ENB-TENN:தமிழீழச் செய்தியகம்

Sri Lanka Guardian: EXCLUSIVE: LTTE’s Balakumar and Yogi alive

2012-02-07T18:03:00.000-08:00

Sri Lanka Guardian: EXCLUSIVE: LTTE’s Balakumar and Yogi alive

China halts 'one-sided' draft

2012-02-06T22:06:00.000-08:00

China halts 'one-sided' draft
By Zhu Shanshan (Global Times)08:40, February 06, 2012

Experts called for unified international efforts to promote peaceful negotiations as a way to stop the violence and settle disputes in Syria, after Russia and China jointly vetoed an Arab-European draft UN Security Council (UNSC) resolution concerning Syria on Saturday.

Proposed by European and Arab nations, the draft aimed to give strong backing to an Arab League plan to ask Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to step down.

Russia and China used their second ever double-veto to block the plan in the UNSC as the two countries believed that it was not the best way to promote peace in the Middle Eastern country, the Xinhua News Agency reported.

After the vote, US ambassador to the UN Susan Rice criticized Russia and China for "selling out the Syrian people and shielding a craven tyrant."

British Permanent Representative to the UN Mark Lyall Grant said London was "appalled" at the veto, while French President Nicolas Sarkozy "strongly deplored" the decision by Russia and
China.

Hours before the vote on the draft, Russia issued an amended resolution, which sought "to fix two basic problems" - the first was the imposition of conditions on dialogue; the second
was that measures must be taken to influence not only the government but also anti-government armed groups.

"The draft resolution did not adequately reflect the real state of affairs in Syria and has sent an unbalanced signal to the Syrian parties," Russian UN Ambassador Vitaly Churkin said
after the vote.

"Russia and China were forced to vote against the unbalanced draft resolution," the Russian foreign ministry said.Li Baodong, Chinese permanent representative to the UN, expressed regret that the Russian proposal was ignored and said that China supports the revised proposal raised by Russia.
"To push through a vote when parties are still seriously divided over the issue will not help maintain the unity and authority of the Security Council, or help resolve the issue," he said.

Ruan Zongze, vice president of the China Institute of International Studies (CIIS), told the Global Times that as a veto-wielding council member, China played its role in presiding over justice this time. "Instead of being just a rubber stamp, the UNSC should be an institution to promote justice, which is what China wants to do under the council," Ruan said.

"China holds that restraint from violence by each party in Syria crisis is needed, while the Arab-European draft resolution only emphasized the Syrian government's activities and ignored the other parties," Ruan said, adding that Beijing also called for Syrian authorities to listen more to their
people and push forward reforms.

China agrees with the Russian proposal since it is more reasonable and in line with the UN Charter, but Beijing's intention for vetoing the original resolution is different from Russia's, Li Guofu, a Middle East expert at CIIS, told the Global Times.

"China's decision to block the resolution is aimed at protecting the UN Charter and principles of International Law so as to settle the Syria issue properly. If the power shifts right now, Syria could be dragged into another Iraq-like situation or even worse," Li noted, adding that Russia's veto
may be based more on its own considerations. According to Churkin, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has instructed Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and the director of Russia's service for external intelligence, Mikhail Fradkov, to travel to Syria tomorrow to meet with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

At least 260 civilians were killed and hundreds more were wounded over the weekend in Homs following assaults by Assad's troops, the opposition Syria National Council said.Protesters stormed Syrian embassies in Canberra, Athens, Berlin, Cairo, Kuwait and London as news spread of the Homs
shelling on Saturday, according to AFP.

The UN puts the total death toll in Syria's unrest at more than 5,400, while the Syrian government says more than 2,000 army and security personnel have been killed.

Syria says it is being targeted by the West and by hostile neighbors providing diplomatic cover for an armed insurgency steered from abroad.

Ruan urged the international community to give a unified voice to promote peaceful negotiations in solving the crisis and to demand both the Syrian government and opposition forces stop
the violence.

"After being blocked twice by Russia and China at the UNSC, the West may seek other ways to support the anti-government movement in Syria, or even take their own military action or
sanctions without UN authorization," Ruan noted.

Li echoed the idea by saying that the West will increase its military and financial support for Syrian opposition forces, and raise economic and diplomatic pressure on the current government as long as Assad is still in power.

Agencies also contributed to this story

U.S.-funded NGOs forward to Cairo's criminal courts

2012-02-06T04:34:00.000-08:00

U.S. says "deeply concerned" about NGO cases sent to Egypt courtReuters
January 17, 2012. REUTERS/Larry Downing

SHANNON, Ireland (Reuters) - The U.S. State Department said Sunday it was "deeply concerned" by reports that Egyptian judicial officials plan to forward cases involving U.S.-funded NGOs to Cairo's criminal courts and want clarification from the Egyptian government.

"We have seen media reports that judicial officials intend to forward a number of cases involving U.S.-funded NGOs to the Cairo criminal court," U.S. State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland told reporters in Shannon, Ireland.

"We are deeply concerned by these reports and are seeking clarification from Egypt," she said. Nuland is travelling with U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

The cases of 40 people - including U.S. citizens, other foreigners and Egyptians embroiled in a dispute over the activities and funding of pro-democracy groups - have been referred to court, Egyptian judicial sources said Sunday.

(Reporting by Arshad Mohammed; Editing by Louise Ireland)

UK economy to enter recession soon, says report

2012-02-02T22:26:00.000-08:00

UK economy to enter recession soon, says report

The UK economy could rebound in 2013 if the eurozone crisis is resolved, Niesr said
The UK economy will enter recession in the first half of the year as households continue to cut back, an influential think tank has warned.

The National Institute of Economic and Social Research (Niesr) said the government should temporarily ease its spending cuts to promote growth.It expects the economy to shrink 0.1% in 2012, but to grow 2.3% in 2013 if the eurozone debt crisis is resolved.Niesr said, however, that deficit cuts had bolstered market confidence.

The UK is already close to another recession - defined as two consecutive quarters of economic contraction - after official figures in January showed that the economy shrank by 0.2% in the final three months of 2011.

In its UK and World Economy Forecast Niesr said: "We forecast a return to technical recession in the first half of this year, as households continue to retrench, credit conditions remain tight, and businesses are reluctant to invest given uncertainty about both domestic and foreign demand."
Niesr said economic conditions will not improve in the short term, as both the private the public sectors are still focused on paying off debts. "Over the near term we do not expect economic conditions to improve," the report said.

The think tank predicted that inflation would fall sharply, with the consumer price index down to 2.2% this year and 1.4% in 2013.But there were grim forecasts on unemployment, which Niesr expects will rise to about 9% this year, from 8.4% in the three months to November, and will remain above 7% in 2014."Unemployment at this elevated level for such a long period is likely to do permanent damage to the supply side of the economy, with large long-run economic costs," the report said.

Niesr suggests relaxing the government's austerity programme. "The UK economy currently suffers from deficient demand; the current stance of fiscal policy is contributing to this deficiency. A temporary easing of fiscal policy in the near term would boost the economy," the group said.
Little scope

More investment would not derail the chancellor's long term fiscal goals, Niesr said.
On Monday, the Institute of Fiscal Studies said the government could safely cut taxes temporarily, without worrying that the Bank of England would raise rates in response.But the IFS that there was little scope for big or long-term tax cuts, which risked undermining investor confidence.

"The chancellor faces his third budget with the economy and public finances in considerably weaker shape than he had hoped a year ago," said Paul Johnson, director of the IFS.
Last month, Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne said he would continue with the coalition government's efforts to reduce the deficit, despite criticism that it is choking off recovery.

A Treasury spokesman said: "As Niesr have said, the government's commitment to deficit reduction has helped maintain market confidence. "They expect the government to meet its fiscal mandate and for the UK economy to grow more strongly than the euro area this year and next."

Meanwhile, Niesr forecast global growth of 3.5% for 2012, led by China and India, and 4% in 2013. It forecast US economic growth of 2% this year.An independent Scotland could be more constrained on economic policy than at present, a study has suggested.

Scottish independence

The report also considered the monetary and fiscal policy choices facing Scotland if it leaves the union.Niesr concluded that retaining sterling would be "sensible" for Scotland, but warned that currency union could restrict fiscal policy. The Scottish government said the report "validates" its aim to retain sterling and insisted Scotland would be in a "healthier" financial position.
The report said that it is "doubtful" whether the Bank of England would extend lender-of-last-resort facilities to Scottish institutions, something First Minister Alex Salmond has argued for.
Niesr adds: "With a pro rata transfer of existing UK public debt, Scotland would enter independence heavily indebted with no insurance from fiscal risk sharing or fiscal transfer mechanism with the rest of the UK.

"Even with a favourable settlement on future oil revenues, its fiscal balances are likely to be volatile with large deficits in some years as a result of its dependence on oil revenues," the report said.
Source: BBC

Sri Lanka is no pearl on China's string, Rajapaksa says

2012-02-02T06:02:00.000-08:00

Sri Lanka is no pearl on China's string, Rajapaksa says
By C. Bryson Hull | Reuters – Tue 31 Jan, 2012

COLOMBO (Reuters) - President Mahinda Rajapaksa was emphatic: China's presence in Sri Lanka is strictly business, and not political.

Challenged on speculation that China financed and built the $1.4 billion Mahinda Rajapaksa port on Sri Lanka's south coast so it could sneak a naval base into India's backyard, Rajapaksa laughed and said his giant neighbour had not complained.

"No one has said anything to us, not India, not even the U.S. Even the U.S., the British and India are now inviting China to come and invest," he said on Tuesday at a meeting with foreignjournalists.
Located just off of India's southern tip, the island of 21million has become a visible front in the cold war between theAsian giants, where mutual suspicion crossbred with commercial ambition have produced a construction arms race of sorts.

"They try to match each other. A coal plant on one side of the country by the Chinese, another by the Indians on the other side. A port in the south by the Chinese, a port in the north by the Indians," said a European diplomat based in Colombo.

Sri Lanka's location astride an ancient and lucrative trade route in the Indian Ocean makes it of strategic commercial and military interest to Washington, New Delhi and Beijing.
That, some analysts theorize, makes it a prime part of China's so-called "String of Pearls" strategy to surround India and project its presence by setting up coaling stations under commercial auspices at port after port in the Indian Ocean.

So far, the weapons of influence have been financial: India and China have both funded huge chunks of Rajapaksa's $6 billion post-war overhaul of roads, railways, ports and power plants.

STICKY IRANIAN WICKET
Rajapaksa's foreign policy is firmly rooted in Sri Lanka's Non-Aligned Movement history, and during the last year of a three-decade war with the separatist Tamil Tigers, he played China,India and the West off each other as it suited him.

So now, with the West lobbying for a probe into war crimes allegations from the conflict's bloody end in 2009 and U.S.sanctions on Iranian crude threatening almost all of Sri Lanka's oil supply, Rajapaksa once again is taking stock of his friends.

"We are talking with the Indian government and the U.S.," he said, referring to ongoing talks with New Delhi and a visit later this week by Luke Bronin, a U.S. deputy assistant treasury secretary, who is expected to brief the government on its options regarding the Iran sanctions.
"We'll tell them to give us an alternative. There must be an alternative. We can't stop all the railways," Rajapaksa said.

"Finally, they are not punishing Iran, they are punishing us, the small countries." Asked if he would consider seeking a waiver from the U.S.sanctions, Rajapaksa said: "We might, because 93 percent of our crude we are depending on Iran for."

The United States, at the fore of calls for Sri Lanka to look into war crimes allegations itself or else face an external probe, would likely extract concessions from the government on post-war reconciliation and reduced ties with Iran in exchange for a waiver.

"We likely won't want to spend that political capital," a senior government official involved in the Iran negotiations told Reuters on condition of anonymity. Iran is Sri Lanka's fourth-largest trading partner and biggest tea buyer.

NOT INDIA'S CUBA
That's where both India and China come in: both support Sri Lanka against calls for an external war crimes probe, and in finding a way around the Iranian oil sanctions.

China for the third year running was Sri Lanka's largest bilateral donor, committing $784 million through the first nine months of 2011, or 44 percent of the total. India's bilateral loans pale by comparison in the same period at barely $9 million, but that primarily has to do with the fact that private Indian companies invest directly whereas China loans the money for projects in which its companies invariably do the work and provide the equipment.

Over the past two months, the lawn in front of the defence ministry on Colombo's Galle Face seafront in Colombo has been a show of Chinese commercial force: more than once it has been turned into an outdoor bazaar of freshly delivered Chinese buses, bulldozers, road graders and auto-rickshaws.

A Western diplomat in Colombo said commercial interests were a much better explanation for China's push into Sri Lanka than the "string of pearls" theory, which he dismissed as "existing mainly in the minds of Indian think tanks".

Sri Lanka would fall in line with "Mother India" very quickly if anything happened between India and China, the diplomat said. "This isn't going to become India's Cuba."

(Editing by John Chalmers and Sanjeev Miglani)

புதிய ஈழத்தில் போலிச் சுதந்திரம் பொசுங்கியே தீரும்!

2012-01-30T17:44:00.000-08:00

புதிய ஈழம்

................. ஜனநாயகமும் சுதந்திரமும் சுபீட்சமும் மிக்க இலங்கை நாட்டைக் கட்டியெழுப்ப, மேற்கண்ட புதிய ஜனநாயக அரசியல்,தேசிய ஜனநாயகப் பொருளாதாரப் பாதையே ஒரே வழியாகும். வேறெந்த வழியும் கிடையாது.மாறாக அந்நிய உலகமயமாக்கல் பொருளாதாரக் கொள்கையிலும், அந்நிய நிதி மூலதனத்திலும் தங்கியிருக்கும் வரை, நாடு தனது அரைக்காலனிய சுதந்திரத்தையும் இழந்து முழு அடிமை நாடாகிவிடும். இன ஒடுக்குமுறை மேலும் கூர்மையடையும்.இத்தகைய ஒரு போக்கில் ஒடுக்கப்படும் தமிழ்த் தேசிய இனம் ஒடுக்கும் சிங்களத்துடன் `அதிகாரத்தைப் பகிரும்` சீர்திருத்த வழியில் தனது சுதந்திரத்தை உறுதி செய்யமுடியாது.

ஒரு மக்கள் ஜனநாயக குடியரசால் இத்தகைய திட்டத்தை அதன் முதல் ஐந்தாண்டிலேயே நிறைவேற்றிவிட முடியும்.ஆனால் 64 ஆண்டுகளாக இலங்கையின் ஆளும் கும்பல்கள் நாட்டை விதேசிய திட்டத்தில் வழி நடத்தி வந்துள்ளனர். அதனால்த்தான் நாடு அடிமைப்பட்டுக் கிடக்கின்றது. இனப் பூசல் தொடர்கின்றது.இதற்குக் காரணம் தமிழர்கள் அல்ல.சிங்கள ஆளும் கும்பல்களே ஆகும். ஆட்சி அதிகாரம் இவர்கள் கையில் உள்ளவரை அதுவே இனியும் தொடரப்போகின்றது.

படியுங்கள்! பரப்புங்கள்!!

UN Says Ban Will Accept Alleged War Criminal As His Senior Advisor

2012-01-30T00:12:00.000-08:00

UN Says Ban Will Accept Alleged War Criminal As His Senior Adviser on Peacekeeping

Matthew Russell Lee Special to Salem-News.com

An alleged war criminal appointed without any push back by Ban Ki-moon to Ban's Senior Advisory Group on Peacekeeping Operations: this is Ban's UN.

(UNITED NATIONS) - Sri Lankan alleged war criminal Shavendra Silva will be accepted onto UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon's Senior Advisory Group on Peacekeeping Operation, as Ban
disclaims any responsibility and will do nothing to stop it, Ban spokesperson informed Inner City Press on January 28.Acts of Shavendra Silva's battalion in 2009 are described in the UN's own Panel of Experts report on Sri Lanka, and lawsuits have been filed against Silva for war crimes.

On January 27, Inner City Press asked and wrote that in other circumstances, such as Syria's bid to be its regional group's representative on the UN Human Rights Council, efforts have been made at the UN including by the Secretariat to avoid or reverse nominations like this one which would be an
embarrassment and make a mockery of the UN's stated principles.After Inner City Press asked at the UN noon briefing on January 27 if Ban would say or do anything, spokesman Martin Nesirky
said "Matthew, don't press your luck" and that he "might have something a little later."
When nothing came by close of business that day, Inner City Press put the question directly to UN Peacekeeping, including chief Herve Ladsous of France and Susana Malcorra, reportedly
slated to be promote by Ban to his Deputy Secretary General,So far neither UN Peacekeeping official has responded with any comment on how appointing an alleged war criminal to the Senior
Advisor Group would impact the credibility of DPKO or DFS.

Back on October 24, Malcorra told the General Assembly's committee on peacekeeping that Ban
"had taken steps to fulfil his mandate to create a Senior Advisory Group comprising five eminent persons of relevant experience; five representatives from major troop countries; five representatives from major financial contributors; and one member from each regional group... If the Group was to be
appointed, it would be important for Member States to complete their responses to the Secretary-General’s request for nominations."

Malcorra asked member states to send Ban "nominations," which to some implies that Ban did not have to accept any and all names submitted, for example that of an alleged war criminal. Would Ban similar put on his Senior Advisory Group the chief of Sudan's military, who has been indicted for war crimes by the International Criminal Court? In fact, Ban's and Ladsous' envoy to Darfur Ibrahim Gambari recently greeted ICC indictee Omar al Bashir at a wedding reception in Sudan. When Inner City Press asked Nesirky if this complied with Ban's UN policy, the belated response was that Gambari greeted the ICC indictee based on "African traditions."

This is Ban's UN.

On January 28, a Saturday, 24 hours after Inner City Press posed the question, the following was received:
“ Subject: Your question From: UN Spokesperson - Do Not Reply [at] un.org Date: Sat, Jan 28, 2012 at 12:43 PM To: Matthew Russell Lee [at] innercitypress.com

The General Assembly instructed the Secretary-General to establish the senior advisory group, stipulating that its membership should comprise five representatives nominated by the troop-contributing countries, five representatives nominated by the financial contributors, and one representative named by each of the five regional groups. The General Assembly specified that five eminent persons of relevant experience should be independently appointed by the Secretary-General
himself. The Secretary-General's responsibility under GA resolution 65/289 related only to the nomination of the five eminent persons that he was asked to selected himself; the 15 other members of the SAG were selected by the TCCs, FCCs and Regional Groups, as prescribed by the General Assembly.”

The response seeks to absolve all responsibility, including for the UN's credibility, from Ban Ki-moon, who already stood smiling as Tamil children at gunpoint sung his name in the internment camps in Northern Sri Lanka in May 2009, and since then yelled at his own staff in front of President Mahinda Rajapaksa.

In other cases, Ban has tried to exercise leadership with member states, including to impact his UN's credibility. But not here, it seems; while his two top peacekeeping officials remain silent.
An alleged war criminal appointed without any push back by Ban Ki-moon to Ban's Senior Advisory Group on Peacekeeping Operations: this is Ban's UN.
Source: Salem-News.com

Ambassador Silva, selected to the UN Advisory Group

2012-01-29T23:22:00.000-08:00

Ambassador Major General Shavendra Silva, selected to the Special Advisory Group on UN Peace Keeping Operations
Sat, 2012-01-28 13:34 — editor News New York, 28 January, (Asiantribune.com):

Ambassador Major General Shavendra Silva, the Deputy Permanent Representative of Sri Lanka to the United Nations has been selected to the Special Advisory Group on Peace Keeping Operations established by the UN Secretary General to advice on rates of reimbursement to troop-contributing countries and related issues.

This is the first time that a Sri Lankan has been appointed to such a prestigious post relating to peace keeping operations, throughout Sri Lanka’s 50 year long partnership with the Department of Peace keeping. Ambassador Major General Shavendra Silva will represent the Asia-Pacific States in this Body. He joins a group of high ranking diplomats and other eminent personalities who are
members of this key body addressing some of the critical issues related to UN peacekeeping.

Among its members are the former Deputy Secretary General of the United Nations and former Deputy Minister of National Defence for Canada, Ms. Louise Frechette ; Former Under Secretary General for Peacekeeping Operations, Mr. Jean-Marie Guehenno; and former Assistant Secretary of State of the United States of America, Mr. James Dobbins. The group is scheduled to commence their first meeting this month to finalize the scope of its work and working modalities.
- Asian Tribune -

புதிய ஈழத்தில் `யார் இந்த TNA?` ஆய்வுக்கட்டுரை.

2012-01-29T16:42:00.000-08:00

படியுங்கள்! பரப்புங்கள்!

http://senthanal.blogspot.com/2012/01/tna-tamil-national-alliance-tulf-eprlf.html

முத்துக்குமரன் நினைவு தினம் 2012

2012-01-29T07:38:00.000-08:00

Iran Blasts West Over Oil Embargo

2012-01-27T09:31:00.000-08:00

By FARNAZ FASSIHI

The Wall Street Journel

BEIRUT—Iran's president attacked Western powers for sanctions against Iran but offered no clear indication on whether his country would return to negotiations on its nuclear program, in
his first public remarks since the European Union agreed to ban Iranian oil imports.

[A handout picture obtained from the Iranian president's office shows Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad delivering a speech during a visit to the city of Kerman, 1,000km southeast of Tehran.]

In a public rally on Thursday in the southeastern city of Kerman, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad denied that Iran has been an obstacle to reviving negotiations, but stopped short of offering to restart talks, saying, "Why would we run away from negotiations? Why should the person who is in the right and has logic avoid talks?"

Iran's parliament echoed the defiant tone by saying it would consider an immediate halt of oil exports to Europe to pre-empt the oil embargo, which the EU set to begin on July 1 to give its members time to find alternative supply sources.

Mr. Ahmadinejad declared that the embargo wouldn't hurt Iran's economy, saying other export markets would easily compensate for the loss of sales to Europe, the destination of about a
quarter of Iranian oil exports. The Chinese government, Iran's No. 2 oil buyer after the EU, on Thursday criticized use of sanctions to "blindly pressure" Iran. But the expanding measures are already taking a toll. The value of Iran's currency, the rial, has fallen by nearly 50% against
the dollar in the past month on the black market. The prices of basic food items and other goods are increasing daily, according to Iranian media reports and interviews with Tehran residents.

On Thursday, Iran's central bank devalued the rial by 8% against the dollar and ordered all currency-exchange shops to adhere to the official rate or be shut down, according to Iran's official media.

This week, Mr. Ahmadinejad approved an order that banks increase interest rates to 21%, from between 12.5% and 15%, to encourage Iranians to keep their capital in domestic banks, as
Iranians hoard dollars and gold.

In his speech, he appeared to try to rally the public behind the government and against Western pressure, saying ordinary people would ultimately suffer the most from sanctions. The West is "the enemy of the Iranian people….The bigger the challenge, the stronger is our will," he said.

His statements come as Iran's government seeks a show of support in parliamentary elections on March 2 from a public besieged by economic hardships.

Iran has already conceded to allow nuclear inspectors to come to Iran before the end of January. Mr. Ahmadinejad doesn't ultimately hold the key to Iranian concessions: Such decisions are in the hands of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

"Ahmadinejad isn't steering Iran's nuclear ship, Khamenei is," said Karim Sadjadpour, an Iran analyst with the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

European leaders, in announcing sanctions Monday, said they weren't targeting the people of Iran, but the country's leadership. The EU also agreed to freeze the assets of Iran's central bank, the conduit for the country's oil revenue, and ban trade with its petrochemical industry.

The U.S. and EU aim to put pressure Iran to return to negotiations on the country's nuclear program, which the West says is aimed at arms production and Iran contends is for peaceful purposes.

U.S. and EU officials have said Iran hasn't formally responded to a request in October to return to talks with the international community, represented by the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council plus Germany.

Also on Thursday, Iranian lawmakers called on the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries to intervene against a pledge by Saudi Arabia that it would increase oil supply if needed.
Mr. Ahmadinejad, without mentioning any countries, weighed in on the mounting confrontation with Saudi Arabia in his speech, saying those promising to boost oil output were tools of the
West with a short view of history.

OPEC, which has so far tried to stay away from the Iranian-Saudi feud, hasn't received a formal request from Tehran for an emergency meeting, people familiar with the matter said on Thursday.

The International Energy Agency, which coordinates emergency oil stocks held by countries in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, sees no need for an emergency
supply release now, the agency's Executive Director Maria van der Hoeven said.

China's statement on Thursday underscored the difficulty the West faces in creating a wedge between Iran and one of the largest buyers of Iranian crude.

"To blindly pressure and impose sanctions on Iran aren't constructive approaches," China's Foreign Ministry said, according to the state-run Xinhua news agency. The statement said China hopes to solve such disputes through dialogue and consultation.

China's dependence on Iranian oil grew last year, with imports rising more than 30% to 27.8 million metric tons, or nearly 560,000 barrels a day, according to customs data. China consumes more than nine million barrels of oil a day, second only to the U.S. China has joined previous U.N. efforts aimed at getting Tehran to curtail any nuclear-weapons ambitions, but has balked at the U.S. efforts to raise pressure on Iran outside U.N. auspices.

The EU ban could give China more leverage with Iran's state oil company. People familiar with the contract talks between China United Petroleum & Chemicals Co., or Unipec, and the National Iranian
Oil Co. have said the two sides are still haggling over economic terms, in a dispute these people have said is unrelated to the nuclear issue.
—Carlos Tejada in Beijing and Benoît Faucon in London contributed to this article.WSJ

களுத்துறை மாவட்டத் தமிழ்ப் பாடசாலைகளின் நிலைமை

2012-01-26T16:31:00.000-08:00

கவனம் செலுத்தப்பட வேண்டிய களுத்துறை மாவட்ட தமிழ்க் கல்வி

Thursday, 26 January 2012 06:06 Hits: 30

களுத்துறை மாவட்டத் தமிழ்ப் பாடசாலைகளின் நிலைமை, அப்பாடசாலைகளில் கற்கும் மாணவ, மாணவியர் எதிர்நோக்கியுள்ள பிரச்சினைகள், அவற்றைத் தீர்த்து வைக்க மேற்கொள்ளப்பட வேண்டிய செயல் முறைகள் தொடர்பாகக் கவனம் செலுத்த வேண்டிய கட்டாய நிலை இன்று ஏற்பட்டுள்ளது. எவராலும் உரிய முறையில் கண்டுகொள்ளப்படாத நிலைமையே களுத்துறை மாவட்ட தமிழ்ப் பாடசாலைகள் தொடர்பில் நிலவுகின்றது.

களுத்துறை மாவட்டம் மேல் மாகாணத்திற்குற்பட்டதும், அங்குள்ள சகல தமிழ்ப் பாடசாலைகளும் மேல் மாகாண கல்வி அமைச்சின் நிர்வாகத்திற்குட்பட்டதாகவேயுள்ளன. இம் மாவட்டத்தில் தமிழ்ப் பாடசாலைகள் முப்பத்தெட்டும் இருமொழிப் பாடசாலைகள் அதாவது சிங்களம், தமிழ் ஆகிய இருமொழிகளில் கற்பித்தல் இடம்பெறுவதான பாடசாலைகள் இரண்டும், முஸ்லிம் பாடசாலைகள் இருபத்தொன்றும் உள்ளன.

களுத்துறை, மத்துகம, ஹொரணை ஆகிய மூன்று கல்வி வலயங்களுக்குள் இப் பாடசாலைகள் அடங்குகின்றன. தமிழ்ப் பாடசாலைகளைப் பொறுத்தவரை சகல பாடசாலைகளும் தோட்டப் பகுதிப் பாடசாலைகளாகவே உள்ளன. கல்வி நிலையில் முன்னேற்றம் கண்டுள்ள மாவட்டமாகத் தேசிய ரீதியில் இம்மாவட்டம் முதன்மைப்படுத்தப்பட்டுள்ள போதும் தமிழர் கல்வியைப் பொறுத்தவரை மிகவும் பின்தங்கிய நிலையே காணப்படுகிறது. கவனிப்பாரற்ற நிலையில் பிற்படுத்தப்பட்ட கல்வி நிலைகொண்ட தோட்டப் பாடசாலைகள் என்ற நிலையிலிருந்து மீட்சி பெறாத நிலையே தற்போதைய யதார்த்த நிலையாகவுள்ளது.

களுத்துறை கல்வி வலயத்தில் ஆறு தமிழ்ப் பாடசாலைகளும் பதினேழு முஸ்லிம் பாடசாலைகளும் செயற்படுகின்றன. அதேபோல் மத்துகம கல்வி வலயத்தில் பதினாறு தமிழ்ப் பாடசாலைகளும் இருமொழிப் பாடசாலைகள் இரண்டும் முஸ்லிம் பாடசாலைகள் இரண்டுமாக இருபது தமிழ் மொழி மூலப் போதனை வழங்கும் பாடசாலைகள் உள்ளன.

ஹொரணை கல்வி வலயத்தைப் பொறுத்தவரை பதினாறு தமிழ்ப் பாடசாலைகளும் இரண்டு முஸ்லிம் பாடசாலைகளும் உள்ளன.

கல்விக் கொள்கையடிப்படையில் பாடசாலைகள் நான்கு தரங்களில் வகைப்படுத்தப்பட்டுள்ன. கல்விப் பொதுத் தராதரப் பத்திர உயர்தர வகுப்புகளில் கணிதம், கலை, விஞ்ஞானம், வர்த்தகம் ஆகிய நான்கு பிரிவுகளும் கொண்ட பாடசாலைகள் முதற்தரப்பாடசாலைகளாக அதாவது 1 ஏ.பி. (1அஆ) தரத்தில் வகைப்படுத்தப்பட்டுள்ளன. களுத்துறை மாவட்டத்தில் மேற்படிதரத்தில் ஒரு தமிழ்ப் பாடசாலையும் இல்லை. தமிழ் மொழி மூலமும் போதனை நடைபெறும் இருமொழிப் பாடசாலைகள் இரண்டும் 1 ஏ.பி. தரத்தைக் கொண்டவையாக இருந்த போதிலும் அவற்றில் குறிப்பிட்ட பாட நெறிகள் தமிழில் கற்பிக்கப்படுவதில்லை. இரு மொழிப் பாடசாலைகளின் இரண்டில் ஒரு பாடசாலையில், கலை, வர்த்தகப் பிரிவுகள் மட்டுமேயுள்ள போதும் மற்றைய பாடசாலையில் உயர்தர வகுப்புகள் தமிழ் மூலம் நடைபெறுவதில்லை.

கலை, வர்த்தகப் பிரிவுகளை மட்டும் உயர்தர வகுப்பில் கொண்ட ஒரு பாடசாலை மட்டுமே உள்ளது. மத்துகம கல்வி வலயத்திற்குட்பட்ட சென்.மேரீஸ் கல்லூரி அதாவது இருமொழிப் பாடசாலை கலை, வர்த்தகப் பிரிவு கொண்டதாக இருப்பதுடன் ஹொரணை கல்வி வலயத்திலுள்ள மில்லகந்த தமிழ் மகாவித்தியாலயமும் அதே தரத்தைக் கொண்ட மாவட்டத்தின் ஒரே தமிழ்ப் பாடசாலையாயுள்ளது. இப்பாடசாலை பாடசாலைத் தரப்படுத்தலின் கீழ் 1 சீ (1இ) தரத்திலடங்குகின்றது.

கல்விப் பொதுத் தராதரப் பத்திர சாதாரணதர வகுப்புகள் வரை கொண்ட பாடசாலைகள் டீ.2 (கூ.2) தர வரிசையிலும் ஆரம்பப் பாடசாலைகள் டீ.3 (கூ.3) தர வரிசையிலும் அடங்குகின்றன.

களுத்துறை கல்வி வலயத்தினுள்ள தமிழ்ப் பாடசாலைகள் ஆறில் மூன்று தரம் டீ.2. பாடசாலைகளாகவும் ஏனைய மூன்று டீ.3 தரங் கொண்ட ஆரம்பப் பாடசாலைகளாகவும் உள்ளன. மத்துகம கல்வி வலயத்திலுள்ள பதினாறு தமிழ்ப் பாடசாலைகளில் உயர்தர வகுப்புகள் கொண்ட ஒரு தமிழ்ப் பாடசாலையும் இல்லை. இக் கல்வி வலயத்திலுள்ள பதினாறு தமிழ்ப் பாடசாலைகளில் பதின் மூன்று பாடசாலைகள் ஆரம்பப் பாடசாலைகளாகச் செயற்படுவதுடன் ஏனைய மூன்று பாடசாலைகளில் மட்டும் கல்விப் பொதுத் தராதரப் பத்திர சாதாரண வகுப்புகள் வரை நடைபெறுகின்றன.

ஹொரணை கல்வி வலயத்திலுள்ள பதினாறு தமிழ்ப் பாடசாலைகளில் மில்லகந்த தமிழ் மகாவித்தியாலயம் மட்டுமே உயர்தர வகுப்புகளில் கலை, வர்த்தக பாடங்கள் கற்பிக்கப்படும் பாடசாலையாகவுள்ளது. ஏனைய பதினைந்து பாடசாலைகளில் பதினொரு பாடசாலைகள் ஆரம்பப் பாடசாலைகளாக இயங்குவதுடன் ஏனைய நான்கு பாடசாலைகளில் மட்டும் கல்விப் பொதுத் தராதரப் பத்திர சாதாரண தர வகுப்புகள் வரை கற்பித்தல் மேற்கொள்ளப்பட்டு வருகின்றது.

ஒட்டுமொத்தமாக நோக்குமிடத்து இம்மாவட்டத்திலுள்ள முப்பத்தெட்டு தமிழ்ப் பாடசாலைகளில் இருபத்தாறு பாடசாலைகள் ஆரம்பப் பாடசாலைகளாக இருப்பது வெளிப்படுகின்றது. ஏனைய பாடசாலைகள் பன்னிரெண்டில் பதினொரு பாடசாலைகள் கல்விப் பொதுத் தராதரப் பத்திர சாதாரண தர வகுப்புகள் கொண்டவையாகவும் ஒரு பாடசாலை மட்டும் உயர் தரவகுப்பில் கலை, வர்த்தகப் பிரிவுகள் கொண்டதாகவும் உள்ளன. உயர்தர வகுப்பில் கணித, விஞ்ஞானப் பிரிவுகள் கொண்ட ஒரு தமிழ்ப் பாடசாலை கூட இம் மாவட்டத்தில் இல்லை. களுத்துறை மாவட்டத்திலுள்ள தமிழ்ப் பாடசாலைகளில் எண்ணாயிரம் வரையான மாணவ, மாணவியர் கற்கும் அதேவேளை இரண்டாயிரம் வரையான தமிழ், மாணவ, மாணவியர் முஸ்லிம் பாடசாலைகளில் கற்பதும் கணிப்பீட்டின் மூலம் வெளிப்படுகின்றது. மேலும் கணிசமான எண்ணிக்கையான தமிழ்ப் பிள்ளைகள் சிங்கள மொழிப் பாடசாலைகளில் கற்பதும் குறிப்பிடக்கூடிய அளவினரான தமிழ்ப் பிள்ளைகள் பாடசாலைக் கல்வியை முற்றாகவே நாடாதிருப்பதும் இடை நடுவில் கல்வியைக் கைவிடுவதும் தெரிய வந்துள்ளது. இவ்வாறான நிலையில் களுத்துறை மாவட்ட தமிழர் கல்வியை மேம்படுத்த, உயர்த்த வழிவகை காணப்படுவது அவசியமாகின்றது. நாட்டின் தேசியக் கல்விக் கொள்கைக் கிணங்க உரிய, உயரிய கல்வியைப் பெற்றுக்கொள்ளும் அடிப்படை உரிமை களுத்துறை மாவட்ட தமிழ்ப் பிள்ளைகளுக்கும் உண்டு. இருந்த போதிலும் அவர்களது அடிப்படைக் கல்வி தொடர்பாக எவரும் கவலைப் பட்டதாகத் தெரியவில்லை.

அரசியல் ரீதியாக முற்றாகவே பலமிழந்துள்ள களுத்துறை மாவட்ட தமிழ் மக்கள் அரசியல் ரீதியாகப் பெற்றுக்கொள்ளக்கூடிய எந்தவொரு பயனையும் அனுபவிக்க முடியாதுள்ளனர் என்பதே உண்மை நிலை. பல அரசியல் கட்சிகள் தமது தொழிற்சங்கங்கள் மூலம சந்தா திரட்டும் நடவடிக்கையில் ஈடுபட்டுள்ளனவேயன்றி அடிப்படைத் தேவையான கல்விக்குக் குரல் கொடுப்பதைக் காண முடியவில்லை. தொழிலாளர்களைத் திரட்டிச் சந்தா வசூலிப்பது மட்டுமன்றி அவர்களது அடிப்படைத் தேவைகள் தொடர்பாகவும் கவனம் செலுத்த வேண்டிய பொறுப்பு தமிழர்களைப் பிரதிநிதித்துவப்படுத்தும் தொழிற் சங்கங்களுக்குண்டு. இதை, அதாவது அரசியல் ரீதியாக அனாதரவாகவுள்ள களுத்துறை மாவட்ட தோட்டத் தொழிலாளர் மத்தியிலே இயங்கும் தொழிற்சங்கங்கள் புரிந்துகொள்ள வேண்டும். அது அவர்களது கடமையும் கூட.

களுத்துறை மாவட்ட தமிழ்ப் பாடசாலைகளைக் கணிக்கும் போது களுத்துறை கல்வி வலயத்திலுள்ள குளோடன் தமிழ் வித்தியாலயமும் மத்துகம கல்வி வலயத்திலுள்ள கலை மகள் தமிழ் வித்தியாலயமும் ஹொரணை கல்வி வலயத்திலுள்ள றைகம் கீழ்ப்பிரிவு தமிழ் வித்தியாலயமும் ஹல்வத்துர தமிழ் வித்தியாலயமும் 1சீ தரப் பாடசாலைகளாக அதாவத உயர்தர வகுப்பில் கலை, வர்த்தகப் பாடங்கள் கொண்ட பாடசாலைகளாகத் தரமுயர்த்தப்பட வேண்டியதுடன் மேற்படி பாடசாலைகளில் ஒன்றான குளோடன் தமிழ் வித்தியாலயம் உயர்தர வகுப்புகளில் கலை, வர்த்தகப் பிரிவுகள் மட்டுமல்லாது கணித, விஞ்ஞானப் பிரிவுகள் கொண்ட பாடசாலையாகவும் தரமுயர்த்தப்பட வேண்டும்.

குளோடன் தமிழ் வித்தியாலயத்திலுள்ள ஆசிரியர் விடுதி, கட்டிட வசதி, இட வசதிகளைக் கருத்திற்கொண்டு மாணவ விடுதியுடன் கூடிய தரமான பாடசாலையாக இப்பாடசாலையை உருவாக்க முடியும். இது தொடர்பில் கல்வித்துறையினர் கவனம் செலுத்த வேண்டும். இது காலத்தின் தேவையாகவும் உள்ளது. மில்லகந்த தமிழ் வித்தியாலயமும் கணித, விஞ்ஞானத் துறைகள் கொண்ட உயர்தரப் பாடசாலையாக மாற்றக் கூடிய வாய்ப்புள்ளது. ஏற்கனவே, கலை, வர்த்தகப் பிரிவுகள் கொண்ட மேற்படி பாடசாலையில் கணித, விஞ்ஞானப் பிரிவுகள் ஆரம்பிக்க நடவடிக்கை மேற்கொண்டால் தமிழ் மாணவ, மாணவியர் பெரும் பயன் அடைவர்.

இரு மொழிப் பாடசாலையாக செயற்படும் மத்துகம சென்.மேரிஸ் கல்லூரியின் தமிழ்ப் பிரிவில் அறுநூறுக்கும் அதிகமான மாணவ, மாணவியர் கற்கின்றபோதும் இட வசதி இன்மை பெரும் பிரச்சினையாகவுள்ளது. மேற்படி தமிழ்ப் பிரிவைத் தனிப்பாடசாலையாக இயக்க அமரர் சௌமிய மூர்த்தி தொண்டமான் காலத்தில் பெருமுயற்சி மேற்கொள்ளப்பட்டது. இருந்த போதிலும் தமிழ் மாணவர்களுக்கென்று அதே பாடசாலை வளவில் தனிக்கட்டிடம் நிறுவப்பட்ட போதும் பல வகுப்பறைகள் சிங்கள மொழி மூலமாணவர்களுக்காகத் திறந்து விடப்பட்டுள்ளது. மத்துகம சென்.மேரிஸ் தமிழ்ப் பிரிவு தனிப் பாடசாலையாகச் சொந்தக் கட்டிடத்தில் இயங்கச் செய்ய கல்வித்துறையினர் செயற்படுவார்களேயானால் அது தமிழ் மாணவ, மாணவியரின் கல்வி மேம்பாட்டிற்குப் பெரும் உதவியாயமையும்.

பொதுவாகவே களுத்துறை மாவட்டத் தமிழ்ப் பாடசாலைகளில் போதிய ஆசிரியர்கள் இல்லாமை தெரிய வந்துள்ளது. தமிழ் மொழிமூலப் பாடசாலைகளுக்கான வளங்கள் தமிழ்ப் பாடசாலைகளுக்கு உரியபடி கிடைக்காமல் திசை திருப்பப்படுவதாகப் பல்லாண்டுகளாகக் குறை கூறப்பட்டு வந்தாலும் அதைச் சீர் செய்ய எவருமே முன்வந்ததாகத் தெரியவில்லை.

ஆரம்பப் பயிற்சி பெற்ற ஆசிரியர்கள், கணிதம், விஞ்ஞானம், தமிழ், இந்து சமயம், வரலாறு, புவியியல், ஆங்கிலம், அழகியற்பாடங்கள், தொழில்நுட்பங்கள் என்று சகல துறைப்பாடங்களுக்குமான ஆசிரிய வெற்றிடங்கள் தமிழ்ப் பாடசாலைகளில் நிலவுகின்றன. அத்துடன் உயர்தர வகுப்புகள் நடைபெறும் இரு பாடசாலைகளிலும் அவ் வகுப்புகளில் படித்துப் பரீட்சைக்குத் தோற்றும் மாணவ, மாணவியர் கற்கும் பாடங்களுக்குத் தகைமை வாய்ந்த பட்டதாரி ஆசிரியர்கள் இல்லை. அதனால், மாணவ, மாணவியர் உரிய பாடங்களை உரியபடி கற்க முடியாது திண்டாடுகின்றனர். தமிழ் மொழி மூலப் பாடசாலைகளுக்கான ஆசிரிய வளங்கள் உரியபடி பகிரப்படாமையே இதற்கான ஏதுவாயுள்ளது.

பாடசாலை அதிபர்களாகத் தமிழ்ப் பாடசாலைகளில் வேற்று சமூகத்தவர்கள் பலர் செயற்படுவதும் குறிப்பிடத்தக்கது. தமிழ் மொழியில் போதிய பரிச்சயம் அற்றவர்களால் எவ்வாறு தமிழ்ப் பாடசாலைகளை நிர்வகிக்க முடியும் என்பது புதிராகவுள்ளது. புரிந்துகொள்ளப்படாமலுமுள்ளது.

களுத்துறை மாவட்ட தமிழ்க் கல்வியின், தமிழர் கல்வியின் பின்னடைவுக்கான காரணங்கள் உரிய முறையில் சரியாக ஆராயப்பட்டு தீர்வுகள் எட்டப்பட வேண்டும். இது ஒரு சமூகப் பிரச்சினை என்பது மட்டுமல்ல தேசியப் பிரச்சினை என்பதையும் கவனத்திற் கொள்ள வேண்டும். கல்வித் தரத்தில் முன்னிலை வகிக்கும் ஒரு மாவட்டமாகக் கொள்ளப்படும் மேல் மாகாணத்தின் களுத்துறை மாவட்டத்தின் தமிழர் கல்வியின் அடிப்படைத் தேவைகள் உரியபடி வழங்கப்பட்டு அவர்களின் உரிமையான கல்வியைப் பெற்றுக்கொள்ள வழிவகை செய்ய கல்விப் புலத்தில் அக்கறை கொண்டோர் தயங்காது, தவறாது முன்வர வேண்டும். இதுவே, தமிழர் சமூகத்தின் ஒரு அங்கமான களுத்துறை மாவட்ட தமிழ் மக்களுக்குச் செய்யும் சேவையாகும்.

நன்றி: தினக்குரல்

மகசின் சிறையில் கைதிகள் ஆர்ப்பாட்டம்.

2012-01-24T19:20:00.000-08:00

கைதிகளின் கலகத்திற்கு போதைப்பொருள் தடுப்பு நடவடிக்கையே காரணம்; 7.5 மில்லியன் ரூபா இழப்பு

புதன்கிழமை, 25 ஜனவரி 2012 17:47 (சுபுன் டயஸ்)

மகஸின் சிறைச்சாலையில் உணவுப்பொதி மூலம் கைதிகளுக்கு போதைப் பொருட்கள் கொண்டுவரப்படுவதை தடுக்கும் நடவடிக்கையே அச்சிறைச்சாலையில் நேற்று இடம்பெற்ற கலகத்திற்கு பிரதான காரணம் என பொலிஸ் அதிகாரிகள் தெரிவித்துள்ளனர்.

நேற்று செவ்வாய்க்கிழமை இடம்பெற்ற கலகத்தில் பங்குபற்றியோர் , போதைப்பொருள் தொடர்பான குற்றங்களுக்காக விளக்கமறியலில் வைக்கப்பட்டுள்ளவர்கள் என சிறைச்சாலை அதிகாரி ஒருவர் கூறினார்.

விளக்கமறியல் கைதிகளுக்கு வெளியிலிருந்து உணவு கொண்டு

வரப் படுவதற்கு அனுமதி வழங்கப்படுகிறது.

இந்நிலையில் போதைப் பொருள் கொண்டுவரப்படுவதை தடுப்பதற்கான பாரிய நடவடிக்கையை சிறைச்சாலையின் புதிய அத்தியட்சகர் தலைமையிலான அதிகாரிகள் ஆரம்பித்ததுடன், கைதிகளுக்கு குடும்ப அங்கத்தவர்களால் கொண்டுவரப்படும் உணவுப் பொதிகளையும் சோதனையிட்டதாக அவர் கூறினார்.

இந்த கலகத்தினால் 7.5 மில்லியன் ரூபா பெறுமதியான சேதம் ஏற்பட்டுள்ளதாக அவர் கூறினார்.

'மகசின் சிறைச்சாலை கலவரத்தில் தமிழ் அரசியல் கைதிகளுக்கு பாதிப்பு இல்லை'

புதன்கிழமை, 25 ஜனவரி 2012 11:07

'மகசின் சிறைச்சாலையில் நேற்று இடம்பெற்ற கலவரம் கட்டுப்பாட்டிற்கு கொண்டுவரப்பட்டுள்ளதாக கொழும்பு தெற்கு பொலிஸ் அத்யட்சகர் சஞ்சீவ தர்மரட்ண தனக்கு தெரிவித்ததாகவும் மேலும் இக்கலவரத்தில் தமிழ் அரசியல் கைதிகள் சம்பந்தப்படவில்லை எனவும் அவர்களுக்கு எவ்வித பாதிப்பும் இல்லை என தன்னிடம் தெரிவித்ததாகவும்' ஜனநாயக மக்கள் காங்கிரஸ் தலைவரும் கொழும்பு மாவட்ட நாடாளுமன்ற உறுப்பினருமான பிரபா கணேசன் தெரிவித்தார்.

இது தொடர்பில் அவர் விடுத்துள்ள அறிக்கையில் மேலும் தெரிவிக்கப்பட்டுள்ளதாவது,

புதிதாக கடமையேற்றிருக்கும் உதவி பொலிஸ் அத்யட்சகர் எழில் ரஞ்சன் தனது கடமைகளை பொறுப்பேற்ற பின் கொழும்பு மகசின் சிறைச்சாலைக்கு வரும் உறவினர்களின் பொதிகளை கடுமையாக சோதனை செய்ததன் விளைவாக ஏற்பட்ட முரண்பாடு காரணமாகவே கைதிகளுக்கும் சிறைச்சாலை அதிகாரிகளுக்கும் கைகலப்பு ஏற்பட்டதாக சிறைச்சாலை புணர்வாழ்வு அமைச்சின் ஆலோசகர் எஸ்.சதீஸ்குமார் தெரிவித்தார்.

பொலிஸ் அத்யட்சகருடன் தொடர்புகளை ஏற்படுத்தி நிலைமைகளை கேட்டறிந்த பொழுது இச்சிறைக் கைதிகளின் தாக்குதலில் எந்த தமிழ் அரசியல் கைதிகளும் சம்பந்தப்படவில்லை எனவும் தெரிவித்தார். இருப்பினும் கண்ணீர்ப் புகைக்குண்டுவீச்சில் தமது இருப்பிடங்களும் பாதிக்கப்பட்டதாக தமிழ் அரசியல் கைதிகள் என்னிடம் தெரிவித்தனர்.

அதேநேரம் தம்மையும் இந்த நடவடிக்கையில் பங்குபற்றுமாறு ஏனைய கைதிகள் அழைத்தும் தாம் அதில் பங்குபற்றவில்லை என தெரிவித்தனர். அதனால் தமக்கு பாதுகாப்பு ஏற்பாடுகள் செய்யுமாறும் வேண்டுகோள் விடுத்தனர். இது சம்பந்தமான ஏற்பாடுகள் செய்யப்பட்டுள்ளன.

தமிழ் அரசியல் கைதிகளின் விடுதலை சம்பந்தமாக முழுமையான முறையிலே நான் ஈடுபட்டுக் கொண்டிருக்கும் பொழுது இப்படியான சட்டவிரோத செயல்களில் இவர்கள் ஈடுபடாமலிருந்தமை பாராட்டக்கூடிய விடயமாகும். ஏற்கனவே பூசா முகாமிலுள்ள 15 தமிழ் கைதிகள் புணர்வாழ்வு நிலையத்திற்கு அனுப்பிவைக்கப்பட்டுள்ளமையும் குறிப்பிடத்தக்கது.

இதேபோல் ஏனைய கைதிகளின் விடுதலைக்கும் ஏற்பாடுகள் நடைபெற்றுக்கொண்டிருக்கும் பொழுது இவ்வாறான செயல்பாடுகளில் இவர்களை ஈடுபட வேண்டாம் என கேட்டுக்கொள்கின்றேன்' என்று அவ்வறிக்கையில் மேலும் குறிப்பிடப்பட்டுள்ளது.

தமிழ் மிரர் (Daily Mirror)

Hidden hand behind bloody prison riot?

* 26 inmates, 5 jail guards injured

January 24, 2012, 9:14 pm

By Norman Palihawadane

Thirty one including five jail guards and 26 inmates were injured yesterday at the Welikada New Magazine prison in a bloody clash.

The injured had been admitted to the Colombo National Hospital, prison sources said.

Hospital sources described the condition of two of the injured as serious and said that all 19 inmates admitted to the hospital following the clash had suffered injuries below the knee.

According to sources trouble began when a group of inmatesstaged a protest demanding that their rights be granted and some prisons officers be replaced. As more inmates joined the protesters they resorted to hurling bricks and other missiles at the jailers.

Commissioner General of Prisons, P. W. Kodippili said the advancing protesters had not heeded the warnings and the prison officers had fired into the air to stop them. The mob overpowered the jailers and some were hurt.

Police and army had to be summoned to quell the riot. Police used tear gas to disperse mobs of inmates armed with clubs and bricks. However, the inmates who climbed on to the roof continued their protests while some others engaged in hurling brick bats targeting security personnel.

Meanwhile, some inmates set the RC Branch which stored records of the inmates on fire. The fire brigade had to be deployed to douse the fire. Though the fire was doused, most of the records had been destroyed.

The Commissioner General said that copies of those documents could be obtained from court record rooms.

The Baseline Road was closed from Dematagoda station to the Borella Junction.

All LTTE suspects in the Prison had been transferred to other prisons as a security measure, Commissioner General said. A total of 180 LTTE suspects were at the Magazine prison and they had all been transferred after the riot broke out. The inmates were transported in buses escorted under heavy security.

Commissioner General Kodippili said that former Army commander Sarath Fonseka was being held at the Welikada prison and not at the Magazine prison where the riots took place.

Kodippili said that investigations had been commenced to ascertain whether the inmates had any assistance from some prison officials to mount the protest. Separate investigations were being conducted by the intelligence units of the prisons and the police, he said. The process of recording statements from the inmates commenced yesterday itself and prison security was beefed up.

The Island

Magazine prison riots due to crackdown on drugs, Rs.7.5mn

damage

Wednesday, 25 January 2012 15:56

Prison officials said that the main cause for the riots which took place at the Magazine remand prison was due to the crackdown on drugs being smuggled into the prison through meals brought from outside.

Remand prisoners are allowed by prison authorities to get meals from outside. A prison officer of the Magazine remand prison said that prisoners who were involved in the riot on Tuesday were in remand for narcotic related offences.

Under the leadership of the new Superintendent of Prisons (SP) the authorities launched a massive crackdown and even checked their lunch packets brought to them by their family members.

The new Superintendent was brought to the Magazine remand prison for his excellent record during his tenure at the Kalutara Prison.

The damage due to the riots is said to be worth Rs.7.5 million. Meanwhile the Colombo Crime Division (CCD) is conducting investigations into the riots as they had damaged state property. A probe into the clash and the protest has been initiated by the Prisons Department. (Supun Dias)

Daily Mirror

World faces a 600 million jobs challenge, warns ILO

2012-01-24T17:57:00.000-08:00

Global Employment Trends 2012: World faces a 600 million jobs challenge, warns ILO

The world faces the “urgent challenge” of creating 600 million productive jobs over the next decade in order to generate sustainable growth and maintain social cohesion, according to the annual report on global employment by the International Labour Organization (ILO).

Press release
24 January 2012

GENEVA (ILO News) – The world faces the “urgent challenge” of creating 600 million productive jobs over the next decade in order to generate sustainable growth and maintain social cohesion, according to the annual report on global employment by the International Labour Organization (ILO).

“After three years of continuous crisis conditions in global labour markets and against the prospect of a further deterioration of economic activity, there is a backlog of global unemployment of 200 million,” says the ILO in its annual report titled “Global Employment Trends 2012: Preventing a deeper jobs crisis”. Moreover, the report says more than 400 million new jobs will be needed over the next decade to absorb the estimated 40 million growth of the labour force each year.

The Global Employment Trends Report also said the world faces the additional challenge of creating decent jobs for the estimated 900 million workers living with their families below the US$ 2 a day poverty line, mostly in developing countries.

“Despite strenuous government efforts, the jobs crisis continues unabated, with one in three workers worldwide – or an estimated 1.1 billion people – either unemployed or living in poverty”, said ILO Director-General Juan Somavia. “What is needed is that job creation in the real economy must become our number one priority”.

The report says the recovery that started in 2009 has been short-lived and that there are still 27 million more unemployed workers than at the start of the crisis. The fact that economies are not generating enough employment is reflected in the employment-to-population ratio (the proportion of the working-age population in employment), which suffered the largest decline on record between 2007 (61.2 per cent) and 2010 (60.2 per cent).

At the same time, there are nearly 29 million fewer people in the labour force now than would be expected based on pre-crisis trends. If these discouraged workers1 were counted as unemployed, then global unemployment would swell from the current 197 million to 225 million, and the unemployment rate would rise from 6 per cent to 6.9 per cent.

The report paints three scenarios for the employment situation in the future. The baseline projection shows an additional 3 million unemployed for 2012, rising to 206 million by 2016. If global growth rates fall below 2 per cent, then unemployment would rise to 204 million in 2012. In a more benign scenario, assuming a quick resolution of the euro debt crisis, global unemployment would be around 1 million lower in 2012.

Young people continue to be among the hardest hit by the jobs crisis. Judging by the present course, the report says, there is little hope for a substantial improvement in their near-term employment prospects.

Global Employment Trends 2012 says 74.8 million youth aged 15-24 were unemployed in 2011, an increase of more than 4 million since 2007. It adds that globally, young people are nearly three times as likely as adults to be unemployed. The global youth unemployment rate, at 12.7 per cent, remains a full percentage point above the pre-crisis level.

The report’s main findings also include:

There has been a marked slowdown in the rate of progress in reducing the number of working poor. Nearly 30 per cent of all workers in the world – more than 900 million – were living with their families below the US$2 poverty line in 2011, or about 55 million more than expected on the basis of pre-crisis trends. Of these 900 million working poor, about half were living below the US$1.25 extreme poverty line.

The number of workers in vulnerable employment2 globally in 2011 is estimated at 1.52 billion, an increase of 136 million since 2000 and of nearly 23 million since 2009.

Among women, 50.5 per cent are in vulnerable employment, a rate that exceeds the corresponding share for men (48.2).

Favourable economic conditions pushed job creation rates above labour force growth, thereby supporting domestic demand, in particular in larger emerging economies in Latin America and East Asia.

The labour productivity gap between the developed and the developing world – an important indicator measuring the convergence of income levels across countries – has narrowed over the past two decades, but remains substantial: Output per worker in the Developed Economies and European Union region was US$ 72,900 in 2011 versus an average of US$ 13,600 in developing regions.

“These latest figures reflect the increasing inequality and continuous exclusion that millions of workers and their families are facing”, said Mr. Somavia. “Whether we recover or not from this crisis will depend on how effective government policies ultimately are. And policies will only be effective as long as they have a positive impact on peoples’ lives”.

The report calls for targeted measures to support job growth in the real economy, and warns that additional public support measures alone will not be enough to foster a sustainable recovery.

“Policy-makers must act decisively and in a coordinated fashion to reduce the fear and uncertainty that is hindering private investment so that the private sector can restart the main engine of global job creation”, says the report.

It also warns that in times of faltering demand further stimulus is important and this can be done in a way that does not put the sustainability of public finances at risk. The report calls for fiscal consolidation efforts to be carried out in a socially responsible manner, with growth and employment prospects as guiding principles.
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For more information, please contact the ILO’s Department of Communication and Public Information on +4122/799-7912, communication@ilo.org

1 A person who has decided to stop looking for work because they feel they have no chance at finding a job is considered economically inactive (i.e. outside the labour force) and is therefore not counted among the unemployed. This also applies to young people who choose to remain in schooling longer than they had hoped and wait to seek employment because of the perceived lack of job opportunities.

2 Vulnerable employment is defined as the sum of own-account workers and unpaid family workers.

Tag: employment
Regions and countries covered: Global
Unit responsible: Communication and Public Information
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ILO LINKS:
Global Unemployment Out Look
Global Employment Trends 2012
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IMF: Euro Crisis Could Spark New Global Slump

2012-01-24T13:10:00.000-08:00

IMF: Euro Crisis Could Spark New Global Slump
6:26pm UK, Tuesday January 24, 2012

The International Monetary Fund has warned the world faces a new recession this year if the eurozone debt crisis gets worse.

The global economic watchdog has cut its world growth estimate to 3.25% from its previous forecast of 4%.

Forecasts for UK growth were cut by 1% to 0.6% - although the country is still expected to outperform Germany and France.

The IMF predicted the economy to grow 2% in 2013, down from 2.4%, the IMF said, as "intensifying strains" in the euro area affect the rest of the world.

IMF chiefs fear the eurozone debt crisis could worsen during 2012

It said global output will expand by 3.25% this year, a downward revision from 4%, as countries including Italy and Spain see their economies shrink and pull the rest of the single-currency bloc into recession.

The amended forecasts come ahead of the publication on Wednesday of the UK's eagerly-awaited gross domestic product (GDP) figures for the fourth quarter of 2011.

The IMF said the world's greatest economic challenge was putting "an end to the crisis in the euro area by supporting growth" while restoring public finance balance sheets and sustaining economic recovery.

Germany and France will enjoy smaller growth than the UK in 2012 according to the organisation, with projected figures of 0.3% and 0.2% respectively.

Meanwhile, it is forecast the US will grow by 1.8% while Japan will grow by 1.7%.

The downward revision to forecasts in the euro come as the cost of financing sovereign debt surges and eurozone governments try to clamp down on spending, the IMF said.

It warned austerity measures in Japan and the US - or a lack of - posed a threat to the global outlook in the medium term.

Gaddafi supporters seize control of Libyan town

2012-01-24T08:42:00.000-08:00

Gaddafi supporters seize control of Libyan town

By Taha Zargoun
Reuters
TRIPOLI (Reuters) - Supporters of ousted Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi seized control of the town of Bani Walid on Monday after clashes with a militia loyal to the new government in which four people were killed, witnesses told Reuters.

A resident of Bani Walid, about 200 km (120 miles) south-east of Tripoli, said the sides fought using heavy weaponry, including 106 mm anti-tank weapons, and that 20 people were wounded.

Another witness told Reuters the fighting had now stopped but that Gaddafi loyalists were in control of the town centre, where they were flying green flags, a symbol of allegiance to the ousted administration.

"They control the town now. They are roaming the town," said the witness, a fighter with the 28th May militia which was fighting the Gaddafi loyalists.

Bani Walid, base of the powerful Warfallah tribe, was one of the last towns in Libya to surrender to the anti-Gaddafi rebellion last year. Many people there oppose the country's new leadership.

The uprising in Bani Walid could not come at a worse time for the ruling National Transitional Council (NTC). It is already reeling from violent protests in the eastern city of Benghazi and the resignation of its second most senior official.

An air force official told Reuters that jets were being mobilised to fly to Bani Walid. In Tripoli, there were signs of security being tightened, Reuters reporters in the city said.

FIGHTERS "MASSACRED"

The violence in Bani Walid was sparked when members of the May 28 militia arrested some Gaddafi loyalists.

That prompted other supporters of the former leader, who was captured and killed in October, to attack the militia's garrison in the town, said the resident, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

"They massacred men at the doors of the militia headquarters," said the resident.

During Libya's nine-month civil war, anti-Gaddafi rebels fought for months to take Bani Walid.

Local tribal elders eventually agreed to let NTC fighters enter the town, but relations have been uneasy since and there have been occasional flare-ups of violence.

In November last year, several people were killed in Bani Walid when a militia group from Tripoli's Souq al-Juma district arrived in the town to try to arrest some local men.

Taking back control of the town will be challenging because it has natural defences. Anyone approaching from the north has to descend into a deep valley and then climb up the other side, giving defenders an advantage.

It was this landscape, in part, that prevented anti-Gaddafi militias from taking the town during the civil war, despite the fact they were heavily armed and had superior numbers.

(Writing by Christian Lowe; Editing by Myra MacDonald)

ஈரானின் குரல் வளையை நெரிக்கும் EUவின் எண்ணெய் விற்பனைத் தடை.

2012-01-23T16:48:00.000-08:00

"We will paralyze the economic activity of Iran and deprive the country of part of its resources. I know you can be skeptical about sanctions…but it avoids going to war,"

French Minister of Foreign Affairs Alain Juppé

EAST NEWS JANUARY 23, 2012, 5:51 P.M. ET

EU Embargoes Iranian Oil

By JOHN M. BIERS , LAURENCE NORMAN and BENOIT FAUCON

BRUSSELS—European Union foreign ministers approved an embargo on oil imports from Iran, moving past an internal debate over the economic burden on some members and imposing the bloc's strongest measures yet to press the Islamic Republic over its nuclear program.

The EU also placed sanctions on Iran's central bank and petrochemical industry, according to a statement by the Council of the European Union.

"Our message is clear. We have no quarrel with the Iranian people," the leaders of France, Germany and the U.K. said in a statement. "But the Iranian leadership has failed to restore international confidence in the exclusively peaceful nature of its nuclear program. We will not accept Iran acquiring a nuclear weapon."

Adding to efforts by the U.S. and the EU to starve Iran's government of revenue, the U.S. on Monday sanctioned Iran's third-largest bank, Bank Tejarat, closing off one of Tehran's few remaining conduits for trade with the West.

Treasury Department officials said they sanctioned the bank for its alleged role in financing Iran's nuclear program and for helping other banks and companies evade international sanctions.

The move follows President Barack Obama's move last month to ban any American dealings with Iran's central bank.

The Obama administration welcomed the EU's decision Monday in a joint statement by Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

The EU and U.S. each said they were continuing with a "dual track" approach in which sanctions are intended to put pressure on Iran to engage in talks with the international community on its nuclear program.

Tehran has yet to respond to an offer made in October to return to talks, the U.S. statement said.

The EU's move is already causing adjustments in the oil market. Refiners in Spain and Italy have already begun to phase out some Iranian oil purchases in anticipation of the embargo. Some European countries said they have contacted Saudi Arabia to replace the Iranian oil.
Although the embargo was largely in line with expectations, oil prices rose slightly at news the EU had agreed to the policy—and rose again as Iran reiterated a threat to retaliate by blocking the Strait of Hormuz, the vital shipping lane through which one-fifth of the world's traded oil passes. Crude for March delivery closed at $99.58 per barrel in New York trading Monday, up $1.25, or 1.27%.
The EU decision is likely to further squeeze an Iranian economy already under pressure from the effect of Western sanctions. Iran's currency, the rial, fell 10% to a record low on Monday following the EU decision, Reuters reported.
Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparastdeemed the ban "unfair" and "doomed to fail."
An Iranian official acknowledged the embargo will hinder the country's largest revenue source. "It will make things tougher at this end" by restricting the choice of crude buyers, the official said.
The embargo could cost Iran $5 billion to $10 billion in oil revenue for 2012, and more in subsequent years, said Trevor Houser, a partner at New York-based economic-research firm Rhodium Group.
The sanctions put a freeze on the assets within the EU of Iran's central bank, which clears the country's oil sales. The EU also barred imports of petrochemical products, the export of equipment and technology transfer in the sector to Iran, and new investment in Iranian petrochemical companies and joint ventures.
The International Energy Agency said Monday that consumers of Iranian oil in the EU will have time to find replacement crude supplies, since the embargo wouldn't affect supplies until the middle of the year.
The EU imports about 600,000 barrels of Iranian oil daily—close to a quarter of Tehran's exports of 2.6 million barrels a day—according to the IEA. But those imports fall unevenly, with some of Europe's most-stressed economies—Greece, Italy and Spain—among the biggest customers.
Greece has been particularly critical of the embargo, arguing that a slower implementation was needed to ensure that its economy wouldn't be excessively burdened.
Under Monday's agreement, the EU said it will undertake a review of the policy's effects on member states by May 1, bowing to a condition sought by Greece. However, any move to reverse or delay the embargo would require the unanimous decision of the EU's 27 members, officials said.
Diplomats said EU foreign ministers would promise to take all necessary measures to ensure member states would continue to have access to oil supplies.
EU foreign-policy chief Catherine Ashton said the May review would ensure that the embargo won't have an "adverse" impact on the European economy.
Italian Foreign Minister Giulio Terzi said the impact of the oil embargo on the Italian economy will "be negligible, almost zero."
Greek Foreign Minister Stavros Demas said Greece benefited from favorable financing terms in its Iran purchases, and that it will need help not only to find new suppliers but to also get the favorable financial terms they enjoyed from Iran. Greece has been buying 35% of its oil from Iran. Mr. Demas said Greece has held talks with Saudi Arabia to replace the Iranian supply.
Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel Garcia-Margallo also said Saudi Arabia and other Gulf producers had guaranteed supply to offset Iranian oil "at the same price."
The move comes as U.S. officials also apply pressure on consumers of Iranian oil, including China, India and other Asian countries, to trim Iranian imports.
The effectiveness of an oil embargo will be limited as long as Iran is still able to sell some oil on the international market, says Joseph Nye, a Harvard University political scientist.
China has rejected calls to halt its consumption of Iranian oil. India's Oil Minister Jaipal Reddy said Monday that his country will keep buying crude oil from Iran and is trying to find a mechanism to settle payments despite new restrictions on financial transactions with Iran,
French Minister of Foreign Affairs Alain Juppé acknowledged some of the skepticism about the effectiveness of the sanctions, but said the EU package would meaningfully hit Iran. "We will paralyze the economic activity of Iran and deprive the country of part of its resources. I know you can be skeptical about sanctions…but it avoids going to war," he said.
Source: The Wall Street Journal

மூன்றாவது உலகப் பொருளாதாரப் பெருமந்தம் 2012

2012-01-23T12:52:00.000-08:00

Turbulent Year Ahead for Global Economy

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

* Global Economic Prospects 2012 predicts turbulent year ahead

* Developing world will still lead global growth,but at slower pace

* ‘Second wave’ of financial crisis will take a toll on developing countries

----------------------------------------------------------------

Washington, DC, January 18, 2012—The world economy in 2012 is set to grow by just 2.5 percent, weighed down by ripple effects from the 2008 financial crisis, says the World Bank's latest Global Economic Prospects (GEP) 2012, published today.

The sovereign debt crisis in Europe, which took a turn for the worse in August 2011, coincides with slowing growth in several major developing countries (Brazil, India and, to a lesser extent, Russia, South Africa and Turkey), mainly reflecting policy tightening begun in late 2010 and early 2011 to combat rising inflationary pressures from overly-fast growth.

As a result, developing country growth for 2012 is now forecast at 5.4 percent, the second lowest over the past 10 years. The Bank has also lowered its growth forecast for high-income countries in 2012 to 1.4 percent and -0.3 percent for the high-income Euro Area.

Reflecting the growth slowdown, world trade, which expanded by an estimated 6.6 percent in 2011, will grow by only 4.7 percent in 2012, before strengthening to 6.8 percent in 2013.

Risk aversion stemming from the Euro Area debt crisis has spread to both developing countries and other high-income countries. Yields on the sovereign debt of developing countries have increased by an average of 117 basis points (bps) between July-end 2011 and early January 2012, as have those of most-all Euro Area countries, including France (86 bps) and Germany (36 bps), and those of non-Euro Area countries such as the United Kingdom (18 bps).

Capital flows to developing countries have weakened sharply as investors withdrew substantial sums from developing-country markets in the second half of 2011, with gross capital flows to developing countries plunging to $170 billion, only 55 percent of the $309 billion received during the same period in 2010.

Developing-country stock markets have lost 8.5 percent of their value since July-end. This, combined with the 4.2 percent drop in high-income stock-market valuations, has translated into $6.5 trillion, or 9.5 percent of global GDP, in wealth losses.

The GEP urges developing countries to preparing for further downside risks, while there is still time, by assessing their vulnerabilities and preparing for contingencies by pre-financing budgetary deficits, prioritizing spending on social safety nets and infrastructure spending to assure longer-term growth, and stress-testing banks to avoid an eruption of domestic banking crises.

The report’s Regional Annexes provide an in-depth analysis of the outlook for each developing region, identifying region-specific vulnerabilities and risks, and offering broad policy recommendations for mitigating the effects of a crisis that, the GEP says, will spare no-one.

In the East Asia and Pacific region, affected by flooding in Thailand and the turmoil in Europe, regional GDP growth is estimated to have slowed to 8.2 percent in 2011, and is projected to ease further to 7.8 percent for both 2012 and 2013. Growth in China was an estimated 9.1 percent in 2011 and is expected to dip to 8.4 percent in 2012.

Europe and Central Asia grew by an estimated 5.3 percent in 2011. However, the expected slowdown in high-income Europe, still troublesome inflationary pressures in the region, and reduced capital flows due to the Euro Area crisis may slow regional growth to 3.2 percent in 2012, before firming to 4.0 percent by 2013.

Latin America and the Caribbean grew by an estimated 4.2 percent in 2011, but this is expected to ease to 3.6 percent growth in 2012, before picking up to 4.2 percent in 2013. Weaker global growth, uncertainty arising from the Euro Area debt crisis, slower growth in China, and a policy-induced deceleration in domestic demand are weighing on the region’s growth prospects.

Dramatic political changes in the Middle East and North Africa have disrupted economic activity substantially, but selectively, across the region, while a deteriorating external environment slowed growth to an estimated 1.7 percent in 2011.

Growth is expected to remain subdued in 2012, at 2.3 percent, rising to an expected 3.2 percent in 2013.
Growth in South Asia slowed to an estimated 6.6 percent in calendar year 2011, reflecting a sharp slowdown in the second half of the year in India as well as external headwinds. The region’s GDP growth is projected to ease further to 5.8 percent in 2012, before strengthening to 7.1 percent in 2013.

Growth in Sub-Saharan Africa remained robust in 2011 at 4.9 percent. Excluding South Africa, growth in the rest of the region was even stronger at 5.9 percent in 2011, making it one of the fastest growing developing regions. Growth for the region is projected to accelerate to 5.3 percent in 2012 and 5.6 percent in 2013.
=================
World Bank Link: http://siteresources.worldbank.org/INTPROSPECTS/Resources/334934-1322593305595/8287139-1326374900917/GEP_January_2012a_FullReport_FINAL.pdf

Sri Lanka News Debrief - 23-01-2012

2012-01-23T08:19:00.000-08:00

Sri Lanka News Debrief - 23.01.2012

நேற்றோ நிறுவிய நவீன காலனிய பொம்மை அரசை எதிர்த்து லிபியாவில் கிளர்ச்சி!

2012-01-23T07:12:00.000-08:00

“Everywhere there have been sit-ins and demonstrations” against the council, said Mohamed Benrasali, a spokesman for the Misurata council. People are “accusing it of no transparency and dragging its feet and not taking any actions for transitional justice and many, many issues,” he said, adding, “We feel that the head of the regime has changed, but the rest of the regime is in place.”

January 22, 2012

Libya Protests Spur Shake-Up in Interim Government
By LIAM STACK

Libya’s post-Qaddafi transitional government faced a political crisis Sunday after protesters ransacked its offices in Benghazi, highlighting growing nationwide unease with its leadership and triggering a shake-up in which the governing council’s No. 2 official resigned and several members were suspended.

For months, youth groups with a range of complaints have been protesting against the Transitional National Council in Benghazi, the eastern city whose protests sparked the nine-month revolt and which once served as the rebel capital. Protests have cropped up elsewhere, too, including in Tripoli, the capital, where activists have erected a small tent city across from the prime minister’s office.

Protesters are demanding more transparency from the transitional council, which holds executive power and is tasked with overseeing the election of a constituent assembly to draft a new Constitution. It is dominated by figures from the eastern rebel movement, much to the suspicion of other regional factions, and there are accusations, too, that many of its members are tainted by past ties, real or suspected, with the government of Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi.

On Saturday night, those frustrations boiled over when a crowd of mostly young men attacked the council’s offices in Benghazi, tossing a grenade, smashing windows and forcing their way into the building while the council’s chairman, Mustafa Abdel-Jalil, was inside.

The spark appeared to be the online release of a draft election law to govern the selection of the 200-member constituent assembly. Activists said it was prepared without consultation or public oversight and that its winner-take-all rules would encourage Libyans to vote along tribal lines or for rich or prominent citizens in their region, and undercut those seeking to form new parties.
Seeking to contain the fallout from the attack, Abdel-Hafidh Ghoga, the transitional council’s deputy chief, resigned Sunday, telling the Arabic satellite channel Al Jazeera, “My resignation is for the benefit of the nation and is required at this stage.”

Speaking to reporters in Benghazi on Sunday, Mr. Abdel-Jalil warned that continued protests could lead the country down a perilous path and pleaded with protesters to give the government more time.

“We are going through a political movement that can take the country to a bottomless pit,” Reuters quoted Mr. Abdel-Jalil as saying. “There is something behind these protests that is not for the good of the country.

“The people have not given the government enough time, and the government does not have enough money,” Mr. Abdel-Jalil said. “Maybe there are delays, but the government has only been working for two months. Give them a chance, at least two months.”

The interim government suspended several members from Benghazi and announced that it would form a council of religious figures to investigate government officials and council members accused of corruption or ties to the Qaddafi government. It also delayed the official release of the election law.

Both the incident itself and the leadership’s response were met with widespread anger in Benghazi, according to Salwa Bugaighis, a lawyer and political activist who was a leading figure in the uprising against Colonel Qaddafi.

“We are worried,” she said. “We are afraid that maybe it becomes worse.”Ms. Bugaighis said that the protesters in Benghazi were particularly angry about allegations that millions of dollars — and possibly billions — in government money was unaccounted for.

“They want transparency. They want people from the Qaddafi regime to go,” she said. “If there’s
no transparency, everything will collapse.”A transitional council member from Benghazi, Fathi Baaja, denied that he or anyone else had been suspended, despite widespread reports to the contrary. He said an Islamist faction — “religious groups and mosque preachers” — on the Benghazi local council had pushed for the suspensions but said that “they have no right to suspend us.”

Saying he was among those who had set up the council, Mr. Baaja accused the Islamist rivals of being Qaddafi sympathizers.“They used to convince people they had no right to revolt against Qaddafi, the father of the country. They said we had no right to go against the head of state, the caliph,” Mr. Baaja said.

“I never heard their voices say no to Qaddafi, and I never put myself in the same place as them.”
Protests have taken place in the city of Misurata as well, which is run by a rival leadership faction and where officials said they were planning to hold elections for a new local council in February, without the blessing of the national council.

“Everywhere there have been sit-ins and demonstrations” against the council, said Mohamed Benrasali, a spokesman for the Misurata council. People are “accusing it of no transparency and dragging its feet and not taking any actions for transitional justice and many, many issues,” he said, adding, “We feel that the head of the regime has changed, but the rest of the regime is in place.”

Both Saturday’s protest and its political fallout demonstrated the challenges Libya faces, said Fred Abrahams, a special adviser on Libya for Human Rights Watch.

“Ousting Qaddafi will prove more straight-forward than getting a representative and transparent
government to replace him,” he said.

Critics of the interim government also complain that its performance has faltered on even the nuts-and-bolts level.

Basic services have yet to be restored in some areas, while towns seen as sympathetic to Colonel Qaddafi, like Surt and Bani Walid, remain in ruins after months of fighting.

The interim government has struggled to exert authority even in Tripoli, where the streets are largely controlled by a patchwork of regional militias whose members defer to their own commanders, not government security forces.

Mr. Abdel-Jalil also accepted the resignation of the head of the Benghazi Local Council, Saleh el-Ghazal, an appointed figure whose replacement he pledged would be elected.

But on Sunday, authorities postponed the planned unveiling of the country’s election law, which has been mired in controversy. A draft of the law released on Jan. 2 was criticized for barring dual-nationals from running for office, in a country where scores of political activists were forced into exile.

It also set a 10 percent quota for women in Parliament, which feminist activists called “insulting.” Rather than raise the quota, a revised draft released last week announced that the quota would be abolished entirely.

Source: New York Times
David D. Kirkpatrick contributed reporting from Cairo, Kareem Fahim from Damascus, Syria, and
Yusef Sawie from Tripoli, Libya.

வளைகுடாவில் படைக்குவிப்பு-2

2012-01-23T06:19:00.000-08:00

British, French ships join US carrier in Strait of Hormuz

AFP – 2 hrs 50 mins ago
British and French ships joined a US carrier group in a six-strong flotilla of warships which passed through the sensitive Strait of Hormuz, Britain's Ministry of Defence said Sunday.

The ministry said a Royal Navy frigate, HMS Argyll, was part of a US-led carrier group to sail through the waterway which Iran has threatened to close over Western moves to impose new sanctions over Tehran's nuclear programme.

A spokesman said: "HMS Argyll and a French vessel joined a US carrier group transiting through the Strait of Hormuz, to underline the unwavering international commitment to maintaining rights of passage under international law."

He said Britain maintained "a constant presence in the region as part of our enduring contribution to Gulf security".

British warships have been patrolling in the Gulf continuously since the 1980s.The Strait of Hormuz is a key transit route for global oil supplies.

European Union foreign ministers meeting in Brussels on Monday are expected to agree to sanction Iran's central bank and announce an embargo on buying Iranian oil.

The United States, France, Britain and Germany accuse Iran of seeking to build a nuclear bomb,
but Tehran says its nuclear drive is peaceful.

வளைகுடாவில் படைக்குவிப்பு!

2012-01-22T18:06:00.000-08:00

U.S. aircraft carrier enters Gulf without incident

By David Alexander
Reuters – 2 hours 2 minutes ago

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A U.S. aircraft carrier sailed through the Strait of Hormuz and into the Gulf without incident on Sunday, a day after Iran backed away from an earlier threat to take action if an American carrier returned to the strategic waterway.

The carrier USS Abraham Lincoln completed a "regular and routine" passage through the strait, a critical gateway for the region's oil exports, "as previously scheduled and without incident," said Lieutenant Rebecca Rebarich, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Fifth Fleet.

The Lincoln, accompanied by strike group of warships, was the first U.S. aircraft carrier to enter the Gulf since late December and was on a routine rotation to replace the outgoing USS John C. Stennis.

The departure of the Stennis prompted Iranian army chief Ataollah Salehi to threaten action if the carrier passed back into the Gulf."I recommend and emphasize to the American carrier not to return to the Persian Gulf. ... We are not in the habit of warning more than once," he said.

aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) sails in the Indian Ocean near Indonesia, February 3, 2005. REUTERS/U.S. Navy/Timothy Smith-Handout

The threat led to a round of escalating rhetoric between the two sides that spooked oil markets and raised the specter of a military confrontation between Iran and the United States.Iran threatened to close the strait, the world's most important oil shipping gateway, while the United States warned such a move would require a response by Washington, which routinely patrols international sea lanes to ensure they remain open.

Iran appeared to ease away from its earlier warnings on Saturday, with Revolutionary Guard Corps
Deputy Commander Hossein Salami telling the official IRNA news agency that the return of U.S.
warships to the Gulf was routine and not an increase in its permanent presence in the region.

"U.S. warships and military forces have been in the Persian Gulf and the Middle East region for many years and their decision in relation to the dispatch of a new warship is not a new issue and it should be interpreted as part of their permanent presence," Salami said.

Pentagon officials declined to comment directly on Salami's remarks, but reiterated that continued U.S. presence in the region reflected the seriousness with which Washington takes its security commitments to partner nations in the region and to ensuring free flow of international commerce.

The Lincoln's arrival in the Gulf was unrelated to Iran's statement on Saturday.Tensions between Iran and the United States have been escalating in recent weeks as President Barack Obama prepares to implement new U.S. sanctions against Iran over its nuclear enrichment program, which Tehran says is for energy production but the West believes is aimed at producing atomic weapons.

The EU is preparing to intensify sanctions against Tehran with an embargo on Iran's oil exports and possibly freezing the assets of Iran's central bank. Obama is preparing new U.S. sanctions that target foreign financial institutions that do business with Iran's central bank.

Both sides tried to scale down the rhetoric last week. The White House emphasized the United States was still open to international talks on Iran's nuclear program, even as it denied Iranian assertions that discussions were under way about resuming a dialogue.

The White House would not confirm or deny Iranian reports that Obama had sent a letter to Iranian leaders, but spokesman Jay Carney said any communications with Tehran would have reinforced the statements Washington has made publicly.

The United States supports talks between Iran and the so-called P5 + 1, the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council - Russia, China, France, England and the United States - plus Germany.

Carney urged Iran to respond to the letter sent in October on behalf of the P5 +1 by European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton."If the Iranians are serious about restarting talks, then they need to respond to that letter," Carney told a White House briefing. "That is the channel by which ... the restarting of those
talks would take place."

(Reporting By David Alexander; Editing by Peter Cooney and Stacey Joyce)

சர்வதேச நாணய நிதியத்துக்கு நாட்டை விற்கும்

2012-01-21T18:40:00.000-08:00

New arrangement with the IMF

CB considering commitment fee programme to draw money later

Sri Lankan authorities are considering a possible arrangement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) where the balance dues from the US$2.6 billion facility could be drawn at a later stage, officials said.

While the Central Bank is most likely to opt for a surveillance agreement with the IMF which is standard practice after a programme is over and as a follow up arrangement, an option being considered is a ‘commitment fee’ arrangement. “Under such a programme, the Central Bank pays a commitment fee to the fund to hold the balance of $800 million for a period of time and then draw this amount later,” a senior bank official, who declined to be named, said, adding, “we then can decide either to draw this money or not.”

An IMF team led by Sri Lanka mission leader Brian Atkin is due tomorrow on a week-long review mission aimed at finalizing the last two installments of the fund facility approved in July 2009 as balance of payments support. The Central Bank, the executing agency of the facility, has so far drawn $1.8 billion from the $2.6 billion with another $800 million due. “The final draw-down of $800 million will be at a higher rate of interest – over 3 % compared to 1.1/4 % from the amount received so far - because we received 400 % of Sri Lanka’s quota in the IMF when each country is generally entitled to 300% of their quota,” the official noted.

He said whenever a country’s quota is exceeded the interest rate goes up and in this context, one question arises, “should we get credit at a highest cost since our foreign reserves are at a comfortable level?” He said this would be one of the key issues discussed during meetings with the IMF team. The official said Sri Lanka’s reserves are comfortable at the moment at over $6 billion as against an average 3 ½ months (worth $4-5 billion) that is generally required. “We need to take a call whether we actually need to draw the final installments at a higher cost when we have enough reserves,” he said.

Other sources in the banking industry said with interest rates mixed internationally, recycling these reserves to earn a better return instead of keeping the funds idle is also not an economically, viable proposition. Some economists and Opposition MPs like economist Harsha de Silva have been critical of the Central Bank and its policies relating to accumulation of foreign reserves through bonds while other sources are foreign remittances and IMF funds. There has been wide criticism of the Bank’s use of some $1billion to support a sagging Rupee and keep it steady against the dollar. In the 2012 budget, the Government announced a 3 % devaluation much to the surprise of the Central Bank which has been resisting any devaluation and has been adjusting the Rupee in a marginal way through open market operations.
Source: Sunday Times LK

இந்திய இராணுவம்

2012-01-19T15:18:00.000-08:00

ஜனாதிபதி முன்னிலையில் ஒன்பது Qatar உடன்படிக்கைகள் கைச்சாத்து

2012-01-19T14:36:00.000-08:00

வீரகேசரி இணையம் 1/16/2012 6:28:43

உத்தியோகபூர்வ விஜயமொன்றை மேற்கொண்டு இலங்கைக்கு வந்துள்ள Qatar - கட்டார் எமிர் ஷேக்
ஹமாட் பின் கலீபா அல் தானிக்கும் ஜனாதிபதி மஹிந்த ராஜபக்ஷவுக்குமிடையில் இன்று காலை கலந்துரையாடலொன்று இடம்பெற்றுள்ளதாக ஜனாதிபதி செயலகம் விடுத்துள்ள அறிக்கையில் தெரிவிக்கப்பட்டுள்ளது.

இக்கலந்துரையாடலின் பின்னர் இரு நாடுகளுக்குமிடையில் ஜனாதிபதி முன்னிலையிலேயே ஒன்பது புரிந்துணர்வு ஒப்பந்தங்கள் கைச்சாத்திடப்பட்டுள்ளதாகத் தெரிவிக்கப்பட்டுள்ளது.

உயர்கல்வி மற்றும் விஞ்ஞான ஆய்வுகளுக்கான புரிந்துணர்வு ஒப்பந்தம், பொருளாதார வர்த்தகம் உட்பட ஏனைய உடன்படிக்கைகளிலும் கையெழுத்திடப்பட்டுள்ளதாகத் தெரியவருகின்றது.

Company to formed by Army to undertake projects

2012-01-19T14:11:00.000-08:00

Army Company!

Thursday, 19 January 2012 04:40

Army Commander Lieutenant General Jagath Jayasuriya said that the Army will form a separate company within its management to carryout development and construction projects at a low cost by following the tender procedure of the government.

He said that President Mahinda Rajapaksa has also given the directions and the necessity to form a separate institution in the army for this purpose.

“A committee has been set up to come up with proposals in establishing an institution of this sort,” he said. But it is more likely to come out as a separate directorate within the Army.

The Army has also able to save more than Rs.300 million to the government by carrying out such projects ranging from constructing houses to road construction projects, the Commander said.

Currently the Army engineers supported by a large number of soldiers from every regiment are engaged in a large number of infrastructure projects implemented by the government in all parts of the country mainly in the Northern and Eastern Provinces.

They are engaged in road construction projects in Trincomalee and Batticaloa. A large number of bridges, buildings, playgrounds and parks are also being built by the Army.

The Army was also involved in certain aspects in the construction of the Suriyawewa International Cricket Stadium while the Diyagama Sports Stadium was also constructed by the Army. (Supun Dias)

Sri Lanka at risk from global slowdown: World Bank

2012-01-19T13:56:00.000-08:00

LBO>>Economy
Rising Risk
19 Jan, 2012 07:21:35

Sri Lanka at risk from global slowdown: World Bank

Sri Lanka's post-war economic rebound is slowing and financial problems in key Western markets could reduce demand for the island's exports and hit earnings from worker remittances and tourism, the World Bank said.

It has also lowered its forecast for economic growth in the island, saying Sri Lanka is now expected to grow at 6.8 percent in 2012 and 7.7 percent in 2013. Earlier this month, Sri Lanka's central bank said Sri Lanka's
economy is projected to grow at 8.0 percent in 2012 after having grown at about 8.3 percent in 2011. The forecast was lowered from the earlier forecast of nine percent in 2012.

The World Bank said in a new report on global economic prospects that the global slowdown has been taking its toll on South Asia, with merchandise export volumes which had been growing very strongly in the first part of 2011, declining almost as quickly in the second half.

" . . . year-over-year exports in October are broadly unchanged from a year ago," it said.
"A deepening of the Euro Area crisis would lead to weaker exports, worker remittances and capital inflows to South Asia," the World Bank said.

"The EU-27 countries account for a significant share of South Asia merchandise export markets, although not as much as for some developing regions."

Moreover, the bank said, export financing from Europe, an important component of the region‟s trade credit, is particularly vulnerable to drying up, as was the experience during the 2008 financial crisis.

"At the country level, Bangladesh, the Maldives and Sri Lanka are particularly exposed to a downturn in European demand for merchandise," the World Bank said. "With respect to services, tourism sectors could be especially hard hit in Sri Lanka and the Maldives, although greater diversification (with booming arrivals from Asia) should provide a buffer.

However, the World Bank noted that there could be some "countercyclical benefits" for goods exporters - the so-called 'Walmart effect' - for some sectors such as for Bangladesh's garment industry.

The bank also said that a slowdown in global activity would likely translate into lower oil prices that would ease pressures on current account and fiscal balances for the oil import-dependent nations like Sri Lanka.

"Worker remittances inflows could slow markedly through second round effects of weakened domestic demand in migrant host-countries, largely located in the Arabian Gulf," the report warned.

Worker remittances inflows were the equivalent to 7 percent of GDP in 2010.

"Despite a waning of the post-conflict rebound effects, GDP in Sri Lanka is estimated to have grown 7.7 percent in the 2011 calendar year, slightly below the 2010 pace of 8 percent," the report said.

"While growth was strong at the start of 2011, a deceleration became apparent in the second half of the year, on heightened uncertainty and weakening external demand, as reflected in a modest slowdown in industrial production growth." Given the possibility of further weakening in the global economy, efforts at greater revenue mobilization particularly in countries like Sri Lanka could pay dividends by allowing governments to maintain critical social and infrastructure programs, the World Bank said.

Governments should also look at further improving the targeting of its safety nets and capacity to respond to a crisis to improve efficiency of social safety net programs, it said.

"With markets in the United States and Europe expected to experience prolonged weakness, South Asian countries have the opportunity to re-think and pursue new sources of growth for their countries," the World Bank said.

Sri Lanka News Debrief - 19.01.2012

2012-01-19T13:19:00.000-08:00

போர்க்குற்ற விசாரணையில், ராஜபக்சவுக்கு ஒபாமா ராஜீக தண்டனை விலக்கு!

2012-01-15T23:03:00.000-08:00

US Justice Dept suggests immunity for President Rajapaksa in Torture Victim Protection legal action

14 January 2012, 9:25 pm
Excerpts of court documents filed by US Justice Dept. on Jan 13, 2012, in response to US intentions sought by the District Court of District of Columbia, in the matter of Torture Victim Protection legal action, Kasippillai Manoharan, et al., v. Percy Mahendra Rajapaksa:

The United States of America, by and through the undersigned counsel, respectfully files this status report concerning the Court’s December 30, 2011 Order regarding a Statement of Interest:

1. Plaintiffs seek a judgment under the Torture Victim Protection Act against President Mahendra Rajapaksa of Sri Lanka for, inter alia, alleged command responsibility for extrajudicial killings of certain Sri Lankan nationals. See Kasippillai Manoharan, et al., v. Percy Mahendra Rajapaksa (Dkt. #1).

2. On December 16, 2011, Defendant filed a motion to solicit the views of the United States regarding the Defendant’s entitlement to head of state immunity, the justiciability of the claims under the political question doctrine, and the applicability of the Act of State doctrine. (Dkt. #9).

3. On December 30, 2011, and in response to Defendant’s motion, this Court requested that the United States indicate by January

13 whether it would file a Statement of Interest in this case and, if so, when it would be filed. (Dkt. #10).

4. The United States is filing separately on this date a Suggestion of Immunity in this case recognizing the immunity of President Mahendra Rajapaksa, the President and sitting head of state of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka. As explained in that Suggestion of Immunity, the United States
believes that its determination regarding President Rajapaksa’s immunity is dispositive of this matter. Therefore, the United States will not address the political question doctrine or the Act of State doctrine at this time.
SUGGESTION OF IMMUNITY SUBMITTED BY THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
Case 1:11-cv-00235-CKK Document 12 Filed 01/13/12
Pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 517,1 the United States respectfully informs this Honorable Court of the interest of the United States in the pending lawsuit against His Excellency President Mahinda Rajapaksa (sued as “Percy Mahendra Rajapaksa”), the President and sitting head of state of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, and hereby suggests to the Court the immunity of President Rajapaksa from this suit.2 In support of its interest and suggestion, the United States sets forth as follows

1. The United States has an interest in this action because the sole Defendant, President Rajapaksa, is the sitting head of state of a foreign state, thus raising the question of President Rajapaksa’s immunity from the Court’s jurisdiction while in office. The Constitution assigns to the U.S. President alone the responsibility to represent the Nation in its foreign relations. As an incident of that power, the Executive Branch has sole authority to determine the immunity from suit of sitting heads of state. The interest of the United States in
this matter arises from a determination by the Executive Branch of the Government of the United States, in consideration of the relevant principles of customary international law, and in the implementation of its foreign policy and in the conduct of its international relations, to recognize President Rajapaksa’s immunity from this suit while in office.3 As discussed below, this determination is controlling and is not subject to judicial review. No court has ever subjected a sitting head of state to suit once the Executive Branch has suggested the head
of state’s immunity.

2. The Legal Adviser of the U.S. Department of State has informed the Department of Justice that Sri Lanka has formally requested the Government of the United States to suggest the immunity of President Rajapaksa from this lawsuit. The Legal Adviser has further informed the Department of Justice that the “Department of State recognizes and allows the immunity of President Rajapaksa as a sitting head of state from the jurisdiction of the United States District Court in this suit.”

Letter from Harold Hongju Koh to Tony West

3. The immunity of foreign states and foreign officials from suit in our courts has different sources. For many years, such immunity was determined exclusively by the Executive Branch, and courts deferred completely to the Executive’s foreign sovereign immunity determinations. See, e.g., Republic of Mexico v. Hoffmann, 324 U.S. 30, 35 (1945) (“It is therefore not for the courts to deny an immunity which our government has
seen fit to allow, or to allow an immunity on new grounds which the government has not seen fit to recognize.”). In 1976, Congress codified the standards governing suit against foreign states in the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act, transferring to the courts the responsibility for determining whether a foreign
state is subject to suit. 28 U.S.C. §§ 1602 et seq.; see id. § 1602 (“Claims of foreign states to immunity should henceforth be decided by courts of the United States and of the States in conformity with the principles set forth in this chapter.”).

4. As the Supreme Court recently explained, however, Congress has not similarly codified standards governing the immunity of foreign officials from suit in our courts. Samantar v. Yousuf, 130 S. Ct. 2278, 2292 (2010) (“Although Congress clearly intended to supersede the common-law regime for claims against foreign states, we find nothing in the statute’s origin or aims to indicate that Congress similarly wanted to codify the law of foreign official immunity.”).

Instead, when it codified the principles governing the immunity of foreign states, Congress left in place the practice of judicial deference to Executive Branch immunity determinations with respect to foreign officials. See id. at 2291 (“We have been given no reason to believe that Congress saw as a problem, or wanted to eliminate, the State Department’s role in determinations regarding individual official immunity.”). Thus,
the Executive Branch retains its historic authority to determine a foreign official’s immunity from suit, including
the immunity of foreign heads of state. See id. at 2284–85 & n.6 (noting the Executive Branch’s role in determining head of state immunity).

5. The doctrine of head of state immunity is well established in customary international law. See Satow’s Guide to Diplomatic Practice 9 (Lord Gore-Booth ed., 5th ed. 1979). In the United States, head of state immunity decisions are made by the Department of State, incident to the Executive Branch’s authority in the field of foreign affairs. The Supreme Court has held that the courts of the United States are bound by
suggestions of immunity submitted by the Executive Branch. See Hoffman, 324 U.S. at 35–36; Ex parte Peru, 318 U.S. 578, 588–89 (1943). In Ex parte Peru, in the context of foreign state immunity, the Supreme Court, without further review of the Executive Branch’s immunity determination, declared that the Executive Branch’s suggestion of immunity “must be accepted by the courts as a conclusive determination by the political arm of the Government.” 318 U.S. at 589. After a suggestion of immunity is filed, it is the “court’s duty” to surrender jurisdiction. Id. at 588. The courts’ deference to Executive Branch suggestions of foreign state immunity is compelled by the separation of powers. See, e.g., Spacil v. Crowe, 489 F.2d 614, 619 (5th Cir. 1974).

6. For the same reason, courts have also routinely deferred to the Executive Branch’s immunity determinations concerning sitting heads of state. See Ye v. Jiang Zemin, 383 F.3d 620, 626 (7th Cir. 2004) (“The obligation of the Judicial Branch is clear — a determination by the Executive Branch that a foreign
head of state is immune from suit is conclusive and a court must accept such a determination without reference to the underlying claims of a plaintiff.”); Saltany v. Reagan, 702 F. Supp. 319, 320 (D.D.C. 1988) (holding that the suggestion of Prime Minister Thatcher’s immunity was conclusive in dismissing a suit that alleged British complicity in U.S. air strikes against Libya), aff’d in part and rev’d in part on other grounds, 886 F.2d 438 (D.C. Cir. 1989).

When the Executive Branch suggests the immunity of a sitting head of state, judicial deference to that suggestion is predicated on compelling considerations arising out of the Executive Branch’s authority to conduct foreign affairs under the Constitution.

See Ye, 383 F.3d at 626 (citing Spacil, 489 F.2d at 618). Judicial deference to the Executive Branch in these matters, the court of appeals noted, is “motivated by the caution we believe appropriate of the Judicial Branch when the conduct of foreign affairs is involved.” Id.

See also Spacil, 489 F.2d at 619 (“Separation-of-powers principles impel a reluctance in the judiciary to interfere with or embarrass the executive in its constitutional role as the nation’s primary organ of international policy.” (citing United States v. Lee, 106 U.S. 196, 209 (1882))); Ex parte Peru, 318 U.S. at 588.4 As noted above, in no case has a court subjected a sitting head of state to suit after the Executive Branch has suggested the head of state’s immunity.5

7. Under the customary international law principles accepted by the Executive Branch, head of state immunity attaches to a head of state’s status as the current holder of the office. After a head of state leaves office, however, that individual generally retains residual immunity only for acts taken in an official
capacity while in that position. See 1 Oppenheim’s International Law 1043–44 (Robert Jennings & Arthur Watts eds., 9th ed. 1996). In this case, because the Executive Branch has determined that President Rajapaksa, as the sitting head of a foreign state, enjoys head of state immunity from the jurisdiction of U.S. courts in light of his current status, President Rajapaksa is entitled to immunity from the jurisdiction of this Court over this suit.

CONCLUSION

For the foregoing reasons, the United States respectfully suggests the immunity of President Rajapaksa in this action.

Dated: January 13, 2012 Respectfully submitted,

TONY WEST
Assistant Attorney General

VINCENT M. GARVEY
Deputy Branch Director
/s/ Judson O. Littleton

JUDSON O. LITTLETON (TX Bar No. 24065635)
JOHN G. SETTER, JR. (VA Bar No. 82621)
Trial Attorneys

United States Department of Justice
Civil Division, Federal Programs Branch
20 Massachusetts Ave. NW
Washington, DC 20001

Counsel for the United States of America

Source http://transcurrents.com/news-views/archives/7256

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மகிந்தவுக்கு கருணை காட்டியது ஒபாமா நிர்வாகம் – போர்க்குற்ற வழக்கில் இருந்து தப்புகிறார்

புதினப்பலகை [ ஞாயிற்றுக்கிழமை, 15 சனவரி 2012, 00:13 GMT ] [ கார்வண்ணன் ]

அமெரிக்காவின் கொலம்பியா மாவட்ட நீதிமன்றத்தில் தாக்கல் செய்யப்பட்ட போர்க்குற்ற வழக்கில், குற்றம்சாட்டப்பட்ட சிறிலங்கா அதிபர் மகிந்த ராஜபக்சவுக்கு இராஜதந்திர சிறப்புரிமை* உள்ளதாக ஒபாமா அமெரிக்க அரசாங்கம் நீதிமன்றத்துக்கு அறிவித்துள்ளது.

காசிப்பிள்ளை மனோகரன் மற்றும் இருவரால் மகிந்த ராஜபக்சவுக்கு எதிராக தொடுக்கப்பட்ட போர்க்குற்ற வழக்கிலேயே, சிறிலங்கா அதிபருக்கு இராஜதந்திர சிறப்புரிமை உள்ளதென ஒபாமா நிர்வாகம் கூறியுள்ளது.

அமெரிக்க இராஜாங்கத் திணைக்களத்தின் நீதித் திணைக்கள சட்ட ஆலோசகர் ஹரோல்ட் ஹோ இந்த போர்க்குற்ற வழக்கில் இருந்து விலக்குப் பெறுவதற்கு சிறிலங்கா அதிபருக்கு இராஜதந்திர சிறப்புரிமை உள்ளதாக கொலம்பியா மாவட்ட நீதிமன்றத்துக்குப் பரிந்துரைத்துள்ளார்.

இந்த வழக்கை விசாரித்து வரும் கொலம்பியா மாவட்ட நீதிபதி கொலீன் கொல்லர் கொட்டேலி, இந்த விவகாரத்தில் இராஜாங்கத் திணைக்களத்தின் பரிந்துரைகளை ஜனவரி 13ம் நாளுக்குள் தெரியப்படுத்துமாறு கேட்டிருந்தார்.

இந்தநிலையில் கடந்த வெள்ளியன்று அமெரிக்க நீதித்திணைக்களத்தின் உதவி சட்டமா அதிபர் ரொனி வெஸ்ட் மற்றும் பிரதி கிளை பணிப்பாளர் வின்ஸ் எம்.காலர்வே ஆகியோர் சிறிலங்கா அதிபருக்குள்ள இராஜதந்திர சிறப்புரிமை குறித்த பரிந்துரைகளை நீதிமன்றத்தில் சமர்ப்பித்தனர்.

இதையடுத்து நீதிபதி கொட்டேலி, இந்தப் பரிந்துரைகளை ஏற்றுக் கொண்டு சிறிலங்கா அதிபருக்கு எதிரான இந்த வழக்கை தள்ளுபடி செய்யலாம் என்று நீதிமன்ற வட்டாரங்கள் கூறியுள்ளன.

இதற்கிடையே, சிறிலங்கா அதிபரை போர்க்குற்ற வழக்கில் இருந்து காப்பாற்றும் வகையில் அமெரிக்க இராஜாங்கத் திணைக்களம் நடந்து கொண்டுள்ளது குறித்த தமிழர் இனப்படுகொலைகளுக்கு எதிரான அமைப்பு ஏமாற்றம் வெளியிட்டுள்ளது.
============
*( Diplomatic Immunity: ராஜீக தண்டனை விலக்கு ENB)

சிரியாவில் இராணுவத் தலையீட்டுக்கு அழைப்புவிடும் Qatar

2012-01-14T19:37:00.000-08:00

Qatar State Visit To the UK

In This Photo: Queen Elizabeth II, Duke of Edinburgh, Prince Philip, Prince Charles, Camilla Parker Bowles, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani, Sheikha Mozah bint Nasser Al Missned Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, Sheikha Mozah bint Nasser Al-Missned, the Emir of the State of Qatar, Sheikh Hamad bin
Khalifa Al-Thani, Queen Elizabeth II, Prince Charles, Prince of Wales and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall review a Guard of Honour during their visit Windsor Castle as part of their State visit to the United Kingdom on October 26, 2010 in Windsor, England. The Sheikh is on a two day State visit to the UK, the first
since 1985, which is seen as important in strengthening already strongly established business links with one of the Gulf States most financially powerful nations.

Qatar calls for intervention to end Syria violence

By Michael Peel in Abu Dhabi January 14, 2012 5:40 pm

Arab troops should be sent to end the bloodshed in the uprising against Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad, Qatar’s ruler has said, the first public call for military action as political efforts to halt the violence unravel.
Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani – who joined Nato’s military action in Libya – told the US broadcaster CBS that soldiers should go to Syria to “stop the killing”, as the mounting death toll made a mockery of a regional peace plan.

The Emir’s remarks, in an interview due to be broadcast on Sunday, raise the stakes hugely in a conflict in which even Mr Assad’s enemies abroad have shied away from suggesting military intervention. Western and Arab powers fear the potentially destructive regional impact of war in a country allied with Tehran and which lies at the geographical and political heart of the Middle East.

The intervention plan floated by Qatar – a small but very rich oil state which has taken its historically muscular foreign policy to another level during the Arab awakening – is a sign of how Middle Eastern and western officials are searching for new strategies on Syria amid a faltering three-week old monitoring mission sent there by the inter-governmental Arab League.

Killings in Syria – where 5,000 are estimated to have died during the ten month uprising – have continued despite the arrival of the mission to investigate whether the regime is implementing a peace plan under which it is supposed to pull the army off the streets, release political prisoners and start talks with the opposition.

Six Syrian civilians were killed Saturday, including a 13-year-old boy and a man shot dead in the rebellious central city of Homs, the British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights claimed, according the Associated Press.

Nabil Elaraby, Arab League secretary-general, warned on Friday that Syria could slip into civil war. The conflict is becoming increasingly militarised, with army defectors now involved alongside the peaceful protesters whose first demonstrations almost a year ago triggered a brutal crackdown by regime forces.

Although there appears to be no appetite for western military intervention along the lines of the Nato mission in Libya that played a big part in ousting Col Muammer Gaddafi, there have been reports of an informal contact group forming to co-ordinate policy on Syria.

The group is said to include Gulf states, Turkey, the US and leading European powers, although NATO and several of its members hit back this week at Russian claims that they were “working under the Libyan scenario” with some Arab allies on a plan to topple Mr Assad militarily.

The allegations by Nikolai Patrushev, Russia’s security council chief, echo the view of Russia’s KGB-trained security elite, but also indicate that Russia is trying to pre-empt calls through the UN or elsewhere for intervention against its strongest Arab ally.

Moscow’s anxiety might have been heightened by meetings this week between Mrs Clinton, and her Saudi and Qatari counterparts.

A Russian-operated ship carrying ammunition docked in a Syrian-government controlled port earlier this week, alarming Assad regime opponents.

Syria’s opposition has condemned the Arab League monitoring mission as an ineffectual operation that is allowing the president more time to crush the uprising. observers have also been plagued by problems on the ground, including minor injuries to 11 monitors from a pro-Assad mob and a walkout by an Algerian team member who branded the operation a “farce”.

Analysts say the Syrian regime – which claims the uprising against it is an act of terrorism driven by foreign powers – has shown few signs of honouring pledges under the Arab League peace plan.

S&P Defends Ratings Cuts as France, Germany Stay the Course

2012-01-14T18:42:00.000-08:00

WSJ EUROPE NEWS JANUARY 14, 2012, 6:01 P.M. ET

S&P Defends Ratings Cuts as France, Germany Stay the Course

By GEOFFREY T. SMITH, GABRIELE PARUSSINI and NADYA MASIDLOVER

Standard & Poor's analysts on Saturday defended their downgrades of more than half of the euro zone's 17 members, as the highest-profile victim of the mass ratings cut—France—looked to play down the impact.
In a conference call hours after the downgrades, S&P analysts said they stood by their moves as they believe the euro zone's policy response to the debt crisis has been largely misguided and is building up future risks.

"The proper diagnosis would have to give more weight to the ... rising imbalances in the euro zone," said Moritz Kramer, head of European sovereign ratings. He pointed to problems such as divergences in competitiveness from one country to another, which he said is reflected in huge imbalances in national
current accounts.

Mr. Kramer said the centerpiece of a December summit aimed at arresting the crisis, the adoption of tighter fiscal rules to avoid excessive deficits, "wouldn't have identified the risks" in advance as Germany had one of the largest budget deficits of all during the first 10 years of the euro's existence, whereas Spain, which is a problem area now, had a largely balanced budget.

German chancellor Angela Merkel on Saturday called for speedy implementation of euro-zone proposals to address the debt crisis.

(Video: Reuters/Photo: AP)

But Mr. Kramer stressed that S&P isn't calling for more fiscal stimulus from the countries with the biggest debt problems, saying that they have neither the room, nor enough credibility in the debt markets, to try to spend their way out of trouble.

"That certainly wouldn't be regarded as a credit positive, not by our metrics at least," Mr. Kramer said.
The call came a day after S&P downgraded more than half of the currency bloc's 17 sovereign nations. In doing so, it became the first credit-rating firm to strip France and Austria of their triple-A ratings, and cut Portugal and Cyprus to junk status.

Meanwhile, French Prime Minister Francois Fillon said Saturday that the government would press on with planned overhauls but wasn't considering fresh austerity measures.Mr. Fillon sought to play down the downgrade in front of anxious voters, who will cast their ballot to pick the next president in 99 days. "This decision is an alert which should not be dramatized, but should not be underestimated either," he said.

The downgrade, which is likely to impose higher borrowing costs on the euro zone's second-largest economy, landed a hard blow on President Nicolas Sarkozy, who had positioned himself as the defender of the country's financial standing during Europe's sovereign-debt crisis.

Countries react to the "Black Friday" announcement of nine credit rating downgrades in the euro zone by Standard & Poor's agency.

Mr. Sarkozy justified efforts to push through unpopular programs—a pension overhaul and deficit-cutting austerity measures—as necessary to defend France's triple-A rating, which it had held since 1975. Other overhauls, aimed at increasing the country's competitiveness and stemming the shift of industrial jobs abroad, are scheduled to be discussed and possibly adopted by the end of the month.

S&P's decision to leave Germany's triple-A rating unchanged exposed a deepening gulf between Paris and Berlin, with France looking increasingly incapable of holding up to Germany and politically weaker in the tough negotiations to resolve the euro-zone crisis.

Mr. Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel have held themselves up as the main driving force steering the EU through the debt crisis, presenting other EU countries with compromise solutions that Paris and Berlin had agreed upon ahead of key EU meetings.

France has often counted on the support of southern nations, including Italy, to counterbalance Germany's calls for fiscal orthodoxy, a stance backed by the Netherlands and Finland—both triple-A rated countries.

Mr. Fillon denied that the ratings downgrade would skew the negotiating balance in favor of Germany. "There's no reason our relationship should change," he said. "The destinies of France and Germany are completely linked."

For her part, Mrs. Merkel on Saturday told reporters the S&P ratings downgrades underscore that euro-zone nations must accelerate efforts to implement a closer fiscal union and to set up a permanent bailout facility, the European Stability Mechanism. The ESM, scheduled to start on July 1, should start "as soon as possible" because this is important for investors' confidence, the German leader said.

She said that the downgrades weren't a full surprise and dismissed concerns that they would harm the euro's temporary bailout facility, the European Financial Stability Facility, by making it more difficult for the fund to borrow. "This won't torpedo the work of the EFSF," she said.

While Germany retained its triple-A credit rating, Mrs. Merkel said, "I don't believe that the downgrade has any influence at all on Germany having to do more than others. Instead, we must broaden the basis of our rescue facilities, which we can only do with the ESM because all countries will provide cash" for the facility.

Mrs. Merkel also said she was open to ideas to change legislation that would allow financial players to be less dependent on rating firms' assessments, given insurers' obligation to purchase sovereign bonds with triple-A ratings.

"This is generating a self-reinforcing effect," she said. "That's why I believe it would be very useful to look into it and think about possible legal changes. I support this approach." She referred to a proposal made earlier Saturday by a lawmaker in her party. Michael Meister, a lawmaker with the Christian Democratic Union, said new legislation was needed that would require banks and insurers to provide their own ratings on
their investments instead of relying on rating firms.

Meanwhile, S&P's Mr. Kramer identified a number of near-term risks for the region, highlighting the apparent breakdown of talks between Greece and its private-sector creditors. He said that Greece's debt burden has to be cut, and warned that a disorderly default could shake market confidence, making it
harder for countries to keep rolling over maturing debt. Italy alone has to refinance more than €130 billion of debt between February and April, he said.

Mr. Kramer said S&P still believes that Greek bondholders could hope to recover between 30 and 50 cents on the euro, but said the likeliest outcome was toward the bottom of that range.Also in the call, Mr. Kramer was critical of the euro zone's bailout vehicles, saying that the European Stability Mechanism appeared set up to act as a preferred creditor, subordinating all current holders of euro-zone bonds in the event of a debt
restructuring.
—Andrea Thomas contributed to this article.

Source: Wall Street Journal

சமரன்: முதலாளித்துவ ஊழலை எதிர்த்து மக்கள் இயக்கத்தைக் கட்டியமைப்போம்!

2012-01-12T16:56:00.000-08:00

நாட்டின் மீது ஆதிக்கம் செலுத்தும் முதலாளித்துவ ஊழலை எதிர்த்து மக்கள் இயக்கத்தைக் கட்டியமைப்போம்!

அன்னா அசாரே தலைமையிலான 'ஊழல் எதிர்ப்பு இந்தியா' என்ற அமைப்பு, ஊழலை ஒழிக்க ஒரு வலுவான "ஜன் லோக்பால்" சட்டத்தைக் கொண்டுவர வேண்டுமென்ற இயக்கத்தைத் தொடர்ந்து நடத்தி வருகிறது. இந்த இயக்கத்திற்கு நாடு முழுவதிலிமிருந்து நடுத்தர வர்க்க மக்களிடம் ஆதரவு பெருகி வருகிறது. கடந்த ஆகஸ்டு 16-ஆம் தேதி டெல்லியில் நடந்த உண்ணா விரதத்தின்போது பல லட்சம் பேர் ஊழலுக்கு எதிராக அணிதிரண்டது, சோனியா-மன்மோகன் கும்பலின் மத்திய ஆட்சிக்கு அச்சத்தை உருவாக்கியுள்ளது.

வரலாறு காணாத மாபெரும் ஊழல்கள்

சோனியா-மன்மோகன் கும்பலின் தலைமையிலான ஐ.மு.கூட்டணி ஆட்சி, வரலாறு காணாத மாபெரும் ஊழல்களில் சிக்கியுள்ளது. 2ஜி அலைக்கற்றை ஊழலில் ரூ.1,76,000 கோடி, காமன் வெல்த் விளையாட்டு ஏற்பாட்டில் ரூ.70,000 கோடி, ஐ.பி.எல் கிரிக்கெட் ஊழல், ஆதர்ஷ் வீட்டுமனையில் ரூ.60,000 கோடி ஊழல், பன்னாட்டு முதலாளிகளுக்கு விவசாயிகளிடமிருந்து மலிவான விலையில் நிலத்தைப் பிடுங்கி ரியல் எஸ்டேட் மற்றும் சிறப்புப் பொருளாதார மண்டலங்கள் அமைப்பது என்ற பேரில் பல லட்சம் கோடிகள் கொள்ளையடிக்கப்பட்டுள்ளது. மேலும் நிலக்கரி, இரும்பு போன்ற கனிம வளங்களை உள்நாட்டு, வெளிநாட்டு முதலாளிகளிடம் தாரை வார்த்ததிலும் பல லட்சம் கோடிகள் அரசின் கஜானாவிற்கு நட்டத்தை ஏற்படுத்தியுள்ளன. இவ்வாறு ஊழல், ஊழல் எங்கெங்கு காண்கிலும் ஊழல் என சோனியா-மன்மோகன் கும்பல் ஊழலில் திளைத்து வருகிறது.

அன்னா அசாரே ஊழல் எதிர்ப்பு இயக்கம் தொடங்குவதற்கு முன்பே, டிரான்ஸ்பரன்சி இன்டர்நேஷனல் (Transparency International) என்ற அமைப்பும், உலகளாவிய நிதி ஒழுங்கமைப்பு (Global Financial Integrity - GFI) என்ற தொண்டு நிறுவனமும், மன்மோகன் கும்பலின் ஆட்சி ஆசியாவிலேயே மிகவும் ஊழல் மலிந்த ஆட்சி என்று அறிவித்தன. இதில் இரண்டாவதாக கூறப்பட்ட GFI என்ற நிறுவனம் அமெரிக்காவின் போர்டு பௌண்டேஷன் நிறுவனத்தால் நடத்தப்படுவதாகும். அன்னா அசாரே இயக்கத்தின்

தலைமையிலுள்ள குழுவினரில் பலர் இந்த நிறுவனத்திடம் இருந்து நிதி உதவி பெற்றுதான் செயல்பட்டுவருகின்றனர்.

டிரான்ஸ்பரன்சி இன்டர்நேஷனல் என்ற அமைப்பு, 2010ஆம் ஆண்டு நடத்திய ‘ஊழல் பற்றிய உலகளாவிய மக்களின் கருத்து’ என்ற ஆய்வின்படி கடந்த மூன்று ஆண்டுகளில் ஊழல் கட்டுக்கடங்காமல் செழித்து வளர்கிறது என்று கூறப்பட்டுள்ளது. சட்டவிரோதமான நிதி

பரிமாற்றங்கள், புதியகாலனிய அரசியல் பொருளாதாரக் கொள்கைகளின் கீழ், உலகமய தாராளமய தனியார்மயக் கொள்கைகளின்கீழ் பன்னாட்டுக் கம்பெனிகள், உள்நாட்டு கார்ப்பரேட்டுகள் மற்றும் வர்த்தக சூதாட்டக்காரர்கள் பெருமளவில் சட்டவிரோதமான நடவடிக்கைகள் மூலம் பல லட்சம் கோடிகள் ஊழலில் ஈடுபடுகின்றனர் என்றும் அது கூறுகிறது. ஆசிய, ஆப்பிரிக்க, லத்தீன் அமெரிக்க நாடுகளின் அனுபவங்கள் காட்டுவது: கார்ப்ரேட் நிறுவனங்கள், வணிக நிறுவனங்கள், வங்கிகள் - சர்வதேச சட்டங்களையும், தேசிய சட்டங்களையும் புறக்கணித்தும், இரகசிய வழிமுறைகளைக் கையாண்டும் சட்ட விரோதமான முறையில் ஆண்டொன்றுக்கு 1 டிரில்லியன் டாலர்கள் நாடு கடந்து கடத்தப்படுகிறது என்றும் அந்த அறிக்கை கூறுகிறது.

உலகளாவிய நிதி ஒழுங்கமைப்பு என்ற நிறுவனம் வரி ஏய்ப்பின் மூலமும், கிரிமினல் நடவடிக்கைகள் மூலமும், சுதந்திர வர்த்தகம் என்ற பேரில் தவறான விலை நிர்ணயித்ததன் மூலமாகவும், ஊழல் மூலமாகவும் இந்தியாவிலிருந்து 1948 முதல் 2008 வரையிலான காலத்தில் 21,300 கோடி அமெரிக்க டாலர்கள் பணம் (ரூ.9,58,500 கோடி) வெளி நாடுகளில் பதுக்கப்பட்டுள்ளது என்று கூறுகிறது. இதில் 68 சதவீதம் அதாவது சுமார் 6,20,000 கோடி டாலர்கள் 1991-க்குப்பின் பொருளாதார சீர்திருத்தங்களுக்குப்பின் பதுக்கப்பட்டுள்ளது என்றும் அது கூறுகிறது.

எனவே ஊழலின் அளவு பிரம்மாண்டமாக பெருகிவருவதும், வெளி நாடுகளில் பதுக்கப்படுவது அதிகரித்து வருவதும் உலகமயம், தாராளமயம், தனியார்மயம் போன்ற புதிய காலனியாதிக்கத்திற்கு சேவை செய்யும் கொள்கைகளால் அதிகரித்துள்ளது என்பது தெளிவாகிவிட்டது.

( மேலும் )

சமரன்: மக்கள் வயிற்றில் அடிக்கும் கொடுங்கோல் ஜெயா ஆட்சியை எதிர்த்து அணிதிரள்வோம்!

2012-01-12T16:18:00.000-08:00

ஜெயா அரசே;

பேருந்து,பால்,மின்சாரக் கட்டண உயர்வுகளைத் திரும்பப் பெறு!

அன்பார்ந்த உழைக்கும் மக்களே!

விண்ணை முட்டும் விலைவாசி ஏற்றத்தால் ஏழை, எளிய, நடுத்தர மக்கள் விழிபிதுங்கி அல்லல் பட்டுக் கொண்டிருக்கும் நிலையில், ஜெயா அரசு பேருந்து, பால், மின்சாரக் கட்டணங்களை உயர்த்தி மக்கள் வயிற்றில் பேரிடியை இறக்கியுள்ளது. சாதாரண பேருந்துக் கட்டணத்தை கிலோ மீட்டருக்கு 28 பைசாவிலிருந்து 42 பைசாவாகவும், ஆவின் பால் விலையை லிட்டருக்கு ரூ 6.25 ஆகவும் உயர்த்தியுள்ளது. மின்சாரக் கட்டணத்தை இருமடங்காக உயர்த்தத் திட்டமிட்டுள்ளது. இதன் மூலம் ரூ 11000 கோடியளவில் மக்கள் மீது பெரும் சுமையை ஏற்றியுள்ளது. இதனால் ஒரு சராசரி நடுத்தரக் குடும்பம் மாதம் ஒன்றுக்கு ரூ 1000த்திலிருந்து 1500 வரை கூடுதலாக செலவழிக்கவேண்டிய கட்டாயத்திற்குத் தள்ளப்பட்டுள்ளது.

ஆட்சிக்கு வந்தால் விலைவாசியைக் குறைப்பேன், மின்வெட்டை நீக்குவேன் என்று வாக்குறுதியளித்து ஆட்சிப் பீடமேறிய ஜெயலலிதா, உள்ளாட்சித் தேர்தலிலும் மக்களின் வாக்குகளை அபகரித்தபின் இக்கட்டணக் கொள்ளையை அரங்கேற்றியிருப்பது வன்மையாகக் கண்டிக்கத்தக்கது. ஜெயா அரசின் இக்கட்டணக் கொள்ளையை எதிர்த்தும் கட்டண உயர்வுகளைத் திரும்பப் பெறவும் போராட அனைத்து மக்களும் அணிதிரள வேண்டும்.

(மேலும்)

புதிய ஈழத்தில் ஆணைக்குழு அறிக்கை பற்றிய பரிசீலனை

2012-01-12T15:46:00.000-08:00

படிப்பினை மற்றும் பரஸ்பர இணக்கத்துக்கான ஆணைக்குழுவின் அறிக்கை பற்றிய ஒரு பரிசீலனை.

சிங்களத்தை நன்கறிந்த ஈழத்தமிழ் மக்களுக்கும், புரட்சிகர ஜனநாயகச் சக்திகளுக்கும், இந்தப் படிப்பினை மற்றும் பரஸ்பர இணக்கத்துக்கான ஆணைக்குழு (Lession Learnt and Reconciliation Commission- LLRC) வின் அறிக்கை ஒரு கண்துடைப்பு என்பதை கட்டுரை எழுதி விளக்க வேண்டிய அவசியம் இல்லை.

போர்க்குற்றம் இழைத்த சிங்களத்தை தண்டிக்க வேண்டுமென உலக மக்கள் கோரியபோது, ஐநா சபை சிங்களத்தையே அவ்வாறு ஒரு விசாரணையை நடத்துமாறு கோரியது. அமெரிக்காவும் அதையே கோரியது. ஐரோப்பிய ஏகாதிபத்தியவாதிகளும் அதையே கோரினர். ஆக ஐநா சபையின் அமெரிக்க ஐரோப்பிய ஏகாதிபத்தியவாதிகளின் வேண்டுகோளுக்கமைய சிங்களம் படிப்பினை மற்றும் பரஸ்பர இணக்கத்துக்கான ஆணைக்குழு (Lession Learnt and Reconciliation Commission- LLRC) வின் அறிக்கையை வெளியிட்டுள்ளது.

இந்த அறிக்கை போர்க்குற்றம் தொடர்பில் இரு அடிப்படைக் கோட்பாடுகளில் ஆதாரப்பட்டு நிற்கிறது.

1. இந்த யுத்தம் பயங்கரவாதிகளின் பிடியில் இருந்து பொதுமக்களை விடுவிப்பதற்கான மனித நேய நடவடிக்கை.

2. மனித நேய நடவடிக்கையில் நாம் பயங்கரவாதிகளுடன் போரிட்டோம். பயங்கரவாதிகளான புலிகள் மனித உயிர்களுக்கு மதிப்பளிக்காத அரசு
சாராத அங்கத்தவர்களாவர். இதனால் அரசுகளுக்கு எதிராக நடக்கும் யுத்தங்களில் கடைப்பிடிக்க வகுக்கப்பட்ட சர்வதேச மனிதாபிமான சட்டவிதிகளை (International Humanitarion Laws) இத்தைகைய போர்களுக்கு பொருத்தக் கூடாது.

இந்தக் கோட்பாடுகளின் மூலகர்த்தாக்கள் சிங்களமோ அல்லது பக்ச பாசிஸ்டுக்களோ அல்ல. மாறாக பயங்கரவாதத்துக்கு எதிரான போரில் புஷ், சென்னி, ரம்ஸ்பீல்ட், பாசிஸ்ட்டுக்கள் வகுத்தளித்து கடைப்பிடித்த கோட்பாடுகள் தான் இவை. ஆப்கானிஸ்தானிலும். ஈராக்கிலும் பயன்படுத்தப்பட்டவைதான் இவை. பயங்கரவாதிகளை சர்வதேச மனிதநேயச் சட்டவிதிகளுக்கு உட்பட்டு நடத்தக் கூடாது என்ற அடிப்படையில் தான் நாடுகடந்த வதை முகாம்கள் அமைக்கப்பட்டன. இவற்றில் ஒன்றுதான் 10 ஆண்டு நிறைவு கண்ட, கியூபா, குவாண்டனோமாவில் அமைக்கப்பட்ட டெல்டா 4 என்கிற வதை முகாமாகும். தேர்தலில் அளித்த வாக்குறுதியைக் கூடக் காற்றில் பறக்கவிட்டு ஒபாமா அந்த வதை முகாமைக் கூட மூடவில்லை.

LLRC அறிக்கைக்கு மேலாக எந்த நடவடிக்கையும் எடுக்க இயலாதென ஐ.நா கருதுவதாக இன்னசிற்றி பிரஷ் (Innercity Press),கருத்து வெளியிட்டுள்ளது.

முள்ளிவாய்க்கால் பிரளயம் ஆரம்பிப்பதற்கு முன்பே, பக்‌ச பாசிஸ்டுக்களுக்கு எதிரான போர்க்குற்ற இயக்கத்தை ஒபாமாவையும், ஐநாவையும் சார்ந்து நின்று நடத்தக் கூடாது, மாறாக உலகத் தொழிலாளர்களையும் ஒடுக்கப்பட்ட தேசங்களையும் சார்ந்து நின்று நடத்த வேண்டுமென நாம் தொடர்ந்து வற்புறுத்தி வருகின்றோம். இதற்கு மாறாக ஒபாமாவினதும் ஏகாதிபத்தியவாதிகளினதும் `கவனத்தை ஈர்க்க` ஐநாவுக்கு நீதிப்பயணம் நடத்தியவர்கள், நடத்துகிறவர்கள் இன்று மக்களை நடுத்தெருவில் விட்டுவிட்டார்கள். எந்த ஒபாமாவினதும் ஐநாவினதும் கோட்பாடுகளின் அடிப்படையில் போர்க்குற்றங்கள் இழைக்கப்பட்டதுவோ அவர்களிடம் நீதிகேட்கிற போலிப் போராட்டங்களின் போக்கிரித் தனமும் அப்பலமாகிவிட்டது. இவர்களை நம்பி இவர்களின் பின்னால் அணிதிரண்ட மக்களின் கதை மண்குதிரையை நம்பி கடற்பயணம் செய்த கதையாகிவிட்டது.

( மேலும் )

ஒபாமாவின் சிறுநீருக்கான தமிழனுக்கு இக் காணொளி காணிக்கை!

2012-01-11T16:28:00.000-08:00

LLRC பரிந்துரைகளுக்கு பக்சபாசிஸ்டுக்களின் பதில்!

2012-01-11T15:11:00.001-08:00

LLRC recommendations

1. Responding to the Channel 4 programmes

2. Armed groups in operation

3. Heavy militarization in North – East

4. Land disputes and alienation

5. Devolution of powers.

''இலங்கைக்குள் புலிகளின் மீட்சிக்கான வாய்ப்பு, தேசிய பாதுகாப்புக்கு அச்சுறுதலாக இன்றும் நீடிக்கின்றது''.

கோதபாய ராஜபக்ச

''A group of university students in the south were trying to team up youth who were involved with the LTTE at that time to launch another armed struggle''.

Higher Education Minister S.B. Dissanayake

"The re-grouping and re-organisation of Tiger separatists within Sri Lanka is still a threat to national security''.

Defence ministry secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa

Group of uni. students trying to launch armed struggle: SB

Wednesday, 11 January 2012 14:21

Higher Education Minister S.B. Dissanayake charged today that a group of university students in the south were trying to team up youth who were involved with the LTTE at that time to launch another armed struggle.

Addressing a function at the Jaffna University, the Minister said that these students have political dealings with the breakaway group of the JVP.

He said, “These students came to the Jaffna University in search of youth who were with the LTTE at that time. They are trying to go for an armed struggle. We cannot allow that to happen.”

Referring to the facilities at the Jaffna University, he said that Rs.573 million had been allocated to the university this time, and action would be taken to resolve the accommodation problem of students as soon as possible.

He said that Sinhala students had been sent to the Jaffna University based on their Z-score marks at the GCE Advanced Level Examination. “It is not an attempt to create forcible Sinhala colonies in the south,” he said.

Also, he said that the universities were not meant to function on ethnic and religious identities of students. (KB)

-------------

Sri Lanka warns of Tamil Tiger separatist revival

Jan 11, 2012 (LBO) - Sri Lanka is maintaining high defence spending and sizeable military to guard against any possible resumption of violence by Tamil Tiger separatists who are trying to regroup, a senior defence official said.

The island's intelligence services had picked up evidence of attempts to reactivate the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam separatist group which was defeated in May 2009 after a 30-year war, defence ministry secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa said.

Although the LTTE's military force had been destroyed in the island, its global network was still active, with considerable funds and influence, he told a public forum on future national security challenges.

"That's why we must maintain a sizeable defence force as well as defence spending, although there are some people who question why the defence establishment is so large and the amount of money allocated for defence," Rajapaksa said.

"The re-grouping and re-organisation of Tiger separatists within Sri Lanka is still a threat to national security.

"It is only logical that the government take every precaution to guard against it by maintaining a sizeable military."

The military was setting up camps in strategic locations around the island, especially jungle areas that were former Tiger bases, to prevent the regrouping of the Tigers, he said.

The overseas Tigers were still trying to revive the struggle for a separate state for minority Tamils in Sri Lanka's north and east.

"There is a possibility, even though it's remote, that terrorists will re-organise within Sri Lanka because of the LTTE's international campaign," Rajapaksa said.

"It is a possibility, however remote, we must not ignore as it could pave the way for a separatist terrorist campaign again."

Rajapaksa said Tamil separatists who escaped at the end of the war and are still at large and not undergone rehabilitation and may still support the separatist cause.

The island had already strengthened its intelligence services to guard against the re-emergence of the Tiger separatists, he said.

"We have evidence that LTTE cadres who left Sri Lanka before the war ended are trying to contact people in Sri Lanka and encourage them to regroup. Our intelligence services have found that they are trying to contact people in Sri Lanka to revive the LTTE effort."

At the time of their defeat the LTTE's global network had a lot of funds, Rajapaksa said.

Although control of the LTTE assets was now dispersed among different factions, they still generate funds through businesses and illegal activities like human smuggling and were committed to the same cause.

Universe is the work of physics, not God: Stephen Hawking

2012-01-10T12:43:00.000-08:00

'Scientific superstar' Stephen Hawking turns 70 on 8 January 2012.

நமது காலத்தின் மாபெரும் பெளதீக விஞ்ஞானி Stephen Hawking இற்கு இனிய 70ம் ஆண்டு பிறந்தநாள் நல் வாழ்த்துக்கள்!

Stephen Hawking at 70: still the brightest star in the scientific universeAs the author of A Brief History of Time approaches 70, eminent former students celebrate an awe-inspiring intellect still pushing at the frontiers of physics
================
BERNARD CARR
Professor of mathematics and astronomy, Queen Mary, University of London. Stephen Hawking's PhD student 1972-75
================
Stephen's discovery in 1974 that black holes emit thermal radiation due to quantum effects was one of the most important results in 20th-century physics. This is because it unified three previously disparate areas of physics – quantum theory, general relativity and thermodynamics. Like all such unifying ideas, it is so beautiful that it almost has to be true, even though it has still not been experimentally confirmed. The renowned physicist John Wheeler once told me that just talking about it was like "rolling candy on the tongue".

At the time of the discovery, I was working with him as a PhD student in Cambridge and I count myself as very fortunate to have had a ringside seat during these developments. It also enabled me to be one of the first people to study the cosmological consequences of the effect and thereby make my own small contribution to the subject.

I was one of Stephen's first PhD students and people often ask me what it was like having him as a supervisor. He was not so famous in those days but his brilliance was already clear to his peers and I found it rather daunting when, on becoming his research student, I was informed by one of my tutors that he was the brightest person in the department. Students are probably always in awe of their supervisors but with Stephen the awe was even greater. Indeed, on matters of physics, I always regarded him as an oracle, just a few words from him yielding insights that would have taken weeks to work out on my own.

However, Stephen is only human and not all encounters led to illumination. Once, while sharing an office with him at Caltech [California Institute of Technology], I asked a question about something that was puzzling me. He thought about it silently for several minutes and I was quite impressed with myself for asking something that Stephen couldn't answer immediately. His eyes then closed and I was even more impressed with myself because he was clearly having to think about it very deeply. Only after some time did it become clear that he had fallen asleep! Nowadays I also sometimes fall asleep while talking to students, so I recall this incident with amusement.

The other human side of Stephen is that he does occasionally get annoyed. One of the myths put around is that he sometimes vents his frustration by running over the toes of students. This never happened to me – he didn't have a motorised wheelchair in those days – but I well recall one occasion when I made a remark in the maths common room at tea-time that showed that I had misunderstood what he'd been saying. Stephen screamed "No" so loudly that his wheelchair shot back halfway across the room under the recoil. I was most impressed that a single word from him could have such dramatic consequences.

My relationship with Stephen was not the usual type of supervisor-student relationship. In those days, before he had his entourage of nurses and assistants, students would necessarily have to help him in various ways on account of his disability. This was not an arduous task but it did mean that one's relationship with him became quite intimate. I shared an office with him, lived with his family for a year in California, and accompanied him as he travelled around the world, giving talks and collecting medals.

As an impressionable young student, it was a tremendous thrill to meet so many celebrities and renowned physicists. One of the great excitements of visiting Caltech, where Stephen was a Fairchild scholar in 1975, was meeting the brilliant physicist Richard Feynman, who was regarded almost like a god there. He used to visit our office quite often and, since Stephen's voice was already quite weak, I would act as interpreter.

I also travelled around China with him in 1985. During a long train journey, I recall reading the first draft of a popular book he was writing at the time. My initial impression that it would never sell proved inaccurate since it eventually turned into A Brief History of Time!

Shortly after his return from China he fell seriously ill with pneumonia and lost his voice. Ever since, he has had to communicate through his computer, which is painfully slow, so it's ironic that he has still managed to become one of the great science popularisers of our age. He has even written books for children with his daughter, Lucy, and it is sobering to reflect that a contribution I wrote for their most recent one has probably been read by more people than any of my scientific articles. His inspiration of public interest in some of the deepest questions of physics is certainly one reason why he has become such an iconic figure.
The Observer, Sunday 1 January 2012

புதிய இராணுவ யுத்ததந்திர நகர்வு! ஆசிய பசுபிக் பிராந்தியத்தில் அசுரக் கால் பதிக்கும் அமெரிக்கக் கழுகு!!

2012-01-06T02:58:00.000-08:00

New York Times January 5, 2012

Obama Puts His Stamp on Strategy for a Leaner Military
By ELISABETH BUMILLER and THOM SHANKER

WASHINGTON — President Obama has for the first time put his own stamp on an all-encompassing American military policy by turning from the grinding ground wars that he inherited from the Bush administration and refocusing on what he described as a smaller, more agile force across Asia, the Pacific and the Middle East.

In an unusual appearance at the Pentagon briefing room on Thursday, Mr. Obama outlined a new national defense strategy driven by three realities: the winding down of a decade of war in Iraq and Afghanistan, a fiscal crisis demanding hundreds of billions of dollars in Pentagon budget cuts and a rising threat from China and Iran.

A fourth reality, not mentioned in the briefing room, was Mr. Obama’s re-election campaign and the chorus of Republican presidential candidates who have sought to portray him as decimating the Pentagon budget and being weak in his response to Iran.

Mr. Obama, who spoke surrounded by a tableau of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in dress uniforms and
with chests full of medals, underscored the national security successes of his administration —
the ending of the Iraq war, the killing of Osama bin Laden and the ouster of Col. Muammar el-
Qaddafi of Libya — before declaring that the United States would downsize to a smaller ground
force, get rid of “outdated cold war-era systems” and step up investments in intelligence-gathering and cyberwarfare.

He also said, in what seemed aimed at the Republicans as well as the Defense Department officials in the room, that “our military will be leaner, but the world must know the United States is going to maintain our military superiority.”

Despite the pageantry, many elements of the new strategy had a “back to the future” quality and echoed the goals of a smaller but more technically proficient military advanced by Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld before the Sept. 11 attacks. Those plans were soon overtaken by the need to build up ground forces for the kind of conventional wars that the Pentagon had not envisioned a decade ago.
“Conventionally it makes perfect sense to avoid fighting worst-case wars,” said Anthony H.
Cordesman, a military analyst at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. “But the
20th century, and even the 21st century, is a warning about how well anybody can do long-term
forecasting. I have listened for decades to, ‘This time we’re going to be more efficient, this
time we’re going to use technology.’ ”

Pentagon officials acknowledged the risks in a strategy that declares that American ground forces will no longer be large enough to conduct prolonged, large-scale counterinsurgency campaigns like those in Iraq and Afghanistan — Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta has said the Army must shrink to 490,000 soldiers over the next decade, from 570,000 — and so said they were prepared to change course if required.

In a briefing after Mr. Obama’s remarks, Adm. James A. Winnefeld Jr., the vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the new strategy embraced “reversibility” that would allow the Pentagon to avoid “departmental hubris.” In other words, the Defense Department would begin a slow build-down of the Army that could be reversed and, in a national security emergency, it could order up a massive mobilization of the National Guard and Reserves.

Other analysts said the strategy appeared good but that without the details — specifically, what kind of budget cuts it would result in — it was hard to judge. The specific cuts are to be made public in coming weeks.

“It’s kind of an incomplete,” said Andrew F. Krepinevich Jr., a military expert at the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments. “It’s like when you jump out of an aircraft with a parachute, the first five seconds are ‘so far, so good.’ But you’re still waiting for the chute to open.”

White House and Pentagon officials said that Mr. Obama spent a substantial amount of time with military officials on the new strategy, which they defined as six meetings he had on the strategy with military leaders and regional commanders between September and late December.

Although other presidents have been deeply immersed in military policy, for Mr. Obama the time commitment appears to signal an interest in a policy that turns the page from President George W. Bush’s wars.

“Certainly it indicates a level of interest on the president’s part, over and above what we’ve seen from him before,” Mr. Krepinevich said.

The new strategy document finally defines away the Defense Department’s historic requirement to have the ability to fight and win two wars at once — a measure that one official said “has been on life-support for years.”

The strategy released under Mr. Obama in 2010 said the military was responsible for “maintaining
the ability to prevail against two capable nation-state aggressors.”

In contrast, the strategy released Thursday said the military must be able to fight one war, but
is responsible only for “denying the objectives of — or imposing unacceptable costs on — an
opportunistic aggressor in a second region.” Senior Pentagon officials said that viewing military requirements through something as static as the two-war model had become outdated, and that the true measurement was whether the Pentagon could field a force capable of carrying out a wide range of military actions to protect the nation’s interests.

Pentagon officials made it clear that the department’s priorities in coming years would be financing for defense and offense in cyberspace, for Special Operations forces and for the broad area of intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance.

Turkish FM carries message from EU's Ashton to Iran - Tehran Times

2012-01-05T11:02:00.000-08:00

Turkish FM carries message from EU's Ashton to Iran - Tehran Times

U.S. presence in Persian Gulf is damaging: Iran defense minister - Tehran Times

2012-01-05T10:52:00.000-08:00

U.S. presence in Persian Gulf is damaging: Iran defense minister - Tehran Times

நாவலப்பிட்டி கலபொட தோட்டத்தொழிலாளர்கள் ஆர்ப்பாட்டம்

2012-01-05T04:31:00.000-08:00

நாவலப்பிட்டி கலபொட தோட்டத் தேயிலைத் தொழிற்சாலையின் உபகரணங்கள் மற்றும் இரும்புப் பொருட்களைத் தோட்டத்தொழிலாளர்களுக்கு அறிவிக்காமல் தோட்ட நிருவாகம் பலவந்தமாக அப்புறப்படுத்தி வருகின்றமைக்கு எதிர்ப்புத் தெரிவித்து அந்தத் தோட்டத்தைச்சேர்ந்த தொழிலாளர்களும் ஏனையவர்களும் இன்று கலபொட தேயிலைத் தொழிற்சாலைக்கு முன்னால் ஆர்ப்பாட்டமொன்றில் ஈடுபட்டனர்.

ஜனவசம நிர்வாகத்துக்கு உட்பட்ட நாவலப்பிட்டி கலபொட தோட்டத்தின் தேயிலைத் தொழிற்சாலை நீண்ட காலமாகக் கைவிடப்பட்ட நிலையிலுள்ளது. அத்துடன் இந்தத் தோட்டத்தில் தொழில்செய்கின்ற 200 தொழிலாளர்களுக்கு வாரத்தில் மூன்று நாட்கள் மாத்திரமே வேலை வழங்கப்படுகின்றது.

இந்த நிலையில் கைவிடப்பட்ட இந்தத் தோட்டத்தின் தேயிலைத் தொழிற்சாலையின் ஒரு தொகுதி உபகரணங்களைத் தோட்ட நிர்வாகம் தோட்டத்தொழிலாளர்களுக்கு அறிவிக்காமல் நேற்று 3 ஆம் திகதி லொறி ஒன்றின் மூலம் மிகவும் இரகசியமான முறையில் அப்புறப்படுத்தியுள்ளது.

இதனைக் கேள்வியுற்ற தோட்ட மக்கள் உடனடியாகத் தேயிலைத் தொழிற்சாலைக்கு வருகை தந்து தேயிலைத் தொழிற்சாலையின் உபகரணங்களை அப்புறப்படுத்துவதற்காக வருகை தந்தவர்கள் பயணித்து வந்த கார் ஒன்றினைத் தடுத்து வைத்துள்ளனர். இந்தச்சம்பவம் தொடர்பாக கலபொட தோட்டத்தொழிலாளர்கள் தொழிற்சங்கங்களுக்கும் நாவலப்பிட்டி பொலிஸாருக்கும் அறிவித்துள்ளனர்.
நன்றி: வீரகேசரி இணையம் 1/4/2012 6:26:38 PM

ஈழக்கடற் தொழிலாளர்கள் எதிர் நோக்கும் பிரச்சனைகள்

2012-01-04T11:53:00.000-08:00

அமெரிக்க ஏகாதிபத்திய ஒபாமா நிர்வாகமே ஈரான் மீது கை வையாதே!

2012-01-03T09:11:00.001-08:00

Welcome to 2012 Happy New Year from Chris Riddell

2012-01-01T11:17:00.000-08:00

சதாம் ஹுஸைன் கிராமத்தின் பெயரை ஈராக் கிராமம் எனப் பெயர் மாற்றம் செய்ய ஏறாவூர் மக்கள் மறுப்பு

2011-12-29T07:04:00.000-08:00

சதாம் ஹுஸைன் கிராமத்தின் பெயர் மாற்றம் தொடர்பில் ஈராக் தூதுவராலயம் அறிக்கை

வீரகேசரி இணையம் 12/28/2011 11:24:15 AM 5

மட்டக்களப்பு ஏறாவூர், சதாம் ஹுஸைன் கிராமத்தின் பெயர் மாற்றம் தொடர்பில் எவ்வித தலையீடுகளையும் நாம் மேற்கொள்ளவில்லை என கொழும்பிலுள்ள ஈராக் தூதுவராலயம் தெரிவித்துள்ளது.

இது தொடர்பில் இலங்கைக்கான ஈராக் தூதுவர் கஹ்தான் தாஹா ஹலப் தெரிவித்துள்ளதாவது,

சதாம் ஹுஸைன் கிராமத்தின் பெயரை ஈராக் கிராமம் என பெயர் மாற்றி சதாம் ஹுஸைன் கிராமத்திற்கு ஈராக் மக்களினால் வழங்கப்படும் உதவிகளை தங்களினால் வழங்கப்பட வேண்டும் என்பதற்காக ஏறாவூர் உள்ளிட்ட பிரதேச அரசியல்வாதிகள் குறித்த கிராமத்தின் பெயர் மாற்றம் தொடர்பில் பல்வேறு சர்ச்சைகளையும் வாதப் பிரதிவாதங்களையும் உருவாக்குகின்றனர்.

எவ்வாறாயினும் குறித்த சதாம் ஹுஸைன் கிராமத்திற்கு ஈராக் மக்கள் மற்றும் அரசாங்கம் தொடர்ந்து உதவித் திட்டங்களை வழங்குவார்கள் எனக்குறிப்பிட்ட இலங்கைக்கான ஈராக் தூதுவர், 1982 ஆம் ஆண்டு ஜூலை 25ஆம் திகதி பொதுமக்களிடம் வைபவ ரீதியாக கையளிக்கப்பட்ட இந்தக் கிராமம் ஈராக் மக்களின் நிதியுதவியினால் அமைக்கப்பட்டதே தவிர, முன்னாள் ஜனாதிபதி சதாம் ஹுஸைனின் நிதியினால் அமைக்கப்படவில்லை.மாறாக அவர் ஜனாதிபதியாக இருக்கும் காலப்பகுதியிலேயே அமைக்கப்பட்டது.

இதற்கு முன்னர் ஈராக் மக்கள் இந்தக் கிராமத்திற்கு பல உதவிகளை வழங்கியது போன்று தொடர்ந்தும் உதவிகளை வழங்குவர்.

மேற்படி கிராமத்திற்கு ஈராக் மக்களால் வழங்கப்பட்ட 75 துவிச்சக்கர வண்டிகள், சுயதொழில் புரிவோருக்கான 45 தையல் இயந்திரங்கள் மற்றும் பள்ளிவாசலைப் புனரமைப்பதற்காக ஐந்து இலட்சம் ரூபா பணம் உள்ளிட்ட பல உதவிகள் கடந்த வாரம் வழங்கப்பட்டன.

சதாம் ஹுஸைன் கிராமத்தின் பெயரை மாற்றக்கூடாது என கிழக்கு மாகாண அமைச்சரவை கடந்த புதன்கிழமை தீர்மானம் எடுத்தமைக்கு அமைவாக கிராமத்தின் பெயர் மாற்றம் தற்காலிகமாக இடைநிறுத்தி வைக்கப்பட்டுள்ளமை குறிப்பிடத்தக்கது.

யாழ். படைகளின் தலைமையகத்தின் ஒளி விழா! ஈழப்போரைக் காட்டிக் கொடுத்த பாதிரிகளுக்கு திருவிழா!

2011-12-29T03:29:00.000-08:00

``நாங்கள் சமாதானம் தழைத்தோங்கியுள்ள நாட்டில் வாழ்கின்றோம்!``

பாதிரிகளும் படைவீரர்களும் ஒன்றுபட்டு ஒலிக்கும் குரல்.

US warns Iran against closing oil route

2011-12-29T02:12:00.000-08:00

"If sanctions are adopted against Iranian oil, not a drop of oil will pass through the Strait of Hormuz."

Mohammad Reza Rahimi, Iran's vice-president
=================================
Tensions rise in standoff that has the potential to prompt military reprisals and push up global oil prices.

Last Modified: 29 Dec 2011 09:02

Al Jazeera's Alan Fisher reports on the rising tensions between the US and Iran in the Gulf over sanctions

The US has strongly warned Iran against closing a vital Gulf waterway, after Iran threatened to choke off traffic through the Strait of Hormuz if the US imposes sanctions targeting the country's crude exports.

The increasingly heated exchange raises new tensions in a standoff that has the potential to prompt military reprisals and push up oil prices to levels harmful to an already fragile global economy.

The Strait of Hormuz is a 6.4km wide channel between Iran and Oman at the mouth of the Gulf through which more than one-third of the world's tanker-borne oil, or about 15 million barrels of oil, pass daily.

"This is not just an important issue for security and stability in the region, but is an economic lifeline for countries in the Gulf, to include Iran,'' George Little, Pentagon press secretary, said on Wednesday.

"Interference with the transit or passage of vessels through the Strait of Hormuz will not be tolerated,"

Earlier, Mohammad Reza Rahimi, Iran's vice-president, was quoted as saying: "If sanctions are adopted against Iranian oil, not a drop of oil will pass through the Strait of Hormuz."

Iran's navy chief said on Wednesday that it would be 'very easy' for his country's forces to close the strategic Strait of Hormuz, "Iran has comprehensive control over the strategic waterway," Admiral Habibollah Sayyari told state-run Press TV, as the country was in the midst of a 10-day military drill near the strategic waterway.

'No desire for violence' It was the second such warning by Iran in two days, reflecting Iran's concern that the West is about to impose new sanctions that could hit the country's biggest source of revenue, oil.

"We have no desire for hostilities or violence ... but the West doesn't want to go back on its plan to impose sanctions," Sayyari said.

"The enemies will only drop their plots when we put them back in their place."

"We have no desire for hostilities or violence ... but the West doesn't want to go back on its plan to impose sanctions"
- Admiral Habibollah Sayyari

The threat underlined Iran's readiness to target the narrow stretch of water along its Gulf coast if it is attacked or economically strangled by Western sanctions.

A spokesperson for the US Navy's Fifth Fleet responded to the threat by warning Iran that any disruption of traffic flowing though the Strait of Hormuz "will not be tolerated".

"Anyone who threatens to disrupt freedom of navigation in an international strait is clearly outside the community of nations; any disruption will not be tolerated,'' Rebecca Rebarich said.

She said the US navy is "always ready to counter malevolent actions to ensure freedom of navigation."

The US maintains a navy presence in the Gulf in large part to ensure that passage remains free.

Iran rejected in September US calls for a military hotline between the capitals to defuse any "miscalculations" that could occur between their military forces in the Gulf.

War games

Iranian ships and aircraft dropped mines in the sea on Tuesday as part of the drill, according to a navy spokesman.Although Iranian war games occur periodically, the timing of these is seen as a show of strength as the US and Europe prepare to impose further sanctions on Iran's oil and financial sectors.

The last round of sanctions, announced in November, triggered a pro-government protest in front of the British embassy in Tehran during which Basij militia members overran the mission and ransacked it.
Britain closed the embassy as a result and ordered Iran's mission in Britain shut as well.

An Iranian legislator's comments last week that the navy exercises would block the Strait of hormuz briefly sent oil prices soaring before that was denied by the government.

While the foreign ministry said such drastic action was "not on the agenda", it reiterated Iran's threat of "reactions" if the current tensions with the West spilled over into open confrontation.

Iran's customers

EU ministers said on December 1 that a decision on further sanctions would be taken no later than their January meeting but left open the idea of an embargo on Iranian oil.

Countries in the 27-member EU receive 450,000 barrels per day of Iranian oil, about 18 per cent of the country's exports, much of which go to China and India.

China, the biggest buyer of Iranian crude, has said against "emotionally charged actions" that might aggravate tension in the nuclear standoff with Iran.

Russia, for its part, has cautioned against "cranking up a spiral of tension", saying this would undermine the chances of Iran co-operating with efforts to ensure it does not build atom bombs.

Most of the crude exported from Saudi Arabia, Iran, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Iraq - together with nearly all the liquefied natural gas from lead exporter Qatar - must pass through the Strait of Hormuz.

Source: Al Jazeera and agencies

ஈமைக்கிரிகைக்குப் போராடும் ஈழத்தமிழன்.

2011-12-29T00:07:00.000-08:00

கற்றுக்கொண்ட பாடம்,

ஈழத்தமிழா உனக்கு `ஆறடி நிலமும்` சொந்தமில்லையாடா;

அங்கீகாரப் பாதையில் நடந்து காலடி நிலமும்

இழந்தாயடா;

இந்தச் செஞ்சோற்றுக் கடன் தீர்க்க இன்றும்

ஐ,நாவைத் தொழுவாயடா!

வஞ்சகன் ஒபாமாவடா!!

இறந்தவரின் சடலத்துடன் ஆர்ப்பாட்டம் செய்த யாழ். மக்கள்!

[ தமிழ்வின் புதன்கிழமை, 28 டிசெம்பர் 2011, 02:55.48 AM GMT ]

வலிகாமம் வடக்கு கீரிமலை பகுதியில் கடந்த 21வருடங்களாக மூடப்பட்டிருந்த செம்மண்காடு[?] இந்து மயானம் பிரதேச மக்களின் கடுமையான போராட்டத்தையடுத்து நேற்று முதல் மக்கள் பாவனைக்காக கடற்படையினரால் திறந்து விடப்பட்டிருக்கின்றது.கடந்த 21வருடங்களாக இந்தப் பகுதி உயர்பாதுகாப்பு வலயம் என்ற போர்வைக்குள் அடக்கப்பட்டிருந்த நிலையில் கடந்த 6மாதகாலத்திற்கு முன்னர் இந்த பகுதி விடுவிக்கப்பட்டிருந்தது.

எனினும் பிரதேச மக்களின் பயன்பாட்டில் இருந்து வந்த குறித்த மயானம் மக்களிடம் கையளிக்கப்படாத நிலையில் தொடர்ந்தும் இந்தப் பகுதியில் கடற்படையினர் தமது நடமாட்டத்தை தொடர்ந்திருந்தனர்.

இதனால் மக்களுக்கு மயானம் இல்லாமல் இருந்து வந்த நிலையில் கடந்த சனிக்கிழமை குறித்த பகுதியில் முதியவரொருவர் காலமாகியுள்ளார். இவரது இறுதிச் சடங்குகளை குறித்த மயானத்தில் நடத்த அனுமதியளிக்குமாறு மக்கள் கடற்படையை கோரியிருந்தனர்.

எனினும் இதற்கு கடற்படை உடன்பட்டிராத நிலையில் இறந்தவரின் சடலத்துடன் வீதியில் மறியல் போராட்டம் நடத்தப் போவதாக மக்கள் அச்சுறுத்தல் விடுத்தனர். இந்த நிலையில் மாற்று நடவடிக்கை எடுக்க முடியாத நிலையில் கடற்படை குறித்த மயானத்தை பொதுமக்களிடம் கையளிக்க முன்வந்திருக்கின்றது.

எனினும் குறித்த மயானத்திற்குச் செல்லும் வீதி தொடர்ந்தும் கடற்படையினரின் கட்டுப்பாட்டிலேயே இருந்து வருகின்றது. இதனால் தற்போது கடற்கரையை சுற்றியே பொதுமக்கள் சென்று வருகின்றனர்.

மேலும் மயானத்திற்குரிய வீதியை திறப்பதற்கு அமைச்சர் டக்ளஸிற்கு கோரிக்கை கடிதம் எழுதுமாறு கடற்படை அரசியல் செய்வதாக மக்கள் தெரிவிக்கின்றனர். எனினும் மயானம் திறக்கப்பட்டதுபோல் வீதியும் திறக்கப்படவேண்டும் என மக்கள் தெரிவித்திருக்கின்றர்.

இதேவேளை மக்களுடன் இணைந்து வலிவடக்கு கூட்டமைப்பு பிரதேச சபை உறுப்பினர்கள் எஸ்.சுகிர்தன், எஸ்.சஜீபன், எஸ்.மதி ஆகியேர் இந்த போராட்டத்தில் பங்கெடுத்திருந்தனர். இந்நிலையில் குறித்த முதியவரின் சடலம் மாலை 3மணியளவில் தகனம் செய்யப்பட்டுள்ளது.

The Hindu : New Articles News : One Step Forward two steps back, editorial, [Oradi munne, eeradi pinne] December 24, 2011, Translated and presented by V.B. Ganesan

2011-12-28T20:56:00.000-08:00

The Hindu : New Articles News : One Step Forward two steps back, editorial, [Oradi munne, eeradi pinne] December 24, 2011, Translated and presented by V.B. Ganesan

இந்தா தமிழா இவன்தான் ஒபாமா!

2011-12-28T01:20:00.000-08:00

அமெரிக்க ஏகாதிபத்திய ஒபாமா நிர்வாகமே,

அமெரிக்க மக்களின் முற்றுகை இயக்கம் மீது கட்டவிழ்க்கும் பாசிச அடக்குமுறைகளை உடனே நிறுத்து!

உலகத்தொழிலாளர்களே ஒடுக்கப்பட்ட தேசங்களே ஒபாமா பாசிசத்தை தோற்கடிக்க ஒன்று சேருங்கள்!!

Title says all. During peacefully Occupy Movement, police came in to tear down tents and proceeded to arrest students at UC Davis who stood in their way. Once students peacefully demanded the release of the arrested, a police officer unnecessarily pepper sprays the students to open a path for the rest of the officers

சிறீலங்காவோ சிரியாவோ, லிபியாவோ ஈரானோ, ரசியாவோ சீனாவோ அல்ல, தமிழா இது உன் பிரான் ஒபாமாவின் அமெரிக்கா!

கண் திறப்பாய், இல்லையேல் மண் துறப்பாய்!!

கைகூப்பிய தமிழனுக்கு கை விரித்த ஐ.நா

2011-12-26T05:18:00.000-08:00

On Sri Lanka,
Ban Has No Comment on LLRC Report, "It's Up to Member States"
By Matthew Russell Lee Inner City Press -- Investigative Reporting From the Inner City to Wall Street to the United Nations

UNITED NATIONS, December 16 -- Now that the Sri Lankan government's Lessons Learnt & Reconciliation Commission report is public, with its claim that civilians were not targeted,

Inner City Press on Friday asked UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon's associate spokesman Farhan Haq for the UN's response to the report, and any moves for accountability. Video here, from Minute 8:29.

Haq said "we'll need to study" the LLRC report and that Ban's UN "may respond in due course." He said, "We are continuing with our efforts at accountability... We hope and trust that member states will look to the contents of th[e] report.. led by Marsuki Darusman."

Inner City Press asked about what a member state on the UN Human Rights Council told it, that Ban sent the Panel of Experts report to Geneva without even a UN stamp on it -- "is it just a piece of paper?"

Haq replied, "it's a UN report, you can find it on a UN website." That doesn't make up for the lack of a UN stamp on the filing with the HRC. The UN's Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs for example runs a website which put online, on a "UN website," reports issued by governments, like Sri Lanka. Does that make it a UN report?

Haq said it was "presented here at UN." But unlike Ban's report on the murder of Benezir Bhutto in Pakistan, for example, or on the introduction of cholera into Haiti, no UN press conference ever "presented" the Sri Lanka report. After the Sri Lankan government leaked it in Colombo, Ban's spokesperson's office made it available, in a stack, without holding any press conference or Q&A.

Inner City Press asked if Ban believes the report should be taken up by the Human Rights Council before Sri Lanka's Universal Periodic Review, some time off.

Haq said, "it's up to member of the Human Rights Council what they take up." That may be true, but Ban has for example publicly expressed regret about the UN Security Council votes on Syria - an issue on which he may have more support, or be more pushed, by influential member states.

Contrary to what Ban said on Syria, on Sri Lanka Haq concluded, "as you know, these are bodies of member states and we'll await what kind of decisions they take." Ah, quiet diplomacy...

அமெரிக்காவின் நவீன காலனியாதிக்கத்துக்கு சேவகம் செய்யும் கருவியே ஐ.நா.சபை

2011-12-25T21:24:00.000-08:00

http://www.unmultimedia.org/tv/webcast/2011/12/un-secretary-general-ban-ki-moon-year-end-press-conference.html

http://www.un.org/apps/sg/offthecuff.asp?nid=2137

New York - Secretary-General's year-end press conference

''We played an essential role in the liberation of Libya. We stand ready to continue to help Tunisia and Egypt at their request.''

--------------------------------------------------------------
New York, 14 December 2011 - Secretary-General's year-end press conference

SG: Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. It is a great pleasure to meet you. And I look forward to seeing you later this evening during the annual UNCA dinner.

We are nearing the end of my first term as Secretary-General, and this is also the day when I can discuss with you my last five year situation. This has been an extraordinary and remarkable year.

The Arab Awakening or Arab Spring has transformed the geopolitical landscape. We spoke out - early and forcefully, calling on leaders to hear the voices of their people. And we acted, decisively, in concert with the international community.

We played an essential role in the liberation of Libya. We stand ready to continue to help Tunisia and Egypt at their request.

The agreement mediated by our UN envoy in Yemen sets the stage for an end to fighting - and the creation of a new government of national unity.

We welcomed our 193rd Member State - the Republic of South Sudan. The birth of this new nation followed a successful referendum in January this year, made possible by UN peacekeeping and diplomacy that included, four years ago, our deployment in Darfur of peacekeepers.

And in Myanmar we see a promising new opening - we will persist through our good offices and other efforts.

Elsewhere, events continue to test our resolve.

In Syria, more than 5,000 people are dead. This cannot go on. In the name of humanity, it is time for the international community to act.

In Afghanistan, we face continued insecurity. Last week's conference in Bonn re-affirmed the international community's commitment to our partnership through 2014 and beyond.

With the help of the Quartet, we must continue to push for peace between Israel and Palestine.

In the Horn of Africa, people still face famine.

From the beginning of my time as Secretary-General, I have sought to advance a practical, action-oriented vision of the UN as the voice of the voiceless, and the defender of the defenceless.

That is why, together with the President of the General Assembly I went to Somalia last week - the first visit of a Secretary-General in 18 years. And of course, the first time ever in the history of the UN that the Secretary-General and the President of the General Assembly travelled together to Somalia. And it is why I visited the Dadaab refugee camp in Kenya, where we are helping to feed and shelter half a million Somali people.

From Somalia to Sudan, Yemen to Afghanistan, Haiti to the Philippines - millions need our help.

Today in Geneva, we asked for $7.7 billion to assist 51 million people in 16 countries next year.

Economic times are hard. But we cannot balance budgets with the lives of the world's poorest and most vulnerable.

Ladies and gentlemen, dear friends,

2011 also delivered warnings about our common future.

The disaster at Fukushima revived concerns about nuclear safety, and the UN mobilized a global response.

We saw record floods in Pakistan, Thailand, Colombia and El Salvador - a vivid reminder of the increasing incidence of extreme weather.

I came to office speaking of climate change as the defining challenge of our era. I was determined to raise it to the top of the global agenda.

Five years later, we have made significant progress - from Bali to Copenhagen to Cancún and, now, Durban.

At Durban, we defied the sceptics. We showed clearly that UN multilateral negotiations can deliver: consensus on a clear target and timeline for reaching a legally binding agreement involving all countries; a re-commitment to the Kyoto Protocol and the institutions that have produced major reductions in green house gases; advances on technology and financing, including the Green Climate Fund.

Looking ahead, we will build on this Durban spirit of cooperation to advance on climate change financing and, in particular, our new initiative on Sustainable Energy for All.

There is a broader lesson.

Whether the issue is climate change - peace, security and human rights - or humanitarian relief - the United Nations has never been so needed.

I believe we are at an inflection point in history. All is changing. The old rules are breaking down.

We do not know what new order will emerge. Yet we can be confident: the United Nations will be at the fore.

That is why, at the General Assembly in September, I set out a vision for the next five years - a vision of solidarity for an era of upheaval and uncertainty.

I identified five global imperatives - five generational opportunities to create the future we want:

First, sustainable development,

Second, a safer and more secure world,

Third, the importance of prevention,

Fourth, helping countries in transition, and

Fifth, doing more for the world's women and young people.

I will lay out our plan of action in January to the General Assembly.

For now, let me say that we will focus on the links among issues. We must connect the dots – between climate change, energy, food, water, health and education, and oceans.

All these will be front-and-center at the Rio + 20 Conference on Sustainable Development in June next year.

Meanwhile, we will build on the progress of the last five years.

Our new emphasis on preventive diplomacy and mediation has produced encouraging results - in Sierra Leone, Guinea, Kyrgyzstan, Cyprus and Nepal.

We have advanced the Responsibility to Protect.

In Côte d'Ivoire, Laurent Gbagbo sought to subvert the will of his people. We stood firm for democracy - and today he is in The Hague. We stood, as well, against Muammar Qaddafi when he vowed to slaughter his people like “rats.”

These are important victories for justice and international law. During the last five years, we have stood repeatedly for accountability against impunity. We have strengthened the rule of law and the International Criminal Court, now ratified by 120 nations with more soon to come.

On disarmament and non-proliferation, we have seen growing support for the five-point plan introduced early in my first term.

We continue to champion the rights of women and children. The creation of UN Women culminated a long effort, grounded in our conviction that women are key to development and peace.

Our “Every Woman Every Child” initiative has the potential to prevent millions of needless deaths. Coupled with our success in fighting malaria, we have a powerful model for the future.

What we preach to others, we must practice ourselves. Women hold more senior positions than ever in UN history. You will see many more during my second term, not only at the top.

Ladies and gentlemen,

We can accomplish little without a strong United Nations.

People are outpacing traditional institutions - in their desire for change - in their demands for democracy, justice, human rights and new social and economic opportunity.

Our challenge is to keep up - to adapt - and to deliver.

As my Chef de Cabinet announced on December 1, I intend to build a new team for my second term, a team that is strong on substance and diverse in composition, a team that works as one.

Leading by example, I have placed priority on mobility - combining fresh perspective and institutional continuity and synergy.

With these criteria in mind, I am undertaking a thorough review of my entire team and its management structure. In the coming days, additional announcements will be made as appropriate.

Thank you, and I will be happy to answer your questions.

Q: Mr. Secretary-General, on behalf of the United Nations Correspondents Association, thank you for this press conference and for attending tonight's dinner. My question is this: the Human Rights Council presented a devastating report on Syria. Are you going to submit it to the Security Council soon -- this report, after 5,000 people [were] killed?

SG: I think I have transmitted the report of the International Commission of Inquiry a couple of days ago. Of course, it is for members of the Security Council. It has also been transmitted to General Assembly. So it is for Member States to review and take the necessary decision. The situation is very worrisome and I have repeatedly expressed my deepest concerns. I hope that the United Nations and the international community will be able to take concerted, coherent action. In that regard, I highly commend the initiative and leadership of the League of Arab States nations and I have been very closely consulting with the Secretary-General of the League of Arab States how the United Nations and the League of Arab States and the other international community, in a broader sense, can work to resolve these issues.

Q: Mr. Secretary-General, when the Arab Spring first started in Tunisia and then spread to Egypt, you spoke in favour of change. Now that the results of the elections are out -- so far, you know the results -- are you concerned about the future of democracy and political stability in the region?

SG: That is why I reported to the General Assembly one of my five imperatives for next year, for a five-year second term, would be helping those countries in transition, particularly those countries who are able to attain their initial aspirations, like Tunisia, Egypt and Yemen. It is very important that their success should be a sustainable one. We have been trying to help to provide technical and logistical support to Egypt and Tunisia in electoral processes, and we are also discussing with world leaders how we can provide the socio-economic support so that they can provide the good opportunities to particularly young people and women and marginalized groups of people. This is going to be one of the top priorities.

Q: Mr. Secretary-General, when you look back on the whole of the Arab Spring, tens of thousands of people have been killed in these different countries, and the UN and the international community has reacted at a different pace in each case. Has this been a victory overall, the past year for the international community, its reaction? Has it been a success rather than a moral victory?

SG: As I said, this has been remarkable in terms of our commitment to help those people who have been oppressed, under oppression. You have not seen such a dramatic situation where people were speaking out, where the international community was speaking out together with those people to help them. Of course, more needs to be done, and it is quite sad and tragic that so many people have been killed, lost their lives and have been wounded in the course of these demonstrations and expressing their freedom of speech and their aspirations. That is why I have been, and the United Nations and the international community have been continuously, consistently speaking out that the leaders should listen to the voices of their people and take up all the reform measures before it explodes, like this way. So we will still have to see and [remain] continuously engaged with the countries.

Q: Mr. Secretary-General, as another follow-up on the Arab Spring, we have seen actually these protests from very developed countries, including the United States and also in Russia and in some European countries which are not usually on the United Nations agenda. Do you see that there is some kind of a real world trend that perhaps the United Nations and you as the Secretary-General should be looking at and addressing?

SG: We are living in an era of uncertainty and inequity. And we need to look at this issue and address this issue from a broader perspective, even political and historical perspectives. It is, as you said, not only those countries under oppression, but even in the developed world, we have seen so many people demonstrating out of frustration. That's why I have been saying that this is quite a generational opportunity for the United Nations to address these issues. These generational opportunities do not come along often.

If I may say a little bit historically, in terms of the democratization process, we have seen such yearnings for democracy as early as in the 1950s, in Eastern European countries under communism. Then you have seen some countries in Asia, like in the Republic of Korea. Then in 80s, late 80s, you have seen the collapse of the Cold War era with the reunification of Germany. Then another 20 years or another generation later, we are seeing such yearnings, like a wildfire, spreading across the Middle East and North Africa, because they have been oppressed by tradition, by culture, by authoritarian leaders. It is only natural, only natural evolution of history; that, we have to look at from that perspective. That is why I termed it as a generational opportunity. This is the moment which we have to seize and help them.

The worst case in the developed countries like the United States, where you have seen Occupy Wall Street and which had been spreading all throughout the developed world. That is in the course of rapid industrialization and globalization; there has been some gap between the peoples. They have been marginalized people, and there has been inequity between rich and poor and particularly we have not paid much attention to the women and youth groups. That is why, again, one of my priorities. This all comes from historical perspectives. It is not coming out of just responding [in a] reactive way. I have thought, with my senior advisers, very seriously how the United Nations can be relevant and can be helpful in addressing these issues. So that's why we have to do more for women and youth groups.

Often, we have been saying that the young people will be the leaders of tomorrow. But they have already taken leadership role today already. These were the people who were shouting and demonstrating in Tahrir Square, and Mohammad Bouazizi, in Tunisia -- he set himself on fire. He was a young, helpless [person]. But his sacrifice has provoked and ignited this flame of democratization. Therefore, we have a political, moral and historical responsibility. That is why I am asking you to be part of this process. Journalism, the media, can play a very important role. Without your help, how can their voices be heard to the outside world? Of course, there are many means of communication ? social media, all these ? but still your views, viewpoints can be very helpful in helping this world to bridge the gap of inequity and provide equal opportunities to as many people as possible.

Q: Thank you, Mr. Secretary-General. Now that Palestine has been officially admitted as a member of UNESCO [United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization]; I believe its flag was raised the other day. And this was followed by a cut-off of funding for UNESCO by the United States and the Palestinians are also still seeking full UN membership. You have expressed some concerns in the past regarding further efforts by the Palestinians to seek membership in other UN bodies, if that would have an adverse impact on funding. Do you still have such concerns going forward? And if so, have you communicated those concerns with Palestinian authorities?

SG: We have to look at this issue in a different angle. Admission of Palestinians into the United Nations is a separate one. I support their aspirations to be admitted into the United Nations and to be able to work in other international organizations as a full member within the context of the two-State vision where Israel and Palestinians can live together side by side in peace and security. Then the funding gap, which has been caused by the US cutting this funding over the case of admission into UNESCO; that is another matter. As the Secretary-General of the United Nations, I hope and I am working very hard that all the United Nations agencies should be able to operate with adequate funding, adequate resources to deliver to those people who need our help. That is my concern. That is my concern, that UNESCO will have a shortage of funding. I have been expressing this concern to world leaders, whomever I met, so that we would be able to find some practical mechanisms where we can address this shortage of funding. So these are separate issues.

Q: Mr. Secretary-General, you made a very unusual trip to Somalia and you told the Transitional Council to either become permanent, hold elections, dissolve itself, whatever. How did they react?

SG: I have very sincere constructive talks with the President, Parliamentary Speaker and Prime Minister and other leaders. And I met the families of refugees and also representatives, leaders of refugee camps. So, these discussions with them and meetings with them were quite constructive and useful and appreciated by many people in Somalia. They are committed to make progress. It is true that they have missed, this Transitional Federal Government, they have missed some important opportunities. I have clearly told them that further extension of the road map beyond August next year will be untenable. So, they should be doing all they can to implement this road map, including constitutional, parliamentary and political reforms. They said they are committed. And they should also be able to expand their governing jurisdiction. They have a very limited window of opportunities gained through these military operations done by African Union peacekeeping mission, AMISOM [African Union Mission in Somalia], and Somali forces, and with the help of the international community. This is a very limited window. Unless they take this opportunity to expand their institutional capacity in the liberated areas, then there may be a danger [of a] resurgence of warlordism, and also military [comeback] by Al-Shabaab. So they have to take these opportunities when there is a heightened attention and support from the international community. The Kenyan Government has made sure that they will send their troops additionally to AMISOM, and Burundi is going to dispatch another additional battalion, and the United Nations is going to be heavily and very focused, engaged by deploying UNPOS ? the United Nations Political Office in Somalia ? from January next year. Then there is going to be a summit-level meeting in London in February next year. So, these are very important occasions, very crucial occasion, [for] the international community to focus our efforts.

Q: Thank you. Mr. Secretary-General. My question is about the budget. In the opening statement, you said that the UN is very much needed; but on the other hand, you proposed to the General Assembly a 3 per cent cut to the budget. My question is: Don't you have any concerns to shrink the operation or the mission of the UN or to reduce the presence of the UN in the international arena by cutting the budget of the UN?

SG: To my knowledge, it is quite an unprecedented initiative that the Secretary-General proposes a 3.7 per cent budget [cut]. Even with the 0.5 per cent growth, the United Nations budget has been increasing by generous contributions by Member States. I thought that this is not the time [for] business as usual. This is an extraordinarily difficult situation where the United Nations should not be an exception. We have to adapt and change our way of doing [things]. That is why I have asked my senior advisors to come up with budget reductions. With a 3.7 per cent [cut], this may cause certain concerns by the Member States or some departments, whether our mandate could be properly carried out. Our mandate will be carried out without fail. How we can then reduce our budget by modernizing our way of working, by being creative, by being more disciplined in executing the budget -- I think we can meet this requirement. That's my firm commitment and it is the consensus view of our senior advisors. We can deliver what had been requested by the General Assembly or other intergovernmental bodies. These mandates will be delivered without fail but we will reduce our operational costs, so we can use some different ways of communicating with us. We can reduce our travel. Instead we can use VTC [video teleconferencing] or some other means of communication. By modernizing, by introducing ICT [information and communications technology], I think we can reduce the budget.

Q: Mr. Secretary-General, it's been well known that Daniel Bellemare, who is the prosecutor for the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, has not been well, and not functional, quite frankly. He announced today that he is resigning. By now, I'm sure you have somebody in mind who will take his place. Has this been concluded? How long would the process be, had you not chosen somebody? How will it affect the Tribunal in Lebanon? And I don't want to rain on your parade, Mr. Secretary-General; you've been upfront in supporting the Arab Spring, but quite honestly, we don't hear much from you on safeguarding the rights of minorities and women, when it comes to the consequences of the Arab Spring. It is nice to give women lip service and say, “We are going to give you positions, you're going to be fine,” but functionally, on the ground, there has been a very high cost for women and minorities. What do you plan to do tangibly to do something about that, specifically because you have been upfront on this issue?

SG: On the first part of your question, Mr. Bellemare is the prosecutor of Special Tribunal for Lebanon. His term ends sometime early next year. We will have to find his replacement. I had discussed this matter with the new President of the Special Tribunal of Lebanon yesterday, and my Legal Counsel, Patricia O'Brien, will be in contact with relevant people, like the Special Tribunal, and I think due process of selection will take place. But I have not yet initiated it, but it will soon be initiated.

Then, the second question: from the beginning of this Arab Spring, whenever I had an opportunity of speaking or meeting with Arab leaders, I made it quite pointedly, this role of women. When they create a certain committee for reform or when they were drafting constitutions or regulations, [or to] enact laws, then there must be a clear provision on protecting the human rights as well as providing equal opportunities to women and also youth groups. It's not just lip service. I'm just making sure that it happens. When I visited Libya, I also had a meeting with the whole of the NTC [National Transitional Council] and I raised this issue to Chairman [Mustafa Abdel] Jalil and members of NTC, that in Libya, women's opportunity should be fully guaranteed and [they should be] empowered. I will continue to make sure [that this happens].

Q: Mr. Secretary-General, you mentioned the Responsibility to Protect and you said that the implementation of this concept led to the liberation of Libya. At the same time, it led to a split among the members of the Security Council. Some of them, including BRIC [Brazil, Russia, India and China] countries, believe that NATO has exceeded the mandate provided by resolution 1973 and used this resolution as a pretext for regime change and at the same time caused harm to the very same innocent lives it clamed to be protecting. In this context, Brazil has offered an interesting concept that might bring the two sides together. The Brazilian President, in the general debate, argued that better mechanisms were needed to ensure that in an intervention, unwanted damage would be kept at minimum, calling it the “responsibility when protecting.” What is your assessment of Brazil's initiative and how it could bridge the gap between different groups in the Security Council?

SG: The Responsibility to Protect has been gaining wider and wider support among Member States. Since I appointed my special adviser, Ed Luck, on this issue, there have been several occasions in which the General Assembly members have discussed this issue: how to implement the principle which had been agreed upon by the leaders in 2005 at the summit meeting. I'm encouraged that they have been gaining momentum on this principle. I know that there are some concerns expressed by certain countries. That is why this process has been -- even though it has been time-consuming, we've been very patient in getting support, so that there should be no misunderstandings on the principle of this and the application of this principle. I'm also encouraged, for the first time, that the Human Rights Council and Security Council invoked this principle of the Responsibility to Protect. As a result of all these demonstrations and democratization processes by the people, of course, there were changes of regime. But I believe that these changes of regime where done by the people, not by the intervention of any foreign forces, including the United Nations. Security Council Resolution 1973, I believe, was strictly enforced within that limit, within the mandate. This military operation done by the NATO forces was strictly within [resolution] 1973. I made it quite clear, and I have been often discussing this matter with the Secretary General of NATO, to make sure that there should be no human rights violations, there should be no casualties among civilians. I believe that this is what we have seen and there should be no misunderstanding on that. On the Brazilian concept: still, the Responsibility to Protect is the subject of discussions among Member States, so all the comments and suggestions, including the Brazilians', will be considered.

Q: Mr. Secretary-General, we know your efforts in bringing the leaders together on Cyprus. My question is on Cyprus. We know your efforts to bring two communities to reach an agreement. You last met the two leaders in Greentree [Estate] in New York. And you also invited them to another meeting in January. From this perspective, what do you want to see to be achieved before the meeting in January? And what do you think are the prospects for the next year, Sir?

SG: As you are well aware, I have invited the two leaders to Greentree in late January and I will spend two days with them. This will be a more intensive consultation, negotiation, than the previous Greentree negotiations. I believe that time is quite limited. As you are aware, Cyprus is going to take the presidency of European Union from 1 July next year, so the window of our opportunity for further progress in negotiations is very much limited. It may be politically difficult and sensitive, when the presidency of the European Union is now going to be part of this. And practically speaking, the presidency of European Union will be heavily involved in all other European issues. Therefore, we are trying maximize this progress in Cyprus. And as I have issued in my statement at the conclusion of the previous meeting, we hope that with the positive result of the January negotiations, we can move ahead towards the international conference to deal with these issues. But let us hope that, before they come to Greentree, both leaders must engage and make progress, accelerating their pace of negotiation. And my Special Advisor, Alexander Downer, is working very hard, and I am also going to get a briefing from [my Special Representative] Ms. [Lisa] Buttenheim today on the progress on this.

Q: Mr. Secretary-General, a quick clarification on Giampaolo's question - I thought I heard you saying that you had transmitted to Syria a report from the Human Rights Council to the Security Council, and I didn't think that was the case. Is that right? Is that what you had said, you did transmit it to the Security Council?

SG: Yes, yes.

Q: Oh, ok. And the question is: if you can articulate your general position on the use of drones for cross border attacks and surveillance? There has been an increased use of these tactics, particularly by the U.S., but are you concerned at all about the legality of these operations? And also, concerned that, if you look five years down the road, everybody is going to be doing this, and that you will have the Russians using drone attacks in their area, you will have the Iranians doing it? Is there concern that this could lead somewhere out of control?

SG: I do not have much to say about all of this, what kind of means the Member States use. This is something which national governments, military authorities, they may decide. I do not have any comment on that.

Q: Even cross border to other countries?

SG: I hope all this is done within the agreed international regulations and understandings.

Q: Mr. Secretary-General, I do have a little follow up on that. Your former Envoy for Extrajudicial Killings, Philip Alston, did have quite a lot to say on drones, and I would love to know if you intend to move forward on any of those investigations?

But I do have a separate question, which is just on non-proliferation: you made a point in the beginning of your administration to point to a potential non-proliferation in the Korean Peninsula, and that it was a personal point of interest. Is there any movement? I have spoken to all the six parties. I know that is outside the UN framework, but it seems to be somewhat stalled. Do you have any sense that the DPRK [Democratic People's Republic of Korea] will come back to the talks at any point?

SG: It is quite regrettable that the situation in the Korean Peninsula has not been moving ahead. Recently, you have seen all the escalation of tensions over North Korean attacks against South Korean naval ships and Yeonpyeong Island that seemed to have created a mood on the Korean Peninsula -- almost in a negative way, frozen. At the same time, there had been some diplomatic attempts by the countries concerned, like China, to revive the six-party talks, and there were some meetings between the Heads of State in the region. I myself have been also trying to facilitate, to create a favourable atmosphere on the Korean Peninsula, as Secretary-General, and also in my personal capacity as a Korean citizen. I do hope to see the amelioration of the situation on the Korean Peninsula, particularly between South and North Korea. It is encouraging that Korean President Lee [Myung-bak] assured me, and including the Unification Minister, that despite the current situation, the Republic of Korea Government will continue to provide the basic humanitarian assistance, particularly to children, infants, for their nutrition. I think that is welcome. I sincerely hope that there will be some more expansion of exchanges and cooperation through initiating humanitarian assistance to North Korea.

I also appreciate the Chinese role in trying to facilitate the six-party talks. The six-party talks had been playing a very important role, a crucial role, in addressing North Korean nuclear issues, and there was a joint statement, which had not been, unfortunately, implemented. I do hope that, since the current situation is not tenable, they should engage in dialogue and try to promote a politically conducive atmosphere. It requires all the parties of the six countries – the United States, Japan, Russia, and both Koreas and China.

On another question, Special Rapporteurs do not report to me, in fact. They are the Special Rapporteurs, nominated by the intergovernmental bodies like the Human Rights Council.

Q: Mr. Secretary-General, you said that these drone attacks were carried out in consultation with countries concerned. Do you think the recent NATO attack on Pakistan's border post was the result of this kind of understanding, because Pakistan has reacted strongly? It has shut down NATO's fly routes; it has ordered its border forces to retaliate if there is any other activity like this.

SG: As I said, with the rapid development of technology, many countries develop their own military means of getting, collecting information. Other than that, I do not have comments on this matter. If you really need any comments, I will get back to you later on.

Q: My question is on climate change, and of course coming to an agreement on a legally binding contract. We heard the former Presidents of Costa Rica and Bangladesh quote an [IEA – International Energy Agency] report saying that if something isn't done by 2017 it will basically be too late to reverse the global damage being done. So what can you tell us in terms of a reaction to a timeline, and maybe more importantly, implementation on some sort of global regulation?

SG: One of the very encouraging decisions and agreements in Durban was that all Member States agreed that there should be a timeline. As you may recall, I have been raising this issue to the top of the global agenda, during the last five years. There was no such definite firm agreement among the international community. We really tried to seal a deal in Copenhagen in 2009. They provided good foundations for further building up agreements, but there was not such an agreement. Now that the whole international community is committed to an agreement, a comprehensive legally binding agreement, by a certain date, including ratification, it may have to be effective by 2020. That means you need to have an agreement before that – by, say, 2015 - to allow a few more years for ratification and also to take the necessary action. What is important at this time, after the Durban Platform was agreed, then all Member States should take actions on the ground: reduce carbon emissions, and provide technological support to developing countries. It is again encouraging that the Green Climate Fund was launched, as was agreed in Cancún, and several countries have already indicated that they would provide necessary funding. Thirty billion dollars for short-term fast track financial support is almost identified. Twenty seven or twenty eight billion dollars have already been budgeted in those national governments. The question is 100 billion dollars, how to general 100 billion dollars per year by 2020; that may be a challenge, but it is doable. It is doable.

I had a very intensive, good meeting, with Prime Minister [Jens] Stoltenberg of Norway, and Prime Minister Meles [Zenawi] of Ethiopia, who played the role as co-Chairs of my High Level Advisory Group on Climate Change Financing. We had a very big event in Durban. I will continue to work with major donors, so that this money will be delivered. The Kyoto Protocol is going to continue into the second commitment. Those are very important developments and agreements and expressions of the commitment of the international community. For the first time in almost twenty years, after seventeen years, for the first time the international community is going to work in one framework, when we are able to have a legally binding treaty. That is a most important development that we have to build upon in Qatar next year. But before that, we will have to meet in Rio de Janeiro next year in June – at the Sustainable Development [summit]. This will be the place where all the global challenges which we have been dealing with in separate forums, like climate change, the food crisis, water, energy, global health issues, oceans, and gender empowerment – all these global issues, which we the United Nations have been pushing - will be addressed comprehensively, in an integrated manner. That is our very important priority.

முல்லைப் பெரியாறு அணை நீர்மட்டத்தை 142 அடியாக உயர்த்துவோம்!

2011-12-25T17:02:00.000-08:00

நத்தார் நல்வாழ்த்துக்கள் 2011

2011-12-24T14:31:00.000-08:00

சிங்களத்தின் வெள்ளை அங்கிப் பாதிரிச்சாத்தான்கள் ஓதுகின்ற வேதம்!

"Final LLRC Commission report has made number of decisions that will direct the country towards genuine peace and unity".

The Archbishop of Colombo Rev. Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith speaking at the annual Christmas celebration said

RC Church welcomes LLRC report

The Catholic Church yesterday stressed that the voice of the people who had been caught in the conflict for more than 30 years, is clearly embedded in the final report of the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC) rather than in the report of the experts panel appointed by UN Secretary General
Ban Ki Moon.

According to Colombo Archbishop Rev. Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith, all citizens, including Christians, have dual challenges ahead of them though the war is ended. "The country faces a challenge on how equality for all communities should be guaranteed in an environment where their dignity and identity is secured."

He said that the LLRC report will direct the country towards genuine peace and it was a document which is subjected to a wider dialogue in all quarters of the society.

"It portrays the opinions of a cross section of society." he said.

He was of the view that the commission itself represents all communities and religions. The Archbishop added that the final report of the Commission have made a number of decisions that will lead towards unity.

The Colombo Archbishop was speaking at the annual Christmas celebration which was held under the patronage of President Mahinda Rajapaksa at Temple Trees yesterday.

He said that the next challenges ahead of the people is to avert that kind of conflict on Sri Lankan soil again.

The Archbishop said that Sri Lankans can build a peaceful country if they shed all differences in terms of nationality and religion. He hinted that some international forces are operating to deprive the benefits gained by the people through hard won peace.

முல்லை பெரியாறு அணை நீர் மட்டத்தை 142 அடியாக உயர்த்தப் போராடுவோம்!

2011-12-23T18:10:00.000-08:00

தமிழக கேரள அரசுகளே!

இருமாநிலங்களின் நீர்ப்பாசன, நீர் மின் திட்டங்கள் உருவாக்குவதற்கான புதிய ஒப்பந்தம் காண பேச்சுவார்த்தையைத் தொடங்குங்கள்!

தமிழர்கள் பெரும்பான்மையாக வாழும் எல்லைப் பகுதிகளை தமிழகத்தோடும், மலையாளிகள் பெரும்பான்மையாக வாழும் எல்லைப் பகுதிகளை கேரளத்தோடும் இணைக்கப் போராடுவோம்!

இரு தேச மக்களின் ஒற்றுமைக்காகவும், தேசிய இனங்களின் சுயநிர்ணய உரிமைக்காகவும் போராடுவோம்!

என்ற ஜனநாயக முழக்கங்களை முன்னெடுத்து தமிழ்நாட்டில் மக்கள் ஜனநாயக இளைஞர் கழகம் அரசியல் பிரச்சாரம்.

LLRC Final Report: வேலிக்கு ஓணான் சாட்சி!

2011-12-23T06:21:00.000-08:00

Sri Lanka final report of the Reconciliation Commission

“ஸ்ரீலங்கா கொலைக்களம்`` போர்க்குற்ற ஆவணப்படம் ஒரு மீளாய்வு

2011-12-22T08:12:00.000-08:00

படியுங்கள் புதிய ஈழம்

“ஸ்ரீலங்கா கொலைக்களம்`` இலங்கை அரசின் யுத்தக் குற்றங்களை சர்வதேச தரத்துக்கு, சட்டபூர்வத் தேவைகளை ஈடுசெய்யும் வகையில் ஆதாரங்களுடன் முன்வைக்கப்பட்ட ஆவணம் என்பதில் சந்தேகம் இல்லை.

ஆனால். யுத்தங்களை சட்டபூர்வமான யுத்தம் சட்ட விரோதமான யுத்தம் எனப் பாகுபடுத்தக்கூடாது. போரிடும் வர்க்கங்களின் நலன்களின் அடிப்படையில் நீதியானதா?, அநீதியானதா? என்ற கேள்வியின் அடிப்படையில் தான் வகைப்படுத்த வேண்டும். பொதுவாக நீதியான யுத்தங்கள் எல்லாம் ஆளும் வர்க்கங்களுக்கு சட்டவிரோத யுத்தங்களாகும். இந்தச் சட்டவிரோதிகளே பயங்கரவாதிகள் ஆவர்.

இந்தக் கோட்பாட்டின் அடிப்படையில் தான் தமிழீழ விடுதலைப் போராட்டம் பயங்கரவாதமாகச் சித்தரிக்கப்பட்டது. தமிழீழ விடுதலைப் புலிகள் பயங்கரவாத இயக்கமாக அறிவிக்கப்பட்டு. ஏகாதிபத்திய உலகத்தில் தடை செய்யப்பட்டனர்.

விடுதலைப் புலிகளின் கட்சிக் கொடியை ஏந்துவது, விடுதலைப் புலிகளுக்கு ஆதரவாக அரசியல் பிரச்சார இயக்கம் நடத்துவது, விடுதலை யுத்தத்துக்கு நிதி திரட்டுவது சட்டவிரோத நடவடிக்கைகளாக பிரகடனம் செய்யப்பட்டன.

இந்தக் கோட்பாட்டின் அடிப்படையில்தான் “ஸ்ரீலங்கா கொலைக்களம்`` விடுதலைப் புலிகள் அமைப்பை பயங்கரவாதிகள் என்றும் போர்க் குற்றம் இழைத்தவர்கள் என்றும் சரிநிகர் சமானமாக குற்றம் சாட்டுகிறது இதனால் இந்த ஆவணத்தின் தர்க்கத்தின் அடிப்படையில் விடுதலைப் புலிகளின் மூத்த தலைவர்கள் மீதும் போர்க்குற்றம் சுமத்த முடியும். மேலும் இவ் ஆவணம் விடுதலைப் புலிகள் மீதான தடையை நீக்கக் கோரும் மக்கள் இயக்கத்துக்கு எதிராகவும் இருக்கிறது.

புதிய சூழ்நிலை பற்றிய மதிப்பீடுகளினதும், கடந்த காலத் தவறுகள் குறித்த படிப்பினை மற்றும் சுயவிமர்சனத்துடனும் விடுதலைப் புலிகள் மீளத் தங்களை தமிழீழ விடுதலைக்காகப் போராடும், முற்போக்கு ஜனநாயக தேசிய விடுதலை அரசியல் இயக்கமாக கட்டியெழுப்புவதற்கு இத்தடையை நீக்கப் போராடுவது நமது ஜனநாயகக் கடமையாகும். மேலும் வரலாற்றின் அவசியமும் ஆகும்.

மேலும் (தொடர்ந்து படிக்க)

உலக மயமாக்கலுக்கு இந்திய தேசிய கனிம வளங்களை தாரைவார்த்த இந்தியப் பாசிசத்தின் கோர முகம்

2011-12-14T14:23:00.000-08:00

CPI Maoist Statement on the brutal murder of Comrade Mallojula Koteswara Rao (Kishanji), the beloved leader of the oppressed masses

Posted by Admin on November 28, 2011 COMMUNIST PARTY OF INDIA (MAOIST)
CENTRAL COMMITTEE
Press Release November 25, 2011

Condemn the brutal murder of Comrade Mallojula Koteswara Rao, the beloved leader of the oppressed masses,the leader of Indian revolution and CPI (Maoist) Politburo member!

Observe protest week from November 29 to December 5 and 48-hour ‘Bharat Bandh’ on December 4-5!!

November 24, 2011 would remain a black day in the annals of Indian revolutionary movement’s history. The fascist Sonia-Manmohan-Pranab-Chidambaram-Jairam Ramesh ruling clique who have been raising a din that CPI (Maoist) is ‘the biggest internal security threat’, in collusion with West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee, killed Comrade Mallojula Koteswara Rao after capturing him alive in a well planned conspiracy. This clique which had killed Comrade Azad, our party’s spokesperson on July 1, 2010 once again spread its dragnet and quenched its thirst for blood. Mamata Banerjee, who had shed crocodile’s tears over the murder of Comrade Azad before coming to power, while enacting the drama of talks on the one hand after assuming office, killed another topmost leader Comrade Koteswara Rao and thus displayed nakedly its anti-people and fascist facet. The central intelligence agencies and the killer intelligence agencies of West Bengal and Andhra Pradesh chased him in a well planned conspiracy and killed him in a cowardly manner in a joint operation and now spreading a concocted story of encounter. The central home secretary R.K. Singh even while lying that they do not know for certain who died in the encounter, has in the same breath announced that this is a big blow to the Maoist movement. Thus he nakedly gave away their conspiracy behind this killing. The oppressed people would definitely send to grave the exploiting ruling classes and their imperialist masters who are day dreaming that they could wipe out the Maoist party by killing the top leadership of the revolutionary movement.

Comrade Koteswara Rao, who is hugely popular as Prahlad, Ramji,Kishenji and Bimal inside the party and among the people, is one of the important leaders of the Indian revolutionary movement. The tireless warrior who never rested his gun while fighting for the liberation of the oppressed masses since the past 37 years and who has laid down his life for the sake of the ideology he believed in, was born in 1954 in Peddapally town of Karimnagar district of North Telangana, Andhra Pradesh. Raised by his father Late Venkataiah who was a freedom fighter and his mother Madhuramma, who has been of progressive views, Koteswara Rao imbibed love for his country and its oppressed masses since childhood. In 1969, he had participated in the historic separate Telangana movement while he was in his high school studies in Peddapally town. He joined the revolutionary movement with the inspiration of the glorious Naxalbari and Srikakulam movements while studying graduation in SRR college of Karimnagar. He started working as an active member of the Party from 1974. He spent some time in jail during the black period of the Emergency. After lifting up of the Emergency, he started working as a party organizer in his home district of Karimnagar. He responded to the “Go to Villages” campaign call of the party and developed relations with the peasantry by going to the villages. He was one of those who played a prominent role in the upsurge of peasant movement popular as ‘Jagityal Jaitrayatra’ (Victory March of Jagityal) in 1978. In this course, he was elected as the district committee member of the Adilabad-Karimnagar joint committee of the CPI (ML). In 1979 when this committee was divided into two district committees he became the secretary of the Karimnagar district committee. He participated in the Andhra Pradesh state 12th party conference, was elected to the AP state committee and took responsibilities as its secretary.

Up to 1985, as part of the AP state committee leadership he played a crucial role in spreading the movement all over the state and in developing the North Telangana movement which was advancing with guerilla zone perspective. He played a prominent role in expanding the movement to Dandakaranya (DK) and developing it. He was transferred to Dandakaranya in 1986 and took up responsibilities as a member of the Forest Committee. He led the guerilla squads and the people in Gadchiroli and Bastar areas of DK. In 1993 he was co-opted as a member into the Central Organizing Committee (COC).

From 1994 onwards he mainly worked to spread and develop the revolutionary movement in Eastern and Northern parts of India including West Bengal. Particularly his role in uniting the revolutionary forces which were scattered after the setback of the Naxalbari movement in West Bengal and in reviving the revolutionary movement there is extraordinary. He mingled deeply with the oppressed masses of Bengal and the various sections of the revolutionary camp, learnt Bangla language with determination and left an indelible mark in the hearts of the people there. He worked tirelessly in achieving unity with several revolutionary groups and in strengthening the party. Comrade Koteswara Rao was elected as a Central Committee (CC) member in the All India Special Conference of erstwhile CPI (ML) (People’s War) held in 1995. He strived for achieving unity between People’s War and Party Unity in 1998. In the Party Congress of erstwhile CPI (ML)(PW) held in 2001 he was once again elected into CC and Politburo. He took up responsibilities as the secretary of the North Regional Bureau (NRB) and led the revolutionary movements in Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Delhi, Haryana and Punjab states. Simultaneously he played a key role in the unity talks held between erstwhile PW and MCCI. He served as a member of the unified CC and Politburo formed after the merger of the two parties in 2004 and worked as a member of the Eastern Regional Bureau (ERB). He mainly concentrated on the state movement of West Bengal and continued as the spokesperson of the ERB.

Comrade Koteswara Rao played a prominent role in running party magazines and in the field of political education inside the party. He took part in running ‘Kranti’, ‘Errajenda’, ‘Jung’, ‘Prabhat’, ‘Vanguard’ and other party magazines. He had a special role to play in bringing out various revolutionary magazines in West Bengal. He wrote many theoretical and political articles in these magazines. He was a member of the Sub-Committee on Political Education (SCOPE) and played a prominent role in teaching Marxism-Leninism-Maoism to the party ranks. In the entire history of the party he played a memorable role in expanding the revolutionary movement, in enriching the party documents and in developing the movement. He participated in the Unity Congress-9th Congress of the party held in 2007 January, was elected as CC member once again and took responsibilities of Politburo member and member of the ERB.

The political guidance given by Comrade Koteswara Rao to the Singur and Nandigram people’s movements which erupted since 2007 against the anti-people and pro-corporate policies of the social fascist CPM government in West Bengal and particularly to the glorious upsurge of people’s rebellion in Lalgarh against police atrocities is prominent. He guided the West Bengal state committee and the party ranks to lead these movements and on the other hand conducted party propaganda through the media too with initiative. In 2009 when the Chidambaram clique tried to mislead the middle classes in the name of talks and ceasefire, he worked significantly in exposing it. He did enormous work in keeping aloft the importance of People’s War and in taking the revolutionary politics into the vast masses. This great revolutionary journey which went on for almost four decades came to an abrupt end on November 24, 2011.

Beloved People! Democrats!!

Do condemn this brutal murder. It is the conspiracy of the ruling classes to wipe out the revolutionary leadership and deprive the people of correct guidance and proletarian leadership. It is a known fact that the Maoist movement is the biggest hurdle to the big robbers and compradors who are stashing millions in Swiss banks by selling for peanuts the Jal, Jungle and Zameen of the country to the imperialist sharks. The multi-pronged, country-wide brutal offensive named Operation Green Hunt of the past two years is exactly serving this purpose. This cold-blooded murder is part of that. It is the duty of the patriots and freedom-loving people of the country to protect the revolutionary movement and its leadership like the pupil of their eye. It’s nothing but protecting the future of the country and that of the next generations.

Even at the age of 57, Com. Koteswara Rao led the hard life of a guerilla like a young man and had filled the cadres and people with great enthusiasm wherever he went. His life would particularly serve as a great inspiration to the younger generation. He studied and worked for hours together without rest and traveled great distances. He slept very little, led a simple life and was a hard worker. He used to mingle easily with people of all ages and with people who come from various social sections and fill them with revolutionary enthusiasm. No doubt, the martyrdom of Comrade Koteswara Rao is a great loss to the Indian revolutionary movement. But the people of our country are very great. It is the people and the people’s movements which gave birth to courageous and dedicated revolutionaries like Koteswara Rao. The workers and peasants and the revolutionaries who have imbibed the revolutionary spirit of Koteswara Rao right from Jagityal to Jungle Mahal and who have armed themselves with the revolutionary fragrance he spread all over the country would definitely lead the Indian New Democratic Revolution in a victory path. They would wipe out the imperialists and their lackey landlord and comprador bureaucratic bourgeoisie and their representatives like Sonia, Manmohan, Chidambaram and Mamata Banerjee.

Our CC is appealing to the people of the country to observe protest week from November 29 to December 5 and observe 48-hour ‘Bharat Bandh’ on December 4-5 in protest of the brutal murder of Comrade Koteswara Rao. We are appealing that they take up various programmes like holding meetings, rallies, dharnas, wearing black badges, road blocks etc protesting this murder. We are requesting that trains, roadways, commercial and educational institutions be closed and that all kinds of trade transactions be stopped as part of the ‘Bharat Bandh’ on December 4-5. However, we are exempting medical services from the Bandh.

(Abhay)
Spokesperson,
Central Committee,
CPI (Maoist)

Why Britain is moving closer to war with Iran-Yahoo News

2011-12-13T12:52:00.000-08:00

Why Britain is moving closer to war with Iran
By Adam Parris-Long

Yahoo! News – 6 hours agoEmailPrint
Tensions with Iran are still rising after an irreparably damaging fortnight in which the British embassy in Tehran was stormed and an American drone was captured by Iranian troops.

Barack Obama has been given short shrift after requesting the return of the downed US drone, with Tehran unrepentant over the affair. “The American espionage drone is now Iran's property, and our country will decide what steps to take regarding it,” said Iranian defence minister Ahmad Vahidi. “Instead of apologising to the Iranian nation, it [US] is brazenly asking for the drone back.”

Diplomatic ties between London and Tehran are also in tatters after British representatives were pulled from the embassy in the aftermath of a violent protest by Iranian students. The attack came after the Treasury took the decision to cut all links with Iranian banks over concerns that they were involved with Tehran’s nuclear programme. Foreign secretary William Hague has promised “serious consequences” for the attack, with retaliatory actions as yet unseen.

With a war of words on two fronts, is Iran on a collision course with the West?

Nuclear issues

At the heart of the dispute are ongoing concerns over Iran’s nuclear intentions. Ironically the origins of the Tehran nuclear programme lie in a scheme devised by the US in 1953, called ‘Atoms for Peace’. President Eisenhower announced the plan to proliferate atomic energy across the globe, intended to be a noble act after the decimation of Hiroshima and Nagasaki seven years previously.

The Iranian Revolution of 1979 caused outrage in Washington as American diplomats were taken hostage by students in Tehran – effectively killing off Western cooperation for the nuclear project. Since that stage Iran has developed the programme extensively, resulting in the nation’s first nuclear reactor, which was opened for business in September. The programme has been eyed with intense suspicion from Western states, despite assertions from president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad that Iran is not seeking to create atomic weapons.

Mistrust between Ahmadinejad and the West is also key to the issue. The International Atomic Energy Agency said that there was “increasing concern” over the nuclear program in Tehran, with Washington calling Ahmadinejad’s peaceful claims “hollow”. The UK government is unequivocal over the programme, openly denouncing its potentially harmful impact.

George Osborne severed links to Iranian banks over links to "weaponised" nuclear programme.

When severing links to Iranian banks in November, Chancellor George Osborne said: "We're doing this because of international evidence that Iran's banks are involved in the development of Iran's weaponised military nuclear weapon programme. We're doing this to improve the security not just of the whole world, but the national security of the United Kingdom.”

Sparking a rampage on the British embassy, the mistrust has worsened already fractured UK-Iranian relations. In reality, although Hague has been urged to act on threats from Tehran, the potential for conflict lies with Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

While attempting to discover whether the Iranian nuclear programme is “weaponised”, Western states have criticised Ahmadinejad without using direct action. The Iranian leader is now being looked at to re-open discussions over the nuclear issue and to quell any further internal provocation to the West in a bid to stop conflict that Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov called a “very serious mistake fraught with unpredictable consequences”.

ஈரானின் பிடியில் ஒபாமாவின் நாசகார ஆளில்லா தானியங்கி (Drone) விமானம்!

2011-12-13T11:28:00.000-08:00

The Great cyber-attack

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2011-12-09/iran-claims-tv-broadcast-shows-us-drone/3722464

A US drone captured by Iran is now the property of the Islamic republic,

Defence Minister Ahmad Vahidi said Tuesday, dismissing a request by US President Barack Obama for its return.

"The American espionage drone is now Iran's property, and our country will decide what steps to take regarding it," Vahidi was quoted as saying by ISNA news agency.

"Instead of apologising to the Iranian nation, it (the United States) is brazenly asking for the drone back," Vahidi also said, according to another news agency, Mehr.

Iran "will not back down from defending the nation or its interests," Vahidi declared.

Obama on Monday acknowledged that Iran was holding the reconnaissance drone -- a bat-winged RQ-170 Sentinel -- by saying: "We've asked for it back. We'll see how the Iranians respond."

Iran last week displayed on state television what it said was the drone. A lawmaker said the Islamic republic was unlocking the aircraft's software and was going to reverse-engineer the drone.

The foreign ministry in Tehran was similarly dismissive of Obama's request.

"It seems he (Obama) has forgotten that Iran's airspace was violated, spying operations were undertaken, international laws were violated and that Iran's internal affairs were interfered with," ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast said told his regular media briefing, according to Fars news agency.

"Instead of an official apology and admitting to this violation, they are making this request," he said.

Iranian officials have said a Revolutionary Guards cyber-warfare unit had hacked the aircraft's controls and brought it down.

US officials have admitted anonymously that the drone was on a CIA spying mission over the Islamic republic when it was captured.

The head of Iran's parliamentary national security committee, Parviz Sorouri, said on Monday that Iran was in the "final stages" of decoding the drone's software and "our next action will be to reverse-engineer the aircraft."

Valihi added that Iran was "highly capable" of making drones and had already built some capable of reconnaissance and attack, according to ISNA.

Obama, who gave the first official US confirmation that the drone was in Iran's hands, shed no light on the plane's mission or why it failed to return to its base in Afghanistan.

"With respect to the drone inside of Iran, I'm not going to comment on intelligence matters that are classified," he said.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton had expressed doubt that Iran would agree to give back the drone.

"Given Iran's behavior to date, we do not expect them to comply," Clinton told reporters at a Monday press conference with British Foreign Secretary William Hague, with whom she discussed Iran.

Although the drone incident has handed Iran a propaganda coup, US Defence Secretary Leon Panetta voiced scepticism that Tehran would gain much of a technological advantage from the aircraft.

"It's a little difficult to know just frankly how much they're going to be able to get from having obtained those parts," Panetta told reporters aboard a US military aircraft.

"I don't know the conditions of those parts. I don't know what state they're in."

Asked if Iran may have forced the plane down in a cyber-attack, Panetta said: "I don't know."

பாலசிங்கம் தேசத்தின் குரல் அல்ல துரோகத்தின் நிழலே!

2011-12-13T02:56:00.000-08:00

அகசுயநிர்ணய உரிமை என்கிற அதிகாரப் பரவலாக்கத் திட்டத்தில் விடுதலைப் புலிகள் அமைப்புக்குள் சீர்குலைவுகளை ஏற்படுத்தி எரிக் சொல்ஹெயுமுடன் இணைந்து கருணாவை உடைத்து, கேபியை விலைக்கு வாங்கி தேசியத் தளபதி பிரபாகரனை யுத்தப் பிரபு என மாசுபடுத்தி விடுதலைப் புலிகள் இயக்கத்தின் அழிவுக்கும் முள்ளிவாய்க்கால் பிரளயத்துக்கும் காரணமான அன்ரன் பாலசிங்கம் தேசத்துரோகியே ஆகும்.

பிரபாகரன் அவர்கள் மரியாதையின் நிமித்தமும் அரசியல் சந்தர்ப்பவாதம் காரணமாகவும் பாலசிங்கத்துக்கு வழங்கிய ”தேசத்தின் குரல்” என்ற பட்டத்துக்கு அவர் தகுதியோ பொறுப்போ உடையவர் என்று நிரூபிக்கவில்லை. நோர்வே பேச்சுவார்த்தை ஆரம்பித்த காலம் முதலே நாம் பாலசிங்கத்தின் வழி நாசத்துக்கு இட்டுச் செல்லும் என சுட்டிக் காட்டி விமர்சித்து வந்தோம்.ஆனால் இன்று நோர்வே ஆய்வறிக்கை வெளிவந்த பின்னர் அன்று நாம் அனுமானித்த பல்வேறு உண்மைகளை இவ்வறிக்கை ஆதாரப்படுத்திய பின்னரும் அன்ரன் பாலசிங்கத்துக்கு ஐந்தாம் ஆண்டு நினைவு விழா எடுப்பவர்கள் மாண்ட நம் மக்களையும் மாவீரத் தோழர்களையும் தேசியத் தளபதி மேதகு பிரபாகரன் அவர்களையும் இழிவுபடுத்துபவரே ஆவர். அது மட்டுமல்ல பாலசிங்கத்தின் துரோகத்தை மூடிமறைப்பவர்கள் அத்துரோகத்துக்குத் துணைபோவதுடன் தாமும் தொடர்ந்து தமிழீழத்திற்கு துரோகம் இழைக்கின்றனர்.

படியுங்கள்! பரப்புங்கள்!

”யுத்தப்பிரபு” பிரபாகரனும் அரசியல் சாணக்கியன் அன்ரன் பாலசிங்கமும்

வன்னி விவசாயிகள் பிரச்சனை குறித்து சிறீதரன் பா.உ முறையீடு

2011-12-11T19:38:00.000-08:00

கிளிநொச்சி மாவட்டத்தில் அமைந்துள்ள பன்னங்கட்டி கிராமத்தில் தனியார் ஒருவருக்கு சொந்தமான 100 ஏக்கர் காணி உள்ளது. இங்கு குடியிருந்த மக்கள் விவசாயம் செய்து வாழ்க்கை நடத்தி வந்தனர். ஆனால், இக் காணியில் 60 வீத மானவற்றை தற்போது இராணுவத்தினரும் அரச கட்சியொன்றைச் சேர்ந்தவர்களும் ஆக்கிரமித்துள்ளனர். அத்துடன் இக் காணியை வெளியாட்களுக்கு விற்கும் முயற்சிகளும் இடம்பெறுகின்றன.

எனவே இக் காணியை இராணுவத்தினரின் ஆக்கிரமிப்பிலிருந்து விடுவித்து விவசாய செய்கைக்காக அங்கு குடியிருந்த மக்களிடம் வழங்க வேண்டும்.

வன்னி மாவட்டத்தைப் பொறுத்த வரையில் குளங்களை நம்பியே விவசாய செய்கைகள் இடம்பெறுகின்றன. ஆனால், இக் குளங்களில் பல நீண்டகாலமாக அபிவிருத்தியோ புனரமைப்போ செய்யப்படாமல் உள்ளன.

எனவே இக் குளங்களை அபிவிருத்தி செய்து விவசாய செய்கையை ஊக்குவிக்க நடவடிக்கை எடுக்க வேண்டும்.

நாம் சபைக்குள் வரும் போது நீர் வழங்கல் வடிகாலமைப்பு அமைச்சு சார்பாக எமக்கு அவர்களின் தயாரிப்பான தண்ணீர் போத்தல்கள் வழங்கப்பட்டன. இது வரவேற்கத்தக்க விடயம் .
ஆனால், அடுத்த தடவை வரவுசெலவுத் திட்டம் சமர்ப்பிக்கப்பட்டு நீர் வழங்கல், வடிகாலமைப்பு அமைச்சின் விவாதம் நடக்கும் போது எமக்கு தமிழ்க் கலாசார முறைப்படி பித்தளைச் செம்புகளில் தண்ணீர் வழங்க அமைச்சர் தினேஷ் குணவர்தன நடிவடிக்கை எடுக்க வேண்டும்.

இன்று இரணைமடுக் குளத்திலிருந்து பாரிய குடிநீர் விநியோகத்திட்டம் ஆரம்பிக்கப்படவுள்ளது.

அதேவேளை இந்த இரணைமடுக் குளத்திற்கருகில் இலங்கை விமானப் படையின் விமானத்தளம் அமைக்கப்பட்டுள்ளது. இந்த விமானத் தளத்தில் "மிக்ரு' போர் விமானங்கள் வந்திறங்கிச் செல்கின்றன. இந்த "மிக்' விமானங்கள் வந்திறங்கிச் செல்வதால் ஏற்படும் அதிர்வுகளினால் இரணைமடுக் குளத்தின் அணைக்கட்டுகளில் வெடிப்புகள் ஏற்படும் ஆபத்துள்ளது. இதனால் இரணைமடுக் குளம் உடைப்பெடுக்குமாக விருந்தால் பேராபத்து ஏற்படும்.

எனவே இரணைமடுக் குளத்திற்கருகில் அமைக்கப்பட்டுள்ள விமானத் தளத்தை அகற்றுமாறு கோருகின்றோம்.
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சிங்களமே சிறீதரன் பா.உ.வின் `தொகுதி வாரி` விவசாயக் கோரிக்கையை நிறைவேற்று!`

பக்ச பாசிஸ்டுக்கள் தேசபக்தர்கள் அல்ல! ஏகாதிபத்திய தாசர்களே!

2011-12-11T18:37:00.000-08:00

www.investsrilanka.com

New BOI website for timely information

December 11, 2011, 6:52 pm

The Board of Investment of Sri Lanka has re-launched its website to highlight the country’s post-war emergence as the most dynamic investment destination in the region. The website, www.investsrilanka.com, has been completely redesigned both in visual presentation and in content to maximize Sri Lanka’s positioning as a stable and profitable investment choice in Asia.

"With the end of the 30-year civil conflict, stable government and the launch of an ambitious infrastructure development plan by the government, there has been a tremendous upsurge in interest from high potential investors, both local and foreign. We are keen to provide them with the most updated and comprehensive information to help make them realize their investments as soon as possible," Mr. M.M.C. Ferdinando, Chairman and Director General of the BOI said."With the implementation of the restructuring process at BOI, key sectors have been identified, and direct contact points at BOI are being provided for potential investors to interact seamlessly through the entire investment process," Mr Ferdinando said.

The BOI, being the apex body responsible for promotion, co-ordination and facilitation of foreign direct and local investment, a comprehensive and informative website initiative was carried out by benchmarking against leading Investment Promotion Agency (IPA) websites.

"The objective of the exercise was to provide the most relevant information regarding investing in Sri Lanka in an intuitive and user-friendly manner," Duminda Ariyasinghe, Executive Director (Investment Promotion & Media), who led the initiative said. The key questions being answered are – Why Sri Lanka/Where do I set up/How do I set up/What incentives do I get – so that an investor can immediately see the ease and advantages of investing in the island, Mr Ariyasinghe said.

To convey the relevant information from the perspective of a potential investor, the website structure/site map has been re-organized, while significantly expanding the amount of information available. The comprehensive information has been complemented with a more visual depiction of the country’s appeal, including ground-breaking projects in key sectors, emphasizing the country’s positioning as the emerging wonder of Asia.

Under the section, "Why Sri Lanka," the website provides an economic overview with key facts and figures, on 10 main reasons why a discerning investor can benefit from Sri Lanka. Under "Setting up in Sri Lanka," detailed information is given on the choices available, including detailed site maps, key information, photographs and "live" Google Maps of the 12 export processing zones being operated by the BOI. There are also separate sections for Local Investors, Services provided by the BOI and BOI Publications. The website also provides direct links to relevant agencies and institutions where additional information can be obtained accurately.

The last major overhaul carried out by the BOI website when it launched the Invest Sri Lanka initiative was recognized by the Global Investment Promotion Benchmarking 2009 study. The report carried out by the World Bank and International Finance Corporation (IFC) awarded 29 additional points to the BOI "mainly due an improved website that offers detailed, reliable and current data," the report said.

Under the website, the BOI also operates a job bank, which aims to link potential employers, both BOI and non-BOI companies with prospective employees.

பக்ச பாசிஸ்டுக்கள் தேசபக்தர்கள் அல்ல! ஏகாதிபத்திய தாசர்களே!

Abducted JVP organiser in Jaffna feared killed - Tamil Net

2011-12-11T17:37:00.000-08:00

Abducted JVP organiser in Jaffna feared killed

[TamilNet, Sunday, 11 December 2011, 18:02 GMT]

Lalith Veeraraj, the Jaffna district organiser of the Movement for People’s Struggle, a JVP dissident group and his friend Kugan Murugananthan, who were reported missing in Achchuveali on Friday are feared killed, according to the MPS faction of the JVP which staged a press conference in Jaffna on Saturday.

Lalith Veeraraj has been involved in bringing out the news regarding the missing persons, political prisoners and abductions in Jaffna, Ki'linochchi, Mullaiththeevu, Mannaar and Vavuniyaa during the past months and had been warned several times by the SL intelligence operatives not to get involved in the missing persons issue.

Mr. Veeraraj and Mr. Muruganathan, left the house from Aavarangkaal Sivan temple area around 5:00 p.m. in a motorbike with registration number NPGT-7852.

Now, his party officials say they were receiving phone calls from within the SLA establishment saying that Veeraraj has been assassinated, according to Chamira Koswatte, the convenor of the Movement for People’s Struggle.

Mr. Veeraraj was working on staging a press conference for the JVP dissidents group. But, the press conference itself on Saturday turned out to be a meeting on his disappearance.

Regardless of his party affiliation with the JVP or now the dissident group, both of which fail in recognising the Tamil national question, Mr. Veeraraj and his friends were voicing for the rights of the missing persons and was maintaining good contacts with Tamil parliamentarians on the missing persons issue.

Some time back, when he went to discuss with Mrs. Pathmini Sithamparanathan, he was attacked by a gang believed to be an squad operated by the SL military intelligence.

Mr. Veeraraj is born to a Tamil father and a Sinhala mother.

மாதகல் மண்மீட்பு மக்கள் போராட்டம் வெற்றிபெற அணிதிரள்வோம்!

2011-12-07T04:57:00.000-08:00

கடற்படையை எதிர்த்த மாதகல் மக்கள் போராட்டம் வெல்க!

2011-12-06T08:29:00.000-08:00

"மீன்பிடியையும் விவசாயத்தையுமே நாம் வாழ்வாதாரமாகக் கொண்டவர்கள். எனவே எமது காணிகளை நாம் விட்டுத்தர மாட்டோம். அவை எமக்கு வேண்டும்''

மாதகல் மக்கள்

கடற்படையை எதிர்த்து மக்கள் போர்க்கொடி; மாதகலில் பறிக்கப்படும் தங்கள் வாழ்விடங்களுக்காக உரத்துக் குரல்கொடுக்க சர்வதேசத்திடம் முறையீடு
(யாழ் உதயன் 06 12 2011)

கடற்படையினருக்கு எதிராக மாதகல் மக்கள் நேற்று ஆர்ப்பாட்டத்தில் ஈடுபட்டனர். தமது காணிகளைச் சுவீகரிப்ப தற்குக் கடற்படை திட்டமிட்டிருப்பதைக் கண்டித்த மக்கள் தமது காணிகளைத் தம்மிடம் ஒப்படைக்கும்படி வலியுறுத்தினர்.

மாதகல் மேற்கைச் சேர்ந்த நூற்றுக்கணக்கான மக்கள் கைகளில் சுலோக அட்டைகளைத் தாங்கியபடி இந்த ஆர்ப்பாட்டத்தில் கலந்துகொண்டனர். வலி.தென்மேற்குப் பிரதேச சபைக்கு சற்றுத் தூரத்தில் திரண்ட மக்கள் அங்கிருந்து பேரணியாகப் பிரதேச சபைக்குச் சென்று மனுவைக் கையளித்தனர். பின்னர் சண்டிலிப்பாய் பிரதேச செயலகத்திற்கும் சென்று மனுவைக் கையளித்தனர்.

* "மக்கள் குடியிருப்புகளை இராணுவ முகாமாக்காதே'',

* மஹிந்த அரசே! மாதகல் மக்களின் நிலங்களை மக்களுக்கே வழங்கு'',

* "உலக மக்களே! பறிக்கப்படும் எமது வாழ்விடங்களுக்காகக் குரல் கொடுங்கள்''

என்று பேரணியில் சென்றவர்கள் முழக்கமிட்டனர். வயது வேறுபாடு இன்றி ஆண்களும் பெண்களும் சிறுவர்களும் உரத்துக் கோஷமிட்டவாறே பேரணியில் சென்றனர்.

ஆர்ப்பாட்டம் குறித்து முன்கூட்டியே அறிந்திருந்த பொலிஸார், அதிகாலை தொடக்கம் பிரதேச சபை, பிரதேச செயலகம் என்பவற்றில் காவலைப் பலப்படுத்தி இருந்தனர். அந்தப் பகுதி எங்கும் பொலிஸார் குவிக்கப்பட்டும் இருந்தனர். இதனால் காலை முதல் அங்கு பதற்றம் நீடித்தது. எனினும் குழப்பங்கள் எதுவும் நிகழவில்லை.

மாதகல் மற்றும் அதனை அண்டிய பகுதிகளில் இருந்து 1992ஆம் ஆண்டு மக்கள் வெளியேறி இருந்தனர். படையினர் முன்னேறியதை அடுத்து அவர்கள்தமது இருப்பிடங்களை இழக்க வேண்டியதாயிற்று. அதன் பின்னர் கடந்த இரு தசாப்த காலமாக அந்தப் பகுதி உயர் பாதுகாப்பு வலயம் என்ற அறிவிப்புடன் படையினரின் கட்டுப்பாட்டில் இருந்தது.

சுற்றியுள்ள பல இடங்களில் மீள்குடியமர்வுக்கு அனுமதி வழங்கப்பட்டபோதும் மாதகல் மேற்குப் பகுதியில் மட்டும் மீள்குடியமர்வுக்கு அனுமதி வழங்கப்படவில்லை. இப்போது இவர்களின் காணிகளை முகாமுக்காகச் சுவீகரிக்க கடற்படையினர் முயற்சிக்கின்றனர். இதனை எதிர்த்தே நேற்றைய போராட்டம் நடைபெற்றது. "மீன்பிடியையும் விவசாயத்தையுமே நாம் வாழ்வாதாரமாகக் கொண்டவர்கள். எனவே எமது காணிகளை நாம் விட்டுத்தர மாட்டோம். அவை எமக்கு வேண்டும்'' என்று மக்களால் கையளிக்கப்பட்ட மனுக்களில் தெரிவிக்கப்பட்டிருந்தது.