போர்க்குற்ற விசாரணை நடத்திய நிபுணர் குழுவைக் கலைத்தார் பான் கி மூன்!

Source:http://thatstamil.oneindia.in/news/2011/05/07/ban-ki-moon-dissolves-expert-panel-lanka-warcrime-aid0136.html
கொழும்பு: இறுதிப் போரில் இலங்கையில் நிகழ்ந்த போர்குற்றங்கள் தொடர்பான விசாரணைகளை மேற்கொண்டு வந்த நிபுணர் குழுவை கலைக்க நேற்று உத்தரவிட்டார் ஐ.நா. பொதுச்செயலர் பான் கீ மூன்.

விடுதலைப் புலிகளுக்கும் சிங்கள ராணுவத்தினருக்கும் இடையே நடைபெற்ற இறுதிக் கட்டப் போரில் பல்லாயிரம் அப்பாவித் தமிழர்கள் கொல்லப்பட்டனர். மனித இனமே பார்த்திராக கொடூரங்கள் அரங்கேறின, இந்த போரில். இந்த தமிழ் இன அழிப்பைஉலகமே வேடிக்கைப் பார்த்தது.

இந்த நிலையில் போர் முடிந்ததும், வன்னிப் பகுதியில் போர்குற்றங்கள் தொடர்பான விசாரணைகளை மேற்கொள்வதற்காக தருஸ்மான் தலைமையிலான மூவர் குழுவை கடந்த வருடம் ஐ.நா பொதுச் செயலர் பான் கீ மூன் நியமித்தார்.

இந்தக் குழுவின் அறிக்கை கடந்த ஏப்ரல் மாதம் இலங்கை அரசிடம் ஒப்படைக்கப்பட்டது. அதன் பின்னர் ஐ.நா.பொதுச்செயலரால் அதிகாரப்பூர்வமாக வெளியிடப்பட்டது. ஆனால் இந்த அறிக்கையை இலங்கை ஏற்கவில்லை. அத்துடன் நில்லாது அறிக்கையைக் கண்டித்து இலங்கையில் மே 1-ம் தேதி பேரணியும் நடத்தியது இலங்கை அரசு. 

இந்நிலையில் நிபுணர்குழுவின் செயல்பாடுகள் அனைத்தும் முற்று பெற்றுவிட்டதால் அக் குழுவினை கலைப்பதாக நேற்று அறிவித்தார் பான் கி மூன். 

இந்த விசாரணையின் போது இலங்கையின் போர்குற்றங்கள் தொடர்பான விசாரணைகளுக்குரிய தகவல்கள் அளித்தவர் பற்றிய விவரங்களை இருபது வருடங்களுக்கு வெளியிடக்கூடாது என்றும் நிபுணர் குழு உறுப்பினர்களுக்கு உத்தரவிட்டுள்ளார் பான் கி மூன்.

Order on Kanimozhi bail plea on May 14

The New Indian Express

Source:http://expressbuzz.com/nation/order-on-kanimozhi-bail-plea-on-may-14/272333.html

NEW DELHI: Dravida Munnettra Kazhagam (DMK) MP Kanimozhi is the controlling mind behind Kalaignar TV, Special Public Prosecutor UU Lalit argued in the Patiala House Court during the hearing in the 2G spectrum scam case. Lalit argued that the 2G money trail leads to Kalaignar TV where Kanimozhi, the 43-year-old daughter of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi, has a 20 per cent stake.

He argued that Kanimozhi was in fact the controlling mind behind Kalaignar TV and that it's impossible to believe someone from Karunanidhi's family won't control the channel. The public prosecutor also argued that Kanimozhi had been in regular touch with former telecom minister A Raja on launching of the channel.

Lalit also countered Kanimozhi's lawyer Ram Jethmalai's argument put forward on Friday that it was not Kanimozhi but Raja who was the one responsible for the scam.

"One director (Kanimozhi) with 20 per cent says she doesn't know anything. The other with 60 per cent (Dayalu Ammal) has already stated she was not involved. So who took the decisions then? Was it only the other 20 per cent (Sharad Kumar) who participated in the decisions? Sharad Kumar is a director and CEO of the company. Dayalu Ammal Karunanidhi was requested by board of Kalaignar TV to act as director. But she categorically informed the board that given age and health and non understanding of English, she will also attend board meetings only to fulfill the qoram. Why could Kanomozhi not be director? Only because of lack of an MHA clearance? In June 2007 along with other promoters incorporated Kalaignar TV, she had been in regular touch with A Raja on launching of channel. The accused was also initial director and only resigned because her clearance from MHA was pending. So that was the only reason. She was the controlling mind. Accused Raja was pursuing the case with Information and Broadcasting Ministry and getting the channel on Tata Sky. It is impossible to believe that someone from the family with a stake in the channel will not control the channel," argued Lalit.

"This lady was the controlling mind behind Kalaignar TV. One can't imagine Rs 200 crore would be ploughed back so soon without a guiding hand. We have established the proximity of the period and the money trail. A Raja was definitely close to Kanimozhi, not so much to Sharad Kumar," claimed Lalit.

"Rs 47.51 crore is the turnover of Kalaignar TV. The fund infusion was four times. The paid up capital of Cineyug and Kusegaon is only Rs 1 lakh. They lent Rs 200 crore without even documentation. These transactions then are suspicious. Our case is that Shahid Balwa who is beneficiary paid Kalaignar TV the kickback. Spoils of the crime got transferred to Kalaignar TV. The bribe money got transferred to Kalaignar TV. The return trail when the heat is on is also in a pattern that is suggestive that the heat is on making it too difficult to handle," he said.

The Patiala House Court in New Delhi resumed the hearing on Kanimozhi and Kalaignar TV MD Sharad Kumar's bail petition in the 2G spectrum scam case on Saturday. The DMK has indicated that it is ready to sacrifice Raja, who is the party's MP from Nilgiris seat, to Karunanidhi's daughter.

Kanimozhi mother Rajathiammal is also attending the court hearing. But the big question still remains if Kanimozhi will be able to escape arrest in the scam? Kanimozhi, who reached the court at around 9:40 AM, refused to comment on the case.

"I really don't know. It's in the court. You have to wait till the court decides," she told the waiting reporters.

Special Public Prosecutor UU Lalit started the argument before Judge OP Saini claiming that money has been transferred from one entity to another with absolutely no collateral.

"There is clearly no collateral required when they are sharing the spoils of crime. Swan Telecom, an entity that was otherwise ineligible, was given the advantage. Swan is controlled by Shahid Balwa and Vinod Goenka. These two control another company Dynamix Realty," said Lalit.

He also explained how Swan got license and the alleged kickback for having got an undue benefit.

"The kickback money transferred to Dynamix was then transferred to Kusegaon Fruits and Vegetables, which had a paid up capital is only Rs 1 lakh, and then to Cineyug. These were all shell companies, had nothing to with TV business. Dayalu Ammal (Karunanidhi's wife) is on record to say she does not participate in decision making. Asif Balwa and Rajiv Agarwal were responsible for creating this money trail leading to Kalaignar TV," argued Lalit.

There had been a heated hearing in the case on Friday, where Kanimozhi's lawyer Ram Jethmalani claimed that Raja was the one who was responsible for the scam and said the 43-year-old daughter of Karunanidhi had no links with the scam even though the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has named her as one of the co-conspirators.

He also claimed that money transfer to DMK's Kalaignar TV have nothing to do with the 2G spectrum scam. The CBI has accused Kanimozhi of receiving kickbacks from the scam tainted telecom companies.

Raja was also present in the courtroom along with other corporate leaders who are in custody as Jethmalani recorded a caveat saying his arguments for Kanimozhi were being made without prejudice to the case of the other accused including Raja.

However, outside the court, DMK spokesman and MP TKS Elangovan sought to dismiss suggestions that Raja was being given up by the party.

"Jethmalani does not belong to DMK. He is defending Kanimozhi and Raja will be defended by his advocate. This is how the court proceedings work," he said.

However, Vijay Agarwal, lawyer for co-accused Asif Balwa and Rajeev Agarwal, said that the CBI was adopting a "hostile" attitude against his clients while not arresting Kanimozhi and Sharad Kumar who had allegedly received bribes.

Chennai Imam leads funeral prayers for Osama

Published in The New Indian Express, Chennai on May 7, 2011:

Source:http://expressbuzz.com/cities/chennai/chennai-imam-leads-funeral-prayers-for-osama/272136.html

CHENNAI: Stating that Osama Bin Laden was not an orphan and was one among the 170 crore Muslims, Chief Imam of the city-based Makkah Masjid on Friday conducted a 'janazah' prayer for Osama in which about 10,000 people participated.

Speaking to reporters after the funeral prayer, Moulana Shamsudeen Qasimi, Chief Imam of Makkah Masjid, said, "Without proving to the world that Osama bin Laden was really behind the twin-towers attack, the United States has killed him by portraying him as the world's most dreaded terrorist and buried him like an orphan."

"Osama was not an orphan and he was very much part of the 170 crore Muslim population living in the world, hence we organised a 'janazah' (funeral) prayer, as was the custom with every deceased Muslim," the Moulana added.

Had Osama been proved guilty and the government asked the public to punish him in the open on Mount Road, the first bullet to be fired on Osama should have been from a Muslim only, as Islam was against terrorism, he said.
"We feel that US president Barack Obama orchestrated the drama at Abbottabad to improve his diminishing popularity among US citizens, since elections in the country are fast approaching," Qasimi said.

When asked whether any permission was sought from local authorities to conduct the prayer, Qasimi said, "We never sought permission for the event as it would be held indoors. Moreover, we don't see any hurdle on that front as this very state allowed several condolence meetings for the LTTE leader Velupillai Prabakaran, who was behind the assassination of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi."

CHENNAI: Flash strike halts garbage pick-up

By G Saravanan

Published in The New Indian Express, Chennai on May 4, 2011:

Source:http://expressbuzz.com/cities/chennai/flash-strike-halts-garbage-pick-up/271211.html

CHENNAI: Around 2,100 conservancy workers took part in a flash strike on Monday night, disrupting rubbish collection across the city. The workers, employed by a private company, Neel Metal Fanalca (NMF) refused to remove garbage from the city’s four zones from Monday night demanding better wages.

However, the workers ended their strike by noon on Tuesday after timely intervention and subsequent assurance by NMF management. The workers resumed work around 3 pm.

According to civic body sources, NMF workers, who were anxious about their annual increment for the past four weeks, were disappointed after their management continued to maintain silence over the announcement of their annual increment.

As a ripple effect following the flash strike by workers, garbage collection in four zones outsourced to NMF were severely affected since morning.

Sensing trouble if the strike continued beyond a day, Corporation officials sat across the table with the NMF management and workers’ representatives and finalised their annual increment.

Meanwhile, the civic body also fanned out its conservancy staff in the morning to clear garbage backlog at a few important points in these four zones.

According to NMF sources, though the workers had demanded about 20 per cent increment to their salaries, they finally settled for 11 per cent, given the company’s financial condition.

As per the agreement with the Corporation, NMF would remove garbage in four zones of the Corporation under two packages. The first package comprised Triplicane (zone-6) and Adyar (zone-10), and the second package comprised Kodambakkam (zone-8) and Pulianthope (zone-3).

Thiruvottiyur: Five bhoomipujas in five years

By G Saravanan

Published in The New Indian Express, Chennai on May 4, 2011:

Source:http://expressbuzz.com/cities/chennai/five-bhoomipujas-in-five-years/271215.html

CHENNAI:  The ongoing works on this stretch of road in Thiruvottiyur, north Chennai, has set a record of sorts for its slow progress. It has had five ‘bhoomipujas’  in five years. Besides, the local MLA had even set a one-year deadline in 2009 for completing the work. Yet, the widening work on Thiruvottiyur high road, which connects the city to the northern suburbs, was progressing very slowly.

When the project was first planned in 2006, the State Highways department proposed to convert the entire five-km stretch — from Toll Gate to Ernavur Bridge - as a 66 feet wide four-lane road with a centre-median, box culverts, side-drains and seepage pipes at an estimated cost of Rs 11.50 crores.

Even after five years since the project was envisaged, nothing has changed. The width of the road remains the same, the residents complained. Sources said that due to the inordinate delay in getting land, the project cost had escalated to about Rs 30 crores from the 2006 projection of Rs 11.5 crores, an increase of over 150 per cent.

The widening of the narrow Thiruvottiyur high road has been a long standing demand of the residents of Thiruvottiyur, Ernavur, Kathivakkam and Ennore. The delay in completion of the all-important infrastructure project has hampered the all-round development of the neglected north Chennai suburbs, Jayaraman, Chairman of the Thiruvottiyur Municipality, told City Express.

Traffic snarls are common here since nearly one lakh motorists use the stretch everyday. It was the only major connecting road for 20 big companies, including CPCL, MRF, Ashok Leyland and Concor, to ferry their staff members living in South and Central Chennai to the factory sites in the northern suburbs.

Though the State Highways department, after much pressure from the local residents, had completed construction of the centre median for about two km from Toll Gate point, construction of the side drains and other works are yet to be started.

Besides other bottlenecks, land acquisition (LA) was the major hurdle in completing the project. Sources in the State Highways revealed that the department had paid approximately Rs 12.5 crore for LA (to the revenue department to acquire land) so far and another three to four crore rupees has to be given out for the acquisition.

'Israeli jets prepare in Iraq to strike Iran'

Source:http://www.presstv.com/detail/177824.html

Israeli jet fighters have reportedly conducted drills at a military base in Iraq in order to strike targets inside Iran.

A considerable number of Israeli warplanes were seen at al-Asad base in Iraq, reported a source close to prominent Iraqi cleric Muqtada al-Sader's group.

The aircraft reportedly included F-15, F-16, F-18, F-22, and KC-10 jet fighters.

The warplanes carried out their week-long exercises at nights, the same source added.

The drills were reportedly aimed at preparing to strike Iran's air defense systems, disrupt Iran's radars and attack targets deep inside Iran. 

Iraqi officials had not been notified of the exercises, which were conducted in collaboration with the US military.

The United States maintains numerous bases in Iraq, and the Baghdad government is not involved in any of the military deployments taking place there.

NN/TG/HJL/HRF

CHENNAI:Mounting garbage at Nochikuppam slum tenements irks residents

By G Saravanan
Published in The New Indian Express, Chennai on April 30, 2011:


Chennai,: More than 1,450 families living in the Tamil Nadu Slum Clearance Board tenements at Nochikuppam near Marina Beach, are facing a risk of a serious health hazard. The civic machinery has, for reasons best known to them, not cleared the garbage from inside the colony, which comes under the Chennai Corporation Ward No.145, for months. The situation has become grim for the residents in the past few days as stagnant rainwater has turned the heap of garbage into a happy breeding ground for mosquitoes.

“My four-year-old son fell sick with high fever few days ago and the doctor who diagnosed him advised us to use mosquito nets after coming to know about the situation inside the colony,” Kamala, a resident of the colony told Express.

The other residents too complained about a sudden spurt in mosquitoes in the locality and demanded the civic body to act immediately to save locals from diseases. Numerous pleas by the residents to Neel Metal Fanalca, the private company involved in garbage removal operations in parts of the city, and the Tamil Nadu Slum Clearance Board to remove the heaps of garbage largely went unheeded for months. Finally, Mayor M Subramanian came to their rescue three months ago when he promised swift action during a weekly live public interaction on civic issues on a private television channel. “The next day, after the Mayor promised action on TV, staff belonging to the Neel metal and TNSCB landed here and cleared the heaps of garbage from every part of the colony,” said Ambal, another resident of the colony.

That was one ‘massive drive’ that cleaned up the colony and put a smile on every resident’s face. But that was it. After that day, nobody turned up at the colony for conservancy works for the past three months and people living there plan to once again send out an appeal to the Mayor to rescue them from Malaria and other diseases. P Gopal, who lives very close to the spot where mounds of garbage remain dumped, told Express that the residents were contemplating a similar move.

When contacted, Uma Sasavi, the local councillor, said that she would take up the issue with the NMF and also ask Mayor Subramanian to conduct another massive drive. When NMF was informed about the uncleared garbage inside Nochikuppam TNSCB tenements, officials of the private agency assured immediate action.