Sri Lanka: A Tamil From Colombo's Story

Demand to Ban “Madras Cafe” Displays an Intolerant Streak of Tamil Nationalist Groups.

Tamil nationalist groups are again displaying an intolerant streak. They want Madras Café, a film loosely based on the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi, to be banned because it shows the Tamil Eelam struggle in Sri Lanka in a poor light. Though the Madras High Court has rightly declined to stay the release of the film, some groups seeking to ban the film are readying themselves to create a law and order problem as a form of 

protest.

That apprehension of law and order disruptions cannot be grounds for banning a film is settled law and has been upheld repeatedly by the Supreme Court of India. In its judgment in S. Rangarajan v Jagjivan Ram involving the film Ore Oru Gramathile, in 1989, the court was unequivocal that “freedom of expression cannot be suppressed on account of [the] threat of demonstration and processions or threats of violence.”

The right to freedom of speech and expression is enshrined in the Constitution, and chauvinist elements, no matter of what hue, should not be allowed to infringe on this right citing some imagined slight to a group or community. The onus is on the State government and its policing arm to act against those attempting to disrupt law and order. Whether the film is good or bad, whether it is fact or fiction, all these have nothing to do with the right to freedom of expression of the film-makers and artistes.

Of late, film-makers and distributors have been organising special screenings for representatives of groups or communities who apprehend that the film could be offensive to their sensibilities. In Tamil Nadu, the government appears to have encouraged such groups by banning the film Dam 999 and seeming sympathetic to those wanting a ban on Vishwaroopam.

The Central Board of Film Certification is the only competent body to censor a film, and once cleared by the board, no film should again have to be subjected to “clearance” from groups claiming to have been offended by it. Chauvinist elements are emboldened when a government adds to the pressure on the film-makers, instead of getting tough on those threatening to disturb law and order. Too often, the producers are forced to compromise and agree to cuts rather than risk prolonging the release of the film.

When the government does not stand up for freedom of speech and expression, film-makers, distributors and exhibitors think it is safer to buy peace with the chauvinist groups. It would reflect very poorly on the administrative capabilities of the Tamil Nadu government if the film is withheld from exhibition for fear of violence. As for those who wish to protect their fragile sensibilities from being hurt in any manner, how’s this for a really simple remedy? Don’t see themovie.

COURTESY:THE HINDU

Censors Clear Tamil Version of “Madras Cafe” but Theatres in Tamil Nadu Refuse to Screen Film Due to Fear of Pro-LTTE Tamil Extremists

The Tamil version of the John Abraham-starrer Madras Café was cleared by the censors with no cuts on Thursday, but the film’s distributors found no takers among the exhibitors for a release in Tamil Nadu on Friday.


A representative of Viacom18, which co-produced the thriller along with Mr. Abraham, said the Tamil version got an ‘U/A’ certificate. However, none of the theatres in the State was willing to release the film in the wake of threats of protests from some Tamil nationalist groups.

Almost all major exhibitors had scheduled other films for the week ahead and opened advance booking for them, keeping ‘Madras Café’ out of the list. A cinema hall operator, on condition of anonymity, said the risk of screening the film was “simply not worth taking”.

Directed by Shoojith Sircar, the film is said to be set in the 1980s in the backdrop of the Tamil civil war in Sri Lanka and it features model-turned actor John Abraham in the role of a RAW agent. It also has scenes depicting the assassination of a former Indian Prime Minister and with several references to the leader of a prominent Tamil separatist group.

Tamil nationalist groups in the State have been objecting to the film saying that the references to LTTE and its slain leader V.Prabhakaran are hard to miss, and that the film denigrates the struggle of Tamils in Sri Lanka.

COURTESY:THE HINDU

Where are the next of kin of the supposedly executed 40,000-125,000 Tamil civilians in Sri Lanka?

By Shenali Waduge

The "experts" and "authorities" must have their say and certainly their voice is far more powerful than a country as small as Sri Lanka. They are the ones that make the laws, they decide who the villains and the heroes are, they can make heroes into villains and villains into heroes, they can frame charges, they can also decide not to frame charges - in short it is only their wishes that prevail. Justice is justice that suits them and not the victims. Victims are who they define as victims on a selective basis and perpetrators are all those that do not conform to their agendas. It is with these incongruities that Sri Lanka finds itself being allegedly bullied and thrown figures of casualties that vary between initial figures of 7000 to 40,000 to 60,000 and now to 125,000. Given that we accept the figures by these "authorities" - what next needs to be asked is 4 years on where are the next of kin of these 125,000 or even 40,000 - why have they not come forward naming the "executed"?

We now come to those who are making these guestimate figures. US Secretary of State Robert Blake states 40,000 died at the US Congressional hearing to which US House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee Congressman Eni F.H. Faleomavaega asked "why are we picking on a little country like Sri Lanka" and Mr. Faleomavaega recommended that the US Resolution should be withdrawn for "focusing only on the last few months of the war and failing to acknowledge.... almost 30 years, the Tamil Tigers hacked to death innocent men , women and children in Sri Lanka, carried out some 378 suicide attacks more than any other terrorist organization in the world."

Read Complete Article : http://warcrimesrilanka.blogspot.com/p/blog-page.html

When TNA leaders go shopping for separatist sponsorship in Canada and US

By Shenali D Waduge

There is little that sets the LTTE and TNA apart. The objectives of both remain the same only the modus operandi differed. The Sri Lankan Armed Forces eliminated the ground terror of LTTE removing the terrorist aspect from the quest. Now the TNA has taken over the baton with the objective well on track. The world and Tamils conveniently forget that LTTE launched its campaign by killing their own Tamil people FIRST while Tamil parliamentarians simply watched. Our issue is that while LTTE is designated as a terrorist organization and remains proscribed even 4 years after its demise, the TNA are voted parliamentarians so what business does the TNA have to continuously fly overseas (8-12 August 2013) to meet pro-LTTE lobbies under the very eyes of the Canadian Government whose decision to attend CHOGM is decided by the lobbying tactics of Canadian Tamil votebase ridiculing the integrity of some Canadian parliamentarians. TNA next transited to the US where its State Dept presumably do not "talk" to terrorists but "discusses" options of piggybanking on the separatist agenda for it works perfectly with their plans to destabilize Sri Lanka and the Asian region - a coup d'‚tat within a coup d'‚tat? It is high time the Sri Lankan Government read out the 6th amendment to the TNA.



Read Complete Article More : http://warcrimesrilanka.blogspot.com/p/there-is-little-that-sets-ltte-and-tna.html

SL ready to share its experience as best practices on humanitarian effectiveness with other countries

Sri Lanka’s Ambassador to the UN in Geneva Ravinatha Aryasinha has said “the approaches used in post-tsunami and post-conflict Sri Lanka, with suitable adaptation, could be deployed in managing humanitarian situations in other countries as well, and that the Government of Sri Lanka continues to stand ready to share its experience as best practices on humanitarian effectiveness, with other countries that are similarly placed, in an effort to relieve those who undergo suffering due to humanitarian emergencies.
Ambassador Aryasinha made these observations when he delivered the Sri Lanka statement at the humanitarian affairs segment of the Substantive Session of ECOSOC, held at the Palais des Nations in Geneva on 17th July 2013.

Ambassador Aryasinha recalled that as a country Sri Lanka had not only grappled with a separatist terrorist conflict for almost 30 long years, but also dealt with an unprecedented natural disaster in the form of the Asian tsunami in 2004. Detailing the systems deployed by the government’s Centre of National Operations (CNO) to manage natural disasters, he said the 24/7 operational capacity now allows Sri Lanka to evacuate coastal areas within an hour of a tsunami alert. He also enumerated the significant strides made by the Government of Sri Lanka over the 4 years since the ending of the terrorist conflict, in re-settling IDPs, de-mining, restoring livelihoods and property of those affected and initiating a program to pay compensation to the conflict-affected residents of Northern Province, who lost loved ones and property and sustained injuries, as part of a process of restitution.

Read More : http://www.lankamission.org/images/2013Images/July/ECOSOC_statement.pdf

US to fund livelihood programme for vulnerable groups to “support reconciliation”

The US development agency, USAID has said it will design a livelihood project for vulnerable groups, including “women-headed households, those relocated due to the conflict” and others.

A statement by the US embassy in Colombo said:

In order to support further reconciliation of the Sri Lankan people, the U.S. Embassy, through its development office of USAID, is designing a new livelihoods project that aims to increase household incomes in the dairy, poultry and horticulture sectors. This initiative seeks to reach women-headed households, those relocated due to the conflict, and other vulnerable groups.

The goal is to link household production with existing private sector producers and processors to further economic development. Potential activities include improving household income by increasing the production of fresh milk and dairy products, improving cattle genetics through artificial insemination, facilitating egg and broiler production and diversifying horticulture cultivation.

USAID estimates that up to 5,000 households may benefit under this initiative. Program funding amounts are still being assessed and this program is expected to be on-line before the end of 2013. USAID already supports livelihood programs through its economic growth office and has provided approximately $40,000,000 over the last five years to help re-integrate families in the former conflict zones.