violence, the deeper manifestation was the open public defiance of the Government of India ban against the LTTE, which the people demonstrated carrying LTTE flags, placards and images of Pirapaharan in the funeral procession of Muthukumar. The intensification of student uprising as an aftermath of his sacrifice has made the state government to close colleges indefinitely, reports a journalist from Tamil Nadu.
Full story >>

Tamil Nadu parties launch Eezham Tamils Protection Movement

[TamilNet, Thursday, 29 January 2009, 06:13 GMT]
Concerned by New Delhi's inaction and driven by the need to bring about change in the prevailing tragic scenario in Vanni, five leaders of prominent Tamil Nadu parties, Vaiko, Dr. S. Ramadoss, Nedumaran, Thirumavalavan and D. Pandian, jointly launched the Eezham Tamils Protection Movement (ETPM) following a consultative meeting in Chennai Wednesday. Top leaders of the Pattali Makkal Katchi, Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, Communist Party of India, Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi and the Tamil Nationalist Movement held closeted discussions on how to save the Eelam Tamils.
Full story >>

Tamil Nadu gears up for more protests

[TamilNet, Friday, 23 January 2009, 05:27 GMT]
A state-wide common front of college and university students' organisations in Tamil Nadu launched protests against New Delhi and the state government demanding immediate action in stopping the war, which seeks to subjugate Tamil people who have refused to surrender into the hands of the Sri Lanka Army despite the physical and psychological war on them. 200,000 students took part in the 32 districts of the state on Wednesday, according to Dr. Vengadachalam, the organisor of the College Students' Coordinating Committee, a newly formed alliance of the students' organisations.
Full story >>

Tamil Nadu CPI, BJP leaders slam Delhi’s inaction

[TamilNet, Saturday, 17 January 2009, 22:13 GMT]
The Tamil Nadu State Secretary of the Communist Party of India (CPI), D Pandian charged Saturday that it was not enough to merely condemn the genocide in Sri Lanka, but instead one should be prepared to embrace a martyr's death. He was speaking about VCK leader Thol Thirumavalavan’s fast-unto-death over the humanitarian crisis imposed on Tamil civilians by Sri Lanka’s war. The senior CPI leader added that if India was capable of sending the Chandrayaan to the moon, it could at least do some lip-service to save the lives of Tamils by telling to the Government of Sri Lanka that it will not hesitate to interfere."
Full story >>

CPI pledges support to Thirumavalavan's fast

[TamilNet, Friday, 16 January 2009, 05:13 GMT]
Veteran leader of the Communist Party of India (CPI) Tamil Nadu, R. Nallakannu Thursday pledged his party's support to Thirumavalavan's fast-unto-death campaign demanding immediate ceasefire in Sri Lanka. Mr. Thirumavalavan blamed the Indian establishment for not asking Sri Lanka to stop war or sending Pranab Mukherjee, the Indian External Affairs Minister to Colombo, as promised. The VCK leader decried the Indian Government's inaction and said that by insulting the demands of the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Karunanidhi, New Delhi had in effect insulted the whole Tamil population.
Full story >>

Thirumavalavan launches fast-unto-death, demands India to stop war

[TamilNet, Thursday, 15 January 2009, 06:54 GMT]
"Mahatma Gandhi, who fought against British colonialists didn't think of taking the side of genocidal Hitler during World War II. He was not seeking personal vengeance against the British. Likewise, the present leaders in New Delhi should also take a bold decision that they will not support the genocidal war being waged by the Sri Lankan state on Eezham Tamils," said Kasi Anandan, a well-known Eezham poet living in Tamil Nadu, inaugurating the fast-unto-death campaign launched Thursday by VCK (Liberation Panthers Party) President Thol. Thirumavalavan.
Full story >>

Tamil Nadu signals protests against New Delhi's inaction

[TamilNet, Saturday, 03 January 2009, 15:58 GMT]
Condemning the inaction by the Indian Central Government, even after the unanimous declaration by the State Assembly of Tamil Nadu to demand immediate ceasefire in Sri Lanka, the Communist Party of India Tamil Nadu branch on Saturday announced it would launch a protest on January 06 in Tamil Nadu's capital city Chennai. Meanwhile, Pazha. Nedumaran, the leader of the Tamil National Movement has called for black flag protest against the Indian Prime Minister who is scheduled to visit the annual congregation of Non Resident Indians (NRI) on January 08. Meanwhile, the leader of VCK, Tholmavazhavan has said New Delhi's ignorance stands exposed as it failed to satisfy even the simplest demand to send its foreign minister to Colombo to stop the war.
Full story >>

'They went, saw and returned'

[TamilNet, Saturday, 06 December 2008, 07:58 GMT]
The meeting of the representation from Tamil Nadu led by Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi with the Prime Minister of India on Thursday failed to achieve its basic objective of convincing the Indian government to take a stand against Colombo’s war on Tamils, revealed journalistic circles in Chennai. The silent listening of the Indian Establishment may have several meanings. Perhaps Dr. Manmohan Singh is not the authority to respond on this particular matter. But the message to Eezham Tamils is clear: either they ought to fight back the war thrust upon them, or face genocide, and probably they knew it long back, commented the circles.
Full story >>

Churn in Tamil Nadu reopens spectre of R2P - Prof. David

[TamilNet, Sunday, 30 November 2008, 23:48 GMT]
Contrasting  the relatively slow changing and stable U.S. foreign policy to Pandora’s Box of unpredictable possibilities of India’s foreign policy towards Sri Lanka, Prof David in an op-ed column in Sri Lanka’s weekly Lakbima, asserts that “if  TN [Tamil Nadu] boils over not all the protestations of sovereign rights by the Sinhala state will count for a farthing; it will be R2P in its most rough manifestation.” Even ruling out outright military intervention, Prof David says, the new administration in India may take a tough line including using trade as a weapon, harass the Sri Lankan State, or turn a blind-eye to LTTE military activities.
Full story >>

Statewide protest in Tamil Nadu demands ceasefire in Sri Lanka

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 25 November 2008, 12:35 GMT]
Normalcy was disturbed in the 30 district capitals of Tamil Nadu on Tuesday from 7:00 a.m. till noon as thousands of demonstrators led by Communist Party of India (CPI), Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (MDMK), Tamil National Movement, Puthiya Thamizhakam, Periyar Dravidar Kazhagam and several other organisations took to the streets, blocking the railway, bus and postal services. Around 50,000 courted brief arrests. The organisers said the success of the protest in Tamil Nadu, especially amid heavy rain along the coastal districts, symbolised deep rooted support for Eezham Tamils cause. The protest called on the Central Government of India to prevail upon the Rajapaksa government to announce an immediate ceasefire.
Full story >>

CPI-led All Party Meeting calls for state-wide protest in Tamil Nadu

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 18 November 2008, 04:36 GMT]
The Central Government of India has failed to respond to the four demands, concerning the plight of Eezham Tamils, formulated in the previous All Party Meeting (APM) and forwarded to New Delhi by the Government of Tamil Nadu. Therefore, a second APM was convened on Monday by the initiative of the Communist Party of India (CPI), Tamil Nadu, chaired by its State Secretary D. Pandian, who announced a state-wide peaceful protest on November 25 to demonstrate to New Delhi on the resolve of the Tamil Nadu people for a single resolution: Immediate Ceasefire in Sri Lanka.
Full story >>

Students of JNU voice for Tamil Eelam

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 18 November 2008, 02:14 GMT]
The Democratic Students' Union (DSU), Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, in a statement on Sunday demanded unconditional declaration of ceasefire from the Sri Lanka government and a stop to the genocide of Tamils. Based on Marxist-Leninist principles of self-determination, it called for support to the Eezham Tamil independence.
Full story >>

Youth of India voice for Eezham Tamils

[TamilNet, Friday, 14 November 2008, 14:37 GMT]
More than 10,000 students, coming from all the states of India marched to the Indian parliament on Friday in New Delhi, pressing educational demands including a 10 percent allotment of state expenditure on education. Political observers find great significance in the highlight of Eezham Tamil issue as a demand in this all India student rally. This is their only demand outside of the purview of education. The agitation took place against a backdrop of Sri Lankan president ruling out the possibility of stopping the war in the island, while on a visit to New Delhi on Wednesday. Even the Indian Prime Minister who received him hasn’t said anything on stopping the war, according to news reports.
Full story >>

Unique agitation by All India Students Federation

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 12 November 2008, 21:49 GMT]
A special train, carrying over 2000 students of Tamil Nadu, members of the All India Students Federation (AISF), left Chennai on Wednesday to march towards the Indian Parliament in New Delhi, demanding end of attacks on Eezham Tamils, stoppage of military aid to Sri Lanka and initiation of peaceful political solution to the crisis. Students from many other states of India will join them in the agitation scheduled for Friday. Such an event is first in the history of AISF, said S. Mahendran, senior leader of the Communist Party of India, guiding the students.
Full story >>

Persuade Rajapaksa to stop the war: Pandian urges Manmohan Singh

[TamilNet, Monday, 10 November 2008, 19:58 GMT]
The State Secretary of the Communist Party of India (CPI), D. Pandian, on Monday wrote a letter urging the Indian Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh to act swiftly to end the war in Sri Lanka. Noting that the LTTE has responded positively for the public call from the CPI to spell out their stand in unambiguous terms to the call for ceasefire, Mr. Pandian said urged Manmohan Singh to use his good offices to impress upon Mr. Rajapaksa to stop the war and agree for a ceasefire. Meanwhile, reports in Colombo said Mr. Rajapaksa has left Colombo to attend the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) summit, to be held in New Delhi.
Full story >>

Impress upon Colombo to announce ceasefire, CPI urges Indian government

[TamilNet, Sunday, 09 November 2008, 12:24 GMT]
The Communist Party of India (CPI) Tamil Nadu State Secretary D. Pandian, in a statement issued on Sunday, referring to the clarification by the Liberation Tigers of Tamileelam (LTTE) Political Head B. Nadesan on the LTTE stand on ceasefire, urged the Centre to take immediate steps to impress upon the Sri Lankan state to announce a ceasefire without hesitation. Referring to Mr. Nadesan's statement that the Tigers were engaged in a defensive war and that it was the Sri Lankan state that unilaterally pulled out from the Ceasefire Agreement, Mr. Pandian said.
Full story >>

Tigers reiterate consent to ceasefire

[TamilNet, Saturday, 08 November 2008, 16:42 GMT]
Liberation Tigers Political Head B. Nadesan, when contacted by TamilNet on Saturday, following reports of Tamil Nadu leaders seeking clarification on LTTE's stand on ceasefire, said "there is no hesitation on our side to reiterate our position that we have always wanted a ceasefire." It is the Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL) that unilaterally abrogated the ceasefire, Mr. Nadesan said and added that the Tigers were only fighting a defensive war since Colombo has thrust upon Tamils an aggressive war.
Full story >>

CPI seeks clarification on Tamil ceasefire stand

[TamilNet, Saturday, 08 November 2008, 13:44 GMT]
Stating that the people of Tamil Nadu state and India were being led to a state of confusion by the calls that demanded both the warring parties in Sri Lanka to announce a ceasefire, the State Secretary of the Communist Party of India (CPI) Tamil Nadu, D. Pandian, urged in a statement issued from Chennai on Saturday that the Eezham Tamils' political leadership should clarify the Tamil stand on the issue. Consensus of the people of Tamil Nadu is that the Sri Lankan government should immediately stop the war. However, when questions were raised by certain sections, there is a need for clarification, Mr. Pandiyan said.
Full story >>

Discuss Tamil national question and self-determination: CPI (ML)

[TamilNet, Sunday, 02 November 2008, 23:07 GMT]
"Stop the war. The Tamil national question in Sri Lanka demands a political solution”, is the headlines of a statement of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist), released in its November issue of Liberation. "The current phase of the war in Sri Lanka does call for an urgent and appropriate Indian response to bring about an immediate cessation of the war and facilitate a negotiated political settlement of the question of Tamil self-determination in Sri Lanka", urged the ultra Marxist party actively leading proletarian movements throughout India.
Full story >>

Tehelka on what the grass roots feel in Tamil Nadu

[TamilNet, Friday, 31 October 2008, 12:19 GMT]
"In these villages, it hardly matters that Pirabhakaran is an accused in the assassination of former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi, or that the LTTE is banned un India. Many have named their children after Pirabhakaran. Housing colonies have been given the names of LTTE martyrs", reports Tehelka Magazine in a feature article on Kolathur (Ku'laththoor), a Panchayat of 10 villages and 75,000 people, bordering Karnataka, in the Selam (Chealam) district of northwestern Tamil Nadu.
Full story >>