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The panel of experts on war crimes in Sri Lanka, which UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon announced in March, is supposed to complete its work within four months of formally beginning. On September 14, Inner City Press (ICP) asked Ban's spokesman Martin Nesirky why the panel had not yet even begun. Nesirky replied that it would be held Thursday afternoon. ICP reported that the meeting was not listed on Ban's schedule while several similar meetings were listed.

“Not everything is on the schedule,” Nesirky replied. What is the purpose of publishing the schedule that, if a meeting about war crimes is not listed?, ICP asked. “There are any number of reasons some things are on the schedule and some things are not,” Nesirky said. “Internal meetings typically are not,” ICP said quoting Nesirky.

The members of the war-crimes advisory panel, Marzuki Darusman, a former Attorney General from Indonesia, Yasmin Sooka, Member of South Africa's Truth Commisssion, and Steven Ratner, Law professor at Michigan University, US, were given 4-month period by UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon to complete the first report. The panel was announced in March, the panel met for the first time on 20th July, but the official start date has not been announced.

There were also questions on conflict of interest related to Sri Lanka. Ban's son in law, Siddarth Chatterjee served in the Indian Peace Keeping force in Sri Lanka while serving as an Indian Army officer. ICP said it is waiting confirmation on this matter from Nesirky.

The delegation led by Neil Buhne, the UN Resident Representative and Human Coordinator, accompanied by representatives of European Union, met Batticaloa district Government Agent (GA) Suntharam Arumainayagam Wednesday and discussed matters related to the development of Batticaloa district, Batticaloa District Secretariat sources said. Meanwhile, the resettled families in Paduvaankarai complained that though Vinayagamoorthy Muralitharan, the Sri Lanka Deputy Minister, says that funds have been allocated for the supply of drinking water to them every time he comes to Batticaloa nothing has been done, the sources added. Lack of drinking water is the most serious problem the resettled families in Paduvaankarai face.

The UN and EU representatives were particularly interested in finding whether the funds allocated by UN and other foreign institutions are being utilized for the resettlement and development activities in Paduvaankarai and Vaakarai in Batticaloa district.

The GA had told the visiting team of the immediate need for improvement in the supply of dry food relief ration to the resettled families.

He had also explained to them that housing, education, health, irrigation, electricity, infrastructures and livelihoods in Batticaloa district need development.

Around 62 persons including Sri Lankan policemen, civilians and reportedly four Chinese nationals have been killed in a massive explosion that rocked the Karadiyanaru area, situated 20 km northwest of Batticaloa city, Friday around 12:30 p.m. Containers with explosives parked close the police station exploded destroying the entire police station, initial reports said. The explosion also affected the nearby hospital. There were at least three containers with dynamites intended for road construction which was operated by Chinese workers, the reports further said. Around 100 persons, including engineers from the South, wounded in the blast were being rushed to hospital. STF personnel and Ex LTTE members deployed in the construction work under Colombo's publicized rehabilitation programme were likely among the victims, a local NGO official told reporters in Colombo.

Sri Lanka Army (SLA) and Sri Lanka Navy (SLN) have constructed many bases and camps in the properties of uprooted families and on the costal villages of Vadamaraadchi East using the roofing, door and windows plundered from the shops and houses left by the residents, persons who visited the area said. The areas from Naakarkoayil to Kaddaikkaadu are fully occupied by SLA and SLN, they further said. Meanwhile, Jaffna Government Agent Ms. Imelda Sukumar has announced that uprooted families from Vadamaraadchi East will be taken to their own places in the second stage of the resettlement plan and that Jaffna SLA Command had given permission for the resettlement.

The uprooted families who were taken from Raamaavil and Kundaththanai camps are now lodged in Chempianpattu Government Tamil Mixed School, Uduththu'rai Makaaa Viththiyaalayam, Maruthangkea'ni Hindu Makaa Viththiyaalayam and Thaazhaiyadi government hospital which had been under the control of Liberation Tigers before the war.

The families were told that they will be resettled in places excluding some parts in Kaddaikkaadu, Vettilaikkea’ni, Thaazhaiyadi and Naakarkoayil.

Jaffna GA said that nearly 3,500 uprooted families staying with their relatives and friends in Vadamaraadchi will be taken to Vadamraadchi East for resettlement in the second stage of resettlement plan.

The 3,500 families are staying now in places from Valveddiththu’rai to Kattkoava’lam in Vadamaraadchi North and in Ma’nattkaadu, Kudaththanai and Ampan in Vadmaraadchi East which had been under the control of SLA during the war.

Meanwhile, the families lodged in the schools and hospitals say that they will look after themselves if they are allowed to resettle in their own properties and engage in their traditional livelihood of fishing.

Tamil National Alliance (TNA) spokesman and Jaffna district parliamentarian Suresh Premachandran said that a group of TNA parliamentarians will be visiting Valikaamam North Sri Lanka Army (SLA) occupied High Security Zone (HSZ) once they get the permission from Sri Lanka Ministry of Defence. Meanwhile, Basil Rajapaksa, Sri Lanka minister and brother of SL President Mahinda Rjapaksa who is in Jaffna has again said that the families uprooted from Valikaamam North by SLA will be allowed to resettle in their places excluding the surroundings of Palaali Airport, sources in Jaffna said. Meanwhile, SLA authorities have already marked places in Palaali to construct housing schemes for the colonization of Sinhala families in the lands of Tamils evicted by SLA, sources in Palaali said.

SL government ministers including Basil Rajapaksa had promised to resettle the uprooted families in Valikaamam North during Presidential and General elections but the promises had been not kept.

SL government plans to colonize the area surrounding Palaali Airport with families of Sinhala SLA personnel and Sinhala prisoners, the sources further said.

Families of Sinhala workers who had been brought to work in Kaangkeasanthu’rai harbour too are to be given houses in the above scheme.

Meanwhile, Sri Lanka government has given the Sinhala name of ‘Okkalappadduva’ for the road from Keerimalai to the recently erected Buddhist temple in Thiruvadinilai in Maathakal.

Gilberto Jordan, 54, a former Guatemalan soldier was sentenced to 10 years in prison for failing to reveal his participation in the 1982 killings of at least 162 villagers at Dos Erres during the de facto presidency of General Efraín Ríos Montt. Guatemalan Government soldiers allegedly killed nearly 200,000 indigenous and Mayan people as part of the Guatamalan Government's scorched earth policy.

Jordan was arrested in Florida in May, 2010 and charged with immigration offences, and pleaded guilty to lying on his naturalisation forms, which allowed him to become an American citizen in 1999.

Jordan is believed to have entered the US illegally through Mexico in 1985 before settling in Boca Raton, Florida, where he worked as a cook at a country club, BBC reported.

Jordan belonged to a Guatemalan special forces unit, known as the Kaibiles, which the prosecution said murdered the villagers at Dos Erres by shooting them, hitting them on the head with a hammer, or throwing them alive into a well.

In 2000, the Guatemalan government acknowledged responsibility for the killings, and promised to compensate the victims' families. The massacre was one of the most deadly incidents in the 36-year conflict between the Guatemalan army and left-wing guerrillas, which ended with a peace accord in 1996.

Sri Lanka military has been able to remove only 10% of the total area in which mines are suspected to have been buried, state-run Sinhala daily Dinamina reported. According to the article, Sri Lanka military has decided to accelerate the mine removal program.

The move is said to have been given focus due to the plans to resettle nearly 28,000 internally displaced persons in Mullaitivu areas during the three decade old war, the paper said, quoting Sri Lanka Army (SLA) spokesperson Major General Ubhaya Madawala.

Jars, Black and Red ware pottery and some timber sections were found in 2008 at a depth of 31 metres under sea, at a probable shipwreck site around 3 km off the coast of Godawaya, between Hambantota and Ambalantota in the Southern Province. Earlier, divers retrieved a stone bench having symbols engraved on it from the site. Stone pillars, probably remains of an old maritime structure were excavated and reported in 2001 at Godawaya fishing village, while a stone anchor was found in the sea near the coast in 2003. A late Brahmi inscription of 2nd century CE found on a rock at the Buddhist temple of Godawaya gives the ancient name of the port as Goda-pavata Patana, which is largely Dravidian mixed with Prakrit

The Late Brahmi inscription found on a rock at the Buddhist temple at Godawaya. The marked part in the inscription gives the ancient name of the port, Goda-pavata Patana. [Image courtesy: archaeology.lk. Marking by TamilNet]

Stone anchor found in the sea near Godawaya. [Image courtesy: archaeology.lk]

Small stone bench found in the seabed at the site of a probable shipwreck, 31 metres deep and 3km off the coast of Godawaya. [Image courtesy: archaeology.lk]

The symbols engraved on the stone bench found at the probable shipwreck site. Keeping the Srivatsa symbol at the centre, Nandipada, fish and ladder are on either side. [Image courtesy: archaeology.lk]

Ruins on the Godawaya hillock. [Image courtesy: Google Earth]

The present stupa at Godawaya hillock. [Image courtesy: Google Earth]

Location of Godawaya at the old mouth of river Walawe Ganga, between Hambantota and Ambalantota. [Image courtesy: Google Earth, Legend: TamilNet]

Godawaya located at the old mouth of the river Walawe Ganga. Note the rocky hillock marked by a circular road. The maximum height of the hillock is 58 meters above Mean Sea Level. [Image courtesy: Google Earth]

A Tamil youth was abducted by a group of unidentified persons from his house located in Thiruchchenthoor in Kalladi in Batticaloa district Wednesday night. The victim has been identified Munusamy Narenthiran, 30, according to complaints made to the police.

The gang arrived in a vehicle and took him by force while his relatives started shouting, sources said.

The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) Thursday refused to give consent to the opposition leader Ranil Wickremesinghe to appoint TNA parliamentarian, M. N. Sumanthiran as his nominee to the Parliamentary Council constituted under the 18th Amendment to the Constitution. TNA media spokesman and Jaffna district parliamentarian said Ranil Wickremesinghe wanted the party’s consent to appoint Sumanthiran. TNA has informed Ranil Wickremasinghe that it has opposed the 18th amendment and it will boycott the Parliamentary Council.

Under the 18th Amendment, a five member Parliamentary Council comprising the Prime Minister, the Speaker, the Leader of the Opposition, a nominee of the Prime Minister and a nominee of the Leader of the Opposition is to be set up.

Non-government Organizations in Jaffna peninsula accuse Sri Lanka government to have abandoned most of the uprooted families resettled in Jaffna peninsula without providing them adequate assistance for rehabilitation. 82,000 uprooted persons had been resettled in Jaffna peninsula so far, according to Jaffna Secretariat statistics. Meanwhile, nearly 100,000 persons uprooted from Valikaamam North High Security Zone of Sri Lanka Army (SLA) twenty years ago continue to stay with their relatives, friends and in camps not allowed by SLA to resettle in their own properties.

Altogether 81,578 persons of 27,401 uprooted families have been resettled in Jaffna peninsula.

The highest number of persons is resettled in the islets of Jaffna – 11,526 persons of 3,669 families while in Thenmaraadchi area 10,543 persons of 3,581 families are resettled.

5,411 persons of 1,732 families have returned to their houses in Thenmaraadchi and 4,128 persons of 1,112 families have been resettled in the villages located on the outskirts of SLA High Security Zone in Valikaamam North.

The most affected among the resettled people are the families uprooted from Vanni during the war as Sri Lanka government had left them on their own after paying them the first payment of Rs. 5,000 and Rs. 25,000 as final payment as assistance to begin their lives.

The uprooted families from Vanni too are temporarily staying with their relatives and friends in Jaffna peninsula.

The NGOs in Jaffna peninsula due to limitations imposed on them by Sri Lanka government in getting funds from abroad are unable to help the abandoned families to help them engage in livelihoods, NGO sources said.

Sri Lanka government should take responsibility for the abductions that have taken place after the war in Eastern Province, the propaganda secretary of Tamil Makkal Viduthalai Pullikal (TMVP), a political-cum-paramilitary party led by Eastern Province Chief Minister, Sivanesathurai Chandrakanthan alias Pillayan, said in a meeting held in Kommaanththu’rai in Batticaloa district. Meanwhile, Batticaloa district residents said that armed men alleged to be Pillayan group and Karuna group abduct persons and rob houses in the outskirt villages of the district. Karnuna group is also a political-cum-paramilitary party led by Sri Lanka minister Vinayagamoorthy Muralitharan alias Karuna.

TMVP member of Batticaloa Municipal Council, Pragasam Sgayamani alias Killi Master had been abducted on 23rd August 2010 but so far the police had not found him, Jegan, the TMVP secretary said.

Sgayamani’s wife had been threatened to give up demonstrating her protest against the abduction by immolating herself and her two children in front Batticaloa Municipal Council, he said.

She had said in her complaint to police that it was the Intelligence wing men of Sri Lanka Army who had abducted her husband, he added.

Jegan further said that the delay in tracing the abducted member raises suspicion against Sri Lanka government involvement in the abduction of Sagayamani.

The Sri Lankan Government has ordered Daniel Horgan, security coordination officer of Nonviolent Peaceforce, a foreign NGO, to leave Sri Lanka immediately, the Sinhala language Divaina newspaper said in an article. The order was made when Horgan sent in his papers seeking renewal of his visa to continue his work in Sri Lanka.

In July, government also deported a Canadian national who functioned as the director of the Nonviolent Peaceforce organization and Ali Palh Ahamed, a Pakistani national attached to the organization to leave Sri Lanka.

Accordingly, steps were taken to ensure that both the Canadian and Pakistani nationals will not be able to return to Sri Lanka again in future for any matter.

Nonviolent Peaceforce is an unarmed, professional civilian peacekeeping force that is invited to work in conflict zones worldwide. With international headquarters in Brussels, Nonviolent Peaceforce has worked in the conflict areas of Sri Lanka extensively. Among other activities, it works with local groups to foster dialogue among parties in conflict, provide a proactive presence and safe spaces for civilians, and develop local capacity to prevent violence. Its staff includes veterans of conflict zones and experienced peacekeepers.

The Divaina newspaper article claimed that, the Intelligence units has obtained information that the Nonviolent Peaceforce has been involved in certain internal affairs with related to Sri Lanka which has been seen as detrimental against Sri Lanka’s sovereignty.

Sri Lanka government which had not contributed to the development of Jaffna district in any significant manner is showing off the development activities in Jaffna peninsula funded by World Bank and Asian Development Bank as if it is spending its own money on them, government officials who participated in SL government’s Jaffna District Development Meeting (DDM) held in Jaffna Secretariat Wednesday said. The meeting was similar to the earlier ones where on going development activities and future plans for development were just ‘explored’ into without any concrete allocation of funds for them. On the whole it was lip service paid to the ‘development of North’ Sri Lanka government claims to be interested in, they added.

Meanwhile, Basil Rajapaksa, Sri Lanka minister and brother of Sri Lanka President Mahinda Rajapaksa, during the meeting twice thanked the Jaffna district Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarians Suresh Premachandran, Saravanabavan and Sumanthiran for attending DDM held in Jaffna Secretariat conference hall from Wednesday morning till evening, sources in Jaffna said.

The TNA parliamentarians later told local media that they had stressed on the immediate need to resettle the families evicted by Sri Lanka Army from its High Security Zone in Valikaamam North and they had discussed the issue deeply in the meeting.

Jaffna district TNA parliamentarians had abstained from attending meetings of the above nature held by Sri Lanka government in the past.

Suresh Premachandran had issued a message to local media earlier on TNA’s intention of attending Sri Lanka government meetings in the future.

Northern Province Governor Major Gen. G. A. Chandrasiri and Sri Lanka Minister Douglas Devananda attended the meeting presided by Basil Rajapaksa.

Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa Wednesday left via London to United States of America (USA). Mr. Rajapaksa left few days in advance for personal reasons, informed sources in Colombo said. He will take part in both the plenary meeting of the General Assembly of the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) and the sessions of UN General Assembly.

Rajapaksa is listed as the seventh speaker to address the UN General Assembly on September 22.

He will be away till September 29. He is expected to make private visits to Mexico and Germany, the sources further said.

More than 100 Upcountry Tamil families were displaced after Sinhalese estate workers burnt their houses and properties in Kiribatgala rubber plantation in Nivithigala in Ratnapura district Monday night. The attack on Tamils comes following the killing of a Sinhala estate watcher who was found dead Monday after being abducted by unidentified persons Sunday night. Tension prevails between in the district following the outbreak of the violence. Tamils in the district complain that they have been increasingly targeted by Sinhala mobs in recent times.

A. Muller-Elschner, the legal secretary to the Registrar of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), said in a letter to the Swiss Council of Eelam Tamils (SCET), the democratically elected country council of Eezham Tamils in Switzerland, that the European Court will take up the case against the appointment of ex-SLA commander Jagath Dias as a diplomat to the Sri Lanka embassy in Germany. SCET, the Norwegian Council of Eelam Tamils (NCET) and the US based NGO, Tamils Against Genocide (TAG), had filed an application to the ECHR in July 2010 charging the German government for violating EU Rights conventions by accepting a Sri Lankan military commander, Major General Jagath Dias, an accused in the war crimes.

Some influential Sri Lanka government politicians and Sinhala traders from South are exploiting the fishermen of Jaffna peninsula not allowing them to take their catches South for sale, Fisheries Societies in Jaffna peninsula accuse. Fish now being caught in large quantity exceed local consumption and the fishermen are forced to dry them as the export to South is a monopoly of SL government politicians like SL Minister Douglas Devananda and his supporters, they said.

The persons close to Douglas Devananda make millions of rupees buying fish and dried fish at a much cheaper rate from local fishermen and selling them at a higher price in the South.

The profit thus made is enormous in exporting delicacies like lobsters caught in large quantity particularly in the islets of Jaffna occupied and controlled by Sri Lanka Navy.

Northern Province Governor Major Gen. G. A. Chandrasiri accompanied by some Sinhala parliamentarians and Sri Lanka government officials visited Tuesday some places in Vanni where uprooted people have not been allowed to resettle by occupying Sri Lanka Army (SLA). Meanwhile, some influential sections are trying again to shift Northern Provincial Council (NPC) and its offices to Ki’linochchi from Trincomalee, a move which had been suspended by Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa in August, sources in Trincomalee said.

Efforts are being made to locate the NPC offices in some private vacant buildings in Ki’linochchi.

NPC Ministries of Health and Education are reported to be shifted from Trincomalee to Ki’linochchi in the next months.

The visiting group showed more interest in seeing the residence of Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) leader V. Pirapaharan in Puthumaaththa’an, now occupied by SLA officials, sources in Vanni said.

Meanwhile, Sri Lanka government key officials have begun to occupy many vacant private properties in Vanni of owners living abroad, with the assistance of some civil officials.

The Centre for Employment Opportunities was opened Monday in such a private building encroached by SL government.

Namal Rajapaksa, the son of SL President Mahinda Rajapaksa, Northern Province Governor, SL minister Mahintananda Aluthgama and some parliamentarians participated in the event.

“Sri Lanka sits at the crossroads of two significant contemporary geopolitical shifts. Firstly there is the rise and resurgence of China as a regional power; and secondly, many Western governments have lost their credibility in terms of morality, human rights advocacy and international law due to interventions in Iraq and Afghanistan. The SL government is masterful in its diplomacy and deals with a variety of governments, which are sometimes at odds e.g.: Iran & Israel, India & Pakistan, USA & China. This puts SL in a unique geopolitical position”, says ‘Minutes of the Sri Lanka Roundtable’, convened by Centre for Peacebuilding in Switzerland last month. While the West in its inability opts for extreme position of appeasement towards genocidal Colombo, Tamil voices against subjugation are ironically viewed as ‘extremism’, commented diaspora circles.

The conference aimed to provide a platform for “Swiss actors in Sri Lanka and thereby contributing to a coherent peacebuilding and networking among policy members, members of NGOs, interested academics and the selected members of the diaspora”.

“There is not one coherent policy among Western governments. One can observe a combination of military cooperation and humanitarian aid, which in some cases leads to the securitisation of relief. In addition, actors by themselves do not act with a coherent strategy. There is not such thing as a unitary actor, e. g. within the US government, the Justice Dept. War Crimes Division supports accountability and the UN backed panel on human rights, while other agencies prefer to normalise relations as quickly as possible,” the minutes of the conference further said.

The conference minutes agree with the political bankruptcy of the way the war was allowed to end.

“Before the end of the war, many analysts considered the 13th amendment to be the minimum reform which could be implemented after the defeat of the LTTE. But it remains questionable whether it will be implemented,” the minutes said.

The minutes also agree that the questions related to land remain very contentious.

The continued detention of the ex-combatants of the LTTE, ICRC’s inaccessibility to them, KP’s involvement with Colombo in making overtures to the diaspora, Colombo citing diaspora activity to retain emergency laws and at the same time expecting the diaspora for economic assistance, militarization of public sector in the north and east and political networks linked to the Presidential family, are the other contested issues cited by the minutes.

The minutes pointed out Chinese loans helping the increase of Colombo’s defence budget by 24 billion while expenses on education and health were cut by 10 percent for the current year. The minutes also noted how India’s Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) and its money flow are designed sensitively to score a point against China.

While citing criticism against ‘economic solution to a political problem’ the minutes were arguing for coordination with Colombo as a prerequisite to align aid and establish trust between agencies and government. Some participants suggested Church organizations as better local partners.

“The atmosphere for a comprehensive approach to deal with the past currently remains less conducive,” participants of the Swiss Roundtable concluded, alluding against international investigation and action on war crimes committed in the island.

The Swiss Roundtable minutes that begins viewing the crisis as one such of ‘integration of minorities’, wanted every one to grieve and acknowledge the past according to “local traditions and religious practice, be it Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam, Christianity or other”.

Responding, diaspora circles described it as an extreme position of appeasement in dealing with the crisis of nations in the island, where one nation tries to liquidate the other.

Even in the case of the genocide in Biafra, the so-called international community was only remaining silent. It didn’t abet. But in the case of Eezham Tamils there was active abetment against them by the IC and by its institutions such as media, resulting in the hitherto unseen extreme way the war has ended.

The immorality with which the West applied ‘war against terrorism’ and ‘counterinsurgency’ to abet Colombo in extreme ways now boomerangs in Colombo using geopolitical shifts to blackmail the West to adopt ‘extreme appeasement’.

The metamorphosis may amuse some, but it victimizes Eezham Tamils further. Because, any voice of righteous indignation that comes from them even democratically seems to be now treated as ‘extreme position’ to continue ‘fixing’ them as ‘terrorists’ by the appeasers and by their media, who find it easier to show their ‘might’ with orphans.

Tamils with a long historical memory cannot easily compromise with the extreme treatment meted out to them and the continued humiliation of their nation as ‘minority’ under Sri Lanka, unless approaches begin with appropriate political justice.

Extreme injustice demands unequivocal solutions, not extreme appeasement with oppressors, the diaspora circles said.

Sarath Fonseka, former Commander of the Sri Lanka Army Tuesday appeared first time in the Sri Lanka’s Supreme Court on the second day of inquiry into the presidential election petition filed by him. Fonseka has challenged the election of incumbent President Mahinda Rajapakse in the presidential election held in January this year. The Sri Lanka Navy (SLN) produced Sarath Fonseka, the petitioner in the case in the court Tuesday on the direction made by the five-member bench of the Supreme Court on Monday. Fonseka is being detained in the Sri Lanka Navy headquarters since he lost in the presidential election to Rajapakse.

The SC Bench comprising Chief Justice Asoka de Silva, Justices Shiranee A. Bandaranayke, K. Sripavan, P.A. Ratnayake and S.I. Imam took the election petition case Monday and directed the Registrar of the court to inform the SLN to produce the petitioner to court Tuesday. The SC Bench also directed the court martial to continue its proceedings against Fonseka after 2.30 p.m. when the SC hears the election petition.

Fonseka has cited President Mahinda Rajapakse and the other 21 candidates including Sarath Kongahage and Elections Commissioner Dayananda Dissanayake, two senior lawyers -- President’s Counsel Razik Zarook and Kalinga Indatissa, Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation Chairman Hudson Samarasinghe and Wimal Weerawansa as respondents.

The petitioner has been asking the Court to determine and declare that the election of Mahinda Rajapakse was null and void and to declare that Fonseka was duly elected and ought to be returned as President. The petitioner has further sought the court to order for a re-scrutiny of all the ballots cast at January 26 president elections.

Counsel D.S. Wijesinghe President Counsel appearing with eight lawyers including Solicitor General Priyashantha Deff submitted evidence on behalf of the respondents. They cited preliminary objections and appealed the petition be rejected.

D.S.Wijesinghe, Counsel for the first respondent President Rajapakse raised preliminary objections and moved that the petition should be dismissed as it was defective and inadmissible. He further said his objections were based on the failure to furnish material facts in respect of the allegations.

Counsel Upul Jayasuriya is appearing for the petitioner.

Twenty five parliamentarians of the main opposition United National Party (UNP) Tuesday issued ultimatum to their leader Ranil Wickremasinghe till September 22 to address the leadership crisis soon. Dayasiri Jayasekara, said to be the leader of the dissident 25 MPs has told electronic and print media that they would inform the Speaker of parliament of their intention to consider them as an independent group when parliament meets on September 22.

Dissident UNP leader made the threat following the news conference held by Ranil Wickremasinghe Tuesday. Wickremasinghe at the briefing had stated that he would propose a new constitution to the party general assembly that is likely to be held in December this year making way to the youth leaders who would be vested with party responsibilities.

However dissident parliamentarian Dayasiri Jayasekara said that they are not satisfied with the statement by Wickremasinghe. He added a day before parliament convenes on September 22 the dissident group of MPs has to inform the Speaker to consider them as independents.

A 20-year-old man riding in his motor bike died in a road accident in Puthukkudiyiruppu in Kaaththaankudi police division in Batticaloa district Monday night around 8:30.

The victim, identified as Sathiyanatahan Jatheesnathan, lost his balance while riding from Aaraiyampathi to Ka'luvaagchikkudi.

His motor bike crashed against a lamp post and the victim died on the spot, Police said.

The General Manager of Jaffna Multi Purpose Cooperative Society (MPCS) resigned his post Monday due to pressure by Sri Lanka minister Douglas Devananda and his supporters, sources in Jaffna said. Sri Lanka government has scrapped the democratically elected Board of Directors of MPC societies appointing its own persons as directors who are alleged of corruption, Jaffna MPCS members said. A case against the former President of Jaffna MPCS, Kiritharan, appointed by Douglas Devananda, for misappropriating millions of rupees is pending in Jaffna High Court in which Douglas Devananda is also involved, the members said. Jaffna MPCS handles various services to people of Jaffna peninsula including the distribution of relief dry food rations.

Kiritharan, a retired engineer, was removed from the post of President of Jaffna MPCS Board of Directors by SL minister Douglas Devanda who had appointed another person as president.

The newly appointed President too is alleged of corruption and the employees of Jaffna MPCS have been agitating against him. Douglas Devananda has removed the newly appointed president too from his post.

Earlier, Sri Lanka Army (SLA) Intelligence wing men had shot and killed the democratically elected president of Jaffna MPCS, Karunas, a retired engineer of SL Electricity Board.

Douglas Devananda had appointed Kiritharan in place of assassinated Karunas.

The employees of Jaffna MPCS are agitating against the interference by SL government political persons demanding non-interference in the administration of Jaffna MPCS.

A man and a five year old boy, both Tamils, died in a road accident when a Prisons Department vehicle crashed against a passenger van from behind at Marawila Sunday morning. Seven others were injured in that accident, Marawilla police said.

The passenger van was returning from Nalloor in Jaffna district to Colombo.

The victims have been identified as Manikkam Shanmugalingam, 60, and Kamalarajan Santhosh, 5.

A Tamil youth died on the spot and another seriously wounded when a container vehicle crashed against a stationary motor cycle in Vavuniyaa Sunday around 7:00 p.m. The motor cycle had met with an accident colliding against a bicycle near Thennamaruthoadai Chanthi in Poonthoaddam in Vavuniyaa.

The youth killed has been identified as Ponnappu Navaruban, 18, a resident of Kaneasapuram in Vavuniyaa.

The injured Sivathasan, 23, of Poovarasankulam, is admitted to Vavuniyaa general hospital in a critical condition.

The container vehicle had crashed against the motor cycle which was involved in the accident.

திருகோணமலை பிரதேசத்தில் உள்ள ஈந்து ஆலயங்களில் கடந்த பல நாட்களாக தெய்வ சிலைகள் உடைக்கப்படும் சம்பவங்கள் குறித்து பொலிஸாருக்கு முறைப்பாடுகள் கிடைத்துள்ளன.
திருகோணமலை, ஆதிகோணேஸ்வரர், கள்ளிமேடு முத்துமாரியம்மன், பட்டிமேடு சிந்தாமணி பிள்ளையார், புதுடிக்குடியிருப்பு ஊரிக்காடு பிள்ளையார் ஆலயம் ஆகியவற்றின் தெய்வ சிலைகளே உடைக்கப்பட்டுள்ளன.
இந்த சம்பவங்கள் இனங்களுக்கு இடையில் முரண்பாடுகளை ஏற்படுத்தும் ஒரு திட்டமிட்ட சதிச் செயலாக இருக்கலாம் என இந்துக்கள் சந்தேகம் தெரிவித்துள்ளனர்.
எனினும் சம்பவம் தொடர்பில் எவரும் இதுவரை பொலிஸாரால் கைதுசெய்யப்படவில்லை

அண்மையில் பதுளையில் நடைபெற்ற கிரிக்கெட் மைதான திறப்பு விழாவின் போது ஜனாதிபதி மஹிந்த ராஜபக்ச துடுப்பெடுத்தாடி விளையாட்டை ஆரம்பித்து வைத்தார்.
இதன் போது அவர் எஸ்.எப் என்ற ரகத்தை சேர்ந்த துடுப்பை கொண்டே பந்தை அடித்தாடினார்.
இந்த விடயம் அப்போது பெரியளவில் பேசப்படாத போதும் பின்னர் அரசியல் பிரச்சினையை உருவாக்கியுள்ளது.
எஸ்.எப் எனப்படுவது  ஜனாதிபதியின் அரசியல் எதிரியான முன்னாள் இராணுவ தளபதி சரத் பொன்சேகாவை குறிப்பதாகும் இதனை வைத்துக்கொண்டே கடந்த ஜனாதிபதி தேர்தலில் சரத் பொன்சேகா தேர்தல் பிரசாரங்களில் ஈடுபட்டு வந்தார்.
இந்தநிலையில் கிரிக்கெட் துடுப்பாட்ட விடயம் ஜனாதிபதிக்கு தெரியவரவே அவர் சார்ந்த அதிகாரிகள், ஜனாதிபதி துடுப்பெடுத்தாடும் வகையில் அமைந்திருந்த துடுப்பில் உள்ள எஸ்.எப் என்ற எழுத்துக்களை மறைத்து பிரசுரிக்குமாறு பத்திரிகைகளுக்கு  உத்தரவிடப்பட்டுள்ளது.
தொலைக்காட்சி படங்களிலும் எஸ்.எப் எழுத்துக்களை காணமுடியவில்லை.

2030 ஆம் ஆண்டில் நாட்டின் தலைவராக வரும் வகையில் இலங்கை ஜனாதிபதியின் மகனும் நாடாளுமன்ற உறுப்பினருமான நாமல் ராஜபக்ச இணைத்தளம் ஒன்றை ஆரம்பித்துள்ளார்.
நாமல் 2030 என இந்த இணையத்தளத்திற்கு பெயரிடப்பட்டுள்ளது.
இதில் நாமல் தொடர்பான தகவல்களும் அரசியல் அம்சங்களும் உள்ளடங்கியுள்ளன.
எனினும் ஏனைய கட்சி உறுப்பினர்களை பாதிக்கும் என்பதற்காக இந்த இணையத்தளத்தை பிரசாரப்படுத்த வேண்டாம் என ஜனாதிபதி மஹிந்த ராஜபக்ச கேட்டுக் கொண்ட போதும் நாமலின் இணையத்தளம் பிரசாரப்படுத்தப்பட்டு வருகிறது.
ஏற்கனவே நாமலை ஜனாதிபதியாக கொண்டு வரவேண்டும் என்பதற்காகவே மஹிந்த ராஜபக்ச, ஜனாதிபதி பதவிக்காலத்தின் வரையறையை நீடித்தார் என்ற குற்றச்சாட்டுக்களும் சுமத்தப்பட்டுள்ளன.

சுவிஸ் வட்டக்கச்சி இராமநாதபுரம் ஒன்றியத்தினால் ஏற்பாடு செய்யப்பட்ட "சுற்றத்து முற்றம்" கலைநிகழ்வு நாளை காலை 10:00 மணிக்கு ஆரம்பகாவுள்ளது.
இம்மாபெரும் கலை மகிழ்வு ஒன்று ௬டலானது  நாளை காலை 10   மணியிலிருந்து  மாலை 17 மணிவரை, Gemeindezentrum    Brüelmatt Dorfstrasse 10  8903  Birmensdorf  என்னும் முகவரியில் நடைபெறவுள்ளது.
இலங்கையிலிருந்து வருகை தந்திருக்கும் தமிழ் தேசிய கூட்டமைப்பு நாடாளுமன்ற உறுப்பினர்களான  மாவை சேனாதிராஜா ,  பா . அரியநேந்திரன் , சீ . யோகேஸ்வரன், சி .சிறிதரன்  மற்றும் முன்னாள் ஊடகவியலாளரான ந .வித்தியாதரன் ஆகியோர் கலந்து சிறப்புரை ஆற்றவுள்ளனர்
சுவிஸ் முன்னணி கலைக் கல்வி நிறுவனங்களின்  மாணவ மாணவியர் பங்குகொள்ளும் இசை நடன கலை நிகழ்வுகளுடன் நெகிழும் நினைவுகளுடன் மகிழும் உறவுகளாய் புலம்பெயர் உறவுகளை இச்சுற்றத்து முற்றத்தில் வந்து சங்கமிக்குமாறு அனைவரையும் அழைக்கின்றோம்.
மண்டபத்திற்கு வரும் வழி Bern -Zürich-  Chur புதிய வேகவீதியில் Westring-Zürich -Birmensdorf
வட்டக்கச்சி இராமநாதபுர ஒன்றியம்
சுவிஸ்

Six parliamentarians of the main opposition of United National Party (UNP) crossed over to the government benches while the debate on the 18th amendment to the constitution was in progress Wednesday evening.

The UNP MPs who crossed over to government benches were Lakshman Seneviratne, Earl Gunasekara, Manusha Nanayakkara, Upeksha Swarnamali, Nimal Wijeysinghe and Abdul Carder.

Sri Lanka’s seventy nine year-old Prime Minister D.M. Jayaratna tabled the 18th Amendment to the constitution in Parliament Wednesday morning. According to the 18th amendment, the restriction of the two term executive presidency system is to be removed allowing the incumbent president to contest any number of times.

The amendment allows the introduction of a five-member parliamentary advisory council replacing the existing Constitutional Council appointed under the seventeenth Sri Lankan constitution.

Mr. Jayaratna said that at least sixteen parliamentarians of the main opposition United National Party were expected to vote in favour of the amendment when it was put to vote at the conclusion of the debate around 7:00 p.m.

Except those UNP parliamentarians who are expected to vote with the government, other UNP parliamentarians have been boycotting the debate.

Meanwhile, supporters of the government and opposition have been conducting pro and anti demonstrations in several parts of Colombo city, causing heavy traffic jam.

Sri Lanka government’s archaeological department with the help of Sri Lanka Army is constructing more structures in Thirvadinilai in Maathakal in Vallikaamam North SLA High Security Zone (HSZ), in addition to a Buddhist temple erected in October 2009. This area had been the home of Tamil families living there since ancient times evicted twenty years ago when Valikaamam North HSZ was established by SLA. Now the families are not allowed even to see their own places in Maathakal while thousands of Sinhala Buddhist pilgrims visit the newly built temple daily which now has become a tourist attraction in Jaffna peninsula, sources in Jaffna said. 

Sri Lanka president’s wife Shiranthi Rajapakse and his son Namal Rajapakse had in October 2009 brought a statue of Changkamiththa, Emperor Aoska’s daughter and the first woman Buddhist missionary to Ceylon, to be enshrined in the newly built Buddhist temple in Maathakal in the HSZ.

During the same time Sri Lanka President Mahinda Rajapakse had appointed Rev. Warapitiya Rahula Thero as the curator for archaeological artifacts in Jaffna peninsula in an attempt to fabricate evidence to show the Sinhalese masses and the outer world that traces of Buddhism in Jaffna peninsula are exclusively Sinhalese.

Rev. Rahula Thero will go into action following in the footsteps of the successive Sinhalese regimes which have tried to rewrite the history of Sri Lanka in favour of Sinhalese Buddhists, the sources added.
The pilgrims from South entering through the front line check post of the army HSZ in Thellippalai go to Keerimalai and then to the Buddhist temple in Thiruvadinilai in Maathakal where Changamiththa’s statue is enshrined.

Meanwhile, SLA does not permit the uprooted families from Thiruvadinilai to go no further than Keerimalai and they now just watch the thousands of pilgrims going to their places passing them. 

Ranil Wickremasinghe, the leader of the main opposition United National Party (UNP) Tuesday announced in Sri Lanka parliament that his party would not attend the debate on the 18th amendment to the Constitution of Sri Lanka when it is taken up for debate on Wednesday. UNP parliamentarians led by Ranil Wickremasinghe thereafter walked out.

Prime Minister D. M. Jayaratne tabled the amendment bill amidst protests from the opposition amidst vociferous protests from the Opposition.

However, Speaker Chamal Rajapakse maintained that since the Supreme Court has ruled that the Amendment Bill was consistent with the Constitution and that only a two thirds majority in Parliament was needed, it did not pose any problems with the tabling of the Bill.

The Speaker suspended the sitting of parliament for about ten minutes following the walk out by the UNP.

UNP parliamentarians came out and held a Satyagraha campaign outside the Parliament.

Sri Lanka’s Parliament Tuesday adopted a motion to extend the State of Emergency for another month without voting. Prime Minister D. M. Jayaretna tabled the motion seeking the approval of the parliament. Parliamentarians of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) who were present in the house did not ask for division when the motion was put to vote.

Hence the Speaker Chamal Rajapakse declared that the motion was passed unanimously.

Parliamentarians of the main opposition United National Party (UNP) and Sinhala Nationalist Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) were not present in the House at that time.

The State of Emergency is in force since August 12 2005.

Majority of parliamentarians of the main opposition United National Party (UNP) Tuesday afternoon entered the parliament clad in black as a mark of protest in opposition to the 18th amendment to the constitution. One dissident parliamentarian of the UNP Abdul Cader of Kandy district was present in the house in his usual attire and not in black.

Meanwhile a group of lawyers paraded a coffin around the Supreme Court complex in Colombo Tuesday noon as a mark of protest to the introduction of the 18th amendment to the Constitution of Sri Lanka.

The UNP Tuesday categorically stated that the party has determined to expel all dissident MPs who vote for the constitutional amendment on Wednesday in parliament. The disciplinary action against the dissidents would commence immediately and their membership would be cancelled, the UNP has said.

The Thear (Chariot) festival of the historic Nalloor Kanthasuvaami Temple in Jaffna town was held Tuesday morning with at least a hundred thousand devotees from all over the island and abroad participating in the annual festival. The opening of A9 road had enabled the devotees to travel easily to Jaffna. Tamils and Sinhala people from South and expatriate Tamils in particular were among the thousands of devotees, sources in Jaffna said. 

More than 600 civil police personnel along with the temple volunteers were engaged in maintaining order during the festival.

Key roads in Jaffna were blocked for vehicles while no one was allowed to enter the temple surroundings in vehicles.

The chief deity Lord Murukan was taken from the temple Tuesday morning to the gaily-decorated Thear, with several devotees following the Thear paying their homage.

Devotees annually flock to the temple to fulfil the vows, imposing on themselves peculiar forms of penance including Kaavadi to propitiate Lord Murukan.

Sri Lanka Army (SLA) Commander Major Gen. Mahinda Kathurusinghe declined to endorse Jaffna Government Ms. Imelda Sukumar’s announcement that uprooted families from Valikaamam North SLA High Security Zone (HSZ) will be soon allowed resettlement in a recent meeting at Jaffna Veerasingham Hall, representatives of welfare organizations for uprooted families from Valikaamam North said. The GA is acting as if she is the spokesperson of Sri Lanka Defence Ministry, they accused. SLA Jaffna continues to deny permission for resettlement as Defence Secretary Gothabaya Rajapaksa is unyielding in his decision not to permit resettlement in Valikaamam North HSZ, they said.

Ms. Imelda Sukumar had failed to give any information or further details of the announced resettlement when the welfare organizations had contacted her.

Meanwhile, Major. Gen. Kathurusinghe had declined to comment on Ms. Imelda Sukumar’s announcement when approached by the welfare organizations.

Meanwhile, following announcements made during the last Presidential and General elections by Sri Lanka ministers SLA had permitted the uprooted families to see their properties caught in Valikaamam North SLA HSZs.

SLA, however, had later denied them entry after the elections were over.

The committee appointed by Colombo Supreme Court in July 2008 to explore resettlement in Vallikaamam North had completely ceased to function after some months.

Colombo Supreme Court had appointed the above committee after inquiring into the Fundamental Rights Violation petition filed by the uprooted families seeking permission to resettle in their villages in Valikaamam north and to engage in their livelihoods.

On the whole, resettlement of uprooted families evacuated by SLA from their properties in Valikaamam North seems vey uncertain, the representatives of the welfare organizations said.

The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) that has a parliamentary strength of fourteen members Monday decided to vote against the 18th amendment to the Constitution of Sri Lanka, according to Colombo media reports quoting TNA media spokesman and Jaffna district parliamentarian Suresh Premachandran.

He said the decision was taken at the parliamentary group meeting the TNA held Monday as the said amendment deprives the rights of minority communities.

The Communist Party of Sri Lanka (CPSL), Lanka Sama Samaja Party (LSSP) and Nava Sama Samaja Party (NSSP), constituents of the ruling United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA), Monday decided to support the 18th amendment in parliament. CPSL is led by Minister D. E. W. Gunasekara, LSSP by Minister Tissa Vitharana and NSSP by Vasudeva Nanayakara.

The government is to move the eighteenth amendment to the constitution removing the restriction on two term executive presidency and introducing a five-member Parliamentary Advisory Council replacing the Constitutional Council appointed under the seventh amendment in parliament.

Vasudeva Nanayakkara told media in Colombo Monday evening that despite disagreement over proposals embodied in the 18th amendment left parties have decided to support and vote for the 18th amendment.

Veteran Eezham Tamil scholar Professor Karthigesu Sivathamby, Emeritus Professor of Tamil of the University of Jaffna, Sunday denied a report that he had been in the forefront in organizing the so-called 'World Tamil Writers Conference' in Colombo scheduled for January next year. His denial was carried in the Sunday edition of a leading Tamil weekly, Thinakkural, published from Colombo.

Prof. Sivathamby said he had once been contacted by a friend from Australia over the proposed 'International Tamil Writers Conference 'in Colombo scheduled for January next year.

“But I explained to him that the present situation in Sri Lanka is not conducive to hold such conference in Colombo. Therefore, I deny reports involving me in such conference as I am unaware of anything about it,” Sivathamby said according to Thinakkural.

Eezham Tamils are a nation having historical sovereignty and territory in the island called Sri Lanka. Members of the Indian Establishment should stop humiliating them any further by calling them as ‘minority’. Tamil brethren of Tamil Nadu should be sensitive enough and stop such fundamentally faulty approaches and psyop war of the New Delhi-Chennai-Colombo axis on the historical nation of Eezham Tamils in the island. Edification of Chennai and New Delhi is basic to make the world see the crisis in realistic perspectives. Eezham Tamils, in their casual and social interaction should consciously stop using the recently invented name Sri Lanka of genocidal connotations, when an official Tamil name Ilangkai and another ancient Tamil name Eezham are available to refer to the island, writes TamilNet political commentator in Colombo.

The Indian Foreign Secretary Nirupama Menon Rao, visiting the island last week was quoted saying “political settlement that would meet some of the needs of the minorities”.

The visiting Indian army chief General Vijay Kumar Singh has asked the Sinhalese, the ‘majority community’ in Sri Lanka, to be largehearted towards the ‘minority Tamils’, reported P K Balachandran of Indian Express Monday.

It is now almost one hundred years since the implementation of the first major colonial political reform, the MacCallum constitution of 1912, by the British after their administrative unification of the island in 1833.

The minority-majority formula initiated then, whether communal representation, or later the universal adult enfranchisement since 1931, didn’t work in the last one hundred years in the island.

It was always misunderstood by the Sinhala nation to culminate in a genocidal war – the military commander Fonseka during the height of the war saying Sri Lanka belongs to the Sinhalese and the President, Mahinda Rajapaksa, saying the same in a different language immediately after the war that he would see no one is a minority in the island.

The Indian general of IPKF legacy wanted to sound non-political when he said that he would leave envisaging defence cooperation of India and Sri Lanka to the political leadership of the two countries. But he was political no less than Sarath Fonseka on a core and sensitive issue when he was referring to ‘minority Tamils’ and was pleading the ‘majority Sinhalese’.

The consistently faulty approach of the Indian Establishment towards the chronic crisis in the island provides the space for pretending India-friends like Dayan Jayatilleke to nullify the integrity of Tamil homeland and call even a federal solution a ‘fantasy’ on one hand and to advice Colombo of the importance of maintaining balance between China and India on the other hand.

While political solution is in the lip service, recent media reports from Colombo brim with news on the India-China competition in the economy of the island providing space for chauvinistic Colombo to quietly carryout the genocide.

From the ill-reputed Vedanta of Chidambaram connections buying Cairn India oil dig in the Tamil waters to Chinese capturing labour market and gem market in the south, the news reports didn’t fail to point out how the people of the island are not the beneficiaries.

The media reports also provide glimpses on India’s tolerance to Sinhala military occupying vast tracts of Tamil land in large numbers for the permanent subjugation of Tamils and the Chinese building permanent houses for the occupying military.

While there are no signs of political solution, no signs of rights for Tamils to develop themselves and no signs of free movement for Tamils in their land, there is again news that Dr. M S Swaminathan will be engaging in ‘agricultural development’ in the North.

Eezham Tamils are more concerned about India’s outlook to the crisis than concerned about any other power or country.

If the Indian Foreign Secretary was facing outbursts in Jaffna it was because the Eezham Tamils think that they have the right to do because of the emotional bondage they still feel, despite what India had done to them. They wouldn’t have felt that liberty had it been the President of Sri Lanka or even the US Asst. Secretary of State. People of India have to understand that if not understood by their Establishment.

Especially after witnessing the genocidal Vanni War, and witnessing the ongoing open demonstration of structural genocide by state in the island, Eezham Tamils can’t afford to have any genuine dialogue with whether Colombo, New Delhi, Washington or any others, unless the dialogue begins from the recognition of the nation of Eezham Tamils and its sovereignty in the island.

Whoever among them recognises the above as the beginning of reconciliation will only get the collaboration of Eezham Tamils, cooperation of global Tamils and the good will of the civilised majority of the silently watching humanity.

But how long the people of Tamil Nadu are going to be gagged from raising the fundamentals and how long the global Tamils are going to subscribe for watching the ‘dance of deer and peacock’ is the question.

Meanwhile, it is saddening to note that sections in the Eezham Tamil diaspora under the influence of psyops and the use of English are insensitive to the significance of symbols and still use the post-1972 name 'Sri Lanka' of genocidal connotations in their social, cultural and casual interactions.

Eezham Tamil children in the diaspora innocently use this self-defeating symbol of state because they are not educated on this by their parents.

Even for those who still harp on a 'united Sri Lanka' there is an official and constitutional name Ilangkai in Tamil, if they think the ancient Tamil name Eezham for the island, from which the Sinhala E'lu and He'la derived, is too political for them.

Haven’t these sections seen examples in Europe that a country could be officially called in different names in the different languages of the nations within that country? Even India is officially written differently in English and in Devanagari alphabets.

Devotees in their thousands from across Sri Lanka and abroad filled the temple precincts at the annual Chappa’ram festival of Nalloor Kanthasuvaami temple in Jaffna held Monday night. Jaffna peninsula devotees took part in greater number than they had in previous years, sources in Jaffna said. The Chappa’ram festival will be followed with Thear (Chariot) festival Tuesday and Theerththam (Water cutting) festival Wednesday.

Sri Lanka National Environment Commission (NEC) has stopped the deepening of the fisheries jetties in Vadamaraadchi saying prior permission had not been obtained from NEC. The deepening of the jetties had commenced after a long period. Fishermen societies in Vadamaraadchi said that they will gather fishermen to launch protest demonstrations unless Sri Lanka government finds a solution for the problem.

Sri Lanka Army (SLA) had refused to permit deepening of the said jetties in areas from Valveddiththu’rai to Ma’nattkaadu on Vadamaraadchi coast during the war.

Deepening of some of the fisheries jetties in Vadamaraadchi had been begun during the peace period but tsunami had filled them with sand and stones.

As the number of fishing boats had increased greatly the jetties need to be deepened and broadened to make sufficient area for the boats to dock out and in.

SLA authorities in Vadamaraadchi too are not prepared to grant any concessions to the fishermen, fisheries society representatives said.

During the pre-trial phase of a lawsuit accusing two Tamils and a Tamil charity for allegedly providing funds to the Liberation Tigers which is listed as a "Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO)" by the US Department of State, and thereby aiding the Liberation Tigers in causing the death of several Sri Lanka civilians, U.S. District Judge Dennis Cavanaugh dismissed all but two charges, legal sources in Washington said. The suit was filed by relatives of 24 Sri Lankan civilians under a 1789 US statute Alien Tort Claim Act (ATCA) for the alleged killing by the LTTE. Legal sources in Washington said that the plaintiffs face a difficult legal challenge to establish that the remaining two charges due to the higher thresholds of burden of proof demanded by the Court.

U.S. District Judge Dennis Cavanaugh threw out, in full, five of the seven counts (counts 2-5) in the complaint, and also dismissed a partial count (count 7).

The dismissed charges include aiding and abetting terrorism, negligence, reckless disregard and wrongful death and survivor claims. A summary of charges filed by the plaintiffs follows:

1. Aiding and abetting, intentionally facilitating, and/or recklessly disregarding crimes against humanity in violation of international law;
2. Aiding and abetting acts of terrorism, including specifically suicide bombings and other murderous attacks on innocent civilians intended to intimidate or coerce a civilian population, universally condemned as violations of the law of nations;
3. Reckless disregard-- to a known threat when they gave individual, private, or charitable funds...
4. Negligence. Negligently and recklessly, directly and indirectly, failed to exercise reasonable care...
5. Wrongful death against defendants;
6. Survival action against the defendants; and
7. Negligent and/or intentional infliction of emotional distress against plaintiffs. 

Comparing how the United States accounted any Vietnamese killed as Viet Cong, Peter Bouckert, in the British Daily Guardian said Sunday that "Sri Lanka's defence secretary, Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, has taken such creative accounting to new heights. The United Nations reported that at least 7,000 civilians were killed and tens of thousands wounded during the final months of the brutal conflict with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, which ended in May 2009. But Gotabhaya has repeatedly cast aspersions on the idea that there were any civilian casualties."

Gotabhaya claimed that injured Tigers "changed their uniforms into civilian clothes" and that the Tigers must have suffered at least 6,000 dead and 30,000 injured – suggesting those counted as civilian casualties were really just Tamil Tiger fighters who had shed their uniforms, the paper said.

Noting Gotabhaya's statement to the Sri Lanka's "Lessons Learnt" commission that "[n]o complaints about human rights violations or abuses by the army were brought to my notice. None at all," the column in Guardian said, the "defence secretary seems to be suffering from severe amnesia," pointing out the reported evidence during and after the conflict by various UN agencies, the US state department and human rights organisations.

"The government clearly wants to avoid an honest attempt to find the truth. During a BBC interview in June, Gotabhaya threatened to have the commander behind the final military offensive, Gen Sarath Fonseka, executed after he promised to co-operate with investigations into wartime violations," Boucaert said refering to a a widely broadcast video where an agitated Rajapakse made the incriminating statement.

The column concludes: "What the Lessons Learned Commission makes of the testimony it receives remains to be seen. One would hope that it would see the government's version of events for what it is: a cynical fabrication designed to avoid scrutiny. Unfortunately, there is every reason to fear that the panel will believe the story that is being spun by the Rajapaksa brothers, which basically runs to the formula from Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland: "Nothing would be what it is because everything would be what it isn't.""

Sri Lanka Public Administration Affairs Ministry held its first all island District Government Agents conference in Jaffna Monday in District Secretaiat hall at 9:00 a.m presided by Sri Lanka Minister of Public Administration, John Seneviratne. Jaffna Government Agent Ms. Imelda Sukumar told Tamilnet that past development activities in the North and future devolpment projects were discussed in the meeting. Allocation of funds for various projects was also considered, the GA said.

The newly appointed Government Agents to Ki'linochchi and Mullaiththeevu districts in the war affected Vanni highlighted the plight of resettled families in Vanni, Jaffna Secretariat sources said.

The issue was explored deeply in the conference, they added.

All government agents from the twenty-five administrative districts in Sri Lanka attended the conference.

The first Cabinet meeting of Sri Lanka’s government was held last month in Ki'linochchi outside Colombo.

The conference of GAs continues amidst accusations raised by civil society circles in Jaffna that Sri Lanka government had not done enough for the North.

Parents and relatives of one hundred and seventy four Tamil youths disappeared after arrest by Sri Lanka Army (SLA) from Vanthaa'rumoolai campus of the Eastern University of Sri Lanka in Batticaloa district two decades ago held prayers in memory of them Sunday. SLA troops had come in buses and taken 158 Tamil youths by force from Vanthaa'rumoolai campus on 05.09.1990 and 16 youths eighteen days later on September 23.

Since then for the last two decades parents and relatives of these youths are in the dark whether their loved ones are alive or dead.

These youths had sought refuge in Vanthaa'rumoolai campus to evade atrocities by the state armed forces and were arrested by SLA in the name of interrogation.

The parents and relatives of the youths were not informed about their whereabouts.

Some parents who are under the impression that their children are alive held prayers in temples of their faith Sunday for their safe return.

Other parents who think their children are no more held rituals seeking solace to their souls.

The Association of Tamil Creativists in Tamil Nadu against the Colombo International Tamil Writers Conference to be held in Colombo from 5th to 8th January 2011 has appealed to all Tamil writers to boycott the Colombo conference in a message to media released Tuesday in Chennai. Several leading Tamil creativists including writers, artists, film industry persons and journalists who took part in the Tuesday press meet have signed the appeal.

The English version of the appeal follows:

Let us boycott Colombo International Tamil Writers Conference – a request by Tamil creativists, artists and journalists.

Some writers have announced that they are to hold an International Tamil Writers Conference in Colombo on 5, 6, 7, 8 January 2011. It has been announced that some persons in Colombo and some Diaspora writers had met on 3rd January 2010 and decided to hold this conference.

Sri Lanka government, with India’s joint sabotage, had waged a massive Tamil genocidal war last year killing numerous combatants and innocent civilians to the great shock of the world.

The countries of the world, enraged against Sri Lanka which had made cruel attacks and committed atrocities on the Tamils with frenzied Sinhala chauvinism violating International rules in the conduct of war and the treatment of prisoners of war, have condemned it.

European Union has imposed an embargo on Sri Lanka. The UN General Secretary and the heads of UN member states continue to demand Sri Lanka President Mahinda Rajapaksa to be charged in the International Court.

Sri Lanka, having waged a Tamil genocidal war, in order to escape the accusations of the world countries and to dampen the anger of the Tamils had tried to show that it was not an enemy of the Tamils by holding the India International Film Awards Festival in Colombo on 3, 4, 5 June.

But the Tamil film society boycotted the festival and appealed to the film societies of other languages in India resulting in the absolute failure of the festival.

With this total failure Sri Lanka is now attempting to stage the Colombo International Tamil Writers Conference in an effort to hide the blood stains of a hundred thousand Tamils on its hands. Without revealing its true face it now wears the mask of writers to engage in this fraudulence.

Therefore, the Tamil creativists, activists and artists and journalists should understand the background and the motive of holding this conference.

We are humanists, creativists, humanitarian thinkers, artists and journalists who sincerely cherish humanity beyond the boundaries of countries, race and language. We are duty-bound to raise our voices together against violation of human rights and attacks on human beings in whichever corner of the world.

The atrocities committed against Eezham Tamils and the horrendous killings of them which reached its zenith in Mu’l’livaaikkaal cannot be described in words. This tyrant Sri Lanka government, exposed of its atrocities and facing the condemnation of world countries, in an effort to hide its cruel face, is now making up its face with the paint of Tamil-love.

We wish to emphatically state that we will not be a party to this effort under any circumstance.

There is no record in world history of a people who had achieved any development independently without political liberation.

Therefore, we request the creativists, scholars and artists to see through the cunning motive of the Sri Lanka government which tries to entice them in the name of development of literature, language and film industry. Tamils of the world should wholly boycott this counterfeit and pompous conference.

Thank you,

(signatures of participants)  

Sri Lanka police in Jaffna arrested two members of Janatha Vimukthi Party (JVP) while they were putting up posters against the proposed 18th Constitutional Amendment at Hospital Road junction in Jaffna Saturday early morning, sources in Jaffna said. One of the men arrested is Veeraraj Lalithakumar who had contested as the chief candidate of Democratic National Party of Sarath Fonseka in Jaffna district in the last parliamentary election and lost. The police had removed all the posters pasted.

Meanwhile, Gampaha district JVP parliamentarian Vijitha Herath had called Jaffna police from Colombo and pointed out that it was not an offence to paste posters in public places, JVP sources in Jaffna said.

Jaffna police have detained the two arrestees despite the intervention of Vijitha Herath and are framing false charges against them, alleged the JVP sources.

Nirupama Menon Rao expressed satisfaction at the progress in resettlement of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) and development activities of the North, said state-owned Colombo newspaper Daily News Thursday, titling the news as “Indian investment interest rising”. But, reporting on Nirupama’s visit, The Hindu on Friday titled the news “Political solution should be priority” and cited her saying to Colombo-based Indian journalists that “While the focus on development and rehabilitation is very welcome, a long term perspective that also includes the issues relating to the political settlement that would meet some of the needs of the minorities should also be kept in mind.”

While Nirupama was harping on “some of the needs of the minorities” to Colombo-based Indian journalists, Hindustan Times reported Wednesday that, “According to reports, Rao was told that the people of Jaffna expect India to play an active role in extracting a political settlement on the ethnic issue from Colombo. But at the same time, doubts were expressed whether India, which sided with the Mahinda Rajapaksa regime in its fight against the Tamil Tigers, would indeed help the Lankan Tamils to get that. Mere resettlement of war-displaced Tamils in small pockets of the northern districts will not achieve anything, she was told.”

The Hindustan Times news was titled “Rao faces some hard questions in Jaffna”.

According to Times of India, Thursday, The Sri Lankan government has told New Delhi that it is not willing to carry out any dialogue with Tamil leaders who have earlier been closely associated with LTTE.

“The leadership in Colombo continues to maintain that a political solution is being delayed because of lack of genuine leadership among the Tamil community with whom the government can discuss and kickstart the process,” Times of India said.

In the meantime, Western diplomats pressurise the diaspora that the diaspora should not allow a gap and it should go and engage in ‘development’ in the North and East, collaborating with Mahinda Rajapaksa regime.

Commenting on the situation, a retired Tamil civil servant in Colombo who had seen the pogroms since 1958 said: “ After every pogrom Tamils who were forced to get back to Colombo used to be gleefully welcomed by the very elements that directly participated in the pogrom saying ‘Baya epaa, enda, enda’ (don’t be afraid, come, come), only to be humiliated and chased out again”.

“The Western diplomats have now taken over the responsibility of telling that to Tamils when they can’t even guarantee the safety of the people working in their embassies and in their own NGOs in the island. After making Tamils totally powerless and hounded they come out with this ‘advice’ when the responsibility of creating an international guaranteed situation in the island for the Tamils to work for development lies with them” the Tamil civil servant said.

“ Why should the world keep Tamils in a situation pressurising them to carry out dialogue with a genocidal government instead of trying it for the crimes it committed against humanity,” asked Steven Pushparajah, a senior marine engineer and a member of the Norwegian Council of Eelam Tamils (NCET).

“Cooperation can come only when there is consolation and hope”.

“Consolation and hope can come to Tamils only when there is justice to the crimes and justice to their national question. It is dangerous for all concerned to allow a nation to harbour a psyche of hopelessness towards the world system,” Mr. Pushparajah further said.

“While miserably failing in providing consolation to the crimes committed and failing in providing hope for the national question, the West and India are audacious in expecting the Tamils to cooperate”.

Commenting on ‘genuine leadership’ the diaspora political activist said that no independent Tamil leadership would be considered ‘genuine’ by Colombo that wants to breed a ‘leadership’ for Tamils under captivity.

“However, Tamils have to first prove to themselves with an independent and genuine polity and leadership, and then they have to firmly prove to the world on what they want and that they are capable of handling what they get. Colombo and the abetters may sabotage, but Eezham Tamils have to take up that challenge,” the activist said.

Meanwhile, Frida Ghitis, claimed to be an independent columnist wrote in World Politics Review Thursday that “Sri Lanka, China form strategic shield against the West.”

“Chinese weapons played an important role in the government's ultimate success against the LTTE in 2009,” the commentator said.

In her opinion, “That military victory against an organization that perpetrated acts of extraordinary brutality was widely cheered by Sri Lanka's majority Sinhalese -- as well as by large sections of the minority Tamil, who dreaded the extreme methods of the Tamil Tigers and breathed a sigh of relief at the war's end. But the victory came at a horrific cost to civilians”.

The commentator not only totally ignored but twisted the six decades long national question, the ongoing multi-faceted genocide in an accelerated way and the plight of Tamils.

The commentator sounded that while China scored the point in supporting a ‘just cause’ the USA lost its leverage by stopping military aid to Colombo on human rights grounds. War crimes probe and EU’s economic pressure will not have any effect on Colombo that is supported by China, the article alluded.

“For Sri Lanka, the end of the war with the Tamil Tigers means a new era. Pressure from the West to look back at what transpired during the conflict, or at the cost civilians paid for that victory, are seen by the government as an affront to its sovereignty and an unnecessary rehashing of a necessary war. Instead of looking back, it prefers to look to the future. And a big part of the future can be seen from the country's shores, where the big Chinese ships dotting the horizon symbolize new opportunities for Sri Lanka, “ the commentator said.

The thrust of the article was encouraging the US and the West to compete with China in entering into the good books of Mahinda Rajapaksa.

“If it is really because of China that the USA and India have to tonsure Eezham Tamils and buttress a genocidal state, and if the USA and India can’t come to a consensus of recognising the national question in the island and can’t come out with appropriate decisive solutions, then why shouldn’t Tamils now encouraged by them to have dialogue with Rajapaksa regime have a direct dialogue with the great power China itself? If Tamils could do so, some media empires in Chennai that are at present deeply biased towards Eezham Tamils and some sections of Marxists may also start supporting them. No harm will come other than Sinhala-Buddhist expansionism knocking the doors of Chennai in another decade’s time,” was a comment heard in Trincomalee.

Sri Lanka government authorities in Jaffna have announced that uprooted families from Pa’lai Divisional Secretary area and Vadamaraadchi East in Jaffna district will be resettled in their own villages 9 and 10 September. The announcement comes in the wake of the recent meeting held on this issue between Jaffna Sri Lanka Army (SLA) Commander and Jaffna Government Agent in Palaali Military head office. Though similar announcements had been made on resettling the uprooted families from Valikaamam North SLA High Security Zone earlier, so far they had not been allowed to resettle by SLA. The uprooted families now held in interim camps said that they will believe the announcement only when it becomes a reality.

7,531 persons of 2,455 families from Pa’lai and Vadamaraadchi East held in Raamaavil and Kudaththanai camps are to be resettled in their villages according to the announcement.

People will also be resettled in Iyakkachchi and Mukaavil villages in Pa’lai Divisional Secretary area.

The first stage of resettlement will take place in the villages of Chempianpattu North and South, Maruthangkea’ni, Vaththaraayan, Uduththu’rai and Aazhiyava’lai.

The resettled people will be allowed to engage in fishing in the above villages, SLA authorities said.

The procedures of resettlement were discussed Thursday in District Divisional Secretariat Coordination Committee meeting.

Jaffna District Secretariat is taking steps to close down the refugee camps in Raamaavil and Kudaththanai.

The 18th Constitutional Amendment Bill will be debated and put to vote 8 September in Sri Lanka parliament, according to decision taken at a meeting by the leaders of political parties represented in Sri Lanka parliament, presided by Speaker Chamal Rajapaksa.

Proposed 18th Amendment enables an incumbent president to hold office any number of times. It also enables the President to attend parliament once in three months and the creation of a five member Parliamentary Advisory Council replacing the Constitutional Council under the seventeenth amendment of the country’s constitution.

The Speaker Chamal Rajapaksa is to announce the decision of a five-judge Supreme Court bench headed by Justice Shiranee Bandaranaike on the constitutionality of the bill on Monday 7 September when parliament meets or prior to the debate that is to commence 8 September at 9:30 a. m.

Opposition parties’ Movement Against 18th Amendment stated that 8 September, the day Sri Lanka government tables the constitutional amendment bill in Parliament, has been declared a Black Day and that a protest demostration will be held at the Borella Ayurveda Junction in Colombo on the same day. The convener of the Movement described the amendment as “undemocratic” leading to dictatorship and said it should be defeated.

The Movement against the 18th amendment has been formed by a group of members of the main opposition United National Party, leftist parties in the opposition including the New Left Front (NLF) led by Dr. Wickramabahu Karunaratne, United Socialist Party (USP) led by Siritunga Jayasuriya and the Free Media Movement (FMM) led by Shiral Lakthilaka.

Meanwhile, Sri Lanka's Left Liberation Front leader Dr. Wickramabahu Karunaratne appealed to the people to wear black 8 September, at a press conference held on the proposed constitutional amendments in Colombo Friday.

Dr. Karunaratne was sacked from his university lecturer post in 1978 for hoisiting black flags against the 1978 constitution that introduced the Executive President system under the J. R. Jayawardene regime.

He said the 18th amendment to the constitution further strengthens the powers of the executive President.

The Left Liberation Front calls for the abolition of the executive Presidency.