Day: 9 October 2014

GTF News Update – 9th October 2014

Karu

Please find below the GTF news update for 8th & 9th October 2014.   –HIGHLIGHTS–   Global Tamil Forum is pleased to announce our newly redesigned and relaunched website is now online. For up-to-date information on our work, please visit: www.globaltamilforum.org.   News reports on 7TH October meeting held between GTF, other Tamil groups, and the UK’s Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, Rt. Hon Hugo Swire MP: –          Tamil Guardian, ‘UK strongly supports the international inquiry reiterates FCO minister, meeting with Tamil diaspora’ http://www.tamilguardian.com/article.asp?articleid=12477 –          Colombo Gazette, ‘UK…

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Hindu group turns down deal with BBS

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An Indian Hindu nationalist group said Wednesday that it has no intention of forming an alliance with a hardline Buddhist group in Sri Lanka, ucanews.com reported. The radical Sri Lankan Buddhist organisation Bodu Bala Sena (BBS) on Tuesday said it was in “high-level” talks with India’s Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), a Hindu nationalist group linked to India’s ruling party. Both groups are viewed as hostile toward minority Muslims in their respective countries. But RSS Spokesperson Ram Madhav told ucanews.com on Wednesday that he has “no knowledge of any such” initiative…

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Orchestrating Tamil Hordes

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By Rajan Hoole – Border Aggression and Civilian Massacres – Part 4 The declared Government policy on encroachment as contained in a cabinet decision, was to regularise all bona fide encroachments made prior to 31st March 1979, if the land did not fall within reservations, and to debar encroachers after 7th April 1980 from be- ing considered for land. Deserving non-citizens on encroachments prior to 31st March 1979, were to be allowed to remain on their encroachments until their citizenship was decided (see Gamini Dissanayake, referred to below). Following the announcement of JOSSOP’s…

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UK group says it has torture evidence

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Freedom from Torture, the only organisation in the UK dedicated solely to the treatment and rehabilitation of survivors of torture, says there is evidence to back allegations of torture in Sri Lanka. Dr Juliet Cohen, Freedom from Torture’s Head of Doctors who addressed the UN Human Rights Committee in Geneva today during the review on Sri Lanka, said that Sri Lanka’s continued refusal to seriously engage with the UN Human Rights Committee on the extensive evidence of ongoing torture is both disappointing and frustrating. “The Sri Lankan government’s blithe repetition of…

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Sri Lankan Tamil activist hospitalized after attack by assailants

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A Tamil human rights advocate  was attacked and beaten with iron rods following a meeting with other activists in Vavuniya. Krishnapillai Thevarasa, president of the Vavuniya Citizens Committee, says he was beaten Wednesday evening after planning a demonstration against the government with other rights activists. “On my way home … while I was riding my motorcycle, I was assaulted by four men with iron rods,” Thevarasa said by telephone from a hospital where he is recovering. It is suspected that the attackers are men working for government who wants to coverup…

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Shivajilingam reiterates majority demand of genocide investigation

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[TamilNet, Tuesday, 07 October 2014, 15:56 GMT] Northern Provincial Council (NPC) member M.K. Shivajingam on Tuesday vowed to confront any legal action from the South against the joint appeal sent by the majority NPC and Eastern Provincial Tamil National Alliance (TNA) Councillors to the Office of the UN High Commissioner of Human Rights (OHCHR) in August demanding investigations on genocide against Eezham Tamils. At a press conference held at Jaffna Press Club, the senior political leader of Tamil Eelam Liberation Organisation (TELO) also warned those expressing views against the association…

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