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Saturday, 07 August 2010 09:12 AM 

The Tamil Diaspora is sharply divided over a post-war strategy

LTTE ship, carrying at least 24 LTTE cadres and hardcore leaders - The government says the LTTE rump can play a pivotal role in the ongoing rehabilitation, reconstruction and resettlement process in the Northern Region following winning over KP and obtaining his cooperation. Authoritative sources say one-time LTTE heavyweight KP is now working with the government to bring relief to the war displaced as well as those ex-combatants held at rehabilitation facilities. KP twice visited rehabilitation facilities and there are indications that the government may take a group of Colombo-based diplomats and defence attaches to meet those undergoing rehabilitation. Sources said that KP, who had been responsible for running one of the biggest clandestine arms smuggling operations against successive Sri Lankan government succeeded Prabhakaran shortly after the army finished off the LTTE on the banks of the Nanthikadal lagoon in May last year. Sri Lankan Intelligence Services apprehended him in the first week of August last year. Government sources dismissed opposition assertion that giving KP an opportunity to work with the state machinery in a post-LTTE era posed a threat to national security. They said that those who genuinely called for reconciliation should be happy about the new development as there was a great opportunity for the Tamil Diaspora to get involved in the development process. In an exclusive interview with this writer last Wednesday, KP at his first meet with the media since his apprehension by government agents last August, expressed confidence that the Tamil Diaspora would join government efforts though many felt that would never be possible. He asserted that the destruction of the LTTE’s military capability should compel the Diaspora and the Tamil speaking people to review their approach for their own benefit. Failure to realize the ground situation and act accordingly would be catastrophic, he said (Island : 31 July 2010).

Suicide Bombers of the LTTE and Posttraumatic Phenomenon - Dr Ruwan M Jayatunge M.D - Suicide attack is an ancient practice with a modern history. The Mahabharata an ancient epic describes suicide warfare. Islamic Order of Assassins (hashashin) during the early Crusader times was well-known examples. The concept of “terror” as systematic use of violence to attain political ends was first codified by Maximilien Robespierre during the French Revolution. Vladimir Illich Ulyanove (Lenin) used terror against classes, which was later developed by Stalin in a ruthless form. During the World War 2 the Japanese kamikaze pilots launched suicide attack against the US forces. In Guerrilla Warfare authored by Ernesto Che Guevara described suicide attacks as a path to victory which naturally boosts the morale of other rebels. In the early years of struggle, Che and Fidel Castro used deadly suicide attacks against Batista’s regime. Social instability in the North since Nineteen Seventies provided a fertile ground for terrorist activities. As a small undercover terrorist group the LTTE transformed into a large group with a massive financial backing and producing Black Tigers who are motivated kill and get killed. The LTTE suicide bombing emerged as a politically based violence. Since July 5, 1987 when the current wave of suicide bombings began, Sri Lanka had been facing a new threat and it has changed the dynamics of the Sri Lankan society. The people became more vigilant and suspicious especially in public places and responded to suicidal bombings with a collective anxiety (LankaWeb : 31 July 2010).

Ex- Tigers prefer driving jobs - A recent survey on ex LTTE combatants had revealed that most preferred to be drivers when they are integrated into mainstream society. Rehabilitation Commissioner General Sudantha Ranasinghe said 941 former combatants had expressed their desire to work as drivers. He said among the others 20 of them wanted to work as counsellers, eight as accountants, 51 as hair dressers, two as bakery operators, 50 as beauticians, 262 as businessmen, 280 as carpenters, 48 as goldsmiths and 222 as computer programmers. Besides, there are 252 persons who wanted to join the mainstream and work as tailors and 107 as teachers. Amazingly, 14 of them had wanted to work as labourers. Brigadier Ranasinghe said it was important to ensure economic security for these ex combatants after the rehabilitation process is completed. “If they have an alterative, they will not engage in any anti-social activity. Today, along the A9 road, we hardly find garages and bicycle workshops. If these ex combatants are trained in gaining the necessary vocational skills, they can start such work for their livelihood. I am asking all those critiques to assist us to provide the much needed vocational training programmes. It is the only way out,” he said. Commenting on the hardcore cadres, Brigadier Ranasinghe said that mentorship counselling was now being conducted for them. He said most of them are Hindus, and devoted to their religion, and do not eat fish or meat on Tuesdays and Fridays. “They strictly follow such religious principles,” Brigadier Ranasinghe said. Among the ex LTTE members, are those who had done various odd jobs for the organization. The authorities have identified 157 people who worked as cooks, 585 as drivers, 122 as motor mechanics, 401 as nurses and 48 as beauticians. He said about 100 of the former members had been released to be trained as drivers and conductors in state transport buses operating in the North (Daily Mirror : 31 July 2010).

Sri Lanka travel warning removed by Britain - The British government has removed a travel warning on Sri Lanka advising against visits to the former northern war zone, following the withdrawal of previous travel warnings in the rest of the island. A British Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) statement said it no longer advised against all travel to the northern districts of Kilinochchi, Mannar, Mullaittivu and Vavuniya. The move comes as tourist arrivals to the island are increasingly following the end of the 30-year ethnic war in May 2009 and ahead of the peak winter tourism season. The FCO said visitors must have permission from the Sri Lankan Ministry of Defence before travelling to the northern districts of Jaffna, Kilinochchi, Mannar, Mullaittivu and Vavuniya. Although the war was over, "there is a general threat from terrorism in Sri Lanka," it said. "Isolated attacks cannot be ruled out and could be indiscriminate. "Foreign tourists and visitors have not been targeted in the past but attacks have occurred in places frequented by foreigners." The FCO also advised tourists to be careful of mines and unexploded ordnance. "Although the conflict is over, extensive military operations are still ongoing, clearing minefields, unexploded ordnance and locating weapon caches," it said. "Do not venture from the roads or cleared footpaths and if in any doubt, contact the local security authorities for local advice." The FCO also warned British nationals to avoid any political gatherings or rally and to beware of "spontaneous large gatherings" because of potential violence. It also warned of an increasing number of incidents of credit card fraud, road accidents and drownings (Island : 31 July 2010).

Malwatta Prelate tours Jaffna - Malwatta Mahanayaka Most Ven Thibbotuwawe Sri Sumangala Thera was given a rousing reception when he visited the Naga viharaya. Thousands of people, Army and Police officers welcomed the Prelate on arrival. A group of Bhikkhus accompanied the Mahanayaka Thera. The Malwatta Mahanayaka Thera visited the Nallur Kandasamy Temple, Public Library and Jaffna Fort area. The Prelate also presented educational equipment to 1,500 students at the Vadamarachi and Tenamarachi Educational Zones and also conducted religious ceremony at the Army Officers' quarters. The Mahanayaka Thera's visit was coordinated by Maj Gen Hathurusinghe (Daily News : 31 July 2010).

The fate of the Purple Fury Doctrine after Nick Clegg’s confessions - By Malinda Senevirathna - There are between 3-4 million Afghan refugees and British MPs not only ignore this fact, but have the brass to talk about the less than 100,000 IDPs in Sri Lanka formerly held hostage by the LTTE (and they are very well looked after, compared to the 22 Muslim IDPs across the world, most of them US oil-war refugees). There have been over 2.4 post-invasion infant deaths in Afghanistan (90% avoidable) (Daily Mirror : 31 July 2010).

Surrendered Tiger is not Prabhakaran's driver, Sri Lanka police says - Sri Lanka police Saturday denied local media reports that the driver of the LTTE leader V. Prabhakaran has surrendered to the Trincomalee police. Police Spokesman SP Prishantha Jayakody has told the government news web site that the person arrested was an LTTE suspect but not the driver of the slain Tiger leader. "He is handicapped with one leg amputated. He is not a driver at all," the police spokesman has said. Trincomalee Police are continuing further investigations on the arrested LTTE cadre (Colombo Page ; 31 July 2010).

KP confident despite differences among Tamil Diaspora over post-war strategy - At one point Prabhakaran wanted to replace Balasingham The Tamil Diaspora is sharply divided over a post-war strategy with one influential section led by the late LTTE leader Velupillai Prabhakaran’s successor, T. S. Pathmanathan aka KP exploring the possibility of working with the Sri Lanka government. Although the progress is slow, both parties are confident of reaching a workable agreement, which will enable Sri Lanka to capitalize on her war victory over the LTTE in May last year. In line with controversial political and military strategy, the government has paved the way for KP to join the rehabilitation, reconstruction and resettlement process. Recently KP was given an opportunity to meet some of the ex-LTTE combatants undergoing rehabilitation in the Vavuniya region. In an exclusive interview with The Island last Wednesday, KP said that he was under intense pressure from those who still believed in an armed struggle to change his stance on Sri Lanka, thereby making his task difficult. He asserted that his team was being targeted by hostile elements bent on subverting what he called reconciliation efforts. Of the nine persons who had recently visited Sri Lanka on a government invitation to take a firsthand look at the ground situation, one quit due to pressure from influential elements. "But that would not deter our efforts," KP said sounding confident that they could build a partnership on a solid foundation (Lanka Times).

Majority of Tamil diaspora backing Sri Lanka Government's efforts

‘KP got funds for investment in North’ - The government yesterday said LTTE’s main arms procurer Kumaran Pathmanathan alias KP who is now under military custody, had made a contribution in getting money from the Tamil Diaspora for investment in the war affected areas. Addressing the weekly Cabinet news conference, Government Spokesman and Minister Keheliya Rambukwella said the government invited the Diaspora to play a role in the economic development of the North. In this respect, he said, KP had a say as the person who collected money earlier from the pro-LTTE Diaspora to procure arms and other war-related material for the organization. “We cannot say the entire Diaspora is against the government. Certain sections of it responded to our request positively. Earlier, KP was the main figure in soliciting money from the Diaspora to be used in replenishing the LTTE’s arsenal. Now, there is the opportunity to use such money for a worthy cause. Earlier, those monies were used to buy weapons, war ships and explosives,” the Minister said. The Minister was responding to a question by the media in this regard. The media queried how the government could use a persons accused of terrorist activities for such political ends. However, the Minister replied that the government weighed the pros and cons and took decisions in the greater interest of the country. “We take decisions according to the need of the hour. We do not hesitate to do it,” he said. He also said the government could use KP as a government witness in cases involving allegations against human rights abuses. “We take decisions according to the need of the hour. We do not hesitate to do it,” he said (Daily Mirror ; 30 July 2010).

HOW TO STOP THE TAMIL (AND OTHER) BOATS TO AUSTRALIA - The fact that the Rudd Government had pandered to the gallery and exacerbated the problem, the tree of illegal migration has grown an enormous extent, and it continues to spread its roots too widely like a large octopus spreading its many legs. The regional solution and the Pacific solution are too difficult to be adopted, we ask that the boats be safely towed back by the Australian Navy to their source destinations, so that the boat people will be safely returned*. Australia must work closely with the source countries. Giving money to East Timor and Nauru will be like pouring water into an empty bucket. *in actual fact this solution is the best, more practical, humane way to treat the asylum seekers and they send a definite, deterring message to the people smugglers. People smugglers must be sentenced to lengthy prison sentences and their rickety boats must be burnt down in front of their own eyes. Again, Australia must act courageously and boldly to get rid of this dangerous menace. We hope that there will be correct, bold leadership in Australia to tackle the problem of people smuggling. What we need is a permanent solution to the problem, not a bandaging the problem (LankaWeb : 30 July 2010).

War crimes committed by USA and UK - By Ben Silva - Wikileaks have clearly indicated the possibility of war crimes committed by USA and UK. It is now recognized and well known that the invasion of Iraq was illegal and was carried out under false pretexts. Over a mullion civilians have been killed unlawfully and illegally in Iraq. Surely, the priority should be an investigation of the illegal war rather than the war that defeated the terrorists who killed thousands and threatened the sovereignty of Sri Lanka. It is time for GOSL to assemble a team to deal with the external propaganda war. The false accusations against Iraq sound similar to the accusations against Sri Lanka and gives the impression of a hidden agenda. If an investigations has be carried out, then it should be on the war crimes/activities of USA and UK, as they have killed over a million of civilians in Iraq and Afghanistan, at times using remote` weapons, without even giving the victims, even a slight chance to surrender. If Mr Moon ignores the illegal and imperialist adventure in Iraq, killing over a million civilians and the war crimes committed in Afghanistan by USA and UK, then it shows the evil and foolish nature of Mr Moon. Many have questioned the competency of Mr Moon and some senior UN officials including Inga-Britt Ahlehius have indicated the lack of accountability in UN. Mr Moon should withdraw the panel to investigate` Sri Lanka and if that does not happen then Mr Moon should be removed from UN for bringing the UN into disrepute. Ban the foolish-man, whose competency and sanity have been questioned by many, should be removed from UN, before he destroys UN (LankaWeb : 30 July 2010).

KP confident despite differences among Tamil Diaspora over post-war strategy; At one point Prabhakaran wanted to replace Balasingham - The Tamil Diaspora is sharply divided over a post-war strategy with one influential section led by the late LTTE leader Velupillai Prabhakaran’s successor, T. S. Pathmanathan aka KP exploring the possibility of working with the Sri Lanka government. Although the progress is slow, both parties are confident of reaching a workable agreement, which will enable Sri Lanka to capitalize on her war victory over the LTTE in May last year. In line with controversial political and military strategy, the government has paved the way for KP to join the rehabilitation, reconstruction and resettlement process. Recently KP was given an opportunity to meet some of the ex-LTTE combatants undergoing rehabilitation in the Vavuniya region. In an exclusive interview with The Island last Wednesday, KP said that he was under intense pressure from those who still believed in an armed struggle to change his stance on Sri Lanka, thereby making his task difficult. He asserted that his team was being targeted by hostile elements bent on subverting what he called reconciliation efforts. Of the nine persons who had recently visited Sri Lanka on a government invitation to take a firsthand look at the ground situation, one quit due to pressure from influential elements. "But that would not deter our efforts," KP said sounding confident that they could build a partnership on a solid foundation. While KP remained in Colombo, his team continued to work abroad under the guidance of Paris-based Velummailum Manoharan, formerly of the LTTE International Secretariat. Sri Lankan agents apprehended KP last August in an operation carried out in a foreign country and brought him to Colombo. The operation was mounted close on the heels of the final battle on the Vanni (east) front, where the Army wiped out the last organized resistance, killing KP’s predecessor, Prabhakaran Excerpts of the interview: (Island ; 30 July 2010).

Majority of Tamil diaspora backing government's efforts: Sri Lanka - The Sri Lanka government maintains that the Tamil diaspora is now divided into two groups and the majority is supporting its efforts towards improvement of the living standards of Tamils in the northern and eastern provinces. Government spokesman and Media and Information Minister Keheliya Rambukwella told a news conference here on Thursday that the group representing the Tamil diaspora, which was forced to fund the militant activities of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, was now willing to contribute to the welfare of the war-displaced civilians. The Minister was referring to an interview given to a local daily by Kumaran Pathmanathan alias KP, who succeeded V. Prabakaran as LTTE chief until he was taken into custody by the Sri Lankan security agencies in August last year. Mr. Rambukwella said KP, who was responsible for raising funds for purchase of military materials for the terrorist outfit, too had realised the past follies and joined the group which was willing to help in development activities. Under the existing laws, the government could enlist any person as a “crown witness” in the interest of the country and give him protection, the Minister said. In an exclusive interview with The Island newspaper, KP answered questions on a wide range of issues, including his capture, breakdown of the various attempts to negotiate peace and a desperate bid to thwart annihilation of the LTTE's military leadership in May 2009. He was confident that a group of like-minded Tamils based in various parts of the world would support the initiative for the benefit of Sri Lankan Tamils, and said President Mahinda Rajapaksa was genuine in his efforts at resolving differences among communities and helping to re-build the war devastated regions. “Within a year of the conclusion of the war, the majority of the people displaced by the conflict are back in their villages and ex-combatants of the LTTE are undergoing rehabilitation and the international community, too, is supportive of Sri Lanka's efforts. None of these would have been possible without the political leadership given by President Rajapaksa,” he told the paper (Hindu ; 30 July 2010).

Jaffna gets four factories MAS, Omega Lines, Orix and Timex

Robert Blake is busy undermining Kyrgyztan - by Ajit Randeniya - It is for very good reasons that Robert Blake who ‘underachieved’ in terms of neocon expectations in Sri Lanka was quickly appointed Assistant Secretary in the US State Department’s Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs: the region involving Afghanistan and Central Asia that is crucial to the illegal war in Afghanistan needed a trusted neocon operator and there aren’t many left these days at the State Department. They found their man in Robert Blake. The major handicap for the neocon operations in Afghanistan is the problem of a safe route for supplies to the troops pillaging the villages of this long suffering country: the route through Pakistan is notoriously unsafe due to attacks by tribal supporters of the Taliban, and the preferred way is through the Central Asian state of Kyrgyztan. The retired war criminal Douglas Rumsfeld had negotiated a corrupt deal with the former Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiyev to rent the Manas air base for this purpose (LankaWeb : 29 July 2010).

Foreign mediated efforts won’t bring reconciliation : KP - The late LTTE leader Velupillai Prabhakaran’s successor, T. S. Pathmanathan aka KP says Sri Lanka should strive to deal with domestic issues on its own without involving external elements. Former head of LTTE procurement section, the soft-spoken, KP points out that all previous attempts by foreign governments to address Sri Lanka’s problems failed. In an exclusive with The Island, in Colombo on Wednesday, Prabhakaran’s one-time confidant recalling how their attempt to negotiate a settlement with the then President Ranasinghe Premadasa (May 1987-June 1990) had failed, revealed that he along with the then international face of the LTTE Anton Balasingham and Mannikkasothi had initiated a move that led to a secret meeting with the then UNP stalwart A. C. S. Hameed in Bangkok. "We had the opportunity to meet President Premadasa at Sucharitha for discussions on few occasions." The LTTE resumed hostilities in the second week of June 1990. In some of the bloodiest fighting in the eelam war, the LTTE had the wherewithal to force the army to vacate its bases in the Vanni. Excerpts of the interview: (Island : 29 July 2010).

Ban ki-Moon: Keep your hands off Sri Lanka - by Asoka Weerasinghe, Canada - Ban, Ban the Korean-man/ who has made the UN irrelevant/ when Inga-Britt Ahlehius basted you off/ you landed your butt on her cushioned dais.Hey! Ban, you are slowly getting fried on the 38th floor. With the WikiLeak files today, your job is cut out to show that you are capable of doing the job that you were appointed to do. Well…appoint a three-person expert-panel to probe into the Afghanistan war crimes by the British and the US. Well…what the heck are you waiting for? Are you scared of these big boys and reluctant to show your muscle as you have done with puny Sri Lanka? It is not a case of you having fun at the top and calling on – Boys and girls come out to play/ I have a gorgeous partner in Navi Pillay/ This Tigress has been wanting to slay/ the Sri Lankans for killing her tribe/ the terrorist Tamil Tigers. Ban, ask her to pull her knickers up and agitate to have an expert-panel appointed to look into the War Crimes of the UK and US led armed forces as the Wikileaks calls for just that, just not being a bully going after Sri Lanka that little nation that did a favour to the whole civilized world by eliminating the most ruthless terrorist group, the Tamil Tigers. Ban, you got caught with your pants down at play in the sand-box with Navi Pillay, when you claimed that your expert-panel to probe Sri Lanka’s war crimes was independent and yet handpicked Richard Bennett as the head of the staff for this panel, who was the trusted lieutenant of your squeeze Navi Pillay who was the Representative of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in Nepal until recently. Well….well…well…you have just proved once again that you are just Ban, Ban the foolish-man (LankaWeb : 29 July 2010).

Open Letter to Leaders of Political Parties in Australia - By Asoka Subhawickrama, Sydney, Australia - Dear Leader, I am one of the estimated 150,000 Sri Lankan Australians who will exercise their votes at the forthcoming Federal election. While, as true blue Australians, we are extremely concerned about the major issues that affect our nation as a whole, honestly, I cannot see much difference when it comes to the policy declarations (sans all the hype) on the major issues by the two main parties. Therefore, please let me deal with issues that will ultimately and most certainly decide my valuable vote. Let me be fair dinkum: like most non-Anglo Saxon migrants, particularly those from the subcontinent, majority of us, not all, generally happened to vote for the ALP. Some of us may have sometimes voted for the Greens, and a mere few for the Liberal Coalition, but the vast majority of us traditionally voted for the ALP.  However, in recent times, there has been a marked shift to the Liberal Coalition, not because these voters prefer a conservative party with a colonial mentality, but because of the ALP’s and Greens’ uninformed, misguided and irresponsible utterances in support of the Sri Lankan Tamil Tigers. In contrast, the Coalition at least kept mum about the Tiger terrorists, not the ideal, though, as if they didn’t exist. The Coalition just don’t care. The 30 year war in Sri Lanka is over. All Sri Lankans, and mostly Tamils, suffered terribly over those three decades. One of the main reasons for the prolonged war was the support the Tigers had from the elements in the Tamil Diaspora. They collected funds from the public in the Western counties where they were domiciled on false pretences, coerced reluctant Tamils to make regular payments, carried out propaganda, and lobbied politicians, church leaders and human rights activists, all in support of the Tiger’s war effort. Had it not been for this strategically planned and executed propaganda cum funding by the activists by the Tamil Diaspora the war would not have lasted this long, not so many lives lost, the economy would not have been devastated to this extent and, most of all, there would have been far less suffering on the part of the Tamil people who were trapped in the war zone (Sri Lanka News Online ; 28 July 2010).

KP speaks out - In an exclusive interview with The Island in Colombo yesterday, Pathmanathan, former confidant of the slain LTTE leader Velupillai Prabhakaran and the outfit’s main arms procurer, discussed a wide range of issues, including his capture in Kuala Lumpur last August, breakdown of various attempts to negotiate peace and a desperate bid to thwart annihilation of the LTTE‘s military leadership in May 2009. Pathmanathan, in a light brown kurta, black slacks and matching shoes could have easily walked the streets of the city without being identified as one of the key LTTE leaders, who had helped build the organisation as a ruthlessly efficient terrorist group over the past three decades. He sat on a couch asking the writer to fire away in what turned out to be a three-hour interview in which he spelt out his plans in support of on-going rebuilding efforts of the government. The onetime most elusive man from Jaffna said he was confident that a group of likeminded Tamils based in various parts of the world would support the initiative for the benefit of Sri Lankan Tamils. Fielding questions with a smile, KP said what he expected of the Tamil Diaspora and what the Diaspora expected of him was to step up the rehabilitation, reconstruction and resettlement programmes now underway. Born on April 6, 1955, KP had played different roles before succeeding Velupillai Prabhakaran after the latter’s death at the hands of the Sri Lanka Army on the banks of the Nanthikadal lagoon in May last year. Excerpts of the interview: (Island : 29 July 2010).

Resistance to Ban Ki-moon - In his article in The Island of July 26, Sumanasiri Liyanage dealt with critical comments on Minister Weerawansa’s fast-unto-death campaign. I myself wrote an article part of which dealt with that campaign in The Sunday Island of July 25. I wish therefore to make some clarifications that seem to me to be of crucial importance. Liyanage holds that the term "international community" is a misnomer because it in fact designates only a segment of it, namely the Western capitalist powers. It is certainly true that that term is often used to designate the more powerful countries of the world, not just the western capitalist powers. But, that does not preclude its legitimate use to designate the totality of the membership of the UN. They certainly constitute an international community by accepting the principles and policies enunciated in the UN Charter, in the Declarations on Human Rights, and by entering into Covenants on Human Rights. Particularly germane to the Weerawansa case is the fact that they constitute an international community also by subscribing to the Vienna conventions on diplomatic practice of 1960 (Island : 28 July 2010).

US war crimes - The latest revelation of over 90,000 classified documents on the US war in Afghanistan is said to be the biggest US military secret leak in its history. Yesterday a White House spokesman in his daily media briefing commented on the leak being illegal. Interestingly, there was no comment on the allegations based on these documents and, as one can understand, for obvious reasons. The main concern of the White House and the Pentagon is the potential harm the leak might cause to the lives of the soldiers on the ground. Among other things, there are quite a few accusations that should interest UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon who has recently appointed a war crime investigation panel with regard to our military’s conduct during the last phase of the war against the LTTE terrorists. The first is that the civilian deaths at the hands of the US led troops are vastly underreported. Secondly, there is information about a special military unit tasked with capturing and killing top Taliban leaders without trial. What is more, according to the whistleblower website, the latter and some other incidents are tantamount to war crimes, including a famous incident which involved killing seven children when the target was not even there in the vicinity (Island : 28 July 2010).

Massive anti-Dengue drive in North - The Northern Province has accelerated the dengue mosquito eradicating campaign in the entire north. Around 98 confirmed dengue cases were reported from the Northern Province in July. Northern Province Governor Major General G.A. Chandrasiri said on the request of the Government, a dengue mosquito eradicating campaign is being considered. “A four day dengue eradicating campaign will be carried out in all five districts in the Northern Province”, he added.  He said the campaign will be conducted tomorrow and day after tomorrow as well as on August 2 and 9.  A committee meeting was held with the Government Agent, District Secretariats, G.S and Provincial Council members in the entire Northern Province.  Governor Chandrasiri told the Daily News that the NPC will start cleaning up schools, government institutions, houses, commercial establishments, drainage system etc. People from all sectors will participate during the dengue mosquito eradicating program.  The NPC has taken steps to provide all the needs and resources for this purpose, he added.  He noted that nearly 98 confirmed dengue patients were reported in the entire Northern Province in July. However, no death was reported due to dengue fever (Daily News ; 28 July 2010).

NGOs can contribute to resettlement drive - Defence Spokesman - Mass Media and Communication Minister and Defence Spokesman Keheliya Rambukkwella yesterday stated that any public representative and Non Government Organization can visit the North and East and contribute to its ongoing resettlement drive and the development process.  The Minister addressing the media at the Media Center for National Security stated that the NGOs that wish to contribute in the development process and the resettlement process could go there but not those with ulterior motives that make statements harmful to the interests of the country.  There are packages introduced at the Resettlement Ministry to support the development process in the North and East and any NGO could select any of them and visit the area to expedite the process.  He further stated that there were restrictions imposed by the Government earlier in visiting these areas as many of the NGOs and persons were pessimistic and their objective was to make destructive comments on the Government’s process and create chaos.  Referring to the allegations by the JVP who said the Government was not conducting the resettlement drive of the IDPs in North and East properly Minister Rambukwella stated that as a government they were happy with the progress of the resettlement process (Daily News : 28 July 2010).

Hardcore Tigers among detainees identified, legal action awaited - The police and security forces have so far identified 737 hardcore terrorists among 11,686 LTTE cadres who surrendered. They are being held separately from others undergoing rehabilitation at different government-run centres. A senior military official said on Monday (July 26) that those involved in major terrorist attacks would have to be legally dealt with. He said hardcore terrorists could not be released along with ordinary LTTE combatants, as they could pose a security threat. Brigadier Sudantha Ranasinghe, Commissioner General of Rehabilitation said that the 737 ex-LTTE personnel were among 7,948 persons held by authorities. He said that they were all men. Asked by The Island whether among the detained terrorists were Yogiratnam Yogi, one-time LTTE negotiator and Balakumaran of the EROS, who threw his weight behind Velupillai Prabhakaran, Brig. Ranasinghe said that he did not have them. After the conclusion of the war in May last year, the military with the support of the police questioned surrendered LTTE cadres to establish their involvement in terrorist operations. Senior police officials said that they had an opportunity to use LTTE informants to identify hardcore terrorists taking cover among civilians. They said that terrorists had fled their frontline positions as the army advanced into their territory and sought refuge in the government-held area. They said a sizeable group among them had voluntarily accepted their involvement, while others made an attempt to secure IDP status. Rehabilitation and Law Reforms Minister Dew Gunasekera told The Island that there were two categories of LTTE cadres in government custody. He said: "There are about 600 to 700 men and women arrested over a period of time by successive governments. Among them are persons held in connection with high profile assassination bids targeting VIPs. The second category comprises those, who were taken in during the final phase of Eelam war IV." (Island : 27 July 2010).

Eelam war IV: Tiger captives down to 7,900, rehab programme on track - Brigadier Sudantha Ranasinghe, Commissioner General of Rehabilitation says LTTE cadres are being gradually released from government centres following rehabilitation in the Northern and Eastern Provinces. Brig. Ranasinghe, who succeeded Major General Daya Ratnayake, says their work is on track thereby allowing small groups of LTTE cadres to rejoin their families every month. In a brief interview with The Island, Brig. Ranasinghe said that 7,948 ex-combatants, including about 1,100 females were still undergoing rehabilitation. According to him, of the 1,100 females, about 700 are now working in the garment trade. About 400 are being trained as Montessori teachers (120). Others are learning English (100), IT (60) and drama 'therapy' (60). Brig. Ranasinghe said that garment workers received Rs 12,000 plus per month along with food, medical facilities and accommodation. An effort was being made to explore the possibility of securing the help and expertise of the British Council to teach English. The Montessori course, he said, would commence in the first week of August, while the remaining three programmes were already in progress. He appreciated versatile actress of international repute Anoja Weerasinghe's support for a drama 'therapy' programme. At the conclusion of the war in May last year, military-run detention facilities held 11,686 LTTE cadres, including members of the suicide squad and elite fighting formations such as the Charles Anthony 'Brigade' (Sri Lanka Defence Ministry : 27 July 2010).

Training Tamil students as future leaders - After spearheading the military operation to annihilate the LTTE, the Sri Lanka Army launched a campaign to mould the students to become future leaders of Sri Lanka. The first of its kind - a Workshop on Leadership - was held in Batticoloa for 151 students in the district at the Batticaloa AGs Auditorium last week. The topics of the workshop and the close rapport with Army personnel have made them understand that the true image of the soldier is different from what the defunct LTTE had painted in their minds.Organised by the 234 Brigade under the guidance of 23 Division commander Brig. Boniface Perera the 151 senior school prefects were given lectures on leadership qualities, type of leaders and team work. The Tamil and Muslim students had the opportunity for a close rapport with soldiers at the workshop. " We all want to become good youth in future. This workshop helped me and my friends immensely. We did not know much about the world leaders. We were not guided to brush up our leadership talents. We thank the Army for organizing this workshop", student N. Vinitha wrote in her assessment paper. Brigadier Mahinda Mudalige, 234 Brigade Commander said the workshop helped tap the inborn talents of the young students who had never been exposed to programs on leadership (Sri Lanka Defence Ministry : 27 July 2010).

Panel pressure - MORE than 14 months after the military defeat of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) by the Sri Lankan security forces and the death of its chief, Velupillai Prabakaran, reported on May 18, 2009, the Mahinda Rajapaksa government is engaged in a bitter war of words with the international community in general and the West in particular over perceived and real humanitarian issues. The political drama played out outside the United Nations' office in Colombo from July 6 to 10 brought to the fore all the elements of the unending feud. Coming close on the heels of the decision of the European Union (E.U.) to discontinue, from August 15, tariff concessions to the garment and apparel industry (known as generalised system of preferences +, or GSP+) to the tune of $150 million per annum and the announcement by the Barack Obama administration of a review of trade tariff concessions (linked to workers' rights), the U.N. episode showed the complete isolation of the government not just from the Western bloc but also from the larger world community. The Sri Lankan government may have a point in its criticism that the West is applying double standards on the human rights issue, but its failure to secure the support of the countries in the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) in its confrontation with the U.N. demonstrates the stark reality (Frontline : Volume 27 - Issue 16 :: Jul. 31-Aug. 13, 2010).

Clearing operations recover more military Items - Sri Lankan troops of 21 Division continuing the clearing operations general area Maradamadu in Vavuniya District recovered 17 mobile phones, 14 SIM cards, 30 mobile phone batteries, one multi plug, 21 mobile phone chargers and one mobile phone ear phone yesterday (26 July 2010). Meanwhile the troops of 56 Division operating in general area Vellankulam and Omanthai recovered a part of fotosniper, one fotosniper camera, 05 x 60mm mortar bombs and one air shell. Separately troops of 61 Division recovered 07 x AP mines in general area Madhu, 05 x AP mines and 05 AP mines fuses in general area Palampiddi and another 36 x AP mines in general area Iluppaikulam yesterday. Area HQ troops in Mannar uncovered 20 AP mines in general area Kollankulam and Narikkulam on 26th July. Meanwhile the troops of Task Force 2 engaging the clearing operations in general area Puthukkudiyiruppu West recovered the following military items yesterday (Sri Lanka Defence Ministry : 27 July 2010).

Leaked U.S. Afghan papers show "war crimes"-- website - Thousands of leaked U.S. military papers from Afghanistan contain evidence of possible war crimes that must be urgently investigated, the founder of the whistle-blowing website that published the papers said. Julian Assange, who set up Wikileaks to expose perceived unethical behaviour by government and business, accused U.S. forces of covering up civilian deaths and said sections of the vast collection of secret papers supported such accusations. His website has published 76,000 military reports covering the Afghan conflict between 2004 and 2010, and has promised to release thousands more in the coming weeks (Yahoo News: 27 July 2010).

Apparel industry initiative: Jaffna gets four factories MAS, Omega Lines, Orix and Timex keen: Apparel industry in Jaffna Four leading apparel industries to set up factories - Over US$ 12 million investment with over 4,000 jobs - High availability for human resources in North - BOI offers attractive incentives - The Traditional Industries and Small Enterprise Development Ministry together with the Board of Investment (BOI) is planning to support four major companies - MAS Holdings, Omega Lines, Orix and Timex to set up factories in Jaffna. The discussions between the Ministry and the BOI had with these companies were successful. The investors are keen on setting up factories in the Achchuveli Industrial Estate. These four companies will be offered 25 acres to setup their factories, Traditional Industries and Small Enterprise Development Ministry Secretary P. Sivagnanasothy told Daily News Business. He said this is the first time that major corporates are entering into the Jaffna peninsula. This project will bring around US$ 12 million investments while all four companies will generate over 4,000 jobs for youth in the Northern province. The Achchuveli Industrial Estate has 65 acres. These companies will be given 25 acres to set up their factories while the balance 40 acres will be given to set up small and medium industries. The implication of offering the 40 acres of land in the industrial estate to the small and medium industries granted the approval by the Planning Ministry. We seek for external resources to fund the small and medium industries, he said (Sri Lanka Defence Ministry : 27 July 2010).

LTTE ship, carrying at least 24 LTTE cadres and hardcore leaders, sighted off US coast

Wikileaks publishes US war crimes in Afghanistan - A whistleblower website wikileaks has published what it says are more than 90,000 of secret American military files about the war in Afghanistan which include details of 144 incidents in which Coalition forces have killed civilians.  The White House has attacked online whistleblowing site Wikileaks after it published some 200,000 pages of secret American military files about the war in Afghanistan.  The files, published online by The Guardian, the New York Times and Germany’s Der Spiegel, include details of 144 incidents in which Coalition forces have killed civilians.  The Guardian says the leaks show that troops killed hundreds of civilians in previously unreported incidents.  In one example cited by the British paper, French troops fired at a bus full of children, injuring eight.  A USpatrol was involved in a similar incident that wounded or killed 15 passengers, and in 2007 Polish troops fired mortars at a village, apparently in a revenge attack, killing guests at a wedding party which included a pregnant woman.  According to the New York Times they also “suggest that Pakistan, an ostensible ally of the United States, allows representatives of its spy service to meet directly with the Taliban.”  Describing the talks as “secret strategy sessions,” the newspaper said they “organise networks of militant groups that fight against American soldiers in Afghanistan, and even hatch plots to assassinate Afghan leaders.”  The Guardian says the files revealed a secret black-ops unit which hunts down Taliban leaders for “kill or capture” without trial; how the US covered up evidence of surface-to-air missiles acquired by the Taliban; and how the Taliban have caused growing carnage with their roadside bombing campaign, killing more than 2,000 civilians to date (Ada Derana ; 26 July 2010). (Visit Wikileaks)

Eelam war IV: Tiger captives down to 7,900, rehab programme on track - Brigadier Sudantha Ranasinghe, Commissioner General of Rehabilitation says LTTE cadres are being gradually released from government centres following rehabilitation in the Northern and Eastern Provinces. Brig. Ranasinghe, who succeeded Major General Daya Ratnayake, says their work is on track thereby allowing small groups of LTTE cadres to rejoin their families every month. In a brief interview with The Island on Sunday (July 25), Brig. Ranasinghe said that 7,948 ex-combatants, including about 1,100 females were still undergoing rehabilitation. According to him, of the 1,100 females, about 700 are now working in the garment trade. About 400 are being trained as Montessori teachers (120). Others are learning English (100), IT (60) and drama ‘therapy’ (60). Brig. Ranasinghe said that garment workers received Rs 12,000 plus per month along with food, medical facilities and accommodation. An effort was being made to explore the possibility of securing the help and expertise of the British Council to teach English. The Montessori course, he said, would commence in the first week of August, while the remaining three programmes were already in progress. He appreciated versatile actress of international repute Anoja Weerasinghe’s support for a drama ‘therapy’ programme. At the conclusion of the war in May last year, military-run detention facilities held 11,686 LTTE cadres, including members of the suicide squad and elite fighting formations such as the Charles Anthony ‘Brigade’ (Island ; 26 July 2010).

Patriotism - By Garvin Karunaratne, Ph.D. - .... Not so in Sri Lanka, a sad country where the people stand divided top to bottom on political party lines. In actuality I am of the opinion that the political party system of democracy was foisted on us by the British to make our people stand divided for ever. The GSP plus battle has been totally lost and now a tax is imposed on our exports- not only on garments but even on porcelaine goods. It is said that the opposition of the country was instrumental in getting that done by influencing the EU. That is not all. The Opposition and some Members of Parliament are supporting the attempts by the International Community to charge members of the Sri Lanka Administration and the persons in charge of the armed forces for war crimes. They are actively supporting the International Community to charge the saviours of the country- the saviours who saved the country from the jaws of the LTTE. They have forgotten the fact that the leaders of the country who led the battle against the LTTE were acting on a mandate from the country obtained at an election to rid the country of the ruthless LTTE that had wrested almost a third of the country by the power of the bullet. The people have totally forgotten that the LTTE was attacking people everywhere- even in the sacred Sri Maha Bodhi at Anuradhapura the LTTE killed over two hundred pilgrims who were worshipping and went on the rampage in adjoining villages upto Wilpattu with a carnage of over five hundred dead. The Sri Lankan leaders at that time were so scared of the LTTE that they said that only two hundred died. Sinhala and Tamil people including monks were killed like flies (LankaWeb : 26 July 2010).

No politics for KP says Karuna - Vinayagamoorthy Muralidaran also known as Karuna Amman – a former LTTE eastern commander and now Deputy Minister of Resettlement -- spoke to Daily Mirror online about Kumaran Pathmanathan alias KP and concerns about the resettlement process. Q - What were the views of the Tamil Diaspora representatives who visited Sri Lanka on the invitation of the government and on former LTTE chief arms procurer KP? A - There are many divisions in the Tamil Diaspora with one segment actively supporting the LTTE, another supporting the Tamil people and others supporting the Government. We encouraged the Diaspora to help with development. Before they visited the country and saw things for themselves they believed the negative propaganda of the LTTE. But now their attitudes are changing. Only nine people KP invited. A lot of people other than whom he invited from the Tamil Diaspora visited Sri Lanka and I have also met some of the delegations. I have explained to them and we are in constant contact. Some of them initiated hotel projects. I have stressed to them that we needed job opportunities to the resettled people in the war affected areas. Not everyone can expect and secure government jobs. The diaspora should support us in terms of their donations. Relatives of most of the Vavuniya IDP’s are residing overseas and they should be able to help their people build houses at a minimum cost of Rs.500,000 (Daily Mirror : 26 July 2010).

Priority to renovate Jaffna Fort - The National Heritage and Cultural Affairs Ministry has launched a program to preserve the Sri Lankan heritage of Northern and Eastern Provinces. The Ministry has given priority to renovate the Jaffna Fort under this Program, National Heritage and Cultural Affairs Minister Pavithra Wanniarachchi told the Daily News. The reconstruction of the Jaffna Fort will be launched with Rs 104.5 million granted by the Netherlands government. The Ministry expects to launch the construction program under the guidelines of history experts. The armouries and barracks used by soldiers hundreds of years ago together with tunnels situated in the Jaffna Fort which were destroyed by terrorist activities over the past three decades would be reconstructed under this program, the Minister said. The building known as the Queen's House and the Roman Catholic church were badly damaged due to the terrorist war. A canal which was used for the inner security of the Fort and was destroyed due to terrorist activities will also be rehabilitated. It has been discovered that this canal is a kilometre in length, forty metres in width and three metres in depth, Minister Wanniarachchi said.These buildings will be reconstructed and renovated to recapture their past glory. Monuments inside and outside the Fort will be preserved and conserved under this program. It is also planned to remove mud and landmines from the ancient canal and preserve it (Sri Lanka Defence Ministry : 26 July 2010).

Northern youth participate at Sisuderiya program - Around 500 youth from the Northern Province performed cultural events at the National Youth Services Council in Maharagama Friday morning. Northern Province Governor Major General G A Chandrasiri said after long practice nearly 500 youths from the Northern Province performed at the Sisuderiya National Program held at the National Youth Services Council, Maharagama. Among the participants were schoolchildren from Northern Province, he added. “This will give an opportunity to the youth to expose their talent and take part in national events. The program was held to enhance youth’s knowledge and skills,” Chandrasiri told the Daily News (Daily News : 26 July 2010).

Army Chief lauds Ranaviru apparel war heroes - The role of disabled war heroes at Yakkala Ranaviru Apparels was recognized Friday evening when the Army Commander Lieutenant General Jagath Jayasuriya awarded gifts to them in appreciation of their contribution to Army uniform manufacturing. Twenty five war heroes who showed exceptional skills in special tailoring, knitting, sewing, etc were appreciated during this award ceremony. The Army Commander as the Chief Guest was welcomed by the Sri Lanka Army’s Adjutant General, Major General E P de Z Abesekera who is also a member of the Management Board of Ranaviru Apparels. Lieutenant General Jayasuriya said 60 percent of the annual uniform requirement of the Army, now with a workforce of about 200,000, is being supplied by war heroes at Yakkala Ranaviru Apparels. “With the objective of meeting the entire uniform requirement of the Army through your productions, one more new factory was bought from Alawwa area around the first quarter of the year. It was the money earned through your labour, that purchase was made possible. Once full production process starts off in this new factory, the Army would be able to save a huge quantum of money that is generally pumped to buy uniforms from elsewhere, which itself is a victory,” he said (Daily News : 26 July 2010).

Canada probes LTTE aid agencies - The LTTE has either infiltrated or created two dozen front and cover organisations in Canada to support its terrorism campaign, International Terrorism Expert Prof. Rohan Gunaratne said in the aftermath of the action taken last week by the Canadian Revenue Agency to revoke the charitable status of the 'Tamil Refugee Aid Society'.  Gunaratne told the Sunday Observer that the Canadian State was investigating a number of aid agencies and there could be 'other arrests' in the near future. The World Tamil Movement, Tamil Rehabilitation Organisation and Canadian Tamil Congress are among those under close scrutiny for their involvement in funding the LTTE's terrorist cause. Investigations on these organisations, some of which have already been stripped of their 'charity status' are continuing.  These organisations had been exploiting the 'charitable status' to raise millions of dollars in Canada and channel it to the terror outfit's fat coffers to buy arms, ammunition and explosives during the conflict.  The ruling on the Tamil Refugee Aid Society came after an engineer from Toronto, Thiruthanikam Thanigasalam was jailed for 25 years recently in the United States for attempting to pay US $ 1 million to buy missiles, launchers and 500 AK-47 assault rifles in August 2006. He has been identified as the Charity's Toronto office Representative.  According to a statement issued by the Canadian revenue agency, "The Ottawa Society had provided $713,000 to the Tamil Tigers, whose long revolt against the Sri Lankan government was crushed last year", the National Post reported (Sri Lanka Defence Ministry : 25 July 2010).

Leads on LTTE’s global ring - Sri Lanka intelligence agencies, with help from Interpol, have unearthed vital information on the international network of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).  According to the Sri Lankan Defence Ministry, information gathered from documents in the possession of an LTTE operative has helped intelligence agencies zero in on a few key LTTE operatives abroad.  The Ministry said the information related to LTTE activists engaged in human trafficking, arms smuggling and financial fraud based in East Asia, Western Europe, Canada and Africa.  It said that unless LTTE’s terror network abroad was broken, there could be no end to terrorist activities in the country and in the South Asian region and a fresh effort had been launched "to pin-down most wanted" LTTE terrorists.  "The Intel agencies are optimistic of cooperation by the governments [of countries] in which the terror suspects are in self-exile," it said.  "Officials are moving ahead with more than just tight scrutiny on Sivarasa Pirundaban alias Achchudan alias Suresh, Bahitharan alias Bhavi, Narendran Rathnasabapathi alias Naren, Ganeshruban alias Ruban and Ponnaiah Anandarajah alias Aiyya alias Rajah and a few more LTTE activists who are connected to arms procurement, and shipping while posing as businessmen," the Ministry said.  The Ministry said the recent recovery in Visuamdu of documents and diary notes of Castro — once head of LTTE’s international wing — had thrown light on the terror outfit’s overseas operatives and clandestine funding agencies (Island : 25 July 2010).

Kaiwaikkal - Kakkamunai - Munaichenai road reconstruction inaugurated in Kinniya - The reconstruction works of Kaiwaikkal-Kakkamunai-Munaichenai road in Kinniya DS Division, Trincomalee, was inaugurated on 2oth July under the patronage of Northern Province road development minister Mr M.S Udumalebbe. Total cost for the reconstruction of 1.9Km of Kaiwaikkal-Kakkamunai-Munaichenai road is 86 Million rupees. The project is funded by the Asian Development Bank and it was implemented by Northern Province road development ministry. Members of Eastern Provincial Council Mr. W.G.M. Ariyawathy Kalappathy and Mr. N.G.Hewawitharana and many public in the area participated at the event (Sri Lanka Defence Ministry : 25 July 2010).

Lanka against asylum - The Sri Lankan government has warmed the international community that granting asylum or refugee status on perceived claims of persecution would only be a covert encouragement for illegal and irregular migration.  Deputy Minister of External Affairs Gitanjana Gunawardena said that Sri Lanka, has enhanced surveillance in intercepting illegal trafficking in the high seas, especially in curtailing trafficking of persons and goods smuggling by small boats.  He told the 17th ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) in Hanoi Vietnam that solutions to the illegal and irregular migration problem should include transparent policies by originating, transit and receiving countries to discourage illegal migration and irregular movement of people (Daily Mirror ; 25 July 2010).

LTTE ship sighted off US coast - The vessel carrying over 200 illegal immigrants under the LTTE’s human smuggling network is expected to arrive at the Canadian shores within the first week of August, Defence sources said yesterday.  The sources said the ship may arrive at British Columbia (BC) most probably by the first week of August and it is being monitored via satellite by a number of countries.  “There has been a sighting of the ship near Guatemala last week,” he said.The Globe and Mail reported on Friday that the US coast guards Pacific division has confirmed a sighting of the suspected ship MV Sun Sea and they have said the ship seems to be heading towards BC.  The MV Sun Sea which was earlier known as the Harin Panich 19 a cargo ship used by the LTTE to smuggle arms, ammunition and explosives from Korea to Sri Lanka during the conflict was first spotted in the Bay of Thailand in April this year. The Ship’s captain Vinod, allegedly a hardcore LTTE leader has threatened the Thai Navy when their patrol craft tried to intercept the unidentified vessel.  Intelligence gathered by the Sri Lankan defence officials at the time indicated the ship was heading for the Australian shores and a warning was issued promptly to its counterparts in Australia.  The Aussies heightened their surveillance and put their boarder guards on alert.  Subsequently the International Terrorism Expert Prof. Rohan Gunaratne said the LTTE crew had shifted their destination to Canada perhaps due to the lax attitude the authorities adopted when dealing with the 76 illegal immigrants that came on board Princess Easwary (Ocean Lady), also an ex-arms ship of the LTTE.  Although all the inhabitants of this voyage were arrested immediately by the Canada Border Services Agency and held in detention for three months, their applications are now being processed on a case by case basis.  Foreign Ministry sources said strong LTTE front organisations in Canada were working tirelessly to get these illegal immigrants which include hardcore LTTE members, asylum status. A report from the UN High Commissioner for Refugees early this month highlighted greatly improved security in Sri Lanka and said that Tamils are no longer automatically eligible for asylum.  It is believed that at least 24 LTTE cadres and hardcore leaders fleeing Sri Lanka are onboard MV Sun Sea.  Canadian Foreign Affairs spokesperson Ambra Dickie said it is aware of media reports about the vessel, but was unable to confirm the ship’s current whereabouts, the Montreal Gazette reported quoting the Sunday Observer exclusive - the ship was heading for Canada (Sunday Observer : 25 July 2010).

Help those brave soldiers - It was exactly 14 months ago when Sri Lanka's valiant Security Forces eradicated terrorism and liberated thousands of innocent civilians from the jaws of LTTE terror. These acts of bravery by the true sons of our soil liberated the country after three decades of terror.  The freedom and peaceful environment we enjoy today had been made possible due to the laudable efforts of the Security Forces. The Government had to beat all overwhelming odds to give the fullest support to the Security Forces. Certain countries, international organisations and a section of the Tamil Diaspora did everything within their power to exert pressure on the Government to slow down the victory march of the Security Forces.  With the sagacious political leadership of President Mahinda Rajapaksa, the Commander-in-Chief of the Security Forces, the brave soldiers vanquished the LTTE leadership and ushered in peace to the country.  It was a gigantic task to destroy the world's most ruthless terror outfit. Apart from taking the Tigers lock, stock and barrel in the Kilinochchi and Mullaitivu jungles and overpowering the terrorists, the country had to face tremendous international pressure until the end of the last battle in the Nandikadaal lagoon.  Even at present, certain LTTE sympathisers abroad are making a concerted effort to take the brave soldiers before an international war crimes tribunal. It is deplorable that the man who commanded the ground forces overall at one time is now attempting to take these soldiers before an international war crimes tribunal. The retired General who marched from grace to disgrace, through his treacherous acts due to his lust for power, has provided enough and more ammunition to certain international organisations which are attempting to take Sri Lanka to task (Sunday Observer : 25 July 2010).

SLA’s 200,000 men could face any threat - Army chief - The Sri Lanka Army (SLA) with over 200,000 men is adequate to defend all threats including any new terrorism threats, Army Commander Lt. General Jagath Jayasuriya said.  The Army Chief told the Sunday Observer that there were no fresh moves to increase SLA’s manpower as it already has over 203,000 well-trained soldiers.  The SLA’s manpower was increased manifold during the military operations against the LTTE and new fighting divisions were established.  In the post conflict-era, the SLA is using its manpower in development activities in the North and the East.  Meanwhile, the temporary military bases occupied by the SLA in the North were vacated gradually with the resettlement of displaced civilians. The Army installations set up in public and private buildings in the North have been handed over to the owners.  During the final stages of the battle against LTTE terrorists, over 290,000 displaced civilians had sought refuge in welfare centres in Vavuniya. With the completion of de-mining the number of displaced civilians in welfare centres reduced to 37,000.  “Most of the public and private properties occupied by the Army have been vacated in the districts of Kilinochchi, Mullaithivu and Jaffna. Normalcy has been restored in those areas and displaced civilians are being resettled”, he said stressing the need for SLA’s presence in those areas to provide security for the resettled civilians and also to assist development activities in the North. Construction work on the new military base at Thunukkai has been completed and permanent bases in Kilinochchi, Iranamadu, Mullaithivu and Periyamadu are under construction.  Lt. Gen. Jayasuriya who opened the newly constructed 68 Division headquarters at Puthukuduiruppu last week said the Security Forces headquarters in Kilinochchi and Mullaithivu would serve as permanent military bases in the North.  He said that the permanent military bases were set up only on State lands and no private land was acquired (Sunday Observer : 25 July 2010).

Ban Ki Moon

Hands off Sri Lanka!

Sri Lankan expatriates to demonstrate in front of the Geneva UNO head office on 25th July - Sri Lankan expatriates residing in Italy and in other European countries have organized a massive demonstration in front of the Geneva UNO head office fron 2 p.m., on 25th July 2010. The demonstration is planned to protest the appointment of Ban-Ki-Moon’s so called expert panel and the withdrawal of the GSP+ tax concession by the European Parliament. Given below the letter handed over to the European Parliament Rome Office regarding the “GSP+” concession. Imperative need for the extension of GSP+ concession to Sri Lanka - We, expatriate Sri Lankans residing in Italy, are appealing to Your Excellency to restore the GSP+ duty concession, which the European Union has decided to withdraw with effect from August 2010. We wish to bring to your attention the statements made by several Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) urging the EU to extend GSP+ concession to Sri Lanka. German MEP Jo Leinen has written to the European Commission (EC) asking them to reconsider their stance on GSP+ and grant Sri Lanka an extension of the trade concession. Italian MEP Cristiana Muscardini has also expressed a similar opinion. Vice President of the Committee on Overseas Development of the European Parliament, Niranjan Deva-Aditya (Nirj Dev) has gone further by strongly condemning the EU decision (Asian Tribune ; 24 July 2010).

Leads on LTTE's global ring - Sri Lanka intelligence agencies, with help from Interpol, have unearthed vital information on the international network of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).  According to the Sri Lankan Defence Ministry, information gathered from documents in the possession of an LTTE operative has helped intelligence agencies zero in on a few key LTTE operatives abroad.  The Ministry said the information related to LTTE activists engaged in human trafficking, arms smuggling and financial fraud based in East Asia, Western Europe, Canada and Africa.  It said that unless LTTE's terror network abroad was broken, there could be no end to terrorist activities in the country and in the South Asian region and a fresh effort had been launched “to pin-down most wanted” LTTE terrorists.  “The Intel agencies are optimistic of cooperation by the governments [of countries] in which the terror suspects are in self-exile,” it said.  “Officials are moving ahead with more than just tight scrutiny on Sivarasa Pirundaban alias Achchudan alias Suresh, Bahitharan alias Bhavi, Narendran Rathnasabapathi alias Naren, Ganeshruban alias Ruban and Ponnaiah Anandarajah alias Aiyya alias Rajah and a few more LTTE activists who are connected to arms procurement, and shipping while posing as businessmen,” the Ministry said.  The Ministry said the recent recovery in Visuamdu of documents and diary notes of Castro — once head of LTTE's international wing — had thrown light on the terror outfit's overseas operatives and clandestine funding agencies (Hindu : 23 July 2010).

Moon is sinking into a black hole - by H. L. D. Mahindapala - New revelations made by a top UN official about the corrupt practices in the core administration of the UN confirm that under Ban Ki-Moon the UN is sliding from bad to worse. According to Under-Secretary-General for Internal Oversight Services, Inga-Britt Ahlehius, the internal auditor fighting corruption within the UN, has stated categorically that it is “in the process of decay”. She emphasized this when she said:: ”I regret to say that the Secretariat is now in a process of decay. It is not only falling apart … it is drifting into irrelevance.” Last year Norway’s then-U.N. Ambassador Mona Juul issued an unusually blistering attack on Ban last year in which she accused him of weak leadership, lack of charisma and angry outbursts, in an internal memo leaked to Norwegian news media, says an AP report. (June 20, 2009). These are damning indictments of Ban Ki-Moon’s regime at the UN. Ms. Ahlehius’s office was set up in 1994 to investigate, audit and inspect the internal administration to prevent corruption and abuses within the UN system. Instead of strengthening her hand to carry out her duties Ban Ki-Moon has obstructed her work and “have taken other steps, such as trying to set up a competing investigations unit, that undermined her tenure.” (AP –June 20, 2009). Isn’t Ban Ki-Moon giving the same treatment to Sri Lanka? First, he entered into an agreement with the President of Sri Lanka to initiate an inquiry into alleged human rights violations, particularly during the last months of the Vadukoddai War launched by the Tamil political class/caste in May, 1976. President Rajapakse honours the agreement by appointing a Commission on Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation (LankaWeb : 23 July 2010).

Hunt for foreign Tigers - The defence ministry says intelligent agencies together with INTERPOL have launched a coordinated effort to bust the foreign based LTTE international terror network and arrest wanted LTTE terror sleuths.  According to the defence ministry intelligent agencies have already unearthed vital information into the remaining LTTE international terror activists engaged in human trafficking, arms smuggling and financial frauds bases in East Asia, Western Europe, Canada and Africa.  Defence official are monitoring the movements Sivarasa Pirundaban alias Achchudan alias Suresh, Bahitharan alias Bhavi, Narendran Rathnasabapathi alias Naren, Ganeshruban alias Ruban and Ponnaiah Anandarajah alias Aiyya alias Rajah and a few more LTTE activists who are connected to arms procurement, transshipping while poising as businessmen.  A recent recovery made by the Sri Lankan military intelligence at Visuamdu of highly classified documents and diary notes of Castro, a one time head of the LTTE's international wing has provided much light into the terror outfit overseas based operatives and clandestine funding agencies.  This includes a number of documents related to LTTE investments and transactions connected to LTTE shipping operations and business ventures overseas, the defence ministry said.  Information reveals that Ponniah Anandarajah alias Rajah alias Ayyah, operated as the head of the LTTE's international procurements while Anandarajah was reported to be the head of the LTTE's financial, procurement and shipping network since 2002/03.  Born in Jaffna, in 1972 Sivarasa Pirundaban alias Achchudan holds a French passport and is presently living a low profile life while being actively engaged in the LTTE's international terror network.  The authorities are in the process of investigating into involvements of his brothers who are presently residing in Far East and Canada- also engaged in LTTE' international terror network.  Meanwhile, Intel agencies are also in the verge of arresting Narendran operating from Europe, who is married to a Russian woman. Bhavidaran and Rooban are two more high profile LTTE terror activists running LTTE front offices in Indonesia.  In addition authorities are also investigating into millions of LTTE funds been invested into legal and illegal business ventures based on financial data recovered from Castro's hideout at Visuamadu.  It is expected that more red notices to be issued and further arrest to be made with the assistance of Interpol and concerned governments. (Daily Mirror online : 23 July 2010).

AN OPEN LETTER TO THE UNITED NATIONS AND SOME 1st WORLD NATIONS… - by Shyana Mushin - I can’t help but agree with the millions of people who share the same sentiments as I, whilst adding why have the UN in their role as peace keepers of the world, not taken steps to halt Israel’s quest to seize Palestinian land… Why have the UN remained silent for so long? They allow America to freely arm Israel with nuclear power and the IAEA makes no mention of ending Israel’s need to disarm; going to the extent of not even mentioning an inspection of Israel’s nuclear facilities… Why hurl sanctions on only Iran, and North Korea; and yet keep silent of the role that America plays with assisting Israel! Why let the leader’s of several 1st world nations get away scot-free I can’t help but agree with so many individual comments; whilst re-emphasizing; why have the UN in their role as peace keepers of the world, not forced sanctions and a commission to halt Israel’s quest to seize Palestinian land in the name of peace…? Are not America and Israel equally guilty on several counts; and yet the UN continues protecting these rouge nations…? (LankaWeb : 23 July 2010).

LTTE diaries may prove foreign link - bunch of yellowing diaries found in a former Tamil Tiger hideout in northern Sri Lanka could provide vital clues to Lankan intelligence agencies about the rebels' existing international and fund raising networks. Sri Lankan army search teams stumbled upon not only the diaries but scores of abandoned passports and other documents during a search operation in Viswamadu, which is not very far from the final theatre of battle in north-eastern Sri Lanka. According to the defence ministry, the diaries and the documents have so far yielded vital information about the LTTE's alleged involvement in human trafficking, arms smuggling and financial dealings in east Asia, western Europe, Canada and Africa. The documents have also revealed information about LTTE investments around the world and transactions connected to the group's shipping operations. The defence ministry claimed that Lankan intelligence agencies were on the verge of arresting an LTTE cadre Narendran, a Tamilian married to a Russian, operating from a country in Europe. The ministry added that they were also tracking two more people, Bhavidaran and Rooban, who are allegedly running LTTE front offices in Indonesia. Colombo is also pursuing several governments to dismantle three broad groups that are now assumed to be controlling the remaining pro-LTTE international factions: the US group is said to be headed by V. Rudrakumaran, the UK group by Aruththanthai Emmanuel of the World Tamil Forum (WTF) and the Norway group by Nediyavan.  Recently, at least eight persons in the Netherlands and five in Germany were arrested by the respective government agencies on suspicion of having links with the LTTE.  The Sri Lanka government is also using diplomatic channels to stall pro-LTTE activities and dismantle arms smuggling network in the African country of Eritrea.  In early 2009, the Tamil Tigers here were ready to receive a consignment of several dismantled light aircraft to be shipped from the Eritrean coastline. But before the shipment could be sent, the civil war ended here (Hindustan Times ; 23 July 2010).

China facilitates setting up of permanent SF bases in North - The government is engaged in an ambitious programme to establish permanent security forces bases in the Northern and Eastern Provinces as part of a strategy to thwart any possible attempt to revive LTTE terrorism. Authoritative government officials told The Island that the deployment of security forces in the Northern and Eastern Provinces as well as other parts of the country would be solely at the discretion of the military top brass.  In keeping with the government policy, the army has established the 68 Division headquarters at Sugandirapuram, Puthukudirippu east of the Kandy-Jaffna A9 road. Army Chief Lt. General Jagath Jayasuriya on Thursday (22) visited the new headquarters to meet senior officers and men deployed in the area. Lt. General Jayasuriya told a gathering of men and officers that permanent bases were necessary to move security forces from private and public property currently occupied by them. Although the Jaffna peninsula had remained home to the largest concentration of forces before the outbreak of Eelam war IV in August 2006, today the single biggest deployment is in the Vanni.  The army chief appreciated the Chinese assistance to speed up the re-deployment process by making available what he called pre-fabricated technology. Lt. General Jayasuriya said: "These types of permanent buildings were made possible due to pre-fabricated technology from China. The government wants us to vacate all buildings, belonging to the civil sector, so that owners of those buildings could reclaim them and help bring normalcy to the area. Civil life should be restored and facilitated in the area. In the future, once married quarters of the officers and the other ranks are set up in respective areas, they would be able to live with their families as well while serving the areas." (Island : 23 July 2010).

Intel agencies to bust International LTTE terror racket; Hunt-on for most wanted LTTE operative as INTERPOL issues revived RED Notices... - Sri Lankan Intel agencies have unearthed vital information into remaining LTTE international terror activists engaged in human trafficking, arms smuggling and financial frauds bases in East Asia, Western Europe, Canada and Africa. According to reports, Sri Lankan Intel agencies & the INTERPOL has joined forces in a coordinated effort to bust the foreign based LTTE international terror network. The Sri Lankan government has come to the realization that unless LTTE's foreign based terror network is nabbed, there can be no end to terrorist activities in the country and in the South Asian region. For this purpose, Sri Lankan intelligence services have stepped-up fresh anti-terror operations to pin-down most wanted LTTE terror sleuths. The Intel agencies are optimistic of cooperation by the concerned governments in which the terror suspects are identified to be in self-exile. According to reports, officials are moving ahead more than just tight scrutiny on Sivarasa Pirundaban alias Achchudan alias Suresh, Bahitharan alias Bhavi, Narendran Rathnasabapathi alias Naren, Ganeshruban alias Ruban and Ponnaiah Anandarajah alias Aiyya alias Rajah and a few more LTTE activists who are connected to arms procurement, transshipping while poising as businessmen. A recent recovery made by the Sri Lankan military intelligence at Visuamdu into some highly classified documents and diary notes of Castro once head of LTTE's international wing has provided much light into the terror outfit overseas based operatives and clandestine funding agencies. This includes a number of documents related to LTTE investments and transactions connected to LTTE shipping operations and business ventures overseas (Sri Lanka Defence Ministry : 23 July 2010).

A 'hero' shamed - The Island Editorial - Close on the heels of his appointment of an expert panel to advise him on accountability issues relating to violations of international human rights and humanitarian law during the final stages of the conflict in Sri Lanka, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has had a bellyful of lecturing from an outgoing top UN official on transparency and accountability. Chief anti-corruption official of the UN or the Undersecretary General for the Office of Internal Oversight Services Inga-Britt Ahlenius has, in her goodbye missive, torn the UNSG to shreds. A former Swedish auditor and public servant, Ahlenius pulled no punches when she told her boss that he was a bureaucratic 'weakling' who had reduced the UN to a 'sad' and 'perilous' state of 'irrelevance by destroying accountability in his own house'. Such scathing attacks are not common at the UN, where people are usually told to go to hell in such a way that they really look forward to the trip! What is the real cause of outspoken Ahlenius' choler? She accuses Ki-moon of having striven to undermine internal oversight which is a sine qua non for good governance. "Your actions are not only deplorable but seriously reprehensible," she wrote to him in her 50-page memo, which was also leaked to the press. So, this is the kind of man who is pontificating to others about the virtues of accountability! No one else could be better informed of the nether side of the UN than Ahlenius and it is only natural that the world has taken very serious note of what she has said of Ban Ki-moon. US lawmakers lost no time in citing her vivisection as proof that the US taxpayers' money was being squandered to maintain the UN. Rep. Illeana Ros-Lehtinen, R-Fla said in a press release, "The stew of corruption, mismanagement and negligence long plaguing the UN has reached a boiling point." (Sri Lanka Defence Ministry : 23 July 2010).

OPA expresses 'grave concern' over UN Advisory Committee - The Organization of Professional Associations of Sri Lanka (OPA) referring to the UN Advisory Committee, has expressed its grave concern over and condemns, the wanton manner in which the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon has been, on his own volition, acting against the sovereign nation of Sri Lanka. The President of OPA, Prof. A D V de S Indraratna in a letter to President Mahinda Rajapaksa further states that this action by the Secretary-General jeopardizes the Reconciliation process in Sri Lanka and expects the UN Secretary-General to disband the Advisory Committee appointed by him without creating unnecessary dissention in the world body. Following is the text of the letter: (Sri Lanka Defence Ministry : 23 July 2010).

Sri Lankans and Japanese held a demonstration against UNSG’s decision to appoint so-called advisory panel on Sri Lanka in front of UN office in Tokyo on 20th July 2010 (Sinhale Hot News: 21 July 2010).

Moon lets the cat out of the bag - by Ira De Silva, Canada - It is ironic that Mr. Ban Ki-moon should reveal his hand as you say by appointing Richard Bennett a protege of the (in)famous Navi Pillay who is a proven enemy of Sri Lanka and a close ally of the LTTE at the same time that one of his own bureaucrats, the outgoing head of the Office of Internal Oversight, Inga-Britt Ahlentius claims that under Ban’s watch "there is no transparency, there is (a) lack of accountability (Washington Post July 20,2010). It is claimed that all he is doing is contributing to the process of decay of the UN. According to Ahlentius, under Ban’s guidance the UN "is not only falling apart - it is drifting into irrelevance". All Sri Lanka has heard from Ban Ki-moon is that he wants transparency and accountability yet he himself is being accused of not adhering to these qualities which means that he himself does not believe in them. His double standards are being exposed. According the the former U.S. ambassador to the UN John Bolten writing to the Washington Times on June 24,2010 "Withholding US Funds would chasten the Secretary General", in thinking of appointing a panel to investigate Israel regarding the Gaza blockade, unless he gets UN Security Council authorization, Ban would be far exceeding his legitimate authority and be close to making an enormously significant misjudgment about his role and authority. The same principle would apply to Sri Lanka, but not in Ban’s way of thinking. Small third world countries are to be dictated to - so much for Ban’s democracy, equality, impartiality, transparency, accountability and other virtues being bandied about on a regular basis (Island : 22 July 2010).

War crimes in Korea: Who cares? - by Durand Appuhamy - Un Secretary General Ban Ki- moon appears to have ignored the bloodbath and the attendant war crimes in his own country from the time of the Korean War (in 1950) right up to the military dictatorship in the 1980s. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Korea was established in Dec.2005 to investigate Human Rights abuses alleged to have taken place during and after the Korean War.  The Commission found shocking evidence of large scale killing of civilians and secretive slaughter of political detainees by the US allied South Korean military and the police. More than 200 incidents were cited in which US military was alleged to have killed refugee groups on the pretext that they were infiltrators. Blanket orders were given to napalm-bomb a cave jammed with refugees in eastern South Korea and an air attack was carried out on refugees gathered in an open field in the far south. A few survivors have attested to these massacres. The Commission recommended the Seoul government to negotiate with the US for compensation for survivors of what it agreed were indiscriminate attacks (Island ; 22 July 2010).

Transnational Government of Tamil Eelam: All clothes and no emperor - by Prof Sisira PINNAWALA - Continued from yesterday - Selvarasa Pathmanathan, better known as KP proclaimed himself LTTE leader after Tiger supremo Prabakaran’s demise. KP chose Visuvanathan Rudrakumaran, a US based lawyer who was one time legal adviser to the LTTE negotiating team with the Government and later its unofficial ideologue after Anton Balasingham’s death, to explore the ways and means of forming a Transnational Government of Tamil Eelam. After the extraordinary rendition of Pathmanathan by the Government the unofficial mantel of leadership of the LTTE and the responsibility of forming the TGTE fell into the hands of Rudrakumaran. He authored the initial concept paper for the Provisional Transnational Government of Tamil Eelam (PGTGE) which was further developed by a 14 member Advisory Committee consisting of representatives of the Diaspora and some prominent LTTE sympathizers of the International non-governmental sector that included Karen Parker, Professors Francis Boyle and Peter Schalk. The Advisory Committee report entitled Formation of a Provisional Transnational Government of Tamil Eelam (PGTGE) and detailing its objectives, form and functions was launched on March 15, 2010 (Daily News : 22 July 2010).

Northern railway restoration fast-tracked Work to be over before due date: Work on the Northern railway line from Thandikulam to Kankesanthurai and the Medawachchiya-Thalaimannar railway line have been expedited on Transport Minister Kumara Welgama's instruction.  India has provided 425 million US Dollars assistance to Sri Lanka for railway projects expecting speedy reconstruction and rehabilitation efforts in the Northern region.  Minister Welgama inspecting the reconstruction of rail track from Thandikulam to Omanthai recently said the restoration of two railway lines are expected to be finished by the project's due date. Meanwhile, the reconstruction of the Omanthai Railway station which came to standstill for the past few months commenced recently. The Minister who listened to railway workers' grievances instructed officers to take immediate action to pay outstanding allowances of employees working on the Northern railway line extension project.  The 159 kilo metres Northern rail track consists of 85 bridges, 16 stations and 12 sub stations all of which need to be rebuilt. Many State and private institutions have come forward to assist the construction of railway stations in the North.  The reconstruction of the Medawachchiya-Thalaimannar section will be carried out in two stages (Daily News : 22 July 2010).

Mullaittivu debacle war heroes immortalized - Valiant War Heroes who fought till the last during the famous 'Mullaittivu debacle' in the year 1996 when Tiger terrorists overran their camp were immortalized on the very date of the tragedy by erecting a special war memorial, adjacent to the 591 Brigade Headquarters in Mullaittivu. This war memorial, constructed by 9 Sri Lanka Sinha Regiment (SLSR) troops, was unveiled on 18th July 2010, the day that marked the final fall of the camp into terrorists' hands some 14 years ago after a siege of two days. 44 officers and 1119 other ranks, mainly of 5 Brigade, 9 SLSR and 6 Vijayabahu Infantry Regiment (VIR) lost their lives during fierce gun battles that lasted for two days. The war monument with all War Heroes' names, built on the instructions of the Commander of the Army Lieutenant General Jagath Jayasuriya, was unveiled by Major General Chandana Rajaguru, Commander Security Forces -Mullaittivu in the company of a large gathering of next of kin of fallen War Heroes in the debacle. Parents, spouses, children and next of kin of fallen War Heroes laid floral wreaths, flowers and lit oil lamps at the foot of the monument soon after a military salute was accorded. A large gathering of senior officers, Police officers and senior citizens in the area attended the occasion (Sri Lanka Defence Ministry : 22 July 2010).

Tamils not discriminated - The police say the process of the registration of persons resident in Colombo is being misinterpreted by certain parties with vested interests attempting to show the entire scheme as a discriminatory practice confined to Tamil citizens.  Police spokesman Prishantha Jayakody, in a statement, said that the claims are baseless and furthest from the truth, and meant to convey to the world that the Security Forces have an ethnic bias and are acting with injustice and discrimination towards the Tamil community living in Colombo.  The Police says they are acting in accordance with the relevant provisions in the Police Ordinance under which officers in charge of police stations are empowered to carry out such registration of persons wherever deemed necessary to ensure maximum possible social security, accountability and safety to all citizenry, regardless of any ethnic considerations.  “It is necessary to state that in the Wellawatte Police area that has been referred to, registration had been done of Tamil people who are a majority in this are as well as Sinhala and Muslims. The public are therefore advised to cooperate with law-enforcement authorities and make the project a success since such registrations are of high importance for your own security,” police spokesman Prishantha Jayakody said. (Daily Mirror online : 22 July 2010).

Air Force unearth explosives, cache of arms - Air Force troops unearthed over 300kg of high explosives and a cache of arms and ammunition on information provided by an ex-LTTE cadre in Iranapalai and Puthukudiyiruppu Monday. Air Force Spokesman Group Captain Janaka Nanayakkara said following a tip off given by a rehabilitated ex-LTTEer, the Air Force Intelligence Unit uncovered a haul of arms and ammunition along with different types of high explosives in the Puthukudiyiruppu area. He said the Air Force recovered 750 of 32 x 7.62mm ammunition, two of 120 mm mortar bombs,eight of 81mm mortar smoke bombs, four 81mm mortar bombs, three of 60mm mortar bombs, five of LTTE made air craft bombs, six of 40mm RPG bomb, two of hand grenades, two of 120mm mortar fuses, two of LTTE made 40mm mortars, 50 of pressure switches , 49 of pressure release and three of instantaneous fuse 70m rolls in the Iranapalai area. Meanwhile, the Air Force Intelligence Unit unearthed explosives and ammunition in the Puthukudiyiruppu area. They have uncovered 100kg of C-4 explosives, 90kg of RDX explosives, 25kg of low explosives, 100kg of propellant tube form explosives, 14 claymore mines, three anti tank mine, 11 of 81 mm mortar smoke bombs, ten of 81mm mortar incendiary bombs, 20 of 81mm mortar trapping bombs, 15 of 40mm RPG bombs, 8,090 of 7.62 x MPMG ammunition, 1,500 of 7.62 x 212 ammunition, 96 0f 14mm ammunition, two of LTTE made hand grenade, an LTTE made rocket Bomb, 28 of pressure switches, 29 of pressure release switches and 500g of gun powder (Daily News : 22 July 2010).

Lanka slams Robert Blake - The government today slammed US Assistant Secretary for South Asia and Central Asian Affairs Robert Blake stating he has no right to dictate to Sri Lanka on how democracy must be protected or make comments on the 17th Amendment as it is entirely a domestic matter of this country. Cabinet Spokesman Minister Keheliya Rambukwella told journalists this afternoon that Mr. Blake who was also the former US Ambassador to Sri Lanka was purely an outsider who had no right to talk about the internal matters of the country (Daily Mirror ; 22 July 2010).

UN lacks transparency or accountability under Ban Ki Moon - Head UN internal office United Nations Secretary General, Ban Ki Moon seeking a second term in office has come under heavy criticism by the outgoing Head of the UN Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS), Inga-Britt Ahlenius of Sweden. According to the Washington Post, in her end-of-assignment report, she states under Ban's watch 'there is no transparency, there is (a) lack of accountability', and accuses him of poor leadership. She adds that the world body was "falling apart" and becoming irrelevant. "I regret to say that the (U.N.) Secretariat now is in a process of decay. It is not only falling apart ... It is drifting into irrelevance," she wrote. According to the Washington Post, Ahlenius further said Ban Ki Moon had undermined the independence of OIOS, which investigates suspected wrongdoing at the United Nations, by preventing her from making the U.S. head of the disbanded U.N. Procurement Task Force head of OIOS investigations. Last year, Norway 's Deputy U.N. Ambassador Mona Juul criticized Ban as absent, passive and helpless in an internal memo that was leaked to a Norwegian newspaper. Others in the UN including the Secretary General's Chief-of-Staff, Vijay Nambiar, supported Ban Ki Moon and responded to the Washington Post saying "many pertinent facts were overlooked or misrepresented" in Ahlenius' report. Ban's spokesman Martin Nesirky said his boss had improved accountability and transparency at the United Nations as he had promised when he took over from Kofi Annan in January 2007. U.N. diplomats expect Ban to run again next year for a second term that would begin in January 2012 (Sri Lanka Defence Ministry : 22 July 2010).

'UN rights panel members biased against Lanka' - The US Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Affairs, Robert Blake, confirmed on Wednesday, that the Sri Lankan government had shed its total opposition to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon’s advisory panel on the human rights situation in the island nation, and was working out ways of cooperating with it.  The reason for Colombo’s volte face on the issue is that it has failed to get the support of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) in general, and India in particular.  It is reliably learnt that New Delhi had politely rejected Colombo’s request to intervene on its behalf among the NAM countries in the UN.  Though Blake had sugar coated the bitter pill by emphasising that the panel’s job was only to “advice” the UN Secretary General and that its advise was by no means binding on him, Sri Lankans believe that the three members of the committee are already biased against Sri Lanka.  The Island daily went to the extent of saying editorially on Thursday ,that the panel might have already formulated a highly critical report based on acounts given by the “victim industry and LTTE lobbyists masquerading as human rights activists.”  The paper recalled that Marzuki Darusman of Indonesia was a part of the controversial International Independent Group of Eminent Persons (IIGEP) which went into 16 cases of human rights violation in Sri Lanka a few years ago. The IIGEP had left in a huff without completing its task, complaining of non-cooperation by the Sri Lankan government.The second member, Prof.Steven R.Ratner of the US, is seen as a public advocate of international intervention to save “failed states” (Express Buzz : 22 July 2010).

An Expert Panel needs to first investigate effectiveness of UN - By Shenali Waduge - Sixty years ago, the United Nations was founded to maintain international peace and security, promote basic human rights, and protect fundamental freedoms.  Sixty years on, its acronym UN projects negatives and a dismal track record of Unhelpful, Unethical, Unproductive, Unfair UN policies by its bureaucracy….should world Governments continue to assume this world body is realistically suited to secure world peace?  A panel must first investigate how far UN and its associated organizations have been able to deliver on their goals against the billions that have been and is currently spent on the UN and its associated entities and deduce whether the UN needs to now close shop and be replaced with a restructured entity and new personnel.  There may not have been another world war but the UN has not been successful in stopping many mini wars. Today there are almost 250 armed conflicts taking place globally. As a body that is meant to project all the good things that should be happening in the world, the UN has to be devoid of any and all violations it alleges against countries, leaders or Governments. This is a natural phenomenon and we are well aware of the adage – practice what you preach. Nevertheless, it is becoming increasingly clear that this peace body is not delivering what it is meant to fundamentally deliver leave aside all of the other non-core related issues it has steadily included under its wings which invariably has left its concentration away from more important fundamental areas and instead on complex and complicated areas which has no coherent conclusions. Top on the list of UN failures include preventing killings in Liberia in 1997 where 7 years of civil war killed 200,000 people and Rwanda in 1994 which resulted in 800,000 deaths. UN has also failed to condemn slavery in Sudan, Sierra Leone, Zimbabwe, Angola, Kashmir, Colombia, Iraq, North Korea and Afghanistan (Asian Tribune : 22 July 2010).

Work on the Northern railway line expedited

Ban lets the big cat out of the bag - UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has revealed his hand, albeit unwittingly. He has finally dropped the fig leaf of impartiality. When he appointed an advisory panel on Sri Lanka, he claimed that it would be independent. But, the UN has officially announced that the panel is under the umbrella of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights Navanethem Pillay, whose anti-Sri Lankan stance is only too well known. She was part of the diplomatic team that tried to save Prabhakaran trapped in the Vanni and responsible for a human rights witch hunt against Sri Lanka in Geneva last year. And the person who has been handpicked as the head of the staff of the expert panel is a trusted lieutenant of Pillay! Richard Bennett is his name. He had been the Representative of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in Nepal until his latest appointment. Now, the UNSG's game plan is patently clear. He could not have found a more anti-Sri Lankan team for his witch hunt! As we pointed out the other day, the chairman of Moon's Kangaroo Trial, Marzuki Darusman was part of the International Independent Group of Eminent Persons (IIGEP) involved in a presidential commission that probed some alleged violations of human rights in Sri Lanka. These eminent persons had a row with the government and left in a huff. Darusman is, therefore, prejudiced against this country. Steven R. Ratner is of a similar mindset. He, in a book co-authored with Jason S. Abrams, Accountability for Human rights: Atrocities in International Law-Beyond the Nuremberg Legacy, advocates that the ban on apartheid be invoked in relation to some countries including Sri Lanka, which he refers to by innuendo. The other member of the panel, Yasmin Sooka, a former Truth Commission member, is the executive director of the Foundation for Human Rights (FHR) in South Africa. Her outfit is heavily dependent on EU funds for survival. The EU has allocated a whopping 25 million Euros for one of its programmes. She is, therefore, beholden to the EU, which is leading a war crimes campaign against Sri Lanka from the front (Island : 21 July 2010).

Robert Blake calls on President United States - Assistant Secretary of State for South Asia and Central Asia, Robert O. Blake paid a courtesy call on President Mahinda Rajapaksa at the President's House last morning (July 21). He was accompanied by US Ambassador Patricia Butenis. President Rajapaksa and Blake exchanged views on bilateral relations during the breakfast meeting. External Affairs Minister Prof G L Peiris, Secretary to the President, Lalith Weerathunga and Treasury Secretary Dr P B Jayasundara also participated in the discussions. The two sides examined ways and means of further strengthening bilateral relations between Sri Lanka and the United States and identified several areas for the expansion of bilateral cooperation. The US Assistant Secretary offered to increase training facilities for Sri Lankan officials and others in the United States. Blake is scheduled to hold further discussions with Minister of External Affairs, Prof Peiris and other officials during his visit (Daily News ; 21 July 2010).

UN official blasts Ban Ki-moon on accountability - The departing head of the agency that battles corruption in the United Nations has issued a scathing assessment of Secretary General Ban Ki-moon’s record on accountability. The memo by Inga-Britt Ahlenius blames Ban and his senior advisers for weakening the U.N. so much it is “falling apart” and “drifting into irrelevance.” The undersecretary-general who stepped down from a five-year term last week says “there is no transparency, there is lack of accountability” under Ban’s leadership. She says Ban caused “damage to the integrity of a core process” at the U.N. by blocking her from filling vacant posts and taking other steps that undermined her tenure as head of the Office of Internal Oversight Services. U.N. spokesman Martin Nesirky said Tuesday that Ban “would be the first to say this organization has a long way to go to fully implement the changes that are needed.”(AP) (Sinhale Hot News : 21 July 2010).

Businessman arrested for building apartments with LTTE funds - The Criminal Investigation Department yesterday arrested a leading businessman who had constructed an up-market condominium complex in Wellawatte allegedly with the money received from the LTTE. The alleged deal came to light following a CID probe into 11 condominium complexes in Colombo.  The suspect Sivakumar, alias Siva, is a Canadian citizen. He had lived in Wellawatte for a long time after his return to Sri Lanka and engaged in the construction of luxury apartments, sources said. The suspect’s apartment complex consists of 78 units and 40 of them have already been sold at Rs. 15 million each, according to the police. The condominium project was launched in 2005 while the CFA between the LTTE and the government was in force. Investigations have revealed that the suspect had deposited large amounts of money with several banks (Island : 21 July 2010).

Senior UN Auditor launches attack on Secretary General - Senior UN Auditor Inga Britt Ahlenius has launched a blistering attack on UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon's leadership. Ms Ahlenius is the outgoing head of a body charged with combating corruption and misconduct within the organisation. In her last act at the United Nations, the organization’s chief anti-corruption official blasted Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon as a bureaucratic weakling who has reduced the U.N. to a "sad" and perilous state of irrelevance by destroying accountability in his own house. Ahlenius wrote in her 50 page report that under his watch, "There is no transparency, there is lack of accountability" at the U.N. Ahlenius specifically faulted Ban for setting up competing investigations alongside her own and blocking her from appointing officials of her choosing to staff her department. "Your actions are not only deplorable, but seriously reprehensible," Ms Ahlenius is quoted as saying. "Your action is without precedent and in my opinion seriously embarrassing for yourself." She accused Ban of undermining her efforts and of leading the UN into an era of decline, and of attempting to undercut the independence of her "oversight" office. She claims he tried to establish a parallel investigation apparatus under his own authority, and blocked her ability to recruit senior staff. Sounds familiar? Moon launched his parallel enquiry, whatever his spokesperson likes to call it, to report on Sri Lanka when the government of Sri Lanka had already appointed its own independent enquiry, thus undermining the efforts of the Sri Lanka government to do their own independent investigation. Judging from this and what Ms Ahlenius has said, it appears that this is Moon’s modus operandi, demonstrating his penchant for discrediting what others are trying hard to do (Island : 21 July 2010).

An Ottawa-based aid group linked to Tamil Tiger arms dealer

Sri Lankan MPs meet Karunanidhi - The Sri Lankan government has not taken steps to bring about a political solution to the Tamil ethnic problem, a Tamil MP from island country said on Tuesday. Speaking after meeting Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi , MP R Sambandan said, "Sri Lanka has not taken any concrete steps towards implementing a political solution for the Tamil problem. The government has not taken any dialogue with us for achieving a political solution." A delegation of five MPs of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) met Karunanidhi at his residence and urged him and the Indian government to help find a solution for the Tamil problem. According to Sambandan, around 100,000 Tamils had not been allowed to go back to their native places since the end of the war last year. "The pace of building houses for Tamils is slow," he said. Queried about Karunanidhi's idea of sending an Indian envoy to Sri Lanka, Sambandan said, "It is a good idea. Even during (prime minister) Indira Gandhi's period, Karunanidhi had mooted such an idea." The TNA was once vocally supportive of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), which was decimated by the Sri Lankan military in May 2009 (Hindustan Times : 20 July 2010).

Tamil Charity status revoked - By Asoka Weerasinghe, Canada - The Editor (Letters) THE OTTAWA CITIZEN; Sir: Your report ‘Charity’s status revoked over aid to Tamil Tigers’ most certainly renewed my faith in the Canadian Revenue Agency for finally catching up with Tamil charities that sneakily collected funds for the separatist war in Sri Lanka and funded the Tamil Tigers. Most of the money collected by the Tamil (Sri Lanka) Refugee-Aid Society of Ottawa went directly to the Chandiukulum Village, which was the home of the Tamil Tiger naval base for the Sea Tigers, the terrorists naval wing. That should have given the Canadian Revenue Agency enough reason to suspect the intention of this charity. Tamil charities mushroomed in 1995 just after the Tsunami and most of them were fronts for the Tamil Tigers, and their intentions were cleverly masked by having Roman Catholic Tamil priests associated with the charity as did this one in Ottawa with Rev. Philip Ratnapala as a Director. That has always been their master-plan as did the Tamil Roman Catholic Church back in Sri Lanka’s north. With this unfortunate experience, I will not blame the good and big hearted Canadians for being cautious of opening their wallets to help Sri Lanka from now on. This is unfortunate as Sri Lanka’s sick, poor and the hungry should not be penalized because of a few misguided errant Tamil charities (LankaWeb : 20 July 2010).

Mullaittivu debacle war heroes immortalized - Valiant War Heroes who fought till the last during the famous 'Mullaittivu debacle' in the year 1996 when Tiger terrorists overran their camp were immortalized on the very date of the tragedy by erecting a special war memorial, adjacent to the 591 Brigade Headquarters in Mullaittivu. This war memorial, constructed by 9 Sri Lanka Sinha Regiment (SLSR) troops, was unveiled on 18th July 2010, the day that marked the final fall of the camp into terrorists' hands some 14 years ago after a siege of two days. 44 officers and 1119 other ranks, mainly of 5 Brigade, 9 SLSR and 6 Vijayabahu Infantry Regiment (VIR) lost their lives during fierce gun battles that lasted for two days. The war monument with all War Heroes' names, built on the instructions of the Commander of the Army Lieutenant General Jagath Jayasuriya, was unveiled by Major General Chandana Rajaguru, Commander Security Forces -Mullaittivu in the company of a large gathering of next of kin of fallen War Heroes in the debacle. Parents, spouses, children and next of kin of fallen War Heroes laid floral wreaths, flowers and lit oil lamps at the foot of the monument soon after a military salute was accorded. A large gathering of senior officers, Police officers and senior citizens in the area attended the occasion (Sri Lanka Defence Ministry : 20 July 2010).

Foundation stone laid for Jaffna education office complex - The government with accordance with Northern provincial council has already allocated funds for the new Jaffna Zonal Education office complex. The office complex is to be built in Nallur and its foundation stone was laid under the patronage of Northern Province Governor Major General G.A. Chandrasiri on 15th July. The construction of the office complex is to be completed before end of this year, an official of the northern provincial council said speaking to defence.lk. With restoring peace and democracy in North and East by defeating ruthless LTTE terrorist organization, the government making maximum contribution not only to develop infrastructure in the area but the whole education system which was ruined due to three decade long LTTE terrorism. Mr. L. Ilaangovan, Secretary to the Northern Province Education Ministry, Mr. V. T. Selvaratnam, Assistance Provincial Education Director, Mrs. A. Vedhanayagam, Jaffna Zonal Educational Director and Senior Officials from Jaffna Zonal Educational Office were also participated at the ceremony (Sri Lanka Defence Ministry : 20 July 2010).

Expatriate Lankans in Vienna helps disabled children in the North & East - Sri Lankan expatriates in Vienna have recently donated 49 wheel chairs to disabled children in Sri Lanka. The First Lady Madam Shiranthi Rajapaksa, at a ceremony held at the President's House in Colombo handed over 18 wheel chairs for young children disabled by the conflict in the north and eastern regions. The remaining wheel chairs were distributed at welfare centers in Manik Farm, Vavuniya and Batticaloa. Sri Lankan community members, in association with the Embassy of Sri Lanka in Vienna, collected the fund for donation of wheel chairs at an event held on 18th May 2010 in remembrance of Ranaviru heroes and fellow country men and women who had sacrificed their lives during the conflict. The event also marked the first anniversary of dawning of peace after the defeat terrorism in the island. In order to show their solidarity with the families affected, expatriates gathered at the event came forward to support the wheel chair donation programme. Representatives of Sri Lankan community in Vienna also participated at the distribution ceremony held in Sri Lanka (Sri Lanka Defence Ministry : 20 July 2010).

Local Government Week - 2010 held in Chunnakam - A function to mark the Local Government Week - 2010 which was organized by the Vali South Pradeshiya Sabha, Chunnakam, was held on 15th July at the Paradeshiya Sabha premises.  The chief guest of the occasion was Northern Governor Major General G.A. Chandrasiri. Deputy Chairman of Committees M. Chandrakumar MP, Commissioner of Local Government of Northern Province Mr. F. Johnson, Regional Commissioner of Jaffna District Mrs. P. Sivalingam and Mrs. M. Vasanthakumar and many public participated at the event.  It is graceful that school children of the area also showed their performance in this event.  Reconstruction of the Evinai - Poovalady Road, Chunnakam, funded by the Vali South Pradeshiya Sabha was also inaugurated during this event. Chairman of the Vali South Pradeshiya Sabha said that Rs. 2.815 million has already been allocated for the project (Sri Lanka Defence Ministry : 20 July 2010).

More tsunami warning towers for North - The Disaster Management Centre (DMC) will set-up 25 tsunami early warning towers along the Northern coastal belt in addition to the existing towers.  DMC Deputy Director Pradeep Kodippilly said as part of covering all coastal areas by establishing tsunami early warning towers, the DMC has taken measures to set-up another 25 early warning towers along the Northern coastal belt. The DMC has already started constructing the tsunami early warning towers in the Northern coastal belt, he added.  "These tsunami early warning towers will be set-up in addition to 55 existing early warning towers in the Northern Province. The early warning towers have been set-up to alert people in case of a tsunami or cyclone," Kodippilly told the Daily News.  He said many tsunami early warning towers particularly in Mullaitivu and Kilinochchi districts were damaged or destroyed during the war.  The DMC will set up early warning towers in Mannar, Mullaitivu, Kilinochchi and Jaffna districts while a tower will be set-up in Delf Island.  Around 25 tsunami early warning towers were built along the coastal line from Puttalam to Trincomalee. The number of early warning towers will also be increased in the Eastern and Southern coastal belts (Sri Lanka Defence Ministry : 20 July 2010).

Aid group linked to Tamil Tiger arms dealer - An Ottawa-based aid group stripped of its charity status on the weekend was linked to an arms merchant for Sri Lanka’s Tamil Tiger rebels, according to Canada Revenue Agency documents released today.  The documents obtained by the National Post allege that Thiruthanikan Thanigasalam, a convicted weapons dealer, had served as the Toronto representative of the Tamil (Sri Lanka) Refugee-Aid Society of Ottawa.  The charity’s letterhead identifies Thanigasalam as the representative of the group’s “Toronto office,” the CRA alleges. He was also director of a 2005 tsunami relief fundraising campaign that used the society’s address, telephone, bank account and charity registration number, the agency says.  Thanigasalam was arrested in New York in 2006 and has since pleaded guilty to attempting to purchase Russian surface-to-air missiles and 500 AK-47 assault rifles for the Tamil rebels. He is serving a 25-year sentence.  The CRA did not mention Thanigasalam when it announced on Saturday it had revoked the society’s charitable status. But he is named in letters the agency sent to the society’s director, Ottawa Catholic priest Rev. Philip Ratnapala, on Feb. 22 and June 15.  The CRA does not suggest Rev. Ratnapala was aware of Thanigasalam’s involvement with the Tamil rebels or arms dealing. But the agency did take the charity to task over its financial transfers to Sri Lanka.  In particular, the agency says the group sent $713,000 to SEDOT, which the CRA letter says was created by the late Tamil Tigers leader Velupillai Prabhakaran and “is or was a front organization” for the rebels.  The agency noted that most of the money was directed to Chundikulam Village, which it said was “the home of a LTTE naval base for the Sea Tigers.” The Sea Tigers were the rebel naval wing.  Canada was a critical fundraising base for the Tamil Tigers until the rebels were wiped out by Sri Lankan forces just over a year ago. The United Nations is looking into a possible war crimes investigation of alleged abuses committed during the final phase of the conflict (National Post : 19 July 2010).

Interpol notices for two LTTE leaders - Documents recovered from a former LTTE base in the jungles of Northern Sri Lanka have revealed important information about its intricate international network. The base was used by a senior Tiger leader, Veerakathy Manivannam also known as Castro, who was one of the outfit’s major international linkmen.  Following the recovery, the Sri Lankan government sought help from the Interpol and international police forces to arrest two persons including one currently residing in the US, newspaper reports in Colombo have said.  ``Interpol has already issued two red notices…based on secret documents recovered from LTTE’s international link Castro…,’’ the government-run Sunday Observer reported.  One of the two suspects is said to be the US-based 60-year-old Ponnaiah Ananda Rajah. Originally said to be from Jaffna, he was known to be involved with the LTTE’s arms procurement and shipping activities since 2003, reports said.  The other person under Interpol probe was identified as Atchchuthan Sivarajah.  ``He is said to have obtained pilot training from an aviation school in France. Later he had obtained French citizenship, married and is currently said to be living with his two children in a West Asian country,’’ the Ada Derana website said.  Sivarajah was allegedly involved in procuring planes and aircraft parts for the LTTE.  Between April 2007 and February 2009, the LTTE – the only extremist outfit to do so -- carried out several air attacks on Colombo and installations belonging to the armed forces across the country. They operated light aircraft which were reassembled after being smuggled into Sri Lanka, most probably by the sea route (Hindustan Times : 19 July 2010).

International LTTE "terror networks" to be dismantled - According to the "Sunday Observer "( 18) , Interpol has issued "red notices" on two hardcore LTTE terrorists namely sixty year old Ponniah Anandarajah alias Rajah alias Ayyah , born in Chankanai, Jaffna and a resident of the USA as well as 48 year old Achudan Sivarasa -Pirundaban Achudan born in Jaffna based on secret documents recovered by the Security Forces from the LTTE "Castro" office in the Wanni recently to break the LTTE international terror outfit reportedly still active in the International arena. Achudan is reportedly a trained pilot from a flying school in France who later became a French citizen living today in the Middle East with his two children . He had been a frequent traveler to several European and African countries and responsible for the purchase of aircraft for the LTTE and forging links with political personalities and business dealers . Anandarajah had been the head of the LTTE financial procurement and shipping network since 2003 and has negotiated deals in making arms and ammunition deals on behalf of the LTTE. Names of two other "Top" LTTE activists involved in LTTE investments and business deals identified as Narendran domiciled in Europe , and Bhavindran and Rooban have also surfaced as operating from South East Asian countries . They have been also reportedly been involved in the procurement of arms and ships besides being involved in business deals. The government of Sri Lanka has "sought more information from intelligence sources regarding the three LTTE factions now operating in Norway, United Kingdom and the USA . Reports indicate that while the Rudrakumaran faction is based in the USA , the Nediyavan faction is based in Norway and the Global Tamil Forum led by Fr Emmanuel is in the United Kingdom. Germany, according to reports have so far this year arrested five LTTE suspects while the Netherlands have arrested eight (Sri Lanka National Security : 19 July 2010).

Over 300 ex-Tigers to sit GCE A/L - Over 300 ex-LTTE cadres would sit for the GCE (Advanced Level) Examination in August, Commissioner General of Rehabilitation, Brigadier Sudantha Ranasinghe said yesterday. He said that LTTE had forcibly recruited those students into its fighting units at the expense of their education and wellbeing. "We identified 594 as students from the government-run rehabilitation centres, prepared 378 of them for the A/L exam and released others after rehabilitation," Brig. Ranasinghe said. He said that the military ran a special school for those A/L students with the assistance of the Education Ministry. The school functions within the premises of the Vavuniya Tamil Primary School. "We have provided them with what they need such as books, stationery, tuition, food and lodging and they only have to study hard," he said. According to him, the military identified 11,800 ex-LTTE cadres for rehabilitation from the IDP camps and some of them were among those who had surrendered to the military. There were 152 university students among them and they were sent to the Jaffna University. About 3,000 former LTTE cadres were released after rehabilitation and some of them were employed in the private sector (Island ; 19 July 2010).

Ottawa Tamil group loses charitable status

Jaffna gets NHDA flats - The National Housing Development Authority is planing to construct flats in the Jaffna town and it’s suburbs in lands belonging to the NHDA under the direction of Construction, Engineering, Housing and Common Amenities Minister Wimal Weerawansa.  Lands have already been identified by NHDA officers led by its Chairman Jayantha Samaraweera during their recent visit to Jaffna.  A number of NHDA housing schemes were inspected by the NHDA Officials which had been damaged during the war period.The Tharakulam housing scheme situates inside the high security zone of Jaffna was also inspected by NHDA Chairman Jayantha Samaraweera. It was one of the schemes seriously damaged by the war.  NHDA Official said the present occupants of Tharakulam will be provided permanent houses in the area close to the Jaffna town as decided by the NHDA Chairman. A housing complex in the same premises of Tharakulam will be constructed soon in lieu of their damaged flat.  A bigger land plot near Navatkuly housing scheme has been identified to construct a larger housing scheme in Jaffna town in 2011 according to the instruction given by Minister Wimal Weerawansa. Residents who resided in Jaffna and its suburbs earlier will be encouraged to acquire the houses in the Jaffna town (Daily News : 19 July 2010).

Ex-LTTE rebels to apply for university courses - Over 300 former Tamil Tiger rebels, currently under rehabilitation, will sit for an examination that would prepare them for higher education in the universities, the government said Monday.  Brigadier Sudantha Ranasinghe, commissioner general of rehabilitation, said 378 ex-LTTE (Liberation Tigers of Tamil Ealam) cadres would sit for the General Certificates of Advanced Level Examination from Aug 9 to Sep 3, Xinhua reported.  ‘We identified 594 former LTTE cadres as students at the government-run rehabilitation camps last year,’ Ranasinghe said.  Ranasinghe said the LTTE forcibly recruited these students and they sacrificed their education to fulfill the needs of the organization.  The military runs a special school for these students with the assistance of the education ministry.  Ranasinghe said the military has identified 11,800 ex-LTTE cadres for rehabilitation from the refugee camps at the end of the civil war in 2009.  The LTTE had been fighting for a separate Tamil homeland in Sri Lanka’s Northern and Eastern provinces for three decades before being defeated by the government troops in May 2009 (Culcutta Tube ; 19 July 2010).

Canada delists charity body funding LTTE - The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) Saturday announced that it has revoked the charitable registration of Ottawa-area charity, Tamil Refugee-Aid Society (TRAS) effective July 17, 2010. The agency is responsible for administering tax laws for the Government of Canada and for most provinces and territories.  According to the findings, the charity has provided funds including $713,000 to an organization, which the CRA believes was operating as part of the support network for the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (the LTTE), a listed entity under the United Nations Suppression of Terrorism Regulations and the Criminal Code of Canada.  The Agency has issued a notice last month of its intention to revoke the charitable registration of the Society saying that on the basis of an audit conducted, it has concluded that the Society has ceased to comply with the requirements of the Income Tax Act for its continued registration.  The CRA stated that in that the charity failed to maintain adequate control and direction over the use of its funds; improperly issued tax receipts on behalf of third parties; and provided funding to non-qualified donees outside Canada.  The CRA said its audit also indicated that fundraising conducted under the Society’s auspices involved an individual who has been convicted in the United States of conspiring to provide material support to the LTTE.  In addition, the Society’s liaison officer for Sri Lanka was named in documents filed with the Federal Court of Canada as a contact for area sales coordinators with the World Tamil Movement, also a listed entity under the Criminal Code of Canada because of its ties to the LTTE (Daily News ; 19 July 2010).

Are we serious about a solution based on Indo-Lanka Accord ?

Read details about the 13th Amendment

The Thirteenth Amendment: What it hails for Sri Lanka - By Garvin Karunaratne, Ph.D. former SLAS(G.A. Matara)  - Today, the Thirteenth Amendment is hailed as what could bring about communal harmony. The LTTE Diaspora as well as learned luminaries among the Sinhala community and the international community are full of praise urging Sri Lanka to implement the Thirteenth Amendment in full including devolving land and police powers to the Provinces. Little do they know what will happen to Sri Lanka. The LTTE Dispora are actually trying to resurrect Prabakaran’s goal of a separate state as a stepping stone to conquering Sri Lanka for the LTTE. The Sinhala community luminaries that support the Thirteenth Amendment are of two categories. One group comprise the University dons, the book worms whose knowledge of life and development is relegated to the realm of books and academic study. Other than lecturing and writing they have never achieved anything tangible. They are perhaps in the pay of the LTTE Diaspora to write in their favour and there are authorities that offer them support in the form of publication grants and trips abroad. This applies to the dons, the experts in history who are silent about the homeland theory. The homeland theory finds no support because of epigraphical evidence dating back to the days before Christ found all over Sri Lanka. The other category comprise the legal luminaries whose only experience lies in litigation and human rights. They care little for the country and have no knowledge of administration. They too are at times offered grants for work of all sorts, offered study tours etc. These lucrative offers keep them going. Many of them work in NGO that espouse the cause of separatism (LankaWeb : 18 July 2010).

Interpol issues red notices on two hardcore terrorists: Fresh moves to break LTTE ‘backbone’ abroad - Fresh moves are under way with the assistance of Interpol and other intelligence agencies abroad to break the `backbone’ of the LTTE’s international terror network which is believed to be still active in certain countries, according to informed sources. Interpol has already issued red notices on two hardcore LTTE terrorists. The Interpol action is based on the secret documents which were recovered from the LTTE’s international link spot known as ‘Castro’ office in the Wanni by Sri Lankan authorities recently, the sources said. The two prime LTTE hardcore terrorists who were issued with red notices by Interpol are Ponniah Anandarajah alias Rajah alias Ayyah of the USA. Rajah is sixty years and hails from Chankanai, Jaffna. He had been the head of the LTTE financial procurement and shipping network since 2003. He holds a US passport and has travelled extensively to negotiate the purchase of arms and ammunition for the LTTE outfit. Sri Lanka had sought the assistance of Interpol to arrest him with regard to his international links and Interpol issued a red notice on him, the sources said. Another hardcore LTTEer who had been issued the Interpol red notice is Achudan Sivarasa-Pirundaban Achudan. He was born in 1972 in Jaffna. He had been trained as a pilot at a flying school in France. Later he became a citizen of France. He is married and has two children and lives in a Middle Eastern country. He had travelled frequently to several European and African countries and was responsible in purchasing aircraft for the LTTE. He engaged in several business activities with the investments of the LTTE in foreign countries. He was also responsible in developing contacts with political figures and business magnates abroad in support of the LTTE, the sources said. The video clippings of this hardcore LTTE member which were sent to the LTTE in the Wanni when the outfit was active are now in the custody of the Security Forces, the sources said. He had also conducted training classes for suicide cadres according to the evidence collected in the Wanni (Sunday Observer : 18 July 2010).

Hundreds of LTTE war widows seek government assistance Rehab Minister says Mrs. Balakumaran and Yogi among them - Rehabilitation and Prisons Reforms Minister Dew Gunasekera says an urgent programme is needed to provide relief to war widows, including wives of the LTTE cadres killed during the war. Speaking to The Island after meeting groups of war widows in Vavuniya, Jaffna and Kilinochchi over a week ago, Minister Gunasekera emphasized the importance of meaningful measures to alleviate their suffering. General Secretary of the Communist Party of Sri Lanka, Gunasekera said that among the women whom he had met in Jaffna were the wives of K.V. Balakumaran and Yogiratnam Yogi, a member of the LTTE negotiating team for talks with the then President Ranasinghe Premadasa’s government. The Army killed Balakumaran on the Vanni east front early last year. Balakumaran was formerly the leader of the Eelam Revolutionary Organisation of Students (EROS) and joined the LTTE in the early 1990s. Minister Gunasekera acknowledged that there had not been a detailed study on LTTE widows, though various NGOs and government officials from time to time had given different figures since the conclusion of the war in May last year. He said that his ministry had called for applications from people of the Northern Province before meeting them in three separate groups in Jaffna (July 10), Kilinochchi (11) and Vavuniya (12). Responding to our query, he said that of the 8,000 who had responded to his ministry’s call, about 98 per cent were young women (Island : 18 July 2010).

Migrant ship near Guatemala - A ship carrying over 200 Sri Lankan asylum seekers heading for Canada has been sighted near Guatemala, the Asian Tribune reported today. The 59-metre ship MV Sun Sea was yesterday seen near Guatemala, carrying more than 219 illegal Sri Lankan Tamil migrants and 12 Indian Tamil migrants. The ship, which was earlier headed for Australia is now reportedly headed for British Columbia and the Canadian authorities have been placed on alert. There were also reports that some LTTE suspects may be among the asylum seekers. (Daily Mirror online : 18 July 2010).

Rebels have been routed for good, says Sri Lankan Tamil MP - Sri Lanka is finding its feet a year after the rout of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and the death of its leader Velupillai Prabhakaran. The sesssionist struggle for a Tamil homeland in the north and east of the country by the Tiger rebels may have come to nought, but many Tamils are happy about the government's reconciliation efforts with the minorities. With development projects in full swing, there is no indication of the dreaded outfit regrouping, according to a senior Tamil MP. Political will and military muscle may have ensured there are no more tears from terrorists in the tiny tear-drop shaped country, south of India. Critics, however, accuse the government of human rights violations and for the plight of thousands of refugees displaced by war. ''There is no room for violence in the new Sri Lanka, the focus is on growth and civil harmony,'' said Tamil-Muslim Member of Parliament Abdul Cader of the opposition United National Party, a political veteran of over two decades (Daily Me ; 18 July 2010).

Ottawa Tamil group loses charitable status - The Canada Revenue Agency has revoked the charitable status of Tamil (Sri Lanka) Refugee-Aid Society of Ottawa.  The agency said Saturday that the society "was operating as part of the support network for the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam," which Canada and the United Nations have declared a terrorist organization.  The government "has made it very clear that it will not tolerate the abuse of the registration system for charities to provide any means of support to terrorism," the agency said in a news release.  The society provided $713,000 to a group supporting the Tamil Tigers, a news release said.  "The CRA audit also indicates that fundraising conducted under the society's auspices involved an individual who has been convicted in the United States of conspiring to provide material support to the LTTE."  The society's liaison officer for Sri Lanka was named in documents filed with the Federal Court of Canada as a contact with the World Tamil Movement, also a terrorist organization because of its ties to the Tamil Tigers (CBC Canada : 18 July 2010).

Canada Revenue Agency revokes Tamil group's charitable status - An Ottawa-based Tamil organization has lost its charitable status. The Canada Revenue Agency has revoked the charitable registration of the Tamil (Sri Lanka) Refugee-Aid Society of Ottawa. In a letter sent to the organization, the agency says the society failed to maintain control over its use of funds, improperly issued tax receipts on behalf of third parties and provided funding to people outside Canada who were not entitled to a donation. This funding included $713,000 provided to another organization which, the agency believed was operating as part of the support network for the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, a group on Canada's official list of terrorist organizations. The agency says an audit also revealed that the fundraising involved a person who had been convicted in the United States of conspiring to provide material support to the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (CTV News : 18 July 2010).

Ban adds muscle to UN panel Eight-member secretariat set up; NAM still divided on Lankan issue; third draft being put into shape - United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has raised his stakes with plans to set up an eight person secretariat, headed by a senior official at a director level (D-2), to facilitate the work of his advisory panel on alleged war crimes in Sri Lanka. The move comes after he ignored the abortive “fast unto death” outside the UN complex in Colombo and a vociferous charge that he has exceeded his administrative authority. With the establishment of the secretariat, the three-member panel will begin work at the UN in New York. The Inner City Press, a UN-based website, reported that the Chief of Staff of the secretariat would be Jessica Neuwirth, known to be a human rights activist and confidante of UN Human Rights Commissioner Navy Pillay, who has taken a strong stand on the Sri Lankan issue. The three members of the panel tasked to advise UN Chief Ban on accountability issues during the last stages of the separatist war last year are from Indonesia, South Africa and the United States. The move is a prelude to a UN probe on alleged war crimes by troops and guerrillas. The temporary secretariat, funded by the secretary-general's own contingency budget, is expected to provide logistical assistance to the panel during the proposed four-month inquiry due to begin later this month or early next month (Sunday Times : 18 July 2010).

Pro-LTTE director detained for one year - The government in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu ordered the detention of film director and ‘Naam Thamizhar’ party founder Sebastian Seeman under the National Security Act (NSA) for allegedly making inflammatory speeches against Sri Lanka. He was arrested on July 12 for a speech he made while leading a protest against the Lankan Navy’s alleged attacks on Tamil Nadu fishermen. He was earlier detained under the same act on February 28, 2009 for his open support to the banned LTTE. This detention means that Mr Seeman would have to serve one-year in jail (Sunday Times : 18 July 2010).

‘Lessons learnt’ panel to visit Kilinochchi - The Commission of Inquiry on Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation will hold a meeting with public officials in Kilinochchi this month to make preparations for public sittings later, officials said. They said the Kilinochchi meeting will be attended by public officials, including Divisional Secretaries and the discussions will focus on modalities and institutional matters ahead of the public hearings that are billed to begin at the end of next month or early September. The commission will also search for any violations of internationally accepted norms of conduct in such conflict situations, and the circumstances that may have led to such actions, and identify any persons or groups responsible for such acts. Recommendations would also be made on the nature of compensation to be granted to victims or their dependants who have suffered in this conflict situation (Sunday Times : 18 July 2010).

Advisory Council - Only The Camel's Head - By Dr. T.Jayasinghe - Palestine Sri Lanka bashers are at it once again. The issue of the so called Advisory Council appointed by Ban ki Moon reached its climax with Minister Wimal Weerawansa staging a fast unto death. This fast has had its desired results even though some anti national cynics in media specially in the cartoon field decided to laugh at it. Many failed to understand that this Advisory Council is only the head of the camel. Rest in the form of war crime tribunals etc was to follow. Thanks to the exposure by Minister Wimal Weerawansa and the interest created by him Advisory Council is now a joke. Ever since the defeat of terrorism LTTE proxies in Sri Lanka and abroad financed by the rich Tamil Tiger diapora continued with its sinister campaign to discredit the armed forces and the President of Sri Lanka. They have successfully brainwashed the leaders of the international human rights organizations and donor countries. These elements had the support of the political opportunists in South India but fortunately for Sri Lanka true Indians cannot forget the brutal murder of their revered leader Rajiv Gandhi by the LTTE terrorists. LTTE Diaspora well known for its human, drug and arms trafficking activities all over the world spend their ill-gotten money to buy over influential officials and politicians in high positions. Sri Lanka's former colonial masters and some disgruntled leaders in Norway who almost sold Sri Lanka to LTTE and some Mexican drug lords hurt by the defeat of their drug carrier LTTE are burning midnight oil to discredit and destabilize the government of Sri Lanka. In this scenario it is very important to note that the war with LTTE is not over yet (Asian Tribune: 18 July 2010).

Sri Lanka Government implements Rs.12 Billion worth development projects in the North.

When will India stops interfering with the internal affairs of Sri Lanka? - by Sudath Gunasekara PhD. (S.L A. S). President Senior Citizens Movement .Mahnuwara - I reproduce below a news report by a special correspondent that appeared in the Hindu of 18th July 2010. “CHENNAI, July 16, 2010; PM seeks views of Chief Minister on Sri Lanka Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has sought views and advice of Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi on ways to be adopted for the process of genuine reconciliation to resolve the ethnic issue in Sri Lanka. Responding to the Chief Minister’s letter of July 3, Dr Singh, in his reply of July 9, stated that “my government will certainly do all that it can to enable the Tamils in Sri Lankan to live a life of dignity and self-respect. We will use our influence and make efforts to help in the restoration of normal life in northern and eastern Sri Lanka through the rapid rehabilitation of the internally displaced persons [IDP].” Pointing out that the Union government had committed Rs. 500 crore for the purpose, the Prime Minister said the government would also render assistance in the construction of 50,000 houses for IDPs. Besides, it was trying to restore normal economic activity in the areas by building infrastructure and promoting sustainable livelihood. Thanking Mr Karunanidhi for his letter on the situation of the Tamils, Dr. Singh mentioned that apart from his discussion with Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa last month, he had recently met a delegation of Members of the Sri Lankan Parliament who belonged to the Tamil National Alliance”. Assuming the above news item as authentic we can come to the following main conclusions by reading that statement (LankaWeb : 17 July 2010).

More Tamil Tigers on their way to Canada’s B.C. coast on a vessel - by Asoka Weerasinghe, Canada - The Editor (Letters) THE OTTAWA CITIZEN - Sir: You have told us that Canada is keeping watch on a Thai vessel carrying 200 illegal Sri Lankan migrants mainly Tamil Tigers, a group banned in Canada since April 2006, which is heading towards the B.C. coast. According to an Internal Canada Border Services Agency report, 25 of the 76 Tamils who arrived last October in Vancouver on board the Ocean Lady and released from detention were hard core Tamil Tiger terrorists. This decision no doubt has created a precedent for this vessel, Sun Sea to sail towards Canada, carrying the Tamil Tigers, and I have a hunch that this vessel won’t be the last. I have difficult to understand why Canada would want to harbour these terrorists when Sri Lanka is rapidly restoring normalcy and dignity in the lives of Tamil people in the North and East of the country which was the theatre of war for 27 long years, through rapid reconciliation and rehabilitation of the 300,000 internally displaced people (IDP) after the war ended on May 18, 2009, having defeated the Tamil Tigers militarily. When no Tamil Tiger bomb has exploded in Sri Lanka and no bullet has been fired by the Tamil Tigers nor the Government Armed Forces since the war ended; when over a thousand child soldiers were rehabilitated and sent back home to their parents and now studying at high schools to enter Universities and Medical Colleges; when Karuna, the second in command of the Tamil Tigers who led the Elephant Pass 24 day attack in July 1991, and commanded the massacre of 700 surrendered Sinhalese policemen on June 11, 1990 in the East is now the Deputy Resettlement Minister of the island looking after the interest of his people and resettling them; when there are only 20,000 IDPs left to be resettled which will be done no sooner the remaining land mines are cleared; I am not sure why Canada has to accommodate and create a Tamil Tiger terrorist enclave in the Toronto area (LankaWeb : 17 July 2010).

Tamil terrorist claims exaggerated: former UN spokesman - by Vajeera Warnakulasuriya, Melbourne - To the Attention of Presenter Asia Pacific, Mr. Liam Cochrane; Tamil terrorist claims exaggerated: former UN spokesman - In response to the above interview during Asia Pacific segment of ABC National radio that went on air today (17/07/10) and the article that Gordon Weiss submitted to the Age canvassing a favourable selection criteria by the department of Immigration & Emigration for Asylum seekers who have been arriving frequently these days I wish to posit the following. Related links: Liam Cochrane on Asia Pacific, http://www.abc.net.au/ra/asiapac/stories/201007/s2956198.htm Response by Sri Lankan High Commissioner. Mr.Senaka Welgampaya http://www.abc.net.au/ra/asiapac/stories/201007/s2956202.htm Article in Age http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/opinion/tamil-tiger-is-extinct-and-regime-knows-it/story-e6frg6zo-1225892329407 Gordon Weiss says, the LTTE cadres that come in those boats are no threat to Australia. May be so. The intention of the Sri Lankan government in advising any foreign government is to allude to the fact that this generation during the last three decades, whilst being deprived of a decent education were unfortunately involved in every facet of a senseless brutal terrorism, unlike those who had an excellent free education to be qualified as Professionals and migrate to the foreign soils. The government of Sri Lanka does not give a rat’s arse even if Australia gives migrant status to the entire Tamil tiger cadres or the economic migrant Tamils who capitalized on the current situation in Sri Lanka to migrate to Australia. The exodus of this arrival is due to the fact they know the future chances of arriving on this pretext is fast running out. You can only fool the Australian Foreign Ministry for some of the time! Obviously the Australian Embassy in Colombo is sufficiently qualified to provide adequate information to the Foreign Ministry (Lankaweb : 17 July 2010).

Judge finds Seeman's speech inflammatory; bail plea dismissed - A bail petition by Seeman, film director and leader of the ‘Naam Thamizhar Iyakkam' was dismissed on Friday. The prosecution case is that Mr. Seeman, who conducted a protest meeting near the Chennai Collectorate on July 10, spoke in support of the LTTE and in a provocative manner to create disharmony among Sinhalese and Tamils. He was arrested and remanded to judicial custody on July 12. He submitted that his speech would not constitute an offence as alleged by the police and was not intended to provoke unlawful activity. Dismissing the petition, P. Devadoss, Principal Sessions Judge, Chennai, said Mr. Seeman, in his speech, had referred to Sinhalese students and made an inflammatory speech that had the likelihood of consequences of even causing danger to their lives. The court had to see the entire material and the speech in totality. A reading of the petitioner's entire speech showed that it was provocative and inflammatory in nature and would create disharmony and insecurity between two groups on grounds of their race and place of birth. It was in the nature of likelihood of goading the public in general, and his (Seeman) followers in particular, to involve themselves in violence (Hindu : 17 July 2010).

Jaffna TC upgraded to Technological University - The Jaffna Technical College managed by the Technical Education Department has been upgraded as a Technological University by the Vocational and Technical Training Institute. The academic activities will be started at the Jaffna Technological University soon, Vocational and Technical Training Institute Assistant Director D.V.T.Y. Kulathunga said. The Government of the Republic of Korea and Korean International Cooperation Academy (KOICA) granted Rs. 233 million worth technical and financial assistance to the University under an MoU signed with the Government. The University has been upgraded into a sophisticated technical university with the Korean technical knowhow, he said. The University will hold lectures on Construction and Motor Mechanic and they will be held as certificate and diploma level. Kulathunga said around 40 students will be recruited per one course. The University was upgraded as a pledge to enhance the technical education of the country as promised by the Mahinda Chintana. Those who fail to receive higher education can follow slandered technical education through this university. Students will be educated up to diploma level for which there is a great demand in the job market, he said. There are around nine technical colleges in the island. This will be the tenth college of this type. All other technical colleges have already started academic activities. Kandy, Badulla, Rathnapura, Kurunegala, Anuradhapura and Ampara are the other places where technical colleges have been established (Daily News : 17 July 2010).

North and East economy grows: Central Bank - Sri Lanka's northern and eastern provinces slightly increased their share of National Gross Domestic Product last year compared with 2008 following the end of a war, the Central Bank said. The western province remained as the highest contribution to GDP in 2009 but its share reduced further to 45.1 percent from 45.4 percent in 2008, it said in an analysis of provincial GDP. The contribution of the northern province to the GDP improved slightly to 3.3 percent in 2009 compared to 3.2 percent in 2008. "This was a positive development that may be observed since the ending of the 30-year old conflict," the statement said. "There was no significant expansion of the contribution of the northern province to GDP as the impact of the improvement in consumer and investor confidence in the aftermath of the civil war will only be felt by the economy with a time lag." The island's ethnic conflict ended in May 2009 when Tamil Tiger separatists were defeated by government forces, resulting in an immediate upturn in the national economy as hitherto unproductive regions came back into production (Sunday Island : 18 July 2010).

Govt to begin bus services in eight new routes: Transport boost for Northerners - The Government will begin long distance bus services on eight new routes including Kilinochchi-Colombo, Batticaloa-Kilinochchi, Trincomalee-Kilinochchi,Mannar-Batticaloa, Mannar-Trincomalee, Mullaitivu-Colombo, Mullaitivu-Kilinochchi and Mullaitivu-Batticaloa in the North and East.  The decision was taken after discussions by Transport Minister Kumara Welgama with Industrial Development and Commerce Minister Rishad Bathiudeen, Vavuniya Divisional Secretary P.S.M.Charles and officers of both SLTB and private bus services in the North at the District Secretariat in Vavuniya recently. Minister Welgama said new buses will be deployed to commence long distance services on these routes which had been deprived of transport facilities and also to improve the existing bus service in the North. Meanwhile, the Minister has advised the National Transport Commission (NTC) to accelerate the route permit issuing procedure to launch these long distance bus services to benefit northerners. NTC officials agreed to submit a report to the Minister within the next two weeks. The Minister also emphasized the importance of setting up a new bus depot at Mullaitivu and instructed SLTB Chairman M.D.Bandusena to provide buses immediately to the Mullaitivu bus depot. Minister Welgama inspected the Vavuniya bus depot and instructed officials to take immediate action to repair the dilapidated buses (Daily News : 17 July 2010).

Kilinochchi - seat of terror to reconciliation hub - Kilinochchi brings up mixed feelings, depending on the political view one holds of what has taken place in Sri Lanka in the past three decades. To those compelled to suffer the years of terror unleashed by the LTTE in its violent campaign for the setting up of a separate Eelam on Sri Lankan soil, it is today a place of great conquest and victory. To those supportive of the LTTE, both covertly and overtly, it is now a place of defeat and shame, as it symbolizes the failure of the unreal dream of Velupillai Prabhakaran and a coterie of diehard separatists, whose strength and influence flowed from the barrels of the guns they held. For the Tamil people who were unconverted fellow travellers of the LTTE it may be a place to ponder on the plight they were plunged into by those who broke away from traditional tolerance and friendship of their community and dragged this country, and especially the North, into a quagmire of blood and a field of destruction (Daily News : 17 July 2010).

Top priority towards eradicating poverty in North-East

CANADA MONITORS SUSPICIOUS VESSEL - Canadian authorities are monitoring a Thai cargo ship after reports it may be on its way to the British Columbia coast with more than 200 migrants on board. The MV Sun Sea was last spotted in the Gulf of Thailand, where it was the subject of a lookout issued by the Philippine Coast Guard, which called it "a suspected people-smuggling vessel." On the weekend, Colombo's Sunday Observer newspaper reported that while the 59-metre vessel was originally headed for Australia it was now sailing toward the Canadian coast. The office of Jason Kenney, the Minister of Immigration, is following the case. "This could end up being a prime example of individuals trying to take advantage of our generous immigration system," said Celyeste Power, the Minister's spokeswoman. The Department of Foreign Affairs also said it was "aware of press reports suggesting that a vessel has departed Southeast Asian waters and may be destined for Canada," and vowed to prosecute anyone caught smuggling human cargo. "Please note that those responsible for migrant smuggling will be pursued, investigated and prosecuted to the full extent of Canadian law and in accordance with the provisions of international conventions and protocols," said Alain Cacchione, a Foreign Affairs spokesman (National Post : 16 July 2010).

Northern High Security Zones will not be removed - Minister Rambukwella - High Security Zones (HSZ) are essential to ensure the security in the region, hence will not be removed from the Northern Province, government spokesman said yesterday (15 July). Addressing media, Minister Rambukwella said these HSZ were vital to win the war against terrorists and they are mandatory for the country's security. The Minister further explained that, since the unavailability of states lands in strategic areas to establish HSZ in the North the government is forced to use private lands for the purpose (Sri Lanka Defence Ministry : 16 July 2010).

OPEN LETTER TO BAN KI MOON -YOU ARE NOT AUTHORISED - By Stanley Perera from Melbourne - My dear Mr. Moon, You have appointed a panel of experts to investigate into internal affairs of sovereign country Sri Lanka without first consulting and obtaining authorisation from the UNSC or the UNO’s General Assembly. You are the Secretary General and not the CEO. As the panel of experts is not appointed or authorised by the above mentioned instrumentalities, the panel of experts is illegal in the first place. Furthermore, the host country vehemently disapproves your appointment of the panel. There is worldwide agitation that the panel is illegal. The expert’s integrity and their sincerity have been challenged. Thereby their findings and the report of the remote control panel will have no validity. In Judge Judy’s court, it will be thrown out of the window. There is enough and more speculation that you are biased against Sri Lanka and you are being noosed by the corrupt and racists UNO ambassadors. There has been no request by anybody to investigate into the war crimes committed by Sri Lanka when UNSC has openly debated and cleared Sri Lanka of any war crimes. Therefore your back door method is contempt of UNSC. If there is any code of conduct at all governing the ambassadors and the Secretary General, you must be severely dealt with. Your motive is very clear that you are determined to frame charges against Sri Lanka by hook or by crook. There is a very strong feeling amongst the peace loving people of the world that you are supporting terrorism in Sri Lanka. There is also doubt if your objectives are sincere and certainly financially strong pro Terrorist Tamil Diaspora has bought you over (LankaWeb : 16 July 2010).

Well said Your Excellency - by Nimal Bhareti - According to a press report, the President, in an interview with the Manila Times, has said that he is not worried about the appointment of the Advisory Council by the UNSG on alleged human rights violations in the last stages of the war as he has nothing to hide. Well said Your Excellency. The greatest achievement of the President was the elimination of the LTTE and of terrorism from the country. The overwhelming mandate he received at the two elections was a clear endorsement of the verdict of the people on this victory. While the President strove to solve the problem by negotiation, the LTTE flatly rejected these attempts, and hence he had to choose the option of eliminating terrorism by the only other option, namely the military option. Despite immense pressure from the western countries, he finally defeated the LTTE and eliminated terrorism. In this fierce battle which the LTTE resisted till the very last, the loss of civilian lives and the killing of LTTE cadres were inevitable. While the loss of civilian lives was minimized, it would have been further reduced if the LTTE in the last stages of the war had not used them as human shields (Island : 16 July 2010).

Parts of LTTE craft destroyed in final battle salvaged - The Naval Intelligence team, attached to the Eastern Command, salvaged parts of a sunken LTTE craft and its weapons from the seas six nautical miles east of Mullaithivu. The craft is believed to be one of the LTTE boats, fitted with high-powered engines, sunk by the Navy’s combined forces of elite Special Boat Squadron, Fast Attack Craft Squadron and Rapid Action Boat Squadron during the final stage of naval operations. Among the recovered weapons were parts of a 12.7mm T85 gun, a gun mount with bracket, an ammunition box and 60 rounds of 12.7x108mm ammunition. A partially corroded 85 HP engine and a steering wheel were also among the items salvaged (Island : 16 July 2010).

Famous Iranamadu sanctified by Pirith chanting - LTTE terrorists' former stronghold, 'Malathi Base' near famous Iranamadu junction, now a fully fledged Army camp was sanctified by Pirith chanting after absence of nearly 30 years, to coincide with the 1st anniversary of the establishment of the Kilinochchi Security Forces Headquarters (SFHQ-KLN). Presence of 30 saffron-robed Buddhist monks, invited to the venue from Anuradhapura added colour to the whole area as they were conducted in a colourful procession, carrying Buddhist flags before chanting got underway, led by Ven Nugathenne Pannananda Nayaka Thero, Incumbent, Sri Sambuddha Jayanthi Viharaya, Anuradhapura. Iranamadu, notoriously famous for its pitched battles during humanitarian operations, claimed scores of precious lives of War Heroes as well as LTTE combatants as final battles were raging. Major General Chandana Rajaguru, Commander Security Forces, Kilinochchi offered the traditional tray of betel to the Maha Sangha and invited them to conduct chanting until following morning. An alms-giving on the following day culminated the arrangements. Senior and junior officers and a large number of soldiers were associated with the event (Sri Lanka Defence Ministry : 16 July 2010).

Government implements Rs.12 Billion worth development projects in the North - The development of the North's economic and social infrastructure was expedited to a level that the country had never witnessed, under the Uthuru Vasanthaya180 days' development programme at the cost of Rs.12080.5 Million. These projects had provided significant infrastructure facilities to the people in the North whose lives were wrecked by the LTTE during the past three decades. Under the 180 days' development programme, diverse projects were launched in nearly 15 different fields such as Transport and Highways, Irrigation and Agriculture, Power supply, Education and Fisheries, ect, encompassing the full spectrum of services that are deemed essential to the life of the community. It is worthy of special mention that there has been over 80% performance in the implement of this project. Ministries other than the Ministry of National Building and Estate Infrastructure Development have incurred an expenditure of Rs.1, 865 Million in the execution of the task of development and provision of infrastructure facilities. The Ministry of National Building and Estate Infrastructure Development has also incurred an expenditure of Rs.2,222 Million under 'Gama Neguma', 'Samurdhi', 'Jathika Saviya', Uthuru Vasanthaya' and the Decentralized Budget in the execution of the 180 days' programme. Expenditure incurred in respect of the development work and infrastructure development handled by all Ministries within a short space of six months totaled Rs.11, 087 Million (Sri Lanka Defence Ministry : 16 July 2010).

Ship allegedly carrying Tamil Tigers bound for B.C.: reports - Canada is watching out for a ship alleged to be carrying illegal Tamil migrants after a Sri Lankan newspaper warned the vessel could be headed for British Columbia. The Colombo Sunday Observer reports a Thai Cargo ship — the MV Sun Sea — is sailing for Canada with 200 migrants on board, including members of the Tamil Tigers, the military arm of the Tamil separatist movement. Foreign affairs spokesman Alain Cacchione says the government is aware of reports suggesting the ship has left South East Asian waters and may be headed for Canada. He adds that those responsible for migrant smuggling will be “pursued, investigated and prosecuted” to the full extent of Canadian and international law. The Observer says the ship, previously known as the Harin Panich 19, was originally headed for Australia. The paper says the vessel was last spotted in May in the Gulf of Thailand where its captain, a Tiger leader named Vinod, warned that several illegal migrants would “throw themselves overboard if anyone tried to board his ship.” (The Star : 16 July 2010).

Tamil Tigers at the front door - SRI Lankan asylum-seekers with links to Tamil terrorists pose a dilemma for Canberra.  IN October last year a Sri Lankan mother packed up her two small children and a few belongings, paid her savings to a people-smuggler and boarded an unseaworthy boat in Indonesia, bound for Australia. Shayana (not her real name) hoped it would be the final leg of her family's long journey to escape the bloodshed and tumult still wracking their homeland after 26 years of civil war.  But it was not to be.  On October 18 their boat foundered off the coast of Sumatra and, after sending out a distress signal, they were rescued by an Australian Customs ship, the Oceanic Viking, and taken back to Indonesia for processing by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees. Shayana and her children were assessed to be legal refugees, at risk of persecution if they returned to Sri Lanka.  But when their files were examined by Australia's domestic security agency ASIO, they were deemed a security risk and barred.  The apparent reason for the adverse assessment was Shayana's links to the militant separatist group the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, which is classified as a terrorist organisation in many countries. Shayana was a lawyer who had worked for the judiciary run by the LTTE, which held administrative power in the northern district of Vanni where she lived, her brother told The Australian in March.  Shayana and her children were flown to Christmas Island, where her husband was already in detention, having also been deemed a security threat. They remain there, awaiting a final decision on their fate.  The question now vexing Australian authorities is whether Shayana and other former Tamil Tiger members, fighters and supporters should be accepted as refugees in need of protection, or rejected as potential terrorists and sympathisers.  It's a pressing issue after the Gillard government last week lifted the freeze imposed in April on the processing of Sri Lankan asylum-seekers, and after claims this week by an Australian Sri Lankan security analyst, Sergei DeSilva-Ranasinghe, that up to half of the Tamils seeking asylum here are connected to the LTTE (The Australian : 16 July 2010).

Govt. insists on HSZs at strategic points - The government yesterday stressed that the country should have high security zones at strategic locations for the safety of its citizens. Addressing the weekly cabinet news conference, Media Minister Keheliya Rambukwella said the government had to acquire private land unless strategically important state lands were available for the purpose. The Minister was responding to queries by journalists that some people in the North had denied access to their lands since they had been marked as security zones. "We should have such security zones in the country. That is for the security of the country. Now, the United States maintains a security zone in Korea. People protest against it. Yet, the US continues to maintain them," he said. Asked whether the denial of land rights to people could lead to another war, the Minister said such a problem would not arise once basic issues of the people in the North were addressed. "If people are empowered economically and given equal rights, they will not rise against the government. As long as their basic problems are addressed, we need not worry about another war," he said. He said, "I categorically say that there should be safety zones in a country." The media also questioned him about the allegation that lands in the North had been given to certain private companies for investment purposes. Commenting on the first ever cabinet meeting in Kilinochchi, he said this was a city declared by the LTTE at that time as the capital of their de-facto state. Through this cabinet meeting, he said, the government had signalled to the whole world that Sri Lanka was an undivided country. In the future, he said, the government would conduct Cabinet meetings in outstations to have a healthy dialogue and take appropriate action with regard to regional development issues (Daily Mirror : 16 July 2010).

Ex-Tamil Fighters Start Factory Life in Sri Lanka - Four hundred women who once fought for Liberation Tigers of Tamil Ealam left rehabilitations camps in the northern district of Vavuniya last month and made the seven-hour trip south to a hostel here set up for them by a major apparel exporter. Fourteen months ago many of them carried arms. They gave them up in May when Sri Lankan troops won the 30-year battle with the separatist group. Now, with their lives as guerrillas behind them, they faced new jobs in clothing factories owned by the Tri Star Group, a major apparel exporter in Sri Lanka that has set up housing for the ex-combatants. They arrived in the evening and the next morning they would be enrolled as machine operators in three garment plants a few miles away. Each day Tri Star buses transport them to work and back. In the rehabilitation camp they were taught to meditate, participated in theatrical activities and received training on beauty, culture and personal care. Almost a year later, it was time to rejoin society. "I am here to begin a new life," said Manju, who only goes by one name. She spoke Tamil and communicated through a translator in a meeting at one of the hostels, furnished with beds, toilets and bathing facilities. As she spoke other women, who had also just arrived, sipped soft drinks and arranged their belongings in the drawers that had been allotted to them. "I am excited about coming here. From tomorrow, I will be a working woman. I will never touch a gun again," she said. Tri Star Group, based in Ratmalana, a major suburb in the capital Colombo, is a nearly 30-year old company with 16 garment factories island-wide. It exports women's and children's apparel to major international retailers such as Wal-Mart, Target stores and Gap, employing 10,000 people, mostly women (WomensRadio).

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