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28 February 2006 LTTE block TELO activities in Jaffna Please note that the following report on the EPDP Website is an absolute fabrication and bears no resemblance to the truth whatsoever: LTTE block TELO activities in Jaffna Tamil Eelam Liberation Organization (TELO) was operating for the last seven years in Jaffna following the capture of Jaffna by the army under its Operation Riviresa. The office of the TELO movement was functioning at Hospital Road, Jaffna. This office has released a communiqué last night that it has stopped its political activities in Jaffna with immediate effect. An official, who did not wish to mention his name, told that the decision was taken following a warning from the LTTE. Though parliamentarian Sivajilingam approached the LTTE to include the names of TELO candidates in the Tamil National Alliance list for the local government elections the LTTE had rejected it. It was made to understand that the LTTE had ordered the TELO activities be stopped after inquires about Sivajilingam and his propaganda to say he is from the same village of Prabakaran and tried to build up his party once again in Jaffna. It is noteworthy, that the TELO supporters destroyed the statue of Kittu at Muththirai Junction, Jaffna on the commemoration day of TELO leader, slain by the LTTE, on May 6, 2006. The fact is that the lease had run out on the property, and they were due to leave, as recorded in the lease. WE are still functioning in Jaffna, as soon as we have found new premises, we will advise of the location. All other locations (Pointpedrew and VVT office) are running as before, it is only with this one location that we are now looking to find our new premises. This news from the website is incorrect, as we do not forcibly take ownership of property, unlike other organizations. SLMC dispute: Judge refuses to hear case To the shock and surprise of the parties concerned, the Colombo District Judge who was expected to deliver the order on the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress leadership dispute yesterday transferred the case to another judge citing personal reasons. Judge K.H. Sumithrapala refused to be involved any further on the application filed against the suspension of party leader Rauff Hakeem and secretary M. T. Hasan Ali. The case was transferred to Additional District judge Devika Tennakone who fixed the hearing for today. Following a plaint filed by SLMC member, Jamaldeen Ishak on February 15 the court made an enjoining order preventing the party leader and its general secretary from signing the party’s nominations list and another on Elections Commissioner Dayananda Dissanayake preventing him from accepting the SLMC list for the local council elections on March 30. The plaintiff said the SLMC had not held its Delegates’ Conference since 2004 and as such the office bearers of the High Command and the politburo including Rauff Hakeem were not eligible to hold office. On February 23, Mr. Hakeem and Mr. Hasan Ali filed a counter application asking court to suspend the said enjoining orders saying Mr. Ishak had obtained the enjoining order by misleading the court and by suppressing and misrepresenting material facts. The counsel for the counter application charged that Mr. Ishak was not a member of the SLMC and he did not reside at the address set out in the plaint. Azwer ends 49 year tie with UNP, joins Mahinda Former UNP Minister A. H. M. Azwer broke a 49-year-old membership with the party and threw in his lot with President Mahinda Rajapakse and the government. Addressing a rally at Debarawewa, after visiting the areas surrounding the proposed Weerawila Airstrip in the company of President Rajapakse on Sunday Azwer told the gathering that the President had invited him to participate in the country's development for the good of country and people. 'I clutched the hands of friendship that Mahinda Rajapakse stretched out to me." He said he had gone to Temple Trees to meet his friend of 40 years, President Rajapakse to discuss the Mecca Pilgrimage, when the President called out to him telling the Geneva delegation, that Azwer was a special guest who had come to celebrate the success of talks. He said the idea of an International Airport was initially was promoted by the UNP government but not implemented by successive governments until President Rajapakse took the initiative which would benefit the southern people especially those in Hambantota. JVP files case against UPFA The judiciary in Sri Lanka have allowed the petitioners to amend a case against the Cease Fire Agreement (CFA) signed between the government and the Tamil Tigers. The petitioners, Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) and Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU) were allowed to site the cabinet of ministers of the current government headed by President Mahinda Rajapaksa as the respondents. The JVP and the JHU argued that the CFA signed between the then Prime Minister Ranil Wickramasinghe and the LTTE leader Velupillai Prabhakaran is against the constitution of Sri Lanka.The Appeals Court has been urged to rule that the CFA is invalid.The cabinet of ministers of Wickramasinghe government and the LTTE leader have initially been sited as the respondents. The petitioners requested the courts to send notice to the Tamil Tiger leader via LTTE peace secretariat in Kilinochchi.The hearing was postponed to 29 March. President awaits Newton's arrival The Media Minister is in a quandary as to how the head of state rum Sri Lanka Rupavahini Corporation, Newton Gunaratna went to Geneva to cover the peace talks when the Minister had rejected his visit as the Head of a state media institution. When Gunaratne planned to visit Geneva as Chairman of the Rupavahini Corporation, the Minister cancelled his visit. Gunaratne is also the Director General of the Presidential Media Unit. What he had actually done was to go to Geneva as the Head of the Presidential Media Unit ignoring the opposition raised by the Minister. Gunaratne who went to Geneva not as a representative of the Rupavahini Corporation, had conducted an interview with one of the members of the Government delegation, Minister Jeyaraj Fernandopulle and telecast it over Rupavahini. The Media Minister had come to know about Gunaratna's Geneva visit only after watching this interview. Even though he did not represent the Rupavahini Corporation, it is reported that his expenses amounting to Rs 300,000 were to be borne by the Corporation. Meanwhile the Minister has decided to lodge a complaint with the President against Gunaratne for defying his orders and the President too was said to be waiting for a complaint against Gunaratne. While the President was switching channels of his television set recently, he had suddenly come across a program of LTTE television channel, TNN. The astonished President had made inquiries as to how a Tiger television is telecast in this manner. It had been reported to the President, that the Independent Television Network had entered into an agreement with a satellite transmission centre which also facilitated the LTTE channel. On making further inquiries, the President had learnt that the agreement had been signed by former ITN chairman Newton Gunarathna. The President had immediately informed Gunaratne over the phone to meet him as soon as possible. Gunartne who had come with great enthusiasm for a meeting with the President had a rather unpleasant surprise when the President asked him as to why he entered into an agreement with a satellite centre providing facilities to the LTTE. Gunaratne had pointed out that ITN can transmit programs to the Wanni round the clock when the TNN could only telecast its programs to Colombo for just two to three hours per day. Infuriated by this response, the President had severely reprimanded Gunaratne. In an interview with a weekend newspaper after the incident, Gunaratne had said that he would rather go home if he was influenced. LTTE accused of building bunkers Violating the pledge given at the Geneva talks to observe the ceasefire agreement, the LTTE has constructed a new bunker close to the Army’s Forward Defence Line at Alainakar, in Trincomalee, Military Spokesman Prasad Samarasinghe said yesterday. He said the military had officially lodged a complaint to the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission on the latest incident. Brigadier Samarasinghe said soldiers at the FDL post had on Sunday noticed about ten suspected LTTE cadres constructing a new bunker at Alainakar while another armed with a T-56 weapon was standing by. He said the construction of new bunkers in government-controlled areas was considered a gross violation of the ceasefire agreement. He also said on Thursday the soldiers informed the SLMM of the construction of two new LTTE bunkers on either side of the A-9 road, ahead of their FDL at Omanthai. World Bank funds construction of 6,000 permanent houses The World Bank has allocated a sum of Rs. 1,800 million for constructing 6,000 permanent houses and establishing Resettlement villages for those displaced in the North. This is in response to the request made to: Peter Harold, the Resident Representative of the World Bank, in Sri Lanka, by the Minister of Resettlement, Rishard Badiuddin. The UNHCR has been entrusted with the responsibility of implementing this project. Speaking on this topic, Minister Rishard Badiuddin said that a fact-finding Team is gathering facts for the UNHCR from all Refugee/Resettlement Camps. Once this is completed, they will begin constructing the houses. He said that each house is estimated to cost about Rs: 250,000. Badge for LTTE police: UNP union The Jathika Sevaka Sangamaya yesterday charged that with the participation of Police Chief Chandra Fernando and LTTE police chief Nadesan, seated opposite each other at the table, the government had given international accreditation to the LTTE police. “Mr. Fernando and Mr. Nadesan spoke to each other. This would have definitely given the LTTE police international recognition”, JSS working committee member Sunil de Silva told journalists at the Opposition Leader’s office Commenting on the talks Mr. de Silva said the government had also accepted the LTTE as the sole representative of the Tamil community despite the JVP and JHU vociferously claiming on the election platforms that it was not so. He said the government had also failed to satisfactorily solve the issue regarding the recruitment of child soldiers though the JVP insisted on taking a rigid stand on the matter. “Former Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and LTTE leader Velupillai Prabhakaran signed the ceasefire agreement on Sri Lankan soil. Then, the JVP criticized the Norwegians as white tigers. Today, they are silent despite the government following the same path adopted by the UNP,” Mr. de Silva said. UN candidate to
press for reforms The United Nations would politically involve solving Sri Lanka’s national question, if invited by the government, he added. The government of Sri Lanka on Tuesday kicked off the official campaign by launching a campaign website for the candidacy of Dhanapala. “For all countries especially to countries like Sri Lanka, a world without a UN would be a dangerous place,” Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera told journalists. However, the minister said, it would be naïve not to point out mistakes and wrongdoings of the world body. The United Nations is to elect the next head later this year as Kofi Annan finishes his two terms in December 2006. “We in Sri Lanka are in deed proud and honoured to present Jayantha Dhanapala for the post of the Secretary General of the UN,” Samaraweera said. 27 February 2006 SLFP–UNP in the same ‘boat’ in Trinco A group of SLFPers together with some UNPers have filed nominations as an independent group to contest the Trincomalee Urban Council elections under the boat symbol, a spokesman for the election secretariat said yesterday. Assistant Commissioner of Elections for the Trincomalee district M. M. S. K. Mapa said that the independent group leader was D. H. Wimalasena, the SLFP organizer for Trincomalee. He said that Verugal Pradeshiya Sabha, in an uncleared area of Trincomalee, was secured uncontested by The Ilankai Tamil Arasukachchi (ITAK). The EPDP were contesting the balance local bodies in all Tamil majority areas and the UPFA and the UNP were to contest all 12 local bodies and the JVP all areas except where the Muslims are in the majority. The DUA will contest all Muslim majority areas. He said that out of 15 independent groups handing over nominations four were rejected. In the Ampara district according to Assistant Commissioner of Election T. M. L. D. Tennakoon, there were 18 local bodies, including the Ampara Urban Council and Kalmunai Municipal Council. Of 105 nomination lists received, 44 from independent groups and 61 from registered political parties - the PLF (JVP) UPFA, UNP, ITAK, EPDP, National congress, Sri Lanka Muslim National Congress. The Illankai Thamil Arasukachchi (ITAK), Eelam People Democratic Part (EPDP), democratic Peoples Liberation Front (DPLF) and The United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA) and one independent group contesting under the symbol of ship handed in their nominations to contest the March 30 Local Government Elections to 20 local bodies in the Jaffna Electoral District, Assistant Commissioner of Elections P. Kuhanathan said yesterday. He said that the UPFA would contest the three local bodies of Vellvetthurai, Chavakachcheri and Point Pedro areas under the betel symbol. The ITAK would contest all the 17 local bodies in the Jaffna district under the house symbol while 3 independent groups had come forward to contest the 3 local bodies in the Killinochchi district under the ship symbol which the ITAK were not contesting. The EPDP was contesting 17 local bodies as the DPLF under the symbols of Veena and Anchor respectively. Altogether 3 groups would contest every local body in the Jaffna district. The independent groups would contest Palali PS, Killinochchi PS and Poonagari PS in the uncleared areas. Assistant Commissioner for Election, for the Vanni district A. S. Karunanidhi said that as a result of 2 nominations one from the UNP and another from an independent being rejected the EPDP were elected uncontested to Pudukudireppu Pradeshiya Sabha in the Mullathivu district. He said that including an Urban Council there were 5 local bodies in the Vavuniya district and five in the Mannar district including an Urban Council and four in the Mannar district. In the Mannar District 6 registered parties and 2 independent groups were in the fray. All 5 nominations of the ITAK were accepted along with 5 of the UPFA,UNPs 4, DPLF 4, DPLF and EPDP 3. The SLMC’s 5 nominations were rejected. The independent groups were to contest Mannar UC and Musali PS. In Vavuniya district JHU has submitted one nominations to contest the Vavuniya South PS and Peoples Liberation Front (JVPs) will contest Vavuniya South and North Pradeshiya Sabhas.ITAK are contesting the Vavuniya UC, Verugala, Chettikulam and Vavuniya North. The UPFA 5 nominations for Vavuniya, UNP 5, EPDP 4 and DPLF 4 nominations were also accepted to contest the Vavuniya district and one independent for Vavuniya north were rejected. In the Mullathivu district the Peoples Liberation Front (JVP) and the UPFA were to contest the Karaithurai Pattru Pradeshiya Sabha while SLMC nominations were rejected. The UNP submitted nomination to contest four local bodies in the Mullaithivu district of the which one for Pudukudirruppu was rejected and EPDP’s four nominations accepted. In Batticaloa district, six political parties were in the fray including the new political party - Ashraff Congress contesting under the house symbol - said Assistant Commissioner of Elections T. Krishnandalingam. The ITAK was contesting 11 local bodies excluding the Kattandudi PS. The EPDP had two nominations of their 9 rejected and UPFA’s 7 nominations were accepted. The UNP has one of its four nominations to Kovalapattu West PS being rejected. The JVP was contesting Eruvi Pattu PS (Chenkalady) and mew Party National Congress under the symbol of House was contesting Kattankudi UC. "Illegal"
CFA "amended" in Geneva The constitutional affairs expert told journalists in Colombo that the CFA is invalid until President Mahinda Rajapaksa signs a new truce with the LTTE. The GOSL delegation arrived Colombo after two-day talks at Chateau de Bossey, Genava. The agreement in Geneva “does not give credibility to the original agreement (CFA), but this purports to explains ambiguity and doubts created by the original agreement,” HL de Silva said. "The question of invalidity remains as before." Head of the GOSL team, Leader of the House Nimal Siripala de Silva said the Geneva agreement was “ a victory” as the parties discussed the issue of child soldiers in detail. The final agreement, he said, was “an amendment” to the original CFA. “Whatever we agreed in this joint statement in Geneva amounts to an amendment to the CFA because there are new obligations the parties have undertaken,” de Silva added. Agreeing to disarm the paramilitaries was “nothing but to obey the law of the country,” according to the senior minister. LTTE "surprised"
on GOSL remarks Member of the GOSL team HL de Silva, PC, told the journalists in Colombo that the CFA is invalid irrespective of the fact that the GOSL agreeing to implement it. The agreement in Geneva “does not give credibility to the original agreement (CFA), but this purports to explain ambiguity and doubts created by the original agreement,” HL de Silva said. Thamilselvan said the LTTE team, who are scheduled to trasvel to Oslo on Monday, would bring the statement by the GOSL to the attention of the Norwegian facilitators. Head of LTTE peace secretariat S Pulithevan told BBC Sandeshaya that the two parties pledged to implement the CFA in Geneva after two-day talks. “There is no question of validity. Even in the joint communiqué the Sri Lankan government agreed to implement it,” he said. Pulithevan added that the CFA has been endorsed by the international community including the co-chairs of the peace process. Head of GOSL negotiating team, Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva, meanwhile suggested that the parties have agreed to amend the CFA by agreeing to the joint communiqué. But the LTTE strongly denied having agreed to amend the CFA. “We were only talking about implementing the CFA. There was no discussion about amendment or redraft or a review of CFA,” he told bbcsinhala.com. JHU rejects Geneva agreement, wants CFA amended The agreements entered into between the Government and the LTTE are a violation of the consensus reached between President Mahinda Rajapaksa and the JHU prior to the Presidential poll, JHU General Secretary Ven. Omalpe Sobhitha Thera said yesterday. He said in a media release, the just concluded Geneva talks were non-binding on the Jathika Hela Urumaya. The JHU said: “The Government has issued a statement immediately after the Geneva talks. The JHU has not given its consent to the points in the statement. The JHU at the All Party Conference laid down some of the preconditions that should be mandatory between the Government and the LTTE, in any future negotiation. It was also the stand of the JHU that the Geneva talks would have a direct bearing on the LTTE travel ban in Europe and on the expected LTTE ban in Canada. “The Ceasefire Agreement which was signed by Ranil Wickremesinghe as Prime Minister was a damp squib. It was with the intention of coming out of this rut that the entire country voted for the Mahinda Chinthanaya. What we wanted was a meaningful and balanced implementation of the CFA and we were totally against supporting talks based on the same CFA. “The Government‘s accepted position was that there were no para military forces but the govt.’s under taking to disarm all such forces is a candid admission on the part of the Government that there were para- military forces. If there were groups that should be disarmed, it should be the LTTE. The Groups which had been disarmed and are under the protection of the security of the Armed Forces could not be left unprotected in the future as well. “Soon after the Geneva talks, LTTE theoretician Dr. Anton Balasingham had told international media that the LTTE would be engaged in political activities in government controlled areas. The biggest damage that was done by Wickremesinghe’s CFA was that the members of the Armed Forces were made to compromise their security within the liberated areas. What is happening now after two months of the Rajapaksa Presidency is that both the Northern and the Eastern Provinces which were liberated from the clutches of the LTTE are gradually falling into LTTE hands. The lives of the members of the security forces cannot be compromised under the guise of the LTTE engaging in political activities.” The JHU has also drawn the attention of President Rajapaksa that the voters of this country, voted for him for a durable peace. It should not be placed in danger leaving room for LTTE intimidation and threats under the guise of a pseudo peace drive by the Tamil population. “Opposition Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe should ask for the forgiveness of the nation for internationalization of the ceasefire which he signed with the LTTE which has seriously compromised national security. “We also believe that there have been drawbacks in reaching consensus on vital issues despite President Rajapaksa briefing all political parties of the developments. The LTTE despite all the pledges, is yet recruiting child soldiers while also violating human rights. The JHU implores the nation to be vigilant over future talks between the Government and the LTTE.” SL Navy seizes passes from Point Pedro fishermen Sri Lanka Navy (SLN) soldiers from a patrol craft in
the Northern seas seized fishing passes from eleven Point Pedro fishermen,
destroyed their nets and fishing accessories and chased them back to the
shores Saturday, the fishermen said in a complaint to the Vadamaradchy
North Fisheries Consortium. The SLN soldiers also threatened the fishermen the complaint further said.The incident is the recent in a series of continuing harassment faced by fishermen in the northern shores of Sri Lanka, fisheries sources said. Renegade Sri Lanka rebels refuse to give up arms(Reuters) Breakaway rebels in Sri Lanka vowed on Sunday to resist any attempt to disarm them -- defying a government pledge seen vital to avoid a return to war. The government vowed on Thursday to ensure no armed group other than government security forces carries arms or conducts armed operations, and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) want to see the state act before new talks due in April. But V. Muralitharan, alias Colonel Karuna, who now lives in hiding and was formerly seen as shadowy Tiger leader Velupillai Prabhakaran's deputy, told Reuters on Sunday his group refuses to lay down arms and will end a unilateral ceasefire and fight the LTTE if attacked. "Without mincing our words we wish to tell (Prabhakaran) quite categorically that we have our resolve and moral right to hold onto our arms," Karuna told Reuters in a rare email interview. "No one can impose their will on us to take them from us, which we use only for defensive purposes. "Our people ... have entrusted us to defend them from the LTTE. Our people will not like us to become submissive and just hand over our weapons to satisfy the LTTE brutes." The Tigers accuse the military of helping paramilitaries to mount attacks within their territory mainly in the island's east, and singled out Karuna's group at talks in Switzerland last week as one that they want disarmed if the truce is to keep holding. They have warned that the government risks a return to a two-decade civil war that killed more than 64,000 people unless they stick by the terms of the ceasefire and rein in armed groups. RENEGADES DEFIANT Karuna wants to see the government pledge to disarm applied to Tiger rebels who are blamed for carrying out a series of deadly attacks in December and January on the military in the government-held northern enclave of Jaffna. "We are waiting to see how the sarong-clad Vanni Tigers ... who are terrorising our people and the army in the north are going to be disarmed in the Jaffna peninsula following the Geneva decision," Karuna said. "Any provocation or attack by the LTTE would lead to officially ending our unilateral ceasefire." While Karuna's group says it is based both in military and rebel-held areas, President Mahinda Rajapakse's government says it has not come across such a group, estimated to number just a few hundred people. Analysts suspect the government is at least turning a blind eye. Karuna split from the Tigers, disbanding many of his estimated 6,000 loyal fighters, in early 2004 after accusing the Tigers' northern leadership of discriminating against Tamils in the east. He has since launched a political group, Tamileela Makkal Viduthalai Puligal (TMVP), and plans eventually to join the political mainstream. But for now, his group is focused on keeping the Tigers in check and will only disarm when they do. "So long as the LTTE is allowed to hold onto their arms, the north and east cannot ever be transformed into democratic rule," Karuna said. "We, as a politico-military movement too will ensure to use every means to change the present status quo to liberate our people if the LTTE fails to respect the wishes of our people to enter the democratic mainstream soon." Why reject 50 candidates after selection? queries ITAK MP Illangai Thamil Arasu Katchi (ITAK) Member of Parliament, M.K. Eelaventhan, in a letter to President Mahinda Rajapaksa, has queried as to why 50 candidates, including 12 Tamils, initially selected as Management Trainees for the Bank of Ceylon were later rejected for unknown reasons. According to the Jaffna district MP, applications for the post were called for in September last year following which a written examination was held and prospective candidates selected for an interview. Mr. Eelaventhan believes the selected candidates will be mentally affected due to the haphazard manner in which the selections were cancelled and urged the President to intervene and resolve the issue. Eelam Peoples Democratic Party cadres roam Jaffna islet armed Alalasundaram Satheesh, a cadre of Eelam Peoples Democratic Party (EPDP), a paramilitary group working with Sri Lanka Government, armed with a hand gun and communications equipment belonging to the Sri Lanka Army (SLA), was patrolling residential areas of Jaffna islet of Delft Friday night around 8 p.m., sources in Delft said. Residents remained indoors without venturing out to get provisions in local shops, local residents said.Vadamaradchi area co-ordinator for EPDP, Razik, is also reported to be openly brandishing his hand pistol in residential areas of Delft, sources said. A general atmosphere of fear prevails in Delft areas due to the presence of armed EPDP paramilitaries, residents said Red Cross still looking for 9,000 missing Lankans Of the thousands who went missing in Sri Lanka in decades of violence, an estimated 5,000 civilians and 4,000 soldiers are still unaccounted for. Since it started functioning in Sri Lanka, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) had been handling the cases of more than 20,000 people missing, primarily as a result of the Tamil separatist conflict. “Many cases could be solved, mostly because the (missing) person could be located,” ICRC director of operations Pierre Krahenbuhl told IANS. “However, there are still around 5,000 civilians unaccounted for and around 4,000 servicemen missing in action. “The ICRC is currently finalising an extensive report on all pending files of missing persons, with the aim of handing it over to the authorities concerned this year.” Krahenbuhl, who is based in Geneva and visited India recently, said dozens had gone missing even after the 2002 Norway-brokered ceasefire between the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and the government. He explained that if and when the ICRC received requests from a concerned family, his organisation “tries to find out the whereabouts of the (missing) persons and visit them if they are detained. “The ICRC also regularly reminds all parties to the conflict that hostage taking and extra-judicial killings are strictly forbidden by international humanitarian law.” Asked if the ICRC expected a possible resumption of armed conflict in Sri Lanka, he said: “It is difficult, if not impossible, to speculate about the development of any armed conflict. “Obviously the ICRC hopes that the conflict can be settled in a peaceful manner. However, should open hostilities resume, then the ICRC would be prepared to offer its humanitarian services and to assist and to protect people affected by the conflict.” Krahenbuhl went on: “The ICRC has indeed made contingency plans for different scenarios, and the human resource set up and emergency stocks are constantly being scrutinised to ensure they are up-to-date. “In the event of a war, the ICRC will endeavour to maintain its current good access to the affected areas and to the civilian population.” Krahenbuhl's comments came just as the Sri Lankan government and the LTTE ended two days of peace talks in Geneva and promised to meet again in April, giving a ray of hope to the peace process. The ICRC employs 55 delegates and over 460 national staff in Sri Lanka. Its 10 offices in the north and east are at Batticaloa, Vavuniya, Jaffna, Trinconmalee, Kilinochchi, Mallavi, Mutur, Amparai, Mannar and Puthukkudiyiruppu. Krahenbuhl said the ICRC's protection and assistance activities had lessened the suffering of thousands affected by war. “Although not directly engaged in peace efforts, the ICRC's action in itself, by limiting the impact of the conflict, may be seen as a contribution to prospects for peace.” He listed some of the ICRC's achievements: * ICRC teams followed up on the cases of over 23,000 people detained in relation to the insurgency sparked by the Janatha Vimukti Peramuna (JVP) in the 1980's and 22,000 people detained in relation to the Tamil conflict. * Along with the Sri Lankan Red Cross Society, the ICRC delivered over 120,000 Red Cross Messages between family members split due to the conflict and to reunite nearly 1,000 children and elderly persons with their family. * Over 400,000 displaced people from Jaffna peninsula benefited from ICRC assistance. * From 1990 until 2002, the ICRC escorted over 500,000 tonnes of governmental food supplies and medicine to the north from the south. * During the same period, the ICRC also ferried over 10,000 patients who required specialised medical treatment from Jaffna peninsula via the Trincomalee harbour, and then by land to Colombo and back. * Mobile Red Cross health teams provided over a million consultations to patients in rural areas in the north and east from 1994 until 2003. * The ICRC ran awareness sessions on international humanitarian law and the basic rules of behaviour in combat reached around 70,000 members of the armed forces and the police as well as over 3,500 LTTE cadres. Asked if the ICRC faced problems while dealing with Colombo or the LTTE, Krahenbuhl replied: “The ICRC enjoys a good working relationship with both sides. This is the result of a relationship built on mutual trust.” 26 February 2006 Thousands
march through Sri Lankan capital The marchers, carrying lighted candles, also celebrated an agreement last week between the government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, or LTTE, to salvage the truce, which had been threatened by a recent spike in attacks. The two sides agreed at the negotiations in Switzerland to restrain violence and to meet again in April. "We are urging the government and LTTE to commit themselves to strengthen the cease-fire and to respect the agreements reached in Geneva with a view to bring lasting peace," said rev. Madampagama Assagi, a Buddhist priest and secretary of national anti-war front, which organized the event. Between 2,000 and 3,000 people turned out to celebrate the fourth anniversary of the Norway-brokered cease-fire, which was signed on Feb. 22, 2002. Violence in Sri Lanka's volatile north has killed some 150 people since December and raised fears that the country was on the verge of returning to civil war. Yet there are signs that tensions have eased in the troubled northern Jaffna peninsula since the peace talks, with shops staying open at night and people remaining outside after dark, a rare occurrence before the two sides sat down in Geneva. GAs want polls in Tiger areas Government Agents (GAs) of the north east districts are to call on the government to hold elections in the LTTE controlled areas. A crucial meeting between the GAs of the north east and Elections Commissioner Dayananda Dissanayake will take place this week in Colombo to discuss this issue. The GAs are expected to bring pressure on the Elections Commissioner not to postpone elections but to hold elections providing adequate security and thereby enabling the people living in the LTTE controlled areas to exercise their franchise. The GAs told The Sunday Leader the government might try to use the cluster polling system defying the normal local election laws that prevent the setting up of cluster polling booths during local polls. "But of course if the government went ahead with this system, the turnout would be minimal," they said. "It is not practical for the voters in the LTTE controlled areas to travel to the government controlled areas to cast their votes. "We saw this during last year’s presidential election when hundreds of voters in the LTTE controlled areas were not allowed to come into the government controlled areas to cast their votes," GA, Batticaloa District, S. Krishnanathalingam said. He added that while arrangements were being made to hold elections in the government controlled territories, talks would also be held on the possibility of holding elections in the LTTE controlled areas. "Arrangements will have to be made to allow voters in the LTTE controlled areas to cast their votes. The only option is to hold elections in those areas," Krishnanthalingam said. An official from the Trincomalee GA’s Department also maintained that while arrangements to hold elections in the government controlled areas had begun, arrangements had to be made to allow voters from the LTTE controlled areas to cast their votes. The official said that while during every election, the north and east did not produce the correct voting figures, arrangements had to be made to allow all voters to cast their votes freely and fairly. Muslim factor
crucial to peace process: Ferial An aide to the Housing Minister who represented the government at the two-day Geneva confab said the NUA leader had raised a range of contentious issues. She demanded recognition of the Muslim community as one of the principal stakeholders. "The Muslim community is the worst affected by ethnic conflict both before and after the CFA although they were neither a party to the war nor a party to the CFA," she said. Referring to eviction of Muslims from the northern region in October/ November 1989, she accused the LTTE of ethnic cleansing. She also slammed the CFA claiming that the Muslims lost their sense of security the day the CFA was signed. Tigers to target HSZs at second round The LTTE has decided to call for the relocation of military camps in the High Security Zones in the second round of talks to enable the civilian population to return to their homes. The government and the LTTE at the conclusion of the first round of talks decided to have the second round also in Geneva, Switzerland from April 19-21 The government accepted the ceasefire agreement in toto at the first round of talks and to also disband all paramilitary groups in accordance with the ceasefire agreement. The government delegation initially called for a revision of the CFA stating it was unconstitutional and compromised national security but later relented and agreed to uphold the agreement after the LTTE threatened to walk out of the talks. LTTE Chief Negotiator Anton Balasingham told The Sunday Leader his mandate was to negotiate the implementation of the ceasefire agreement and that he told the government delegation if any attempts were made to amend the CFA the LTTE delegation would walk out. He said any attempt by the government to revise the agreement would tantamount to coming out of the ceasefire agreement resulting in the two weeks notice period for the resumption of hostilities. "I told the government delegation to think carefully of that situation," Balasingham said Presidential Advisor on the Peace Process Palitha Kohona told The Sunday Leader what was important was not a legal interpretation on the acceptance of the CFA but that the talks are on track to bring peace for the people of Sri Lanka. The LTTE Chief Negotiator further said the government by agreeing to uphold the CFA and disarm all armed groups in accordance with the CFA had attracted Article 1.8 of the Agreement which calls for the disarming of all paramilitary groups. He said the LTTE expects the government to fulfill that obligation before the next round enabling LTTE cadres to resume their political work in Jaffna and Batticaloa. Balasingham also told The Sunday Leader the organisation will at the next round call for the relocation of the security forces camps in the HSZs to enable the people languishing in refugee camps to return to their homes and livelihoods. "It is time the government addressed this humanitarian issue and we will take it up in the next round as a priority issue," he said A Wish for Peace In a joint statement the Buddhist clergy emphasised that no religious or ethnic group should be held responsible for the present crisis. The statement went onto say that the common inability to understand the underlying socio economic and political situation prolonged the crisis. Presidient Mahinda Rajapaksha also joined the Adhishtana puja. Chief Incumbent of the Ruwanwalisaya, venerable Pallegama Hemaratana Thero said that they wished both parties would soften there hard line stands on the ethnic issue in the next round of talks. “We have failed to build a social movement that support peace in the past and if we fail now the consequence would be disastrous” added Ven. Hemarathana. Mahinda clips Chandrika's wings Former President Chandrika Kumaratunga's staff has been pruned down to 27 and the treasury has notified that funds could not be allocated to pay allowances for her staff.The treasury comes under the purview of the Finance Ministry and the current Finance Minister is President Mahinda Rajapaksa. Earlier 61 employees were recruited for the ex-President's staff and after being informed that such a large number could not be allocated she agreed to reduce the number to 38. But that request was no granted and the staff was brought down to 34 and by this week it has been further reduced to 27. Former President Kumaratunga has adopted a tough stand in the face of the tussle for the party leadership between her and President Rajapaksa and she recently stated to the media that she had never thought of relinquishing the party leadership even in her dreams. Not only her personal staff but 50 commandos assigned for her security too had been reduced on two occasions, ten on each occasion and she is now left with only 30 commandos. Meanwhile the Cabinet recently took a decision to eject her security staff from 'Visumpaya', where lodging facilities were provided to them and the decision was recently conveyed to the relevant sectors by the acting Inspector General. Amidst all these, Kumaratunga shifted to her official residence at the Independence Avenue on the 23rd . However a member of her personal staff told 'Lanka e News' that she leaves for the Bandaranaike's ancestral home at Horagolla at nights as renovation activities of the new residence are still going on. SLA permits Sivarathri celebrations in Naguleswaram temple The Sri Lanka Army (SLA) has given permission for devotees to spend day and night at historic Keerimalai Naguleswaram Temple to participate in religious observances on Maha Sivarathiri day, which falls on Sunday, according to Chief Priest and Trustee of the temple Sri K.Naguleswarakurukkal. The annual THER (Chariot) festival of the temple is also to be held Sunday coinciding with Maha Sivarathiri. The temple is located in the high security zone, sources said. Devotees would be allowed to travel to temple site in their vehicles.Additional buses will be put on service from the army checkpoint at Tellipalai from Sunday morning at seven a.m. to the temple site till the festival is over, temple sources said.SLA soldiers and police would be deployed in the temple area to maintain law and order, police officials said.Devotees have been requested not to bring unwanted materials to the temple premises, temple authorities said in an appeal. India will not intervene Former General Officer Commanding (GOC) the Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF), General Ashok K. Mehta will have no objections if the North-East Province in Sri Lanka is renamed Tamil Eelam with Velupillai Pirapaharan at its helm, so long as it is within a united Sri Lanka. He made this observation to The Sunday Leader while attending a symposium on Peace Negotiations, organised by the Foundation for Co-existence (FCE), earlier this week in Colombo. General Mehta, who commanded the IPKF from 1988 until its departure in 1991, was responding to a point raised by The Sunday Leader during a brief interview, that as LTTE Leader Velupillai Pirapaharan has set his sights on the emergence of Tamil Eelam and therefore even if GOSL - LTTE negotiations lead to a political settlement, the name Tamil Eelam has acquired a significance that is unlikely to be relinquished by the LTTE. However, General Mehta emphasised that "due to the baggage of the past, India is not prepared to get involved in the political resolution of the conflict, as it sacrificed over 1,248 of its soldiers during the peace keeping process. The sequel had left some residual bad blood in the Indian military, particularly among the officers of the IPKF, as one Sri Lankan government invited us and the next asked us to leave." General Mehta, incidentally, was a junior officer with the Indian Army when it assisted in putting down the first JVP rebellion in 1971. When this writer pointed out that the IPKF period has also left bad blood for the people of Jaffna, General Mehta stated "it could have . but we should overcome the burden of the past and look to the future." Will Sri Lanka disarm Karuna? Sri Lanka's peace process has got a new lease of life following the Geneva talks with Tamil Tiger guerrillas but Colombo is faced with a daunting task: how to de-fang 'Colonel' Karuna? It is reliably learnt that the Sri Lankan government has promised Norway to disarm Karuna, who heads the breakaway faction of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and has emerged as the biggest headache for the guerrillas. A statement from Norwegian peace facilitator Erik Solheim after the Feb 22-23 talks said the LTTE would ensure "that there will be no acts of violence against the security forces and police" while Colombo would "ensure that no armed group or person other than government security forces will carry arms or conduct armed operations". The statement is a clear reference to Karuna, who was the eastern regional commander of the LTTE when he broke away in March 2004 and has since carried on a wave of attacks against his former comrades led by Velupillai Prabhakaran. Ahead of the Geneva meeting, Karuna - who the LTTE says is hand in glove with Sri Lanka's military intelligence - gave a spate of interviews to the media from his hideout vowing to retaliate if the Tigers attacked his supporters. Karuna's armed men, estimated to number 200 to 300, are active mainly in the eastern district of Batticaloa, his home district. His group has forced the LTTE to close down several political offices in the region. Significantly, on the second and concluding day of the Geneva talks Thursday, Karuna told a Colombo media unit that as his men were active "outside the government controlled areas, they will not hesitate to retaliate against anybody who will try to deactivate them". He was also quoted as expressing confidence that the government "will not carry out that risky act". The disarming of Karuna was a key demand the LTTE put forward at Geneva in return for not attacking government troops and police personnel. In December and January, a string of deadly attacks blamed on the LTTE - but denied by the group - killed nearly 100 soldiers and sailors, putting the Norway-brokered 2000 ceasefire pact in jeopardy. But Sri Lanka watchers believe it will not be easy for the government to disarm Karuna, for more than one reason. For one, a section of the Sri Lankan establishment does not wish to lose what it feels is its biggest weapon against the LTTE by cracking down on Karuna, whose very presence is a destabilizing factor for the Tigers. Also, hardline Sinhalese parties like the JVP that support President Mahinda Rajapakse are completely opposed to any action against Karuna, and even now want Colombo to drop Norway, which they say is pro-LTTE, as the peace facilitator. IANS had reported Jan 30 that Colombo had ordered Karuna to halt attacks on the LTTE. Around the same time, Karuna declared a "ceasefire" against the LTTE but threatened to hit back if he came under attack. And since Karuna, whose real name is Vinayagamurthy Muralitharan, has given up separatism and backed calls for Sri Lanka's unity, it would be difficult for any government to move against him and that too against his will. But the LTTE has reportedly made it clear to Norway that it expects the Sri Lankan government to disarm Karuna, certainly before the next round of talks in Geneva April 19-21. The just ended Geneva talks are seen in India as an incremental progress in the peace process but no one is willing to talk about the future with confidence. "We do know one thing," one privileged source said. "The (Sri Lankan) president had hands on over what went on in Geneva. Of course, some violent incidents may still take place in Sri Lanka." Sri Lankan expat’s
body lying unclaimed: Embassy Manavakaran, who had arrived in Doha some weeks ago was battling for survival following an alleged life-threatening incident, since February 6 at the Hamad General Hospital. He passed away on February 13, despite efforts to save his life. Speaking to The Peninsula, Abeyasekera said, the embassy's efforts to contact the deceased's friends and relatives in Sri Lanka to send the body for last rites, had so far been futile. Nobody has come forward to claim the body," he saidd. Manavakaran, he revealed, worked with a reputed, local cleaning company. An Asian news portal, www.asiantribune.com, however described the victim as Manoharan who hailed from Sittandy, Batticaloa, in northern Sri Lanka. It claimed that three Sri Lankan citizens were being interogated in connection with Manoharan's death, allegedly caused after he was assaulted on his head while asleep in his room in Industrial Area, with an iron crowbar, by three assailants. The company, it was learnt, has a large complement of Sri Lankan staff, mainly employed as semi-skilled or unskilled cleaners. The firm provides cleaning services to homes and offices. The diplomat said that Qatari law enforcement authorities were investigating the circumstances that led to Manavakaran's death. "As of this date, we cannot confirm or deny that any particular person or party was involved since police investigations continue," Abeysekera, added. 25 February 2006 Swiss govt. welcomes positive outcome of talks The Swiss government yesterday welcomed the positive outcome of the talks between the government and LTTE which took place on February 22 and 23 in Geneva. It voiced the expectation that the parties to the conflict will respect the agreement they have concludedThe Swiss government said it hoped that the parties will comply conscientiously with the obligations they have undertaken in building-confidence measures. It also says that it has taken note of the wish of the parties to organise a further round of talks on April 19 and 21 in Geneva. The statement says that the Swiss government considers this “as a mark of trust” and it will examine the request favourably within the framework of its commitment to Sri Lanka. It further says that it welcomed the fact that the parties have agreed to respect the ceasefire agreement, and to take all necessary measures to avoid any acts of violence, intimidation, abductions or killings. Why have they agreed to uphold the cease-fire which they claimed was unconstitutional? -Ranil Opposition Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe said in Colombo today (24) that in accordance with the joint statement issued by the government and the LTTE at the end of the Geneva talks, in which they agreed to uphold and abide by the cease-fire agreement, the stand adopted by him has been proven true and correct.He also denounced the statement made by the chief government negotiator Minister Nimal Siripala De Silva at the commencement of the peace talks that the cease-fire agreement had contravened the constitution and that it was a threat to the territorial integrity of the country. Wickremesinghe made this comments when he met representatives of the UNP trade union wing, the Jathika Sevaka Sangamaya.The Opposition Leader noted that the Geneva talks based on the cease-fire agreement and the aim of the cease-fire was to lay the groundwork for the commencement of the peace negotiations. When former President Chandrika Kumaratunga formed the Freedom Alliance government in 2004 she accepted the legality of the cease-fire agreement and so did Mahinda Rajapaksa as the Prime Minister of that government and Nimal Siripala De Silva and four JVPers as Ministers ofthat government. Even President Mahinda Rajapaka agreed to abide by the cease-fire agreement when he won the Presidential election. "When the JVP challenged the legality of the Tsunami Relief Council based on the truce agreement, the Supreme Court accepted the legality of the cease-fire. When the Sri Lankan government and the country's legal system have accepted the cease-fire agreement as legal, I condemned the statement made by Minister Nimal Siripala De Silva on behalf of the government. Mr. Wickremesinghe called on the government to spell out its stand on the cease-fire agreement and state clearly whether it accepts or rejects the cease-fire.He also urged the JVP and the Hela Urumaya, which functioned from the Operations Room in Temple Trees during the Geneva talks, to declare their true stand on the cease-fire agreement. SLMC welcomes truce talks outcome The Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) yesterday welcomed the outcome of the ceasefire talks. SLMC General Secretary Hassan Ali told the Daily News that the party welcomed the agreement reached by the Government and the LTTE to adhere to the regulations of the Ceasefire Agreement (CFA). "According to the information we have received, both parties have pledged to ensure the proper implementation of the CFA. It is a good move. We welcome all attempts to usher in an honourable peace to the country," he said. Ali said that the only reservation of the SLMC regarding the Geneva talks was a statement by Anton Balasingham referring to a Muslim paramilitary group in the North-East. "We are disturbed by this statement. As far as we know, there is no such paramilitary movement in the North and East," he said. The SLMC Secretary also urged the Government to make room for a separate Muslim representation at the next round of talks. "We do not believe that one person could represent the entire Muslim community at the negotiations. A separate Muslim delegation is vital for finding solutions for our grievances," he added. Swiss Foreign Ministry and ICRC meets with LTTE Mr. Bernadino Regazzoni, Switzerland’s Ambassador to Sri Lanka, Mr. Greminger, Mr. Heiniger, Ms. Gabrial and officials from Switzerland’s Foreign Office met with Mr.S.P.Tamilselvan today, 24 February 2006 at Chataeu De Bossey, Geneva where talks between the Government of Sri Lanka and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam on implementation of the Cease Fire Agreement that was signed four years ago were held on 22 and 23 February 2002. The outcome of the talks and the future steps to be taken by both parties to effectively implement the CFA were discussed in the meeting.Mr. Reto Meister, ICRC Delegate General for Asia and the Pacific also had a meeting with Mr.Tamilselvan vis-à-vis the implementation of the CFA under the current dispensation. Stay order restraining Colombo Municipal Council election. The Appeal Court today (24) issued an interim order restraining the Elections Commissioner from conducting the local government elections for the Colombo Municipal Council on March 30th. The court also issued an order on the Elections Commissioner to suspend the rejection of the UNP nomination list for the Colombo Municipal Council. Issuing the stay order, Justice Sri Pavan stated that the Colombo District Returning Officer's action in rejecting the nominations lacked accountability.The Justice also said that the constitution has not conferred any authority on the returning officer to reject the nominations. He quoted from many extracts from similar cases and the interim order was issued with the agreement of Justice Sisira de Abrew.Filing a petition in the Appeal Court challenging the rejection of the UNP nomination list for the Colombo Municipal Council, UNP General Secretary N.V,K.K.Weragoda sought a court order on the Elections Chief to accept the nominations and to suspend the conducting of the election until the petition is heard and a judgment is delivered. The petitioner has cited the Elections Commissioner, returning officer Mahinda Deshapriya as respondents among others. President's counsel Faiz Musthafa appeared for the petitioner. Solicitor General C.R.De Silva appeared for the Elections Commissioner. The petition will be taken up for hearing again on the 9th of March. TNA nominates chaiman of PS in Tiger territory, EPDP seeks support of the peace secretariat Mr. S. Saundaraja was named for the post of chairman of the Verugalaru Pradeshiya Sabha in Batticaloa district which was won by the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) without a contest. Mr. Y. Nagendra was appointed the deputy chairman. The other five members of the local council are yet to be decided. Verugal area is deep in the Tamil Tiger controlled territory and only the TNA filed nominations for the local council election for the Pradeshiya Sabha. TNA supports the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). Meanwhile anti-LTTE Eelam People's Democratic Party won the Pudukudiyiruppu Pradeshiya Sabha which is located in the heart of the territory controlled by the LTTE, creating a dramatic situation. TNA not contesting in the LTTE held areas in the north,Independent group list of nomination was rejected, and EPDP won uncontested. Pudukudiyiruppu is one of the main Pradeshiya Sabha in Mullaitivu district and one of the 76 local bodies in the North East. Assistant Election Commissioner for Vavuniya has notified the secretary of the EPDP to appoint a nominee for the post of chairman for the Pudukudiyiruppu Pradeshiya Sabha but the party has not responded yet. The leader of EPDP, Minister Douglas Devananda had to come to the Vavuniya District Secretariat in a battle tank to hand over the nominations due to the threats from the LTTE. A spokesman for the EPDP said that the party has requested from the Peace Secretariat of Sri Lanka to create the ground atmosphere for them to conduct their rule in this region. The Head of the Peace Secretariat Dr. John Gunaratna has promised to raise the matter in the peace talks that were held in Geneva. Fifty female Jaffna students sick More than 50 female students of Manipay Hindu Ladies College in Jaffna have been admitted to the Jaffna teaching hospital during the course of this week after they experienced high fever and headaches. The students were admitted after doctors suspected the girls might have contracted viral flu or food poisoning after eating ice cream from a street vendor following the school sports meet on Monday. “All the girls had the same symptoms of high fever and headaches while some had throat infections. We have taken blood samples and are awaiting a report from the Medical Research Institute to identify the illness,” hospital doctor Dr. Perantharajah told the Daily Mirror.The doctor however said the symptoms did not indicate the illness was of a serious nature. Tamil security force for plantation sector The Minister of Estate Infrastructure and Livestock Development, C.B.Ratnayake has decided to set up a special security force consisting Tamil youths for the plantation sector. In a highly confidential letter to his colleagues, Ratnayake has urged them to send names of 25 Tamil youths to be recruited to this Tamil force. The letter has stated that selected youths will be paid a monthly salary of 11,000 rupees. Lanka Tamils divided
over talks “Even the ceasefire is extended by one day we welcome it because it can postpone the war by one day,” he told BBC Sandeshaya. The former parliamentarian however criticized both parties for not fully implementing the clauses of the truce as agreed. TNA and HSZ “For example, LTTE continue killings, abductions and suicide attacks while the government ignores the pledge to remove High Security Zones (HSZ),” he added. Siddharthan, who supports the government, said the Cease Fire Agreement (CFA) signed in 2002 is “one –sided and benefits the LTTE.” But the Tamil National Alliance (TNA), who supports the LTTE, says it is the GOSL who should take action to prevent another war. “The government should take immediate action to remove HSZs for the talks to progress,” TNA parliamentarian Nadarajah Raviraj told bbcsinhala.com. He said the HSZs are directly linked to day to day lives of the Tamil public in the north and the east. EPDP He said the Tamil Tigers would obey their pledge not to get back to violence provided the government fully implements the CFA. The Ealam Peoples Democratic Party (EPDP), meanwhile says the Tigers are still engaged in violence despite pledges. “Even today, the LTTE have assaulted those who went to sell Thinamurusu newspaper,” EPDP spokesman Nelson Edirisinghe told the BBC. Although the EPDP do not trust the Tigers, he said, the party’s policy might change if the LTTE abide by the Geneva agreement. USCIRF urges Hela Urumaya delegation to reconsider Anti-Conversion Bill A delegation of US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) members met Jatika Hela Urumaya (JHU) representatives yesterday to discuss the Prevention of Forced Unethical Conversion Bill. USCIRF during their discussion had raised concern over the violation of religious rights through the bill and urged the JHU delegation to reconsider its position with the Bill. They have also queried as to whether there is a greater demand for such legislature and whether large number of Buddhist were subjected to unethical forceful conversion by other religious groups. The delegates further raised fear that the proposed act would be a source of disharmony between religious groups and could trigger violence and religious riots in the country. The USCIRF representatives also queried the JHU delegation which consist the originator of the Bill, Ven. Omalpe Sobitha Thera, as to why the party failed to consult other religious groups prior to presenting the Bill to Parliament. However, responding to the complaints of the USCIRF group, Ven. Sobitha Thera pointed that there is a greater need for the Bill at the moment to prevent future disputes between religious groups and to avert religious violence. He had assured that the Bill would not be violating religious rights of any citizen in the country and had pointed that the Bill had also received the clearance of the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka. The USCIRF earlier expressed concern over the Prevention of Forced Unethical Conversion Bill and a proposed amendment to the Constitution of Sri Lanka to make Buddhism the official religion of Sri Lanka. They alleged that the amendment and the Bill would violate the internationally guaranteed rights primarily of members of the majority Buddhist community as well as minority religious groups. Responding to the accusations JHU invited them to a second round discussion with their panel of lawyers on the legality of the amendment and the Bill. The Prevention of Forced Unethical Conversion Bill is in the standing committee level of the Sri Lankan Parliament and has to face the voting following the Committee Stage. Coordinated naval patrolling formalised CHENNAI: The `coordinated patrolling', which the Indian and Sri Lankan navies have taken up along the International Maritime Boundary Line, has been formalised. Officers of both navies met on Thursday to work out the arrangements, Eastern Naval Commander, Sureesh Mehta, told The Hindu here on Friday. "We have finalised something just yesterday. We are working on the modalities... we have almost got it sorted out. And it will be in place very soon." India and Sri Lanka began `coordinated patrolling' along the IMBL over six months ago on an experimental basis to ensure that there was no instance of firing at genuine fishermen and to prevent criminals from travelling freely between the countries. During the experimental stage, many limitations of the forces were studied and a working methodology was evolved. These included the crossing of the international boundary line and identification of various types of crafts in the region. Both sides routinely exchanged information on the location of their vessels and details of suspicious activities in the region. Admiral Mehta, Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief of the Visakhapatnam-based Eastern Naval Command, said with the coordinated patrol in place, "gaps" in the boundary would be "covered better." "We will go at specified times to specified places, and make sure that no untoward incident takes place." Asked if there had been any hostile activity in the region, he said nothing of importance had come to the Navy's notice. "Which means we are doing our job very well," he said on the sidelines of a national seminar on `India's Oceanic neighbours: emerging strategic issues and concerns.' The meet was organised by the Madras University Defence and Strategic Studies department and Chennai chapters of the Society for Indian Ocean Studies and the NDC Alumni Association. Joint exercises The Admiral, who inaugurated the seminar, said the Indian Navy had about 135 ships. The country had taken up joint exercises with many neighbours. Joint exercises with the PLA Navy might become a regular feature. Vice Admiral (retd.) Mihir Roy, who presided, emphasised the need to accept the fact that the United States was also an Indian Ocean power given its large fleet presence in the region. Gopalji Malviya, Head, Madras University Defence Studies Department, said Indian Ocean studies had changed a great deal over the decades. "Now non-traditional threats to security are in the forefront. Earlier, the Cold War diplomacy was reflected in the Indian Ocean politics, now it is a cooperative security." Commodore (retd.) Shekar said Madras University would confer M.Phil degree on those passing out of the NDC from this year. London terrorist
cadre arrested in Geneva –Source:The Island ‘The police officers had initially approached Ramaraj to apprehend him for anti-social behaviour,’ sources added. Only then did the police officers become aware that Ramaraj was in the country illegally. Ramaraj who did not have the legal documents to be in Switzerland had made his way to the city via Germany with the help of his contacts. Police officers were astonished when they learned from their computer records, that Ramaraj had in fact been on their most wanted list for several years. A number of the offences for which the police had been searching for him date back to the days when he was a resident in Switzerland. ‘Back then he was a notorious criminal and was known as drug dealer Mustapha,’ said a Swiss Tamil who was delighted with the news of the arrest. Ramaraj who was active with several Eastern European underworld gangs was being investigated for drug trafficking, people smuggling and credit card fraud amongst a whole host of other criminal offences, when he decided to flee to the United Kingdom and file for refugee status. ‘Together for drunk and disorderly behaviour, being in the country illegally and his past crimes, Ramaraj may be expecting to serve a lengthy prison sentence,’ said a Swiss legal expert. Meanwhile the Tamil community was visibly delighted with the arrest. ‘Perhaps the most notorious Tamil criminal in Europe has been locked up for good,’ said a Tamil businessman from the UK. Truth about TBC breakdown Startling revelations are surfacing in the "breaks in" news of the TBC radio. We, a group of failed asylum seekers are living in the UK with fear of arrest and deportation to Sri Lanka at any time. Mr.Ramraj assured us to obtain visas illegally using his association with the MP for Harrow , and the Councillor, Harrow . In fear of returning to Sri Lanka, three of us barrowed from friends and paid him `A35000 each in order to get the visa. However he could not help us in regularising our status as mentioned. Therefore we asked him to refund the money. He started to threaten us to inform the Enforcement officials of the UK Immigration Service about our status in this country. He further said that we were from the LTTE and will inform to the UK Police that we were threatening him. Despite this threat, we continued to pressurise him to get the money back. Then recently he asked us to wait in the midnight of 22nd of May 2005 in front of Domino Pizza, in Rayners Lane area. When we went there, he asked us to follow him. We went near a parked car (Metallic Green, R4 JRT) in the Warden Avenue. Then he gave us electronic equipments of possibly radio station and said that get your money from selling those equipments. The Other day we heard the news that the TBC Radio Station was broken in. Later we got to know that he made a complaint at the Harrow Police Station that the LTTE suspects broke in his radio station. In another interesting thing that the same Mr.Ramraj, one day had given money to one of another friends of us to buy a pay as you go sim card. Then Mr.Ramraj asked him to call to his Radio Station as well as to his mobile number using a phone with the same sim card frequently. Our friend was not aware as to why Mr.Ramraj asked him to do so. Now we understand that the purpose of this is to manipulate and complain to the Police about the LTTE threat and to claim insurance falsely. In the recent news in his www.nitharsanam.net, www.vizhippu.net , the same phone number has been mentioned in relation to the "LTTE threat story". We also learnt that he had a history of cheating the Insurance companies in the year of 2001 and 2003 respectively. If the UK Immigration Service and the Police can give us guarantee not to remove from the UK, we are happy to assist the Police or the relevant officials in this regard. Please public this in your newspaper. Regards T.Cheran Muslims hold protest in Mannar, Akkaraipattu Several hundreds Muslims held demonstrations in Mannar town in the north and Akkaraipattu in the east Friday afternoon after Jumma prayers against the publication of a caricature by the newspaper in Denmark defaming Prophet Mohamed. Muslim protestors shouted slogans and carried placards against Denmark and went in a procession through Sinnakadai, and Uppukulam.Representatives of Muslim council handed over a memorandum to Ms. Mehanathan, Additional Government Agent in Mannar and to Ms N.Wijeyaranee, an official of the Human Rights Commission in Mannar, sources said. In Akkaraipattu, hundreds of Muslims after Jumma prayers went in a procession with slogans and placards condemning Denmark, sources said. 24 February 2006 Sri
Lankan sides to curb violence The joint statement released was short, with sources saying it followed difficulty in agreeing wording. The talks follow a recent upsurge in violence in Sri Lanka's north and east which has cost at least 120 lives. The new talks will also be in Geneva, on 19 and 21 April. The joint statement read: "Both sides committed to respecting and upholding the ceasefire agreement and are committed to taking all necessary means to ensure that there will be no intimidation and acts of violence." The BBC's Imogen Foulkes in Geneva says the Norwegian mediators called the talks very tough but also congenial. They said both sides had agreed to fully respect the work of the Scandinavian monitoring mission in Sri Lanka. 'Open and flexible' The face-to-face meeting at a secluded chateau outside Geneva was the first in nearly three years. There had been few indications of a real breakthrough. The Sri Lankan government said at the outset that while the truce had brought benefits it was "prejudicial to the sovereignty and the territorial integrity" of the country. It wants to widen the truce, making it a first step to a negotiated settlement. The rebels feel the threat to the ceasefire comes from armed paramilitary groups who they allege are supported by the government. Foreign donors had urged both sides to be "open and flexible" in discussions. Much of the $4.5bn pledged by donors to help rebuild Sri Lanka is linked to progress in the peace process and remains on hold. The BBC's Ethirajan Anbarasan in Geneva says that just agreeing to more talks must be regarded as a success. He says both sides have been talking tough and arguing from entrenched positions. Shelled Violence in Sri Lanka has continued during the talks.
Troops, in turn, denied Tamil Tiger claims they had shelled rebel positions. On Wednesday, the rebels said six men in military uniforms had attacked one of their posts in Batticaloa district, and killed one of their members. The army said it had no knowledge of the incident. At least 120 people - including about 80 soldiers and sailors and many civilians - have died in the recent upsurge of violence, which began soon after Mahinda Rajapakse assumed the presidency in November but has abated since the deal to hold talks was reached last month. The attacks on the military have been blamed on the rebels, who deny involvement. Tamil Tiger supporters say more than 40 Tamils have been killed by the security forces in a series of attacks since the start of December. Others blame some of those deaths on the rebels or other armed groups. More than 60,000 people died during two decades of conflict in Sri Lanka. The Tamil Tigers want autonomy for minority Tamils in the north and east. President Rajapakse has said the solution to the conflict lies in a unitary state. President remote-controls Geneva talks Though the ceasefire talks took place in Geneva, Temple Trees was also abuzz with the JVP stalwarts and some Ministry Secretaries joining President Mahinda Rajapaksa who was busy offering advice, time and again, to the negotiating team in Geneva. Communicating with the negotiating team after every round of talks, via the special monitoring system set up at Temple Trees, President Rajapaksa along with JVP Leader Somawansa Amarasinghe and Propaganda Secretary Wimal Weerawansa went on cordially chatting, well past midnight, while enjoying a meal of parata and hoppers. The Daily Mirror learns that at one point President Rajapaksa even went to the extent of suggesting to the JVP Leader, in lighter vein, that he cannot be chatting only with him, in this manner but should instead get ready to go for the next round of talks with the LTTE. Disarming the Karuna faction - one of the main demands by the LTTE - was expected to figure prominently at the negotiating table. When it finally did, the negotiating team informed President Rajapaksa immediately about the matter, via the special monitoring system. In his opening statement LTTE chief negotiator Anton Balasingham insisted the Government disarm the paramilitary groups including the Karuna faction saying they pose a threat to the Ceasefire Agreement. However the Government team in response had pointed out its inability to fully disarm all factions unless the Ceasefire Agreement was amended, reports from Geneva said. While Chandrika is pulling down the sarong of Mahinda, the JVP is pulling his leg -SB The United National Party will be rebuilt shortly so
as to offer a majestic leadership to the people of the country with the
aim of creating people who will not be subjected to sufferings, UNP National
Organizer S.B.Dissanayake said in Kandy this evening (23). He pledged to commit himself even at the risk of his life to rebuild the UNP and added that the crossing over of the frogs, fowls and centipedes should not be taken care of when an election is lost or an election is round the corner. The UNP is a disciplined party and the party nomination list for Colombo was rejected as a name been had been changed and the person responsible for the act should expelled from the party, Dissanayake claimed. While Chandrika Kumartunga is pulling down the sarong of President Mahinda Rajapaksa and the JVP is pulling from his leg and soon the 24 parties in the Freedom Alliance will start fighting with each other, Dissanayake said. After the ceremony to receive him, the former Minister visited Sri Dalada Malgawa to receive the blessings of the tooth relic and while he was on his way to his native place of Hanguranketha, a large number of people warmly welcomed him right from Colombo. Child abuse: Tigers point at South The LTTE, which has often been accused of child recruitment in the North and East, on Wednesday pointed its finger to the South saying there was worse child abuse taking place in Colombo and its suburbs, though unnoticed. In a speech delivered on day one of the Geneva talks LTTE political head S.P. Thamilselvan said those who were truly concerned about the welfare of children must refrain from pinpointing the North-East and the LTTE and instead turn their attention to the serious child abuse and child slavery going on on a large scale in the South. Mr. Thamilselvan’s comments, which were released to the media by the LTTE yesterday, follow allegations from the Government and other organisations in the South stating that the LTTE continues to recruit children for armed combat. The comments were made available to the media hours before the conclusion of the closed-door talks despite both parties agreeing to refrain from releasing any statements until the discussions were concluded last evening. In his speech, Mr. Thamilselvan further said that most children who joined the LTTE ranks did so out of fear of the military-dominated environment they faced within government-controlled areas in the North and East. “There is an urgent need to be concerned about the welfare of the children affected by war and take right action to ensure that their nutrition, education and their parents’ living standards are adequate. “It is wrong to turn the problems faced by the children in the North and East into an issue to gain political advantage,” he said. He also said the Ceasefire Agreement did not have antyclause that prohibits recruitment of children and as such it was not an issue that should be addressed by the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission but instead should be looked into by child rights groups like UNICEF. Karuna faction
admits they killed Tiger hours before Geneva talks A Karuna aide told the media that they fired in self-defence. “They came to attack us and our people defended themselves. We will continue to shoot for our self-defence. If they don't come [after us], we won’t,” he said. Pirapaharan felicitates Charles Anthony Brigade fighters Leader of Liberation Tigers, V Pirapaharan Wednesday participated in a ceremony at the Roy Training Camp of the Charles Anthony special brigade and presented awards to cadres completing Mortar, Artillery training, LTTE media sources from Kilinochchi said. Special Commander with the Charles Anthony Brigade, Amutab, presided the event.Pirapaharan garlanded the photograph of Major Roy, lit the lamp of sacrifice, and addressed the fighters assembled at the event.Cultural event included performance by the Charles Anthony music group, sources said. Ex-LTTE cadre shot dead in Batticaloa Mr Navarasan, a former member of the Liberation Tigers, was shot dead in Valaichenai by gunmen suspected to be members of a paramilitary group at 9.45 p.m. Wednesday, sources in Batticaloa said. The incident took place along Vishnu Kovil Road in Kiran. Mr Navarasan was in LTTE three years ago.He is married and his wife is expecting a child, area sources said. No additional details are available at this time.The body is still lying on the location where he was killed.Kiran is located 25 km north of Batticaloa. All Ceylon Hindu Congress appeals to President All Ceylon Hindu Congress has appealed to President Mahinda Rajapakse to provide sufficient transport facilities for the Hindu devotees to travel to Thiruketheeswaram, one of the historic temples for Lord Siva in the Island. The General Secretary of the All Ceylon Hindu Congress Kaudiah Neelakandan's appeal to the President: Hindu will be observing Maha Sivarathri which is the most important sacred night dedicated to the Lord Siva. Hindus of this country are relieved and happy that peace talks have commenced and they will no doubt continue to pray for the culmination of these talks in a lasting political solution to find peace in this country. Thiruketheeswaram is the most important sacred temple worshipped by Hindus for a number of centuries on Maha Sivarathri. Therefore Hindus are expected to assemble in their thousands at Thiruketheeswaram to pray on Maha Sivarathri. At the same time there will be Maha Sivarathri poojas in Hindu Temples all over the island and Hindu devotees will be going to the temples in the night to worship Lord Siva. We therefore appeal to Your Excellency to- Provide sufficient public transport to Mannar and in particular to Thiruketheeswaram and also to provide public transport services throughout that night in all parts of the island. Ensure free and safe movement of people on Sunday night enabling them to perform their sacred duty of worshipping Lord Siva; and Direct the National Water Supply and Drainage Board to defer the water cut which they have announced to be effective in certain parts of the Western Province on Saturday night and Sunday morning, which will cause inconvenience to Hindus and Hindu Temples. 'Photographer' from Lanka causes flutter at Jaya function Police apprehended a Lankan national and a relative of his for taking pictures at a government function in which Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa presented awards to 'best film artistes' at the centenary auditorium in the University of Madras here today. Police said when Ms Jayalalithaa was about to leave the hall, after presenting the awards, police personnel posted at the venue noticed Lankan national Mohamed Mafrash (40), taking pictures from the first floor of the auditorium without official permission. Police then apprehended the Sri Lankan along with his relative Meeran of suburban Palavakkam.The two were later taken for interrogation. It was revealed that Mafrash, studying Chartered Accountancy in Lanka, had come here to attend a function.He and his relative Meeran had come to Marina beach. On hearing that film personalities were attending a function, they went into the auditorium to have a look at the stars. Mafrash told the police that he took pictures of Ms jayalalithaa and other film personalities only to show them to his family members when he gets back to Sri Lanka.However, the police recovered the film role from his camera, obtained an undertaking and let them off. New Zealand pledges support to bring peace to Sri Lanka New Zealand has pledged its support to bring peace to Sri Lanka, a top New Zealand Minister said. Foreign Minister Winston Peters told visiting lawmakers from the South Asian state, “New Zealand will continue to support all efforts aimed at resolving the outstanding challenges facing Sri Lanka. “I have urged the members of all political parties to use their influence to grasp this opportunity to seek a peaceful and stable future for Sri Lanka,” Mr. Peters said. A 20-member Sri Lankan parliamentary delegation is on a visit to New Zealand, Malaysia and Australia as part of a World Bank-funded study tour. New Zealand gave 10 million New Zealand dollars (US$6.7 million) in aid to Sri Lanka after the December 2004 tsunami. SLA fires artillery shell into LTTE territory An artillery shell fired from a Sri Lanka Army camp in Vadamaradchi fell inside the Liberation Tigers controlled area 1.5 km beyond the no-man zone border in Muhamalai Thursday morning around 4:50 a.m., officials at the LTTE Peace Secretariat in Kilinochchi said. The artillery, launched from Nagarkovil SLA camp, landed between Satha Nagar settlement, a displaced people's settlement and an LTTE camp in the area, peace secretariat officials said. Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission officials were inspecting the explosion site, located between Muhamalai and Ittavil, according to the LTTE officials.The shell exploded 150 meters from the settlement. Sea Tigers threat to India's security - Report India's Home Affairs Ministry has identified the LTTE sea wing as a direct threat to Indian security. This view was enunciated in the Ministry's recent Annual Report, which contained India's first ever risk assessment of the LTTE. "This was the first time that an Annual Security Report has made such a direct statement," Defence analyst General Ashok Metta said in a symposium on 'Peace Negotiations in Sri Lanka'. Commenting on the recent remarks by Nicholas Burns, visiting under secretary of United States on the LTTE, Metta said that his country fully shares his views. "We may not be able to make a similar statement due to internal factors. What we fail to say and do would be said and done by our strategic partner," he said referring to USA. Gen. Metta who is also the Convener of the India-Sri Lanka Track II Dialogue forum asserted India's commitment to the unity, territorial integrity and the sovereignty of the Sri Lankan State, while urging Sri Lanka to find a peaceful settlement that satisfies the aspirations of all communities that consider Sri Lanka as its home country. "Make absolutely no mistake. India is committed to the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Sri Lanka," he said. However, he said the proposed Defence Cooperation Agreement (DCA) that hit headlines in the local media would not materialise, at least not as a written agreement. But he asserted "the content of the agreement would be implemented, Defence Pact or not." "Many in Sri Lanka are over-estimating our capacities. There is much we can do and there are certain things we cannot do," he said. He said there are internal political dimensions that shape any country's Foreign Policy and National Policy. "No Government would make Foreign Policy decisions that would risk its political survival at home," he said, clearly referring to the DCA and the pressure on the Central Government by Regional Tamil political parties. "We will not be part of the co-chairs and we would not step in to the boots of the facilitator, but we would give our full backing and support to the process," he stressed. "What we can not give on one front would be compensated on another front," he said and added that India was ready to enter into partnership in developing the war affected economy in the country. "We have pledged our support on the economic front. We have agreed to work in cooperation with the government in the North-East including areas under the LTTE control," he added. 'Maoists not linked to global terror groups' Militants in India have a "large number of sophisticated weapons", a union home ministry official said in Chhattisgarh on Thursday, but refused to link the Communist Party of India-Maoist with any global terror groups. "The Maoist problem is not a law and order one. This is a terrorist and inter-state problem," special secretary in the union home ministry A.K. Mitra told reporters after presiding over a meeting of the task force of nine Maoist-hit states. The inspector-general or additional director general-ranked officials of Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Uttar Pradesh, Orissa, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra attended the meet to chalk out a joint strategy to contain Maoist violence. Mitra said: "The central government has no inputs of rebels' connection with any international terror outfits, including Sri Lanka's LTTE (Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam)." He said police have recovered 650 kg explosives from rebels in Chhattisgarh - part of the 20 tonnes of explosives looted by rebels in an attack on government-owned National Mineral Development Corporation's explosives store in the state's Dantewada district on February 9. A unit of the country's elite anti-terrorism force, National Security Guard, had reached Chhattisgarh last week and would stay in the state for a month to step up anti-Maoist operations. 23 February 2006 Govt. allegations exaggerated: LTTE The LTTE’s chief negotiator Anton Balasingham yesterday rejected government allegations of 5464 ceasefire violations by the LTTE and said it was an “exaggerated figure”. Government Chief Negotiator Nimal Siripala De Silva highlighted a string of truce violations by the LTTE, including child recruitment, human rights violations and killings with a special mention of Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar’s killing. Rising to respond, Mr. Balasingham rejected the allegations outright. “We cannot accept such exaggerated figures as authentic acts of ceasefire violations”, Mr. Balasingham dressed in three piece suit told the government team. Meanwhile, the situation worsened when the government found out that the LTTE had released its opening statement to the media. “This is a breach of the agreement we came to. We agreed not to release statements to the media before the talks were concluded”, a senior government official said. “So we will release our statement as well”. The government statement was made available on the Peace Secretariat web site. Breaking for lunch, the government negotiators convened an internal meeting and then telephoned Temple Trees – via the special communication link set up at the venue – to inform President Mahinda Rajapaksa of the development after the first three hours of negotiations. Sripathi in 'embassy custody' It is reported that instructions have been issued from Colombo not to involve Minister Sripathi Suriyarachchi, who went to Geneva as a resource person and consultant, in any of the talks. According to well informed sources, these instructions have been given as an unofficial request had been made by the LTTE not to involve Suriyaarachchi in talks as he was alleged to have links with the Karuna faction. It is also reported from Geneva that the LTTE has raised
objections about his participation in the talks. LTTE Auxiliary Force cadre killed in East Six gunmen who entered the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) controlled area in Pulipaynthakal, 500 meters beyond the no-go zone from Kiran, 25 km north of Batticaloa, shot and killed an LTTE National Auxiliary Force cadre around 10:15 a.m. Wednesday, LTTE's Batticaloa Political Head Daya Mohan told media. The attackers, wearing military fatigues, had come from the Kiran SLA base, he added. The attack was reported three hours before the commencement of talks in Geneva aimed at implmenting the Cease Fire Agreement between the parties to the conflict, the Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL) and the LTTE. The auxiliary force cadre killed by the attackers was Shanthakumar Narayanapillai, 28, from Thikiliveddai, Santhiveli, Daya Mohan told media. Grenade attack damages house in Pesalai Unidentified persons hurled a grenade at a house belonging to a Tamil civilian along Jude's Road in Ward No:01 of Pesalai town in Mannar district Wednesday afternoon 12.45 p.m. The front portion of the house was badly damaged due to explosion. No one was hurt in the incident, Talaimannar Police said. Mr. Christie Culas, owner of the house was in his communication centre located adjacent to his house at that time of the incident. His daughter was in the rear portion of the house. Both escaped unhurt, police said.Talaimannar Police rushed to site and began investigation, sources said. Anti-Tiger protest
in Geneva The protest was organized by the Universal Campaign for the Protection of Democracy. Speaking from the protest campaigner H.D.L Mahindapala said that he does not see the Geneva talks a useful initiative. Commenting on the speech made by the Norwegian Minister of International Development Mahindapala said “there is very little room for optimism and this is going to just another talk shop”. The Norwegian minister warned that there should not be over expectations on the out come of talks. Members of Sinhala organizations and Tamil political parties opposed to the LTTE joined in the protest. Armed men attack TRO office in Batti Tamils' Rehabilitation Organization (TRO) wishes to condemn the attack on the deminers at the TRO/MAG Batticaloa Office. MAG provides guidance and funding, donated by Sweden (SIDA) and the Government of Japan for the Batticaloa District demining projects. TRO is the largest demining organization in the NorthEast with over 1000 deminers working in partnership with Norwegian’s Peoples? Aid (NPA), Danish Demining Group (DDG), Swiss Deming Agency (FSD) and MAG on projects throughout Batticaloa, Amparai, Kilinochchi, Mullaitivu, Vavuniya, Mannar, and Kilinochchi. 108 TRO deminers are currently working in the demining project in the Batticaloa District. Over 2 million mines remain to be cleared in areas of the NorthEast. Reports state that armed men dressed in civilian clothes entered the TRO/MAG Office in Batticaloa brandishing 9mm pistols and proceeded to assault the local Sri Lankan staff. The armed men also threatened the British national who is charge of the office. The men stated that they were from the Karuna Group and that MAG and TRO should cease all work in the area or they would be killed. This incident is very disturbing when taken in the context of the recent abductions of 7 TRO staff on the 29th and 30th of January in the Welikanda area as they travelled from Batticaloa.TRO urges the responsible Sri Lankan authorities to investigate and provide security measures to the Humanitarian agencies. TRO calls upon the International Community and the Civil Society to raise their voices against these attacks. All the attacks against TRO should also be investigated the perpetrators brought to justice. It is the civilian population that suffers when humanitarian workers and organizations are attacked. The demining operations carried out by TRO make areas in the NorthEast safe for resettlement and allow the people return to their farming livelihoods. This function is fundamental for normalization and allows people to return to their pre-war settlements. TRO Staff Abducted: Abducted Monday January 30 2006: Accountants Muslim UNP supporter shot dead in Eravur A Muslim supporter of the Sri Lanka’s main opposition United National Party (UNP) was shot dead around 8 p.m., Wednesday, allegedly by a Muslim armed group at Meerakerny in Eravur, about 14 km. north of Batticaloa, sources in Batticaloa said. Mohamathu Muhaideen Jarool, 28, was shot dead with a T-56 assault rifle, Eravur police said.His body is lying at the Eravur Hospital morgue. The police said the killing is related to disputes within local parties with regards to the forthcoming local government elections. Hosts focus spotlight on human rights UN organisations based in Geneva and International human rights groups will be following the Sri Lankan cease-fire talks closely with hopes that both parties will not evade key human rights and humanitarian issues that affect the daily lives of people in the country. Though this round of talks in Geneva is limited to dealing with the ceasefire, international players are emphasising the need to prioritise human rights issues, which are part of the CFA and hence can be included in the agenda of the talks. The host Switzerland was the first to draw emphasis on the human rights angle reminding both parties of its importance on the opening day. Referring to the improvement in the lives of Sri Lankans through the implementation of the CFA, Switzerland’s Political Affairs Director Urs Ziswiler said. “In this context, let me mention the particular importance of respect for human right in the peace process.” “Opportunities to become more active in this field in the future exist for instance in the provisions of the ceasefire agreement itself”, he said. The London-based human rights group Amnesty International on Wednesday urged both parties to consider the establishment of an international human rights monitoring presence in Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka researcher for Amnesty International Kavita Menon told the Daily Mirror it was critically important for the government and the LTTE to address the urgent human rights concerns in Sri Lanka, and hopefully these talks would be a first step towards ending the spate of killings, abductions and harassment. “None of the established human rights mechanisms in Sri Lanka have been able to effectively investigate human right abuses, let alone facilitate justice or redress for victims of human rights abuses,” she emphasised. As the talks got off to a start at the Chateau de Bossey, in the outskirts of Geneva, protestors gathered outside the UN compound in the city demanding an end to human rights violations in the north and east of Sri Lanka. The protestors, a significant number of them Tamils, carried placards branding the LTTE as terrorists and calling on the rebels to stop killing Tamil civilians. Officials said UN organisations based in Geneva including the United Nations High Commission for Refugees and the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights will be keen to know the outcome of the talks in the hope that the thematic issues they deal with were not neglected. The UNHCR on Tuesday issued a statement saying the decreasing number of displacement in the conflict ridden areas after the announcement of peace talks indicated the desire by the people of Sri Lanka for peace. High Commissioner for refugees António Guterres said there was a marked decline in violence since the announcement of talks, which has had a very positive effect on reducing the pressure on Sri Lankans to flee their homes. He said he believed this trend also reflected the high expectations of those in conflict areas. It is too early to determine if human rights issues will figure high on the agenda of the Geneva talks but analysts said it was crucial that it was addressed and a commitment was made by both parties to protect human rights. In the past few months the human rights situation in Sri Lanka’s north and east has been rapidly deteriorating, with an increase in violations including abductions, torture, extra-judicial killings, threats and murder. “Unless human rights underpin the peace process and the ceasefire, the people in Sri Lanka can not enjoy any security” says Liz Phillipson of the London School of Economics. “A political solution is important to secure a permanent settlement but if peace is only about politics and not about the rights of people it will eventually be judged meaningless”, she added. UK police arrest
tsunami 'widow' The Daily Mail reported that Sri Lankan Yohini Shanthakumaran, 26, a mother of three who moved to Britain three years ago, had her heart-breaking story highlighted in local newspapers. Mrs Shanthakumaran, who lives in Gravesend, Kent, claimed
she had not heard from her husband since he took their 2-year-old son
to visit friends in the Sri Lankan coastal town of Trincomalee on Christmas
Eve, 2004. Mrs Shanthakumaran officially reported her husband missing on 1 Mar last year - three months after the disaster. The Daily Telegraph reported that she had written to her MP and persuaded newspapers to highlight her story. A charity and several people offered funds to have the little boy repatriated. She flew to Sri Lanka and brought him home last year. But reports of her husband's death were already being investigated. A Kent police source said concerns arose when insuarance investigators, working with the Metropolitan police tsunami team, discovered several life claims that had been made by Mrs Shantakumaran concerning her husband. There were also claims that her husband had been seen in Sri Lanka. The Daily Telegraph reported that the police are investigating allegations by members of Gravesend's Sri Lankan community that her husband had been seen a number of times since the tsunami. Mrs Shanthakumaran was arrested on suspicion of deception but insisted that she has heard nothing from him since the Boxing Day disaster. She said: 'He went and did not come back. I think he is dead.' One of Mrs Shanthakumaran's neighbour's said that she had moved into the neighbourhood with her husband and children some time before the tsunami. 'He was always disappearing for months at a time, which I found strange,' said the neighbour. 'I haven't seen (him) since the tsunami.' 22 February 2006 Swede
appointed to head monitoring team in Sri Lanka Henricsson will succeed Brig. Hagrup Haukland from Norway, who is leaving SLMM after serving as chief of staff from 2002 to 2004, and as head of mission from 2005. The statement said Norway made the appointment following consultations with both parties to the ceasefire agreement, the Sri Lankan government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). "It is very positive that another country in the SLMM has produced such an excellent candidate for this important post," the statement quoted Norway's International Development Minister Erik Solheim as saying. The Sri Lankan government and LTTE created SLMM through the signing of the ceasefire agreement Feb 22, 2002. SLMM currently consists of members from the five Nordic countries - Norway, Sweden, Finland, Denmark and Iceland. The body has its headquarters in Colombo, six district offices, and a liaison office in the LTTE-held northern town of Killinochchi. In addition, SLMM has established points of contact in various locations in the north and east.
It is reported President Mahinda Rajapaksa has instructed his Secretary Lalith Weeratunga to probe as to how two members of the government negotiating team who went to Geneva for talks with the LTTE, accompanied their wives when he had issued specific orders not to do so. Wives of the two Ministers in the government delegation Rohitha Bogollagama and Jeyaraj Fernandopulle have taken wings to Geneva with their spouses. It is reported that the Presidential Secretary has made inquiries from the Ministry's Secretary whether Minister Bogollagama had spend funds from the Ministry to purchase tickets for his wife and son for the Geneva tour. Meanwhile Norway too is understood to have expressed dissatisfaction over Minister's accompanying their wives on the Geneva visit which was against accepted diplomatic ethics and has drawn the President's attention to the matter. Questions were raised on an earlier occasion as well, when Minister Bogollagama took with him, his wife and son on an official tour and stayed in a five star hotel at the government expense. President decides not to suspend LG bodies As there is no provision under the Emergency Regulations to dissolve local councils, the President has decided not to carry out the request made by Local Government Minister Janaka Bandara Tennakoon to dissolve them. However, the Attorney-General had explored the possibility of dissolving Local Government bodies under the executive powers of the President, but there was no immediate decision on the matter. The official term of local government bodies ends on March 15 and if they are to be dissolved before that date it should be done by the Executive President under the Emergency Regulations. Government sources said the problem was that such a clause had not been incorporated when Emergency Regulations were approved. In terms of the Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution the powers relating to local councils are vested in the Provincial Council but the Governor of the Provincial Council has no authority to dissolve local government bodies before the expiry of the official term. Meanwhile, another letter was addressed to the President yesterday pointing out the need to dissolve the LG bodies and entrust the functions to an independent authorized officer enabling the bodies to function without any pressure from the existing political authority. LTTE to object to Sripathi's participation in talks It is reported that the LTTE is to raise objections regarding the participation of Minister Sripahi Suriyaarachchi in the government delegation as a resource person and consultant in peace talks between the government and the LTTE scheduled to get underway in the historic 'Chateau De Bose' palace in Geneva, Switzerland at 1.00 pm Sri Lankan time. The LTTE has alleged that Suriyaarachchi, who was tainted with charges of corruption while serving in the Navy, is the government linkman with the renegade Karuna faction. It is reported that the LTTE is to put forward a condition to the government that all paramilitary groups should be disarmed and will also officially bring the Karuna factor to the negotiating table. Meanwhile Norwegian diplomatic sources said that Oslo had informed the Sri Lankana government that Suriyaarachchi should not be included in the government negotiating team due to his links with the Karuna faction, and Norwegian representatives participating at tomorrow's talks will draw the attention of the government delegation to this matter. Suriyaarachchi left for Geneva last evening (20). It is also reported that 60 rooms have been booked for the delegates participating at the Geneva talks aimed at the better implementation of the cease-fire agreement. The talks between the government and the LTTE during the UNP regime was referred to as a carnival by the People's Alliance and JVP parliamentarians. Discussions will last throughout Thursday. Prior to his departure, Chief government negotiator Minister Nimal Siripala De Silva told the media at the airport that the government will approach the talk with an open mind and expressed hope the LTTE would adopt a flexible policy. US urges Govt., LTTE to build climate of goodwill The United States of America has urged the Sri Lankan government and LTTE to build a climate of goodwill in their efforts to establish permanent peace. The US ambassador to Sri Lanka Jeffrey Lunstead who met Industries Minister Rohitha Bogollagama in Colombo, prior to the latters departure to Geneva said it was important for both the Sri Lankan government and LTTE to build a climate of goodwill. Lunstead, expressing his governments support for the Sri Lankan peace process said that the two parties, who meet in Geneva today for CFA review talks should strive to create an atmosphere of trust and goodwill. Bogollagama, said that since the two sides were meeting after a prolonged break in negotiations, building a rapport was of utmost importance. He, said that the commitment of President Mahinda Rajapakse’s government to a negotiated settlement was in keeping with the wishes all Sri Lankans. "It is a long term process and we are fully committed to establishing permanent peace", he said. Bogallagama, who forms part of a 14 member delegation for the two day CFA talks would also act as the official spokesman. Prayers for peace held in Jaffna "In the forthcoming Geneva talks the Sri Lanka Government
should participate with a genuine desire to make compromises opening opportunities
to arrive at a just and fair solution to the existential problems faced
by the Tamil people," said Bishop of Jaffna Rev Fr Thomas Saundaranayagam
speaking at one of the several events held in Jaffna today praying for
peace, sources in Jaffna said. "While the Tamil people stand behind the Liberation Tigers in their struggle for their right to self-determination, I urge the leaders of Liberation Tigers that while they apply themselves fully in the discussions resolve the Tamil National question, to think of the enormous hardships being endured by the people in the NorthEast," the Bishop said. Multi-religious events were held throughout the day in Temples, churches, mosques and Jaffna Buddhist temple in Jaffna, sources said. Temples bell rang and students participated in large numbers in the prayers. In an event held at the Traders Union in Manipay road at 2.30 p.m. led by president of Human Welfare Consorium, Mr Paramanathan, peace lamps were lit and religious leaders expressed their blessings for peace talks to be successful. Geneva Talks, an opportunity to move towards peaceful future: Co-Chairs The European Union and the Co-Chairs, Governments of Japan, Norway and the United States welcome the February 22-23 discussions between the Government and the LTTE in Geneva as an opportunity to restore confidence in the ceasefire agreement and move forward towards a peaceful future. We urge parties to approach the opportunity with an open and flexible attitude. We also welcome the decreased violence since the January 25 announcement of the talks as a sign that the parties take seriously and fully respect their commitments under the ceasefire agreement. The Co-Chairs commend the invaluable assistance provided by the Government of Norway in its continued role as facilitator. We stand ready to assist Norway in its efforts to bring about a durable peace in Sri Lanka. Revised A/L results discriminate Tamil students- CTTU Changes in the Advanced Level examination results announced by Sri Lanka's Department of Examinations have decreased the ranks obtained by Tamil medium candidates from the previously announced computerized results at national and district level thus depriving their chances of Tamil students to enter Medicine and Engineering, Mr.T.Mahasivam, president of the Ceylon Tamil Teachers Union (CTTU) said in a press release Tuesday. "Tamil medium students who have applied for university admission based on previous computerized results are now unable to apply under the revised results," the release said. A student in Jaffna district who came second in the island in medicine in the earlier result has now been relegated to 8th position, education officials in Jaffna said. Likewise several Tamil medium students who obtained marks to enter the university in the earlier computerized results have now been relegated to lower positions depriving them admission even at district level.However Sinhala medium students who were placed in the lower positions in the earlier results have captured positions several steps ahead, said Mr.Mahasivam in his press release. Tamil medium students and Tamil speaking people have now lost confidence on the Department of Examination because of discrimination against Tamil medium students through the revised Advanced Level results, CTTU statement further stated. Ratwatte in court again; faces alleged bribery charges Former Deputy Defence Minister Anuruddha Ratwatte acquitted in the Pallethalawinna murder case last month was summoned yesterday by Colombo High Court to face alleged bribery charges. General Ratwatte was charged with allegedly collecting over Rs 45 million worth of cash and property to which he could not account for. The trial was fixed for June 6, 2006. When the case was taken up before courts, counsel for Mr. Ratwatte, Rienzie Arsekularatne PC complained that the urgency that the Bribery Commission had to bring his client before court was not there to complete it. The investigation against Anuruddha Ratwatte started in 2002. He was produced before court just one week ahead of the Presidential Election 2005. “Then Mr. Ratwatte was the national organizer for the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) and this case had affected his political career,” Mr. Arsekularatne told court. In response to the defence application, the prosecution counsel Deputy Solicitor General Jayantha Jayasuriya stated that the Attorney General had nominated him to prosecute this case. The DSG said that he was involved in the prosecution of the Royal park murder trial and asked for a fresh date. The Director General of the Commission to Investigate into Allegations of Bribery or Corruption, Piyasena Ranasinghe had indicted Mr. Ratwatte under section 23 (a) (3) of the Bribery Act. According to the indictment the money that Anuruddha Ratwatte could not collect from his known income was Rs. 34,593,698 and the property Rs 12,363,905. The estimated money included expenses he incurred on cost of living from March 31, 1997 to August 31, 2002, expenses during 2000 and 2001 General elections, expenses on purchasing a vehicle and money he had spent purchasing savings certificates from different banks including ABN Amro Bank, National Development Bank, Hatton National Bank, Pan Asia Bank, Commercial Sampath Bank and Pramuka Bank. The property that the accused could not account for included two houses and a land in Aniywatte, Kandy and car numbered WPGJ 8989 purchased at Rs 4,075,965. DSG Jayantha Jayasuriya and State Counsel Shanil Kularatne appeared for the prosecution. Rienzie Arsekulratne PC withHaren Gomez, Wasantha Batagoda and Thejitha Koralage appeared for Anuruddha Ratwatte Abrogate or revise CFA immediately: Anandasangaree TULF President V. Anandasangaree, in a statement issued yesterday, submitted a list of conditions which the Government and the LTTE should focus during peace talks in Geneva. The TULF said that the statement was issued as a guideline for the participants and for the International Community. I now have a duty cast on me to speak on behalf of the Tamil and Muslim people of the North and East and to work hard to liberate them from the LTTE. As a first step I call upon the Government of Sri Lanka to abrogate the Ceasefire Agreement with the LTTE or in the alternative to revise it on the following basis, with a time frame of three to six months for its implementation, with certain specific conditions and undertakings. 1. Since the LTTE had committed thousands of violations of the CFA to the detriment of the Party to the Agreement and the people concerned, they must withdraw their cadres to the position at which they were, at the time the CFA was signed.
3. If Article 1:13 cannot be dropped it should be amended to extend the same freedom of movement to the Sri Lankan Forces into LTTE controlled areas.
21 February 2006 Trinco
student killing report submitted Lohanadan Punkallohan, an injured student, told police that a “black ball” thrown from a three-wheeler taxi blasted in front of them while they were sitting in the beach with other friends, who were killed later. He has felt like he lost a leg after the blast, according to the statement. Thereafter a Sinhala group of 15 people wearing uniforms similarly to those belong Sri Lanka security forces took them into a jeep, beaten up and then released, Punkallohan has said. The injured student has heard shooting minutes after he was released. Another injured student, Kokularaja Pararajasingham, has made a similar statement. Police are questioning 12 soldiers of Special Task force (STF) and one police officer in connection to the incident. The magistrate postponed the ruling on the report for 27 February. Rice mill worker shot in Vantharumoolai, seriously wounded A Tamil youth, Kailasapillai Raveendran, 21, was shot and seriously wounded by unidentified gunmen Monday around 6:30 a.m. at Vantharomoolai, 18 km north of Batticaloa town, Police said. Raveendran who is a rice mill worker, was rushed to Batticaloa hospital and later transferred to Colombo hospital, medical sources said. Meanwhile, colleagues of Raveendran alleged that the gunmen were associates of paramilitary operative Pillayan who operates a hunt-and-kill squad for the Sri Lankan Military intelligence from Batticaloa town. However, the reason behind the incident is yet to be established, the Police said. The gunmen shot Raveendran with 9 mm handgun, Police said.The incident took place on Bake House Road in Vantharumoolai. N-E problem be solved now, not left for future generations: President President Mahinda Rajapaksa said yesterday that solving the North-East problem should not be left for the future generations, that it should be done right now. Addressing the foundation laying ceremony of the International Buddhist Conference Hall at Vidyalankara Pirivena in Peliyagoda yesterday, the President said that all parties should get together to solve the problem and bring about a situation where all communities could live in this country without fear. “Time has come to bring peace to the Nation, where all people can live without fear and all parties should get together to create such a situation, without leaving it for the next generation,” he pointed out. The President expressed confidence that the Geneva talks would be successful, as the Government has decided to participate in those talks with an open mind. While stating that the Vidyalankara Pirivena has played a pivotal role in developing the local culture, he said that the Pirivena has rendered a great service in developing Buddhism, which is a valuable gift, which Sri Lanka can give the world. He promised that the work of the International Buddhist Conference Centre would be completed in May, when the 2550th Budda Jayanthi will be celebrated in a grand scale. Minister of Urban Development and Water Management Dinesh Gunawardene said that developing the Vidyalankara Pirivena is a part of the ‘Mahinda Chinthana’. He explained that President Rajapaksa, just after handing over nominations, pledged to develop the Pirivena and he has fulfilled that today. The Buddhist International Conference Hall, to be built at a cost of Rs 170 million, will comprise a state-of-the-art conference hall with a seating capacity of 1500 and two sub halls with a seating capacity of 400 each. JVP launch LG
polls campaign "Can any local body be entrusted to a political party that cannot prepare its nominations list properly," JVP parliamentary group leader and propaganda Secretary Wimal Weerwansa queried at a party workshop, on the forthcoming local government elections, held for candidates during the weekend at Kaduwela. The JVP is contesting the local government elections in 22 districts out of 25 except the Jaffna, Mannar and Kilinochchi. They are contesting 277 local bodies. "None of our nominations lists were rejected. Mannar fisherman found dead The body Mr. James Julie Peiris, 34, a Tamil fisherman and a father of a child who failed to return from the sea on February 18th evening was found washed ashore in the Talaimannar Pier Monday morning. Fellow fishermen identified the body as of missing Mr. Peiris. His fiberglass boat was found anchored in the Pesalai Sea area, fisheries sources said. Mr Peiris left for fishing on Saturday morning in his fibre glass boat.Relatives of Mr Peiris had registered a complaint at the Talaimannar Police on Saturday evening when Mr Peiris failed to return from the sea, police sources said. Mr.N.M.M.Abdulla, Mannar Magistrate, inspected the body and ordered the police to transfer the body to the hospital mortuary for postmortem examination, sources said.Fisheries society sources suspect foul play in the death of the fisherman, sources said. Tiger renegades won't disarm yet A breakaway Sri Lankan rebel leader, whose feuding with the Tamil Tigers is threatening a fragile ceasefire and is central to peace talks this week, said on Monday his forces would only disarm if the main group does. President Mahinda Rajapaksa vowed last week to rein in armed groups the LTTE say are attacking them, but V. Muralitharan, alias Karuna, who split with the rebels in 2004, told Reuters his group would resume attacks if provoked. "If Sri Lanka forces disarm all the armed groups and us ... it will only give legitimacy for the LTTE to extend its writ to kill us," Karuna said in an e-mail interview confirmed via a personal telephone conversation. "Any handover of arms must be part of (a) conflict resolution process at a stage when normalcy and trust is established," Karuna added. He made the comments just two days before the government and the Tigers are due to meet in Switzerland for talks, widely seen as a last chance to avoid a return to a two-decade civil war. "It is important that LTTE too must hand over its weapons at the same time under international supervision," Karuna said. The Tigers have said that their demand that the government disarms armed groups is a pivotal issue at the Feb. 22-23 talks. Karuna did not say whether he had received help from the military, but a truce monitor testified last year he had seen fighters loyal to Karuna operating near a military base in an army-held area in the east and analysts suspect the government is at least turning a blind eye. He has since launched a political group, Tamileela Makkal
Viduthalai Puligal (TMVP). Karuna said he and his followers planned to join the political mainstream once they were safe from the Tigers and said he would like to see Sri Lanka's protracted ethnic conflict resolved within a federal model. Indian poultry
imports banned A Ministry spokesman said Sri Lankans have been "unnecessarily frightened" after reports about the virus in India. All measures have been taken to prevent the entry of the virus into the country, the spokesman said. Laboratory officers are being trained in Hong Kong in the use of new surveillance technology. They will return to Sri Lanka by the end of February and train officers of all hospitals to combat the virus, he added. The virus threat to the country has increased slightly in the North and East where awareness and combat programmes are comparatively weak, Animal Production and Health Director General Dr. S.K.R. Amarasekara said. The H5N1 virus that attacks the respiratory system is capable of surviving out of a living body under normal environmental conditions for 15 to 30 days, but could easily be destroyed by high temperature and sunlight, he explained. Dr. Amarasekara said the public and poultry owners should be alert of birds dying due to unusual or mysterious causes and immediately report to a veterinary office. A meeting was held yesterday with poultry breeders and seed mixers to enlighten them on the action to be taken if birds were suspected to be found victims of the virus. Dr. Amarasekara supported a ministry official's statement underlining that the import of poultry products from India and other virus infected countries be banned. He said more resources were required to carry out awareness and surveillance programmes to diagnose and fight the disease. He said people entering the country through the Bandaranaike International Airport who had visited poultry farms of affected countries within seven days, were requested to report to the airport's Animal Quarantine Desk. Lankan Deep Penetration Unit retreats leaving behind Claymore mine - LTTE A team of Sri Lanka Army soldiers who entered LTTE controlled Mahilankulam 25 km southeast of Mannar near Iluppaikulam witdrew from the site when intercepted by an LTTE patrol, Media Coordinator of the Liberation Tigers, Daya Master told media Monday evening. The Sri Lankan soldiers had left behind a claymore mine when they withdrew from the site, he added. The SLA incursion into LTTE territory is another incident in the continued violation of the Cease Fire Agreement (CFA) by the Sri Lankan Military, the LTTE media coordinator said. Article 1.2 of the February 2002 CFA Agreement requires cessation of all military action and including the firing of direct and indirect weapons, armed raids, ambushes, assassinations, abductions, destruction of civilian or military property, sabotage, suicide missions and activities by deep penetration units. The article also requires complete cessation of offensive naval and aerial operations. Prisoner release: JHU takes swipe at swap The JHU yesterday protested against the prisoner swap between the government and the LTTE. JHU general secretary Ven. Omalpe Sobitha Thera urged the government not to repeat the mistake of trying to appease the LTTE by releasing its cadres who were under arrest. “Experience has shown that these actions had not brought us their goodwill but had made them stronger and stubborn”, he said. The monk said the people of Sri Lanka had elected President Rajapaksa not to repeat the mistakes of his predecessor but to win the country an honourable peace. He said the JHU believed prisoner swaps to appease the LTTE would only undermine the government’s position at the Geneva talks. The monk said that instead of swaps, international pressure should be brought on the LTTE to release the remaining NCPA policeman. 20 February 2006 LTTE delegation receives rousing reception in Geneva The LTTE peace delegation led by the political head S.P Thamilchelvam which arrived in Geneva, Switzerland on Saturday for peace talks with the Sri Lankan Government received a rousing welcome from Sri Lankan Tamil expatriates in the country. The expatriate Tamil community in Switzerland greeted the LTTE delegates upon their arrival at the airport with flowers and garlands. The airport was decorated with rebel flags of red and yellow. An estimated 35,000 Tamils live in Switzerland which has the largest ex pat Sri Lankan Tamil community after those in Canada, Germany and Britain. Meanwhile pro-LTTE Tamil political parties in India are calling on the New Delhi government to revoke the ban imposed on the LTTE and to support the freedom struggle of the Tamil people. At a conference convened in India on Saturday in support of the LTTE cause, the Indian political parties emphasised the ban on the LTTE should be removed in order to facilitate peace moves in Sri Lanka. The organisers of the conference in a statement, demanded the Indian government show support for the Tamil freedom struggle, revoke the ban on the LTTE and ensure the normalisation of Tamil civilian life in Sri Lanka. The LTTE was listed a terrorist organisation in India following its involvement in the assassination of the former Indian Premier the late Rajiv Ghandi who was killed by a suicide bomber in 1991. The conference sharply criticised comments made by the US Ambassador to Sri Lanka Mr. Jeffrey Lunstead last month when he warned the LTTE to pursue the path of peace or face a more determined Sri Lankan army. EPDP elected uncontested in Puthukudiyiruppu Pradeshiya Sabha MULLAITIVU: The Eelam People's Democratic Party (EPDP) led by Social Service Minister Douglas Devananda won the Puthukudiyiruppu Pradeshiya Sabha in the uncleared Mullaitivu district yesterday. The returning officer in Vavuniya informed the EPDP leader that as no other party made its nominations for the local polls, the EPDP which presented its nominations, has been elected uncontested for the Pradeshiya Sabha of Puthukudiyiruppu. Meanwhile, the Tamil National Alliance has been elected unanimously to the Verugal Pradeshiya Sabha in the Trincomalee district as there were no other contestants, sources said. Govt. delegation leaves today The Government peace delegation is scheduled to leave for Geneva today for talks with the LTTE on Wednesday and Thursday. Enterprise Development Minister Rohitha Bogollagama left on Saturday while the rest of the delegation comprising its chief Nimal Siripala De Silva, NUA Leader and Minister Ferial Ashraff will leave today. Peace Secretariat Chief Dr. John Gooneratne, Deputy Chief Chanaka Jayasekera, President’s Counsel H. L. De Silva, Senior Attorney Gomin Dayasiri, United Nations Legal Advisor Dr. Palitha Kohona, Navy Commander Wasantha Karannangoda, IGP Chandra Fernando Plan and Implementation Ministry Secretary Ajith Nivaard Cabraal and Brigadier Mendaka Samarasinghe are also part of the delegation.Geneva’s Sri Lankan envoy Romesh Jayasinghe will join the delegation in Geneva. SLMM team in Geneva today The Chief of Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) Hagrup Haukland and spokesperson of the Mission, Helen Olafsdottir, will be in Geneva today to participate in the ceasefire talks to be held between Government and the LTTE. Olafsdottir told the Daily News yesterday that herself and SLMM chief Haukland will participate the talks. "The SLMM is expected to take part in all discussions to be held between the Government and the LTTE from February 22," she said. Asked to explain their function as a participatory group to these talks, Olafsdottir explained: "The SLMM has identified many problems of the Ceasefire Agreement and it has already forwarded these concerns for the consideration of the parties." The focus of the SLMM will be effective implementation of the ceasefire, which will require commitment from both sides, she pointed out. According to SLMM Chief Hagrup Haukland, the SLMM is also to make recommendations on the Ceasefire Agreement in terms of its effective maintenance. "We plan to share our experience as the truce monitor with the two parties," he said. Asked to elaborate on their experience as to how people in the North and East have reacted to the current ceasefire talks the SLMM spokesperson said the people are hopeful that the talks would be successful and beneficial. President set to suspend Local Govt. bodies President Mahinda Rajapaksa is expected to issue a gazette notification tonight suspending all Municipal Councils, Urban Councils and Pradeshiya Sabhas following a request made by Provincial Councils and Local Government Minister Janaka Bandara Tennekoon. In a letter to the President, Minister Tennekoon requested him to suspend these bodies to avoid party political activities being carried out by those who currently control these bodies. According to the Minister, he has received complaints that political parties controlling local bodies were using employees and official vehicles for election campaign purposes. The Minister has complained that though the Elections Commissioner called for nominations, he had not suspended the councils. Mr Bandara said he had requested the President to use the executive powers vested in him to suspend the local bodies. He said his request was based on the need to ensure a free and fair election. Anti aircraft ammunition in Wattala garbage dump A large stock of explosives including anti aircraft ammunition were recovered by Police from a garbage dump at Hunupitiya, Wattala this morning (19). Among the ammunition were a range of over 100 live bullets, ammunition for T-56 machine guns and hand grenades. No arrests have been made so far in connection with the incident and the Wattala police are conducting further investigations. More mines detected Dinesh as 'Widow', Sivajilingam as 'Muslim', Bhikkus as 'Single' The new Sri Lanka Parliament web site launched last Friday(17) with much fanfare by Prime Minister Rathnasiri Wickremanayake is incomplete and full of spelling and grammatical errors. The wholly govt. owned ICTA boasts of being the single apex body involved in ICT policy and direction for the nation, the new parliament web site launched as part of its modernization programme has failed to provide the basic details of the 225 parliamentarians. The civil states of two ministers, namely Ferial Ashroff and Dinesh Gunawardena have been stated as 'Widows' while the marital status of JHU Buddhist monks are given as 'single'. The profession of CWC MP Mutu sivalingam has been given as 'Trade Unions' while JVP MP Chandrasena Wijesinghe's has been given as 'Ploitics(fulltime)'. TELO(TNA) MP Sivajilingam's religion has been mentioned as 'Muslim' though he is a Hindu. The main aim of the directory is to provide the public with contact particulars to communicate with the members. But there are no telephone numbers or e-mail addresses, which mean an elector should either visit them at home, as no office addresses are given or write to them. Web site : www.parliament.lk SL Muslim rights activist warns of arms struggle A leading Muslim human rights activist has warned that Muslims in Sri Lanka may be forced to take to arms and seek help from the Muslim world if the LTTE continues to trample on them and the government keeps ignoring their cries. MIM Mohideen, Chairman of the Muslim Rights Organisation, said, "If this state of affairs is allowed to continue we will have another looming problem of immense magnitude. There might be a possibility of Muslim youths taking to arms and seeking support from neighbouring Muslim countries who will certainly not allow their brothers and sisters in Colombo to be continuously left disregarded and even undefended." "We will then face a situation where another dimension of our political problem will become internationalised," he warned. Mohideen, who has been systematically collecting data on the condition of the Muslim minority in the North East for years, complained that the Ceasefire Agreement (CFA) between the Sri Lankan government and the LTTE in February 2002, had completely overlooked Muslim concerns. The CFA, he charged, had allowed the LTTE to tax, extort, abduct and kill Muslims, and seize their lands with impunity in the government-held areas of the Eastern districts of Amparai, Batticaloa and Trincomalee. "In fact, the CFA has placed the Muslim community at a disadvantage - a position which we did not suffer before the CFA," he maintained. LTTE cadres had abducted Muslims, killed and burnt their bodies in the presence of the Sri Lankan Army in Valaichchenai on June 30, 2002 during the ceasefire. Mohideen further alleged that the LTTE had set up a camp right inside a mosque in Kinniya, a government controlled area in Trincomalee district. "The LTTE is forcibly occupying 63,000 acres of agricultural land belonging to 14,872 Muslim families in the Eastern districts," he said. "During the ethnic cleansing of Jaffna in 1990, the LTTE chased out 14,000 Muslim families, and unlawfully occupied 11,100 Muslim houses and robbed properties worth 5 billion Sri Lankan rupees. Mohideen has also blamed successive Sri Lankan governments for the present sorry and dangerous state of affairs. He charged the governments of turning a deaf ear and a blind eye to the cries and plight of the Muslims even though the latter had never stood in the way of the majority Sinhala community from securing their legitimate rights since Sri Lanka's independence in 1948. The Muslims had never gone before the international community and "blackened" the image of Sri Lanka, even though they had been discriminated against in the field of education and land colonisation schemes, and their security had been seriously compromised, Mohideen pointed out. Mohideen noted that Ilamparithi, the LTTE leader who ruthlessly executed the plan to drive out the entire Muslim community from Jaffna, was back again as the political chief of Jaffna district. After the CFA, some Muslims returned to resume their trade in Jaffna, but they found that the LTTE's agents would not let them trade freely. The agent had also allowed the LTTE to take over the houses of Muslims who had fled in 1990. Before he split from the mainstream LTTE in March 2004, the Batticaloa and Amparai LTTE leader, Karuna, had told a public meeting in Switzerland that the Muslims were dominating the economy of the Eastern districts and that this should be changed. Karuna proposed that the LTTE's tax on Muslims should be increased from five per cent to at least 20 per cent, Mohideen recalled. Though depleted in Batticaloa and Amparai after the exit of Karuna, the LTTE continued to tax, harass and extort from the Muslims, he charged. Lands seized from the Muslims has not been returned. The Muslims still have no access to their lands in areas controlled by the LTTE. Mohideen said that not just the LTTE but all Tamil militant groups had attacked and persecuted the Muslims. "The pattern of attacks that have been unleashed on the Eastern Muslims clearly demonstrates that there is a deliberate plan by the Tamils to weaken the economic and political strength of the Muslims. "It is to chase us away like what they did in the North and make the North-East a mono-ethnic Tamil region in order to create Tamil Eelam one day," Mohideen charged. 19 February 2006 Tension falls in Jaffna peninsula Normality is returning to northern Sri Lanka after the region went to the brink of war in January, residents say, but coming talks between government and Tamil Tiger rebels in Geneva will decide if the peace will last. Troops keep up a high presence on the streets of the Jaffna peninsula, dominated by the island’s Tamil minority, hemmed in by rebel lines and seen as a key objective for the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) if a 2002 truce fails and a two-decade civil war resumes. But the atmosphere has changed. Recent violence killed some 200 people in less than two months, terrifying Jaffna residents off the streets, devastating shop sales and sending the price of key staples such as vegetables soaring as farmers refused to come to town. Now, just weeks after Norwegian envoy Erik Solheim brokered an agreement for the two sides to meet in Geneva, deliveries have resumed. A month ago, troops often suffered several grenade attacks a day. Now, there are none. But in a city that changed hands several times and where streets still bear the scars of bombing and shelling during a war that killed more than 64,000 people, optimism is tempered by caution. Many remember how previous ceasefires collapsed. Last week Vigneswaramourthy Rajan’s family opened what they say is Jaffna’s first modern supermarket, its construction delayed by the violence. They say they are hoping for peace, but failure in next week’s talks would hit them hard. “We believe we are safe for the next few years,” the 30-year-old civil engineer said as shoppers browsed the shelves of the shining new shop. “We hope a peaceful solution will be reached at Geneva. If not, the LTTE will try to capture Jaffna. This place might be damaged. We would have to close shop.” Diplomats caution that the Swiss meeting – the first direct high-level talks since negotiations broke down in 2003– may not be easy. Neither side trusts the other, and the rebels say they
are already frustrated and war remains an option. The rebels want the government to pull back troops from Tamil civilian areas and rein in a renegade group of ex-rebels they say are now backed by the army. Some analysts say both sides are just buying time. Jaffna residents say some young men are still crossing into LTTE territory every weekend for military training. Further south in the de facto rebel capital, Kilinochchi, most say they hope talks will avert war, but others say it remains inevitable. “There have been talks before and nothing has come out of it,” said vegetable vendor Mutu Balu, 36, as camouflaged rebel vehicles drove past. “The Sinhalese majority government will never concede to the Tamils’ demand and fulfill their rights to self-determination.” Farial's representation in peace talks not legal - Hakeem Sri Lanka Muslim Congress leader Rauf Hakeem alleges that the participation of Minister Farial Ashroff in the Geneva peace talks as a government representative is a total betrayal of the aspirations of the Muslim community defying a collective agreement reached by Muslim parties to boycott talks in the event of a failure by the government to allow a separate Muslim delegation at the talks with the LTTE. He was responding to a query made by 'Lanka e News' regarding his stand on the participation of Minister Farial Ashroff in the Geneva talks. Even though a number of Muslim parties contested the last parliamentary election, they were all in agreement on the need for an independent Muslim representation at negotiations with the LTTE. Mrs. Ashroff's decision to take part at Geneva talks, reneging on a promise given to the Muslim community and as such thet will not accept her representation as legal, the SLMC leader pointed out. He further said the government, the international community and the LTTE had pledged to allow a separate Muslim delegation at peace talks and under such circumstances the Muslim Congress will not accept as legal the decisions taken by Mrs. Asroff as a single individual. Hakeem charged that the participation of Mrs Ashroff, who was earlier highly critical on not permitting a separate Muslim representation, as a representative of the government delegation casting aside her earlier objections was a total betrayal of the rights of the Muslim people. Lanka's economy slides in world rankings In a stark demonstration of Sri Lanka's economic downturn, the island has been slotted at 98 out of 117 countries, according to a ranking by the World Economic Forum (WEF). While the country's economy has been termed "very poor" by the WEF, Sri Lanka has also been ranked 100th in terms of quality of its state sector facilities. Sri Lanka was ranked 73 out of 104 countries last year and 63 out of 101 countries in 2004. "This clearly proves that Sri Lanka's economy is deteriorating each year and when compared to other countries, the island's popularity is at stake," Economist, Dr. Harsha De Silva said. According to Dr. De Silva, the countries are currently ranked on its macroeconomic stability, the quality of state sector facilities, the improvement of technology and the security situation in the country. De Silva said that Sri Lanka had faded in its macroeconomic stability, the poor quality of its state sector facilities and the deteriorating security situation in the island. "The country has a very high inflation level. In the beginning of 2005 alone, Sri Lanka's inflation rate was 18%. Sri Lanka's exchange rate is also under immense pressure," Dr. De Silva said. However, he added that one of the main reasons for the country to perform poorly was the deteriorating security situation. "The country's security situation has been deteriorating since mid last year. Daily incidents have been reported from the north and east which is one of the main reasons for the markets to perform poorly," Dr. De Silva said. Sri Lanka is currently on par with countries such as Albania and Ruwanda and according to Dr. De Silva, many more countries which are lesser known. The rankings are conducted by world famous professors, Professor Jeffrey Sachs and Professor Michael Porter, both currently conducting lectures at Harvard University, USA. Peace talks in Geneva to be made transparent Colombo: Sri Lanka's President Mahinda Rajapakse wants to make transparent the talks with Tamil rebels in Geneva this week. He will set up an operations room in his official residence so that his coalition partners, the marxists and the Buddhist monks, can witness 'live' the negotiations between government negotiators and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) at resumed peace talks. There will be telephone hook-ups to the Sri Lanka delegation as well, so that last-minute advice can be passed on, a source at the Presidential Secretariat said, amid fears that the inexperienced official delegation may not be able to match up to the more experienced rebels at the talks. The government delegation left last night via London for crucial talks to save a fragile ceasefire and prevent the island from slipping back to war. The LTTE team has already left the island. The talks are set to begin on Wednesday, four years to the date (February 22) when then prime minister Ranil Wickremasinghe and LTTE leader Velupillai Prabhakaran signed a Norwegian-brokered cease-fire. The two-day session will be the first face-to-face meeting in three years and takes place amid fears that the island had slid dangerously close to resuming civil war following a spate of killings that left scores dead. "We are looking forward to fruitful negotiations," the government's chief negotiator Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva said. Switzerland taking deep interest in Sri Lanka Switzerland, which hosts this week talks between Colombo and Tamil Tiger guerrillas, is one of the world's oldest democracies and has been taking a deep interest in Sri Lanka's ethnic conflict for years. It is precisely this reason that made Berne let the Sri Lankan government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) meet in Geneva Feb 22-23 for their highest-level dialogue in three years after they squabbled over a venue. Since Switzerland is not a member of the European Union, it was not bound by the latter's decision taken in September 2005 not to host LTTE delegations any more after Sri Lankan foreign minister Lakshman Kadirgamar's assassination. Switzerland is one of the Western countries home to a large number of Sri Lankans, the majority of whom are Tamils. The LTTE also maintains offices in the country, including in Berne and Zurich. In 2003, a year after the LTTE and Colombo signed a Norway-sponsored ceasefire agreement, Switzerland invited the LTTE Political Affairs Committee as well as a group of MPs, ministers and journalists from Sri Lanka. They had long sessions at the Institute of Federalism on the complex Swiss system of governance, visited municipalities and bilingual schools. The LTTE delegation was impressed by Swiss federalism. In its previous interactions, Switzerland has advised the LTTE to stop political killings and end child recruitment to its ranks and tried to convince the Tigers that a federal solution was in the best interests of the Tamil minority. In the same breath, Swiss authorities keep a close eye on LTTE activities within the country, particularly to see if the outfit extorts money from Tamils. In 1996 many LTTE members were arrested in Switzerland but they were let off later. After Norway, Switzerland has thus shown the most active interest in the European region in Sri Lanka's dragging bloody ethnic conflict that has claimed thousands of lives since 1983. After the talks with Colombo, the LTTE delegation members, led by Anton Balasingham, the London-based ideologue of the group, will stay on in Geneva to meet members of the Tamil community. It is not clear if the Swiss foreign ministry will hold informal talks with the LTTE on the sidelines of the Geneva summit this time. Norwegian peace envoy Erik Solheim told IANS: "Switzerland has been extremely constructive all the way. The parties chose Switzerland because of its continuous positive support to the peace process." That is what the Swiss government itself said when it agreed to let Geneva be the venue for the LTTE-Colombo dialogue. "Switzerland ... will do its utmost to ensure that the talks take place in an environment that is conducive to reaching a mutually acceptable solution," the foreign ministry said in a statement on Feb 6. "Switzerland calls on the parties to the conflict to do all within their powers to ensure that the talks can start in a constructive atmosphere." A Western diplomat here told IANS: "There is no mystery about Switzerland's interest in Sri Lanka. It is keen to see that the peace process moves forward and the ceasefire agreement is properly implemented." But Switzerland, located in central Europe and a federal state since 1848, will only be the host at Geneva; Norway will remain the facilitator. Geneva a "first
yet significant step" says Bishop of Colombo "Geneva may not address the core issues of a political settlement but it can build trust and confidence," he said. "It can set an agenda and a time-frame to discuss the core issues. It can also address immediate problems with a view to building trust." The Bishop who welcomed the president’s initiative in calling for a dialogue among all political parties, religious groups and civil society prior to Geneva made the following seven points in his statement: 1. The disregard for CFA violations must be addressed. Either the role, composition and authority of the SLMM must be redefined and strengthened or a new mechanism must be devised. All para-military armed groups within Government controlled areas must be disarmed and their cadres offered gainful and protected rehabilitation. The LTTE’s political involvement in these areas should be defined to prevent a spill over into violent agitation. Where there is lack of co-operation, sanctions must be imposed with International backing. 2. Not enough is being done to build trust amongst the people. Local religious and civil society leaders should be invited to provide leadership. Where necessary they should be educated and trained. Exchange programmes, a common reading of the history of the conflict, an understanding of the grievance and suffering of communities and compensation and apologies should be included on the agenda. Security measures should not alienate people. People friendly guidelines must be drawn up and made public. School curricula should deal with values on ethnic harmony. 3. A National consensus on sustainable Peace should be pursued. A code of ethics for Politicians, the Media and the Forces will help this process. This code should highlight the positive aspects of peace. 4. All Government policy must be ethnic sensitive. The serious use of Tamil should be a priority in all Ministries, Departments and Police Stations. Tamil speaking people must feel welcome and be provided with the means of attending to their business in tamil. 5. Proposals for devolution with consensus from the South must be placed on the table. The LTTE should be urged to accept a Federal System within an United Sri Lanka. All must listen and compromise. 6. The fear psychosis and killings in the Eastern Province has to stop. The Government of Sri Lanka has to assert its sovereignty and restore law and order. 7. A serious programme to alleviate poverty must be introduced. The affluent and powerful must reduce extravagance and income voluntarily. Viable economic policies must be agreed on and set in place. All forces should cooperate towards a visible and real eradication of this social evil. "I have no doubt that this initiative of President Mahinda will receive the support and co-operation of all people of this country, among all faiths, all ethnic groups, all regions and all political parties, he concluded. "Let not future generations hold us responsible for missing yet another opportunity for peace in our beloved country. I assure the President and the LTTE and all the people of our country of the prayers, goodwill and efforts of our Church. May God’s blessings and encouragement be with all." Light a lamp for
peace on Feb. 22, says Sarvodaya This lamp lighting on the fourth anniversary of the February 22, 2002 CFA would be a celebration and commemoration of that event on the day that the government and LTTE meet face to face after a break of nearly three years. "You might do this at your home, workplace, school or at a place of religious worship," Sarvodaya Executive Director, Dr. Vinya Ariyaratne said. "By dedicating yourself to regularly re-filling the lamp and keeping a continuous flame of hope for 12 hours, you will show your solidarity with this important agreement and your individual pledge to peace in this nation." A Sarvodaya news release said that CFA of February 22, 2002 between the Government of Sri Lanka and the LTTE marked an important turning point in the recent history of the island. "From the day of its signing to the present moment, people have debated on the clauses of the document, but what must be recognised is the spirit in which it was signed," the Sarvodaya news release said. "Whatever the agreement might or might not have, it has always represented hope and an inherent belief that we as Sri Lankans can get past the years of war that this nation has suffered and step into a new era of peace and prosperity." Noting that the CFA has saved hundreds and even thousands of lives and limbs of this nation's young people, that might otherwise have been lost if the war had continued unabated, the statement said that it had ensured that lives that had come to a standstill were begun anew. "The agreement has enabled the people of this island to live without fear of where the next bomb or battle or death might take place," the statement said. "This is what the common people of Sri Lanka have received from the CFA and this is why it is imperative that we as a nation express our support of it." Ariyaratne said that by joining hands on February 22 in a simple act of harmony, the people of Sri Lanka will reiterate their commitment to peace and their solidarity with each other. 18 February 2006 Paramilitary cadres attacked TELO Office in Batticaloa Unidentified attackers lobbed grenades into Thamil Eelam Liberation Organisation (TELO) Batticaloa office Friday night around 10:00 p.m. causing damage to the windows of the TELO office and a motorbike parked outside the office, No one was wounded in the attack, TELO officials said. The TELO office, which was also subjected to a hand grenade attack one week ago, is located on Sri Sabaratnam Road in a high security area of the Sri Lanka Army. TELO officials alleged paramilitary cadres had targeted Indrakumar Prasanna, who is the General Secretary of TELO, a party in the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) coalition. Mr. Indrakumar is the Chief Candidate representing the Tamil National Alliance in Batticaloa Municipal Council elections. The previous attack at TELO Batticaloa District Office took place on January 13, 2006 at 7:45 p.m. and occurred in a similar manner with grenades, TELO observed adding that the Friday's attack is the 2nd attack on the TELO's Batticaloa District Office since the local government elections announced by the Government of Sri Lanka. US reiterates support for talks The United States yesterday said it was looking forward to the talks in Geneva and pledged to support moves aimed at bringing about a peaceful solution to Sri Lanka’s conflict. Speaking before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Thursday before President George Bush, Richard A. Boucher, the new US Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs reiterated the commitment of US to bring peace to Sri Lanka. Mr. Boucher succeeded Christina Rocca who played an active role in Sri Lanka’s peace process. Commenting on Indo-US relations Mr. Boucher said President Bush would be travelling to India soon in a bid to strengthen ties with the rising global power”. “India is, of course, the world’s largest democracy and will soon be the most populous nation in the world. Perhaps more importantly, India and the United States are both multi-ethnic, multi-lingual, multi-religious democracies with increasingly converging interests on the world’s most important issues” Boucher said. He also said President Bush would visit Pakistan in the coming weeks to widen the relationship with the “key ally in the war on terror” and to make it clear that the US was deeply committed to helping the Pakistani people to recover from last year’s devastating earthquake. “President Musharraf has made the important decision to move his country away from extremism and towards a future as a modern democracy, and we fully support him in this undertaking,” Boucher said. PAFFREL To Monitor LG Polls People’s Action For Free and Fair Election (PAFFREL) had expressed its willingness to monitor the upcoming local government polls with a view to ensure that the elections had been conducted in an impartial, free and fair manner. According to PAFFREL Chairman Kingsley Rodrigo more than 15000 personnel are being trained for election monitoring duties. He added that the PAFFREL would not consider on bringing foreign monitors as the PAFFREL group which had monitors more than twenty elections early are prepared to undertake election monitoring work once again. PDLF seeks conducive climate for electioneering The People's Democratic Liberation Front (PDLF), which has filed nomination papers yesterday for 44 local Government bodies in the North and East urged the Government to ensure democratic rights for election campaigning in the LTTE-dominated areas. PDLF leader Dharmalingam Siddharthan expressed serious concerns over the safety of his party candidates, as the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) has issued them with death threats. "The LTTE not only warned opposition Tamil parties, but also prevented their own Parliamentary proxy, the TNA from contesting in the LTTE held areas," Siddharthan said. The LTTE told the TNA leaders that no political party would be allowed to take part in any elections for local Government bodies in the areas they dominate. While the PDLF candidates contest under the party banner in two districts, they have joined with EPRLF (Pathmanabha group) to contest in two other districts under the Federal Party banner. In two other districts they contest as independent candidates. The PDLF is the political party of the former militant group, People's Liberation Organisation of Tamil Eelam (PLOTE). Director of People's Action for Free and Fair Elections (PAFFREL) Kingsley Rodrigo expressed concern on the prospects of election without interference. "It is difficult to imagine a complete change in the North and the East by March 30. I am sure the peace talks will take place but an atmosphere for free and fair elections would not be established just in few weeks." "It is good that they are getting ready for electioneering, but if they would allow the parties opposing the policies of the Tigers to operate freely is another matter. We are concerned about that," Rodrigo said after visiting the North. Tired Devanda flew several miles to Handover nominations fail to stop UPFA to contest Jaffna local councils Ruling United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA) is contesting three local councils in Jaffna district, Chavakachcheri, Point Pedro and Valvettithurai urban councils, and has submitted nomination papers for these councils, election officials in Jaffna said. For the Jaffna Municipal Council only three political parties Ilankai Thamil Arasu Kadchi (ITAK), Eelam Peoples Democratic Party (EPDP) and PLOTE-EPRLF (Varathar wing) have submitted nominations. Eelam Peoples Democratic Party (EPDP) according to an agreement reached between EPDP and UPFA, is not contesting in the elections to the three councils contested by UPFA. ITAK, EPDP and PLOTE-EPRLF have submitted their nominations to all other local government bodies in the peninsula, Thursday Feb. 2006, at the District returning officer's office, well before 1200 hrs, the government's deadline to submit nominations, election officials said. Though the Muslim Congress party, the All Ceylon Muslim Congress party and an independent group had announced their intention of contesting the polls, officials said that they did not submit nominations. The Tamil National Alliance parliamentarians Mavai Senathirajah, Raviraj, Sivanesan and Sivajilingam arrived at the district returning office and submitted their nominations list at 11.15 am on Thursday, sources said. Minister Douglas Devananda, secretary general EPDP, arrived at 9 am, Thursday, in a vehicle escorted by Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers, police personnel and a Buffel armoured vehicle, to give his party's nomination list, sources said. Douglas Devananda earlier arrived at the Palaly airport and brought to Thuraippa stadium in a Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) helicopter and was then escorted to the District returning office. After submitting the nominations Mr Devananda returned to Colombo with the same security arrangement. An independent group, which had paid the deposit for nomination, did not submit the nomination before the stipulated time, sources said. The area around the Returning office was heavily guarded by SLA and Police officers from early morning Thursday throughout the day, sources said. LTTE backs TNA at mini poll The LTTE which prevented voters in areas under their
control from voting at the presidential election, has decided to extend
fullest support to Tamil National Alliance candidates who have entered
the fray under the Ilankai Tamil Arasu Kachchi banner. LTTE Media Spokesman Daya Master told 'Lanka e News' that the LTTE will back the TNA at the local government polls. When asked as to why the LTTE had adopted two different policies for the presidential election and the local government polls, Daya Master said it was a decision of the Tamil people. He claimed that his organization will always respect the decision of he people. Earlier the TNA requested the President to postpone the local polls as the Geneva talks would get underway on the 22nd of this month, but the President did not respond to the request. SB: No solution
under unitary Lanka “President Rajapaksa would have to adopt a solution that would genuinely devolve power in a united Sri Lanka.” New 'leader' Dissanayake, who was jailed for two years with rigorous imprisonment for making defamatory remarks on judiciary, was pardoned by President Mahinda Rajapaksa on Wednesday. He was deprived of his parliamentary seat in Nuwara Eliya district and civil rights as a result of the imprisonment. Party colleagues meanwhile indicated that the released former Samurdhi, Agriculture and Sports minister would be the next leader of the UNP. Former Fisheries minister Mahinda Wijesekara referred to Dissnayake as ‘the future leader’ in front of UNP leader, Ranil Wickramasinghe. He told Elmo Fernando of BBC Sandeshaya (bbcsinhala.com) that he would ‘never’ leave the UNP though he was ‘approached by many’ from the ruling alliance. Wife not impressed Dissanayake vowed to continue his political career as he came out of Welikada prison. Leader of the opposition Wickramasinghe pledged to continue the fight until the authorities reinstate Dissanayake’s civil rights. But his wife, Tamara Dissanayake, was not impressed with the support offered by the party while her husband was in jail. She told BBC Sandeshaya soon after his release on Wednesday that although the UNP leaders supported the campaign, the party could have done more to get him released earlier. Four sea Tigers released as goodwill gesture The government yesterday moved for the release of four suspected sea Tigers as a goodwill gesture ahead of the crucial Geneva talks next week, police said. They said the suspects identified as S. Shanmugaraj, R. Aravindran, S.S. Jayakumar and R. Jayakumar were released on bail and ordered by court to report to the Trincomalee Harbour Police every Sunday. LTTE media spokesman Daya Master told the Daily Mirror the LTTE had been informed of the release of the sea Tigers and said it was considering the release of one of the two remaining NCPA policemen held in LTTE custody since September last year. “The policeman will be released in a few days time”, he said. Referring to the remaining policeman, Daya Master said the LTTE would not release him until four other suspected sea Tiger cadres arrested off Mannar recently were also released Confirming reports on the release, Sri Lanka Monitoring
Mission head Hagrup Haukland said four suspected sea Tigers were bailed
out last morning. “On numerous occasions we have urged the LTTE to release the two remaining policemen as soon as possible. I hope the LTTE will release them soon”, he said. On October 1, last year four Sea Tigers, while sailing near the Trincomalee harbour HSZ, apparently on a reconnaissance mission, were arrested by the navy. They had in their possession a video camera, a small manual microphone, two mobile phones and several other items. LTTE releases second Sri Lankan policeman as goodwill gesture prior to Geneva talks After three years of stalled peace talks, the upcoming Geneva talks will be held on 22-23 February. As a gesture of goodwill, the national leader ordered the release of a Sri Lankan policeman, W G D S Hemantha. He was released under the order of the Kilinochchi District Court Magistrate and handed over to SLMM officials in Kilinochchi District Court on Saturday. Three policemen were arrested inside the LTTE administered area on 10 September 2005 under the charge of not obtaining permission prior to entering the area. The first policeman, K A D Sarath, was released in the same way on 26 January Meanwhile, yesterday four LTTE members were released on bail after being arrested in October 2005 by Sri Lanka Navy in Trincomalee No second class citizens in this country says Somawansa The JVP stands for multi-cultural, multi-ethnic and multi-religious society as in the case of United States, Cuba, Singapore and Australia and believes that Sri Lanka is the traditional homeland for all ethnic and religious groups, the JVP said yesterday at the All Party Conference. The JVP said that it looks at the preparation for Geneva talks in the form of an All Party Conference with participation of all parties, with satisfaction and notes that as “fulfilling the mandate given by the free exercise of the vote”. JVP Leader Somawansa Amarasinghe addressing the Conference said that his Party regrets about those who have left the country during the 30 years of war and that earnestly wishes them to return to build up ‘our common future’. “The JVP believes that the prime purpose of the Geneva talks is to ensure that there are no second class citizens in this country who are denied the most fundamental of freedoms and rights. In welcoming the Geneva talks is to free the people in parts of the Northern and Eastern provinces now under oppression so that our brothers and sisters there can vote freely, can talk freely without fear of repercussions,” rasinghe said. Anti- LTTE groups
demonstrate for peace in Sri Lanka The seven groups that include the Tamil United Liberation Front, Tamil Women’s League, Muslim Information Centre, Sri Lanka Democratic Forum and the Tamil Democratic Congress gathered under the umbrella of the Tamil Forum for Peace are holding a public demonstration on Sunday at London’s Trafalgar Square, named after Lord Nelson’s victory 200 years ago over the combined navies of France and Spain. The Forum is calling on the two warring parties to make a genuine effort to “find a political solution that is viable, permanent and a solution that ensures democracy, human rights and justice in Sri Lanka.” Sri Lankan rebels demand government hand over splinter group members(AP) A top Tamil Tiger rebel Friday demanded that the Sri Lankan government hand over members of a splinter group who they blame for attacks against them. The rebels believe the government is supporting the dissident rebels in a proxy war against them. "It is only right that the government hands over to us all those connected with our internal conflict," Tamil Tigers' political wing leader S.P Thamilselvan said before leaving with his delegation for Geneva peace talks with the government, according to a report on a pro-rebel Web site. "We can't accept the government protecting them and using them for violence against us," Thamilselvan said. The rebel delegation left Colombo on Friday for Geneva, where they will hold their first direct talks in nearly three years with the Sri Lankan government. The Geneva talks will mostly focus on the fresh violence that since December has left 150 people dead, including 81 soldiers. The fighting has threatened to derail the Norwegian-brokered cease-fire. The government blames the increased violence on the rebels, while the rebels say the military and a breakaway faction of its group are responsible. The rebel movement split in 2004 when an eastern-based military commander named Karuna broke away with 6,000 fighters. The rebellion was suppressed by the mainstream rebels, but Karuna and several other leaders managed to escape and are known to operate in eastern Sri Lanka. Meanwhile, Sri Lanka's President Mahinda Rajapakse expressed confidence that Geneva talks would assure a productive start to the peace process. Addressing a multiparty conference in Colombo to explain the peace process, Rajapakse said that the focus of the talks would be on "implementing a meaningful cease-fire." Also Friday, the government released from prison four members of the Sea Tigers, the naval wing of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, said Helen Olafsdottir, a spokeswoman for a European cease-fire monitoring team. Rebel spokesman Daya Master confirmed the release of the four men, who were arrested in October while allegedly filming the Trincomalee harbor, where Sri Lankan navy has a base. The government also withdrew charges of violating the country's anti-terrorism act. The move was seen as a gesture of goodwill ahead of the Feb. 22-23 peace talks The rebels plan to reciprocate by releasing a Sri Lankan policeman from their custody Saturday, said another rebel official, who spoke on condition of anonymity. The policeman and two colleagues in September strayed into rebel territory while chasing an alleged pedophile from Britain. The Tigers launched a violent campaign in 1983 to create a separate state for ethnic minority Tamils in the northeast, accusing the majority Sinhalese of discrimination. The civil war killed 65,000 people before the cease-fire was signed in 2002. Peace talks broke down a year later over rebel demands for wide autonomy. Lt Col Ponnamman's 19th anniversary celebrated Leader of Liberation Tigers, V Pirapaharan, paid respects
to LTTE's Senior Commander Lt Col Ponnamman at an undisclosed LTTE camp
in Vanni Friday, at the ninteenth rememberance anniversary, sources in
Kilinochchi said. Several LTTE Commanders, cadres and administrative, political officials participated in the ceremony. Sri Lanka monk says no peace until top rebel dead (Reuters) A Buddhist monk in Sri Lanka, who heads a religious party opposed to a Tamil homeland in the north and east, says the country would be better off if the reclusive rebel leader of the Tamil Tigers were dead. Venerable Ellawala Medhananda, head of the National Heritage Party, or Jathika Hela Urumaya, said the government should be prepared to fight the rebels, led by Velupillai Prabhakaran, to the bitter end if peace talks in Switzerland next week fail. "If Prabhakaran is dead, Sri Lanka is a better place," he told Reuters in an interview at a Buddhist center in the island's capital, Colombo. "He is the stumbling block to the peace process. We should take his influence out of society." Medhanadna, a political ally of President Mahinda Rajapakse, said his sentiment did not contradict the tenets of peace and harmony for which Buddhism is known the world over. "Even Buddhist monks can act in self-defense," said the 69-year-old, who became a monk at the age of 12 and enjoys a revered status in Sri Lanka, like other Buddhist monks. "Buddhist monks (elsewhere) have learned fighting techniques like Kung Fu for their self defense. Therefore fighting for self defense is not against Buddhist principles," said Medhananda, wearing a saffron robe, glasses and close-cropped hair. A policeman carrying an automatic rifle stood guard near a shrine and a sacred Buddhist Bo tree in a courtyard outside to protect the outspoken MP. "We now face a terrorist problem. They are attacking us, so why can't we fight in self-defence?" Like Rajapakse's former-militant Marxist allies, the Sinhalese nationalist JHU rejects the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam's (LTTE) calls for a separate homeland for minority Tamils in the north and east, and is opposed to rebel autonomy or separation from the island's Buddhist-majority south. Medhananda does not expect to see much progress at talks in Switzerland on February 22-23, seen by many as a last chance to avoid a slide back to a civil war that killed more than 64,000 people up until a 2002 truce. "I believe in a negotiated settlement, but unfortunately the LTTE doesn't," he said in his native Sinhala through a translator. "If they are willing to give up their homeland theory, and their struggle for a separate state, we are ready to devolve power as much as possible under a unitary constitution. "If we fail to achieve peace through negotiations, if the LTTE commences attacks on public property and people again, the government is duty-bound to attack the terrorists and protect the innocent." Sri Lanka's Buddhist monk party has nine seats in the 225-member parliament. SL Parliament on website The government yesterday launched the Parliament website enabling people from all corners of the world to have access to information relating to parliamentary affairs including the proceedings, Hanzard reports, special committees and order papers. www. Parliament.lk was launched at a simple function in the parliament complex with Prime Minister Ratnasiri Wickramanayake and Speaker W.J.M. Lokubandara gracing the occasion Speaking at the event, Prime Minister Wickramanayake said the advancement of information technology had enabled people to carry out their day to day affairs in a convenient manner and as a result the launch of the website was of vital importance. Speaker Lokubandara said Parliament was meant for its members to reach common consensus through discussions without making it a place to raise objections only. He said though people took the west as a model for parliament democracy, there had been numerous instances in India where modern day parliament democratic values had been upheld during the time of the Lord Buddha. Parliament General Secretary Priyani Wijesekara said they planned to establish state-of-the art communication systems in the chamber, committee rooms and the library. Sri Lanka Police
'violated FR' Three-member bench chaired by Dr. Shirani Bandaranaike ruled that the Sub-Inspector (SI) Silva of Welipenna police was guilty of torturing detainee Palitha Tissa Kumara. The police was accused of assaulting Kumara using clubs and forcing a tuberculosis patient to spit into Kumara’s mouth. Describing the methods used by police as “extremely brutal torture”, the courts ordered Inspector General of Police to prevent such incidents in the future. Compensation criticised SI Silva was ordered to pay Rs. 5000 to the victim. Kumara is to receive another Rs. 20,000 from the state. Human rights activists, however, criticised the compensation paid for the torture victim. Basil Fernando, Executive director of Hong-Kong based Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) said the United Nations was in the view that paying low compensations as a “disgrace to the victimised.” The AHRC said a representative from United Nations Committee against Torture described the torture using a TB patient as “unprecedented”. Tissa Kumara was subjected to strong psychological pressure by the police as he sought legal assistance, Fernando added. Trinco Muslims protest against Denmark Several hundred Muslims Friday afternoon held a protest rally in the Trincomalee esplanade after Jumma prayers against the publication of caricatures of Prophet Mohamed in newspapers in Denmark. Muslim businessmen closed their shops and other establishments in Trincomalee bazaar throughout the day, sources said. Muslim people came in processions to the Trincomalee esplanade from various parts of the town after Friday Jumma prayers. The protesters carried placards condemning the Government of Denmark for the publication of caricatures of Prophet Mohamed. Leading Muslim citizens in Trincomalee town spoke at the rally, sources said. 17 February 2006 Sri Lanka local government elections on March 30 Elections Commissioner Dayananda Dissanayake announced today that the local government elections will be held March 30, 2006. He announced this an hour after the closing of nominations this afternoon. He said nominations were received from political parties and independent groups countrywide. The People’s Alliance will contest the election as the United People’s Freedom Alliance for all local government bodies except those in the North and East. The United National Party and JVP tendered their nominations separately. Tamil National Alliance (TNA) will contest the election as the Ilankai Thamil Arasu Kadchchi (ITAK) for all local government bodies in the North and East. ITAK uncontested in Verugal local council Ilankai Thamil Arasu Kadchchi (ITAK) was elected uncontested in the Verugal Pradesiya Sabah in the Trincomalee district when submission of nomination lists for the thirteen local authorities closed Thursday at noon. Mr.Bandara Mapa, Assistant Commissioner of Elections said the Commissioner of Elections would take further steps regarding the appointment of chairman and vice chairman for the Verugal PS soon, election department sources said. The newly created Verugal local authority is located in the LTTE held Eachchilampathu divisional secretary division. Elections will be held to other twelve local authorities except Verugal. The ITAK is contesting urban councils of Trincomalee and Kinniya, pradesiya sabai of Trincomalee town and gravets, Kuchchaveli, Morawewa, Kinniya, Thambalakamam, Kantalai, Seruvila, and Muttur. The EPDP filed nomination papers for Trincomalee UC, Trincomalee PS, Thambalakamam PS, Kuchchaveli PS and Muttur PS. The main opposition UNP did not file nomination list for Trincomalee Urban Council, Muttur PS and Verugal. The UNP filed nomination papers for the balance local authorities. The ruling UPFA is contesting Kinniya UC, Kinniya PS, Thambalakamam PS, Kantalai PS, Seruvila PS, Gomarankadawela PS, Padavi Siripura, Morawewa PS, and Kuchchaveli PS Nomination lists of several independent groups and three of the Democratic Unity Alliance (DUA) were rejected for reasons for not adhering regulations of the election laws such as providing original birth certificates of the candidates who are under the age between 18 and 35. Only nomination list of the DUA was accepted for the election of Thambalakamam PS, sources said. Mr.Susil Premajayanth, Minister and the Secretary of the ruling UPFA arrived in Trincomalee accompanied Mr. Abdul Majeed Mohamed Najeeb by helicopter and rushed to the election office ten minutes to beat the deadline 12 noon to submit UPFA nomination lists. UNP nomination lists for Colombo and Kaduwela rejected The Election Department today rejected the nomination lists submitted by the main opposition United National Party to contest two Municipal Councils: Colombo and Kaduwela. As the nominations closed today at noon, Election Commissioner Dayananda Dissanayake came to the decision after considering objections filed by other political parties during the time given for objections after nominations. The list for the Colombo Municipal Council was rejected as one of the candidates was not over 18 on 1 June, 2004. The nomination lists for Moratuwa and Seethawaka Pradeshiya Sabhas were also rejected. Following the rejection of the nominations, the UNP decided to take legal action against the Election Department. Meanwhile, nominations submitted by the People’s Alliance for the Gampaha Municipal Council were also rejected. Rival Tiger factions
clash in eastern Sri Lanka, one dead The fighting took place in areas controlled by the mainstream rebel group in Batticaloa district, a police officer said on condition of anonymity. A senior military officer in Colombo confirmed that troops in the area heard gunfire late yesterday, but could not confirm the casualties. The reported killing came ahead of February 22-23 talks in Geneva between the government and the Tamil Tigers. The Tigers accuse the government of backing a breakaway faction and want the Colombo administration to disarm that group before proceeding further with the peace talks. The government denies backing the splinter group, but the issue of disarming it is likely to figure prominently in the Geneva talks. The rebel movement split in 2004 when an eastern-based military commander, named Karuna, broke away with 6,000 fighters. The rebellion was suppressed by the mainstream rebels, but Karuna and several fighters managed to escape and are known to operate in eastern Sri Lanka Sri Lanka Keeps Key Interest Rate Unchanged for Second Month (Bloomberg) Sri Lanka's central bank kept its benchmark interest rate unchanged for a second month to spur investment and fuel economic growth after four increases last year helped slow inflation. The Central Bank of Sri Lanka left the repurchase rate at which it drains money from the banking system at 8.75 percent, the monetary authority said in a statement today. Five of six analysts surveyed by Bloomberg had expected the Colombo-based bank to keep the rate unchanged. Central bank Governor Sunil Mendis and his fellow policy makers increased the rate by 1.25 percentage points last year to curb inflationary pressures arising from increases in bank lending and oil prices. Inflation slowed to a 10-month low in January, allowing the bank to keep borrowing costs steady. ``With inflation slowing, the focus now is to keep rates steady for growth,'' Hasitha Premaratne, head of research at HNB Stockbrokers Pvt. in Colombo, said before today's statement. The central bank today also left the reverse repurchase rate at which it adds money to the banking system at 10.25 percent. The monetary authority last raised the repurchase and reverse repurchase rates by a quarter-point each in December. Sri Lanka's inflation rate slowed for a fifth straight month in January to 11.1 percent from a year earlier as costs of foods such as fish and vegetables declined. The government expects inflation to average less than 8 percent this year from about 10 percent in 2005. Inflation Food costs may decline as favorable weather conditions increase harvests of rice and tea, helping ``inflation ease further,'' HNB's Premaratne said. Sri Lanka has had uninterrupted economic expansion since a February 2002 cease-fire halted a two-decade civil war. Growth in the South Asian island's economy, which expanded 6.4 percent in the three months ended September from a year earlier, may slow if peace talks between the government and separatist Tamil Tigers next week fail to support the truce that is being threatened by increased violence. Sri Lanka's government and Tamil Tigers will meet in Geneva Feb. 22-23 for peace talks mediated by Norway and Switzerland. Increased violence since December in the northern and eastern parts of the country prompted international observers including the United Nations and the U.S. government to say that the 2002 truce may collapse and the island's civil war resume. The government blames Tamil Tigers, who have fought for a separate homeland since 1983, for attacks over the past two months that have killed more than 70 soldiers and sailors. More than 60,000 people have died in the conflict over two decades. `Investors Cautious' ``Most investors are cautious and still have some concerns that there could be return to hostilities,'' said Vajira Premawardhana, director of research at Lanka Orix Securities Ltd. in Colombo. Progress toward a peace accord is a condition set by international donors, including the U.S., Japan and Norway, for giving $4.5 billion in aid to Sri Lanka. The island's interest rates are the second highest among 14 Asian countries, behind Indonesia, according to Bloomberg data. Today's decision to leave interest rates unchanged may encourage companies and consumers to increase borrowing, and help spur economic growth, Lanka Orix's Premawardhana said. President Mahinda Rajapakse's government plans to raise as much as $1 billion in its first global bond sale to fund rebuilding of the island's war- and tsunami-ravaged economy. The government needs to rebuild roads and homes destroyed by the December 2004 tsunami which killed about 35,000 people and left half a million homeless. Bond Sales The government plans to sell between $500 million and $1 billion of bonds maturing in seven to 10 years in the first half of 2006, Kapila Jayawardena, chief executive officer of Citibank Sri Lanka, which was hired by the government to manage the bond sale, said on Feb. 7. The local unit of Citigroup Inc., the world's largest financial services company, advised the government on obtaining its credit ratings, which are used by fund managers to determine investment risk and the amount of interest payments they demand. Sri Lankan Treasury Secretary P.B. Jayasundera this month said the government also plans to sell as much as $250 million of bonds to expatriate Sri Lankans. Fitch Ratings in December assigned Sri Lanka a BB- rating, three levels below investment grade and the same as that of Indonesia and Brazil. Standard & Poor's rated Sri Lanka B+, or four levels below investment grade, the same rating it has assigned Pakistan and Indonesia. Rajapakse, who is also finance minister, is aiming to boost annual economic growth to 8 percent in the next six years. The central bank has forecast 6 percent growth in 2006, the fastest pace in three years, from an estimated 5.5 percent in 2005. 16 February 2006 SLMM: Armed gangs threat to peace The truce monitors say that if authorities turn a blind eye to activities of armed gangs it could lead to collapse of normalcy. Hagrup Haukland, head of the Nordic Monitoring Mission in Sri Lanka, speaking to the foreign Correspondents said that the last few months had been a very difficult period. He said “we are here to carry out a job but we are not willing to die for it” Truce monitors should have an environment free of hostilities in order to operate effectively said Haukland. In Baticaloa vehicles of the monitors were attacked and in Trincomalee field operations had to be suspended as the situation was assessed unsafe by the truce monitors. Haukland said that the authorities are aware who these armed gangs are but they are not eager to arrest them. The chief truce monitor also warned sporadic attacks that threatened the truce could resume with even greater ferocity if Geneva talks failed. Responding to a question Haukland said he is not sure if amendments to the ceasefire fire agreement at Geneva talks will be possible as both parties have to agree to amendments. TNA submits nominations for Trinco local poll Tamil National Alliance (TNA) Wednesday morning submitted nomination lists to contest eleven local authorities out of thirteen in the Trincomalee district in the forthcoming local elections. Mr.K.Thurairatnasingham, Trincomalee district parliamentarian handed over the nomination lists to the District returning Officer Mr.Bandara Mapa at the latter's office, sources said. TNA under the election symbol 'House' of the Ilankai Thamil Arasu Kadchchi (ITAK) is to contest all the local authorities in the North East, sources said. In Trincomalee district ITAK is to contest two urban councils, Trincomalee and Kinniya and nine pradesiya sabahs, Muttur, Seruvila, Verugal, Kantalai, Thambalakamam, Kuchchaveli, Trincomalee town and gravets, and Morawewa. ITAK has decided not to contest two pradesiya sabahs, Gomarankadawela and Padavi Siripura, sources said. Hakeem banned
from local polls The court issued this injunction order followed by a hearing of a petition filed by a member of the SLMC which said that the above two officials have no authority to sign the nomination papers as they are not recognised as party officials. The petitioner said annual convention of the party was not held for a long period of time and therefore they are no longer the officer bearers of the party. The district court also issued an order to the Election Commissioner asking not to accept the nominations papers signed by them. TNA, UPFA, SLMC to contest Mannar local council elections The Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) Wednesday submitted its nomination list to contest the Musali pradesiya Sabah in the Mannar district. Meanwhile the ruling United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA) has decided to contest all the five local authorities in the Mannar district in the forthcoming local council election, sources said. Mr.Susil Premajayanth, Minister and the General Secretary of the UPFA Wednesday morning arrived in Mannar accompanied by Mr.Rischard Badiudin, Minister of Rehabilitation and Reconstruction for Wanni region to finalize the preparation of nominations lists which are to be handed over to the District Returning Officer Thursday, sources said. Mannar district comprises five local authorities, Mannar Urban Council (13,956 voters), Mannar Pradesiya Sabah (22,302) Manthai West PS (17.937), Musali PS (11,955) and Nanattan PS (15,405).Tamil National Alliance (TNA) sources said it will submit nomination lists on Thursday. Vasu to vie for Mayor’s post The UPFA Mayoral candidate for the Colombo Municipal Council Vasudeva Nanayakkara is to hand over nominations at the Elections Department today. Mr Nanayakkara told the Daily Mirror that his nomination was approved by President Mahinda Rajapakse whom he met on Monday. Mr. Nanayakkara was the former leader of the NSSP who later contested the 1994 general election under the PA ticket. He then crossed over to the opposition and formed the New Left Front. Meanwhile UPFA Mayoral candidate for Sri Jayawardhanapura Kotte Udaya Niyathapala and all other candidates of the Alliance are also expected to hand over their nominations today. The Opposition Leader of the Dehiwala-Mount Lavinia Municipal Council Kesaralal Gunasekera is expected to be the UPFA’s Mayoral candidate for the Council, political sources said. The theme of the Alliance at this year’s local government elections is said to be ‘new philosophy, new country’. The garbage crisis in several urban areas is expected to be one of the main issues at the election this year, according to Mr. Niyathapala. Cooray for mayor’s post Former Mayor Sirisena Cooray will today hand over his nomination as UNP’s Colombo Municipal Council mayoral candidate. Mr. Cooray told the Daily Mirror he was nominated by the party Nomination Board despite objections raised by some UNP members. Mr. Cooray came into the political limelight when he won the Suduwella Ward at the CMC elections in 1971. The party has also appointed present Deputy Mayor Azad Sally as the Deputy mayoral candidate though he had earlier vowed not to contest the election unless appointed as the mayoral candidate. When contacted, Mr. Sally said he had accepted the party’s nomination. JHU submits LG nominations in 14 districts The Jatika Hela Urumaya (JHU) is to submit nominations for 13 districts for the Local Government Elections. The party’s Colombo group is headed by JHU stalwart and Jatika Sanga Sammelanaya Financial Secretary Ven. Rajawatte Vappa Thera. Two other party strongmen will lead the groups contesting for Dehiwala Mount Lavinia and Maharagama Municipal Councils. JHU is contesting in 14 districts including Ampara and Vavuniya. Nominations for Kandy district would be submitted only on February 16, party spokesman Nishantha Warnasinghe added. However keeping to the earlier pledge to involve more lay members in upcoming elections the JHU candidate groups for Kotte Municipality and Kesbewa Pradeshiya Sabha are led by laymen. The election campaign, which is to be launched on February 20, too would include more lay representations, party sources said. Meanwhile, the JVP Colombo district group will be led by Mr. Hemantha Weerakoon who is the mayoral candidate. LTTE team to Geneva tomorrow The LTTE delegation headed by its political chief S.P. Thamilselvan will leave for Geneva tomorrow. Thamilselvan will be accompanied by other senior members of the organisation P. Nadesan, Illanthirayan and Jeyam. The Director of the LTTE's Peace Secretariat S. Pulithevan will also join the entourage. According to LTTE media spokesman Daya Master 11 members of Thamilselvan's own media and political units will also accompany the delegation. An Air Force helicopter will bring the LTTE delegation from Killinochchi to the Bandaranaike International Airport. The flight of the LTTE delegation to Geneva will take off in the evening, Daya Master said. A Norwegian embassy official will accompany the LTTE delegation to Geneva. The Swiss Ambassador to Sri Lanka B. Regazzoni will be in Geneva to facilitate arrangements for the talks, Swiss embassy sources said. Government team to Geneva : Ferial, representing Muslim interests Housing and Construction Development, Eastern Province Education and Irrigation Development Minister Ferial Ashraff who would represent the interests of Muslims. Ashraff who never came into the limelight while her husband was striding in the political arena as Minister and the Leader of the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress was almost pushed into politics after his tragic death on September 16, 2000. She was appointed as a Minister of the People's Alliance Government. She was re-elected to Parliament at the General Election 2000 from Digamadulla. She is the leader of the National Unity Alliance. The simple mannered Ashraff was born on August 21, 1953. She was one of the Members of the Parliamentary delegations that went to Europe to learn about the Federal system of Government. The Government delegation at the Geneva talks will consist of a supportive team which includes H.L.D.Silva PC, attorney-at-law Gomin Dayasiri and Chief of the Treaty Section in the UN Legal Affairs Office Dr. Palitha Kohona. Inspector General of Police Chandra Fernando, two members from the Peace Secretariat including Dr. John Gunarathne, Navy Commander, Army Commander and economist Nivad Cabraal, economic advisor to the President. Be 'flexible' at Geneva, India tells Sri Lanka India has advised Sri Lanka to be "flexible" during talks with the Tamil Tiger guerrillas in Geneva next week. Indian Foreign Secretary Shyam Saran made the suggestion to Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse during a meeting in Colombo Monday, official sources told IANS Wednesday. Measuring his words carefully, the foreign secretary told the president that it would be good for Sri Lanka to show political flexibility without compromising its stand on basic issues related to the country's territorial integrity. Saran met the president accompanied by two officials from the Indian external affairs ministry and High Commissioner to Sri Lanka Nirupama Rao. Saran and his colleagues were on their way back from the Maldives, after attending a routine meeting of the two countries' foreign secretaries, when they halted for a few hours in the Sri Lankan capital. The Indian foreign secretary also met the Sri Lankan foreign minister and the foreign secretary and discussed bilateral issues. Bilateral relations also came up for discussion with Rajapakse. While not desiring to play any active role in Sri Lanka's peace process, New Delhi will be keeping a close watch on the Feb 22-23 Geneva meeting between the Sri Lankan government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). The talks, which Norwegian facilitator Erik Solheim has warned would be "tough", are going to centre on the implementation of the Norway-sponsored ceasefire agreement of February 2002 that has come under a lot of strain. The LTTE wants Colombo to stop backing Tamil "paramilitary" groups ranged against it and dismantle high security zones in Tamil areas. The government says the Tigers are continuing with targeted killings. India, which outlawed the LTTE for its involvement in the 1991 assassination of former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi, favours a negotiated settlement to the lingering ethnic conflict that has claimed thousands of lives since 1983. New Delhi has also spoken in support of a federal power sharing in the island but many Sri Lankan politicians consider the "federal" word anathema. In an interview this week, President Rajapakse reiterated that Sri Lanka would agree to devolve powers only within a unitary concept. "This is a small country, where you cannot have two states," he said. "I won't allow the country to be divided... There is no Tamil Eelam in Sri Lanka. There cannot be an Eelam." In November, LTTE chief Velupillai Prabhakaran warned that the Tigers would resume their separatist war until Colombo came up with a credible alternative to the demand for an independent Tamil state. This was followed by a sharp rise in violence in December and January. Solheim flew to Sri Lanka in the third week of January and announced that the two sides would meet for the first time in three years in Geneva. "Unitary constitution impedes political resolution"-LTTE Full text of the Press release issued from its Head office in Kilinochchi: The Tamil people are shocked over President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s rejection of their basic political aspirations in an interview with Reuter on 13 February 2006. The President had, in this interview, totally rejected the Tamil homeland concept and emphasised that a political solution to the racial conflict would be looked into only within the parameters of the unitary constitution. Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) strongly condemns these sentiments expressed by the President that tend to belittle the political rights of the Tamil people. That the North-East part of this island is the traditional homeland of the Tamil people is not a political concept that developed overnight. It has remained the habitat and homeland of the Tamil people for over several thousands of years. The Tamil homeland was well defined and demarcated even at the time of European invasion of this island. The Tamil people have always protested against Sinhala governments’ systematic and planned Sinhala colonisation of the Tamil homeland with an ulterior sinister motive to grab territory. Ground reality dictates that obviously it is the growth of Tamil peoples’ military strength that has prevented the Sinhala regimes from furthering their agenda on this score. Homeland, nationhood and self-rule are the three basic and cardinal principles that have been guiding the LTTE in its struggle to find a peacefully negotiated political arrangement to the Tamil people, resolving the racial conflict. It is the refusal by the Jayawardena regime to accept these basic principles that led to the failure of the Thimpu talks. The Sinhala rulers are in a dream-psychosis that makes them wrongly perceive that their success in rejecting the Tamil homeland concept would invariably nullify the concepts of Tamil nationhood and self-rule. Unitary form of government, if translated into ground reality, means Sinhala Parliament, Sinhala Constitution, Sinhala Judiciary, Sinhala bureaucracy and Sinhala armed forces ruling this country. It is within this conceptually rigid supremacy centred unitary constitution that the Tamil people continue to face a cruel genocide. A resolution of the Tamil national problem through devolution of power within the parameters of the unitary constitution is a concept that has lost its credibility and adaptability almost fifty years ago. The Tamil people opted for a separate state only because their call for resolution of their national problem on the basis of federation was rejected. Tamil call for federalism has seen the passage of fifty years and their option for secession dates back to thirty years. Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa now goes half a century backwards and is taking shelter into a rotten unitary constitutional concept. Going the extra mile, he even wishes to place this concept before the LTTE that has under its de-facto administration major parts of the Tamil homeland. President Mahinda Rajapaksa, hastily going to town without knowing correctly the deep contradictions and complexities of the Tamil-Sinhala racial conflict, would seriously impact the current efforts for talks. If the Mahinda regime adopts a political stand ruling out the Tamil homeland concept and insists on a resolution of the racial conflict within the unitary constitution, the LTTE would be left with no alternative other than to endeavour hard to respond effectively to the Tamil call for self rule. President orders SB's release President Mahinda Rajapakse following requests made by the Maha Sangha headed by Ven. Prof. Bellanwila Wimalarathana Thera has reduced the jail sentence of former Minister S.B. Dissanayake facilitating his immediate release. Accordingly, Dissanayake (Prisoner Number H 21569) will be released from the Welikada Magazine prison. A press release issued by the President's Office stated that President Rajapakse has conveyed his decision to Justice and Judicial Reforms Minister Amarasiri Dodangoda yesterday to take immediate action to release S.B. Dissanayake. President Rajapakse had reduced the sentence of S.B. Dissanayake under the powers vested in him by the Constitution. Former UNP Parliamentarian and former Minister S.B. Dissanayake was sentenced to two years rigorous imprisonment for Contempt of Court, by a five Judge Supreme Court Bench headed by Chief Justice Sarath N. Silva following a unanimous verdict on December 7, 2004. Dissanayake was sentenced for defaming the Supreme Court during a speech he made at a Vap Magul ceremony held in Habaraduwa in November 2003. Colombo district MP Ven. Uduwe Dhammaloka Thera told the media yesterday that Dissanayake would arrive on Friday afternoon at the Viharamahadevi Park where his supporters are engaged in a Satyragraha campaign demanding his immediate release. The press release stated that the President has taken this decision specially following a request made by the Maha Sangha from the President after visiting him at Temple Trees on Tuesday. The press release also stated that Viharadhipathi of the Bellanwila Raja Maha Vihara Ven. Prof. Bellanwila Wimalarathana Thera too made a written request from the President after visiting him at Temple Trees. However, there was no immediate confirmation whether Dissanayake would be able to fully exercise his civic rights though his sentence was reduced. Dissanayake who was elected to the present Parliament lost his Parliamentary seat as the Supreme Court dismissed a writ application filed by him preventing the Parliamentary Secretary General from cancelling his Parliamentary seat. Senior UNP Parliamentarian Renuka Herath was appointed to the vacant seat. Tube trains for Colombo The New Railway Track Development Ministry has decided to introduce an underground tube train system to Sri Lanka. According to Minister Mahinda Amaraweera this would be first constructed around the Colombo City and the suburbs. The main objective of introducing a tube system to Sri Lanka is to ease the traffic congestion and also reduce the number of vehicles coming into the city. Amaraweera said this would benefit people to reach areas in the Colombo City within a very short time at peak traffic hours. Basic studies for this proposed subway rail system have been carried out and it has been decided to construct the tube system around Borella, Orugodawatta, Narahenpita, Kirulapana, Bambalapitya, Wellawatte and Slave Island. "We have identified areas where there would be adequate land allocation for the project. The underground rail system will be also linked to the main railway stations as well. "The Ministry is engaged in preparing final plans for this project and it will be implemented under the Mahinda Chintana. This tube train system is implemented successfully in Europe and some Asian countries including Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand. The system was also introduced in India recently. The Ministry is also studying the possibility of leasing out the land to a foreign company on a long-term lease so that they would build the tube system and operate it (BOT). The Ministry will also extend the Kelani Valley railway track from Avissawella to Hambantota via Ratnapura and Embilipitiya. It is also proposed to connect this track to the proposed extended Matara, Kataragama railway line that would get under way this year. It is also proposed to build a new railway track from Matale to the Economic Centre in Dambulla this year. "With these two projects, the Government hopes to provide a better transport system for the agricultural sector," the Minister said. Khushboo gives ultimatum to Maxim Indian film star Khushboo has given Maxim magazine three
weeks to pay compensation for publishing a faked photograph of her in
a bikini. She said she was not willing to accept an apology and would sue if the magazine did not pay up. Khushboo, who is popular in southern India, said the article had caused her "irreparable damage". Her lawyer Karthikeyan said she was also planning to sue for defamation: "Irreversible damage has been done to her. An apology will not be sufficient." The 35-year-old actress already filed a police complaint against the magazine following which the police in Madras (Chennai) seized several copies of the magazine from the newsstands. The police also registered a criminal complaint against the publisher of the magazine under the "Indecent Representation of Women Act". The magazine had published the picture in its new Indian edition as part of a feature called "Women you will never see in Maxim - 100% fake". The magazine subsequently apologised but failed to placate Khushboo, who is known for her outspokenness in a film world where conservatism still rules. She faced a storm of protests last year after speaking out in favour of safe premarital sex and advising men not to insist on their brides being virgins. Some political parties launched violent protests across Tamil Nadu state and filed several cases against her accusing her of hurting what they called Tamil sentiments. Courts intervention stopped violent protests, but the cases against her are still pending before various courts in the state. 15 February 2006 Indian Foreign Sec. meets President Indian Foreign Ministry Secretary Shyam Saran made an unscheduled four-hour stopover in Sri Lanka for one-on-one talks with President Mahinda Rajapaksa, government sources said yesterday. Mr. Sharan was on the way back from the Maldives to New Delhi when he stopped over for four hours in Colombo to discuss some important issues with the President, they said. Sri Lanka questions commandos over student slaughter Sri Lankan authorities interrogated 12 elite police commandos over the massacre of five students which sparked major unrest in the island's north-east, official sources said. Detectives were grilling an inspector, a sub-inspector and 10 constables of the Special Task Force (STF) who were at the scene of the massacre on January 2 in Trincomalee, a top police source said on Tuesday. "After recording their statements we will proceed to detain them," the source said, declining to be named. "This could happen very soon. The 12 men are already in the custody of the CID (Criminal Investigations Department)." The rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) had accused security forces of killing the five students in cold blood after an explosion rocked Trincomalee town. The defence ministry initially said five students died in a premature blast, but forensic tests showed that the victims had been shot dead. The massacre sparked a wave of killings and counter attacks that also led to a suspected Tamil Tiger sinking a navy vessel and the deaths of 15 sailors in the same region on January 7. The surge in violence claimed the lives of at least 153 people before the government and LTTE on January 25 agreed to hold peace talks. The two sides are due to meet in Geneva next week to review a truce in place since February 2002. The bloodshed raised fears the ethnic unrest would re-ignite full-scale war. UN plea to Tigers
on child troops Unicef said the Tigers had taken more than 5,000 children into their ranks since agreeing a 2002 truce. It said the rate of recruitment had fallen recently but added that the practice should not occur at all. Peace talks are due in Geneva next week and Unicef called on all sides to prioritise the issue of child soldiers. 'Unacceptable' "While recruitment of children has been reduced and the average age of recruitment has increased from 14 to 16 over the past four years, recruitment of even one child is unacceptable according to the Convention of the Rights of the Child," the Unicef statement said. Unicef says it has recorded 5,368 cases of reported child recruitment in Sri Lanka since January 2002. The statement said Unicef officials had shared their concerns with the rebels on Sunday. The rebels have yet to respond. In the past, they have strongly denied recruiting children and promised to return "volunteers" to their parents if they were found to be underage. Monks as mayoral candidates for Colombo, Kotte and Dehiwala Buddhist monks will be mayoral candidates in the nomination lists of the Jathika Hela Urumaya for the Colombo, Kotte-Sri Jayawardanapura, Dehiwala-Mount Lavinia and several other selected Municipal Councils. The mayoral candidate of the Jathika Hela Urumaya for the Colombo Municipal Council is the chief prelate of Kuppiyawatta, Jayasekararama temple, Ven, Rajamalwatte Wappa thera, a teacher by profession. The party's list for the Dehiwala-Maount Lavinia Municipal Council will be headed by Ven Duwegoda Vijitha thera and for the Kotte Municipal Council, the mayoral candidate will be Mahakumbukgollewe Rathanapala thera who is also a teacher by profession. Ven. Handungamuwe Vajira thera will lead the JHU list for the Maharagama Urban Council. JHU Media Spokesman Nishantha Sri Warnasinghe said the party will contest all local government bodies in the Colombo District except the Awissawella Urban Council and Pradeshiya Sabhas. The party will hand in nominations for the Colombo Municipal Council tomorrow (15) following religious observances at Kuppiyawatta Jayasekhararamaya. Warnasinghe added that the JHU will contest nearly 75 local authorities in 14 districts under the theme 'Lets us protect the unitary state won at the presidential election'. PAFFREL to meet Tigers prior to Geneva talks A team from the People's Action for Free and Fair Elections (PAFFREL), an independent election monitoring group in Sri Lanka, has left for Kilinochchi to meet the LTTE leadership and to promote peace talks prior to the upcoming meetings in Geneva. PAFFREL executive director Kingsley Rodrigo told the media, “We were hoping to have talks with the political wing of the LTTE and return to Colombo to meet government officials.” He said his team is expected to return to Colombo today. The LTTE and the Sri Lankan government will meet in Geneva on February 22-23 to discuss the four-year Ceasefire Agreement. LTTE urges Govt. to put off polls in North-East The LTTE has urged the government to postpone the upcoming local council elections in the North and East on the basis that the current environment is not conducive for the holding of such a poll in the two provinces. LTTE peace secretariat Chief S. Pulithevan said that at least two rounds of successful talks should be held between the government and the LTTE to create a better environment to conduct local council polls in the North and East. Mr. Pulithevan made the comments at a meeting between LTTE leaders and a civil delegation led by Dr. Godfrey Goonatillake at the LTTE peace secretariat in Kilinochchi on Monday. Polls monitoring group PAFFREL’s chief Kingsley Rodrigo, who was in the delegation, said the LTTE urged the government to postpone the elections although it had given the green light to its proxy political party, the Tamil National Alliance, to contest in the North and East. “The LTTE told us it will be difficult to conduct a fair poll in those areas until a suitable environment is created by at least two successful rounds of talks in Geneva,” Mr. Rodrigo said. Apart from the polls, the civil delegation has also put forward proposals to the LTTE to ensure the success of the upcoming talks in Geneva. The civil group was scheduled to meet the government delegation for the Geneva talks at the parliamentary complex yesterday. Lanka extends state of emergency Tamils boycott assembly session, Marxists demand fresh peace process Sri Lanka's parliament yesterday extended a state of
emergency for one month, saying the country's security situation did not
allow an easing of the tough anti-terror laws. "We are also not happy with the emergency, but we need it because of the security situation" government's chief peace negotiator Nimal Siripala de Silva told parliament. "When the situation returns to normal, we will revoke it." Legislators from the minority Tamil National Alliance (TNA) stayed away from the national parliament in protest at what they say is the harassment of civilians. The TNA, a proxy of the rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, blocked parliamentary sessions last month as part of protests they began after their senior MP, Joseph Pararajasingham, was shot dead by an unidentified gunman during a Christmas service at a church in eastern Sri Lanka. The TNA, which has 22 members in parliament, also opposes search operations carried out by security forces under emergency laws. Sri Lanka's main Marxist party, a key member of the ruling coalition, yesterday demanded a brand-new peace process to replace the Norwegian-led initiative, which it said had failed. The JVP, or People's Liberation Front, said President Mahinda Rajapakse should adopt a "fresh approach" to negotiating peace with the rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam. "This is a new beginning," the JVP said in a three-page statement. "This is not a continuation of the failed peace process in the past." The hardline nationalistic JVP, which strongly backed Rajapakse at his election bid in November, has been highly critical of peace broker Norway and wanted to kick Norwegians off a truce monitoring panel as well. The JVP's latest statement did not say who should replace the peace broker, but maintained there should be a new initiative. SLA beat to death a farmer in Trincomalee Sri Lanka Army soldiers beat to death a 40-year-old farmer at Lingapuram in Trincomalee district when he was working in his paddy field on 8th February. The name of the victim is Thanabalasingham. The killing incident sparked a massive protest in the entire area. Thousands of villagers burst into anger and demonstrated against the army. The victim’s family has lodged a complaint with the truce monitors in Trincomalee demanding a fair inquiry to bring the soldiers responsible for the killing to book. Biting the hand that fed says Anura Tourism Minister Anura Bandaranaike, in a letter to Provincial Councils Minister Janaka Bandara Tennekoon has reminded him that it was the Bandaranaike family which assisted the latter’s entry into politics. It was Mrs Sirimavo Bandaranaike who appointed him as a deputy minister and later a minister, and if not for the Bandaranaikes, he would have not been in politics, the letter said. Bandaranaike was referring to an interview Tennekoon had given to the Daily Lankadeepa in which he had said that former President Chandrika Kumaratunga should hand over the leadership of the SLFP to President Mahinda Rajapaksa. Bandaranaike has also reminded him that it was he who visited him in hospital in the United States where he claims that Tennekoon and his wife worshipped him and said that they would not been among the living if not for the Bandaranaikes. SL Rupee ends down The Sri Lankan rupee ended weaker against the U.S. unit
Tuesday as a foreign bank bought dollars to meet import bill payments,
said traders. Traders said volumes were fairly light. The dollar is expected to trade between LKR102.10 and LKR102.14 Wednesday, unless there is fresh demand from importers. The overnight call money rate ended unchanged at 10.10%, helped by a sustained liquidity surplus of around LKR8 billion and an absence of borrowings. Secondary bond yields were mostly steady in thin trade as investors remained cautious ahead of a round of peace talks between the government and Tamil Tiger rebels in Geneva. The talks, to be held Feb. 22-23, mark the first high level meeting since the peace process stalled in April 2003. 14 February 2006 Paramilitary grenades miss TELO General Secretary Unidentified attackers lobbed grenades into Thamil Eelam Liberation Organisation (TELO) Batticaloa office wounding a party official around 7:45 p.m. Monday Police said. TELO officials alleged paramilitary cadres had targeted Indrakumar Prasanna, who is the General Secretary of TELO, a party in the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) coalition. Mr. Indrakumar is the Chief Candidate representing the Tamil National Alliance in Batticaloa Municipal Council elections. TELO office is located on Sri Sabaratnam Road in Sri Lanka Army (SLA) High Security area in Batticaloa Town. A TELO official, Thambyappa Loganathan, 40, injured in the attack was rushed to Batticaloa Hospital. Attackers lobbed five grenades, only three of the grenades exploaded, police said. Mr. Indrakumar had left the office a few minutes before his office was attacked, according to TELO officials in Batticaloa. The nominations of TNA candidates were continuing despite telephone threats and anonymous letters being issued by paramilitary cadres from ENDLF, Karuna Group and EPDP, TNA sources in Batticaloa said. President looks at British model of devolution No separate homeland for LTTE but ready to rein in armed groups President Mahinda Rajapaksa said yesterday ruled out LTTE demands for a separate homeland in the north and east, but said he would rein in armed groups - a central rebel demand ahead of crunch talks. "There's only one country, we can share power. Not a separate state. That idea must be taken off ... it is completely out," Mr. Rajapaksa told Reuters in an interview ahead of upcoming talks with the rebels in Switzerland to avoid a slide back to war. "This is a small country, where you can't have two states. I won't allow the country to be divided," he added. "You have to give up the concept of having two nations, or two countries ... There is no Tamil Eelam in Sri Lanka. There cannot be an Eelam."The rebels say the Feb. 22-23 talks must focus on implementation of the ceasefire -- in particular a clause that stipulates the state must disarm paramilitaries the rebels say are attacking them, which the government denies it has done. Mr. Rajapaksa, who has taken a moderate line since taking power in November, said he would meet the rebel demand to rein in armed groups. The Tigers accuse the military of helping a breakaway faction led by renegade commander called Karuna to mount attacks, which the government denies. "If any group operates in our area, we will stop it. Any groups carrying arms will be brought under control, whether it is the so-called Karuna group or the LTTE," Mr. Rajapaksa said at his official fortress-like residence, wearing his traditional Sinhalese dress of long white shirt, sarong and a red sash. "There must be a (Tiger) guarantee too ... that civilians are not being harassed or not being killed." Mr. Rajapaksa says he wants to solve the conflict within a unitary state rather than a federal one, and said he is looking at the United Kingdom's model of government and devolution. "Take Britain ... it is unitary ... That shows that under a unitary government, you can devolve power," he added. "This will be a new Sri Lankan model ... Both sides will have to sit down and decide what they can give up and what we can give up." President Rajapaksa said he would view the Geneva talks a success if both sides come to an agreement to halt escalating violence and killings. Some diplomats say the best that can likely be hoped for is mutual trust-building and a commitment for more talks. Analysts say Mr. Rajapaksa, who came to power thanks to alliances with hardline nationalist Marxists and Buddhist monks and to a rebel boycott that torpedoed the chances of his main rival, has shown great restraint in the face of a spate of attacks against the military by suspected rebels. "I am a peaceful man. I am not a warmonger," the 60-year-old father of three said. "For two months I was keeping (the military) on a tight leash." "How long can I just keep my eyes closed? You must never put a government, a leader, and corner him -- push him to the wall. If I am pushed to the wall ...," he said, suddenly stopping himself. "Let us hope that we will achieve peace." Mr. Rajapaksa said peace talks would take time. "One day there must be one country, one nation and one army," he added. "They can have a police force, yes, but there cannot be two armies, two air forces, two navies." TNA to contest local council poll in Mannar district The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) is to contest all the five local authorities, one urban council ( UC ) four pradesiya sabahs (PS), in the Mannar administrative district in the forthcoming local election, Mr.S.Vinoharathalingam, Wanni district TELO and TNA parliamentarian said Monday. Mr.Vinoharathalingam said Muslim candidates will be in the TNA nomination lists for all the five local authorities. Nomination lists would be submitted to the District Returning Officer before Thursday, he added. Meanwhile, Eelam Peoples Democratic Party (EPDP) official in Mannar said his party is to field candidates only for two local authorities, Mannar UC and Mannar PS. It will not contest the other three local councils of Manthai West, Nanattan and Musali, he added. The names and number of members to be elected for the five local authorities follow:- Mannar Urban Council 07 members SB to be released on March 27 Jailed UNP strongman S.B. Dissanayake is likely to be released on March 27 after being granted a pardon to eight months and fourteen days for good behaviour under prison laws. Under the prison law any prisoner is entitled for a pardon of one third of his or her total period of imprisonment. One third of Mr. Dissanaykae’s total period of imprisonment is eight months, Welikada Prisons Superintendent Lakshman Silva said Nominations for Jaffna LG polls begin Nominations for the local government elections in the Jaffna district had been handed in by candidates of the Illankai Thamil Arasu Kachchi, All Ceylon Muslim Congress, Sri Lanka Muslim Congress, EPDP and PLOTE, Assistant Commissioner of Elections Jaffna District P. Kuhananthan said yesterday (13). No independent candidates had handed in nominations as yet, he said. The Jaffna District has 17 local bodies, including the Jaffna Municipal Council, three Urban Councils and the others are Pradeshiya Sabhas. Kilinochchi district has three Pradeshiya Sabhas. Vadamarachchi South is the only Pradeshiya Sabha in the area under the control of the LTTE. All other Pradeshiya Sabhas had areas divided between the cleared and LTTE controlled areas. Kuhananthan also said so far no candidate had handed over nominations in the Mannar, Mullativu and Vavunia districts. Muslims split on reps. for Geneva talks With Muslim political parties largely divided over who should represent the community at the forthcoming Geneva talks, the Muslim Forum comprising all political parties meet at the Parliamentary complex today for a final decision the matter. At a meeting with Muslim leaders at Temple Trees last week, President Mahinda Rajapaksa requested them to name a representative. The Daily Mirror learns that the Peace Secretariat for Muslims, comprising the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) and the National Unity Alliance (NUA) were of conflicting opinions over a representative. “Ferial Ashraff’s name is being proposed since she hails from the East and has a better understanding of their problems. But the SLMC is insisting on a separate Muslim delegation”, sources said. Meanwhile, A.L.M. Athaulla is insisting on his going for talks while Rishard Badurdeen of All Ceylon Muslim Congress says that President’s Counsel Faiz Musthapa is the most suitable. However Mustapha opted to stay out. With Muslim members pulling in different directions, President Rajapaksa summoned Minister Ferail Ashraff for a discussion on Saturday and even sent a chopper to Kalmunai for her to rush back to Colombo. Transport Minister A.H.M Fowzie said the Muslim Forum chaired by him would take a final decision today and inform the President on Wednesday. The Minister lamented that the Muslim political parties could not even take a unanimous decision on a matter like selecting a representative. Objecting to the SLMC demand of sending a Muslim delegation for the talks, the Minister said it could be considered at a later stage. “First of all we need to assess the problems of the Eastern Muslims properly. Then we can suggest to President Rajapaksa on the need for a Muslim delegation”, the Minister said. CBK battles to retain party leadership Amidst speculation that she would relinquish the Party leadership, former President and leader of the SLFP Chandrika Kumaratunga is reported to be actively heading the party’s LG elections campaign. She had urged party members in the Gampaha District to avoid disputes with the JVP members of the District during the forthcoming local government election campaign, as most of the JVPers were former SLFP members, party sources said yesterday. Kumaratunga, who is currently organizing the SLFP in the Gamapaha district, in the absence of her brother Minister Anura Bandaranaike, who is out of the country, told the Gampaha district nominations board, presided over by Minister Athauda Seneviratne at the Horagolla Walauwa, to campaign peacefully. "About 90 percent of JVPers are our people and we should hold the SLFP campaign very peacefully," she told the SLFP nominees for the poll. She has invited the constituent party representatives of the UPFA tonight, for talks at the BMICH, to discuss their problems in nominating candidates for the local government polls, Executive Director SLFP Dr.Cecil Bandara said. Among those invited are Chief Government Whip and organizer for Katana Electorate Minister Jeyraj Fernandopulle, Kelaniya organizer Parliamentarian Sripathy Sooriyarachchi, organizer for Ja-Ela Minister Felix Perera and Upali Gunaratne organizer for the Dompe Electorate, who was reported to have moved the proposal to give the SLFP leadership to President Mahinda Rajapakse. Chandrika Kumaratunga was reported saying she could go to all the SLFP party committees in the country and get signatures from the grassroots party officials who would back her despite the proposal to confer the party leadership on President Rajapakse party sources said. The UPFA nominations board will meet on February 15 at Temple Trees to finalize the nominations for the local government polls. SLMC with jumbo, CWC opts for betel The SLMC had decided to contest the Local Government polls under the UNP symbol in most areas outside the North-East. UNP Assistant General Secretary Tissa Attanayake said yesterday that the consensus was reached at a meeting with SLMC representatives on Sunday. However, the SLMC will go solo in areas like Colombo, Matale and Kurunegala, Puttalam, Akmeemana and Beruwala. Meanwhile, the CWC yesterday decided to contest with the government in districts like Matale, Kandy, Nuwara-Eliya and Badulla.CWC spokesman R. Yogarajan said they would vie for the election in other areas in alliance with the Upcountry People’s Front. Thonda abandons Ranil at mini poll The Ceylon Workers Congress led by Arumugam Thondaman and the Upcountry People's Front headed by P.Chandrasekaran today decided to contest the local government bodies in the Nuwara Eliya, Kandy and Matale districts jointly with the government. CWC Deputy Leader R.Yogarajan told 'Lanka e News' that the Congress and the Upcountry People?s Front will contest as an alliance for the local authorities in the Badulla, Ratnapura, Kegalle, Kalutara and Colombo districts. At the presidential election both these plantation sector parties supported the United National Party. Meanwhile more and more former UNP parliamentarians and pradeshiya sabha members are joining the Sri Lanka Freedom Party. Badulla UNP organizer Attorney at Law Sujeewa Jayasinghe obtained SLFP membership from Health Minister Nimal Siripala De Silva at Badulla yesterday along with 500 of his supporters. A large number of UNP members from the Southern Province too have joined the SLFP. JVPers attacked us, claims JHU monk Anuradhapura district JHU organizer and Galnewa Amunugama Sri Bodhirajarama Viharawasi Ven. Wedinigama Wimalatissa Thera was admitted to Anuradhapura Hospital having been allegedly assaulted by a group of JVP ers. In a complaint to the police the Thera stated that a group of JVPers including the brother of a parliamentarian had stormed the viharaya on Sunday and had attacked him and others while they were participating in a shramadana campaign along with devotees, president of dayaka sabha and others who had observed sil on Navam Poya day. Ven. Wimalatissa Thera was admitted to the Galnewa Hospital along with the dayaka sabha president Sunil Premaratne and others who were injured. The Thera was transferred to the Anuradhapura General Hospital. It was also reported that the previous day Mr. Premaratne had gone to Galnewa Police to lodge a complaint regarding alleged threats by JVP activists opposing the proposed sharamadana campaign but police had allegedly refused to record his complaint. On inquiry Galnewa police sources said complaints had been lodged by both parties and seven JVP activists including the parliamentarian’s brother and the president of the dayaka sabha had been taken into custody and had been released with orders to appeare before the Kekirawa Magistrate’s court today. PAFFEREL: Postpone
NE polls Kingsley Rodrigo, PAFFEREL Executive Director, told BBC Sandeshaya that the conditions are not conducive in the region to conduct any election. No free elections “Everybody knows that there hasn’t been any free and fair election in the north east during the last twenty years,” he said. “We are not campaigning for the cancellation of the polls, what we are simply asking is to conduct free and fair elections.” Rodrigo who visited Kilinochchi with representatives of Non Governmental Organisations (NGO) has met head of LTTE peace secretariat S Pulithevan on Monday. He said the Tamil Tigers will not allow candidates to campaign for elections and the candidates themselves will restrain from travelling to the LTTE controlled areas because of fear. PAFFEREL expressed confidence that the situation will change once the government and the LTTE start engage in talks. It is “unfortunate”, Rodrigo said, that the authorities have not reacted to the request made by the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) to postpone the polls. 13 February 2006 Tigers deny smuggler boat blast THE Sri Lankan military said Tamil Tiger rebels blew themselves up on a trawler smuggling weapons overnight to avoid a search ahead of peace talks in Switzerland later this month, but the rebels denied involvement.A spokesman for the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) said the trawler might have simply been an innocent Sri Lankan or Indian fishing boat. The rebels have routinely denied involvement in recent incidents. The military said one of its fast attack boats had intercepted a deep sea trawler heading for a rebel-held section of the island's north-west coast. As they moved in to investigate the trawler exploded, damaging the warship and critically injuring a sailor."It seems they blew themselves up," a naval officer told Reuters on condition of anonymity. "From the fireball, we could see they were carrying weapons or explosives. With the peace talks coming up, they wouldn't have wanted to be caught." A string of suspected rebel attacks on the military in the Tamil-dominated north and east in December and January all but destroyed a 2002 truce, but tensions eased after the two sides agreed to a meeting in Switzerland now set for February 22-23.
Tiger fighters carry cyanide capsules around their necks and have often used suicide bombing in the past. A suspected suicide attack on a naval patrol boat in January killed 13 sailors. Analysts warn that while both sides might be genuinely keen on peace, the gap between them remains vast and both the army and rebels are probably still arming for a return to a two-decade war that killed more than 64,000 people. "There is an argument that both sides are simply going through the motions to convince the international community they have exhausted peaceful options but that both really have decided conflict is inevitable," said Rohan Edrisinha, director of the non-partisan Centre for Policy Alternatives. The government said the trawler had blown itself up not far from the spot between India and Sri Lanka where the navy intercepted another fishing boat 10 days ago shipping 61,000 detonators towards rebel territory. The Geneva talks were only agreed in late January after peace broker Norway resolved an impasse over the venue. Shortly after, the Tigers blamed the government for the disappearance of seven Tamil aid workers and a talks date was set only on Monday. The Geneva talks will focus only on stopping the killings and ensuring the 2002 truce holds. President Mahinda Rajapakse and his hardline Buddhist and Marxist allies are seen as reluctant to budge on Tiger demands for a Tamil homeland. Rajapakse owes his November election victory to a Tiger election boycott that kept away Tamil voters considered more likely to back his more conciliatory opponent – a sign, some said, that the LTTE thought they had gained too little from peace. Aid workers worry any new violence would hit communities still recovering from both the 2004 tsunami and the previous conflict, while the stock market has yet to claw back the losses it suffered over violence in December and early January. TNA to contest eleven local councils in Trinco district The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) is to contest eleven of thirteen local authorities in the Trincomalee administrative district in the forthcoming election to local councils. TNA will submit nomination lists for two urban councils (UC) and nine pradesiya sabahs (PS) under the election symbol, House, of the Ilankai Tamil Arasu Kadchchi (ITAK), TNA sources said. A committee comprising leading Tamil activists was appointed at a discussion held during the weekend by TNA officials. The Committee has been holding discussion to select suitable candidates and lead candidates for two urban councils, Trincomalee and Kinniya and nine pradesiya sabahs, Muttur, Kantalai, Kinniya, Thambalakamam, Seruvila, Verugal, Trincomalee town and gravets, Kuchchaveli, Morawewa, TNA sources said. TNA has decided not to contest two PS Padavi Siripura and Gomarankadawela in the north of Trincomalee district as the residents there are mainly Sinhalese, TNA sources said. Kantalai was a traditional Tamil village, which elected Tamils as chairmen of then village council till the implementation of the State aided colonization scheme in 1950s. Now there are Tamil people living in Peraru colony and in a portion of Kantalai Tamil purana village where the historic Pilliayar temple built by King Kulakottan is located in addition to Kantalai tank, according to chronicles, sources said. East 'must have
voice' in talks “There should be a way where Muslims in the east could present their problems in the peace talks”, he said. Government delegation Government would accommodate its own Muslim representative, however, in addition there should be an independent Muslim participation as well, Javed said. Transport Minister A.H.M.Fowzie who is also a senior Muslim leader said that Muslim parties are meeting on February 14 to decide on a nomination. President Rajapakse has requested Muslim parties to decide themselves who should represent them at Geneva talks. Rauff Hakeem Prominent lawyer Faize Mustafa who was nominated to represent the talks earlier withdrew his nomination saying that someone from the east should represent talks. “I propose that Faize Mustafa and another Muslim representative would be acceptable by the Muslim community”, Minister Fowzie said. He added that Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) leader Rauff Hakeem, who represented earleir peace talks with the previous government, did not represent the Muslims and he was not supported by the Muslims. 'Kudu Lal' SLFP'S choice for CMC The Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) is expected to appoint the controversial underworld character 'Kudu Lal' to conetst the forthcoming Colombo Municipal Council elections. Kudu Lal, a close confidant of Deputy Minister Mervyn Silva was earlier in the center of controversy following his appointment as a Justice of the Peace on a recommendation made by Mervyn Silva.Following a public outcry the then Justice Minister, John Seneviratne revoked the appointment. JVP faces imminent break up The JVP is facing an imminent split after the party's central committee decided to go it alone at the forthcoming local authority elections. The JVP central committee out voted a proposal by the Somawansa Amarasinghe, Wimal Weerawansa and Nandana Gunathilleka trio to contest in alliance with the SLFP. The trio had earlier agreed with President Mahinda Rajapakse to contest in alliance with the SLFP subject to the Tissamaharama Pradeshiya Sabha being contested under the JVP. However, the central committee after lengthy deliberations decided that President Mahinda Rajapakse was acting contrary to the agreement signed with the JVP and should therefore be urged to concede a bigger share of the local authorities to the party. The central committee thereafter adopted a resolution demanding 26 local authorities to be contested under the JVP symbol with the SLFP members included in their list whilst nominating one third of the candidates from the JVP to contest under the UPFA symbol in the rest of the councils. The Sunday Leader learns this proposal backed by JVP General Secretary, Tilvin Silva and Anura Kumara Dissanayake went for a vote at the central committee and was approved by a large margin despite opposition from the Somawansa-Weerawansa-Gunathileka trio. President Rajapakse, informed sources said rejected the JVP's demand prompting the party to go it alone. However, in view of this latest development, President Rajapakse is exploring the possibility of getting the election postponed by a few months to enable the SLFP to regroup and face the election, it is learnt. A top SLFP source said there is a possibility that some of the senior JVPers whose views were rejected by the central committee opting to join the SLFP in the near future with discussions already underway paving the way for a major split in the party Kidnappers release
businessman in Colombo Andandan Vadivel was brought to Royal Hospital in Wellawatte by the kidnappers and was admitted by them at the hospital saying that he was unwell and handed over his identitiy card to the hospital staff. The kidnappers, who had earlier demanded Rs 20 million as a ransom to release him, seem to have decided to drop the demand, after the news spread about the ransom, family members said. JVP opposes govt. decision to back US over Iran The JVP has protested against the government's decision to vote for the US-sponsored resolution against Iran at the International Atomic Energy Agency last week. The government on a directive of President Mahinda Rajapakse voted for the US-sponsored resolution referring Iran to the UN Security Council on Saturday, February 4, Sri Lanka's Independence Day. The resolution was adopted with 27 members voting in favour, three against and five abstentions. JVP General Secretary Tilvin Silva last week wrote to President Rajapakse objecting to the government's decision calling it an act against a friendly country that has helped Sri Lanka in her hour of need. He has also pointed out that the government decision goes against the spirit of the UPFA foreign policy on standing up to imperialist forces and hailed the decision of the three countries including Venezuela which voted against the resolution. Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera, the JVP's conduit to the SLFP, the previous week recommended to cabinet supporting the US, claiming the Americans not only helped the government in the fight against terrorism but also with a huge aid package and therefore should not be antagonised. Amnesty seeks end to jungle law in Sri Lankan east - Indo-Asian News Service New Delhi, Feb 12 (IANS) Amnesty International has sought an effective human rights mechanism to end rampant lawlessness in eastern Sri Lanka for which it has blamed both the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and its breakaway Karuna faction. In a sweeping indictment of armed Tamil groups as well as Sri Lankan authorities, the rights body has documented widespread human rights abuses that have sparked a climate of fear and insecurity in the districts of Batticaloa, Amparai and Trincomalee. In a report released early this month, Amnesty said although the 2002 ceasefire pact between Colombo and the Tamil Tigers had been violated right from the start, 'since February 2005 they (violations) have escalated in number and are now taking place on an unprecedented scale'. Amnesty added: 'While all communities (Tamils, Sinhalese and Muslims) are affected, the majority of the violence has been against Tamils.' The report said that ordinary civilians, former combatants and independent community activists and groups were 'facing intimidation by both the LTTE and the Karuna faction, as both groups seek to strengthen their control over civil society'. Amnesty, which investigated the ground situation in the area last year, said politically motivated killings were among the most serious and widespread rights abuses in the east. 'The majority of these unlawful killings are reportedly committed by the LTTE, although the Karuna group is also apparently responsible for a large number. Some killings also appear to be committed by other Tamil armed groups. The security forces have reportedly carried out a number of killings.' Unlike Sri Lanka's north that is overwhelmingly Tamil, the eastern wing is home to a large number of Sinhalese and Muslims as well, making it an ethnic tinderbox. Also, the head of the LTTE's breakaway faction, known as 'Colonel' Karuna, is from Batticaloa district, and it is in this area that his cadres are most active against the LTTE. Amnesty said: 'Given the nature of the struggle between the LTTE and Karuna group to control the Tamil community in the east, it is inevitable that most victims of killings have been Tamil, although there have been some killings of Muslims and Sinhalese. 'While most of those killed immediately following the split had clear links either to the LTTE or the Karuna faction, increasingly many of those killed are civilians with little or no evident connection to armed activity, including journalists, academics, teachers and farmers, as well as former members of Tamil armed groups who have not been involved in armed activities for a long time. 'As the killings escalate, civilians are increasingly trapped between the two sides. They are often forced to cooperate with one group and then seen as complicit with them and targeted by the other.' The report hit out at the LTTE for forcibly recruiting children into its ranks even while admitting that they joined the Tigers on their own. It added, 'the Karuna group is (also) forcibly recruiting children, although there is little concrete information available on this and people appeared afraid to talk about it'. Amnesty also accused the LTTE of committing abductions and torturing people. It said the number of kidnappings might be far higher as many families did not report the cases to any authority but sought their release directly from the LTTE. It said it had also learnt about 'new village-based military training in LTTE-controlled areas in which all civilians aged 15 to 50 are compelled to participate. '(Amnesty) also heard about a new type of six-month residential military training, being run by the LTTE, after which people are allowed to continue their civilian lives but remain available for military duties.' The report referred to the harassment and intimidation of Muslims by the LTTE and of the 'taxes' collected by both the LTTE and the Karuna faction from moneyed people. After noting that none of the established human rights mechanisms had been able to effectively investigate rights abuses, let alone facilitate justice, it has suggested that an 'effective international human rights monitoring presence must be established. 'This should ensure unhindered access by human rights monitors to both government- and LTTE-controlled areas, facilitate the systematic independent investigation and documentation of abuses, provide support and training to local human rights bodies, and act as a respected, senior interlocutor on human rights with the parties to the conflict.' Amnesty noted: 'The civilian population is suffering the most, as they come under pressure from all sides and face a continual threat of violence. Families and communities are split as they are caught up in the rivalry between the LTTE and the Karuna group.' This is how millions of rupees received by UNP was gobbled up by top rungers, relatives and minnows. Several UNP parliamentarians who are aware of a multi million rupee deal in the party are perplexed about the pin drop silence of senior party figures as to what happened to 500 million rupees donated to the party for presidential election propaganda activities by an intelligence service of a neighboring country. According to these parliamentarians, it was Colombo district UNP parliamentarian Milinda Moragoda who visited the neighboring country to receive the money. Inquiries made from party leaders and information received from other leading sources have revealed that 95 million rupees from the donation had been given to UNP Chairman Malik Samarawickrema and another 105 million rupees to Lalith Fernando, who is in charge of the finances of party leader Ranil Wickremesinghe, but nobody knows as to what happened to the remaining 300 million rupees. When those in charge of party funds questioned Moragoda as to what happened to 300 million rupees, he had said that he deposited the money in his private bank account. Moragoda had told those who question him that that he would return any balance after deducting expenses for television advertisements and programs of Wickremesinghe at the presidential election, as funds were allocated for them from this money. However Moragoda is still to furnish details of the expenses on propaganda and advertising either to the party Treasurer, Chairman Malik Samarawickrema or Lalith Fernando who is the party leader's financial affairs advisor.The treasurer had said that he did not receive red cent from the 500 million rupee donation received by Moragoda. He had also claimed that funds received by him as the Treasurer were also obtained by Malik Samarawickrama and Lalith Fernando. According to UNP Chairman Malik Samarawickrema, Lalith Fernando and other in charge of party finances, the total amount spent on Wickremesinghe's propaganda campaign is 1100 million rupees. Samarawickrema has stated that such a huge amount of money was spent with the hope of receiving the said 500 million rupee donation, but the Chairman has informed the party leadership that he is facing a serious crisis now as he is unable to settle the dues. He had also claimed that he had to spend from his personal bank account as well. According to a story doing rounds at UNP headquarters Sirikotha, party leader Ranil Wickrmesinghe's sister Kshanika was in charge of some political activities during the presidential election. When she demanded 15 million rupees from brother Ranil for propaganda purposes, he was reported to have told her 'I say take 20 million, but don't come again asking for money', thus giving 20 million rupees for someone who only demanded 15 million rupees. Meanwhile another story gaining currency among party seniors is that Wickrmesinghe had given 30 million rupees to elder brother Shan Wickremesinghe, who was entrusted with Colombo district propaganda activities, when he demanded 25 million rupees. The party leader has already received complaints that the party chairman is openly critical of Moragoda for failing to submit a detailed report as to how 1100 million rupees were spent on the Wickremesinghe propaganda campaign. Allegations have also been made that some have channeled the funds received for propaganda activities to promote their own businesses. Another story said that a coconut estate has been bought at a cost of 45 million rupees for a youthful parliamentarian of the Kurunegala district, who is said to be very close to the party leader. It is said that the lucky recipient of this coconut estate is Kurunegala District parliamentarian Akila Viraj Kariyawasam. When millions of rupees have been squandered in this manner, the telephones of the UNP headquarters were disconnected today for not settling bills and Sirikotha is begging money from parliamentarians to buy stamps to post official party letters. A spokesman for Sirikotha said that the funds are such short supply that they cannot even afford an envelope to post a letter. Some UNP MPs publicly claim that a weak-willed treasurer, who is unable to handle accounts in a transparent manner, was appointed deliberately to permit such plundering of party funds. It is said the recent leadership crisis in the party was also due to these shortcomings in the party and this situation is ample testimony to the absence of democracy and accountability in the party. Several attempts made by 'Lanka e News' to contact Milinda Moragoda over the phone to get his side of the story about the 500 million rupee deal were not successful. Our phone number was given to the person who answered the phone and introduced himself as the security officer. Later when we got in touch with Moragoda's media officer, Sarath Godakanda, he said Moragoda is not involved any financial activities of the party. Await more surprising news in the coming days. Sri Lanka's new Tamil party opts for federalism Just days before Colombo and the Tamil Tigers meet in Geneva, a new Tamil political party that was formed quietly in Sri Lanka says its aim is to transform the country into a federal republic. And the All Ceylon Tamil United Front's top functionary, and the only one prepared to reveal his identity for now, is none other than K. Vigneswaran, who had played a key role in setting up a provincial administration in the island's northeast when Indian troops were deployed there almost two decades ago. Vigneswaran, a former MP, told IANS in a telephonic interview that the Tamil United Front took a quiet birth in December even as violence escalated in Sri Lanka's north and east "and has just now won the recognition of election authorities". The announcement comes ahead of the Feb 22-23 talks in Geneva between the Sri Lankan government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), the dominant Tamil player that calls itself the sole representative of the Tamil people in the country. Vigneswaran, who has always opposed the LTTE, declined to provide names of other leaders of the new party, citing security reasons. But he said the party counts as members several former MPs as well as professionals both in Sri Lanka and abroad. "Our objective is to work for the rights of the Tamil-speaking people all over Sri Lanka and to transform the country into a federal republic," said Vigneswaran, who was secretary to the northeastern provincial administration that collapsed when Indian troops left the country in March 1990 after battling the LTTE for over two years. Vigneswaran, who recently quit the Eelam People's Democratic Party (EPDP) of Sri Lankan cabinet minister Douglas Devananda, said that the names of other office-bearers would be made public "in due course". His comments indicated that the new party was expected to bring together smaller Tamil political groups opposed to the LTTE in Sri Lanka. About 10 days ago, a Sri Lankan Tamil politician in Colombo had admitted that Tamil groups ranged against the Tigers were indeed planning to form a new political outfit but had politely declined to provide details, again citing security reasons. Sri Lanka's Tamil scene is dominated by the LTTE, one of the world's most formidable insurgent groups and which controls large areas in the country's northeast. The LTTE has been locked in an uneasy peace process with Colombo since February 2002. The LTTE's political arm, the Tamil National Alliance (TNA), controls most of the parliamentary seats from the Tamil areas in the northeast. "We seek devolution of powers to the various provinces in Sri Lanka," Vigneswaran added, emphasising the importance of federalism as a long-term solution to the country's dragging ethnic conflict. "Besides the Tamil people, we will try to reach out to the Muslims of Sri Lanka and the international community. We stand for human rights, pluralism and democracy." He gave no further details and did not explain how a party with a distinctly anti-LTTE flavour would be able to function in Sri Lanka's Tamil areas where the Tigers reign supreme. The name of the new group bears a striking resemblance to a Tamil party that came up in Sri Lanka in 1972. Jaffna likely Tiger focus if war comes If Sri Lanka’s two-decade-old civil war flares again, as many fear it will, Tamil Tiger rebels are likely to launch an assault on northern Jaffna as well as hit-and-run guerrilla attacks on supply lines, analysts say. The Jaffna peninsula is seen by the rebels as the centre of a future Tamil homeland, but they have held it only intermittently in the past and it is now under government control, albeit surrounded by Tiger territory. "Jaffna is their main focus," said Janes Defence Weekly analyst Iqbal Athas, referring to the Tamil Tigers. "Certainly attacks will intensify. If you are looking at conventional warfare, they cannot take it (Jaffna) but we are also talking about guerrilla warfare." A truce between the rebels and the government has halted major attacks for almost four years, but the peace has been severely strained in recent weeks. A string of claymore fragmentation mine attacks on patrols and convoys in December killed 39 military personnel. Most troops patrolling Jaffna say they expect war sooner rather than later. Observers say suspected rebel attacks have produced a backlash by troops in the town, and now the Tigers say army abuses are prompting civilian retaliations and could force war. Cut off by the sea and the de facto state the rebels have run since the 2002 truce, the 40,000 Sri Lankan troops there may outnumber a total Tiger army seen as 20,000 strong at most, but are solely dependent on sea and air resupply. Sea Tiger rebels -- accused of sinking a naval fast attack boat at the weekend with the loss of 13 sailors -- would be likely to hit sea supply hard if war came, analysts say, while the heavily defended Palaly airbase is also seen as vulnerable. VULNERABLE RUNWAY "All you need to do is damage the runway or the fuel tanks," said Athas. "The army holds the peninsula, undoubtedly, but how much control do they really have when you consider how many grenades and claymore mines have been smuggled there." The army says most of the enclave’s residents support them, but in reality most analysts say Tiger support seems strong. Some believe that if the rebels were able to take the town -- a massive undertaking that would be likely to incur heavy civilian and combat casualties -- they might sue for peace. "It will be short and sharp," said Jehan Perera of the non-partisan National Peace Council. "There is no enthusiasm on the government side for a long war." Some analysts and diplomats say neither side would gain much from a war, and while there might be battles of attrition, the front lines would barely move. They believe the rebels have been launching attacks to bolster their position before talks. "Very little would be achieved by military means," said Control Risks Group analyst Maria Kuusisto. "The positions are very fixed. The LTTE has its strongholds in the jungle and the government its strongholds in the cities and along roads. Very little movement would take place." Analysts say both sides are desperate not to be seen as the first to end the cease-fire. Even if neither side officially withdraws from the truce, any new widespread conflict would be likely to see Nordic cease-fire monitors pull out and aid workers abandon some relief projects launched after the Dec, 2004 tsunami slammed into the east coast. And if war comes, many fear the military would resort to aerial bombing while the rebels might send suicide bombers again into the capital, Colombo. Previous assaults have killed or wounded political leaders, hit the central bank and the twin-towered World Trade Centre and, in the case of a 2001 attack on the international airport, destroyed half of Sri Lanka’s airline fleet. But any concerted bombing campaign in the south would be likely to strengthen international support for the government. Sri Lanka already has some training exchanges with the U.S. Army, but some diplomats say this could increase if war returns. "Most support would be only weapons or money -- certainly no fighting troops," said National Peace Council’s Perera. "But you could see some technical advisers coming over."
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