யாழ் திரைகடலோடி

Thousands protest outside UN headquarters in Geneva, demanding distinct Tamil state GENEVA (AP) - Thousands of protesters gathered from all over Europe on Monday to demand recognition of an independent Tamil state. Police said nearly 9,000 protesters assembled in the main square in front of the United Nations headquarters in Geneva, where they marched, waved flags and bandied placards. The protesters were "demanding that the international community recognize an independent Tamil state in the island of Sri Lanka," said Shan Thavarajah, vice president of the Swiss Tamil Forum, which organized the protest. The demonstration was planned to coincide with…

Turkish warplanes bomb northern Iraq By Sherko Raouf SULAIMANIYA, Iraq (Reuters) - Turkish planes bombed an area of Iraq near the border with Turkey on Tuesday to attack Kurdish separatists and the army said it had killed at least 150 guerrillas in its air offensive earlier this month. A Turkish military source said warplanes launched the limited strike on Tuesday after spotting Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) guerrillas during a reconnaissance flight. He said the strike was smaller than others in recent weeks. Colonel Hussein Tamar, director of Iraq's border guard command in the northern Kurdish province of Dahuk, said villages near the border we…

Ugly Reality Jana Nayagam Tamil Guardian 22 November 2006 The Tamils should not be surprised at the present turn of events. They need to come to terms with the fact that the international community is in fact extremely well informed about their oppression and always has been. It is simply not interested in their difficulties. New rocket artillery on parade in Colombo. The internationally supported peace process was intended to create a space to rebuild Sri Lanka's shattered economy and the battered military. Photo Daily News Since the beginning of Sri Lanka’s latest peace process, the doves and the hawks within the Tamil community have been enga…

Operation Unceasing Waves - 2 (Battle of Kilinochchi) Background: The highly sophisticated Sri Lankan military fortifications that comprise a 15km stretch form the nodal Tamil town is now under Tamil Tiger's control. LTTE's battle for the taking over of the military-occupied Tamil area started at midnight on September 26 and ended in its capture on the evening of the 29th. The Liberation Tigers relocated their civil administration structures from Jaffna to Kilinochchi when the SLA took control of Jaffna in early 1996. In August 1996, the SLA launched an offensive and took control of the town after bitter fighting. This nodal Tamil town …

Anuk Arudpragasam Q&A | The Booker Prizes How does it feel to have A Passage North longlisted for the Booker? I’ve had many different, sometimes contradictory feelings, but I’m gratified to be in the company of the other wonderful writers on the longlist. Which authors have influenced or inspired your own writing? I’ve been most influenced by the modernist novel of consciousness, by Virginia Woolf, Marcel Proust, and Robert Musil in their attempts to depict time and interiority: in a sense this is what I want to do for my own time and place and people. But I also view each book I write as a kind of apprentice…

http://www.hindu.com/2006/05/01/stories/20...50112670100.htm தமிழ்நாட்டு மக்களும் சிந்து வெளி நாகரிக மக்களும் ஒரே மொழியை பேசியிருக்கவேண்டும்

Friday, July 06,2007 COLOMBO: Despite attempts by the Sri Lankan army to patch up differences Karuna, who is hoping to be the leader of the eastern Tamils, has declared war on the Tamils from Jaffna, informed sources said, adding that this new move sharpens the regional differences among Tamils and brings a new element of Tamils fighting Tamils on a regional basis to the ongoing war. Karuna broke away from the LTTE blaming discrimination against the eastern Tamils by the rebel group dominated by Jaffna Tamils. Karuna’s first move in this latest twist is to issue an order to the parents of the members of the Eelam Peoples Democratic Party (EPDP) led by Minister Doug…

Driving gets more dangerous with age, but older adults may be more vulnerable while walking on the sidewalk than behind the wheel, says a new study. Researchers who reviewed data on road accident deaths in the UK found that pedestrians over 70 were five times more likely to die from being hit by a car each time they went out than those age 21 to 29. But elderly drivers were no more likely to die on the road than those in their twenties. "The focus is usually on older drivers as a danger to themselves and other drivers," said Jonathan Rolison, who led the study at the University of Plymouth in the UK. But, he added, "the real issue isn't really safeguar…

Media "war" on Tigers RADHIKA RAMASESHAN Jaffna, July 26: The Sri Lankan Army has launched a concerted propaganda onslaught against the Tamil Tigers. The army realises that while fighting the LTTE on land and sea is one aspect of the "war", the other is to create a level playing field for itself in the media, especially print and the Internet. The tech-savvy Tigers have widely-visited websites - such as tamilnet.com, svik.org and nitharsanam.com - that are choc-a-bloc with news of killings and assaults allegedly by the army and police. The joke in Colombo is that the media ministry often learns of strikes on the army through tamilnet.com and provi…

Ex-minister accuses Sri Lanka of 'terrorism' 3 hours ago COLOMBO (AFP) — A former Sri Lankan foreign minister accused the government of failing to investigate extra-judicial killings and using "terrorism" to fight Tamil Tigers rebels. Government lawmaker Mangala Samaraweera said an ongoing visit to the island by the UN's High Commissioner for Human Rights, Louise Arbour, underlined the international focus on the island's worsening rights record. "Sri Lanka is also being branded a terrorist state because of our policy of fighting terrorism with terrorism," Samaraweera said. "The Arbour visit shows the international concern about what is happening here." …

Arrangements underway for civilian movement from Muttur - LTTE [TamilNet, August 04, 2006 04:52 GMT] The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) Friday morning said their cadres were making arrangements to safely transport all civilians out of the Muttur town to remote locations as Sri Lanka Army shells continued to hit civilian refuges in the town. The LTTE has urged the ICRC and other humanitarian agencies to enable humanitarian assistance to the displaced people. "We are making necessary arrangements to move civilians from Muttur to safer locations via Kiliveddy," said Irasiah Ilanthirayan, the military spokesman of the Liberation Tigers. At least 22 civ…

By Prof S. Ratnajeevan H. Hoole Minorities are easy targets in a Sinhalese polity believing that no one else belongs. As Tisaranee Gunasekara has noted, UPFA ministers have attacked the Chief Justice for having Tamil lawyers – although Neelakandan voted for the BASL resolution against the Ban Ki Moon Report, it did not help him. Thrishantha Nanayakkara has drawn our attention to an ITN programme where Minister Wimal Weerawansa makes much of the Court of Appeal bench ruling on the CJ matter consisting of two Tamils and a Muslim (whereas it really had one of each community, including a Sinhalese). The Muslims too are caught up as hate campaigns are launched against h…

UN Reports from India - Tamil National High Commissioner for UNHRC is in India on an official visit; Ms Navanetham Pillai raised the Sri Lankan issue during her discussion today with the Indian external affairs minister Pranab Mukherjee. Commenting on Sri Lanka to the reporters, she said ‘I have asked the Sri Lankan government to allow human rights monitors there. I have not got any response. I am going to press for that.’ She further said, ‘our view is that you can never succeed through military solution, the problem can be solved politically. UN wants Sri Lankan government to ensure safety of the civilians.’ More to this, today Human Rights Council conclu…

As a parent of a child who has just sat for their O/Levels, this is only the first of a series of key decisions that will determine their future. The question with everyone in your situation is thinking, of course, ‘what next? And it’s a decision that will affect the rest of your child’s life, so you want to get it right. In such circumstances with many options available, it’s tempting to pick the best choice, which will allow them to compete for jobs and prosperity in a rapidly changing and challenging world economy. As time and opportunity are crucial and important aspects in your child’s education, your delay as a parent is only an opportunity lost to your c…

Stand-up Comedian! அதுவும் ஒரு தமிழர்.. எங்களில் மிகவும் அரிதாகவே இந்தமாதிரி விடயங்களில் பிரகாசிக்கிறார்கள்!! Weakest Link to return with Romesh Ranganathan and celebrities 2 minutes ago Image caption, Ranganathan said it was "an anxiety-inducing privilege" to host the show Comedian Romesh Ranganathan is to host a new celebrity version of The Weakest Link, the long-running BBC quiz show previously hosted by Anne Robinson. Ranganathan said it was an "honour" to bring back "a TV institution". Robinson hosted more than 1,690 editions of the show between 2000 and 2012, earnin…

NASA Gives 'Go' for Shuttle Endeavour Launch on Aug - 7. CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - On Thursday, NASA managers set Aug. 7 as the official launch date for space shuttle Endeavour's STS-118 mission to the International Space Station. Liftoff from NASA's Kennedy Space Center, Fla., is scheduled for 7:02 p.m. EDT. Endeavour's launch date was announced following the traditional Flight Readiness Review at Kennedy. During the two-day meeting, top NASA and contractor managers assessed any risks associated with the mission and determined that the shuttle's equipment, support systems and procedures are ready for flight. Commander Scott Kelly and his six crewmates are sch…

NO FOREIGN leader has fared worse in the cables released by WikiLeaks than Sri Lanka’s President Mahinda Rajapaksa, who has been resisting calls for an international inquiry into possible war crimes committed when Sri Lankan troops wiped out the secessionist Tamil Tigers in May 2009. In this particular case, disclosure of an American diplomat’s confidential assessment serves the cause of human rights, validating the stand of Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, and the International Crisis Group. All three have argued, rightly, for a credible investigation of alleged war crimes in Sri Lanka, whether committed by the Tamil Tigers or government forces. The docume…

வெள்ளிக்கிழமை 25 மே 2007 -priyan- கொழும்புத்துறைமுகத்திற்கு அருகில் இன்று இடம்பெற்ற குண்டுத் தாக்குதலுக்கும் விடுதலைப் புலிகளுக்கும் எதுவித தொடர்பும் இல்லை என விடுதலைப் புலிகள் அறிவித்துள்ளனர். இதுகுறித்து கருத்துரைத்திருக்கும் விடுதலைப் புலிகளின் படைத்துறைப் பேச்சாளர் இளந்திரையன்... சிறீலங்கா அரசாங்கமும் அரச படைகளும் விடுதலைப் புலிகளால் தான் இக்குண்டு வெடிப்பை நடத்தியுயுள்ளார்கள் என தவறான பரப்புரைகளை மேற்கொண்டு வருகிறார்கள். முப்படைகளும் வளச்சியடைந்த நிலையில் குறிப்பாக வான்படைகள் சிறீலங்கா படைத்துறையுடன் தொடர்புபட்ட இலக்குகள் மீது மிகவும் துல்லியமாக தாக்குதலைத் நடத்தும் போது இவ்வாறான சில்லறைத் தனமாக குண்டுத் தாக்குதல்களை விடுதலைப் புலிகள் நடத்தவேண்டிய தேவை இல்லை. அவ…

'Brown Briton' ignored by government and media ? 29 Days passed [ jpq;fl;fpoik, 12 khHr; 2007 ] [ yf;];kd; ] Cries of institutional racism in the British Foreign Service and the British Broadcasting Cooperation (BBC) have once again been ignited, after both organizations ignored the plight of a 'brown' national who was abducted in Sri Lanka's capital Colombo last month. Mr Vijayakumar, a neutralised British citizen who valued himself every bit British as he was Tamil was abducted from outside his residence on Perera Lane in Wellawathe on Wednesday, 31 January 2007. Eyewitnesses identified the abductors as being 'armed men' riding in a 'white van'. The usual frenz…

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 12 March 2008, 18:15 GMT] Former deputy secretary of state Richard L. Armitage this week urged sweeping changes to current U.S. foreign policy, arguing that the superpower needs to replace its almost exclusive focus on fighting terrorism with a broader agenda. "If your foreign policy is just organized around the global war on terror, you’re missing the bet. I think a new paradigm will emerge. I don’t know what it will be, but in the interim we need to engage with friends and frankly engage with our enemies. Actually, it might be more important to engage with our enemies," he told The Washington Diplomat journal. "We’ve been exporting our …

The Buddhist Crusade Driving Sri Lankan Muslims Into Radicalism ( February 13, 2013, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) The nationalist chauvinist sections of the Sinhala polity suffer from the worst form of inferiority complex. They have to be constantly a party to the oppression of another race, society or religion to feel euphorically superior. The leaders who can afford this to them can continue to be in power notwithstanding any other shortcoming however grave. The Muslims, the majority of whom speak the Tamil language do not seek their collective identity in language or culture but in their religion----Islam. The early Muslim immigrants were mostly traders who mar…

Sri Lanka: Mumbai terror strike and Prabhakaran's expectations of India's support – Update No. 157 Col R Hariharan The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) chief Prabhakaran's usually much hyped Great Hero's Day 2008 speech on November 27 became a casualty of the daring terror strike on the same day in Mumbai. Holding the city to ransom for three days the terror story hogged headlines and only few of the Indian print media carried Prabhakaran's speech on the sidelines, while the visual media ignored it. And this time he needed the ears of New Delhi, more than Tamil Nadu, to act upon his strong plea for India's support for his armed struggle and lifting …

Do you wish to learn more about the Tamil struggle? Do you feel held back by the sheer volume of information that’s available? Do you worry about getting caught up in heated arguments about sensitive issues? This study group is for you! We aim to provide an informal, but safe space where we will present information about the foundations of the Tamil struggle. This will include colonial history, state oppression, the development of Eelam Tamil nationalist politics, and the armed struggle. We will also enable you to ask any questions relevant to the topics. Register here: https://tinyurl.com/tamil-struggle How will it work? PEARL will provide a weekl…