Posts Categorized: Sabaratnam

by T. Sabaratnam; published April 6, 2004 Weekly Review Peace talks may suffer under UPFA Buddhist Lobby The Buddhist lobby succeeded today in forcing President Chandrika Kumaratunga to dump her nominee and appoint its choice as the new prime minister, indicating the hurdles that lie ahead of her in taking forward the peace process. Kumaratunga wanted… Read more »

by T. Sabaratnam; published March 31, 2004 35:  Tamil Blood Boils Eyewitness Account I was in Trincomalee on 27 November 1982 with Daily News presidential reporter Norton Weerasinghe and photographer Sena Vithanagama to cover the foundation-laying function of the Mitsui Cement Factory the next morning. We met Trincomalee Member of Parliament Rajavarothayam Sampanthan at his home on 28… Read more »

by T. Sabaratnam; Colombo, March 29, 2004 Weekly Review Close Fight in the South, Massive Backing for TNA Peace Talks Sri Lanka votes on Friday and opinion polls and political analysts indicate that neither of the feuding leaders will muster enough majority to form a stable government. “Right now, it does not look like either party… Read more »

by T. Sabaratnam; published March 25, 2004 34: Tamils Follow Militant Leadership Traitors The decision taken by the TULF Working Committee at its meeting on 11 May 1983 at its Nallur office to contest the local government election fixed for 18 May, despite the opposition of the militants, caused the political eclipse of the moderates. That… Read more »

Revolt against Karuna’s Regional Cry by T. Sabaratnam; March 22, 2004 Weekly Review Patience Pays Signs that Karuna’s revolt would crumble earlier than expected are surfacing according to the reports reaching Kilinochchi and Colombo. It will speed up, observers predict, as media and political pressure mount on the president and the government to use the division… Read more »

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 »

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 »

by T. Sabaratnam; Colombo, published March 8, 2004 Weekly Review The most redeeming feature of the northeastern crisis is the restraint shown by southern leaders, who have treated it as the LTTE’s internal affair, and their reluctance to exploit the crisis for their benefit. The recently forged United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA) strongman Mangala Samaraweera declined… Read more »

by T. Sabaratnam; published March 3, 2004 32. The Return of Pirapaharan   Filling the Vacuum Pirapaharan landed near Valvettithurai before dawn on 18 February 1983, one and a half years after he left for Tamil Nadu. When he left on midnight of 6 June 1981, six days after he witnessed the burning of the… Read more »

by T. Sabaratnam; originally published February 25, 2004 31. The Death of the First Hero   Shooting of Shankar Rajani, who was on the verandah of the main house, saw the army jeep entering their compound. She ran through the house to the back door and shouted, “Nirmala Akka, army jeep is coming.” She warned her… Read more »

by T. Sabaratnam; originally published February 24, 2004 Weekly Review Two significant developments have marked the parliamentary nominations that concluded at noon today (Tuesday). The first, in the order of importance, is the open entry of the LTTE into the democratic electoral process. The second was the intense debate generated by the entry of Buddhist priests… Read more »

by T. Sabaratnam, originally posted February 17, 2004 Weekly Review, 16 February 2004 Nomination week for the April 2 parliamentary election begins on Tuesday February 17 and the events of the last few days point to an intensely violent and confrontational campaign. Two incidents of election violence have been reported from the Puttalam district on… Read more »

by T. Sabaratnam; originally published February 11, 2004 30. LTTE Guerrillas in Action  Nelliady Ambush Pirapaharan’s wish to raise an LTTE army on the lines of Subash Chandra Bose’s Indian National Army was natural because he had already gathered a group of active and committed cadres. He had trained over 25 youths and a few of… Read more »

by T. Sabaratnam; originally published February 10, 2004 Weekly Review An Opportunity Tamils Should Not Miss Tamil politicians and analysts view the April 2 parliamentary election as a golden opportunity Sinhala chauvinism has bestowed on the Tamils. They are pleased that the LTTE has already seized the opportunity and won the international community’s acclaim by declaring… Read more »

by T. Sabaratnam; originally published February 4, 2004 29. The Indian Interest   Trincomalee Problem The interest RAW officials showed in the Trincomalee harbour helped Pirapaharan to figure out the puzzle. He knew that New Delhi was concerned about its security and had an aspiration to become the regional power. Its interest in the Sri Lankan… Read more »

by T. Sabaratnam; originally published February 3, 2004 Weekly Review 2 February 2004 India to delay signing the Defence Agreement India has decided to delay the signing of the Indo-Sri Lanka Defence Agreement, Colombo-based Indian diplomats said. This information was conveyed to President Chandrika Kumaratunga by Indian High Commissioner Nirupam Sen during the one and… Read more »

by T. Sabaratnam; originally published January 28, 2004 28. RAW Meets Pirapaharan   Pondy Bazaar Shootout With unbridled power concentrated in his hands, President Jayewardene set out to stifle the fledgling Tamil militancy. But the tools he used- state terrorism and weakening of the moderate leadership- were counterproductive. Police and army atrocities, in the process of… Read more »

by T. Sabaratnam; originally published January 27, 2004 Weekly Review The World Figures Out Japanese peace envoy Yasushi Akashi’s succinct comment “why should they suffer” and his indication that a new mechanism “will be established” to expedite delivery of some of the aid pledged by the international community to the reconstruction and rehabilitation of war damaged… Read more »

by T. Sabaratnam; published January 21, 2004 Weekly Review Sri Lanka Scene Sinhala Chauvinism on the War Path I delayed this week’s column to enable me to comment on Monday’s Kilinochchi meeting of representatives of donor countries and international aid agencies and Tuesday’s signing of the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP)… Read more »

by T. Sabaratnam; published January 16, 2004 Chapter 26: The First Attack on the Army Seelan’s Saga When the news of the attack on the army by a group of LTTE cadres led by Seelan reached the Jaffna University Campus its vice chancellor Prof. K. Kailasapathy remarked: “They have crossed the border.” Before that, Tamil militant… Read more »