Week's digest of top
news and views
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Military illusions that ruined a peace process
by Vasantharajah
According to southern newspaper reports, the morale-boosters gave
high hopes to the soldiers saying that, backed by aerial bombing, the
state’s forces could crush the LTTE within 24 hours!
Rajapakse talks Lebanon with Indian women Press Corps
by K.T. Kumaran
“There never was a good war or a bad peace”, is wisdom from one of
the Founding Fathers of America, Benjamin Franklin. Images being
beamed into our homes for the past several days from Lebanon and
Israel is evident to this.
Report on HIV
in Jaffna
By Yenmozhi
A journey to this
island reveals that
the population is
highly vulnerable to
HIV, yet civic
infrastructure is
almost non existent.
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Two EU states
quit Lanka mission [BBC]
Finland and Denmark are to withdraw their ceasefire monitors from Sri
Lanka, after the Tamil Tigers demanded that EU states quit the mission.
Let my country awake!
by Dr.Rajasingham.Narendran
“A developed India by 2020, or even earlier, is not a dream. It need not even
be a mere vision in the minds of many Indians. It is a mission we can all take
up – and succeed.” – President Abdul Kalam of India.
IF– has become a key word for Sri Lanka.
DBS Jeyaraj is on a
research
assignment. He will
resume writing soon
Separatists, majoritarians and ‘maximum’ devolutionists
By S. Sellathurai
The government’s call to the LTTE to submit their proposals for devolution of
powers cannot be serious, when their devout aim is known well to be the
establishment of an independent state in Northeast Sri Lanka.
The Making and Unmaking of Constitutions
The Seventh Death Anniversary of Dr. Neelan Tiruchelvam falls on July 29.
We reproduce here one of his articles on the constitution which was
published in the Daily Mirror of September 18, 1978.
By Dr Neelan Tiruchelvam
Can India trust the Sri Lankan President? [Rediff]
by Sheela Bhatt
On November 18 last year, then Sri Lankan prime minister Mahinda
Rajapakse got a rather pleasant 60th birthday gift: News that he had been
elected as the President of the island nation.
'For anything, we turn to India'
The Rediff Interview | Mahinda Rajapakse, President of Sri Lanka
Mahinda Rajapakse, Sri Lanka's president, makes no bones about his
government's desire for greater Indian involvement in resolving the ethnic
crisis affecting his country.
Young Lanka caught between delusion & a deity [Calcutta Telegraph]
by Radhika Ramaseshan
In a seminar hall at the prestigious Peradeniya University in this former
capital of Sri Lanka, students, teachers and Buddhist clerics assemble to
answer queries from visiting Indian journalists. Most of them expectedly
relate to the over two-decade Sinhala-Tamil conflict and, with no resolution in
sight, what this means to a generation that has grown up after the 1983
ethnic riots.
Air force 'bombs Tiger airstrip' [BBC]
Sri Lanka's air force has bombed Tamil Tiger positions in the north-east of
the country for a second day, the military says.
Thursday's bombings were to stop the Tigers building an airstrip in Mullaitivu
district, the military says.
The Tigers say five of their soldiers were killed, and have described the
attack as an "act of war".
On Wednesday the air force bombed an area of Trincomalee district in a
dispute about water supplies.
In Sri Lanka, UN refugee chief calls on all sides to allow
displaced to return home [UN News]
Sri Lanka’s Government and separatist Tamil Tigers should resume peace
talks and create the conditions necessary for more than 300,000 internally
displaced persons (IDPs) to return home because they have been enduring
a conflict that has lasted over 20 years, the head of the United Nations
refugee agency said while visiting the country.
The three-day mission to Sri Lanka, which ended today, was the first by a
head of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to the island and
was intended to underline that only peace can restore normal life, and
highlight the agency’s work with IDPs, refugees in all but name because they
have not crossed an international border.
“We want confidence to be built in all areas for people to return. This must
be based not just on words, but on actions," High Commissioner António
Guterres said in the rebel-held northern area of Kilinochchi on Wednesday.
Security Council calls for greater effort to protect children in
wartime [UN News]
After hearing presentations from United Nations officials about the 250,000
boys currently exploited as child soldiers and tens of thousands of girls
subject to sexual violence, the Security Council today called for a
“reinvigorated effort” to protect children in areas of armed conflict.
Through a statement read out by its July President, Ambassador Jean-Marc
de la Sablière of France, the 15-member body praised the implementation of
its landmark 2005 Council resolution that called for the monitoring of
violations of children’s rights and well-being in seven conflict zones.
Parallel Courses [LBO]
Fuss-budget looks at how Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka are driving their
peoples into poverty
Though Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe are thousands of miles apart and are on
two separate continents, our economic policies have so much in common
with that country, that it is uncanny.
The readers of this column are no strangers to Zimbabwe as we have tried to
keep a regular update on what is happening there due to the similar, crisis
creating, economic policies that are adopted by the two countries.
We first took readers to Zimbabwe in October 2004 in the Thrift Column -
Déjà vu . At the time Zimbabwean T-bill yields were 162.85 percent and
overnight rates 189 percent. The Zimbabwe dollar was 'officially' at 5,616 to
the US dollar, down from 4,196 in January 2004. Inflation was going 'down'
and was 314 percent in August 2004.
What is the situation now?
Inflation in May 2006 was 1193 percent. The ‘official’ exchange rate is
101,195 to the dollar, and the government is merrily printing money, to a
much greater extent than we did during the infamous Rata Perata period or
we are now doing under the Mahinda Chinthana.
Sri Lanka decision on bank accounts stirs a row [Hindu]
The Sri Lankan Government's decision to deem all bank accounts lying
dormant or inactive for over 10 years as `abandoned property' has stirred a
controversy.
The Tamil parties have said it was a move aimed at depriving the
conflict-displaced people of their legitimate assets. The Government,
however, defended it as a necessity to reform the banking sector and utilise
the funds for the larger good of people.
All banks have been directed to transfer the funds to a special account in
Central Bank of Sri Lanka by August 31.
Sri Lankans unsure about fleeing Beirut [BBC]
Sri Lanka is advising its citizens trapped in Lebanon to stay where they are.
Labour minister, Athauda Senevirathne, says that most Sri Lankans in
Lebanon want to remain in the country. About 90,000 Sri Lankans are in
Lebanon, the largest contingent of foreign workers.
The BBC News website spoke to Sri Lankans in refuges around Beirut about
their choices as Israel continues its military assault.
Sister Leela is a Sri Lankan nun at a refuge run by the Christian charity,
Caritas. She says that the domestic helpers she deals with are desperate to
leave.
Sri Lankan government abandons thousands of citizens
trapped in Lebanon
By Vilani Peiris
Up to 90,000 Sri Lankans, the largest group of migrant workers from poor
countries in Lebanon, have been trapped by the US-backed Israeli military
assault. One Sri Lankan woman, 28-year-old Vijitha Mallika, has been killed
but many others are feared dead or injured. Despite this, the Sri Lankan
government has turned its back on its citizens.
Neither Sri Lankan President Rajapakse, who is chairman of the Sri Lanka
Committee for Solidarity with Palestine, nor his government, has issued a
statement protesting the assaults on Lebanon, Gaza Strip or the West Bank.
Rajapakse’s silence over the US-backed Israeli war assault is aimed at
securing Washington’s support for Colombo’s war preparations against the
Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam.
How maths can be great fun [BBC]
Like many of his friends, 12-year-old Indian student SK Ramnandan used to
find mathematics "rather mechanical and unattractive" and a bit of a chore.
This was before HeyMath happened to him.
HeyMath is an India-based online maths tutoring company which uses
innovative, interactive lessons, peppered with animation, graphics and
quizzes for students and teachers alike.
Boosting Extremists With Bombs [YaleGlobal]
While Hezbollah’s kidnapping of Israeli soldiers has provided Israel with a
casus belli to wreak widespread death and destruction in Lebanon, its
continuing resistance raises its standing in the Arab and Muslim worlds –
despite Hezbollah’s minority Shiite credentials, closeness to Iran, and
censure by many Arab governments. If the current fighting ends in a prisoner
exchange – as part of a package, or separately, as has happened in the
past – the bloody episode will only widen the gap between the ruler and the
ruled in the predominantly authoritarian or semi-authoritarian Arab world,
leading the ruling elites to resort to repression.
Arts - Culture - Heritage
Advertisement
Tamil, Lankan varsities sign MoU for research [Hindu]
Exchange activities will focus on Tamil Studies, Philosophy,
Comparative Religion
Thanjavur: Tamil University here has signed a memorandum of
understanding (MoU) with Eastern University in Sri Lanka for taking up
research and other academic activities.
Vice-Chancellors C. Subramaniam (Tamil University) and S. Raveendranath
(Eastern University), signed the MoU on July 19, when the former visited Sri
Lanka.
The universities will organise exchange visits by students, researchers,
teaching and administrative staff, besides conducting seminars and joint
research.The exchange activities will focus on education, Tamil Studies,
Economics, Philosophy, Comparative Religion, Sociology, Fine Arts, Music,
Drama and Theatre Arts, Folklore and other areas of common interest.
Temple in the
timberland
[Montreal Gazette]
Nestled near the
Laurentian
community of Val
Morin lies a
world-renowned
yoga centre and
Hindu temple
that today will
host a parade of
30,000 faithful in
celebration of
Kaavadi
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AVM, the adventurer
A tribute to cinema's pioneer and innovator, A.V.Meiyappan.
Among South India's movie moguls whose contribution to Indian cinema has
been immense, A.V. Meiyappan stands tall. A far-sighted entrepreneur and
filmmaker with dash and dynamism, he had a finger on the pulse of the
moviegoer.
TamilWeek.com
'PrintView'
Available in
Toronto!
July Edition
Find out the
nearest location
to pick up a free
copy, Please email
toronto@tamilweek.com
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Standing tall, shining still
by T.R. Jawahar
That Sivaji Ganesan's statue has become sub-judice should be of little
concern for his admirers. The actor non pareil stands tall in the hearts of
the people.
Born into a poor family, Ganesan took flight from home at the tender age of
seven to meet his tryst with destiny, on the stage and screen. The spark
was evident from his early days. In fact, he defied all logic and rules of
artistic evolution. Sivaji Ganesan was a consummate actor from day one!
'With my first movie itself, I landed on the moon', he once told this writer. In
fact he said, 'moo...o oon' in his typical booming baritone with that all too
familiar drag that was vintage Sivaji. For a prolific performer of his calibre
he was too humble and ever remained an ardent student of his vocation,
even after he had written and re-written the grammar of acting several
times over. ' What do I know? I only did what my directors bid me to do. All
credit goes to them'.
Non Profit Organization:
'Vanakkam' to new Tamil courses
South Asian students rally together to raise funds for introductory
Tamil course
“Toronto is one of the most multicultural cities in the world and having the
university get involved in this is very important to us,” said Thaves
Ponnampalam, the committee’s director of operations. “And it’s also
significant that these courses be held in this city because Toronto has the
largest Tamil population in the world outside of South Asia with over 250,000
now settled here.”
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.
Standard
Disclaimers
Applicable
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.
"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]
