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31 March 2011 Go beyond 13th amendment, India tells TNA India has instructed Sri Lanka’s main Tamil political party, The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) to go beyond the 13th Amendment when they hold discussions with the Sri Lanka government on power devolution. Jaffna District TNA Parliamentarian Mavai Senadhirajah said however, President Mahinda Rajapaksa has categorically informed that the police powers would not and could not be devolved under any circumstances, during their recent powwow with the government representatives.“India advised us to demand something beyond the 13th Amendment from the Mahinda Rajapaksa administration at a discussion we had with the External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna at the Indian Consulate in Jaffna during his February visit to Sri Lanka,” Mr. Senadhirajah told Daily Mirror. He said the TNA has prepared a paper to be submitted to the government at the meeting scheduled to be held on April 7th which includes a basis for negotiation. Mr. Senadhirajah stressed that the Tamils do not have confidence in the 13th Amendment and as a basis to resolve the ethnic issue and it does not meet the aspirations of the Tamil community. Four Sri Lankan Navy sailors missing - report Four Sri Lankan navy sailors have been reported missing along with their boat and Sri Lankan officials have sought the help of Indian Navy and fishermen, Indian media reported on Wednesday.The authorities reportedly suspect that the boat may have sunk or developed a snag and drifted to a coast in the Palk Strait.The Tamil Nadu Fisheries Department which has been informed of the incident has sought the help of the state's fishermen to look out for missing Sri Lanka sailors, a PTI report said.The Indian authorities had asked about 650 fishermen, who went out to sea from Rameshwaram in Tamil Nadu Wednesday evening to inform officials if they come across the missing Sri Lankan Naval boat.Officials of Q Branch police have also alerted the state's Coastal Security Police about the missing sailors. Indonesian naval ships in Colombo port Two Indonesian war ships have arrived in the Port of Colombo for refueling and a troop transferring, Sri Lanka Navy said Tuesday.The two war ships, KRI Yos Sudarso -353 and KRI Abdul Halim Perankusuma - 355are on their way to the Arabian Sea on an anti-piracy mission.The 113.4-meter long two Leander class frigates are to leave the Colombo harbour on Wednesday for their assigned mission. Sinhala organisation in land grab accusation Claims He said that the government claim these lands belong to Port Authority, Archaeological Department, Forest Conservation and fisheries."Terrorists demarcated areas within their boundaries. But people were able to save their lands; they cultivated them. There is no war now; the government in power is now grabbing their lands", he said.NESO Secretary, Bandara said that India which supported the military during the war had entered into secret agreements with the Sri Lanka government.As part of this agreement, he alleged, the oil tanks farm in Trincomalee has been handed over to Indian Oil Company (IOC)."India is building a power plant in Sampur after the Tamil and Muslim population there were displaced. Now plans are underway to hand down ilmanite plant in Pulmudai to India",he added. No land grab Eastern Provincial Council minister for Land Wimalaweera Dissanayaka who did not deny the practice of unlawful utilization of lands told BBC Sandesaya that there are no illegal acquisitions of lands in the east but .He said some lands in Hulan Nuge area were acquired and given to Forest Conservation Department; but later handed to villagers for cultivation following discussions with the department.However, the provincial minister said that the provincial council was helpless if land was acquired on 'security reasons'. Interpol issues warrant for a UK man alleged of smuggling Sri Lankan Tamils to Canada The Interpol has issued an arrest warrant for a Sri Lankan Tamil man in the United Kingdom accused of running human smuggling operations.The world's international police organization has issued a Red Notice for Shanmugasundaram Kanthaskaran, 38, a native of Silavathurai, Sri Lanka.According to the Intepol, he is wanted for his alleged involvement in people smuggling, trafficking and illegal immigration, and terrorism.While the public Interpol notice is vague, Canada's daily National Post says based on classified details of the allegations obtained by the newspaper says he is wanted in connection with the human smuggling vessel Ocean Lady that sent 76 Sri Lankans to Canada aboard a cargo ship in 2009.Citing a confidential Sri Lankan government report, the National Post says Mr. Kanthaskaran, also known as "Peg Leg Shankar," holds a British passport and operates from the U.K., Indonesia, Thailand, and Malaysia."The subject has established an effective network covering South Asian countries to run the human smuggling operations," the paper quoted the document adding that the accused organized the Ocean Lady smuggling run with a Canadian named Ravi Shanker.According to the report, Mr. Kanthaskaran who was a member of the Sea Tiger unit of LTTE moved to London after he lost his leg battling government forces. He was allegedly involved in procuring arms for the rebels During the final phase of the war the LTTE operatives in the UK had organized to smuggle arms on board a ship called Princess Easwary to the cornered Tiger rebels in Northern Sri Lanka in the guise of humanitarian aid.The ship was not allowed to sail to Sri Lanka and the Sri Lankan forces decimated the LTTE in Sri Lanka before the ship could reach the final destination with arms reportedly smuggled from North Korea. According to the National Post report Mr. Kanthaskaran organized that arms smuggling operation in May 2009.After the news of Tiger leader Velupillai Prabhakaran's demise, the ship's crew had dumped their cargo into the sea off Indonesia.The report says that Mr. Kanthaskaran then modified the ship, changed its name and used it to smuggle people from Thailand to Canada.In October 2009, reportedly the modified ship, MV Ocean Lady brought 76 illegal Sri Lankan migrants, all males, to British Columbia. MV Sun Sea's human cargo included 380 men, 63 women, and 49 children. All the migrants have sought asylum in the country. Testifying before the LLRC under the Leadership of Sambandan – Mavai TNA will testify before the Commission of Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation in the early part of next month under the leadership of TNA leader Sambandan, when he will be back in the country, according to Parliamentarian, Mavai Senathirajah The commission was finding difficult to prepare its final report as the TNA had not still testified, it was told. Mavai Senathirajah was replying to the above, when he came out with the intention of the TNA to testify before the commission.TNA leader R. Sambandan is expected to be back in the country during the first week of April and the TNA will testify before the commission, under his leadership. We have already informed the commission in this regard. TNA will not be an obstacle for the preparation of the final report by the commission. TNA will co- operate with the commission, he added. 30 March 2011 Police powers will not be granted to Provincial councils – President President Mahinda Rajapaske had informed regarding a settlement to the racial crisis a stipulated period cannot be given. Tamil National Alliance is appealing for land and police powers, and in this situation, President made this announcement. He made this statement while he met the International Journalists yesterday.In the issue of devolution of powers, provincial councils will not be given police powers was mentioned by him. According to the 13th amendment, land powers will be given. Discussions will be continued between Tamil parties was mentioned by President and informed that a settlement will be met for the crisis. President Mahinda Rajapakse mentioned, 50 thousand houses was assured by the Indian Government, but only 1000 houses will begin its construction work in the forthcoming month of July. He further mentioned a sector is urging not to expedite the release of former Tamil Eelam Liberation tigers, but he refused to inform which sector is urging such request. TNA postpones swearing of LG heads The TNA has postponed the swearing-in of chairmen and vice chairmen to the 12 local government bodies it secured at the March 17 polls. ITAK General Secretary and TNA Parliamentarian Mavai Senathirajah said yesterday that the swearing-in which was scheduled for March 30 at the Trincomalee Urban Council had been postponed to the first week of April, giving time for TNA leader R. Sampanthan to return to the island from India, where he is recovering, after receiving treatment for a heart ailment, at a private nursing home in New Delhi.Senathirajah said that the Party had decided to appoint those who had obtained the highest and second highest preference votes would be appointed as Chairmen and vice-Chairmen respectively of the 12 local bodies won by the party in the North and East.He said that the TNA was to hold the 4th round of discussions with senior representatives of the government, on April 7, on the resettlement of the remaining IDPs, release of High Security Zone (HSZ) lands in the Northern Region and the quick release of Tamil youth in detention and Rehabilitation centers. Indian and Sri Lankan fishermen meet and decide on a road map India and Sri Lanka held discussions on the issues of each other's fishermen and agreed that all fishermen need to be treated in a humane manner and not to use force against the fishermen in the respective territorial waters.A Sri Lankan delegation led by Ranjith Uyangoda, Additional Secretary of the Ministry of External Affairs met an Indian delegation led by T.S. Tirumurti, Joint Secretary (BSM), Ministry of External Affairs of India, in New Delhi during the India-Sri Lanka Joint Working Group on Fisheries held from March 28-29."Both sides reiterated the high priority given by their respective governments to issues of fishermen and their livelihood. They stressed the need for all fishermen to be treated in a humane manner," a joint statement from the Indian Ministry of External Affairs said.To ensure the safety and security of fishermen, both sides agreed that the use of force cannot be justified under any circumstances. The Sri Lankan side has stressed the need to respect the International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL) when fishing by both sides' fishermen.Sri Lanka has informed that the recent violent incidents in January 2011, which resulted in the death of two Indian fishermen, are being further investigated.The two sides noting that the Joint Statement on Fishing Arrangements of 26th October 2008 had led to a decrease in violent incidents in 2009-2010 welcomed the Joint Statement issued during the visit of the Foreign Secretary of India to Sri Lanka in January 2011.Given the socio-economic and livelihood dimensions to the issue, both sides have agreed that there was need for enhancing cooperation by building on the agreements reached earlier. They agreed on the need to discuss arrangements based on the current situation so as to further strengthen the safety, security, and livelihood of the fishermen.Both sides welcomed the visit of a group of Indian fishermen from Tamil Nadu to Sri Lanka from March 20-23, 2011 who have met Sri Lanka's Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Minister and the Small and Traditional Industries Minister in addition to meeting their counterparts in Northern Sri Lanka.Recalling the initiatives taken earlier in August 2010 by the fishermen of both countries, where a Sri Lankan fishermen delegation visited India, both sides agreed on the need to foster greater understanding between their respective fishermen and fishermen associations. Noting the invitation extended by the Indian fishermen to their Sri Lankan counterparts, the two sides agreed that a return visit to India would be important to take this process forward, the release said. "Both sides discussed the various regulatory measures being put in place to manage the fishery resources in their respective waters. They noted the growing importance of fisheries to the livelihood of the coastal communities in Northern Sri Lanka. The two sides agreed that a road map needs to be put in place to ensure resource sustainability, livelihood, safety, and security of the fishermen of both countries. Both sides also discussed measures to expedite the release of bona fide detained fishermen from both countries," India's External Affairs Ministry underscored.The draft Memorandum of Understanding on Development and Cooperation in the field of Fisheries was also discussed and it was decided to continue discussion on the draft.The Indian side offered to continue its assistance to the fisheries sector in Sri Lanka, which was welcomed by the Sri Lankan side.The Indian delegation also thanked the Sri Lankan authorities for facilitating the visit of Indian fishermen and pilgrims to Kachchativu for the festival of St. Anthony earlier this month. Vanni battle: If President, Defence Sec were clueless who knew of ‘real’ situ on Vanni East front-SL A Sri Lanka government official says that Indian claims that President Mahinda Rajapaksa and Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa hadn’t been aware of the real situation on the Vanni east front during the last phase of the war are groundless. The official says the President and the Defence Secretary had been fully aware of the progress throughout the military offensive beginning in the East in early September 2006 to May 2009 and also the post-war developments.He was responding to the latest Wikileaks revelation that Indian Foreign Minister Pranab Mukherjee and Foreign Secretary Shiv Shanker Menon following separate visits to Colombo early 2009, said that the Rajapaksa brothers hadn’t been aware of the ground situation.President Rajapaksa categorically rejected accusations about the mounting civilian casualties, according to US embassy cables revealed by Wikileaks.At the same time, India wanted Sri Lanka to be "more discriminating" in how they screened the Internally Displaced People (IDPs) and look at those who actually posed a threat than keeping everybody "associated" with the LTTE in custody.Sources said that President Rajapaksa never missed a meeting of the National Security Council (NSC) during the campaign, while the Defence Secretary oversaw the combined security forces action. "In the wake of India’s claim that the Rajapaksa brothers hadn’t been aware of the ground situation, the question is if they weren’t who actually knew of the developments. In spite of heavy LTTE resistance, the President ordered a halt to air and artillery strikes on the last LTTE-held territory in the final phase. And we went to the extent of giving access to Colombo-based diplomatic community UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles) footage of the Army rescuing civilians held at gun point."Sri Lanka’s No 2 at the UN Maj. Gen. Shavendra Silva, the then General Officer Commanding (GOC) 58 Division told The Island that the Army refrained from using heavy weapons at LTTE fortifications even at the expense of the fighting troops.A senior government official told The Island that the President had been briefed of the ups and downs of the offensive. The bottom line was the President knew of the battle-field progress until the conclusion of mopping up operations on the banks of the Nanthikadal lagoon on May 19, 2009.Responding to a query by The Island, another official said that the government went to the extent of allowing the ICRC to evacuate those wounded on the Vanni east front from Puthumathalan, Mullaitivu. According to him, many wounded LTTE cadres had used that opportunity to leave the battle zone and reach Pulmoddai, where under an agreement between the Sri Lankan and Indian governments, New Delhi stationed medical teams to treat the wounded. Once the fighting came to an end, the Indian contingent moved into Menik Farm, where it played an important role in providing services to the IDPs, the official said.Sources said that even the top LTTE leadership could have surrendered to the Army along with thousands of terrorists, who gave themselves up without any pre-conditions. At the conclusion of the war, the Army held some 11,600 terrorists (both surrendered and identified among civilians) and close to 300,000 civilians, but today the vast majority of them had been released. CBI should probe link between Aircel and LTTE: Swamy to SC Janata Party Chief Subramanian Swamy , who is pursuing the 2G spectrum scam , today asked the Supreme Court to direct CBI to expand the ambit of its probe to cover the alleged link between terror outfit LTTE and telecom company Aircel . However, a Bench comprising justices G S Singhvi and A K Ganguly asked him to file a proper application so that CBI could look into it. He also raised the question why CBI was registering the charge of forgey against former Telecom Minister A Raja under the lenient provision of section 468 instead of stringent section 467 of the Indian Penal Code. He said it should be ensured that CBI registers the charge of forgery under section 467 which attracts maximum punishment of life imprisonment instead of lenient penal provision under section 468 in which the maximum sentence is seven years jail term. While section 467 deals with forgery of documents dealing with valuable security, section 468 covers forgery of documents for cheating. Swamy in his application before the trial court has sought a direction for CBI to probe the scam from national security angle. The application had said Swan Telecom and Unitech Wireless , which were allotted licences, had sold their major shares to two foreign firms Etisalat and Telenor, which is "a major threat" to national security. "The first two licensees, Swan Telecom and Unitech Wireless, soon after the allocation of spectrum to them, sold their controlling shares respectively to Etisalat DB and Telenor. The national security risk from these companies are highlighted by the Union Home Ministry as their connections go right into Pakistan," he had said. Lanka invites Czech Sri Lanka has invited the Czech Republic to take part in the extensive process of reconstruction and infrastructure development now taking place in the country.Minister of External Affairs Prof. G.L. Peiris extended the invite after signing and Investment Protection and Promotion Agreement with the Minister of Finance of the Czech Republic Miroslav Kalousek in Prague.The agreement provides for full protection of foreign investment, guarantees against expropriation, granting of Most Favoured Nation (MFN) and National Treatment to investors and their investments and also provides dispute settlement mechanisms, the External Affairs Ministry said.The Czech Minister of Finance welcomed Minister Peiris and highlighted the positive sentiments of the Government and people of the Czech Republic towards Sri Lanka.The positive post–conflict economic growth of Sri Lanka was an appropriate moment to initiate greater economic cooperation between the two countries. Minister Kalousek expressed confidence that the Agreement signed by the two sides will add impetus to this process.Minister Peiris thanked Minister Kalousek for his positive sentiments towards developments in Sri Lanka. He stated that his visit to Prague was taking place at an appropriate moment, as post-conflict Sri Lanka is now reaping the full benefits of its many advantages in the economic sphere.Furthermore, Sri Lanka is seeking the collaboration of its international partners in the extensive process of reconstruction and infrastructure development now taking place in the country.Minister Peiris invited the Czech side to contribute to this process with their well-known expertise in several sectors such as power and energy, infrastructure, waste management and other sectors, the Ministry of External Affairs said. Sri Lanka's governing party local government members take oaths Sri Lanka's governing United People's Freedom Alliance (UPFA) party members elected at the recently concluded local government elections on Tuesday took oaths before President Mahinda Rajapaksa.At an event organized at the Temple Trees today, 424 UPFA Chairmen, Vice Chairmen, and Urban Council Chairmen were sworn-in before the President.Sri Lanka President Mahinda Rajapaksa urged the local government representatives of the ruling alliance to make use of the mandate given by the masses at the last local government election to strengthen the government's programme implemented on behalf of the future generation."The local government representative who is very close to the people has been entrusted with the responsibility of developing the village and the town," the President said.Out of the 234 local government authorities for which the elections were held, 205 were won by the ruling alliance while seven others were won by parties that support the ruling coalition.The Prime Minister D.M. Jayaratne, party leaders of UPFA, ministers and members of parliament participated in this occasion. Gen. Fonseka’s private Secretary released on bail after 13 months Captain Senaka Haripriya Silva , who was the private Secretary of Gen. Sarath Fonseka during the Presidential election period when the latter was also a Presidential candidate was released on bail yesterday (28) by the appeal Court after being in remand custody for over 13 months.The bail was granted to him after his application for bail was examined by the court. Because charges have been filed in other courts , his Lawyers Upul Jayasooriya and K T Mithrasiri requested court to grant him bail.Accordingly , the Appeal court judge ,justice Sisira Thabrew granted a conditional bail of Rs. Two lakhs in cash. His passport was impounded by the court and was ordered to report to the CID every Sunday.Meanwhile the petition filed by Gen. Fonseka against the 1st military court verdict in the Supreme court (SC) which was taken up yesterday was postponed until the 9th of April 2011. As the plaintiff Gen. Fonseka was indisposed , he was not produced to court. 29 March 2011 New Zealand Premier turns down Sri Lankan President's invitation, media report New Zealand media has reported that Prime Minister John Key has declined an invitation from Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa to attend the cricket World Cup semifinal between the two countries in Colombo on Tuesday (29).A spokesman from Key's office has reportedly said he had to decline the invitation.The 3news agency has reported that he has however not given any reasons for turning down the invitation.The President's Office yesterday announced that President Rajapaksa had extended an invitation to New Zealand Prime Minister John Key to witness the world cup cricket semi-final encounter between Sri Lanka and New Zealand at the R. Premadasa Stadium, in Colombo.Meanwhile the Pakistani Premier has accepted an invitation extended to him by his Indian counterpart Manmohan Singh to see the other semi-final match between India and Pakistan on March 30, in Mohali, India. Sri Lanka Murali to raise cash for war-displaced Sri Lanka's legendary bowler Muttiah Muralitharan plans to travel overseas to drum up funds to build a sports complex for war-displaced civilians.Muralitharan, who holds the world record for 800 Test and 538 one-day wickets, wants to build the centre in northern Sri Lanka to build a new life for thousands of children in the former war zone."Financially we are not a wealthy country. But we have to help these people to rebuild their lives. I plan to travel abroad and talk to people, to raise money to build the facility," he said.The million dollar project will be the second for Muralitharan's charity, the Foundation of Goodness, after having set up a similar project in a tsunami-hit southern coastal village of Seenigama.The two-year project in Mankulam, 300 kilometres (187 miles) north of Colombo, aims to build a sports centre, a school, English and IT training centres and an Elders' Home.Muralitharan, who will quit international cricket after the World Cup, said he is reaching out to cricketers overseas to contribute."Cricket unites communities, and we can use the game to reach out and help those who are less privileged than us, to make their lives a little bit easier," the 38-year-old said.His Seenigama project raised funds from cricketers and administrators in England and Australia. Canadian pop-star Bryan Adams donated a swimming pool.The government restricted access to the war zone during the decades-long ethnic conflict with Tamil Tiger rebels that ended in May 2009.He said the lack of access meant people living overseas are still unaware of the suffering and hardship war-displaced civilians are going through, to rebuild their lives.Sri Lanka estimates some 300,000 civilians were displaced during the final months of the conflict.On Sunday, England cricket legend Sir Ian Botham described his shock at the destruction and hardship that Sri Lanka's war-displaced civilians have had to face, following his tour of the region.Botham said he was "horrified" to hear tales of young children dragged off to fight the decades-long war."I was completely shocked. The scenery was unbelievable. Flattened lands for miles, houses shelled, treetops burnt," he told reporters after visiting the project site at Mankulam. Ian Botham 'shocked' by Sri Lanka war damage England cricket legend Sir Ian Botham has described his shock at the destruction and hardship that Sri Lanka's war-displaced civilians have had to face, following his tour of the region.Botham, who on Sunday visited Sri Lanka's former war zone to oversee plans to build a sports complex, said he was "horrified" to hear tales of young children dragged off to fight the decades-long war that ended in May 2009."I was completely shocked. The scenery was unbelievable. Flattened lands for miles, houses shelled, treetops burnt," he told reporters after visiting the project site at Mankulam, 300 kilometres (187 miles) north of Colombo."I was surprised how wide spaced the place (northern war zone area) was, everything was so flat. It was like a wilderness. " the former player said.The project is led by Sri Lanka's world record bowler Muttiah Muralitharan's charity, the Foundation of Goodness, to help thousands of children in the former conflict zone.Muralitharan, who has a record 800 Test and 538 one-day scalps to his credit, plans to build a school, English and IT training centres and an Elders' Home over the next two years to help war-displaced people rebuild their lives. Botham, who was joined on the tour by former Ashes-winning England cricket captain, Michael Vaughan, played a friendly match with local children, which included several former child soldiers.More than 500 child soldiers were picked up by the Sri Lankan military after they defeated Tamil Tiger rebels in a bloody final battle, ending 37-years of ethnic bloodshed."These children, they looked so innocent, warm and friendly," Botham said of the former child soldiers, who have since been rehabilitated and allowed to return to their families.Botham and Vaughan also visited a school in Mankulam and handed out food, mosquito nets, torches, cooking utensils and stoves."It amazed me that so many things I took for granted like clean water, mosquito nets, bicycles, meant a lot to these people who have endured decades of a horrible war," the 55-year-old said.Vaughan, who also distributed bats and tennis balls to 100 children during the visit organised London-based Laureus Sports said he was happy to bring a little joy to young people who have suffered a terrible tragedy."Their eyes lit up, when we gave them a bat and ball, and played a short game of cricket. The children were all smiles. It was touching," Vaughan said of the visit.Vaughan said he hoped the sports complex will breed promising cricketers such as Muralitharan and Sri Lankan skipper Kumar Sangakkara, who play a key role in the home team."In 15 years time, I hope to hear of another Sanga (Sangakkara) and Murali (Muralitharan) emerging from the north. That is the vision I like to see for this country," Vaughan said.Botham visited Sri Lanka days after the December 2004 Asian tsunami to drum up aid. Around 31,000 people were killed in the worst natural disaster to hit the island.The England hero began supporting the Foundation of Goodness in 2005 and returned in 2009 to oversee the build up of a similar sports centre in the southern town of Seenigama that was hit by the tsunami.Muralitharan's charity is also supported by Sangakkara and former international teammate Chaminda Vaas. Sri Lanka: Bishop of Mannar donates land to 52 IDP families Mgr Rayappu Joseph, bishop of Mannar, has donated a piece of land to 52 Tamil Catholic families who were displaced from their village of Mullikkulam (Mannar district), so that they can build homes and start a new life there . The Sri Lankan navy has in fact taken possession of the village "for security reasons", without providing further explanation to the expelled inhabitants.Fr. Victor Soosai, vicar general of the diocese, said in the northwest of the Naval Commando Navy was erected in Mullikkulam. The 287 families living there, were offered in exchange the Kayakuli area: a piece of land in the jungle, eight kilometres from the Chilawathurai junction. Of these, 125 families have accepted the offer, because of difficulties related to living with the military."The main problem – says Fr. Soosai - is fishing: at Valkaipettankandal, where they are now, it's almost impossible to fish. At least there's room to fish in Kayakuli". The vicar general denounces that the cost and actual deforestation of the jungle is falling on the shoulders of the families: they have received no help from government or from any non-governmental organization.The proposal made by the government was not accepted by all. "52 Mullikulam families have written a letter to Msgr. Joseph, rejecting resettlement in Kayakuli and asking for a place to go. " No family has agreed to accept any alternative venue, if not their own village. On receipt of the letter, the bishop of the diocese gave them the Tharavankottai area, four miles south-west of Mannar, owned by the Bishop of Mannar.The Catholic Tamil village of Mullikkulam is located about 80 km from the town of Mannar has a long history dating back 300 years. The families who lived there have always lived by fishing and agriculture. The first internally displaced persons (IDPs) date back to 1991, during the first phase of the civil war. In 2007, with renewed conflict, there was a new wave of IDPs.At the moment, more than 327 thousand people throughout the country are still displaced, after thirty years of conflict which ended in May 2009. At least 195 thousand people have returned to their places of origin, but are not yet self-sufficient and are in need of protection and assistance. India's project for displaced Tamil civilians delayed The ambitious Indian project to build 50,000 houses for the displaced Tamil civilians in the north seems to have been delayed. Sri Lankan president Mahinda Rajapaksa said on Monday that the pilot project of 1000 houses is likely to take off in July. The foundation stone for the pilot project was laid last November by External Affairs Minister, SM Krishna, amid much fanfare. And, the project was announced in June 2010.Land for the pilot project would be allocated in five northern Lanka districts including Kilinochchi, Rajapaksa said.“We have given land,” he said at an interaction with Colombo-based foreign correspondents on Monday.Diplomatic sources in Colombo, however, said the construction of the first 1000 houses should begin much before July.The final modalities of how the project will be implemented in phases were being worked out, sources said.On the issue of the UN panel, Rajapaksa said the three-member international panel was welcome to come to Sri Lanka and give evidence to the government-appointed panel, Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC). "(But) they can’t do investigation. That’s very clear…it’s ruled out.’’Sri Lanka had strongly opposed the Ban Ki-moon’s move to appoint the panel last year. Rajapaksa had instead appointed the LLRC to look into the failure of the Norway-brokered ceasefire with the Tamil Tigers leading to the last years of the war. But global rights groups have since dismissed the internal panel as a facile attempt by the government to deflect growing criticism of its human rights record during the war’s final stage.Both the government and the LTTE have been accused of being behind civilian casualties as the war came to an end in 2009.``No one can harm the citizens of their country…anybody killing people is not with them,’’ Rajapaksa said when asked about the situation in Libya. Rajapaksa was probably among the few close allies embattled Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi had called after the civil broke out.Rajapaksa said: “We are not with anyone killing civilians and cannot accept the violation of the sovereignty of any country.”Minister of Mass Media and Information, Keheliya Rambukwella said the coalition forces appeared to have gone beyond the mandate of the UNSC Resolution 1973. Govt 'not aware' of LTTE detainees Introducing a mobile phone with a tamil key board A new mobile phone system is introduced by Nokia with a tamil key board facilitating the tamil subscribers to use them in their own language including SMS facilities. The introductory package with the tamil key board and software was officially handed over to the President Mahinda Rajapaksa today (28) at Temple Trees by Soft Logic Company representatives.The tamil community in North East and tamil tourists will be mostly benefitted by this fast moving communication system. 28 March 2011 SL draws EU’s attention to LTTE rump’s operations Sri Lanka’s Ambassador to Belgium, Luxembourg and the EU Ravinatha Aryasinha, says since the military defeat of the LTTE in Sri Lanka in May 2009, Europe has become the preferred location for concentration of assets, personnel and activity of the LTTE.In his address to the European Corporate Security Association (ECSA) on March 23, Ambassador Aryasinha said that besides the radicalised activism of LTTE front organisations in several European capitals and the arrest of 32 LTTE activists in Germany, the Netherlands, Norway and Switzerland and conviction of a further 21 in France over the past 15 months, the person in charge of the LTTE’s assets and network of front organisations Nadiyavan, the LTTE’s senior most surviving intelligence leader Vinayakam, Propagandist-in-Chief Jeyachandran and Global Tamil Forum chief Fr. Emmanuel were all located in Europe, to which also the centre of gravity of the so-called "Transnational Government of Tamil Eelam has shifted following the formation of the breakaway TGTE (Democrats) group recently.Noting that ‘Sri Lanka’s quest for reconciliation and development would no doubt be helped to the extent that foreign governments maintain a watchful eye concerning the activities of pro-LTTE elements’, he said: "It is important that European States and institutions do not provide any political or symbolic support, nor should they be fooled by the false pretences of those continuing to advocate mono-ethnic separatism in Sri Lanka "through peaceful means", while espousing the ideology of the LTTE, using its money and being manipulated by its surviving military leaders". Mervyn Silva appeal to grant Prime Minister position to Basil Rajapakse Minister Mervyn Silva had made an appeal to President to grant Prime Minister position to Economy Development Minister Basil Rajapakse. peaker Chamal Rajapakse is maintaining discipline in the parliament and Defence Secretary Gottabaya Rajapakse is affirming the country’s defence and making the Colombo city beautiful was mentioned by him.Mervyn Silva said, the present problem existing in the country, is appointing the Prime Minister’s position. After a very long period, Sri Lanka Freedom Party achieved massive victory at the Gampaha district. Due to Minister Basil Rajapakse’s immense corporation and the development activities was the reason for the victory was pointed out by him. More attention is focused on changing the Prime Minister’s position. Meanwhile some important Ministers are secretly competing for the Prime Minister’s position states sources. TGTE rift deepens The rift in the Transnational Government of Tamil Eelam (TGTE) has further escalated with leading LTTE activist V. Rudrakumaran removing some of the members who were against him.According to reports the self proclaimed ‘speaker’ of the TGTE Pon Balarajan, sent letters over the weekend to some members of the TGTE saying they have been expelled.The members who were removed had identified themselves as TGTE Democrats and were on a collision course with Rudrakumar and his close associates for some time.As was reported by News now.lk last week a rift had emerged in the TGTE with its self proclaimed Prime Minister V. Rudrakumaran being forced to put out a press release calling for unity among its members.The TamilNet website, which was known to have been propagating the LTTE cause, had last week criticized what it termed as the “monopolizing powers” vested on a single person in the Transnational Government of Tamil Ealam.“Considerable number of members opposed to the way the government was declared formed with monopolising powers vested on a single person, when the house was not formed and convened properly. Informed circles said that certain forces behind the TGTE are keen that the Democrats of the TGTE, who may not be agreeable to an agenda already fixed should be expelled now itself, under whatever pretext possible, to carry out the agenda without obstacles,” the TamilNet website said.Rudrakumaran was named the ‘Prime Minister’ of the TGTE last year after elections were held among the Tamil Diaspora in Europe and America and later a ‘cabinet’ was also formed and a constitution adopted.Rudrakumaran, in his press release last week, rejected the allegations that he was serving the TGTE with selfish intentions, and called for dialogue among members of the TGTE who have now begun to raise such allegations and are calling for a change. Government’s strategies, threat to democracy JVP said, the government’s strategies, is a threat to the democracy environment. JVP Party leader Somawansa Amarasinghe made this statement. He said, the military suppression ruling system which is experienced by the northern people will be faced by all the people in this country.War has come to an end, but still the northern provincial people are unable to move freely. Even though it is expected that this situation will get changed, but such activities have got stretched to the Colombo city was mentioned by the leader of JVP Somawansa Amarasinghe. BBC correspondant blocked from attending Jaffna Festival Sri Lanka's Ministry of Defense has refused permission to BBC Colombo correspondant Charles Haviland from attending cultural festival in Jaffna, sources in Colombo said.The "Jaffna Music Festival” organized to celebrate the diverse traditional folk arts for three days from 25th – 27th March 2011, is being organized by the Norwegian Embassy, USAID and implemented by Sevalanka Foundation, according to reports from Jaffna. The reason for the refusal was not communicated to the BBC correspondent, according to reports. Colombo has routinely blocked foreign journalists, mainly BBC reporters from covering events in the North East. Political observers speculate that Sri Lanka Government is irked by what it considers to be adverse reporting by foreign correspondents, and limiting access to NorthEast is an attempt to bring the foreign journalists in-line with the local media which largely exercises self-censorship. Lankan gang linked Organised crime gangs with links to Britain and Sri Lanka are fuelling a fresh wave of identity fraud in Victoria, with Melbourne's inner city firming as the latest frontier in card skimming.As police accuse banks of putting their own reputations before their customers' welfare, Herald Sun Investigations found a secret national taskforce has broken a $100 million global Eftpos skimming syndicate with 56 arrests, including two individuals from Britain and two from Canada.It also found that at least seven ATMs and two Eftpos machines have been skimmed in Melbourne in recent months, with crime gangs increasingly hitting the inner city and global crime syndicates who committed large-scale identity fraud around Australia may have links with Sri Lankan terrorists.Victoria Police Detective Senior Sergeant Peter Endler said skimming gangs typically hit Melbourne's outer suburbs before flying home, but an active Victoria Police investigation involves an unknown group hitting machines in the city.Last year, the Victoria Police fraud and extortion squad brought down a British-linked Eftpos skimming syndicate preying on Melbourne's Sri Lankan community.Police charged six people - five of them Sri Lankan - under Operation Around with conspiracy to defraud and associated crimes, court records show.The operation was linked to the nationwide Taskforce Chamonix.The ringleader, a Sri Lankan who flew to Melbourne via Sydney from his home in Britain, would offer Sri Lankan students working at Melbourne service stations up to $30,000 for access to their stores' Eftpos handsets.The syndicate would install skimming technology in the machines and spy cameras overhead to capture each customer's PIN.Now serving at least four years' jail, the ringleader was also made to pay Westpac, ANZ and the Commonwealth Bank $70,000 in compensation.Sri Lanka warned Australia about card skimming at least four years ago. Concerns intensified that stolen funds could be supporting Tamil Tigers terrorists after the arrest of several Tamils over Eftpos fraud in Western Australia.Police have not said Australian money has ended up with Tamil terrorists, but similar skimming schemes in Canada and Britain have given funds to the group.Australian Crime Commission figures show 63,000 fake debit card transactions worth $24.5 million were recorded in Australia in 2009, up 50 per cent in three years.Queensland Det-Supt Brian Hay accused banks of failing to properly report credit card fraud to authorities for fear of damaging their brands. 26 March 2011 TNA seeks police and land powers for North The Tamil National Alliance wants the Government to grant the Northern Province police powers besides the right to manage land and forest reservations.This request will be placed before President Mahinda Rajapaksa through a government committee in the course of periodic consultations. The TNA points out that these subjects are already listed in the Concurrent List of the 13th Amendment to the Constitution.These are the major subjects of power sharing the TNA wants to discuss with the Government. TNA MP Mavai Senathiraja told the Sunday Times this would be the first time issues relating to power sharing would be discussed by the TNA with UPFA leaders.In the previous meeting with the President, the TNA delegation had discussed welfare measures for people affected by the war in the north. TNA leader R. Sampanthan who has been overseas for medical treatment for nearly three months is expected back on April 4 and a TNA decision on power sharing proposal would be finalized after that.President Rajapaksa told newspaper editors on Friday that even though talks with the TNA had proceeded well, the party was still to come up with proposals on power sharing.“We will look into the TNA proposals and have discussions with other parties before taking a decision. They will ask for more, but we will have to strike a balance,” he said. “Whatever proposals they make, I will not give what the LTTE has been asking for,” he said. GL going to UK without confirmed meetings External Affairs Minister G.L. Peiris is hoping to visit Britain early next month but his counterpart William Hague is yet to confirm granting an appointment to him.His visit to Britain will be part of a European tour that will include a visit to Prague. As a fall back option, Minister Peiris has also asked for a meeting with Mr. Hague’s deputy Alistair Burt.Diplomatic sources said the usual protocol in international relations was that a country’s Foreign Minister did not leave for another country without a ‘confirmed appointment’ with his counterpart in that country.Sri Lanka’s Acting High Commissioner in London, P.M. Amza told the Sunday Times the meetings sought both with Mr. Hague and Mr. Burt were yet to be confirmed. He said Dr. Peiris was, however, due to meet British Defence Minister Liam Fox and Trade and Investment Minister William Lord Green. Several other bilateral meetings were also being planned, he said without giving details. Sonia Gandhi govt unable to make Mahinda implement political solution as promised After the Indo- Lanka peace accord was signed, a very interesting and intriguing cartoon made a splash in the Indian media. The cartoon carried a drawing where the then Indian Prime Minister (P.M.) Rajiv Gandhi was shown as panting and running holding the tail of a tiger around a tree while the then Sri Lanka (SL) President J R Jayewardene was relaxing seated in a chair. The idea conveyed by the cartoon was the SL President after signing the accord had entrusted the entire task of destroying the Tamil Tigers to Rajiv Gandhi and the Indian peace keeping Force (IPKF) while he was sitting pretty.Today , exactly 14 years have elapsed since that event occurred , and the Tamil Tiger menace had been liquidated. Sonia the wife of Rajiv Gandhi however is now holding the tail of President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s ‘Lion’ and running in circles around the tree. Sonia Gandhi and her Govt. have to hold the tail of the ‘lion’ and run round perhaps because of the assurance given by her Govt. to America including the western countries during the tail end of the SL war. The assurance being , no sooner the Tamil Tigers are devastated than a political solution shall be found for the Tamil people of SL. When America and the international community came forward to halt the war during the final phase, India gave this assurance to them.This came to light when ‘The Hindu’ newspaper recently revealed the messages contained in the ‘Wikileaks cables’. The US Embassy Wikileaks cables accessed by ‘The Hindu’ newspaper expressed thus : ‘ the cables reveal that while India conveyed its concern to Sri Lanka several times about the perilous situation that civilians caught in the fighting faced , it was not opposed to the anti LTTE operation. They also show that India worried about the Sri Lankan President’s “post conflict intentions”, though it believed that there was a better chance of persuading him to offer Sri Lankan Tamils an inclusive political settlement after the fighting ended. After its efforts to halt the operation failed, the International community resigned itself to playing a post -conflict role by using its economic leverage , acknowledging that it had to rope in India for this.During the final days of the war, the Indian External affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee came to SL and met Mahinda Rajapakse. What Mukherjee said was noted in the Wikileaks cables as follows : ‘From Mukherjee’s statement at the end of his visit , it was clear that India did not oppose the operations ‘ - “ I stressed that military victories offer a political opportunity to restore life to normalcy in the Northern province and throughout Sri Lanka after twenty three years of conflict. The President assured me that this was his intent"The British High Commission’s briefing to the US Embassy ‘s Counselor after the UK special Envoy for SL, Des Browne’s meeting with Indian Foreign Secretary Menon when the former arrived in New Delhi was expressed in the Wikileaks cables this way … ‘A British High Commission contact briefing the US Embassy political Counselor on this meeting said , the Indian officials were concerned about the humanitarian situation , but were more upbeat on chances to persuade President Rajapaksa to offer Tamils a political solution once fighting had ended.The two Indian officials were slightly more optimistic of the chance to persuade President Rajapaksa to offer the Tamils a genuinely inclusive political settlement once fighting had ended. It was the Indians’ impression that President Rajapaksa believed this was his moment in history , i.e. , a chance to bring peace to the Island for good , but that the SL army was an obstacle having been emboldened by its victory over the LTTE. They told Mr. Browne that if Sri Lanka did not implement the 13th amendment plus devolution plan quickly, a new terrorist movement could quickly fill the vacuum left by the LTTE’s defeat.Now, it is nearly two years since the SL war ended, yet the quick devolution plan India spoke of with the Western countries led by America is not still on the horizon. ‘If the quick devolution plan is not implemented there will be a quick terrorist movement taking over’ is also not in sight . This is why Sonia Gandhi is invariably holding the tail of the ‘Lion’ and running round the tree . During the period of J R Jayewardene , Rajiv Gandhi told J .R. that if the Indo –Lanka accord is signed , he would disarm Prabhakaran and induce him to participate in Provincial Council elections. As Rajiv too could not fulfill the promise made by him to J R. he also had occasion to hold the tail , but in his case, that of the ‘Tiger’ and run round the treePresumably , Sonia Gandhi’s Govt. would have told America and the International community during the final stages of the war to allow room to Mahinda Rajapaksa to finish off the Tamil Tigers, and that Sonia’s Govt. will ensure that a political solution is arrived at by the Rajapaksa Govt . for the Tamil people . But to her deep consternation , she is now in no position to hold the ‘Lion’s’ tail and run around the tree. Red notices slapped on 81 Sri Lankans Red notice issued on LTTE’s international network leader Kumaran Padmanadan (KP) by Interpol has still not been withdrawn according to informed sources.However, red notices that were already issued by Interpol on LTTE leader Prabakaran and Intelligence Unit Head Pottu Amman through India have now been withdrawn by Interpol. The red notices on Prabakaran and Pottu Amman had been withdrawn after it was officially confirmed that they were dead, but the notice on KP is still operative.This means that KP still continues to be a person sought by Interpol even after he has come under the protection of the UPFA government. Interpol has also taken measures to issue the latest photos of KP through its global network which further underscores the point that he is badly sought by them. According to police sources, Interpol, to date, has issued red notices on 81 Sri Lankans with 52 of them being at the request of the government and the rest at the request of other countries.Of that number, 19 had been made by India. Among those Sri Lankans who had received red notices have been 30 terrorists, 25 others being sought for fraud, and 26 others on charges of threatening, abductions, causing injuries, drug trafficking and racketeering, and other related offences. Out of the total number of Sri Lankans slapped with red notices have been five women, with the most high profile female being Sicille Kotalawela - the spouse of disgraced Chairman of Golden Key Credit Card Company, Lalith Kotalawela. Former Navy Commander is Sri Lanka's new Ambassador to Japan Former Commander of Navy during the war, Admiral Wasantha Karannagoda has taken up a diplomatic role as the Ambassador-designate of Sri Lanka to Japan.Karannagoda, assumed duties in Tokyo on Friday, 25th March 2011, paying special emphasis on the strong bilateral relations between Japan and Sri Lanka, a External Affairs Ministry said in a statement.Assuming duties at the Embassy, Karannagoda has said that long standing friendship between the two countries has created a firm foundation for the confidence shown in each other."Especially at a time when continuous events of a catastrophic nature have taken place in Japan, Sri Lanka will continue to support and stand by Japan," the new envoy has asserted.The External Affairs Ministry said the government will be sending three million tea bags to the people affected by the tsunami and earthquake in Japan. In addition, a donation of one million USD will be given to the Japanese Government and a self-sufficient Sri Lankan search and rescue team is ready to provide assistance at any given time, it added.Japan is the single largest donor to Sri Lanka providing about two-thirds of the total donor contribution. Rajapaksas were 'not fully aware' of war - India 'Sceptical' But in a meeting with Charge De Affairs of US Embassy in Colombo, Peter Burleigh, Shiv Shankar Menon has stressed that bilateral diplomacy was the better option to exert pressure on the Sri Lankan government to limit civilian casualties.“He cautioned that bilateral diplomacy would be more effective than highly public pressure in the UN Security Council or the Human Rights Council,” the cable sent on 15 May 2009 by Mr Burleigh stated.India and china subsequently voted against a resolution – mainly supported by the US and Western countries – at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva.India, however, thought that the best option would be for the West, India and China to all work together in post –conflict Sri Lanka.“Otherwise, Sri Lanka would find ways to play its international interlocutors off against each other,” the cable said quoting Mr Menon.But the Indian Foreign Secretary was sceptical of President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s promise to implement "13 plus" as a political solution to the national question. Capture Prabhakaran alive Sri Lanka authorities wanted to capture LTTE leader Velupillai Prabhakaran alive at the last stage of the war, reveal the cables.Meanwhile, Indian National security Advisor MK Narayanan has told Mr Burleigh that President Rajapaksa agreed for a ceasefire with the Tamil Tigers on 27 April 2009.A cable sent on 25 April 2009 by Mr Burleigh says that Mr Narayanan who travelled to Colombo with Mr Menon had “persuaded” the president that further hostilities “would create anger among Indian Tamils.”President Rajapaksa has promised to consult the cabinet of ministers on 26 April.Consequently, Sri Lanka did not announce a truce with the Tigers. UNP national organiser to be appointed tomorrow The United National Party (UNP) working committee will hold a crucial meeting tomorrow to elect a National Organiser.According to senior deputy leader Karu Jayasuriya, it is the only post that is vacant and the party will consider filling it by tomorrow.Asked who the aspirant candidate would be for the post, Jayasuriya said he had seen names of parliamentarians Ravi Karunanayake and Dayasiri Jayasekara in the media but added it is up to the working committee to decide.He said if there are two names actually proposed at tomorrow’s meeting then there had to be a voting.“But we are trying to do it by consensus. We have to wait and see,” Jayasuriya told The Nation.Meanwhile The Nation learns Karunanayake will not accept the post of national organiser.Karunanayake loyalists said he will reject this post if offered to him. Meanwhile speculations are also rife that Karunanayake is likely to be appointed as deputy leader of the party shortly.Inside sources said while Jayasuriya will remain the senior deputy leader, Sajith Premadasa and Ravi Karunanayake will be functioning as deputy leaders in the party.They said if Karunanayake is offered the post of deputy leader then he was likely to accept the post of national organiser. “Otherwise he might reject it,” they said.Meanwhile both Karunanayake and Jayasekara could not be contacted for comments. Army denies pro-LTTE report The Army yesterday denied an online pro-LTTE propaganda report of a ‘terrorist attack on a military convoy’ last Thursday as killing five personnel while injuring a senior officer.According to a pro-terrorist online portal, a military convoy had come under a possible ‘LTTE terrorist attack’ deep inside the Habarana jungle enclave. A spokesman for the Army said the story was a complete fabrication and no such incident had taken place.Defence observers said this was another fabrication of LTTE propagandists irked by the magnitude of development and economic progress in the North and the East. Government supporters protest over Libya near UN's Sri Lanka office Colombo – Government supporters protested outside the United Nations office in Sri Lanka's capital Thursday, condemning the UN's stance on the Libyan conflict and airstrikes carried out there.An estimated 500 pro-government supporters chanted slogans and displayed placards against the UN General Secretary Ban Ki-moon and the organization.'We are against the biased behaviour of the UN on Libya in favour of the US and Britain,' said the leader of the National Freedom Front party, Wimal Weerawansa, who is also a cabinet minister.'The people of Libya should decide how to resolve their own internal problems,' he said.Sri Lanka on Wednesday condemned the airstrikes on Libya.External Affairs Minister G L Peiris told Parliament that Sri Lanka does not approve of the US-led airstrikes.'The airstrikes are harming civilians and are a violation of the territorial integrity of an independent country,' the minister said.Sri Lanka has had a close relationship with Libya. President Mahinda Rajapaksa visited Libya in September 2009 to attend celebrations marking the 40th anniversary of the revolution that brought Libyan leader Moamer Gaddafi to power. 23 March 2011 China urged to play constructive role in the island: Prof Sitrampalam As a super power having influence on the Sri Lankan state, Eezham Tamils urge China to play a constructive role in the island of Sri Lanka, says Dr. S.K. Sitrampalam, the vice president of Ilankai Thamizh Arasuk Katchi (ITAK), the main constituent of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA). The retired senior professor of Archaeology of the University of Jaffna recently visited China following an official invitation to the ITAK to take part in an organised trip extended to delegations from selected political parties from South Asia to have an exposure of how the Chinese government deals with its internal and external affairs. During the trip, the Chinese government intended to display how the Chinese were able to achieve development by allowing and accommodating the various ethnicities to safeguard their interests, preserve their unique heritage and achieve, as a result, the Chinese development, the academic politician said. But, the SL state has failed to bring in a political solution to the ethnic question even when 22 months have elapsed since the claim of the government that the war has ended. The resolution of the ethnic question in peaceful and dignified ways would strengthen the regional harmony and stability. This would in turn benefit China as a power in Asia, the emiratus professor of the University of Jaffna further said.From February 21 till March 04, the delegations from the political parties of several South Asian countries took part in the organised tour as the guests of the Chinese government. This was the first time an Eezham Tamil political party had been invited.Kandiah Sarweswaran, a brother of Suresh Premachandran MP, also accompanied Dr. Sitrampalam to China. Two islands leased out Two islands near Kalpitiya have been leased out at Rs. 18 million to two foreign companies for investment in tourism for 30 years, Parliament was informed today.Of them, Vellai Island has been given on lease at Rs. 3.7 million to be developed as a joint investment between Sri Lanka and Maldives and Switzerland, and Inpativu Island at Rs. 14 million to an Indian company named Cube Leisure Property Private Ltd. The joint venture with Maldives and Switzerland is called Sun Resort Investment Lanka Private Ltd.Economic Development Deputy Minister Lakshman Yapa Abeywardane told the House in response to a question by UNP MP Gamini Jayawickrama Perera. The Deputy Minister said the lease agreements were revised every five years.Raising a supplementary question, Mr. Perera asked whether the security aspect had been taken into account in leasing out these islands. Mr. Abeywardane replied that all such aspects had been considered in striking these deals based on recommendations by the Attorney General.Also, he tabled a copy of the agreement signed in connection with these projects. These are the islands used by fishermen for their activities. Sri Lanka's UNP to elect office bearers by consensus The working committee of Sri Lanka's main opposition United National Party (UNP) has agreed to elect its all office bearers by consensus, party officials said on Monday. "After long deliberations and expression of views by the working committee members it was decided to appoint all office bearers by consensus," said party general secretary Tissa Attanayake. Further deliberations on the decision would be carried out in continuation of the working committee sessions tomorrow, Attanayake added. Party sources said beleaguered UNP leader Ranil Wickremesoinghe told the session that he would opt for an election to seek re-election as the leader and he would face any challenger. The supporters of Sajith Premadasa, who is being backed by a section to oust Wickremesinghe, at that stage opposed the move saying consensus option was best. The UNP in December had adopted a resolution to appoint office bearers through an electoral college. The move was seen as a triumph for Premadasa and his followers who repeatedly blame Wickremesinghe for continuous electoral defeats the UNP suffered since 1994. Fonseka undergoes medical check up Former Army Commander Sarath Fonseka underwent a medical check up at the national hospital today, family members said..The check up was carried out after he experienced a breathing problem, they said.Mr. Fonseka has been listed as one of the witnesses in the ‘White Flag’ case which is due to resume next week. Drilling for oil in July Drilling for oil in the Mannar basin will commence in July this year, said the Petroleum Industries Ministry.Petroleum Industries Minister Susil Premajayantha said that the Cairn Company which conducted experiment connected with oil excavation had confirmed the date after their oil experiments.The Minister said that the Petroleum Research Institute was engaged in this project and the company had expressed its belief that there is oil in Sri Lanka seas.The Cairn Company has already spent US $ 110 million on oil exploration experiments. Ottawa loses appeal of sentence for Tamil Tiger VANCOUVER — A six-month sentence handed to the first person in Canada convicted of raising money for a terrorist group was appropriate for a man whose relatively small amount of fundraising was on the "low end" of terrorism-related crimes, the B.C. Court of Appeal ruled Monday.Prapaharan Thambithurai, 47, of Maple, Ont., pleaded guilty last year to raising $600 for the Tamil Tigers and collecting pledges for another $2,000 from Sri Lankans in the Vancouver area. The Crown described Thambithurai as a "street-level canvasser" with a relatively insignificant role in Tamil Tiger fundraising, but still asked for a two-year sentence. The trial judge sentenced him to six months -- far less than the 10-year maximum outlined in the Anti-Terrorism Act passed after the 9-11 attacks in the United States. The federal government appealed the sentence, arguing six months didn't properly reflect the seriousness of the terrorism financing charge.The Crown argued the trial judge was wrong to point to the low amount of money that Thambithurai had raised, and said the sentence failed to fulfil Canada's international obligations to deter terrorism.The three-member Appeal Court panel rejected those arguments. "(The trial judge) recognized the unique and serious nature of terrorism but, in my view, properly accepted the Crown's submission that Mr. Thambithurai's activities fell at the low end of the scale," Justice Kathryn Neilson wrote in the unanimous decision, posted on the court's website Monday."I find nothing to criticize in the approach or the conclusion of the sentencing judge."An agreed statement of facts presented in court said Thambithurai, who once lived in Vancouver, spent two days visiting Tamils in the Lower Mainland, asking them for money to fund humanitarian work in Sri Lanka.Thambithurai told the people he visited he was raising money on behalf of the World Tamil Movement, which wasn't on the list when Thambithurai was arrested in 2004 but has since been declared a banned terrorist group. He later admitted to investigators he knew some of the money -- as much as half -- would find its way into the hands of the Tigers.The federal government listed the World Tamil Movement as a banned terrorist organization three months after Thambithurai's arrest. The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam were listed in 2006.Thambithurai collected $600 and took pledges for more. He also told the RCMP he had collected between $2,000 and $3,000 since late 2007.The statement of facts acknowledged that Thambithurai did not use threats or violence to seek donations -- tactics linked with Tiger fundraising within the Tamil diaspora.After pleading guilty, Thambithurai told reporters the Tigers weren't terrorists.The Appeal Court noted the trial judge concluded Thambithurai didn't present an ongoing threat to the public, and had "otherwise good character." Neilson wrote that, while six months was far from the maximum, it is a significant punishment.A six-month sentence "would ordinarily be viewed as a harsh penalty for a first offender with an otherwise unblemished record," the judge wrote."As well, Mr. Thambithurai's conviction will have long-lasting effects, as it will interfere with his ability to travel beyond Canada."Thambithurai is now living in Ontario, his lawyer said."We're happy that the matter is over," said Kathleen Bradley. "It's a well-reasoned decision."A spokesperson for the federal Public Prosecution Service was unavailable for comment. Fmr. LTTE member commits suicide A 27-year-old former LTTE member had committed suicide while under rehabilitation at Nelukkulam rehabilitation camp in Vavuniya.Asirwatham Neustas had jumped into a well yesterday (Mar. 21) morning.He was the sixth in a family of seven and abducted by the LTTE for recruitment.Later, he was freed by the Tigers due to his ill health.The body has been handed over to Vavuniya Hospital.An eyewitness has said that he had seen someone falling into the unprotected 38 feet deep well, which had around five feet of water.The husbands of the deceased’s two sisters had died previously due to heart ailments.He had been in remand custody for around two years. Coal power for Sri Lanka Millions of Sri Lankans are tonight for the first time using electricity generated by coal, after the country’s first coal-powered Norochcholai electricity station was declared open.The product is Chinese-financed, with a 450-million-dollar loan, and Chinese-built.The energy minister has admitted that the use of this relatively polluting technology is only a temporary measure but he says the country has no choice at the moment. Fourteen percent The state media say that from now, this new plant, in Norichcholai up the coast from Colombo, will produce about fourteen percent of the island’s electricity, in a country which last year generated more than half its power from renewables such as hydropower.Two later phases will treble the plant’s capacity. The coal is being imported from Indonesia. cost to the environment A newspaper, the Daily FT, has sharply criticised the power station, saying it will function at “massive cost to the environment”.But an article in the state-run Daily News says that among fossil fuels, coal is a better bargain than the oil-powered thermal plants already in service.The energy minister, Champika Ranawaka, admits that coal is “not a long-term solution” and that greener technologies will be necessary in future. But he says the country is still well within its permitted carbon emissions quota. Another on the east This Chinese-funded coal station is mirrored by another on the east coast, being built with Indian money, and controversial as it will permanently displace thousands of people already made homeless by the war.Many commentators say the two giant Asian nations are in competition in Sri Lanka.An Indian academic recently said China had displaced India as “the country of consequence” here. Chinese aid Among the projects built by Beijing and funded with its loans are a port, airport and cricket stadium in the south, railways and roads in the north, and a huge arts centre soon to be unveiled in the capital.Six months ago a joint Chinese-Sri Lankan consortium won the contract to develop Colombo’s port. 22 March 2011 UN studies disappearances in SL United Nations human rights experts had examined over 200 cases of forced disappearances of persons in several countries including Sri Lanka during its recent session held in Mexico City.The UN said that it is now conducting a mission to learn about Mexico’s efforts in dealing with the issue. During its 15-18 March session, the UN Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances studied cases concerning Algeria, Bangladesh, China, Colombia, Republic of Congo, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), Egypt, Georgia, India, Iraq, Lebanon, Mexico, Morocco, Pakistan, Spain, Sri Lanka, Syria, Thailand, Tunisia, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Venezuela and Yemen. The five independent human rights experts also reviewed responses from various governments to its letters and appeals, and held meetings with representatives of Japan and Guatemala, as well as consultations with family members of disappeared persons and non-governmental organizations (NGOs). The fact-finding mission will be carried out by three of the group’s experts and a report on the visit will be presented to the Geneva-based Human Rights Council in 2012. PM gave LTTE life The Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU) today accused Prime Minister D.M Jayaratne of feeding the LTTE by making baseless claims in Parliament recently.JHU National organizer Nishantha Sri Warnasinghe told News Now.lk that the statement by the Prime Minister had given hope for the militarily defeated LTTE.The Prime Minister had told Parliament recently that the LTTE was having three training camps in Tamil Nadu and may target VIPs in India and Sri Lanka.However India strongly rejected the Premier’s claims saying the statement was baseless. The Premier later said his statement was based on newspaper reports.Warnasinghe said the Premier should have checked with Indian intelligence agencies and officials before making such a statement. US based sources gave hope on evacuation: Nadesan told a journalist-TamilNet According to a senior journalist, the late LTTE political head, Mr. B Nadesan, consulted him over some messages Nadesan had been receiving from a US based former LTTE member that assurances had been given by the US State Department about evacuation of the LTTE cadres during the final stages of the war. The journalist, who cautioned Nadesan to be sceptical, says that he is prepared to give affidavit to any international investigation if the investigative body could arrange his safe appearance. The US based former LTTE member cited by Nadesan was known for claiming that he was associated with a ‘think tank’ of Prof. James Clad, who between 2007 and 2009 served as the US Deputy Asst. Secretary of Defence for Asian and Pacific Security Affairs. Jon Lee Anderson in a recent The New Yorker article, described Prof. Clad as a “great friend of Sri Lanka.”On the night of May 16, Nadesan telephoned to a university professional in Norway, told him about what he had heard about an evacuation programme and asked him to verify whether any ship was coming for evacuation. When the university professional in Norway contacted the Norwegian embassy in Colombo in the middle of the night Sri Lankan time, the Deputy Ambassador told him that she had not heard of any such arrangement. Yet the Deputy Ambassador contacted the Ambassador and the Ambassador in turn contacted Mr. Robert Blake, finally to get the verification that no such plan was there. Informed sources in Colombo said that the US based former LTTE member cited by Nadesan has recently gone to India where he held discussions with Indian National Security sources about forming a political party. Apart from the senior journalist, there are also other sources in Europe that have witnessed Nadesan receiving messages from the US based former LTTE member. The senior journalist says that he had seen emails originating from the USA, before he passed his opinion to the LTTE Political Head. Sri Lanka ruling alliance coalition party to swear in its local government councilors separately A coalition partner of Sri Lanka's ruling alliance, Sinhala Buddhist political party Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU) says that it will hold a special swearing-in ceremony for its candidates elected to the local government authorities.JHU leader Ven. Omalpe Sobhitha Thero will preside the swearing-in ceremony.The media spokesman of the JHU, Nishantha Sri Warnasinghe said the party fielded 53 candidates and 18 of them were elected.Of the elected councilors of the JHU, seven are Buddhist monks.The JHU candidate topped the list of preferential votes of the United People's Freedom Alliance in Pathahewaheta Pradeshiya Sabha of Kandy district. Expo Pavilion manager in Jaffna reported missing Unknown men who came in motorbikes on Friday night around 11:00 p.m. have abducted 32-year-old Kulasingam Vaseeharan, the manager of Expo Pavilion, a newly established motel run by Expo Aviation and is located near Jaffna District Secretariat in Jaffna. The abduction has taken place at a location that is heavily guarded by the Sri Lankan military that checks the identity of every person riding motorbikes, sources in the area said. Mr. Vaseeharan was earlier the Jaffna manager of Expo Lanka's subsidiary Expo Aviation that was operating an airline between Colombo and Jaffna. The family of Vaseeharan said they lost all contacts with him after the alleged abduction and they had no information about what had happened to him. Cracks on earth in Batticaloa Nearly 50 families are affected as cracks appeared on the earth during the weekend near Eravur railway station, in Batticaloa.Journalists say people in the area are alarmed as water seeped out from the cracks.Officials at the Disaster Management Center (DMC) have told Daily Mirror newspaper that the content of water below the surface can be increased because of the impact of the full moon, which is a usual phenomenon.The Geological Survey and Minds Bureau Chairman Dr NP Wijayananda has told the newspaper that it is unlikely to be anything serious. Sri Lankan youth arrested for stealing two boats A Sri Lankan youth from Jaffna was arrested by 'Q' branch of Tamil Nadu police near here today for allegedly stealing two boats of fishermen of Dhanushkodi coastal hamlet.Police said Ravinath had not registered himself as a refugee and it was not known when he had arrived in India.They said one boat was found near Mandapam in a broken condition and the other anchored in mid-sea off Mandapam coast.Ravinath was nabbed after he was found moving around in suspicious circumstances near Mandapam. During questioning, he said he had stolen the boats with the help of some other people, they said.He would be further questioned to ascertain why he had not registered as a refugee and for what purpose he had stolen the boats, the sources said. 21 March 2011 Sri Lanka shrinks high security zones in the North Implementing the reconciliation measures suggested by the Inter-Agency Advisory Committee (IIAC) Sri Lanka government is gradually releasing the lands occupied by the military as high security zones (HSZs) in the country, especially in the North. The government said today that as civil and public administration are getting streamlined along with other development programmes under the Northern Spring development program and the Police have restored law and order in the peninsula, the Army is moving out of the populated areas into state lands.The authorities on Thursday (17) opened the Victoria road in the Jaffna town which had been a restricted zone for 16 years. Releasing the Victoria road marked the removal of High Security Zones in the Jaffna town, the government said.Sri Lanka Army recently handed over the Subash Hotel, a landmark hotel in Jaffna to its owners after occupying it for 15 years. The 51 Division Headquarters operated in the hotel was relocated to Kopay.The government said the Army occupies only a few permanent buildings currently on a rental basis with consent of their owners and those buildings will also be handed back to the owners in due course. "We are with the Tamils and I am very concerned about Sri Lanka" – Sonia Gandhi In an opportunity to speak with Mrs Gandhi following her Commonwealth lecture, at the reception for invited guests, senior members of the Global Tamil Forum (GTF) raised issues regarding the plight of Tamil women in Sri Lanka.Mrs. Gandhi said that she is very concerned about the situation in Sri Lanka. She said that the Congress lead coalition government has asserted their serious concerns to the Government of Sri Lanka. She said that Tamils from the war torn parts of Sri Lanka must be rehabilitated without further delay.Replying to evidence of breach of international law and crimes against humanity, Mrs. Gandhi said “I have myself, seen that video and we are very concerned”. When asked whether she would support an international investigation into war crimes alleged to have been committed in Sri Lanka, Mrs. Gandhi very politely said that she cannot comment and asked the members to refer that question to Mr. Kamalesh Sharma – The Commonwealth Secretary General who was flanking Mrs. Gandhi at the reception.When members told Mrs. Gandhi about the militarised north and the crimes including systematic rape of women by the military, again Mrs. Gandhi said that “I am very very concerned about the situation in Sri Lanka. Tamils should have their rights restored and it’s their rights you know. We are with the Tamils, you must know, we are with the Tamils”Senior GTF members thanked Mrs. Gandhi for taking the time to speak to them and shared with Mrs. Gandhi the willingness of Global Tamil Forum to engage with India in finding a political solution to the longstanding conflict in Sri Lanka Addressing the 14th Commonwealth lecture, Mrs Sonia Gandhi, President of the Indian National Congress Party and Chair of the United Progressive Alliance, discussed the 2011 Commonwealth theme, ‘Women as Agents of Change’, on Thursday 17 March in the Ballroom at 8 Northumberland in London.Mrs Gandhi reminded the Commonwealth that “investing in women is the highest-return venture”, and set out five areas in which women have emerged as ‘agents of change’ in India. These included self-help groups pooling savings and securing loans for local projects; new, elected roles for women in rural self-government; social activism through the establishment of the language of human rights for women; the establishment of local enterprise collectives; and the setting up of village information centres and IT kiosks.She added that women’s enterprise plays a vital role in regions ravaged by violence and conflict, “a programme in war-torn Afghanistan to train women, especially war widows, to acquire skills, set up food processing enterprises and initiate ecological regeneration”. Within India, these enterprise groups have taken the lead in mediating, peace-building and reconciliation in areas of strife”. - Press Release issued by GTF – TNA wins 12 local body elections in NorthEast The Tamil National Alliance (TELO,ITAK,EPRLF,TULF and PLOTE), contesting under the symbol of Ilankai Thamil Arasu Katchchi (ITAK), captured the administration of twelve local authorities including two Urban Councils (UC) and Predesiya Sabas (PS) in the North and East in the elections held Thursday. The TNA failed to capture power of the Moothoor PS in Trincomalee district but was able secure three seats out of 11. Elections to local bodies in Jaffna district and to some in the districts of Trincomalee, Ampaarai and Mullaithivu were not held Thursday. The ruling United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA) government led by Sri Lanka’s President Mahinda Rajapakse secured power in 205 local bodies out of 234.The main opposition United National Party (UNP) was able to win in only in nine local bodies. The Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) won four local bodies.The ITAK won the Trincomalee Urban Council, Mannaar Urban Council and ten PSs- Verugal in Trincomalee district, Aalaiyadivembu and Naavithanvelli in Ampaarai district, Maanthai West and Maanthai East in Mullaithivu district, Mannaar and Naanaaddaan in Mannaar district, Vavuniyaa North, Vavuniyaa South and Venkalacheddikulam in Vavuniyaa district.Elections to 64 local bodies which included Seruvila PS, Kantale PS, Trincomalee town , Kuchchaveli PS in Trincomalee district, Kaaraitivu PS, Thirukoil PS, PS in Ampaarai district, Pachchipallai PS, Karaichchi PS, Pooneryn PS in Killinochchi district and three UCs, Valvettithurai, Point Pedro and Chavakachcheri and 13 Predesiya Sabhas at Kaarainagar, Kayts, Delft island, Velani, Valigamam (west), Waligamam (North), Valigamam (East), Valigamam (North-East), Valigamam (South), Valigamam (East), Vadamaradchchi (North-East), Point Pedro, Chavakachcheri and Nallur in the Jaffna district could not be held due to legal action against rejection of nominations by the Returning Officers, Election Secretariat spokesman said.The Election Secretariat said that in addition to these 64 local bodies, polls at Puthukudirippu PS and Thunukaai PS in the Mullaithivu district aslo had to be put off due to ongoing mine clearing operations.UPFA polled 3,338,401 and won 1839 seats. The ITAK polled 70,171 votes and obtained 76 seats and the UNP polled 2,032,891 votes and obtained 892 seats. The SLMC polled 88,592 votes and obtained 50 seats and Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna obtained 57 seats with 181,270 votes. The elections were held to 205 local bodies to elect 3,036 members. Crucial working committee meeting of Sri Lanka's main opposition today Sri Lanka's main opposition United National Party (UNP) Working Committee is scheduled to meet today.New office bearers are to be picked under the new party constitution at this meeting, the UNP says.Party sources say that the working committee will try to settle the battle for the party leadership amicably.The present leader, Ranil Wickremasinghe and Hambanthota District parliamentarian Sajith Premadasa are the main contenders for the party leadership under new constitution.The Working Committee is to determine whether it should go for a secret ballot, if a consensus cannot be reached.The party reforms have to be implemented before April 12 according to the new party constitution. Elections for the rest of the local councils by May or June The local government elections for the councils which were not held last week may likely be held in May or June, the Elections department said today.An official of the department told News Now.lk that arrangements will be made to hold the elections for those councils on the same day possibly in the month of May or June.The elections for several councils were not held last week owing to the cricket world cup, petitions and demining issues.While the elections for around 34 councils had to be postponed in Colombo because of the world cup, the elections for around 64 other councils were suspended as petitions were filed in court by the opposition.Meanwhile the names of the members who won the local government elections last week will be gazette on Wednesday, the Elections department official added. Ranil 'dumped' for 'hawkish' Mahinda said India India believed that the LTTE 'dumped' Ranil Wickramasinghe at 2005 presidential elections for 'hawkish' Mahinda Rajapaksa in an attempt to prevent further peace talks, according to the latest revelations by Wikileaks.The revelation by the whistle blower website come in the diplomatic cables sent by the then US Ambassador in Colombo, Robert O' Blake in November 2005.Tamil Tigers forced the electorate in LTTE-held territory to boycott the 2005 November presidential election. Many political analysts were of the opinion that the decision paved the way for Rajapaksa presidency.Quoting Mohan Kumar, the Joint Secretary (Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Burma) at the Indian Ministry of External Affairs, the US Ambassador says India was of the opinion that the LTTE was looking for a leader "easier to tackle" after having used Wickramasinghe to get some concessions. Mahinda 'will be moderate' "Kumar speculated that Prabhakaran concluded the only way out was to bring the JVP to power, bide time and convince the international community that the Rajapakse government was unwilling to come back to negotiating table," said one cable message. 'Strengthening' nationalism Mr Kumar has also said that Mr Rajapaksa's victory at the elections was a "wake up call for India" about the motives of the Tamil Tigers whether to return to the negotiating table.The cables also reveal that the Trade Minister of the UNP government, Ravi Karunanayake, has thwarted an attempt by PM Ranil Wickramasinghe and President Chandrika Kumarathunga to share the defence portfolio.The US Ambassador in his cables sent in January 2004 reveal that the PM only wanted the president to keep the title ("the brass nameplate") and a general supervisory role in ministry of defence."If the PM is willing to give her something, he may get a deal," the cable said."If he follows the advice of hardliners like Ravi K. and insists on the entire package for himself, the result will almost certainly be continued deadlock and eventually elections -- which will solve nothing and probably exacerbate the situation by resulting in a strengthened JVP and pro-LTTE Tamil National Alliance." Jaffna university alumni association formed in London Perceiving the need for a non-political, civil society organisation, the old students of the University of Jaffna, on Saturday, formed an alumni association in London. Around 45 graduates attended the inaugural step initiated by the first batch of the students of the University. An ad hoc committee of 15 members was formed with Mr. K. Sivaraja, Mr. S. Jeyaraja and Mr. K. Sivanandan as president, vice-president and secretary respectively. The gathering decided to make the association global and to hold the first general meeting in September. UK based lawyer Mr. Srikanthalingam has been assigned with the task of drafting a constitution. The association is open to all old students of the university from any part of the island, the organizers said. Sivaraja and Jeyaraja were the first president and vice-president of the Science Faculty Union when the university was started in 1974 and Sivananadan was also a student of the first batch.The gathering of old students on Saturday remembered with thanks the innovative academic leadership provided by the founder president of the university, Professor K. Kailasapathy and the founder deans of the Arts and Science faculties, Professors, K. Indrapala and P. Kanagasabapathy.One of the attendees remembered Prof. Indrapala coming on a bicycle to the university in the initial years. When the students were teasing about the lack of facilities at the university, he got down from the bicycle and patiently explained to them that the spirit of a university is not in the buildings and facilities. Tagore’s Santhi Niketan was started under a tree, he told them.Western-modelled university level education was introduced in Jaffna in the 19th century, especially with the founding of Jaffna College at Vaddukkoaddai and the medical institute of Green at Maanippaay.The American Mission education in those days was an alternative to the European colonial model of education and Jaffna had the advantage of receiving it first.When the British started the first three universities of India at Calcutta, Bombay and Madras in 1858, the first graduates of the University of Madras were from Jaffna and they already had their preliminary university level studies at the Jaffna College. Decades before the medical college of Colombo, Jaffna had a medical institute and those who qualified from there were appointed as doctors even in the Straits Settlements (today’s Malaysia and Singapore). Students trained in engineering and surveying at the Jaffna College were laying railway lines in the Straits Settlements. But a university for Jaffna was denied for long both by the British and by the regimes in Colombo.The University of Jaffna, then known as the Jaffna campus of the University of Sri Lanka, was started in October 1974 amidst much controversy. That was the time when the Tamils of the island were vociferously opposing the 1972 constitution that constitutionally confirmed Sri Lanka a Sinhala-Buddhist republic. Mr. S.J.V. Chelvanayagam representing KKS electorate resigned his seat in the parliament, challenging Colombo to conduct a by-election to see the verdict of Tamils on the issue.But, Colombo was delaying the by-election. Rather than addressing the fundamentals, it was just engaged in roping in Tamils through Tamil leftists, collaborators and through petty concessions.Already there was unrest among Tamil youth, especially in Jaffna, over the adverse effect of ‘standardization’ introduced by Colombo in the university admissions.In the meantime, in 1974 January, the Fourth International Tamil Research Conference was conducted in Jaffna. Colombo was unhappy about conducting it in Jaffna. It tried its best to have the conference in Colombo for its political advantage. But the organizers headed by Professor S. Vithiananthan (later, Vice-Chancellor, University of Jaffna) were firm in having it in Jaffna. Unprecedented public enthusiasm was shown towards the conference that was attended by international delegates, including many from Tamil Nadu. But the conference also became the first occasion to witness the naked state terrorism of Colombo in Jaffna. On the last day of the conference, when the hall became overcrowded and speeches were held in the esplanade outside the hall and when thousands were peacefully listening to an interesting academic speech by a Muslim scholar from Tamil Nadu, on a flimsy pretext of roadblock, a police party that came from the fort of Jaffna fired at the crowd and killed nine people.It was against such a backdrop the University of Jaffna was declared open by the then SL prime minister, Srimao Bandaranayake. No wonder the inauguration was widely viewed as a political move to diffuse the budding national liberation struggle of Eezham Tamils and there was also resentment over the way the university was started. Some of the academics chosen for the university were among those who carefully avoided participation in the International Tamil Conference. Two heritage schools in Jaffna, the Jaffna College and the Parameswara College were taken over by the SL government to start the university hurriedly. The Jaffna College was long running undergraduate courses for external degrees. A few students who were studying there and another 114 students whose admissions to other universities were delayed became the first batch of students in the Arts and Science faculties of the Jaffna University. In the initial years there were also Sinhala students. At that time, no Tamil student could become a student union president in any of the university in the island, because of the numbers as well as the ethnic divide. The only possibility was in the Jaffna University. But even then, the University of Jaffna made a Sinhala student as the first president of the student union. Those who were in the university administration, used all their personal influence to persuade the Tamil students not to contest, citing that it would harm the efforts they were undertaking to build up the university.But soon no one could prevent the University of Jaffna becoming a centre for the frontiers of all shades of the nationalist polity of Eezham Tamils, as well as other shades of liberation ideas. In the days of ‘experimenting’ with District Councils, Mr. A. Amirthalingam found it difficult to enter the university and once when he came a student snatched away the pistol of his bodyguard, which was later returned. The subsequent decades were precarious for the university community. But whether contribution to the cause of Eezham Tamils or resistance to all forms of oppression, the university always demonstrated its capacity through whatever space that was available.Apart from politics, the socio-economic and cultural contribution of more than 30 batches of the students of the university, inside the island and in the world across, is yet to be assessed comprehensively. One has to look at with a larger perspective in assessing the contributions and in envisaging the future course of this university, as from its very inception the university couldn’t be separated from the cause that was obsessing its nation. The cause is felt more than ever today. No university worthy of its name could be separated from the aspirations of its people, unless Multinational Corporatism is allowed to erode the foundations of community education as it has done so in the so-called developed countries, imperceptibly making the universities subservient and declining. It is indeed now time for the alumni of the university to rise up to the occasion to serve the academic cause of its nation in an independent way, to present the case of the nation globally and to contribute to the university as well as to the academic community at home.No liberation struggle can be successful if a nation doesn’t have independent civil society movements that go beyond petty politics of sectarianism. Canada deports second LTTE suspect A second Tamil migrant from the MV Sun Sea was ordered deported Thursday after admitting that he was a member of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam during the early 1990s.The man ordered deported had trained with the LTTE for a year, including six months with its naval arm, the Sea Tigers, the Immigration and Refugee Board heard, according to Vancouver Sun.After four months, he told his bosses that he wanted to quit and was punished by being sent to wash dishes for 16 months before being discharged, the board was told.In her decision, board adjudicator Daphne Shaw Dyck said even though the migrant had never engaged in battle, his training and his role with the Tigers was "unambiguous," making him inadmissible to Canada.The LTTE considered a terrorist organization and is banned in Canada.Last week, another Tamil migrant was ordered deported after he, too, was found to have been a member of the Tigers in the 1990s.The Canadian government is seeking the removal of more than 40 of the Sun Sea migrants, mostly on the grounds of membership with the Tigers or serious criminality.Meanwhile, one of only two Tamil women still in detention since the Sun Sea's arrival last summer was ordered released on Thursday. Earlier this week, the board agreed to keep the woman - the mother of two children - in detention after the government argued that it needed more time to investigate a necklace the woman brought with her.The government said the woman's pendant - or thali - had features that suggested it was only given to members of the Tamil Tigers.But Sonya Sunger, a representative for the Canada Border Services Agency, told the board Thursday that an outside expert's analysis of the pendant was "inconclusive."Sunger tried to keep the woman in detention on grounds that the woman was a flight risk. She argued that the woman's credibility was a problem because she had withheld information to federal officers, including the activities of her husband, who Sunger alleged travelled with "high-ranking" LTTE members. 18 March 2011 Tamil Party Captures power in Mullaitivu Sri Lankan Tamil Political Party TNA captured the power of the former tiger strong hold of Mullaitivu in the Thursday’s Local election. Ilankai Tamil Arasu Kachchi won the power of the Manthai East Pradeshiya Sabha. It has been polled 1,223 votes with six members. Sri Lanka early sign shows ruling UPFA heading for comfortable victory The results released by the elections commissioner shows that the ruling United Peoples Freedom Alliance is heading towards comfortable victory in the Local Authorities elections held Thursday. India expects a United Sri Lanka which finds a settlement – S.M.Krishna Indian Foreign Affairs Minister S.M.Krishna said, India is expecting a united Sri Lanka by granting entire rights to the Tamils. The statement made by S.M.Krishna in the midst of Journalists at New Delhi, was published in the “Hindu” newspaper.He said, the entire legal aspirations of the Tamil people should be fulfilled. Meanwhile he commented about the existing crisis between Sri Lanka and Indian fishermen said, both countries desire to discuss for a settlement. Meanwhile Krishna said, Sri lanka should affirm security to the Tamil Nadu fishermen to participate the annual festival for St.Anthony at Kachchatheevu in the forthcoming days. SL Policeman, claiming EPDP, threatens Tamil daily in Jaffna A Sri Lankan police constable, claiming to be a EPDP man, entered the building of Uthayan daily in Jaffna Wednesday afternoon and warned the daily over an item it had carried in its Tidbits column involving a school principal recently. The SL Police constable, Ratnathas Pradeepan from Achchuveali, intimidated the press workers threatening to set fire with a cigarette lighter he was holding, the paper said. Publishing a photograph of PC Pradeepn, the paper also said that he was “selected” for SL Police when the police recruited 500 personnel for training. SL Police Constable Pradeepan from Achchuveali, photographed by Uthayan When the security police deployed at the building confronted him, Pradeepan phoned one “Comrade Barath” of the EPDP. When there was no favourable response, he made another call and wanted the policemen at the site to have a chat with the “Minister” through his cell phone. But, the policemen on service declined the offer and handed him over to Jaffna police. Sri Lankan Senior Deputy Inspector General in charge of the Northern Province Gamini Silva has temporarily suspended Pradeepan from service, SL Police said. Before getting selected to SL Police, Pradeepan has been a strong supporter of the EPDP and was spotted at the EPDP office in Achchuveali, the paper further said. Uthayan daily, in a news item on Thursday questioned whether the threat posed by the police constable was directed against paper itself or against the founder of the paper, E. Saravanapavan, who is now a TNA parliamentarian. George Bush told Mahinda Rajapaksa to "finish off" the Tamil Tigers by Upul Joseph Fernando Prior to the recent mystery ridden US tour of the Sri Lanka (SL) President Mahinda Rajapaksa , the former US Deputy Secretary of State, Richard Armitage met him in Colombo. This meeting being given minimum publicity was a riddle to all. Soon after this meeting , the President proceeded direct to Texas , America. There he was met by the former American President George W Bush , according to reports.Mahinda after his appointment as the President of SL in 2005, participated in the UN General Assembly in 2006. During that period George Bush was the President of America. Mahinda got the opportunity to have a brief meeting with Bush when the latter accorded a reception. On that occasion, Bush had questioned Mahinda on the SL ‘s peace process and the ceasefire agreement. At that point of time, the ceasefire agreement was in existence but the peace negotiations had been temporarily halted.When Mahinda had explained to Bush that the Tamil Tigers desire war and not peace , Bush had said, terrorism shall be eradicated and therefore to finish them off’However, after Mahinda commenced the war to ‘finish off’ the Tamil Tigers, Obama took over the reins as the new President of America when Bush was back home. It is surmised that on the mystery surrounded US tour of Mahinda , the latter may have reminded Bush of his advice to ‘finish them off’, and pointed out that while he so advised , America on the contrary is levelling war crime charges against Mahinda. Although it is obscure what reply Bush gave , it is exceedingly clear that the SL Govt. via the contacts of Bush is seeking to curb the hostile climate and trend against SL that is built up in America. May be that the SL Govt. is of the view that sometimes the bitter antagonistic stance taken by the US Senate assembly against SL can be changed by way of Bush who it believes can exert influence on the Republicans.Even though the Obama administration went to great lengths and left no stone unturned in its attempts to halt the SL war, the American intelligence units which were created during the Bush administration to wage war on terror continued to help SL Govt. to destroy the Tamil Tigers. The American intelligence served immensely towards the defeat of the Tamil Tigers. Especially the Asia Pacific Command contributed to the SL Govt.’s war victory.Even today the American intelligence is working in co ordination and co-operation with the SL’s State intelligence to devastate the Tamil Tigers’ international network.Nevertheless, after the conclusion of the war there is nothing that the American intelligence can do to repudiate or repel in regard to the war crime charges mounted against SL. Even though the SL Govt. is reposing tremendous confidence in Bush on this issue, it is doubtful whether Bush can do anything about it. Bush too is in a thicket of difficulties and deep quandary because of the campaign he carried on to annihilate terrorism during his tenure of office as President. Recently, Bush was scheduled to deliver the keynote address at the Jewish charity Foundation , ‘Keren Hayesod’, Switzerland.Bush however at the last minute cancelled it .Referring to this, the Rights groups declared ‘ because of the seriousness of the legal proceedings that may be taken against him in the allegations of torture’, while the Court officials of Geneva said , the criminal complaints against Bush in the torture allegations have been made in Geneva . Human rights groups said, it plans to submit a claim from 2500 pages against Bush in the Swiss City on Monday for alleged ill treatment of suspected militants at Guantanamo Bay US naval base in Cuba, which includes detainees from Afghanistan, Iraq, and other fronts in war on terrorism.Bush cancelled his visit because there was pressure on the Swiss Government to arrest him and open a criminal investigation if he entered the country. When viewed in this backdrop, it is manifest that Bush too is in the same predicament as Mahinda Rajapaksa. America and the European countries too are stymied in their efforts to make the tour to investigate the war crime charges against Mahinda.Richard Armitage was a Deputy Secretary of State under the Bush administration . During the period of Ranil Wickremesinghe’s Govt., he worked with extraordinary zeal and zest pertaining to the SL ‘s ethnic issue. He took a tough stand against the Tamil Tigers. Some even say his tough approach militated against the SL peace process.If Mahinda who met Armitage in Colombo had later met Bush in Texas , it is deducible that Mahinda is personally intervening and manoeuvring to change the hostile American stance against SL Govt. Yet when considering the stern warning issued by the US State Dept. Assist . Secretary Robert Blake to SL as well as the letter signed by the members of the US Senate assembly urging the investigation of the SL war crime charges , it is crystal clear that the manoeuvring has to be carried out under the most delicate and critical circumstances. - courtesy: Daily Mirror 17 March 2011 Navi Pillay to visit Sri Lanka Criminal proceedings “Its mandate empowers the attorney general to institute criminal proceedings based on material collected in the cause of an investigation or inquiry by a commission of inquiry” said the envoy.The ambassador also said that the Commissions mandate necessarily includes the capacity to consider any evidence indicating of violations of International humanitarian or human rights law. Domestic resources Sri Lanka would need time and space to go through domestic proceedings to address the issues say the government. It is universally accepted legal principle that consideration needs to be given to international measures only when national domestic recourses unavailable The LLRC and its proceedings were endorsed by the UN says Kshenuka Seneviratne. “Endorsed by UN secretary general during his bilateral meeting with the president of Sri Lanka in 2010.” Better of our own people Sri Lankan envoy also pointed out to the UNHRC that it should be more constructive to give more time. “Desist from repetitive refrain from accountability providing required time and space for domestic processes already underway on fulfilling its objectives designed for the better of our own people”.Authorities in Sri Lanka has started the official process of inviting the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay to visit Sri Lanka soon, Kshenuka Seneviratne told the UNHRC.International Human Rights organisations and campaigners from Sri Lanka were gathered in Geneva during the UNHRC session to inform the delegates about the alleged abuses.Government of Sri lanka had repeatedly denied that human rights abuses had taken place in the country. Sri Lanka government to hold talks with Tamil National Alliance on March 18 Sri Lanka government will hold talks with the major Tamil constituent Tamil National Alliance (TNA) immediately after the local government elections, a TNA legislator told local media.The talks between the government and the TNA will be held on March 18, said the TNA MP Suresh Premachandran.The government earlier planned to hold the third round of talks with the TNA at the beginning of March. However, the government later postponed them to March 22 or 23 due to the ongoing campaign of the local government election.The postponement of the meeting caused much concern within the party and parliamentarian M.A. Sumanthiran has said that they would propose the government to draw a time frame for the dialogue and TNA would suggest completing the dialogue within the stipulated time frame.An early date for the third round of talks was given on the request of the TNA.TNA MP Premachandran said the party expects to come to an agreement with the government regarding a political solution. TNA would also focus on the issues of the Tamil Tiger suspects in custody and the problems of the resettled IDPs.The first round of talks between the TNA and the government held on January 10 focused on the economic and social issues of the Tamils. The second round of talks was held on February 3.Discussions between the TNA and the government commenced in order to address issues related to the resettlement of people in the North, the troubles faced by Jaffna fishermen and finding a solution to the ethnic issue.MPs Suresh Premachandran, Mavai Senadhiraja and M.A.Sumanthiran will represent the Tamil National Alliance delegation while Ministers Rathnasiri Wickramanayaka, Nimal Siripala de Silva, and Prof. G.L. Peiris will participate for the government. According to reports reaching Lanka e news, a Hindu Temple situated at Devanam piyatissa Mawatha, Anuradhapura had been set on fire by a violent marauding group on the 14th night. This Temple which had been in existence since 1983, are visited by Tamil as well as Sinhala people for religious activities. The picture herein shows the statue of Ganadeviya (the deity) within the Temple burnt down by setting fire to it using a tire. Karuna’s saviour on UPFA ticket at Eravur UNPer Syed Ali Zahir Moulana, who lost his National List seat in June 2004 for helping renegade LTTE field commander Karuna Amman to flee Batticaloa and take refuge in Colombo, is contesting LG polls today (17) on the UPFA ticket for the Eravur Pradeshiya Sabha.Moulana’s move helped the military to exploit the split within the LTTE to demoralize the entire group, intelligence sources say.UPFA General Secretary Susil Premjayantha says Moulana was engaged in house-to-house campaigning at Eravur during his visit to the East recently. The MP says people of Eravur have welcomed Moulana’s return to active politics.Speaking to The Island on his return from the East, Petroleum Industries Minister Premjayantha recalled how he had travel in an armoured personnel carrier during the campaign for the Eastern Provincial Council in 2008. "Today anyone can campaign in any part of the country in spite of allegations by the Opposition," the Colombo District MP said.The eradication of the LTTE made it possible for Moulana to engage in politics, the MP said urging those critical of the government over pre-poll violence to appreciate the peaceful environment in the country. The JVP, which had been severely critical of the post-war political developments was today engaged in politics in the North, the MP said.MP Premjayantha said that Moulana could comfortably secure a place in the LG body at Eravur, a village severely affected due to terrorism in the late 80s and 90s.Responding to a query by The Island, the MP said that President Mahinda Rajapaksa had given Moulana an opportunity to serve the people again.After entering active politics in 1988, Moulana first entered parliament in Aug. 1994 on the UNP ticket and served the people of Batticaloa till Dec. 2001.In April 2004, the UNP accommodated Moulana on the National List due to a controversial agreement with the SLMC, which prevented the party from fielding Muslim candidates on the UNP ticket. In line with the UNP-SLMC agreement, the latter had the right to nominate all Muslim candidates in selected districts, including in the East.MP Premjayantha said that Moulana fled the country after he was forced to quit his parliamentary seat over the Karuna affair. Subsequently, President Rajapaksa appointed Moulana Minister of Economic Affairs at the Sri Lankan Embassy in Washington.The Directorate of Military Intelligence (DMI) said that Moulana had been high on the LTTE hit list.Moulana returned to Sri Lanka in Dec. 2009 to support President Rajapaksa at last year’s presidential election. Sri Lankans can apply online for visa to India The High Commission of India announced today that its process of applying for visas to visit India will go online with effect from March 25, 2011.A press release issued by the High Commission advised the applicants to apply online at www.indianvisaonline.gov.in/visa.The new system is aimed at providing user friendly visa services through the Indian Visa Application Centre (VFS Global) in Colombo, Kandy, and Jaffna and directly at the Consulate General of India, Hambantota."The new procedure will enable visa applicants to apply online from the comfort of homes, office, cyber cafes, etc." the statement said.The statement further instructed the applicants to download the filled-in application affix two photographs (2.5x 2.5 inches in white background), sign the application and submit the same to the Indian Visa Application Centres in Colombo, Kandy,Jaffna and at the Consulate General of India in Hambantota along with the passport, supporting documents and requisite fees.Applicants can obtain further information at www.hcicolombo.org.The High Commission of India says it remains committed to ensuring expeditious issue of visas. Sri Lankan suspected of having links with LTTE held in Navi Mumbai A Sri Lankan national, suspected to having links with terrorist outfit Liberation Tigers of Tamil Ealam (LTTE), was arrested from his hideout in neighbouring Navi Mumbai by the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS).The accused Rajan Silithuriya alias Rajan alias Kartik, hailing from Sri Lanka, was picked up from his hideout in Koparkhairane area of Navi Mumbai on Tuesday night. He had been shifting places in the Mumbai suburbs since the past four years, the ATS said.According to the ATS, Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) on April 13, 2007 had seized three kgs of heroin at the Chennai International airport.The concerned special court had declared Silithuriya as a wanted accused in the case and had also issued a non-bailable warrant against him.The ATS had received specific information that Silithuriya was staying in Navi Mumbai following which he was arrested."We are probing if Silithuriya has any links with LTTE or any other group in Mumbai. Preliminary probe revealed the accused had stayed in Matunga, Chembur and Navi Mumbai areas since past four years," said additional director general (ATS) Rakesh Maria.The Chennai NCB would seek his remand from the ATS soon, the ATS officials said adding further probe was on. Sri Lanka's CID assists INTERPOL to arrest international terror suspect The international police, INTERPOL, in cooperation with Sri Lanka's Criminal Investigations Department (CID) arrested a man in connection with a 2007 terror bombing attack as he travelled from Pakistan to the Maldives via Sri Lanka.Iqbal Mohamed, a Maldives national was arrested at the Male international airport in less than six hours after his passport triggered an INTERPOL alarm at the Colombo international airport.INTERPOL had a Red Notice for internationally wanted persons issued for Mohamed at the request of the Maldives National Central Bureau (NCB).INTERPOL's Major Events Support Team (IMEST) deployed to Sri Lanka for the Cricket World Cup identified the terror suspect during a routine check of Colombo airport passenger manifests.After confirming Mohamed's identity, the IMEST liaised with Colombo International Airport CID and the NCBs in Colombo and Male to monitor the 42-year-old's transit and eventual arrival at Male International airport where he was taken into custody in the early hours of Thursday 10 March.As part of its support for the 2011 Cricket World Cup security arrangements, INTERPOL has deployed IMESTs to all three host countries - Bangladesh, India and Sri Lanka - with each team providing on the ground support to national police, including conducting real-time checks of INTERPOL's global databases.INTERPOL Secretary General Ronald K. Noble hailed the arrest as a 'model example' of what can be achieved through police co-operation and information sharing using INTERPOL's global tools and resources."Our National Central Bureau in Male had ensured that the key elements for this arrest were already in place he was subject to an INTERPOL Red Notice, his passport details were in our Stolen and Lost Travel Documents database, but what brought this all together, the 'x factor', was the presence of our IMEST in Sri Lanka providing support for the cricket world cup," the INTERPOL chief has said."That INTERPOL was able to check the passport details of passengers arriving, departing and transiting Colombo airport was also essential in this case, and highlights an area for future development in working closely with airlines to help boost passenger safety and security by identifying internationally wanted persons," the officials has added."This arrest clearly demonstrates the real added value that INTERPOL brings to each of its member countries and that the more they contribute and use our resources, the more that they and their fellow law enforcement officers across the globe will benefit," concluded Mr. Noble. Anoma Denies Media Reports Former Army Commander and DNA Leader Sarath Fonseka’s wife Anoma Fonseka has denied media reports about Fonseka aides being denied refugee status by the Nepalese government saying that their relatives have not sought asylum overseas.Anoma Fonseka has told a private electronic media institution that none of her relatives had sought refugee status in Nepal.She has said that the persons seeking refugee status were employed in Fonseka’s campaign office as computer operators or in the media unit. 16 March 2011 Economic prosperity and development not enough for peace and healing in Sri Lanka, US says Good evening, Ambassador Kohona, Asia Society members and guests, and thank you, Jamie, for that kind introduction. It’s a pleasure to be back with the Asia Society, an organization whose work has been unmatched in promoting mutual understanding among, and within the many Asian nations. The last time I participated in an Asia Society program was actually in New Delhi a year ago where I spoke of the importance and strength of the U.S. - India relationship, so it is great to be able to travel just a few hours and not cross any time zones to be with you today. Thank you for the invitation to participate in today’s conversation on Sri Lanka, a country which is important to the United States and significant to me personally after spending three great years there as Ambassador.Jamie wondered whether prosperity will bring lasting peace and healing in Sri Lanka. I think it’s an essential question to ask. After so many years of conflict, economic growth and improving livelihoods are certainly important for rebuilding the country. But I also believe that reconciliation has important political and social dimensions as well. Thus, I would like to look at economic development in the broader context of the country’s post-conflict healing process of which it is a key factor. Let me start by saying that in the nearly two years since the end of the conflict, Sri Lanka has made steady progress in normalizing life for its citizens and reconciling the differences that devastated parts of the island for so many years, but there is much that remains to be done. Let me focus first on the progress that has been made. Progress At a steady pace, an estimated 265,000 civilians who were displaced during the final stages of the conflict have been able to leave camps to return to their districts of origin in the north and the east. While approximately 18,800 internally displaced persons remain in camps, and an additional 2,600 are stranded in transit camps, the concerted resettlement effort represents a critical step in helping those who suffered immeasurably during the conflict begin to reclaim their lives and live with dignity. In addition, an increasing number of Sri Lankans displaced prior to 2008, including those who went as refugees to India, are also returning to their homes.The resettlement process requires that the hundreds of thousands of land mines laid during the conflict are removed. The Government, together with demining NGOs and with the support of the U.S., has made considerable progress in this area, clearing over 5 million square meters of mine-infested land throughout the northern provinces of Sri Lanka, and destroying over 25,000 landmines and unexploded ordinance.The Government of Sri Lanka is also proceeding with creating places for people to go home by reducing the area considered to be “High Security Zones, ” which had restricted freedom of movement and access. The government's Interagency Advisory Committee (IAAC), set up to implement the interim recommendations of the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC), has said that the high security zones have been reduced by 25 square kilometers, making some 2,800 homes accessible. In collaboration with international partners, the Government also has plans to construct an additional 100,000 homes in the north giving priority to families who suffered during the conflict.Ensuring peace and security for all Sri Lankans is essential. To this end the government has said it plans to strengthen firearms laws and to help law enforcement officials learn to speak the language of those they are charged with protecting. The government has hired 335 Tamil police officers and plans to recruit an additional 475 Tamil-speakers for inspector and constable positions. The trilingual national language policy also will be important in bringing Sri Lankans together. And Priorities While the government has made progress, after a quarter century of conflict, I think everyone agrees more needs to be done to heal the wounds of more than 25 years of conflict. The Government of Sri Lanka must lead this process.The United States welcomed as an important step in this reconciliation process President Rajapaksa's appointment of the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission, or LLRC, and the establishment of the Interagency Advisory Committee to implement the LLRCs interim recommendations. The LLRC has heard the testimony of hundreds throughout the country and has made public many of the transcripts on its website; we look forward to the final report to President Rajapaksa shortly after its work concludes in May. We hope that the report will be made public and will include strong recommendations for national reconciliation.The U.S. continues to encourage the Commission and the Government of Sri Lanka to engage with and draw upon the expertise of U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki Moon's Panel of Experts, which I believe can be a valuable resource. It is also important that the LLRC and the Advisory Committee, in consultation with Sri Lankan Tamils and other minority communities, find a way to resolve the often conflicting and tangled claims to land in former conflict zones so families may rebuild their lives.The end of the conflict has presented an incredible opportunity to build a peaceful, just, democratic, united Sri Lanka. The U.S. is concerned, however, that some developments are shrinking the democratic space and respect for human rights in the country. The 18th Amendment passed last year weakens checks and balances and abolishes term limits, giving unprecedented power to the executive presidency. Nearly two years after the conclusion of the fighting, substantial parts of the emergency regulations remain in place, the north continues to be heavily militarized, and the role of the armed forces appears to have increased with the Ministry of Defense assuming responsibility in non-traditional areas such as urban development. Media freedom remains constrained with continuing incidents against journalists and independent media such as the recent arson attack on Lanka-e-news. An unfettered media environment in which journalists can work without intimidation or interference, and incidents against journalists are credibly investigated and prosecuted, is essential for the reconciliation process.Perhaps most critical is a full accounting of the individual lives that are still in question from the end of the war, which means providing information to families about relatives that are either missing or in detention so they know the status of their loved ones. The Sri Lankan government told the diplomatic community that it has compiled a database that will assist in the efforts to locate missing persons. We hope that families of those missing or detained will have access to this database. Reconciliation also entails charging or releasing those that are in custody. We understand that the Attorney General's office has formed a panel to examine the cases of those detained and to expedite their processing, and that the panel has already examined several hundred detainees. We hope that all those detained without charges will soon benefit from this panel's work.And finally reconciliation means addressing allegations of injustices and abuses during the conflict, no matter which side committed them, and investigating and holding accountable those individuals who were responsible. Although it is difficult to ascertain exactly how many lost their lives in the final months of the war, the U.N. estimates it was thousands. These deaths must be investigated and those who committed wrong-doing must be brought to justice.Accountability is an essential part of any reconciliation process. Without it an enduring peace will remain elusive as unhealed wounds fester. Primary responsibility for implementing a credible and independent process through which individuals who may have violated human rights and international humanitarian law are held accountable for their actions lies with Sri Lanka itself. Our strong preference is that the Sri Lankan government establish its own transparent process that meets international standards. However, in the absence of such a mechanism, there will be mounting pressure for an international mechanism. Lasting peace requires a durable political solution. The United States is encouraged that the government has conducted two rounds of talks on a political settlement with the Tamil National Alliance. We hope that a third round of talks will soon build upon the constructive first two rounds of talks that have already taken place. U.S. Partnership The Government of Sri Lanka is taking many important steps, and it is already a very different place than it was in May 2009 when I left the country as Ambassador. But there is much more that can and must be done. Jamie asked us to think about whether the international community has a role in helping Sri Lanka recover from decades of conflict. I believe that it does. In the spirit of friendship and partnership, the United States has not wavered in our support for the people of Sri Lanka, providing humanitarian and livelihood assistance as the country rebuilds itself.To highlight just a few of the many programs that our Embassy in Colombo is implementing in cooperation with Sri Lankan counterparts: we've provided nearly $62 million in food aid over the last two and a half years, the bulk of the nourishment for the persons displaced at the end of the conflict, and $11 million for support, training, and equipment for the demining efforts of the government and its NGO partners. Earlier this year we opened a new American Corner in Jaffna, a place where Sri Lankans can meet and share their ideas, and help connect Jaffna with the rest of Sri Lanka and the world. We've facilitated in-country exchanges in which youth from different geographic and ethnic backgrounds can experience each other's lives. In recent weeks, we have provided more than $4 million in immediate assistance for victims of the terrible flooding affecting parts of the country.We are also committed to helping create opportunities for Sri Lankans: USAID is helping to create 20,000 full time jobs in the North and East through a series of innovative partnerships with private companies. Through our eight Access centers spread throughout Sri Lanka, the U.S. is providing two years of intensive English language instruction to hundreds of youth in rural areas, which will open up educational and professional opportunities. We have provided numerous small grants to youth organizations to help them establish IT centers and promote science and technology. And it is important to remember that the U.S. is the largest single importer of Sri Lankan goods worldwide, purchasing 22 percent of its exports; we welcome the approximately 3,000 students from the island who study in the U.S. each year; and U.S. entrepreneurs are the largest investors in Sri Lankan bonds and other financial instruments. Potential and Promise The U.S. is ready to continue helping the Sri Lankans to restore their country, and there is still a great deal to be done. It is clear to me that Sri Lanka has the potential to be one of South Asia’s bright spots. It can indeed become the "Wonder of Asia," as President Rajapaksa says. With 8 percent GDP growth last year, a renewed tide of visiting tourists to take in the country’s beautiful scenery and impressive history, and strong investor confidence, the country's economy is on an upward trajectory. Sri Lanka has some of the best health and social indicators in Asia with one of the lowest infant mortality rates and highest literacy rates, 90 percent, in the region, for example. The country has a well-educated young population for whom it is promoting regional cooperation as a means to create opportunities through free trade agreements with India and Pakistan. As I said, Sri Lanka shows great promise as a country emerging from decades of conflict to become a friendly partner in the region and the world. Of course, national reconciliation is a critical part of this process.As evidence of the dynamism in Sri Lanka currently, I would like to highlight a few events and developments that we probably would not have seen even two years ago: Sri Lanka is currently co-hosting the cricket world cup, opening its doors to players and fans from all over the world; last year, Colombo hosted the International Indian Film Awards – the Bollywood Oscars – last year; Sri Lanka welcomed the Fulbright program’s South and Central Asia workshop in which Fulbright Commission directors and U.S. Embassy officials from the region gathered to share their experiences and work in promoting educational exchange; scholars from Duke and Johns Hopkins Universities are collaborating with Sri Lankan counterparts in the field of health sciences; later this month representatives from a number of U.S. firms are traveling to Sri Lanka to explore business and investment opportunities.At the same time, the U.S. encourages the Government of Sri Lanka, the private sector and civil society to draw on the resources and expertise of the many Sri Lankans living in the U.S. and around the world. I also encourage Sri Lankans living overseas to respond to overtures from the Government of Sri Lanka and opportunities to promote development and reconciliation in Sri Lanka. The end of the conflict presents an opening for everyone that is a friend and partner of the country to help realize the dream of opportunity for all Sri Lankans.In closing, economic prosperity and development are necessary, but not sufficient, conditions for lasting peace and healing in Sri Lanka. Economic growth will indeed help Sri Lankans to realize their dreams for themselves and their children. But the solution for lasting peace needs to include not just economic opportunity, but a political climate in which every Sri Lankan feels he or she has an equal stake in the country’s future and the ability to realize his or her potential in an open and just society. As President Obama said speaking to the world in Cairo in 2009: “all people yearn for certain things: the ability to speak your mind and have a say in how you are governed; confidence in the rule of law and the equal administration of justice; government that is transparent and doesn't steal from the people; the freedom to live as you choose. These are not just American ideas; they are human rights. And that is why we will support them everywhere.” I believe this is as true of Sri Lankans as any people anywhere in the world and the United States stands with Sri Lanka as a friend and partner in this pursuit. Thank you. Tamil ‘Diaspora’ serves self interest only - President Certain elements, who cannot even speak in Tamil or do not know where Vavuniya is and the actual situation in Jaffna, operate as pro-LTTE or Tamil Diaspora for their own survival, said President Mahinda Rajapaksa during the Janapathi Janahamuwa (President meets the people) telecast on State and private TV channels Friday. The Sri Lankan Government never drove out or evicted Tamils from this country, he said.Hence it is quite incomprehensible as to why the Tamil expatriates around the globe continue to work under the label of the Tamil Diaspora, President Rajapaksa added.“These elements try to distort the image of Sri Lanka. The so-called Diaspora seek to tarnish my image, and bring me and those who led the humanitarian operation to defeat LTTE terror before international tribunals.”“Various people in this country are also trying to destabilize the country,” the President said.He said he had already extended an open invitation to all Tamil expatriates in the world to come to Sri Lanka and witness the actual situation here.Another point highlighted at the Janapathi Janahamuwa was the development of Colombo city.“Some are carrying false propaganda seeking to gain narrow advantage from the development of the Colombo city.”The Government will construct 70,000 houses for the benefit of slum dwellers in the city, the President said.Responding to a question from people in Vavuniya regarding the construction of houses for IDPs, President Rajapaksa stated that” work has already begun on housing projects with the assistance of the Security Forces”.The Government’s aim is to build 20,000 permanent houses for the IDPs, he added.People from Vavuniya, Pulatisigama, Udu Nuwara, Passara, Morawaka and Katana participated in the Janapathi Janahamuwa program.Ministers Maithripala Sirisena, Dinesh Gunawardena, Rishard Bathiudeen, Wimal Weerawansa, Champika Ranawaka, Vasudeva Nanayakkara and Vinayagamoorthy Muralitharan, Secretary to the President Lalith Weerathunga, Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa and Finance Ministry Secretary Dr P B Jayasundara also participated. Lanka slams HRW Sri Lanka has accused the New York based Human Rights Watch (HRW) of making allegations against the government of Sri Lanka, the Sri Lanka Army and the Air Force without an iota of evidence.The Sri Lankan High Commission in New Delhi noted that HRW had levelled a series of tendentious accusations and allegations against Sri Lanka in a news report published in the international media.With reference to allegations made by HRW regarding alleged attacks on Indian fishermen by the Sri Lankan Navy, the Sri Lankan High Commission in New Delhi said that a joint statement issued at the end of the Sri Lanka visit of the Indian foreign secretary in January reflects the sentiments of both countries and facts on the matter.“Given the very close bilateral relationship between the two countries, any development which impacts on the well being of the Indian fishing community pursuing their livelihoods in the waters between the two countries is of utmost concern to Sri Lanka," the Sri Lankan High Commission quoted the statement as saying.The High Commission also noted that an attempt by HRW to project the controversial Channel Four video as an authentic film shot in Sri Lanka seems motivated despite the fact that the alleged video could have been recorded anywhere in the world.“To show a dead body and conclude that he or she was summarily executed, or to conclude that a female combatant was a victim of sexual assault just because the trouser of a female combatant was lowered in a photograph is mischievous,” , the Sri Lankan High Commission in New Delhi said. 'Loan shark made £500,000' from Sri Lankan community A loan shark running an unlawful money-lending business in east London received more than £500,000 in illegal interest payments, a court has heard.Kanadasaba Nadarajah, 68, from East Ham, is accused of offering more than 700 illegal loans from 2003 to 2010.Jurors were told the loans were offered to members of the Sri Lankan community living in London and the South East.Mr Nadarajah denies one count of illegal money-lending and one count of acquiring criminal property.His alleged accomplice Veluppillai Jegendirabose, 62, from Ilford, east London, who is accused of helping organise one of the loans, denies one count of illegal money-lending. 'Dire straits' Vivian Walters, prosecuting, told Inner London Crown Court that Mr Nadarajah would demand family jewellery from loanees as security which he would sell if they failed to pay the interest demanded."Loan sharks are those who operate businesses who lend money to people without a credit licence," said Miss Walters."Loan sharks prey on some of the most vulnerable people in society."The prosecution case is that Mr Nadarajah has been operating as a loan shark for many years."The court heard that people would go to Mr Nadarajah when they were in dire straits.One man asked for a loan after falling into arrears on his mortgage, while a woman asked for cash so she could return to Sri Lanka for her father's funeral.Miss Walters told the jury: "The majority if not the totality of borrowers are members of the Sri Lankan community whose only form of asset is family jewellery."The court heard was told that the illegal business was discovered after a loanee complained to the London Illegal Money Lending Team (IMLT) about how the loan was being conducted.The trial has been adjourned until Tuesday. USAID awards scholarships to students of the 2011 journalism diploma program The United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the development arm of the U.S. government, has awarded journalism scholarships to 20 Sri Lankan youth to attend the 2011 Journalism Diploma Program at the Sri Lanka College of Journalism (SLCJ) in Colombo,, a press release from the U.S. Embassy in Colombo announced Tuesday (15).According to the U.S. Embassy, this is the third consecutive year USAID has awarded scholarships for the SLCJ program.The 12-month scholarships provide tuition and a monthly stipend. During the program, scholarship recipients choose from Tamil, Sinhala and English course streams focusing on print, television, or radio. In their final quarter, the students complete internships working alongside media professionals and practicing their skills.Awarding the scholarships, Jim Bednar, USAID Mission Director has said the agency believesthat a strong and independent press is a cornerstone of democracy."These scholarships will contribute to maintaining the diversity and caliber of Sri Lanka's press corps in the years to come," Bednar has said.Under the program, since 2004 the SLCJ, the educational arm of the Sri Lanka Press Institute, has produced about 60 graduates per year. The program has a 97% job placement rate in print and electronic media.Through the scholarship program, USAID hopes to provide opportunities for students from the provinces and increase the presence of regional reporters in the press corps, the statement said.All scholarship recipients sign a commitment letter to seek work as journalists in their home province after completing the program. Sri Lanka wanted U.S. help as Indian radars 'not sufficient' CHENNAI: Sri Lanka quietly asked the United States for assistance to improve its air defence systems as India-supplied radars had proved insufficient to prevent an attack by LTTE aircraft on the Katunayake air base in March 2007, but it agreed with the Americans that New Delhi must be kept in the loop.Defence Secretary Gothabaya Rajapakse summoned U.S. Ambassador Robert O. Blake and the Defence Attache at the U.S. Embassy on March 30, 2007 and sought a visit by a U.S. military team to assess how Sri Lanka could improve its air defence systems against future LTTE air attacks.The meeting took place days after an LTTE air-raid at the Sri Lanka Air Force base at Katunayake, in which several helicopters, including two Mi-17s on loan from India, were damaged.At the time, there were media reports that the Indian radars had failed to detect the aircraft, but Sri Lankan officials denied the reports.According to a cable sent from the U.S. Embassy in Colombo on April 1, 2007 (102721: confidential) and accessed by The Hindu through WikiLeaks, Mr. Gothabaya Rajapakse told the envoy that Sri Lanka's current radar systems were "not sufficient" to meet the LTTE air threat. Years of waiting Two radars provided by India had two-dimensional capabilities, and two more were on the way, Mr. Rajapakse said. Sri Lanka had asked India for three-dimensional radars, "but after years of not receiving them, decided to purchase a Chinese system that is now in the process of being installed.Mr. Gothabaya Rajapakse told Mr. Blake that in addition to the radar systems, "not a single L70 anti aircraft fire direction radar - ALSO provided by India was working making any attempts to shoot down an aircraft at night difficult.The Defence Secretary said that radars in Vavuniya had picked up an unidentified aircraft; so had the civilian radar at Katunayake at the last minute. But otherwise the attack had escaped detection.The LTTE aircraft was able to travel from northern Sri Lanka, along the western interior of the country, strike the airfield and return to the north."The Defense Secretary requested U.S. military assistance in assessing Sri Lanka's entire Air Defense System and help in acquiring the hardware required to UPGRADE their system," the cable said.The U.S. Ambassador told Mr. Gothabaya Rajapakse he would convey this to Washington immediately. Noting "the importance of working in a transparent manner," he asked if in the event of Washington acceding to the request, Sri Lanka would have any objection to keeping India in the picture, as New Delhi had supplied some of the radars.Mr. Rajapakse had no objection to this but suggested that Sri Lanka would take on the responsibility of informing New Delhi, after the U.S. decided whether or not to send the team.The cable commented that Mr. Rajapakse "clearly understood" that if the team approved setting up a new radar, this would "likely not be free.Mr. Rajapakse also suggested that since the U.S. had already assisted Sri Lanka in setting up a maritime surveillance radar, there could be merit in establishing an integrated air and maritime system.The U.S. followed up quickly. At a meeting on April 3 with Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollogama, the very first point that Assistant Secretary for South Asia Richard Boucher took up was the state of Sri Lanka's air defences and the government's plan to deal with the LTTE air threat (cable 103423: confidential)."Bogollagama claimed that the three radars provided by India require down time every eight hours, and the government was investigating if the one installed at Katunayake air base was down during the Tigers' air strike," according to the cable from the U.S. Embassy in New Delhi, sent on April 5.The Sri Lankan Foreign Minister said radar efficiency levels were being discussed, and that his government had asked India for two more two-dimensional radars and a 3-D radar.Washington appears to have sent an assessment by May 2009. The matter had assumed urgency after further LTTE air raids on oil/gas storage facilities at Kolonnwawa and Muthurajawela on April 29.On May 25, in line with its desire to keep India informed, the U.S. Embassy in New Delhi informed the MEA of a "recent survey" by a U.S. military team of Sri Lanka's air defence capabilities, according to cable sent on May 30, 2007 (110122: confidential)."[The Defence Attache] relayed that the eight-man team's mandate was to identify possible improvements to current GOSL air defense systems commensurate with the current and foreseeable capabilities of the GOSL air force and its budgetary realities," the cable noted.When the MEA official, Director Suchitra Durai, asked if the team had made final assessment of radar equipment to be provided and if the U.S. would share this with the Indian government, the Defence Attache told her it was "too early to predict the exact systems and installation timelines. Coastal radar system Despite all the talk of U.S.-India "common interests" in Sri Lanka, India seems to have separately exerted pressure on Colombo to move the planned installation of a U.S.-provided coastal radar system from the north of the island to the south. But New Delhi eventually backed off.On June 5, Commodore Lakshman Illangakoon of the Sri Lankan Navy provided the U.S. Embassy in Colombo a "readout" of his meeting in New Delhi with Indian Navy officials.The cable, sent on June 13, 2007, notes that India had been pressing Sri Lanka to have the U.S. system moved to Sri Lanka's southern coast and install an Indian-provided system (111852/confidential/ noforn)."Illangakoon told us the Sri Lanka Navy Commander had instructed him to hold firm that the U.S.-provided coastal radars should be installed in the north, if necessary over Indian objections"But at the New Delhi meeting, Commodore Illangakoon was informed that India had lifted its objections to the installation of the U.S. radar in the north.An Indian Embassy official told the U.S. Embassy Defence Attache in Colombo that India would "consider other options, such as placing Indian-provided radars alongside the U.S. system to cover dead spaces." 15 March 2011 Forcible registration continues; TNA TNA Parliamentarians today complained to the Supreme Court that the forcible registration of the residents in the North by the Security Forces is continuing despite the undertaking given to the Court to suspend it immediately.Attorney General on March 3 gave an undertaking to the Supreme Court to suspend immediately the impugned forced registration of residents of Jaffna and Kilinochchi districts by the Security Forces.Deputy Solicitor General Buwaneka Aluvihare appearing for the Attorney General appearing for the Attorney General gave this undertaking sequent to the rights violation petition filed by TNA Parliamentarians.In the circumstances, the Petitioners had withdrawn their petition and the Bench comprising Justices N.G.Amaratunga, P.A.Ratnayake and Chandra Ekanayke terminated the proceedings. Jaffna district Parliamentarians Mavai Senathirajah, Suresh Premachandran, Appathurai Vinayagamoorthy and Eswarapatham Saravanapavan as well as the Kilinochchi district Parliamentarian Sivagnanam Shritharan filed their petition seeking the termination of the impugned forced registration.They alleged the continuing registrations contravenes the undertaking given by the State and is, in the circumstances, an act of Contempt of Court. US to boycott ‘Defeating Terrorism’ showcase The United States and Japan have decided to boycott ‘Defeating Terrorism Sri Lankan Experience’ seminar organised by Sri Lanka army, the LankaNewsWeb can exclusively reveal. The Sri Lanka Army and Defence Ministry have invited 54 countries to attend the showcase to be held in May in Colombo.Sri Lanka military says it will “share their knowledge” of counter-insurgency at the meeting.While Japan is prevented by its constitution to take part or attend on any military activities, the USA has decided to boycott the event in protest to Sri Lanka government’s constant denial to investigate war crimes. In an attempt to reignite jingoism that has been fading away in recent months, Sri Lanka plans to continue war victory celebrations on the second anniversary of the military defeat of the LTTE. The event is also a part of a tourism promotion exercise.But the USA is not happy over lack of accountability and reconciliation efforts in Sri Lanka.The LNW understands that many other leading international players are also considering a possible boycott. Swiss Ambassador pledges support to develop Jaffna A three-member diplomatic team from the Swiss Embassy in Sri Lanka, headed by Ambassador Thomas Litscher, met Jaffna Security Forces Commander Major General Mahinda Hathurusinghe yesterday (14) morning to exchange views on present development activities taking place in Jaffna.Ambassador Thomas Litscher, Programme Manager Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) Martin Studer and Project Manager SDC Ms. Genevieve Contesse were enthusiastic to learn more about de-mining activities being conducted prior to resettlement in Jaffna.Commander Hathurusinghe gave a detailed account of the accelerated de-mining programme, the government’s development activities for Jaffna and the Army’s involvement in the development work and the present security situation in Jaffna.The Swiss Ambassador pledged his extensive support in constructing houses for the homeless, promoting livelihood and other humanitarian projects for the people of Jaffna in the future too. Sri Lanka army opens travel wing The travel wing is the latest sphere of civilian society in which the armed forces are adopting new rolesThe Sri Lankan army has announced that it has opened a travel agency to help the general public buy air tickets and foreign package tours.It is the latest sphere of civilian society in which the armed forces are adopting new roles, nearly two years after the military victory over the Tamil Tiger separatists.The army says its Commander had the idea for this new ticketing agency last year because of the many army officers going on overseas assignments.But with the opening of its new office next to the Air Force headquarters, it has decided to open its services to the general public. Pakistani example It offers air tickets and holiday package tours to Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and China and a Buddhist pilgrimage to India and Nepal.The travel agency’s website shows generic pictures of smiling travel agents and one of the Defence Secretary, who opened the new office on Monday.The site advertises its “unparalleled customer support” and affordable prices.Sri Lanka’s army, which has more than 200,000 personnel, is establishing a varied set of new interests.In recent months it has started selling vegetables with the stated aim of bringing cheaper food to consumers.It also runs a holiday resort and roadside shops in the north.The navy now conducts whale- and dolphin-watching trips for tourists, while the defence ministry is in charge of the country’s Urban Development Authority.One Sri Lankan commentator, Darini Rajasingham Senanayake, recently remarked that there were too many military businesses in Sri Lanka and said the military was growing increasingly akin to its Pakistani counterpart, helped by state subsidy.However the Sri Lankan military clearly feels it can get certain things done more efficiently than the civilian sector. No confidence motion against Prime Minister? United National Party had decided to submit no confidence motion against Prime Minister. The motion will be submitted against the Premier at the next parliament sessions.Prime Minister made a statement at the commenced of the emergency regulation debate at the Parliament that three camps belonging to TamiL Eelam Libration tigers are functioning in Tamil Nadu province. Prime Minister should affirm that this information is true at the next parliament sessions was requested by the United National Party.If Prime Minister fails to confirm the said information, no confidence motion against Prime Minister will be implemented in parliament was mentioned. UNP alleged Prime Minister is giving inforamtions which cannot be proved and directing the parliament in the wrong path. Sri Lanka Opposition Leader says government still trying to use the LTTE to win votes Sri Lanka Opposition Leader Ranil Wickremasinghe says the government is still trying to use the LTTE to win votes.He told a public rally that the government in order to gain votes at the election is speaking of the LTTE and saying the LTTE was forming camps in India.Wickremasinghe said that the statement made by the Prime Minister about LTTE training camps in Tamil Nadu has been denied by India.He charged that since the government is unable to address the issues faced by the people, it was trying to use the threat about the LTTE camps in India to overcome those issues.According to Wickremasinghe, the government was speaking about LTTE camps in India while harboring an LTTE leader, KP, Kumaran Pathmanadan. TMVP, Karuna rift A new rift has emerged between Deputy Minister Karuna Amman and his former party, the Thamil Makkal Viduthalai Pullikal (TMVP) led by Eastern Province Chief Minister Sivanesathurai Chandrakanthan alias Pillayan.The TamilNet website quoted Resettlement Deputy Minister Vinayagamoorthy Muralidharan alias Karuna as saying the TMVP is a political party full of corruption and deceit and Pillayan has no support from the government.When contacted by News Now.lk, Pillayan refused to react to Karuna’s alleged comments appearing on TamilNet saying “he has no political career anyway so I don’t want to comment on that”.The Chief Minister meanwhile noted that both Karuna and the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) are not working in the best interest of the Tamils.He questioned the agenda behind the TNA holding talks with the government saying the government has already addressed the immediate concerns of the Tamil people. Overseas Tigers shaken by debilitating split Norway-based LTTE faction gains ground as Diaspora battle takes new turn A section of the Transnational Government of Tamil Eelam (TGTE) has revolted against V. Rudrakumaran, the self-appointed Prime Minister of the organisation causing chaos among various Diaspora factions. The rebel group consists of 34 self-styled MPs based in Australia (3), Canada (6), France (3), Germany (7), Italy (1), Denmark (3), Norway (3), Sweden (1) and UK (7).The TGTE comprised 102 'MPs' based in various parts of the world. Sources told The Island that since the conclusion of the war in May 2009, the US-based one-time legal advisor to the LTTE, Rudrakumaran had spent millions of dollars on the 'TGTE project.' He tried to exploit the arrest and extradition of Selvarasa Pathmanathan aka 'KP' to Colombo in Aug. 2009 to promote TGTE as a government in exile.Sources based in Western Europe said that rebel 'MPs' of the TGTE had ignored a request by 'Speaker' Pon Balraj of the TGTE to reaffirm their commitment to the 'government in exile' by Mar. 5, 2011. Sources said that Balraj had requested rebels to get in touch with him via email at Speaker@tgte.org or Pon.balarajan@tgte.org.The TGTE's rebel group has already established a new political wing and aligned itself with Norway-based Perinpanayagam Sivaparan aka Nediyawan, widely believed to be Rudrakumaran's main challenger. Sources said the split in the TGTE had strengthened Nediyawan's efforts to oust Rudrakumaran.Earlier the rebel group had made an abortive bid to appoint a former pro-Tiger TNA MP as the first 'Prime Minister' of the TGTE. Sources said that Rudrakumaran and the rebel group had been at daggers drawn over the latter's demand to pursue the eelam project in spite of losing their conventional military capability. The rebel group had forced Rudrakumaran to display the LTTE flag at his inaugural speech as the 'Prime Minister' of TGTE, sources said.The rebel group would eye young members of the Diaspora and that they had declared that they would pursue the LTTE's original goal-a separate state for Tamils in the Northern and Eastern Provinces of Sri Lanka. They had set up a three-member executive committee to run the new party, sources said. The committee consists of three 'MPs' based in France, UK and Germany. Besides a nine-member committee has been formed to implement decisions taken by the executive committee, according to sources.The TGTE rebels had alleged that a section of Rudrakumaran's group had been influenced by the Sri Lankan Intelligence services, a charge vehemently denied by the group, sources said. The rebel group cleverly exploited the demise of Prabhakaran's mother to boost its popularity. Sources said that those operating in Germany had organised several meetings to honour Prabhakaran's mother posthumously. 14 March 2011 Call to boycott Colombo defence seminar An international human rights watchdog has called on over 50 invited countries to boycott a conference aimed at sharing Sri Lanka's war experience.The Sri Lankan government has invited militaries of 54 countries for the "Defeating Terrorism Sri Lankan Experience” to be held from 31 May to 02 June in Colombo.But Human Rights Watch (HRW) said it "understands" that some of the key invitees have already decided not to take part.“What we are telling the militaries around the world is that they should not attend a meeting to celebrate a military policy that involves killing so many civilians,” HRW Executive Director Brad Adams told BBC Sinhala service, Sandeshaya.Foreign Minister GL Peiris, Secretary to President Lalith Weerathunga, Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, Central Bank Governor Ajith Cabraal, terrorism expert Prof Rohan Gunaratne and many senior military officers are among the list of speakers."It will endeavour to propose adequate measures to manage and counter global terrorism and discuss strategies for nation building while introducing a Sri Lankan perspective in counter terrorism,” said the statement in the defence ministry run website.But the rights watchdog says many of the tactics employed by the Sri Lankan military in its war against the Tamil Tigers were “illegal.”“If militaries around the world are going to meet they should be talking about those illegal activities and not trying to copy the Sri Lankan government’s doctrine,” Mr Adams said. 'Big lie' "If this was a genuine agenda and it was carried by independent and impartial people to look at the good, the bad and the ugly about the war," the executive director said that HRW welcomes the initiative.He says that the Japanese, for example, has a constitution that does not allow them to involve in international arms conflict. “So the Japanese should stay away miles away in the meeting in Colombo.”The HRW accused the Sri Lankan government of repeatedly “lying” of political reforms to settle the national question.“I promise that they will never engage in political reforms they have always said that political reforms is part of the process but they have never done it. It is empty rhetoric. It is basically a big lie.”The watchdog says the planned seminar is an attempt by the Sri Lankan government “to teach the rest of the world how to engage in counter insurgency.”“We have no doubt that the LTTE was a terrorist organisation. We were extremely critical of the LTTE all along but that does not give a licence to the government to attack civilians the way it did,” Brad Adams added.The HRW says the timing of the conference which falls on the second anniversary since the government defeated the LTTE sends a "terrible message" to the Tamil community. India, Lanka to meet Sri Lanka and India will hold talks today over the fishing issue and upcoming visit to India by a Sri Lankan delegation.Fisheries Minister Rajitha Senaratne will meet the Indian High Commissioner in Colombo today to discuss the issues facing Indian and Sri Lankan fishermen, the Fisheries Ministry said.Meanwhile a Sri Lankan delegation will head to India on March 27 for talks with Indian fishing societies in order to seek a solution to the conflict between Indian and Sri Lankan fishermen.The delegation, which will include representatives of Sri Lankan fishermen’s societies, will discuss the mechanism proposed by India and Sri Lanka to resolve the issue.Indian and Sri Lankan fishermen have had frequent clashes in recent times as fishermen from both countries often stray into each other’s territory for a better catch. Vavuniya U.C Chairman Resigns Post The Chaiman of the Vavuniya U.C has resigned his post. In the letter to the Election Commissioner he has informed about his resignation.He was elected as Chairman of the Vavuniya U.C after he contested the local government election on behalf the TNA under the banner of the Federal Party.But the other TNA members have been accusing that the chairman was not co-operating with them and was working on his own. However, he rejected the allegation.3 members from the PLOTE and one member from the UNP had joined the TNA members in following a non co-operation policy against the chairman. 8 members of the council had collaborated in this regard and were calling for explanation from the chairman and the secretary of the council, over 28 issues in which they said corruption had taken place.But the chairman S.N.G Nathan had refused to give any sort of explanation over the issues saying that the issues had been brought to the notice of the Assistant commissioner of Local government and the Commissioner of the Provincial Local government and was adamant that he will not allow the issue to be discussed or debated in the council.This issue indeed, had been brought to the direct notice of the governor and a special inquiry was conducted by a retired judge, but the findings of the inquiry was not officially announced.Meanwhile Mavai Senathirajah, Secretary of the Federal party has announced that the chairman has not abided the rules and regulations of the party and an inquiry has been going on and he has been temporarily suspended from the party.In the midst of all this the chairman SNG Nathan has resigned his post as chaiman of the Vavuniya Urban Council. Pakistani cricket officials in talks with Sri Lanka on hosting Sri Lankan team for a short tour Two years after the terrorist attack on Sri Lanka's national team in Lahore, Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) officials are in serious talks with the Sri Lankan cricket authorities on hosting the Sri Lankan team for a short tour.PCB officials have told the Pakistani media that they are in talks with its Sri Lankan counterparts for a short ODI and Twenty20 series in Pakistan later this year.In the aftermath of the attack several countries cancelled their tours to Pakistan and the country lost its hosting rights to 2011 ICC World Cup currently underway in India, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka.Pakistani officials hope to revive the international cricket once again in the country with the invitation to host the Sri Lankan team for a short tour.Sri Lanka has pledged not to allow Pakistan's isolation in international cricket.According to PCB sources, Sri Lanka is considering to send the team for the short ODI and Twenty20 series but wants the longer Test series to be played at a neutral venues of Dubai and Abu Dhabi."The talks with the Sri Lankans have been pretty positive so far and we are hopeful the series will be split into two parts with the limited over games in Pakistan," media reports quoted a PCB source.Sri Lanka Cricket chairman Somachandra de Silva has said that they are discussing with the International Cricket Council's Pakistan Task Team (PTT) the possibility of touring Pakistan again probably in October 2011.On March 03, 2009 Sri Lanka's national team came under a terrorist attack when at least dozen gunmen opened fire and lobbed hand grenades at the bus carrying the team to the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore to play a Test match.A total of eight players and team's British assistant coach, Paul Farbrace were injured in the attack, which also left six security personnel and two civilians including the driver of a convoy vehicle transporting umpires dead.Sri Lanka cricket team captain Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardena, Thilan Samaraweera, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Ajantha Mendis, Dilhara Fernando, Chamara Kapugedera and legendary Muttiah Muralitharan suffered injuries in the attack.Sri Lanka agreed to tour Pakistan in 2009 after India pulled out from their tour in Pakistan following the terror attacks in Mumbai. 13 March 2011 India makes official protest over PM’s remarks India has lodged an official protest with Sri Lanka over Prime Minister D.M. Jayaratne’s statement in Parliament that Tiger guerillas training camps existed in Tamil Nadu.Sri Lanka’s High Commissioner Prasad Kariyawasam was called to the Indian External Affairs Ministry in South Block in New Delhi on Thursday to be told of the Indian Government’s displeasure.Mr. Kariyawasam has met a Joint Secretary, a position equivalent to that of a Director General.The official protest came just a day after an Indian Ministry of External Affairs official Vishnu Prakash denied Prime Minister Jayaratne’s claims about the existence of such camps on Indian soil.Tamil Nadu Police Director General Letika Saran too in a statement said police had confirmed there were no LTTE elements operating in Tamil Nadu.During the debate on the extension of the emergency, Premier Jayaratne claimed that intelligence reports had indicated that the Tiger guerillas were training in three separate locations in Tamil Nadu with the objective of assassinating Indian political leaders as well as re-establishing themselves in Sri Lanka.However hot on the heels of the Indian denial, the Prime Minister retracted his statement saying it was based on incorrect information taken from news reports in two newspapers. A Government source said it was explained to the Indian officials that the statement had been based on incorrect media reports. “The issue is over now,” he said PM Jayaratne lands in trouble over LTTE statement A day after India denied that Tamil separatists were being trained in Tamil Nadu, the main Sri Lankan opposition party, the United National Party (UNP), called for the resignation of Prime Minister DM Jayaratne for making the statement in Parliament about the camps. On Wednesday, Jayaratne, during a debate on extending Emergency laws in Sri Lanka, said LTTE cadres were being trained in three camps in Tamil Nadu. During the same debate, opposition chief, Ranil Wickeremesinghe had pointed out that if the information was true, it should be shared with New Delhi.India was quick to reject the claim with the Ministry of External Affairs – as well as the Tamil Nadu police – categorically denying the presence of any such camps.Trying to control the diplomatic damage, Jayaratne was quoted as having said on Thursday that he was misled by some newspaper reports.It, however, left the Lankan government in a spot of bother. On Friday, the Daily Mirror online, quoted as minister Dullas Alahapperuma as saying that the ``incorrect statement made by Prime Minister Jayaratna was a closed chapter as he himself has made a statement accepting the mistake.’’But the opposition began gunning for him. Jayaratne should resign for misleading the Parliament by making a false statement on LTTE camps in South India, UNP MP Lakshman Kiriella told reporters on Friday. Daily Mirror online quoted him as saying that any member who misleads Parliament should resign as per the tradition. The Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) said Jayaratne should apologise to the Parliament and the public over his false claims in Parliament that LTTE camps have been set up in Tamil Nadu.According to Adaderana website, the JVP said it was a grave offence to abuse parliamentary privileges and mislead the public. Furthermore, the statement was baseless and is unfavorable to the country in a diplomatic manner, the party pointed out. 100 acre land for KP irks TNA Tamil political parties have scoffed at government’s decision to allocate 100 acres of land in Pooneryn, in the Jaffna district to former LTTE chief financier K. Pathmanathan.TNA Parliamentarian Suresh Premachandran, TULF leader V. Anandasangari and PLOTE leader D. Sidharthan in unison said they viewed the government’s decision as an act with an ulterior motive.Premachandran said he saw no logic behind this exercise and added the whole exercise was shrouded in secrecy and that he was yet to receive more details about this new development from the government.Anandasangari pointed out that he saw no reason why KP should be given such a ‘Royal’ treatment when other LTTE activists have been given the correct penalty by the government.He said KP is still a wanted person in India and added without handing KP over to India, giving him such a treatment was detrimental to the country’s image.“What does the government benefit by giving KP who is responsible for the killing of thousands, this treatment?” he queried.Meanwhile Sidharthan said if KP was genuinely willing to return to the mainstream of democracy then the government’s actions were justified but questioned as to what guarantee the government had that he would genuinely want to change himself.He questioned whether the government would release all the LTTE suspects kept in various detention camps if they too wanted to return to the mainstream of democracy. Tamil march to Delhi gaining momentum A major meeting will be held in London to show solidarity for the 2,500 kilometres march from Chennai to Delhi by the Eelam National Democratic Liberation Front (ENDLF).The meeting will be held at Harrow Leisure Centre, Christchurch Centre, Harrow, Middlesex on 13 (Sunday) March 2010 from 3.00pm. Speakers from the cross section of the political divide of the Tamils will address the meeting. According the leaflets widely circulated Dr Nicholaspillai, I T Sampanthan, Dr Vasanthakumar, Sivapalan, Cllr Paul Sathyanesan, Ravi Sundaralingam, Miss Vasanthi Subramaniam, C Sooriyakumar, Mrs Jenanny, V Sivalingam, E K Rajagopal, P Sivasubramaniam, Nallathamby Jeyapalan, Ira Jayadevan, Mahalingam Sivam, S Yogarajah, Skanthadeva, S Aravinthan, Ranjan Navarajah, Navaratnam Paramakumar, Ira Manoharan, Amuthan Rajakariar, T Sothilingam, Dr Bala, S P Yogaratnam, Dr Ratneswaran and V Ramaraj will be addressing the meeting. The Chennai to Delhi marchers are expected to reach Delhi on 24 March 2011. Hundreds of marchers will be submitting their memorandum in Delhi demanding to: · fully implement Indo-Lanka Accord. · Remove all planned Sinhala colonisations in the north and east of Sri Lanka. According to information, the marchers are expected to meet the political leaders at the end of their walk in Delhi. Over one hundred activists of the ENDLF are said to be marching through seven states to reach Delhi on the 24 March. The march has so far progressed peacefully with overwhelming support from the local people on the route. Except for an accident resulting in the death of a marching cadre, the determined cadres have walked 55 days so far along the 2,500 kilometres stretch of the route. According to the latest press release on the march, the marchers have reached the place called Lalithpur where they received a rousing welcome from the people. They were met by the media and TV reporters to report on their daunting task to walk to Delhi averaging about 40 kilometres per day. One elderly lady on seeing the pictorial presentation of the atrocities committed against the Tamils in Sri Lanka started sob and said ‘for all these sins God will one day provide justice you all’. Jumbo cabinet even larger cabinet reshuffle is on the cards after the Local Government elections, government sources claim. Several new faces are to be included in the cabinet and the powers of senior ministers are to be enhanced.“There have been many complaints that some ministers are not contributing enough and their lethargy is hampering the development drive of the government,” said one such source. “Therefore the President has decided to reshuffle ministerial portfolios.”He added that the President has also decided to integrate scattered departments and statutory bodies which deal with similar issues under specific ministries. Several new portfolios are also to be introduced to speed up development activities.“The Ministry of Social Services is one such ministry as its departments deal with relevant matters that fall under several other ministries making effective governance impossible. Also senior ministers will be given more powers so that they can make an effective contribution to the ministries they serve,” sources added. Tamil Tiger suspects in remand for more than 10 years, Sri Lanka activist says The Executive Committee member of the 'We Sri Lankans' organization ex-student leader Udul Premaratna says that some Tamil Tiger activists are languishing more than 10 years in remand prisons of Sri Lanka without charges are framed against them.He pointed to one such person who was recruited to the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) when he was 14 years old and stayed only one year with the Tamil Tigers have been in prison for 18 years without any charges framed against him.Premaratna further said that one LTTE suspect has been produced in court for 429 times but without framing charges against him.Premaratna urged the government either to frame charges against them or to release them respecting human rights. Cairn Lanka to commence drilling for exploration of oil in Mannar basin in July Cairn Lanka, a wholly owned subsidiary of Cairn India is to commence exploration drilling for oil in the Mannar basin off Sri Lanka's northwestern coast in July 2011.The company revealed this in a press release issued Friday to announce the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Sri Lankan government to help construct and set-up of libraries at a number of schools in the Moneragala district for the benefit of children in the area.David Ginger, Director, Cairn Lanka said the company will continue to explore this frontier block with a view to identifying potential opportunities."With an absolute focus on safety in terms of the people working on the project, the local communities, and the environment, we plan to commence exploration drilling in July 2011," Ginger said.Cairn signed the Petroleum Resource Agreement (PRA) with the Sri Lankan government in July 2008 to explore oil and natural gas in the Mannar Basin with an investment of US$100 million, spread over three years.According to the Agreement, Cairn will start exploration activities in one of the 8 blocks in the Mannar Basin which covers 3,400 sq. km. at depths between 200 to 1,800 meters.The company conducted a full Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) as required by the Sri Lanka Central Environmental Authority and Marine Pollution Prevention Authority. Earlier in 2010, the company acquired 3D seismic data on 1,750 km2 area of the Mannar basin.Mannar basin has eight oil and gas exploration blocks and two of them have been granted to China and India. Russia's largest oil company, Gazprom also has indicated plans to take part in the exploration of offshore oil in the Mannar basin. Assassination attempt on TNA parliamentarian Sritharan By D.B.S. Jeyaraj The abortive attempt to assassinate Tamil National Alliance Parliamentarian Sivagnanam Sritharan has sent shock waves throughout the “Tamil speaking world”. Although the incident did not receive adequate coverage in the mainstream media, the attempted murder of the Jaffna district MP has rocked the Tamil people as many feared the bad days of old were returning.There was a time when many Tamil MP’s and political leaders were being killed at regular intervals. Earlier the perpetrators were from Tamil militant organizations like the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam(LTTE) and Tamil Eelam Liberation Organization (TELO). Tamil moderates of the Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF) were the victims in most instances. They were accused of being collaborators and vilified as traitors. Most of the killings were by the tigers.The situation changed when Tamil political parties came together in the form of the Tamil National Alliance(TNA). With the TNA moving closer to the LTTE and virtually transforming into a tiger mouthpiece the tiger threat diminished. But fresh danger emerged from other directions. Several TNA and ex-TNA MP’s were killed. Certain state agencies and para-military groups were accused of being responsible.It was not the Tamil Parliamentarians alone who were targets of the tigers. Many Sinhala cabinet ministers and Parliamentarians were also killed and injured at different times in different attacks. Even an executive President and leader of the opposition were assassinated in different incidents. A few Muslim MP’s and ex-MP’s were also killed in other instances. The LTTE was responsible in almost all these incidents.The nation at large was relieved when the LTTE was militarily defeated in May 2009. With the demise of the tigers the security situation in the country eased. One indication of the changing equation was the relaxation of security arrangements for Parliamentarians. Currently an ordinary MP has only two Policemen for security.Parliamentarians particularly those from the North and East moved about freely in all parts of the country and engaged in political activity.This would have been unimaginable a few years ago.The government was so confident about the security situation that President Rajapakse asserted openly some days ago that anyone could travel safely in any part of the country.The assassination attempt on the TNA parliamentarian from Jaffna on March 7th has had a profound impact on those complacent about the security situation.Many feared that the incident was a harbinger of the future and worried that the bad, bad days of old were back again. It is against this backdrop that this column delves into the aborted assassination attempt this week. KILINOCHCHI Sivagnanam Sritharan is a new face to Tamil politics. The 43 year old ex-school principal was elected to Parliament from the Jaffna electoral district last year on behalf of the Tamil National Alliance(TNA). The TNA contested polls on the house symbol of the Ilankai Thamil Arasu Katchi (ITAK).Though representing Jaffna district nominally, Sritharan is in real terms the MP for Kilinochchi electoral division or electorate. Although a separate administrative district,Kilinochchi is part of Jaffna when it comes to elections. Before being carved out as a separate district in 1983 Kilinochchi was part of the Jaffna district. The sprawling district comprises areas both inside the peninsula as well as the northern mainland.Sritharan was placed in charge of the Kilinochchi electoral division by the TNA during the 2010 Parliamentary poll. He campaigned actively in the area and obtained enough votes to get elected. Sritharan was one of five TNA MP’s to win from Jaffna electoral district. He has been nursing the Kilinochchi constituency ever since and has primarily based himself in the region. Parliament was to convene on March 8th last week. Sritharan based in Kilinochchi left for Colombo on Monday March 7th to attend sittings in the house by Diyawanna Oya. It was his usual practice to start out from Kilinochchi in the afternoon on the day before Parliament was scheduled to meet and reach Colombo after nightfall. This had almost become a routine pattern.The usual practice was followed on the fateful day of March 7th also. The TNA parliamentarian started out from Kilinochchi at 1.00 pm after an early lunch in his Toyota van bearing the number plate WP – HG 4846. There were five persons in the vehicle. They were Sritharan,his driver, his Police bodyguard and two others. The Policeman was a Sinhalese while the driver and other two passengers were Tamils.One of these passengers was a close relative of the MP who was to be dropped off at Vavuniya. The other was a young undergraduate who was the son of a close supporter. The youth was to accompany the MP up to Colombo. The van reached Vavuniya at about 3.30 pm.After a brief stopover during which the relative took his leave the van resumed its journey with four occupants at about 4 PM A -12 HIGHWAY The van was somewhere in the Medawachchiya when a white van with unmarked number plates crossed them. Within minutes the same vehicle did a “U” turn and changed direction .The unnumbered white van overtook the MP’s vehicle slowly and then sped away ahead. Soon it was lost. Although the antics of the white van attracted attention it did not cause too much concern.Sritharan’s van that was going along the A- 9 highway or Jaffna –Kandy road changed course at Anuradhapura. The vehicle now got on to the A -12 highway or Puttalam – Trincomalee road. The stretch between Anuradhapura and Puttalam along the A – 12 is 71.54 kilometres (44.45 miles) long.The vehicle was travelling along the A-12 in the Ulukkulama area of Maha Bulankulama region when it negotiated a small bend on the road. Further down was a pond.A white van without number plates was parked by the roadside. Two men in denim trousers and white tee- shirts were standing by the vehicle. The time was about 5.30 pm As the van proceeded the two men in white drew out pistols and began firing at the front of the vehicle. Two shots pierced the windscreen and entered but mercifully did not hit anyone. Alarmed but alert, the driver began to accelerate. The would be assassins were now seen with a hand grenade each. As the vehicle drew near one of the men pulled the clip and tossed it in front.The other tried to roll the grenade under the van. Thereafter they drew back and continued to fire at the van.The driver who had been accelerating saw the grenades and veered to a side. One of the grenades exploded without causing much damage to the vehicle. One of the rear wheel tyres burst but it is not clear whether the grenade or the gunfire caused the damage.Seeing that the rear wheel was damaged the would be assassins kept on firing at the back of the van. A third person in denims and a black tee- shirt presumed to be the white van driver also joined the other two.The solitary Policeman in the vehicle had only a 9mm pistol. The cop was seated by the side of the driver in the front. He now tried to fire back at the trio through the side from within the vehicle. It was difficult to aim accurately in this position and the first shot was an “own goal” hitting their vehicle’s rear screen. COURAGEOUS COP The Policeman then asked the driver to stop. Seeing the vehicle stop the three gunmen started running towards the van with their firing guns. But the lone policeman bravely got down on the road and began firing at the would be assassins. The cowardly trio was unprepared for this type of courage and immediately turned and ran back towards their van. Altogether the courageous cop had fired nine rounds.The Policeman then got in and the van proceeded on the road despite the damaged rear wheel. There were quite a few people on the road who witnessed the shoot out fracas but few seemed excited. The Van limped along the road for a further 8 km. But finally the tyre was totally deflated and the van was forced to stop somewhere in the Nochchiyagama area. The time was about 6 PM The four people got down from the van and went to a house nearby. Upon being told of the predicament the hospitable household invited the four inside. As is customary among rural folk the Sinhala family showered them with hospitality serving them refreshments.Meanwhile Sritharan had begun telephoning the Police while the van was going towards Nochchiyagama after the incident. He informed Police emergency and Anuradhapura Police of the incident. The Police bodyguard also informed his superiors of the incident. Despite explaining the problem the initial response by the Police was not positive.Sritharan then tried to telephone fellow Jaffna district MP and ITAK secretary Maavai Senathirajah but Senathirajah was at a meeting and had switched off his cellular phone. Sritharan then called TNA national list MP MA Sumanthiran in Colombo.Upon hearing of the incident Sumanthiran also made a round of telephone calls to various Police circles.He also called the Ministerial security division. Despite these efforts the official response was rather lethargic. Sritharan and the other three continued to remain at the Sinhala household in Nochchiyagama without any one from the Police coming there or contacting them. NOCHCHIYAGAMA Disappointed by this lack of response Sumanthiran telephoned the Inspector –General of Police (IGP) Mahinda Balasuriya directly. The IGP to his credit aplologised for the delay by the Police in responding. Within minutes the IGP got cracking and the Police machinery got into action.Balasuriya got the telephone number of Sritharan from Sumanthiran and telephoned him personally. The IGP told the MP not to worry and assured him of speedy Police action. Within a short time a Police party from Nochchiyagama arrived at the house and escorted Sritharan and others to the Nochchiyagama Police station. The damaged vehicle was also towed there.Sritharan lodged a formal complaint about the attack at the Nochchiyagama Police station A police contingent also went to the spot where the attack took place and cordoned off the area. A full scale probe was launched at daylight. Several people in the vicinity were questioned and statements recorded.Much evidence like shattered glass,empty bullets, grenade clip, unexploded grenade etc were collected.Photographs were taken of the spot. In addition to these, other pieces of evidence found in the vehicle were also collected. A team from the Govt analysts dept went to Nochchiyagama and made an inspection.The evidence collected has all been sent down to the Govt analyst dept in Colombo for further examination.Statements were also recorded in detail from Sritharan,the bodyguard, driver and the undergraduate. Fortunately none of them had any serious injury. Finally the Police transported Sritharan and the rest in a Police vehicle to Colombo with further Police escort. They had been at the Nochchiyagama Police station from 7.14 to 11.30 pm. Sritharan reached his official residence at Madiwela at about 2.30 am. SPEAKER Sritharan together with colleagues Senathirajah and Sumanthiran called on the Speaker Chamal Rajapaksa at his chambers in the morning of March 8th before Parliament sittings commenced. The speaker was shocked to hear of the attack and instantly queried as to why the bodyguard did not fire back with his T-56.It was then that the abysmal conditions about security arrangements for ordinary MP’s came to light. Each was entitled to only two Policemen with pistols. Although the cops were required to be with the MP at all times it was not possible in practical terms. So the Policemen worked in shifts and at most times the MP in question had only a single bodyguard on duty. This had been so in Sritharan’s case too.The speaker Chamal Rajapaksa promised the TNA of a full –fledged investigation into the incident. He contacted the IGP immediately and asked him for a full report. The IGP assured the speaker that he would provide a preliminary report on the following March 9th morning. The speaker then asked the TNA to be with him when the IGP presented the report.Chamal Rajapaksa also allowed Sivagnanam Sritharan to raise a breach of privilege issue in Parliament. Sritharan made a short statement explaining in brief what had occurred. He also thanked his Police bodyguard and driver for their commendable action in safeguarding him.Following Sritharan, the TNA’s Senathirajah also wanted to speak on the issue but the Speaker turned him down pointing out that only those raising a privilege motion could address Parliament on the issue concerned.Responding to Sritharan the speaker assured full safety and security for all MP’s. He also told Parliament that a full investigation will be conducted into the incident and a comprehensive report would be presented to Parliament in due course. SECURITY When the IGP came with the preliminary report compiled by the Anuradhapura DIG of Police,several TNA Parliamentarians including Sritharan were also present at the Speaker’s chambers. The IGP brought several photographs of the crime scene and affected vehicle. He also related the different lines of inquiry being followed by the Police.At one stage the IGP expressed misgivings about the passenger dropped off at Vavuniya by Sritharan and wondered whether he would have tipped off the attackers about Sritharan’s movement. But Sritharan said that was out of the question and stated the person was a close relative and entirely above suspicion.The IGP then stated that two teams of Police sleuths were investigating the incident.One was from the Anuradhapura district where the attack happened.The other was a special team sent from Colombo. Mahinda Balasuriya told Chamal Rajapaksa that a final report would be submitted in a week.After the IGP left the TNA Parliamentarians requested the Speaker for additional security arrangements for the party MP’s in the aftermath of the attack on Sritharan.The speaker regretfully informed the MP’s that increasing security personnel was not possible at the moment as it woud have to be enhanced for all 225 MP’s. It was not possible to do so for one political party alone. The Speaker however agreed that there was a threat to Sritharan and that his level of security would be increased.Apart from his statement in Parliament ,Sivagnanam Sritharan also made statements to various media organs about the attack. The gist of these reports were the same as Sritharan provided short descriptions of the aborted assassination bid. However in a statement made to the “Uthayan” daily, Sritharan made an interesting observation.In the news story appearing in the “Uthayan” (which is owned by his parliamentary colleague E.Saravanabavan)Sritharan has reportedly stated that the attack was a planned attempt to kill him and that his Tamil political opponents aligned with the government for concessions and ministerial posts were responsible. CHANDRAKUMAR Sritharan’s veiled references to “Tamil political opponents” and “ministerial posts” could only mean that he was referring to Douglas Devananda the Traditional Industries Minister and Secretary-general of the Eelam Peoples Democratic Party (EPDP).While the EPDP and TNA have been political rivals for a long time there has been some political friction between Sritharan and the EPDP in the Kilinochchi area in recent times. What has happened is that the EPDP which was kept out of Kilinochchi for some time has now been given the green light by the Govt to do politics in the district.The EPDP’s Jaffna district MP and Parliamentary chairman of committees Murugesu Chandrakumar alias Ashok has been entrusted with the responsibility of politically organizing Kilinochchi. Chandrakumar now spends a lot of time in the region and utilises the EPDP’s power and influence as a component of the govt to his full advantage. Resorting to “patronage politics” liberally Chandrakumar has been widening his support base in the impoverished district.This has brought Chandrakumar into direct conflict with Sritharan who is also nursing Kilinochchi. Chandrakumar has allegedly used his political clout to restrict and curb opportunities available for Sritharan to promote himself politically. It is reported that Sritharan is not invited for certain official functions and school prize givings and sports meets at the behest of Chandrakumar.Whatever the merits or otherwise of Sritharan’s coded accusation against the EPDP there did occur a humorous incident concerning Douglas Devananda and the attack on Sritharan. It happened in the Speakers chambers during the course of the All Party leaders meeting DRAMA Since TNA leader Sampanthan is indisposed in India and other senior leaders were unavailable it was TNA national list MP Sumanthiran who represented the party at the conclave.While the meeting was on Devananda suddenly taunted Sumanthiran by saying the attack on Sritharan was a drama. Sumanthiran replied that Devananda given his past experience was the best judge of what constituted a drama.Devananda then asked directly was not the alleged attack on Sritharan a drama stage managed by the TNA. Sumanthiran then retorted “Tell us how we managed to fire on our vehicle from inside and outside and how we managed to throw grenades under the vehicle while we were inside the van”. There was a hearty laugh by many on hearing Sumanthiran’s retort. A crestfallen Devananda then clammed up and left shortly afterwards.Cabinet minister Wimal Weerawansa also quipped in Parliament that there was no attempt on Sritharan’s life and only the tyres of the vehicle were fired at. Weerawansa also said the alleged incident was fabricated friction.Responding to Weerawansa during the extension of emergency debate, TNA Jaffna district MP Saravanabavan said that they had met the IGP earlier in the Speakers chambers where the Police chief had submitted a report with photographs about the incident. Contrary to Weerawansa the IGP had confirmed clearly that there had been an attempt to kill Sritharan, said Saravanabavan.There were also reports in some overseas Tamil websites insinuating that the attack on Sritharan was a fabrication. It was alleged that the entire episode was a contrived drama and that there had been no real assassination attempt. None of these accusations were substantiated with credible proof. They were for the most part wild speculation tinged with venomous hatred against Sritharan. CONTROVERSIAL Sivagnanam Sritharan has become a colourful yet controversial personality in recent times. While his political stock has been rising at one level in recent times there has also been an intensification of criticism at another level.Sritharan hailing from Kandawalai in Kilinochchi district has roots in Neduntheevu known as the Island of Delft. The former principal of Kilinochchi Maha vidyalayam is the brother in law of the legendary LTTE military commander Velayuthapillai Bhaheerthakumar alias “Brigadier Theepan“. Sritharan married Theepan’s sister.When Sritharan participated in TNA election meetings after being nominated as a candidate he made a good impression by being critical of the LTTE in an indirect manner. He mustered enough votes to be elected. Sritharan was the last among the five TNA candidates elected from Jaffna (Senathirajah, Premachandran, Vinayagamoorthy, Saravanabavan, Sritharan)There was however a remarkable transformation in Sritharan after being elected. He became rather hawkish and indulged in mind boggling rhetoric. Sritharan spoke out vehemently against alleged acts of omission and commission against the Tamil people by the Rajapaksa regime. In the process he did sound “tigerish”.Sritharan also began catering to the whims and fancies of the “vociferous Diaspora” that is supportive of the LTTE. Some of Sritharan’s close relatives run the popular websites “Tamilwin” and “Lankasri”. In addition the TNA parliamentarian had another website under his own name. WEBSITES These websites began to promote Sritharan in a systematical manner. Each and every act or speech of Sritharan was given wide publicity. Anyone following these sites regularly without reading other sources would get the impression that only Sritharan among the TNA leaders was doing something constructive for the Tamil people. This state of affairs was so unbearable that an overseas Tamil website queried “are the other TNA leaders not doing anything at all or is the Tamilwin giving publicity to Sritharan alone?” Incidently there was a coordinated cyber attack on sites supportive of Sritharan like the “Lankasri and Tamilwin” on March 7th the day on which the MP was attacked. The sites went out of circulation for a while and then resumed. There was a second attack on March 8th and sites began malfunctioning again.The sites are now back in circulation albeit in fits and starts. A statement put out by the Lankasri group attributed the cyber attacks to mischievous elements and asked viewers not to be alarmed. Was it a coincidence that the websites supportive of Sritharan were also (cyber)attacked on the same day that a physical attack against the MP took place? DIASPORA Sritharan’s growing popularity among pro-tiger sections of the Diaspora resulted in a lot of overseas Tamil media organs interviewing him regularly. Several Diaspora organizations and individuals channelled funds to the North through him for charitable purposes.Images of Sritharan distributing goods, utensils , books and student equipment to the people of Kilinochchi were regularly posted on websites. The donors were from the Diaspora. Likewise there were images of Sritharan meeting with various segments of Kilinochchi society. One doubts very much whether the people of Kilinochchi saw these images. These catered primarily to the Diaspora.This massive image build –up for Sritharan among the pro-tiger sections of the Diaspora came with a price. Sritharan was portrayed as someone close to the LTTE and as a living keeper of the tiger faith. He was at the Valvettithurai hospital posing for the camera with the bed ridden mother of LTTE supremo Velupillai Prabhakaran. He was also present at her funeral recently.Sritharan made some explosive comments at public meetings in Switzerland when he undertook a trip to Europe last year. Some of his statements to the media abroad were also obnoxiously offensive. It was obvious that he was playing to the Diaspora gallery in an irresponsible and provocative manner.Pandering to the cash-stocked pro-LTTE Diaspora seemed to be more important than trying to constructively resolve the existential problems faced by the suffering cash-strapped Tamils of Sri Lanka. BACKLASH This identification with pro-LTTE sections brought about an inevitable backlash. Several websites critical of pro-tiger elements began targeting Sritharan. He was accused of being a tiger cloaked in a cow skin. His relationship with Theepan was now depicted as a minus point.A very serious charge was repeated in some websites.It was alleged that Sritharan while being a school principal had assisted the LTTE to conscript students instead of protecting pupils. It is not known whether these accusations have any merit but those making them have called upon authorities to conduct a full – fledged investigation into these.Sritharan also came under security scrutiny on account of his conduct and statements. His attempts to form youth leagues in Kilinochchi was viewed with suspicion. Some of his statements were under legal scrutiny because they seemed to violate the oath he had taken disavowing separatism. It is against this backdrop that the attack on Sritharan has occurred. It was quite possible to launch an attack of this type in Kilinochchi or Vavuniya or even in Colombo. It is a moot point as to why it was conducted in the Anuradhapura attack.It is to be hoped that a free and fair investigation would reveal the truth behind the attack. DIALOGUE The most serious repercussion the attack could have would be its effect on the on going Govt-TNA dialogue. Somasundaram Senathirajah alias Maavai Senathirajaj when addressing Parliament during the emergency extension ebate made explicit references to the abortive attack.Senathirajah pointed out that the attackers had firearms and grenades and had managed to avoid detection at checkpoints. He also asked as to how the attackers managed to get away so easily without being captured. The ITAK secretary charged that those responsible for the attack could be having links to the security authorities and govt.The Govt-TNA dialogue is the best thing that has happened so far in the sphere of ethnic relations after the Presidential and Parliamentary elections of 2010. The talks have by no means reached a conclusive stage but has the potential to achieve much good.Cabinet ministers Prof.GL Peiris and Mahinda Samarasinghe and several of our envoys abroad have referred to these talks in glowing terms in International fora. The talks are depicted as positive proof of the Rajapaksa government’s bona dides in resolving the ethnic problem or national question. Recently the US envoy Patricia Butenis in her meeting with President Rajapaksa asked him specifically about the talks with the TNA.The Govt-TNA talks has also run into quite a few snags. There has not been much progress and the pace has been quite slow. The TNA alleges that some of the assurances given have not been honoured. The party is also miffed that the earlier arrangement to meet once every two weeks has not been implemented. The sudden postponement of a meeting scheduled in early March has also been a disappointment. DISILLUSIONMENT The tardy progress has led to disillusionment and TNA stalwarts like Maavai Senathirajah and Suresh Premachandran have been openly critical.Premachandran even told a Sunday newspaper that the talks with the Govt was a sham. In such a situation the attack on a TNA Parliamentarian could very well be the proverbial straw which broke the camel’s back.While understanding the TNA mindset at this point of time it is fervently hoped that the party would stay the course in talks despite the irritants, misgivings and slow process. A problem festering for more than six decades cannot be solved in six months.Whatever the provocation the TNA must stay the course and continue the dialogue with the Government. The TNA owes that much to the long suffering Tamil people of Ilankai. 10 March 2011 UN agencies to look into the issue of missing Sri Lankan journalist The United Nations agencies that deal with the disappearances and detentions will look into the matter of missing Sri Lankan journalist Prageeth Eknaligoda, the UN Secretary-General's Spokesperson said today.Responding to a query at the press briefing on Wednesday on the missing cartoonist and columnist for LankaeNews, the Spokesperson Martin Nesirky said the UN has received the letter from the five organizations requesting UN assistance to find the journalist.The agencies responsible for the matter UNESCO and the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) will look into the matter and report back to the UNSG with an assessment on how best to deal with the case, the Spokesperson said.He added that the Secretary-General is concerned about the disappearance or detention of any journalist."We take it extremely seriously," the Spokesman said.Five media rights groups, including the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) and the Paris-based Reporters sans frontiers (RSF) in a letter dated March 07, urged the UN to act on Eknaligoda's disappearance 14 months ago."Eknelygoda's disappearance and the failure of the government to conduct a credible investigation underscore the degree of impunity in crimes against journalists that is all too common in Sri Lanka," the letter said asking the UN to intervene "considering its human rights mandate and the government of Sri Lanka's glaring failure to take action on this issue." State seizes Hilton The Government has acquired the Hilton Hotel in Colombo as the owners of the leading Hotel had only paid two months of lease to the government since its inception, Minister Basil Rajapaksa told Parliament this evening.Signs of the takeover by the government surfaced early last month after State media reported that ownership of the hotel will revert back to the State as the lease rental has not been paid for the land.The Hilton Hotel deal was signed by the Urban Development Authority (UDA) during the UNP regime in 1984. Then six acres of land at Echelon Square, Colombo 1 where the Hilton hotel stands today was leased to Cornel & Company Ltd for Rs 136 million, the State media reported last month.Cornel and Company Ltd subleased the land to Hotel Developers (Lanka) PLC at an enhanced value of Rs 250 million thereby making a windfall profit of Rs 114 million almost overnight.Cornel & Co Ltd was issued 51 percent shares of Hotel Developers (Lanka) PLC for the total lease premium of Rs 250 million.Even though the land was leased to Cornel & Company Ltd for Rs 136 million by the UDA and Cornel & Company Ltd subleased the land to HDL for Rs 250 million, in actual fact Cornel & Company Ltd paid only Rs 27 million to UDA which was only 20 percent of the value of the lease rental payable to UDA i.e 20 percent of Rs 136 million. The balance was to be paid in 33 interest free installments.However, this was never ever paid. As the lease rental has not been paid the land has now reverted back to the State. Sri Lankan Premier says LTTE operating camps in Tamil Nadu The Sri Lankan Prime Minister has told the parliament on Wednesday that the defeated terrorist group Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) is trying to re-organize itself and are secretly operating camps in Tamil Nadu.Prime Minister D.M. Jayaratne while moving the motion for the extension of emergency regulations in parliament has said that that Indian intelligence reports have revealed that three LTTE camps are secretly operating in Tamil Nadu in South India.According to Jayaratne, the LTTE members are being trained to carry out VVIP assassinations.The camps are said to be operated by Pulendran Master, who was a close associate of the former LTTE intelligence wing head Pottu Amman.The Premier has said that that the camps are aimed at re-establishing LTTE bases in Sri Lanka.He has added that these cadres once trained are expected to target Indian political leaders as well.A recent Indian intelligence report said the LTTE, still active overseas, is trying to regroup, and planning to launch spectacular strikes on high-profile targets like Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Home Minister P Chidambaram, and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi. India to build a hospital for Sri Lanka's plantation community The Indian government on Wednesday signed an agreement to build a 150-bed hospital in Sri Lanka's Central Province for the benefit of the Indian-origin plantation community.India's Ministry of External Affairs in South Block, New Delhi signed an agreement today to award the work related to the construction of 150-bed hospital at Dickoya near Hatton in the Central Province of Sri Lanka to an Indian firm, a press release from the Indian High Commission in Colombo said.The Agreement was signed by T.S.Tirumurti, Joint Secretary (BSM) on behalf of Ministry of ExternalAffairs, Government of India, and K. R. Tirumurahan, Managing Director, Green Valley's Shelters (P) Limited, Chennai.The Government of India has allocated US$ 10.5 million (47.27 crores Indian rupees) for setting up of the hospital.Hospital Services Consultation Corporation Ltd (HSCC) India is the Project Management Consultant for the project. The project is expected to be completed in twenty-two months.Recognizing the need for establishment of a well-equipped general hospital at Dickoya near Hatton the Government of India agreed to render assistance to Government of Sri Lanka, the press statement said."The establishment of a new hospital in the Central Province in Sri Lanka will augment the facilities in the existing hospital and provide health services to a large number of people of Indian origin living in this area," the statement added.India has continued to extend extensive assistance to the Indian Origin Tamils living in that area especially in the area of education, health, housing, and public transportation. HR Minister defends relationship with KP, Daya Master et al Human Rights Minister Mahinda Samarasinghe says the government wouldn’t hesitate to work even with those who were in control of LTTE operations.He says a decision to accommodate ‘KP’ and the likes of George Master and Daya Master was in line with their policy to obtain the support of one and all regardless of their involvement with the LTTE.Malaysia handed over ‘KP’ to Sri Lankan intelligence in Aug. 2009.Samarasinghe, who also holds the Plantation Industries portfolio, said that similarly the LTTE fighting cadre, too, had been given an opportunity to begin a new life.Citing data provided by Commissioner General of Rehabilitation Brig. Sudantha Ranasinghe, the MP said that about 65 per cent of those held by the military at the conclusion of the war had been freed after rehabilitation.Samarasinghe said that a group of doctors, who had engaged in anti-Sri Lanka propaganda at the behest of the LTTE during last phase of ground operations on the Vanni east front, too, had been freed.Addressing the media at the Plantation Industries Ministry, Samarasinghe said that a section of the Tamil Diaspora was raising funds for the eelam project in spite of the LTTE losing its conventional military power. Samarasinghe said: "There are extremists in the Diaspora. They are a hindrance to national reconciliation efforts. We are also aware of them making attempts to procure armaments. We are working with several countries, including Switzerland, Canada and Germany to counter criminal operations. I recently heard of Norway moving courts against an ex-LTTE cadre."Samarasinghe said the government would continue to develop relations with Diaspora groups, including those who had once represented the LTTE. Sri Lanka parliament extends Emergency for another month Sri Lanka Parliament extended the Emergency Regulations Wednesday for another month with a majority of 75 votes.The bill effective from 03rd March 2011 received 90 votes in favour of the motion while 15 votes were against it. Some members of the main opposition United National Party, the Tamil National Alliance, and Democratic National Alliance voted against.The Parliament was, thereafter adjourned until 1:00 p.m. on 22nd March 2011. Tamil migrant ordered deported over ties to terror group As members of the Tamil Tigers’ sea division, their mission that day was to destroy a navy vessel delivering arms to a government-controlled area.Shots were fired and the Tigers prevented the ship from completing its weapons run. But the navy vessel wasn’t the only thing to sustain damage as a result of the gunfight – so, too, did the refugee claim of one of the Tigers who later sailed to Canada.The Immigration and Refugee Board on Tuesday ordered the Tiger’s deportation, making him the first of the 492 migrants who arrived onboard the MV Sun Sea to be declared inadmissible to Canada.The man – whose name, age and identifying details can’t be published – admitted to the Canada Border Services Agency that he was a member of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, a terrorist organization banned in this country. The Tigers lost the decades-long Sri Lankan civil war in 2009.The man – who was a Tiger for more than five years – told border officials he was shot in the leg during the dramatic fight at sea. But he maintained he never wanted to join the organization and only did so because he was tricked by friends when he was a teenager. He said he tried to leave the group at one point, but was caught.Carla Medley, CBSA’s hearings representative, argued the man should be deported under a section of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act that deems refugee claimants inadmissible if they engaged in subversion or terrorism against a democratic government.“He was, in fact, a member of the LTTE during the height of its terrorist campaign against the Sri Lankan government,” she said.Michael McPhalen, the adjudicator for the case, agreed with that assessment.“I’m satisfied when I consider all of that there are reasonable grounds to believe that you were a member of the LTTE,” he said.“The law requires that I issue a deportation order and I so order.”The man, who’s been held at a correctional facility in Maple Ridge since the MV Sun Sea arrived, wore prison clothes to the hearing – a red shirt and pants with white shoes. He said nothing and showed no emotion as the ruling was translated.Mr. McPhalen said for months the man told Canadian border officials he wasn’t a Tiger. He later admitted he underwent both basic and combat training.Mr. McPhalen called it “significant” that the man did not attempt to leave the LTTE for several years. Robin Bajer, the man’s lawyer, said his client first joined the LTTE because he was led onto their territory by friends and then told he couldn’t leave. Mr. Bajer said the man did eventually try to flee, but was caught and punished with months of manual labour. Ms. Medley said the man was not beaten during this time, and was later allowed to leave without consequence.After the ruling, Mr. Bajer said he would have to speak with his client before deciding whether to apply for a Federal Court review. He declined further comment.Chris McCluskey, spokesman for federal Public Safety Minister Vic Toews, called the decision “an unmitigated victory for the rule of law.”David Poopalapillai, spokesman for the Canadian Tamil Congress, said it’s very rare for a Tamil migrant to be deemed inadmissible because of LTTE membership.None of the 76 passengers onboard the Ocean Lady – which arrived in B.C. in October 2009 – were deemed inadmissible. All filed refugee claims, as did those on the MV Sun Sea.Admissibility hearings were scheduled for 33 of the MV Sun Sea migrants. Only one other case has been heard – that migrant was ordered released on the grounds that he did not pose a security risk. The man admitted he worked as a mechanic in LTTE territory, but denied he was a member of the organization.CBSA said as of Monday, 66 MV Sun Sea migrants remained in custody – 62 men, four women.Douglas Cannon, a long-time Vancouver immigration lawyer, said even if the man is no longer entitled to make a refugee claim, he does have options.“What happens to him now is that he will be entitled to remain in Canada if he is claiming a risk of torture or cruel and unusual punishment if returned to Sri Lanka,” he said.“He still has a process available to him in which he can claim he is at risk. I fully expect he has already initiated that.” Youth in Jaffna injured in Army shooting A 17 year old youth injured in an Army shooting at Thondaman Aru Selvasanni was admitted to Jaffna Government Hospital on Tuesday (8th).The injured, Ariyaratnam Aruldas, is a youth who had sat for the G.C.E. O/L examination last year.The youth had been questioned by a group of soldiers who had been on patrol duty and the soldiers had shot the youth after an exchange of words say witnesses.Jaffna Police is conducting investigations. China and India's Battle for Influence in Asia The recent signing of a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement between India and Japan will soon make each country the other's largest trading partner. Both remain concerned about the rising power and influence of China, now the world's second largest economy, projected to surpass the U.S. in size as soon as 2020. India has for some time been alarmed by China's military links with Pakistan and its growing presence in the Indian Ocean. Japan is still coming to terms by being supplanting as the world's second biggest economy, and by China's growing assertiveness in the South China Sea.There are clear economic benefits to be gained by India and Japan by forging closer ties. Japan is keen to enhance its accessibility to rare earth metals, which are vital to the high tech Japanese economy. A recent maritime conflict with China and the subsequent disruption in the supply of the rare earth metals has placed diversification of supply firmly on the Japanese agenda. For India, the removal of Japanese tariffs on tea and other agricultural products is expected to be of enormous benefit, while India eyes Japanese contractors to invest in and upgrade its poor infrastructure network.The deal is the latest in an emerging pattern of greater economic cooperation between India and a region looking over its shoulder at China. In addition to Japan, India has over the past six years signed bilateral trade agreements or more comprehensive Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) with Nepal, South Korea and the ten-member Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) (ASEAN includes Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam). Given an existing agreement with Sri Lanka and ongoing negotiations with Bangladesh, the agreements cover the majority of Asian economies.China has been equally busy signing agreements with ASEAN, New Zealand and Pakistan, while negotiations are ongoing with Australia and South Korea. China's economic and political presence Asia, Africa and Latin America has been growing rapidly. Its penetration in the region -- from financing large construction and infrastructure projects, to its voracious appetite for natural resources -- has worried India, which fears being marginalized in its own backyard. Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has made enhanced economic and political relations in Asia his foreign policy priority - with intent to counter China's growing assertiveness.The burgeoning Indian-Japanese relationship may ultimately impact China's ability to achieve its own objective of strengthening bilateral ties with a number of countries in the Asia region. India is effectively reinforcing the concept of Japanese centrality in Asian affairs, something that had been waning in recent years. India has also recently engaged in security talks with Malaysia and South Korea, and has been courting the region's foremost naval power, Indonesia.President Yudhoyono is keen to forge partnerships with India's defense sector, while India sees Indonesia as an important strategic partner in constraining the growing Chinese presence from the Bay of Bengal to the Malacca Straits. Every year since independence India has invited a special guest who embodies India's strategic, economic and political interests at the time; 61 years after Indonesia's first president -- President Sukarno -- was guest of honour, the 2010 signalled a realignment of the two countries' strategic interests, with President Yudhoyono attending the event. India's Look East While being historically suspicious of Indian intentions, Southeast Asia holds a much stronger dislike of China than of India. Chinese machinations in the region are still prominent in popular memory, given China's 1979 invasion of Vietnam, its support of the Pol Pot regime in Cambodia (1976-1979), and accusations of involvement in Indonesia's 1965 coup.Furthermore, China still has unresolved border disputes with several nations in the region, including Bhutan, Taiwan, Japan, Vietnam, the Philippines, and Malaysia, as well as claiming a sizeable chunk of the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh. Tibet of course remains a sore bone of contention in Sino-Indian relations, and China's belligerence in relation to a sea collision between a Chinese fishing boat and Japanese patroller last September caused considerable consternation in the region and has prompted many countries to forge or strengthen regional alliances with respect to security.India's diplomacy has been heavily focused on East and South East Asia for 20 years now. Having already signaled the renewed prominence of India "Look East" policy, Prime Minister Singh has visited Japan, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Vietnam over the past 12 months. A multi-faceted policy, Look East aims to improve economic and political ties with the region and attempts to carve out a place for India in the larger Asia-Pacific dynamic. One factor helping India in this regard is its own democratic political system, prompting many countries in the region to view India's own economic rise to be relatively benign and something to be welcomed. Being the world's largest democracy lends a certain degree of transparency to India's foreign policy motives, something that is worryingly absent from relations with China. A regional order dominated over the past two decades by open markets, international cooperation and an evolving democratic community backed by Washington's diplomatic and security ties, has also facilitated India's growing stature among its regional neighbors.The stark difference in political systems has at times appeared to be both sides' Achilles heel, however. For India, adherence to democratic norms, checks and balances has hindered its ability to achieve its larger regional goals. For example, for decades India refused to have any relationship with Myanmar, leaving an opening for China, and long-held political tension with Sri Lanka hindered closer ties between the two countries -- a gap that China since has fully exploited. For China, whose leaders have no qualms with benefiting from economic opportunities in countries with distasteful human rights records, opaque decision-making has bred mistrust amongst its regional neighbors, who fear China's intolerance of political pluralism may spill over into its international relations. Almost every country in the region has a sizable Chinese minority population -- another factor that has encouraged governments to befriend India as a counterbalance to Chinese influence. Sri Lanka's Role Long viewed by India as firmly within its sphere of influence, India has been concerned by Colombo's active solicitation of Chinese aid and investment, with China now Sri Lanka's number one aid donor (more than US$1bn per year), main trading partner, and majority supplier of more than half the country's construction and development loans. The construction of the Hambantota Development Zone has been a particular source of concern. China is financing 85% of the zone, which will house an international container port, oil refinery and international airport, as well being used as a refueling center for both countries' navies. India claims the zone will increase China's intelligence-gathering capabilities vis-a-vis India, but both Sri Lanka and China have dismissed such concerns, claiming the site is a purely commercial venture. Where India is preoccupied by domestic sensitivities -- particularly from its Tamil population, angry at the way Tamils have been treated in Sri Lanka since the 2009 defeat of the rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam -- China faces no similar issues. The Rajapaksa regime has welcomed Chinese overtures with open arms; India has been scrambling to catch up.Sri Lanka is merely one front in a broader battle for control of the Indian Ocean. China has steadily built Indian Ocean ports in Bangladesh (Chittagong), Burma (Kyaukphyu) and Pakistan (Gwadar), while also steadily assisting Pakistan's naval expansion, much to the chagrin of India. India has referred to Sino-Pakistani cooperation as detrimental to regional peace. But in the Indian Ocean, at least for the moment, India has the upper hand, having boosted its naval spending to 15% of its total defence budget over the past five years in an effort to protect what it views as 'India's Lake'. With two aircraft carriers under construction as well modernizing its radar and surveillance hardware, India is keeping pace with China's naval modernization program, though with fewer fiscal resources. India's total defense budget for 2011 is approximately $34 billion, while China's is estimated to be approximately $92 billion. Where India has the benefit of having to focus on only one ocean, China has been preoccupied with securing the island chains stretching from Japan to Malaysia. For the time being at least, there is space for both countries to maintain military supremacy in their own distinct backyard. The Battle Will Last For the moment, India and China will continue their respective economic and political ascent relatively harmoniously, as there is plenty of scope for both countries to flex their muscles in their own neighborhood. China's main allies in the region have been ill-chosen, with North Korea, Myanmar, and Pakistan all being perceived as bad boys for one reason or another. India on the other hand, has aligned itself with countries where it appears to have more to gain than lose (Japan, Indonesia and Vietnam, amongst others). India also appears to be making more headway than China in the battle for hearts and minds, which bodes well for the long-term future of Indian relations throughout the region. This suggests that India has the upper hand in the medium-term. However, while China's rise has been met with suspicion and in some cases alarm, it remains many Asian countries' largest trade partner, donor, and source of investment.Anyone who underestimates China's ability to learn quick lessons and adapt to dynamic investment climates will be disappointed. China has proven itself to be a shrewd and cunning competitor in the global economic and political landscape, and its ability and willingness to hurl money at countries yearning for assistance will continue to enhance its influence throughout the region for many years to come. 09 March 2011 US to strengthen bilateral relations with Sri Lanka The United States has reiterated its support for Sri Lanka's ongoing post-conflict development process and discussed strengthening relations between the two countries on trade and aviation, the Sri Lankan government said on Tuesday.The US Ambassador Patricia Butenis has given these assurances when she met President Mahinda Rajapaksa Tuesday at the President's House.During the meeting that took place also with the participation of External Affairs Minister Prof. G. L. Peiris and the Foreign Secretary Romesh Jayasinghe, the envoy has discussed the post-conflict reconciliation process and the progress on talks with the country's major Tamil party Tamil National Alliance (TNA).They also have discussed the issue of Indian fishermen entering Sri Lankan Northern waters and the progress in finding a solution to the problem.The President's media said the meeting was cordial with both sides agreeing to strengthen ties between the two countries. What did Gaddafi ask Rajapaksa for? Why did Libya's dictatorial leader Muammar Gaddafi call President Mahinda Rajapaksa last week? No one is willing to talk about it. A Presidential aide said it was a chat between two leaders. This after saying that the adjective "mysterious" which HT initially used on its website to describe the phone call was "mischievous". He then sportingly added that he "was willing to play if HT was willing to play." Okay, how about a call between friends then? So the mystery was resolved and "Close ally Gaddafi calls up Rajapaksa," was carried. I didn't get anymore phone calls from the aide after that.That the two leaders are close allies there is no doubt; the Rajapaksa family visited Libya thrice in less than two years. According to AFP, some $ 500 million Libyan investment in Lankan was under negotiation.But did the beleaguered north African dictator, and the world's great non-aligned friend, call up other world leaders? He must have; there was talk about Venezuela's Hugo Chavez calling up to mediate between Gaddafi and the rebels. Maybe, no one less gave such calls publicity. 08 March 2011 Govt. TNA talks again in March The talks between the Government and TNA would recommence in the third week of March after the Parliament week commences on the 22nd, Government MP Sajin de Vass Gunawardena said.The reason for the postponement of talks between the government and the TNA was attributed to the unavailability of Government members due to Local Government election obligations and campaigns.The meeting which was scheduled between the Tamil National Alliance and the Government on February 28th was postponed at the last minute. The postponement of the meeting caused much concern within the TNA. It would lead to create mistrust, a senior TNA member had stated earlier. TNA MP Sritharan narrowly escapes assassination in Anuradhapura Tamil National Alliance parliamentarian from Jaffna, S. Sritharan, narrowly escaped from a group of attackers who lobbed two hand grenade targeting his vehicle and fired at the vehicle using pistols from behind Monday evening around 6:00 p.m. at Nochchiyaagama in Anuradhapura, TNA parliamentarians told media.The parliamentarian was on his way from Vavuniyaa to Colombo to attend the Tuesday sittings in SL parliament. No one was hurt in the attack, SL Police in Anuradhapura said. The armed men fled the site when the security guard of the parliamentarian opened fire in self-defence, the sources further said. The MP has complained to the Sri Lankan Police hierarchy and has sought refuge at a secure place. Sivaram murder probe re-initiated A court in Sri Lanka has decided to re-initiate the investigation of senior Tamil journalist, Dharmaratnam Sivaram.The case is to be heard for the first time after about five years.Colombo High Court decided to hear the case in front of a Sinhala speaking jury, following a plea by the suspect, Arumugam Sri Skandharajah also known as Peter.Police said the suspect was identified as a member of the armed wing of the Tamil militant group turned political party, PLOTE. The suspect was later released on bail.The former Tamilnet editor was abducted on 28 April 2005 and his body was found dumped a day later in Kotte, a high security zone near Sri Lankan parliament. Man in white van kidnaps ex-wife A man, who had returned after ten years in Canada, allegedly kidnapped his ex-wife in Jaffna, after going in a white van to grab her, and later killed her, the Chavakachcheri Police said.The suspect, who was taken into police custody, had hired the white van in Wellawatte and gone to Chavakachcheri in Jaffna, where he had taken his wife and the fifteen year old son by force and beaten his wife and then killed her.It had transpired that the suspect had left Jaffna for Canada ten years ago after separating from his wife. He is said to have done business during his stay in Canada. He had returned to Sri Lanka last December and tried to get custody of his son. But all his attempts had failed.The murdered woman has been identified as Kugadasan Chandani (38), a resident of Misale.The victim’s body had been found by a group of soldiers yesterday; her face had been mutilated. Police sources said that the suspect’s mistress (who is a nurse attached to Jaffna Hospital) and the driver of the van had also been taken into custody, together with the van. Twelve countries vying to set up universities in Sri Lanka The Secretary to the Ministry of Higher Education Dr. Sunil Jayantha Navaratne says that the Ministry has received applications from 12 countries to set up foreign universities in Sri Lanka.Private universities were not accepted by previous governments of Sri Lanka. But the present government promotes the concept of expanding and liberalizing the higher education sector of the country.The Secretary of the Ministry says the Ministry would take action to amend the Higher Education Act to facilitate the establishment of private universities in the country.He further said that Australia, Japan, US, UK, China and India are among the countries that were looking forward to set up universities in Sri Lanka. Sri Lankan court orders to send over 100 former LTTE members for rehabilitation A Sri Lankan court has ordered on Monday to send over 100 former LTTE members for rehabilitation.Colombo Additional Magistrate Aruni Attygalle has ruled that 118 former LTTE activists should be sent for rehabilitation at the Poonthottam Rehabilitation Center.The Magistrate has said that the former activists should be rehabilitated for a period of one year at the rehabilitation center.Twenty three female activists are also among the 118 former combatants.The Magistrate's order was delivered following a recommendation made by the committee appointed by the Attorney General to investigate into their condition. Defeating terrorism, Lankan experience The Sri Lanka Army yesterday launched a website (www.defseminar.lk) dedicated to sharing Sri Lankan experience in defeating terrorism ahead of a three-day international conference it will hold in Colombo with over 60 countries participating to learn about the country’s success story of countering terrorism.Army Commander Lt General Jagath Jayasuriya launched the website at the Sri Lanka Army Headquarter auditorium. The Army Commander said,the conference ‘Defeating Terrorism-Sri Lankan Experience’ was organized by the Sri Lanka Army in conformity with a decision taken by the Defence Ministry to share its insights on how to defeat terrorism on a global scale.This is in response to numerous requests made by other nations to do so in the best interest of the world so that others may learn how best to fight terrorism. The conference will be held from May 31 at the Galadari Hotel, Colombo with Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa as the Chief Guest. The Defence Secretary will also address the sessions.Representatives from international Non Governmental Organizations, state organizations, intellectuals and war veterans are expected to participate at the event.It will review how Sri Lanka won its battle against terrorism, the mistakes it made in the process, the lessons it learnt, the humanitarian aspects of war, the nature of terrorism, human rights and the rehabilitation of victims. Army Commander Lt Gen Jayasuriya said they plan to explain at the conference how Sri Lankan fought terrorism and the policies and strategies it adopted in countering terrorism.“This will be in the best interest of the world’s fight against terrorism,” he said. 06 March 2011 European Countries attempt to introduce economy ban against Sri Lanka European Union countries are in the process of implementing a proposition against Sri Lanka. The European Union countries are in the process to implement a proposition similar to the proposal implemented last week in the American State Council.Diplomatic Sectors states, a proposal is intended to get enforced, requesting for international investigation regarding the war crimes held in Sri lanka. Former Ambassador for America Charlie Mahendran had warned that the western countries representative smay appeal to introduce economy ban against Sri Lanka. He further pointed out the allegations made by the Migrant Tamils against Sri Lankan government regarding war crimes, are not given suitable reply by the Diplomats’ on behalf of Sri Lanka is the main reason for such implementations. Mahendran further pointed out such motions are implemented global wide for the reason to obtain political appointments in Diplomatic level and Foreign sector. Sinhala nationalists eyeing to lobby against the talks between the Sri Lankan govt & the Tamil Party Sri Lanka's Sinhala nationalist lawyer activist Gomin Dayasiri who campaigns against a political solution to the Tamil issue via power sharing, has reportedly expressed discontent over the talks between the government and the major Tamil constituent Tamil National Alliance (TNA).Speaking to Sinhala daily The Divaina, Dayasiri has said that the target of the TNA was to win a federal system.He also has said that federalism ultimately would pave way to a separate state.Dayasiri, who once represented the Sinhala Buddhist Jathika Hela Urumaya in the discussions of the All Party Representative Committee, has argued that the TNA was a proxy of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam until the Tiger leader Prabhakaran's demise. Sri Lanka's major Tamil party wants the talks on Tamil issues held in a time frame A legislator of Sri Lanka's major Tamil party Tamil National Alliance (TNA) has said that his party would propose the government to draw a time frame for the dialogue between the party and the government.Parliamentarian M.A. Sumanthiran has told the Sinhala daily Divaina that TNA would suggest completing the dialogue within the stipulated time frame.The third round of the talks between the government and the TNA scheduled for March 01 was postponed by the government citing the ongoing campaign of the local government election.The MP said that the TNA would suggest holding the postponed talks on March 08 or 09, the days the parliament is in session next.The first round of talks between the TNA and the government held on January 10 focused on the economic and social issues of the Tamils and the third round was to focus on the law and constitution. The second round of talks was held on February 3. Discussions between the TNA and the government commenced in order to address issues related to the resettlement of people in the North, the troubles faced by Jaffna fishermen and finding a solution to the ethnic issue. Elections monitor accuses Sri Lanka Elections Commissioner of supporting government's agenda An election monitoring group in Sri Lanka has accused the Elections Commissioner of supporting the government's deliberate move to postpone elections to several local government bodies.The Campaign for Free and Fair Elections (CaFFE) has said that the Elections Commissioner has supported the government's agenda by postponing election to over 60 local government bodies.CaFFE Director Keerthi Tennakoon has told the media that the failure to hold elections to all local government bodies simultaneously has created space for election malpractice to take place especially in the counting of votes.Tennekoon has said that neither the Elections Department nor the Police Department is taking the required measures to ensure effective implementation of election regulations."It should also be noted that the Elections Commission and the Police Departments are not taking proper measures to ensure that even the basic election regulations are effectively implemented and the Elections Commissioner himself is violating the election laws," he has said.Tennakoon has also said that thousands of voters are at the risk of losing their voting rights due to the government's failure to ensure the voting rights of the people. Top level Pakistani Army delegation to visit Sri Lanka A high level Pakistan Army delegation is visiting Sri Lanka from March 6-11. It is headed by Lieutenant General Muzammil Hussain, Inspector General Training & Evaluation, Pakistan Army. The Pakistan Army delegation comprises of senior officers from operation, training and other important fields, who will interact with their counterparts in Sri Lankan Army to share each other’s professional experience. Besides staff level conferences, the delegation will also visit Srilanka Army training institutions like Defence Services Command and Staff College and the Srilankan Military Academy etc.It is the next high level defence related visit from Pakistan after the Chief of Army Staff Pakistan Army visited Sri Lanka in January this year. The visit will further strengthen the bond of friendship between the armed forces of Sri Lanka and Pakistan.The General belongs to illustrious Baloch Regiment (SARBAKAF) of Pak-Army. General Muzammil has served at various coveted posts all along his professional career. Lieutenant General Muzammil Hussain HI (M) was commissioned in 12 Baloch Regiment (SARBAKAF) an Infantry Battalion in 1978. He attended Armed Forces War Course 2003 – 04 and was posted on the prestigious slot of Chief Instructor in Command and Staff College Quetta. He subsequently served on the coveted slot of the Chief of Staff in a Corps Headquarters.He was promoted to the rank of Major General in 2007. He commanded Force Command Northern Areas (FCNA), a deployed formation of Pakistan Army. He also served as Director General Military Training in 2010. On promotion to the rank of Lieutenant General, he took over as Inspector General Training and Evaluation in Oct 2010.Pakistan and Sri Lanka being located in the South Asian region and being members of various regional and international bodies like UN, commonwealth, NAM and SAARC are mutually important for each others. The relationship between Pakistan and Srilanka is based on mutual trust and commonality of interest in maintaining regional peace, security and stability. Pakistan has always supported the unity, territorial integrity and sovereignty of Sri Lanka. Both countries have shared common perceptions on almost all regional and international issue and are working together on all these forums for shared values and interests.Pakistan is the 2nd largest trading partner of Sri Lanka within the South Asian region. The level of bilateral trade between Pakistan and Sri Lanka increased as a result of the Free Trade Agreement (FTA). Trade between the two countries increased from US$ 150 million to over US$ 300 million during the last three years, as it doubled within a short period of time with the positive support gained from the FTA. Tories' bid to win over South Asians opens party to Tamil Tigers' remnant Tories trying to win support from South Asians in Ontario have opened the door to remnants of a Tamil Tiger front group the federal Conservatives themselves banned in 2008.The unlikely association, forged behind a curtain of tough government talk about Tamil refugee ships and a feared terrorist migration to Canada last year, has developed since the Tigers’ separatist struggle was crushed by the Sri Lankan military in 2009.Last month, Tim Hudak, Leader of Ontario’s Progressive Conservatives, announced Shan Thayaparan as his party’s candidate for Markham-Unionville. Mr. Thayaparan had helped run an election for a new Tamil separatist group, the National Council of Canadian Tamils (NCCT), whose key adviser, Nehru Gunaratnam, is a former spokesman for the outlawed World Tamil Movement.Federally, Tamil broadcaster Ragavan Paranchothy, who was in direct contact with the top Tiger leadership in 2009, is seeking the Conservative nomination in Scarborough-Southwest. Both ridings sit on Toronto’s northeast fringe, amid the world’s largest Sri Lankan Tamil community outside Asia, the de facto capital of the Tigers’ international support base.One Conservative MP, Paul Calandra, recently felt the heat of venturing too close to the hard-core separatist movement, of which moderate Tamils have grown increasingly weary since the war’s end. After he cut the ribbon at the NCCT’s offices, Mr. Calandra said he gave a speech urging Tamils to abandon separatism, then noticed Mr. Gunaratnam in the crowd and dashed for the exit.“When he walked into the room, I got up and walked out in protest, and told the organizers I did not want to be in the same room as that gentleman,” Mr. Calandra said.The MP said he hadn’t known that Mr. Gunaratnam – who spoke at a Toronto-area event honouring dead Tiger “heroes” in November – was a guiding force behind the NCCT, a group that claims to be the “the democratically elected representatives of Tamils in Canada.”Mr. Gunaratnam said the idea of the NCCT infiltrating the Conservatives is “laughable,” but others find little amusing about the closeness between the new group’s backers and party officials.Three long-time Conservative volunteers, all Tamil Canadians from different positions within the federal and provincial parties, speaking on condition of anonymity, said associates of the old Tiger support apparatus have pushed their way into the party in a bid to shore up their sagging status in the community, but that party officials have ignored their concerns.Spokespeople for Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Citizenship and Immigration Minister Jason Kenney, to whom letters of concern were sent, refused to comment without being provided copies.The Ontario PC Party was similarly unwilling to address specific questions about the nomination of Mr. Thayaparan, who attended the 2006 federal Liberal convention with Mr. Gunaratnam and sought a federal New Democratic Party nomination in 2009 before Mr. Hudak introduced him last month as a Conservative.“Everyone who applies to be a candidate goes through a rigorous screening process,” said party spokesman Alan Sakach, who refused to grant an interview with Mr. Hudak. “This guy is crystal clear. ...”The Globe and Mail contacted Mr. Thayaparan several times this week, but he has not replied to a list of written questions or returned phone calls.Photographs obtained by The Globe and Mail show Mr. Hudak and a Tamil delegation, including Mr. Thayaparan, at a private meeting on Oct. 27 in the leader’s Queen's Park offices. Conservative strategy for connecting with the Tamil community was discussed. The pictures show strong NCCT representation among attendees, who included: * Rajkumar Subramaniam, an elected NCCT member who posed with Tamil Tiger leader Velupillai Prabhakaran several years before he was killed in the war’s last days. Mr. Subramaniam’s Facebook page features photos of the Tigers’ flag flying at a Parliament Hill demonstration and a status update last month on Valentine’s Day that read, “I love you, Tamil Eelam.” Absent from Facebook are his photos with the famously elusive Mr. Prabhakaran. In an e-mail interview, Mr. Subramaniam said the photos, obtained by the Globe from an anonymous source, were taken in 2002, during a ceasefire to allow for peace talks. He said the Tiger leader paid a surprise visit to an orphanage where Mr. Subramaniam was doing relief work. While the NCCT shares Mr. Prabhakaran’s dream for a Tamil homeland, Mr. Subramaniam wrote that the “NCCT distinguishes itself with the promotion of non-violence.” * Amaleethan Xavier, media co-ordinator for the NCCT elections, whom Patrick Brown, Conservative MP for Barrie, called “my friend Amaleethan” in a Twitter photo taken at a polling station. Mr. Xavier is a Conservative organizer in suburban Toronto. * Ragavan Paranchothy, the broadcaster seeking the federal Scarborough-Southwest nomination. Mr. Prabhakaran’s successor, Kumaran Pathmanathan (known as KP), told a Toronto-based Tamil journalist that he was on the phone with Mr. Paranchothy at the moment of KP’s arrest in Malaysia three months after the war’s end. Asked to explain, Mr. Paranchothy said, “I returned a call from someone in Malaysia at that time … I don’t know if I was speaking to KP or if I was speaking to one of his assistants. ...” Mr. Paranchothy, who refers to himself as a journalist, said he “can’t come right out and be very critical” in his reports, since “the media I work for obviously cater to the Tamil community.” Asked if that meant he takes sides with the Tigers’ brand of “freedom struggle” over the terrorist designation his own Conservative Party has applied to it, he said, “I guess I should say yes and no.” * Balan Rajaratnah, a member of the Transnational Government of Tamil Eelam (TGTE), an elected group of expatriate Tamils from around the world also pushing for a separate state. The TGTE and NCCT issued a joint statement last April, before both groups held their first elections. The message appeared in a Tamil-language newspaper with the NCCT logo on its front page and a World Tamil Movement e-mail address as contact information. Co-signed by Nehru Gunaratnam, the message stressed the importance of unity “to win a free Tamil Eelam.”To further make the point, Mr. Rajaratnah and Mr. Gunaratnam appeared together on Tamil television to promote the NCCT elections.In November, Mr. Rajaratnah told The Canadian Press his “Peel Tamil Community Centre,” an entity with no building, staff or website, had endorsed the federal Conservatives’ anti-human-smuggling Bill C-49 despite its objections to it, in hopes of being rewarded with federal funding.“Our way of working is to work with the government to get something from the government,” Mr. Rajaratnah said, adding that he had been assured some elements of the bill would be removed.Other NCCT officials have displayed unambiguous support for the Tiger cause in campaign materials, at protests and on Facebook pages.Siva Vimalachandran, a York University student who is an NCCT national director and treasurer, posed for Toronto Life magazine wearing the Tigers’ emblem over his shoulder. Mr. Vimalachandran was a negotiator for Tamil demonstrators who occupied the city’s busy Gardiner Expressway in the spring of 2009.At the time, Bob Runciman, a veteran PC caucus member, told the legislature that Ontarians were “undoubtedly concerned over the loss of innocent life [in Sri Lanka] … But they are not supportive of in-your-face abuse of our laws and the public promotion of an internationally recognized terrorist organization.”The Tigers were infamous for using suicide bombings, child soldiers, political assassination and brutal repression of Tamils who did not share their singular dream of “Tamil Eelam,” a separate state, on Sri Lankan soil. Mr. Harper’s government cited these methods, and repeated Tiger violence during a ceasefire, when it listed them as a terrorist organization in 2006. The government banned the Tigers’ Canadian fundraising arm, the World Tamil Movement, two years later. It had been labelled a terrorist front by the RCMP and condemned by Human Rights Watch for aggressively collecting “war taxes” from reluctant Tamils.“The World Tamil Movement has been involved in raising funds to support … the Tamil Tigers,” Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day said in announcing the ban, making a point to do so in Toronto. When the government banned the Tigers in 2006, Mr. Day hailed the decision as “long overdue and something the previous government did not take seriously enough to act upon.”With the war now over, and their old Liberal allies sidelined federally and under threat in Ontario, Tamil power brokers bent on breaking into government have few practical options beyond the Conservatives.In turn, the party – whose hunger for South Asian votes was exposed in an accidental leak from Mr. Kenney’s office this week – is returning the Tamils' longing gaze, even as it redrafts refugee laws due to shiploads of migrants arriving last year.“The Conservatives have been trying to get in touch with various Tamil groups and formations,” said Rudhramoorthy Cheran, a University of Windsor professor and poet with deep respect among Canadian Tamils. “Tamils have also realized that they can’t put all their eggs in one basket” as they had with the Liberals.A senior Conservative with experience in office, speaking on condition of anonymity, said his party appears to have abandoned due caution. “What it smacks of is expedience, but it smacks as well of trying to find the quick way to win support from those communities,” he said. Mr. Gunaratnam, the NCCT architect, said Conservatives have nothing to fear from his group’s engagement with the party, and Canadians need not worry that the Tigers – which he pronounced “done and gone” – might regroup on home soil.“People like me, we’re very practical people; there’s no point in going back at what happened wrong in the past because it’s not going to help you,” he said. “[The Tigers] are not a factor any more, but the Tamil factor is still lingering large.”At the end of a long, rambling interview, Mr. Gunaratnam mentioned as an aside that he, too, took a phone call from KP, the Tiger leader, after the war ended. He said he rebuffed an invitation to work for the new leader.“I said, ‘No, sorry, I’m not going to work for anyone [with the Tigers] because I didn’t do it before, either,’” he said. “I’m not going to be part of those politics at all; that’s a very clear stand that I always have.” 05 March 2011 ICC about to issue warrant for arrest of Gaddafi: Libya TV says Mahinda Rajapakse gave encouragement to Gaddafi The SL President Mahinda Rajapakse has given encouragement and inspired Libyan Leader Col. Muammar Gaddafi over the phone as telecast by the Libyan National television channel a little while ago, when the International court of crimes, Hague was today going to issue a warrant to arrest Gaddafi and his family regime. This has been necessitated as a result of the aerial bombing of his own people who have risen against the forty year rule of Gaddafi.The SL President has praised Gaddafi as a brave leader. Therefore, I have confidence you can face the people’s rebellion against you fearlessly. We must all hold our hands together and combat terrorism, the SL President has added, in his telephone message, according to the telecast in arabic language by a leading television channel under Gaddafi’s administration in Libya. The telecast has also carried a photograph of Rajapakse with Libyan leader and other State leaders.While the SL President was encouraging the tyrannical leader Gaddafi, in contradistinction the American President Obama for the first time made an open announcement that ‘Gaddafi must go’.Lois Morano spokesman for the International court of crimes (ICC), Hague addressing the media briefing today stated, as Gaddafi, his sons and his group in his regime have committed crimes against world recognized humanitarian rules and laws, and there are palpable evidence in support of that allegation, they shall be issuing a warrant to arrest them within the next few months.A political analyst of Libya recently claimed when speaking to the media that among the Libyan forces, there are hired soldiers from Chad, Somalia and Asian countries to shoot unarmed innocent civilians. The Libyan regime has paid US Dollars 30,000 per hired soldier, according to the analyst.The whole world is accusing Gaddafi as a murderer and as killing unarmed people of his own country, and therefore he and his atrocious groups should be hauled before the ICC. Based on unofficial sources, at least 2000 innocent Libyans have been killed by Gaddafi’s aerial bombing and marching forces. At least another two lakhs civilians have been reduced to refugee status after having fled to neighboring countries, Tunisia, Nigeria and Egypt for safety.Meanwhile, Robert Blake, US secretary for the Asian region had announced that a parallel cannot be drawn between the situation in Libya and that in SL. US Senate war probe call 'unfortunate': Sri Lanka A call by the US Senate for an international probe into alleged war crimes in Sri Lanka was "unfortunate", the government of President Mahinda Rajapakse said Friday.The Sri Lankan government said "well motivated groups" had pressured the Senate to adopt a resolution earlier this week calling for an international investigation into the final stages of the island's war against Tamil rebels."It is all the more unfortunate that those who framed the text of the resolution have overlooked the capacity and strong track record of the LLRC (a government-appointed Sri Lankan panel) to work for reconciliation," the foreign ministry said in a statement.The Senate resolution urged an "independent international accountability mechanism to look into reports of war crimes, crimes against humanity, and other human rights violations" in Sri Lanka.It came as a top US official warned the island that it could be hauled before a war crimes tribunal over the killing of "many thousands of civilians" in 2009.In the toughest warning since the end of fighting in May 2009, US Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs, Robert Blake, said Sri Lanka risked a forced international investigation.Sri Lanka has refused to probe war crimes and instead appointed the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC).International rights groups have said the LLRC failed to probe war crimes during the 37-year conflict.Sri Lanka's relations with the United States were strained in 2009 when Washington voiced concern about human rights as the army killed the top leadership of the Tamil Tiger rebels, ending decades of insurgency. Army hands over Subhash Hotel to owners The army today handed over the historic Subash hotel back to its owners, over 15 years after it was taken over by the military.Jaffna Commander Major General Mahinda Hathurusinghe told News Now.lk that the hotel, which was used by the 51st army division in Jaffna was returned to the public today.The 30-room, Subash Hotel, situated in the Jaffna High Security Zone (HSZ) is owned by Mr S. Hariharan of No.57, Church Road, Wattala and it was taken over by the Army on 2nd December 1995 on lease, in order to maintain security, law and order in the township as the scourge of LTTE terrorism at that point of time was intensifying with reports of murders, abductions, extortions and conscriptions within town perimeters, the army said.“The government is keen to return private property used by the military back to its rightful owners. So far nearly 800 homes have been returned to the public. As part of this process the Subash hotel used by the army 51st division was returned today,” Major General Mahinda Hathurusinghe said.He recalled that two months ago the army had returned the Gnanam hotel to its rightful owner and it will continue to return other private property in Jaffna as well.“Through this we hope that normalcy will be further established in Jaffna. With the return of the Subash hotel to the public we have Palaly left and even there we have returned some property to its rightful owners,” Major General Mahinda Hathurusinghe added.The government recently said it will continue to scale down the High Security Zones in Jaffna in order to establish complete normalcy in the area following the defeat of the LTTE. Foreign citizens acquire Sri Lankan citizenship investigated. Government had decided to investigate the foreign citizens obtained Sri Lankan citizenship. “Diwayina” newspaper has published a news item that foreign citizens who had obtained dual citizenship will be under investigation.Reports states, some foreign citizens who had obtained dual citizenship are functioning against the country, for which information is received hence such decision was taken. After investigation processed by the Criminal Investigation unit, such information was received. Foreign citizens who had obtained Sri Lankan citizenship frequently visit abroad. Government had decided in future before granting dual citizenship, the relevant persons will be called for interviews. Sri Lanka to stop involuntary registration of Tamils The Sri Lankan government on Thursday pledged in court to abandon an operation to make the northern Jaffna residents register with the authorities.The main Tamil political party Tamil National Alliance's Jaffna district parliamentarians had filed a fundamental rights petition claiming the move was discriminatory of the Jaffna residents.The MPs told the court that Jaffna residents had been asked to fill registration forms in the Sinhala language with themselves being photographed by the security authorities.The TNA said the move contravened the equality of all before the law.The state attorney at this stage informed the Supreme Court that the Jaffna authorities had agreed to stop the operation with immediate effect.The state had earlier maintained that the move was in line with the government's security procedures to maintain law and order in Jaffna, which was once a stronghold of the Tamil Tiger rebels. Douglas Devananda's petition dismissed The Madras High Court on Thursday dismissed as ‘not pressed', a petition by the Sri Lankan Minister, Anandan alias Douglas Devananda, seeking anticipatory bail in a murder case in Chennai nearly 25 years ago.The case relates to the murder of Thirunavukkarasu in a shootout at Choolaimedu on November 1, 1986. The Choolaimedu police had filed its objection to the anticipatory bail petition.In the petition, Mr. Devananda submitted that he came to know that a proclamation was pending against him. Not a proclaimed offender He filed a petition before the Madras High Court. In its order in December 2010, the court declared that he was not a proclaimed offender in the case as pronounced by the trial court.He was also directed to file an anticipatory bail petition.He was ready to face trial and to abide by any condition imposed by the court.In his order, Justice S. Nagamuthu said that since it was a serious crime, he was of the view that anticipatory bail could not be granted at this stage, that too when a non-bailable warrant had been issued against the petitioner. The remedy The remedy for the petitioner was, as observed by the High Court in an earlier proceeding, was to approach the trial court for recall of the warrant.Following this observation, Mr. Devananda's counsel submitted that he was not pressing the petition. He sought liberty to work out his remedies before the trial court.Counsel also made an endorsement to that effect.Recording counsel's statement, Mr. Justice Nagamuthu said that in view of the endorsement, the petition was being dismissed as not pressed. However, the judge granted liberty to the petitioner to approach the trial court for getting the warrant recalled. 03 March 2011 TELO Inaugurates its People Organisation after Exchanging Views TELO organised a public meeting on 27 February 2011 at Harrow Civil Centre with the view to establish its “People Front” whose objective is to serve the war afflicted Tamil speaking people as they continue to suffer. After exchanging views the participants expressed their considered view that there is an urgent need to establish a people organisation in order to provide urgent relief to those Tamil speaking people who continue to suffer and to help them in their long term socio-economic development. Similar consultation meetings are expected to be held in Vavunia among TELO members and its supporters. TELO UK branch is expected to initiate similar discussions in rest of Europe. The needs of Tamil speaking people such as education, economy, social development and basic amenities either have not been provided or neglected altogether for a very long time. The proposed people organisation is expected to alleviate the people from their present plight and be a great help to them. In this respect we at TELO would continue to host consultation meetings among our members, supporters and people in Sri Lanka as well as in rest of the world. SLAF won’t revert to pre-’83 ceremonial role President lashes out at those who opposed military parades to mark war victory over LTTE President Mahinda Rajapaksa on Wednesday (2) assured that the SLAF would be given new assets and an opportunity to engage in research and development in spite of the conclusion of the war in May 2009.Addressing a gathering at the Ratmalana air base, to coincide with the 60th anniversary of the force, President Rajapaksa emphasised that the SLAF would not revert to its pre-1983 ceremonial role as it should be prepared to meet any eventuality.The President said that the country’s defence wouldn’t be compromised, though the LTTE no longer retained a conventional military capability.The President, in his brief speech, lashed out at those who had been critical of his government for having military ceremonies to celebrate the war victory over the LTTE. He said: "Some of our opponents criticised us for celebrating Sri Lanka’s victory over terrorism. They don’t want us to hold military parades. They allege we are exploiting the war victory for political gain and they demand that we stop recalling war victory."President Rajapaksa said some of the critics had been engaged in propaganda efforts, both here and abroad, aimed at sabotaging the war against terrorism. "They are still engaged in false propaganda campaigns against the country; that is no secret," he said.The President said that he wouldn’t stop celebrations to mark victory over the LTTE to appease those who still conspired against the country. The people wouldn’t allow conspirators to succeed in their strategy, the President said, emphasising the importance of keeping in mind the magnificent victory over LTTE terrorism.Commenting on the role of the armed forces, police and the Civil Defence Force in the post-war era, the President said the military and the police had thrown their full weight behind the ongoing development projects in areas devastated due to terrorism over the past three decades.The President rejected the assertion that the war had caused massive destruction in the Northern and Eastern Provinces. The destruction of public and private properties had been carried out by the LTTE, he said. He went on to say that his troops were now engaged in re-building what had been destroyed by terrorists.Praising the SLAF for its outstanding role in eelam war IV, the President said that Sri Lanka’s history could have been different had the SLAF failed in its mission. The SLAF had engaged LTTE positions accurately, he said commending the service for conducting the ‘air offensive’ in keeping with the government policy that civilians be spared even at the expense of ‘military objectives’.The SLAF had disappointed those who had been targeting Sri Lanka on the human rights front and looking for air attacks on civilians. Had the SLAF been indiscriminate in its campaign, those anti-Sri Lankan elements could have taken advantage of the situation, the President said.The SLAF’s success had contributed immensely to the military strategy, the President said pointing out that Air Forces with far better equipment and technology were experiencing difficulties in conducting operations. "They regularly make mistakes," the President said.Now that the war was over the SLAF like its sister services and police had an opportunity to engage in the ongoing post-war recovery programmes, said President Rajapaksa urging the SLAF not to waste its training and expertise but use every available opportunity to help post-war development projects. The SLAF should be proud of its achievements during the war and after the war, the President said, commending the service for its support for ongoing re-settlement and rehabilitation efforts. 106 LTTE suspects released ARMY HAS SUDDENLY STARTED REGISTERING PEOPLE OF VALVETTITURAI With the TNA already filing a case against the registration of persons in Jaffna, the forces have suddenly started registering persons in the Valvettiturai area.Army went to every house and business places in Valvettiturai yesterday and told everyone that application forms have been distributed to every dwelling place and these forms should be duly filled and should be handed over to the Grama Sevaka before nightfall today.The Grama Sevaka explaining the issue told that he received sudden orders from the forces headquarters in Valvettiturai regarding the registrations. However the area people told GTN that they did not know whether families had to go to the camps during the registration process. But the families concerned are expected to be called over to the camps for inquiries.The forces are especially targeting those who had come from the Vanni, after the final war and re settled in the Valvettiturai area. The people of the area say that the forces have speeded up such activities only after the last rites of Parvathy Ammal, the mother of LTTE leader Velupillai Prabakaran. CANADA WARNS LANKANS TO BEWARE OF VISA FRAUD The Canadian High Commission warned Sri Lankans travelling to Canada to beware of unscrupulous individuals and institutions engaging in false or misleading advertising while many have already lost large sums of money only to find that they have failed to qualify for a visa.“We feel badly that people are victimized in this way. We want them to know that they should be very wary of giving money to anyone who seems to be offering assurances that a Canadian visa will be issued”, Canadian High Commissioner Bruce Levy said.The High Commission noted that only designated High Commission staff can authorize a visa and that paying a fee to an agent, being promised a job in Canada or taking job training is no guarantee that a visa will be approved.“By taking money from people who cannot afford it and raising false expectations, these unscrupulous operators are also hurting Canada’s reputation in Sri Lanka,” Levy added. “We intend to do whatever we can to deter them.”Applicants for visas for Canada can apply directly during the normal business hours at the Canada Visa Application Centre. Colombo-Tuticorin passenger ferry service postponed The much awaited Colombo-Tuticorin passenger ferry service that was scheduled to begin Wednesday was postponed indefinitely after India deployed the vessel for evacuation of its citizens from Libya.“The delay was due to India deploying the vessel earmarked for the service to evacuate the Indian workers from Libya”, Shantha Weerakoon, a top ports ministry official said.The three voyage per week service was expected to provide service to around 100,000 passengers annually, Sri Lankan officials said.The link will be the first of the two ferry links to be established between the two countries.Sea passenger transportation between India and Sri Lanka is being established consequent to the Joint Declaration issued last year following talks held between Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.The distance between Colombo and Tuticorin is about 280 miles and the duration of the journey will be about 10 to 12 hours. 02 March 2011 Govt. ensures a sustainable peace: European union Head of the European Parliament’s Delegation for relations with South Asia, Jean Lambert spoke to the Daily Mirror on the curtailing of the military presence in the north and livelihood opportunities there, as well as the issues of human rights and media freedom in Sri Lanka. Ms. Lambert, part of a seven-member team was in the country for the sixth Inter-Parliamentary Meeting with the Sri Lankan Parliament. Excerpts of the interview follow; Q: The Delegation while in the country visited the North, what is your assessment of the reconstruction process there and employment opportunities in the North? Sri Lanka risks forced war crimes probe: US ri Lanka could be hauled before a war crimes tribunal over the killing of "many thousands of civilians" in the final months of its separatist war with Tamil rebels, a top US official said.In the toughest warning since the end of fighting in May 2009, US Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs, Robert Blake, said Sri Lanka risked a forced international investigation.His remarks came as the UN Human Rights Council was meeting in Geneva, where Sri Lanka has previously managed to avoid condemnation thanks to the backing of several nations, including strong allies China and Russia.Blake, a former ambassador to Sri Lanka, said it was "preferable" for Sri Lanka to have its own investigation in line with internationally accepted human rights standards, rather than face an external inquiry."It's important to say that if Sri Lanka is not willing to meet international standards regarding these matters, there would be pressure to appoint an international commission to look into these things," Blake told AFP.Sri Lanka has refused to investigate alleged war crimes, but President Mahinda Rajapakse has appointed a panel to probe why a 2002 ceasefire between the government and the Tamil rebels broke down.International rights groups have rejected the government-appointed panel as a whitewash, saying it fails to address war crimes by both sides during the 37-year conflict.Sri Lanka's relations with the United States were strained in 2009 when Washington voiced concern about human rights as the army killed the top leadership of the Tamil Tiger rebels, ending decades of insurgency.After pressure from the Tamil diaspora, a number of US lawmakers have pushed President Barack Obama's administration to take a harder line on Sri Lanka.In a video interview on Monday from Washington, Blake said reconciliation, accountability and human rights were among the key elements the US wanted to see to normalise ties with the South Asian nation."The UN has estimated that many thousands of civilians were killed in the final few months of the war," Blake said.The UN said that at least 7,000 civilians perished in the final months of fighting, while international rights groups have put the toll at more than 30,000.Blake cited the UN Security Council reporting Libya to the International Criminal Court last week as a signal of global concern over human rights.He said he was not comparing Sri Lanka with Libya, but said the security council's unanimous decision against Libya over the weekend underscored the resolve of the international community regarding crimes against humanity.Tamil Tigers, who have been proscribed by the US and across the EU, were known for devastating suicide bombings during their decades-long campaign for a Tamil homeland in the island's northeast.Blake, who was in Colombo during the final stages of the separatist war, said the Tamil Tigers had put civilians in harm's way, but Colombo too should be held accountable.The US official said there had been improvements in re-settling thousands of people displaced by the conflict and attempts by the government to address some of the issues, but more progress was needed.Washington was "particularly concerned" that attacks against the independent media continued two years after the end of fighting, Blake said, adding that Sri Lanka must ensure freedom of expression and dissent."Sri Lanka's international friends scratch their heads and wonder why there is still this kind of intimidation is occurring," he said referring to recent attacks against an office of a pro-opposition website and journalists. Pilot killed in Sri Lanka jets clash One of the two pilots in the Sri Lankan air force Kfir jets has been found dead after the planes collided Tuesday morning, air force spokesman said.The two Kfir jets clashed over Warana area in the western provincial Gampaha district while on a training exercise in connection with the air force's 60th anniversary celebrations, which are to begin on Wednesday."This happened around 9:30 a.m. local time" air force spokesman Andy Wijesuriya said.The two jets crashed near a paddy field while causing damage to a house. A civilian was also injured.The pilot who survived has been identified as Squadron Leader Vajira Jayakodi.Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa visited the crash site shortly after the incident, officials said. Sri Lanka attacks on fishermen are a wake-up call to India On January 22, the Sri Lankan Navy intercepted an Indian fishing boat from Tamil Nadu. Two fishermen jumped into the sea, but 28-year-old Jayakumar stayed on his boat. The two survivors told the authorities that a Sri Lankan Navy official climbed into the boat and tied a rope around Jayakumar’s neck. Then the naval vessel dragged the fisherman through the water, strangling him. Ten days earlier, Sri Lankan Navy personnel reportedly fired on an Indian fishing boat, killing a fisherman and wounding two others.As protests erupted in Tamil Nadu, India’s external affairs minister S.M. Krishna said such incidents were “unacceptable”, while the government issued a statement expressing “strong and unequivocal condemnation of this violent incident”. Colombo denied the incident, and a Navy spokesman declared that the “allegations are baseless and without proof.”To those who follow the human rights situation in Sri Lanka, its response was unsurprising. It routinely issues knee-jerk denials to allegations of abuses by its armed forces, no matter how compelling the evidence. During its 2008-2009 military campaign against the separatist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, the government engaged in repeated denials.It deliberately misled the rest of the world, contradicting UN estimates on the number of civilians in the conflict zone, playing down the danger. The government only admitted over 300,000 non-combatants were there, while at the conflict’s end it boasted of a dramatic “rescue” of civilians. Worse, despite evidence from satellite imagery and testimony from people on the ground, Sri Lanka repeatedly and robustly denied using heavy artillery in its “no-fire zone” in which civilians would be safe from the fighting. Many died. The government then proceeded to detain survivors in military-run camps, describing them as “welfare villages”.Last August, the US state department reported that Sri Lanka had failed to conduct an effective investigation into laws-of-war violations by government forces and the LTTE in the final months of the war, which ended in May 2009.This followed an October 2009 report prepared by the Office of War Crimes Issues documenting violations of the laws of war. Sri Lanka responded by contending it was an effort “to bring the Government of Sri Lanka into disrepute, through fabricated allegations and concocted stories”, when the government forces were in fact “engaged in a humanitarian mission”.The government’s response was no better to horrific videotapes that allegedly show Sri Lankan soldiers executing prisoners in cold blood. When Britain’s Channel Four News first broadcast a video, showing Sri Lankan troops executing two captives, the government said experts it had commissioned found the video to be fabricated.Philip Alston, the United Nations special rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary, or arbitrary executions, commissioned a separate group of independent experts, who found strong evidence to suggest the video was authentic.Human Rights Watch obtained photographs and video footage of the same incident from other sources, which show what appear to be the summary execution of prisoners by government troops.One of about a dozen bodies visible, most of them bound and blindfolded, was identified as Isaippiriya, a 27-year-old woman reporter for the LTTE. A Sri Lankan defence ministry website lists a Lt. Col. Issei Piriya as an LTTE leader killed on May 18, 2009 by the 53rd Division, thus linking the Army to the alleged summary execution of prisoners. The Sri Lankan government, however, said that the video is fake.Human Rights Watch has examined more than 200 photos taken on the front lines in early 2009 by soldiers. Among these are a series of five photos showing a man identified as a long-term member of the LTTE’s political wing.The first two show him alive, with blood on his face and torso, tied to a palm tree. He is surrounded by several men wearing military fatigues. In the next three photos, the man is lying — apparently dead — against a rock. While Human Rights Watch cannot conclusively determine that he was summarily executed in custody, a full investigation is warranted.Photos also show what appear to be dead women in LTTE uniforms with their shirts pulled up and their pants pulled down, raising concerns that they might have been sexually abused or their corpses mutilated. Faced with credible allegations of violations of the laws of war, the government has insisted on only pointing to abuses by the Tamil Tigers.In his speech in September at the UN General Assembly, President Mahinda Rajapakse said: “Over the past year, much has been reported and much has been said regarding my country’s liberation from terrorism. However, far less has been said of the suffering we had to undergo and the true nature of the enemy we have overcome.”No one, least of all human rights defenders, will question that the Sri Lankan government faced a terrible challenge from the Tamil Tigers with their penchant for suicide bombings, recruiting children into combat, or using civilians as human shields. Human Rights Watch and others documented and condemned all of this. At the war’s end, Mr Rajapakse promised UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon that his government would investigate wartime abuses by both the LTTE and the Sri Lankan military. But it’s clear the government has no intention of doing so. Instead, it has followed the practice of its predecessors of creating commissions or inquiries to give the appearance of taking action, without ever really doing anything. Since independence in 1948, Sri Lanka has established at least nine such commissions and numerous other inquiries, none of which have produced any significant results. There is no reason to believe that its new commission will be any different.Last year, Mr Ban Ki-moon appointed a panel of experts to address accountability issues relating to alleged violations of international human rights and humanitarian law during the final stages of the conflict. The government’s response was predictable — it publicly denounced the new panel, and a senior minister led a protest outside the UN offices in Colombo.The government has toned down its rhetoric but has not cooperated with the panel.Undeterred, the panel will submit its report to the Secretary-General in March. India should take the lead in demanding that the full report of the panel be made public and, as warranted, encourage the Secretary-General to implement its recommendations.The brutal attacks on fishermen who stray into Sri Lankan waters has given ordinary Indians a brief glimpse of the lack of accountability of Sri Lanka’s security forces, and the unresponsiveness of the Rajapakse government to serious abuses. The Indian government was right to condemn the murder of its own citizens, and demand an investigation. But it also should ensure justice for Sri Lankan victims. When the UN panel of experts submits its report next month, it will be important to have the Indian government standing behind them. FACTBOX - Key political risks to watch in Srilanka Sri Lanka has flagged rising oil prices as the only risk to economic growth the central bank forecasts at a record 8.5 percent this year, a threat now made real by crises in Libya and elsewhere in North Africa and the Middle East. Following is a summary of key risks to watch in Sri Lanka: FOOD AND FUEL PRICES Although official numbers for inflation are low, there is almost universal agreement that food prices are among the highest in recent memory, prompted by the global rise in commodity prices, to which the island nation is acutely sensitive.Although there have been complaints about the cost of living since late 2009, none of it has bubbled up into serious agitation. Sri Lanka has no real history of food riots, but the opposition has threatened that it could become a possibility.On top of that, he government has said that at least 35 percent of the rice crop was destroyed by two rounds of flooding in January and February, but assured that it has adequate reserve stocks to prevent any supply shocks.Added to that is the spike in oil prices after the Middle East-North Africa unrest.The government is also removing fuel subsidies paid to the state-run power generation company, which will inevitably mean even higher power prices for consumers.The government has structured billing so most of Sri Lanka's poor and middle class will be spared big increases, but that has infuriated industrial leaders who see their costs rising. What to watch: -- Any signs of organised political agitation over food prices, and the government's response. The central bank has said it may intervene if supply-side inflation spikes -- Further military involvement in food distribution, or any application of subsidies which could affect the government's plans to tame its budget deficit gap under a $2.6 billion International Monetary Fund loan programme. -- Impact on industrial output, and if the government will give in to demands made by factory owners and industrialists that it cushion the shock. POLICY RESPONSES The flooding came soon after the central bank surprised almost everyone by cutting its monetary policy rates even further and pushing commercial banks to cut the interest rate spread.Even though the government says it expects inflation to remain between 4 percent and 6 percent this year, many economists and analysts believe it will rise further than that, especially after the rice crop was damaged and oil leapt Libya's crisis.The government will change its inflation basket again this year, a move the main opposition United National Party (UNP) says is a ruse to artificially lower inflation numbers and cool rising discontent over spiralling food prices. Crucially, both the energy and food portions of the basket are expected to be lowered. What to watch: -- Any shift in the central bank's monetary policy toward tightening. -- Signs that external investors or analysts are beginning to question official numbers, which could erode confidence Sri Lanka's government has worked hard to build since the end of its three-decade separatist war in May 2009. INVESTOR PERCEPTIONS Sri Lanka's 2011 budget, released in November, was full of tax and regulatory changes designed to make it easier for offshore investors, while doing away with the blanket tax holidays that existed under the old investment promotion scheme.Foreign direct investment fell in 2010, despite post-war economic optimism and sound macroeconomic fundamentals, plus some big-ticket tourism deals.The IMF forecasts it will rise to $725 million this year.Some analysts believe the government has been inconsistent in its investment promotion message and too slow to give assurances that investments will not be subject to political interference. That has kept wealthy local investors wary of committing capital in the post-war environment.Most foreign investors have stuck with treasury securities. Even the booming Colombo Stock Exchange has seen foreign outflows since the end of the war in May 2009, partially fuelled by lack of confidence in regulatory oversight. What to watch: -- More big investments by private foreign companies, a clear sign of growing investor comfort. -- The pace and scope of bilateral investments from countries such as India and China, which are competing for influence. -- The enforcement of new regulations in capital markets, and whether that prompts more foreign inflows. 15 Sri Lankans entered Greece seeking shelter escape. Reports states 15 Sri Lankans entered Greece appealing shelter due to revolution at Libya had escaped. Sri lanka Foreign Exchange Bureau informed 15 persons were rescued temporarily from Libya and in the intention of sheltering them at Greece, they were sent to Greece, but they had escaped. Such incidents bring disrepute to the country was pointed out.Greece government had informed that those who had given shelter had escaped, and in future Sri Lankans will not be given shelter. Government warned using the political disturbances in Libya; none should get involved in illegal activities. Sri Lankans given shelter at Greece had escaped and due to these reason problems have risen to shelter Sri Lankans in other countries was pointed out. Meanwhile five Sri Lankans were arrested by the Greece police out of the 15 who had escaped states reports. 01 March 2011 Third round of talks between TNA-Lanka govt postponed The crucial third round of talks between the Tamil National Alliance, the main Tamil party in Sri Lanka, to find a political settlement to the grievances of the minority ethnic community has been indefinitely postponed.Sources in the Tamil National Alliance said today the talks with the government has been indefinitely postponed due to the on going local election campaign leading to the March 17 polls.The talks were to be held on March 1 and the TNA was hoping to take up the issue of devolution in the north as a main item in the agenda Sri Lankan government and TNA held discussions towards reconciliation through political settlement last month.The LTTE waged a bloody three-decade civil war for a separate state for the Tamils of Sri Lanka, alleging discrimination against the minority community at the hands of the majority Sinhalas.The Lankan military crushed the rebels in May 2009 and ended the ethnic conflict that killed between 80,000 and 100,000 people.India has asked the Lankan leadership to engage the Tamil community to find a political solution to the grievances of the minority ethnic group. AI slams international community The Amnesty International (AI) has urged the United Nations to play a lead role in ending the culture of impunity in Sri Lanka over allegations of serious human rights abuses.The Human Rights Council (UNHRC) in particular, says the AI, should call on Sri Lanka to implement measures aimed at ending the prevailing culture of impunity.“The prolonged failure of the international community to demand accountability for alleged crimes under international law in Sri Lanka has only encouraged official disregard for international law and UN mechanisms aimed at protecting individuals from harm and providing accountability,” it said in a statement. Focus on Sri Lanka In a written statement to the UNHRC, the AI says apart from the human rights violations prior to Council’s previous session in 2010, new and serious violations of human rights continue to be reported.The 16 session of the UNHRC begins on 28 February.The session begins at a time international community is once again focusing on Sri Lanka’s human rights record.Sri Lanka refuses to allow advisory panel appointed by the UN Secretary General’s on accountability issues to visit Sri Lanka.However, Sri Lanka’s Attorney General and the Foreign Secretary have travelled to New York to meet Ban ki-Moon, last week.“New reports of abductions, enforced disappearances and killings in northern Sri Lanka have had a profound effect on public security in that region and people’s ability to heal and rebuild,” the AI said in the statement.It urges the Council to call on Sri Lanka to investigate new reports of enforced disappearances and killings in northern Sri Lanka and ensure perpetrators identified are brought to justice.The rights watchdog accuses the Sri Lankan government of continuously refusing to acknowledge credible allegations of war crimes, despite evidence of such crimes by both the parties “continues to mount.”The country, says the AI, has not even begun the process of identifying persons alleged to be responsible for violations of international human rights and humanitarian law committed in the final stages of the armed conflict.Therefore, it is the responsibility of the international community to take action against Sri Lanka, argues the rights watchdog.“The world is still waiting for the United Nations to establish an independent international investigation into alleged crimes under international law, which is an essential step to ensuring justice for Sri Lankan victims and their families,” the watchdog said. ITAK Vice President Prof Sitrampalam visits China on invitation The Vice President of Ilankai Thamizh Arasuk Katchi (ITAK), Professor S K Sitrampalam, representing his party, is on a visit to China on the invitation of the Chinese government, ITAK leaders said in a press meet in Jaffna Sunday. Even though the ITAK leaders said that this is a routine invitation extended to party leaders in the island, they didn’t answer the question when in the past the ITAK had been invited or visited China. ITAK is the main component of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA). The Deccan College trained Dr. S.K. Sitrampalam, retired senior professor of Archaeology of the University of Jaffna, was widely appreciated by Eezham Tamils when he boldly countered the Indian Foreign Secretary Nirupama Menon Rao in Jaffna, last year. Meanwhile, some sections in the TNA wanted to register it as a political party, doing away with the identities of the components.In the press meet Saturday, the ITAK said that it would oppose such moves. The component political parties of the TNA should maintain their identities and ideologies, but should unite in electoral processes to safeguard Tamil aspirations, the ITAK leaders said. What was refused to Pirapaharan cannot be given to others is the position of Mahinda Rajapaksa. But the demand of Pirapaharan was also the demand of Chelvanayakam and others even before, said ITAK deputy secretary CVK Sivagnanam at the press meet.Responding to the call for boycott of provincial elections by Tamil National People’s Front (TNPF), the ITAK leaders said that boycotts in the past left Tamils with nothing. Control of existing institutions is important, they further said. Pilayan ready to quit Eastern Province Chief Minister Sivanesathurai Chandrakanthan alias Pilayan has vowed to resign from his post if the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) wins the elections in the east, TMVP Spokesperson Azath Maulana told News Now.lk.The Chief Minister was responding to a challenge issued by the TNA recently asking him to dissolve the Eastern Provincial Council and go for an election saying if he did so, the TNA will win the election through a majority.“The Chief Minister feels there is no way the TNA can win an election in the Eastern Province and if they do win such an election through a majority as they claim then he says he will step down from politics,” Maulana said. Sri Lanka’s Inflation Accelerates to Highest Level in 25 Months Sri Lanka’s inflation accelerated to a 25-month high in February, which may curb the central bank’s scope to lower interest rates again.Consumer prices in the capital, Colombo, rose 7.8 percent from a year earlier after gaining 6.8 percent in January, the statistics department said on its website today. That compares with the 7.4 percent median estimate in a Bloomberg News survey of eight economists.Central bank Governor Ajith Nivard Cabraal cut borrowing costs for the third time in seven months in January to support economic growth, contrasting with neighbors from India to China that have raised them to damp inflation. Cabraal this month kept rates unchanged, saying the island faces “less” price pressure than neighbors even after floods damaged crops.“Sri Lanka needn’t get too worried because it isn’t yet facing demand-driven inflation,” Waruna Singappuli, head of research at NDB Stockbrokers Ltd. in Colombo, said before the report. “But the authorities may take a break on rate cuts and keep a check on supply-side price gains by other means like more tax cuts.”The government raised electricity tariffs by 8 percent for users of more than 120 units from January, while reducing rates by 25 percent for institutions including government hospitals and schools.Heavy rains in January and early February caused floods in the north and east of the island nation, destroying rice and vegetable crops, displacing more than one million people and killing about 50, according to government estimates. Food Shortages Sri Lanka may face shortages in vegetables and pulses, K.E. Karunathilaka, the top bureaucrat in the agriculture ministry, said Feb. 7. The island needs to watch inflation pressures from supply shortages “closely,” Cabraal said earlier this month.To help keep prices under control, Sri Lanka in January almost halved import taxes on milk powder to 28 rupees (25 cents) a kilogram and slashed customs duty on gasoline by 67 percent to five rupees a liter.Sri Lanka’s economic outlook is good, and the floods will cause a “temporary” rise in prices, Brian Aitken, the International Monetary Fund’s mission chief for Sri Lanka, said Feb. 18.The island is aiming to accelerate economic growth to 8.5 percent in 2011 and 9 percent in 2012 from an estimated 8 percent expansion in 2010, Cabraal said last month.Sri Lanka’s next monetary policy announcement is scheduled for March 8. 1300 acres of land in Kilinochchi given to political supporters – “Diwayina” “Diwayina” newspaper has published a news item that the Kilinochchi people are perturbed about the distribution of 1300 acres of lands in Kilinochchi to political supporters. The lands are given to fulfill the business objectives.The lands which belong to the people were granted to other persons and instead of the said lands, people are give lands in forest area were according to paper report. The people from Murugandi, Hindupuram, Shanthipuram including other areas are facing intricacies. Peopole have shown their discontent to move to forest areas, by abandoning the area which they have lived for 40 years. Complaints were made by them to Government officials, but their pleas are not attended was pointed out by the people.
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