In the second part of the 'Unrestricted' series, a discussion forum by the Tamil Students Initiative (TSI) aimed at stimulating dialogue within the Tamil community on subjects often considered taboo, students across London gathered together to discuss caste and religion. Following on from the success of the first session on sexuality and gender identity, the event, hosted by Imperial Tamil Society, began this time with guest speaker Sinthujan Varatharajah who recapped the long and uncomfortable history of the caste system within the Tamil community , including its origins and cultural impacts...
The pass-system, which requires Tamil fisher folk to obtain permission from the military before setting out to sea, has now been re-introduced in Mannar, after being restarted in Jaffna earlier this month, reported Uthayan . The Mannar district fishermen’s union leader M N Aalam complained that fishermen are facing hardship because of the system. The Mannar Fishing Department said the pass system caused difficulties in the past and re-introducing this is going to cause more difficulties. War-period pass system reintroduced for Tamil fishermen (03 April 2014)
A protest was held against the Sri Lankan Navy in Oluvil, Amparai on Thursday, reported Virakesari . Protestors called for the arrest of a member of the navy, who is said to have broken into a household and threatened women, after which he was captured by civilians. Other members of the navy subsequently interfered and sheltered the sailor from the civilians at their camp. Villagers condemned the navy’s actions and called on the police to arrest the person involved in the incident. Akkaraiapattu police later said that a member of the navy had been arrested and investigations were underway.
Police arrested two students on Friday, accusing them over being involved over posters that went up near Jaffna Hindu College, reading 'Tamil Eelam will blossom', reports Uthayan . Manmatharasa Venuganthan, 24 year old man from Inuvil was arrested a day after, 24 year old Jeyathasan Kajanan was detained. The posters were removed, said police during a weekly press briefing. The arrests come amidst a series of widespread arrests made by the police and anti-terror officers over recent weeks citing 'LTTE' links and activity. At the briefing, the police spokesperson said over 200 had been arrested...
CID officers detained a 64 year old woman in Kilinochchi today, reported Uthayan . The detained woman, Pathmaavathy, has been taken to Vavuniya, however no further details are available. Recent weeks have seen widespread arrests of Tamils in the North-East by the Sri Lankan military, and anti-terror officers, over alleged 'LTTE links'.
The recent attack on Tamil journalist Sivagnanam Selvatheepan has been condemned by Reporters Without Borders in a statement on its website. “Reporters Without Borders joins its partner organization, Journalists for Democracy in Sri Lanka (JDS), in condemning an attack on Sivagnanam Selvatheepan, a journalist who freelances for Tamil media, near the northern city of Jaffna on the night of 14 April.” RSF said.
A spokesperson for the Sri Lankan Army has told media that reconciliation cannot take place overnight, in response to a question by a journalist regarding US Assistant Secretary of State Nisha Biswal’s statement earlier this week. “Reconciliation is a political matter. We have created an environment for reconciliation to take place. Reconciliation cannot take place overnight. Of around 12,000 terrorists who were in rehabilitation only about 60 remain. Most of the rehabilitated persons have been reintegrated to society. We are pleased to say that during operations conducted over the recent past, we only arrested three of the 12,000 who had fallen back into their past ways. That clearly indicates that the rehabilitation process is a success,” Brigadier Ruwan Wanigasooriya said at a press conference.
The Sri Lankan high commissioner in New Delhi, Prasad Kariyawasam, has been appointed as the new ambassador to the United States reports , Colombo Page . The diplomat previously served as the permanent representative of Sri Lanka to the United Nations in New York from 1995-1998. The movement in personnel from India to the US comes after India allied with Sri Lanka at the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) in opposing the need for an international investigation into Sri Lanka’s atrocities, which was called for in a resolution strongly supported by the US. India labels resolution...
The External Affairs Ministry and the Defence Ministry will hold a briefing for the diplomatic community in Colombo, on what the government claims are recent attempts to revive the LTTE, the Daily Mirror reported. A series of inquiries regarding the recent ban of diaspora organisations and government claims of LTTE activity have been made by some countries, the paper said. External Affairs Minister GL Peiris will brief the ambassadors and diplomats next Thursday. Sri Lanka gov't to brief international community on attempted Tamil Tiger revival - Xinhua (18 Apr 2014)