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[May 2005] [June 2005] [July 2005] [August2005] [September 2005]- TELO web team 31 October 2005 LTTE should be credible for south to accept federalism – Armitage While a federal solution remains the best option to resolve the North and East conflict, the LTTE has to give up violence and prove itself a trustworthy talking partner for the south to accept federalism, former US Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage said yesterday. “There is no compromise on the issue. The LTTE has to give up violence and resume negotiations with the government” the former second in command at the US State Department told the Daily Mirror from his residence in Virginia, United States, in a telephone interview. Emphasizing the need to curb the escalating incidence of violence by the LTTE, Armitage who played a major role in Sri Lanka’s peace process during the previous United National Front (UNF) regime, said he was “horrified” when he heard of the assassination of former Foreign Affairs Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar. “I was also aghast when I learnt the manner in which that senior police officer (SSP Charles Wijewardena) was murdered” said Mr. Armitage. Reminding that the co-chairs have already conveyed strong messages to the LTTE which include a travel ban by the EU, Armitage however added that failure to rope the LTTE into a joint tsunami reconstruction mechanism was a missed opportunity for the government. “The LTTE for the first time conceded the government’s right to the North and East including the uncleared areas by agreeing for a joint mechanism. That definitely was a big achievement for the government and it is unfortunate that the move fell through” he reminded. However he added that the United States and the other three co-chairs consider it a major achievement from the part of the Sri Lankan government and the LTTE that they have managed to hold on to the ceasefire even after three and half years into the signing of the truce agreement. This, the former Vietnam war veteran said had more than anything else given the hope that the two parties would be able to sit down for talks once again. “There is no other option for the LTTE. It has to give up violence, sit down for talks and agree to share power with the government” Armitage emphasized. On the decision to include a separate Muslim delegation from the next round of talks and convert the discussions to tri-partite negotiations, he said “while it may make the talks more complex, such an inclusion is a must in order to make sure that the final settlement is accepted by all communities”. Speaking on the LTTE’s harping on the exclusion from the 2003 April Washington donor conference which the Tigers gave as one of the excuses to suspend its participation at peace talks, he observed that “it is commonsense that such an invitation cannot be made since the LTTE is in the list of banned organizations”. However he reminded that despite the ban, as the US envoy at the Oslo conference in November 2002, he sat in the same audience with the LTTE. Commenting on the November 17 Presidential polls Armitage said the main concern of the US and the international community was how free and fair the election would be. Asked about the general impression that the US may prefer one candidate to the other of the two main candidates, the former Deputy Secretary of State said the US would work with any president the people in Sri Lanka decide to elect. “It is the manner in which the elections are conducted that we are concerned of” Mr. Armitage reiterated. Police elicit more info on Indo - Lanka drug trade Last week’s drug bust, by the navy on the high seas, has led to police obtaining important information on the heroin trade between India and Sri Lanka, police said. The navy last week arrested two men and their trawler in Kayts, as they were bringing in 11 Kg of heroin from Tamil Nadu, Mannar police HQI Sudath Asmadala said. The smugglers posing as fishermen, identified as Vellathurai Thangarasa and Karupaiaah Murugasamy from Madanapuram in Tamil-Nadu, were later handed over to the Anurdhapura police and are being questioned by the officers of Police Narcotics bureau . NPC urges NorthEast Tamils to vote Media Director of the Sri Lanka National Peace Council (NPC),
Dr.Jehan Perera, Saturday appealed to the Tamil people vote for a candidate
who could promote peaceful political solution to the ethnic problem and
not to boycott the presidential election. He was addressing a seminar
on "North-South Dialogue for Rebuilding of Sri Lankan Democratic
Institutions," held at the Media Research and Training Centre of
the Jaffna University. Prime Minister Mr.Mahinda Rajapakse's sole aim is to become the President of Sri Lanka by getting 75 percent of Sinhalese votes. He signed the MoU with the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) and the Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU) to achieve his objective. He has no support of the minority communities and the leader of his party, he said. "Although the current ceasefire agreement now holding for nearly four years has not produced any constructive results other than the cessation of hostilities, Tamil people should not fail to exercise their franchise," he said. LTTE might repeat tactics, I want to meet Cushnahan - Sangaree Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF) leader V. Anandasangaree said he wants to meet John Cushnahan, the Chief Observer of the European Union, election observation mission, to ask him to watch the LTTE during the forthcoming Presidential elections. Anandasangaree said he will tell Cushnahan that LTTE will try to take care of the main polling stations in the North/East like the last time and their actions of threats and intimidation would be repeated. Sangaree suggests that the either the senior or the Junior Presiding Officer should be a Sinhalese in all the polling stations. The TULF leader warned that the LTTE would try to rig the elections with the connivance of the officers who may be forced to carry out their instructions. Grenade attack on SLA vehicle in Mirusuvil Two unknown assailants who followed a Sri Lanka Army (SLA)
truck in a motorbike hurled a hand grenade into the vehicle near Mirusuvil
junction in Thenmaradchy, Jaffna district Sunday 6.30 pm. Unconfirmed
reports said the explosion injured atleast two SLA soldiers riding in
the vehicle. The Palaly SLA command has not reported on the incident. The vehicle was travelling towards Kodikamam along A9 when the incident happened. Assailants escaped on the motorbike, according to sources. JVP should be held responsible says Ranil UNP Presidential candidate Ranil Wickremesinghe yesterday condemned the killing of Lt Col Meedin by the LTTE and warned that the increasing trend of killings of government and LTTE members could snowball into a war, unless urgent action was taken to reverse this process. He demanded that government probe the causes behind this killing and other unfortunate incidents to prevent a repetition of such cases. Addressing a series of election rallies in Akuressa, Kamburupitiya and Tangalle electorates, Mr. Wickremesinghe said that more than 200 political assasinations had occurred since 2004. Mr. Wickremasinghe pointed out that when he requested the government to look into the security lapses which led to the killings of the late Mr. Lakshman Kadirgamar and Colonel Muthalif, JVP leaders Somawansa Amarasinghe and Wimal Weerawansa had criticized him and claimed he was trying to whitewash the LTTE. If appropriate action had been taken at that time, it could have prevented the killing of Col. Meedin today, Mr. Wickremasinghe said. Therefore Somawansa and Weerawansa should be held responsible for this murder, he said. The UNP presidential candidate blamed the government for not taking the peace process forward which resulted in the rapidly deteriorating situation, especially in the eastern province. Referring to media reports that the SLFP general secretary Maithripala Sirisena was having secret negotiations with the military leader of the Karuna faction in a bid to sabotage the forthcoming elections in the eastern province, Mr. Wickremasinghe said that Mr. Sirisena should deny the statement if it were untrue. He also challenged Mr. Mahinda Rajapakse to make clear his stand on the Ceasefire Agreement. Responding to charges that he was a traitor for agreeing to a federal solution to end the national question, he pledged his commitment to resume the peace process under his presidency. He said leaders of the calibre of President Chandrika Kumaratunga, Communist Party leader D.E.W. Gunasekera and Minister D.M Jayaratna also supported a federal solution and all these leaders could not be described as traitors. Grenade attack in Jaffna, two policemen, soldier wounded Unidentified men riding in a motorbike lobbed a grenade
into a Sri Lankan police post located in front of the Kondavil post office,
seriously wounding two policemen and a Sri Lanka Army soldier. The incident
took place around 10:00 p.m. Sunday. The policemen were rushed to Jaffna
Hospital in serious condition. The soldier was rushed to Palaly Military
Hospital. Masked motorbike troopers cordon, search Pottuvil Masked motorbike-unit-soldiers of the Sri Lanka Army cordoned
off and searched Pottuvil town and its suburbs Kundumadu and Kallaiyapattai
Sunday evening. The soldiers searched the households and the residents
in gunpoint for 4 hours from 5:00 p.m., residents said. The soldiers were
wearing black masks. Pottuvil is located in Amparai district, 112 km south of Batticaloa. Grenade attack in Batticaloa, mother, daughter wounded A 32-years-old mother and her 16-years-old daughter were
injured when two unidentified motorbike-riding men lobbed a grenade into
their house located on Sea Road behind the Special Task Force (STF) camp
in Aryampathy, 6 km south of Batticaloa. The incident took place at 5:30
p.m. Sunday. Kattakudy Police is conducting investigations into the incident. Hudson Samarasinghe to resign from chairmanship and go for a foreign job Chairman of the Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation (SLBC) Hudson Samarasinghe said that after the forthcoming presidential election, he would resign from his post and find employment abroad. He also said he was ready to accept any decision taken by President Chandrika Kumaratunga about his position. “I would go and find a foreign job soon after my resignation,” he said. Mr. Samarasinghe’s bodyguards have been accused of assaulting SLBC News and Current Affairs Director Raja Katugampola inside the SLBC. Later Mr. Katugampola was admitted to the Colombo National Hospital. Dhammaloka Thera hits out at Mangala Former JHU Secretary Ven. Uduwe Dhammaloka Thera yesterday vowed to mobilize Bhikkus against Minister Mangala Samaraweera if he did not withdraw the negative remarks made on the Thera during a recent press conference. The Ven. Thera said he believed those remarks made on him were an insult on the Bhikkhus and the Buddha Sasana as a whole. Addressing a press conference in Colombo, the monk charged some media institutions; especially the state controlled organisations carried news items insulting him. “One such news telecast claimed I did not choose to support the UPFA Presidential candidate because they refused a demand of a ministerial portfolio, which is a lie. In my agreement to support Mr. Ranil Wickremesinghe I did not put forward any such demand. If I work for ministerial portfolios I should support Mr. Rajapakse instead,” the monk said.He also regretted the move made by JHU members in bringing the Anti Conversion Bill. “The Act should be brought with the unanimous agreement of all religious leaders. This act would only breach the goodwill among Sinhalese, Tamils, Muslims, Buddhists and non-Buddhists,” he said. Sri Lanka to cut phone links to 13 countries to stop scams Sri Lanka will cut international direct dialling to 13 countries next week in a bid to stop "modem hijacking" and Internet porn scams. The main international gateway operator, Sri Lanka Telecom, was asked to halt direct dialling to the 13 nations on Tuesday after complaints that subscribers were billed for long-distance calls they never made. Aruna Amarasekara, director-general of the Telecommunications Regulatory Commission of Sri Lanka, said the blockage will be in force for three months but subscribers could still make operator-assisted calls if necessary. "We have decided to do this because of modem hijacking," Amarasekara told AFP Sunday. He said local subscribers were also advised to block international access on their telephones to prevent unauthorised dialling by malicious programs, or diallers, installed by some websites. Some websites surreptitiously install diallers on a surfer's computer and use the phone connection to dial long-distance telephone numbers, running up huge bills, he said. Some calls terminate at porn sites. Sri Lanka has found that most of the unauthorised calls terminated in the Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, the Cook Islands, the Wallis and Futana Islands, Papua New Guinea, Nauru, Tuvalu, Tokelau, Western Samoa and Kiribati. CBK-Mahinda guerrilla war rages A three-and-half-year-old ceasefire, shaky but standing, has taken away a full fledged war between Government troops and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) though the latter is still engaged in low intensity attacks. But a bigger "guerrilla war" seems to be escalating in the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) with just 17 days to go for the presidential elections. There is no "ceasefire" in sight and there are fears of more "political landmines" and "attacks" escalating as the D-day draws near. Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapakse's media campaign co-ordinator and Ministerial colleague Mangala Samaraweera, once whispered to a friend as he walked out of the Janadipathi Mandiraya that he hoped he would not have to come there again. Not until Rajapakse was elected President, he was heard to say. In Matara later last week he was busy on the campaign trail when his phone rang. President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga was on the line. It was a social call and Kumaratunga would want to know how he was keeping, or so he thought. They had not spoken in a while. When he picked up the phone and said "hello," there was Kumaratunga berating him on reported remarks at a news conference days earlier. She referred to remarks said to have been made by Samaraweera that Kumaratunga had endorsed the SLFP candidate's "Mahinda Chinthanaya" or Mahinda's Vision - his manifesto. She said neither she, nor the SLFP had officially endorsed it. Kumaratunga said Samaraweera is not her official spokesman and should not make statements on behalf of her ever again. Samaraweera said he did not announce that Kumaratunga had endorsed the manifesto. He said the question at the news conference was one that he could not avoid. Hence, he had stated the fact - Committee members appointed by the SLFP Central Committee had endorsed the document. In fact, they had placed their signatures acknowledging their approval, he said. Kumaratunga then told Samaraweera that he should correct it at the very next news conference by saying the 'Mahinda Chinthanaya' did not receive her approval. That same evening Samaraweera drove to Colombo. There was another polls related news conference. Ahead of that, he briefed Rajapakse about the Presidential telephone call, and the demand to retract what he had reportedly said. "If she wants - let her say it. You don't have to do it," the Premier responded. Samaraweera made no mention about it at the news conference that followed. In other words, Samaraweera no longer takes orders from President Kumaratunga, but from Prime Minister Rajapakse. Elsewhere, the new addition to the Cabinet, Minister Dilan Perera (who still remains as Deputy Minister in charge of the media) ran through Rupavahini video footage of the news conference. There was no retraction. Perera told this to Kumaratunga who then shot off a strong letter to her now erstwhile protege Mangala Samaraweera. In that, she insisted that a retraction should be made. It was then that the former Media Minister went through video footage of what he had said during the original press conference. He realised he had made no references to an endorsement of the 'Mahinda Chinthanaya' by Kumaratunga. Instead, he had only said that members of the Committee (named by the Central Committee) had endorsed it. Emboldened by the realisation, Samaraweera sent a letter with a copy of the tape back to Kumaratunga. The matter seems to have ended there. It soon came to light that Kumaratunga was also engaged in another form of letter writing to SLFP stalwarts. That had taken the form of a questionnaire where she was seeking their views on some critical issues at the presidential elections - the P-TOMS (or Post - Tsunami Operational Management Structure), a settlement to the ethnic conflict through a united Sri Lanka instead of a unitary one, Rajapakse's agreements with the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) and the Jatika Hela Urumaya etc. One of the recipients was SLFP General Secretary Maithripala Sirisena. Rajapakse learnt from Sirisena that he would not be replying to this Presidential survey until after the elections are over. It seemed the SLFP Secretary was also not that loyal to the party leader (Kumaratunga) as one would have expected. Surely, as politicians they all see the winds of change. SLFP sources said that Kumaratunga also telephoned known party organisers at the district level to seek their views. Her lament was that the JVP was coming to the fore and she feared the SLFP would be swallowed up. This cannot be allowed to happen, she had said. Meanwhile, Kumaratunga held talks with the UNP's Presidential candidate Ranil Wickremesinghe last Monday mainly on a common approach to the peace process. But UNP sources said they also discussed a wide range of other issues. Kumaratunga is learnt to have briefed Wickremesinghe on some changes she was making in respect of extended terms and promotions for officers in the armed forces. It is not clear whether Wickremesinghe endorsed them or made any comments, but it was ironic that she should have discussed these extensions with the Opposition Leader and not her own Prime Minister. Bi-partisanship carried a little too far, maybe. On the opposite page our Defence Correspondent deals with the unprecedented changes Kumaratunga has effected with just 18 days to go for the Presidential elections. If she hoped for her party's candidate, Mahinda Rajapakse to win, she had not bothered to brief him. In the event of such a victory, it was Rajapakse who was going to be the Minister of Defence and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces. The two leaders are also learnt to have discussed the prevailing security situation, particularly developments in the East. However, the Prime Minister had not had any contact with the President in the past week, or more. But she had conveyed to the Premier, through senior security officials, that he should not attend an election rally in the eastern Muslim village of Kathankudy. Intelligence reports had said a Tiger guerrilla plot was afoot to assassinate him. A vehicle with a claymore mine inside was to be used, or so the reports had said. Copies of these intelligence reports had also been sent to him. Like during every election, some of those in the intelligence community played a dual role of reporting to the Government and to their own sources in the Opposition. Security advisors to Rajapakse had identified at least one senior intelligence officer in a service arm who was very active in this role. Yet, Rajapakse decided to be safe than sorry, and decided to keep away from the Kathankudy rally. Days before the event, Rajapakse had telephoned Police Chief Chandra Fernando who is personally spearheading efforts to ensure the security of all candidates, particularly Wickremesinghe and Rajapakse. The IGP had confirmed there were reports of serious threats. So much so, even Kumaratunga had telephoned to inquire whether Rajapakse had in fact gone to Kathankudy ignoring her advice. The Premier now had second thoughts. He still wanted to go East. So he asked his brother, Gothabaya, to check whether he should re-consider. The former Lieutenant Colonel, who later acquired US citizenship, is now a security consultant to the Prime Minister. He is now the most sought after person by senior officers in the security forces. Brother Gothabaya made calls to his own sources in the intelligence community and serving officers in the east. He told brother Mahinda he should go and there was no problem on the ground. Rajapakse then travelled and addressed the rally. Joining him were Mangala Samaraweera, Wimal Weerawansa, A.H.M. Fowzie and a host of others. "It would have been a foolish thing if I did not take part in the rally," Rajapakse told an aide who accompanied him. Last Tuesday, Kumaratunga had a delayed meeting with members of the Podu Peramuna Executive Committee. Rajapakse had turned up there but left without meeting her. He probably knew that if he came on time, the President would still not be there, and then he could leave saying he was there, but not having to engage the President in yet another verbal duel. The meeting had begun hours later. Kumaratunga charged that Rajapakse had abandoned all the efforts she and her party had taken to achieve peace. "I also told him this," interjected Minister Fowzie prompting Kumaratunga to prod harder at Rajapakse (in absentia). It was LSSP's Tissa Vitharana who pointed out there was no point in raising an issue over principles and paving the way for a Wickremesinghe victory. At the end of the meeting, participants had taken a formal decision to support Rajapakse. Another formal decision, that is. How many more formal decisions Rajapakse needs from the SLFP is the question with only 17 days for the polls. That same night, around 1 a.m. Rajapakse had a visitor at Temple Trees. It was Venerable Uduwe Dhammaloka Thera. The two had a friendly discourse. Rajapakse aides said Ven. Dhammaloka Thera had asked Rajapakse for the portfolio of Buddhist Affairs if he won. Rajapakse had responded by assuring the prelate he would give him a position in keeping with his talent and capability to make a worthy contribution to Buddhism in Sri Lanka. Apparently the Ven. Dhammaloka was not pleased. Later in the week he announced his support for Wickremesinghe. Rajapakse aides claim he had been offered the position of a head of a proposed Buddhist Affairs Authority by Wickremesinghe. Rajapakse's campaign staff is also worried about Foreign Minister Anura Bandaranaike. It was early this week that Rajapakse's Running Mate wrote to his sister Kumaratunga complaining that Minister Jeyaraj Fernandopulle had offered the post of premiership to Wimal Weerawansa or Mangala Samaraweera. He claimed it was rightfully his because the SLFP Central Committee had decided so. Bandaranaike also castigated Nirmala Kotelawala, a deputy minister, for his remarks that he was criticising Rajapakse and was not fully backing his campaign. Bandaranaike had declared he had never heard of "this Kotelawala". The latter hit back this week by saying "how can he know about me. He is never in the country." With this polls round the corner, some multi million dollar deals are being negotiated by some ruling party VIPs. In one instance, a prime plot of land meant for a hospital had been sold to a private institution. A billion dollar oil exploration deal is also said to be on the pipeline. Meanwhile, Kumaratunga continues to maintain a tight rein on the state media. The news schedules of Rupavahini are being delivered to her daily. The State print media gives her prominence on their front pages, sidelining the ruling party's Presidential candidate. State media officials were last week discussing with a senior Government officials about some files containing alleged deals made by Rajapakse. SLFP insiders now forecast a stepped up "guerrilla war" as Election Day draws near. They say several "missiles" were in store to be fired. "Don't be surprised if there are a few crossovers. There will also be speakers on our platform batting for Wickremesinghe," said a campaign staffer. Plans are afoot for president Chandrika Kumaratunga to address the nation. Although a date has not yet been fixed, indications are that the address, to be nationally televised and broadcast country wide, is likely to be on November 15. This is a day after the polls campaign closes. Though it is not a polls related address, SLFP sources says, she will tell the nation on the eve of her retirement her achievements and her commitment to the peace process. She is also to spell out the policies that she followed as leader of the SLFP. Kumaratunga, who has to end her term within the next four weeks, has been a fighter during her eleven and half year career. In 2003, she took over the defence portfolio from Wickremesinghe's UNF Government and later sacked it from power by dissolving Parliament. She then called a General Election and having won the elections, formed a United People's Freedom Alliance (UPFA) Government. They say there are no permanent enemies in politics. There are only permanent interests. So the Opposition has become her darling, as her "guerrilla" war with Rajapakse and his team continues. This is one instance where there will be no ceasefire either before the elections or thereafter. 30 October 2005 Senior Intelligence officer shot dead in Colombo A high ranking Sri Lankan Military Intelligence officer,
Lt. Col. T. Rizvi Meedin, shot by unknown gunmen Saturday around 10:30
p.m. and rushed in an unconscious state to the Colombo Hospital, succumbed
to his injuries at 1:30 a.m. Sunday, Police said. The intelligence officer,
attached to the Military Intelligence Corps (MIC) in Colombo, was shot
in his head while he was returning home in his car. A news release issued by the Sri Lanka Army Sunday morning said that Meedin had gone out with his friends late night on Saturday and that a friend of him called his wife at home and informed her that Meedin was lying dead near her house. Meedin is the second senior intelligence officer shot dead in Colombo this year. He was 39 years old and a father of two children. Karuna faction and LTTE clash one killed both side Breakaway guerrillas attacked a Tamil Tiger camp in eastern
Sri Lanka Sunday morning around 4.30 a.m killing at least one officials
of the main rebel organization. Explosions Rock Indian Capital Bombers Kill Dozens A state of emergency has been declared in New Delhi after a series of explosions killed more than 50 people and injured scores more. The bombs - believed to be the work of terrorists - were detonated within quick succession, two in packed market areas and one on a bus. Shoppers had been preparing for Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights, and the Muslim festival of Eid when the bombers struck. Both take place next week. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, in a statement, urged calm and said: "India will win the battle against terrorists." Police detained 10 men for questioning after the explosions. A spokesman said: "We have picked up three people from the New Delhi railway station and seven from different raids elsewhere in our city." An emergency meeting of intelligence and security officials was held as major markets across the city were ordered to close. The first explosion rocked the Paharganj bazaar district - which is about 200 metres from the main railway station and popular with western backpackers - at 5.40pm (12.10 GMT). A policeman said at least 16 people were killed and 60 injured. Rescue teams and bomb disposal units are at the scene.The second blast was reported at Sarojini Market, a congested shopping area, where Home Minister Shivraj Patil said 39 people were killed. A photographer on the scene said a fierce blaze had engulfed much of the area. He said: "We have seen badly-burned bodies littering the market. Most of them are children who had set up food stalls." The third was reported on a bus in Govindpuri, south of the city, where it is thought three people died. New Delhi fire department spokesman Satya Prakash said: "We received a total of four (blast) calls but one was a hoax. "From the feedback we are getting from our trucks, the situation is grisly." No-one has claimed responsibility for the explosions. LTTE wants candidates to campaign in Vanni The LTTE has expressed regrets that successive governments have so far not attempted to hold elections in areas under its control. LTTE political wing leader S.P.Tamilselvan told a delegation from the PAFFREL that met him on Friday that political parties from the South have not even made any attempt to hold their campaigns in the LTTE controlled areas. "If they ask us, we are never going to oppose. But they assume we will not give our consent to holding political campaigns. This is very unfortunate," Tamilselvan had told PAFFREL chief Kingsley Rodrigo who led the delegation from Colombo. "In Kosovo, East Timor, Iraq and Afghanistan elections are held under the supervision of the EU and UN even in the most dangerous areas. But only in Sri Lanka, the EU and the UN never make any attempt to request the government to hold elections in our areas. We can't imagine our people traveling fifty miles away to the army controlled areas to cast their votes," Tamilselvan had said. Meanwhile Rodrigo said he would take up this matter with the Elections Commissioner but added it is 'too late' to do anything now to consider holding polls in the Tiger controlled areas. Jail terms cut for
racist murder But three judges at the Court of Appeal in London cut their minimum terms from 25 years each to 21 years on Friday. Mr Justice Leveson said the trial judge failed to take account of their ages. 'Kicked like football' But he emphasised the decision did not in any sense diminish the "horrific" crime or the sympathy felt for the family of the "unfortunate victim". He also stressed that even when the new minimum term had been served it did not mean they would be released on parole if they were still considered to be a danger to the public. Bapishankar Kathirgamanathan was with a friend on a footbridge in Ashford when he was attacked on 22 April 2004. The court heard Rossiter and Pile had drunk eight to 10 pints each in the nearby Swan pub at lunchtime and were in an "aggressive" state of mind. Witnesses said they heard the men swear and verbally racially abuse the Sri Lankan chef, known as Sebastian, and his friend. Workers in a nearby office block and passers-by saw what was happening. One witness described seeing his head kicked "like a football". The 24-year-old was taken to hospital after the attack but died two weeks later. Ambassador denies LTTE was met at EU The European Union’s Ambassador Designate to Sri Lanka Julian Wilson yesterday categorically denied there was a meeting between LTTE members and members of the EU in Brussels on Monday. “”There was no meeting with the LTTE.and I have
clarified that with my headquarters to be 100 per cent clear,” Mr.
Wilson told The Sunday Times. The delegation, according to the website, included legal expert V. Rudrakumar who represented the LTTE at the Peace talks. Mr. Wilson said there was an informal meeting between EU officials and members of civil society but they did not include people from the LTTE nor any of the protestors who took part in a Tamil resurgence protest in Brussels the same day. He said the meeting was not under taken with the official status of the EU, which imposed a travel ban on the LTTE last month. Has World Factbook
recognized Tamil Eelam ? This revelation has created jitters in the midst of the readership and it is a mystery how Tamils who were supposed to be around 12 % suddenly dropped to 3.9%. This may be due to the exodus of Tamils to foreign countries and may be also due to the “Pol Pot style Killing Spree” sickly adopted and continued with impunity by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam – the rebel outfit, which is involved in creating a separate state purely for the Tamils in Sri Lanka. In the meantime S. Santhirasegara of Canada writes about the latest issue about the population of the Tamils in Sri Lanka, as recorded in the World Factbook. The full text of Santirasegera’s letter is given below: The Editor Has World Factbook recognized Tamil Eelam ? Please publish my following comments on the news item that appeared about Tamil population. Thank you for the courtesy of your columns. Sri Lankan population: The figures of population of Sri Lanka in the World Factbook do not add up To 100 % Sinhalese 73.8 %, Moors 7.2 %, Indian Tamils 4.6 %, SL Tamils 3.9 Total 89.5 % , Unexplained balance 10.5 %. The explanation is that the above figures only include Sri Lanka composing the seven Sinhalese provinces, recognized as part of that country. The population of Northeast (Tamil Eelam) seems to have been left out by the World Factbook, probably recognizing it as a separate country. Tamil Eelam population: The World Factbookshould publish the population figures for Tamil Eelam, the country neighboring Sri Lanka. The population of Tamil Eelam may be like this. Tamil 75 %, Muslims 20 %, Sinhalese 5 % Comment: As many readers are quoting the erroneous figures, it is necessary to put records right. S. Santhirasegara SLA illegally excavates limestone from private property The Sri Lankan Army (SLA) has been illegally excavating
limestone from privately owned property in Maviddapuram. Despite complaints
from Tamil civilians and reports from environmental officials, the SLA
continues with their activities. Ranil warned of threat to life UNP presidential candidate Ranil Wickremesinghe has been warned of an imminent threat to his life by the National Intelligence Agency and the police. Wickremesinghe was warned to cut short his campaign programme and public outings with immediate effect due to a clear and present danger to his life. The UNP candidate has been informed that the threat to his life according to intelligence reports emanates from both the LTTE and the Karuna faction, which is working with the EPDP. The police have also offered Wickremesinghe STF protection in view of the serious threat to his life. Following the warning received, Wickremesinghe met with his security team on Thursday and worked out a new security plan, which will come into effect today (30). The UNP Leader was informed that the threat to his life increased after he proposed working together with the SLFP on a national agenda after the election and fears of the Karuna faction that he would disband the para military groups in terms of the ceasefire agreement. Moves are also afoot to call for a boycott of the election in the north to allow the extremists in the south to get an advantage thereby strengthening the LTTE's case for separation after the election. TULF Leader wants consensus TULF Leader and senior politician V. Anandasangari last Friday urged the two main presidential candidates to arrive at a consensus on the ethnic issue before the presidential election. In a statement to the press, Anandasangari said "Initiatives should be taken by Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapakse and Opposition Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe to arrive at a consensus before the election, on the ethnic issue in consultation with other political parties supporting them, and take it forward jointly after the election, the winner taking the initiative." Anandasangari in the statement also said a federal solution was the best option and said fears that it would end in a separate state were baseless. "The fear that a federal solution will end in separation is groundless. First of all a separate state can never be achieved. Secondly the international community had said the only solution should be within a united Sri Lanka and they would never support a separate state." Anandasangari said. Taking India as an example Anandasangari pointed out that Tamil Nadu faced a similar problem that was resolved through federalism, and 50 years down the line they were fine. He added that Sri Lankans, given the proximity and therefore their understanding of it, were more likely to understand and accept the Indian pattern of devolution. Anandasangari also requested the LTTE to give up their demand for a separate state Govt. consults LTTE on N-E Provincial Council appointment In a case of unprecedented collaboration, the government recently consulted the LTTE before making a key appointment to the North-East Provincial Council The Sunday Island learns. North-East Governor Tyronne Fernando is believed to have discussed this at a meeting he had with an LTTE delegation about two months ago in Vavuniya. The appointment was announced on Thursday at Fernando’s Secretariat in Trincomalee where Class 1 officer of the Sri Lanka Agricultural Service A. H. M. Mahroof, 53, from Akkaraipattu, was appointed the Secretary to the Agriculture, Lands and Irrigation Ministry. Fernando is believed to have delayed the appointment until he received the green light from the LTTE. The former Foreign Minister yesterday acknowledged that he discussed the appointment with LTTE representatives and recently received a letter from Thamileelam Administrative Service concurring with his proposal. According to Fernando, Mahroof is the first Muslim appointed a Secretary to one of the five ministries coming under the purview of the North-East PC established 17 years ago. Fielding questions, he said that the appointment was raised with the LTTE on President Chandrika Kumaratunga’s suggestion. Kumaratunga believed that the LTTE’s consent could have been secured by discussing the appointment. Addressing the gathering at his Trincomalee Secretariat, Fernando has assured that Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapakse would reach out to the LTTE and in the process would bring the JVP and JHU, too, on board the peace process. He dismissed claims that a Rajapakse victory would be an impediment to the Oslo-led peace efforts. Unlike UNP leader Ranil Wickremesinghe, the premier would be able to involve the JVP and JHU in the peace process in "a meaningful way," Fernando said. Maharaja journalist Sri Ranga complaints to the police against PM's loyalists Director of Shakthi TV Sri Ranga has accused Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa's supporters of threatening him and has lodged a complaint with the Inspector General of Police. Sri Ranga, who works for a popular Tamil TV channel run by Maharaja Pvt Ltd, said that unidentified persons are monitoring his moments and have inquired about him on various occasions. “Some people were threatened to my life and I was away from Sri Lanka last couple of weeks,” he said in his compliant to the police. Sri Ranga has accused supporters of Premier Rajapaksa of being involved and has urged President Chandrika Kumaratunga to provide security for him. Meanwhile, Shakthi TV and Sirasa TV in yesterday’s newscasts criticized IGP Chandra Fernando for not taking proper action and not speeding up the inquiry into Sri Ranga’s complaint. However, media circles in Colombo also claimed that Sri Ranga’s complaint against the Prime Minister’s supporters was another political strategy by pro-UNP media institutions. “We have reliably learned that most of the journalists who are working for Maharaja broadcasting are directly or indirectly engaged in pro-UNP activities,” a member of the Sri Lanka Working Journalists’ Association told ColomboPage. CBK rejects Navy’s
choice for No. 2 slot The Sunday Island learns that Kumaratunga recently returned Ratnakeerthi’s file to Navy Chief Admiral Wasantha Karannagoda, requesting him to forward the dossiers on the five senior most Rear Admirals, Ratnakeerthi, Sarath Weerasekera, Nandana Thuduwewatte, L. D. Dharmapriya and Wasantha Tennakoon. Weerasekera is the Deputy Chief of Staff, a post recently created on the recommendation of Kumaratunga after he was recalled from Trincomalee, following a series of incidents over the erection of a Buddha statue. Navy Chief of Staff Mohan Wijewickrema went on leave prior to retirement after Kumaratunga overlooked him for the top post and appointed Karannagoda, who was junior to him. Elections: Presidential
elections and the dilemma of the northeastern Tamil As the days draw nearer and nearer to 17 November, we can diagnose the fever becoming frenzy. The candidates, or to be more exact their supporters from the two major political combinations, are frantically attacking each other and making declarations about how they or their leaders would deal with matters ranging from childcare to geriatrics and from agriculture and industry to peace. One need not repeat the combination of forces the UNP has drawn to itself such as the SLMC and the CWC. On the other hand, Mahinda Rajapakse though a SLFPer, has abandoned the hand symbol and chosen to contest the election under the betel leaf insignia – the symbol of the sandanaya of which the JVP is also part. An important feature about a presidential election, unlike in the case of parliamentary ones, is that the whole country is a single electorate. Anybody who gets 50% of the votes plus one (50%+1) assumes office on the strength that he or she represents the majority of voters. In this situation, where do the Tamils of the northeast stand? While stating this, a line of distinction has to be drawn between the Tamils living within the northeast and those outside it, including the upcountry Tamils. Political exigencies demand that Tamils residing outside the northeast respond to local and regional considerations and exercise their vote on the basis of their geographical location. In the case of the upcountry Tamils, their plantation-based location has problems specific to that community, which only a trade union turned political party can address. The northeast is not merely about the Tamils living in those areas but, more importantly, about a single territorial unit that demands special devolution of power. The Tamils and the Muslims would like to call this area their traditional homeland. Though not accepted and approved by the Sinhala parties, the northeast merger has become a political reality that the Indian government itself is keen on (vide 13th amendment to the constitution flowing out of the Indo-Sri Lanka Accord). Besides other problems that affect this country, the northeast issue is a major question at the election. The SLFP-JVP-JHU combination is very specific about the unitary nature of any constitutional solution. The sandanaya’s manifesto denies the legality of a combined northeast, and though formal lip service is paid to negotiations for settling the ethnic problem, one is not sure who the Tamil participants in the negotiations would be, if the sandanaya is given a say on the matter. The manifesto is also silent on the role of Norway, while it is keen on India playing a bigger part. Since the clout of the latter is on the ascendant its anti-LTTE position is the best safeguard for any pro-Sinhala policy for ‘peace.’ Parts of the northeast are also areas, which do not come under the political authority of the Sri Lanka government. A substantial portion of the Batticaloa District, west of the lagoon, and almost the entire Vanni (from Omanthai to Palai) are under LTTE control. The CFA, as it stands today, implicitly accepts this position. There is also the larger question of normalisation of war-affected areas. Rehabilitation efforts are funded by the World Bank, ADB and other international multilateral organisations. It should be known that ever since the CFA was signed there has never been a coordinated or planned rehabilitation and normalisation programme for the war-affected northeastern areas. Only government agents are engaged in projects, which are not part of any plan of re-development. What is also striking is whatever takes place politically in this region immediately becomes a concern of the European Union and the United States. In other words, relevant international opinion is watching very closely what is occurring in Sri Lanka – especially in the northeast. All these, create a sense of responsibility on the part of the voters of this region when casting their ballots at the presidential polls. Given these socio-political pressures weighing heavily on Tamil voters of the northeast, one would agree that the choice of whom to vote for is not as simple for them as it is to others outside the region. Outside the northeast, there are basically, two categories of voters. Group A supports one of the candidates ideologically i.e. they are either UNPers or sandanaya people. Group B would like to vote for the winning candidate simply because its members do not want their vote to be ineffective. Now, if this criterion is applied to the Tamils of the northeast, one could hardly say that there is a group of people who identify ideologically with the UNP, or JVP-led sandanaya. Even the Tamil political groups that support the latter are very eloquent in their declaration about the need for self-government in the province and power sharing at the centre. Thus, we are left only with Group B in the northeast – voters for the winning candidate. At this point one has to look more closely into what is said by the two major party candidates. Rajapakse’s manifesto completely rules out the possibility of considering the northeast a specific problem, different from those in other regions. Rajapakse’s thought (chinthanaya) speaks of renegotiating the CFA. This pronouncement has created very genuine fears in the minds of the northeast Tamils that the CFA could be repealed. And, needless to say, if the CFA is repealed, then, naturally, it is war. This alone would prevent Rajapakse being the Tamils’ first choice. What has Ranil Wickremesinghe promised? He has no doubt spoken of peace, the ceasefire and negotiations, but has not categorically stated the political nature of his solution. In fact, he has not used the term ‘federalism’ which President Chandrika Kumaratunga has used (perhaps to create confusion in her own ranks!) Wickremesinghe also says that he would first come to an agreement with the Sinhala parties and then negotiate with the Tigers. At a meeting in Polonnaruwa he declared he would discuss a solution to the ethnic conflict with all parties before he starts talking with the Tigers. Nobody knows what these ‘all parties’ are because he has already specifically promised the Muslims their rightful place in a settlement relating to the northeast. If therefore, it does not refer to the Muslims, whom does it refer to? It is at this point one has to understand the situation in which Sri Lankan Tamils in general, and the northeast Tamils in particular, are placed. The LTTE has, over the years, emerged as the only militant group, which has relentlessly spearheaded the Tamil struggle. Though there have been issues on which bulk of the Tamil population did not agree with the Tigers, right now there is the genuine fear that if efforts to displace them from the position of pre-eminence they have gained over the years are successful, Tamil demands would be undermined. It should also be pointed out that Colombo treats all Tamil demands as “LTTE demands” and no mention whatsoever is made about such demands springing from Tamil grievances. In fact, neither manifesto mentions anything about the political grievances of the Tamils as a constituent group of the Sri Lankan polity. It is also quite clear that the Sinhala-owned media, including most of the English newspapers, have been adding up the number of LTTE violations of the CFA and not taken the trouble to report the violations perpetrated by the government in the Tamil areas. In fact the Kumaratunga appointed a special presidential commission to go into the killings in the east – especially that of Kausaliyan, the LTTE’s political wing leader of the Batticaloa-Amparai area. The report is not yet out and one does not know whether within the few remaining days of office the president could take meaningful steps to publish the commission’s finding or act upon them. The grievances mentioned so far are strictly political and have to be sorted out politically. But the 26 December tsunami brought in another dimension into this problem. Besides the southern districts, Batticaloa, Kalmunai and parts of Amparai, along with Mullaitivu and Vadmaratchi have been very seriously affected. The government was virtually led to create the P-TOMS agreement to sort out the sufferings of Tamils in the LTTE held areas – especially in Mullaitivu. The sandanaya has come out against P-TOMS very strongly. It was fortunate that the Supreme Court ruling prevented the JVP from gaining political capital by making it an election issue. In this regard, it is worthwhile looking at what has happened in Aceh in Indonesia. The extent of the disaster and the suffering of the people compelled both the Indonesian government and the Aceh rebels to agree to terms. It is true that the Aceh rebels are laying down arms but at the same time it is equally true there is a withdrawal of state forces from Aceh. But here in this land of Buddhism, no mercy was shown to those suffering from the effects of the tsunami in the LTTE-held areas. It is in this background that the Tamils of the northeast are called upon to elect a president for this country. And if the choice for the northeastern Tamil is between Wickremesinghe and Rajapakse, is there a choice at all? The right to vote is a very precious democratic right. It does not mean that the ballot should be used to choose between two persons whose candidature raises so many grave and negative feelings. This is all the more frightening because international opinion could tell the Tamils who vote either for Wickremesinghe or Rajapakse: “You voted for him, therefore you are duty-bound to accept all what he proposes.” This is the dilemma of the northeastern Tamil. The northeastern Tamils are called upon to take a meaningful decision especially in the light of the fact that the war has dragged on for 30 years. The responsibility is all the more because a wrong result could nullify even the little that has been achieved so far. The right to vote is no excuse to misuse that right. 29 October 2005 Puthur youth shot by SLA, dies Nirojan Tharmarajah (20), injured by SLA gunfire and shrapnel
from grenades charged by the SLA soldiers Friday evening outside the Puthur
East Vaharavathai SLA camp, succumbed to the injuries at 8.45 p.m. For
more than an hour SLA blocked an ambulance that came to pickup the injured
including Tharmarajah to Atchuvely hospital. Tharmarajah and two others
with gunshot injuries were later transferred to Jaffna Teaching Hospital. The village Vaharavathai is completely vacated and Buffalo Armored Cars of the Sri Lankan Army are patroling the area, civilian sources said. The two civilians injured in the evening and the two civilians injured in the morning are being treated at Jaffna Hospital while others with minor injuries are being treated at Atchuveli Hospital. The injured admitted to Jaffna hospital are S. Parthipan, 33, S. Nagalingam, 36, I. Ponni, 70, Manroe Mistro, 34, according to the Hospital sources. Meanwhile, Sri Lanka Army denied firing at the protestors. SLA officials at the Palaly military base said one of the grenades fell into their bunkers wounding a soldier adding that only 3 of the 6 grenades exploded at the site. Karuna faction planning to disrupt Nov. 17 polls Speculation is rife in Batticaloa that former LTTE Eastern Commander Karuna Amman is planning to disrupt election activity in the area, both in the run up to the November 17, presidential election and on polling day itself. Highly placed political sources having close links with the Karuna group told the Daily Mirror that leaflets were soon to be distributed in Batticaloa warning people not to cast their votes for the UNP presidential candidate, Ranil Wickremesinghe. The Karuna group had issued statements all over Batticaloa, saying that irrespective of who won the November poll, they would soon wrest control of the Eastern Province, the sources said. Meanwhile, military sources in Batticaloa confirmed the reports, adding that the Karuna faction was also posing a threat to the UNP election campaign in the area. “There is a strong feeling Karuna might try to disrupt or prevent UNP election activity in these parts of the country”, the military officer said. There were several reports that undercover Karuna cadres
were planning to station themselves inside polling stations to note those
casting their ballots for Mr. Wickremesinghe. Speaking to the Daily Mirror, Batticaloa LTTE media secretary, Selvam said there was no such group as the Karuna faction operating in the East. Selvam charged that government and paramilitary forces were using the Karuna name to lunch attacks against the LTTE. The Karuna faction which broke ranks with the LTTE leadership in February last year has been conducting sporadic attacks on LTTE targets in the east, often prompting a furious backlash from the Wanni faction. On October 26 Karuna cadres ambushed a three man LTTE camp in Vakarai, killing one cadre, this attack too had been carried out by the army, Mr. Selvam charged. He said the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission was investigating the attack. Rice mill worker shot dead in Akkaraipattu Two unidentified gunman riding in a motorbike shot and killed
Mr. H.G.M Abeyaratna, 38, a rice mil worker at Kolavil, 2 km south of
Akkaraipattu town, Saturday at 9:30 a.m. The rice mill worker, a Sinhalese
from Akurana in Kandy, married to a Tamil woman and a father of a child,
was residing at Kannakipuram Refugee Camp wheh he was shot, Police said
the motive for the killing was not clear. The assailants shot the victim twice at his head with a 9 mm handgun, Police said. Akkaraipattu Police Officer In-Charge Sathees Gamage is heading the investigations into the killing. Akkaratipattu is located 64 km south of Batticaloa town. Without me no JHU vote bank says Dhammaloka Thera Former JHU leader the Venerable Uduwe Dhammaloka Thera responding to threats by his party to strip him of his parliamentary seat said yesterday that without him the JHU had no vote bank. Speaking with confidence that nearly 80% of the votes polled by the JHU were in support of him, the former JHU General Secretary denied allegations made against him by interested parties. “I have not betrayed the voters. I pledged my support to UNP presidential candidate Ranil Wickremesinghe because I sincerely believe he can bring peace and prosperity to our country”, he said when rebutting charges levelled against him by JHU parliamentary group leader Ven. Aturaliye Ratana Thera. Addressing a news conference after Ven. Dhammaloka Thera’s decision to support the UNP presidential candidate, the Ven. Ratana Thera accused Ven. Dhammaloka Thera of betraying those who voted for the JHU in the belief the party would protect Sri Lanka’s sovereignty. Ven. Ratana Thera said the JHU decided to support the UPFA presidential candidate Mahinda Rajapakse on the basis he would protect the country’s sovereignty. “Ven. Dhammaloka Thera has disappointed the expectations of Sri Lankan’s who value sovereignty in exchange for the post of Director General of the proposed Buddha Sasana Authority”, he said. Ven. Ratana Thera challenged Ven. Dhammaloka Thera to state his position towards the Oslo and Tokyo declarations and whether he had abandoned the 12 main concepts of the JHU, which called for safeguarding the sovereignty of the country and disarming the LTTE as a prior condition for peace talks. However Ven. Dhammaloka Thera said he believed that the Tokyo and Oslo conventions would have no negative effect on Sri Lanka’s sovereignty. Navy arrest suspects with narcotics The Navy personnel took into custody two suspects with eleven packets of light brown coloured powder of narcotic nature from the dhow in Talaimannar. The dhow was speeding towards Rameswaram from the Kachchathivu island area when the navy personnel trailed the dhow and checked it on suspicion. A mobile phone and Indian Rs. 300/- was found in addition to the narcotic powder. The suspects and the suspected items were handed over to the Talaimannar Police for investigations. No answer to national problem from both Ranil and Mahinda - Sivadasan Whoever wins the upcoming presidential election, it will have no bearing on the Tamil community, Tamil National Alliance parliamentarian Kishor Sivanadan said yesterday at Vavuniya addressing 'Pongu Thamil' ceremony. 'If Ranil Wickremesinghe won the election, the national problem would be similar to a diabetic patient and would drag on without a solution. If Mahinda Rajapaksa won the poll, the national problem would be similar to a heart patient and would suffer a stroke and the problem would aggravate and likely to end up in war' Sivadasan said addressing 50,000 large crowd. Shops and government officers in Vavyniya put up shutters
yesterday on account of 'Pongu Thamil' ceremony. The Municipal Grounds
where the ceremony was held as well as roads were decorated with red and
yellow flags and LTTE leader Prabhakara?s pictures were on display everywhere. Hindu, Christian and Muslim clergy were also in attendance and conducted religious observances prior to the commencement of the ceremony. TNA parliamentarians were also present. Grenade lobbed at SLA checkpost in Jaffna Two motorbike-riding men lobbed a hand grenade into a Sri
Lanka Army post located in front of Narikkundu kulam on Rakka Road in
Jaffna around 1:30 p.m. Saturday, Sri Lanka Army said. The grenade fell
into their bunker, the SLA sources added. No casualties were reported.
Additional troops and riot police were deployed at the site following
the incident, civilian sources said. The SLA checkpost is located close to St. John Bosco School and the ICRC office in Jaffna. In the meantime, Puthur East returned to normalcy as displaced villagers were seen returning to their village following the shooting death of a resident by the SLA Friday, sources said. Austrian company to renovate Eastern railway Udaya Manawas inghe senior deputy secretary (news) of the railway department in a letter to ‘The Island’ states that the Eastern railway is to be renovated to uplift the public railway services in the East. Immediate steps would be taken to revamp 30 kms of the Valachchenai Batticaloa railway line, now lying neglected. Austrian federal railway institute has initiated this project using 20 million dollars obtained from the Austrian government, on a concessionary basis. At present not more than five trains are in operation in the Eastern railway. Three of them operate from Colombo and two others from Mahawa and Gal Oya. In the future the number of trains in operation will be increased depending on the public demand and newly purchased engines and compartments would be utilised. Likewise, the railway department hopes to restore the northern line, using foreign aid. Two awards for Radhika
Both Awards have been presented annually to outstanding human rights activists, a press release from the International Centre for Ethnic Studies said yesterday (29). Amparai to hold Resurgence Convention The final event in the series of Tamil National Resurgence
Convention is to be held in Amparai district in the east at the Thambiluvil
Maha Vidiyalayam grounds on November 12, organizers said. Mr.Kanagasabai
Pathmanathan, Amparai district Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarian,
has been visiting villages in Amparai to conduct consultative meetings
with local Tamil activists, sources said. Mr.Kanagasabai said in the coming weeks several TNA parliamentarians from other district have planned to visit Amparai and extend their co-operation in making the convention a success. Tamil National Resurgence Convention was held in all districts, Vavuniya, Batticaloa, Killinochchi, Mullaitivu, Mannar, Jaffna, and Trincomalee, in the northeast province except the Amparai district. 28 October 2005 Sri Lanka rebel leader to make announcement on peace process: legislator The Tamil Tiger leader would make an announcement on the peace process with the Sri Lankan government during his annual "hero's day" speech next month, a Tamil legislator has said. Selvam Adaikkalanathan, TELO Leader and a parliament member from the Tamil National Alliance (TNA), said Thursday the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) leader Velupillai Prabakaran would make an announcement on the future of the north and east crisis on Nov. 27, during the annual "Hero's Day" message of the Tiger leader. Adaikkalanathan said the Tamil people had no faith on the ability of the two main candidates in the country's Nov. 17 presidential poll to resolve the armed conflict in a satisfactory manner to ensure the well being of the Tamil community. The main opposition leader Ranil Wickremesinghe and the incumbent Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapakse have both pledged to start the stalled Norwegian-backed talks with a view to settling the conflict if elected. Norway facilitated six rounds of direct talks between the Sri Lankan government and the LTTE from September 2002 until April 2003 when the Tigers announced a temporary pull out from the process. Villagers foil SLA rape attempt, Puthur tense, protesters beaten Villagers from Puthur East, 13 km north-east of Jaffna,
protested in front of a camp of the SLA's 511 Division Friday morning
after foiling an alleged rape attempt by a Sri Lanka Army soldier who
entered a house at 3:00 a.m. Three soldiers in civilian dress were chased
by the neighbours who rushed to the house upon hearing the women shout,
sources said. The soldiers ran into the SLA camp, according to the protesting
villagers. At least six protestors were wounded. Riot police and additional
troops were deployed at the site. SLA soldiers opened fire when protesting
youth burnt a checkpost at the camp. Many villagers have fled the area,
sources said. Following the rape attempt, more than a hundred protesting women encircled the SLA camp in the early morning. The youth in the area armed with batons started pelting the SLA camp demanding the soldiers who attempted to rape the women be identified and brought to justice. The youth have put up road blocks and burnt tires. Additional troops were rushed to the site. At least six men, including a 60 years old man, were severely beaten by the soldiers. Mr. K. Nalliah, 60, with a broken leg, Mr. S. Parthipan, 30, Mr. T. Reegan, 25, Mr. K. Kovinthan, 40, Mr. S. Thanes, 25, and Mr. P. Ananthan, 40, were rushed to hospital, sources added. A few weeks ago, on September 07, a 57-years-old man, Mr. N. Kirubaratnam, was allegedly beaten by the soldiers and thrown in front of the camp. He later succumbed to his internal wounds, villagers said. The man who got drunk had argued with the soldiers at the camp, according to the villagers. Mediamen covering the incident, trapped between the protesting youth and the soldiers, were safely relocated by a group of advancing soldiers. Sri Lanka and United
States agree to tackle terrorism The terms cover training and technical cooperation to upgrade Sri Lanka's anti-terrorism abilities to help it deter and counter terrorism. The agreement was signed on behalf of the Sri Lankan government by the Secretary to the Ministry of Public Security, Law and Order Tilak Ranaviraja and on behalf of the United States by US Ambassador in Sri Lanka Jeffrey Lunstead. “The assistance would be provided under three basic stages. They are needs assessment, course and consultation offerings, and on-going programme reviews. The agreement also provides provision for the Sri Lankan government to use any equipment provided by the United States,” Mr. Ranaviraja said. Ambassador Lunstead said terrorism was a problem faced by both countries and goes beyond countries' borders. “Sri Lanka and the United States have worked closely in tackling terrorism in the past and looked forward to work together on a common problem,” he said. Ranil has already won: NLF leader New Left Front Leader Wickramabahu Karunaratne yesterday said UNP Presidential Candidate Ranil Wickremesinghe had already won the presidential election given the severe political crisis UPFA Candidate Mahinda Rajapakse is facing. Addressing news conference in Colombo, Mr Karunaratne said the JVP and the JHU had pushed Mr. Rajapakse towards defeat through their racist policies. Mr, Karunaratne also accused Prime Minister Rajapakse of neglecting the Bandaranaike vision just to please the JHU and the JVP – especially by angering President Chandrika Kumaratunga and Foreign Minister Anura Bandaranaike who are prominent leaders in his camp. Referring to a statement made by Mr. Wickremesinghe over the splitting of the army into six regiments, Mr. Karunaratne said what the UNP leader intended was to make the army a super force. New left Front Presidential Candidate Chamil Jayaneththi accused Mr. Rajapakse of trying to deprive the voting rights of Tamils in the LTTE controlled areas. SLA fires at Puthur protesters, seven injured Seven Tamil civilians injured and four of them were admitted
to the Jaffna Teaching Hospital Friday evening following the shooting
by soldiers of the SLA at Puttur junction at the angry crowd which pelted
stones and threw a petrol bomb at the army sentry around 3.30 p.m. The
crowd later is alleged to have set fire to an army vehicle, sources said.
SLA soldiers fired at least 250 gunshots to bring the situation under
their control. The fate of other three civilians is not known, as the soldiers did not allow them to be taken out from the site, sources said. The incident took place 1 km east of Puthur junction which is on Jaffna - Point Pedro Road. The eastbound road from Puthur Junction, Puthur-Vatharavattai Road has been blocked for all traffic by the SLA. One soldier was injured in the clash according security sources. Monitors of the SLMM did not arrive at the site till 5 p.m. Following this incident, the youths have set fire to an SLA truck close to the camp. Petrol bombs were used by the youth, police said. The fence of the SLA camp has been burnt down. Many villagers have fled the area. Tension prevails in the area. SLMC dissidents back in Hakeem’s fold Two Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) dissident members rejoined the party after the break-away Athaullah group was dissolved, the SLMC announced yesterday. Party leader Rauff Hakeem addressing the media at the handing over of SLMC membership to Ampara MP’s M. Harees and M. Azeez said they had decided to rejoin the party after expressing satisfaction on the agreement between the SLMC and the UNP. The two members will join Ranil Wickremesinghe’s Presidential election campaign at a rally today in Mutur. According to Mr. Hakeem two other members, Wanni Rehabilitation Minister Rishard Baddiudin and Deputy Minister Anwar Ismail had held similar meetings with the UNP. “The prevailing ethnic and economic issues can only be solved by Ranil Wickremesinghe. That is why we have re-joined the SLMC. We believe that the rights of the Muslims can be won by supporting him and we have faith that he will deliver on his promises. Our return will also strengthen Mr. Hakeem’s leadership,” said Mr. Harees. Mr. Hakeem said that he hoped the Supreme Court would uphold the basic human rights of those living in LTTE-controlled areas. Adding that it was the duty of the Elections Commissioner to decide if a peaceful environment for the Elections prevailed, he insisted that the SLMC would still be able to expand its vote base in the upcoming election. Challenging Ampara MP Feriel Ashraff to prove her vote base by contesting an election independently Mr. Hakeem stressed that his faction still represented the Muslim majority. ‘Week of mourning’ by displaced NE Muslims Today, internally displaced Muslims, who were evicted from the north and east by the LTTE in 1980 declared a “Week of Mourning” and commenced a signature campaign to coincide with the 15th anniversary of their eviction by the LTTE. Through these actions the community hopes to draw the attention of the United Nations, Ambassadors of Muslim countries in Sri Lanka and other nations of the world to their plight. President of the Resettlement Union Musali Division in Mannar, M.S.A. Waajith said his organisation would stage a peaceful march from Kattar to Puttalam today collecting 100,000 signatures for a petition which would be handed over to President Kumaratunge and UN General Secretary Koffi Annan Advisor to the Wanni Rehabilitation Ministry Dr. Yousuf Marikkar, himself a victim of the LTTE’s ethnic cleansing programme, told a news conference yesterday, that three years after the Ceasefire Agreement, internally displaced Muslims continued to languish in camps without basic facilities. That these people do not have faith in the peace accord is not surprising, he said. They live in very pathetic conditions without employment, political and other rights. They have lost everything and the then government failed in its duty to provide them with security, he said. Mr. Waajith said approximately 300,000 displaced Muslims lived in Puttalam, Anuradhapura, Kurunegala, Kalutara and other districts, while around 300 families resettled at Musali in Mannar and 150 of them lived in uncleared areas. He said no security could be provided to these families. Danish Princess due today Princess Alexandra Christina of Denmark will arrive in Sri Lanka today for a five day official visit. She will visit the tsunami hit areas of Hambantota, Galle and Ampara and will meet displaced persons at the camps set up by the Denmark and UNICEF, Information Department said. She will leave the country on November 4. 106 pre-election incidents The Centre for Policy Alternative (CPA) has recorded 106 pre-election incidents countrywide from October 7 to 26. According to the CPA, 39 out of 106 are major violence and 67 minor. The CPA launched its election violence monitoring in all nine provinces on October 7. With 28 incidents, the highest has been recorded in the Western Province. Southern Province recorded 22 incidents and North Western Province 18. Violence in the other provinces are: Sabaragamuwa-12, North Central-10, Uva-nine, Central-seven, Eastern-two and North-nil. One murder, 40 election offences, assault 23 along with five incidents involving firearms have been recorded by CPA. The CPA's monitoring of polls violence will continue until November 17. The final report will be released after the elections are over. EU warns of future
missions Addressing the media in Colombo on Friday, Cushnahan warned that the future requests by Sri Lanka may be ignored by the EU if the authorities fail to implement recommendations of the EOM after the November 17 presidential elections. 2004 elections The EU was however pleased that, he said, that the 2004 general election was largely conducted in a democratic manner, apart from the north and east. "I would like to once again acknowledge the contribution of the established political parties for helping bring this about. I hope that they will continue their best efforts to ensure the same will be true of the current election." The EU mission pledged to be ‘fully independent’ and to ‘honestly report’ on the outcome of the presidential elections. The observation mission was established on the invitation of Elections Commissioner, Dayananada Dissanayake. "My team and I look forward to working with all the candidates, their party supporters, civil society and especially the Election Commissioner and his staff," Cushnahan added. Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapakse and Leader of the Opposition Ranil Wickramasinghe are the main contenders of the November 17 elections. “Interact effectively with the government to control military harrassment” -Tamilselvan requests SLMM Head- “Incidents of military harrassment and provocation of civilians engaged in public demonstrations are on the increase and the SLMM need to effectively interact with the government to drive home to the military that the Tamil people who are frustrated with the unproductive Cease Fire Agreement (CFA) are engaging in demonstrations to indicate to the world the plight in which they are and act with restraint” said the Head of the Political Division Mr.S.P.Tamilselvan in a meeting with the Head of SLMM Mr.Hagrup Haukland today 28 October 2005 at the Peace Secretariat in Kilinochchi. Head of SLMM reiterated the necessity for both the parties, the GoSL and the LTTE to sit down in direct dialogue to resolve many problems related to the implementation of the CFA. Responding to Mr.Haukland, Mr.Tamilselvan said that the LTTE has been all the more willing to initiate discussions on the implementation of the CFA but Colombo is preoccupied with the presidential election and a decision has to come from Colombo. Citing instances of military excesses against peaceful demonstrators, Mr.Tamilselvan said that the LTTE had to withdraw its members from the Military occupied areas and therefore not in a position to interact with the people in the absence of security guarantees to its members. “It is therefore an urgent matter that the SLMM intervenes and create an atmosphere for our members to get back to the people in occupied areas lest they become restive” commented Mr.Tamilselvan. Many other routine issues were discussed in the meeting in which the Head of Tamil Eelam Police Mr.P.Nadesan also participated. 27 October 2005 "Ignore Sri Lankan elections," says Students Association in Jaffna In an appeal to the Tamil people, the Students’ Association
of Higher Educational Institutions, Jaffna District, has warned Tamil
voters not to be "hoodwinked" by promises of the Sri Lankan
Presidential candidates. The organisation has argued that a Tamil vote
would imply that the Tamils still trust the Sinhala leaders to resolve
the Tamil conflict. In an appeal issued Thursday evening from Jaffna,
the Students Association asked Tamils to be wary of the election promises
the candidates are making from their election propaganda platforms. "Encouraged by his extremist and nationalist supporters, Rajapakse has openly stated he would never compromise on the Unitary State, never acknowledge the existence of the traditional homeland of the Tamils and never execute the Tsunami rehabilitation plan, revealing his chauvinist stand," the Students’ appeal explains. On the other hand, the Tamil students’ body warns against the "slimy moves" of Ranil Wickremasinghe, who immediately after signing the Cease-fire Agreement three years ago, had exclaimed that with the Agreement he had prevented the LTTE from taking up arms, prevented deaths of "Sinhala soldiers" in battle field and laid an "international network to have the LTTE ostracised." Resurgence event emphasizes Vavuniya Declaration, urges EU to reconsider stand Thousands of people gathered in Vavuniya Urban Council grounds
Thursday at 3:30 p.m. to reaffirm July 27 Vavuniya Declaration. Tamil
National Alliance parliamentarians, academics, religious leaders and social
activists attended the event which also urged the European Union to reconsider
its stand on travel restrictions on Liberation Tigers officials on visiting
EU member states. Vavuniya was the venue of the initial Tamil National
Resurgence Conference that proclaimed that an environment must be created
to enable Tamils to decide their political destiny calling for the Sri
Lankan Armed forces to vacate the land and seas of NorthEast. Residents from the various parts of the Vavuniya district, including the LTTE controlled areas, attended the event. Tension prevailed in Omanthai checkpoint as a bicyle convoy from Vadamaradchi in Jaffna was blocked at the checkpoint North of Vavuynia by the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers. The youths had set off from the SLA controlled Valvetithurai in Vadaramardchi at 6:30 a.m, and passed Kilinochchi town noon. Vanni District TNA parliamentarian, Mr. Sathasivam Kanagaratnam and Jaffna District TNA parliamentarian Mr. M. Eelaventhan rushed to the checkpoint to resolve the dispute. However, the Sri Lankan soldiers mannning the checkpoint refused to allow the bicycle convoy to proceed. Although the SLA had previously agreed to keep the A9 road open till 8:00 p.m, the soldiers at the Omanthai checkpoint closed the roads at the usual time of 6 p.m. Many participants were forced to stay in Vavuniya overnight, sources said. Sri Lanka Army and Sri Lankan policemen were deployed in the town and civilians were subjected to severe checking, civil sources said. Officials including the acting Vavuniya District Government Agent, Mr. V. Visvalingam, took part in the resurgence event. No violent incidents were reported, said Vavuniya Police Officer In-Charge (OIC) Mr. AMC Abeyasinghe Banda. No polling in Tiger-held areas, says Sri Lanka Election Chief Elections Commissioner Dayananda Dissanayake today said there would be no polling in LTTE-held areas. The Commissioner said this after two presidential candidates asked the Supreme Court to halt arrangements to poll in LTTE-held areas. The two minor candidates asked for an interim order to halt the process, but in reply, Chief Justice Sarath Silva said that as the court was satisfied with the arrangements being made by the Commissioner, there is no need for an interim order to halt the process. The Commissioner said government-sponsored buses will be deployed to bring voters in uncleared areas to cast their votes at polling booths set up near the LTTE’s front line. Top LTTE leader flown to Vavuniya The senior LTTE leader who underwent treatment at a private hospital in Colombo after being seriously injured in a fierce attack between the LTTE and the Karuna faction in Batticaloa two weeks ago, was flown in an Air Force plane to Vavuniya yesterday morning. Government Peace Secretariat’s Director Communications Sharmini Serasinghe told the Daily Mirror yesterday that following a request from the LTTE through the SLMM, the government had provided a plane to airlift the LTTE member from Colombo on ‘humanitarian grounds’. She said the LTTE member was taken by road from Vavuniya to the uncleared area. The SLMM also confirmed that the LTTE member was airlifted to Vavuniya yesterday morning. On October 10, the Karuna faction ambushed a vehicle convoy of the LTTE at Vavunathivu in Batticaloa, killing at least four senior LTTE cadres and injuring several others. Two days later the seriously injured senior LTTE cadre was airlifted from Batticaloa to Ratmalana airport from where he was transported to the private hospital in an ambulance, under Army escort. Meanwhile, in another development, the body of an LTTE cadre who had died of natural causes, was taken to Batticaloa from Omanthai on Tuesday under military escort. The government Peace Secretariat had granted permission for the road movement on humanitarian grounds. LTTE invites poets to compose Thamileelam national anthem An invitation has been extended to "Tamil bards and
minstrels with patriotic afflatus" to compose a Thamileelam national
anthem. The invitation to the poets in the Northeast and among the Tamil
diaspora came in an announcement by the Media Unit of the Liberation Tigers
of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), from its base in Kilinochchi, Thursday. Poets are
given time till November 27th, the Tamil Eelam Martyrs Remembrance Day,
to give final touches to their composition. The call for a national anthem comes in the wake of the Thamileelam National Flag and the National Flower already established. The Tiger flag, leaving out the movements name in the flag, was designated as the Thamileelam National Flag by the Tigers fifteen years ago, on the Martyrs Rememberence Day in November 1990. The flower, Gloriosa Lily, was designated as Thamileelam National flower by the LTTE administration during the Martyr rememberence week in November 2003. Sri Lanka's state
radio boss switched off transmissions in rural areas The chairman has been accused by various sections of the SLBC of crippling Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa’s propaganda campaign through the government media. The engineers say the SLBC channels are not clear in rural areas after the chairman’s decision to switch off the transmissions and relay stations. “In some relay stations, the antennas are not in correct directions,” an engineer told ColomboPage on condition of anonymity. He added that if the transmission and antennas in the rural areas are not in correct mode, the outstation’s entire broadcasting exercise would be a waste. “The chairman’s objective is to block the few pro-government political programmes. At the moment, our rural listeners can not listen to SLBC any more,” an engineer added. Trade unions are angry with chairman Samarasinghe for paralyzing Sri Lanka’s largest electronic media network and warned him with trade union action if he does not correct radio transmissions immediately. Earlier, the SLBC news director also lodged a complaint against chairman Samarasinghe for assaulting him physically. SSP’s killing: Suspect released for lack of evidence The suspect arrested in connection with the killing of Police Senior Superintendent Charles Wijewardena in Jaffna, was released yesterday.The ten policemen were unable to identify the suspect Kathiramalai Vaithian alias ‘Gopi’ at an identification parade. The CID told Colombo’s Chief Magistrate Kusala Sarojin Weerawardena that the Attorney General had instructed them to release the suspect as there was insufficient evidence against him. Gopi was arrested on charges of abducting, detaining and conspiring to kill SSP Wijewardena on August 4. In the process of arresting the suspect the CID had been fired upon resulting in injuries to two police personnel.After his arrest the suspect was airlifted to Palali camp and then to Colombo as it was impossible to hold him in Jaffna. The suspect who is said to be a close associate of LTTE leader Velupillai Prabhakaran is known to be an explosives expert. Three-wheeler driver shot dead in Trincomalee Unidentified men Thursday noon shot dead the driver of a
three wheeler at Kannagipuram in Orr's Hill, suburb in Trincomalee town.
The dead has been identified as Mr.Anura Abeyaratne aged 24 a Sinhalese,
and a resident of Sumedhagama, a suburb of the east port town, Trincomalee
Police said. Mr.Arthur Tveiten, head of the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission in Trincomalee also visited the site. The Police removed the body of the dead to the mortuary of the Trincomalee base hospital, sources said. Soldiers and police immediately cordoned off the area and began search operation, police said. A group of Tamils threatened to leave Colombo A group of Tamils residing at No. 520, Kimbulapitiya, Madampitiya Road, Mutwal has complained to the Sri Lanka Human Rights Commission, the Norwegian embassy and the Head of the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission Haugruf Hockland that they were threatened by a government sponsored armed group to leave Colombo and settle in Jaffna. These hapless Tamils have not lodged a complaint with the
police for the fear of reprisals. According to the letter directed to Hockland by Dr.Jayawardane, 25 Tamil persons have come under death threats. Ready to facilitate
if parties wished Q: How will the Norwegian position be affected if a Sinhalese nationalist-backed government comes to power taking a harder line in negotiations on the peace process. A:This new Norwegian government is restating our readiness to play a role if the parties so wish. Once the elections are held we have to sit down with the parties and lay out what we can do. Then it will be up to the parties to invite us in to continue to play that role. We are ready to contribute but it really has to be owned by the parties. Under the circumstances which will lead from these elections. Q: Do you get a sense that either of these parties actually want peace? A: That is our sense. There would have been no ceasefire agreement, no initial progress if that sense hadn't been there on both sides. Q: What sort of setback was the assassination of the foreign minister, Mr Kadirgamar? A: Among the important setbacks clearly. That kind of violence on either side will always represent a setback. Q: You say either side but one side is actually a non-elected movement and the other side is an elected government? A: True but I'm trying to portray that in a process like this you have to be robust enough to deal with setbacks when they arise. They have risen before and they may certainly come again. Q: You are accused aren't you by many of your critics as being pro-Tamil in this by seeing the side of a non-elected fairly violent terror group? A: Well you know, we've been in office for a week. We are taking forward a Norwegian role as a mediator, third party facilitator and we have to play that role if it is accepted by both parties then the perceptions may shift. But critical to that kind of third party role is an acceptance by all parties and that is what we are ready to re-establish as soon as these elections are held. Q: Is there an unacceptable level of violence when you will say we will no longer be dealing with the Tamil Tigers? A: In general, our approach to this as a third party with no direct interests as a country in the conflict is to leave these key questions to the parties. If the parties are ready to seek solutions and to deal with each other with our contribution we are ready to make an effort. Q: The nub of this is that whereas general international opinion is that there should be no negotiations and no dealings with violent insurgent groups, terror groups as they're called, you are happy to sit down with the Tamil Tigers and act as a peacemaker? A: I would say the parties deal with each other and we are facilitating that.... Our offices are those of good offices and it has to be owned by the parties and if we can play a role there towards peace, less suffering for all sides we will play that role. But it is key that it has to be owned by the parties. It is the parties which have to accept the process and thus in a way accept each other. Q: And whatever the outcome... what sort of conditions are needed there now for peace? A: Generally, we should be cautious of being very detailed on that ahead of elections in a country that will hold it's own elections, but I come back to the answer that right after those elections we will from the Norwegian side sit down with the parties to see if there are conditions for us to continue to play that role. If that's the case we will play it and we will make sure that we will explain our potential to contribute but underline again that there are certain conditions they have to live up to in the way they interact with each other. Q:Have their been lost opportunities over the years? A: I don't think so, I think again this has moved that very tragic process forward towards something in the future which can be a good result for all sides. But then we have to live with the appearance of setbacks from time to time as we've seen in other conflicts. That is part of the nature of these kinds of of processes.. It is painful for the parties but hopefully at the end of that process there are also benefits which will be reaped by all sides. 26 October 2005 Tamileelam court extends remand for Sri Lanka Policemen Tamileelam courts in Kilinochchi Monday rejected bail offer | ||
