Weeratunge statement proves India's complicity in Sri Lanka's genocide, says Prof. Boyle

[TamilNet, Sunday, 17 January 2010, 17:16 GMT]
If the statement of Lalith Weeratunga, a top aide to Sri Lanka's President Mahinda Rajapakse, that Sri Lanka's use of heavy weapons was eventually stopped as part of a political deal with the Indian government, was true, "then it proves India’s complicity in the GOSL’s [Government of Sri Lanka's] genocide against the Tamils," says Professor Boyle, expert in International Law in a note sent to TamilNet. "The Government of India temporarily stopped the GOSL’s genocide against the Tamils, thus proving it could do so.... India therefore violated its obligation under article 1 of the Genocide Convention “to prevent” the GOSL genocide against the Tamils," asserts Prof. Boyle.
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Matale UNP councilor's house comes under gunfire

[TamilNet, Sunday, 17 January 2010, 13:36 GMT]
A group of unidentified men suspected to be supporters of the ruling United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA) opened fire at the residence of a United National Party (UNP) Municipal Council member in Matale town Saturday night. The UNP member was not in the house at that time. His family members who were inside, escaped without injuries, according to a complaint by the UNP spokesman.
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Satellite imagery evidence of Hospital attack recorded in Dublin

[TamilNet, Saturday, 16 January 2010, 12:49 GMT]
Do the facts made available to the Dublin war-crimes tribunal on the available direct and circumstantial evidence that between 9 January 2009 and 25 March 2009, in areas in or nearby Puthukkudiyiruppu (PTK) Hospital, legally establish that the Sri Lankan Army (SLA) committed, purposely, intentionally or knowingly, via act or omission, war crimes against Tamil civilians? - was the legal question presented to the tribunal. "The legal admissibility of evidence, currently available and to be discovered in the future, and the question of culpability of Sri Lanka of war-crimes, are likely to continue well beyond Dublin," said a spokesperson for the US-based pressure group, Tamils Against Genocide (TAG), on the attack on the PTK hospital during the early months of 2009.
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JHU faction quits party to support Fonseka

[TamilNet, Friday, 15 January 2010, 12:31 GMT]
Seven leading Buddhist monks holding important posts in the Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU), a constituent of ruling United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA) led by Sri Lanka's President Mahinda Rajapakse pledged their support to Opposition Common Candidate General Sarath Fonseka in the forthcoming presidential election, reports from Colombo said.
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SL minister joins Fonseka

[TamilNet, Friday, 15 January 2010, 09:47 GMT]
Cegu Issadeen, a non-cabinet minister in the government led by the Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa and one of the leaders of the National Unity Alliance (NUA) Friday morning rejoined the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress, extending his support to retired Sri Lankan General Sarath Fonseka in the upcoming Presidential Elections.
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IDPs not allowed to enter their places in HSZs in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Friday, 15 January 2010, 03:08 GMT]
Following the announcement made by government ministers and Sri Lanka Army (SLA) officials, persons who went to observe ‘Pongal’ in their houses in the SLA High Security Zones (HSZ) in Ariyaalai North and Valikaamam North Thursday were chased away by SLA soldiers and police deployed at the Front Defence Line (FDL) positions in these areas, Internally Displaced Person’s Welfare Association representatives said. All promises of resettlement in Jaffna HSZs made by government ministers and SLA officials remain unfulfilled and empty promises made with the aim to get the IDPs to vote for Mahinda Rajapakse, they openly accused.
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Tamils should not be deceived by Mahinda’s promise - LF Secretary

[TamilNet, Thursday, 14 January 2010, 03:57 GMT]
“How can Mahinda Rajapakse government offer a permanent political solution to the Tamils when it refuses to release the Tamil political prisoners who are on hunger strike?” Samil Jayanithi, the secretary of Leftist Front, asked. “A political solution for the Tamils is nothing but a drama staged by the government to get the votes of the Tamils,” he added.
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People displaced from HSZs in Jaffna continue to be deceived

[TamilNet, Thursday, 14 January 2010, 02:47 GMT]
Arranged by Minister Dougals Devananda, around 300 IDPs were taken by Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers to Ariyaalai Wednesday saying that they can see their houses which had been caught in the High Security Zone (HSZ) during SLA occupation in 2000, representatives of IDP Welfare Organisations in Jaffna said. The IDPs, however, were not permitted to go beyond Poompukaar junction in Ariyaalai and they had to return with disappointment, they added. Though many promises had been given to the IDPs in an effort to get their votes for President Mahinda Rajapakse, so far no definite date or information had been given to them regarding resettlement in the HSZs, the representatives said.
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Support for Mahinda in Jaffna declines

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 13 January 2010, 04:56 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army (SLA) being reluctant to permit resettlement in its High Security Zone (HSZ) in Valikaamam North, whatever support that President Mahinda Rajapakse had in Jaffna peninsula began to decline fast, sources in Jaffna said. Besides, Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarian, Sivasakthi Ananthan had told ‘Valampuri’, the Tamil daily published in Jaffna, that SLA soldiers at Thellippazhai had demanded Ministry of Defence (MOD) permission from him to enter the HSZ and this had altogether dashed the hopes of the IDPs who had been time and again promised with resettlement.
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Patten: Sri Lanka to choose between two alleged war criminals

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 13 January 2010, 02:31 GMT]
Chris Patten, currently the co-chairman of the International Crisis Group, notes in a New York Times article that public in Sri Lanka is "faced with a choice between two candidates who openly accuse each other of war crimes," and adds, "[w]hoever wins, the outside world should use all its tools to convince the government to deal properly with those underlying issues to avoid a resurgence of mass violence....In short, this means not giving Colombo any money for reconstruction and development until we know how it will be spent. And if we see funds not being used as promised, it means not being afraid to cut them off until." Patten is a senior international figure and is the last British governor of Hong Kong.
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Shiranthi Rajapakse seeks Jaffna Bishop’s help

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 12 January 2010, 15:03 GMT]
Shiranthi Rajapakse, wife of President Mahinda Rajapakse, paid a visit to Jaffna Bishop’s House Monday evening where she entreated Jaffna Bishop, Rt. Rev. Thomas Saundaranayagam to help get the people of Jaffna peninsula to vote for her husband in the presidential election, Bishop House sources said. She had also requested him to ask the peninsula residents not to refrain from voting in the forthcoming presidential election, the sources added.
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“Tamils should vote for one who publicly recognizes their rights, aspirations” - Manickasothy

[TamilNet, Monday, 11 January 2010, 14:53 GMT]
“Tamil speaking people should vote for a person who publicly recognizes their rights and aspirations and openly tell the Sinhalese Nation and the world of his stand,” Mr. Manicaksothy, a prominent person in Jaffna peninsula, said in a report to media Monday, in support of Dr. Wickremabahu Karunaratne, a contestant in the forthcoming presidential candidate. “Then only the Tamil speaking people will be able to let their principles and stand known,” he further said in the report.
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President’s wife in Jaffna wooing votes for husband

[TamilNet, Monday, 11 January 2010, 14:22 GMT]
Shiranthi Rajapakse, wife of President Mahinda Rajapakse, arrived in Jaffna Monday to seek support for her husband in the forthcoming presidential election, accompanied by Thilak Kumara Udugama, the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) organizer for Vanni and Jaffna district, sources in Jaffna said. Parents and relatives of persons gone missing after arrest by armed forces who attended Monday Shiranthi Rajapakse’s meeting at Veerasingham Hall in Jaffna in the hope of getting them found or released, were disappointed as she failed to address the issue, the sources added.
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Families evacuated from Thellippazhai HSZ deceived by government officials

[TamilNet, Monday, 11 January 2010, 04:57 GMT]
More than a hundred Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), evacuated from their places in Thellippazhai area by Sri Lanka Army (SLA) for establishing High Security Zone (HSZ), who was informed by Jaffna Government Agent (GA), K. Ganesh, that they will be allowed to resettle in their places had to return with disappointment. Even, Sivasakthi Anathan, Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarian who too had come to the SLA Front Defence Line (FDL) in Thellippazhai hoping to see his house within the HSZ was not allowed entry into the HSZ, sources in Jaffna said.
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British Minister calls for independent war-crimes probe

[TamilNet, Monday, 11 January 2010, 02:32 GMT]
A senior British Minister Friday said that the allegations of war crimes especially during the last phase of war against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) including the killing of Lasantha Wickrematunge in Sri Lanka should be probed independently. British International Development Minister, Gareth Thomas MP made these remarks in his address at the First Anniversary of the killing of late editor of Sri Lanka’s weekly, Sunday Leader, Lasantha Wickramatunge, during an event held at Mahatma Gandhi Hall, 41 Fitzroy Square London on Friday, 08 January 2010 between 07:00 – 09:00 PM. The event was organized by Tamil Legal Advocacy Project (TLAP).
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Sri Lanka's President fails to fulfill Jaffna expectations, "go home" tell students

[TamilNet, Sunday, 10 January 2010, 13:15 GMT]
Sri Lanka President Mahinda Rajapakse who arrived in Jaffna Sunday on his re-election campaign failed to make any important announcement in matters regarding youths gone missing after arrest, the immediate resettlement of IDPs in Sri Lanka Army (SLA) High Security Zones (HSZs), and a solution to the ethnic issue, sources in Jaffna said. Government supporters in Jaffna and political leaders from the South had informed the local media that Mahinda Rajapakse will announce positive decisions in these pressing issues, but the speech delivered at Jaffna Duraippah Stadium Sunday side-stepped all issues of immediate interest to the people in Jaffna. At Aa’riyaku’lam Rajapakse was angered when protesting students shouted that they will never vote for him besides shouting "go home", journalists who covered the visit said.
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Santhanam Arulsamy appointed Member of Parliament

[TamilNet, Saturday, 09 January 2010, 10:10 GMT]
Santhanam Arulsamy has been appointed a Member of Parliament to fill the vacancy created with the death of Periyasamy Chandrasekaran, according to an Extra-Ordinary Gazette Notification issued by the Commissioner of Elections Dayananda Dissanayake Friday midnight. Mr.Chandrasekaran was elected in the last general election from the Nuwara Eliya electoral district on the ticket of Upcountry Peoples Front (UPF).
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TNA MP complains of Sinhala colonisation in Batticaloa

[TamilNet, Saturday, 09 January 2010, 04:28 GMT]
“Government has taken action to settle 107 Sinhalese families in the traditional Tamil areas in Batticaloa district within the last three months,” P. Ariyanethiran, Tamil National Alliance (TNA) Batticaloa parliamentarian, said in a report. He further said that a written complaint about the matter to Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa had not produced any result.
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SLA high commands, government servants in Jaffna caught in dilemma

[TamilNet, Thursday, 07 January 2010, 04:26 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army (SLA) high officials and government department chiefs in Jaffna being summoned by Basil Rajapakse, the brother and senior advisor to President Mahinda Rajapakse, to participate in election campaign meetings in Jaffna to canvas votes for Mahinda Rajapakse are caught in a tight spot, unable to disregard the call of Basil Rajapakse, sources in Jaffna said. Welfare Union of Public servants in Jaffna expressed its deep concern on its members being called to attend election campaign meetings held in support of Mahinda Rajapakse by his brother Basil Rajapakse, the sources added.
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Basil Rajapakse announces election concessions in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Thursday, 07 January 2010, 03:39 GMT]
Basil Rajapakse, the brother and senior advisor of President Mahinda Rajapakse, who arrived in Jaffna Wednesday, announced several concessions in an attempt to get Tamils to vote for Mahinda Rajapakse in the forthcoming presidential election. The concessions are being promised to counter the rising wave of support in the peninsula for the joint opposition candidate General (retd) Sarath Fonseka, political observers in Jaffna said. One of the concessions announced by Basil Rajapakse is the opening of A9 route, 24 hours a day, with effect from Wednesday midnight, sources in Jaffna said.
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