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TAMIL NADU  : 23-03-2005

- Verdict on Cauvery expected before year end: Minister [TIS]

The final verdict of the Cauvery River Water Disputes Tribunal is expected before the end of this year, according to Union Water Resources Minister P R Dashmunshi. He also said the dispute would be solved amicably by holding discussions with Tamil Nadu and Karnataka.

- Panel finishes probing Veerappan death [TIS]

A Tamil Nadu government inquiry into the killing of forest brigand Veerappan in 2004 has completed its investigations. The revenue divisional officer of Dharmapuri district was asked to probe the killing of forest brigand Veerappan and three of his associates Oct 18 following allegations that he was killed in cold blood. The Special Task Force that shot him dead insists that Veerappan was killed in a gun battle. Local villagers, his family and civil rights groups have alleged that he was trapped and tortured before being killed in confinement.

TAMIL PROTECTION  : 23-03-2005

- Karunanidhi flags off Tamil Protection rally [TIS]

DMK President M Karunanidhi today said all Indian languages should be "protected and treated equally" which would help in uniting the country.

"There are many languages in the country, which shows the diversity of India. Once all languages are treated equally, then the country's unity would also be strengthened", he said while flagging off a rally of the Tamil Protection Movement led by PMK founder Ramadoss at suburban Poonthamalee.

The movement, floated among others by PMK and Dalit Panthers of India, is aimed at making people in the state use Tamil in all walks of life.

Karunanidhi said it was not enough to merely declare Tamil as a classical language. Tamil should also be declared as an administrative language of the country.

When some Tamil words were coined for English words, many people ridiculed this. However, after some years, the critics have started using these Tamil words, he said.

The rally, mainly organised by the PMK, after passing through various parts of the state, would culminate at Tiruchirapalli on Mar 26, where a meeting has been scheduled.

The movement has particularly expressed its displeasure over English titles being given to Tamil films. In fact, the movement leaders had threatened to stop some of the films being screened, but the state government had said stringent action would be taken if in the name of Tamil, violence was resorted to. [RELATED TIS EXCLUSIVES]

- Vehicle Rally : Full Coverage - In Tamil [Thenseide]

TAMIL EELAM  : 23-03-2005

- Amnesty International meets with LTTE political team in Geneva [LTTEPS]

Referring to her earlier visit to Kilinochchi, Ms. Ingrid Massage Expressed keen interest to assess the situation in the post-tsunami scenario. Mr.Tamilselvan briefed her on the conditions prevailing in the tsunami affected NorthEast coast, especially the denial of access to homes of people displaced from the Jaffna peninsula due to war. “Had these people been allowed to resettle in their villages in accordance with the provisions of the Cease Fire Agreement CFA), many deaths could have been avoided, for they were compelled to live in temporary shelters along the sea coast due to the High Security Zone (HSZ) constraints in their own villages that are occupied by the military, to make a living and thus became victims of tsuna! mi” said Mr.Tamilselvan.

TAMIL EXCAVATION  : 23-03-2005

- Submerged 9th century Tamil temple to be relocated [TH]

The Gopalaswamy temple was built in a symmetrical fashion with verandahs on both sides. To its right and left were yagasalas and kitchen, both in ruins. There was also a second Madhawara (main entrance) with verandahs on both sides, leading to the inner enclosure. It had altogether 46 constituent shrines -- 17 each on the Southern and Northern sides and 12 on the Western side, according to the Mysore Gazette.

TAMIL HUMAN RIGHTS  : 23-03-2005

- Dalits protest `denial of entry' into temple [TIS]

At least 100 Dalits of Therkutheru in Madurai district staged a demonstration in front of the Collectorate here today, protesting the "denial of entry" into a local temple.

The agitators, including women, marched a 20-km distance from Therkutheru to Madurai, raising slogans against the "discrimination" and demanded action against the Melur Deputy Superintendent of Police and the Tahsildar under the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989.

They threatened to surrender their ration cards to the revenue officials if immediate steps were not taken to allow Dalits into the Mandhaiveeran Temple at Therkutheru.

According to the Da! lit Panthers Iyakkam district organiser, K. Kalaivanan, the Dalits have been enjoying all rights in the temple for several decades. In September 2003, a section of the caste Hindus obtained an injunction from a Melur court restraining the Dalits from entering the temple. However, the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court on March 15, 2005 ordered an interim stay of the order.

"Even after the High Court stayed the injunction order, the caste Hindus are refusing to allow the Dalits into the temple. The local police and revenue officials are refusing to implement the court order. The DSP and the Tahsildar are supporting them (the caste Hindus)," he said.

Since the Collector and the District Revenue Officer were not available at the Collectorate in the evening, the Dalit representatives met the Personal Assistant (General) to the Collector and submitted a memorandum.

They sought adequate protection stating that the Dalits would enter the temple tomorrow and! also take part in the fire walk event on Friday.

The district police have enhanced security in the caste-sensitive Melur taluk in view of the Mandhaiveeran Temple festival on March 25.

Striking Force personnel are positioned at vantage points en route as a precautionary measure. Police pickets have been posted at Therkutheru.

- 70 Tamil children in Kerala juvenile home [MANITHAM]

As many as 70 children belonging to Villupuram and Cuddalore districts were rescued from Kerala and kept in a juvenile home in Calicut, Special Government Pleader K Mahendran told the Madras High Court on Tuesday.

Mahendran told this to a Division Bench comprising Justice M Karpagavinayagam and Justice C Nagappan when arguments on a public interest writ petition from K Ramakrishnan of Coimbatore resumed on Tuesday.

The petition prayed for a direction to the authorities concerned to verify the veracity of a news report in a vernacular daily alleging that hundreds of children in Salem district had been sold in Kerala and to initiate appropriate action if the report was true.

In his counter-affidavit, Salem district Superintendent of Police Pon Manickavel submitted ! that there were no such incidents in Salem district.

However, Mahendran and Additional Public Prosecutor E Raja told the Bench that they had received a message today stating that 198 children were rescued from Kerala and that they were kept in a juvenile home there. Of them, 70 children belonged to Villupuram and Cuddalore districts.

Disposing of the writ petition, the Bench directed the Collectors of the two districts to take steps to bring back the 70 children. It also directed the Salem SP to hand over the investigation to the police officers concerned.

CANADA TAMILS : 23-03-2005

- Press Release : Gun Battle in Theevuchenai - The Cat Is Now Out Of The Bag [TCWA]

On February 7, 2005, LTTE Political Head for Batticaloa and Amparai districts E.Kousalyan, TNA former parliamentarian A. Chandra Nehru and four others were shot and killed by unidentified assailants at Pilaiyarady between Welikanda army camp and Punnanai. The scene of the murder was in territory controlled by the government and in close proximity to (a) The Minneriya army camp (b) The Welikanda army camp (c) The Punnanai army camp within the Pollonnorawa district and, (d) The Navallady army camp, and (e) The Valaichchenai army camp within the Batticaloa district.

Following the cowardly killings, LTTE blamed renegade Karuna's group of having carried out the assassination in collaboration with the Sri Lankan security forces and the Military intelligence. LTTE also conveyed through Norwegian special Envoy Mr. Eric Solheim to President Kumaratunga its concern regarding the n! on- implementation of Article 1.8 of the CFA in relation to disarming of paramilitary groups. LTTE told President Kumaratunga that the continued operation of para-military groups in government controlled areas is a clear violation of CFA.

Sri Lankan army dismissed the accusations by the LTTE and claimed that no Tamil para-military groups, including renegade Karuna's cadres, operate in government controlled areas. In a press release issued by Presidential Secretariat on February 25, 2005 President Kumaratunga while condemning the killing of Kausalyan emphatically rejected the suggestion that there are any paramilitary forces operating in association with the Sri Lankan security forces. It was obvious that both the Army and the President were trying to hide a whole pumpkin inside a plate of rice.

On March 20, Colombo based English newspaper, The Sunday Leader, exposed the presence of Karuna's camp at Theevuchenai in the SLA-held area of the Polonnaruwa district. T! he paper said its reporters visited Theevuchenai, a village lying about 10 km north of the Harabarana-Valaichenai highway from Sevenapitiya.

The area around Theevuchenai is ringed by SLA camps and detachments. The closest army check point is at Mutugala, on the access road to Thivichchenei, about 3 km from the village. The camp was led by Karuna loyalist "Mangalan Master" according to the paper.

The newspaper also carried photographs of road-block sentry points and bunkers manned by renegade Karuna's cadres. Though military personnel denied knowledge about the existence of Karuna's group in the area, Sunday Leader's photographer Weerasinghe managed to photograph an armed teenager who was hiding in a bunker.

Despite the overwhelming documentary evidence, Sri Lanka military spokesman Brigadier Daya Ratnayake told BBC Sadeshaya that "I have to stress again that there is no camp belonging to any group in government territory" and accused the Tamil Tigers of "hatching a plot to bring the government and the security services into disrepute."

Now comes the news that three paramilitary cadres of the Karuna Group were wounded in a predawn attack by unidentified gunmen Monday in Theevuchenai - the very same village identified by the Sunday Leader. This news makes mockery of government repeated claim that there are no Karuna group military camps in government controlled areas.

The Karuna Group cadres admitted to Polannaruwa base Hospital gave their names to the medical authorities as Aiyathurai Satheesh, Sinnamuttu, Ravindrarajah and Kandasamy Deveraj.

An SLA officer ! in Polannaruwa said 'Mangalam Master', believed to be the person who led the attack on Kausalyan and his comrades, sustained only minor injuries in the attack. But medical sources in Polannaruwa said his injuries were serious.

The Sri Lankan government's political machinations and subterfuges now stand exposed. It was obvious that the Sri Lankan army spokesman and President Kumaratunga have been lying through both the corners of their mouth. Now they have been caught pants down without even a fig-leaf to hide their innocence!

The duplicity practiced by the Sri Lankan government has rendered the CFA a dead letter. CFA or not, the government is relentlessly pursuing its proxy war against the LTTE without any let up. Now that the cat is out of the bag, how long does the international community wishes the LTTE to stick to the CFA in the face of such flagrant treachery by the Sri Lankan government?

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TAMIL TSUNAMI  : 23-03-2005

- Sri Lanka's tsunami aid politics [BBC]

"I was staying in a school until now," says the Tamil fisherman. Now he has graduated to a UNHCR-provided all-weather tent. Local volunteers from the Tamil Rehabilitation Organisation (TRO), closely identified with the Tamil Tigers, guide the new arrivals to their designated tents, cross-checking against a list of names. Although nominally one of several local non-governmental organisations the powerful TRO is an influential player on the ground in rebel-controlled Sri Lanka.

TAMIL RIVERS : 23-03-2005

- LINKING OF RIVERS : Many Hurdles Yet To Be Crossed [TS]

The idea is that the surplus water of the Himalayan rivers can be transferred to the south by linking Indus-Ganga-Brahmaputra grid with the Mahanadi-Krishna-Kaveri-Gadabari grid through 32 canals. That is, during the monsoon, the north’s excess water can be diverted to the south for irrigation, power production, navigation and supply of drinking water.

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