INTERFAITH INTERNATIONAL A non-government organisation with ‘consultative status’ at the United Nations * * * * * * United Nations Commission on Human Rights – 60th session Item 5 – Right to Self-determination Intervention by Visuvalingam KIRUPAHARAN March, 2004 In 1918, President W Wilson used the term ‘self-determination’ in his speeches to Congress. He stated… Read more »
The April Fools Election
by Rajan Philips; published March 21, 2004 The April Fools Election and Post-Election Possibilities The almost April Fools election, an election about nothing and one nobody wanted, has suddenly become the moving stage for a political drama that is unfolding as no one could have predicted. The election itself is not the drama, but everything around… Read more »
Tamil Cogs of the ‘Harkara’ System
by Sachi Sri Kantha; published March 21, 2004 Tamil Cogs that Service the Harkara System of News Supply Front Note Following the appearance of my commentary on Col.Karuna [The Tamil Hero turned into a Zero] in the sangam website, one reader requested additional information on the harkara system prevalent in India – to which I have… Read more »
IMF 2003 Consultation with Sri Lanka
by International Monetary Fund, Washington, DC via ReliefWeb, March 5, 2004 IMF concludes 2003 Article IV consultation with Sri Lanka Public Information Notice (PIN) No. 04/20 Public Information Notices (PINs) are issued, (i) at the request of a member country, following the conclusion of the Article IV consultation for countries seeking to make known the… Read more »
Tamil Homeland is Part of Tamil Identity
by Tamil Guardian Editorial; London, March 17, 2004 Indelible Blot – The homeland is part of the Tamil identity The standoff between the Liberation Tigers’ leadership and the rebellious former commander of the movement’s forces in the Batticaloa-Ampara districts continued this week, with several developing aspects of the crisis raising anxieties amongst the Tamil people, particularly… Read more »
Northern & Southern Blocks Divided
by Jayadeva Uyangoda; Daily Mirror, Colombo, published March 19, 2004 Northern and Southern monolithic blocks divided as crisis deepens Whatever the outcome of the election, and whoever forms the new government, the immediate task that the new regime faces would be one of establishing a new political equilibrium without which no measure of political stability could… Read more »
Paradise Lost?
by V. Gunaratnam; published March 18, 2004 Magical names that once stirred the imagination, Pearl of the Orient, Teardrop of the Indian Ocean, Taprobane, Resplendent Isle, and Serendib, redolent of the lingering sun and emerald waters, lush tea gardens and aromatic spices, sparkling gems and intricate crafts, domed dagobas and towering temples, now conjure up nothing… Read more »
Tamil Hero Turned into a Zero
by Sachi Sri Kantha; March 15, 2004 Col.Karuna: The Tamil Hero who turned into a Zero By fortuitous circumstances, I found myself a guest of Kilinochchi people for a little over four days (March 2nd to 6th and again on 8th), when the Col.Karuna affair flared up in the open. Thus, unlike the contemporary hacks of… Read more »
ISGA Not for Separation: Prabha
by Daily Mirror, Colombo, March 16, 2004 The proposals for an Interim Administrative structure forwarded by the LTTE were not aimed at a separate state but only at an interim arrangement, said its leader V. Prabhakaran in a statement to the LTTE’s Sinhala paper Dedunne. “The accusations that our proposals are aimed at a separate… Read more »
Sri Lanka Scene: A Tool For Sinhala Chauvinism
by T. Sabaratnam; Colombo, March 15, 2004 Weekly Review Karuna – a tool for Sinhala Chauvinism Karuna is the new found hero of the Sinhala people. They are thrilled about his advent. They know his real name, the tongue-twisting Vinayagamoorthy Muralitharan. They are aware that he is from Kiran. They also know that the 38-year old… Read more »
Tamileelam Bank
by Geert De Clercq; Reuters, London, published March 16, 2004 Tamileelam Bank Symbol of Sri Lankan Rebel Autonomy KILINOCHCHI, Sri Lanka (Reuters) – There’s no marble in the lobby, no computer on the counter and no air-conditioning for the customers. The risk of robbery is also very small. Welcome to the Bank of Tamileelam, the world’s… Read more »
Pirapaharan, Chapter 33: Knocking Out the Base
by T. Sabaratnam; published March 15, 2004 33. Knocking Out the Base Grabbing Land A joint police and army team led by police detectives raided the Pankulam settlement of Tamils of the Indian origin on the orders of Vavuniya Assistant Government Agent at 10 a.m. on 6 April 1983 and set fire to their crops and… Read more »
Will Tamils Be Disenfranchised?
by Dr. Victor Rajakulendran; Australia, published March 15, 2004 Are some of the Tamils going to be prevented from exercising their franchise once more? There are only 17 days left for the parliamentary elections in Sri Lanka, scheduled to be held on the 2nd of April, the 3rd such vote in the last 4 years. Violence… Read more »
Brigitte Morgenthaler Subramaniam
by Rev. S.J. Emmanuel; published April 14, 2004 We are shocked and deeply saddened to hear of the sudden passing away of Brigitte under tragic circumstances. None can understand the depth with which this Swiss lady committed herself to the just Cause of the Tamils and moved thousands of others to do the same. The… Read more »
Iraq & Sri Lanka: Compared, Contrasted
by Wakeley Paul; published March 12, 2004 IRAQ AND SRI LANKA: COMPARED, CONTRASTED AND ANALOGIZED Bernard Lewis, the scholar of Islam, wraps his political opinions on Iraq in a historical blanket. They have never had a democratic tradition, he argues, therefore democracy will be an ill advised imposition of a political system upon a people who… Read more »
Email Campaigning
by A Colombo Resident; published March 12, 2004 E-mail campaigning is on in this election. Up to the last election they used the fax. Buddhist monks are also campaigning using e-mail. Here is a sample…just for fun!! The extra benefits of voting for the Sangha. Today giving a dana or inviting a monk in Colombo and… Read more »
CPJ Report on Attacks on the Press in 2003
Annual survey documents changing press freedom landscape: 36 journalists killed; 136 jailed at year’s end; China world’s leading jailer of journalists for fifth year in a row New York, March 8, 2004-The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) will release its annual survey of global press freedom conditions on Thursday, March 11, 2004. According to CPJ… Read more »
Wedding & Law Convocation in Vanni
by K. Mylvaganam; Tamil Circle, #3360 and #3361, published March 9, 2004 We Attended An L.T.T.E. Wedding In Vanni I have heard of the weddings taking place among the L.T.T.E. cadre, but never had the chance to attend one. This was the first time I had the rare opportunity to attend one personally. While my wife… Read more »
Amnesty’s Concerns re Sri Lanka
TO: Ambassador Devinda Subasinghe, Embassy of Sri Lanka FROM: Jim McDonald, Sri Lanka Country Specialist, Amnesty International USA RE: UN Human Rights Committee’s concluding observations DATE: February 24, 2004 On December 1 of last year, the U.N. Human Rights Committee issued its concluding observations (the “Observations”) on Sri Lanka’s fourth and fifth periodic reports under… Read more »
Crossing the Laugh Line
by Arun Venugopal; India Abroad, New York, March 12, 2004 Jokes from Vijai Nathan **My sister is a Born Again Christian. My mother was very upset when she converted. She said, ‘Why does she have to be Born Again Christian? We are Hindu – we are born again and again and again!’ **My parents were always… Read more »