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31-05-2006 Global pressure mounts on LTTEs V.S. Sambandan Warned of `deeper isolation' if it did not `renounce terrorism'
COLOMBO: International pressure mounted on the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) on Tuesday with a twin indictment on the rebels and a stern warning of "deeper isolation" if it did not "renounce terrorism and violence." According to media reports, the European Union on Monday decided to list the LTTE as a terrorist group. The Sri Lankan Government saw the E.U. move as "the latest in a series of deterrent measures by the international community." [More] 31-05-2006 EU inks Sri Lanka rebal ban, urges end to killing EU formally puts Tamil Tigers on terror list 31-05-2006 Colombo rules out military option By Sinha
Ratnatunga, Correspondent President Mahinda Rajapaksa's office said the government hopes the ban will provide "a fresh impetus and encouragement to the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam to think afresh and resume talks".[More] Donors use carrot and stick to jumpstart peace process Tells govt. to address legitimate grievances of Tamils, urges LTTE to renounce terrorism and violence
Donors led by Japan pledged 4.5 billion dollars in 2003 as an incentive for the island to end three decades of ethnic conflict, but a ceasefire is increasingly under threat from mounting violence. Japan, the European Union, Norway and the United States called on both sides "to take immediate steps to reverse the deteriorating situation and put the country back on the road to peace."[More] 31-05-2006 The messages in EU ban By Dr. Paikiasothy Saravanamuttu The European Union (EU) ban of the LTTE raises a number of questions in terms of the likelihood of full-scale war or negotiations for peaceful political and constitutional settlement. The immediate effect of the ban would be to freeze LTTE financial assets and make it more difficult for the organisation to raise funds. Politically and psychologically, the LTTE will be isolated as an international pariah — the EU joins a list of countries that have banned the LTTE including the US, India, Canada and the UK. The peace process As with the other actors involved in the peace process in Sri Lanka, the real standard against which the EU ban needs to be assessed is that of advancing the peace process, the goal presumably of all those unavoidably involved in it as well as those who have chosen to be involved in it.[More] 30-05-2006 EU puts Sri Lanka's Tamil rebels on terror list PK Balachandran The European Union (EU) has banned the LTTE, thus joining the US, UK, Australia, Canada and India. A decision to list the LTTE as a terrorist organisation was taken by the EU's Council of Ministers, which met in Brussels on Monday. However, what such listing actually means is not yet clear. But if the European Parliament's recent resolution on the subject is any indication, the LTTE's funds in member countries would be frozen.[More] India
denies sending message to Sri Lanka guerrillas NEW DELHI, May 29 (Xinhua) -- The Indian government Monday clarified that it had not sent any message to Sri Lanka's Tamil Tiger guerrillas on the island's floundering peace process. Indian External Affairs
Ministry spokesman Navtej Sarna was reacting to published reports that
Indian National Security Adviser M.K. Narayanan passed on a message
to the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) through Norwegian minister
Erik Solheim when the two met here Saturday More 30-05-2006 Sri Lanka rebels 'shoot dead 12' The Sri Lankan army says suspected Tamil Tiger rebels have shot dead 12 construction workers in the island's restive eastern province. More
30-05-2006 European Union Places Sri Lanka's Tamil
Tigers on Terror List May 29 (Bloomberg)
-- The European Union listed Sri Lanka's Tamil Tigers as a terrorist
organization in a bid to push the separatist movement back to peace
talks and avert a full resumption of the South Asian island's two-decade
civil warMore 29-05-2006 Landmine blasts kill seven in Sri Lanka's largest national park Shimali Senanayake in Colombo, May 28th, 2006, 8:30 pm. Six wildlife enthusiasts and a park official were killed when landmines
in Sri Lanka's largest national park blew up their vehicle, officials
said Sunday. An army team trekked some 40 kilometers deep into the Wilpattu National Park on Sunday, to clear the route to the blast site fearing more mines being planted in the area. "We suspect the mines were laid by the LTTE," said Brig. Prasad Samarasinghe, military spokesman, "No one else operates there." The Tigers denied involvement. A group of friends left the Sri Lankan capital Colombo on Friday to the park 180 kilometers (105 miles) north. They had engaged in similar trips to the park on earlier occasions, family members of the victims revealed. The group was booked at the Kokmote bungalow, one of the farthest in the park and had left on Saturday at the break of dawn on a safari, along with a park guide. The explosion is believed to have occurred a shot while later. A separate group that followed the same path several hours later had seen the blown up jeep and bodies, and had rushed back and reported the incident. Among the victims was Nihal de Silva, a businessmen and author who won Sri Lanka's highest literary award in 2003 for his novel 'The Road from Elephant Pass,' related to the island's ethnic conflict. His love for wildlife was reflected in some of his more recent fictional works. According to his family, de Silva had recently made some alterations in his jeep to accommodate more friends when on safaris. Authorities couldn't reach the site through the dense forest on Saturday and proceeded only a day later after clearing the path amid fears more landmines may be laid. The sprawling park is known as one of the best spots in Sri Lanka to see leopards. It was the most visited national park here, until it was shut in 1985 after ethnic clashes erupted in the northern Sri Lanka. Wilpattu was reopened in 2003 after the government and the Tamil Tiger
rebels signed a cease-fire agreement, but parts of the park were still
considered unsafe due to rebel infiltration. 28-05-2006 Norway wants Sri Lanka to show 'political maturity'
By M.R. Narayan Swamy, Indo-Asian News Service
New Delhi, May 28 (IANS) Sri Lanka is likely to face intense international pressure to implement the pledges it made in Geneva if and when the European Union outlaws the Tamil Tigers. This is the impression Norwegian International Development Minister Erik Solheim gave at his meeting with India's National Security Adviser M.K. Narayanan here Saturday. In his discussion, Solheim - the architect of the 2002 Norway-brokered ceasefire pact - said while there was criticism against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) on various counts, Colombo also needed to put its act together. Sri Lanka, Solheim told Narayanan, needed to show "statesmanship" and "political maturity" and generate confidence at large by fulfilling the promises it made during the first round of peace talks with the Tigers in Geneva in February. Solheim's comments follow similar views expressed by other dignitaries linked to the Sri Lankan peace process when they visited New Delhi. In February, the LTTE promised to halt its campaign of violence while the government agreed to disarm all armed groups other than its security forces in its areas in the northeast. Both pledges remain unfulfilled. There is a feeling in the international community that while the LTTE needs to face the music over its continued use of terror tactics, the government should not get away with the many killings attributed to its security forces or armed Tamil groups aligned with it. India has told Sri Lanka repeatedly that it also needs to come out with a credible political solution within a federal framework to counter the goal of an independent state still pursued by the LTTE. Solheim, who continues to guide the peace process although Norway's special envoy to Sri Lanka is Jon Hannsen-Bauer, warned that both Colombo and the LTTE were "playing with fire". He was referring to the unending killings and counter-killings in Sri Lanka, mainly in the Tamil-majority northeast. The victims include both suspected supporters of the LTTE and those opposed to the group. Despite the setbacks to the peace process, Norway is still trying its best to find out how the LTTE and the government can meet again to continue their stalled dialogue, the second round of which was due in April, also in Geneva, but got indefinitely postponed. Solheim, who arrived here from Colombo, left for Tokyo to attend a meeting of the co-chairs to the Sri Lankan peace process that groups Japan, the US, Norway and the European Union. The Tokyo meeting is expected to coincide with a ban on the LTTE by the European Union. The LTTE has warned that it willreconsider its participation in the ceasefire agreement if this happens. Norway, the peace facilitator, is playing a tightrope walk. It does not want to offend either side and at the same time does not want to play favourites despite criticism mainly from Colombo that it has been partial to the LTTE. Tiger supporters say the group is upset with Norway for what it feels is Oslo's inability to prevent a European Union ban. In the eyes of the international community, such a ban would have to be followed by concrete measures from the Sri Lankangovernment to show that its end objective was not just the ban. More than any other country, India - which this month extended its two-year ban on the LTTE first imposed in 1992 - is keen on a lasting political settlement in Sri Lanka. Narayanan conveyed this to Solheim Saturday. Source--Indo-Asian News Service 27-05-2006 Tamil Tigers agree to discuss peace monitoring with government in Norway By KRISHAN FRANCIS COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) - Tamil Tiger rebels on Saturday agreed to visit Norway next month and discuss the monitoring of a shaky cease-fire with the Sri Lankan government, a decision likely to ease fears of the island nation sliding back into full-blown war. Norwegian envoy Jon Hannsen-Bauer made the announcement after meeting with Tamil Tiger leaders, S. P. Thamilselvan, Seevaratnam Puleedevan and P. Nadesan, for more than two hours in the rebel-held northern town of Kilinochchi.[More] 27-05-2006 Solheim,
Narayanan to discuss Sri Lanka scene Saturday New Delhi - Days before a meeting of Sri Lanka’s donor co-chairs in Tokyo, Norwegian peace mediator Erik Solheim will brief Indian officials Saturday and discuss ways of bringing the Sri Lankan government and Tamil rebels to the negotiating table. Solheim, who is also the Norwegian minister for international development, will arrive here Friday night. He will meet National Security Adviser M.K. Narayanan Saturday and brief him on his appraisal of escalating violence, which many fear can blow into a full-scale civil war. Solheim will also tell Narayanan about the 25-nation European Union’s decision to proscribe the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).[More] 27-05-2006 AI-The ceasefire between the government
and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) remained in place despite
numerous violations and a deteriorating relationship between the two
parties. Escalating political killings, child recruitment, abductions
and armed clashes created a climate of fear in the east, spreading to
the north by the end of the year, while a nationwide state of emergency
was in place for much of 2005. Hundreds of thousands of people remained
displaced. Violence against women was reported, including from displaced
people’s camps. There were threats to reintroduce the death penalty
and numerous reports of torture in police custody.More 27-05-2006 Start talks now for devolution
A highly respected religious prelate warned yesterday that the northeast was on the brink of a humanitarian catastrophe and called for an immediate return to the next round of peace talks at which the principle of devolution should be addressed.Colombo’s Anglican Bishop the Rt. Rev. Duleep de Chickera after a vist to the North and Trincomalee said, contrary to what anti-peace forces imagined, the desire and drive for peace grew when conflict increased and he proposed several immediate steps if these aspirations were to be consolidated; Bishop Duleep said, “I have just returned from one of my regular pastoral visits to the North. I made a similar visit to Trincomalee three weeks ago.[More] 27-05-2006 Youngsters
flee LTTE camp The youngsters, who were held in an LTTE camp in an uncleared area of Trincomalee, surrendered at Pachchanoor in Muttur, related their harrowing tales to the Police. They will be handed over to their parents through Court, the military said. The youngsters Geroge Kennady(17). Iruthaya Amaradas(19) and Gnanaraj Santhosh(20) of Palaiyuttu Trincomalee were playing in Palayuttu village area on Tuesday(23) evening when LTTE terrorists stormed the ground, grabbed them and forcibly took them away and before they were imprisoned in an LTTE camp in uncleared areas. The victims managed to escape from the LTTE two days later and reached the troops at the Pachchanoor Forward Defence Lind (FDL) Thursday (25) at about 5.15.pm and pleaded for protectionas they feared LTTE reprisals, if caught again. Source-Island 26-05-2006 Shed violence, enter talks - Minister D.E.W. Gunasekara. tells TNA to urge LTTE KOTTE: Constitutional Affairs Minister D.E.W. Gunasekara yesterday urged the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) to prevail upon the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) to give up their killing spree and enter the peace dialogue. Speaking in Parliament during an adjournment debate on the LTTE's abortive attack on the Pearl Cruise II amidst frequent interruptions by TNA members, Minister Gunasekara described the LTTE as a terrorist movement that believes in a culture of violence. "The LTTE has not still given up its separatist ambitions. They still cling on to a separatist mentality. If it had done so, there would have been no need for these killings," the Minister stressed.[More] 25-05-2006 Suspected Sri Lanka rebels kill 4 police in ambush COLOMBO (Reuters) - Suspected Tamil Tiger rebels killed four police in a claymore fragmentation mine ambush in Sri Lanka's restive east on Thursday, officials said, the latest in a series of attacks on the military. The attack comes as Norway's special peace envoy is visiting Sri Lanka to meet the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and the government amid diplomatic efforts to coax the rebels to resume peace talks they pulled out of indefinitely.[More] 25-05-2006 The
time has come to address core issues Bishop of Colombo, Rev Duleep De Chickera was, earlier this week, in Jaffna, to look into the affected communities in the peninsula and the islands. He expresses his concerns for the people and the need for greater accountability and for the Government and the LTTE to move back to the negotiating table.[More] 25-06-2006 EU
ban on Tamil Tigers will help peace talks: Sri Lankan president 25-05-2006 SLMM Chief, Solheim discuss truce monitoring Chamikara Weerasinghe COLOMBO: Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) Ulf Henricsson and Norway's International Development Minister Erik Solheim had met in Norway to discuss issues pertaining to ceasefire monitoring. Henricsson and Eric Solheim are expected to arrive in Sri Lanka today. Visiting Norwegian Special Envoy Jon Hanssen Bauer will meet President Mahinda Rajapaksa. The SLMM chief is returning after a meeting held in Norway among the Mission's participating countries where they had discussed strengthening the implementation of the ceasefire in Sri Lanka. Asked to reveal the outcome of this meeting, SLMM spokesperson Helen Olafsdottir said it was an "internal meeting" and she could not comment on its outcome. Norwegian Ambassador Hans Brattskar met LTTE political head S.P. Thamilchelvan in Kilinochchi on Tuesday. SLMM sources said the Government and the LTTE were yet to respond to "requirements" forwarded by the SLMM to commence naval monitoring. Olafsdottir said yesterday that the Government had assured the SLMM that its reply was on the way. Meanwhile, the LTTE had responded by forwarding a letter to the SLMM. "This letter, however, does not concern the SLMM requirements. The letter is about the general situation and their concerns," she said. Olafsdottir declined
to give details of the letter saying "it is between the SLMM and
the parties concerned".-Source-DN 25-05-2006 Four LTTE cadres killed by Karuna in the East Four Tiger guerrillas were killed and two injured on Wednesday in an attack believed to be carried by the rebels of former LTTE Eastern Commander, “Colonel” Karuna on a LTTE bunker in Upparu near Muttur in the country’s volatile East, military sources said. The attack which happened at 9.30 pm on 24 May, had killed four Tiger guerrillas, according to intercepted LTTE transmissions. No casualties on the Karuna faction are reported. Meanwhile, Tiger guerrillas exploded another claymore mine yesterday afternoon wounding one policeman in the Northern town of Jaffna. The claymore mine is attached to a bicycle parked aside the Nallur road, a military official told the “Asian Tribune.” The mine was detonated using a remote control device when an army truck approached. Source- Asian Tribune 24-05-2006 U.N.
rights chief concerned over Sri Lankan violence "These violations are not only cease-fire violations, but also serious breaches of international human rights and humanitarian law," U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour said in a statement. The government and the rebels, known formally as the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, held peace talks in Geneva in February for the first time in three years, but a second round slated for April was canceled after the two sides blamed rising violence on each other. Tensions rose again
on Saturday, when Col. Ramanan, the Tigers' No. 2 leader and intelligence
chief for eastern Sri Lanka, was killed in an ambush.- Source-AOL 23-05-2006 Solheim, Bauer here to revive talks Rashomi Silva COLOMBO: Norwegian special peace envoy Jon Hanssen Bauer and his predecessor International Development Minister Erik Solheim are due here on Wednesday, in another bid to revive the stalled peace process, Government and diplomatic sources said. These sources described the visit of the special envoys as a routine one, though concern has been raised over the tensions between the two sides at present. The peace emissaries are expected to meet top political leaders, Government officials and LTTE leaders during their visit. Speaking on the condition of anonymity a top diplomat said the only way out of the present tense situation is for the two sides to sit at the negotiating table and begin talks. "There has to be a way of stopping the continuing cycle of violence," he said, pointing out that the top priority of the Government and the LTTE should be to find a way out.[More] 23-05-2006 SLDF Calls on Sri Lanka Donor Co-Chairs to Pressure the Government of Sri Lanka to End Extrajudicial Killings and Move on State Reform The Sri Lanka Democracy Forum (SLDF) condemns in the strongest terms the continuing extrajudicial killings by the LTTE, the Sri Lankan Security Forces, and other armed groups. The right to life is the most fundamental of all rights, and as the threat of all out war looms above Sri Lanka SLDF fears that civilian life will become even more expendable than ever before. In light of the deteriorating security situation, SLDF wishes to endorse and highlight the findings and recommendations of Philip Alston, the UN Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial, Summary or Arbitrary Executions, who has stated that, “human rights must be made central to both the peace process and the general system of governance.[More] 23-05-2006 Human Rights Advisory Committee appointed Ruwanthi Abeyakoon COLOMBO: Disaster Management and Human Rights Minister Mahinda Samarasinghe has appointed an Advisory Committee to prevent human rights violations due to the conflict. The committee held its first meeting at the Ministry of Disaster Management and Human Rights yesterday. This committee consists of 10 Government officers covering the Security Forces and 10 active civil officers representing various organisations. The committee will advise the Minister on current human rights issues. "We discussed the attacks in Trincomalee, Kayts and Muttur. The committee will visit Trincomalee where they will speak to the police, Forces and civil society to report the accurate situation," said the Minister highlighting the responsibility of the committee.[More] 22-05-2006Breakaway rebels say they killed 10 Tamil Tiger rebel soldiers-AP22-05-2006Militants target Srinagar rally, 6 killed The Hindu- Six persons were killed and 35, including the Inspector General of Police (Kashmir zone), injured on Sunday in a terrorist attack on a Congress rally here. More 21-05-2006 |
|
Special CID team to probe Kayts killings |
Tuesday 16-05-2006 SLT 08:30 (+05:30 GMT) |
KAYTS: IGP Chandra Fernando yesterday dispatched special CID and police teams to the Kayts islets to investigate the killing of 13 Tamil civilians in the islets on Saturday. IGP Fernando told the Daily News that a CID team headed by SSP Mahes Perera had been sent to Kayts to conduct a full scale investigation into the killings. The investigation is being carried out on the specified instructions of President Mahinda Rajapaksa. Thirteen Tamil civilians, including children had been gunned down in this incident which had taken place in the late hours of Saturday. IGP Fernando said the Jaffna police had handed over the bodies to family members. The team from Colombo has been tasked with conducting a comprehensive probe including to looking for clues that would shed light on the perpetrators of the crime and submit a full report. "Instructions have been given to record statements given by families of the murdered victims at the inquests held in Jaffna tomorrow," he said. Witnesses will be questioned later, he added. |
Source-Official News Website of Srilanka
16-05-2006
Probe into 'slaughter' of Tamils- BBC
14-05-2006
LTTE,
main violator of CFA - SCOPP
Interview with Kethesh Loganathan, Deputy Secretary General, SCOPP, on the CFA, Geneva 2, Karuna factor, etc.
Q: In the wake of increasing ceasefire violations by the LTTE, and armed forces retaliation, is the Peace Secretariat becoming irrelevant?
A: The functions of the Secretariat for Coordinating the Peace Process (SCOPP) or commonly known as the Peace Secretariat is not restricted to providing infrastructural and knowledge support to peace talks or what is known as 'Track One Negotiations', although that is one of its key functions.
However, Peace Talks is only one element of the peace process, the other elements being the Ceasefire Agreement (CFA) and initiatives at reconciliation. In this sense, the Peace Secretariat is the principal state agency that liaises with both Norway as the facilitator and the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) in monitoring the CFA. The Peace Secretariat also strives to engage civil society in the collective efforts at bringing about reconciliation between communities.
Further, since the peace-making process is internationalised, the Peace Secretariat is also involved in engaging the international community and keeping it informed of the Government's approach to the peace process as well as the challenges it faces. SCOPP is also often approached by researchers and students, local as well as foreign, involved in conflict and peace studies.
In short, the Peace Secretariat's relevance or irrelevance is not determined solely by the vagaries of Track One Negotiations or the fragility of the ceasefire itself. Peace-making and peace-building is a long-drawn and a hazardous process that goes beyond events.[More]
14-05-2006
EU mulls slapping ban on LTTE; Govt. holds secret talks in Spain
By Shimali Senanayake
The government's top official handling the peace process held talks with Norwegian peace brokers in Spain, as the European Union weighed whether to place the LTTE on a list of banned terrorist organizations, officials said.
Dr. Palitha Kohona
Peace Secretariat Chief Palitha Kohona flew to Barcelona on Tuesday
for meetings with Jon Hanssen-Bauer, Norway's special envoy to Sri Lanka,
senior officials involved in the peace process said.
The talks focused on a long-term strategy for Sri Lanka's future peace, rather than how to overcome the immediate crisis, the officials said.
The two had just concluded a meeting when the LTTE launched a massive attack on a vessel carrying 710 unarmed troops in the northern seas.[More]
14-05-2006
How Sri Lanka’s Rebels Build a Suicide Bomber
by Alex perry
In spite of how relatively obscure their rebel cause is on the world stage, the attacks by Sri Lanka’s Liberation Tamil Tigers of Eelam (LTTE) always seem to draw lots of attention. Such was the case Thursday when a squadron of speedboat suicide bombers rammed into a Sri Lankan navy troop carrier convoy off the country’s northern coast, killing 17 sailors. The Sri Lankan government claimed to kill more than 50 Tamil Tigers in return, but the deadly operation had already reminded the world that the Tigers are the fathers of modern-day suicide bombing — not only masters at keeping up a fresh supply of new recruits, but also willing exporters of their expertise.[More]
13-05-2006
Annan concerned over Lanka attacks
Press Trust of India
United Nations, May 13: Voicing concern over major sea and aerial attacks in Sri Lanka, UN Secretary General Kofi Annan has appealed to both the Colombo government and Tamil Tiger rebels to resume talks under the facilitation of the peace broker Norway.
"Annan, who is on a visit to Austria, was disturbed by news of major sea and aerial attacks in Sri Lanka, including an attack on a vessel that had unarmed international monitors on board," his spokesman Stephane Dujarric said in a statement on Friday.
"It is unacceptable to attack vessels that are carrying SLMM (Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission) monitors," he said.
"The Secretary General appeals to both the Government and the LTTE to change course and bring the country back on a path to peace," the spokesman said. "He repeats his call on all the parties to summon the political will to resume their dialogue under the facilitation of the Norwegian government," he said.
Source-PTI
13-05-2006
Sri Lanka Monitors blast LTTE, threaten to withdraw from monitoring
“We are fed up with the LTTE.”
May 13, Colombo: The Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) says the LTTE is clearly violating all norms and ethics of international treaties. It said the Nordic ceasefire officials would withdraw if the LTTE did not abide by the Ceasefire Agreement.
“We are fed up with the LTTE,” a SLMM official told ColomboPage on the condition of anonymity. Earlier SLMM spokesperson Helen Olafsdottir said they strongly condemned the threats issued by the Tiger organization asking them not to travel with the Sri Lanka Navy in the northern seas.
“We have right to travel and monitor Navy sea movement also. That’s why we traveled with Navy,” the official added.
The SLMM official
said the ceasefire monitors are a challenge for the LTTE’s secret missions
against the Ceasefire Agreement.
Source-LP
13-05-2006
US says Tiger violence poses war risk to Sri Lanka
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States on Friday condemned an attack on a Sri Lankan naval vessel by separatist Tamil Tigers, warning the violence risked returning the South Asian island nation to civil war.
"We are deeply concerned about the escalating violence by the Tamil Tigers, which has put Sri Lanka at risk of a return to war," said a statement by Richard Boucher, assistant secretary of state for South and Central Asian Affairs.
"We urge the government of Sri Lanka to continue to show restraint in the face of these provocations," said the statement, issued by a spokesman for Boucher.
A flotilla of Tamil Tiger rebel boats on Thursday attacked a Sri Lankan navy transport ship carrying hundreds of servicemen and sank a navy fast-attack boat in the worst military confrontation since a 2002 truce.[More]
13-05-2006
Move to get Tamil fighters back into talks
By Khozem Merchantin Mumbai
European ceasefire monitors yesterday sought to persuade Tamil separatists to resume peace negotiations with the Sri Lankan government after a sharp escalation of violence sparked by a Tamil assault on a navy patrol boat.
The Sri Lankan air force launched attacks on Tamil targets on the island on Thursday in reprisal for the sinking of the vessel, which left at least 17 sailors dead. Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) fighters also clashed with security forces in Trincomalee in the north.
Major General Ulf Henricsson, the head of the Sri Lankan Monitoring Mission (SLMM), an independent group of peace monitors installed to ensure adherence to a 2002 ceasefire, rushed to Vanni in the north yesterday for talks with Tamil Thelvan, a senior LTTE negotiator.
In a strong statement ahead of his departure, the SLMM condemned the LTTE for gross violations of the ceasefire agreement with its naval attack, and for threatening peace monitors trying to ward off the insurgents' sea attack.
"The LTTE seems to believe changing the situation on the ground might strengthen their hand at the negotiation table," said Paikiasothy Saravanamuttu, director of the Centre for Policy Alternatives in Colombo.[More]
12-05-2006
Tamil Nadu verdict not to impact Sri Lanka
By M.R. Narayan Swamy, Indo-Asian News Service
New Delhi, May 12 (IANS) The victory of the DMK-led alliance in Tamil Nadu is not expected to have any impact on Sri Lanka unless war erupts in the island and Tamil refugees flee to the Indian state in large numbers.
Sri Lanka watchers, security officials and political sources in Chennai say there will be no change in the stand of the DMK, once a shrill supporter of Tamil Eelam that has distanced itself from that country's unending conflict and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).
DMK chief Karunanidhi has not forgotten the terrible political price he paid in the 1991 elections when his DMK was sent packing by voters disgusted with its close ties with the LTTE, which had that year assassinated former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi.[More]
12-05-2006
Sri Lanka rebels threaten monitors
By Simon Gardner
COLOMBO (Reuters) - Sri Lanka's Tamil Tigers have told Nordic truce monitors they travel aboard Sri Lankan Navy ships at their peril after the worst military confrontation since a 2002 truce.
A flotilla of rebel boats on Thursday attacked a transport ship carrying hundreds of servicemen and sank a navy fast-attack boat. The military said 17 sailors and 50 Tigers died in the attack that prompted air strikes on rebel territory.
The transporter was carrying a truce monitor and flying the monitors' flag when the military says suicide rebels attacked them. The Tigers say their fighters were conducting a naval exercise when they were fired upon by the navy.[More]
12-05-2006
Tamil Tiger rebels sink 2 navy crafts in Lanka
PK Balachandran
In a series of very grave incidents on Thursday, the LTTE attacked a Sri Lankan ship carrying 500 troops and sank two Dvora Fast Attack Craft (FACs) of the Navy off the island's North Eastern coast.
On its part, the Sri Lankan Air Force bombed an area not far from the LTTE's headquarters in Kilinochchi, and sank five rebel suicide boats.
Sri Lankan navy
spokesman DKP Dassanayake said that 17 naval personnel, including two
officers, were killed. On the LTTE side, the loss was five boats with
at least 50 cadres, he added.
The LTTE's media spokesman Thaya Master told Hindustan Times that fighter
bombers of the SLAF attacked an area between Kilinochchi and Mankulam,
in the northern Wanni region twice between 5 and 6 pm.[More]
11-05-2006
Ethnic Divisions in Sri Lanka Seem Wider Than Ever
COLOMBO, Sri Lanka, May 10 — President Mahinda Rajapakse casts himself as a man ready to walk the road to peace, but equally prepared to face down his enemies in battle, as his country dives into open civil war.
"I'm not a warmonger," he said in an interview Tuesday evening in his heavily fortified residence. "I am ready for talks, I'm ready for peace. But we will also be ready to defend our country. This is not a weakness. Our patience is not weakness."
The president's position reflects a dangerous balancing act. April was the bloodiest month since the government and the separatist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam signed a cease-fire in February 2002 that was supposed to end nearly two decades of killing here. [More]
11-05-2006
Sri Lanka elected to Human Rights Council
UNITED NATIONS: Sri Lanka, which is competing in four different upcoming elections at the United Nations, cleared its first hurdle when it was elected to the newly-created Human Rights Council (HRC).
The 47 members of the HRC were elected Tuesday by secret ballot by the 191 member General Assembly, the highest policy making body at the UN.
Sri Lanka gained 123 votes, over and above the required 96 majority, and was among the 13 Asian States to get elected, including India (173 votes), Bangladesh (160) and Pakistan (158).[More]
We can’t expect the European Union to accept any solution under a Unitary system as a reasonable one. The International Community is committed under the Oslo Agreement to find a solution based on Federalism and for the satisfaction of all those opposed to a division of the country, under a United Sri Lanka. This is why I am insisting on the Indian Model, which is neither Unitary nor Federal and satisfies the requirements of the anti-Federal and anti Unitary forces.[More]
By M.R. Narayan Swamy, Indo-Asian News Service
New Delhi, May 10 (IANS) Japan's special envoy to Sri Lanka Yasushi Akashi arrives here Wednesday for talks with Indian leaders after failing to persuade the Tamil Tigers to rejoin the Geneva peace talks.
Akashi will hold talks with National Security Adviser M.K. Narayanan and Foreign Secretary Shyam Saran Thursday after flying in from Sri Lanka where he met President Mahindra Rajapakse and S.P. Thamilchelvan, the political wing chief of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).
LTTE leader Velupillai Prabhakaran refused to meet Akashi in what was widely seen as a public snub to the co-chairs to Sri Lanka's peace process that includes Japan, the US, the European Union and Norway, the peace facilitator.[More]
10-05-2006
Sri Lanka peace process: Japan invites India to join co-chairs
PK Balachandran
Japan has invited India to join the co-chairs of the Tokyo Donors' Conference, the Japanese Special Peace Envoy for Sri Lanka, Yasushi Akashi, told newspersons in Colombo on Wednesday.
On the response from India to the invitation, Akashi said that the "indications were positive."
The Japanese peace envoy, who would be in New Delhi for talks with the Indian leaders on Thursday, said that at the meeting of the co-chairs to be held in Tokyo at the end of May, procedural changes would be made to render participation "comfortable" for India.
Having banned the LTTE, following the assassination of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi in 1991, India cannot sit with the LTTE at the same table.
Akashi did not spell out how this problem could be circumvented, but said that Indian diplomatic representatives had attended two meetings of the co-chairs earlier.[More]
09-05-2006
09-05-2006
Tamil
Tigers dismiss early talks
Mr Akashi met the Sri Lankan president on Monday. A Japanese
envoy has failed to persuade Tamil Tiger rebels to return to peace talks
with the Sri Lankan government.
Yasushi
Akashi went to the island's north after talks with President Mahinda
Rajapakse in Colombo on Monday.The rebels pulled out of security talks
with the government in Geneva last month amid worsening violence.
"We have explained to the Japanese delegation that we will not... attend talks until the killings cease," a rebel leader told Associated Press.[More]
09-05-2006
Japanese envoy fails to convince Tamil Tigers to start immediate peace talks
By VINCENT JEYAN- AP
KILINOCHCHI, Sri Lanka (AP) - A Japanese envoy on Tuesday failed to convince Tamil Tiger rebels to start immediate peace talks with the Sri Lankan government, as the military announced the seizure of a stockpile of arms and explosives in the rebels' northern stronghold.
In Colombo, the government on Tuesday extended an emergency law for another month that empowers the police and military to detain terrorist suspects indefinitely and search any premises.
Peace envoy Yasushi Akashi met with S.P. Thamilselvan, the political wing head of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, in an effort to stave off a renewed civil war in the island nation. But he failed to convince the separatist Tamil Tigers.[More]
08-05-2006
Factional fighting kills 11 as Japanese envoy pushes peace bid
COLOMBO (AFP) - At least 11 people were killed in Sri Lankan factional fighting, defence officials said, as a Japanese envoy sought to salvage the island's faltering peace process.
A
breakaway faction of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) launched
a pre-dawn attack against a base of the main guerrilla group in northeastern
Trincomalee district Monday, defence sources said.[More]
08-05-2006
Prabhakaran's pride: Or why he refused to meet Akashi
By M.R. Narayan Swamy, Indo-Asian News Service
Tamil Tigers chief Velupillai Prabhakaran's curt refusal to meet Japan's special envoy Yasushi Akashi is a well thought out public snub that will not surprise those who have seen the Tigers grow from a ragtag group to be the world's most powerful insurgent outfit. Pride, dignity and self-respect are immensely important to Prabhakaran and closely linked to the struggle for Tamil Eelam, even if others consider the goal a mirage.
Almost two decades ago, in early 1987, Prabhakaran met V. Balakumar, a leader of another Tamil group and now with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), in Jaffna. Prabhakaran had quit India for good after a tumultuous three and a half years in Tamil Nadu. Balakumar asked Prabhakaran if he would go back to India, a country Sri Lankan Tamils then almost worshipped as their motherland.[More]
08-05-2006
Sri
Lanka and India to discuss peace moves
Foreign Minister to meet Indian leaders
Rashomi SILVA
COLOMBO: The Government yesterday intensified its efforts in pursuing peace, with Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera's departure to India on Saturday to brief Indian leaders on the latest developments.
The Foreign Ministry said the Minister was expected to meet Indian Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh and several other key figures in the political and diplomatic circles during his three day visit.
"The idea is to brief the Indian leaders on developments in the peace process and to persuade India to pressurise the LTTE to return to the negotiating table," a top diplomat told the Daily News.
"Sri Lanka and India today enjoy the best of relations the two countries had ever enjoyed," he said.
The LTTE was banned in India following the assassination of former Indian Premier Rajiv Gandhi by a female suicide bomber. He said India has evidence to believe that the LTTE has trained and helped insurgent and secessionist movement throughout India.
"We have evidence to believe that the LTTE has trained militants and still have connections with insurgent groups in Kashmir, Nagalla and Assam," he said.
Source-Daily News
08-05-2006
Tamil Democratic Congress Leader To Take Legal Action Against LTTE Misinformation
Tamil Democratic Congress leader in a letter to the media stated that the Nadarajah Sethurupan, the editor of LTTE's Tamil website nitharsanam.com and neruppu.org operating from Oslo had been circulating emails created by his name to misinform and misguide Tamil efforts for democratizing Tamil politics.
“Nadarajah Sethurupan is managing a website in my own name by displaying news items full of falsehood. Further, he has sunk to the degrading level by doctoring pornographic pictures with mine to discredit me. [More]
08-05-2006
Who says Pol Pot is dead?
Newly-appointed vice-chancellor of the Jaffna University and eminent academic Prof Ratnajeevan Hoole has fled the country with his family to avoid a cruel death at the hands of the LTTE, which objected to his appointment.
He represents the typical Sri Lanka Tamil community, which takes pride in academic excellence and hard work. He is a highly-qualified engineer with a double doctorate from the London University and a great deal of experience under his belt. There couldn’t have been a better person than he to head that university which needs proper direction.[More]
07-05-2006
Indian PM pledges support for President Rajapakse
Indian Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh on Friday pledged his fullest support and cooperation to President Mahinda Rajapakse on the latter's attempt to find a peaceful and just solution to the ethnic problem through dialogue.
The Indian Premier expressed these sentiments when he met Sri Lanka's Public Administration Minister, Dr. Sarath Amunugama in New Delhi. Dr. Amunugama met the Indian leader at the latter's invitation.
Dr. Amunugama called on the Indian Prime Minister during his visit to New Delhi while attending the South Asian Finance Ministers' Conference and the annual conference of the Asian Development Bank. The Sri Lankan delegation was headed by Dr. Amunugama at these two conferences.
Dr. Singh discussed at length the current situation in Sri Lanka with regard to the ethnic problem and also the bilateral relationship between the two nations with Minister Amunugama.
Minister Amunugama briefed the Indian leader on the manner President Rajapakse handled the situation with much restraint despite provocative attacks by the LTTE. The Indian Prime Minister has been pleased over the commitment of the Sri Lankan President to seek a peaceful and just solution to the crisis despite the current volatile situation in the country
Source-Sunday observer
07-05-2006
Sri Lankan Rebel Leader Won't Meet Envoy
By KRISHAN FRANCIS-AP
COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) - Sri Lanka's top rebel leader refused to meet with a Japanese peace envoy who arrived Saturday to try to prevent a return to civil war amid spiraling violence.
Envoy Yasushi Akashi's officials had asked to meet with reclusive Tamil Tiger leader Velupillai Prabhakaran on Tuesday, rebel spokesman Daya Master said by telephone from the rebel stronghold, Kilinochchi.
"We told him it won't be feasible, but our political wing leader will be available," he said.[More]
07-05-2006
De-link SLMM roles, says UN special envoy
The United Nations Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial killings, Philip Alston, has recommended that human rights be made central to both the peace process and the general system of governance in Sri Lanka.
In his report released recently following a fact finding mission to Sri Lanka late last year, Prof. Alston says the struggle for peace should be firmly grounded in human rights. [More]
07-05-2006
Extra judicial killings hot potato for govt. - Henricsson
The chief of the ceasefire monitors, Ulf Henricsson says he is yet to receive relevant facts from the police on the suicide attempt on the life of the Army Commander. Hence, there is a delay in SLMM ruling on the suicide blast. He says Karuna is not a para-military group, but an armed group.
He admits that it is a "difficult task" to pick insurgents from civilians in the North-East General Henricsson, a Swedish retired Army Officer with experience in conflict transformation in the Balkans spoke to the 'Sunday Observer' staffer Ranga Jayasuriya on a wide range of issues related to the peace process and the security situation.[More]
07-05-2006
UK
condemns suicide attack
The United Kingdom House of Lords last week condemned the LTTE’s suicide
bomb attack in Colombo which left 12 dead and 26 injured, including
Army Commander Gen Sarath Fonseka. In a debate on Wednesday, some members
of the House also called for a more rigorous enforcement of the LTTE’s
proscription.
Speaking in the debate were Lord Naseby from the Conservative Party; Lord Dholakia, deputy leader of the Liberal Democratic Party and Liberal Democrat spokesman on foreign and Commonwealth affairs in the House of Lords, Lord Howell, deputy leader of the opposition in the House of Lord and Conservative Party spokesman on foreign and Commonwealth affairs; and Lord Bassam, chief whip and Labour Party leader of the House of Lords. Extracts:[More]
05-05-2006
Federal structure - is it worth adopting?
Kuldip Nayar
VIOLENCE: When I was in Colombo last month, the air was so thick with tension that I could taste it. Concerned over the increasing killings by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), people were conjecturing how soon their country would be overwhelmed by the same old undeclared war.
Yet, they wished the ceasefire to hold because they could see the signs of normality: the economy picking up and tourists returning to Sri Lanka.
My assessment is that peace, however uneasy, would last in the absence of an alternative. True, there are authentic reports that the LTTE is consolidating itself for resuming violence.[More]
05-05-2006
India has no problem with Sri Lankan military shopping
By M.R. Narayan Swamy, Indo-Asian News Service
New Delhi,
May 5 (IANS)
When Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera arrives here on
his third visit in six months, he will learn that India has no objection
to Colombo shopping for military hardware in any country.
New Delhi is aware that Colombo is shopping for military hardware in
several countries even while remaining keen to sign a defence cooperation
agreement with India. Unlike in the 1980s when India eyed with suspicion
any military ties forged between Sri Lanka and some countries, New Delhi
now feels that Colombo can go shopping for arms and ammunition anywhere,
including China.[More]
05-05-2006
LTTE shadow organisation threatens Tamil State Mediamen
JAFFNA: Ravana Force, a shadow organisation believed to be of the LTTE has warned Tamil media personnel working at the State print and electronic media institutions to refrain from supporting the government's propaganda against the LTTE. The warning has been issued yesterday through the pro - LTTE websites called Sangathi Pathivu, and IBC.
The warning went on saying that the senior Tamil journalists, specially the news casters of radios and televisions controlled by the State, should not be the mouth pieces of the government against its propaganda war against the Tamil struggle.
Tamil media personnel should
refrain from being supportive of the government or they will have to
pay a heavy price, the warning added.-Source-Daily
News
31-05-2006
President seeks N-E public help to probe violence
COLOMBO:
President Mahinda Rajapaksa yesterday appealed to the Bishops of Jaffna
and Mannar to get public cooperation to expedite the investigations
into violence against civilians in the North-East.
President Rajapaksa told Bishops Rev. Thomas Saundranayagam (Jaffna) and Rev. Rayappu Joseph (Mannar) that the public could direct such complaints and information to the Peace Secretariat if problems are encountered in giving the same to the Police or the Security Forces.
The Bishops stressed the importance of ensuring ethnic harmony and peace in their areas. Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, Plan Implementation Secretary Ajith Nivard Cabraal, Peace Secretariat Chief Dr. Palitha Kohona, Chief of Defence Staff Daya Sandagiri and Navy Commander Wasantha Karannagoda were also present.
Source-Daily News
31-05-2006
Some neighbourly help, please
Going by the European Union (EU)’s decision to ban the LTTE, international mediation in Sri Lanka may have reached a crossroads. This coincides with the four-nation (the US, Norway, Japan and the EU) donors conference in Tokyo, which reportedly also discussed the possible impact of the ban on the peace process. The ban will serve an important purpose if it succeeds in isolating the LTTE and makes it more amenable to a compromise political solution.[More]
31-05-2006
Co-chairs' forthright Sri Lanka edict will please India
By M.R. Narayan Swamy, Indo-Asian News Service
New Delhi,
May 31 (IANS) Indian
policy makers will feel mighty pleased that their uncompromising stand
on Sri Lanka has been echoed for the first time by international players
to the island's now precarious peace process. There is no certainty,
however, if Colombo and the Tamil Tigers will fully grasp the import
of the unambiguous statement from the co-chairs to the peace process
and radically change their ways.[More]
31-05-2006
Sri Lanka rebels warn EU ban to hurt peace bid
COLOMBO (Reuters) - Sri Lanka's Tamil Tiger rebels warned on Tuesday that a European Union ban that diplomats say will freeze their assets would shake the island's teetering peace process, but said they remained committed to a truce.
The 25-nation bloc listed the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) as a banned terrorist organisation on Monday, a move that came after a sharp escalation of attacks and clashes with Sri Lanka's military.
The Tigers had earlier said proscription would deter them from returning to talks aimed at permanently halting a two-decade civil war and would "exacerbate the conditions of war".
But they now want the EU to sanction the government, which they accuse of helping a band of former comrades to attack them.
"This ban is not going to help to promote the peace process," S. Puleedevan, head of the Tigers' peace secretariat, told Reuters from the northern rebel stronghold of Kilinochchi.[More]
30-05-2006
Donors say Sri Lanka aid depends on end to fighting
TOKYO,
May 30 (Reuters)
- Sri Lanka's four main donors urged the government and Tamil Tiger
rebels on Tuesday to halt violence and honour their ceasefire agreement
if they wanted financial aid to continue.More
30-05-2006
Loved the wild and died in the wild
The very first visit of Darrel Perera to Willpattu National Park was also his last as he became a victim to a claymore mine on Saturday along with six others.
Fifty seven-year-old Darrel Perera, is a father of two - Gihan who is a doctor practicing in the UK and Roshan who is studying in the US.
Darrel, Managing
Director and Chairman of Mechanized Business Applications Ltd was a
wild life enthusiast and had even travelled to countries such as Kenya
and South Africa. He was also a social worker and had been engaged in
charity and church work.[More]
29-05-2006
THE SPANISH
MODEL OF DEVOLUTION
Nisala Rodrigo
May 29
In an article in the Sunday Observer (as I read on The Lanka Academic
and Tamilweek), Mr. Dayan Jayatilleka stated that federalism is not
currently feasible, given public opinion. Although I do not agree with
the extent of his claim, as the Southern masses voted for Mahinda Rajapakse
for many more substantial reasons other than his stance on the unitary
state, I agree that “there is simply no majority, or anything like it,
for federalism” at present. There are a number of dimensions to explain
antifederalism in the South, and I presented one of them in the first
part of my previous “Price of Federalism” series. There I argued that
far from bringing government closer to the people, extensive devolution
under a federal system would expand the already-bloated political class
in the South and give them a more direct hold over their electorate.
The civil services would lose whatever shred of independence they currently
have, and development in the Southern countryside would become increasingly
politicized. At the same time, political accountability would not increase
but decrease because the impoverished rural-dwellers would be highly
dependent on the regional political elite for the delivery of day-to-day
services. This belief is not simple speculation as it represents (in
varying degrees) the pattern of decentralized politics in many other
parts of the developing world. More significantly, it reflects the experience
with the current Provincial Councils (PCs) in the South; their overall
poor performance and low accountability for nearly the last twenty years
have discredited full federalism for the Sinhalese just as entrenched
discrimination, systemic anti-minority violence, and neglect of the
North and East have discredited the unitary state for the Tamils.(
More)
29-05-2006
Indian alert over possible Tiger infiltration
By M.R. Narayan Swamy, Indo-Asian News Service
Chennai, May 29 (IANS) Even as Tamil civilians fleeing Sri Lanka are welcomed in Tamil Nadu, Indian authorities are worried about Tamil Tiger guerrillas taking advantage of the situation to sneak into the southern state.More
28-05-2006
Sri Lankan refugees thank Indian forces for rescuing them
Press Trust of India
Rameswaram, May 27, 2006
People who fled from violence-hit Sri Lanka on Saturday expressed their
gratitude to the Indian Navy and Coast Guard for rescuing and bringing
them to refugee camps in Tamil Nadu. Sivaranjani from Arichalmunai in
Northern Sri Lanka, now at the Mandapam transit camp, narrated her horrifying
experience to reporters. Their fibreglass boat carrying 50 refugees
was tossed in the rough sea, drenching her two-month old baby.More
27-05-2006
Norway envoy meets top Sri Lanka rebel after new shelling
COLOMBO (AFP) - A top Sri Lankan rebel leader met with a Norwegian peace envoy in a bid to salvage a collapsing ceasefire after new shelling was reported along the de facto front line in the country's east.
Rebel sources said Jon Hanssen-Bauer, peacebroker Norway's number two peace emissary, held two hours of talks with S.P. Thamilselvan, head of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam's (LTTE) political wing.
There was no immediate word on the substance of the meeting.[More]
27-05-2006
Karunanidhi receives Rajapakse’s special envoy Thondaman
by S Venkat
Narayan- Our Special Correspondent
NEW DELHI, May 26: Tamil Nadu
Chief Minister Muthuvel Karunanidhi received Sri Lankan President Mahinda
Rajapakse’s Special Envoy Arumugam Thondaman in Chennai on Thursday.
The Ceylon Workers’ Congress (CWC) chief called on the veteran Indian Tamil leader and personally conveyed to him President Rajapakse’s felicitations on becoming the southern Indian state’s chief minister for the fifth time early this month.
Earlier, on the day the 83-year-old Karunanidhi was sworn in, Sri Lanka’s Deputy High Commissioner in Chennai Sumith Nakandala had delivered to him a special message of congratulations from the President.[More]
27-05
Tokyo,
Tuesday, (AFP)
- Sri Lanka's key foreign aid donors warned the government and Tamil
Tiger rebels today that they must take steps to end growing unrest or
risk losing international support.