2. Helping Hands in Sri Lanka � But When in the NorthEast? - Alex Doss "Several donor countries like the United States, Germany, Japan, and Australia have pledged aid to the countries effected by this destructive tsunami. However, in Sri Lanka, where exactly are these funds going to? Why hasn�t any funds reached the NorthEast as of yet? LTTE political wing leader SP Tamilchelvan told BBC Tamilosai that, �international aid is going mainly to the affected regions in the south.� As of now he is still waiting for a response from the government of Colombo in regards to the issue..."

1. Tamils Rehabilitation Organisation - Urgent Appeal for Humanitarian Assistance: 8000 Dead and 500,000 Displaced in northeast of the Island of Sri Lanka  "...The present resources available to TRO are nowhere near sufficient to meet the huge crisis that has arisen and we are faced with the prospect of an ever increasing toll of the dead, outbreak of epidemics as the dead lie in open fields and waterways, shortage of food and a continued denial of basic living needs for a half a million people. Assistance channelled through the Government of Sri Lanka has failed to reach the displaced in the northeast.  It is only through the immediate, unstinted and generous support of the Tamil diaspora that we will be able to surmount the humanitarian crisis that has arisen. The Tamils Rehabilitation Organisation calls upon Tamils in each country to join with the efforts by the branch of the TRO in their country in this urgent task. Those individuals who wish to help directly may also do so on line through our website www.troonline.org..."

2. ஈழம் வடக்குக்கிழக்கில் 6000 பொதுமக்கள் உயிரிழப்பு (27.12.2004) - 500 000 மக்கள் இடம்பெயர்வு - அவசர மனிதாபிமான உதவிகளை வழங்கிடுவீர்! - தமிழர் புனர்வாழ்வுக் கழகம், கிளிநொச்சி - "ஒவ்வொருநாடுகளிலும் உள்ள தமிழர் புனர்வாழ்வுக் கழகத்தின் கிளைநிறுவனங்கள் ஊடாக ஒருங்கிணைக்கப்பட்டு மேற்கொள்ளப்படும் இவ் அவசர பணிகளில் இணைந்து செயற்படுமாறு அனைத்து மக்களையும் புனர்வாழ்வுக்கழகம் கோரியுள்ளது." more

2. K. Puvana Chandra, UK Consultant Ophthalmologist delivers  MIOT Robin Memorial Lecture 2004, in London on  Ophthalmic Services in Thamil Eelam - Needs and Responses - " Some ideas that can work well: - Establish links - Twin with institutions or departments in our homeland - Establish sub committees & Delegate responsibilities - Involve non medical personnel -all can contribute - Sponsor trainees  - Visit the units in Eelam"

2. ஏழாண்டு இலக்கிய வளர்ச்சி - மு. தளையசிங்கம் "...தமிழ் இலக்கிய உலகில் மு.த. எழுதிய ஏழாண்டு இலக்கிய வளர்ச்சி ஓர் மைல்கல்லாகவே நிற்கிறதென்றால் அது மிகைப்பட கூற்றாகாது. அந்தளவுக்கு அதன் முக்கியத்துவம் பல பக்கம் கொண்டது..." more

3. முகம் கொள் - கி.பி. அரவிந்தன் "...நட்பு, நேசம், தோழமை, காதல், கனிவு, மனிதம் என்பவற்றையும், அவலமுற்று தொய்த மனத்தின் ஆறாப் புண்களையும் எனக்கு பரிச்சயமான சொற்களுக்குள் புகுத்திவிடலாம் எனும் துணிபு. இச் சொற்களுக்குள் அவை வசப்படவில்லையாயின் அது என் மொழியறிவின் பற்றாக் குறையே. வெட்கம் கொள்கிறேன்..."more

Ana Pararajasingham writing in the Indian Think Tank, 'South Asia Analysis Group' suggests India�s Sri Lanka Policy: Need For A Review �'It appears evident, then, that the Indian State failed to take the political force and mass appeal of Tamil nationalism seriously If the violence and perfidy of the Sri Lankan State had given rise to Tamil nationalism in the first place, the popular commitment to Eelam was cemented and solidified by the Tamils bitter experience with the Indian State.' The current policy of supporting the unity and integrity of Sri Lanka while not addressing the spectre of Tamil nationalism will therefore have to be construed as a policy not much different from that which resulted in the physical intervention by India in support of Colombo. The question that needs to be asked is how realistic is it for the Indian Government to persist with such a policy when ground realities have changed significantly during the intervening period." more

Cultural Guerrilla Warfare in Tamil Eelam: Aspects of Tamil Resistance Literature - V.Geetha  "..The culture of resistance in Sri Lanka that grew out of the Tamil People's struggles for their traditional homeland of Eelam sought to respond to the genocidal assault on Tamil language and culture through various strategies of defiance and subversion. The cultural realm was thoroughly transformed in the process and soon, a  'literary and aesthetic guerrilla warfare' came to be, whose instances of protest and resistance may be regarded as the articulations of a Resistance Literature. It is this Resistance Literature that will be the object of my understanding here. At this moment in history, when the Tamils of Sri Lanka are, fast, becoming a dispossessed people, clutching at the cruel and intangible fact of homelessness in diaspora, it seems important and urgent that we seek to remember and commemorate our immediate shared past. For the anxieties of history require this of us and so in anticipation of Tamil Eelam..."

Dalit Panthers of India (DPI) Leader T Tirumavalavan visits Jaffna to salute Tamil Eelam - "I want a Tamil Government... I want a Tamil country... That country I dream of is coming up in Sri Lanka's Jaffna. I went there to salute that land.." more

1. Sri Lanka rejects LTTE's Offer for Talks & vows to strengthen its armed forces

"We will strengthen the armed forces in terms of men, material, ideas and weapons," Wickremanayake (Minister for Public Security) said during a debate on the defence budget which goes up by eight per cent in the 2005 budget... Parliament today (6 December 2004) approved the defence ministry spending of 56.29 billion rupees ($541 million), up from 52.08 billion rupees this year. " more

2. Massive rise in Sri Lankan firepower

"Sri Lanka�s armed forces substantially expanded their offensive capability after the ceasefire agreement with the Liberation Tigers was signed in February 2002.. The Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) has doubled its manpower and acquired twenty new aircraft, while the Army (SLA) has tripled its tanks and doubled its artillery firepower says Brian Blodgett, a career United States Army intelligence officer and an adjunct professor with the American Military in a book titled "Sri Lanka�s military: The Search For A Mission"" more

3. "We are being pushed again in to the war era" says Federation of Public Organizations of Vavuniya District in letter to President Kumaratunga

"...on 25.11.2004, in Vepankulam, Vavuniya, in a commemorative event organized by the people of that village, the Sri Lankan government forces attempted to take away the national flag of Tamils, which had been hoisted there, by crashing an armored vehicle in to it. The army fired indiscriminately into the people, when they rose up in anger protest. The Vavuniya Head of the Political Wing, who heard about the incident in which many people sustained serious injuries, informed SLMM in person, and went to the place of incident. He was kept at gun point by an army major and some soldiers. His hand phone, motorbike key and some documents were seized. A gun was thrust on his forehead, while death threats and obscenities were made against him in Sinhalese..."  more

4. Counter proposals not conducive to peace says Vanni MP

"Clear evidence of Sri Lanka Government's complicity in many violence incidents point to violations of the CeaseFire Agreement (CFA) by the Security Forces. The Government's main interest seems to be to portray the situation as peaceful with the aim of getting access to the promised aid. The entrenched political rivalry between the main political parties, United national party, and ruling coalition that includes the Sri Lanka freedom party (SLFP), Janatha Vimukthy peramuna (JVP)) are serious impediments to the furtherance of the peace process" more

5. Sri Lanka must start talks based on ISGA say Jaffna NGOs

"If peace and goodwill are to prevail, the Government of Sri Lanka should come forward to discuss without delay the Interim Self-Governing Authority (ISGA) proposals put forward by the LTTE. The proposals represent the collective will of all NorthEast Tamils," said Rev. Father Jeyakumar on behalf of the consortium of NGOs at a meeting held Monday in Nallur, Jaffna. Academics from the South who were on a fact finding mission to Jaffna also participated in the meeting..." more

6. "Impending disaster is SL President's own making"- Jaffna daily

"'There is no ethnic problem in this Country, LTTE leader has referred to Tamil Home Land in his Hero's Day Speech. But historically there is nothing known as Tamil Homeland or Tamil area,'' says the Hela Urumaya. It blares out such slogans having reached the zenith of Buddhist Sinhala Chauvinism, and makes futile endeavour to bury historical truths. 'It is from this position the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), another political entity which is soaked in Buddhist-Sinhala chauvinism, speaks out..." more

1. International Symposium on Semmozhith Thamizh, 11 December 2004, Chennai - Conference Announcement

2. Papers presented at  Second International Tamil Conference Seminar, January 1968, Madras, Tamil Nadu -  S.Rajamanickam on Padre Henrique Henriques, the Father of the Tamil Press and .E. Sa. Visswanathan on Puthumaippiththan�s  Contribution to Modern Tamil Literature

2. Noam Chomsky on the 2004 US Presidential Election "... politics remains  'the shadow cast by big business over society,' as America's leading social philosopher, John Dewey, described the results of "industrial feudalism" long ago. Deceit is employed to undermine democracy, just as it is the natural device to undermine markets. And voters appear to be aware of it. ...The world is pretty awful today, but it is far better than yesterday, not only with regard to unwillingness to tolerate aggression, but also in many other ways, which we now tend to take for granted. There are very important lessons here, which should always be uppermost in our minds - for the same reason they are suppressed in the elite culture..." more