Day: 31 August 2014

Indian PM says he is 100% with TNA

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Indian PM says he is 100% with TNA, but wants them to talk to Colombo Government – Swamy once said Lanka should be a federated state of India, now the Govt. gives the self-styled leader a red-carpet welcome – President’s foreign policy advisors misreading geopolitics; Public attacks on US but costly PR stunts to repair ties Subramanium Swamy who said ”Sri Lanka should become a part of the federated state of India thus denouncing its sovereignty and territorial integrity” in April 2000 changed to Rajapaksha’s ‘mouth pies’ in 2014. He…

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URGENT Appeal from CTC: Witness Testimony from Tamil Canadians Needed in Support of UN Investigation Our Dear Community

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As many of you may know, on August 5th, 2014 the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) announced it will accept submissions pursuant to the mandate given to it at the 25th session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva to undertake a comprehensive investigation into alleged serious violations and abuses of human rights in Sri Lanka during the period of February 2002 to November 2001. In accordance with this mandate, the OHCHR Investigation on Sri Lanka (OISL) was established. Canadian Tamil Congress (CTC)…

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Enforced Disappearances and Extrajudicial Killings – AHRC

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Although, technically speaking, enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings are two distinct categories of gross violations of human rights, these two categories often overlap in Sri Lanka. Often, what get classified as enforced disappearances are kidnappings followed by interrogation, which often involve the use of torture and ill-treatment, followed by executions done in secret and, finally, the secret disposal of bodies. Despite several commissions looking into involuntary disappearances having made extensive observations and recommendations on the nature of enforced disappearances in Sri Lanka and ways to avoid the same, successive governments…

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Memoir Written by LTTE Ex-Child Soldier “Niromi de Zoysa” Being Made into Movie Named “Tigress”

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AT FIRST glance, Niromi de Soyza* is just like any other mum you might meet, one who juggles the school run with running a household in an affluent area of North Sydney. But behind this peaceful suburban life lies an extraordinary story of AK-47s, cyanide capsules and death, fighting alongside rebel soldiers in the jungles of Sri Lanka. Niromi de Soyza in this month’s Vogue magazine. Source: Supplied In her previous life, de Soyza was a Tamil Tiger. It was 1987 when de Soyza’s life changed forever. Until then she…

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Why Narendra Modi Wants Sri Lanka to Build on the 13th Amendment

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By D.B.S. Jeyaraj Astute Observers consistently following the erratic course of Sri Lankan Tamil politics were in for a pleasant surprise last week. The premier political representatives of the Sri Lankan Tamil people configured electorally as the Tamil National Alliance(TNA)embarked on a passage to India to meet the recently elected Prime minister Narendra Modi and key officials in New Delhi. The element of pleasant surprise in this exercise was due to the fact that a trip to New Delhi by the TNA was not expected to materialise until after the…

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Govt Intensifies Propaganda War

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As international pressure continues to mount on the government on the human rights issue, supported by human rights groups and some western countries, including the United States, the government is using all options available to boost its image both locally and overseas. Government propaganda has targeted the local voter base while overseas millions of rupees is being spent on US based firms to promote the country among investors and the US Congress. Propaganda targeting the local audience is being carried out by government ministers and parliamentarians with the unwritten theme…

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SL- Pakistan agree to enhance defence ties

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Pakistan Air Force chief Air Chief Marshal Tahir Rafique Butt called on Sri Lankan Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa in Colombo and discussed ways to strengthen defence cooperation between the two countries.  During the meeting, a cordial discussion was held between Secretary Defence and Air Chief Marshal Butt on matters of bilateral cooperation and mutual interest, the Pakistan High Commission in Colombo said.Commander of the Sri Lankan Air Force Air Marshal KolithaGunathilake, Air Commodore Hamid Rashid Randhawa and DefenceAttache of Pakistan in Sri Lanka Col Muhammad RajilIrshad Khan were also present…

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Sri Lanka Tamil party ready to talk with the government

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Aug 29, Colombo: Sri Lanka’s major Tamil party, Tamil National Alliance (TNA) said that the party was ready to resume discussions with the government to reach a lasting solution to the ethnic crisis based on power devolution within a united Sri Lanka. TNA parliamentarian M.A. Sumanthiran told a news conference in Colombo Thursday that the party does not have a hidden agenda and the party is strongly committed to finding a solution to the political question. “We have no intention of dividing Sri Lanka. We strongly believe a solution to…

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Government evading talks says TNA

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The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) MP M.A. Sumanthiran said the Sri Lankan government was evading the political question by stating false claims of LTTE links. “The Government is now saying it cannot hold talks with the TNA because we are representatives of the LTTE. The Government is trying to evade resolving the Tamil issue citing these false claims,” he told a press conference on Thursday. “We do not have any hidden agenda. We strongly believe a solution to the issue in a united country and we do not want a separate state,”…

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Pakistan cricketers prevented from entering the Dambulla mosque

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Members of the Pakistani cricket team, who were in Dambulla today, were prevented from entering the Masjidul Khaira mosque in Dambulla for their Friday evening prayers The decision, which earned the ire of the Pakistani cricket team and its management, was taken by authorities who overlooked the security of the team. The team arrived at Dambulla today for the third and final ODI with Sri Lanka which would take place at the international cricket stadium in Dambulla tomorrow. Some players of the team were of the view that the incident…

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