Tuesday 29 September 2009

Op Green Hunt: பாரத அரசு கட்டவிழ்க்கும் பச்சைப் பயங்கரப் பாசிசமே!

Op Green Hunt;
பாரத அரசு கட்டவிழ்க்கும் பச்சைப் பயங்கரப் பாசிசமே!
புதிய தமிழர்கள் இவ் எதிர்ப்புரட்சி வேட்டையை எப்போதும் எதிர்ப்பர்.
ஆரம்பச் செய்தி (20 September 2009) :அடுத்த செய்திகள் இருட்டடிப்பு:தடையை மீறி தகவல்கள் வரும்.
Op Green Hunt puts Naxals in retreat mode
Vishwa Mohan, TNN 20 September 2009, 04:00am ISTNEW DELHI:
The massive anti-Naxal operation in the Chinta Gufa area of Dantewada district (Chhattisgarh) witnessed fierce fighting with six CoBRA commandos and nine Naxals being killed in three days before it drew to a close on Saturday. The Red ultras retreated deep inside the forest abandoning their Singhan Madagu hideout.
Security forces — CoBRA, CRPF and state police — continue to be in the area carrying out combing operations to find out bodies of killed militants and their arsenal. Inspector-general of police, anti-naxal operation (Chhattisgarh), R K Vij, told TOI that the operation was mainly aimed at busting a weapon manufacturing unit of Maoists and their Singhan Madagu hideout. The forces did it successfully and the next step is to “dominate” the area which is now under way, he added. Vij said: “Although this particular operation is over, we are in the process of launching similar intelligence-based and well planned pro-active operations in the entire state.”
The operation — Green Hunt — has, however, come with a price as the specialized anti-naxal central force CoBRA (Commando Battalion for Resolute Action) lost six personnel — two assistant commandants, one sub-inspector, one head constable and two constables.
The forces found the body of one of the assistant commandants, Manoranjan Singh, on Friday, while the bodies of the other five personnel, including assistant commandant Rakesh Chaurasia, were recovered on Saturday. On the other hand, the forces have so far retrieved only seven bodies of Naxals and sighted clear drag marks of two others amid indications that more Maoists could have been killed.
Vij, who have been in constant touch with the forces on the spot, said: “We have so far retrieved only seven bodies of ultras. We cannot give an exact figure of casualties as the Naxals usually drag back the bodies of their men to avoid any identification.”

Monday 28 September 2009

The range of Iran's missiles

The range of Iran's missiles
The Shahab-3 and Sejil missiles tested by Iran have a range of about 2,000km, according to Iranian military officials.
The long-range missiles would enable them to target Israel, US bases in Gulf countries - such as Bahrain and Qatar - as well as some parts of Europe.
Source:Aljazeera

Land Ho! Indian companies head to Lanka for share of realty pie

The Economic Times:
Land Ho! Indian companies head to Lanka for share of realty pie
28 Sep 2009, 1135 hrs IST, Sachin Dave & Jessica Mehroin Irani, ET Bureau MUMBAI:
For nearly three decades,politicians from Norway to New Delhi were flying to Colombo to facilitate peace in Sri Lanka.
Now corporate executives from Larsen & Toubro’s AM Naik to Omaxe’s Rohtas Goel may join author-investor Jim Rogers in flying to the once war-torn Indian Ocean island to share a pie of the future prosperity.
L&T , Omaxe, Puravankara Projects are among those lining up to build projects anticipating an economic surge in Sri Lanka expected to happen after a bloody war. They are planning to build shopping complexes, residential homes and much more.
The island nation with hundreds of kilometres of beaches, hill-top plantations and a treasure of history from the ancient pandyas to portugals, is taking baby steps to revive its battered $40 billion economy. Delegates from the Sri Lanka board of investment met up with companies in New Delhi seeking investments . It aims to spend $20 million in promoting the nation once described where “history lies buried in its sands, and ghosts of romance lurk among its bastioned rocks’’ for global tourists.
“With the civil war over, we are seeing huge demand for housing,’’ said Purvankara group MD Ravi Puravankara which is planning to launch a villa project in Colombo. “We have already initiated the land acquisition process.” It is aimed at the Sri Lankan diaspora who may return to enjoy the long desired peace. But it will cost them around $2 lakh each. Thousands were killed and many thousands fled the island nation as its various governments fought a bloody war with the notorious Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, led by Velupillai Prabhakaran, since 1983. The war came to an end when the Lankan army succeeded in killing Prabhakaran last May triggering hopes across the world, including Jim Rogers, author of A Bull in China and a former business partner of billionaire George Soros.
The government led by Mahinda Rajapakse is targeting a foreign direct investment of $2 billion by 2010.
According to government statistics, Sri Lanka received $889 million in FDI in 2008 and $400 million so far this year. The Board of Investment declined to comment on how much it expects the Indian real estate developers to invest. It is not hot air. Larsen & Toubro has already laid the foundation stone for its commercial park in Colombo, it is all set to invest around $150 million for its residential and commercial projects in country with a population of around 20 million, about a fifth of Maharashtra.
The commercial complex, a 51 storey building in Colombo city with 15 lakh square feet will be called the Diamond Tower.
“We plan to make this the tallest building in Sri Lanka,” said C. Ignatius, director of the Sri Lanka board of investment. L&T has already laid the foundation stone for the project. Larsen declined to comment for the story.
The Sri Lankan government is doing its best to attract overseas investors, especially from India and has made the foreign direct investment rules simple. For an Indian real estate company to build complexes all it needs to invest is Rs 2 crore. Also, there is no lock-in period for the investors. They can cash out and repatriate the money to India anytime they want.
“We have carried out an extensive research in Sri Lanka and our research shows that the country has huge potential for the developers,” Omaxe chairman and MD Rohtas Goel told ET. But the company is yet to finalise its plans.
Sri Lanka with many plantations, beaches and a colonial past, could draw global hospitality and manufacturing companies.
“Many multinationals could also enter the country which would again increase the demand for commercial and office space,” said Cushman & Wakefield executive director Kaustuv Roy. But some developers who got burnt when the real estate market collapsed in the Middle East because of the global credit crisis are cautions.

Sunday 27 September 2009

PFLP: Obama's statements and actions serve only U.S/Israeli interests


The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine said, in response to U.S. President Barack Obama's statements at the United Nations General Assembly in New York City, that the U.S. position serves only U.S/Israeli interests and the ongoing strategic alliance between the major imperialist power and its Zionist colonial project partner.
By demanding that Palestinians engage in futile negotiations with the occupation state while the fascist Netanyahu regime continues its settlement project without even a freeze, the PFLP said on September 24, 2009, Obama's position reveals the U.S. support for Netanyahu's position and his extremism, racism and colonization, as it serves U.S./Israeli strategic interests, as the U.S. and Israel prepare for joint military exercises meant to intimidate the people of the region, raise tensions and instability and demonstrate strategic/military superiority of the occupation state. (More)

பிலிப்பைன்ஸில் கடும் மழை வெள்ளம்

வீரகேசரி இணையம் 9/26/2009 11:43:54 PM -
பிலிப்பைன்ஸில் கடும் மழையால் ஏற்பட்ட வெள்ளத்தால் ஆயிரக்கணக்கான மக்கள் கடும் அவதிக்கு உள்ளாகியுள்ளனர், ஐந்து பேர் பலியாகியுள்ளனர். கடந்த நாற்பது ஆண்டு காலத்தில் இதுவே மிக அதிக அளவு பெய்த மழையாகும்.
பருவகால சூறாவளியால் ஒரு மாத காலத்தில் பெய்ய கூடிய மழை, ஆறே மணி நேரத்தில் தலைநகர் மணிலாவில் கொட்டியுள்ளது.
உள்ளூர் தொலைக்காட்சிகளில், கூரை மேல் நின்று கொண்டிருந்த மக்கள் நீரில் அடித்து செல்லப்படுவது காண்பிக்கப்படுகிறது.
தலைநகர் மணிலா மற்றும் இருபத்து நான்கு மாகாணங்களில் அரசாங்கம் பேரிடர் காலநிலையை அறிவித்துள்ளது.

துர்ப்பாக்கிய 8 வயது அகதிக்கைதிச் சிறுமி மீது வவுனியாவில் துப்பாக்கிச் சூடு!

வவுனியாவில் அகதிக்கைதிகள் அரசபடையினர் மோதல்வவுனியா அகதி முகாம் பகுதியில் படையினர் - அகதிகள் நேற்று மோதல்!
Yall Uthayan 2009-09-27 06:41:37
வவுனியா முகாம்களில் தங்கியுள்ள அகதிகளுக்கும் படையினருக்கும் இடையில் நேற்று மாலை 5.30 மணியளவில் மோதல்கள் நடைபெற்றன.
அதன் காரணமாக பொதுமக்கள் மூவர் காயமடைந்ததாகத் தகவல்கள் தெரிவிக்கின்றன. அகதி மக்கள் ஒரு முகாமிலிருந்து இன்னொரு முகாமுக்கு விறகு எடுக்கச் சென்றபோதே அவர்களுக்கும் படையினருக்கும் இடையில் மோதல்கள் உண்டாகின என்று சொல்லப்படுகின்றது. இந்த மோதல்களில் எட்டு வயதுச் சிறுமி ஒருத்தியும் மற்றும் இருவரும் படையினரின் துப்பாக்கிச் சூட்டுக்கு இலக்காகி காயமடைந்து செட்டிக்குளம் ஆஸ்பத்திரியில் அனுமதிக்கப்பட்டுள்ளனர் என்று தெரிவிக்கப்பட்டது.
வவுனியா இராமநாதன் முகாமிலிருந்து சிலர் அடுத்துள்ள ஆனந்தகுமாரசாமி முகாமுக்குச் செல்ல முற்பட்ட போது அங்கு காவல் கடமையில் ஈடுபட்டிருந்த பாதுகாப்புப் படையினர் துப்பாக்கிச் சூடு நடத்தியதாகச் சில தகவல்கள் தெரிவித்தன. ஒரு முகாமிலிருந்து மற்றொரு முகாமுக்குச் செல்ல முயன்றவர்களை பாதுகாப்புப் படையினர் தடுத்த போது, முகாமிலிருந்தவர்கள் பாதுகாப்புப் படையினர் மீது கற்களை எறிந்ததாகவும், அதையடுத்து தற்பாதுகாப்புக்காகப் படையினர் துப்பாக்கிச் சூடு நடத்தியதாகவும் இராணுவப் பேச்சாளர் உதயநாணயக்கார தெரிவித்தார்.

Merkel wins, Germans opt for center-right coalition

Merkel wins, Germans opt for center-right coalition
By Noah Barkin and Madeline ChambersBERLIN (Reuters) - German voters gave Chancellor Angela Merkel a second term in an election on Sunday and a mandate to form a new government with the business-friendly Free Democrats (FDP) that is expected to cut taxes to boost growth.
The conservative Merkel has ruled for the past four years in an awkward "grand coalition" with her main rivals, the center-left Social Democrats (SPD).
The election result frees her from the shackles of that partnership and allows her to form the center-right coalition she has argued is best placed to nurture Europe's largest economy back to health following its worst post-war recession.
The next government faces major economic challenges. It will have to get a surging budget deficit under control, cope with rising unemployment and ward off a credit crunch as fragile banks rein in lending.
Together with the FDP, Merkel is expected to pare back the role of the state in the economy and extend the lifespan of German nuclear plants that are scheduled to be phased out over the next decade.
The parties, which last ruled Germany between 1982 and 1998 when Helmut Kohl was chancellor, will have to overcome differences on the size and timing of tax cuts in coalition talks over the coming weeks. Some analysts say, given budget constraints, such cuts will likely have to wait at least a year.
"We can really celebrate tonight, but afterwards we have a hard job ahead of us," Merkel, wearing a bright red suit, told cheering supporters.
Projections from ARD and ZDF public television showed Merkel's conservative bloc -- the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and the Bavarian Christian Social Union (CSU) -- on 33.6 percent, down from their score of 35.2 percent in 2005, and their second-worst result in the post-war era.
But the FDP, a party which saw its support rise in the wake of the financial crisis, compensated for those losses, surging to a record high of 14.6 percent and putting the center-right over the top.(More)

Carson’s Group negotiates $ 109 mn. in Singapore to expand plantations

Refinances existing term loan, gets revolving credit
Carson’s Group negotiates $ 109 mn. in Singapore to expand plantationsThe Sri Lanka incorporated plantation companies of the Carson’s Group with oil palm interests in Malaysia said in a Stock Exchange filing last week that they have negotiated a term loan facility of USD 109 million from Standard Chartered Bank (SCB), Singapore, ``for further expansion of current plantation projects.’’
Carson’s has in recent years been expanding its oil palm holdings in Indonesia and the majority holdings of the group’s oil palm companies were acquired earlier this year by a fully owned subsidiary, Goodhope Asia Holdings Ltd. (GAHL) incorporated in Singapore.
In addition to the USD 109 million term loan, refinancing an existing USD 81 million term loan facility outstanding and a revolving credit facility of USD 10 million has also been negotiated with SCB Singapore by GAHL set up to smoothen the group’s credit-raising ability among others.
Carson’s Chairman Tilak de Zoysa said in the company’s annual report for 2008/09 that ``the consolidation of plantation assets within the holding company would enable the business to command a more competitive position in this industry.’’
Carson’s shareholders have been told that it is important for the group to continue to expanding plantation extent when the industry is profitable. It would then be possible maximize profitability when palm oil prices peak in the next cycle.
The group also owns an undeveloped land bank available for expansion ``when resources for expansion gets priced higher.’’
``As rich nations rush to secure valuable developing country land banks for ensuring food security for their nations, investing in agriculture appears to be a healthy long term opportunity,’’ Carson’s said.
The group’s Malaysian interests, Shalimar Malay, Indo Malay, Selinsing and Good Hope all have investments in the two big plantation projects in Indonesia – PT Agro Indomas and PT Agro Bukit.

10,000 Tiger suspects: Govt. seeks US help

10,000 Tiger suspects: Govt. seeks US help
AG in Washington for talks
By Our Diplomatic Editor The Sunday Times lk Sunday September 27, 2009
Special tribunal likely
By Chandani Kirinde
The government is exploring the possibility of setting up a special tribunal to try LTTE suspects who have been involved in grave crimes such as murder and abductions.

The tribunal is likely to be set up on the lines of a Special Presidential Commission or the Criminal Justice Commission which tried the JVP suspects after the 1971 insurrection.
Government sources said the suspects would be put into three categories – those to be indicted for grave crimes, those who could be released on supervisory bail and those who could be rehabilitated.

The Sunday Times learns that Justice Minister Milinda Moragoda is studying the options before presenting his proposals to the government.

Sri Lanka is seeking help from the United States in its efforts to formulate procedures to cope with more than 10,000 Tiger guerrilla suspects now in custody. The aim is to study how the US handled terrorist suspects, particularly thousands from the outlawed al-Qaeda, after the 9/11 attacks in New York.

Attorney General Mohan Peiris will arrive in Washington tomorrow for talks in this regard with officials in the US Attorney General’s Department. According to diplomatic sources, the visit has been arranged in consultation with the United States embassy in Colombo.

At present there are more than 10,000 suspected members of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in Government custody. There has been a slight increase in the numbers as more guerrilla suspects are being rounded up.

This is both through interrogations in IDP camps as well as search operations in other areas. While a sizeable number against whom there is evidence will face prosecution, the Government is yet to finalise the legal procedures they are to be put through. Those against whom there is no evidence are to be sent for rehabilitation.

Key suspects involved in acts of terrorism have been interrogated. In some instances, revelations made by them have led to arrests of others. The profiling of the suspects is now under way.

Friday 25 September 2009

நிலவில் நீர் மூலக்கூறுகள் கண்டுபிடிப்பு






NASA's Moon Mineralogy Mapper, or M3, instrument reported the observations. M3 was carried into space on Oct. 22, 2008, aboard the Indian Space Research Organization's Chandrayaan-1 spacecraft. Data from the Visual and Infrared Mapping Spectrometer, or VIMS, on NASA's Cassini spacecraft, and the High-Resolution Infrared Imaging Spectrometer on NASA's Epoxi spacecraft contributed to confirmation of the finding. The spacecraft imaging spectrometers made it possible to map lunar water more effectively than ever before. (More)

Wednesday 23 September 2009

TEXT: Obama's Speech to the UN Sept 23, 2009

Obama’s Speech to the United Nations General Assembly September 24, 2009
Text (Note: This copy is for your personal, noncommercial use only)
Obama’s Speech to the United Nations General Assembly Following is a text of President Obama's prepared speech to the United Nations General Assembly on Wednesday, as released by the White House.
============== ( Highlights)

Responsibility and leadership in the 21st century demand more. In an era when our destiny is shared, power is no longer a zero sum game. No one nation can or should try to dominate another nation. No world order that elevates one nation or group of people over another will succeed. No balance of power among nations will hold. The traditional division between nations of the south and north makes no sense in an interconnected world. Nor do alignments of nations rooted in the cleavages of a long gone Cold War.
The time has come to realize that the old habits and arguments are irrelevant to the challenges faced by our people. They lead nations to act in opposition to the very goals that they claim to pursue, and to vote – often in this body – against the interests of their own people. They build up walls between us and the future that our people seek, and the time has come for those walls to come down.
Together, we must build new coalitions that bridge old divides – coalitions of different faiths and creeds; of north and south, east and west; black, white, and brown.
The choice is ours. We can be remembered as a generation that chose to drag the arguments of the 20th century into the 21st; that put off hard choices, refused to look ahead, and failed to keep pace because we defined ourselves by what we were against instead of what we were for. Or, we can be a generation that chooses to see the shoreline beyond the rough waters ahead; that comes together to serve the common interests of human beings, and finally gives meaning to the promise embedded in the name given to this institution: the United Nations.
That is the future America wants – a future of peace and prosperity that we can only reach if we recognize that all nations have rights, but all nations have responsibilities as well. That is the bargain that makes this work. That must be the guiding principle of international cooperation.


Today, I put forward four pillars that are fundamental to the future that we want for our children: 1) Non-proliferation and disarmament; 2) The promotion of peace and security; 3) The preservation of our planet; 4) and a Global economy that advances opportunity for all people.(Read the full text)

Tuesday 22 September 2009

தமிழீழ விவாதம்: Tamil Net Vs ENB

தமிழீழ தேசிய விடுதலைக்கான தொலை நோக்குத்திட்டம்

1) இன்றைய இலங்கை அரசு சிங்கள தமிழ் தேசிய இனங்களின் சம உரிமையை அங்கீகரித்த ஒன்றியமல்ல.இந்த கட்டாய இணைப்பை உருவாக்கியது சிங்களவர்களும் அல்ல.இது பிரித்தானிய ஏகாதிபத்தியவாதிகள் தமிழ்மக்களின் சம்மதம் இன்றி ஏற்படுத்திய பலாத்கார பிணைப்பாகும்- கட்டாய இணைப்பாகும்.

2) 1947 இல் நேரடியான ஏகாதிபத்திய அதிகாரம் உள்நாட்டு தரகர்களுக்கு கைமாற்றப்பட்டு இலங்கை போலிச்சுதந்திரம் அடைந்த நாள் முதல் இலங்கையில் தமிழ்த் தேசிய இனம், மற்றும் இன மத சிறுபான்மை மக்கள் மீது இலங்கை அரசு தொடர்ந்து வன்முறையைக் கட்டவிழ்த்து வந்துள்ளது.

3) இலங்கையின் அரைக்காலனித்துவ அரசு தமிழ்த் தேசம் மீதான ஒடுக்குமுறையை தனது இருப்புக்கு ஆதாரமாகக் கொண்டுள்ளது.இதனால் அதன் வீழ்ச்சிக்கும் சிங்கள மக்களின் விடுதலைக்கும் தமிழ் மக்களின் பிரிவினைக் கோரிக்கை வெற்றி பெறுவது முன் நிபந்தனையாகவுள்ளது.

4) சிங்கள பெரும் தேசிய இனத்தின் உழைக்கும் மக்கள், சிங்கள பவுத்த பேரினவாதத்துக்கு பலியாகி இருப்பதால் இரு இனமும் ஒன்று பட்டு இலங்கையில் ஜனநாயக குடியரசை அமைக்கப் போராடுவதற்கான வாய்ப்பு தடைப்பட்டுள்ளது.

5) இலங்கையில் வடக்கு கிழக்கு மாகாணங்களை தமது தாயகமாகக் கொண்ட தமிழ்மக்கள் ஒரு தேசிய இனமாகும். அவர்களது வட கிழக்கு மாகாணம் ஒரு தனித் தேசமாகும்.

6) இலங்கை வாழ் மலையகத் தமிழ் மக்கள் இனச் சிறுபான்மையினர் ஆவர்.

7) இஸ்லாமியத் தமிழர்கள், அல்லது முஸ்லிம் தமிழர்கள் மதச் சிறுபான்மையினராவர். (முழுமை அறிய)

Sunday 20 September 2009

Tamil Net Editorial Board: Comments on Tamil National aspirations

DEBATE
Tamil Net Editorial Board: Comments on Tamil national aspirations
It is with sadness most of the Eezham Tamils look at a few Marxists among them, especially of the former ‘Peking Wing’, who denounce separate nationalism for Eezham Tamils. The Marxist Communist Party of India also has adopted a similar line.It is hard to understand that if national liberation of Eezham Tamils oppressed on ethnic grounds and ‘Eezham’ as a political unit is not acceptable to them, in what way the united Sri Lankan nationalism and Sri Lanka as a political unit upheld by them is ideologically justifiable. While viewing Tamil national struggle as serving imperialism, they practically serve the very imperialism by weakening the struggle. (Read More)

Saturday 19 September 2009

சிலுவை சுமந்த திலீபன்

செய்தி:
இந்திய விஸ்தரிப்புவாத அரசின் 1987 இந்திய இலங்கை ஒப்பந்தத்தை எதிர்த்தும், இந்திய ஆக்கிரமிப்புப் படைகளை எதிர்த்தும் போராட, தமிழீழ மக்களை தட்டியெழுப்பும் பொருட்டு யாழ்-நல்லூரில் சாகும்வரை உண்ணாவிரதத்தை ஆரம்பித்து தன் இன்னுயிரை தமிழீழத்துக்காக அர்ப்பணித்த தியாக தீபம் திலீபனின் 22 ஆவது நினைவு தினம் வரும் 26-09-2009 ஆகும்.
இந்நாளை நினைவு கூருவதாகக் கூறி புதுவை இரத்தின துரையின் நினைவழியா நாட்கள் கவிதைத் தொகுதியில் இருந்து 'சிலுவை சுமந்த திலீபன்' எனும் கவிதையை தணிக்கை செய்து வெளியிட்டுள்ளது பதிவு இணையம்.அக் கவிதையில் பதிவு இணையம் தணிக்கை செய்த வரிகள் வருமாறு: (முழுமை அறிய)

Friday 18 September 2009

“Colombo International Book Fair 2009”

19-09-2009

The annually awaited “Colombo International Book Fair 2009” will commence and be open to the public from tomorrow at the BMICH premises. The picture shows final preparations been made for the opening tomorrow. Pix by Indaratna Balasuriya.

Wednesday 16 September 2009

25 வயது பிரித்தானியத் தமிழ்வாணியின் ஈழத்தமிழ் அநுபவம்


குறிப்பு: காணொளியைக் காண உருவப்படத்தில் இரு இடதழுத்தம் செய்க

How India secretly helped Lanka to destroy the LTTE

By the end of November 2008, the script was no longer in LTTE chief Vellupillai Prabhakaran's hands.
It was being written by the Sri Lankan forces tacitly supported by India and openly assisted by China and Pakistan.
How exactly did Prabhakaran meet his end?
In the last two days, the Sri Lankan army had intelligence that all the top LTTE leaders were in a narrow lagoon. They knew this from people who were coming out, and also one of his bodyguards who was captured.
The LTTE had tried to break through that lagoon. They launched waves of attacks, like they are known to do. The idea was to come out of the lagoon and get into the jungles of Mullaitheevu.
Prabhakaran's son Charles Anthony died in the first wave of attacks.
If the rest of the top leaders had managed to escape, the war would have been extended. But the army had deployed two defence lines and one of the reserve forces.
When they spotted some movement in the mangroves, they engaged in a gun battle and the top leaders were killed. When President Mahinda Rajapakse [ Images ] addressed the nation, he didn't mention anything about Prabhakaran.
Then Colonel Karuna was flown in to identify the body. It took three hours for a positive identification, as they call it.(Read More)

சிவத்தம்பி தலைமையில் "சிரத்தையுள்ள சிறீலங்காத் தமிழர்கள்" குழு

இலங்கையில் மோதல்கள் முடிவடைந்து நான்கு மாதங்கள் ஓடிவிட்டபோதும் நாட்டில் இனங்கள் இடையே கருத்து இணக்கத்தை ஏற்படுத்துவதற்கான குறிப்பிடத்தகுந்த நடவடிக்கைகள் எதுவும் எடுக்கப்படவில்லை என்று 'சிறிலங்காவின் துன்பப்படும் தமிழர்கள்' அமைப்பு அதிருப்தி தெரிவித்துள்ளது.-செய்தி புதினம் (முழுமை அறிய)

Tamilvany's UK Guardian Interview

'As the shells fell, we tried to save lives with no blood or medicine'
Damilvany Gnanakumar witnessed Sri Lanka's bloody conflict from a Tamil hospital - then spent months detained in a camp. She tells Gethin Chamberlain her story.
Gethin Chamberlain guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 15 September 2009 21.58

"The mother couldn't bring the dead body and she doesn't want to leave it as well. She was standing … holding the baby. She didn't know what to do … At the end, because of the shell bombing and people rushing – there were thousands and thousands of people, they were rushing in and pushing everyone – she just had to leave the baby at the side of the road, she had to leave the body there and come, she had no choice. And I was thinking in my mind 'What have the people done wrong? Why are they going through this, why is the international government not speaking up for them? I'm still asking."
தமிழ்வாணி >> (முழுமை அறிய)

ஒரு தேசத்தை அடக்கி ஆளும் எந்தத்தேசமும் தான் சுதந்திரமாக வாழமுடியாது: கார்ல் மார்க்ஸ்

இலங்கையில் அச்சமான சூழல்; கேரளாவில் சந்திரிகா கவலை
2009-09-16 02:35:06
இலங்கையில் அச்சமும் சுதந்திரமில்லாத சூழலும் கலந்து காணப்படு கின்றன என்று முன்னாள் ஜனாதிபதி சந்திரிகா குமாரதுங்க தெரிவித்துள்ளார். இந்தியாவின் கேரள மாநிலத்திற்கு விஜயம் செய்துள்ள அவர் அங்கு செய்தியாளர்களிடம் கருத்துத் தெரிவித்தபோதே இதனைத் தெரிவித்தார்.
மேலும் அவர் கூறியவை வருமாறு,
நானே எனது உயிர் குறித்து அஞ்சுகிறேன். எனது கட்சி ஆட்சியில் உள்ள போதிலும் எனக்கு ஆபத்து இருக்கிறது.இலங்கையில் ஒட்டுமொத்த சுதந்திரமின்மையும் அச்சமும் காணப்படுகின்றன.அடிப்படை மனித உரிமையும் ஊடக சுதந்திரமும் மீறப்பட்டுள்ளன என்றார் சந்திரிகா.


எதிர்க்கட்சித் தலைவர் நாட்டுக்கு எதிராக செயற்படுவதாக ஜனாதிபதி குற்றச்சாட்டு

2009-09-16 02:49:46

நம் நாட்டுத் தலைவர்கள் சிலர் சர் வதேசநாடுகளுக்குச் சென்று நாட்டை விற்பனை செய்யும் முயற்சியில் ஈடுபடுகின்றனர். இதில் எதிர்க்கட்சித் தலைவர் ஒருவர் இருக்கின்றார். அவர் எதிர்க்கட்சிகளுக்கு தலைமைத்துவம் வழங்குவதில்லை. மாறாக நாட்டின் எதிர்க்கட்சித் தலைவராக இருக்கின்றார். நாடாளுமன்றத்தில் மக்களுக்கு எதிராக மேற்கொள்ளப்படுகின்ற
விடயங்களை எதிர்ப்பதற்கே எதிர்க்கட்சி தலைவர் இருக்க வேண்டும். நாட்டுக்கு எதிராகச் செயற்படக்கூடாது.இவ்வாறு ஜனாதிபதி மஹிந்த ராஜ பக்ஷ தெரிவித்தார்.அலரி மாளிகையில் நேற்று செவ்வாய்க் கிழமை அம்பாந்தோட்டை மாவட்டத்தின் ஸ்ரீலங்கா சுதந்திர கட்சி செயற்பாட்டாளர் களை சந்தித்த நிகழ்விலேயே ஜனாதிபதி மேற்கண்டவாறு
குறிப்பிட்டார்.நாட்டுக்கு உதவிகள் கிடைப்பதற்கு இடமளிப்பதில்லை. உதவிகளை வழங்கவேண்டாம் என்று கூறப்படுகின்றது. நாட்டின் தொழிலாளர் வர்க்கத்தை வீதியில் இழுத்துப் ÷பாடுவதற்கும் நாட்டின்
நற்பெயருக்கு களங்கம் ஏற்படுத்தவும் முயற்சிக்கப்படுகின்றது இவ்வாறான எதிர்க்கட்சித் தலைவர் நாட்டுக்குத் தேவையில்லை. வேறு நாடுகளில் என்றால் இவ்வாறான சந்தர்ப்பங்களில் அரசியலை மறந்துவிடுவார்கள் என்றும் ஜனாதிபதி கூறினார்.

SRI LANKA: Brief Comments on Happenings – Update No. 180
Col R Hariharan
Battling Channel 4:
It appears Sri Lanka is not in a mood to allow the ‘Channel 4 execution video’ controversy to die down. An official briefing was organised for diplomats to prove the video was a doctored one with malefide intentions. The diplomatic briefing was carried in the www.defence.lk official website of the defence ministry with the ominous caption “Rebut or Regret.” While the government was said to be thinking of suing Channel 4, the TV channel also appeared to be in no mood to relent. On September 7 it screen on yet another video allegedly taken by mobile phone camera showing the appalling conditions in which the displaced Tamils are living in the temporary camps in Vanni. The video said to have been taken by a group calling itself War Without Witness is likely to further heat up the confrontation.
Moreover, this confrontation could add fuel to the continuing polemical relations between Sri Lanka and UK. The deteriorating state of relations was evident when the media reported that Dr Palitha Kohona, Foreign Secretary, was not issued a visa by the British High Commission in Colombo for reasons not known. According to the report, the British wanted the Foreign Secretary to come in person to collect the visa!
International ripples on Tissanayagam conviction
As expected the conviction of Tissanayagam has continued to cause adverse international reaction particularly in India and the western world. The pressmen in Chennai had protested against the conviction and wanted him released. Guardian and the Boston Globe have written about it; the UN has also made noises about it. Arrest and subsequent release of three journalists of the pro-JVP ‘Lanka’ on bail has further focused on the perilous state of media men. They also face possible terrorism charges.
However, no change is visible in the mood of the government and the Tissanayagam story is likely to be kept alive. And Sri Lanka appears to be in no mood to change its hostile attitude towards free press.
This has also highlighted the continued use of draconian provisions of Prevention of Terrorism Act against media men although the war is over.
Parliamentary elections (amendment) Bill:
The Supreme Court has ruled that some clauses in the Parliamentary elections (amendment) Bill would require to be passed by parliament with a two thirds majority. The opposition UNP, TNA, and the SLMC had challenged the Bill which, proposes to outlaw parties signifying religious or communal identity, in the Supreme Court. The court had held that sub section 7(5) (6) and the words that signify ‘any religion or community’ in sub section 7 (6) and 9 (3) of the Bill in their present form were inconsistent with the Constitution.
After the end of 20 years of shooting war, ethnic reconciliation process is yet to start. In this environment the proposed enactment is likely to face two problems. Increase in the feeling of insecurity of minorities, who want structural changes in the constitution not implemented so far; The provisions of new bill are likely to affect parties with large minority following than large national parties which also have an ethnic veneer under the skin. Secondly, the ruling UPFA coalition does not enjoy two thirds majority and opposition parties are unlikely to extend their support to see the bill through. So the UPFA coalition has the option of keeping it in suspended animation to pass the bill in its present form when it musters adequate support in a new house or amend the bill as directed by the Supreme Court.

Continuing stand off with UN
Sri Lanka revoked the visa of .James Elder, spokesman for UNICEF in Sri Lanka and expelled him for what the Foreign Secretary Palitha Kohona termed as spreading Tamil Tiger propaganda. UNICEF promptly denied the allegations. During the final stages of the war, Elder was accused of spreading news of exaggerated casualties among people trapped in the war zone due to Sri Lankan artillery shelling.
Ban Ki Moon, UN secretary-general strongly regretted the decision of Sri Lanka to expel Elder. According to U.N. spokesman Ban would raise the issue with Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa at the earliest opportunity. This is only the latest episode in the on going stand off between UN agencies in Sri Lanka and the government. It came about due to the UN agencies’ strong criticism of Sri Lanka’s handling of human rights and humanitarian issues during the last few years.
Death of Prabhakaran & Pottu Amman:
Sri Lanka has not yet issued the death certificates of Prabhakaran and Pottu Amman to India which had requested for them. The two were indicted in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case and the death certificates would enable the removal of their names from the list of absconding accused.
In this context it is significant that on September 9 the Colombo High Court has allowed the dropping of the names of Prabhakaran and Pottu Amman from the indictment in the Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar assassination case.
(Col. R Hariharan, a retired Military Intelligence specialist on South Asia, served as the head of intelligence of the Indian Peace Keeping Force in Sri Lanka 1987-90.He is associated with the South Asia Analysis Group and the Chennai Centre for China Studies. Blog: www.colhariharan.org E-mail: colhari@yahoo.com )

Tuesday 15 September 2009

காஸாவில் யுத்தக் குற்றங்கள் 575 பக்க ஐ.நா.அறிக்கை

உன் வீரம் வீண் போகவில்லை மகளே!

குறிப்பு: அறிக்கையைப் பெற உருவப்படத்தில் இருதடவை இடதழுத்தம் செய்க.

EXTRA >> Hamas: UN Gaza report 'convicts' Israel of war crimes
Posted : Wed, 16 Sep 2009 09:26:18 GMT
Gaza - Hamas' de-facto Prime Minister Ismail Haniya on Wednesday welcomed a United Nations report on Israel's winter 22-day offensive in the Gaza Strip, saying it convicted Israel of war crimes. "The report has presented a clear conviction against Tel Aviv for committing war crimes against civilians in the Gaza Strip," the radical Palestinian Islamic movement official said.
"Israel had used half of its weapons and practiced mass killings during 22 days of war," Haniya added.
The UN report, issued Tuesday, also criticized as a "war crime" Hamas' indiscriminate rocket fire at southern Israel, which Israel had cited as the reason its offensive.
"It is unreasonable to compare the primitive and small arms the Palestinian resistance had to defend its people and the big Israeli power of arms that was used to carry out a large-scale aggression on innocent civilians," Haniya said in a statement.
The 547-page report compiled by a UN investigative commission concluded that Israel and Palestinian militant groups likely committed war crimes and possibly crimes against humanity.
It said the Israeli military operation, launched on December 27, had been "directed at the people of Gaza as a whole" to "punish" the population and that the army failed to investigate alleged violations properly.
The report also said that Palestinian rocket fire into southern Israel, constituted "war crimes and may amount to crimes against humanity" as the militants failed to distinguish between civilians and soldiers.
"Our government facilitated the work of the committee in Gaza in order to help to get to full truth," Haniya said, adding that it was the responsibility of the UN "to follow up the crimes of occupation."
Israel, which questioned the objectivity of the mandate given to the commission, did not cooperate with the probe.

Copyright, respective author or news agency

Monday 14 September 2009

US healthcare shame

US healthcare shame

by Serge Halimi Paris

A Republican Congress and President Bill Clinton abolished a welfare programme in 1996 under the (largely fallacious) pretext that it bred fraud, waste and abuse. Thirteen years on, the reforms that Barack Obama is proposing will not fundamentally change the United States’ abysmal healthcare system because those who profit from it have been able to buy protection from the lawmakers. The welfare programme ditched in 1996 absorbed about 1% of the US budget; today’s well-ensconced private insurance companies swallow most of the 17% of the budget set aside for healthcare.
Paradoxically, the US president is one of the most spirited prosecutors of the system he has chosen to retain. Day after day he recounts how “we are held hostage by health insurance companies that deny coverage, or drop coverage, or charge fees that people can’t afford for care they desperately need… We have a healthcare system that too often works better for the insurance industry than it does for the American people” (1).
Obama’s project initially set out with two important objectives. It proposed compulsory health cover for the 46 million Americans outside the system while funding the poorest amongst them. It also suggested the creation of a public insurance system with less prohibitive tariffs than private companies (2), which commit huge resources to finding legal loopholes (“pre-existing conditions”) allowing them not to pay out when their insured clients fall ill.
What is it that so alarms the right? Bobby Jindal, the Republican governor of Louisiana, claims that “any government plan will benefit from taxpayer subsidies and be able to operate at a financial loss, competing unfairly in the marketplace until private plans are driven out of business” (3). Other more telling tales of distress might have concerned him, particularly in Louisiana, one of the poorest US states.
American politics is so poisoned by money flowing from industrial and financial lobbies that the only proposals ensured a smooth ride through Congress are those that cut taxes. Banks, insurance companies and the pharmaceutical industry have almost nothing to fear. Max Baucus, the Democrat chairman of the Senate finance committee, whose approval is needed for reforms to be adopted, is also the lawmaker who receives the most money from private hospitals, insurance companies and doctors. However, his largest donors are hardly worried about the problems of Montana, the small rural state he represents,
since 90% of their contributions come from elsewhere in the country, in a perfectly legal and accountable way. Will anyone be surprised to hear that Baucus opposes a complete overhaul of the current medical system?
A year after the crash of neoliberalism, the (small-scale) panic that gripped the ruling classes has vanished. The political system remains locked in their favour. From time to time, a more corrupt or unlucky operator goes to jail; the mantra – morals, ethics, regulation, G20 – is chanted; then it all starts again. Questioned recently about the huge bonuses awarded to traders at BNP-Paribas, Christine Lagarde, France’s economy minister and a former Chicago business lawyer, had only this to say: “If we say no more bonuses, the best trader teams will simply move elsewhere.”
Cradled in a political system that protects them (and which they in turn protect) and profiting from the public’s widespread cynicism and all-round despair, traders and medical insurance companies can only pursue their parasitic ways. “Abuse” is not some aberration in their practice, it’s their essence. So a “reform” they could agree to will not do: what we need is their disappearance.

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(1) Town hall meeting in Montana, 14 August 2009.
(2) In 15 of the 50 states, more than half of the “market” is held by one private healthcare company. See “The Tight Grip of Health Insurers,” Business Week, 3 August 2009.
(3) Bobby Jindal, “How to Make Health-Care Reform Bipartisan”, The Wall Street Journal, 22 July 2009.

Sunday 13 September 2009

''தொப்பி பிரட்டும்'' தமிழ்த் தேசியக் கூட்டமைப்பு

TNA changes policy, plays politics of peace with President
By Satarupa Bhattacharjya
=========================================
* 2004 election manifesto, the TNA had said that it would “accept the LTTE’s leadership of the Tamil people and the LTTE as the sole and authentic representative of the Tamil people.”
* The TNA has already accepted that different situations call for different responses.
* “We are working on a proposal which will argue for adequate autonomy for the Tamil people within the framework of a united Sri Lanka,” Sampanthan . Till three months ago, the TNA used to endorse the LTTE’s idea of an interim self -governing authority.
* A diplomatic source in the Indian high commission in Colombo said that New Delhi would be willing to take the TNA more seriously than it presently does “only if the alliance brings clarity to its political vision.”
* TNA is forced to engage with the Rajapaksa government. This is probably the only option that the alliance has if it wants to stay in active politics.
========================================
The coffee was warm, the hoppers fresh. At the end of three hours, very few picked up what was on offer. Seven members of Parliament of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) had walked into temple trees on September 7 with sheaves of papers in their hands and thoughts of uneasy reconciliations. The TNA’s embryonic past with the LTTE and its political future with the Mahinda Rajapaksa administration were playing on their minds.
“The main objective of our meeting with the President was to urge the government to send the internally displaced persons (IDPs) of the north back to their homes from camps in Vavuniya before the onset of the monsoon,” Suresh Kandaiah Premachandran of the Eelam People’s Revolutionary Liberation Front (EPRLF), told the Sunday Times.
The TNA delegation meeting the President Premachandran who had attended the meeting as a TNA delegate was referring to the north-east monsoon which is likely to hit the country in about two weeks. The TNA is concerned about the well being of the 280,000 IDPs housed in the Menik Farm camps in Vavuniya as the monsoon would affect the northern and eastern districts. “How will people in the camps cope with the flooding of those areas? How will
they get clean drinking water?” the EPRLF parliamentarian from the Jaffna district said he had asked government representatives present at the meeting.
It was the first official meeting between the two sides since the military defeat of the Tamil Tigers in May. TNA leaders said that they had informal exchanges with President Rajapaksa at a conference of all major political parties on July 2 when they had made a formal request for a meeting with him. A source in the President’s media unit said that the TNA had been invited for talks with the government on seven earlier occasions but had turned down the requests. Two ministers and a group of important officials had accompanied President Rajapaksa to the meeting. The President’s brother and political advisor Basil Rajapaksa who is chairperson of the government task force on rehabilitation and resettlement of the IDPs was also present. The TNA’s demand of resettling the war displaced people in their original homes
within the next two weeks was rejected by the Presidential side, Premachandran said.
President Rajapaksa and his colleagues told the TNA delegation, the “practical difficulties,” in addressing its demand. “On this particular matter the talks were not fruitful,” Premachandran said. Basil Rajapaksa, according to Nallathamby Srikantha, mentioned that there needed to be a “pragmatic approach” to the issue of resettling the IDPs. “It is unlikely that the government will be able to complete resettlement of the IDPs in the next four months,” Srikantha told the Sunday Times. He is another TNA parliamentarian from Jaffna who was present at the meeting.
Srikantha added that government representatives present at the meeting insisted that between 60 and 80 per cent of the war displaced would be sent to their homes by year-end or early next year. Almost the entire population of the Wanni region had been displaced in the long bloody war that ended in May this year. Close to 300,000 people had started living inside temporary shelters in Menik Farm in Vavuniya.
At the end of May, the government had promised to relocate the displaced back to their homes within six months. Only a few thousands have so far been moved out.
The Rajapaksa regime has maintained that people could not be hurried back to their homes from camps because the northern districts are densely sown with anti-personnel claymore mines and other explosive devices that had been buried by the Tamil rebels. The TNA MPs were given a lengthy and detailed presentation on current demining activities being undertaken by 600 personnel of the Sri Lankan Army assisted by a handful of Indian and other demining NGOs. The presentation on demining is said to have taken up most of the time in the 180-minutes-long meeting.
According to the 77-year-old leader of the TNA parliamentary group, Rajavarothiam Sampanthan, the alliance presented the government with a list of areas in the north where demining would either not be needed or be necessary only minimally. “While discussing the modalities of demining, we gave them names of places where mines might not be located,” Sampanthan told the Sunday Times. The veteran Trincomalee politician said that the TNA wanted the government to settle people in their homes in such areas soon.
TNA leaders, however, continue to raise questions over the government’s mine action project. Premachandran for instance asked: “Why is demining progressing slowly in Mullaitivu or Kilinochchi?” “Why are only parts of Mannar and Vavuniya being taken up for demining?”
The Rajapaksa regime appears keen on handling security concerns first. In a statement released after the meeting, the President’s office said that President Rajapaksa had informed the TNA representatives that the demining process would be “expedited” and that “emphasis had been given in government policy on the need to ensure security and welfare of the people.” The Tamil parties have sought more transparency in the government’s process of screening the displaced persons. “We asked the government for names and personal details of all the people who have been taken and kept in detention centres.”
Sampanthan said. Although estimates from people within the government’s legal affairs establishment suggest that there could be more than 20,000 people detained on grounds of suspicion across different safe houses in the island, the police are yet to formalise a comprehensive list. “The government cannot lose sight of the humanitarian problem in the camps for IDPs,” Srikantha said.
“Many of the detainees are not LTTE operatives. They are non-combatant Tamil civilians who are finding it difficult to go through the screening process,” Sampanthan added.. The TNA MPs say that their electorates often tell them of “mysterious disappearances” of young men and women from the camps.
It has been over three months since LTTE leader Prabhakaran died. The island nation’s new political reality has changed the game for the TNA, forever. In its 2004 election manifesto, the TNA had said that it would “accept the LTTE’s leadership of the Tamil people and the LTTE as the sole and authentic representative of the Tamil people.”
The TNA has already accepted that different situations call for different responses. “We are working on a proposal which will argue for adequate autonomy for the Tamil people within the framework of a united Sri Lanka,” Sampanthan told the Sunday Times. Till three months ago, the TNA used to endorse the LTTE’s idea of an interim self -governing authority. A diplomatic source in the Indian high commission in Colombo said that New Delhi would be willing to take the TNA more seriously than it presently does “only if the alliance brings clarity to its political vision.”
Today, the TNA is forced to engage with the Rajapaksa government. This is probably the only option that the alliance has if it wants to stay in active politics.
The dialogue table is possibly the only place where it can bargain for a better life of the battered Tamil population. It is hoped that thousands who have become destitutes in their own country will benefit from the politics of peace.

Saturday 12 September 2009

ஆக ஈழச்சிறைமுகாம் நடப்பது ஐ.நா.நிதியில்

காலவரையறை இன்றி முகாம் பராமரிப்புக்கு தொடர்ந்து நிதி உதவி அளிக்க முடியாது: ஐ.நா.
புதினம் [வெள்ளிக்கிழமை, 11 செப்ரெம்பர் 2009, 09:29 பி.ப ஈழம்] [பி.தெய்வேந்திரன்]
சுமார் 3 லட்சம் தமிழ் மக்களை சிறிலங்கா அரசு அடைத்து வைத்துள்ள தடுப்பு முகாம்களுக்கு காலவரையறையற்று தொடர்ந்தும் நிதி வழங்கிக்கொண்டிருக்க முடியாது என ஐக்கிய நாடுகள் சபை தெரிவித்துள்ளது.
முகாம்களில் உள்ள பொதுமக்கள் எவ்வளவு முடியுமோ அவ்வளவு விரைவாக விடுவிக்கப்பட வேண்டும் என்றும் ஐ.நா. கூறுகின்றது.
ஆனால், பொதுமக்களுடன் தங்கியுள்ள விடுதலைப் புலிகளைக் கண்டறிந்து வேறாக்கிய பின்னரே அவர்களை வெளியில் விட முடியும் என்று அரசு தொடர்ந்து கூறிவருகின்றது.
இந்நிலையில் முகாம்களின் செயற்பாடுகளுக்கு நிதி உட்பட உதவிகளை வழங்கிவரும் ஐ.நா.வின் பொறுமை எல்லை கடப்பதாக பிபிசி தெரிவித்துள்ளது.
"உண்மையிலேயே இதற்கு சிறந்த தீர்வு பெரும்பாலான மக்களை முடிந்த வரையில் விரைவாக வெளியே விடுவதுதான்" என்று தெரிவித்தார் ஐ.நா.வின் சிறிலங்காவுக்கான நிரந்தர ஒருங்கிணைப்பாளர் நீல் புனே. செல்வதற்கு இருப்பிடம் இல்லாத மக்கள் வசதியான வேறு இடங்களுக்கு மாற்றப்படலாம் எனவும் அவர் கூறினார்.
விடுதலைப் புலிச் சந்தேக நபர்கள் எனக் கூறி அரசு தடுத்து வைத்துள்ள சுமார் 10 ஆயிரம் பேரை அனைத்துலக செஞ்சிலுவைச் சங்கம் சென்று பார்வையிடுவதற்கு சிறிலங்கா அரசு அனுமதி மறுத்திருப்பதையும் புனே கடுமையாக விமர்சனம் செய்தார்.
இடம்பெயர்ந்தவர்களில் எத்தனை பேருக்கு எதிராக சட்ட நடவடிக்கைகள் மேற்கொள்வது என்பதைத் தீர்மானிப்பதற்கு ஆறு மாதங்கள் முதல் ஒரு வருட காலம் செல்லும் என அண்மையில் அரச தலைவர் மகிந்த ராஜபக்ச தெரிவித்திருந்தார்.
இதற்கிடையே, சிறிலங்காப் படையினரால் கைது செய்யப்பட்ட ஐக்கிய நாடுகள் சபையின் அலுவலர்கள் இருவரின் நிலை பற்றி ஐ.நா. தலைமையகம் ஆழ்ந்த கவனம் செலுத்தி வருவதாக நியூயோர்க்கில் உள்ள ஐ.நா. பேச்சாளர் தெரிவித்தார். அந்த இரு அலுவலர்களும் கடந்த ஜூன் மாதம் முகாம்களுக்கு அருகில் வைத்து கைது செய்யப்பட்டனர். தொடர்ந்தும் அவர்கள் தடுத்து வைக்கப்பட்டுள்ளனர்.
அரச அதிகாரிகளினால் அவர்கள் மோசமாக நடத்தபடுகிறார்கள் என்ற குற்றச்சாட்டுக்கள் வந்துள்ளன எனவும் ஐ.நா. பேச்சாளர் கூறினார். அவர்கள் மீதான குற்றச்சாட்டுக்கள் என்னவென தெரிவிக்கவில்லையாயின் தமது பணியாளர்களை சிறிலங்கா அரசு விடுவிக்க வேண்டும் எனவும் அவர் கேட்டுக்கொண்டார்.

Friday 11 September 2009

விலை போகும் புத்தளம்

Sri Lanka islet resort by Six Senses chain

Sept 09, 2009 (LBO) – International luxury hotel chain Six Senses is to manage a resort built on an islet on the north west coast of Sri Lanka becoming the first tourism project to be announced after an ethnic war ended, officials said.The first phase of the project in Dutch Bay in Kalpitiya, off the north-west coast, will cost 75 million dollars and consists of 60 mangrove chalets – two-storey villas with plunge pools – and 20 luxury villas on the lagoon. The Dutch Bay Resort project, to be ready by 2011, is a joint venture between Six Senses and Swarna Dweep, an investment vehicle.
Swarna Dweep was set up by European investors and a Sri Lankan entrepreneur, Neil De Silva, currently operating in Europe and the Middle East.
De Silva, chairman of Dutch Bay Resorts, told a news conference the second phase of the project, costing 100 million dollars, will consist of 80 villas – luxury homes to be sold to Arabs, Europeans and Sri Lankans as holiday or retirement homes.
Owners can lease them back to the developers. Swarna Dweep, a 51 percent shareholder of Dutch Bay Resorts, is a company established by Norwich International Consultants, a real estate business operating in the Kingdom of Bahrain since 1997.
The Kalpitiya Ducth Bay resort will be bordered by a lagoon on its eastern side and the Indian Ocean on the west.
The 60 mangrove boutique chalets will located within inland water bodies and the 20 two-storey villas along the lagoon.
Both will be managed by Six Senses under the name Six Senses Hideaway at Dutch Bay
Six Senses is not investing money in the project and will be the management company.
De Silva said the project has been planned since 2005 with the land bought from private owners, research and concept planning done and an environmental impact assessment also done and to be made available for public scrutiny soon.
De Silva declined to say how much the investors, who have put in 36 million dollars, had paid for the land. The project will include a spa, floating restaurants and a helipad.
Patrick De Groot, chief development officer of Dutch Bay Resorts, said Dutch Bay first came to his attention in 2007, when he was scouting for luxury resort and hotel opportunities for Dubai-based Jumeirah Group.
But the war prevented investment at the time, he said.
De Silva said that key resort areas were still in their pristine condition despite two decades of war, which ended in May, when government forces defeated the Tamil Tiger rebels.
"We came in during 2005 when the war was still on looking at the island’s long-term potential," he said. "It was a tough time for us during the civil unrest."
Tourism promotion minister Faiszer Musthapha said Six Senses is the first international chain to start a boutique resort in the island.
"Six Senses coming in would also attract others. We’re now talking with other international hotel operators. It is a matter of time before they come in," he said.
"Terrorism has cost tourism a lot. Top hotel chains and airlines left the country because of the conflict."
Musthapha said the Six Senses resort will charge far highe room rates than existing hotels - around 1,000 – 1,500 dollars a night.
"It is better to get tourists to spend more than attract a large number of visitors who spend less."

புலிகள் அழிந்ததன் பின்பும் மக்கள் துன்பப்படவேண்டுமா? இரா.சம்பந்தனே இவ்வாறு கூறினார்.
யாழ் உதயன்
வடக்கு, கிழக்கில் இருக்கின்ற இராணுவ முகாம்கள், சோதனைச் சாவடிகள், அதி உயர் பாதுகாப்பு வலயங்கள் போன்றவற்றை அங்கிருந்து நீக்கி அங்கு புதிதாகப் படையினர் குவிக்கப் படுவதைத் தடுத்து நிறுத்தவேண்டும் என்று தமிழ்த்தேசியக் கூட்டமைப்பு நேற்று நாடா ளுமன்றில் அரசிடம் கோரிக்கை விடுத்தது.அத்தோடு துணை ஆயுதக் குழுக்களை முற்றாகக் கலைத்து மக்களின் பாதுகாப்பை அதிகரிக்க வழிசெய்ய வேண்டும் என்றும் கூட்டமைப்பு வேண்டுகோள் விடுத்தது.நாடாளுமன்றில் நேற்று இடம்பெற்ற அவசரகாலச் சட்ட நீடிப்புப் பிரேரணை விவாதத்தில் கலந்துகொண்டு உரையாற் றிய கூட் டமைப்பின் தலைவர் இரா.சம் பந்தனே இவ்வாறு கூறினார்.அவர் அங்கு மேலும் கூறியவை வருமாறு:அகதி முகாம்களில் தடுத்துவைக்கப் பட்டிருக்கின்ற 2 லட்சத்து 80 ஆயிரம் மக்களை மீள்குடியேற்றும் நடவடிக்கை மிகவும் மந்தமாகவே இடம்பெறுகின்றது.180 நாள்களுக்குள் இம்மக்கள் மீள்குடியமர்த்தப்படுவர் என்று அரசு கூறியது. மூன்று மாதங்கள் கடந்து விட்டன. 10 வீத மான மக்கள் கூட இன்னும் குடியமர்த்தப்படவில்லை. இதை அரசிடம் நாம் சுட்டிக்காட்டினோம். ஆனால் அரசு விரைவில் செய்யமுடியும் என்று நம்பிக்கை தெரிவிக்கின்றது. இந்த மக்களை உடனடியாகக் குடியமர்த்தி அவர்களுக்கு தொழில்வாய்ப்பை ஏற்படுத்திக் கொடுப்பது அரசின் பொறுப்பு. மக்கள் அகதிபோல் தடுத்துவைக்கப்பட்டுள்ளனர். அவர்களைச் சந்திக்கும் உறவினர்களுடன் உரையாட முடியவில்லை.அரசின் மீள்குடியேற்ற நடவடிக்கை தொடர்பில் சர்வதேசம் மகிழ்ச்சியடையவில்லை. முகாம்களைச் சுற்றி படையினர் குவிக்கப்பட்டுள்ளனர். அவர்கள் தமிழ் படையினர் அல்லர். இந்த அகதிகளை அந்தப் படையினர் பாசத்துடன் நடத்தமாட்டார்கள்.அகதி முகாம்களில் மக்கள் குடியமர்த்தப்படும்போது இடம்பெயர்ந்து தற்போது புத்தளத்தில் உள்ள முஸ்லிம்களும் குடியமர்த்தப்படவேண்டும் என்று நாம் ஜனாதிபதியிடம் கேட்டுக்கொண்டோம். இது சமகாலத்தில் இடம்பெறவேண்டும்.மீள்குடியேற்றம் தொடர்பான அரசின் தற்போதைய கொள்கைத் தொடர்பில் எம்மால் மகிழ்ச்சியடைய முடியாது. நாம் முகாம்களுக்குச் சென்று அம் மக்களைப் பார்வையிட்டு அவர்களுக்குச் சேவை செய்யவும், மீள்குடியேற்றத்திற்கு உதவவும் விரும்புகிறோம்.பருவ மழை ஆரம்பமாகப் போகிறது. அது ஆரம்பமானால், நிலைமை இன்னும் மோசமாகும். அதற்கு முன் மக்கள் குடியமர்த்தப்படவேண்டும்.கண்ணிவெடிகள் அகற்றலைக் காரணங்காட்டி மீள்குடியேற்றத்தைத் தாமதப்படுத்த முடியாது. கண்ணிவெடிகள் அகற்றத் தேவையில்லாத பகுதிகள் தொடர்பாக நாம் அரசிடம் பட்டியல் ஒன்றைக் கையளித்துள்ளோம். அந்த இடங்களில் முதலில் மக்களை மீள்குடியமர்த்தலாம்.இந்த மக்கள் கடந்த மூன்று வருடங்களாக துன்பம் அனுபவித்து வருகின்றனர். புலிகள் அழிந்ததன் பின்பும் மக்கள் துன்பப்படவேண்டுமா? முகாமில் உள்ள நூறு, இருநூறு புலிகளைக் கண்டுபிடிப்பதற்காக இந்த மக்கள் அனைவரையும் தொடர்ந்து அரசு தடுத்துவைக்கப் போகிறதா?வடக்கு, கிழக்கில் இயங்குகின்ற துணை ஆயுதக் குழுக்கள் முற்றாகக் கலையப்படவேண்டும். யுத்தக் காலத்தின்போது அக்குழுக்களின் தேவை அரசுக்கு இருந்திருக்கலாம். அதனால், அக்குழுக்கள் இருப்பது மக்களின் சுதந்திரத்திற்கு அச்சுறுத்தலாக அமைந்துள்ளது.அதேபோல், வடக்கு, கிழக்கில் உள்ள உயர் பாதுகாப்பு வலயம், இராணுவ முகாம்கள், சோதனைச்சாவடிகள் உடன் நீக்கப்படவேண்டும். இவற்றைப் புதிதாக அமைக்கும் நடவடிக்கை நிறுத்தப்படவேண்டும்.அந்தப் பகுதியில் புதிதாகப் படையினர் குவிக்கப்படுவது நிறுத்தப்படவேண்டும். படையினரின் இருப்பு மக்களின் வாழ்வுக்கு அச்சுறுத்தலாக அமைந்துள்ளது. எமது மக்கள் அடிமையாகவே நடத்தப்படுகின்றனர்.பெரும் எண்ணிக்கையிலான படையினர் வடக்கு, கிழக்கில் இருப்பதால் அரசின் புலனாய்வு நடவடிக்கைக்கும் தடை ஏற்படும். வடக்கு, கிழக்கில் யுத்தத்திற்கு முன்பு இருந்த நிலை மீண்டும் ஏற்படுத்தப்படவேண்டும்.அதேபோல் எமது எம்.பிக்களின் பாதுகாப்பையும் அரசு அதிகரிக்கவேண்டும். நாம் மூன்று எம்.பிக்களை இழந்திருக்கின்றோம். நாம் வடக்கு, கிழக்கில் அரசியல் செய்வதற்கு வசதியாக அரசு எமது பாதுகாப்பை அதிகரித்துத் தரவேண்டும். என்றார்.

Thursday 10 September 2009

Western countries should remember that economic power has shifted from the west to the east.

Sri Lankan goods could find new markets in Asian economies. "We can handle [the loss]. Western countries should remember that economic power has shifted from the west to the east. New markets open up in the east. Our friends China, India, Japan, Korea, Iran … a whole range of countries [can help]."
Palitha Kohona, Sri Lanka's ambassador to the UN
Sri Lanka's top envoy hits out at EU as cut in £1bn trade concession looms
Damning review accuses the country of failing to honour human rights pledges after end of the war against Tamil rebels
Randeep Ramesh in Colombo guardian.co.uk, Thursday 10 September 2009 16.53 BST Article history
Sri Lanka's top diplomat today hit out at the European Union for "punishing" the country, after EU investigators recommended cancelling a £1bn trade concession over the country's failure to honour human rights commitments.
Palitha Kohona, Sri Lanka's ambassador to the UN, said the country would "handle the loss" of the export privilege, which allows businesses on the island to export 7,200 items to Europe duty free.
The trade concession, known as GSP Plus, depends on compliance with human rights standards – and a damning 130-page review handed to the Sri Lankan government last month makes it clear that the EU should withdraw preferential treatment for the Indian Ocean nation.
The report includes allegations that the government backed Tamil paramilitary groups who were involved in "child abductions, torture and killings of civilians".
But in an interview with the Guardian, Kohona said the EU should consider whether it was interested in the past or the future. "Hundreds of thousands of people, especially women who work in the export sector, will be impacted in order to punish Sri Lanka for apparent human rights violations," he said. "This smacks of a cynical approach to the problem by the European Union".
He said that Sri Lankan goods could find new markets in Asian economies. "We can handle [the loss]. Western countries should remember that economic power has shifted from the west to the east. New markets open up in the east. Our friends China, India, Japan, Korea, Iran … a whole range of countries [can help]."
But Kohona admitted that the loss of EU trade would be a blow to the country that was "liberated" from Tamil Tiger rebels after a 26-year war ended in a short, bloody clash on a beach in northern Sri Lanka in May. "We won a war against terrorism … the EU should recognise that."
It is estimated that between 7,000 and 20,000 civilians lost their lives in the last weeks of fighting and campaigners say dissent in Sri Lanka has been ruthlessly crushed, with journalists murdered and activists imprisoned.
According to sources in Colombo, EU investigators found that there had been a "wholesale failure of the criminal justice system" when investigating murders by "state agents". The report condemns Sri Lankan
security forces for "perverting the evidence and silencing witnesses, rather than conducting any real investigations".
It also draws attention to the plight of nearly 300,000 Tamil refugees who are still being held in government camps, to which the media and aid organisations have restricted access. The report describes the situation where internally displaced persons have no freedom of movement as "unacknowledged detention".
Sri Lanka's trade ministry has already conceded that the "report is very adverse and GSP Plus is very unlikely", but a final decision by Brussels will be taken in October.
Western diplomats in Colombo say the Sri Lankan government is reconciled to the loss of the EU concession. "[The government] is trapped by their own rhetoric which means they can never be seen to give in to the west," said one.
The EU, with strong backing from Britain, has supported calls by the UN human rights commissioner for an independent investigation into alleged war crimes by both the Sri Lankan army and the rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam.
In July, a number of countries, including the US and Britain, publicly abstained – an unprecedented move – when the board of the International Monetary Fund voted to approve a $2.6bn loan.If the EU does withdraw the trade concession it will mark a turning point in relations. There has been growing unease in the west about alleged human rights abuses during and after Sri Lanka's war against the rebels. But so far this pressure has been deflected by other countries which have used overwhelming military force to quell secessionist movements.
Two large arms suppliers – China and Russia – backed Sri Lanka at the UN security council, blocking all attempts at censure.
This week Britain's high commission in Colombo was caught in a media storm over its failure to issue a five-year, multiple entry visa to Kohona. The high commission said there was no "political bias".
The Sri Lankan diplomat said he was unperturbed by "western pressure". "Sri Lanka has enough friends around the world. You have to realise that financial resources and power is no longer concentrated in one part of the world."

எம்மை நீங்கள் கைவிட்டால் வேறு நண்பர்களை நாடுவோம்!
ஐரோப்பிய ஒன்றியத்திற்கு சிறீலங்கா அரசாங்கம் எச்சரிக்கை!
பதிவு இணையம்
GSP Plus எனப்படும் ஏற்றுமதி வரிச்சலுகையை நிறுத்தி தம்மை ஐரோப்பிய ஒன்றியம் தண்டிக்கும் பட்சத்தில், சீனா, ஈரான் போன்ற நாடுகளின் பொருண்மிய உதவியை தாங்கள் பெற்றுக்கொள்ள நேரிடும் என்று சிறீலங்கா அரசாங்கம் எச்சரிக்கை விடுத்துள்ளது.
இது குறித்து பிரித்தானியாவின் த கார்டியன் நாளேட்டிற்கு செவ்வி வழங்கியிருக்கும் ஓய்வுபெறும் சிறீலங்கா வெளியுறவுத்துறை செயலர் கலாநிதி பாலித்த கோஹொன்ன, ஏற்றுமதி வரிச்சலுகையை நிறுத்துவதற்கு திட்டமிட்டுள்ளதன் மூலம் தமது நாட்டை ஐரோப்பிய ஒன்றியம் தண்டிப்பதாக அதிருப்தி வெளியிட்டுள்ளார். அவர் மேலும் கூறுகையில்:
"கடந்த காலத்தைப் பற்றியா? அல்லது எதிர்காலத்தைப் பற்றியா? சிந்திப்பது என்று ஐரோப்பிய ஒன்றியமே தீர்மானிக்க வேண்டும். மனித உரிமை மீறல் குற்றச்சாட்டுக்களுக்காக சிறீலங்காவை ஐரோப்பிய ஒன்றியம் தண்டிப்பதால் ஏற்றுமதித் துறையை சேர்ந்த இலட்சக்கணக்கானோர், குறிப்பாக பெண்கள் பாதிக்கப்படுவார்கள். பிரச்சினைகளுக்கு தீர்வு காண்பதற்கு
தவறான அணுகுமுறையை ஐரோப்பிய ஒன்றியம் கையாள்வதையே இது எடுத்துக் காட்டுகின்றது.
இதனால் ஏற்படும் இழப்புக்களுக்கு எம்மால் ஈடுகொடுக்க முடியும். பொருண்மிய பலம் என்பது மேலைத்தேய நாடுகளிடம் இருந்து கீழைத்தேய நாடுகளிடம் கைமாறியிருப்பதை மேற்குலக நாடுகள் புரிந்து கொள்ள வேண்டும். கீழைத்தேய நாடுகளில் புதிய சந்தைகள் திறக்கப்படுகின்றன. சீனா, இந்தியா, ஜப்பான், கொரியா, ஈரான் போன்ற நாடுகள் எமக்கு உதவிபுரியக்கூடும்.
பயங்கரவாதத்திற்கு எதிரான யுத்தத்தில் நாம் வெற்றியீட்டியுள்ளோம். இதனை ஐரோப்பிய ஒன்றியம் புரிந்து கொள்ள வேண்டும். மேற்குலகின் அழுத்தங்களால் நாம் கதிகலங்கவில்லை.
உலகளாவிய ரீதியில் எமக்கு போதிய அளவு நண்பர்கள் உள்ளார்கள். பொருண்மிய வளம் என்பது உலகின் ஒருபாகத்தில் மட்டும் குவிந்துகிடக்கவில்லை என்பதை நீங்கள் புரிந்து கொள்ள
வேண்டும்."
இவ்வாறு ஓய்வுபெறும் சிறீலங்கா வெளியுறவுத்துறை செயலர் குறிப்பிட்டார்.

வன்னி மக்களை மீளக்குடியமர்த்தக் கோரி கொழும்பில் ஆர்ப்பாட்டம்

வன்னி மக்களை மீளக்குடியமர்த்தக் கோரி கொழும்பில் ஆர்ப்பாட்டம்
* வன்னி மக்களை மீளக்குடியமர்த்து!
* ஊடகவியலாளர் திஸநாயகத்தை விடுவி!
*தோட்டத் தொழிலாளர்களுக்கு 500 ரூபா சம்பள உயர்வு வழங்கு!

வன்னி மக்களை மீளக்குடியமர்த்தக் கோரி கொழும்பில் நேற்று முதலாவது ஆர்ப்பாட்டம் பெரும் எண்ணிக்கையானோர் பங்குபற்றினர்
2009-09-10 06:56:09 யாழ் உதயன்
இடம்பெயர்ந்து வவுனியா நலன்புரி முகாமில் தடுத்து வைக்கப்பட்டுள்ள மக் களை உடனடியாக மீளக் குடியமர்த்துமாறு கோரியும், ஊடகவியலாளர் திஸநாயகத்தை விடுவிக்கக் கோரியும், தோட்டத் தொழி லாளர்களுக்கு 500 ரூபா சம்பள உயர்வு கோரியும் ஆர்ப் பாட்டம் நடத்தப்பட்டது.இடம்பெயர்ந்து வவுனியா நலன்புரி முகாமில் தடுத்து வைக்கப்பட்டுள்ள மக் களை உடனடியாக மீளக் குடியமர்த்துமாறு கோரியும், ஊடகவியலாளர் திஸநாயகத்தை விடுவிக்கக் கோரியும், தோட்டத் தொழி லாளர்களுக்கு 500 ரூபா சம்பள உயர்வு வழங்குமாறு வலியுறுத்தியும் கொழும் பில் நேற்று புதன்கிழமை நண்பகல் ஆர்ப் பாட்டம் நடத்தப்பட்டது.இடதுசாரி முன்னணி, ஐக்கிய சோசலிச கட்சி, தொழிற்சங்கங்கள், ஊடக அமைப் புகள் மனித உரிமை அமைப்புகள் மற்றும் கத்தோலிக்க திருச்சபையின் அருட்தந் தையர்கள் ஆகி÷யார் ஆர்ப்பாட்டத்தில் கலந்து கொண்டனர்
கொழும்பு கோட்டை ரயில் நிலையம் முன்பாக சுமார் ஒரு மணி நேரம் நடைபெற்ற இந்த ஆர்ப்பாட்டத்தில் நூற்றுக்கணக்கான மக்கள் கலந்து கொண்டு இடம்பெயர்ந்த மக்களின் அவல நிலைமைகளை வெளிப்படுத்தினர்.அரசு உரிய முறையில் நிவாரணங்களை வழங்கவில்லை எனவும் எதிர்க்கட்சி நாடாளுமன்ற உறுப்பினர்களையும், சர்வதேச தொண்டு நிறுவனப் பணியாளர்களையும் அங்கு செல்ல அரசு அனுமதிப்பது இல்லை என்றும் ஆர்ப்பாட்டக்காரர் கோஷங்களை எழுப்பினர்.குறிப்பாக முகாமிலிருந்து காணமற்போனதாகக் கூறப்படும் 10 ஆயிரம் பேரின் நிலைமை என்ன? என்பது குறித்து ஆர்ப்பாட்டத்தில் ஈடுபட்டடோர் கேள்வி எழுப்பினர். பாதுகாப்புத் தரப்பினரே இதற்குக் காரணம் எனவும் குற்றம் சாட்டி கோஷமிட்டனர்.10,000 பேரின் நிலைமை என்ன?முகாமில் உள்ள மக்களின் அவல நிலைமைகளை வெளிப்படுத்தும் சு÷லாக அட்டைகள், பாதாதைகள் போன்றவற்றையும் ஆர்ப்பாட்டக்காரர்கள் தாங்கியிருந்தனர்.இடம்பெயர்ந்த மக்களின் அவல நிலைமைகைளை வெளிப்படுத்தும் வகையில் கொழும்பில் முதன் முதலாக இடம்பெற்ற ஆர்ப்பாட்டம் இது என்பது குறிப்பிடத்தக்கது.அதேவேளை விலைவாசி உயர்வு மற்றும் தோட்டத் தொழிலாளர்களுக்கு 500 ரூபா சம்பள உயர்வு வழங்க மறுக்கின்றமை குறித்தும் ஆர்ப்பாட்டக்காரர்கள் கோஷங்களை எழுப்பினர்.இந்த ஆர்ப்பாட்டத்தினால் கோட்டை ரயில் நிலையப் பகுதியில் வாகன நெரிசல் ஏற்பட்டது. பொலிஸாரும் இராணுவத்தினரும் அங்கு கடமையில் ஈடுபடுத்தப்பட்டிருந்தனர். ஆர்ப்பாட்டத்தின் முடிவில் இடது சாரி முன்னணியின் தலைவர் கலாநிதி விக்கிரமபாகு அரசின் நடவடிக்கைகளைக் கண்டித்து உரை நிகழ்த்தினார்.

Tuesday 8 September 2009

TENN: TNA's meeting with Rajapaksa fails & Cordial

TNA's meeting with Rajapaksa fails to resolve IDP crisis

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 08 September 2009, 12:24 GMT]

Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarians who held talks with Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa and his ministers Monday evening at Temple Trees on the issue of resettling Vanni IDPs in their own places, said that the talks ended in failure as Mr. Rajapaksa evaded the main issue by saying resettlement of Vanni IDPs is not immediately possible as demining in Vanni has to be completed before resettlement. The urgent request to resettle the Vanni IDPs in Vavuniyaa internment camps before the monsoon rains was not given any due consideration by Rajapaksa and his ministers, TNA parliamentarians said.
R. Smapantharn, Mavai Senathirajah, Suresh Premachandran, Raseen Mohamed Imam, Sri Kantha, K. Thangkeswari and Sivasakthi Ananthan were the TNA parliamentarians who took part in the talks with the Sri Lankan President Monday from 4:30 p.m to 7:30 p.m.
Rajapaksa was accompanied by his brother and senior advisor, Basil Rajapaksa, his secretary, Lalith Weeratunge, Vavuniyaa SLA Commander, ministers Rizard Badudeen and Susil Premajayantha and Northern Province Governor, former SLA Jaffna Commander, G. A. Chandrasiri.
On being asked as to Rajapaksa's public assurance that the Vanni IDPs will be resettled within 180 days he responded by claiming that his government had completed resettlement of IDPs in the East and that the 'same wonder' may perhaps happen in Vanni too.
The Sri Lankan president dismissed immediate resettlement, saying that his government lacked necessary funds to engage the 600 Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers who were trained in de-mining and ready to do the job as funds for de-mining were not available from the international countries. He was telling the TNA to move matters with the EU in getting the necessary funds for de-mining from the member countries of the EU. There was no mention of engaging independent actors such as NGOs or foreign agencies in de-mining, a TNA parliamentarian who attended the meeting said.
"Mr. Rajapaksa further claimed that around 19,000 IDPs had been already released from the Vavuniyaa camps but we pointed out that this number is only 8% percent while 92% of the IDPs suffer being detained in the internment camps."
The President said that action is underway to release IDPs from Vavuniyaa, Mannaar and Jaffna after confirming that neither they nor their relatives or friends who are ready to take care of them are linked to terrorists. We told the President that this cumbersome process would indefinitely delay the release of the IDPs.
We also asked the President to consider our requests in the issue of resettling IDPs evacuated by the SLA from the High Security Zones (HSZs) in Jaffna peninsula besides the lifting of restriction on fishing and travel but the President and his ministers effectively brushed aside the requests repeatedly stressing on the need for demining, the TNA parliamentarians said.
Though we had some hopes of our requests being heeded the President, employing evasive and sidetracking techniques, did not consider the requests favourably, the TNA parliamentarians said.

TNA-President meeting cordial
Daily Mirror By Kelum Bandara
The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) said yesterday its meeting with President Mahinda Rajapaksa progressed satisfactorily and addressed serious issues in a friendly atmosphere.
TNA Jaffna District parliamentarian N. Sri Kantha who participated in the talks told the Daily Mirror that his party raised issues related to the displaced persons. Mr. Sri Kantha said the TNA put forward its proposals and suggestions to address welfare issues of IDPs and to resettle them. The party had also discussed the resettling of Muslim IDPS. However he declined to elaborate what transpired at the meeting.
The Jaffna MP said his delegation also met MP Basil Rajapaksa who is the Chairman of the Taskforce overseeing resettlement and rehabilitation work in the North. Mr. Rajapaksa had also made a detailed presentation on the de-mining operation and how they had progressed.
He had also explained the difficulties involved in the process during the meeting.
Mr. Rajapaksa had reportedly pointed out that some areas were heavily mined.
UPFA General Secretary and Minister Susil Premajantha said the meeting was cordial.
This was the first one to one meeting between the government and the TNA after the LTTE was defeated. Mr. Premajantha said this was a positive development in the post war period.
In addition to President Rajapaksa the Government delegation included MP Basil Rajapaksa, Northern Province Governor Major General G. A. Chandrasiri, Ministers Susil Premajantha and Rishad Bathiuddeen and Essential Services Commissioner S. Divaratne. The TNA delegation comprised party leader R. Sampanthan, Jaffna District MP Mavai Senathirajah, S Sri Kantha, Suresh Premachandran, R. M. Imam, Sivasakthi Ananthan and Thangeswari Kadiragamar.

Sri Lanka: Access denied

The Guardian, Tuesday 8 September 2009

The Sri Lankan government is hugely dependent on outside aid in its efforts to deal with the human consequences of the war which the island had to endure for more than a quarter of a century. High military spending, collapsed tourism revenues, disrupted agriculture, reduced trade, and, to make matters worse, natural disaster in the shape of the tsunami have all undermined the economy.
The government simply does not have the resources to undertake, without international help, the work of repairing infrastructure, restoring economic life, feeding and temporarily housing large numbers of displaced people, and then returning them to their old homes in conditions approaching normality. Long before the war reached its end earlier this year, United Nations agencies, the International Committee of the Red Cross, and scores of voluntary organisations were all present in Sri Lanka ready and anxious to mitigate the impact of the fighting on ordinary people. They were kept at arm's length by the Sri Lankan authorities, who brooked no interference with, or oversight of, their military campaign. There was reason to hope that, with victory, this attitude would change. Unhappily, it has not. Colombo is still severely restricting access to the north, particularly to the area of the final battles, and to the camps where an estimated 280,000 people displaced by the fighting are detained.
The United Nations secretary general, Ban Ki-moon, came to Colombo a week after the war ended to ask for "unhindered access" to those camps. UN agencies have instead found themselves hampered in their attempts to bring in the materials to make life in the camps bearable, particularly vital as the monsoon breaks. Voluntary agencies have similarly found themselves blocked by regulations which seem to change weekly, if not daily, while some ICRC offices have been closed down on government orders. Independent travel by journalists is banned. In addition, the government reacts with fury to any criticism, from whatever source, of its slowness in getting the refugees out of the camps and back to their homes.
The secretary general's reward for the low-key approach he has taken to the Sri Lankan crisis since he assumed office has been to be ignored. Now the Sri Lankans have served an expulsion order on the Unicef spokesman, James Elder, after he warned that the monsoon would cause chaos and suffering in the camps. The Colombo government wants aid but it also wants to micromanage the way it is deployed and to bully those who have the job of delivering it. It is time that the donor nations and the agencies formed a united front to resist this unreasonable and ungrateful attitude.

Monday 7 September 2009

மலையக தோட்டத் தொழிலாளர் ஒத்துழையாமை போராட்டம்

வீரகேசரி இணையம் 9/7/2009 12:08:01 PM -

மலையக தோட்டத் தொழிலாளர்களின் ஒத்துழையாமை போராட்டம் தொடர்கின்றது. இதன் காரணமாக மலையகத் தேயிலைத் தோட்டங்களில் உள்ள தொழிற்சாலைகளில் அரைக்கப்படாத நிலையில், ஆயிரக்கணக்கான கிலோ தேயிலை கொழுந்துகள் குவிந்துள்ளதாகத் தெரிவிக்கப்படுகிறது.
தொழிலாளர்களுக்கு நாளாந்தம் 500 ரூபா ஊதியம் வழங்கப்பட வேண்டும் எனக் கோரியே இந்த ஒத்துழையாமை போராட்டம் நடைபெற்று வருகிறது. தோட்டத் தொழிலாளர்களுக்கு தற்போது 290 ரூபா நாளாந்த ஊதியமாக வழங்கப்படுகிறது.
ஊதிய அதிகரிப்பு தொடர்பாக தொழிற்சங்கங்களுக்கும் முதலாளிமார் சம்மேளனத்திற்கும் இடையில் நடைபெற்ற பேச்சுவார்த்தைகள் தோல்வியடைந்ததைத் தொடர்ந்தே இந்த தொழிற்சங்க நடவடிக்கை ஆரம்பிக்கப்பட்டது.
இந்நிலையில் தொழிலாளர்களின் ஊதிய அதிகரிப்பு குறித்த கூட்டு ஒப்பந்தத்தில் கைச்சாத்திடும் தொழிற்சங்கங்களும், முதலாளிமார் சம்மேளனத்திற்கும் இடையில் இன்று மீண்டும் பேச்சுவார்த்தைகள் நடைபெறவுள்ளன.
இன்றையப் பேச்சுவார்த்தைகள் தோல்வியடைந்தால், தொடர் பணிப்புறக்கணிப்பு போராட்டத்தில் ஈடுபடப் போவதாக தொழிற்சங்கங்கள் எச்சரித்துள்ளன. எனினும் பேச்சுவார்த்தைகளில் சுமுக முடிவு ஏற்படும் என இலங்கைத் தொழிலாளர் காங்கிரஸ் நம்பிக்கை தெரிவித்துள்ளது.

Saturday 5 September 2009

சம்பூர் திட்டத்தில் கைச்சாத்திடுவதற்கு இந்திய உயர்மட்ட குழு வருகிறது

சம்பூர் திட்டத்தில் கைச்சாத்திடுவதற்கு இந்திய உயர்மட்ட குழு வருகிறது.வீரகேசரி நாளேடு 9/5/2009 9:02:07 AM -
இந்திய உயர்மட்ட அதிகாரிகள் அடங்கிய குழுவொன்று அடுத்தவாரம் இலங்கை வரவுள்ளதாகத் தெரியவருகின்றது
திருகோணமலை சம்பூரில் அனல்மின் நிலையம் அமைப்பது உட்பட பல்வேறு உடன்படிக்கைகளில் கைச்சாத்திடும் வகையிலேயே இந்த இந்திய உயர்மட்டக் குழு இலங்கை வரவுள்ளதாகவும் தெரிவிக்கப்படுகிறது. இந்திய தேசிய அனல்சக்தி நிறுவனம் இந்த திட்டத்தின் பொருட்டு 500 மில்லியன் அமெரிக்க டொலர்களை முதலிடவுள்ளதாகவும் தெரிவிக்கப்படுகின்றது. ==================
செய்தியின் பின்னணியில்:
Tamil Tigers fail: Sampoor falls
Tue, 2006-09-05 02:49 — admin
Colombo, 05 September, (Asiantribune.com): President Mahinda Rajapakse broke the news of the recapture of Sampoor to the thunderous applause of the jubilant SLFP delegates attending the 55th anniversary of the party this afternoon. He also praised Lt. Gen. Sarath Fonseka, the Army Commander who survived a Tiger suicide attack, for his courageous leadership.
President Rajapakse resisted the pressures of the international community to halt the advance of his forces into Sampoor. Refusing to give in he asked the Norwegian Ambassador, Hans Brattskar who was putting pressure on him at a meeting: "Are you asking me to hand over the Sampoor to the enemy?"
With the fall of Sampoor the Tamil Tigers lost one of their key bases targeting Trincomalee - the port vital for the security of northern military bases.
Sampoor, a south-eastern suburb in the port of Trincomalee, was occupied by the Tamil Tigers under the Ranil Wickremesinghe and Chandrika Kumaratunga regimes. The Wickremesinghe regime turned a blind eye to the Tamil Tigers encroaching into Sampoor territory. His regime refused to intervene saying that it would disrupt the Ceasefire Agreement. Bradman Weerakoon, the Secretary to the Prime Minister Wickremesinghe, described it as a "confidence-building measure." President Chandrika Kumaratunga, who first grabbed power from Wickremesinghe saying that he was not defending the nation, refused to believe that the Tigers had occupied this strategic point that could easily paralyse Trincomalee harbor.
Lt.-Gen. Sarath Fonseka was determined to wrest Sampoor from the grip of the Tamil Tigers. The Tamil Tiger local leader, S. Eilalan , Head of LTTE’s Political Division, Trincomalee was also making promises not to let it fall. The battle for Sampoor raged for nearly three weeks with Army advancing slowly but steadily. The advance was slowed by heavy minefields, booby traps and other explosive devices laid by the retreating Tamil Tigers.
Tracing the events leading to fall of Sampoor the Army website said: "It all began back in July 2006 when terrorists shut down the Mavil Aru sluice gates depriving water to over 15,000 families and 30,000 acres of paddy cultivation. The Army troops backed by air support got the sluice gates reopened on 08th August 2006 driving away terrorists further into the south of Verugal area.
"While ground troops were marching forward terrorists tried their best to stop their advance simultaneously attacking Muttur, Kattaparichchan, Selvanagar and Mahindapura Army installations but troops thwarted those hostilities with repulse attacks.
"In the meantime, terrorists on 01st August launched mortar attacks towards Trincomalee harbor area while simultaneously directing artillery fire from Sampoor areas but miserably failed to inflict damages on the passenger vessel that was bringing 854 unarmed soldiers from Kankasanthurai to Trincomalee.
"Columns of Army Special Forces and Infantry columns with the active support of artillery and armour fire power, clearing heavy minefields, booby traps and other explosive devices of their way that had been laid by terrorists, marched forward amidst LTTE's stiff resistance in the past few days. The Air Force and the Navy supported the ground tactical maneuver, effectively in the accomplishment of the mission.
"At least over 175 Tamil Tiger terrorists perished during the hostilities and over 350 received injuries, as per reports received by the ground troops.
"The fall of Sampoor comes in the wake of a string of defeats suffered by the terrorists in the north and east in the most recent past in Muhamalai, Nagarkovil, Kilaly, Vavunathivu, Muttur, Mavil Aru, Kallar areas, etc after terrorists unsuccessfully tried either to infiltrate the areas or overrun the camps of the Security Forces," said the website.
- Asian Tribune

Thursday 3 September 2009

G.O.P. Support May Be Vital to Obama on Afghan War

G.O.P. Support May Be Vital to Obama on Afghan War
Eros Hoagland
The president is weighing whether to send more troops to Afghanistan, like these Americans patrolling the Korengal Valley.
Published: September 2, 2009 WASHINGTON -NYTimes — As President Obama prepares to decide whether to send additional troops to Afghanistan, the political climate appears increasingly challenging for him, leaving him in the awkward position of relying on the Republican Party, and not his own, for support.
The simple political narrative of the Afghanistan war — that this was the good war, in which the United States would hunt down the perpetrators of the Sept. 11 attacks — has faded over time, with popular support ebbing, American casualties rising and confidence in the Afghan government declining. In addition, Afghanistan’s disputed election, and the attendant fraud charges that have been lodged against President Hamid Karzai, are contributing further to the erosion of public support.
A CBS News poll released on Tuesday reports that 41 percent of those polled wanted troop levels in Afghanistan decreased, compared with 33 percent in April. Far fewer people — 25 percent — wanted troop levels increased, compared with 39 percent in April. And Mr. Obama’s approval rating for his handling of Afghanistan has dropped eight points since April, to 48 percent.
Congressional Democrats, particularly those on the left, report increasing disenchantment among constituents with the idea of a long and possibly escalating conflict in Afghanistan, especially as the American strategy comes to resemble a long-term nation-building approach rather than a counterterrorism operation.
“I and the American people cannot tolerate more troops without some commitment about when this perceived occupation will end,” Senator Russ Feingold, Democrat of Wisconsin, said Wednesday in an interview. He said he had been to 60 town hall meetings in his state so far this year. During the first half of the year, he said, there were no comments about Afghanistan or Iraq. But in the past two months, that has changed, with more people focused on troop losses in Afghanistan.
Andrew J. Bacevich, a professor of international relations and history at Boston University, said, “There was a time, back in 2003 and 2004, when it was possible to drum up popular support for the war by attaching to the argument claims that the United States of America was eliminating evil and advancing democracy and women’s rights.
“But this is many years later, with the economy in shambles, 5,000 American soldiers dead in Iraq and Afghanistan, and those notions are no longer as compelling as they might have been. War exhaustion sets in,” said Professor Bacevich, author of “The Limits of Power: The End of American Exceptionalism.”
Even one strain of conservative thinking has turned negative on the war. The syndicated columnist George F. Will wrote in a column published Tuesday that the United States should substantially reduce its presence in Afghanistan.
But despite Mr. Will’s argument, national security hawks in the Republican Party — not Mr. Obama’s most natural support base — still back the president on Afghanistan.
“So far, to their credit, they’ve either remained silent or they’ve been supportive, guys like McCain and Graham,” said Matt Bennett, vice president of Third Way, a moderately left-wing think tank, referring to Senator John McCain of Arizona and Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, both Republicans.
At the moment, Mr. Obama appears to still have the support of Democratic leaders in the Senate and the House, including Senator Harry Reid of Nevada and the House speaker, Nancy Pelosi of California. Representative Howard L. Berman, a California Democrat who is chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, indicated on Wednesday that he was not ready to jump ship. But he was not sounding a ringing endorsement, either.
“I was O.K. with the president’s efforts and goals in Afghanistan,” he said in a phone interview. “At the same time, I’m open to hearing whether those are achievable, and as we debate that, we also need to think about what are the costs of reversing course.”
But it was the Republican National Committee, and not the Democrats, that was sounding more solidly behind the president on Afghanistan. After Mr. Will’s abdication on Tuesday, the Republican National Committee quickly sent out an e-mail message and posted a statement, “Stand Strong, Mr. President,” on its Web site to take issue with the conservative columnist.
“We agree with President Obama that ‘we have to win’ in Afghanistan and make sure that our commanders on the ground have the troops and resources they need,” the committee chairman, Michael Steele, said in the statement. He urged Mr. Obama to “stand strong and speak out for why we are fighting there,” adding that Mr. Obama has said too little so far “about why the voices of defeat are wrong.”
Similarly, Senator Saxby Chambliss, Republican of Georgia, said he would continue to back Mr. Obama “as long as we’re making progress.”
Senator Graham, for his part, was in Afghanistan last week, putting in a stint as Colonel Graham as he served out his Air Force Reserves duty rotation. He met with military officials and soldiers, and talked to Obama administration officials in Kabul, the capital, as well, and is supporting Mr. Obama’s Afghanistan strategy.
Afghanistan, Mr. Graham said Tuesday in an interview, “is where 9/11 was planned and executed.
“This is not Vietnam.”
He said he would support a push for more troops in Afghanistan, but added that Mr. Obama would have to make a public case for it to convince wavering people on both the right and the left.
“The president needs to be more aggressive about taking ownership of this strategy, and reinforcing to this country the consequences of Afghanistan being lost and becoming a safe haven for Al Qaeda,” Mr. Graham said.
The debate over Afghanistan will play out in the coming weeks, as the military decides whether to ask for more troops; commanders in Afghanistan have already said their forces are insufficient to get the job done. Mr. Obama himself must decide whether to make a more public push for a deeper United States commitment. Administration officials say privately that they believe that they have 12 months to show significant progress in Afghanistan before they totally lose public support.
One danger for Mr. Obama is that he may be forced to abandon his own party on Afghanistan for the right, which could put him in a perilous position if Republicans at any point decide they do not want to support a Democratic president on the issue.
“Some people on the right think Afghanistan is hopeless, some people think this is Obama’s war and want to do to Obama the same thing the left did to Bush with Iraq,” Mr. Graham said.

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