“All the world is my world, all
humanity is my fraternity”
state of inelegance." - British Novelist, Jane Austen (1775 - 1817)
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Chandrasekeran [Sunday Observer]
The STF attending the funeral of an LTTE cadre, the JVP's opposition even to the
government's alternate proposals, ex-Samurdhi Secretary Kumari Navaratne's vanishing
trick and the proposed TNA meeting with the LTTE took centre stage in Tamil dailies last
week.
The purchasing price of a litre of milk has been increased from Rs. 13 to 20 on the orders
of President Kumaratunga, the Thinakaran reported on Monday and quoted Finance
Minister Dr. Sarath Amunugama as saying that this would encourage dairy farmers. In
another front page story the paper said STF officials in Ampara visited the residence of
Jagatheeswaran who was gunned down a few days ago and paid their last respects. The
deceased was the former deputy head of the Ampara district LTTE political wing.
The Virakesari quoted Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar as saying that people will
not hesitate to defeat a government if economic benefits are not passed on to them.
Kadirgamar cited the recent elections in India and Sri Lanka as examples.
A FEDERAL election campaign could once again be jolted by the arrival of an
asylum-seeker boat, with the Australian Federal Police warning Indonesia about a planned
voyage being arranged by people-smugglers.
Indonesian police commissioner Tri Priyo has told The Australian the AFP informed his
people-trafficking unit earlier this month that Sri Lankan people-smugglers are organising a
voyage to Australia. "We just received information there's a syndicate co-ordinated by Sri
Lankans. It will start from Thailand. We're already monitoring that.
International experts say the key to the crisis in Sri Lanka lies in a solution based on a
federal structure.
These views were expressed by Chairman Bob Ray, of the Forum of Federation, a Canadian
based International Network on Federalism and Prof. David Cameron, the vice Dean at the
University of Toronto, after a brief visit to the war ravaged North last week, which included
a closed door discussion with LTTE political wing leader S.P. Thamilselvam.
Gunmen in eastern Sri Lanka have opened fire on an army patrol injuring a soldier, the
military says.
An army spokesman said Monday's attack took place near Batticaloa, a town 220km (136
miles) from Colombo. He did not speculate on who carried it out.
The parliamentarians, the Political Chief said, have a responsibility to take this message of
the Tamil people to the south and thereby create an awareness in the minds of the
Sinhalese people about Tamil aspirations and also to allay the imaginary fear about the
ISGA that is being floated around by scheming politicians in the south.
August 30th is the 16th death anniversary of veteran journalist K. V. S. Vas, who was
indeed proud that he had grown with his beloved 'Virakesari'.
foresight [Sunday Observer]
Five years after the late Thondaman's demise students of plantation politics-trade union
interests, politicians, social-scientists-invariably address their minds to two thresholds.
One, the Thondaman (Snr) era dominated by his presence and personality that ended with
his death.
It is a climax that no film story can have. But the final move of a film producer has paved
the way for his movie, which was facing glitches in its release mainly due to a perceived
fear that a politician might turn 'villain', hitting the screens, though it is not known what the
hero has to say on that.
So the film, Gajendra, might at last see the light of the day with its producer V A Durai
calling on PMK founder Dr S Ramadoss and wresting an assurance from him that PMK
party activists will not act in any manner deterimental to the running of the film in cinema
halls. Fear had earlier loomed large over tinsel town as the recent war of words
between actor Vijayakanth, who plays the lead role in Gajendra and Ramadoss, might
prompt PMK party cadre to unleash violence in cinema halls, particularly since the
behaviour of the PMK men when Baba was released was fresh in the collective mind of the
industry.
EVEN AS the film began to roll you realised that "Iyarkai" was going to be a different treat ...
and it was. S. P. Jhananathan, the director, made quite an impression with this debut film
of his. (He had apprenticed under KR and had also worked for a short film with Lenin.)
That "Iyarkai" has bagged the National Award for the Best Regional Film in Tamil is
undoubtedly an honour well deserved.
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