Sunday 27 October 2013

வடக்கு மாகாணசபையே மாவீரர் துயின்ற இல்லங்களை மீளக்கட்டியமை!

சிங்களத்தால் நொருக்கப்பட்ட தரைக் கரும்புலி மாவீரன் மில்லரின் தரைமட்டமான சிலை
விடுதலைப் புலிகளுக்கு கல்லறை கட்டக் கோரினால் கைது – கோத்தா எச்சரிக்கை
[ ஞாயிற்றுக்கிழமை, 27 ஒக்ரோபர் 2013, 00:24 GMT ] [ கார்வண்ணன் ]

உயிரோடு வாழும் எந்தவொரு முன்னாள் விடுதலைப் புலிகள் இயக்க போராளியும் முப்பதாண்டுப் போரில் இறந்தவர்கள் நினைவாக கல்லறைகளை அமைக்கக் கோரினால், கைது செய்யப்படுவார் என்று சிறிலங்கா பாதுகாப்புச்செயலர் கோத்தாபய ராஜபக்ச எச்சரித்துள்ளார்.

மாவீரர் துயிலுமில்லங்களைப் புனரமைக்க சாவகச்சேரிப் பிரதேசசபையில் நிறைவேற்றப்பட்ட தீர்மானம் குறித்து கருத்து வெளியிட்டுள்ள சிறிலங்கா பாதுகாப்புச் செயலர் கோத்தாபய ராஜபக்ச, “விடுதலைப் புலிகள், உள்நாட்டிலும் அனைத்துலக அளவிலும் தடைசெய்யப்பட்ட ஒரு இயக்கம். அவர்கள் சட்டபூர்வமாக முன்னிலைப்படுத்தப்படும் இடத்தில் இல்லை.

அவர்கள் நினைவாக போர் நினைவுச் சின்னங்களை அமைக்க எவருக்கும் உரிமை இல்லை.

யாரேனும் அதைச் செய்வார்களேயானால், கைது செய்யப்படுவர்.

இளைஞர்களுக்குத் தவறாக வழிகாட்ட முற்படும் இவர்கள், ஏனைய முன்னாள் விடுதலைப் புலிகளைப் போலவே, கைது செய்யப்பட்டு புனர்வாழ்வுக்கு உட்படுத்தப்படுவர்.

வடக்கு மாகாணம் காணி, காவல்துறை அதிகாரங்களைப் பெறவே முடியாது. அது நடைமுறைச்சாத்தியமற்றது.

மாகாணங்களுக்கு காணி அதிகாரங்கள் இல்லை என்று உயர்நீதிமன்றம் கூறியுள்ள நிலையில்,வடக்கு மாகாண முதல்வரும், மாகாணசபையும், காணி அதிகாரங்களைப் பெறுவது சாத்தியமில்லை என்பதை உணர வேண்டும்.

ஏனைய மாகாணங்களுக்கு தனியான காவல்துறை அதிகாரங்கள் வழங்கப்படாத நிலையில், எதற்காக வடக்கு மாகாணசபைக்கு மட்டும் தனியான சிறப்பு காவல்துறை அதிகாரங்களை வழங்க வேண்டும்?

வடக்கு மாகாணசபைக்கு காவல்துறை அதிகாரங்கள் வழங்கப்படாது என்று சிறிலங்கா அதிபரே கூறியுள்ளார்.

காவல்துறை அதிகாரங்களில் எதற்கு வடக்கு மாகாணசபைக்கு முன்னுரிமை கொடுக்க வேண்டும்?

சட்டம் ஒழுங்கு, காவல்துறையை கையாளும் பொறுப்பு மத்திய அரசுக்கும், சிறிலங்கா அதிபருக்குமே உள்ளது.

சட்டம் ஒழுங்கை பேணுவதற்கும் குற்றச்செயல்களைத் தடுப்பதற்கும் வடக்கு மாகாணசபை காவல்துறைக்கு உதவலாம்.

ஆனால், வடக்கு மாகாணசபைக்குத் தனியான காவல்துறை தேவையில்லை” என்றும் அவர் தெரிவித்துள்ளார்.

Friday 25 October 2013

Germany to send spymasters to U.S. over Merkel allegations

Germany to send spymasters to U.S. over Merkel allegations

(Reuters) - Germany will send its top intelligence chiefs to Washington next week to seek answers from the White House on allegations that U.S. security officials tapped the mobile phone of Chancellor Angela Merkel.

Merkel has demanded action from President Barack Obama, not just apologetic words, following the accusations that the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA) accessed tens of thousands of French phone records as well as monitoring her own private phone.

"A high level delegation will travel for talks with the White House and National Security Agency to push forward the investigation into the recent allegations," he told a news conference.

Berlin will dispatch the heads of its foreign intelligence agency BND and of its domestic counterpart, the BfV. Merkel's chief of staff Ronald Pofalla, who is responsible for the intelligence services, may also join them.

Speaking at an EU summit on Thursday, Merkel said the alleged bugging had shattered trust with the United States. She demanded Washington agree a "no spying" deal with Berlin and Paris by the end of the year, saying alleged espionage against two of Washington's closest EU allies had to be stopped.

The White House has denied the United States is bugging Merkel, but Washington officials have refused to say whether it did so in the past.

Members of the European Parliament's civil liberties committee said they will also fly to Washington for talks on Monday and explore "possible legal remedies for EU citizens".

The rift over U.S. surveillance tactics first emerged earlier this year and had appeared close to resolution, but Berlin said on Wednesday it has obtained information that the United States may have monitored Merkel's phone.

Earlier this week French newspaper Le Monde reported the NSA had collected tens of thousands of French phone records between December 2012 and January this year.

Only three months ago Merkel's Interior Minister Hans-Peter Friedrich made a similar visit to demand answers in Washington. The need for another trip has left Germany looking like it was duped and brought fierce criticism of Merkel for not taking a tough enough stance.

"In the summer, we received explanations and assurances," Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle said on Thursday. "Whether we can trust these explanations and assurances, that must be examined again."

SENSITIVE SUBJECT

State surveillance is a highly sensitive subject in a country haunted by memories of eavesdropping by the Stasi secret police in communist East Germany, where Merkel grew up.

The European Parliament has already opened an inquiry into the effect on Europe of U.S. intelligence activities revealed by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden. It has also led a push for tougher data protection rules and the suspension of a transatlantic data-sharing deal.

The Parliament, with 766 members directly elected from the EU's 28 member states, voted this week in favour of an amended package of laws that would greatly strengthen EU data protection rules that date from 1995.

The rules would restrict how data collected in Europe by firms such as Facebook, Yahoo! and Google is shared with non-EU countries, and impose fines of 100 million euros (85 million pounds) or more on rule breakers.

(Additional reporting by Charlie Dunmore in Brussels; editing by Luke Baker and David Stamp)

Tuesday 22 October 2013

USA's unlawful Drone killings in Pakistan could amount to war crimes, Amnesty International

A 68-year-old grandmother killed whilst picking Okra - just one of the incidents we've documented of civilian deaths by drone strikes in Pakistan. The US could be guilty of war crimes and must be held to account. 
Amnesty International 

Drones: Major new report says USA must account for Pakistan killings
Posted: 22 October 2013

The USA has carried out unlawful killings in Pakistan in its drone attacks, some of which could amount to war crimes, Amnesty International said in a major new report released today (Tuesday 22 October).
The report 'Will I be next?’ US drone strikes in Pakistan', one of the most comprehensive studies of the US drones programme from a human rights perspective, documents recent killings in Pakistan’s north-western tribal areas, where most drone strikes have taken place. The report condemns the almost complete absence of transparency around the US drone programme. 
Meanwhile Amnesty is calling on the UK government to refrain from participating in any way in US drone strikes that violate international law, including by the sharing of intelligence or facilities, or the transfer of specialist components.
Amnesty International’s Pakistan Researcher Mustafa Qadri, the author of the report, said:
“Secrecy surrounding the drones programme gives the US administration a license to kill beyond the reach of the courts or basic standards of international law. It’s time for the USA to come clean about the drones programme and hold those responsible for these violations to account.
“What hope for redress can there be for victims of drone attacks and their families when the USA won’t even acknowledge its responsibility for particular strikes?”
International law prohibits arbitrary killing and limits the lawful use of intentional lethal force to exceptional situations. In armed conflict, only combatants and people directly participating in hostilities may be directly targeted. Outside armed conflict, intentional lethal force is lawful only when strictly unavoidable to protect 

against an imminent threat to life. In some circumstances arbitrary killing can amount to a war crime or extrajudicial executions, which are crimes under international law.
The USA continues to rely on a “global war” doctrine to attempt to justify a borderless war with al-Qa’ida, the Taliban or other “enemies” of the USA. The USA’s promise to increase transparency around drone strikes, underscored by a major policy speech by President Barack Obama in May, has yet to become a reality 

and the USA still refuses to divulge even basic factual and legal information. This secrecy has enabled the USA to act with impunity and block victims from receiving justice or compensation. As far as Amnesty is aware, no US official has ever been held to account for unlawful killings by drones in Pakistan.
Amnesty reviewed all 45 known drone strikes that took place in North Waziristan in north-western Pakistan between January 2012 and August this year. Contrary to official claims that those killed were “terrorists”, Amnesty’s research indicates that in a number of cases the victims were not involved in armed activity and 
posed no threat to life. 
In October 2012, 68-year-old grandmother Mamana Bibi was killed in a double strike - apparently by a Hellfire missile - as she picked vegetables in the family’s fields while surrounded by her grandchildren.
In July 2012, 18 labourers, including a 14-year-old boy, were killed in multiple strikes on an impoverished village close to the border with Afghanistan as they were about to eat an evening meal at the end of work.  
Amnesty also documented cases of so-called “rescuer attacks” in which those who ran to the aid of the victims of an initial drone strike were themselves targeted in a rapid follow-on attack. 
In addition to the threat of US drone strikes, people in North Waziristan are frequently caught between attacks by armed groups and Pakistan’s own armed forces. The local population lives in constant fear of violence by all sides, and the US drone programme has added to local suffering, with people in the region now also living in terror of death from US drones hovering in the skies.
Mustafa Qadri, said:
“The authorities of Pakistan, Australia, Germany and the UK must also investigate all officials and institutions suspected of involvement in US drone strikes or other abuses in the tribal areas that may constitute human rights violations.”
The report was released in a joint news conference with Human Rights Watch, which issued its own report on drone and other air strikes in Yemen. Amnesty and Human Rights Watch are jointly calling on the US Congress to fully investigate cases documented by the two organisations, as well as other potentially 
unlawful deaths, and to disclose any evidence of human rights violations to the public.
Amnesty International is calling on:
The US authorities to:
Publicly disclose the facts and legal basis for drone strikes carried out in Pakistan and information about any investigation into killings by US drones.
Ensure prompt, thorough, independent and impartial investigations into all cases where there are reasonable grounds to believe that drone strikes resulted in unlawful killings. 
Bring those responsible for unlawful drone strikes to justice in public and fair trials without recourse to the death penalty. 
Ensure that victims of unlawful drone strikes, including family members of victims of unlawful killings, have effective access to justice, compensation and other remedies. 
The Pakistani authorities to:
Provide adequate access to justice and reparations for victims of US drone strikes and attacks by Pakistan forces, and seek reparations and other remedies for drone strikes from the US authorities.
Bring to justice, in fair trials without recourse to the death penalty, individuals responsible for unlawful killings and other human rights abuses in North Waziristan. This should include US drone strikes, attacks by the Pakistan armed forces, or groups like the Taliban and al-Qa’ida.
Publicly disclose information on all US drone strikes of which the Pakistani authorities are aware, including casualties and all assistance provided to victims.
The UK authorities to:
Lift the veil of secrecy surrounding UK involvement in the use of drones, including by revealing the rules of engagement for drone strikes and declaring what assistance the UK currently offers to the USA.
Immediately stop the transfer of any specialist components for use in the US drone programme where it is likely they might be used for unlawful killings
All governments, including the UK, who use armed drones must give details of casualties resulting from drone use.
The UK should urge the USA and Pakistan to take the measures outlined above and officially protest and pursue remedies under international law, when lethal force is unlawfully used by the USA.

US Drone strikes in Pakistan
http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/asset/ASA33/013/2013/en/041c08cb-fb54-47b3-b3fe-a72c9169e487/asa330132013en.pdf

Wednesday 16 October 2013

Republicans Back Down, Ending Crisis Over Shutdown and Debt Limit


House votes 285 to 144 to end government shut down, raise debt ceiling
October 16, 2013
Republicans Back Down, Ending Crisis Over Shutdown and Debt Limit

By JONATHAN WEISMAN and ASHLEY PARKER
WASHINGTON — Congressional Republicans conceded defeat on Wednesday in their bitter budget fight with President Obama over the new health care law as the House and Senate approved last-minute legislation ending a disruptive 16-day government shutdown and extending federal borrowing power to avert a financial default with potentially worldwide economic repercussions.

With the Treasury Department warning that it could run out of money to pay national obligations within a day, the Senate voted overwhelmingly on Wednesday evening, 81 to 18, to approve a proposal hammered out by the chamber’s Republican and Democratic leaders after the House on Tuesday was unable to move forward with any resolution. The House followed suit a few hours later, voting 285 to 144 to approve the Senate plan, which would fund the government through Jan. 15 and raise the debt limit through Feb. 7.

Mr. Obama signed the bill about 12:30 a.m. Thursday.

Most House Republicans opposed the bill, but 87 voted to support it. The breakdown showed that Republican leaders were willing to violate their informal rule against advancing bills that do not have majority Republican support in order to end the shutdown. All 198 Democrats voting supported the measure.

Mr. Obama, speaking shortly after the Senate vote, praised Congress, but he said he hoped the damaging standoff would not be repeated.

“We’ve got to get out of the habit of governing by crisis,” said Mr. Obama, who urged Congress to proceed not only with new budget negotiations, but with immigration changes and a farm bill as well. “We could get all these things done even this year, if everybody comes together in a spirit of, how are we going to move this country forward and put the last three weeks behind us?”

After the House vote, officials announced that the federal government would reopen on Thursday and that federal employees should return to work.

The result of the impasse that threatened the nation’s credit rating was a near total defeat for Republican conservatives, who had engineered the budget impasse as a way to strip the new health care law of funding even as registration for benefits opened Oct. 1 or, failing that, to win delays in putting the program into place.

The shutdown sent Republican poll ratings plunging, cost the government billions of dollars and damaged the nation’s international credibility. Mr. Obama refused to compromise, leaving Republican leaders to beg him to talk, and to fulminate when he refused. For all that, Republicans got a slight tightening of income 

verification rules for Americans accessing new health insurance exchanges created by the Affordable Care Act.

“We fought the good fight,” said Speaker John A. Boehner of Ohio, who has struggled to control the conservative faction in the House, in an interview with a Cincinnati radio station. “We just didn’t win.”

In a brief closed session with his Republican rank and file, Mr. Boehner told members to hold their heads high, go home, get some rest and think about how they could work better as a team.

Two weeks of relative cohesion broke down into near chaos on Tuesday when Republican leaders failed twice to unite their troops behind a last-gasp effort to prevent a default on their own terms. By Wednesday, House conservatives were accusing more moderate Republicans of undercutting their position. 

Representative Charlie Dent of Pennsylvania, a leading Republican voice for ending the fight, said Congress should have passed a bill to fund the government without policy strings attached weeks ago.

“That’s essentially what we’re doing now,” Mr. Dent said. “People can blame me all they want, but I was correct in my analysis and I’d say a lot of those folks were not correct in theirs.”

Under the agreement to reopen the government, the House and Senate are directed to hold talks and reach accord by Dec. 13 on a long-term blueprint for tax and spending policies over the next decade. Mr. Obama said consistently through the standoff that he was willing to have a wide-ranging budget negotiation once the government was reopened and the debt limit raised.

Mr. Boehner and his leadership team had long felt that they needed to allow their restive conference to pitch a battle over the president’s health care law, a fight that had been brewing almost since the law was passed in 2010. Now, they hope the fever has broken, and they can negotiate on issues where they think they have the upper hand, like spending cuts and changes to entitlement programs.

But there were no guarantees that Congress would not be at loggerheads again by mid-January, and there is deep skepticism in both parties that Representative Paul D. Ryan of Wisconsin and Senator Patty Murray of Washington, who will lead the budget negotiations, can bridge the chasm between them.

“This moves us into the next phase of the same debate,” said Senator Richard J. Durbin of Illinois, the second-ranking Democrat. “Our hope is now that Speaker Boehner and his caucus have played out their scenario with a tragic outcome, perhaps they’ll be willing to be more constructive.”

As Republican lawmakers left the closed meeting Wednesday, some were already thinking of the next fight.

“I’ll vote against it,” said Representative John C. Fleming, Republican of Louisiana, referring to the Senate plan. “But that will get us into Round 2. See, we’re going to start this all over again.”

Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the Republican leader who was instrumental in ending the crisis, stressed that under the deal he had negotiated with the majority leader, Senator Harry Reid of Nevada, the across-the-board budget cuts extracted in the 2011 fiscal showdown remained in place over the objections of some Democrats, a slim reed that not even he claimed as a significant victory.

The deal, Mr. McConnell said, “is far less than many of us hoped for, quite frankly, but it’s far better than what some had sought.”

“Now it’s time for Republicans to unite behind other crucial goals,” he added.

Chastened Senate Republicans said they hoped the outcome would be a learning experience for the lawmakers in the House and the Senate who shut down the government in hopes of gutting the health law, Mr. Obama’s signature domestic achievement. Instead of using the twin issues of government funding and borrowing authority to address the drivers of the federal deficit, conservatives focused on a law they could never undo as long as Mr. Obama is president, several lawmakers said.

“Goose egg, nothing, we got nothing,” said Representative Thomas H. Massie, Republican of Kentucky.

Senator Richard Burr of North Carolina took a swipe at his fellow Republican senators Ted Cruz of Texas and Mike Lee of Utah, as well as House members who linked government financing to defunding the health care law, which is financed by its own designated revenues and spending cuts.

“Let’s just say sometimes learning what can’t be accomplished is an important long-term thing,” Mr. Burr said, “and hopefully for some of the members they’ve learned it’s impossible to defund mandatory programs by shutting down the federal government.”

While Mr. Cruz conceded defeat, he did not express contrition.

“Unfortunately, the Washington establishment is failing to listen to the American people,” he said as he emerged from a meeting of Senate Republicans called to ratify the agreement.

For hundreds of thousands of federal workers across the country furloughed from their jobs, the legislative deal meant an abrupt end to their forced vacation as the government comes back to life beginning Thursday.

In a statement late Wednesday, Sylvia Mathews Burwell, the director of the Office of Management and Budget, made the reopening official.

“Employees should expect to return to work in the morning,” she said, adding they should check news reports and the Office of Personnel Management’s Web site for updates.

For Mr. Boehner, who had failed to unite his conference around a workable plan, Wednesday’s decision to take up the Senate bill proved surprisingly free of conflict. Hard-line Republican lawmakers largely rallied around the speaker.

Representative Raúl R. Labrador of Idaho, said he was “really proud” of how Mr. Boehner had handled the situation. “I’m more upset with my Republican conference, to be honest with you,” he said.

Michael D. Shear contributed reporting.

சிங்களத்தின் தமிழீழ ஆக்கிரமிப்பு, தமிழ் நாடாளுமன்ற ஜனநாயகத்தை படுத்தும் பாடு!


``சிறீதரன் எம்.பி`` க்கு நாவற்குழி அத்துமீறல் குடியேற்றக் காரர்கள் விடுத்த சவால்!


அதிகப்பெருவாக்கால் ``வெற்றி பெற்ற`` கூட்டமைப்புக்கு பொதுபல சேன விடுக்கும் சவால்!

வடக்கு, கிழக்கை இணைப்பதற்கு கூட்டமைப்பு முயன்றால் பதிலடி!- பொதுபலசேனா எச்சரிக்கை
[ புதன்கிழமை, 16 ஒக்ரோபர் 2013, 02:01.55 PM GMT ]

தமிழ்த் தேசியக் கூட்­ட­மைப்பின் வெற்­றி­யா­னது வர­வேற்­கத்­தக்­கது. ஆனால் இவ் வெற்­றியை வைத்து பிரி­வி­னை­வாதம் பேசு­வது தவ­று. வடக்­கையும் கிழக்­கையும் ஒன்­றி­ணைக்க முயன்றால் அதற்கான பதி­ல­டியை நாம் கொடுப்போம் என பொது­ப­ல­சேனா அமைப்பு எச்சரிக்கை விடுத்துள்ளது.

நாட்டை சீர­ழிக்கும் விட­யத்தை யார் செய்­தாலும் அதற்கு நாம் எதிர்ப்­பி­னையே தெரி­விப்போம். கசினோ சூதாட்ட விட­யத்தில் அர­சாங்­கத்தை கடு­மை­யாக எச்­ச­ரிக்­கின்றோம்.

தமிழ்த் தேசியக் கூட்­ட­மைப்பு வட­மா­கா­ணத்தில் வர­லாற்று வெற்­றி­யினைப் பெற்­றுள்­ளமை வர­வேற்­கத்­தக்­கது. ஆனால்,தமது வெற்­றி­யினை தவ­றாக பயன்­ப­டுத்­து­கின்­ற­மை­யா­னது ஏற்­றுக்­கொள்ள முடி­யாது.

வடக்கில் ஆட்­சி­ய­மைத்து மக்­க­ளுக்­காக சேவை­யாற்­றாது அவர்­களின் சுய­ந­லத்­திற்­காக மக்­களை கொல்ல நினைப்­பது தமிழ்த் தேசியக் கூட்­ட­மைப்­பி­னதும் சர்­வ­தே­சத்­தி­னதும் சதித்­திட்­ட­மாகும்.

இதைத் தொடர்ந்தும் நடை­மு­றைப்­ப­டுத்­தினால் தற்­போது வடக்கில் வாழும் மக்­களும் இறக்க நேரிடும் என அவர் சுட்டிக்காட்டியுள்ளார்.

தமது சுய விருப்­பிற்­காக மத்­திய அர­சாங்­கத்தை கட்­டுப்­ப­டுத்த முடி­யாது. இலங்­கையைப் பொறுத்­த­வ­ரையில் அனைத்து மாகா­ணங்­க­ளுக்கும் அனைத்து இன மக்­க­ளுக்கும் ஒரே சட்­டமே செயற்­ப­டு­கின்­றது.

இதில் வட மாகா­ணத்­திற்கு ஒரு மாதி­ரியும் ஏனைய மாகா­ணங்­க­ளுக்கு வேறு மாதி­ரியும் சட்­டத்தை பிர­யோ­கித்தால் அது இறுதியில் சட்டச் சிக்­க­லி­னையும் பிரி­வி­னை­யி­னை­யுமே ஏற்­ப­டுத்தும் எனவும் அவர் குறிப்­பிட்டார்.

இது தொடர்­பாக பொது­ப­ல­சேனா அமைப்பின் பொதுச்­செ­ய­லாளர் கல­கொட அத்தே ஞான­சார தேரர் குறிப்­பி­டு­கையில்,

வடக்­கையும் கிழக்­கையும் ஒன்­றி­ணைத்து தனி நாட்டுக் கோரிக்­கை­யினை நடை­மு­றைப்­ப­டுத்த தமிழ்த்­ தே­சி­யக்­ கூட்­ட­மைப்பு நினைத்தால் அதற்­கான தகுந்த பதி­ல­டி­யினை நாம் கொடுப்போம்.

கிழக்கில் முஸ்லிம் தீவி­ர­வாத சக்­தி­களும் வடக்கில் புலித்­தீ­விர வாதி­களும் ஒன்­றி­ணைந்து வடக்­கிலும் கிழக்­கிலும் வாழும் தமிழ், முஸ்லிம் மக்­களை கொன்று குவிக்­கவே திட்டம் தீட்­டு­கின்­றனர். இதை நடை­மு­றைப்­ப­டுத்த விடக்­கூ­டாது.

Senators Restart Talks as Default Looms : “optimistic that an agreement is within reach”

Senators Restart Talks as Default Looms :
NYT Reports

After the failure of the House Republican leadership to find enough support for its latest proposal to end the fiscal crisis, the Senate’s Democratic and Republican leaders immediately restarted negotiations to find a bipartisan path forward.

 A spokesman for Senator Harry Reid of Nevada, the majority leader, said Mr. Reid was
 “optimistic that an agreement is within reach”
with Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the Republican leader.

With so little time left, chances rose that a resolution would not be approved by Congress and sent to President Obama before Thursday, when the government is left with only its cash on hand to pay the nation’s bills.

“It’s very, very serious,” warned Senator John McCain, Republican of Arizona. “Republicans have to understand we have lost this battle, as I predicted weeks ago, that we would not be able to win because we were demanding something that was not achievable.”

A day that was supposed to bring Washington to the edge of resolving the fiscal showdown instead seemed to bring chaos and retrenching. And a bitter fight that had begun over stripping money from the president’s signature health care law had essentially descended in the House into one over whether lawmakers and their staff members would pay the full cost of their health insurance premiums, unlike most workers at American companies, and how to restrict the administration from using flexibility to extend the debt limit beyond a fixed deadline.

Even so, the House speaker, John A. Boehner, Republican of Ohio, and his leadership team failed in repeated, daylong attempts to bring their troops behind any bill that would reopen the government and extend the Treasury’s debt limit on terms significantly reduced from their original push against funding for the health care law. The House’s hard-core conservatives and some more pragmatic Republicans were nearing open revolt, and the leadership was forced twice to back away from proposals it had floated, the second time sending lawmakers home for the night to await a decision on how to proceed Wednesday.

“We’re trying to find a way through it,” said Representative Greg Walden of Oregon, the chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee, emerging from Mr. Boehner’s office to announce that no votes would be held Tuesday night.

The House setback returned the focus to the Senate, where the leadership had suspended talks after the Senate Republican leadership opted to give the House a chance to produce an alternative to the Senate measure taking shape.

Under the emerging Senate deal, the government would be funded through Jan. 15 and the debt limit extended until Feb. 7. House and Senate negotiators would be required to reach accord on a detailed tax-and-spending blueprint for the next decade by Dec. 13. A proposal to delay the imposition of a tax on medical devices had been dropped from the deal, as had a complicated tax on self-insured unions and businesses participating in the health care exchanges. All that remained for Republicans was language tightening income verification for people seeking subsidies on the insurance exchanges, but that language was still being negotiated.

It remained unclear if the Senate plan could pass the House or even if Mr. Boehner would bring it forward for a vote. The hopes for a resolution by Thursday also appeared to rest with the senators who had begun the failed movement to tie any further government funding to the gutting of the Affordable Care Act: Ted Cruz, Republican of Texas, and Mike Lee, Republican of Utah.

If Mr. Reid and Mr. McConnell reach a final accord, Senate leaders expect to use a parliamentary maneuver that will allow the majority leader to quickly move the deal to the Senate floor on Wednesday. With unanimous consent, a final vote would come the same day. But if Senate hard-liners object, the Senate would have to wait until Friday, then muster 60 votes to cut off debate. Further obstruction would mean the final vote would happen Saturday, when the bill would go back to the House, where it would pass only if it had overwhelming Democratic support since many Republicans would not vote for it.

Given the progress that had been made in the Senate, Congressional Democrats and officials at the White House criticized Mr. Boehner’s move on Tuesday as an attempt to sabotage the bipartisan Senate talks even as they seemed to be nearing an agreement.

Initially, Mr. Boehner proposed a bill to reopen the government until Jan. 15, extend the debt ceiling until Feb. 7, delay a tax on medical devices two years and deny members of Congress, the president, the vice president and White House political appointees taxpayer subsidies to help buy insurance on President Obama’s health insurance exchanges.

“We’re trying to find a way forward in a bipartisan way that would continue to provide fairness to the American people under Obamacare,” Mr. Boehner said as he acknowledged “there are a lot of opinions” among his rambunctious members.

By Tuesday afternoon, House Republican leaders were back with a new proposal to fund the government through Dec. 15, extend the debt ceiling into February and deprive not only lawmakers but all their staff members of employer assistance to buy their health care. By extending that provision to staff members, Republican leaders hoped to appeal to its far-right flank, but it angered more moderate Republicans and was not enough for the conservative hard core.

Complicating the speaker’s task, Heritage Action, the conservative Heritage Foundation’s political arm, which wields great influence with the most conservative elements of the Republican Party, opposed the plan.

“I think there’s always hope there can be a final package I can vote on, but this is not the one,” said Representative Ted Yoho, Republican of Florida, as he and two other Tea Party conservatives left the speaker’s office.

Republican leaders had initially hoped the loss of members like Mr. Yoho could be made up with support from Democrats. But Democratic leaders made it clear they would offer no assistance. Democrats latched on to a provision in the House proposals that would have forbidden the Treasury to juggle government accounts — so-called extraordinary measures — to meet obligations beyond a debt-ceiling deadline.

In the midst of the turmoil, the credit rating agency Fitch put the United States on a “negative ratings watch,” warning that Congressional intransigence has put the full faith and credit of the government at risk.

The news came as the Treasury Department said it had only about $35 billion in cash on hand. It expects to run out of “extraordinary measures” to keep on paying all of the government’s bills on Thursday, at which point outgoing payments might exceed that cash, plus any revenues, on any day going forward.

As the United States nears default, investors have demanded more compensation for lending to the government, with yields on short-term debt spiking to their highest levels in years.

Fitch warned that Congress has not “raised the federal debt ceiling in a timely manner.” It said that it “continues to believe that the debt ceiling will be raised soon,” but that “political brinkmanship and reduced financing flexibility could increase the risk of a U.S. default.”

Annie Lowrey and Ashley Parker contributed reporting.
This article has been revised to reflect the following correction:

Correction: October 15, 2013

An earlier version of this article misspelled, on second reference, the surname of a representative. He is Charlie Dent, not Debt.
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Tuesday 15 October 2013

`வெற்றி அல்லது வீரச்சாவு` உண்ணாவிரதத்தை கைவிட்டார் தோழர் தியாகு

`வெற்றி அல்லது வீரச்சாவு` உண்ணாவிரதத்தை கைவிட்டார் தியாகு

உண்ணாவிரதத்தை கைவிட்டார் தியாகு பதிவு செய்த நாள் - அக்டோபர் 15, 2013, 5:05:04 PM மாற்றம் செய்த நாள்- அக்டோபர் 15, 2013, 9:37:24 PM

இலங்கையில் நடைபெறும் காமன்வெல்த் மாநாட்டை இந்தியா புறக்கணிக்க வேண்டும் என்பன உள்ளிட்ட கோரிக்களை வலியுறுத்தி மேற்கொண்டிருந்த உண்ணாவிரதத்தை தமிழ் தேசிய விடுதலை இயக்கத்தின் தலைவர் தியாகு முடித்து கொண்டுள்ளார்.
காமன்வெல்த் மாநாடு தொடர்பாக தமிழக மக்களின் உணர்வுகளை புரிந்து முடிவு எடுக்கப்படும் என திமுக தலைவர் கருணாநிதி எழுதிய கடிதத்திற்கு பிரதமர் மன்மோகன்சிங் பதில் அளித்துள்ளதை தொடர்ந்து இந்த முடிவுக்கு அவர் வந்துள்ளார்.
ராஜீவ் காந்தி அரசு மருத்துவமனையில் தாய் தமிழ் பள்ளி மாணவர்கள் பழரசம் கொடுத்து தியாகுவின் உண்ணாவிரதத்தை முடித்துவைத்தனர்.
இலங்கையில் நடைபெறும் காமன்வெல்த் மாநாட்டில் இந்தியா பங்கேற்க கூடாது என்பதை வலியுறுத்தி தியாகு கடந்த 15 நாட்களாக சென்னையில் உண்ணாவிரதம் இருந்து வந்தார்.

Charter of the commonwelth



Reaffirming the core values and principles of the Commonwealth as declared by this Charter:

1. Democracy
2. Human rights
3. International peace and security
4. Tolerance, respect and understanding
5. Freedom of Expression
6. Separation of Powers
7. Rule of Law
8. Good Governance
9. Sustainable Development
10. Protecting the Environment
11. Access to Health, Education, Food and Shelter
12. Gender Equality
13. Importance of Young People in the Commonwealth
14. Recognition of the Needs of Small States
15. Recognition of the Needs of Vulnerable States
16. The Role of Civil Society
We are committed to ensuring that the Commonwealth is an effective association, responsive to members’ needs, and capable of addressing the significant global challenges of the future.

We aspire to a Commonwealth that is a strong and respected voice in the world, speaking out on major issues; that strengthens and enlarges its networks; that has a global relevance and profile; and that is devoted to improving the lives of all peoples of the Commonwealth.

http://thecommonwealth.org/sites/default/files/page/documents/CharteroftheCommonwealth.pdf

Monday 14 October 2013

வட-கிழக்கு தமிழ் முஸ்லிம் மக்களின் தாயகம் இதனை யாரும் மறுக்க முடியாது : ஸ்ரீலங்கா முஸ்லிம் காங்கிரஸின் செயலாளரும் பா.உவுமான எம்.ரி.ஹஸன் அலி





விடுதலைப்புலிகள் இல்லாத நிலையில் தமிழ் - முஸ்லிம் மக்களுக்கு இன்று ஏற்பட்டுள்ள ஆபத்துக்கள் குறித்து லங்காசிறி வானொலியின் வாராந்த அரசியல் களம் வட்ட மேசை நிகழ்வில் ஸ்ரீலங்கா முஸ்லிம் காங்கிரஸின் செயலாளரும் பா.உவுமான எம்.ரி.ஹஸன் அலி அவர்கள் பகிர்ந்த பயனுள்ள கருத்துக்கள். 


தோழர் தியாகு போராட்டக்குழுவின் ஊடக அறிவிப்பு, போராட்டம் பரவலாக்கப்படும்.


Manmohan assures DMK on CHOGM
October 15, 2013

Breaking his silence over India’s participation in the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting scheduled to be held in Colombo next month, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said a decision would be taken only after considering all relevant factors, including sentiments of Tamil people, the Press Trust of India reported.

‘“I wish to inform you that a decision on the issue of my participation in the CHOGM conference will be taken only after considering all relevant factors, including the sentiments of your party and the Tamil people,” Singh said in a letter to DMK chief M Karunanidhi yesterday.

Senior DMK leader and party’s leader in Parliament T R Baalu called on Singh last evening and informed him about the deteriorating health of pro-Tamil activist K Thiagarajan, on an indefinite fast in Chennai since Oct 1.

Thiagarajan is demanding that India boycott CHOGM, alleging that Sri Lanka was guilty of genocide of Tamils in the island nation. He is general secretary of the Tamil Desiya Viduthalai Iyakkam.

In his meeting with the Prime Minister, Baalu also put forth DMK chief M Karunanidhi’s demand that India should not participate in CHOGM.

The Prime Minister urged the DMK chief to persuade the activist to break his fast.

Political parties in Tamil Nadu, including DMK, have been demanding that the Centre stay away from  CHOGM.  On October 1, the Madras High Court had directed Chennai Police to grant permission to Thiagarajan to observe the indefinite fast after he moved the court on being denied permission to go on fast by the Police Commissioner.






Monday 7 October 2013

வரைபடம்: வடக்குத் தேர்தலின் சாராம்சம்


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The Island Cartoon 08-10-2013

தோழர் தியாகுவின் 9 அம்ச ஜனநாயகப் பிரச்சார இயக்கத்தை முறியடிக்க ஜெயா அரசு,முயற்சி!


தோழர் தியாகு கைது செய்யப்பட்டு மருத்துவ மனையில் தடுத்து வைப்பு! 

போராட்டத்தை தொடர தோழர் கோரிக்கை!





Tamil Nadu Police detains fast-unto-death activist Thiyagu

[TamilNet, Monday, 07 October 2013, 13:12 GMT]


Hundreds of Tamil Nadu Police personnel were deployed at Va'l'luvar-koaddam in Chennai Monday around 2:00 p.m. where Thoazhar Thiyagu was conducting fast-unto-death campaign with 9 demands addressed to the Central Government of India. After carrying out a medical check-up, the Police has relocated the fast-unto-death activist from the venue of Va'l'lvuvar-koaddam and admitted him at Royapettah General Hospital around 2:30 p.m. However, Mr Thiyagu has vowed to continue his fast-unto-death under police detention and urged the Tamil activists and students to step up the struggle against India's participation in the CHOGM meet scheduled to take place in Colombo. Following the relocation of the activist, Nandanam Arts College students launched a sit-in protest with the 9-points demand put forward by Thoazhar Thiyagu, the latest reports from Chennai said. 


In the meantime, activist groups have been urged by the organisers to discuss the ways of taking forward the struggle at Thiruvallik-kea'ni Monday evening, news sources in Tamil Nadu said. 


The genocidal Sri Lankan State should be suspended from the Commonwealth, the venue for the upcoming CHOGM meet should be shifted away from Sri Lanka and the Indian leaders should not take part if Colombo is to host the meet, are among the top demands of the 9-point list put forward by Thoazhar Thiyagu.


Prominent activists and leaders of movements and parties have been expressing solidarity with Thoazhar Thiyagu and are accompanying him in observing the fasting campaign.


சம்பந்தனுக்கு சிங்களம் புகழாரம்!


அரங்கேறியது சம்பந்தனின் சதி!



ஜனாதிபதி முன்னிலையில் விக்னேஸ்வரன் சத்தியப் பிரமாணம் செய்து கொண்டார்.

[ திங்கட்கிழமை, 07 ஒக்ரோபர் 2013, 04:13.08 AM GMT ]

வட மாகாணத்தின் முதலமைச்சராக முன்னாள் நீதியரசர் சீ.வி விக்னேஸ்வரன் சற்று நேரத்திற்கு முன்னர் ஜனாதிபதி மஹிந்த ராஜபக்ஷ முன்னிலையில் தமிழ் மொழி மூலம் சத்தியப்பிரமாணம் செய்து கொண்டார்.
இதற்கான நிகழ்வு அலரி மாளிகையில் இடம்பெற்றது.

இந்த சத்தியப் பிரமாண நிகழ்வில் தமிழ் தேசியக் கூட்டமைப்பின் நாடாளுமன்றக் குழுத் தலைவர் இரா.சம்பந்தன், நாடாளுமன்ற உறுப்பினர்களான எம்.ஏ.சுமந்திரன், அப்பாத்துரை விநாயகமூர்த்தி ஆகியோரும், புளொட் தலைவர் தர்மலிங்கம் சித்தார்த்தன், சி.வி.விக்னேஸ்வரனின் குடும்ப அங்கத்தவர்கள் ஆகியோர் கலந்து கொண்டிருந்தனர்.

அரச தரப்பில் ஜனாதிபதி மஹிந்த ராஜபக்ஷவுடன் பிரதமர் டீ.எம்.ஜயரத்ன, வட மாகாண ஆளுநர் ஜீ.ஏ.சந்திரசிறி, அமைச்சர்களான வாசுதேவ நாணயக்கார, டியூ குணசேகர, ராஜித சேனாரத்ன, மைத்திரபால சிறிசேன, திஸ்ஸ விதாரண, ரவூப் ஹக்கீம், ஏ.எல்.எம்.அதாவுல்லா, ஏ.எச்.எம்.அஸ்வர், டக்ளஸ் தேவானந்தா ஆகியோரும், பிரபா கணேசன் உள்ளிட்ட நாடாளுமன்ற உறுப்பினர்கள் சிலரும் கலந்து கொண்டிருந்தனர்.


சத்தியப்பிரமாண வைபவம் நிறைவடைந்ததும் வடமாகாண முதலமைச்சருக்கு ஜனாதிபதி மஹிந்த ராஜபக்ச மரத்தினால் செய்யப்பட்ட அழகிய பிள்ளையார் சிலை ஒன்றினை அன்புப் பரிசாக வழங்கியுள்ளார்.

- See more at: http://news.lankawin.com/show-RUmrzATbMXes1.html#sthash.QxHdPVkL.dpuf
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சீ.வி விக்னேஸ்வரன் முதலமைச்சராக பதவியேற்ற பின் ஊடகங்களுக்கு விடுத்த அறிக்கை

[ திங்கட்கிழமை, 07 ஒக்ரோபர் 2013, 08:41.52 AM GMT ]

உள்ளக சுயநிர்ணயம் ஒருநாட்டை பிரிவுபடுத்தாமல் ஒற்றுமைப் பாதையில் கொண்டு செல்லக்கூடும் என்ற உண்மையை எமது சிங்கள சகோதர, சகோதரிகள் தமது அரசியல்வாதிகளுக்கு இடித்துரைக்க முன்வர வேண்டும் என வட மாகாண முதலமைச்சர் சீ.வி விக்னேஸ்வரன் தெரிவித்துள்ளார்.

ஜனாதிபதி முன்னிலையில் முதலமைச்சராக பதவியேற்ற பின் ஊடகங்களுக்கு விடுத்த அறிக்கையில் அவர் இவ்வாறு குறிப்பிபட்டுள்ளார்.

ஊடக அறிக்கை பின்வருமாறு:

என்னுடைய பதவியின் செயல்பண்புகளையும் கடப்பாடுகளையும் நான் நேர்மையுடனும் நம்பிக்கையுடனும் இயற்றுவேன் என்றுதான் இன்று காலை பதவிப் பிரமாணம் எடுத்துக் கொண்டேன்.

என்னுடைய பதவி வடமாகாண மக்கள் எனக்களித்த பதவி. தூரநோக்கின் அடிப்படையிலும் கிட்டியநோக்கின் அடிப்படையிலும் கடமையாற்றும்படி அவர்கள் எனக்கு ஆணை வழங்கியுள்ளார்கள். தூரநோக்கு எமது தனித்துவத்தை வலியுறுத்துவதாக அமைந்துள்ளது.

அதனை அடைய நாம் எமது கடந்த காலப் போராட்டங்கள், அரசியல் அணுகுமுறைகள், அனுபவங்கள் யாவற்றிலிருந்தும் பாடங்களைக் கற்றே முன்னேற வேண்டி உள்ளது. இது சம்பந்தமாக இனங்களுக்கிடையே எழுந்துள்ள சந்தேகங்களை அகற்றுவது காலத்தின் தேவையாக அமைந்துள்ளது.

அதன் ஒரு அலகாகவே நாட்டின் ஜனாதிபதி முன்னிலையில் பதவிப் பிரமாணம் செய்யத் தீர்மானித்தோம். எமது செயற்பாடு ஐக்கிய இலங்கைக்குள்ளேயே நாம் அரசியல் தீர்வொன்றை எதிர்பார்க்கின்றோம் என்ற எமது மனோநிலையை எடுத்துக் காட்டக்கூடியதாய் அமைந்துள்ளது.

போருக்குப் பின்னரான எமது மக்களின் தேவைகளை காலதாமதம் இன்றி பூர்த்தி செய்வதான கிட்டிய நோக்கை உதவுவதாகவும் எமது செயற்பாடு அமைந்துள்ளது. சிங்கள மக்கள், பாதிக்கப்பட்ட எமது தமிழ் பேசும் மக்களின் வாழ்க்கையில் விடிவை ஏற்படுத்த தம்மாலான சகலதையும் தமது பிரதிநிதிகள் மூலம் செய்வார்கள் என்று எதிர்பார்க்கின்றேன்.

உள்ளக சுயநிர்ணயம் ஒருநாட்டை பிரிவுபடுத்தாமல் ஒற்றுமைப் பாதையில் கொண்டு செல்லக்கூடும் என்ற உண்மையை எமது சிங்கள சகோதர, சகோதரிகள் தமது அரசியல்வாதிகளுக்கு இடித்துரைக்க முன்வரவேண்டும்.

சிங்களமொழியும் பாரம்பரியங்களும் சிங்கள மக்களுக்கு எந்த அளவு முக்கியமோ அதே அளவு எமது மொழியும் எமது பாரம்பரியங்களும் எமக்கும் முக்கியம் என்பதை சிங்கள மக்கள் உணர்ந்து செயலாற்றவேண்டும் என்று கேட்டுக்கொள்கின்றேன்.

இங்கு வன்முறைக்கு இடமில்லை. வலோத்காரத்திற்கு இடமில்லை. புரிந்துணர்வு ஒன்றே எம்மை சமாதானத்தையும் சகோதரத்துவத்தையும் நோக்கிச் செல்ல வழிவகுக்கும்.

எனவே என்னுடைய இன்றைய செயற்பாடு இரு இன பொது மக்களையும் ஒன்றுபடுத்த உறுதுணையாக அமைவதாக,

 இறைவன் ஆசி சகலருக்கும் கிடைப்பதாக!

நீதியரசர் சீ.வி.விக்னேஸ்வரன் 
முதலமைச்சர் 
வடமாகாணசபை

Sunday 6 October 2013

வட மாகாண சபையின் முதலமைச்சராக சீ.வி. விக்னேஸ்வரன் இன்று ஜனாதிபதி மஹிந்த ராஜபக்ச முன்னிலையில் பதவிப் பிரமாணம்


``A special discussion`` 


between President Mahinda Rajapaksa and TNA Leader R. Sampanthan was held at President’s House this morning (04). Secretary to the President Lalith Weeratunga also present at the occasion.
(Pix By : Sudath Silva)


He walked up to the TNA leader, stretched his hand and declared “congratulations on your victory.” Shaking Rajapaksa’s hand, Sampanthan replied “congratulations to you too, Your Excellency, for the polls victories.” The Sunday Times

Meeting with TNA chief


Rajapaksa also had other issues to look at. On Thursday, his office received a telephone call from Rajavarothayam Sampanthan, leader of the Tamil National Alliance seeking an urgent meeting. As exclusively revealed in the front page lead story in the Sunday Times last week, the TNA was to invite the President to visit Jaffna and swear-in the Chief Minister designate and Councillors of the NPC. Sampanthan was told to turn up at 8.30 a.m. on Friday at the Janadipathi Mandiraya (President’s House) in Colombo Fort.

When Sampanthan arrived wearing a trouser and shirt instead of his traditional verti and shawl, Rajapaksa had just finished his yoga exercises. He walked up to the TNA leader, stretched his hand and declared “congratulations on your victory.” Shaking Rajapaksa’s hand, Sampanthan replied “congratulations to you too, Your Excellency, for the polls victories.” Niceties over, they sat down for a 45-minute chat. Also present was Presidential Secretary Lalith Weeratunga. This is where Sampanthan invited Rajapaksa to Jaffna. The President, who said he would have wished to come, pointed out that his engagements in the next few days were heavy. However, he said he would be happy to swear-in Chief Minister designate C.V. Wigneswaran in Colombo. When there was agreement, the swearing-in was slotted for 9.30 a.m. tomorrow (Monday). This would enable Wigneswaran to meet visiting Indian External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid as the Chief Minister of the Northern Province when he visits Jaffna on Tuesday on a two-day visit to Sri Lanka. Sampanthan assured Rajapaksa that the TNA’s Northern Provincial Council looked forward to working with his Government. Upon taking his oaths, Wigneswaran is to swear-in the four other ministers in his Provincial Cabinet on Friday (October 11) in Jaffna. The TNA is planning an elaborate event.
(The Sunday Times LK 06-10-2013)

Sampanthan meets Sri Lanka President: Finalize Swearing of Vigneswaran Before President Rajapaksa

Fri, 2013-10-04 23:23 — editor
 By K.T.Rajasingham
Colombo, 04 October, (Asiantribune.com):

At last reality has dawned on the Tamil National Alliance leadership and they have finally come to terms deciding C.V.Vigneswaran, Chief Minister appointee to take oath before Sri Lanka President Mahinda Rajapaksa on 7th October at the Temple Trees, Colombo.

Asian Tribune learnt that when R. Sampanthan , the leader of the Tamil National Alliance met with President Rajapaksa this morning at the Temple Trees details regarding the swearing in was of C.V.Vigneswaran was finalized.

According to available information, TNA leader Sampanthan contacted President’s Secretary Lalith Weeratunga yesterday evening and informed him that he has to have a meeting with President Mahinda Rajapaksa to discuss about the swearing in of the Northern Provincial Council Chief Minister appointee
C.V. Vigneswaran.

Accordingly, Sampanthan met with Sri Lanka President this morning and both discussed about various issues including the swearing in of Vigneswaran.

Subsequently it has been finalized that the swearing ceremony to take place on October 7th at the Temple Trees.

When Asian Tribune contacted, Suresh Premachandran MP, the leader of the EPRLF, as well as the TNA spokesman, he confirmed that the swearing will take place on the 7th at 9 AM, at the Temple Trees, Colombo.

Asian Tribune tried to contact Sampanthan for his comments about the sudden turn of events and the reason behind deciding to take oath before the President of Sri Lanka, but he was not available.

-Asian Tribune –


The decision of swearing in before Sri Lanka President today, “will be carried out.” – R.Sampanthan
Mon, 2013-10-07 06:42 — editor
 By K.T.Rajasingham
Colombo, 07 October, (Asiantribune.com):

The determination and courage of Mr. R.Sampanthan M.P., the Leader of the Tamil National Alliance arranging today morning the swearing in of Mr. C.V. Vigneswaran, the elected Chief Minister of Northern Province, before Sri Lankan President Mr. Mahinda Rajapaksa is commendable and a decision in the right direction to bring about reconciliation in the country. ‘Asian Tribune” Congratulates Mr. Sampanthan for the right decision he has made to forge unity in the country, despite stiff opposition and criticism within his party.
The courageous face of a most misunderstood Tamil leader

When speaking to Asian Tribune Mr. Sampanthan said without mincing words, “The decision has been made in the interest of the people and will be carried out.” The TNA leader said this with grit and determination when he referred about the swearing in of Mr. C.V.Vigneswaran, the elected Chief Minister of the Northern Province before the ‘duly elected Head of the Central Government and Head of State’.

The Leader of the TNA further pointed out,

“The Chief Minister by taking oath before the Head of the Government and Head of the State, is demonstrating that he is extending his corporation to the Central Government to be able to perform his duties by the people who elected him.”

When Asian Tribune contacted Mr. R.Sampanthan regarding today’s oath taking before the President Mahinda Rajapaksa, he said, "Mr. C.V. Vigneswaran has been elected Chief Minister of the Northern Province. He has been overwhelmingly elected by the people who expected him to perform."

He reminded that, “There are many matters people need to be urgently attended. Particularly the people in the North have suffered immensely as the result of the war.”

When asked why he took upon himself the responsibility of contacting President Mahinda Rajapaksa and arranged the swearing of Mr. C.V.Vigneswaran before the President, he said, “The President of Sri Lanka is the Head of the Government and Head of the State. The Provincial Chief Minister must inevitably interact with the Central Government to pursue works of the province. “

He further clarified, “The Chief Minister by taking oaths before the Head of the Government and Head of the State is demonstrating that he is extending his corporation to the Central Government to be able to perform his duties by the people who elected him.”

‘Asian Tribune” Congratulates Mr. Sampanthan for the right decision he has made to forge unity in the country, despite stiff opposition and criticism within his party.

He emphasized, “That was the fundamental reason for the decision that the chief minister should take his oath before the duly elected President of the country.”

He added though “Some people may disagree. There is always room for disagreement in democracy.” But he said with determination, “The decision has been made in the interest of the people and will be carried out.”

-Asian Tribune -

இறுதியாக நமது `.......விக்கிரமாதித்த` தமிழ் ஊடகங்களில் ஒன்று வெளியிட்ட செய்தி:

வட மாகாண முதலமைச்சராக விக்னேஸ்வரன் இன்று பதவியேற்பு
[ திங்கட்கிழமை, 07 ஒக்ரோபர் 2013, 12:06.15 AM GMT ]

வட மாகாண சபையின் முதலமைச்சராக சீ.வி. விக்னேஸ்வரன் இன்று ஜனாதிபதி மஹிந்த ராஜபக்ச முன்னிலையில் பதவிப் பிரமாணம் செய்து கொள்ளவுள்ளாரென தமிழ்த் தேசிய கூட்டமைப்பு உத்தியோகபூர்வமாக அறிவித்துள்ளது.

பதவிப் பிரமாணம் செய்து கொள்ளும் நிகழ்வு இன்று காலை 9 மணிக்கு அலரி மாளிகையில் நடைபெறவுள்ளது.

விக்னேஸ்வரன் முதலமைச்சராக பதவிப் பிரமாணம் செய்து கொண்டதன் பின்னர் எதிர்வரும் 11 ம் திகதி வெள்ளிக்கிழமை யாழ்ப்பாணத்தில் அவரின் முன்னிலையில் கூட்டமைப்பினர்களும் அமைச்சர்களும் பதவிப் பிரமாணம் செய்து கொள்வார்கள் என கூட்டமைப்பு தகவல்கள் தெரிவிக்கின்றன.

முதலமைச்சரின் பதவிப் பிரமாணம் நிறைவுபெற்றதன் பின்னர் வட மாகாண அமைச்சரவை தொடர்பில் முடிவெடுக்கவுள்ளதாக தமிழ் தேசிய கூட்டமைப்பின் கட்சித் தலைவர்களின் கூட்டத்தில் தீர்மானிக்கப்பட்டுள்ளதாகத் தெரிய வருகிறது.

தமிழ்த் தேசிய கூட்டமைப்பின் நாடாளுமன்றக் குழுத் தலைவர் இரா. சம்பந்தன் வட மாகாண சபை அமைச்சரவை தொடர்பில் முதலமைச்சரே முடிவெடுப்பார் என்று தெரிவித்ததற்கிணங்க, வட மாகாண முதலமைச்சர் சீ.வி. விக்னேஸ்வரன் இன்று ஜனாதிபதி முன்னிலையில் தான் முதலமைச்சராகப் சத்தியப் பிரமாணம் எடுத்த பின்னர், அமைச்சரவை தொடர்பில் முடிவெடுக்கப்படும் என்று தெரிவித்தார்.

முதலமைச்சர் கூறிய கருத்தினை கூட்டமைப்பின் அனைத்துக் கட்சிகளும் ஏற்றுக்கொண்டுள்ளதாக தெரிவிக்கப்படுகிறது.

- See more at: http://news.lankawin.com/show-RUmrzATbgDKXi.html#sthash.lFWyD5ke.dpuf

ஆமேன்!
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ஒரு பிற்குறிப்பு மட்டும்: இணையத்தில் லங்காவின் என்றிருக்கும் இவ்விணையம் Lanka Sri இணையத்தின் தமிழ்வின் கிளை ஆகும்.லங்கா சிறி இணையம் மாகாண சபைத் தேர்தலை ஒட்டி சுடச் சுடச் செய்தி வழங்கி சூடேற்றிக் கொண்டிருந்தது.அதன் வரிசையில் இந்த `வரலாற்றுச் சிறப்புமிக்க` ராஜபக்ச - சம்பந்தன் சந்திப்பு பற்றியும் தமிழ் ஐயாவிடம் `வினாக்களைத் தொடுக்கப்போவதாக அறிவித்தது. ஐயா ``அப்படி ஒரு சந்திப்பு நடந்தது உண்மை``....... என்று தொடங்கி தனது தகவல்களைப் பகிர்ந்தார்,பகிர்ந்தார்,தொடர்ந்து பகிர்ந்து கொண்டே  இருந்தார். வினாக்களைத் தொடுக்க பேட்டியாளர் , முயன்றர் முயன்றார் முயன்று கொண்டே இருந்தார்,சடுதியாக தொலை பேசி துண்டிக்கப் பட்டுவிட்டது.``ஐயா,ஐயா`` என அறிவிப்பாளர் அலறினார்.எந்த மூச்சும் இல்லை! `` ஐயா நாளை வருவார் மெய்யா``! என்று வாக்குறுதி அளிக்கப்பட்டது.இந்த ஊடகத்தின் செய்தி தான் மேலே தமிழில் உள்ளது.
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தோழர் தியாகு அவர்களின் உண்ணாவிரதப் போராட்டத்தின் ஒன்பது அம்சக் கோரிக்கைகள்.


தோழர் தியாகு அவர்களின் உண்ணாவிரதப் போராட்டத்தின் ஒன்பது அம்சக் கோரிக்கைகள்.

 தமிழ்த் தேசிய விடுதலை இயக்கப் பொதுச் செயலாளர் தோழர் தியாகு அவர்கள் சென்னை வள்ளுவர் கோட்டத்தில் 01.10.2013 இல் இருந்து சாகும்வரை உண்ணாவிரதம் தொடங்கியுள்ளார். இன்று 7வது நாளாக அவரது விரதம் தொடர்கின்றது.

இப்போராட்டத்தில்,ஈழத்தமிழர்களது இனக்கொலை குறித்தும்,பொதுவாக உலகு தழுவிய இனப்படுகொலைகள் குறித்தும், தமிழக மீனவர்கள், ராஜீவ் கொலை தூக்குத் தண்டனைக் கைதிகள் தொடர்பாகவும், தமிழகத்தில் வாழும் ஈழத்தமிழ் அகதிகள் குறித்தும்,நடக்கவிருக்கும் காமன்வெல்த் மாநாடு குறித்தும்  இந்திய மத்திய அரசு உடனடியாக எடுக்க வேண்டிய நடவடிக்கைகளுக்காக  9 அம்சக் கோரிக்கைகளை முன்வைத்து போராடி வருகின்றார்.

தோழர்தியாகு: வீட்டு நூலகம்
இக்கோரிக்கைகளுடன் போராட்ட அரங்கில் `வெற்றி அல்லது வீரச்சாவு` என்ற வாசகமும் பொறிக்கப்பட்டுள்ளது.

தோழர் தியாகு அவர்கள் (01-10-13), உண்ணாவிரதப் போராட்டத்தில் முன்வைத்த ஒன்பது அம்சக் கோரிக்கைகள் :

1. அ) இனக்கொலை புரிந்த சிங்கள அரசைக் காமன்வெல்த்திலிருந்து நீக்கிவைக்க வேண்டும்.

ஆ) எதிர்வரும் நவம்பரில் கொழும்பில் நடக்கவிருப்பதாக அறிவிக்கப்பட்டிருக்கும், காமன்வெல்த் அரசாங்கத் தலைவர்கள் கூட்டம், அங்கு நடைபெறக்கூடாது.

இ) காமன்வெல்த் மாநாடு கொழும்பில்தான் நடக்குமென்றால், அரசாங்கத் தலைவர்கள், குறிப்பாக இந்தியத் தலைமை அமைச்சர் அதில் கலந்துகொள்ளக்கூடாது.

2. இந்தியாவில் எந்தப் பகுதியிலும் இலங்கைப் படையினருக்கு எவ்விதப் பயிற்சியும் வழங்கக்கூடாது.

3. இந்தியாவிலிருந்து இலங்கைக்குக் `கடலடிக் கம்பி வடம்` வழியாக மின்சாரம் கொடுப்பதற்குச் செய்துள்ள ஒப்பந்தத்தை நீக்கம் செய்ய வேண்டும்.

4. சிங்களக் கடற்படையினரால் தமிழக மீனவர்கள் கொல்லப்படுவதையும் துன்புறுத்தப்படுவதையும் தடுத்து நிறுத்தும் வகையில், தமிழக மீனவர் தற்காப்புப் படை அமைத்து, மீனவ இளைஞர்களுக்கு ஆயுதமும் பயிற்சியும் வழங்க வேண்டும்.

5. 1974, 1976 ஆண்டுகளில் இந்திய அரசும் இலங்கை அரசும் செய்துகொண்ட கச்சத்தீவு உடன்படிக்கைகளை நீக்கம் செய்து, தமிழகத்தின் பிரிக்க முடியாத பகுதியான கடச்சத்தீவை மீட்டு தமிழகத்திடம் ஒப்படைக்க வேண்டும்.

6. அ) தமிழகத்தில் இன்னமும் செயல்பட்டுவரும் ஈழத் தமிழர் அகதி முகாம்களைக் கலைத்து விட வேண்டும்.

ஆ) அகதி உரிமை தொடர்பான ஜெனீவா உடன்படிக்கையில் இந்தியா கையொப்பமிட வேண்டும்.

இ) அகதி உரிமைகள் தொடர்பான நீதிபதி பி.என்.பகவதி குழு வரைந்துள்ள மாதிரிச் சட்ட முன்வடிவை, இந்திய அரசு, உடனடியாக நாடாளுமன்றத்தில் முன்வைத்து சட்டமாக்க வேண்டும்.

ஈ) தமிழீழ அகதிகளை இந்தியக் குடிமக்களுக்கு நிகராக நடத்தும் வகையில், அவர்களுக்கு இடைக்கால இந்தியக் குடியுரிமை வழங்க வேண்டும்.

உ) தமிழகத்தில் வாழும் தமிழீழ மக்களின் பொருளியல், குடியியல், அரசியல் உரிமைகளை இந்திய அரசும் தமிழக அரசும் முழுமையாக மதித்து நடக்க வேண்டும்.

ஊ) ஈழத் தமிழ் அகதிகள் எவரையும் அவர்களது விருப்பத்திற்குப் புறம்பாக இலங்கைக்கு திருப்பி அனுப்புவதோ, இந்தியாவைவிட்டு வெளியேற்றுவதோ கூடாது.

7. இராசீவ் கொலைவழக்கில் தண்டிக்கப்பட்டுத் தூக்குக் கொட்டடியில் அடைக்கப்பட்டுள்ள பேரறிவாளன், சாந்தன், முருகன் , வாழ் நாள் சிறைப்பட்டுள்ள நளினி, ராபர்ட் பயஸ், செயக்குமார், ரவிச்சந்திரன் ஆகிய எழுவரையும், அவர்கள் இருபதாண்டு

காலத்துக்கு மேல் சிறையில் கழித்துவிட்டதைக் கருத்தில்கொண்டு, உடனடியாக விடுதலை செய்ய வேண்டும்.

8. உலகத் தமிழர்களின் ஒருமித்த கோரிக்கை என்ற முறையில், தமிழகச் சட்டப்பேரவை 2013 மார்ச் 27 ஆம் நாள் இயற்றிய தீர்மானத்தின்படி,

அ) இராசபக்சேவின் சிங்கள அரசு, தமிழீழ மக்களுக்கு எதிராகச் செய்த போர்க்குற்றங்கள் மற்றும் மானுட விரோதக் குற்றங்கள் குறித்து, தற்சார்புள்ள பன்னாட்டு புலனாய்வு நடத்த வேண்டும்.

ஆ) ஏழை மக்கள் மீது தொடர்ந்து நடத்தப்பட்டுவரும் கட்டமைப்பில் இனக்கொலையைத் தடுத்து நிறுத்த, பன்னாட்டுப் பாதுகாப்புப் பொறியமைவுக்கு வழிவகை செய்ய வேண்டும்.

இ) ஈழத்தின் எதிர்காலத்தைத் தீர்வு செய்யும் வகையில், தாயகத்திலும் புலம்பெயர் நாடுகளிலும் ஈழத் தமிழ் மக்களிடையே பொது வாக்கெடுப்பு நடத்த வேண்டும்.

9. சிங்கள அரசு, தமிழ் மக்களின் கோரிக்கைகளை ஏற்கும்படி , அவ்வரசுக்கு எதிராகப் பொருளாதாரத் தடை விதிக்க வேண்டும் - என்ற தமிழக சட்டப்பேரவைத் தீர்மானத்திற்கு, இந்திய அரசு செயல்வடிவம் கொடுக்க வேண்டும்.
 
தோழர் தியாகு: தமிழ்த் தேசிய விடுதலை இயக்கப் பொதுச் செயலாளர்

Saturday 5 October 2013

Washington enters fifth day of shutdown, no end in sight

Washington enters fifth day of shutdown, no end in sight

Fri, Oct 4 2013
Obama: negotiations can't be done 'with gun held to the head of the American people'

U.S. House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) addresses reporters during a news conference with fellow House Republicans at the U.S. Capitol in Washington October 4, 2013.

REUTERS-Jonathan Ernst
By Thomas Ferraro and Caren BohanWASHINGTON | Sat Oct 5, 2013 4:26am EDT

(Reuters) - Washington entered the fifth day of a partial government shutdown on Saturday with no end in sight even as another, more serious conflict over raising the nation's borrowing authority started heating up.

The U.S. House of Representatives prepared for a Saturday session but with no expectations of progress on either the shutdown or a measure to raise the nation's $16.7 trillion debt ceiling. Congress must act by October 17 in order to avoid a government debt default.

Republican House Speaker John Boehner tried on Friday to squelch reports that he would ease the way to a debt ceiling increase, stressing that Republicans would continue to insist on budget cuts as a condition of raising the borrowing authority.

On the shutdown, Boehner said Republicans were holding firm in their demand that in exchange for passing a bill to fund and reopen the government, President Barack Obama and his Democrats must agree to delay implementation of Obama's health care law.

The launch date for Obamacare health insurance exchanges came and went on October 1, meaning Republicans are now in a more difficult political position of trying to stop something that has already begun.

Although essential government functions like national security and air traffic control continue, the economic and policy effects of the shutdown are amplified the longer hundreds of thousands of federal workers remain at home and unpaid.

Negotiations on tax and free trade treaties are on hold, enforcement of sanctions against Iran and Syria are being hindered, and a government tester of dangerous consumer products spends his days at home.

"Do not mistake this momentary episode in American politics as anything more than a moment of politics," U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry told reporters at an Asia-Pacific leaders conference in Bali, Indonesia, on Saturday.

"Nothing will diminish our commitment to Asia...we will continue to fulfill our responsibilities and our engagement around the world," said Kerry, who is standing in for Obama after the president cancel his Asian trip.

TEMPERS FRAY

Nerves and sometimes tempers frayed on Friday after several weeks of long sessions of Congress and non-stop posturing.

"This isn't some damn game," said Boehner, responding to a Wall Street Journal article that quoted an unidentified White House official saying Democrats were "winning" the shutdown battle.

The Democratic president reiterated that he was willing to negotiate with Republicans, but said, "We can't do it with a gun held to the head of the American people."

"There's no winning when families don't have certainty over whether they're going to get paid or not," Obama told reporters when he visited a downtown Washington lunch spot that was offering a discount to furloughed federal government workers.

The shutdown began on Tuesday when the Republican-led House of Representatives refused to approve a bill funding the government unless it included measures designed to delay or defund key provisions of Obama's signature legislation, the 2010 Affordable Care Act, which are now being implemented.

Obama again appealed to Boehner to bring a "clean" funding bill - without reference to the health reforms - to a vote in the House, where many Democrats believe it could pass with a combination of Democrats and a few of the majority Republicans.

POSSIBLE MANEUVER

Democratic leaders in the House said on Friday they were working on a maneuver that, if successful, would force a vote on legislation to fully reopen the federal government.

The plan involves a rarely used "discharge petition" that would dislodge an existing bill from a committee and send it to the House floor if a simple majority of lawmakers in the chamber sign the petition.

Such a move would take a week or so to clear procedural hurdles in the House, according to Democratic U.S. Representative George Miller. A House vote might not come until at least October 14, which is a federal holiday, said Miller from California.

Democratic Representative Louise Slaughter of New York called on 22 moderate House Republicans to put their "voting cards where your mouths are" and help end the shutdown.

Slaughter said that although the 22 have declared support for an unconditional bill to fund the government, they have sided with their own Republican leaders and the conservative Tea Party wing in repeatedly opposing Democratic efforts to bring such a Senate bill up for a House vote.

"When the opportunity arose, courage failed them," Slaughter said in a House speech.

The government was obliged to close many of its operations because Congress failed to pass a spending bill by October 1, the start of the new fiscal year.

Facing public anger over the government shutdown, the House has adopted a strategy of voting piecemeal to fund some popular federal agencies - like the Veterans Administration, the National Park Service and the National Institutes of Health - that are partially closed.

Republicans know that neither the Democratic-controlled Senate nor Obama will agree to that approach, but it allows them to accuse Democrats of working against the interests of veterans, national parks and cancer patients.

"PIECEMEAL" FUNDING BILLS

House Republicans have been working through nearly a dozen bills to fund targeted programs. They included: nutrition programs for low-income women and their children; a program to securenuclear weapons and non-proliferation; intelligence gathering; border patrols; weather monitoring; Head Start school programs for the poor. With a major storm approaching the Gulf coast, one of the measures passed by the House on Friday would fund federal disaster assistance.

The Democratic-controlled Senate says it will reject the piecemeal funding measures and Obama has said he would veto them. One measure the White House does support is a bill to retroactively pay federal workers once the government reopens, likely to pass the House on Saturday.

Global stocks posted a loss for the week while the dollar hovered near an eight-month low on investor fears the budget standoff in Washington will drag on until politicians reach a deal to raise the U.S. debt ceiling.

The shutdown and the possible failure to raise the debt ceiling, have prompted a number of warnings from big business.

AT&T Chief Executive Randall Stephenson, addressing a possible default, said in a statement, "It would be the height of irresponsibility for any public official to consider such a course. In fact, even the discussion of default poses great risk to our economy and to our country."

The government's September employment report, the most widely watched economic data both on Wall Street and Main Street, had been scheduled for release on Friday but was a casualty of the shutdown.

(Additional reporting by Steve Holland, Alina Selyukh, Roberta Rampton and Richard Cowan in the United States and Lesley Wroughton in Nusa Dua, Indonesia; Writing by Fred Barbash, Claudia Parsons and Michael Perry; Editing by David Storey, Tim Dobbyn and Nick Macfie)

U.S.POLITICS

'தமிழீழத்தில் இன விருத்திக்கு தடை! கிளிநொச்சியில் கட்டாய நிரந்தர கருக்கலைப்பு !` விசாரணை நடத்து!


Family Planning In Kilinochchi Under Scrutiny
By Megara Tegal

A controversial report titled ‘Coercive Population Control in Kilinochchi’ by an anonymous group known as The Social Architects (TSA) has incited public uproar not only in Sri Lanka but in the international arena as well. Last week, the President of Pasumai Tayagam and former Health Minister of India, Dr. Anbumani Ramadoss, termed the incident ‘genocide’ and urged the UN to carry out an investigation, while speaking at the UN 68th Annual General Meeting in New York.

The Sunday Leader travelled to Kilinochchi to investigate the claims that women in three villages in Kilinochchi viz Veravil, Valaipaddu and Keranchi, were gathered at clinics and schools, where a Progesterone-only-subdermal implant (POSDI) was inserted into their upper-arms.

The TSA report

According to the report many of the women claim to have been taken to these clinics under false claims that the clinics were to conduct nutrition check-ups for their children. Once they arrived at the clinic they were informed about the contraception and told that they needed it as it is in their medical interest to not have more children. The women felt coerced into it as they did not have time to think it through or consult their husbands.

When the women expressed that they did not want the contraception, the medical staff, comprising doctors and midwives, had responded menacingly that their husbands would have to undergo the procedure instead. The women then felt compelled to give in.

The TSA report quotes a few of the women, one of whom is a 36 year old mother: “my youngest child is eight months old and my older child is three years old. The health volunteers asked me to come with the clinic card to weigh my children. They also said specialists are coming from the Kilinochchi district hospital.
I was excited to see big doctors who are knowledgeable. I went to the hospital and they weighed my children, but then they made us wait. When my turn came they spoke to me about the pros of not having any more children and told me that I am better off with only two children. I was of two minds and they sent me to the doctor.

The doctor spoke to me nicely and told me that rich and educated people in Sri Lanka and America use this method. This way my two children will be better off. How can I argue with such educated people? I hesitantly went ahead. But a few days later, I developed this pain and I went to the hospital. They treated me but I wanted to see the doctor who did this to me, but he wasn’t there, and the other doctor told me that he doesn’t know anything about this. The other doctor told me that I will be okay, but now I am not okay. How can these educated people do this to us? I wish they gave me time to think about this. They forced us to make a decision on the spot. I couldn’t speak to my husband or anyone that I knew.  These doctors are not nice people. They cheated me”.

The report further stated that some women said they informed their husbands about it once they returned home; and their husbands reacted furiously, accusing their women of infidelity. Others complained about feeling ill during the days following the insertion of the POSDI.

What is POSDI

POSDI is a relatively new form of reversible contraception. The implant is a small rod that is inserted under the skin of the upper-arm of the woman, and it prevents ovulation for 3 to 5 years. The particular POSDI given to the women in Kilinochchi is expected to function up to 5 years, according to the medical staff that administered the contraception.

The WHO states: “Subdermal implantable contraceptives are highly effective, easy to use and carry a low risk of side-effects. These features make them a good option for women in under-resourced settings. However, data are lacking on the performance of contraceptive implants compared with other contraceptive methods”.

POSDI is also said to be an extremely costly form on contraception as well. The medical staff in Kilinochchi estimated that it would cost roughly Rs 5,000 to Rs 8,000, making it inaccessible to those who live in the fishing villages of Kilinochchi as they are low income earners.

The side-effects of using POSDI include hypertension, weight gain, irregular periods, and hormonal imbalance, which the TSA report charges were not explained to the women by the medical professionals in Kilinochchi. It goes on to say that after-insertion care information provided by the doctors and nurses was false and misleading.

Side-effects rare but low chance of removal

Sources close to the medical staff that conducted the contraception insertion, told The Sunday Leader side-effects are rare, but they include spotting. “Spotting is when a few spots of blood appear when it isn’t expected in the cycle. Most women find this irritating as in our community women usually cannot enter temples during their period and right after their period they need to have a (ritualistic) bath. So the women find this troublesome.”

However, when asked about the high cost of POSDI and whether the removal of the rod will be carried out, the source responded that removal is not something they take lightly because of the high cost and unavailability of the contraception. “It’s the best form of contraception for the women who want contraception here in Kilinochchi. We’ve come across many husbands who find all sort of problems with the more common forms of contraception – from the condom to the loop- and the women don’t take the pill regularly.

In fact if they forget to take the pill on one day, the next day they take two pills. This method of contraception will function naturally for five years. It is also very expensive so and the government will not be purchasing anymore POSDIs in future. Once it’s been inserted it cannot be used again and must be discarded,” he added suggesting it would be wasteful to extract the rod.

Medical staff speak

The Sunday Leader spoke to women in Veravil in groups, outside their houses and at small clinics located in the village. Within these groups of women some admitted to having heard about the contraception that was carried out, a few women oddly said they did not know about it. One of the women who admitted to having heard about it said that she too had been called to the clinic for a nutrition check-up for her child.

“My child was weighed and they told me how to feed him properly, but I wasn’t asked to take any form of contraception,” she recalled. This corresponds with explanations given by medical staff sources who said that only women with two or more children, both of whom (as well as the mother) were undernourished, were administered the POSDIs.

Menaka is a local from Veravil who has been volunteering at the Kilinochchi hospital. She told The Sunday Leader, that she identified large families who suffered from acute malnutrition.

“While visiting the women, I’ve noticed that they usually have one child on the hip, another at the breast and another crawling behind them. With so many young children to take care of, the mother becomes under-nourished, and then her children become under-nourished. It becomes difficult to feed the children on the husband’s salary. The women themselves found it difficult and asked me to help them find a good form of contraception,” she said. “I then brought it to the attention of the Ministry of Health (MoH) in the area”.
She explained that people in rural villages do use protection such as the condom or the pill, since acquiring them requires travelling for four hours, on a bus on dirt roads.

“There were one or two women who grumbled after the insertion of the POSDI because their husbands were against it. But apart from those few cases, most of the women are fine,” Menaka said.
She went on to explain that women in the village are not new to using contraception. Many take the pill or use condoms. One of the women in the village who is a mother of four young children revealed, “On the day of the nutrition check up, I was told about the contraception but I didn’t want it and I told them that. I’ve told my husband to use condoms and I felt there was no need for this new form of contraception. They didn’t press on it and let me go with no issues”.

Small families are better nourished

One of the key problems identified by the doctors in Kilinochchi is that the families are undernourished. Typically, these were families with four or five children who could not be fed regularly on their father’s income.

The mothers were also severely undernourished as well.

Without the use of contraception, or the use of pills which were not taken regularly, many of the women who got pregnant, who already had more children than they can could for, or who are in their 40s or older, would seek to have a septic abortion as they could not provide for another child. The septic method often leads to infections and the mothers do not come to the hospital until they are in the terminal stage, and even the doctors are unable to save them.

In their research, which was carried out prior to the administration of the POSDI, the MoH determined that 30.7% of the Veravil population had unmet needs (in this case contraception). The population of Veravil is 1779, and the MoH identified 289 families that were eligible for contraception (malnourished children and mothers, and more than three children in a family were some of the criteria). Out of the 289 families 89 were in need of contraception. Keranchi has a population of 1608, of which 257 families were found to be eligible for contraception. Out of the 257, eleven (4.2%) were identified as families in need of contraception.
According to the sources, these were the families that received the contraception from the MoH.
However, POSDI were not the only form of contraception that was distributed. Overall, 50 families were administered Jadelle (POSDI), two were opposed to the POSDI and were instead given the loop, and one Oral Contraceptive Pill.

Maternal mortality rate records of the Family Health Bureau show that in 2006 the percentage was at 102.8% in Kilinochchi, while it was 39.3% islandwide. In 2008, the maternal mortality rate in Kilinochchi dropped to 24.9%, and 33.5% islandwide. In 2009 and 2010, the maternal mortality rate in Kilinochchi was found to be 0%.

The doctors expressed that they hoped to maintain the 0% maternal mortality rate.

Sources close to the team that carried out the contraception clinics, stated that the head midwife who oversaw distribution of contraception has been a midwife in North since 1982, and has delivered children during the war, they also stated that the doctors were all Tamil and from the North, refuting claims that programme was a deliberate attempt at population control in Kilinochchi.

The Sunday Leader emailed TSA to find out more details. The team refused to be interviewed over email, understandably stating, “I would like to help you, unfortunately I can’t reveal my sources but please go to these three areas and ask around. Everyone knows.

The nuns know it, the priest know it and you can contact them. I hope you understand our plight, as we have to be anonymous.”

TSA word against MoH

The Sunday Leader was informed by an activist based in Kilinochchi, that one of the women who voluntarily had the POSDI inserted into her arm, later complained of irregular periods, and feeling ill and uncomfortable. She was aware that the POSDI was a reversible form of contraception, and sought to have it removed at the hospital.

The hospital staff had refused to extract the rod from her arm. She then went to a private hospital that quoted more that Rs 20,000 – a sum she could not afford – to have it removed.

When The Sunday Leader spoke to the military’s Civil Society Camp in Veravil, the officer said that while they make a record of all that occurs in the village, there were unable to make a report on the contraception controversy as they were busy attending to matters regarding the elections.

However, during the investigation conducted by The Sunday Leader on the 22 and 23 of September, none of the women who were interviewed complained about the contraception that was distributed during the nutritional programme (an annual programme that is held in July in Kilinochchi for those who cannot afford medical care).

From cries of coerced population control to genocide, the incident has now reached the international community. If, as the Regional District Health Services of Kilinochchi states, the incident has been blown out of proportion then a timely explanation is required from the government.
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Source: http://www.thesundayleader.lk/2013/09/29/family-planning-in-kilinochchi-under-scrutiny/

இலங்கைத் தமிழரும் இந்தியக் குடியுரிமையும்.

இலங்கைத் தமிழரும் இந்தியக் குடியுரிமையும்!  பேரா.எஸ்.இசட்.ஜெய்சிங் ஜனவரி 2, 2020 தீக்கதிர் 1955ஆம் ஆண்டு கொண்டு வரப்பட்ட குடியுரிமைச் சட்டத்...