June 15-21: "Courage is grace under pressure." - Ernest Hemingway (1899-1961) American Journalist, writer, novelist
by Manjula Selvarajah
The non-profit “World Tamil Movement” is the first ever domestic group to be targeted by Canada's Minister of Safety. The Tamil community is shaken, but it is the general populace who should take notice. [NP]
India a blundering necessity in Sri Lanka
Most recently, our Foreign Minister who was in India to formally invite the Indian PM Dr. Singh for the SAARC Summit, was reported to have told the Indian media that India should not interfere in Sri Lankan issues. India has been involved in Sri Lankan issues, very many times in the past too, beginning with the citizenship issue of Indian origin Tamil people resident here. The Northern Tamil issue came in lately. [TC]
Objections to the Assistance and Protection to Victims of Crime and Witnesses Bill
by Dulani Kulasinghe
Sri Lanka’s criminal justice system suffers from a dearth of successful prosecutions. One reason often cited for this is the failure of witnesses to come forward to give evidence, in particular when the State has been implicated in the crime. Also cited is witnesses’ withdrawal from the legal process after commencement of trial due to threats and intimidation coupled with interminably delayed trial processes. [FI]
by Lal Wijenayake
The All Parties Representative Committee (ARPC) recommendation regarding the full implementation of the Provincial Council system, that was introduced through the 13th amendment to the constitution in 1987 as the solution to the ethnic problem has to be considered in depth. Otherwise all studies done and efforts made after 1987 to find a solution to the ethnic problem and advances made towards that will be of no avail and we will be pushed back to square one. [FI]
Preserve the Core and Stimulate Progress
by Arvalan
The book offers some invaluable insights into the current impasse in the negotiations between the Tamil and the Sinhalese Nations. These insights, if used effectively, may drive the parties concerned to an amicable settlement to bring prosperity to the people of the island. [FI]
by Commission for Justice and Peace
The President of the Union of the Jaffna District Fisheries has made an urgent appeal to the Non Govt. Organisations functioning in the district to provide relief for the 2,800 fishing families from Gurunagar, Passayoor and Columbuthurai who are facing death from starvation due to ban on fishing consequent to the attack in the lagoon on 28th May. Most of the families which were existing on a hand to mouth existence had been badly hit and as such they require urgent relief in the form of dry food rations. [TC]
INSI: Ensure Safety of Regional Representative, Frederica Jansz
An unidentified person phoned Ms Jansz at 1130 on 14 June and, speaking in Sinhalese, said she was involved in a lot of unnecessary work and must cease immediately or in a very short period of time see what would happen to her. When asked to be more specific about the so-called unnecessary work, the caller responded that she knew what it was and then repeated the threat before hanging up. [TC]
BBC Video: Policemen die in Sri Lanka Attack
Last TULF Leader Standing: Sangaree at Seventy Five
by D.B.S. Jeyaraj
Eighteen Members were elected to Parliament from the Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF) in 1977 .This was an election of historic importance where the TULF contested on a separatist platform saying a victory at the polls was a mandate for Tamil Eelam.
Three decades and more have passed since then. Thirteen of the eighteen MP’s elected in 1977 are not among the living now. [TC]
Minister Rambukwella threatens Principal of Royal College
Principal forced to withdraw suspension on Minister’s son after robbery in school
The Principal of Royal College Upali Gunasekera was last week forced under threat and pressure to revoke an order instituting disciplinary action against the son of Minister Keheliya Rambukwella for committing robbery and mischief in the school premises. [TC]
Caller from +94 11 2424617 threatens journalist
Statement by Free Media Movement
The Free Media Movement (FMM) is deeply alarmed that another well-known journalist received a death threat this morning from an unknown caller. Former deputy Editor of the Sunday Leader, Editor of monthly magazine Montage and leading investigative journalist and South Asia co-coordinator of International News Safety Institute (INSI) Frederica Jansz received the death threat at approximately 11.30am. [TC]
Tissainayagam: Enough is enough, free him or charge him
By Ameen Izzadeen
As the sun's first rays at 5.55 a.m. today gently stroked this blessed land troubled by three decades of war, wiping out darkness and assuring a better tomorrow, senior journalist Tissainayagam wakes up to the horrible reality that he has spent 100 days in detention in a cell at the Terrorism Investigations Department. [TC]
by Dayan Jayatilleka
Sri Lanka has a bizarre intelligentsia. Some don’t really mind the LTTE. Others do but that’s because they also mind any Tamil who speaks his or her mind. Still others mind the LTTE but think that they aren’t the country’s main problem. There are very few whose threat perception of the LTTE is of the correct dimensions, but are also sensitive to the need for a more enlightened consciousness and drastically improved inter-ethnic relations. [TC]
Sri Lankan envoy raises concerns over the British monarchy
Sri Lanka’s envoy to the United Nations Human Rights Council raised concerns over Britain’s monarchy, leading to the HRC stating in its report that the UK must “consider holding a referendum on the desirability or otherwise of a written constitution, preferably republican” according to to British press reports Saturday. [TW]
All Lands Home
J.K. Rowling, author of the best-selling Harry Potter book series, delivers her Commencement Address. “The Fringe Benefits of Failure, and the Importance of Imagination,” at the Annual Meeting of the Harvard Alumni Association. [Video & Full Text: Harvard Mag]
Top US TV journalist Russert dies
Mr Russert, 58, was the Washington Bureau Chief for US network NBC, and was known for his tough interviews on the weekly "Meet the Press" programme.
Before entering journalism, he worked for senior Democratic politicians Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan and Mario Cuomo. [BBC]
Che standing tall in native Argentina
Monument dedication on 80th anniversary of revolutionary's birth reflects national shift
Che Guevara has finally come home—or at least a 10-foot-high bronze version has.
Home isn't Cuba, where the bearded revolutionary was buried after helping lead a violent uprising that made him an icon around the world.
Home is the Argentine port city of Rosario, where Ernesto Guevara was born to prosperous parents 80 years ago June 14. [Chicago Tribune]
Edward N. Lorenz, a Meteorologist and a Father of Chaos Theory, Dies at 90
Edward N. Lorenz, a meteorologist who tried to predict the weather with computers but instead gave rise to the modern field of chaos theory, died Wednesday at his home in Cambridge, Mass. He was 90. [NY Times]
Arts - Culture- Heritage
by Pushpa Iyengar
To ensure that no more legal hurdles hit his Rs 60 crore Dasavatharam, which releases on June 13, Producer Ravichandran has filed a caveat before the Supreme Court. By filing the caveat, the producer has ensured that the International Sri Vaishnava Dharma Samrakshana Society and Kalyana Suba Society, whose PILs were rejected last week by the Madras High Court, don't approach the Apex Court in appeal. [TW]
Kamal Hassan's magnus opus wins heady praise
While Kamal Haasan fans wait for the release of Dasavatharam, billed as his magnum opus, many celebrities from the tinsel world have already had a chance to watch the film. [TW]