The Tamil Youth Organisation – Canada has expressed its gratitude to the Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird, for rejecting Sri Lanka’s proscription of several diaspora groups, including TYO.

A statement released by the organisation praised the Canadian government for confirming that the ban has no legal effect in Canada, and that the government showed “genuine concern for the wellbeing of its citizens”.

“The proscription of entities and individuals that continuously showcase their determination for the liberation of the Tamil homeland has always been a tactic used by the Government of Sri Lanka. Exploiting the legal system in order to deny the Tamil people basic human rights is a method the Sri Lankan government used consistently throughout history,” the statement further said.

The Uthayan newspaper marked the 8th anniversary of a deadly attack on its premises, which left two people dead.

Army-backed paramilitaries attacked the offices of the paper on the 2nd of May, 2006, with subsequent protests against the violence bringing Jaffna to a standstill.

TNA MP Maavai Senathirajah, Northern Provincial Councillors P. Kajatheepan and E.Arnold, Valikamam North Regional Council chairman S.Sukirthan, Nalloor cooperative leader P.Kanakasabaabathi and Uthayan employees attended the event in the offices of the paper.

See below for extracts of Tamil Guardian’s coverage of the event in 2006.

A gang of five men armed with automatic rifles entered the Uthayan office and began firing. Marketing manager Bastian George Sagayathas, 36, also known as Suresh, was the first killed.

The gunmen then moved to the circulation section and, while firing, ordered workers to lie down and not to raise their heads. S. Uthayakumar, 48, was injured during the shooting.

Circulation supervisor S. Ranjith, 25, was killed when he raised his head to see what was happening to Uthayakumar. He was held down and shot dead.

The leader of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhakam, M Karunanidhi has condemned India’s decision to comply with Sri Lanka’s proscription of Tamil diaspora groups and the deportation of a Tamil man on the list, alongside his family, The Times of India reported.

The Sri Lankan army has rejected accusations by a senior BJP leader in India that Sri Lanka trained Pakistani-backed terrorists, who are targeting India, reported PTI.

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has included the editor of the Tamil daily Uthayan in its list of “100 Information Heroes”.

The first such list, created by RSF to mark World Press Freedom Day, included a hundred journalists from around the world, for helping to promote the freedom “to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers”, RSF said.

Mr MV Kaanamylnathan had 50 years of “tough experience in journalism”, the rights organisation said, adding that dozens of Uthayan journalists were killed in the armed conflict in Sri Lanka.

“Five years after the official end of the conflict, Kaanamylnathan, who himself escaped an attack in 2001, and his newspaper are still making waves. Last year, a series of articles on land seizures by the Sri Lankan army was followed by a brutal attack on the paper’s offices by six masked men.” RSF said.

China's loans to Sri Lanka over the past four years total over $3,836 million, reported The Sunday Leader.

The loans are repayable over a 14 to 20 year period, at interest rates ranging from 1.53% to 6.5%, much higher than usual rates for infrastructure loans from the World Bank or the Asian Development Bank.

Most of the loans had conditions, requiring Sri Lanka to buy everything, from raw materials to machinery, from China, and to give the contracts, and sometimes even sub-contract, to firms from China, the paper said. China’s current 42 projects employ more than 1,700 Chinese workers.

China has financed key development programmes, including road construction, port development, power supply, water supply, irrigation and other infrastructure developments, and the equipment and machinery necessary for the projects.

For example, the new 25.6 km (16 mile) airport highway was built with a loan of $248.2 million from Exim Bank of China, with China Metallurgical Group Corporation as the contractor, according to Reuters,

One of the largest projects was the port in President Mahinda Rajapaksa's hometown of Hambantota, which was built with a loan of $1.3 bn from China's Exim Bank at an "exorbitant 6.3% interest", the Ceylon Today reported last November.

The paper added:

"Jobs opportunities should be given to those who are unemployed, as well as guaranteeing employment appropriate to university qualifications.

Land belonging to Tamils and Muslims in the Northern and Eastern provinces, including temples, schools, public buildings, properties, should be freed from the military's possession.