Merger will unite Lanka De merger will divide Lanka

30 December 2006

Sri Lanka warplanes, renegades attack Tigers, 30 die By Sanjeev Miglani

Sri Lanka's air force bombed Tamil Tigers in a key area in the island's east on Saturday, the military said, hours after a renegade group announced it overran rebel camps and killed at least 30 militants. The military, stepping up an offensive in the east, said a Tiger artillery gun position was destroyed in the air strike in Vakarai, one of the last major rebel strongholds on the coast.Another strike was successfully carried out on a Sea Tiger base in the nearby Pudukudiyirippu area, the military said in a statement.Fighting between the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), which wants a separate homeland for Tamils in the north and east, has intensified in recent weeks. A 2002 truce is now in tatters and thousands have died in violence this year.

Earlier on Saturday, the Karuna splinter group said 200 of its members attacked Tiger camps in the jungles of Toppigala about 40 km (25 miles) from the town of Batticaloa in one of the biggest raids in months."Our intelligence reports said there were top LTTE commanders there, 30 cadres were killed on the spot," said Asad Maulana, a spokesman for the Tamileela Makkal Viduthalai Pulikal, the political wing of the Karuna faction.Karuna Amman, a former Tiger eastern commander, split from the LTTE in early 2004, taking an estimated 6,000 loyal fighters with him. He accused the rebel leadership of discriminating against Tamils in the east -- his traditional stronghold.Two members of his group were wounded in the 90-minute attack, Maulana said. The three camps, including one for women fighters, were destroyed and a large quantity of ammunition including two rocket launchers was found.Three Tiger rebels were killed in another attack on Saturday in Paththiruppu about 16 km from Batticaloa, Maulana said. Two members of the Karuna group were killed in the fighting.

REPULSED

The LTTE said the attacks were repulsed and that only four of its cadres were wounded.It said the attack in Toppigala was carried out with the support of the Sri Lankan military firing mortar bombs."They came to attack our camps around midnight and tried to infiltrate, but we counter-attacked," LTTE defense spokesman Rasaiya Ilannthirayan told Reuters."They dispersed in the jungles along with a SLA (Sri Lankan army) group which was working in the background."He said the body of one member of the Karuna group was found in the jungle while another was captured alive."They had dreamed they would kill our leaders, they had dreamed 30 of our cadres would be killed, but it did not happen," the spokesman said.

Independent verification of the fighting in the remote area is not possible, and the military, the Tigers and the Karuna group are known to exaggerate rival casualties while playing down their own losses.More than 3,000 people have been killed this year in suicide bombings, clashes and air and naval raids. Tens of thousands of people have been displaced by the renewed conflict, including many who were made homeless by the tsunami that battered the eastern coast in 2004.A Sri Lankan army brigadier told Reuters on Friday that the eastern rebel stronghold of Vakarai was expected to fall to the military soon following weeks of fighting that had forced thousands of civilians to flee.

MP slams aerial bombardment on Verugal water refinery

The Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF), in its latest bombing raids in Vaharai on Thursday, completely destroyed a water refinery constructed by the UN agencies to remedy the drinking water shortage in the area near Verugal Murugan temple, charged S. Jeyanandamoorthy, the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) Parliamentarian from Batticaloa. In a press communiqué issued on Friday, the MP said: "the bombardment on the water refinery is not only a Ceasefire violation but is a human rights violation and a war crime too."Mr. Jeyanandamoorthy also slammed the Sri Lankan Government for "vicious plan of occupying Tamils land by planning to set up a coal power plant in Muthur East region.""The Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL) has not only chased away the Tamils from their homes in Sampoor but also is trying to acquire their land covertly by building chemical factories."

The TNA consisting 22 out of the 23 Tamil members elected to Sri Lankan Parliament from the North Eastern Province, have repeatedly charged that the Sri Lankan armed forces were using humanitarian crisis as a tool of war.Already in May 2005, Sri Lankan soldiers manning the entry points in Batticaloa began blocking civilians from transporting cement, building and construction materials, fuel and other essential materials to the villages in Vaharai region, hampering the post-tsunami reconstruction.A year later, in May 2006, the ban was made official in contravention of the provisions in the February 2002 Ceasefire Agreement. As the military confrontations intensified, International NGOs were prevented by the GoSL, first by official bureaucratic obstructions denying them the freedom of movement in the North-East and later by not allowing the relief workers to precede beyond the entry points citing "security reasons.

" The relief workers and vehicles of International relief organisations also came under attack by the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) and the SLA run paramilitaries.A ban on fishing was imposed, causing a humanitarian crisis to the tsunami affected people along the SLA controlled coastal areas.All the access routes to Vaharai region and the only land route to Jaffna remain completely closed by the SLA.The call for safe-haven in Vaharai has also been rejected by the Government of Sri Lanka as it's military agenda was to drive out the civilian population from the LTTE controlled region.

Pope concerned over N-E crisis – Dr. Jayalath
 
Pope Benedict XVI is seriously concerned about the recent developments of the North-East crisis in Sri Lanka, Dr Jayalath Jayawardana MP said yesterday.He said he was informed about the Holy Father’s concern by Archbishop Pietro Parolin, the Pope’s Under-Secretary for Relations with States. Dr. Jayawardana, with his family, was in the Vatican Rome to attend the midnight Christmas Mass on December 24, at the invitation of the Pope. He had met Archbishop Pietro Parolin immediately after the Christmas Mass at St. Peter’s Basilica.The Holy Father had mentioned about Sri Lanka in his Christmas Message.

President in surprise visit to Lake House

President Mahinda Rajapaksa who paid a surprise visit to the state owned Lake House yesterday had discussions with SLFP and other trade union leaders on ways of improving profitability and readership.Armed with piles of files showing past records of Lake House, the union leaders told the President that last year Lake House profits had been as much as Rs. 200 million but the situation this year was not the same.The President said his view was that ordinary journalists should be well treated instead of giving big perks and privileges to top level executives.President Rajapaksa was accompanied by Defence Secretary Gothabaya Rajapaksa, Presidential Secretary Lalith Weeratunga and Treasury Secretary P.B. Jayasundara.

Sri Lankan Tamil MPs meet Sri Sri Ravishankar

A delegation of Members of Parliament from Tamil National Alliance (TNA) of Sri Lanka yesterday called on spiritual leader Sri Sri Ravishankar and requested him to use his good offices to prevail on Indian leaders to take up the cause of Tamil people in that country. "Guruji is a widely-respected global leader and we requested him to persuade Indian leaders and the international community to take up the cause of Tamil people in Sri Lanka," said Suresh Premachandran, Convenor of TNA, after the meeting. Responding to the request, Ravishankar appealed to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to take immediate action to bring peace in Sri Lanka. "It is high time for Indian government to play a more proactive role to end conflict in Sri Lanka". 'The delay in finding a political settlement is costing many innocent lives', he said.

He said India's intervention could help build trust between the Sri Lankan government and Liberation Tigers of Tamil Elaam (LTTE) and appealed to both the parties to adopt non-violent means to resolve it, according to a release from the Art of Living Foundation, founded by Ravishankar. Pointing out that the situation in Northern Sri Lanka is alarming with scarce food supply and skyrocketing prices of essential commodities, he appealed to the international community to rush humanitarian assistance to the affected people. The TNA delegation accused the Sri Lankan government of delaying the peace talks. "The government is insisting that the talks can happen only after marginalising LTTE. In the name of marginalising LTTE, thousands of innocent Tamils are being killed everyday", said Premachandran.

Inflation 19.3 % in December

The Central Bank said yesterday the Colombo Consumers’ Price Index (CCPI) at 5114.1 for December, 2006 registered a 19.3 per cent increase compared to December, 2005 and an annual average inflation of 13.7 per cent. The highest contribution to the increases arose from domestically produced agricultural food commodities. The year-on-year increase in prices for rice was around 10 per cent, while for vegetables, increases were in a range of 1 to 145 per cent. In addition, prices of major imported goods also increased. In response to the increasing price of wheat grain in the international market and the depreciation of the Sri Lankan Rupee, the import price of wheat grain increased by 24 per cent in October, 2006. This raised the price of wheat flour and bread by about 32 per cent and 30 per cent respectively. Compared to last December, 2005 the import price of sugar too increased, resulting in about 42 per cent increase at retail level, the Central Bank said.

The impact of the above price developments, aggravated by the upward adjustments in administered prices several times during the year, contributed to the headline inflation. Significant price changes were seen in fuel, electricity and transport. Their direct and indirect impact on domestic and imported items was reflected through higher transportation and input costs, it said. Core inflation, after exclusion of items with high volatilities in prices and administered prices, which is the part of overall inflation sensitive to monetary policy measures, was also increasing (15 per cent). This indicates the requirement for further tightening of demand management policies, including tightening of monetary policy and rationalization of fiscal expenditure and tariff. Based on inflation projections, high inflation is expected to continue into the first quarter of 2007 as well and to decline by the end of the year. However, there will be upward and downward risks associated with headline inflation influenced by possible changes in prices due to fluctuations of a seasonal nature and administered price revisions.

No snap poll - Govt

The Government categorically stated yesterday that it has no intention to go for a snap General Election as reported in some sections of the media. In a news release issued last night, Media Minister Anura Priyadarshana Yapa said security decisions as well as development projects were taken in the long-term interests of the country. He said there are no preparations underway for a snap election and in any case, there is no requirement for a poll. He deplored attempts made by certain elements in the media to paint a picture of political instability in the country. This raises serious questions on media ethics, he said. He said this was a clear attempt to distort the Government's programme of work and vision. The Government has no intention of stopping this programme mid-way to hold an election, he added.

Lankan nurses for UK

The Health Care and Nutrition Ministry plans to send 200 Sri Lankan nurses to United Kingdom annually, a Ministry spokesman said. He said Health Care and Nutrition Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva has held discussions with the British Ambassador in this regard and an agreement between the Sri Lankan Government and the British Government will be signed shortly. The Ministry will release the nurses without any delay enabling them to take over new positions in UK hospitals. The Ministry has also planned to introduce a more flexible and convenient shift to allow all nurses serving in Sri Lankan hospitals to take leave without any hindrance and work with less family pressure from next year. The Ministry will be able to provide these facilities for nurses thanks to its recruitment drive launched in 2005 with the aim of recruiting 10,000 new nurses by 2007.

Jaffna dailies face closure due to newsprint shortage

Acute shortage of newsprint and printing ink in Jaffna may force closure of Tamil dailies, Uthayan, Yarl Thinakural and Valampuri, administrators at the papers' main offices said. After the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) closed A9 in 11 August, no printing material and ink were allowed into Jaffna district, officials added.The Tamil dailies have been forced to reduce the number of pages and copies, as they have to buy the newsprint available in short supply in the open market at increased prices, staff at the Uthyan main office said. Sri Lanka Defence Ministry has refused permission to bring in the needed newsprint despite several appeals made through the Government Agent of Jaffna, the sources added. A ream of newsprint sold at Rs.1250 in the open market before the A9 closure, now has risen to Rs.3750 and the three Tamil dailies of the peninsula publishing 30,000 copies before, now print less than 25,000 copies.

The dailies have been also forced to cut down the normal size of the paper to tabloid size, besides reducing the number of pages.The newspaper publication in the peninsula will have to close down completely should this shortage continue, media sources in Jaffna said.The peninsula residents do not get newspapers published in the rest of Sri Lanka past the A9 SLA barrier. This is yet another calculated move of the SLA and the government to keep the peninsula residents in the dark and to stifle the voice of the media in Jaffna peninsula, the sources added. The new anti-terrorism laws have further introduced a chilling effect forcing the few traditionally liberal English medium publications in Colombo to self-censor articles. The papers have avoided publishing articles that criticize Sri Lanka Government policy, and any material that can be perceived as "supporting terrorism." Editor of Sunday Leader has also been threatened with arrest for printing stories innimical to "national security."

Sri Lanka Army Chief returns to Jaffna

 Sri Lanka Army Chief Sarath Fonseka yesterday visited Jaffna and held discussions with Division Brigade Commanders on the current security situation. “The Army Commander instructed Field Commanders on necessary adjustments for security plans and actions to carry out to build cooperation with civil authorities,” military spokesperson Brigadier Prasad Samarasinghe said. During the tour, the Army Commander and the Security Forces (Jaffna) Commander held separate discussions with Deputy Minister of Ports and Aviation Duminda Dissanayake regarding the existing situation. Over the last few weeks, Army Chief Fonseka has been touring the North and East to review the security situation in these areas.

Senior PLOTE leader killed 
 
Leader of Peoples Liberation Organisation of Tamil Ealam (PLOTE) says bodies of two of their missing members were found by the police.Dharmalingham Siddharthan said the two were apparently killed elsewhere and the bodies were brought to Galgamuva by the abductors.Bodies of Kanapathipillai Pakyarajah, a regional leader of the Tamil militant organisation turned political party, and his bodyguard, Karikalan, were found on Friday in Galgamuva.The pair was abducted in Chilaw on Thursday. Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of North-Western Province, Pujitha Jayasundara, has informed of the incident to PLOTE leader.The former parliamentarian accused "a special force" of Sri Lanka military of abducting and killing Pakyarajah and his bodyguard.The abductors carried identity cards similar to that of security forces and the way the abducted behaved also convinced him that they were from a special force, Siddharthan told BBC Tamil Service.But Sri Lanka military spokesman, Brigadier Prasad Samarasinghe, denied any involvement of security forces.

29 December 2006

Blast in van near Sri Lankan capital wounds two

Two people were wounded in a blast in a van on the outskirts of the Sri Lankan capital on Friday, the military said."There was a van parked there, there was an explosion, we are investigating what actually happened," Brigadier Prasad Samarasinghe told Reuters.The incident took place in Wattala, 10 km (6 miles) north of Colombo, he said. The van driver was among the two injured.Suicide bombings, mine attacks and clashes have increased across Sri Lanka as fighting between the military and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) intensifies in the north and east of the island.More than 3,000 have died this year despite a 2002 ceasefire that international monitors say now exists only on paper.

Pak bribes Lankan officials to sell defective arms

In a strategic move to operate in India’s backyard, Pakistan has greased the palms of some senior Sri Lankan army officials and bureaucrats and resorted to “honeytrap” tactics to sell arms and ammunition of poor quality to Colombo at exorbitant prices.However, the lid from the brewing Sri Lankan defence scandal blew off recently when the defence forces’ frustration reached the top brass after it was discovered that most of the military ware purchased from Pakistan was either sub-standard or second-hand.A “Top Secret” note, that reached the Government of India through diplomatic channels, said the situation became grim when some of the bombs aimed at LTTE targets by the Sri Lankan Air Force turned out to be dummies and fell in the target areas like stones.

A major problem area for the Lankan forces has been Pakistan-supplied electronic fuses, which are crucial components in bombs. Of the 500 electronic fuses supplied, 200 were found to be faulty. After Colombo took up the matter with Islamabad, the Pakistan Government reluctantly agreed to take back the remaining electronic fuses and sent a specially chartered An-32 transport plane with the replacement. Lankan forces’ personnel are openly talking in diplomatic circuits that Pakistani supplies were actually killing them more than the LTTE. The Tigers are able to fight more effectively with small arms compared with the dummy heavy ammunition supplied to the Lankan forces by Pakistan. So far, Sri Lankan defence forces have purchased military ware worth $30 million from Pakistan.

A repeat supply of the above merchandise has been ordered. Purchases in the pipeline include second-hand tanks (22 Al Zarar) worth over $ 80 million, armoured vehicles and jeeps. The Pakistanis are aggressively pushing for the defence supplies at the Sri Lankan defence HQ and Pakistani arms agents are making frequent trips to Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka is looking to make purchases worth $ 100 million from Pakistan in the coming few months. The deal size may even go up to a cumulative figure of $ 250 million in the next 18 months.Pakistan currently exports a tiny $ 200 million worth of arms. The possibility of such large orders flowing in from a single country (Sri Lanka) has made the Pakistani military machinery hyperactive.

Pakistan is making a killing in its arms supplies to Sri Lanka. That is because some of the spares that they have supplied to Sri Lanka have been procured from Ukraine and a few other Central Asian countries. Moreover, Pakistani spares' supplies of $ 6.9 million made to Sri Lanka in last few weeks were actually sourced by HIT-Pakistan (Heavy Industries Taxila) from Ukraine at $3 million and re-exported to Colombo. So far, $ 5 million have been paid to corrupt Lankan officials by Pakistan. The sleaze money has been deposited in a tax haven country, most likely St Kitts. Commission paid to the defence agent representing Pakistan in Sri Lanka is 20-25 per cent. Of this 15-20 per cent flows as kickbacks to the Sri Lankan officials.

Sri Lanka buys arms from Pakistan because Colombo has scouted around for meeting its spares’ demand, but few are willing to make supplies. It is against this backdrop that the Pakistanis, who themselves are facing spares crunch, have moved in quickly to fill the void.India cannot make military exports to Sri Lanka for obvious political reasons.The Pakistanis are, in fact, procuring spares and ammunition from third countries and re-exporting some of these to Sri Lanka at inflated costs.Pakistan defence companies are paying huge kickbacks to certain willing and corrupt Sri Lankan officials. It is estimated that bribes worth $ 15 million is likely to change hands in the immediate few months for the next batch of Pakistani arms exports to Sri Lanka. The kickback figure will go substantially higher if the deal size goes up to $ 250 million.Some of the sleaze money actually flows back to Pakistani officials. The Sri Lankan government is likely to order a probe into the defence scam soon.

Alleged move to arrest Editor

Mr.Wickramatunga is surrounded by colleagues and friends at his office as news spread that the CID was about to arrest him. Pic. by Dinuka LiyanawatteConcerns that prevailing anti-terrorism laws could be used to suppress the media heightened yesterday amidst reports of alleged Government moves to arrest The Sunday Leader Editor Lasantha Wickramatunga over the contents of a lead story in his newspaper last Sunday.Mr. Wickramatunga yesterday charged that the Defence Ministry had ordered the CID to arrest him under recently introduced anti-terrorism laws, for the lead story headlined ‘President to get Rs. 400 million luxury bunker’ in the Christmas Eve issue of The Sunday Leader. The arrest was to be made on national security concerns.

He said the CID had consulted the Attorney General on the legality of such an arrest to which the AG had responded in the negative. “The Attorney General reportedly told the CID it was completely illegal to arrest me under such charges as I had not violated the law and the regulations did not apply to such situations,” he told journalists who had gathered at The Sunday Leader office in Ward Place.Mr. Wickramatunga charged that despite this, the Defence Ministry had ordered the CID to bypass the AG’s ruling and arrest him. He said to the best of his knowledge the Defence Ministry order was not a written one but a verbal notification.

Mr. Wickramatunga also made special reference to an article carried in the front page of the State run Daily News yesterday. The report headlined ‘Talking point: Sleeping with the enemy’ which asked why the AG was not taking action againstThe Sunday Leader for allegedly causing dissension among security forces.“I will face this crisis. I am not going to seek refuge in hospital. I will not go abroad or go into hiding. I am ready to face this head-on and live up to The Sunday Leader motto of ‘unbowed and unafraid’ ”, he said.

The Editor said he was being persecuted because his paper regularly exposed Government corruption and the abuse of State power. He charged that the motivation of the anti-terrorism laws was not to combat terrorism but to suppress media freedom and the South. “This is a signal to the South that the country is going back to the terror era. As far as I know no terrorist has been arrested under these laws”, he said. “I am not surprised this is happening”, he added, joking that never before has he received so much media attention.“If arrested I will file a fundamental rights petition in the Supreme Court” he added.

Commenting on the story which sparked the controversy, Mr. Wickramatunga said he had followed Government directives to clarify all security related stories from either the Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, Government media spokesman Keheliya Rambukwella or the Media Centre for National Security Director Lakshman Hulugalle. Accordingly Mr. Wickramatunga had reportedly called Mr. Hulugalle to clarify the presidential bunker story. Although Mr. Hulugalle denied any knowledge of the bunker, he had assured The Sunday Leader Editor that no action would be taken against the newspaper if such a story was reported.

“He categorically said no action would be taken against us and we quoted him in the article”, Mr. Wickramatunga said. However he charged that the CID later informed him of the arrest. “I called Mr. Hulugalle who said he knew nothing about moves to arrest me. He said he would get back to me regarding the matter, but never did” he said. Mr. Wickramatunga’s lawyer, former National Police Commission head Ranjth Abeysuriya told the Daily Mirror that the new anti-terrorism regulations allowed the Defence Secretary or a police DIG to issue detention orders for an arrest. However Mr. Abeysuriya said the reasons for such an arrest would have to be justified before the Supreme Court.

Lasantha Wickramatunga’s brother Lal Wickramatunga, who is also Chairman of Leader Publications, alleged that the order to arrest his brother came directly from Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa. He said the CID had called at about 3 in the afternoon yesterday to say the arrest would be made at 5 in the evening. However he refused to disclose the identity of the CID officers saying that doing so would result in them losing their jobs.Amidst the chaos in his office, Mr. Wickramatunga received a multitude of phone calls last evening from international news services, fellow newspaper editors, media activists and diplomats.

Sri Lanka Press Institute (SLPI) Director General Ranga Kalansooriya said Editors, journalists and media activists met three days after the new laws came into effect, to study whether they could be used to suppress the media. He said they wrote to Media Minister Anura Priyadarshana Yapa calling for a meeting to clarify the matter, but two weeks had passed with no word from the minister. “We have not received any clear guarantee from the Government that the regulations would not be used against the media. There have not been any deliberations between the Government and the media on the matter”, he said adding that the SLPI’s intention was to include journalists into section 19 of the regulations, which identify parties against whom the legislation cannot be used.“Whether it is The Sunday Leader or the Sunday Observer these regulations become an impediment to the media”, he said adding that three journalists working for the State press had already been questioned by the CID, and now the private media were being threatened.

Power devolution proposals expected before Indian Foreign Minister visits Sri Lanka

The Sri Lankan government will introduce its power devolution proposals through the All Party Representative Committee (APRC) before the visit of Indian Minister of External Affairs Pranab Mukherjee, who is expected around January 8, sources close to the government said. Sri Lanka President Mahinda Rajapaksa, meeting Indian Premier Manmohan Singh in India last month, promised him that the government's proposals to solve the ethnic problem would be out by the time the Indian External Affairs Minister visits the country. The second meeting of the APRC is scheduled for the second week of January. Sri Lanka's major opposition, the United National Party (UNP), which was boycotting the earlier meetings, has assured its participation at the next meeting. However, the Marxist People's Liberation Front (JVP) has withdrawn from the APRC now.

‘Farah’ seeks Norway’s help

The owning company of the Jordanian merchant vessel ‘Farah 3’ which still remains in LTTE custody in Mullaitivu has sought Norwegian assistance to get the vessel released, a Norwegian embassy spokesman told the Daily Mirror.However the Norwegians have advised the owners to coordinate with the government and other relevant parties to have the vessel released as the mandate of the facilitators is only to communicate between the two warring sides and not carry out rescue operations.Subsequently the vessel owners as well as the local agents held talks with the Foreign Ministry yesterday on moves to salvage the stricken vessel.“It does not mean we will not assist. We can help with communicating with the LTTE. We have advised the owners to communicate with the government to have the ship removed,” the Norwegian embassy’s acting spokesman Tom Knappskog said.

LTTE media spokesman Daya Master said he was aware of the ‘Farah 3’ owners approaching the Norwegians for help but added the vessel still remained stranded in Mullaitivu together with the cargo of 14,000 MT of rice.The vessel was on its way from Kakinada in India to Durban in South Africa, when it developed engine trouble and requested its local agent to arrange for the assistance of a tug boat from Colombo. The vessel however drifted into rebel waters and was seized together with the 25 member crew. Ship Captain Ramaz Abdul Jabar and owner Bosun Mohamed Abdul Aziz Ahmed Alsiturman confirmed at a meeting with the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission and the Government Secretariat for Coordinating the Peace Process (SCOPP) this week that armed LTTE cadres forcibly boarded the vessel after firing gun shots into the air and proceeded to force the weighing of the anchor, raided the vessel and took the crew to the shore after firing more shots.

The crew members were handed over to the ICRC on Tuesday and were subsequently driven to Colombo where they briefed the media on their ordeal with the rebels who had also looted expensive communication equipment and computers from the vessel.The Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) meanwhile said in a statement yesterday that the LTTE had acted contradictory to its commitment to the CFA by taking matters into its own hands without permitting the government to rescue the vessel.“SLMM reiterates that the LTTE has no right to the sea and that the Government of Sri Lanka has the sole right to protect Sri Lankan territorial waters,” the SLMM said.

The SLMM on Saturday informed the LTTE that the Government would conduct a rescue mission to salvage the Jordanian ship M/V Farah III and its crew and strongly advised the LTTE to permit the operation to be executed.“Despite SLMM’s advice to allow for the Government to conducts its commitments to Farah III, LTTE ignored the advice and took the matter into their own hands,” the SLMM said.

Agreement for Sri Lanka's second coal power plant signed 

A Memorandum of Agreement was signed between National Thermal Power Corporation Ltd (NTPC)., (a Government of India Undertaking), Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) and Government of Sri Lanka today at the Presidential Secretariat for setting up of a 500 MW coal based thermal power plant at Trincomalee (eastern province). The power plant is expected to commence operations from 2011. With the signing of the Agreement will commence the process of site selection in Trincomalee which will be done on the basis of techno-economic and environmental feasibility studies and other relevant matters including availability of infrastructure etc.

The project would involve an investment of US $ 500 million and would be implemented by a joint venture company to be formed with a stake of 50% each by NTPC Ltd. and CEB. The project would be funded with a debt equity ratio of 70:30. In January 2007, a joint venture agreement between CEB and NTPC, a power purchase agreement between the JV company and CEB, an agreement between BOI and the JV company, implementation agreement and coal supply agreement are expected to be signed.

The Memorandum of Agreement was signed by Mr. T Sankarlingam, CMD, NTPC Ltd, Mr. MMC Ferdinando , Secretary Power and Mr. W.A.S. Perera, Chairman CEB. Mr. Alok Prasad, High Commissioner, Mr. R V Shahi, Secretary (Power), Government of India and other officials of NTPC and the Indian High Commission were also present. The visiting Indian delegation and High Commissioner of India, Mr. Alok Prasad, also called on H.E. President Mahinda Rajapaksa at Temple Trees.

NTPC is a Government of India undertaking wherein Government owns 89.5% equity. NTPC is one of the top six companies by market capitalization in India. The market capitalization of NTPC is approximately US $ 25 billion. NTPC has been declared successively for a continuous period of 3 years amongst the top three best places to work in India . In the area of environment, all of NTPC plants are accredited with ISO 14001 certification. NTPC is the second largest owner of trees in the country after Government of India. NTPC, the sixth largest power generator in the world, has an installed capacity of 26,000 MW.

Two PLOTE members abducted in Puttalam

Two Tamil residents of Semmandaluwa in Puttalam police area were abducted at gun point by an unidentified gang that came by a van. HQI Puttalam Police, Y.G.Gunaratne said the victims, Sureadh Pakyarajah and Deva Rajendran were allegedly members of the PLOTE organization in Batticaloa and settled in Puttalam as refugees.The police are inquiring into the incident. In Batticaloa too, a young man named Kandasamy Siridharan in Kalawanchikudi was abducted on Wednesday night by an unidentified gang. The Kalawanchikudi police said the victim was buying provisions at a boutique in Kalwanchikudi town when the abduction took place.The police are conducting inquiries.Jaffna branch of the Human Rights Commission has received 10 complaints of abductions from last Sunday to Wednesday. Aspokesman for the HRC said the incidents were reported from Kaytes, Udupplidy and Kodikamam.He said the Cease-fire Monitoring Mission and the police stations in the respective areas were informed of the incidents.

28 December 2006

No war in Sri Lanka - self determination for the Tamil people

International on-line petition

On-line petition Sign the petition at http://www.petitiononline.com/ntwsdtp/petition.html

The Sri Lanka government is carrying out an undeclared war against the Tamil people who have been struggling for more than two decades for the legitimate right to self-rule.The government of Mahinda Rajapaksa, elected on a Sinhala chauvinist basis in November 2005, has consistently breached the 2002 cease-fire agreement with the LTTE. They have been conducting aerial bombardments, specifically outlawed under the agreement. In August, the Sri Lankan air force destroyed an orphanage in Sencholai, killing 50 children.The anti-war opposition has been put under extreme pressure. Tamil MP Nadaraja Raviraj was gunned down in Colombo on November 9 and other activists have received serious death threats.

External support for the Mahinda regime is essential in allowing it to carry out this war mongering. The Sri Lankan army leadership is trained at the British army training school at Sandhurst while the Tamil Tigers (LTTE) are banned as a supposedly “terrorist” organisation across Europe.We therefore call on our governments and international institutions to lift any bans on the LTTE and to demand that the Sri Lankan government:

End the aerial bombardments;
End the disappearances and stop support for paramilitaries;
Open the A9 road and other access routes so that essential humanitarian supplies can get through to the Tamil areas in the north;
Re-open negotiations with the LTTE for a just solution acceptable to the Tamil people.

United States checks Govt. on corruption

A US Congressional report based on a recent mission by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee to the Asian region said yesterday the government of Sri Lanka did not take corruption seriously as an issue.On Sri Lanka, the report said NGOs surveyed were not in agreement that the Government provided ample space in which they could operate within the country.In addition, there was no shared consensus that “watchdog organizations fear being coerced politically, economically or physically.” but there was agreement that the Government does not take corruption seriously as an issue, the report said.

The mission by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee was aimed at examining the state of democracy in the region, with particular emphasis on programmes supported with US Government funding via NGOs.The United States should take into account local sensitivities in its bid to promote democracy and good governance in Asia, the Congressional report said.It covered Thailand, Indonesia, Cambodia and Sri Lanka and was part of a broad study that also included Africa, Central Europe and Latin America.The report also wanted US-funded democracy promotion efforts in Asia to focus on building democratic institutions and “avoid the occasional perception of targeting or promoting political personalities.” It said “US Government officials should recognize that effective promotion of democracy and good governance in Asia requires acknowledgement of cultural and national sensitivities”.The study was conducted amid concerns that governments across the world had increasingly tightened controls on foreign NGOs to restrict their ability to work independently.

British Labour MPs call to lift the ban on LTTE

Parliament Members of the British ruling party is demanding European governments to lift the ban on the LTTE. Labour party MPs John McDonnell and Jeremy Corbyn have signed a petition that calls on governments to demand that the Sri Lankan government allow unhindered access to the Tamil population in the North, halt aerial bombing and to stop providing support to the Karuna group. John McDonnell is the candidate for leader of the Labour Party. Many trade unionists in the UK have also backed the demands.

Anandasangaree tells President to stop de-merger

TULF President V. Anandasangree has told President Mahinda Rajapaksa the demerger of the North-East Province was untimely.“If you are serious about all our people irrespective of their ethnicity enjoying all rights like others, please stop further action on the de-merger and maintain the status quo” the TULF leader told the President in a letter sent to him on Tuesday.“ Having failed these 50 years to find a solution in a unitary state, the only option left is a federal solution within a united Sri Lanka. The international community welcomes it and the local Tamils too. The LTTE is also fully aware that the international community will oppose separation tooth and nail and that the LTTE should agree to a federal solution”, he said.

He also said: “Please bear with me for raising objections to the action being taken, as admitted by the Governor of the North-East Provincial Council, to the same. I am not arguing whether the merger of the North and the East is justifiable or not. I am only emphasizing to you that this is not the time to demerge it and that it should be left to the people concerned to take a decision, as promised by the Prime Minister in Parliament. This act can be compared to the passing of the 6th Amendment to the Constitution by President J.R.Jayewardene at a time when there was a major backlash in the country and the TULF Members were not in Parliament. If left alone, things would have been completely different today. President Jayewardene’s move only helped him to take over the leadership of the Tamils from the moderates and to hand it over to the Tamil militant groups.

One coup gradually eradicated all the other groups or silenced them with their fire-power. The present move of yours will lead to a situation like that. This is not what the country needs urgently today, that too in a war-torn area. Rightly or wrongly the Tamils and to some extent the Muslims too feel that their future lies in a merged province. De-merger at this juncture will only make the Tamils and the Muslims of the Eastern Province desperately go behind the LTTE, finding no alternative and forgetting all their ruthless recent past.In this issue I feel that you should allow the people to decide on their own. Please share your views with some Tamil and Muslim leaders as well. “The merger of these two provinces took place 17 years back and at a time when it was felt that there was a need for it to solve the ethnic problem. The then Prime Minister of India Rajiv Gandhi took the initiative to merge the North and the East.

All these 17 years things moved smoothly in the provincial administration. Administration was by the public servants without any political party or politicians. It is not that there was no one during these 17 years to think of a fundamental rights petition, but there was no need for it at all. If only the LTTE had not taken over parts of these provinces under their control, the Sinhalese, Tamils and Muslims would have lived happily in peace and harmony. Now some parties filed the FR petition and the court justly held with them. Action need not be taken to de-merge the merged provinces. Instead action could have been taken and rectified through Parliament. The UNP being another national party that had ruled the country many times had even pledged its support.

Sri Lanka Petroleum Corporation to increase petrol price

Sri Lanka government owned petroleum distributor Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) Chairman Asantha de Mel said that the petrol price will be increased from the beginning of the next year due to the depreciation of Sri Lankan rupee. However the Chairman said that the diesel price will not be increased as the CPC has stocks purchased in advance. The Chairman predicted an increase of around five rupees per litre if the status quo in the fuel market and the rupee market remains

UNP to submit proposals to APRC in January

The UNP will submit its proposals on devolution of power to the All Party Representatives Committee (APRC) in January. The APRC will hold its first meeting for the new year during the first two weeks of January. The UNP will be represented at the meeting by MPs K.N. Choksy and G.L. Peiris.A party spokesman told the Daily Mirror yesterday they would present their set of proposals based on the Oslo and Tokyo declarations to the experts’ panel.Asked to comment on the majority report submitted by the APRC, the spokesman said they would support it. The present stalemate of the peace process was discussed at the recent one-to-one meeting between President Mahinda Rajapaksa and Opposition UNP Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe.The President had assured Mr. Wickremesinghe that he was awaiting the final APRC report to take the next step regarding the peace process.

There was a split in the APRC due to four members opposing the majority report and presenting an alternative report. Subsequently, the JVP also withdrew from the Committee citing it was meaningless to be a part of this exercise.APRC Chairman, Science and Technology Minister Tissa Vitharana said he would prepare a separate document incorporating matters discussed at the previous rounds.Prof. Vitharana said he would consider views expressed by the respective political party representatives.“This will not be a case of presenting either the majority or minority report. I will draft a separate document as the basis for our future discussions. So, the JVP should not be concerned about it. Of course, they can now participate in future meetings,” he said. The Minister said they were trying to iron out various differences and reach common ground on the national question. He said they would accommodate aspirations of the Tamil people in this exercise, but not of the LTTE. “Then, Tamils will get the message that the same policy will be taken forward whoever comes to power. They will also realise the nullity of clinging to the LTTE cause,” he said.

8 white van abductions in Jaffna in 5 days

Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers and collaborating paramilitaries have abducted eight youths, including two students, in the Jaffna district between 20th and 25th December, according to complaints filed by the relatives with the Jaffna Human Rights Commission (HRC), civil society sources in Jaffna said. SLA troops arrive in Buffel armoured cars with paramilitaries in white vans, and abductions take place either on streets in broad day light or at the victims' houses during night, the relatives of those abducted said. Brief details of complaints of abductions registered at the HRC Jaffna office against the SLA and the Tamil paramilitary groups follow:

1.On Friday, Sebastiampillai Aneenthiran, a family man aged 31 from Kayts, one of the Jaffna islets, was found missing after he had gone to buy provisions at the local shops around 12:00 noon.
2.Kanthiah Latheesan, a 20 year old student from Moolai, Vaddukodai disappeared after he went to attend classes in private tutory at Kannathidy in Jaffna town on Friday.
3.A student, Vijayathas Aravinthan, 17, from Valvettithurai in Vadamaradchy was forcibly taken away Friday night from his house by armed men arriving in a Buffel armoured car and a white van.
4.On Saturday, Subramaniam Rubanthas, 33, a family man from Kodady in Jaffna was missing after he left to Chavakacheri from his home in the morning.
5.Appathurai Insam, 22, from Udupiddy area disappeared after he went for pray in a temple in Udupiddy Sunday.
6.Rasenthiram Illankeswaran, 29, a trader from Chunnakam was reported missing after he went to Maruthnarmadam bazaar area on Sunday.
7.Two youths from Ariyali area, Sri Ayanthan, 22, and Rasenthiram Thevaseelan, 25 were found missing from Monday from Ariyalai.
Several youths have earlier surrendered to the HRC fearing for their lives, and have been ordered by the Jaffna District Court Judgento be placed in protective custody at the Jaffna prisons.

Sri Lanka Postal Department faces a shortage of postage stamps

Sri Lanka's post offices are looking forward to the arrival of 7.5 million new stamps by air cargo tonight as they do not have stocks to issue to the customers seeking stamps to mail piles of greeting cards. The Post Master General's Office said that 20,600,000 more stamps have been ordered from foreign printers. Postage stamps with lower denominations are to be issued to the market after marking with higher denominations. Sri Lanka which needs an average of 34 million stamps per annum is facing a severe shortage of postal stamps. The government owned State printing Corporation cannot meet more than a half of the demand and the Postal Department has to import around seventeen million stamps a year.

Rajapakse pays surprise visit to Trincomalee naval base

Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse paid a surprise visit to the SL Naval Base in Trincomalee Wednesday morning and inspected the naval installations and participated in a passing out parade held in the naval base. This was his first visit to Trincomalee after assuming the executive presidency in December last year. Mr. Mahinda Rajapakse is the Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces of Sri Lanka. Rajapakse arrived in the naval base by Sri Lanka Air Force helicopter.His visit to Trincomalee came in the wake of announcement by Provincial Governor Rear Admiral Mohan Wijayawickrema that effort to split the administration of the North East Provincial Council (NEPC) into three, a Special Administration for Trincomalee under him, and two administrations, one for northern province and the other for east, is underway.

Meanwhile, For the first time in the country’s history, the National Security Council presided by President Mahinda Rajapaksa met yesterday at the Trincomalee Naval Headquarters.Discussed several issues with regards to the current security situation in the country.The meeting was attended by President’s Secretary Lalith Weeratunga, Defence Ministry Seceretary Gothabaya Rajapaksa, Chief Of Defence Staff Donald Perera, Navy Commander Wasantha Karannagoda, Army Commander Sarath Fonseka and Air Force Commander Roshan Gunatilake. Government Defence Spokesman Keheliya Rambukwella also participated at the two and half hour Security Council meeting.

Sri Lanka Army (SLA) and Sri Lanka Navy (SLN) soldiers Wednesday conducted a house-to-house search operation in areas densely populated by Tamil residents in the heart of Trincomalee town.Ban on parking bicycles, motor bicycles, cars and other heavy vehicles along main roads in the east port town imposed by SLA and police is already in force.Police with the assistance of military stopped public buses at every checkpoint in the town. Passengers were ordered to get down and were subjected to severe check.

15 LTTE Suspects arrested among 30,000 Vaakarai refugees

The mystery of the “missing” refugees has been resolved with the security forces declaring that they have taken fifteen youths into custody out of more than 30,000 refugees streaming into Government of Sri Lanka (GOSL) controlled areas of Batticaloa district from the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) dominated Koralaipattru North division known as the Vaakarai region.Relatives of twelve youths reportedly “missing” after security screening were worried about their fate and had complained to NGO and civilian Govt employees about it. They feared that the youths had been taken by the security forces or the Karuna faction known as Tamil Makkal Viduthalai Puligal (TMVP).

Earlier inquiries about the whereabouts of the missing “dozen” had failed to elicit any reliable information.The unknown fate of these missing persons was highlighted in these columns by this writer.The security forces have now officially declared that fifteen persons suspected of being tigers were now in army custody.Informed security sources told this writer that the twelve persons gone missing were among this fifteen. Later another three had been added to the dozen youths detained earlier.According to these sources about 25 youths among the thousands of refugees had been detained for further interrogation during the past few weeks. It was suspected that they were LTTE members mingling with genuine refugees.

Ten of these persons had been released after it was found that they were not LTTE members.But fifteen of those taken in were being detained for further interrogation..According to these sources twelve of the youths were identified as LTTE suspects by the TMVP while three were identified by the security forces.The detained persons were being kept at the Mankerny and Valaichenai paper factory camps.None of those detained were in the custody of the TMVP said these sources. The TMVP was helping security forces interrogate the suspects.Apart from these four persons had openly stated they were LTTE members and sought “asylum” from the security forces. They were being kept separately while security officials were de- briefing them.

Security sources said that more than 21.000 refugees had come out from LTTE controlled areas in the past two weeks. This brings the number of refugees described as Internal Displaced Persons (IDP) to more than 30,000.With a large influx of refugees streaming in , security forces suspect that the LTTE may have infiltrated the IDP”s. Some feel that the tigers may have engineered the exodus to smuggle out cadres in the guise of refugees. These cadres could be a potential fifth column in GOSL areas.So an elaborate screening process is underway.This is given priority. Instead of civilian Govt officials or UNHCR officials recording particulars of IDP’s the security screening is done first.

The Karuna faction or TMVP screens the IDP’s first. “Suspicious” persons are detained for further interrogation.. After the preliminary screening the security forces do another screening. Again people are detained on suspicion for more intensive questioning.Those cleared at screenings are registered by the army and given light refreshments like tea and biscuits. Tamil songs are played at army camps for the benefit of these IDP’s .Those in bad health are sent to hospitals. Others are sent to transit camps. The “shuttle” service provided by UNHCR, ZOA and IOM look after transport.The Karuna faction has opened up temporary “posts” or offices to screen the IDP’s. Civilian Govt officials have opened up 66 camps in the Batticaloa and Polonnaruwa districts to accommodate the new IDP’s. Of these 22 camps are in schools. All schools are scheduled to re- open for classes in two weeks.

Five permanent camps accommodating 12.000 IDP’s have been set up in Kiran, Sithandy, Chenkallady, Mayilambaaveli and Savukkukkaadu. Tents and sheds are being put up while toilts are being constructed speedily.Another six permanent IDP camps are likely to be constructed in the next two weeks.The Batticaloa District Secretary has made an urgent request for further finances from the Government to help cope with this humanitarian crisis.NGO”s have also been requested to help.Meanwhile the security forces continued an artillery barrage from three positions into the Vaakarai region.More than 20, 000 civilians are still living in the region.

Sri Lanka takes massive loan from open financial market

 The Sri Lankan government has raised a syndicated loan of US$ 100 million from several leading international banks in the Middle Eastern and Asian financial markets. The loan carries an all inclusive interest margin of 1.035% for a maturity period of 3 years over USD LIBOR, the Sri Lanka Central Bank announced. The loan agreement has been inked with Citigroup, which acted as the facility agent on 14 November, 2006. The funds were obtained on 21 December, the Central Bank announced yesterday. The Bank further stated that the loan will be utilised to meet general development expenditures and to stabilize domestic interest rates.

27 December 2006

Govt. destroying basis for solution: TNA 

The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) has lashed out at the Government for destroying the basis for resolving the conflict enshrined in the Indo-Lanka Peace Accord by appointing a separate governor for the Eastern Province. The unpublicised decision was taken last week by President Mahinda Rajapaksa following a Supreme Court ruling in October to de-merge the Northern and Eastern Provinces.The two provinces were merged under the Accord in 1989 and paved the way for the creation of provincial councils.President Rajapaksa has reappointed Governor, North Eastern Province, Rear Admiral Mohan Wijewickrama as governor for the Eastern Province alone in keeping with the court ruling.However, it is learned that Wijewickrama has used his exclusive powers to order the officials of the North Eastern Provincial Council (NEPC) to split the unified administration of NEPC into two separate administrations.

ITAK Parliamentarian, Sivanathan Kishor said the decision has sought to destroy the foundation of the Tamils’ claim for self-administration and predicted more chaos following the decision."It has violated the spirit in which the provinces were merged under an international treaty. It is also a move against Tamil people and one that seeks to suppress their legitimate claim," Kishor said.He added that the procedure laid out in the agreement has been blatantly violated, breaching the core aspects of the 1987 Indo-Lanka Accord, which required the holding of a referendum a year after the merger. Also, the displaced had to be resettled before such resettlement occurs to fulfill the conditions for holding the same."Four presidents have simply used their executive powers and postponed the referendum. Then comes another who splits the merged provinces. The Tamil people are recognising this administration for what it is. This is an administration that works against Tamils," he added.

Informed sources said following the appointment, one administrative unit is to be set up in Vavuniya, to look after the affairs of the Northern Province and the other unit is to be located in Kalmunani to administer the Eastern Province excluding Trincomalee District.Parliamentarian Kishor added that the party has reliable information that Trincomalee would be brought under the new governor’s direct rule as well as the Government Agent, who are both ex-military officials holding civil positions.Kishor said that the situation would lead to more dissention and administrative chaos. He added that the TNA would decide on a possible course of action when parliament meets in the second week of January.

UN slams Sri Lanka warring parties over slow tsunami recovery

The United Nations slammed Sri Lanka's warring parties for stalling tsunami reconstruction efforts as the island marked the second anniversary of the disaster. The outgoing UN Secretary General Kofi Annan blamed both Colombo and the Tamil Tiger rebels for the violence that has slowed rebuilding after the December 26, 2004 tsunami that killed an estimated 31,000 people in the island.In a statement, he said the conflict between the government and rebels had made reconstruction even more difficult in the mainly Buddhist nation."No one could have prevented the tsunami's wave of destruction. But together we can stem the tide of conflict, which threatens once again to engulf the people of Sri Lanka," Annan said.

Peacebroker Norway tried to arrange a sharing of the huge foreign aid for reconstruction between the government and the Tigers, but the Supreme Court shot down the idea last year, saying it violated the constitution.Since then, the two sides have escalated attacks against each other, with both blaming the other for the rising violence that has virtually halted all reconstruction work in the embattled northeast.Rebel areas suffered the most damage in the tsunami. More than two-thirds of reconstruction is in the northern and eastern regions, mostly held by the Tigers.In contrast, Indonesia, which suffered the biggest losses, was praised by Annan, who noted a spirit of solidarity in troubled Indonesia's Aceh province following the disaster, which killed 220,000 people around Asia.

"Alas, in Sri Lanka, that spirit has not been sustained. Instead, the spiral of tension and open conflict, which had wrought so much misery and destruction over the years, has resumed," Annan said."I am deeply disheartened by this turn of events. Let me remind all parties of their obligation to respect human rights... and particularly to protect and allow access to the civilian population."President Mahinda Rajapake, who last year admitted reconstruction was too slow, led the nation Tuesday in remembering tsunami victims.He observed a moment's silence at his office here and was due to unveil a statue of Buddha at the site where 1,000 passengers died when their train was wrecked by the tsunami.Sri Lanka also declared Tuesday "national safety day".

The disaster management ministry set up after the tsunami said the date would be marked by ceremonies aimed at creating awareness on how to deal with disasters."We want to move on," a presidential spokesman said.Official records and whistle blowers say corruption and violence is still blocking foreign aid for tsunami survivors.Only 56 percent of the estimated 100,000 devastated homes have been rebuilt, officials say. Thousands still live in tents.Sri Lanka received 3.2 billion dollars in foreign aid pledges but how much of that was received is not known. The state auditor general in September 2005 noted that out of 1.16 billion dollars committed by donors, only 13.5 percent had been spent. Since then, there has been no fresh government audit.

APRC draft proposal by early Jan. 

The Chairman, All Party Representative Committee (APRC), Science and Technology Minister Prof. Tissa Vitarana will submit a comprehensive set of draft proposals to resolve the ethnic conflict reflecting the thinking of the APRC and the Experts Committee reports early January. The report will provide for the province to be the unit of devolution and will not make any reference to a unitary state. Minister Vitarana is expected to submit his report before the APRC meeting scheduled for the second week of January. Minister Vitarana said the task before him is to come out with a solution that addresses the grievances of the Tamil people and meet their aspirations. "I have said categorically, our need is not to satisfy the LTTE but forward a solution which will be acceptable to the Tamil people," he said.

The Minister further said it was on that basis as recorded in the minutes that the JVP, JHU and the MEP co-operated in the APRC but charged they took a different position outside claiming the objective of the APRC was to satisfy the LTTE.The UNP will also participate at the next meeting, Opposition Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe said Tuesday..Minister Vitarana said the Experts Committee reports will not be rejected by him as demanded by the JVP but would use the proposals that find common ground with the APRC.The Minister who confirmed his report would in all likelihood be ready for the next meeting said it will reflect the thinking of the APRC."In doing that, I will incorporate those ideas from the reports submitted by the Experts Committee which fit into that view point," he added.

The Minister said everyone in the Experts Committee has agreed that the province should be the unit of devolution and that more or less everyone in the APRC was also of the same view."Then everyone following our visit to India accepted that the devolution from the province should go down to the village. I will incorporate that in my report. Where there are commonalities in the various reports as well as the APRC, I will put them down as one set of ideas," the Minister added.He further said where there are differences in the two reports and where he feels the APRC will be happy with an intermediate position, it would be presented accordingly."If I feel the APRC will go along with the position in one report as opposed to the other then I will put that position forward," the Minister also said.He said if there were positions that cannot be reconciled, he would present it as a separate option.

Indo-Lanka coal power project MoU

The MoU with the Indian Government, to commence work on the proposed 1000 MW coal power plant in Trincomalee, will be signed at the ministry office in the presence of President Mahinda Rajapaksa on Friday , Jan.5.Minister of Power and Energy John Seneviratne and Secretary, Indian Power and Energy Ministry R.V. Shabri and the Indian High Commissioner Alok Prasad are also expected to participate.The plant, scheduled to be opened by 2110, will generate 500 MW during the initial stages, with its capacity to be increased later to generate a further 500MW.The project is estimated to cost US$ 500 million.

Sri Lanka Racist monk MPs demand meeting with Indian PM

Sri Lanka's Sinhala Buddhist Racist political party Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU) is reportedly demanding a meeting with the Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh next month to counter the impact of the Indian Premier's meeting with Sri Lanka's Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentary representatives.Singala Chauvinistic JHU Leader Ellawala Medhananda Thero recently charged that the LTTE, through its proxies was conducting an international campaign to halt the security forces’ capture of Vakarai. JHU charges that TNA Parliamentarians who met the Indian leaders have given only a one sided picture of the North and East issue of Sri Lanka. TNA parliamentarians were ignored by the Sri Lanka President who visited the parliament last month when they were engaged in a protest in the well of the parliament.

In an earlier occasion Indian PM Manmohan Singh had declined to meet the TNA and they had to contend with a meeting with Minister of State for External Affairs E. Ahamed and National Security Adviser M. K. Narayanan. Indian Prime Minister received five TNA leaders TULF  R. Sampanthan,ITAK Mavai Senathiraja,ACTC Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam,TELO Leader Selvam Adaikalanthan and Suresh Premachandran at his office in New Delhi, last Friday. The meeting has been arranged by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. Karunanidi and his Special Representative, Subaveera Pandiyan, has also taken part in the meeting.

A vehicle location system in Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka’s first vehicle location system is scheduled to be launched from early next year. A blue chip conglomerate, IWS Holdings Group is to commence the vehicle location system driven with global positioning satellite based Geographic Information Systems (GIS). However the system is yet to be approved by the Ministry of Defence. The company expects the defence clearance soon.The system could be used in operations such as defence, security services, fleet management, law enforcement, insurance, rental vehicles, critical cargo/freight and personal vehicles which are used to transport personnel, goods and services to any part of the country.

Central Bank of Sri Lanka tightens cash facility to banks from Jan 01

The Central Bank of Sri Lanka has restricted the use of its cash facility to the banking system, from January 01, in a further attempt to tighten liquidity and reduce inflationary pressure. The monetary authority told commercial banks that they will not be able to borrow cash through the reverse repo window, on days when the overall market has excess liquidity, while the facility would continue to be available when the market was short of cash on a net basis. At the moment, while banks which are short of cash borrow from the central bank via the reverse repo window, others with excess balances deposit cash at the central bank through the repo window.

This happens either because the banks that have cash have exceeded their credit limit to the borrowers in the interbank market, or because call market rates are higher than the reverse repo rate and borrowers prefer to borrow from the central bank. "We sometimes have excess cash but we cannot give it because the borrowing have exceeded our prudential lending limits," one dealer said. "Usually it is the state banks that exceed the limits." Banks that fund their lending through reverse repo cash are effectively printing money, and contributing to inflation and pressure on the balance of payments. Economists have pointed out that Bank of Ceylon and People's Bank which has to extend a large overdraft to the treasury usually go to the reverse repo window to finance them, and are a cause of inflation and balance of payments crises in Sri Lanka.

Analysts have warned that the Treasury overdraft with the Bank of Ceylon and Peoples' Bank have been topping 30 billion rupees. With the restrictions coming into place, banks that are short will have to borrow the money from the interbank market, even at high rates, or limit their lending to manageable levels. Analysts all banks which have high loan-to-deposit ratios would have to intensify efforts to raise deposits, and not rely on central bank financing to cover their lending, including state banks which lend to the Treasury. In the last monetary policy statement the Central Bank asked banks to raise deposit rates and mobilize more deposits.

The Central Bank earlier completely cut off primary dealer in government securities from the reverse repo window. Sri Lanka's monetary sector unraveled from about April as expansionary fiscal policy took firm hold of the economy and the government covered revenue shortfalls with commercial bank and central bank credit (printed money). Consumer inflation rose to 19.8 percent in November (3.4 percent in March) and the Sri Lanka rupee fell below 108 to the dollar from 102 earlier in the year, as Central Bank credit rose to 108.3 billion rupees in October from about 60 billion rupees in February.

Indian FM due next month 

India’s Foreign Minister Pranab Mukherjee will arrive in Sri Lanka for a meeting with President Mahinda Rajapaksa early January. The Minister is officially arriving in Sri Lanka to hand over the invitation for the SAARC Heads of State Conference scheduled to take place in India during the first week of April.However, it is learnt, the opportunity will be used to discuss the current status of the peace process and the humanitarian crisis in the north and east.A message from Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh who last week met with a TNA delegation and promised to take firm action to address the humanitarian crisis facing the Tamil people is also expected to be delivered to President Mahinda Rajapaksa during the visit.The Indian Minister is expected to fly in a special aircraft to Colombo and leave for the Maldives thereafter.

Hand Grenade Attack On PLOTE Office

A GROUP OF UNIDENTIFIED men lobbed a hand grenade towards a People’s Liberation Of Tamil Ealam (PLOTE) office Tuesday (26) around 7.25 p.m. in PANDARIKULAM, VAVUNIYA.      However, no injuries are reported due to the explosion.   The VAVUNIYA Police are conducting investigations.

Claymore blast kills policeman in Vavuniya

A policeman was killed when unidentified persons set off a claymore mine targetting a police patrol about 150 metres from Special Task Force (STF) camp at Park road in Vavuniya, at 8:35 a.m., Wednesday, police in the northern town said.STF elite troops rushed to the blast site and searched the area. The police man was killed on the spot and his body was handed over to the Vavuniya hospital by the STF troopers, the sources said.Vavuniya District Judge Mr.M.Ilancheliyan inspected the blast site.Separetley, a man was shot dead by unidentified persons in front of Kalaimakal school at Nelukkulam - Cheddikkulam road, around 7:30 p.m., Tuesday, police said. His body was lying at the spot till Wednesday morning.The victim is yet to be identified, the police said.

26 December 2006

De-merging and the Repercussions---Uthayn Editorial

The administrative machinery of the North-East is now split following the Supreme Court ruling that the merger of the North-East which came into operation 18 years ago is in violation of the constitution of the Republic of Sri Lanka. Although the SC ruling declared that the North-East merger is ultra-vires of the constitution, there was an option to ensure the North-East merger through an act of Parliament and it’s relevant to note that the UNP, a major opposition party, assured it would extend support to the permanent merger through Parliament. But, in a sudden move, the government has separated the administrative machinery in the North-East into two. It has also appointed two different governors and two different secretaries in the North and East respectively. 

Not only that, the government has gone one step further and decided to set up three administrative units in the North-East. The administrative unit of the North will be in Vavuniya, the administrative unit of the east will be in Kalmunai, while, a third unit is to be located in Trincomalee. Although the government states that it is acting according to SC ruling, this decision, which affects the Tamils and the Muslims in the North-East, had been taken unilaterally. The government has taken this move although there was an option and without consulting other political parties and without addressing its mind to the serious repercussions that can follow. 

The commitment made by Manmohan Singh to TNA Parliamentarians in Delhi that the North-East should not be de-merged under any circumstances must have caused a grave concern to Colombo. The government has implemented the de-merger on the very same day that Indian Prime Minsiter Dr.manmohan Singh declared this commitment of India so as not to give any time for India to intervene in this matter. It, therefore, can be seen as a challenge to India. The government is fully aware that the de-merger of the North-East is against the aspirations of the Tamil people. This action of the government appears to be a sinister move to distract the Tamil issue, to reduce the Tamil Muslim representation in the East and to create chaos and confusion.There is also an ulterior motive in keeping the Trincomalee harbour in the exclusive hands of a Sinhala majority administration.The step to de-merge the North-East, to appoint two governors and secretaries for the North and East separately and to set up three administrative units in the North-East can have serious repercussions in the long run.

SLAF Jets bomb Vaharai, disrupt tsunami memorial event

Sri Lanka Airforce (SLAF) kfir fighter jets bombed Tuesday morning Kathiraveli and Palchenai residential areas in Vaharai in the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) territory, and Sri Lanka Army (SLA) launched artillery and rocket fire from SLA camps in Mankerny, Kadjuwathe, during the second anniversary memorial prayers were being held for the tsunami victims at Vaharai Vigneswara temple around 9:25 a.m Tuesday. Five houses were badly damaged but no one was hurt when shells fell and exploded on residential areas, Vaharai sources said. A. Nixon, the President of Vaharai area Civil Society Federation, presided to the event held to remember those who have lost their relatives in 2004 and lit the flame of sacrifice.

M. Moorthy, the Director of Tamil Rehabilitation Organization (TRO) for Vaharai division, while delivering the condolence speech, said, "Tamils are today in a deplorable state without event the freedom to mourn their dead fellowmen. A natural catastrophe occurs rarely and inflicts heavy toll on those unfortunate to be hit. But as far as Vaharai area is concerned, innocent people are being killed everyday as hunted animals.“In the aftermath of tsunami, a number of Non Governmental Organizations (NGOs) came to Northeast to help, but today people are being affected worse than tsunami and no one appears to care.

“TRO serves our people as far as possible to fulfill their basic needs while our funds have been frozen by the Sri Lankan Government. The affected people are experiencing severe hardships. The inhumane Sri Lankan Government even does not allow the people to remember their dead relatives and pay homage to them,” he said.The Political Head of LTTE for Vaharai Division, Thangan, and the Deputy Head of the Educational Wing Mrs. Umathevi Ratheeswaran also participated in the event.

Tsunami survivors carry 'deep scars' - LTTE

The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), in a statement issued Monday, marking two year remembrance of the Boxing Day Tsunami disaster, said the assistance to the people devastated by the tsunami has not progressed beyond the temporary shelter-stage in Tamil areas as Colombo scuttled the internationally promoted joint mechanism signed between the parties. Tamils were "deeply hurt" as Colombo continued to find comfort in using the label of a "sovereign" government, the Tigers said. The statement appreciated the Italian Government for direct assistance and international humanitarian agencies that came forward to channel their assistance through the structures put in place by the LTTE.

"The tsunami waves that shook the conscience of humanity failed to wake the conscience of the Sinhala government immersed in the Sinhala Buddhist hegemonic philosophy," the Tiger statement said. "The Government of Sri Lanka, ignoring the fact that two thirds of those affected in the island were from the Tamil homeland, channeled all international tsunami aid to the Sinhala areas. It used the volunteers and the security forces that came to assist from several countries to rebuild the Sinhala areas.""The responsibility of caring for the devastated Tamil people fell on the shoulders of the LTTE," the statement said. "It is well known to the world that the recovery work in the Tamil homeland was exemplary. The structures put in place by the LTTE for tsunami reconstruction was praised world wide," the LTTE noted. "The assistance from their Tamil brethren living around the world went a long way to help the affected Tamil people.""Many international humanitarian agencies also came forward to channel their assistance through the structures put in place by the LTTE.""The Government of Italy also gave its assistance directly to the LTTE.""All of this assistance went a long way to alleviate the misery of the Tamil people."

'New Delhi must warn Lanka on genocide of Tamils'---Viramani at Human Chain Protest

K.Viramani, leader of Dravidian Khalagam and unrelenting supporter of Lankan Tamil cause, stated that the Indian Central government must warn the Lankan Sinhala government for its acts of genocide of the Tamils. He also announced that the mass human chain protest in Tamil Nadu by all political parties will continue until the Sri Lankan Tamils regain their legitimate rights. Viramani was addressing the mass human right chain protests at Chennai. The agitation was organized by Dravidian Kalagam and supporters of many political parties took part in the protest. In an emotion charged speech, Viramani stated that the Sri Lankan government unleashes abominable violence on the Tamils and has passed draconian legislations affecting the Tamil people.

He charged that Lankan government has starved the Tamil people to death by closing A9 highway in the North and the A15 highway in the East. It continues air strikes on Tamil refugee camps and on homes where Tamil orphans are sheltered. 30,000,00Tamils have suffered for the last 30 years due to the acts of communal Sinhala government. A large number of Tamils have been killed. These are obviously acts of genocide against the Tamils by the government. These are acts of barbarity that cannot be tolerated by any decent society. He went on that all the peace talks and peace efforts with the support of the international community have failed. There were peace talks at Thimpu. There were several rounds of peace talks at Geneva. There was a Ceasefire Agreement and there were cessations of hostilities but they all have ultimately failed.

He stressed that in view of the continual violence against the Lankan Tamils by successive governments, the central government can no more be an observer. Instead it should intervene in a realistic manner and warn the government categorically to stop the violence and find a political solution.  He concluded that the mass human chain agitation is not the end but the beginning to urge the central government to act effectively and expeditiously.

Fighting in Sri Lanka leaves 8 dead, 13 wounded

Tamil Tiger rebels detonated a roadside bomb, killing three government soldiers in northern Jaffna, while troops killed five guerrillas elsewhere on the peninsula, Sri Lanka's military said Tuesday.The bomb exploded as a military patrol was passing in the town late Monday, killing three soldiers, military spokesman Maj. Upali Rajapakse said.Remote-controlled explosives, often packed with steel balls or rusted nails, are frequently used by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam.Also in Tamil-majority Jaffna, troops shot and killed five rebels after they were attacked, Rajapakse said, adding that nine government soldiers were wounded in the incident that also took place on Monday.On Tuesday, suspected rebels threw a grenade at a military patrol in Jaffna, missing their target and wounding four civilians, Rajapakse said.

The incidents are the latest in a surge in violence this year that has left more than 3,500 people  combatants and civilians  dead, according to the Defense Ministry.Sri Lanka's two-decade civil war ended in 2002 when Norway brokered a cease-fire, but the truce has come under serious threat due to an escalation of violence.The rebels say they are fighting to create a separate homeland for the country's 3.1 million ethnic minority Tamils, saying Tamils face discrimination and can prosper only away from the domination of the majority Sinhalese.The government says it can give limited autonomy, but only within a united Sri Lanka.

Tsunami leaves poor poorer in Sri Lanka

Poverty levels in the tsunami hit districts have increased since the tragedy, a recent study has said. "Poverty, in terms of both headcount and severity, had increased after the tsunami in comparison to before in all three regions under consideration. Overall, while 64% of the households were deemed poor before the tsunami (severity-35%), it increased to 80% after the tsunami (severity-57%)," the survey titled People's Verdict on Tsuanmi Recovery commissioned by a UN agency said.Muttukrishna Sarvananthan, lead researcher for the survey said that 3000 families from the three worst hit areas, north east and south were interviewed for the survey that also indicated that unemployment and income levels too had also deteriorated. "The house hold income data from the survey reveal that the majority of the tsunami affected households live in absolute poverty," Sarvananthan said.

"There was significant rise in unemployment among the tsunami-affected households, i.e. among both heads of households (respondent and spouse). Unemployment was very high even at the time tsunami struck, i.e. 37% among the respondents and 42% among the spouses of respondents. Unemployment rate among the respondents increased after the tsunami to 54%, and to 53% among the spouses of respondents. Unemployment (among both the respondents and their spouses) was greatest in the north prior to the tsunami (42% & 47% respectively), but was greatest (among both the respondents and their spouses) in the south after the tsunami (57% & 56% respectively," the survey said.

The impact on poverty levels was predicted soon after the tsunami both by government agencies as well donors. Approximately 33% of the population in the tsunami hit areas other than in the districts of Cololmbo, Kalutara and Gampaha lived below the national poverty line even before the tsunami. " the knock on affect in the largely informal economy has been, and will continue to be significant," the UN warned in a draft report on the reconstruction stratergy despite the total job loss of 200,000 in the tsunami amounting to a mere 3% GDP.

Sri Lanka heads for more bloodshed in New Year

Sri Lanka enters 2007 amid fears of more fighting after a year that began with hopes of peace which degenerated into suspicion, blood and tears. After a violent start to 2006, the Sri Lankan government and the rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) opened talks in Switzerland in February in hopes of salvaging their ceasefire and saving a Norwegian-backed peace bid. The February peace parleys ended with more hopes that the two warring parties would hold their fire. A second meet in Oslo to discuss peace was scuttled by the Tigers who protested against the "low-level" representation by Colombo.

Another round was eventually held in Switzerland in October amid international pressure on both parties to save their fragile peace initiative, but that too ended in failure and led to more bloodshed. According to the Defence Ministry's latest figures, 954 security personnel and 620 civilians were killed in the past year. The Ministry claimed that 2,097 Tigers were killed in the same period. Sri Lanka's army chief Sarath Fonseka said the military will take action soon to clear the island's restive eastern province of LTTE resistance. "We will clear the Vakarai area in Batticaloa because this is a population centre they are using now," Fonseka said, accusing the rebels of using some 35,000 civilians there as human shields. Fonseka estimated the rebel strength in the area at about 700 combatants and placed the military strength there at about 8,000, and said an operation could begin anytime soon.

Defence writer Namal Perera said heavy fighting could be expected in the New Year in the absence of any peace moves as both parties try to establish their military strength through battlefield gains. The LTTE suffered a string of setbacks during the year. For the first time since the February 2002 truce went into effect, the Tigers conceded territory to advancing troops in the island's east. The Tigers also tried, but failed to capture the northern peninsula of Jaffna in August. A counter military offensive in the peninsula a month later saw the military suffer a bloody nose. Western diplomats here believe that both sides must realise the war is un-winnable before they enter negotiations again.

The peace process itself suffered a blow when the LTTE's chief negotiator Anton Balasingham died of cancer on December 14. Balasingham, who was based in London, was seen as a moderate and the rebels have not yet replaced him. A string of LTTE suicide bombings in Colombo has seen unprecedented security arrangements in the capital and the re-imposition of the draconian Prevention of Terrorism laws to curtail the liberties of the people. Tourism has taken a direct hit following the escalation of fighting while foreign investment is also suffering. However, the government also saw the country record a 7.4 percent growth of GDP this year, the best in 28 years, thanks to the expansion in services such as mobile telephony. However, international lenders have warned that a failure to show progress in the peace process or curtail the bloodshed would see a reversal of the growth momentum in the new year at a time when Sri Lanka's neighbours are zooming ahead.

ENDLF decries President Rajapakse’s demerger move of Northern and eastern provinces is resorting to the age old tactics of "divide and rule" and the collusion between the Sri Lankan Armed Forces and the Karuna Group is indicative of Mr Rajapakse’s ulterior motive.

The full text of the statement made by G.Gnanasekaran, President, Eelam National Democratic Liberation Front (ENDLF) is given below:

ENDLF condemns the appointment of a separate governor for the Eastern province

The Eelam National Democratic Liberation Front (ENDLF) condemns the action taken by the Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse in appointing a separate Governor for the Eastern Province thus effectively de-linking the Northern and Eastern provinces. President Rajapakse may say he is giving effect to the Supreme Court decision, but we believe it is a sinister plot hatched by him in collusion with JVP and JHU, his Sinhala extremist allies. President Rajapakse is resorting to the age old tactics of "divide and rule" and the collusion between the Sri Lankan Armed Forces and the Karuna Group is indicative of Mr Rajapakse’s ulterior motive.

North-East is the traditional homeland of the Tamils and it is the indivisible unit of the Eelam nation. Sowing the seeds of divisive politics in the minds of the Eastern Tamils will ultimately fail and the Eastern Tamils will refuse to be fooled by the machinations of the Sinhala politicians. De-linking North-East is a slap in the face of India. It is an insult to the memory of the late Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi as the merger of the North East was a cornerstone of the Indo-Sri Lanka Accord he signed in 1987. We call upon the Indian Government to request the Sri Lankan President to abandon his plan to de-link North East and, instead, ask him to bring necessary constitutional amendment in the Sri Lankan Parliament in order to merge the Northern and Eastern provinces as a single administrative unit without any further delay.

G.Gnanasekaran
President, Eelam National Democratic Liberation Front (ENDLF)

Karuna Group  Political Office Demolished by Bomb-blast

The political office of the Karuna Group at 15th Colony, Navithaveli, was bomb-blasted Monday around 9.45pm. The office was situated about 8 miles away from Kalmunai. The building was completely demolished. The office was empty for the evening. No one was hurt.Residents in the vicinity confirm of hand-grenades and RPGs being used for the attack. Earlier in the evening, Ms selvaratnam Parameswary, alias Leela was shot dead allegedly by Karuna group militants attached to Sri Lanka armed forces at Akkaraippattu. The two assailants on a motor-bike entered Leela's house at 7.20 and shot her dead.

Govt institutions involved in extra judicial killings, disappearances: WPC Opposition Leader

Western Provincial Council Opposition Leader, Kithsiri Kahatapitiya, charged that key Government institutions in the city, were involved in extra judicial killings and disappearances that have taken place within the province. Mr. Kahatapitiya called in the Council authorities to take action against the perpetrators and restore normalcy within the province. He made these points during the Council’s sessions recently. “People in the area are questioning us as to why the Provincial Council is keeping mum about the situation. He said that the Provincial Council should pressurize the central Government into cooperating with it, to maintain security.

Navaratnam's funeral in Montreal, Tuesday

Federal Party co-founder V. Navaratnam's remains are kept for public to pay their last respects at Darche Funeral Parlour, 7679 Taschereau boulevard, in Montreal, and the funeral would be held Tuesday morning at 10:30 a.m. His nine grandchildren will carry the casket from the funeral parlour to the site of the burial service, family members said. The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) Sunday posthumously conferred "Naattu Patralar" (Patriot) title on V. Navaratnam, who passed away, Friday at the age of 97.Mr. Navaratnam leaves behind his 80 year old wife Parameswary, and six children, N. Chandramohan, a chemical engineer (UK), N. Jegan, who owns four manufacturing companies in Canada, N. Jeganmohan, a barrister and lawyer who has a private law firm, N. Rajmohan, a stationary engineer in Canada, N. Shyamala, who works for the civil service in UK and N. Balamohan, a civil engineer who owns a technical firm in Toronto.

25 December 2006

AI calls for urgent action on missing VC

Amnesty International called for urgent action to locate the missing Vice-Chancellor of Eastern University raising suspicion on the involvement of an armed group operating with the support of the security forces.In a statement posted on its website, the AI said Vice Chancellor Prof. Sivasubramanium Raveendranath was also a heart patient and as such his life was in grave danger as he faced the risk of torture in the hands of the abductors who kidnapped him in Colombo on December 15.“Prof. Raveendranath was reportedly abducted while at a conference in Colombo. Since he was in an area tightly controlled by the military, it seems likely that his captors are an armed group operating with the tacit support of the security forces,” AI said.

Prof. Raveendranath had been attending a conference of the Sri Lankan Association for the Advancement of Science and was reportedly last seen by colleagues during the tea break between sessions.On September 20 gunmen abducted his colleague, the Dean of the Arts Faculty of the Eastern University, Dr Bala Sugamar. The kidnappers had demanded the immediate resignation of Prof. Raveendranath in return for Dr Bala Sugumar’s release. Sivasubramanium Raveendranath handed in his resignation and Dr Bala Sugumar was released soon after. However the University did not accept his resignation, on the grounds that it was a presidential appointment.

The Vice Chancellor however felt it was not safe enough for him to return to the university, and had been carrying out his duties from Colombo. His family has said the professor received several threats, though is not clear from whom.AI says in recent months in areas in the north and east of Sri Lanka, there have been reports of a number of people "disappearing" or being abducted by the security forces or armed groups. “Such people are often called or taken in "for questioning" and held incommunicado. No receipts or records of their detention are made available, and the official mechanisms for reporting such events, such as through the National Human Rights Commission, are often unable to find where the missing people are. Anyone held this way is in clear danger of torture or ill treatment,” the rights group said.

Furore over SLMM rulings

The Nordic truce monitoring mission has squarely blamed the government for the escalation of military action in the Northern and Eastern Provinces. The mission has accused the SLA, SLAF and the elite Special Task Force (STF) of intensifying military operations in the region. According to data released by the mission, the SLA, SLAF and STF contravened two categories-violations of the CFA preamble and offensive military action more than the LTTE. The data is available with the government’s Peace Secretariat.The military pointed out that this was due to the LTTE assassination bid on Army Chief Lt. Gen. Sarath Fonseka on April 25 and the massive assault on army’s Jaffna frontline beginning August 11.

A senior official accused the mission of ignoring grave provocations by the LTTE. "We’ll respond to their threat. We have no other option," he said. The government ordered air strikes immediately after the attempt on Lt. Gen. Fonseka.The government had been accused of violating CFA preamble on 64 occasions against the LTTE’s 34. The forces had been also accused of breaking the clause relating to offensive military action on 23 occasions against the LTTE’s two. A senior security official said that truce monitors had ignored the Mavilaaru crisis, attack on Muttur, attempt to hit a vessel carrying over 700 officers and men returning to their bases in the Jaffna peninsula, the abortive bid to target a second vessel on its way to Trincomalee harbour, a direct attack on a navy Fast Attack Craft (FAC) carrying a Nordic naval monitor and a series of high profile operations in the City and its suburbs.

According to the data, which covered the February 22, 2002 to November 30, 2006 period, the government had violated the CFA on 345 occasions whereas the LTTE breached it on a staggering 3,806 occasions.By November 30 last year the SLMM ruled 153 violations by the government and 3,423 violations by the LTTE. Since the last presidential election in November 2005 the rulings against government has doubled. The military slammed the monitoring mission over what a senior official termed as an effort to blame security forces and police for the deteriorating situation. The mission also accused the government of abduction of adults (22), abduction of children (3), harassment (80), assault (21), assassinations (31), provocative acts (5), hostile acts against civilians (23) intimidation (8), moving military equipment (1), restrictions on the movements of truce monitors (15) and construction of new positions (7). The government had been also blamed for failing to protect truce monitors on two occasions.

The mission accused the LTTE of child recruitment (1,743), abduction of adults (576), abduction of children (252), harassment (237), assault (202), assassinations (107), provocative acts (83), hostile acts against civilians (62) intimidation (50), moving military equipment (34), forced recruitment of adults (32) restrictions on the movements of truce monitors (26) and construction of new positions (17), torture (12),. The government had been blamed for failing to protect truce monitors on one occasion.Separately, the SLN had been accused of two cases of mounting offensive action. The LTTE had been blamed on 12 occasions.

According to the monitoring mission security forces and police in the Batticaloa district had been the worst culprits with the mission ruling 102 violations against them. The least number of complaints had been recorded against the forces deployed in the Trincomalee district. They had been faulted on 19 occasions. The LTTE deployed in the Ampara district had the least number (283) of complaints against them. This is almost three times the government’s worst district. The SLMM had ruled 1127 violations by the LTTE in the Batticaloa district. This is closely followed by Jaffna (1002) complaints.

Breakdown in electricity supply to Jaffna peninsula averted

Government is taking steps to avoid a breakdown in the supply of electricity to the Jaffna Peninsula after the after the contract to supply power, awarded to private firms, ends on December 30. Minister of Power and Energy, John Seneviratne, said they had decided to extend the contract for another nine months. Meanwhile negotiations have begun with a new company, which had submitted an offer. According to the Minister, out of the two offers that were submitted by two companies one had been rejected as the price was high, while the other has been forwarded for cabinet approval. He also said it will be difficult to provide power to the Peninsula for 24 hours as the supply centres have to be increased to 10 and currently there are only 3 centres in the area.

Sri Lanka's LTTE releases captured Jordanian crew, ship still under custody

The LTTE this morning released the 25-member crew of the captured Jordanian ship Farha 111, which was carrying rice from India to South Africa. LTTE media spokesperson Daya Master said the crew members were handed over to representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) around 10 AM today. “They left for Vavuniya by road,” he said. The Sri Lankan military at Omanthai also confirmed that the crew members entered cleared areas around 12.30 PM, escorted by the ICRC and Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM). However, the LTTE is still holding the ship and its cargo. The Jordanian vessel, carrying 14,000 tons of rice from Port Casinader of India to Durban, South Africa, had been adrift at sea three nautical miles off the Mullaitivu coast. The 25-member crew included 13 Jordanians, 11 Egyptians and an Iraqi captain. They contacted the Jordanian embassy in India yesterday evening. City Bank Card, Chase low rate loan, American Express

Govt. seeks world action against LTTE

The government has lodged a complaint with the Singapore based Regional Corporation to combat piracy regarding the sea tiger capture of a Jordanian vessel which strayed into waters close to rebel areas in Mullaitivu on Saturday, a Navy spokesman told th Daily Mirror yesterday.Navy spokesman D.P.K Dassanayake said international pressure was required to ensure the vessel and the 25 member crew were released immediately as the capture was a serious violation of international maritime laws.Commander Dassanayake said Navy Fast Attack Craft were on standby fearing the LTTE might attempt to use the vessel for terrorism purposes but stressed the Navy would act with restraint as the responsibility of the missing crew now lay with the Sri Lankan government.

The ICRC was meanwhile due to visit the crew members in Mullaitivu last evening after receiving the green light from the LTTE.The LTTE has said it rescued the crew after the vessel ran aground in Mullativu but if the Regional Corporation to combat piracy finds the LTTE guilty of violating international maritime laws it could seek action against the LTTE on the international platform. The LTTE says it has informed the UK based International Maritime Organisation that the 25-member crew of the cargo ship which drifted into LTTE waters off the Mullaitivu coast due to technical failure, were safe in Kilinochchi. LTTE's U.N. Liaison officer Pavarasan is in touch with the ICRC to facilitate safe passage to the crew members as the cargo ship was grounded, according to LTTE Military Spokesman Irasiah Ilanthirayan.

Director of LTTEs Peace Secretariat in Kilinochchi, S.Puleedevan, has been in touch with the International Maritime Organisation in UK and briefed them on the safety of the crew members, Mr. Ilanthirayan said. The Jordanian news agency (PETRA), quoting a statement released by Jordan's Transport Ministry, said the ship, owned by the International Al Salam (Peace) Company for Trade and Transport, was seized and burglarized by the LTTE.The statement said contacts are underway through the Jordanian government and its foreign ministry along with Sri Lankan authorities to ensure safety of the ship and its 25-member crew. Contacts have also been made with the International Maritime Organization to take necessary procedures in such emergency situations, the statement added.

The Farha-3 vessel, carrying 14,000 tons of Indian rice and sailing from the south Indian coast to Durban, South Africa, developed engine trouble Friday off Sri Lanka's northeast coast and was forced to stop before being seized by the LTTE, said the company's Board Chairman Said Suleiman, Petra added.According to the statement, all the 25 members of the ship's crewwere in good condition and none of them was hurt.International monitors overseeing a tattered ceasefire between government troops and the LTTE also weighed in, saying the rebels must respect international law.“The Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission has conveyed to the LTTE that the government will conduct a rescue mission to salvage the ship and its crew. SLMM has strongly advised LTTE to allow for this operation to be executed without any delay,” the mission said in a statement.The military said attempts to establish contact with the ship had failed and it was believed that the LTTE's Sea Tigers had disconnected the communication systems.

No arms in Jordanian ship - Navy

The Navy yesterday brushed off speculation that the Jordanian ship which drifted towards Mullaitivu seas following a technical failure was carrying arms to the LTTE. Navy Spokesman Commander D.M.K. Dasanayake said several authorities confirmed that the vessel held by the LTTE was actually carrying a rice consignment from India to South Africa at the time it drifted off to Mullaitivu seas due to an engine failure. "We have got confirmation that the ship was loaded with 14,000 metric tonnes of rice from the South Indian port of Kakinada, from the Indian Ports Authority," Commander Dassanayake said. Kakinada is 260 nautical miles North of Madrass. "We also questioned the Colombo Agent of the shipping line which owned Farha III and got confirmation from the Jordanian Ambassador based in India," he said when asked if the authenticity of the vessel had been established.

A Foreign Ministry spokesman said the Jordanian Government had been in touch with the Sri Lankan Government to gain release of the 25 member crew, now in the custody of the LTTE since Saturday. "We are trying to coordinate their release with the countries as the crew consist of different nationals," he said The ship is captained by an Iraqi and some crew members are Egyptians. The LTTE went on board the Jordanian ship disregarding a 'strong SLMM request' to allow the Navy to salvage the stationary ship and took the crew into custody. The SLMM also urged the LTTE to respect international Law and sovereign rights of the country in the territorial waters surrounding Sri Lanka. When asked if there was any communique as to when the crew will be released an SLMM spokesman said yesterday "No we don't have any information from the LTTE." The ship had been circumnavigating Sri Lanka from the East to West enroute to South Africa. The winds which blows towards land during the now active north eastern monsoon season had been the reason for the vessel to drift towards the Mullaitivu coast following the engine trouble.

Minister’s son-in-law arrested for poaching
 
Acting on a public complaint, police recently detained Labour Minister Athauda Seneviratne’s son-in-law, Lal Gunasekera, a lecturer at the Sabaragamuwa University for entering Lavennawatte forest reserve in the Yatiyantora area. The detection had been made on December 18. Police had accused him of hunting wild animals. Police also detained a double cab (253-3392) belonging to the Minister’s vehicle fleet. The vehicle had been produced before the Ruwanwella Magistrate’s Court. Police also recovered a weapon. Police emergency had swung into action immediately after receiving a telephone call. The Island learns at the time the police arrived at the scene they had not been aware of the suspect’s identity. The civilians are believed to have contacted Yatiyantota police following an altercation with the raiders.

Karuna faction says LTTE long-range weapon destroyed

The Karuna faction yesterday claimed it had destroyed the long range weapon recently used by the LTTE to attack a school in Somapura which left a teacher dead and several students injured.Karuna faction spokesman Azaath Maulana told the Daily Mirror the 120 mm heavy weapon was destroyed by a deep penetration unit of the Karuna faction which infiltrated LTTE controlled areas in Iripetichenai, Batticaloa late Saturday night.Mr. Maulana claimed the weapon was initially in Vakarai, Trincomalee when it was used to attack the army in Kallaru resulting in at least two mortars hitting a school in Somapura, about two kilometers away from the camp.“We received information that the 120 mm weapon which can fire a distance between 6 and 9 km and several other weapons were being shifted to Iripetichenai from Vakarai on Friday. We deployed a deep penetration unit to the area and destroyed the weapon,” Mr. Maulana said.

The attack on the school and Kallar army camp led to heavy displacements with thousands of civilians in the area fleeing their homes to seek shelter in nearby Kantale. Many still remain in temporary shelters fearing to return back to their homes.The Karuna spokesman said at least five LTTE cadres were also killed in the attack while a tractor used to transport the weapon was also destroyed but there was no independent verification of the claims while the LTTE had also not made any comments to that effect.Meanwhile, the Media Centre for National Security said the LTTE had fired artillery and mortars towards the ‘Black bridge’ in Batticaloa early last morning forcing the army to retaliate using mortars and shells. There were no reports of casualties on both sides.

India's Narayanswamy urges tough action against parties supporting Sri Lanka's LTTE

India's AICC General Secretary V. Narayanswamy has urged the Centre Government to take 'severe' action against political parties and organisations supporting the banned LTTE, reports said. He recalled that the government had intervened in Sri Lanka’s ‘Tamil issue’ during the tenure of Rajiv Gandhi. “The LTTE, which later objected to it, assassinated Rajiv Gandhi,” a news agency quoted Narayanswamy as saying. He also said that External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee “had made it clear that the problem of Sri Lanka is an international one and the Indian government will not intervene. Even then, some of the political parties in India were supporting the LTTE.” Recently, Members of Parliament from Sri Lanka’s Tamil National Alliance, which is considered by many as a proxy party of the LTTE, met Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi.

Tamil youths arrested in Galle, Kandy

Seven Tamil youths including a woman were arrested in Habaraduwa in Galled district and in Kandy town in two separate cordon and search operations conducted by security forces Sunday evening, sources said.The security forces arrested a Tamil youth and woman when they were walking along Dalada Veediya in Kandy Town Sunday evening. Both had been residents of Killinochchi, police sources said.Five Tamil youths were arrested in Habaraduwa in Galle district.

Maharaja launch IP TV for first time in Sri Lanka

A landmark partnership deal was signed between the Capital Maharaja Organization and Tokyo based New Media Group (NMC) to facilitate Sri Lanka's first step into Internet Protocol Television (IP TV) by aligning MTV Channels Pvt LTD.The strategic partnership deal was signed by Randy McGraw CEO NMG and Group Director Mano Wickramanayake in Colombo yesterday. Colombo based Raider Tech, the e-commerce and internet arm of the Capital Maharaja Organization has facilitated this deal. They hope to begin the operations from mid January next year. As a consequence of this partnership deal the Sri Lankan across the globe gets the opportunity of viewing MTV's locally produced trilingual programmes offered on an Asian bouquet to the Sino-Japanese region including the Korea.Raider Tech has notched up several lucrative IP TV deals with leading global telecoms including France Telecom, to provider Sri Lankan television content across regions such as North America and Europe. The Maharaja group feels it would steer the future of the media towards a new direction.

Cellular phone service returns to Jaffna

Mobile phone customers subscribing to the wireless-carrier Dialog GSM have started receiving dial-tones sin Jaffna district starting from the Christmas day after a break of 5 months, residents in Jaffna said. More than 40,000 people who had mobile telephones in the Peninsula lost the facilities when the Sri Lankan Military cut-off the services without prior notice following the break out of fresh violence on 11 August.Two telephone companies, Dialog GSM, which owns 90 % of the connections, and Mobitel, a collaborative company of Sri Lankan Telecom, have their main relay station in the Palaly Military Base. The Sri Lanka Army had severed the wireless links without consulting either the companies or the customers.However, in November, the Military Command permitted the functioning of the Dialog cellular phones in and around the Base for the benefit of the soldiers. In the other parts of the Peninsula, only the Dialog cellular phones started to function from Monday.Meanwhile, the officials of the Dialog GSM said the decision to resume the services was taken solely by the Sri Lanka Military.

24 December 2006

German Minister's Bold Suggestion:"No Money For Sri Lanka Without New Peace Process!"

"The international community should make further assistance to Sri Lanka dependent on the resumption of the peace process in the country," - German Development Minister Heidemarie Wieczorek-Zeul said in an interview to be published Sunday. Wieczorek-Zeul's interview, which was released a day early and is to be published in Berlin's Tagesspiegel am Sonntag, is to mark the second anniversary of the devastating Tsunami which swept across coastal regions surrounding the Indian Ocean on December 26, 2004. Sri Lanka was one of hardest hit by the catastrophe, which resulted in more than 230,000 deaths across Asia. Wieczorek-Zeul said her ministry had already stopped making new promises to the government in Colombo. "It would be good, if other western governments would act in the same way," she told the new