Negotiations with suicide bombers can end violence, as Sri Lanka demonstrates Jonathan Steele in Kilinochchi, The Guardian, UK, Friday December 17, 2004 Come to Elephant Pass to witness a rarity: a place where the contradictions of the “war on terror” have not produced the usual regression. In most of the world the fight against “international… Read more »
Monthly Archives: December 2004
Pirapaharan 2, Chapter 29: JR’s Trap for Rajiv Backtracking
by T. Sabaratnam, December 17, 2004 (Volume 2) Indira Gandhi’s assassination on 31 October 1984 provided President Jayewardene an opportunity to wriggle out of the peace process and pursue the military option he had carefully mapped out. He abruptly discontinued the All Party Conference on 26 December 1984 and gave the go-ahead to the armed… Read more »
India’s Sri Lanka Policy: Need for a Review
by Ana Pararajasingham, South Asia Analysis Group, Delhi, December 13, 2004 It is only natural that India, the regional power, should have an abiding interest in the manner in which the conflict in the Island of Sri Lanka is resolved. The Tamil National Alliance MP, Mr Gajendra kumar Ponnambalam’s declaration that the Tamil Nation has… Read more »
Reminiscences on Directing M.S.
The Musician-Movie Star by Ellis R. Dungan Front Note by Sachi Sri Kantha M.S. Subbulakshmi (the supreme musician of 20th century Tamil Nadu and known to millions simply by her initials, M.S.) bid farewell to us on December 11th at the age of 88. She is on route to moksha – the everlasting celestial palace of angels, dancers and… Read more »
IFT Dec. 10 Press Release
8 Rue Des Pâquis, 1201 Geneva, Switzerland – Tel/Fax: +41 22 732 08 31 – Email:ift /A_T/ bluewin /D_O_T/ ch 10.12.2004 Urgent press statement Government’s suggestions sabotaging the Tamil people’s struggle for equlity and justice International Federation of Tamils (IFT), a confederation of Tamil organizations around the world, urges the President of Sri… Read more »
Child Soldiers and Sunny Beaches
by Ravi Gowribalan, December 16, 2004 Many Tamils once believed that the Non Governmental Organizations (NGOs) play an important role in helping the people in the war-affected areas of Tamil Eelam. During the ceasefire, we have seen a dramatic upsurge in the number of international NGOs in Tamil areas and their interest in Tamil affairs… Read more »
Contempt of Court
by Wakeley Paul, Esq., December 16, 2004 The decision of the Sri Lankan Supreme Court Of Sri Lanka finding a politician guilty of contempt, clearly indicates that the Sri Lankan Constitution does not guarantee freedom of speech, a concept which was never referred to in the court’s judgment. One must, however, realize that there were… Read more »
The International Community & Tamils
The True Face of the International Community & a Rational Response from the Tamils of Eelam by Siva Muthulingasamy, UK, December 16, 2004 The International Community(IC) is all united by just one common objective, a World Trade monopoly. They work in partnership with the US, like “the good cop bad cop” duo in a Hollywood… Read more »
Mourning M. S. Subbulakshmi
Renowned Carnatic musician M S Subbulakshmi died at 11.45 p.m. in Chennai December 11 following “various complications”, according to hospital and family sources. She was 88. Her husband, Sadasivam, pre-deceased her in 1997. A Magsaysay Award winner, Subbulakshmi, popularly known as “MS,” has no children. Born as Kunjamma in the temple city of Madurai in… Read more »
Rebuilding Mullaitivu
by Ranga Jayasuriya, The Sunday Observer, Colombo, December 12, 2004 Mullaitivu is rising from the ruins of intense fighting that lasted for over one and half decades and caused mass displacement. The Mullaitivu Maha Vidyalam, the district’s premier school reduced to rubble during the war has been rebuilt. The road to the coastal town via… Read more »
Pirapaharan 2, Chapter 28: The First Interview
By T. Sabaratnam, December 10, 2004 On the Cover Page Sunday, India’s leading news magazine in 1984, created a sensation in India and Sri Lanka by featuring Pirapaharan’s first media interview in its 11-17 March issue. The cover carried a colour photograph of a wide-eyed, chubby -cheeked Pirapaharan in combat fatigues, sitting behind a desk,… Read more »
Seminar on The Indian Subcontinent: The Global Perspective
World Tamil Organization proudly presents a seminar loaded with much for serious and curious minds on Saturday, December 11th, 2004 All Day Event from 11:00 AM at Center Hall, Busch Campus Center Rutgers University 604 Bartholomew Rd, Piscataway, NJ 08854 Participants: Keynote Address by Durai. Raja, New Delhi Mr. Raja is the current national (central)… Read more »
The Bandaranaike Contribution to the Nation’s Fate
By Wakeley Paul, Esq., December 4, 2004 Anura Bandaranaike’s self-aggrandizing views of his family’s contribution toward the success of a failed nation, published in the Daily News, call for a rational review. His claim that no family has shed its blood for the nation’s advancement like the Bandaranaikes have should read, instead, that no family has… Read more »
A Rigged Dialogue with Civil Society
by Charlemagne, The Economist, London, October 2004 Does any of this sound familiar from the NGOs that comment and try to influence ‘ethnic’ affairs in Sri Lanka? — Editor How independent are the civil-society organisations beloved by the European Commission? THE European Commission knows it has an image problem. To try to fix things, it… Read more »
International Symposium on Semmozhith Thamizh
Tamil Maiyam and ‘Ma Foi Management Consultants Ltd’, are organizing an International Symposium on ‘Semmozhith Thamizh’ in Chennai on December 11, 2004. Eminent Tamil scholars and academics from Tamil Nadu and around the world are attending. Distinguished Tamil scholars like Prof. R.E. Asher of Edinburg University, Scotland, Dr. Ka. Pa. Aravanan, and Dr. V.C. Kulandaisamy… Read more »
America and Sri Lanka
by M. Nadarajan, December 4, 2004 Those of us who live in the United States of America, arguably the greatest country in the world and certainly the richest country, take a lot of things for granted. America also claims to be the most democratic country in the world, and preaches to the world about how… Read more »
Pirapaharan 2, Chapter 27: MGR’s Role in the Eelam Struggle
by T. Sabaratnam, December 2, 2004 (Volume 2) Massive Fund In April 1984 Pirapaharan met for the first-time Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. G. Ramachandran, idol of legions of Tamils. The meeting bonded them and brought about a historic change in the freedom struggle of the Sri Lankan Tamil people. MGR’s benevolence made it possible… Read more »
Interview with Graham Allen MP
for Nottingham North Confluence: You led an all party Parliamentary delegation to Sri Lanka recently. Can you give us a broad brush picture of the current state of play in the peace process in that country as you observed it? Graham Allen: We were pleased to see that most political parties are getting involved in the peace… Read more »
Sethusamuderam Project: Economic & Environmental Impact
Reasons for the Construction of the Canal and its Economic & Environmental Impact on Sri Lanka by Donald Jayantha Gnanakone, Los Angeles, December 2, 2004 The past three months has seen such a flurry of activity and controversy never seen before in Sri Lanka, since the signing of the Indo-Sri Lanka Pact by Rajiv Gandhi… Read more »
‘Tamils in Independent Ceylon’ Chapter 1
Chapter 1 Ceylon’s Independence The dawn of independence On of February 04, 1948, the year following the independence of India, Ceylon (or Sri Lanka as it was renamed in 1972), was granted independence. Ceylon had been a British colony under a Governor representing the British Crown. The country enjoyed a peaceful transfer of power by… Read more »