Telo_Home

India denies military assistance to Sri Lanka

In a significant move, the Prime Minister announced Wednesday that India would not extend any military aid to the Sri lankan Government, which is embroiled in a bloody ethnic conflict against Tamils in the Island.While India was for long maintaining a steadfast neutral approach, Sri Lanka's perceived closeness to China and Pakistan and the public opinion within India opposing Sri Lanka's bloody tactics may well have caused India to come out strongly against the Sri Lankan Government.Both Sri Lanka and LTTE have been in close touch with New Delhi, trying to woo the Congress lead UPA Govt. to their respective side as the ceasefire lies in tatters and conflict escalating every day.

Sri lankan Armed Forces have recently been charged with the murder of 17 French Aid Workers that took place early this month."India will not do anything that will strengthen Sri Lankan military," Dr Singh assured Mr Vaiko, who called on the Prime Minister here.The Prime Minister also accepted another demand of the MDMK delegation, which included its four MPs, that he meet the 22 Tamil MPs of Sri Lanka, Mr Vaiko told reporters.Dr Singh told Mr Vaiko and his party colleagues that he was willing to meet the Tamil MPs of Sri Lanka if a request to the effect was received from them.

The MDMK delegation met the Prime Minister after the demonstration outside the Sri Lanka High Commission to protest against the military offensive against the LTTE. During the 90-minute demonstration, they also demanded that Sri Lanka immediately pull out its forces from the Jaffna area.The MDMK delegation submitted a memorandum to Dr Singh, demanding that all medical and other humanitarian aid to Sri Lanka be routed through international organisations such as the Red Cross.They also wanted India to give asylum to all the Tamils from Sri Lanka and raise the financial assistance to such refugees.The meeting between Dr Singh and the MDMK delegation, held at the Prime Minister's 7 Race Course residence, lasted about 20 minutes.

President Mahinda Rajapaksa is scheduled to meet British Premier Tony Blair in London today to discuss issues related to Sri Lanka’s faltering peace process.Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera will join the President at today’s meeting with Mr. Blair and top British officials.President Rajapaksa, who flew to London on Tuesday was due to return to the country today.

Artillery and Multi Barrel attacks were launched Tuesday evening and Wednesday morning by the government forces to weaken the LTTE stranglehold at Sampur. This is the third consecutive day of attacks. The LTTE chargers that the government has come to the threshold of starting the 4th Elam war with this operation to capture Sampur.Army media spokesman said that the army is only retaliating to LTTE fire.According to unofficial sources the defence forces have attacked LTTE controlled Trincomalee west townships between Selvanagar and Sampur and has advanced a considerable distance. The plan of the security forces is to bring Sampur area under its control.According to LTTE Sampur comes under area controlled by them. But the contention of the security forces is that the LTTE brought the said area under its control after the signing of the CFA.

According to the section 1.5 of the CFA of any area which does not came under government or LTTE control, should be decided on the basis how it remained on the 24th December 2001. Till borders are deeded under section 1.6 both parties should preserve status quo. Both parties have flouted the CFA as if it does not exist. The LTTE has flouted it 4546 times and the security forces 216 times.In the battles that raged during the last 3 days 31 have been killed from both parties. LTTE says that 22 civilians too have lost their lives. As Sampur area is devoid of civilians there cannot be any civilian casualties. Sampur was first attacked when the LTTE attempted on the life of Lt. Gen. Sarath Fonseka, 4 months ago.Navy camp at Trincomalee and the harbour at Trincomalee are two main targets of the LTTE. Both there are extremely important for the safely of the security forces. Though LTTE has attacked both these targets several times the security forces managed to repulse it every occasion.

Army Commander Lt. Gen. Sarath Fonseka vowed to regain full control of Sampur, from the hands of the LTTE in Trincomalee, within the next couple of days, even as heavy fighting continued between Government troops and the rebels, in the strategic area.Speaking to the Daily Mirror Gen. Fonseka claimed that after 3 days of heavy fighting the military had moved into areas previously controlled by the LTTE in the Sampur region including Kataiparichan.“Our people have moved into Sampur and the LTTE is beginning to flee. We already have total control of Kataiparichan and within the next few days, we should be able to have 100% control of Sampur,” Gen. Fonseka said.

When asked by the Daily Mirror if “100 percent” could be interpreted as taking control of the entire Sampur region, Gen. Fonseka responded in the affirmative, backing it with claims that the military was moving into key localities, which are the cornerstones of Sampur.Fighting was less intense yesterday but the Military said that troops, backed by the Air Force, engaged in extensive search and clear operations last afternoon, by continuing their consolidation process in Sampur and Ichchalanpattu, removing thousands of booby traps, landmines, claymore mines and explosive devices.

“The LTTE fired artillery and mortars from areas in Sampur yesterday, which was retaliated by the troops, backed by aerial attacks by the Air Force. The fighting was not as heavy as in the last three days,” military spokesman Brigadier Prasad Samarasinghe said.The Army Commander is of the view that the LTTE is showing very little resistance in Sampur and attributes it to the heavy casualties suffered by the rebels, owing to the intense fighting over the last couple of days.“The LTTE is clearly very weak and that is why they are showing little resistance. They have lost more than a 100 of their cadres during the last two days,” Gen. Fonseka said.

The Security Forces on Sunday, launched an operation to neutralise LTTE positions in Sampur which were considered a threat to the Trincomalee harbour and the adjoining naval base, while ground troops were also involved in clearing rebels from Mutur and Thopur.The battle for Sampur had so far claimed more than 31 lives and injured around 101, which includes 13 soldiers dead and 79 injured, while the rebels say they have lost 18 of their cadres, with another 22 wounded.

Mr.Guruparan who was abducted at Dehiwala yesterday morning has been set free near the Kalubowila hospital this morning at 3.00 am.He has said that some unknown persons stopped his vehicle,blind folded him and put him under the seat and took him to an unknown place.Though he was told that he will be questioned,no one has questioned him. Mr. Guruparan who looked visibly shocked said that right throughout this ordeal he was kept blindfolded.President Rajapaksa who left for Landon yesterday has called the IGP and the Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa on his way to the Air port has instructed that the abduction of Mr.Guruparan should be thoroughly investigated.The president has further stated whoever are the abductors that Mr.Guruparan should be freed unhurt and his government should safeguard journalists and he is expecting good news of the release of the journalist soon.

The SLMC leader Rauff Hakeem who met the released Sooriyan FM news editor Nadaraja Guruparan hours after he was released by the abductors last morning, had told Mr. Guruparan that he was going to raise the issue of his abduction in parliament and ask for a thorough investigation into the matter.Mr. Hakeem who has been a long standing friend of Mr. Guruparan, came on Sirisa TV on Tuesday night and made a special appeal to the abductors to release Nadaraja Guruparan whom he said, he respected as a neutral commentator on the North-East conflict and had been a long standing personal friend.

During the meeting with the SLMC leader, Mr. Guruparan had said that the abductors had been initially aggressive but later had turned friendly towards him.During the meeting Mr. Hakeem had with the Sooriyan FM news editor which was also attended by SLMC Chairman Bashir Segudawood and Senior Deputy Leader Abdul Majeed, the SLMC leader had said unless a national dialogue is built upon the security of media persons the situation will only get worsen.

Tamil Nadu leaders heavily come down on SL military for defacing statue of late TN chief minister MGR

The southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu political leaders including MDMK general secretary Vaiko and AIADMK general secretary Jayalalithaa have vehemently condemned the incident of defacing the statues of late TN chief minister MG Ramachandran by Sri Lankan armed forces in northern Jaffna.The former chief minister of Tamil Nadu and the general secretary of All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) Ms Jayalalithaa issued a strongly worded statement against Sri Lankan armed forces for defacing the statue of late Tamil Nadu chief minister M G Ramachandran (popularly known as MGR).

The Sri Lankan armed forces based in northern Jaffna on August 27 defaced the statues of MGR in Valvettithurai and Gurunagar which were erected by the locals for the enormous contribution of MGR to Eelam Thamils in their struggle for liberation. Ms Jayalalithaa said in the statement issued on Tuesday that the incident of defacing the statues is the manifestation of revengeful attitude of Sri Lankan military.She said that the Sri Lankan military is hurting the feelings of Thamils across the world.Mr Vaiko, general secretary of Marumalardchy Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (MDMK) also strongly condemned issuing a statement earlier on the incident.

The three week long curfew in Jaffna and the disruption of University session has stranded large number of students of Jaffna University who are from out of town. Many of these out of town students come from Colombo, Puttalam, Mullaitivu, Kilinochchi, Vavuniya, Mannar, Trincomalee, Amparai and Batticaloa. They total around 1500. Over and above the lack of classes the students are very fearful due to the rampant arrests by the Sri Lankan military. University students in particular is being targeted by the military. The re-emergence of Thalaiyaddi in Jaffna has heightened the fear of the out of town students.These 1500 students have begun to agitate for their return to their home town.

Following is the full text of the statement from Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) head Ulf Henricsson on recent attacks in which civilians have been killed.

Noting the facts outlined in the SLMM findings there are very strong indications of the involvement of the security forces in the act despite their denial. Firstly, the SLMM cannot find the reasons for the restrictions of movements into the said areas especially in above-mentioned circumstances acceptable, thereby strongly indicating the GoSL's [government of Sri Lanka's] eagerness to conceal the matter from the SLMM. Taking into consideration the fact that the security forces had been present in Muttur at the time of the incident it appears highly unlikely to blame other groups for the killing. Provided that was the case it would in particular be illogical for the security forces to prevent the SLMM from entering the area and making proper inquiries in order to find the perpetrator(s). The head of SLMM has also had confidential conversations with highly reliable sources regarding the party who most likely has been responsible for the act. The views have not proved contradictory and the security forces of Sri Lanka are widely and consistently deemed to be responsible for the incident. Concluding with the supporting information arisen from the persons interviewed and the conversations with the representatives of the international community the SLMM is, with the obtained findings, convinced that there cannot be any other armed groups than the security forces who could actually have been behind the act. Consequently, the killing of the 17 civilian aid workers in Muttur on 4 August 2006 is ruled as a gross violation of the CFA [ceasefire accord] by the security forces of Sri Lanka. The committed act of assassination has approved to be one of the most serious recent crimes against humanitarian aid workers worldwide and has been strongly condemned internationally. I urge the GoSL to take all necessary actions to immediately stop any kind of violence against the civilians of Sri Lanka and to do its utmost that the matter is thoroughly investigated by the Sri Lankan authorities.

II. CLAYMORE MINE ATTACKS CONDUCTED BY THE GOSL IN LTTE-CONTROLLED AREAS BETWEEN 1 APRIL AND 15 JUNE 2006.

SLMM findings and internal analysis of both individual claymore mine attacks, as well as of the pattern arising from the same show that deliberate, planned and co-ordinated offensive military operations were conducted between 1 April and 15 June 2006 in LTTE [Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam]-controlled areas to execute these claymore mine attacks. SLMM findings have also verified two attempted claymore mine attacks carried out by the GoSL security force's special units in LTTE-controlled area on 13 and 15 June 2006. Two SLA [Sri Lankan Army] soldiers from the special units were killed by the LTTE in an exchange of fire and subsequently transported to GoSL area under the convey of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).

The aforementioned claymore mine attacks were carried out using a high level of military expertise with regards to planning, co-ordination and execution. The attacks required very good knowledge of the specific area, excellent intelligence skills along with the capability and skills of deploying and handling such weapons professionally. Moreover, it is clear that the units/groups executed these attacks with the possibility to escape into GoSL-controlled areas where safe exit/entry points, logistic and other assistance must have been provided by the security forces and/or GoSL/police units deployed along the Forward Defence Line (FLD). Based on the verified activities of the SLA special unit soldiers in LTTE-controlled areas there are firm indications of the involvement of the SLA in such attacks.

Both under the clauses of the CFA, international human rights law as well as treaty-based and customary international humanitarian laws, it is absolutely forbidden to deliberately attack civilians or without due care for civilian lives and property carry out attacks against an adversary in an armed conflict. Also all places of worship are protected under the CFA and international humanitarian laws and all parties to the CFA should refrain from using or execute attacks at places of worship such as the Madhu area, including such roads leading to and from the shrine. Despite the binding laws and regulations it is particularly serious to notice that a) the vast majority of the attacks have been directed or resulted in death and serious injuries to civilians; b) seven of the attacks/detonations using claymore mines have taken place in and around the area where the holy Madhu shrine is located.

Considering all the findings and assessed plausible motives SLMM is convinced that there can be no other than GoSL security forces or other armed elements with the support and assistance from the GoSL security forces who have been capable of having carried out these series of claymore mine attacks in the Mannar and Vavuniya districts during the relevant period indicated above. Therefore, the GoSL security forces, having the motive, capability and capacity to carry out such attacks against the LTTE in the north-east, bear the responsibility for killing and injuring the LTTE cadres and the civilians caught in the blast from these attacks.

Consequently, the executed and attempted attacks during the period 1 April - 15 June 2006 are part of a pattern of a deliberate strategy against LTTE cadres and civilians in LTTE-controlled areas in Mannar and Vavuniya districts by the GoSL security forces or by other armed elements with the substantial assistance and support from the GoSL security forces. These attacks are ruled as a gross violation of the CFA by the GoSL. I urge both parties to the CFA to put an end to all forms of attacks, protect civilians lives and the Madhu shrine area as well as to investigate any reported killing of civilians executed by individuals or groups of the LTTE or the armed forces of Sri Lanka or affiliated armed group(s).

SLMM findings have shown that the attack on the civilian bus was carried out by using military expertise with regards to planning, co-ordination and execution. The attack required very good knowledge of the area and intelligence skills along with the capability and skills of deploying and handling such weapons professionally. The LTTE has condemned the Kebitigollewa attack and denied their involvement in the incident expressing that another armed element, the Karuna group, has had a motive to execute the attack in order to discredit the LTTE. The SLMM does not find that plausible based on various grounds.

Based on SLMM inquiries and the well known modus operandi for the LTTE, the SLMM considers highly probable that there can be no other armed element than the LTTE and LTTE-affiliated forces that have had the motive to carry out the attack, in particular in GoSL controlled areas. Taking specifically into account the prevailing circumstances and obtained findings there are strong indications that the attack on Sinhalese civilians had been a deliberate retaliation for the recent killings of civilians and LTTE cadres in LTTE-controlled areas in the north and the east.

Both under the clauses of the CFA, international human rights law as well as treaty-based and customary international humanitarian laws it is absolutely forbidden to deliberately attack civilians or without due care for civilian lives and property carry out attacks against an adversary in an armed conflict. Therefore, being the only element with the motive, capability and capacity to carry out the attack, the LTTE must bear the responsibility for the killing of civilians. Consequently, the attack on the civilian bus in Kebitigollewa on 15 June 2006 is ruled as a gross violation of the CFA by the LTTE.

The MDMK, a constituent of India's ruling coalition, Wednesday urged Prime Minister Manmohan Singh not to sell weapons to Sri Lanka but to supply food and medicines to Tamil areas in the island. A delegation of MDMK MPs led by party leader Vaiko also urged the prime minister to oust Sri Lanka's top diplomat based in Chennai for criticizing a Tamil Nadu assembly resolution denouncing attacks on Tamils in that country.Vaiko submitted a memorandum to Manmohan Singh after a brief demonstration near the Sri Lankan high commission here to protest against military attacks on Tamil areas that have claimed scores of lives in recent weeks.

The memorandum urged New Delhi not to provide 'any sort of military assistance to the Sri Lankan government' and at the same time supply food and medicines through international agencies to 'the suffering Tamils'.It attacked Sri Lanka's top diplomat in Chennai who had said that a Tamil Nadu assembly resolution accusing Colombo of killing over 50 school girls in aerial bombing was based on 'totally fabricated reports'.'The Sri Lankan deputy high commissioner has no official status or right to criticize the Tamil Nadu assembly resolution. Therefore, we urge the government of India to take up the issue seriously with the Sri Lankan government and see that the deputy commissioner is sent back to Colombo.'

Vaiko, one of the most vocal supporters in India of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), also urged Manmohan Singh to take steps to ensure that the stalled Norwegian-brokered peace talks are resumed.'Peace talks are not an end in itself, but only a means to find an end. Any solution to the Tamil ethnic problem can be arrived (at) only if that solution fulfils the aspirations of Tamils... No solution can be thrust upon the Tamils either by cajolery or by coercion,' the memorandum said.'We would request you to send a delegation of Indian MPs to Sri Lanka to study the ground reality and also give an opportunity for the elected Tamil MPs of the island to meet (our prime minister) to present their case,' it added.

Vaiko later told reporters that Manmohan Singh had agreed to meet members of the pro-LTTE Tamil National Alliance, the largest Tamil grouping in the Sri Lankan parliament.He accused Sri Lankan Tamil minister Douglas Devananda, who is bitterly opposed to the LTTE, of campaigning against the Tamil cause and told the Indian prime minister that Devananda should not be allowed to lobby in New Delhi.The MDMK memorandum went into detail about the plight of Sri Lankan Tamils and referred to the growing military links between Sri Lanka and Pakistan.Wednesday's protest comes amid escalating violence in Sri Lanka, where government troops are trying to recapture Sampur area in the island's east so as to secure the port town of Trincomalee. The fighting has left hundreds dead and sparked warnings from the LTTE that it could lead to the collapse of the 2002 Norway-sponsored ceasefire.

Students at the University of Waterloo didn't account for money collected at an event honouring rebels killed in the struggle for an independent Tamil homeland.Held in November 2004, the memorial led to the suspension of the Waterloo Tamil Student Association as a sanctioned group on campus.The president of the association at the time was Suresh Sriskandarajah, the alleged leader of four former or current U of W students now accused of supporting the Tamil Tigers terrorist group.In place until January of this year, the rare suspension was also imposed because a Tamil Tigers flag -- featuring the head of a roaring tiger, two rifles and a ring of bullets -- was raised during the memorial.The suspension meant the association couldn't hold events at the university.But it did get special permission to stage another memorial to fallen rebels in November 2005 that was attended by dozens of people in the main hall of the Student Life Centre.

Martin Van Nierop, a spokesperson for U of W, said that event was closely monitored by university officials, who found it complied with the rules.Overt support of the Tamil Tigers -- who have been fighting for a separate homeland in northern Sri Lanka since 1983 -- was allowed because Canada didn't add them to a list of terrorist groups until April of this year.The event at U of W in 2004 broke the rules because organizers didn't notify the Federation of Students of their plan to collect donations or deposit the money in a designated bank account.It's not known how much money was collected or what it was supposed to be used for."That's part of the problem," Van Nierop said. "The control of finances is the issue here."

Sriskandarajah and three other current or former students -- including two other executives of the Tamil student association -- are among 12 men in custody after a joint investigation by the FBI and the RCMP.The allegations include an attempt to buy weapons, bribery, smuggling, money laundering and aid to the Tamil Tigers funnelled through front charities.The Tamil Tigers have been on a U.S. list of terrorist groups since 1997.Authorities there say the group relies heavily on supporters around the world to raise and launder money, gather intelligence and buy technology, military arms and equipment.They link the group to about 200 suicide bombings and several political assassinations.In addition to Sriskandarajah, 26, the U of W suspects are Thirukumaran Sivasubramaniam, 27, Thirukumaran Sinnathamby, 27, and Ramanan Mylvaganam, 29.

All four are charged with conspiring to provide material support and resources to the Tamil Tigers starting in 2003.Sriskandarajah, Sivasubramaniam and Sinnathamby are also charged with dealing in the property -- typically goods or money -- of the Tamil Tigers.Among other allegations, Sriskandarajah is accused of using student couriers to smuggle equipment into terrorist-controlled areas of Sri Lanka after telling them to conceal it with toys and chocolate in their luggage.Sriskandarajah is known to have gone to northern Sri Lanka at least twice in 2004, including one trip approved as a work term through U of W's co-op job program.In light of the recent arrests, U of W is doing an audit of the Tamil student association and a review of overseas co-op placements.

Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse has left here on a sudden visit to London for talks with Prime Minister Tony Blair, official sources said. Rajapakse and Blair were expected to discuss Sri Lanka's collapsing ceasefire with Tamil Tiger rebels, officials here said on Tuesday.The trip comes amid international efforts to salvage the truce, officials added."The president left for London this morning," a senior government source said. There was no formal statement from the government about Rajapakse's surprise departure at a time when government forces are battling Tamil Tiger rebels in the island's northeast.Some 1,500 people have died since December, when Sri Lanka's three-decade-old ethnic conflict escalated again as a truce struck in February 2002 started unravelling.The visit to London -- where Tamil Tiger chief negotiator Anton Balasingham is based -- is Rajapakse's first to Britain since he came to power in November.

Britain, Sri Lanka's former colonial power, banned the rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in February 2001.But Balasingham, now a British national, remains in London and holds meetings with foreign dignitaries involved in the island's peace process. Rajapakse has said he was ready for unconditional talks with the Tigers and described the current military action against the rebels as a "defensive operation" to prevent attacks against security forces and civilians.

Mr. Nadaraja Guruparan the news manager of Sooriyan FM which belong to ABC Radio Network has disappeared since this morning. According to his wife Mr. Guruparan has left his home at 4.00 am to go for his workplace in his car. Mt-Lavinia police have found his car and the office mobile phone switched off. A beggar who has seen the abduction have hold the police that 4 armed persons who have came in a white van abducted Mr. Guruparan.Journalists have staged a protest apposite Fort railway station this afternoon against the abduction of Mr. Guruparan.Mr. Guruparan (39) was the father of 2 children.Mr. Guruparan served as a special features writer in the Tamil News Paper Sarinegar published by MERJ. Kuruparan, who joined the PLOTE movement in his early days, left the movement, like the slain TamilNet editor Dharmeratnam Sivaram, and later became an independent journalist. At time of his abduction Mr. Guruparan was employed as the News Manager of Sooriyan FM and conducted the popular TV political programme Vilithugal. This programme very often discussed the politics and rights of the people of North East.When talks were held outside Sri Lanka between the government and the Tigers Mr. Guruparan assisted the reporting of the deliberations spending his own money.

It has been reported from a reliable source that a Tamil journalist has informed a female Journalist daughter of a former secretary to the Foreign Ministry that three more Tamil journalists have received death threats.Mr. Sunanda Deshapriya of the Free Media Movement made a special frantic appeal to the abductors to release Mr. Guruparan. He further said that if the abduction of journalists continues in this manner, they will be compelled to go for international action with the assistance of assistance of Journalist organizations.Mr. Deshapriya further stated that journalist could only ask for protection as media organizations do not have state power in political power. He stressed the importance of creating an international opinion with the assistance international media organization as murder (Specially Tamil Journalists) and abduction of journalists have become a common occurrence.At a media briefing this morning Mr. Tissa Attanayaka the Deputy Secretary General of the UNP said that the government should pay more attention to the abduction of Mr. Guruparan and if not allegation will be leveled against it too.The other day the president who summoned media bosses for tea said that he maintain a close link with the media and does not wish to introduce censorship of News of North East developments. Though such sentiments were expressed by the president one could see that a censorship is visibly taking place in the form of abductions and death threats.

Sri Lankan troops facing heavy resistance halted an advance into territory held by the Tamil Tigers, as the death toll from recent fighting hit 119, officials and LTTE said. The drive to nullify rebel artillery guns in Sampur town, which threaten the strategically important naval port of Trincomalee about 10 kilometres (six miles) away, stalled because of LTTE resistance, a military officer said on Tuesday. He said artillery duels had died down Tuesday, but war planes bombed suspected Tamil Tiger bases north of Trincomalee in a bid to knock out guerrilla supplies. The battle for Sampur included air, artillery and ground attacks over late Sunday and Monday. Military sources said 15 soldiers were killed and another 92 wounded.

The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) also shelled an army camp in the neighbouring district of Batticaloa."There were heavy mortar attacks against Vavunathivu army camp at Batticaloa and troops retaliated in kind," the military officer told AFP by phone from the region. "We have no details of casualties there yet.” Meanwhile troops killed at least 16 Tiger guerrillas in the northern town of Vavuniya after they attempted to attack a military bunker line early Tuesday, the defence ministry said in a statement. It said two civilians were also gunned down by unidentified gunmen in Vavuniya.

S.Elilan Trincomalee Political Leader for the LTTE, has said 20 civilians were killed and 25 wounded in the Government Forces' attack. He said 20 LTTE cadres lost their lives and 50 Sri Lankan soldiers dead. He pointed out that if the intention of the Govt armed forces was to capture Sampur, then they would have to make a huge land move along Kaddaiparichchaan and Mahindapuram and might have to sacrifice many men and incur heavy losses. The defence ministry said at least 66 rebels were killed on Monday by security forces in and around Sampur.It was not possible to get independent verification of the casualty figures. The ministry said the Sampur offensive was launched after the rebels fired mortar bombs and small arms at security forces from their positions in the town.

Trincomalee is the starting point for soldiers and supplies sent to the embattled northern Jaffna peninsula. The port is also the site of an oil storage facility that provides energy security for Sri Lanka's 19.5 million people. A previous truce ended in April 1995 when the LTTE sank two naval boats anchored at Trincomalee harbour, which lies some 260 kilometres (160 miles) northeast of the capital. More than 60,000 people have been killed in the Sri Lankan conflict. Political talks on ending the violence stalled in April 2003.Continued LTTE attack on Trincomalee harbour is feared could paralyse the Trincomalee to Jaffna supply route, essential for the government to retain in order to provide food and provisional assistance to the 43,000 troops stationed in the peninsula, with the land route passing through the Vanni rendering transport impossible during war.

Vaiko’s ongoing campaign against the genocide of Thamils in Sri Lanka is now set to rock Indian capital New Delhi crossing the boundaries of Tamil Nadu as his party MDMK is fully ready to hold protest demonstrations in front of the Sri Lanka High Commission there (New Delhi) on August 30, Wednesday. “We want to tell the international audience that our kith and kin are being butchered in Sri Lanka, only because they are Tamilians. We realise that Delhi is the apt venue to attract international attention,” MDMK leader in Lok Sabha L Ganesan told media. Addressing a public meeting in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, on Monday Vaiko categorically said Tamil Eelam, a separate nation for Thamils, "is the only solution to the Sri Lankan Thamils issue".

Vaiko flayed the Centre for advocating a solution within the framework of a united Sri Lanka and said only the Thamils of the island nation had the right to decide their destiny."The Sri Lankan Thamils will decide for themselves. The final battle for Tamil Eelam is on and LTTE is capable of winning a separate nation for Thamils on their own. We want the LTTE to win and they will be victorious," he said.Some days ago he said he is even ready to go to gallows for supporting Tamil eelam. "The MDMK will continue to support the LTTE and I am willing to be imprisoned all my life or even face the gallows for supporting the LTTE," Vaiko asserted.Vaiko said 22 of the 23 Tamil MPs in the island, belonging to the Tamil Nationalist Federation, were backing a separate homeland for Tamils and the self-determination rights of Sri Lankan Tamils should be respected.

Vaiko warned that any assistance of India to Sri Lanka would create another Kashmir-like situation if angry Thamil youths took over the political leadership in Tamil Nadu, making democratic leaders like himself irrelevant.The world community's conscience had been awakened after the killing of 61 schoolgirls in Sri Lanka. The UNICEF and the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission had confirmed that the place raided by Sri Lankan forces was an orphanage, Vaiko said.The MDMK will hold a protest in front of the Sri Lankan High Commission in New Delhi on August 30 to condemn Sri Lankan government sponsored terrorism and genocide of Tamils in Sri Lanka.A rally will also be held in Chennai on September 1 to mobilise support for the Sri Lankan Tamils.

India and the rest of the international community are seeking an immediate cessation of hostilities in Sri Lanka, but Colombo is saying 'no' until it retakes a strategic region overlooking the eastern port of Trincomalee. India and the US have conveyed to the Sri Lankan leadership, directly and otherwise, their concerns over the long-term consequences of continuing with a bloodletting that has taken a serious turn in recent months leaving hundreds dead.India and members of the co-chairs to Sri Lanka's peace process, including the US, European Union, Japan and peace facilitator Norway, say their message is also directed at the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), not just Colombo.But disregarding the appeals, Sri Lanka has launched a major military offensive to recapture Sampur and nearby areas from LTTE so as to secure Trincomalee, the island's most important naval base.

The dominant feeling in the international community is that unending fighting is not going to help resolve a problem that basically needs a political resolution.'We want a cessation of hostilities, we want an immediate full stop to fighting,' a representative of one of the co-chairs told IANS, just before Sri Lanka's latest offensive started Monday in Trincomalee district. 'No one has really gained in fighting so far and no one is really going to gain much.'The Sri Lankan government argues that its Trincomalee base is vulnerable to attacks from LTTE-held Sampur and any offensive to capture Sampur area should not be seen as a violation of the Norway-brokered 2002 ceasefire agreement.

The LTTE had earlier informed Norway that it would respond adequately if Colombo halted its campaign of artillery attacks and aerial bombardments on Tamil Tiger territory. This was seen as a small window of opportunity. But Colombo is being presently driven by an assessment that this is the time to strike hard blows at the LTTE.This, one Western diplomat said, may pay off for now but not in the long run.'It is astonishing that there are still people in Sri Lanka who think a military victory is possible,' the diplomat said. 'The only places where they think this way are Kilinochchi and Colombo,' he added, referring to the capitals of the LTTE zone in northeastern Sri Lanka and of the island nation itself.

Norway is in touch with both parties and doing what it can to somehow make the two sides understand the necessity to talk so as to end a conflict that has dragged on and on since 1983, left over 65,000 people dead and badly decimated a country that was once seen as South Asia's answer to Singapore.The feeling in the international community is that the Sri Lankan government is 'very clear' about its immediate military objectives. But the question is whether strategic victories will help push the LTTE to the negotiating table or harden its stance further?There is another fear, and this relates to the heavy price non-combatants, mainly the Tamils and Muslims, are paying in the renewed conflict, a situation that could contribute to making a long-term solution to the conflict that much harder to reach.

Already, many Tamils feel that devolution of powers can no more be an answer to the conflict because Colombo may one day simply take back what it gives to a Tamil region. What they want, they say, is genuine power sharing, perhaps a la the Indian system.But even if Colombo and LTTE agree, can a solution come when unending casualties and sufferings of innocents cause more and more bitterness?The international players in the peace process, which has more or less collapsed, are blaming both Colombo and LTTE for the current state of affairs. In the past too Colombo has felt on some occasions that the LTTE was on the run but the latter rebounded, further prolonging what is already one of the world's longest running separatist struggles.

Many moderate Sinhalese in Colombo say the government seems determined to wage war, whatever the cost.Tamil circles that articulate LTTE thinking say its failure to make major military gains should not be seen as a weakness, notwithstanding the tremendous international pressure the group is under, but as a lull before the storm.And knowing that the only predictable trait of the LTTE is its unpredictability, this may well be true.

We can’t wait while Sri Lankan soldiers hang our women and kids’- LTTE Military Spokesman Ilanthirayan Interview

Irasaiah Ilanthirayan, the Military Spokesman of the LTTE, talking to PC Vinoj Kumar, the Current Affairs Correspondent, Tehelka, explains that the military measures adopted by the LTTE presently, both in Trincomalee, Muthur area and in the Jaffna Peninsula are all defensive. He has pointed out that wherever there are clashes, they have all been initiated by the SL Armed Forces. When the Forward Line is breached and the govt forces are trying to advance, the LTTE is rightfully repelling the move.

Q: There are conflicting reports about the situation in Jaffna. What’s happening there?

A: There was an attempt by the Sri Lankan troops to breach the Eluthumattuval frontline. We retaliated and they fell back. There are no advances from their side at the moment.

Q: Do you have plans to launch any pre-emptive attacks on the Sri Lankan troops (in Jaffna)?

A: If they are making preparations (for another attack), we have to do something about it. That’s what they did in Muttur. They attacked our forward lines, and also launched attacks against civilians. We don’t know what’s in their mind.

Q: If the current conflict escalates into a full-scale war, does the LTTE have the capability to take Jaffna? Or would you target Kankesanturai port first?

A: At the moment, we are only retaliating, (undertaking defensives measures). But further decisions have to be taken by our defence council, which is chaired our national leader (V. Prabhakaran).

A: Matters of strategy cannot be discussed with the media. Besides, our action has been defensive. We are now in a position to put pressure on the places the government is using as launching stations – along the border -- to attack our civilians.

Q: The Sri Lankan army says that LTTE has suffered severe casualties. How many people have you lost?

A: If you were to add up the casualty figures (of LTTE) as claimed by them (over the years), then there won’t be any Tamil population left in Sri Lanka. The numbers are exaggerated. We have lost 88 soldiers. On their side, 485 soldiers have died, and about 1250 injured. The injured (Lankan soldiers) will not be able to return to the war.

Q: What about the attack by the Sri Lankan Air Force in Sencholai that claimed the lives of over 60 children? The army claims they were not orphans, but LTTE cadres.

A: They may say so, but the UNICEF and SLMM (Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission) representatives are aware about the truth. UNICEF representatives have visited the orphanage several times in the past.

Q: The Sri Lankan government has held the LTTE responsible for the bomb attack against the Pakistani envoy in Colombo. What do you have to say?

A: I have nothing to say about it. The LTTE has no connection with the incident.

Q: What in the LTTE’s view is the main cause for the escalation of fighting in Sri Lanka?

A: Our agenda is open and transparent. There’s a peace accord and we abide by it. The Sri Lankan military continually violated it. Even the problem at Maavilaru could have been resolved through negotiations. But the Sri Lankan government militarily intervened and spoilt all the efforts. It launched a massive operation against our areas, bombarding civilian targets, 15 and 20 kilometres away from the theatre. (Later,) the Sri Lankan forces tried to breach our borders in the Northern Fronts. We have the responsibility of protecting our people.

Q: Are you saying that it was Sri Lanka’s military response to the Maavilaru incident that has aggravated the situation?

A: After seeing the manner in which the Sri Lankan government behaved in the Maavilaru issue, we can’t be waiting in other (LTTE controlled) areas till the Sri Lankan soldiers march into our homes and hang our women and children.

Q: The theatre of war appears to be spreading fast. What began in Maavilaru has now spread to other parts of Trincomalee, southern Jaffna peninsula, and also Batticaloa. Who is responsible for this?

A: The Sri Lankan government is responsible for this situation. The government and the military did not show the slightest sign of honouring the pledges made at the Geneva Talks (conducted early this year). All those following the developments in Sri Lanka know who is responsible for this scale of escalation.

A: It did not keep a single pledge it made. (Among other things, the government had promised to disarm anti-LTTE paramilitary groups operating in its areas).

Q: You are probably upset with the way the government has backed the Karuna group. Is that also one of the reasons?

A: Yeah, (but) actually it cannot be seen as Karuna group. Karuna is a mere person (an individual) and he is not holding any importance in the theatre. He is (operating) along with other paramilitary groups like EPDP (Eelam Peoples Democratic Party) and EPRLF (Eelam People’s Revolutionary Liberation Front), Varadaraja Perumal team.

A: Yeah, they (Karuna supporters) have publicly opened an office in Colombo. Everybody knows that, don’t you? (Tamileela Viduthalai Pulikal, a political party headed by Karuna opened an office in Colombo a few days ago.) How can a paramilitary team claiming that ‘we killed this man, we killed that man’ have an office in Colombo publicly, without the support of the government?

Q: For the first time in its history, LTTE has used an aircraft to bomb the Palaly air base. Tell us about your fledgling air force.

A: I am afraid I can’t directly comment on the issue due to its strategic nature. All I can say is that to protect our people we will deploy our sailors, soldiers, airmen and marines.

A: You are once again going into some strategic things. I am very sorry I cannot comment on it.

Q: Though you have cited several factors for the escalation in fighting, the present flare-up appears to have been caused due to the closing of the Maavilaru sluice gates? Why did you close the gates in the first place?

A: I need to tell you what was happening in and around Maavilaru. Sri Lankan soldiers were not allowing essential commodities to reach LTTE controlled areas in Maavilaru. People were denied drinking water and children went without milk and food. The people came together and tried to solve the problem through several ways. When negotiations did not bear fruit, they blocked the sluice. They were trying to find a solution through the SLMM (Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission) when the Sri Lankan government intervened militarily and spoilt everything.

Q: What are LTTE’s plans on Trincomalee port? The LTTE has been shelling the Sri Lankan navy base there.

A: The objective is to stop the bases from being used to launch attacks against our people. We want to stop the movement of troops through the Trincomalee port.

Q: Let’s talk about the Sea Tigers. They played an important role in the capture of Mullaitivu in 1996, and Elephant Pass in 2000. What will be the role of Sea Tigers in the present operation?

A: I do not know about the role of Black Tigers in this particular operation. It is a matter of strategic nature and I cannot comment on it.

Q: In spite of a near total war, both the LTTE and the Sri Lanka government claim that the ceasefire is still in place. Is the reluctance on both sides to formally declare war due to fear of offending the international community that is opposed to a military solution to the ethnic conflict? (The co-chairs of the Tokyo Donor Conference for Sri Lanka Peace Process – the US, European Union, Japan and Norway, - have stated that “violence is not the way to resolve the ethnic conflict in Sri Lank” They had urged the government of Sri Lanka and LTTE to “cease hostilities and return to the negotiation table”.)

A: As a military doing its duty towards its homeland, we are only executing what we are ordered. The political decisions are made at a higher level, about which I am unable to comment

The British High Commission yesterday confirmed that over 50 British nationals and dependants had been moved from Jaffna to Colombo.This happened as part of an operation by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) which saw about 160 foreign nationals and other individuals in humanitarian need moved, from Jaffna to Trincomalee by ferry and then from Trincomalee to Colombo by bus. The British government has, for some weeks, advised British nationals to leave the north and east of Sri Lanka, at the first available opportunity.

The British High Commissioner Dominick Chilcott said, “Our staff met the British nationals at a reception centre in Colombo. We were able to assist them with onward travel plans and ensure that none were in pressing need of medical or other assistance. Other diplomatic missions also met their nationals.There are still some 60 British nationals in Jaffna, with whom we remain in contact. We are working with the ICRC on arrangements to help them leave.”Dominick Chilcott added“We are very grateful for the professionalism of the ICRC, in organising this evacuation and the support of the Colombo Hilton, for agreeing to host the reception arrangements at short notice.”

Currency	Buying (Rs.)		Selling (Rs.)
US Dollar	102.50		103.62
Sterling Pound	194.07		197.09
Euro	130.95		133.24
Swiss Franc	82.58		84.67
Australian Dollar	77.56		79.37
Singapore Dollar	64.79		66.09
Japanese Yen	0.8729		0.8913
Country		Currency		Indicative Rate(RS.)

Bahrain	Dinar	273.86
Kuwait	Dinar	357.04
Oman	Rial	268.17
Qatar	Riyal	28.36
Saudi Arabian	Riyal	27.53
UAE	Dirham	28.11

Both sides have sustained severe damages in the Battles that have raged in the eastern townships Selvanager and Thoppur between government troops and LTTE using Mortar s, artillery and multi barrel rocket launches. In the arial attacks that were conducted this evening government sources say that airforce Kfirs completely distroied a LTTE artillery point at Ichchalimpattu. Brig. Prasad Samarasinghe the media spokesman for the army said that 22 soldiers have sustained injuries and 2 have lost there lives. A spokesman for the Kantalai hospital said that they have been informed that 4 dead bodies of soldiers will be brought to the hospital. According to to the latest reports reaching 'LeN' 79 soldiers have sustain injuries and admitted to Kantale and Polonnaruwa hospitals while 13 have lost their lives. Two of the soldiers who have sustain serious injuries have been rushed to national hospital Colombo.

Though LTTE cadres have sustained severe damages from the attacks of the security forces, nothing is known of their casualties.According to sources of the security forces, attacks on Selvanagar and Thoppur was a part of the operation to clear the surrounding areas of army camps as attacks were mounted at Muttur targeting Trinco navy camp and the harbour during the battles that raged in this area few days back.

Heavy clashes between the security forces and the LTTE in the Eastern parts of Sampur continued till late last night while four civilians and a soldier were killed in separate Tiger attacks in the conflict areas yesterday.Three civilians in a tractor at an LTTE-controlled area at Kanniya in Uppuweli, Trincomalee were killed in a claymore mine explosion on Sunday evening. The victims identified as Kandhaiya Ganesh (51), Kulasekaram Jayarathnam (52) and Appukutti Sugumar (59) had reportedly gone to collect firewood in Kanniya area when they were caught in the blast around 7.30 pm.Meanwhile, in Uppuweli, a Sinhala civilian, Amal Janaka of a Cooperative shop in Ambalipuram was gunned down by a suspected pistol gang yesterday afternoon.

In Vavuniya, two soldiers were shot at by rebel pistol gang members last morning and one succumbed to his injuries later. According to Vavuniya Police the two soldiers were at a private garage attending to some repairs to an army vehicle. The victims were rushed to Vavuniya Hospital.A sailor on a route clearing patrol at Pesalai in Mannar was seriously injured in a claymore mine explosion yesterday. Meanwhile, Tigers fired several mortar rounds at the security forces in Jaffna and Batticaloa on Sunday afternoon. The troops retaliated but no casualties were reported.In Puttalam, an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) was recovered from the sea by a fisherman on Saturday in Sinnapaduwa and defused by the Army Bomb Disposal Unit. In Batticaloa, an LTTE child soldier surrendered to the Polwatta Army Detachment on Sunday. The 16-year-old who surrendered without weapons was handed over to the Batticaloa Police.

Former President of the Supparmadam Fisheries Society was shot dead by unidentfied men, around 3:30 p.m, Monday. Sellathurai Gopalasingham,53, was abducted from his house situated close High Security Zone (HSZ) demarcated by the Sri Lanka Army. His body was found close to Kali tempel in Supar Madam, source said.Assailants came to his house located along seaside, took him for questioning to Athisoodi Pillaiyar temple and shot him in his head, civilian sources said.

Sri Lankan Army and police during joint-search operation in Colombo and its suburbs on Sunday arrested 76 Thamils of various ages, including eight women.During the search that began at noon and continued till midnight in Borella, Kollupitya, Kotahena Bambalapitiya and Wellawatte police divisions, all Colombo bound vehicles were thoroughly checked, police said. Police said they are interrogating the arrested persons at different police stations in Colombo.

The Colombo High Court yesterday refused bail to a suspect arrested in connection with the killing of former Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar. The court refused the bail application filed by Perumal Thanalechmi of Kalinga Mawatha at Polhengoda in Kirulapone on behalf of her husband Muththiah Sahathevan.The applicant said that her husband worked as a garden labourer at a house of a person employed in the UNO and also in the house of one Thalayasingham at Buller’s Lane in Colombo 7. She cited the OIC Crime Detection Bureau (CDB), Dematagoda Police Station and the Attorney General as respondents.

Counsel for the applicant, A. Vinayagamurthy informed court that the suspect was arrested by the CDB on August 13, 2005 in connection with the murder of Lakshman Kadirgamar. He stated that the suspect was detained for nearly one year and there was no evidence with regard to his direct involvement in the incident. Counsel denied the suspect’s involvement in the murder of the former Foreign Minister and asked court to grant him bail.State Counsel Yohan Liyanage, appearing for the Attorney General, objected to the suspect being granted bail. The State Counsel stated that Sahathevan was one of the leading suspects and was working at the house from where the shooting was carried out.Having considered the submissions, High Court Judge Ms. Deepali Wijesundara refused the application

Unidentified armed men set fire to LTTE’s political office in Jaffna on Sunday night.Local people said armed men went to the two-storey building, which located at Pottpathy in Kokkuvil, near Jaffna University Medical Faculty and once housed the LTTE’s political office, and set fire to it. They also said the building is not being used since the LTTE's political wing was withdrawn from Sri Lanka government controlled areas in December 2005.

The SLFP Central Committee will meet next week to take a final decision on the JVP’s stand on the party proposals submitted to them earlier.The JVP is expected to communicate its stand shortly to an SLFP committee comprising party General Secretary Maithripala Sirisena, Ministers Nimal Siripala de Silva, Mangala Samaraweera, Anura Priyadarshana Yapa and MP Dalles Alahapperuma.After studying the JVP proposals, they will call for a Party Central Committee meeting to finalize matters within the week.

The statue in Jaffna of a well loved Indian personality, MGR, was defaced by the Sri Lankan military on 27 August. Late M G Ramachandran, popularly known as MGR, was the chief minister of the Indian state of Tamilnadu for several years during the 1990’s. Prior to that he was a popular film actor who even toady is referred as the progressive artist. In his films he took up the cause of the downtrodden. Fans of MGR even now gather and form fan groups. MGR also gave his support to the struggle of the Tamil people .The statue of MGR was erected only last year by the people of Jaffna.

A notorious underworld figure, wanted in connection with the assassination of Colonel Meedin, of the Directorate of Military Intelligence (DMI), is believed to have recently carried explosives to Kandy, where the LTTE made an abortive bid to target the government’s security spokesman Minister Keheliya Rambukwelle.Rambukwelle Sunday said that he was aware of the underworld link in the attempt on his life. The wanted man, identified as ‘Ice Manju’, is believed to have set claymore mines closer to Rambukwelle’s Kandy residence. Police and the security forces are on the look out for ‘Ice Manju’, who pulled the trigger on Colonel Meedin at the officer’s Kiribathgoda residence.

Schools in the Jaffna Peninsula remained closed indefinitely as rest of the schools island wide reopened yesterday for the third academic term.Jaffna Education Department authorities said schools in the peninsula would remain closed till curfew was further relaxed. The 24-hour-curfew on the Peninsula was of late relaxed by six hours - from 9 am to 3.pm.But six hour lifting of the curfew was not enough for schools to re-open, they said.

The Janata party today demanded that action be initiated against the "open supporters of LTTE" under the National Security Act.If the MDMK leader Vaiko had spoken in support of the LTTE, the government should not hesitate to take action against him, party president Subramanian Swamy told reporters here.They should file a case, and it is for the court to take "cognizance of such serious offences and take action as per the law," he said.On the Sri Lankan issue, he said India should persuade the Sri Lankan government to bring in a Federal constitution bill and get it passed in Parliament for a permanent solution to the ethnic crisis.

The 18 suspects arrested with weapons at a piggery at Pamunugama and Usketiyaya have been handed over to the Terrorist Investigation Unit for further investigation.TIU sources said two of the suspects had direct connections with the LTTE and had been holding the weapons for them.The owner of the piggery said he was unaware of any LTTE connections. Police say that none of the suspects had been registered with the police. Investigations are continuing.

Five accused Sri Lankan gang members are behind bars in connection with a massive fraud scam that police suspect may have bilked thousands of Mississauga residents. "This was a highly organized and sophisticated ring," Det. Steve Craddock of 31 Division said yesterday. "We are interested in what the money was being used for." The men were arrested near Keele St.-Finch Ave. W. on Saturday. Craddock said two suspects were nabbed after a long footchase. He said the arrests followed the seizure of a palm-sized debit machine that has been illegally in use since May at a branch of a restaurant chain located in a busy mall.

Detectives refused to identify the restaurant or mall due to an ongoing probe. "The machine was removed from a mall in a highly populated area of Mississauga," Craddock said. "There is a potential of thousands of residents being affected." Police said the machine captured -- for both the restaurant and fraudsters -- customers' credit card and debit numbers and PINs. Craddock said officers found more than 20 bogus cards -- created using stolen data -- and $4,000 in cash after searching the suspects. Detectives are now probing the trail of stolen cash to determine whether loot was sent to Sri Lanka for the Tamil Tigers terrorist group. "With recent events in the world we have to be vigilant and concerned about where money is going," Craddock said.

The arrests follow the RCMP-FBI roundup of 13 suspected Tamil Tigers -- including six Canadians -- who were allegedly trying to purchase rocket launchers, missiles, truck launchers, night goggles and other gear. Police are warning Mississauga residents to check their bank and credit card statements carefully to avoid losses. "Residents should keep a close eye on their bank balances," Craddock said. "If there are any discrepancies, they should notify the bank or police." Charged with 25 fraud- related offences are Ganeshananthan Mahadevan, 36, Thuthikaran "Thuthy" Thurapalasingam, 26, Tharmaraj Nagularajah, 26, Thubaran Subas, 22, and Kishokanth Tharmapalan, 26. The men appeared in Old City Hall court yesterday and their cases were adjourned until this week.

Currency	Buying (Rs.)		Selling (Rs.)
US Dollar	102.78		103.88
Sterling Pound	193.70		196.89
Euro	130.79		133.35
Swiss Franc	82.42		84.60
Australian Dollar	77.33		79.38
Singapore Dollar	64.78		66.15
Japanese Yen	0.8727		0.8919
Country		Currency		Indicative Rate(RS.)

Bahrain	Dinar	274.29
Kuwait	Dinar	357.55
Oman	Rial	268.60
Qatar	Riyal	28.41
Saudi Arabian	Riyal	27.57
UAE	Dirham	28.15

A Sri Lankan navy boat patrols nears the naval base in Trincomalee. At least two Sri Lankan soldiers were killed and 41 wounded as security forces launched a ground offensive to push back guerrilla artillery threatening a strategic naval port, officials said. Troops backed by multi-barrel rocket launchers and artillery guns moved towards the rebel-held town of Sampur at the southern edge of the Koddiyar bay where the main naval port of Trincomalee is located, officials said. At least two Sri Lankan soldiers were killed and 41 wounded as security forces launched a ground offensive to push back guerrilla artillery threatening a strategic naval port, officials said.Troops backed by multi-barrel rocket launchers and artillery guns moved towards the rebel-held town of Sampur at the southern edge of the Koddiyar bay where the main naval port of Trincomalee is located, officials said.

"A ground offensive was launched this morning and troops are moving towards Sampur," a military source said. "Troops are expecting close quarter fighting, but the casualties so far had been due to artillery and mortar bombs."Hospital sources said 43 soldiers with shrapnel wounds were brought to hospitals in the region. Two of them died.Troops mounted the offensive with a barrage of rockets and artillery towards Sampur, a strategic location used by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) to hit the Trincomalee naval port and the nearby military airport.A military official in Trincomalee, 260 kilometres (160 miles) northeast of the capital, said the latest offensive was part of a move to secure the Trincomalee military facilities against long-range attacks by the Tigers.

"The objective is to neutralise the heavy Tiger artillery pieces located at Sampur," the official said.There was no immediate reaction from the Tigers to the latest offensive in the Trincomalee district. It was also not clear if the guerrillas suffered any casualties.The rebels have shelled Trincomalee port, the main naval base for troops in the embattled northeast and the starting point for soldiers and cargo headed for the northern peninsula of Jaffna.Trincomalee, which was a staging post for Allied forces during the two world wars, has an oil storage facility that provides energy security to this nation of 19.5 million people.The oil tank farm is also within striking distance from Sampur, less than 10 kilometres (six miles) from the Trincomalee naval facility across the Koddiyar bay. The port was hit by Tiger artillery this month.

The Tigers launched a major offensive against military camps in and around the Muslim-majority town of Muttur, southeast of Sampur earlier this month.President Mahinda Rajapakse told international donors last week that Sampur should not be allowed to be used by the rebels to threaten Trincomalee.The latest long-range attacks came a day after the Red Cross ferried 150 foreign nationals to Trincomalee from the Jaffna peninsula where troops and Tigers have been trading fire across a de facto front line since August 11.Passengers spoke of relief at leaving amid food shortages and communication problems as sporadic fighting continued on the peninsula where more than 40,000 have fled their homes in the worst violence since a February 2002 ceasefire.

Both the government and the Tigers have said that they are committed to upholding the truce and described the latest upsurge in fighting as defensive action.Nordic truce monitors have said that the ceasefire is only holding even though at least 1,500 people have been killed in fighting since December when clashes began escalating.More than 60,000 people have been killed in Sri Lanka's drawn out Tamil separatist conflict and political talks on ending the violence have been on hold since April 2003.

Let’s think of Lankan Tamils!---Ananda Vikatan Editorial a Tamil weekly Magazine, based in Tamil Nadu

As we witness heated exchange of words over the Sri Lankan ethnic issue in the Tamil Nadu political circles, it appears that there is confusion between the welfare of the Sri Lankan Tamils and our view of the LTTE. In case, the Sri Lankan government rejoices over our divergent and divided stand on this issue, the sorry plight of the Sri Lankan Tamils subjected to naked violence will be worse. It must be said that the Sri Lankan Tamils have always been concerned about the security of India and the greatness of Tamil Nadu soil.

In the sixties, during the Indo-China war, Sri Lankan Tamils carried till boxes along every road in Jaffna, raised funds, and it was their leader, Eela Thanthai Chelvanayagam who dispatched the war fund to Jawaharlal Neru, the then Indian Prime Minister. The photograph of Netaji Subash hangs in the sitting rooms of the Sri Lankan Tamils. In this context, every word that Dr.Karunanithy,Tamil Nadu Chief Minister uttered in the Tamil Nadu assembly is real. “In trying to save Tamils, there can be competition as to who should extend help but it is not prudent to drive away any body who opts to extend support to Lankan Tamils. If we quarrel among ourselves in this manner, we will lose our moral right to offer any advice do them”. A wonderful advice, indeed! We reiterate that this prudence is appropriate to all political leaders including the Chief Minister

India should play a much bigger role –SL President Interview India Today

COLOMBO: With his brawny good looks, Mahinda Rajapaksa could easily pass for a hero of South Indian films. He did, in fact, act in a Sinhalese film but first chose law and then politics as his main vocation. "If I had continued in films, I would have been another Karunanidhi (the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister)," he joked, settling down for an exclusive interview last week. More comfortable in a lungi and shirt than formal wear, Rajapaksa comes across as earthy and pragmatic. He takes pride in his rural upbringing in Hambantota. His emergence as the top leader of the Sri Lankan Freedom Party and then as President of the nation last November signalled a major political shift - till then, the party had been dominated by the Bandaranaikes, the last being Chandrika Kumaratunga.

At 60, Rajapaksa looks fit enough to lead the party for the maximum of two terms that a President is entitled to. Once in power, Rajapaksa was expected to be hawkish in his dealings with the Tigers given that during the election campaign he had ridiculed the "peace-at-any-cost" approach followed by his predecessors and was against the Norway-led international mediation. But as President, he has displayed tremendous patience despite the LTTE launching a series of lethal attacks, killing many people, including Kethesh Loganathan, Deputy Secretary-General of the All Party Representative Committee for Peace. Only when the LTTE wounded Army Commander Lieutenant General Sarath Fonseka, in an attack in Colombo in April and then blocked the supply of water from a major dam to farmers in the East, did Rajapaksa order his Forces to retaliate.

A: For me, the ceasefire is still on although the LTTE has been waging an undeclared war ever since the agreement was signed. We are now just defending ourselves. But we want peace. We want a settlement. The LTTE and the Government must get together and negotiate this. I am ready to talk directly to Prabhakaran (LTTE chief), man to man. Even after all that has happened recently, we are ready to move forward.

Q: During the election campaign, you had said you were against Norwegian mediation and that when you come to power they would be out. Is that still your approach?

A: I never said I was going to chase them out. We have our alliances-some of them felt they should go. After the elections, our allies agreed that they should still try and negotiate. My alliance partners gave me the mandate to go ahead with the peace talks, so we went ahead. The LTTE broke away from the peace talks because we didn't provide a helicopter to fly them across. Can you imagine this?

Q: Did you approve of the way your predecessors were negotiating the peace deal?

A: I felt, to reach a solution, the whole country must get together and we must have a consensus on how we are going to do it. We can't force anything down anyone's throat. My strategy is to unite all parties represented in parliament on a common peace platform that will propose a framework for a solution. I wanted to get them to study the past history of the problem, study the Indian system and the other systems in the world and give me a Sri Lankan model. That would be used as a basis for negotiations with Tamil groups like the LTTE with whom we shall sit together for discussions. I believe in a frank and direct approach to the problem.

A: Why should I do that if this is not a process I believe in? My political strategy is transparent and I have no hidden agenda. I told them that I want concrete proposals within a clear time frame. But what time has the LTTE given me? Ever since I was sworn in, they have replied to our peace initiative with bombs, terror and assassinations. I didn't retaliate. I was just watching the situation, trying to say we must negotiate. Only after they hit Colombo and struck my Army Commander, did I react.

A: The West looked at me like that because they thought I came from a rural background. I was not glamorous enough for them. They wanted an Oxford graduate, fluent in English and one who spoke with an accent and all that. They thought a man wearing a tie would make a better leader. Now, the whole world must understand that when the LTTE attacked initially, I showed great patience and restraint.Otherwise, I would have started (retaliating) from the time I came to power and used any excuse to walk in with all my firepower. Whatever the image they may try to build, I am still Mahinda Rajapaksa who knows what the people want and their needs. What I want is peace and prosperity.

Q: So, you don't want to be the lion of Sri Lanka who would get rid of the Tigers?

A: (Laughs) I want to live with the tiger, not take it over. But the LTTE must give up this armed struggle and talk. Mind you, we are talking to terrorists, not freedom fighters. There's a difference. With a freedom fighter, you can negotiate. With a terrorist, you decide.

A: No. Because, as I said earlier, I want peace. I don't want war. Like India and so many other countries, our choice is to address such problems through negotiation and accommodation, not through heavy-handed repression. That's why, whatever actions I have taken have not been in a fully offensive mode. But we will not sit idle in the face of terrorism. We will not bow down to pressure.

A: You never know how Prabhakaran's mind works. Today, the world has recognised that the LTTE is a terrorist organisation. Apart from India, the EU has banned it and so have the Americans and the Canadians. The Australians are to follow soon. In his Independence Day speech, the President of India (A.P.J. Abdul Kalam) spoke of the need for uniting against terror-we have to forget all differences and do that. Not only for Sri Lanka, but also for India and the rest of the world. There must be international pressure-there cannot be three different approaches for one word which is terrorism.

Q: But what about the incident in which children of an orphanage were reportedly killed in an attack carried out by your army recently?

A: Instead of listening to propaganda and rumours, people must study the facts. Everybody knows it was a training camp for child soldiers and women cadres opened by the LTTE. Photographs showed the bodies were clad in black trousers, shirts and headbands. In Sri Lanka, most Hindu and Tamil girls never wear clothes like that. We had identified the camp in the jungle in 2004. We had to take action when attacked. I will never order an attack on an orphanage or on children. It was sad. We are family people. I have given clear instructions to the forces that there should not be any human rights violations.

Q: On your first visit to India in December last year, there was a feeling that the reception you got was not warm enough.

A: I didn't feel so. I understand India perhaps more than any other political leader in our country today. I have had the closest ties with Indian leaders ever since I was a minister in Chandrika Kumaratunga's Cabinet in the 1990s. The Prime Minister was friendly and we had discussions and a good understanding with the political leadership. We are two sides of the same coin-India and Sri Lanka-with all our culture, our religion and history. A close understanding between our two countries is basic to the security of the South Asian region. Our economic destiny, too, is closely tied to that of India. These are the basics that should guide our relations. No question about it.

A: I have been repeatedly requesting the Indian Government to play a much bigger role in helping Sri Lanka solve its crisis. It is not just I who look to India for this, the whole world is looking to India to provide the initiative to move the peace process forward.

A: I won't say India is not doing enough. I know they have to balance their political considerations. I can understand there is a coalition. We also have coalitions. The LTTE knows this and exploits this. We need India's help in the seas around Jaffna and Trincomalee to prevent arms for terrorists being smuggled in to our country. We make a special appeal to India's Tamil leaders to take the initiative and help the misguided though small section of our Tamil population to unite for a peaceful solution to its problems.

Q: Your critics say you have veered towards Pakistan and buy defence equipment from them?

A: (Laughs) Not just from them. We buy equipment from Israel, China, Ukraine, Russia and even at times from India. We have a very close relationship with all the nations. India is the main country that can ensure peace. So, India is our first option-not only in defence but in every other aspect.

A: Not just for our defence but (we want India's help) to develop our country. I invite Indian investors to come here. We are now the third biggest importer of Indian goods. And with my new policies, all the Tatas and other Indian vehicles are plying here. We are encouraging Indian investment in a big way. We would like to see more direct investment from India in all sectors of our economy, especially in infrastructure development. We want India to become an important stakeholder in our economy.

At least seven soldiers of Sri Lankan Army were injured when the LTTE fired mortar shells at troops attached to the Selvanagar Army Detachment in Trincomalee on Sunday morning. Military sources in Colombo said the soldiers came under attack when they were on routine foot patrol at about 6.30 a.m. The injured soldiers were admitted to the Polonnaruwa hospital for treatment. To retaliate LTTE attack, local sources said, SL troops also launched artillery shells on identified LTTE positions in Sampoor.

Armed LTE cadres mounted an attack on the Black Bridge army checkpoint, Batticalao around 6.30 last evening. They had tried to overrun the checkpoint to build a bunker, but the attempt was foiled, the Media Centre for National Security said.12 LTTE cadres were killed in retaliatory attacks and more than 20 were injured, the Centre further said. No reports of any damage caused to security forces. Mortars and light arms had been used in the attack and one of he mortars had landed in a nearby village.Meanwhile unconfirmed reports said an offensive had been launched from the Trincomalee Navy Camp last evening jointly with the Army towards LTTE held areas in Muttur and Thoppur. Trincomalee could not be reached over the phone since the launching of the offensive.Two claymore mines have been detected from a government controlled area in Muttur and they were later defused by the Muttur police. The police said this was a deliberate move by the LTTE to disrupt fast returning normalcy in Muttur. Meanwhile Kfir fighter jets carried out air strikes on LTTE held areas in Muttur. Our Muttur reporter said that a naval craft too had launched attack on the area.

A crucial meeting between UNP leader Ranil Wickremesinghe and his deputy Karu Jayasuriya will be held today regarding President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s invitation to join the Government. Deputy Leader Karu Jayasuriya told the Daily Mirror last night that the President’s request was an important matter to be discussed at the party’s parliamentary group meeting, and therefore they would discuss it with Mr. Wickremesinghe today.

The Sri Lanka Army (SLA) has occupied the village of Manatkadu in the Vadamaradchi East and established a camp in the precincts of St. Anthony’s Church, residents said Sunday. People are being prevented from leaving the village and many fear they are being held as a human shield to protect the SLA base at nearby Nagar Kovil. Manatkaadu is situated between Nagar Kovil and the eastern coastline. The fisheries society at Manatkadu Sunday accused the Sri Lanka Army of preventing 300 families in the coastal hamlet from leaving.SLA soldiers based in Kudaththanai junction and Vallipuram are not allowing the villagers to leave Manatkadu to go to other safer areas, whilst troops establish a camp at the village’s St. Anthony’s Church.

Relgious activity at the church has been suspended since the SLA troops occupied it. The Jaffna Bishop has transfered the parish priest of the church to Karaveddy, church sources said.The SLA has stepped up security in the costal area of Vadamaradchi, sources said.SLA authorities have ordered the fishermen living between Katkovalam in Pt.Prdro and Thondamanaaru to hand over their outboard engines to their respective Fisheries Societies.Sources in Vadamaradchi said SLA Special Forces soldiers are stationed in a newly established camp in a private tutory, close to the North-Hindu Ladies College in Pt. Pedro, sparking anxiety amongst local residents and parents of the students.

New search operation in Colombo

The security officials in Sri Lanka have launched a new search operation in the capital, Colombo.Major General Laurence Fernando has been appointed as Joint Commander of security operations in Colombo by the Ministry of Defence.The military and the police initiated a new search operation under the new commander in an aim to avoid further violence in the city, military spokesman Brig. Prasad Samarasinghe said.He told BBC Sandehaya that the security forces found claymore bombs and other explosives in and around the capital during the last few days.“The public has been very supportive and we were in fact tipped off by the public of these explosives,” Brig. Samarasinghe told bbcsinhala.com.Assuring that no community would be harassed due to the ethnic background, the spokesman urged the public to keep an identity with them always so that any eventuality could be avoided.

The politburo of the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) at a meeting held on Friday night, has decided not to take a hasty decision to join the Government. It has decided that it would watch how issues that plague the community are addressed, before deciding in this regard.SLMC General Secretary Hasan Ali told the Daily Mirror that the issue of internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Mutur, shortcomings in the peace process and the deteriorating law and order situation, had compelled the party to take this stand. However, Mr. Ali explained that the SLMC had decided to support the Government in the peace process and will continue to participate at the All Party Conference (APC) and the Experts Committee.

Mr. Ali said his party would continue the dialogue with the Government through the APC.It was also decided at the Politburo meeting to continue with the SLMC’s relief programme for displaced civilians from Mutur and also to assist the Government in its resettlement efforts.According to Mr. Ali, Government assistance was still a far cry from what was expected by the displaced civilians and most relief work was being done by NGOs and individuals.

The CID has made a major breakthrough in the probe into the assassination of TNA MP Joseph Pararajasingham with the arrest of two key suspects. Pararajasingham was assassinated by two gunmen at the St. Mary's Church in Batticaloa while attending the Midnight Christmas mass on December 24, 2005. His wife and seven others were wounded in the shooting. CID investigations had revealed that the MP's decision to attend the Holy Mass was known only to his wife. The MP and his wife had sat in the front row on the right side facing the altar for almost two hours before he was shot at during the taking of Holy Communion. The two assailants had used two 9 mm handguns.

The empty casings found at the scene has been sent to the Government Analyst to ascertain supportive material. The Analyst's report is awaited. The CID had recorded statements from all devotees who were present at the Church. Some of them had stated that they could identify one of the assailants and furnished descriptions. The suspects are to be produced in Court for an identification parade. According to the CID, the in-depth investigations by CID officers had unearthed many vital clues, leading to the arrest of these two key suspects alleged to be involved in this killing. CID sources added that on the completion of inquiries, they would consult the A-G to consider instituting criminal proceedings.

This week's arrest of six Canadians of Tamil origin on terrorism charges reminds me of Sir Peter Ustinov's brilliant maxim: "Terrorism is the war of the poor, and war is the terrorism of the rich." In an apparent rush to U.S. President George Bush's ideology and policies, the Harper government recently added Sri Lanka's Tamil Tigers guerillas to its terrorism list. The U.S. added the group last year. In 1983, civil war erupted in Sri Lanka after decades of growing strife between majority Sinhalese Buddhists and minority Hindu Tamils. Tamil Tigers guerillas have waged a ferocious, bloody struggle against the Sinhalese government for an independent Tamil state. Over 65,000 Sri Lankans have died. The war continues in spite of foreign mediation.

Sri Lanka's Sinhalese control the army, navy and air force. The Tigers have only small arms, in large part purchased with money raised by Canada's 250,000 Tamils. Canada's Irish did the same for the IRA. Canadian Jews raised funds to buy arms for Israel's independence struggle from Britain. Sikh separatists in Punjab were funded by Canadian Sikhs. The Tigers are courageous, highly effective fighters -- call them the Hezbollah of South Asia. They used their bodies as human bombs to fight first the government army, then India when it invaded Sri Lanka in the 1980s in an effort to annex the island. A female Tiger blew up Indian PM Rajiv Gandhi in 1991.

The Tigers are exceedingly brutal and often murderous. They are a fanatical, highly dangerous totalitarian organization. But they are not "terrorists," as the U.S. and now Canada claim. Terrorism is generally defined as "attacks on civilians for political purposes." Mad dogs who blow up airliners, trains and schools are terrorists, no question. But under this definition, then what do we call the Allied mass slaughter of civilians in Dresden, Hamburg, Tokyo, Osaka, Nagasaki and Hiroshima? Or Russia's massacre of 100,000 Muslim Chechens a decade ago; Israel's 1982 bombardment of Beirut that killed 18,000 civilians; U.S. destruction in 1991 of Iraq's water treatment plants, creating an epidemic that killed hundreds of thousands of children?

What about the indiscriminate bombing of Afghan villages by U.S., Canadian and NATO forces? Or the recent killing of over 1,000 Lebanese and Israeli civilians, denounced by Amnesty International as a war crime? Those accusing others of terrorism are often far more guilty of it themselves. Tamil Tigers ably govern a third of Sri Lanka. Dismissing them as "terrorists" is as meaningless and misleading as calling Hezbollah, which is Lebanon's only effective, non-corrupt government, "terrorist thugs." Enough with propaganda labels. I detest this deceitful, poisonous term, "terrorism," which has become a propaganda weapon to demonize political opponents.

Canada has recently made itself an enemy of the Muslim world and now faces attacks on its citizens and business interests abroad. This is not a good time to kick the Tamil Tigers hornet's nest. Sometimes it's better to avert your gaze, as previous Canadian governments did, and not seek trouble -- particularly when the Tigers have committed no hostile acts against Canada or the U.S. Terrorism is a tactic, not a thing. Tamil Tigers are fighting for independence after decades of oppression. We westerners have forgotten that armed resistance to intolerable oppression is a legitimate right of all peoples. One really must ask why Ottawa is sticking its nose into another remote, bloody foreign war and creating new security problems for Canadians when it can't provide even Second World health care to its own people.

“The LTTE which lost face over the Mavil Aru issue also suffered heavy casualties in Muttur and Jaffna. As if rubbing salt in their wounds, the FBI staged a crackdown on the Tiger operatives in North America. Those who dole out money to the LTTE and its front organisations are also likely to be prosecuted. This will have a major effect on the LTTE’s fund raising from not just the Diaspora in Canada (250,000 Tamils) and the U.S. but also the 25 countries in the European Union which banned the organisation end May.”“The year 2006 was indeed a bad year for the LTTE which now wants to prolong the struggle till 2008. It is now reliably understood that the LTTE has softened its approach and is not demanding outright grants but requesting for loans to be settled once Eelam is established in 2008.”

Ever since Velupillai Prabhakaran blocked his people from crossing Tiger-held territory to government-controlled area to cast their vote at the last presidential polls, he gave the upper hand to Mahinda Rajapaksa.The boycott gave Rajapaksa the coveted all-powerful six-year long executive presidency. Democracy was defeated in the North and East and the whole country in effect. Prabhakaran failed to cross the great barrier. Deprived of the ballot, the Tamil community in the North and East realised the bullet was already loaded, and loaded certainly not in their favour.The writing on the wall was crystal clear: The nasty war was to return with ferocity unfathomed. Prabhakaran could not have gone back to war under a Wickremesinghe Presidency. He had to do so under Rajapaksa to be justified before the eyes of the international community as well as his own people.

Rajapaksa was no fool to return to hostilities immediately on assuming the mantle of leadership of the country. Even during campaigning, Rajapaksa did not advocate war; he allowed the JVP and the JHU to do the war mongering. It is pretty much the same even now as he faithfully beckons the Tigers to come to the negotiating table saying the “doors are still open”. It is the JVP, the JHU and sections of the media that advocate war. Well, if the war is thrust upon Rajapaksa, he can do nothing but fight it as hard as he could. Prabhakaran’s calculations went wrong. Rajapaksa is not willing to be the bad boy internationally. He is not willing to give into the LTTE either.Few months after assuming the presidency, true to form, Rajapaksa proved Prabhakaran absolutely right.

Prabhakaran described Rajapaksa during his Heroes’ Day Message on November 27, 2005 as “a realist committed to pragmatic politics.”Rajapaksa proved himself a pragmatist and not an idealist like say, Ranil Wickremesinghe, who, even when hit, would not hit back. Wickremeisnghe believed in gentleman politics and kept appealing to the umpire. Wickremesinghe’s success however was that he prevented the return of war by keeping his forces under check, even in the face of provocation. The only exception perhaps is the downing of Tiger vessels carrying arms and ammunition. To an extent Chandrika Kumaratunga also ensured the CFA was upheld for two long years after she forcibly took over the defence ministry in November 2003.

Rajapaksa has said no to the JVP demand of withdrawing from the CFA but at the same time is not willing to take things lying low. Rajapaksa has given strict instructions to hit back. “First hit back and later appeal to the umpire if necessary,” seems to be his guiding principle. At times even the umpire is checked. He waited for the right time to hit the Tigers hard. He did it with ferocity when the Tigers targeted Army Commander Lt. Gen. Sarath Fonseka. From then on, it was a pair of eyes for one eye, and teeth for a tooth. Otherwise how does one explain the many aerial bombings? The military response to the water blockade by the LTTE also buttresses this argument.

Chandrika Kumaratunga did not order air strikes like Rajapaksa even when her Foreign Minister was assassinated in August last year. Until the peace process was exhausted, she restrained the forces. We saw that in April 1995. She had her military successes (Riviresa and the rest) but in the end, the debacles brought her government down. All those who underestimated Rajapaksa- the LTTE and others who wanted him at the helm of matters- will now have to live with him for another five years. Rajapaksa, who won the favour of India, to secure the presidency has, via the latest India Today magazine, appealed to India again to play a bigger role in the peace process. Some may say Rajapaksa’s appeal fails to consider the practical realities in domestic Indian politics, but others say the appeal is meant to do a balancing act given the military role played by Pakistan in supplying arms to Sri Lanka. Rajapaksa needs the central Indian government on his side to stave off any support to the Tigers via Tamil Nadu.

Rajapaksa is capable of doing both talking peace and preparing for and prosecuting the war. He went in for a huge defence budget, not taking any chances. This is exactly what the LTTE did with Wickremesinghe; talk peace and prepare for war. The LTTE never stopped collecting funds, never stopped stockpiling weapons and never stopped recruiting. But the LTTE is beginning to feel the pinch with the crackdown in Northern America- Canada and the Unites States. Prabhakaran’s men have been arrested and charged with multiple crimes. The US is expected to extradite the Canadian citizens involved in raising funds for the organisation as well as attempting to purchase weapons- A K 47s and Surface to Air missiles to take on the Kfir jets that are bombing its targets. Attempts to bribe officials to remove the LTTE from the list of Foreign Terrorist Organisations have also been exposed.

This is on top of the unsuccessful attempts made by his cadres in pushing their way to Jaffna at Kilali, Muhamalai and Nagarkovil over the past two weeks. The recovery and return of Army Commander Sarath Fonseka after his attempted assassination has raised the morale of the troops. He has resolved to meet any challenge by the Tigers and in his military pursuit, he wants no obstacles, politically. The LTTE which lost face over the Mavil Aru issue also suffered heavy casualties in Muttur and Jaffna. As if rubbing salt in their wounds, the FBI staged a crackdown on the Tiger operatives in North America. Those who dole out money to the LTTE and its front organisations are also likely to be prosecuted. This will have a major effect on the LTTE’s fund raising from not just the Diaspora in Canada (250,000 Tamils) and the U.S. but also the 25 countries in the European Union which banned the organisation end May. Member states ought to freeze LTTE financial assets, prohibit the provision of funds- directly or indirectly to the LTTE- and observe a travel ban on Tiger delegations to these countries.

Canada listed the LTTE in April under the new Conservative Government after years of resistance by the Liberal Government which maintained that the ban be withheld to keep peace process going. In March this year, the US-based Human Rights Watch castigated the organisation for its strong arm tactics in raising funds in North America. The LTTE denied these allegations, albeit violently, but as others have noted for those who faced such harassment the contents of the HRW report would strike a chord. The year 2006 was indeed a bad year for the LTTE which now wants to prolong the struggle till 2008.It is now reliably understood that the LTTE has softened its approach and is not demanding outright grants but requesting for loans to be settled once Eelam is established in 2008.

Come November 27, 2006 what will Prabhakaran have to tell his fighters, the Tamil Diaspora, the international community and President Rajapaksa? Last year at this same Heroes’ Day message Prabhakaran calling it his “final appeal” urged the new government “to come forward soon with a reasonable political framework that will satisfy the political aspirations of the Tamil people.” “If the new government rejects our urgent appeal, we will next year, in solidarity with our people, intensify our struggle for self-determination, our struggle for national liberation to establish self government in our homeland.”The “realist” President Rajapaksa has pledged political proposals for which he convened the All Party Conference. The country looks forward to these proposals and only hopes they would be pragmatic enough, given that previous diluted devolution proposals have been rejected by the LTTE, which of course must exhibit the same amount of realism given that the East is also the homeland of many Muslims and Sinhalese while the former were driven out of the North.

The government is to be put on notice by the Co-Chairs to Sri Lanka's peace process unless it addresses as a matter of priority the humanitarian crisis in the north-east. The Co-Chairs, Norway, US, EU and Japan will inform the government of their decision following a meeting scheduled in Brussels early September. The EU, UN Secretary General Kofi Annan and the Co-Chairs' representatives in Colombo last week called on President Mahinda Rajapakse to address the humanitarian crisis in the north-east and allow aid workers access to the Internally Displaced People (IDP). The request came after the Defence Ministry issued directives preventing access to the conflict zone citing security considerations.

The number of refugees in the north-east following the outbreak of hostilities has risen to over 200,000 according to the UNHCR. The Co-Chairs and Annan also called on the President to address the human rights abuses and allow independent international investigations into the murder of 17 aid workers of a French NGO and other civilian killings. A top EU source in Brussels told The Sunday Leader the government faces the prospect of sanctions unless the humanitarian crisis is not addressed as a matter of utmost urgency. India's External Affairs Ministry Secretary Shyam Saran also visited Oslo last week and discussed with Norwegian Foreign Minister J. Gahr Store and International Development Minister Erik Solheim the humanitarian crisis in Sri Lanka, its fall out on India and the need to ensure a speedy cessation of hostilities.

Meanwhile the UN Human Rights Commission is expected to take up the human rights situation in Sri Lanka at their meeting on September 14 in Geneva. The Sunday Leader learns the Human Rights Ministry has failed to address the urgent humanitarian needs of the IDPs as urged by the international community due to restrictions on movements imposed by the Defence Ministry.

The Jathika Hela Urumaya alleges that the mandate received by President Mahinda Rajapaksa has been besmirched by roping in the support of the Ceylon Workers Congress and the pcountry People's Front to the government by offering ministerial and deputy ministerial posts and calls on the President to immediately declare to the country whether these two parties joined the government by accepting Mahinda Chintana policies. JHU leader Ven. Ellawala Medhananda thera objected to the offering of ministerial portfolios to these parties in Parliament today.

The JHU strongly condemns the joining of the CWC and UCPF with the government, its spokesman Nishantha Sri Warnasinghe said adding that the mandate received by Rajapaksa was undoubtedly from the Sinhala people and charged that these two parties are pro-LTTE and claimed they clearly maintain links with the LTTE. At the last presidential election they sided with the United National Party against Mahinda Rajapaksa and Mahinda Chintanaya and were highly critical of the JHU and the JVP and by getting such parties to join the government Rajapaksa has defiled his mandate, Warnasinghe explained.

He alleged that the President has committed a grave mistake by prostituting his mandate in this manner. "These parties joined the government after losing their power base with the aim of gaining privileges and benefits. They clearly are anti-Sinhala communalist parties. They are also two terrorist parties that suppressed the rights of the Sinhala community in the central hills and want to drive away them from these areas. The President has kicked his mandate by winning over the support of these two pro-LTE parties", Warnasinghe noted.

"We also object to the offering of ministerial and deputy ministerial posts to everyone crossing over to the government form other parties. People are reeling under escalating cost of living and the people have to bear the burden of extra expenditure incurred on maintaining all these ministers. Expanding the Cabinet in this way is also a breach of Mahinda Chintanaya. This act of the President will lead to people loosing their faith on him", the JHU spokesman concluded.

60,000 Sri Lankan Tamil refugees in Tamil Nadu-Finance Minister Anbalagan in Tamil Nadu Assembly

Professor Anbalagan, the Finance Minister in Tamil Nadu government, Friday told the Tamil Nadu Assembly that there are sixty thousand Sri Lankan Tamil refugees in Tamil Nadu as at today. Professor Anbalagan said that the Sri Lankan refugees came to Tamil Nadu for the first time in 1983 following communal violence in Sri Lanka. Thereafter the coming of Sri Lankan Tamil refugees ceased in September 2003. He further told that with the recent escalation of violence in Sri Lanka and with the impending threat of war, Sri Lankan Tamils flowing into Tamil Nadu has gathered momentum again.

He explained that these Sri Lankan refugees are housed in 105 camps. 16,537 families comprising 60,425 members are looked after in these camps. All of them are provided relief in cash on a monthly basis. A sum of Rs 17.71 corers is allocated for the welfare of the Sri Lankan refugees this year. Finally finance Minister assured the House that they are in dialogue with the central government for special seat allocation to the children of Sri Lankan refugees for higher studies as this facility that prevailed earlier had been stopped in 2003. He concluded in an optimistic note that they could persuade the central government to accept their request.

A bomb explosion incident took place between Eluthumadduval and Muhamalai at about 11.30 a.m. on Saturday killing six Sri Lanka Army soldiers, SLA sources said. Sources said the explosion occurred when the SLA troopers were on a road clearing operation. Four other troopers were injured in the explosion who were rushed to Karainagar Sri Lanka Navy hospital, military sources said.

The Special Task Force (STF) raided a private estate in Pamunugama around 4 a.m. yesterday and seized a haul of weapons, police said.Eighteen persons suspected to be linked to the LTTE who were living on this estate at Palanambalama in Uswetikeiyawa at the time of the swoop-down were arrested.The suspects, 16 males and 2 females, had told investigators that they worked on