Tamil InsightTamil Voice in the Sun
The Struggle of the People Continues…
(by Chandi Sinnathurai, TCNR, January 2, 2009) - ALL over the world the news flash reads: “The Sri Lanka troops enter the rebel Head Quarters.” It is reasonable to deduce that this move will bring about a psychological shift both among the Sinhalas and the Tamils. But one has to be tired and emotional to call this a sure victory. Far from it.
The idea of the defacto Tamil state will have to be put on the back-burner. Oslo involvement …
SRI LANKA: The need for a new alliance for democracy and rule of law in the south, north and the east
(AHRC, 03 01 2009) - The defeat of terrorism calls for the shift of attention in resolving lawlessness, corruption and the loss of authority of the public institutions of democracy.
The government’s declaration that the terrorism represented by the LTTE has been substantially defeated, despite of a small area which remains under LTTE control, should provide a much needed opportunity to deal with the widespread lawlessness in all parts of the country, the south, north and east; the most unprecedented …
mixed reactions to kili capture
(Daily Mirror, 03 01 2009) - The fall of Kilinochchi – the headquarters of the beleaguered LTTE – drew a wide range of reactions from political parties yesterday with some asking the people to take to the streets in celebration while the TNA – known to be a proxy of the LTTE – claimed it would be the beginning of a prolonged guerrilla war.
National Freedom Front leader Wimal Weerawansa asked people not to underestimate this victory and said they should …
Sri Lanka’s Information War
(by Brian Calvert , World Politics Review, 25 Dec 2008) - The information war, fought through images and language, is over narrative. The Tamil Tigers want to be seen as liberators; the government wants to paint them as terrorists. In this struggle, over the past few years, the government has gained the upper hand…
The government is battling an image of the Tigers as underdogs, led by a leader, Velupillai Prabhakaran, whose message has not changed in 25 years: The Tamil …
Sri Lanka: Kissing Distance to Being Trapped
( Fr. Chandiravarman Sinnathurai, Tamil Nation, 30 December 2008) - The President of Sri Lanka has psyched up the Cingalam - the hegemonic power: Sinhala state, Sinhala people and Sinhala armed forces into a war frenzy under girded by the ‘verge of victory’ propaganda. This could however be a fatal tipping-point. Should the victory slip the hands of the Rajapaksha regime the Cingalam would scapegoat the President and his brothers in arms. It will back fire.
The regime would be trapped …
Ideological Blindness: Western dogma ensures support for Sri Lanka against the Tamils
(Editorial, Tamil Guardian, 24 December 2008 ) - In short, they are never going to support the Tamils, but will always back the Sinhala state. Which is why, even today, it is the LTTE that obsesses them. Tamils have repeatedly sought to make the argument that this is genocide, but not once has any Western actor stood up for us against the Sinhala state. Which is why it has come down to the battlefield. Only when the Sinhala state despairs …
Living in constant fear, the Tamils are fugitives in their own land
(By Kavitha Muralidharan, The Week, DECEMBER 28, 2008) - When our white van stopped in the Muslim hamlet of Saintha Maruthu in Batticaloa district on the night of November 23, residents viewed us with fear. So my friend from the locality introduced me to them, “She is a journalist from Chennai.”
For the Tamils in Sri Lanka, a white van is terror on four wheels. “White vans have been used to abduct people, especially young Tamil men,” my friend told me. …
Strip chess in Colombo
(V Sudarshan, Executive Editor, New Indian Express, 26 Dec 2008) - Our man in Colombo is apparently under a lot of stress these days. People who have known High Commissioner Alok Prasad for a long time say that the reasons are varied. Some say the DMK’s episodic attempts to put pressure on Colombo are a part of it; others say it has to do with his inability to coax Sri Lanka to conclude the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement. The document …
Sri Lanka’s ignored war
(Boston Globe, December 26, 2008) - ASIA’S longest civil war is building to a violent crescendo. In the island nation of Sri Lanka, the Sinhalese-majority government should be pressed to accept a cease-fire, to permit a political settlement. Government forces are besieging the rebel Tamil Tigers in the north of the country. Since abandoning a ceasefire in 2006 and a Norwegian-sponsored peace process earlier this year, President Mahinda Rajapaksa and his brother, Defense Minister Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, have been vaunting their …
Christmas 2008 in Sri Lanka
(by Ruki, Groundviews) - If Jesus was to be born in Sri Lanka, he would not be born in the Church I went for the Christmas Mass. It is possible though that Jesus might be born in a Church in the battle zones in the North, that offers shelter to people fleeing bombing and shelling from the sky and around them. Or probably in the prison I visited. Or in the house of a family member of a disappeared. Or …
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18 12 2008
Video: British Parliament on Thursday (18 12 2008) debated the present situation in Sri Lanka. Parliamentarians of various parties highlighted the concerns of the Tamil diaspora on the situation in their homeland. The adjournment debate on Sri Lanka was proposed by Mr Andrew Pelling MP (Independent Conservative – Croydon Central) and chaired by Deputy Speaker Sir Michael Lord.
Vanni Situation
Members of British Parliament from all three main political parties in a show of solidarity and concern spoke on 14 Oct 2008 in support of Tamils and the general suffering of the Tamils, particularly in Vanni, North of Sri Lanka.