3-9
2005
Sri Lanka News from
News Services around
the globe
to prove their mettle
By D.B.S. Jeyaraj
The setting up of a Post - tsunami operational management structure (P-
TOMS) has provided the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam organization
another opportunity to prove their worth to the Tamil people, Sri Lankans
and the International community. The LTTE has in the past got several
such chances but always bungled and spoiled their name.
In 1987 for example they were recognized by the Sri Lankan and Indian
governments as the chief representatives of the Tamil people and given
pride of place on the interim council. Yet things took a turn for the worse
and the tigers as usual acted in haste and irresponsibly. The result was
the Indo - Tiger war.
There were many other twists and turns in recent history where the LTTE
got chances of legitimate recognition but failed to maximise gains. It was a
case of a childs game of snakes and ladders. The tigers would ascend up
the ladder and descend down the snake. Now the LTTE has once again
been given pride of place in an interim structure. Its area is limited and so
too the powers. Yet the P- TOMS does provide the LTTE a golden
opportunity.
the P Toms Challenge?
By D.B.S. Jeyaraj
Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga who celebrated her 60th birthday
on June 29th is no doubt proud and happy about her recent achievement.
She stood firm and defiant in the face of racist chauvinism masquerading
as nationalist patriotism and pushed through her post - tsunami joint
mechanism project with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam. Encomiums
of praise are being showered upon her by the international community for
her single minded commitment in making the Post - Tsunami Operational
Management Structure ( P- TOMS ) a reality. She fully deserves all those
compliments.
The battle however is not over. It is not even half won. In fact it has barely
begun. Given the protests and the demonstrations against signing the
P-TOMS the very fact that it has been officially sanctioned is certainly a
great accomplishment. The time is not ripe to rest on laurels. The real
challenge will be to make this P-TOMS work in the teeth of stiff opposition
and non - cooperation. Ultimately the success of the P - TOMS will not be
gauged by international kudos or domestic political successs but by a
simple and rudimentary measure. How swiftly, effectively and equitably did
the P- TOMS provide relief, rehabilitation , reconstruction and
resettlement to the North - Eastern victims of the Dec 26th 2004 tsunami?
By Jayadeva Uyangoda
One week after the representatives of the Sri Lankan government and
the LTTE signed the MOU for a post-tsunami relief mechanism, the
political situation in the country continues to remain uncertain. It is quite
amazing that this MOU has also unleashed mainly negative political
imagination in Sinhalese society. The arguments against it are not very
different from the ones put forward nearly fifty years ago against the
Bandaranaike-Chelvanayakam Pact, and repeated every ten tears or so
thereafter. They point to a deep-seated inability of the Sinhalese
nationalist forces to trust the Tamils and their leadership. All the excuses
to resist even a minimalist administrative cooperation between the Sri
Lankan state and the LTTE are rooted in a worldview that is rigid and
obsolete. It is propelled forward by a group with a psychological fear and
mistrust built over the decades of enmity.
Interview with SLMC leader Rauf Hakeem conducted
by The Island journalist Bandula Jayasekara on YA
TV's HARDLINE on Sunday, June 26 on TNL.
Q: The Joint Mechanism has been signed and the president did not
involve the Muslims and they are not a party to it. So what now?
A: We are disappointed. In fact I took it up with the president when I had a
one-to-one meeting with her and she talked about the virtues from her
point of view and tried to convince me that we should participate in the
Joint Mechanism when it is established. I disagreed and I told her very
emphatically that the cause of the Muslims had been betrayed by us not
being involved as a principle stakeholder as much as the LTTE and the
government are identified in the document.
Sunday Essay by Ajith Samaranayake
The term 'tsunami' has become such a catch phrase today that it fails any
more to evoke the enormous human tragedy that Boxing Day last year
produced. In the hands of the editorialist and the sub editor writing his
headlines it has become a synonym for calamity.
So perhaps it was no surprise that the Government's move to set up a
structure to alleviate the sufferings of the tsunami-stricken should have
produced what these cliche-merchants would no doubt characterise as a
political tsunami leading to the wrecking of the UNFPA Government
installed barely a year ago.
would be dangerous in its present form
Dr.R.Ramesh
The idea to have Sethusamudram Shipping Canal is one and a half
centuries old. British Raj, Government of India, Government of Tamil Nadu
and the Ministry of Shipping have taken initiatives to study the feasibility
of the canal at various times. However, all these studies had been of a
general nature and none of them, including the current study by National
Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI), Nagpur, have
attempted to produce a technical feasibility study that is scientifically
consistent.
Archives
Pettah - says that he has a good business, as everybody is
drinking king coconut Sevilaneer or Thambili during the hot
weather. [HumanityAshore - By Dushiyanthini Kangasabapathipillai]
It's bigger than Nalanda and Bodh Gaya. A 4th century Buddhist/Shaivite
site is discovered in Chhattisgarh.
A1,500-year-old city, complete with a palace, temples, houses and a
Buddhist educational centre big enough to accommodate 10,000
students. This remarkable complex is slowly emerging out of the recesses
of the earth at Sirpur, 85 km from the capital Raipur. Archaeologists,
historians and even the Chhattisgarh government are excited by the find.
For it promises to reveal what may arguably be India's biggest ancient
seat of learning—far bigger than the world-famous Nalanda in Bihar—and
one of its earliest temple complexes with dimensions that may dwarf other
similar structures in the country.
Known as Tiruperunthurai in ancient times, Avudaiyar Koil, situated in
Pudukottai, is unique in two aspects. This temple for Lord Siva does not
have a Nandhi and Dwajasthambam.
Known as Tiruperunthurai in ancient times, Avudayar Koil is known for the
temple for Lord Siva who is also hailed as Atmanathar.
Actor Arya's first two releases prove an impressive beginning.
Arya is excited about the result of his first two films — `Ullam Kaetkumae,'
his actual debut, and `Arindhum Ariyaamalum,' which got released first.
Both are doing good business and they augur well for Arya, software
professional turned actor. "I resigned from my job because I knew I could
always go back to it, or pursue Masters in the U.S., as I had earlier
intended," says the young computer engineer.
Recently the Mellisai Mannars were honoured for their immense
contribution to light music.
So what if the Centre is still to recognise the immense talent of the all time
Composing Greats of the South? The evening at Kamarajar Arangam
amply made up for the lapse. It was a bonanza for aficionados of light
music, when M. S. Viswanathan and T. K. Ramamurthy, the unassailable
legends of cinema, were felicitated in the most memorable manner. And
doing the honours were Crazy Beat Entertainment's J. Prabhakar and
Ganesh Kripa's music troupe.
Kaviarasu Kannadasan Thamizh Sangam's recent celebration was three-
pronged.
You never realised that the usual rigmarole of a Vote of Thanks could be
so enjoyable, till you heard the lean and lanky Kanmani Subbu, son of the
illustrious Kannadasan, at Vani Mahal, Chennai. The occasion was a
celebration of three events — the poet's 79th birthday, Kaviarasu
Kannadasan Thamizh Sangam's 14th year, and presentation of
Kannadasan Awards to filmmaker Balu Mahendra and actor Lakshmi
Sivachandran. Saraswathi Ramanathan, the president of the sangam,
emceed the event.
for a lifemate ends at T.Nagar
Now it is Prasanth's turn to tie the nuptial knot. He recently got engaged
to Grahalakshmi.
The hero has over 60 Indian language movies, including in Hindi, behind
him. For sometime now, Prasanth's family had been searching for a bride
for him. "We were searching for the bride world wide but we did not know
that she was living in the same place where we also live, T.Nagar."
Disclaimers
Applicable