Tuesday, September 23, 2014

US air strikes target IS in Syria for the first time

Air strikes were launched by the US and Gulf allies in Syria this morning against IS targets and to thwart a plot by a group of al-Qaeda operatives known as Khorosan, President Obama has said.

An F/A-18C Hornet, attached to Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 87 prepares to launch (R)

Photo: An F/A-18C Hornet, attached to Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 87 prepares to launch

TUESDAY 23 SEPTEMBER 2014

Speaking hours after a series of some 14 separate strikes were launched in Syria in a 90-minute operation, Mr Obama said that the action had been taken to disrupt the activities of the group and would be followed by moves to train and equip the Syrian opposition.

"It must be clear to anyone who would plot against America and try to do Americans harm that we will not tolerate safe havens for terrorists who threaten our people," he said in his first comments since launching the strikes.

He added that the military action was taken with the support of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Bahrain and Qatar. "This is not America's fight alone," he said, adding that "the people and governments in the Middle East are rejecting Isil [Islamic State] and standing up for the peace and security they deserve," he said.

Mr Obama referred to addresses made earlier in the month when he prepared the ground for military action in Syria. He said that he had made clear that the US would "take action against targets in both Iraq and Syria so that these terrorists can't find safe haven anywhere".

He added: "I also made clear that America would act as part of a broad coalition. And that's exactly what we have done."

Mr Obama said that the strikes this morning were taken "to disrupt plotting against the United States and our allies by seasoned al-Qaeda operatives in Syria who are known as the Khorosan group".

The group was named by US officials last week as being a new terrorist organisation, led by Osama bin Laden's inner circle. The group was said to have been plotting against western targets.

Military hardware

American officials announced the strikes, which happened overnight, but Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Qatar and Bahrain were all involved in the operation in some capacity.

The Pentagon press secretary said that a mix of fighter, bomber and Tomahawk land attack missiles were being used against IS militants in Syria. In a statement officials said that there were 14 separate strikes, beginning after 1.30am GMT and lasting around 90 minutes.

A group monitoring the war in Syria said at least 20 Islamic State fighters were killed in the strikes, which were focused on IS headquarters and training centres in Raqqa city. The extremist Sunni Muslim group has seized large expanses of territory in Iraq and Syria and proclaimed a caliphate erasing borders in the heart of the Middle East.

Syrian state television said the US informed Syria's UN representative on Monday that IS targets would be hit in Raqqa, which is 400 km (250 miles) north east of Damascus.

The US has already launched 190 strikes in Iraq, but this is the first time it has targeted IS in Syria after President Barack Obama announced his intention to do so a few weeks ago. Getting Arab allies on side was considered crucial to the American-led campaign and Secretary of State John Kerry travelled to New York at the weekend, ahead of the start of United Nations General Assembly meetings, to discuss plans on how to tackle IS with counterparts from Arab and European allies.

Several Arab states have powerful air forces, including Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Saudi Arabia has also already agreed to host US training of Syrian opposition fighters. But many Gulf Arab states have been reluctant to be seen aggressively joining the US campaign, fearing in some cases reprisals by extremists or forces loyal to the Syrian government.

The strikes took place hours before President Obama goes to New York for the UN General Assembly where he will try to rally more nations behind his drive to aggressively take on Islamic State.

Iran’s president urges ‘resolute fight’ against Islamic State but opposes U.S. lead

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani is in New York to attend the United Nations General Assembly. (Vahid Salemi/AP)

By Martin Baron September 23 at 12:03 PM

NEW YORK — Iran’s president called Tuesday for a “resolute fight” against Islamic State militants, but denounced the U.S.-led airstrikes in Syria as violations of international law and unwelcome Western interference in the region.

The comments by Hasan Rouhani to a gathering of journalists in New York underscored the multiple layers for Iran in the rapidly expanding confrontation with the Islamic State.

Shiite power Iran is an unwavering opponent of the Sunni-led militants, but also refuses to join an international coalition led by Washington and including Tehran’s regional rivals such as Saudi Arabia.

At the same time, Iran is a critical ally of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and must now calibrate its policies to balance its desire to defeat the Islamic State against its interests in keeping Assad in power.

The Obama administration has proposed stepping up aid to “moderate” Syrian rebels as proxy fighters against the Islamic State and other al-Qaeda-inspired groups. Such help, however, could help rebels undercut Assad in a civil war that has raged since 2011.

“Terrorist and extreme violence is a serious threat for all of us. There is no longer any doubt about the reality of the situation,’’ said Rouhani, who is in New York to attend the U.N. General Assembly that will include sidelines talks between Iranian envoys and world powers over Tehran’s nuclear program.

“These groups need a resolute fight to be carried out against them,” he said.

But Rouhani said the U.S.-led attacks “do not have any legal standing” without U.N. approval. He also criticized the American leadership in the Islamic State fight and suggested a regional heavyweight such as Iran was better suited to take the main role.

Earlier, State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said Syria had been advised in advance of the airstrikes, but there was no strategic coordination with Assad’s government.

“Who is best qualified to lead such a coalition? asked Rouhani. “Is it possible to do so without knowing the Middle East region extremely well?”

Rouhani said a meeting with President Barack Obama was unlikely in New York. Last year, Obama reached out to the newly elected Rouhani in one of the highest-level contacts between the United States and Iran since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

Rouhani expressed hope for an accord on Iran’s nuclear program, but said his country must be able to “maintain a peaceful nuclear program” — a reference to uranium enrichment.

Iran insists it does not seek a nuclear weapon and claims it produces nuclear fuel to power reactors for energy production and medical research. The West and its allies fear that Iran could use its enrichment program to someday create warhead-grade nuclear material.

Rouhani acknowledged that U.S. and international sanctions have squeezed Iran’s economy, but said Iran was able to soften the blow through stepped up trade with countries disregarding the measures. China and central Asian nations, for example, have boosted economic links with Iran.

“Is this to the benefit of the American economy, the American people, the world at large?” he said, calling the sanctions “inhumane and against human rights.”

Rouhani declined to give specifics about the possible charges or conditions for Washington Post reporter Jason Rezaian and his wife, Iranian journalist Yeganeh Salehi, who were detained in July. Rezaian has both Iranian and American citizenship.

Rouhani said the investigation is ongoing by the judiciary, which is directly controlled by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and his allies. Rouhani dismissed specuation that the case was an attempt by Iranian hard-liners to embarrass his reform-minded government.

“I am not the judge of an individual who is being questioned by the judiciary at this point,” said Rouhani. “The final judgment has not been rendered at this point.”

Brian Murphy in Washington contributed to this report.

Chinese and Indian troops in Himalayan standoff

A man walks inside a conference room used for meetings between military commanders of China and India, at the Indian side of the Indo-China border at Bumla, in Arunachal Pradesh, November 11, 2009.

BY SANJEEV MIGLANI AND FAYAZ BUKHARI-NEW DELHI/SRINAGAR Tue Sep 23, 2014 4

(Reuters) - Hundreds of Indian and Chinese troops have dug into positions on a high Himalayan plateau, leading India's army chief to cancel a foreign trip and monitor a standoff that underscores deep differences between the Asian giants as they seek closer ties.

Military officials in New Delhi and Kashmir said on Tuesday that Chinese troops set up a camp about 3 km (2 miles) into territory claimed by India in the Chumar region of the Ladakh plateau more than a week ago.

Indian soldiers have set up their own base nearby and have been told not to back down, the officials said.

Asked about the standoff, China's Ministry of Defence said the two sides' understanding of the line of the border was not the same.

"The two countries’ border, to this day, has not been designated," the ministry said in a faxed statement, adding that the Chinese military respected pacts signed by both countries.

"Both sides, if problems occur in the border area, can reach an appropriate resolution through dialogue and consultation."

India has deployed about 1,500 troops in the Chumar area and there are about 800 Chinese soldiers, an Indian government official said. The two sides are not in an eyeball-to-eyeball confrontation and are well separated from each other, he added.

The alleged incursion by Chinese troops into territory claimed by India dominated a visit by Chinese President Xi Jinping last week, overshadowing his pledges to invest $20 billion over five years and a bid to warm personal ties with new Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

After a summit between Modi and Xi on Friday, the soldiers pulled back from a face-to-face confrontation to take up more distant positions.

TRIP CANCELLED

Army chief, General Dalbir Singh, cancelled a three-day visit to neighbouring Bhutan on Monday in order to monitor the border situation, a government official in New Delhi said. Military commanders from both sides were due to hold a meeting in the border area on Tuesday, another official said, in a fourth such gathering to try and resolve the dispute.

Modi has promised to take a tougher stance in India's border dispute with China, joining other Asian nations, including Japan and the Philippines, which have pushed back against Beijing.

China must be combat ready to win a "regional war" and the armed forces must make sure they hew to decisions by the central leadership, Chinese President Xi Jinping told senior military leaders, the official Xinhua news agency said on Monday.

Xi's comments were widely reported in Indian media and came days after a speech in New Delhi in which he said China was not a warlike nation. During Xi's visit Modi urged an early border settlement with China. Both sides have held 17 rounds of border talks since the early 1990s, with little progress.

Small incursions are common across the Line of Actual Control between the nations, the de facto border that runs some 4,000 km (2,500 miles) across the Himalayas, but it is rare for either country to set up camp deep within disputed territory.

"As both sides have increased their forces on the border it has led to more confrontations like this," said Dipankar Banerjee, director of the Institute of Peace and Conflict Studies in New Delhi.

"These sorts of events are par for the course when you have a long undemarcated border."

(Additional reporting by Megha Rajagopalan in BEIJING; Writing and additional reporting by Andrew MacAskill; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)

INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS LAW A publication of the Palestine-Israel Working Group of Historians Against the War (HAW) August 2014

Historians Against the War

InternationalHumanRights August 2014 by Thavam

Skin Conditions Triggered by Diabetes: Symptoms, Treatment, Prevention

By Jacqueline Marshall, Sep 18, 2014

There are some skin problems that occur primarily or only to individuals with diabetes. The names of these conditions make them sound more dire than they are—most are treated without medication.

Allergic reactions to diabetes pills or insulin can also cause skin conditions such as bumps or depressions at insulin injection sites, and rashes. Let your doctor know about any skin issues that develop.

Skin Conditions Associated With Diabetes

Acanthosis Nigricans is a condition that typically affects people who are extremely overweight. It appears as brown or tan raised areas at the sides of the neck, armpits, or groin. Occasionally it forms on the knees, elbows, and hands. Although there are creams that can improve the spots’ appearance, losing weight is the best treatment.

Diabetic Blisters, or bullosis diabeticorum, is a rare condition where blisters erupt on the backs of feet, toes, hands, fingers, and less often on the forearms or legs. The blisters can be large and though they look like burn blisters there is no redness or pain. Healing occurs, without scarring, in roughly three weeks. Diabetic blisters usually affect those with diabetic neuropathy, and the sole treatment is keeping blood glucose levels under control.

Diabetic Dermopathy develops as light brown scaly splotches, either circular or oval. The cause is likely changes in the small blood vessels. People frequently assume dermopathy patches are age spots, and like age spots they are harmless. The condition typically develops on the front of people’s legs, and one leg can be more affected than the other. The painless spots do not open-up or itch; no treatment is necessary.

Digital Sclerosis occurs in about a third of those with type 1 diabetes. The only treatment option is good blood sugar control. Digital sclerosis is characterized by the formation of thick, tight, waxy skin on the backs of hands; occasionally on the toes and forehead as well. Finger joints may stiffen, losing their usual mobility. Ankle, knee, and elbow joints may also become stiff, but this is rare.

Disseminated Granuloma Annulare appears as well defined arcs or ring shaped areas on the skin. They might be skin-colored, red, or reddish-brown, and usually form on body parts distant from the trunk (e.g., fingers, ears)—but can occur on the trunk as well. There are prescription drugs available for this condition.

Eruptive Xanthomatosis occurs most often in young males with type 1 diabetes who have elevated cholesterol and fat in their bloodstream. It develops when blood sugar is out of control, and disappears when control is regained. Eruptive xanthomatosis develops as hard, itchy, yellow pea-like skin bumps with red halos, usually on the backs of hands, arms, legs, feet, and buttocks.

Necrobiosis Lipoidica Diabeticorm is a rare condition that adult females are more likely to get. It may be triggered by changes in the blood vessels. The spots typically begin as red, dull raised areas that later appear as shiny light brown scars bordered in violet. These patches may be painful and itchy, but only require treatment if they break open.

The best prevention for all these skin problems is naturally a healthy diet, exercise, regular blood sugar monitoring, and medication compliance.

Source: American Diabetes Association
Photo credit: Mats Lindh - flickr

Monday, September 22, 2014

PROTECT SRI LANKA’S NATIONAL INTEREST FROM BIG POWER RIVALRIES--JEHAN PERERA

22 September 2014

It may have been due to serendipity that the visits of Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and China’s President Xi Jinping occurred within a fortnight of each other. As a result there seemed to be a competition between these two economic giants to be more generous to Sri Lanka. If China has reached the number one spot in terms of economic assistance to Sri Lanka today, Japan has historically been the most generous to the country in the long haul since Independence in 1958. Almost all of Japanese assistance has come in the form of outright grants or concessional and low interest loans. Therefore a basic sense of gratitude, which Sri Lankans are known to possess, would dictate that Sri Lanka’s leaders should be sensitive to Japanese concerns. This requires mindfulness on the part of Sri Lanka’s leaders.
Protect Sri Lanka’s National Interest From Big Power Rivalries--jehan Perera by Thavam

UNHRC 27: Resolutions on Civil Society, Journalists’ Safety, LGBT Rights To Be Adoted

22/09/2014
[New High Commissioner Zeid Ra'ad Zeid al-Hussein]
The on going 27th session of the UNHRC will take up number of important resolutions to be adopted at the end of this week. Although Russia, China, India and Pakistan opposes importance resolution related to democratic governance and equal rights, it is expected that following resolution will be adopted with majority vote.
UNHRC 27 Resolutions on Civil Society, Journalists’ Safety, LGBT Rights to Be Adoted by Thavam

Eelam Bid, Gota’s Bid And Scotland’s Brush With Death

By Kumar David -September 21, 2014

Prof. Kumar David

Separatism anywhere in the world is closely watched in Lanka for obvious reasons; past madness, future prospects and international trends. Though opinion polls up to the last day said the race was neck-and-neck Ladbrokes was offering odds of 3 to 1 against a Yes-vote (pro-separation) but only 0.25 to 1 against the No’s. That is you could bet Rs1 on No, and if you won, you got only 25 cents plus your Rs1 back, but you forfeited your rupee if you lost. You could pocket three bucks (if you won) by putting your rupee on Yes. The bookies applied impeccable logic to conclude that the No’s were ahead, despite opinion polls calling it a dead-heat. It is the ‘shy voter’ they said. The Yes camp was on tartan steroids and sniffing Hail Caledonia poppies. The bucket-shops explained that the 15% so-called undecided voters in the middle were ‘shy voters’ who didn’t want their neighbours to know that they are cautious, conservative, playing safe, and most in the end would vote No.

We Lankans get the point in a jiffy; which politician in the South dares say “Give the Tamils devolution, or investigate military and regime leaders for war crimes”, despite what they know in private? Not the Left, nor the Right, nor the Liberals in the middle; only a reckless handful of Nimalkas! I am straying from my topic which is that the No vote is likely to prevail but only by a small margin; and that’s my question. Why a small margin when the case against separation is stark? Such circumstances are of relevance to Lanka, albeit tangentially, and what I say in this essay is of even greater import if the Yes camp prevails.

The death wish

Former British Prime Minister James Callaghan said “Scots voting for independence is like a Turkey voting for Christmas”. On every material count an independent Scotland will be the loser, but what about the emotional high that comes from sniffing the heady rush of nationalism? Aye there’s when reason is banished and the rarefied air of identity politics starves the mind of the sober oxygen of calculation. We Lankans have seen this nation drain its cup of hemlock to the dregs and Lethe-wards sink. There are moments in history when identity can give a people strength and resolve, but worldwide, for decades it has invariably been an irrational force unhinging the mind. The tragedy is that were genuine causes which if fixed in time would have circumvented the madness. For proof think Tigers, think ISIL, or the Palestinians driven to mutiny and rage by predatory Israel.

வேலணையில் மனித எச்சம் தோண்டும் பணி நிறுத்தம்

22 செப்ரெம்பர் 2014, திங்கள்

வேலணையில் கண்டுபிடிக்கப்பட்ட மனித எச்சங்கள் அடங்கிய பகுதியை இன்று தோண்டுவதற்காக இருந்த போதும் இறுதி நேரத்தில் நீதவானின் உத்தரவில் நிறுத்தப்பட்டுள்ளது.

வேலணை பிரதேச சபையின் வளாகத்தில் குழி தோண்டப்பட்ட போது மனித மண்டை ஓடுகள் மற்றும் எலும்புகள் கண்டு பிடிக்கப்பட்டன. அதனையடுத்து மனித புதைகுழியாக இருக்கலாம் என்ற சந்தேகத்தில் இன்று மேலும் தோண்டுவதற்கு ஆயத்தங்கள் மேற்கொள்ளப்படவிருந்தது.

எனினும் குறித்த இடத்திற்கு வந்த ஊர்காவற்றுறை பதில் நீதவான் இ. சபேசன் குறித்த பகுதி முன்னர் மயானமாக இருந்தமையால் வரைபடங்கள் மற்றும் இட அமைவு குறித்த வரலாறுகள் என்பன குறித்த அறிக்கையினை சமர்ப்பிக்குமாறு ஊர்காவற்றுறை பொலிஸாருக்கு உத்தரவிட்டார்.

மேலும் வேலணை பிரதேச சபை எத்தனையாம் ஆண்டு குறித்த காணியை பெற்றுக் கொண்டது என்றும் அங்கு எப்போது கட்டடம் கட்டப்பட்டது என்ற அறிக்கையினையும் சமர்ப்பிக்குமாறும் உத்தரவிட்டுள்ளார்.

இதனையடுத்து தோண்டும் பணி இன்று நிறுத்தப்பட்டுள்ளது. எனினும் தொடர்ந்தும் பொலிஸார் பாதுகாப்பு கடமையில் அமர்த்தப்பட்டுள்ளமை குறிப்பிடத்தக்கது.

இதேவேளை, இலங்கை மின்சார சபையின் மின்மாற்றி வேலணைப் பிரதேச சபையின் வளாகத்திற்குள் உள்ளது. அதனை இடம்மாற்றுவதற்காக ஒன்றுக்கு மேற்பட்ட குழிகள் கடந்த 18 ஆம் திகதி வெட்டப்பட்டன. அதன்போது அதற்னுள் இருந்து மண்டை ஓடுகள் உள்ளிட்ட எலும்புத் துண்டுகள் மீட்கப்பட்டன.

எனவே குறித்த விடயம் தொடர்பில் 19 ஆம் திகதி ஊர்காவற்றுறை பொலிஸாருக்கு அறிவுறுத்தப்பட்டதுடன் நீதிமன்றுக்கும் தகவல் தெரிவிக்கப்பட்டது. அதனையடுத்து குறித்த பகுதிக்கு வந்த நீதவான் குறித்த எச்சங்கள் நீண்டகாலமானவை என்றும் அதனை சட்ட வைத்திய அதிகாரி பரிசோதனைக்கு உட்படுத்த வேண்டும் என்றும் உத்தரவிட்டிருந்தார்.

- See more at: http://onlineuthayan.com/News_More.php?id=358383460922504027#sthash.8TxMeYTq.dpuf

Court Of Appeal To Take Up Gota’s Wanathamulla Victims’ Case As An Urgent Matter

September 22, 2014

In the case filed by 4 residents from 34 Watta in Wanathamulla (CA Writ 283/2014) against the Urban Development Authority and other respondents challenging the directive issued by the UDA ordering them to move from their homes to an alternative location without following legal process, the Court of Appeal today heard the matter and listed it to be taken up as an urgent matter tomorrow Tuesday (September 23rd).

When the case was taken up on Friday (19^th Sept), the Appeal Court had specially ordered for the Attorney General to be given notice that the case would be taken up for support for interim relief on Monday (today). The AG and the UDA had been given notice on Friday. However, no-one from the UDA was present in court though notice was given and the state counsel was reluctant to give an undertaking to court that the homes of the petitioners would not be demolished till the case was taken up.

A junior state counsel of the AG’s Department informed court that the case had been allotted to Deputy Solicitor General A. H. M. D. Nawaz, who has been appointed as an Appeal Court judge and asked for the case to be refixed for a few days later.

Senior counsel M. A. Sumanthiran, appearing with Viran Corea, Bhavani Fonseka, Luwie Ganeshathasan and Subhashini Samaraarachchi for the petitioners informed court that it was unfortunate that this type of tactic was being used. When the Appeal Court specially ordered for the AG to be noticed on Friday to appear on Monday for interim relief to be considered, respect for court process would have required that either an officer should make submissions agreeing to or resisting interim relief or give an undertaking that the UDA would be advised not to demolish until the Appeal Court had decided on the matter on the next date.

Appeal Court judge Upaly Abeyratne who heard the case, ordered the case to be taken up tomorrow (23^rd) and directed that the AG should be prepared to properly make court submissions in the case tomorrow.

Thunderclap

Editorial -Tamil Guardian 22 September 2014

The eyes of the world were on Scotland last week, as the Scottish people voted in a historic referendum on independence. The majority of Scots (55%) chose to keep their homeland as part of the United Kingdom with the promise of more devolved powers, turning down the opportunity to secede. Whilst the outcome has, quite rightly, been embraced by all as the collective will of the Scottish people, the process inspired and re-energised nations elsewhere struggling for independence. That the question of independence was freely expressed, debated and decided through a democratic process was observed with a feeling of hope and bittersweet envy by, amongst others, Catalans, Kurds, Kashmiris, Balochs, West Papuans and Eelam Tamils - whose own aspirations are denied, even criminalised and violently suppressed.

The referendum, founded on the resounding electoral mandate of the pro-independence Scottish National Party (SNP), which ran its last election campaign on the right to self-determination, debunked the widely held negative presumptions regarding national identification and secession, and challenged the routine assertion that nationalism is necessarily exclusivist and should be shunned. Although the Scottish debate was decisive, the divisions between the pro-independence and pro-unionist sides lay not in the degree to which they embraced a Scottish national identity, but on the question of how the Scottish nation - one that is inclusive of other ethnic or religious identities that reside within its borders - could be best safeguarded and nurtured: outside a wider UK identity, or within. (Significantly, this is in contrast to the xenophobic form of English nationalism expressed by far-right groups in response to the Scots’ call for greater autonomy in the referendum’s aftermath over the past few days).

As the Scottish people’s verdict illustrates, the assumption that a nation, if granted the opportunity, will always choose secession, is not true. As states increasingly move towards building economic and security cooperation, secession - carrying with it debated questions of the economic and political instability of a fledgling state - is not a decision taken lightly or fueled on ethnonationalist zeal. Instead when a nation’s call for independence is met with recognition and (credible) pledges to devolve power, nations have often chosen to seek a political solution within an existing constitutional framework. Scotland, Quebec and even previous Dravidian secessionist movements in southern India are paradigmatic examples.

The reverse, however, is also equally true. When the demand for self-determination, stemming from marginalisation and disenfranchisement of rights and identity within a multinational state, is met repeatedly with increasingly brutal suppression of peaceful protest, the demand for devolution inevitably develops into that of independence. Indeed the decision to secede is taken when the experience of past and ongoing exclusion, discrimination and persecution, as well as that of ethnic cleansing and genocide, renders the choice of remaining within a slightly modified status quo as no choice at all. The Eelam Tamil struggle is a case in point. The Tamil people’s emphatic call and endorsement of independence through the 1976 Vaddukoddai resolution and electoral victory of the pro-independence Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF) the following year, was the cumulative result of the Sri Lankan state’s increasingly brutal and violent response to marches, rallies and hunger strikes opposing Sri Lankan state discrimination and the marginalisation of Tamils in employment and education. Whereas the Scottish demand for a referendum and its result have given rise to serious discussion and debates of increasing devolution to all nations within the United Kingdom, the Sri Lankan state’s response to Tamil demands for, first, powersharing, and then independence, was to deny and then criminalise and ban these.

It is often forgotten that it was only at this stage, alongside the periodic bouts of mass killings of Tamils in state backed riots by Sinhala mobs and security forces, that the Tamil nation took up arms as a means of resisting state persecution. The Sri Lankan state in turn responded with mass annihilation of the Tamil people and the militarised occupation of the crucibles of Tamil nationalist sentiment – first Jaffna and then the Vanni. Tamils were collectively punished through mass incarceration and systematic rights abuses. Even following the military defeat of the LTTE, instead of seeking to resolve the smouldering ethnic crisis through meaningful devolution - let alone a federal structure or two state solution - Sri Lanka is intent on majoritarian hegemony. It is destroying the Tamil national identity and homeland through military occupation and state sponsored Sinhala colonisation aimed at demographic re-engineering of the North-East, that it assumes would permanently foreclose any future democratic resolution of the demand for self-determination.

Scotland’s referendum illustrates nationalism does not always lead to a nation choosing secession. The experiences of nations subjected to persecution and systematic annihilation shows that ongoing oppression always does. Indeed, as we said at the time, the resounding endorsement of Tamil national principles at the 2013 Northern Provincial Council election is evidence of the deep-seated will to self-determination amongst the Tamils, despite the hammer blows of the Sinhala state during the armed conflict and its repression since. The Scottish referendum and its result have advanced the stability of the United Kingdom. Conversely, it is precisely the denial of the Tamils’ demand to choose how they are governed that ensures the permanence of Sri Lanka’s instability, which will manifest, as it has in recent years, both within in the island and, especially, in the international arena. In short, the recent events in Scotland will long reverberate far beyond the British Isles’ shores.

Uva Results: Defeat Of The Coalition Of Muslim Political Parties

By Aboobacker Rameez -September 22, 2014

Dr. Aboobacker Rameez

This month marks the demise of Marhoom MHM Ashraff, the founder of Sri Lankan Muslim Congress (SLMC), and the establishment of the party as a political force in the history of Sri Lanka. Politicians in the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress organized various events in line with the commemoration of their late leader Ashroff in the Eastern Province, given the fact that such a resurrection of his image infinitely boosts the electoral clout.

With the announcement of Uva Provincial Council election, Muslim political parties such as SLMC headed by Minister Rauff Hakeem and All Ceylon People Congress (ACPC) headed by Minister Rishad Bathiudeen joined together under Democratic National Alliance(NUA) to contest the election in coalition on the request made by civil society organizations. This is a historical turn of events, given that the parties which are considered as an arch rival in the sphere of ethnic politics in the North East and some other parts of the country are contesting, for the first time, in unison. With the demise of Marhoom Ashraff, the SLMC suffered a serious blow with a fragmentation of the party due to various factors. Since then, an effort to unite the Muslim politicians, both in the government and opposition, under a common banner for the sake of the society resulted in an utter failure. Thus, despite a coalition of SLMC and ACPC, in the wake of Uva provincial council, is deemed as a positive gesture in the minority politics, it also raised many eyebrows and drawn suspicion and apprehension among the people. Both the SLMC and ACPC, then, mobilized their party stalwarts across the country to garner the support for the coalition in the Uva province and to ensure their party’s representation in the council. However, their mission resulted in vain with no candidate from the coalition has been selected to the council. Clearly speaking, the coalition of these political parties has been defeated overwhelmingly in the province securing only 5045 votes out of 40000 odd Muslim votes in the Uva province.

Factors that contributed to the defeat of the coalition Read More