2. Sachi Sri Kantha from Japan -  A Low-Down on Narasimhan Ram "Low-down: n.Slang, The truth. [Funk & Wagnalls Standard Dictionary, 1980, p.470]. When the year 2005 is winding down, its time to offer my low-down on Narasimhan Ram (born 1945). His current official designation is the Editor-in-Chief, The Hindu (newspaper) and Frontline (magazine). As per his profile, available in the internet, Ram grandiosely poses as a specialist on �The Sri Lanka ethnic crisis and the Tamil question�, among other themes..." more

2. What is Terrorism?  " There is no clear, coherent, globally acceptable definition of the concept of terrorism. As such, just and reasonable political struggles fought for righteous causes are also branded as terrorism. Even authentic liberation movements struggling against racist oppression are denounced as terrorist outfits. In the current global campaign against terror, state terrorism always finds its escape route and those who fight against state terror are condemned as terrorists. Our liberation organisation is also facing a similar plight..." Velupillai Pirabaharan  - Maaveerar Naal Address, 27 November 2005 more

2. International Federation of Tamils (IFT) condemns murder of  Tamil Parliamentarian and human rights activist, Joseph Pararajasingham, 25 December 2005  " Non-Silent Night! Un-Holy Night! Escalation of Sri Lanka State Terror! In the name of human rights, democracy, religious and racial harmony, justice and fair-play, the IFT appeals to the International Community (IC), to condemn without delay, the brutal murder of the Tamil Parliamentarian and human rights activist, Joseph Pararajasingham during the midnight Christmas cathedral service and to hold Sri Lanka government and President Mahinda Rajapakse responsible for the heinous crime committed through the State Intelligence Unit and the paramilitary forces operating in the north-east..." more

3. Tamil Canadian Writers Association condemns Killing of  Mamanithar Joseph Pararajasingham, 25 December 2005 "..We condemn the brutal murder of Mamanithar Joseph Pararajasingham, TNA Member of Parliament on December 24, in the most cowardly fashion by  para-military hirelings and Military Intelligence inside St. Mary�s Church, Batticaloa ...situated right inside the well-fortified HSZ  .....  To add insult to injury the Sri Lanka  Defence Ministry is indulging in fanciful imagination and puerile fabrication by blaming the LTTE for the killing of Mamanithar Joseph Pararajasingham. If the Defence Ministry thinks that by this Goebellsian propaganda they can pull the wool over the eyes of the international community, it will be sadly mistaken. We refuse to believe the international community is dim-witted and gullible to swallow such propaganda..." more

2. Ervin Laszlo, Stanislav Grof, Peter Russell -  The Consciousness Revolution   "There is a real question about whether we can go on in today's world as we have been until now without triggering breakdowns and...so instead of discussing the usual things that all the think tanks always discuss, just how many trees that we must cut down or not cut down and other strategic questions and implications, we should look squarely at the fundamental issue..."

2. Jack Rauahala - Find Your God:A Pilgrim's Guide to the Cosmos  "The meaning of the cosmos is its purpose. The purpose of the cosmos is its meaning... there is no enlightenment. There is only continuous enlightening because reality is a verb, a process, a reaching for total communion with the Consciousness of the Cosmos..."

2. The Associated Press, Truth & Co-Chairs Final Statement  "The Associated Press may want to re examine its Report filed from Colombo in the light of its stated vision of being 'the bastion of the people�s right to know around the world' and being 'an industry leader in open government issues' and ask the question  whether the spin that the AP report (as published by the Hindu),  puts to the Co-Chairs Statement is more in accord with the agenda of the Research Analysis Wing of India in relation to the conflict in the island of Sri Lanka than with truth. The Associated Press Reporters from Colombo include Krishnan Francis and  Dilip Ganguly."

3. Committee to Protect Journalists  deeply concerned about recent attacks on ethnic Tamil journalists "Several protesters were wounded when baton-wielding soldiers charged the demonstration. The army also opened fire to disperse the thousands of protesters, but the Defense Ministry said that no one was injured by the gunfire, according to The Associated Press."  [Note by News Watch - but see Reuters Report - Simon Gardner, 19 December 2005  "Hospital staff said it was the worst incident of its kind since a 2002 ceasefire halted two decades of conflict between the government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). One protester had been confirmed shot and wounded and 14 others were also injured, they said....  On streets bearing the scars of past bombs and shells, soldiers stood with assault rifles and sticks, some obscuring their faces with black bandannas...".]

 2. Withdraw armed forces from civilian inhabited areas in NorthEast - Tamil National Alliance in Sri Lanka Parliament  "The Tamil National Alliance vehemently condemns the conduct of the Sri Lankan armed forces not only with regard to the practice of State Terror against unarmed innocent Tamil civilians, but also the brutal suppression of the Tamil peoples' right to peacefully protest against the shameful and despicable sexual assault and murder of an innocent, vulnerable young girl. Incidents of this nature have been systematically used by the armed forces against Tamil civilians as a weapon of war."

3. Sri Lanka troops shot in the air & Tamils on the ground suffered gun shot injuries  "Two decades ago in 1984, Sri Lanka troops shot at roof tops in Chunnakam and the bullets hit Tamils on the ground. On that occasion, Sri Lanka National Security Minister Lalith Athulathmudali claimed that the bullets had ricocheted - and 'stray' bullets had hit Tamils on the ground. On this occasion it appears that some of the troops were "obscuring their faces with black bandannas..." - perhaps, their vision was obstructed and they did not know where they were shooting..." more

4. Sinhala occupation army on a rampage in Jaffna - V.Thangavelu  "The Sinhala occupation army in Jaffna is once again on the rampage. Reports coming from the peninsula for the last 2 weeks speak of SLA soldiers systematically sweeping areas of potential unrest and conducting cordon and search in the Jaffna peninsula. Several villages that include Kachchai area in Thenmaradchy, Ariyalai in Jaffna, Myilankadu in Valikamam North, Erlalai North and Mandan in Vadamaradchy area have been subject to cordon off and search operations..."

5. Reign of State Terror in Sri Lanka - International Federation of Tamils "The Member of Parliament for Jaffna, Mr Gajendran who was with the marchers was also severely wounded in the army assault. Prof. Perinpanathan of the Faculty of Humanities and Kandeepan, the President of the Medical Students Union were admitted to the hospital with gunshots. The bullet aimed at the Vice Chancellor, Dr Mohanathas, whistled past, as he was quick to fall flat on the ground along with the other marchers, at the sight of impending danger.However, he and Prof Sivachandran were severely butt-assaulted and subsequently rushed to hospital for treatment along with many others."

6. Reign of  State Terror in Sri Lanka  -  Australasian Federation of Tamil Associations  "The Australasian Federation of Tamil association joins the International Federation of Tamils (IFT) in strongly condemning the �Reign Of Blind Terror� imposed by the Sri Lanka Armed Forces on the Academic Community in Jaffna, in which the Vice Chancellor of the Jaffna University, Deans of Faculties, Senior Lecturers and Student Council Leaders were brutally shot at, assaulted, and trampled on their way to the office of the Peace Monitoring Commission on Monday, 19 December, to hand over a memorandum protesting against the recent army and paramilitary atrocities perpetrated on the student population and the civilians in Jaffna within the last two weeks..."

C.Yusuf Mumtaz, Asia Program, Nathan Hale Foreign Policy Society on U.S.Policy Towards Conflict in Sri Lanka "...There are four possible policy options available to the United States for engaging the Sri Lankan conflict:

(a) to deal directly with Sri Lanka only;
(b) to provide direct military support or action into the conflict;
(c) to cooperate and engage with both India and Sri Lanka and use India�s regional power status; or
(d) to encourage the continuation of mediation of the conflict between the two leading parties.

U.S. policymakers can enact these recommendations either exclusively or in combination. ...  U.S. diplomatic options are clearly limited by concerns of reaction from India and a secondary goal of gaining port access to Trincomalee for its Fifth Fleet. The United States is currently seeking to develop a more friendly relationship with India vis-�-vis joint military exercises. If the goal is to develop closer ties with a credible regional counter-weight to increasing PRC presence in the Indian Ocean and South China Sea, Washington is perhaps better off, for the time being, not agitating New Delhi by intruding into its sphere of influence..."  more

2. "The four co-chairs are the four co-chairs"- says Japanese peace envoy for Sri Lanka, Yasushi Akashi

3. Shadow War in Sri Lanka:The Paramilitary Role - R.Cholan "While vocalizing support for the peace process (for international consumption), Sinhala leaders have done little to actually advance it. After the CFA was signed (for which Prime Minister Ranil Wickremasinghe was amply criticized), nothing was done to promote the peace....Massive demonstrations against the Norwegian mediators, vigorous propaganda against federalism, take-over of key ministries in the peace process by the President on the pretext of �national security�, and so on and so forth.It is in this milieu that the existence of the so called paramilitaries, or the �other groups� must be viewed and understood. If anyone believes that these paramilitaries are functioning without the support of the Sri Lanka government and the Sri Lanka armed forces, they are indeed hallucinating..." more

1. Ana Pararajasingham writes from Australia Required: Paradigm Shifts "..It is vital that the Tamils seek a deeper understanding of the factors which drive this (Sinhala) intransigence. A clue to this is to be found in a speech by S W R D Bandaranaike, the founder of the Sinhala Maha Saba and the architect of the Sinhala Only policy of 1956 which marked the beginning of the Tamil struggle for self-rule. According to  the Daily News of 8, November 1955, Bandaranaike made the case for the Sinhala Only bill by arguing that  "With their  books and culture and the will and strength characteristic of their race, the Tamils (if parity were granted) would  soon rise to exert their dominant power over us�  It was not just the Mahavamsa inspired notions of 'primacy' that have been the impetus, but also something else-the fear of domination. .".. more

2.Dr.Rajan Sriskandarajah writes from USA on the Sri Lanka Elections and Tamil Participation: Why the Boycott? "If, the only explanation the Sinhala society can come up with for the Tamil non-participation in the presidential election is that the LTTE forced them to, then we have a problem. ... None of the Sinhala opinion writers have entertained the possibility that maybe � just maybe � the Tamil people didn�t want to vote at this election. If only these writers had paused to look at the present Tamil attitude towards the Sri Lankan state, instead of focusing on their own wishful thinking, they would have seen a different picture... As a result, they have become totally oblivious to a fifty-year transformation in the Tamil political consciousness..." more

2. Clause 1.8 key to saving truce - Tamil Guardian "..Colombo�s schoolyard politics of sneak attacks and claims of innocence have been tolerated by the international community for too long. The Co-chairs must exert their influence with the new Sri Lankan administration to demonstrably implement Clause 1.8 of the Ceasefire Agreement immediately. A period of mutual de-escalation and confidence building is a sine quo non if a meaningful peace process is to resume. It must begin with an end to the Army�s covert onslaught. .."

3.Sri Lanka U-turn on Norway role "Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse has asked Norway to continue mediating in peace efforts with Tamil rebels. .. The move came despite a recent election vow to review Norway's role and follows calls from key coalition allies for Oslo to be relieved of its duties."

2. Sachi Sri Kantha from Japan - A Hole in the Head of Ms.Nirupama Subramanian

3. Dr Victor Rajakulendra writes from Sydney, Australia Where does Sri Lanka go from here ?

1. New Delhi's Tears for Eelam Tamils...

3. 12 Years ago - November 1993: India's  Major General Mehta on the Pooneryn Debacle "In Sri Lanka, the IPKF did not have an end game. So they got roughed up without learning any lessons for the future. It was an unwieldy conventional army, not designed for low intensity warfare to tame the Tiger (LTTE)... The LTTE must be credited with a near maniacal sense of motivation which compensates for the slightest imperfection in military skills. .. Over the years they have become a highly disciplined and versatile guerrilla force with a bewildering range of military expertise.  Prabaharan is easily the greatest living leader of a guerrilla movement of his time... The author is also of the opinion that the finesse with which the LTTE have humbled the IPKF earlier, and the Sri Lankan Army now, should find a place in the "Hall of Revolutionary Fame." more