| The Bomb | The Blast | The Damage | International Condemnation |
| Sacrilage at the World Heritage Buddhist Shrine | |||
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| For more info on LTTE activities in Canada, Please Click here |
| Open letter to
British High Commissioner Nonchalant British attitude to LTTE terrorism in Sri Lanka A recent news item disclosed that the Australian government had refused entry to Anton Balasingham, said to be the political adviser of the ruthless leader of the LTTE, and his Australian wife Adele. This welcome enlightened stand presents a glaring contrast to Britain’s inscrutable, spineless attitude. On spacious legal grounds, shelter cover and protection are afforded to the sworn enemy of Sri Lanka, the LTTE movement and its leader Prabhakaran, a veritable second Hitler. |
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| INTERNATIONAL
CONFERENCE ORGANISED BY NMAT A
Declaration on Measures to Eliminate Terrorism was ratified at a conference organised by
the National Movement Against Terrorism (NMAT) held at the BMICH on 4 Jan 2000. |
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"Take
your people and go!": A reply to Father Emmanual.
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| SPUR Media Release 5, January, 2000 TERRORIST VIOLENCE IN SRI LANKA – TARGET: SRI LANKAN PM’S OFFICE TWO TAMIL TIGER SUICIDE BOMBS IN JUST AS MANY WEEKS |
| "TIME HAS COME TO DESTROY
MENACE OF TERRORISM" SAYS PRIME MINISTER SIRIMAVO BANDARANAIKE Prime Minister Sirimavo Bandaranaike issuing a message on the suicide bomb attack that took place opposite her office has said that the time has now come to destroy the menace of terrorism which has taken thousands of lives of innocent public servants and civilians. The message has further said: " It is indeed a great tragedy that some of the personnel attached to my office and an officer of the Kollupitiya Police Station have been brutally killed when a woman terrorist bomber exploded herself. I extend my deepest sympathies to the families of the dead. I also wish all those who were injured a speedy recovery. While this menace of terrorism, which killed thousands of civilians should be condemned, you will all realise that the time has now come for us to collectively get together for the total eradication of control terrorism." The Prime Minister has also appealed the public to act with patience and wisdom. Click for details |
| Kumar Ponnambalam shot dead |
Army Commander, Lieutenant General, Srilal Weerasooriya said yesterday that it is
necessary to crush terrorism militarily to bring about lasting peace to the country. |
| Call to declare Prabhakaran an
‘International terrorist’ Sunday Island : 2 Jan 2000 An organisation representing a number of Sinhala associations
based in London has appealed to all foreign |
Sri Lankan President vows to crush terror, achieve peace December 23, 1999 - Ceylon Daily News "It is with an intense and an immeasurably
deep sense of gratitude to all my Sri Lankan brothers and sisters, who |
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Prabhakaran
should give up his politics of terror and come to negotiating table - President  President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga, in an exclusive interview with the BBC, said the LTTE leader Velupillai Prabhakaran must give up his "fear of peace" and come to the negotiating table. "Prabhakaran should give up his politics of terror. He has to fight for his people with his heart and mind," President Kumaratunga told interviewer George Arney. The text of the interview: Q: - It's going to be difficult for you, isn't it. I mean what kind of effect will it have? Are you going to be afraid to go out now? A: - I'm surprised. I don't feel fear. But I don't think, I feel ... the fact that I've been saved in this way. I'm the only leader in Sri Lanka, I feel that there is something special that somebody somewhere wants me to do. Q: - You say that you feel that you've been saved for a purpose? A: - Well, you know, I was attacked on the night of 18th December. I was obviously surviving in and out of consciousness now that people say what was happening. The first thing I thought of what my children must not see me covered in blood, because they had seen their father assassinated like that. I heard people say that the people, our supporters were on the road because. It's election time trying to kill tamils and kill the UNP people because they felt the UNP was also conspiring in this whole thing. And my first reaction was go on air, tell them I don't want a single Tamil or anybody touched in vengeance. Q: What about your future dealings with the Tigers and now after what happened can you deal with them? A: We have solved all the other major problems in our country, the challenges My Government faced when we came in. This is the only one left. And I think for the sake of my country, and my people whom I love very much we have to negotiate with Prabhakaran. If he is willing to give up his devonian ways, If he is willing to give up the only weapon he knows, which is that of terror and hatred. If he is willing to come into the democratic process and sit down and talk. Apart from separating the country, I am willing to talk about anything else. Q: How likely is he to come for talks? A: I believe in great goodness of man, And I believe that the Tamil people for whom I and my Government have done so much, has to look at the truth in the face. They have to stop supporting terror. They have to stop supporting the destruction of their own people. They have to tell Prabhakaran, lad here, stop. Come to the negotiating table. And here I want to tell you something I have not said up to now. We had a honeymoon period of eight months discussing with them. We gave everything the LTTE asked for which was good for the people of Jaffna and the North. We only didn't withdraw the Army. We said if the talks are going well we will withdraw the Army. He broke down the talk. So I wrote to him. We exchanged 40 odd letters. I said we have already got on paper a series of political proposals which can end the Tamil people's problems and end the war. Shall we start discussing? He returned and started attacking. He has boxed at every point when actually and constructively we have said we are willing to discuss. And all I can say is that the LTTE does not want a political settlement. They wanted to kill me before the political settlement came in. And he also wanted to cause among the people who were already on the streets if not my call from the near dead bed. At that time they did not know whether I was not of danger. Thank God I still had my mind to talk. And probably he wold have walked in and taken over, because the Army was also very confused but I have a message for the Tamil people. There is no doubt that Mr. Prabhakaran does not want a peaceful political settlement. We have offered everything other than a separate State. We have offered the most extensive devolution. I've said we are walking to discuses quite flexibly on what is on the table. We have offered equal opportunities, and Bills and all kinds of thing for the Tamil people. I've ensured that not a single Tamil has been touched for the last five years under all the provocations that the LTTE was making to make Sinhala people kill Tamil people like, under the last Government. We have protected them. Whenever it comes to discussing a political settlement he evades and kills. Q: He wants to fight on? A: Yes, he wants to fight on. Probably I believe the Sri Lankan Tamils abroad who are living in their isolated, luxury in ivory towers, they have to take a decision in this moment of decision. I am talking to them with the wounds my on face. I have does so much for them, I don't know why they cannot see and think. They are being influenced by lies spread by the LTTE. I am not telling them to hate their leader as he hates me. All I am saying is persuade him that he has to give up his politics of the terror. It's terrible he has to fight for his people with his heart and mind. He has to come to the negotiation table. He has to give up this fear of peace. He has an obsessive fear of peace. Q: Why do you think Tamils living abroad could bring any influence on Mr. Prabhakaran? A: Because they are financing him. And he buys arms with their money. Now, I would like to tell you something. Since mid 1997 ... I have agreed to two international facilitators who have been shuttling in up and down between the LTTE and my Government trying to bring them to the negotiating table. They have refused completely. Q: Could you tell me who those negotiators have been? A: Yes, I think I will say that today. The first one was the chief Emeka Anyoku, the Secretary General of the Commonwealth, and finally after one and half years they refused him like hot potatoes saying 'we dot want to talk to him? No reason given. The Norwegian Government has been talking with Mr. Balasingham in London. They kept them dangling again and said we will see after the Election. I said if they say that they are going to definitely try and get me. So all I want to say is we have used two respectable international facilitators. It's a lie that they want to discuss, they have not discussed. Q: After your swearing in as President for the second time you asked Ranil Wickremesinghe your opponent in the Presidential race to join hands with you. What exactly did you mean by that? You are asking him to join a Government of national unity. A: Mr. Ranil Wickremesinghe must prove to the people of my country that he can work in a mature way with an honest, sincere, committed Government like mine, to solve this problem together, inviting the LTTE. I don't mind with Prabhakaran or whoever comes, we will talk and solve the problem. Thereafter we can have a National Government together. Q: After your terrible experience do you feel more optimistic or less optimistic about the chances for bringing peace back to Sri Lanka? A: I have a message, for my countrymen and perhaps for the world. This happened to me exactly seven days before the birth of the prince of the peace, just seven days before Christmas. I have been attacked with the weapons of the hatred and terror. But somehow I have been spared to live to talk of love and compassion and forgiveness. And I think this is a moment for all of us to rise to a high point of human spirituality where nothing else matters, more than the advancement of man through the use of his man's most noblest possessions, his mind and heart. |
LTTE's
suicide bomb attacks to assassinate both Chandrika and Ranil
The Federal Government of Australia has turned down a request to visit Australia by the chief ideologue of the LTTE Tamil Tigers, and his Australian wife, just weeks before the suicide bomb blast to assassinate both the Sri Lankan President, Chandrika Kumaranatunga and the Oppossition Leader Ranil Wickramasinghe
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MEDIA RELEASE - 8 September 1999 |
Yes, LTTE is in the US Terrorists List
List of Foreign Terrorist Groups (Washington Post : 8 Oct 1999)
Multi-Religious Complex at Muthurajawela
SRI LANKA AND A "SEPARATE TAMIL KINGDOM"?
KENNETH FERNANDO AND THE AUSTRALIAN TIGERS
Comments by SPUR - Foreign Correspondent (FC) Program on Jaffna, Sri Lanka on 29 June 1999
| Open Letter to Dr. Liam Fox M.P., Shadow Secretary of State, United Kingdom |
Please visit the Web Page of Sri Lankan High Commission in Australia |
New Website - Reality of Sri Lanka
LTTE's attack on Madhu Church |
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News from Rajiv Gandhi Assassination |
| LTTE violates pledge not to
recruit child soldiers UN Under-Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflicts Olara Otunnu last week accused the LTTE of violating its pledge to the international community not to recruit child soldiers. 'According to reports reaching my office, they continue recruiting children below 17', Otunnu said in an exclusive interview with the Daily News. 'Even I receive information on abduction of schoolchildren by the LTTE in Northern Sri Lanka,' he said. |
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| Nanuoya
track blasted Sunday Times : 3 Oct 1999 The rail track close to the Nanuoya railway station was blasted in an explosion last evening, disrupting upcountry train services, Railway sources said. They said the blast took place 20 minutes before a train passed the place and railway workers had been sent to the area to carry out repairs. |
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| Please visit the Sub-Web Page of Dr Neelan Thiruchelvam of TULF | LTTE ASSASSINATES MODERATE TAMIL LEADER (Sri Lanka News Update : 1 Aug 1999) | Balasingham, Fox and the Swiss Government | Multi-Religious Complex at Muthurajawela |
| Daily News : Wednesday 29, September 1999 Tigers exposed in Swiss newspaper 'LTTE condemning Lankan Tamil community to intellectual paralysis' K. Srithavan, a Sri Lankan Tamil mathematician who fled Tiger-held Jaffna and lived among the Sinhalese for nearly 10 years before emigrating to Europe, has exposed the terror tactics of the LTTE in an interview granted to the influential Swiss publication Le Courrier. The interview, which appeared on September 18, 1999, was titled `A Tamil Professor Denounces the Terror of the Tigers'. "The recent murder of MP Neelan Tiruchelvam- to be added to the list of murders of other moderate elected Tamil officials from our community, such as the previous mayors of Jaffna, shows that they do not value peace or nor do they value democracy. What is the point of gaining independence if it is to live in a fascist State thereafter ?". The following is a translation of Michael Roy's interview with Srithavan: Because they were at the center of the reflection about the totalitarian drift of the armed movement for independence of the "Liberation Tigers" in the 1980s, some Tamil intellectuals who were militating in favour of Human Rights have had to flee. Such was the case for the mathematician K. Srithavan, who took shelter for ten years in the southern part of the country, and who explains the Tigers' strategy of action. Hence, by means of terror and threats, the movement has restrained all inclination for discord in the Tamil community. But the Tigers are not the only ones to be pointed out. Intellectuals are also denouncing the exactions of the Sri Lankan armed forces and the officials silence surrounding them since 1995. A Tamil professor is denouncing the terror of the Tigers INTERVIEW: Living in hiding for the past ten years in the Southern part of Sri Lanka, a Tamil militant for Human Rights explains the totalitarian drift of the armed movement for independence. In Sri Lanka, one does not criticise the Tamil movement for independence with impunity. Even though one belongs to these people and one is only trying to describe the excesses of the Liberation Tamil Tigers of Eelam (LTTE). How do you explain the fact that when there are demonstrations of the Tamil community in Europe, the participants come massively and wave LTTE flags? What the Tigers have done in Sri Lanka, they have easily reproduced among the diaspora. Using terror and threats, they are condemning the Sri Lankan Tamil community to intellectual paralysis by preventing all forms of dissension. It is especially easy among the refugees abroad since they are in fact considered as traitors for having fled. These 'traitors' can make amends by complying with the demands of the LTTE, giving money, participating to the demonstrations, supporting the cause... and most of all, by not criticising the Tigers. In Paris, an emancipated journalist was killed. In Canada, violence was used against another one. The list of threats and retaliations is long. When a person shows some hesitation, the LTTE will then forward a message saying that they know the whereabouts of his family in Jaffna... These intimidation techniques are slowly but surely making their way. It is especially easy, since when one obeys the Tigers, one can live without problems abroad. Besides, most of the refugees have a better life in Europe than they did in Sri Lanka. A lot of them do not want to be sent back to their country. In that regard, they are better off if the war keeps going on. In 1995, the LTTE broke off the peace dialogue, claiming that the Government did not take them seriously. What do you think about that? That is a complete lie! Back then, President Chandrika Kumaratunga had won the election upon the basis of her commitment for peace. In the South, the Sinhalese population was in her favour, as it was starting to grow really tired of the war and its disastrous implications on the economy. As for the LTTE, they kept on demanding military concessions during the peace talks - which were difficult to accept on the part of the Army - without considering a global solution, acceptable as much for the Sinhalese community as for the Tamils. The problem with the LTTE is that they do not accept anything other than separation and independence. In the course of the past few years, the nationalist cause has been identified and considered to be sacred with its leader Prabhakaran. The elite of the "Black Tigers" responsible for the suicide-attacks, take the oaths in person before the leader. There is a somewhat religious aspects to the ritual. LTTE fighters are sometimes sent to the front on some targets that are purely symbolic, just so people will talk about the LTTE abroad or in order to keep the troops still motivated after a period of inaction. They will not hesitate to deliberately gather some civilians on some strategic locations, so that if the Army attacks them, they can then denounce everywhere a blind blood bath. In other words, so many people have been sacrificed in the name of Eelam - the precious land - that today, Prabharakan can no longer accept anything other than independence. He presents himself as entrusted with a sacred mission. And those who do not follow him, are considered as impure and deserve to be eliminated. As for me, I blame the Tigers for not giving our community the right to choose freely its future. If the community thinks that independence is worth fighting a war against the Sri Lankan State, then it becomes a democratic decision, and I can no longer challenge its legitimacy. However, I can assure you that if we were to let the community decide between the federalist option without war or the armed conflict for independence, 99% of the Tamils would vote in favour of the first solution. Your are referring to the "peace package" proposed by the government at the beginning of its mandate. What happened to it? The initial project was completely washed out. The problem comes from the fact that there are two major parties in Sri Lanka which are alternatively assuming power. But, neither one of these parties wants that the other reaps the benefit of peace agreement for the country under its presidency. In Parliament, each one has the necessary means to block the necessary constitutional reform. The project of the Government elected in 1994 was to go back to some sort of Federal State. As I mentioned it before, it was then an auspicious time for peace. As for the LTTE - all wrapped up in its 'going all the way' logic - they broke off negotiations and picked up their weapons rather than trying to get some additional concessions. As a result, the whole political climate in the South has changed. From the moment the State was forced to go back into war, Sinhalese people were no longer ready to be flexible with the Tamil expectations. In other respects, discords between the two major parties rose again, particularly concerning the strategy to follow. It is unfortunate, because I remain convinced that a determined and creative Government can fight the opportunist opposition of its rival, with the support from the population, if peace hands in the balance. One can win over the support of the Tamil community through the actual implementation of measures of autonomy. That was only, and not the military way, can we beat the LTTE. I believe it is vain to want to try negotiating directly with the Tigers. The recent murder of Tamil Parliamentarian Neelan Tiruchelvam - to be added to the list of murders of other moderate elected Tamil officials from our community, such as the previous murders of the mayors of Jaffna - shows that they do not value peace nor do they value democracy. What is the point of gaining independence if it is to live in a fascist State thereafter. |
Another 2 Bombs in Negombo
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Click Sunday Times : 26 Sept for details |
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| Whither
the Tamil conscience? by Radhika Coomaraswamy (Island : 22 Sept 1999) Note
from SPUR: Radika Comarasawamy is the United Nations Special Rapportuer on
violence against Women and is a well known Human Rights activist. She has completed an
exhaustive report on Violence against Women which is being |
At least 58 Sinhalese villagers, including women and children, were butchered by armed LTTE ultras in eastern Ampara district, in the wee hours today. The victims were dragged from their sleep and butchered. Those who tried to seek refuge in the nearby dense jungles were chased and killed. Terrorists struck at three villages of Kalpengala and Bedirekka of Ampara about 270 km from here at about 4 a.m. At least 47 people were killed in one village while seven others were killed in two other villages.
March for Peace by USLA New Zealand
International Conference on Measures against Terrorism (21 Dec 1999 at
BMICH in Sri Lanka)
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| Please visit the Sub-Web Page of Dr Neelan Thiruchelvam of TULF | LTTE ASSASSINATES MODERATE TAMIL LEADER (Sri Lanka News Update : 1 Aug 1999) | Balasingham, Fox and the Swiss Government | Multi-Religious Complex at Muthurajawela |
| Tamil
Sports Festival Velauthan (27) charged on three counts Biganathan Velauthan a 27 year old unemployed Tamil youth is being charged in the Ealing Magistrate's Court on 9th September on three counts - one for possession of a section 1 firearm (presumably hand gun), causing bodily grievous hurt and possession of two stolen credit cards. This is sequel to the incident that took place on August 30th Bank holiday when the United Tamil's Organisation held the 4th Annual Tamil Cricket and Sports Festival in Southall, West London. A second suspect has been directed to report to the Southall Police station in 3 weeks time. Scotland Yard officials confirmed that the Police was called shortly after 4.30 p.m. when information was received that a man has been shot in the leg. |
| No
talks before polls: LTTE The LTTE had told the late A C S Hameed that it would not hold talks with the Sri Lankan government before the national elections next year, it is reliably learnt. |
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LTTE violence for the first time spread to London |
| Police
seize 42 kg of LTTE explosives from Badulla Police seized 42 kilograms of high explosives from a suspected hideout of Tamil tiger rebels in a tea-growing area, thus averting an attack on th capital. |
| Sri Lanka's
Ambassador to US says UK ignores Tamil rebels Tamil Tiger rebels, considered a 'terrorist' group by Sri Lanka and the US State Department, have openly operated a base in London to fund the group's activities, said Sri Lanka's Ambassador to the United States, Warnasena Rasaputram.
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| Five Tamil
leaders immediate targets of LTTE, warns Amnesty Sri Lanka's Tamil Tiger guerillas have targeted Tamil politicians for assassinations, the London-based human rights group Amnesty International warned Wednesday. |
| LTTE
cannot kill peace, says - Inderfurth US assistant secretary of state in charge of South Asia Karl Indurfurth has said LTTE's attempts to kill the peace process in Sri Lanka by assassinating moderate Tamil leaders would not be successful and forces of peace would eventually prevail in the island nation. |
Anton Balasingham, Dr Liam Fox and the Swiss Government |
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UK urged to arrest LTTE leader | Chinthana Parsadaya calls for legal action against Balasingham | |
Balasingham’s Swiss visa refusal widely welcomed (Island : 12 Aug 1999) | Balasingham, Fox and the Swiss Government (15 August 199) |
| LTTE car bomb threat to Sonia Gandhi | Sonia faces death threat from LTTE (Island : 26 May 1999) | Click here to see how LTTE killed Rajiv Gandhi | LTTE plotting to assassinate Sonia Gandhi? (Island : 28 May 1999) | ||
| Island : 12 Aug 1999 Balasingham’s Swiss visa refusal widely welcomed The refusal of the Swiss Embassy in London to grant a visa to the LTTE’s theoretician Anton Balasingham, to visit Switzerland this week to attend a series of LTTE organised events was widely welcomed in Sri Lanka. A spokesman of the Swiss embassy in Colombo said that the London Embassy would not have turned down the visa application without consulting the police in Switzerland. Sri Lanka’s National Movement Against Terrorism [NMAT] last Saturday [7] wrote to Switzerland’s Ambassador in Colombo protesting against the LTTE organised demonstration at the United Nations against the Sri Lankan government. A senior NMAT spokesman yesterday said that although the LTTE was able to hold their protest as scheduled, Switzerland’s refusal to permit Anton Balasingham to take part in the Geneva protest was welcome. Foreign Ministry sources and NMAT’s Champaka Ranawaka said that it was a move in the right direction. |
| LTTE
delays land route opening The opening of a land route to and from the LTTE controlled region would be delayed by at least 24 hours. ICRC’s Information Officer Harha Gunewardene last night said that the exit and the entry point to the uncleared region would be available hopefully by Monday. Vavuniya Government Agent K. Ganesh is making arrangements to send 500 people and 10 lorry loads of supplies to the uncleared region, Gunawardene said. |
| Lankan
government ready to talk to LTTE despite 'atrocities' COLOMBO: The Sri Lankan government has said that despite the long list of 'atrocities' committed by the LTTE, it was still open to talks with the rebel outfit to find a peaceful settlement to the country's ethnic war, if the latter renounced its 'violent campaign' for a separate Tamil Eelam and agreed to work for a political solution, reports PTI. Sri Lanka's permanent representative to the UN HMGS Palikahara, conveyed the government's stand to the UN Commission on Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities (PDPM) in Geneva on Wednesday, a foreign ministry release issued here said. |
| MEDIA RELEASE MINISTER FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS ALEXANDER DOWNER FA 87 3 August 1999 Dr Neelan Tiruchelvam |
Australia should ban LTTE - SPUR
| LTTE Tamil Tiger Suicide bomber kills another Tamil Leader, Dr Neelan Thiruchelvam of TULF |
| Island : 27 July 1999 Jayalath, Wickramabahu and other "Singhalese" Judas by Asoka Subhawickrama, Public Officer - Society for Peace, Unity and Human Rights for Sri Lanka (SPUR) We were not amused by the pilgrimage of Dr. Jayalath Jayawardana and Dr. Wickramabahu Karunaratna to the Tiger "Conference" in Ottawa. As for Wickramabahu we do not intend to waste our energy; he is just a wondering jew in the political desert and no sane person takes him seriously. However, Jayalath is a MP from one of the two largest national parties in Sri Lanka and requires attention. |
25 July 1999
Your Excellency, Multi-Religious Complex at Muthurajawela |
| Statement by John Murphy (Labor MP for Lowe) in Australia | |||
| A letter to Hon.
Kim Beazley, MP Leader of the Opposition, regarding the statement made by Hon John Murphy MP |
Update on Human Rights from Sri Lanka High Commission in Canberra | Open reply to Hon John Murphy MP by SPUR | |
| The Supreme Court yesterday (16 July 1999) granted leave to proceed in a fundamental rights petition filed by members of the National Movement Against Terrorism (NMAT) and some residents of Nuwara Eliya against the transfer of SSP Pujitha Jayasundera following a confrontation between the NMAT and the CWC supporters during an anti terrorism campaign by the former in Nuwara Eliya on 29th April. |
| KENNETH FERNANDO AND
THE AUSTRALIAN TIGERS (Following is a report of Rt Rev Kenneth Fernando’s sermon and the informal discussion thereafter at St Anne’s Church, Homebush Road, Strathfield, NSW 2135, Australia on 23 June 1999. Rt Rev Kenneth Fernando, Bishop of Colombo, is the highest ranking pontiff of the Anglican denomination in Sri Lanka. The total number of Anglicans is only half a percent of the population of Sri Lanka. About 80% of Sri Lankan Anglicans are Tamil by ethnicity. However, with funds from UK where the headquarters are located (and where Henry VIII founded the denomination in the 16 th Century) the church wields some power in the social and political scene in Sri Lanka.)
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| Thanking the
parents for their valiant children The Sri Lankan youth are as dedicated to our Land as any - anywhere else. Sacrifices are made so that we can live in peace -- of mind and body. Who do we have to thank for that? Minister of Irrigation and Power and Deputy Minister of Defence Gen. Anuruddha Ratwatte never forgets to thank the parents of our youth who are in the Armed Forces, because it is they who educate their children with just social and religious values. They make the sacrifice of seeing their young sons pack their bags and march off to war. Some young men pay the supreme sacrifice and leave their parents proud yet empty in their hearts for the loss of a child can be the greatest of sufferings. |
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| "I want to live, not die for something called
liberation that’s no where near" Island : 8 July 1999 (by Kesara Abeywardena) My company leader brutally assaulted me and later shot me as I refused to swallow a cyanide capsule when the Ranagosa troops rounded us up said sixteen year old J. Weerasingham Sujata of the LTTE Women’s Battalion who was undergoing treatment at the Colombo Army Hospital yesterday. "I want to live, not die for something called liberation that’s no where near" she said with tear washed eyes. Sujata and a host of other children were forcefully recruited by the LTTE in December 1998 while at school. She was studying in year 10 at the Jaffna Muthiyangi Government Tamil school. "We were taken to the Natchikudi camp where we received one and a half months rigorous training in rifle and RPG guns. We were not treated well and food was not sufficient. Our leaders kept saying that we should sacrifice ourselves for the cause which is an illusion I think." Sujata is from the Karavadi village in Jaffna. Her father is a farmer and she has an elder sister, a younger brother and a younger sister in her family. Although she had been with the LTTE for around six months this was the first time she had participated in active combat. "I can remember there were around 100 of us women cadres when the army ambushed us in the night. Our leader decided that all of us should commit suicide and blasted ourselves with grenades. I was unconscious and suffering from severe wounds till late evening the next day when the army found me and another girl," she said. She also said that there were many children and teenagers forcefully recruited by the LTTE in its armed troops. " We were suffering a lot. We were not allowed to see our families and those who wanted to leave the LTTE were not allowed and some who fled were killed," she added. J. Weerasingham Sujata is only another victim suffering from this fierce war dragging on for more that seventeen years. Thousands of children have suffered the same fate during the past years. In the adjoining bed to Sujata was 27 year old Pathmanathan Selvanayagam of Puthur Jaffna who was crying out in pain due to the wounds he had suffered. " I was travelling on a motor bike when a member of the LTTE stopped me and got into the backseat. Near an army check point the soldiers identifying the LTTE member fired at us and I got wounded," he said. A father of two children he said that it was because of the LTTE member that he got wounded. "The LTTE is continuously using innocent civilians as shields for their activities" he added. |
| The Madhu
Church Feast By Nalin de Silva In this article I wish to discuss the article"Hidden Dangers of the Madhu feast" by Mr. Jeyaraj and an interview given by Bishop Rayappu Joseph to the Sunday Times of 27th June. Mr. Jeyaraj in his article points out the risks that the Sinhala Catholics would have to take if they were to go to Madu this year after a lapse of more than ten years. The government may have been interested in seeing that many Sinhala pilgrims went to Madu this year due to political reasons. However it cannot be denied that due to the military operations under the present government the Sinhala Catholics are now in a position to go to Madu after a long period. There is nothing wrong if the government claims credit for that achievement, which after all is a fact. Why should we prevent the government from taking credit for what they have done? Has the government politicised Madu by making way for the Sinhala Catholics to attend the feast? It was the LTTE, which politicised Madu by having their camps in the vicinity of the church. |
600 civilians flee from LTTE controlled area to Government controlled area
| The reply to Prof. A. J. V. Chandrakanathan's (Concordia University, Montreal, Canada) open letter sent to the UNDP | According to reports in the Australian press, controversial umpire Darrell Hair received a death threat from LTTE | Unilateral Declaration of Independence ploy of LTTE Eeelamists fails (25 April 1999) | Procession and Rally held on 20 May 1999 organised by NMAT Terrorism Vs National Movement Against Terrorism Sinhala Veera Vidhanaya Vs The politician |
|
NMAT IS
ORGANIZING A MUSICAL TO STRENGTHEN OUR NATIONAL FEELINGS, |
| The final judgment (Frontline : Volume 16 - Issue 11, May. 22 - June 04, 1999) | A mystery solved (Frontline : Volume 16 - Issue 11, May. 22 - June 04, 1999 | A commendable role (Frontline : Volume 16 - Issue 11, May. 22 - June 04, 1999) | Out of the TADA net (Frontline : Volume 16 - Issue 11, May. 22 - June 04, 1999) |
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| Amnesty International - News Release - IOR 42/06/99 10 June 1999 WORLD USA leads in blocking efforts to stop use of child soldiers |
| Balasingham shifts to U.K.
Hindu : 9 June 1999 By D.B.S. Jeyaraj ONTARIO (Canada), JUNE 8. Anton Stanislaus Balasingham, theoretician and political adviser to the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), has shifted his base to London from the northern Sri Lankan mainland of Wanni, according to Tiger circles. |
FALLEN PATRIOT Honourable Vijaya Gunawardana, 1998 SPUR President was laid to rest on Thursday the 3 June 1999 in Glenroy, Victoria with the attendance of the largest number of Sri Lankan mourners ever seen in Australia. |
Amnesty International has accused the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) of reneging on the pledge they made to the United Nation’s special representative on children, Olara Ottunu, last year in May that they would not recruit children under the age of seventeen as fighters. |
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| Amnesty opposes child Tigers COLOMBO: Amnesty International has launched a campaign against the recruitment of child soldiers by Sri Lanka's Tamil Tiger rebels and called for a global halt to underage warriors. Amnesty, in a report sent here on Sunday, said the separatist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) continued to ``forcibly recruit'' children as young as 14 despite a promise not to do so. |
| Thai P.M., Lanka F.M. join
hands to combat Tiger activities Prime Minister Chuan Leekpai of Thailand assured Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar in Bangkok on Friday, May 28 that Thailand would fully cooperate to stop weapons and other logistical supplies from Thailand reaching the LTTE and will not permit any group to use its territory for subversive activity against Sri Lanka. Minister Kadirgamar is on a tour of South East Asia seeking assistance from friendly governments to interdict arms supplies destined for Sri Lanka. A press release issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday said: |
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| Suicide LTTE bomber kills top EPRLF leader |
| CAMBODIAN
HELP ASSURED IN DEALING WITH THE LTTE'S ARMS, HUMAN AND NARCOTICS SMUGGLING OPERATIONS IN
THE REGION News from Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Sri Lanka |
| UTHR (J) ACCUSES LTTE OF USING TAMIL
CHILDREN AS CANNON FODDER News from Ministry of Foreign Affairs The University Teachers for Human Rights (UTHR
Jaffna) has accused the LTTE of turning little Tamil children into cheap cannon fodder, in
a move that was only bringing progressive ruin on the Tamil people. Media reports quoting
the latest bulletin of UTHR (J), have said that the LTTE is in the process of destroying
itself and is experiencing its worst ever manpower shortage. Quoting the bulletin, reports
further said that like every fascist movement, the LTTE will run the course of destroying
itself, and that it is also characteristic of them that in their final inferno they try to
take large numbers of their own people down with them. The bulletin has been quoted as
saying that the LTTE always administered the supplies of essential goods sent by the
Government keeping its military needs in view and profited from black marketeering and
artificially creating shortages. Meanwhile, media reports have said that according to
latest reports from Jaffna, the LTTE in a desperate effort at creating a fear psychosis
have sent out warnings to Government offices and the Petroleum Corporation to remain
closed on |
Sri Lanka: The Victim Of
Vicious Propaganda & Tiger Terror
to the The Editor |
| LTTE shuts door on religious
peace delegation Hindustan Times : 29 May 1999 A 200-member delegation of the high-profile Buddhist-Christian clergy from south Sri Lanka, which went to Wanni to meet LTTE leaders Tamilchelvam and Karikalan, has come back disappointed because Tiger leaders refused to meet them, sources say. |
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| PLOTE-TELO clash over tax
collections Hindu : 24 May 1999 COLOMBO, MAY 23. Shattering all semblances of normality, armed cadres of the People's Liberation Organisation of Tamil Eelam (PLOTE) and the Tamil Eelam Liberation Organisation (TELO) entered a phase of internecine killings recently, culminating in the bombing of a PLOTE office in Vavuniya and a token disarming of the cadres of both groups by the Sri Lankan Army last week. |
| Meeting with
Laos PM Kadirgamar voices concern over LTTE activity Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirga-mar last week expres-sed concern over possible LTTE activity in the region when he called on the Laos Prime Minister Sis-avath Keobounphanh, Foreign Mi-nistry said in a statement issued yesterday. Kadirgamar last Thursday began a ten day tour of Indo-China which will take him to Laos. Viet-nam, Cambodia and Thailand. |
The reply to Prof. A. J. V. Chandrakanathan's (Concordia University, Montreal, Canada) open letter sent to the UNDP Dear Prof. Chandrakanthan, Your open letter to Ms. Lisa Hiller of the UNDP does not reflect the temper of a theologian or an impartial academic because the contents confirm that it is an outright tirade against UNDP report for not taking sides - meaning your Tamil separatist side. We do not believe that the UNDP report is biased one way or other. It is the duty of international organisations like the UNDP to be objective in their analyses and if, in the course of performing their duties, their findings are not to your liking it is unfair to blame the organisation or the writer of bias. But if, as you say, the report goes against the separatist politics of your elusive "Tamil nation" then it is your duty to examine why it is so and not blame Ms. Hiller or the UNDP for it. |
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Postscript Minster Saumyamurti Thondaman, immediately after the fracas in Nuwara Eliya, sought intervention of President Kumaranatunge to consolidate his anarchic stance. In his letter to the President, he attributes the rally to Sinhala Weeravidhanaya – A society of Sinhala patriots, and not to National Movement against Terrorism, the movement actually involved in organizing the rally. Points in his letter taken from SUNDAY TIMES, 9th May 1999, pg.10: ? His party would reconsider its’ decision to support the Governing People’s Alliance Party in the forthcoming elections if this situation is not resolved. (In the Central Province, Minister Thondaman’s CWC holds balance of power with six members – Estate Tamil Block Vote.) |
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Cricket
Umpire Receives a Death |
| How
the Red Cross double crossed Govt and gave arms to LTTE Daily News : 12 May 1999 Arrest of Eeswaranathan: |
| Death
sentence confirmed for four Hindu : 11 May 1999 NEW DELHI, MAY 11. The Supreme Court today confirmed the death sentence on four of the 26 accused in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case, reduced to life imprisonment the sentence on three others and acquitted the remaining 19. The four sentenced to death are Nalini, Santhan, Murugan and Perarivalan. Robert Pyas (Accused-9), Jayakumar (A- 10) and Ravichandran (A-16) were sentenced to life imprisonment. |
| Lanka
government paper compliments Karunanidhi for crackdown on LTTE Indian Express : 11 May 1999 COLOMBO: A Sri Lankan state-owned newspaper today complemented the Tamil Nadu chief minister and DMK president M. Karunanidhi for carrying on with the crackdown against the LTTE and asked the island government to "foster and consolidate" political ties with Tamil Nadu. In a lengthy editorial, the "Daily News" said Karunanidhi's recent statement that the Indian security forces had considerably reduced the activities of the LTTE and its supporters in Tamil Nadu reflected how the Indian national interest reigned supreme in the minds of India's political decision makers, reports PTI. |
| Maths teacher taken into custody
at Nugegoda Daily News : 11 May 1999 The Intelligence Gathering Unit (IGU) of the Mt Lavinia Police unravelled in investigations that a maths teacher taken into custody at an army check-point at Nugegoda on suspicion on February 26, was one of the key suspects wanted in connection with last year's Dalada Maligawa bomb explosion, reliable police sources said. |
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| Police question
Sri Lankan on Melbourne Hindu temple fire Daily News : 11 May 1999 San Francisco, May 9 - Melbourne police have questioned a Sri Lankan man to determine if he was involved in the firebomb that was thrown into a Vinayaka temple in Knox on March 18. Senior Detective Marcus Boorman, contacted from here on the telephone, said that police are preparing a so-called "brief of evidence" against the Sri Lankan to present to a magistrate, who will determine if there is enough evidence to file charges against him. Click here for full details |
REF: DISROBING THE LTTE WOLF Dear Jack, On behalf of the U.S. citizens of Sri Lankan descent who are resident in Houston, Texas; and who are extremely concerned about the restoration of peace in our beloved motherland, I wish to make some specific comments on the recent attempt by Kathir Ravichandran to ‘pull wool over the Australian eyes’ by capitalising on the Kosovo situation, and I also wish to make general observations on the LTTE propaganda machinery on the International scenario. Ravichandran and many other LTTE propagandists living in Australia are attempting to draw a parallel to the unfortunate plight of ethnic Albanians in Kosovo to that of Tamils living in Sri Lanka. Rather than being gullible to the blatant lies of these propagandists, if anyone looks a little deeper into the situation of the two countries, it is apparent to any sensible person who goes by factual evidence, that the so-called liberator of the Tamil people - Velupillai Prabhakaran, could be compared with Milosevic, as he is the one responsible for ‘ethnic cleansing’ by large scale murder of non-Tamil civilians in his attempt to carve out a hypothetical ‘Tamil Homeland’ within Sri Lanka. In fact he is even worse than Milosovic, as he has murdered thousands of Tamils from the simple farmer to the Tamil intelligentsia and Tamil politicians, who were in disagreement with his agenda. Under Prabhakaran’s directive, the LTTE assassins have gunned down or mercilessly assaulted many Tamils living in other countries, who have been bold enough to publicly denounce his murderous methods. Prabhakaran forcibly drove out the entire Tamil population of Jaffna (northern peninsula of the island) of more than half million people, and used them as a ‘human shield’ from the advancing government troops. Later, this entire population returned to Jaffna and requested the troops to remain there, in order to protect them from the wrath of this murderer, who has been compared to Hitler and Pol Pot. It has been clearly stated by U. N. agencies that more Tamils have been killed by Prabhakaran than by anyone else. Factual evidence clearly indicates that it is Prabhakaran and his followers who carry out systematic ethnic cleansing in Sri Lanka, and he is also the real perpetrator of the Tamil people. The attempt to make use of the Kosovo situation by LTTE supporters for their propaganda, is nothing but an insult to the intelligence of the Australian public. The LTTE set up a very successful international propaganda system at a very early stage, when they first commenced their brutal objective, which became so efficient to cover up their foul deeds and portray them as being committed by the government troops or the Sinhala community. They became very clever at portraying themselves as the victimised under-dog. This ploy became extremely successful in the western nations, India, United States, Canada and Australia, so much so that LTTE created a major infrastructure to support their war effort back in Sri Lanka, even with covert assistance of the governments of some of these countries. However, to their grief many of these countries realised that unknowingly they have been tricked to allow a virulent form of cancer to grow within their shores. India paid a supreme price when their former Prime Minister was eliminated by the LTTE. Canada and many western countries were plagued by the lawlessness of LTTE cadres, running amok with their narco-terrorist activities. United States took a firm lead to curb the spread of this cancer, by declaring LTTE to be a Terrorist Organisation and banning it. Many other countries followed suit to prevent LTTE from carrying out their foul deeds within their shores, on realising that these are "Wolves in sheep’s clothing". Without mincing words, we must state that it is beyond our comprehension how the LTTE murderers find a safe haven in Australia, and how the LTTE propagandists continue to test the patience and intelligence of the Australian government and its people, with their false campaigns. Sincerely,
Please visit Save Our Sri Lanka from Terrorism (USA) Web Site |
| New
London-based LTTE publication detected Daily News : 11 May 1999 The Intelligence Gathering Unit (IGU) of the Mt Lavinia Police detected a new London-based LTTE publication believed to be circulated among former militant organisations in a bid to induce them to take up arms again, police said. The publication which is called 'Thamil Eelam,' and giving a London address as its place of publication comprises eight pages and gives a Marxist bent, the sources said. |
| Prabhakaran well, says LTTE HIndu : 10 May 1999 COLOMBO, MAY 9. A senior LTTE field commander has denied reports
about its chief, V. Prabhakaran, suffering from a serious kidney ailment, saying the LTTE
leader had just recovered from a bout of fever. |
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| Tamils’
silence over Jaffna mass grave raises questions |
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