S.M. Krishna and his suo motu statement

[Mon, 08 Aug 2011, 01:09 GMT]

The Suo Motu statement of Indian foreign minister SM Krishna on Sri Lanka in the Indian parliament has led him into a controversy of filing a defamation case against the Press Trust of India (PTI), because the latter reported him reading the statement ‘absent minded’. The minister "appeared absent-minded and had to be prodded to make a statement," PTI reported. On Krishna’s response through a defamation case the PTI said on Friday: "This is perhaps the first time a minister has threatened a news organisation with... action for reporting [House] proceedings despite the Parliamentary Proceedings [Protection of Publication] Act." Meanwhile, Krishna’s statement was meant to mislead the parliament and to hoodwink Tamil Nadu, writes, a leading legal practitioner and human rights activist of Trincomalee. Full story >>

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21st anniversary of Thiraayk-kea'ni massacre commemorated

[TamilNet, Sunday, 07 August 2011, 14:36 GMT]
Twenty first death anniversary of 47 Tamil civilians massacred by Muslim goons with the support of Special Task Force (STF) of Sri Lanka Police in Thiraayk-kea'ni village in Ampaa'rai district on the 6th August, 1990, was observed Saturday. Thiraayk-kea'ni village is located 70 km away south from Batticaloa in Ampaa'rai district. Tamils were massacred as retaliation to the killing of 13 Muslim labourers that took place on August 5, 1990 by the STF at Digavapi village.

STF had carried out the massacre of Muslim labourers to create dissension between Tamils and Muslims.

The next day a group of Muslim criminals with the protection provided by STF personnel had killed Tamils in the presence of their kith and kin.

Elders were burnt to death in their houses.

More than 350 houses were set on fire by Muslim goons. Even after twenty one years none had been taken into custody and charged for the massacre.

E.Mailapodi, the president of the Thiraaykkea'ni Rural Development Society who agitated the authorities concerned to hold an inquiry into the massacre, was shot dead by paramilitary groups and Muslim armed groups in 1997.

The Sri Lanka's Defense Secretary Gotabaya Rajapakse in his disinformation report released last week had mentioned the massacre of Muslims in Kaaththaankudi mosque but failed to mention massacres of Tamils in the East, Tamil political circles in Ampaa'rai said.