Sri Lanka - News and Discussion

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Theo_Fidel

Re: Sri Lanka - News and Discussion

Post by Theo_Fidel »

Sri Lanka needs to begin by reforming its constitution. The source of instability is engrained in there. As long as it is not reformed instability is guaranteed to return. People don't like second class citizenship when they can fight for full citizenship in their claimed Ealam. Lanka needs to recognize too that LTTE lost because Tamilzhs of both sides allowed it to shrivel away.

Source of calm in India is its constitution. Despite meddling by others.
Last edited by Theo_Fidel on 11 Jun 2012 04:43, edited 1 time in total.
thusitha
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Re: Sri Lanka - News and Discussion

Post by thusitha »

I think some one here was wondering why we were complaining about T'Nadu Nuclear plants. Maybe here is one reason.
T’Nadu nuclear wastes to end up in Lankan seas
says evaluation report...
By Sulochana Ramiah Mohan

The Site Evaluation Report (SER) for the Koodankulam Nuclear Power Plant project in Tamil Nadu reveals that liquid waste from nuclear plants will “be diluted” and “discharged into the sea.” Most of these wastes are to seep into the Bay of Bengal and therefore to Sri Lankan waters too.
The SER has just been obtained after a long and arduous Right To Information (RTI) and legal fight by the ‘Struggle Committee of the People’s Movement Against Nuclear Energy (PMANE).’
PMANE argues that it’s ‘beyond imagination’ the amount of liquid waste that will be dumped by six to eight nuclear plants at Koodankulam, and the other mega nuclear projects by the sea at Kalpakkam, also in South India. They say the Indian Ocean will soon become a big nuclear dumping site.
A spokesman for PMANE said, “With two mega nuclear projects – both at the northern end and the southern tip of Tamil Nadu, our Tamil Nadu coast is particularly threatened by nuclear contamination.”
“It is high time those of us in India stood up and protected the Indian Ocean, its Bay of Bengal, the Andaman Sea, the Gulf of Mannar, the Palk Strait, the Arabian Sea, the Lakshadweep Sea, the Gulf of Khambhat and the Gulf of Kutch. What is at stake is our seafood, marine life, coral reefs, biodiversity, our beautiful weather machine – put briefly, our mother of life,” he further added.
“The same scientists who admit that nuclear waste keeps on accumulating and that they are radioactive, and will continue to be hazardous for tens of thousands of years are the same people who are for nuclear power,
shyamd
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Re: Sri Lanka - News and Discussion

Post by shyamd »

SSM due in Colombo end of this month, so I presume this week sometime.


India gets tough; Menon here for crucial talks
By Our Political Editor
New Delhi concerned over UNHRC issues and inflammatory statements
View(s): 2504

India is sending a top-level emissary to Sri Lanka to convey in “the strongest terms” New Delhi’s concerns over a string of important issues.

Shiv Shankar Menon, National Security Advisor to the government of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, will have one-on-one meetings both with President Mahinda Rajapaksa and Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa. The one-time envoy to Sri Lanka arrives in Colombo on Thursday evening and will have the two meetings on Friday. There will be no other engagements for him except for these two meetings.

Among matters Mr. Menon is expected to raise will be issues related to the United States-backed resolution adopted by the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva in March. The three-fold resolution, backed by India, among other matters, called upon the government to (a) to implement the ‘constructive’ recommendations of the LLRC and to take all additional steps necessary to fulfil
the government’s relevant legal obligations and commitment “to initiate credible and independent actions to ensure justice, equity, accountability and reconciliation for all Sri Lankans. (b) It also called upon the government to present a “comprehensive action plan detailing the steps the government has taken and will take to implement the recommendations made in the LLRC report.

The Sunday Times learns that Mr. Menon will during his meetings both with the President and the Defence Secretary express “strong reservations” over what New Delhi believes is an escalating anti-Indian stance by sections in the government. In this regard, India will raise a senior cabinet minister’s recent “inflammatory” statements which India says are “rousing communal passions” and “obstructing” any possible measures at reconciliation.

Mr. Menon is also to discuss with Defence Secretary Rajapaksa matters relating to demilitarisation in the north.
It was only in April this year that an Indian Parliamentary delegation led by Lok Sabha Opposition Leader Sushma Swaraj told government leaders in Colombo, “We stood by you. There is a feeling of India being let down badly. There is disappointment.” Ms. Swaraj also said that troops in the north should not be involved in the “day-to-day lives” of civilians in the north. She later briefed Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on the visit.

Since the Mahinda Rajapaksa administration was voted to office in 2005, this is the first time an Indian government emissary has sought to have one-on-one meetings with the President and the Defence Secretary. They come ahead of Sri Lanka’s human rights record being taken up under the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) at the UNHRC in November.

Indo-Lanka ties ‘will never be weakened’

President Mahinda Rajapaksa held talks with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on the sidelines of the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro.
The President’s office in a four-paragraph statement on the talks said the two leaders had “stressed that the relations between the two countries continued since time immemorial will never be weakened” and that “both leaders discussed the historical relations and the need to be in constant vigil over the strengthening of relations (sic). During crucial times the two states should explore the possibility of arriving at solutions through negotiations”.
Sri Lankan Minister stirs up controversy again
R.K. Radhakrishnan
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His statement warning Tamils that 100 more Mullivaikals will be created provokes DMK

A rabble-rousing Sri Lankan Cabinet Minister’s utterances on the dark fate that awaits the Tamils has stirred up a controversy again in India with the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagan raking up the issue.

Power Minister Champika Ranawaka, known for making anti-India statements and then blaming the Indian media, at a press conference here on June 8, warned that 100 more Mullivaikals (where the LTTE’s final stand took place in Eelam War IV) will be created if Tamils in Sri Lanka followed the Tamil National Alliance and supported its policies.

The local media, quoting the Minister said: “Does Sampanthan [Tamil National Alliance leader] want to create 100 more Mullivaikals? We are ready to forgive and forget the past and think about the future” said the Minister.”

“But, if Mr. Sampanthan is calling us to a fight, our nation would proudly accept the challenge,” he further said.

The Minister, who belongs to the Jathika Hela Urumaya (National Heritage Party), which has a large representation of Buddhist monks, was earlier in the news for his anti-Kudankulam statements.

Later, he blamed the Indian media for quoting him out of context.

In this instance, the Minister was responding to strident comments made by TNA leader R.Sampanthan. At a conclave of his party, the Ilankai Tamil Arasu Katchi in Batticaloa, Mr. Sampanthan stated that the international community would some day realise that Sri Lanka would not accord Tamils their legitimate rights.

“We must clearly prove to the international community that the Sri Lankan government, which has delayed for so long in giving the Tamil people their rights, has never made any genuine effort to do so…We must be patient until the international community realises for itself that the effort we are involved in is doomed to fail. To put it more strongly, the international community must realise through its own experience, without us having to tell them, that the racist Sri Lankan government will never come forward and give political power to the Tamil people in a united Sri Lanka,” Mr. Sampanthan said.

Secessionist remarks

Soon after his speech, Mr.Sampanthan was criticised roundly in the Sri Lankan media for his secessionist remarks and aspirations. Some had even demanded his arrest. He later left for Chennai for treatment and is likely to meet Indian leaders in New Delhi before his return.

He was earlier in the news for his statements against Kudankulam project

In this instance, the Minister was responding to strident comments by TNA leader Sampanthan
thusitha
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Re: Sri Lanka - News and Discussion

Post by thusitha »

Pandyan

If it is a statement made my GR or MR, I would bother to respond. If an Idiot make a statement like this, there is no point even bothering to respond. He is just a power minister (Energy) and has nothing to do with military. Most probably he is trying to win some political scores. Can't stand this kind of idiotic statements coming out from anyone.
Also I don't believe that he was referring to bombing of Civilians, but the destruction of LTTE. So it is not that bad as you make it out to be.

Menon Sing seem to be much more diplomatic than the previous delegations and wonder what he would be reporting back to Manmohan Singh. He seem to be non committal about the whole trip.
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Re: Sri Lanka - News and Discussion

Post by shyamd »

We support political reconciliation efforts in Sri Lanka, says Menon
R.K. Radhakrishnan
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Fishermen issue has to be dealt with humanely, he says
National Security Adviser Shivshankar Menon addresses Indian journalists after meeting Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa in Colombo on Friday. Also seen is Indian High Commissioner Ashok K. Kantha.— Photo: R.K. Radhakrishnan

National Security Adviser Shivshankar Menon on Friday refused to commit if India was satisfied with Sri Lanka’s peace and reconciliation process with Tamils, saying “the goal [of the Indian engagement] is much bigger…[It is] to get this [the reconciliation process] to the right place.”

Three years after the end of Eelam War IV, there is no forward movement on accommodating Tamils’ hopes and aspirations. The Tamil-dominated Northern Province still does not have an elected provincial council. It’s also the most militarised. Mr. Menon’s trip, the shortest in recent times by an Indian official, was to take stock of the process and convey the Indian thinking. India had not set a date for Sri Lanka to complete the political process.

“I don’t think that is the way it is going to move forward,” Mr. Menon told reporters.

Asked if he was satisfied with the pace of progress on the reconciliation front, he said: “Again, you are asking me if it is good, bad etc… I have told you what we would like: a united Sri Lanka, within which all communities feel they are in control of their own destiny, and they are satisfied. They have told me what they are doing, briefed me on where they are going, how they can take it forward. Ultimately they have to move it forward themselves. They will…. We are not going to sit here and make the atmosphere either easier or more difficult by making statements.”

“Political reconciliation is clearly a Sri Lankan issue which Sri Lanka has to do, but India will continue to remain engaged with all concerned and continue to support their efforts. We will continue to support, help…do whatever we can to make sure that it moves in the right direction.”

Not going to judge

Mr. Menon said he was “not going to sit in judgement of anyone in this process” and discuss if the pace was proper or not. “This is something that has to get done. This is not a judgemental process — you like this, you don’t like this – That is not how it works.”

The hopes of Tamils could only be accommodated through a political process. This was an “internal political process. We have to also look at that. It is a process that has ramifications for all of us. And it is not something that started today or yesterday” or a few years ago.

Describing his short visit as “part of the regular consultations that the governments of India and Sri Lanka” have, he said “bilateral relationship, recent developments and areas of common concern” formed part of the discussions with President Mahinda Rajapaksa and his brothers Gotabaya Rajapaksa (Defence Secretary) and Basil Rajapaksa (Minister for Economic Development). Mr. Menon also met Tamil National Alliance leader R. Sampanthan.

Fishermen issue

Asked if the fishermen issue figured in the discussions, he said both sides recognised this as a livelihood issue that had to be dealt with humanely. The fishermen associations on both sides were in touch with each other. They have have reached some preliminary understanding. “We hope that they can meet and carry with forward. We will work with fishermen on both sides to take this forward.” Maritime security and cooperation issues also were on the table.

On Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s long-pending visit to Sri Lanka, Mr. Menon said: “The PM is still looking forward to visiting. He said he would like to come. We still have to find mutually convenient dates for that.”
I think the message has been delivered in the right way... the reconciliation must take place so that we have a united SL.
This is particularly in the light of last week’s visit to Colombo by Shiv Shankar Menon, National Security Advisor to the Indian government. Among other matters, he urged that the government conducts early elections to the Northern Provincial Council (NPC). During talks with President Rajapaksa, he sought a government commitment towards this in the form of an announcement. It came this week from a different quarter. Youth Affairs and Skills Development Minister Dullus Allahapperuma declared that NPC polls would be held “within one year.” Other critical issues facing Sri Lanka in the international fora will come up for discussion today when recommendations of the LLRC and the way forward are taken up for discussion.
Progress
shyamd
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Re: Sri Lanka - News and Discussion

Post by shyamd »

Northern Province elections in September 2013, says Rajapaksa
R. K. Radhakrishnan

Elections to Sri Lanka’s northern provincial council will take just over a year from now. “We want to hold elections in September 2013,” President Mahinda Rajapaksa told The Hindu. “We are working towards it [the elections] in a systematic manner.”

In an interaction at his official residence, Temple Trees, here, Mr. Rajapaksa said there were many issues to be resolved ahead of holding of elections. The primary one related to the electoral rolls. People who fled when the Tamil Tigers were in power and during the war were still coming in and staking claim to their land and property after the defeat of the Tamil Tigers in May 2009. These people too had to be accommodated in the rolls.

The last rolls were more than 30 years old and had no relation to the current eligible voters in the province.

The second issue was the completion of the rehabilitation and resettlement process. This was on with international support and was expected to be completed soon. Livelihood issues too were being addressed.

The holding of elections hold the key to moving forward on the question of granting Tamils the political space they lacked. In fact, this should have been possible soon after the India-Sri Lanka accord of 1987 (later called the 13th Amendment because the Sri Lankan Constitution was subsequently amended to include this provision), which also had a clause on devolution of powers. Ironically, the amendment benefitted all the other regions — albeit in a very limited manner — and all the provinces, barring the North, had a provincial council.

On the issue of glaring visibility of the Army in all walks of life, Mr. Rajapaksa said he had instructed that the Army should be visible only when required.

Mr. Rajapaksa refused to accept that the Indian vote against Sri Lanka in the United Nations Human Rights Council was because Colombo did not implement the promises it made to the Council in 2009. Insisting that his government had worked on all the promises that were delivered and was serious about fulfilling all undertakings that were given, he said he had even said that he was willing to go beyond the 13th Amendment.

Clarifying for the first time what the plus was, Mr. Rajapaksa said this was the creation of a Senate. “I said 13th Amendment plus. Then Shankar [Shiv Shankar Menon, Indian National Security Adviser] remarked if I meant the creation of a Senate, and I said yes.”

Mr. Menon had met Mr. Rajapaksa on June 29 on post-Geneva issues. India is the chair for the Universal Periodic Review at the UNHRC that comes up in November.

Mr. Rajapaksa made it clear that the creation of a Senate and the fleshing out of a solution needed to come from Parliament. “This is [where] the Parliamentary Select Committee is important,” he said


When The Hindu brought to his notice the plight of five fishermen from Tamil Nadu, who were being held in a Jaffna prison since November 28, 2011, he said he would first ascertain the facts of the case. He had called the Inspector General of Police and received an update on the issue.
Good result from NSA Menon visit. Pressure appears to be working. Now lets work together for a lasting solution and get all sides on board.
Philip
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Re: Sri Lanka - News and Discussion

Post by Philip »

Frankly I'm not sure sure how much "pressure" Menon or anyone can bring to bear upon the GOSL at the moment.The actual truth is what Menon said that the GOSL was "somewhat serious" about the issue! An extraordinary statement. You are either serious or not.Frankly,the GOSL has no concrete plan to hand over at this moment genuine administrative power to the north.Neither is there any urgency within the GOSL to draw up a masterplan or roadmap for the same.If the govt. just looks at past attempts,it will find many attempts nd plans by the CBK govt.,which was the most generous of all Lankan govts. on the issue, which it could use as a starting point.When the war is now over,"what me worry?" appears to be Pres.Rajapakse's thinking.Economic affairs are certainly higher on the agenda and his hope is that with an eco resurgence in the north,talk of political aspirations will fade away.

Let me give you more on this shortly.
Last edited by Philip on 19 Jul 2012 03:07, edited 1 time in total.
habal
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Re: Sri Lanka - News and Discussion

Post by habal »

philip, the Govt of India can only do so much to protect the 'great friend of Gaddafi'. If he wants to get hung by the winds of regime change, we can only do so much.
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Re: Sri Lanka - News and Discussion

Post by ramana »

Book Review in Pioneer:

http://www.dailypioneer.com/sunday-edit ... -saga.html
Back Sunday Edition Agenda BOOKS The Eelam struggle saga Saturday, 14 July 2012
R Hariharan .. .
The Prabhakaran Saga

Author: S Murari

Publisher: Sage, Rs 350

The book, besides outlining the history of Lanka’s Tamil problem, provides a few lessons on how to handle insurgencies and their aftermath, says R Hariharan


The history of Sri Lanka’s Tamil insurgency and its bloody end after 25 years of struggle at the hands of the Sri Lankan Army is a complex one. Veteran journalist S Murari’s The Prabhakaran Saga covers the Tamil Eelam armed struggle and Sri Lanka’s response in their multiple dimensions. The chronological coverage of mélange of conspiracies and assassinations, politics and perfidy, and the tragedy of mindless violence enables the reader to understand the complexities of the war and its root causes.

Murari has managed to write dispassionately about them all, including behind-the-scenes happenings. Written in journalistic style, his factual account has all the ingredients of a fictional one. As one who participated in the Indian Army’s ill-fated war with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), I give full credit to Murari for bringing out a rare coherence in linking the backroom drama to what was happening on the battlefield.

However, I have a small problem with the title of the book, The Prabhakaran Saga. The saga of Tamil separatist struggle is much more than Prabhakaran; in fact, he was a product of this struggle. However, without Prabhakaran and his creation — the LTTE — it is doubtful whether the struggle would have lasted for over 25 years. In fact, he became the centrepiece of it after he eliminated other Tamil political and militant leaders. He brought global focus on the cause of Tamil Eelam while turning the LTTE into the most dreaded terrorist outfit in the world. The publishers may have favoured the title because Prabhakaran dead or alive has a brand value and a little spicing up the title with his name improves the book’s marketability.

The author has avoided being adulatory of Prabhakaran, while appreciating his strength. The book is full of interesting first-hand anecdotes and vignettes of backroom political machinations that went on in Sri Lanka, India and elsewhere. Unlike many other texts of its genre, the book also covers critical developments in Sri Lanka to broaden the understanding of the issue. The author’s observations on events as they unfolded before him make the book useful for students of contemporary history.

Murari was the man on the spot on quite a few occasions when Sri Lanka’s history was in the making. The opening chapter — ‘When Colombo went into flames’ — covering the arrival of then Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi at Colombo to sign the India-Sri Lanka Agreement with President JR Jayawardane should be read to understand the groundswell of opposition to the agreement in Sri Lanka. There is no doubt the agreement wounded Sinhala pride; and, probably both countries are yet to fully recover from its aftereffects.

India-Sri Lanka relations went into a perilous course after the Indian Army was inducted to ‘help’ implement the India-Sri Lanka Agreement. India got entangled in a conflict with the LTTE and this seriously eroded the benefits of Indian intervention. As a member of the Indian Peace Keeping Force in Sri Lanka, I remember meeting Murari when I was waiting for Amirthalingam at Taj Samudra on the day the Tamil political leader was assassinated by the LTTE.

After reading Murari’s factual an account of the conditions under which we fought in the chapter “Jaffna under IPKF rule”, I credit him as one of the few journalists who understood the IPKF’s thankless task of fighting the LTTE with one hand tied.

The LTTE’s assassination of Rajiv Gandhi in July 1991 turned the tide of politics both in India and Sri Lanka. Its aftermath is covered in two chapters: ‘The Impeachment Drama’ covers the failed attempt to impeach Sri Lanka President R Premadasa for arming the LTTE, while the chapter ‘India hits back gets isolated’ covers the ham-handed way India responded to the Rajiv killing.

Later day record of events in Sri Lanka is done fairly meticulously. In the chapters that follow the seamless events that were taking place before, during and after the 2002 peace process are covered cogently. Two chapters devoted to Prabhakaran provide an insight into his leadership lacunae in failing to reap full benefit from the peace process. His death is covered in the end, though the circumstance of his death is murky. Probably, the author will update at a later stage when more facts come to light on his death.

The Tamil Eelam war is one of the enduring tragedies of South Asia. It came about after political democracy failed to meet minority aspirations, allowing extremism to muscle in. And the book provides a few lessons on how to — and how not to — handle insurgencies and their aftermath.

Overall, the book is a good buy.

The reviewer, a retired Military Intelligence specialist on South Asia, served with the Indian Peace Keeping Force in Sri Lanka as Head of Intelligence
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Re: Sri Lanka - News and Discussion

Post by svenkat »

Seriously out of touch
The Tamil Eelam project was never really on, as neither India nor the world at large was ever interested in dividing Sri Lanka. Further, neither the domestic situation in Sri Lanka nor the global or regional context contains any objective condition for the establishment of a separate state.

For parties in Tamil Nadu, “Tamil Eelam” has been a useful tool for rabble-rousing while in the opposition, and an instrument of competitive identity politics that can goad the ruling party to take an even more strident stand.
In office, the parties have administrative compulsions to crack down on “separatist” tendencies, book those indulging in “anti-national” rhetoric and frame or invoke draconian laws to keep fringe elements under check.

Flip-flops
Mr. Karunanidhi has, over the years, oscillated from advocating Sri Lanka’s division to advising Tamil groups and parties to go in for a negotiated settlement. A truthful summary of his stand over the last 30 years will be an unbroken record of flip-flops. His latest U-turn is the ease with which he dropped the core principle of TESO — the concept of “Tamil Eelam” — from the agenda for the first conference of the revived forum to be held on August 12. All it needed was a visit from the Union Home Minister for the DMK patriarch to jump from strident advocacy to confounding ambivalence — a domain he is quite comfortable in. “Tamil Eelam remains my dream, but this is not the time to stress on it much or organise agitations,” he rationalised.
Here, one must pause. There is little wisdom in accusing just one leader of contradictions. His arch-rival Jayalalithaa, too, has pitched for “Eelam,” a recent highlight being her election promise ahead of the 2009 general election that the government she supported would send troops to Sri Lanka to carve out “Tamil Eelam.”

Indian foreign policy appeared to go in favour of the Tamil minority initially, then gave a semblance of neutrality at the time of the Indo-Sri Lankan accord of 1987 by striking a path-breaking blow for both the country’s unity and the Tamil aspirations for provincial self-rule; in more recent times, preserving Sri Lanka’s territorial integrity became an obsessive objective, and India was drawn into — largely in a moral sense, and to a lesser extent, materially, too — into the government’s military project to destroy the LTTE.

Every political party has spoken about Tamil aspirations and in more recent times about restorative and rehabilitative justice for the victims of war. All parties called for an end to the war in its last stages, but it is doubtful if the appeal was honest. For instance, it is conceivable that there was great tolerance from the international community and from the Indian political and bureaucratic class towards the use of savage military power by Sri Lankan forces in 2008-09. There was, conceivably, an unstated consensus that finishing off the LTTE was a prerequisite to lasting peace.

Situation in Sri Lanka
And today, the Union government is caught between a legitimate demand for a credible inquiry into war crimes allegations against Sri Lanka and the need to retain its alliance with its southern neighbour. An offshoot of this dilemma is that it repeatedly gets caught in moments of liaison with the Sri Lankan military, drawing justified protests from the people and leaders of Tamil Nadu, for whose sentiments the Centre seems to have nothing but disregard and contempt. It is doubtful whether any other state has ever been treated with such self-evident disdain by the government of India.
The Hindu has to pander to the regional sentiments in its home base so as to appear neutral,but its true that military training to lankans and that too in OTA/Tambaram AF base/Udagamandalam is a very emotive issue in TN.

But credit is due to "Hindu" for having turned against LTTE very early.
OT:Perhaps some credit is also due to chindu for consistently supporting a moderate party like DMK.In the larger scheme of things,ABV deserves credit for bringing DMK into NDA.

Interesting comments from readers.
thusitha
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Re: Sri Lanka - News and Discussion

Post by thusitha »

Habal ...
philip, the Govt of India can only do so much to protect the 'great friend of Gaddafi'. If he wants to get hung by the winds of regime change, we can only do so much.
Winds of regime change applies when the majority of the people rally against a dictator (or government). That is not the case in SL. MR is elected by the majority of the people. What is happening in some parts of the Middle East such as Libiya, Iraq, Baharain is due to suppression of the majority by the minority and would lead to a bloody conclusion like in SL.
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Re: Sri Lanka - News and Discussion

Post by svenkat »

Srilanka has a decent record with Indian tamils,both those who were given lankan citizenship ie the labourers in tea estates and also the indian tamil(who are indian citizens) businessmen in Colombo.

Nor can it be denied eastern tamils were used as cannon fodder by Northern tamils.

Nor can one forget that Sinhalese revere India as the land of Siddharta Gautama,that Sinhalese came from Eastern India,their language is 'allied' to Northern Indian languages and they have no hostile intentions towards India.

Yet,a grievous injustice has been done to Northern Tamils.It was true that northern tamils were 'seduced' by white men but the north has been tamizh for millinea.It has had close sibling ties with tamizh civilization.Its language is tamizh.

The SL have altered the demographics of East by bringing in 33% sinhalese and 'splitting' the muslims from tamils over a century.SL has discriminated against the tamizh elite in education/jobs in a colonial plantation/tourism economy with limited jobs.The pogroms have driven the tamils away(with not a little help from the west).

India has stood by SL in crushing LTTE.India is at the forefront in investment.India stands for a united SL.

What has the GoSL offered to tamils? Have they addressed allegations of human rights abuses?Can the sinhalese put an end to the discrimination against tamils in education/jobs/police/army?

Have they reached out to the moderate diaspora? Have they facilated the return of those willing to come back? What is the record on rehabilitation?

thusithaji,
We are interested in your answers.
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Re: Sri Lanka - News and Discussion

Post by svenkat »

Drop the E-word, Centre tells TESO meet organisers
External Affairs Ministry wants organisers to drop ‘Eelam’ from meet title
Police deny permission for Chennai TESO meet
The city police have denied permission for the pro-Eelam TESO meet, convened by the forum’s founder leader and DMK chief M Karunanidhi in Chennai on Sunday.

The police have denied permission on various grounds but they cannot be divulged as the matter was sub-judice, Chennai Police Commissioner J K Tripathy told PTI on Saturday.

Sources said permission was denied on various grounds, including security implications, as a large turnout was expected than the venue could accommodate or the organisers had mentioned.
svenkat
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Re: Sri Lanka - News and Discussion

Post by svenkat »

Madras HC permits TESO meet at YMCA grounds
Earlier, in a preliminary meeting ahead of a conference on the plight of Sri Lankan Tamils organised by the Tamil Eelam Supporters’ Organisation (TESO), an outfit he has revived after a quarter century, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam president M Karunanidhi on Sunday spoke on the need for both a long-term and medium-term political solution to the national question in Sri Lanka.

Avoiding the use of the word ‘Eelam’ — a term which the Union government had initially objected to for use in the conference title, but later allowed —, Mr. Karunanidhi said, “The long-term solution to ensuring the rights of Tamils in Sri Lanka is a political one, which has been discussed and debated for a very long time.”

The Centre’s advisory on avoiding the word ‘Eelam’ in the title, too, had created an air of uncertainty, but a day later, the Ministry of External Affairs withdrew its objection, but advised the organisers and participants against saying anything that would affect the sovereignty of friendly nations.
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Re: Sri Lanka - News and Discussion

Post by chetak »

The sly old coot is just keeping his lines of financing open from EJ groups.

This is gross interference in SL affairs and not to mention that the basic thrust of his exertions as also being potentially seditious. :evil:

shades of nabi fai
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Re: Sri Lanka - News and Discussion

Post by shyamd »

^^ believe it or not quite a few people in TN do have strong feelings about what's going on in SL.
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Re: Sri Lanka - News and Discussion

Post by chetak »

shyamd wrote:^^ believe it or not quite a few people in TN do have strong feelings about what's going on in SL.

Don't i know it!

There is actually a guy in my office who has very strong feelings supporting eelam :evil:
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Re: Sri Lanka - News and Discussion

Post by shyamd »

We need to get GoSL to put the issue to rest once in for all - give them autonomy and increase the prosperity there. Big opportunity to become a highway of trade from India to SL. Visa free travel between both countries.

We have a big opportunity to settle the issue once in for all - and GoI needs to lobby GoSL to get their acts together and move faster - which is what we are trying to do - after NSA visit they announced elections within 1 year - a step in the right direction.
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Re: Sri Lanka - News and Discussion

Post by SSridhar »

chetak wrote:
shyamd wrote:^^ believe it or not quite a few people in TN do have strong feelings about what's going on in SL.
Don't i know it!

There is actually a guy in my office who has very strong feelings supporting eelam
chetak, there will always be somebody or the other supporting any cause. However, I can assure you that in TN, there is no widespread support for a separate Eelam. There is support only for a united Sri Lanka. People in TN realize that most of the political parties in TN are using the SriLankan Tamils for their political mileage (except people like Vaiko who anyway has no following within TN). Muthuvel Karunanidhi was tacitly supporting the GoI when he was in power and when Prabhakaran and his terrorist LTTE were being decimated. His public and private postures were diametrically opposite. Even publicly, his reaction was very muted when he was in power. So is Jayalalitha's now, apart of course from the fact that she would oppose anything that MK does and vice versa too. Mk's stand has become aggressive only after being unceremoniously dumped from power in the last elections. This has been regular tactic for his entire political life.

That does not mean that people in TN support the inaction at a political level by MR in resolving the issue. He is delaying making a call even as other welfare measures for the Tamils are being taken especially with Indian and international help. There is a belief that the refugee camps for the Tamils were much better organized in Sri Lanka than in TN, for example.

Getting a crowd for any political even is no big deal in a country of 1.2 B and that too for a party like DMK. That however, does not reflect any ground reality though.

On the point of the Tamil word, Eelam, of course ancient Tamil literature refer to Sri Lanka as Eelam. That is the argument being put forward by DMK, Vaiko & others and to which the Centre has agreed in the last minute. But, we know that the context in which Eelam is being used by DMK & others here is entirely different, as a seceeding part of Sri Lanka. The Centre relented because it was fearful of losing MK's support for its unstable coalition which is teetering.
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Re: Sri Lanka - News and Discussion

Post by Tuan »

Sri Lanka 'must seek' UN help over deadly prison violence
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-19274037
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Re: Sri Lanka - News and Discussion

Post by kshatriya »

On the Ground, One of DMK's vote bank has now moved on.

There are only 2 groups(EJ's and Dalits) that support Eelam. Part of the reason it was their folks that were at the receiving end during the war. So one can roughly say 25% of the TN Population has pro Eelam thoughts. Most of it is now getting equal rights in SL and not a separate country as such. However there are extremists as expected. Several parties are now catering with the Eelam thoughts.. However Dr Artiste bluff with his half day fast and as a congress is well known among everyone. The bad news for him is Dalits are moving away from DMK enmasse.

DMK, Vaiko, Vijaykanth are being called Telugu's these days among Pro Tamil parties. Go to any rally of Dalit parties and you would see this thought echoed. Tamil Nadu for Tamils is the next wave. Many DMK Ministers are infact Telugu. INC has successfully destroyed DMK this time. I don't see DMK ever coming back with a single majority.
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Re: Sri Lanka - News and Discussion

Post by Philip »

The buffoonery by the Dravidian parties who on and off espouse the cause of the Eelamists hs now become so worn out that it scarcely excites mirth in the belly of even the most ticklish of Tamilians. Like an ancient organ grinder and his performing monkeys ,the wheelchair warrior of the DMK,"Kalaignar",once more plays his old tune of Eelam in the marketplace of the state.Unfortunately,the lyrics are stale,the monkeys tired of dancing to his tune and the chief performing monkey long since a fallen zero!

The few stray voices humming or singing he Eelam refrain can be found mainly in the outer reaches of planet Earth,in petty enclaves in Toronto,London and other refugee infested cities of the western world.In fact,it is mainly the elderly aging zeroes of the Eelam movement who are desperately trying to maintain the flame. The vast majority of children of the diaspora care two hoots about Eelam and speak a new mother tongue,that of the state in which they reside.As they further integrate into western society,the dream of Eelam will further fade as it is steadily doing so even in Jaffna,once sacred heart of the movement.From my personal observations in the island and interacting with Tamil intelligentsia,getting on with normal life without harrassment is the current need of the northern Tamils.True,an accelerated withdrawal by the SLA ,the sorting out of land records -the return of the displaced to their homes and property ,and the return of normal politicking will be most welcome to those affected by the conflict and will do much to bring about the rehabilitation of a battered land.There is movement from the GODSL ,but it is slow.As long as there is steady momentum in the direction of peace one hopes that in the fullness of time,the wounds will heal and happiness return to the island.Right now,the growing unpopularity of the current regime in the deep south and Colombo is consuming the midnight oil of the first family.
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Re: Sri Lanka - News and Discussion

Post by SSridhar »

Aditya_V
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Re: Sri Lanka - News and Discussion

Post by Aditya_V »

thusitha wrote:I think some one here was wondering why we were complaining about T'Nadu Nuclear plants. Maybe here is one reason.
Please Ask Rajapaksa to share the same dias as Vaiko, Seeman and Udaykumar opposing the project.
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Re: Sri Lanka - News and Discussion

Post by nakul »

How come we are seeing a change in Indo Sri Lankan relations? The ruling dispensation remains the same in both the countries. Is MMS enlightened about the true nature of the West?
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Re: Sri Lanka - News and Discussion

Post by SSridhar »

Stop Training Sri Lankan Army Officers: Karunanidhi
Muthuvel Karunanidhi has another excellent opportunity now (though he floundered on all such opportunities earlier). The decision to train SL Army Officers has been taken by the UPA government at the centre, of which he is an important part. Rather than giving such useless press statements, let him withdraw from the UPA as a mark of protest. That way, he would demonstrate the justification of the title of being the sole leader (we know what havoc an earlier Sole Spokesman did and incidentally Muthuvel Karunanidhi was his admirer too) of Tamils and recover the totally lost sympathy of the people of TN.
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Re: Sri Lanka - News and Discussion

Post by Philip »

The latest Chinese gambit in the island,the dragon's Def.Min. is to make his first ever visit shortly, and finance mil. projects several times more than Indian "tips",that too in the so-called heartland of the "Eelam that never was",indicates how serious the GOI views the Chinese "invasion" of the island.It has only itself to blame,for its lethargic aid and execution on the ground of projects,wheres,the Chinese have executed and financed their projects with astonishing speed and quality.The only silver lining is that the Lankans detest the yellow-faces,who ahrdly interact with locals and generally despise them.The sending to Lanka of the Kapilavastu relics of Lord Budddha ,no doubt would've earned India much goodwill in the hearts of Lankans and some "merit" for the Pres.But India seriously needs to get its act together and the best way is to donate/build a series of hospitals around the country ,in every province,which will be a lasting gesture of friendship from India,and the supply of mil. eqpt.,particularly naval and aeronautical eqpt. to the SL armed forces.We can even gift soem of our older T-72s to the SLA and build more Arjuns at home to replace them!

However,this requires a visionary MEA,MOD and PMO,which at the moment are crippled with paralysis by the multitude of scams afflicting the "Singh-king" regime!
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Re: Sri Lanka - News and Discussion

Post by svenkat »

A dangerous game
Nothing could be more myopic than Chief Minister Jayalalithaa’s outburst against the visit of a Sri Lankan school football team to Tamil Nadu and her decision to suspend an official for allowing a match to be played in the government-owned Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Chennai.
Popular sentiment in Tamil Nadu is against sacrificing the pursuit of equality, justice and dignity for the Tamils of Sri Lanka to the goal of preserving India’s political proximity to Colombo. Nor can it be denied that the Union government has been insensitive towards public opinion in the State. When the call for an end to military training arose, it merely shifted the Sri Lankan trainees from a facility in Tamil Nadu to another outside and got Minister of State for Defence M.M. Pallam Raju to say the military training could not be stopped since Sri Lanka is a friendly country. However, the Centre’s callous attitude cannot serve as an excuse for irresponsible grandstanding by Tamil Nadu politicians. We are already on a slippery slope. Today a school soccer match has been cancelled; tomorrow the demand will be for a ban on cricketers, tourists and pilgrims from Sri Lanka.
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Re: Sri Lanka - News and Discussion

Post by svenkat »

Karunanidhi, Vaiko oppose Rajapaksa’s visit to Sanchi
DMK president M. Karunanidhi and Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (MDMK) general secretary Vaiko added their voice to the chorus of objections to the visit of Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa to India.

Mr. Rajapaksa has been invited by the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj to Madhya Pradesh on September 21 to lay the foundation stone for a Centre for Buddhist Studies at Sanchi which falls under her constituency Vidisha. The function coincides with celebrations to mark 2,600 years of Buddha’s enlightenment.

Speaking to reporters here, Mr. Karunanidhi said that he was in full agreement with those who were opposing the visit of Mr. Rajapaksa.
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Re: Sri Lanka - News and Discussion

Post by SSridhar »

These myopic TN politicians are further damaging the interests of the very Tamils whose protection they claim to be fighting for. They should not be allowed to dictate the foreign policies of the Republic of India.
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Re: Sri Lanka - News and Discussion

Post by kshatriya »

^^ Both DMK and MDMK are in its final legs...Both are trying to stay relevant hence the petty politics...
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Re: Sri Lanka - News and Discussion

Post by Gus »

SSridhar wrote:These myopic TN politicians are further damaging the interests of the very Tamils whose protection they claim to be fighting for. They should not be allowed to dictate the foreign policies of the Republic of India.
Everybody is to blame. The constant one-upping between the 'kazhakams' in who is an ardent supporter of the 'eelam cause' and the central govt of the day looking at this as a 'letting off steam' that is 'harmless' because it is all talk and no action. Well all this venomous speeches tend to fire up somebody and I would not be surprised if people go on a witchhunt vigilante type spree against SriLankans (real or suspected).
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Re: Sri Lanka - News and Discussion

Post by nakul »

Like Kudankulam project, this is another case where people can be influenced. The people in Tamil are not stupid. The EJs were funding LTTE, anti nuclear regulations, TV channels, newspapers. Connect the dots.
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Re: Sri Lanka - News and Discussion

Post by SSridhar »

Adverse reaction by DMK & CPI(M)
Distancing himself from the strident stand of Chief Minister Jayalalithaa, who ordered that the football team be sent back and the suspension of a stadium officer for allowing a game at a State-owned facility, DMK president M. Karunanidhi made it clear that his party was only opposed to the training of Sri Lankan military personnel in India. It would not agree with moves such as sending back football teams and attacking pilgrims from that country.
Such is the competitive nature of politics among the dravidian parties in TN that each has to be seen one up on the other, which reminds me of the more pious attacking the less pious in a neighbouring country. It would be easy to imagine that if Jayalalitha had not sent the SL football team packing, DMK would have created a big ruckus.
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Re: Sri Lanka - News and Discussion

Post by Virupaksha »

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/indi ... 256879.cms

Under attack, Sri Lankan pilgrims flee Tamil Nadu
TRICHY: A pilgrimage to churches in Velankanni and Poondi Matha in central Tamil Nadu turned out to be a nightmare for a group of Sri Lankan nationals when pro-Eelam groups protested against them at the shrines and later attacked them. The 184-strong group of pilgrims was compelled to cut short their visit and leave India on a special flight of Mihin Lanka on Tuesday night.

Pro-Eelam protesters attacked them on route to Trichy airport. While the police escort ensured that none of them was injured, one of the seven buses was damaged. Panic-stricken pilgrims were brought to the airport by 2.45pm on Tuesday and lodged at the cargo terminal of the airport. At least 50 members of MDMK — the political outfit of Vaiko — led by former MLA A Malarmannan were arrested.
What kinds of nonsense is the kazhakam ideologies leading TN into :evil:
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Re: Sri Lanka - News and Discussion

Post by SSridhar »

TN should not dictate policy on SL: Swamy
Janata Party president Subramanian Swamy on Thursday demanded that the Centre issue a direction to Tamil Nadu government to “stop interfering” in the country’s policy on Sri Lanka and also ensure the safety of Sinhalas in the state.
“If the Chief Minister fails to follow the direction then President’s rule should be imposed in the state,” Mr. Swamy said.

The Janata Party president also demanded that the Madhya Pradesh government arrest MDMK chief Vaiko if he protests against Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s visit to the state later this month.
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Re: Sri Lanka - News and Discussion

Post by SSridhar »

Colombo Tamil traders protest Tiruchi incident
From the above,
With hardly a fortnight left for the start of the T20 cricket world cup tournament in Sri Lanka, anti-India sentiments is a worry for the Indian community in Sri Lanka.

Members of one family, who have been here for a few years, recalled that they encountered hostility from Sri Lankan fans for the first time during the recent India-Sri Lanka series. Flag-waving Indians were targeted with beer cans, water bottles and sundry missiles at R. Premadasa stadium here, venue of two one-day matches, and at the Pallekele International stadium, venue of the last ODI and a T20 game.
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Re: Sri Lanka - News and Discussion

Post by Philip »

The shocking incidents of attacks on innocent Lankan pilgrims by our goonda Tamilian fringe elements who rely on Eelamist handouts to survive,has disgraced the country.Protests against Lankan politicos who come a visiting in a dignified manner is one thing,but the attacks in Trichy against Tamil Lankans takes the idli! These great sentinels and warriors of the Tamil race cannot even properly identify their victims.It is no secret that unofficial trade between S.India and Lanka benefits the Tamil community foremost ,esp. the so-called peace-loving Indian Tamils who had nothing to do with the Eelamists over decades and who dominate the "Pettah" trade.Any backlash against Indian Tamils in Lanka will be a major embarrassment for the GOI and TN in particular and will play into the hands of the Eelamist diaspora who are actually the puppets behind the current attacks.Having been routed in the war they see engineering racial attacks in Lanka once again as their only hope of their movement surviving,as they can launch another struggle ONLY from the territory of Tamilnadu.

What is outrageous is the tacit approval given to these thugs by the Empress of Poes Garden who has strangely forgotten her previous principled stand on Lanka and the LTTE.Here she is displaying a rare lack of confidence and of weakness in combating her geriatric wheelchair enemy Karunananidhi who has taken up the Lankan Tamil cause in order to remain politically alive.BY using these thugs as her proxy stormtroopers,the empress is now coming in for criticism as her half-alive bete noire has actually distanced himself from these shennanigans.With the Lankan pres. due to arrive in India ,India trying to woo him away from Chinese largesse which keeps his greedy,grasping,gravy licking govt. afloat,the acts by TN thugs is clouding the horizon.The GOI should take a frirm step to warn the thugs in TN that they will be "hauled over the coals".....oops! Perish the thought right now!!!
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Re: Sri Lanka - News and Discussion

Post by kshatriya »

^^SL business in India is much higher that Indian business in SL ..Some of the big furniture houses in TN get thier stuff from SL. SL has gifted special route to Dr. Artiste backed Airlines

Something that never made news in Indian Media is how Indian fans were assaulted and made to wave the SL Flag during couple of games.
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