வேடதாரி ஜெயாவின் சட்டமன்றத் தீர்மானம் மாணவர் இயக்கத்தை முறியடிக்கும் அரசியல் முயற்சியே!
புதிய ஈழப்புரட்சியாளர்கள்
Wednesday, March 27, 2013
தமிழ்நாடு சட்டமன்ற தீர்மானத்தை நம்பி மாணவர்கள் தமது போராட்டத்தைத் தளர்த்திக் கொள்ளக் கூடாது!
தமிழ்நாடு சட்டமன்ற தீர்மானத்தை நம்பி மாணவர்கள் தமது போராட்டத்தைத் தளர்த்திக் கொள்ளக் கூடாது.
புதிய ஈழப்புரட்சியாளர்கள்
Tuesday, March 26, 2013
America in no position to lecture Sri Lanka
America in no position to lecture Sri Lanka
Aijaz Zaka Syedb Sunday 24 March 2013 Last Update 24 March 2013 1:58 am
Iqbal passionately believed in a world without borders and had a healthy contempt for the modern concept of the nation state:
In taza khudaon mein bada sabsay watan hai Jo pairahan iska hai, voh mazhab ka kafan hai (Of all the new false gods, the biggest is the nation The garb of this idea is the death shroud of religion)
This despite the three eventful that the poetic genius spent in Europe during which he acquired a law degree at Lincoln’s Inn, a Bachelor of Arts at Cambridge and a Doctor of Philosophy at Munich University.
The farce this week at the UN over a resolution that was supposed to condemn Sri Lanka’s war crimes against the Tamils reminds one of Iqbal’s observation. Defying public opinion at home and pressure from Tamil parties, the Indian government has chickened out of a strong UN resolution confronting the Lankan government. Instead, India, working with — surprise, surprise — Pakistan and China persuaded the United States to water down the UN Human Rights Council resolution.
Understandably, the move has outraged the Tamils in India and around the world forcing the DMK to quit the coalition and precipitate a serious crisis for the government.
Now why would the government bend over backward to bail out Sri Lanka at the cost of its own survival, especially when it’s already struggling on all fronts and a critical general election looms ahead? Passions in India have been running high since a recent Channel 4 documentary revealed the shameful killing of the 12-year-old son of LTTE chief Prabhakaran. Government spokespersons explained in two words: National Interest.
Apparently, our militant foreign policy establishment felt that if India supported the UN resolution it might open the door for similar calls on our own role in Kashmir.
India’s apprehensions are not without basis. Only last week, Indian Parliament in a unanimous resolution condemned the unanimous resolution of Pakistan’s National Assembly that condemned the execution of Afzal Guru. Since the surreptitious execution of Guru in unseemly haste by a desperate government to deflect the attention from its myriad woes, Kashmir has been on the boil all over again. Many fear a return of the bloodshed and instability of the 1990s.
The Himalayan paradise over which the nuclear neighbors have been squabbling since their violent separation in 1947 has seen more than its fair share of pain and suffering. More than 100,000 lives have been claimed by long years of conflict. Thousands remain missing.
One of the most picturesque regions in the world the size of Britain, Kashmir is also one of the most militarized with half a million security forces breathing down the neck of a restive, alienated population. Repeated demands by Kashmiri political parties for curtailing military presence, greater economy and repealing of black laws that protect security forces from the law and due process have met stony silence in Delhi.
The supreme national interest, as government spokespersons put it, prevents the Congress government in Delhi from doing what is right in Kashmir. No wonder it chose to rescue Sri Lanka at the UN to the horror of rights groups and the Tamils. Truth, justice, rights and humanity itself are conveniently sacrificed at the altar of the nation state and national interest. But what is a nation without its people? And how can foreign policy prevail over humanity and its basic values?
A veteran diplomat has the cheek to admonish a DMK lawmaker during a television debate for his “exaggeration” of the Lankan Tamils’ predicament saying, “Don’t call it genocide. It becomes genocide only when lakhs (hundreds of thousands) of people are killed!” Apparently, snuffing out a couple of thousands of lives here and there counts little in the pursuit of national interest and foreign policy goals.
Apart from Kashmir, what clearly forced India to go soft on Lanka is the island’s strategic position and its growing bonhomie with China and Pakistan. While Pak-Lanka relations go way back — when Musharraf was fired by Nawaz Sharif bringing about his own fall the general was playing golf in the island—China’s clout and investments have been growing at an alarming pace for India.
The Chinese arms played a crucial role in routing of the once invincible Tigers. Sri Lanka has just opened its second international airport, totally financed by the Chinese Renminbi that is also bankrolling 42 other major projects at a cost of $ 4.1billion. Little wonder India is keen to humor President Rajapaksa.
For its part, China is also troubled by the UNHRC resolution and the US assertion that the international community has the right to confront nations that persecute their own citizens. The People’s Republic has totally crushed the Tibetan insurgency and the once vibrant Uighur Muslims in Xinjiang.
Clearly, it was also in Pakistan’s national interest to back Colombo on the question of Tamils ignoring what Muslims have lately been facing in Sri Lanka. This week, the OIC expressed “grave concern” for what it’s worth over the escalating violence against Lankan Muslims. But then given the state of minorities in the Islamic republic, it’s hardly in a position to lecture Lanka.
The “responsibility to protect” doctrine sounds noble in theory and could have saved thousands of precious lives if applied objectively and universally. Imagine what critical difference it could have made in Syria where more than 70,000 people have perished on the watch of the international community over the past three years.
But since hypocrisy and duplicity are the norm in international relations, the principle is used selectively by nations to suit their own interests. This is a new stick in the hands of big powers to beat those defying them into submission. The US and Western powers moved the UN against Sri Lanka not because they are excessively concerned about the Tamils but because of the island’s growing fondness for China and the killing Beijing has made in the post-war Lanka by way of massive reconstruction deals.
The biggest joke and irony of it all is the fact that the UN resolution has been moved by the US. Only this week, the world marked the 10th anniversary of America’s Mesopotamian misadventure. More than a million Iraqis killed, their country ravaged and the Middle East ripped along sectarian lines and for what? For a monumental lie and false bravado of a president who dodged the Vietnam draft.
America hasn’t offered a word in apology for its delusions of grandeur. In fact, the neocons, egged on by their Zionist friends, are now spoiling for another showdown, this time with Iran. But then if the empire were tormented by its pangs of conscience, there would be no end to it.
After all, its history is littered with such adventures. Who can forget what happened to the original inhabitants of the land? Who can forget Vietnam? About 4 million Vietnamese were killed, wounded, or went missing during the decade-long war. More than 58,000 Americans died too before a humiliating escape from Saigon. And who can forget the shock and awe of Hiroshima and Nagasaki?
Forget the past, how can anyone ignore what is going on right now under a pacifist, Nobel laureate president? Ironically, Obama’s drones have killed more innocents than Bush’s killing machines did in Afghanistan and Pakistan. And it’s not just the leader of the free world; the history of other Western powers, those who run the show at the UN, is little different. In this Turkish bath, no one has a stitch on. No one is in a position to lecture others on human rights. No wonder men like Rajapaksa and Bashar Assad get away with murder.
Aijaz Zaka Syedb Sunday 24 March 2013 Last Update 24 March 2013 1:58 am
Iqbal passionately believed in a world without borders and had a healthy contempt for the modern concept of the nation state:
In taza khudaon mein bada sabsay watan hai Jo pairahan iska hai, voh mazhab ka kafan hai (Of all the new false gods, the biggest is the nation The garb of this idea is the death shroud of religion)
This despite the three eventful that the poetic genius spent in Europe during which he acquired a law degree at Lincoln’s Inn, a Bachelor of Arts at Cambridge and a Doctor of Philosophy at Munich University.
The farce this week at the UN over a resolution that was supposed to condemn Sri Lanka’s war crimes against the Tamils reminds one of Iqbal’s observation. Defying public opinion at home and pressure from Tamil parties, the Indian government has chickened out of a strong UN resolution confronting the Lankan government. Instead, India, working with — surprise, surprise — Pakistan and China persuaded the United States to water down the UN Human Rights Council resolution.
Understandably, the move has outraged the Tamils in India and around the world forcing the DMK to quit the coalition and precipitate a serious crisis for the government.
Now why would the government bend over backward to bail out Sri Lanka at the cost of its own survival, especially when it’s already struggling on all fronts and a critical general election looms ahead? Passions in India have been running high since a recent Channel 4 documentary revealed the shameful killing of the 12-year-old son of LTTE chief Prabhakaran. Government spokespersons explained in two words: National Interest.
Apparently, our militant foreign policy establishment felt that if India supported the UN resolution it might open the door for similar calls on our own role in Kashmir.
India’s apprehensions are not without basis. Only last week, Indian Parliament in a unanimous resolution condemned the unanimous resolution of Pakistan’s National Assembly that condemned the execution of Afzal Guru. Since the surreptitious execution of Guru in unseemly haste by a desperate government to deflect the attention from its myriad woes, Kashmir has been on the boil all over again. Many fear a return of the bloodshed and instability of the 1990s.
The Himalayan paradise over which the nuclear neighbors have been squabbling since their violent separation in 1947 has seen more than its fair share of pain and suffering. More than 100,000 lives have been claimed by long years of conflict. Thousands remain missing.
One of the most picturesque regions in the world the size of Britain, Kashmir is also one of the most militarized with half a million security forces breathing down the neck of a restive, alienated population. Repeated demands by Kashmiri political parties for curtailing military presence, greater economy and repealing of black laws that protect security forces from the law and due process have met stony silence in Delhi.
The supreme national interest, as government spokespersons put it, prevents the Congress government in Delhi from doing what is right in Kashmir. No wonder it chose to rescue Sri Lanka at the UN to the horror of rights groups and the Tamils. Truth, justice, rights and humanity itself are conveniently sacrificed at the altar of the nation state and national interest. But what is a nation without its people? And how can foreign policy prevail over humanity and its basic values?
A veteran diplomat has the cheek to admonish a DMK lawmaker during a television debate for his “exaggeration” of the Lankan Tamils’ predicament saying, “Don’t call it genocide. It becomes genocide only when lakhs (hundreds of thousands) of people are killed!” Apparently, snuffing out a couple of thousands of lives here and there counts little in the pursuit of national interest and foreign policy goals.
Apart from Kashmir, what clearly forced India to go soft on Lanka is the island’s strategic position and its growing bonhomie with China and Pakistan. While Pak-Lanka relations go way back — when Musharraf was fired by Nawaz Sharif bringing about his own fall the general was playing golf in the island—China’s clout and investments have been growing at an alarming pace for India.
The Chinese arms played a crucial role in routing of the once invincible Tigers. Sri Lanka has just opened its second international airport, totally financed by the Chinese Renminbi that is also bankrolling 42 other major projects at a cost of $ 4.1billion. Little wonder India is keen to humor President Rajapaksa.
For its part, China is also troubled by the UNHRC resolution and the US assertion that the international community has the right to confront nations that persecute their own citizens. The People’s Republic has totally crushed the Tibetan insurgency and the once vibrant Uighur Muslims in Xinjiang.
Clearly, it was also in Pakistan’s national interest to back Colombo on the question of Tamils ignoring what Muslims have lately been facing in Sri Lanka. This week, the OIC expressed “grave concern” for what it’s worth over the escalating violence against Lankan Muslims. But then given the state of minorities in the Islamic republic, it’s hardly in a position to lecture Lanka.
The “responsibility to protect” doctrine sounds noble in theory and could have saved thousands of precious lives if applied objectively and universally. Imagine what critical difference it could have made in Syria where more than 70,000 people have perished on the watch of the international community over the past three years.
But since hypocrisy and duplicity are the norm in international relations, the principle is used selectively by nations to suit their own interests. This is a new stick in the hands of big powers to beat those defying them into submission. The US and Western powers moved the UN against Sri Lanka not because they are excessively concerned about the Tamils but because of the island’s growing fondness for China and the killing Beijing has made in the post-war Lanka by way of massive reconstruction deals.
The biggest joke and irony of it all is the fact that the UN resolution has been moved by the US. Only this week, the world marked the 10th anniversary of America’s Mesopotamian misadventure. More than a million Iraqis killed, their country ravaged and the Middle East ripped along sectarian lines and for what? For a monumental lie and false bravado of a president who dodged the Vietnam draft.
America hasn’t offered a word in apology for its delusions of grandeur. In fact, the neocons, egged on by their Zionist friends, are now spoiling for another showdown, this time with Iran. But then if the empire were tormented by its pangs of conscience, there would be no end to it.
After all, its history is littered with such adventures. Who can forget what happened to the original inhabitants of the land? Who can forget Vietnam? About 4 million Vietnamese were killed, wounded, or went missing during the decade-long war. More than 58,000 Americans died too before a humiliating escape from Saigon. And who can forget the shock and awe of Hiroshima and Nagasaki?
Forget the past, how can anyone ignore what is going on right now under a pacifist, Nobel laureate president? Ironically, Obama’s drones have killed more innocents than Bush’s killing machines did in Afghanistan and Pakistan. And it’s not just the leader of the free world; the history of other Western powers, those who run the show at the UN, is little different. In this Turkish bath, no one has a stitch on. No one is in a position to lecture others on human rights. No wonder men like Rajapaksa and Bashar Assad get away with murder.
Indian defence analyst identifies possible witch-hunt targets
 |
| ENB File Photo |
Exclusive
March 23, 2013, 12:00 pm
by S Venkat Narayan Our Special Correspondent
NEW DELHI, March 23:
The Sri Lankan Government may continue to stonewall the global community’s demand for a credible and independent investigation into the excesses committed by its security forces during the last phase of Eelam War IV in 2009, according to defence analysts here.
This may be because such a probe will expose the crucial roles played by President Mahinda Rajapaksa himself, his brother and Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, and at least 14 other senior officials of the Armed Forces, the analysts told the Sunday Island.
For the second consecutive year, the international community renewed its demand for such a probe last Thursday (March 21) in the form of a polite resolution passed by the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) in Geneva. The United States-sponsored resolution was backed by India and 24 other countries. Thirteen countries, including Pakistan, opposed the resolution while eight others abstained from voting.This was necessitated by the fact that the investigations by the government-appointed Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC) and the Sri Lankan military have basically done a white-wash job by refusing to point a finger at anyone in authority for the senseless killings in the Wanni.
If the Nuremberg trials against the Nazis and the other war crimes trials conducted by United Nations-appointed tribunals into the killings in Cambodia, Rwanda, Yugoslavia, Sierra Leone and Lebanon are anything to go by, the roles of the top political and military authorities of the country concerned are investigated, and punishment meted out to those held responsible for such crimes.
If such an independent probe were to be ordered in Sri Lanka, heading the list of people whose roles may be investigated is President Rajapaksa himself because he also happens to be the Commander-in-Chief of the Sri Lankan Armed Forces.
Next to him may be Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, who used his close access to his brother and President Rajapaksa to procure whatever arms and other equipment from wherever possible to defeat the LTTE, admittedly the world’s most dangerous terrorist outfit till its decimation four years ago.
Experts here argue that, if the credit for planning and executing the brilliant strategy to wipe out the LTTE in the war must go to Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, he cannot possibly shy away from responsibility for the excesses that were reportedly committed by the security forces during Eelam War IV.
Then Head of Joint Staff Air Marshal Donald Perera, Army Chief Sarath Fonseka, Navy Chief Wasantha Karannagoda, and Air Force Chief Roshan Gunathilake may be investigated.
In addition, those whose roles will be probed include the Commanders of Divisions 53 (then Brigadier/now Major General Kamal Goonaratne), 55 (Brig/Maj Gen Prasanna Silva), 57 (Brig/Maj Gen Jagath Dias), 58 (Brig/Maj Gen Shavindra Silva) and 59 (Brig/Maj Gen Nandana Udawatta).
The Divisions led by them had indeed facilitated the humiliating defeat of the LTTE rebels by surrounding them and successfully shutting down all their possible escape routes and trapping them at one place in the Wanni.
The roles of Heads of Task Force One (Brig Rohana Bandara), Task Force 2 (Brig Satyapriya Liyanage and Task Force 8 (Col GV Ravipriya, who actually killed Prabhakaran) too will be probed by such an investigation.
It remains to be see what the just-ordered second probe by the military into the Eelam War IV excesses will come up with anything that may satisfy the international community’s demand for a fair and credible investigation.
Monday, March 25, 2013
Rally to mobilize public support against anti-Muslim campaigns in Sri Lanka
Rally to mobilize public support against anti-Muslim campaigns in Sri Lanka
COLOMBO: ARAB NEWS
Monday 25 March 2013
Last Update 25 March 2013 12:05 am
Sri Lankan traders and business organizations will stage a peaceful protest today urging the government to take immediate actions to stop anti-Muslim campaigns, maintain law and order and promote communal harmony.
The nationwide protest is organized by Muslim Rights Organization (MRO) to mobilize public support against hate campaigns carried out by Bodu Bala Sena, an extremist Buddhist group, and Jathika Hela Urumaya, a party in the ruling coalition.
The Muslim community in Sri Lanka has appealed to President Mahinda Rajapaksa to act against extremist Buddhists who have been leading campaigns to inculcate fear and hatred against Muslims.
“These extremist groups have been using the traditional media, social media, public meetings, posters, leaflets, and the circulation of rumors and misinformation insulting Muslims to inculcate a sense of fear and hatred of Muslims among Sinhalese,” said New Mexico Ameen, head of the Muslim Council of Sri Lanka.
“They are using abusive language when referring to our religious practices and publicly calling for a boycott of businesses run by Muslims,” Ameen said in a letter to the president.
Last week, Bodu Bala Sena called for the demolition of a 10th century mosque in Kuragala. The call comes shortly after the group campaigned against halal food in Sri Lanka, forcing Muslims to abandon halal logo to help ease tension with the Buddhist majority.
Muslims have urged the president to publicly condemn the hate campaign of the Buddhist extremists. They have also called for defending equal rights for all citizens in the country as well as instructing the police to take necessary action to stop incidents of harassment against minorities and their
businesses.
The Jeddah-based Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) has expressed concerns over increasing reports of anti-Muslim violence in the island state.
In June, some 200 demonstrators led by dozens of Buddhist monks converged on a small Islamic center in Colombo’s suburb of Dehiwala.
Throwing stones and rotten meat over the center’s gate, protesters shouted slogans demanding its closure.
“We have experienced a steady drop in sales since January after Bodu Bala Sena had put up posters around the country telling people not to shop at our stores because our company is Muslim-owned. They threaten to take violent action against people who purchase things from Muslim shops,” said a
Muslim trader.
BBS: Sri Lanka is not a multiracial or multi-religious country but a Sinhala Budhist country.
BBS insists Lanka not multiracial
March 24, 2013
The Bodu Bala Sena (BBS) says Sri Lanka is not a multiracial or multi-religious country but a Sinhala Budhist country.
Speaking at the Bodu Bala Sena convention in Panadura this evening, the venerable Medagoda Abayathissa thero urged the Sinhalese to protect the nation and not let other races or religions to take over.
The monk also urged Sinhalese families to have at least 5-6 children so that the Sinhalese Buddhist population grows in order to protect the Sinhala race and Buddhism in Sri Lanka.
Meanwhile Secretary of the Bodu Bala Sena, the venerable Galaboda Aththe Gnanasara thera said that the country should be ready to rally against Christian and Muslim extremist groups operating in the country.
He insisted that the Bodu Bala Sena does not have issues with Muslims and Tamils as a whole. However he said that Muslim women should not be allowed to wear the Niqab in Sri Lanka.
The venerable Galaboda Aththe Gnanasara thera also said that all stores should close on Poya Days, including Muslim stores, so that all Buddhist employees working in those organisations can go to the Temple instead of work.
“We have now become the police of this nation. We must help the police arrest people bringing down heroin in Sri Lanka,” he added.
He also said that the Ministry of Defence had given an assurance that the halal issue will be resolved.
However he warned that if the All Ceylon Jamiyyathul Ulama (ACJU) goes against its commitments to the Ministry of Defence and the Buddhist clergy then the Bodu Bala Sena will take appropriate action.
The venerable Galaboda Aththe Gnanasara thera also insisted that the Bodu Bala Sena has not done anything wrong to call for their arrest.
He also slammed Sri Lanka’s foreign service, particularly the appointment of a former Muslim Minister as the High Commissioner to Singapore.
The venerable Medagoda Abayathissa thero, meanwhile, discouraged Sinhalese families from watching the movie ‘Sri Sidhartha’ which is currently screening in Colombo and cinemas around the country.
The monk said that the movie gives the wrong impression about Buddhism and so the Bodu Bala Sena will take measures to ban the film.
The venerable Medagoda Abayathissa thero said that Non Governmental Organizations (NGO) were behind the funding of the movie.
Another monk speaking at the convention in Panadura said that a Bodu Bala Sena ringing tone on Mobitel phones, if downloaded, will be used to fund the Bodu Bala Sena organisation. (Colombo Gazette)
Report by Easwaran Rutnam
http://colombogazette.com/2013/03/24/bbs-insists-lanka-not-multiracial/
March 24, 2013
The Bodu Bala Sena (BBS) says Sri Lanka is not a multiracial or multi-religious country but a Sinhala Budhist country.Speaking at the Bodu Bala Sena convention in Panadura this evening, the venerable Medagoda Abayathissa thero urged the Sinhalese to protect the nation and not let other races or religions to take over.
The monk also urged Sinhalese families to have at least 5-6 children so that the Sinhalese Buddhist population grows in order to protect the Sinhala race and Buddhism in Sri Lanka.
Meanwhile Secretary of the Bodu Bala Sena, the venerable Galaboda Aththe Gnanasara thera said that the country should be ready to rally against Christian and Muslim extremist groups operating in the country.
He insisted that the Bodu Bala Sena does not have issues with Muslims and Tamils as a whole. However he said that Muslim women should not be allowed to wear the Niqab in Sri Lanka.
The venerable Galaboda Aththe Gnanasara thera also said that all stores should close on Poya Days, including Muslim stores, so that all Buddhist employees working in those organisations can go to the Temple instead of work.
“We have now become the police of this nation. We must help the police arrest people bringing down heroin in Sri Lanka,” he added.
He also said that the Ministry of Defence had given an assurance that the halal issue will be resolved.
However he warned that if the All Ceylon Jamiyyathul Ulama (ACJU) goes against its commitments to the Ministry of Defence and the Buddhist clergy then the Bodu Bala Sena will take appropriate action.
The venerable Galaboda Aththe Gnanasara thera also insisted that the Bodu Bala Sena has not done anything wrong to call for their arrest.
He also slammed Sri Lanka’s foreign service, particularly the appointment of a former Muslim Minister as the High Commissioner to Singapore.
The venerable Medagoda Abayathissa thero, meanwhile, discouraged Sinhalese families from watching the movie ‘Sri Sidhartha’ which is currently screening in Colombo and cinemas around the country.
The monk said that the movie gives the wrong impression about Buddhism and so the Bodu Bala Sena will take measures to ban the film.
The venerable Medagoda Abayathissa thero said that Non Governmental Organizations (NGO) were behind the funding of the movie.
Another monk speaking at the convention in Panadura said that a Bodu Bala Sena ringing tone on Mobitel phones, if downloaded, will be used to fund the Bodu Bala Sena organisation. (Colombo Gazette)
Report by Easwaran Rutnam
http://colombogazette.com/2013/03/24/bbs-insists-lanka-not-multiracial/
இல்லாத வடக்கு மாகாணசபைக்கு, தேர்தல் நடத்த இயலாது: தேர்தல் ஆணையாளர்!!
இந்திய அமெரிக்க சிங்களம் காப்பு ஐ.நா.தீர்மானம்
Taking note of the report of the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission of Sri Lanka and its findings and recommendations, and acknowledging its possible contribution to the process of national reconciliation in Sri Lanka,``
“The Eastern Provincial Council was gazetted and the President then ordered the Elections Department to hold elections in the province - the same procedure should be followed in the Northern Province but we have not received our orders as yet,” the Elections Commissioner said.
`` Welcoming the announcement by the Government of Sri Lanka to hold elections to the Provincial Council in the Northern Province in September 2013,Welcoming and acknowledging the progress made by the Government of Sri Lanka in rebuilding infrastructure, demining, resettling the majority of internally displaced persons, and noting nonetheless that considerable work lies ahead in the areas of justice, reconciliation and resumption of livelihoods, and stressing the importance of the full participation of local populations, including representatives of civil society and minorities, in these efforts,
Taking note of the report of the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission of Sri Lanka and its findings and recommendations, and acknowledging its possible contribution to the process of national reconciliation in Sri Lanka,``
======================================================================
 |
| Elections Commissioner, Mahinda Deshapriya |
இல்லாத வடக்கு மாகாணசபைக்கு, தேர்தல் நடத்த இயலாது:
தேர்தல் ஆணையாளர்!
No NPC, so no polls: Commissioner!
Monday, 25 March 2013 08:37
The Elections Department stated that elections in the Northern Province could not be held as the Northern Provincial Council was yet to be constituted by the President.
The Department said despite the government finalising plans to hold the Northern Provincial Council Elections they were unable to begin the election process as the Northern Provincial Council did not exist.
Elections Commissioner, Mahinda Deshapriya said that after the de-merger of the North- Eastern Province in 2006, only the Eastern Provincial Council had been gazetted when the elections for the province were to be held.
The Department said despite the government finalising plans to hold the Northern Provincial Council Elections they were unable to begin the election process as the Northern Provincial Council did not exist.
Elections Commissioner, Mahinda Deshapriya said that after the de-merger of the North- Eastern Province in 2006, only the Eastern Provincial Council had been gazetted when the elections for the province were to be held.
“The Eastern Provincial Council was gazetted and the President then ordered the Elections Department to hold elections in the province - the same procedure should be followed in the Northern Province but we have not received our orders as yet,” the Elections Commissioner said.
He further stated that the whole election procedure would take three months and if elections were to be held in September they would have to receive the Presidential order by May.
Meanwhile, the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) commenting on the government’s decision to hold elections in the Northern Province said the elections for the province had been delayed under the ruse of resettling Internally Displaced Persons (IDP’s).
TNA MP, M. A Sumanthiran said the government had held a Presidential and General election three years ago and he saw no reason as to why a Provincial Council election needed to be postponed. “Resettlement is not yet complete but if they can hold two major elections during this time, then
why not this?” he questioned.
During an interview to the Hindu Newspaper in India last year, President Mahinda Rajapakse stated that elections for the Northern Province were to be held in September this year. Taking note of this statement, the recently passed US backed resolution against Sri Lanka at the United Nations
During an interview to the Hindu Newspaper in India last year, President Mahinda Rajapakse stated that elections for the Northern Province were to be held in September this year. Taking note of this statement, the recently passed US backed resolution against Sri Lanka at the United Nations
Human Rights Council (UNHCR) had welcomed the government’s decision to hold elections in the Northern Province. (Nabeela Hussain)
Sunday, March 24, 2013
Gota calls on SL’s critics to study the engineering of the invasion of Iraq
Gota calls on SL’s critics to study the engineering of the invasion of IraqDefence Secretary’s take on Geneva events
March 23, 2013, 7:26 pm
By Shamindra Ferdinando The Island LK
Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa yesterday said that those wanting to haul Sri Lanka up before an international war crimes tribunal on the basis of unsubstantiated allegations propagated by the LTTE rump should examine the circumstances leading to the invasion of Iraq in March 2003 by Western forces.
Western governments and major media networks constantly quoted so called credible sources based in Iraq and Iraqi Diaspora as having said that the then government was in the process of making Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD). Even 10 years after the invasion, Western intelligence services hadn’t been able to find Iraq’s WMDs or at least some secret facility, which may have been used by the Iraqis, the Defence Secretary said.
It was all about making a case against the leadership of a particular country, the Defence Secretary said, urging people to be wary of anti-Sri Lanka propaganda efforts.Defence Secretary Rajapaksa alleged whatever the situation in Iraq at that time, the country was a victim of a global conspiracy executed by those wanting to get rid of the Iraqi leadership. In fact, the then Sri Lankan government went to the extent of supporting the invasion of Iraq on the basis of false intelligence and media reports, the Defence Secretary, said adding the UNP-led administration’s position was revealed in the United Nations General Assembly.
Responding to a query, the Defence Secretary alleged that since the conclusion of the conflict in May 2009 Western powers and the Opposition had been working overtime discredit the government, thereby justify calls for an international investigation due to long delay in implementing the recommendations made by the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC).
Rajapaksa said that what has been achieved in less than four years after the conclusion of the conflict was remarkable. "In fact, we began tackling post-war reconciliation issues, including rehabilitation of ex-LTTE cadres even before the release of LLRC recommendations. Western powers are aware of the progress on the ground," the Defence Secretary said, adding that the situation here was definitely better than in any other country in post-war situation.
The Defence Secretary said that the world was waiting for Chilcot Inquiry report on the 2003 invasion of Iraq. He pointed out that those preoccupied with Sri Lanka today had never bothered to call for the immediate release and the implementation of the Chicot report.
It would be interesting to examine how the British had addressed the accountability issue as regards their failure to find any WMDs, though they claimed of irrefutable evidence of illegal Iraqi project in the run-up to the invasion.
The Defence Secretary was referring to Iraq’s Weapons of Mass Destruction: the Assessment of the British Government, dubbed as the September Dossier released seven months before the invasion.
The Defence Secretary said that the Opposition and even a section media often ridiculed the government claims of Western powers’ conspiracy against President Rajapaksa’s administration. The ongoing operation at the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) was evidence of the Western project aimed at regime change, he said, accusing the UNP of collaborating with those conspiring against the government.
The Defence Secretary rejected UNP spokesperson, MP Lakshman Kiriella’s assertion that the second US resolution titled ‘Promoting Accountability and Reconciliation in Sri Lanka’ was directed at President Rajapaksa’s government not Sri Lanka. Senior Vice President of the UNP MP Kiriella was addressing the media in Colombo on Friday.
The Defence Secretary said that most of those who had been accusing the government of failing to counter US resolution weren’t familiar with the first and the second resolutions. Had MP Kiriella perused them, he wouldn’t have come to a wrong conclusion. The Defence Secretary said that no one should play politics with the Geneva issue. The bottom line was that Sri Lanka would never have been in the agenda of the UNHRC or other international bodies if government forces failed in on the Vanni front.
Responding to a query, he said that the international community didn’t find fault with post-war resettlement, rehabilitation and reconstruction process. In fact, their only issue was accountability, which they believed could drag political and military leaders before an international war crimes tribunal. The final objective remained regime change. He urged Sri Lankans not to be deceived by Western powers and their politically bankrupt local agents.
The Defence Secretary challenged the Opposition to closely examine the voting record on the US resolution. Of the 47 countries in the UNHRC, 22 governments, including those of Pakistan, Malaysia, Japan, the Philippines, Thailand, Kenya, Venezuela and Qatar didn’t go with the anti-Sri Lanka move. The country was eternally grateful to those governments for standing by Sri Lanka.
According to him those who couldn’t stomach Sri Lanka’s victory over the LTTE were at the forefront of the Geneva operation. It was simple as that. It had nothing to do with the rights of Tamils speaking people in Sri Lanka, he said.
Tuesday, March 19, 2013
ஐ.நா.வில் அமெரிக்காவின் `இலங்கை எதிர்ப்புத்` தீர்மானம்: அமெரிக்க முண்டத்தை இந்தியா புணர்ந்த கதை!
மூலவரைபில் இந்தியா செய்த மாற்றங்களை பின்வரும் இணைப்பிலுள்ள ஆவணத்தில் வாசகர்கள் மேலும் தெளிவாகக் காணலாம்.
http://www.colombopage.com/CGImgs_obj/UNHRC_US_Resolution_V1.pdf
http://www.colombopage.com/CGImgs_obj/UNHRC_US_Resolution_V1.pdf
The final draft: US resolution on Promoting reconciliation and accountability in Sri Lanka, March 2013
The final draft: US resolution on Promoting reconciliation and accountability in Sri Lanka, March 2013
The final draft of the US resolution on Promoting reconciliation and accountability in Sri Lanka tabled at the Council at 6 p.m. Geneva time yesterday (18-03-2013 Monday), has 32 co-sponsors, including the United States.
The resolution;
The Human Rights Council,
Reaffirming the purposes and principles contained in the Charter of the United Nations,
Guided by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenants on Human Rights and other relevant instruments,
Bearing in mind General Assembly resolution 60/251 of 15 March 2006,
Recalling Council resolutions 5/1 and 5/2 of 18 June 2007, on institution-building of the Human Rights Council,
Recalling Human Rights Council resolution 19/2 of 22 March 2012 on promoting reconciliation and accountability in Sri Lanka,
Reaffirming that it is the responsibility of each State to ensure the full enjoyment of all human rights and fundamental freedoms of its entire population,
Reaffirming also that States must ensure that any measure taken to combat terrorism complies with their obligations under international law, in particular international human rights law, international refugee law and international humanitarian law, as applicable,
Welcoming the announcement by the Government of Sri Lanka to hold elections to the Provincial Council in the Northern Province in September 2013,
Welcoming and acknowledging the progress made by the Government of Sri Lanka in rebuilding infrastructure, demining, resettling the majority of internally displaced persons, and noting nonetheless that considerable work lies ahead in the areas of justice, reconciliation and resumption of livelihoods, and stressing the importance of the full participation of local populations, including representatives of civil society and minorities, in these efforts,
Taking note of the report of the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission of Sri Lanka and its findings and recommendations, and acknowledging its possible contribution to the process of national reconciliation in Sri Lanka,
Taking note of the National Plan of Action to implement the recommendations of the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission of the Government of Sri Lanka and its commitments as set forth in response to the findings and recommendations of the Commission,
Noting that the national plan of action does not adequately address all of the findings and constructive recommendations of the Commission,
Recalling the constructive recommendations contained in the Commission’s report, including the need to credibly investigate widespread allegations of extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances, demilitarize the north of Sri Lanka, implement impartial land dispute resolution mechanisms, re-evaluate detention policies, strengthen formerly independent civil institutions, reach a political settlement on the devolution of power to the provinces, promote and protect the right of freedom of expression for all and enact rule of law reforms,
Noting with concern that the National Plan of Action and the Commission’s report do not adequately address serious allegations of violations of international human rights law and international humanitarian law,
Expressing concern at the continuing reports of violations of human rights in Sri Lanka, including enforced disappearances, extrajudicial killings, torture, and violations of the rights to freedom of expression, association and peaceful assembly, as well as intimidation of and reprisals against human rights defenders, members of civil society and journalists, threats to judicial independence and the rule of law, and discrimination on the basis of religion or belief,
Calling upon the Government of Sri Lanka to fulfil its public commitments, including on the devolution of political authority, which is integral to reconciliation and the full enjoyment of human rights by all members of its population,
Expressing appreciation for the efforts of the Government of Sri Lanka in facilitating the visit of a technical mission from the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, and encouraging the Government to increase its dialogue and cooperation with the Office of the High Commissioner,
Noting the High Commissioner’s call for an independent and credible international investigation into alleged violations of international human rights law and international humanitarian law,
1. Welcomes the report of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights on advice and technical assistance for the Government of Sri Lanka on promoting reconciliation and accountability in Sri Lanka[1] and the recommendations and conclusions contained therein, in particular on the establishment of a truth-seeking mechanism as an integral part of a more comprehensive and inclusive approach to transitional justice;
2. Encourages the Government of Sri Lanka to implement the recommendations made in the report of the Office of the High Commissioner, and also calls upon the Government of Sri Lanka to conduct an independent and credible investigation into allegations of violations of international human rights law and international humanitarian law, as applicable;
3. Reiterates its call upon the Government of Sri Lanka to implement effectively the constructive recommendations made in the report of the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission, and to take all necessary additional steps to fulfil its relevant legal obligations and commitment to initiate credible and independent actions to ensure justice, equity and accountability, and reconciliation for all Sri Lankans;
4. Encourages the Government of Sri Lanka to cooperate with special procedures mandate holders and to respond formally to their outstanding requests, including by extending invitations and providing access;
5. Encourages the Office of the High Commissioner and relevant special procedures mandate holders to provide, in consultation with and with the concurrence of the Government of Sri Lanka, advice and technical assistance on implementing the above-mentioned steps;
6. Requests the Office of the High Commissioner, with input from relevant special procedures mandate holders, as appropriate, to present an oral updateto the Human Rights Council at its twenty-fourth session, and a comprehensive report followed by a discussion at the twenty-fifth session, on the implementation of the present resolution
Co-sponsors of the resolution;
Austria, Canada, Croatia, Belgium, Denmark, Estonia, France, Finland, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Malta, Monaco, Montenegro, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, St Kitts and Nevis, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and United States of America.
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மூலவரைபில் இந்தியா செய்த மாற்றங்களை பின்வரும் இணைப்பிலுள்ள ஆவணத்தில் வாசகர்கள் காணலாம்
http://www.colombopage.com/CGImgs_obj/UNHRC_US_Resolution_V1.pdf
Monday, March 18, 2013
தமிழக மாணவர் எழுச்சி: அவசியக் குறிப்புரைகள்
தமிழக மாணவர் எழுச்சி: அவசியக் குறிப்புரை பகுதி (1)
தமிழக மாணவர் எழுச்சி: அவசியக் குறிப்புரை பகுதி (2)
தமிழக நாடாளமன்றவாத கட்சிகள்http://senthanal.blogspot.co.uk/2013/03/2.html
தமிழக மாணவர் எழுச்சி: அவசியக் குறிப்புரை பகுதி (3)
எழுச்சியின் வீச்சும் எல்லையும் http://senthanal.blogspot.co.uk/2013/03/3.html
தமிழக மாணவர் எழுச்சி: அவசியக் குறிப்புரை பகுதி (4)
(தொடரும்)
புதிய ஈழப்புரட்சியாளர்கள் ENB
Sunday, March 17, 2013
தோழர்களுக்கு ஒரு அவசர வேண்டுகோள்
தோழர்களுக்கு ஒரு அவசர வேண்டுகோள்,தமிழ்நாட்டில் நடந்து வரும் மாணவர் எழுச்சி தாங்கள் அறிந்ததே,நாற்பது ஆண்டுகள் கழித்து மாணவர்கள்
தமிழின பிரச்சனைக்காக வெளியே வந்துள்ளார்கள் அவர்களை ஊக்குவித்து உதவ வேண்டியது நமது கடமை,மாணவர்களின் போராட்டங்களுக்கு
உங்கள் பங்களிப்பை நீங்களும் தரலாம்,மாணவர் எழுச்சி பெரும் அளவில் இருப்பதால் ஒருங்கிணைப்பதில் களத்தில் இருக்கும் தோழர்கள் பெரும்
சவால்களை சந்தித்து வருகிறார்கள்,அவர்களுடன் நீங்களும் கைகோருங்கள்.
௧.வெறும் நானூறு முதல் ஐநூறு ருபாய் மட்டு இருந்தால் போதும் உங்கள் அருகாமையில் நடக்கும் மாணவர் போராட்டங்களுக்கு உங்கள்
வீட்டிலேயே தேநீர் தயாரித்து கொடுக்கலாம், பிஸ்கட் போன்றவற்றை வாங்கி மாணவர்களுக்கு விநயோகிக்கலாம்.
௨.வெறும் நூறு ருபாய் இருந்தால் போதும் அவர்களுக்கு மோர்,அல்லது எலுமிச்சை ஜூஸ் போன்றவற்றை உங்கள் வீட்டிலிருந்து தயார் செய்து கொண்டு போய் கொடுக்கலாம்.
௩.நகல் எடுக்க வெறும் இருபத்தி ஐந்து பைசா போதும் இருநூற்று ஐம்பது ருபாய் மட்டும் இருந்தால் ஆயிரம் துண்டறிக்கைகள் அடித்து கொடுத்து அவர்களுக்கு உதவலாம்.
௪.அதுவும் முடியவில்லை என்பவர்கள் அவர்களுக்கு குறைந்தது பானையில் குளிர்ந்த நீரை தர ஏற்பாடு செய்து தரலாம்,அவர்களுடன் ஒன்றிணைந்து துண்டறிக்கைகள் விநயோகிக்கலாம்,
௫.குறைந்தது நீங்கள் உங்கள் அருகில் நடக்கும்,போராட்டங்களுக்கு உங்கள் குடும்பத்துடனோ அல்லது நண்பர்களுடனோ சென்று மாணவர்களை வாழ்த்தி உற்சாக படுத்தலாம்,உங்கள் நண்பர்களுக்கும் இதை தெரிய படுத்தலாம்.
வெளிநாடுகளில் வாழும் நம் தோழர்கள் தங்கள் நண்பர்கள் மூலமாக இதை செய்ய முயற்சிக்கலாம்,மாணவர்கள் அவர்களின் இனப்பற்றை காண்பித்து விட்டார்கள்,அவர்களை காலம் முழுவதும் குறை சொல்லும் நாம் நம் கடமையை இப்போதாவது சரியாக செய்வோமே,
இந்த எளிய போராட்டங்களுக்கு நம்முடைய எளிய பங்களிப்பை தரலாமே?
இதை இனப்பற்றுள்ள ஒவ்வொருவரும் அவசியம் பகிர வேண்டும் தோழர்களே,உலக தமிழர்கள் மாணவர்கள் பின் நிற்பதை உறுதி செய்யுங்கள்.
நூல்முகத்தில் இருந்து
நூல் முகத்தில் தமிழீழ விடுதலைக்கான மாணவர் கூட்டமைப்பு
நூல் முகத்தில் தமிழீழ விடுதலைக்கான மாணவர் கூட்டமைப்பு
தமிழீழ விடுதலைக்கான மாணவர் கூட்டமைப்பு, தமிழகத்தில் நடந்துவரும் மாணவர்கள் போராட்டத்தை ஒருங்கிணைக்கும் வண்ணம் நூல் முகத்தில்
https://www.facebook.com/tamilnaduhungerstrike முகம் காட்டியிருக்கிறது.
நாளுக்கு நாள் தீவிரம் அடைந்து வரும் மாணவர்கள் போராட்டத்தை ஒருங்கிணைத்திட மாணவர்களுக்கு இந்த நூல் முக இணைப்பு தொடர்புக்களமாக அமைந்துள்ளது.
ஏறத்தாழ பத்தாயிரம் (உறுப்பினர்கள், ஊழியர்கள்,ஆதரவாளர்கள், அனுதாபிகள், வெகுஜனங்கள் உள்ளிட்ட) பெரும்பாலும் மாணவர் அடங்கிய பேரணி இந்த இணைப்பில் இணைந்து களமுறுகிறது.
செய்தி: enb
ஒரு கோடி மாணவர்களின் தொடர் முழக்கப் போராட்டம்!
"ஒரு கோடி மாணவர்கள் பங்கேற்கும் தொடர்முழக்கப் போராட்டம்"
20/03/2013
தமிழீழ விடுதலைக்கான மாணவர் கூட்டமைப்பு
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மார் 16, 2013
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மார் 16, 2013
வரும் 20/03/2013 புதன்கிழமை தமிழகம் தழுவிய மாவட்ட, நகர, கிராம அளவில் தமிழீழ விடுதலைக்கான மாணவர் கூட்டமைப்பினால் "ஒரு கோடி
மாணவர்கள் பங்கேற்கும் தொடர்முழக்கப் போராட்டம்" முன்னெடுக்கப் படவுள்ளது.
இப் போராட்டத்தினை தமிழகம் தழுவி தமிழீழ விடுதலை வேண்டி போராடும் அனைத்து மாணவர் ஒருங்கிணைப்பு குழுக்களும், தாங்களே தமது பகுதியிலுள்ள சாத்தியமான மூலை முடுக்குகளில் ஒன்றுகூடலுக்கான ஒரு பகுதியினை தேர்வு செய்து நடத்த உத்தேசித்துள்ளதாக ஊடகச் செய்திகள் தெரிவிக்கின்றன.
இப்போராட்டம் பற்றிய தகவலுக்கு : 00 91 9791162911
Thursday, March 14, 2013
மதிபிரபா.பாலச்சந்திரன்: முத்துக்கு ஒரு முகாரி!
குறிப்பு : கவிஞர் தமிழச்சி தங்கபாண்டியனின் வார்த்தைகளை வரிகளாய் மாற்றாமல் வலிகளாய் மாற்றி விட்ட, இசையமைப்பாளர் தாஜ் நூரின் உயிர் இசையில், மகிழினி மணிமாறனின் குரலில் ஒரு வேதனை நெருடல் என்னால் தாங்க முடியவில்லை ... உயிர் துடிக்கிறது ... ஒன்றை உணர்கிறேன் ... எல்லாவற்றையும் செவி கேட்கும், விழி பார்க்கும் , மனம் உணரும் ஆனால் இதை உயிர் கேட்கும், கேட்போரின் உணர்வு வெடிக்கும்...
ஈசன் இளங்கோ .சேலம் Esanelango D 4 days ago Face Book முகம்
“Washington’s Pope”? Who is Pope Francis I? Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio and Argentina’s “Dirty War”
“Washington’s Pope”? Who is Pope Francis I?
Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio and Argentina’s “Dirty War”
By Prof Michel Chossudovsky
============================================
Global Research, March 14, 2013 Region: Latin America & Caribbean
The Vatican conclave has elected Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio as Pope Francis I
Who is Jorge Mario Bergoglio?
In 1973, he had been appointed “Provincial” of Argentina for the Society of Jesus.
In this capacity, Bergoglio was the highest ranking Jesuit in Argentina during the military dictatorship led by General Jorge Videla (1976-1983).
He later became bishop and archbishop of Buenos Aires. Pope John Paul II elevated him to the title of cardinal in 2001
When the military junta relinquished power in 1983, the duly elected president Raúl Alfonsín set up a Truth Commission pertaining to the crimes underlying the “Dirty War” (La Guerra Sucia).
The military junta had been supported covertly by Washington.
US. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger played a behind the scenes role in the 1976 military coup.
Kissinger’s top deputy on Latin America, William Rogers, told him two days after the coup that “we’ve got to expect a fair amount of repression, probably a good deal of blood, in Argentina before too long.” … (National Security Archive, March 23, 2006)
“Operation Condor”
Ironically, a major trial opened up in Buenos Aires on March 5, 2013 a week prior to Cardinal Bergoglio’s investiture as Pope. The ongoing trial in Buenos Aires is:
“to consider the totality of crimes carried out under Operation Condor, a coordinated campaign by various US-backed Latin American dictatorships in the 1970s and 1980s to hunt down, torture and murder tens of thousands of opponents of those regimes.”
For further details, see Operation Condor: Trial On Latin American Rendition And Assassination Program By Carlos Osorio and Peter Kornbluh, March 10, 2013
The military junta led by General Jorge Videla was responsible for countless assassinations, including priests and nuns who opposed military rule following the CIA sponsored March 1976 coup:
”Videla was among the generals convicted of human rights crimes, including “disappearances”, torture, murders and kidnappings. In 1985, Videla was sentenced to life imprisonment at the military prison of Magdalena.”
Wall Street and the Neoliberal Economic Agenda
One of the key appointments of the military junta was the Minister of Economy, Jose Alfredo Martinez de Hoz, a member of Argentina’s business establishment and a close friend of David Rockefeller.
The neoliberal economic policy package adopted under Martinez de Hoz was a “carbon copy” of that imposed in October 1973 in Chile by the Pinochet dictatorship under advice from the “Chicago Boys”.
Wages were immediately frozen by decree. Real purchasing power collapsed by more than 30 percent in the 3 months following the March 1976 military coup. (Author’s estimates, Cordoba, Argentina, July 1976). The Argentinean population was impoverished.
Under the helm of Minister of Economy Jose Alfredo Martinez de Hoz, central bank monetary policy was largely determined by Wall Street and the IMF. The currency market was manipulated. The Peso was deliberately overvalued leading to an insurmountable external debt. The entire national economy was precipitated into bankruptcy.
Wall Street and the Catholic Church Hierarchy
Wall Street was firmly behind the military Junta which waged “The Dirty War” on its behalf. In turn, the Catholic Church hierarchy played a central role in sustaining the legitimacy of the military Junta.
The Order of Jesus –which represented the Conservative yet most influential faction within the Catholic Church, closely associated with Argentina’s economic elites– was firmly behind the military Junta, against so-called “Leftists” in the Peronista movement.
“The Dirty War”: Allegations directed Against Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio
In 2005, human rights lawyer Myriam Bregman filed a criminal suit against Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio, accusing him of conspiring with the military junta in the 1976 kidnapping of two Jesuit priests.
Bergoglio, who at the time was “Provincial” for the Society of Jesus, had ordered two “Leftist” Jesuit priests “to leave their pastoral work” (i.e. they were fired) following divisions within the Society of Jesus regarding the role of the Catholic Church and its relations to the military Junta.
Condemning the military dictatorship (including human rights violations) was a taboo within the Catholic Church. While the upper echelons of the Church were supportive of the military Junta, the grassroots of the Church was firmly opposed to the imposition of military rule.
In 2010, the survivors of the “Dirty War” accused Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio of complicity in the kidnapping of two members of the Society of Jesus Francisco Jalics y Orlando Yorio, (El Mundo, 8 November 2010)
In the course of the trial initiated in 2005, “Bergoglio twice invoked his right under Argentine law to refuse to appear in open court, and when he eventually did testify in 2010, his answers were evasive”:
“At least two cases directly involved Bergoglio. One examined the torture of two of his Jesuit priests — Orlando Yorio and Francisco Jalics — who were kidnapped in 1976 from the slums where they advocated liberation theology. Yorio accused Bergoglio of effectively handing them over to the
death squads… by declining to tell the regime that he endorsed their work. Jalics refused to discuss it after moving into seclusion in a German monastery.” (Los Angeles Times, April 1, 2005)
The accusations directed against Bergoglio regarding the two kidnapped Jesuit priests are but the tip of the iceberg. According to lawyer Myriam Bregman:
“Bergoglio’s own statements proved church officials knew from early on that the junta was torturing and killing its citizens, and yet publicly endorsed the dictators. “The dictatorship could not have operated this way without this key support,” (Los Angeles Times, April 1, 2005 emphasis added)
The Catholic hierarchy was tacitly complicit in torture and mass killings, an estimated “22,000 dead and disappeared, from 1976 to the [1978] Thousands of additional victims were killed between 1978 and 1983 when the military was forced from power.” (National Security Archive, March 23, 2006)
The Catholic Church: Chile versus Argentina
It is worth noting that in the wake of the military coup in Chile on September 11,1973, the Cardinal of Santiago de Chile, Raul Silva Henriquez openly condemned the military junta led by General Augusto Pinochet. In marked contrast to Argentina, this stance of the Catholic hierarchy in Chile
was instrumental in curbing the tide of political assassinations and human rights violations directed against supporters of Salvador Allende and opponents of the military regime.
Had Jorge Mario Bergoglio taken a similar stance to that of Cardinal Raul Silva Henriquez, thousands of lives would have been saved.
Operation Condor and the Catholic Church
The election of Cardinal Bergoglio by the Vatican conclave to serve as Pope Francis I will have immediate repercussions regarding the ongoing “Operation Condor” Trial in Buenos Aires.
The Church was involved in supporting the military Junta. This is something which will emerge in course of the trial proceedings. No doubt, there will be attempts to obfuscate the role of the Catholic hierarchy and the newly appointed pope Francis I, who served as head of Argentina’s Jesuit order
during the military dictatorship.
Jorge Mario Bergoglio: “Washington’s Pope in the Vatican”?
The election of Pope Francis I has broad geopolitical implications for the entire Latin American region.
In the 1970s, Jorge Mario Bergoglio was supportive of a US sponsored military dictatorship.
The Catholic hierarchy in Argentina supported the military government.
Wall Street’s interests were sustained through Jose Alfredo Martinez de Hoz’ office at the Ministry of Economy.
The Catholic Church in Latin America is politically influential. It also has a grip on public opinion. This is known and understood by the architects of US foreign policy.
In Latin America, where a number of governments are now challenging US hegemony, one would expect –given Bergoglio’s track record– that the new Pontiff Francis I as leader of the Catholic Church, will play de facto, a discrete “undercover” political role on behalf of Washington.
With Jorge Bergoglio, Pope Francis I in the Vatican (who faithfully served US interests in the heyday of General Jorge Videla) the hierarchy of the Catholic Church in Latin America can once again be effectively manipulated to undermine “progressive” (Leftist) governments, not only in Argentina but throughout the region, including Venezuela, Ecuador and Bolivia.
This instatement of “a pro-US pope” occurs a week following the death of president Hugo Chavez.
Washington’s Pope in the Vatican?
The US State Department routinely pressures members of the United Security Council with a view to influencing the vote pertaining to Security Council resolutions. US covert operations and propaganda campaigns are routinely applied with a view to influencing national elections in different
countries around the World.
Did the US government attempt to influence the election of the new pontiff? Were undercover pressures discretely exerted by Washington, within the Catholic Church, directly or indirectly, on the 115 cardinals who are members of the Vatican conclave, leading to the election of a pontiff who will
faithfully serve US foreign policy interests in Latin America?
========================================================
Author’s Note
At the outset of the military regime in 1976, I was Visiting Professor at the Social Policy Institute of the Universidad Nacional de Cordoba, Argentina.
My major research focus at the time was to investigate the impacts of the deadly macroeconomic reforms adopted by the military Junta.
I was teaching at the University of Cordoba during the initial wave of assassinations which also targeted “progressive” members of the Catholic clergy.
The industrial city of Cordoba was the center of the resistance movement. I witnessed how the Catholic hierarchy actively and routinely supported the military junta, creating an atmosphere of intimidation and fear throughout the country.
Three years earlier, at the time of Chile’s September 11, 1973 military coup, leading to the overthrow of the Popular Unity government of Salvador Allende, I was Visiting Professor at the Institute of Economics, Catholic University of Chile, Santiago de Chile.
In the immediate wake of the coup in Chile, I witnessed how the Cardinal of Santiago, Raul Silva Henriquez –acting on behalf of the Catholic Church– confronted the military dictatorship.
=========
About the author:
Michel Chossudovsky is an award-winning author, Professor of Economics (emeritus) at the University of Ottawa, Founder and Director of the Centre for Research on Globalization (CRG), Montreal and Editor of the globalresearch.ca website. He is the author of The Globalization of Poverty and The New World Order (2003) and America’s “War on Terrorism”(2005). His most recent book is entitled Towards a World War III Scenario: The Dangers of Nuclear War (2011). He is also a contributor to the Encyclopaedia Britannica. His writings have been published in more than twenty languages.
===========
Disclaimer: The contents of this article are of sole responsibility of the author(s). The Centre for Research on Globalization will not be responsible for any inaccurate or incorrect statement in this article. The Center of Research on Globalization grants permission to cross-post original Global Research articles on community internet sites as long as the text & title are not modified. The source and the author's copyright must be displayed. For publication of Global Research articles in print or other forms including commercial internet sites, contact: publications@globalresearch.ca
www.globalresearch.ca contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available to our readers under the provisions of "fair use" in an effort to advance a better understanding of political, economic and social issues. The material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving it for research and educational purposes. If you wish to use copyrighted material for purposes other than "fair use" you must request permission from the copyright owner.
=============
For media inquiries: publications@globalresearch.ca
Copyright © Prof Michel Chossudovsky, Global Research, 2013
Source Link:
http://www.globalresearch.ca/washingtons-pope-who-is-francis-i-cardinal-jorge-mario-bergoglio-and-argentinas-dirty-war/5326675
Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio and Argentina’s “Dirty War”
By Prof Michel Chossudovsky
============================================
Global Research, March 14, 2013 Region: Latin America & Caribbean
The Vatican conclave has elected Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio as Pope Francis I
Who is Jorge Mario Bergoglio?
In 1973, he had been appointed “Provincial” of Argentina for the Society of Jesus.
In this capacity, Bergoglio was the highest ranking Jesuit in Argentina during the military dictatorship led by General Jorge Videla (1976-1983).
 |
| Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio Pope Francis I |
When the military junta relinquished power in 1983, the duly elected president Raúl Alfonsín set up a Truth Commission pertaining to the crimes underlying the “Dirty War” (La Guerra Sucia).
The military junta had been supported covertly by Washington.
US. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger played a behind the scenes role in the 1976 military coup.
Kissinger’s top deputy on Latin America, William Rogers, told him two days after the coup that “we’ve got to expect a fair amount of repression, probably a good deal of blood, in Argentina before too long.” … (National Security Archive, March 23, 2006)
“Operation Condor”
Ironically, a major trial opened up in Buenos Aires on March 5, 2013 a week prior to Cardinal Bergoglio’s investiture as Pope. The ongoing trial in Buenos Aires is:
“to consider the totality of crimes carried out under Operation Condor, a coordinated campaign by various US-backed Latin American dictatorships in the 1970s and 1980s to hunt down, torture and murder tens of thousands of opponents of those regimes.”
For further details, see Operation Condor: Trial On Latin American Rendition And Assassination Program By Carlos Osorio and Peter Kornbluh, March 10, 2013
 |
| Henry Kissinger and General Jorge Videla (1970s) |
”Videla was among the generals convicted of human rights crimes, including “disappearances”, torture, murders and kidnappings. In 1985, Videla was sentenced to life imprisonment at the military prison of Magdalena.”
Wall Street and the Neoliberal Economic Agenda
One of the key appointments of the military junta was the Minister of Economy, Jose Alfredo Martinez de Hoz, a member of Argentina’s business establishment and a close friend of David Rockefeller.
 |
| Jose Alfredo Martinez de Hoz |
Wages were immediately frozen by decree. Real purchasing power collapsed by more than 30 percent in the 3 months following the March 1976 military coup. (Author’s estimates, Cordoba, Argentina, July 1976). The Argentinean population was impoverished.
Under the helm of Minister of Economy Jose Alfredo Martinez de Hoz, central bank monetary policy was largely determined by Wall Street and the IMF. The currency market was manipulated. The Peso was deliberately overvalued leading to an insurmountable external debt. The entire national economy was precipitated into bankruptcy.
Wall Street and the Catholic Church Hierarchy
Wall Street was firmly behind the military Junta which waged “The Dirty War” on its behalf. In turn, the Catholic Church hierarchy played a central role in sustaining the legitimacy of the military Junta.
The Order of Jesus –which represented the Conservative yet most influential faction within the Catholic Church, closely associated with Argentina’s economic elites– was firmly behind the military Junta, against so-called “Leftists” in the Peronista movement.
“The Dirty War”: Allegations directed Against Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio
In 2005, human rights lawyer Myriam Bregman filed a criminal suit against Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio, accusing him of conspiring with the military junta in the 1976 kidnapping of two Jesuit priests.
Bergoglio, who at the time was “Provincial” for the Society of Jesus, had ordered two “Leftist” Jesuit priests “to leave their pastoral work” (i.e. they were fired) following divisions within the Society of Jesus regarding the role of the Catholic Church and its relations to the military Junta.
Condemning the military dictatorship (including human rights violations) was a taboo within the Catholic Church. While the upper echelons of the Church were supportive of the military Junta, the grassroots of the Church was firmly opposed to the imposition of military rule.
In 2010, the survivors of the “Dirty War” accused Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio of complicity in the kidnapping of two members of the Society of Jesus Francisco Jalics y Orlando Yorio, (El Mundo, 8 November 2010)
 |
| Revelations concerning Bergoglio’ Role During the Military Dictatorship |
In the course of the trial initiated in 2005, “Bergoglio twice invoked his right under Argentine law to refuse to appear in open court, and when he eventually did testify in 2010, his answers were evasive”:
“At least two cases directly involved Bergoglio. One examined the torture of two of his Jesuit priests — Orlando Yorio and Francisco Jalics — who were kidnapped in 1976 from the slums where they advocated liberation theology. Yorio accused Bergoglio of effectively handing them over to the
death squads… by declining to tell the regime that he endorsed their work. Jalics refused to discuss it after moving into seclusion in a German monastery.” (Los Angeles Times, April 1, 2005)
The accusations directed against Bergoglio regarding the two kidnapped Jesuit priests are but the tip of the iceberg. According to lawyer Myriam Bregman:
“Bergoglio’s own statements proved church officials knew from early on that the junta was torturing and killing its citizens, and yet publicly endorsed the dictators. “The dictatorship could not have operated this way without this key support,” (Los Angeles Times, April 1, 2005 emphasis added)
The Catholic hierarchy was tacitly complicit in torture and mass killings, an estimated “22,000 dead and disappeared, from 1976 to the [1978] Thousands of additional victims were killed between 1978 and 1983 when the military was forced from power.” (National Security Archive, March 23, 2006)
 |
| Jorge Mario Bergoglio grants communion to General Jorge Videla (1970s) |
It is worth noting that in the wake of the military coup in Chile on September 11,1973, the Cardinal of Santiago de Chile, Raul Silva Henriquez openly condemned the military junta led by General Augusto Pinochet. In marked contrast to Argentina, this stance of the Catholic hierarchy in Chile
was instrumental in curbing the tide of political assassinations and human rights violations directed against supporters of Salvador Allende and opponents of the military regime.
Had Jorge Mario Bergoglio taken a similar stance to that of Cardinal Raul Silva Henriquez, thousands of lives would have been saved.
Operation Condor and the Catholic Church
The election of Cardinal Bergoglio by the Vatican conclave to serve as Pope Francis I will have immediate repercussions regarding the ongoing “Operation Condor” Trial in Buenos Aires.
The Church was involved in supporting the military Junta. This is something which will emerge in course of the trial proceedings. No doubt, there will be attempts to obfuscate the role of the Catholic hierarchy and the newly appointed pope Francis I, who served as head of Argentina’s Jesuit order
during the military dictatorship.
Jorge Mario Bergoglio: “Washington’s Pope in the Vatican”?
The election of Pope Francis I has broad geopolitical implications for the entire Latin American region.
In the 1970s, Jorge Mario Bergoglio was supportive of a US sponsored military dictatorship.
The Catholic hierarchy in Argentina supported the military government.
Wall Street’s interests were sustained through Jose Alfredo Martinez de Hoz’ office at the Ministry of Economy.
The Catholic Church in Latin America is politically influential. It also has a grip on public opinion. This is known and understood by the architects of US foreign policy.
In Latin America, where a number of governments are now challenging US hegemony, one would expect –given Bergoglio’s track record– that the new Pontiff Francis I as leader of the Catholic Church, will play de facto, a discrete “undercover” political role on behalf of Washington.
With Jorge Bergoglio, Pope Francis I in the Vatican (who faithfully served US interests in the heyday of General Jorge Videla) the hierarchy of the Catholic Church in Latin America can once again be effectively manipulated to undermine “progressive” (Leftist) governments, not only in Argentina but throughout the region, including Venezuela, Ecuador and Bolivia.
This instatement of “a pro-US pope” occurs a week following the death of president Hugo Chavez.
Washington’s Pope in the Vatican?
The US State Department routinely pressures members of the United Security Council with a view to influencing the vote pertaining to Security Council resolutions. US covert operations and propaganda campaigns are routinely applied with a view to influencing national elections in different
countries around the World.
Did the US government attempt to influence the election of the new pontiff? Were undercover pressures discretely exerted by Washington, within the Catholic Church, directly or indirectly, on the 115 cardinals who are members of the Vatican conclave, leading to the election of a pontiff who will
faithfully serve US foreign policy interests in Latin America?
========================================================
Author’s Note
At the outset of the military regime in 1976, I was Visiting Professor at the Social Policy Institute of the Universidad Nacional de Cordoba, Argentina.
My major research focus at the time was to investigate the impacts of the deadly macroeconomic reforms adopted by the military Junta.
I was teaching at the University of Cordoba during the initial wave of assassinations which also targeted “progressive” members of the Catholic clergy.
The industrial city of Cordoba was the center of the resistance movement. I witnessed how the Catholic hierarchy actively and routinely supported the military junta, creating an atmosphere of intimidation and fear throughout the country.
Three years earlier, at the time of Chile’s September 11, 1973 military coup, leading to the overthrow of the Popular Unity government of Salvador Allende, I was Visiting Professor at the Institute of Economics, Catholic University of Chile, Santiago de Chile.
In the immediate wake of the coup in Chile, I witnessed how the Cardinal of Santiago, Raul Silva Henriquez –acting on behalf of the Catholic Church– confronted the military dictatorship.
=========
About the author:
Michel Chossudovsky is an award-winning author, Professor of Economics (emeritus) at the University of Ottawa, Founder and Director of the Centre for Research on Globalization (CRG), Montreal and Editor of the globalresearch.ca website. He is the author of The Globalization of Poverty and The New World Order (2003) and America’s “War on Terrorism”(2005). His most recent book is entitled Towards a World War III Scenario: The Dangers of Nuclear War (2011). He is also a contributor to the Encyclopaedia Britannica. His writings have been published in more than twenty languages.
===========
Disclaimer: The contents of this article are of sole responsibility of the author(s). The Centre for Research on Globalization will not be responsible for any inaccurate or incorrect statement in this article. The Center of Research on Globalization grants permission to cross-post original Global Research articles on community internet sites as long as the text & title are not modified. The source and the author's copyright must be displayed. For publication of Global Research articles in print or other forms including commercial internet sites, contact: publications@globalresearch.ca
www.globalresearch.ca contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available to our readers under the provisions of "fair use" in an effort to advance a better understanding of political, economic and social issues. The material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving it for research and educational purposes. If you wish to use copyrighted material for purposes other than "fair use" you must request permission from the copyright owner.
=============
For media inquiries: publications@globalresearch.ca
Copyright © Prof Michel Chossudovsky, Global Research, 2013
Source Link:
http://www.globalresearch.ca/washingtons-pope-who-is-francis-i-cardinal-jorge-mario-bergoglio-and-argentinas-dirty-war/5326675
Tuesday, March 12, 2013
9-pint demand of All Colleges Students Federation of Tamil Nadu for the Liberation of Tamil Eelam
9-pint demand of All Colleges Students Federation of Tamil Nadu for the Liberation of Tamil Eelam
====================
The demands put forward by the students
1. We strongly condemn the US-draft resolution. Do not pass it at UNHRC
2. What took place in Ilangkai [Sri Lanka] is not merely war crimes or violations of human rights, but planned genocide
3. International investigation and referendum are the only solutions for the Tamils. Government of India should propose a resolution to bring in international investigation and to conduct a referendum on independent Tamil Eelam.
4. A proposal should be made to remove the Deputy High Commission of the Sinhala chauvinistic State from the Tamil soil [Tamil Nadu]. India should severe all diplomatic relations with Ilangkai [Sri Lanka].
5. Government of India, accepting the request of the Tamil Nadu State Government, should implement economic sanctions on Ilangkai [Sri Lanka].
6. On behalf of the Tamil Nadu State Government, a foreign relations department should be created to assure the security of global Tamils.
7. No Asian country should be a member in the [international] investigation committee.
8. Killing Tamil Nadu fishermen should be stopped immediately.
9. If the Government of India is not finding solution to the question of Eezham Tamils, we will not pay any taxes from Tamil Nadu. We, students, will actively engage in this campaign.
Source: Tamil Net
====================
The demands put forward by the students
1. We strongly condemn the US-draft resolution. Do not pass it at UNHRC
2. What took place in Ilangkai [Sri Lanka] is not merely war crimes or violations of human rights, but planned genocide
3. International investigation and referendum are the only solutions for the Tamils. Government of India should propose a resolution to bring in international investigation and to conduct a referendum on independent Tamil Eelam.
4. A proposal should be made to remove the Deputy High Commission of the Sinhala chauvinistic State from the Tamil soil [Tamil Nadu]. India should severe all diplomatic relations with Ilangkai [Sri Lanka].
5. Government of India, accepting the request of the Tamil Nadu State Government, should implement economic sanctions on Ilangkai [Sri Lanka].
6. On behalf of the Tamil Nadu State Government, a foreign relations department should be created to assure the security of global Tamils.
7. No Asian country should be a member in the [international] investigation committee.
8. Killing Tamil Nadu fishermen should be stopped immediately.
9. If the Government of India is not finding solution to the question of Eezham Tamils, we will not pay any taxes from Tamil Nadu. We, students, will actively engage in this campaign.
Source: Tamil Net
Tamil Nadu students burn US draft resolution
Tamil Nadu students burn US draft resolution[TamilNet, Wednesday, 13 March 2013, 00:28 GMT]Protest started by the Loyola College students in Chennai against an empty US resolution on Sri Lanka at Geneva and the Tamil Nadu State Government action against the protest, have triggered spontaneous statewide student uprising that is not depending on any political party, news sources in Tamil Nadu said. Students of instituions such as the Annamalai University in Chithamparam and St. Xavier’s College, an autonomous university institution at Paa’laiyang-koaddai in Thirunelveali, have burnt the copies of the US draft resolution tabled at Geneva for discussion on Friday, saying that the draft only bails out the genocide-accused Sri Lankan State. Meanwhile, student protests took place in every part of Tamil Nadu and All Colleges Students Federation for the Liberation of Tamil Eelam has come out with a 9-point demand.
The students of Annamalai University and St. Xaviers College, who are also on a hunger strike, have urged the World Tamils not to be hoodwinked by any “constructive aspects” in any resolution that does not recognize a political solution on the basis of the nationhood of the Eezham Tamils, protestors told TamilNet.
Student protests and hunger strikes have begun in several towns and cities that are historically and geographically significant in setting trends in Tamil Nadu. Political parties and certain sections that either tried to make benefits by association or tried to infiltrate and hijack were consciously kept out by the protesting students, who this time clearly drew the line between politics and peoples’ struggle.
|
யார் தேசம் தமிழ் ஈழம்? போர் தொடுத்த சிங்களமே, ஈழத்தமிழரிடையே பொது வாக்கெடுப்பு நடத்து!
யார் தேசம் தமிழ் ஈழம்? போர் தொடுத்த சிங்களமே, ஈழத்தமிழரிடையே பொது வாக்கெடுப்பு நடத்து!
Falkland தீவார் 1513 பேரில் 1510 ( 99.8% )பேர் பெரிய பிரித்தானியராக இருக்க பொதுவாக்கெடுப்பில் தீர்மானம்!
Falkland தீவார் 1513 பேரில் 1510 ( 99.8% )பேர் பெரிய பிரித்தானியராக இருக்க பொதுவாக்கெடுப்பில் தீர்மானம்!
Falkland Islanders Vote To Remain British
By Ian Woods, Senior Correspondent, in Stanley | Sky News – 1 hour 4 minutes ago.
David Cameron has demanded that Argentina respect the result of a referendum in the Falklands which saw an overwhelming majority back staying under British rule.
Just three voted 'No' in the ballot about remaining a British Overseas Territory, with 99.8% supporting the status quo.
International observers ratified the poll, in which 92% of eligible voters - or 1,513 people - took part, as "free and fair"
The Prime Minister warned that Argentina should take "careful note" of the result, which he said was the clearest possible message.
"The Falkland Islands may be thousands of miles away but they are British through and through. That is how they want to stay," he said.
"They want to remain British and that view should be respected by everybody, including by Argentina."
Nigel Haywood, governor of the Falkland Islands, added: "You don't get a much clearer expression of the people's self-determination than such a large turn out and such a large yes vote."
Argentina has yet to officially react to the referendum but had already dismissed the vote as illegal and "pointless".
It claims the people have no voice in deciding what is a dispute about sovereignty that should be resolved directly with Britain.
But delighted residents, who sang Land Of Hope And Glory and Rule Britannia after the result, insisted they must be heard.
One woman celebrating in Stanley told Sky News: "It sends such a strong message to the world that we've been here for a long time.
"We have the right to determine our own future. How long do you have to live in a country before you're allowed to call it your own?"
The referendum was organised after a deterioration in relations between Britain and Argentina, which claims the Falklands and in 1982 invaded the islands it calls Las Malvinas.
During the war to take back the islands, 255 British serviceman died as well as 655 Argentinians and three locals.
Relations appeared to warm for a period until Argentine President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner restated her country's claims of sovereignty and tried to raise the issue with David Cameron and the UN.
Although Buenos Aires dismissed the referendum as illegitimate and refused to talk to Falkland politicians, the islanders hope other countries in South and Central America will be more sympathetic.
As the counting took place in Stanley Town Hall, it quickly became clear the piles of "Yes" votes were growing steadily, while "No" votes were nowhere to be seen.
There was a delay in announcing the result because one vote went missing during the count but officials eventually decided it was not worth a recount for a single missing ballot.
The result means the Falklands will continue to run its own affairs, but shelter under the wing of the motherland when it comes to defence and foreign policy.
Falklands' legislators know the referendum will be dismissed by the Argentine government, but one of them, Dick Sawle had this message for President Kirchner.
"Listen, this is what we've said and it's time you respected our human rights," he said. "It's time you stopped harassing us; it's time you stopped your very aggressive stance towards us.
"We'll be taking that message to various governments and saying
By Ian Woods, Senior Correspondent, in Stanley | Sky News – 1 hour 4 minutes ago.
David Cameron has demanded that Argentina respect the result of a referendum in the Falklands which saw an overwhelming majority back staying under British rule.
Just three voted 'No' in the ballot about remaining a British Overseas Territory, with 99.8% supporting the status quo.
International observers ratified the poll, in which 92% of eligible voters - or 1,513 people - took part, as "free and fair"
The Prime Minister warned that Argentina should take "careful note" of the result, which he said was the clearest possible message.
"The Falkland Islands may be thousands of miles away but they are British through and through. That is how they want to stay," he said.
"They want to remain British and that view should be respected by everybody, including by Argentina."
Nigel Haywood, governor of the Falkland Islands, added: "You don't get a much clearer expression of the people's self-determination than such a large turn out and such a large yes vote."
Argentina has yet to officially react to the referendum but had already dismissed the vote as illegal and "pointless".
It claims the people have no voice in deciding what is a dispute about sovereignty that should be resolved directly with Britain.
But delighted residents, who sang Land Of Hope And Glory and Rule Britannia after the result, insisted they must be heard.
One woman celebrating in Stanley told Sky News: "It sends such a strong message to the world that we've been here for a long time.
"We have the right to determine our own future. How long do you have to live in a country before you're allowed to call it your own?"
The referendum was organised after a deterioration in relations between Britain and Argentina, which claims the Falklands and in 1982 invaded the islands it calls Las Malvinas.
During the war to take back the islands, 255 British serviceman died as well as 655 Argentinians and three locals.
Relations appeared to warm for a period until Argentine President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner restated her country's claims of sovereignty and tried to raise the issue with David Cameron and the UN.
Although Buenos Aires dismissed the referendum as illegitimate and refused to talk to Falkland politicians, the islanders hope other countries in South and Central America will be more sympathetic.
As the counting took place in Stanley Town Hall, it quickly became clear the piles of "Yes" votes were growing steadily, while "No" votes were nowhere to be seen.
There was a delay in announcing the result because one vote went missing during the count but officials eventually decided it was not worth a recount for a single missing ballot.
The result means the Falklands will continue to run its own affairs, but shelter under the wing of the motherland when it comes to defence and foreign policy.
Falklands' legislators know the referendum will be dismissed by the Argentine government, but one of them, Dick Sawle had this message for President Kirchner.
"Listen, this is what we've said and it's time you respected our human rights," he said. "It's time you stopped harassing us; it's time you stopped your very aggressive stance towards us.
"We'll be taking that message to various governments and saying
''look, self determination is a fundamental human right, you can't ignore it'. This is what the people of the Falklands have said. Do you have a problem with that?"
Why Do you have problem with this?"
US tables Sri Lankan resolution with India line
US tables Sri Lankan resolution with India line
By P K Balachandran | ENS - COLOMBO
09th March 2013 07:55 AM
 |
| Activists burn an effigy and portraits of Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse during a protest in New Delhi | AP/File |
The US resolution on Sri Lanka, which was presented to the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) in Geneva on Friday, has incorporated India’s suggestion that the Office of the High Commissioner of Human Rights (OHCHR) take the island government into confidence while probing cases of atrocities.
The resolution seeks to ensure that “special procedure mandate holders” tasked to look into human rights violations, work only in consultation with and with the concurrence of Colombo.
The provision for taking the Lankan government into confidence was part of the US resolution of March 2012 as well. It had been included at India’s insistence as New Delhi refused an intrusive resolution which could put Sri Lanka’s sovereignty into question.
The US resolution of 2013 said that neither the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission nor the National Action Plan, had “adequately” addressed allegations of rights violations.
It expressed “concern” at “reports” of human rights violations, including enforced disappearances; extra-judicial killings; torture; and the violation of the right to freedom of expression; association and peaceful assembly. The resolution points out intimidation of civil society and journalists and threats to judicial independence and rule of law.
The resolution has categorically stated that the US expected “unfettered access” to the UN Special Rapporteurs looking into areas such as judicial independence; human rights defenders; freedom of expression; freedom of association and assembly; extra-judicial, summary and arbitrary executions; minority issues; enforced and involuntary disappearances and discrimination against women.
The US resolution made a strong pitch for the devolution of power to Tamils. It has also called for an independent international probe into violations of international human rights and humanitarian laws during Eelam War IV. This is, however, unlikely to be accepted by the Mahinda Rajapaksa government as it believes that any such investigation will violate the nation’s sovereignty.
Source: The New Indian Express
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