TamilWeek_Jan_15

Terrible truth of the Trincomalee tragedy

by D.B.S. Jeyaraj

January second of the new year 2006 was a monday. It was 5.30 in the
evening when 20 year old Manoharan Rajihar set off from home on St.
Mary's road in Trincomalee town. Both his father and mother were medical
doctors jointly running the welcome Medical clininc.

Benign Parliamentarian from Batticaloa III

by D.B.S. Jeyaraj

The 1990 - 94 period was a very challenging phase in the life of Joseph
Pararajasingham. The difficult period was like a baptism of fire for the new
Parliamentarian. Yet he coped with the challenge creditably. He was aided
greatly in his duties by his wife Sugunam.

Relying on stealth [FrontLine]

by D.B.S. Jeyaraj

Recent developments in the Tamil-majority regions of north-eastern Sri
Lanka indicate that the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) has
embarked upon a fresh, multi-pronged combative strategy against the
government [Contd.]

All Party Conference: Déjà vu?

Dr Pakiasothy Saravanamuttu

There is no denying that however elusive it has proved to be, a consensus
of all parties in the south or in parliament on a political settlement is
necessary for peace. In particular, a consensus amongst predominantly
Sinhala parties is crucial, since it cannot be implemented without public
support and legitimacy and will therefore require approval at a referendum.

Operation Strangers Night and the estrangement
of Tamils

by D.B.S. Jeyaraj

Mahinda Rajapakse, the new President of Sri Lanka met representatives of
the Co - Chair quartet of the Sri Lankan peace process on January 9. One
of the issues raised at this meeting was about the cordon, search and arrest
operations going on in Colombo and other areas. The President’s response
according to an official communiqué was as follows.

" Responding to a query by the Co-Chairs on the recent ‘Strangers Night’
operation, it was explained that this was a routine law enforcement
procedure aimed at ‘clearing the neighbourhood’ of criminal elements
including drug traffickers and gangsters, which will also take place in other
areas of the island. It was emphasised that over 90% of those detained were
released on the same day and that due process was observed."

Implement CFA, or quit Jaffna

By: J. S. Tissainayagam

Ever since the LTTE’s Batticaloa-Amparai commander, Karuna, decided to
raise the flag of mutiny in March-April 2004, the east has witnessed an orgy
of killing. A contest that began by intelligence agents of the two sides – the
Sri Lanka military and the LTTE – targeting each other, escalated till any
member of the rival’s forces was fair game for the others’ assassins. Today
however, the exchanges have taken on a totally new dimension with the
murder of Batticaloa District’s TNA parliamentarian, Joseph Pararajasingham.

The Dilemma of the US: The LTTE and the
Buddhist Ayatollahs

By Professor Saveri Amuthaputhiran -
University of Jaffna, Sri Lanka

From the oppressed Tamil perspective the US Ambassador’s admonitions
this week were as intimidating and threatening as the warning issued in
August 1995 by a visiting UNDP representative in Jaffna to the Tamil civilians
that the US will support the Sinhala military’s assault to conquer Jaffna.

Mahinda's real chinthana

By Sonali Samarasinghe

The telephone threat made by President Mahinda Rajapakse to the Editor,
The Sunday Leader, Lasantha Wickrematunge and the ensuing furore last
week stunned diplomats and shocked civil society.

Relatives of recently killed Sri Lankan soldiers
speak to WSWS [WSWS]

The WSWS interviewed the family members of a number of soldiers who
have been killed recently. Most Sri Lankan soldiers are economic
conscripts—poor rural youth who have been forced to enlist to support their
families, only to be used as cannon fodder in the bloody 20-year war.
Exploited in death as in life, the government, military top brass and the media
hail the “heroes” for their defence of “the unitary state” against the “Tiger
terrorists”.

Looking beyond provocation and restraint

by Dr. Pakiasothy Saravanamuttu

Restraint, so far, on the part of the Government of Sri Lanka (GOSL)
following the sinking of the Dvora with the loss of 13 navy personnel last
week is to be commended. Likewise the President’s repeated statements that
he and his government are committed to the peace process and cease fire
and that his patience should not be seen as weakness.

Thousands of Tamils flee from
government-controlled areas
in Sri Lanka [WSWS]

As the danger of open civil war in Sri Lanka intensifies, thousands of Tamils
in the North and East of the island have fled their homes to areas controlled
by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). Several dozen people have
also left for the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu.

The exodus comes after two months of steadily escalating violence. At least
150 military personnel, LTTE members and civilians have died since the
election of President Mahinda Rajapakse. The armed forces have stepped
up the harassment and intimidation of Tamils through increased patrols,
checkpoints and arbitrary cordon and search operations.

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.

Sri Lankan immigrant to head
second-most-important US tax agency

A Sri Lankan attorney who came to California in 1986 will take the reins as
the state's new tax czar, the first time a woman has been named executive
officer of the Franchise Tax Board in its 55-year history.
Selvi Stanislaus, 45, was the unanimous choice of the three-member..[contd.]

An exhibition on dislocation and the self

By Rohan Canagasabey

Over the period of the two decades long civil war, dis-location has been one
of its primary consequences, apart from of course death and destruction.
Dislocation from ones home and its cultural and psychological consequences
is the theme of an exhibition by Jaffna-based artist Thamotharampillai
Shanaathanan, which opened on January 5 and still on display at the
Galleries, Paradise Café, at Alfred House Road, Colombo 3.

Under the title of Locating The Self, 19 mixed media on paper creations are
displayed by the artist, who is also a lecturer in art history at the Department
of Fine Arts of the University of Jaffna.

The overwhelming first impression in the artworks is the common element of
being set in a brown coloured landscape. However, the figures juxtaposed
and collaged in many of these creations of Shanaathanan have deeper
meanings

Thai Pongal [NTYO]

Thai Pongal can be thought of as the Thamil’s national festival. The sun has
made one complete round before beginning its journey north again on the
day of Thai Pongal. The Thai Pongal celebration can also be thought of as a
harvest festival. It’s at this time of year that the farmer, having reaped the
rewards of his hard work, can celebrate this major agricultural festival.

Reading the past in a more inclusive way

Interview with Dr. Sudharshan Seneviratne.

Dr. Seneviratne was in Chennai last December to deliver the keynote
address of a seminar organised by the Roja Muthiah Research Library
(RMRL). He is co-Director, Anuradhapura Citadel Archaeology Project, Sri
Lanka and Consultant Archaeologist, World Megalithic Association,
Government of South Korea. In 2000, he was Visiting Fulbright Professor,
Carleton College, Northfield, Minnesota, United States. His research interests
include megalithic archaeology, environmental archaeology and
ethno-archaeology. Excerpts:

Short Story:
Remember me to one who lives there [Hindu]

Was there a glint of mischief in her eyes as she handed the chocolate to
him? Or had he imagined it?

HE was eighty and she was seventy-four when she was diagnosed with
Alzheimer's disease.

In privacy, the doctor had told him that her memory would start deteriorating.
In the advanced stages, she was likely to not only forget her past and the
present, she might even lose track of who she was.

Click for Tamil books

Kaanthalakam, a Chennai-based publishing house, reaches Tamil books to
readers across the globe through its website .

That there is a large Tamil reading population in the U.S. and Canada may
not come as a surprise. But in South Africa and Australia? "It's true. We know
because we send Tamil books to people in 40 countries across the globe,"
says N. Sasirekha of Kaanthalakam, a Chennai-based publishing house. And
that has been possible through the website, www.tamilnool.com.

Keep on Moving..............

" Never in the history of this nation have so many people been arrested, for
the cause of freedom and human dignity. You know there are approximately
2500 people in jail right now. Now let me say this. The thing that we are
challenged to do is to keep this movement moving. There is power in unity
and there is power in numbers. As long us we keep moving like we are
moving, the power structure of Birmingham will have to give in.

Keep this movement going
Keep this movement rolling
In spite of the difficulties and we are going to have a few
more difficulties
Keep climbing
Keep moving if you can't fly run
If you can't run walk
If you can't walk crawl
But by all means keep moving....." - Dr Martin Luther King

Hear NPR Audio: "Keep On Moving" Speech

"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]