EPC opposes affiliation of Trinco campus with universities in South

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 16 October 2013, 10:22 GMT]
The Eastern Provincial Council (EPC) has unanimously adopted a motion against the proposed affiliation of the Trincomalee campus of the Eastern University with the Rajarata University of Anuradhapura or with the Jayewardanapura University in Colombo. The motion was moved at EPC's September session by the Leader of the Opposition Mr C.Thandayuthapani, the group leader of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) in the council. Mr R.Thurairatnam, TNA’s Batticaloa district councillor seconded the motion.

Mr.Thandayuthapani said that the Trincomalee campus has been functioning as a full-fledged campus of the Eastern University, currently located in Vanthaa'rumoolai in Batticaloa district since 15 June 2001.

Earlier, from 1993 the Trincomalee campus had been functioning as an Affiliated University College of the Eastern University, according to a gazette notification.

Tamil educationists in the North-East in the 1950s made a demand to establish a Tamil University in Trincomalee and the land had also been allocated for the construction of it. But it never materialized.

After the campus was established, there was a move initiated by the Colombo education authorities to affiliate the Trincomalee campus with the Rajarata University in Anuradhapura. However, due to the protest by the Trincomalee civil society, the matter was dropped.

Then again, another move has now been mooted by occupying Colombo's education ministry to affiliate the Trincomalee campus with the Colombo Jayewardenepura University.

The effort to affiliate the Trincomalee University Campus in the country of Eezham Tamils with the universities in the Sinhala provinces is viewed as a crucial step in the process of Sinhalicisation of Trincomalee that is now undertaken in an accelerated way by genocidal Colombo with the blessings of outside powers.

The Sinhalicisation process, taking place inside the Trincomalee University Campus itself has made news in recent times.

Annihilation of any form of territorial identity of Eezham Tamils is the thrust of the LLRC recommendations, the implementation of which have been made into an ‘international obligation’ by Washington and New Delhi.

New Delhi Foreign Minister’s reference in Jaffna last week on making Sri Lanka a ‘trilingual country’ implies making Tamils as subjugated minorities throughout the island. The statement also bares the outlook of New Delhi on Colombo’s structural genocide programmes such as the one now planned for the Trincomalee University Campus, said educational circles in Trincomalee.

The present EPC motion requests the SL Higher Education Ministry and the SL University Grants Commission not to affiliate Trincomalee campus with the Rajarata University or Jayewardanapura University.

The motion was unanimously passed with the support of councillors of the ruling United People Freedom Alliance (UPFA), and Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC).

Trincomalee campus is located 12 km from Trincomalee city, at Koa'nesapuri in Nilaave'li in 350 acres of land.

Currently, the Trincomalee campus comprises Faculty of Communication and Business Studies, Faculty of Applied Sciences and Faculty of Siddha Medicine.

More than five hundred students are enrolled in the campus.

Chronology:

16.10.13  EPC opposes affiliation of Trinco campus with univ..

18.07.13  Affiliating Trinco university campus with Anuradha..

01.11.12  Colombo plans to appropriate Trincomalee campus of..

Related Articles:
04.10.13   Sinhala - Muslim student clash hospitalises 20 in East
08.08.13   SL-UGC steps up Sinhalicisation of Batticaloa University

Colombo brings 1500 Sinhalese from South to Mannaar

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 21 May 2013, 22:11 GMT]

Stepping up the process of colonisation of the country of Eezham Tamils, the occupying Sri Lanka has brought in 1,500 Sinhalese in buses to Musali DS division in Mannaar District, which is bordering the North Western and North Central provinces. The occupying Colombo government had already planned to settle down five thousand Sinhalese families from the South in Mannaar district in an attempt to change the demography of the district before holding the Northern Provincial Council election, according to a confidential document received by the Mannaar district secretariat.

The Sinhalese colonizers brought in have been settled in temporary sheds, news sources in Mannaar said.

The latest move by Colombo comes while the uprooted Tamils and Muslims from the Musali area are still residing as refugees in temporary huts without basic facilities.

The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) in participation with Tamil and Muslim civil representatives is to conduct a detailed discussion shortly on the land appropriation in Mannaar district, said TNA parliamentarian Mr Selvam Adaikkalanathan.

EPDP mobilizes protest against Indian trawlers while backing trawlers from South

[TamilNet, Saturday, 01 December 2012, 16:54 GMT]
Timed to the visit of the representatives of fishermen societies in Tamil Nadu to Jaffna on Thursday, the SL minister and EPDP paramilitary leader Douglas Devananda was allegedly engaged in triggering demonstrations in front of the Consulate General of India in Jaffna, protesting the intrusion of Indian trawlers. According to Jaffna fishermen, the SL minister backs trawlers from the South exploiting Tamil waters. On Thursday, when the EPDP-backed protesters were shouting “Mahalingam come out,” demanding the Indian Consul General to come out and address them, a group of fishermen in Valveddith-thu’rai (VVT) rounded up the SL police station there demanding action against 30 southern trawlers that were operating in the seas off VVT. Another 107 trawlers, backed by Mr. Devandanda were exploiting the seas off Kurunakar, the fishermen complained.



Tamil Nadu fishermen representatives have come to Jaffna on Thursday to resolve disputes related to the destruction of livelihood of the Eezham Tamil fishermen as well as destruction of the coastal and sea environment caused by the intrusion of Indian trawlers. The EPDP-backed protest was organized with an intention of sustaining the conflict between the Eezham Tamil fishermen and Tamil Nadu fishermen, news sources in Valveddiththu'rai (VVT) said.

Trawlers owned by Sinhala traders from South, now exploit the stretch of sea from Kokklu'laay to Vadamaraadchi East. The Sinhala fishermen also deploy environment-destructive bottom trawling that deprives the livelihood of long-affected Eezham Tamil fishermen.

“The intruding Indian trawlers certainly trigger off a serious crisis. The SL government will only seek to exploit the situation. That crisis should be addressed by the community organizations of the fishermen on either coast. But, during the last two years, there have been serious changes in the dimension of the crisis: now, almost the entire fishing stretch off the eastern coast of Northern province is being exploited by trawlers owned by Sinhalese fishermen and traders. Mr. Devananda is not an exception as he also encourages his supporters to engage in such destructive fishing,” was the comment of a fisheries society representative in VVT.

Three months ago, Mr Devananda visited Mullaiththeevu to attend a meeting of fisheries representatives. At the meeting, he called on the Tamil fishermen to join him in his project to ‘round up Rameswaram’ against the Indian trawlers.

However, the fishermen at the meeting demanded him to first take efforts to ‘round up the fishermen from South’ who were intruding their sea. The SL minister discontinued the meeting and returned to Jaffna.

The protest on Thursday was organized through S. Emiliampillai, an EPDP representative who lost in the last civic elections for Point Pedro Urban Council and who has now been appointed as the president of the Northern Province Fisheries Societies Federation, removing the former president S. Thavaratnam.

Now the federation is under the control of the EPDP, informed sources told TamilNet.

SL military intelligence operatives and EPDP men were among the protesters. The EPDP paramilitary men had brought some fishermen from Vadamaraadchi in vehicles.

The protesters demanded Mr Mahalingam to come out of the Consulate General, went ahead in a procession towards the District Secretariat and finally concluded their march at the EPDP office located at Sridhar Theatre.

While the protest was going on, there were at least 137 Devananda-backed trawler vessels that were engaged in fishing in the seas off Kurunakar and Valveddiththu'rai, destroying the livelihood of Eezham fishermen by bottom-trawling.

Before 2009, the LTTE had fully banned the bottom-trawling vessels. Even the Indian fishermen didn't enter the seas of Eezham Tamils. At that time too, Devananda was encouraging some fishermen to engage in fishing using trawlers in the seas of the islets off Jaffna.

The Sri Lankan state has banned fishing by trawlers in the Palk Bay with effect from 01 Jan 2011. But, such ban remains only on paper.

10 days ago, there was a standoff between the fishermen and trawler-operators in the seas off Valveddith-thu'rai.

Sinhala fishermen from South intrude in large numbers into the seas of Eezham Tamils and engage in fishing in such a way destroying the environment for a long time to come, affecting the current as well as long-term interests of the Eezham Tamil fishing communities.

The EPDP-backed protest on Thursday was projecting the entire blame on intruding fishermen from India.

A large section of fishermen from Valveddiththu'rai, sensing the political manipulation behind the protest, avoided their participation in the hurriedly organized Devananda-backed protest.

They questioned the political motives and integrity of the SL minister in organizing the protest exclusively against Indian intruders, while being unable to stop the intruding Sinhala fishermen and while being a collaborator of business interest in the intrusion from the South.