31 December 2008

Paranthan falls
 
Paranthan fell to troops today following a surprising pre-dawn strike led by 2 Commando, 10GR etc. troops of the 58 Division. By this evening, the entire area was cleared.Several successive waves of attackers, led by LTTE's Kilinochchi Military in-charge Velavan was beaten back. The open terrain and Villu that lay between troops and the well defended LTTE fortifications were suddenly crossed in the darkness of the morning.The last attack came this evening. 8 bodies of Tigers were recovered. The attackers were mainly from the Imran Pandian unit, which is led by Velavan.With this latest defeat, Muhamalai will become untenable for the LTTE. Troops now have the opportunity to attack Kilinochchi from the north and the northeast. That town too is expected to fall in January.

SL Army is within 700m of Paranthan junction

The Sri Lanka Army is within 700m of Paranthan junction. Paranthan junction is expected to fall within the next 24-72 hours.The LTTE's hold on the strategic Paranthan junction along the A9 is failing rapidly as 58 spearheaded by 2 Commando came upto 700m of the A-9 north of Paranthan junction this evening.Meanwhile Tiger strength in Kilinochchi too is gradually being eased as cadres are being pulled back towards Mulaitivu. The Tigers new objective of protecting Mulaitivu is surprising as it reinforces Mullayaveli. It seems as if the LTTE is running out of time and ideas on which area to protect.“Security Forces are closing on to Elephant Pass too as the Task Force I is in the process of creating a wider front towards A-9 road from the North of Kilinochchi to launch the fall of most important grounds in Kilinochchi to cut Tiger links with the Jaffna front,” sources added. The Task Force I troops, under the command of Brigadier Shavendra Silva managed to capture Kamalakadukulam, two kilometers west of Paranthan and Thadduvankoddy in the North West of Paranthan amidst stiff resistance from the LTTE. “Intercepted radio transmissions confirmed that 20 Tiger cadres were killed and 30 wounded in the fierce battles that erupted from early hours of yesterday. The Task Force I troops managed to recover six Tiger bodies during search and clear operations,” sources added. The LTTE never expected such a swift move towards North of Kilinochchi and Paranthan as the Task Force I troops had taken only 30 days to advance 22 km from Pooneryn to Paranthan with Pooneryn captured on November 15. They had to stop military operations for two weeks due to inclement weather conditions. According to military sources, the 57 Division troops operating South of Kilinochchi also made strategic moves towards Kilinochchi after passing the Tiger earth bund which was the major obstacle.

Construction of A32 to begin in January

Construction of the A32 highway, connecting Vavuniya with Jaffna, through Sangamantuduwa, will begin in January 2009. The first phase of the construction would include a distance of 32 km, as the mine clearing process had to be completed, Minister of Highways T. B. Ekanayake said yesterday (30).Landmines had been cleared over a distance of 4 km, but it was expected that the process could be expedited with more security forces personnel brought in, he said.The project was to be launched with funds made available in the budget and it was likely that some foreign aid would also be utilised as the construction progressed, he said.The tender for the construction of Puttalam-Silvathura road, costing 250 million rupees, had already been awarded and that work would begin in January 2009. It will help pilgrims from the South to reach the Holy Madhu Shrine.

Anandasangaree raises concern over armed political group in Jaffna

TULF Leader Mr. V. Anandasangaree had send a letter to the President Rajapaksha on last 26th December. The full text of letter as follows:...

His Excellency Mahinda Rajapaksa,
President of Sri Lanka.
Your Excellency,

THE PROBLEMS OF JAFFNA THAT NEED URGENT ATTENTION.

Since I met you last about six weeks back, I had paid two visits to Jaffna. During my first visit in November, I had a public meeting attended by over thousand people, as estimated by a local daily published in Jaffna. The people have innumerable problems and hardly anyone had attended to them. I strongly urge you to listen to the problems of the civilians from various people without depending on one or two persons. I have nothing against any individual. But to what extent you can depend on one or two for matters relating to the North and whether you should also consult people like Mr. D. Sithardthan, Mr. T. Sritharan, me and such others is a matter for you to decide.

Army Check Points:-

The people of Jaffna are deeply concerned of many matters, some of which I refer to here. Their main grievance is the presence of offices of a political party, adjoining very many check-points manned by the Army. This, they feel, curtail their freedom of movement and is also one of the reasons why and how certain culprits escape after committing offences. There is absolutely no need for any political party, especially with arms, to have too many offices here and there, giving opportunities for harassment of civilians.

Compulsory Sale of News Papers:-

One General complain by many is that a political party forces people to buy their weekly. Arriving home the father or mother sees three or more copies of the same paper compulsorily thrust on various members of the house hold. Each paper cost Rs. 30 per copy. Army personnel at these check points have no control over these matters and the people buy the paper out of fear of the army who are normally very cordial in their movements with the civilians.

 Detention Orders:-

The detention orders served on suspects causes a lot of inconvenience and injustice to many. I can assure you that if any one is arrested on suspicion of aiding and abetting anybody, such person in most cases is innocent and in same cases acted out of fear for the LTTE and the real culprits slip out. There are some unfortunate instances in which very old people and innocent ladies had been detained under detention orders for long periods. Serving of detention order in such cases, if avoided, will improve the relationship of the Government with the civilians, to a great extent.

Missing Persons:-

During the past few years a lot of people, men and women, young and old, are either being killed or abducted by some unidentified persons. The whereabouts of the abducted persons are not known. Some people think that a few of them might have been detained some where by somebody illegally or legally by some Government Authority. Their expectations may not be true in all cases and may be true in respect of some. To put an end to their agony and anxiety, kindly instruct all concerned persons to kindly disclose the names and addresses of all those who are in the custody of Government Authorities. What the parents want to know is whether they are alive and in safe custody. Hence kindly prepare a list of such persons and have it released to the press.

Escapees from the LTTE’s Grip in Vanni:-

Another matter that will bring good name to the Government is to honour the promise given by the Government, that all those who escape from the LTTE’s grip and come into the areas under the control of the Government, will not be harassed or detained. I have very reliable information that the LTTE’s propaganda in Vanni is that the Government forces are detaining and harassing those who are escaping and coming into cleared areas. Who ever is suspected, as having had links with the LTTE, also will have to be treated as an LTTE deserter and conditionally released to the parents. If such escapees from the LTTE area are detained people will be reluctant, to come out. A clear announcement should be made by the Government to this effect.

Fishing in and around Jaffna.

Fishing by trawlers is banned in Jaffna. The various fishing co-operatives and fisheries co-operative union in the area have no objection for trawler fishing, because they have agreed with the small scale fisherman to do trawler fishing only on three days in a week and leave the other four days for the small scale fisherman. I understand that the Indian trawler operators too operate their trawlers on three day in a week leaving the other four days for the minor fisherman. I hope that allowing this arrangement in Jaffna will not interfere with the security of the Sri Lankan Navy, since Indian trawlers also fish there. The Navy’s advice may by sought in this matter.

I strongly urge that you should give serious consideration for these requests which if adhered to will be a great boon for the suffering civilians.

Thanking you,
Yours Sincerely

V. Anandasangaree,
President - TULF.

Lanka plans to hold polls in war-ravaged north in 2009 

Sri Lanka plans to hold elections in the war-ravaged Tamil dominated north in 2009 after flushing out the LTTE from their strongholds and rehabilitating the displaced people, President Mahinda Rajapaksa has said."We want to hold elections in northern Sri Lanka (Wanni) during 2009 after settling the displaced people," Rajapaksa said while talking to a group of Indian journalists here last night.The President's remark come as his forces are on the offensive and have laid seige to last two bastions of the Tamil Tigers in the north including their de-facto capital Kilinochchi.He said that his government is hopeful the LTTE terrorism will be brought under control next year (2009).On the losses suffered by the troops, Rajapaksa said: "you know when there is a war any such thing can happen".Meanwhile, the committee working out devolution of powers for Northern Sri Lanka has intensified its works for submitting the final report.The interim recommendations were submitted to the Sri Lankan President in January this year (2008)."To the extent that the All Party Representative Committee (APRC) proposals contribute to such a settlement, they are a welcome first step," the Indian Ministry of External Affairs had said after the interim report was presented.India had said that a settlement of the issues in Sri Lanka was to be done by the Sri Lankan people themselves in a manner acceptable to all communities within the framework of a united Sri Lanka.

Sri Lankan rebels open to peace talks

Sri Lanka's Tamil Tiger separatists are open to restarting peace talks with the government, despite the continuing military offensive aimed at crushing the group, a senior rebel official said.The two sides have been fighting for more than 25 years over the rebels' demands for an independent state for minority Tamils in the north and east of this Indian Ocean island nation.A new military push deep into the rebel heartland in recent months has forced the Tamil Tigers to retreat from vast swaths of land they once controlled, and the government has said it expects to finish off the group in the coming months.Rebel political chief Balasingham Nadesan told The Associated Press the rebels did not believe they were facing imminent defeat."We have made several strategic withdrawals in order to save the lives of our people and maintain the strength of our forces. When the time and place is conducive, we will regain the land we have lost," he said in an e-mail sent to the AP late Tuesday.The two sides agreed to a truce in 2002 and held internationally brokered peace talks aimed at resolving the bloody conflict. The talks stalled, however, and violence erupted again three years ago. The government officially pulled out of the cease-fire in January.Nadesan said the rebels had not abandoned hopes for new peace talks."We have always been ready for peace talks, but the Sri Lankan government has been always insisting on a military solution," he said.The government said it would only consider new peace moves if the rebels agreed to disarm."For three decades we were trying to convince (rebel leader Velupillai) Prabhakaran and his terror group to come to some sort of reasonable arrangement, but they failed," Cabinet minister Keheliya Rambukwella said.If the group refuses to lay down its weapons, "we will not move an inch from our position," he said.The rebels have been fighting since 1983 to create an independent homeland for the minority Tamils, who have suffered decades of marginalization by successive governments controlled by the Sinhalese majority. The conflict has killed more than 70,000 people.The latest government offensive has squeezed the rebels into an increasingly shrinking area in the northeast. Fighter jets have relentlessly pounded their strongholds and the military has closed in on the rebels' administrative capital, Kilinochchi Nadesan said the rebels remained confident they would not be driven out of their heartland, but implied that if they were, the conflict would continue anyway. "We are used to all types of wars," he said, adding that the Tamil Tigers began as a guerrilla group. "We will struggle on with the help of our people until their political aspirations are met."

Sri Lanka mulls banning Tigers as fighting escalates
     
Sri Lanka's government may re-impose a formal ban on the Tamil Tigers amid escalating fighting in the island's north, official sources said on Tuesday.An original ban on the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) was lifted in September 2002 ahead of an Oslo-backed peace process, which collapsed when President Mahinda Rajapakse pulled out of the truce this year."The government may soon bring back the ban on the Tigers as fighting in the north has entered a decisive stage," a senior government official said, adding that an announcement regarding a possible formal ban may be made soon.Government officials said that the president had given the Tigers an ultimatum to free civilians inside rebel-held territory by Wednesday or face a ban from the start of 2009.The Tigers have not formally responded to the government's ultimatum.Media Minister Anura Priyadharshana Yapa denied the ban was re-examined at a special cabinet meeting on Tuesday evening, but said he would make a statement on the issue in the new year.Any ban would essentially be symbolic given the scale of the current military offensive against the LTTE and its political capital, Kilinochchi.The Tigers, who are already outlawed by the United States and the European Union, have been waging a drawn-out campaign for independence for Sri Lanka's minority Tamil community.

4 civilians killed, 17 wounded in air strikes, hospital reports blood shortage

Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) bombers attacked a civilian settlement near Murugananda school in Murasumoaddai on Paranthan - Mullaiththeevu Road killing two females of a family and a male on the spot. Another man, who was seriously wounded, succumbed to his injuries at the hospital. 14 civilians, including a couple, were wounded. The attack has targeted three civilian settlements in Murasumoaddai Wednesday around 8:00 a.m. The indiscriminate bombardment on fleeing civilians, Internally Displaced Person's huts, close to the ICRC Karaichchi branch office, a school, temple and agricultural lands aims at instilling fear at the minds of the civilians in Vanni, observers said. A motorcyclist escaped with wounds, but his bike was thrown 70 meters away from the road. Medical Superintendent of Vanni's main hospital at Tharmapuram, Dr. S. Sathiyamoorthy, has placed the hospital and the surrounding area on red alert for blood shortage as Sri Lanka Army (SLA) launched artillery attack on the village after the carnage by the SLAF. The Sri Lankan air strike targeted civilian houses behind Murugananda school, two settlements of refugees, one at Chelliah Shop Junction and the other behind Cheaththukka'ndi Amman temple at Murasumoaddai. A few hours later, the SLAF fighter jets returned to the same village and dropped bombs while a cow herder, was moving away with his cows from Paranthan to his native village, Tharmapuram. Two others were also wounded in the second bombardment. The cow herder wounded in the second bombardment was identified as Mayalaku Vijayaratnam, 24. The other two civilians wounded were Nadarasa Thavanesan, 36, and Columbus, 24, Meanwhile, a 29-year-old male, T. Sasikaran, was seriously injured when Sri Lanka Army (SLA) fired artillery shells targeting settlements in 2nd Mile Post. Mr. Sasikaran wounded in his head was rushed to hospital in unconscious state. A 37-year-old civlian identified as Kannan was also wounded.24-year-old Juda Margarat Aseervatham, 55-year-old Asservaatham Maryamma and Markandu Sivanandan were killed on the spot. 52-year-old Chandrabose, one of the 14 wounded who were admitted at Tharmapuram hospital, succumbed to his injuries at the Intensive Care Unit. The wounded civilians in the first bombardment on three localities were identified as I. Nirmalan, 15, S. Ragulan, 21, Arumaiththurai Jesinald, 26, Ramachandran Kumanan, 30, Selvarajah Kulendran, 33, K. Jeyasri, 38, Somasundaram Chandrakumar, 43, Annakkodi Chandramary, 45, Vellaichamy Annakkodi, 49, S. Balasundaram, 51, Palaniayappan Subramaniyam, 52, Ranjithamalar, 58, and Saravana Bavananthan, 62.

3,000 soldiers killed, 11,500 injured says Defence Watch

Defence Watch has slammed Minister Keheliya Rambukwella for playing politics with the war by declaring that the LTTE leader will be captured by February 7, coinciding with the day for the Central and North Western Provincial Council elections. Defence Watch Spokesperson Mangala Samaraweera issuing a statement yesterday has alleged that more than 3,000 soldiers have died during the Rajapakse regime and more than 11,500 injured and hospitalised as a result of the government’s failure to wage the war properly. “Minister Rambukwella on Monday at a public meeting has said that the LTTE leader would be captured on or before February 7 which also happens to be the Central and North Western Provincial Council elections day. How could he say that the elections would be held on February 7 as the date would be decided by the Elections Commissioner after the conclusion of the nominations. How was Minister Rambukwella in a position to announce the date of the election,” Samaraweera has inquired. According to the statement, although the Rajapakse administration said that Kilinochchi would be captured and the LTTE Leader arrested before the North Central Provincial Council election they have so far failed to do so.“This government’s only slogan to win elections is the war, but now the people know best about the war. It is the innocent people in the villages who know better than anyone else about the war casualties and the number of bodies they receive ,” Samaraweera has stated.

Sri Lanka has to expedite power devolution: Mukherjee

Expressing disappointment over the slow implementation of devolution package in Sri Lanka, India on Tuesday asked Colombo to expedite the process as it voiced concern over the humanitarian situation in the island due to the war between the army and LTTE. External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee also said no decision has been taken on when he would travel to Colombo as has been demanded by parties in Tamil Nadu, including DMK. The Minister said the implementation of the report by a committee on devolution of powers is the "ultimate solution" to the ethnic crisis in the island. "Some steps have been taken with regard to polls. Elections in some provisional councils have taken place but the process has to be expedited," Mukherjee told PTI. Mukherjee also said India is of the view that the decades-old ethnic conflict in Sri Lanka has to be resolved not militarily, but through dialogue and the framework which was built up in the 1987 (Indo-Sri Lanka or the Rajiv Gandhi-Jayavardhane) agreement. "Implementation of the report of the high-powered committee for devolution to address the legitimate aspirations of the ethnic minorities in Sri Lanka, of course, without affecting the territorial integrity and sovereignty of the country is the ultimate solution," he said. "We shall have to reach that."

30 December 2008

DMK has failed on Lanka - BJP

The DMK, an alliance partner of the UPA, has miserably failed to tackle the ethnic problem in the island nation, all because of the cold-shouldered attitude of the Union Government, said BJP spokesperson Ravi Shankar Prasad on Sunday.Addressing the media after the state executive meeting of the party in the city, the BJP leader wondered, “What action has been taken by the UPA Government at the Centre and the DMK Government in the state to end the ethnic war and bring a ceasefire in the island nation.’’ “India has failed to address the human rights violations in neighbouring Sri Lanka though the 60th anniversary of the human rights declaration by the United Nations is being celebrated today,’’ he said.“After an unsuccessful all party delegation to New Delhi on the Lankan Tamils’ issue, DMK president and Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi is begging with the UPA Government led by Manmohan Singh to send India’s External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee to Lanka towards finding a solution to the ethnic issue. This is a clear case of hypocrisy,’’ he noted. He said the BJP, while fully supporting the cause of Lankan Tamils, was very much worried about the refugee problem that needed to be tackled keeping in mind the burden it had cast on the country’s  economy.

Indian weekly reveals LTTE- Lashkar links
   
An Indian weekly has reported possible links between the Lashkar e Taiba (LeT) terrorist group and the LTTE.The Organiser in its January 4th edition claims there are now FBI confirmations of visits by some LTTE top brass to Kabul in Afghanistan to meet Lashkar agents.The Organiser is one of the oldest and most widely circulated weeklies in New Delhi. Although there were reports of LeT’s link with the LTTE in the early nineties, there are now FBI reports confirming visits of LTTE top brass to Kabul. A cornered LTTE, which is fighting a losing battle with the Sri Lankan Army, is looking to the ISI-Al-Queda-LeT for weapons, the Organiser claimed.There is an active smuggling link in the Kerala-Tamil Nadu Coast and Sri Lankan waters. Out of the two lakh odd fishing boats which venture into sea daily, more than 60 per cent cross the Indian waters and supply food, medicines, diesel, kerosene, batteries, etc. to the LTTE. The LTTE is now surviving on supplies from the Kerala-Tamil Nadu coast, the report claimed.It also said there were intelligence inputs that the Kerala–Tamil Nadu coastal route with Sri Lanka may be used by LeT to launch attacks in Kerala and Tamil Nadu.Express News reported two weeks ago that the Indian mission in Colombo had drawn New Delhi’s attention to the possibility of terrorists entering India via the sea off Tamil Nadu. This “nightmare scenario” has emerged after the recent attack on Mumbai. Diplomatic sources say several factors make access to India via Sri Lanka attractive to terrorists.President Mahinda Rajapaksa had told Express that about 500 boats trespass into Lankan waters daily. “It is a well-known fact that there is a nexus between smugglers and the LTTE and perhaps other terrorist organisations,” he said. Tamil Nadu has so far brushed off suggestions for a more robust mechanism to deny Indian fishermen access to Sri Lankan waters.In a presentation to Europol in The Hague this month, Sri Lankan Ambassador to EU Ravinatha Aryasinha asserted that “the LTTE maintained close contacts with groups that have similar interests”.He referred to the LTTE’s linkages with the Afghan Mujahideen as far back as 1987 and, more importantly, that an LTTE team travelled to Kabul shortly before 9/11.He quoted the London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies’ Military Balance 2007, which spoke of commercial links between the LTTE and al Qaeda.He also cited India’s National Security Adviser M K Narayanan’s speech at the 42nd Munich Conference on Security Policy in February 2007, saying both jihadists and the LTTE relied on funds from narcotics trafficking. “These have alarmed intelligence communities across the world,” and that given its global network, the “LTTE could offer its services as mercenaries to other groups”.

Keheliya to capture Prabakaran by February 07

Media Spokesman for National Security, Minister Keheliya Rambukwella hopes to capture LTTE leader Prabakaran who is now running from bunker to bunker for life before February 07. Addressing a meeting held in upcountry, the Minister said that Prabakaran would be brought to court soon. The D-day he marked is the day the elections for the Central and Northwestern Provincial Council elections are held.Minister Rambukwella opened the Kandy district election propaganda office of the United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA).Addressing the gathering at the opening ceremony, he said that the security forces are in a fight against terror and the words ‘Prabakaran’ and ‘terrorism’ would be wiped out from history of Sri Lanka. He further stated that Mahinda Rajapakse would be the President of the country until 2010 and terrorism is being defeated under his guidance.Minister Rambukwella further stated that Sri Lankan Muslims whose lands were handed over to LTTE under the ceasefire then Prime Minister Ranil wickramasinghe signed can now live there without fear thanks to President Rajapakse’s schemes.

Sri Lanka army bodies handed over 
 
Tamil Tiger rebels have handed over the bodies of 17 Sri Lankan army soldiers to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). The ICRC acts as an intermediary and facilitates the exchange of bodies between the two sides. The hand-over came as both sides say they have inflicted heavy casualties on each other in the north of the island. The rebels say they are successfully defending the strategically important town of Kilinochchi. But the army say that the town is on the verge of falling. There have been no independent reports of the latest fighting from the frontlines and it is impossible to verify either account of casualties. A Red Cross spokeswoman declined to give any details as to when or where the 17 soldiers might have been killed. The pro-rebel TamilNet website says that some of the Sri Lankan soldiers killed in recent fighting were under-aged. It has published pictures to support its case, which also show captured arms and munitions. The military, meanwhile, says that it has carried out airstrikes around Kilinochchi. The defence ministry has accused the rebels of abducting 16 children from a Roman Catholic orphanage in the town on Friday. It described the abduction as a "nefarious act of terrorism" and an "ideal example of the inhumanity of the terrorist outfit". Correspondents say that while the government remains on track to win the war, heavy battles are likely still to lie ahead and there is concern about the fate of the large number of civilians in the Tiger-controlled north. The rebels deny using them as human shields and reject allegations they are forcing people into their ranks to fight.

Nadesan denies Lakbima News interviewing LTTE leader

B. Nadesan, Chief of LTTE political wing has said no exclusive interview ever took place between the LTTE leader Velupillai Prabhakaran and Lakbima News.Lakbima News is published in Sri Lanka’s capital Colombo. Lakbima News in its edition dated Dec 28th said, “Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) leader Velupillai Prabhakaran gave the interview exclusively to LAKBIMAnEWS via e mail.”However the LTTE political wing leader confirmed that the weekend interview published in the Newspaper Lakbima News, was actually an email question and answer exchange between him and the newspaper. Mr. Nadesan’s comment on this matter is published in the Tamil News website Puthinam.com.The interview by Lakbima News was widely quoted elsewhere; including the Colombo Tamil Daily Virakesari carried a translation of it - as an interview between the LTTE leader Prabhakaran and Lakbima News .

31 SLA KIA in Chilawatte

31 soldiers were killed in fierce fighting at Chilawatte (Silawatte) in the general areas Mulaitivu on Saturday. 22 of those killed went MIA while the bodies of another 9 were recovered by 59 division troops. So far Tigers have recovered 17 bodies while another few are lying inside a minefield. Casualties to the Tigers is unknown.A forward operating platoon, comprised of 11GW and 14 VIR troops, met with this unfortunate demise after having successfully crossed an LTTE bund cum ditch. The platoon CO tried to push on further but was met with stiff resistance in an exposed area with a large Villu capable of drowning even a bull. With the 59 less than 5km south, the LTTE bastion of Mulaitivu is now being heavily defended by an LTTE reserve unit reinforced from Muhamalai-Nagarkovil by sea.In the northwestern flank, troops from the 58 Division are now 2.5km from Paranthan junction. The 57 is progressing steadily, but is taking time due to heavy trappings in the Kilinochchi build-up area. 11 soldiers dies recently when a booby trapped house was razed to the ground.Meanwhile LTTE has resumed firing heavy volumes of mortars and artillery. Hevay fire was experienced at Chilawatta as well. One LTTE trawler and one ship chartered by the LTTE have unloaded their cargo for two successive days off the Mulaitivu coast. The ship is said to be of Canadian origin and probably owned by the LTTE that had set sail from Indonesia while the trawler had come from south India.The large vessel has brought mortars and artillery while the trawler has brought in large quantities of medical supplies to treat wounded LTTE cadres as well as torch batteries etc. Powerful anesthetics and antibiotics used in the treatment of gunshot wounds was in short supply for the LTTE until now.

Troops heading for Paranthan: Ministry
   
The security forces have intensified their push towards Paranthan in the Kilinochchi district and are now approximately four km away from the area, Defence Ministry said yesterday.According to Defence Ministry steady progress was reported on the Wanni battlefronts at Kilinochchi and Mullaitivu on Sunday with the security forces now engaged in the final battles for the LTTE's remaining major garrison townships.However the LTTE claimed that it was able to thwart attempts by the military to advance on several fronts in the Wanni.Fighting was reported in the outskirts of Paranthan, Kilinochchi and Mullaitivu, with the multi-pronged military advances made dismantling remaining LTTE resistances in the areas, the Defence Ministry claimed.Task Force -1  troops have commenced marching towards Periya-Paranthan village along the B-69 main road since Sunday and are now positioned approximately four km from the LTTE garrison at Paranthan.The Defence Ministry quoted Wanni security sources as  saying, Task Force-1 troops have captured the heavily fortified LTTE built earth bund cum ditch between the Jaffna lagoon and Adampan village.Meanwhile, Task Force-2 troops marching from Nainamadu along the Puliyankulama- Nedunkerni main road have finally linked-up with the Task Force - 4 troops, 800m Southwest of Nedunkerni town on Sunday morning. Troops have gained total control of the Puliyankulam - Nedunkerni road.The 59 Division troops advancing in two major fronts towards Mullaitivu have come across stiff LTTE resistance with fighting reported in the outskirts of the Nanthikadal lagoon, the Defence Ministry said.According to battlefield reports received, few soldiers have gone missing during confrontations with LTTE on Saturday, the Defence Ministry added.The Defence Ministry further said that the main military thrusts are directed along the Oddusudan- Mullaitivu road and Alampil- Mullaittiuvu road. Earlier, on Friday, 59 troops gained total control over the Mulliyawalai and Taniyuttu areas, considered major LTTE concentration positions before Mullaitivu. The fall of these towns, have cut off vital links to the main LTTE fortification at Mullaitivu from South.Meanwhile the security forces have handed over bodies of eight LTTE cadres killed during confrontation West of Paranthan to the ICRC. At least four female cadres were also among those killed, the Defence Ministry said

Defence Secretary addresses troops in East

The Security Froces have achieved many remarkable victories over the LTTE this year.Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaka and the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) Air Chief Marshal Donald Perera went to Welikanda to wish the troops in the East, courage and strength to continue their service to the motherland in the new year.Army Commander Lieutenant General Sarath Fonseka who was already on a visit to the East welcomed the Defence Secretary and the CDS on their arrival and accompanied them to the Security Forces Headquarters-East (SFHQ-E) where Commander SFHQ-E Major General Srinath Rajapaksa briefed them on the present security situation.The Defence Secretary addressing Senior Officers of the Army, Navy, Air Force, Police and the STF issued further instructions on measures to ensure security in the East.

STF, LTTE clash in B'caloa

Police Special Task Force (STF) personnel have sprung an ambush in Black Bridge area at Chenkalady, Batticaloa, killing four LTTE members last morning (Dec. 28th),the defense ministry website reports.Four bodies of slain LTTE members and 2 T-56 assault riffles were found during the subsequent search operations conducted, it adds.Meanwhile, the 'TamilNet' website, citing police sources reports that one STF member was killed and three sustained serious injuries when the LTTE attacked the STF group, that was lying in ambush in Karadiyanaaru, Batticaloa, along the Chenkaladi -Badulla road around 1.30 am yesterday.Although Police claim four LTTE cadres were killed in the encounter and that the Police has recovered their arms, LTTE has not confirmed the incident, TamilNet adds.TamilNet claims, according to local residents, those killed by the STF were local cattle herders.The killing occurred 16 km North of Batticaloa town, the website reports.

TMVP member gunned down

Two TMVP members on a motorcycle have come under gunfire near a school in the Karativu area, Military spokesman, Brigadier Udaya Nanayakkara said.One TMVP member has died in the incident while the other has been admitted to the Kalmunakudi Hospital with injuries, he added.

17-year-old SLA soldier killed in Vanni battlefront

One of the Identity Cards recovered with a dead body of a young Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldier revealed that the SLA trooper killed in the offensive forefront in Mullaiththeevu district on Saturday was a 17-year-old boy. LTTE officials displayed photos for reporters in Vanni on Sunday. According to the Article 1 of the the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the involvement of children in armed conflict, signed and ratified by the Sri Lankan government, the government (State Party) should ensure that members of their armed forces who have not attained the age of 18 years do not take a direct part in hostilities. The LTTE has earlier said that the dead bodies of SLA soldiers recovered in the battlefront in Vanni displayed victimisation of young generation Sinhalese into the war by the Sri Lankan state.The latest Child Soldiers Global Report of 2008 has listed Sri Lankan government among 14 countries that recruited, and in some cases used in hostilities, children in auxiliary forces, civilian defence groups or in illegal militias and armed groups acting as proxies for official armed forces.Sri Lanka signed the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the involvement of children in armed conflict on 21 August 2000 and ratified it on 08 September 2000. The Optional Protocol was adopted on 25 May 2000 at the fifty-fourth session of the General Assembly of the United Nations. Earlier, the Tamil Tigers had been accused of under-age recruitment. During the peace process following the Ceasefire Agreement of February 2002, the UNICEF, the LTTE and the GoSL were committed to comply with an Action Plan for Children Affected by Conflict.The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) were eliminating the recruitment and use of child soldiers, according to a report by US State Department in March 2008 in its annual human rights report. "The LTTE had not complied with its promise to end the practice by end of 2007, but its policy of recruiting one person from each family targeted those 18 years or older," the report said.

Reframe from making initiated process of reconciliation defunct- Paul Willms(Observer on the Sri Lankan process to reconciliation)

The world has clearly taken notice of the self-initiated process of reconciliation by President Rajapakse, which seemed to be a strong and credible one. However, the ongoing alleged human rights violations, reported by international human rights organizations, and the insecure security environment have created a situation wherein Sri Lankans have to deal with a considerable threat to their basic human rights. Ongoing military engagement between the Sri Lankan security forces and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Teelam (Tamil Tigers) has resulted in a dramatic increase in the defense expenditure, which will slow down the overall development of the country. This was legitimate as Sri Lankan policy makers were seriously convinced they would be able to effectively eliminate acts of terrorism while encouraging militant groups to become part of the current political system.Some of the militant groups found existence in the current political system and opted to reduce their militaristic aims by focusing on a political solution which was the success story for the Karuna / Pillian leadership. However, their cadres have not yet fully disarmed nor released all child soldiers and therefore a barrier remains to the functioning of the civil society in the Eastern Province.Taking note of the engagement by the Sri Lankan government to fight against tactics of terrorism, there has been a remarkable decrease of terrorism related activities, such as suicide bombings, throughout the island. However, it has not been proven whether this has been achieved due to the military strategies to contain it or because of international pressure to halt the use of suicide and roadside bombings by militant groups such as the Tamil Tigers, whom are accused of utilizing these unacceptable methods in their decades old struggle for an autonomous region in the North and East of the island.Though major successes on the battlefield have been realized by the Sri Lankan security forces, the faith of more then 250.000 people in the conflict region remains unknown to the outside world. There have been stories of horrific living conditions, even by some compared to the situation in Somalia, wherein thousands of ethnic Tamils are caught-up in the fierce fighting between the warring parties. Let alone the recent floods which severely affected their mobility to find safer grounds. The ongoing humanitarian assistance to the people in need remains workable however often with much delay or bureaucratic regulations which severely affect the continuation of the ongoing process to provide adequate aid for those in need.Taking the vulnerability of the civilians into account, there is a need for a humanitarian corridor wherein both The Sri Lankan security forces and Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam will allow the ICRC and other well respected INGO's to function independently. This should be allowed without any regulations or presence from the parties of the conflict while ensuring that, in this specific allocated territory, international humanitarian law will prevail and be regarded as the highest authority. This only can guarantee a stop to the current suffering of the civilians, the alleged human rights violations and the ability of the parties to pursue people to adhere to unacceptable policies and practices.If the parties have the required courage and credible leadership to allow such a humanitarian corridor for the trapped civilians, then only will there be a moment without any fear or prosecution. This will lay the foundation for these people to receive adequate and continuous care while the parties can continue their militaristic agenda. Especially during the Christmas and New Year period, as it seems that both parties remain unwilling to agree on an unconditional cease fire agreement, the least they can do for the people in the specific region should be an agreement to allow a ''safe heaven'' for the innocent civilians whom have never chosen for this military campaign.The President of Sri Lanka should not allow anyone, including himself, to betray his own initiated process of reconciliation. His useless threat to proscribe the Tamil Tigers will be unhelpful and regarded as a severe weakness and dishonesty to his policies, wherein he earlier stated that he would include all stake holders to realize a sustainable peace settlement for the island. Most of the Sri Lankan people know very well that the Tamil Tigers will not encourage civilians to flee to government controlled territory however a neutral allocated territory might make them reconsider their tough policies.Of course Sri Lankans themselves should solve this conflict, however with decades of old protracted conflict and a culture of distrust, among the various stakeholders, there is a great need to invite mediators with utmost neutrality. Noting that the Norwegian brokered peace efforts have effectively failed, there is a need for a brand new concept on how to mediate and facilitate the Sri Lankans in their own process of reconciliation. The western orientated diplomacy has failed to constructively engage in resolving the Sri Lankan conflict and their orientated models have excluded the specific needs and cultural values of the interested parties.President Rajapakse is the only one who can allow an innovative way of mediation. This is the foremost reason for President Rajapakse not to make too hasty decisions which he might eventually regret because it can become an obstacle in his own willingness to move the country forwards instead of backwards. He might fall pray to the inability to bring innovative policies and guidelines in order to break trough a cycle of conservative thinking, which severely affected former presidents as they were simply caught-up in their own created vision without having understood the dynamic environment within and outside the Sri Lankan polity. The opposition parties share blame in the unproductive progress, as they have deliberately obstructed the goodwill of the president to initiate this process of reconciliation. This will only strengthen the claim of the Tamil Tiger leadership that underlines the continuous inability of the Singhalese polity to act united in resolving the underlying causes that led to this bloody war. They adhere to their belief that the Singhalese majority political parties will remain unable to unlock themselves out of the decades old conservative / chauvinistic thinking in order to come to a consensus, which should be the fundament for a durable peace. This is the reason why the Tamil Tigers consider the Singhalese polity as an unreliable  partner for a sustainable peace. Even the American Ambassador Robert Blake, a great ally of Sri Lanka, has clearly noticed and understood this by his latest remarks wherein he suggested that now should be the rightful moment to propose and implement a credible political solution in order to weaken the Tamil Tiger claim. This latest indication clearly outlines the dangers of delaying and frustrating the political process towards reconciliation that will eventually lead to a repetition of history. While the President rightly acknowledged from the start of his presidency that the cease fire agreement was unsuitable, he should not try to leave space for making his own initiated process of reconciliation defunct. If so, it would be the end of his political leadership and will drag the country back to square zero, which would be unbearable for Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka is an island with great diversity and opportunities, however it is those who are in power who can guide the country towards prosperity and overall development. This should be the time when great leaders unite and overcome their personal differences in order to solve deep-rooted problems and to create that needed dialogue and understanding that can effectively contribute to the progress in the process of reconciliation. They are obligated, as the young generation in Sri Lanka will count on their leadership and credibility, to lay the foundation for the future generation to enjoy a great prospect to live in peace with a secured environment.  The Christmas and New Year period might be the rightful moment to evaluate, consolidate and to reconsider in order to reduce unnecessary grief, as another coffin with a beloved one will be a dead end.

Seylan Bank director board dissolved

The monetary board of the Central Bank has dissolved the board of director of Seylan Bank. Operations of Seylan Bank have now been brought under the Bank of Ceylon. CB said in a statement yesterday (Dec. 29th), "The attention of the Monetary Board has been drawn to the recent events in the Ceylinco Group and the difficulties being encountered by Seylan Bank PLC with regard to deposit withdrawals and ensuing liquidity problems." "The difficulties of Seylan Bank PLC presented a potential danger to the stability of the financial system," it said.The CB said it was retaining the current chief executive officer and employees.BoC has been tasked with carrying on the business of the bank and to appoint a new board of directors to the bank.The Ceylinco Group has already announced that it was planning to sell out of Seylan Bank to repay depositors of Golden Key Credit Card Company, which ran into a liquidity crisis.The sale of Seylan shares ix expected to proceed while the BoC performs a caretaker role in running the bank.

LTTE agent caught in India, more arrests likely

A Sri Lankan Tamil man trying to smuggle communication equipment to the Tamil Tigers has been arrested in India. Informed sources said Monday that more arrests are likely.The Tamil Nadu Police 'Q Branch' - which deals with insurgent groups - took into custody Amir Antony Paranthaman, 32, in Chennai Saturday night, leading to the seizure of satellite telephones and global positioning systems (GPS) sent from Switzerland.The goods were meant for the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), which is in desperate need of war material as it battles the steadily advancing military in its lair in Sri Lanka's north.According to the official version, when Antony was caught, he had a satellite phone with him. His questioning led to the discovery of three more satellite phones, eight GPS as well as mobile phone repeaters that are used to improve reception.All this had been sent to Tamil Nadu by a LTTE contact in Switzerland, one of the countries home to a large Sri Lankan Tamil population.According to the police, two LTTE activists identified as Kannan and Prakash asked Antony to collect the material and ensure its transportation to Sri Lanka by boat from the Tamil Nadu coastal town of Rameswaram.The police also seized 500 kg of ammonium nitrate, a fertiliser component used to make explosives.The arrested man was originally from Jaffna and came to Tamil Nadu earlier this year as a refugee with his wife. The woman has also been questioned but she insisted that she was in no way linked to the Tamil Tigers.After taking up residence in Chennai, Antony started a travel agency - a business that officials say is a favourite with Sri Lankan Tamils including those involved with the LTTE.Sri Lankan Tamils have also opened telephone kiosks, Internet cafes and car rental agencies in Tamil Nadu, which is separated from the island by a strip of sea and where the LTTE and other Tamil groups had offices and military camps in the 1980s.Antony's arrest, which followed a surveillance operation also involving central security agencies, has again exposed the continuing dependence of the LTTE on Tamil Nadu.It also shows that despite facing pressure in Sri Lanka, the LTTE retains the ability to put together networks involving more than one country to source material it needs to pursue its war.Indian authorities, the sources told IANS, were aware that for every consignment intercepted in Tamil Nadu, some might be slipping past them - into Sri Lanka.LTTE cadres arrested in the past have admitted to interrogators in Tamil Nadu that they would continue to source war material from the state - and perhaps other parts of India.Some officials believe that the LTTE might be employing at least some Tamils not linked to it to help them out in Tamil Nadu.Antony, the sources said, did not appear to have undergone any special LTTE training.

27 December 2008

EPDP imposes "Mahindapuram" name on housing scheme

A new housing scheme in the outskirts of Jaffna city is to be officially named “Mahindapuram” in honour of President Mahinda Rajapakse. As a prelude to this move all recipients of houses through the particular housing project were ordered by the Eelam Peoples Democratic Party (EPDP) to place signatures on a mass petition demanding that the scheme be named Mahindapuram after President Mahinda Rajapakse.The act of compelling householders to sign a petition is seen as a disgustingly sycophantic action by EPDP leader and Social Services minister Douglas Devananda to curry favour with the President.Earlier at a cabinet meeting where Douglas mooted the proposal to name the scheme as “Mahindapuram” the President declined the honour gracefully and advised Douglas to name the project in accordance with the wishes of the people living in the housing scheme.Other cabinet ministers joked loudly asking the EPDP leader to call it “Douglaspuram” or “Devanandapuram”.Douglas Devananda in his steely determination to name the scheme after the president has got his EPDP minions to force allotees to sign the mass petition asking for the name “Mahindapuram”.Presumably Devananda hopes to persuade the President to go along with the proposal on the grounds that the housing sceme residents desire it.“These are the lengths to which Douglas would go to in holding “Pantham” to mahinda” commented a northern journalist.The project known as “300 Houses scheme” is located at Navatkuli adjoining the municipality limits of Jaffna has now reached completion.Minister Devananda distributed deeds to the houses to recipients at a ceremony in Jaffna on Friday December 26th.

Lankan jets target areas frequented by LTTE chief Prabhakaran

Sri Lankan fighter jets on Saturday bombed two suspected hideouts of Tiger chief Velupillai Prabhakaran near the embattled Kilinochichi as ground forces captured another strategic towns Mulliwalai in Mullaittivu district, officials said.  Troops overran strategic Mulliwalai town after an intense 36 hours battle as part of its offensive to capture the last two remaining strongholds of the LTTE, Kilinochichi and Mullaittivu. As the ground troops kept up the momentum of their advance, fighter jets today struck at two locations deep in jungle which are suspected to be frequented by Prabhakaran and other top brass of the LTTE. Air Force spokesperson Wing Commander Janaka Nanayakkara said the jets targetted rebel meeting place and boat building facility 1.5 km southeast Puthukkudiyirupp. Nanayakkara said that the jets launched another mission at 9.30 am targeting a gathering of the LTTE cadres in the West of Iranamadhu tank bund. The air strike were in support of the Army 57 Divisions and the First Task Force advancing towards Kilinochchi, the administrative hub of the LTTE. Air Force MI-24 helicopter gunships also carried out two successful close air support mission for the troops. There were no immediate details of the casualties, but, officials claimed that radio intercepts have indicated that Tigers have suffered heavy losses. A Defence Ministry spokesman said that ground forces backed by artillery, tanks and air-support have forced the rebels out of much of the Mullaittivu and its fall could come any time. Nanayakkara said the helicopters have targeted an LTTE gathering detected 5 km South of Mullaittivu on the Mullaittivu- Alampil road. "According to the intelligence reports, the LTTE leader (Prabhakaran) has been faced with a serious problem with finding a safe hiding place with the shrinking of his tyranny," the Defence Ministry said. Ground troops have confirmed a destruction of a tractor transporting LTTE cadres in these air raid, Nanayakkara said. Separately 59 Division troops have gained total control over the Mulliawalai township along the A-34 Mankulam- Mullaittivu main road yesterday, following a fierce gun battle with LTTE that raged for over 36 hours, military sources said. According to latest reports received from the battlefield, 16 Sri Lanka Light Infantry regiment troops have now gained total control of Mulliawalai, after breaking into the remaining LTTE resistance points in the area, yesterday, the Defence Ministry said. Meanwhile, the LTTE yesterday suffered losses at Mudalayarkulam in Mullaittivu, the Media Centre for National Security (MCNS) said adding troops recovered a LTTE body and some weapons. There have been four confrontations with the LTTE, two in South Adampan and two in the East of Adampan in Killinochchi yesterday, the MCNS said adding slight damages were reported by the troops while extending the FDLs in South Adampan. Meanwhile the LTTE suffered heavy damages in two confrontations with troops last evening at East Adampan in Kilinochchi, it said. The MCNS said while the LTTE suffered heavy damages in Sinnaparanthan, the troops also sustained slight damages during the confrontations.

'Internal, external forces' creating political unrest in Sri Lanka: Rajapaksa

Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa has alleged that many 'internal and external elements' were bent on halting the ongoing military action against the Tamil Tiger rebels and 'have already begun to create political unrest' in the island nation.He, however, stopped short of naming those elements.'President Mahinda Rajapaksa alleged there were many elements both internal and external working behind the scenes to stall the advance of the security forces and urged all patriotic forces to support the government's effort at this crucial juncture to defeat terrorism,' the state-run Daily News reported Saturday.Rajapaksa made these remarks at a meeting with a breakaway group of the radical Marxist Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) Friday on forming a grand coalition to face the forthcoming provincial council polls for the north-central and central provinces.His comments came as the forces advanced to Mulliyawalai township, lying in the district of Mullaitivu, the military nerve centre of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).'The president alleged that malicious elements, which depended on the LTTE for survival, have already begun to create political unrest by creating many problems for the government,' the media report said. Extending its fullest support to the Rajapaksa government, the JVP breakaway National Freedom Front (NFF) has hailed the government's military effort and said that the troops 'had won 90 percent of the battle against the LTTE and the remaining 10 percent too had to be completed without bowing down to pressure'.The president's remarks have come at a time when the main opposition United National Party (UNP) has threatened to file a contempt of court case against the cabinet, finance ministry, Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) and Lanka Indian Oil Corporation (LIOC) for not complying with the Supreme Court ruling to reduce the price of petrol to 100 rupees.The Sri Lanka government is determined to capture the rebel-held districts of Mullaitivu and Kilinochchi and its troops are said to be operating on the outskirts of Kilinochchi town, 350 km north of here.The LTTE has been fighting against the Sri Lankan government for a quarter century to carve out a separate state for Tamils in the northern and eastern parts of the island.Thousands have died in escalating fighting since late 2005.

S.T.F. Kills two siblings of LTTE cadres in Batticaloa on Christmas Day

Members of the elite Special Task Force (STF) in Batticaloa district have on Christmas day (Dec 25th) killed siblings of a past as well as present member of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).The killings are regarded as part of an on going cycle of murders where members of the STF, military intelligence and cadres loyal to Vinayagamurthy Muralitharan alias “Col” Karuna have been engaged on a killing spree targeting civilians with alleged LTTE connections.The bulk of the victims in these incidents have been family members or close relatives of past and present LTTE members.This is part of a systematic exercise of “state terrorism” in which siblings, parents and kinsfolk are being exterminated to inculcate fear into civilians suspected of being sympathetic to the LTTE.The state is worried about a resurgence of LTTE activity in the East which was officially declared free of the LTTE.The victims in the Christmas day incident were Ravi (32) and Poobalapillai (59).Both were livestock breeders from the village of Pothaanaivadichal in Batticaloa district.Ravi’s brother who was in the LTTE was killed recently in a confrontation and regarded as a great hero.Poobalapillai’s younger brother is yet an active member of the LTTE and operating in the area.The murdered Poobalapillai is also blind in boteyes.

Karunanidhi asks Centre to depute Pranab to Sri Lanka

Upping the ante on the Sri Lankan Tamils issue, DMK President and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi on Saturday made a "tearful appeal" to the Centre to immediately depute External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee to Colombo to make efforts to ensure a ceasefire there. "We are ready to even sacrifice our lives for the cause of Sri Lankan Tamils. Every minute wasted by the Centre (in ensuring ceasefire) is a Tamil life lost...We make a tearful appeal to the Centre to immediately send Mukherjee to Sri Lanka, as promised by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh," Karunanidhi said at the DMK general council after being elected President for the tenth time. "We are waiting for him to go to Sri Lanka and are hopeful of a solution," he said. The DMK's biggest challenge lay in saving the lives of Sri Lankan Tamils...this effort should be in line with the policies of the government of India, he said. "It should not be a path of violence and other anti-national means.. We will accept the decision of the Centre in this issue.. but it is sitting over the problem and dragging it," he said, adding that Tamil Nadu would extend all possible cooperation to the Centre in this matter. He also came down heavily on AIADMK chief Jayalalithaa for her remarks that the Sri Lankan army offensive in the northern parts of that country was not against Sri Lankan Tamils but only against LTTE. Karunanidhi also recalled that he and his colleague K Anbazhagan had resigned their MLA posts in 1983, expressing solidarity with Sri Lankan Tamils. The general council adopted a resolution, urging the Centre to depute the External Affairs Minister to Sri Lanka immediately.

Many are unaware that Indian support is building up for LTTE’s fight, says Prabakaran

LTTE leader Velupillai Prabakaran says that the severe losses sustained by the Army during the recent past at Kilinochchi are the predictions of future LTTE victories.Participating in an email interview with a Sunday newspaper, he says that the struggle was carried out for 30 years with the support of the people and the entire Tamil polity is with the LTTE.The LTTE leader says that measures are underway to mend the relationships with the Indian government and the situation is developing towards the end of Indian central government will also support the LTTE’s fight, though unseen by many. He says that all the political leaders of Tamil Nadu are supporting their struggle and added that he believed that there were no hidden political intentions behind their support.Prabakaran has said that the people of the Eastern Province are supporting only to their movement and the political wing cadres who are currently active there are protected by the people. He said that Sri Lanka state is handling the likes of Karuna via Army.Commenting on the Kilinochchi, Prabakaran says that LTTE is not weak since their strength is masses. Recent fighting in Kilinochchi provides an answer to the problem, he says adding that future wars will show that the strength of the LTTE is not down. Prabakaran vows that they will fight till the end for the rights of the people without fleeing from the land.Prabakaran further says that the international community is now understanding the legitimacy of the LTTE’s struggle. Denying that the LTTE conducts terrorist acts, he asks the international community and the Sinhala polity to understand that it is a struggle to win the rights of a people in a context the government’s aerial attacks and the economic blockades targeting a people is not considered terrorism. Stating that LTTE is no hand in glove with the assassination of Janaka Perera, he says that Sinhala people are also aware that there were clashes between the government and Janaka Perera. He further said that no sooner Sinhalese people would come to streets against the killings of this nature that was conducted by the government. Prabakaran points out that Sri Lanka state forces have launched the invasion and the LTTE has mobilized its Navy, Air Force and ground troops to safeguard their people’s land. None other than the invader is threatened and only Sri Lanka state and its leader Mahinda Rajapakse are outraged, says the LTTE leader.

Journalists in Jaffna ordered to assemble before Douglas

Media personnel working in Jaffna district have been ordered to assemble before Social Services Minister and Eelam Peoples Democratic Party (EPDP) leader Douglas Devananda for a special meeting at 3 pm on Saturday December 27th 2008.An “invitation” has been sent out to all media personnel in Jaffna to attend a conference organized by the ministry at the office located on 373 Stanley road, Jaffna.The invitation states that minister Devananda wants to consult and exchange views with journalists and other media workers about the proposed development plans for Jaffna. It has been said that minister Devananda is very keen to obtain the opinion of media personnel on this important subject and so every one is expected to “definitely” attend the meeting in the interests of the Jaffna public.The invitations have been followed up by EPDP cadres telephoning journalists individually and insisting in intimidatory language that if anyone fails to assemble before Devananda he or she would have to face serious consequences.It was emphasised that the “honourable” minister wants to advise media personnel on how they should conduct themselves in the future and so it was essential that journalists should attend.The EPDP sponsored exercise has caused much anxiety to the journalists working amidst tremendous difficulties and pressure in Jaffna.They are between a rock and a hard place as they would be subjected to intensive pressure on a personal level if they attend but will have to face drastic consequences if they don’t.There are also rumours that the EPDP wants to form a union for the media in Jaffna.Many Jaffna based journalists have fled the country following the assassinations and abductions of many of their colleagues.The EPDP has been implicated in many of these incidents.

26 December 2008

HRC issues summons on Def. Secretary

The Human Rights Commission today (Dec. 26th) took up a petition filed by Dr. Jayalath Jayawardena against the Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa.The petition alleges that by hindering pilgrims from worshipping the holy Madhu Church in Mannar during Christmas, security forces have violated the freedom to observe one's religion.The HRC allowed lawyers of the petitioner to name Army Commander Lt. Gen. Sarath Fonseka and the security forces commander of Madhu area at the time of the incident Lalitha Daulagala as respondents.While on a pilgrimage to the church last August, Dr. Jayawardena  was evicted by security forces personnel from the area during the night on orders by the Defence Secretary. Taking this incident, the petitioner cites that the move violated the right to observe one's religion mentioned in Clauses 10, 12 and 14 of the constitution.'I have filed this case to guarantee the right to follow a religion for the public of Sri Lanka. Also, I hope to make this an opportunity to find a solution to the continuous human rights violations. It would also be an opportunity to expose human rights violations committed by the defence secretary under the pretense of war,' the UNP MP said.President's Counsel Desmond Fernando, senior attorney Chandrapala Kumarage and attorneys S.M.S.M. Samsudeen, Suranga Bandara and Lasitha Pelimuhandiram appeared on behalf of the petitioner.Attorney Indunil Bandara of the Defence Ministry appeared before the Defence Secreatary, Gotabhaya Rajapaksa.Issuing summons, the HRC directed the respondents to appear before the Commission on Jan. 23rd.

UN urges governments to implement disaster risk reduction methods

The Indian Ocean tsunami killed more than 220,000 people four years ago on Boxing Day. And the United Nations said the number of fatalities could have been considerably reduced if disaster prevention practices had been implemented. Millions of people were left homeless by the tsunami, and scientists believe another massive earthquake could strike Indonesia again within the next 30 years. Internationally, the number of natural events related to the weather has also increased five-fold between 1975 and 2005 due to climate change, and this number is expected to continue to climb. Substantial sums have been spent on reconstruction efforts in tsunami-affected areas. Questions have been asked if enough funds have been spent on other measures, such as the implementation of early warning systems and the use of quake-resistant construction methods. Salvano Briceno, director, United Nations, International Strategy for Disaster Reduction, said: "The major hurdle in the Asia Pacific region remains giving higher priority to reducing risk and vulnerability to disasters. In other words, to focus more on disaster risk management, how to manage the risk and reduce it rather than just getting prepared to respond to the disaster. That shift has not yet occurred completely." The United Nations estimates that every US$1 spent on reducing the risk of disaster, saves some US$7 in losses. Yet, many local governments running a tight budget have been slow to respond to the call for disaster reduction. Dr Bhichit Rattakul, executive director, Asian Disaster Preparedness Centre, said: "We have to make sure that members of the communities are aware that this is a fact of life and they have to live with disaster. It does not occasionally come once in a while, it can come anytime, any day. In other words, we have to build a culture of preparedness." An important partner in preventive measures are non-government organisations. Christopher Chua, secretary general, Singapore Red Cross, said: "We did not want to just build buildings that would collapse in the next disaster, so a lot of consideration was given into making earthquake-resistant housing and buildings." Singaporeans donated US$57 million to tsunami relief efforts in 2004. The Singapore Red Cross has used the donations to fund 72 projects in three countries, and these projects are expected to be completed by June 2009. To date, almost all tsunami victims in Indonesia have been housed except about 1,000 people. While in Sri Lanka, an estimated 10,000 people still live in temporary camps as the civil war delayed reconstruction efforts there. Earlier this month, governments in the region pledged to apportion 10 per cent of humanitarian assistance funding for disaster reduction methods by 2010. With preventive measures in place, the hope is that communities will be better prepared when the next natural calamity strikes.

Mulliyawalai under-siege: SL Army
 
59 Division troops have entered  the Mulliawalai township along the A-34 Oddusudan- Mullaittivu main road claiming soaring LTTE casualties after hours of heavy fighting that broke-out between troops and LTTE in the tactically important battle terrain since last evening (Dec 25). According to latest reports received from the battlefield, 16 Sri Lanka Light Infantry (16SLLI) regiment troops are now engaged in a fierce  gun battle with LTTE in the area, today(Dec 26).  Troops had to come across difficult ground where mobility was seriously limited, area military sources said. LTTE have constructed long stretches of earth bunds, which were successfully negotiated by the advancing infantry battalions, the sources added.Earlier, on Thursday (25) soldiers captured an LTTE communication tower located North of Mulliyawali. According to Army media sources, "3 fortified overhead bunkers constructed in defence of the tower with a height of about 40 ft showed its significance to the LTTE in maintaining communication between their bases". An LTTE terrorist body and a communication set were also recovered by the troops from the same area during clearing operations conducted subsequent to the confrontations, yesterday. Terrorist resistances in Mullaittivu are disintegrating with the intense military amour, artillery and infantry assaults, Wanni defences sources said adding that the 7GW troops have also closed-in on Tanniyuttu, an LTTE stronghold located 3.5km further Northeast along the A-34 main road.  The advancing troops were also assisted with close-combat air support provided by the SLAF jets and MI-24 helicopter gunships, military sources said.Tigers being cutoff of both reinforcements and logistic supplies are receiving heavy beating from the advancing military flanks either side of the Eastern Mullaittivu battlefront. The capture of Mulliyawalai is expected to trigger the fall of Tanniyuttu, defence observes stated. The fall of Tanniyuttu is inevitable and this marks history with an expected double blow to LTTE in the 'boxing-day', and the fourth year commemoration of the 2004 Tsunami. Meanwhile, security forces have now gained control over a 9km stretch of the A-34 main road, along the Oddusudan- Mullaittivu main road. This is the first time ever that security forces have entered into the fringes of Mulliyawali and its outskirts, defence observers stated.

New building complex for Jaffna University

The University of Jaffna is to be expanded with a new building complex for its Management Studies and Commerce Faculty at a cost of Rs. 400 million. It will provide enhanced facilities to both students and the staff. Mass Media and Information Minister Anura Priyadarshana Yapa said Cabinet had granted approval for a proposal submitted by Higher Education Minister Prof. Vishwa Warnapala to build the new complex. The faculty established in 1999, consists of 800 students and 40 academic staff. It has two Departments - Management and Commerce, providing four year special degree courses. These programs are being carried out sharing facilities with the Faculty of Arts due to lack of space. The construction of the first phase of the proposed new wing is to be implemented early next year, and the balance work will follow in four years.

Top Army positions to change

The Army is having several changes effected to its highest positions next month, say sources at the Army headquarters.In one such move, Jaffna security forces commander Maj. Gen. G.A. Chandrasiri will be recalled to the Army headquarters, while Maj. Gen. Mendaka Samarasinghe takes his place.Head of the Volunteer Corps Maj. Gen. B. Lawrence Fernando too, gets a recall to the headquarters, and will be replaced by Maj. Gen. S.R. Balasuriya.Also, 52 Brigade will have a new commander in Brig. Mohan Jayawardena, while the incumbent Brig. Mano Perera is to be posted as joint operations commander for Colombo and Western Province.Maj. Gen. Fernando, who joined the Army on September 14, 1973  is due to retire on January 01st 2009.Maj. Gen. Chandrasiri retires on January 06th, 2009, after a career that began on December 02nd, 1974.Also, present chief of staff Maj. Gen. Nissanka Wijesinghe retires on February 28th, 2009.He joined the Army on September 14, 1973.Security forces commander in Anuradhapura Maj. Gen. Sanath Karunaratne, who joined the service on May 26, 1976, retires on May 23rd, 2009.The present Army Commander Lt. Gen. Sarath Fonseka has had two service extensions given by President Mahinda Rajapaksa, thus denying the senior officers who are due to retire next month, the opportunity to be promoted as head of the Army.The Army commander has requested the Defence Ministry a three-month service extension for Maj. Gen. Chandrasiri, while it is reported that he is to be appointed a ministry consultant after retirement.Maj. Gen. Fonseka has also recommended replacements to the officers who retire, including security forces commander in Welioya Brig. Mohan Jayawardena, defence attaché at Sri Lankan embassy in the US Brig. Samantha Suriyabandara, commander of 56 Brigade Brig. Channa Gunatilake, Brig. Mahinda Haturusinghe who is presently following a defence course in China and commander of Sinha Regiment Brig. Jayanath Perera.

US warns travellers of Tiger attacks in Lanka 
   
The US State Department has warned its citizens about the ongoing risk of terrorist attacks in Sri Lanka in its updated Travel Warning. The update specifically warns travellers against venturing into the Northern Province and much of the Eastern Province of the country. Americans are also advised to avoid government buildings, military installations and government vehicle convoys."All of the Northern Province remains dangerous. In Anuradhapura District of the North Central Province, the areas north of Medawachchiya, the A14 road, and the road from Medawachchiya and Horowupatna are dangerous.  Non-official travel by U.S. Government personnel to the Eastern Province, other than the A6 road corridor and the Trincomalee town in Trincomalee District, and areas in Ampara District south of the A4 road and west of Maha Oya, is prohibited," the travel warning issued this week said.This replaces the Travel Warning for Sri Lanka dated June 13, 2008 and highlights changes in locations of security concerns, and notes recent terrorist attacks. The warning notes that since early January 2008, fighting between the Sri Lankan military, paramilitary groups and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) has increased, and bomb explosions in densely populated areas have killed dozens of civilians, including in some areas frequented by foreign tourists.  Although there is no specific indication that American citizens or institutions have been targeted, there is a heightened risk of American citizens becoming victims of violence just by being in the wrong place at the wrong time.  American citizens who decide to travel to Sri Lanka despite this Travel Warning should be aware of their personal surroundings and follow prudent security practices, it said."Americans should avoid large crowds and public gatherings and should particularly avoid political rallies, military bases, and government and military vehicle convoys, which are frequent targets of LTTE attacks.  Americans are also strongly advised against using public transportation in Sri Lanka, as civilian buses and trains have increasingly been the targets of terrorist bomb attacks in recent months. U.S. Government personnel are currently prohibited from using these modes of transportation," the warning said.

No voting right for 71,000 estate people - CaFFE

CaFFE is calling for an accelerated programme to issue national identity cards for the estate community in time for the polls for central province.Failure to do so will deny around 20 per cent of eligible voters in the province to exercise their franchise at the election, said its spokesman Rajith Keerthi Tennakoon in a statement today (Dec. 26th).A survey by CaFFE has found that a considerable number of the estate community does not possess any form of identification.According to the district secretary, 71,000 people in Nuwara Eliya do not have an identity card.CaFFE observes that one-fourth of the population of the district, as well as one-fifth of the people in the province do not have national identity cards.Election laws do not allow anyone without valid identification to exercise his/her franchise at an election.The plantation community has a history of having fought for their voting rights and is still in the bottom of the living standards in society.Their best opportunity within the democratic framework to express themselves is to vote for a political party of their choice at an election, the CaFFE spokesman notes. However, denying them that opportunity purely due to a technical reason is a very serious situation, he says.Therefore, a need has arisen for a systematic programme by state institutions before the election to issue national identity cards to these people.Making proper identification mandatory is aimed at preventing malpractices, the CaFFE statement points out.However, it should immediately be rectified if that requirement comes in the way of a large number of people from using their right to vote, it adds.

Karuna Amman to register new party?

Parliamentarian Karuna Amman said yesterday that he would register a brand new party with the Elections Secretariat soon if his proposal for a party name change was rejected by the TMVP’s eleven member politburo.A meeting between Mr. Amman, Eastern Province Chief Minister Sivanesathurai Chandrakanthan alias Pillayan and senior TMVP members will take place next week to finalize the decisions, he said.He told the Daily Mirror that he was confident that Pillayan and other members from the TMVP would also join him in his new party and dismissed allegations that Pillayan had objected to the move. “If there is a problem in changing the party name, I will go ahead and register a brand new party with the Elections Secretariat. I am sure that Pillayan and all the others will join me in the new party,” Karuna said.However TMVP Spokesperson Azath Maulana earlier this week said that party members including Pillayan had objected to the party’s name change and would split from Karuna and his supporters if he went ahead with the change, without the knowledge and approval of l senior members of the party.Maulana said l most of the TMVP members also preferred to support Pillayan and stay with him as it was he who had guided the party in 2006 when the TMVP was facing a crisis period while l Karuna was in Britain.Meanwhile Karuna said his new party would contest all future elections with President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s government as he wanted to take his party to the national level. “I like working with President Rajapaksa so I am going to work with his government. I also want to take my party to the national level which is possible only if I work with President Rajapaksa,” he said.Karuna’s request for a party name change surfaced when he declared that he wanted the word ‘Tiger’ dropped from party name. Karuna wanted the name changed to  Thamil Makkal Viduthalai Koddani (TMVK) -- Tamil People’s Liberation Front. However he was unable to go ahead with his plan due to the crisis brewing between him and Pillayan in recent months. TMVP sources said if Karuna was ousted from the party, Pillayan was likely to be sworn in as the new TMVP leader while Karuna would be appointed as the president of the TMVK with Iniya Bharathi as its secretary and Sinna Thamby as the  treasurer.

21 civilians flee from LTTE
   
At least 21 civilians including nine children who were able to escape from LTTE held areas reached security forces controlled areas in Kokkuthuduwai, Mullaitivu seeking protection yesterday morning. The Defence Ministry said the group of Tamil escapees including eight elderly males and four elderly females of four families, reached the security forces around 7.15 am. Quoting one of the escapees the ministry said they had to undergo severe harassment in LTTE controlled areas. “The Tigers accelerated child recruitment as they are running short of manpower, we want to save our children from the LTTE”, the ministry quoted one of the elderly civilians among the group as saying. “Thousands of Tamil civilians who have been trapped by the LTTE as a human shield in LTTE controlled areas are waiting for the army's arrival after defeating the terrorists. The LTTE cadres are ready to give-up arms and surrender to the army, but they are not allowed to do so as LTTE ground commanders are forcibly deploying them in defence lines in the do or die battle”, the ministry said quoting another elderly civilian

Karunanidhi warns supporters of banned organisations

CHENNAI: Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi on Thursday sent out a warning to the supporters of the LTTE, saying that the DMK government would not hesitate to take action against those who voice support and act in favour of banned organisations.“The warning is applicable to all,” the Chief Minister said in a statement.Responding to a question whether the DMK was supporting the LTTE in the Sri Lankan Tamils issue, Mr. Karunanidhi said the objective of his party was to ensure the safety of the Tamils in Sri Lanka. “The DMK is not supporting those who support the banned organisations in India. The DMK government will not hesitate to take action against those who voice their support to such organisations,” he said.The warning has come at a time Viduthalai Chiruthaikal Katchi (VCK), an ally of the DMK, is making preparations for ‘Tamil Eelam Recognition Conference’ on Friday in Chennai. PMK founder S. Ramadoss is slated to speak at the conference.As regards the entry of the Dalits into Panthapuli temple in Tirunelveli district, the Chief Minister, while acknowledging the role of the CPI(M), clarified that the struggles organised by the party alone did not pave the way for it. “Can the entry of Dalits into temples be prevented under the DMK regime, which has given rights to all sections of society to perform poojas in temples,” he asked.The Chief Minister said the DMK government was giving utmost priority to constructing buildings for courts and residential quarters. “So far, the DMK government has allotted Rs 120 crore for the construction of buildings. An additional Rs 100 crore will be allotted in the next financial years,” he said.Citing a report published in The Hindu, he said the crop insurance scheme introduced by the State government proved to be a saviour of farmers in the delta region. The extension of time for paying premium for crop insurance scheme had helped more farmers in the delta districts. On the setting up of a unit of the National Security Guard in Chennai, he said he wanted one unit stationed in Chennai and had made a request on December 4. The NSG Commandant had recently announced that Mumbai, Kolkata, Hyderabad and Chennai would have one unit each.

25 December 2008

Fierce fighting continues as LTTE launches counter attack on Kunchup (Sinna) Paranthan

In a remarkable see- saw type fluctuation of fighting in the northern Wanni battlefront the newly captured area of Kunchuparanthan (also known as Sinnaparanthan) became the theatre of savage conflict that threatened to continue even through Christmas day. Cadres of the LTTE special force unit known as “counter – offensive forces” commenced a pre-dawn counter – attack on Sri Lankan army positions in Kunchuparanthan at about 4.00 am in the morning of Thursday December 24th.Soldiers of the 58 – 2 brigade had battered through tiger fortifications on Wednesday December 23rd and expanded control of the Kunchuparanthan area.58 – 2 soldiers had breached the “L” shaped earthbund cum trench defences of the LTTE for a gap of about 300 metres initially and then expanded further.Security personnel were engaged in consolidating their hold on Kunchuparanthan area also known as Sinna paranthan which means small or little Paranthan.The name is in contrast to the main town of Paranthan which is also called Periya paranthan meaning big or large Paranthan.In what is seen as an intrepid manoeuvre the tiger special force cadres had waded through the Kudamurutty Aaru or river in the dark and surprised the soldiers by attacking them in the rear.The Kudamurutti river flows into the Jaffna lagoon in the Kunchuparanthan area.Tropps though surprised initially managed to rally soon and commenced defending their newly set up positions resolutely.The Sri Lankan Air Force was called in to provide aerial support to the besieged soldiers.Several air strikes were conducted.Some resulted in civilian structures like Churches etc being damaged.Livestock herds were also killed or maimed.With bitter fighting continuing to rage even in the late hours of Christmas eve , it is expected that fighting will continue during Christmas day too.

71,000 upcountry Tamils in Sri Lanka are without NICs

In the wake of the upcoming provincial council election, District Secretary of the Nuwara Eliya says that there are nearly 71,000 persons in the district living without national identity cards. W.P Kumarasiri, the District Secretary of the Nuwara Eliya pointed out that most of them are estate Tamil workers in Sri Lanka’s hill country.According to the Secretary this is a major problem as they do not posses birth certificates either.Without a national identity card the people are to face another hurdle when they vote for the provincial council election as the Election Commissioner had made it mandatory to provide the NIC or an equivalent ID to vote at the polls in Sri Lanka. District Secretary of the Nuwara Eliya urged the people currently without national identity cards to get two photographs signed by the Gramaseva officer of the respective areas before the polls.

Delay in capturing Kilinochchi

The Government yesterday admitted that there would be a delay in capturing the LTTE administrative capital of Kilinochchi owing to several civilians still remaining in the outskirts of the town. Defence Spokesperson Minister Keheliya Rambukwella said that a total of 150,000 civilians still remained trapped by the LTTE in and around Kilinochchi which is why President Mahinda Rajapaksa had sent a 'strong word' to the forces to capture their target while maintaining a zero civilian casualty. "The President is very watchful that no civilian is hurt in the ongoing battle. This is why the crawl to Kilinochchi by the security forces has been very slow," Minister Rambukwella said.Stressing that a time frame could not be given for the capture of the LTTE capital, Minister Rambukwella however added that that the Army had captured some key areas in the outskirts of Kilinochchi which is why its mission to defeat the Tigers in the administrative capital would be sometime 'soon.' "Due to the civilian factor, we cannot give a specific time frame. But it could be some time soon as our military plans are going as expected," he said.Meanwhile, the military said that a further nine civilians crossed into Government-controlled areas of Mullaitivu on Tuesday from the LTTE areas. Since December 1 363 civilians have sought the protection of the Army, the military said. The Government has not received any response from the LTTE to President Rajapaksa's warning that if the civilians were not freed by the year end the President would go ahead with banning the Tigers soon after the New Year if they did not comply with the order soon. The President had warned on Monday that if the LTTE refused to release all the civilians in Kilinochchi and Mullaitivu by the year end, his Government would proscribe the LTTE and seek to wipe out the terrorist outfit.Military Spokesperson Brigadier Udaya Nanayakkara said that with the capture of Nedunkerni recently, the forces could march to the west - towards the A9 road - and north-east towards Mullaitivu. "With the capture of Nedunkerni, the options of proceeding and capturing other LTTE areas are possible," Brigadier Nanayakkara said. The troops have also begun to march towards Mullaitivu through Kokilai, he said.The Air Force also carried out two combat missions in Valanthan and the LTTE Forward Defence Line in Muhamalai yesterday killing several LTTE cadres. Meanwhile the Government yesterday alleged that 8000 children who had sat for the O/Level examinations from Mullaitivu and Kilinochchi this year were forcibly recruited by the LTTE to take up arms and go to the battle field. The Government said that this clearly proved that the Tigers, in an act of desperation, were continuing to recruit minors to fight the security forces in the North. "This clearly proves that the Tigers are forcibly recruiting children and adults to fight our forces. Even they know that the fall of Kilinochchi will be soon. LTTE's 'police chief' Nadesan also recently admitted that the LTTE was losing their capital," Minister Rambukwella said.Meanwhile, more than 10,000 people have joined the Sri Lanka Army in the third quarter of this year to go to battle, the Government said yesterday. The recruitment drive was carried out after the Government called on the youth of the country to join a 'winning team'.

Ex- STF cop gets 12 years for rape

A former STF Constable was sentenced to 12 years rigorous imprisonment and fined Rs 110,000 by Galle High Court Judge Chandrasena Rajapakse for sexually abusing a 35-year-old woman. He was ordered to pay Rs 100,000 of the fine as compensation to the victim or serve a further 4 years in jail.The Attorney General indicted Hampe Liyanage Sudharman Pradeep Rohana, a father three children, with raping the woman on December 18, 1993 at Baddegama.Delivering the judgment the High Court Judge commented that the accused gave evidence in an indecent manner. During his entire judicial service career this was the first occasion that he heard such an indecent evidence, the Judge said.Attorney-at-Law, Jothiratne Kadirahetti who appeared for the accused apologized to the High Court Judge on behalf of his client.Ms Indika Nelummini conducted the prosecution.

EPDP gunmen killed Red Cross employee alleges Citizen's Group

A citizen’s group from the Vadamaratchy area in the Jaffna peninsula has alleged that gunmen belonging to the Eelam Peoples Democratic Party (EPDP) were responsible for the killing of an employee of the International Committee of Red Cross (ICRC) in Jaffna on Tuesday December 23rd.The organization called Vadamaratchy Civil Rights Association (VACRA)has in a letter sent to the ICRC , several diplomatic missions, human rights and media organizations charged that the EPDP was responsible for the assassination of 42 year old Sivasundaralingam Gangatharan.Media reports about the killing have generally stated that unknown persons riding a motor cycle were responsible for the killing. Gangatharan had been working as a vehicle driver for the Red cross for nearly nine years.The father of two children, Gangatharan was a resident of Karaveddy in Vadamaratchy division.According to the letter set by VACRA , Gangatharan had boarded the 750 route number bus at Nelliaddy junction early morning to go to his workplace (ICRC) in Jaffna town.Four youths on two motor cycles had been following the bus from Nelliaddy.Gangatharan had got down from his bus at the Nallur Kandaswamy temple junction, worshipped the temple Gopuram” from the road and then begun walking towards his office.Just as he was walking opposite the UNHCR office one motor cycle that had started speeding went up to him. The youth on the pillion had jumped down and fired at point blank range.The motor cycles had then gone away without a hitch despite the area being intensively high – security.The killing happened at 7. 10 amThe VACRA alleges that the EPDP was responsible for the killing and that eye – witnesses had identified at least one of the assassins.There had been friction between Gangatharan and the EPDP because of a demonstration orchestrated by the EPDP in Point Pedro – Manthigai, charges VACRA.The citizen’s group has expressed dissatisfaction over the reluctance of ICRC spokesperson Sophie Romanens to openly identify the killers when asked by the media.The BBC Tamil service “Thamil Osai” which interviewed Sophie Romanens on Tuesday December 23rd asked her pointedly whether the ICRC had any specific information about the killers to which she replied that she did not want to answer because an inquiry was on.The VACRA has said that no independent, honest inquiry was possible in Jaffna because of the “oppressive hegemony” of the EPDP and its close association with the Police and armed forces.The VACRA has implored the ICRC to take a proactive role and initiate steps to exert pressure on the EPDP and ensure justice is done.The ICRC playing a non – committal passive role would not serve the cause of justice for a colleague’s death says VACRA.

The ICRC statement on the killing was as follows:

 Geneva/Colombo (ICRC) - A staff member of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) was killed in a shooting incident in Jaffna today. He was the father of two children and had been working with the ICRC since 1999."We are shocked by the news of the death of our colleague Sivasundaralingam Gangatharan and extend our heartfelt condolences to his family and friends," said Anthony Dalziel, the ICRC's deputy head of delegation in Colombo.The incident occurred on the morning of 23 December while the staff member was exiting a bus on his way to work. The police authorities are investigating to ascertain the exact circumstances that led to this tragic death.The ICRC continues its essential activities to help conflict-affected people throughout the country.

24 December 2008

Madhu Church remains deserted on Xmas day - Dr. JJ

The Madhu Church, home to the 600-year-old statue of Our Lady and revered by Sri Lankan Catholics, has remained deserted for around five years and continues to be so this Christmas, said UNP MP Dr. Jayalath Jayawardena. In a statement, he said authorities should, at least now, tell the true situation of the historic shrine in Mannar. Leaders, who issue Christmas messages, should be truthful, without misleading Catholic leaders and the public, he said.Dr. Jayawardena also said, other than the two catholic fathers, four nuns and seven workers resident at the shrine, no one else is allowed to stay at the church and conduct the services.Daily services are taking place without any followers - leave along Catholics of the south, not even the priests or the laity in the Catholic-majority Mannar district are allowed there, his statement noted.The government has been saying repeatedly in the media that it had handed over the shrine to the Catholic bishops, although the faithful still cannot conduct their religious activities and the sacred Our Lady statue remains isolated.The present regime also says the church has been renovated and a police post opened with the restoration of security to the area and a return of civil administration.According to the media, the government has even told the Vatican that Madhu Church has been reopened for pilgrims.However, the Catholics, be it the clergy of the laity, cannot still have their religious activities conducted at this historic shrine even on the day that marks the birth of Prince of Peace, the UNP MP adds.

Upcountry Tamil parties to support the Sri Lankan government in PC polls

Ceylon Workers Congress (CWC) and the Upcountry Peoples Front (UPF), the two major political parties representing the Up Country Tamil community in Sri Lanka have decided to support the government in upcoming provincial council elections. The National Organizer of the CWC, R. Yogarajan said though their party will contest for the election under their own banner, the party has decided to support the government after the polls. The UPF, which holds some ministerial portfolios in the government, has decided to contest the upcoming election under the ruling party, United Peoples’ Freedom Alliance banner. Deputy Minister P. Radhakrishnan, a key member of the UPF confirmed that they have already submitted its nominees for the election to General Secretary of the UPFA.

HRW blasts Lanka as WFP sends food   
 
The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) said it has dispatched the largest food convoy since October to the displaced in Vanni.“The convoy delivered 870 tons of food, enough to feed over 230,000 people for a week, to Puthukkudiyiruppu,” a statement issued by WFP on Tuesday said. It was the eighth WFP food convoy to be sent, and the WFP said the next convoy of 829 tons of food items is being prepared to be sent to Vanni. The WFP added that is has already dispatched, in co-operation with Sri Lanka government, 4,990 tons of food aid to internally displaced people (IDPs) in the rebel-held north.  “In addition, a total of 781 tons of rice, locally procured by WFP in the Vanni, is part of the overall food distribution,” the statement said. The United Nations and aid agencies estimate that nearly 200,000 to 230,000 IDPs are in the war-torn areas.

HRW statements

In a statement issued on Tuesday, the New York based Human Rights Watch (HRW) said the IDPs in Vanni are facing severe food shortages as a result of government order for the aid agencies to leave Vanni. HRW says IDPs in Vanni lack basic facilities after aid groups pulled out “Human Rights Watch’s research found that government efforts, contrary to its claims, to fill the massive humanitarian gap caused by ordering aid agencies to leave have fallen far short,” the HRW statement said. Sri Lanka government ordered all UN and other aid agencies to leave the war zone in September. Only ICRC and Caritas were allowed to carry out their work. “The government’s empty claims are not reflected on the ground, where even government officials in the Vanni are constantly sounding the alarm bells about humanitarian needs,” HRW Asia director, Brad Adams said. The human rights group last week accused the Tamil Tigers of stepping up the forced recruitment and keeping the civilians under their control as a human shield. “Trapped in the LTTE’s iron fist, ordinary Tamils are forcibly recruited as fighters and forced to engage in dangerous labor near the front lines,” Brad Adams said. The rights watchdog accused the Tamil Tigers, who "claim to be the sole representative of Sri Lanka’s Tamil people", of not allowing civilians under their control to leave Vanni. “By refusing to allow people their basic rights to freedom of movement, the LTTE has trapped hundreds of thousands of civilians in a dangerous war zone,” he said.

Another LTTE air strip captured by the Sri Lankan Army

Sri Lanka Army has captured another LTTE air strip located at Ampakamam in Mullaitivu district yesterday.Speaking at a special press briefing held in Colombo this morning military spokesman brigadier Udaya Nanayakkara said troops of Task Force -3 marching towards the Mullaitivu city captured the LTTE air strip. According to the military spokesman the strip is 350 meters long and 25 meters wide. This is the third air strip the army captured during the ongoing operations in Wanni region.

Sri Lankan fighter jets pound rebels 

Sri Lankan fighter jets bombed rebel positions along the front lines in the north Wednesday as ground forces captured a hidden runway used by the Tamil Tiger air wing, the military said. Fighting between the two sides has escalated in recent months as the government pressed ahead with an offensive aimed at forcing the Tamil Tiger rebels out of their de facto state in the north. With fighting raging on the ground, the air force carried out several strikes against rebel positions Wednesday, including two near Paranthan junction, the military said. Pilots planned more sorties throughout the day, air force spokesman Wing Commander Janaka Nanayakkara said. The rebel-affiliated Web site TamilNet said the airstrikes hit a convent near Paranthan junction that was marked with a large red cross on its roof. The airstrikes killed 85 cows near the convent and sent civilians living in the area fleeing, the Web site reported. Meanwhile, ground troops captured a runway Tuesday that was used by the so-called Air Tigers, military spokesman Brig. Udaya Nanayakkara said. It was the third runway captured in recent fighting, he said. The rebels have at least two more runways, he said. The rebel air wing has used small planes to carry out bombing runs on Sri Lankan cities, including Colombo, deeply embarrassing the military, which has been unable to stop the attacks. With most communication to the north severed in the fighting, rebel spokesmen could not be contacted for comment. The military has also captured about 4 miles (7 kilometers) of a 10-mile-long (17-kilometer-long) berm and moat fortification the rebels had built around their administrative capital of Kilinochchi, Brig. Nanayakkara said. Defense spokesman Keheliya Rambukwella said last month that Kilinochchi was expected to fall to government forces ``imminently,'' although troops have made little headway in taking the town. On Wednesday, Rambukwella said he would not give any time frame for the capture of the town. ``We are on course, we are on a schedule, but in this type of situation, unexpected things pop up,'' he said. The military was also trying to be cautious to protect civilians in the area, he said. ``Otherwise, we would have bulldozed the thing in no time,'' he said. The Tamil Tigers have fought since 1983 to create an independent homeland for ethnic minority Tamils, who have suffered decades of marginalization at the hands of governments controlled by the Sinhalese majority. More than 70,000 people have been killed in the violence.

Sri Lanka Air Force attacks convent in Vanni, deploys cluster bombs

Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) bombed a convent named Holy Cross Convent, located on Paranthan Mullaiththevu Road, 600 meters away from Paranthan junction Tuesday night around 10:30 p.m., a day before Christmas. TamilNet correspondent who visited the site Wednesday morning witnessed that the attacked premises was marked with Red Cross on the roof. The nearby church also sustained damage. The SLAF deployed cluster munitions in the bombardment, residents who fled the site said. 85 cows of a herd a few meters away from the convent were killed in the attack. Karaichchi North Co-Operative society building located between the junction and the convent was also attacked by the SLAF bombers, causing the remaining civilians to flee the area. Paranthan has been bombed in more than five sorties by the Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) bombers causing civilians living near the convent to flee the area. The indiscriminate bombardment has also targeted shops and other commercial establishment in Paranthan and Kumarapuram. SLAF bombed Paranthan three times Tuesday night and twice Wednesday morning, at 7:30 a.m. and around 9:00 a.m.The bombers also attacked Kugnchup-paranthan where heavy fighting has erupted Wednesday morning.

The government army sends minors to the front

Everyday, tens of young soldiers loose their lives in the military battles of the Singalese army and the stronghold of Tamil separatists. Among these soldiers are even young children. All this as the Colombo government continues its campaign against the use of children as soldiers.Baby soldiers. With the discovery of another 36 bodies, the death toll has risen to 170 soldiers killed in the latest battle on the Ki'linochchi front. The news was released on the Liberation Tigers of Tamil (Ltte) official website which included the published photos of the discovered bodies. The images clearly prove what Tamil rebels have been saying for some time, that is, the Colombo Army in enlisting in the south of the country very young boys, if not actually children, for their incursions in the region of Vanni in the south of the country. On their website, The Tamil guerrillas showed the identification tags worn by the dead soldiers; however they also denounced the fact that very few of them actually had them. In the days that followed the Colombo army launched an offensive on five principle fronts which they were looking to conquer for some time, including what can be considered the capital of the Tamil tigers, Kilinochchi. In addition, fighting took place in Malayaalapuram, Kugnchupparanthan, Mu'rikandi e Pulikkulam. In addition to the 106 Colombo troop casualties and 10 Tamil guerrillas, more than 300 soldiers have been injured in the fighting. The fighting is still going on today and sources within the Ltte announced they have successfully blocked the advancement of the Singalese army.Following the bloody battles of the recent days, the reconnaissance mission led to the discovery of new bodies, 28 in the battle camp of Ki'linochchi and 8 in that of Kiliaali, according to the reports of the Tamil tigers, who also reportedly seized numerous weapons from the Singalese army. In the forefront of the fight against the use of children as soldiers is parliament member Viniyagamurthi Muralitharan, leader of the Tamil faction of the government. TMVP (Tamil Makkal Viduthalai Pulikal). Muralitharan signed on to an agreement with the Colombo government and Unicef to end these enlistments. The plan is for the Sri Lanka government officials and Unicef leaders to visit the Army training camps identify underage soldiers. Spokespeople for Unicef complained that in the past, despite signing of these accords, officials were not allowed access to the training camps.According to the figures released by Unicef, as of October 31st the TMVP placed 133 young boys on their front lines, 62 if which were under 18 years of age, and almost all of the 133 were enlisted when they were under the age of 18. The efficacy of the accord between the TMVP and the government is still unknown and moreover seems to contrary to the facts, the reality shown in the photos of the dead children soldiers, sent to front to fight.

ICRC employee killed in Jaffna

An employee of the Jaffna office of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) was shot dead by unidentified gunmen in Jaffna yesterday (23) morning, the ICRC said.According to reports, the victim, identified as Suntharalingam Gengatharan (45) was a father of two and a resident of Karaveddi.He has been shot in the head in front of his office, 100 metres from Nallur temple, while he was on his way there, reports say.

TMVP name stands says Pillayan

There will be no change in the name of the Tamil Makkal Viduthalai Pulikal (TMVP), Eastern Province Chief Minister Sivanesathurai Chandrakanthan alias Pillayan claimed.Chandrakanthan told The Morning Leader that despite speculation in the media that there will be a name change in the party, he was informed by National List MP, Vinayagamurthi Muralitharan alias Karuna Amman, that there was no such move.“When I met him (Karuna) and asked about this, he said that there was no such thing,” Chandrakanthan said.Last week, there were reports that Muralitharan had changed the name of the party to Tamil Makkal Viduthalai Koottani (TMVK).However, Karuna’s spokesperson D. Kamalanathan said that there had been no decision taken on a name change so far and that reports quoting him of the new name of the party were false.He said that a decision with regard to the party’s name will be taken in the coming days.“There has been no official statement that our party name has been changed. The reports quoting me, of the new name of the party are false. No decision has been taken on a new name for the party yet,” Kamalanathan said.

More civilians flee Wanni

More than 800 civilians have so far crossed over to government held areas from the Wanni, military officials said.Military Spokesperson Brigadier Udaya Nanayakkara said that 842 civilians had escaped from the LTTE-controlled areas to the government controlled areas.He said that the last set of civilians consisting of 68 civilians had crossed over from Tiger territory on Monday.The Defence Ministry yesterday said that security forces personnel had rescued a group of Tamil civilians comprising 26 including two infants and two children while crossing Kilali lagoon to arrive at government controlled areas on Sunday. According to the Ministry, troops of Task Force 1 had met the civilians of Elephant Pass who were able to escape the LTTE’s grip, by taking a boat. The boat, heading towards Pooneryn carrying 26 civilians, had gone out of order while crossing Kilali lagoon putting the lives of the innocent Tamil civilians in jeopardy. Troops of Task Force 1 had immediately reacted and had helped the civilians reach government controlled areas safely. The Ministry quoting the escapees had said the LTTE was intensifying child conscription as there was a lack of manpower to face the security forces’ military push.“LTTE terrorists are forcibly recruiting underage children and youth, and we also have to face serious difficulties under LTTE’s jungle rule,” one of the mothers among the escapees had reportedly said.Meanwhile, pro-Tiger website Tamilnet reported that the Sri Lanka Navy (SLN) had arrested 29 civilians fleeing Sri Lanka Army’s continuing artillery barrage, bombings and economic sanction.According to the website, the boat, with a six-month-infant, children and pregnant women was about to sink when the SLN arrested them. The arrested persons are reportedly detained in the SLN camp in Naakatheavanthurai in Poonakari, the report said.

LTTE claims capture of a PoW

The LTTE has claimed that it has taken one soldier as a prisoner-of-war. According to pro-Tiger websites, the LTTE had claimed that the prisoner-of-war has been identified as R.A. Nishan Ranasinghe attached to the Sinha Regiment.It said that the soldier, taken captive by the LTTE in Kilali on December 9, was sent to the  forefront of the offensive immediately after completing his military training at Diyatalawa Army Training Centre on November 25. Ranasinghe was allowed by the LTTE to talk to the media on Saturday while he was admitted at Killinochchi Hospital.According to Tamilnet, Ranasinghe had said he had studied up to 7th standard and joined the military considering the economic benefits, but had not expected that he would be sent immediately to the battlefront. Tamilnet also said that Ranasinghe joined the military on July 25,  and was sent for training a month later with 659 new recruits.“On the night of December 9, he was amongst those sent on the offensive and was ordered to move forward at 2.30 a.m. Amid heavy LTTE resistance, they were then ordered to retreat, but he was wounded and lay on the field for nearly 12 hours from 6.30 a.m., without any effort by the SLA to rescue him.” “The Tigers found him at 7.00 p.m, gave water and some first aid and sent him to a field hospital for further medical treatment,” Tamilnet reported.Military Spokesperson Brigadier Udaya Nanayakkara confirmed to The Morning Leader that the soldier claimed to be a prisoner-of-war by the LTTE was an army soldier.He said that the military would now have to initiate action to ensure the return of the soldier.“Since the LTTE has now declared him as a prisoner-of-war we will have to communicate on the matter with the LTTE through the ICRC,” Nanayakkara said.However, Nanayakkara said that the military has not initiated any negotiations through the ICRC as yet.

23 December 2008

More than 100 killed in S.Lanka fighting: Tigers

Sri Lanka's Tamil Tiger rebels claimed killing at least 100 government soldiers on Monday while beating back a fresh offensive against their besieged political capital in the island's north.The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) repulsed a two-pronged assault against the town of Kilinochchi after seven hours of fighting, a senior Tiger official, S. Puleedevan said.He told the pro-rebel Tamilnet website that they also wounded more than 250 government troops, but did not give details of rebel casualties.His claim came hours after the military said that security forces killed at least 56 Tamil Tiger rebels for the loss of 10 soldiers killed in fresh fighting on Monday.About 40 soldiers and 90 rebels were wounded in the battles outside Kilinochchi, the military said in a statement.The latest clashes came a day after the Tigers said they killed another 60 soldiers and wounded 150 in a counter attack on the outskirts of Kilinochchi over the weekend.Both sides are known to make exaggerated claims about casualties they have inflicted on each other, and independent verification is virtually impossible as journalists and aid workers are barred from the conflict area. Sri Lanka's military also carried out air attacks against suspected Tamil Tiger targets earlier on Monday to support ground troops, the military statement said.Meanwhile President Mahinda Rajapakse asked the LTTE to allow 300,000 civilians in rebel-held areas to move away from the fighting."With the dawn of 2009, the LTTE should release all innocent Tamil people it is holding hostage and in bondage using them as human shields, and allow them to come to the safe areas," the president said in a statement on Monday.In January the Sri Lankan government pulled out of a 2002 Norwegian-brokered truce with the rebels, who have been fighting since 1972 for a state for ethnic minority Tamils separate from the majority Sinhalese community.

'Sinna-Paranthan' Captured – SL Army

KILINOCHCHI: TROOPS of the Task Force-I consolidating their positions about 300 meters further southward along the LTTE earth bund captured the area known as SINNAPARANTHAN in KILINOCHCHI Tuesday (23) morning. According to Army media, troops faced stiff resistance from LTTE in the battle for Sinna-Paranthan. This village earlier inhabited by farming community became an LTTE stronghold after Tigers dominated the area constructing bunkers and trenches.  Soldiers had to fight a fierce battle before they reached SINNAPARANTHAN, situated on the A-35 main road about 6 Km west of PARANTHAN town centre. LTTE communication confirmed their death toll had reached to twelve while many others reportedly suffered injury during confrontation with the troops. Troops recovered one LTTE dead body with one T-56 weapon during clearings operations that commenced immediately after they consolidated positions in the area.Army sources further said.

No ceasefire, says Army Chief

The armed forces had no intention to call a halt to their present offensive against the LTTE in the north, Army Commander Lt. General Sarath Fonseka told ‘The Island’ yesterday (22).As the LTTE was getting defeated at all fronts of the war and are trying to get a ceasefire to get over the serious problem of final defeat. But the armed forces had no intention to let up or stop the ongoing military operations in the North, he said.The army plans to capture one of the LTTE key positions in the North in the next few days and after the capture of Nedunkerni in the Mullaitivu district. Tamil civilians of the North had praised the armed forces for liberating them from the yoke of the LTTE terrorists, the Commander said.A ceasefire was always used by the LTTE to regroup and strengthen themselves, but the armed forces were not prepared to give them those opportunities once again, he said.

APRC meet put off for Monday

Sessions of the All Party representative Committee (APRC) scheduled for yesterday and today have been postponed to next Monday, informed sources said. They said the APRC Secretariat had cited the non availability of a member who is also a minister as the reason for cancelling yesterday’s session, while the postponement of today’s meeting to next Monday is reportedly due to the scheduled Cabinet meeting.The setting up of a Muslim Unit in the Southeast and an Up Country unit as proposed by Muslim parties and the CWC will top the APRC agenda at the next session.

Battle in TMVP over tiger tailpiece 

The crisis in the Tamil Makkla Viduthali Puligal (TMVP) camp deepened further Monday with TMVP spokesman Azath Maulana saying the change of name of the party as proposed by its former leader and parliamentarian Vinyagamoorthy Muralitharan alias Karuna Amman will not be accepted. Maulana said the final decision on any issue regarding the party could be taken only by its 11-member politburo and not by Karuna or Eastern Province Chief Minister Sivanesathurain Chandrakanthan alias Pillayan. However, . Maulana insisted Karuna was still a member of the TMVP and had not split from the party as was earlier speculated. “Karuna has not approached any of the TMVP members officially in changing the party name. If he does so, he will no longer be accepted by the party. Karuna has to approach our 11-member politburo and only after they approve it will the name be changed. If not, the party will have to continue with its present name,” Maulana said. He said even Chandrakanthan had not been informed about a name change and had initially objected to changing names to suit Karuna while TMVP members too have objected to any change and supported Pillayan’s decision to maintain the current name. “Most of our members prefer to support Mr. Pillayan as it is he who guided the party when it was facing a crisis in 2006. Mr. Karuna was in Britain at the time and returned only recently. Therefore no one will approve his unilateral decisions,” Mr. Maulana said. Reports circulated over the weekend said Karuna had formed a new party called Thamil Makkal Viduthalai Koddani (TMVK) -- Tamil People’s Liberation Front. Sources said Karuna wanted the word Tiger dropped from party name but could not do it due to the crisis brewing between him and Piliyan in the recent months. TMVP sources said if Karuna was ousted from the party, Piliyan was likely to be sworn in as the new TMVP leader while Karuna would appointed as president of the TMVK with Iniya Bharathi as its secretary and Sinna Thamby as the treasurer.

Plea for aid to S Lanka displaced 
 
A rights group has urged Sri Lanka's government to allow aid agencies back into the country's rebel-held north where fighting has displaced thousands. Human Rights Watch has also urged the government to stop detaining Tamil civilians who have fled areas controlled by rebels. Aid workers were ordered out of the area in September for their "safety". The fate of civilians in the area has become a key issue as soldiers continue an offensive to crush the rebels. Human Rights Watch estimates as many as 300,000 people have fled their homes ahead of a military advance, moving further into rebel controlled territory. The group is urging Sri Lanka's government to allow in aid workers to help. Staff from the United Nations and other humanitarian agencies were ordered out in September when the government said it could not guarantee their safety. Human Rights Watch is also calling on Sri Lanka's government to stop detaining the relatively few Tamil civilians - around 1,000, it says - who have fled the rebel area in recent months. The government says they are being looked after in welfare centres, but the rights group says they are being held indefinitely in what amount to badly disguised prisons. Earlier this month the organisation also detailed abuses being carried out by the Tamil Tigers, including preventing civilians leaving their territory and forcing people into their ranks to fight. Sri Lanka's government says Tamil civilians are being held in the north as human shields. President Mahinda Rajapaksa has urged the rebels to release them.

Solution lies in the internal self-determination of the Tamil people in areas of historic habitation

TNA Leader R. Sampanthan expresses his views on the situation in the Wanni, the rumblings in Tamil Nadu and the role of the minority communities in Sri Lanka on the eve of another delegation of the TNA is planning to leave for India to address the concerns on the situation in the Island:

Q: A broad alliance of Tamil political parties, minus the TNA, was formed with the intention of addressing the concerns of the Tamil community in the country. How do you see this development?

Anyone has the right to form an alliance. Neither we; the ITAK nor the TULF, will be a party to such an alliance. I don’t claim any exclusiveness to Tamil concerns or to undermine the right of anyone else to speak for these rights. If anyone has a different political outlook they have every right to obtain that verdict through the people. It is no one’s prerogative to say that its their right to represent anyone. But what is crucial is that they are committed to winning the aspirations of the Tamil people. There is broad agreement in the community that a solution must lie in internal self-determination of the Tamil people in their areas of historical habitation. It is my hope that anybody wanting to speak about these rights understand these realities.

Q:A delegation of the TNA is again going to meet the Indian Premier on bringing some pressure on the government’s military exercises. How confident are you in being successful this time?

When the PM came to Sri Lanka for the SAARC summit it was agreed that there would be further discussion in New Delhi. That hadn’t happened yet. We are therefore hoping to meet him and also the Indian Foreign Minister. We will also meet political leaders from the BJP , the left parties etc. We have raised sufficient awareness in the Indian people of the situation in Sri Lanka and the violations of human rights. There is now a wide discussion on what’s happening in the North.

Q:How serious is the deportation notice issued on your MP Sivajilingam. Where does it leave your support base in Tamil Nadu?

I don’t think anything has happened to him. He has been in India for sometime trying to explain the plight of the Tamil people to the people there. I don’t think anything would happen to affect the policies of our party or the opportunities we have to discuss this situation with the Indian political hierarchy in any way.

Q:The TNA has been working extremely hard to get the support of the Indian government towards some form of intervention on the military exercises in the Wanni. Can you honestly say that the Central government has taken the rumpus in Tamil Nadu seriously?

I don’t want anyone to draw any inferences in regard to our thinking. India has always been concerned about the Tamil question. There is no doubt about that. All that happened in the past is a sign of that commitment of the Indian governments towards a political resolution to the problem of the Tamil people in Sri Lanka. On the southern tip of India is a population of 70 million Tamil people . So they are very concerned about the plight of the Tamil people in Sri Lanka. There has never been any need for us to evoke any great concern in regard to India’s commitment. India clearly wants the problem resolved in an amicable way. In that situation we would endeavour to do anything we can to help that process. There’s however no sense of euphoria or disappointment on what has or hasn’t happened. On the upsurge of the political environment in Tamil Nadu, a discussion has taken place in the Tamil Nadu assembly and a resolution passed and TN politicians headed by its Chief Minister have met the Prime Minister of India and certain commitments have been made.

Q:You accuse the government of continuing to harass the Tamil people in the Wanni despite an assurance to the Central Government in New Delhi that Tamil civilians will not be harmed by Special Envoy, Basil Rajapaksa in New Delhi had given. How do you support such claims?

I have placed facts before the Parliament on incidents after Mr. Rajapaksa’s visit to New Delhi where innocent civilians have been killed or injured, houses and temples have been destroyed by the military exercises and the situation in the war zone. Almost every day there are people getting killed and injured and property destroyed. This is a daily feature and there is no question about the facts. Some of the supporting material I placed before the Parliament are press reports. Our position is that there is no moral justification for the prosecution of the war as the govt. hasn’t come up with an acceptable political solution and for that reason the govt. solely places its faith in a military solution.

Q:How can you say the government is purely looking at a military solution when there is a political process by which an All Party Representative Committee is tasked with looking at a political solution to the question?

We are not concerned with the APRC because we have not been consulted. We have not ever been invited to take part in that process. The President himself has said that he will not invite the main Tamil political party ITAK until he has the consensus of the Sinhala community. Anyway we know how the APRCs functioned in the past. We know that the UNP and JVP are also not in the process. If they really want then the government can come up with a proposal. But instead even the Majority experts report that came out was resigned to the dustbin despite it being one of a committee appointed by the President himself.

Q: “In the report "Trapped and Mistreated," the HRW called upon the LTTE to allow civilians to leave areas under its control; to respect the right to freedom of movement and the right to move to government-controlled territory for safety; end all recruitment of children under the age of 18; and stop forcing civilians to engage in labour directly related to the conduct of military operations. Isn’t this an indication that world opinion is finally changing towards the LTTE and are these also concerns you share?

I am not a member of the LTTE so I don’t have to answer on their behalf. And I am not contradicting the HRW report. They could have used facts frankly. And all I can say is that all killing and suffering must come to an end and for that the war must end. For that to happen there must be an acceptable political solution. Why can’t the Sri Lankan state come up with a proposal like that in many other multi ethnic, multi cultural pluralistic societies in the world? I am not for a moment saying the report is wrong. Why are you asking me anyway? The fact is that they have said the same things against the Sri Lankan government as well. They have criticized the manner in which Tamil civilians are forced to live under trees and the sufferings inside the refugee camps. The tragedy is that these things are happening on both sides. It is Sinhala and Tamil youth the future of this country who are dying in this manner. And the money that should be used for development of the country is being wasted in this manner. I don’t want to comment further or add anything to this. The fact is that both the LTTE and the govt. have come under their criticism.

Q:Concerns have risen on the attitude of the government towards the minorities, despite the President on several times maintaining that he was ‘absolutely clear that Sri Lanka belongs to all its citizens - Sinhalese, Tamils, Muslims, others.’

I have expressed my views on this on several occasions in the Parliament. We have always been concerned about grave human rights violations of Tamil people. This is not a new thing. These have been happening since 1956. It continued through 58, 77, 81 and 83 and it was always the Tamils who were the victims. Wasn’t the LTTE created by this very situation? We are therefore not happy with the policies of the government with regard to this question, because they are not committed to arrive at an acceptable resolution to this problem. The fact remains that the human rights situation in Sri Lanka is horrendous. In fact it is one of the worst in the world. War can’t be a justification for subjecting non-combatants to violence and grave human rights violations in this way.

Q:You accuse the govt. of believing on a military solution on the basis that once the LTTE is destroyed there will be no force that can compel the Sri Lankan Government to arrive at a political solution. But the government has pledged to the international community and India that it will indeed seek a political solution once the LTTE is weakened.

We don’t accept that position. I am in no way speaking for the LTTE but we have no reason to believe that the day the LTTE is weakened the government will look at a political solution. The government believes that if the LTTE is weakened there will be no Tamil aspirations to be met. We have heard of a number of such commitments made to the international community and India. India, the co-chairs, USA, EU and the international community have called for radical changes in the constitutional arrangement pertaining to the structure of government giving Tamil and Muslim people the rights to determine their destiny in areas of historical habitation according to their distinct identity. But what has happened? Nothing. But I don’t think either are convinced there will be a viable political solution. We don’t know what will happen to the Tamil rights if this trend continues.

Q:You have continued to blame the government’s development programme in the East, on grounds that it was a ‘gigantic deception on the whole world and to say that “we are doing development, we do not need devolution”. But the success of administration of the TMVP in the East paints a different picture doesn’t it?

The achievement of a merged North and East region under the Indo Sri Lanka agreement was the result of a long struggle by the Tamil people. The Tamil people need to be convinced that their future could be secured in a merged NE. The President gave a commitment to the international community that this system will not be dismantled. It is the inalienable right of the Tamil speaking people to continue to live in areas of historical habitation under a constitutional arrangement that gives them substantial power of governance. Development must be decided by people in the area and not someone sitting in Colombo. The present arrangement in the East doesn’t live up to our expectations. It’s a down right farce.

Q:You challenge the government to hold an internationally-sponsored referendum and ask the Tamil-speaking people in the North and the East what they want, accept their verdict, and give them what they want. Wasn’t the verdict in the East sufficient to note the priorities of the Tamil people?

Do you call it an election? It was a down right disgrace. The ballot boxes were stuffed and numerous other election violations took place. Why is the government so afraid to hold an internationally sponsored referendum? What are they worried about?

Q:On what grounds do you allege that the govt. policy indicates that it wants to exclude minority communities from all power sharing arrangements, in a meaningful away? The administration in the East seems to be having positive results.

Absolutely. The institutionalization of the purported de merger is a diabolic attempt to keep the Tamil people out of any kind of meaningful participation. It can only get worse now. I can’t speak about the administration in the East because I have no connection to that system. But I hear that there are already rumblings there. Those poor chaps didn’t know what they were getting in to. We knew.

Q:You recently said in Parliament that if the government cannot give you the right to internal self-determination in your areas of historical habitation, then, international law says that you shall be entitled to the right of external self-determination. How do you plan to carry out this threat?

There is no threat as such. But take the situation in Quebec for instance. When they went to courts, it was ruled that if the right to internal self-determination was persistently denied to a distinct people over a long period of time then the right to external self-determination would be accrued to such people. It would also accrue in instances of military suppression. My view was based on that interpretation of law and in order to urge that the grant of self-determination was necessary to keep the country united. If that wasn’t done there could be other consequences. In the case of Quebec when the court held that in view of the constitutional arrangement that prevailed in Canada the French speaking Canadians in Quebec; a distinct people weren’t denied the right to internal self- determination.

22 December 2008

TELO Leader met the BJP leader Advani urged to bring truce in Sri Lanka

Indian opposition leader L.K. Advani was Sunday urged to bring about a truce in Sri Lanka by a TELO MP from the island nation.M.K. Shivaji Lingam of the Tamil Elam Liberation Organization (TELO) quoted Advani as telling him here that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) would raise the issue in parliament.’ We will also take up the matter with the prime minister (Manmohan Singh),' Advani reportedly said, adding that India would never let down the Tamil minority in Sri Lanka.Shivaji Lingam is one of 22 MPs from the TNA.He met the BJP leader at his residence. The TELO MP told IANS that he explained to Advani the situation in Sri Lanka, particularly the civilian suffering in the north as the military battles the LTTE to capture the rebel territory. According to Shivaji Lingam, thousands of Tamil civilians have been displaced from their homes due to the war. Many, he said, were living in the open, under the trees. He told the BJP's prime ministerial candidate that the need of the hour was a ceasefire to be followed by talks between Colombo and the LTTE.'We urge you to help end the fighting (in Sri Lanka) and bring about a negotiated settlement,' Shivaji Lingam said. 'We in the TNA don't see this as a war against the LTTE, it is genocide.’ The Sri Lankan government has repeatedly stated that it is determined to crush the LTTE and has no intention of talking to the Tigers.

Senior Tiger commander from East "Col" Ramesh injured in Kilinochchi

Latest reports from the Kilinocchi battlefront stated that one of the senior tiger commanders “Colonel” Ramesh sustained injuries in fighting on Saturday December 20th. The incident occurred in the Murigandy – Iranaimadhu area of Kilinochchi district when the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) launched a “commando” type raid on military positions.The attack which amounted to an effective counterstrike succeeded in pushing military positions two km back claimed pro – tiger websites.The LTTE also stated that about 60 soldiers were killed and about 150 injured.Authoritative sources in Colombo confirmed that a tiger counter strike had indeed occurred but denied that the forces were compelled to pull back 2 km.The sources also claimed that the casualty figures given by the LTTE were highly exaggerated but refused to reveal the actual numbers of those killed or injured.Defence ministry sources however said that senior tiger commander “Col” Ramesh was seriously injured in the fighting which took place for six hours from 5. 30 am to 11.30 am.“Col” Ramesh who hails from Batticaloa was in charge of a LTTE special forces brigade.He was earlier the special commander for Batticaloa – Amparai districts under former eastern regional LTTE commander “Col” Karuna.After Karuna’s revolt Ramesh relocated to the Wanni. Later he led an eastern cadre contingent back to the Batticaloa district Kudumbimalai/Thoppigala region.After the Sri Lankan forces established full control of the Eastern province Ramesh returned to the Wanni by a clandestine land route called the “Beirut trail”.He was later placed in charge of a special force brigade that received “commando” type training.Ramesh is the brother in law of LTTE Sea Tiger special commander “Col” Soosai.

Tamil Tigers vow to keep fighting 
 
Sri Lanka's Tamil Tiger rebels have said they will continue to fight even if they lose their political headquarters town of Kilinochchi. There has been fierce fighting as the army tries to capture Kilinochchi. The head of the rebels' political wing told the BBC he rejected the government's offer of talks if the Tigers disarmed first. The Tigers say they killed 75 soldiers in the latest clashes. The army has put its losses at 12 dead and 12 missing. The rival claims cannot be independently verified because journalists are barred from the conflict area.

Symbolic target

The battle for Kilinochchi in northern Sri Lanka is getting increasingly bloody. Both sides claim to be inflicting heavy casualties. The rebels insist they can defend the town and the head of the Tamil Tigers' political wing, Balasingham Nadesan, told the BBC by e-mail that even if it falls, they will fight on. "Freedom... never depends on one city. We can create more communities, more cities and [in] our freedom struggle, we are supported by people. "We have the confidence that we will capture more areas in our motherland and we will create so many communities in [the] future." He rejected out of hand the government's offer of talks if the Tigers laid down their weapons first. "This is not a realistic question, we took up arms to safeguard our people, so we will keep these arms until the safeguard is guaranteed," Mr Nadesan said. Kilinochchi is a hugely symbolic target of the government's offensive to crush the rebels. In the town, the Tigers, or Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), have assembled the trappings of the independent state they want for the ethnic Tamil minority, including political offices, courts and a police force. Government ministers have been predicting the town's imminent capture for months, but the rebels are holding out. A military spokesman said the people of Sri Lanka wanted the LTTE to be eliminated. "The military also wanted the same thing and they are doing their level best to capture the rest of the areas" under Tamil Tiger control, said Brigadier Udaya Nanayakkara. Sri Lanka's government says it is on track to win the war but heavy battles are likely to still lie ahead and there is concern about the fate of the large number of civilians in the Tiger-controlled north. The rebels deny using them as human shields and reject allegations they are forcing people into their ranks to fight.

Sinhala couple seek politicl asylum in Tamil Nadu

Arrival of Sinhala refugees from the Talaimannar coast in Sri Lanka to Dhanushkodi in the southern coast of Tamil Nadu is a rare phenomenon. Sharuha Bilkani (18) and Dushra Chandana, Sinhalese hailing from Colombo, landed at Arichamunai on Friday night with the hope of starting a new life in a new environment. Though their arrival is termed first of its kind by officials who have been dealing with the Sri Lankan refugees for the last 10 years, it has generated curiosity among refugees and officials. They were reportedly given asylum by a Tamil family in Vavuniya when their parents opposed their love marriage. On arrival, they initially told the police that Chandana was a Tamil from Vavuniya. However, interrogation revealed that both were Sinhalese and had eloped from Colombo. They claimed to have met at a driving school in Colombo, where Sharuha was taught driving by Chandana. Later, they decided to marry. In the wake of parental opposition, Chandana’s close friend, a Tamil, sent them to his house in Vavuniya. The ongoing war forced them to seek asylum in Tamil Nadu. Vasantha Mari, with whom the couple landed at Arichamunai, told the police that they did not want to go back to Colombo fearing danger to their lives. They had come to India with a group of 19 refugees. Authorities have decided to file a case against them for violating the Indian Passport Act. S. Kamalabai, Deputy Superintendent of Police, Rameswaram, told The Hindu that if they were Tamils they could be granted the status of refugees. In this case, it was not possible to treat them as refugees.

Sri Lanka President says rebels facing ban 
 
Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse here Monday warned the Tamil Tiger rebels that they would face a proscription unless they released all civilians who are kept against their will.     Rajapakse warned the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) rebels that they ought to allow freedom of movement to all Tamil civilians.     "They will face a ban and all other consequences if they failed to do so by the dawn of the New Year," Rajapakse said when addressing a gathering at the Presidential Secretariat.     Sri Lanka banned the Tigers in January 1998 and lifted the proscription in 2002 to facilitate the Norwegian-backed peace process. The government troops and the rebels are currently engaged in a bloody military campaign in the north. Some 230,000 civilians are trapped in the fighting zone.he government created a humanitarian corridor for the civilians to leave the battle zone. But the rebels with a strict pass system holding them on, the government said.The LTTE has several international proscriptions and definitions as a terrorist organization. This includes the governments of the United States, India, Britain and Canada.

21 December 2008

60 Sri Lankan soldiers killed in fighting
 
Tamil Tiger rebels killed 60 Sri Lankan troops advancing toward their de facto capital, a pro-rebel report said, but the government denied Sunday that many soldiers had died. The insurgents struck as the soldiers were preparing an assault in Iranamadu village, just south of the guerrilla headquarters of Kilinochchi, and forced the troops to retreat from recently seized territory, the rebel-affiliated TamilNet Web site reported late Saturday. The guerrillas recovered 12 bodies of Sri Lankan soldiers, and 150 other troops were wounded, the report said. It did not provide the number of rebel losses. Military spokesman Brig. Udaya Nanayakkara said there were a ``few'' deaths and some soldiers were reported missing. But he dismissed the casualty figures reported by TamilNet and said soldiers were not in retreat. ``We have not pulled back, we are in the same locations,'' Nanayakkara said. It was not possible to verify the rebel report because journalists are not allowed in the war zone. Both sides are known to exaggerate enemy casualties and underreport their own losses. Government forces have seized a large area of rebel-held territory in recent months and forced the Tigers into territory in the northeast. However, troops have been locked in heavy battles at the edge of Kilinochchi for nearly two months amid heavy monsoon rains and stiff resistance by the rebels. The guerrillas have claimed at least three major battle successes in recent weeks, the last being the reported killing of 170 soldiers near Kilinochchi on Tuesday. The Tamil Tigers have been fighting since 1983 to create an independent homeland for ethnic minority Tamils who suffered decades of marginalization by successive governments controlled by the Sinhalese majority. The conflict has killed more than 70,000 people.

Troops capture Nedunkerny town in Mullativu

Troops have taken control of the Nedunkerny town on the Mullativu – Puliyankulam road after fierce battles throughout Saturday, Sri Lanka Army’s website said. Nadunkerni is 16 km from Puliyankulam on the Vavuniya-Mulaithivu road.The troops have taken full control of the town which was under tigers for a very long period. The capture further restricts LTTE movements between MULLAITTIVU and areas west of NEDUNKENI.

TMVP splits -- Karuna forms new party

The Tamil Makkal Viduthalai Pulikal (TMVP) yesterday split as Karuna Amman formed a new political party called the Thamil Makkal Viduthalai Kooddani (TMVK).When contacted, the Secretary of the TMVP Thaileshwara Raja said “we are aware that Karuna Amman had formed a new political party, but the TMVP will remain unchanged and Pilleyan will take over the leadership in the party”. The new party’s official address has been given in a location in the Thenagam area in Batticaloa.Karuna had informed his followers in Batticaloa about his new move and the first letter has been sent to the Eastern Provincial Council member Pradeep Master yesterday.The letter has been signed by the new party’s media spokesman Kanchchana Moorthi Kamalanadan. The letter says that the president of the TMVK is Karuna Amman, the secretary Vinaya Bharathi, and Treasurer Sinna Thammbi. Meanwhile, the word “Pulikal” (Tiger) in the TMVP title has been replaced with Kooddani (Alliance) in the new party’s name. Many internal conflicts flared after Karuna tried to capture power in the party as his leadership post did not give him enough powers to function. Meanwhile, the Pilleyan faction did not accept Karuna as its sole leader and identified its president as Kumara swami Nandagopan alias Ragu. The TMVP has been registered under his name when Karuna was in prison, and he was referred to in the party constitution as being only a ‘leader’ who did not have any authority in the party. “After the death of Ragu, Karuna had claimed the post of party president but the Pilleyan faction rejected his request; this could have led to Karuna forming a new party,” a Pilleyan faction spokesman said.

Heavy fighting continues
 
The casualties to both sides has drastically increased in what is termed the "last fight". Scores of Tigers and close to 200 soldiers have been killed in about 10 days of fighting. 53 SLA bodies fell into the LTTE at fighting in Paranthan, Nilvil etc along the L-shaped bund breached by the Army in this time period.The bund, sometimes 20 feet tall, is heavily manned by tigers armed with MPMGs and HMGs. Bunkers are constructed along the banks, behind the banks and sometimes in the basin of the banks. The rain still keeps falling hard despite a brief respite. The trenches, steep climbs of the bund and the basins have got flooded and muddied. This situation is expected to last till mid-January.In one fight, tigers waited for the SLA to advance and attempted to cut them down with heavy fire. As several teams fell, others continued the charge along the muddy approach to the bund, which is again followed by a steep drop into another mud-pit. The approach to the bund, particularly at Paranthan and Nilvil are in open terrain. Meanwhile a second bund has been constructed 2km from the first bund at Paranthan and fighting will soon be launched to gain control of this bund.But the Army is not letting go. Field Commanders confirmed to DefenceWire that the attacks will continue although casualties are higher than what they used to be. They are of the opinion that within 15-20 days, the Tigers would gradually lose control of the bunds, one-by-one as experienced fighters are lost and replaced by unmotivated conscripts who are inexperienced and ill-trained. The SLA launches somewhere between 10-15 attacks on LTTE defenses along the bund on a daily basis. The strength of the SLA grew from about 130,000 to 170,000 men since the Present Army Commander assumed duties. In 2008 alone, close to 40,000 men joined the SLA.Many more are expected to join as TF-5 is being formed. Currently, TF-5 has two Brigades or 5000 men, which is expected to grow by another one Brigade or more. All the major training centers are currently full with fresh recruits. Around 850 SLA passed-out last week from Maduru Oya alone.The SLAF has also increased its sorties in dramatic fashion. Each day, they too launch 10-15 sorties on LTTE targets. The damages caused to the LTTE is still unclear.Meanwhile the SLN finally discovered the source of new artillery to the LTTE. Forward advancing units had noted a sudden increase in artillery attacks by the LTTE and a search was on for the last several days to locate the source of the shells. Finally the vessel, half emptied of its cargo at the time, was discovered and subsequently destroyed several hundred nautical miles off Mullaitivu coast. Sea tigers tried to distract the SLN with several boat movements in the Kilali area last week.

LTTE admits presence in the east

LTTE Political Wing Head, B. Nadesan has said that the LTTE still has cadres in the east, despite government claims that the region has been liberated.Nadesan in an interview to the Australian Tamil broadcasting Corporation on December 9, according to pro-Tiger sites, said that the people in the east did not accept the government and the TMVP and were awaiting the Tigers to return."The people in the east have rejected the government and the paramilitary. The government cannot tolerate this. That is why the government is abducting and killing our supporters and our people," Nadesan had said.The military and the TMVP had also stated that the LTTE was active in the east.Nadesan had said that the situation in the northern battlefront was in favour of the LTTE and that the government forces were weak."Our cadres are giving stiff resistance in all the fronts and are causing heavy damages to the forces," Nadesan had said."In fact, the military is facing heavy losses and are in a very weak state. Our leader, commandos and the people are confident that we will definitely achieve a victory, an unprecedented victory," he said.Nadesan, responding to a question also said that the government forces were militarily weak despite capturing several areas."Everyone's expectation is that this situation would militarily weaken them (government troops). Military analysts also say the same. When one looks at the present ground situation, the forces are fast becoming weak," he said.The LTTE had last week said that it had killed more than 170 soldiers in clashes in the outskirts of Kilinochchi.The military however denied reports, stating that it was the LTTE, which had suffered heavy losses.

Estate workers call for govt. intervention

Only government intervention will solve the problems faced by the estate workers following the crisis in the local tea industry, Upcountry People's Front (UPF) said last week.UPF Vice President and Deputy Minister of Vocational Training and Industrial Education P. Radhakrishnan told The Sunday Leader that the government's intervention was essential to find a solution to the problems faced by the estate community.The estate sector in the country is facing a crisis following the crash in the world economy.Several trade unions of the estate sector called upon the government to intervene to solve the issues faced by the sector following the crisis.Radhakrishnan said that the government earlier this month had promised to look into the matter."Only the government can solve this matter. We also have called upon the government to intervene and look into the issue. The government has promised that it will look into the matter and find a suitable solution to end the problems faced by the estate sector workers," Radhakrishnan said.

PC poll rigging via police

Top senior Ministers have hatched a plot to rig the forthcoming Central and Wayamba Provincial council elections. The modus operandi has already begun and hardworking police officers in the two provinces will be transferred out, while officers who are more politically inclined to the UPFA were to be sent in their place. In addition, two senior officers in charge of the two provinces and OICs of many police stations in the two provinces are also to be transferred in the coming days. All these transfers will be made to look as if they are routine transfers.Meanwhile, reliable sources reveal that the police officer in charge of the Central province is said to head the transfer list, as part of this plan aimed at rigging the election. The current officer in charge of the Central province is DIG Poojith Jayasundara. Lakbimanews learnt that a group of government politicians in the UPFA Election Committee had held a discussion in Colombo recently and had decided that they needed to replace DIG Poojith Jayasundara, regarded as an impartial officer, with another who has leanings towards the government. This discussion had been presided over by a VVIP politician of the government, while a senior police officer had also participated. It had also been decided to transfer Poojitha Jayasundara as the DIG in charge of the North-Central province effective from January 01. The DIG Western province Northern range (Gampaha district) Sarath Jayasundara is set to retire from service in the coming week. His position will be filled by outgoing DIG of the North-Central province, K.P.P. Pathirana. Thus, DIG Poojitha Jayasundara is set to be transferred from the Central province to the North-Central province to fill the vacancy created there.

Indo-Lanka power link MoU delayed

The signing of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to lay the undersea power transmission link between Sri Lanka and India is likely to be postponed to next year. A spokesperson for the Power and Energy Ministry said that there is a delay in signing the MoU between the two governments, and thus the laying of the undersea cable will take place next year.“The Indian delegation had not given an exact date for their arrival to sign the MoU. Therefore, we had to postpone the signing till next year. Hopefully, it will be signed in January,” he said.According to the official, the estimated cost of the whole project amounts to US$ 450 million and it is set to commence in 2009 and expected to be completed by 2012. During the first phase, Sri Lanka would purchase 500 Megawatts of electricity from South India “where there is surplus of energy from nuclear and coal power plants, till 2018. After 2018, Sri Lanka would have an excess supply of electricity, which will be sold to India,” he explained. Meanwhile, a member of CEB Engineers’ Union (CEBEU) told The Nation that there is a grave danger in implementing this project.“There would be less number of electricity generation projects set up in the country, if the undersea transmission link project is implemented. Which means we will be depending on India to supply electricity to the country,” he said.He explained that in South India, there was a huge shortage of power and usually there were five to 10-hour power cuts per day.“We are concerned how India would generate electricity to supply to Sri Lanka. Until they solve their electricity problem, they might not be able to sell it to Sri Lanka,” he pointed out.He further said that it is costly to send electricity through a cable: “It would be better for Sri Lanka to import the coal and produce electricity in the country instead,” he suggested.The undersea transmission link project will be implemented by the Indian state-run Power Grid Corporation within a period of 40 months. The pre-undersea or marine survey for the proposed project is expected to be completed in six months. The cable survey will look into the traffic of ships in the area, depth of sea, earthquake zones and volcanic active zones as well as the presence of sharks in that area of sea. The link is likely to connect Madurai in Tamil Nadu and Anuradhapura. The transmission line is expected to be 400 kV High Voltage Direct Current overhead lines from Madurai to the Indian coast near Rameshwaram.

Fowzie to keep portfolio

President Mahinda Rajapaksa paid a courtesy call on Petroleum Minister M H M Fowzie after the latter recently returned to the island from his Haj pilgrimage. Minister Fowzie left on the pilgrimage days after the Supreme Court urged the president to remove the minister in connection with the hedging fiasco. Fowzie was not in the country during the third reading of the budget and reportedly told the president that his absence would not affect the passage of the budget. Fowzie also told the president that he would serve as a backbencher in parliament if the president decided to strip him of his petroleum ministry portfolio as per the court directive. The president had told Minister Fowzie that it was he who decides on portfolios and that Fowzie should continue to be the minister of petroleum.Sources said the president was keen to keep senior ministers such as Fowzie on his side after Karu Jayasuriya departed the government and rejoined the UNP.

SLAF throws its might behind largest ever anti-LTTE operation

The SLAF has thrown almost all its assets in support of the largest ever operation launched against the LTTE. The action spearheaded by the Katunayake-based jet squadrons and Mi-24 helicopter gunships operating from bases situated near the area of operations had caused immense damage to the enemy, a senior SLAF official said. Responding to The Sunday Island queries, he said that operations had been primarily directed at LTTE fortifications, gun positions, communication facilities and units deployed against 57 Division and Task Force I (TF I) attempting to liberate the Iranamadu-Kilinochchi-Paranthan stretch of the A9 road.But the SLAF had been also called in neutralize a new threat on TF I posed by Sea Tiger units operating from Elephant Pass. The LTTE had moved some of its assets to Elephant Pass to launch boat raids on TF I positions north of Paranthan-Pooneryn road. The official said that Mi-24s had successfully engaged LTTE boats in the Jaffna lagoon and thwarted their attempts to harass TF I troops pushing towards Paranthan.Jets carried out seven missions up to 4 p. m. yesterday with two directed at LTTE boats on the Mullaitivu beach."We engaged them at 5.05 a.m. and 5.35 a.m. in close proximity to a foreign cargo vessel ‘Farah Three’ that had run aground," the official said. The enemy craft were some of those involved in a major confrontation with the SLN a few hours before following a successful naval action that sank a large LTTE vessel off Mullaitivu, he said. The three jet squadrons comprising Kfirs (No 10), MIG 27s (No 12) and F7s (No 5) and Mi 24 had conducted 53 missions since December 6, the official said.Among the targets were bunkers, earth bunds, heavy machine gun and mortar positions, fortified defences, underground bunker complex north of Iranamadu LTTE airstrip, communication facilities and reinforcements.

Rs. 100 million hotel project in Batticaloa

The Board of Investment of Sri Lanka granted investment approval to establish a hotel in Kallady, Batticaloa under the Eastern Development Project. Dr Amunugama stated that Liyara Beach Resort is a pioneer project in developing the Eastern Province and the BOI will assist such development projects. The Minister emphasised the fact that more development projects should be carried out in the Eastern Province and said that in the future this will be an important area to promote tourism. The Minister also thanked the BOI Chairman for encouraging development project in the Eastern Province, which is an area that has considerable potential in tourism, agriculture, fisheries and other sectors. Liyara Beach Hotel (Private) Limited signed the agreement to set up a thirty roomed three star hotel in Kallady. The Tourist Board approved hotel is constructed with the objective of promoting tourism in the eastern province stated K. Luxshman, Director of Liyara Beach Hotel. The venture is an investment of Rs. 100 million and is expected to provide employment for 25 in the area. The hotel having sea frontage will also consist of a swimming pool, gymnasium, herbal bath and tennis court for recreational activities. Construction of the hotel will commence in January 2009 and is expected to be completed within one year. K. Luxshman and V S Luxshman signed the agreement on behalf of Liyara Beach Hotel. Minister of Enterprise Development and Investment Promotion Dr Sarath Amunugama presented the BOI Certificate of Registrations to K. Luxshman. Chairman / Director General Dhammika Perera signed the agreement on behalf of the BoI.

20 December 2008

Jaffna Bishop urges curfew lift on Christmas, New Year nights

Jaffna Bishop, Rt. Rev. Thomas Saundaranayagam, has appealed to Jaffna Sri Lanka Army (SLA) Commander, Major. Gen. G. A. Chandrasiri to lift the SLA imposed night-curfew in Jaffna peninsula on Christmas and New Year nights so as to enable the Christians in the peninsula to attend midnight mass and services in the peninsula churches freely, Rev. Fr. Rosan, Bishop’s Secretary, said in a media release Friday night. SLA has clamped a daily night curfew from 9:00 p.m to 4:30 a.m in Jaffna peninsula which is in force since the last two years.

Navy destroys LTTE Logistics Vessel carrying War-like Materials

Sri Lanka Navy destroyed a medium-size LTTE logistics vessel carrying a large quantity of war like materials seventy (70) Nautical Miles North-east of Mullaithivu during the early hours today (20). The Navy also intercepted a cluster of LTTE boats and destroyed four enemy attack craft, which were abortively attempting to support the enemy logistics vessel, in a separate confrontation off Mullaithivu. The medium-size enemy logistics vessel had been detected by the Navy's Offshore Patrol Vessels (OPVs) on surveillance mission in deep sea around 0130 hrs and subsequently, the Navy's patrol craft were deployed to intercept and destroy the enemy logistics vessel which was approximately 30 - 40 meters in length. In the ensuing naval fire that lasted for around 30 minutes, the enemy logistics vessel was completely destroyed. It is believed that the enemy vessel was carrying a large quantity of war like materials to the LTTE since it sank engulfed in a ball of fire under the heavy naval fire. Four more LTTE attack craft, which were fleeing after having been abortively attempted to provide support to the enemy vessel, were also intercepted and destroyed by the Navy off Mullaithivu in a separate confrontation.

Minister Jagath Pushpakumara is behind white van abductions, says Omalpe Sobhitha Thero

Government coalition party Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU) MP Omalpe Sobhitha Thero says that Minister of Nation Building Jagath Pushpakumara is behind the abdution of people of Kovulara in Udawalawa reservoir area. He further charges that the Minister is behind the robbing of cattle from the cattle orphanage in the area.Sobhitha Thero says that the Sevanagala police Officer-in-Charge has information regarding the white van abduction of two residents of Kovulara on or around November 15 and robbing of cattle from the cattle orphanage on September 04 and October 30. However, the OIC remains inactive sheepishly due to the threats of the Minister, says Sobhitha Thero.Sobhitha Thero says that the situation has created a terror in the area and the orphan cattle are also facing tragic fate. He added that the issue had been raised in the parliament.

Army Sergeant detects bomb in bus

The timely detection of a bomb with its detonator by an Army Sergeant in a Kurunegala bound bus saved the lives of nearly 100 passengers, including Army personnel yesterday evening, Army sources said. The passenger bus started from Maharagama had just passed the Army cantonment in Panagoda when an Army Sergeant in the bus saw a well-dressed person suddenly moving suspiciously towards the rear of the bus carrying a brand new brief case. He suddenly grabbed the person and when he tried to remove it from the hands of suspect, parts of a detonator came out, sources said.Other passengers supported servicemen to capture the suspect and handed him over to Padukka Police station with the bomb and its detonator, sources said.

British Government recognises Sri Lankan Government’s democratic right to fight terrorism

"British Government recognises the Government of Sri Lanka’s democratic right to fight terrorism" The Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office Hon Bill Rammell said at the adjournment debate on 'Sri Lanka' initiated by Andrew Pelling MP (Ind) for Croydon Central on 18th December at the House Of Commons, British Parliamnet, London.Minister Bill Rammell further said "The LTTE has no democratic mandate to represent the Tamil population. It is reported to recruit civilians, including children, into its ranks forcibly, to extort food and money from an already impoverished people, to abduct and kill Tamil civilians who disagree with its views or methods and to break all norms of international humanitarian law by preventing civilians from leaving conflict areas, effectively holding them as a human shield. The LTTE has conducted a terrorist campaign across the whole of Sri Lanka for nearly three decades, deliberately targeting thousands of individual civilians, as well as assassinating Government figures."At the debate, members of the Tamil community in the UK are concerned about proscription of the LTTE—an issue raised by Leicester- East MP Keith Vaz (Labour Party), Minister Rammell answered "It is important not to forget that the LTTE is a ruthless terrorist organisation, which is responsible for serious human rights abuses against civilians throughout Sri Lanka. So British Government has outlined the LTTE’s record as a terrorist organisation and until it renounces terrorist activities in word and deed, there is little prospect of the proscription being lifted." He further said "British Government concerns for civilians in Sri Lanka and it is primary responsibility of the Government of Sri Lanka to protect them. The conflict between the Government of Sri Lanka and the LTTE has gone on for more than 25 years, and it has claimed the lives of at least 70,000 people in Sri Lanka. We recognise that the causes of the conflict, and the legitimate concerns of all communities in Sri Lanka, need to be addressed.""However, terrorism is not the way to achieve that. The LTTE claims to be the sole legitimate voice of the Tamil people and is alleged to have killed Tamil politicians with different political views from its own. We must never allow a proscribed organisation to be the only voice of the people.""There needs to be a full debate among all communities—Tamil, Muslim and Sinhalese—free from intimidation, on what an acceptable political settlement to the conflict might resemble. We have called on the LTTE to renounce terrorist methods and demonstrate genuine commitment to democratic principles. I hope that the recent reduction of attacks on civilian targets in the south of Sri Lanka suggests movement in that direction.The Government of Sri Lanka also have real responsibilities. They need to show that they are serious about reaching a political solution to the conflict, and to do much more to reach out to the different communities in Sri Lanka. We are supporting initiatives to get political parties together around the same table and to promote grass-roots dialogue between the different ethnic communities. An important part of a political solution will be to ensure that proper structures and institutions are in place to protect the rights of all Sri Lankans, and to bring an end to the culture of impunity that allows human rights abuses to occur across the island.” Minister said.Mr. Deputy Speaker , Sir Michael Lord chaired the adjournment debate and the following MPs also commented.Mr. Andrew Love for Edmonton (Labour), Mr. Andrew Dismore For Hendon (Labour), Mr Jeremy Corbyn for Islington, North (Labour, ) Mr. Lee Scott for Ilford, North (Conservative, Mr. Paul Burstow for Sutton and Cheam (Liberal Democrat) John McDonnell for Hayes and Harlington (Labour), Susan Kramer for Richmond Park (Liberal Democrat), Simon Hughes for North Southwark and Bermondsey (Liberal Democrat)

Seeman arrested again for inflammatory talk

Tamil film director Seeman was arrested on Friday, once again for an inflammatory speech. This time he justified the assassination of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, besides euologising the LTTE at a December 14 meeting in Erode.Besides Seeman, who was picked up from a shooting site in Genguvarpatti village near Theni, Periyar Dravida Kazhagam president Kolathur Mani and Tamil Desiya Pothu Udamai Katchi general secretary Maniarasan, both of whom shared the stage with the director, were also arrested on a day that saw high drama unfolding at different places.In Chennai, a car parked in Seeman’s house in Venkateshan Nagar was damaged by unidentified miscreants, he was burnt in effigy by Youth Congress activists at Gokulam point on Arcot Road and several top Congress leaders met police and other officials demanding his arrest.While Mani was picked up from his house in Mettur, Maniarasan, was picked up in T Nagar. In Cuddalore, activists of Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK) clashed with Youth Congress workers.The arrests, however, came about only after Congress leaders put pressure on the government. TNCC president K V Thangkabalu urged the Chief Minister to order Seeman’s arrest and Youth Congress leader Mayura Jayakumar gave a petition to the West Zone IGP at Coimbatore The Erode police later produced Seeman and Kolathur Mani before the judicial magistrate in Erode who ordered for their remand till December 31. They were charged under section 13 (1) b, Prevention of Unlawful Activities Act 1967 and IPC 505 (creating rumours against the state and army).Later, talking to newspersons, Seeman said that he did not speak in support of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi’s assassination and asserted that speaking in support of Tamil Eelam would not create any problem in the country..Seeman was earlier arrested, along with another film director Ameer for his speeches at Rameswaram.

96 Lankan refugee families get houses

TIRUNELVELI: Of the 208 families living in the Naaranammalpuram Sri Lankan refugee camp, 96 families, which are living in a 150-year-old dingy godown, have got houses.The houses were constructed by Catholic Relief Services (CRS) at a cost of Rs. 1.15 crore on 8.50 hectare land near Gangaikondan, close to the Tirunelveli–Madurai National Highway.The decision to construct permanent shelters for these families was taken when government officials visited the camp in mid-2007 to see the pathetic condition of the people in the godown once used by the British to store ammunition. Collector G. Prakash identified 20 hectares of land and it was immediately handed over to the Tirunelveli Social Service Society (TSSS) through which the CRS completed the construction within 14 months.Each house with a plinth area of 200 square feet has a hall, a kitchen and a toilet-cum-bathroom. Though groundwater is very good there, two taps have also been installed in each street to provide drinking water. A playground and park are also there. A ration shop has been established.“The CRS and the TSSS should consider our request for construction of similar houses for the remaining 112 families as we are prepared to give the land,” said Minister for Backward Classes K.K.S.S.R. Ramachandran after receiving the houses from Deputy National Representative of CRS Rev. Fr. Celestine and RC Bishop of Palayamkottai Diocese Most Rev. A. Jude Paulraj.Mr. Ramachandran said that the State Government, which had already forwarded a proposal for Rs. 17 crore to the Centre for renovating the houses of 19,598 refugee families with 73,522 persons living in 100-odd camps across the State, was preparing another proposal for Rs. 30 crore. Thanking the CRS and TSSS, the Minister said that construction of 100 houses each in Naattarasankottai and Kaangayam was about to start soon. “This colony will be a model for other refugee camps which will get houses in a phased manner,” he noted.Minister for Environment, Youth Welfare and Sports T.P.M. Maideen Khan, who handed over two volleyballs and as many nets to the youths of the colony, said tennikoit and volleyball courts would be established in all refugee camps.Mr. Prakash said roads would be laid and electricity provided to the colony within 15 days.Former Rehabilitation Commissioner Karpoorasundara Pandian, Rehabilitation Commissioner Mohan Pyare, Deputy National Representative of CRS Rev. Fr. Celestine and RC Bishop of Palayamkottai Diocese Most Rev. A. Jude Paulraj, MLAs V. Karuppasamy Pandian and N. Maalairaja, Director of TSSS Rev. Fr. A. Joseph Kennedy and others spoke.

19 December 2008

No Christmas ceasefire says Government
 
The government yesterday said it will not go in for a ceasefire during the Christmas and New Year season despite an appeal made by the Catholic and Anglican Bishops.Media Centre for National Security (MCNS) Director Lakshman Hulugalla told Daily Mirror that the government reiterated its stance that it would declare a ceasefire only if the LTTE laid down its arms to go in for a political discussion. “The government has categorically said that it would go in for a ceasefire only if the Tigers laid down their arms. Till then there will be no decision of a ceasefire,” Mr. Hulugalla said.Catholic and Anglican Bishops, yesterday called for a truce between the government and the LTTE during the Christmas and New Year period. The Bishops from Colombo, Kurunegala and the conflict areas in the North, request a period free from military action that will in turn benefit the civilians in the area while depicting a politically mature image of Sri Lanka to the international community.The Bishops in a  statement believed that the season would be an ideal time for the restoration of the severed ties between the races, when persons from all faiths would be brought together in celebrating a holiday that inspires giving, sharing and forgiveness. The statement further requested the government to work in coordination with the ICRC and set up safety zones for civilians where they could be safe from the ongoing violence.Meanwhile, as fighting continues in the north, the military has vowed to capture the rebel stronghold Killinochchi soon despite Tiger claims that the army had suffered a debacle in its latest attempt to enter Killinochchi town. Military Spokesperson Brigadier Udaya Nanayakkara said that military operations were going exactly as planned which is why the liberation of Killinochchi was not far away. “We are trying to capture Kilinochchi as soon as possible as our military operations are going exactly to what we  had planned,” he said.

Bodies exchanged as fighting continues
 
The International Committee of the Red Cross in Sri Lanka says it's handed over to the Sri Lankan army the bodies of twenty-five of their soldiers. Tamil Tiger rebels said the soldiers were killed over the past two days in clashes near the northern town of Kilinochchi.A spokesman for the ICRC said they had also handed over to the Tigers a body of a rebel killed in the fighting.The Sri Lankan army has mounted a big offensive aimed at capturing Kilinochchi, where the rebels have their administrative headquarters.According to Sri Lanka Army official website, "authorities at Omanthai Entry/Exit point are now in the process of identifying twenty-five corpses, said to be those belonging to valiant troops after those remains were brought to the point by officials of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) as the dusk fell on Thursday".

Still investigating

The Army say that they have so far identified only eighteen of them since some of them were badly mutilated or injured.The website adds that, "However, the Army is to decide on the remaining seven soon after preliminary investigations are over".Meanwhile, the pro Tamil Tiger website Tamilnet claims that the LTTE had killed one hundred and seventy soldiers and recovered thirty five bodies. Another three hundred were wounded in the fighting, it said.However, the Director General of the Media Centre For National Security, Luxshman Hullugalle told the BBC that the government had stopped giving casualty figures to the media.Independent observers and the media are barred from the war zone, making it impossible to verify battlefield reports released by either side.

Kilinochchi: The Kiss Of Death-B. Raman is Additional Secretary (retd)

So said the disinformation warriors of Lt.Gen.Sarath Fonseka, the Sri Lankan Army Commander, more than a week ago..It has been a long and fatal kiss--more for the Army than for the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). It has been a long kiss of death for the young hastily-trained Sinhalese recruits to the Sri Lankan Army who were rushed to the battle front by the General in his keenness to keep his promise of  "In Kilinochchi before the New Year".Similar to the promise which Gen.Douglas McArthur, commanding the allied troops in South Korea during the Korean war, repeatedly made to the US troops fighting against the North Korean and Chinese Armies."To home before Christmas", he used to promise.Christmas came and Christmas went, but the North Koreans and the Chinese fought fiercely. McArthur's promises were repeatedly belied.'Which Christmas?" people started asking sarcastically.Ultimately, there were neither victors nor losers in the war. It ended in a stalemate after the loss of thousands of lives on both sides.In bitter fighting on the outskirts of Kilinochchi since the beginning of this week, the SL Army and the LTTE have sustained heavy casualties. As normally happens in military conflicts, both sides are playing down their own casualties and exaggerating those of the adversary. However, the claims of the LTTE seem to be nearer the truth than those of the Army. The LTTE claims to have killed 170 soldiers of the SL Army, but the Army insists that only 25 of its soldiers have been killed. However, the LTTE has been able to release the photographs of at least 36 soldiers killed, thereby proving that the fatalities sustained by the Army are many more than the 25 admitted by it.Reliable accounts show that both sides have been fighting fiercely and losing many young people. The Army has lost many more arms and ammunition and other equipment than the LTTE. The fighting has been a bonanza for the LTTE, which has been able to replenish its dwindling stocks of arms and ammunition.The odds are still against the LTTE. It has well-trained and well-motivated cadres, who have been fighting with great determination, but it is running short of arms and ammunition despite the seizures from the Army. It has no air cover against the repeated air strikes by the Sri Lankan Air Force.The SL Army has the advantage of numbers and arms and ammunition procured with funds from China and Iran, but its soldiers are not as well-motivated and as well-trained as those of the LTTE.The LTTE had shifted its offices from Kilinochchi many weeks ago in anticipation of the battle. Kilinochchi has now nothing but the death traps for the SL Army laid by the LTTE. The LTTE knows where those death-traps are, but not the Army. This gives an advantage to the LTTE. The battle being fought for Kilinochchi is a combined miniature version of the battles of Stalingrad in the erstwhile USSR and El Alamein in North Africa. At Stalingrad, the Soviet Army beat back the Nazis after inflicting repeated heavy casualties on them. At El Alamein, the allied troops commanded by Gen. Bernard Montgomery (later a Field Marshal) beat back the advancing Nazi Army commanded by Gen.Rommel with heavy casualties. These two battles marked the turning points in the Second World War.Making a statement on the defeat of Rommel's army at El Alamein, Sir Winston Churchill, the then British Prime Minister, told the House of Commons: " There was no victory before Al Alamein.There will be no defeat after El Alamein." He was proved right.Will Kilinochchi prove a similar turning point in the battle being fought between the SL Army and the LTTE? If the LTTE loses the battle, it could mark the beginning of its end as an insurgent force, but not as a terrorist organisation. If the SL Army wins, it will be a Pyrrhic victory.

Tension at Rupavahini, army called in

A tense situation prevailed at the state owned Sri Lanka Rupavahini Corporation (SLRC) yesterday after a protest was launched over the interdiction of five union leaders over a salary issue. The Army was called in to ensure the station functioned without disruption, and that the situation did not spiral out of control while Media Minister Anura Priyadharshana Yapa intervened to invite the parties for a meeting to resolve the issue.“It was like an Army Camp especially the area outside the main control room. The soldiers did not allow those inside the control room to leave” a Rupavahini employee said.The army was stationed at the SLRC premises to prevent any protest from erupting when the union leaders were stopped from entering the premises and also to ensure the station functioned as normal, the employee added.He said he believed the reason for the interdiction was because an employee protest was organized after the five union leaders had  informed the membership that the usual annual bonus of Rs.30,000 had been reduced to Rs.15,000.“They were stopped at the gate and handed over suspension letters,” the employee added.He said Minister Yapa was reported to have assured at the meeting that the union leaders would be reinstated, and that the SLRC employees would be paid a bonus of Rs.20,000 on Monday and an allowance of Rs.5,000 to be paid in January.Meanwhile when contacted, Minister Yapa said he had only agreed to the Rs.20,000 bonus and not an allowance and said the proposal was sent to the treasury.

Cabinet discusses impeachment of the Chief Justice

Reliable sources said to 'Lanka-e-News' that the cabinet on Wednesday (17) discussed a proposal to impeach the Chief Justice Sarath N. Silva while the focus of the cabinet was on the Supreme Court ruling to reduce the price of a liter of petrol to Rs. 100.Our sources said that the proposal to impeach the Chief Justice was moved by a MP who crossed over to the government from the United National Party (UNP). The Minister stated that a similar proposal was brought as he was a Minister of the cabinet of the Ranil Wickramasinghe government. He said that Wickramasinghe had no backbone to proceed with it.Although a leading figure of the ruling Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) had supported the proposal but the cabinet did not come to a decision.The cabinet decided not to decrease the petroleum price since last midnight sans the Supreme Court ruling. A decision in this regard is to be taken at a special cabinet meeting to be held this evening.

CPI-M asks Centre to use diplomatic ways to solve Lankan issue 
  
CPI-M today asked the Centre to use its good office and diplomatic channels to find a solution to end the ethnic conflict in Sri Lanka through talks.In a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Polit Bureau member Sitaram Yechury, party Central Committee Member T K Rangarajan and party MP, P Mohan, said the party wanted that Sri Lankan Tamils&aposs issue should be settled through political discussion, ensuring the rights of Tamil people to live with equal status within a united Sri Lanka. " While maintaining this position, we request the Centre to use its good offices and diplomatic channels to put an end to the sufferings of the common people,"the letter, circulated to media here, said.It said,"the recent developments in Sri Lanka have shown that thousands of Tamils living in the northern part of the island nation have been put to untold hardships and sufferings."Shortage of food and medicine had created a serious situation. People of Tamil Nadu have been expressing their concern and anxiety over these developments, the letter said.

SLMC calls for explanations from dissidents

General Secretary of the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) M. T. Hassen Ali has called for explanations from three Parliamentarians Rischard Badhuiden, Ameer Ali and Najeeb A. Majeed to show cause why they should not be expelled from the party On December 15, the General Secretary of the SLMC wrote to the Parlimentarians who now hold Ministerial Portfolios in the UPFA Government to show cause within a week as it has been reported in many newspapers and news advertisements that you are members of the All Ceylon Muslim Congress (ACMC)."As a result of this you have lost your membership in the SLMC, the party from which you were nominated to contest the last General Elections and in fact you were nominated to parliament at present as you were members of the SLMC.""In these circumstances please note that the High Command of the SLMC has come to an unanimous decision that you have lost your membership in the SLMC.""The SLMC has decided to take action against you on the basis that you are no more a member of the SLMC.""Accordingly the High Command of the SLMC has further decided to inform you of this decision to enable you to offer an opportunity to correct the above news item if it is factually false.""In the event of the failure to correct the said news report or advertisement published to that effect we will take action on the basis that you have lost your membership of the SLMC."The letter has been signed by General Secretary M. T. Hassen Ali.

Defence Advisors of 7 Nations visit Wanni battlefronts

Defence Advisors/Attaches of 7 nations visited battlefronts in Wanni on Monday (Dec 15). In one-day visit organized by the Ministry of Defence,Sri Lanka, Defence Attaches of the United Kingdom, the United States, Japan, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Maldives visited Security Forces Headquarters Wanni, Army 57 Division and 59 Division Headquarters.The commanders of respective areas briefed the security situation to the visitors. They were also enlightened on the purpose of the on going counter terrorist offensives.During the visit, the Defence Attaches met IDPs and surrendered LTTE cadres and observed welfare measures taken by the government. Also, the visitors had the first-hand information how certain Aid Organizations and NGO's had misused vital humanitarian aid sent from foreign countries before the areas were liberated.

Government on path to dictatorship! – JVP   

Political analysts state the government, making various excuses, is attempting to evade the directive given by the Supreme Court to reduce the price of petrol to Rs.100/- per liter.The cabinet which met yesterday and today to take a decision regarding he directive issued by the Supreme Court has decided not to take a decision until the Supreme Court decision is officially forwarded to the cabinet.The analysts point out that government lawyers were present at the time the case relevant to hedging deal was being heard. They are responsible to inform the government regarding the Supreme Court directive. Hence, stating that the government was not notified of the directive is a lie. Also, the judiciary commences its annual holidays tomorrow (19th) and will commence proceedings only in January. The Supreme Court will get an opportunity to consider whether its directive to bring down the price of petrol had been implemented or not only in January.When we inquired from the JVP Parliamentarian for Colombo District Sunil Handunneththi regarding the latest situation regarding the Supreme Court directive and the cabinet decision he said the government which has turned its back on the masses that brought them to power is plodding towards a dictatorial rage disregarding court orders. He emphasized that the government is attempting to hide its frauds, corruption and its pilfering behind the war and has burdened the masses with excessive taxes. If the government doesn’t stop its vile deeds the masses will decide when the government terminates its term said Mr. Handunneththi.

7-yr RI for soldier over abduction

An Army corporal has been sentenced to a seven-year rigorous imprisonment for having abducted and detained a Tamil man in Trincomalee more than 18 years ago.The solider, Rathnamala Mudiyanselage Sarath Jayasinghe, was also ordered to pay a fine of Rs. 10,000.He had been attached to Keseltuduwa Army Camp at the time of the incident.He has been found guilty of having abducted and detained J.S. Thewarasa Sharma in June 1990.Taking up a petition, Trincomalee High Court judge M. Ilancheliyan delivered a 54-page verdict paper yesterday (Dec. 17).It had been filed by the Attorney General's Department under the Penal Code, on a complaint by the father of the abducted person.State Counsel Suganthi Kandasamy represented the petitioner.

Plight of Sri Lanka's war widows 

"My husband was a fisherman. About three years ago, when he returned from a fishing trip, somebody checked his identity card and shot him dead," says Jeyarulai Puwanendran, weeping. The single mother, 23, is a resident of Kiran, Batticaloa, in Sri Lanka's eastern region. "I have a four-year-old daughter. I don't get help from the government or anybody else. My parents are the ones who look after me and my daughter. My father is a labourer. They have six other children apart from me," she says. Ms Puwanendran is among an estimated 33,000 women who have been widowed in Eastern Province during nearly three decades of war between the government forces and Tamil Tiger rebels.

Still suffering

Sinhalese, Tamil and Muslim communities share almost equal representation in Eastern Province and all three communities have their share of war widows. Similar stories can be heard all over the east. The case of 30-year-old Vadivel Shanthi, a mother of three young children in a camp for displaced people in Batticaloa, is typical. Her family left their home in Trincomalee district after her husband, a farmer, was shot dead by unidentified people. "One day my husband went to the paddy field but did not return. After seven days his decomposed body was found in a paddy field. I was left with no option other than to hand over two of our children to an orphanage," she says. Women's rights activists argue that widows are still suffering despite the government recapturing the east from the Tamil Tigers more than a year ago. Visaka Dharmadasa, of the Association of War Affected Women (AWAW) recently visited the region. She says that fear still prevails in the region and killings continue despite the fact that rebels were expelled by government forces. The husband of 24-year-old mother Karthiga, Selvaratnam Ramesh, was shot dead by unidentified gunmen at their home in Valaichchenai, Batticaloa, on 27 November.   "It was about 7.30pm in the evening. I was at home with my husband. Suddenly I heard a sound like a cracker exploding. When I looked at my husband, he was on the floor with gun wounds," she said. "My husband was a mason. We did not have a penny when he was killed. I have a seven-year-old daughter and I am now seven months pregnant. I don't know how to get on with my life," she says. Although the government has identified the problem, activists say it lacks the commitment to help these women to rebuild their lives. A spokeswoman for the chief minister of Eastern Province is reported to have told the AWAW that while the provincial council recognises the urgency it does not have funds to implement projects to help it. "She expressed serious disappointment that no money was allocated, though many projects are planned to uplift the lives of these women," said AWAW spokeswoman Visaka Dharmadasa.

'Employment opportunities'

The government , however, sees things differently. According to Nation Building Minister Susantha Punchinilame, action is being taken to help widows, the overwhelming majority of whom are under 30. Basil Rajapaksa, the younger brother of President Mahinda Rajapaksa, is a senior adviser to the president on a plan to provide more assistance to the bereaved women in the east. "Actually this problem was only recently highlighted and we are currently conducting a study on the situation and the figures relating to widows," he says. The government's priority is to provide employment opportunities for ex-combatants in the east, Mr Rajapaksa says. He points out that former Tamil Tiger rebels headed by breakaway leader, Col Karuna, have now joined the governing coalition to try to put this plan into action. "The authorities are committed to helping thousands of widows," Mr Rajapaksa says. "We are working to help them find opportunities for self-employment, foreign jobs and jobs in the livestock and agricultural sector." Mr Rajapaksa insists that the government is co-ordinating with the Eastern Provincial Council (EPC) on development work. "This year, for example, the EPC approved the biggest development budget from the money offered by the government and the foreign donations transferred through the government," he says. Mr Rajapaksa says he hopes that the provincial authority will receive more funds as the EPC re-establishes a financial and tax system in the area and many currently defunct industries restart work. But critics such as Ms Dharmadasa argue that there are few positive developments in recent months for widows in the east. Tamil, Sinhala and Muslim widows are seriously affected by the war, she says, and are left to cope without official help.

18 December 2008

Indian Hindu groups to back 'Hindu Tamils' in Sri Lanka

Two leading Hindu groups in India have declared their support to 'Hindu Tamils' in Sri Lanka after a TELO MP from there alleged attacks by security forces on temples in the island.The Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS) and Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) told M.K. Shivaji Lingam of the Tamil Elam liberation Organization (TELO) separately that they opposed assaults on Hindu shrines and culture in Sri Lanka.'You can tell your people that we will be with them. We are here to help Hindus. Since most Sri Lankan Tamils are Hindus, we won't let them down,' the Sri Lankan TELO MP quoted HP chief Ashok Singhal as telling him at the group's headquarters here.Shivaji Lingam is one of over 22 MPs in Sri Lanka from the TNA, the largest Tamil bloc in parliament who are allied to the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).Shivaji Lingam told IANS that he and K. Nagaimugan, president of the Bharatiya Forward Bloc in Tamil Nadu, informed Singhal and VHP leader S. Vedantam that security forces and Sinhalese supremacists in Sri Lanka had destroyed or damaged scores of Hindu temples. He said security forces had taken over many Hindu temples and in many cases property of these shrines had been badly damaged.’ Hindu culture (in Sri Lanka) is at stake,' Shivaji Lingam said. Singhal said he was not aware of the losses suffered by Hindu temples in Sri Lanka's dragging war.Most Sri Lankan Tamils are Hindus while an overwhelming majority of the Sinhalese are Buddhists. Both communities have many Christians too. Muslims, the second largest minority after Tamils, mostly speak Tamil but consider themselves a distinct ethnic group.RSS joint general secretary Suresh Joshi also told Shivaji Lingam and Nagaimugan that his organisation would not allow Hindu religion as well as shrines to be attacked in Sri Lanka. 'We will not allow Hindus anywhere to suffer,' Joshi reportedly said.The TELO MP said his meetings with Joshi and Singhal lasted one hour each.Shivaji Lingam, who flew into New Delhi Monday, had earlier met Jayendra Saraswathi, the Shankaracharya of Kanchipuram in Tamil Nadu who enjoys close ties with the RSS and VHP.The MP said a meeting had been fixed with Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader L.K. Advani here on Sunday and that other MPs from TNA could join him that day.

Mangala Samaraweera meets Erick Solheim in Norway

Sri Lankan former Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera visited to Norway official said. Samaraweera's visit comes days after the Colombo exposed battle front in Ki'linochchi. The first high level discussion between President Mahinda Rajapaksa's government former top official and Norway since the unilateral abrogation of the Oslo-arranged CFA by Sri Lanka.Mangala Samaraweera briefed the Norwegian International Development Minister, Erik Solheim who led the Norwegian delegation tasked with handling the Sri Lankan peace process and Norwegian Special Envoy to Sri Lanka Peace Process Jon Hanssen Bauer, concerning the ground situation in the war soon area, and Colombo, also about the extra-judicial killings by the unknown armed forces and its paramilitaries, according to internal source in Norway. Mangala Samaraweera Tuesday went to Bergen to meets some Top level official.In 2006, Mangala Samaraweera, said that he arrived in Oslo in "good faith."

"Black Tuesday" for SL Army with 650 casualties says TC

Although the official government position was that about 120 tigers were killed and 250 injured, the Sri Lankan forces have suffered major losses at the hands of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) on a single day of fighting in the North, reported the website "transCurrent", on Wednesday (Dec 17).Detailing the damages, the website says, "Tuesday December 16th turned out to be a “Black Tuesday” for the armed forces as they incurred around 650 casualties in fighting against the LTTE in both the Northern mainland of Wanni as well as the Jaffna peninsula."The rest of the report in the transCurrent website, is as published below."Tuesday is the day of Mars regarded as the God of war in Greek mythology.According to informed defence ministry sources who want to remain anonymous for obvious reasons , about 170 soldiers were killed and 480 security personnel were injured.The sources however said about 300 of injured personnel had sustained minor injuries and are classified as “walking wounded”.Official pronouncements have placed army casualties at a very low number not exceeding three digits.Likewise the official government position was that about 120 tigers were killed and 250 injured.The LTTE however reportedly lost around 70 cadres. The figures for injury are not known.The armed forces launched a co-ordinated attack on LTTE positions in the peninsula and mainland before dawn on December 16th.Soldiers of 53 division broke out from Kilaly in the Jaffna peninsula and targeted the LTTE’s second line of defence along the Kilaly – Eluthumadduvaal axis.The army had demolished the LTTE first line of defence in fighting some days ago.After fierce fighting throughout the day the soldiers withdrew without realising their objective.The Army lost more than 40 men in the fighting within the peninsula while the LTTE lost around 25. Around 160 soldiers were injured.Simultaneous to the Kilaly assault within the peninsula soldiers of the 57 and 58 divisions also launched a four – pronged operation.Soldiers moved out from Kunchuparanthan on the Paranthan – Poonagary road towards Paranthan on the A – 9 highway.In a second move soldiers broke out from Pulikkulam and moved towards Kilinochchi.In a third manoeuvre soldiers moved from Malaiyaalapuram towards Kilinochchi.In the fourth move soldiers broke out from Thirumurugandy on the A – 9 and tried to reach Iranaimadhu. Though fighting on four fronts the soldiers had a common obstacle to surmount.This was the 18 km long earthbund constructed by the LTTE to strengthen defences around Kilinochchi and Paranthan.The “L” shaped bund extended from Kunchuparanthan to the west of Paranthan to Iranaimadhu to the south of Kilinochchi.After a day of fighting the soldiers managed to seize and hold about 5 km of the earth bund in the areas south of Adamban.The soldiers however incurred heavy losses in the attempt with about more than 130 being killed and around 320 getting injured.The LTTE lost about 45 – 50 cadres in the fighting.“Black Tuesday” ended with about 170 soldiers getting killed and around 480 getting injured thus bringing the casualty toll to nearly 650."

Bomb scare at airport

The suspicion that explosives had been planted in the Sri Lankan Airlines’ flight to Colombo delayed the departure of the plane from the Cochin International Airport on Wednesday for about three hours.Sniffer dogs reportedly signalled the presence of explosives in the baggage of a five-member family of passengers. The suspected baggage was transferred to the cooling pit and was later opened by the Bomb Detection and Disposal Squad. However, no explosives were found. Airport officials said the dogs might have smelled the nitrate content in the spices and pickles in one of the bags the family was carrying with them.Nitrate is an important component of modern explosive devices.

Controversy over AG’s appointment  
   
President’s Counsel Mohan Peiris is slated to be appointed as the new Attorney General, Hulftsdorp sources said; adding that it had created a stir within the department, with the Legal Officers’ Association of the department passing a resolution yesterday pledging their support to Acting AG Priyasath Dep. Mr. Dep was appointed acting AG since the retirement of the former AG, C. R. de Silva, on October 7. While the President was dragging the appointment of the AG for more than two months, the Legal Officers Association of the Attorney General’s Department, at a special General Meeting yesterday, passed a resolution pledging its members’ full support for Mr. Dep, who has been serving as the acting AG.  In a statement issued by the Legal Officers Association, which comprises officers of AG’s Department, the officers expressed their confidence in Mr. Dep and pledged to cooperate with him. “President’s Counsel W. P. G. Dep, Solicitor General has served the Department for over thirty years and we are aware of his unswerving dedication to duty, loyalty, competence and unimpeachable integrity,” the statement said.The Association stated that it fully accepted Mr. Dep’s leadership and unanimously resolved to express complete confidence in his leadership.Since the retirement of Mr. C. R. de Silva, Mr. Dep had being running the department as the acting AG, a post which had been renewed every 14 days. Mr. Dep’s appointment was last renewed on December 3. Meanwhile, Hulftsdorp sources revealed that attorney Mohan Peiris PC from the private bar was to be appointed to the post of AG. However, it was revealed that Mr. Peiris, who has also served in the AG’s department, had retired prematurely under the circular 44 of 90, which prevents public officers retired under the said circular, from returning to government service.

Bishops appeal for X-max truce

Roman Catholic Bishops of Jaffna, Mannar and Anuradhapura and the Anglican Bishops of Kurunegala and Colombo have made a fervent joint appeal to the Government and the LTTE to observer a truce during the forthcoming festive season so that dividing walls would come down and healing could take place through forgiveness and reconciliation.The joint call signed by Rt. Rev. Thomas Saundaranayagam (Jaffna), Rt. Revd. Rayappu Joseph (Mannar), Rt. Rev. Norbert Andradi (Anuradhapura), Rt. Rev. Kumara Ilangasinghe (Kurunegala) and Rt. Rev.Duleep de Chikera (Colombo) state:"At this time, many Christians and even persons of other faiths will be encouraged by the birth of Christ, the Prince of Peace, to review and strengthen relationships. It is consequently expected that family ties will be renewed, communities will gather for fellowship, strangers will be welcomed, the marginalized included and the oppressed set free."It is this spirit of Christmas that compels us as Christian leaders of the country to urge the Government and the LTTE to declare a truce to include Christmas and the New Year. There should not be any fighting or movements during this period. We trust that our appeal will be treated with dignity by both sides and urge the Government to take the initiative in setting up this truce. Such and initiative will be seen the world over as a sign of political maturity and generosity."Even though temporary, such a truce will bring immense relief to the people in the LTTE controlled areas of the Vanni. It will also enable the Christians of these areas to worship and engage in their religious practices with less anxiety, as well as being some respite to the war weary soldiers and cadres and some peace of mind to their parents and loved ones "We also earnestly appeal to both parties to seriously consider setting up of safe zones for civilians with the assistance of the ICRC and urge that these arrangements be honoured by all. Religious leaders of all faiths are also available to help facilitate this process. We are of the opinion that this war must stop, but till that happens such an arrangement will demonstrate for humanity and save some innocent lives from further trauma or even death. We can and must assert that it is possible to care for people even in times of war. Nothing should prevent us from our highest priority of enabling life and safeguarding humanity."May the Peace of Christ fill our hearts and nation."

Sri Lanka ranked ninth most dangerous place for journalists

Sri Lanka has been ranked as the ninth most dangerous place in the world for journalists, according to the Geneva based Press Emblem Campaign(PEC).The other countries bracketed along with Sri Lanka are Nepal, Afghanistan, Colombia, Congo, Nigeria, Somalia and Venezuela.The PEC said that region wise, most of the 95 journalists killed worldwide this year, were from Asia, which was ahead of Latin America, Near East, Europe and Africa respectively. "The 30 Asian journalists eliminated were from India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Thailand, Philippines and Cambodia."Ninety percent of the journalists killed were personally targeted because of their profession. They were eliminated due to their investigations or opinions running counter to those of armed and political groups, criminal networks or local interests. The other ten percent died due to accidental causes, which included being caught up in terrorist explosions or from stray bullets, it said. Impunity, PEC observed remains the rule. When investigations take place, they are difficult to carry out in conflict zones, trails are long and drawn out or simply do not correspond to criteria of impartiality."Few governments expressed support for a new international convention, that we proposed during consultations launched one year ago. However, most of them expressed an opinion and agreed that there is a need to enforce better, existing laws. Our consultations also resulted in an informal working group being set up in Geneva, to discuss the means for reinforcing media protection in areas of conflict and violence."Discussions with governments, it said, will continue throughout 2009, in order to arrive at an improvement in the security of journalists, in areas shaken by crises and violence. "We hope that the Human Rights Council will be able to adopt a strong resolution next year, on freedom of expression."

We’ll send the government home if it doesn’t mediate in the tea crisis! – Chandrasena Wijesinghe   

More than 3 million people depend on the tea industry for their living and due to the crisis it is confronted with the 3 million people have lost their income but the government is maintaining a silent attitude towards this crisis says Convener of the Tea Small Holders United Federation Chandrasena Wijesinghe.Speaking at a media meeting held at Public Library Auditorium Mr. Wijesinghe said, “All this time we, as the Tea Small Holders United Federation, have taken various measures to demand that the government should mediate in this crisis. We put forward proposals to avoid the crisis. However, the government, like a coward who looks aside when he sees a ghost, evaded mediation in the crisis. Today a large number of tea estates are on the verge of closing down. Wivaraeliya, Anil Kande, Hulandawa, Gankotuwa factories that belong to Namunukula Plantation Company at Matara have been closed down.  Similarly factories that belong to private companies are about to be closed down. The tea production has come down by about 50%. Earlier more than 7 million kilos were sold at the tea auctions but not even half that amount is sold now. Also, the kilo of tea that was sold for Rs.400 has come down to Rs.200 at present. On the other hand we are losing our buyers.   For example Russia, the main buyer of our teas, has withdrawn from our market. The factories at present use only the highest quality tea bud for their productions. However, tea small holders have been unable to grow this bud due to unavailability of the fertilizer subsidy. Despite the price of fertilizer has come down by 50% in the world market due to the economic crisis, the government, to satisfy fertilizer companies, has not brought down the price of fertilizer. Fertilizer is still sold in this country for the old prices. Not even the fertilizer subsidy the government promised in the budget has been made available to tea small holders. Due to importing low quality tea and exporting low quality tea from this country under the label ‘Made in Ceylon’ Sri Lankan tea has lost its stature in the world market. This racket is being carried out with the support of top people in the government. Due to these reasons the economic situation of tea small holders has drastically deteriorated. Also, trade and other commercial activities in these areas are crumbling. We are losing the main foreign exchange earner for our country for more than hundred years. More than 3 million people in the country are losing their source of income. If the government doesn’t mediate in this crisis it would be the death bed of the tea industry in this country.  Also, attempting to avoid this crisis would not be good for the government as well. Even before the crisis commenced we put forward various proposals to avoid the crisis. The government was not prepared to listen to us. The government failed even to present an alternative proposal. What the government said was that it was only a common cold. However, the crisis has turned out to be pneumonia. As such our federation has decided to indicate the crisis that exists to the government in the language it understands.  We have planned to hold continuous agitation movements in several districts starting from the 19th. If the government is not prepared to mediate in solving the issues confronted by the tea small holders the federation would unite all tea small holders and factory owners for a more drastic action against the government,” said Mr. Chandrasena Wijesinghe. Galle District Secretary of ACSTHF PC Member T.K. Jayasundara, its Kandy District Secretary PC Member Sarath Prasanna and Ratnapura District Representative PC Member Chameera Koswatta were present at the media meeting.

Pro Government Tamil political parties form broad alliance

A broad alliance of Pro Government Tamil political parties, sans the Tamil National Alliance (TNA), has been formed with the intention of addressing the concerns of the Tamil community in the country, Leader of the People’s Liberation Organisation of Tamil Eelam (PLOTE) D. Siddarthan said.The parties that have so far agreed to be part of the alliance is Eelam People’s Revolutionary Liberation Front (EPRLF) and Leader of the Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF) V. Anandasangaree who has been appointed the General Secretary of the alliance.When contacted, Anandasangaree confirmed that he had accepted the General Secretary post and would look at expanding the alliance by having discussions with other Tamil political parties. “An invitation was extended to me by the PLOTE and EPRLF Leaders to join the alliance.  I have accepted the post of General Secretary and we will look at expanding the alliance in the near future,” Anandasangaree said.PLOTE Leader Siddarthan told Daily Mirror that the purpose of this alliance was mainly to unite all Tamil parties with a common purpose and parties who agreed on common programs for the improvement of the Tamil community. He also said the alliance was expecting to hold discussions only with democratic Tamil parties which is why the TNA would not be allowed to join. “We are not interested in inviting the TNA as they are proxies of the LTTE. We are also hoping to have discussions with the EPDP soon to extend an invitation to join the alliance,” Siddarthan said.The new alliance which has now been registered with the Elections Secretariat as a political party has been named as the Democratic Tamil National Alliance. The alliance also hopes to contest all future elections under this new name.  Although the alliance was not registered as a poltical party until early this week with the Elections Secretariat, members of the alliance had contested the Eastern, North Central and Sabaragamuwa elections as a united party. 

17 December 2008

Heavy fighting. 100 SLA and 150 LTTE KIA.

The most decisive battle for Paranthan and Kilinochchi has now commenced. Around 5.30am today, the 57 and 58 Divisions launched a simultaneous attack on the "L" shaped LTTE bund surrounding Paranthan and Pooneryn.These were some of the fiercest fights in recent times. While the attack on Paranthan and Kilinochchi continued, the 53 Division made an abortive bid to advance in Kilali but lost around 30 men with 10 bodies falling into the hands of the LTTE.Close to 100 soldiers were killed and 300 others were injured in all three operations. 12 bodies were captured by LTTE in Kilinochchi (MIA). Many of the injuries to the Army were in the p3 category. The LTTE also lost around 150 cadres. Troops are now in control of the LTTE bunkerline and bund at many locations.LTTE launched wave after wave of attacks using MPMGs and even 23mm and 30mm HMGs but the troops remained unmoved and have not let go of the bund. The 57 Division took the brunt of the LTTE counter attacks facing 11 attacks so far. Troops from SR, CLI, GW and GR fought valiantly.The Army altogether lost 42 bodies, which were declared MIA. Some of these bodies, including those of the LTTE can be observed just ahead of the captured areas. Fighting will resume again with the first light.

Army breach last defence

Troops of the 57 Division and the Task Force - I operating in the Kilinochchi and Paranthan fronts yesterday breached the heavily fortified LTTE earthbund, the last obstacle before entry to Kilinochchi, from five locations regaining a near 5 km stretch under the control of the Forces causing heavy damage to the LTTE, Military Spokesman Brigadier Udaya Nanayakkara told the Daily News.As troops of 57 Division and Task Force I troops launched a massive assault on the Kilinochchi and Paranthan fronts, troops of the 55 Division and the 53 Divisions operating in the Kilali and Muhamalai fronts managed to destroy LTTE bunker lines causing heavy damage to the LTTE and returned to their original defence lines amidst stiff resistance, Brigadier Nanayakkara added.”Troops of the 57 Division under the command of Major General Jagath Dias and the Task Force I under Brigadier Shavendra Silva managed to breach the LTTE defence line between A9 road and Iranamadu tank, South and West of Kilinochchi and two places in the Paranthan battle front”, he added.According to military sources troops are holding the Tiger earth bund, a 1.5 km stretch in Chorikankulam North of Pooneryn Paranthan Road, Adampan area in the North West and West of Kilinochchi, South of Kilinochchi and Iranamadu tank area in the East of A-9 road.The LTTE had constructed a 12 km massive earth bund, encircling Kilinochchi from Iranamadu tank, South East of Kilinochchi towards the Jaffna lagoon covering the South and West of Kilinochchi town and it was considered as the last obstacle towards Forces march in the direction of Kilinochchi. Troops fought fierce battles amidst torrential rains lashing the battle front in Kilinochchi, Paranthan and Jaffna fronts.In the ensuing battle it has been confirmed that over 120 Tiger cadres were killed and 250 injured in the Kilinochchi, Paranthan and Jaffna fronts, he added.Radio transmissions intercepted by troops confirmed that more than 50 Tiger cadres were killed and 80 injured in the Paranthan battle front, sources added. Troops lost 25 soldiers, 10 reported missing and 160 sustained injuries in all battle fronts, the Brigadier added.According to battlefront sources, the LTTE leader has given orders to stop the military advance at any cost and had brought hundreds of Tiger cadres from Puthukuduiruppu, Mullaitivu and all possible areas as fierce fighting continued till yesterday.”Fierce fighting yet continue in the Kilinochchi and Paranthan fronts even as dusk fell yesterday evening,” Brigadier Nanayakkara added.Troops of the 59 Division operating in the Mullaitivu front continued to expand their defences amidst heavy rains in the South and South West of Mullaitivu, Brigadier Nanayakkara added.Meanwhile, the Sri Lankan Air Force MI24 helicopter gunship attacked and destroyed one Sea Tiger boat in the Kilali Lagoon.

SLA suffers third debacle in Ki'linochchi, 100 killed, 250 wounded - Puleedevan

The Liberation Tigers of Tamileelam (LTTE) on Tuesday repulsed a major push by the Sri Lanka Army, killing at least 100 SLA soldiers and causing injuries to more than 250, said S. Puleedevan, the director of LTTE's Peace Secretariat, quoting Tiger commanders who were in charge of the Tiger defensive fronts in Ki'linochchi district. "According to the emerging details, a multi-front push towards Ki'linochchi from Malayaa'lapuram, Kugnchupparanthan, Mu'rika'ndi and Pulikku'lam, was repulsed by the LTTE defensive formations that have seized weapons and recovered at least 10 corpses of the Sri Lanka Army," Mr. Puleedevan told TamilNet citing the military officials of the LTTE. "This is the third debacle of the SLA in Ki'linochchi district within the past few weeks," Puleedvan added. Heavy fighting raged from 5:00 a.m. till the evening when the move was thwarted. Two AK-LMGs, one PK-LMG and six T-56 assault rifles were among the weapons seized by the Tigers so far in the clearing mission which was going on, he said. The Tigers were making arrangements to hand over the 18 dead bodies, 10 from Ki'linochchi and 8 from Ki'laali, through the ICRC, Puleedevan said.

SLA push thwarted in Kilaali, 40 killed - LTTE

Liberation Tigers of Tamileelam (LTTE) said Tuesday that they seized two Rocket Propelled Grenade (RPG) launchers, one AK-LMG, fourteen T-56 assault rifles and a 40 mm Grenade Launcher after repulsing an SLA-initiated offensive push that lasted for 9 hours from 1:20 a.m. Tuesday. The Tigers have earlier claimed that at least 40 SLA soldiers were killed and more than 120 sustained injuries. Information from Jaffna also indicates heavy casualties on SLA-side. The latest debacle of the SLA in Jaffna comes after a recent by the SLA commander Lt. Gen. Sarath Fonseka and the Sri Lankan Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa. The SLA has admitted that 25 soldiers were killed, 10 soldiers were missing and around 160 soldiers sustained injuries in the fighting on Tuesday explaining that they made a tactical withdrawal in Kilaali.Sources in Jaffna said that the main access roads, the Palaali road and the A9 Kandy Road were blocked several times by the SLA to transport military casualties. Meanwhile, sources in Colombo said 2 civilian flights to and from Palaali and Ratmalana were canceled on Tuesday as the injured soldiers were being flown to Colombo. At least 10 ambulances were seen leaving Ratmalana from 11:30 a.m. onwards.

Karuna has no powers says TMVP

No individuals have been given powers to make decisions on party matters, TMVP spokesperson Azath Moulana said.TMVP MP Vinayagamurthi Muralitharan alias Karuna had said that he would appoint new persons to the party’s top positions this week.Moulana, a loyalist of Eastern Province Chief Minister Sivanesathurai Chandrakanthan alias Pillayan said that no individual was given powers to take decisions on behalf of the party and that only the TMVP committee had the power to make such changes.It was reported that Muralitharan had said that he would be changing the structure as most of his senior members Jeyam, Markan, Bharathi and Mangalam Master were not given due places in the present constitution of the party."No one has been given the power to change the party structure or take decisions with regard to the party but the committee. We hope to meet this week in order to re-organise the party structure," he said.Moulana had said that an invitation was also extended to Muralitharan for the meeting.Muralitharan however said that a meeting will be convened by him to which Eastern Province Chief Minister, Pilayan will also be invited.

'Shell attacks' on Mullaitivu hospital
 
Two wards of the Mullaitivu government hospital were damaged after heavy shell attacks on Monday, officials said.Medical Officer (MO) at Mullaitivu hospital, Dr. S Shanmugarajah told BBC Sandeshaya that resident patients were removed from the hospital as a precautionary measure.Patients were transferred to Pudukudiyiruppu hospital and staff have also left due to security reasons, he said.Mullaitivu and Pudukudiyiruppu are currently controlled by the Tamil Tigers.

'Ampakamam captured'

Shell attacks also fell on few other places in Mullaitivu, Dr. Shanmugarajah said.There were no reports of any casualties.Dr. Shanmugarajah added that there may not be casualties as civilians have already left Mullaitivu as a result of increasing hostilities.Meanwhile, Sri Lankan security forces say that they captured Ampakamam village, eight kilometres east from A9 highway, Mullaittivu.The capture follows a few days of heavy fighting with the LTTE, Media Centre for National Security (MCNS) said.Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) fighter helicopters bombed "LTTE gathering point" south of of Mullaitivu, it added.In Kilinochchi, the MCNS said that jets carried out three air strikes on LTTE positions.

Over 1000 complaints against Sri Lanka police this year

Sri Lanka Police Department, reportedly one of the most corrupted state institute in the country have received over 1000 complaints against them in the past 11 months. According to the independent Police Commission the complaints against the Police Department have risen to 1,246 this year, a clear increase compared to last year. The Commission received 47 complaints of illegal assaults by the Police during the period while there were 6 deaths in custody in the past 11 months. Another 167 complaints have been received against the Police Department for illegal questioning.Bribery and Corruption commission have arrested 23 policemen during the same period, sources confirmed. The independent National Police Commission was set up in November 2002 on the recommendation of the Constitutional Council. The Commission is empowered to establish procedures to investigate public complaints against a Police Officer or the Police Service and to provide redress.

Two more political parties recognized in Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka Election Commissioner Dayananda Dissanayake has approved another two political organizations as recognized political parties.Sources at the Election Secretariat said that the two organizations have been recognized as political parties following the interviews held recently. The names of the two parties are not announced yet. With these two parties, the recognized political parties in Sri Lanka have increased to 62. Meanwhile interviews are scheduled to be held this morning to recognize another four political organizations as parties.

Anton Balasingham’s death anniversary observed

Second death anniversary of Anton Balsingham, theoretician and chief negotiator of LTTE was observed in several parts of the Jaffna peninsula, according to a report on Virakesari, on Dec 16, 2008.Events in memory of Anton Balasingham were held at the Jaffna University and several private educational institutions. Posters paying tribute to him appeared in several places including Thenmaradchi areas of Sarasalai, Madduvil and in Vadamaradchi areas of Nelliyadi and Point Pedro.

CWC, NFF with Govt., SLMC, DPF with UNP

The Ceylon Workers Congress (CWC) and the National Freedom Front (NFF) will contest in alliance with the UPFA at the North Western and Central Provincial Council elections while the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) and the Democratic People’s Front (DPF) of Mano Ganesan will field candidates on the UNP list, The Morning Leader learns.The JVP and Minister P. Chandrasekeran’s Up Country Peoples Front will contest on their own tickets, it is also learned.The NFF, it is learned has decided to contest with the UPFA following advise from Senior Presidential Advisor Basil Rajapakse that contesting as a separate party will expose their poor support base to the country.Informed sources said NFF Leader Wimal Weerawansa was told by Rajapakse the party will lose all bargaining power at a general election for nominations from the UPFA if their real strength is exposed by contesting the provincial polls as a separate party.Meanwhile, the CWC has informed the UNP that the party will be compelled to contest the provincial polls with the UPFA due to fear by some party seniors they will lose their positions and perks in government if the party contests separately or in alliance with the UNP but that they will reconsider their position at a general election.

Genocide charges against two members of defence set up

Genocide charges are to be filed against two top members of the defence establishment for alleged genocide of Tamils in the country and the model indictment will be ready to be submitted to the US Justice Department next month, January 2009. One member who has been charged, is a US citizen and the other a permanent resident.The model indictment has been prepared by Bruce Fein, a Harvard Law School scholar and a member of the Lichfield Group, former U.S. Deputy Associate Attorney General and currently counsel for a U.S. Tamil Group.In an interview with Tamilnet, Fein said that a model indictment of over 400 pages, charging Sri Lankan officials for genocide against Tamils in the country will be submitted to the U.S. Justice Department first week of January.Fein has explained that one official is a US citizen and the other, a permanent resident for whom the United States was responsible as moral, political and legal matter."The model indictment will be presented to the new United States Attorney General appointed by President Barack Obama and the new Secretary of State. The two appointees hold the keys to a genocide prosecution, which only the government can initiate," Fein had said in his interview with Tamilnet.Fein had also said that the genocide of Sri Lankan Tamils had now become mainstream thinking in Tamil Nadu, and several countries and said that it explained in part the country’s eviction from the United Nations Human Rights Council."Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have also been vocal detractors of Sri Lanka’s human rights atrocities," he has said.Sri Lanka was last week placed among the top eight countries in a list of 33 countries involved in genocide and other mass atrocities.The list by New York-based Genocide Prevention Project was released to mark the 60th anniversary of the United Nations Prevention of Genocide Convention.Sri Lanka was included in the ‘Red Alert’ list along with countries like Afghanistan and Iraq.

Oddusudan under shelling; people flee to Puthukudirippu

An official of the Mullaithivu district secretariat who opted to remain anonymous said to 'Lanka-e-News' that people were fleeing to Puthukudirippu since Oddusudan area in Mullaithivu district is under heavy shelling since this morning. LTTE's Omanthai entry / exit point was shifted to Odusudan around a month ago due to Army's shell attacks.Mullaithivu district is comprised of five divisional secretariats. They are Manthai East, Oddusudan, Thunukkai, Puthukudirippu and Karaithuraipaththu. Manthai East and Oddusudan divisional secretariats are now closed and people are fleeing towards Udayarakattai and Viswamadu areas in Puthukudirippu divisional secretariat area.The official said that there is a shortage of food in Mullaithivu district since the stocks supplied by the World Food Programme (WFP) and Sri Lanka government are inadequate for the population. He also said that retail stores are empty since the LTTE has forcibly removed the available stocks.

Rebel in the family-Peter J. Thompson, National Post

Vinothini Rajendran says she has had no contact with her younger brother, rebel leader Velupillai Prabhakaran, since moving to Toronto in 1997.Vinothini Rajendran's 11th-floor apartment is decorated with plastic flowers, a poster of Lord Krishna and framed photos of the little brother she left behind in Sri Lanka.It has been years since she saw him. He never writes or calls, but she accepts that is just the way it is when your brother is Velupillai Prabhakaran, one of the world's most notorious guerrilla leaders."It must be God's wish that he should become such a man," says Ms. Rajendran, who immigrated to Canada more than a decade ago and lives with her husband, Bala, in a modest apartment in east Toronto.Despite being the sister of the Supreme Commander of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, Mrs. Rajendran has lived incognito in Toronto since 1997, but she agreed to tell her story to the National Post.For 25 years, her brother has led the LTTE, or Tamil Tigers, in a civil war in Sri Lanka. His objective: independence for the ethnic Tamil minority.A folk hero to Tamil nationalists, Prabhakaran is wanted by Interpol and has been condemned internationally for his tactics, which have included hundreds of suicide bombings and the assassination of senior politicians, including India's Rajiv Gandhi.Yesterday, Human Rights Watch accused the Tamil Tigers of forcing civilians to fight and preventing them from fleeing the war zone. The abuses come as the rebels are attempting to repel an intense government military offensive."During the past 25 years, the LTTE has killed large numbers of civilians, committed political assassinations in Sri Lanka and abroad, and carried out suicide bombings," wrote the New Yorkbased rights group. "It has systematically eliminated most political opposition within the minority Tamil community and is responsible for killing many journalists and members of rival organizations. In the areas under its control, the LTTE has ruled through fear, denying basic freedoms of expression, association, assembly and movement."Sri Lanka has vowed to kill Prabhakaran and wipe out the Tamil Tigers over the next few months. Last week, the military said it was within "kissing distance" of the rebel stronghold, Killinochchi, but Ms. Rajendran says her brother is in no danger."They won't be able to catch him," she says.Variously known as the Sun God, Supremo and Thambi ("Little Brother"), Prabhakaran, 54, is the son of a middle-class bureaucrat who served in Ceylon's post-colonial government.Ms. Rajendran describes her father as "very kind and soft talking." He was highly disciplined. He never took bribes and abstained from all vices, alcohol and cigarettes included. He worked as a district land officer and volunteered as a trustee at the local temple. "He was a religious-minded man, a Hindu," she says. The family lived in Valvettithurai, a coastal village on Sri Lanka's northern Jaffna peninsula, in a small house with a veranda and a banana tree, enclosed within a fenced compound.Vinothini was the third-born child. She was two years old when Prabhakaran was born at Jaffna Hospital on Nov. 26, 1954. "As a child, I was the pet and the darling of the family," Prabhakaran told the magazine Velicham in 1994. "My childhood was spent in the small circle of a lonely, quiet house." Vinothini would play with her baby brother, and fight with him. "He was as normal as any boy," she says. "Normal, only he was reading a lot." The house was full of books. Their mother was "a voracious reader," Ms. Rajendran says. They would borrow books from friends or the library.Like his mother, Prabhakaran devoured history books, particularly stories about the Indian fighters who fought the British for independence. "It was the reading of such books that laid the foundation for my life as a revolutionary," he once said.The Tamil-dominated northern region of Sri Lanka is a dry zone; much of the soil is ill suited to farming. "So the people depended on education and government jobs," Mr. Rajendran explained.But following independence from Britain in 1948, the island's ethnic Sinhalese majority tried to limit Tamil access to universities and civil service jobs. Tamil youths grew disillusioned with the government and turned to militancy.Around the same time Prabhakaran took up arms, his father spoke to a friend and they agreed that Vinothini and Bala would marry. The family erected a temporary building in their compound to accommodate wedding guests and shelter them from the sun and rain. The ladies prepared vegetarian dishes in the kitchen. No invitations were required; everyone knew they were welcome.Prabhakaran was the best man. As is customary, he came by the groom's house the day before the wedding to pay his respects. "He was a very quiet man," Mr. Rajendran says. "He was smiling and his eyes were piercing. He was lean." A few months later, Prabhakaran formed the Tamil New Tigers, or TNT, to wage an armed struggle against the Sri Lankan state security forces. The group would later evolve into the Tamil Tigers."At that time, we knew he was doing something, but we didn't know it was so serious," Mr. Rajendran says. They thought he was only putting up political posters. They only learned of his paramilitary activities when police came calling at the family home in 1972. Prabhakaran slipped out the back and disappeared. "After that he stopped coming to the house," Ms. Rajendran says. Prabhakaran told the Indian journalist Anita Pratap that, "As soon as the Tiger movement was formed, I went underground and lost contact with my family ... They are reconciled to my existence as a guerrilla fighter."The Rajendrans were living in the capital, Colombo, when Prabhakaran ignited the civil war with an ambush attack against Sri Lankan soldiers. Mr. Rajendran promptly lost his job at an import-export firm; his employer found out about the family connection and didn't want any trouble."I was asked to leave," he says.They spent a week at a refugee camp and then sailed back to Jaffna. Six months later, Mr. Rajendran went to Jeddah to work as a deckhand on a ship on the Red Sea. Mrs. Rajendran stayed in Jaffna, but the police gave her a hard time about her notorious brother so the family decided to leave for India. Thousands of Sri Lankan Tamils had sought refuge around Madras. The Rajendrans registered with the police and rented a house. Mr. Rajendran taught English and ran a consultancy service that helped Tamils submit applications to immigrate to Canada and Australia.Prabhakaran was also exiled in India at the time, running his guerrilla war from a Madras safe house. The Rajendrans saw him there at a family function, a cousin's wedding. "He came in a jeep with four or five boys," Mr. Rajendran says. They saw him again just before he returned to Sri Lanka. "He talked to us and said he is going."Tired of refugee life in southern India, the Rajendrans travelled to Canada, arriving on Oct. 27, 1997. They have returned to Sri Lanka only once, in 2003, to help Ms. Rajendran's parents move back to Sri Lanka from India. It was the first time she had seen her homeland in almost two decades. The north was a desolate landscape of ruined buildings, destroyed by incessant shelling. The lush gardens of her youth had gone to weeds.A red-and-yellow Tamil Tigers flag hangs in her living room in Toronto, but Ms. Rajendran says she is not politically active. Neither she nor her husband attends Tamil community events in Toronto, with the exception of Heroes Day, the annual commemoration of fallen rebels.Ms. Rajendran does not work; her English is awkward. Her husband works part-time at a furniture store. His hands shake like he is nervous, but he explains he has Parkinson's Disease.A poster of the Hindu hero Arjuna hangs on the wall. The Tamil script below tells a story from the Bhagavad Gita about a conversation between Lord Krishna and Arjuna, who is reluctant to go to war."Arjuna says, how can I fight my relatives?" Mr. Rajendran explains. "Then Krishna says, it is your duty. I am the God and I am telling you, you do it. Then he decides to fight."It was one of Prabhakaran's favourite childhood stories.Every so often, Ms. Rajendran gets a letter from her parents in Killinochchi, but she has had no contact with her younger brother since coming to Canada. She only hears stories about him.She believes he will not give up his fight for Tamil independence. Because he started it, he feels obliged to see it through, she says."Once he accepts something, he always finishes it," she says."Father was like that."

16 December 2008

Will LTTE lay down arms if UN supervises?

There is a reading in a certain section of the government hierarchy that any further military pressure on LTTE to get them for discussions, may push the LTTE to ask for UN intervention to "lay down arms" to enter into negotiations, learns "Lanka Dissent".With President Rajapaksa repeating his willingness to sit for discussions with the LTTE if they lay down arms, the possibility of LTTE also putting forward a condition that they would only lay down arms, if the UN supervises such a process, would trap the Sri Lankan government in a very difficult situation, a moderate thinking within the government, argues.While the hardliners feel the LTTE could be "militarily ousted" from their strong hold in the Mullaitivu area too, they also accept that negotiations would have to begin "some where down the line".This was allowed in Nepal recently where the Nepalese Maoist guerillas acceded to UN monitors, but it is still claimed "laying down of arms" in Nepal was not complete and the guerillas pilfered a fair stock of arms.

Forces cut off Mullaitivu - Oddusudan links

Troops operating in the 59 Division yesterday took control of a three kilo metre stretch of the A-34 Oddusudan – Mullaitivu road from the South West of Mulliyavali village totally cutting off links between Mullaitivu and Oddusudan which was a vital supply route connecting the coastal town with the southern part of Mullaitivu district, military sources told last night.According to military sources, troops of the 59 Division under the command of Brigadier Nandana Udawatta had fierce battles as they reached the outer perimeter of the Mullaitivu town amidst heavy rains lashing the entire Wanni battlefront yesterday.“Troops are now operating from a distance of four to five kilo metres from the Mullaitivu suburbs with the speedy advance they had made within the past few days”, a military official said yesterday.Earlier on Sunday, troops of the 59 Division captured a section of the Mullaitivu Nedunkerni road and were operating close to the A-34 Mullaitivu – Oddusudan – Mankulam road that linked Mullaitivu to the A-9 road.Military sources also said that the advance of the troops closer to the Mullaitivu suburbs will make it very hard for the LTTE who are already cornered on the Kilinochchi front with the objective of defending their administrative capital.“They will now have to seriously think about their priorities now”, sources added.“The heavy rains have slowed down the progress of the battle but troops are advancing towards Mullaitivu amidst all these obstacles”, military sources added.Troops are poised to capture Mulliyavali village located South West of Mullaitivu town soon.Meanwhile, troops attached to the 57 Division and the Task Force I also continued their operations amidst heavy rains destroying Tiger bunkers and strong points ahead of their defences, sources added.

LTTE in wanni trapping and mistreating civilians: HRW  
   
The LTTE is risking the lives of the Wanni Tamils by subjecting them to forced recruitment, abusive forced labor, and placing restrictions on their movement, Human Rights Watch said in a report released yesterday.The 17-page report titled -- Trapped and Mistreated: LTTE Abuses against Civilians in the Wanni -- detailed how the LTTE, which had been fighting for an independent Tamil state for 25 years, is brutally abusing the Tamil population in areas under its control. "The LTTE claims to be fighting for the Tamil people, but it is responsible for much of the suffering of civilians in the Wanni. As the LTTE loses ground to advancing government forces, its treatment of the very people it says it’s fighting for is getting worse," HRW Asia Director Brad Adams said. He said that in the face of an ongoing government military offensive, the LTTE has increased the pressure on the civilian population living in areas under its control and by having long used a coercive pass system to prevent civilians from leaving areas it controls, the LTTE has now completely prohibited movement out of the Wanni, except in case of medical emergencies. “By refusing to allow displaced people to move into government-held territory, the group has severely restricted their access to essential humanitarian relief. Only about a thousand people have managed to flee the conflict zone since March 2008,” Mr. Adams said.  “By refusing to allow people their basic right to freedom of movement, the LTTE has trapped hundreds of thousands of civilians in a dangerous war zone.” Mr. Adams said the LTTE had a long history of forced recruitment with a dramatic increase in the practice of compelling young men and women, including children, to join its forces. “The group has recently gone beyond its long-standing ‘one person per family’ forced recruitment policy in the territory it controls and now sometimes requires two or more family members to join its ranks. Trapped in the LTTE's iron fist, ordinary Tamils are forcibly recruited as fighters and forced to engage in dangerous labor near the front lines," he said. The HRW report said that while increased international pressure and other factors had led to a decrease in LTTE’s recruitment of children, recent reports indicated that the group had stepped up child recruitment in the Wanni. It said LTTE cadres had urged students between the ages of 14 and 18 to join the group and it often sends 17-year-olds for military training, apparently calculating that by the time such cases are reported to protection agencies, the youths would have turned 18 and no longer could be considered child soldiers. In the report "Trapped and Mistreated," the HRW called upon the LTTE to allow civilians leave areas under its control; to respect the right to freedom of movement and the right to move to government-controlled territory for safety; Stop all forced recruitment; end all abductions and coercion; end all recruitment of children under the age of 18; cease the use of children in military operations; release all its child combatants including those recruited when children but were now over the age of 18;  to stop all abusive or unpaid forced labor, including what it characterizes as ‘voluntary’; cease demanding that all families provide labor to the LTTE; stop forcing civilians to engage in labor directly related to the conduct of military operations, such as constructing trenches and bunkers; Provide humanitarian agencies and UN agencies safe and unhindered access to areas under its control, and guarantee the security of all humanitarian and UN workers, including Wanni residents working as humanitarian or UN staff.

All set for power devolution - APRC chief

Political parties in the All Party Representative Committee have agreed to implement devolution of power, committee Chairman, Professor Tissa Vitharana told 'Lanka Dissent'.Discussions on how to devolve power from the central government to other administrative institutions have already begun, he added.As part of these deliberations, the nature of devolving basic powers have been enlisted, he further said. The APRC recommendations would be finalized after discussing certain details that were agreed upon by the UNP with party MP K.N. Choksy, he added.

CID withdraws application against TNA MPs
   
The CID today withdrew the application to notice three TNA MPs and to impound their passports. They said that they will further investigate the matter under section 120 of the criminal procedure code.The MPs are; two Batticaloa District MPs Senadiraja Jayananda Moorthy and Ariya Nethran Pakya Selvam, and Jaffna District MP Selvaraja Gajendran.

Yal Devi extended to Vavuniya

The 5.45 a.m. Yal Devi Express Train from Colombo which terminated at Medawachiya on the Northern line will be extended to Vavuniya from today (December 16).This follows instructions given by the President who is paying constant attention towards restoring normalcy in transport and other services to cater to the people of the North suffering severe economic hardships due to the conflict, a Transport Ministry release said.The Yal Devi terminated at Medawachchiya from February this year due to security reasons. It will proceed upto Vavuniya from today restoring the disrupted train services upto Vavuniya.Transport Minister Dullas Alahapperuma said his objective was to transform the Railway into a major avenue of public transport which would link the North and South.The Ministry would give priority to rehabilitate and restore the Mannar Railway line too in the near future.

UNP welcomes Mukherjee visit

Opposition UNP leader Ranil Wickremesinghe said yesterday the party welcomed a visit by India’s External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee as it would help work out a joint approach by both countries in resolving the longstanding national question. Mr. Wickremesinghe made his views known at Sri Kotha, the party headquarters during a ceremony to mark former Minister Karu Jayasuriya assuming office as the new deputy leader of the UNP. Mr. Wickremesinghe said it was essential to maintain cordial relations with India when resolving the complex national question. “One should not unnecessarily antagonize India. It is the government which invited Mr. Mukherjee though it is critical of his visit now,” he said. Mr. Wickremesinghe explained that working with Indian leaders should not pose problems as India had banned the LTTE and was also of the view that terrorism should be eradicated and that Kilinochchi should be captured and the war ended before going for peace talks. “It appears that the government has for some reason diverted from the earlier much hyped strategy of capturing Kilinochchi and is now focusing its attention on Mulaitivu,” he said.Mr. Wickremesinghe referred to the global economic meltdown and said that apparently the government had not drawn up contingency plans as done by other countries. “Some economists say the present global economic crisis will last for as long as 10 years and as such it is essential to prepare a plan for overcoming this catastrophe,” he said.Deputy Leader Karu Jayasuriya called on all members of the party to unite and save the country and said the UNP had always supported the government fight to crush terrorism despite the false propaganda carried out by various vested interests against the party. “UNPers love this country though we do not display our patriotism on a bill board,” he said. Mr. Jayasuriya said 2009 would an election year and the party should tread a new path to succeed at these vital elections. 

3 abducted, teacher reported missing, in Jaffna

Unidentified armed men arriving in a white van abducted three persons including a student from their houses during curfew hours in three separate incidents in Thenmaraadchi, two Friday and the third Saturday, according to complaints lodged with Human Rights Commission (HRC) Jaffna by the abductees’ family members. Meanwhile, the wife of a teacher from Vadamaraadchi has reported her husband missing since 8 December with HRC Jaffna office. The armed men arriving in a white van abducted Ratnam Ranjithakumar, 23, an A/level student, from his house in Va’ra’ni North in Thenmaraadchi, Friday around 11:00 p.m, his parents said in their complaint to HRC.A labourer from Va’ra’ni North, Ramanathan Sathiyanathan, 25, was abducted from his house at Chimil Amman Koayilady Friday around 11:00 p.m, according to his family members’ complaint.The person abducted Saturday is Rasan Ravinthiran, 36, the father of 2 children and a trader from Meesaalai West, family members of Ravinthiran told HRC.The teacher reported missing by his wife is Thavarasa Surenthirakumar, 30, from Uchchil Veethi, Karaveddi in Vadamaraadchi.Surenthirakumar is missing since 8 December after leaving home to Jaffna town.Three persons being abducted during Sri Lanka Amy (SLA) imposed curfew time in two successive days has caused shock and fear among the residents of Thenmaraadchi.

Karuna:Prabhakaran at “his last gasp” in Kilinochchi

Tamil Tigers and their supremo V Prabhakaran are at their “last gasp,” facing imminent defeat at Kilinochchi as the Sri Lankan army is on the verge of overrunning LTTE’s defacto capital, former top LTTE commander Karuna Amman has said. In an interview to state owned Independent Television Network (ITN), Vinayagamoorthy Muralitharan alias Karuna Amman, once the second in command in the LTTE, said the rebel leader was about to be “punished for his insensate crimes”.“Former Comrade in arms of Prabhakaran, Karuna said that the LTTE leader is at his last gasp in Kilinochchi and he is about to be punished for all his cruel and insensate crimes,” the Defence Ministry quoted Karuna as saying. Karuna also told the channel that Prabhakaran had claimed that the assassination of former Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi was carried out without his knowledge. He said he had raised the question of Rajiv Gandhi’s assassination and the attack on the ‘Temple of the Tooth’ in Kandy with Prabhakaran and told him that these acts created opposition all over the world against the Tamil movement.“The LTTE leader’s simple explanation was that those (acts) had been done without his knowledge,” he told the channel. He added Prabhakaran “was simply lying” in this statement as no decisions in the LTTE are taken without his knowledge. Karuna, who formed the Tamil Makkal Viduthalai Pullikal (TMVP) group after he quit the tigers, said he left the LTTE over disagreements on acts of terrorism practiced by the group, the Defence Ministry quoted him as saying in the interview.“Prabhakaran refused to listen to me and the late LTTE ideologue Anton Balasingham when we disagreed openly (with him),” Karuna said, adding, “Many others in the LTTE dared not disagree with him and criticised him only behind his back”. The TMVP leader termed Ranil Wickramesinghe’s signing of the ceasefire with Prabhakaran “a historical blunder” as it allowed the LTTE time and space to “raise funds, import arms and ammunition and recruit cadres by force”. He said people like Nadesan, Daya Master and Susai, who are hailed as LTTE leaders in the  media were actually figures of no importance and Prabhakaran is “an obstinate Fascist dictator”.“Prabhakaran did not care two hoots for them and for what they thought,” Karuna said, adding “Mahattaya” alias Mahendraraja had also disagreed with the LTTE leader.

15 December 2008

Centre to protect Lankan Tamils: TNCC
   
The Centre has never been a silent spectator to the Sri Lankan issue and is taking all measures to protect the Tamils there, according to Tamil Nadu Congress Committee (TNCC) president K.V. Thangkabalu. Addressing a press conference here on Saturday, he said the Centre was repeatedly asking the Sri Lankan government to avoid attacks on innocent Tamils. It was a war between the Sri Lankan government and the LTTE. The Central government, particularly the Congress, was not in support of the LTTE, which had killed Rajiv Gandhi. The Congress, at any cost, would not forgive and forget this incident, he said.It was due to the Centre’s efforts that relief materials were sent to the Tamils. The LTTE would not have faced the present situation had it agreed to the agreement signed between Rajiv Gandhi and Jayewardene, he said.The election results in five States had clearly showed that people were in favour of the Congress. “The party is sure to win Parliament elections,” he added.On the delay in distribution of relief by the State government to those affected by floods and rain, Mr. Thangkabalu said the TNCC had requested Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi to form a committee comprising MPs, MLAs and leaders of various political parties, to discuss and speed up distribution of relief. When pointed out that Andhra Pradesh was going ahead with the construction of a check-dam across the Palar without respecting court orders, he said the rights of Tamil Nadu would be protected. The TNCC would continue to support the steps taken by the State government on the issue.

Troops capture Pattipudiyiruppu –Source ITN

Our Special Representative Sujith Vithana Pathirana reporting from the battlefront said that the troops engaged in humanitarian operations have achieved another milestone. They have captured Pattipudiyirrippu in Vavuniya. The 15th Sinha Regiment achieved this decisive victory in support of troops of the 59th Division. There were many government buildings including the Government Tamil School, the Pattipudiyirrippu Kovil and the Mullamaviya Development Centre in this village. Terrorists had retreated unable to resist the attacks from the Security Forces. They are now embroiled in a major issue of protecting Nedunkerni. The 59th Division has closed in on Nedunkerni. They are advancing, launching attacks on the tigers, braving rain and sun.

Western Province special operation police chief arrested for abducting innocent people for ransom taking

Police Terrorism Investigation Division arrested the chief of the Police Special Operation Unit with two other officers, an inspector and a constable, for having links with the LTTE, said police spokesman SSP Ranjith Nanayakkara.The police spokesman said that these persons had obtained massive ransoms through death threats to businessmen in Colombo. They abducted people for ransom taking and robbed vehicles as well. The police spokesman also said that they had sold the robbed vehicles in uncleared areas and police doubts that a portion of the profit had given to LTTE. Investigations are still underway.

LTTE pushed back further in fierce battles in wanni
   
Fierce battles still rage in the Wanni with the LTTE offering stiff resistance but suffering many debacles in the process, as the security forces march towards the Tiger capital of Kilinochchi and then on to the strategic town of Mullaittivu in the embattled Northern Sri Lanka, the army said yesterday.Troops inflicted heavy damage on the LTTE in six confrontations in Adampan in Kilinochchi yesterday; the Media Centre for National Security (MCNS) said adding that the troops sustained minor damages.Troops of the 59 Division, advancing towards one of the key bases of the LTTE in Mullaitivu, confronted the tiger rebels on several occasions yesterday, the Defence Ministry said. Meanwhile, troops further extended their defences while consolidating newly captured areas, a report from the battlefront said.In a confrontation at Ampapakatam in Mullaittivu last morning, troops confirmed that the LTTE had suffered heavy casualties. Meanwhile, troops confronted a group of Tiger rebels in the general area of Mallawarayankaddumurippu in Mullaittivu last afternoon, the ministry said. In Olumadu, also in Mullaittivu, troops engaged another group of the LTTE cadres.The LTTE suffered considerable loss electronic warfare sources confirmed, citing rebel's radio communications, even as minor losses were reported to the army. Meanwhile, intense fighting also ensued in general area of Kumulamunai in Mullaittivu as troops launched several attacks targeting well known LTTE positions last morning, the Defence Ministry said.

4 STF commandos killed in Ampaa'rai - LTTE

Liberation Tigers of Tamileelam (LTTE) official Nilavan in Ampaa'rai on Sunday said four Sri Lankan Special Task Force (STF) commandos were killed in mine explosions set up by the Tiger fighters in the morning while the STF commandos were engaged in a big search operation in Kagnchikudichchaa'ru jungle area. The STF opened fire and launched mortar attacks targeting the environs where the mines exploded, the LTTE official further said. The STF has not issued any details of the explosions.

Clothing blockade of Vanni

One aspect of the blockade of basic items into Vanni that is not well known is that of blocking clothing. For six months now, Sri Lanka Government has blocked all types of clothing being brought into Vanni for sale. This has started to bite the business and the people now as the stocks have started to run very low.During the early ceasefire period business people could purchase clothing in large scale and bring them into Vanni in their lorries. This was stopped more than six months ago. Since then business people tried to bring clothing one suitcase at times and eventually this too was stopped. Presently people coming into Vanni are permitted to bring one or two sets of clothing and some say that even these are deliberately crushed by the army at the checkpoint so that it cannot be sold.Clothing shop owners say that MPCS was permitted to bring a quota of clothing but even this is being blocked by the military at the Vavuniya checkpoint.Shop owners say that if the situation continues they will have to close their shops. They say that this will badly affect their employees many of whom have displaced.Due to this the price of clothing has more than tripled affecting the people already in a tragic situation.Even the clothes donated by Tamilnadu/India for the Vanni IDPs had been so far blocked by the Sri Lanka military at Vavuniya.

163,000 IDPs in Mulaitivu - GA 
 
The senior government official in Mulaitivu says that over 163,000 people are reported to be displaced in Mulaitivu as a result of intensifying fighting.Mulaitivu Government Agent (GA) Emilda Sukumar told BBC Sandeshaya that nearly 8000 people are fleeing towards LTTE-held Pudukudiyiruppu from Saturday.Shell attacks have recommenced in and around Mulaitivu town on Saturday, she added.

Food supplies 'continued'

Ms. Sukumar said that Internally Displaced People (IDPs) are continuously being given food aid received from government-held Oddusudan.However, the officials are facing severe difficulties in helping the IDPs as government workers are afraid to report to work due to the prevailing situation, she said.The chief government administrator in Mulaitivu added that the hospital and town administration are still functioning properly despite difficulties.Meanwhile, the government security authorities have advised civilians not to travel on the road leading to Mulliyaveli from Nedunkerni since Monday.Ms. Sukumar on Friday told BBC Sandeshaya that displaced are fleeing inwards into rebel-held areas despite regular appeals by the government.

Air attacks

The government accuse the Tamil Tigers of keeping civilians as a human shield.Meanwhile, the Sri Lanka air force fighter helicopters bombed ‘LTTE gathering point’ in Pudumurippukulam, Mulaitivu on Sunday, authorities said.Media Centre for National security (MCNS) said MI 24 fighter helicopters also attacked another ‘LTTE target’ in Mulliyaweli.“Pilots confirm the air strike hit the targets accurately,” the MCNS statement said. 

LTTE 'suicide boat' recovered after fierce gun-battle: Lanka

Sri Lankan ground troops operating in the coastal forest district of Mullaitivu fought fierce gunbattles with Tamil Tiger rebels and recovered a 'suicide boat' during a subsequent search, the military said here Sunday.The military authorities said that a fierce gunbattle broke at Kumulamunai in the rebel heartland of Mullaitivu Saturday and lasted nearly two hours, and the rebels suffered 'heavy damages' during the confrontation. 'Troops sustained minor damages. Troops recovered a boat, to be used in a suicide attack, during a search operation conducted in the same area,' the military said Sunday, adding that similar confrontations also took place in the adjoining areas Saturday.The Sea Tigers, the naval unit of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), used to deploy explosive-laden suicide boats to strike moving military targets in the northern and eastern seas.The military also said that a group of 18 civilians, including five women and a four-year-old boy, had fled the LTTE-held areas and 'reached Palampai area controlled by the 59 Division of the army' in the Mullaitivu district Sunday morning 'seeking military protection'.'They are to be sent to the Internally Displaced Persons' (IDP) centres after preliminary inquiries,' the military said.The Sri Lankan government is determined to capture the rebel-held districts of Mullaitivu and Kilinochchi and the troops advancing in several directions were said to be operating on the outskirts of Kilinochchi town, 350 km north of here.The military said that heavy clashes prevailed in the area during the past few days as the LTTE gave heavy resistance to the soldiers inching towards the rebels' political capital, Kilinochchi.Sri Lankan Air Force jets carried out at least nine air raids throughout Saturday, 'targeting LTTE battlefield fortifications' at Kilinochchi and the adjoining Paranthan areas in support of the advancing ground troops.There was no immediate reaction from the LTTE, which has been fighting against the Sri Lankan state to carve out a separate state for Tamils in the northern and eastern parts of the island for a quarter century.Thousands have died in escalating fighting since late 2005.

New faces to top slots in TMVP
   
TMVP leader MP Vinayagamurthy Muralitharan alias Karuna Amman said yesterday that he would appoint new faces to the party’s top positions this week replacing the persons who were presently holding them. Mr. Muralitharan told Daily Mirror that most of his senior members such as Jeyam, Markan, Bharathi and Mangalam Master had not been given their due places in the present constitution of the party.He said these members had been excluded from the party’s decision making process in the present constitution. “I should change this situation and ensure them top slots. For this purpose, I have called for a politburo meeting this week in Batticaloa. There are intellectuals who deserve top positions in our party. Definitely, I will introduce drastic changes to the party’s structure,” he said.Besides, he said that attention had been paid to rename the party by removing the word ‘Puligal’ meaning Tigers  and its emblem as well.

14 December 2008

Neither natural forces nor foe can stop forward march, says President
 
President Mahinda Rajapaksa said yesterday that neither chemical weapons, air attacks, suicide bombers, disastrous monsoon rains nor major floods can stop troops from going forward in the battlefield as the soldiers would never be deterred by such obstacles created by foes or by nature.The President made these remarks at the annual ceremony held at the Sinha Regiment headquarters in Ambepussa for the 19th year, to invoke blessings on soldiers who sacrificed their lives on the battlefield. “Our forces are equipped with the latest technology. Today our soldiers are performing in a bold manner on the battlefield and this can be considered as the greatest battle ever. Our soldiers are achieving victory after victory,” he said.The President said that this was a battle for freedom and was never used to gain political mileage. Not only the people here but the entire world was aware of the objectives of the Government, he said.He said that today the soldiers were proud to be in the forces and the public has a great affection towards them. The President said that from parents who send their children to the battlefield to the school child who donate simple items to the Army, there is ample evidence of the support for the soldiers.President Rajapaksa said that the “Negenahira Navodaya” (Awakening the East) was indeed an awakening to the people of the East and the “Uthura Wasanthaya” (Re-awakening the North) would definitely win the hearts of the people of the North.He assured that not a single portion of land that was freed from the terrorists would go back to the hands of the terrorists.The opening of the Mahinda Rajapaksa indoor stadium and the operating theatre at the Sinha Regiment headquarters also took place yesterday.President’s Secretary Lalith Weeratunge, Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, Army Commander Lt. Gen. Sarath Fonseka, Sinha Regiment Commanding Officer L.K.J.C.Perera and officials as well as the families of the dead soldiers were present.

Indo-Sri Lanka Navies enhance cooperation

The extensive surveillance measures adopted by the Indian Navy and the Coast Guard in the South Indian waters following the recent Mumbai incidents have helped the Lankan Navy in cracking down the LTTE manoeuvres in the South Indian seas, Navy Spokesman, Commander Karunaratne said. Commenting on the current state of the security measures in the seas in the North, Cmdr. Karunaratne told the Sunday Observer that the Indian Navy and the Coast Guard were constantly in touch with Lankan Navy.“The notable threat for India from the Southern region would be from the LTTE. Therefore, the country is compelled to increase its surveillances in the South Indian waters.The Lankan Navy has also stepped up its surveillance following the successful ground attacks that have been carried out in Wanni by the Security Forces.Navy has neutralised the Sea Tigers to a greater extent and with the Indian Navy’s stringent measures the ‘outfit’ would find it difficult to reach the South Indian coastal areas,” Cmdr. Karunaratne pointed out.

Mukherjee visit now uncertain
 
The much-awaited visit to Sri Lanka by India’s Foreign Minister Pranab Mukherjee may not take place after all, diplomatic sources in Colombo said.They said Indian officials were of the view that conditions were not presently conducive for such a visit.But Sri Lanka’s Foreign Secretary Palitha Kohona told The Sunday Times there was no official intimation whether Mr. Mukherjee was coming or not, while Indian High Commission spokesman Dinkar Asthana also said there was no confirmation of any dates for the visit.Earlier, reports said Mr. Mukherjee was due to arrive in Colombo next week for talks with President Mahinda Rajapaksa, following growing agitation in Tamil Nadu for a ceasefire in Sri Lanka. The government in response said the visit followed an invitation extended by Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollagama on October 27 in the wake of India’s National Security Advisor M. K. Narayanan summoning Sri Lanka’s deputy high commissioner to deliver a demarche.The proposed visit assumed another dimension after a Tamil Nadu political party delegation headed by Chief Minister Muthuvel Karunanidhi met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in New Delhi on December 4. The delegation urged him to send Mr. Mukherjee to Colombo to pressurize the government of Sri Lanka to stop the war, go for a ceasefire and resume talks with the LTTE.Mr. Karunanidhi told journalists thereafter that the Indian premier had assured him that Mr. Mukherjee would be sent to Sri Lanka.Against this backdrop, Prime Minister Singh declared in New Delhi yesterday that “governments of the region have a moral duty to take firm and expeditious action against the menace of terrorism”."In our region, there is growing awareness that terrorism and extremism pose a threat to democracy and development. Governments and authorities in our region and elsewhere have a moral duty to act firmly and quickly," he said inaugurating an international jurists’ conference on terrorism, rule of law and human rights.Mr. Singh called on "all peace-loving and democratic forces" around the world to join hands in the fight against all manifestations of extremism and intolerance."The threat of terrorism is not divisible. The fight against it is also not divisible. The defence of freedom and peace is also not divisible," Mr. Singh said.

Secret talks on forming a national government underway Both UNP groups consent to talks

Doctor Rajitha Senarathna, a prominent Minister of the government, has initiated a dialogue to form a national government with the blessing of the President Mahinda Rajapakse.Talks are underway with the two groups of UNP MPs.Doctor Rajitha Senarathna said to Lanka-e-News that MPs of both Ranil Wickramasinghe loyalist group and the group that seeks a leadership change have expressed ideas about forming a national government for a limited period of time. He said that he made the President aware of the situation and the President later nodded holding talks although he was not interested at the begining.Doctor Senarathna said that the aim of the talks is forming a powerful national government with two third majority achieved through a referendum and seeking solutions for the key problems of the country such as the ethnic issue.Senarathna said that he would meet the MPs of both groups next week to talk this issue.

Liberated fear   - Source :The Week

Life in Batticaloa in eastern Sri Lanka, which was 'liberated' from the LTTE by the army in 2007, is no better. Caught between the factionalism of Tamizh Makkal Viduthalai Puligal (TMVP), which rules the province, and shootouts, the people of Batticaloa live in constant fear. "Liberation has meant nothing to us. We cannot walk around freely. We live in fear of being abducted or killed," said Batticaloa resident Neelakantan. On the day I travelled to the region, an inspector was shot dead by unknown persons at Saintha Maruthu. Following the killing of a Sinhala doctor in Batticaloa, the doctors were boycotting work in the east.Chief Minister of the Eastern Provincial Council, Sivanesathurai Chandrakanthan alias Pillaiyan of the TMVP, said there was a plan to annihilate the council in the same way the Northeast Provincial Council under Chief Minister Waradaraja Perumal had been destroyed in the 1990s. "I face the same fate as Waradaraja Perumal," he had said in November.A few weeks ago, Pillaiyan's secretary Raghu was killed in Colombo, 300km from Batticaloa. Pillaiyan ruled out the hand of the LTTE in the murder, leading to speculation that TMVP chief Karuna Amman and the government could be involved. But Karuna ruled out factionalism in the party and told THE WEEK that the rivalry between him and Pillaiyan was a "fabrication of the media".Batticaloa has not recovered from the shootouts in November. "Some 40 people have been killed in Batticaloa in November. There is absolute disorder. As a Tamil, I feel unsafe to step out in the evenings," said Neelakantan. But Karuna said the shootouts were an attempt by "opposing parties to create trouble to the administration in the east". "They wanted to prove that by liberating the east, we have achieved nothing," he said.Last week, the government imposed curfew in the east and picked up Tamils suspected to be in connivance with the LTTE. Human Rights Watch blamed the government for the disorder in the east. "Far from being a responsible party, the TMVP is involved in serious human rights abuses," said Brad Adams, Asia director of the group.Karuna's supporters gave a rosy picture. "Development has been made possible after Karuna took over. Shops have been opened and development works are on. People are happy," said Ranjan, TMVP in-charge of Batticaloa. Julian, a TMVP worker, claimed that the government had taken care of the basic needs of the public. "Under the LTTE, people lived in fear," he said. Ariya Nethran, a Tamil National Alliance MP, said peace mattered more than development. "That my people have not been able to live in peace speaks volumes about the liberation. They have not got their due rights. This liberation has been rejected by the people."The 'liberation' of the east dealt a blow to the LTTE's dreams of forming a 'Tamil Eelam' in the region. But the LTTE is far from wiped out from here-that the Tigers held 13 'heroes day' ceremonies in Batticaloa is proof of this. Said Ariya Nethran: "One day a Tamil Eelam will be born. There will be a time when Tamils will live in peace and prosperity."But a normal life is nowhere in sight for the people. Said Darshini, a Batticaloa resident: "I keep living over and over again in my dreams the freedom I had enjoyed during my visit to Tamil Nadu. That was perhaps the first time I knew what it was like to be independent. I wish I could enjoy the same kind of independence here." 

Troops close in on last major hurdle As major battle looms ICRC to pull out from LTTE-held area

The ICRC, the only international agency operating in the LTTE-held territory east of A9, would have to review its presence at Puthukkudiyirippu as the army intensified operations on the eastern flank, military sources said yesterday.All other INGOs including UN agencies vacated their offices last September following a government directive.The sources said that once the army secured the road stretch between Kilinochchi and Paranthan on A9 within weeks if not days, the full might of the ground forces would be directed at LTTE bases east of the road.Puthukkudiyirippu, situated along the Paranthan-Mullaitivu road (A 35) would be a major battleground due heavy presence of LTTE units in the area, the sources said.The sources said that Puthukkudiyirippu would be the last major hurdle faced by troops advancing along A 35 towards Mullaitivu. He asserted that the ICRC would have to vacate their office at least temporarily to avoid being caught up in a major battle.The SLAF yesterday carried out six sorties to facilitate the operations carried out by 57 Division and Task Force I (TF I) to regain the Kilinochchi-Paranthan road.Air Force spokesperson Wing Commander Janaka Nanayakkara said that air strikes would continue as the army advanced on Kilinochchi town from the south and west.Last Wednesday and Thursday, SLAF carried out seven sorties in support of 57 Division and TF I.Military sources said that the fall of Kilinochci-Paranthan stretch of road would pave the way for a massive assault eastwards of the A9 with the army advancing along Paranthan-Mullaitivi and Mankukam-Mullaitivu roads which link the eastern coast with the A9. The army said that the Task Force III (TF III) was already on the move along the Mankulam-Mullaitivu road and a link-up with the 59 Division conducting operations on the Weli Oya front was imminent.The sources said that the link up would make the joint front involving TF III and 59 Division the broadest front ever maintained against the LTTE on the eastern flank.They asserted that the ICRC continued presence at Puthukkudiyirippu would be untenable as the area would be in the middle of ground operations.ICRC spokesperson Sarasi Wijeratne said that they first moved to Puthukkudiyirippu in 1997."We continue to be there as long as there is humanitarian assistance needed in the area. There are civilians affected by the conflict in the area and we are therefore committed to staying close to them," she said.A few weeks ago the ICRC called off its presence at Omanthai entry/exit point as the army advanced north of Omanthai and set up a new checkpoint at Puliyankulam to facilitate the movement of people and supplies to the LTTE-held area east of the A9. The new facility is situated about eight kilometres north of the previous entry/exit point.Asked whether the ICRC would take up position at Puliyankulam, Wijeratne said that they were in discussions with the government and the LTTE regarding a crossing point."Until arrangements for a permanent crossing point are finalized by the two parties, the ICRC will facilitate the movement of ambulances, food convoys and civilian vehicles on an ad hoc basis,she said.She said the 30-kilometre route links Omanthai with Oddussudan via Puliyankulam and Nedunkerni.The ICRC on Friday (December 12) facilitated the transfer of bodies of 11 LTTE cadres and 12 soldiers.The soldiers were killed in clashes last week when the LTTE repulsed a multi-pronged attack on Kilinochchi. There have been conflicting reports from the army and the LTTE on losses to both sides in that particular battle. Military spokesman Brigadier Udaya Nanayakkara said the LTTE claims were baseless.

SL Foreign Service in crisis 

President Mahinda Rajapaksa has invited officials of the Sri Lanka Foreign Service for a meeting Monday to settle a major row that has broken out between the country's career diplomats and Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollagama on what they call "an infiltration of the foreign service cadre by outsiders". The 150-member strong Sri Lanka Foreign Service Association (SLFSA) has called for established guidelines to be complied with in making diplomatic and non-diplomatic appointments and had requested a meeting with the President about a month ago. “We have been granted one for Monday,” an SLFSA official said. The meeting comes in the wake of a major rift emerging between Minister Bogollagama and the SLFSA over the large number of political appointments being made to overseas missions.Following an emergency meeting on Friday, the SLFSA declared war on the foreign ministry by disassociating itself from an official media release, issued on December 8 that defends political appointments to Sri Lanka’s missions abroad. The press release issued states that non-career diplomats appointed to overseas missions are “persons who have excelled in their professions”.The SLFSA has reacted strongly to the communique, calling it “an attempt to mislead the public on the political encroachment that is currently taking place to positions other than heads of mission that have been reserved for officers duly recruited into the Sri Lanka Foreign Service”.Ina strongly-worded letter was sent by the association to the minister, deputy minister and ministry secretary, the association said they were "disappointed" with the use of the ministry letterhead in that release to state matters that are of "utmost concern" to the SLFSA.The clash comes as several individuals prepare to present fundamental rights petitions in the Supreme Court challenging political appointments to the diplomatic corps. One such petition is expected to be submitted Monday.The Foreign Ministry announced nine new appointments last week, five for posts of ambassadors/high commissioners and four other posts. Of these barring three ambassadorial appointments for career diplomats, the others are all drawn from outside the service.Incidentally, one oflatest political appointees is Manoranee Silva, a senior lawyer in the corporate sector who is the wife of one of Sri Lanka’s most senior legal luminaries. She has been made deputy high commissioner to Pretoria with effect from 1 January 2009.Making the announcement, the Foreign Ministry said that postings from outside the service have been necessitated to supplement the need for specialised officers in the overseas mission … while another reason for this development is "due to the irregular and erratic recruitment to the Service that has occurred in the past."However, within two days of this announcement, the SLFSA issued a statement saying the Foreign Ministry statement was an attempt to "mislead the public on the political encroachment that is currently taking place to positions other than Heads of Missions that have been reserved for officers duly recruited into the Sri Lanka Foreign Service.""The appointing authority for recruitment to the SLFS is the Public Service Commission. Appointments made contrary to these provisions would not only lead to diluting the professionalism of the Foreign Service, but also adversely affect Sri Lanka's interests abroad in the medium to long term," the SLFSA said.It said that contrary to the ministry’s claims, many of the recent political appointees possess hardly any qualifications that can bring value addition to further Sri Lanka's interests abroad and hence this argument is neither justified nor valid.The latest appointments announced by the Foreign Ministry include three career diplomats, viz., Jayantha Palipane, ambassador-designate to Japan, M. Mahroof, ambassador-designate to Lebanon, and A.M.J. Sadiq as ambassador-designate to Brazil.The other (non-career) appointments are Thosapala Hewage, Secretary to the Ministry of Ports and Aviation as the new ambassador-designate to Nepal and Newton Gunaratne, former Chairman of ITN as Sri Lanka's ambassador-designate to Myanmar, Suresh Chandra Rajaratnam, a lawyer who appeared formerly for the BOI as Deputy Permanent Representative to the Sri Lanka Mission to the United Nations in New York and Mrs. Manoranee Silva, a lawyer as Deputy High Commissioner at the Sri Lanka High Commission in Pretoria, South Africa, Neville de Silva, a senior journalist at the Sri Lanka Embassy in Bangkok and Sunil Sarath Perera as Minister-Counsellor to the Sri Lanka Embassy in Kuwait.Meanwhile, at least 10 to 12 ministers have solicited Foreign Ministry support for overseas junkets during the holiday season. The ministers are apparently seeking visits to foreign capitals, mostly Western capitals, on the pretext of discussing social and economic issues-- including development aid, trade and the environment-- with some of their counterparts overseas. At least three Sri Lankan ambassadors have bluntly told the ministers these proposed visits are ill-timed because most ministers in foreign capitals are taking their vacations during the upcoming Christmas and New Year holidays.

TMVP heading for another clash

The TMVP is heading for another clash with both Karuna and Pillayan claiming that they will be chairing a meeting to re-organise the party structure.Pillayan Spokesperson Azath Moulana said that Eastern Province Chief Minister Sivanesathurai Chandrakanthan alias Pillayan will convene the party meeting soon and would also invite MP Vinayagamurthi Muralitharan.Moulana said that a date had not been decided by the TMVP to call the meeting. He said that the reason to call for the meeting was to reorganise the party structure for a general election in the future."The date for the meeting will be decided in the coming days and we hope to have the meeting this week. We will be inviting Karuna Amman for the meeting and hope that he would accept it," he said.However, D. Kamalanathan, spokesperson for Karuna said that the meeting will be called by Muralitharan himself."As the leader of the TMVP, he will call for the meeting. However, he has not decided when to hold the meeting," Kamalanathan said.Earlier, TMVP General Secretary, E. Kaileswararaja said that Muralitharan was not the leader of the TMVP and added that the party had not decided on a leader following the killing of the official president of the party, Kumaraswamy Nandagopan alias Raghu.

3 civilians, including child, killed in SLA shelling in Vanni

A 5-month-old child, sleeping inside an IDP hut near Thakarap-Pi'l'laiyaar temple on Hudson Road in Vaddakkachchi, was decapitated by a shrapnel of the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) fired artillery shell Saturday morning around 9:30. 26-year-old mother of the child was wounded in the artillery barrage that targeted the IDP settlement. Meanwhile, two males who went to their agricultural lands in Kanakapuram, a suburb of Ki'linochchi town, to unearth cassava roots, were killed in SLA shelling around 11:45 a.m. A 17-year-old youth narrowly escaped death with injuries from the shelling. The child killed was Jeyarooban Ajanthan. His mother wounded in the shelling was identified as 26-year-old Jancy Rani Jeyarooban. The victims had displaced from Periyapa'ndivirichchaan to Vaddakkachchi. One of the males killed in Kanakapuram was identified as 41-year-old Paalaiya Pulendran, a native of Ki'linochchi who was displaced to Visuvamadu. The other male killed in the shelling was yet to be identified. The victims had gone to their agricultural lands to unearth cassava roots in their attempt to earn money to safeguard their families. The youth who sustained injuries at Kanakapuram was identified as Jeyakaran, from Periyaku'lam in Pu'lyampokka'nai. He was being treated at Ki'linochchi hospital. The dead bodies of the two males killed in Kanakapuram were brought to the hospital in Ki'linochchi town and transferred to Tharmapuram. Meanwhile, Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) fighter jets bombed 6 times in Vaddakkachchi and Paranthan areas.

Mauling the Tigers  -Source The Week

Fear is palpable on the streets of Sri Lanka. A normal day in Colombo involves hours of gruelling wait at the checkpoints situated just a few kilometres from each other. As gun-toting policemen check identity cards, people stand stoically calm. Terror lurks at every corner, waiting to erupt and spill blood on the streets."This has been happening every day for years," says my Sinhala auto driver Ranjit. "But these are all unnecessary. It is not like before. We live in harmony with the Tamils in Colombo. Tamils are more successful as businessmen here," he says.A Tamil shop owner in Wellawathe, Colombo, does not agree. "We are treated as second class citizens. Most of us are leaving the country, hoping to live in safety. We suffer silently, abused by everyone. The outcome of the war will decide whether I will continue to stay in Colombo or flee to some other country," he says.The raging war between the Sri Lankan army and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) means many things to many people. For the Tamils, it is their last hope for survival in Sri Lanka. For the Sinhalese, it is the chance to eliminate the terror that has been haunting them for the past three decades. For the LTTE, it is a do-or-die battle. For the government, it is an option."This will be the final war," says Brigadier V.U.B. Nanayakkara, military spokesperson and director of media, Sri Lanka Army. "We have adopted a different strategy this time. We realised that if we go to only one place, the LTTE would allow us to attack and retaliate from different accesses. So, we decided to attack from different accesses and this has paid off." But he is unsure about Kilinochchi, the LTTE political capital. "Many factors will determine our advance to Kilinochchi. The weather is one. Also, the LTTE is fighting its best to retain Kilinochchi. But it will be captured any moment," he says.On December 1, the army captured Kokavil town in Wanni, which was significant after the victories of Maangulam and Pooneryn. The defence ministry said it was the first time in 18 years that the army gained total control of the area. But it would be the fall of Kilinochchi and LTTE stronghold Mullaiteevu that would be momentous for the army.The army claimed to be advancing on multi-fronts into Kilinochchi and Mullaiteevu. A government source said the war might go on for another five months, and that vested interests abroad wanted to stop the government from capturing Mullaiteevu easily. Former LTTE leader Karuna Amman, who heads the Tamizh Makkal Viduthalai Puligal and is a nominated MP, hoped the war would bring relief for the Tamils. "Like in the east, we hope to bring a change in the north. The LTTE's transition from a movement for liberation to a terrorist movement has affected the Tamils. They may call us traitors, but by siding with the government, my strategy is to help my people lead a decent, peaceful life," he told THE WEEK. Doughlas Devananda, minister of social services and social welfare, said the LTTE was weakened, as the Tamils no longer trusted them.The war is taking a heavy toll. "Orders for wreaths are placed in hundreds with florists in Colombo. I went to buy a bouquet for a friend's birthday and the florist told me he had 200 orders for flowers in a week. Surely, they are not for LTTE cadres," says a lawyer in Colombo.Former Sri Lankan foreign minister Mangala Samaraveera, whose Defence Watch takes stock of casualties, cited contradictions within the government. "While the prime minister said there have been 200 deaths in the army in September, the defence secretary said only 18 people were killed. After the victory of Pooneryn, 600 soldiers were brought injured to Colombo. Last week, around 1,900 soldiers were admitted to hospitals in Colombo and 600 in Anuradhapura," he says.The spending on defence seems to have hit the common man. "The budget allocation for defence this year is a whopping $1.82 billion. Every child in Sri Lanka is born with a debt," says Mohammed Azim, a private company employee. But Sri Lankan economists feel that as long as the military maintains its successes, President Mahinda Rajapaksa would get public support. But if the war prolongs, observers say the public will react. "They are already talking about inflation. If the war drags on, people might not put up with the economic situation," says a Sri Lankan journalist.Many pro-Tamil leaders feel India should help the Lankan Tamils. "There is a cultural and economic genocide against the Tamils. The idea behind capturing Kilinochchi is to publicise the victory and win the elections," says Suresh Premachandran, a Tamil National Alliance MP. Strategists say India's reluctance to help the Tamils is out of fear that the Sri Lankan government would then seek help of China and Pakistan. But leaders say these countries already have foothold in the island. "The captains of the flights that bomb LTTE areas are from Pakistan. China is handling construction and expansion of Hambantota port in southern Sri Lanka," says Mano Ganesan, Democratic People's Front MP from Colombo.Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi led an all-party delegation to Delhi to meet Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on December 4, but it failed to create an impact. Though Singh said External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee would be sent to Sri Lanka to discuss ceasefire, no date has been decided. Meanwhile, Sri Lankan army chief Sarath Fonseka said "the Indian government would never influence Sri Lanka to restore the ceasefire and it would not listen to the political jokers of Tamil Nadu whose survival depends on the LTTE, which killed one of the most respected Prime Ministers of India."For Sri Lankan Tamils, the Tamils in Tamil Nadu offer a strange hope. Refusing to take money from me for a ride in his vehicle, a Tamil auto driver in Colombo says: "This is the only way we could repay the Tamils in your country for their support and solidarity. Please tell your chief minister to help us live in peace."

Indian navy captures 23 pirates in Gulf of Aden

Indian naval forces came to the rescue of a merchant vessel under attack by pirates in the Gulf of Aden on Saturday, capturing 23 of the raiders, India said.India's INS Mysore and its armed helicopter were on anti-piracy patrol when they received a distress call from the Ethiopian-flagged MV Gibe saying two boats were closing in and firing, a Defence Ministry statement said."On sighting the helicopter and Mysore, the boats disengaged from MV Gibe and attempted escape. Mysore closed the vessels and ordered them to stop."Indian commandos boarded the larger pirate boat, seizing 12 Somali and 11 Yemeni nationals as well as arms and equipment, the statement said.A surge in piracy this year in the busy Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean off Somalia has driven up insurance costs, earned the gangs tens of millions of dollars in ransoms, and prompted foreign navies to rush to the area to protect shipping.Several international naval operations are under way off Somalia, including a NATO anti-piracy mission.The Indian Navy in November said it had sunk the Somali pirate "mother ship", though an anti-piracy watchdog later said the vessel was actually a Thai ship carrying fishing equipment that was being hijacked.Somalia has seen continuous conflict since 1991 and its weak Western-backed government is still fighting Islamist insurgents.The chaos has helped fuel the explosion in piracy. There have been nearly 100 attacks in Somali waters this year. Pirates holding about a dozen ships and nearly 300 crewmen in safe havens on the Somali coast.Among the captured vessels are a Saudi supertanker loaded with $100 million of crude oil, the Sirius Star, and a Ukrainian cargo ship carrying some 30 Soviet-era tanks, the MV Faina.

13 December 2008

RSF condemns Colombo`s censorship of BBC, Sunday Leader

Paris-based media watchdog, Reporters sans fronti res (RSF), in a press release issued Friday, condemned Sri Lanka`s jamming of BBC World Service and blocking Sunday Leader from referring to Sri Lanka`s Defense Secretary, Gotabhaya Rajapakse. `We are worried by the increase in direct and indirect censorship in Sri Lanka,` Reporters Without Borders said. `Coming after a broadcast media bill reintroducing news censorship, the selective blocking of BBC and Sunday Leader reports is disturbing. The authorities must accept the free flow of news even when it contradicts what officials are saying and irritates certain politicians,` the press release added.

Full text of the press release follows:

BBC World Service and Sunday Leader newspaper censored

Reporters Without Borders deplores the latest cases of government censorship of international and local news media. In the past few days, the BBC World Service has been jammed by the state-owned Sri Lanka Broadcasting Cooperation (SLBC) and one of the country`s most outspoken newspapers, the Sunday Leader, has been forbidden to refer to the president`s brother.`We are worried by the increase in direct and indirect censorship in Sri Lanka,` Reporters Without Borders said. `Coming after a broadcast media bill reintroducing news censorship, the selective blocking of BBC and Sunday Leader reports is disturbing. The authorities must accept the free flow of news even when it contradicts what officials are saying and irritates certain politicians.`Reporters Without Borders condemns the censorship of parts of the BBC`s Sinhala service on 10 December and 27 November. On 10 December, the authorities jammed a report about protests by politicians in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu who objected to being called `jokers` by the Sri Lankan army chief.On 27 November, reports on a speech by the leader of the Tamil Tiger rebels and a press conference by representatives of the Defence Watch website were rendered inaudible by the SLBC, which is contractually obliged to retransmit the BBC`s Tamil and Sinhala programmes every day.The SLBC has, since August, been broadcasting a programme immediately after the BBC programming to give the official Sri Lankan government take on what the BBC`s journalists have just reported.`We think it is important for the BBC to remind the Sri Lankan authorities of the broadcast contract between them,` Reporters Without Borders said. `These cases of censorship are a deliberate violation of the commercial rules.`The defence ministry website (www.defence.lk) has meanwhile been attacking the BBC World Service with increasing virulence. The BBC Sinhala service`s reports were described as `diabolical lie` in a report posted yesterday. The BBC`s journalists are accused of being accomplices to Tamil Tigers propaganda when they refer to the fate of civilians in war zones.On 5 December, a judge ordered Leader Publications, the publisher of the Sunday Leader, not to print during two weeks any report whatsoever about the president`s brother, defence secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, who personally went to the court to accuse the press group of publishing `slanderous` reports about him. He is demanding 1 billion rupees (7 million euros) in damages.

British High Commissioner meets TN CM

The British High Commissioner to India Sir Richard Stagg yesterday met Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi and discussed with him issues related to Sri Lankan Tamils and security situation in the coastal state.An official press release described it as a "courtesy call." During the half-an-hour long meeting, the two discussed the Sri Lankan Tamils issue, security situation in the state in the wake of the 26/11 Mumbai attacks and the Tamil Nadu government's preparedness and ability to face the global economic crisis.Prior to the meeting, the British envoy had told reporters that it would be a "call to talk about the political situation in Tamil Nadu and to hear his (Karunanidhi's) views on what was happening in Sri Lanka and how he sees the security situation in Tamil Nadu after the attacks in Mumbai." He also termed the economic development of Tamil Nadu in the recent years as "impressive" and said he wanted to see how Tamil Nadu preparing to manage the impact of global economic "turbulence".

IDPs fleeing to LTTE areas - GA
 
Internally Displaced People (IDPs) in the rebel-held areas are facing severe difficulties as hostilities have commenced after the floods, a senior government official said.Emilda Sukumar, the Government Agent (GA) for Mulativu district, told BBC Sandeshaya that many IDPs are fleeing towards the LTTE controlled territory despite repeated appeals by the government.The Government Agent spoke to the BBC from Vavunia after returning from a tour in Mulativu."I do not know why they are not coming to cleared areas. But in Oddusudan, yesterday I saw that they are fleeing towards Pudukudiiruppu area," Ms. Sukumar said.

Malaria and Tuberculosis

Shell attacks have begun after a relative lull in hostilities in Mulativu, she said.Ms. Sukumar added that the IDPs who were camping in Mulativu have started packing their bags and fleeing once again."I heard of a family which was displaced more than ten times. Yesterday, I also saw a house which had seven families living in it. Even that was not a proper house but it is a temporary structure," she told BBC Sinhala service.Quoting from doctors from the area, the government's main administrative officer in Mulativu district added that in Pudukudiiruppu, people are suffering from Malaria, Tuberculosis and malnutrition as a result of not having proper nutrition."We are issuing food from the government via Resettlement Ministry and many of the IDPs are also getting food from the WFP. But they are only getting dry rations. The IDPs have to buy other food but it is very difficult for them to find a place to buy as the shelling has started once again," she said.As a result of the continuing shell attacks, Ms. Sukumar said, she had to stay inside the district secretariat for the last few days as she is suffering from a bad heart condition.

Air force jets batter LTTE defences in Kilinochchi and Paranthan

Sri Lanka Air Force fighter jets have launched a string of air strikes targeting LTTE battlefield fortifications located in the South of Kilinochchi and the West of Paranthan areas since early this morning (Dec 13).Air Force spokesperson, Wing Commander Janaka Nanayakkara told defence.lk that the fighter pilots have completed six successful missions so far. The attacks are being carried out in support of the Army 57 Division and the Task Force 1, he added.Meanwhile, battlefield sources said that the soldiers are steadily approaching Kilinochchi built up from the West and the South. The town has been treated with a great symbolic importance by the terrorists who had their administrative hub until recently. Heavy clashes prevailed in the area during last couple of days as the terrorists gave heavy resistance to the soldiers marching in.

devolution: APRC reaches consensus

After nearly three years of talks, the All Party Representative Committee (APRC) has reached a consensus with regard to power devolution between the Centre and the nine provinces, Chairman and Minister Tissa Vitharana said yesterday. “We are drafting a document for perusal by the main opposition UNP for any inputs, before presenting it to President Mahinda Rajapaksa,” Professor Vitharana said.He told Daily Mirror key proposals on power devolution were discussed in detail and in-depth in a spirit of cordiality before arriving at a consensus on clearly defined areas for each level of government. Prof. Vitharana said he expected the APRC proposals to meet the aspirations of the minority communities without prejudice to the majority community. He said there would be no concurrent list with powers between the province and the Centre clearly defined and demarcated. “The provinces will be ensured of no interference by the centre. The government will set up a second chamber –an Upper House – comprising of eight representatives from each of the provinces. They will as a safeguard ensure that no legislation seeking to take away devolved powers is enacted. Any such legislation has to be passed at a joint parliamentary sitting, Professor Vitharana said adding that the Local Government, the Village Committee system would be restored. He said the provincial administration was seriously handicapped by the failure to fully implement the devolved powers under the 13th Amendment to the Constitution.“I am happy the APRC, after taking the various issues into consideration has worked out a set of proposals to rectify the present drawbacks,” Prof. Vitarana said.But he said the success of working out a political solution, which fulfills the aspirations of the Tamil community would depend on the inputs of the two major political parties -- the SLFP and the UNP.

Rights violations in Vavuniya and Mannar

The number of complaints on human rights violations reported from Vavuniya and Mannar districts during the current year was 1760 and most complaints had been investigated by the Human Rights Commission, the commission district officer Rohitha Priyadarshana said.Addressing a seminar on Thursday to educate public servants and schoolchildren in Vavuniya he said though the complaints from the LTTE controlled areas could not be investigated, complaints from the government administered areas were investigated.He said the complaints were on cases of abductions, extortion of money and intimidation. However there were instances when the complainants and the commission officers who were investigating complaints had received threats.

British diplomats on fact finding mission in Vavuniya

A diplomatic team from the British High Commission in Colombo, met Wanni Security Forces Commander Jagath Jayasuriya in Vavuniya in a bid to obtain first hand experience on humanitarian missions conducted by the Wanni Security Forces for civilians, both in the cleared and un-cleared areas The army headquarters said Deputy High Commissioner Mark Gooding headed the three-member delegation which focused on dispatching food and essential items to un-cleared areas under the supervision of the Security Forces, providing security and basic facilities for internally displaced people arriving in Vavuniya from un-cleared areas and other welfare measures being carried out for civilians in the Wanni cleared areas.

12 December 2008

U.S. thinks right time for political solution in Sri Lanka is now says American Envoy Robert Blake

The American Ambassador in Colombo has said the right time for political solution in Sri Lanka is now. The Ambassador spoke yesterday Dec 11th on"The US Perspective on the Situation in Sri Lanka" at the Luncheon meeting of the American Chamber of Commerce.Ambassador Blake further said, "An important part of achieving a political solution and reconciliation between all of Sri Lanka’s communities will be to improve human rights in Sri Lanka. The high number of extra-judicial killings, abductions, and other human rights violations in Sri Lanka have disproportionately affected Tamils.  A concerted effort to end such practices and bring the culprits to justice would not only hasten reconciliation in Sri Lanka, it would allow countries like the United States to do more in Sri Lanka."

Full text of remarks by Remarks by Ambassador Blake:

Good afternoon—thank you Gordon, and the rest of the AmCham board and members, for welcoming me here today.  It’s a pleasure to have the opportunity to address AmCham again and see so many old friends. All of you represent the best of Sri Lanka’s business community---companies large and small that cover a range of sectors and collectively employ tens of thousands of Sri Lankans.  Beyond being successful businesspeople, you also have something very important to me in common.  That is a connection to the United States.  All of you do business with my country and help build people to people ties that are so important to our bilateral relations.I’d like to build my remarks today around three themes that go to the heart of U.S. policy toward Sri Lanka.  They are:

First, the need for a political solution and improvement in human rights to help end the conflict and achieve national reconciliation;
Second, new directions in U.S. assistance in Sri Lanka; and
Third, how the U.S. and Sri Lanka can weather the current financial turmoil.
With respect to the first question, there are many in Sri Lanka who argue either that there is no need for a political solution in Sri Lanka or that such a solution can await the end of the conflict.  U.S. policy has remained consistent on this important point:  we think the right time for a political solution is now.  American policy toward Sri Lanka has been dominated for the past twenty-five years by the civil conflict that has plagued and terrorized this nation. From investment to trade to military support to development assistance, the conflict influences nearly each and every aspect of our relationship.  And for the past quarter century, the United States has remained committed and actively engaged in supporting an end to the conflict.  Our position has remained constant and unwavering:  LTTE terrorism cannot be tolerated and the rights of all Sri Lankans can best be protected and promoted through a political solution to Sri Lanka’s conflict that meets the aspirations of Tamils, Muslims and Sinhalese.One important way forward is for Sri Lanka to complete the work of the All Parties Representative Committee, which has reached agreement on 90% of a blueprint for constitutional reform that most Sri Lankans believe offers great promise.  However, it remains for the country’s two main Sinhalese parties, the SLFP and UNP, to agree on the document, which has proved a significant hurdle thus far.Pursuing both a political solution and achieving a military victory are not mutually exclusive.  In fact, reaching a political solution now could significantly weaken the LTTE in several ways.It would disprove the LTTE’s claim that they are the sole representative of Sri Lanka’s Tamils and are the only ones who can address and safeguard their interests. It would diminish support for the LTTE, both within LTTE-controlled areas and among the Tamil Diaspora community abroad.And it would help reassure the more than 200,000 displaced by the conflict in the Vanni that they can move south where they could aspire to a better future. An important part of achieving a political solution and reconciliation between all of Sri Lanka’s communities will be to improve human rights in Sri Lanka. Yesterday was Human Rights Day---the 60st anniversary of the signing of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.  The high number of extra-judicial killings, abductions, and other human rights violations in Sri Lanka have disproportionately affected Tamils.  A concerted effort to end such practices and bring the culprits to justice would not only hasten reconciliation in Sri Lanka, it would allow countries like the United States to do more in Sri Lanka. This leads me to my second policy theme:  US aid to Sri Lanka.  Over the past half century, the United States has provided more than two billion dollars worth of assistance to the people of Sri Lanka.  We have done this for several reasons – to help Sri Lankans increase their economic opportunities and improve their quality of life, and to help ease the hardship caused by this brutal conflict. One immediate assistance question for the United States is:  with the Government liberating large parts of former-LTTE controlled territories, how can my country best support the urgent needs of the people in those areas? The answer to this question focuses on our development program, led largely by the US Agency for International Development.  USAID has undertaken several important initiatives in recent years.  First, AID recently concluded the last of its projects aimed to help the Sri Lankan people in the tsunami-affected areas of the south and east to recover from this terrible tragedy.  Our $135 million program enabled the reconstruction of the Arugam Bay Bridge, the reconstruction or rehabilitation of nine vocational training schools, the upgrading of three fishing harbours which were damaged by the tsunami, and even the construction of 87-playgrounds to help children recover from the trauma, among many other good activities.Now, geographically, the focus of our assistance programs has shifted and our development efforts are concentrated in the recently liberated regions of eastern Sri Lanka.   Over the next four years, we will focus our development efforts on two programs: “Connecting Regional Economies” or CORE and “Supporting Regional Governance” or SuRG (we Americans love our acronyms!).The CORE program is designed to increase social and economic security in Eastern Sri Lanka. By addressing the disparity in economic development between Eastern Sri Lanka and the more prosperous Western Province, CORE aims to establish conditions whereby sustained economic development can be launched.Projects funded under the CORE initiative are designed with five goals:
 -First, support livelihood development for vulnerable populations;
 -Second, promote the development of agriculture-based value chains;
 -Third, ensure that groups in conflict-affected areas benefit from participation in    these value chains and our other efforts;
 -Fourth, implement a workforce development strategy;
 -and finally promote a business enabling environment.

The SuRG program aims to support and facilitate increased citizen engagement in regional and local government, strengthen inter-community reconciliation, and promote social equality by, for example, promoting citizen interaction with government institutions, and strengthening the capacity of journalists and media outlets in the East.Programs like CORE and SuRG are essential to connecting and integrating the Eastern Province with other provinces.  At the end of the day, if the young people of the East, have a job, can care for their families, and have their voices heard by elected representatives, it will reduce the chance the LTTE could ever reconstitute itself in the east and will help to promote economic, social and political stability in the country.Another important component of the Connecting Regional Economies project of interest to all of you is USAID’s resolve to works with the business community to create public-private partnerships to generate jobs and growth. This model already has enjoyed success in USAID programs with companies like AmCham Members Hayleys and Brandix.  We are actively expanding the scope of our partnerships with private companies to help leverage resources and create sustainable jobs.  Such programs are at the core of U.S. official assistance to Sri Lanka.  I hope that we will be able to expand such programs to areas of the North such as Mannar once conditions permit. Before I continue to the next policy question, I want to make another important point about U.S. development assistance.   U.S. support to development projects in Sri Lanka is not limited to projects funded by USAID or other U.S. Government agencies.  In fact, globally, donations from private individuals in the United States to charities, NGOs, and foundations dwarf official U.S. Government development assistance.  To put a number to this, 85 percent of all U.S. –originated assistance toward development activities around the world is funded by such private donations.Here too, in Sri Lanka, you can see just how active International NGOs ---the organizations funded largely through such non-governmental sources---are. Of course, it’s not just the work of American INGOs but also a whole host of INGOs from around the world.  They are not motivated by profit, they are not here to gain financially from the conflict, and most importantly, they are not here to support terrorists or undermine national security as some have wrongly alleged.  They are in Sri Lanka because they are committed to working with the people of Sri Lanka to provide new opportunities and renewed hope for the future, and they are doing an excellent job.This brings me to third area of U.S. assistance, which is emergency humanitarian aid for those displaced and affected by the conflict.  So far this year, the United States has donated $32 million dollars in food and other commodity assistance to help those affected by the fighting in the north.  Last week, we donated an additional $100,000 in non-food aid to help victims affected by heavy floods in Jaffna and other parts of the North.  In both instances, the Government of Sri Lanka has provided us with assurances that urgent relief supplies can and will move safely and quickly to those who need them most.Any discussion about development and growth in Sri Lanka is irrevocably tied to a discussion about the global economy.  Thus, with markets in turmoil and a global recession casting a shadow over the world’s economy, how can the United States and Sri Lanka weather the current financial crisis? On Tuesday, I delivered a speech outlining the global response to the financial crisis.  In a room full of businesspeople I won’t go into detail about the causes and official actions by the global community.  You know all this and deal with it on a daily basis. But I would like to say a few words, about how the U.S. is weathering the storm because the U.S. economy helps drive global growth and is one of Sri Lanka’s most important markets.  Under President Bush’s leadership, we have adopted numerous measures to boost the US economy, including the $700 billion Emergency Economic Stabilization Act to purchase distressed assets and provide capital injections into banks.  That has helped, but markets remain under stress. Just about one week ago, the U.S. announced that our economy is officially in a recession. The U.S. Congress is now considering a $14 billion package of loans to America’s big three automakers—an industry that directly or indirectly employs over six percent of our manufacturing workforce. President-Elect Obama also has been very active.  He announced last weekend that his Administration -- once it takes office on January 20 -- will undertake the largest public works construction program since our interstate highway program 50 years ago.  The program will include infrastructure projects to repair roads and bridges, and create green jobs that reduce energy use and global warming emissions.  The President-elect’s goal is to create 2.5 million new jobs in the first two years of his administration, which would more than offset the number of jobs lost in American in 2008. Sri Lanka, although not as immediately affected by the crisis as other countries, nonetheless faces economic challenges of its own.  Foreign exchange reserves are low, which make it more difficult to maintain trade flows and meet payment obligations.  Recent developments in the financial sector are also likely to result in increased difficulties for Sri Lanka in accessing short term trade financing, as well as large commercial loans in 2009.  Within both our societies, there is a temptation among some to turn inward.  To levy barriers against imports or to "creep away from," if not outright abandon, international agreements that help facilitate the flow of goods and services would be shortsighted and ill-advised.Let me conclude my remarks on a positive note.  We, Sri Lankans and Americans alike, are faced with tremendous challenges.  But both our countries also have the promise of a better future.  In Sri Lanka, an end to the conflict could bring unprecedented opportunities and prosperity.   In my country, the election of Barack Obama has given us great hope and optimism.For both of our countries, hope and optimism can translate into peace and economic prosperity.  Sri Lanka faces important questions today.  What path will lead to a lasting end to the conflict; how can the international community best work with Sri Lanka to foster growth and development; how can our countries avoid the temptation of economic isolationism and work together to overcome the current economic crisis; and perhaps most importantly, how can you overcome terrorism and still protect and promote human rights?The answers to these questions are not simple, but the United States remains committed to working with Sri Lanka to tackle these enormous challenges.Barack Obama waged and won his campaign on the message “Yes we can.”  For Americans, this was more than a campaign slogan.  The words project optimism, teamwork, and perseverance.  This “Yes we can” attitude doesn’t just apply to individuals, but also to partnerships like that between the people of the United States and Sri Lanka.  Yes we can address our challenges and Yes we Will continue to work together.

Thank you.

Terumurikandi junction and Murikandi Hindu temple area under Forces’ control

Security Forces operating in the Kilinochchi battlefront on Wednesday achieved yet another victory by capturing Terumurikandi junction and Murikandi Hindu temple area following fierce battle with the LTTE, Military sources said yesterday.The 57 Division under the command of Major General Jagath Dias achieved this victory with the troops attached to the 574 Brigade under the command of Lt. Colonel Senaka Wijesuriya advancing towards Terumurikandi from Kokavil area, further expanding control on the A-9 road towards Kilinochchi.Terumurikandi is a key junction that links the road linking the Mannar Pooneryn A-32 road to the Jaffna-Kandy A-9 road via Jeyapuram and Akkaraynakulam.”With the capture of Terumurikandi, troops have almost entered the build up area of the Kilinochchi town that extends more than seven kilometres on the A-9 road,” a military official said.”It was after combined ground and air assault, Security Forces took control of the area killing scores of Tiger cadres,” sources added. Troops attached to the 57 Division has expanded their positions towards Iranamadu tank area after advancing east of the A-9 road.

EU police discuss LTTE activities
   
The EU police organization, Europol, concluded a seminar at The Hague, Netherlands on Wednesday focusing on the activities of the LTTE.The two-day seminar brought together representatives from the EU along with six other countries, including the United States, to discuss the illicit activities of LTTE and ways to strengthen cooperation on combating the terrorist group based in Sri Lanka, Europol reported.The seminar gathered representatives from 15 EU member states and from Australia, Canada, New Zealand,EU police,Sri Lanka, the United States, Switzerland and the Interpol. Representatives from other European Institutions; Eurojust and SitCen (the European Union (EU) Joint Situation Centre) were also present.During the seminar Europol's role as an information exchange platform for law enforcement agencies within the EU was emphasised.The Council of the European Union (EU) decided on May 29,  2006 to include the LTTE on the EU list for the application of specific measures to combat terrorism.This list contains the names of persons, groups and entities against whom, for reasons of their involvement in terrorist acts, specific restrictive measures have to be taken, including the freezing of funds and other financial assets or economic resources of the persons and entities specified, a ban on the provision of funds, financial assets and economic resources, a ban on the provision of funds, financial assets and economic resources, and a ban on the provision of financial or other related services, directly or indirectly, for the benefit of these persons, groups and entities, police and judicial cooperation between EU member states.Saying the LTTE did not represent all the Tamils, the European Parliament in 2006 called on it to "allow for political pluralism and alternate democratic voices in the northern and eastern parts of Sri Lanka, which would secure the interests of all peoples and communities."The assassination of Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar and the attempt on the life of Army Chief Sarath Fonseka convinced the European nations that the Tigers had not changed their stripes.

India can't force us a truce – Singala chauvinistic Champika

India cannot force us to go for a ceasefire after having suffered at the hands of terrorists recently, Minister of Environment,anti Tamil Patali Champika Ranawaka said.Giving an interview to 'Lakbima' newspaper yesterday (Dec. 11th), he said that if New Delhi still insisted Colombo with a truce, they should first declare one with Deccan Mujahideen (responsible for the Mumbai attacks).He said, "The myth that devolution of power could destroy racist and terrorist power was shattered by the terror attack on India. In 1947, Pakistan was given to Muslims. But they continued to seek 12 Muslim states in India.""In India, devolution of power is based on states. Even so, bomb attacks continue in India. Devolution of power cannot solve terrorism. To think otherwise is a myth.""The Indian model of power devolution has proved to be a failure. Today, India says it is unable to curb terrorism as police powers are given to states. Now, India wants to take back police powers to the central government. It is in such a backdrop that it is being proposed to empower provincial councils with police powers," he added.

General Election likely next year Yapa

The government said yesterday that a general election was likely to be held next year and only thereafter will a decision be taken on calling a Presidential Election.Media Minister Anura Priyadharshana Yapa, addressing the weekly Cabinet press briefing at the Information Department, said that the immediate focus of the government was the North Western and Central Provincial Council Elections. "Nominations have been called for the two Councils from December 24-31. We also intend holding fresh polls for the Western, Southern and Uva Provincial Councils."President Mahinda Rajapaksa has already scotched rumours that Parliament would be dissolved and elections held shortly. The government won the budget by a big majority despite opposition predictions that it would be defeated and will also emerge victorious at the forthcoming North Western and Central Provincial Council Elections, he predicted."The country has been developed without selling national resources. We have also not imposed hardships on the people. Thirteen essential items have been exempted from taxes, including diesel and kerosene."Denying allegations that the government had neglected the Tamils who have been caught up in the fighting between the security forces and the LTTE, Yapa said that a total of 11,054 metric tones of food, medicine and other items had been sent to the Wanni District since September, but the LTTE was not permitting it to reach the people. "The Bishop of Jaffna T. Saundranayagam, himself has asked the LTTE to allow government supplies to reach the masses."Appealing to Tamils in Killinochchi and Mullaithiviu to escape into government controlled areas, he said that all arrangements have been made to ensure their safety and accommodation.

Karunanidhi’s poser

CHENNAI: Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi on Wednesday asked why a leader of a political party in the State alone had not criticised the Sri Lankan Army General Sarath Fonseka for his remarks against some Tamil leaders.According to reports, Mr. Fonseka had described as “jokers” Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhgam general secretary Vaiko and Tamil Nationalist Movement leader P. Nedumaran.When he had made certain derogatory remarks against some leaders in Tamil Nadu, leaders of almost all political parties had condemned them in the strongest terms, he said.Apart from him, those who criticised the remarks were Pattali Makkal Katchi founder S. Ramadoss, Mr.Vaiko, Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi president Thol. Thirumavalavan, State secretary of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) N.Varadarajan and Communist Party of India State secretary D. Pandian.“I also read in the newspapers the list of leaders who had condemned the verbal attacks. In this, the name of the leader of an important party is missing. Who is that,” he asked and the crowd, at the wedding of DMK Minister I. Periasamy’s son, responded: “Jayalalithaa, Jayalalithaa.” [AIADMK general secretary].It was now that he was thinking of what Mr. Thirumavalavan had said earlier of Tamil pride. Only Tamils would make clear their protest, he said.

ICRC distributes Indian aid to displaced civilians in northern Sri Lanka

The International Committee of Red Cross (ICRC) in Sri Lanka said yesterday that they have distributed humanitarian aid donated by the Indian government to nearly 40,000 civilians in the war affected region of Wanni in the North.Issuing an operational update the ICRC said the food and hygiene items were distributed to nearly 40,000 displaced families in Kilinochchi and Mullaitivu districts during the first weeks of December and the displaced will receive the bedding and clothing in the coming days. The relief packages were handed over to ICRC on November 20.Indian government donated 80,000 individual family parcels containing food, hygiene items, bedding and clothing to be distributed through the ICRC following a discussion between senior presidential adviser Basil Rajapaksa and the Indian government.

11 December 2008

Is Lt.Gen Sarath Fonseka nurturing a Political Ambition After Retirement? by Col. R.Hariharan

On Sunday December 7, the security forces were within "kissing distance" of the outer defence lines Kilinochchi, announced the defence spokesman. On Monday, December 8, it became "Troops in Kilinochchi are targeting the town and they are in the vicinity of the town." However, by December 9 it seems the security forces' strategic focus had shifted from Kilinochchi to Mullaitivu according to the defence ministry. This contradicts what the army commander Lt Gen Sarath Fonseka said in his Sunday Observer interview on the same day; he said "after capturing Kilinochchi the security forces will definitely capture Mullaithivu..."In military parlance, this kind of shift in 24 hours takes place only in tactical rather than strategic focus. Somebody is not getting the terminology right or the army is facing major problems in turning the "kiss" into reality in Kilinochchi. Its two pronged offensive on Kilinochchi by Task Force-I from the west and by 57 Division from the southwest was reported facing very heavy LTTE resistance. Could this have compelled them a change in the security forces' strategy? The defence spokesman had acknowledged this at least on the Task Force-I front. In the Muhamalai sector also there appear to be no substantial progress in spite of 53 Division's claims of having captured 800 m long and 8 km wide line of defences there. All these bits put together would indicate stalling of offensive.A second possibility is that 59 Division was making better progress having captured Alampil on December 8. With Task Force-III making good progress on A34 Mankulam-Mullaitivu road branching off eastwards from A9 road 59 Division's offensive to Mullaitivu would be benefited. So a tactical shift of immediate focus from Kilinochchi to Mullaitivu is understandable.But such a shift in axis would still be a tactical shift. Ultimately the security forces have to either capture Kilinochchi or force the LTTE to vacate it after they pay a heavy price. Then only the A9 Kandy-Jaffna road can be opened to restore some form of normal life for most of the population of Northern Province. Regaining A9 road from the LTTE control by evicting them from Kilinochchi –Elephant Pass would always remain the strategic objective of the entire operation.But these are all military semantics; in the absence of independent sources to verify operational information, semantics of both the defence spokesman and the LTTE become important; they indicate the issues hidden behind the words.After the capture of Pooneryn on November 15, crossing Akkarayankulam bund on October 31, and capture of Mankulam on November 17, it is a month. Evidently since then, momentum of advance has been stalled due to adverse weather on a few days, and stiff LTTE resistance that had been progressively increasing. This would contradict repeated Sri Lankan assertion that the LTTE was on the run. If this is not so, what is holding up the troops? Loss of momentum in an offensive means more time for the opponent to recoup, rest, repair and readjust defences, reinforce positions, launch counter offensives and inflict more casualties. And cost of war in terms of men, material and money goes up as the clock ticks in days and days become months. The more it is prolonged the better it is for the forces on the defence.Fortunately, the army commander has cleverly put himself in an advantageous position with multiple options of axes to pick and choose. He also has adequate troops for achieving the strategic objective. Even granting the monsoon rains that affected both sides comes in fits and starts the progress is becoming slow and taking too long. This raises a few operational questions:

Why the offensive to Kilinochchi ending up as a slow crawl?

Has the LTTE built up its strength beyond the ken of four divisions?

Is the army commander facing a major operational dilemma or political rider interfering with his operations for reasons not known to the public?

In this context, Lt Gen Sarath Fonseka's comments on India's role in Sri Lanka in an interview to the Sunday Observer is interesting for more reasons, than his derogatory description of Nedumaran and Vaiko,(Tamil Nadu politicians who head the pro-LTTE political lobby in Tamil Nadu) as jokers who receive money from the LTTE. Regarding the operations he sounded quite confident of capturing both Kilinochchi and Mullaitivu. He was not unduly worried about the slow progress or any casualties. There was apparently no operational stress. Does it mean operations are going on smoothly at an accepted pace? In the absence of access to information our questions still linger, unanswered.The interview had a political content not usually found in interviews of army chiefs. His sarcastic comment was clearly provocative. As anticipated it drew widespread condemnation from political parties in Tamil Nadu and Government of India protested to Sri Lanka on the issue. There was quick apology from the Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapakse the General's remarks. And in the corrective action that followed, Colombo axed the editor of Sunday Observer while the errant General went scot-free. One cannot imagine the army commander casually tackling a political issue involving a sensitive neighbour without some tacit official acceptance of his perceptions. The freedom of operation given by the President to Lt Gen Fonseka appears to go well beyond the military kind.And this is not the first time Gen Fonseka has made a politically controversial remark His interview in October 2008 to the National Post, a Canadian daily, created enough concerns among Tamils when he said: "I strongly believe that this country belongs to the Sinhalese but there are minority communities and we treat them like our people…We being the majority of the country, 75%, we will never give in and we have the right to protect this country…We are also a strong nation … They can live in this country with us. But they must not try to, under the pretext of being a minority, demand undue things."

While that remark did not endear him to Tamils and caused more concerns in the ethnically polarised nation, Sinhala right wing lobbies applauded him.Why is Lt Gen Fonseka making such controversial remarks repeatedly? Does he nurture political ambitions after he completes his extended tenure next year? His latest remark on Tamilnadu politicians in the Sunday Observer interview definitely raises this question.But whatever be the reason, such provocative remarks of the army commander only strengthen the Tamil suspicions of the ulterior objective of Sri Lanka government's war against the LTTE.

Elections Department employees leave cancelled   

Leave of all employees of the Elections Secretariat including that of Commissioner of Elections have been cancelled until further notice due to the forthcoming elections to North Western and Central PCs.A spokesman for the Elections Secretariat said the decision to cancel leave had to be taken as the period for the preparation for the election is limited. The election Secretariat has made arrangements to call nominations for the two PCs before next Wednesday.According to 2007voters list 3,458,182 voters are eligible to vote for the two PC elections. Majority of them are in Kurunagala District where 1171881 voters are registered. 489851in Puttalam District, 955108 in Kandy District, 452352 from Nuwraeliya District and 388946 in Matale District are eligible to vote at the elections.

90 SLA killed in two fronts of Ki'linochchi - LTTE

More than 60 SLA soldiers were killed and 12 SLA bodies recovered by the Liberation Tigers of Tamileelam (LTTE) defensive units, 5 km west of Ki'linochchi Wednesday after defeating the SLA formations that attempted to advance from Oottuppu'lam to Puthumu'rippu, Tiger officials said. At the same time, a heavy fighting broke out at A'riviyal Nakar, south of Ki'linochchi, where 29 SLA soldiers were killed in the clashes. The Tigers have seized four AK-LMGs, two PK-LMGs and eleven T-56 assault rifles with ammunitions in the clearing mission at Puthumu'rippu Wednesday afternoon. More than 180 SLA soldiers were wounded in both the clashes, according to the LTTE officials, who did not release any details of their casualties. 120 SLA soldiers were wounded in Puthumu'rippu, where the fighting was intense till the SLA was pushed back, they said. Heavy shelling was reported in Ki'linochchi town and its suburbs Wednesday. Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) fighter bombers were also engaged in bombing Forward Defence localities of the Tigers. A low-intensity fighting was continuing at Ariviyal Nakar. There were many dead bodies of SLA soldiers in no-go zone between the LTTE and SLA defence lines in Puthmu'rippu and Oottuppulam.

Sri Lanka President and Opposition Leader discuss political situation in the country

Sri Lanka President Mahinda Rajapaksa Wednesday morning met Opposition Leader Ranil Wickremasinghe at President's House and held discussions on the current political situation in the country including the establishment of much awaited Constitutional Council. The unscheduled meeting that had reportedly been arranged by Prime Minister Rathnasiri Wickramanayaka however only lasted for less than an hour. During the meeting, Wickremasinghe has stressed the need to establish the CC in time for the upcoming elections. The Supreme Court on December 04th gave one month time to the Attorney General to finalize nominations of members by the President and the Opposition and their appointments to the CC. The two leaders also agreed to meet again to discuss political and economic situation in the country.

Pressurise LTTE, Sangaree tells TN

colombo: If Tamil Nadu has any sympathy for over 300,000 people trapped in the area still under the control of the LTTE, it should pressurise the LTTE to release them without using them as a human shield for their own protection, says TULF President V. Anandasangaree in a letter addressed to the Tamil Nadu public."The greatest contribution Tamil Nadu can make is to tell the LTTE with one voice, that they should declare their willingness to give up their demand for separation and agree to a solution that the Tamil Nadu Government recommends as a reasonable one," he further says in his letter.Speaking of Muslims the TULF President says that "not one Muslim in Tamil Nadu has any moral right to support the LTTE till all the Muslims driven out of the North with only Rs. 500 and all their properties confiscated are resettled in their former places."

Navy's crucial innovation hailed a success!

The modern Sri Lanka Navy (SLN) recently celebrated its 58th Anniversary. We at DefenceWire would like to take this opportunity to discuss in detail a crucial innovation in the SLN, which may lead to successful maritime security operations around Sri Lanka in years to come. The Innovation is the RABS or Rapid Action Boat Squadron.The beginnings of the RABS can be traced back to 2003 when a brief respite from daily operations came and the SLN started exploring options to counter the threat posed by suicide Sea Tiger boats to its most valuable assets, the Dvora, the Super Dvora and the UFAC.The Fast Attack Crafts formed the front line of the SLN. Each vessel costs between $13 million and $15 million, depending on the armaments it carried. A Dvora also carried a valuable and often irreplaceable crew and for the LTTE, the FAC's 23mm and 30mm canons were like the tusks on an elephant.But the Dvoras were limited in terms of quantity. SLN has only 30 FACs whereas the Tigers would set sail in clusters of 20-30 small boats with powerful OBM/Es. The cluster included 5-6 suicide boats carefully disguised as fishing boats or ordinary LTTE attack crafts. These clusters were often capable of surrounding the Dvoras and ramming them with suicide boats after dragging the battle closer to the shore.The loss of a Dvora in battle meant over a dozen deaths, a loss of around USD 13 million and a low morale for the SLN. For the LTTE, a Dvora operating near the shore offered an opportunity to cripple SLN assets whilst gaining these assets for its own purposes like heavy machine guns (HMGs). It was also an opportunity to them to regain morale and to continue unhindered its arms, ordnance and logistics smuggling operations.Until 2003, only the LTTE manufactured boats for its Sea Tiger wing. In 2003, SLN started making molds of captured LTTE vessels. The first molds were of large LTTE vessels like the Mirage. The boat proved unstable as the speed to fire-power ratio was off. The SLN also realized that the threat to the Dvora was not from large vessels, which acted only as Command Vessels directing the battle, but from smaller boats.After the present Navy Commander assumed duties, a plan was set in motion to create a fleet of small boats for the Navy based on molds of smaller LTTE boats and other technology. The SLN also looked at boats given to the Special Boats Squadron by US Navy SEALS and the Marines.By mid 2007, after months of carefully balancing the boat, engine, weapons and armour, the "Arrow Boat" was created. The weight and firepower were wonderfully balanced resulting in a highly stable, highly agile boat with maximum firepower. The boat appears lower to the water but has a higher overall floating effect. The name was given due to the arrow-like shape of the boat, which is found in many Navy SEALS' boat designs.While the boat-building continued, SLN started a massive recruitment drive targeting able bodied sailors already enlisted in the SLN. The target was to station 2-3 sailors per boat. 60-70 sailors were chosen out of hundreds of volunteers.The already experienced sailors came from Dvoras, SBS, IPC crews and were subjected to a grueling 3 month training run by SBS instructors. On all occasions, the new recruits trained with SBS units, thus increasing comradery between the two units. 6 batches of these sailors have passed-out already. Special allowances are being paid to these men like in the SBS, SF and Commando Regiments.Initially, about 20 such units were deployed in areas like Kallarawa off Nilaweli in 2007. After the completion of 100 units, the RABS and the SBS expanded to cover Point Pedro, Kilali Lagoon, Nayaru and Pulmoddai.As these units got deployed closer to land, the Dvora FACs were given special duties in the rough choppier seas. This way the SLN has created two layers of maritime security around crucial locations in the Island.The true testament to these units is in their survivability in battle and their ability to overwhelm the enemy as was seen in over 5 missions in the recent past. Their tactical maneuvering and close resemblance to LTTE's own boats have confused the enemy moments before they are destroyed. Like in the Army, the Sri Lanka Navy has demonstrated how small groups of highly dedicated men can take on guerrillas once considered impossible to beat.

Karu is happy that war is successful

Karu Jayasuriya has thanked and admired UNP leader Ranil Wickremesinghe, the party Working Committee and all its supporters for inviting him to accept the deputy leadership of the party again. He was speaking at a media briefing at party headquarters Sirikotha at Pitakotte yesterday (Dec. 10th)."Along with me, group of MPs joined the government with the collective stand that support should be given for the war. With our support, the war effort had progressed successfully since then. I should say that I am very happy about that."Commenting on battlefront victories, Mr. Jayasuriya said, "The entire Eastern Province and Mannar have been liberated. War is now confined to Kilinochchi and Mullaitivu. We were also able to support the restoration of civilian administration in these areas within 180 days."Speaking further he said, "Considering prevailing situation, I saw that the UNP had made it clear that there was no need for a ceasefire. Therefore, none of us will allow the betrayal or surrender of this country to terrorists.""Similarly, I firmly believe that we should pay more attention to economic development of the country. The World Bank has said that Sri Lanka's economic growth rate will be limited to four per cent as a result of the global financial crisis."Mr. Jayasuriya said, "Therefore, it is evident that the country will have to face a formidable challenge. It is only through a strengthening of the economy that the people's living standards could be uplifted. As such, major steps will have to be taken to develop the economy. The government has a responsibility to ensure proper management for economic upliftment."Also speaking here, UNP leader Ranil Wickremesinghe said, "There is a group that worked with the UNP as well as a group that opposed it. There are also forces like SLMC, WPF as well as Mangala Samaraweera who had opposed us, but now is working with us. That is why I extended an open invitation to all to join hands with the UNP to create good governance.""Let's forget the past. Why? We have to rebuild Sri Lanka. Democracy, civilization, traditional and other socio-cultural values have been destroyed," he added.

The where, when and how of Mumbai terrorists

The following is information on the terrorists of Lashkar-e-Toiba group, who were trained in Pakistan to prepare for the Mumbai attacks.Nine terrorists were killed and one captured after the Nov. 26-29 attacks. Police say they were Pakistanis.

HOW MANY TERRORISTS WERE TRAINED

India says 30 trained in camps in Pakistan for suicide missions. Police say only 10 attackers arrived in India by sea. The whereabouts of the other 20 militants are unknown.

HOW MANY TERRORISTS CAME ON THE BOAT

Local papers have also raised the question of whether more terrorists came to Mumbai, given that police found 15 jackets and toothbrushes on board the trawler that the militants hijacked to come to Mumbai.Some reports also said two covers were found for dinghy motors on the trawler, while only one dinghy, which transported the terrorists to Mumbai, has been found.A US counterterrorism official also said last week there is a possibility that some attackers ‘are still out there’.But police say the other five jackets belonged to the crew of the trawler, who were killed and most of them thrown overboard. Police insist there were only 10 terrorists who arrived in India.

 WHAT HAS HAPPENED TO THE OTHER TRAINED TERRORISTS

Police believe they may have been kept for other missions outside India, perhaps Afghanistan.Of the attackers who ranged in age from 20 to 28 years, three, including leader Ismail Khan, had been involved in other militant "action", according to police. Their main contact in Pakistan, Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi, has also directed LeT military operations in Chechnya, Bosnia, Iraq and southeast Asia, the US government said.

HOW COULD THEY HAVE TRAINED WITHOUT THE KNOWLEDGE OF THE PAKISTANI STATE

Impossible, says India, which is why New Delhi is suspicious of its neighbour. India believes authorities in Pakistan, and the ISI, have for years turned a blind eye to militant groups -- and sometimes funded and trained them.The ISI has informants everywhere in Pakistan, and Indian analysts say it is unthinkable that this kind of training could go on without their knowledge.The surviving terrorist from the attacks reportedly told investigators he had been trained by a former Pakistani army officer.

WHAT DID THEIR TRAINING INVOLVE

The terrorists trained for more than a year in three or four camps, according to police. The training involved handling weapons, bomb making, survival strategies, swimming, seafaring and even dietary habits.Once the 10 attackers were selected for the suicide mission, they were sequestered in a house for three months, and never saw the other 20 trainees again, the ‘New York Times’ reported.The 10 were divided into five two-man teams and assigned a target each in Mumbai. They only knew each other by their aliases, and did not know of the others' targets.They only came to know each others' real names and the other targets when they were being transported to Mumbai by sea.Each of the 10 terrorists was armed with about a dozen grenades, a 9 mm pistol with two magazines, one AK-47 assault rifle with about seven magazines and 100-150 rounds of ammunition.

WHAT SORT OF TECHNOLOGY DID THEY USE

Police say they have recovered Global Positioning System equipment, a satellite phone and mobile phones from the gunmen and the trawler

keeping open military option against Pakistan

India’s ruling United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government is keeping the military option against terror camps in Pakistan on the table as an indicator of its "firm intent" to get Islamabad to deliver this time."We certainly have the capability to destroy the camps but would need real-time intelligence about them with their exact coordinates," The Times of India today quoted a senior officer as saying.Indian armed forces are confident of their ability to launch swift cross-border "surgical strikes" if the leadership gives the green signal."Yes" is the unequivocal answer of the military brass, when asked whether they have the capability to take out the targets that have been a thorn in India’s side for decades if the ongoing diplomatic "push" comes to military "shove".Given "real-time intelligence", with exact coordinates about the terror camps, Indian Air Force (IAF) fighter jets can swing into action with laser-guided bombs "within four hours" of a government go-ahead.But even though Pakistan remains intransigent about moving against the people who planned the Mumbai carnage, matters are not expected to escalate to the military level as of now, especially with the US working overtime to prevent such an outcome.This will be crucial since intelligence reports, backed by surveillance and radio intercepts, are already showing "heightened activity" in many of the around 40 training and launching camps in Pakistan and PoK."The camps are largely makeshift in nature. The main clusters are in the Kotli-Muzaffarabad, Muridke, Karachi and Manshera belts. After the Mumbai attack, some are in the process of relocating, while others are emptying out," a source told the daily."Consequently, though the process is already underway, it will take some time to identify the camps still housing militants. If the government gives the go-ahead, they will have to be kept under constant surveillance till the actual delivery of PGMs (precision-guided munitions) on them. Otherwise, the exercise will be reduced to just bombing empty jungles," he added.With no American Predator-like armed drones to let loose Hellfire missiles on targets (though some Indian UAVs of Israeli-origin have been integrated with weapon platforms to deliver PGMs) India will have to bank on fighters like Sukhoi-30MKIs, Mirage-2000s and Jaguars.For camps, "launching pads" and "staging areas" near the LoC, long-range artillery guns and the new 90-km range Smerch multiple-launch rocket systems can also come into play.For that matter, even the 290-km BrahMos land-attack supersonic cruise missile can be used as a precision-strike weapon. But the most likely option will be the fighters armed with laser-guided bombs. "The bombs, with different types of explosives, have an accuracy of under two metres," an IAF officer told the newspaper.IAF has several bases on the western front, which in any case maintain ORPs (operational readiness platforms) in the form of fighters ready to scramble round-the-clock, from which surgical strike operations can be mounted. Fighters like Sukhoi-30MKIs can, of course, operate from much further away since they have a cruising speed range of 3,200km, which can be virtually doubled with air-to-air refuelling by IL-78 tankers.” But the military option has to be the last resort after everything else fails. If we exercise it, the decision will have to factor in various scenarios like a full-fledged war. Pakistan will not stay quiet. It will retaliate on other parts of the border,” cautioned the senior officer.

10 December 2008

S Lanka's 'Somalia conditions' 
 
A UN official in a rebel-held area of northern Sri Lanka has said that conditions for displaced people there are "as basic as in Somalia". John Campbell, from the World Food Programme (WFP), told the BBC Sinhala service that conditions were "as basic as can be" and "much less than ideal". Mr Campbell was speaking from the rebel-held village of Dharmapuram. The area is close to recent heavy fighting between Tamil Tiger rebels and the Sri Lankan army. Independent journalists are prevented by the government from travelling to war-hit areas of the country - the WFP is one of the few foreign agencies allowed to deliver aid to the area.

'Waterlogged'

Mr Campbell said that many of internally displaced people in Dharmapuram were living in flimsy shelters soaked by recent heavy rainfall. "They are extremely uncomfortable in waterlogged camps and depending almost entirely on international aid for food," Mr Campbell told the BBC. Sri Lankan officials say that the rain has also brought much of the fighting in the north to a halt and that only "intermittent skirmishes" between the Tamil Tigers and the army have recently taken place. Mr Campbell insisted that displaced people were getting enough food, despite their miserable living conditions. "It is basic as it can be. I haven't seen anything so basic since when I was in Somalia." Somalia has been without an effective central government since President Siad Barre was overthrown in 1991. Years of fighting in the African nation between rival warlords and an inability to deal with famine and disease have led to the deaths of up to one million people.

Essential aid

The UN estimates that there are about 230,000 displaced people throughout rebel-held areas in the north. A UN aid convoy - comprising of 50 trucks - arrived in the rebel-held area on Tuesday after being given clearance by the Tigers and the Sri Lankan military. Mr Campbell told the BBC that the supplies included rice, flour and school equipment. He said that the convoy was only the seventh to bring food to rebel-held areas in the past two months.

Majority for war – survey

The majority of respondents to a recent island-wide opinion poll conducted by TNS Lanka believe that military action is the only solution to the ethnic conflict, reports pioneering magazine LMD, in its December edition out last week.LMD writes: “As the brave men and women of our armed forces march towards Kilinochchi, and thousands of innocent lives are caught in the crossfire, many of us who are far removed from the theatre of war have very strong views – one way or the other – on the Government’s military offensive against the LTTE.”It adds: “Notwithstanding the LTTE air strike on the Kelanitissa power station not long ago, almost 75 per cent of participants say they are firmly in favour of military action, seeing it as the only route to wipe out terrorism.”And more than half the respondents to the survey believe that the war will be over by the end of next year, and that when the war comes to an end, Sri Lanka will achieve lasting peace.“On the flip side, a quarter of those polled do not support the military offensive.ConnQuite apart from the untold misery the fighting has heaped on innocent victims, the war will not pave the way for a solution to the ethnic conflict, they maintain,” the magazine’s ‘Talking Point’ column says.As for a possible post-war scenario, the poll suggests that Sri Lankans want “plans to be put in place for developing the north and east, and more effective economic policies to be implemented… We should also establish a support system for members of the armed forces and their families, they point out,” they say, according the LMD.

Sri Lanka makes top 8 in genocide nations

Sri Lanka has been placed among the top eight countries in a list of 33 countries involved in genocide and other mass atrocities.A new comprehensive watch released to mark the 60th anniversary of the United Nations Prevention of Genocide Convention said, UN peacekeeping efforts are in crisis amid dwindling contributions of both cash and well-trained forces.The list by the New York-based Genocide Prevention Project for the first time combines the findings of five leading independent watch lists to create a "watch list of watch lists."Sri Lanka has made it to the "Red Alert" list along with Afghanistan, Iraq and commonly known regions currently experiencing genocidal conflict such as Sudan’s Darfur and the Democratic Republic of Congo.Myanmar, Pakistan and Somalia are also placed among the top eight countries.According to the list, the next 25 "Orange Alert" countries appear in at least three of the indexes and include China, Colombia, Philippines and Indonesia as places where ongoing or simmering violence could flare to genocidal proportions.Among countries in the project’s list of 33, Iran, Myanmar, North Korea, Somalia, Sudan and Zimbabwe all face varying UN or state sanctions aimed at convincing them to obey the international will."It is possible to identify early indicators of mass atrocity crimes. But what happens now is the international community sees what’s going on, gets paralyzed and, if it acts, really only after the fact," said Jill Savitt, project executive director."You don’t see assertive proactive diplomacy in the earliest possible moments, when the bloodshed isn’t widespread or before arms have come into the region."The report says prudent application of "carrots and sticks" —which it describes as the panoply of economic, diplomatic and legal measures available to nations and the UN Security Council — can result in "averting an escalation of violence."However, the list comes as Irwin Cotler, former justice minister and attorney general, Monday released a petition calling on countries that have signed the genocide convention to "hold Iran to account for its genocidal incitement."

More civilians flee the Wanni

More than 500 civilians have crossed over to government-controlled areas from the Wanni since November, defence officials said.Military Spokesperson Brigadier Udaya Nanayakkara told The Morning Leader that 568 persons had crossed over to the government areas from the Wanni since November 1.Another 23 civilians from the Wanni had crossed over to the government areas yesterday, according to Nanayakkara.The Defence Ministry said that the group of escapees comprising 10 males 12 females and a child had arrived at Palampasi in northeast of Nedunkerni around 8.00 a.m."The escapees have been directed to the civilian welfare centres after being provided with food and basic medical facilities."Meanwhile, the Defence Ministry also said that troops had recovered five bodies of the LTTE following heavy fighting in the Kumulumunai area in Mulaithivu."Troops have found the body of a LTTE cadre killed during the confrontation that took place at 10.20am along with two T-56 weapons."The Ministry added that the troops had found three bodies of the Tigers along with one T-56 riffle in a subsequent search operation."Separately, another LTTE body was found in a search operation conducted immediately after a clash in general area Kumulamunai last morning in the same area."The Ministry also said that three cadres who were in the LTTE for more than a decade had surrendered to the army in Pooneryn on Monday."The surrendered have told the army that thousands more LTTE cadres are waiting for an opportunity to abandon the terrorist outfit, said the sources. They are still not very much sure about how the army would receive them, said the sources citing the surrendered. However, many of them have understood that army’s not their real enemy, the surrendered have further said," the Ministry said.

TMVP pledges to disarm

Eastern Province Chief Minister Sivanesathurai Chandrakanthan yesterday reiterated his commitment to disarm TMVP cadres after the Northern Province is liberated by the Government, during a meeting with Deputy British High Commissioner Mark Gooding in Trincomalee.The Chief Minister said their members carry arms as a means of self defence and these weapons will be handed over to the Government after the Northern Province is liberated by the Forces.Sivanesathurai said the Eastern Province has seen massive development after the area was liberated by the Forces. "President Mahinda Rajapaksa and Senior Presidential Advisor Basil Rajapaksa have shown keen interest in the Eastern Province development."A number of massive development projects are in progress in the Province. These projects are aimed at infrastructure and livelihood development, the Chief Minister said.He said the TMVP has placed utmost faith in the Government as it succeeded in restoring normalcy in the Province by holding provincial council elections."We have extended our fullest support for the Government's endevour to crush the LTTE which has posed great threat to the country and the region. The budget has also allocated massive funds for development activities being launched in the Eastern Province.

Karuna to reorganise TMVP

The TMVP hierarchy is to hold a meeting in the near future to re-organise the party structure, TMVP Leader, Parliamentarian Vinayagamurthi Muralitharan alias Karuna Amman said.Muralitharan told The Morning Leader that the date of the meeting had not been planned so far, but added that it would also include Eastern Province Chief Minister Sivanesathurai Chandrakanthan alias Pillayan."We will be having a meeting in the near future. No date has been finalised as yet. The meeting will be held with the participation of TMVP high rankers including Chief Minister Pillayan," Muralitharan said.TMVP spokesperson Azath Moulana said that the committee would meet in order to reorganise the party for the possible general election.Moulana however said that Muralitharan would also be invited to the meeting, which will be chaired by Chief Minister Chandrakanthan."The meeting will be chaired by the Chief Minister and we are also inviting Karuna Amman," Moulana said.

Gotabhaya Rajapaksa visits Jaffna

Sri Lankan Defence Secretary and the brother of SL President Mahinda Rajapaksa, Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, paid a sudden visit to Jaffna Tuesday accompanied by the Air Chief Marshal and Sri Lanka Army (SLA) Commander Lt. Gen. Sarath Fonseka and high military officials, according to Sri Lankan Defence Ministry sources. Gotabhaya met the chiefs of the three armed forces of Sri Lanka in Palaali SLA Head Quarters where he arrived with his retinue Tuesday morning. Jaffna SLA Commander Maj. Gen. G. A. Chandrasiri briefed his chief and the Lankan Defence Secretary, on the defence arrangements in force in Jaffna peninsula at the meeting in Palaali, according to the sources. The SLA Commander Lt. Gen. Sarath Fonseka discussed the present military operations in the north and their progress with the Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, the Jaffna Commander and other chief officers .No information is available indicating Gotabhaya Rajapaksa visiting any of the Front Defence Line (FDL) areas in the peninsula.Defence measures were strengthened Tuesday in Jaffna peninsula and the Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) helicopters were engaged in surveillance flights the whole day.

Ranil, Karu in joint show today

Public Administration and Home Affairs Minister Karu Jayasuriya resigned from his portfolio yesterday and will today formally accept the post of deputy leader of the UNP at a press conference with Opposition Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe at Sirikotha.The press conference, which will be held at 11 a.m. will be addressed by both Jayasuriya and Wickremesinghe, where they will spell out the future steps they intend to take to face the political challenges ahead.In a statement issued after resigning his cabinet post yesterday Jayasuriya said that though he joined the cabinet to support the war, the economy has become more important.The statement added that he extended support without conditions with the fervent wish to strengthen the President’s hand to defeat terrorism."Our decision to support the government for a period of two years is almost at an end. In contrast to military victories, the economy is being seriously challenged in every way."While I approve of the government’s conduct and approach to the war, I cannot agree with the government’s policy on economic management which not only impacts on the government but on the people in a big way," he noted.The statement added that Jayasuriya took the decision to quit the government as the period for supporting the government was almost at an end and especially because there was an economic crisis that far exceeded the war to which only the UNP had the capacity to find solutions.The UNP Working Committee on Monday unanimously accepted the appointment of Jayasuriya as Deputy Leader, Rukman Senanayake as Assistant Leader and Gamini Jayawickrema Perera as Chairman.It was also decided at the Working Committee that the party’s national organiser S.B. Dissanayake would be nominated as the UNP’s chief ministerial candidate for the Central Provincial Council.The Morning Leader reliably learns Jayasuriya’s re-entry into the UNP will be followed by several other defectors on a staggered basis.The decision to invite Jayasuriya and the defectors back to the UNP was reached after several rounds of negotiations between the UNP leadership, Jayasuriya and his emissaries.Jayasuriya had in private expressed his displeasure at the trajectory of the government on several aspects including the failure to implement the 17th Amendment to the Constitution and the appointment of government agents and grama sevakas on merit as opposed to political criteria.UNP International Affairs Secretary and Parliamentarian Ravi Karunanayake told The Morning Leader that the party was happy to see Jayasuriya return to the party fold."Although there may have been differences of opinions when he left the party, we are happy that he has decided to return," he said.Karunanayake said that Jayasuriya’s return to the party should be looked at in a positive sense, as it was a move forward for the UNP."There has been a projection that everyone in the UNP was moving out of the party. Now Jayasuriya has decided to come in and it would clear the initial projection of people moving out," Karunanayake said.The Morning Leader learns several UNP members and supporters are set to welcome Jayasuriya back to the party today at Sirikotha.In another significant development, son-in-law of Jayasuriya and Non Cabinet Investment Promotions Minister Naveen Dissanayake was not present when the budget vote was taken in parliament on Monday.The other notable absentees were Petroleum Minister A.H.M. Fowzie and UNP defector and Nation Building Minister Susantha Punchinilame.

53 Sri Lankan fishermen arrested, 10 boats seized
 
CHENNAI: Nearly 53 Sri Lankan fishermen who had strayed into Indian waters off Chennai coast in the last two days have been arrested and ten boats  seized from them, the police said.According to police, 42 fishermen were arrested and eight boats recovered on Sunday, while 11 fishermen and two boats were detained on Monday night by the Coast Guard, following which they were handed over to the police and later lodged in the Puzhal jail near here.Coast Guard officials said that the two boats were seized near the Pulicat Lake on the Tamil Nadu-Andhra Pradesh border.However, officials said Sri Lankan fishermen entered Indian waters with an aim to net tuna fish, which is most sought after for its nutritional value.The fish is available off Chennai round the year and therefore the Lankan fishermen entered Indian waters to net them, they said.Earlier, more than 20 Sri Lankan fishermen who had strayed into Indian waters were arrested. However, they were later released after a Joint Interrogation Committee confirmed that the arrested were bonafide fishermen.

Australian Govt gives $4m in food aid to Sri Lanka

Australia will provide rice, sugar and corn to Sri Lankans caught up in ongoing violence in their nation.Conflict between the Sri Lankan government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam has escalated since January.The $4 million in food aid will be distributed to about 230,000 people displaced by the violence in the northern Vanni region.Foreign Affairs minister Stephen Smith said he was deeply concerned about the worsening humanitarian situation in Sri Lanka and called for the warring sides to respect the rights of civilians."(They) should allow civilians, including aid workers, to move freely in areas under their control," he told reporters.

09 December 2008

TNA scoffs at victory in war –TELO MP Srikantha
   
The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) yesterday admitted in parliament that the security forces had captured areas which were earlier under LTTE control but insisted war was not the solution.TELO and TNA parliamentarian N. Srikantha said his party regretted if anyone rejoiced after climbing half way up the well. He said it would be possible for the security forces to capture Kilinochchi or destroy the LTTE leadership but it would not end the problem.“Even if you gain control over every inch of land held by the LTTE, the problem will remain until the root cause that is at the bottom of it all is not addressed,” he said.TELO Jaffna MP Mr. Srikantha said there were examples found in other parts of the world, where oppressed people rose up to win their rights. “If you do not address the real problem, even future generations will rise up for our people’s rights,” he said.TELO MP Mr. Srikantha referred to the LTTE’s willingness to agree for a ceasefire and requested the government to consider the possibility of resolving this longstanding ethnic conflict through negotiations.“Don’t think we are making this request from a weak position,” he said.

Sri Lankan opposition moves no-faith motion against gov't
  
Sri Lanka's main opposition on Monday handed over a motion of no-confidence against the government headed by President Mahinda Rajapakse.The chief opposition whip Joseph Michael Perera said the motion was handed over to the secretary general of parliament.Michael said the motion was aimed at highlighting the government's alleged corrupt deals and its waste and mismanagement.The motion outlined the government's alleged wrong doings in the purchase of MiG aircraft, its wasteful expenditure in setting up a budget passenger airline and the massive losses created by the government decision to hedge the island's petroleum requirements in the international market.The motion also alleged that the government was using for political purposes the gains made by the security forces in their current military campaign against Tamil Tiger rebels in the north.Parliamentary sources said no date has been fixed for the no-confidence vote.

Karunanidhi slams Sri Lankan army chief’s reported remark

CHENNAI: Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi on Monday said it was condemnable if Sri Lankan army Chief Sarath Fonseka had described a couple of Tamil Nadu politicians as “political jokers.”“The leaders in Tamil Nadu can criticise one another. But we can never allow a person from another country criticising our leaders,” he told reporters at the secretariat.Asked about PMK leader S. Ramadoss’ demand that he bring Mr. Fonseka’s comments to the notice of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Mr. Karunanidhi said the issue could have already reached him.Reacting to another reported comment of Mr. Fonseka that India would not place the demand for a cease-fire, the Chief Minster said the Prime Minister had accepted the request to persuade Sri Lanka to stop the war.Mr. Karunanidhi said when he met the Prime Minister along with other leaders from the State, it was decided to send External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee to prevail upon the Sri Lankan government for a ceasefire.

Black-flag demonstration

MDMK general secretary Vaiko said that his party would organise a black-flag demonstration in front of the Sri Lankan Deputy Commission in Chennai on December 10 demanding an apology from Mr. Fonseka.He said if the Sri Lankan President and Mr. Fonseka failed to apologise, the Indian government should expel the Sri Lankan High Commissioner in Delhi.CPI state secretary D. Pandian said the comments were a challenge to the Tamil community’s self-respect.He argued that in the present circumstances, there was no point in sending Mr. Mukherjee to Sri Lanka. “Instead, India should summon the Sri Lankan President and seek an apology from Mr. Fonseka. If he is not ready for it, India should close down the Sri Lankan Deputy High Commission in Chennai.”

Provincial councils dissolved in Sri Lanka

Sri Lankan government in a special gazette notification dissolved the North Western and the Central Provincial Councils yesterday at midnight. According to the law the nominations have to be called within seven days of the notification of the dissolution. The polls should be held within three months after dissolving or the end of the term of the council. Terms for both North Western and the Central provincial councils are to end in August next year.The election date for these two provincial councils is yet to be decided by the Election Commissioner when the nominations are over. The chief ministers of the just dissolved provinces say they are confident of ruling party victory at the forthcoming polls.

Effigies of Lankan President, General burnt by MDMK

TIRUNELVELI: The Tirunelveli Junction police arrested 16 cadres of Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam here on Monday for burning the effigies of Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse and his Army Commander Lt. Gen. Sarath Fonseka.Led by party Tirunelveli city district secretary K.M.A. Nizam, the cadres raised slogans against Mr. Rajapakse and Lt. Gen. Fonseka and burned their effigies.Though the police tried to retrieve the effigies from the protestors, Mr. Nizam snatched them from the law-enforcers and burned it even as the cadres raised slogans “condemning Mr. Rajapakse for carrying out ethnic cleansing in Lanka and Lt. Gen. Fonseka for mocking at the politicians of Tamil Nadu”.All the protestors were released later.

Minister Mervin, Kudu Lal and Colombo ex-Mayor hired killers to assassinated me, Asath Sali complains to police

Ex-Mayor of Colombo Asath Sali lodged a complaint in Kollupitiya police station on December 07 stating that Minister Mervin Silva, former municipal councilor Lal Peiris alias Kudu Lal and Colombo ex-Mayor Imitiaz Uvais have hired one Chandrasena of Hambanthota to assassinated him.According to the entry made by Sergeant Upali (NO: 10372) in CIBR 244/82 (2310) police log, Asath Sali complains that a person asked from him through a SMS to his mobile phone on December 06 to call back so that he can pass him some crucial information regarding death threats to him. Later he phoned the person and he divulged the story.On December 07, at 7 PM, he gave another call to the said person on his request and the caller mentioned his name and the name of another person who recorded the discussion to plot to kill him. Sali complains that Minister Mervin Silva, former councilor Lal Peiris alias Kudu Lal and Colombo ex-Mayor Imitiaz Uvais have hired one Chandrasena of Hambanthota to assassinated him and the killer has been ordered to execute him before December 20. The caller had obtained the mobile telephone number of Asath Sali from UNP headquarters Sirikotha, the complainer says. He says that he has recorded all the relevant calls and the SMS is also saved. Sali says that the police guard that had been provided with him for many years was removed without prior notice. He says that the above mentioned persons are angry with him and the government is also in political disagreement and in malice with him.He says that his security was removed since he spoke publicly about abduction of Tamil and Muslim businessmen for ransom taking, about disappearing people and about the ill famous white vans. He has petitioned the President and the Defense Secretary regarding the matter but at least the reception of the letter had not been notified.Sali was in an elongated battle against the corruptions of the Colombo Municipal Council. Eventually he went to courts and based on a petition filed by him and around 100 others, the judiciary ruled to suspend the Municipal Council and to put it under a Commissioner.However, the former Mayor Uvais still resides in the official residence of the Mayor with three families enjoying all perks of the post of Mayor, Sali exposed in a press conference recently.

Budget 2009 passed by 42-vote majority

Parliament yesterday afternoon (Dec. 08th) passed Budget 2009 by a 42-vote majority. One hundred and twenty six members supported the budget, while 84 opposed.At the vote on the third reading, the Jathika Hela Urumaya, National Freedom Front, Ceylon Workers' Congress and Upcountry People's Front, along with government members, voted in favour of the budget proposals.The United National Party, Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna, Sri Lanka Muslim Congress and Tamil National Alliance opposed the budget.

Karu Jayasuriya as UNP deputy leader

The United National Party has appointed Karu Jayasuriya as its deputy leader, an official at the party headquarters Sirikotha told 'Lanka Dissent.'A short while ago, its Working Committee unanimously approved a proposal by party leader Ranil Wickremesinghe to appoint Mr. Jayasuriya as deputy leader, as well as to the WC.The Working committee of the UNP also chose Rukman Senanayake, who was its chairman, as assistant leader of the party at a meeting yesterday afternoon (Dec. 08th). Gamini Jayawickrama Perera will replace him as the party chair.Previously, UNP national organizer S.B. Dissanayake and MPs Sajith Premadasa and Vajira Abeywardena had said they would contest for the position of deputy leader.Senior leaders have been appointed to the key positions of the party to avoid internal divisions, the UNP official added.

German Tamil stabbed outside Sri Lankan Exhibition in Frankfurt

A 38-year-old German Tamil, who visited the exhibition conducted by the Sri Lankan consulate in the city of Frankfurt in Germany was stabbed allegedly by Sinhala thugs deployed by the Consulate Sunday evening. The victim, Krishnan Sinnathamby, a father of two, was seriously wounded in his hand and was operated at the City Hospital Frankfurt-Höchst Sunday night. Talking to TamilNet Monday evening, the lonely visitor to the exhibition, said he struggled hard to escape from the knives of a group of Sinhala speaking men who attempted to stab him in his stomach and neck. "The attackers fled the site when a Tamil who was parking his car near the place came to help me," Mr. Krishnan Sinnathamby told TamilNet. "I can identify the attackers. They were inside the Exhibition hall and were together with the organisers and looked like thugs brought down by the Consulate," Krishnan Sinnathamby said. The victim, who has been living in Germany since 1994, visited the exhibition for almost two hours and left the exhibition site around 8:00 p.m. He was surrounded by the attackers while waiting to be picked up by a friend around 8:15 p.m. "At least two of the attackers appeared in front of me. A group of persons, who were following the attackers, also surrounded me from behind as one of the attackers in front of me pointed his knife targeting my stomach. In my effort to defend myself, I somehow managed to outmaneuver him, but the other attacker targeted my neck with his knife. I had no option other than blocking the knife with my hand as I shouted for help. Suddenly, the attackers vanished from the site as a Tamil friend who was parking his car came to help me," Krishnan said. The attackers were talking in Sinhala as they began to attack him, according to Krishnan. "When the man who came to help me saw that I was badly wounded, he rushed me to the hospital."Krishnan had not visited the site on Friday or Saturday. There was no Tamil exhibition on Sunday. The attackers had randomly chosen a Tamil to express their violent anger after their propaganda exhibition was defeated by the Tamil exhibition at the same site. "I was thoroughly checked by the security guards at the entrance. I was alone and I was not engaged in any controversies. When I took photos of the exhibition, some of these men came to me and said photographing was prohibited. They also inspected my camera. Then, one of them said it was not necessary to delete the photos that I had already taken and asked me not to take any more photographs. I respected their request." he said. The German Police has begun inquiries into the episode.

No Indian should be allowed entry to the country for ceasefire talks, says Anura Disanayaka

JVP parliamentarian Anura Kumara Disanayaka says that no Indian politician or official should be permitted entry to the island from the airport for talks on a ceasefire.Participating in a press conference summoned by the JVP yesterday (08) the MP said that there are two fronts of separatist battlefront and separatist discussion front. When noble war heroes win at the separatist battlefront, the separatist discussion front rush in to destabilize the victories, he said.When Prabakaran was rounded up in a small area of land in 1987 Vadamarachchi operation, India interfered and the defeat was avoided. He further said that LTTE police chief Nadesan, Tamil Nadu politicians, JHU and Minister Keheliya Rambukwella are sniffing for a ceasefire again. MP Disanayaka said that the government and India are preparing for the repeat of 1987 drama and another chance to defeat prabakaran would be lost.

08 December 2008

Killinochchi has not been captured; LTTE has 15,000 cadres left – Ranil

Despite government claims, Killinochchi has not been captured and news filtering in from the North indicates that the LTTE has about 15,000 cadres left, UNP leader Ranil Wickremesinghe said.Addressing the UNP’s 53rd annual convention at the S. de S. Jayasinghe grounds in Dehiwela on Saturday, he said that in the absence of the independent media access to war torn areas, the government was making high sounding claims. "But the truth is that Killinochchi has not been overrun and the LTTE, it is estimated has about 15,000 cadres in the Wanni District."Wickremesinghe said that President Mahinda Rajapaksa and LTTE leader Velupillai Prabhakaran prosecuted the war very differently. Prabhakaran sends planes in the night to bomb Colombo, while his cadres smuggled in arms and ammunition through the sea. President Rajapaksa directed the war according to his mysterious agenda, regardless of the mounting human casualties, including those in the security forces.The military was being pushed from one point to another by Mahinda, for reasons best known to him and his brother Gothabaya.He was being projected as the greatest general in the world with scant regard for names such as Julius Ceasar, Alexander the Great and Napolean Bonaparte, he said."The government job is to govern, while the security forces should be allowed to prosecute the war according to strategies, best known to them. But the Rajapaksa, who constantly interfere in the execution of military operations, cover themselves with glory when battles are won, but no sooner the bodies start arriving, the blame is shifted on to the security forces."Even though Killinochchi has not been captured, the government has without a doubt invaded the treasury and ensured that a future government would have to go with a begging bowl to resuscitate the country. With advisors like Ajith Nivard Cabraal and the present set of cabinet ministers, it is not surprising that state coffers are empty. Future generations would have to pay a heavy price for the Rajapaksa regimes incompetence, inefficiency and short sighted policies, Wickremesinghe added.

Sri Lankan troops continue multi-front offensives despite stiff resistance from LTTE

Despite heavy resistance from the LTTE Tigers and the pouring rains Sri Lankan troops are closing in on the political capital of the Tigers' quasi state in northern Sri Lanka, the military said.The Defence Ministry said intense fighting took place as troops of 57 Division continued their multi-frontal thrust at the outer fringe of Kilinochchi at Adampan South, Puthumurippukulam, North of Kokkuvil and Terumurikandy on Sunday (Dec 7). Troops overran two LTTE bunkers at Puthumurippukulam and destroyed another on the western defenses of Kilinochchi inflicting heavy damages to the rebels, the Ministry said.Meanwhile, Troops of Task Force 1 operating in the general area Nevil at the Northern Kilinochchi battlefront fired artillery rounds at identified LTTE ground movements yesterday injuring many Tiger rebels, sources said.According to the military, troops of the Task Force 3, now advancing northeast of Olumadu in Mullaitivu and troops of 57 Division offensive battalion advancing from North of Kokkuvil towards Terumurikandy, confronted pockets of Tiger resistance yesterday. Yesterday the Media Center for National Security said the troops are within the “kissing distance” of Kilinochchi.MCNS said the security forces are advancing in multi-fronts with 7 offensive divisions into the remaining LTTE garrisons at Kilinochchi and Mullaitivu and the TF1 and 57 Div troops are now positioned in kissing distances to the outer defence lines of the LTTE's administrative heartland and main garrison township at Kilinochchi.

Sri Lanka says rebels putting up stiff resistance

Tamil Tiger rebels are putting up stiff resistance as government troops close on their political capital in Sri Lanka's war-torn north, the defence ministry said Monday.Troops captured two bunkers and destroyed another on the western defences of of Kilinochchi on Sunday as the offensive continued in heavy rain, the ministry said."Terrorists have also put on stiff resistance in the area despite sustaining heavy losses," it said in a statement.On Sunday, the ministry said troops were within "kissing distance" of Kilinochchi, the political headquarters of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).The government has been saying that the fall of Kilinochchi was imminent since September, but intense rebel resistance and monsoon rains have slowed the military push.The ministry did not give details of its casualties, while there was no comment from the guerrillas. There were no independent accounts of the fighting.The LTTE has admitted losing ground to government troops but their leader, Velupillai Prabhakaran, vowed in his annual speech last month to fight on.The guerrillas, who began their struggle for a separate Tamil homeland in 1972, are facing the Sri Lankan army's biggest ever offensive.

UNP to move no confidence motion against government today   

The UNP is to move a no confidence motion today (8th) against the UPFA government for arriving at a hedging agreement that has wasted billions of public money. The UNP hopes to get the support of all forces that are against the waste of public money.The UNP states the party has launched a broad programme to get the support of majority of members who represent the Parliament for the proposal. UNP sources say discussions have been held with several ministers in the cabinet to get their support for the no confidence motion.Opposition and UNP Leader Ranil Wickremasinghe said if the government was unable to face the no confidence motion they should dissolve Parliament  and go for a general election.

Tamil MP 'prevented' leaving country
 
A Tamil parliamentarian says he was prevented leaving Sri Lanka by the police at the Colombo’s international airport.Tamil National Alliance (TNA) MP P Ariyanethran told BBC Sandeshaya that he went to the airport on Sunday morning to travel to India for medical treatment.At the airport, he said, he was informed by the immigration officials that he will not be allowed to leave the country.The officials took the MP to the police Criminal Investigation Unit at the airport where he was informed that “higher authorities” have issued an order preventing him leaving Sri Lanka.

'CID order'

“An official told me that he was officially informed by the CID that I should not be allowed to leave the country,” Mr. Ariyanethran said.The TNA MP added that he has registered with a hospital in Chennai, in Tamil Nadu, for medical treatment on Tuesday.Although the police had their orders, the MP said, he was not informed of any such decision by the authorities.“The official told me that he was very sorry but he had to obey the orders from the CID,” he told BBC Sinhala service.BBC Sandeshaya could not contact police spokesman, Senior Superintendant of Police Ranjith Gunasekara, despite repeated attempts.

'Violated constitution'

The parliamentarian said he will lodge a complaint with the speaker of the parliament through TNA leader on Monday.Mr. Ariyanethran together with two other TNA MPs; S Jeyanandamurthy and S Kajendran, have violated the constitution by making pro-LTTE speeches in Germany, the CID informed the judiciary on Friday.The CID said the three legislators admitted urging for a separate Tamil homeland in Sri Lanka and urging the Tamils to support LTTE leader Velupillai Prabhakaran to fulfil that purpose at a Poingu Thamil rally.The Colombo magistrate ordered the police to seek legal advice before ordering the MPs to appear in court to answer the charges.With 22 MPs, TNA which accepts the Tamil Tigers as the sole representative of Sri Lankan Tamils is the biggest Tamil political party in Sri Lanka parliament.

Lankan army chief calls them jokers

NEW DELHI: In a statement that could anger the Manmohan Singh governments southern allies, the Sri Lankan army chief has said that New Delhi would not listen to political jokers in Tamil Nadu and insist on a ceasefire with the Tamil Tiger rebels. At a meeting with the prime minister here, a delegation led by Tamil Nadu chief minister M Karunanidhi had sought immediate intervention by New Delhi for effecting a ceasefire. The prime minister had promised to send Mr Pranab Mukherjee to Colombo to discuss the issue. But in a state-run paper, Lankan army chief Lt Gen Sarath Fonseka said the Indian government was “not interested in a ceasefire in Sri Lanka as LTTE is listed as a terrorist organisation.The Indian government has already expressed its view on the Sri Lankan issue and Prime Minister Singh has enough problems after the Mumbai terrorist attack. They are against LTTE and nothing in favour of LTTE would happen, the newspaper quoted the army chief as saying. General Fonseka, whose term of office has been extended by one more year, said that India cannot just look the other side when it comes to Tamil sentiments and was keen to ensure that innocent civilians were not harmed during military operation.That is why India is sending food and other relief to make sure that innocent Tamils are not suffering. That is their concern and Sri Lanka gives our fullest co-operation to ensure that innocent Tamils are not harmed.... That is what India expects from us,the General said. Despite bad weather and heavy LTTE resistance, Sri Lankan troops advancing in several directions were said to be within the striking distance of LTTE one-time political power centre, Kilinochchi town, lying 350 km north of here. Claiming that the advancing troops will definitely capture Kilinochchi and Mullaitivu from LTTE, the army chief has said that the only option that will be left for LTTE (thereafter) is just jump into the sea or bite cyanide capsulesResponding to a question on the charges that Sri Lankan security forces do not have concerns about civilians when attacking LTTE, General Fonseka has said that “these allegations are made only by corrupt politicians in Tamil Nadu who have been bribed by LTTE. Pointing out that the LTTE activities had caused much problems in Tamil Nadu, he warned that LTTE’s ideology for a separate state could endanger the sovereignty of India.If you consider the overall thing, LTTE’s separate state ideology is a threat to India, because this ideology will spread in Tamil Nadu too. It is now proved by Tamil Nadu by staging protests against the Indian government and seeking help to take the side of LTTE, he said. 

Mullaiththeevu under flood - GA

Mullaiththeevu District Government Agent Imelda Sukumar has instructed her officials to submit a report on the status of Internally Displaced people in Mullaiththeevu district as several areas in the district are under flood due to heavy rains and stormy winds. Meanwhile meteorological department sources Sunday said the low depression has been moving away and has been located off Mannaar coast. Districts of Northern and Eastern provinces, Polonnaruwa, Anuradhapura and Puththa'lam would experience increased torrential rain fall with stormy winds, according to meteorological department.

Karu at cross roads

Public Administration Minister Karu Jayasuriya has reportedly told a meeting of the UNP dissidents who crossed over to the government that he was severely reprimanded by a VVIP, and as such was left with two options – either to re join the UNP or give up politics altogether. All the dissidents except Minister G.L. Peiris attended the meeting called by Minister Jayasuriya and held at the parliamentary complex.Mr. Jayasuriya said he was similarly reprimanded on several other occasions by this VVIP, and found it demeaning to his dignity and self respect. He said that on one occasion he was even reprimanded in the presence of a well-known business tycoon. Mr. Jayasuriya is reported to have said he had no alternative but to either to resign from politics or re join the UNP if it was willing to accommodate him with a responsible position in the party.However, some of the members including Sports Minister Gamini Lokuge had requested him not to leave the government now. A Minister who attended the meeting told Daily Mirror on condition of anonymity that some of them wanted to arrange a meeting with the government’s higher-ups to sort this matter. Yet, Mr. Jayasuriya had shown no inclination to do so.Meanwhile, speculation was rife that Mr. Jayasuriya might re join the UNP together with a few others after the budget debate which is to be concluded today and their decision is to be announced at a news conference soon.

Poets lend voice to Lankan cause
 
CHENNAI: The Marina had some unusual visitors on Sunday. Over a hundred poets from across the state had gathered, under a makeshift tent near the  Gandhi Statue, to protest against the war in Sri Lanka and the killing of Tamils there.Curious passers-by heard resonant, emotional poems filled with the imagery of the war and the "ethnic cleansing of innocent Tamils."Well-known writer Ramesh of the erstwhile Prem-Ramesh duo called for a separate state for Tamils, to be carved out of Sri Lanka. He pointed out examples across the world where nations had been carved out after a popular protest. "I don't see the LTTE as a terrorist organisation. Unlike the terrorists who attacked Mumbai, the LTTE has a definite political goal the creation of a separate state for Tamils," he said.Poets in Tamil Nadu are well known for their clannish behaviour. They are often divided by their ideologies and form factions. Leena Manimekalai, who spoke on behalf of the protesters, made it clear that poets at the gathering had set aside their differences, and had rallied together behind the cause of the Lankan Tamils.Asked what impact, if any, such an event would have on the war raging in Sri Lanka, dramatist and poet Veli Rangarajan was indignant. Artists, he said, had every right to be in the forefront of any protest against "the mass killing of their brethren." "Do not underestimate artists. Our appeal to the conscience of the international community will definitely have an impact. No other country in the world, except Sri Lanka, bombs its own people. We have to hold them accountable for the thousands of civilian deaths.""This is not an internal affair of Sri Lanka," said Thamizhachi Thangapandian who pointed out that they were calling for an immediate ceasefire. A political resolution, she said, could be achieved through talks which must facilitated by a group of officials from the UN, human rights organizations like Amnesty International and cultural representatives from Tamil Nadu.Krishaveni was anxious to dispel any notion that the poets had gathered in support of a terrorist organization. "We are gathered here to lend moral support to the Tamils," she said.

Security officers were at the road block when Raghu was assassinated

Eastern Provincial Council Chief Minister Sivanesathurai Chandrakanthan alias Pillaiyan says that only a few persons were aware that his slain private secretary Raghu was on the way to Athurugiriya where he met his death.He said to a weekend newspaper that not only a few persons knew that he was going to Athurugiriya but also LTTE was totally unaware of it.Immediately after visiting the scene of crime, he said that the killing of Rafhu was not an LTTE act.He said that security officials were at a nearby roadblock when Raghu was assassinated. He emphasized there was suspicion over the killing despite the fact that LTTE had committed assassinations in Colombo.Meanwhile, UNP national organizer S.B. Disanayaka addressing the party congress pointed finger towards the government over the killing of Raghu.

Rights organisation demands

COIMBATORE: The Indian Human Rights Movement has demanded that the Central Government should intervene in the situation in Sri Lanka as many innocent Tamils were getting killed in the military action against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam.A recent meeting of the movement here also mourned the victims of the terror attack in Mumbai and paid tributes to the officials and personnel of the National Security Guards and Maharashtra Police who were killed during the operations against the terrorists.In a resolution, the movement wanted the State Government to educate the public on the guidelines/procedures to be followed for donating organs. The movement also wanted the Department of Transport to ensure that the driving licence had a mention of the blood group of holder.

Cong ahead in 30 seats in Delhi and 105 seats in Rajasthan

NEW DELHI: Ruling Congress was leading in 30 seats while BJP was ahead in 22 constituencies in the Delhi Assembly elections for which trends were  available on Monday. Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit and BJP's Chief Ministerial candidate V K Malhotra were leading from their constituencies New Delhi and Greater Kailash respectively.Ministers A K Walia (Laxmi Nagar), Arvinder Singh Lovely (Gandhi Nagar) and Yoganand Shastri (Mehrauli) were ahead in the race.Ministers Harun Yusuf (Ballimaran) and Raj Kumar Chouhan (Mangolpuri), who were initially trailing, were now ahead in the race.Delhi Assembly Speaker Chaudhury Prem Singh, who has never lost an election since 1958, is leading in Ambedkar Nagar.JAIPUR: Hoping to oust the BJP from power, the Congress was on Monday leading in 105 seats while the saffron party was ahead in 49 constituencies in trends available for 150 out of the 200 constituencies in Rajasthan.Mayawati-led BSP is leading in four seats, while JD(U) and CPI(M) were ahead in one each. Others were leading in 12 seats.AICC General Secretary Ashok Gehlot, who spearheaded the party's campaign in the state, and Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje were leading from their Sardarpura and Jhalrapatan constituencies respectively.

07 December 2008

TNA wants Pranab to ensure ceasefire

The Tamil National Alliance last week reiterated that the visit of Indian Foreign Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee should pave the way for an immediate ceasefire in the country.TNA Parliamentarian Suresh Premachandran told The Sunday Leader that there would be no purpose in Mukherjee's visit if the war was to continue in the north. Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Thursday agreed to send Mukherjee to Sri Lanka to hold discussions with President Mahinda Rajapakse on the issue."There will be no point in Mukherjee's visit if the war continues to go on," Premachandran said. The Indian Premier agreed to send Mukherjee following a meeting with the delegation of all party members of Tamil Nadu headed by Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi last Thursday (4).Several parties including Congress, PMK, CPI and Dalit Panthers accompanied the Chief Minister.The members had called for the intervention of the central government in the Sri Lankan issue and to press for an immediate cessation of hostilities in the north.Meanwhile, the Indian High Commission in Sri Lanka said that there had been no official information with regard to Mukherjee's visit."Nothing has been told to us so far with regard to Minister Pranab Mukherjee's visit," Spokesperson for the Indian High Commission, Dinkar Asthana said.

Pranab’s mission should be to end war in Sri Lanka, says Ramadoss

VILLUPURAM: External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee’s mission to Sri Lanka should be to immediately end the war and enable the displaced people to return, Pattali Makkal Katchi founder S. Ramadoss said on Saturday.Addressing a press conference at Thailapuram near here, he said people of the State hoped that Mr. Mukherjee would bring good tidings of cessation of hostilities and resettlement of the Eelam Tamils.He said since rain had caused immense losses, Chief Minister Karunanidhi should insist that the Centre immediately release Rs.1,000 crore for mitigating the sufferings of those affected.Asked about the possibility of the PMK aligning with the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and the Communist Party of India (Marxist), Dr. Ramadoss said, “Wait and watch.”

Crucial meetings to decide on polls

With government confident of winning the third reading of the Budget tomorrow, coupled with continuous military victories in the north, political sources have predicted that President Mahinda Rajapaksa will go for a snap poll.Among the sources there are two schools of thought: One predicting only provincial council elections and the other insisting that Parliament would be dissolved and a general election will be called.The latter group maintains that the President will dissolve Parliament Tuesday midnight as he has already set an ‘auspicious’ date to hold elections, early next year.“We learnt that Parliament will be dissolved on December 9 and the date for the general elections is set for February 18,” the sources said.Some of the SLFP insiders said: “We were told by the party’s hierarchy to get ready for a provincial council election as they are planning to dissolve the remaining provincial councils on an earlier date than scheduled.”When The Nation contacted Western Province Governor Alavi Mowlana regarding these much speculated future elections, he said that the issue of provincial councils was discussed during the SLFP Central Committee meeting and it will be further discussed during today’s meeting with the Governors of Western, Central, Southern, Uva and North Western Provinces.“There is a lot of speculation going on about the future of the provincial councils and it was discussed at the Central Committee meting. Anyway there are only several months left for these councils to function,” he added.He, however, dismissed the claims of dissolving Parliament stating that the issue never came up during the Central Committee meeting.“I don’t think it will be dissolved in a hurry, especially after a strong showing in the Budget,” he said.The five UPFA nomination committees and the steering committee on elections will meet tomorrow in Parliament to discuss the procedure and the method of selecting the nominations for the provincial councils.He added that the applications are being distributed by the Party Headquarters and they expect a large number of candidates.The nominations itself will not be decided tomorrow. Tomorrow’s meeting will most probably be on how we will choose the candidates,” Mowlana said Meanwhile, Education Minister Susil Premajayanth also stated that there is a great possibility of holding the provincial elections several months before their terms expire.“Anyway these five Provincial Councils have to be dissolved between April and August next year, so there is a possibility that these will be dissolved months before their time ends,” he said.“The government has no intention of going for a general election when the war in the Wanni has reached a critical point,” Susil Premajayanth said. The five UPFA nomination committees and the steering committee on elections will meet tomorrow in Parliament to discuss the procedure and the method of selecting the nominations for the Provincial Councils.He added that the applications are being distributed by the Party HQ and they expect a large number of candidates. “The nominations itself will not be decided tomorrow. Tomorrow’s meeting will most probably be on how we will choose the candidates,” Moulana said.“The deadline for the applications is December 20 and we will decide tomorrow when we should commence the interviews and the criteria that we expect candidates to meet,” the Minister of Education said.

Tourism industry on the verge of collapse

The tourism industry in the country is facing the worst ever crisis situation and is in doubt whether it would collapse beyond redemption, the Tourist Hotels Association of Sri Lanka (THASL) told The Sunday Leader.With the global financial recession, the leisure industry has hit rock bottom and advance bookings have seen a steep decline for the past few months and any further downward turns would result in closing down many resort hotels in the country, according to the THASL. "This is the worst ever crisis situation the country's tourism industry has ever had to face as even after the disastrous tsunami and airport bombings, still the industry had the determination to bounce back and were able to recover fast, but the present global financial recession has already forced our leisure industry to suffer immensely," President, THASL, Srilal Miththapala told The Sunday Leader.According to Miththapala, the surveys that he has carried out during the past few months have clearly shown that the industry would be in great trouble from January as there are hardly any bookings coming through and the usual extra staff that was absorbed during the season have now been put on hold.  "In December there are only a few arrivals which is a huge decline compared to the previous years. But the present situation would be completely different from January as there are hardly any bookings coming through," Miththapala added.According to him, of the nine Russian charter flights that were to bring leisure seekers to the country in December, two charter flights have cancelled their bookings and more cancellations are likely.Speaking further Miththapala said that not only are those who are directly involved in the industry facing a total loss but also the dependents and those who are indirectly involved which amounts to more than 400,000 people."Although the industry suffered enormously in 2007 this year's figures could be rated as the worst ever as it is a 15% drop compared to last year and the THASL expects a further downward trend in the years to come. Even the World Tourism Organisation (WTO) in mid 2008 expected a growth of 6.8% in tourism but within a few months they have down graded it to 3%, which clearly shows what an impact it would have on our country's tourism industry that once was the third largest foreign exchange earner for the country," Miththapala said.

Eastern violence seen as decreasing after TMVP Satyagraha

The recent spate of violence in the Batticaloa district which claimed some 20 lives, is on the decrease following the launching of a mass Satyagraha campaign in Batticaloa town early last week, headed by Batticaloa mayoress Sivageetha Prabhakaran, informed sources said. It is obvious that the hidden hand behind the violence is now choosing to restrain itself, fearing that it would be identified, in the face of the popular pressure that has been launched in the form of the Satyagraha, these sources said. They added that the violence in no way could be attributed to any purported rifts within the TMVP.Questioned about the reported differences between Plllayan and Karuna, these sources said that if at all there are any differences they are purely ideological in that Pillayan believed that the Eastern Provincial Council should be vested with police powers while Karuna did not consider this important.Other than for this issue there are no major differences between the parties, they said. They also explained that the Karuna faction was not responsible for the recent killings in the East.Sections of the Eastern public, they said, are faulting the Pillayan administration for not reining-in the violence but they pointed out that the Eastern Provincial Council could do little or nothing in this regard because the Council does not enjoy police powers.However, the TMVP has suspended participation in the APRC as a mark of protest against the violence.

Terror plots targeting Colombo uncovered

Two massive Tiger terror plots to be unleashed in Colombo and Jaffna, were busted this week.The breakthrough into the Colombo terror plot was made when a special intelligence unit from Colombo took into custody the biggest suicide kit discovered up to now, along with a specially trained Tiger suicide cadre and his accomplices at a point between Rambewa and Saliyapura.The suicide cadre identified as Sandilal was caught with a suicide kit weighing about 8 kilos. He had been trained in the Wanni by Ratnam Master, who is the Head of Velupillai Prabhakaran’s personal security. The arrest of Sandilal and his accomplices led to the uncovering of many Tiger terror plans.Sandilal is said to belong to a specialist unit known as Champion Black Tigers, whose targets are only known to Pottu Amman and Ratnam Master.The LTTE’s Intelligence cadres had smuggled Sandilal and his suicide kit to Rambewa area through jungle tracks. On the way, they have had their meals at a Tiger safe house at Puwarasakulam.To receive the suicide cadre, his handler Kandaruban, a Jaffna born resident of Vavuniya now residing at Aluth Mawatha, Mattakkuliya had gone to Rambewa.On November 26, Tiger team had spoken to another Tiger intelligence cadre residing at Kawdana Road, Dehiwala by the name of Sadish regarding their impending rendezvous with Sandilal and had left for Anuradhapura. The journey had been undertaken in a luxury car worth about Rs. 5 million.At Rambewa, no sooner Sandilal was picked up, while on the move the team had unscrewed a buffel and stuffed the suicide kit inside it and refixed it. But, all their preparations were spoilt by the investigating team from Colombo, who were waiting for them on the way.An identity card carried by one of the Tigers in the car had an address at Jumma Mosque Road, Maligawatte. Investigators who rushed there recovered more suicide kits. Sandilal had named as their targets the Army Commander, Karuna Amman, V. Anandasangaree and Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa.The heavy suicide kit, unlike earlier ones recovered by security forces, had contained bigger steel balls to take on even bullet proof vehicles and Sandilal had been trained to jump on potential targets from upper floors of a building.On Tuesday, the Tiger team that smuggled Sandilal to Rambewa through jungle tracks were themselves ambushed by a commando team in which one of them was killed, while others with injuries had fled into the jungle.Other suicide cadres, including the one who assassinated Maj Gen. Janaka Perera had been smuggled to Anuradhapura by this team using jungle paths. From information elicited from these Tigers, a woman spy of the LTTE was also arrested from Ratmalana along with many others.They had revealed that the organisation had given orders to stitch 60 suicide kits like the ones recovered from Maligawatte, from which 20 had already been delivered to the Wanni. And those who had undertaken to transport the kits had been hired vehicles spending as much as Rs. 50,000. They had been using luxury vehicles to avoid suspicion.Members of this cell had even been provided with visas to European countries in case of an emergency.On intelligence provided by a civilian, Jaffna based 524 Brigade troops on Thursday (4) evening made a breakthrough when they uncovered a large stock of Tiger suicide jackets, arms and ammunition and explosives from the general area of Manalkadu in Jaffna.The recovery included three suicide jackets, one T-56 weapon, 170 rounds of ammunition, two magazines, 20 Olive-Green uniforms, one claymore mine, two remote controllers, 41 detonators, 1kg of explosives, one wire roll, three hand grenades, one radio communication set, one Global Positioning System (GPS) equipment, two bags, medicine and food items.

SL 'most dangerous' for aid workers says EC

Sri Lanka is one of the most dangerous places for aid workers, the European Commission (EC) last week said.European Commissioner for Development and Humanitarian Aid, Lois Michel had said that at least 29 aid workers had been killed in Sri Lanka since 2006.The latest victim was A. Vigneswaran, a 28 year old aid worker attached to the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC). "I am appalled by the assassination of this brave and committed young aid worker in Sri Lanka, with at least 29 aid workers killed since 2006.""Sri Lanka is one of the most dangerous places for aid workers in the world. The perpetrators of such horrendous acts must be brought to justice. There can be no impunity," Michel had said in a statement.Vigneswaran was the third staff member of the organisation to have been abducted or killed in Batticaloa.He also said that the humanitarian workers were helping Sri Lankans in an impartial and neutral manner."They must be able to do their work without risking their lives. It is the responsibility of all those involved in this conflict that under International Humanitarian Law they are obliged to ensure the safety of civilians, including aid workers," he said.

11 Tiger bodies recovered following ambush

Task Force Three personnel recovered bodies of 11 Tiger rebels following a major ambush on the enemy at Olumadu jungles yesterday.The rebels lost four males and seven females due to the ambush. The Task Force personnel also recovered 17 T-56 assault rifles.According to Military Spokesman Brig. Udaya Nanayakkara there were no casualties among troops in the confrontation.In a clash, which occurred yesterday morning, at Adampan, west of Omanthai, troops of the 57 Division recovered a body of an LTTE cadre.Meanwhile from Friday, with troops capturing Puliyankulam, the whetting of civilians fleeing Tiger held areas has been shifted to this town, from Omanthai.

Pillayan wants East to shine in education
 
Eastern Province Chief Minister Sivanesathurai Chandrakanthan alias Pillayan stressed the importance of education at a text book distribution ceremony in Trincomalee last week.The Chief Minister talks to a student who was awarded a prize for returning last year’s set of text books in good condition. Speaking at the Trincomalee Zonal Education Office he said he had come to this position after seeing a lot of death and destruction and that he joined the liberation struggle as he could not continue his studies due to many social problems.“I now realize the importance of education and have a dream to develop the Eastern Province in this field during my tenure in office,” he said adding that he sought the assistance of all to make this dream a reality.

Missing female soldier found

The female soldier, Anepurage Priyani, who was missing since November 19, was found on December 4 in Medagama in the Dambagalle Police Division.“Priyani is a resident of Kiriibbanwala, Ranweligama,” said OIC of the Sewanagala Police Station, R.P. Siriwardana. He further stated that the soldier had run away from home and that she had been attached to the Diyatalawa Army Camp for one year.“We produced her before the Ambilipitiya courts, and will later hand her over to the Army on December 10,” said Siriwardana.The four suspects who were arrested regarding this incident were released.Priyani went reportedly missing on November 19, while she was going back to the Diyatalawa Army Camp after being on leave.

A-9 road under control of Security Forces - Army chief

With the capturing of Kanakarayankulam, the 48 kilometre stretch of the A-9 Road (Jaffna-Kandy Road) which runs through the so called LTTE political capital - Kilinochchi, is now under the control of the Security Forces and it is now opened upto Kokavil. The Security Forces liberated this long strip of the A-9 upto Kokavil, 10 years since it fell to the LTTE in 1998.According to Army Commander Lt. General Sarath Fonseka this was the first time that the Security Forces liberated the A-9 upto Kokavil and during the ‘Jayasikuru’ operation, the troops captured the stretch only upto A-9 Road upto Omanthai. This time the Forces have gone beyond.The troops of the Task Force 2 who captured Pulliyankulam, the main town to the North of Omanthai, also captured Kanakarayankulam, and according to military sources, liberating of Mankulam, Pulliyankulam, and Kanakarayankulam will help civilians to cross to government controlled areas now.The Army Commander told the Sunday Observer that this was the first time that Kokavil had fallen to the Security Forces and A-9 which was under the control of the LTTE since 1998 until the troops captured it this year.“With the capturing of the A-9 upto Kokavil the troops can effectively dominate the areas South of Mankulam and the East of A-9”, the Army Chief echoed. According to Lt. Gen. Fonseka, the LTTE would be virtually pushed to Oddusudan and it will facilitate the troops to reach the outskirts of Mullaithivu.Over 20 per cent of the A-9, the main link and the shortest road link connected to Kandy and Jaffna was under the LTTE control and it was closed from 1994 to 2002 until it was opened during the peace talks between the Government and the LTTE Tigers. According to Defence Ministry sources, the LTTE earned a monthly income of Rs. 200 to Rs. 300 million by imposing heavy taxes on the civilians who were using the A-9 Road after it was opened during the Peace talks in 2002.Meanwhile the LTTE is struggling desperately to survive with its shrinking domination of land of 800 kilometres and less than 2,500 cadres, the Armed Forces have planned to liberate the entire Wanni region before next June, said Lt. General Sarath Fonseka. Taking the war closer to an end, the troops are now in its momentum of military offensives to capture Kilinochchi and Mullaitivu. The sixth offensive Division in Wanni - Task Force 4 - will soon commence its offensives in the Mullaitivu front.Over 50,000 soldiers belonging to six fronts - Task Force 1, 2, 3, and 4 and 57, 59 and 61 Divisions are in the forefront of the Wanni battle to liberate Wanni, he said.Lt. General Fonseka said that troops were now on the Paranthan-Kilinochchi Western flank. He said that the troops after capturing Kokavil, Mankulam, Omanthai, Kumalamunei and Alampil are also dominating the jungles.According to the Army Commander the troops which suffered due to heavy cyclonic monsoons during the past few weeks, have re-launched the offensives.Lt. Gen. Fonseka said the LTTE controls only 150,000 people and even that too by force but over two million Tamils are with the government.

Progress in all areas

Around 25 LTTE cadres were killed when a team of about 100 cadres launched a counter attack at Adampan last morning. 2 soldiers were also killed in the fighting. The attack was anticipated following intelligence warnings.Small teams of soldiers are usually positioned ahead of the Army's existing FDL and artillery, including MBRL units are kept on standby at night in case of an enemy counter attack. Artillery crews and small groups of soldiers change patrols in the evening and sometimes again in the early morning and fresh teams are deployed in their place. Therefore no special preparations were necessary to counter the LTTE counter attack, which came shortly after 2.30am yesterday.According to intelligence reports a group of 300 cadres were being trained by the LTTE in this area for the counter attack. Army believes the attack early last morning maybe the first wave of such attackers and that a much larger attack can be anticipated in the days to come. The Tiger cadres were spotted early and as artillery and MBRL strikes opened up, they made a hasty retreat dragging their dead and wounded and sometimes leaving behind weapons.An air strike was made at the newly constructed LTTE earth bund that spans from Paranthan to north Oddusudan. Monitored communication indicated that a part of the bund, including several LTTE bunkers were hit and that a few cadres either manning or building the bund at the time may have been killed in the strikes.Meanwhile SLA is preparing for another push at Muhamalai to break into the 2nd defence line of the LTTE. Paths along the no-man's-land ahead of the newly captured areas are being cleared by Army engineers to be used by specialized infantry units for the initial softening-up operations.Heavy fighting was reported from Olumadu on Friday as Task Force 3 clashed with the LTTE in that area. SLA recovered 11 bodies including 2 decomposed ones. 9 bodies were handed over to the ICRC yesterday. Army believes it may have killed 20 Tigers in this fight which occurred shortly after TF3 surrounded an LTTE bunkerline.The Army is now in full control of the A9 from Vavuniya (Kandy-Jaffna), all the way upto Kokavil. The checkpoint at Omanthai has been brought virtually to the outskirts of Kilinochchi. From the Army's perspective, these achievements, once thought impossible, are historic and unprecedented.

Indian aid finally reaches the Wanni
 
After a dispute and consistent bad weather that delayed the Indian aid from reaching the conflict zone in the Wanni, a part of the consignment finally rolled into the area earlier this week under the supervision of the Government and the ICRC.An ICRC convoy of some 80 trucks carrying the aid for the IDPs caught up in the fighting reached the conflict zone without further incident. The consignment would initially benefit some 40,000 families, ICRC Director Alexsandra Matijevic told The Sunday Times. The aid - mainly gift packages - was distributed to the beneficiaries under the supervision of the Government Agents and the International Red Cross, Ms. Matijevic said.She said the consignment taken to the Wanni was approximately 50 per cent of the Indian aid, with the balance to be sent in the next few days.Meanwhile the World Food Programme has separately sent in more than 4000 tons of food to the Wanni since it began the mercy operation in early November, the Mission’s Deputy Director, Ms. Azeb Azrat said.Another 56 trucks loaded with 600 tons of food and other essential items left Vavuniya for the conflict area this week, she said. She however could not be drawn into comment on whether there was an element of risk that the aid could fall into the wrong hands, only saying that it was reaching the true beneficiaries. However Government officials involved in the aid program to the Wanni IDPs have repeatedly expressed concern that the LTTE may be forcibly grabbing a large chunk of the food and other items.The GAs in the area were given strict orders to ensure that the aid reaches only those holding meal tickets and to report back if the LTTE or other elements were interfering with the process.For its part the Government, on the other hand has also sent in several tons of food and other essential items to the conflict zone since the trucks started moving into the area a month ago.

06 December 2008

Pongu Thamil speeches: Court issues notice on TNA MPs

A Colombo court yesterday issued notice on three TNA parliamentarians to appear in court to answer charges that they had made statements critical of Sri Lanka’s Constitution and thus causing a slur on Sri Lanka’s sovereignty at the Pongu Thamil Festival held in Germany in 2006. The Colombo Chief Magistrate’s Court issued notice on two Batticaloa District MPs Senadiraja Jayananda Moorthy and Ariya Nethran Pakya Selvam, and Jaffna District MP  Selvaraja Gajendran.The CID in its report informed  the magistrate that following a complaint made by the IGP alleging the three MPs had violated the Constitution of Sri Lanka at the Pongu Thamil Festival held opposite the German Parliament on June 28, 2006 the detectives initiated investigations and recorded the statements of the MPs. Before the statements were recorded the CID had played back the tapes containing the speeches to the TNA MPs who admitted that the recording was similar to the speeches they made.Th CID said the speeches were derogatory of the Sri Lankan government and the Army. The MPs in their speeches had requested the Tamils in foreign countries to assist LTTE leader Velupillai Prabakaran to carry forward his struggle for the establishment of Eelam in Sri Lanka.The tapes containing the speeches were sent to the CID by an expatriate Sri Lankan residing in Germany.The CID said the three MPS had taken an oath to uphold the Constitution and sworn not to encourage within or without  Sri Lanka  directly or indirectly any act leading to the establishing of a separate state on Sri Lankan soil.The CID said it had taken steps to inform the Speaker and the Attorney General about this illegal act by the MPs. Considering the submissions made by the CID the Chief Magistrate issued notice on the three MPs to appear before the court on December 10 to inquire into the alleged complaint.

Steady progress towards Kilinochchi, says Colombo

COLOMBO: The Sri Lankan military on Friday announced the capture of two more LTTE “strongholds” in the Kilinochchi district.The Defence Ministry said here troops had struck “a huge blow on the gates of the LTTE run mono ethnic Wanni hellhole” by reaching Kanakarayankulam on Friday morning.“Troops extending their forward boundaries across the A-9 road [Jaffna-Kandy road] have reached the former LTTE stronghold in a swift eastward thrust, revealed battlefield sources. The town is located about 10 km north of Pulliyankulam which the same troops liberated on Thursday night.”The Ministry said with the liberation of Mankulam, Pulliyankulam and Kanakarayankulam townships located on the A-9 road, the LTTE has lost its grip over the Wanni civilians. “The liberation of these key towns on the A-9 will trigger off an exodus of civilians that would speed up the certain demise of the terrorist outfit.”The Ministry said the A-9 road had been cleared for another 21 km towards north from Omanthai, where the LTTE had its blockade for civilian movements.It said the troops were moving steadily along Ponnaryn-Paranthan road towards Kilinochchi. Setting their approach to the Kilinochchi town from northwest, the troops engaged the LTTE positions in the north of Adampan and the west of Paranthan areas heavily.In a report on its website, the LTTE alleged that the blockade on essential items entering Wanni and the expulsion of humanitarian INGOs have increased the suffering of the people.

Cyclone in east

A cyclonic development 150 miles away from Sri Lanka is now felt by eastern coast of Sri Lanka, Lanka-e-News Batticaloa correspondent says.The depression developing in the Bay of Bangal is now developing into a cyclone and rough winds are experienced in the eastern coast.Through religious centers and police stations, Batticaloa District Secretary Mrs. R. Kethiswara informed the residents of the coastal areas to shift to safer areas. The fishermen were asked refrain from sea going.The situation is likely to affect Batticaloa, Trincomalee and Ampara districts and the District Secretaries of these areas were to have a discussion with the Minister of Disaster Management Rizad Badurdeen around 4 PM yesterday (5) at Colombo.The Met Department forecasts rough winds and heavy showers for around two days.

3 more Sri Lankan boats found abandoned

RAMANATHAPURAM: Three more boats, suspected to be from Sri Lanka, were found abandoned off Dhanushkodi and nearby unmanned islets on Friday. The seizure of three unclaimed boats in a day is the first of its kind in this region in recent past. With this, the number of such boats found along the coast off Dhanushkodi has gone up to six. Friday’s seizure was within three days of the previous incident.While one boat was found at Mukundarayar Chathiram, the other boats were seized by the Coast Guard from 1st and 5th islets. No boat had an outboard motor engine. It is suspected that the persons who travelled from Sri Lanka might have removed the engine. There were no bullet marks on the boats.Various security and intelligence agencies, including the Coast Guard, inspected the boats and made enquiries with local fisher folk. It was not known how many people landed and why they abandoned the boats at three different locations.It is believed that the travellers might have abandoned two boats on the unmanned islands after removing the engines and travelled up to Mukundarayar Chathiram in the third boat. From there they may have walked to the mainland.A senior police officer said continuous arrival of boats was causing concern to security agencies. Though the war in Sri Lanka has been on since 1983, except for small breaks, the arrival of a series of unclaimed boats has never been reported in the past. He said that this could be a repercussion of the intense battle in Sri Lanka. Cadres of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, believed to be at the receiving end, could have come in a bid to escape the war.Superintendent of Police K.A. Senthil Velan said a probe was on.

Sri Lanka troops, LTTE rebels clash in Jaffna peninsula

Sri Lankan troops battled Tamil Tiger rebels in the northern Jaffna peninsula and continued to mount pressure on the rebels fighting to prevent the fall of their 'political capital' of Kilinochchi, defence sources said Saturday.The ministry of defence said the troops deployed in the Kilaly area in Jaffna had confronted cadres of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) on three occasions Friday. The deep lagoon in Kilaly, lying on the west of the Jaffna-Kandy main highway, divides the Wanni mainland from the northern peninsula.Claiming the LTTE had suffered 'heavy casualties' during the clashes, the ministry said that troops in the Jaffna theatre 'are gradually expanding their domination over the open territory that lies in front of them'.'Sri Lanka Army has deployed three divisions on three frontiers - Nagarkovil, Muhamalai and Kilaly. Troops in mid November shifted their mode of operations from active defence to offensive and captured the first line of defence of the LTTE cadres,' the defence ministry said.Over the past two years, the ground troops and the LTTE have fought several fierce battles in Nagarkovil, Muhamalai and Kilali axis that borders the areas controlled by both sides.The LTTE has lost all its access to the high seas on the western coastal belt of the country, after the military recaptured the western coastal line from Mannar upto Pooneryn.Despite bad weather and heavy LTTE resistance, Sri Lankan troops advancing in several directions were said to be operating on the outskirts of Kilinochchi town, lying 350 km north of here.A state media report Saturday said the troops advancing towards Kilinochchi along the Kandy-Jaffna (A-9) main highway have secured control of two more rebel-held towns - Puliyankulam and Kanakarayankulam - Thursday and Friday.'With the capture of the A-9 road from Omanthai to Mankulam, troops are now dominating the 45-km stretch of the A-9 road from Omanthai to Kokavil north. They are now in a position to reach the Kilinochchi battlefront through A-9,' the state-run Daily News quoted military officials as saying. The LTTE in a report, meanwhile, alleged Friday that 'the blockade on essential items entering Wanni and the expulsion of humanitarian NGOs' has increased the suffering of the people living in areas under its control.

Vavuniya docs continue strike

Doctors of Vavuniya General Hospital (VGH) continued their strike into the second day yesterday as police failed to arrest the person responsible for demanding a four million rupee ransom from a colleague. The person called the doctor twice on his mobile phone and demanded the ransom and threatened to kill him if he failed to pay up. General Committee Member of the Government Medical Officers Association, Dr. Chandika Epitakaduwa said yesterday police should ensure the security of doctors serving in the North and East. "It is the duty of the Defence Ministry to provide them with security," he said. Only emergencies were attended to at the Vavuniya General Hospital while routine work was put on hold. Meanwhile, doctors from Vavuniya were also among those who returned from Colombo on Thursday (04). Around 120 doctors returned to the Hospitals of Vavuniya and Baticaloa two weeks after the killing of Dr. Palitha Pushpakumara serving at a peripheral hospital in the Baticaloa district. Unfortunately the doctors who returned from Colombo serving at VGH were unable to resume work owing to the situation in the Hospital. The VGH staff could not be contacted for comment.

Twenty two more LTTE activists arrested from Italy

A special unit of the Italian police intelligence has arrested 22 more LTTE activists, Lanka-e-News Italy sources say. Italy arrested 33 LTTE activists on June 17 as well. Although President Mahinda Rajapakse was also in Italy by the time the arrests were made, he had been kept un informed about the incident.However, during his tour in Italy, the President met the chief of the intelligence wing that arrested the LTTE cadres previously. The President pledged support for the actions against terror by the special unit and stated that he would finish terrorism in Sri Lanka in a few months.

Sri Lanka jets hit Tiger positions as ground battles rage: military

Sri Lanka's airforce staged a series of bombing raids against suspected Tamil Tiger targets as ground troops fought fierce battles on several fronts, the defence ministry said on Saturday.Security forces, waging a massive offensive against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), have been facing stiff resistance in their march toward the northern rebel political capital of Kilinochchi, the ministry said."Air Force fighter jets launched three air strikes at LTTE strong points located in the west of Paranthan on Friday," the ministry said, referring to a town just north of Kilinochchi. Government soldiers further north in the Jaffna peninsula clashed with Tiger rebels at three locations on Friday, the ministry said.Neither side gave details of casualties.The latest confrontations came after the authorities claimed securing parts of a key highway running through rebel-held territory in the island's north.The LTTE has admitted losing ground to government troops but their leader, Velupillai Prabhakaran, has vowed to fight on.The guerrillas, who began their struggle for a separate Tamil homeland in 1972, are facing the Sri Lankan army's biggest-ever push to defeat the rebels militarily.The battle zone is inaccessible to journalists and aid workers, meaning claims and counter-claims are impossible to verify independently.

UK Tamils polarised but powerful  -Source:BBC

For one bitter-sweet moment when he wakes up each morning, Anand believes he is still in Sri Lanka. When a ferocious war between the Sinhalese-dominated government and Tamil Tiger rebels fighting for a separate homeland arrived at his doorstep in 1993, he fled to Britain. "In my dreams, I go to Sri Lanka. I see my mother who is dead now. I see my old job," he says. As evening draws in he listens to the radio for news of war, a clue as to where his future lies. "I don't feel British. When the problem is solved I will return." But exactly how this problem should be solved is where another set of problems for Britain's close-knit Tamil community begins. They are articulate and organised campaigners but fear of being criminalised as a community, internal divisions, and the effects of a far-away war are taking a toll on refugees like Anand.

Financial muscle

For many Tamils settled in Britain, the only feasible solution to the war is a separate state - a land they call Eelam. This is what the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) are fighting for. And for years, many Tamils who fled alleged discrimination and conflict threw their financial muscle behind the LTTE. The LTTE is considered to be a devastatingly effective rebel force. It has land and sea forces, a rudimentary air force, a notorious suicide-bombing squad and has been blamed for attacks on civilian targets in Sri Lanka. But the general climate of opinion in the West on such groups has undergone a fundamental shift. In 2001, the LTTE was banned in the UK, under the Terrorism Act, and the EU followed suit in 2006. This has had an impact, according to International Institute for Strategic Studies Asia security expert Rahul Roy-Chowdhury. "For the past year-and-a-half… governments have become much tougher on funding. It's been tough for the Tigers to get sufficient funding," he says. Many Tamils say they have noticed the effects of the proscription because there have been fewer residential visits by LTTE representatives for donations. "They are scared of the government and they don't ask for money as much as before," said one woman who wished to remain anonymous. "People gave £50, £100, whatever they can. And now they hold regular fund-raising activities," she said, pointing to what is possibly now a greater emphasis on fund-raising events rather than house-to-house visits. Businesses are still targeted for substantial amounts, according to one well-respected Tamil businessman who also wished to withhold his name. Paul Sathianesan came to Britain as an asylum seeker in 1985 and watched as refugees arriving in London with nothing transformed East Ham into a cornucopia of shops selling everything to be found under a Jaffna sun. Yet he points out that in Sri Lanka "they had social status, wealth and caste". "Here they were nobody when they came. The pride was all gone." Now a councillor and deputy civic ambassador for Newham council, Mr Sathianesan says the community performs the critical function of funding local institutions back home in war-torn districts that have seen a collapse of effective government. Their money allows civil society to function. "People have events in support of a particular village. They support orphanages, temples, churches," he says. Many still have relatives in Sri Lanka.

Campaigning might

There is a reluctance to talk explicitly about the Tigers operating in the UK. Analysts have noted that they are often referred to simply as "them". This is not just out of fear of the LTTE, but fear of the government too. So intertwined is the separatist cause with the life of the community that proscription can feel like a wholesale criminalisation of the Tamil population. "They are scared," said one businessman who also withheld his name. "Even going to [nationalist] events people are scared. In this country we have the right to ask for a separate state. That clear understanding is not there." The Sri Lankan High Commission understands that Tamils have strong relations with Sri Lanka, but says that this is "not always positive". It believes that Tamils are compelled to support the LTTE. But nobody was ashamed to express their support at a passionate meeting in September in Harrow, which was addressed by the Foreign Office Minister Lord Malloch-Brown. Massive applause greeted a question on what the proscription of the LTTE had achieved. His reply that the government believed "the activities the LTTE are pursuing… are of a terrorist nature", was met with heckles and boos. Many feel they are victims of double standards. They accuse government forces now closing in on Tiger strongholds of indiscriminate aerial bombardment, displacing countless civilians. Lord Malloch-Brown did say that Britain and the EU could withdraw certain trade benefits if the Sri Lankan government did not abide by the Geneva Convention on Human Rights. This is one objective of campaigning group the British Tamils Forum (BTF). In July 2008, to mark the 25th anniversary of anti-Tamil riots in Sri Lanka, the BTF hosted an exhibition in the Houses of Parliament. It was not open to the public - the sights of campaigners are set on the policy-makers.

Divided community

The message sent out by Tamil campaigners is coherent particularly in comparison with other activist communities. But there are still bitter divisions at the heart of this community. A vocal minority of Tamils fiercely oppose the LTTE and resent the equation of the LTTE with the Tamil nationalist cause. They feel emboldened by recent developments putting the LTTE on the back foot in the war. A former militant from a rival Tamil group eliminated by the LTTE in Sri Lanka, now says: "I don't want a separate state. I just want peace. Now I lobby European governments." Some ordinary Tamils share similar views. Brimming with resentment, Geetha arrived from Colombo two years ago to join her husband who was working here. She says that Tamils in the diaspora with little recent experience of Sri Lanka are not in a position to talk about what Sri Lankan Tamils want. "People here don't know the real situation in Sri Lanka," she says. "They would never send their children to the war." The experience of exile, such critics argue, is crucial to support for the LTTE cause. "They become radicalised here," says Jayabalan. He publishes Thesamnet, a Tamil news magazine, which, he says, adopts a critical perspective on both the LTTE and the Sri Lankan government. Experts say the earliest wave of Tamil migrants distanced themselves from the activism of later arrivals. For others, Jayabalan says, attitudes have hardened in the diaspora as people feel their culture and identity under threat. However Jayabalan thinks that London is precious and unique for having a Tamil media that is not entirely dominated by a pro-LTTE perspective. Instead a variety of voices can flourish. But what one is not allowed to do is ignore the issue. "To be part of the Tamil community you have to have a view of the conflict. In the Tamil circle there is polarised politics," says Jayabalan. Escape to the wider world often means having to negotiate the pressures of an even smaller community.

Sri Lankan Army Is Pushing for End to 25-Year War Against the Tamil Rebels-Source :NY Times

VELLANKULAM, Sri Lanka — With Sri Lanka’s military making its deepest push into rebel territory in a decade, Asia’s longest-running civil war appears to be edging closer to a military solution — though one that has already extracted a high cost for the divided country’s civilians.Following a hard-line strategy designed by the country’s defence secretary, Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, an American who once worked as a computer systems administrator in Southern California, the government says its troops have ringed the rebel capital, Kilinochchi, near the northern tip of the island.Journalists are not allowed to visit rebel strongholds, and so the claim is impossible to verify. But a rare visit near the front, with an escort of soldiers, revealed the remnants of Mr. Rajapaksa’s uncompromising assault all along the highway that snakes its way up this island’s northwest coast.The miscellany of war was everywhere. The fishing village of Vellankulam was empty, save for the odd box of mortar rounds. Houses lay in ruins. There were no civilians left, only soldiers and birds.The destruction was evidence that Mr. Rajapaksa, the brother of President Mahinda Rajapaksa, is determined to do what no Sri Lankan government has been able to do in the 25-year conflict: crush the rebels militarily. He has ended long-running peace negotiations and ignored international calls to improve Sri Lanka’s human rights record.Over the last year, the military has bombed rebel strongholds, sent commandos to execute high-profile rebel leaders and pressed steadily into the rebels’ lair, driving an estimated 250,000 civilians ahead of the military advance.Having fled as many as seven times over the last year, according to aid workers, some of the displaced are huddling in lean-tos in perilous, open paddy fields and, when they can, taking shelter from shelling in rebel-built bunkers.How long the military can hold on to the jungles and paddy fields remains uncertain. An even bigger mystery may be what happens if the rebel force, the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, are genuinely defeated and the continent’s most persistent civil conflict actually comes to an end.Despite pressure from its allies, the government has yet to present a serious proposal on how Sri Lanka, a polarized multiethnic country of 21 million people, will be governed. At the nub of the war is the question of political rights of the Tamil minority.The rebels have fought to carve out a homeland for Tamils on this island for a generation. It has been the government’s aim to stop that. Asked in a recent interview if his mission was accomplished, Mr. Rajapaksa, 59, offered a look of immense satisfaction. Yes, he said, his government had not only bolstered the morale of its own troops and weakened the rebels, but it had also, more importantly, turned public opinion in favor of war. “Earlier, the thinking was, the L.T.T.E. is so strong that militarily, we can’t defeat them,” he argued. “We have proved we can.“We were tolerating them for so long,” he added of the rebels. “To have a meaningful political solution, you have to eliminate terrorism.”Privately, Mr. Rajapaksa’s friends and associates say that his resolve is deeply personal: The Tamil Tigers tried to kill him two years ago.After more than a decade in the United States, during most of which he said he worked as a Unix systems administrator at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles, Mr. Rajapaksa returned to Sri Lanka in 2005, just before his brother, a veteran of Sinhalese populist politics, was elected.While Mr. Rajapaksa makes no apologies for his hard-line approach, the stepped-up war effort has drawn a wave of international criticism over Sri Lanka’s deteriorating record on human rights and civil liberties charges.Extortion, abductions and extrajudicial killings continue in government-held areas, and pro-government militias are usually blamed.Mr. Rajapaksa dismisses this criticism as pro-rebel propaganda. He defends a botched government effort last year to deport ethnic Tamils from the capital, Colombo, to the Tamil-dominated north.His office vets the movement of all humanitarian aid agencies. In September, he ordered them all to leave rebel-controlled areas in the northeast. And he insists that journalists should not be allowed to report anything that demoralizes the war effort. Journalists have in fact come under sustained scrutiny, and some have been jailed under the country’s preventive detention law.The restrictions have made divining exactly what is happening on the rebel side all but impossible. Recently the famously elusive rebel leader, Vellupillai Prabhakaran, gave an interview to a Tamil newspaper in India, and described the military’s aim of capturing the guerrillas’ de facto capital, Kilinochchi, “a daydream.”For its part, the army says it is now on the outskirts of Kilinochchi, which one recent visitor described as “a ghost town.” According to the military, the Tamil Tigers hold less than half of the land they administered under a 2002 cease-fire agreement.This month, the army announced the capture of a strategic crossing, about 19 miles north of here, called Pooneryn, which connects the island to Jaffna peninsula to the north and robs the guerrillas of a crucial smuggling corridor.But no one knows for sure, since Mr. Rajapaksa does not allow journalists, aid workers or other independent monitors into the conflict area.It is clear that Mr. Rajapaksa’s drive to eliminate the Tamil Tigers has been no cakewalk for the military, either. In October, a suicide bombing killed more than two dozen people, including a retired army major general in Anuradhapura, an ancient Buddhist pilgrimage site in the heart of the island.The same month, crudely made Tamil Tiger fighter planes bombed a power station, plunging the capital into darkness. No longer does the military promise a deadline for the war to end; it has missed all previous deadlines.Perhaps the military’s biggest obstacle is the civilians still holed up in rebel territory, alongside the rebels. Artillery fire and aerial attacks would inevitably yield heavy civilian casualties, something the government has repeatedly said it wants to avoid.According to aid workers who have visited the area, the displaced are sleeping in makeshift tents of plastic and stick, or if they are lucky, crowding into temples and community halls. Schools, if they are not housing homeless families, are taking in students from three or four other schools as well as their own. Classes are going on in shifts. It is a cruel testament to how well this country has adjusted to unending war. Mr. Rajapaksa has allowed the United Nations to ferry dry food rations to the displaced, but despite pleas from Sri Lankan and foreign aid agencies, neither tents nor tarpaulins, not even after the winter rain and snake bites have set in.The plight of the displaced is virtually unknown. Phone lines are dead in the rebel-controlled areas. Very few people are able to cross the rebel front line. Those who succeed are kept in military-run camps on the government side.Sometimes, a small slice of life slips out. In the ground floor women’s ward of the main hospital in government-held Vavuniya town the other day sat a 65-year-old woman, with a mane of gray hair, wide stunned eyes and a tube through her side.She had been hiding in a bunker in a rebel-held village, holding her baby grandson tightly to her chest, she said, when the bunker was shelled. A piece of shrapnel punctured her left side, perforating the left lung.Her grandson lay in the pediatric ward next door. His mother had been killed in a previous bout of fighting, the old woman said.

Choksy rejects Eelam, calls for federalism

Eminent lawyer and former Minister of Constitutional Affairs and Finance K. N. Choksy MP addressing Parliament yesterday called for a Federal solution to Sri Lanka’s conflict. He said a federation of states was not Eelam, which had been rejected by the majority of the people.Choksy viewed the 1978 Constitution as inadequate and too rigid to be of any use in resolving the conflict, which he said, had to considered the country’s national problem.The Tamil National Alliance (TNA), Choksy said, had to be invited to the All Party Representative Committee (APRC).

Text of his speech:

"I have had the honour of being a member of this House for the past twenty years. Today is thus the 240th Emergency Debate at which I am present. But yet, despite the long passage of time, unfortunately for Sri Lanka, the light has not appeared at the end of the tunnel. In any war, at the end of the day, no side wins and no side loses. Both have lost in men and materials. Only the bitterness remains.The issue on our hands has got to be known as the "national problem". It then calls for a national or collective solution, irrespective of the divides of political Parties. Early action is called for on all sides of the House.The demand for a separate state was clearly not welcomed by the majority of our citizens. It has abated. But the seeds of greater local autonomy and local self-determination have taken root strongly. This requires to be recognized and solved reasonably by all political Parties and Citizen’s Organisations as a Primary National Issue. If not, the present turmoil will get aggravated.Mr. Speaker, we have the 13th Amendment of our Constitution and the Provincial Council system. These have devolved some powers and strengthened the system of local government. But it is clear that the country has to go further down the road of devolution to achieve peace. A federation may thus be worthwhile considering as a measure of solution.I am conscious of the fact that Sri Lanka has been governed for almost two hundred years as a Unitary State. Local requirements were little considered. This is from 1815 when the British conquered Kandy and ruled throughout Sri Lanka.Our Constitutions since Independence in 1948 including the present, have continued this political concept of a Unitary State.It must be remembered that the country has three major races and four major religions; we are therefore a multi-racial and multi-religious nation.Mr. Speaker, times have changed economically, socially and politically. Citizens grouped together in different parts of the country and belonging to the different races and religions, I have just mentioned and having distinct needs of their own, consider that as of right they should have a greater say in the decision making process relating to their requirements in their respective areas of residence. This in the ultimate analysis the root cause of the ongoing conflict i.e. the demand for greater local self-determination.Can the issue be solved under our present Constitution of 1978? The answer is clearly "No". The Constitution is too rigid. Power and authority are far too greatly concentrated in the Centre. The Provincial Council system is inadequate. The solution, the restoration of peace, and the continuance of Sri Lanka as one state, requires us to go some distance further in developing power. A change in the national thinking on the political organization of our country is necessary.Mr. Speaker, I advocate Sri Lanka becoming a Federation of States. The identification of the physical areas or boundaries of the federating units will not be difficult. They are already fairly clear. A Federation is not Eelam. Nor will it result in a division of the country. It is important to note that it will not be the division of the country. Sri Lanka will continue to be one single sovereign, free, indivisible and independent state. The power and authority of the central government to ensure the unity of the country as one entity will continue. The Armed Forces and Police will be under the control of the Centre. So also all sea and air ports. The revenue from income tax, customs and excise duties, and stamps will belong to the Centre. The federating units will all be dependant to a considerable extent on the Central government for finances. The bogey of cessation or separatism is therefore ill-founded. It cannot arise and will not be allowed to arise. A Federation only means the greater freedom of distinct areas of the country to decide and handle local issues, such as local language, local civic requirements, and local taxation.The United States of America, Canada, Switzerland and Australia are examples of federations which have stood the test of time, and prospered. India is a multiracial, multi-religious and multi-linguistic country. Its political organization is a de-facto federation of states. The powers of government are divided between the Central Government and Parliament, on the one hand and the State legislatures, on the other hand. The authority to maintain the indivisibility of the country is vested in the Centre. No division of the country has taken place over the past fifty years. The country is progressing rapidly in its economic development.We have so far not considered the Federation idea as a measure of settlement of the ethnic conflict. I suggest we do so. It may bring peace and the obvious national benefits of peace to Sri Lanka.A Federation of States is not a new idea for Sri Lanka. The Donoughmore Commission was set up by the British in 1928. This Commission gave the country what became known as the Donoughmore Constitution and the State Council in 1930. The delegation of eminent Kandyan leaders led by M. B. Panabokke and B H. Aluvihare urged the Commission to create a federation within Sri Lanka. Due to opposition of the Sinhala leaders in the low country, the Commission rejected the Kandyan Delegation’s suggestion. The same exercise was repeated by the Kandyan Delegation before the Soulbury Commission in 1948, and once again not accepted by the Commission in its Report due to resistance from the same quarter.The demand for a federation thereupon died down amongst the Kandyan leaders, but not with the Tamils. They formed the "Federal Party, and continued this demand.Perhaps, if the demand of the Delegation of the Kandyan Leaders at that time had been heeded and accommodated even to some extent, our country would not have had the present conflict on its hands.Mr. Speaker, there is no hard and inflexible mould in which federalism is cast. It is a constitutional concept that varies with the historical and political experiences of the country concerned. But one aspect is common “ namely, that the Central government is constitutionally vested with the power to ensure and enforce the continuation of the federation and to prevent cessation or separation by any of the federating units.It is open to the country concerned to decide which subjects of government should be vested in the Centre, and which devolved. Our present Constitution fore-shadows this by having three separate lists of subjects and functions, which are vested in the Centre and Provincial Councils respectively. It is not difficult, therefore, to make the further constitutional changes necessary to devolve more subjects and functions and thereby create greater local self- Beyond this, the country cannot go.Mr. Speaker, I advocate that the All Party representative Committee (APRC) invites the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) to its meetings and considers proceeding to discussion and agreement along the above lines. Also, that the request made by the United National Party that the coalition partners of the government table their common view-point for consideration by the Committee.

05 December 2008

India to push for ceasefire here

In a dramatic turn of events India’s External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee is to visit Sri Lanka soon, to persuade Colombo to go for peace talks with the LTTE after announcing a ceasefire, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Muthuvelu Karunanidhi said yesterday. A delegation of Tamil Nadu political parties led by Mr. Karunanidhi met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today and submitted a memorandum on the Sri Lankan conflict, which had killed thousands and on the urgent need to bring peace to Lanka. The delegation also met the ruling Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) chairperson Sonia Gandhi, whose husband and former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated by a Tamil Tiger suicide bomber.After discussing the memorandum, Prime Minister Singh promised the delegation that Mr. Mukherjee would travel to Sri Lanka soon, Mr. Karunanidhi told journalists.  “The people of Tamil Nadu and Tamils across the world are deeply agitated over the continuing genocide of Tamil civilians in Sri Lanka and the unabated abuse of human rights,” he said. “We hope the government will take steps immediately to sort out the problem without further delay,” Mr. Karunanidhi said. Mr. Karunanidhi’s DMK is a key ally of the ruling UPA. His visit to New Delhi follows mass protests in Tamil Nadu against the Sri Lankan military campaign which Tamil Nadu politicians say has caused immense suffering to civilians. The memorandum urged the Central government to issue a strong warning to the Sri Lankan government so that it ceased its onslaught against the LTTE. The Indian government was also urged to make arrangements to initiate a dialogue between the LTTE and Colombo with view to arrive at a peaceful end to the longstanding ethnic crisis. They asked India to urge Sri Lanka to ensure the proper rehabilitation of civilians displaced by fierce fighting in the country’s North and provide them food, shelter and medicines. They also sought an end to what they said was the harassment of Indian fishermen by the Sri Lankan Navy. Tamil Nadu is separated from Sri Lanka by a narrow strip of sea. The AIADMK, Vaiko’s MDMK and the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) were not a part the delegation.

Alampil and Puliyankulam regained

MULLAITIVU: Troops engaged in the Wanni liberation operation yesterday achieved yet another victory with 59 Division troops capturing the strategically important Alampil area 10 Kilometres south of Mullaitivu whilst Task Force II troops captured the key junction town Puliyankulam north of Omanthai on the Jaffna Kandy A-9 highway, Military officials said yesterday.Military spokesman Brigadier Udaya Nanayakkara confirmed to the Daily News that troops of the 59 Division reached the strategically important Alampil in the North of Nayaru lagoon and were in the process of consolidating their positions in an area where LTTE had their major Sea Tiger base.“With this move troops are in full control of the Nayaru lagoon which was used by the LTTE as one of their strategic locations to launch their attacks targeting vessels of the Sri Lanka Navy,” a military official told the Daily News.The LTTE cadres used the area as a major Sea Tiger operational base for logistics from Mullaitivu through the sea route.Troops attached to the 591 Brigade were in the process of clearing areas in the Alampil Sea Tiger base by yesterday afternoon.According to military sources following the fall of the Kumalamuani, 11 Gemunu Watch battalion under the command of Lt.Colonel Priyanka Fernando advanced to Alampil after dominating the Kumalamunai- Alampil road.The 14 Vijayaba Infantry Regiment attached to the 591 Brigade advanced northwards of Kumalamunai cutting off the Mullaitivu-Alampil main road at a location a few kilometres north of Alampil before moving in their bid to capture the Alampil.Hours after the fall of Alampil, one of the key stronghold of the LTTE in the Eastern coast, troops attached to the Task Force II operating under the command of Brigadier Rohana Bandara, reached the key junction town of Puliyankulam by yesterday noon.Puliyankulam is located north of Omanthai and is currently a key location as food convoys to Wanni are proceeding through Puliyankulam, Oddusudan road.According to Military officials this move will definitely enable the troops to use A-9 road as their supply route to the Kilinochchi and Mullaitivu fronts after the remaining areas from Puliyankulam to Mankulam also taken under the Security Forces control soon.With the fall of Mankulam LTTE cadres operating in the south of Mankulam withdrew towards South of Oddusudan after shifting their Entry Exit point to the south of Oddusudan.Troops are now dominating the A-9 road from Mankulam to Kokavil after 57 Division and Task Force II troops took control of the A-9 road from north of Mankulam to Kokavil town.

No moral justification for the war: Sampanthan
 
The TNA in parliament yesterday said there was no moral justification for the war, as the government was unable to come up with an acceptable political solution to meet Tamil aspirations.TNA leader R. Sampanthan speaking during the vote on the Defence budget in the House said the government was trying to thrust a political solution on the Tamil people after securing a military victory.“This will never happen. The war will be prolonged and indefinite,” Mr. Sampanthan  said.He added that civilians in the Vanni continue to be the main victims of war as they continuously faced aerial bombardment, multi-barrel fire and strikes by the deep penetration units. The TNA leader reiterated the party’s stance that the Tamils in the Vanni were being subject to genocide.“A process of genocide against Tamils in the Vanni is occurring. There is no liberation of the Tamil people but clearly genocide of the Tamil people,” Mr. Sampanthan said. He said recent media reports said a refugee camp in the Vanni was bombed, and quoted the Suda Oli newspaper, which recently reported that nearly 56,000 houses had been destroyed in the Vanni.“The only stop to this is a stop to the war. If the war continues the Tamil people would be destroyed,” he said.Mr. Sampanthan said that sometimes the violence of the LTTE is totally unacceptable but blamed the Sri Lankan State for pushing the LTTE towards an armed struggle by ignoring the legitimate political aspirations of the moderate Tamil leadership.“There is a justifiable political context to the emergence of the LTTE, however unjustified some of their acts of violence be,” Mr. Sampanthan noted.He said that before the LTTE emerged the state condoned, connive and later sponsored successive pogroms and acts of violence against the Tamils.Mr. Sampanthan said that a war must have a moral justification. However he said the current war was totally lacking any moral justification because the government was unable to come up with an acceptable political solution to meet legitimate political  aspirations.

Defence budget passed with 105 vote majority

The vote on the Defence, Public Security, Law and Order Ministry was passed with a majority of 105 votes. There were 19 votes in favour.The motion to extend the Emergency Regulations by another one month was passed with a majority of 100 votes. The JVP and the NFF voted in favour.The TNA asked for a division and voted against. The UNP and the SLMC members were absent.Meanwhile, Prime Minister Ratnasiri Wickramanayaka told Parliament yesterday that the Government will carry out its task until terrorism is wiped out from the country.The Premier speaking at the vote on the Defence, Public Security and Law and Order Ministry said measures have been taken to eradicate terrorism for so many years.Various Ceasefire Agreements were signed from time to time when the LTTE was militarily weakened. “However, the present Government is not ready to make the same mistakes committed by previous Governments.The Government will continue with its military activities until LTTE terrorism is eradicated from this country,” he said. “We appeal to all political parties to extend their support towards the moves taken by the Government to put a complete end to terrorism.” The Prime Minister said the Government has a clear position to defeat terrorism. Terrorism has caused harm to the lives of the innocent people. All possible measures should be taken to eliminate terrorism.President Mahinda Rajapaksa came to power with the sole intention of finding a lasting solution to this problem without shedding any blood.But the LTTE attempted to kill our Security Forces personnel and close down the Mavilaru anicut as well. Therefore, the Government had to take a strong decision due to the Mavilaru issue.The Government launched military operations against the LTTE.“We were able to liberate the entire Eastern Province due to attempts made by our heroic Armed Forces. We have to capture a few areas in the Jaffna Peninsula. We should give our blessings to our valiant war heroes in their task to eradicate terrorism.”He said defeating terrorism is the biggest problem faced by the country. The Defence Ministry is taking all possible measures to eliminate terrorism.The budget has also allocated huge amounts of money to eradicate terrorism.We all should be united irrespective of political differences to defeat terrorism.

‘I am not under house arrest’ - Pillayan
   
Eastern Province Chief Minister Sivanesathurai Chandrakanthan alias Pillayan has denied rumors that he was under house arrest at his home in Batticaloa. Rumors did the rounds on Wednesday that Pilliyan was placed under house arrest possibly over a rift between him and TMVP leader Vinyagamoorthy Muralitharan alias Karuna Amman or with the government. However when contacted by Daily Mirror yesterday, TMVP general secretary A. Kailesvararajah, who contacted Pilliyan denied such rumors and quoted the Chief Minister as saying “do not have an attitude like that of the Tigers. “Rumors that I am under house arrest is nonsense. Someone is trying to create trouble for me,” he told Daily Mirror.

Search operation launched

RAMANATHAPURAM: A team of 60 policemen led by the Superintendent of Police K.A. Senthil Velan conducted a daylong search operation along the coast off Dhanushkodi in connection with the seizure of 3rd Sri Lankan boat, which was found abandoned on Tuesday.Dividing into several small groups, the policemen, including Armed Reserve, dug up several sanddune places to find out “suspected” materials, including outboard motor engine of the boat, which was believed to have been buried at an undisclosed destination.They also conducted a house-to-house search at the fishermen huts in Dhanushkodi, Kambibadu and others.Enquiries were made with the fishermen living in these hamlets about the arrival of the bullet riddled boat and if anyone found moving under suspected circumstances.Mr. Velan told The Hindu though there was no information about how the Sri Lankan boat arrived and the missing outboard motor engine, the police would continue to closely follow the suspected areas. Four wheel vehicle operators from Muhuntharayar Chathiram to Dhanushkodi were also questioned.The engine could not be taken away by a single person. Two or three persons might have involved in it. It could have been taken away by a vehicle. He said the bullet marks found in the boat was not created by recent incident. Plain cloth policemen had been directed to maintain vigil along the coast.

Vavuniya docs strike after ransom demand

Doctors of the Vavuniya General Hospital struck work yesterday after one of them received a phone call demanding four million rupees as a ransom. However, they maintained the emergency services.The doctors demanded that the caller be arrested alleging that he belonged to an armed group roaming the area.General Committee Member of the Government Medical Officers Association, Dr. Chandika Epitakaduwa said that a doctor serving at the Vavuniya General Hospital had received two calls one from a coin booth and the other from a mobile phone demanding Rs. 4 million. The caller had threatened to kill him if the money was not delivered.Doctors withdrew from all routine services at the General Hospital on Wednesday (03) evening calling for the immediate arrest of the person responsible. However patients can get warded if necessary. He said the two numbers from which the call had come from had been given to the police when lodging a complaint. However, the police have been unable to make an arrest so far, Epitakaduwa said.

'Thanks for food, but help to win our rights,' Vanni IDPs urge Tamil Nadu

Internally Displaced persons in Vanni who were receiving the humanitarian supplies sent by the people of Tamil Nadu, while expressing their gratitude for the timely help, urged the leaders of Tamil Nadu to help them to win their freedom by voicing for the political aspirations of Eezham Tamils. TamilNet correspondent recorded expressions from the IDPs who were gathered at Karaichchi Multi-Purpose Cooperative Society, one of 23 supply centres in Vanni, on Thursday. The IDP families in Vanni were receiving humanitarian supplies sent from Tamil Nadu, through the co-operative societies with active monitoring by the ICRC.Direct Link (mp3)Vananthan Prema, a 27-year-old mother of three children aged 8, 2½ and 9 months, displaced first to Jeyapuram and then to Aanaivizhunthaan, Mu'rippu and now living in a makeshift camp in Kaddaikkaadu said, described the plight of her baby struggling without milk. "Earlier, I managed to feed my children by doing chores in houses, but now it is impossible to find any work here." She had to rely upon the lentils she got in the World Food Program (WFP) humanitarian ration to feed her elder children. One of them got ill being fed only on lentils, she said. "I do not have the money to take them to the hospital. I cannot breast feed my child and our life in the makeshift camp is miserable with the continuing rain and floods making everything drenched in water," Prema told TamilNet correspondent.Murugesu Thavarajah, an IDP who received humanitarian supplies for his family, said he had lost his properties many times in the war. Every time, after losing our places and properties, we build our lives again from the scratch," he said. What was different this time was that the people of Tamil Nadu, from all the corners of their state, with a clear understanding of the intention of the Rajapaksa regime, said Thavarajah. "From the common people of Tamil Nadu who joined hands in the human chain, amid heavy rains, to the poets and cinema artists, the entire Tamil Nadu has realised the real picture of the Rajapaksa regime," he said. "The Tamil Nadu people should continue to struggle forward till they win the recognition for Eezham cause, I am sure they will succeed," he added. The Sri Lankan government had only allowed 50 lorries carrying relief packages sent by the people of Tamil Nadu to reach Ki'linochchi district. Officials said that the supplies that have reached them were only adequate to cover immediate relief requirements of one fifth of the IDP population in Vanni. The officials were forced to prioritise families with children on Thursday. At least 51,200 families, comprising more than 230,000 individuals, are in need of urgent aid, according to the officials. "We thank the people of Tamil Nadu, Chief Minister Kalaignar Karunanidhi and all the other leaders for their generosity," Rasamani, an elderly woman displaced from Uriththirapuram on October 18 due to intense artillery shelling, said. "We hope that a better future will dawn with their help," she added.The distribution of the relief packages began Thursday in 23 branches of the Multi Purpose Cooperative Society (MPCS) in Ka'ndaava'lai Assistant Government Agent (AGA) division in Ki'linochchi district.The first distribution began around 8:30 a.m. Thursday in the branch of Karaichchi MPCS located near Tharmapuram No.1 School.People displaced due to Sri Lanka military offensives, and staying in temporary shelters, had gathered in large numbers at the cooperative retail shops as early as 5:00 a.m. Thavarathinam Kamalahasan, 32, a day labourer displaced from Mallaavi to Tharmapuram due to the bombardment by the SLA and the SLAF expressed his gratitude to the people of Tamil Nadu for the relief food. He complained that the World Food Program (WFP) supplies that didn't reach them on time for many weeks, were inadequate to meet the demand, but said the supplies from India was a great relief for the time being. "600 gram rice, 500 gram flour and 300 gm lentils were the only food relief items that we got earlier. We received it irregularly in bulks as the supplies were not allowed to reach Vanni on regular basis," he said. "The food packages from there sent on 15 November have reached us only now. The clothes sent by the people of Tamil Nadu are yet to reach us. The few clothes that we had, been washed away in the recent floods and we hope that the clothes sent to us from Tamil Nadu will reach us soon," Kamlahasan who is presently living in Kaddaikkadu after being displaced from Mallaavi first and from Kanthapuram and Ki'linochchi said.Representatives of the International Committee of Red Cross (ICRC) and the ICRC Economical Relief Branch officer Mr. Harry Mewa Chilaffia visited the cooperative branches to ensure orderly distribution of the limited relief food that was allowed in by the Sri Lankan government. Hundreds of IDPs, including the singles who had lost their family members, had to return empty handed after waiting for hours. The IDPs who did not receive relief registered complaints with the ICRC.

Gov't-backed Sri Lanka group agrees to free 62 child soldiers: UNICEF

An ethnic Tamil paramilitary group that supports Sri Lanka - 's government in its fight with the Tamil Tiger rebels has agreed to release 62 more child soldiers, the U.N. Children's Fund or UNICEF said Thursday. ''This agreement shows a clear political commitment and is a very important step in putting an end to the recruitment and use of children by the TMVP,'' said Philippe Duamelle, UNICEF's representative in Sri Lanka - .''The action plan must now be translated into concrete actions on the ground which will then lead to significant results for children in the very near future,'' he said.The TMVP, led by ex-rebel commander Vinayagamoorthy Muralitharan, better known as Col. Karuna, broke away from the LTTE in March 2004, triggering fierce fighting between the two factions.Both factions have been accused by UNICEF in the past of not taking seriously their public assurances that they are not recruiting child soldiers.UNICEF figures show there were 133 outstanding cases of child recruitment by the TMVP at the end of October while the LTTE is accused of having 1,500 child soldiers.In September, the Sri Lankan government ordered U.N. agency staff out of rebel-held northern regions as fighting between troops and rebels escalated.''As a result, UNICEF has since been unable to receive and verify cases of child recruitment since that time,'' UNICEF said.The U.N. agency says thousands of underage fighters have been recruited in Sri Lanka - , the vast majority by the LTTE, since a 2002 ceasefire in the three-decades-long civil war broke down in 2006

10km to Mullaitivu

After several days of resistance, the LTTE today withdrew from the strategic Sea Tiger bases of Alampil and Chemmalai. With this withdrawal, LTTE is out of bounds from the Nayaru Lagoon, an area used extensively in recent