Welcome to this blogg. More than 80 million tamil people live in many countries across distant seas.
There is no state without a Tamil - but there is no state for the tamils.
Velkommen til denne bloggen. Her vil jeg oppdatere nyheter om tamiler og deres kamp for et selvstyre både på Sri Lanka og utenfor øya.
என்னுடைய இந்த இணைத்தளத்திற்கு வருகை தந்தமைக்கு நன்றி: தமிழன் இல்லாத நாடில்லை, தமிழனுக்கென்று ஓர் நாடில்லை
TTN தொலைக்காட்சியின் தொடர்கள் மற்றம் நிகழ்ச்சிகள் நடாத்திய மன்மதன் என்றழைக்கப்படும் பாஸ்கரன் அவர்கள் இயக்கி நடத்திருக்கும் படம்தான் தீராநதி.
பாரிஸ் தேசத்தில் நடக்கும் கதைக்களம் .இங்கு வரும் புலம்பெயர் மக்களின் இன்னொரு புதிய விடயமான வதிவிட அனுமதி என்ற ஒரு நடைமுறை தெரியாமல் தாயகத்தில் இருந்து அகதியாக வரும் என் போன்றவர்களின் விடியலுடன் படம் தொடங்குகின்றது. நாயகன் ஊரில் இருக்கும் தெய்வங்களை துணைக்கு அழைப்பதுடன் படம் கதை ஓட்டத்தைக் கூறுகிறது.காலையில் மதன் வெளியே போவதும் அதன் பின்னே கமராவும் பயணிக்கிறது. மதன் தன் நண்பனுடன் போகும் வழி
இப்படம் முளுக்க முளுக்க எம்மவர்களைக் கொண்டு உருவாக்கப்பட்டுள்ளது.
வெளியீடு :
Dato: Lørdag 30.juli 2011, kl 18:00
Filmen Hus i Oslo ஒஸ்லோ Adresse: Dronningens gate 16
Former Sri Lankan President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga delivered a landmark speech in Colombo on Sunday in which she spoke of the horror her children expressed after viewing Sri Lanka's Killing Fields.
Jon Snow's critically-acclaimed investigation into the final weeks of the quarter-century-long civil war between the government and the secessionist rebels, the Tamil Tigers, featured devastating new video evidence of war crimes and crimes against humanity - some of the most horrific footage Channel 4 has ever broadcast.
Kumaratunga became the world's first female president in1994, governing Sri Lanka until 2005. Both of her parents had formerly held the office of Prime Minister in Sri Lanka.
In her address at the Sri Lanka Foundation Institute entitled ‘Economic Development, Inclusive Societies and Peace' she spoke of the battle for peace in the country and her dismay over the failure of successive governments to resolve the treatment of the Tamil minority which led to the formation of the armed separatist group, the Tiger Tamils LTTE - the terrorist organisation responsible for the deaths of both her father and her husband.
Kumaratunga called for Sri Lanka's to have the humility to admit that they have failed as a nation, to accept their mistakes, make amendments and she criticised the, "continued denial of proven facts and abuse of our honest critics will not resolve the problem for anyone." She went on to say: "I shall remember till the end of my days the morning when my 28 year-old son called me, sobbing on the phone to say how ashamed he was to call himself as Sinhalese and a Lankan, after he saw on the UK television a 50 minute documentary called Killing Fields of Sri Lanka which I also had the great misfortune of seeing. My daughter followed suit, saying similar things and expressing shock and horror that our countrymen could indulge in such horrific acts. I was proud of my son and daughter, proud that they cared for the others, proud that they have grown up to be the man and woman their father and mother wanted them to be."
Kumaratunga's speech follows other politicians who have spoken out about Sri Lanka's Killing Fields. After it was screened in Australia, former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd described it as, "deeply disturbing" and said: "(The) Human Rights Council can't simply push this to one side. Action needed." When asked about the film at Prime Minister's Questions, David Cameron told MPs that the Sri Lanka government, "does need to be investigated" and, "lessons need to be learned." And in a statement issued after the film aired in the UK, Foreign Office Minister Alistair Burt said he was "shocked by the horrific scenes" in Sri Lanka's Killing Fields, and "if the Sri Lankan government does not respond we will support the international community in revisiting all options available to press the Sri Lankan Government to fulfil its obligations."
Two Sri Lankans who witnessed the violent final showdown of the country's 26-year civil war claim a top military commander and Sri Lanka's defence secretary ordered war crimes.
One of these eyewitnesses, an army officer, accuses Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa - the president's brother - of ordering Brigadier Shavendra Silva to execute Tamil rebel leaders, whose safe surrender had been guaranteed by the president.
The other new witness, who was also operating with Brigadier Shavendra Silva's 58 Division on the front line during the final assault, claims the Brigadier was ordered by the defence secretary "to finish the job by whatever means necessary."
'Licence to kill'
He said this was interpreted by the soldiers as a licence to kill. He described how he had watched as Sri Lankan forces shot dead unarmed Tamil women and children. It is the first time this allegation has been made.
The war was won by Sri Lankan government soldiers two years ago. The rebel leadership was virtually wiped out.
As the army closed in, around 130,000 Tamil civilians had been trapped on an ever-shrinking shard of land on the north-east of the island alongside the besieged rebel fighters, who are accused of using them as human shields.
The Sri Lankan president said no civilians were killed by the army during the final assault. But the United Nations now believes that up 40,000 civilians were killed during the last few weeks of the conflict. Others estimate the toll to be higher.
Most are thought to have died as a result of gun and mortar fire allegedly directed on them deliberately by government forces.
After repeated requests for an interview with Shavendra Silva - now retired and promoted to the rank of major-general - Channel 4 News went to confront him with these allegations in New York, where he serves as Sri Lanka's deputy ambassador to the UN.
Former Sri Lankan President denounces current governmentThe latest revelations on Channel 4 News came after the former president of Sri Lanka condemned the current government in a speech in Colombo. Chandrika Kumaratunga warned that the country could descend into anarchy following the civil war between the govenment and Tamil rebels.
Speaking in Colombo, Mrs Kumaratunga said her children had reacted with 'shock and horror' to Channel 4's 'Killing Fields' documentary which alleged war-time atrocities. "My 28 year-old son called me, sobbing on the phone to say how ashamed he was to call himself a Sinhalese and a Lankan," she said.
Mrs Kumaratunga served as President of Sri Lanka from 1994 to 2005. She is the country's only female President to date.Kumaratunga suffered permanent nerve damage and lost vision in her right eye following an assassination attempt by the Tamil Tigers at her final election rally in Colombo in 1999.
Allegations denied
Outside his embassy, the major-general denied allegations of war crimes and said such accusations stemmed from Tamil Tigers and their supporters.
He denied that soldiers under his command had raped or murdered civilians and he demanded we reveal the identity of the army officer who had alleged he had ordered the execution of surrendering rebels.
'Soaked in blood'
The allegations from the army officer serving with the then Brigadier Shavendra Silva surround what a recent UN report calls "The White Flag Incident" on the very last day of the war. Those killed included the Tamil Tigers' two most senior political leaders and their families.
Channel 4 News has identified their bodies among scores of dead insurgents in photographs of the aftermath provided by the officer himself. We are protecting his identity but he was interviewed in secret by a journalist working for Channel 4 News in Sri Lanka.
He told us: "We received orders from the top to kill some of those who surrendered. All regiments received the orders unofficially - from the top."
The officer continued: "The defence secretary phoned Brigadier Shavendra Silva and ordered him not to take them prisoner, but to kill them. When I got there, I saw a pile of dead bodies. This is the notorious 'White Flag Incident.'
"I can confidently state," he said, "that those who ordered the killings were Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa and Brigadier Shavendra Silva."
The other new eyewitness, whom we've called 'Fernando', recounted apocalyptic horrors he had witnessed while with Brigadier Shavendra Silva's 58 Division. He accused Sri Lankan soldiers of war crimes which targeted civilians.
"They shot people at random. Stabbed people. Raped them. Cut out their tongues, cut women's breasts off. I have witnessed this with my own eyes."
'Fernando' continued as though in a trance, with tears running down his face: "I saw the naked dead bodies of women without heads and other parts of their bodies. I saw a lot of small, innocent children getting killed in large numbers. I saw people soaked in blood."
Asked if he had actually seen Sri Lankan soldiers shooting civilians, 'Fernando' said: "I saw them shooting. I saw it directly. I saw ordinary civilians getting killed with my own eyes."
'Finish the job'
This witness said the hearts of soldiers on the battlefront "turned to stone" as they carried out what lawyers told us could amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity.
He said that a few days before the end of the war, the brigadier had assembled his officer corps on a beach and told them he had received orders from the defence secretary "to finish the job by whatever means necessary."
'Fernando' relayed what the brigadier told his men: "He said: 'This is a very decisive day for us because last night I got a call from the defence secretary. He told me that we only have a small chunk of land left to capture. Do whatever it takes- finish it off the way it has to be done."
'Fernando' says that what followed was the killing spree he witnessed. "All they wanted," he said, "was for the war to be over."
Credible allegations of war crimes
In April, a panel of experts commissioned by the UN Secretary General to examine 'Accountability in Sri Lanka', found credible allegations of war crimes in Sri Lanka, committed by both sides.
These included the killing of civilians by shelling, the shelling of hospitals, the denial of humanitarian assistance and other human rights violations inside and outside the conflict zone.
The panel recommended that these allegations required further investigation.
The secretary-general is expected to present the experts' report to the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva. It will fall to the council to decide of the course of any further action.
Kilde: Channel4
பாதுகாப்பு அளிப்பதாக ராஜபக்ஷே கூறிய விடுதலை புலிகளை கோதபய கொலை செய்ய உத்தரவிடடார்: ராணுவ வீரர்கள் தகவல்
26ஆண்டுகளாக தமிழ் ஈழ விடுதலைக்கு போராடிய போராளிகளின் இறுதிகட்ட போரின் போது சரண் அடையும் போராளிகளுக்கு பாதுகாப்பு அளிப்பதாக ஜனாதிபதி மகிந்தா ராஜ பக்ஷே உறுதி அளித்தார்.
அவரது பொய்யான வாக்குறுதியை நம்பி சரண் அடைந்த போராளிகளை அவரது தம்பியும் இலங்கை பாதுகாப்பு துறை செயலாளரும் ஆன கோதபய ராஜபக்ஷே கொலை செய் உத்தரவிட்டார். கோலை செய் லைசென் தரப்டடுவிட்டது என போர் குற்ற நிகழ்வு களை மேற்கொள்ள கோத்தபாய உத்தரவிட்டார் என அவருடன் பணியில் இருந்த ராணுவ வீரர்கள் குற்றம் சாட்டி உள்ளனர். கோதபயவின் கொடூர உத்தரவு உலகம் முழுவதும் உள்ள தமிழ் மக்களை அதிர்ச்சியல் ஆழ்த்தி இருக்கிறது.
இலங்கையில் தமிழீழம் மலர வேண்டும் என 1983ஆம் ஆண்டு முதல் தமிழ் போராளிகள் போராடி வந்தனர். இந்த பொராட்டத்தின் உச்சக்கட்டப்போர் 2009ஆம் ஆண்டு நடந்தது. இந்தப்போரின்போது சரண் அடையும் தமிழ்போராளிகளுக்கு உரிய பாதகாப்பு அளிக்கப்படும என இலங்கை ஜனாதிபதி மகிந்த ராஜபக்ஷே உறுதி அளித்தார்.
அந்தவாக்குறுதியை நம்பி சரண் அடைந்த போராளி தலைவர்களை ராஜபக்ஷேவின் தம்பியும் இலங்கை பாதுகாப்புத்துறை செயலாளரும் ஆன கோத்தபய ராஜ பக்ஷே ஈவு இரக்கம் இல்லாமல் கொல்ல உத்ரவிட்டார். நம்பி வந்தவர்களை கொலை செய்ய உத்ததரவிடுகிறாரே என இலங்கை ராணுவ வீரர்களே அதிர்ச்சி அடைந்தனர்.
தேவை ஏற்படும்போது கொல்வது அவசியம் என கோத்தபாய தனது போர் குற்றத்திற்கு நியாயம் கற்றபித்தார். சரண் அடைந்த தமிழ் ஈழ விடுதலை போராளிகளை கொலை செய்ய பிரிகேடியர் ஷவேந்திரா சில்வாவிடம் உத்தரவிட்டார். அவரிடம் கோதபய உத்தரவிட்டதை நேரில் பார்த்த 58வது டிவிஷன் வீரரும் தற்போது ஆமோததித்து உள்ளார். கொலை செய்வதறகு லைசென்ஸ் தரப்பட்டுள்ளது என இலங்கை ராணுவ வீர்களிடம் கட்டளை பிறப்பிக்கப்பட்டு உள்ளது.ஆயுதம் இல்லாமல் நிராயுத பாணிகளாக இருந்த அப்பாவிபெண்கள் மற்றம் குழந்கைளையும் கொல்லப்படடனர்.
தமிழீழ தேசவிடுதலைப்போரில் தலைவனின் சிந்தனைக்கு உயிர்கொடுத்து தம்மையே ஆயுதமாக்கி எதிரிமீது பாய்ந்து காற்றோடு காற்றாகி கலந்த எம் வீரமறவர்களின் நினைவுநாள். இன் நாளில் இவ் வீரப்புதல்வர்களை நினைவுகூர்ந்து எமது தமிழீழலட்சியபயணத்தில் நாம் எல்லோரும் உறுதியுடன் தொடர்ந்து பயணிப்போம். (காணொளி இணைப்பு)
Jude Lal Fernando is a research fellow and lecturer in Buddhist-Christian dialogue at the Irish School of Ecumenics, Trinity College Dublin. He is a member of the Irish Forum for Peace in Sri Lanka (IFPSL) The truth is that the Tamil region is the ‘Gaza of South Asia’, writes Jude Lal Fernando
Mullivaikal: The Moment Of Deep Sorrow And Courage
By Jude Lal Fernando
21 May, 2011
Today, we mourn from the very depths of our hearts the deaths of thousands of Tamils who were killed in Mullivaikal as well as in other places. Who are they? They are our beautiful children, our courageous young sons and daughters, beloved parents and grandparents whose burial grounds we do not know.
On this day, as a Sinhalese, let me remember not only the physical deaths of thousands of Tamils, but also the moral and spiritual death of the Sinhala nation to which I belong, a nation that has been built on the unknown graveyards of many thousands of my Tamil sisters and brothers.
As Martin Luther King lamented over his own American nation during the war against the people of Vietnam; a nation which spends on warfare and not on healthcare, welfare and education of its people is spiritually and morally doomed.
Mullivaikal does not mark the end of Tamil aspiration for nationhood, homeland and self-determination, but it marks another defeat of humanity.
Anybody who has a conscience among the Sinhalese and in the international community needs to know that Vanni massacre of Tamils questions our humanity rather than the project of Tamil Eelam.
Therefore, Mullivaikal is a historical moment in the dawn of the twentieth century that highly questions the humanity of this so called global village.
This is the fundamental moral truth about Vanni massacre of Tamils.
What is the political truth about Mullivaikal?
Mullivaikal is the climax of the brutality of the Sri Lankan state which was first created by the British colonial rule and rebuilt again and again by every Sinhala ruling party after the so called independence in 1948.
Are the Sinhalese unaware of the massacre of the Tamils for the last 60 years?
Are they unaware of the massacre of the Tamils in 1983 and 2009?
In 1983, the massacre was carried out by the unofficial thugs of the Sri Lankan state. In 2009, it was carried out by the official military of the same state with the full support of every major power in the international community.
The Sinhala nation is aware of the massacres. If so as human beings how do they justify such brutality of the state? They justify it by playing the role of victimhood saying that it is they who were attacked and that they have a right to defend themselves as a state. Is that all? No, they go further claiming a moral obligation to conduct a humanitarian war to protect the Tamils from the LTTE. The same arguments can be seen when the USA argues for its invasion of Iraq and Afghanistan and when Israel argues for invasion of Palestine.
Therefore, it is not right to say that the Sinhala nation does not know the massacres, but they cannot know because they have justified the massacres wholeheartedly in the name of the Sri Lankan state.
Didn't the UN and the international community know about? Is it a mistake from their part not to reveal the truth about the massacres? No, it is not a mistake, it is a deliberate action taken by them to protect the Sri Lankan state. Therefore, their omission is not an error or a mistake, but a part of the crime against the Tamil people.
Let me say one thing. It is true that the Tamils had to face the first genocidal massacre of the 21 st century, but this should not lead to a sense of helpless victimhood where the very forces who are responsible are seen to be saviours by the Tamils.
It is the Tamil people who should decide what their future course of action should be. Let me echo the words of Martin Luther King, Nelson Mandela and many others who led the oppressed peoples. The path to justice can never be stopped as long as people are determined to walk the long walk to freedom...
It is the paradox in the Sri Lankan history, that while the Sinhala nation celebrates the 2600 anniversary of Lord Buddha's Enlightenment the Tamils also have to remember the massacre of their loved ones on the 18 th of May this year. The most nonviolent preaching of Lord Buddha expressed compassion not only to every human being on earth but also to every creature, this preaching radically challenged and transformed kingdoms and societies promoting justice and peaceful coexistence in Asia. Could the Sinhala nation celebrate that Great Human Being's Enlightenment while the Sri Lankan state does not permit lighting a single candle in the Tamil homeland remembering the dear ones who were killed in Vanni?
This paradox or irony is a shame on every human, moral and religious value we cherish. It is against the eternal dharma of Lord Buddha and every other founder of great ethical and religious traditions.
By allowing the Sri Lankan state to oppress the Tamil people the Sinhala society has established a regime that destroys every form of democratic dissent. By building a prison for the Tamils, the Sinhalese have made their own chains. Let those who have ears listen, eyes see, tongues speak out!
Finally, this day is not only a day of mourning and day of shame, but it is also a day of remembrance of courage of so many thousands of my Tamil brothers and sisters who upheld the dream of a dignified life until the last breath of their lives.
Let that courage be our inspiration, so that our mourning will not end in a sense of helpless victimhood, but reinvigorate us to walk the journey towards the goal of justice, dignity and freedom as a people.
Watch also the Channel4 video of "Sri Lanka's Killing Fields"
On Friday 6 May 2011 Lebara's CEO and co-founder, Ratheesan Yoganathan, featured on the BBC World News program, Perschardt's Business People. In the program Ratheesan talks about how Lebara was formed, it's business model and service proposition, the company's growth so far and the shareholders desire to give back to those in need through the Lebara Foundation.
Lebara's CEO Yoganathan Ratheesan has won the Asian Business Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award in 2010
En gruppe norske tamiler krever at norske myndigheter etterforsker drapet på sivile tamiler under borgerkrigen på Sri Lanka. –Dette pløyer ny rettslig mark i Norge, sier NUPI-sjef Jan Egeland.
En norsk 77-åring døde i januar 2009 i den nordlige Vanni-provinsen på Sri Lanka fordi han skal ha blitt nektet tilgang på medisiner. Hans død er nå spydspissen i en historisk og svært omfattende politianmeldelse som i dag ble levert norske påtalemyndigheter.
Saken er historisk fordi det er første gang en politianmeldelse handler om en norsk statsborger som hevdes å være utsatt for forbrytelser mot menneskeheten.
I alt 20 personer på Sri Lanka, inkludert president Mahinda Rajapakse og hans bror, forsvarsminister Gotabhaya Rajapakse, listes opp som ansvarlige for forbrytelser mot menneskeheten, krigsforbrytelser og folkemord begått i den siste fasen av borgerkrigen på Sri Lanka, altså perioden mellom januar og mai 2009.
Vil ha etterforskning
Anmeldelsen, der også 15 norske tamiler som mistet familiemedlemmer i borgerkrigen er representert, ble levert av Landsrådet for Eelam Tamiler i Norge (NCET). Med seg på laget har de fått advokat Harald Stabell .
– Dette må etterforskes fordi en norsk statsborger er fornærmet i saken, sier advokat Maria Bergram Aas, som jobber i Stabell & Co.
NCET-leder Panchakulasingam Kandiah, som til daglig jobber som overlege ved Haukeland sykehus i Bergen, er svært glad for å ha overlevert anmeldelsen.
– Dette er noe vi har jobbet med i over ett år. Vi har brukt mye tid på å samle inn dokumentasjon som vi mener gjør det helt klart at det har skjedd forferdelige ting i denne tidsperioden, sier han.
30 prosesser
I anmeldelsen ber de norske tamilene om at det utstedes en internasjonal arrestordre på blant andre Sri Lankas president.
– Er dette en symbolhandling?
– Rundt om i verden pågår det nå 30 slike anmeldelsesprosesser. Vår er den eneste i Norge. Vi tror at vi kan gå sammen for å overbevise verden om at krigsforbrytelsene på Sri Lanka må granskes av Den internasjonale straffedomstolen, sier Kandiah.
Han erkjenner at LTTE-geriljaen også begikk krigsforbrytelser under den siste fasen av borgerkrigen, men presiserer at LTTE-ledelsen er døde, og at anmeldelsen derfor retter seg mot presidenten og den militære toppledelsen på Sri Lanka.
FN-rapport
NUPI-sjef Jan Egeland har bidratt med råd i prosessen, og er spent på om Kripos nå velger å åpne en etterforskning av de srilankiske lederne.
– Denne saken pløyer ny rettslig mark i Norge, sier han.
Prosjektleder Rolf Christian Ranheim ved Norsk senter for menneskerettigheter mener at saken representerer noe nytt i Norge.
– Norske myndigheter har ikke plikt, men anledning til å etterforske. Vi får se hva de gjør. Anmeldelsen ble nok styrket av at et panel med FN-eksperter nylig la frem en omfattende rapport om krigsforbrytelsene på Sri Lanka. Uansett gir det tamilene oppmerksomhet om sin sak, sier han.
Avviser anmeldelsen
Sri Lankas ambassadør til Norge, Rodney Perera, avviser at anmeldelsen har noe for seg.
- Det er noen ekstreme grupper som ønsker å skape sensasjonalistiske historier. Disse individene vil aldri bli fornøyd. Vi avviser anmeldelser som dette. Vi har viktigere ting å tenke på, sier Perera.
Han ber de norske tamilene om i stedet å bruke sin tid og sine ressurser på å bidra til å gjenoppbygge landet etter 26 år med borgerkrig.
- Heldigvis ser jeg at det er mange norske tamiler som nå er i gang med å reise tilbake til Sri Lanka for å hjelpe til med ting som å bygge hus, sette i gang prosjekter og slikt, sier han.
