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On the night of 1st June 1981, members from the Sinhalese-dominated police force rampaged through Jaffna town's public library, one of the great repositories of the Tamil people's history and culture, and committed an act of ethnic vandalism that helped set this country on a path to civil war. Cultural destruction is an integral part of genocide. |
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30 June 2007 US voices concern over 350 people 'disappeared' in Sri Lanka COLOMBO - The United States has voiced concern about the fate of 355 Sri Lankans who "disappeared" in recent months amid an escalation of the island's ethnic conflict, the government here said Friday. US ambassador Robert Blake gave a list of 355 names of people whose whereabouts were unknown, the foreign ministry said. It said Colombo took the issue seriously and had launched investigations into the list presented soon after a visit here in March by US Assistant Secretary of State Stephen Mann. Mann raised concerns about human rights during his visit. The Colombo government's statement came amid mounting local and international criticism of the island's rights record. The US list of names contained a number of repetitions, the foreign ministry said in a statement. It did not say when the victims had disappeared or been abducted. The US embassy confirmed that the United States had supplied Colombo with the list but declined to discuss details. The statement came a day after a presidential commission said 430 civilians, were reported killed between September 14 and February 25 as the tropical island's Tamil separatist conflict escalated. The majority of the dead belonged to the Tamil minority, the Special Presidential Commission on Disappearances said, and many of the victims were shot through the head with their hands tied behind their backs. The government has yet to prosecute anyone for the killings, which were widely condemned home and abroad, but rights groups have accused the security forces, paramilitary groups and the Tamil Tiger rebels of involvement. Aside from the deaths, 2,020 people were abducted or disappeared during the five-month period, the commission said. Some 1,134 were later found alive and reunited with their families but the fate of the remainder was unknown. Sri Lanka's 35-year-old separatist conflict with Tamil Tiger rebels has claimed more than 60,000 lives. International donors have moved to cut back aid to Sri Lanka to increase pressure on Colombo over its poor human rights record. Britain and Germany have already frozen part of their contribution. Japan, the single largest aid donor to the country, raised concern about the rights situation when Sri Lankan foreign minister Rohitha Bogollagama visited Tokyo earlier this week. High explosives-laden lorry nabbed in eastern Sri Lanka The Sri Lankan Navy said Saturday that a lorry laden with high explosives was nabbed in the island's east. The lorry transporting fish was found on Friday in the eastern port town of Trincomalee on a tip-off received from the public, officials said. The 1,008-kg bomb was concealed in the lorry's freezer compartment and believed to be the work of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). It was meant to be transported to the capital Colombo, defence officials said. This was the second such discovery of a bomb lorry. Early this month, about 1,000 kg C4 explosives were found in a lorry in the North Western provincial area of Kotawehera. The explosives were hidden among coconut. About 5,000 Sri Lankans have been killed in the new spate violence since December 2005, pushing the Norwegian-backed peace process to the back burner. Claiming discrimination at the hands of the majority ethnic Sinhalese-dominated government, the LTTE has been fighting for an independent homeland for Sri Lanka's 12.5 percent Tamil minority since the 1970s. Two men shot dead in HSZ in Jaffna Unidentified gunmen on two motor cycles, following two men riding their motor cycles, shot them dead Friday around 4:30 p.m., in front of Tamils Rehabilitation Organization (TRO) former office close to UNDP, UNHCR, UNICEF, ICRC offices in Temple Road in the heart of Sri Lanka Army (SLA) High Security Zone (HSZ) in Jaffna, sources in Jaffna said. SLA troopers are present 24 hours guarding several International Organization offices.The victims were identified as Singaravel Logenthira, 29, Subramaniam Ambihaipahan, 39, a married man, both residents of Aanaikoaddai north, located 5 km from Jaffna town.Kailaayapi'l'laiyaar Koayil SLA sentry post is about 300 m from and the SLMM Jaffna office is located 100 m from where the shooting occurred.Bodies of both men remained on the road at the crime site until Jaffna police recovered them around 6:30 p.m.The police handed over the bodies to Jaffna Teaching hospital.Three youths from Kachcheari-Nalloor road were shot to death at the same location within last three weeks. Gajanayake who is involved with abductions is a friend of Gotabhaya, was granted bail by Neth FM chairman One of the former commanding officers of the Air Force Nishantha Gajanayake who was arrested to question regarding the abductions and disappearances is a close ally of defense secretary Gotabhaya Rajapakse and he was bailed out on the same day he was arrested by two other friends of Rajapakse, Nihal Apa Seneviratne and Ashoka Vitarana.This is revealed through a complaint lodged to police by the coordinating secretary of the SLFP Mahajana wing Sripathi Suriarachchi yesterday.Apa Seneviratne who is one the persons to have provided bail for Gajanayake is also the Chairman of the Neth FM radio station.In his complaint Suriarachchi says that he was introduced to Gajanayake by the defense secretary and that Rajapakse asked him to help Gajanayake to get the chief security post of the air port, therefore he forwarded his application to the chairman of the air port services limited Tiran Alles. Four civilians killed in eastern Sri Lanka: Military Four civilians have been found shot dead in eastern Sri Lanka, the military said on Saturday. The bodies of the four farmers were found in a jungle in eastern Trincomalee district, an official at the Defense Ministry information centre said on customary condition of anonymity citing policy. He said the men might have been killed last Thursday by the separatist LTTE, fleeing a military operation in nearby Batticaloa district. Attempts to contact LTTE spokesman, Rasiah Ilanthirayan, for comment were unsuccessful. Hotels in Sri Lanka cut rates as tourism drops Hoteliers in Sri Lanka are cutting prices in an attempt to win back tourists deterred from visiting the Indian Ocean island by continuing civil conflict.According to figures published this week, the number of British visitors to Sri Lanka fell from 38,420 during the first five months of last year to 34,021 in the same period this year.The island has struggled to attract tourists in the aftermath of the tsunami of December 2004 as a result of escalating tensions between the Tamil Tigers and the government. Some hotels are being forced to close as occupancy levels plummet. In May, tourist arrivals fell by 40 per cent compared with the same month last year. Others are reducing prices The mood in the southern city of Galle has been "sombre" due to the drop in tourist numbers, according to Geoffrey Dobbs, who owns three boutique hotels and two villas in Sri Lanka."Things are difficult," he said. "We are up this year but some three-star hotels are shutting down. When people have debts and are running at 10 per cent occupancy, you can deduce that nobody is making any money. But most people who visit say they don't see what all the fuss is about. And there are a lot of bargains, which makes it a great time to visit." Tourism officials have emphasised that the Foreign Office advises against travel only to the north and north-eastern regions."In more than 20 years of struggle, no foreigners have been affected. Companies like First Choice, Kuoni, Virgin, Thomas Cook and MyTravel would not invest in Sri Lanka or send customers there if it were not safe," said Jean-Marc Flambert, director of Sri Lanka Tourism for the UK and Ireland. "We are optimistic that, despite certain setbacks, 2007 will close well." The Foreign Office has noted that security has been tightened in Colombo and its surrounding areas following the bombing of the military part of Bandaranaike Airport in March and three bomb attacks on military personnel in Colombo's suburbs in April and May.A spokeswoman for First Choice, which launched direct weekly flights from Gatwick in February, said that Sri Lanka remains a popular destination. "Sri Lanka is performing well with sales up year on year," she said. "It is also one of our top sellers for weddings." Operators and hoteliers hope that the planned visit of the England cricket team at the end of this year may also encourage tourists to return. "Gotabhaya is plotting to kill me"- Sripathi complaints to police Former minister and now the coordinating secretary of the SLFP Mahajana wing Parliamentarian Sripathi Suriarachchi who has become a victim of government harassment yesterday lodged a complaint to the police that there was a conspiracy to kill him.He is indirectly pointing his finger at Deference Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapakse. In the the complaint lodged with the Kadawatha Police Suriarachchi has said that a group called the Sinhala Tigers who are working closely with Defense secretary attempted to murder him by exploding a bomb on the 16th of October 2006 and that those groups are now attempting to kill him again using the powers vested in the secretary's position.Sripathi who has revealed several details regarding the political and other issues from winning the presidential election to removing his ministerial port folio says that the three Rajapakse brothers got mad at him since he opposed several deals performed by the government without transparency.The complaint lodged yesterday adds that a police officer called and informed him not to arrive in the area since the police found a bomb from the are where the minister was scheduled to tour that day, and that when Suriarachchi called Gotabhaya Rajapakse immediately he said that the bomb was an old one and that it had been set targeting a army truck. Suriarachchi says he was amassed how the defense secretary came into such an assumption that early and how such complicated issued were conveyed to him within minutes. He adds that the president then called him after a couple of days and told him the same story which doubled him suspicion.The former minister also has said that a friend of his called Iroshan from the Biyanwila area met him on the 12th of March 2007 and told him that a friend of Iroshan by the name Shyamal who calls himself as the head of the Sinhala Tigers told Iroshan that it was him who fixed the bomb to kill Suriarachchi on orders issued to him by the defense secretary. Then Suriarachchi has got hold of a phone that has the recording capacity and recorded the entire discussion to prove the fact and that a copy of the CD will also be handed over to the police to assist the investigations.In his statement in the police the Gampaha district parliamentarian says that Shyamal has closely associated the Defense Secretary and the Government intelligent officers since 2006.The complaint lodged also requests the police to investigate on all information provided to them and bring the culprits to book. Assault on Journalist: Statements recorded The Fort police inquiring into the alleged assault on Journalist K.P.Mohan on Thursday has summoned the Police and the Air Force personnel who were on duty at the security check point near Sambuddhaloka Vihara in Colombo Fort to record their statements. Police said the Air Force personnel are alleged to have assaulted the Journalist who attempted to cross the road when the Air force commander’s motorcade was passing the checkpoint near Sambuddhaloka Vihara. Media Spokesman for the Air Force Ajantha De Silva said the air force initiated a separate inquiry into the incident and that disciplinary action would be taken against the persons responsible. UNICEF Condemns Attacks on Schoolchildren in Conflict Areas The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) today condemned continuing attacks on schoolchildren and educational facilities in conflict zones around the world, citing recent incidents in Asia, the Middle East and Africa."Attacks on schoolchildren are unacceptable," said UNICEF Executive Director Ann M. Veneman. "Schools must be safe environments for children to learn and thrive."In recent weeks, at a girls' school in Afghanistan, two schoolgirls were killed, and another three students and a teacher were injured, while in Gaza, one student traveling to national college entrance exams was killed, and in a separate incident another was injured, in crossfire."In parts of Iraq parents remain justly concerned about the risks involved in sending their children to school, and insecurity has closed schools in the Central African Republic, in Nepal and in Sri Lanka ," the agency said in a news release.At the same time, UNICEF cited evidence that where an education system continues to function, students will face real risks to take advantage of the opportunities that education provides. In the occupied Palestinian territory in June, some 60,000 students in both Gaza and the West Bank made it through 10 days of entrance exams, despite the current crisis."Children have the right to a safe learning environment at all times, even under the most difficult of circumstances," Ms. Veneman stated. Re-introduction of criminal defamation laws a dastardly act to muzzle the press---Muslim Media Forum Muslim Media Forum has strongly condemned the proposal to re-introduce the criminal defamation law as a dastardly act that can cause harassment and threats to journalists and editors. It can jeopardize the freedom of the press. This is stated in a statement released by the Muslim Media Forum bearing the signature of its General Secretary, Daha Muzzamil. It appealed to the government, which has assured to uphold the freedom of the press, not to re-introduce abominable criminal defamation laws. Sampur HSZ or FTZ? 4200 families dispalced Thousands of people were evacuated from the area in June 2006 as fighting intensified between the advancing government forces and the Tamil Tigers.According to the petitioners, Since then, Sampur villagers belonging to 4200 families lived in makeshift camps further South under very bad conditions. In 2006 September, the area was captured by the government forces. The petitioners say the government forces had prevented them from going back to their homes since. "We had asked for permission to go to our homes. We need to work our farms to earn a living, but the permission was denied every time". HSZ or FTZ? The petition details that an area as big as 90 square kilometres around Sampur had been declared as a High Security Zone."Some of these people has land rights in the area which dates back over one hundred years!", Say the lawyer representating the petitioners, Sharmane Gunaratne."Constitution had guranteed the fundamental right to live anywhere you like and to make a living", she told the BBC. Since the declaration of the area as High Security Zone[HSZ], the Board of Investment declared Sampur are as a designated Free Trade Zone [FTZ].The petitioners say that they are intrigued by the decision where the area is declared unsafe to inhabit, it is going to be used for business activities. The government had announced plans to build a new coal power station in Sampur. Govt. to celebrate liberation of East The government said yesterday it would celebrate the liberation of the entire Eastern Province from the LTTE on a national basis.Senior minister and SLFP General Secretary Maithripala Sirisena told journalists the security forces had inflicted the worst-ever defeats on the LTTE during the ongoing operations in the east.Mr. Sirisena said the government would launch a programme to pay tribute to soldiers who sacrificed immensely to flush out terrorists and create normalcy in the area so that civilians could resume normal life. “The government of President Mahinda Rajapaksa is committed to wiping out terrorism in the country. Today, the LTTE has been weakened to a great extent,” the minister said.The minister charged the UNP was trying to topple the government at this juncture directly and indirectly to the advantage of the Tigers.“The UNP is trying to create a crisis in the country with the aim of gaining power in the future. There are both local and foreign elements behind this exercise which benefits the LTTE who fear the military will extend their operations to the north after liberating the east,” he said. Commenting on former Minister Mangala Samaraweera’s move to join forces with the UNP, Mr. Sirisena said the Opposition had become ‘a bundle of contradictions’ today because of this situation. He said his party would politically counter the UNP propaganda blitz against the government while launching a programme to reduce the cost of living. Croydon man accused of being 'Tamil Tiger' member Police also swooped on Lambert's home in Bramley Hill, South Croydon. When the Advertiser confronted his parents,they refused to make any comment.But neighbours said they had seen police staking out the tower block where he lives over the past week.One neighbour,who asked not to be named, said: "They are a Sri Lankan family and moved in about a month ago. Last weekend, there were police outside the flats.I wondered what was going on. I didn't realise one of my neighbours had been arrested on terrorism charges."I'm shocked. They seemed like a nice family. The mother told me they had moved here from a house in France they had been staying at."The men were arrested last Thursday and held under the Terrorism Act 2000. Painstaking forensic searches then took place at both homes.Chrishanthakumar, also known as AC Shanthan, is charged with the following counts,contrary to the Terrorism Act 2000. * Helping to arrange a meeting which he knew was to support the LTTE between June 1, 2006 and July 26, 2006 * Addressing an LTTE meeting in Hyde Park, London, to encourage support for the group * Receiving £1,500 in London on January 24 with the knowledge that it would be used for the purposes of terrorism * Between January 17, 2006, and June 22, 2007, in London receiving a quantity of literature and manuals including underwater warfare systems, explosive ordnance disposal and naval weapons systems, six trenching spades, 39 compasses and a piece of ballistic body armour in the knowledge they may be used for terrorism * Between January 23, 2005, and June 22, 2007, in London, belonging to the LTTE. Lambert is charged with one count of arranging a meeting in Hyde Park, London, on July 25, 2006.Both men were remanded in custody after appearing at City of Westminster Magistrates' Court yesterday (Thursday).The LTTE has used terror and guerrilla warfare tactics in its bid to create an independent state in areas of Sri Lanka inhabited by ethnic Tamils. JVP to meet Mangala next week SLFP Mahajana wing leader Mangala Samaraweera and the JVP leadership are scheduled to meet next Wednesday at the JVP headquarters at Pelawatta, political sources said.They said the meeting would take place on a request made by the former minister to explore possibilities of the two parties working together.Former minister Sripathi Sooriyaarachchi will attend the meeting along with Mr. Samaraweera while several JVP seniors are expected to attend the meeting.The SLFP Mahajana wing met Opposition leader Ranil Wickremesinghe and other UNP leaders last Thursday.Earlier this week the JVP ruled out any alliance with the UNP or SLFP in future saying it was a politically incorrect decision taken by Mr. Samaraweera to negotiate with the UNP.The party said a future political alliance should be formed to salvage the country from its present plight adding that both the SLFP and the UNP were unable to achieve that task. 29 June 2007 TNA councilor assassinated in Ampaa'rai Thillainathan Uthayakumar, the chairman of Tamil National Alliance (TNA) Piratheasa Chapai (Pradeshya Sabah) of Thirukkoayil in Ampaa'rai district was assassinated by armed men outside his residence at Vinaayakapuram in Akkaraippattu, Thursday at 8:50 p.m. Gunmen who entered the premises, took the 35-year-old victim, father of two, away from his house, located in Kappunaar street at Vinaayakapuram and killed him, lobbing a grenade on him, 100 meters away from his residence, according to the Police in Thirukkoavil. The assassination of the TNA politician comes after press reports in Colombo that the Government was planning for a new election in the East. Five passengers wounded in Sri Lanka blast At least five bus passengers, including a soldier, were wounded in a roadside bomb attack in Sri Lanka's northern Vavuniya district on Friday, officials said. Suspected Tamil Tiger rebels set off the mine at Cheddikulam as the civilian bus passed the area, military officials said. A similar bomb attack killed an officer and a soldier in the Jaffna peninsula, further north, on Thursday. The latest violence came as the military said it had stepped up a campaign against the Tamil Tigers in the east of the island, despite efforts by peace broker Norway to save a tattered truce agreement dating back to 2002. More than 60,000 people are reported to have been killed in the separatist campaign in the past 35 years. 'No War Zone' declared Rajapaksa has "reversed" relations with India, says Mangala Mangala Samaraweera, founder of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (Mahajana Wing), a breakaway group of the ruling Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP), says that the Mahinda Rajapaksa government has "reversed" the "excellent" relations, which his predecessors had established with India."Sri Lanka-India relations had been strong from the time of SWRD Bandaranaike and Jawaharlal Nehru onwards. As recently as 2005 (before Rajapaksa came to power) Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar had declared that Sri Lanka-India relations had reached a level of irreversible excellence. But the present government reversed it in just four months!" Samaraweera told Hindustan Times."As Foreign Minister, I had seen how Rajapaksa was trying to mislead India," he added."We Sri Lankans must restore the excellent ties we have had with India. We have to take into account India's political compulsions. When thousands of Tamil refugees arrive in India, we cannot expect India to remain a silent spectator. India has a justifiable interest in what is happening in Sri Lanka in regard to the Tamil problem.""Cooperation and understanding are necessary for the future of Sri Lanka and India equally," he said. On the economic front too, cooperation was necessary, said: "We have to move along with India to be able to become an economic hub of the South Asian region. Strengthening of ties with India is more important than ever before." UN MONITORING On the controversial issue of UN monitoring of human rights violations in Sri Lanka, Samaraweera said that such monitoring might be "inevitable" given the policies of the Rajapaksa government." As Foreign Minister, I did oppose foreign monitoring because I believed that Sri Lanka, being one of the oldest democracies, had the institutions to monitor rights violations. But these institutions had become defunct due to the pig headed policies of the present government. In the present juncture, perhaps some kind of UN monitoring may be inevitable. The government has to take the blame for this," he said.Samaraweera said that the opposition to foreign monitoring or foreign interest in Sri Lanka's conflict reflected the "xenophobia" which was being systematically fostered by the Rajapaksa government, an attitude which didn't fit in with the traditional Sri Lankan ethos. "Right through history, Sri Lankans have been outward looking, welcoming the world with a smile. We have always been at ease with the rest of the world. But now, we have become xenophobic because of the government's policies," he said. The Rajapaksa government had been "short sighted" and made a "strategic error" by antagonising the international community, he said."Due to the antagonistic policies of the government, Sri Lanka has lost its role in international affairs. Under the Bandaranaikes (who founded and steered the SLFP for decades) Sri Lanka had an international role, much bigger than its size and economic power warranted," Samaraweera recalled. SANCTIONS Samaraweera, who was sacked earlier in the year by Rajapaksa for questioning his policies, said that the international community was playing a "strong but cautious" role in restoring democracy and curbing human rights violations in Sri Lanka."US, India and EU are taking some strong actions. But these are done behind the scenes, as the world is sensitive to the fact that Sri Lanka is a sovereign country.""But whatever sanctions they may impose, should not affect the people. Some sanctions like travel restrictions on defence officials and others who had violated human rights will not affect the masses, but will be useful," he said. WAR POLITICAL Samaraweera described the on-going war as being " political" because it was "primary aimed at ensuring the survival of the Rajapaksa family in a position of power.""I am not at all satisfied with the way the war is being fought. It is being fought in the media. It is used to cover up all the sins of the regime. Soldiers are being sacrificed unnecessarily," he contended."The truth is that the LTTE has become stronger during the present regime. It has acquired air power. Under the previous regime, the LTTE was getting internationally isolated. Many countries had banned it. But now, the international community is criticising the Sri Lankan government, not the LTTE!" he pointed."It was necessary to capture Sampur because the LTTE was threatening Trincomalee harbour from there. But Toppigala (which the army is hoping to take now) is only a vast empty land. We should have gone for talks after taking Sampur," Samaraweera said. DEVOLUTION MODELS On the All-Party Representative Committee (APRC) set up by President Rajapaksa, Samaraweera said that it was a needless exercise. "We have many devolution models already. There was the 1997 proposal for a Union of Regions, which was watered down and presented in 2000. What we need is the political will to implement an existing proposal, not to start working on another proposal," he said. SONIA'S ROLE FOR CHANDRIKA Having invited former SLFP chief and former Sri Lankan President Chandrika Kumaratunga to "guide" the party and the country towards "a multi-ethnic and centrist democracy," Samaraweera said that Kumaratunga could play the role Sonia Gandhi was playing in the ruling alliance in India.Kumarkatunga had declared her retirement from active politics and had left for the UK following the drastic reduction of her security and other facilities on the orders of a court. "I have extended an invitation to her, but it is for her to take a decision. Her two children are very concerned about her security in Sri Lanka. I believe this is what is holding her back," Samaraweera said. He denied that Kumaratunga was like a medicine which was past its expiry date, as many think."She enjoys a great deal of respect in the SLFP. After all, she had made the party come back to power in 1994 after 17 years in the opposition, and she had led the party to victory in 14 consecutive elections. But for her, Rajapaksa would not have become President. And on the military front, it was she who had taken back Jaffna from the LTTE," he pointed out. Samaraweera contended that 90% of the SLFP members were disillusioned with Rajapaksa, as the silence during his speech in parliament showed. And among the masses, the "silent majority" was with him."Things will change when the silent majority raises its voice. Conditions for this to happen will have to be created by political leaders. I am talking to the UNP (United National Party) and the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP). I do not think that the JVP is an extremist party anymore. But I will never talk to the Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU), which is an extremist party. At any rate JHU is an urban party with little support outside," he said.However, Samaraweera's bid to work out an alliance with the JVP failed on Thursday, when the JVP said that it would not join any grouping which had the UNP in it. The JVP said that it was going to form and lead an independent front to fight the Rajapaksa regime.PK Balachandran has interviewed Mangala Samaraweera, former Foreign and Ports Minister, who recently broke away from the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) led by President Mahinda Rajapaksa and formed his own group, the Sri Lankan Freedom Party (Mahajana Wing), with the aim of restoring to the SLFP, the "centrist, socialistic, democratic and internationalist" ideology given to it by its founding father, former Prime Minister SWRD Bandaranaike, in 1951. 3 Tamil civilians arrested in Wellawatte Three Tamil civilians were arrested Thursday morning at Wellawatte, Colombo in a cordon and search operation conducted by the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) and police. The arrested are currently being detained in the Wellawatte police station and being interrogated by the Terrorist Intelligence Unit (TIU).Meanwhile, of about three hundred civilians arrested at Welikada Wednesday in a cordon and search operation, 42 Tamil civilians are still detained in Welikada police station and interrogated by the TIU of the police. Others were released after inquiry, police sources said. Vasu Vs. Karu Presidential advisor Vasudeva Nanayakka yesterday submitted a fundamental rights a petition in the Supreme Court asking it to abolish the sale of 90% of shares of Marine services limited of the Ceylon Petroleum Services limited to John Keels Holdings in 2002.The COPE report too had furnished several details regarding the particular sale and even the JVP forced the government to take strong action against those who are involved with the deal.Then Minister of petroleum in the UNP government was Karu Jayasuriya and he is now a minister in the existing government. Major political changes within three months After talks with the SLFP (M) led by sacked minister Mangala Samaraweera yesterday, the main opposition UNP said yesterday the next three months would be a decisive period for the country because of a series of politically significant events. It said some government Ministers had already agreed to join forces with the Opposition to form a broad political alliance against dictatorship. UNP General Secretary and parliamentarian Tissa Attanayake told a news conference the UNP was inviting all democratic political parties to team up with it in the struggle against the government.“We will not give the names of these Ministers right now. But, there will be crucial political developments within the next few months,” Mr.Attanayake said. who also participated in talks between the UNP and SLFP (Mahajana) wing, said the two parties decided to appoint a joint committee to study Mr. Samaraweera’s policy statement titled ‘Daring to dream towards a new Sri Lankan order.’He said the UNP was not concerned about the JVP declining to be a party to the proposed alliance with the UNP.“The JVP is a party with a small vote bank. But, we have a huge vote base throughout the country. We lost to President Mahinda Rajapaksa at the last election only by a narrow margin,” he said.Mr. Attanayake charged that the government was attempting to reintroduce the criminal defamation Law to suppress media freedom.“If this piece of legislation is brought in Parliament, we will do everything to defeat it,” he pledged Commenting on the plan to abolish the Public Enterprises Reform Commission (PERC), he said the government’s sole aim was to collect huge commissions through privatization deals by abolishing this institution that was established to overlook such transactions. 28 June 2007 Local polls soon in Sri Lanka’s east Sri Lanka intends to soon hold elections to the local bodies in the troubled eastern province, said an official of the Presidential Secretariat here on Wednesday.The official told The Hindu that with the virtual ouster of the Tamil Tigers from its remaining pockets in the east, the Government would like to empower the people at the grassroots level to elect their own representatives and have a say on issues of development.“The time-frame is not worked out yet. The intention of the Government is to involve people in decision-making process. The idea is to follow up the local bodies polls with an election to the eastern provincial council with a Chief Minister in place,”, he said. The military says it has gained control of 99 per cent of the territory in the Thoppigala jungles, the last remaining pocket of the LTTE. A military spokesman told a news conference here that an estimated 100 odd cadres of the Tigers were trapped in the bushy jungles. Democratic exercise It would be for the first time since 1989 that the province would witness the democratic exercise. Elections to the temporarily merged north and eastern provinces were held as a follow up to the 1987 Indo-Sri Lanka Accord. There is no immediate reaction from the southern and the Tamil parties to the move. Meanwhile, at Oslo the Sri Lanka Co-Chairs, who met on Tuesday, chose not to issue any statement. The view was that since neither the Government nor the Tigers were in a mood to heed to any counsel on dialogue and peace, it would be a futile exercise to issue any statement. Instead, it appears individual member countries would decide on appropriate strategies to de-escalate the situation. Sri Lanka says jets bomb 2 rebel camps Sri Lankan fighter jets bombed two Tamil Tiger camps in the island’s far north on Thursday, the military said, the second batch of air strikes in three days, but there were no immediate details of any casualties.In a separate incident, two soldiers were killed in the army-held northern Jaffna peninsula by a roadside bomb, the latest in a spree of such attacks in recent months as civil war erupted again after several years of ceasefire.“We have hit a military base in Mullaithivu (on the northeast coast) -- it is really two camps located close to one another,” said military spokesman Brigadier Prasad Samarasinghe.The separatist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam were not immediately available for comment and there was no independent confirmation of what had been hit.Samarasinghe said troops were clearing booby traps and landmines in jungle in the restive eastern district of Batticaloa, where rebels are hemmed into ever-decreasing pockets of territory in the face of an army offensive.“There are a lot of landmines there. Yesterday, two of our soldiers lost their legs because of them.”He said troops were facing only sporadic fire, after weeks of heavy fighting in a major operation to drive the Tigers from territory they held in the east altogether. Fighting is now focused on the north, where the Tigers run a de facto state.Government officials are eyeing long-delayed local government polls in the east to cement a civil administration in a bid to permanently displace the Tigers from the area, although the island’s elections commissioner say no such plans are yet afoot.The Tigers have warned that while they may have moved geographically, they will use all means to fight for an independent state in the north and east.And analysts see no clear winner on the horizon and fear a war that has killed nearly 70,000 people since 1983 will run on for years. 2 SLA soldiers killed in Claymore ambush in Jaffna Unidentified attackers triggered a Claymore mine Thursday morning around 9:30 in Naavaanthu'rai, kiilling two Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers riding on bicycles along Naavaanthu'rai-Kaakkaitheevu road in the outskirts of Jaffna city. The injured were rushed to Palaali military hospital while the SLA is engaged in a cordon and search operation around the site of the ambush. An SLA road patrol unit on bicycles was on its way to Kaakkaitheevu from Naavaanthu'rai area when the claymore device was triggered by the attackers from an abandoned house near the Mosque in the area, Police said. The number of SLA troopers injured in the blast is still not known.Recently, 3 SLA troopers were killed and one seriously injured in a similar claymore attack at Eechchamoaddai area, situated within Jaffna Municipality limits. Lanka minister in visa trouble A Sri Lankan minister landed at the Cochin international airport without a visa and had to be given a temporary landing permit for $40.M.M. Mustapha, the deputy minister of higher education, arrived on a private visit this morning by a Sri Lankan Airlines flight. The Kerala Management Association, his local hosts, received him at the VIP lounge, after which he went for customs and immigration checks. Immigration officials who examined his diplomatic passport found that the minister did not have the visa required for citizens of countries that are members of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (Saarc).Mustapha told the officials he had forgotten to bring his old passport, which carried the visa stamp. The officials at Nedumbassery airport then contacted the bureau of emigration in Delhi. They were told to issue the temporary permit — but only after collecting $40 as fee. “I have nothing against the officials. They have done their duty. It was a lapse on my part. I did not carry proper papers,” said Mustapha as he waited patiently through the formalities. Senior immigration official K.E. Joy claimed that neither the local police nor his department had prior information about the VIP visit. Rajagiriya bomb incident was administered from London; Kilinochchi Commissioner arrested Government Defence spokesperson minister Keheliya Rambukwella says the person who is directly involved with transporting the bomb that was found in Rajagiriya yesterday, was residing in a Colombo lodge.Speaking to the media this afternoon the minister said that 8 persons have been arrested in connection to the incident and one of them is a Provincial commissioner from Kilinochchi and the person directly involved with transporting the bomb is a Mason who has come to Colombo in search of a job.He added that the bomb has been brought to Colombo in the Commissioner's official vehicle and the Commissioner's driver has been ordered via a call from London to take the vehicle to a car park in Maradana and to take two persons that would be there, to a particular destination. The minister said these details were uncovered during interrogation. The government defense spokesperson also thanked the public for being vigilant and informing the security forces on any suspected persons or objects adding that a massive devastation was foiled due to a vigil of the public.Meanwhile it is reported to 'LeN' that 252 persons have been arrested during a special search operation conducted in the Rajagiriya are from last night till dawn, among them are 50 females.All though the minister earlier promised that abductors and criminals who are involved in the gross human rights violations that are taking place in Colombo and suburbs would soon be brought to books, but yet nothing has been done so far. However the minister today reiterated that culprits would be brought to book adding that the government will not shut doors and sleep while these issues are occurring.Rambukwella said the Indian Peace Keeping army which had a force of around 15,000 to 20,000 soldiers could not capture the east but the Sri Lankan troops have already captured 99% of the eastern provinces territory. Five soldiers face Trial-at-Bar inquiry for Mirusuwil murder The Mirusuvil Murder case in which five soldiers are indicted with murder of five Tamil civilians is to be heard on October 29th before a Trial at Bar at Colombo. In this case 5 soldiers are charged with causing the murder of 8 civilians namely Ganabalan Ravichandran, Sellamuthu Deiwakulasingam, Viswarasa Piradeeban, Chinnaiah Viswarasa, Nadesu Jeyachandran, Kathiran Ganachandren, Ganachandran Shanthan and Viswarasa Prashath and injuring another civilian by the name of Ponuthurai Maheswaren, when they returned to see their homes in Mirusuvil in Dec 2000. Sunil Ratnayake, Rajasinghe Vethagethera, Senath Munasighe, Tenakon Jayaratne, Subasinghe Appugamighe Pushpa Samankumara and Gamini Munasinghe are the five soldiers, who are charged with committing murder and assault. Justice Upali Abayaratna(Chairman),Justice Deepali Wijeyasundara and Justice Sunil Rajapakse are the members of the Trial at bar. Another journalist allegedly harassed at check point Tamil daily, Tinakural’s Defence Correspondent K. P. Mohan charged yesterday that some air force officers harassed him at a security check point in Colombo. The alleged harassment had taken place when he was returning from a news conference on the current security situation in the country. Mr. Mohan told Daily Mirror he produced the media identity card issued by the Department of Information but the officers had refused to accept and demanded the national identity card. He complained the officers were rude and used abusive language. When Mr. Mohan produced the national identity card the officers had allegedly accused him of being a supporter of the LTTE. “You are helping the Tigers by producing only the Media identity card,” one officer had said. A complaint has been made to the Director of the Information Department, the Free Media Movement and the Working Journalists Association. Mr. Mohan had also complained to Air Force Spokesman Ajantha De Silva who had promised to inquire into the matter. Pair charged for supporting banned Tamil Tigers- Guardian Two men were charged by Scotland Yard today under the Terrorism Act 2000 with providing support to the Tamil Tigers, which is a proscribed organisation in the UK.One of the men, Arunachalam Chrishanthakumar, of Norbury, south London, faces five charges under the act, including that he possessed manuals on underwater weapons systems.The other charges relate to a gathering of Sri Lankan Tamils in London's Hyde Park on July 25 last year, at which a number of speakers spoke out against the Sri Lankan government.The meeting was organised to commemorate the Tamils who died in the Black July killings of 1983, an event seen as starting the full-scale conflict between Tamil militants and the Sinhalese-dominated Sri Lankan government.As a proscribed organisation, Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, the group's officially name, is banned from raising funds or holding meetings in the UK. The charges against Mr Chrishanthakumar are: The second man who has been charged is Goldan Lambert, 29, of South Croydon, south London. He is charged with assisting in the management of the Hyde Park event, knowing it was for the purposes of supporting a proscribed organisation, the Tamil Tigers. Scotland Yard said both men will appear at City of Westminster magistrates court tomorrow.Almost 70,000 people have died in Sri Lanka's civil conflict since 1983. Today, at least four people were killed by Tamil Tiger militants in attacks on soldiers and police in the north-western district of Manna, Reuters reported. Two cops, Airman arrested in abductions episode COLOMBO: A special squad attached to the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) yesterday made a major breakthrough in their investigations into the multi- million rupee extortion racket targeting Tamil and Muslim businessmen when they took into custody two policemen and an Air Force sergeant. Earlier the CID special squad took into custody a senior ex-Airman who is alleged to have conducted the operation of kidnapping and extorting money from wealthy businessmen in Colombo and other areas. The CID special squad deployed by CID DIG D. W. Prathapasinghe is looking for several other policemen who are alleged to have been involved in the massive extortion racket. The CID intensified its probe into the allegations of disappearances of Colombo businessmen followed by ransom demands by their captors, on the orders of IGP Victor Perera. The special CID squad are also conducting investigations to ascertain whether there were other Airmen involved in the extortion racket. The CID had also questioned the Airman who is now in custody in connection with several extortion cases which took place in Colombo and other areas. In a separate development the CID conducted investigations into a complaint made by a wealthy businessman running a travel firm in Mawanella and arrested two suspects. These suspects had posed as security personnel. The king-pin of the racket, a Muslim businessman, is absconding, the CID team said yesterday. Several police stations in Colombo District and the other areas have received a number of complaints of extortion by an organised gang. The CID special squad is also looking for suspect Airman’s accomplices in the extortion racket. The suspects who are in CID custody had revealed they committed these offenses for their personal gain. Army chief reviews security plans in Mahaoya Army Commander Lieutenant General Sarath Fonseka, giving further strength and moral boost to the troops now advancing to the Eastern heart of Tiger control Thoppigala on Wednesday morning flew to Commando Brigade Headquarters in Mahaoya, Ampara. Lieutenant General Fonseka received by Brigade Commander, Commando Brigade Colonel C.P. Gallage was conducted to the Headquarters for a briefing on the security situation related to the ongoing operation. The Army Commander gave instructions to senior officers and reviewed practical strategies. He flew back to Colombo later. 27 June 2007 Tigers raid Sri Lanka Army Forward Defence post Sri Lanka warn of "tragic error" in Western aid cut Sri Lanka told Western donor nations Tuesday that it would be a "tragic error" to cut aid to the island nation due to alleged human rights abuses linked to a longstanding ethnic conflict. Britain, Germany and the Netherlands have already slashed various forms of aid to Colombo due to human rights abuses and other reasons linked to the conflict with Tamil Tiger rebels and several other nations could follow suit.The United States also has refused to include Sri Lanka in its so-called Millennium Challenge Account, under which it could receive millions of dollars in aid for building critical infrastructure."It would be a tragic error to withhold pecuniary resources from Sri Lanka because that will create conditions in which extremism and terrorism would thrive," the island's international trade minister, G.L. Peiris, told AFP in an interview in Washington."So, whoever argues that pressure must be brought to bear on the democratically elected government of Sri Lanka by cutting off resources which should be available to the government is unwittingly -- not deliberately or intentionally -- strengthening the hand of terrorism," he said. Peiris said he had conveyed "this strong and powerful message" to the relevant authorities in the United States and other countries.The United States considers the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), which is fighting for an independent homeland in the north and east of Sri Lanka, as a terrorist group.But Washington has recently accused Colombo of going back on promises to protect human rights and said the situation in the embattled island had "deteriorated" in the past year.It accused the government of President Mahinda Rajapakse of failing to honor pledges to reduce violence since he took office in November 2005, noting a collapsed truce with the rebels, attacks on media and the escalation of extra-judicial killings that have left about 5,000 people dead during his tenure.Peiris, who briefed senior US officials on the conflict, said his government could understand that Western nations had to curtail aid in response to pressure from their legislatures and civil society groups."We understand all that but reciprocally, we expect a degree of understanding from them with regard to the nuances of our own situation and the use of aid as a tool under those circumstances would produce consequences which neither they nor we desire," he said. Peiris also said that Sri Lanka was on the verge of a "breakthrough" in the conflict, pointing out that government troops could take full control of the island's eastern province from rebels "within three to four weeks.""This will give us an opportunity to move the process forward, come up with a strategy that will contain political, military, social and other elements," he said."Within the government, there is now a great deal of thinking about the way to make use of this landmark event," he added. "This is something that is going to happen in the next three to four weeks, not next three, four years."Oslo-brokered peace talks collapsed in October last year and since then diplomatic efforts have failed to end violence in the bitter ethnic conflict which has claimed more than 60,000 lives in the past 35 years.Peiris said it was unfortunate that Western nations were curtailing aid at a time when Colombo was trying to lay the groundwork for peace and development with the potential seizure of the entire eastern province. He said Washington should consider granting direct bilateral aid to Sri Lanka if it was convinced that Colombo made a "honest, genuine attempt" to bring peace and development in the Eastern province.Another critical aid mechanism Peiris suggested was preferential trading arrangements, particularly for apparel products, which made up 80 percent of Sri Lanka's exports to the United States and on which one million people were dependent. "We are telling them we are not dependent on largess and philanthropy and we want to rely on our own creativity, our own potential and what we want from the United States is empathy, collaboration, goodwill in that regard," he said. 4 Jaffna day-labourers reported missing Four men, all daily wage earners, have been reported missing from Meesaalai, Kodikaamam and I’nuvil areas during the last ten days, officials at the Human Rights Commission (HRC) in Jaffna said citing complaints made by the relatives.Vadivel Raveendra, 32, and Sinnathamby Sivanthan, 27, both residents of Choalaiyamman Koayiladi in Meesaalai south had gone missing after reporting to the SLA civil administration office in Chaavakachcheari area on May 23, to sign a register, as they had been doing daily for some time on SLA orders, according to their family members.Raveendra was not seen after June 23 and Sivananthan disappeared on June 16, after signing the registers maintained at the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) civil administrative offices at Chaavakachcheari and Kodikaamam.A third day labourer, Nadarasa Jegatheeswaran, 24, is reported missing after having left for work on June 21 from his home at I'nuvil, complaint made to HRC Jaffna by his family members said.Navarathinarasa Ketheeswaran, 21, a daily wage earner from Manthuvil, Kodikaamam was detained by the SLA and interrogated on June 16, and was ordered to report and sign the register at Kodikaamam SLA civil administration office. Ketheeswaran had not been seen after he went to the Kodikaamam office to record his signature, his family members said. Sri Lankan Tamils call on NZ govt for help Local Sri Lankan Tamils are calling on the New Zealand Government to push for independent observers in their strife-torn homeland. About 30 members of the Wellington Tamil community today gathered at Parliament to protest against alleged human rights abuses in Sri Lanka. For the past 24 years members of the minority group have been waging a guerilla war for a separate Tamil state in the country's north and east. Tamils make up about 20 per cent of Sri Lanka's population, with the majority Sinhalese dominating the country's government. Wellington Tamil Society president Mani Maniparathy today said Tamils were subject to increasing restrictions on their freedoms and New Zealand should pressure Sri Lanka to treat the group fairly. He said last month police tried to arbitrarily remove all Tamils without a job or "valid reason" from the country's capital Colombo. He said the move illustrated the government's approach, despite the order eventually being rescinded after the country's supreme court ruled it illegal. Other issues were a restricted flow of food and vital supplies to the predominantly Tamil area after the government blocked a key road and re strictions on movement under the guise of security. Siva Naguleswaran, national co-ordinator for New Zealand Tamil Associations, said local Tamils wanted the Government to back an Amnesty International call for independent observers in Sri Lanka. He said there were regular allegations of human rights abuses carried out by the police and military, but the government usually disputed these and there was no independent verification. "We want unbiased people to go in, so they can see what is happening." The Government should push for this through the United Nations or the Commonwealth. It should also push Sri Lanka to allow Tamil to vote on whether they should have a greater degree of autonomy or independence, he said. Mr Maniparathy said the Government had acted in recent similar cases such as Zimbabwe leader Robert Mugabe's suppression of white farmers and the urban poor. Ferial to lose NUA grip? The Sri Lanka Progressive Front (SLPF), which in 1999 joined hands with the SLMC to form the National Unity Alliance (NUA), has challenged Minister Ferial Ashraff’s leadership of the alliance, the Daily Mirror learns.The SLPF has informed Ms. Ashraff that according to the NUA Constitution only members of the two constituent parties are legally entitled to hold any NUA office and since Minister Ashraff is no more a member of the SLMC, she had ceased to be a NUA member, a SLPF spokesman said.This had already been informed to Minister Ashraff in a letter signed by SLPF President P. Nelson Perera and General Secretary Rohan Jayathunga following a Central Committee meeting held recently. The SLPF has also accused Ms. Ashraff of undermining and marginalising the Front during her tenure as NUA leader and demanded an explanation, while claiming that Minister Ashraff had also failed to hold a single a High Command meeting of the party since taking over the party in 2000.In the event of Minister Ashraff failing to provide a satisfactory answer to the queries, the Front threatens to obtain a court order restraining her and her supporters who hold offices in the Alliance from functioning as NUA office bearers. Ranil- Mangala meeting tomorrow UNP leader Ranil Wickremesinghe will meet the SLFP Mahajana Wing led by former Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera tomorrow morning to discuss the present political situation in the country and a way forward to overcome the crisis.The meeting is to take place at the Cambridge Terrace office of the Opposition Leader.The meeting was scheduled for Thursday, June 28 after Samaraweera wrote to the UNP leader on Monday, June 25 seeking a meeting to discuss the political crisis in the country and to develop a ‘consensus on forging a common way forward’.The Morning Leader learns Samaraweera will be accompanied by Gampaha district MP, Sripathi Sooriyarachchi for Thursday’s meeting. The UNP team is expected to be Wickremesinghe, Chairman Rukman Senanayake and General Secretary Tissa Attanayake.Further to the meeting with the UNP, Samaraweera has also sought meetings with with the JVP, TNA, SLMC and CWC in writing. The JVP letter was addressed to General Secretary Tilvin Silva and the TNA letter to R.Sampanthan.Informed sources said the SLFP Mahajana Wing is likely to meet with the JVP today and the TNA on Friday. Largest LTTE vehicle fleet detected Advancing troops in Thoppigala area detected the largest ever single fleet of vehicles abandoned by the LTTE.Troops in Narakamulla, Taravikulam and surrounding areas in Thoppigala were able to detect six double cabs, four vans, seven tractors with trailers, fifteen trailers, nine Canter lorries, nineteen motorbikes and two bowsers, a senior military official said.Meanwhile, Air Force jets and helicopters carried out a series of air strikes on LTTE targets in Thoppiagala and Wanni during last few days, with the latest being yesterday.He said that during yesterday, Kfir jets bombed identified LTTE targets in Thoppigala and two LTTE Sea Tiger bases with radar systems South of Silawathurai in Mannar. The official also said that on Monday fighter jets pounded a Sea Tiger base in Kallar , south of Mannar and also an LTTE hideout in Thoppigala.“Ground troops as well as intercepted LTTE communications confirmed heavy damages to the rebels,” the official added.Troops have been able to capture Pankunaveli - Narakamulla road and Sittandy -Periyamadu road in the Thoppigala area by Monday night. Army Engineers started repair work on Laviniaru Bridge which was blown up by fleeing terrorists. UN female official flees, citing extortion threat A programme associate at the finance section of the United Nations country office in Colombo, Vasuki Mahendran had left Colombo last afternoon with her husband and children due to extortion threats. She is reported to be a relative of a former Minister.Civil Monitoring Commission (CMC) on Disappearances convener Mano Ganeshan said she might be the first relief agency person to receive threats of abduction. Ms. Vasuki has lodged a complaint with the CMC before her exit, according to Mr. Ganeshan. According to Mr. Ganesan, Vasuki, a resident of Havelock Road had received a phone call from an unknown person on Sunday around 10.45 pm.The caller had allegedlydemanded Rs. 5 million to be paid not later than Monday morning at Dehiwela. They had asked Ms. Mahendran to bring the money in her vehicle. Vasuki Mahendran had also told the CMC that their household at Havelock Road was searched by the Army on June 19. The Army officers had claimed that they had conducted the searched after receiving an anonymous telephone call that the Mahendran household was harbouring a “three wheeler”. Meanwhile, the CMC, commenting on the election of Ambassador Dayan Jayatilake as one of the four Vice Presidents in the UN Human Rights Council, said this was a great opportunity for the government to put its act together on the human rights issue. “The vice presidency is not a credit but a responsibility. This responsibility comes with the demand for fair investigations and efficient preventive measures,” it added. Aussie Red Cross suspends six projects The current security situation has forced the Australian Red Cross (ARC) to suspend six tsunami projects in the country.Officials from ARC said that security concerns affected the Red Cross tsunami projects and operations have been shut down.ARC has 20 tsunami recovery projects in the north, south and east. These projects include housing reconstruction, water and sanitation, hospital refurbishment and other health related projects. These projects according to ARC were not affected by the fighting and many have been completed.The remaining few would be continued and completed by the end of 2007.There are six projects which are affected by the conflict in Jaffna. These include housing reconstruction, hospital refurbishment and livelihoods assistance."In August 2006, hostilities between the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and the government forces took place, forcing people who were participating in and delivering Australian Red Cross programmes, to evacuate to alternate locations. It still remains unsafe for our national and international staff to continue working in some parts of the north and east," an ARC official said.Adding that the security concern has directly affected six of ARCs 20 tsunami rehabilitation projects, Australian Red Cross Country Coordinator for Sri Lanka, Berry Armstrong, said that alternative arrangements have been taken in this regard by ARC.Armstrong also said that the security situation makes it difficult for aid workers to visit the areas. Many people who were a part of the project have been relocated. Claymore mine found in Rajagiriya garden Police on Tuesday arrested three men allegedly planting a powerful bomb on a government official's car at Rajagiriya, the military said.The car was used by a government official from the rebel stronghold of Kilinochchi, an official at the Defence Ministry Information Centre said.Civilians in Rajagiriya, went to police after seeing three men trying to replace the fuel tank of a government vehicle parked at a private residence, the official said.Police rushed to the scene and found a bomb weighing about 20 kilograms (44 pounds) was being fixed to the car, the official said. 300 detained after discovery of bomb in Sri Lanka Sri Lankan police today detained around 300 people following a pre-dawn swoop after the discovery of a powerful mine near an oil storage facility here. Heavily armed constables carried out the mass arrests at Obesekarapura, near the Kolonnawa oil storage complex, police said adding that the operation was launched after yesterday's discovery of a 20-kilogram bomb.It was the third claymore mine found in Colombo this month, the Defence Ministry said.Police said about 250 women were among those detained this morning. Only about 100 out of the total 300 detained were held for further questioning. SL child refugees in India to attend Indian schools Sri Lankan refugees residing in Chennai, India would be admitted to local government schools near their refugee camps, the Education Ministry said.Senior officials at the Education Ministry said that these refugees would not return to Sri Lanka and they would carry on their education in India.The government of India told the Ministry that they would provide these young refugees with an education to prosper in their future.The government of India also opted to provide these children with uniforms, textbooks, stationery and other valuable instruments for their schooling careers in Tamil Nadu.According to the Ministry in Sri Lanka the Indian government would arrange to provide lunch to these refugees on school days.The ministry official said that the parent or guardian would have to give a letter of consent to the school in favour of the child. The official also noted that the Sri Lankan government would assist these refugees in everyway possible.According to the official the Indian government would admit these students to schools around the areas by next month. Indian Navy hands over 12 Lankan fishermen The Indian Navy handed over 12 fishermen and two boats together with their fishing equipment to the Sri Lanka Navy at Kankesanthurai yesterday. The fishermen were taken into custody by the Indian Coast Guard three months ago after straying into Indian waters. The two boats had left from Trincomalee. Addressing the media at the Naval Base at Kankesanthurai, the fishermen said they were fishing in the deep sea as usual at their familiar spots when the Indian Navy took them into custody. The Indian Navy had maintained that the Lankan fishermen had strayed into Indian waters.` The fishermen said one of their boats which was put to sea from Trincomalee was floating due to engine failure in the deep sea after the boat had entered Indian waters. The six fishermen in the boat swam to the Indian coast and were surrounded by the Indian Coast Guards. Thereafter they were taken into custody by the Indian Coast Guards. The other boat was taken into custody along with the six fishermen in it. They were in prison for three months before they were produced before Indian Courts and fined Rs. 50,000 each. Bandaranaike Wants To See Women In Peacekeeping Role Former Sri Lankan president Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga called for women to play an active role in crisis management and peacekeeping around the globe.Speaking before the European Parliament's Committee on Women's Rights and Gender Equality in Brussels Tuesday evening, Bandaranaike proposed to the European Union to consider sending women when the European bloc undertakes peace missions, according to Inepnext news agency.'Women have a completely different perspective on conflict resolution. Women by the very nature of historic role have special aptitude for alleviating conflict,' she argued.'Today one of the most important subjects is conflict and conflict resolution. Women have not had a role in conflict resolution, not even in the West,' she asserted.Speaking on the situation of women in Asia, Bandaranaike pointed to the strange situation where on one side they suffer a great deal of oppression and at the same time the region has produced so many women leaders. Bandaranaike explained this contradictory situation by referring to the mother-image of women in Hindu and Buddhist societies.'Once a woman is elevated to occupy the mother-image she is respected tremendously,' said Bandaranaike who served as President from 1994 till 2005.Answering a question posed by a member of the European Parliament on the issue of terrorism in her country, she said Sri Lanka has the biggest number of women suicide bombers in the world, 95 percent of whom are aged between 20-25.She argued that the phenomenon of terrorism has some reasons behind it referring to the discrimination faced by the Tamil minority in her country.She said there was a 'pogrom' against Tamils by a 'foolish government' in July 1983 following which many Tamils escaped to India 'found funds, found arms, trained themselves and then turned to violence.'However, she noted, the reaction of the separatist Tamil Tigers is 'far in excess of the discrimination they faced.' 'They have become too terroristic, they will not give up their demand for a separatist state but they can be marginalized and politically destroyed,' added Bandaranaike. Karuna forming a new attack force ex-Tiger cadres (Asiantribune) 26 June 2007 Bullet goes ‘missing’ in Sri Lanka murder probe Birnbaum had already raised concerns about the ballistics evidence in his main report in April. In an additional report this month, “he raises serious concerns about evidence that a bullet has been removed from the evidence submitted on March 7 by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) as exhibits to the Kantale Magistrates Court in charge of the inquest,” the ICJ said. Birnbaum’s finding revolves around the report of an Australian pathologist, Malcolm Dodd, who reported that eight bullets – including one 5.56 calibre – were recovered from seven bodies during a post mortem examination in October 2006. However, a Sri Lankan government analyst later concluded that all of the bullets appeared to be of 7.62 calibre, according to Birnbaum. “There is therefore evidence to indicate that the 5.56 calibre bullet was removed from the evidence submitted as exhibits to the Kantale Magistrate, and that another bullet of a different type was substituted,” the ICJ added. The ICJ is an independent legal watchdog composed of 60 eminent lawyers and former judges who are representative of the different legal systems of the world. Sri Lanka battles cash crunch Due to inefficiency, corruption, fall in income and the mounting expenditure on war, the Sri Lankan government is facing a financial crunch. This is likely to get worse in the future because of a planned rise in defence expenditure. At last Wednesday's cabinet meeting, President Mahinda Rajapaksa had turned down requests from a number of ministers for more financial allocations, The Sunday Times reported.A cash strapped Central government had slashed allocations to the Provincial Governments by as much as 60%, the paper said. This would affect on-going grass roots level projects. Key sectors flounder In an economy which is highly dependent on tourism, a 23.4% fall in arrivals in the first five months of 2007, and a 40% fall in May,should cause great anxiety. According to the Central Bank, earnings from tourism had fallen by 14.8% in the first four months of this year.Contributing to the fall in arrivals were factors like travel advisories by Western governments and the closure of the Colombo airport at night in the last three months.Export of garments has been another major source of income.But due to increased global competition and bad industry practices, 85 factories had to close in 2006 and about 16,000 workers were thrown out of job, Lakbima News reported.Contributing to the stress in the garment industry is a 35% increase in the Terminal Handling Charge at the Colombo port. Small garment factories, which have been the most vulnerable to hikes in rates and severe competition, have come down from 700 to 350. As regards the other major export commodity, tea, the Chairman of the Colombo Tea Traders' Association, Tybre Akbarrali, had this to say:"The prevailing situation has not only destroyed the country's image but has become a principal factor for rise of inflation which had a bad impact on the industry during the last year."Due to the mismatch between the international and domestic oil prices,the state owned Ceylon Petroleum Corporation is running at a loss of LKR (Lanka Rupees) 1360 million. Rising expenditure on arms Sri Lanka is the most militarised county in South Asia with the highest per capita expenditure on defence, according to a Mumbai based think tank. Expenditure on the non-productive defence sector has been growing by leaps and bounds and is set to grow faster. It will pinch the economy when repayment time comes.According to Jane's Defence Weekly, Sri Lanka has signed a $ 37.6 million deal with China's Poly Technologies. This company would have to be paid a 25% advance, and the balance in ten quarterly instalments. Sri Lanka already owes $ 200 million to another Chinese arms company NORINCO.Sri Lanka is to buy 3D radars for $ 5 million and five MIG 29s, including a UB trainer to replace the MIG 27s which were bought only in December last year. The manpower in the Security Forces, currently at 250,000, is to be increased by 50,000.There is really no money to pay for all this. According to The Sunday Times the Secretary to the Treasury has been making this clear."The only option that remains is to call upon the public to tighten their belts even further," the paper said. But this is going to betough, as inflation is already at 17%. Where has chief justice gone? Where has the Chief Justice Sarath N. Silva who recently created storms in the local political arena gone when he left for abroad on Saturday? What for? Are the two questions many have begun to raise today.The questions are being raised as the Chief Justice who was invited to make the key note address on "Basic law and its future" at the Hong Kong City University, has still not reached there.Executive director of the Asian Human rights Commission Basil Fernando told LeN that the organisation was planning on staging a demonstration on Friday since Silva was scheduled to arrive in Hong Kong on that day but when they inquired regarding this from the University it had told them that he was not arriving. But Fernando said they had to reconfirm regarding the Chief Justice's arrival since one of the local news papers yesterday published a photograph of Nihal Jayasinghe assuming duties as the actigin chief justice stating that the Chief Justice had gone to Hong Kong, but the university has informed them that he has not arrived at their university.Sources close to the Chief Justice say that he has gone to India for a private matter and that he is scheduled to arrive in the island on the 27th of this month since there are a couple of cases that demands his presence at the bench.Meanwhile it is being reported that several high ranking officials in the government have recently held a special discussion regarding the behavior of the CJ after he declared several controversial verdicts in the past couple of weeks. LTTE gets equipment from Japan While Defence Authorities probed the LTTE’s acquiring of what was believed to be Chinese built military hardware, it has now been revealed that the rebels possess Japanese manufactured equipment, including radars, a Defence official said. The revelation comes after security forces recovered a powerful radar from an LTTE vessel seized by the Navy following a fierce battle off Point Pedro last week. “It was manufactured in Japan and it is a custom built item for which the manufacturer could be traced together with the buyer,” the official said.He also said four Yamaha 250 horse power engines which were found from the boat were also products of Japan. “Manufactures don’t normally issue such types of engines without proper permission from a government,” the official added.Earlier it was revealed the 14.5 mm twin barrel weapons fixed on the vessel were Chinese manufactured prompting the relevant authorities to take up the matter with the Chinese government. The Navy recovered the radar along with several weapons and a Global Positioning System (GPS) from the damaged LTTE vessel last week. Lanka re-opens police station in former Tiger territory Sri Lanka today reopened its police station in Vavunathivu area of Batticaloa district which was held by Tamil Tiger rebels for over 15 years, officials said. The police station was re-established after troops drove out the rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) following a two-month battle in the coastal district of Batticaloa, they said. "About 32,000 people who were displaced from Vavunathivu because of recent fighting have now returned and resettled and the police station was set up to cater to their needs," a police official said by phone. The station was launched as the military kept up an offensive against the Tigers in the Thoppigala jungles in the district. Police OIC, 2 constables arrested The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) yesterday informed the Colombo Chief Magistrate that the Officer-In-Charge of the Pundaluoya police station and two constables were taken into custody for releasing, without properly checking, a bomb-laden lorry with over 1000 kilograms of explosives.The CID informed Court that the OIC, Inspector Sampath Bandara, and two constables Jayalath Ekanayake and Chandrasena Rajakaruna, were being interrogated as to how they could not detect a bomb laden lorry, which was stopped by another police team at Kotawehera, a few days later. The three suspects have been remanded for 90 days, under the detention order, and the CID informed Court that they were continuing investigations to ascertain whether they were involved in any terrorist activity. Filing a report before the Chief Magistrate, Ms. Kusala Sarojini Weerawardena, the CID stated that the suspect police team had stopped the lorry on May 28 in Pundaluoya, but had released it without proper checking. The vehicle had been roving around the area, until it was detected by a police team attached to Kotawehera police station on June 3.An IB extract had been forwarded to the Attorney General for further instructions, the CID reported to the Magistrate. Only CFA can save Sri Lanka - Thamilchelvan S.P Thamilchelvan, head of the Political Division of the LTTE, in an interview with TamilNet on Monday said that to bring peace and pave the way for talks, the international community should come forward to "support the struggle for rights of the Tamil people and force the Sri Lankan Government to implement the ceasefire agreement in full.” Characterizing the "efforts” to bring a united position among the southern parties as the "same old drama," that has gone on throughout the Tamil people’s struggle for their rights, he said only the CFA can save the island from the disaster. Welcoming the timely meeting by the Co-chairs in Oslo, Mr. Thamilchelvan said Tamil people have become suspcious as to why there is no firm united stance even among the members of the Co-chairs. Some members are indirectly encouraging Colombo by giving military and economic aid while some others are attempting to implement practical steps to put pressure on the Sri Lankan Government, LTTE's political head said. "International community must gain a profound understanding of this long history [of prolonging and time buying tactics by Colombo] and act to end the ethnically biased efforts by the Sinhala leadership. I believe the constructive step by the international community is to accept and support the struggle for rights of the Tamil people and force the Sri Lankan Government to implement the ceasefire agreement 100% to pave the way for peace talks."On the military situation in the east, Thamilchelvan said, LTTE chooses military strategies to suit the “place, environment and time,” and that Sri Lanka Army (SLA) will soon find out the “trap they have set for themselves.” TamilNet: What are your views on the Co-chairs meeting in Oslo to discuss the current situation in Sri Lanka? TamilNet: What shifts in policy, perception, and approach do you think the international community should adopt to create a climate conducive to permanent peace ? Thamilchelvan: The ceasefire agreement brought at least a temporary reprieve to the high intensity war that went on for more than twenty years. This is important because it was the first agreement that came about after a long time with the assistance of the international community. The world supported this agreement unanimously. This brought hope to the communities affected by the conflict. Yet, due to the competition for power among the Sinhala ruling class, the conducive environment that was created for peace was destroyed. By their actions the ruling class has created confusion about the position of the majority Sinhala people and has brought about a dire situation in this island. They rejected the very first proposal put forward by the Tamil people for an interim government, and they also destroyed the agreement, after it was signed by the two sides, on a joint structure put forward by the international community, following the tsunami devastation for humanitarian work. Through these the Sinhala chauvinistic leadership has destroyed any remaining hope among the Tamil people. International community must seriously view the long history of the Tamil struggle and act to end the ethnically biased efforts by the Sinhala leadership. I believe the constructive step by the international community is to accept and support the struggle for rights of the Tamil people and force the Sri Lankan Government to implement the ceasefire agreement 100% to pave the way for peace talks. TamilNet: The International community, in particular the USA, thinks that a common agreement must be reached among the Southern political parties and through this form the basis for negotiations with the LTTE. Is this possible? Is this the right strategy? Thamilchelvan: As far as the southern political parties are concerned there has never been the practice of following party policies. They jump from party to party to seek power and for financial benefits. The current “efforts” to bring a united position among the southern parties is the same drama that has gone on throughout the Tamil people’s struggle for their rights. Finding a solution has never been the motive of these “efforts”. The latest “efforts” too will not produce the desired outcome of a common agreement. When decisions have to be made later, these parties will not cooperate towards it. Agreements or solutions will be reached only when those in power act with honesty to find that solution not otherwise. In addition, whoever newly takes control of the Sri Lankan Government is always interested in a military solution and they are more bent on exploiting the international community for that end. This has always been the pattern. A point must be emphasized. Sri Lankan Government will never agree to peace talks after strengthening it militarily. On the contrary it will reject peace efforts and ceasefire agreements and will jump into a war saying it is going to bring a resolution through military means. Then after facing heavy losses from which it is unable to pull back it will agree for a peace talks. I do believe that the international community would have understood this pattern of deceptive behaviour of the successive Sinhala Governments. The latest ceasefire agreement, which the international community believed will deliver a solution, was the result of military and economic difficulties faced by the Sinhala Government. Therefore, hopes to find a solution by militarily strengthening the Sri Lankan Government and thus destroy the Tamil collective and thus their struggle for freedom will always remain a daydream.Firstly, there has never been a history where a Sri Lankan Government has come down and agreed for talks or peace efforts in such a situation. Secondly, a solution found through such a means will not be a just solution to an affected and oppressed people. TamilNet: Sections of Southern leadership and clergy are advancing the idea that peace can be brought about by militarily weakening the LTTE. What is your position on this? Thamilchelvan: Tamil people have been fighting for their rights for the last 60 years. Initially, Tamil people did not choose military means for their freedom struggle. They took forward their struggle through non-violence for thirty years. Sinhala leadership could have put forward a solution to the ethnic problem during these thirty years. There was never an open minded humanitarian approach to this problem by the Sinhala leadership. On the contrary, ethnic cleansing and ethnic genocide were visited on the people. Many thousands of Tamil people were killed and hundreds of thousands of Tamil were chased from their land, in effect a huge human misery was created. It was in this environment that our freedom movement was born. Only when their struggle by peaceful and democratic means was broken and military violence was let loose to wipe out the people, the people took up armed struggle as self defense. People of Tamil Elam did not wish to create this situation. This was forced by the Sinhala violence. If the issue of the rights of the Tamil people has captured the world attention, it is only because of the dedicated military strength of the Tamil people. Therefore, Tamil people will never allow the military strength that was built up step by step as self defense to be weakened. The Sinhala leadership knowing this well repeats this proposition again and again solely to buy time and opportunity from the international community to intensify their ethnic genocide and destroy the rights of Tamils.It is only when the Sinhala leadership understands, the true aspirations of the Tamil people, that the military strength of the Tamil people is not against the Sinhala nation or the Sinhala people, that it was built as self defense to protect their homeland, and that only when Tamil people create the environment where they too can live with security, freedom and self respect, this island will become a violence free peaceful place. TamilNet: Certain countries that are rejecting a military solution and emphasizing a political solution, are also taking actions against representatives of Tamils and the LTTE. As the conflict now plays out on a domestic and international platform, how does this impact the issue of Tamil representation? Thamilchelvan: Hundreds of thousands of our people chased out from their home are living in several countries. They help their kith and kin in this island who have suffered immense misery. It is a real tragedgy that humanitarian concern and the natural affinity between kith and kin are smeared with labels of assisting ‘terrorism.’ Neither the Tamil people nor their representatives have broken the laws of the countries where they reside when carrying out their political or humanitarian work. They do their work to achieve their aspirations by respecting the people and their governments of these countries. After the tsunami devastation, during the peace efforts, and when an ethnic violence is let loose on their people, expatriate Tamils worked tirelessly for their brethren in the Tamil homeland. Smearing this work they do to help their kith and kin with terrorism is not only distressing the Tamil people, it will also encourage the Sinhala chauvinists to intensify their violence. TamilNet: How accurate is the claim by the Sri Lankan Army, that the LTTE has been evicted from the East, and this eviction translates into SLA military superiority? Thamilchelvan: As far as the LTTE is concerned we were never defeated. We adopt military strategies to suit the place, the environment and the time. In particular, in the east it is common for the Sinhala forces to advance and then withdraw when faced with heavy losses following our strong defense. This is the past history. No people will accept the occupation of their land by a foreign force or a force that they detest. They will always seek their own security. Very soon the Sinhala forces will understand the trap they have set for themselves. Court refuses early bail for Nugegoda SSP When the bail application filed on behalf of Nugegoda SSP K. Udayapala, who is in remand for the alleged murder of well-known underworld figure Nawala Nihal's brother was taken up before the Colombo High Court, the judge observed that there was no special cases in courts and that all bail applications would be treated alike. High Court Judge Ms. Deepali Wijesundara made this remark when the counsel appearing for the bail application asked court to re-fix an early date as the senior counsel was not present in court. Counsel Lal Kularatne informed that senior counsel Anil Silva was not available in court and that notices be issued to support the matter on June 28 as it was an urgent matter. At this stage the High Court Judge observed that all bail applications are treated alike in the Court and this too would be treated in the same manner. Court further stated that as the matter was taken up for notice the counsel should support it the same day. Court issued notice on the respondent returnable on July 10, 2007. The bail application was filed by the suspect SSP's wife, Ms. K.M.H.W.K. Pahathkumbura asking court to grant her husband bail on any condition. Ms. Pahathkumbura has cited the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) Director and the Attorney General as respondents. The petitioner stated that K.D. Morris Wickremasinghe, brother of Nihal Wickremasinghe alias Nawala Nihal was murdered in February 2002 and his children who were abroad levelled unfounded allegations against her husband. This allegation was based on the steps taken by her husband to control the underworld. Ms. Pahathkumbura complained that her husband was not informed of the reason for the arrest and that there was no evidence to arrest him. She complained that the arrest was made on misleading facts reported to court by the counsels appearing for the aggrieved party. Norwegian Tamils urge Co-Chairs to pressure Colombo Around 200 Norwegian Tamils of Norwegian Tamils Federation (NTF) gathered in front of Norway Foreign Ministry in Oslo Monday between 10:00 to 11:00 a.m., urging Norway to advice the representatives of the Co-chair countries, scheduled to meet in Oslo Tuesday, to pressure the Sri Lanka Government (GoSL) to stop human rights violations committed against the Tamils in Sri Lanka, Oslo sources said. Jon Hanssen Bauer, the Norwegian Special Envoy to Sri Lanka Peace Process, accompanied by Thomas Stangeland, Advisor, Norway Foreign Ministry, received the memorandum submitted by Ms. Sumathi Wijiyaraj, representative of Tamil Women Organization. Mr. Jon Hansen Bower, receiving the memorandum thanked the Norwegian Tamils for the information given in the memorandum said that he will share the contents with other diplomats, according to a member of the NTF. NTF is an umbrella organization of the Tamil Associations in Norway. The following associations participated in the gathering Monday. Tamil Sangam in Norway Norwegian Minister and Sri Lanka peace envoy, Mr. Eric Solheim is to host a meeting of the Sri Lanka Co-chairs, EU, Japan, the US and Norway, on 26 June to discuss matters related to Sri Lanka's peace process."Human rights and humanitarian affairs are definitely the issues of the day," one foreign diplomat said on Monday on condition of anonymity, Reuters said."It's fair to say that some of the Co-Chairs are still very much concerned about the situation in those fields today and will be focusing on that in the time to come," Reuters report added. Anandasangaree’s plea to Prabakaran In an open letter to LTTE leader Prabakaran, president of the Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF) V. Anandasangaree has urged the LTTE chief to give up his demand for separation and accept a federal solution within a united Sri Lanka.In a 10-page letter titled “The only way open” released here, Mr. Anandasangaree has sought to remind Mr. Prabakaran of the hardship, sufferings and ruination brought upon by the policies of his organisation on people of north and east and asserted that a federal solution would “receive very wide support, surprisingly even from un-expected quarters”. He urged Mr. Prabakaran to understand his concerns, for the Tamil speaking people in particular and of all Sri Lankans in general. “Since things seem to be going out of control, please take suitable remedial measures to bring back peace and tranquillity to a suffering nation, without any further delay.” “Work for welfare” He said some of the matters he was referring to in the letter were not brought to the LTTE leader’s attention in his previous letters. “The time has now come for you to take full responsibility for the present precarious condition in which our people live.”Mr. Anandasangaree urged Mr. Prabakaran to act with responsibility and caution, forgetting all that had happened and work for a prosperous future of all the people of Sri Lanka.“Like some others who project the LTTE as the sole representatives of the Tamil people, I will not do so because you are not considered by the Tamil people as such, mainly due to your ruthlessness. You know very well that you have earned the name as the most ruthless person in the world. Are you not aware that you are fast losing your credibility day by day, by causing terror and tension to the people.” The TULF leader said S.J.V. Chelvanayagam’s newly formed alliance would have sorted out the Tamil problem peacefully but it is Mr. Prabakaran who aggravated the situation by taking drastic steps, never heard of in the history of Jaffna till that time.“You should be held responsible for the deaths of over 70,000 people of all faiths, of all age groups, of both sexes of all communities in Sri Lanka not only at the battle front but also in land and claymore mine attacks, hand grenade and bomb attacks and also massacres of innocent ones in buses, trains, etc. The Kepitigolawa and Aranthalawa massacres, attempt to sink the ship carrying 700 service personnel in mid-sea, the killing of the hundred odd Navy personnel going on leave and returning for duty and many other massacres in the mosques etc. cannot be justified. What harm did the 31 innocent Buddhist priests you slaughtered at Aranthalawa do to you?“Can you cite one single incident of this nature in which a Sinhalese civilian got involved. Furthermore please take it for granted that up to now not one Tamil life was taken by any one of those so called Buddhist Sinhala chauvinist although some talk irresponsibly.” LTTE man kills himself to avoid capture: military A suspected Tamil Tiger guerrilla killed himself by swallowing a cyanide capsule as soldiers cornered him at a Hindu temple in eastern Sri Lanka, the military said Tuesday. The military received a tip that a suspected rebel was hiding in the temple in Kaluwankerni village, eastern Batticaloa district, on Monday, an official at the Defense Ministry's information center said on condition of anonymity in line with policy. As soldiers searched the temple, the rebel bit a cyanide capsule, the official said, adding that a pistol, ammunition and two more cyanide capsules were recovered from the man. The military believes the rebel may have been hiding in the temple after escaping a military offensive in nearby Thoppigala, the last rebel stronghold in the east. Government soldiers have captured may rebel-held regions in the east and are now trying to take control of mountainous Thoppigala which has been under the control of the Tigers for the past 14 years. Tamil Tigers, who have fought the government since 1983 to create an independent homeland for the country's predominantly Hindu Tamil minority, are known to wear cyanide capsules around their neck to avoid being captured alive. Sri Lanka's worsening separatist conflict has killed more than 5,000 people in the past 19 months rendering a 2002 Norway-brokered cease-fire useless. More than 70,000 people have died in two decades of fighting. Tamil-Muslim abductions: Why is there deafening silence? It was first the Tamils and now the Muslims and despite all the recent rumblings on increasing abductions amongst ethnic minorities there is still a deafening silence. Silence because still a large part of the country is either unaware of it or refuses to accept it. Silence also because the existing ranting lacks any sense of earnestness and has turned into a political spectacle. This silence isn’t unique in the wider Sri Lankan human rights context just as much as abductions in Colombo is not necessarily the most compelling problem of the day. But this latest string of incidents appears to be defined by a more disturbing nationalist campaign that warrants comment. There is however an inescapable elitist element to all of this that must be highlighted right at the very inception. Tamils and Muslims particularly in the north and east have been facing human rights violations for the past two decades, including killings, abductions, extortions, ethnic cleansing and displacement. Whilst this current spate of incidents has gripped Colombo based Tamils and Muslims in fear, such circumstances are not unprecedented in Sri Lanka. In the case of the eastern Muslims, for instance, for many years they faced the same calamity largely without exposure and not having the luxury of escaping to a foreign country as is happening today. However the current focus on urban wealthy elites has managed to in a relatively shorter period draw more attention than in previous cases of similar violations. Notwithstanding the elite angle, the recent spate of abductions and extortions is worrying because it uniquely affects minorities. To this day there has been no issue of abductions or extortion amongst Sinhala elite clearly making this part of a targeted wider campaign against ethnic minorities. When it started amongst Tamils-most people were silent. Part of the reason was because few were willing to come forward and give evidence and also because it was only one amongst several human rights violations faced by the Tamils. Outside of abductions and extortions Tamils are also victims to killings, threats, eviction, harassment at check points, arbitrary arrest and detention all of which made the first two issues less significant. The other factor was that in the case of the Tamil abductions there were multiple perpetrators including the LTTE and Karuna group, which brought in a terrorism and para-military dimension. But largely the reason for the silence was because it was Tamils who were affected.Whilst similar factors prevail with the Muslims their case is slightly different. Because the Muslims are not one of the armed parties in the conflict the abductions and extortions they face can be seen as rid of the politics of the conflict. In the Muslim situation it appears that it is the very rich businessmen/families that have been targeted in a bid to quash Muslim’s socio-economic position. In some cases, as was with the Tamils, the perpetrators were privy to information belonging to the State, including tax details. This makes it difficult to argue that the State has not had a hand in all of this. This spate of abductions and extortion appears to be one part of the current Sinhala nationalist hegemonic project aimed at completely suppressing minorities. This latest campaign can be seen in many ways including the manner in which people are displaced and resettled, the creation of high-security zones, changes to the ethnic compositions of electorates and eviction of Tamils from the capital. It constitutes an article on its own, but what needs to be made clear here, is that this kind of targeting of the economic interests and social status of ethnic minorities has to be more than just underworld thugs in operation.The response to all of this, particularly since the Muslims became targets, has been appalling. The politicisation of the Muslim abduction issue is clearly a disgrace. Both government and opposition ministers, as if starved for any other issue, have hijacked this to score political mileage. The opposition has plenty of general human rights issues to respond to but Muslim oppositional MP’s are up in arms on this one. The government response, at least on the part of their Muslim representatives, has been to completely downplay the problem. The volleying of blame by Muslim politicians on either side only emphasises the depths to which Muslim politics has fallen where not even a crisis of this nature can escape political division. The political vacuum amongst the Muslims is further exacerbated by the fact that SLMC leader Rauf Hakeem one of the few leaders who has come out strongly against it remains in the government. The media too has taken it up as a human rights issue but somewhat with an agenda. In some instances the media has played heavily on the ethnic chauvinasm of some Sinhala politicians in references to the Muslims, encouraging the stereotyping of Muslims. The manner in which the problem has been reported also raises other serious concerns. In the cases of Muslim businessmen/families some media groups have gone as far as naming them and providing figures. This could potentially put these individuals at severe risk. In most cases the victims are not individual traders but are large scale industrialists who employ thousands of people from all ethnic communities. The impact not just to the Muslim economy but to the country’s economy has been sidelined by the media. More importantly the media has completely shelved the key point of minority targeting. The expansion of this problem of abductions and extortions beyond the Tamils to the Muslims has to be seen in the larger spectrum of things. It is increasingly appearing as part of a bigger more concerted campaign. In the case of the Muslims being the second minority they are doubly affected. In the east their economic base in agriculture was heavily affected when the LTTE forcefully took over their paddy lands pushing them to seek alternative sources of income. Then Colombo based Muslims stood silent. Now the victims are the urban businessmen and industrialists who have been forced to cough up millions of rupees. In some cases businesses have been severely affected making it no longer viable to continue and in other situations top business figures have fled the country. This chauvinistic project is forcing the minorities to either seek refuge abroad or live in Sri Lanka weakened and subjugated by the majority. This is what deserves protest and should attract debate. Abductions and extortions certainly are serious problems. But the underlying issue is more severe. Once the figures are added it is apparent that in the past months the extortionists and abductors must have gained billions of rupees. Clearly this money must be going towards a more organised project than simply filling the pockets of individuals. This is what the minority leaders need to question and stand up against. Unlike the Tamil politicians, some of whom who are linked to the LTTE (also reputed for abductions and extortions), the Muslim leadership has a more open platform to do this. In the wake of government denials and a defensive strategy on human rights violations it is only the people that can demand accountability. The response should not simply be left to the minorities. Where are the Sinhala voices on this issue? Sinhala business leaders have previously publicly taken a stance on the conflict, where are their voices now? If this latest abduction saga has taught us anything it is that no one can afford to be silent for too long. 25 June 2007 Peace makers to discuss Lanka after Co-chairs Several prominent international peace envoys, including former UN Secretaries General Kofi Annan and Boutros Boutros-Ghali are expected to meet in Oslo on the sidelines of the Sri Lanka’s Co-chair meeting today and exchange and compare notes on the worldwide peace processes they had been involved in.“The main focus of their meeting will invariably be on Sri Lanka’s peace process, since the meeting of the envoys coincides with the co-chairs’ meeting,” highly placed diplomatic sources said yesterday. Accordingly, mediator in the Northern Ireland peace process, US Senator George Mitchell, Japanese Peace Envoy Yasushi Akashi and several prominent peace negotiators who had played vital roles in peace processes worldwide, are also to participate at this meeting.“They will compare techniques, approaches, failures as well as the successes of each and every peace process that they were involved in during this meeting,” he said. At the same time, Sri Lanka’s main donor nations – the US, Japan, the EU and Norway - will meet in Oslo today to discuss ways to bring the government and the Tamil Tigers back to the negotiating table. Peace broker Norway will host the meeting.Meanwhile, Mr. Akashi, who visited Sri Lanka recently, is to make a special request from the international community to immediately assist thousands of displaced people in the Eastern Province.Diplomatic sources said that i | ||
