Wednesday, December 31, 2008
சங்கதி: இடம்பெயர்வின் வலிகள்
இடம்பெயர்வின் வலிகள் வீடியோ
http://www.sankathi.com/index.php?mact=News,cntnt01,detail,0&cntnt01articleid=1201&cntnt01origid=60&cntnt01returnid=51
http://www.sankathi.com/index.php?mact=News,cntnt01,detail,0&cntnt01articleid=1201&cntnt01origid=60&cntnt01returnid=51
Labels: சங்கதி
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
கையால் முழம்போடும் கல்விமான்கள்
இந்தாள் ஒரு துருக்கி ஆய்வாளராம். இலங்கை இனப்பிரச்சனையை ஆராய்ந்திருக்கும் வல்லமையோ கொடுமை.
கையிலே நாலு புத்தகங்களை வைத்துக்கொண்டு ஆராய்விலே அவர் ஆனி மாதம்வரை கண்டதிலே, இலங்கை இனப்பிரச்சனையிலே அரசு பற்றி வன்முறையிலே ஒரு குறையும் சொல்லவில்லை.
பாவி பயல் உப்சலா பல்கலைக்கழகத்திலே இரண்டு நடை நடந்து பேராசிரியர் பீற்றர் ஸால்க்கிடமாவது கேட்டிருக்கலாம். நோர்வே சமாதானம் பேசும் குழுவின் பிரதிநிதியிடமாவது கேட்டிருக்கலாம். இந்த அரைகுறை ஆராய்ச்சிக்கெல்லாம் நிதி! இதுக்கு குமுதம் ரிப்போட்டர் தொடரே பரவாயில்லையென்று தோன்றுகிறது.
His limited References tell his research limitations. someone has to write to him educating the facts.
Violence As A Catalyst Or An Obstacle For Peace: The Case of Sri Lanka
Bahar BASER, Uppsala University
Does a ceasefire bring a complete end to violence? A ceasefire is neither surrender nor a victory. It is an agreement, as proof of the conflicting sides’ will to stop violence for a certain period of time, however it does not guarantee that there is no turning back to arms. A peace process, starting with the ceasefire agreement, might be completed if all things go well and violence may be eliminated from the scene. On the other hand, as recent research proved, violence and peace processes are not mutually exclusive and as peace process begin, violence does not immediately or automatically stop. (Höglund: 2005) It is also not surprising that peace processes are ended by out-breaks of violence as a result of various reasons given by the opponents. One way or another, in today’s conflicts violence is an inevitable part of the peace processes and Sri Lanka is a good example of how peace negotiations in civil war situations can be hard to pin down.
full research paper can be read at
http://www.turkishweekly.net/article/282/violence-as-a-catalyst-or-an-obstacle-for-peace-the-case-of-sri-lanka.html
கையிலே நாலு புத்தகங்களை வைத்துக்கொண்டு ஆராய்விலே அவர் ஆனி மாதம்வரை கண்டதிலே, இலங்கை இனப்பிரச்சனையிலே அரசு பற்றி வன்முறையிலே ஒரு குறையும் சொல்லவில்லை.
பாவி பயல் உப்சலா பல்கலைக்கழகத்திலே இரண்டு நடை நடந்து பேராசிரியர் பீற்றர் ஸால்க்கிடமாவது கேட்டிருக்கலாம். நோர்வே சமாதானம் பேசும் குழுவின் பிரதிநிதியிடமாவது கேட்டிருக்கலாம். இந்த அரைகுறை ஆராய்ச்சிக்கெல்லாம் நிதி! இதுக்கு குமுதம் ரிப்போட்டர் தொடரே பரவாயில்லையென்று தோன்றுகிறது.
His limited References tell his research limitations. someone has to write to him educating the facts.
Violence As A Catalyst Or An Obstacle For Peace: The Case of Sri Lanka
Bahar BASER, Uppsala University
Does a ceasefire bring a complete end to violence? A ceasefire is neither surrender nor a victory. It is an agreement, as proof of the conflicting sides’ will to stop violence for a certain period of time, however it does not guarantee that there is no turning back to arms. A peace process, starting with the ceasefire agreement, might be completed if all things go well and violence may be eliminated from the scene. On the other hand, as recent research proved, violence and peace processes are not mutually exclusive and as peace process begin, violence does not immediately or automatically stop. (Höglund: 2005) It is also not surprising that peace processes are ended by out-breaks of violence as a result of various reasons given by the opponents. One way or another, in today’s conflicts violence is an inevitable part of the peace processes and Sri Lanka is a good example of how peace negotiations in civil war situations can be hard to pin down.
full research paper can be read at
http://www.turkishweekly.net/article/282/violence-as-a-catalyst-or-an-obstacle-for-peace-the-case-of-sri-lanka.html
Labels: limited knowledge, researchers
பாலர்படை
Baby Brigades of a so-called State Government
விடுதலைப்புலிகளின் மீது அரச பயங்கரவாதத்தினாலே பாதிக்கப்பட்ட குழந்தைகளைப் போருக்குப் பயன்படுத்தும் சரியான குற்றச்சாட்டினைச் சுமத்தும் பேரரசுகள், ஸ்ரீலங்கா அரசின் குழந்தைப்படைவீரர்களைப் பற்றிப் பேசவேண்டும்.
Pro-Sri Lankan The Hindu and Frontline may not be interested in exposing this child soldier violation as these kids are not from Brahmanic community of Tamilnadu. But Pro-Sinhala Colombo media should talk loud and clear as these kids are their own blood and flesh.
Are these Southern kids trained to kill innocent babies in Northeast? Both are clearly victims of state terrorism.
24/12/2008
Sri Lanka, children at war
The government army sends minors to the front.
Everyday, tens of young soldiers loose their lives in the military battles of the Singalese army and the stronghold of Tamil separatists. Among these soldiers are even young children. All this as the Colombo government continues its campaign against the use of children as soldiers.
Baby soldiers. With the discovery of another 36 bodies, the death toll has risen to 170 soldiers killed in the latest battle on the Ki'linochchi front. The news was released on the Liberation Tigers of Tamil (Ltte) official website which included the published photos of the discovered bodies. The images clearly prove what Tamil rebels have been saying for some time, that is, the Colombo Army in enlisting in the south of the country very young boys, if not actually children, for their incursions in the region of Vanni in the south of the country. On their website, The Tamil guerrillas showed the identification tags worn by the dead soldiers; however they also denounced the fact that very few of them actually had them. In the days that followed the Colombo army launched an offensive on five principle fronts which they were looking to conquer for some time, including what can be considered the capital of the Tamil tigers, Kilinochchi. In addition, fighting took place in Malayaalapuram, Kugnchupparanthan, Mu'rikandi e Pulikkulam. In addition to the 106 Colombo troop casualties and 10 Tamil guerrillas, more than 300 soldiers have been injured in the fighting. The fighting is still going on today and sources within the Ltte announced they have successfully blocked the advancement of the Singalese army.
Following the bloody battles of the recent days, the reconnaissance mission led to the discovery of new bodies, 28 in the battle camp of Ki'linochchi and 8 in that of Kiliaali, according to the reports of the Tamil tigers, who also reportedly seized numerous weapons from the Singalese army. In the forefront of the fight against the use of children as soldiers is parliament member Viniyagamurthi Muralitharan, leader of the Tamil faction of the government. TMVP (Tamil Makkal Viduthalai Pulikal). Muralitharan signed on to an agreement with the Colombo government and Unicef to end these enlistments. The plan is for the Sri Lanka government officials and Unicef leaders to visit the Army training camps identify underage soldiers. Spokespeople for Unicef complained that in the past, despite signing of these accords, officials were not allowed access to the training camps.
According to the figures released by Unicef, as of October 31st the TMVP placed 133 young boys on their front lines, 62 if which were under 18 years of age, and almost all of the 133 were enlisted when they were under the age of 18. The efficacy of the accord between the TMVP and the government is still unknown and moreover seems to contrary to the facts, the reality shown in the photos of the dead children soldiers, sent to front to fight.
Enrico Piovesana
(Translated by Susannah Bankhead)
Full text is at
http://en.peacereporter.net/article/13389/Sri+Lanka,+children+at+war%0D%0A %3B
also read
http://www.tamilnet.com/art.html?catid=13&artid=27726
விடுதலைப்புலிகளின் மீது அரச பயங்கரவாதத்தினாலே பாதிக்கப்பட்ட குழந்தைகளைப் போருக்குப் பயன்படுத்தும் சரியான குற்றச்சாட்டினைச் சுமத்தும் பேரரசுகள், ஸ்ரீலங்கா அரசின் குழந்தைப்படைவீரர்களைப் பற்றிப் பேசவேண்டும்.
Pro-Sri Lankan The Hindu and Frontline may not be interested in exposing this child soldier violation as these kids are not from Brahmanic community of Tamilnadu. But Pro-Sinhala Colombo media should talk loud and clear as these kids are their own blood and flesh.Are these Southern kids trained to kill innocent babies in Northeast? Both are clearly victims of state terrorism.
24/12/2008
Sri Lanka, children at war
The government army sends minors to the front.
Everyday, tens of young soldiers loose their lives in the military battles of the Singalese army and the stronghold of Tamil separatists. Among these soldiers are even young children. All this as the Colombo government continues its campaign against the use of children as soldiers.
Baby soldiers. With the discovery of another 36 bodies, the death toll has risen to 170 soldiers killed in the latest battle on the Ki'linochchi front. The news was released on the Liberation Tigers of Tamil (Ltte) official website which included the published photos of the discovered bodies. The images clearly prove what Tamil rebels have been saying for some time, that is, the Colombo Army in enlisting in the south of the country very young boys, if not actually children, for their incursions in the region of Vanni in the south of the country. On their website, The Tamil guerrillas showed the identification tags worn by the dead soldiers; however they also denounced the fact that very few of them actually had them. In the days that followed the Colombo army launched an offensive on five principle fronts which they were looking to conquer for some time, including what can be considered the capital of the Tamil tigers, Kilinochchi. In addition, fighting took place in Malayaalapuram, Kugnchupparanthan, Mu'rikandi e Pulikkulam. In addition to the 106 Colombo troop casualties and 10 Tamil guerrillas, more than 300 soldiers have been injured in the fighting. The fighting is still going on today and sources within the Ltte announced they have successfully blocked the advancement of the Singalese army.
Following the bloody battles of the recent days, the reconnaissance mission led to the discovery of new bodies, 28 in the battle camp of Ki'linochchi and 8 in that of Kiliaali, according to the reports of the Tamil tigers, who also reportedly seized numerous weapons from the Singalese army. In the forefront of the fight against the use of children as soldiers is parliament member Viniyagamurthi Muralitharan, leader of the Tamil faction of the government. TMVP (Tamil Makkal Viduthalai Pulikal). Muralitharan signed on to an agreement with the Colombo government and Unicef to end these enlistments. The plan is for the Sri Lanka government officials and Unicef leaders to visit the Army training camps identify underage soldiers. Spokespeople for Unicef complained that in the past, despite signing of these accords, officials were not allowed access to the training camps.
According to the figures released by Unicef, as of October 31st the TMVP placed 133 young boys on their front lines, 62 if which were under 18 years of age, and almost all of the 133 were enlisted when they were under the age of 18. The efficacy of the accord between the TMVP and the government is still unknown and moreover seems to contrary to the facts, the reality shown in the photos of the dead children soldiers, sent to front to fight.
Enrico Piovesana
(Translated by Susannah Bankhead)
Full text is at
http://en.peacereporter.net/article/13389/Sri+Lanka,+children+at+war%0D%0A %3B
also read
http://www.tamilnet.com/art.html?catid=13&artid=27726
Labels: Sinhala child soldiers, Sri Lankan Army
சூடான பதிவுகள்
தோழர் ஒருவர் அனுப்பியது.
||warning: explicit images included||
இந்திய விளையாட்டுவீரர்களின் விளையாட்டை விஞ்சிய இலங்கை விளையாட்டு வீரர்கள்.
"தாயைப் புணர்! கரும்புலி!!"
This disgusting video can only be matched by Abu Grab videos
http://www.tamilcircle.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=4693:2008-12-24-07-58-02&catid=74:2008
Also, HRW's Report on Vanni Refugees: Besieged, Displaced and Detained
http://www.hrw.org/en/reports/2008/12/22/besieged-displaced-and-detained
||warning: explicit images included||
இந்திய விளையாட்டுவீரர்களின் விளையாட்டை விஞ்சிய இலங்கை விளையாட்டு வீரர்கள்.
"தாயைப் புணர்! கரும்புலி!!"
This disgusting video can only be matched by Abu Grab videos
http://www.tamilcircle.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=4693:2008-12-24-07-58-02&catid=74:2008
Also, HRW's Report on Vanni Refugees: Besieged, Displaced and Detained
http://www.hrw.org/en/reports/2008/12/22/besieged-displaced-and-detained
Labels: சுண்டி இழுக்கும் விளம்பரப்பதிவு
Saturday, December 20, 2008
பிரிவோம் சண்டை பிடிப்போம்
நீயும் நானும் எம்முறைக் கேளிர்
கேயும் பீயும் ஆயினோம்.
புல்லுக்கு அலையும் பல் இழந்த புலிகள்
Eastern Party Splits:"Kay" for Karuna, "Pee" for Pillaiyan
By a Special correspondent
Former LTTE eastern regional commander Vinayagamurthy Muraleetharan alias “Colonel” Karuna and his deputy Sivanesathurai Chandrakanthan alias Pillaiyan have split formally and will run separate political parties respectively.
The bitter feud raging inside the LTTE breakaway faction came to a head with “Col” karuna opting to form another new political party instead of continuing with the old set up.
Karuna has formed a new party called Tamil Makkal Viduthalai Koottany (TMVK) which means the Tamil peoples Liberation Front.
Pillaiyan will continue with the existing Tamil Makkal Viduthalai Puligal (TMVP) which means the Tamil peoples Liberation Tigers.
full text is at
http://transcurrents.com/tc/2008/12/post_172.html
கேயும் பீயும் ஆயினோம்.
புல்லுக்கு அலையும் பல் இழந்த புலிகள்
Eastern Party Splits:"Kay" for Karuna, "Pee" for Pillaiyan
By a Special correspondent
Former LTTE eastern regional commander Vinayagamurthy Muraleetharan alias “Colonel” Karuna and his deputy Sivanesathurai Chandrakanthan alias Pillaiyan have split formally and will run separate political parties respectively.
The bitter feud raging inside the LTTE breakaway faction came to a head with “Col” karuna opting to form another new political party instead of continuing with the old set up.
Karuna has formed a new party called Tamil Makkal Viduthalai Koottany (TMVK) which means the Tamil peoples Liberation Front.
Pillaiyan will continue with the existing Tamil Makkal Viduthalai Puligal (TMVP) which means the Tamil peoples Liberation Tigers.
full text is at
http://transcurrents.com/tc/2008/12/post_172.html
Thursday, December 18, 2008
தகவல் யுத்தம்
சாய்வுநாற்காலிப்பதிவர்களின் கருத்துகள் வாசிப்பதைக் கட்டிக்கலந்து கக்குவதாக மட்டுமேயிருக்கின்றன
Sri Lanka's Information War
Brian Calvert
http://www.worldpoliticsreview.com/article.aspx?id=3019
http://www.worldpoliticsreview.com/article.aspx?id=3059
Sri Lanka's Information War
Brian Calvert
http://www.worldpoliticsreview.com/article.aspx?id=3019
http://www.worldpoliticsreview.com/article.aspx?id=3059
Labels: சமூகப்போராளிகள், சாய்வுநாற்காலிப்பதிவர்கள்
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
அல்ஜெஸீராவில் இலங்கை அகதிகள்
WoW! Subramanya Samy's sidekick (or other way around) Chandrahassan is still around.
Monday, December 15, 2008
இலங்கை வலைப்போர் பற்றிய பதிவு
Making War with YouTube: The Technology Battle in Sri Lanka
Melissa Lafsky
In the wake of near-daily scandals involving billions of dollars, it can be easy to lose sight of the rampant unrest in the rest of the world—including Sri Lanka, the small Asian nation that has been fighting a lengthy civil war. The conflict is between the government and a group of insurgents known as the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, and while the violence has been ongoing and tragic, the fascinating aspect is how both sides are using technology to spin their actions, gain public support, and put down the other side.
Brian Calvert at World Politics Review, who is doing an investigative series on the country’s unique technological warfare, reports that releasing YouTube videos depicting things like suicide bombers has become standard practice for both parties. The government even has a headquarters for its information campaign, called the Media Center for National Security, which was established in 2006 to “disseminate accurate defense-related news within short as possible time, to both local and international media, and then at the same time to counter the LTTE propaganda.”
The insurgents, meanwhile, have formed their own technological strategy, described as follows:
The government is battling an image of the Tigers as underdogs, led by a leader, Velupillai Prabhakaran, whose message has not changed in 25 years: The Tamil people face eradication by the Sinhalese majority. There is no salvation for them but through armed struggle for Eelam. The Tamil Tigers are that struggle.
Prabhakaran has taken the conflict deep into the information environment, accessing the imaginations of supporters through satellite links and radio signals, on Web sites and in chat rooms. Each attack and every stunt builds on his message, encouraging the diaspora to send money, spurring weapons sales and keeping the Tigers armed and viable.
full text at
http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/realitybase/2008/12/15/making-war-with-youtube-the-technology-battle-in-sri-lanka/
Melissa Lafsky
In the wake of near-daily scandals involving billions of dollars, it can be easy to lose sight of the rampant unrest in the rest of the world—including Sri Lanka, the small Asian nation that has been fighting a lengthy civil war. The conflict is between the government and a group of insurgents known as the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, and while the violence has been ongoing and tragic, the fascinating aspect is how both sides are using technology to spin their actions, gain public support, and put down the other side.
Brian Calvert at World Politics Review, who is doing an investigative series on the country’s unique technological warfare, reports that releasing YouTube videos depicting things like suicide bombers has become standard practice for both parties. The government even has a headquarters for its information campaign, called the Media Center for National Security, which was established in 2006 to “disseminate accurate defense-related news within short as possible time, to both local and international media, and then at the same time to counter the LTTE propaganda.”
The insurgents, meanwhile, have formed their own technological strategy, described as follows:
The government is battling an image of the Tigers as underdogs, led by a leader, Velupillai Prabhakaran, whose message has not changed in 25 years: The Tamil people face eradication by the Sinhalese majority. There is no salvation for them but through armed struggle for Eelam. The Tamil Tigers are that struggle.
Prabhakaran has taken the conflict deep into the information environment, accessing the imaginations of supporters through satellite links and radio signals, on Web sites and in chat rooms. Each attack and every stunt builds on his message, encouraging the diaspora to send money, spurring weapons sales and keeping the Tigers armed and viable.
full text at
http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/realitybase/2008/12/15/making-war-with-youtube-the-technology-battle-in-sri-lanka/
Sunday, December 14, 2008
தாங்கமுடியலடா சாமி
(Opinion) Stop the Tamil genocide in Sri Lanka
விபிசிங்கின் இலங்கை தொடர்பான பத்தி.
இறந்த இந்தியப்பிரதமர் விபி சிங் அல்லர்.
(Opinion) Stop the Tamil genocide in Sri Lanka
Dec 15, 2008, 01:09
By V. B Singh
Finally, the world has come in full circle, in accepting the fact that there is genocide against Eelam Tamils by the Sri Lankan State, after years of denials and masqueraded counter denials by the failed State of Sri Lanka.
The international community simply could not show deviation any more on the way the yard stick applied between Darfur, Congo, Somalia or Sri Lanka, simply because the Tamil Nation withstood the slaughter for this long, and the voices of the Tamil Diaspora were heard loud and clear on the streets, forums and assemblies, despite the millions spent by the terror state of Sri Lanka on PR firms to cover their crimes.
full text at
http://www.tamileelamnews.com/news/publish/tns_10622.shtml
இறந்த இந்தியப்பிரதமர் விபி சிங் அல்லர்.
(Opinion) Stop the Tamil genocide in Sri Lanka
Dec 15, 2008, 01:09
By V. B Singh
Finally, the world has come in full circle, in accepting the fact that there is genocide against Eelam Tamils by the Sri Lankan State, after years of denials and masqueraded counter denials by the failed State of Sri Lanka.
The international community simply could not show deviation any more on the way the yard stick applied between Darfur, Congo, Somalia or Sri Lanka, simply because the Tamil Nation withstood the slaughter for this long, and the voices of the Tamil Diaspora were heard loud and clear on the streets, forums and assemblies, despite the millions spent by the terror state of Sri Lanka on PR firms to cover their crimes.
full text at
http://www.tamileelamnews.com/news/publish/tns_10622.shtml
Labels: இலங்கை, கருத்துப்பத்தி
த வீக்கில் இலங்கை பற்றி கவிதா முரளிதரன்
ஸ்ரீலங்கா அரசுசார் இந்துவின் செய்தியாளர் முரளிதர் ரொட்டி இந்த அளவுக்கேனும் நடுநிலையாகச் செய்தியைத் தருவாரா?
For Sri Lankan Tamils, the Tamils in Tamil Nadu offer a strange hope. Refusing to take money from me for a ride in his vehicle, a Tamil auto driver in Colombo says: "This is the only way we could repay the Tamils in your country for their support and solidarity. Please tell your chief minister to help us live in peace."
Mauling the Tigers
For Lankan Tamils, the war is their last hope for survival. For the Sinhalese, it is a chance to end three decades of terror
By Kavitha Muralidharan/ Colombo & Batticaloa
full text at
http://week.manoramaonline.com/cgi-bin/MMOnline.dll/portal/ep/theWeekContent.do?BV_ID=@@@&contentType=EDITORIAL§ionName=TheWeek%20Current%20Events&programId=1073754900&contentId=4880716
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Liberated Fear
By Kavitha Muralidharan
Life in Batticaloa in eastern Sri Lanka, which was 'liberated' from the LTTE by the army in 2007, is no better. Caught between the factionalism of Tamizh Makkal Viduthalai Puligal (TMVP), which rules the province, and shootouts, the people of Batticaloa live in constant fear. "Liberation has meant nothing to us. We cannot walk around freely. We live in fear of being abducted or killed," said Batticaloa resident Neelakantan. On the day I travelled to the region, an inspector was shot dead by unknown persons at Saintha Maruthu. Following the killing of a Sinhala doctor in Batticaloa, the doctors were boycotting work in the east.
Chief Minister of the Eastern Provincial Council, Sivanesathurai Chandrakanthan alias Pillaiyan of the TMVP, said there was a plan to annihilate the council in the same way the Northeast Provincial Council under Chief Minister Waradaraja Perumal had been destroyed in the 1990s. "I face the same fate as Waradaraja Perumal," he had said in November.
Full Text at
http://week.manoramaonline.com/cgi-bin/MMOnline.dll/portal/ep/theWeekContent.do?BV_ID=@@@&contentType=EDITORIAL§ionName=TheWeek%20Current%20Events&programId=1073754900&contentId=4880711
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கவிதா முரளிதரனின் செவ்வி
http://www.tamilnewscenter.com/text/interview/2008/dec/02.html
Labels: இலங்கை, செய்தி, த வீக்
எந்ரோ மஹானுபாவலு
நண்பன் அனுப்பிய சிங்களபைலா துள்ளாட்டத் துண்டுப்படம். விடுமுறைக்களியாட்டமாக யூரியூப்பிலே போட்டது
Happy Christmas and New Year
Happy Holidays
Happy Christmas and New Year
Happy Holidays
Labels: க்ருதி, பஞ்சரத்னகீர்த்தனா, ஸ்ரீராமஜயம், ஸ்ருதி
Friday, December 12, 2008
Peace Prize laureate Ahtisaari shares his thoughts on peace brokering
Views that Pro-Sri lankan The hindu, Frontline never give you.
இந்து போன்ற ஸ்ரீலங்கா அரசு சார் ஊடகங்கள் தராத கருத்தினை நோபல் பரிசுபெற்றவர் கலந்து கொண்ட கூட்டத்திலே நோர்வே அமைச்சர் சொல்கிறார். இந்துவின் தலையங்கங்கள் இதைச் சொல்லாதது ஏன்?
After the tsunami, the LTTE made 'concession after concession,' Helgesen said but Colombo did not 'take opportunity of the moment.'
Peace Prize laureate Ahtisaari shares his thoughts on peace brokering
Dec 12, 2008, 16:22 GMT
Stockholm - The 2008 Nobel Peace Prize winner, Martti Ahtisaari, Friday shared some of his experiences on successful peace mediation at a seminar in Stockholm.
The former Finnish president arrived from Oslo where on Wednesday he received the coveted award in recognition of three decades of mediation efforts on several continents.
[snipped]
The tsunami also impacted Sri Lanka, but despite openings there was a different approach by the government in Colombo, co-panel member Vidar Helgesen, former Norwegian deputy foreign minister, said.
Helgesen was engaged in Oslo's efforts to broker a 2002 cease-fire deal between Colombo and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).
After the tsunami, the LTTE made 'concession after concession,' Helgesen said but Colombo did not 'take opportunity of the moment.'
Helgensen now heads the Stockholm-based International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (IDEA).
Full text at
http://www.monstersandcritics.com/news/europe/news/article_1448079.php/Peace_Prize_laureate_Ahtisaari_shares_his_thoughts_on_peace_brokering_
Labels: LTTE, Norway, Peace Process
Thursday, December 11, 2008
மிருணாளினி ராமஸந்ராவின் செய்திக்கண்ணோட்டம்
Mrinalini Ramachandra's Vues 'n Nues.
http://transcurrents.com/tc/2008/12/post_130.html
Sri Lankan Tamil MP Sivajilingam ordered to "quit India', may seek "political asylum" in Chennai
By Mrinalini Ramachandra
A fresh controversy has erupted in Tamil Nadu state of India after the Indian central government issued orders that Sri Lankan Tamil Parliamentarian MK Sivajilingam must “Quit India” voluntarily within 72 hours or face deportation.
[snipped]
He is suspected of aiding, abetting and instigating many political demonstrations and meetings in India that demand a removal of the LTTE ban and extending support for establishment of Tamil Eelam.
Sivajilingam has openly participated in Indian political meetings and spoken in support of Tamil Eelam and the LTTE.
This is seen as both “interference” in the domestic politics of India as well as using “Indian soil” to undermine a friendly country like Sri Lanka.
Since Sivajilingam is an elected Mp the Indian authorities have given him “Time” to depart voluntarily instead of forcibly deporting him.
Some years ago a Sri Lankan Tamil political activist MK Eelavendhan was deported to Sri Lanka for indulging in political activity supporting the LTTE.
In what could be regarded as blatant defiance of the Indian “order” Sivajilingam who was staying at the Jawarhalal Nehru University hostel in new Delhi has immediately gone to the Tamil Nadu capital Chennai instead of complying with the official instructions and leaving India.
Sivajilingam had the “chutzpah” to participate brazenly in a MDMK sponsored protest near the Sri Lankan deputy – high commission in Chennai.
MDMK leader Vaiko (V. Gopalswamy) revealed while speaking at the meeting that Sivajilingam had been asked to leave India for engaging in political propaganda on Indian soil. Vaiko stated cryptically tht Sivajilingam had now sought “political asylum” in Tamil Nadu as he feared returning to Sri Lanka.
Vaiko stated that Sivajilingam would be killed if he went back to Sri Lanka.
Political observers opine that Sivajilingam may seek political asylum in India as an effective political statement.
[snipped]
full text at
http://transcurrents.com/tc/2008/12/post_130.html
http://transcurrents.com/tc/2008/12/post_130.html
Sri Lankan Tamil MP Sivajilingam ordered to "quit India', may seek "political asylum" in Chennai
By Mrinalini Ramachandra
A fresh controversy has erupted in Tamil Nadu state of India after the Indian central government issued orders that Sri Lankan Tamil Parliamentarian MK Sivajilingam must “Quit India” voluntarily within 72 hours or face deportation.
[snipped]
He is suspected of aiding, abetting and instigating many political demonstrations and meetings in India that demand a removal of the LTTE ban and extending support for establishment of Tamil Eelam.
Sivajilingam has openly participated in Indian political meetings and spoken in support of Tamil Eelam and the LTTE.
This is seen as both “interference” in the domestic politics of India as well as using “Indian soil” to undermine a friendly country like Sri Lanka.
Since Sivajilingam is an elected Mp the Indian authorities have given him “Time” to depart voluntarily instead of forcibly deporting him.
Some years ago a Sri Lankan Tamil political activist MK Eelavendhan was deported to Sri Lanka for indulging in political activity supporting the LTTE.
In what could be regarded as blatant defiance of the Indian “order” Sivajilingam who was staying at the Jawarhalal Nehru University hostel in new Delhi has immediately gone to the Tamil Nadu capital Chennai instead of complying with the official instructions and leaving India.
Sivajilingam had the “chutzpah” to participate brazenly in a MDMK sponsored protest near the Sri Lankan deputy – high commission in Chennai.
MDMK leader Vaiko (V. Gopalswamy) revealed while speaking at the meeting that Sivajilingam had been asked to leave India for engaging in political propaganda on Indian soil. Vaiko stated cryptically tht Sivajilingam had now sought “political asylum” in Tamil Nadu as he feared returning to Sri Lanka.
Vaiko stated that Sivajilingam would be killed if he went back to Sri Lanka.
Political observers opine that Sivajilingam may seek political asylum in India as an effective political statement.
[snipped]
full text at
http://transcurrents.com/tc/2008/12/post_130.html
Labels: Mrinalini Ramachandra, Vues 'n Nues, இந்தியா, சிவாஜிலிங்கம்
Tuesday, December 09, 2008
'My friend, you are crazy'
நவ கொழும்ப கதாவ
"My friend, how do you like Sri Lankan girls?" he asks, showing off teeth as healthy as an old graveyard.
Girls are low on my to-do list, below avoiding a traffic accident and getting shot by one of those heavily armed soldiers nervously patrolling the streets following attacks by the Tamil Tigers.
It's past midnight and I've just dropped off my friend, Ana, who has explained to the driver, in Sinhalese, where I want to go, farewelling me with the words: "Don't pay more than 500 rupees."
But I tell him politely that, yes, his womenfolk are the prettiest I've ever met, just as you tell a parent that their baby is the cutest.
[snipped]
"My friend, you like?" he asks.
To his surprise, I turn down his offer, feign indignation and stomp out of the rickshaw.
"My friend, my friend, where do you go?" the driver calls, anxious not to lose his fare.
He has a point. I'm in a dark, deserted, strange city under military curfew and really don't want to attempt to explain to a young soldier why I've turned down a prostitute just hours before my flight home.
So I climb back in. The driver refrains from further discussion.
[snipped]
Full Text
http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/4787447a34.html
"My friend, how do you like Sri Lankan girls?" he asks, showing off teeth as healthy as an old graveyard.
Girls are low on my to-do list, below avoiding a traffic accident and getting shot by one of those heavily armed soldiers nervously patrolling the streets following attacks by the Tamil Tigers.
It's past midnight and I've just dropped off my friend, Ana, who has explained to the driver, in Sinhalese, where I want to go, farewelling me with the words: "Don't pay more than 500 rupees."
But I tell him politely that, yes, his womenfolk are the prettiest I've ever met, just as you tell a parent that their baby is the cutest.
[snipped]
"My friend, you like?" he asks.
To his surprise, I turn down his offer, feign indignation and stomp out of the rickshaw.
"My friend, my friend, where do you go?" the driver calls, anxious not to lose his fare.
He has a point. I'm in a dark, deserted, strange city under military curfew and really don't want to attempt to explain to a young soldier why I've turned down a prostitute just hours before my flight home.
So I climb back in. The driver refrains from further discussion.
[snipped]
Full Text
http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/4787447a34.html
Labels: it's a mad mad mad whirling world
செம்பட்டியலில் உயர்நிலையில் சிறீலங்கா
திட்டமிட்ட படுகொலைகளைத் தடுக்கும் திட்டத்தின் சிவப்புப்பட்டியலின் உயர்நிலையில் ஸ்ரீலங்கா இடம் பிடித்துக்கொண்டதினைப் பாராட்டுகிறோம். வாழ்த்துக்கள் ராஜபக்ஷ உடன்பிறப்புகள், இந்து ராம்-மாலினி பார்த்தசாரதி உடன்பிறவாப்பிறப்புகள்.
33 countries face possible genocide, says report
Steven Edwards, Canwest News Service
Published: Monday, December 08, 2008
http://www.canada.com/topics/news/world/story.html?id=1049224
UNITED NATIONS - Genocide and other mass atrocities are underway or risk breaking out in at least 33 countries, says a new comprehensive watch list slated for release Tuesday - the 60th anniversary of the United Nations prevention of genocide convention.
As reports indicate UN peacekeeping efforts are in crisis amid dwindling contributions of both cash and well-trained forces, the authors of the new study call for an international focus on genocide prevention in countries they've identified.
Since the world pledged "never again" in the wake of the Holocaust, Cambodia, Rwanda and Bosnia-Herzegovina are but three examples of places where mass slaughter has occurred.
A United Resistance Front (UDF) soldier listens to a meeting between the movement's leadership and African Union and United Nations officials in Sudan's North Darfur province. Darfur has been given a "red alert" on a watch list compiled by a New York-based NGO on genocide prevention.
The list by the New York-based Genocide Prevention Project for the first time combines the findings of five leading independent watch lists to create a "watch list of watch lists."
"Red alert" countries include Afghanistan and Iraq alongside commonly known regions currently experiencing genocidal conflict such as Sudan's Darfur and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. These and Myanmar, Pakistan, Somalia and Sri Lanka all made the list's top eight because they appear in each of the five "expert" indexes.
The next 25 "orange alert" countries appear in at least three of the indexes and include China, Colombia, Philippines and Indonesia as places where ongoing or simmering violence could flare to genocidal proportions.
for full text
http://www.canada.com/topics/news/world/story.html?id=1049224
33 countries face possible genocide, says report
Steven Edwards, Canwest News Service
Published: Monday, December 08, 2008
http://www.canada.com/topics/news/world/story.html?id=1049224
UNITED NATIONS - Genocide and other mass atrocities are underway or risk breaking out in at least 33 countries, says a new comprehensive watch list slated for release Tuesday - the 60th anniversary of the United Nations prevention of genocide convention.
As reports indicate UN peacekeeping efforts are in crisis amid dwindling contributions of both cash and well-trained forces, the authors of the new study call for an international focus on genocide prevention in countries they've identified.
Since the world pledged "never again" in the wake of the Holocaust, Cambodia, Rwanda and Bosnia-Herzegovina are but three examples of places where mass slaughter has occurred.
A United Resistance Front (UDF) soldier listens to a meeting between the movement's leadership and African Union and United Nations officials in Sudan's North Darfur province. Darfur has been given a "red alert" on a watch list compiled by a New York-based NGO on genocide prevention.
The list by the New York-based Genocide Prevention Project for the first time combines the findings of five leading independent watch lists to create a "watch list of watch lists."
"Red alert" countries include Afghanistan and Iraq alongside commonly known regions currently experiencing genocidal conflict such as Sudan's Darfur and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. These and Myanmar, Pakistan, Somalia and Sri Lanka all made the list's top eight because they appear in each of the five "expert" indexes.
The next 25 "orange alert" countries appear in at least three of the indexes and include China, Colombia, Philippines and Indonesia as places where ongoing or simmering violence could flare to genocidal proportions.
for full text
http://www.canada.com/topics/news/world/story.html?id=1049224
Labels: genocide, karunanithi becomes a clown in sri lankan media, prevention og genocide project, red alert
Sunday, December 07, 2008
கேட்டேளா இங்கே? அதைப் பாத்தேளா அங்கே? எதையோ நெனைச்சு...
Pro_Sri Lankan Government Daily The Hindu will never provide its readers the news of the following kind.
Thank you for இடியப்பம்சொதி கி(ழக்கிங்கை). அ(னல்). அ(டிக்கும்) அனானி for sending this post in the mail.
எதுக்கு இந்த மறைப்பு? இந்து வெளியிடும் ஆசிரியர் தலையங்கங்களோ, டக்ளஸ் தேவானந்தா, மற்றைய ஸ்ரீலங்கா அமைச்சர்களின் இந்துவுக்கான பிரத்தியேகச்செவ்விகள், ஆனந்தசங்கரி ஐயாவின் மடை திறந்த வெள்ளமான மடல்கள் எல்லாம் கிழக்கிலங்கை மக்களின் துயரைச் சொல்லாதது எதற்கு? இத்தனைக்குப் பிறகும் ராஜேஸ்வரி அம்மையார் பேசாமடந்தையாக ஊமையாக ரெலிபோன் போடாமல் இருப்பது எதற்கு? பாரிஸிலிருந்து போன ஞானம் அட்வைசர் மட்டுமக்கள் துயர் துடைப்பானாகாதது எதற்கு? புட்டும் தேங்காய்ப்பூவும் உதிரமாய் உதரம் குலைந்து குடல் விழுந்து உதறவும் ஒளித்திருப்பது எதற்கு?
East: Anything but 'liberated'
By Frederica Jansz
The government says that the 'liberated' east is an example of democracy in action and a model for areas recaptured from the LTTE. The reality is anything but. Killings and abductions are rife, and there is total impunity for horrific abuses.
On November 25, 18 people were killed within 24 hours in Batticaloa District alone. Following a claymore mine attack which killed two Sri Lankan military personnel in Eruvil, three members from the same family were killed (grandmother, father and a son) in the village.
On the same day, in Kaluthawali, a village close to Eruvil four members from another family were shot dead (young parents with their two kids). A vegetable vendor was killed in Kurukalmadam and a young woman was shot dead in Karuwakkerny.
A youth from Kimpankerney (Karadiannatu) was shot and later declared as a LTTE suspect. Another youth from Selvanagar Arayampathy was shot by the road side. Later that day in Manmunai West there were three incidents reported: A youth killed in Monkeycattu (Vavunatheevu) and three youth killed in Karravetti. A farmer was shot dead in the paddy field in Maheladditheevu. This - is a day in the 'liberated east.'
text snipped
Governance
At one level, there has been no fundamental change in the form of governance since the time of LTTE control, real or perceived. 'Taxation' has abated but kidnappings for ransom, crude intimidation by armed youth, and the spectre of abductions of children and adults continue. Killings in homes, paddy fields, by the road side or seaside, near check points, by temples, mosques, universities and hospitals continue.
Nor has there been any attempt at building upon the goodwill of the people following the elections on the part of the government. On the contrary, the government to all appearances has been actively promoting violent groups and political forces and alliances that are seeking to increase hostility among people.
Instead of encouraging the TMVP to embrace democratic politics and shed its LTTE practices, the government is determined to keep the TMVP as a paramilitary group.
It also appears the government is determined to divide the TMVP by setting up Karuna as an alternate eastern leader to Pillayan. As the two factions battle it out for control in the east, we can only expect the fratricide in the Tamil community to worsen.
The killing of Pillayan's Secretary Kumaraswamy Nandagopan, alias Ragu on November 14 is perhaps the most telling instance of this vicious struggle for power. The government seems to fundamentally distrust its own ally, which might end up forcing the TMVP back into the arms of the LTTE.
A region under siege
The LTTE in particular has been responsible for decimating rivals in other militant groups, political parties and allies of the state, and independent Tamils. This bloodbath has left a deep scar on Tamil society.
With the split in the LTTE in 2004, Eastern Tamils found themselves under attack as the two groups eliminated perceived enemies. This state sponsored fratricide may get worse as the internal struggle within the TMVP is hitting a crisis point, particularly with Karuna attempting to re-establish control.
The CMTPC maintains the violence following the provincial council elections in May this year demonstrated a possible trajectory that ethnic relations could take. The killing of two TMVP cadres in Kathankudi resulted in the TMVP retaliating in a brutal manner against Muslim civilians. The violence rapidly escalated with both Tamils and Muslims becoming subject to violence and displacement.
Some instances included attacks on Muslim shops in Batticaloa Town; Tamils living in Saukadu displacement camps were forced to flee; a Muslim woman was shot dead in Eravur.
Pattern
A day before Ramazan a grenade went off near the mosque by the main road injuring 24 persons. A month later, on October 24, another grenade set off near Hussainmiyah Mosque near the Kathankudy-Manjanthoduvai border injured about six persons, one critically.
While the violence seems mindless, there is an insidious pattern, logic, to its ethnicised nature. The logic of violence pivots on the logic of ethnic divide, calculated to aggravate the fragile peace that exists between communities.
In recent months there have been targeted killings of Sinhalese in the east. On October 20 three Sinhala youth involved in construction work, part of the Negenahira Navodaya programme were shot dead in Kokkaddichcholia, Batticaloa. Why were they killed? Was it just because they happened to be Sinhalese?
On October 16 two Muslim and two Tamil men were killed in a paddy field in Waddamadu, Akkaraipattu. It remains unclear as to who killed them and why. Was it the LTTE, TMVP, military or another interested party? Was it because they had crossed an ethnic boundary which prevents certain ethnic communities from accessing lands which they claim?
Under siege
The Eastern Province is under siege from all sides. While the government is showcasing the region as one that is returning to normal, the people are still caught in a vicious cycle of violence.
The harthal called by Karuna to protest Indian intervention is part of the circus of intimidation and a show put on by forces allied to the government. In a throwback to the Pongu Thamil events organised by the LTTE in the north and east, the TMVP forced large numbers of people from far flung areas like Komari and Thirukovil into buses for a rally in Batticaloa on October 26 as a show of strength.
This time though the state is backing the intimidation of Tamil civilians - the buses are state-owned and armed forces and police watched as TMVP cadres forced people at gun point to close shops. The state's connivance in this abuse is absolute.
'Colonial' Development
Within this context the idea of development such as building roads, and rebuilding tanks are critical for the rehabilitation and development of the east. There are other ambitious plans of constructing factories, coal power stations and highways.
But where the local people fit into this programme of Negenahira Navodaya is still open to question. Concerned parties have been told construction companies are from the south, and bring their work force along with them.
Add to this the proposals for providing land for Sinhalese and the restoration of Buddhist sites and the scene is set for unnecessary tension. In two previous reports the CMTPC focused on the fears of the local communities of state sponsored colonisation efforts in the militarised region.
The government website carries a page on its programme for the next three years for cultural and archaeological preservation which is almost wholly of Buddhist sites. The CMTPC says not a single Muslim site has been earmarked for cultural preservation or as a heritage site. Also, the omission of Koneswaram Temple in Trincomalee, parts of which ancient Pallava structure lie destroyed in the nearby sea bed is telling.
Boundaries marked in blood
Boundaries are being marked in blood. Individuals who have crossed ethnic borders and administrative divisions to carry out livelihoods as they have or had done for years pay the ultimate price.
The identity of the killers and their motives may remain unknown but it is speculated that four farmers were killed in Akkaraipattu, two Tamil and two Muslim for trying to cultivate paddy land which had been declared off bounds by one or other of the Tamil militant groups.
A group of 26 Muslim wood collectors from Pottuvil found themselves at the mercy of the STF. There are rumours that they were beaten up in the camp and were accused of assisting the LTTE. On September 24, one of the incarcerated Muslims died in jail.
Militarising education
On November 16 Palithakumara Pathmakumar, a doctor serving in Naavatkaadu Hospital in Vavunatheevu was killed within the hospital premises. As a result the GMOA went on strike demanding better protection for doctors in the north and east.
This killing highlighted the crisis of violence in the east. At the same time it also showed how security is understood by the various actors.
The Health Minister called for only Tamil doctors to serve in the north and east while the GMOA called for more security. The presence of police officers or armed military personnel or militant groups do not result in greater confidence as each community has fears and violent memories of each of the armed actors.
Political violence permeates and controls the actions of civil society. The Eastern Province boasts two universities; one in the Batticaloa District, located in Vantharamullai and the other, South Eastern University in Oluvil in the Ampara District.
Site of conflict
The Eastern University has been a site of conflict and battleground for long years now. Over the years various armed groups attempted to establish their presence in the university, with the LTTE taking extreme measures to control the expression of staff and students.
During the split in 2004 in the ranks of the LTTE, academics and others came under extreme scrutiny; academics, journalists and others suspected of being loyal to this or the other side were abducted, cautioned and on occasion murdered.
With the establishment of control by the army and police and TMVP, the university has come under increased surveillance from these quarters aligned to the state. In an effort to establish control of the Eastern University the TMVP abducted the Dean of the Arts Faculty in late 2006. Then the Vice Chancellor, Prof. V. Raveendranath disappeared in broad daylight from the heart of Colombo city, from an area marked for its high security check points. The TMVP is believed to be behind this abduction. The Vice Chancellor is believed to be dead.
The South Eastern University is also facing similar problems. The university has a 90% Muslim majority student population. During the Ramadan holiday in September, the government placed a new security system in the university, with many checkpoints and over 60 police personnel guarding the entrance alone in addition to STF and armed military patrolling the surrounding area round the clock.
Outside force
It is within this situation, that on August 22 of this year Sucharitha Pasan Samarasinghe, a fourth year Sinhalese student at the Eastern University was killed, purportedly by a force from outside the university.
A Tamil student was taken in for questioning after this incident and to date he is being detained by the CID without any charges.
When the University Grants Commission Chairman visited the Eastern University in August this year he talked to the Sinhala students and assured them of their safety. He did not see the need to allay the fears of the Tamils or Muslim students.
full text at
http://www.thesundayleader.lk/20081207/Issues.htm
====
Thank you for இடியப்பம்சொதி கி(ழக்கிங்கை). அ(னல்). அ(டிக்கும்) அனானி for sending this post in the mail.
எதுக்கு இந்த மறைப்பு? இந்து வெளியிடும் ஆசிரியர் தலையங்கங்களோ, டக்ளஸ் தேவானந்தா, மற்றைய ஸ்ரீலங்கா அமைச்சர்களின் இந்துவுக்கான பிரத்தியேகச்செவ்விகள், ஆனந்தசங்கரி ஐயாவின் மடை திறந்த வெள்ளமான மடல்கள் எல்லாம் கிழக்கிலங்கை மக்களின் துயரைச் சொல்லாதது எதற்கு? இத்தனைக்குப் பிறகும் ராஜேஸ்வரி அம்மையார் பேசாமடந்தையாக ஊமையாக ரெலிபோன் போடாமல் இருப்பது எதற்கு? பாரிஸிலிருந்து போன ஞானம் அட்வைசர் மட்டுமக்கள் துயர் துடைப்பானாகாதது எதற்கு? புட்டும் தேங்காய்ப்பூவும் உதிரமாய் உதரம் குலைந்து குடல் விழுந்து உதறவும் ஒளித்திருப்பது எதற்கு?
East: Anything but 'liberated'
By Frederica Jansz
The government says that the 'liberated' east is an example of democracy in action and a model for areas recaptured from the LTTE. The reality is anything but. Killings and abductions are rife, and there is total impunity for horrific abuses.
On November 25, 18 people were killed within 24 hours in Batticaloa District alone. Following a claymore mine attack which killed two Sri Lankan military personnel in Eruvil, three members from the same family were killed (grandmother, father and a son) in the village.
On the same day, in Kaluthawali, a village close to Eruvil four members from another family were shot dead (young parents with their two kids). A vegetable vendor was killed in Kurukalmadam and a young woman was shot dead in Karuwakkerny.
A youth from Kimpankerney (Karadiannatu) was shot and later declared as a LTTE suspect. Another youth from Selvanagar Arayampathy was shot by the road side. Later that day in Manmunai West there were three incidents reported: A youth killed in Monkeycattu (Vavunatheevu) and three youth killed in Karravetti. A farmer was shot dead in the paddy field in Maheladditheevu. This - is a day in the 'liberated east.'
text snipped
Governance
At one level, there has been no fundamental change in the form of governance since the time of LTTE control, real or perceived. 'Taxation' has abated but kidnappings for ransom, crude intimidation by armed youth, and the spectre of abductions of children and adults continue. Killings in homes, paddy fields, by the road side or seaside, near check points, by temples, mosques, universities and hospitals continue.
Nor has there been any attempt at building upon the goodwill of the people following the elections on the part of the government. On the contrary, the government to all appearances has been actively promoting violent groups and political forces and alliances that are seeking to increase hostility among people.
Instead of encouraging the TMVP to embrace democratic politics and shed its LTTE practices, the government is determined to keep the TMVP as a paramilitary group.
It also appears the government is determined to divide the TMVP by setting up Karuna as an alternate eastern leader to Pillayan. As the two factions battle it out for control in the east, we can only expect the fratricide in the Tamil community to worsen.
The killing of Pillayan's Secretary Kumaraswamy Nandagopan, alias Ragu on November 14 is perhaps the most telling instance of this vicious struggle for power. The government seems to fundamentally distrust its own ally, which might end up forcing the TMVP back into the arms of the LTTE.
A region under siege
The LTTE in particular has been responsible for decimating rivals in other militant groups, political parties and allies of the state, and independent Tamils. This bloodbath has left a deep scar on Tamil society.
With the split in the LTTE in 2004, Eastern Tamils found themselves under attack as the two groups eliminated perceived enemies. This state sponsored fratricide may get worse as the internal struggle within the TMVP is hitting a crisis point, particularly with Karuna attempting to re-establish control.
The CMTPC maintains the violence following the provincial council elections in May this year demonstrated a possible trajectory that ethnic relations could take. The killing of two TMVP cadres in Kathankudi resulted in the TMVP retaliating in a brutal manner against Muslim civilians. The violence rapidly escalated with both Tamils and Muslims becoming subject to violence and displacement.
Some instances included attacks on Muslim shops in Batticaloa Town; Tamils living in Saukadu displacement camps were forced to flee; a Muslim woman was shot dead in Eravur.
Pattern
A day before Ramazan a grenade went off near the mosque by the main road injuring 24 persons. A month later, on October 24, another grenade set off near Hussainmiyah Mosque near the Kathankudy-Manjanthoduvai border injured about six persons, one critically.
While the violence seems mindless, there is an insidious pattern, logic, to its ethnicised nature. The logic of violence pivots on the logic of ethnic divide, calculated to aggravate the fragile peace that exists between communities.
In recent months there have been targeted killings of Sinhalese in the east. On October 20 three Sinhala youth involved in construction work, part of the Negenahira Navodaya programme were shot dead in Kokkaddichcholia, Batticaloa. Why were they killed? Was it just because they happened to be Sinhalese?
On October 16 two Muslim and two Tamil men were killed in a paddy field in Waddamadu, Akkaraipattu. It remains unclear as to who killed them and why. Was it the LTTE, TMVP, military or another interested party? Was it because they had crossed an ethnic boundary which prevents certain ethnic communities from accessing lands which they claim?
Under siege
The Eastern Province is under siege from all sides. While the government is showcasing the region as one that is returning to normal, the people are still caught in a vicious cycle of violence.
The harthal called by Karuna to protest Indian intervention is part of the circus of intimidation and a show put on by forces allied to the government. In a throwback to the Pongu Thamil events organised by the LTTE in the north and east, the TMVP forced large numbers of people from far flung areas like Komari and Thirukovil into buses for a rally in Batticaloa on October 26 as a show of strength.
This time though the state is backing the intimidation of Tamil civilians - the buses are state-owned and armed forces and police watched as TMVP cadres forced people at gun point to close shops. The state's connivance in this abuse is absolute.
'Colonial' Development
Within this context the idea of development such as building roads, and rebuilding tanks are critical for the rehabilitation and development of the east. There are other ambitious plans of constructing factories, coal power stations and highways.
But where the local people fit into this programme of Negenahira Navodaya is still open to question. Concerned parties have been told construction companies are from the south, and bring their work force along with them.
Add to this the proposals for providing land for Sinhalese and the restoration of Buddhist sites and the scene is set for unnecessary tension. In two previous reports the CMTPC focused on the fears of the local communities of state sponsored colonisation efforts in the militarised region.
The government website carries a page on its programme for the next three years for cultural and archaeological preservation which is almost wholly of Buddhist sites. The CMTPC says not a single Muslim site has been earmarked for cultural preservation or as a heritage site. Also, the omission of Koneswaram Temple in Trincomalee, parts of which ancient Pallava structure lie destroyed in the nearby sea bed is telling.
Boundaries marked in blood
Boundaries are being marked in blood. Individuals who have crossed ethnic borders and administrative divisions to carry out livelihoods as they have or had done for years pay the ultimate price.
The identity of the killers and their motives may remain unknown but it is speculated that four farmers were killed in Akkaraipattu, two Tamil and two Muslim for trying to cultivate paddy land which had been declared off bounds by one or other of the Tamil militant groups.
A group of 26 Muslim wood collectors from Pottuvil found themselves at the mercy of the STF. There are rumours that they were beaten up in the camp and were accused of assisting the LTTE. On September 24, one of the incarcerated Muslims died in jail.
Militarising education
On November 16 Palithakumara Pathmakumar, a doctor serving in Naavatkaadu Hospital in Vavunatheevu was killed within the hospital premises. As a result the GMOA went on strike demanding better protection for doctors in the north and east.
This killing highlighted the crisis of violence in the east. At the same time it also showed how security is understood by the various actors.
The Health Minister called for only Tamil doctors to serve in the north and east while the GMOA called for more security. The presence of police officers or armed military personnel or militant groups do not result in greater confidence as each community has fears and violent memories of each of the armed actors.
Political violence permeates and controls the actions of civil society. The Eastern Province boasts two universities; one in the Batticaloa District, located in Vantharamullai and the other, South Eastern University in Oluvil in the Ampara District.
Site of conflict
The Eastern University has been a site of conflict and battleground for long years now. Over the years various armed groups attempted to establish their presence in the university, with the LTTE taking extreme measures to control the expression of staff and students.
During the split in 2004 in the ranks of the LTTE, academics and others came under extreme scrutiny; academics, journalists and others suspected of being loyal to this or the other side were abducted, cautioned and on occasion murdered.
With the establishment of control by the army and police and TMVP, the university has come under increased surveillance from these quarters aligned to the state. In an effort to establish control of the Eastern University the TMVP abducted the Dean of the Arts Faculty in late 2006. Then the Vice Chancellor, Prof. V. Raveendranath disappeared in broad daylight from the heart of Colombo city, from an area marked for its high security check points. The TMVP is believed to be behind this abduction. The Vice Chancellor is believed to be dead.
The South Eastern University is also facing similar problems. The university has a 90% Muslim majority student population. During the Ramadan holiday in September, the government placed a new security system in the university, with many checkpoints and over 60 police personnel guarding the entrance alone in addition to STF and armed military patrolling the surrounding area round the clock.
Outside force
It is within this situation, that on August 22 of this year Sucharitha Pasan Samarasinghe, a fourth year Sinhalese student at the Eastern University was killed, purportedly by a force from outside the university.
A Tamil student was taken in for questioning after this incident and to date he is being detained by the CID without any charges.
When the University Grants Commission Chairman visited the Eastern University in August this year he talked to the Sinhala students and assured them of their safety. He did not see the need to allay the fears of the Tamils or Muslim students.
full text at
http://www.thesundayleader.lk/20081207/Issues.htm
====
Labels: eelam, northeast, ஈழம், வடகிழக்கிலங்கை
அட்றா சக்கை: `New Delhi won't listen to political jokers in Tamil Nadu'
`New Delhi won't listen to political jokers in Tamil Nadu'
Asia, Sun, 07 Dec 2008 IANS
Colombo, Dec 7 (IANS) The Sri Lankan Army chief has said that the Congress-led Indian government would not listen to 'the political jokers' in Tamil Nadu and insist that Colombo go for a ceasefire with the Tamil Tiger rebels.
Army Chief Lt.Gen. Sarath Fonseka, in an interview with the state-run Sunday Observer, expressed confidence that the Indian government 'is not interested in a ceasefire in Sri Lanka' as it has listed the LTTE as a terrorist organization and handed the rebel chief a death sentence for his links with the assassination of former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi.
'The Indian government has already expressed its view on the Sri Lankan issue and Prime Minister Singh has enough problems after the Mumbai terrorist attack. They are against the LTTE and nothing in favour of the LTTE would happen,' the Sunday Observer has quoted the army chief as saying.
General Fonseka, whose term of office has been extended by one more year, has said that India 'cannot just look the other side when it comes to Tamil sentiments' and was keen to ensure that innocent civilians were not harmed during military operation.
full text at
http://www.newstrackindia.com/newsdetails/46489
Asia, Sun, 07 Dec 2008 IANS
Colombo, Dec 7 (IANS) The Sri Lankan Army chief has said that the Congress-led Indian government would not listen to 'the political jokers' in Tamil Nadu and insist that Colombo go for a ceasefire with the Tamil Tiger rebels.
Army Chief Lt.Gen. Sarath Fonseka, in an interview with the state-run Sunday Observer, expressed confidence that the Indian government 'is not interested in a ceasefire in Sri Lanka' as it has listed the LTTE as a terrorist organization and handed the rebel chief a death sentence for his links with the assassination of former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi.
'The Indian government has already expressed its view on the Sri Lankan issue and Prime Minister Singh has enough problems after the Mumbai terrorist attack. They are against the LTTE and nothing in favour of the LTTE would happen,' the Sunday Observer has quoted the army chief as saying.
General Fonseka, whose term of office has been extended by one more year, has said that India 'cannot just look the other side when it comes to Tamil sentiments' and was keen to ensure that innocent civilians were not harmed during military operation.
full text at
http://www.newstrackindia.com/newsdetails/46489
Labels: சரத் பொன்சேகா, தமிழ்நாட்டு ஜோக்கர்கள்
Friday, December 05, 2008
ஈழத்தமிழர்களுக்கு ஆதரவாகத் தமிழ்க்கவிஞர்களின் கண்டனக்கூட்டம்
came in an e-mail
அன்பு நண்பர்களுக்கு,
இலங்கையில் பல்லாண்டுகளாகத் தொடரும் போருள் சிக்கி அவதியுறும்
தமிழ்மக்கள் குறித்த விழிப்புணர்வையும் நிரந்தர விடிவையும் வேண்டி,
தமிழகத்தின் பல பகுதிகளிலிருந்தும் நூற்றுக்கும் மேற்பட்ட தமிழ்
கவிஞர்கள் எதிர்வரும் டிசம்பர் 7ஆம் திகதி ஞாயிற்றுக்கிழமை காலை 9
மணியிலிருந்து மாலை 5 மணிவரை மெரினா கடற்கரை காந்தி சிலையருகில் கூடி ஒரு
கண்டனக் கவியரங்கம் நடத்தவிருப்பதை நீங்கள் அனைவரும் அறிந்திருக்கக்
கூடும். இந்நிகழ்வு குறித்த கூடுதல் கவனத்திற்காக உங்கள் அனைவரது
ஒத்துழைப்பையும் வேண்டி நிற்கிறோம். உங்கள் இணையத் தளங்களில்
இந்நிகழ்வைப் பற்றி ஒரு அறிவித்தலையோ பதிவினையோ இடுவதின் வழியாக அதனைச்
சாத்தியப்படுத்தலாம்.
நட்புடன்
தமி்ழ் கவிஞர்கள் கூட்டமைப்பு
பிற்குறிப்பு: மேலதிக தகவல்கள் பெற இந்த இணையத்தள முகவரிக்குச் செல்லவும்.
tamilpoets.blogspot.com
அன்பு நண்பர்களுக்கு,
இலங்கையில் பல்லாண்டுகளாகத் தொடரும் போருள் சிக்கி அவதியுறும்
தமிழ்மக்கள் குறித்த விழிப்புணர்வையும் நிரந்தர விடிவையும் வேண்டி,
தமிழகத்தின் பல பகுதிகளிலிருந்தும் நூற்றுக்கும் மேற்பட்ட தமிழ்
கவிஞர்கள் எதிர்வரும் டிசம்பர் 7ஆம் திகதி ஞாயிற்றுக்கிழமை காலை 9
மணியிலிருந்து மாலை 5 மணிவரை மெரினா கடற்கரை காந்தி சிலையருகில் கூடி ஒரு
கண்டனக் கவியரங்கம் நடத்தவிருப்பதை நீங்கள் அனைவரும் அறிந்திருக்கக்
கூடும். இந்நிகழ்வு குறித்த கூடுதல் கவனத்திற்காக உங்கள் அனைவரது
ஒத்துழைப்பையும் வேண்டி நிற்கிறோம். உங்கள் இணையத் தளங்களில்
இந்நிகழ்வைப் பற்றி ஒரு அறிவித்தலையோ பதிவினையோ இடுவதின் வழியாக அதனைச்
சாத்தியப்படுத்தலாம்.
நட்புடன்
தமி்ழ் கவிஞர்கள் கூட்டமைப்பு
பிற்குறிப்பு: மேலதிக தகவல்கள் பெற இந்த இணையத்தள முகவரிக்குச் செல்லவும்.
tamilpoets.blogspot.com
Labels: கவியரங்கம் மட்டும் அகதி கதி மாற்றுமா?
Thursday, December 04, 2008
ரெலிகிராப் பதிவு
லண்டனிலிருந்து......
=====================
லண்டன் ரெலிகிராப் பதிவு ஒன்று பேசுகிறது.
Behind the muzzled: voices from a troubed Sri Lanka
I want to return to Sri Lanka today where, while the world focuses on the fallout from Mumbai, SL government forces are reportedly closing in on the key rebel strongholds of Kilinochchi and Mullaitivu.
I say 'reportedly' as all information that comes out of the Sri Lanka conflict is inherently untrustworthy since it is provided only by the combatant, both of whom have a long track record of telling lies in the name of propaganda.
In the north, displaced Tamil civilian populations - perhaps more than 250,000 now, but it's hard to know since the international aid agencies were forced to pull out - are bearing the brunt of the fallout from the fighting.
However the effects of this dirty war are not confined to the battle zone. The attempts to crush the Tamil Tigers militarily and bring them to the negotiating table on their knees is taking a terrible toll on Sri Lankan society as a whole.
It now seems that, in the name of 'national interest' and 'war spirit' Sri Lanka's government has effectively crushed all opposition, even from those who would ordinarily be considered patriots of the Sinhala cause.
full text at
http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/peter_foster/blog/2008/12/03/behind_the_muzzled_voices_from_a_troubed_sri_lanka
==========
பிபிசி செய்திக்குறிப்பு
Exiles wielding power from the UK
People fleeing conflict and persecution in Sri Lanka, Turkey and Somalia have found refuge in Britain since the 1980s. In the first of a series of articles, the BBC's Samanthi Dissanayake examines the power these diasporas are exerting on their homelands.
full text at
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/7742638.stm
=====================
லண்டன் ரெலிகிராப் பதிவு ஒன்று பேசுகிறது.
Behind the muzzled: voices from a troubed Sri Lanka
I want to return to Sri Lanka today where, while the world focuses on the fallout from Mumbai, SL government forces are reportedly closing in on the key rebel strongholds of Kilinochchi and Mullaitivu.
I say 'reportedly' as all information that comes out of the Sri Lanka conflict is inherently untrustworthy since it is provided only by the combatant, both of whom have a long track record of telling lies in the name of propaganda.
In the north, displaced Tamil civilian populations - perhaps more than 250,000 now, but it's hard to know since the international aid agencies were forced to pull out - are bearing the brunt of the fallout from the fighting.
However the effects of this dirty war are not confined to the battle zone. The attempts to crush the Tamil Tigers militarily and bring them to the negotiating table on their knees is taking a terrible toll on Sri Lankan society as a whole.
It now seems that, in the name of 'national interest' and 'war spirit' Sri Lanka's government has effectively crushed all opposition, even from those who would ordinarily be considered patriots of the Sinhala cause.
full text at
http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/peter_foster/blog/2008/12/03/behind_the_muzzled_voices_from_a_troubed_sri_lanka
==========
பிபிசி செய்திக்குறிப்பு
Exiles wielding power from the UK
People fleeing conflict and persecution in Sri Lanka, Turkey and Somalia have found refuge in Britain since the 1980s. In the first of a series of articles, the BBC's Samanthi Dissanayake examines the power these diasporas are exerting on their homelands.
full text at
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/7742638.stm
Labels: bbc, telegraph blog
Tuesday, December 02, 2008
Reporters without Borders 2008 Award for Thissanayagam
An e-mail from my friend
-------------------------
எல்லை இல்லாத செய்தியாளர்கள் 2008 ஆண்டுக்கான விருதினைப் பெறுகின்றவர்களிலே ஒருவராக திசநாயகமும் இருக்கின்றார்.2008 ஆண்டின் ஆசியாவின் சிறந்த பத்திரிகையாளர் லங்காரத்னா இந்து ராம் அவர்களும் எல்லை கடந்த செய்தியாளராக பல ஆண்டுகள் செயற்பட்டபோதும் அவருக்குக் கொடுக்காது திசநாயகத்துக்கு இவ்விருது வழங்கப்பட்டது, எல்லை இல்லாத செய்தியாளர்கள் புலிகளின் தமிழ்த்தேசியச்சார்புள்ளவர்கள் என்று தேசியத்தமிழர்கள் கருதுகிறார்கள்.
2008 ஆண்டின் Predators of Press freedom என்ற பட்டியலிலே 165 ஆவது இடத்தைப் பிடித்துப் பின்னணியிலே இருக்கும் ஸ்ரீலங்கா ஜனநாயக அரசின் கொத்தபாய ராஜபக்சவுடன் புலிப்பயங்கரவாதி பிரபாகரனையும் சரிசமனாக வைத்ததிலிருந்தே எல்லை இல்லாத செய்தியாளர்களின் புலித்தமிழ்த்தேசியச்சார்பு வெளிப்படையாகத் தெரிகின்றது என்று தகவல் அறிந்த இந்துத்தினமலர் வட்டாரங்கள் தெரிவிக்கின்றன.
This information is from D. B. S. Jeyaraj's Tamilweek site
Journalist Tissainayagam to get “Reporters without borders” Award
Detained Sri Lankan Tamil journalist JS. Tissainayagam has been designated as a recipient of a prestigious award by the media watchdog Reporters Without Borders. Tissainayagam is behind bars in Sri Lanka being the first journalist to be charged under the draconian Prevention of Terrorism Act for his journalistic writing
The awards will be distributed on Thursday 4 December, 11 a.m., at the Espace Fondation EDF, 6 rue Récamier, in Paris, Shirin Ebadi, Nobel Peace Prize winner, will present the prize to the winners.
Tissainayagam has been given the award under Category 1 which relates to "Journalists who through their work, their principled stand or their attitude have displayed support for freedom of information".
The citation about Tissainayagam is as follows:
Sri Lanka - J. S. Tissainayagam
Currently held in appalling conditions in a Colombo prison, Tamil journalist J. S. Tissainayagam was arrested in March 2008 while working on the launch of the news website Outreachlk. He was charged with terrorism on the basis of articles he wrote in 2006 in which he referred to a military offensive in the Tamil region that was accompanied, he said, by a terrible humanitarian crisis for the civilian population. This is the first time that a journalist has been held on terrorism charges because of what he wrote.
A contributor to the Sunday Times newspaper, Tissainayagam set up Outreachlk in February 2008 with funding from the German development agency GTZ. His lawyer has never been allowed to speak to him in private all the time he has been held by the anti-terrorism police in the capital. Attempts have been made to intimidate his wife and European parliamentarians had to intercede in order to get the authorities to agree to let him have the glasses he needs to read. Two other journalists are being held in connection with the case.
The 2008 nominees in the "Journalist" category in addition to Tissainayagam are :
Niger - Moussa Kaka
Syria - Michel Kilo
Russia - Natalia Morar
Vietnam - Nguyen Viet Chien
Cuba - Ricardo González Alfonso
=================================================================
From Reporters without Borders site
Gotabhaya Rajapakse, Defence secretary
This younger brother of the president and secretary of state for defence, Gotabhaya Rajapakse is the leader of the war against Tamil separatists. He said in 2008, "Journalists should not be allowed to write about military matters and strong action should be taken against those who do." He was increasingly aggressive to journalists who refused to bow to his orders during 2007, specialising in making threats over the telephone. He phoned the editor of the Daily Mirror, threatening to get her sacked and to "wipe out" one of her colleagues if they did not stop publishing articles about the plight of civilians caught up in the war. Also in 2007, the printers of the Sunday Leader was torched by a commando unit backed by the army. And the defence ministry accused investigative journalist Iqbal Athas of taking part in "psychological operations by LTTE terrorist" after he revealed a corruption scandal within the army. He was forced to temporarily flee the country. The secretary, who has an American passport, allows paramilitary groups to do the "dirty work" which chiefly means attacking critical media. Two journalists were kidnapped in 2007 and the daily Uthayan came under new attacks in Jaffna, in the north of the country.
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http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=25690
Sri Lanka - Annual report 2008
Area: 65,610 sq km.
Population: 19,800,000.
Languages: Sinhala, Tamil, English.
Head of state: Mahinda Rajapakse.
The government and the military have intensified the war against the Tamil Tigers and President Mahinda Rajapakse has sworn to stamp out the rebellion, at the price of appalling human rights violations if necessary. Both the Sinhala and English-language press came under even greater pressure from the authorities in 2007. On their side, the Tamil Tigers allow no dissident voices in the areas they control.
Sri Lanka - Annual report 2008 (in Tamil)
Bolstered by military victories in the east of the country, the government of Mahinda Rajapakse, backed up by his brother, defence secretary Gotabaya Rajapakse, has vowed to inflict military defeat on the Tamil Tigers (LTTE) who have stepped up attacks on Sinhala civilians and threats against journalists whom they consider to be in cahoots with the authorities. Security forces supported by militia have sown terror in Tamil areas, carrying out many extra-judicial executions, kidnappings and threats. Despite international condemnation, the government has used the fight against terrorism to justify this “dirty war”. The Tamil press has been badly affected by this strategy that is aimed at dissuading the Tamil population from supporting the LTTE.
In the capital Colombo, the government, allied to ultra-nationalists of the right and the left, cracked down on independent press groups, closing a radio network and publications in Sinhala. Officials have made frequent statements hostile to press freedom activists and investigative journalists, forcing the best known of them, Iqbal Athas, to temporarily flee the country.
Access to conflict zones is virtually impossible for journalists and the war of words and statistics between the government and the LTTE spilled over into the press. This was the case in January when the army vaunted the success of its bombardment of an LTTE military base in Padahuthurai, eastern Sri Lanka. But the Tamil Tigers said that 15 civilians had been killed in the attack, which they claimed had not hit any military objective. Since no independent journalist was able to reach the scene, the majority of the Sinhala and English language press in Colombo carried the government account without being able to check it, while Tamil news websites and media carried news and footage put out by LTTE.
The government, ever more resistant to international pressure, refused to allow UN observers into the country and summoned several ambassadors who had expressed opinions about human rights in the country. The national human rights commission is so lacking in independence that it lost its international status in 2007. Since March it has been preventing its offices from providing information to the media on certain cases.
Terror in Jaffna
The northern Jaffna Peninsula, where Tamils are in the majority and which the army directly administers, has become a nightmare for journalists, human rights activists and civilians in general. A wave of murders, kidnappings, threats and censorship has made it one of the most dangerous places in the world for the press. Two journalists were killed there during the year, two more kidnapped and at least three media have been the victims of direct attacks on them. Scores of journalists have fled the region and others have chosen to abandon the profession altogether.
The Tamil militia of the Eelam People’s Democratic Party (EPDP) who back the security forces in their fight against the LTTE, have been implicated in many violent episodes. Their leader, Douglas Devananda, is also social affairs minister. In the east, a militia formed from a group that broke away from the LTTE has sowed terror.
A gunman on a motorbike killed a young reporter, Selvarajah Rajivarnam, who was riding his bike near the office of Jaffna’s biggest selling daily Uthayan at the end of April. He covered criminal cases, going into police stations and the hospital to obtain information about murders and disappearances. Several sources in Jaffna said members of the EPDP could be behind the killing. Also in April, the editor of local magazine Nilam, Chandrabose Suthaharan, was murdered at his home in the government-controlled town of Vavuniya in northern Sri Lanka. Police have failed to find the killers.
Two armed men who arrived on a motorbike burst into the home of journalism student Sahathevan Nilakshan, three kilometres from Jaffna on 2 August and shot him several times, leaving him fatally wounded. He was also a member of the management of a Tamil-language magazine Chaa’laram, linked to the student federation in Jaffna district. Another journalist, Kangarajan Prashanthan, working for the nationalist Tamil-language paper Navadu Eelandu until its closure in 2006, might easily have been killed in October but gunmen murdered his twin brother in a mistaken identity attack.
Two journalists disappeared
Sri Lanka holds the record for the greatest number of disappearances reported to the UN. Among them are two Jaffna journalists: Subramaniam Ramachandran, a journalist on Thinakural, who has not been seen since February after being arrested by the army; and Vadivel Nimalarajah, a sub editor on Uthayan, who was abducted from the street, after spending the night working at his office.
Neither of these disappearances has been seriously investigated, despite government promises and the identification of some suspects. Similarly, the killing of two staff in a bloody attack on the offices of Uthayan in May 2006, went un-investigated by police, even though the paper’s management provided the authorities with the name of a suspect, Valluvan, a militant in the pro-government EPDP militia. However witnesses, quoted by Uthayan, saw Valluvan in 2007 in the administration offices in Jaffna.
Tamils deprived of independent news
Throughout the year, the government and its allies have tried to block the flow of independent sources of news in Tamil. Those living in the north and east of the country, already isolated by the war, have also been gradually deprived of media not affiliated either to the government or an armed group. For their part, the LTTE increased their surveillance of Tamil journalists, threatening those who dare to criticise them openly. And the media in the areas in which they control are forced to relay the movement’s belligerent propaganda.
Some staff on Uthayan live spend time holed up in their offices in the centre of Jaffna. One journalist lived there permanently in 2007 for fear of being killed in the street. “We had 120 staff, of whom 20 were journalists, before August 2006. Now there are only 55 of whom five are journalists, who are prepared to face up to the risks”, editor M. V. Kaanamylnaatha said in June when he welcomed Reporters Without Borders to his Jaffna office.
Until May the Jaffna press went through huge problems to obtain essential supplies. The regions three titles were being asphyxiated by the authorities, who from August 2006 onwards refused to allow ink and newsprint on the list of goods that could be delivered to Jaffna. Despite their growing popularity, Uthayan, Yarl Thinakural and Valampuri were forced to drastically reduce their pagination and circulation. Finally after pressure, mostly from abroad, the army lifted its embargo and stock was able to arrive from the capital by boat.
The information ministry decided on 25 October to suspend the licences of five radio stations - Sun FM, Gold FM, Hiru FM, Shaa FM and Surayan FM - belonging to the privately-owned Asia Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) group for putting out a news item that turned out to be wrong. It was the president in person who ordered the investigation. The ABC group, several hundred of whose staff lost their jobs because of the closures, had always stood up to the authorities. The director of the Tamil-language Surayan FM was kidnapped in Colombo in 2006. In January 2008, the government opened new negotiations with the ABC management, which asked some employees to return to work.
The English-language news website Tamilnet, which is very popular because it often provides exclusive news about the situation in the LTTE-controlled areas, was blocked by the country’s Internet service providers on 15 June. A bullet to the head had killed the website’s director, Dharmeratnam Sivaram "Taraki", in April 2005 in Colombo. The authorities once again in 2007 blocked an investigation that had begun with the arrest of a suspect, a member of a pro-government Tamil party.
One by one Tamil correspondents for the national and international press have been leaving the north and east and sometimes the country, after receiving threats. When a Reporters Without Borders’ representative was in Jaffna in June, the correspondent for the Associated Press received a text message and a call from a satellite phone telling him it was his last warning before his execution. He left Jaffna the following day.
"I have never seen anything like it. Even in Iraq under Saddam Hussein, foreign journalists had more freedom of movement", a journalist working for Agence France-Presse told Reporters Without Borders after returning from reporting in Jaffna. He had only been allowed to visit the city accompanied by a military escort and had not been able to interview a single resident. A British television film crew was in October also prevented from working in the peninsula, even though they had obtained permission from the defence ministry. Soldiers forced the three journalists to stay at the Palaly military bases and escorted them round Jaffna for two hours before telling them to return to Colombo.
In its war against the LTTE, the army at the end of November bombed the installations of the movement’s official radio, near Killinochchi in the north. Nine civilians, three of them station staff, were killed and around a dozen more were injured. The radio Voice of Tigers is certainly a propaganda radio run by the LTTE, but the attack violates rules of engagement that restrict military bombing to strictly military targets.
By contrast, the pressure brought to bear by the LTTE was less visible than that of the authorities, but was every bit as effective. The separatist movement has never hesitated to go after dissidents within the Tamil community and the press is no exception to this rule. The head of a Tamil media explained: “We know that the reaction of the LTTE can also be potentially harmful for our staff, so we are very careful. We weigh every word when we talk about the LTTE and the army. And naturally we never refer to the Tigers as terrorists”. The LTTE intelligence services often summon or call Tamil journalists when they want them to provide them with information.
Officials turned into gang leaders
Some ministers behave like gang leaders. Labour minister, Mervyn Silva, arrived with his henchmen at the offices of the state-run television Rupavahini, in Colombo, in December, and ordered one of his men to beat the news editor because he had failed to broadcast a speech he just made while formally opening a new bridge. Police were forced to intervene and the minister left the building under a hail of insults.
The same minister had in January incited his supporters to physically attack journalists, including a BBC correspondent, who were covering a peaceful rally. He said in April that “journalists behave like mad dogs and they have to be injected against rabies”.
The defence secretary and younger brother of the president, Gotabhaya Rajapakse, in April called the editor of the Daily Mirror, Champika Liyanaarachchi, on his mobile phone and threatened her, saying that she would escape reprisals only if she resigned. He said he would put pressure on the newspaper’s management to ensure she was dismissed. He also threatened to “exterminate” the journalist Uditha Jayasinghe, for writing articles about the plight of civilian war casualties. Security forces on two occasions also accused the Daily Mirror of betraying the country.
Obstacles increasingly put in the way of investigative journalism
The prominent investigative journalist Iqbal Athas and several of his colleagues on the Sunday Times were in August victims of a campaign of harassment orchestrated by army officers wanting to silence them after revelations about the purchase of MIG-27 warplanes from Ukraine. The government staged demonstrations outside the home of Iqbal Athas in Colombo accusing him of being a “traitor”. After his police protection was removed, Athas left the country for several weeks and suspended his column that specialised in military affairs.
An article posted on the defence ministry website on 2 October accused the journalist of taking part in “psychological operations by the LTTE terrorists”. A few days earlier, after Athas had just resumed his column in the Sunday Times, army spokesman, Brigadier Udaya Nanayakakara, called on the media to stop publishing his articles.
The authorities also sponsored an arson attack in November on the printers of the Leader Publications group, sending in around 15 men, with the complicity of the army, who mistreated two staff before spraying machines with petrol and torching them. The group publishes the English-language weeklies the Sunday Leader and Morning Leader, the Sinhala-language weekly Irudina and prints the Tamil-language daily Sudar Oli. The raiders destroyed thousands of copies of the Morning Leader which were due for distribution that morning. The editor of the Sunday Leader, Lasantha Wickramatunga, known for his investigations and critical editorials, condemned the attack as a commando operation backed by the government.
The few Tamil journalists who tried to carry out investigative work were also targeted. In August, Kalimuttu Palamohan, known as K. P. Mohan, a specialist in military affairs for the Tamil-language daily Thinakkural, had acid thrown at him as he returned to his home in Colombo. Soldiers had attacked the journalist two months earlier. “When I showed them my press card they insulted me and then called other colleagues who beat me”, K. P. Mohan said about the first incident.
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எல்லை இல்லாத செய்தியாளர்கள் 2008 ஆண்டுக்கான விருதினைப் பெறுகின்றவர்களிலே ஒருவராக திசநாயகமும் இருக்கின்றார்.2008 ஆண்டின் ஆசியாவின் சிறந்த பத்திரிகையாளர் லங்காரத்னா இந்து ராம் அவர்களும் எல்லை கடந்த செய்தியாளராக பல ஆண்டுகள் செயற்பட்டபோதும் அவருக்குக் கொடுக்காது திசநாயகத்துக்கு இவ்விருது வழங்கப்பட்டது, எல்லை இல்லாத செய்தியாளர்கள் புலிகளின் தமிழ்த்தேசியச்சார்புள்ளவர்கள் என்று தேசியத்தமிழர்கள் கருதுகிறார்கள்.2008 ஆண்டின் Predators of Press freedom என்ற பட்டியலிலே 165 ஆவது இடத்தைப் பிடித்துப் பின்னணியிலே இருக்கும் ஸ்ரீலங்கா ஜனநாயக அரசின் கொத்தபாய ராஜபக்சவுடன் புலிப்பயங்கரவாதி பிரபாகரனையும் சரிசமனாக வைத்ததிலிருந்தே எல்லை இல்லாத செய்தியாளர்களின் புலித்தமிழ்த்தேசியச்சார்பு வெளிப்படையாகத் தெரிகின்றது என்று தகவல் அறிந்த இந்துத்தினமலர் வட்டாரங்கள் தெரிவிக்கின்றன.
This information is from D. B. S. Jeyaraj's Tamilweek site
Journalist Tissainayagam to get “Reporters without borders” Award
Detained Sri Lankan Tamil journalist JS. Tissainayagam has been designated as a recipient of a prestigious award by the media watchdog Reporters Without Borders. Tissainayagam is behind bars in Sri Lanka being the first journalist to be charged under the draconian Prevention of Terrorism Act for his journalistic writing
The awards will be distributed on Thursday 4 December, 11 a.m., at the Espace Fondation EDF, 6 rue Récamier, in Paris, Shirin Ebadi, Nobel Peace Prize winner, will present the prize to the winners.
Tissainayagam has been given the award under Category 1 which relates to "Journalists who through their work, their principled stand or their attitude have displayed support for freedom of information".
The citation about Tissainayagam is as follows:
Sri Lanka - J. S. Tissainayagam
Currently held in appalling conditions in a Colombo prison, Tamil journalist J. S. Tissainayagam was arrested in March 2008 while working on the launch of the news website Outreachlk. He was charged with terrorism on the basis of articles he wrote in 2006 in which he referred to a military offensive in the Tamil region that was accompanied, he said, by a terrible humanitarian crisis for the civilian population. This is the first time that a journalist has been held on terrorism charges because of what he wrote.
A contributor to the Sunday Times newspaper, Tissainayagam set up Outreachlk in February 2008 with funding from the German development agency GTZ. His lawyer has never been allowed to speak to him in private all the time he has been held by the anti-terrorism police in the capital. Attempts have been made to intimidate his wife and European parliamentarians had to intercede in order to get the authorities to agree to let him have the glasses he needs to read. Two other journalists are being held in connection with the case.
The 2008 nominees in the "Journalist" category in addition to Tissainayagam are :
Niger - Moussa Kaka
Syria - Michel Kilo
Russia - Natalia Morar
Vietnam - Nguyen Viet Chien
Cuba - Ricardo González Alfonso
=================================================================
From Reporters without Borders site
Gotabhaya Rajapakse, Defence secretary
This younger brother of the president and secretary of state for defence, Gotabhaya Rajapakse is the leader of the war against Tamil separatists. He said in 2008, "Journalists should not be allowed to write about military matters and strong action should be taken against those who do." He was increasingly aggressive to journalists who refused to bow to his orders during 2007, specialising in making threats over the telephone. He phoned the editor of the Daily Mirror, threatening to get her sacked and to "wipe out" one of her colleagues if they did not stop publishing articles about the plight of civilians caught up in the war. Also in 2007, the printers of the Sunday Leader was torched by a commando unit backed by the army. And the defence ministry accused investigative journalist Iqbal Athas of taking part in "psychological operations by LTTE terrorist" after he revealed a corruption scandal within the army. He was forced to temporarily flee the country. The secretary, who has an American passport, allows paramilitary groups to do the "dirty work" which chiefly means attacking critical media. Two journalists were kidnapped in 2007 and the daily Uthayan came under new attacks in Jaffna, in the north of the country.
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http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=25690
Sri Lanka - Annual report 2008
Area: 65,610 sq km.
Population: 19,800,000.
Languages: Sinhala, Tamil, English.
Head of state: Mahinda Rajapakse.
The government and the military have intensified the war against the Tamil Tigers and President Mahinda Rajapakse has sworn to stamp out the rebellion, at the price of appalling human rights violations if necessary. Both the Sinhala and English-language press came under even greater pressure from the authorities in 2007. On their side, the Tamil Tigers allow no dissident voices in the areas they control.
Sri Lanka - Annual report 2008 (in Tamil)
Bolstered by military victories in the east of the country, the government of Mahinda Rajapakse, backed up by his brother, defence secretary Gotabaya Rajapakse, has vowed to inflict military defeat on the Tamil Tigers (LTTE) who have stepped up attacks on Sinhala civilians and threats against journalists whom they consider to be in cahoots with the authorities. Security forces supported by militia have sown terror in Tamil areas, carrying out many extra-judicial executions, kidnappings and threats. Despite international condemnation, the government has used the fight against terrorism to justify this “dirty war”. The Tamil press has been badly affected by this strategy that is aimed at dissuading the Tamil population from supporting the LTTE.
In the capital Colombo, the government, allied to ultra-nationalists of the right and the left, cracked down on independent press groups, closing a radio network and publications in Sinhala. Officials have made frequent statements hostile to press freedom activists and investigative journalists, forcing the best known of them, Iqbal Athas, to temporarily flee the country.
Access to conflict zones is virtually impossible for journalists and the war of words and statistics between the government and the LTTE spilled over into the press. This was the case in January when the army vaunted the success of its bombardment of an LTTE military base in Padahuthurai, eastern Sri Lanka. But the Tamil Tigers said that 15 civilians had been killed in the attack, which they claimed had not hit any military objective. Since no independent journalist was able to reach the scene, the majority of the Sinhala and English language press in Colombo carried the government account without being able to check it, while Tamil news websites and media carried news and footage put out by LTTE.
The government, ever more resistant to international pressure, refused to allow UN observers into the country and summoned several ambassadors who had expressed opinions about human rights in the country. The national human rights commission is so lacking in independence that it lost its international status in 2007. Since March it has been preventing its offices from providing information to the media on certain cases.
Terror in Jaffna
The northern Jaffna Peninsula, where Tamils are in the majority and which the army directly administers, has become a nightmare for journalists, human rights activists and civilians in general. A wave of murders, kidnappings, threats and censorship has made it one of the most dangerous places in the world for the press. Two journalists were killed there during the year, two more kidnapped and at least three media have been the victims of direct attacks on them. Scores of journalists have fled the region and others have chosen to abandon the profession altogether.
The Tamil militia of the Eelam People’s Democratic Party (EPDP) who back the security forces in their fight against the LTTE, have been implicated in many violent episodes. Their leader, Douglas Devananda, is also social affairs minister. In the east, a militia formed from a group that broke away from the LTTE has sowed terror.
A gunman on a motorbike killed a young reporter, Selvarajah Rajivarnam, who was riding his bike near the office of Jaffna’s biggest selling daily Uthayan at the end of April. He covered criminal cases, going into police stations and the hospital to obtain information about murders and disappearances. Several sources in Jaffna said members of the EPDP could be behind the killing. Also in April, the editor of local magazine Nilam, Chandrabose Suthaharan, was murdered at his home in the government-controlled town of Vavuniya in northern Sri Lanka. Police have failed to find the killers.
Two armed men who arrived on a motorbike burst into the home of journalism student Sahathevan Nilakshan, three kilometres from Jaffna on 2 August and shot him several times, leaving him fatally wounded. He was also a member of the management of a Tamil-language magazine Chaa’laram, linked to the student federation in Jaffna district. Another journalist, Kangarajan Prashanthan, working for the nationalist Tamil-language paper Navadu Eelandu until its closure in 2006, might easily have been killed in October but gunmen murdered his twin brother in a mistaken identity attack.
Two journalists disappeared
Sri Lanka holds the record for the greatest number of disappearances reported to the UN. Among them are two Jaffna journalists: Subramaniam Ramachandran, a journalist on Thinakural, who has not been seen since February after being arrested by the army; and Vadivel Nimalarajah, a sub editor on Uthayan, who was abducted from the street, after spending the night working at his office.
Neither of these disappearances has been seriously investigated, despite government promises and the identification of some suspects. Similarly, the killing of two staff in a bloody attack on the offices of Uthayan in May 2006, went un-investigated by police, even though the paper’s management provided the authorities with the name of a suspect, Valluvan, a militant in the pro-government EPDP militia. However witnesses, quoted by Uthayan, saw Valluvan in 2007 in the administration offices in Jaffna.
Tamils deprived of independent news
Throughout the year, the government and its allies have tried to block the flow of independent sources of news in Tamil. Those living in the north and east of the country, already isolated by the war, have also been gradually deprived of media not affiliated either to the government or an armed group. For their part, the LTTE increased their surveillance of Tamil journalists, threatening those who dare to criticise them openly. And the media in the areas in which they control are forced to relay the movement’s belligerent propaganda.
Some staff on Uthayan live spend time holed up in their offices in the centre of Jaffna. One journalist lived there permanently in 2007 for fear of being killed in the street. “We had 120 staff, of whom 20 were journalists, before August 2006. Now there are only 55 of whom five are journalists, who are prepared to face up to the risks”, editor M. V. Kaanamylnaatha said in June when he welcomed Reporters Without Borders to his Jaffna office.
Until May the Jaffna press went through huge problems to obtain essential supplies. The regions three titles were being asphyxiated by the authorities, who from August 2006 onwards refused to allow ink and newsprint on the list of goods that could be delivered to Jaffna. Despite their growing popularity, Uthayan, Yarl Thinakural and Valampuri were forced to drastically reduce their pagination and circulation. Finally after pressure, mostly from abroad, the army lifted its embargo and stock was able to arrive from the capital by boat.
The information ministry decided on 25 October to suspend the licences of five radio stations - Sun FM, Gold FM, Hiru FM, Shaa FM and Surayan FM - belonging to the privately-owned Asia Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) group for putting out a news item that turned out to be wrong. It was the president in person who ordered the investigation. The ABC group, several hundred of whose staff lost their jobs because of the closures, had always stood up to the authorities. The director of the Tamil-language Surayan FM was kidnapped in Colombo in 2006. In January 2008, the government opened new negotiations with the ABC management, which asked some employees to return to work.
The English-language news website Tamilnet, which is very popular because it often provides exclusive news about the situation in the LTTE-controlled areas, was blocked by the country’s Internet service providers on 15 June. A bullet to the head had killed the website’s director, Dharmeratnam Sivaram "Taraki", in April 2005 in Colombo. The authorities once again in 2007 blocked an investigation that had begun with the arrest of a suspect, a member of a pro-government Tamil party.
One by one Tamil correspondents for the national and international press have been leaving the north and east and sometimes the country, after receiving threats. When a Reporters Without Borders’ representative was in Jaffna in June, the correspondent for the Associated Press received a text message and a call from a satellite phone telling him it was his last warning before his execution. He left Jaffna the following day.
"I have never seen anything like it. Even in Iraq under Saddam Hussein, foreign journalists had more freedom of movement", a journalist working for Agence France-Presse told Reporters Without Borders after returning from reporting in Jaffna. He had only been allowed to visit the city accompanied by a military escort and had not been able to interview a single resident. A British television film crew was in October also prevented from working in the peninsula, even though they had obtained permission from the defence ministry. Soldiers forced the three journalists to stay at the Palaly military bases and escorted them round Jaffna for two hours before telling them to return to Colombo.
In its war against the LTTE, the army at the end of November bombed the installations of the movement’s official radio, near Killinochchi in the north. Nine civilians, three of them station staff, were killed and around a dozen more were injured. The radio Voice of Tigers is certainly a propaganda radio run by the LTTE, but the attack violates rules of engagement that restrict military bombing to strictly military targets.
By contrast, the pressure brought to bear by the LTTE was less visible than that of the authorities, but was every bit as effective. The separatist movement has never hesitated to go after dissidents within the Tamil community and the press is no exception to this rule. The head of a Tamil media explained: “We know that the reaction of the LTTE can also be potentially harmful for our staff, so we are very careful. We weigh every word when we talk about the LTTE and the army. And naturally we never refer to the Tigers as terrorists”. The LTTE intelligence services often summon or call Tamil journalists when they want them to provide them with information.
Officials turned into gang leaders
Some ministers behave like gang leaders. Labour minister, Mervyn Silva, arrived with his henchmen at the offices of the state-run television Rupavahini, in Colombo, in December, and ordered one of his men to beat the news editor because he had failed to broadcast a speech he just made while formally opening a new bridge. Police were forced to intervene and the minister left the building under a hail of insults.
The same minister had in January incited his supporters to physically attack journalists, including a BBC correspondent, who were covering a peaceful rally. He said in April that “journalists behave like mad dogs and they have to be injected against rabies”.
The defence secretary and younger brother of the president, Gotabhaya Rajapakse, in April called the editor of the Daily Mirror, Champika Liyanaarachchi, on his mobile phone and threatened her, saying that she would escape reprisals only if she resigned. He said he would put pressure on the newspaper’s management to ensure she was dismissed. He also threatened to “exterminate” the journalist Uditha Jayasinghe, for writing articles about the plight of civilian war casualties. Security forces on two occasions also accused the Daily Mirror of betraying the country.
Obstacles increasingly put in the way of investigative journalism
The prominent investigative journalist Iqbal Athas and several of his colleagues on the Sunday Times were in August victims of a campaign of harassment orchestrated by army officers wanting to silence them after revelations about the purchase of MIG-27 warplanes from Ukraine. The government staged demonstrations outside the home of Iqbal Athas in Colombo accusing him of being a “traitor”. After his police protection was removed, Athas left the country for several weeks and suspended his column that specialised in military affairs.
An article posted on the defence ministry website on 2 October accused the journalist of taking part in “psychological operations by the LTTE terrorists”. A few days earlier, after Athas had just resumed his column in the Sunday Times, army spokesman, Brigadier Udaya Nanayakakara, called on the media to stop publishing his articles.
The authorities also sponsored an arson attack in November on the printers of the Leader Publications group, sending in around 15 men, with the complicity of the army, who mistreated two staff before spraying machines with petrol and torching them. The group publishes the English-language weeklies the Sunday Leader and Morning Leader, the Sinhala-language weekly Irudina and prints the Tamil-language daily Sudar Oli. The raiders destroyed thousands of copies of the Morning Leader which were due for distribution that morning. The editor of the Sunday Leader, Lasantha Wickramatunga, known for his investigations and critical editorials, condemned the attack as a commando operation backed by the government.
The few Tamil journalists who tried to carry out investigative work were also targeted. In August, Kalimuttu Palamohan, known as K. P. Mohan, a specialist in military affairs for the Tamil-language daily Thinakkural, had acid thrown at him as he returned to his home in Colombo. Soldiers had attacked the journalist two months earlier. “When I showed them my press card they insulted me and then called other colleagues who beat me”, K. P. Mohan said about the first incident.
Labels: award 2008, reporters without borders, thissanayagam
Is the war waged to remain in power for the next term
Is the war waged to remain in power for the next term
December 2, 2008 at 12:40 am · ~ Point of view
by A. Rajasingam
The far-sighted thinking of the President have become a question mark when he boasted about hoisting a flag in Kilinochchi before declaring a ceasefire for negotiation without knowing that the LTTE is crouching to pounce on the military forces. It is easier to make statements on the strength of an early successive military success, but not the strategy to isolate the LTTE. This is what Mahinda and his military officers failed to learn lessons from Bismark of Germany and Cavun Cavoor of Italy (both of whom were instrumental for the unification of Germany and Italy respectively). Further the Government does not have a steady policy in all matters. Mahinda’s concern was merely to become a hero among the Sinhalese people and not as a Statesman among the Sri Lankans. Even some of the Ministers including the PM were only concerned of the war in order to deny the voice of the Tamils and appeared to be clowns. They were not even concerned about the compensation for the families of the dead and the wounded soldiers. No one seemed to worry that Kilinochchi would ultimately become the burial ground for the soldiers. The recent defeat of the military forces at Kunchupparanthan was a case in point.
full text is at
http://tamilweek.com/news-features/archives/1482
December 2, 2008 at 12:40 am · ~ Point of view
by A. Rajasingam
The far-sighted thinking of the President have become a question mark when he boasted about hoisting a flag in Kilinochchi before declaring a ceasefire for negotiation without knowing that the LTTE is crouching to pounce on the military forces. It is easier to make statements on the strength of an early successive military success, but not the strategy to isolate the LTTE. This is what Mahinda and his military officers failed to learn lessons from Bismark of Germany and Cavun Cavoor of Italy (both of whom were instrumental for the unification of Germany and Italy respectively). Further the Government does not have a steady policy in all matters. Mahinda’s concern was merely to become a hero among the Sinhalese people and not as a Statesman among the Sri Lankans. Even some of the Ministers including the PM were only concerned of the war in order to deny the voice of the Tamils and appeared to be clowns. They were not even concerned about the compensation for the families of the dead and the wounded soldiers. No one seemed to worry that Kilinochchi would ultimately become the burial ground for the soldiers. The recent defeat of the military forces at Kunchupparanthan was a case in point.
full text is at
http://tamilweek.com/news-features/archives/1482
எஸ். குருமூர்த்தி - த ஜோக்கர் + சுதா ராமசந்திரன் - த குவீன் (& you know that I could have given a better P & P classification)
Nowadays there is not much difference between a colominist and an news analyst in the media in writing style and standing norms. மும்பை மேலே விமானத்திலே பறந்தாலே மும்பை பற்றிய expert கருத்து சொல்லிவிடுவார்கள். இப்போதெல்லாம் நிறையப் பேர் இப்படி. நம் வ. ஐ. ச. ஜெயபாலன் கவிஞரே போர் ஆய்வாளராக ஈழம் தொலைக்காட்சியிலே தோன்றுகிறாரே! போனால் போகிறது. வவுனியா பற்றிப் புவிசார்பாகத் தெரிந்தவர் என்பதாலே விட்டுவிடுவோம்.
இந்தியாவின் இந்துத்துவா ஊது பத்திக்காரர் ஒருவரும் செய்தியை வைத்து புழு அரிசி, புழுங்கல் அரிசி பிரிக்கும் ஒருவரும் எழுதி இருக்கிறதைப் பார்க்கும்போது நாங்கள் எல்லாம் எவ்வளவோ பரவாயில்லை என்ற சந்தோஷம் வருகிறது.
குருமூர்த்தி ஐயாவின் விமர்சனம். சோவின் நண்பர் இவர் என்பதைச் சொல்வதே இவர் பற்றிய விமர்சனமாகப் போதும்.
Isolate terror, do not secularise it!
S Gurumurthy
First Published : 01 Dec 2008 02:04:00 AM IST
Last Updated : 01 Dec 2008 10:44:09 AM IST
ஐயாவின் அபிப்பிராயம் பற்றி எமக்குக் கவலையில்லை. அவரின் அபிப்பிராயங்களுக்கு எதிரான தகவல்களைத் தரலாம். just for sake of showing that I can do the rebuttals, just one
/The Jewish religious head in Mumbai and the white foreigners staying in hotels as special targets of the terrorists who allowed Turkish Muslim inmates of Taj Hotel to escape because they were Muslims reinforced the view that the terrorists were part of the global Islamist terror network against non-Muslims (Kafirs)./
Let him watch what Anjali Pollack, a woman got trapped for hours in attacked Mumbai hotel told in Charlie Rose on Monday about muslim trapped with her in the room, and prayed for their lives.
http://www.charlierose.com/view/interview/9685
However it is worthless in arguing with people like him on all sides.
ஆனால் அவரின் பத்திக்கு வந்திருக்கும் எல்ரிரிஈ பற்றிய பின்னூட்டங்கள் பிரபாகரனைக்கூட அவர் அழுத்தப்பட்டிருக்கும் இந்த நேரத்திலே சிரிக்க வைக்கக்கூடியன.
சாம்பிளுக்கு இரண்டு History Lessons, folks.
"Ahsan, get your facts straight. LTTE is a separatist organization of catholic converts. Prabhakaran is a christian catholic. There are many parts of our country where the names of people do not reveal their religion. Mamootty, the malayalam hero, is Mohammed Kutty. Similarly a businessman MP Rajan is Mohammed Pasha Rajan. LTTE literally wiped out ethnic hindu separatist groups very early in the Eelam struggle." - By S.Sarangi 12/1/2008 3:34:00 PM
"When the bodies of 12 soldiers killed by LTTE terrorists were brought to Colombo, Sri Lanka in 1983 after 4 years of prior hit-and- run attacks against the Sinhala majority community, mobs attacked Tamils in Sri Lanka. These mobs fell into the trap set by the LTTE who used this one violent act to tar and feather the Sinhalese forever, to gain a support base, and to justify their awful terrorism that has now consumed over 100,000 Sri Lankan lives over a 35 year period. Note the modus operandi: aggressively provoke the majority community to elicit a violent response, then claim to be the innocent victim, yell discrimination and genocide, and then the kill on a massive scale until the country is beaten into submission! Likewise, the Mumbai attackers hope to pit the Hindus against the Muslims, and drive an irreparable wedge between these two communities of India. This is the time honored formula that worked so well for the LTTE in Sri Lanka. Indians, ignore the rabble- rouse" - By Ananda-USA 12/2/2008 3:14:00 PM
for watching the full comedy of errors
http://www.expressbuzz.com/edition/story.aspx?Title=Isolate+terror,+do+not+secularise+it!&artid=Cc1m6YlKXJU=&SectionID=1ZkF/jmWuSA=&MainSectionID=fyV9T2jIa4A=&SectionName=aVlZZy44Xq0bJKAA84nwcg==&SEO=SIMI,+UPA,+terror,+Mumbai,+ISI
=======================
சுதா ராமசந்திரன் Asia Times தலைப்பிலே வலை போட்டிருக்கிறார்
Cornered Tigers look to India
அவருடைய write up லே வருவது
/"That Prabhakaran is desperately seeking India's support at this critical juncture is evident from his appeals to the "Indian superpower" in his Great Heroes Day speech. Drawing attention to the "great changes taking place in India" - he was referring to the resurgence of political support for the LTTE in Tamil Nadu - the LTTE chief called on Indian leaders "to raise their voice firmly in favor of the LTTE's struggle for a Tamil Eelam state, and to take appropriate and positive measures to remove the ban which remains an impediment to an amicable relationship between India and our movement."/
When the analysts, reporters in the media get soaked their hearts and brains with nationalistic fervors and patriotic fevers, not even the god can salvage their countries.
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/JL03Df02.html
Hello! Darkness my friends, Leave the columnists and the talk show hosts indulge on the palatal feasts of the nationalistic soup plates and the audiovisual entertainments of patriotic soap operas, please. Why don't you perform a decent act of impartial data analysis?
Labels: Joker of column phews, Queen of raw views
Monday, December 01, 2008
நேற்றைய தி இந்துவும் இன்றைய டெயிலி மிரரும்
பம்பாய் சம்பவம் விடுதலைப்புலிகள் மாவீரர் நாள் பற்றிய இணைக்கும் கருத்திலே டிசெம்பர் 1 இந்துவின் ஆசிரியர் அபிப்பிராயத்தைப் பாட்டென்று கொண்டால் பக்கப்பாட்டு இன்றைய டெயிலி மிரரின் செய்தி என்று கூறலாம்.
வன்னியிலே முடுக்கினோம் என்று சொல்கிறவர்களுக்கு மும்பாயிலே என்ன வேலை? பாக்கிஸ்தான் அரசுக்கு ஊருக்கு இளைச்ச பெருச்சாளி சுண்டெலியா?
Mumbai: possible Tiger links probed
Investigations were directed at finding whether the LTTE was in any way involved in the terrorist attack on Mumbai, the commercial hub of India, but with evidence pointing towards Pakistan based militants any LTTE involvement was ruled out, a high ranking Indian official said.
The New Delhi based Indian Foreign Ministry official told the Daily Mirror yesterday that India had looked at a possible LTTE connection into the attacks especially after Pakistan publicly said such a connection was possible.
"Pakistan told Indian officials to look into all aspects, including an LTTE or Al-Qaeda connection. Pakistan also informed India that some of the terrorists appeared to be South Indians and looked like LTTE cadres. India investigated every angle," the official said.
full text at
http://www.dailymirror.lk/DM_BLOG/Sections/frmNewsDetailView.aspx?ARTID=33904
வன்னியிலே முடுக்கினோம் என்று சொல்கிறவர்களுக்கு மும்பாயிலே என்ன வேலை? பாக்கிஸ்தான் அரசுக்கு ஊருக்கு இளைச்ச பெருச்சாளி சுண்டெலியா?
Mumbai: possible Tiger links probed
Investigations were directed at finding whether the LTTE was in any way involved in the terrorist attack on Mumbai, the commercial hub of India, but with evidence pointing towards Pakistan based militants any LTTE involvement was ruled out, a high ranking Indian official said.
The New Delhi based Indian Foreign Ministry official told the Daily Mirror yesterday that India had looked at a possible LTTE connection into the attacks especially after Pakistan publicly said such a connection was possible.
"Pakistan told Indian officials to look into all aspects, including an LTTE or Al-Qaeda connection. Pakistan also informed India that some of the terrorists appeared to be South Indians and looked like LTTE cadres. India investigated every angle," the official said.
full text at
http://www.dailymirror.lk/DM_BLOG/Sections/frmNewsDetailView.aspx?ARTID=33904
