Flash News

[kuruvikal]

<img src='http://us.news2.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/p/afp/20040610/capt.sge.dch68.100604132423.photo00.default-384x289.jpg' border='0' alt='user posted image'>

(Sri Lanka's army chief Lionel Balagalle (left) hands over a souvenir to visiting US Pacific Commander, Lt. General James L. Campbell at the military headquarters in Colombo(AFP))

அமெரிக்க பசுபிக் பிராந்திய படைத்தளபதி இன்று யாழ் விஜயம்

அமெரிக்க படையினரின் பசுபிக் பிராந்திய படைத்தளபதி லெப். ஜெனரல் ஜேம்ஸ் எல்ஹம்பல் யாழ்ப்பாணத்துக்கான விஜயம் ஒன்றை மேற்கொள்ளவுள்ளார்.

இன்று யாழ்ப்பாணத்துக்குச் செல்லும் இவர், இரண்டு தினங்கள் அங்கு தங்கியிருப்பார் எனவும், இக்காலப்பகுதியில் யாழ் நிலவரங்கள் தொடர்பாக அவர் ஆராய்வார் எனவும் செய்திகள் தெரிவிக்கின்றன.

இதேசமயம், கொழும்பிலுள்ள சிறிலங்காப் படைத் தலைமையகத்துக்கு நேற்று விஜயம் ஒன்றை மேற்கொண்ட அவருக்கு அணிவகுப்பு மரியாதை வழங்கப்பட்டுள்ளது.

இதன் பின்னர் அமெரிக்கப் படையினரின் பசுபிக் தளபதி லெப்ரினன்ற் ஜெனரல் ஜேம்ஸ் எல்.ஹம்பல், சிறிலங்காவின் படைத்தளபதி லெப். ஜெனரல் லயனல் பலகல்லவை சந்தித்து பேச்சுவார்த்தை நடாத்தியுள்ளார்.

நேற்று மாலை நடைபெற்ற இந்தச் சந்திப்பின் போது, இரு நாடுகளுக்கும் இடையிலான படைத்துறை ஒத்துழைப்பு தொடர்பான விடயங்கள் குறித்து ஆராயப்பட்டதாகத் தெரிவிக்கப்படுகிறது.

(puthinam.com)

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U.S. General visits Jaffna

[TamilNet, June 11, 2004 10:34 GMT]

United States Commander for Pacific Region, Lt.General James L.Campbell, currently on a visit to strengthen relationship between Sri Lanka and the U.S., is arriving in Palaly Sri Lanka Army (SLA) military base to have discussions with the Commander of Sri Lanka Northern region and other Senior SLA officers, local media reported.
Lt.Gen.Campbell who arrived in Colombo yesterday was received with military parade at the Sri Lanka Military Head quarters in Colombo Thursday afternoon, according to reports.

Commander of Sri Lanka Security Forces, Lt.Gen Lionel Balagalle met with Lt.Gen.Campell at the Head Quarters Thursday for discussions centering on strengthening military cooperation, reports added.

(tamilnet)

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US turns to Sri Lanka for tactics to fight in Iraq, Afghanistan


COLOMBO (AFP) - The United States can learn from the Sri Lankan military's bloody war with Tamil Tiger rebels as it fights insurgents in Iraq (news - web sites) and Afghanistan (news - web sites), a top US army commander said.

Lieutenant General James L. Campbell, commander of the US Army in the Pacific, said he was looking into the possibilities of military cooperation between the two countries to help the United States learn tactics.

"Sri Lankan security forces have experience in facing the kind of situation that our men and women are facing today in Iraq and Afghanistan," Campbell told reporters during a visit to the Sri Lankan military headquarters on Thursday.

"We can benefit from the tactics and on dealing with improvised explosive devices. ... We can learn from them how best to deal with such things," he said.

Sri Lankan army chief Lionel Balagalle said: "Our troops have learnt the hard way and we are prepared to share our knowledge with each other."

The Sri Lankan military has suffered heavy casualties in the three-decade ethnic war, losing 18,000 troops until a Norwegian-brokered truce went into effect in February 2002.

The Tigers, who have been fighting for a separate Tamil homeland, have incurred similar casualties while more than 20,000 civilians are estimated to have died.

Both Sri Lankan forces and the rebels have been accused of gross human rights violations, although the two sides later began lessons conducted by the International Committee of the Red Cross on how to treat civilians under the Geneva Conventions.

Campbell is due on Saturday to open Sri Lanka's first peacekeeping exercise, hosted jointly by the United States, that will also train troops from Bangladesh, Nepal and Mongolia.

Campbell said Sri Lanka sending 750 troopers to Haiti next month as part of a UN force was a sign of Sri Lanka emerging as a key nation in international peacekeeping.

Sri Lanka has sought UN peacekeeping slots for soldiers who are likely to be demobilised once a final settlement is reached in the Tamil separatist conflict.

But Balagalle said there was no decision to send Sri Lankan troops to Iraq or Afghanistan.

"That is a foreign policy decision for the government and there is no such decision at the moment," Balagalle said.

(AFP...yahoo.com)