SunRise at Batticaloa

Genocide of Batticaloa district of the East.

In 1958 Hon Velupillai Chelvanayakam, the Opposition Leader of the parliament of Sri Lanka, commenced the “tar-brush” campaign against the state and against the Sinhalas. This was a copy from the Dravidistan & anti-Hindi agitators of Tamil Nadu who tar-brushed Hindi letters.

After brushing tar over Sinhala letters on a number plate of a bus in Jaffna, he traveled all the way to Batticaloa to repeat his actions. His willing followers also indulged in this act. It started the 1958 riots killing hundreds of Tamil people. Though the riots ended within days, the message was loud and clear – in Sri Lanka other than North and the East has no place for tamils.

Sinhala population percentage of Batticaloa district was 5% in 1971 but by 2007 it has fallen to zero percent!

Sinhala and Tamil people disliked this form of politics but had no political choice as communal politics ensured that no collective multi-ethnic politics take root in the North by eliminating everything non-Tamil. ITAK’s escalation of aggression saw it graduate into the TULF (Tamil United Liberation Front) by merging with its arch rival the ACTC.

The boy from Batticaloa, Dineshkanthan Thangarajah brought Sri Lanka glory by winning the singles crown at the ITF Junior Circuit Week-Two Tournament

The boy from Batticaloa, Dineshkanthan Thangarajah brought Sri Lanka glory by winning the singles crown at the ITF Junior Circuit Week-Two Tournament concluded at the SLTA hard courts on Saturday morning.

With like concrete concentration , Thangarajah warded the strong challenge offered by Chung Hyo Woo of Korea in the final. The first set with exciting with the scoring going either way from the start before Thangarajah broke Woo’s service point to win on 7/5.

Thangarajah managed to give away only three games (6/3) to Woo to finish off in style and amidst vociferous cheering from his supporters who gathered in large numbers.

This was the most cherished moment for the boy from St. Michael’s College in the East who was brought to Colombo and enrolled at St. Peter’s College after his talent was spotted during a junior tournament.

Thangarajah had the distinction of winning a double when he also won the boys’ doubles event with partner Amresh Jayawickrema on Friday afternoon.

Fighting over fish

Photo: Anupama Ganegoda

Fishermen working in the shallow waters off Batticaloa in Sri Lanka complain that their catch has gone down with the arrival of multi-day fishing trawlers

COLOMBO, 16 October 2009 (IRIN) - The seas off Batticaloa in the country's former war-torn east are home to one of the most fertile spawning grounds off Sri Lanka, and fishermen rarely had to travel far for a good catch.

But of late, traditional fishermen who use boats powered by outboard motors or canoes to fish have complained of meagre harvests.

"I went out on five consecutive days, and only yesterday did I return with some fish, but only 6kg," said Tamil Chelvam, who operates a boat from Tirivendu beach, just south of Batticaloa.

Locals blame a recent influx of large fishing trawlers into their waters for their dwindling catches. Before the encroachment, a good catch would earn fishermen up to US$174, and a normal catch, about $85.

But now, after paying helpers and offsetting other expenses, including fuel, the small catches do not leave them with much, they say.

"They have big boats, big nets and they stay out at sea for days," S. Paskaran, who has been a fisherman for more than two decades, told IRIN. "The problem for us is that they catch in shallow waters and deep sea, but we can only go a certain distance."

Dutch Fort at Batticaloa

Dutch Fort at Batticaloa

Attribution:

World Monuments Fund

BATTICALOA

SRI LANKA

Key Dates

A Buddhist stupa and shatra from the Ruhuna Kingdom date back to the 1st Century BC.

The Dutch developed a fort there in 1628.

It was damaged in the 2004 tsunami.

The Fort of Batticaloa is on a small island on the east coast of Sri Lanka, 69 miles south by south east of Trincomalee. Its local name is Mada Kalapuwa, which means "muddy lagoon" in Sinhala, after the inland lagoon over which it looks. Although the site gets its name from a Dutch settlement built there in 1628, it has important ancient religious significance because of a Buddhist stupa and a a dagaba and Chatra from the Ruhuna kingdom of King Kavantissa.

The City of Batticaloa has had a violent recent history. Claimed by the Tamil separatist guerilla group, the LTTE (Tamil Tigers) as part of their homeland, it has been the scene of conflict, murder, and kidnapping. In 2004, it was one of the towns hit worst by the December 26 tsunami. It is now listed on the World Monuments Fund 2010's Monuments Watch List.

The Dutch Fort in Batticaloa

The Dutch Fort in Batticaloa, Sri Lanka, and the Carlisle Memorial Methodist Church in Belfast, Northern Ireland, illustrate some of the ways in which heritage conservation can bring together fractured communities.

http://www.artdaily.org/index.asp?int_sec=2∫_new=33755

Batticaloa road was built entirely with EU funds amounting to 110 million euros.

During the tsunami the Committee authorised emergency funding worth 370 million euros through its Emergency Fund to the affected countries including Sri Lanka. The Matara - Batticaloa road was built entirely with EU funds amounting to 110 million euros. This is one of the many projects carried out in the rebuilding and reconstruction process soon after the 2004 tsunami.