Valikaamam uprooted families abandon protest demonstration due to death threats

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 03 August 2010, 07:21 GMT]
Welfare organizations of Valikaamam North residents expelled by Sri Lanka Army (SLA) from their properties twenty years ago cancelled a human chain protest demanding resettlement in their places due to death threats to the key persons of the organizations, sources in Jaffna said. The persons threatened wish anonymity as they fear for their lives. Meanwhile, conflicts between the SLA Jaffna Commander, Major Gen. Mahinda Kathurusinghe and Sri Lanka Minister Douglas Devanda on the issue of resettlement in the outskirts of SLA High Security Zone (HSZ) in Valikaamam are causes for the delay in resettlement, the sources further said.
Full story >>

New Delhi academic comments in Colombo on diaspora transnationalism

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 03 August 2010, 06:31 GMT]
“Nationals settled in distant lands often nurture identities that may well be historically untenable and outdated in the culture of the home country. But they are a source of solace to the migrant in an alien culture and underline a claim to connectedness. Such identities frequently deny the plurality of South Asian civilisation and the intersections within it. The replacement of these becomes a problem of transnationalism,” said Romila Thapar, emeritus professor of Jawaharlal Nehru University, delivering on Sunday Neelan Thiruchelvam Memorial Lecture of the International Centre for Ethnic Studies, Colombo. Responding, an academic in Jaffna said, the Eezham Tamil diaspora is not settled but forced, carrying contemporary historical memories to which India was a party.
Full story >>

SLFP splinter group to join UNP

[TamilNet, Monday, 02 August 2010, 18:18 GMT]
The splinter group of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party led by Mangala Samaraweera has decided to join the main opposition United National Party (UNP) on August 6. Mangala Samaraweera will obtain UNP membership card along with his supporters from UNP leader Ranil Wickramasinghe.
Full story >>

UN basement meetings on Sri Lanka, a Japanese innovation

[TamilNet, Sunday, 01 August 2010, 18:10 GMT]
Outgoing Japanese Ambassador to the United Nations, Yuki Takasu, when asked on July 27 by Inner City Press (ICP) to describe innovations during his time in charge of the Security Council's working methods, listed the Council's informal basement meetings on Sri Lanka, in the final stages of the conflict, ICP reports in its website. ICP also said that Sri Lanka's President, Mahinda Rajapakse, is listed as attending the September General Debate in the UN.
Full story >>

Searches in Colombo instill fears among Colombo resident Tamils

[TamilNet, Saturday, 31 July 2010, 02:18 GMT]
The re-commencement of registration of Tamils with the police and targetted search operations have created a renewed sense of insecurity and injustice amongst the larger Tamil population that is detrimental to national reconciliation, said Democratic People's Front Leader Mano Ganesan, according to Colombo media. Ganesan has requested Sri Lanka's President Mahinda Rajapaksa to intervene to halt the police registration of Tamils in the Wellawatte Police division in Colombo saying that the searches are discriminatory and against the spirit of reconciliation.
Full story >>

Armed men set fire to TV station in Colombo

[TamilNet, Friday, 30 July 2010, 07:50 GMT]
Twelve armed men clad in black uniforms forcefully entered the private TV channel Siyatha TV office and assaulted the security guard and set fire to the station and caused severe damage to the equipment on Friday at 1.30 am. The station belongs to former Chairman of the Sri Lanka Telecommunication Regulatory Commission Mr. Priyantha Kariyapperuma. Mr. Kariyapermuma was earlier a close associate of Sri Lankan President Rajapaksa, but he was sacked from his post week before the presidential election by the SL President.
Full story >>

Development crimes, Norway and Tamil diaspora

[TamilNet, Thursday, 29 July 2010, 23:52 GMT]
“While the West is hoodwinking Tamils with war crimes investigations, what takes place in the island in full swing with the abetment of those who abetted the war are development crimes, demographic crimes and cultural crimes to complete genocide. The balance tilted by the international community has now placed Eezham Tamils to face several armies: an occupying army, settlement army, a retrogressive cultural army and the ‘development army’. Meanwhile, some Tamil individuals argue that diaspora should stop prioritising politics, but should ‘reconcile’ to subordination and engage in ‘rehabilitation’, without realising that it is they who have imperceptibly fallen into a vicious political agenda of the oppressors”, commented a social activist responding to ‘development’ circles in Norway advocating the diaspora to engage in ‘development’ accepting a questionable Sinhala NGO as the ‘monitor’.
Full story >>

NPC cuts funds to Vanni local bodies

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 27 July 2010, 05:44 GMT]
Northern Provincial Council (NPC) is alleged of cutting funds allocated to the local government bodies in Vanni in great measures while these institutions are not in a position to collect revenue from people who had been uprooted and just resettled in Vanni, sources in Vanni said. It is further accused that NPC officials spend the above funds on needless projects to satisfy the whims of Northern Province Governor Major Gen. G. A. Chandrasiri and Sri Lanka government.The Governor is expected to hold a meeting Monday with the officials of the local government bodies in the North.
Full story >>

PTF imposes restrictions on local NGOs in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Sunday, 25 July 2010, 06:56 GMT]
Sri Lanka government which allows only a few Non-government Organizations (NGO) to serve in Vanni, now imposes restrictions on NGOs serving in Jaffna too through its Presidential Task Force (PTF), headed by Basil Rajapaksa, Sri Lankan Minister and brother of SL President Mahinda Rajapaksa, NGO circles in Jaffna said. It is alleged that PTF favours the International Organization for Migration (IOM) in the allocation of housing constructions for more than 15,000 uprooted civilians from Vanni staying in temporary dwellings in Jaffna.
Full story >>

NGOs consider withdrawing from Vanni as Sri Lanka tightens restrictions

[TamilNet, Friday, 23 July 2010, 16:10 GMT]
Some International and Local Non-government organizations (NGOs) serving in Vanni consider leaving Vanni as Sri Lanka government’s restrictions to stay and serve in Vanni are tightened. Permission from President’s Task Force (PTF), headed by SL President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s brother and Sri Lanka Minister, Basil Rajapaksa for NGOs has been a prerequisite to assist the war affected people in Vanni. In addition to this now Sri Lanka government requires the NGOs serving in Vanni to obtain permission from Sri Lanka Ministry of Defence (MoD) and renew same monthly if they wish to be in Vanni and serve its people, a representative of a local NGO in Vanni said.
Full story >>

Reconciliation pre-requisite to development, World Bank VP tells Sri Lanka

[TamilNet, Friday, 23 July 2010, 11:42 GMT]
World Bank Vice President for South Asia Isabel Guerrero who ended a three-day visit to Sri Lanka pledging support to Sri Lanka's transition to a middle income country at peace, has emphasized that reconciliation is a pre-requisite for development in Sri Lanka. During her visit to Sri Lanka, Guerrero called on Sri Lanka's President Mahinda Rajapaksa, and key officials of the Sri Lanka Government.
Full story >>

Boyle urges divestment-disinvestment campaign against "apartheid" Sri Lanka

[TamilNet, Friday, 23 July 2010, 00:07 GMT]
Speaking at the Federation of Tamil Sangams of North America (FeTNA) convention during the US Independence day weekend, Professor Boyle, an expert in International Law, said that Sri Lanka is a violator of the Apartheid Convention, and that Tamils across the world should, without delay, intensify a divestment and disinvestment campaign against Sri Lanka "in the same lines and for the same reason the world did this against the criminal apartheid regime in South Africa." The July event held in Waterbury, Connecticut, is traditionally the largest event of the Tamil speaking people in the US every year, and the Connecticut event this year drew more than 2000 Tamils.
Full story >>

Polls chief wants Supreme Court to scrap Fonseka’s petition

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 20 July 2010, 23:36 GMT]
Elections Commissioner Dayananda Dissanayake has made an appeal to the Supreme Court to immediately dismiss the petition submitted by Sri Lanka's defeated opposition Presidential candidate General Sarath Fonseka who has challenged the presidency of incumbent president Mahinda Rajapaksa, State owned Dinamina newspaper said in a report Wednesday. Fonseka is currently under military custody.
Full story >>

Buhne heads to Colombo with Ban’s ‘special message’

[TamilNet, Monday, 19 July 2010, 11:39 GMT]
The United Nation’s Resident Coordinator in Sri Lanka, Neil Buhne, who was recalled by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon early this month, is heading back to Colombo, with a ‘special message’ from Ban to be delivered to the Sri Lanka's President Mahinda Rajapaksa led Government, the government owned Dinamina newspaper said in its front page.
Full story >>

NPC calls on SL government to ensure no discrimination targeting Tamils

[TamilNet, Monday, 19 July 2010, 08:59 GMT]
National Peace Council (NPC) in its media release 16 July titled ‘Discriminatory Practices are Detrimental to Reconciliation’ called on Sri Lanka government to ensure that there is no discriminatory targeting Tamils. “The re-commencement of the practices of registering Tamils with the police and of conducting search operations that target them have been widely reported in the Tamil media in particular and have created a renewed sense of insecurity and injustice amongst the larger Tamil population that is detrimental to national reconciliation,” NPC said.
Full story >>

US landing-ship visits Trincomalee for 'community work'

[TamilNet, Sunday, 18 July 2010, 09:13 GMT]
Sailors and marines from the amphibious dock landing ship USS Pearl Harbour, visiting Trincomalee last week were engaged in repairing broken bathroom sinks and toilets at the base hospital in Moothoor, said the official website of the United States Navy Thursday. Meanwhile, a Sri Lankan media reported Sunday that Sri Lanka shared her experience in fighting Sea Tigers with the US Navy during the three-day visit of the US Pearl Harbour. While some Sailors and Marines are planning to help with military-to-military training on board Pearl Harbor, others are planning on volunteering for medical assistance events ashore, The Sunday Island said.
Full story >>

Rajapaksa to invite TNA for constitutional talks

[TamilNet, Saturday, 17 July 2010, 00:10 GMT]
Sri Lanka's President Mahinda Rajapaksa led government has decided to extend an invitation to both the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) and the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) for discussions with regard to proposed constitutional reforms. The invitation follows a reported successful round of talks with the country’s main opposition, the United National Party (UNP).
Full story >>

Mahinda Rajapaksa fears loosing chance of extension of term as SL president - UNP spokesman

[TamilNet, Friday, 16 July 2010, 11:57 GMT]
Sri Lanka President Mahinda Rajapaksa due to fear of loosing chance to extend his term as president has invited the main opposition United National Party (UNP) to talks when he realized that talks with the main Tamil political group Tamil National Alliance (TNA) would not yield positive results, Dayasiri Jayasekara, UNP media spokesman and parliamentarian said Thursday in a press briefing held in the UNP office in Colombo. “UNP will never betray the country and the party by holding talks with Mahinda Rajapaksa,” Dayasiri Jayasekara said.
Full story >>

Sri Lanka cabinet's next stop, Ambilipitiya

[TamilNet, Thursday, 15 July 2010, 23:04 GMT]
Sri Lanka Government has decided to hold the next out station Cabinet meeting in Ambilipitiya, the Lankadeepa newspaper said Friday. This follows this week’s Cabinet meeting held in Ki'linochchi, the former headquarters of the LTTE. The significance of holding cabinet meetings in cities across the country is to primarily showcase the fact that Colombo, Sri Lanka's commercial capital, is not the only place where decisions with regard to the country’s upliftment are taken, according to the paper.
Full story >>

Development funds promised by Basil Rajapaksa not reached Batticaloa

[TamilNet, Thursday, 15 July 2010, 11:13 GMT]
Though Sri Lanka Economic Development Minister Basil Rajapaksa, the brother and senior advisor to Sri Lanka President Mahinda Rajapaksa, had said several million rupees of money have been allocated for the development of Batticaloa district the funds have not reached the Batticaloa district secretariat, according to district government officials.
Full story >>