2009-04-30

இலங்கையில் இருந்து வந்த படகு கடலில் மூழ்கி 9 தமிழர்கள் பலி

by எல்லாளன்

போர் பீதி காரணமாக இலங்கையில் இருந்து படகில் தப்பி வந்த 6 பெண்கள் உள்பட 9 தமிழர்கள் கடலில் மூழ்கி பரிதாபமாக இறந்தனர். மேலும் 10 பேர் ஆந்திர மாநிலம் காக்கிநாடாவில் மீட்கப்பட்டனர்.

ஆந்திர மாநிலம் காக்கிநாடா அருகே நேற்று நள்ளிரவு 12 மணியளவில் ஒரு படகு வந்தது. இதைப் பார்த்த கொத்தபல்லி மண்டலம் சுப்பம்பேட்டை மீனவர்கள் காக்கிநாடாவில் உள்ள கடலோர பாதுகாப்பு படை அதிகாரிகளுக்கு தகவல் தெரிவித்தனர்.

அவர்கள் படகில் விரைந்து சென்று உயிருக்கு போராடிக் கொண்டிருந்தவர்களை மீட்டு கரைக்கு கொண்டு வந்தனர்.

மீட்கப்பட்டவர்கள் இலங்கையைச் சேர்ந்த சிவராஜ் ஜெகதீஷ்வரன், ஓபாக், ஏசுதாஸ், இந்திரகுமார், அமீர்தாஸ், நிரஞ்சன், கமலாதேவி, பாத்திமா, பிரசாம்பர், சைதா என விசாரணையில் தெரியவந்தது.

அவர்களுக்கு கொத்தபல்லி ஆரம்ப சுகாதார மையத்தில் சிகிச்சை அளிக்கப்பட்டது. இதில் இந்திரகுமார், சைதா, பாத்திமா நிரஞ்சன், கமலாதேவி ஆகியோரின் உடல்நிலை மோசமாக இருந்ததால் அவர்களை தீவிர சிகிச்சைக்காக காக்கிநாடா அரசு மருத்துவமனைக்கு அனுப்பி வைத்தனர்.

மீட்கப்பட்ட இலங்கை தமிழர்கள் கூறுகையில்,

போருக்கு பயந்து முல்லைத்தீவு பகுதியில் இருந்து 19 பேர் பத்து நாட்களுக்கு முன்பு 2 படகுகளில் தமிழகம் நோக்கி புறப்பட்டோம். இதில் ஒரு படகில் 9 பேரும் மற்றொரு படகில் 10 பேரும் பயணம் செய்தோம். கடலில் திக்கு தெரியாமல் அலைந்தோம்.

அப்போது காற்று வேகமாக வீசியதால் 9 பேர் வந்த படகு திடீரென கடலில் கவிழ்ந்து மூழ்கியது. அதில் இருந்த 6 பெண்கள், ஒரு பெண் குழந்தை உள்பட 9 பேரும் நீரில் மூழ்கினர்.

கடவுள் செயலால் நாங்கள் தப்பிவிட்டோம். கடலில் மூழ்கிய 9 பேரும் இறந்திருக்கலாம் என நினைக்கிறோம் என்றனர்.

இலங்கையில் இருந்து வந்த படகு கடலில் மூழ்கி 9 தமிழர்கள் பலி

by எல்லாளன்

போர் பீதி காரணமாக இலங்கையில் இருந்து படகில் தப்பி வந்த 6 பெண்கள் உள்பட 9 தமிழர்கள் கடலில் மூழ்கி பரிதாபமாக இறந்தனர். மேலும் 10 பேர் ஆந்திர மாநிலம் காக்கிநாடாவில் மீட்கப்பட்டனர்.

ஆந்திர மாநிலம் காக்கிநாடா அருகே நேற்று நள்ளிரவு 12 மணியளவில் ஒரு படகு வந்தது. இதைப் பார்த்த கொத்தபல்லி மண்டலம் சுப்பம்பேட்டை மீனவர்கள் காக்கிநாடாவில் உள்ள கடலோர பாதுகாப்பு படை அதிகாரிகளுக்கு தகவல் தெரிவித்தனர்.

அவர்கள் படகில் விரைந்து சென்று உயிருக்கு போராடிக் கொண்டிருந்தவர்களை மீட்டு கரைக்கு கொண்டு வந்தனர்.

மீட்கப்பட்டவர்கள் இலங்கையைச் சேர்ந்த சிவராஜ் ஜெகதீஷ்வரன், ஓபாக், ஏசுதாஸ், இந்திரகுமார், அமீர்தாஸ், நிரஞ்சன், கமலாதேவி, பாத்திமா, பிரசாம்பர், சைதா என விசாரணையில் தெரியவந்தது.

அவர்களுக்கு கொத்தபல்லி ஆரம்ப சுகாதார மையத்தில் சிகிச்சை அளிக்கப்பட்டது. இதில் இந்திரகுமார், சைதா, பாத்திமா நிரஞ்சன், கமலாதேவி ஆகியோரின் உடல்நிலை மோசமாக இருந்ததால் அவர்களை தீவிர சிகிச்சைக்காக காக்கிநாடா அரசு மருத்துவமனைக்கு அனுப்பி வைத்தனர்.

மீட்கப்பட்ட இலங்கை தமிழர்கள் கூறுகையில்,

போருக்கு பயந்து முல்லைத்தீவு பகுதியில் இருந்து 19 பேர் பத்து நாட்களுக்கு முன்பு 2 படகுகளில் தமிழகம் நோக்கி புறப்பட்டோம். இதில் ஒரு படகில் 9 பேரும் மற்றொரு படகில் 10 பேரும் பயணம் செய்தோம். கடலில் திக்கு தெரியாமல் அலைந்தோம்.

அப்போது காற்று வேகமாக வீசியதால் 9 பேர் வந்த படகு திடீரென கடலில் கவிழ்ந்து மூழ்கியது. அதில் இருந்த 6 பெண்கள், ஒரு பெண் குழந்தை உள்பட 9 பேரும் நீரில் மூழ்கினர்.

கடவுள் செயலால் நாங்கள் தப்பிவிட்டோம். கடலில் மூழ்கிய 9 பேரும் இறந்திருக்கலாம் என நினைக்கிறோம் என்றனர்.

ஜ.நாவை அதிர வைத்த சுவிஸ் தமிழர்களின் அடங்காப்பற்று

by எல்லாளன்

சுவிஸ் தமிழ் இளையோர் அமைப்பால் ஏற்பாடு செய்யப்பட்ட இந்த மாபெரும் ஆர்ப்பாட்ட நிகழ்வில் 3000 த்துக்கும் மேற்பட்ட மக்கள் கலந்துகொண்டு சிறிலங்காவில் போர்நிறுத்தம் கோரியும் உடனடி மருந்து உணவு அனுப்பப்படவேண்டும் என்று கோரியும் தமிழீழம் தான் எமக்கான ஒரே இறுதித் தீர்வென்றும் ஆர்ப்பரித்தபடி போராட்டத்தை நடத்தினர்.

இக் கவனயீர்ப்புப் போராட்டம் சம்மந்தமாக ஏற்பாட்டுக் குழுவினரை அழைத்து சந்திப்பதாகக் கூறியிருந்த ஜக்கிய நாடுகள் சபை சிறீலங்க அரசின் அழுத்தம் காரணமாக இறுதியில் இச்சந்திப்பை நிறுத்திவிட்டது.

இதன் காரணமாக கொதிப்படைந்த மக்கள் காவற்துறையினரது பாதுகாப்பு ஏற்பாடுகளையும் மீறி ஜ.நாவை வாயிலை நோக்கி நகர்ந்து வீதி மறியலில் ஈடுபட்டனர். இதனால் பல மணி நேரம் வீதிப்போக்குவரத்துக்கு இடையூறு ஏற்பட்டது.

காவற்துறையினரின் கண்ணீர்ப் புகை மற்றும் நீர்ப்பாச்சலை மக்கள் துணிந்து எதிர்த்து நின்றனர். பலமணி நேரப் போராட்டத்திற்ப் பின்பு காவற்துறையினர் அமைதிகாத்தனர்.

இறுதியாக அங்கு கூடிருந்த மக்கள் ஜ.நாவின் பாரமுகத்திற்கு தொடர்ந்தும் அதிர்ச்சி வைத்தியம் கொடுக்கப்படும் என்று சபதமெடுத்துச் சென்றுள்ளனர்.

தொடர்ந்தும் நடாத்தப்பட இருக்கும் போராட்டங்களிற்கு மக்களின் தொடர் ஆதரவை சுவிஸ் தமிழ் இளையோர் அமைப்பினர் வேண்டி நிற்கின்றனர்.

நாளையும் பிற்பகல் 14 மணிக்கு பேர்ன் நாடாளுமன்றம் முன்பாக மாபெரும் கவனயீர்ப்பு ஒன்றுகூடல் நடைபெறவுள்ளது. அனைத்து மக்களையும் குறிப்பிட்ட நேரத்திற்கு சரியாக சழூகமளிக்குமாறு சுவிஸ் தமிழ் இளையோர் அழைப்பு விடுக்கி;ன்றனர்.

ஜ.நாவை அதிர வைத்த சுவிஸ் தமிழர்களின் அடங்காப்பற்று

by எல்லாளன்

சுவிஸ் தமிழ் இளையோர் அமைப்பால் ஏற்பாடு செய்யப்பட்ட இந்த மாபெரும் ஆர்ப்பாட்ட நிகழ்வில் 3000 த்துக்கும் மேற்பட்ட மக்கள் கலந்துகொண்டு சிறிலங்காவில் போர்நிறுத்தம் கோரியும் உடனடி மருந்து உணவு அனுப்பப்படவேண்டும் என்று கோரியும் தமிழீழம் தான் எமக்கான ஒரே இறுதித் தீர்வென்றும் ஆர்ப்பரித்தபடி போராட்டத்தை நடத்தினர்.

இக் கவனயீர்ப்புப் போராட்டம் சம்மந்தமாக ஏற்பாட்டுக் குழுவினரை அழைத்து சந்திப்பதாகக் கூறியிருந்த ஜக்கிய நாடுகள் சபை சிறீலங்க அரசின் அழுத்தம் காரணமாக இறுதியில் இச்சந்திப்பை நிறுத்திவிட்டது.

இதன் காரணமாக கொதிப்படைந்த மக்கள் காவற்துறையினரது பாதுகாப்பு ஏற்பாடுகளையும் மீறி ஜ.நாவை வாயிலை நோக்கி நகர்ந்து வீதி மறியலில் ஈடுபட்டனர். இதனால் பல மணி நேரம் வீதிப்போக்குவரத்துக்கு இடையூறு ஏற்பட்டது.

காவற்துறையினரின் கண்ணீர்ப் புகை மற்றும் நீர்ப்பாச்சலை மக்கள் துணிந்து எதிர்த்து நின்றனர். பலமணி நேரப் போராட்டத்திற்ப் பின்பு காவற்துறையினர் அமைதிகாத்தனர்.

இறுதியாக அங்கு கூடிருந்த மக்கள் ஜ.நாவின் பாரமுகத்திற்கு தொடர்ந்தும் அதிர்ச்சி வைத்தியம் கொடுக்கப்படும் என்று சபதமெடுத்துச் சென்றுள்ளனர்.

தொடர்ந்தும் நடாத்தப்பட இருக்கும் போராட்டங்களிற்கு மக்களின் தொடர் ஆதரவை சுவிஸ் தமிழ் இளையோர் அமைப்பினர் வேண்டி நிற்கின்றனர்.

நாளையும் பிற்பகல் 14 மணிக்கு பேர்ன் நாடாளுமன்றம் முன்பாக மாபெரும் கவனயீர்ப்பு ஒன்றுகூடல் நடைபெறவுள்ளது. அனைத்து மக்களையும் குறிப்பிட்ட நேரத்திற்கு சரியாக சழூகமளிக்குமாறு சுவிஸ் தமிழ் இளையோர் அழைப்பு விடுக்கி;ன்றனர்.

Prof. Boyle calls for humanitarian airdrop to starving civilians in 'safety zone'

by எல்லாளன்

Francis Boyle, professor of International Law at the University of Illinois College of Law, on Thursday called on India, the United States, Britain and France to fulfil their obligations under the Geneva Conventions and Protocol as well as under the Genocide Convention by launching an immediate humanitarian air-drop relief operation for the benefit of the starving Tamil civilians within the so-called safety zone, who are suffering without adequate humanitarian supplies for weeks. In a note sent to TamilNet, Prof. Boyle said starvation of civilians, as a method of warfare, can also constitute an act of genocide as defined by Article II (c) of the 1948 Genocide Convention.

"Article 54(1) of Additional Protocol I to the Four Geneva Conventions of 1949 sets forth a rule of customary international humanitarian law that obligates every state in the world: "Starvation of civilians as a method of warfare is prohibited." Starvation of civilians as a method of warfare is a war crime. Every contracting party to the Geneva Conventions and Protocol has the obligation under Common Article 1 thereof "to respect" the Conventions and Protocol themselves and "to ensure respect" for the Conventions and Protocol "in all circumstances" by other contracting parties such as Sri Lanka.

"Furthermore, starvation of civilians as a method of warfare can also constitute an act of genocide as defined by Article II (c) of the 1948 Genocide Convention: "Deliberately inflicting on the group {in this case Tamils} conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part." Every contracting state party to the Genocide Convention has the obligation "to prevent" genocide by Sri Lanka against the Tamils as required by Article I thereof.

"Therefore, every state party to the Geneva Conventions and Protocols as well as to the Genocide Convention have the solemn obligation to terminate GOSL's starvation of Tamils as a method of warfare. Under the current "circumstances" one of the most effective means this can be done is for those states with the capability (e.g., India, United States, Britain, France) to immediately undertake an airdrop of food and other humanitarian relief supplies to the starving Tamils in Vanni. I hereby call upon these states and in particular India, the United States, Britain and France to fulfil their obligations under the Geneva Conventions and Protocol as well as under the Genocide Convention by launching an immediate humanitarian air-drop relief operation for the benefit of the starving Tamils in Vanni, Sri Lanka.

SLN, SLA step up confrontations, Tigers sink two SLN vessels

by எல்லாளன்

Sri Lanka Navy (SLN) continued to attack Mu'l'li-vaaykkaal shore since Wednesday 4:00 p.m., killing and maiming many. Meanwhile, Liberation Tigers of Tamlieelam (LTTE) Sea Tigers confronted the SLN vessels sinking a water jet gun-boat and Dvora Fast Attack Craft (FAC) around 2:45 p.m. Thursday.

Meanwhile, Voice of Tigers (VoT), the LTTE radio broadcast reported heavy fighting in the early hours of Wednesday north of Mu'l'li-vaaykkaal. At least 350 SLA soldiers were killed and more than 700 sustained injuries, the LTTE claimed.

The fighting comes after 2 days of heavy attacks by the SLA that has attempted to advance towards Mu'l'li-vaaykkaal.

2009-04-30

SLN, SLA step up confrontations, Tigers sink two SLN vessels

by எல்லாளன்

Sri Lanka Navy (SLN) continued to attack Mu'l'li-vaaykkaal shore since Wednesday 4:00 p.m., killing and maiming many. Meanwhile, Liberation Tigers of Tamlieelam (LTTE) Sea Tigers confronted the SLN vessels sinking a water jet gun-boat and Dvora Fast Attack Craft (FAC) around 2:45 p.m. Thursday.

Meanwhile, Voice of Tigers (VoT), the LTTE radio broadcast reported heavy fighting in the early hours of Wednesday north of Mu'l'li-vaaykkaal. At least 350 SLA soldiers were killed and more than 700 sustained injuries, the LTTE claimed.

The fighting comes after 2 days of heavy attacks by the SLA that has attempted to advance towards Mu'l'li-vaaykkaal.

Miliband's statement obligates UK to take immediate UN action - Prof. Boyle

by எல்லாளன்

Pointing to the latest statement during the visit to Sri Lanka by British Foreign Minister, David Miliband that ""[t]his is a civil war that does have regional and wider ramifications...," Professor Francis Boyle, professor of International Law at the University of Illinois College of Law, said that Miliband's statement obligates Britain, as a Permanent Member of the Security Council, under U.N. Charter Article 35(1) to bring this "civil war" and genocide in Sri Lanka "to the attention of the Security Council" for the purpose of obtaining remedial action under Chapters VI and/or VII of the Charter."

British Foreign Secretary, David Miliband

During a BBC interview when asked whether it is time for a UN Security Council resolution as Sri Lanka is paying no attention to international opinion, Miliband responded: "Well this is the first delegation that's been allowed in, media are not being allowed in to the north east of the country which only adds to the concern.

"I think that we were right; Britain, France, the US, to raise this issue at the United Nations last Friday this does belong on the United Nations Security Council agenda. This is a civil war that does have regional and wider ramifications and, obviously, a massive civilian emergency as well."

Professor Boyle says, "[u]nder Article 24 of the United Nations Charter, the United Nations Security Council has "primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security.

"According to U.N. Charter Chapter VII, Article 39: "The Security Council shall determine the existence of any threat to the peace, breach of the peace or act of aggression and shall make recommendations, or decide what measures shall be taken in accordance with Articles 41 and 42, to maintain or restore international peace and security."

Prof Boyle adds, according to this latest statement by British Foreign Minister David Miliband: "This is a civil war that does have regional and wider ramifications...."

In other words, the GOSL "civil war" and genocide against the Tamils constitutes a "threat to the peace" for which the Security Council has "primary responsibility" to rectify.

"Therefore it can no longer be argued by other Security Council Member States such as China and Russia that this is an "internal matter" or a "domestic concern" for which the Security Council does not have jurisdiction to act.

Indeed, in light of this recent statement by their Foreign Minister Miliband, Britain--as a Permanent Member of the Security Council-- has an obligation under U.N. Charter Article 35(1) to bring this "civil war" and genocide in Sri Lanka "to the attention of the Security Council" for the purpose of obtaining such remedial action under Chapters VI and/or VII of the Charter," Boyle said in a note to TamilNet.

External Links:

UK:		BBC Interview: David Miliband speaking from Sri Lanka
MSN:		Britain, France fail to secure Sri Lanka truce
Times:		Victory without humanity can be no triumph

Miliband's statement obligates UK to take immediate UN action - Prof. Boyle

by எல்லாளன்

Pointing to the latest statement during the visit to Sri Lanka by British Foreign Minister, David Miliband that ""[t]his is a civil war that does have regional and wider ramifications...," Professor Francis Boyle, professor of International Law at the University of Illinois College of Law, said that Miliband's statement obligates Britain, as a Permanent Member of the Security Council, under U.N. Charter Article 35(1) to bring this "civil war" and genocide in Sri Lanka "to the attention of the Security Council" for the purpose of obtaining remedial action under Chapters VI and/or VII of the Charter."

British Foreign Secretary, David Miliband

During a BBC interview when asked whether it is time for a UN Security Council resolution as Sri Lanka is paying no attention to international opinion, Miliband responded: "Well this is the first delegation that's been allowed in, media are not being allowed in to the north east of the country which only adds to the concern.

"I think that we were right; Britain, France, the US, to raise this issue at the United Nations last Friday this does belong on the United Nations Security Council agenda. This is a civil war that does have regional and wider ramifications and, obviously, a massive civilian emergency as well."

Professor Boyle says, "[u]nder Article 24 of the United Nations Charter, the United Nations Security Council has "primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security.

"According to U.N. Charter Chapter VII, Article 39: "The Security Council shall determine the existence of any threat to the peace, breach of the peace or act of aggression and shall make recommendations, or decide what measures shall be taken in accordance with Articles 41 and 42, to maintain or restore international peace and security."

Prof Boyle adds, according to this latest statement by British Foreign Minister David Miliband: "This is a civil war that does have regional and wider ramifications...."

In other words, the GOSL "civil war" and genocide against the Tamils constitutes a "threat to the peace" for which the Security Council has "primary responsibility" to rectify.

"Therefore it can no longer be argued by other Security Council Member States such as China and Russia that this is an "internal matter" or a "domestic concern" for which the Security Council does not have jurisdiction to act.

Indeed, in light of this recent statement by their Foreign Minister Miliband, Britain--as a Permanent Member of the Security Council-- has an obligation under U.N. Charter Article 35(1) to bring this "civil war" and genocide in Sri Lanka "to the attention of the Security Council" for the purpose of obtaining such remedial action under Chapters VI and/or VII of the Charter," Boyle said in a note to TamilNet.

External Links:

UK:		BBC Interview: David Miliband speaking from Sri Lanka
MSN:		Britain, France fail to secure Sri Lanka truce
Times:		Victory without humanity can be no triumph

Tamils' massacre made possible by West's ideological blindness and hubris - paper

by எல்லாளன்

"Those who think that the LTTE will be destroyed in the coming weeks and that then it is a question of 'peace building' and 'development' for the next few years are gravely mistaken," the Tamil Guardian newspaper's editorial argues this week. "[Instead] the foundations for a cataclysmic civil war are being inexorably laid today. The kind of polarisation that sustain not decades, but generations of struggle has become widespread and embedded."

The full text of the editorial, sub-titled 'The West wants the Tamils to make it easy and forget the genocide', follows:

Disconnect and Mobilisation

Sri Lanka's military continues to massacre Tamils while the Colombo government mockingly issues pious assurances that it is concerned for civilians. As we pointed out last week, this is taking place in plain sight of the international community, including those Western states that have long styled themselves as custodians of global liberalism. Yet there is still no international effort to restrain the Sinhala state.

This week the British Foreign Secretary, David Miliband, and his French counterpart, Bernard Kouchner went to Sri Lanka to "urge" a ceasefire. Mr. Kouchner, interestingly, used to be a long-time advocate of humanitarian intervention. Applying once to be head of the UNHCR in 2005, he stated "we could open together a new era in the process of protecting all refugees and displaced persons in the world." None of this applies to the Tamils, of course. Explaining their failure to get the Sinhala regime to stop its onslaught into the packed civilians, Mr. Kouchner said: "We tried very hard - we insisted and we insisted - but it is up to our friends to allow it or not."

Mr. Miliband, it might be recalled, was at the forefront of Western outrage over Russia's onslaught into Georgia last August. He thundered that the UK would "not forget" Moscow's invasion and threatened dire consequences. Strangely, when Tamils are being bombed and machine-gunned by the Sinhala state today, Britain has only quiet diplomacy to offer. Interestingly, a common refrain that Western states tell the Tamils, confident the latter are gullible enough to accept it, is that they are quietly "putting pressure" on Sri Lanka.

It is clear this is far from true. Tamil journalist and activists who met this week with EU and American officials, British MPs and advocacy NGOs have been hearing consistent reports: Britain has long been blocking or neutralising other international efforts to sanction Sri Lanka. For example, Britain is refusing to allow the EU to formally take up the matter. Britain has also long been vehemently resisting suspension of the EU's GSP+ facility to Sri Lanka (a subsidy for EU firms manufacturing in the island - most of which are British). The UK has been taking lead in international missions vis-à-vis Sri Lanka, efforts that have produced no results whatsoever. Mr. Miliband's visit this week is a case in point.

As we argued earlier, Western states, looking at Sri Lanka through a 'security' lens, believe that the island's conflict will soon be settled by the Sinhala military's victory over the LTTE and that peace will thereafter follow. Underlining how disconnected from Sri Lanka's reality the West has become, Mr. Kouchner was this week, standing not far from an ongoing genocide, calling the Sinhalese his "friends" on one hand and, on the other, asserting: "the reconciliation must happen. I think it will be done." Ironically, other Western actors, such as the International Crisis Group and Human Rights Watch, who have long opposed the Tamil struggle for self-rule, have in recent weeks been screaming for international action to stop the bloodbath. Those who think that the LTTE will be destroyed in the coming weeks and that then it is a question of 'peace building' and 'development' for the next few years are gravely mistaken. The foundations for a cataclysmic civil war are being inexorably laid today. The kind of polarisation that sustain not decades, but generations of struggle has become widespread and embedded. Quite apart from the euphoric jingoism that has been sweeping the Sinhalese polity and population since 2007, the wholesale massacres of Tamils since January this year has hardened resolve amongst the Tamils. 'Reconciliation', as almost all Tamils and Sinhalese know, is now an impossibility.

All of this has only been possible by the ideological blindness and hubris of Western states which, whilst caring little for the specificities of places like Sri Lanka, have nonetheless sought to roll out formulaic, patronising and shockingly naïve theories of conflict and conflict resolution. These have turned, unsurprisingly, on backing the state and hammering the armed non-state actor, irrespective of the grievances the latter represents.

Unless they are prepared to confront and discipline the Sinhala state, it is of little consequence what else the Western liberal states do now. However, it is their very failures to act against Sri Lanka's massacres which is making clear to the Tamils the crucial importance of their own actions and efforts to safeguard their people's future safety. And it is in this context that the Tamil nation is finally mobilising for the kind of protracted popular struggle envisioned by the authors of the 1976 Vaddukkoaddai Resolution.

Rehabilitation symbols: How minds work in naming barbed-wire camps

by எல்லாளன்

Four major internment camps meant for the civilians of Vanni and envisaged as long-term detention-villages as a part of Colombo's structural genocide of Tamils, have been named after Sir Ponnampalam Ramanathan, Sir Ponnampalam Arunachalam, Ananda K. Coomaraswamy and Lakshman Kadirgamar. All four of them belonged to two aristocratic families of Jaffna that had settled in Colombo. They served more to Colombo than to Tamil homeland. Two of them never spoke Tamil, but all of them in some way served Sinhala interests. The message is subtle: Look upon the supremacy of the Colombo-centric system and be subservient, never think of your own system, writes TamilNet's regular political commentator in Colombo.

The commentator continues:

Sir Ponnambalam Ramanathan

Sir Ponnambalam Arunachalam

Colombo that opted for Sinhala names for its so-called rehabilitation-development programmes in the East has thought of deploying different set of symbols, names of some Tamils, in the case of the north. Symbols reveal the mindset. The camps and their names will soon find limelight through international aid groups that are going to abet Colombo's agenda of converting Tamil homeland as a prison colony. It is important for all to grasp the deep thoughts behind Colombo's agenda reflected in the symbols.

The first three of them, Ramanathan, Arunachalam and Ananda Coomaraswamy belonged to a single family from Maanippaay in Jaffna that had migrated to Colombo in their grandparent's time (Raasavaasal Mahaa Muthaliyaar Aa'rumukaththaapi'l'lai Coomaraswamy) in 1833 for the feudal-political representation of Tamils, when the territories of the Tamil and Sinhala kingdoms were unified for the first time to suit the British vision of 'administrative convenience'.

Ramanathan, started representing Tamils through electoral politics in 1879, and held that capacity in some way until to his death in 1930. He took upon himself the challenge of fighting the case and getting the release of the Sinhala leaders who were arrested and imprisoned by the British for perpetrating ethnic riots against the Tamil speaking Muslims of Puththa'lam in 1917. Some of the Sinhala leaders were facing capital punishment from the British for their ethnic crimes.

Ramanathan's efforts in persuading the British Colonial Secretary succeeded in getting the release of the chauvinistic Sinhala leaders, but it sowed the seeds of alienation in the Muslims, psychologically making them to de-link themselves from Tamil identity.

Even though almost all Muslims are Tamils in the island of Sri Lanka, they started feeling that language was not uniting them with the other Tamils, as aristocratic alliances of Jaffna Tamils and Sinhalese were busy in evolving a Colombo-centric system.

Ramanathan also contributed for the de-linking of Eezham Tamil politics from the socio-political developments of Tamil Nadu and in forging bondage for the Eezham Tamils with the Colombo-centric polity.

When Ramanathan, who risked a sea voyage to London at the height of the First World War to save the lives of the Sinhala leaders landed back victoriously in Colombo in 1918, the prominent Sinhala leaders of that time hand-pulled his carriage and paraded him in the streets of Colombo.

But the same Sinhala leaders two years later sabotaged the case for a Tamil constituency in Colombo in the proposed constitutional reforms of 1920, and personally sabotaged the political chances of Arunachalam, Ramanathan's younger brother, an efficient civil servant whose greatest contribution was the first ever systematic census of Ceylon.

The frustration of Jaffna's 'Colombo Tamils' was the beginnings of Tamil separatist politics. But, Ramanathan could not influence the British against the making of the Donoughmore constitution that since 1931 paved way for the Sinhala only state formation and permanent ethnic majority rule.

Ananda Coomaraswamy

Ananda Kent Coomaraswamy, son of Sir Muthu Coomaraswamy of the same Maanippaay family was born in Colombo to British mother from Kent. Brought up in London and later worked in Colombo, the internationally famous great art historian and Orientalist, never knew to speak Tamil.

The Sinhalese never gave him the due recognition for his great contributions to Buddhism and for introducing the aesthetic perspectives of Sinhala-Budhhism to the outside world, because for them he was a Tamil. Ironically, Rajapaksa government thought of rendering his great name to a 'barbed-wire' camp.

Even though the symbols of feudal leaders and Orientalists who contributed to the present nature of the Sri Lankan state doesn't serve the aspirations of the Tamils for whom the state has to be deconstructed, the first three are always viewed by Tamils as illustrious personalities and Tamils are sure to sense desecration of the personalities, in the act of giving their names to internment camps that are ultimately meant for Tamil subjugation.

But the last one, Lakshman Kathirgamar, was nobody to Tamils.

Born in another influential Jaffna family of American Mission connections settled in Colombo, Lakshman Kathirgamar never represented Tamils in any way, and it is doubtful whether Kathirgamar ever considered himself a Tamil at all, unless reminded of it by others. His greatest contribution to Sinhala state was the diplomatic deployment of his lawyer's skills and his Tamil name in duping the international community.

Finding his name in an internment camp, even though may be appropriate, is sure nauseating to Tamils.

Chronology:

30.04.09 Events unfold typical of Nazi concentration camps

30.04.09 Rehabilitation symbols: How minds work in naming b..

Tamils' massacre made possible by West's ideological blindness and hubris - paper

by எல்லாளன்

"Those who think that the LTTE will be destroyed in the coming weeks and that then it is a question of 'peace building' and 'development' for the next few years are gravely mistaken," the Tamil Guardian newspaper's editorial argues this week. "[Instead] the foundations for a cataclysmic civil war are being inexorably laid today. The kind of polarisation that sustain not decades, but generations of struggle has become widespread and embedded."

The full text of the editorial, sub-titled 'The West wants the Tamils to make it easy and forget the genocide', follows:

Disconnect and Mobilisation

Sri Lanka's military continues to massacre Tamils while the Colombo government mockingly issues pious assurances that it is concerned for civilians. As we pointed out last week, this is taking place in plain sight of the international community, including those Western states that have long styled themselves as custodians of global liberalism. Yet there is still no international effort to restrain the Sinhala state.

This week the British Foreign Secretary, David Miliband, and his French counterpart, Bernard Kouchner went to Sri Lanka to "urge" a ceasefire. Mr. Kouchner, interestingly, used to be a long-time advocate of humanitarian intervention. Applying once to be head of the UNHCR in 2005, he stated "we could open together a new era in the process of protecting all refugees and displaced persons in the world." None of this applies to the Tamils, of course. Explaining their failure to get the Sinhala regime to stop its onslaught into the packed civilians, Mr. Kouchner said: "We tried very hard - we insisted and we insisted - but it is up to our friends to allow it or not."

Mr. Miliband, it might be recalled, was at the forefront of Western outrage over Russia's onslaught into Georgia last August. He thundered that the UK would "not forget" Moscow's invasion and threatened dire consequences. Strangely, when Tamils are being bombed and machine-gunned by the Sinhala state today, Britain has only quiet diplomacy to offer. Interestingly, a common refrain that Western states tell the Tamils, confident the latter are gullible enough to accept it, is that they are quietly "putting pressure" on Sri Lanka.

It is clear this is far from true. Tamil journalist and activists who met this week with EU and American officials, British MPs and advocacy NGOs have been hearing consistent reports: Britain has long been blocking or neutralising other international efforts to sanction Sri Lanka. For example, Britain is refusing to allow the EU to formally take up the matter. Britain has also long been vehemently resisting suspension of the EU's GSP+ facility to Sri Lanka (a subsidy for EU firms manufacturing in the island - most of which are British). The UK has been taking lead in international missions vis-à-vis Sri Lanka, efforts that have produced no results whatsoever. Mr. Miliband's visit this week is a case in point.

As we argued earlier, Western states, looking at Sri Lanka through a 'security' lens, believe that the island's conflict will soon be settled by the Sinhala military's victory over the LTTE and that peace will thereafter follow. Underlining how disconnected from Sri Lanka's reality the West has become, Mr. Kouchner was this week, standing not far from an ongoing genocide, calling the Sinhalese his "friends" on one hand and, on the other, asserting: "the reconciliation must happen. I think it will be done." Ironically, other Western actors, such as the International Crisis Group and Human Rights Watch, who have long opposed the Tamil struggle for self-rule, have in recent weeks been screaming for international action to stop the bloodbath. Those who think that the LTTE will be destroyed in the coming weeks and that then it is a question of 'peace building' and 'development' for the next few years are gravely mistaken. The foundations for a cataclysmic civil war are being inexorably laid today. The kind of polarisation that sustain not decades, but generations of struggle has become widespread and embedded. Quite apart from the euphoric jingoism that has been sweeping the Sinhalese polity and population since 2007, the wholesale massacres of Tamils since January this year has hardened resolve amongst the Tamils. 'Reconciliation', as almost all Tamils and Sinhalese know, is now an impossibility.

All of this has only been possible by the ideological blindness and hubris of Western states which, whilst caring little for the specificities of places like Sri Lanka, have nonetheless sought to roll out formulaic, patronising and shockingly naïve theories of conflict and conflict resolution. These have turned, unsurprisingly, on backing the state and hammering the armed non-state actor, irrespective of the grievances the latter represents.

Unless they are prepared to confront and discipline the Sinhala state, it is of little consequence what else the Western liberal states do now. However, it is their very failures to act against Sri Lanka's massacres which is making clear to the Tamils the crucial importance of their own actions and efforts to safeguard their people's future safety. And it is in this context that the Tamil nation is finally mobilising for the kind of protracted popular struggle envisioned by the authors of the 1976 Vaddukkoaddai Resolution.