The Officer-in-Charge The Moratuwa Police Could Have Saved The Life Of The Chief Monk

By Basil Fernando -

Basil Fernando

February 8, 2013 

On February 4 the chief monk of Sunandonanda of Egodauyana, Moratuwa was assassinated by a group of persons during the evening. According to reports, at 5:30 pm and again at 7:30 pm, the chief monk made complaints to the Moratuwa Police stating that he was facing an imminent threat to his life and sought the protection of the police. The complaint made at 7:30 pm was done in person at the Moratuwa Police Station. It was shortly after his return from the station that he was brutally assassinated. In fact, the chief monk made 16 complaints to the same police station, four complaints to Police headquarters and another four complaints to the Ministry of Defense.

Had there been any action relating to these complaints the life of this monk might have been saved.

However, police inaction into complaints does not come as any surprise in Sri Lanka. The Asian Human Rights Commission itself has many experiences of complaints being made, even to the Inspector General of Police himself, which have not led to any credible result. This includes the two most recent complaints made to the IGP regarding the complaint of a 43-year-old woman who was a rape victim against a chief monk at Kelaniya. During 2012 the AHRC made a total of 46 complaints regarding torture and ill-treatment of persons at various police stations around Sri Lanka. All these should have led to inquiries under the CAT Act, No. 22 of 1994 which prescribes 7 years of rigorous imprisonment and a fine of Rs. 10,000/= for acts of torture. At present no complaints relating to torture and ill-treatment are investigated.

What is worse is that in several cases, some of which involved murder, the Attorney General has filed papers with the magistrates withdrawing further inquiries into such complaints.

A request for protection following an imminent threat to life is one of the last pleas that a human being can make in an attempt to safeguard his life. When such a plea is made to the police it is a plea that is made to the state. It is from the state that the person is asking for protection at the final hours of his life. When the state does not respond even at that moment there is nothing such a person can do to preserve his life other than to resort to violence himself in self defense. If those who wish to harm him are better armed, as in the case of the chief monk, then he has no chance of that avenue of escape either.

It would be futile now, even to ask for action to be taken against the Officer-in-Charge of the Moratuwa Police Station for his neglect which caused the loss of a person’s life. Such a request for action against the police for the commissions and omissions which result in violations of other people’s rights no longer lead to any kind of reprisals from the higher ranking officers.

What this practically demonstrates is the nature of the transformation of the state that is happening in Sri Lanka. The most primary task for which the state was created was the purpose of the preservation of life by way of protection offered by the state. The very reason why people agree to obey the commands of the state is the offer that the state makes to them to protects their lives. In Sri Lanka things have come to such a state that the government does not even fulfill this basic task.

The loss of the chief monk’s life shortly after he requested help from the Moratuwa police is a grim reminder of the utter carelessness of the state authorities to fulfill their most fundamental obligations. Rizana Nafeek died in Saudi Arabia by way of beheading also after several years of failure by the state to make the most basic interventions on her behalf that the state owed to her. She died, charged for a murder which never happened and we in Sri Lanka were unable to defend her even in a situation such as that.

Perhaps the monk, when he went to ask for help from the police station was living in a dream world. That is perhaps what all of us are doing.

For further information please see the AHRC statement:

The Murder Of A Chief Monk And Execution-Style Killings Of Two Persons

Indian trawlers hurt northern Sri Lanka livelihoods

Despite the fish-rich seas, northern fishing has yet to recover from the conflict that ended in May 2009

© Amantha Perera/IRIN

ReliefWeb

JAFFNA, 7 February 2013 (IRIN) -ReliefWeb

 Indian trawlers are taking their toll on northern Sri Lanka's fishing sector which is struggling to recover almost four years after a decades-long civil war.

"Since the conclusion of the civil war, Indian trawlers have been coming in closer and closer," Maarten Bavinck, director at the Amsterdam-basedCentre for Maritime Research, told IRIN, noting that over half of the 5,000 trawlers based in southern India are completely or seasonally dependent on Sri Lankan waters.

As many as 100,000 people, or 20,000 families, are dependent on fishing in Sri Lanka's Northern Province, experts say.

Each day, hundreds of trawlers working out of the southern Indian fishing ports of Rameshwaram and Nagampadam cross into Sri Lankan waters, heading especially for Palk Bay which is known for its exceptionally rich fishing grounds.

In the late 1970s the Indian fishing authorities in some areas - in an effort to protect local small fishermen - brought in the so-called "three-four day rule", which ensures that large trawlers stay in harbour three days a week.

During their four days at sea, however, Indian trawlers routinely enter Sri Lankan waters, causing smaller Sri Lankan fishing boats to limit their fishing or not fish near the trawlers.

Fishermen in Vaddamarchchi, Jaffna District, go out to sea just 60 days a year, while in Pesala, a fishing village in Mannar District, they go out 85 days, Bavinck said.

"Normally, one would expect fishermen to go out for at least 200 days a year," the expert said, adding that many fishermen had no choice but to find alternative work.

On average a fisherman in northern Sri Lanka earns just over US$50 a month.

In some cases fishermen were losing as much as half their yearly average income of US$600, research by Bavinck and two other colleagues (Joeri Scholtens and Anandan Soosai) indicated.

Nineteen percent of the surveyed fishermen said their biggest concern was the encroaching trawlers, the research found.

"There still remain limited security restrictions on the use of certain [northern Sri Lankan] fishing harbours and deep-sea fishing. But more disturbing is the competition with Indian fishing trawlers that intrude into Sri Lankan waters," said Muttukrishna Sarvananthan, a principal researcher at the Jaffna-based Point Pedro Institute of Development.

"We simply cannot fish. They come in the hundreds and in bigger boats. The smaller boats can't compete. If we do, they can [deliberately] damage our nets and gear," said Aruldas, a fisherman from the village of Point Pedro in Jaffna District.

He now restricts his fishing to shallow waters where the trawlers cannot operate. "It's safer, but [there are] less fish and more and more people like me are coming here," he said.

"In 1980, almost 30 percent of the country's fish catch was caught in Jaffna District," Sarvananthan said.

In 2003, during a ceasefire between the government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, fishing accounted for 12 percent of the provincial economy. Today it accounts for 3 percent - the same as in 2007 when war raged, according to research by Sarvananthan, based on figures released by the Central Bank.

Meanwhile, the catch by trawlers from southern India has tripled in the last three decades, Bavinck said. Though a 463km maritime boundary was agreed in 1976, many Indian fishermen still consider Sri Lankan waters their traditional fishing grounds, he added.

Compromise solution?

The two navies and the Indian Coast Guard patrol the region, but Bavinck believes only a change in the law will alter the situation.

In March 2011, the two governments set up a Joint Working Group on fishing that meets annually. "We are working towards a negotiated settlement, but we need their cooperation," said Nimal Hettiarchchi, director-general of the Sri Lanka Department of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources, noting that any workable solution needed the support of the south Indian fishing fleet.

On 22 January, a joint statement by the two countries affirmed that "the use of force could not be justified under any circumstances."      -ap/ds/cb

Child died when an oxygen tube in burst in scanning machine!

FRIDAY, 08 FEBRUARY 2013 

Five year old Buddhini Kaushalya of Mabima at Kelaniya died on the 1st due to, according to hospital sources, the explosion of an oxygen hose in the scan machine while an MRI scan was being done on her at Nawaloka Hospital. However, medical sources say scanning machines does not have oxygen tubes and children are scanned after anesthesia using another machine.

The child admitted to the hospital on the 1st met with the unfortunate accident in the afternoon. Since then until the 6th she was put on an artificial breathing machine at the ICU of the hospital. She died when the breathing machine was removed at 6.20 p.m. on the 6th on recommendations by doctors.

The post-mortem examination was conducted yesterday (7th) and Colombo Judicial Medical Officer Dr. M.N. Rahul Haq decided that the death was due to oxygen deprivation to the brain and heart for a long period. Also the JMO has stated the MRI scan test had been carried out through a machine that had not been maintained properly.

Speaking to the media the father of the child Nilanka Ratnayake has said, “My daughter was taken for the scan test in the evening on Friday (2nd). She was suffering from convulsions. That’s why she had to take the MRI scan. Her mother was in the adjoining room. According to doctors two nurses and an anesthetist are present during such a scan normally. However, only a lady doctor had been present at this occasion.

After a short time the daughter was taken for the test my wife had heard a sound like an explosion from where the scan was being done. She had run towards the scanning room. The lady doctor had shouted for help. When the child was taken out of the MRI machine her body was blue. She was given artificial respiration before entering her to the ICU. At the time my daughter was dead. The hospital lied to us. When they were told the body of the child was cold they plugged on a heater to warm it.

Until yesterday we were told the child was living. The child died due to negligence of doctors. The doctors or the hospital are not prepared to take the responsibility for the child’s death now.”

On an order by Colombo Fort Magistrate Kanishka Wijeratne the body of the child has been handed over to the father for the last rights. The Magisterial inquiry will be held on the 11th.

VIDEO: METEORITE FALLS INTO A HOUSE...

February 8, 2013  
Particles believed to be from a meteorite had fallen into a garden of a house in Battaramulla near the Parliament. The homeowner told Ada Derana that the objects had fallen from the sky late last night. Professor Chandana Jayaratne of Colombo University had visited the location to collect samples of the objects. (Pic by Manjula Charantha

  

February 8, 2013  

200 Bodies Found In The Mass Grave At Matale, UN Should Ensure Inquiries Meet The International Standards

By Colombo Telegraph -February 8, 2013

“The assumption so far is that these remains are of persons who were arrested as suspects of the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna during the period of its second uprising, known usually as the second insurrection. The period was between 1987 and 1991. According to the reports of the commissions of inquiry into involuntary disappearances there were complaints to these commissions of disappearances of persons numbering around 30,000. ” says  Asian Human Rights Commission.

Issuing a statement AHRC says; “Now that it has come to the notice of the authorities of the discovery of these remains in what may be called a mass grave it is the duty of the state to conduct thorough inquiries into the circumstances under which these persons have suffered the injuries which are evidenced by their remains and to ensure a credible course of action leading to the discovery of all the details relating to the alleged crimes.” 

We publish below the statement in full;

The need for the preservation and proper inquiries into the remains of about 200 bodies found in the mass grave at Matale

Mass Grave At Matale

The question of enforceddisappearances in Sri Lanka has been a matter of concern for so many years now. The particular issue that the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) wishes to highlight in this statement is the finding of the remains of around 200 bodies at Matale which is under investigation by the Sri Lankan authorities. According to forensic experts who have so far done the preliminary work the remains of the bodies indicate injuries and therefore the site containing these remains is now regarded by the experts as a crime scene.

The assumption so far is that these remains are of persons who were arrested as suspects of the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna during the period of its second uprising, known usually as the second insurrection. The period was between 1987 and 1991. According to the reports of the commissions of inquiry into involuntary disappearances there were complaints to these commissions of disappearances of persons numbering around 30,000.

Now that it has come to the notice of the authorities of the discovery of these remains in what may be called a mass grave it is the duty of the state to conduct thorough inquiries into the circumstances under which these persons have suffered the injuries which are evidenced by their remains and to ensure a credible course of action leading to the discovery of all the details relating to the alleged crimes.

An inquiry must be able to ascertain the identity of the persons whose remains have been found; where they were arrested if these persons were disposed of after arrest, what is the nature of the injuries indicated on the remains and what the historical circumstances that led to their treatment that in turn led to these injuries. Such information should finally lead to the identity of those who caused these injuries which led to the death of these persons. Once such factual details are established it would be possible to decide the course of action needed to ensure justice.

However, there are serious concerns about the manner in which the remains are being preserved and also the manner in which the inquiries are being conducted. There are detailed processes and techniques essential for the scientific investigation of atrocity crimes. These include methods for the location, evaluation, excavation, recovery, and recording of mass graves and the analysis of human remains and other evidence in order to establish the identity of victims and the cause and manner of their deaths.

The AHRC suggests that the United Nations Working Group on Enforced Disappearances should, through their experts, study the situation of the conduct of inquiries relating to the remains of the 200 or more persons found in Matale, Sri Lanka and assist the Sri Lankan government to ensure that these inquiries will meet the international standards required for such inquiries. The Asian Legal Resource Centre also suggests that the international community should assist the Sri Lankan government with expertise, equipment and the necessary financial resources for the proper conduct of investigations as well as the preservation of these remains under ideal conditions which are required for such purposes.

The AHRC is concerned that if such international cooperation is not extended there is the possibility of the neglect of these remains which may lead to their destruction as a whole or in part and also that if the remains are not preserved under proper conditions their evidentiary value may progressively degenerate.

Cardinal complains to IGP of harassment

by Madura Ranwala -February 6, 2013

The Archbishop of Colombo, Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith on Tuesday, complained in writing to Inspector General of Police N. K. Illangakoon of police harassment directed at Catholics and requested him to particularly stop the harassment of the parishioners and the parish priest by the Avissawella police.

Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith has sent copies of his strongly-worded letter to the IGP to the Chairman of the Road Development Authority, DIG of Sabaragamuwa Province, Chief Engineer, Road Development Authority, Avissawella and OIC of the Avissawella police, regarding the torching of a fiberglass statue of ‘Mother Mary’, which was placed on a bare land in front of the church of ‘Mary, Mother of The Eucharist’ Church at Avissawella, the only church in Sri Lanka, having a history of 150 years.

The Cardinal has also stressed the fact that the installation of the statue there had been done in accordance with the rules and regulations of the Seethawakapura Urban Council as the parishioners, together with the parish priest, had sought the relevant approval from the Mayor and it had been approved unanimously at a general meeting held in 2011.

However, the statue was set ablaze by some unknown persons on Jan. 27, the Cardinal has said.

Parishioners told The Island yesterday that the police instead of looking for the culprits were busy recording statements from the parishioners in a bid to ascertain how the statue had been brought there and who had funded it etc.

Asked whether there were any objections from any religious community in the area to the statue, they said five chief incumbents of the temples in the area had in writing condemned the attack on the statue and had expressed their solidarity with the Church to pursue with the project.

Parishioners said that they were puzzled by the manner in which the police were handling the matter.

Press violence continues in peninsula. "Udayan" escape - "Thinakural" trapped

Thursday , 07 February 2013
In the aim of paralyzing the newspaper distribution, another anarchism has got debuted in Jaffna, today in the early morning hours.

A delivery boy from the “Thinakunral” press was assaulted and the newspapers along with his motorbike had been burned in the middle of the road.

This incident had occurred today early morning hours at 4.00 a.m in the Puthur locality, on the Jaffna Point Pedro distributing route.

As usual the delivery staff was riding on the motorbikes for the newspaper distribution in the peninsula; this incident had occurred in an area located between Kopay and Neerwely.

Mysterious persons riding on motorcycle in the aim of attacking the "Udayan" newspaper delivery staff have blocked, but the delivery boy had not stopped but had kept on riding and at this time, a "Thinakural" press delivery staff on motorbike was obstructed and the newspapers along with the bike had been scorched.

The said person was severely wounded and had been admitted to the Jaffna Teaching hospital is according to information.

Tamil National Alliance parliament member E.Saravanabawan rushed to the locality where the incident occurred observed the situation, and have made a complaint to the Achchuweli police station.

Thursday , 07 February 2013

Saravanabawan MP personally met the delivery boy attacked by unidentified persons.

Thursday , 07 February 2013

Today in the early morning hours, a delivery boy was assaulted and is seeking medical treatment at the hospital was visited by Tamil National Alliance Jaffna district parliament member E.Saravanabawan.

C.Sivakumar was attacked while he was engaged in newspaper distribution work in Jaffna and his papers too got blazed.

Parliament member E.Saravanabawan, visited personally the injured who was under assault today morning and admitted at the Jaffna Teaching hospital, and inquired his health conditions.

The injured person showed the wounds to the parliament member which happened due to the attack and in view of this, he notified the Parliament Member, that there would be loss of income.

Thursday , 07 February 2013

Endorsing Religious-Nationalism On Independence Day

By Tisaranee Gunasekara -February 7, 2013 

“Have you learned nothing from history?”Freud (The Future of an Illusion)

President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s Independence Day speech contained three main themes/ideas.

It reiterated national sovereignty, which, in today’sSri Lanka, is a cover for Rajapaksa absolutism. The Siblings want a free-hand, and, as the impeachment-travesty demonstrated, they abhor even judicial restrictions.

The speech also indicated that devolution is not on. The Rajapaksas do not want even a minute-dilution of their power; they are as allergic to separation of powers as they are to devolution. Their current concern is how best to do to the 13^th Amendment what was done to the 17^th Amendment, theChief Justice and judicial independence.

The President’s speech also contained a tacit acceptance of the anti-pluralist version of Lanka’s past and a coded endorsement of the Sinhala supremacist vision of Lanka’s future peddled by the JHU and the Bodu Bala Sena (BBS).

The President began his speech with a brief history of Trincomalee and it was a Sinhala-Buddhist history. It need not have been. Had he wanted to, he could have used proven historical facts to highlight the rich pluralist past of Trincomalee. For instance, when he said, “the monks who brought higher-ordination from the ancient land of Siam also arrived at Trincomalee”, he could have added that those monks came as a result of a mission sent to Siamby the non-Sinhala monarch Kirthi Sri Rajasinghe (the second Nayakkara ruler of the KandyanKingdom). He could have also mentioned that this momentous event could not have happened without the cooperation of the Dutch because Trincomalee harbour was under Dutch control during that period[i]. That one incident could have been used to showcase the rich pluralist history of Trincomalee and the momentous non-Sinhala contributions to the protection/promotion of Lankan Buddhism. Instead it was depicted as exclusively a Sinhala-Buddhist triumph.

At a BBS meeting in Matale (December 2012), the organisation’s titular head Ven. Kirama Wimalajothi Thero said “This is a Sinhala Buddhist country; we created its history, culture and civilisation”[ii]. The President could have torn this dangerous myth apart by allowing real history into his narrative. For instance, he could have mentioned that the same non-Sinhala Keerthi Sri Rajasinghe also built the inner temple of theTemple of the Tooth; or mentioned the ancient Koneswarm Kovil of Trincomalee

Alternatively he could have showcased the secular history of Trincomalee; such as its mention in Claudius Ptolemy’s Geographica; or its connections with the famed world-traveller Marco Polo.

The President’s decision to ignore the pluralist and the secular histories of Trincomalee and to give that multi-ethnic/religious city an exclusively Sinhala-Buddhist past was not an accident, as is demonstrated by his subsequent mention of the controversial Trincomalee Buddha statue: “You will recall what the LTTE Tigers subsequently did to gain control of this port and city that had become a nerve centre in the Indian Ocean. The Buddha Statue at Trincomalee was protected with barbed wire fencing round it. There was no peace or freedom even for the sacred statue”.

The Trincomalee Buddha statue was not a creation of an ancient Sinhala king. It was installed, literally overnight, by the Three Wheeler Drivers Association of Trincomalee, in 2005. The pre-fabricated statue was transported and set up near the Trincomalee bus-stand under cover of darkness. The JHU was believed to have been the prime-mover behind this ‘guerrilla-style operation’ and a section of the Navy reportedly backed it.

Trincomalee city was already seething with ethno-religious tensions, stoked by the Tigers and by Sinhala-Buddhist extremists. The sudden appearance of a huge Buddha statue intensified these tensions to a fever-pitch. The Tamils called a protest-hartal; Tamil and Sinhala mobs clashed causing one death. The Muslims, who held the demographic balance, sided with the Sinhalese.

The sudden erection of the statue was not only an act of studied provocation. As it was installed on state-landsans permission, it was also illegal.  As the Town hovered on the edge of calamity, the Attorney General filed a case, seeking judicial permission to remove all unauthorised religious structures in the town. The Trincomalee magistrate granted the permission.

The judicial order was loudly decried by Sinhala supremacists of all stripes; JHU monk-parliamentarians disrupted parliamentary proceedings. The Chief Incumbent of the China Bay Temple petitioned the Supreme Court, against the AG and the UDA. Eventually a bench headed by Chief Justice Sarath N Silva gave the statue legal approval.

The Trincomalee Buddha statue is thus not a symbol of consensual peace or ethno-religious harmony. It was installed for the most profane of reasons, by opportunistic and voracious Sinhala politicians (lay and ordained) who misuse Buddhism to gain/hold power. It is also a symbol of Sinhala supremacism and of a Sinhala – as opposed to a Lankan – peace. The President’s needless endorsement of this divisive structure in his Independence Day speech is a coded-acceptance of the JHU/BBS vision of a Sinhala-supremacistSri Lanka.

Sinhala supremacists, even at their most venomously anti-minority, do not think they are being racist. According to their worldview, the Sinhala-Buddhists can never be racists; racism is a malady which can affect only the minorities. Thus there is no cognitive-dissonance in the likes of BBS/JHU calling themselves anti-racists, while accusing their minority-victims of being racists. Or in the fact that the BBS’s Facebook page contains resounding rejections of racism, cheek-by-jowl with crude anti-minority ranting[iii].

Or that President Rajapaksa rejected racism in a speech dripping with Sinhala-Buddhist supremacist symbolism.

Doing Business with Fanatics

The BBS, like its ideological progenitor the JHU, belongs to the global trend of temporal religious revivalism, which aims at making the state more religious and religion more political. This revanchist movement seeks to negate one of the most important legacies of the Enlightenment and the French Revolution – the secularisation of politics.

In the post-Socialist world, religious over-determination had trumped ethnic-over-determination. Every major religion has staked out its ‘natural/hereditary’ territory and aims at claiming/reclaiming it for its beliefs and values – whether it is the American evangelicals, the ultra-right Catholics in Africa/South America, Afghan/Pakistani Taliban, the BJP in India or the JHU/BBS in Sri Lanka. They promote a brand of anti-secular, religious nationalism/patriotism based on the trinity of race-religion-armed forces. They promote a ‘politics of salvation’ (in the here-and-now, rather than in after-life). Their version of democracy is rule of, by and for the ‘chosen people’, chosen on the basis of primordial identities.

Bringing religion into the public sphere is a dangerous venture, politically, economically and socially. Extremism knows no limits; its constant search for the ‘other’ can threaten the very existence of pluralist societies, such asSri Lanka.

Currently the Rajapaksas might be puppet-masters and the BBS the puppet. The Siblings might be intending to use the BBS, asWashingtonthought to use Islamic extremism against the Soviets inAfghanistan; and the Mossad’s plan to use the Hamas to weaken the secular PLO. But it is a dangerous business, doing business with fanatics. Fanatics inhabit a different mental universe, a psychological-wasteland in which reason does not exist, excess is the norm and barbarity is permitted, against the ‘Inimical-Other’.

And once summoned, fanatics assume a life of their own, uncontrollable and uncontainable, even by their one-time masters.

---

[i] This event happened around 1747.

[ii] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1EleUZQw71k

[iii] http://www.facebook.com/pages/Bodu-Bala-Sena/102787816538523

Independent investigation concerning missing persons - Alliance

 Thursday , 07 February 2013
Concerning those surrendered and missing persons occurred in the north, there is no actuality or expectation in the internal investigations.  This establishes through government’s contradicting statements. Hence concerning this issue, an independent investigation should be held through international mechanism, was urged by Tamil National Alliance party yesterday.

President had informed he is not prepared for devolution of powers in his Independence Day speech was said by Tamil National Alliance Spokesperson and MP, Suresh Piremachandran.

 In view of government's journey towards military autocracy, not only Tamil people but the people of the entire country are pushed to a dangerous situation, which he warned.

A media briefing was held at Colombo Azath Saali center, on the theme "share powers and unite the country" he made these statement.

He said, before war, during war and after war, complaints were made regarding missing persons which are focused in the Reconciliation Commission's report.

But according to report published by military tribunal it is notified there is none in the category of missing persons. This is completely false.

Many were surrendered to the military in the presence of their parents before war, during war and after war period. But so far concerning them, there are no intimation revealed.

In the issue of finding the missing persons, there is no fact or trust towards the internal investigations carried out by the government. Government's report is much contradicting.

Complaints reflect about the missing persons in the Reconciliation Commission report, but the military tribunal report states, there is none in the category of missing persons.

Government cannot be trusted in this issue. There is no truth in government panel investigations. Regarding this, an independent investigation is necessary with international mechanism. If investigations are independent, the actuality can be discovered, which will pave way to get confidence.

President is not prepared to grant a settlement to the Tamil people’s racial crisis through devolution of powers which is clear from his Independence Day speech.

It is enough if there is understanding amongst the races and developments in the country was said by him, But he is not prepared to originate that understanding. He is operating in the manner of creating conflicts among the races.

Not only this, the family of President is attempting to originate military dictatorship in the country. If such anarchism atmosphere gets originated in the country, not only in the north, but the entire people of this country will face great sorrow.

If military intervene increase not only the Tamil people's crisis, but there would be problems to Sinhala and Muslim community. The country, owing to this will face disaster. To obstruct this, we have to expedite and function. Sinhala people should understand Tamil people’s crisis.

People’s valuable dwellings located in the Jaffna Waligamam north areas are demolished and destroyed by the military.

On completion of land mine excavation in the north, the people who were removed from the prescribed areas, will be resettled was the assurance given by the defense ministry.

However, today, Tamil peoples house are demolished by the military.  In the objective of curtailing this  immediately by the military, on the forthcoming 15th, we have decided to hold a protest in the north, for which all the people should participated was said by Suresh Preamachandran. 

Thursday , 07 February 2013

Vanni 2002 – 2006; What I Owe The People Of The Vanni By Anandaraj L. Ponnambalam -February 7, 2013 Anandaraj L. Ponnambalam It was February 2002 when I returned to Sri Lanka from the US, scarcely a month after the announcement of the Ceasefire Agreement that ended hostilities, following the 20 year old civil war. Now, for the first time the marvel of peace among our people was a real possibility. Like many other Tamils of my generation who were nurtured on the premise of achieving our rights via peaceful and non-violent means, I was able to leave the country at the onset of the civil war when it became evident that violent means had hijacked all peaceful methods of non-violent agitation and activism for our rights. In effect,Black July 1983 or thereabouts till February 2002 was a form of exile that ended for me as well as many other Tamils of my generation who took the first opportunity to return when the fighting stopped during that period of ceasefire. The moment I landed in Colombo, I could sense an immense feeling of relief among almost all cross sections of the people, most tangibly due to the removal of the various barricades and security checkpoints that dotted the highways and by ways of Colombo. A few days into savoring every moment of the once familiar sights, smells, and sounds of my former haunts in Colombo, I would read the newspapers that published articles and items of news that embodied sentiments such as regret at missed opportunities, acceptance of responsibility for past wrongs, and the need for atonement for the terrible atrocities of the past. These were sentiments that I had never seen expressed openly, let alone published in private and government controlled newspapers in all my life. All I experienced was an eerie silence that greeted the aftermath of the many riots and pogroms. Hear nothing, say nothing, do nothing was the order of those days of my growing up. Not only in these newspaper articles, but also in the camaraderie of old friends, Singhalese, Tamils, Muslims, and Burghers, I experienced this new found sense of hope for peace and the spark of an enlightened future for our country.                      Read More Chidambaram Annamalai University students stage protest against arrival of Rajapaksa

[ Thursday, 07 February 2013, 02:04.23 PM GMT +05:30 ]

Students of the Chidambaram Annamalai University boycotted academic activities this morning and stage protest against arrival of Lankan president Mahinda Rajapaksa, killed thousands of Tamil’s in their motherland.

Students commenced protest in front of Rajendran statue in Annamalai University at 10.00 am and marched up to the Gandhi statue at Chidambaram bus stop. Police officials stopped the protesters near the bus stop. Due to this tense situation broken put between protesters and security personals. Due to the protest heavy traffic jam reported in the area for several hours. Speaking on this protest organizer of Tamil Nadu Student Front V.Subramaniya Siva said “By inviting war criminal Rajapaksa Indian central government has ill-treated entire Tamil community. By providing military and financial supports Indian government has supported the Lankan government. It’s necessary to produce them before the international criminal court, he alleged.

<