Whats New Archive
July 2006-31 July 2006 Tamil Armed Resistance & the Law to include 31 July 2006 Tamil Nation Library - Conflict Resolution to include  Centre for Just Peace & Democracy - Envisioning New Trajectories for Peace in Sri Lanka - Proceedings of international seminar titled “Envisioning New Trajectories for Peace in Sri Lanka” held in Switzerland- Zurich on the 7th, 8th and 9th of April 2006. From the Preface: "The Seminar was jointly organized by the Centre for Just Peace and Democracy (CJPD) and the Berghof Foundation for Conflict Studies, Sri Lanka Office. The seminar was organized at the track-2 level with a vision to revitalize a genuine discourse between influentials and policy makers across the conflict divide. As such, after a long period of silence, the event can be seen as an exploratory first step towards communication between actors at the track 2 level... The Seminar was mindful that legal frameworks directed to resolve the conflict will need to accord with the political reality on the ground and take into account the national identities of the peoples in the island, their aspirations as peoples and more importantly their fears and concerns..." more |
31 July 2006 Reflections "ஆற்றிலும் குளித்தேன்
சேற்றிலும் குளித்தேன்
காற்றில் பறந்தேன், கல்லில் நடந்தேன்
ஊற்றுப் புனலில் ஒளியினைக் கண்டேன்
மாற்றுப் பொன்னிலும் மாசினைப் பார்த்தேன்
பார்த்தது கோடி, பட்டது கோடி
சேர்ந்தது என்ன? சிறந்த அனுபவம்"
- Kaviarasu Kannadasan quoted by P.Nedumaran |
30 July 2006 Tamil National Forum 29 July 2006 Conflict Resolution: Tamil Eelam - Sri Lanka - Norwegian Peace Initiative | Sri Lanka truce dead in all but name: Swedish Major General Ulf Henricsson, Head, Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) "..The government accuses the Tigers of choking the flow of water to state-held territory, and has vowed to send in ground troops backed up by more air raids if needed. "It is definitely the wrong method. It is definitely overkill if you want the water," Henricsson said. The air force dropped a bomb on Friday 750 metres (yards) away from where Henricsson was meeting rebel leaders in the eastern district of Trincomalee in a bid to resolve the dispute. "We sat talking and got clearance from the government and tried to convince the LTTE to have confidence in the government," he said. "They dropped a bomb in the vicinity. That's not the right signal." more |
29 July 2006 Tamil National Forum to include 1. Brian Senewiratne - Adrian Wijemanne – an appreciation by a fellow Sinhalese  "This is not an obituary. There are more informed people who can write one. This is just a “Thank You” to a fellow Sinhalese who has risen above the ethnic chauvinism that has consumed my people. A “Thank you” for being a shining light in the darkness of Sinhalese ignorance, and for the example and encouragement to those of us who have supported the struggle of the Tamil people to live with equality, dignity and safety in the country of their birth. A “Thank you” for trying to save Sri Lanka from physical and economic destruction. I once wrote, “It makes me proud to be a Sinhalese because it is the ethnic group to which Adrian Wijemanne belongs”." more2. Fr. Chandiravarman Sinnathurai - In Gratitude: Adrian Wijemanne You stood. You spoke
Lion of a man...
You spoke against the
horrors perpetrated by the Sinhala Regimes
Against the Tamils...
That was not an easy task
Yet,
You stood. You spoke
Lion of a man... more
3. Sachi Sri Kantha - Botched JVP Hit on Rajiv Gandhi on 30 July 1987 - Revisited, 19 years later 
4. Dr. Alvappillai Velupillai on Pandya Rule at the Beginning of Ancient Lankan History "The last four kings in the Mahavamsa from 1739 to 1815 were Nayakkar princes who were referred to as Vaduka Tamils in Sinhala records. They claimed descent from Telugus (Telugu is another Dravidian language) but spoke Tamil language when they were ruling southern Tamilnadu from Mathurai. Some Sinhala chiefs wanted to dislodge the Nayakkar and become kings themselves but they could neither agree among themselves nor get sufficient popular support. The British who established their domination over the maritime provinces of the island by 1798 exploited the ambition of the Sinhala chiefs to make them traitors to their king. Wikrema Rajasinghe alias Kannusamy, the last Lankan/Tamil king, was made a prisoner and exiled to India. The treacherous Sinhala chiefs gained nothing. The whole of the island of Lanka became a British colony for 133 years. Could modern day Sinhala politicians learn any lesson from this history?" more |
27 July 2006 Tamil Language & Literature to include  அறிமுகம்... Sujatha's Writings in e-Book format - "..In this Site all the works of the eminent Tamil Writer Sujatha will be made available classified into Short stories, novels, plays, and essays. The text is in Unicode and searchable with keywords. click on the main headings to access their individual pages." |
26 July 2006 Tamils - a Trans State Nation to include Massive Protest Rally jointly organized by Tamil Associations in United States - Monday, July 31, 2006 between 12pm and 4pm, West Front, US Capitol in Washington DC 26 July 2006 Velupillai Pirabakaran - Leader of Tamil Eelam to include Interview with நா. கதிர்வேலன், குமுதம் "...‘ராணுவம் எங்கள் நாட்டில் இளம்பெண்களைக் கற்பழித்தது. அப்படிக் கேவலப்படுத்தியதைவிட, தமிழ் சினிமா பெண்களை இழிவுபடுத்துகிறது’ என்று வருத்தத்தோடு பேசினார். ‘கன்னத்தில் முத்தமிட்டால்’ எங்களைச் சரியாக முன்னெடுத்து வைக்கவில்லை என்று சுட்டிக்காட்டினார். பாரதிராஜா ‘ஆய்த எழுத்து’ படத்தில் நடித்திருக்க வேண்டியது அவசியம்தானா? என்று கேள்வி எழுப்பினார்." more |
26 July 2006 Tamils - a Trans State Nation 25 July 2006 Tamil National Forum 25 July 2006 Genocide'83 to include; 1. Black July in Switzerland - சுவிசில் நடைபெற்ற கறுப்பு யூலை - 2006 நிகழ்வின் படத்தொகுப்பு 
2. M.Thanapalasingham from Australia 'சாவிலும் வாழ்வோம்' [சிட்னியல் கறுப்பு யுலை நினைவு நிகழ்வில் ஆற்றிய உரை] "கறுப்பு யுலை இல்லாவிடின் எம்மில் பலர் ஒருவரையொருவர் சந்தித்திருக்கமாட்டோம். எமக்கென்ற தனி வழிகளில் சென்றிருப்போம். கால ஓட்டத்தில் கரைந்திருப்போம். மாறாக வரலாற்றை படைப்போராக எம்மை ஆக்கியது கறுப்பு யுலை."...more 3. Ana Pararajasingham -Remembering Black July 1983 - Address at a public meeting in Sydney attended by Australian Parliamentarians 4. Esan Satkunarajah on the Precursor to 1983 Black July "...I did not realize that the precursor to the 1983 July pogrom would take place in a leading educational institution like Peradeniya University(on 11 May 1983)... I had a feeling of shock and numbness as I witnessed the educated Sinhalese students’ violence against their fellow Tamil students first hand. . Weapons like steel rods, cycle chains, wooden rods from broken chairs and tables, knives and ropes were gathered and well hidden in many surrounding places where they could easily be accessed for the attack which was about to take place against their fellow Tamil colleagues..." more |
25 July 2006 Caste & the Tamil Nation - Brahmins, Non Brahmins & Dalits to include Rev. James Cartman on Castes & Caste Observances amongst Tamils in Ceylon 24 July 2006 Tamil National Forum | V.C.Vijayaraghavan on Sources of Cultural Memory in XXth Century Tamil Country - a Critique "The entire Dravidian movement of 20th century Tamilnadu displays the paranoid hatred of Tamil Brahmins, with Brahmins being the very axis of evil in the Tamil world. Hence, the construct of Tamil Brahmin as the non-indigene who has plotted from time immemorial to work for the "downfall" of the "indigene Tamils". This has been retrospectively projected to Sangam times. While the Sangam literature has intimate knowledge of the Brahmins as a member of Tamil society, it shows no such "otherness" towards Brahmins - neither Brahmins or Brahminical rituals. .. I am sure many Eelam Tamils are familiar with 'faking cultural memory' in the shape of Sinhala chauvinism to deny Tamils their rightful place in Eelam. Sinhala chavinism is a product of the 19th-20th century interaction with western imperialism and it does not have historical roots within Ceylon itself. Dravidian movements stand in a parallel position in Tamil Nadu..." more |
23 July 2006 Conflict Resolution: Tamil Eelam - Sri Lanka | 1. European Initiative for a Negotiated Peace in Sri Lanka - in English, Deutsch, French & Portuguese - Jean Ziegler, Professor at the University of Geneva - Switzerland, Dr. Lugder Weckel - Institute for Theology and Politics - Münster - Germany, PD Dr. Dagmar Hellmann-Rajanayagam - University Passau - Germany, Professor John Neelsen - Germany, Professor Peter Schalk - Sweden, Professor Paul Weller - Britain, François Houtart - Professor Emeritus - Catholic University Louvain (Belgium), Rev. Alexander Reid, C.S.s.R - Ireland, Fr. Albert Koolen - Germany et al 2. Prof John Neelsen on the Proscription of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) by the EU "...While the EU declaration expresses in the following its desire to maintain a dialogue with the LTTE, thus recognizing that the organization is an indispensable institution in any peace process, it sets out to not only materially weaken one party in an the armed conflict, but squarely denies its political and ideological credentials as a liberation movement thus undermining its legitimacy as a dialogue partner..." more |
23 July 2006 Struggle for Tamil Eelam  Sandra Jordan A Video Presentation Unreported World - Sri Lanka: part 1 - 9 minutes part 2 - 10 minutes |
23 July 2006 Remembering Black July 1983 - Mass Rally at Hyde Park, London on 25 July 2006 organised by Tamil Youth Organisation, United Kingdom 
21 July 2006 Reflections | "For more than 40 years, I have been describing Tamil as a barbarous language (Kattumirandi Mozhi) used only by barbarians. When Brahmins and the Brahmin-dominated government wanted to make Hindi a State language, I started, to a very limited extent, advocating the promotion of Tamil language only to oppose the imposition of Hindi language. The only language that ought to replace Tamil is English. What is not there in English which can be found in Tamil Language?' Periyar quoted by M.Venkatesan in E V Ramasamy Naickarin Marupakkam |
21 July 2006 Human Rights, Humanitarian Law & the Tamil Nation - Child Soldiers & the Law to include 21 July 2006 Tamil National Forum to include 19 July 2006 Sri Lanka's War on Tamil Eelam - 23rd Anniversary of 23rd July 1983... 1. Revisited Poem by Raj Swarnan உயிர்வாழ விரும்பினால் - நீ
உனக்கென ஒருதேசம்
சமைத்திடு என்று
உறைப்பாக உணர்த்தியது
எண்பத்து முன்று.. more
.2. Former Sri Lanka President J.R. Jayawardene's liability - Statement by Asian Human Rights Commission together with comment by tamilnation.org "The attempt by Sirisena Cooray (a life long supporter of then Prime Minister Premadasa) to blame President Jayawardene for his "error" and 'mistake" in bringing the bodies of the 13 soldiers to Colombo may be understandable. After all, this absolves Prime Minister Premadasa from the 'error' and 'mistake' of his President. But the reality is more sinister. The New Statesman reported on 28 August 1983 - 'In Mount Lavinia, a suburb of Colombo, thugs were led by (a) UNP Councillor... In the Maradana area of Colombo, thugs brought in from upto 100 miles away and loyal to Prime Minister R. Premadasa.... and Industries Minister Cyril Mathew were identified by eye witnesses.'' The 1983 pogrom was not a 'spontaneous riot' caused by 13 dead bodies being brought to Colombo. Nor was it a case of an 'army mutiny'. To suggest that it was is to confuse and obfuscate. Paul Sieghart in his Report of a Mission to Sri Lanka on behalf of the International Commission of Jurists and its British Section, Justice, March1984, concluded: "Clearly this was not a spontaneous upsurge of communal hatred among the Sinhala people.. It was a series of deliberate acts, executed in accordance with a concerted plan, conceived and organised well in advance. But who were the planners?... " more |
18 July 2006 Tamil National Forum | 1. Wakeley Paul writes from USA on Comforting the afflicted -while not afflicting the comfortable "..Everyone accepts the validity of the present Constitution and expects the Sinhalese majority to abandon their advantages under it voluntarily. Why should they? Why will they? This is a pipe dream of the I.C which they refuse to abandon Unless and until they do, we will be bogged down in this quagmire. Everything else is useless fodder by the wayside..." more 2. Sanmugam Sabesan writes from Australia - தடைகளுக்கு நன்றி " இன்று இந்த உலக நாடுகள் தமிழீழ விடுதலைப் போராட்டத்தை நசுக்க வேண்டும் என்று நினைத்து போடுகின்ற தடைகள் ஈற்றில் போராட்டத்தை உசுப்பி விடுவதற்கான பணிகளைத்தான் செய்து வருகின்றன. அதற்காக தடைகளே உங்களுக்கு எமது நன்றி..." more |
18 July 2006 Reflections 17 July 2006 Human Rights, Humanitarian Law & the Tamil Nation Child Soldiers & the Law to include | Secretary General, International Federation of Tamils writes Ms. Ann M. Veneman, Executive Director, UNICEF "The political reality is that the LTTE administers a de facto state within the lines of control recognised by the Ceasefire Agreement – which Agreement itself has received international recognition and acceptance. Some persons recruited by the LTTE serve in the administrative services of this de facto state – and these include the judiciary and court, school of law, police stations, police academy, medical and technical colleges, small industries, a community bank and children's homes. It appears to us that such participation is lawful – and given the conditions prevailing in these areas both humane and warranted... The LTTE is not simply an armed group but it also administers a de facto state. We trust that you will agree that recruitment by the LTTE does not necessarily mean recruitment as a ‘child soldier’.." more |
17 July 2006 Tamil National Forum 15 July 2006 Tsunami Disaster & Tamil Eelam to include Joint Evaluation of the international response to the Indian Ocean tsunami: Synthesis Report - Tsunami Evaluation Coalition. - Telford, J, and J Cosgrave 13 July 2006 Reflection | “..Propaganda is a means and must be evaluated as such, from the standpoint of the goal... It is wrong to want to give propaganda the multi-sidedness of scientific instruction.... the rank and file are usually much more primitive than we imagine. Propaganda must therefore always be essentially simple and repetitious...The most brilliant propagandist technique will yield no success unless one fundamental principle is borne in mind constantly... it must confine itself to a few points and repeat them over and over.” Adolf Hitler on Propaganda |
11 July 2006 Tamil National Forum to include 1.Oru Paper - Duplicity, Indifference and Cruelty "..The Tamil community may only have warriors, doctors, teachers and artisans and no international diplomats and Nobel prize winning economists. But this does not mean they are stupid. They know well that without the donors’ Dollars Sri Lanka would go bankrupt within few months, that means the Sri Lankan state is controlled and dependent on external players such as the Japanese, the Europeans, the Americans and so on. Without the financial back up from these foreign powers the Sri Lankan government would not have the means to continue this war on Tamils. While the international community lectures Tamils about diplomacy, the Sri Lankan state is carrying on with its main preoccupation: that is how to destroy what is left and what is being built in Tamil land... more 2. Sachi Sri Kantha on What Narasimhan Ram Should Understand 3. Introduction: அறிமுகம் Tamil Resurgence Forum
An English Language forum in the honour of the Eelam Tamil's resilience and the Tamil Eelam Nation's resurgence. |
11 July 2006 Media & the Tamil Struggle - Introduction: அறிமுகம் 10 July 2006 Reflections 9 July 2006 Conflict Resolution: Tamil Eelam - Sri Lanka | LTTE Political Wing Leader S.P.Thamilchelvan Interview with NDTV "நேரடிப் பேச்சுக்கான மகிந்தாவின் அழைப்பு போலித்தனமானது" NDTV கேள்வி: "...ஏன் அன்ரன் பாலசிங்கம் கவலை தெரிவித்து மன்னிப்பு தெரிவித்து எங்களை ஒளிபரப்புச் செய்யும் நிலைக்குத் தள்ளியிருந்தார்? " NDTV Question: "... why did Anton Balasingham express regret and suggest 'forgiveness' and push us to the position of broadcasting?"
 சு.ப.தமிழ்ச்செல்வன் பதில்: "என்னைப் பொறுத்தவரையில் அது பற்றி கருத்துச் சொல்ல முடியாமல் உள்ளது. ஏனெனில் பல வருடங்களுக்கு முன்னாக எமது தேசியத் தலைமை தெளிவான தன்னுடைய நிலைப்பாட்டைச் சொல்லியுள்ளது. இதற்குப் புது வியாக்கியானங்கள் கொடுத்து உரிய பதில்களை சோடிக்க விரும்பவில்லை. அன்ரன் பாலசிங்கம் அவர்கள் உங்களுக்கு கூறியிருக்கின்றார் என்றால் அவரைத் தான் நீங்கள் கேட்கவேண்டும்...." S.P.Thamilchelvan Answer: "As far as I am concerned I am unable to express a view on that matter. That is because, many years ago our national leadership has very clearly stated its position. There is no wish to embellish that statement with new interpretations. If Anton Balasingham has told you, then it is he who you should ask..." more |
9 July 2006 Tamil National Forum to include 1.Dr. Alvappillai Veluppillai reflects on the Buddha and the Myth of the Sinhala Buddhist origin "...The third noble teaching of the Buddha regarding nirvana/nibbana, “cessation”, also seems to have been misunderstood. They seem to understand that killing Tamils mean some kind of cessation of the Tamils and so this is acceptable behavior for them. A considerable section of the Tamils have run away and are continuing to run away to escape the Sinhala Buddhist militancy. A second section of the Tamils are fighting to establish a separate homeland for the Tamils in Lanka so that they could live normal lives as free human beings in a secure environment. But many Tamils in Lanka continue to live in dread that they might face death and destruction at any moment from Sinhala armed forces and para-militaries. Of course, there are quislings like Devananda, Anandasangary, Karuna, Rajan Hoole and some others who hate the LTTE for different reasons. They join the devil to crush the LTTE. They refuse to look beyond to what happens to the Tamils, if the LTTE were defeated..." more 2. Sanmugam Sabesan from Australia: ஜூலை 1983ம், தொடர்கின்ற தமிழின அழிப்பும் |
8 July 2006 Tamil National Forum to include | Father Chandiravarman Sinnathurai writes about Pinching the Child & Rocking the Cradle "As a measure of desperation President Mahinda is calling the Tamil Tigers for talks. Any body who knows about Sri Lanka politics would know that this is a call to play musical chairs. The question is to whose music Mahinda is dancing this time round. Talking the talk without walking the talk is the biggest problem in Sri Lanka. The question is: But what is left there to talk without tackling the core issues of the crisis?.." more |
8 July 2006 Conflict Resolution in the Age of Empire to include | 1. Earned sovereignty: The Political Dimension - James R.Cooper and Paul R. Williams "...There are currently over fifty sovereignty-based conflicts throughout the world, and nearly a third of the Specially Designated Global Terrorists listed by the United States Treasury Department are associated with sovereignty-based conflicts and self-determination movements. To date, the “sovereignty first” international response to these conflicts has been unable to stem the tide of violence, and in many instances may have contributed to further outbreaks of violence. This article will argue that the “sovereignty first” doctrine is slowly being supplemented by a new conflict resolution approach which we dub “earned sovereignty.”.." more 2.Earned Sovereignty: Juridical Underpinnings - Michael P.Scharf "...It has often been said that 'the defining issue in international law for the 21st century is finding compromises between the principles of self-determination and the sanctity of borders.' Today. there are some 140 self-determination movements world-wide. .. Most of the groups on the United States (U.S.) Department of State's list of terrorist organizations are self-determination movements... This article sets forth the legal underpinnings for the (earned sovereignty) doctrine....." 3 . Earned Sovereignty: Bridging the Gap Between Sovereignty and Self-Determination - Paul R. Williams and Francesa Jannotti Pecci " ... the involvement of the international community in institution building benefits the state and substate entity by enabling the creation of institutions necessary to ensure the stable operation of the substate entity, either as a new state or as a province with heightened autonomy. The creation of domestic institutions also provides the state and the international community with an additional point of contact to pressure the substate entity, which facilitates the protection of legitimate interests, such as .. responsible regional behavior..." more |
8 July 2006 Tamils - a Trans State Nation: Germany to include Srilankischer Staatsterrorismus Von Tamilische Frauen Organisation – Deutschland 6 July 2006 Tamil Language & Literature to include | Bartholomaeus Ziegenbalg - the German who printed the first Tamil text "The 300th anniversary of the arrival of Bartholomaeus Ziegenbalg, a German who came to Tranquebar in 1706 as the first Protestant missionary to India sent by the Danish monarch, will be marked beginning 3 July 2006. .. Ziegenbalg introduced the first Tamil printing press in Tranquebar in 1712, from which the first Tamil book was printed..." more |
5 July 2006 International Relations in the Age of Empire to include | Intelligence Brief: North Korea's Missile Tests "North Korea's decision on Wednesday morning to test six to ten missiles demonstrates Pyongyang's assessment that the United States will not react decisively to its new show of force..... while many of these aggressive actions may have been too risky if executed before the U.S. invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq, Pyongyang has accurately assessed that Washington's current interventions have made it less likely to intervene in new conflicts...."more |
5 July 2006 Revisited Cultural Imperialism & Thomas Macaulay - Minute on Indian Education, 1835 | "...The languages of Western Europe civilised Russia. I cannot doubt that they will do for the Hindoo what they have done for the Tartar ... We must at present do our best to form a class who may be interpreters between us and the millions whom we govern; a class of persons, Indian in blood and colour, but English in taste, in opinions, in morals, and in intellect."... more |
5 July 2006 Who is a Tamil? 4 July 2006 Tamil National Forum to include 2 July 2006 Reflections | "....The public habit of judging the relations between states from what appears in the papers adds to the confusion. It must be remembered that in international affairs things are often not what they seem to be. ..A communique which speaks of complete agreement may only mean an agreement to differ. Behind a smokescreen of hostile propaganda diplomatic moves may be taking place indicating a better understanding of each other's position. ..." K.M.Pannikar, Indian Ambassador to China from 1948 to 1952, and later Vice Chancellor, Mysore University in Principles and Practice of Diplomacy, 1956 |
1 July 2006 Tamil National Forum to include 1 July 2006 Revisited Rajiv Gandhi's War Crimes  நெற்றிக்கண் திறப்பினும் குற்றம் குற்றமே... "..the Indian Army came here, massacred innocent Tamil civilians, raped our women and plundered our valuables. The acronym IPKF will always stand for Indian People Killing Force where we are concerned. We will one day erect a memorial in the heart of Jaffna town, in the centre of Hospital Road, in memory of all the innocent civilians – ranging in age from the very old past 80 to young children massacred by the IPKF and to the women who were raped." IPKF - Innocent People Killing Force, Dr. T. Somasekaram
 "...as an Indian I feel ashamed that under the Indo Sri Lanka agreement, our forces are fighting with Tamils whom they went to protect. Speaking of blaming the Indian soldiers, soldiers are meant to carry out commands, but I do believe that in our own Indian ethics, soldiers are not merely meant to carry out commands because if you look at the history and the mythology and the culture which is Indian...We are supposed to fight only for Dharma. Only if the war is righteous shall you fight it.... I believe that the Indian Government had betrayed its own culture and ethics. For the first time, it has sent out soldiers to fight when there was no cause for us to fight. There was no purpose for us to fight. When I speak to the Indian army officers, whom I know and who have come back after serving in Sri Lanka, they are the most puzzled and most unhappy people because they do not know the cause for which they are fighting. The guilt, therefore, rests entirely on those who sent them to do this dastardly business of fighting in Sri Lanka against our Tamil brothers and sisters..." India's former Foreign Secretary, A.P.Venkateshwaran, speaking in London in April 1988
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