புதிய ஈழம்: ENB மே நாள் 2017 சூளுரை- ஈழம்

புதிய ஈழம்: ENB மே நாள் 2017 சூளுரை- ஈழம்

புதிய ஈழம்: ENB மே நாள் 2017 சூளுரை- மார்க்சியம்

புதிய ஈழம்: ENB மே நாள் 2017 சூளுரை- மார்க்சியம்

சமரன்: மே நாள் வாழ்க! மக்கள் ஜனநாயகப் புரட்சிக்கு அணிதிர...

சமரன்: மே நாள் வாழ்க! மக்கள் ஜனநாயகப் புரட்சிக்கு அணிதிர...: கருத்தாலும் கரத்தாலும் உழைக்கின்ற உழைப்பாளி மக்களே...!! ஒவ்வொரு ஆண்டும் மே முதல் நாளை மேதின தியாகிகளை நினைவுகூரும் நாளாக கடைப்பிடித்து ...

சமரன்: மே நாள் 2017- கழக ஆர்ப்பாட்ட பொதுக்கூட்ட அறிவிப்பு...

சமரன்: மே நாள் 2017- கழக ஆர்ப்பாட்ட பொதுக்கூட்ட அறிவிப்பு...:   சென்னை - செங்கல்ப்பட்டு தர்மபுரி - பாலக்கோடு கடலூர் - நெல்லிக்குப்பம்  சேலம் - மரவனேரி    திண்டுக்க...

புதிய ஈழம்: ENB மே நாள் 2017 சூளுரை காஸ்மீர்

புதிய ஈழம்: ENB மே நாள் 2017 சூளுரை காஸ்மீர்

Jaffna University students remember Meethotamulla victims

Jaffna University students remember Meethotamulla victims

A ceremony commemorating the lives of those lost in the recent Meethotamulla garbage dump tragedy was held at Jaffna University today.

 

The event was organized by the Arts

Faculty Students Union. 

 

Dean of the Faculty and Students Union leader expressed condolences to those killed and lost their relatives in the tragedy. 

 

 

 

 

Forgotten people of past tragedies still await help

Salawa explosion: Angry residents blast compensation schemes

By Sandun Jayawardana
 

A picture of destruction: Salawa, June 5, last year. Pic by Indika Handuwala

Although the explosion of the ammunition store at the Salawa army base on June 5 last year only claimed one life, the incident damaged or destroyed more than 2,000 houses. The Government set aside more than Rs 1.2 billion for compensation.

While rebuilding continues, compensation has caused anger, with some victims having rejected estimates of property damage done by Valuation Department officials.

Sriyakanthi Godagama lived in a house near the army camp. She told the Sunday Times that authorities had compensated many but the varying amounts has caused friction.

“Some people have fallen out with others over the fact that they had received more money. Some residents have even formed separate victim associations.”

Mrs. Godagama said compensation her family received was inadequate. The family had not been able to so far move back in to their home.

Compensation for damaged or destroyed vehicles is a another troubling issue.

Ms Godagama said her vehicle, which was fairly new, suffered considerable damage. Hers was among 49 vehicles that were damaged. “We keep going to the Assistant Government Agent’s Office. But, they tell us that no money has been allocated for damaged vehicles.”

She said this was unfair as insurance companies were only paying out a small portion and they had to bear most of the cost.

S.S. Miyanwala, Secretary to the Ministry of Disaster Management said Rs.1,258.7 million had already been awarded as compensation for the Salawa disaster. Some 200 houses had suffered severe damage, he added. Owners of businesses have also been compensated.

Some have rejected their compensation packages. “They are not satisfied with the amounts they were awarded. Their appeals are currently being heard,” the secretary said.

Mr Miyanwala said the Ministry of Disaster Management did not handle the matter and the Finance Ministry had not made a separate allocation. He said since the vehicles were insured, it is likely that there are some complications.

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Koslanda disaster: All but 30 victim families resettled

It is now two-and-a-half years since a landslide in Koslanda, Meeriyabedda left 39 people dead on October 29, 2014. The disaster left hundreds displaced — their houses and property buried. Many were later housed at the disused Mahakanda Tea Factory, which was converted into a welfare camp.
The families languished at the camp for well over a year. After several false starts, authorities finally made progress in building permanent houses. A batch of 75 houses were handed over to the families late last year.
Haldummulla Divisional Secretary Shiromi Jeewamala said the last of the displaced from the landslide were settled in the new houses on October 22, last year, almost two years to the day after the landslide swallowed large swathes of Meeriyabedda.
While all those who lost houses due to the landslide have been resettled, the Divisional Secretary said there was still an issue surrounding about 30 families who live in two sets of line rooms near the site of the landslide. The area has been designated as a ‘danger zone,’ meaning that these line rooms were vulnerable.
Authorities have advised them to move out and the Government has offered  temporary shelters. However, residents have refused, demanding permanent houses, Mrs. Jeewamala explained.
Accordingly, the Divisional Secretariat has written to the Government requesting permanent houses for the displaced through the Indian housing project, implemented through the Ministry of Estates and Infrastructure Development. The residents have also agreed to move into these permanent houses once they are built. “We are hopeful that those houses would be built by the Government soon,” she stressed.

---

Still not out of the floody hell

By Kasun Warakapitiya

H.A Susil Priyanka: No Hope of a house even after one year

 

 

They were promised relocation, new houses and compensation after the heavy flooding in the Kelanimulla area last year, but their conditions have not changed much.

Some of them have found their own accommodation and left while others live with friends or relatives expecting to find their homes.

Two of the families still live in tents which may not last for many months.

H.A. Susil Priyanka, one of the residents who spent a year in the tent told the Sunday Times only a few tents were near the garbage dump while the rest were situated at a temple in Kelanimulla. He said that the Government gave each resident a tent and a promise of a secure house.

“I have lived here for a year now. Yet, I received no house. During that time, one by one displaced people lost their hopes and went to rent houses.”

He said that both he and his wife had to brave mosquitoes. Water seeps into the tent on rainy days and rats crawl in, too.

He claimed that he lost his furniture and what he currently had, had been donated by private organisations.

“The Government did not spend a penny on me and my wife who lost everything, our dreams of living a happy life was shattered. During the day, it is hot and at night, extremely cold. We are fed up of staying in this place, but we only have this tent,” he said.

K. Gunathilakan who lives in Kelanimulla said that the Government last year promised many solutions for the flood victims but there has been no support.

Some flood victims still live in these tents. Pix by Anurada Bandara

He said that many officials visited them from time to time and told him he would be provided with Rs 15,000 to repair the damage to his house, which had been over eight feet under water.

Mr Gunathilakan who earlier worked as an employee a the National Hospital said that he lost his furniture, television and household items but the Government had not paid compensation.

“Disaster Management officials and representatives of the Valuation Department came to collect information, but we are yet to receive any Government support,” he said.

Another resident of the same area, Sunimal Shantha, said that some of the wooden houses were swept away by the flood waters last year. He said that the Government didn’t provide compensation for the houses which were damaged.

“Rs. 15,000 compensation had been proposed. It has to be given but my house underwent more damage including severe damage to the roof,” he said.

Ariyaratne Gunathilaka, said that she and her mother left their house leaving behind valuable furniture during May 15.

“When the water receded my house had pockets of water remaining in the living room. My couch was destroyed. All the chairs had been floating in the house and were damaged,’’ she said.

She claimed that the government officials told her that they will provide her a mattress, mosquito net and other household items as well as furniture.

Ms Gunathilaka said that in the first six months she waited for the government to pay compensation for the damage to the house and furniture, yet received nothing.

“I have no electronic household items due to the flood and have no means of providing treats like iced drinks,’’ she said.

She also said that her mother who waited for compensation passed away a few months back. “I am also 67 years old and can not go to local government authorities to demand our compensation money,” she said.

She also explained that the government did not advise her to leave or provide her a house in a safer area. So she requested government assistance to repair her house.

K.G. Kalyani, who also lives in a house close to the Kelaniya river, said she received only a mattress and a mosquito net and that was all.

“My house has lost half of the roofing sheets while the walls have cracked due to the floods,” she said. He TV was destroyed in the flood.

“My son and two brothers had to buy one because we could no longer wait for the Government. The Government has forgotten us already,” she said.

 

 

---

Aranayake landslide victims: Buried in unfulfilled promises

By Pradeep Kumara Dharmarathna in Aranayake

 

Many survivors spent Avurudu in welfare camps. Pic by Saman Wijaya Hemmathagama

Hundreds of residents displaced due to the landslide at Samsara Kanda in Aranayake were compelled to spend their National New Year in welfare camps this year. There were no Avurudu sweetmeats for them. The residents spent the day in tents. Living in the shadow of the deadly mountain, they wonder when they would ever be able to move into a permanent home.

Over 4,000 people were displaced by the Aranayake landslide on May 17, 2016. Thirty-one died, while six others are still listed as missing. The landslide destroyed 72 houses. A further 288 houses suffered partial damage.

By late May, 4,291 people from 1,426 families had been displaced. They were relocated to 23 welfare camps.

The National Building Research Organisation recommended the relocation of 571 families living in the danger zone prone to landslides.

Today, almost a year after the disaster, 469 families continue to remain in either temporary tents or semi-permanent houses, according to Aranayake Divisional Secretary Z.A.M. Faizal. Only 62 houses have so far been built for the displaced. Most of the houses have been built by private foundations. The Sri Lanka Red Cross is to build a further 100 houses for the victims in four stages, while the Chinese Government is to also to build a further 100 houses, the Divisional Secretary explained.
Mr. Faizal said the Government has also allocated Rs.1.2 million each for 100 families as compensation.

The displaced however, complain that though they have lived at the welfare camps for 11 months now, authorities have been lethargic. Construction of most houses was yet to begin while compensation was also slow in coming, they charge.

There have been further complaints regarding the alleged uneven distribution of monthly rations for the displaced.

Meanwhile, survivors continue to suffer from deep psychological scars as they grapple with the reality of living without their loved ones.

At the camp set up on the playground of the Hathgampala Vidyalaya, K.G. Piyasena, 62, told us that he was the only one in his family to survive the landslide. His son, daughter-in-law and two grandsons, aged 15 and seven, all died that day.

Mr. Piyasena, originally from the village of Siripura in Elangapitiya, said he had only survived because he was at a nearby shop that evening. “I heard a sound like the crash of a helicopter. When I rushed back, the entire area was covered with rubble and earth. I lost all my children,” he said, voice choking with emotion. “My two grandsons would wait for me in the evenings for me to bring them sweets. I have no one to buy sweets for now. I feel so alone now. I can’t imagine why this happened to people like us.”

H.P. Chandrika Priyadarshani, 33, remains distraught at having to live without her two children. It had been raining heavily for several days before the tragedy. The embankment near their house collapsed due to the rain and she said they had temporarily shifted to her aunt’s house further down the mountain.

“My brother called on the morning of the 17th and said he was coming from Kandy. I tried to tell him not to come because of the heavy rain but I had no money for the call. So, my husband and I decided to go to the shop to buy a phone card. My son tried to accompany us but I didn’t want to take him out in the rain. I was rather stern with him and told him to stay put. He then asked me to bring him a small torch. Hearing this, my little daughter also asked me to bring her Vesak cards.”

Mrs. Priyadarshani had left her husband at the shop and was hurrying back to the house when she heard a loud sound that frightened her and made her run back to the shop.

“When I looked back in the direction of the house, I saw the electricity poles were collapsing and the mountain coming down. It was over in an instant. I tried to run back to my aunt’s house, but a woman near me stopped me and said there was nothing I could do by going there. They were all gone.”

Sunday Times LK

Sri Lanka bans anti-garbage protests after dump disaster

ENB Poster Meethotamulla

Sri Lanka bans anti-garbage protests after dump disaster

A Japanese official with a disaster relief team surveys the site of a garbage dump collapse that killed 32 people on the northeastern edge of Sri Lanka’s capital Colombo on April 21, 2017.PHOTO: AFP

COLOMBO (AFP) - Sri Lanka has outlawed protests over Colombo's garbage crisis following rallies over the city's waste disposal after a landslide at a giant rubbish tip killed 32 people and destroyed 145 homes.

President Maithripala Sirisena announced that anyone preventing city authorities from disposing of garbage could be prosecuted and face an indefinite period in jail, his office said on Friday (April 21).

"Any person who by word or deed causes a disruption of garbage disposal will be guilty of an offence,"

the presidential order stated.

Armed with new powers, garbage collectors Friday began clearing the trash that has been piling up on Colombo's streets for a week since the city's main tip - a 90-metre rubbish mountain - collapsed on homes.

Authorities were forced to dispose of garbage at alternative locations but that had triggered angry protests by residents who blocked trucks from dumping rubbish.

Sri Lanka has ended a grim search for survivors after the landslide, and was now clearing the site at Kolonnawa outside the capital.

A team of Japanese experts who flew in this week to advise Colombo on how to deal with the aftermath were seen surveying at the site on Friday.

"We hope to be able to give a report by Tuesday," said Mitsutake Numahata, a Japanese official heading the delegation. "We are looking at what to do with the dump itself and the threat to neighbouring areas."

Local authorities have already declared areas around the vast tip unsafe for housing.

Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe promised survivors that permanent housing would be provided within a couple of months, and pledged to shift the dump elsewhere.

Parliament had earlier been warned that the towering mountain of trash posed a serious health hazard and that a long-term solution was needed to dispose of Colombo's waste.

A night of heavy rain, followed by an outbreak of fire, destabilised the 23 million-tonne garbage heap at Kolonnawa, causing its collapse.

Meethotamulla - `குப்பை மலை` கவிழ்ந்து எண்ணற்ற ஏழைக் குடியிருப்பாளர்கள் நரபலி!

All those who died, died in vain – The Meethotamulla disaster
Apr 19, 2017  Sri Lanka Guardian Columnists, Feature, Mass L. Usuf, Sri Lanka

Many of people living there were literally buried under the decomposed, rotten and toxic garbage mountain that broke loose. It was unbearable to hear the heart-rending wail of the bereaved family members some of those who had lost their little children.

by Mass L. Usuf

( April 19, 2017, London, Sri Lanka Guardian)


For the Sinhalese and Tamils, it was their New Year day. A day of joy and celebration. While around the country pots were overflowing with boiling milk ushering in the New Year, in Meethotamulla the saga was somewhat different. Many of people living there were literally buried under the decomposed, rotten and toxic garbage mountain that broke loose. It was unbearable to hear the heart-rending wail of the bereaved family members some of those who had lost their little children.

According to the Central Environment Authority about 7,500 tonnes of waste is produced in the country every day. Residents say that nearly 1,000 tonnes of garbage is added daily each day at Meethotamulla. The height of the garbage dump has now reached more than 300 meters. These people did not go to where the garbage was. The garbage was brought to where these people were living. A dereliction of the government’s duty and a gross violation of the basic constitutional rights of the people affected.

These people have been living here for several decades in inhuman conditions breathing in foul odour every day. The feeling is inexplicable. It stinks. They have been in this unimaginable and horrendous state all these years. Most of them have developed various medical complications. Where are the human rights activists? Where are the Politicians? Where are the environmentalists? Someone quipped, “The environmentalists are more concerned about fauna and flora than human beings”. The planned alternative landfill site at Aruwakkalu, North of Puttalam, about 170 kilometres away from Colombo did not take off the ground because they were unhappy. They said that the site is within the one mile buffer zone of the Wilpattu National Park.



Mr. President

Mr. President, you are also the Minister of Environmental Affairs. Around the second half of 2015, you spoke about having a National Strategy for environmental conservation and identified areas like deforestation, environmental damage, environmental degradation, natural resource damage and soil erosion. What you seem to have failed in doing is to identify the priorities in your list in the National Strategy? The garbage dump is not an issue that came up after you assumed power. It was very much there while you were with the previous government. Why did you not accelerate the implementation of your plan?

Way back in 2013 during the Rajapaksa regime some houses were damaged when the dump collapsed. Former MP Duminda Silva held a discussion at the Kolonnawa Municipal Council on issues arising from the garbage dump at Meethotamulla and promised to provide a solution to the problem within a month. He never did that.

Musali

As a citizen, I humbly ask you on behalf of the many who have been silenced by death, have you mismanaged your priorities? If your National Strategy is a long-term plan what have you envisioned for the short and medium term? On one stroke of the pen you deprived thousands of IDPs from returning to their ancestral homes and livelihood in Musali and adjacent areas. This was done in a mighty hurry.

In Meethotamulla while death and destruction was staring on the face of the departed souls and their bewildered kith and kin, you apparently did not have enough ink in that same pen to issue an order regarding the Garbage Dump issue. Or, was it a case where there was not enough pressure by the vested interest of the pseudo environmentalists and the self-serving politicians to look into the garbage problem?

Mr. Prime Minister

Mr. Prime Minister in February 2015, when you met with ‘The Peoples Movement Against the Kollonnawa Garbage Dump’, it is alleged that you had promised a solution within 6 months. Is not your six months too long, Mr. Prime Minister?

Which Law?

“Provincial Councils and Local Government Minister Faizer Mustapha yesterday warned that stern legal actions would be taken against those who failed to segregate garbage in order to dispose it properly from November 01”. “In terms of section 272 (5) of MCO, the penalties for disregarding by-laws on garbage disposal are included a sum not exceeding Rs. 1000 for the first time offenders and the second or third time offenders will be fined a sum not exceeding Rs. 2000. Offenders who repeatedly disobey the by-laws will be fined a sum not exceeding Rs. 250.00 each time”.

(The Island, October 29, 2016).

Other pieces of legislations threatening action are Section 261 of the Penal Code on public nuisance, the National Environmental Act, No. 47 of 1980, disposing garbage which can harm the environment is illegal. In the same Act Section 23, if the garbage disposed in a public or private place is harmful to the health of people, the Central Environmental Authority (CEA) holds power to take appropriate measures.

Mr. Minister which law is applicable to the following :

1. To the incident that happened in Meethotamulla?
2. The dereliction of duty on the part of all those who were
 responsible?
3. The failure to avert a disaster which was imminent and foreseeable?

“The Minister of Mega polis and Western Development Minister Patali Champika Ranawaka: He has said his ministry has already gone through a tender procedure and shortlisted seven projects for the management of solid waste at Meethotamulla (mountain) garbage dump, long an ecological problem and eyesore in Colombo”. (Sunday Times, July 24, 2016).

Mr. Minister, this is April 2017 what have you been doing for the past eight months? Did not you know that this was a ticking time bomb, the consequences of which would be calamitous?

What Do You Call It As?

Earlier this month the residents living near the Meethotamulla garbage dumping site took to the streets demanding an end to the torturous life they were subjected to. I do not know
what to call it as – hypocrisy, irony, political gimmick or sincerity – when United National Party (UNP) Parliamentarian S. M. Marikkar led the demonstration. He is part of the machinery. He represents these people. He is supposed to find solutions and not to demonstrate. Did he demonstrate because he cannot garner enough support with the powers that be? Then, dear Member, I suggest you resign. If you call yourself the servant of the public. Of what use is it, in continuing to be part of the government which does not help you to solve the problems of the people who trusted you and voted for you to represent them?

Can any of these institutions and the Ministers in charge of these – the CMC, Urban Development Authority (UDA), Western Province Waste Management Authority (WPWMA), Central
Environmental Authority (CEA), Kolonnawa Municipal Council, other local authorities plead ignorance of the garbage problem?

The people are disappointed and deeply saddened at the prevailing state of affairs. Those of you who are responsible will carry the guilt if you have some semblance of morals in you.All those who died, died in vain.
===========================



In 2012, I visited Madampitiya to help with research for a friend’s thesis. The subject was the spread of disease in this area, situated close to a garbage dump.

The tiny lanes in between the houses were muddy and often, filled with filthy water. This happened because when it rained (as it had been shortly before we visited) the streets would flood, and spillover from the dump would wash into the streets and sometimes, people’s houses. In fact, you would often need to step off the road and balance precariously on the side of the concrete drains that had been built, and which clearly did not do enough to address the problem.

I vividly remember one of the families I interviewed, a knife grinder who took me into his house to show me his 8-year-old daughter’s hands. They were red and peeling – she had scratched her palms raw because of the mosquitoes. She was also home sick from school. The family couldn’t afford electricity – instead using kerosene lamps at night.

Not all the families I met were of such straitened circumstances. Others had homes that they had carefully built, saving up money, over years. One thing they all had in common was their distaste for the nearby dump. It was clearly visible from most of the lanes – swarming with flies, with the occasional pig rooting through the garbage. Even if you couldn’t see it, you could certainly smell it. The people I interviewed said the stench was particularly unbearable when it was hot, forcing many to close their windows and doors to avoid the smell.

Worse, respiratory diseases and skin rashes were quite common thanks to the proximity of the dump.
Over half of the people I met that day said they wanted to move somewhere else. Yet, there were also many who said adamantly that they wanted to stay. “This is our home. We’ve been living here for years,” they said.

All they wanted was for the garbage issue and all the associated problems it created to be resolved.
The Meethotamulla dump is located just 15 minutes away from Madampitiya. A former colleague who visited Meethotamulla in 2010 found stories very similar to those I had experienced, just 5 kilometres away. Children resigned to the smell. Families whose gardens were filled with black water. Drains filled with stagnant water. Disease.

At the time, around 800 tonnes of garbage was being dumped every day in Meethotamulla in Kolonnawa. While that is a large number on paper, it is another thing entirely to see it, as
I did. The mountain of compacted garbage was piled so high that standing atop it commanded a view of the surrounding area. Tractors rolled up its banks to deposit more garbage as I watched. In the distance were two buildings – a CMC official who was showing me around explained that this was a treatment centre and composting facility, built to try and alleviate the garbage problem. The buildings looked very small and far away from the top of the dump, where we were standing, and as the official pointed out, clearly more needed to be done to alleviate this problem.

The CMC Commissioner in 2010, Badrani Jayawardena said that the CMC took care to spread a layer of soil over the garbage before compacting it down, so that it was sealed. She added that the reason flooding occurred at Meethotamulla was not due to the garbage, but because it was a marshy area.
She also said that the dump would only close once its lifetime had been used up, and that dumping would only continue until 2013.

It’s 2017, and the mountain of garbage at Meethotamulla just collapsed, with the death toll now standing at 16 people.

As recently as March this year, residents were agitating against the dump. Officials meanwhile, have continually said they are working towards a long-term solution, with the help of foreign experts.
The issue of garbage disposal, and how to solve it, is complex and has long been debated. In 2015, there was a plan to transfer the compacted garbage at Meethotamulla to Puttalam, which came to a temporary standstill after environmentalists raised protests, as the new site at Arawakkalu fell within the Wilpattu buffer zone. The project was restarted at a different site, but with plans to allow the Meethotamulla dump to decompose. Other plans have included simply shifting the garbage to other areas such as Ja-Ela.

As Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Harsha de Silva pointed out, agreements were only signed to attempt to deal with this issue ‘a few weeks’ ago, despite this having been brought to the state’s attention numerous times in the past few years.

It is notable too that Minister of Disaster Management Anura Priyadarshana Yapa has not commented beyond an initial update on his official Facebook page, on the situation in Meethotamulla. In fact, de Silva gave a much more in-depth update on the problem on his Facebook page – despite disaster response not falling under his purview.

The Colombo Municipal Council meanwhile has promised to hold more discussions, including with the Minister of Disaster Management.Several politicians have made promises to resolve the issues faced by the residents of Meethotamulla – Duminda Silva, who promised to resolve the issues there ‘within a month,’ and Hirunika Premachandra, who after polling the highest number of preferential votes at the Western Provincial Council elections said she would ‘set the Kolonnawa electorate on the
right path’ and promised to work for their benefit, including solving the garbage disposal issue. President Sirisena himself promised to provide garbage disposal solutions via a proper
national strategy in 2015.

At the time, he promised this would materialise ‘within 3 years.’

These plans and discussions have led to little in the way of action at reducing the size of the dump in Meethotamulla, with the loss of lives as a result. While it is admirable that so many have come forward to volunteer, to post updates on what is needed, or simply to donate, the fact remains that this senseless tragedy could, and should, have been prevented.

சமரன்: 2017 - மே நாளில் சூளுரைப்போம்!

சமரன்: 2017 - மே நாளில் சூளுரைப்போம்!: 2017 - மே நாளில் சூளுரைப்போம்!     அமெரிக்க டிரம்ப் கும்பலின் இனவெறிப் பாசிசத்தையும் மூன்றாம் உலகப் போர்த் தயாரிப்புகளையும் முற...

PFLP prisoners in collective hunger strike

Comrade Kamil Abu Hanish leading first group of PFLP prisoners in collective hunger strike
Apr17 2017

The Handala Center for Prisoners and Released Prisoners published the first list of prisoners of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine who are joining the battle of empty stomachs and confronting the jailers in the open hunger strike along with the brothers and comrades in the prisoners’ movement. The strike aims to improve their conditions in the occupation prisons, recover the stolen rights of the prisoners and put an end to the ongoing violations of the Zionist prison administration as part of its systematic efforts to break the will of the prisoners.

The leader of the striking prisoners of the PFLP is Comrade Kamil Abu Hanish, a senior leader of the Front and the leader of its prison branch. Abu Hanish is heavily involved in the Palestinian prisoners’ movement and is consistently targeted by the prison administration for a range of punitive measures, including isolation, frequent transfers. A few days ago, Comrade Abu Hanish entered his 15th year in occupation prisons. He is known as a writer on political, social and economic affairs and has written several books, including poetry collections and short stories, all written behind bars in occupation prisons.

The preliminary list of PFLP prisoners on hunger strike follows. The list will be updated upon the arrival of the names of other heroic strugglers in the strike:

 

1. Kamil Abu Hanish, Gilboa Prison
 2. Jalal al-Faqih, Gilboa Prison
 3. Marouf Hanani, Gilboa Prison
 4. Hamdi Khashana, Gilboa Prison
 5. Amjad Ghazi Awad, Gilboa Prison
 7. Saad al-Faqih, Gilboa Prison
 8. Moayad Issa, Gilboa Prison
 9. Maysara Quzmar, Gilboa Prison
 10. Haytham Qadous, Gilboa Prison
 11. Said al-Boutah, Gilboa Prison
 12. Obaida Bishtawi, Gilboa Prison
 13. Nader Sadaqa, Gilboa Prison
 14. Ziad Hanani, Gilboa Prison
 15. Fadi Abu al-Huda, Gilboa Prison
 16. Hussam al-Aisha, Gilboa Prison
 17. Murad Issa, Gilboa Prison
 18. Mahmoud Muhaisen, Gilboa Prison
 19. Louay Abu al-Hams, Gilboa Prison
 20. Mahmoud Ayad, Gilboa Prison
 21. Mahmoud Dirbas, Gilboa Prison
 22. Atta Awadallah, Gilboa Prison
 23. Ali Darwish, Gilboa Prison
 24. Mahmoud Issa Abu Hajar, Gilboa Prison
 25. Muhannad Atiq, Gilboa Prison
 26. Muayad Badr, Gilboa Prison
 27. Muath Obeid, Gilboa Prison
 28. Daoud Abu Aoun, Gilboa Prison
 29. Shadi al-Sharafa, Gilboa Prison
 30. Amjad Darwish, Gilboa Prison
 31. Sayed Salameh, Gilboa Prison
 32. Samer Abu Eisheh, Gilboa Prison
 33. Amer al-Bibi, Gilboa Prison
 34. Louay Dandous, Gilboa Prison
 35. Bakr Oweis, Gilboa Prison
 36. Tariq Darwish, Gilboa Plison
 37. Yousef Alayan, Gilboa Prison
 38. Mohammed Alayan, Gilboa Prison
 39. Hamdi Qur’an, Nafha Prison
 40. Basil al-Asmar, Nafha Prison
 41. Jamil Yousef, Nafha Prison
 42. Ibrahim Hani Abu Saed, Nafha Prison
 43. Yasir al-Sabatin, Nafha Prison
 44. Karam Morrar, Nafha Prison
 45. Ali Hussein, Nafha Prison
 46. Laith Rayyan, Nafha Prison
 47. Obeida Dandas Saleh Zahran, Nafha Prison
 48. Mohammed Abu Ghali, Nafha Prison
 49. Munther Khalaf, Hadarim prison
 50. Majdi Qawariq, Hadarim prison
 51. Amjad Mohammad Awad, Hadarim Prison
 52. Raed al-Shafei, Hadarim prison

PFLP Prison Branch urges support for Palestinian prisoners

PFLP Prison Branch urges action and unity to support Palestinian prisoners engaged in the battle for dignity
Apr 16 2017

Palestinian Prisoners’ Day is a day of challenge and confrontation, emphasizing the issue of prisoners
On the occasion of Palestinian Prisoners’ Day, we salute every prisoner, the heroes and heroines of the battles of will and steadfastness, to every flower and cub, to the sick prisoners, administrative detainees and imprisoned leaders, led by the imprisoned General Secretary, Comrade Ahmad Sa’adat, Marwan Barghouthi, Hassan Salameh, Wajdi Jawdat, Anas Jaradat, Bassam Kandaji and the long line of leaders who represent the national struggle and the prisoners’ cause.

On this occasion, we make a particular salute to the martyrs of the prisoners movement and to all of those engaged in confrontation and the struggle for victory. We are firmly committed to see each battle of confrontation with the Prison Service and its instruments of repression and intelligence agencies as a collective battle. Every action initiated by any faction is all of our battle.

We also congratulate the longest-serving woman prisoner, Lena Jarbouni, on this occasion of her freedom after 15 years in Israeli jails.

In this context, we affirm that we stand hand in hand and shoulder to shoulder in any struggle waged by the prisoners, and we consider the decision to engage in the battle of dignity and honor against the jailer, beginning on Monday, April 17, Palestinian Prisoners’ Day 2017, to be one which we support and which we are part of. This comes in two ways, both through the decisions and guidelines for the comrades to engage in the battle, and through approving a program of support for the strike in all prisons and among our comrades outside.

In this context of high appreciation and support for this battle and all the heroic prisoners who will engage in it, we affirm our continued struggle for the unity of the prisoners’ movement and the escalation of confrontation against the prison administration.

Thus, we call on all the Palestinian people and their supporters and friends around the world to stand side by side with the prisoners in their continuing battles inside the prisons, escalating the mass movement to support the battle of wills, challenge and confrontation, and to once again reaffirm the centrality of the cause of the prisoners.

We also call upon all human rights, humanitarian and media institutions to support our prisoners in order to develop a unified national program at all levels for more effective results.

We call upon the leaders of the Palestinian people to make unremitting efforts to uphold their responsibility for the prisoners and the martyrs and do everything possible to defend them and support their steadfastness until victory in the ongoing battles against the prison service, through all forms of action for their liberation.

On this occasion, we urge all to close ranks in the field of national unity and urge our Front, all of the national and Islamic forces and factions and the masses of our people to devote
their efforts and time in service of the cause of the prisoners.

We hope that the culmination of all of these battles waged by the prisoners inside the prisons, with the popular support inside and outside Palestine, will be to unify the prisoners’ movement, in light of the traditions and norms established by the prisoners’ movement for over 50 years, of prisons as revolutionary schools which unite all forces behind revolutionary national ideals.

We urge all actions and intensified work in the Palestinian, Arab and international arenas, everyhere in the world in support of the prisoners’ cause.

Salutes of Palestinian Prisoners’ Day – Glory to the martyrs – Freedom for the prisoners of freedom

Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine
Prison Branch
April 16, 2017

கழக மறியல் போராட்டம் 10 பெண் தோழர் உட்பட 65 போராளிகள் கைது

சமரன்: கழக மறியல் போராட்டம் 10 பெண் தோழர் உட்பட 65 போராளி...

 

The “Terrorism of Money” and the Global War On Cash: Target India Part one

The “Terrorism of Money” and the Global War On Cash: Target India

Part I
By Shelley Kasli

Global Research, April 14, 2017

''The big bankers of the world, who practice the terrorism of money, are more powerful than kings and field marshals, even more than the Pope of Rome himself. They never dirty their hands. They kill no-one: they limit themselves to applauding the show. Their officials, international technocrats, rule our countries: they are neither presidents nor ministers, they have not been elected, but they decide the level of salaries and public expenditure, investments and divestments, prices, taxes, interest rates, subsidies, when the sun rises and how frequently it rains. However, they don’t concern themselves with the prisons or torture chambers or concentration camps or extermination centers, although these house the inevitable consequences of their acts. The technocrats claim the privilege of irresponsibility: ‘We’re neutral’ they say''.

Galeano (1991) Professional Life/3 p. 108; As cited in: Paul Farmer (2005) Pathologies of Power: Health, Human Rights, and the New War on the Poor.. p. 10

The above quote by Eduardo Hughes Galeano, an Uruguayan literary giant aptly captures the mood in regards to the recent decision to demonetize Rs 500 and Rs 1000 notes and introduce Rs 2000 notes. While there were many questions raised, analyses made, theories put forward and allegations leveled in the ensuing confusion, almost all stuck to the domain of financial economics. None were able to examine the geopolitical forces that shaped the situation under which the decision was made. Geopolitics is a field alien to financial economics. Thus when economists need to step outside the frame of finance theory to consider larger implications they are confronted with the messier world of geopolitics; the world that operates on a totally different set of rules than financial economics. In this report we explore these geopolitical forces and provide an insight into the chain of events that led us to this juncture.

Covered in this report:
◾Reaganomics
◾Global Liquidity Crisis
◾Global Crackdown on Black Money
◾India’s Informal Economy
◾Season of Bailouts
◾Crisis Comes Home
◾Crash Course in Demonetization
◾The Global War On Cash
◾The Great Indian Bailout
◾PARA – A Centralized Bad Bank
◾Once Upon A Time

Reaganomics

The seeds for the current economic situation in India were sown in the 80s by the 40th President of the United States of America Ronald Reagan. He implemented economic reforms on the belief that tax policies that benefit the wealthy will create a “trickle-down” effect to the poor, labeled by his critics as “trickle-down economics” or voodoo economics also known as Reaganomics. The fundamentals of Reaganomics were to cut back spending on the social sectors of the economy, prevent the working people from demanding higher wages even through trade union activity, scale back safety and health standards for workers, relax rules for environmental protection. These were strategies born of the Cold War and Reagan’s 1983 “Evil Empire” speech set the tone for a more aggressive US posture against the Soviet Union. The result was a series of top-secret national security decision directives (NSDDs).

NSDD-66 stated that it would be U.S. policy to disrupt the Soviet economy by attacking a “strategic triad” of critical resources–financial credits, high technology, and natural gas. The directive was tantamount to a “secret declaration of economic war on the Soviet Union.”

These policies when adopted by the Russians as what is known as Glasnost and Perestroika (liberalization and privatization) rang the death knell for the Soviet Union. Those policies have since been exported to the rest of the world and have been espoused by the political and economic elites of many countries. It destroyed every country where they were implemented. The scandals involving Harshad Mehta in India, the pyramid schemes in Albania, the BCCI collapse, the collapse of security houses in Japan, Britain and so on are products of these policies. However, like a double edged sword Reaganomics also destroyed the American middle class and the American Dream itself.

Global Liquidity Crisis

Reaganomics gave rise to a new type of banking now known as the Originate and Distribute (ORD) model. Historically, banks used deposits to fund loans that they then kept on their balance sheets until maturity. Under this new principle, the bank was no longer an institution focused on taking deposits and giving out loans. Instead it became a competitive financier seeking to maximize fee and commission income from its assets. Supposed old-style prudent banking was ridiculed as boring and conservative, while the risk takers were considered sophisticated, innovative and shrewd. With the use of such quasi-legal investment techniques and outright swindling, a trend of a Ponzi scheme prevailed. This paved the way for subprime lending (making loans below 0% interest rates to people who may have difficulty repaying it back) and securitization of debt (selling housing mortgages as bank-backed tradable stocks) first in Wall Street then everywhere in the world. This process is called derivative markets.

Only in 2008 when the German banks wanted to offload some of their US real-estate investment it was a revelation for the US regulator about the extent of fraud committed by the US banks, insurance companies and Wall Street brokerage firms; leading to what we know now as US Meltdown of 2008 and Eurozone Crisis of 2012 and if not prudent will be called the Indian Crisis of 2020.

As against world’s total GDP of $50 trillion a whopping $150 trillion derivative market came to life. As a result a global liquidity crisis set in. Liquidity crisis refers to an acute shortage or “drying up” of liquidity or in simple terms lack of cash flow. The crisis cost the US economy at least $12.8 trillion which is a very conservative estimate, other reports put it at $14 trillion – almost an entire year’s worth of US economic activity. Everything from the economy to housing, from health care to warfare, from energy to security; everything came in a state of “crisis”.

NASA’s $230 billion Constellation program designed to get humans to Mars saw a massive budget cut and suddenly Mars seemed too far and too expensive in comparison to our nearby friendly Moon. Unfortunately the entire project had to be scraped, to an extent that US has to hitch a ride on a Russian rocket to even get to the International Space Station. Even to spy on Russians the US needs Russian rocket engines. And with the launch of the Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM), informally known as Mangalayaan at a cost 11% of NASA’s own Mars mission India has also entered this $5.4 billion satellite-launching industry with a bang.

The Chinese on the other hand are increasingly buying in on stakes of European and U.S. businesses, including industrial enterprises that are available at a low price due to the global recession; acquiring natural-resource deals across the world, securing supplies of oil and minerals. The biggest American companies are now owned by the Chinese. One such is Legendary Pictures, the studio that gave us the Batman Series and Interstellar that soon would be releasing its new production The Great Wall. The Chinese are also changing the European football scene with its acquisition of A.C. Milan one of the wealthiest and most valuable football club in the world. There are now more than 100 state-run Confucius Institutes promoting Chinese culture across Europe. Such soft power come in handy for instance teaching Chinese to French workers at the Chinese telecoms company ZTE in Poitiers. These are just pieces of the giant Chinese jigsaw called the New Silk Route or the One Belt, One Road Initiative. Experts have termed it the Chinese Century.

Western-European economies are still reeling under the pressure of this financial crisis and the Chinese together with the Russians are pushing them further into recession. As recently as in January this year the global elite met at the World Economic Forum in Davos expressing their fears about the global liquidity crunch and the implications it may have on their economies. What they fear is that the meltdown may spell the end of the supremacy of the banking houses of London and New York as financial centers.

It is here that India comes into picture.

Shelley Kasli is the Founder & Editor of GreatGameIndia – India’s only quarterly journal on Geopolitics & International Affairs. He can be reached at shelley.kasli@greatgameindia.com

Russia vetoes UN draft resolution on Syria gas attack probe

ENB Poster

Russia vetoes UN draft resolution on Syria gas attack probe

Russia has vetoed a UN resolution condemning the reported use of chemical weapons in Syria and urging a speedy investigation.

The resolution, which aimed to bolster support for international inquiries into a deadly toxic gas attack in Khan Sheikhoun last week, was being pushed by the US, Britain and France.
While 10 nations voted in favour, Russia and Bolivia vetoed the resolution, while China, Kazakhstan and Ethiopia abstained.

Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said he was “dismayed” at Russia's decision to veto the resolution, saying it put the country on the "wrong side of the argument".

It comes after US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson warned that trust between Moscow and Washington had plunged to a “low level” amid rising tensions over the war in Syria.

Russian President Vladimir Putin meanwhile said trust had eroded between the two countries since Donald Trump became president, after the new US leader fired missiles at Syria to punish Moscow's ally for its suspected use of poison gas.

Mr Tillerson met Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov for talks on Wednesday, during which Mr Lavrov reportedly said Russia was willing to reinstate an air safety agreement put on hold last week aimed at preventing accidents between US and Russian jets in the skies above Syria.

Russia’s top diplomat said after the talks that the pair had agreed to continue discussions aimed at securing a peaceful solution to the Syrian civil war, but warned of attempts by groups to sabotage relations with the US.

சமரன்: கழகம்: லாரி உரிமையாளர்கள் போராட்டம் வெல்க!

சமரன்: கழகம்: லாரி உரிமையாளர்கள் போராட்டம் வெல்க!: லாரி உரிமையாளர்கள் போராட்டம் வெல்க!   • மத்திய மாநில அரசுகளே!   பெட்ரோல், டீசல், விலை உயர்வுக்குக் காரணமான வாட், ஜி.எஸ்.டி வரி வித...

``அரபாத் இல்லாத பாலஸ்தீனம், பிரபா - மாத்தையா இல்லாத ஈழம்``!

Trinco oil tanks to be leased out to India

After deliberations involving President Maithripala Sirisena and Indian High Commissioner Taranjith Singh Sandhu, the government has decided to lease out the Trincomalee Oil Tank Farm for development jointly with India, a Minister said yesterday.

In the lower farm, there are 14 tanks currently being used by Lanka Indian Oil Company (LIOC). However, there are 84 tanks in the Upper Tank Farm that are not being used at the moment.

Petroleum and Petroleum Gas Minister Chandima Weerakkody told the Daily Mirror that ten of these tanks would be retained by the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC), and the rest would be developed jointly with LIOC under a joint venture.

He said the government decided on this after a series of meetings involving President Sirisena, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe , the Indian High Commissioner and him.

The initial move was to hand over all the tanks to the Indian authorities. However, the Minister said President insisted that at least ten tanks should be vested with the Sri Lankan side.

(Kelum Bandara)

See more at: http://www.dailymirror.lk/article/Trinco-oil-tanks-to-be-leased-out-to-India-126944.html#sthash.bPBbja11.dpuf

US came close to clash with Russia -Medvedev

Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev

----------------
US strikes on Syria came close to clash with Russia -Medvedev

U.S. cruise missile strikes on a Syrian air base were one step away from clashing with the Russian military, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev charged on Friday, underscoring the risks in U.S. President Donald Trump's first major foray into the Syrian civil war.

U.S. officials informed Russian forces ahead of the strikes, which were intended to punish the Syrian government for what they said was a chemical weapons attack, and avoided hitting Russian personnel.

In the biggest foreign policy decision of his presidency, Trump ordered a step his predecessor Barack Obama never took: targeting the Syrian military. Washington says Syrian government forces carried out a poison gas attack in northern Syria this week that killed at least 70 people.

The U.S. action catapulted Washington into confrontation with Russia, which has military advisers on the ground aiding its ally, President Bashar al-Assad.

Satellite imagery suggests the Shayrat air base that was struck by dozens of U.S. missiles is home to Russian special forces and military helicopters, part of the Kremlin's effort to help the Syrian government fight Islamic State and other militant groups.

Medvedev, on social media, said the strikes were illegal and had been "one step away from military clashes with Russia."

Trump has frequently called for improved relations with Russia which were strained under Obama, but the U.S. president said action had to be taken against Assad.

"Years of previous attempts at changing Assad’s behavior have all failed and failed very dramatically," Trump said as he announced the attack from his Florida resort, Mar-a-Lago, where he was meeting Chinese President Xi Jinping.

"Even beautiful babies were cruelly murdered in this very barbaric attack," he said, adding: "No child of God should ever suffer such horror."

Assad's office said Damascus would respond by striking its enemies harder.

The United Nations Security Council was to meet on Friday to discuss the U.S. cruise missile strikes, diplomats said. The meeting of the 15-member council will be public.

U.S. officials said the strike was a "one-off" intended to deter future chemical weapons attacks, and not an expansion of the U.S. role in the Syria war.

Tomahawk missiles fired from the USS Porter and USS Ross struck the airstrip, aircraft and fuel stations on the air base, which the Pentagon says was used to store chemical weapons.

President Donald Trump speaks at Mar-a-Lago after the U.S. fired a barrage of cruise missiles into Syria Thursday night.© AP Photo/Alex Brandon President Donald Trump speaks at Mar-a-Lago after the U.S. fired a barrage of cruise missiles into Syria Thursday night.  The swift action is likely to be interpreted as a signal to Russia, as well as to countries such as North Korea, China and Iran where Trump has faced foreign policy tests early in his presidency, that he is willing to use force.

The strikes could cheer Assad's enemies, after months when Western powers appeared to grow increasingly resigned to his staying in power. But opposition figures said an isolated assault was far from the decisive intervention they have long sought.

The Syrian government and Moscow have denied that Syrian forces were behind the gas attack, but Western countries have dismissed their explanation that chemicals leaked from a rebel weapons depot after an air strike as not credible.

The Syrian army said the U.S. attack killed six people and called it "blatant aggression" which made the United States a partner of "terrorist groups" including Islamic State. There was no independent confirmation of civilian casualties.

RAISING STAKES IN THE SKIES

"President Putin views the U.S. strikes on Syria as aggression against a sovereign state in violation of the norms of international law and on a made-up up pretext," said a Kremlin statement. "This step by Washington will inflict major damage on U.S.-Russia ties."

Moscow suspended communication with U.S. forces designed to stop planes colliding over Syria.
A Russian frigate carrying cruise missiles sailed through the Bosphorus Strait into the Mediterranean Sea, although there was no indication it was directly in response to U.S. action.

Several Western allies of the United States described the U.S. strikes as a proportionate response to Assad's suspected use of poison gas.

Iran, Assad's other main ally, denounced it.

Washington has long backed rebels fighting against Assad in a multi-sided civil war that has killed more than 400,000 people and driven half of Syrians from their homes since 2011.

The United States has been conducting air strikes against Islamic State militants who control territory in eastern and northern Syria, and a small number of U.S. troops are on the ground assisting anti-Islamic State militias.

Russia joined the war on Assad's behalf in 2015, action that decisively turned the momentum of the conflict in the Syrian government's favor. Although they support opposing sides in the war between Assad and rebels, Washington and Moscow both say they share a single main enemy, Islamic State.
Tuesday's attack was the first time since 2013 that Syria was accused of using sarin, a banned nerve agent it was meant to have given up under a Russian-brokered, U.N.-enforced deal that persuaded Obama to call off air strikes four years ago.

Video depicted limp bodies and children choking while rescuers tried to wash off the poison gas. Russian state television blamed rebels and did not show footage of victims.

(Additional reporting by Phil Stewart, Idrees Ali, Yara Bayoumy, Jonathan Landay, John Walcott, Lesley Wroughton, Patricia Zengerle, Roberta Rampton, David Brunnstrom and Matt Spetalnick in Washington, Megan Davies in New York and Jack Stubbs in Moscow; Writing by Peter Graff and Alistair Bell; Editing by Peter Millership and Giles Elgood)

Source:Routers
 

ENB Free KT Now Posters

Genocidal Colombo sentences 60-year-old Tamil activist to 20 years in prison

சமரன்: தமிழக விவசாயிகளின் டெல்கிப் போராட்டம் வெல்க!

சமரன்: தமிழக விவசாயிகளின் டெல்கிப் போராட்டம் வெல்க!: தமிழக விவசாயிகளின் டெல்கிப் போராட்டம் வெல்க! புதுடெல்லியில் ஜந்தர் மந்தர் பகுதியில் கடந்த 26-03-2017 முதல் 21 நாட்களாக (04 -04-2017), விவ...

சிங்களக் குடியேற்றத்தால் தனித்துவத்தை இழக்கும் ஈழத் தமிழர்கள்

குடியேற்றத்தால் தனித்துவத்தை இழக்கப்போகும் தமிழர்கள்

முல்லைத்­தீவு மாவட்­டத்­தி­லுள்ள நாயா­றுப் பகு­தி­யில் பெரி­ய­ள­வி­லான சிங்­க­ளக் குடி­யேற்­றத்தை ஏற்­ப­டுத்­து­வ­தற்­கான நட­வ­டிக்­கை­கள் முழு­வீச்­சில் இடம்­பெற்று வரு­வ­தாக முல்­லைத்­தீவு மாவட்­டத்­தைப் பிர­தி­நி­தித்­து­வம் செய்­கின்ற வடக்கு மாகாண சபை உறுப்­பி­னர் ஒரு­வர் தெரி­வித்­துள்­ளார்.

நாட்­டின் எந்­தப் பாகத்­தி­லும் வசிப்­ப­தற்கு இலங்­கைக் குடி­ம­கன் ஒரு­வ­னுக்கு உரிமை உண்டு. இதை எவ­ரும் தடுத்து நிறுத்­தி­விட முடி­யாது. ஆனால்  ஓர் இனத்­த­வர் வாழு­கின்ற பகு­தி­யில் அவர்­க­ளுக்­குச் சொந்­த­மான காணி­களை அடாத்­தா­கப் பிடித்­து­வைத்து வேறொரு இனத்­த­வ­ரைக் குடி­யேற்­று­வதை ஏற்­றுக்­கொள்ள முடி­யாது. காணி அதி­கா­ரங்­கள்  கொழும்பு அர­சி­டமே உள்­ளது என்­ப­தற்­காக எதை­யும் செய்­து­விட முடி­யாது.

அண்டை நாடான இந்­தி­யா­வில் மாகாண அர­சு­க­ளுக்­குப் பொலிஸ், காணி அதி­கா­ரங்­கள் வழங்­கப்­பட்­டுள்­ளன. காணி அதி­கா­ரத்­தின் மூல­மாக சட்­ட­வி­ரோ­தக் குடி­யேற்­றங்­க ளைத் தடுப்­ப­தற்கு அங்­குள்ள மாகாண அர­சு­க­ளால் முடி­கின்­றது. ஆனால் இலங்­கை­யில் அது முடி­வ­தில்லை. இத­னால் சட்ட விரோ­த­மாக இடம்­பெ­று­கின்ற குடி­யேற்­றத் திட்­டங்களை  மாகாண அர­சு­க­ளால் தடுக்க முடி­வ­தில்லை.

முல்­லைத்­தீவு நாயாறுப் பகு­தி­யில் இடம்­பெ­று­கின்ற குடி­யேற்­றத்திட்ட நட­வ­டிக்­கை­களை ஆரம்­பத்­தி­லேயே தடுக்­காது விட்­டால் காலப்­போக்­கில் இது­வொரு பெரும் பிரச்­சி­னை­யாக மாறி­வி­டும்.

முல்­லைத்­தீவு மாவட்­டத்­தில் ஏற்­க­னவே வெலி­ஓயா என்ற சிங்­க­ளப் பெய­ரி­லான மிகப் பெரிய குடி­யேற்­றத்­திட்­ட­மொன்று உரு­வாக்­கப்­பட்­டுள்­ளது. தமி­ழர்­க­ளின் பாரம்­ப­ரிய  பிர­தே­சங்­க­ளான வடக்­கை­யும், கிழக்­கை­யும்  துண்­டித்து விடு ­கின்­ற­தொரு நட­வ­டிக்­கை­யா­கவே முல்­லைத்­தீ­வி­லி­ருந்து திரு­கோ­ண­ ம­லைக்­குச் செல்­லும் முக்­கிய பகு­தி­யைத் துண்­டாடி இந்­தக் குடி­ யேற்­றத்­திட்­டம் அமைக்­கப்­பட்­டுள்­ளது. இத­னால் வடக்­கி­லி­ருந்து கிழக்கு மாகா­ணத்­துக்­குப் பாது­காப்­பான பிர­யா­ணத்தை மேற்­கொள்ள முடி­யாத நிலை­யில் தமிழ் மக்­கள் இன்­னல்­களை எதிர்­கொண்டு வரு­கின்­ற­னர்.

தமி­ழர்­கள் பூர்­வீ­க­மாக வாழ்ந்த பல இடங்­கள் இன்று கைந­ழு­விப் போன நிலை­யில் காணப்­ப­டு­கின்­றன. தென்­ன­ம­ர­வாடி, பத­வியா, கொக்­கி­ளாய், மண­லாறு ஆகிய இவற்­றுள் சில­வா­கும்.

இன்று நாயா­ றும் பறி­போ­கும் நிலை­யில் காணப்­ப­டு­கின்­றது. இவ்­வாறு தமி­ழர்­க­ளின் பூர்­வீ­க­மான நிலங்­கள் கண்­ணெ­திரே பறி­போ­வதை வேடிக்கை பார்த்­துக் கொண்­டி­ருக்­கவே எம்­மால்
முடி­கின்­றது. தமிழ் அர­சி­யல்­வா­தி­கள் கூட எது­வுமே செய்ய முடி ­யாத நிலை­யில் கைக­ளைக் கட்­டிக் கொண்டு நிற்­கின்­ற­னர்.

நாடு சுதந்­தி­ரம் அடைந்­த­வு­டன் நாட்­டின் முத­லா­வது தலைமை அமைச்சரான டி.எஸ்.சேன­நா­யக்க கிழக்கு மாகா­ணத்­தில் மிகப் பெரி­ய­தொரு சிங்­க­ளக் குடி­யேற்­றத் திட்­டத்தை ஏற்­ப­டுத்­தி­னார். கிழக்கு மாகா­ணத்­தி­லுள்ள வள­மான பிர­தே­சங்­க­ளில்  காலூன்­று­வ­தும் தமி­ழர்­களை அங்கு சிறு­பான்­மையின­ராக மாற்­று­வ­துமே இந்­தக் குடி­யேற்­றத் திட்­டத்­தின் நோக்­க­மா­கும்.  இது எதிர்­பார்த்­த­ப­டியே நிறை­வேறி வரு­வ­தைக் காண­மு­டி­கின் றது.

வடக்­கைப் பொறுத்­த­வ­ரை­யில் முல்­லைத்­தீவு, வவு­னியா மாவட்­டங்­க­ளின் எல்­லைக் கிரா­மங்­கள் சிங்­க­ளக் குடி­யேற்­றங்­க­ளால் பெரி­தும் பாதிக்­கப்­பட்­டுள்­ளன. அங்­கி­ருந்து பரம்­ப­ரை­யாக வாழ்ந்த தமிழ் மக்­கள் விரட்­டி­ய­டிக்­கப்­பட்­டுள்­ளனர்.

முல்­லைத்­தீவு மாவட்­டம் காட்டு வளத்­தை­யும், கடல் வளத்­தை­யும் , செழிப்­பான மண் வளத்­தை­யும் தன்­ன­கத்தே கொண்­டுள்­ளது. அத்­து­டன் கற்­பா­றை­க­ளும்  நிறை­யவே காணப்­ப­டு­கின்­றது.

அது­மட்­டு­மல்­லாது ஆற்று மண­லும் நிறை­யவே கிடைக்­கின்­றன. விடு­த­லைப்­பு­லி ­கள் இருந்த வரை­யில் இயற்கை வளங்­கள் யாவும் பேணிப் பாது­காக்­கப்­பட்­டன. ஆனால் போர் ஓய்ந்­த­தன் பின்­னர் நிலமை தலை­கீ­ழாக மாறி­விட்­டது. வெளி­யி­டங்­க­ளைச் சேர்ந்­த­வர்­க­ளால் காட்டு வளங்­கள் வகை தொகை­யின்றி அழிக்­கப்­பட்டு எடுத்­துச் செல்­லப்­ப­டு­கின்­றன. கற்­பா­றை­கள் வெடி­வைத்­துத் தகர்க்­கப்­பட்டு கருங்­கல் சல்­லி­க­ளாக விற்­கப்­ப­டு­கின்­றன.

இங்கு முகா­மிட்­டி­ருக்­கும் வெளி மாவட்­டங்­க­ளைச் சேர்ந்­த­வர்­கள் பெரு­ம­ள­வில் மணலை அகழ்ந்து வெளி­யி­டங்­க­ளுக்கு எடுத்­துச் செல்­கின்­ற­னர். ஆனால் உள்­ளூ­ரில் வீட்­டுத் திட்­டங்­க­ளுக்­குள் உள்­வாங்­கப்­பட்ட மக்­கள் தமது தேவைக்­கு­ரிய மண­லைப் பெறு­வ­தில் பெரும் சிர­மங்­களை  எதிர்­கொள்­கின்­ற­னர்.

வெளி­யூர் (சிங்கள*)மீன­வர்­கள் இங்கு நிரந்­த­ர­மா­கவே தங்கி நின்று  மீன்­பிடித்­தொ­ழி­லில் ஈடு­பட்டு வரு­வ­தால் உள்­ளூர்  மீன­வர்­கள் பெரி­தும் பாதிக்­கப்­ப­டு­கின்­ற­னர்.

இவ்­வாறு முல்­லைத்­தீவு மாவட்­டத்­தில் வாழ்­கின்ற தமிழ் மக்­கள் எல்லா வகை­யி­லும் பாதிப்­புக்­களை எதிர்­கொண்டு வரு­கின்­ற­னர்.

இதே­வேளை திட்­ட­மி­டப்­பட்ட சிங்­க­ளக் குடி­யேற்­றங்­கள் இன ­வி­கி­தா­சா­ரத்­தில் பெரும் பாதிப்­புக்­களை ஏற்­ப­டுத்­தி­வி­டப்­போ­கின்­றது. நாடா­ளு­மன்­றம், மாகா­ண­சபை, பிர­தேச சபை ஆகி­ய­வற்­றுக்­குப் பிர­தி­ நி­தி­க­ளைத் தெரிவு செய்­யும் போது தமி­ழர் தரப்­பின் விகி­தா­சா­ரம் குறை­வ­டைய நேரிட்­டு­வி­டும். இதை­விட வேலை­வாய்ப்பு, பல்­க­லைக்­க­ழக அனு­மதி ஆகி­ய­வற்­றி­லும் பாதிப்பு ஏற்­பட்­டு­வி­டும்.

இலங்­கை­யில் மொத்­த­மாக ஒன்­பது மாகா­ணங்­கள் உள்­ளன. இதில்  வடக்கு  மற்­றும் கிழக்கு மாகா­ணங்­க­ளி­லேயே தமி­ழர்­கள் செறிந்து வாழ்­கின்­ற­னர். ஏனைய ஏழு மாவட்டங்­க­ளி­லும் பெரும்­பான்­மை­யின மக்­கள் வாழ்ந்து வரு­கின்­ற­னர். இந்த நிலை­யில் வடக்­குக் கிழக்­கில் குடி­யேற்­றங்­களை ஏற்­ப­டுத்­து­வ­தன் நோக்­கம் எந்த வகை­யி­லும்   ஏற்­றுக் கொள்­ளத்­தக்­க­தல்ல.

இஸ்­ரே­லும் பாலஸ்­தீ­னத்­தில் இவ்­வாறு தான் நடந்து கொள்­கின்­றது. இத­னால் பாலஸ்­தீன மக்­க­ளின் எதிர்­கா­லம் இருள் சூழ்ந்து காணப்­ப­டு­கின்­றது. இவ்­வா­றா­ன­தொரு நிலை இங்­கும் ஏற்­ப­டப் போகின்­றது என்­ப­து­தான் யதார்த்­தம்.

நன்றி: சேரலாதன் உதயன்      * சேர்க்கை ENB

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பிற்குறிப்பு:

ஈழத்தில் சிங்களக் குடியேற்றம் தொடர்பான சில தகவல்களையும் அதன் விளைவுகளையும் சரியாகவே சுட்டிக்காட்டிய இச் செய்திக் குறிப்பாளர், தீர்வு என்று வருகின்ற போது அதிகாரப் பகிர்வு சகதிக்குள் வீழ்ந்து விடுகின்றார்.

குடியேற்றப் பிரச்சனை விவசாயப் பிரச்சனை, தேசிய இனப் பிரச்சனை,இதனை அதிகாரப் பரவல் மூலம் தீர்க்க முடியாது,சுய நிர்ணய உரிமை,பிரிவினை,பொது வாக்கெடுப்பு வழியில் தான் தீர்க்க முடியும்.சுபா
 

போர்க்குற்றச் சிங்களமே ஈழப்போராளி தேவதாசனை விடுதலை செய்!

தேவதாசன் குறித்து ஒரு பதிவு:

2000 ஆம் ஆண்டுகளின் ஆரம்பங்களிலேயே "சலனச்சித்திரம்" என்னும் சினிமா இயக்கத்தை ஆரம்பித்து சினிமா மீது காதல் கொண்டு அலைந்து கொண்டிருந்த பல தமிழ், முஸ்லிம் இளைஞர்களுக்கு சினிமாவைக் கற்பித்து அவர்களுக்கு ஒரு வழிகாட்டியாகவும் விளங்கிய தேவதாசன் அவர்கள் கோட்டை புகையிரத நிலையக் குண்டுத் தாக்குதலுக்கு உதவியதாக 2009ம் கொழும்பில் வைத்து கைது செய்யப்பட்டார். விசாரணை இன்றி ஏழு வருடங்களுக்கு மேலாக சிறையில் வைக்கப்பட்ட அவர் சிறைக்குள்ளிருந்து தனக்காகத் தானே போராடியதன் விளைவாக அவருடைய வழக்கு விசாரணைக்கு வந்தது.

தீர்ப்பு:

20 வருடகால சிறைத் தண்டனை.

நான் 9 ம் வகுப்பு படிக்கிற காலத்தில் முதன் முதலாக தேவதாசன் அவர்களை பார்க்க கிடைத்தது. "தமிழீழ மக்கள் புரட்சி பேரவை" என்னும் தீவிர இடதுசாரி இயக்கத்தை ஆரம்பித்து என் போன்ற இளைஞர்கள் (மனித உரிமைவாதிகளின் மொழியில் "சிறுவர்கள்") மத்தியில் அரசியல் வகுப்புகள் எடுத்து கொண்டிருந்தார் - கூடுதலாக வரமராட்சிப் பிரதேசத்தில்.

புலோலியில் ஒரு வீட்டில் இரகசியமாக நடந்த அவருடைய ஒரு அரசியல் வகுப்பில் நானும் பங்குபற்றினேன். அப்போ ஹாட்லி கல்லூரியில் எனக்கு சீனியராக இருந்த சில மாணவர்கள் இந்த இரகசிய அரசியல் வகுப்பை ஏற்பாடு செய்திருந்தனர்.

நிறைய மாணவ, மாணவிகள் கடிதம் எழுதி வைத்துவிட்டு இயக்கங்களுக்கு ஓடிக் கொண்டிருந்த சீசன் அது. புலிகளை தவிர ஏனைய பெரிய இயக்கங்கள் அனைத்தும் சிறுவர்களை ஆயுதப் பயிற்சிக்காக
அள்ளுகொள்ளையாக அள்ளிக் கொண்டிருந்தார்கள். எந்த அரசியல் விழிப்புணர்வும் இல்லாமல் மாணவர்கள்/சிறுவர்கள் இயக்கங்களுக்கு அவ்வாறு ஓடுவதை ஓரளவு குறைத்தது தேவதாசன் போன்றவர்களின் அரசியல் வகுப்புகள்.

அதன் பின்னர், 18 வருடங்கள் கழித்து அவரை நான் கொழும்பில் 2001ம் ஆண்டு சந்தித்தேன். அதே கம்பீரம். அதே உறுதியான பேச்சு. அதே இலட்சிய மனம். ஆனால் துறை மட்டும் மாறியிருந்தது.
ஆம்....
அப்போது அவரும் என்னை போன்றே ஒரு சினிமா செயற்பாட்டாளனாக மாறியிருந்தார்.
ஆனால் அவர் என்னை விடவும் "மொக்கு தனமாக" இருந்தார்.

ஆம், சில ஆளுமைகள் அவ்வாறுதான் படைக்கப்படுகிறார்கள். அவர்களால் "பொதுவேலை" செய்யாமல் இருக்க முடியாது. பொது வேலைக்காக எந்த உச்ச ஆபத்தையும் எதிர் கொள்ளவும் தயங்க மாட்டார்கள்
அத்தகையவர்கள்.

தேவதாசன் அவர்களின் பின்னால் பெரும் இளைஞர் பட்டாளம் ஒன்று யாப்பாணத்திலும், வவுனியாவிலும், கொழும்பிலும் இயங்கிக் கொண்டிருந்தது. அடிப்படை சினிமா அறிவு ஏதும் இல்லாமல் சினிமா செய்ய வெளிக்கிட்ட பல ஆண்களுக்கும், பெண்களுக்கும் தன்னால்
 முடிந்தளவு அடிப்படை சினிமா அறிவை வழங்கிக் கொண்டிருந்தார்.

பின்னர் தன் சொந்த பிரயத்தனத்தின் ஊடாக "இலங்கை திரைப்படக் கூட்டுத்தாபனத்தின்" பணிப்பாளர் சபையில் அங்கத்தவரானார். அவருடைய முயற்சியில் உருவானதுதான் இலங்கை திரைப்படக்
கூட்டுத்தாபனத்தின் "தமிழ் பிரிவு".
உண்மையில் இலங்கை திரைப்படக் கூட்டுத்தாபனம் என ஒன்று உள்ளது, என எம்மவர் பலருக்கு அறிமுகம் செய்தவரே அவர்தான்.

என்னுடைய சினிமா செயற்பாட்டுக்கும் தேவதாசன் அவர்களின் சினிமா செயற்பாட்டுக்கும், சினிமா பற்றிய புரிதலுக்கும் கூட பாரிய வேறுபாடுகளும், முரண்பாடுகளும் இருந்தன.

ஆனால் தமிழ் பேசும் இளைஞர்கள் மத்தியில் சினிமா செய்வதற்கான தைரியத்தை கொடுத்ததில் தேவதாசன் அவர்களுக்கு பெரும் பங்குண்டு. அதற்காக அவர் இழந்தது பல. அதற்கான அவரது உழைப்பையும் அர்ப்பணிப்பையும் நாம் மறந்துவிட முடியாது.

பாரிய போர்க்குற்றங்களில் ஈடுபட்டவர்கள் எல்லாம் "குற்றவாளிகள் அல்ல" என தீர்ப்பு வழங்கப்பட்டு விடுதலை செய்யப்பட்டுக் கொண்டிருக்கின்றனர்.

சந்தர்ப்பவசமாக "பயங்கரவாத" செயற்பாடுகளுடன் தொடர்புபடுத்தப்பட்ட தேவதாசன் போன்ற சமூகச் செயற்பாட்டாளர்கள், கலைஞர்களுக்கு...

20 வருட கடும் சிறைத் தண்டனை.

"அவர்களும் எம்மை கொன்றார்கள், நாங்களும் அவர்களைக் கொன்றோம். கணக்குச் சரியாப் போச்சிது. நடந்ததை மறப்போம்" என பேரினவாத பயங்கரவாதத்தையும், தமிழர் விடுதலைக்கான ஆயுத
போராட்டத்தையும் சமப்படுத்திக் கொண்டிருக்கும் சனநாயகவாதிகளும் சரி.... மனித நேய சக்திகளும் சரி....
இன்று சினிமா "ஜாம்பவன்களாக, நட்சத்திரங்களாக, பிரபல்யங்களாக..." வர துடித்துக் கொண்டிருக்கும் ஈழம் சினிமா கலைஞர்களும் சரி....
யாருக்கும் தோன்றவில்லை...
இந்த அநியாயத்தை தட்டிக் கேட்க,
நீதிக்காக குரல் கொடுக்க...

நாம், "நாமுண்டு நம் நலமுண்டு" என இப்படியே இருப்போமாயின் நம்மையும் இந்த உலகம் இலகுவில் மறந்து விடும்.

நன்றி:ஞானா