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Sunday, August 06, 2006

in the name of buddha-தமிழ் திரைப்படம்

A film that has caused widespread controversy following its world premier last month at the Oslo Film Festival, opens in the UK on 19th December. 'In the Name of Buddha' is a true story about possibly one of the worst genocides at the end of the twentieth century. The film graphically portrays the conflict between native Tamil people and the Sri Lankan army and Indian peacekeeping forces.

This ethnic conflict has been raging since 1983 and according to UNHCR has seen more than 60,000 Tamil people lose their lives and nearly 900,000 people flee their homelands in Sri Lanka. The film is an account of human rights violations of the Tamil people in Northeast Sri Lanka and contains scenes of the violence that descended on them, from the island followers of Buddha's normally peaceful principles and teachings.

Its debut on 17 November at the 12th Oslo International Film Festival came just days before the Sri Lankan Aid Conference in Oslo, which was attended by Clare Short, Britain's Secretary of State for International Development, Sri Lanka's chief peace negotiator G L Peris, Chief Tamil Tiger (LTTE) negotiator Anton Balasingham, and US and Norwegian officials.
Sri Lankan Foreign Secretary Nihal Rodrigo is expected to take up the issue with Norwegian officials in Oslo. Last week the Lanka Academic reported that Secretary-general Bernard Gunatillke ordered the foreign ministry to probe whether the LTTE had a hand in the movie. Lanka Truth reported that the film was 'Anti-Buddhist and that it represented the interests of Tiger Terrorism and western imperialism.' ' It depicts the Sri Lankan Buddhists as a nation of savages who kill for nothing, USA-Norway imperialists may have a definite hand behind this dastardly act'.

In The Name of Buddha was made by Da'sai Films International, produced by two British Asians and directed by Rajesh Touchriver. A Da'sai Film spokesperson firmly denies any LTTE involvement or religious motive says ' Our response to all human tragedies that are an inevitable result of war, wherever they occur, is that violence only begets violence and this is a tragedy that has never been told before.' After last week's agreement for a commitment to peace in Sri Lanka, Da'sai are 'pleased that progress has been made towards peace, the film is a typical cry for peace and if it has had any bearing on that process, then we are delighted.'
Filmed in India and London, the movie tells the true story of Siva, a native Tamil from Ski Lanka who had to flee from his homeland for safety and become a refugee in the UK. In the name of Buddha portrays the agony of people devastated and torn apart by ethnic conflict and the heartache and suffering of an ordinary man.

A NATION RAVAGED BY CONFLICT
SRI LANKA is a nation ravaged by armed ethnic conflict that has been raging for nearly two decades. The once peaceful and prosperous island in the Indian ocean, just a few miles away from the Indian sub-continent has witnessed the effects of one of the worst conflicts in history. A sizeable segment of the population was forced to flee their homeland and to take asylum in other countries. The following figures reveal the magnitude of the problem.

UNHCR estimates that 917,000 Sri Lankans fled the country since 1983. 714,000 were internally displaced.
Between 1989 and 1998, 156,926 applications for asylum were received in Europe alone.
31,271 sought asylum in Canada.
83,946 Sri Lankans applied for asylum in North America and Australia.
In Britain, between 1980 and 2000, 41,985 sought asylum.
More than 60,000 lost their lives during the two decades

Thursday, June 15, 2006

Farewell letter from Che to Fidel Castro

Havana, April 1, 1965.
Fidel:
At this moment I remember many things: when I met you in Maria Antonia's house, when you proposed I come along, all the tensions involved in the preparations. One day they came by and asked who should be notified in case of death, and the real possibility of it struck us all. Later we knew it was true, that in a revolution one wins or dies (if it is a real one). Many comrades fell along the way to victory.
Today everything has a less dramatic tone, because we are more mature, but the event repeats itself. I feel that I have fulfilled the part of my duty that tied me to the Cuban revolution in its territory, and I say farewell to you, to the comrades, to your people, who now are mine.
I formally resign my positions in the leadership of the party, my post as minister, my rank of commander, and my Cuban citizenship. Nothing legal binds me to Cuba. The only ties are of another nature — those that cannot be broken as can appointments to posts.
Reviewing my past life, I believe I have worked with sufficient integrity and dedication to consolidate the revolutionary triumph. My only serious failing was not having had more confidence in you from the first moments in the Sierra Maestra, and not having understood quickly enough your qualities as a leader and a revolutionary.
I have lived magnificent days, and at your side I felt the pride of belonging to our people in the brilliant yet sad days of the Caribbean [Missile] crisis. Seldom has a statesman been more brilliant as you were in those days. I am also proud of having followed you without hesitation, of having identified with your way of thinking and of seeing and appraising dangers and principles.
Other nations of the world summon my modest efforts of assistance. I can do that which is denied you due to your responsibility as the head of Cuba, and the time has come for us to part.
You should know that I do so with a mixture of joy and sorrow. I leave here the purest of my hopes as a builder and the dearest of those I hold dear. And I leave a people who received me as a son. That wounds a part of my spirit. I carry to new battlefronts the faith that you taught me, the revolutionary spirit of my people, the feeling of fulfilling the most sacred of duties: to fight against imperialism wherever it may be. This is a source of strength, and more than heals the deepest of wounds.
I state once more that I free Cuba from all responsibility, except that which stems from its example. If my final hour finds me under other skies, my last thought will be of this people and especially of you. I am grateful for your teaching and your example, to which I shall try to be faithful up to the final consequences of my acts.
I have always been identified with the foreign policy of our revolution, and I continue to be. Wherever I am, I will feel the responsibility of being a Cuban revolutionary, and I shall behave as such. I am not sorry that I leave nothing material to my wife and children; I am happy it is that way. I ask nothing for them, as the state will provide them with enough to live on and receive an education.
I would have many things to say to you and to our people, but I feel they are unnecessary. Words cannot express what I would like them to, and there is no point in scribbling pages.