US "suggests" immunity to Rajapakse from suit

[TamilNet, Saturday, 14 January 2012, 02:28 GMT]
In a clear articulation of US State Department's continuing support of Sri Lanka's President Rajapakse, the US Justice Department, based on a directive from legal adviser Harold Koh, has suggested to the District Court of District of Columbia that Rajapakse has immunity from the suit filed by three Tamil plaintiffs for alleged complicity in war-crimes. The US State department asserts that "the Executive Branch retains the authority to refrain from making a similar immunity determination in future cases, considering, for example, international norms and the implications of the litigation for the Nation's foreign relations," indicating that US would positively exercise its discretion in this case to intervene to prevent continuation of the suit.

• State Dept: Suggestion of Immunity

• State Dept: Status Report on Immunity

Judge Kotelly gave the State Department till January 13, 2012 to indicate whether or not the State intends to file a Statement of Interest regarding issues identified in President Rajapakse’s motion, and if so, a date by which the State of Interest would be filed.

The response from the US Justice Department was filed Friday before the deadline.

While case law indicates no court has ever subjected a sitting head of state to suit once the Executive Branch has suggested the head of state immunity, there is continued tension between separation of powers doctrine and the "controlling" immunity determination by the State Department, legal sources in Washington said.

Spokesperson for Tamils Against Genocide (TAG) which sponsored the legal action said, "while we are disappointed at the intervention of the US State Department on behalf of Rajapakse, and we expect Judge Kotelly to agree with the suggestion and to dismiss the case, US's action makes clear the following:

• the Justice Department or the State Department did not consider the gravity of the charges against the sitting president, the war-crimes and crimes against humanity, which are international crimes where the International Criminal Court (ICC) has recently taken a stand to indict a sitting president, Sudan's Al Bashir.
• the State Department, by positively intervening, has expressed clearly its desire to help Colombo administration to weather war-crimes charges."

The political decision by the US appears to have closed the legal space available for bringing legal action against Rajapakse in US Courts until Rajapakse leaves his office.

Bruce Fein, Plaintiffs’ attorney, told TamilNet, State Department's action is a clear violation of the separation of powers architected by the founding fathers in the US Constitution. He added that he will file a motion asking for 45 days to respond to the the suggestion of immunity.

Chronology:

14.01.12  US "suggests" immunity to Rajapakse from suit

18.12.11  Rajapakse case, a legal pioneer, reaches historic ..

17.12.11  Rajapakse accepts Court summons, asks US to confer..

04.12.11  War crime litigations reach crucial phase in US co..

23.11.11  Judge Kotelly to decide Rajapakse's legal fate in ..

19.10.11  Rajapakse says will defy Court Order, Shavendra hi..

14.10.11  US Court authorizes use of TamilNet to serve Rajap..

01.10.11  Rajapakse, an enemy of all mankind, filed U.S. Cou..

20.09.11  Rajapakse has no immunity against war crimes prose..

06.08.11  US Court rules Rumsfeld can be sued for torture

27.06.11  Colombo fears judgment against Rajapakse in US Cou..

18.06.11  Hague summons reaches Rajapakse for US Court case

02.06.11  U.S. case: Rajapakse ducks service, Court order so..

09.02.11  DC Court to serve summons to Rajapakse

29.01.11  Ambassador, an honest man sent to lie for Sri Lank..

28.01.11  Rajapaksa sued in US Courts over war-crimes, plain..

23.01.11  TAG to file civil case against Rajapakse in Texas ..

UK disappointed with LLRC’s recommendations on accountability

[TamilNet, Friday, 13 January 2012, 10:35 GMT]
In an official response to the LLRC report, the Foreign Office Minister of Britain with responsibility for Sri Lanka, Alistair Burt, on Thursday criticized the report for not addressing or only partially answering “many credible allegations of violations of international humanitarian law and human rights law, including from the UN Panel of Experts report” . Meanwhile Lee Scott, MP for Ilford North and Chairman of the All Party Group for Tamils, welcomed the statement “which recognised the important factor - that is justice for the innocent victims” and stated that he would pursue this until justice is delivered. In the meantime, Tamil political circles in Vanni and Jaffna said they were disappointed by the alleged pro-Sri Lankan line taken by a British Conservative MP, James Wharton, who visited Jaffna and Vanni with Sri Lankan High Commissioner recently.

Following repeated requests, the visiting MP only managed to pay a last-minute courtesy visit to TNA MP S. Sritharan. The British Conservative MP was only taken to see those the Sri Lankan establishment in Colombo wanted him to see, Tamil sources in the North further alleged.

The British response has come at a time while the LLRC report is receiving heavy criticisms from Eezham Tamils for being a whitewash of the protracted genocide being committed on them.

The latest responses from UK and Canada are also coming after critical scrutiny by governments in the West even while some quarters in the establishments there maintain amiable relationships with the Sri Lankan government.

In the official response to the LLRC report, Mr. Alistair Burt also expressed the opinion that an independent mechanism needs to be constituted to investigate all allegations of grave abuses.

Commenting further, Tamil political circles in the island said that in welcoming the criticisms of the Sri Lankan government by the Western establishments the global Tamil community should not forego its call for recognition of genocide and its concomitant remedial action.

Extracts of Minister Burt’s statement follow:

“The British Government welcomes the fact that the LLRC report has been published in full. We have read the report closely and have considered in particular its findings relating to: reconciliation and an enduring political solution in the North and East; accountability for alleged war crimes committed during the conflict; and ongoing human rights issues in Sri Lanka.”

“We have noted the Sri Lankan government’s initial response to the report. We have also seen statements from political parties in Sri Lanka, from respected human rights organisations and from other governments.”

“The British Government believes that the report contains many constructive recommendations for action on post-conflict reconciliation and a political settlement. Implementation of these recommendations, however, is the real test of Sri Lanka’s progress.”

“We note the Commission’s conclusion that the root cause of the ethnic conflict in Sri Lanka lies in the failure of successive governments to address the genuine grievances of the Tamil people and the recommendation that the Sri Lankan government should take the lead in delivering a devolution package. We urge the Sri Lankan government to implement quickly this recommendation and the LLRC’s call for the Northern Province to be returned to civilian administration. We note the Sri Lankan government’s recent assurance that it will ensure the withdrawal of security forces from all aspects of community life and restrict their role exclusively to security matters.”

“We agree with the recommendation that more action be taken to help internally displaced persons rebuild their lives. We also agree that the government should make available to relatives a list of all detainees in custody since the end of the conflict; publicly declare all detention sites; and allow family, judicial and International Committee of the Red Cross access. We support the call for anyone responsible for unlawful detentions to be prosecuted.”

“The British Government is, on the whole, disappointed by the report’s findings and recommendations on accountability. Like many others, we feel that these leave many gaps and unanswered questions. We welcome the acknowledgement that “considerable civilian casualties” occurred during the final stages of the conflict and the recommendation that specific incidents require further investigation. But we note that many credible allegations of violations of international humanitarian law and human rights law, including from the UN Panel of Experts report, are either not addressed or only partially answered. We believe that video footage, authenticated by UN Special Rapporteurs, should inform substantive, not just technical, investigations into apparent grave abuses.”

“The British Government believes that the report’s recommendations on ongoing human rights issues in Sri Lanka are well founded. We hope they will be implemented vigorously. We welcome especially the focus on tackling attacks on media freedom and disappearances – including thousands of outstanding cases.”

“We encourage the Sri Lankan government to move quickly to implement the LLRC report’s recommendations. Some recommendations could be completed in a matter of months. Others may take time to implement fully, but initial steps can be taken now. Ultimately, the success or failure of the LLRC will be judged on the Sri Lankan government’s implementation of its recommendations.”

“On accountability, implementing the report’s recommendations would represent a useful first step. But we continue to believe it is important that an independent, credible and thorough mechanism is put in place to investigate all allegations of grave abuses.”

Related Articles:
12.01.12   Canada says LLRC inadequate, calls for independent investiga..
11.01.12   Jaffna GA wants SL police to investigate bloggers in Jaffna
07.01.12   SL military-led administration in North harasses Tamil journ..


External Links:

FCO.GOV.UK:

Foreign Office Minister responds to report on the conflict in Sri Lanka

Unemployed graduates in East ignored in employment opportunity

[TamilNet, Friday, 13 January 2012, 06:19 GMT]
Unemployed Graduates and Diploma Holders Association in the Eastern Province has in a memorandum to the Sri Lanka President Mahinda Rajapakse accused the Colombo government that they are being deceived after promising employment for 10,000 in 2010 and under the guise of Development Officers Project in 2011. The deprivation of employment opportunities and discrimination shown in providing such opportunities has fuelled the conflict in the past. Such discriminations should not be allowed in the province, said Mr. Hussein Mubarak, the general secretary of the UGDHA in his memorandum to the SL government.

Hundreds of unemployed graduates are over 45 years of age and majority of them are affected by natural disasters. Both the ruling and opposition political parties had promised employment opportunities are currently not seen at the scene, the memorandum states.

The UGDHA general secretary has pointed out in his memorandum that the unemployed graduates who have undergone untold sufferings due to the conflict and natural calamity are finding difficult for their survival without proper livelihood activities.

In the last year unemployed graduates had appeared at two interviews held for the recruitment but there has been no response from the concerned authorities.

They should be given priority when providing fresh appointment in the future, said Mr. Hussein Mubarak in his memorandum with copies to the Provincial Governor, Provincial Chief Minister, Provincial Education Ministry Secretary and Line Education Ministry Secretary.

TNA parliamentarian condemns desecration of Vivekananda statue in Batticaloa

[TamilNet, Friday, 13 January 2012, 06:06 GMT]
Politically motivated mischievous elements should not be allowed to create disharmony between Tamils and Muslims in the East, said Batticaloa District Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarian P.Ariyanethran in a statement condemning the desecration of the state of a Hindu Swami Vivekananda in Aaraiyampathi - Kaaththaankudi border recently. “Those who want to pursue their political ambition currently in the scene are suspected to be behind such crimes and violence between communities,” the TNA MP said.

Statues of educationists and religious leaders in the east are under threat from mischievous elements.

People would rally against such criminal acts by political mischievous elements continue unabated, the MP warned in his statement.

The law enforcement authority in Troncomalee has not arrest those who desecrated Thanthai Chelva statue. The lapse on the SL law enforcement authority had raised a grave suspicion on the part of the Colombo government, TNA parliamentarian alleged in his statement.

Chronology:

13.01.12  TNA parliamentarian condemns desecration of Viveka..

10.01.12  Motorbike squad destroys Swami Vivekananda statue ..

Canada says LLRC inadequate, calls for independent investigations

[TamilNet, Thursday, 12 January 2012, 06:26 GMT]
Adding to the increasing number of calls, ahead of the March meeting of UN's Human Rights Council in Geneva, for Independent International Investigations into alleged war crimes in Sri Lanka committed during the final phases of war, Canadas Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird said Wednesday, "Canada remains concerned that the report does not fully address the grave accusations of serious human rights violations that occurred toward the end of the conflict. Many of the allegations outlined by the UN Secretary-General’s Panel of Experts on Accountability in Sri Lanka have not been adequately addressed by this report. We continue to call for an independent investigation into the credible and serious allegations raised by the UN Secretary-General’s Panel that international humanitarian law and human rights were violated by both sides in the conflict."

Full text of Minister Baird's statement follows:

Minister Baird Comments on Final Report of Sri Lanka's Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission

John Baird, Foreign Affairs Minister, Canada

January 11, 2012 - Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird today issued the following statement on the final report of Sri Lanka’s Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission:

“Canada notes the public release of the report of Sri Lanka’s Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission. Although we are still studying the report, the commission has addressed and provided recommendations in some areas of concern, including reconciliation, the rule of law and demilitarization.

“Canada strongly urges the Government of Sri Lanka to implement the commission’s recommendations and develop an implementation road map with clear timelines while also addressing the issues the report did not cover. The report’s recommendations—if implemented—can contribute to the process of political reconciliation that must now take place to address the root causes of deadly strife and division. However, to date, we have seen a lack of both accountability and meaningful attempts at reconciliation on the part of the Sri Lankan government. Decisive action is now required.

“Canada remains concerned that the report does not fully address the grave accusations of serious human rights violations that occurred toward the end of the conflict. Many of the allegations outlined by the UN Secretary-General’s Panel of Experts on Accountability in Sri Lanka have not been adequately addressed by this report. We continue to call for an independent investigation into the credible and serious allegations raised by the UN Secretary-General’s Panel that international humanitarian law and human rights were violated by both sides in the conflict.

“The Government of Sri Lanka must demonstrate the principles of freedom, democracy, human rights and the rule of law.”

For further information, media representatives may contact:

Foreign Affairs Media Relations Office
Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada
613-995-1874
Follow us on Twitter: @DFAIT_MAECI

External Links:

GC:

Minister Baird Comments on Final Report of Sri Lanka's LLRC

Sustained Sri Lanka boycott campaign draws attention of GAP, WP

[TamilNet, Thursday, 12 January 2012, 05:26 GMT]
"They were holding up signs that read, “Victoria’s Dirty Little Secret” and “Big GAP in ethics” in front of Banana Republic and the Gap, warning shoppers to check labels, lest they buy clothing made in Sri Lanka, where they say human rights violations are continuing and Tamils are being forced off their land by the government," said an article appearing in Washington Post (WP) Thursday on the boycott Sri Lanka campaign a group of Eezham and Tamil Nadu expatriates have been conducting regularly in Washington suburbs for the last two years. The wind was piercing, but under a banner that read "Stop Tamil Genocide" they had their cause to keep them warm, the paper added.

Meanwhile, the GAP, aware of the negative publicity from the campaign in GAP-centric consumer populated areas, published in its website, that GAP is "closely monitoring the peace and reconciliation process in Sri Lanka, and is seeking to ensure our Code of Vendor Conduct is being adhered to by factories producing Gap Inc. branded apparel."

While the protest campaign is on rights violations and war-crimes, GAP appears to pretend that the issues were non-discriminatory hiring practices, and work conditions, the protesters said, adding that the thread of concern behind the posting was clearly the negative publicity from the protest placards.

• Washington can be a frontline for international combatants

The campaign activists told the paper of the danger their relatives face from the Sri Lankan state, which the protesters alleged, was watching the protesters identity and the efforts the Tamils take to avoid attending Sri Lanka embassy functions.

"They [Sri Lanka State] can target you," one protester who was wearing a disguise with sun glasses told the paper.

Sri Lankan Ambassador Jaliya Wickramasuriya, who recently came under a lot of criticism in Colombo media for not admitting to the escalation of the number of rapes in Sri Lanka, said in an interview that Tamil American groups are usually fronts for the Tamil Tigers, a rebel movement long on the U.S. list of terrorist organizations. “We work with the U.S. and FBI to try and figure out who is connected and who is not,” said the ambassador, who added that he thinks most Tamil Americans just want to help rebuild the country. “The diaspora is very active in Washington, and it keeps these issues alive, even when people back home have moved on,” the paper said quoting Wickremasuriya.

"Ambassador's veiled threat in attaching badge of terror to all activist Tamils, will not likely deter the protesters, and secondly, he will have to be cognizant on future possible libel actions that cannot be overcome with defense of diplomatic immunity," a protester responded to the threat.

External Links:

WP:		Washington can be a frontline for international combatants
GAP:		Social Responsibility: Sri Lanka

JVP student faction seeks Tamil youth for military inspiration: SL Minister

[TamilNet, Thursday, 12 January 2012, 02:31 GMT]
Calling themselves as a student group, a group of the factionalised JVP is seeking to exploit former LTTE cadres in its search for military inspiration and the group is targeting to exploit the Tamil students for a military cause, claimed S.B. Dissanayake, the SL minister of Education, who has been visiting the islets of Jaffna and the University of Jaffna with the backing of EPDP paramilitary leader Douglas Devananda, who is also a minister in the cabinet of SL president Mahinda Rajapaksa. Commenting on the statement by the SL minister, who met some students at the University of Jaffna, student circles in Jaffna said the comment has exposed the level of paranoia prevailing in the Colombo establishment that has used its military to abduct two JVPers who are still missing.

The JVP faction is seeking to exploit the Tamil youth, claimed S. B. Dissanayake, the SL minister for Education, who is on a visit to Jaffna.

The visiting SL minister was claiming that the JVP group was plotting to launch a military campaign against the SL state from North and East.

The JVP group is interested in ‘rehabilitated’ former cadres of the LTTE. It is also aiming to woo some students of the University in Jaffna, who were earlier helping the Tigers, the SL claimed adding that the Sri Lankan state was not prepared to tolerate any military opposition. Mr. Dissanayake was meeting the students of the Jaffna University at Kailasapathy auditorium on Wednesday.

The visiting Sinhala minister, staying as a guest with Mr. Douglas Devananda, is engaging in preparatory propaganda for the Northern Provincial elections, expected to be announced by Colombo in the near future.

“There are Tamil politicians who are still dreaming of Tamil Eelam”, the visiting minister confirmed and went on stating that it would not be practically possible to create a Tamil Eelam anymore.

Mr. Dissanayake visited Kachchatheevu island in a Sri Lanka Navy helicopter and visited the Delft and Veala'nai islands.

Jaffna GA wants SL police to investigate bloggers in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 11 January 2012, 23:16 GMT]
SL Police in Jaffna have filed cases, on behalf of Sri Lankan Government Agent in Jaffna against persons whom she alleges as engaging in a systematic campaign against her. The Judge at the District court of Jaffna, M. Ganesarajah, on Monday instructed the SL Police to investigate the background of two Tamil blogging sites that were mentioned by the SL Police. The write-ups and photos that appeared in the websites characterising Imelda Sugumar as being subjected to pressure from the SL military governor of North have no substance, she claims. Independent civil officials said public persons such as Ms. Sugumar should be prepared for facing such criticism in a civic manner and not engage in exercises threatening even the ‘non-existing’ freedom of speech in the peninsula.

The write-ups appeared following the recent visit by a British Conservative MP, James Wharton, who was accompanied by the new Sri Lankan High Commissioner in UK.

The British MP was only taken to meet selected personalities in Jaffna, including the Bishop of Jaffna in addition to TNA parliamentarians.

Despite Mr. Wharton displaying interest in greeting the public, the visit looked like a ‘guided tour’ by Colombo, civil sources in Jaffna said.

The SL military governor of North, Maj. Gen. G.A. Chandrasri, has been blamed for the arrangements of the sophisticated ‘guided visits’ that seek to promote Colombo's so-called development of Tamil areas. Such visits intend to camouflage the systematic structural genocide being committed on Eezham Tamils in the name of ‘development’.

A similar trend was observed during the visit by a Canadian delegation on Monday this week.

In the meantime, Tamil civil officials have come under strict scrutiny for meeting foreign diplomats and visitors and are frequently reminded by the authorities in Colombo that foreign diplomats need to acquire permission in advance to meet SL government servants.

At the same time, the Sri Lankan military intelligence has also stepped up harassments, seeking information on civil society representatives who are in touch with foreign diplomats in Colombo.

The SL military establishment has conveyed subtle warnings to certain academics through the administrative hierarchy at the University of Jaffna, informed sources at the university told TamilNet.

Meanwhile, three lecturers and 8 student leaders have been named, allegedly by the SL military operatives, who gave printed death threats through an unknown motorbike squad that entered the premises of the University and put up the posters at various locations.

Chronology:

11.01.12  Jaffna GA wants SL police to investigate bloggers ..

07.01.12  SL military-led administration in North harasses T..

05.01.12  SL Military governor sabotages Jaffna GA meeting B..

Related Articles:
15.12.11   Death threat issued to 8 student activists, 3 lecturers of J..

SLN arrests 13 Tamil Nadu fishermen in Trincomalee sea

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 11 January 2012, 21:40 GMT]
Sri Lanka Navy Wednesday morning arrested thirteen Tamil Nadu fishermen with their two trawlers in Trincomalee sea, fourteen nautical miles off Pulmoaddai, north of Trincomalee district.

The fishermen and their trawlers were brought to Trincomalee port. Later, they were handed over to the Sri Lankan Police in Trincomalee Harbour.

Sri Lanka Navy spokesman Commander Kosala Varnakulasooriya blamed that the Tamil Nadu fishermen were willfully trespassing on Sri Lankan territorial waters and said a naval patrol team that conducts routine patrols in the waters off Trincomalee observed the movement of Indian fishermen with their trawlers

சொல்கிறார்கள்

"புடவையை ஆச்சரியமாக பார்த்தனர்!' 

தென் கொரியாவில், உலகளவிலான பல்கலைக் கழக மாணவியருக்கிடையே நடந்த அழகிப் போட்டியில், மூன்றாமிடம் பிடித்த சென்னை மாணவி ஸ்வேதா ஸ்ரீதர்: எங்க குடும்பத்தில் டாக்டர்களும், வழக்கறிஞர்களும் தான் அதிகம். அதே வழியில் வந்த நான், சட்டப்படிப்பை தேர்ந்தெடுத்தேன். தமிழ்நாடு டாக்டர் அம்பேத்கர் பல்கலைக் கழகத்தில் படித்துக் கொண்டே, விளம்பரப் படங்களில் நடித்தேன். இதன் தொடர்ச்சி தான் அழகிப் போட்டி. இது, அழகை மட்டும் எதிர்பார்க்கும் போட்டியல்ல; நீச்சல் உடையில் போஸ் கொடுப்பதெல்லாம் கிடையாது. ஒவ்வொரு நாளும், ஒவ்வொரு ஊருக்குப் போக வேண்டும். மொத்தம், 17 நாட்களில், 20 சுற்றுக்களாகப் போட்டி நடந்தது. முதல் சுற்றில், "கிம்ச்சி' என்கிற கொரியாவின் பாரம்பரிய உணவின் செய்முறையை சமைத்துக் காட்ட வேண்டும். வேக வைத்த முட்டைக்கோசிற்குள் அரைத்த மிளகாயை அடைப்பது தான், "கிம்ச்சி'யின் அடிப்படை. உலக வெப்பமயமானதால், தென்கொரியாவில் குளிரின் அளவு இப்போது அதிகமாகிவிட்டது. அதனால், உலக வெப்பமயமாதல் பிரச்னை பற்றி பேச சொன்னார்கள். தென் கொரியாவின் எல்லையில் உள்ள, "க்வாச்சன்' என்ற கிராமத்துக்கு சென்றோம். முன்பு வட கொரியாவுடனான போரில் சிதறிய, துப்பாக்கிக் குண்டுகளை உருக்கிச் செய்யப்பட்ட ஒரு மணி, அங்கே கட்டப்பட்டிருக்கிறது. அதனுடன், அவரவர் நாட்டிலிருந்து கொண்டு சென்ற கற்களைப் போட்டு, ஒரு சிறு கோபுரத்தை நிறுவினோம். இதன் மூலம், நாங்கள் அக்கிராமத்தின் அமைதித் தூதுவர்களாக அறிவிக்கப்பட்டோம். இது போன்ற பணிகளில் போட்டியாளர்கள், எவ்வளவு நேர்த்தியாக செயல்படுகிறோம் என்பது தான், வெற்றியைத் தீர்மானிக்கும். மொத்தம், 63 நாடுகளிலிருந்து மாணவியர் வந்திருந்தனர். நான் கட்டியிருந்த புடவையைப் பார்த்து, அனைவரும் ஆச்சரியப்பட்டனர். யோகா, சக்கராசனத்தில் உடம்பை வளைத்து நான் நின்றதைப் பார்த்து வியந்தனர். மொத்தத்தில், இதை ஜாலியான பயணமாகத்தான் நினைத்தேன். அந்த அணுகுமுறை தான், என்னை ஜெயிக்க வைத்தது.

Rate bite in ICU

 ஐ.சி.யு.,வில் நர்சும், டாக்டரும் "குறட்டை': நோயாளியின் காது, மூக்கை கடித்துத் தின்ற எலிகள்

ஜோத்பூர்: ஜோத்பூரில், அரசு மருத்துவமனையில், தீவிர சிகிச்சைப் பிரிவில் அனுமதிக்கப்பட்டிருந்த முதியவரின் காது, மூக்கு, உதடு, தாடைகளை எலிகள் கடித்தன. பக்கவாத நோய் காரணமான ஏற்கனவே தீவிர சிகிச்சைப் பிரிவில் இருந்த அவர், தற்போது மேலும் ஆபத்தான நிலையில் சிகிச்சை பெற்று வருகிறார்.

ராஜஸ்தான் மாநிலம் ஜோத்பூர் நகரைச் சேர்ந்த 70 வயது முதியவருக்கு, கடந்த திங்களன்று பக்கவாத நோய் பாதிப்பு ஏற்பட்டது. இதனால், அவரை அங்குள்ள மதுர தாஸ் மாத்தூர் அரசு மருத்துவமனையில், உறவினர்கள் சேர்ந்தனர். தீவிர சிகிச்சைப் பிரிவில் அனுமதிக்கப்பட்டிருந்த அவரால், அசையக்கூட முடியவில்லை. வென்டிலேட்டர் கருவி மூலம், அவருக்கு செயற்கை சுவாசம் அளிக்கப்பட்டது. இந்நிலையில், நேற்று முன்தினம் காலை முதியவரைப் பார்க்க வந்த அவரது உறவினர்கள், அவரின் மூக்கு, காது, உதடு, தாடைகள் பிய்ந்து ஆபத்தான நிலையில் இருப்பதைக் கண்டு பதறிப் போயினர். இதுகுறித்து அவர்கள், மருத்துவமனை நிர்வாகத்திடம் புகார் தெரிவித்துள்ளனர்.

உலா வரும் எலிகள்: இதுபற்றி, பெயர் குறிப்பிட விரும்பாத டாக்டர் ஒருவர் கூறுகையில், "மருத்துவமனையில், தீவிர சிகிச்சைப் பிரிவில், கடந்த திங்களன்று இரவு பணியில் இருந்த நர்சும், டாக்டர்களும், இரவு 11 மணிக்கு முன்பாகவே தூங்கச் சென்று விட்டனர். இந்நிலையில், தீவிர சிகிச்சைப் பிரிவின் சுவரில் இருந்த ஒரு ஓட்டை வழியாக உள்ளே வந்த எலிகள், முதியவரின் மேல் ஏறி, அவரது காதுகள், மூக்கு, உதடுகள், தாடைகளை சிறிது சிறிதாக கடித்துள்ளன. மூச்சு விடுவதற்கு இணைக்கப்பட்டிருந்த குழாய்களையும், எலிகள் துண்டு துண்டாக்கி விட்டன. சுவரில் உள்ள ஓட்டை வழியாக எலிகள் உள்ளே வருவதையும், வெளியே செல்வதையும் மருத்துவமனை நிர்வாகத்தினர் முன்னரே பார்த்துள்ளனர். இருந்தும், எலிகள் வருவதைத் தடுக்க அவர்கள் எந்த நடவடிக்கையும் எடுக்கவில்லை. உயிரை பாதுகாக்க, நோயாளி மருத்துவமனையில் சேர்க்கப்படுகிறார். ஆனால், அங்கும் அவருக்கு பாதுகாப்பில்லை என்றால் என்ன செய்வது' என்றார்.

விசாரணைக்கு உத்தரவு: மருத்துவமனை கண்காணிப்பாளர் அர்விந்த் மாத்தூர் கூறுகையில்,"சம்பவம் குறித்து விசாரணை செய்வதற்காக, மூன்று பேர் கொண்ட குழு அமைக்கப்பட்டுள்ளது. அக்குழு விசாரணையை முடித்து, தன் அறிக்கையை இன்று மாலையோ அல்லது நாளை காலையோ அளிக்கும். அதன் பின்னரே, முதியவரை எலி தான் கடித்ததா என தெரியவரும். பின்னர், உரிய நடவடிக்கை எடுக்கப்படும்' என்றார். ஜோத்பூர் அரசு மருத்துவமனையில், இவ்வாறு எலி கடிப்பது ஒன்றும் புதிதல்ல. இங்குள்ள உம்மட் மருத்துவமனையிலும், 2009ம் ஆண்டில் பிறந்த குழந்தை ஒன்றை எலிகள் கடித்ததால், அந்தக் குழந்தை இறந்தது.

Andaman jarawa tribe tortured to dance before the tourists

 அந்தமான் பழங்குடியினரை ஆடச் செய்து ரசித்த சுற்றுலா பயணிகள் : "டிவி' காட்சியால் யூனியன் பிரதேசத்திற்கு நெருக்கடி

போர்ட் பிளேர்: அந்தமானில் ஜாரவா பழங்குடி பெண்களை நடனமாட செய்து, சுற்றுலா பயணிகளை மகிழ்வித்ததாக செய்தி வெளியிட்ட "டிவி' நிறுவனங்களுக்கு அந்தமான் நிகோபார் அரசு நோட்டீஸ் அனுப்பியுள்ளது. மேலும், இந்த விவகாரம் தொடர்பாக, அந்தமான் நிகோபார் யூனியன் பிரதேசத்திடமிருந்து, மத்திய அரசும் அறிக்கை கேட்டுள்ளது.
அந்தமான் நிகோபார் தீவில் உள்ள அடர்ந்த காட்டு பகுதியில், ஜாரவா பழங்குடியினர் வசிக்கின்றனர். இன்று வரை அவர்கள் எந்த ஆடையும் உடுத்தாமல், நிர்வாணமாகவே வாழ்ந்து வருகின்றனர். பெரும்பாலானோர் இறந்து விட, தற்போது 403 பேர் மட்டுமே இந்தத் தீவில் உள்ளனர். இந்த பழங்குடி இனத்தை பாதுகாக்கும் பொருட்டு, இவர்கள் வாழும் காட்டு பகுதியை நோக்கி செல்லும் சாலைகள் அடைக்கப்பட்டுள்ளன.

பத்திரிகை செய்தி : இதற்கிடையே வெளிநாட்டு சுற்றுலா பயணிகள் சிலர், இந்த பழங்குடிகளை பார்க்க சென்றதாகவும், இவர்களை அழைத்து சென்ற போலீஸ்காரர் ஒருவர், பழங்குடியின பெண்களுக்கு பிஸ்கெட்டுகளையும், இனிப்புகளையும் வழங்கி அவர்களை நடனமாட செய்ததாகவும், இதற்காக இந்த சுற்றுலா பயணிகளிடம் சம்பந்தப்பட்ட போலீஸ்காரர், 15 ஆயிரம் ரூபாய் லஞ்சம் பெற்றதாகவும் பிரிட்டனை சேர்ந்த பத்திரிகைகள் செய்தி வெளியிட்டுள்ளன. பொதுவாக, காட்டுப் பகுதியில் சுற்றுலா செல்பவர்கள் வனவிலங்குகளை பார்வையிடுவார்கள். ஆனால், அந்தமானில் இந்த நிர்வாண பழங்குடியினரை பார்ப்பதற்காகவே உள்ளூர் போலீசார் உதவியுடன் "காட்டு மனிதர்' சுற்றுலா நிகழ்ச்சி நடப்பதாக பிரிட்டனை சேர்ந்த "அப்சர்வர்' மற்றும் "கார்டியன்'பத்திரிகைகளில் செய்தி வெளியாகியிருந்தது. இந்த செய்தியை மையப்படுத்தி டில்லியை சேர்ந்த இரண்டு "டிவி' சேனல்கள் பழங்குடி பெண்களின் நடன நிகழ்ச்சியை ஒளிபரப்பின.

சேனல்களுக்கு நோட்டீஸ் : இதுகுறித்து அந்தமான் டி.ஜி.பி., எஸ்.பி.தியோல் குறிப்பிடுகையில், "அப்சர்வர் பத்திரிகை குறிப்பிட்டுள்ள பழங்குடி பெண்கள் படம் 2002ல் எடுக்கப்பட்டது. எனினும், பழங்குடியினரை காட்சி பொருளாக்கி சுற்றுலா பயணிகளுக்கு காட்டுவது சட்டப்படி குற்றமாகும்' என்றார். பழங்குடி பெண்களின் கவுரவத்தை இழிவுபடுத்தும் வகையில், அவர்களது நடனத்தை ஒளிபரப்பிய டில்லியை சேர்ந்த இரண்டு சேனல்களுக்கு அந்தமான் நிக்கோபார் நிர்வாகம் நோட்டீஸ் அனுப்பியுள்ளது. "பழங்குடி பெண்களை நடனமாட செய்தவர் ஒரு போலீஸ்காரர் என்பது தவறானது. அவர் சுற்றுலா பயணிகளை அழைத்து சென்ற அங்கீகாரம் பெறாத வழிகாட்டி. இது தொடர்பாக அவர் அரசிடம் மன்னிப்பு கேட்டுள்ளார். எனினும், அவர் மீது நடவடிக்கை எடுக்கப்பட்டுள்ளது' என அந்தமான் நிர்வாகம் விளக்கமளித்துள்ளது.

படம் பழையது : அந்தமான் நிகோபார் எம்.பி., விஷ்ணு பாதா ரே குறிப்பிடுகையில், "டிவியில் காட்டப்பட்ட பழங்குடி பெண்களின் நடன படம் பழமையானது. எனினும், இந்த காட்சியை ஒளிபரப்பியது தவறாகும். எனவே, உரியவர்கள் மீது அரசு, சட்டப்படி நடவடிக்கை எடுக்க வேண்டும்' என்றார்.

அப்பட்டமான பொய் : இந்த "வீடியோ' காட்சிகளை எடுத்த "பிரிட்டிஷ்' டிவி நிருபர் சாம்பர்லின் ஒரு பேட்டியில் குறிப்பிடுகையில், "இந்த "வீடியோ' காட்சிகளை அந்தமான் தீவுகளில் சமீபத்தில் தான் படமெடுத்தேன். பத்து ஆண்டுகளுக்கு முன் எடுத்த பழைய காட்சி என்று அந்தமான் கவர்னர் கூறியிருப்பது அப்பட்டமான பொய். "ஜாரவாஸ்' பழங்குடியின மக்கள் இன்றும் சுற்றுலா பயணிகளால் கொடுமைப்படுத்தப்படுகின்றனர். அந்தமான் போலீஸ் அதிகாரிகளில் சிலர் சுற்றுலா "ஆபரேட்டர்'களிடம் லஞ்சம் பெற்றுக் கொண்டு, பயணிகளை பழங்குடியின மக்கள் வாழும் காடுகளுக்கு கொண்டு செல்கின்றனர். அங்கு பழங்குடியின மக்களை சந்திக்கவும் ஏற்பாடு செய்கின்றனர்' என்றார்.

காட்சிப் பொருளாக சித்தரிப்பதா? : மத்திய பழங்குடியினர் நல அமைச்சர் கிஷோர் சந்திர தியோ, அந்தமான் கவர்னர் புபிந்தர் சிங்கை நேற்று தொடர்பு கொண்டு, இந்த சம்பவம் குறித்து விவரமான அறிக்கை ஒன்றை அனுப்புமாறு கேட்டுக் கொண்டார். மத்திய உள்துறை அமைச்சகமும், அந்தமான் மாநில அரசிடம் இது குறித்து ஒரு அறிக்கை அனுப்புமாறு கேட்டுக் கொண்டுள்ளது.

சம்பவம் குறித்து கி‌ஷோர் சந்திர தியோ நிருபர்களிடம் கூறியதாவது: அந்தமானில் உள்ள பழங்குடி மக்களை காட்சிப் பொருளாக சித்தரிப்பதை நான் வன்மையாக கண்டிக்கிறேன். மாநில அரசிடம் இந்த சம்பவம் குறித்து அறிக்கை அனுப்புமாறு கேட்டிருக்கிறேன். அடுத்த மாதம் அந்தமான் தீவுகளுக்கு சென்று, இந்த சம்பவம் குறித்து நேரடி விசாரணை நடத்துவேன். நேற்று முன்தினம் வெளிவந்த "வீடியோ' காட்சிகள் 10 ஆண்டுகளுக்கு முன் எடுக்கப்பட்டவை. இது, தற்போது நடந்த சம்பவம் அல்ல என, கவர்னர் என்னிடம் தெரிவித்தார். "ஜாரவா' பழங்குடி மக்கள் வாழும் தனிக்காடுகளில் சுற்றுலாப் பயணிகள் செல்வதற்கு அனுமதி கிடையாது. அந்தக் காடுகளின் வழியாகச் செல்லும் பஸ்களுக்கு போலீஸ் பாதுகாப்பு உண்டு. நான்கு அல்லது ஐந்து பஸ்கள் தொடர் வண்டியாக போலீஸ் பாதுகாப்போடு இந்த காட்டுப் பகுதியில் அனுப்பப்படுகிறது. இந்தப் பகுதிகளில் பயணிகள் பஸ்சை விட்டு இறங்குவதற்கு தடை விதிக்கப்பட்டுள்ளது. இவ்வாறு கிஷோர் சந்திர தியோ கூறினார்.

baby monster: சித்தி எனும் அரக்கியிடம் சிக்கிய குழந்தை

 சித்தி எனும் அரக்கியிடம் சிக்கிய குழந்தை : சுற்றிய கிரைண்டர் கல் மீது முகத்தை தேய்த்த கொடூரம்

திருப்பூர்: நான்கு வயது குழந்தை முகத்தை கிரைண்டரில் வைத்து அரைத்த சித்தி கொடுமை, திருப்பூரில் நடந்துள்ளது. திருப்பூர், நல்லூர் பொன்கோவில் நகரில் வசிப்பவர் சரவணன்; மனைவி சங்கீதா. இவர்களின் 4 வயது குழந்தை லோசனி; எல்.கே.ஜி., படிக்கிறார். கணவன் - மனைவி இடையே ஏற்பட்ட கருத்து வேறுபாடால், சங்கீதா, திருவண்ணாமலையை அடுத்த ஆத்தூரில் உள்ள தாய் வீட்டிற்கு சென்று விட்டார். சரவணன், விஜி என்ற பெண்ணை திருமணம் செய்து, அதே பகுதியில் வசித்து வந்தார். சங்கீதாவுக்கு பிறந்த லோசனியை, விஜி துன்புறுத்தியுள்ளார். இதையறிந்து சங்கீதா குழந்தையை கேட்டார்; சரவணன் கொடுக்கவில்லை. இதன்பின், இருவரும், குழந்தையை அவ்வப்போது துன்புறுத்தினர்.

தகவல் தெரிந்ததும் குழந்தையை மீட்ட, "சேவ்' அமைப்பு தலைவர் ஆலோஷியஸ் கூறியதாவது: சரவணன் வீட்டின் அருகில் இருந்தவர்கள், ஹெல்ப் லைன் 1098க்கு தொடர்பு கொண்டனர். அப்பகுதிக்கு சென்று விசாரித்த போது, குழந்தை மீது துணியை போட்டு அழைத்து வந்த விஜி, "கடந்த வாரம் ஒரு விபத்தில் சிக்கியது. அதனால், முகமெல்லாம் காயமாகியுள்ளது' என்றார். முகத்தை திறந்து காண்பிக்க மறுத்தார். போலீசை அழைப்போம் எனக் கூறியதும், குழந்தையை காண்பித்தார். சிகிச்சைகாக குழந்தையை அரசு மருத்துவமனையில் சேர்த்தோம். "கோபம் வந்தால், சித்தி, ஓடும் கிரைண்டர் முன் முகம் காட்டுவார். சத்தம் போட்டால், கிரைண்டருக்குள் தூக்கி போட்டு உன்னையும் சேர்த்து அரைத்து விடுவேன் என மிரட்டுவார். இரண்டு, மூன்று முறை ஓடும் கிரைண்டரில் என் முகத்தை வைத்து உரசியுள்ளார். தூங்கி எழுந்ததும், குச்சியை வைத்து என் மூக்கின் உட்பகுதியில் இடித்து விடுவார். இரவில் பழுக்க காய்ச்சிய கம்பியை வைத்து கை, கால், பின்புறம் சூடு போடுவார்' என, மருத்துவமனையில் அழுது கொண்டே குழந்தை தெரிவித்தது. இவ்வாறு ஆலோஷியஸ் கூறினார்.

மாவட்ட தலைமை அரசு மருத்துவமனை குழந்தை பிரிவில் அனுமதிக்கப்பட்டிருந்த லோசனியை பார்க்க சென்ற கலெக்டர் மதிவாணன் கூறும் போது, ""வெளியே சொல்ல முடியாத அளவு குழந்தையை கொடுமைப்படுத்தியுள்ளனர். அரசு மருத்துவமனையில் பாதுகாப்பு இல்லை. மருத்துவமனைக்குள் புகுந்து கழுத்தை நெரித்து கொன்று விடக்கூடும். எனவே, தனியார் மருத்துவமனையிலோ, "சேவ்' அமைப்பு பாதுகாப்பிலோ வைத்து சிகிச்சை மேற்கொள்ளுங்கள்,'' என்றார். இச்சம்பவத்தையடுத்து, சரவணன், விஜி மீது கொலை முயற்சி வழக்குப் பதிவு செய்து, போலீசார் தனிப்படை அமைத்து தேடி வருகின்றனர்.

indian bureaucracy rated worst in Asia

 ஆசியாவிலேயே மிக மோசமானது இந்திய அதிகார முறைமைதான்: ஆய்வு தகவல்

சிங்கப்பூர்: ஆசியாவிலேயே இந்திய அதிகார முறைமை தான் மிக மோசமானது என புதிய ஆய்வில் கண்டறியப்பட்டுள்ளது. மொத்தம் 10 இடங்களில், இந்தியாவுக்கு 9.21 வது இடம் கிடைத்துள்ளது. இப்பட்டியலில், வியட்நாம், பிலிப்பைன்ஸ், சீனா ஆகிய நாடுகள் இந்தியாவை விட முன்னேறியுள்ளன.

ஹாங்காங்கைச் சேர்ந்த ஒரு நிறுவனம், ஆசிய நாடுகளில், எந்த நாட்டில் அதிகார முறைமை சிறந்த முறையில் செயல்படுகிறது, எந்த நாட்டில் மிக மோசமாக செயல்படுகிறது என்பதைக் கண்டறிய சமீபத்தில் ஓர் ஆய்வு நடத்தியது. இதன் படி, மொத்தம் 10 இடங்களில், 2.25 புள்ளிகள் பெற்று சிங்கப்பூர் முன்னணியில் உள்ளது. இதையடுத்து ஹாங்காங், தாய்லாந்து, தைவான், ஜப்பான், தென் கொரியா மற்றும் மலேசியா ஆகிய நாடுகள் இடம் பெற்றுள்ளன. மலேசியாவை அடுத்து, சீனா, பிலிப்பைன்ஸ், இந்தோனேசியா மற்றும் வியட்நாம் ஆகிய நாடுகள் உள்ளன. ஆனால் 9.21 புள்ளிகள் பெற்று இந்தியா கடைசியில் உள்ளது.

இதுகுறித்து அந்த ஆய்வறிக்கையில் கூறப்பட்டிருப்பதாவது: இந்தியாவில் உள்ள அதிகார வர்க்கம் அதாவது அதிகாரிகள் திறமை குறைந்தவர்களாக உள்ளனர். இவர்கள் மீது, ஊழல் உள்ளிட்ட மிகப் பெரியளவிலான புகார்கள் கூறப்படுகின்றன. இது இந்தியாவில் முதலீடு செய்ய வரும் அந்நிய நாட்டு நிறுவனங்களுக்கு மிகப் பெரிய தலைவலியாக உள்ளது. குறிப்பாக, இந்திய அதிகார முறைமையில், போதுமான உட்கட்டமைப்பு வசதி இல்லாதது, ஊழல், அதிகாரிகள் லஞ்சத்துக்கு ஆசைப்படுவது போன்றவை பெரும் பிரச்னைகளாக உள்ளன. நிறுவனங்கள் அதிகாரிகளுக்கு லஞ்சம் கொடுப்பதன் மூலம், தங்களுக்கு சாதகமான காரியங்களை நிறைவேற்றிக் கொள்கின்றன. மேலும், இந்தியாவில், தாறுமாறான மற்றும் கடும் சுமையை ஏற்படுத்தக் கூடிய வரிகள், சுற்றுச் சூழல் மற்றும் பிற கட்டுப்பாடுகள் ஆகியவை, அந்நிய நாட்டு நிறுவனங்கள் முதலீடு செய்வதைத் தடுக்கின்றன. இதனால் அந்நிறுவனங்களுக்குப் பெருமளவில் செலவு ஏற்படுகிறது. இந்திய கோர்ட்டுகளுடன் மல்லுக்கட்டுவதை விட அவற்றைத் தவிர்ப்பதையே நிறுவனங்கள் விரும்புகின்றன. தவறான முடிவுகள் எடுக்கப்படும் போது அதற்கு இந்திய அதிகாரிகள் பொறுப்பேற்பதே இல்லை. எப்போதாவதுதான் பொறுப்பு ஏற்கின்றனர். இதனாலேயே பெரும்பாலான அந்நிய நிறுவனங்கள் இந்தியாவில் முதலீடு செய்யத் தயங்குகின்றன. இவ்வாறு அந்த அறிக்கையில் குறிப்பிடப்பட்டுள்ளது.

pesum padam

Motorbike squad destroys Swami Vivekananda statue in Batticaloa

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 10 January 2012, 23:39 GMT]
A group of men who came in motorbikes Tuesday around 00:30 a.m. destroyed the statue of Swami Vivekananda, a well known Vedantic spiritual leader of Hinduism from the 18th century. The statue, located in front of a fuel filling station on Batticaloa Kalmunai Road (A4) and is regarded locally as a border mark of Tamil dominated Aaraiyampathi and Muslim dominated Kaaththaankudi in Batticaloa district. The destruction is viewed as an attempt to create further divisions between Tamils and Muslims in the district. The SL police is allegedly involved in activities creating dissension between Tamils and Muslims by engineering such attacks, informed sources in Kaaththaankudi told TamilNet Tuesday.

The hands, legs, face of the statue were badly damaged.

A watcher of the fuel filling station, who witnessed the motorbike squad, was taken into custody by the SL Police in Kaaththaankudi.

Certain elements in the ruling UPFA were protesting against the use of Arabic in the East in the beginning of 2011.

Later, in September, name boards in Tamil were destroyed by an unknown squad, allegedly operatives of Colombo.

The welcome board “Va'nakkam, Batticaloa welcomes you” in Tamil was removed and the Sri Lankan police was spreading a rumour that certain Muslim leaders, including the Batticaloa Urban Council chairman considered “Va'nakkam” in Tamil as harem at that time.

In the meantime, M.L.A.M.Hisbullah, a deputy minister in the Rajapaksa government has condemned the attack on the Swami Vivekananda statue as an irresponsible act of some ‘criminal elements’.

Related Articles:
23.09.11   Tamil name boards removed along Batticaloa - Kalmunai Road
26.04.11   Kaaththaankudi UC defends Arabic usage in name boards

SL paramilitary in Jaffna monopolises cable TV market at gunpoint

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 10 January 2012, 06:10 GMT]
Hundreds of private cable operators, who have been supplying cable Television covering the villages of Jaffna for years have been harassed and coerced into working under a paramilitary operated cable operator, MBL Cable Network, in Jaffna. Independent operators who were operating their own dishes and distributing television channels to private consumers were told that their business was illegal and they have to buy the channels and lease the network being established by the paramilitary company that had exclusive ‘government permission’. However, those who were in the competing business and argued that there was no such ‘exclusive permission’ obtained by the MBL continued to operate on their own. But, now they are being threatened. Alexkumar Balasundaram, a cable provider who operates from Kokkuvil with 10-year-experience, says he was threatened Saturday at gunpoint.

The paramilitary backed cable company, which is being promoted in a mafia fashion by the Sri Lankan establishment through the forces aligned with Douglas Devananda and Selvarasa Pathmanathan alias KP, seeks to promote Dan TV, an unpopular EPDP-operated television by gaining monopoly of the cable market.

Hundreds of small independent cable providers who were relaying TV channels from Tamil Nadu were forced to lease the network through the corporate paramilitary of the SL State.

The Sri Lankan police, under the instruction from its hierarchy in Colombo, is curbing the investigations with the complaints being made by independent operators like Mr. Balasundaram, whose case is put on hold by the SL court.

Despite the inaction, Balasundaram says he would fight for the right to operate his business independently.

Media circles in Jaffna say that the Sri Lankan military-led administration, which blocks independent journalists in covering certain events, treat the Dan TV ‘journalists’ as media workers of the State, giving full access to them.

Dan TV, carrying anti-diaspora and anti-TNA campaign gives prominence to SL state propaganda.

The paramilitary also engaged in image manipulations misusing the logo of a popular TV in Tamil Nadu, broadcasting anti-TNA views, during the elections.

Mr. Balasundaram has also complained at the SL Police that his cable connections are being destroyed by certain elements.

But, the SL police in Jaffna said that they have registered complaints that Balasundaram was disrupting the distribution of Dan TV.

Ampaa'rai Tamil driver found dead with cut injuries in Nuwara Eliya

[TamilNet, Monday, 09 January 2012, 12:02 GMT]
30 year old Kamalaraj, a resident of Thambiluvil in Thirukoail division in Ampaarai district, was found dead blindfolded and with cut injuries in his neck along a main road Nuwaraeliya area in the central province. He had been a driver by profession in Wellawatte in Colombo district and went on a hire to Kathirkaamam with persons arrived from abroad on January 3 in a van owned by another person.

The van owner made a complaint to the Wellawatte police as he had lost contacts with the driver. On the next day, January 4, Kamalaraj's body was found along Kandy-Nuwara Eliya road on receipt of information from the people of the area.

The body was immediately removed to the Nawalapitiya hospital.

The owner of the van identified the body.

Whereabouts of the vehicle is not known, according to police sources.

Internment continues unchecked in Sri Lanka, as an era ends in US

[TamilNet, Monday, 09 January 2012, 02:54 GMT]
During the final assault in Mu'l'livaaykkaal, Sri Lanka's armed forces herded nearly 300,000 Tamil civilians, including close to 50,000 children and elderly, and LTTE non-combatants, in 21st century version of over-crowded internment camps encircled by barbed wire fences. While GoSL manipulates its demographic politics with the captive internees, in the U.S., an internment era, where 70 years ago more than 100,000 Japanese Americans were interned after the bombing of Pearl Harbor (7th Dec 1941), ended with the death this week of the famous internee, Gordon Hirabayashi, who leaves a legacy that still resonates whenever individual citizens force a Government to live up to its highest and best ideals.

• Beyond Lawful Constraints: Sri Lanka’s Mass Detention of LTTE Suspects

Hirabayashi, a young University of Washington senior in 1941, refused to report to an Army internment camp, and instead he turned himself in to the FBI, and in so doing, changed America's history.

Military supervised internment camp in Vavuniyaa (Photo: The Times, UK)

Vavuniyaa internment camp

Tamil refugees in internment camp

Tamil refugees in internment camp

Manik Farm Internment Camp

Tamil IDPs struggling without proper shelters in Vavuniyaa

After Pearl Harbor attack, Army Lt. Gen. John DeWitt deemed the Pacific Coast vulnerable to attack, leading the government to prohibit people of Japanese ancestry from being anywhere near the coastline. Hirabayashi refused to evacuate.

A federal court sentenced Hirabayashi for violating the evacuation order. Supreme Court left his conviction intact as the Government convincingly argued that internment was a military necessity.

"The nation was at war, and it needed to keep Japanese Americans away from the coasts, to prevent espionage and for the safety of the country," the US justice department said. War was still on. Seventy years later Sri Lanka held the thousands of Tamil civilians not so much for island's safety but as a collective punishment to the Tamils. War was already over in Sri Lanka.

In the US, the Government withheld from the court a key report that contradicted the military necessity argument. The report concluded that “the entire ‘Japanese Problem’ has been magnified out of its true proportion, largely because of the physical characteristics of the people” and that “it should be handled on the basis of the individual, regardless of citizenship, and not on a racial basis.”

In the 1980s, when a federal court of appeals learned that the solicitor general had suppressed evidence in Hirabayashi's case, it overturned his conviction — more than 40 years after the Supreme Court upheld it.

Spokesperson for Tamils Against Genocide (TAG), an activist group seeking legal redress for Tamil war victims said, "We note former US Assistant Solicitor General Neal Katyal, who argued for Bin Laden's driver Hamdan, on his Guantanamo detention against the US Government, saying "You can hear echoes of his [Hirabayahi's] fight in the respectful protests against (and counter-protests for) Roe v. Wade. You can hear them in Thurgood Marshall’s long quest to desegregate American schools. And you can hear them in the voices of so many others who fight — within the system — for what they believe is right." TAG is also in the business of litigation for very much the same reasons," TAG spokesperson said.

"At a young age, Hirabayashi realized something profound: Our American system is strong enough to admit its mistakes and to correct them. He knew that silence posed a greater danger than any challenge, and that giving up on the system of law posed the greatest threat of all," Katyal, currently a Professor at Georgetown Law school says of Hirabayashi's legacy.

"Contrast this view with Sri Lanka's judiciary and societal obligations of Sri Lanka's intellectuals. The strata of self-confident intellectuals are conspicuously absent, either overcome by fear to life or simply blinded by patriotism unsupported by deliberate reason. This intellectual vacuum, together with the politicized judiciary, portend a long an arduous journey for the Sinhala majority to develop a vision for a just and fair society. In the meantime, Tamil diaspora has to employ all means in its power to ensure that the struggle for enlightenment continues," TAG spokesperson said.

Related Articles:
27.09.10   ICJ blames Colombo for world's largest detention, cautions d..
07.02.10   Sri Lanka, acid test for International Law
12.12.09   Colombo sacks Tamil doctor for internment camp comments
06.11.09   35,000 IDP students still held in Vavuniyaa internment camps
06.11.09   US Legislators urge rapid release of interned Tamil civilian..
18.10.09   30,000 Tamils march in London over Sri Lanka's internment ca..
17.10.09   Tamil internment, a manifestation of Sinhala state racism - ..
16.10.09   States financing Tamil internment, UN, complicit in Crimes a..
07.10.09   250,000 Tamils in dire humanitarian need, says British Minis..
05.10.09   Sri Lanka's internment camps for Tamils: experience of an in..
03.10.09   Duplicitous Colombo bereft of excuses on holding internees -..
02.10.09   Internment, poisoning hopes of reconciliation - Economist
29.07.09   Free civilians from detention camps, HRW tells Sri Lanka
10.06.09   57,293 children held in Vavuniyaa SLA internment camps
10.03.09   U.N. funding Sri Lanka internment camps, withholds casualty ..


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The legacy of Gordon Hirabayashi’s fight against internment

still hurting: "இன்றளவும் வலிக்கிறது!'

 சொல்கிறார்கள்

 

"இன்றளவும் வலிக்கிறது!'

செயற்கைக் காலுடன் மாரத்தான் பந்தயத்தில் பங்கேற்கும் ராணுவ வீரர் தேவேந்தர் பால்சிங்: என் பெற்றோருக்கு அரசு வேலை என்பதால், பல ஊர்களுக்கு மாற்றலாகிச் செல்லும் சூழ்நிலை இருந்தது. அதனால், தாத்தா வீட்டில் வளர்ந்தேன். ரூர்க்கி ராணுவ முகாமில் என் தாத்தா பணியாற்றினார். ராணுவச் சூழலில் வளர்ந்ததால், அதன் மீது ஒருவித ஈர்ப்பு ஏற்பட்டது. டிகிரி முடித்ததும், ராணுவத் தேர்வு எழுதி தேர்ச்சி பெற்றேன். கடந்த, 1999ல் நடந்த கார்கில் போரின் போது, இந்திய - பாகிஸ்தான் எல்லையில் பணியாற்றினேன். அதில், "ஆபரேஷன் விஜய்' என்ற போர் நடவடிக்கையில், தற்காலிக மேஜராக பதவி உயர்வு பெற்று, 30 பேர் கொண்ட ராணுவக் குழுவிற்கு தலைமை தாங்கினேன். போரின் போது, நாங்கள் சற்றும் எதிர்பாராத நேரத்தில், பாகிஸ்தான் பகுதியில் இருந்து குண்டுகளை சரமாரியாக ஏவினர். ஒரு குண்டு என் தலையை உரசிச் சென்றது; அடுத்த குண்டு என்னருகே வெடித்துச் சிதறியது. அதன் சிதறல்கள் என் உடலைக் கிழித்துப் புகுந்தன. உயிருக்கு ஆபத்தான நிலையில், புனே மருத்துவமனையில் அறுவை சிகிச்சை செய்யப்பட்டது. ஆனாலும், 40 இரும்புத் துகள்களை அகற்ற முடியவில்லை. அவை இன்றளவும் வலியை ஏற்படுத்துகிறது. சிதைந்து போன ஒரு காலை மூட்டுக்குக் கீழே வெட்டி அகற்றிவிட்டு, செயற்கைக் கால் பொருத்தப்பட்டது. செயற்கைக் காலால் ஏற்படும் வலியை விட, ராணுவப் பணியில் இருந்து ஓய்வு பெறும் நிலை ஏற்பட்டது தான் என் மனதை மிகவும் பாதித்தது. எனக்கு விளையாட்டில் ஆர்வம் அதிகம் இருந்ததால், நடப்பதற்காக பொருத்தப்பட்ட செயற்கைக் காலுடன் மூன்று முறை, மாரத்தானில் பங்கேற்றேன். செயற்கைக் காலுடன் ஓடுவது சிரமம் என்றாலும், என் தன்னம்பிக்கை அதை மறக்கச் செய்கிறது. கடந்த 2005ல் கார்கில் முதல், கன்னியாகுமரி வரை நடந்த மோட்டார் ஸ்போர்ட்ஸ் ரேலியில் பங்கேற்றேன். தற்போது, டில்லியில் தனியார் வங்கியில் பணியாற்றியவாரே, மும்பையில் நடத்தப்படும் மாரத்தான்களில் பங்கேற்று வருகிறேன். பங்கி ஜம்பிங், பாராசூட் யெய்லிங் போன்றவற்றிலும் எதிர்காலத்தில் ஈடுபட ஆசை.

LTTE is a best freedom movement - says g.Parthasarathy: தமிழீழ விடுதலைப் புலிகள் இயக்கம் சிறந்த போராட்ட இயக்கம்:

எல்லைத் தமிழன்

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More options Jan 9, 10:49 pm

தமிழீழ விடுதலைப் புலிகள் இயக்கம் சிறந்த போராட்ட இயக்கம்: 

இந்திய முன்னாள் உயர்ஸ்தானிகர் ஜீ.பார்த்தசாரதி

[ திங்கட்கிழமை, 09 சனவரி 2012, 03:01.56 PM GMT ]
தமிழீழ விடுதலைப் புலிகள் மிகச் சிறந்த போராட்ட இயக்கங்களில் ஒன்று எனவும்
அதன் தலைவர் வே.பிரபாகரனின் சொல்லுக்கு கூடுதல் மதிப்பு அளிக்கப்பட்டது என
இந்திய முன்னாள் உயர் அலுவலர் ஜீ.பார்த்தசாரதி குறிப்பிட்டுள்ளார்.

மரபு ரீதியான இராணுவமொன்றுடன் மரபு ரீதியான போராட்டத்தில் ஈடுபட்டதே தமிழீழ
விடுதலைப்புலிகள் இழைத்த மாபெரும் தவறு என ஜீ.பார்த்தசாரதி
சுட்டிக்காட்டியுள்ளார்.

மேலும், இலங்கைத் தமிழர்களின் பொருளாதாரத்தை வலுப்படுத்தக் கூடிய வகையில்
இந்தியாவின் அரசியல் கொள்கைகள் மாற்றியமைக்கப்பட வேண்டுமெனவும் அவர்
தெரிவித்துள்ளார்.

நல்லிணக்கத்தை ஏற்படுத்தவும் நிரந்தர சமாதானத்தை ஏற்படுத்தவும் தமிழர்களை
பொருளாதார ரீதியாக வலுப்படுத்துவது அவசியமானது என்றும் கைத்தொழில் மற்றும்
பொறியியல் நிறுவனங்களை வடக்கு கிழக்கில் நிறுவுவதன் மூலம் பாரியளவில்
மாற்றத்தை ஏற்படுத்த முடியும் என அவர் நம்பிக்கை வெளியிட்டுள்ளார்

Durham apparel company moves manufacturing out of Sri Lanka

[TamilNet, Sunday, 08 January 2012, 16:43 GMT]
School House, a collegiate apparel company in based in Durham, North Carolina, moved its manufacturing from Sri Lanka to North Carolina earlier this year to make its items for the 2012 line at a local Durham-based manufacturer, local papers said. The company which supplies apparel to more than 100 campus bookstores, including Duke University, UNC Chapel Hill, Harvard University and Yale University, said the expenses incurred with manufacturing abroad, the shipping costs and the time lag between design and production, convinced School House to move manufacturing back to the United States.

School House which started in 2008, originally contracted with a factory in Sri Lanka to manufacture its clothing, and emphasized paying workers a living wage - three times the industry average there.

Rachel Weeks, CEO of School House, projected that sales will continue to rise and will hit hit the $1 million mark in 2011 and climb to $1.8 million in 2012. The company is trying to complete a $300,000 round of financing from private investors.

Heath Shuler, a Democratic Congressman from North Carolina, is a regular visitor to Sri Lanka, and recently went to Sri Lanka on a ‘fact-finding mission’ paid by Sri Lanka and coordinated by the US State Department under the Mutual Educational and Cultural Exchange programme.

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External Links:

NC:

Apparel made to tout Duke University is homegrown

TNA, GTF join ANC centenary celebration, Sri Lanka boycotts

[TamilNet, Sunday, 08 January 2012, 09:48 GMT]
Delegations from the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) and the Global Tamil Forum (GTF) are amongst international attendees of the centenary celebrations of the African National Congress (ANC) on Sunday. Sri Lanka has refused to participate at the event in Bloemfontein because of the ANC’s invitation to the GTF, the Sunday Times reports. Dozens of heads of state and representatives of other governments, as well as large numbers of dignitaries from across Africa are joining over 100,000 politicians, members and supporters of the ANC in the historic celebration. In the meantime, a Tamil academic based in Colombo cautioned Eezham Tamils to be aware of the duality of South Africa. While the ruling party has been engaged in a show of solidarity with struggling forces across the world, the South African State has joined hands with anti-people regimes as it did during the 2009 voting at the UNHRC.

Bloemfontein, 400 km south of Johannesburg, is where the ANC, Africa's oldest liberation movement, was born 100 years ago in a small village church.

TNA delegation in South Africa

The TNA’s delegation includes leader R. Sampanthan, M.A. Sumanthiran, Selvam Adaikalanathan and Suresh Premachandran.

The GTF’s 7-person delegation is lead by its President, Rev (Dr) S J Emmanuel, and includes representatives of its member organisations in the United States, Britain, Australia, Malaysia, and Germany.

The two delegations are to hold talks on the sidelines of the event.

The ANC wrote to the TNA and the member organisations of the GTF inviting them to join its historical celebrations.

Sri Lanka has refused the ANC’s invitation because inviting the GTF thus giving the diaspora organisation official status and placing it on par with a government delegation was not acceptable, an External Affairs Ministry source told the Sri Lankan Sunday Times.

Meanwhile, Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas were amongst those who arrived in Bloemfontein Saturday.

They, along with Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan and forty other national leaders, will join a mass rally to be addresssed on Sunday by South African President Jacob Zuma.

Announcing the centenary celebrations, the ANC said:

“For the ANC this event is important for numerous reasons, but key amongst those is the fact that in the 100 years of its existence we remain relevant to the situation in South Africa, the continent and the world. Secondly, the ANC continues to embody the ideals of a non-racial, non-sexist and democratic country.”

“The prestige and importance of this event is evident given the international interest it has generated for historic and concurrent roles South Africa plays in the affairs of the region, the continent and the world.”

On Saturday, British Prime Minister David Cameron hailed the ANC as “a beacon for the world in the fight against discrimination and the struggle for freedom from oppression.”

“On behalf of the British people, I want to congratulate you and everyone involved with the African National Congress on this very special anniversary,” he wrote.

“We will stand with you in the ongoing struggle for equality, democracy and prosperity for the people of South Africa, and for justice and freedom from tyranny around the world.”

At the celebrations in Bloemfontein, 86-year-old ANC veteran Andrew Mlangeni, who was jailed alongside ANC icon Nelson Mandela, 93, by the Apartheid regime, told reporters: “I'm very happy and proud that we have achieved what we fought for: freedom.”

“People of South Africa today are free and this is what we had been struggling for,” he said.

Throughout decades of struggle against Apartheid, the ANC’s leaders were also deemed international terrorists - the United States only removed Mandela from its terrorist watch list in 2008 – but were undaunted.

"We never saw ourselves as terrorists, we were satisfied in our minds that we were freedom fighters,” said Mac Maharaj, the current presidential spokesman and former head of the ANC’s armed wing, told AFP.

But once in power, the party chose economic liberalism, creating a new generation of "black economic power" that has changed the face of the Africa’s biggest economy - South Africa's black middle class counts between two and three million people.

"We are the oldest organisation in the continent," President Zuma told a cheering crowd after a walk-about Friday in Botshabelo around 25 miles from Bloemfontein.

"Many organisations have been created, born, established along the way and many have perished, have died, have collapsed. Not the ANC."

No amnesty for war-criminals

No amnesty for war-criminals, says UN's 

Navi Pillay

[TamilNet, Sunday, 08 January 2012, 04:01 GMT]
Granting amnesty to perpetrators of war crimes and human rights abuses under Yemen's presidential power transition deal would be against international law, the United Nations human rights chief said on Friday, undermining the peace agreement, Reuters reported. The implications of this to pending litigation of sitting and ex-Presidents in courts around the world are significant according to legal sources in Washington. Professor Francis Boyle commented that while the UN pronouncements were directed towards Yemen, for bringing the culpable Sri Lanka leaders to justice for crimes committed during the Mu'l'livaaykkaal massacre, continued action outside Sri Lanka by Tamil expatriates was crucial.

Professor Boyle in a note sent to TamilNet said: "The GOSL [Government of Sri Lanka] are so brazen in their genocidal criminality that they are not even going to bother giving themselves “amnesty.” They will continue to tough it out and figure they can get away with it forever. So far every government in the world including and especially India has let them do so, as well as the United Nations Organization. It is up to us People to turn the situation around and hold the GOSL accountable. 50,000 massacred Tamils in Vanni demand no less of our Common Humanity!"

Noting that Pillay has previously blamed Yemeni government forces for using live ammunition against unarmed protesters and has said President Ali Abdullah Saleh should not get amnesty in a deal to persuade him to leave power, Reuters summarized Navi Pillay's statement as follows:

"I have been closely following the events in Yemen, particularly the very contentious debate about an amnesty law to be presented to Parliament shortly," "International law and the U.N. policy are clear on the matter: amnesties are not permissible if they prevent the prosecution of individuals who may be criminally responsible for international crimes including war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide, and gross violations of human rights." "Based on information we have gathered, there is reason to believe that some of these crimes were committed in Yemen during the period for which an amnesty is under consideration. Such an amnesty would be in violation of Yemen's international human rights obligations,"

Saudi Arabia has supported Saleh by donating diesel and crude oil and the United States, which long backed Saleh as a pillar of its "counter-terrorism" strategy, helped craft the power transition deal giving him immunity from prosecution, Reuters report said.

External Links:

Reuters:

UN's Pillay: Yemen peace-deal amnesty may be unlawful

Sound of Silent Speech

[TamilNet, Saturday, 07 January 2012, 16:57 GMT]
One can speak not only through words but through expressive conduct often called "Symbolic speech" - legally defined as nonverbal gestures and actions intended to communicate a message. In Western liberal democracies, most forms of symbolic speech are constitutionally protected. The Tamil diaspora's recent use of such protected expressive speech to publicize symbols of Colombo oppression as philatelic stamps has infuriated Sri Lanka diplomats, and is posing a long-term threat to Sri Lanka's image abroad. The autocratic suppression of free speech and threat to life have progressively shaped a local compliant media that exercises self-censorship, and have ill-prepared Sri Lanka's diplomats to confront the individual freedom enjoyed by the Tamil diaspora in the West.

French Stamps 2012 (Courtesy: Sri Lanka Mirror)

Postal stamps issued in Switzerland 2011

Pirapaharan stamp, France Jan2012

US stamp 2011, 2012

UK 2012, published by RSTE (Revolutionary Students of Tamil Eelam)

Canada 2012

Postal stamps issued in Switzerland 2011

US Stamp 2012

Navaratnam's stamp issued in Canada

The "offending" stamps published in France, UK, Canada, and the US, are likely harbinger of future tactics the diaspora may employ in their countries of domicile. The reaction of Minister Peiris and other Sri Lanka officials have surprised the activists on the impact such symbolic actions can have on Colombo, members of the group that published stamps in France said.

In France, the stamps were produced using an online service offered by La Poste, a private business enterprise, not funded by French tax-payers. The Company deals with postal matters in several countries around France. The private businesses are likely to be only marginally affected by diplomatic pressure arising from France's foreign policy objectives, unless the images are blatantly illegal or constitutionally unprotected.

While local media in Colombo reported that French Ambassador "apologized," to Colombo on the stamp matter, the most relevant statement reported by UPI involved French embassy quoting the publisher's statement:

La Poste called the release of the "stamps with inappropriate visuals" a "mistake," the French Embassy in Sri Lanka said in a statement.

The soft-language used in the statement by La Poste reflects the contradiction between the internal freedom enjoyed by the french on their right to publish and France's diplomatic need to maintain cordial relationship with other countries. Further, La Poste and the French embassy could not have been unaware of possible legal challenges that may ensue if barring publication of symbols can be shown to be racially or ethnolinguistically discriminatory.

Meanwhile, the Tamil Youth Organization (TYO) in Canada published a stamp showing Tamil eelam map with the words 'I remember Tamil Genocide.' Sinhala organizations in Canada have protested against the stamp. "LTTE-front" is the badge of terror being attached to the TYO, and the funds, claim the protesters, are tainted by "terror." "Legal issues in curtailing speech will prevent any action by authorities, absent imposing non-discriminatory restrictions. Protest tactics are no longer tenable in the post-Mu'l'livaaykkaal phase, and will more likely provide factual basis for libel action," commented Canadian lawyers monitoring the development.

In some countries, post-9/11 "terror laws" have eroded the supreme position of individual freedom, a pillar of western liberal jurisprudence in free democratic society, and perhaps may bar some symbols, but many symbols of Colombo oppression are not cognizable as illegal speech as a matter of French law in particular, and common law in general, legal sources in Washington said.

Spokesperson for Tamils Against Genocide (TAG), an activist group seeking legal redress to Tamil victims of Sri Lanka war said, "two evolving streams of activity will soon trouble Colombo's efforts to dampen Tamil diaspora activity. One, the bogey of 'LTTE rump' Colombo uses as a badge of criminality on the diaspora, will likely diminish with possible libel suits against fraudulent use of the label. Two, with the era of armed-struggle fast receding, countries that have proscribed the LTTE, will face moral dilemma and legal challenges in extending the ban," TAG spokesperson added.

The thinking of US justices to the "terror" argument to blunt speech rights is demonstrated in Virginia v. Black, where the Court struggled with how much one can suppress conduct without banning expression. The Court held that cross burning by Ku Klux Clan, a free-speech issue that triggers first amendment rights, was a "virulent form of expression" and is not constitutionally protected, but declared Virginia law that banned ALL forms of cross burning as unconstitutional.

The dissenting Justice Thomas, on the court declaring Virginia law as unconstitutional, failed to convince the court when he argued that the Ku Klux Klan is a ‘‘terrorist organization,’’ that there exists a ‘‘connection between cross burning and violence,’’ and that a burning cross is ‘‘now widely viewed as a signal of impending terror and lawlessness.’

• French Challenge to Free Expression

"When not intended to intimidate, many forms of symbolic speech qualify as protected speech. So would be all forms of visual images that appear in stamps, except virulent symbols intended to intimidate, are protected, and attempts to attach the badge of terror by Colombo is unlikely to succeed despite pronouncements to the contrary," TAG spokesperson said.

Related Articles:
02.01.12   Extra-judicial execution of Trincomalee students, Sixth anni..
11.06.10   Tamil Commemorative stamp released in US
30.01.07   Canadian Memorial Stamp issued for late Navaratnam


External Links:

Wiki:		Symbolic Speech
ST:		Now Tiger stamp in Britain
Cato:		Unholy Fire: Cross Burning, Symbolic Speech, and the First Amendment Virginia v. Black
SL:		G.L meets French envoy over LTTE stamps
IT:		Slain LTTE chief Prabhakaran turns up on French postal stamps
SL:		LTTE stamps not authorized by France
MSN:		Sri Lanka protests over LTTE stamps in France

Colombo Tamil group fallen into GoSL net?

[TamilNet, Saturday, 07 January 2012, 13:33 GMT]
“After the war, with protection of Tamil civilians neutrralized, the Eezham Tamils have become powerless even to conduct their routine day-to-day activities to survive. The occupying Sri Lankan army, the military-led administration of Colombo, and Sri Lankan ministers such as Rishad Bathiutheen, who intervene in the affairs of resettlement, have become the authorities of ‘appeal’ in resettling the Muslims in Jaffna and other places,” says a Colombo-based Tamil academic responding to an appeal that appeared Thursday in the Island paper. The appeal was made by a group of 68 Colombo-based Tamils. The academic describes the move as an attempt to create divisions among the Tamil speaking people and as a move to counter the real civil society in the North and East that has recently spoken up on course correcting the Tamil National Alliance.

In the meantime, reports from Jaffna and Mannaar said only a few of the Muslims uprooted during the war have resettled in Jaffna. Many of the remaining also came in buses just to register their interest in their lands and houses, but chose to return the same day back to Puththa'lam, where they have established their livelihood, the reports said.

The 68 “Colombo Tamils” have appealed in the Island newspaper of 5th January 2012 to the Eezham Tamils to resettle the Muslims displaced by the LTTE during the times of war.

“Many known faces in the 68-group were anti-LTTE during the war and now they are turning their guns at the Eelam Tamils and that matches very well with the agenda of the GoSL and the sections of the so-called international community,” the Tamil academic in Colombo said.

Further comments by the academic follow:

First, my apologies to the ordinary Eelam Tamils living in Colombo for calling these ‘visitors to Colombo’ as ‘Colombo Tamils’ as it is not my intention to say these 68 represent even the Colombo Tamils.

The politics of the many known faces in the 68-group was anti LTTE during the war, and now they are turning their guns at the Eelam Tamils.

This 68-group seems to be a ‘civil group’ propped up to promote the agenda of Colombo and its abettors in the international community, to counter the authentic NorthEast civil society of Eelam Tamils, which recently came with a course-correcting open appeal to the Tamil National Alliance.

Tamils have long acknowledged that the displaced Muslims were unfortunate victims of LTTE’s ‘High Security Zone’, the same way the GoSL dealt with Eelam Tamils uprooting them in large numbers throughout the country of Eelam Tamils.

The LTTE, during the CFA times repeatedly made it clear that the movement was not opposed to the resettlement of the Muslims. The LTTE leader entered an agreement with the SLMC leader as a move in the process of reconciliation between the Tamils and the Muslims during that time.

Further, the representation of Muslims in the ISGA proposal of the LTTE and the Muslim representation included in the PTOMS agreement are documentary evidence to the LTTE's commitment to the reconciliation process between the Tamils and the Muslims.

While damages suffered by civilians should be redressed by the State that unleashed terror on them, both groups of victims have received neither justice nor reparation from the victors of war.

The ‘victors’ instead are concentrating in settling Sinhalese who were never displaced by the war.

After the war, the Eelam Tamils are completely powerless even to survive in the absence of their defender. So why is this new ‘civil group’ appealing to the powerless Eelam Tamils instead of appealing to the all-powerful occupation Military?

Further, they are trying to create more confusion and damage by their ‘political philosophy’, which is not based on the social reality of the existence of Nations and hence does not recognize the Right of Self Determination of Nations.

Their characterization of the war as an ‘ethnic war’ only shows that they are living in a pre-capitalist era which gave birth to Nations.

What is more dangerous is their effort to create a new ‘ethnic war’ between Tamils and Muslims. Nothing else can be more pleasing to the Sri Lankan State.

The dictatorship of the Colombo regime by Rajapaksa siblings has probably prevented the TNA fighting for the Tamil victims and the SLMC fighting for the Muslim victims.

One should take note of what Mavai Senathirajah of the TNA has spoken recently on the need to combine the demands of both groups of victims. The TNA MP said that such efforts should be further pursued in the spirit of a Tamil speaking Nation.

There is no time for religious or caste differences.

We, as Tamils residing in Colombo, are certain that the progressive Sinhalese led by leaders like Dr Vickremabahu Karunaratne, who is building bridges with Mano Ganesan and who believe in the social reality of Nations and the Right of Self Determination of Nations will join such a struggle.

External Links:

The Island:

An appeal to the Tamil Community and its civil and political representatives