Yavarum Kelir”
humanity is my fraternity”
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2005
Tamil &
Sri Lanka
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Trinco Buddha Statue
By D.B.S. Jeyaraj
The thirty - first of May and the first of June brought relief to the anxious
public of tension - ridden Thirukkonamalaippattinam as the Buddha statue
issue showed signs of being resolved through reasonable and peaceful
means.
On May 31st the Attorney - Generals department filed plaint at the
Trincomalee district court seeking courts to declare the construction of the
controversial statue as unlawful.
On June 1st the Trincomalee district Tamil Peoples Forum announced that
it would suspend its intention of calling for a massive hartal till June 15th
following assurances made by a top Government delegation that the Urban
Development Authority will take action against the unlawful structure and
that steps would be taken to withdraw all additional security personnel
deployed in the town.
Mullaitivu
By: Dr. Rajasingham Narendran
The overnight appearance of an oversized statue of Lord Buddha near the
fish market in Trincomalee town has become an event of historical
significance in Sri Lanka. This event has the potential to trigger a crisis
capable of overturning even the stalled peace train. With some elements
among the Sinhala-Buddhists, including monks, threatening dire
consequences if the statue is removed and some elements among the Tamil
–Hindus holding out the threat of a resumed civil war if the statue is not
removed, we are faced with an interesting but dangerous situation, that will
require King Solomon’s wisdom and authority to resolve.
Mullaitivu, North East
of Sri Lanka has
become a permanent
place for the
widowers, who lost
their wives and loved
ones in tsunami. They
gather here to talk
about what has
happened to them, go
to the sea together to
catch fish, cook
together, eat together
and sleep together.
They say that they all
have become one
family after tsunami.
80% of the men in
Mullaitivu district are
widowers, according
to recent surveys. [HA]
for Joint Mechanism with LTTE
" The President conveyed to the Prime Minister her commitment to ensure
the full participation of all communities in the country to ensure the delivery
of relief and reconstruction assistance to those affected by Tsunami. In this
context, she apprised the Prime Minister of her efforts to establish a Post
Tsunami Operational Management Structure (P-TOMS) for coordinating
relief and reconstruction in areas affected by the Tsunami. The Prime
Minister expressed understanding of and support for these ongoing efforts.
The President of Sri Lanka briefed the Prime Minister on the current status
of the peace process in Sri Lanka. The Prime Minister reiterated India's
support for the process of seeking a comprehensive, negotiated settlement
acceptable to all communities, and reflecting the pluralistic nature of Sri
Lankan society, within the framework of a united and democratic Sri Lanka.
In their discussions on the peace process, concern was expressed over
ceasefire violations. Particular concern was expressed over the illegal
acquisition of air capability"
Kanagasabapathipillai
By PK Balachandran
If the world is showing an extraordinary interest in the peace process in Sri
Lanka; if the western donor nations have given $3 billion for post-tsunami
reconstruction work in the island; and if India wants to be kept informed
about what is going on constantly, it is because of Sri Lanka's strategic
importance.
This conclusion is inescapable if one reads 'Strategic Significance of Sri
Lanka' by Sri Lankan researcher Ramesh Somasundaram of Deakin
University.
In this 2005 publication, brought out by Stamford Lake, Somasundaram tells
us that Sri Lanka has had strategic importance in world history since the
17th century, attracting the Portuguese, Dutch, French, the British, and the
Indians, in succession. Now, we may add a new entity, "the international
community", to the list of interested parties.
2nd Year on
the web
look what Beijing has done
C. Raja Mohan
NEW DELHI: As India allows Tamil Nadu politicians to exercise a veto over its
Sri Lanka policy and squanders the opportunities for enhanced strategic
cooperation with Colombo, China is stepping in.
India which had earlier killed a Sri Lankan proposal for a land bridge
between the two countries has now added insult to injury by sanctioning a
project to dredge a shipping canal to deepen the chasm, both physical and
metaphorical, between the two countries.
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" Muthaliph had a role to play in the abduction of a top LTTE intelligence
officer, Newton, on April 20 and another section of the military believe this is
the real motive for killing Muthaliph. Eight days after Newton's abduction, D.
Sivaram who wrote under the pen name Taraki was abducted on April 28
and killed the next day, after attempts were made to secure his release with
representations to the army commander to get the Director of Military
Intelligence to intervene. Was the second abduction and killing in roughly
the space of a week carried out after information was extracted from Newton
on Sivaram, who had travelled in public transport unarmed in Batticaloa and
Colombo in broad daylight and at night for years? Sivaram was abducted
more than a year after Karuna broke away from the LTTE. In his writings he
clearly sided with the Wanni leadership and even taunted Karuna. He also
irked a wide spectrum of people, organizations, parties and even countries
through his articles. But he was spared for so long. Could we ask the
pertinent question whether D. Sivaram was killed for his activities other than
his writings? Or was he killed for both? The question may have been asked
before. But, answers are not forthcoming."
defective justice system [Asian Human Rights Commission]
On 25 October 2000, more than 25 young Tamils at a rehabilitation centre
in Bindunuwewa near Bandarawela in the south-central part of the island
were attacked and killed by a Sinhalese group. Who were the actual
culprits? Who were their masterminds? To these questions Sri Lanka’s
justice system has no answers.
Likewise, after nearly five years the survivors of this massacre and the
relatives of the dead are still left with these questions unanswered. This
most horrendous act of killing young people, who were in a rehabilitation
centre, which was under the protection of the Sri Lankan government, has
proved only one thing; that the Sri Lankan system of justice is guilty of
ensuring immunity for offenders.
by Prof. S. Ratnajeevan H. Hoole
The most egregious and illustrative case of zero-cost new universities was
Jaffna which was begun by taking over Jaffna College and Parameshwara
College with no new investment in building and, adding insult to injury,
transferring the rich heritage of books of the Jaffna College library to the
South on the dubious claim that it was all now the property of the unified
University of Sri Lanka. (Some of these were returned when a better sense
of fairness prevailed). The opposition to the new universities was muted by
those whose career prospects were enhanced by the proliferation of high
academic offices in the new universities.
Continental Hotel, Colombo, on May 26, 2005 By former
Prime Minister of Malaysia
Dr. Tun Mahathir Ben Mohamed:
“Beyond Existing Frontiers”
Thank you very much for the kind remarks about my person. I have been
asked to talk about “Beyond Existing Frontiers”. Now I would not really
know about the frontiers of Sri Lanka but I am much more familiar with the
frontiers of Malaysia. Actually, Malaysia started off as a nation and
their people with an inferiority complex. We were under colonial rule or
under foreign influence or hegemony for 450 years. The Portuguese
conquered Malaca in 1511 and after the Portuguese came, the Dutch and
then the British and throughout this period we sanked lower and lower in our
own estimation.
By Thomas L. Freidman
The Indian state of West Bengal has the oldest elected communist
government left in the world today. Some global technology firms recently
were looking at outsourcing there, but told the communists they could not do
so because of the possibility of worker strikes that might disrupt the
business processes of the companies they work for. No problem. The
communist government declared information technology work an "essential
service," making it illegal for those workers to strike. Have a nice day.
It started as an orphanage for elephant calves found in the wilds, bereft of
their mothers who most usually lost their lives in the ongoing conflict
between man and beast.
The Centre later developed into a safe haven for adult wild elephants too
who required human assistance.
in Habarana
By V. Muthukumaran
Every morning this artiste observes minutely the body language of the
vegetable traders and wholesalers going to and from Koyambedu market. As
part of the character study, he takes note of their chat, mannerisms and
mood as reflected by their faces, to decipher whether they are happy with
the prevailing trends in the commodities market.
V Sundaram
Indira Parthasarathy (his real name is Parthasarthy, the first name being his
wife's which he uses as his pseudonym) was born in 1930 and brought up in
Kumbakonam, Tamilnadu. After his graduate and post graduate studies at
the Annamalai University he did doctoral work in the University of Delhi and
obtained the Ph.D. degree on 'Vaishnavism In Tamizh Between Seventh And
Ninth Centuries'.
She put Chennai on world stage, without taking centrestage
V. Sundaram
She gave the world Bharatnatyam but denied herself the exalted privilege of
residing in Rashtrapathi Bhavan. She built Kalakshetra, the temple of arts
after bringing dance to the public domain from the confines of temples, but
refused to surrender the institution to the University Grants Commission's
control..
Three young Sri Lankans, disciples of the Dhananjayans
will present Tirukkural on June 11 and 12. A
curtain-raiser.
[The Hindu]
Sahadeva's Story
My Game
My Game is an excerpt from a novel in progress. The novel is yet another
interpretation of the Mahabharatha. It deals with the events and
personalities depicted in the epic in a rational way, in an attempt at another
look at the age-old story. The narrator is Sahadeva, the youngest and
perhaps the most insignificant of the Pandavas.
Rajnikanth hits the winning formula with `Chandramukhi.'
Rajnikanth, the real superstar of Tamil cinema, has a lot to be happy about:
Plaudits from his fans for his charismatic performance in "Chandramukhi"
and the film turning out to be a mega blockbuster worldwide. What made
"Chandramukhi" click? The best person to answer this question is
Rajnikanth, the brain behind its concept. At a public function, when this
writer posed this question to the superstar, his cryptic reply was, "I will get
back to you." And promptly, he called within a few days asking me to come
over for a chat. [The Hindu]
Actors from Malayalam cinema hit the big time in Kollywood.
A new, ambitious breed of 20-something Malayali girls are ruling the roost
as heroines in Tamil cinema. They ooze confidence, and have the right
amount of glamour and attitude to go with their roles. Nayantara, Asin and
Gopika are the three Malayali girls who rule Tamil cinema. And waiting on
the wings for the big break are Renuka Menon, Sreedevika, Navya Nair,
Nitya Das and others. [The Hindu]
Cinematographer K. V. Anand is heaving a sigh of relief as his debut
attempt at direction is receiving positive reviews.
The reputed cinematographer who won national recognition with his very
first film (`Thenmavin Kombathu') has arrived as a director too. `Kana
Kandaen,' K. V. Anand's debut attempt at direction, has just been released.
A soft-spoken and unassuming Anand, who is waiting at the coffee shop of
the Adyar Park Sheraton Hotel when you enter, soon dwells on his rise up
the cinema ladder. [The Hindu]
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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]
disclaimers
applicable