Tuesday, March 31, 2009

LTTE's technical wing chief killed in confrontation - Mullaittivu

LTTE's technical wing chief S. Kirupakaran alias Madivalahan was confirmed killed following a confrontation with Sri Lankan security forces at the Mullaittivu battlefront recently, defence sources said citing intercepted LTTE communication.

According to available information, LTTE has offered the self-styled 'Lt.Colonel' status to the slain terrorist on Tuesday (March 31), who was said to be the mastermind and chief coordinator of the LTTE's satellite cum radio communication network.

Madivalahan was born in Jaffna and has reportedly spent most of his time at Trincomalee before joining the terrorist organization as a full time activist. "This is what to be expected in the coming days as more senior tigers will be exposed to direct military attacks" a defence observer said adding that the loss of Madivalahan also underscores the probable end game for the LTTE.

The death of Madivalahan has triggered tension and drawn heavy critics against the present LTTE leadership, amongst the hell bent LTTE diaspora circles in Toronto and London, the observer further stated.

Prabhakaaran's son Charles Anthony injured in battle

Charles Anthony, eldest son of LTTE supremo Velupillai Prabhakaran is said to have been seriously wounded by artillery fire, while he was at Puthukkudiyiruppu. Thereafter, LTTE cadres had taken him to the ‘No Fire’ Zone (NFZ) and presently, Prabhakaran’s doctor, ‘Puri’, is said to be treating Charles Anthony. An LTTE leader, S. Ramachandran (code name within the LTTE and Tamil Diaspora loyal to the LTTE), living in Toronto, Canada, received this information via e-mail. Ramachandran is believed to be collecting funds from the Tamil Diaspora in Canada. He is a relative of Prabhakaran’s wife, Madhivadani. The e-mail had further stated that Prabhakaran is very concerned of his son’s injuries.
Prabhakaran named his eldest son after Charles Anthony, a close and loyal confidante of his, who was killed in confrontations with the Army. Earlier, on a tip-off on the whereabouts of Charles Anthony alias ‘Seelan’, then number two of the LTTE, the Army encircled Meesalai near Chavakachcheri. Alerted of the arrival of the troops, Seelan, along with Aruna, Anand and Ganesh had decamped on bicycles. Soldiers spotted them and opened fire. Seelan, already suffering an injured kneecap from the Chavakachcheri Police Station attack, had to abandon his bicycle and run through a paddy field, in an attempt to give the slip to the troops.
While on the run, it was said that Seelan, further injured by gunshots and unable to run further, requested his men that he be killed, before he fell into the hands of the Sri Lanka Army (SLA). When his comrades-in-arms hesitated, Seelan had told them that he could not bear the pain anymore, and could not move fast. Therefore, he ordered Aruna, his childhood friend from Trincomalee, to finish him off.
When Aruna hesitated, he had screamed at him, “Shoot me, I don’t want to fall into their hands alive.” Finally, Aruna is said to have placed his rifle on Seelan’s forehead and shot him. Later, it was said that the LTTE was determined to avenge Seelan’s, a. k. a. Charles Anthony, death, and it meticulously planned, to take revenge on the SLA.

Monday, March 30, 2009

DMK would welcome creation of separate Eelam: Karunanidhi


Chennai (PTI): The DMK would welcome creation of a separate 'Eelam', a homeland for Sri lankan Tamils, if it was achieved through a democratic process, party president and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi said on Monday.

"We will be glad if a separate Eelam (state) is created (in the Island nation) by people voting for it," he told reporters here.

He said that "attempts of some opposition parties in Tamil Nadu to paint the UPA government at the Centre and the DMK government in the state as anti Sri Lankan Tamils" would not suceed.

"The opposition parties are trying to create an illusion among the public that my party is against Sri Lankan Tamils," he said.

battlefield pictures








The Manila Times slashes UNHCR and its head for helping LTTE propaganda

(By Walter Jayawardhana)

The Manila Times, of the Philippines, attacked the United Nations Human Rights Commission (UNHCR) and its head Navaneetham Pillai in a strongly worded editorial that said it uses statistics spewed out by the Tamil Tiger terrorist group, as propaganda, for its official reports in place of thoroughly cross-checked facts.

The newspaper which is 106 years old said, "Much of the fodder that the UN rights body offered as its own diligently cross-checked facts was the same self-serving pap the Tamil Tiger propaganda machine is spewing out on the Internet."

Mentioning some of the falsified statistics emanating out of the LTTE propaganda machine the respected newspaper said, "the facts on the battle ground, and the evidence from the hospitals that surround the battle zone, could prove otherwise."

Having been defeated in the battlefield , the terrorist group is now turning into the Tamil Diaspora to make them get into the streets "in the faint hope that enough voices will be mustered to force a UN or European Union mandated ceasefire" the editorial said.

The following is the full text of the editorial:

"ONE of the less appreciated side-effects for anyone dispatched to the tropics on United Nations related business is that the good life which comes with the job-with a fair share of it spent in the customary expatriate ritual of subjecting one's body to the harsh rays of the sun while lazing by azure-hued swimming pools or golden sandy beaches-can result in the microwaving of the brain cells.

"Similarly, over in Geneva, which serves as the capital of the UN's humanitarian soul, a posting to a spacious corner suite of a chateau set amidst the picturesque alpine ambience (with the cool and invigorating air thrown in for free) must tend to get the brain cells functioning at the lower gauges of the thought meter.

"This, perhaps, is the only plausible reason we can offer up in mitigation for the mind boggling (and diplomatically costly) faux pas made by the United Nations Human Rights Commission (UNHRC) through its seemingly prickly boss Navaneetham Pillay.

"Ensconced in salubrious Geneva and gasping for the oxygen of publicity for a body which has been severely discredited on many fronts globally as being inept and incompetent, Pillay claimed, rather wildly as it now transpires, that more than 2,800 innocent civilians had been killed and a further 7000 wounded in recent weeks in the ongoing fighting between the Sri Lankan forces and the Tamil Tigers-even though the facts on the battle ground, and the evidence from the hospitals that surround the battle zone, could prove otherwise.

"And this is where our aforementioned theory that the agreeable weather in both Colombo (where the alleged figures emanated) and Geneva (whence they were disseminated by UNHRC carrier pigeons) must at times make rational thinking and attention to detail a tough option.

"Needless to say, the Sri Lankan government is fiercely disputing the claims, and rightly so. What the UNHRC appears to have overlooked is the very salient fact that Sri Lanka is not at war with itself-as we discovered this past week while traveling around this stunningly beautiful island where smiles are very easily activated. Sinhalese (who make up a sizeable majority), Tamils, Muslims and a spattering of other ethic groups live alongside each other in perfect harmony. And the only time that social equilibrium is shattered is when the Tamil Tigers chose to do so with their bombs, bullets and suicide belts.

"As the record now shows, much of the fodder that the UNHRC offered up as its own supposedly diligent "cross-checking of facts" was no more than the same self-serving pap that (sensing the end is nigh as it makes its last stand cornered in a rapidly diminishing 21 square kilometer patch of jungle) the now ignited Tamil Tiger propaganda machine is spewing out on the Internet.

"What is an undisputed fact is the presence in the battlefield of several thousand innocent civilians, including women and children, held hostage there by the Tigers as a barbarically convenient human shield in order to secure a ceasefire and a desperately needed respite.

"Meanwhile, unable to make a fight of it in the theatre of war, the Tigers are now dependent on their paymasters in the misguided (and extortion ridden) Tamil diaspora to do battle for them by taking to the streets of London, Ottawa, and Geneva and targeting the support of the local populace in the faint hope that enough voices will be mustered to force a UN or European Union mandated ceasefire.

"Elsewhere, the Web based Tiger surrogates are also on fire. When we penned a recent column stating that Vellupillai Prabhakaran, the blood thirsty leader of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Elam (LTTE), believes that the logic of survival was brutality, we were swamped with over 300 emails refuting our stand-one of which accused us of making the commandant of the Tigers "look like a devil when he is an angel!"

"We will leave the LTTE apologists to agonize over the competing prospects of strumming a harp on a heavenly cloud, or being deep-fried in a furnace in hell.

"Suffice it to say, that with the battle for a Tamil homeland, or Elam, now in near ashes, the war takes on a new phase by moving on to the media forum and cyberspace to secure (gullible?) hearts and minds to the cause on a universal theatre.

"As of writing, Pillay-whose name, through no fault of her own, would resonate more comfortably in Southern India (where the Tamil Tigers still retain a fast fading support base) than Southern Sri Lanka-has stubbornly refused to back down from her stated case.

"This despite the fact that the UN headquarters in New York issued a communiqu‚ on the blistering controversy, which seemed to mildly imply that the UNHRC figures are at best questionable. Elsewhere at the UN in recent days influential voices have been raised against the inhuman tactics of the Tigers in the battleground. So at the Big Apple end at least they don't want to be seen as cozying up to a terrorist outfit that is rotten to the core.

"But Pillay's unyielding stand is hardly surprising seeing as credibility (think Gaza, Darfur, Bosnia, Somalia, Ethiopia, Angola . . . need we go on?) is a commodity that deserted the corridors of the UNHRC decades ago. "

Army captures truck mounted with anti air gun; counter terror operation continues - Puthukkudiyiruppu

Sri Lankan soldiers of Army 58 Division today (Mar 30) captured an LTTE truck mounted with 12.7mm Anti Aircraft machine gun during counter terrorist operations carried out in the Irnapali area, Puthukkudiyiruppu East.

Battlefield sources said that infantrymen of 20 Gajaba Regiment (20 GR), have successfully repulsed an LTTE bid to breach the forward boundary in the afternoon causing heavy damages to the terrorists. Five bodies of slain LTTE cadres have been collected with five T-56 riffles and one radio communication set. According to the sources, the soldiers have not only crushed the terrorist assault but also pushed their forward boundaries further in to the remaining LTTE hiding areas, causing the terrorist to lose the support weapon they had brought in to the battle.

Meanwhile, snipers deployed in the forward areas of Irnapali East reported successful acquisition of 21 terrorist targets during the course of the day.

Troops of 53 Division and Task Force 8 operating in the Puthukkudiyiruppu Eastern front continued their march in to the LTTE hiding areas amid intense resistance. Intercepted terrorist radio transmissions have confirmed heavy damages to the terrorists during the clashes prevailed in the area since morning. 6 GR troops found two T-56 riffles and two radio communication sets left by the fleeing terrorists.

Also, troops of 55 Division operating in the Palamatalan area, Puthukkudiyiruppu North engaged in heavy fighting with the terrorists and captured several LTTE bunkers. At one occasion, an LTTE suicide bomber exploded himself inside the bunker as his fellow terrorists took to their heels, unable to face the advancing soldiers. Sources said that soldiers were unharmed in the explosion.

Sunday, March 29, 2009

LTTE built earth bund cum ditch North of Palamathalan seized

55 Division troops under the command of Brigadier Prasanna Silva have breached LTTE defences and gained control over an LTTE built earth bund cum ditch constructed North of Palamathalan, Saturday (March 28).

Unable to face the military onslaught terrorists have fled putting-up less resistance security sources said adding that at least 8 terrorists were killed and 17 others wounded in yesterday's fighting. Terrorists are continuously mounting heavy artillery and mortar attacks from the government declared No Fire Zone, and this has been the only response the losing terrorists could give avoiding direct engagement with military, security sources said.

During subsequent search operations conducted, troops have found 2 LTTE bodies along with 2 T-56 assault riffles, the sources further said.

LTTE suicide bomber blows himself in fear of arrest - Vavuniya

An LTTE suicide bomber blew himself in fear of arrest by security forces personnel engaged in a cordon and search operation in general area Varikottoru, South of Mannar- Vavuniya road yesterday (March 28) at around 12.45 p.m.

Acting on reliable civilian information received on the presence of terrorist suspects in the area, 21 Division troops laid a cordon operation security sources said. 2 terrorist suspects started running on sighting the approaching troops military said adding that one stopped fleeing due to military small arms fire and exploded himself detonating a suicide belt as troops closed-in-on 100 yards from the suspects. The other terrorist suspect had fled the area with the explosion security sources said.

Further search operations are continuing in the area.

Tuesday, March 24, 2009

Pottu Amman's safe house captured - Mullaittivu

Troops of the 20th Gajaba Regiment (GR) under the 58 Division have captured a safe house of Pottu Amman, while engaged in counter terrorist operations in general area South of Iranapalai at the Mullaittivu battlefront today (March 24).

According to military, the safe house was used by both Pottu Amman and Kapil Amman two of the most wanted terrorists of the LTTE outfit for war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Meanwhile, troops have also found a jeep believed used by Pottu Amman himself during subsequent search operations conducted. A large amount of anti-personnel(AP) mines were also found in the search and clearing operations, ground sources added.














Human Right Watch is now trying to block the IMF loan

(By: Dr. Chandrani Gunaratna)

The New-York based Human Right Watch released another disinformation http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2009/03/23/sri-lanka-no-let-army-shelling-civilians report on Monday (March 23) saying that despite the assurances given by the government of Sri Lanka the Army continues to shell the no-fire zone where thousands of civilians are held as human shields by the terrorist outfit, Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).

HRW citing new information from the region said that they have received reports of civilians being killed and wounded daily in the no-fire zone, while the Sri Lankan government continues to deny the attacks.

Their 'reliable' new information came from a doctor at the makeshift hospital in Putumatalam who over the phone told the HRW 'that dozens of dead and wounded civilians were being brought to the hospital daily.'

There is no doubt the 'reliable' information was received from the same doctor who supplies exaggerated casualty figures to Associated Press and BBC. HRW says shells fell 250 meters away from the makeshift hospital while the doctor was on the phone with the HRW.

It is surprising how this doctor has miraculously survived this long while hundreds of civilians around him have died daily due to the shelling from the government on every hospital, makeshift or otherwise he has been serving.

Does HRW have any information from sources other than this doctor? Are there any other doctors in the hospital who can give information? Is this a self-appointed spokesman for civilians or LTTE? Do they have any information from the aid agency workers in the area? HRW in its report mentions few incidents of death and injury to aid workers, so there are at least local aid workers in the area.

Certainly an international humanitarian agency cannot just rely on just a telephone conversation thousands of miles away with a source who could very well be either under the death threat of LTTE and acting as a LTTE spokesman or an actual LTTE Tiger acting as a doctor. Are there any HRW staff in or near the area who can verify the identity of this doctor who gave all the information in a phone call while shelling is going around him?

Simply put what credible facts and figures the HRW has, to claim that the government troops are still shelling the no-fire zone and the makeshift hospital other than hearsay? What evidence does HRW have to identify the shells that fall in the no-fire zone are from the Sri Lankan Army and not from the LTTE? After all LTTE has no regard for the human life as they continue to kill the civilians who try to leave.

If the Sri Lankan government is still continuing the shelling and as Brad Adams, the Asia director at HRW says, "has responded to broad international concerns with indignation and denials instead of action to address the humanitarian crisis," why would the sailors of the Sri Lankan Navy risk their lives to evacuate the fleeing civilians who are being shot at by the LTTE?

For a while HRW hollered of genocide and internment camps with barbed wires for the lucky ones who escaped the LTTE execution. Those charges went silent when the government allowed the international aid agency officials to visit the Internally Displaced People (IDP) centers in Vavuniya and to see for themselves how the displaced are treated.

Sir John Holmes, the United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator toured the civilian shelters last month and said he was very satisfied with the way the government authorities are handling the humanitarian situation in the IDP centers.

When the Sri Lankan military started the offensive last year from Mannar in the Northwest and proceeded towards the east and even during the capture of Kilinochchi the Air Force bombed various LTTE installations and strongholds but there was no accusations of government shelling of civilians that flew around the globe despite that there were more civilians in those areas then.

Coincidentally when the LTTE got cornered in Puthukkudyiruppu and realized that they are finished and no where to run and will be annihilated unless they stop the offensive somehow, the HRW started its campaign to accuse the government of genocide and shelling hospitals.

What is the real agenda of HRW? There is no secret that the HRW is supporting the Tamil Diaspora's struggle to save their dream of separate homeland. HRW makes their goal of blocking the Sri Lankan government's war on terror clear in their report.

One of HRW's goals is to put Sri Lanka on the UN Security Council's agenda, asking UN to "urgently address the deteriorating situation." However, they have faced a stumbling block from China and Russia. China blocked the move last week and Russia voiced against it recently.

HRW has repeatedly called on Sri Lanka's key bilateral partners, such as Japan, the United States, and India to tie their financial assistance to the civilian issue. During the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on Sri Lanka on February 24th, HRW insisted on imposing conditions on the financial assistance to Sri Lanka but admitted that China and Russia would oppose such a move.

Having failed to achieve these goals HRW now has turned its attention to block the loan the Sri Lankan government is requesting from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to continue with the resettlement, rehabilitation and reconstruction work in the Northern Province.

Last week, Brad Adams of Human Rights Watch sent a "http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2009/03/23/letter-international-monetary-fund-imf-sri-lankas-emergency-support-loan-request">letter to the IMF board saying that the government's current policies and practices are counterproductive to the stated goal of the IMF loan and urged the IMF board members to set strict conditions before granting the loan.

HRW in the letter to IMF said that based on their recent field research on the humanitarian situation in the northern Vanni area "an emergency support loan for post-conflict resettlement will not achieve its intended objectives unless the Sri Lankan government takes serious steps to safeguard the rights of internally displaced persons and ensure an effective humanitarian response to the immediate conflict and post-conflict situations."

The Sri Lankan government has repeatedly assured the donor countries, the UN, and all other responsible humanitarian agencies that the displaced civilians will be settled in their original residences as soon as the war is over and the area is cleared of mines. The government has clearly shown that it can be done as they did with the resettlement in the Eastern Province. Yet HRW somehow seems to be certain that the government would fail to deliver those promises perhaps because the organization is making every effort to ensure that war with LTTE would never be over.

The Sri Lankan government and Sri Lankan people all over the world have a responsibility to counteract the HRW's relentless campaign to block the government's efforts to militarily defeat the LTTE and liberate the people and its reconstruction and rehabilitation plans for the Northern Province.

By continually accusing the Sri Lankan government of disregarding the rights and well-being of civilians in the Vanni despite the government's repeated assurance and releasing biased reports full of hearsay on the conflict, the HRW is purposely carrying out a smear campaign against the Sri Lankan government in the eyes of the Western world, especially of the donor countries.

U.S. Senator John Kerry's letter to Sri Lankan President on March 23 saying that the Senator was alarmed by reports about actions taken by the government of Sri Lanka and urging the "Sri Lankan government to take all necessary steps to protect civilians, allow humanitarian access to the displaced, and credibly investigate human rights violations by all members of government security forces," is a clear example of the devastating effect of this smear campaign by the HRW on Sri Lanka.

Sunday, March 22, 2009

LTTE has no regrets in killing Rajiv Gandhi - Nadesan implies

In an email interview conducted with an Indian news channel so-called political head of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) B.Nadesan declined to answer the question whether they regret the assassination of Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi.

Confirming the Sri Lanka Army reports he also said Prabhakaran was still among them.

The Indian news channel CNN-IBN asked Nadesan, "Does the LTTE feel that had it not been for the Rajiv Gandhi assassination, India would have supported the Eelam Tamil cause? Does the LTTE regret the Rajiv Gandhi assassination?

Nadesan declined to answer both questions the news channel reported.

In the past , by regretting the event the Chief ideologue of the LTTE, the late Anton Balasingham is believed to have entered into a controversy with the two main suspects of the assassination , LTTE leader Velupillai Prabhakaran and his intelligence chief Pottuamman. Later a spokesman of the LTTE backtracked on the "regret". In his words Anton Balasingham said the killing was a "monumental historical tragedy which we regret."

India from time to time has reminded that both individuals are wanted in connection with the assassination. Due to the case there is a red alert against their names by the Interpol, which means that they could be arrested even any where else in the world by any national police, if they happen to get out of Sri Lanka. President Rajapaksa has promised India that they would be handed over to India if they are caught alive. But some military authorities believe they should be tried in Sri Lanka for their crimes.

B.Nadesan also did not directly answer whether they are blocking the Tamil civilians who are trying to escape the LTTE enclave ravaged by war and trying to cross into the Sri Lanka government areas.

This the question asked from him: How do you respond to Sri Lanka government's claim that the LTTE is blocking a safe passage for civilians trapped in your areas?

Without telling anything about their blocking, about which the Tamil civilians have told foreign figures like visiting ambassadors and UN officials Nadesan gave an evasive answer analysing about the word "trapped". He said , "First of all, it is not appropriate to use the word "trapped." It is these people's land, where they have been living for generations until the Sri Lankan government chased them out of their homes. They are not trapped; they are still struggling to get their life back in their land with dignity. "But independent reports say at least many were driven into the area by the fleeing Tamil Tigers to be used as a human shield.

During the interview Nadesan assured: "We have neither ever committed any act against India's interests nor have any intentions to do so. The source of strength and security for India's southern flank is intertwined with the political stability and security of Eelam Tamils."

But the same TV channel broadcast a news items that said: "Security was stepped up in all the three international airports in Kerala following an alert about LTTE threat to the key installations, police sources said.

"The Air India security office in Thiruvananthapuram received the alert message from its Mumbai office, they added.

"The CISF, in charge of airports security, has stepped up vigil at the airports in Thiruvananthapuram, Nedumbassery (Kochi) and Karippur (Kozhikoe)."

The assassination of Rajiv Gandhi is also considered a crime against India.

A CARE harbour for terrorists - Intelligence reports reveal

It is no secret anymore to all discernible persons in Sri Lanka and abroad, genuinely interested in the well being of people here, that the immense sufferings they have undergone due to terrorism during last three decades have been well engineered and blessed by a vicious coalition of local and international bodies other than the LTTE.

They that have been pretending to be humanitarian agencies, aid agencies, free media, civil rights movements, etc, have made the continued bloodshed on Sri Lankan soil a lucrative business for them. The only difference observed between them and the LTTE is that the terrorists have been fighting a war on the ground, which is supposed to end in the achievement of their ultimate goal of a separate state, while the latter fights a different battle on the media and in diplomatic circles, to ensure that the LTTE's war would never end at any cost. Though the interests of the two are different; one wants to carve out a mono-ethnic state from the territory of Sri Lanka, and the other want to secure their income through a continued bloodshed, both have been acting in perfect harmony since both interested in terrorism to prevail in the country.

The latest evidence of this abominable conspiracy against this island nation was bared when one INGO with the acronym "CARE" issued a press communiqué‚ that the one of its so-called "aid workers" was killed due to the shelling by the Sri Lanka Army during recent clashes in Wanni. According to the INGO, the killed "aid worker" one " Mr. Sabesan, was amongst those staff members that were unable to leave the area" when the government asked the INGO's other than Red Cross and UN affiliated bodies to leave the conflict zone in September 2008.

The Country Director of the INGO, one Mr. Nick Osborne, while expressing his deep shock and sadness for the loss of the "friend" and the "colleague" on behalf of the organization, also takes the opportunity use this death to benefit the organization's agenda.

The press communiqué‚ quotes Mr. Osborne having said, "The toll this war is taking on civilians is devastating," and "humanitarian workers trapped in the conflict zone are just as much at risk as anyone else, and we are receiving regular reports of family members, friends and colleagues who have been injured or killed in the fighting. People need immediate access to medical care, food, and emergency supplies."

However, the intelligence reports about Mr. Sabesan tell a very different story. According to very reliable sources, the killed "aid worker" was a hardcore LTTE cadre who was planted in the INGO, perhaps with the knowledge of its officials. He was not killed in the No Fire Zone or due to the lack of medicine in the area as the INGO suggests, but in fighting that took place in the Iranapali area outside the NFZ. The "aid worker" had been taking part in the battle alongside his "colleagues" not in the aid agency but in the terrorist outfit.

Also, the deceased was not an aid worker who was trapped in the conflict area but a person who simply followed the orders of the terrorist chief and remained there.

One should easily note that the INGO has purposefully refrained from revealing the fact that it is the LTTE that has been forcibly holding the civilians as well as its "aid-worker friends" coming into the safer zones. It is quite obvious why a country director who made subjective remarks like "devastating toll on civilians" refrained to from telling the world that LTTE is holding the civilians as a human shield.

Once the Sri Lankan soldiers entered into the LTTE run mono-ethnic hellhole in Wanni, many of these bodies that were there, calling themselves aid agencies were caught with their pants down. There was not a sign of any aid work or humanitarian work done during last two decades by these so-called aid workers, other than putting up of huge billboards. Now, the heads of these aid workers are desperately looking for a bailout plan as questions are being raised on what happened to billions of dollars that were poured from their donors. They are poised to use whatever possible line to discredit the nation, and to bring international pressure on the government to stop the counter terrorist operations. It is a shame how the world has been hoodwinked by these calculating and thinly veiled supporters of terrorism in a poor third world country for three decades, with funding surely not intended for such a crime by the donors.

It should be noted that the case of Sabesan is not something came up out of the blue. There is ample evidence that many other organizations having such caring names have been actively supporting terrorism in Sri Lanka.

Earlier, the Police found that two other "aid workers" of the Care International and perhaps close friends and colleagues of Mr. Osborne had been transporting bombs to kill innocent civilians in the South using an official vehicle of the INGO.

According to the investigation reports, one Dharmalingham Dharmaradan alias Kili, a driver and one Rasaiah Earrathan alias Kannan, a technical officer of this caring organization had transported loads of high explosives from Kilinochchi to Colombo, hiding in the fuel tank of the vehicles of the organization for a long time. Also, it was found that the abovementioned two terrorists were the ones who had brought explosives, subsequently used by the LTTE suicide bomber who attempted on the life of Secretary Defence Gotabaya Rajapaksa in December 2006. The suicide bomber rammed an explosive laden three-wheeler at the motorcade carrying the Defence Secretary on the Dharmapala Mawatha, in the heart of Island's capital during the ceasefire.

Though the courts had ordered the police to arrest the suspects and the vehicle number WP GY 1644 of the Care International that had been used to transport explosives for the suicide bomb blast on the Dharmapala Mawatha, the INGO has not produced the suspects or even vehicle so far. Moreover, the INGO that issues press releases even at the drop of hat ,has been loudly silent over the matter.

Indeed, Mr.Sabesan is only one such person who had died in fighting the battle that he believed in, and not what the donors to CARE ever intended. There are many other such persons, taking cover under the names of such caring organizations. It does not need much imagination to know; judging from the false reports that keep flowing to the international media about the allegedly horrendous conditions in the NFZ by such organizations, that are noticeably silent about the actual hell-hole in the ever shrinking area held by the LTTE.

China informs the UNSC again not to interfere in Sri Lanka's internal affairs

Sri Lankan military operations have no effect on international peace and security :

China informs the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) not to interfere in Sri Lanka's internal affairs. A proposal has been included in the agenda of the council said that civilians are affected by the humanitarian operations in the north.

The council was compelled to withdraw the motion on two occasions due to stern opposition of China. China has reiterated that Sri Lankan military operations have no effect on international peace and security.

Courtesy : Government Information Department

Friday, March 20, 2009

Monday, March 16, 2009

Investigations into weapons smuggled during CFA period

A special investigation has been launched into an incident, in which high tech equipment and weapons, reportedly for the use of the LTTE had been smuggled through the Katunayake International Air Port by passing all inspection procedures, during 2002-2003 (CFA period).

The investigations into the incident which happened during Ranil Wickremesinghe's tenure as Prime Minister was based on a statement recorded from the Executive Director of BIA at that time, Gamini Abeyrathne alias Taxi Abey, sources said.

In addition some documents retrieved from the Board Of Investment are also being used in the investigation.

According to sources, a large haul of weapons and accessories including mortars and explosives had been smuggled through the BIA at that time, with the help of certain authorities.

High-tec communication equipment, parts of light air craft, remote control devices, printing press equipment, night vision binoculars etc. had been smuggled for the use of LTTE, with the approval of those authorities.

Also several container loads of weapons which had been taken to North too are believed to have been passed by the BOI without any inspection, through the Colombo Harbour when Arjun Mahendran was the Chairman.

Also these weapons had been transported to LTTE areas using BOI vehicles.

According to sources, two expert teams are investigating the incident at present with one handling the alleged smuggling through the BIA and other the use of the Colombo Port.

Gamini Abeyrathne who was interrogated for over five hours had confessed that the baggage carried by LTTE leaders who used the BIA to travel overseas and back had not been checked at that time, according to instructions issued by then Premier Ranil Wickremesinghe.

Gamini Abeyrathne was considered as a close ally of Ranil Wickremesinghe at that time. Also UNP strong man Malick Samarawickrema too is believed to be privy to the happenings at that time.

Late President Ranasinghe Premadasa too is alleged to have given weapons to the Tigers.

Courtesy : Daily News

LTTE forcibly recruits UN staff member

One UN national staff member and three dependent family members were forcibly recruited over the weekend by the LTTE, inside the government-declared No Fire Zone, a UN statement said today.

"The forced recruitments included the 16 year old daughter of a UN national staff member," the statement said.

The UN in Sri Lanka has protested to the LTTE that UN national staff, as well as children in general, are protected under national and international law from recruitment by armed groups, and has called for their immediate release.

Another UN national staff member was recruited two weeks ago, and has yet to be released despite repeated requests from the UN.

Courtesy : Presidential Media Unit

LTTE trying to survive using human shield




Sunday, March 15, 2009

UN worker injured in LTTE shooting

UN worker, Sutharshani Tharmila and 13 others were injured when the LTTE shot at them when they arrived in the cleared areas of Puthukudiyirippu on Saturday (March 14) evening.

More than 1,200 displaced people had braved Tiger attacks during the past few days seeking refuge with Government authorities in cleared areas.

The injured had been admitted to the Vavuniya Hospital, military sources said.

Amidst reports of indiscriminate shooting by the LTTE to prevent an exodus, more civilians kept arriving at

October 27, 2008 - LTTE attacks two merchant ships carrying food and other essentials to Jaffna

February 16, 2009- UN accuses Tigers of actively preventing people from leaving conflict zone

March 8, 2009 - LTTE attacks ship carrying largest ever supplies of essentials for civilians in non-liberated areas

 various locations in the cleared areas of Vanni by yesterday. Resettlement and Disaster Relief Services Minister Risath Bathuideen said that 250 IDPs had been brought to Mannar by noon yesterday, with another 350 waiting near Omanthai to gain entry into Vavuniya.

In addition, more than 400 civilians had arrived in Kilinochchi, the Minister added.

The Minister said out of them, more than 600 would be settled in Vavuniya Welfare Centres. A large number of children and women are among those who sought refuge with authorities, he added.

A young boy was also reported killed in an LTTE fire directed at a group of civilians numbering 58 fleeing the Tigers in the Puthukudiyirippu area on Friday. Meanwhile, the International Committee of Red Cross (ICRC) with the assistance of the Navy transported 423 displaced civilians from Puttumattalan to Trincomalee on board the vessel 'Green Ocean' on Saturday.

Military sources said 592 IDPs had reached cleared areas of Puthukudiyirippu on foot, the same day. They had been referred to welfare centres after being provided with refreshments and medical care.

Minister Bathuideen while admitting that the conditions in the safe zone was deteriorating due to bad weather and LTTE atrocities, said all relevant sectors including the international community should pressurize the LTTE into allowing the free movement of IDPs kept hostage by the Tigers.

He added that the Government had all arrangements in place to receive these IDPs and house them in temporary welfare centres, until they are provided with permanent facilities. According to authorities more than 34,000 displaced civilians had arrived in Vavuniya from non-liberated areas since January this year. In addition, a lesser number of IDPs had also been brought to Jaffna and Trincomalee during the course of this time.

Courtesy : Daily News