srilanka1998
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- 26. Juli 2005
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LTTE asks Tamils not to take interest in poll
[ Hindustan Times ] [ 01:44 GMT, Nov. 11, 2005 ]
The LTTE and its parliamentary proxy Tamil National Alliance (TNA) on Thursday said that the Tamils "need not take any interest" in the Sri Lankan presidential election to be held on November 17. The decision to make such a suggestion was taken at a meeting between the LTTE's political leader SP Tamilselvan and the MPs of the TNA in Kilinochchi, the Tamil rebels' headquarters in north Sri Lanka. Asked if this meant that the Tamils would be prevented from voting, TNA MP, R Sampanthan, said that nobody would be prevented from voting in the election. There was no move to curb the peoples' democratic rights, he said. "We hope the Tamil people would not take any interest in the election," Sanmpanthan said.
Rebels 'to allow' Tamils to vote
[ BBC ] [ 01:46 GMT, Nov. 11, 2005 ]
Tamil Tiger rebels in Sri Lanka say they will allow Tamils to vote in the 17 November presidential election. The leader of the largest Tamil group in parliament said the rebels would not interfere with the electoral process. There will be no voting in Tiger areas but polling booths are to be set up just outside rebel-held territory. Observers say the Tamil vote is key in the close-run election. The rebels say Sinhalese leaders let them down in the past and the result is of no interest. R Sampanthan, head of the Tamil National Alliance which has 22 seats in the Sri Lankan parliament, met Tamil Tiger leaders on Thursday. "Tamil people have decided that they have nothing to gain from the presidential election," he said in a statement after the meeting in the rebel-held town of Kilinochchi.
What is the LTTE up to?
[ Tamil Guardian ] [ 01:47 GMT, Nov. 11, 2005 ]
Why, having quietly backed the UNP at previous Parliamentary elections, are the Tigers now uninterested when the most powerful political office in the country is up for grabs? With barely a week to go before Sri Lanka's Presidential elections, there is considerable confusion as to the rationale behind the Liberation Tigers' uninterested stance on the outcome. After all, both leading candidates appear to many to have diametrically opposed stances on the peace process, one for, one against. Premier Mahinda Rajapakse has from the outset of his campaign adopted a stridently Sinhala nationalist line. His pacts with the ultra-nationalist Janatha Vimukthi Perumana (JVP) and the hardline monks' party, the Jathika Hela Urumaya set out his position on the ethnic question with startling clarity.
Appreciation: MR CJT Thamotheram ' A leading light of the Tamil Community
[ TamilCanadian ] [ 10:56 GMT, Nov. 11, 2005 ]
He was a man of phenomenal vision and capability and took on the tasks of building the different pillars that would form an infrastructure for the Tamils in the UK. While teaching at Latymer, he also inaugurated the Association of Commonwealth Teachers (1966); founded the Tamil Times (1977); founded the West London Tamil School (1978); and founded the International Tamil Foundation (1988). We could have thought that Jeyam would rest on his laurels after creating these organisations. But, even in his advancing age and with his failing health, he felt strongly that there existed another void amongst us, which was to represent the Tamil cause with intellectual vigour in the English media. Towards this goal, he was inspired again, in March this year to enlist with his customary tenacity some of us as writers to found the Tamil Writers' Guild of which I am the first President.
IOM helps Ampara youth make a new beginning
[ International Organization for Migration ] [ 11:04 GMT, Nov. 11, 2005 ]
About 200 youth from the eastern Ampara district, which was devastated by last year's tsunami, are making a new beginning with help from the International Organization for Migration (IOM). IOM's vocational training project was launched on Thursday in collaboration with the Agriculture and Industrial Development Foundation (AIDF), a Moneragala-based non-governmental organization. It draws Muslim and Tamil youth from the Akkaraipattu, Alayadivembu and Thirukovil DS divisions. 'This marks the start of a new vocational training activity in the district with a new partner,' says IOM's Livelihood Consultant Nicola Hemmings.
Monitors fear dampened turnout for Sri Lanka poll
[ Reuters ] [ 11:30 GMT, Nov. 11, 2005 ]
Election monitors fear a Sri Lankan court judgement requiring rigorous identity checks for voters could put some off voting in the Nov.17 presidential vote, while stories spread about bids to steal the vote. The Supreme Court ruled on Wednesday that voters did not need an identity card in order to cast their ballots, but officials can question voters deemed suspicious -- a move aimed at avoiding fraud involving people coming to vote from areas held by Tamil Tiger rebels. "Concerns remain that some aspects of the Supreme Court judgement may have the effect of discouraging people from voting or delaying the process," European Union Chief Observer John Cushnahan told reporters on Friday in the northern city of Jaffna. "We will monitor polling day to see if such fears are realised."
Rotary Clubs Use Tsunami Aid Monies to Rebuild Livelihoods in Sri Lanka
[ RC ] [ 11:35 GMT, Nov. 11, 2005 ]
More than 54 Tamil and Sinhalese fisher families in the eastern coastal district of Trincomalee, Sri Lanka, received canoes and nets in a humanitarian mission supported by the Rotary Clubs of Ottawa, West Ottawa, Nepean-Kanata, Ottawa South, South Nepean, Hawkesbury and Colombo Metropolitan (Sri Lanka). Funds were raised by the Rotary clubs for the purchase of 27 canoes, known as 'Rotaboats', and nets for fisher folk in Trincomalee, one of Sri Lanka's poorest districts. The Rotaboats, eleven feet long and made from fiberglass, are ideally suited for lagoon and harbour fishing'the primary method of fishing in the area. Before the tsunami struck, fishing was the basis of the local economy and a chief source of food for the Trincomalee district. Rotarian George Grande, Canada's former High Commissioner to Sri Lanka said, 'this project gets directly to the fisher families with the help of Rotarians in Sri Lanka.'
Remembrance Day: 11th Hour - 11th Day - 11th Month
[ Canada ] [ 11:48 GMT, Nov. 11, 2005 ]
'Today we think longingly and gratefully of our loved ones serving Canada, at home and overseas -- and of all those who have given their lives in the line of duty." -- PM Paul Martin
It would be hard for today's youth to understand what a huge role the military ethos played in the lives of boys like me growing up in Toronto in the 1950s, when cadet training was mandatory in high school.
2005 is the Year of the Veteran in Canada. To mark it, the National Post and Historica have teamed up to bring readers some of the most compelling stories of Canadian courage and sacrifice. Today's instalment looks at the heroism of Tommy Prince.
On Checking the Pockets of Presidential Contenders
[ Illangai Thamizh Sangam ] [ 13:54 GMT, Nov. 11, 2005 ]
This time, the presidential election campaigning in Sri Lanka has gone American with bells and whistles. The two leading contenders, prime minister Mahinda Rajapakse and the UNP leader Ranil Wickremesinghe, have their own websites in English. This is definitely a step towards attracting funding from Sri Lankan expatriates. Both candidates have even brought out campaign books (typical to the form, probably ghost-written). What has been missing until now, from my point of view at least, was some details about the tax payment record of the candidates themselves. Who said that Sri Lanka is a democracy? If so, it is not even quasi-transparent like the American one, where the presidential contenders have to at least level up with the voters by releasing their tax payment records.
Soldiers "fled from Jayasikurui operation"
[ BBC ] [ 17:09 GMT, Nov. 11, 2005 ]
A former senior Army General has admitted that the Sri Lankan security forces fled away facing defeat in a major operation against separatist Tamil Tigers during late 1990s. Former military spokesman Maj. Gen. Sarath Munasinghe said the soldiers fled the battlefield within three days of the 'Jayasikurui' operation in Mankulam and Oddusudan. "I remember, On Nov. 01, 1999, soldiers have fled the battlefield leaving all their valuable belongings," Munasinghe, currently a leader of the opposition United National Party (UNP), told journalists in Colombo. Addressing a media conference in support of main opposition candidate Ranil Wickramasinghe, Gen. Munasinghe said there was no clear winner from two-decades of civil war.
[ Hindustan Times ] [ 01:44 GMT, Nov. 11, 2005 ]
The LTTE and its parliamentary proxy Tamil National Alliance (TNA) on Thursday said that the Tamils "need not take any interest" in the Sri Lankan presidential election to be held on November 17. The decision to make such a suggestion was taken at a meeting between the LTTE's political leader SP Tamilselvan and the MPs of the TNA in Kilinochchi, the Tamil rebels' headquarters in north Sri Lanka. Asked if this meant that the Tamils would be prevented from voting, TNA MP, R Sampanthan, said that nobody would be prevented from voting in the election. There was no move to curb the peoples' democratic rights, he said. "We hope the Tamil people would not take any interest in the election," Sanmpanthan said.
Rebels 'to allow' Tamils to vote
[ BBC ] [ 01:46 GMT, Nov. 11, 2005 ]
Tamil Tiger rebels in Sri Lanka say they will allow Tamils to vote in the 17 November presidential election. The leader of the largest Tamil group in parliament said the rebels would not interfere with the electoral process. There will be no voting in Tiger areas but polling booths are to be set up just outside rebel-held territory. Observers say the Tamil vote is key in the close-run election. The rebels say Sinhalese leaders let them down in the past and the result is of no interest. R Sampanthan, head of the Tamil National Alliance which has 22 seats in the Sri Lankan parliament, met Tamil Tiger leaders on Thursday. "Tamil people have decided that they have nothing to gain from the presidential election," he said in a statement after the meeting in the rebel-held town of Kilinochchi.
What is the LTTE up to?
[ Tamil Guardian ] [ 01:47 GMT, Nov. 11, 2005 ]
Why, having quietly backed the UNP at previous Parliamentary elections, are the Tigers now uninterested when the most powerful political office in the country is up for grabs? With barely a week to go before Sri Lanka's Presidential elections, there is considerable confusion as to the rationale behind the Liberation Tigers' uninterested stance on the outcome. After all, both leading candidates appear to many to have diametrically opposed stances on the peace process, one for, one against. Premier Mahinda Rajapakse has from the outset of his campaign adopted a stridently Sinhala nationalist line. His pacts with the ultra-nationalist Janatha Vimukthi Perumana (JVP) and the hardline monks' party, the Jathika Hela Urumaya set out his position on the ethnic question with startling clarity.
Appreciation: MR CJT Thamotheram ' A leading light of the Tamil Community
[ TamilCanadian ] [ 10:56 GMT, Nov. 11, 2005 ]
He was a man of phenomenal vision and capability and took on the tasks of building the different pillars that would form an infrastructure for the Tamils in the UK. While teaching at Latymer, he also inaugurated the Association of Commonwealth Teachers (1966); founded the Tamil Times (1977); founded the West London Tamil School (1978); and founded the International Tamil Foundation (1988). We could have thought that Jeyam would rest on his laurels after creating these organisations. But, even in his advancing age and with his failing health, he felt strongly that there existed another void amongst us, which was to represent the Tamil cause with intellectual vigour in the English media. Towards this goal, he was inspired again, in March this year to enlist with his customary tenacity some of us as writers to found the Tamil Writers' Guild of which I am the first President.
IOM helps Ampara youth make a new beginning
[ International Organization for Migration ] [ 11:04 GMT, Nov. 11, 2005 ]
About 200 youth from the eastern Ampara district, which was devastated by last year's tsunami, are making a new beginning with help from the International Organization for Migration (IOM). IOM's vocational training project was launched on Thursday in collaboration with the Agriculture and Industrial Development Foundation (AIDF), a Moneragala-based non-governmental organization. It draws Muslim and Tamil youth from the Akkaraipattu, Alayadivembu and Thirukovil DS divisions. 'This marks the start of a new vocational training activity in the district with a new partner,' says IOM's Livelihood Consultant Nicola Hemmings.
Monitors fear dampened turnout for Sri Lanka poll
[ Reuters ] [ 11:30 GMT, Nov. 11, 2005 ]
Election monitors fear a Sri Lankan court judgement requiring rigorous identity checks for voters could put some off voting in the Nov.17 presidential vote, while stories spread about bids to steal the vote. The Supreme Court ruled on Wednesday that voters did not need an identity card in order to cast their ballots, but officials can question voters deemed suspicious -- a move aimed at avoiding fraud involving people coming to vote from areas held by Tamil Tiger rebels. "Concerns remain that some aspects of the Supreme Court judgement may have the effect of discouraging people from voting or delaying the process," European Union Chief Observer John Cushnahan told reporters on Friday in the northern city of Jaffna. "We will monitor polling day to see if such fears are realised."
Rotary Clubs Use Tsunami Aid Monies to Rebuild Livelihoods in Sri Lanka
[ RC ] [ 11:35 GMT, Nov. 11, 2005 ]
More than 54 Tamil and Sinhalese fisher families in the eastern coastal district of Trincomalee, Sri Lanka, received canoes and nets in a humanitarian mission supported by the Rotary Clubs of Ottawa, West Ottawa, Nepean-Kanata, Ottawa South, South Nepean, Hawkesbury and Colombo Metropolitan (Sri Lanka). Funds were raised by the Rotary clubs for the purchase of 27 canoes, known as 'Rotaboats', and nets for fisher folk in Trincomalee, one of Sri Lanka's poorest districts. The Rotaboats, eleven feet long and made from fiberglass, are ideally suited for lagoon and harbour fishing'the primary method of fishing in the area. Before the tsunami struck, fishing was the basis of the local economy and a chief source of food for the Trincomalee district. Rotarian George Grande, Canada's former High Commissioner to Sri Lanka said, 'this project gets directly to the fisher families with the help of Rotarians in Sri Lanka.'
Remembrance Day: 11th Hour - 11th Day - 11th Month
[ Canada ] [ 11:48 GMT, Nov. 11, 2005 ]
'Today we think longingly and gratefully of our loved ones serving Canada, at home and overseas -- and of all those who have given their lives in the line of duty." -- PM Paul Martin
It would be hard for today's youth to understand what a huge role the military ethos played in the lives of boys like me growing up in Toronto in the 1950s, when cadet training was mandatory in high school.
2005 is the Year of the Veteran in Canada. To mark it, the National Post and Historica have teamed up to bring readers some of the most compelling stories of Canadian courage and sacrifice. Today's instalment looks at the heroism of Tommy Prince.
On Checking the Pockets of Presidential Contenders
[ Illangai Thamizh Sangam ] [ 13:54 GMT, Nov. 11, 2005 ]
This time, the presidential election campaigning in Sri Lanka has gone American with bells and whistles. The two leading contenders, prime minister Mahinda Rajapakse and the UNP leader Ranil Wickremesinghe, have their own websites in English. This is definitely a step towards attracting funding from Sri Lankan expatriates. Both candidates have even brought out campaign books (typical to the form, probably ghost-written). What has been missing until now, from my point of view at least, was some details about the tax payment record of the candidates themselves. Who said that Sri Lanka is a democracy? If so, it is not even quasi-transparent like the American one, where the presidential contenders have to at least level up with the voters by releasing their tax payment records.
Soldiers "fled from Jayasikurui operation"
[ BBC ] [ 17:09 GMT, Nov. 11, 2005 ]
A former senior Army General has admitted that the Sri Lankan security forces fled away facing defeat in a major operation against separatist Tamil Tigers during late 1990s. Former military spokesman Maj. Gen. Sarath Munasinghe said the soldiers fled the battlefield within three days of the 'Jayasikurui' operation in Mankulam and Oddusudan. "I remember, On Nov. 01, 1999, soldiers have fled the battlefield leaving all their valuable belongings," Munasinghe, currently a leader of the opposition United National Party (UNP), told journalists in Colombo. Addressing a media conference in support of main opposition candidate Ranil Wickramasinghe, Gen. Munasinghe said there was no clear winner from two-decades of civil war.