Whats New Archive - March 2007 -31 March 2007 Tamils: a Trans State Nation - Australia to include Mamanithar Thillainadarajah Jeyakumar - A Good & Honest Human Funeral Arrangements மாமனிதர் தில்லைநடராஜா ஜெயக்குமார் - உன் நண்பன், M.Thanapalasingham, Sydney, Australia, 30 March 2007 ""நண்பனாய், மந்திரியாய், நல்லாசிரியனாய், பண்பிலே தெய்வமாய் பார்வையிலே சேவகனாய் ,எங்கிருந்தோ வந்து " எம்மிடையே வாழ்ந்து உறவாடி வழிகாட்டிய நல்லமனிதன் இவன்.... என் இனிய நண்பனே, அன்பானவனே உன் நினைவுகள் என் மனதில் திரையெறிந்த வண்ணம் இருக்க விடைபெறுகின்றேன். உன் நண்பன், தனபால்" more திரு. தில்லை ஜெயக்குமாருக்கு "மாமனிதர்" விருது: தமிழீழ தேசியத் தலைவர், வே. பிரபாகரன் அறிவிப்பு காலம் சென்ற ஜெயக்குமாரைப் பற்றி தமிழீழ விடுதலைப் புலிகளின் அரசியல்துறைப் பொறுப்பாளர் சு.ப.தமிழ்ச்செல்வன் வழங்கிய நினைவுப்பகிர்வு Remembering Mamanithar Jeyakumar - Nadesan Satyendra ... "..A struggle for freedom is no evening tea party. But, a struggle for freedom also produces its heroes and heroines – men and women who have displayed strength, ability and courage far beyond the call of duty. Thillainadarajah Jeyakumar will always remain in our memories as one of the heroes of the struggle of his people for freedom. I respectfully salute Jeyakumar's sustained contribution to the cause of his people during these many years - sustained through many trials and tribulations..." more |
29 March 2007 International Frame of Tamil Struggle for Freedom to include 28 March 2007 Conflict Resolution: Tamil Eelam - Sri Lanka to include Sri Lanka's Double Talk... | "Ready for talks, we can have it tomorrow" says Sri Lanka Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogolagama, AP Report, 28 March 2007 --- "No talks with Tigers - there can be no more negotiations" says Dayan Jayatilleka, Advisor to President Mahinda Rajapaksa, PTI Report, 28 March 2007 | ....in pursuance of a Single Policy.... அவலத்தின் ஊடாக ஓர் அரசியல் நகர்வு... | |
28 March 2007 Tamil Eelam Struggle for Freedom to include 27 March 2007 New Delhi & the Tamil Eelam Struggle for Freedom to include 1. LTTE Air Strike - An Assessment, B.Raman, South Asia Analysis Group (SAAG), 27 March 2007 together with comment by tamilnation.org "Mr.Raman is right to point out that "unilateral action only against the LTTE without simultaneous action against the Rajapakse Government will prove counter-productive." It may be that Mr.Raman is only too aware of something which Professor Johan Galtung said recently - "..But imagine it happens: Killinochchi is flattened, Mr P is dead, LTTE dissolved. Will the Tamil dream of a Tamil Eelam die? Of course not. It will be revived, and new cycles of violence will occur. And probably new CFAs. And possibly the same mistake, confusing ceasefire with peace, using it as a sleeping pillow to do nothing..."
Again it may be that Mr. Raman is not unmindful of the story line in the Marlon Brando film Queimada ...The struggle of the people of Tamil Eelam is not about the LTTE (or about what the LTTE may have or may not have done) - the struggle of the people of Tamil Eelam is about freedom from alien Sinhala rule. Mr.Raman is right to point out that "the LTTE has considerable support from the Sri Lankan Tamils - in Sri Lanka as well as abroad." But Mr.Raman may want to recognise that that support has come about because of the steadfast commitment of the LTTE to the goal that Thanthai Chelva articulated so eloquently in 1975.." more 2.LTTE Air Raid on Katunayake Air Base - Col R Hariharan, Retired Head of Intelligence, IPKF, together with comments by tamilnation.org and a Response by Jayantha Gnanakone, USA |
27 March 2007 Tamil National Forum 26 March 2007 Reflections 25 March 2007 Armed Struggle for Tamil Eelam: Reports on Armed Conflict - Katunayake Military Airbase Bombed by LTTE Air Wing
| "Two attack air-craft belonging to Liberation Tigers carried out bombing raids at the Sri Lanka Air Force airbase at Katunayake at 12:45 a.m. early morning Monday and returned safely to Vanni, military spokesperson of the LTTE, Irasaiah Ilanthiraiyan told TamilNet...Mr. Irasaiah Ilanthirayan Military Spokesperson of the Tigers said: "The attack is not only pre-emptive but also to safeguard our people from indiscriminate bombing by the SLAF...." |
| 24 March 2007 Tamil Armed Resistance & the Law to include Law of Armed Conflict at the Operational & Tactical Level _ Canadian Joint Doctrine Manual, 2005 Collection of Documents on the Law of Armed Conflict - Edited by the Directorate of Law Training, Canada, 2005 Mao Tse-tung on On Protracted War, May 1938 "...The enemy is strong and we are weak, and the danger of subjugation is there. But in other respects the enemy has shortcomings and we have advantages.... China's war is progressive, hence its just character. Because it is a just war, it is capable of arousing the nation to unity... Not that we would not like a quick victory; everybody would be in favour of driving the "devils" out overnight. But we point out that, in the absence of certain definite conditions, quick victory is something that exists only in one's mind and not in objective reality, and that it is a mere illusion, a false theory. " more |
23 March 2007 International Relations in the Age of Empire to include Pakistan's Strategic Goals and the Deteriorating Situation in Afghanistan - "...Islamabad is working to prevent India from expanding its influence in Afghanistan. It has refused to allow the passage of goods and aid from India to Afghanistan. Plans to build a gas pipeline linking Iran, Pakistan and India are progressing slowly. In recognition of the role of India and Pakistan on Afghanistan's stabilization, the United States has urged India toward acknowledging some of Pakistan's concerns, and has avoided pushing the Indian military to play a peacekeeping role in Afghanistan to avoid exacerbating Pakistani sensitivities. India, however, is also a key partner for Washington in the region..." more |
22 March 2007 Reflections 22 March 2007 Tamil National Forum to include Sanmugam Sabesan from Australia தீர்வும், தீர்த்துக் கட்டுதலும்! 22 March 2007 International Frame of the Struggle for Tamil Eelam - Monkey Tricks
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1. United States Proclamation by Mayor of Somerville, Sister City of Trincomalee, Eelam (Naval Base), 22 June 1981 "..The harbor of Trincomalee is one of the wonders of nature and is a strategic area in the Indian Ocean; and Trincomalee had been a purely Tamil area along with Jaffna, Mannar, Vavunia, Batticaloa and Ampara, until the administrative fusion with the Sinhalese country" more 2. United States Proclamation of Eelam Day by Edward J.King, Governor of Massachusetts, 16 May 1979 3. United States US Congress Resolution calling for recognition of self determination of Eelam Tamils - Hon. Mario Baggio of New York in the US House of Representatives, 8 May 1980 4. United States Resolution of US Massachusetts House of Representatives Calling for the Restoration of the Separate Sovereign State of Tamil Eelam, June 1981 together with comment by tamilnation.org 5. United States "..The U.S. has long supported the territorial integrity of Sri Lanka. The U.S. does not envision or support the establishment of another independent state on this island." US Under Secretary of State, Thomas R. Pickering Press Conference, Colombo, Sri Lanka, 29 May 2000 6.United Kingdom M.R. Narayan Swamy reporting for IANS, (Indo-Asian News Service, a New Delhi based wire service) - "Britain can play a larger role in peace process by reaching out to the Tamil Tigers at 'lower levels'" - Sri Lankan Foreign Secretary Palitha Kohona more |
21 March 2007 Fourth World - Nations without a State to include Alex Salmond, Scottish National Party Leader On Scotland and the "English Question" "The 18th-century Union is past its sell-by date. What we both (Scots and English) need now are the political and economic powers to make our nations work, to tailor policies to suit our different circumstances, and to speak for ourselves in Europe and the wider world -while acting together where our interests converge... As our world has become more complex and inter-connected, the need for nations to be independent with a direct say in regional and global affairs has become more important.. The political imperative to share the same state for reasons of building a large domestic market, or great power projection, is a fundamentally outdated 19th-and 20th-century concept..." more |
20 March 2007 Tamil National Forum 1. Arujna - Editorial, Oru Paper - Closure & Siege "Nation building often means political unification of territory: think of Italy or Germany. Sri Lanka is imposing on the Tamils the very reversed process, hoping to reduce them into numerous separate groups with no collective interests, consciousness and institutions thus breaking their will and capacity to resist. This is what the GOSL and the international community imply by "rehabilitation and massive economic development". " more 2. Kenneth Walsh from USA - Freedom is a matter of choice 3. A Visitor from USA on Hard Talk & Kathir together with response by tamilnation.org |
19 March 2007 Reflections Sir Robert Grainger Ker Thompson (1916–1992) KBE, CMG, DSO, MC, a British soldier and counter-insurgency expert in Defeating Communist Insurgency: Experiences from Malaya and Vietnam "...There are many who will criticise the harshness of the measures which may have to be used. This is a mistaken attitude. What the peasant wants to know is: Does the government mean to win the war? Because if not, he will have to support the insurgent. The government must show it is determined to win. Only in that way will it instil the confidence that it is going to win...The blame for the harshness of the measures can be placed squarely on the insurgent.. There should be in the whole of the government's approach an adroit and judicious mixture of ruthlessness and sympathy.. As an example of a ruthless measure it is worth quoting the case of a village in Malaya of about 3000 inhabitants. This was a very bad area...Having given the inhabitants a choice between the government and the communists, and having failed to make any headway by appealing to or persuading them to cooperate, the government surrounded it with several battalions at dawn one morning and moved the whole village out. Everyone in it, men, women and children, went into detention. All the houses were razed to the ground and crops destroyed. This did not cause a public outcry because the effectiveness of the result...silenced all criticism.'' |
19 March 2007 Revisited Sri Lanka's Unwinnable War - Nadesan Satyendra, more than 13 years ago in December 1993 "....Instead of reading out chunks of Robert Thompson to his restive Parliamentary colleagues, Prime Minister Wickremasinghe may have more usefully heeded the words of his own Cabinet Minister, Savyamurthy Thondaman in March 1992: ''If you mean defeating the LTTE, it could in my opinion be equated to defeating every single Tamil in the North-East. One thing is clear. You cannot isolate the LTTE from the rest of the Tamil people. Wiping out the LTTE means wiping out the Tamils. Until there are Tamils there will be a LTTE hard-core. Remember that the LTTE... is seeking to express the aspirations of the Tamil people..'' That is why Sri Lanka's war against the LTTE is unwinnable... In Sri Lanka, the Government has adopted a 'Malaysian style' approach, without the Malaysian style political solution. Unlike the British (who quit Malaysia), the Sri Lankan Government has as yet failed to see the need to.. quit the Tamil homeland." more |
18 March 2007 Tamil National Forum to include 1. R.S.Kathir on BBC’s “Hard Talk” program with Sri Lanka’s Foreign Minister Rohitha Bollogama together with comment by tamilnation.org "BBC Allan Little's comparison of the President Rajapakse regime to that of Pincochet of Chile was telling. Having said we may need to remind ourselves of the not so independent role played by the BBC in relation to the conflict in the island ...The notion of a “liberal” national news media is one of the most enduring and influential political myths.." more 2. Sachi Sri Kantha on Stalin’s Antipathy and a Missed Opportunity in 1950s: An Opinion together with comment by tamilnation.org "Sachi Sri Kantha is right to point out that though Ceylon gained independence on 4 February 1948, admission to the United Nations was delayed for more than seven years - until 14 December 1955....The eventual admission of Ceylon to the UN was the result of a 'block' deal between the then 'super powers'. On 14 December 1955, together with Sri Lanka, 15 other states also gained admission. They were - Albania, Austria, Bulgaria, Cambodia, Finland, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Jordan, Lao People's Democratic Republic, Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, Nepal, Portugal, Romania, Spain. Some of these states belonged to the Soviet Bloc and the others to the 'Western' Bloc. In December 1955, Ceylon was led by the strongly West leaning Prime Minister Sir John Kotelawala..." more 3. V. Siva Subramaniam on War on 'Terrorism': Fundamental Concepts Re-Examined - Sri Lankan Case Study "..Normally I avoid writing on political topics but the sufferings of our kith and kin compel me to write this piece... Recently I lost my eldest sister who was a role model to our family. When she passed away there was no way, given the conditions there, I could have gone to her funeral. More tragic - we were cut off (telephone) that we could not know when the funeral was to be, to convey our sorrow... Although what I write will not make a difference I still feel I should put my thoughts down. This article I dedicate to her memory. Though I am 75, my emotional pain comes through here. There must be many others like me in this position. " together with response by tamilnation.org "..We truly share your pain. As you say there are many others like you in 'this position' and in the pain that we share together is a growing togetherness - a togetherness that is rooted in the past, consolidated by the suffering of the present and given direction by our aspirations for a future where not only we but our children and our children's children may live, not in luxury, but in equality and in freedom..." more |
18 March 2007 Struggle for Tamil Eelam 17 March 2007 Sri Lanka Accused at United Nations 1.International League for the Rights and Liberation of Peoples (LIDLIP), on Humanitarian and Political crisis in Sri Lanka - "The international community, including human rights organizations, favour the state. Thus, despite being signatory to the two 1966 Conventions on Human Rights and having ratified the 4th Geneva Convention, successive governments of Sri Lanka are responsible of collective punishment of the Tamils, of having indiscriminately bombarded schools, refugee camps, and churches, of having blocked food and medical supplies to the population in the Northeast. Still, despite respective reports no action is taken. By contrast, when eventually sanctions followed rhetorical condemnations, the LTTE was criminalized as terrorist organization, whereas nobody accused Sri Lanka of state terrorism. On the contrary, Sri Lanka has been elected to sit on the new Human Rights Council." more 2. International Educational Development (IED) on The genocidal crisis in Sri Lanka "We have long been shocked at the policies of Sinhala-dominated governments to encourage large-scale relocation of Sinhalas into traditional Tamil areas. ‘the ultimate objective of Mr. Rajapakse’s advisors is to reduce the Sri Lankan Tamils to the status of the Red Indians of Sri Lanka kept confined to certain reserves as museum pieces. A more anti-Tamil group of hard line advisors Sri Lanka has not had since the Tamils rose in revolt in 1983..." more 3. International Educational Development (IED) on Children and armed conflict "...We are aware of the political agenda of various actors relating to this highly controversial measure and that this issue has been exploited in relation to certain armed conflicts, most especially in Sri Lanka. In the armed conflict there, over-emphasis on a relatively small issue in the context of the devastation this war has rained on mostly Tamil children has allowed a genocidal catastrophe to be sidelined over quibbling on names and numbers of combatants, many of whom are admitted to be age seventeen..." more 4. International Federation of Tamils -Report to the President of the Human Rights Council on Sri Lanka: The Human Rights and Humanitarian Crisis in the North - East "Most of the extra-judicial killings have been committed by the SLAF and its Para military groups like the EPDP (the leader of this group is a cabinet member of the current GoSL) and Karuna Group. The Chief of the Sri Lankan Army (SLA) Lt. Gen.Fonska is one of the ‘accused’ in the killings in Jaffna in the mid-90s. With absolute impunity, he reached the top job in the SLA . It is widely believed that under his overall command, the SLA intelligence wing took the law into its hands." more |
17 March 2007 Sri Lanka's War on Eelam Tamils ...in the Shadow of a Ceasefire 16 March 2007 Reflections 1."...Sir Robert Thompson, the British expert who studied anti-guerrilla operations in Malaya ...felt that "there should be a proper balance between the military and the civil effort".. According to these American and British specialists, the ideal combination of repression and concession was represented by the policies of President Magsaysay, who successfully quelled the Communist-Huk rebellion in the Philippines in the early 1950s. Famous for his policy of "all out force and all out friendship", Magsaysay used 'force' in the shape of ruthless suppression against the Communist rebels and their landless peasant followers, and 'friendship' in the shape of some land reforms and concessions directed towards the middle and rich peasants and the petty bourgeoisie..." Sumanta Banerjee in India's Simmering Revolution, 23 years ago, 1984 2. “I stressed that there can be no military solution alone to the conflict,” British Foreign Secretary Ms Margaret Beckett on what she told Sri Lanka Foreign Minister Mr. Bogollagama, 23 years later, 14 March 2007 |
16 March 2007 International Frame of Tamil Struggle for Freedom to include 1.Maoist Naxalite attack in Central India - BBC Report - "The death toll in the attack on security forces by Maoist rebels in central India (on 15 March 2007) has risen to 55... The militants are known as Naxalites after the district where their Maoist-inspired movement was born in the late 1960s. They have become so powerful in some districts they run their own parallel administrations and justice systems...Analysts talk about the emergence of the Red Corridor, a great swathe of Maoist militancy which stretches all the way from the border with Nepal, south through India to the sea..." more 2. UK Foreign Secretary : “there can be no military solution alone to the conflict” together with comment by tamilnation.org |
15 March 2007 International Frame of Tamil Struggle for Freedom to include Revisited Viswanathan Rudrakumaran on "The Tamils' Quest for Statehood in the context of the Birth of New States in the former Soviet Union and Yugoslavia" "In short, the principle of territorial integrity protects a state only against invasion of its borders and not against internal rebellion... Lord Robert Cecil once justly observed that the main cause of recurrence of wars was precisely the permanent freezing of state frontiers. In a recent New York Times article, human rights activist Yelena Bonner (widow of Andrei Sakharov) writes that "the inviolability of a country's borders against invasion from the outside must be clearly separated from the right to statehood of any people within a state's borders." more 3. Sudha Ramachandran - China moves into India's back yard "...the significance of Hambantota to China lies in its proximity to India's south coast and on the fact that it provides Beijing with presence midway in the Indian Ocean. The Indian Ocean is a critical waterway for global trade and commerce. Half the world's containerized freight, a third of its bulk cargo and two-thirds of its oil shipments travel through the Indian Ocean. It provides major sea routes connecting Africa, the Middle East, South Asia and East Asia with Europe and the Americas and is home to several critical chokepoints such as the Strait of Hormuz and the Strait of Malacca...." more 4.U.S. grants LKR 51 million for petroleum exploration in Sri Lanka |
14 March 2007 Tamil Music - தமிழ் இசை to include Papanasam Sivan A four part video documentary on Sangeetha Kalanidhi Papanasam Sivan (1890-1973) featuring Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer, M.S. Subbulakshmi |
13 March 2007 Tamil National Forum Sanmugam Sabesan on கப்பல் ஓட்டிய தமிழனும், கள்ளக் கடத்தல்காரனும் [also in Real Audio] 13 March 2007 International Relations in the Age of Empire American Ballistic Missile Defense (B.M.D.) Debate Heats Up in Europe - Dr. Federico Bordonaro "...The Pentagon plans to establish radar bases in the Czech Republic and interceptor missiles in Poland... Some high ranking Russian military officers evoked surprise as they declared that Moscow would be prepared to target American Ballistic Missile Defense (B.M.D.) facilities in Central and Eastern Europe if they are installed, and that Russia will have the capability to destroy them..." more |
12 March 2007 Nations & Nationalism to include 12 March 2007 International Frame of Tamil Struggle for Freedom to include 1.US views Tamil Nadu as 'gateway state' connected both to the east and the west "Lt Gen (retired) Dan Christman, senior vice president (international affairs) in the US Chamber of Commerce leading a 38 member delegation to Tamil Nadu: "Tamil Nadu is a gateway state for international business as it connected both to the east and the west. US-India defence relationship has been improving. US companies are getting acquainted with India's rather intricate procurement arrangements and educate their counterparts here about our (US) systems... about our new, sophisticated US military equipment. This is an area of significant commercial promise..." more 2.B. Muralidhar Reddy in the Hindu: Another U.S. base in the Indian Ocean? - Acquisition and Cross-Servicing Agreement & the Indo Sri Lanka Accord - " The provisions of the Acquisition and Cross-Servicing Agreement (ACSA) cannot be described as being detrimental to New Delhi's interests in the current phase of its relations with Washington. However, in a possible new context India has every reason to be concerned about the pact. A brief summary of the nature of the agreement will illustrate this. India, from a long-term perspective, has every reason to be concerned about the ACSA between the U.S. and Sri Lanka.. The fact it took so long for Colombo to join the ACSA club is illuminating. " more 3. Commander G S Khurana, Indian Navy - Shaping Security in India’s Maritime East:Role of Andaman & Nicobar ".. With the stakes too high to resort to war, an extra-regional state could coerce India through soft power (backed by military capability) to achieve its interests and a favourable balance of power. These complex and amorphous security challenges necessitate a rework of strategy and mobilisation of suitable assets on the part the Indian policy-makers." more |
11 March 2007 Reflections "Common sense tells us that there are seven cardinal principles of trust we should keep in mind: Trust is not blind - Trust needs boundaries - Trust demands learning - Trust is tough - Trust needs bonding - Trust is not and never can be an impersonal commodity - Trust requires leaders.... Charles Handy in "How do you manage people who you do not see" more |
7 March 2007 United States & the Tamil Struggle to include Professor Aaron Rajah on Ambassador Blake Vs US State Department (Round One) together with Comment by tamilnation.org 7 March 2007 International Women's Day - Revisited Sanmugam Sabesan on சர்வதேச மகளிர் தினம் - பெண்ணியம் - கற்பு - தமிழ்ப்பெண் 5 March 2007 Tamil Armed Resistance & the Law: What is Terrorism? to include 5 March 2007 Tamil National Forum - Sachi Sri Kantha writes from Japan On Tigers, China, Rajapakse & 'Development' - Deft Dancing on the ‘D’ Word 5 March 2007 Reflections 4 March 2007 Tamils - a Trans State Nation to include Conference Announcement: "Sharing Success" - World Tamil Business Leaders Conference, 2 - 4 November 2007, Sydney, Australia 3 March 2007 Reflections "...All warfare is based on deception. Hence, when able to attack, we must seem unable; when using our forces, we must seem inactive; when we are near, we must make the enemy believe we are far away; when far away, we must make him believe we are near. Hold out baits to entice the enemy. Feign disorder, and crush him. If he is secure at all points, be prepared for him. If he is in superior strength, evade him. If your opponent is of choleric temper, seek to irritate him. Pretend to be weak, that he may grow arrogant.If he is taking his ease, give him no rest. If his forces are united, separate them.Attack him where he is unprepared, appear where you are not expected. These military devices, leading to victory, must not be divulged beforehand. Now the general who wins a battle makes many calculations in his temple ere the battle is fought. The general who loses a battle makes but few calculations beforehand. Thus do many calculations lead to victory, and few calculations to defeat: how much more no calculation at all! It is by attention to this point that I can foresee who is likely to win or lose. " Sun Tzu on the Art of War |
2 March 2007 United States & the Tamil Struggle to include "Sri Lanka has in President Rajapakse a strong leader" - U.S. Ambassador Robert Blake together with comments by tamilnation.org 2 March 2007 Conflict Resolution: Tamil Eelam - Sri Lanka to include "Sri Lanka's Endangered Peace Process and the Way Forward" - Publication by Centre for Just Peace and Democracy (CJPD) ‘The central axiom of the International Community that there is no military solution to Sri Lanka’s conflict has been asserted time and again. The strategies pursued by the stakeholders (the GoSL, LTTE and the Co-Chairs) have led to the collapse of the CFA and endangered the peace process... As the first few years of the CFA have amply demonstrated, it is possible to silence the guns. But history cannot be undone. In order for a credible and viable peace process to evolve, there will have to be attitudinal shifts, not just on the part of the GoSL and the LTTE, but also the international community. The initial optimism produced by the CFA foundered amongst what, in hindsight is plain to see, was a hurried effort in containing the LTTE.” more |
2 March 2007 Tamil Digital Renaissance to include Tamil Nadu gets dual-boot Win-Linux desktops "The Indian state of Tamil Nadu has finalized a tender for 40,000 Lenovo desktops which can be installed with both Novell's Suse Linux and Microsoft's Windows XP Starter Edition. According to C. Umashankar, managing director of Electronics Corporation of Tamil Nadu (Elcot), the desktops will be deployed across schools and government departments in the state. Elcot is Tamil Nadu's state-owned IT supplier. " |
1 March 2007 Conflict Resolution: Tamil Eelam - Sri Lanka to include 1 March 2007 Media & the Tamil Struggle to include Why do they threaten us ? ask Thilakaratne Kuruwita Bandara, Chief Editor, Maubima and Ruvan F. Guruge, Director Editorial Board together with comment by tamilnation.org | News & Whats New Archives - February 2007 |
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