Cartoonist Aseem Trivedi to take up Tamil genocide issue

12-May-2013

By P C Vinoj Kumar Chennai

Posted 11 May 2013

Anti-corruption activist and political cartoonist Aseem Trivedi has lent his support to Sri Lankan Tamils, who are living in hostile conditions under a Sinhalese racist government that massacred an estimated 1 lakh Tamils during the last stages of the 3-decade long civil war with the Tamil rebels that ended in May 2009. Aseem said he is convinced that what took place in Sri Lanka was genocide and his mission now is to create awareness on the issue among North Indians. Aseem Trivedi: A new voice for the Tamil cause For this purpose, he has joined hands with Chennai based activist Srinivas Tiwari and Bihar MLA Som Prakash Singh. He said he is planning to do a series of paintings and cartoons on the Tamil genocide and take the message across India. Aseem is likely to visit Chennai soon with Som Prakash Singh to take matters forward. Som Prakash Singh has already been to Chennai earlier to take part in pro-Tamil meetings and is a familiar figure in Tamil circles. He was in the city recently to express solidarity with college students, who were on an agitation in support of Eelam, a separate country for Tamils of Sri Lanka. Talking about the trio’s plans, Srinivas said the team had a 10-point demand that included many socio-economic issues facing the nation, besides foreign policy failure of the UPA government, the agrarian crisis, threat of internet censorship, and the Chinese security threat.

Lanka used for other’s benefit

May 9, 2013

External Affairs Minister Professor G.L Peiris says Sri Lanka is being used as a stage by some countries to gain the support of the United States.

Speaking at an event organized by the American Chamber of Commerce in Colombo today the Minister said that Sri Lanka was aware that most countries who voted in support of a US sponsored resolution on Sri Lanka at the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) recently did so with other intentions.

He said that they voted for the resolution not because they had concerns about Sri Lanka but because they did not want to go against the US.

The Minister said that most of the countries which backed the resolution had a lot to gain from the US and so had no choice.

He said that the Sri Lankan government was concerned with such a situation and that such moves were unfair on the part of Sri Lanka.

The UNHRC in March adopted the US sponsored resolution on Sri Lanka with 25 in favor, 13 against it and 8 abstentions.

The US Ambassador to the UN in Geneva Eileen Chamberlain Donahoe, in presenting the resolution to the Council, said that there were 41 co-sponsors to the resolution.

The resolution had as the co-sponsors Austria, Canada, Croatia, Belgium, Denmark, Estonia, France, Finland, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Malta, Monaco, Montenegro, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, St Kitts and Nevis, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and United States of America. (Colombo Gazette)