It is not illegal to raise the Tamil Eelam flag in the United States, the US embassy in Colombo said last week. The embassy was responding to questions by Sri Lankan state media that a sports event organized in the United States weekend before last was a Tamil Tiger event as the Tamil Eelam flag had been raised there.
However, the Embassy’s press officer Evan Owen said that the US authorities couldn’t have prevented the Tamil sports festival in New York as there was no evidence to indicate the organisation behind this event had any links with the LTTE.
The Arts and Cultural branch of the World Tamil Organization in New York held its Ninth annual children’s sports festival at the Jamaica High School sports facilities in Jamaica New York Saturday July 30.
More than 200 children from Staten Island, Queens, Brooklyn, Bronx and New Jersey areas took part in the festival, organizers said.
The sports festival commenced with the lighting of flame of sacrifice, and the hoisting of US and Tamil Eelam national flags, and the flag of the Arts and Cultural Organization.
The Tiger symbol of Liberation Tigers of Tamileelam (LTTE) created in 1977 was designated as the National Flag of Tamileelam in 1990, without the letters inscribing the movement’s name. The Tiger flag became a civil flag in 1990.
“The LTTE remains to be listed as a foreign terrorist organisation. Any financial assistance or material aid to the LTTE is in violation to the US law,” the US embassy press officer said adding that however, the right to assemble and freedom of speech is upheld by their constitution.
Inquired about the Sunday Tamil schools and the matter that the curricular for these schools being sanctioned by an Education Board in Kilinochchi - the LTTE headquarters, he said “The US does not have a central education ministry controlling what is taught in school. It would be inappropriate for us to be screening material that has been taught.”
Diaspora parents have established a Tamil Education Board head quartered in Germany with members in other countries with significant Tamil population. This Board is responsible for drawing up curricula for teaching Tamil language and culture to diaspora children.
“Tamil books for Kindergarten to Grade 9 have already been developed that satisfy specific educational needs of diaspora children. These were drafted with expert guidance from University Professors in Tamil Language from South India, Singapore and Sri Lanka,” Mr Rajaratnam, a member of the Education Board from Canada told TamilNet.
“Although developed outside Sri Lanka, the books and the school curriculam were reviewed by the Tamileelam Education Board in Kilinochchi in 2004 and were approved,” Rajaratnam added.
However, the Embassy’s press officer Evan Owen said that the US authorities couldn’t have prevented the Tamil sports festival in New York as there was no evidence to indicate the organisation behind this event had any links with the LTTE.
The Arts and Cultural branch of the World Tamil Organization in New York held its Ninth annual children’s sports festival at the Jamaica High School sports facilities in Jamaica New York Saturday July 30.
More than 200 children from Staten Island, Queens, Brooklyn, Bronx and New Jersey areas took part in the festival, organizers said.
The sports festival commenced with the lighting of flame of sacrifice, and the hoisting of US and Tamil Eelam national flags, and the flag of the Arts and Cultural Organization.
The Tiger symbol of Liberation Tigers of Tamileelam (LTTE) created in 1977 was designated as the National Flag of Tamileelam in 1990, without the letters inscribing the movement’s name. The Tiger flag became a civil flag in 1990.
“The LTTE remains to be listed as a foreign terrorist organisation. Any financial assistance or material aid to the LTTE is in violation to the US law,” the US embassy press officer said adding that however, the right to assemble and freedom of speech is upheld by their constitution.
Inquired about the Sunday Tamil schools and the matter that the curricular for these schools being sanctioned by an Education Board in Kilinochchi - the LTTE headquarters, he said “The US does not have a central education ministry controlling what is taught in school. It would be inappropriate for us to be screening material that has been taught.”
Diaspora parents have established a Tamil Education Board head quartered in Germany with members in other countries with significant Tamil population. This Board is responsible for drawing up curricula for teaching Tamil language and culture to diaspora children.
“Tamil books for Kindergarten to Grade 9 have already been developed that satisfy specific educational needs of diaspora children. These were drafted with expert guidance from University Professors in Tamil Language from South India, Singapore and Sri Lanka,” Mr Rajaratnam, a member of the Education Board from Canada told TamilNet.
“Although developed outside Sri Lanka, the books and the school curriculam were reviewed by the Tamileelam Education Board in Kilinochchi in 2004 and were approved,” Rajaratnam added.
