‘Northern Blossom’ programme cannot be implemented – Mano Ganesan
Leader of Democratic Peoples Front, Mano Ganesan MP, has said that the ‘Northern Blossom’ (Uthurata Vasanthaya/Vadakkin Vasantham) program cannot be implemented according to the plans drawn as per the government designs.
Jaffna University students speak to WSWS
Jaffna University students and staff recently spoke with WSWS correspondents over the run-down state of the campus, its desperate lack of basic facilities and the ongoing military repression in the northern Sri Lankan town of Jaffna.
Despite the military defeat of the separatist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in May, Jaffna remains under heavy army occupation with extensive roadblocks and constant patrols. The names of the students have been withheld to protect them from persecution by the security forces.
‘It is time for the Lankan govt to reach out to Tamils’ – Deepak Obhrai
Canada’s conservative Member of Parliament Deepak Obhrai, who’s also Parliamentary Secretary to Minister for Foreign Affairs Lawrence Canon, was on an official visit to Lanka from July 5 to July 7 to visit refugee camps and ensure that Canadian aid is reaching the Tamil refugees there.
‘We Will Become A Power Centre’ – LTTE’s legal adviser Visuvanathan Rudrakumaran
The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) is trying to regroup following its military defeat by the Sri Lankan army in May 2009. Though routed militarily, the LTTE claims its international network remains intact. Selvarasa Pathmanathan, a former arms procurer for the LTTE chief, operating from an undisclosed location, has vowed to take forward the struggle for Eelam through democratic methods. By roping in various legal experts, the LTTE has formed a team under US-based Tamil legal adviser Visuvanathan Rudrakumaran to work on the formation of a provisional Transnational Government of Tamil Eelam (TGTE).
Greener grass on this side: Rajapakse has not won the hearts of Tamils
Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse stood up in Parliament to announce the end of the three-decade-long civil war between government forces and Tamil rebels. He said his government had liberated all areas under the control of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).
Last hours in the battle front; what’s next, explains Pathmanathan
LTTE’s Head of International Relations explained in an interview Tuesday to a Australian Tamil Media about what happened at the last hours of Tamil genocide in the battle front in the Tamil land. He also spoke about the urgent responsibilities that lie ahead of the World Tamils.
LTTE’s political wing was in touch with S. Pathmanathan, LTTE’s Head of International Relations until the last moment they were slaughtered by Sri Lankan Army on May 17.
Sri Lanka and Human Rights
Earlier today, I attended part of a conference in North York called “Human Rights and Sri Lanka”. Since The Agenda produced a program on the situation in Sri Lanka in early March (see below), I thought it might be a good idea to attend in order to keep up to date on this difficult conflict. It proved to be an informative experience. The conference was organized by a group called Canadian Human Rights Voice. Despite a name that implies a general concern for human rights everywhere, a quick visit to the group’s site shows they are clearly a Tamil-dominated organization focused on the plight of Tamils in Sri Lanka. And the vast majority of people at the conference this morning seemed to be from Canada’s large Tamil community.
