Yarl Forum - பிறமொழி ஆக்கங்கள்

Karuna Cadres were captured alive

Sun, 30 Apr 2006 16:58:38 +0000

Karuna Cadres were captured alive
Sunday, 30 April 2006

Sources from Batticaloa said that seven Karuna cadres were captured alive during the early morning raid on paramilitary camps.

New information said that 29 paramilitaries were killed, 15 injured and 7 captured.

Sources said that Karuna Cadres had gathered at the attacked camp for a planning session.

Sources said that the LTTE raid may have been intelligence led, as all the Karuna group cadres were caught in one place.

"Karuna Group has lost more than 80% of its capacity," said a military analyst.

http://www.tamileditors.com/NEW/

Who in Army HQ tipped off bomber?

Sun, 30 Apr 2006 09:20:22 +0000

Who in Army HQ tipped off bomber?

IQBAL ATHAS
SITUATION REPORT
SUNDAY TIMES/TAMIL LINKS

It is easily the worst incident in the two decades of separatist war and interludes of peace with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).

A female suicide bomber infiltrated the heavily-fortified Army Headquarters in Colombo. She threw herself before Army Commander Lt. Gen. Sarath Fonseka's motorcade. If not for motorcycle outrider Corporal Ruwan Yakandawala, who kicked her, faced the full brunt of the explosion and died on the spot, Lt. Gen. Fonseka would be no more.

But he was badly wounded and had to undergo emergency surgery. He is still under intensive care. If that was bad enough, there is something more bizarre. No one knows how she found her way into Army Headquarters and there is no official record.

A Criminal Investigation Department (CID) team tasked by Police Chief Chandra Fernando has an uphill task. They will have to find out how the suicide bomber gained entry to carry out the dastardly attack. More importantly they will have to unravel how one of the biggest security breaches in Sri Lanka's post independent history occurred.

They have already pieced together some of the sequence of events from accounts given by eye witnesses. The 21-year-old woman, said to be identified as Anoja Kuhanesarasa from Vavuniya, who appeared to be pregnant was in the bus that takes visitors to Army Headquarters. That includes the Army Hospital. But there is no record of her reporting to the reception to surrender her national identity card to obtain a Visitor Pass.
Then she was seen seated in a waiting area at the hospital.

This was near an enclosure where laboratory tests were carried out. She was later spotted at the canteen. She was at the front verandah at the hospital when her mobile phone rang. She answered it and darted towards the road. Someone inside tipped her off that Lt. Gen. Fonseka's motorcade was approaching. That was how she threw herself whilst detonating the lethal mix of explosives and steel balls strapped to her stomach and chest.
Pieces of a mobile phone sans the SIM card were found. Detectives located the IMEI number on the phone.

This 15 digit number is registered by mobile phone service providers when a subscriber obtains a connection. Thus their name, address and phone number too are available in data stored in computers. However, checks had revealed that none of the four mobile phone operators in Sri Lanka had registered this particular phone. Yet, other measures to track down the phone number are now under way.

It seemed ironic that security at Army Headquarters was dramatically overhauled after Lt. Gen. Fonseka took office as Commander on December 6 last year. It was further tightened up after he received warnings from former the Directorate of Internal Intelligence (DII) and now State Intelligence Service (SIS), the country's premier intelligence agency, of Tiger guerrilla threats to his life. According to one source, one such warning some five months ago gave details of a possible infiltration by guerrillas into Army Headquarters to assassinate him.

Visitors were required to report to a reception area, surrender their national identity cards and obtain a visitor pass. Thereafter they were required to board a bus that took them up to the hospital area. Soldiers who came in civilian clothes were debarred entry to the headquarters complex. They were required to come in uniform. Some who travelled in public transport from far away areas brought along their uniform in a parcel. Visitors including soldiers were banned from walking on either side of the road from the main entrance to the headquarters building. Those above the rank of Brigadiers were allowed the continued use of a special lane that gave them unimpeded access.

And the man who did all this to prevent the guerrillas taking his life or infiltrating his headquarters was not totally fool proof.
Tiger guerrilla intelligence boss T. Shivashankar alias Pottu Amman was now using new methods to gather intelligence to plan out attacks. A new addition to his book of tricks is spending vast amounts of money. Detectives now suspect even sexual relationships by guerrilla cadres with contacts in the south. Was someone inside Army Headquarters paid large sums of money to provide intelligence to plan the attack on Lt. Gen. Fonseka? Or did the female suicide bomber, who appeared attractive and spoke fluent Sinhala, develop a sexual relationship with an Army soldier or employee? These are aspects now being probed.

The infiltration into Army Headquarters and the carrying out a suicide bomb attack on Lt. Gen. Fonseka would have meant the gathering of hard intelligence over a period of time. The move could be likened to the Army planning an attack on LTTE leader, Velupillai Prabhakaran somewhere in the general areas of Puthukudiyiruppu or Mullaitivu. They would require precise information about his residence, his movements, his regular routine, habits, the type of personal security he is protected by, the access to various locations and many more details. Only then could meticulous planning get under way.

In the case of Tuesday's attack there is no doubt such intelligence gathering had gone on. That was how the plot to infiltrate and attack had been planned and executed to the detail. Tiger guerrilla intelligence was aware that there was a maternity clinic every Tuesday at the Army Hospital inside the headquarters complex. Therefore did Anoja make visits earlier using her unknown contact on reconnaissance work? They also became aware that the Chief of Defence Staff chaired a security review conference every week on Tuesday afternoon with the armed forces commanders and senior intelligence officials.

Though he had taken charge of the "General's House," official residence of the Army Commander at Bullers Road, guerrilla intelligence had known that he did not live there. Instead he continued to stay in the official residence of the Army Chief of Staff located within the headquarters complex. Also known was the fact that he did not use the bullet proof BMW given by President Mahinda Rajapaksa for his safety. Instead, he used a Peugeot 406 for travel within the headquarters complex or to proceed to the Ministry of Defence located next door.

That Tuesday, he had left office around 1.45 p.m. He was to have lunch at the Chief of Staff's residence he occupied and drive to the JOH for the weekly security review meeting. It is only after he had boarded the car, his motor cycle outriders and escorts began to move that suicide bomber Anoja's mobile phone rang. Someone who was watching all that happen was there to alert her. Was he doing it for large sums of money or for love, or both? Some eye witnesses have spoken about seeing a male escort with her though they cannot identify him. Whoever he is, the person is at large and still has access to Army Headquarters.

Evidence that the LTTE was spending large sums of money to buy information from civilians in the south has surfaced in the recent months. CID detectives probing the murder of Army intelligence officer Lt. Col. (posthumously promoted) Nizam Muthaliff on May 31, 2005 found that an accomplice in the south was paid an advance of Rs 1.3 million. This was to provide information on the officer's movements. It came after he was taken on a visit to Kilinochchi.

Two weeks ago, detectives probing a guerrilla assassination attempt on Minister Maithrapala Sirisena learnt how a person known to him in Polonnnaruwa was approached. He had been promised an advance payment of one million rupees if he gave information on Mr. Sirisena's movements. He promptly brought this matter to the attention of Mr. Sirisena. The Police arrest of two guerrillas during a search operation in Polonnaruwa provided more details of the assassination plot. One of them carried a forged national identity card with a Sinhala name whilst the other held one with a Muslim name. One of them who bit a cyanide capsule died later in hospital.

Another instance of how a Sri Lankan showed his national mindedness came in Colombo. He was the conductor of a private bus. It was passing the then residence of Defence Secretary Gothabaya Rajapaksa somewhere in Colombo. He spotted a suspicious looking person drawing something on his left palm using a pen on his right hand. He asked the driver to stop the bus, walked up to him and seized him. Later, he handed over the man to a sentry nearby. It turned out that the man was a hard core Tiger guerrilla intelligence cadre. He was drawing a map of the location where Mr. Rajapaksa then lived.

Further interrogation of the man led to a startling find. He had stored in the place where he resided a stock of explosives. He was not only conducting reconnaissance on the Defence Secretary but also on a number of others. He had been friendly with a one time activist of the Eelam People's Democratic Party (EPDP). On one occasion he had accompanied him for a meeting with its leader, Douglas Devananda. The man had bared vital information relating to guerrilla operations in the City of Colombo.

Barely two hours after Tuesday's incident at Army Headquarters, President Mahinda Rajapaksa chaired an emergency session of the National Security Council. The recent attacks on armed forces and police by the LTTE, culminating in that day's incident were closely examined. Most felt a limited but strong response was necessary to demonstrate that the Government would not be humbled into submission by repeated attacks.
Some felt that though a Ceasefire Agreement was in force, it was the sovereign right of a Government to defend itself when a major attack was carried in blatant violation of all norms. It was decided that there should be limited air strikes on guerrilla targets in Sampur, the palm fringed area that overlooks the harbour mouth in Trincomalee. Just across Sampur, separated by the inner harbour lay the Dockyard where the Eastern Naval Area Headquarters is located.

Engaging guerrilla targets in and around Sampur was important over other targets in the east. It was Trincomalee that the LTTE wants as the capital of its so called state of Eelam. During the period of the ceasefire, the guerrillas had established mortar and artillery positions in Sampur. Their aim was to prevent re-inforcements and supplies leaving Trincomalee for the Jaffna peninsula should hostilities break out. Repairs to the runway at the Palaly airport, now under way, would have curtailed air traffic. With the possible closure of the A-9 (Jaffna-Kandy) highway in such an event, Trincomalee would become the lifeline for more than 35,000 policemen and troops. Thus targeting guerrilla positions in Sampur would deny the guerrillas a stronghold from which to throttle the movement of armed forces.

The Air Force used Israeli built Kfir interceptor jets to pound guerrilla targets in Sampur on Tuesday afternoon and Wednesday forenoon. If some bombs were off target and fell in a civilian area in Mutur killing four including a Muslim cleric, there was at least one direct hit on an LTTE training camp. Intelligence sources say at least 30 guerrillas were killed and a mass funeral was held yesterday. A lorry load of damaged weapons were transported and placed in a school. Besides the four deaths from a bomb falling off away from the target, at least eight other civilians were reported killed. However, there is still a dispute about the number displaced. Whilst the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said it was 7000 to 8000 the Government declared the number was smaller. According to a Government statement there were some 16,500 civilians living in Sampur.

Intelligence circles in Colombo were baffled over how information of air attacks had leaked in advance. It was after credible reports that the guerrillas had used loud hailers mounted on vehicles to caution the people about impending air attacks. Did some paid informant tip them off? Yet, the LTTE could not move equipment or vacate those occupying the training camp that was hit. It was only in February, this year, the LTTE advised civilians living in the Trincomalee district to start building bunkers in their homes (The Sunday Times - Situation Report February 19).
Beginning Tuesday armed forces and the Police began search operations in the City and suburbs for possible guerrilla cadres and hideouts. Over a 100 persons have been taken in for questioning. A separate operation in Mount Lavinia brought forth a startling revelation.

The search of the flat of a Police Inspector engaged in counter terrorism work and now officially reported missing led to the discovery of a sniper rifle with a telescopic mount. The flat is located within the precincts of the Mount Lavinia Police. The search came after lengthy surveillance over suspicious activity. Though the flat was locked from outside, it was observed that there had been activity going on inside. The flat is where Inspector T. Jeyaratnam, now known to have been kidnapped by Tiger guerrillas, used to live. Since he was reported missing, it had been occupied by his family.

From his days as a Sergeant in the Police, Mr. Jeyaratnam had been assigned to counter terrorism responsibilities and was covering the LTTE. He came into prominence whilst working in the Mount Lavinia Police Station. He was responsible for cracking some cases leading to the arrest of guerrilla cadres operating from cells in that area. After reported threats to his life, Inspector Jeyaratnam had been transferred at his own request to the Field Force Headquarters of the Police in Bambalapitiya.

Mr Jeyaratnam was reported missing after he attended a dinner at the Mount Lavinia Hotel on April 27, 2005. Thereafter intelligence reports confirmed that he had been escorted by boat from Negombo to Kilinochchi. Intelligence sources say he may have now been persuaded to work for the LTTE and thus help them to hide the sniper rifle at his flat. Without doubt, such a rifle is meant for assassinating VIPs. It was such a rifle that was used to kill former Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar last year. A full investigation is now under way into this matter.

In mounting claymore bomb attacks on the armed forces and police in the past many weeks, Tiger guerrillas signalled the dawn of Eelam War IV in a limited way. The suicide bomb attack on Lt. Gen. Fonseka, the LTTE expected, would trigger off a major retaliatory attack by the armed forces. They also expected a communal backlash. Instead the Government responded in a limited way by conducting aerial attacks and Army firing artillery at guerrilla positions in Sampur. Have the guerrillas called it quits? Or, are they busy preparing themselves for another major strike?
State intelligence believes the answer lies in the latter.

This is the main reason why Police Chief Chandra Fernando persuaded the National Security Council this week to cancel all May Day activities in the district of Colombo. Despite drawing additional Police strength from the provinces, he feared ensuring that locations are safe for May Day rallies was an onerous task for the Police. The armed forces were also assigned other national security responsibilities in the light of recent guerrilla attacks.

Priority consideration is being given by the Ministry of Defence to ensure troops and police are prepared to meet any threats to national security. Vital installations including electricity transmission centres, fuel storage tanks and others have been secured. The Government has taken new measures to ensure villages that border guerrilla controlled areas are better protected. (See box story on top).

Both the Government and the LTTE have again this week pledged to honour the Ceasefire Agreement. But it is no secret that they are veering away from the negotiating table to the battlefield. No matter what the wild speculation is, this is the grim reality.

புலிகள் மீதான தடை ஐரோப்பிய ஒன்றியத்தில் பிளவு

Sat, 29 Apr 2006 22:44:45 +0000

ஐரோப்பிய ஒன்றியத்தில் புலிகள் மீது தடை விதிப்பது தொடர்பில் அதன் அங்கத்துவ நாடுகளையிடையே கருத்து வேறுபாடு ஏற்பட்டுள்ளது. இந்த தடை நடவடிக்கைக்கு நார்டிக் நாடுகள் எதிர்ப்பு தெரிவித்து வருகின்றது. இதனால் ஐரோப்பாவில் புலிகள் அமைப்புக்கு தடை ஏதும் ஏற்பட வாய்ப்பு குறைவு என்று தெரிகின்றது.

EU divided, may not ban LTTE

By M.R. Narayan Swamy, New Delhi: The European Union is sharply divided over outlawing Sri Lanka's Tamil Tiger guerrillas, and indications are a ban is not immediately in the offing despite this week's suicide bomb attack blamed on the insurgents.

The 25-nation grouping is debating whether or not it should declare the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) a terrorist group, a public request for which was made only on April 23 by the Sri Lankan government.

Britain is the only European Union member that has outlawed the LTTE. Colombo feels that a ban across the continent, where the group maintains a string of offices and which is home to thousands of Sri Lankan Tamils, is bound to hurt the Tigers.

According to diplomatic sources here, the Nordic member countries of the European Union are particularly not in favour of banning the LTTE because they feel their own role in the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) would be affected as a result.

The SLMM is a Nordic body that oversees Sri Lanka's tenuous ceasefire. Its member countries are Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden. Its present head is a Swede, Ulf Henricsson. SLMM members interact closely with both Colombo and the LTTE in the north and east of Sri Lanka.

The European Union is made up of Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Britain, Cyprus (Greek part), the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia.

Some European countries do favour banning the LTTE, saying its actions, particularly suicide bombings, are incompatible with European values of democracy and free speech. They are also upset over the LTTE's intolerance of dissent and its unending recruitment of child soldiers.

But the Nordic countries argue that outlawing the LTTE will only reduce whatever levers of influence Europe can have on the organisation.

Some among them think that a ban may not have the desired effect of making the Tigers pursue peace.

At the same time, the broad consensus within the EU is to continue with the travel ban imposed on LTTE leaders in September last year following the assassination of then Sri Lankan foreign minister Lakshman Kadirgamar.

On April 23, the Sri Lankan government urged the EU to outlaw the LTTE, saying it was the duty of the international community to help Colombo combat terrorism.

The next day, a woman suicide bomber pretending to be pregnant walked up to the Sri Lankan army headquarters in Colombo and almost killed the army chief, Lt. Gen. Sanath Fonseka, by detonating explosives strapped on her body.

Colombo blamed the LTTE, whose feeble denials were not taken seriously anywhere.

It was the second such suicide bombing in Colombo since July 2004 when another woman bomber strapped with explosives blew herself up inside a police station near the US embassy, killing at least four policemen. The target then was an anti-LTTE Tamil cabinet minister, Douglas Devananda.

The LTTE has used suicide bombings as a political weapon since 1987. In 1991, it assassinated former Indian prime minister Rajiv Gandhi and followed it up by blowing up then Sri Lankan president Ranasinghe Premadasa two years later.

But during the entire 1990s and even later, European countries interacted with LTTE representatives in their own countries although on a low key. The interactions were stepped up after the LTTE and Colombo signed a ceasefire agreement in 2002. But there was a definite change in attitude towards LTTE after 9/11 and suicide attacks in Europe blamed on Muslim groups.

India in 1992 became the first country to ban the LTTE. The US and Britain banned it later. Canada took the decision this month. Australia and Malaysia and some others keep a close watch on the LTTE.

But in all these countries the LTTE continues to operate through front organisations as well as supporters, both Sri Lankan Tamils and local nationals.

newkerala

The bombing and shelling in Trincomalee – a request for help

Sat, 29 Apr 2006 22:00:47 +0000

The bombing and shelling in Trincomalee – a request for help.
By: Brian Senewiratne (Brisbane, Australia )
Source: TamilCanadian

To the expatriate Tamil community

Download: THE KILLING OF INNOCENTS IN SRI LANKA (April 2006)

I am asking for help from expatriate Tamils and others who are concerned with the outrage in Trincomalee on 25-26 April 2006.

I have written a separate article “The killing of innocents in Sri Lanka (April 2006)” which is being posted on the web in a way that it can be printed and posted. I will appreciate it if some concerned soul(s) prints this and circulates it to every politician, every religious body, and the media in the country you live in. As I have said, it is not an appeal or a plea for help. It is simply to draw their attention to what is going on in Sri Lanka.

I do not hold Rajapakse’s virulently anti-Tamil Sinhala Government or the Sinhala Armed Forces entirely responsible for this outrage. Foreign Governments, in particular, those who supply this murderous regime (and its predecessors) with the necessary weapons to kill and destroy a section of the population of Sri Lanka, must be held equally responsible.

All Foreign Governments have well-informed Embassies in Colombo. It is absurd to suggest that they do not know what is going on in Sri Lanka. What I hope is that the necessary questions will be asked in the various parliaments and that the international media take this up.

I have been too long at this game to believe that this will happen. I am well aware that it will probably be a complete waste of time. But that was the same that was said when Peter Benensen, the visionary founder of Amnesty International, had the completely crazy idea of writing letters to a Portuguese dictator to free a couple of lads who had been locked up for raising their glasses in a toast to freedom from a brutal dictatorship. The boys were freed.

I do believe that if hundreds of letters are to arrive on someone’s desk, it might make a difference.

The expatriate Tamils are, and have been, making an enormous contribution towards exposing the brutality and the criminality of a succession of Sinhala Governments. With no intention of diminishing the importance of the work that has been done over these traumatic years, I must say that the Sinhala Government has won the false propaganda war. They may have been resoundingly defeated in almost every battle that has been fought in Northern Sri Lanka, but they have won the propaganda war. It is up to us to try and put the record straight.

I have recently been invited to attend a series of meetings, seminars, conferences etc on the future of Sri Lanka. Whatever fancy solution academics and others can think up, the reality is that a division of Sri Lanka is inevitable. Eelam has already been established and, from all accounts, is functioning pretty well. It is certainly functioning far better than the Sinhala South which is literally falling apart, the USA notwithstanding. If evidence is needed, I suggest that you read a paper, a genuine research paper, by an academic, Professor Kristian Stokke, from the Department of Sociology and Human Geography, University of Oslo, Norway. His paper, “Tamil Eelam – a De Facto State. Building the Tamil Eelam State: Emerging State Institutions and Forms of Governance in LTTE–controlled Areas in Sri Lanka” is an eye-opener for those who need their eyes to be opened. This was published recently in the Third World Quarterly. Those unable to access this publication will find Prof Stokke’s paper in Nadesan Satyendra’s web site “Tamil Nation”

At a recent Conference I set out the options available for the Sri Lankan government. This extensive analysis will be published on the net after some ‘problems’ which are outside my control, have been sorted out. Briefly, I pointed out that an undivided Sri Lanka was no longer a possibility. There cannot be two armies under separate command in one country. Either one of the armies must be disarmed or the country has to be divided. There really are no other options unless Sri Lanka is trying to define a new type of governance with which I am not familiar.

So, the Sinhala Armed Forces must be disarmed (which is unlikely), or the Tamil Tigers must be disarmed. The Tigers cannot be disarmed or ‘crushed’. The 4th largest Army in the world tried this in 1987 and had to ‘retire hurt’, carrying a thousand dead in body-bags and bringing disgrace to a proud country that embarked on a military (mis)adventure. I cannot imagine Sri Lanka, with an Army that has been defeated in every major battle in the past decade, succeeding where India has failed. So to ‘crush’ the Tigers is only in the imagination of the JVP, JHU and the military hierarchy.

A Federal solution is no longer a possibility. For a Federal, or even a Confederal, solution to work, there must be trust in the Centre. There most certainly is none of that left.

The US has repeatedly stated that Eelam is unacceptable to them. Frankly, no one asked them for their opinion. The Tamil people who have been ‘ruled’ by a barbaric, ruthless and irresponsible Sinhala regime in Colombo (the Trincomalee bombings being a very good example), can make up their minds without reference to ‘big brother’ in Washington, London, or Delhi.

Dr Kumar Rupasinghe, a Sinhalese like myself, but whose credentials are much more impressive, told me recently that a survey conducted by his peace group in Colombo to ascertain the opinion of Tamils in the North and East gave a staggering result. 85% of Tamils in the ‘uncleared’ ie Government-controlled area voted for the ISGA ie to give administrative authority to the LTTE. In the ‘cleared’ area ie under the LTTE, it will probably be 100%. Glancing at Stokke’s recent paper will supply the answer as to why this should be so.

I recently asked another Sinhalese who is very well informed and who lives in Colombo, what he thought of the Sinhala South. With disarming honesty he replied with a smile, “It is finished. It will all have to be scrapped and we will have to start again”. He then proceeded to justify his sweeping statement. I found the case he presented compelling. I have had similar views for some time. I was glad to have them confirmed by someone on the ground in Colombo. While Sinhalese might have to cope with a ‘failed state’, the Tamils do not need to do so. This is one of the most compelling reasons for a separate Tamil State.

If a de facto Eelam already exists (which it does), it is not going to disappear just because George Bush or the ‘Co-Chairs’ think it should. It cannot be ‘willed away’. It simply would not happen. Our problem, as expatriates, is to see that de facto moves to de jure.

This will not happen by sitting on our hands and hallucinating. There is work to be done. One important way is to show the world that the Sinhala government is racist, brutal, unreliable and irresponsible. The recent Trinco bombing is a good start. This is why I would like you to get involved and circulate the piece that I have written which sets out the facts.

I have been accused, by others and even by myself (!), of “preaching to the converted” i.e Tamil expatriates. Preaching to the converted is sometimes necessary to ‘wake them up’ to the reality that an entire nation, the Tamil nation, is about to free itself from Sinhala domination for the first time in 50 years, perhaps treble that. Eelam will be established with or without our help. However, it will be nice to look back in the years ahead and say “I too put in my five cents’.

Despite my age (74) I have repeatedly said that I am more than happy to travel round the world, at my expense if necessary, to help the Tamil people to achieve a just peace – not just a ‘Peace’ but Peace with Justice. I was recently asked to “Talk from the heart”. That is what I have been doing since 1948 when a million Plantation Tamils were disenfranchised and decitizenised in an act of political barbarism that is without equal in any country, civilized or uncivilized.

What is needed to achieve what the Tamil people so richly deserve is a commitment. That is what I am urging you to develop.

I’d point out one more possibility – a worrying one. One of my earliest publications was on the July 1983 massacre of Tamil civilians in Colombo. Anyone who has even a vague understanding of this blot on Sri Lankan history and a watershed in ethnic relations in that country, will know that it was premeditated with every detail planned ahead. The killing of 13 soldiers by the Tamil militants in Jaffna was only the trigger that the Sinhala hoodlums with their bosses in Jayawardene’s government were waiting for. What is important to appreciate is that before the Tamil massacre in Colombo, there were several ‘incidents’ engineered and conducted by Sinhala racists in Trincomalee. Yes Trincomalee – where as you know, there have been increasing ‘problems’ in the past few months. I hope that this is not a re-run of the 1983 massacre. It could well be Trinco today, Jaffna tomorrow (there are now 60,000 Sinhala troops there – up from 40,000 before Rajapakse took over), and Colombo next.

I hope I am wrong but it is not a risk which we can take. I urge you to act NOW, Tomorrow may be too late,

Download:
THE KILLING OF INNOCENTS IN SRI LANKA (April 2006)

Brian Senewiratne
27 April 2006

http://www.tamilcanadian.com/pageview.php?...ID=4032&SID=266

புவிசார் அரசியலில் ஏவுகணைத் தொழில் நுட்பத்தின் பலம்-பாக்கிஸ

Sat, 29 Apr 2006 10:35:55 +0000

புவிசார் அரசியலில் ஏவுகணைத் தொழில் நுட்பத்தின் பலம்-பாக்கிஸ்தானிய முயற்ச்சிகள்

எமக்கும் இச் செய்தி தரும் பாடம், தொழில் நுட்ப விருத்தி+கூட்டு முயற்சி= புவிசார் அரசியற்பலம்= சர்வதேச அங்கீகாரம்.

Pakistan stages new missile test

It is the second time the missile has been successfully tested
Pakistan has successfully test-fired a nuclear-capable missile with a range of 2,000km (1,250 miles), the Pakistani military has said.
It was the second test-firing of the surface-to-surface Hatf VI (Shaheen II) missile, which was first tested in March 2005, officials said.

Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz watched the launch, at an undisclosed location.

The Hatf VI is Pakistan's longest-range ballistic missile system, with the potential to reach 2,500km.

"The missile test was conducted to validate additional technical parameters beyond those that were verified in the last test fire in March 2005," a military statement said.

Pakistan informed its regional neighbours of the test in advance, and said it would not hurt improving relations with India, the Associated Press news agency said.

Mr Aziz congratulated scientists on "achieving yet another milestone on the road to success", AP reported.

Tension between Pakistan and India - also a nuclear power - has decreased in recent months amid a series of bilateral overtures.

The two powers stepped back from the brink of war after India blamed Pakistan for involvement in an armed attack on the federal parliament in Delhi in 2001.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asi...sia/4957218.stm

கொழும்பு தாக்குதலை மேற்கொண்டவர் நிஜ கர்ப்பிணி?

Fri, 28 Apr 2006 08:06:16 +0000

Tamil suicide bomber who targeted Sri Lanka top general was pregnant, investigator says

DILIP GANGULY , Associated Press, Fri 28th Apr 05:30GMT. The Tamil bomber who blew herself up targeting Sri Lanka's top general was pregnant and that helped her to conceal explosives and get inside army headquarters for a maternity check, an investigator says.
The brazen attack Tuesday triggered tit-for-tat military action by government troops and the rebels that has pushed Sri Lanka close to civil war after a tense four-year cease-fire.

The bomber has been identified as Anoja Kugenthirasah, 21, from the northern government-held garrison town of Vavuniya on the frontier of territory held by Tamil Tiger rebels and was believed to be a member of the insurgents' dreaded Black Tigers suicide squad, the investigator said.

The investigator, who cited hospital records in his account of results so far of the probe, spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to the media.

Government Media Minister Anura Priyadarshana Yapa said he was aware of the initial findings, but that ``cannot make comment until the investigation is over.''

On Tuesday, the bomber apparently targeted the car of Lt. Gen. Sarath Fonseka, Sri Lanka's army commander, inside Colombo's heavily fortified military headquarters.

The attack killed 10 people and wounded 27, including Fonseka, who suffered serious abdominal injuries and on Friday was in an intensive care unit where doctors described his condition as stable.

The suicide bombing led the Sri Lankan government to carry out air strikes on rebel bases in the northeast. The rebels hit back by exploding anti-personnel mines. The new violence has threatened to finally shatter a Norway-brokered peace deal on this tropical island of 19 million people that has been battered for months by sporadic violence.

Fonseka, a battle-hardened soldier with 35 years in the infantry, was appointed to the top post after President Mahinda Rajapakse took office in November.

On Dec. 4, the Tigers carried out the first major attack since the 2002 cease-fire, killing 12 navy sailors and unleashing dozens of rebel attacks, mainly using anti-personnel mines.

Sri Lanka's military at first exercized restraint, but Fonseka convinced Rajapakse that retaliation was needed and the military began to return fire when attacked. He also convinced the government that the 120,000-strong army needed to modernize its weapons after a four-year period of relative neglect since the cease-fire.

Fonseka clearly had become a formidable enemy for the Tamil Tigers.

So, the planning started.

The bomber had fake identification showing she was the wife of a clerk working for the Sri Lankan army, the investigator said, citing hospital records. Those records also showed she was pregnant, the investigator said.

Every Tuesday, the military hospital inside the headquarters holds a maternity clinic. She had attended the clinic on three preceding Tuesdays, the hospital records show, according to the investigator.

She also came to be known with the guards and learned the routine of Fonseka, who generally went home for lunch around 1:30 p.m., the investigator said.

This past Tuesday, the bomber got inside the army garrison a half-hour ahead of the clinic and stood in front of the hospital, which is beside the road that Fonseka takes to come out of the headquarters.

As his car approached, she came closer, and was shouted at by one of Fonseka's motor cycle escorts who ordered her to get away, the investigator said. She detonated the bomb shortly afterward.

Five of Fonseka's escorts were killed.

The Black Tigers are renowned for their skill at deploying suicide bombers against military, economic and civilian targets.

Victims have included former Sri Lankan President Ranasinghe Premadasa, former Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, and numerous Sri Lankan ministers and senior politicians.

Another former president, Chandrika Kumaratunga, narrowly survived a suicide attack in 1999, but lost one eye in the blast.

The first Black Tigers suicide attack was on July 5, 1987, when a rebel known as Captain Miller drove a truckload of explosives into a military camp and detonated them, killing 40 soldiers.

Since then, 240 other rebels have blown themselves up.

Mass protest against Undiyalaan

Thu, 27 Apr 2006 22:27:40 +0000

[b][size=18]A temple is not a money making machine. If Undiyalaan wants to buy three houses in London and several other properties across the world, he should get a job.

Huge protest against Undiyalaan will be held with special police permission and protection.

Time:: From 11 am till 1 pm

Date:: Friday, 28 April 2006

Place:: Outside the Eelapatheeswarar Aalayam Limited, Union Road, Wembley, Middlesex. HA0 4AU

How to get there:: Tube - Wembley Central by Metropolitan or Bakerloo, Bus - 79 - 83 - 92 - 182 - 224 Car: A406 ring road and then towards Wembley at Hangerlane or A404

Contact:: Rajan - 07751717097

Democracy in crisis in Asia's killing fields- AHRC

Thu, 27 Apr 2006 03:11:04 +0000

Democracy in crisis in Asia's killing fields- AHRC

Saying that "Sri Lanka has been the stage of one of the most brutal killing fields," the Asian Hurna Rights Commission (AHRC) in a media release issued Wednesday said, "the problem Sri Lanka faces is much worse than a mere escalation of violence. A country that is already facing a collapse of its basic institutions and living at the lowest ebb of the rule of law is now plunging deeper into an abysmal crisis in all areas of life...crisis in Sri Lanka is a crisis of democracy, with its roots in the authoritarian style of rule that arose as a result of the 1978 Constitution."
Full text of AHRC's media release follows:

SRI LANKA: Sri Lanka faces a problem far greater than the escalation of violence

Violence is escalating in Sri Lanka, with an attack by a suicide bomber in Colombo on the army headquarters that has seriously injured the army commander and killed many others. In retaliation, the Government of Sri Lanka has ordered air and naval attacks on LTTE strongholds. The international media is announcing a “return to war” in response to this escalation of violence. The lower level of violence that prevailed during the cease fire is now being pushed higher. However, the problem Sri Lanka faces is much worse than a mere escalation of violence. A country that is already facing a collapse of its basic institutions and living at the lowest ebb of the rule of law is now plunging deeper into an abysmal crisis in all areas of life. The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has warned of this situation for a long time.

The fragile cease fire was all that could be achieved against a background of intense violence that has prevailed in the country for almost three decades. Sri Lanka has been the stage of one of the most brutal killing fields, with hardly any avenues for democratic debate or democratic solutions to any problems. In fact, no one really talks of democracy any more, or sees the ethnic conflict or other conflicts existing in the country through a democratic perspective. All sides to the conflict have nothing and no one to talk to. Everyone is trying to make their point in the most violent way possible.

The AHRC has consistently pointed out that the crisis in Sri Lanka is a crisis of democracy, with its roots in the authoritarian style of rule that arose as a result of the 1978 Constitution. The abandonment of a basic democratic infrastructure that was accepted as the foundation of the country’s governance at the beginning of independence met with hardly any resistance in the late 1970s and 1980s. The architect of the 1978 Constitution was an aged politician who had no other ambition than to rule for the rest of his life, like colonial governor generals or ancient monarchs. That the displacement of all basic democratic norms and standards and of the respect for institutions brought about by this constitution would damage the country for a long time to come was none of his concerns. The crisis has deepened since that time, without tangible efforts on the part of other political parties or civil society for the construction of the country on the basis of democracy.

The ethnic conflict developed into a killing competition as a result of the initial collapse of democratic safeguards. In turn, long years of violence have deteriorated democracy further. In the early years, there were some forms of resistance on the part of the judiciary and some liberal elements, but over the years everyone has become adjusted to the authoritarian scheme. While there is a lot of expression of frustration and grief about what has taken place in the country in citizens of all classes’ private conversations, there has been no growth of a strong movement within the country to fight back and to reassert democracy.

Those who have talked about peace, including the international agencies that have taken an active role in recent years, have seen “the ethnic conflict” in isolation and made no attempt to link it to the greater crisis existing within the system of governance, which affects the entire country. The belief that the ethnic issue can in some way be resolved while democracy in the country has decayed has not been seen as an absurd proposition. However, the absurdity of the situation is now manifesting itself, as the violence escalates.

This simply demonstrates that mere “peace talks” without a comprehensive programme for democratic reform throughout the country are just an illusion. As violence escalates, corruption will also increase and already inefficient state structures will degenerate further. In the absence of internal capacities to control crime, corruption and to move towards stability, violence can only engender further forms of destruction and decay.

Although this scene is disheartening, it must be faced. The rhetoric of war and focus on attacks and counter-attacks will on dissimulate this stark reality. Once again, if there is any possibility of a rescue, it lies not in the hands of politicians, but in the hands of enlightened civil society groups, if they care to and are willing to make their presence felt by calling for fundamental democratic reforms in all areas of life. Only in comprehensive democratic reform can we find hope for the country. This lesson is once again appearing high in the skies of Sri Lanka. The AHRC urges all Sri Lankans and members of the international community who care for stability and the safeguarding of lives and liberty, to link the thinking on Sri Lanka to the need for achieving comprehensive democratic reforms in the country as soon as possible.

TamilNet

பல்வேறு மொழிகளில் ஈழ நிலவரம் தொடர்பில் வந்த செய்திகள்

Wed, 26 Apr 2006 17:18:22 +0000

பல்வேறுமொழிகளில் ஈழ நிலவரம் பற்றி வந்த செய்திகளை இணைய மொழி மாற்றியூடு மொழிமாற்றம் செய்து வாசித்து பார்த்தேன். அவை உங்களின் பார்வைக்கும்.
மொழி மாற்றிகளின் மொழி மாற்றம் சில இடங்களில் சரியான மொழி பெயர்ப்பை தருவதிலை. அதை இந்த மொழிபெயர்ப்புக்களிலும் நீங்கள் அவதானிக்கலாம். அவ்விடங்களில் எல்லாம் திருத்தம் செய்ய போதிய நேரமின்மையால் மொழிபெயர்ப்பை அப்படியே இடுகிறேன்

1. போர்த்துகல் மொழியில் வெளியான செய்தி.

http://www.publico.clix.pt/shownews.asp?id=1255267

[b]Sri Lanka: thousands of persons avoid the military offensive against the Tigers Tamil

The Army of Sri Lanka attacked today, for the second consecutive day, positions of the guerrilla war tamil, in the northeast of the island, in retaliation for the attack that yesterday injured a military chief. The attack will have obliged thousands of persons to leave his houses and it puts in question the fragile cease-fire in the country.
The bombings of the aviation and of the naval artillery reached the district of Trincomalee, an important situated port 260 kilometers to northeast of Colombo, when cingalesa was aimed yesterday by the aeroplanes of the Air Strength.

According to the brigadier Prasad Samarasinghe, spokesman of the Army, the new attacks were launched after a frigate that was parked in the port to have been attacked in the last night by mortars of the Tigers of Release of the Eelam Tamil (LTTE).
There will be a coordinated retaliation if the strength of the LTTE they continue his attacks ", it warned a spokesman of the Government, leaving on air the hypothesis of an operation of long course against the rebellious positions.

In declarations to the AP, S. Elilan, commander of the guerrilla war, affirmed that the military offensive provoked twelve dead men and tens of injured between the civil population and was of use that 15 thousand persons, in his majority of etnia tamil, left his houses in search of a more safe place.
The leader affirmed which many victims can still be buried under the debris of the destroyed and great buildings of injured they cannot be transported for hospitals out of the region, since the soldiers shut the roads in.

The spokeswoman of the mission of the European Union who supervises the cease-fire in the country advanced what the rebels will not have riposted to the military offensive, but the Army guarantees that three civilians died and other 11 were injured in the attack against the port of Trincomalee.
The military offensive – the first one from the come into force one of the cease-fire, in 2002 – was ordered hours after having made to him exploding a bombista-suicidal person when the passage of a column to fight where it was following the chief of the great-State of the Army cingalês, Sarath Fonseka, opponent of the dialog with the guerrilla war. Ten security guards who accompanied it died in the attack and the military chief is in serious state.

The guerrilla war denied the authorship of the attack – the first thing registered in Colombo in the last two years–, but the soldiers say that the attack has the mark of the separatists.
AHá more than two decades that the Tigers Tamil fight for the creation of an independent state in the northeast of Sri Lanka, denouncing the discrimination of which the population tamil is white for part of the majority cingalesa. Nevertheless, the conflict entered that there are four years in a period of latência after the agreement of cease-fire, sponsored by Norway, in spite of the sporadic episodes of violence.

Before the attacks of the last 24 hours, the guerrilla war admits to be divested of the cease-fire, affirming that the military offensive is unjustified. The President, Mahinda Rajapakse, already guaranteed what does not claim a return of the war, guaranteed them to me that the Government will not be going to tolerate the "blackmail" of the guerrilla war.

Will The LTTE make an air Strike on Colombo?

Wed, 26 Apr 2006 17:02:30 +0000

Will The LTTE make an air Strike on Colombo?

by B. Raman

(The LTTE has still much bite left in it as seen by the rapidity and deadly effectiveness with which it has hit back against the Sri Lankan Police, Army and Navy after each incident of reprisal killing by the Government in which their hand is suspected……After the spectacular assassination of Laxman Kadirgamar, the then Foreign Minister, last year, the LTTE has not been able to mount any other spectacular strike in Colombo. Most of its post-November,2005, terrorist strikes have been confined to the Northern and Eastern provinces. Is it due to operational weaknesses on the ground in Colombo or due to fears of further turning international opinion against it by operating in Colombo? It would be difficult to answer this question at present for want of adequate information on this subject.. Extract from my article dated April 23, 2006, titled Sri Lanka: The Wounded Tiger

The LTTE demonstrated its unimpaired capability for planning and mounting a clandestine strike against even the key nerve centres of the Government in Colombo on April 25,2006. A suspected woman suicide bomber, reportedly posing as a pregnant woman needing medical attention, managed to penetrate into a high security area of the army and blew herself up as Lt. Gen. Sarath Fonseka, the Commander of the Sri Lankan Army, was reportedly leaving his office, which is located in front of the army hospital. The Army chief suffered serious abdominal injuries and is in hospital undergoing treatment. Eight people were killed, including some of the bodyguards of the chief.

2. The LTTE has not claimed the responsibility for the attack. It is unlikely to do so since it never claims responsibility for its acts of terrorism. Only the LTTE could have carried out an operation of this type marked by precise intelligence regarding the movements of the chief, an ability to penetrate even highly-guarded areas, precise planning and precise execution by a highly-motivated lone suicide bomber.

3.The LTTEs targeting of Lt. Gen. Sarath should not be a cause for surprise. It is believed to suspect him to be the author of the covert action plan to keep it bleeding in the Eastern Province with the help of Col Karuna, a legendary commander of the LTTE from the Eastern Province, who raised the flag of revolt against Prabhakaran, the LTTE leader, in March,2004, in protest against the alleged discrimination of Eastern Tamils by the organisations northern leadership. Lt. Gen. Sarath is an anti-LTTE hardliner, who enjoys the confidence of President Mahinda Rajapakse, and has emerged as one of his key advisers.

4. The LTTEs attack on the Army Commander came four days after a statement (April 21) made by Lt. Gen. Sarath in which he was quoted as saying: If the LTTE do not participate in peace talks and continue their provocative acts, the army will have no other option other than to retaliate. There is no connection, whatsoever, with the recent killings in North and East and the army. It is the LTTE who are doing these ruthless killings. These killings are mercilessly done by the LTTE. The LTTE are forcing us for war. We will not allow this war to begin. The people of Sri Lanka are longing for peace. We too are desirous of the same.

5. There is no reason to believe that the LTTE attack on him was provoked by this statement. He has been a marked man of the LTTE even earlier because of his suspected role as the chief co-ordinator of the anti-LTTE covert actions in the Northern and Eastern provinces. The attack on him was partly an act of reprisal terrorism and partly demonstration terrorism. Reprisal for the alleged killings by the Army and Karunas men of the supporters and sympathisers of the LTTE in the Eastern Province and demonstration of the LTTEs continuing capability for precision strikes even in Colombo. It was an attack against supposedly the hardest of the hard targets-the highly protected army headquarters and not a soft target.

6. The Government has tactically retaliated through artillery, air and naval strikes on the LTTE positions in the Eastern Province for about five hours on the evening of April 25. The artillery and air strikes were particularly concentrated on the Muttur East area of Tricomalee District. The Government has so far avoided any retaliatory strike in the Northern Province and has projected even the strikes in the Trincomalee District as in retaliation for a naval strike allegedly mounted by the LTTE coinciding with the attack in Colombo. There is so far no credible evidence in support of the Government claim that the LTTE had made a naval strike in Trincomalee at the same time as the attempt to kill the Army Commander in Colombo.

7. The Government has been projecting its retaliatory strikes as tactical in nature, not amounting to a formal end of the cease-fire entered into with the LTTE in February,2002, and a resumption of its war against the LTTE. It remains to be seen how the LTTE reacts to the air strikes. De jure ceasefire and de facto fighting-that continues to be the ground situation.

8. A retaliatory attack by the LTTE is very likely and it may be in kind against the air and ground assets of the Sri Lankan Air force, including its personnel. The possibilities are of a ground strike against the international airport in Colombo similar to the one launched by the LTTE with devastating effect in July, 2001 or an air-mounted terrorist strike by the microlite aircraft allegedly procured by the LTTE and smuggled into the area controlled by it in 2004. However, a factor inhibiting the use of its aircraft will be the fact that there will be no deniability of the LTTEs hand if it uses its aircraft. [Source: saag.org]

(The writer is Additional Secretary (retd), Cabinet Secretariat, Govt. of India, New Delhi, and, presently, Director, Institute For Topical Studies, Chennai.)

தலைமையக குண்டுக்கு கண்டனம்..!? வித்தியாசமாக ...

Wed, 26 Apr 2006 10:18:01 +0000

India condemns suicide attack in Sri Lanka

April 26, 2006 02:20 IST

Terming the suicide bombing in Colombo, which seriously wounded the Sri Lankan army chief, as a 'brazen act of terrorism,' Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Tuesday spoke to Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa on phone and conveyed India's solidarity with the government and people of the island in its 'difficult hour.'

Mukherjee said violence was not the answer to any problem and political dialogue was the only way to resolve outstanding issues, an External Affairs Ministry statement in New Delhi said.

He conveyed India's shock at the incident in which Sri Lankan Army Chief Lt Gen Sarath Fonseka was critically injured when a suicide bomber posing as a pregnant woman struck at the army headquarters in Colombo.

The Sri Lankan President appreciated India's gesture and thanked it for the support and solidarity shown, the statement said.

http://in.rediff.com/news/2006/apr/26lanka.htm

US condemns Sri Lanka bomb attack

http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/00120...00604260935.htm

Annan condemns suicide bombing in Sri Lanka

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/article...how/1505272.cms

High Security Zone Residents' Liberation Force claims respon

Wed, 26 Apr 2006 09:23:17 +0000

Tigers vow reprisals as Sri Lanka launches new strikes
Wed Apr 26, 2006 9:36 AM GMT

By Peter Apps

COLOMBO (Reuters) - Sri Lanka's military launched new strikes on Tamil Tiger areas in the island's northeast on Wednesday, a day after a deadly suicide bomb attack blamed on rebels shattered an already fragile ceasefire.

Military spokesman Brigadier Prasad Samarasinghe said the new strikes came after the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) fired on naval patrol craft off the eastern port of Trincomalee for a second day.

The Tigers said they would retaliate if the government continued the attacks, launched after a suspected suicide bomb in the capital killed nine and wounded the army commander.

"It is like a war situation in Trincomalee. If the attacks continue, the LTTE will be forced to take military defensive action," S. Puleedevan, head of the Tigers' peace secretariat, told Reuters.

Border crossings to rebel areas were closed and some aid workers helping rebuild after the 2004 tsunami said they were evacuating from the north and east. United Nations agencies stayed where they were, but cancelled transport.

Tiger northeastern political leader S. Elilan said shelling was continuing, that at least 10 bodies had been recovered and 25 people injured, with the number of fatalities seen likely to rise. One bomb had fallen in government territory, he said, killing other civilians.

The attacks were the first official military action since a 2002 ceasefire halted the two-decades-old civil war and raised hopes of a lasting peace. They followed a string of suspected Tiger attacks on the military and ethnic riots against Tamils.

"CALLOUS ATTACKS"

Swedish Major-General Ulf Henricsson, who heads the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) that oversees the truce, said if air strikes continued, peace talks would become difficult. The worst case scenario was a return to war, he said.

"We still have a valid ceasefire agreement. No party has ended it, but of course it is not a ceasefire right now," he told Reuters.

The government had repeatedly said it would not be provoked, but changed tactics following the suicide bombing.

"This is a containment action. It is also designed to deter. Over and over again servicemen were killed in callous attacks," said Palitha Kohona, head of the government's peace secretariat, adding that he still hoped the Tigers would come to talks.

More than 100 people had already died in the bloodiest two weeks since the truce even before a female suicide bomber, disguised to look pregnant, blew herself up at Colombo's high-security army headquarters.

The Tigers on Tuesday denied responsibility for the suicide bomb attack, but the truce monitors say it is highly unlikely to be anyone else.

In a fax, the High Security Zone Residents' Liberation Force (HSZRLF), a suspected Tiger front group, took responsibility for the attack.

"HSZRLF feels that the LTTE is merely wasting time by maintaining a ceasefire," it said.
The Tigers indefinitely postponed a second round of peace talks that were to take place last week in Geneva, accusing the government of obstructing the transport of eastern rebel leaders to a pre-talks meeting. The Tigers say they are examining new government proposals.

But diplomats say they were looking for an excuse to pull out, angry the government has not reined in renegade group of ex-rebels, the Karuna group, which has been attacking the mainstream Tigers in the east.

Some fear the Tigers may be planning a return to the battlefield to win their goal of a separate Tamil homeland.

http://za.today.reuters.com/news

Sri Lanka launches new strikes on Tiger territory

Wed, 26 Apr 2006 03:38:57 +0000

Sri Lanka launches new strikes on Tiger territory

By Peter Apps
27 minutes ago

COLOMBO (Reuters) - Sri Lanka's military launched new strikes on Tamil Tiger areas in the island's northeast on Wednesday, a day after a deadly suicide bomb attack in the capital blamed on rebels shattered a fragile ceasefire.

Military spokesman Brigadier Prasad Samarasinghe said Wednesday's strikes came after the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) fired on naval patrol craft off the eastern port of Trincomalee for a second day.

"The navy is heavily patrolling the area," he said. "They requested air support."

The government launched attacks on Tiger territory on Tuesday after a suspected suicide bomb in the capital killed nine and wounded the army commander.

The attacks were the first official military action since a 2002 ceasefire halted the two-decades-old civil war and raised fears that the Norwegian-brokered truce was on the brink of collapse.

More than 100 people had already died in the bloodiest two weeks since the truce even before a female suicide bomber, disguised to look pregnant, blew herself up at Colombo's high-security army headquarters.

The Tigers' political leader in Trincomalee district, S. Elilan, told the pro-rebel Tamilnet Web site (www.tamilnet.com) that the rebels, who deny all recent attacks, had not attacked the military and that the strikes on them were unprovoked.

He asked the Nordic staffed Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM), tasked with observing the ceasefire, if the war had resumed.

"We did not fire a single shot against the Sri Lankan troops Tuesday," he said. "SLMM should inquire into our complaint and should inform us whether the Sri Lankan Army has launched a full scale war on the LTTE."

The Tigers on Tuesday denied responsibility for the suicide bomb attack, but scant mention was made of it on their Web site.

They indefinitely postponed peace talks that should have taken place last week in Switzerland, accusing the government of obstructing the transport of eastern rebel leaders to a pre-talks meeting.

But diplomats say they were just looking for an excuse to pull out, angry the government has not reined in renegade group of ex-rebels, the Karuna group, which has been attacking the mainstream Tigers in the east.

Some fear the Tigers may be planning a return to the battlefield to win their goal of a separate Tamil homeland.

The government has repeatedly said it will not be provoked, but it changed tactics following the suicide bombing.

Tamilnet said more than 150 shells and bombs had fallen on a stretch of northeastern rebel territory controlling the entrance to Trincomalee, causing "severe damage to the life and property of civilians."

Tamilnet said a primary school had been hit in the raid, but the military said they had no details on targets struck.

12 bodies of civilians recovered from Muttur east

Wed, 26 Apr 2006 03:36:52 +0000

12 bodies of civilians recovered from Muttur east

[TamilNet, April 26, 2006 03:20 GMT]
Initial reports from Muttur east in Trincomalee district Wednesday morning said at least twelve bodies of Tamil civilians including men, women and children killed in Tuesday evening air strike by Kfir jets, and artillery attack by Sri Lanka Navy (SLN) and Sri Lanka Army (SLA) were recovered from Muttur east area. More casualties are expected from Tuesday attack by government troops, a NGO source in the affected area said.
The Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) launched air strike on several villages in the LTTE held Muttur east village Tuesday evening following the bomb attack on Lt.General Sarath Fonseka, Commander of the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) in Colombo.

Three-pronged attack launched by the SLA, SLAF and Sri Lanka Navy on Muttur east villages commenced around 5.30 evening Tuesday ceased around 10 p.m. in the night. But the attack resumed around midnight Tuesday for about an hour, civil sources said.

Groups of people searching for causalities in the Tuesday attacks said at least twelve bodies of Tamil civilians were recovered so far. The death toll is expected to increase.

Large number of injured is seeking treatment in Sampoor government hospital where acute shortage medical facilities prevail, sources said.

Is this the beginning of Eelam war IV?

Tue, 25 Apr 2006 23:52:47 +0000

Is this the beginning of Eelam war IV?

Situation Report - by Iqbal Athas

LTTE's new high tech claymore bomb

There are some stark realities to the latest phase of the shadow war launched by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) against the armed forces and the Police.

For the past 16 days, since the murder of Vanniasingham Vigneswaran (51), a staunch LTTE supporter, Tiger guerrilla attacks have increased. As President of the Trincomalee District Tamil People's Forum, he was responsible for a string of Hartals and anti-Government protests.

A father of three, he was to be parliamentarian for the Tamil National Alliance (TNA). That was to fill the vacancy caused by the murder of Joseph Pararajasingham in Batticaloa. Mr Vigneswaran was gunned down outside the Bank of Ceylon office at Inner Harbour Road in Trincomalee on April 7. The incident occurred within the High Security Zone (HSZ) at a spot only a stone's throw away from the main gates of the Dockyard, home for the Eastern Naval Area Headquarters.

Since then, at least 51 armed forces and police personnel have been killed. The incidents, which work out to an average of three deaths per day to the security establishment, were caused largely by claymore bomb attacks. Such attacks in the weeks following the presidential elections last year led to the deaths of more than 98 armed forces and police personnel.
Yesterday three different claymore bomb explosions, two in Thandikulam (north of Vavuniya) and one in Welikanda killed an officer and three soldiers.

A striking feature, in as far as it relates to the hi-tech claymore bomb attacks, is the reality that not one guerrilla had died or sustained injuries. The use of this lethal weapon, controlled remotely, besides inflicting casualties on troops, is intended to restrict their mobility. This is reminiscent of the 1980s when the scourge of landmine explosions caused a similar problem.

Troops had to be deployed for daily route clearing tasks whilst helicopters were used to air drop supplies including food to military installations. Though not extensively, the LTTE has used claymore bombs in the past too using radio frequencies to blast them. They have now gone hi-tech and improvised mechanisms to use mobile phones as well to trigger them.

This indeed is a new LTTE innovation during the more than four year long ceasefire. The extensive use of claymore bombs, whilst taking a toll of armed forces and police, was not exposing the guerrillas to any harm. This is in marked contrast to other modus operandi during earlier phases of the so called Eelam wars.

At the beginning the LTTE thrust human wave after wave of guerrilla cadres to breach armed forces defences. Most died during the initial waves. Later, a few succeeded in breaking through enabling others to infiltrate and cause damage. An example of how this played came during the LTTE attack (code named Oyatha Alaikal II or Unceasing Waves II) on the armed forces headquarters in Kilinochchi in September 1998. Using human wave after wave to attack defended localities, no doubt, became a problem for the LTTE. They found it difficult to replace the losses. It became the main contributory factor to conscription of children. Yet, numbers were dwindling.

Another innovation, the use of stand off weapons or indirect fire, followed. Guerrillas resorted to the extensive use of mortar and artillery. In the flat Northern terrain shorn of heavy jungles and littered with sparse thickets, it became lethal. An example of this phenomenon came during the armed forces advance from Eluthumaduwal (south of the Jaffna peninsula) towards Pallai during "Operation Agni Khiela" (or Rod of Fire) in April 2001. Troops advancing on two different lanes in the thin isthmus that links the mainland to the peninsula, clearing heavily laden land mines, died or sustained serious injuries. Mortar and artillery rained on them. Some who tried to avoid ran into minefields causing bloody havoc.

And now, successfully building a stronger military machine during the ceasefire, the LTTE has come up with a further innovation - the use of the hi-tech claymore bomb. In addition to artillery and mortars, which intelligence officials confirm were stockpiled during shipments smuggled in during the ceasefire, together with the locally assembled claymore bomb, appears to be the most lethal in LTTE leader, Velupillai Prabhakaran's new arsenal for a future high intensity confrontation with the armed forces. It is known that explosives, transmitters and receivers for these claymore bombs were smuggled into the country in very large quantities.

Of this, in the ongoing shadow war, the use of hi-tech claymore bombs becomes significant for many reasons. It is continuing to cause death and injury to troops whilst not placing the guerrillas in harm's way. But a more important aspect is the training that has been given to civilians who have been formed into militias to assist the guerrillas. They have been taught how to place claymore bombs and use remote controlled devices to explode them. In other words, the LTTE has managed to successfully use civilians to carry out claymore bomb attacks in addition to their cadres. This also enables the LTTE to use their own cadres on other battlefield tasks.

This new capability by the LTTE has come in the midst of intense preparations for war during the ceasefire. The former United National Front (UNF) Government negotiated the Ceasefire Agreement that helped the LTTE, either by neglect or otherwise, to become militarily stronger. The situation was made very much worse by the former President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga. She took over the Ministries of Defence, Interior and Mass Communication from the UNF Government in November 2003 on the grounds that national security was fast deteriorating. She did little or nothing.

If national security interests were grossly neglected, she also did not initiate any action to curb widespread corruption and malpractices in military procurements. Millions of dollars or billions of rupees were spent on this. Not a single case was brought to book during her eleven year tenure as President. There were widespread complaints in the security establishment that promotions and extended terms of service were granted largely to her favourites.

Without question, as then Minister of Defence and Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces, she is answerable for the neglect of national security interests particularly after she seized the defence portfolio from the UNF Government. The damage caused is now becoming clearer.
As a result of these developments, the LTTE continued to use the period of the ceasefire to further develop a conventional military force. Besides smuggling in sophisticated weaponry, expanding its land forces, strengthening its sea going arm, the Sea Tigers, during this period the LTTE also developed an air capability.

Besides acquiring light aircraft, it has constructed a 1.4 kilometre long airstrip south east of the Iranamadu irrigation tank in Kilinochchi. The fact that night flying training is going on has been repeatedly confirmed through intelligence channels. Thus, the LTTE has on the one hand transformed its military machine to cope with a conventional role whilst on the other retained the capability to continue with its guerrilla campaign.
This campaign in the form of claymore bomb strikes and attacks at sea on naval craft are being stepped up with a multi pronged objective.

The result of casualties, the arrival of body bags in the South is intended not only to embarrass the Government but also mount pressure on it to yield to LTTE demands. In addition, it is also intended to create both political and economic instability. An intensification of such attacks, the LTTE expects, would force the Government to order armed forces to retaliate thus triggering off a major confrontation. On the other hand, it also believes the armed forces may react on their own if casualties continue to mount or when the guerrillas carry out a major attack.

This has raised the all important question whether the LTTE has in fact launched the early stages of Eelam War IV. This is not only because of the increase in the number of attacks. There have been reports of fresh deployment of cadres, mortar and artillery positions at several locations in the Wanni. Additional cadres were being deployed into guerrilla positions north of Vavuniya including the Weli Oya sector to prevent possible armed forces incursions.

A fresh and hurried recruitment campaign has been launched with guerrilla leaders addressing students attending classes in private tutories. The LTTE has taken a lesson from the armed forces and are offering an amnesty to those who deserted ranks. A monthly stipend is being offered with promises of penalties, including death, against them being waived. Meetings are being held to invite them to rejoin. LTTE Political Wing leader, S.P. Thamilselvan has been addressing such meetings in the past weeks. Military training for civilians, particularly employees in the state and private sectors, has been stepped up.

They are being grouped into units of the "Makkal Padai" or People's Force, both in the North and the East. The one and only reason that is preventing the early stages of Eelam War IV escalating into a major conflict is the restraint now being exercised by the armed forces. If they were to retaliate against the LTTE, a high intensity war would have already commenced no matter whether there were more talks in Geneva. This is notwithstanding the Ceasefire Agreement of February 2002, to which both the Government and the LTTE continue to pledge adherence.

The Government has accused the LTTE of triggering off a wave of violent incidents. The LTTE, in turn, is accusing the paramilitary groups backed by armed forces for the murder of its civilian supporters including, among others, those helping to raise funds, recruiting cadres, operating transport services and helping in intelligence gathering - a charge that is being strongly denied. Yet there remain tit-for-tat battles in this sometimes silent war.

Adding to this situation are intelligence reports of attempts by the LTTE to trigger off a communal backlash, particularly in the Trincomalee district. Towards this end, intelligence sources say, hardline guerrilla cadres have moved into the area. This follows the incidents that took place during the Avurudu period in the Trincomalee town followed by the aftermath of a claymore mine attack in Dehiwatta that killed a home guard on Friday. The LTTE backed Tamil Rehabilitation Organisation (TRO) has already made a worldwide appeal for financial assistance for over 3,000 internally displaced persons temporarily housed in six different locations in Trincomalee.

Like all previous regimes, the Government's media machinery remains woefully inadequate and even inefficient to deal with the ongoing developments. A shocking fact is a recent news release, issued on a blank sheet of paper. It came from the Joint Operations Headquarters (JOH) giving details of incidents in Trincomalee. Meant for distribution to foreign and local media, it spoke of "civil riots." Needless to say the actions of the Mahinda Rajapakasa Government are not being projected correctly to Sri Lankans and the world outside. The sooner it is rectified, the better it is. Otherwise, as has been the case, the LTTE will continue to remain active in its propaganda effectively using its websites and other outlets.
It is in this backdrop that valiant efforts were made to persuade the LTTE to return to Geneva for the second round of talks.

Norway's Special Envoy for the peace process, Jon Hanssen Bauer has delayed his departure from Colombo. He put off an appointment scheduled for Saturday in London with LTTE chief negotiator, Anton Balasingham. This is until the Head of the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission, retired Swedish Major General Ulf Henriccson returned from Kilinochchi to Colombo.
Maj. Gen. Henriccson carried a message conveying Government's formal acceptance on the use of a private helicopter or a privately owned sea going vessel to ferry LTTE's eastern military leaders to Kilinochchi. This was for a meeting with their leader, Mr. Prabhakaran. Though the offer was originally conveyed to Mr Thamilselvan by Norway's Special Envoy Mr Bauer, a formal document officially reiterating the Government's acceptance and assuring security had been carried by Maj. Gen. (retd.) Henriccson.

Earlier, Mr. Thamilselvan said in a letter to Norway's Ambassador Hans Brattskar that until "the hurdles in front of us to attend Geneva talks are removed and a more conducive environment created, our Geneva team is unable to come to Geneva talks." He wanted Norway to pressure the Government "to implement the Ceasefire Agreement in letter and spirit, to implement in particular what was agreed upon at the Geneva talks, and to prevent it from altering the practices already put in place." He added: "It is only through these measures the conducive environment for future peace talks will be created."

Yesterday Maj. Gen. Henriccson returned to Colombo without a having a meeting with Mr. Thamilselvan. LTTE is learnt to have taken up the position that no purpose would be served by a meeting since neither Norway nor the Government had made any new offers. This cast serious doubts on future talks between the Government and the LTTE.

In the wake of this disturbing development, there is serious concern over the increased LTTE attacks that have signalled the launch of a low intensity Eelam War IV. Intelligence sources speak of other guerrilla plans. This week armed forces and police establishments were alerted to the possibility of attempts by the LTTE to kidnap a VIP or VIPs. It is said to be with the intention of placing ransom demands. This is in addition to reports of more guerrilla cadres making their presence felt in the City of Colombo prompting the need for stepped up security measures.

One of Mr. Prabhakaran's erstwhile comrade in arms who led many a battle against the armed forces during previous wars, Vinayagamoorthy Muralitharan alias Karuna disclosed this week that the ceasefire was used as a respite by the LTTE. He gave The Sunday Times an interview. It appears on page 5 in this issue. Karuna said "With the money pouring from the Tamil diaspora the LTTE managed to improve and increase its weapons arsenal. It was Prabhakaran's intention to start the war after resting for five years. But he faced serious difficulties with my unexpected departure and the adverse situation developing in the Tamil diaspora."

He added: "I know shipments of arms were received. Since February 2005 they (the LTTE) were training their cadres to use newly acquired weapons. Large stocks of mortar/artillery shells, explosives and arms are among defence supplies that have arrived in the Wanni."
With only four months in office, President Mahinda Rajapaksa has an unenviable task. He has inherited the problems, some of them badly aggravated by the inaction of his predecessor.

His priorities are not only to ensure the armed forces and the police remain in a much higher level of preparedness in the wake of rising LTTE attacks. He also has to ensure morale and well being of the troops are at prime level.

Tough laws target big trawlers
The Government has promulgated new Regulations that prohibit all vessels with a weight of over three tons and more than 28 feet in length from operating in Sri Lanka's territorial waters without the consent of a Competent Authority. Police and the armed forces have been conferred powers to open fire at violators.

The ban, in terms of Emergency (Establishment of a Prohibited Zone) Regulations No 1 of 2006 will, however, exclude the territorial waters between the shores off Kirinda (in the South) up to Puttalam (in the West). President Mahinda Rajapaksa has invoked provisions of the Public Security Ordinance for this purpose. The zone will cover the coastal districts of Hambantota, Ampara, Batticaloa, Trincomalee, Mullaitivu, Jaffna, Kilinochchi, Mannar and Puttalam.

According to the Regulations, no person shall enter the Prohibited Zone in any vessel or remain within or ply any vessel within such Zone for any purpose whatsoever except with the written authority of the Competent Authority. Besides the Commander of the Navy, the following sector commanders have been made Competent Authorities - Northern Naval Area, Eastern Naval Area, Western Naval Area, Southern Naval Area and North Central Naval Area.

The new Regulations exclude the right of access to the Island of Kachchativu granted to Indian fishermen. This is under the Agreement between Sri Lanka and India signed on June 28, 1974 on the "Boundary in the Historic waters between the two countries and related matters," read with provisions of the Agreement between Sri Lanka and India signed on March 23, 1976, on the "Maritime Boundary between the two countries in the Gulf of Mannar and the Bay of Bengal, and related matters."

The Competent Authority has been empowered to impose such restrictions and conditions as he may deem necessary in the interest of security. The Regulations require that all "personnel on board such vessel to comply and observe such restrictions and conditions." Whilst those contravening the Regulations will be deemed to have committed an offence, a certificate from the Commander of the Navy that a prohibited act had taken place within the Prohibited Zone shall be admissible in evidence. It will be deemed as prima facie Evidence of the facts stated therein.

Those convicted after trial by the High Court will be liable to rigorous imprisonment for a term not less than three months and not exceeding five years. They will also be liable to a fine of Rs 500,000 and the forfeiture of the vessel with all contents found on board.

The tough new Regulations come in the wake of the Tiger guerrilla attack on the Navy's Dvora P 431 fast attack craft in the seas south of Kudiramalai Point (located north of Kalpitiya) on March 25. An officer and seven sailors were killed in the incident. Defence authorities believe the move will not only secure naval craft on routine patrol duties but also prevent Tiger guerrillas, who carry out mid sea transfer of military hardware from ships to trawlers, from bringing ashore such items. They say the ban will apply to all multi-day fishing trawlers which can be sustained at sea for a period of more than one day.

The Regulations empower any Police Officer, any member of the Sri Lanka Army, the Sri Lanka Navy or the Sri Lanka Air Force or any other person authorised by the President to stop or detain any person or vessel for identification. Any person found on board any vessel within the Prohibited Zone who fails or refuses to comply with any order, direction or signals will be deemed to have committed an offence.

The Regulations specify that there would be no indemnity or other payment shall be made under any policy of insurance in respect of death, injury or damage, caused to any person, vessel or thing found within the Prohibited Zone. This is notwithstanding "anything to the contrary in any other written law."

Besides the seas within Sri Lanka's territorial waters, the new Regulations also include the inland waters of the Puttalam Lagoon, North of Kalpitiya.

Thanks: SundayTimes [Sri Lanka] / Tamillinks
Sunday, 23 April, 2006.