Monday, September 03, 2007

4.500 Zivilisten aus Musali nach Naanaaddaan in Mannaar vertrieben


[TamilNet, 03. September 2007 00:54 GMT]
Mehr als 4.500 Zivilisten sind am Samstag zur Flucht aus der Division Musali im Distrikt Mannaar gezwungen worden, als die srilankische Armee (SLA) ohne direkte Gegenwehr in das Gebiet südlich der Straße Mannaar - Madawachchi einrückte, in dem die Liberation Tigers in einigen Gegenden präsent waren. In den besagten Gebieten unterhielt keine der Kriegsparteien Vorgezogene Verteidigungslinien. Die Schule Naanaaddaan und die Fachschule Don Bosco, wo 327 Flüchtlingsfamilien mit 1.136 Mitgliedern untergekommen sind, wurden von der srilankischen Armee und Polizei umzingelt.
40 muslimische Familien, die von der Armee als menschliche Schutzschilde missbraucht worden sein sollen, haben ebenfalls Zuflucht in der Fachschule gesucht.

Muslime aus Pa'ndaarave'li, Musali und Koo'laangku'lam in der Division Musali beklagten sich, dass die Soldaten sie schikanieren und ihnen vorwerfen würden, die LTTE zu unterstützen. Ihnen wurde erlaubt, die Schule über die Straße Chilaavaththu'rai – Murungkan zu erreichen. In der Schule haben bisher 99 Familien Zuflucht gesucht. Die Polizei erklärte den Vertriebenen, dass sie freikommen würden, wenn die Überprüfungen ihrer Identitäten abgeschlossen seien.

133 Familien mit circa 500 Mitgliedern wurden in der Gegend des Umanakari GS in der Division Naanaaddaan als Vertriebene registriert. 29 Familien mit 129 Mitgliedern haben Eruviddaan erreicht und 16 Familien mit 54 Mitgliedern sind in Puththiraka'ndaan eingetroffen.

Mehr als 4.500 Zivilisten sind aus der Division Musali in öffentliche Gebäude und zu Verwandten in Pontheevukka'ndal, Vaazhkaip-paddaan, Pa'l'lakkamam, Razool Puthuve'li, Vangkaalai, Na'ruvizhik-ku'lam und andere Dörfer in der Division Naanaaddaan geflüchtet.

Die srilankische Regierung hat für die Division Musali indes einen militärischen Sieg verkündet. Die LTTE hat in Gegenden an der Küste kleine Gegenden unter Kontrolle gehabt.

Die Division Musali besteht aus 20 Grama Sevakas und umfasst 474.2 Quadratkilometer.

Den Daten des Divisionssekretariats von 2006 zufolge sind 5.864 Personen, darunter 1.644 Muslims, als Einwohner der Division registriert.

Tuesday, June 26, 2007

ACF hinterfragt srilankische Untersuchungen von Massaker an 17 humanitären Helfern.

[TamilNet, 23. Juni 2007 09:52 GMT]
Action Contre la Faim (ACF) hat am Freitag hinterfragt, ob die srilankischen Ermittlungen zum Massaker an 17 humanitären Helfern der NGO in Moothoor zu einer Verurteilung der Verantwortlichen führen werden. Es seien keine direkten Zeugen zur Aussage gekommen, da das Justizsystem kein Zeugenschutzprogramm habe, sagte ACF. Die NGO erhebt die Anschuldigung, dass die forensischen Ergebnisse nicht mit dem australischen Forensikbericht übereinstimmten, die ballistischen Untersuchungen ohne internationale Beobachtung durchgeführt worden seien und einem ACF-Vertreter die Erlaubnis verweigert worden sei, an den Anhörungen der Untersuchungskommission des srilankischen Präsidenten teilzunehmen.
Am 5. August brachte TamilNet die Meldung des Massakers durch srilankische Armeesoldaten, die nach Moothoor vorgedrungen waren. Ein muslimischer und 16 tamilische humanitäre Helfer, die in ihrem Büro in Moothoor gefangen waren, wurden von den Soldaten aus nächster Nähe erschossen.

Die Internationale unabhängige Gruppe angesehener Personen (IIGEP), die die Aufgabe hat, die Ermittlungen der Untersuchungskommission, die auch das Massaker in Moothor umfassen, zu beobachten, hat ebenfalls die Effektivität der Kommission in Frage gestellt.

Die 1979 in Frankreich gegründete ACF hat seit 1997 humanitäre Projekte in Sri Lanka betrieben.

Der vollständige Text der Presseerklärung von ACF ist wie folgt:

Das Muthur-Massaker: ACF stellt Fakten in Frage

Colombo, den 22. Juni 2007. zehn Monate nach dem beispiellosen Massaker an 17 humanitären Helfern von ACF in Muthur stellt Action Against Hunger (ACF) in Frage, ob die Ermittlungen zu einer Verurteilung der Verantwortlichen führen werden:

- am 6. Juni fand eine Anhörung bei Magistratsgericht Kantale (im Osten Sri Lankas) hinsichtlich des beispiellosen Massakers an 17 humanitären Helfern von ACF statt.

Nach dem Gesuch der ermittlungsleitenden Kriminalpolizei (CID), weitere Anhörungen auszusetzen, hat der Magistrat entschieden, dass die Anhörungen nicht mehr monatlich, sonder alle drei Monate stattfinden werden. Diese Anhörungen erlauben dem Magistrat, den Fortgang der Ermittlungen zu verfolgen und zu unterstützen, und sind für den Prozess daher entscheidend.

- Zur gleichen Zeit hält die präsidiale Untersuchungskommission (CoI) unter Ausschluss der Öffentlichkeit Anhörungen hinsichtlich der Ermordung der ACF-Mitarbeiter ab. Diese Anhörungen finden im Kontext der Ermittlungsphase der CoI-Verfahrens statt und sind daher nicht öffentlich. Bedauerlicherweise wurden einem ACF-Vertreter die Genehmigung verweigert, an diesen Anhörungen als Beobachter teilzunehmen. ACF hat die Absicht, den Prozess zu verfolgen, als die Genehmigung letztlich erteilt wird.

- Während der zweiten Autopsie (letzten Oktober) wurden einige Gegenstände gefunden, und die Ergebnisse der Untersuchungen srilankischer Experten stimmen nicht mit denen überein, die in dem australischen Forensikbericht zum Ausdruck kommen. Die ballistischen Untersuchungen wurde danach ohne internationale Beobachtung durchgeführt. Die Teilnahme eines internationalen Beobachters in dieser ballistischen Untersuchung hätte an diesem spezifischen Punkt Klarheit ermöglicht.

- Obwohl die Morde in einem Ort mit mehreren tausend Einwohnern stattfand, ist während der jetzigen Stufe der Ermittlungen kein direkter Zeuge zur Aussage vorstellig geworden. Das Fehlen eines Zeugenschutzprogramms im Justizsystem Sri Lankas verhindert die Möglichkeit solcher Aussagen.

- Die Internationale unabhängige Gruppe angesehener Personen, die die Aufgabe hat, die Ermittlungen und den Untersuchungsprozess der Untersuchungskommission hinsichtlich 16 mutmaßlicher schwerer Menschenrechtsverletzungen zu beobachten und hinsichtlich der Respektierung internationaler Standards zu bewerten, hat diese Woche eine Erklärung abgegeben, in der die Effektivität der Kommission in Frage gestellt wird.

Das Muthur-Massaker: eine bedeutungsvolle Tragödie

Über die menschlichen Tragödie hinaus ist das Massaker in Muthur repräsentativ für die Lage in Sri Lanka: Die Zivilbevölkerung und humanitären Helfer sind die ersten Opfer dieses Konfliktes. Die jüngsten Morde an zwei Mitarbeitern des Roten Kreuzes ermahnen uns daran.

„Als humanitäre Helfer müssen wir an diejenigen erinnern, die in den Konflikt involviert sind, die Prinzipien, auf denen sich unsere Aktion gründet: Parteilosigkeit, Neutralität und Unabhängigkeit. Heute möchte ich aufrichtig, dass die Täter und diejenigen, die für dieses unglaubliche Massaker verantwortlich sind – wer immer es sein mag und wo immer sie sind – ausfindig gemacht werden. Straflosigkeit würde unsere Empörung nur noch vergrößern“, schloss Francois Danel, Generaldirektor der ACF, während seines Vortrages im Europäischen Parlament vom 5. Juni.
http://www.tamilnet.com/

Thursday, November 02, 2006

'State terrorism' -BBC.

The Sri Lankan air force has bombed targets in Tamil Tiger-held areas in the north and north-west for a second day, military and rebel officials say.
The rebels say that five civilians were killed in the town of Kilinochchi.
But the army says the planes were attacking two military targets viewed as "threats to national security".
The air raids are the first since weekend peace talks broke down on the issue of the main road linking Jaffna with the rest of the country.
Both sides accuse each other of restarting the fighting.
The Tamil Tigers say that four bombs landed near a hospital about 3km (two miles) from the rebels' political offices in Kilinochchi, destroying a house and killing its five civilian occupants.
'State terrorism'
"The house was smashed. A mother, a father, two children and a grandmother were all killed," Tiger military spokesman Rasiah Ilanthiraiyan told the Associated Press news agency from Kilinochchi.

"Fragments flew as far as a hospital 500 metres away and smashed windows. Patients fled - one woman was in labour and you could see her trail of blood as far as the road.
"This is state terrorism."
But the military insists it was attacking legitimate targets.
"We have taken two targets. One is a Sea Tiger base in Mannar [in the north-west], and the other is a military training camp 10km south-east of Kilinochchi," said military spokesman Brigadier Prasad Samarasinghe.
The air raids came as the two sides continued artillery exchanges in the north and east for a fourth day.

On Wednesday jets pounded the restive eastern district of Batticaloa.
"The situation is discouraging and the talks in Geneva did not have any positive impact on the ground situation," Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission spokeswoman Helen Olafsdottir told AP.
The violence has claimed more than 3,000 lives since the end of last year, the government says, although the rebels dispute the number of their fighters killed.
Despite the bloodshed, both sides maintain that they are committed to a 2002 ceasefire which now exists only in name.
At least 65,000 people have been killed since the rebels began their fight more than 20 years ago for a homeland for minority Tamils in the north and east.
The rebels say Tamils have been discriminated against by the island's majority Sinhalese community.
-bbc

Saturday, October 14, 2006

Low-caste Hindus adopt new faith

Thousands of people have been attending mass ceremonies in India at which hundreds of low-caste Hindus (Dalits) converted to Buddhism and Christianity.
The events in the central city of Nagpur are part of a protest against the injustices of India's caste system.
By converting, Dalits - once known as Untouchables - can escape the prejudice and discrimination they normally face.
The ceremonies mark the 50th anniversary of the adoption of Buddhism by the scholar Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar.
He was the first prominent Dalit to urge low-caste Indians to embrace Buddhism.
As the chief architect of India's constitution, he wrote anti-discrimination provisions and quota systems into the country's law.
But four-fifths of India's Dalits live in often isolated rural areas, and traditional prejudice has persisted in spite of official laws.
'Cry for dignity'
The Dalits arrived by the truckload at a public park in Nagpur for ceremonies, which began with religious leaders giving fiery speeches against the treatment of lower castes.
Reuters reported that dozens of riot policemen had turned out at the sprawling park.
Udit Raj, a Dalit leader, told the BBC that around 2,500 people converted to Christianity and Buddhism.

Joseph D'Souza, the president of the Dalit Freedom Network and a Christian convert, described the conversions as a "celebratory occasion".
"I think it's important to understand that this is a cry for human dignity, it's a cry for human worth," he told the BBC.
He said that Dalits could seek dignity by converting to Christianity, Jainism or Sikhism as well as Buddhism.
Buddhist convert Dhammachari Manidhamma told the BBC that social equality was impossible within Hinduism.
"Buddha's teaching was for the humanity, and Buddha believed in equality.
"And Hindu religion, Hindu teaching is nothing but inequality.
Laws against conversion
Similar mass conversions are taking place this month in many other parts of India.
Several states governed by the Hindu nationalist party, the BJP, have introduced laws to make such conversions more difficult.

The states of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Tamil Nadu have all passed laws restricting conversions.
Gujarat has reclassified Buddhism and Jainism as branches of the Hindu religion, in an attempt to prevent conversions away from Hinduism eroding the BJP's bedrock support.
Hinduism teaches that most humans were created from parts of the body of the divinity Purusha.
According to which body parts they were created from, humans fall into four basic castes which define their social standing, who they can marry, and what jobs they can do.
But Dalits fall outside this system and are traditionally prevented from doing all but the most menial jobs or even drinking from the same water sources as other castes.
Thanks:-B.B.C

Monday, September 18, 2006

Muslim protestors stone STF over Pottuvil massacre

Special Task Force (STF) personnel and Policemen who were deployed in Pottuvil fired several shots into the air to disperse the angry Muslim protestors who stoned STF and Police vehicles around 11:30 a.m. Monday following the massacre of 10 Muslim youths. All the slain Muslims were youths below 25 years. Two of the victims are 15-year-old boys. The bodies of the victims were taken to Periya Pallivasal Mosque in Pottuvil. Tension had re-surfaced in the area, a few days ago, when the dead body of a Sinhala person was brought to burial inside a Muslim cemetery, according to the sources at the Mosque.
The victims were identified as M. Anurdeen, 15, M. Nafar, 15, M. Samsudeen, 18, A.M. Faizal, 19, L. Anees, 19, M. Jauffer, 20, and S. L. Rizard from Pottuvil and A. M. Ajmeer, 18, M. Fairooz, 19 and M. I. Shiyam, 20, from Akkaraipattu.

The wounded Muslim civilian, admitted to Amparai Hospital was identified as M. Meeramuhaideen, 55.

Rattal Kulam, located 9 km southwest of Pottuvil, is located in Lahugala division, a predominant Sinhala division, which was carved out of Pottuvil, a Muslim dominated division.

Earlier, in 2005, a move by Sinhala ultranationalists to install Buddha statue in Muslim post-Tsunami resettlement was opposed by the local Muslim residents.

A training base of the Sri Lankan elite counter-insurgency Special Task Force (STF) at Sasthiraveli is located in the area.

The STF has been blamed the last phase of the war in the late nineties for a large number of disappearances in Amparai district. During the eighties it was blamed for several massacres in Batticaloa district also.

In the past the Tigers were also blamed for targeting Muslim homeguards who were supporting the Sri Lankan forces’ counter-insrugency efforts. The Tigers were also blamed for reprisal massacres against Muslims after Home Guards massacred Tamil villagers.

Previous articles:
18.09.06 Tigers blame Sri Lanka for Pottuvil killings
18.09.06 10 Muslims massacred, one wounded, one missing in ..

Follow-ups:
18.09.06 Muslims want STF out of Pottuvil

Related articles:
12.04.05 Sinhala nationalists urge crack down on Muslim groups




Reproduction of this news item is allowed when used without
any alterations to the contents and the source, TamilNet, is mentioned

Saturday, September 09, 2006


CALGARY -- This week's arrest of six Canadians of Tamil origin on terrorism charges reminds me of Sir Peter Ustinov's brilliant maxim: "Terrorism is the war of the poor, and war is the terrorism of the rich." In an apparent rush to U.S. President George Bush's ideology and policies, the Harper government recently added Sri Lanka's Tamil Tigers guerillas to its terrorism list. The U.S. added the group last year. In 1983, civil war erupted in Sri Lanka after decades of growing strife between majority Sinhalese Buddhists and minority Hindu Tamils. Tamil Tigers guerillas have waged a ferocious, bloody struggle against the Sinhalese government for an independent Tamil state. Over 65,000 Sri Lankans have died. The war continues in spite of foreign mediation.

Sri Lanka's Sinhalese control the army, navy and air force. The Tigers have only small arms, in large part purchased with money raised by Canada's 250,000 Tamils.

Canada's Irish did the same for the IRA. Canadian Jews raised funds to buy arms for Israel's independence struggle from Britain. Sikh separatists in Punjab were funded by Canadian Sikhs.

The Tigers are courageous, highly effective fighters -- call them the Hezbollah of South Asia. They used their bodies as human bombs to fight first the government army, then India when it invaded Sri Lanka in the 1980s in an effort to annex the island. A female Tiger blew up Indian PM Rajiv Gandhi in 1991.

The Tigers are exceedingly brutal and often murderous. They are a fanatical, highly dangerous totalitarian organization. But they are not "terrorists," as the U.S. and now Canada claim.

Terrorism is generally defined as "attacks on civilians for political purposes." Mad dogs who blow up airliners, trains and schools are terrorists, no question. But under this definition, then what do we call the Allied mass slaughter of civilians in Dresden, Hamburg, Tokyo, Osaka, Nagasaki and Hiroshima?

Or Russia's massacre of 100,000 Muslim Chechens a decade ago; Israel's 1982 bombardment of Beirut that killed 18,000 civilians; U.S. destruction in 1991 of Iraq's water treatment plants, creating an epidemic that killed hundreds of thousands of children?

What about the indiscriminate bombing of Afghan villages by U.S., Canadian and NATO forces? Or the recent killing of over 1,000 Lebanese and Israeli civilians, denounced by Amnesty International as a war crime?

Those accusing others of terrorism are often far more guilty of it themselves.

Tamil Tigers ably govern a third of Sri Lanka. Dismissing them as "terrorists" is as meaningless and misleading as calling Hezbollah, which is Lebanon's only effective, non-corrupt government, "terrorist thugs."

Enough with propaganda labels. I detest this deceitful, poisonous term, "terrorism," which has become a propaganda weapon to demonize political opponents.

Canada has recently made itself an enemy of the Muslim world and now faces attacks on its citizens and business interests abroad. This is not a good time to kick the Tamil Tigers hornet's nest. Sometimes it's better to avert your gaze, as previous Canadian governments did, and not seek trouble -- particularly when the Tigers have committed no hostile acts against Canada or the U.S.

Terrorism is a tactic, not a thing. Tamil Tigers are fighting for independence after decades of oppression. We westerners have forgotten that armed resistance to intolerable oppression is a legitimate right of all peoples.

One really must ask why Ottawa is sticking its nose into another remote, bloody foreign war and creating new security problems for Canadians when it can't provide even Second World health care to its own people.

margolis@foreigncorrespondent.com
Note This Points too....
It is highly saddening to read some misinformation campaign against our website. On several occasions its have also accused Nitarsanam.comof being operated by the LTTE. Its is completely untrue. We note that LTTE's official media network bears the name of "Nidharsanam" which may have caused confusion to you. NiTharsanam and NiDharsanam are two different organisations, two different Logo, two different Banners, two different Meaning, operated by two different groups of people for two completely different purposes. NiTharsanam.com's one and only mission are to provide honest and reliable information to the Tamil people at a pace suitable for the information era.

Thursday, August 31, 2006

ACF Notes Initial Report on Sri Lankan Massacre, Awaits Official Investigation

International cease-fire monitors, the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM), made a declaration earlier today about the slaughter of the 17 Action Against Hunger (ACF) staff in Muthur, northeast Sri Lanka, in early August.

In its statement to the secretary of the Sri Lankan government, the SLMM clearly denounced the Sri Lankan special forces with the responsibility for the executions.

ACF has taken note of this initial declaration by the SLMM.

ACF reaffirms its desire that all evidence is brought to light about the circumstances surrounding the slaughter of its aid workers in Muttur. To this end, the findings of independent groups like the SLMM and the Group of Tokyo (USA, EU, Japan, Norway) can contribute to the government’s official investigation currently underway.

ACF has reduced its humanitarian activities in Sri Lanka, but the organization is still present in the field to assist the people displaced by the conflict.

Press Conference, Wednesday, September 6th:

Press Conference, Wednesday, September 6th: ACF will organize a press conference about the situation in Sri Lanka, the first results of the investigation and its intentions concerning its operations in the country. This press conference will take place in the headquarters of the organization on Wednesday September 6th at 11h00.






http://www.actionagainsthunger.org/news/press/release_aug30_06.html