TamilWeek_Feb_19

Sri Lanka foes to 'curb violence' [BBC]

Deal could save Sri Lanka truce

"We consider this as a diplomatic victory as the government has promised
to disarm all other Tamil armed groups," Tamil rebel chief negotiator Anton
Balasingham told the BBC. [BBC] "The actual test will be in the
implementation on the ground"- DBS Jeyaraj [BBC]

Address by head of LTTE team
Address by head of GOSL team

TamilWeek Reader Comments:
Erik Solheim releases statement [Full Text]

T.K. Kalaa
gets
"Kalaimaamani"
award [Filmalaya]

by D.B.S. Jeyaraj

Among those
receiving the Tamil
Nadu state
governments
"Kalaimaamani"
award this year will
be the singer TK
Kalaa of "Thayit
Sirandha Kovilum
Illai" fame.

Geneva, local elections and the
political balance of power

By Dr Pakiasothy Saravanamuttu

Geneva and the local government elections have the potential to change the
political balance of power in the country. The question is as to whether they
will.

Sri Lanka's only hope for peace [BBC]

Whether the Sri Lankan government likes it or not - and they do not - the
Tamil Tigers have established a de facto state in the north-east of the
country.

Contradictory Aims and Dilemmas in the Peace
Process

By Dr. S. Narapalasingam

The many dilemmas in the peace process launched in February 2002 call
for an alternative approach to conflict resolution that will focus straightaway
on the core issues of the ethnic conflict. The dilemmas on one hand relate to
the price of continuing the gory war with no definite prospect of swift victory
but distinct possibility of further losses;

Journalists
journey to
Jaffna

by Manique
Mendis

Jaffna has always
held a special
attraction for me.
The warm
hospitality and
sincere kindness
of the people to
Sinhalese visitors
has often touched
me. I last went to
Jaffna in early
December 2005.
The city I visited a
few days ago was
a drastically
changed place.

The Ceasefire Agreement - A stalled prelude

By Dr. Rajasingham Narendran

“Blessed are the peacemakers”- The Bible

The ceasefire agreement (CFA) signed between the Government of Sri
Lanka (GOSL) and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Ealam (LTTE) in February’
2002 will be the subject of discussions in Geneva in the third week of
February. The LTTE has re-iterated that it will not brook any discussions on
changes to the CFA and on subjects beyond it. I

What will the next week bring us?

By Darisha Bastian

The countdown to Geneva has officially begun, with the LTTE already
having dispatched its negotiating team to the Swiss capital where the first
round of talks between the two parties since April 2003 will be held at the
Château de Bossey or the conference centre owned by the World Council of
Churches.

looking back on
the fourth
anniversary of
the 2002 CFA:

False alarm
over the
ceasefire that
backfired[Mar 02]

by D.B.S. Jeyaraj

"The clever
woman's lies and
twists will be
understood in
eight days: Oh
Mother, this
woman is a false
being: Oh Father,
this woman is a
new being."

Talks, negotiators and peace process

by Shamindra Ferdinando

President Mahinda Rajapakse’s peace delegation is undergoing a crash
course in the fundamentals of negotiations to prepare a vastly experienced
team to meet LTTE negotiators led by the London-based former British High
Commission employee Anton Balasingham. His Australian-born wife Adele, a
former constable of the Sri Lankan police turned Thamileelam police chief
Nadesan and S. P. Thamilselvan who led the LTTE delegation during
Prabhakaran-Chandrika honeymoon (mid 1994-April 1995) are included in
the team.

‘Constitutional Council’ – A contrary view

By Amrit Muttukumaru

The demand from some civic groups to reconstitute the ‘Constitutional
Council’ (CC) would give the impression that it would make a substantial
contribution to good governance, which this country so desperately needs.
There is no doubt that the objectives of the 17th Amendment which creates
the CC are most relevant particularly in regard to depoliticizing appointments
to key institutions of government.

Hope on the
horizon [Feb 2002]

by D.B.S. Jeyaraj

Despite delays
and controversies,
the draft
agreement drawn
up by the
Norwegian
mediators raises
hopes of a durable
ceasefire in Sri
Lanka. [Feb 2002]

SB: No solution under unitary Lanka [BBC]

Sri Lanka would not be able to find a solution to the national question if the
authorities insist on a unitary Sri Lanka, former minister SB Dissanayake said.

Addressing a rally in Vihara Maha Devi Park in Colombo, the senior leader of
the opposition United National Party (UNP) insisted that the president change
his approach in finding a solution to the grievances of minority Tamils.

Shadow hangs over Sri Lanka tourism [BBC]

Sri Lanka's government is due to hold talks with the Tamil Tiger rebels in
Geneva next week. The aim is to revive the island's peace process, which
was all but destroyed by a series of killings in recent months. The threat of a
return to war has led to uncertainty in Sri Lanka's tourism industry.

Free and Fair elections in North-East ? [BBC]

Free and fair election is not a foregone conclusion says a veteran election
monitoring organisation. They say local elections in the North and the East
will come under heavy pressure due to the political pressures in the region.

Jayantha Dhanapala: Man of our Times

by Ivan Corea

The present Secretary-General of the United Nations, Kofi Annan will
complete his second five year term on December 2006.

Canada proposes more open selection process for
next UN secretary general [CBC]

Canada is seeking more transparency and broader involvement of member
countries in selecting the next UN secretary general, according to a set of
proposals released by the Canadian mission Wednesday.

Several candidates have been mentioned as possible successors to Annan,
including South Korea's foreign minister, a prominent Sri Lankan peace
negotiator and the deputy prime minister of Thailand.

Swiss Tamils
look to
preserve
their culture

Tamils first came
to Switzerland in
the 1980s as
refugees fleeing
civil war in Sri
Lanka and now
make up a
sizeable
community in the
country. [NZZ]

Sri Lanka plans rated bond to restructure debt [LBO]

Sri Lanka wants to float an international bond this year to gauge market
response as well as see if it can raise debt at a reasonably low interest rates,
the treasury secretary said Thursday.

The treasury is awaiting a response from Citibank advising on the size of the
issue, which could be between $500 million and $1 billion with a maturity
period of seven or more years, Treasury Secretary P.B. Jayasundera told
Dow Jones Newswires in an interview.

Trinco Muslims protest against Denmark [Tamilnet]

Several hundred Muslims Friday afternoon held a protest rally in the
Trincomalee esplanade after Jumma prayers against the publication of
caricatures of Prophet Mohamed in newspapers in Denmark. Muslim
businessmen closed their shops and other establishments in Trincomalee
bazaar throughout the day, sources said.

Lanka on
alert to fight
bird flu

With India
confirming its first
bird flu infection,
health authorities
yesterday pledged
to take aggressive
measures to
prevent the deadly
virus from affecting
Sri Lanka.

Trinco court releases four LTTE cadres

Four LTTE cadres, S.Shanmugaraj, Xavier Ranjit, S.Vijayakumar and
Luxmanan Aravinthan were immediately taken to Wanni under the escort of
the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM), legal sources said.

UNICEF welcomes sharp decline in under-age youths
joining LTTE [TamilNet]

UNICEF representatives expressed satisfaction in the sharp decline of the
number of under-age youths joining the ranks of the Liberation Tigers after
the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between the
Government of Sri Lanka and the LTTE, during a meeting held with the
LTTE's Child Protection Unit at the LTTE Peace Secretariat building Sunday,
LTTE officials said.

From
May 2004 TW:
LTTE
suspects
army link in
Batticaloa
kilings

By D. B. S. Jeyaraj

The mysterious
yet
gruesomekilling of
seven Tiger
cadres - four of
them disabled - by
a group of
"unknown"
assassins on the
night of Sunday,
April 25 in
Batticaloa has
received
widespread
condemnation.

UN plea to Tigers on child troops [BBC]

The United Nations Children's Fund, Unicef, has renewed appeals to Tamil
Tiger rebels in Sri Lanka to stop recruiting child soldiers.

Unicef said the Tigers had taken more than 5,000 children into their ranks
since agreeing a 2002 truce.

Meeting Nepal's Maoist leader [BBC]

On Monday, Nepal's Maoist movement marks its 10th year of insurgency in
the Himalayan kingdom.

In a rare move, the rebel leader, Prachanda, spoke out about the conflict that
has claimed some 13,000 lives - and the possible exile or execution of
Nepal's King Gyanendra.

It was difficult to believe that the man sitting modestly in the corner was
Pushpa Kamal Dahal, better known under his nom-de-guerre of Prachanda
("The Fierce One").

Film sheds light on Afghan exodus [BBC]

Thousands of Afghans live in Britain, having fled various regimes over the
last 30 years. Now for the first time a film has been made about their lives.

Ray of hope for endangered bird [BBC]

The only known habitat of India's rarest bird may yet be saved from
destruction in a last-minute effort to re-route an irrigation canal.

Three Canadian Films

by K.S. Sivakumaran

I saw three Canadian films at the recent international film festival in Goa.
They were interesting films in exploring candidly experiences we have not
had in this part of the world. And the film techniques, technology with added
electronic devices and cinematography were also matters of study for a
dedicated student of cinema as a medium.

India's
glittering
stockpile

India is the world's
largest consumer
of gold. Its
appetite for the
precious metal
doesn't appear to
be waning either,
even though gold
prices recently hit
a 25-year high.
Once given,
golden wedding
presents and
family heirlooms
are rarely re-sold.
In a country of
over a billion
people, this
translates to a
huge stockpile of
wealth. Critics say
this stockpiling is
bad for the Indian
economy.

Amirdham: Love across social divide [Hindu]

`Vedham Pudhidhu' Kannan is a happy man. He is making his debut as
director with "Amirdham." And the phone has not stopped ringing after the
sneak preview. This augurs well for the film, which Kannan is producing and
for which he has written the script too.

Kannan has worked with K. Balachander, Bharatiraja, Sp. Muthuraman,
Bharathan and V. M. C. Hanifa. ``Vedham Pudhidhu" won him the national
award for story and screenplay. He wrote the dialogue for the tele-serials
"Anni," "Sahana," "Nimmadhi Ungal Choice" and "Akka" (the last in Telugu).
He has also written and directed telefilms.

Naalai: Friends will be friends

The Koyambedu market as shooting spot? Yes, director Udayabhanu
Maheswaran had chosen the place to capture the rustic atmosphere for Grey
Films India Pvt. Ltd's ``Naalai."

A group of junior artistes with hero Richard in the middle was dancing to the
tune of Karthik Raja under the instructions of dance master Shanthi.

The unit shifts to a calm location, where Madhumita is waiting. Work
continues as the camera begins to follow the lead pair taking a stroll. "Naalai,"
scheduled for release in April, is the story of two young men with volatile
tempers. Brought up in the mafia mould, Justin (Richard) and Nattu (N.
Natarajan Subramanian), grow up to become gangsters on whom leader Nair
(Nazar) relies.

Monumental piece

S. Balachander, the veena vidwan who successfully established a unique
style of his own, was undoubtedly a class apart. A self-taught veena artiste,
he rose to great heights due to his innovative, brilliant mind and complete
dedication to his art.

This monumental audio recording comprising the 72 melakartas, that others
may have hesitated to touch with a barge pole, is perhaps the culmination of
an outstanding career. The 72 melakarta scheme, an exclusive structure of
Raga System, as conceptualised by the revered musicologist
Venkatamakhin, was called the asampurna paddhati.

Passion, emotion and melody

In a rare event, singers S. Janaki and P.B. Sreenivos joined hands to create
music.

``There are many `firsts' to this programme," said anchor M. S. Murthy at
Kalatapasvi Creations' evening of `Bhajans and Ghazals' by playback singer
S. Janaki in association with P. B. Sreenivos, at Vani Mahal this past
weekend. The novelty was in the jugalbandi of bhajans and ghazals by South
Indian artistes — illustrious playback singer S. Janaki trying it for the first
time and P. B. Sreenivos showcasing some of his passionately penned
ghazals.

Mail Link

The Program:

“Mail Link” is a letter writing program to foster friendship between the Tamil
children of North America and the Tamil children affected by the war and
Tsunami in the North and East of Sri Lanka. “Mail Link” was initiated to help
in healing the hearts of those children who
survived by fostering friendship and care through regular mail
correspondence.
For Info, Please contact Thanja at 416-497-0885. [Contd.]

Center for Women’s Development and
Rehabilitation (CWDR)

CWDR is non-governmental organization whose mission is to ensure that
the right to life and human dignity of women and children is not violated. The
organization was formed in February 1991 by 11 socially conscious women
as a result of the urgent need for an organized welfare system for women in
the war ravaged provinces of North and East of Sri Lanka. They strive to aid
victims of war and most recently victims of Tsunami, focusing on women and
children, by providing them with the much needed love, care and basic
necessities to sustain life. Attached for your easy reference is a report on
the activities of CWDR, which is also available online at
www.cwdronline.org.

"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]