Friday 26 February 2010

Central Vs St .Johns – Big Match 104th 2010


Will Central crack an absolute 4 in a row? Has St. John’s the resilience to rise again and wrestle back? Should the great Mr Thanabalan resurrect to give them the much needed spirit?

25th 26th and 27th of February 2010
Venue - Jaffna Central College Ground

Day 1: 25/02/2010
Jcc Won the toss and elected to Field
Sjc 1st innings - All out 165

Jeyanthan Bowled Vathushnan 2
Adriyan Bowled Jeric 18
Hajeepan Ct Vathushanan 6
Harivathan Not Out 62
Yogrswaran Ct Tharshan 12
Vithshan Ct Tharshan 5
Piranvan 19

Bowler
Vathushnan 9 2 2 25
Jeric 17 2 1 41
Thivakar 2 0 0 16
Kokulan 6 3 0 13
Tharshan 2 1 2 22
Ratheesan 2 0 22
Thanujan 2 2

Jcc 1st innings - All out 154

Vathushan ct hari 1
Thivakar bowled hari 26
Edvad ct daksh 3
Jeric not out 35
kokulan lbw dalishen 1
james not out 26

Watch the Boys here

1) http://www.youtube.com/user/newjaffna1#p/u/5/RVERrC6N8Gw
2) http://www.youtube.com/user/newjaffna1#p/u/4/gTmNmTGmc3o
3) http://www.youtube.com/user/newjaffna1#p/u/3/rrkTTyddTMM


School
http://www.youtube.com/user/newjaffna1#p/u/2/KhYTzZ6kAeI

Ensoj.........

தமிழீழம் தமிழர்களின் கடமை



வரலாற்றின் எந்தப்பக்கமும் மிக எளிதாக கடந்ததில்லை. அது பல்வேறு கடினத்தன்மைகளை உடைத்தெறிந்து உள்வாங்கி புதியவற்றை படைத்தளித்து பதிவு செய்கிறது. மார்க்ஸ் சொல்வதை போன்று, வார்க்க போராட்டத்தின் விளைவே வரலாறு. எந்த ஒரு வர்க்கமும் தனது விடுதலைக்கான போரில் தோல்வி கண்டதில்லை. காரணம் போராட்டம் என்பது ஏதோ ஒரு எல்லையை வகுத்து நடத்தப்படுவதில்லை. இந்த நாளிலிருந்து இந்த நாளுக்கு இதை முடித்துவிடலாம் என்று சொல்வதற்கு போராட்டம் கட்டடமல்ல. அது ஒரு இயக்கம்.

அதன் ஒவ்வொரு அசைவும் ஏங்கிக் கொண்டே இருக்கும். அந்த இயக்கத்திலே சருக்கல் ஏற்படலாம், சரிவு ஏற்படலாம், தோல்வி ஏற்படலாம், வெற்றி ஏற்படலாம், ஒன்றுமே இல்லாமல் அழித்து துடைத்தெறியப்படலாம். ஆனால் அந்த வெறுமையிலிருந்து எவரும் எதிர்பாராத வகையிலே மீண்டும் அங்கே ஒரு பச்சை முளை விண்ணை எட்டிப் பார்க்கும். அது பூமியை பிளக்கும்போதே வெற்றி பெறுவேன் என்ற எண்ணத்தோடே பிறக்கும்.

அந்த முளைதான் பின்னர் விருட்சமாய் இந்த உலகையே ஆட்டிப்படைக்கும். எந்த ஒரு போராட்டத்தின் தோற்றமும் வளர்ச்சியும் திட்டமிட்டு ஏற்படுத்தப்பட்டதல்ல. அது ஏதோ ஒரு அடக்குமுறையின் விளைவாக, தன்னெழுச்சியாக உருவானது. போராட்டம் என்பது போராளிகளின்மேல் திணிக்கப்பட்ட சுமை. அது திரும்பி சுமக்கும் மகிழ்ச்சி அல்ல. ஆகவே, போராட்ட வரலாற்றில் திணிக்கப்பட்ட எதையும் எதிர்கொண்டு நிற்க வேண்டும் என்பதுதான் நியதி. அந்த அடிப்படையிலேதான் இன்றுவரை உலகெங்கும் தேசிய இனங்கள் தம்மேல் திணிக்கப்பட்ட அடக்குமுறையை உடைத்தெறிய தமது ஆற்றலை வெளிப்படுத்திக் கொண்டிருக்கிறது.

அந்த ஆற்றல் ஒடுங்கிப்போவதைப் போன்ற ஒரு பொய் தோற்றத்தை ஏற்படுத்தினாலும் உண்மை தோற்பதில்லை என்கிற தத்துவத்தின்படி தமக்கான வரலாற்று குணத்தை, பண்பை, தன்மையை தக்கவைத்துக் கொள்ள இடைவிடாத போர்குணம் வெற்றியை நோக்கியே அந்த இனத்தை உந்தித் தள்ளுகிறது.இது உணரக்கூடியதா என்று கேட்டால், மிக சாதாரண பார்வையாளனுக்குக்கூட தெரியும், தம்முடைய விடுதலைக்கான போராட்டம் இதுவரை வரலாற்றில் எங்குமே தோற்கடிக்கப்பட்டது கிடையாது. சாதாரண விவசாய மக்களிடம், தொழிலாளர்களிடம் மாபெரும் ஏகாதிபத்தியங்களெல்லாம் சரணடைந்திருக்கின்றன.

மாபெரும் வல்லரசுகள் எல்லாம் மண்டியிட்டிருக்கின்றன. எம்மை கேட்டுத்தான் கிழக்கிலே சூரியன் உதிக்கும் என்று சொன்ன பிரிட்டிஷ் ஆதிக்கம் சிதறி சின்னாபின்னமாகி இருக்கின்றன. காரணம் உழைக்கும் மக்களும், தேசிய இனங்களும் தமது தீர்மானமான நம்பிக்கைக்குரிய நீதியான தமது உரிமைகளுக்கான லட்சியங்களை மீட்டெடுக்க களத்திலே நிற்கிறார்கள். ஆனால் அடக்குமுறையாளர்கள் தமது தன்னலத்திற்காக தமது ஆதிக்க வெறியை அவர்கள்மேல் திணிப்பதற்காக எதிர்த்து நிற்கிறார்கள். எந்த ஒரு போராட்டம் என்றாலும் அது நீதிக்கும் அநீதிக்கும் இடையில் நடப்பதுதான்.

தமிழீழ மண்ணில் முள்ளி வாய்க்காலில் நடைபெற்று முடிந்த கடுஞ்சமர்கூட நீதிக்கும் அநீதிக்குமான சமர் என்பதிலே மாற்றுக்கருத்து நமக்குள் இருக்காது.அச்சமரின் இறுதிக்கட்டத்தில் தமது விடுதலைக்கான உரிமையை வென்றெடுக்க களத்திற்கு வந்த தேசிய இன மக்கள் ஒடுக்கப்பட்டார்கள். தமது சொந்த மக்கள் என்று கூறிக்கொண்ட ராஜபக்சேவின் சிங்கள பேரினவாத கொடுங்கோன்மை அரசு ஒரு இனமக்களை கொஞ்சமும் ஈவு இரக்கமில்லாமல் கொன்று போட்டது. அதற்கு முண்டு கொடுக்க இந்தியா இருகரம் விரித்து கையிலே கொடுவாளைக் கொண்டு ராஜபக்சேவின் பணியாளனாய் படுபாதகச் செயலை செய்தது. இந்தியா மட்டுமா? பாகிஸ்தான், சீனா, பிரிட்டன், ஆஸ்திரேலியா என வல்லாதிக்க அரசுகள் எங்கேயும் தேசிய இன எழுச்சி ஏற்பட்டுவிடக்கூடாது என்கிற வெறியோடு மிகக்கடுமையாக தமிழ் தேசிய இனத்தின்மீது தமது பாரிய கருவிச்சமரை கட்டவிழ்த்துவிட்டது.

ஆனால் வரலாறு இந்த முட்டாள்களைப்பார்த்து சிரிக்கிறது. காரணம் இவர்களைவிட கொடுங்கோலர்களை எல்லாம் சாமானிய மக்கள் புரட்டிப்போட்டிருக்கிறார்கள். இவர்களைவிட கருவி தரித்தவர்களை எல்லாம் கருவறுத்திருக்கிறார்கள். அப்படியிருக்க, இந்த கூட்டணி வெற்றி பெற்றுவிட முடியும் என்று காண்கின்ற கனவு கட்டாயம் ஒருநாள் முறியடிக்கப்பட போகிறது.தமிழீழ மக்களின் போர்குணமும் அவர்களின் நெஞ்சில் உறங்கி கிடக்கும் தாயக உணர்வும் தீச்சுடராய், எரிமலையாய், சூறாவளியாய் ஒருநாள் சுழன்றுவீசும். அப்போது காற்று போகும் திசையெல்லாம் போரிலே வீரவித்தான அந்த காவிய நாயகர்களின் சுடர்களை ஏந்திச்செல்லும்.

காற்று விடுதலையை உலகிற்கு கற்றுத்தரும். பாடலும் கவிதையும் விடுதலைக்கான கருவிகளாய் மாற்றம் பெரும். அப்போது தமிழினம் மீண்டும் மீண்டுமாய் பேரெழுச்சியோடு தலைநிமிர்ந்து நிற்கும். அந்த காலத்திற்கான தயாரிப்பு இதோ அருகிலே இருக்கிறது. இது அவர்கள் ஓய்வெடுக்கும் காலம். எந்த ஒரு பணிக்கும் ஓய்வு தேவையல்லவா? இதோ ஒடுக்குமுறைக்கெதிரான சமரில் களமாடிய தமிழ் காவலர்களுக்கு இது ஓய்வின் காலம். இந்த காலக்கட்டத்திலே தான் நாம் என்னவெல்லாம் செய்யவேண்டுமென திட்டமிட வேண்டியவர்களாய் இருக்கிறோம்.

உலகெங்கும் வாழும் தமிழினம் நமக்கான ஒரு நாடு வேண்டும் என்கிற எண்ணத்தை இன்னும் இன்னுமாய் தன்னுடைய மனங்களிலே ஏற்றி வளர்க்க வேண்டும். தனக்கான ஒரு நாடு, தம் இனத்திற்கான ஒரு நாடு என்கிற வார்த்தையிலிருந்து ஒரே ஒரு மில்லிகிராம் கூட நாம் கீழிறங்கி யோசிக்கக்கூடாது. நம் சுவாசத்தின் காற்று ஒவ்வொரு விநாடியும் விடுதலையின் அந்த மகிழ்ச்சியான தருணத்தை ஆழ்ந்து சுவாசிக்க வேண்டும். நாம் வெற்றி பெற்றுவிடுவோம் என்ற நம்பிக்கையை தனக்குள் வளர்த்துக் கொண்டு தமது தாயக உறவுகள் ஒவ்வொரு மனங்களிலும் கொண்டுபோய் சேர்க்க வேண்டும்.நமக்கான ஒரு நாடு இருந்தால் மட்டுமே நமது இனம் இனியும் அழியாமல் இருக்கும் என்கிற அடிப்படை கோட்பாட்டை அனைவரும் புரிந்து கொள்ளும் வகையிலே பரப்புரை செய்வதற்கு குழுக்கள் அமைக்கலாம், ஒரு தேசிய இனத்தின் வீழ்ச்சியை துடைத்தெறிய வெற்றியை தூக்கி நிறுத்த நமது எண்ணங்களும் நமது செயல்களும் பெரும் காரணங்களாக இருக்கின்றன.

இன்று புலம்பெயர்ந்து பல்வேறு நாடுகளில் வாழும் தமிழீழ இளைஞர்கள் தமது வாழ்க்கை முறையை தாம் வாழும் நாட்டின் கலாச்சார தன்மைகளுக்குள் இணைத்துக் கொள்ளாமல் தமது தேசிய இனத்தின் அடையாளத்தை அணிந்து கொள்ள தொடர்ந்து முயற்சிக்க வேண்டும். தாம் வாழும் நாடுகளில் ஓ... நீங்கள் தமிழரா என்று ஐரோப்பியர்கள், ஜெர்மானியர்கள், அமெரிக்கர்கள் என அனைவரும் உங்களை வியந்து பார்க்க வேண்டும். தமிழர்களுக்கான பண்பாடு, கலை இலக்கியம் ஆகியவை தனித்தன்மையோடு இன்னும் உயிர் வாழ்வதாக உலகெங்கும் வாழும் மக்கள் உணரும்படி நம்முடைய நடவடிக்கைகள் அமைய வேண்டும்.

மாறாக நம்மை நாமே புதைத்துக் கொள்வது போல் தமிழ் மறந்து, நம் மொழி மறந்து, நமக்கான அடையாளத்தை மறந்து அவர்களைப்போல் மாறத் தொடங்கினோம் என்றால் நம்மை எந்த நிலையிலும் எந்த போராளியும் மாற்றி அமைக்க முடியாது. ஆகவே களத்திலே கருவியேந்தி சமர்புரிய ஒரு அணி என்றால் புலத்திலே கருத்து ஏந்தி சமர்புரிய நாம் அனைவரும் உறுதுணை புரிய வேண்டும். இது நமது போராட்டத்தை மேலும் உந்தித்தள்ள நம்மை தயார் படுத்தும்.தவிர்த்து நமது பண்பாட்டு பழக்க வழக்கங்களை இழந்து, நாம் புலிகள் என்பதை மறந்து, பூனைகளாக வாழப் பழகினோம் என்றால் வருங்காலம் நம்மை புலிகள் என்று பார்க்காது, பூனைகள் என்று பழிக்கும்.

ஆகவே புலம்பெயர்ந்த தமிழ் உறவுகள் இதை புரிந்து கொண்டு நடக்க வேண்டும். வீட்டிலும் நம்முடைய உறவினர்களை பார்க்கும்போதும் கட்டாயமாக நாம் தமிழில்தான் பேச வேண்டும் என்கிற ஒரு கட்டுப்பாட்டை நமக்குள் உருவாக்கிக் கொண்டு தமிழ் மொழியை காப்பாற்ற துணைபுரிய வேண்டும்.இது புலம்பெயர்ந்த தமிழர்களுக்கு என்றால் தாய் தமிழ் உறவுகளுக்கு என்னவெல்லாம் செய்ய வேண்டி இருக்கிறது. முதலில் நம் இனத்தின் இறையாண்மையையும், நம் இனத்தின் மொழி ஆளுமையையும் நாம் புரிந்து கொண்டு அதை உயர்த்தி அதோடு வாழ்ந்து வளர்வதற்கு முதலில் முயற்சிக்க வேண்டும். தமிழில் பேசுவதுகூட கேவலம் என்கின்ற ஈனப்போக்கை கைவிட்டு நாம் தமிழ் தெரிந்த எல்லோரோடும் தமிழில் மட்டுமே பேசுவது என்கின்ற கொள்கையை நமக்குள் உருவாக்கிக் கொள்ள வேண்டும்.

ஒவ்வொருவரும் சந்திக்கும்போது நாம் தமிழர்கள் என்கின்ற உணர்வை ஒவ்வொரு நொடியும் வளர்த்தெடுக்க வேண்டும்.உலகெங்கும் வாழும் தமிழர்களின் தேசிய அடையாளமாக தமிழீழ விடுதலைப்புலிகளும் நமது தேசிய தலைவரும் இருக்கிறார்கள். அவர்கள்தான் வீழ்ந்து கிடந்த தமிழை, புதைந்து கிடந்த தமிழினத்தை, புதைக்குள் இருந்த தமிழர் தம் மானத்தை தோண்டி எடுத்து உலகெங்கும் தம்மை யார் என்று அறிமுகம் செய்தார்கள். ஆகவே தமிழ்நாட்டில் வாழும் தமிழர் ஒவ்வொருவரும் தமக்கான தமிழ் தேசிய அடையாளத்தை அணிந்து கொள்ள தவறக்கூடாது. நமக்குள் புதைந்து கிடக்கும் இந்திய தேசிய மோகத்தை உடைத்தெறிய வேண்டும்.

நாம் தமிழர்கள், நமக்கான ஒரு தேசிய மொழி, இனம், பண்பாட்டு சூழல் ஆகியவை பன்னெடு காலமாய் இருக்க நாம் அதை மறுப்பதோ, அல்லது ஏற்றுக் கொள்ள தயங்குவதோ நமது இனத்தை அடையாளம் தெரியாமல் செய்துவிடும். ஆகவே இதை வென்றெடுக்க தமிழ்நாட்டில் இருக்கும் ஒட்டுமொத்த தமிழர்களும் ஓங்கி ஒரே குரலில் சொல்ல வேண்டியது புலிகள் இயக்கத்தின் மீதான தடையை நீக்கு என்பதுதான். காரணம் புலிகள் தமிழ் தேசியத்தின் அடையாளம். புலிகள் தமிழின் இலக்கணம். புலிகளின் ஈரம் தமிழனின் பிறப்பிடம். ஆகவே புலிகள் தான் தமிழினத்தை உலகெங்கும் அறிமுகப்படுத்தி தமிழர்களுக்கான முகவரியாய் இருப்பவர்கள்.

ஆகவே தாயக உறவுகள் அனைவரும் இதற்கான முன்முயற்சியை எடுத்து நமக்கான இனத்தை அடையாளத்தை காக்கும் வரலாற்று போராட்டத்தில் ஒவ்வொரு வாசற்படி தாண்டி வந்து பங்கேற்க வேண்டும். அது நிகழும்போது நமது சந்ததிகள் மகிழ்ச்சியோடு தாமும் தமிழர்கள் என்கின்ற மனநிலையோடு, மனநிறைவோடு இந்த மண்ணிலே வாழ்வார்கள். அவர்களுடைய வாழ்க்கை வளமாக இருப்பதற்கு இப்போதே நாம் பணியாற்ற வேண்டிய கடமைப்பட்டிருக்கிறோம். நமது தேசிய தலைவர் கூறுவதைப்போன்று நம்முடைய சந்ததியனரின் மகிழ்ச்சியான வாழ்விற்காகவே நாம் இத்தனை துயர் நிறைந்த சுமைகளை சந்திக்கிறோம்.

Tamils distancing themselves from India






















In the Asian region, hardly any people have had such close cordiality as the Tamils of Sri Lanka with the people of Tamil Nadu and by extension with India.Ethnic affinity, linguistic homogeneity, cultural identity and physical proximity, all conduced to a remarkable harmony if not solidarity. Today all what remains is an edifice in ruins. Friends have turned foes. Admirers have become detractors. Where a bridge stood, there is now a chasm. Never the twain shall meet is the verdict of the percipient. Forget the North, turn East to China is the voice of those who dare.

Intellectual nourishment of the Tamils when they are young, commences with Tamil literature. Poets of high intellect spanning two millennia nurtured us. Judged by any standard, Thiruvalluvar of the first century and Bharathy of the twentieth were of world calibre. In between them were poets and scholars of great renown. The independence movement in India brought forth a galaxy that dazzled us with their brilliance. Gandhi and Nehru, Patel and Bose, Tagore and Aurobindo were scholars and leaders who commanded our admiration. We coveted their aura and lived in a world of make belief.

From such an India steeped in idealism, the Tamils of Sri Lanka looked for a perfect dispensation to the ethnic problem. Expectations were high, but what we got in 1987 was military invasion, though by invitation. The army of occupation certainly brought in negative benefits. Firstly, its brutality knocked the scales from our eyes. Destruction without restraint, death with unconcern and merciless assaults brought the people down from their ethereal heights. In the period October 1987 to march 1990, indignities of every description were visited on over 50 percent of the Tamil population in the North East of Sri Lanka. Tamils have vowed, never again to look back. India stands banished from their consciousness. The void is now clear for the most formidable power of the future-China-to enter. Benevolence will replace malevolence.

What caused this change of stance? Dissipation of trust. A whole picture fell into place with a series of events. A quarter century of space gave sufficient opportunity to the Tamil intelligentsia to read, discuss, interact, reflect and arrive at a clear consensus.

Facts were gathered and their veracity ascertained. Strands of discernment when woven together made the motivation of India clearly visible. The overtones became apparent and there was evidence. It is idle to talk of the permanent nature of interest, permanence of friendship or impermanence of enmity. The emerging reality is the distancing of Tamils from India.

At the height of the war in 2008-2009, the defence advisor of India made a special visit to Sri Lanka with one message. Buy arms from India only. Never from China or Pakistan. It was tantamount to saying kill the Tamils only with Indian bullets. Could a more grotesque demand have ever been made? What has been the drama from the eighties? When a leaf rustles in Sri Lanka, the sabre rattles in India. Pretence was the posture. Inaction was the actuality. Forcing concessions to Tamils was prated loud. With what results? Under what law? By what authority and through what means? One is wont to ask.

It turned out that an aggrieved minority clamouring for justice, had expected assistance from an imagined benefactor. That foreign government however unleashed its military might on an unsuspecting and battered people. "Know your friends, know your enemies." This simple truth cryptically presented by Mao Tse Tung, is fundamental in political or military strategy. It eluded the grasp of Tamils. The enemy having clearly calculated every step, feigned friendship. Tamils danced attendance upon the counterfeit from 1983. In 2009, they lamented that the vengeful had wreaked vengeance. What else could have happened?

The objective was clear. Destabilise the country — Sri Lanka. Identify the aggrieved ethnic entity—Tamils. From this premise events followed in logical sequence. Select impressionable youth, make them militants, train them and promote infiltration. Be conscious of the need to manipulate them at will. Therefore keep them on a tight leash. When the dominant group did not lend itself to manipulation, other groups were proliferated. When the latter were found to be Lilliputians, they were decreed to be on par with Gulliver and conferred equal stature at Thimpu. To resolve the Tamil problem, fake discussions were held to give the appearance of serious talks. Beneath the veneer was the red claw. An agreement was forged with the government of Sri Lanka for the ostensible purpose of enforcing peace. The Indian army however launched its mission only to eliminate militancy and to subdue the people whom militancy represented. True to purpose, it became a Frankenstein. The occupation army killed, pillaged and destroyed. Not even a semblance of remorse was shown either then or up to now. The people at large suffered the loss and shared the privation helplessly.

Germans compensated the Jews in full for the loss sustained by the latter during the Nazi regime. It was a gesture of admission of guilt and acceptance of responsibility for cruelty inflicted. The aggrieved were assisted to rebuild their lives, develop the nation and move on with a fund of goodwill. Humanity admired the culture and refinement of the Germans. To compensate the Tamils and others who suffered loss, should India await a request? Justice demands it. Honourable conduct will be appreciated. Those subjected to indignity and deprivations know well their cruel nature. Their goodwill will help forward movement.

There was a category of thought which outlined certain ideas. When a danger to Tamils is sensed, India will swoop in on Sri Lanka, upbraid her, pretend to rescue the Tamils, foist an instant solution and march back to Delhi after its mission is accomplished. Why should India intervene? So questions the cynic. The charlatan answers—the security of India is tied up with the stability of Sri Lanka. Therefore India is obliged to assuage her (India’s) concerns. Courting the Tamils composing 13 percent of the population is a surer bet than getting 75 percent Sinhalese to their side. The question arises: why? The Tamils of Sri Lanka have an umbilical chord relationship with the Tamils of Tamil Nadu. The latter will rather embrace immolation than see the Tamils suffer. New Delhi unable to withstand needling from Tamil Nadu will intervene in Sri Lanka, whatever the norms governing international relations. So runs the argument. The reasoning is weird logic at its convoluted best. How well has this worked and what has India contributed to the Tamils in the last quarter century, the cynic asks. The charlatan is dumbfounded, but stutters 13th Amendment.

India has a quasi-federal constitution. The most inappropriate model to frame a political arrangement for the Tamilian predicament in the Sri Lankan situation! Yet the commencing point of political deliberations from the Indian side was that no devolution for the Tamils would go beyond the devolutionary parameters of the Indian constitution. With this preconceived and unrealistic limitation, all discussions were skewed from the very beginning. The devolution exercise was thus poisoned at its very source. The result was a caricature of a settlement that was embodied in the 13th Amendment. It is basic that any political solution should be home grown. The contending parties have to thrash out issues and evolve strategies which can be worked out only over time. There can be no finality as if a perfect document with the last comma in place and the last ‘i’ dotted were an eternal guarantor of Tamil expectations. Experience and bitter knowledge mandate that Tamils have to disengage their sights from foreign capitals, particularly from Delhi and Chennai. What has been realized in 30 years? Only shameful failures and shameless betrayals! "Was the 60 year domestic experience any the better?" Tamils more particularly would ask with cogent logic. An alternative needs to be evolved. It is left to fresh initiatives.

Bickering needs to be drowned in a sea of economic activity and social growth. A good beginning has been made with the advent into Sri Lanka of the foremost Asian power, China. Aid for power plants will make a significant impact when all three phases are complete. Harbour development is great in itself, but the direction it points to is far greater. At Hambantota lies a potential Shenzhen and China can make it happen. Part of the Northern railway and the road network to be delivered in the North by China are sure to resonate well with the Tamils. They will whet the appetite of the people of North East for more aid, more projects, more growth and greater Chinese presence. Special Economic Zones concept is a vehicle to lift the NE from its present state. Closer rapport for a century at least will be good for the nation and better by the Tamils.

When a finger is pointed, a fool looks at the finger. The wise man looks at the direction. So goes a Chinese saying. ‘The God That Failed’ can no longer evoke homage or even respect. Temples of worship are wanted anew. The need for this change can be seen conspicuously.

Kilde: Guardian Srilanka

Sri Lankan government voices anger as UK MPs address Tamil group



David Miliband and Gordon Brown meet delegates at London conference of Global Tamil Forum

The diplomatic rift between London and Colombo has widened after Gordon Brown and David Miliband met delegates from a new worldwide Tamil union despite "strong protests" from the Sri Lankan government.

Miliband, the foreign secretary, used his address to the inaugural conference of the Global Tamil Forum at the Commons yesterday to urge the Sri Lankan government to embark on a "genuinely inclusive political process".

He also repeated calls for an investigation into allegations that both the Sri Lankan state and the Tamil Tigers violated international humanitarian law during last year's fighting.

The British government's decision to engage with the GTF has provoked "deep concerns" in Sri Lanka, which claims the organisation is a front for the defeated Tamil Tigers (LTTE).

The British acting high commissioner in Colombo, Mark Gooding, was summoned before the island's foreign minister yesterday and urged to tell Miliband to cancel his address.

A spokesman for the Sri Lankan government said: "[Rohitha Bogollagama] … emphasised that foreign secretary Miliband, by participating at [the] GTF meeting in London, would unfortunately lend credibility to an organisation which is propagating the separatist agenda of the LTTE, and would be acting in a manner inimical to the national interest of Sri Lanka and its legitimate government."

However, not only did Miliband go ahead with the address but Brown also held a private meeting with a group of delegates in the Commons.

A Downing Street spokeswoman confirmed the meeting had taken place but declined to comment further.

A Foreign Office spokesman said Miliband's participation was part of the government's ongoing efforts to bring about peace in Sri Lanka.

"The GTF publicly states that they are committed to the principles of democracy and non-violence," he said.

"The UK will continue to engage with all Sri Lankan communities focused on achieving a lasting and equitable peace through non-violent means."

The already-strained relations between the two countries deteriorated further last November after the UK and Australia blocked Sri Lanka from hosting the next biennial commonwealth heads of government meeting in 2011 in protest at Colombo's military repression against the Tamil population.

Earlier this month the EU suspended preferential trade benefits to Sri Lanka over concerns about its human rights record.

In his address to the Commons conference, Miliband urged the newly-elected Sri Lankan president, Mahinda Rajapaksa, to use his mandate to bring about a political settlement between the island's Sinhalese majority and its Tamil minority and take lessons from how other divided countries had healed their differences.

"If history is buried, reconciliation never happens," he said. "That is why we continue to call as a government for a process to investigate serious allegations of violation of international humanitarian law by both sides in the conflict.

"If credible and independent, such efforts could make an important contribution to reconciliation between Sri Lanka's communities."

He also praised the Tamil diaspora for renouncing the violence and "countless atrocities" committed by the Tamil Tigers, adding: "The road ahead no doubt will be long and hard … but I think the founding commitment not just to a fully inclusive political process, but to support non-violence as the means to achieve it, is something that speaks to the deepest values of the Tamil people."

The UN estimates that around 7,000 people died in the final months of the fighting that culminated in the defeat of the Tamil Tigers.

More than 250,000 Tamils were interned in government-run camps, where around 100,000 remain. A further 11,000 are being held on suspicion of rebel links.

The conference also heard from a number of MPs, including Simon Hughes, Ed Davey, Keith Vaz and Virendra Sharma.

Davey, the Liberal Democrat foreign affairs spokesman, also called for an investigation into allegations of human rights violations and war crimes.

He warned the government in Colombo that it would be judged by the international community on its political and judicial reforms and the way it treated the media.

"The Sri Lankan government must reach out and recognise their mistakes from the past," he said. "We believe that what we believe are war crimes should be investigated."

The shadow foreign secretary, William Hague, who closed the conference, said "meaningful political reform and reconciliation should be an urgent priority" for the Sri Lankan government, and called for the release of the internally-displaced Tamils still held in camps.

The GTF, is led by Father SJ Emmanuel, a 75-year-old Catholic priest. He said the organisation was a democratic and non-violent organisation and adhered to "the principles of emancipation promoted by Mahatma Gandhi, Nelson Mandela and Martin Luther King".

It is dedicated to winning Tamil self-determination and finding and bringing to justice those responsible for "the genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity" that had been perpetrated against the Tamils.

A spokesman for the GTF said Colombo's reaction to its meetings with the British government was typical of the Sri Lankan state's attitude.

"It obviously shows that they are not serious about finding a peaceful solution," he added.

Kilde: guardian.co.uk

Wednesday 24 February 2010

Innvandrere er flinkest i klassen. Hva er det med Tamilene?


De er den innvandrergruppen i Norge hvor flest eier sin egen bolig. Fiskefabrikkeiere på Vestlandet får stjerner i øynene når de snakker om deres arbeidskapasitet og punktlighet. De har høy utdannelse, få arbeidsledige og er mindre kriminelle enn gjennomsnittet av nordmenn. Hva er det egentlig med tamilene? Kanskje de har fokus på annet enn trygd?

Og de har søndagsskoler hvor de lærer barna tamilsk og selvsagt noe annet. Matte og naturfag, noe som vil være et must på det kommende globale arbeidsmarkedet. Norske mammaer og pappaer sover ut lørdagsrusen, men norske barn enten sover eller sløver foran idiotboxen. Man blir sliten av å spille dataspill og se horrormovies til klokka 0400.

Du finner ingen tamilske ungdomsgjenger på gata i Sarp. Ikke i Oslo heller ….

Tamilene er de som får mest offentlig støtte av innvandrerorganisasjoner i Oslo. Pengene går til drift, leksehjelp, tamilsk skole, undervisning i matte, naturfag og tamilsk kultur.

I Oslo er det 500 innvandrerorganisasjoner (54 somaliske, 46 pakistanske, 14 tyrkiske, 13 tamilske) som de siste årene har mottatt hundrevis av millioner i støtte.

Tamilene er den eneste gruppe som gjør en investering i det flerkulturelt samfunnet ??

Kilde: debatt.sa.no

Vårt fokus er tamiler


Tamilene er blant dem som har fått mest offentlig støtte til innvandrerorganisa-sjoner i Oslo. Pengene går til drift, leksehjelp, tamilsk skole og tamilsk kultur.

Unge svetter over lekser. Andre øver indisk sang og musikk. Tamilsk Ressurs- og veiledningssenter (TRVS) er møtested for små og store tamiler på Rommen i Oslo. De boltrer seg på 1600 kvadratmeter med 18 rom over to etasjer.

Oppslag på dører og tavler er på tamilsk.

–Vårt fokus er tamiler i Norge. Vår visjon er å være den fremtredende organisasjonen som arbeider for å samle tamiler i Norge med deres kulturelle identitet og veilede dem til å bli ressurssterke og godt integrert i Norge, sier Rajah Balasingam, daglig leder for TRVS.

Balasingam og Juwachim Reginold, begge sentrale ledere i det tamilske miljøet, mener at TRVS og det tamilske kultursenteret Annai Poopathi som holder til i de samme lokalene, har æren for tamilenes suksesshistorie i Norge. TRVS har fått flere priser, og skrytebrev fra Jens Stoltenberg henger på veggen i gullramme. Hver søndag får barn fra 3 til 18 år undervisning i tamilsk. De største barna tilbys undervisning i matematikk og naturfag, dessuten leksehjelp. De frivillige lærerne er tamiler som er født, oppvokst og høyt utdannet her.

Tilsammen har TRVS og Annai Poopathi fått rundt seks millioner kroner de siste ti årene til sine ulike formål. Alt er ikke integreringsmidler, en del kommer fra andre tilskuddsordninger. Balasingam mener offentlig støtte er viktig fordi det er en investering for samfunnet.

–Det finnes ikke tamilske gjenger i Oslos gater. Vi forebygger psykiske helseproblemer, våre ungdommer tar høyere utdannelse og vi har høy arbeidsdeltagelse. Vi motiverer foreldre til å gå på foreldremøter og delta i dugnader.

Kilde: Aftenposten

Sri Lanka protests Britain over Tamil summit


The Sri Lanka government on Wednesday protested the British government over a forum of Tamil community to be held in Britain.

"I summoned Britain's Acting High Commissioner (in Colombo) to note our protest," Rohitha Bogollagama, the Sri Lankan foreign minister told reporters.

The Sri Lankan government was angered by British Foreign Secretary David Miliband's decision to address the Global Tamil Forum (GTF) to be held in London on Wednesday.

Bogollagama said the GTF was a front organization for the militarily eliminated Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).

"Engagements of this nature whatever the intentions are tend to manifest the perception of support being extended to an organization in pursuing a separate state," Bogollagama said, adding that despite the military defeat the rebels were still active through various front organizations across the world.

Sri Lankans were incensed by a joint visit by Miliband and his French counterpart Bernard Kouchner to Sri Lanka in April last year during the final stages of the military battle with the LTTE.

Sri Lanka accused Miliband then of trying to throw a lifeline to the rebels.

Some 200,000 Tamils are living in Britain and often pressurize the British government to influence the Sri Lankans over Tamil rights issues.

பிரிட்டன் நாடாளுமன்ற கட்டிடத்தில் இன்று நடைபெற்ற உலகத் தமிழர் பேரவை என்னும் அமைப்பின் கூட்டத்தில் பிரிட்டிஷ் வெளியுறவு அமைச்சர் டேவிட் மிலிபாண்ட் அவர்கள் கலந்து கொண்டதை இலங்கை அரசாங்கம் கண்டித்துள்ளது.

தமிழர்களின் சுயநிர்ணய உரிமையை முன்வைத்து செயற்பட்டு வருகின்ற இந்த உலகத் தமிழர் பேரவை என்னும் அமைப்பை, விடுதலைப்புலிகள் அமைப்பின் ஆதரவு அமைப்பாக குற்றஞ்சாட்டியுள்ள இலங்கை அரசாங்கம் அதில் பிரிட்டனின் வெளியுறவு அமைச்சர் கலந்துகொள்வது இலங்கையின் இறைமையை குறைத்து மதிப்பிடும் செயலாக அமையும் என்று கவலை வெளியிட்டுள்ளது.

இது தொடர்பாக இலங்கைக்கான பதில் பிரிட்டிஷ் தூதுவர் மார்க் கூடிங் அவர்களை அழைத்த இலங்கை வெளியுறவு அமைச்சர் ரோஹித போகொல்லாகம அவர்கள், தமது அதிருப்தியை வெளியிட்டுள்ளார்.

பெரும்பாலும் மேற்கு நாடுகளில் இயங்கும் விடுதலைப்புலிகளின் ஆதரவு அமைப்புக்களை ஒரு குடையின் கீழ் இணைத்து செயற்படும் அமைப்பாக உலக தமிழர் பேரவையை விபரித்துள்ள இலங்கை வெளியுறவு அமைச்சின் அறிக்கை ஒன்று, நாடுகடந்த தமிழீழ அரசாங்கத்தை உருவாக்குவதற்கான முதற்கட்ட பணிகளில் அந்த அமைப்பு செயற்படுவதாகவும் குற்றஞ்சாட்டியுள்ளது.

இது இலங்கையின் இறைமைக்கும், ஆட்புல ஒருமைப்பாட்டுக்கும் நேரடியாக அச்சுறுத்தல் விடுக்கும் ஒரு நகர்வு என்றும் இலங்கை அரசாங்கம் கூறியுள்ளது.

ஆகவே இலங்கையில் மக்களால் தெரிவு செய்யப்பட்ட அரசாங்கம் அங்கு அமைதியையும், நல்லிணக்கத்தையும் ஏற்படுத்துவத்ற்கு மேற்கொள்ளும் முயற்சிகளுக்கு ஆதரவளிப்பதற்கு பிரிட்டிஷ் வெளியுறவு அமைச்சர் டேவிட் மிலிபாண்ட் அவர்களுக்கு உண்மையிலேயே ஆர்வம் இருக்குமானால், உலக தமிழர் பேரவையின் கூட்டத்தில் அவர் கலந்துகொள்ளக் கூடாது என்று இலங்கை வெளியுறவு அமைச்சர் கூறியுள்ளார்.

ஆனால், இன்று காலையில் பிரிட்டிஷ் நாடாளுமன்ற கட்டடத்தில் நடந்த அந்தக் கூட்டத்தின் ஆரம்ப வைபவத்தில் டேவிட் மிலிபாண்ட் அவர்கள் கலந்து கொண்டு உரையாற்றியுள்ளார்.

அரசியல் தீர்வு

அங்கு உரையாற்றிய அவர், இலங்கை பிரச்சினைக்கு ஒரு அமைதியான, அரசியல் தீர்வுதான் ஒரே வழி என்று மீண்டும் வலியுறுத்தியுள்ளார்.

அந்த தீர்வு எப்படியானதாக இருக்க வேண்டும் என்பதை அனைத்து இலங்கை மக்கள்தான் முடிவு செய்ய வேண்டும் என்றும் அவர் கூறியுள்ளார்.

உண்மையான தேசிய நல்லிணக்கத்தின் மூலம் ஒரு இறுதியான தீர்வை இலங்கை அடைய வேண்டும் என்பதே பிரிட்டனின் அவா என்றும் அவர் அங்கு குறிப்பிட்டுள்ளார்.

இந்த இலக்குக்காக செயற்படுகின்ற இலங்கையின் அனைத்து மக்களுடனும்- அவர்கள் இலங்கையிலோ அல்லது வெளிநாட்டிலோ எங்கு இருந்தாலும் அவர்களுடன் சேர்ந்து பிரிட்டன் சேர்ந்து செயற்படும் என்றும் மிலிபாண்ட் அவர்கள் உலகத் தமிழர் பேரவையின் கூட்டத்தில் பேசியுள்ளார்.

அத்துடன் இலங்கையின் இறுதிக்கட்டப் போரின் போது இருதரப்பாலும் மேற்கொள்ளப்பட்டதாக குற்றஞ்சாட்டப்படுகின்ற போர்க் குற்றங்கள் தொடர்பில் சுயாதீன விசாரணை ஒன்று நடத்தப்ப்பட வேண்டும் என்றும் தனது உரையில் வலியுறுத்தியுள்ளார்.

அத்துடன் இன்னமும் இடம்பெயர்ந்தோர் முகாம்களில் எஞ்சியுள்ள மக்கள் மீள் குடியேற்றப்படுவதுடன், கைது செய்யப்பட்டு தடுத்து வைக்கப்பட்டிருக்கும் விடுதலைப்புலிகள் அமைப்பின் உறுப்பினர்கள் விடுததலை செய்யப்பட்டு, மறுவாழ்வளிக்கப்பட வேண்டும் என்றும் டேவிட் மிலிபாண்ட் கூறியுள்ளார்.

Kilde: colombopage.com

Miliband risks Sri Lanka’s wrath to support Global Tamil Forum


Relations between Britain and Sri Lanka are likely to hit a new low after David Miliband addresses a meeting of Tamil activists from around the world at the Houses of Parliament today.

The Foreign Secretary is due to make the opening speech at the inaugural meeting of the Global Tamil Forum, which campaigns for selfdetermination for Sri Lanka’s ethnic Tamils and to bring to justice perpetrators of alleged war crimes during the island’s 26-year civil war.

William Hague, the Shadow Foreign Secretary, is to make the closing address to the meeting, which will be attended by several other MPs in an unprecedented display of cross-party support for Sri Lanka’s Tamils after the defeat of the Tamil Tiger rebels last year.

“It’s great support for us,” S. J. Emmanuel, the president of the forum, told The Times. “The British Government, more than any in the world, knows our history and are most competent to understand our situation.”

He said that the group advocated non-violence and an international boycott of Sri Lankan goods and wanted war crimes charges brought against Mahinda Rajapaksa, the President, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, the Defence Secretary, and Sarath Fonseka, the former army chief.

Sri Lanka’s Government is sure to be incensed as it regards many of the forum’s members, especially the British Tamils Forum, as fronts for the Tigers, who are banned as a terrorist organisation in the EU. Sri Lankan officials have long accused Britain of secretly supporting the Tigers.

The Foreign Office defended Mr Miliband’s decision to address the meeting. A spokesman said: “The UK firmly believes that the only way to achieve lasting and equitable peace in Sri Lanka is through genuine national reconciliation. The UK will engage with all members of the Sri Lankan community who share this goal, whether overseas or in Sri Lanka.”

The Tigers launched their armed struggle to create an independent homeland for Tamils in northeast Sri Lanka in 1983 to try to protect them from discrimination at the hands of the ethnic Sinhalese majority.

Kilde: timesonline.co.uk

Anti-Sonia Sri Lankan Tamils party formed















Some former members of the Tamil Eelam Liberation Organisation (TELO) headed by N Srikantha, have formed a new anti-Sonia Gandhi Tamil party called Tamil National Liberation Alliance (TNLA) to contest the April 8 Sri Lankan parliamentary elections. Srikantha and the defeated Presidential candidate, K Sivajilingam, told the media here on Monday, that they left the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) because the party had become a puppet of the Indian National Congress led by Sonia Gandhi.

The TNA, they charged, had deliberately failed to bring about a ceasefire in the final stages of the war against the LTTE. They had willfully ignored the help offered by the Tamil Nadu government and the Indian opposition parties to stop the war. The TNLA proposes to fight the forthcoming parliamentary elections in Sri Lanka in alliance with the ultra left and anti-India Left Liberation Front led by Dr Wickramabahu Karunaratne, yet another defeated Presidential candidate.

TNLA leader Sivajilingam had contested for the Sri Lankan Presidency in January on a virulently anti-India and anti- Rajapaksa platform. He did not make any pro-LTTE statements, but his stand was the same as that of the LTTE. Being a relative of LTTE Supremo Velupillai Prabhakaran, Sivajilingam took charge of the body of Prabhakaran’s father, Thiruvengadam Velupillai at an army camp in Panagoda near Colombo and conducted the funeral at his hometown of Valvettithurai.

New Tamil alliance in Sri Lanka says TNA betrayed Tamils
Former Jaffna parliamentarian and independent presidential candidate M.K. Sivajilingam says the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) acted according to the wishes of the terrorist group LTTE and did not genuinely represent the aspirations of the Tamil people.

At a press conference held in Colombo on Monday to announce the creation of a breakaway faction of the TNA named Tamil National Liberation Alliance (TNLA) to contest the upcoming parliamentary elections, its co-founder, Sivajilingam accused the TNA of betraying the Tamils.

Sivajilingam and another TNA MP from Jaffna N. Sri Kantha declared yesterday that they have formed the new alliance to contest the general election in all districts in the Northern and Eastern Provinces under the Leftist Liberation Front of Dr. Wickramabahu Karunaratna.

The TNLA has been created in order to fulfill the objectives of the Tamil People, he said.

Dr. Wickramabahu Karunaratna described their alliance with the Tamil National Liberation Alliance as an instance of a union of the North and the South.

Sivajilingam said the TNA was controlled by three powerful former MPs R. Sampanthan, Suresh Premachandran and M. Senadirajah who acted according to LTTE wishes.

He accused the group including Sampanthan of deceiving other party members by lending support to General Sarath Fonseka at the presidential elections.

Sivajilingam said the TNA leadership is solely responsible for the death of thousands of Tamils brutally tortured and executed by the LTTE.

The TNA, which had 22 seats in the dissolved parliament, recently denied nominations to 9 of its members to contest the polls under the alliance. The TNA had also left out Sri Kantha and Sivajilingam from its nomination list.

The other members who were denied nominations include Jaffna district member Pathmini Sithamparanathan, are S. Kajendran, S.Jeyanandamurthy, Sivanathan Kishor, T. Kanagasabai and S. Sathasivam.

Kilde: colombopage.com

Lanka tells US not to dictate






















The government claims that US Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian affairs Robert Blake has no right whatsoever to dictate terms to Sri Lanka on its judicial process adopted on the allegations against General Sarath Fonseka adding that Sri Lanka is capable of handling the issue according to the law of the land.

Media Minister Lakshman Yapa Abeywardana addressing the weekly government news briefing at the his office today said that it is up to the Sri Lanka authorities to decide whether General Fonseka should be tried in a civil court or in a Military Court.

Minister Abeywardana made these comments in response to a statement made by US Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian affairs Robert Blake to the effect that General Fonseka should be tried in a civil court.

The Sri Lankan Tamil Diaspora after the LTTE














For the past quarter-century the Tamil diaspora has shaped the Sri Lankan political landscape through its financial and ideological support to the military struggle for an independent Tamil state. Although the May 2009 defeat of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) has dramatically reduced the diaspora’s influence, the majority of Tamils outside Sri Lanka continue to support a separate state, and the diaspora’s money can ensure it plays a role in the country’s future. The nature of that role, however, depends largely on how Colombo deals with its Tamil citizens in the coming months and on how strongly the international community presses the government to enact constitutional reforms to share power with and protect the rights of Tamils and other minorities. While the million-strong diaspora cannot regenerate an insurgency in Sri Lanka on its own, its money and organisation could turn up the volume on any violence that might eventually re-emerge.

Following the defeat of the LTTE, the mood in the diaspora has been a mix of anger, depression and denial. Although many had mixed feelings about the LTTE, it was widely seen as the only group that stood up for Tamils and won them any degree of respect. The Tigers’ humiliating defeat, the enormous death toll in the final months of the war and the internment of more than a quarter million Tamils left the diaspora feeling powerless, betrayed by the West, demanding justice and, in some cases, wanting revenge. A minority in the community is happy the LTTE is gone, since it directed much of its energy to intimidating and even killing those Tamils who challenged their rule.

Funding networks established by the LTTE over decades are seriously weakened but still in place. There is little chance, however, of the Tigers regrouping in the diaspora. LTTE leaders in Sri Lanka are dead or captured and its overseas structures are in disarray. Clinging to the possibility of victory long after defeat was inevitable damaged the LTTE’s credibility and weakened its hold on the community.

Nonetheless, most Tamils abroad remain profoundly committed to Tamil Eelam, the existence of a separate state in Sri Lanka. This has widened the gap between the diaspora and Tamils in Sri Lanka. Most in the country are exhausted by decades of war and are more concerned with rebuilding their lives under difficult circumstances than in continuing the struggle for an independent state. There is no popular support for a return to armed struggle. Without the LTTE to enforce a common political line, Tamil leaders in Sri Lanka are proposing substantial reforms within a united Sri Lanka. Unwilling to recognise the scale of defeat, and continuing to believe an independent state is possible, however, many diaspora leaders have dismissed Tamil politicians on the island either as traitors for working with the government or as too weak or scared to stand up for their people’s rights.

Many now reluctantly recognise the need for new forms of struggle, even if they would still prefer the LTTE fighting. New organisations have formed that are operating in more transparent and democratic ways than the LTTE and that aim to pressure Western governments to accept an independent state for Tamils. These include plans for a “transnational government of Tamil Eelam”, independent referenda among Tamils in various countries endorsing the call for a separate state, boycotts against products made in Sri Lanka and advocacy in support of international investigations into alleged war crimes by the Sri Lankan state. The new initiatives, however, refrain from criticising the LTTE or holding it responsible for its own crimes or its contribution to the shattered state of Sri Lankan Tamil society.

So long as this is the case, most Western governments will remain sceptical of the diaspora’s post-LTTE political initiatives. All have kept the transnational government of Tamil Eelam at arm’s length given its resemblance to a government-in-exile, even if the group does not claim this status. Western governments will have little choice but to engage with the dominant, pro-separatist Tamil organisations, even if officials would prefer to deal only with the handful of interlocutors with a record of criticising the Tigers. But until it moves on from its separatist, pro-LTTE ideology, the diaspora is unlikely to play a useful role supporting a just and sustainable peace in Sri Lanka.

Watching the devastation of the final months of the war and the seeming indifference of governments and the United Nations, many Tamils, particularly the younger generation born in the West, grew deeply disillusioned. Governments with large Tamil communities have been worried this might lead to new forms of militancy. In the last months of the war and months immediately following, there were self-immolations by Tamil protestors, vandalism against Sri Lankan embassies, and increased communal tensions between Tamils and Sinhalese abroad. While such events have grown less frequent, risks of radicalism in the diaspora cannot be dismissed entirely.

While Tamils have the democratic right to espouse separatism non-violently, Tamil Eelam has virtually no domestic or international backing. With the Sri Lankan government assuming Tamils abroad remain committed to violent means, the diaspora’s continued calls for a separate state feed the fears of the Rajapaksa administration and provide excuses for maintaining destructive anti-terrorism and emergency laws.

To ensure the current peace is a lasting one, the Sri Lankan government must address the legitimate grievances at the root of the conflict: the political marginalisation and physical insecurity of most Tamils in Sri Lanka. Statements made by President Mahinda Rajapaksa since his January 2010 re-election suggest there is little chance the needed political and constitutional reforms will be offered in his next term. Any significant improvement in the political position of Tamils and other minorities in Sri Lanka will thus come slowly and with difficulty, requiring significant shifts in the balance of political power within Sri Lanka as well as careful but tough persuasion from outside.

India, Japan, Western governments and multilateral organisations can do much more to assist the political empowerment of Tamils in Sri Lanka and press Colombo to address the causes behind the rise of the LTTE and other Tamil militant groups. There should be no blank cheque for Colombo to redevelop the north and east without first creating a political climate where Tamils and Muslims can freely express their opinions and have a meaningful role in determining the future of the areas where they have long been the majority. Donor governments and the UN should also press more strongly for an independent inquiry into the thousands of civilians, almost all Tamil, killed in the final months of fighting. Their aid should be tied to an end to impunity for human rights violations and abuses of political power that undermine democracy and threaten the freedoms of Sri Lankans from all ethnic communities.

Sunday 21 February 2010

தமிழீழத்தைப் பெற முடியுமா?

நாம் தெளிவாகச் சிந்தித்து அதன் அடிப்படையில் செயலாற்றும் காலம் வந்துள்ளது. நமக்கு என்ன வேண்டும்? தமிழீழம். அதைவிடக் குறைவான எதுவும் வேண்டாம். தமிழீழத்தைப் பெற முடியுமா?

நிச்சயமாக நம்மால் முடியும். நிச்சயமாக நம்மால் முடியும்.

எந்த நம்பிக்கையில் அப்படிச் சொல்கிறீர்கள்?

யூதர்களிடம் இருந்துபடிப்பினை தான் ! முற்றுமுழுதாக அழிக்கப்பட்ட பின்னர், அவர்களது மொழி கிட்டத்தட்ட வழக்கற்றுப் போகும் தருவாயில் இருந்த போதும் அவர்கள் சாம்பல் மேட்டில் இருந்து எழுந்த பீனிக்ஸ் பறவைபோல் மீண்டும் எழுந்தார்கள்!

நாம் என்ன செய்ய வேண்டும்?

யூதர்களின் வரலாற்றைப் படிப்போம் ! அது எந்தப் பதிப்பாக இருந்தாலும் பரவாயில்லை. அவை ஒரேமாதரியான வரலாற்றைத்தான் சொல்கின்றன. ஒருமுறை படித்து முடித்த பின்னர் செயலில் இறங்குங்கள்!

நாம் யூதர்களாக முடியுமா?

நம்மிடம் ஒற்றுமையில்லையே !

நாம் யூதர்களைப் போல் வரவேண்டும். அவர்கள் அய்க்கியமாக இருந்தார்கள் என்று யார் சொன்னது?

நாம் வேறு வேறு நாடுகளில் வாழும் 7 கோடி மக்கள். நம்மிடம் எல்லா வளமும் இருக்கின்றன. நாம் என்ன செய்ய வேண்டும்?

வீண் பேச்சுப் பேசுவதையும் எதிர்மறையாகப் பேசுவதையும் சிந்திப்பதையும் நிறுத்த வேண்டும். உங்களிடமும் மற்றவர்களிடமும் நம்பிக்கையை ஊட்டுங்கள்! இலக்கில் கண் வையுங்கள். ஆனால் அந்த இலக்கை அடைவதற்கு நடைமுறைச் சாத்தியமான வழிகளை உருவாக்குங்கள்!
பிரான்சுதமிழீழமக்கள்பேரவை , ஐரோப்பியதமிழ்மக்கள்அவை , அமெரிக்க தமிழர்களின் அரசியல் செயல் அவை, உலகளாவியதமிழர் பேரவை, பிரித்தானிய தமிழர் அவை, கனடிய தமிழர் பேரவை, பேர்ல் உள்ள அமைப்புக்கள் மற்றும் உள்ளுர் அமைப்புக்களை ஆதரியுங்கள். செயல் செய்யுங்கள், எண்ணங்களை, நேரம் மற்றும் வளங்களைவழங்குங்கள்.

புறக்கணிப்பு, ஆதரவுதேடுதல் போன்ற நடவடிக்கைகளில் ஈடுபடுங்கள்.

எல்லோரும் அழைத்து நான் என்ன செய்ய வேண்டும்? என்று கேட்கத் தொடங்கினால் நாம் வெற்றி பெறுவோம்! அழைப்புக்கு நீங்கள் காத்திருந்தால் நாம் வெற்றியடைய மாட்டோம்! ஓரு நாளில்ஒரு மணி நேரத்தையாவது செலவிடுங்கள்! எதைக் கொடுப்பது என்பதை நீங்கள் தீர்மானியுங்கள்.

மழையாகட்டும் வெய்யிலாகட்டும் தொடர்ந்து பங்களிப்புச் செய்யுங்கள்.

Thursday 18 February 2010

How strong are the “Boys”?

This article was first published in 1985 written by DBS Jeyaraj. Frontline Magazine is publised by the publishers of ‘THE HINDU’

TO the Western media they are guerillas, insurgents, separatists and rebels; sections of the Indian press describe them as nationalists, patriots and liberation fighters; back home the state which they oppose feels they are extremists, Marxists and plain terrorists; the people whose cause they claim to serve refer to them as the boys or the movement. Their own self-perception is that of revolutionary freedom-fighters seeking to liberate their people from oppression.

They are the militant organisations of the Sri Lankan Tamils who have adopted armed resistance as their creed in a bid to establish an independent state – Eelam, comprising the Northern and Eastern provinces of the island. All militants are united on three aspects. A common aim – Eelam – is one. Common opposition to the present regime is another. Violent struggle as the means to the end is the third. But there ends the unity. For, despite the saying that adversity makes strange bedfellows, the Tamil militants remain divided. Personality clashes in the upper echelons of the movements, differences of ideological opinion, disagreement on strategy and methods, and so on are some reasons keeping the militants apart.

THE FAMOUS FIVE
Another point is the multiplicity of the groups. A recent count put the number at 23. They are of different kinds and hues. Some are well-organised and firmly entrenched on their native soil. Others are yet to develop as potent forces. Some are splinters who have defected or been expelled from major groups. A few have mushroomed around a particular village and adjacent areas; one or two are essentially trying to win freedom through stationery and pen. The groups that matter can be counted on the fingers of one’s hand.

The famous five are the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), the People’s Liberation Organisation of Tamil Eelam (PLOT), the Tamil Eelam Liberation Organisation (TELO), the Eelam People’s Revolutionary Liberation Front (EPRLF) and the Eelam Revolutionary Organisation (EROS).

Of the other groups, one is the Tamil Eelam Liberation Army (TELA), a breakaway from TELO. It was founded by an ex-employee of the Hotel Lanka Oberoi, known as “Oberoi” Devan. TELO has been deteriorating since his death. The group is supposed to be sitting on a large cache of weapons. It split into two recently. The Tamil Eelam Army (TEA) is led by Maheswaran, a one-time engineering student of the London University. Maheswaran, known as “Panagoda” for having escaped from the Army detention camp at the particular town, was detained in Madras also in connection with the Meenambakkam airport explosion. TEA pulled off the greatest bank robbery to date in Sri Lanka when it made off with 35 million Sri Lanka rupees from the Kattankudi People’s Bank. Some of the other groups are NLFT, TENA, TELE, RELO, ATAK, the Red Army, the Revolutionary Assembly and TEDC.

As far as the major groups are concerned, the LTTE, led by Prabakaran, has perhaps the most colourful past, active for over a decade. It claims credit for several incidents like the ambush of a CID team led by Inspector Bastianpillai, the bombing of an Avro, the ambush of 13 Army personnel preceding the 1983 violence and attacks on police stations and armed convoys. The Tigers have been constantly waging what they term as a guerilla war against the state. Their symbol, the Tiger, appeals to deep-seated nostalgia for a glorious Tamilian past – the halcyon days of the Cholas when the Tiger flag fluttered proudly. Today, to the average Tamil, the term “Tiger” is synonymous with the militant Tamil while in Sri Lanka the Sinhala word ‘Kotiya’ (tiger) is a derogatory reference to Tamils.

The group was formed in 1972. It changed its name from Tamil New Tigers to Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam in 1976.

Umamaheswaran, an ex-surveyor, is the leader of PLOT. He was at one time the chairman of the Tigers’ executive council. He broke away and formed PLOT in 1980. The first-ever attack on a police station in the Lankan Tamil areas was pioneered by PLOT when it raided the Anaicottai police station in 1981. It was also responsible for the Kilinochchi bank robbery and the killing of several policemen. PLOT also operates a clandestine broadcasting station known as Voice of Tamil Eelam which conducts programmes in Tamil, English and Sinhala.

PUBLICITY - SHANKER CHAKRAVARTY
The present leader of TELO is Sri Sabaratnam. It was set up by Thangathurai who, along with the controversial Kuttimani, was killed in the riot at Welikade prison. It remained a loosely knit group until 1973 when an organisational structure was formed. The group gunned down several Tamil police officers in the North. TELO received great publicity when its leader Thangathurai and Kuttimani were sentenced to death in 1982. Sri Sabaratnam took over in 1983. TELO made headlines recently by its operations in Chavakachcheri and Murukandy.

The chief of EPRLF is Padmanabha. It is a metamorphosis of earlier student and youth organisations dating back to 1975. The EPRLF umbrella was formed in 1981. It came into the open in 1983. The organisation comprises student, peasant, women, fishermen and worker groups. The front, which claimed a role in the Batticaloa prison break-out in 1983, received wide publicity by abducting an American couple last year. Recently it claimed responsibility for attacks on the Gurunagar Army cantonment and the Karainagar naval base.

EROS has a collective leadership represented by Rajanayagam in London and Balakumar in Madras. Its founder was an economist, Eliathamby Ratnasabapathy, who continues to play a godfather role. EROS had its origin in the Eelam Research Organisation established in London in 1975. It has perhaps the largest array of intellectuals in its fold. Its approach is basically Marxist-Leninist and it frowns upon acts like random killings or robberies. The primary aim is sabotage. EROS shot into the limelight through its three-phased bomb campaign in Colombo. The Oberoi Hotel and the National Security Ministry were the first targets. Oil refinery installations were the next. Thirdly, bombs were placed outside select targets. An attempt was also made on the TV antennae at Mount Pedro.

RELATIVE STRENGTH
The relative strength of the individual groups is another question. There are three main components in all groups – the fighter cadre, the propaganda unit, and the sympathiser reservoir. The fighters are the most important. All groups are wary of revealing their actual numbers and tend to exaggerate. Informed sources told Frontline that the five groups would together have close upon 10,000 fighting men. Numerical strength does not, of course, have a decisive bearing on combat skills or experience. Even the nature and quality of training differs considerably. There is disparity between as well as within the groups on issues like the intensity and period of training. In one assessment, in terms of combat fitness, the actual manpower mobilisation would be about 6,000. Another moot point is the lack of sufficient firepower. There is still a significant shortfall of firearms and dearth of ammunition.

“Which area is the stronghold of a particular group?” The answer is, “we are strong in all areas”. It is true to the extent that all groups are adequately represented in all Tamil areas as far as recruitment and influence are concerned. Recruitment cuts across religious, caste, regional and parochial lines. Each group has its concentration and spheres of special influence in different Tamil areas, with the “Tigers” having real strike power in the Jaffna peninsula and PLOT having its support spread out more widely. All these positions, however, are subject to rapid fluctuation as recruitment, shifts in loyalty, mobility and establishment of bases constitute in themselves an interacting process that is dynamic.

Among the upcountry plantation workers, Tamils of recent Indian origin, EROS and EPRLF enjoy real influence while PLOT is supported by a large number of Muslism.

The immediate challenge facing the militants is the question of unity. Unity is the upper most thought in the Tamil mind. The need of the hour, according to all groups, is not merely unity of purpose but coordinated action. PLOT Secretary-General Umamaheswaran went on the air over his radio and said, “The most important task facing us is the achieving of a degree of unity among the different groups and working out a common programme to face the common enemy. At present we are holding unity talks with a number of like-minded organisations and we have already reached unity with the Tamil Eelam Liberation Army and the National Liberation Front of Tamil Eelam”.

EPRLF Secretary-General Padmanabha, addressing the front’s first congress, said, “It is important that we give our utmost attention to the formation of a united front. Today there are five major organisations within the Eelam national liberation movement. A united front has already been formed among EPRLF, EROS and TELO. Our prime task now is to strengthen the existing front and formulate correct tactics for the incorporation of PLOT and LTTE into the united front.”

LTTE ideologue Dr A.S. Balasingham struck an optimistic note when speaking to Frontline. “We feel that escalating conditions will compel the major liberation organisations to evolve a coordinated form of action. Negotiations have already been started between various groups to realise this objective. We are certain that all groups will join together to fight against our common enemy.”

Balakumar of EROS is also hopeful. “There are no fundamental contradictions between us. It is essentially a conflict of opinion which could be resolved in friendship in the interests of greater unity”, he told Frontline. Sri Sabaratnam, leader of TELO, explained: “There is no necessity for all the organisations to team up together. What is required is coordinated action.”

STRATEGIC DIFFERENCES
Obstacles in the way of [their] unity are strategic differences. Umamaheswaran of PLOT holds the following view: “Our differences with LTTE on the matter are basic. We are of the opinion that the hit and run actions of LTTE are putting back the liberation struggle and playing into the hands of [President J.R.] Jayewardene…. This is a short-sighted policy in the long run. I am sure that LTTE too will realise this.”

EPRLF spokesman Varadarajaperumal says his front does not believe in guerilla warfare as a strategy but merely as a tactic. “We do not believe in conventional war also. It was not adopted in any revolutionary struggle,” he says.

R. Vasudeva, additional secretary-general of PLOT, says that in the Sri Lankan context, hit and run policies alone will not succeed. Those tactics alone are not enough. A people’s army is also necessary.

Balakumar of EROS rejects the perpetuation of hit and run tactics. The hit and run policy is effective in the beginning of a guerilla war, thereafter it becomes redundant, he says.

TELO’s Sri Sabaratnam says, “The hit and run tactics were useful to demoralise the enemy when the militant groups were not ready to meet the enemy face to face. All the militant groups that matter are now in a position to meet the enemy face to face when necessary and inflict heavy losses by full-fledged military action…. We are not engaged in guerilla warfare exclusively. All we can say is that all militant groups that matter are now in a position to carry on a protracted war of national liberation.”

Anton Balasingham of the “Tigers” says there is some confusion over the concept of people’s war. “People’s war is not popular insurrection. Guerilla warfare is an aspect of a people’s war. Gradually and systematically, guerilla warfare would clearly evolve into popular warfare. Units of Tamil guerillas will continue with their protracted warfare until the final war of liberation.” He is also hopeful of unity. “No fundamental contradictions exist as far as objectives are concerned – all major groups are committed to similar aims like the formation of an independent socialist Eelam and armed revolutionary struggle as the means to achieve this. Differences lie in methods of armed resistance, which can be resolved by discussions and negotiation.”

A further deterrent to unity is the personality clash between Prabakaran and Umamaheswaran. The bitter feud culminated in a shootout at Pondy Bazaar resulting in both being put behind bars in Madras for a while. There have also been episodes of fratricide between PLOT and LTTE on Eelam soil. Mutual vilification campaigns have also been conducted. A hopeful pointer to the future is that both sides realise the need for unity. An LTTE representative met Umamaheswaran for a preliminary discussion. Another expatriate who is influential with the Tigers also is actively pursuing this line.

Positive signs of a future union lie in the roots of the past itself. An analysis of the origins of each group shows the common seed was sown in 1970 when medium-wise standardisation policies discriminating against Tamils in the higher education sphere were introduced. Student disgruntlement snowballed into open dissent. The demonstration effect of the abortive armed insurgency by Sinhala radicals as well as the birth of Bangladesh in 1971 gave momentum to this dissent. The Pan-Sinhala constitution of 1972, the teargassing of the crowd at the World Tamil Research Conference in 1974 and the suicide of youth leader Sivakumaran helped fuel these feelings to the point of revolt. Most militant leaders have worked together before.

COMMON COMMITMENT
There is no serious ideological cleavage among the Tamil militants. All the groups are committed to a socialist State of Eelam, and EPRLF and EROS are considered truly radical. Common origin, common purpose and lack of basic ideological differences are indeed notable. A group of Tamil refugees from Sri Lanka is now actively engaged in promoting unity. A spokesman for the group said the “Tigers” had laid a precondition at one stage that unity could be discussed only if the other groups also entered the fray. The inactivity of the other groups while the “Tigers” were fighting it out, made LTTE suspicious. LTTE was wary of wearing itself out while the other groups were conserving their strength. Today that situation is fast changing, with TELO and EPRLF embarking upon major operations.

The spokesman summed up the situation thus. TELO, EPRLF and EROS have formed a front. PLOT and TELA are together. Actually, the five groups have formed a coordination committee. The “Tigers” are remaining aloof. The basic difference is between PLOT and LTTE. The TELO-EPRLF-EROS umbrella is holding discussions with both PLOT and the “Tigers”. Both sides seem to be acceptable to them. If comprehensive unity cannot be achieved at the initial stage, the trio can align with either PLOT or LTTE and intensify operations. In that context, the third force cannot be inactive. It would fall in line with parallel action that would gradually lead to coordinated action. All small groups would toe the line of the big groups and become progressively assimilated.

There are other factors which also add impetus to the drive for unity. The Tamil people facing great hardship in Sri Lanka are constantly pressuring the groups to unite. The average Sri Lankan Tamil is not partisan towards any group. To him all militants are the “boys” and the current inter-group rivalry demoralises him greatly. If the groups do not take heed of this, they run the risk of losing their support among the people.

The rank and file of the different groups have no basic differences among themselves. Brothers, neighbours, relatives and friends are split among different groups. Thus internal pressure rising from the grass root level is bound to be another motivator.

Many expatriate Tamils who are the main funding agencies are becoming slowly disillusioned. Several of them are actively engaged in promoting unity. Public opinion in India, a country which has shown much openness towards Tamil refugees, is watchful. Indian sentiments both on a State and national level have been advocating unity. Sympathetic newspapers, politicians and student organisations are all urging it.

Last but not least is the growing awareness that taking on the armed might of an organised state requires a pooling of resources and coordinated effort. Such unity would also mean more funds, more arms and more men. Significant political and diplomatic advances in the international arena could also be made. And so the search for militant unity goes on. Time is short and the waters continue to rise. History will record whether the militants will sink or swim together and also how they relate to the overall movement of the Tamils of Sri Lanka, especially the political component represented by TULF [Tamil United Liberation Front].

Kilde: The Hindu

Ein sensitiv formidlar













Dhayalan Velauthapillai Forskar og professor ved Høgskolen i Bergen.

Då alt brann opp i krigen på Sri Lanka, fann Dhayalan Velauthapillai ut at han måtte bort.

Frå han kom som ingeniørstudent til Bergen i 1984 og fram til i dag, som professor ved Høgskolen i Bergen (HiB) og eldsjel for minoritetars integrering, har engasjementet drive Dhayalan Velauthapillai til stor suksess i det norske samfunnet.

Nyleg blei han kåra til ein av dei ti fyrstegenerasjonsinnvandrarane som har inntatt ei leiande rolle i norsk arbeids- og samfunnsliv. Prosjektet skal vise «vegen til suksess» og byggje rollemodellar av internasjonale personar som har lukkast i Norge. Han ler kledeleg sjenert på spørsmål om korleis han har fått så stor suksess.

– Eg blei veldig audmjuk og glad. Det var veldig lite forventa. Det er sikkert mange som har hatt mykje meir suksess enn meg. Utan engasjementet hadde eg ikkje vore mykje.

Dhayalan, som er norsk-tamilar, har engasjert seg i eit utal organisasjonar og utval som arbeider for minoritetar. Kjepphestane hans er høgare utdanning og meir samfunnsdeltaking.

– Det er ein føresetnad for å bli integrert i Noreg. Deretter må vi gi noko tilbake til samfunnet, ivrar eldsjela, medan han serverer kokande tevatn til alle utanom seg sjølv.

FØDT PROFESSOR
Dhayalan sitt liv står i stil med bodskapen hans. Han visste til dømes allereie som åtteåring at han ville bli professor. Barndommen på Sri Lanka var prega av snakk om undertrykking og diskriminering frå styresmaktene.

– Det vekka engasjementet i meg. Eg blei politisk bevisst i byrjinga av barneskulen. På ungdomsskulen var eg med i fleire politiske foreiningar.

Han understrekar samtidig at det tamilske samfunnet han vaks opp i romma meir enn misnøye.

– Vi var veldig knytt til kvarandre. Familie og naboar. Vi hadde heile tida ei kjensle av at vi ikkje var aleine. På den måten lærer du å tenkje på dei rundt deg meir enn den materialistiske verda.

Han trur det kan vere noko av grunnen til at han i dag har så mange ulike engasjement.

– Eg har veldig problem med å seie nei. Ofte har eg to avtalar samtidig. Eg får ei god kjensle av å ha ofra tida mi for andre. Tamilane er slik.

FLYKTA FRÅ BOMBEREGNET
Etter krigen braut ut, var det ingeniørstudiet som førte Dhayalan til Noreg og Bergen.

– Alt hadde brent opp. Då tenkte eg at eg måtte søke meg bort, begynne på nytt.

Medan den vordande professoren underviste medstudentar i realfag på fritida, møtte han kvinna som i dag er kona hans. I dag nyt dei livet i Bergen med fire søner i alderen åtte til 18 år.

– Det er veldig roleg her, ganske optimalt. Ikkje så mange folk, men likevel er det ein by. Med fjell, legg han til.  Fjell som han likar betre å sjå på enn å gå i.

– Eg er ikkje flink å gå tur, men eg er fanga av den nydelege naturen, eg nyt det, seier han, som om han les poesi.

GRIN OFTE
Det er i Bergen han ser ei framtid for seg og familien.

– Bergen er heimen vår no. Eg har budd i Noreg lenger enn eg har budd på Sri Lanka.

Saknet til fødelandet forsvinn likevel ikkje. Smilet forsvinn når han tenkjer på det som har skjedd.

– I 2003 hadde eg høge ambisjonar. Eg var med i prosjekt med fleire organisasjonar om universitetssamarbeid med Universitetet i Bergen, men mange av dei som engasjerte seg, døydde då krigen blussa opp igjen. Framleis veit eg ikkje skjebnen til venene mine.

Store interneringsleirar husar i dag over 100 000 tamilar. Dhayalan tenker mykje på dei.– Eg var med og gjekk i demonstrasjonstog for dei i vinter. Vi må ta kraftig avstand frå uretten. Det er eit folkemord, men ingen snakkar om det.

Stemmen er roleg. Augo er alvorlege og munnen dirrar svakt. Kjenslene lar seg ikkje stoppe, ifølgje han sjølv.

– Eg er engasjert og sensitiv. Viss eg ser nokon som lir, begynner eg å grine med ein gong. Eg blir sint, men er tolmodig.

LES MINDRE
Dhayalan opplevde stor forskjell på å vere student i Sri Lanka og Noreg.

– Der måtte tamilane ha høgare karakterar enn singhalesarar for å kome inn på studiet. Det førte til at dei som kom inn skulle verkeleg jobba.

Slik var det ikkje i Noreg.

– Det var avslappa her. Ansvaret låg hos kvar enkelt student. Var ein engasjert kunne ein nå langt. På Sri Lanka var det professorane som bestemte alt, vi var redde for å snakke fritt.

Som førelesar har han følgd utviklinga på studentane. Han opplever at vi bruker stadig mindre tid på lesesalen.

– Mange jobbar for å dekke ein materialistisk livsstil. Dei innser ikkje alvoret før dei begynner på master.

– Er dagens studentar er meir sjølvopptatte?

– Nokon, men langt frå alle. Studentane før hadde meir til opprør, trur han, men skundar seg å leggje til at han ikkje vil sei noko negativt om studentar.

LEVER FOR STUDENTANE
Han set seg lenger og lenger fram på sofaen. Dei mørke augene er store og levande, det kvite smilet breitt.
– Du ser du blir godt mottatt og at andre får glede av den kunnskapen du legg fram for dei. Ikkje alle er så heldige med jobben sin, seier han fleire gonger.

Gleda over faget og undervisninga har smitta over på studentane. Dei har løna han med tittelen «Årets førelesar» på HiB allereie første året han føreleste på høgskulen.

- Løyndommen bak ei god førelesing er å sjå kvar enkelt student, trur den populære kunnskapsformidlaren.

– Eg prøver å sjå alle ansikta, prøver å lese korleis dei tenkjer. Eg er opptatt av at einkvar skal forstå. Ser eg at dei ikkje gjer det, får eg dårleg samvit. Eg føler det er mitt ansvar at dei får nytte av førelesinga.

– Eg går rundt og spør om dei lurer på noko, og dei kjem og snakkar med meg på kontoret. Eg blir rørt over at dei føler dei kan kome til meg når dei treng hjelp.

– Det høyres ut som du har funne draumejobben din?

– Ja! Eg er veldig privilegert. Når eg føreleser er eg alltid på overtid. Når du trivest og ser at arbeidet nyttar, merkar du ikkje at tida går.

LITE FAMILIETID
Det krev sin mann å vera engasjert i så mykje både profesjonelt og på frivillig basis. Han vedgår at det har gått utover familien.

– Eg har ikkje brukt mykje tid på familien. Tida då barna var små kjem aldri tilbake. Men når eg reiser, passar eg på alltid å vere tilbake same dagen, skundar han å leggje til.

Han trekk fram den tamiliske laurdagsskulen, der heile familien tek del, som positivt for alle partar. Men sjølv eldsjeler må kople av. Saman med sønene følgjer han med på Brann, men favoritten er cricket. Elles blir det mange debattprogram, historiske filmar og tamilsk musikk. Realisten har nemleg ein musikar i magen.

– Eg syng av og til, men viss eg skulle gjort noko om igjen skulle eg lært meg å spele gitar. Eg trur det gir energi. Å spele må vere den beste måten kople av lesinga på.

EIN TANKEVEKKJER
Dhayalan lærte mykje norsk ved å bu på Fantoft. Den gongen budde det mange norske studentar der, men ikkje alle var like inkluderande. Han trur dagens studentar er meir verdsvante og derfor flinkare å ta kontakt sjølv, men ber oss tenkje oss om i møte med framandspråklege.

– Tenk viss du var aleine i eit anna land. Det er ikkje like lett for alle å ta initiativ då. Har ein i tillegg språkvanskar krevst det endå meir. Dei som er ein del av majoriteten må ta ansvar.

Og dette engasjementet, ifølgje han sjølv, finst det ei god oppskrift på.

– Vi må aldri samanlikne oss med dei rikaste, men med dei som har det vondt. Då kjem engasjementet av seg sjølv.











Dhayalan Velauthapillai
Forskar og professor ved Høgskolen i Bergen.
Foreleser i fysikk- og teknologifag.
Født på Sri Lanka i 1964.
Bur no i Bergen.
Kjent for sitt engasjement for tamilar både i Bergen og på Sri Lanka.

Kilde: studvest.no

India uneasy over Sri Lanka’s slide


Developments in neighboring Sri Lanka are triggering unease in India. There is growing concern that President Mahinda Rajapaksa will use his second term to marginalize political rivals rather than seek a political solution to the island’s ethnic conflicts.

The arrest last week of General Sarath Fonseka, former army chief and Rajapaksa’s losing rival in the presidential election in January, is fueling fears that the president is focusing on consolidating the already substantial grip of his family over the levers of power rather than on addressing the country’s bigger problems.

Rajapaksa’s convincingly won the presidential election by a margin of 1.8 million votes. The vote was fiercely fought with the two front-runners and their supporters engaging in personal attacks.

It was far from the days when Fonseka and Rajapaksa partnered in the war against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) that the Sri Lankan army finally won in May last year. The army chief and the premier both tried to take the credit for the victory, with Rajapaksa attempting to sideline Fonseka by “promoting” him to a largely ceremonial post. This was bitterly resented Fonseka, who decided to enter the presidential race as the opposition parties’ main candidate.

Both Rajapaksa and Fonseka have long records of getting even with enemies and silencing dissent, it was only a matter of time before they turned on each other. That the victor in the presidential election would show no mercy on the vanquished was evident in the election campaign.

Rajapaksa did not even wait for results to be officially announced before he began the witch-hunt, with troops surrounding the hotel where Fonseka and his aides were staying. The general was allowed to leave the hotel the next day, but several former army officers who were part of his election campaign team were arrested.

There has been no let-up in the intensity of the crackdown on the Fonseka camp in the weeks since. The president has purged the army of Fonseka supporters. Fourteen senior officers have been forced to retire and around 40 serving and former soldiers arrested. Early last week, troops arrested Fonseka.

While the army is yet to press formal charges against him, a government-owned newspaper says that charges could include “conspiracy to carry out a military coup against the government and a bid to assassinate President Rajapaksa”. He could face a court-martial if the allegations are proved.

Many in Sri Lanka believe that Fonseka and his supporters in the army were plotting a coup and hence deserve to be arrested. Others fear that it is part of a larger strategy to eliminate all opposition to Rajapaksa’s rule.

Sri Lanka has been one of Asia’s most vibrant democracies. But leaders have grown increasingly autocratic and under Rajapaksa the slide towards authoritarian rule has been rapid. This has evoked apprehension in the island and beyond. Several countries have expressed concern over Fonseka’s arrest.

Neighboring India issued a cautious statement after a day’s silence following the arrest. “As a friend and neighbor, we trust that due processes of law will be observed in democratic Sri Lanka,” a spokesperson of India’s Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said.

Officials speaking to Asia Times Online on the condition of anonymity said that while India was “no supporter of a general entering politics, it is not happy with Rajapaksa’s undemocratic style”.

During the run-up to the elections, both Rajapaksa and Fonseka seem to have sought India’s support or at least a commitment that India would not sway the all-important Tamil vote by indicating its preference between the two candidates.

Fonseka made a “private visit” to Mumbai, apparently to open a line of communication with Indian political leaders, while Rajapaksa’s brothers, Basil and Gotabhaya – senior advisor to the president and defense secretary respectively – met with top Indian officials as part of a Sri Lankan delegation. They are reported to have briefed Delhi about the steps taken by Rajapaksa to resettle the Tamil Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) and to have assured the Indian government of Rajapaksa’s commitment to finding a political solution to the long-running ethnic conflict between the island’s Sinhalese majority and the Tamils and other minorities.

Throughout the presidential campaign India refrained from indicating a preference between the two front-runners. Senior officials told Asia Times Online then that there was little difference between Rajapaksa and Fonseka as both prioritized the military option over a political settlement to deal with ethnic-based problems.

“Rajapaksa stubbornly resisted exploring a political solution right through his first term despite India constantly urging him to do so,” a MEA official pointed out. “And both [Rajapaksa and Fonseka] showed little concern for Tamil civilian lives through the months of aerial bombardment of Tamil areas.”

India saw Rajapaksa and Fonseka as presenting “a choice between the devil and the deep-blue sea,” but Delhi quietly hoped for Rajapaksa’s return to power.

“Rajapaksa is a known devil, unlike Fonseka,” the official said, pointing out that “as a politician, Fonseka was an unknown entity”. A career soldier, Fonseka entered the political arena late last year. But for his political agenda of settling scores with Rajapaksa, little is known of his “vision” for the country.

India knew that Fonseka was pro-Pakistan and China. And that worked in Rajapaksa’s favor. While Sri Lanka warmed to both Pakistan and China during Rajapaksa’s first term, with economic and especially defense ties expanding significantly, “Rajapaksa kept India in the loop right through the war against the LTTE,” a fact that was appreciated in decision-making circles in Delhi.

Another point that worked against Fonseka was that he is an ex-military man. Fonseka resigned before he stepped into the political arena and hence did not enter politics via a military coup, but India was uneasy with a military man taking over the reins in Sri Lanka.

Rajapaksa’s victory therefore evoked a sigh of relief in Delhi
Delhi was hoping that with his re-election out of the way, Rajapaksa would quickly settle down to addressing the ethnic conflict. But there have been no signs or statements issued on this matter in the three weeks since his landslide victory. Instead, the government has been preoccupied with clipping Fonseka’s wings.

Last week, the president dissolved parliament and announced that general elections would be held in April. What can be expected from him and other politicians in the coming weeks is campaign rhetoric on the ethnic issue aimed at wooing voters, not concrete steps towards starting dialogue and consultations with Tamils and other minorities.

It is not just Rajapaksa’s procrastination on a political solution to the ethnic conflict that is worrying India. Delhi is concerned over Tamil alienation. In the past, LTTE-led boycotts kept Tamils from voting, but even in a post-LTTE environment they have stayed away from the polls, with the turnout in Tamil areas very low in the recent election. Those Tamils who did vote did so in favor of Fonseka, who was backed by the Tamil National Alliance, a pro-LTTE party.

The Sri Lanka Freedom Party headed by Rajapaksa and the United People’s Freedom Alliance that Rajapaksa leads has a clear edge over the divided and battered opposition. The opposition is expected to focus on Fonseka’s arrest in its campaign for April’s parliamentary elections.

Delhi expects Rajapaksa’s party to win decisively. “The president is expected to emerge from the election with support in parliament that will be strong enough for him to push through changes required to resolve the ethnic conflict politically,” the Indian official said. But does he have the political will to do so?

Sudha Ramachandran - An independent journalist/researcher based in Bangalore.

Kilde: Theglobalrealm.com

A missed opportunity for Sri Lanka



'Until Sri Lanka government and the international community address the dire human-rights situation, the deterioration of the rule of law, and legitimate Tamil grievances, Sri Lanka will remain mired in turmoil' - Brad Adams, Asia Director, Human Rights Watch.

It would be naïve to expect anything other than propaganda from a head of state, but the piece by Mr. Rajapaksa is more dangerous than hubris - Asoka Wijeweera, London.

Wall Street Journal published three responses to the article by Mahinda Rajapaksa on WSJ under the caption "Sri Lanka Looks to the Future." He said "our people are free of threats, fear and terrorism. The government will work hard for all of them."

Comment by Brad Adams, Asia Director,Human Rights Watch

Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa's plans sound good on paper ("Sri Lanka Looks to the Future," op-ed, Feb. 4), but until his government and the international community address the dire human-rights situation, the deterioration of the rule of law, and legitimate Tamil grievances, Sri Lanka will remain mired in turmoil.

More than 7,000 civilians died last year in what the United Nations called a "bloodbath" for which government forces as well as the Tamil Tigers were responsible. Yet the government has reneged on commitments to conduct a serious investigation. The president's ongoing crackdown on civil society, which has continued since election day, has resulted in killings, disappearances and unlawful arrests, and has caused many journalists and rights activists to flee the country.

Were Mr. Rajapaksa sincere about addressing the genuine grievances of all of Sri Lanka's communities, he would permit an independent international investigation into alleged abuses by both sides. And he would end the violence and harassment against peaceful critics of the government. Those concerned about Sri Lanka's future, whether to visit or to invest, should insist that respect for human rights be part of that vision. Only then will the stage be set for true reconciliation and a peaceful and prosperous Sri Lanka.

Asoka Wijeweera, London
It would be naïve to expect anything other than propaganda from a head of state, but the piece by Mr. Rajapaksa is more dangerous than hubris.

The presidential election was certainly quiet by Sri Lankan standards but hardly free and fair. Media outlets critical of the government were shut down, one newspaper editor has been arrested, another is still missing and even the state television station was commandeered by the military.

By writing in The Wall Street Journal Asia, Mr. Rajapaksa is trying to suppress these reports and avert international eyes from his crackdown on critics. The police and army have been purged of would-be threats and the "state of emergency" has been extended. Mr. Rajapaksa is consolidating his grip on the island.

Although he uses run-of-the-mill rhetoric to dismiss critics, the truth is that Sri Lanka needs more help from the international community than an IMF loan. The island might be a middle-income emerging market but inflation and unemployment are high, and the loss of preferential tariffs in the EU will hurt. Hence the feeble attempt to improve his reputation and the plea for aid.

Freedom of speech is a right that everyone should have. But by printing Mr. Rajapaksa's piece, the Journal not only contributes to the erosion of truth but bestows on him something routinely denied to the Sri Lankan media and public: a chance to say what he thinks, however unpalatable it may be.

Comments by Sashi Selvendran and Ashwini Vasanthakumar, Lanka Solidarity, Washington, D.C.

Mr. Rajapaksa correctly observes that his country's presidential elections were historic. But if the rest of his blinkered piece is any indication, Mr. Rajapaksa seems poised to miss this historic opportunity.

Mr. Rajapaksa gestures only vaguely toward a political solution and minority grievances, dwelling instead on Sri Lanka's potential for investors and tourists. Certainly economic development is necessary for sustainable peace, but this should neither substitute for nor distract from the critical challenges of reconciliation among the country's multiple communities, implementation of a permanent political solution and the demilitarization and democratization of society.

This last point is deeply concerning. Mr. Rajapaksa seems to believe these most recent elections were "peaceful" and "well-fought." Independent election monitoring centers, however, found more than 900 instances of election violence. Despite the war's end, he makes no mention of implementing parts of the Sri Lankan Constitution that would devolve power to local authorities, giving various communities more of a say.

The demise of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam signals the possibility of a democratic future for a long-brutalized society. But in its postbellum conduct, the government of Sri Lanka under Mr. Rajapaksa has shown us that terrorism is not the only threat to democracy.

Mahinda Rajapaksa said in his article to WSJ:
January 26 was an historic day for Sri Lanka. It was the first presidential election for more than 25 years that was unaffected by the terrorism and intimidation of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, otherwise known as the Tamil Tigers. The overwhelming majority of Sri Lankans who exercised their democratic right last Tuesday voted for an end to division, an end to terrorism and for a new beginning of peace and prosperity. I am proud that the election was well fought, but peaceful on voting day. All who wished to participate, could.

Kilde: Tamil National