யாழ் திரைகடலோடி

Tamils need real autonomy For a peaceful settlement in Sri Lanka, the Sinhalese majority will have to agree to a meaningful level of self-determination for Tamils S.J.S. Chhatwal, Citizen Special Published: Monday, November 20, 2006 Sri Lanka, earlier known as Ceylon, won its independence from British rule in 1948. Since then, the Tamil minority in the country has faced discrimination by the Sinhalese majority. To understand the ethnic conflict in Sri Lanka, one has to realize that there are two categories of Tamils in that country, "Ceylon Tamils" (also referred to as "Jaffna Tamils") and "Indian Tamils." Ceylon Tamils have lived in Sri Lanka as long as …

17 November 2013 The international community must keep up pressure on the Sri Lankan government to address its human rights crisis, Amnesty International said as the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Colombo draws to a close. “Sri Lanka may well regret having hosted the Commonwealth summit which has proved a PR disaster for the government. Most of the focus has rightly been on the country’s appalling human rights record," Steve Crawshaw, Director of the Office of the Secretary General at Amnesty International, said from Colombo. “The challenge for the international community is now to keep up the pressure on the Sri Lankan government. Those r…

Leader of the LTTE General Information about Sri Lanka Sri Lanka is an tear shaped island located at the southern most tip of India. It is separated from the Indian subcontinent at its narrowest point by 22 miles of sea called Palk Strait. It lies between six and ten degrees north of the Equator, and on the longitude of 79 to 81 degrees east. Its total area is 25,332 square miles comprising Sri Lanka 18,042 and Tamil Eelam 7,290 sq miles. The total population is 17,103,000, according to latest population statistics (1991), consisting of 12,656,000 Sinhalese, 3,113,000 Tamils, 1,214,000 Muslims (mostly Tamil speaking) and others 120,000. Discri…

The recent impeachment of Sri Lanka’s Chief Justice, Shirani Bandaranayake, has re-focused international attention on the country. Catherine Ashton, head of the EU’s External Action Service, has expressed “considerable concern”. However, the problem with Sri Lanka runs deeper than any single case. Despite the Sri Lankan Government’s claims of progress on human rights since the conflict with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), also known as the ‘Tamil Tigers’, ended in 2009, the reality is very different. Catherine Ashton: The EU has shown “considerable concern” about the situation in Sri Lanka. For 30 years Sri Lanka was ravaged by civil war betw…

Sri Lanka conflict More COLOMBO, July 1 (Reuters) - Sri Lanka's only international airport is to resume night flights for the first time since air raids by Tamil Tiger rebels forced their suspension seven weeks ago, an airport official said on Sunday. "We have permitted all the airlines to operate 24 hours a day from today," the duty manager at Bandaranaike International Airport said by telephone, saying he was not authorised to give his name. "We are satisfied that the security situation is normal and we have permitted each and every airline to operate at night. The air force will provide all the facilities to operate." But it was not immediately clear…

Disclaimer: The following document was anonymously submitted to International Policy Digest (IPD) by The Social Architects (TSA). [size=4][size=5]The Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC) Final Report contains many positive recommendations which merit immediate attention. This document is designed to capture the essence of those key positive recommendations and to come out with a meaningful action plan which will open the door to true reconciliation, sustainable peace, institutional reform and improved governance.[/size][/size] [size=4][size=5]Regrettably, the Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL) has failed to act upon these constructive LLRC recommend…

India should lift ban on LTTE, says Kuldip Nayar PK Balachandran Colombo, November 2, 2006 Kuldip Nayar, the noted Indian journalist and head of the Indian Peace Mission to Sri Lanka said in Colombo on Thursday, that India should lift the ban on the LTTE and engage it politically in order to bring lasting peace to war-torn Sri Lanka. "I am of the view that the ban should be lifted," Nayar said when newsmen asked him how India could play a constructive role in the Sri Lankan conflict if it was barred from interacting with one of the two parties in the conflict - the LTTE - because that group was banned in India. Nayar went on to say that banning organ…

No confirmation: Sweden denies ‘Russian sub hunt’ report as military search ongoing Crew members onboard a Swedish Navy fast-attack craft stand guard at the Stockholm archipelago, in Sweden, October 18 2014. (Reuters/Pontus Lundahl) 1.6K4016 Tags Europe, Military, Navy, Russia, Security,Vessels The Swedish military did not confirm allegations that “a damaged Russian submarine” is being hunted for in waters east of Stockholm, while adding that a search for a “foreign vessel” is ongoing. Moscow said none of its military vessels have been damaged. Sweden deploys troops near Stockholm due to alleged underwater threat The official statement by …

The Sinhala Navy was enthusiastically arranging sporting and cultural events for the crew of Perekop, a naval training vessel of the Russian Baltic fleet, which docked at Hambantota port operated by China, a day after Gotabaya Rajapaksa was sworn in as the SL President. “India is likely to welcome this decision since it has been concerned over the use of the strategically located port by the Chinese Navy and has been desirous of Russia expanding its presence in the Indo-Pacific region to make it more inclusive,” observed Mumbai-based The Economic Times in a news report published on Friday. Perekop, with the 399-member crew, started its four-ocean visit from Kronstadt…

கொவிட்-19 தொற்றினால் இறந்த முஸ்லிம்களின் ஜனாஸாக்கள் அவர்களின் மத நம்பிக்கைக்கு மாறாக தொடர்ந்தும் தகனம் செய்யப்படுவதைக் குறித்தும் இதற்கெதிராக உயர் நீதிமன்றத்தில் தாக்கல் செய்யப்பட்டிருந்த மனித உரிமை மீறல் மனுவைக் குறித்தும் ஆஸ்திரேலிய செய்தித்தளமான ABC Newsற்கு எம். ஏ. சுமந்திரன் இன்று வழங்கிய செவ்வி

There has been no shortage of distressing images emerging from the final two or three years of Sri Lanka's awful civil war. But this footage is amongst the worst I have seen, writes Callum Macrae. Warning: viewers may find footage in the below video extremely disturbing. Not because of the scale of the deaths it depicts – five deaths is a small incident in a war which saw upwards of 40,000 civilians massacred in the last few months alone, mostly by government shelling. This footage is awful because of the behaviour of the soldiers towards the bodies of the female Tiger fighters, and because of the underlying culture of systematic brutality and sex…

Dissecting the Semi-fictionalized HRW Report by Sachi Sri Kantha To paraphrase an aphorism of Einstein on 'quality,' "It's no use if the wrapper is of better quality than the meat it covers." In responding to the flurry of outbursts from the Eelam Tamil diaspora to the half-baked, mud-slinging report released this month, Human Rights Watch (HRW) stated: "Human Rights Watch investigations are based on qualitative rather than quantitative research" [Reuters report, March 16, 2006]. The two key words here are quality and research. Now, let me quote from an authority on research. To paraphrase an aphorism of Einstein on 'quality,' "It's no use if the wrapper…

The concept of martyrdom of the LTTE By: Peter Schalk The LTTE very often uses Tamil words for "martyr" and adds without hesitationthe English word "martyr" in English pamphlets, as if the Tamil words wereequivalents. Let us first make clear what we may mean with '`martyr" in aJewish­Christian tradition. The Western reader is influenced by this tradition.Discussions about "true" and "false" martyrs usually preclude aconceptualisation of what a martyr is. The discussion in the West about what a martyr isis very complex, but we will make it short here. We can say that the image of a martyr meaning "(blood) witness" made up in aJewish Christian tradition con…

SLA launches offensive from Muhamalai [TamilNet, August 11, 2006 12:10 GMT] Liberation Tigers Military Spokesman Irasaiah Ilanthirayan said the Sri Lankan troopers launched artillery attacks and began a troop movement towards south. The Tiger fighters were rushed to Muhamalai area in defence, he further said. Further details are not available at the moment.

Reflections on the National Flag of Sri Lanka & State Terrorism Symbolism of the Sinhala oppression of the Tamils (2) by Dr. Alvappillai Veluppillai, Arizona State University When the lion was attacking the Tamils for about two decades, the peaceful, law-abiding Tamils were behaving like a cow/bull, the symbol of Jaffna. A realization that they had to behave like a tiger occurred to a few Tamils in the seventies. This view is shared by a vast number of Tamils now. Introduction Terrorism has recently become a very bad word in the international vocabulary. But the word remains very difficult to define. There are many conflicts around the world. …

Status of UNICEF database on underage LTTE members First of the monthly statement by the Child Protection Authority (CPA), Kilinochchi, January 2008 The UNICEF database of under-18 persons in the LTTE has remained static for several months now and continues to hold around 240 names. The database has remained static because of the inability of UNICEF to clear these cases due to the prevailing security situation. In December 2007, CPA circulated, among the concerned groups, a snapshot of this UNICEF database as seven categories in a table as shown. The purpose of this snapshot is to elucidate the reality behind the number, 240. UNICEF mandate compels it to maintai…

While the accusation that Dr. Susan Rice, the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, intentionally mislead the public by saying that the Bengazhi killings of four Americans was a spontaneous attack in response to a film mocking prophet Mohammed, appears to have damaged her chances of being appointed as the U.S.'s Secretary of State after Hilary Clinton, Rice's human rights record in the U.N., including her inaction on Sri Lanka killings, has also come under closer scrutiny, Washington Post said in an article this Friday, quoting comment from an official of the Human Rights Watch. "Rice speaks often about her commitment to human rights, a cause that allies say is centr…

CHENNAI: The DMK would welcome creation of a separate 'Eelam', a homeland for Sri lankan Tamils, if it was achieved through a democratic process , party president and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi said on Monday. "We will be glad if a separate Eelam (state) is created (in the Island nation) by people voting for it," he told reporters here. He said that "attempts of some opposition parties in Tamil Nadu to paint the UPA government at the Centre and the DMK government in the state as anti Sri Lankan Tamils" would not succeed. "The opposition parties are trying to create an illusion among the public that my party is against Sri Lankan Tamils," …

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BBC Interview Wrong Guy They were supposed to get Guy Kewney, a technology expert, to comment on the 'Apple v Apple' lawsuit, but mistakenly got a job interviewee by the name of Guy Goma - look at his face as he is introduced at the beginning! Click here for Video clip

2ND LEAD (Correction) 5 bodies found in Anuradhapura [TamilNet, Tuesday, 06 March 2007, 08:23 GMT] Villagers in Sembukulam Grama Sevaka (GS) division in Anuradhapura District in the North Central Province Tuesday morning found 5 bodies bundled together. The upper parts of the bodies have been burnt in the pyre of tyres, according to Thirappane Police who recovered the bodies around 6:30 a.m. following the information from the villagers. Earlier, on Friday and Saturday, 6 bodies were recovered by the Kandana police from Muthurajawela shrub area in South, and the identities of the deceased is yet to be established. Anuradhapura magistrate Wasantha Jinadasa has …

This Speech Proves Tracee Ellis Ross Is the Life Coach You Never Knew You Needed https://www.glamour.com/story/tracee-ellis-ross-glamour-women-of-the-year-speech-2017

The bombing and shelling in Trincomalee – a request for help. By: Brian Senewiratne (Brisbane, Australia ) Source: TamilCanadian To the expatriate Tamil community Download: THE KILLING OF INNOCENTS IN SRI LANKA (April 2006) I am asking for help from expatriate Tamils and others who are concerned with the outrage in Trincomalee on 25-26 April 2006. I have written a separate article “The killing of innocents in Sri Lanka (April 2006)” which is being posted on the web in a way that it can be printed and posted. I will appreciate it if some concerned soul(s) prints this and circulates it to every politician, every religious body, and the media…