"On sunny slope and beechen swell,
The shadowed light of evening fell;
And, where the maple's leaf was brown,
With soft and silent lapse came down,
The glory, that the wood receives,
At sunset, in its golden leaves."
- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807 - 1882)
Week's digest of top
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Sri Lankan Air force bombs govt controlled
areas in Muthur
by D.B.S. Jeyaraj
Sri Lankan air force planes resuming aerial bombardment of the Muthur
region in Trincomalee district on April 26th have in a colossal blunder
dropped bombs on Muslim populated areas coming under Government
control. At least three people were killed and eight injured in the
incident where all victims were Muslims.
Consequent to the suicide bomber attack on Army Commander Lt. Gen
Sarath Fonseka the Defence ministry suspended transport to and from
tiger controlled areas in the Wanni and also commenced a three -
pronged undeclared war in Trincomalee district
Army chief seriously injured in noon attack by
suicide bomber
by D.B.S. Jeyaraj
Sri Lankan army commander Lt. Gen Sarath Fonseka sustained serious
injuries in a suicide bomber attack on Tuesday April 25th that killed at
least eight persons and wounded another twenty - seven. The suicide
bomber was a woman pretending to be a pregnant woman.
The attack took place in broad daylight outside the army headquarters
within a heavily guarded security precinct. Gen. Fonseka who received
abdomen and chest injuries underwent three surgeries and is now
pronounced to be in “stable condition”.But he is yet to be declared
completely out of danger.
Colombo launches undeclared war against LTTE
by D.B.S. Jeyaraj
Responding to a suicide bomber attack targeting Army commander Lt.
Gen Sarath Fonseka in Colombo on April 25th at noon the Sri Lankan
Government launched an undeclared war in the evening against the
Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam in the Trincomalee district.
In a coordinated operation areas in the Muthur division of Eastern
Trincomalee were bombarded by air and shelled from military camps
and naval ships.
Anatomy of violence that shocked Trincomalee
by D.B.S. Jeyaraj
Trincomalee known as “Thirukonamalai ” in Tamil and “Thrikanaamale”
in Sinhala is a multi - ethnic and multi - religious town and region.This
simple truth was vividly illustrated on Thursday April 20th when the
newly elected Trinco urban council assumed office formally.
Army suspected over Puthur civilian killings
by D.B.S. Jeyaraj
The Sri Lankan army is suspected by residents of Puthur in Jaffna of
being responsible for the deaths of five Tamil civilians from the area.
Though the Sri Lankan army has denied responsibility and says the
Police suspect it to be a “reprisal” by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil
Eelam, the people of the area strongly believe that the army was
responsible. The five victims were from Vaatharavathai in Puthur East.
Human rights and democracy at the centre of the
peace process
by Rohini Hensman
HUMAN RIGHTS: The local government election results demonstrated
that the JVP's claims to popularity were exaggerated, while the JHU is
really of no political importance. Paradoxically, this puts Mahinda
Rajapakse under even greater pressure than before to deliver on his
promise of peace. If he fails, the blame cannot be put on his allies.
Sri Lanka's Shadow War
Sri Lanka's paramilitary - "Shadow War" coverage of the award
winning Dateline program aired Wednesday, Apr 19th 8.30 p.m.
Are Kumar David's hopes too sanguine?
by Ajith Samaranayake
Kumar David in his essay last week has done well to take the bull by
the horns and pose the question in his own words why the LTTE has a
substantial degree of support among Tamils despite the fact that there
is no semblance of democratic and human rights in the land of the
Tiger.
The rise and fall from grace of CBK
By S. Francis Perera
Now that Chandrika Kumaranatunga has bowed herself out of office,
it should be possible to make an objective study of her political
career. It has, however, to be emphasized that, she made her exit with
an ill grace.
Sirimavo Bandaranaike — A portrait from memory
(A tribute on her Ninetieth Birthday)
By Leelananda De Silva
There is a sadness that comes in thinking of the days that are no
more. That is the feeling I have when writing about Mrs.
Bandaranaike, under whom I worked for seven crowded years from
1970 to 1977. Mrs. Bandaranaike, apart from being Prime Minister
and Head of Government, was also the Minister of Planning and
Economic Affairs and the Minister of Defence & Foreign Affairs.
Senior officials from these two ministries saw the Prime Minister at
least once a week and sometimes more often. There were also the
travels abroad with her, which gave an opportunity to see her at work
and in her freer hours. A few of us at the Ministry of Planning also had
the occasion to see her in Cabinet from time to time.
Netaji's army as seen by a Ceylonese recruit
by PK Balachandran
It was in 1945, the year of the decisive defeat of the Japanese
Imperial Army and its auxiliary, the Indian National Army (INA) founded
by Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose.
Netaji's dream of freeing India (and incidentally Ceylon too) from the
British yoke, lay shattered.
The place was Singapore, which British Indian forces had taken back
from the Japanese in a swift operation. What was "Syonan" during the
Japanese occupation, got back to being the familiar "Singapore".
Woman devoted to Sri Lanka's ill [BBC]
A retired woman from Surrey who spent years helping cancer patients
in Kent is devoting her life to sufferers of the condition in Sri Lanka.
Sadie Skelton used to work at Pembury Hospice in Kent and helped
set up a 24-bed hospice in Sri Lanka following her work with victims of
the tsunami.
She said: "It was lovely to go back a year later and see the difference."
Ms Skelton has also written a book to help children deal with the
effects the tsunami has had on them.
Sri Lankan peace on the ropes [BBC]
By Ethirajan Anbarasan
Yet another suicide attack in the Sri Lankan capital and the
government has responded by unleashing air strikes on Tamil rebel
positions in the east. So, is this war?
Ground realities clearly suggest that the 2002 ceasefire agreement
exists only on paper and unless the cycle of violence is stopped it will
be difficult to prevent the country from sliding into full-scale war.
Sri Lanka: war amid the ceasefire? [BBC]
By Priyath Liyanage
The government and Tamil Tiger rebels in Sri Lanka say that a
ceasefire signed in February 2002 is still holding, despite a suicide
bombing on Tuesday in the army headquarters in Colombo and
subsequent air strikes by the military against rebel positions in the
east of the country.
Norwegian peace facilitators also insist the truce is still holding.
So when is a ceasefire not a ceasefire?
Most analysts agree that the suicide bombing bore all the hallmarks of
the Tamil Tigers, and this combined with the air strikes has blown a
gaping hole in the prospects for peace.
Sri Lankan peace talks on the verge of collapse
[WSWS]
The Geneva peace talks between the Sri Lankan government and the
Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) are on the brink of collapse,
amid escalating violence in the war zones of Sri Lanka’s North and
East. Some 70 people, including military personnel, LTTE cadres and
civilians, have been killed since the beginning of April. Many more
have been injured and thousands have been displaced.
The second round of negotiations were due to begin today, but were
postponed until April 24-25 following a dispute over the transport of
LTTE leaders from the East to the northern LTTE stronghold for
discussions prior to the Geneva talks. The Defence Ministry,
supported by President Mahinda Rajapakse, provocatively turned
down an LTTE request for airforce transport, which has previously
been provided.
Sri Lanka’s war aim is to take the east [TamilGuardian]
The Rajapakse administration is pushing for a new round of conflict -
with specific strategic objectives.
The international community, the Nordic truce monitors and other
observers of Sri Lanka’s conflict have been visibly alarmed by the
spiralling violence in the island’s Northeast. Amongst a series of lethal
attacks on the Sri Lankan military and the Liberation Tigers, the riots
against Tamils and Muslims in Trincomalee has ushered in another
facet of violence.
Shukria Gul: “love and respect the People Living With HIV/AIDS”
by Dushiyanthini Kanagasabapathipillai
Shukria Gul was found HIV positive in 1995. Since then she has been working
with the People Living With HIV/AIDS (PLWHAs) in Pakistan. Thirty five year
old Shukria Gul is currently the general secretary of Pak plus Society, which
is working very closely with the PLWHAs. She came to Sri Lanka recently for
the second time, to attend a regional workshop on HIV/AIDS, which was held
in Colombo, Sri Lanka.
Why the world is watching Nepal [BBC]
While it would be an exaggeration to say that Nepal occupies a strategic
position in the world - isolated as it is in the Himalayas - its future is being
watched closely.
Arts - Culture - Heritage
Theertha International Artists’ Workshop 2006
By Dushiyanthini Kanagasabapathipillai
The third Theertha International Artists’ Workshop 2006 was held at the
Ratnasiri Wickramanayake Training Centre in Hantana, Kandy. Eighteen
artists from Nigeria, India, Hong Kong, Iran, Argentina, Nepal, Kuwait,
Pakistan, Australia and Sri Lanka participated. The artists stayed here for
two weeks, exchanged their experience and experimented their creativity.
The opening day was held on April 01, 2006.
The artists have exchanged their ideas, and explored the possibilities to
work together beyond cultural, ethnic, geographical, language and religious
barriers.
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Love Letter on the web
By Yohan Perera
Marking another milestone in the local film industry a website was launched
recently relating to a Tamil film shot in India and Sri Lanka.
The film ‘Kaadhal Kaditham’ (Love Letter) has many firsts to its credit. It is
for the first time that a web site is being launched for a Tamil movie in Sri
Lanka. It is also the first Tamil Movie which has been shot in Sri Lanka since
decades. It is also the first time the National Film Corporation is doing a joint
production with a foreign movie production company. It has teamed up with
Waterfall Movie Makers to produce the film.
Remembering Pudumaippithan [FrontLine]
In his birth centenary year, Tamil literature lovers all over the world
celebrate the master of the short story.
MODERN Tamil literature emerged towards the end of the 19th century with
the launch of the first novel in the language, Pratapa Mudaliyar Charitram
by Mayuram Vedanayakam Pillai, and made further strides in the early 20th
century. Subramania Bharati, who took Tamil poetry to new heights at about
the same time, contributed to the modern era in the genre of short story,
which had made its appearance in English hardly two decades earlier. Other
writers also came up with noteworthy contributions, among them were V.V.S.
Iyer, A. Madaviah and Selvakesava Mudaliyar. The 1930s and 1940s saw
the strengthening of these literary efforts and this, along with similar trends
in the rest of India, marked the beginning of a period of renaissance in
regional literature.
The hot cool hero [Hindu]
In his short career, Bharath has performed roles that are dramatically
different. He wants to keep it that way.
He danced his way into people's hearts. Bharath is now riding the crest of a
success wave. If Shankar's "Boys" gave him the break, "Chellame" identified
him as an actor with potential, someone who can emote.
Non Profit Organization:
Conservative Leader praises Ontario Tamil Community
at Awards event
by Dhakshi Ariyakumar
It is very remarkable to note that the Canadian Tamil community in many
ways has enhanced the prosperity of the Greater Toronto Area with their
diverse contributions towards the society.
“I want to thank the Tamil Community for their hard work and contribution
made to the prosperity of Ontario in so many different ways, such as
economically, socially and culturally. I think the province is stronger and
prouder and is better off in many ways, for the contributions made by the
Tamil community, particularly by the entrepreneurs of this community,”
Conservative Leader of the Province of Ontario John Tory stated recently at
a community event.
Tamil Children's Endowment Fund
A nation’s most precious natural resource is its children. The conflict in Sri
Lanka, coupled with a state-enforced economic embargo has literally and
figuratively crippled this resource. Presently, a ceasefire and the lifting of the
embargo has brought about a climate of positive change. The conflict-
affected areas are abuzz with the theme of redevelopment and
reconstruction.
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Disclaimers
Applicable
"There are two things born from mountains, shining so brilliantly that the great bow down, driving
darkness from earth circled by roaring waters. One is the flaming sun, single wheel bright as
lightning, the other is Tamil that has no like." — from the taNTiyalankârum [Berkeley Tamil]
Ayathurai Saanthan’s creative exposition
by K. S. Sivakumaran
Ayathurai Santhan (pronounced as Saanthan) is a writer from Suthumaai,
Manipay (pronounced as Maanippaai) in the Yaalpaanam district. He used
to write excellent short stories in Thamil. But of late he writes in English. He
has authored some fifteen books in Thamil and English since 1966, mainly
collections of short stories, a novel and a booklet of what he calls "prose-
poetry". In 2003, he published the latter book and called it Survival and
Simple Things. One of his other works is World Literature of the 20th
Century (This book in Thamil, published in 2005 is a comprehensive
introduction on some 200 writers).
