THANJAVUR: Medical college students and doctors here organised a human chain on Gandhiji Road on Wednesday appealing to the Central Government to urge Sri Lankan Government to release four Tamil doctors arrested by the Lankan police “just because they gave treatment to wounded Sri Lankan Tamils during the recent war.”
The doctors in custody are Thambimuthu Sathyamurthy, Durairaja Vasantha Raja, Veerakathi Shanmugha Raja and Ilanchezhiya Pallavan.
R. Venkateswaran, students chairman, Vijay Pandiyan, secretary, Prathiba and Preethi led the agitation. S. R. Marududurai, Professor, Thanjavur Medical College, inaugurated the human chain. Thanjai Ramamurthy, senior advocate, D. Mathivanan, General secretary of Transport Corporation Employees Union, offered felicitations.
Thursday, July 2, 2009
Sri Lanka foreign reserves rise 23 pct to $1.6 bln
[ Reuters ][ Jul 02 13:20 GMT ]
Sri Lanka's foreign currency reserves have risen by over 23 percent in two months as funds flowed into the country after the end of its long war against the Tamil Tigers, the central bank governor said on Thursday. Sri Lanka in March sought a $1.9 billion International Monetary Fund (IMF) loan to avert a balance of payments crisis, after spending half its reserves defending the rupee and paying foreign investors who sold off treasury securities after the global downturn. [ full story ]
Sri Lanka's foreign currency reserves have risen by over 23 percent in two months as funds flowed into the country after the end of its long war against the Tamil Tigers, the central bank governor said on Thursday. Sri Lanka in March sought a $1.9 billion International Monetary Fund (IMF) loan to avert a balance of payments crisis, after spending half its reserves defending the rupee and paying foreign investors who sold off treasury securities after the global downturn. [ full story ]
MR says IDPs can seek asylum
By Kelum Bandara
President Mahinda Rajapaksa told the Cabinet meeting last evening that he would not mind Canada and the European countries giving asylum to the internally displaced persons.
However, the President said that he could not send IDPs to India anymore because that country was not willing to accommodate them.
“Canada has pledged to accept any number of IDPs. I do not mind these countries putting up visa offices in the welfare camps to facilitate people willing to leave the country,” he said.
The President charged that the foreign diplomatic missions had started making malicious allegations against Sri Lanka now, and some Sri Lankans had even been denied visas.
He pointed out that the US State Department had now put up a news item regarding some Sri Lankan soldiers who were facing charges during their peace keeping mission in Haiti a few months ago.
“I got to know this information from other sources, not from the Foreign Ministry,” he said.
Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister Hussein Bhaila who was present at the meeting said that he too had not been informed in this regard properly.
Besides, the President also emphasised the need for all the Ministers to be present in Parliament during important debates. He was referring to the government not being able to pass a supplementary estimate in the House last Friday since there was no quorum.
http://www.dailymirror.lk/DM_BLOG/Sections/frmNewsDetailView.aspx?ARTID=53567
President Mahinda Rajapaksa told the Cabinet meeting last evening that he would not mind Canada and the European countries giving asylum to the internally displaced persons.
However, the President said that he could not send IDPs to India anymore because that country was not willing to accommodate them.
“Canada has pledged to accept any number of IDPs. I do not mind these countries putting up visa offices in the welfare camps to facilitate people willing to leave the country,” he said.
The President charged that the foreign diplomatic missions had started making malicious allegations against Sri Lanka now, and some Sri Lankans had even been denied visas.
He pointed out that the US State Department had now put up a news item regarding some Sri Lankan soldiers who were facing charges during their peace keeping mission in Haiti a few months ago.
“I got to know this information from other sources, not from the Foreign Ministry,” he said.
Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister Hussein Bhaila who was present at the meeting said that he too had not been informed in this regard properly.
Besides, the President also emphasised the need for all the Ministers to be present in Parliament during important debates. He was referring to the government not being able to pass a supplementary estimate in the House last Friday since there was no quorum.
http://www.dailymirror.lk/DM_BLOG/Sections/frmNewsDetailView.aspx?ARTID=53567
Sri Lankan FM says China always friend
BEIJING, July 2 (Xinhua)
The visiting Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollagama said on Thursday that China has always been a friend to Sri Lanka and he is seeking closer bilateral ties during his five-day official visit.
"China has remained a friend of Sri Lanka at times of difficulty. A friend in need is a friend indeed," said Bogollagama in an exclusive interview with Xinhua.
This is Bogollagama's first visit to China as Sri Lankan foreign minister since he took office in January 2007.
Bogollagama, who is visiting China from July 1 to 5 at the invitation of Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi, is scheduled to meet with Chinese Vice Premier Li Keqiang and talk with Yang.
"The relationship (between Sri Lanka and China) has stood test of time...We value the relationship," said Bogollagama, stressing that one-China policy is always maintained by the Sri Lankan government.
"China is a major player in the world, and a major player in the regional context too. We will work very closely with China," Bogollagama said.
DOMESTIC CHALLENGES
After declaring victory over the rebel group Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in May, the Sri Lankan government is still facing challenges such as national reconciliation, resettling displaced civilians, post-war reconstruction and economic development.
But Bogollagama sees the process of addressing the problems as "an opportunity for us to transform."
"What was threatening Sri Lanka's democracy and development was terrorism, we now have defeated and eliminated the threat of terrorism to the country," said Bogollagama.
Bogollagama said the country would focus on infrastructure development and security during its reconstruction phase.
In early May, China gave 1 million U.S. dollars in humanitarian aid to Sri Lanka to help the displaced civilians. China's provision of 20-million-yuan tents had also reached Sri Lanka.
"China always backs Sri Lanka's domestic reconciliation and peace process and will continue to play its positive and constructive role," said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang on June 25.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-07/02/content_11641550.htm
The visiting Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollagama said on Thursday that China has always been a friend to Sri Lanka and he is seeking closer bilateral ties during his five-day official visit.
"China has remained a friend of Sri Lanka at times of difficulty. A friend in need is a friend indeed," said Bogollagama in an exclusive interview with Xinhua.
This is Bogollagama's first visit to China as Sri Lankan foreign minister since he took office in January 2007.
Bogollagama, who is visiting China from July 1 to 5 at the invitation of Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi, is scheduled to meet with Chinese Vice Premier Li Keqiang and talk with Yang.
"The relationship (between Sri Lanka and China) has stood test of time...We value the relationship," said Bogollagama, stressing that one-China policy is always maintained by the Sri Lankan government.
"China is a major player in the world, and a major player in the regional context too. We will work very closely with China," Bogollagama said.
DOMESTIC CHALLENGES
After declaring victory over the rebel group Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in May, the Sri Lankan government is still facing challenges such as national reconciliation, resettling displaced civilians, post-war reconstruction and economic development.
But Bogollagama sees the process of addressing the problems as "an opportunity for us to transform."
"What was threatening Sri Lanka's democracy and development was terrorism, we now have defeated and eliminated the threat of terrorism to the country," said Bogollagama.
Bogollagama said the country would focus on infrastructure development and security during its reconstruction phase.
In early May, China gave 1 million U.S. dollars in humanitarian aid to Sri Lanka to help the displaced civilians. China's provision of 20-million-yuan tents had also reached Sri Lanka.
"China always backs Sri Lanka's domestic reconciliation and peace process and will continue to play its positive and constructive role," said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang on June 25.
Editor: Fang Yang
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-07/02/content_11641550.htm
Structured Genocide history of Tamils
This book traces the poignant history of Tamils in Sri Lanka after independence.It catalogues the Sri Lankan Tamils’ descent from a once thriving vibrant Nation to one that is today fighting for its very survival. This is a story about how a majority population consumed with religious chauvinism can corrupt a democratic process with untold consequences.The book is organised into three sections covering the physical harm suffered by the Tamil community, the destruction of their cultural heritage and the attempts at negotiating a settlement which has come to nothing. The book also strikes a hopeful note at the end on how lasting peace can be achieved from the rubble of destruction. The reader is likely to find some images depicting examples of violence difficult and is left to imagine the suffering endured by not only the victims but also their families and communities over the years. Unlike the usual Sri Lankan state sponsored propaganda material that is normally seen on the international news media, this is refreshingly narrated from a Tamil perspective - one that rarely gets an airing on the worldstage. A reader with limited time and interest, used to the democratic system in theWestern world with its checks and balances tends to give credibility to a government’s statements over any other. In Sri Lanka, the reality is far from the ‘truth’ claimed by its Government. By systematically documenting the key events, this book is bound to add to the reader’s knowledge of what Tamils in Sri Lanka have endured post independence in 1948."
Karunanidhi's sermon on Srilankan Tamils
What a shift in stand it is! Incredible, yet true. Recalling the events that led to the DMK giving up the demand for a separate 'Dravida Nadu', Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi has said no action or remarks, provoking Sinhalese majority, should be made in Tamil Nadu as it could affect future prospects of Tamils in Sri Lanka.
The simple truth is that the Sri Lankan Government is in no mood to give equal rights to the millions of Tamils in the Island Nation. In fact. Lakhs of Tamils are now in transit camps, where basic facilities are absent and lakhs of others are homeless.
The Tamils in Sri Lanka look forward to help, assistance and moral support from their brethren in the mainland. And Karunanidhi has chosen to advice restraint. He has said that antagonising the Sinhalese will not be in the interest of Tamils. Nobody wants to unnecessarily antagonise the Sinhalese. The truth is that the Sinhalese do not want Tamils in Sri Lanka to enjoy the same rights and privuileges that they do.
Asserting the rights of Tamils does not amount to provoking the Sinhalese. There is a beautiful Tamil saying, which I hope, Karunanidhi would not have forgotten. “Mayile Mayile Iraku Podu”. It means, no peacock will shed its feather just for the asking. The Sri Lankan Government has, for decades ignored the just demands of lakhs of Tamils there. And Karunanidhi is an honourable leader!
He says, "This is not a conflict between the governments of Tamil Nadu and Sri Lanka, but of two races, viz. Tamils and Sinhalese. Even Buddhist monks are likely to react strongly to any of our remarks or actions. If we end up saying something against the Sinhalese community, it will only affect the Tamils there."
Buddhism among Tamils is quenched from two sides: Peter Schalk
“To say that Tamil tradition has always been all-inclusive of religions is modern Tamil national ideology projected into an invented past. It is not history of the Tamils”, writes Professor Peter Schalk, challenging the perspectives of looking at Tamil identity from the point of the use of Tamil language that simultaneously accommodated various religions in its history, despite of them contradicting one another or coming and going. Responding to an article on Buddhism appeared in TamilNet, Tuesday, Prof. Schalk said that Buddhism among Tamils he objectifies is different from what the Sinhala-Buddhists are envisaging.
Response from Peter Schalk to a TamilNet article ‘Ploy of Buddhism to nullify Tamil nationalism’:
Martial Sinhala Buddhism today having left its ties to the Buddha is both exclusive and excluding. It is Sinhala, not Tamil. Therefore Buddhism among Tamils appears like an anomaly to it. What to do about an anomaly? Its existence in the past and present is denied or its importance is reduced to a triviality by Sinhala mercenary scholars.
What happens today is that the former programme by Cyril Mathews from the early 1980s to identify all Buddhist places, mainly 16, in the North as Sinhala, is completed, this time with the full support of scholar mercenaries, the Government and of the Armed Forces.
These places are in the forefront of Sinhala colonisation in areas of Tamil speakers. In this polarised situation it is a riddle to me how Buddhism among Tamil speakers can be said to neutralise Tamil nationalism. Tamil-speaking Buddhists are strongly Tamil oriented. They claim even that Buddhist Kantarotai was Tamil, not Sinhala.
We have to distinguish between Buddhism among Tamils and Buddhism in Tamil speaking areas implanted by modern martial Sinhala-Buddhists for the benefit of the Sinhala army personal, traders and colonisers who are fed with Sinhala-Buddhist pamphlets in English or Sinhala. They live as a separate entitity but they have administrative power. They deny of course that Kantarotai was Tamil.
A recent trend among them is to deny the concept of the Mahavamsa 25 that only Buddhists are humans. It does not fit into the official evaluation of what a human is imposed by the UN. Now they think that Tamils are humans and therefore qualified for Buddhism, which however is Sinhala Buddhism. It is sometimes put into English and sometimes even into Tamil.
In this case it is evident that an attempt is made to neutralise Tamil nationalism of Tamil speakers, but that has nothing to do with the kind of Buddhism among Tamils that I objectify. It is indeed important that this kind of humanised martial Sinhala Buddhism is highlighted and revealed as a political program of neutralising Tamil nationalism.
What I say about Saivism was that from the time of Campantar exists a strong trend that is even canonized within Tamil Saivism in the Tevaram that Tamil is an expression of Saivism and Saivism of Tamil. That does not imply that all Saivas think in that way or that Saivism per se thinks so. I mention this about Saivism to show that Buddhism among Tamils is classified as an anomaly by some Saivas also. Buddhism among Tamils is quenched from two sides.
To say that Tamil tradition has always been all-inclusive of religions is modern Tamil national ideology projected into an invented past. It is not history of the Tamils.
My writing on Buddhism among Tamils are available in two volumes from 2002 entitled "Buddhism among Tamils" issued by Uppsala University.
Response from Peter Schalk to a TamilNet article ‘Ploy of Buddhism to nullify Tamil nationalism’:
Professor Peter Schalk
Martial Sinhala Buddhism today having left its ties to the Buddha is both exclusive and excluding. It is Sinhala, not Tamil. Therefore Buddhism among Tamils appears like an anomaly to it. What to do about an anomaly? Its existence in the past and present is denied or its importance is reduced to a triviality by Sinhala mercenary scholars.
What happens today is that the former programme by Cyril Mathews from the early 1980s to identify all Buddhist places, mainly 16, in the North as Sinhala, is completed, this time with the full support of scholar mercenaries, the Government and of the Armed Forces.
These places are in the forefront of Sinhala colonisation in areas of Tamil speakers. In this polarised situation it is a riddle to me how Buddhism among Tamil speakers can be said to neutralise Tamil nationalism. Tamil-speaking Buddhists are strongly Tamil oriented. They claim even that Buddhist Kantarotai was Tamil, not Sinhala.
We have to distinguish between Buddhism among Tamils and Buddhism in Tamil speaking areas implanted by modern martial Sinhala-Buddhists for the benefit of the Sinhala army personal, traders and colonisers who are fed with Sinhala-Buddhist pamphlets in English or Sinhala. They live as a separate entitity but they have administrative power. They deny of course that Kantarotai was Tamil.
A recent trend among them is to deny the concept of the Mahavamsa 25 that only Buddhists are humans. It does not fit into the official evaluation of what a human is imposed by the UN. Now they think that Tamils are humans and therefore qualified for Buddhism, which however is Sinhala Buddhism. It is sometimes put into English and sometimes even into Tamil.
In this case it is evident that an attempt is made to neutralise Tamil nationalism of Tamil speakers, but that has nothing to do with the kind of Buddhism among Tamils that I objectify. It is indeed important that this kind of humanised martial Sinhala Buddhism is highlighted and revealed as a political program of neutralising Tamil nationalism.
What I say about Saivism was that from the time of Campantar exists a strong trend that is even canonized within Tamil Saivism in the Tevaram that Tamil is an expression of Saivism and Saivism of Tamil. That does not imply that all Saivas think in that way or that Saivism per se thinks so. I mention this about Saivism to show that Buddhism among Tamils is classified as an anomaly by some Saivas also. Buddhism among Tamils is quenched from two sides.
To say that Tamil tradition has always been all-inclusive of religions is modern Tamil national ideology projected into an invented past. It is not history of the Tamils.
My writing on Buddhism among Tamils are available in two volumes from 2002 entitled "Buddhism among Tamils" issued by Uppsala University.
Arms surrender deadline to Muslim groups in the east extended
Sri Lanka’s Defence Ministry Wednesday extended the deadline given to Muslim armed groups in the east to surrender their weapons to the security forces, by two more days. The deadline issued earlier was to expire on July 2. The deadline has been extended following requests made by parties concerned, police sources said.
Police said a special committee has been formed to accept firearms and other weapons from these Muslim armed groups within the stipulated period. These groups could surrender their weapons to this committee through Mosque Federations in the area before 3 p.m. on July 4, Eastern Regional Deputy Inspector General of Police, Edison Gunatilake, said in Batticaloa Wednesday.
According to a report submitted by the Police, there are eighteen Muslim armed groups in Kaaththankudi alone, in Batticaloa district.
Police said a special committee has been formed to accept firearms and other weapons from these Muslim armed groups within the stipulated period. These groups could surrender their weapons to this committee through Mosque Federations in the area before 3 p.m. on July 4, Eastern Regional Deputy Inspector General of Police, Edison Gunatilake, said in Batticaloa Wednesday.
According to a report submitted by the Police, there are eighteen Muslim armed groups in Kaaththankudi alone, in Batticaloa district.
UN hires lawyers to defend detained local UN staff
Inner City Press (ICP) reported Tuesday that after a week of silence by the U.N. the U.N. spokesperson has revealed that "U.N. has hired a lawyer who has visited the U.N. staff and who are still detained in Colombo. Kandasamy "Saundi" Saundrarajan of UNOPS (Office of Project Services) and N. Charles Raveendran of UNHCR taken by the Sri Lanka Government and are under detention for more than a month.
"The head of the UN Refugee Agency in Sri Lanka Amin Awad issued a strange statement saying in essence that the government is free to detain staff as long as procedures are followed. But despite top UN humanitarian John Holmes' statement that unlike international staff, national staff members of the UN are not immune, the Staff Union disagrees. They criticize Awad's statement, and counter that national staff have immunity within the scope of their work," ICP said in its report.
When "lawyers in Sri Lanka who represent those accused of Tamil Tiger sympathies have themselves been labeled as traitors by the country's military," and the "UN has already shown it cannot protect its own staff in Sri Lanka," the Inner City Press questioned if the U.N. will be able to "protect the lawyers it hires for its staff?"
"The head of the UN Refugee Agency in Sri Lanka Amin Awad issued a strange statement saying in essence that the government is free to detain staff as long as procedures are followed. But despite top UN humanitarian John Holmes' statement that unlike international staff, national staff members of the UN are not immune, the Staff Union disagrees. They criticize Awad's statement, and counter that national staff have immunity within the scope of their work," ICP said in its report.
When "lawyers in Sri Lanka who represent those accused of Tamil Tiger sympathies have themselves been labeled as traitors by the country's military," and the "UN has already shown it cannot protect its own staff in Sri Lanka," the Inner City Press questioned if the U.N. will be able to "protect the lawyers it hires for its staff?"
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