INDIA NEWS

Then comes another clown from India. Subramaniam Swamy advises the BJP Government not to unilaterally have direct dealings with the Sri Lankan Tamils, but to deal with them through SL. Swamy, who had always been a die-hard fan of President Mahinda Rajapaksa said: “Without the willing support of Sri Lanka, India cannot solve any Tamil problem.” What a great advice he could given BJP! Though he is a Tamil, but also a Brahmin, he was not bothered about the 100,000 plus Tamils, who were butchered raped and murdered by the Sri Lankan Army. He aspires to be a minister in the BJP Government.    So stated by Visvanathna Sivam in his write up; in his article given below! Swamy cannot claim to be brahmin as the vedas state […]

CHENNAI: The resettlement process currently on in Sri Lanka cannot move forward without India’s assistance and the country can do more to help the thousands who have been rendered orphans or widows or have been otherwise victimised, Rt Rev Daniel S Thiagarajah has said.The Bishop of Jaffna Diocese, who was in Chennai for the two-day visit of the Archbishop of Canterbury, talking exclusively to TOI on Tuesday, said the people of the island nation had suffered long enough and “careful planning is needed for the resettlement” effort.“India has contributed so much to the rebuilding and being a good neighbour I hope help will keep coming,” said Thiagarajah. He lauded India’s assistance in setting up of the rail network which has proved to a boon to […]

N. Sathiya Moorthy If anyone thought that they could fool around with India’s new, ‘inexperienced’ and ‘un-tested’ Prime Minister Narendra Modi on foreign policy issues in particular, news reports about his post-inauguration meetings with visiting Heads of Governments from SAARC nations suggest otherwise. Not only were those meeting more than a courtesy call, PM Modi is also reported to have discussed bilateral issues with each one of them in some detail. It was no different when Sri Lanka’s President Mahinda Rajapaksa met with Prime Minister Modi. Nor would it be any different as and when a Tamil National Alliance (TNA) delegation calls on the new Indian Prime Minister, for which they have already sought an early appointment. The Indian position is a balanced approach – […]

External Affairs Minister Professor G.L. Peiris answers an oral question raised by the United National Party’s national leader and the Opposition Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe in parliament today (June 04) and reiterates that the so called ethnic or national issue should be approached via the Parliamentary Select Committee which was appointed for the purpose. Ruling party stalwart Nimal Siripala de Silva voiced the same three days ago and this the External Affairs Minister said that the Freedom Alliance government’s stance is very clear and it does not provide police powers to any provincial council in the country. The Opposition Leader quoting “media reports” in Parliament said that President discussed over the reconciliation with the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi during their recent meeting in New Delhi. […]

THE UNHRC RESOLUTION AND ITS REPERCUSSIONS ONE STEP FORWARD…                 The Tamil Eelam liberation struggle and its solidarity movement now face the question: What is to be done?  To find an answer, we have to reckon with certain facts.                 The genocidal war against the people of Tamil Eelam reached its traumatic climax at Mullivaaikkaal on 2009 May 16, 17 and 18. And in this holocaust thousands of Tamils were massacred and the armed struggle for the liberation of the Eelam nation was totally crushed. The military hegemony over the Tamil Eelam areas has, in conjunction with Sri Lanka’s rigidly unitary constitution and the supremacist psyche of the Sinhalese people, brought about a situation where the democratic space for the Tamil Eelam people in their […]

Just a week after President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s first meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in India where the Indian leader reiterated the need for Sri Lanka to implement the 13th Amendment to the Constitution and go beyond, the Mahinda Rajapaksa government has said it will not fully implement the 13th Amendment.  The government has said that police powers will not be devolved to the provinces even if the 13th Amendment is fully implemented.Cabinet Spokesperson, Minister Keheliya Rambukwella has told the media at a news conference in Kandy that Cabinet will take the final decision on the implementation of the 13th Amendment. He has added that the government has already decided not to devolve police powers to the provinces and that those powers will remain […]

CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalithaa has taken a firm stand on the Sri Lankan Tamil issue despite conciliatory gestures by the Island nation in recent times, including release of Indian fishermen from the jails in that country.In a memorandum submitted to Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi on Tuesday, the chief minister reiterated her stand. She demanded the Centre sponsor a resolution in the UN condemning the genocide in Sri Lanka and to hold all those responsible for it accountable. She said the resolution should demand a referendum among the Tamils in Sri Lanka for the formation of a separate Tamil Eelam.Jayalalithaa said there were very strong sentiments among people in Tamil Nadu on a range of issues relating to India’s relations […]

By Dilrukshi Handunnetti  Just hours in to his new job, Narendra Modi, India’s new Prime Minister, placed his cards firmly on the table, during his first bilateral discussion with Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa, in New Delhi.   On 27 May, it was succinctly conveyed to the island’s President Rajapaksa, that when it came to Sri Lanka, the new Indian administration was committed to three things: Expeditious full implementation of the 13th Amendment to the Constitution, A lasting political solution that would not compromise Sri Lanka’s territorial integrity As well as strong economic and cultural ties – in that order.   The difference here is, unlike in Sri Lanka, where the policy of one government is completely replaced by another and often a matter of politics than policy, […]

President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s visit to India to attend the inauguration of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi attracted much attention this week as both countries made a conscious attempt to mend relations which had been under strain under the previous Congress administration. There were many welcoming gestures – the President telephoning Modi after his victory, Modi’s invitation for the inauguration and the President ordering the release of Indians detained by Sri Lankan authorities not merely for fishing illegally in Sri Lankan waters but also for other offences. There was some political posturing as well. Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalilthaa Jeyaram kept away from Modi’s inauguration because President Rajapaksa was invited. The Chief Minister of the Northern Province, C.V. Vigneswaran politely refused an invitation to join the […]