Sri Lankan Security Forces

President to appoint committee to study

2009-10-27T00:41:00.000-07:00

President Mahinda Rajapaksa has decided to appoint an expert committee within one week to verify the facts behind the allegations against the Sri Lanka Government in the report submitted by the US State Department to the US Congress on incidents during the recent conflict in Sri Lanka, Human Rights and Disaster Management Minister Mahinda Samarasinghe said.

The Government stance on the report will be announced after the report was made by the committee appointed by the President, he added.

He was addressing a media conference held at the Presidential Secretariat yesterday to explain the new situation following the submission of the said report.

Minister Samarasinghe said that the third paragraph of the report itself highlights that the facts included in the report are without any legal value and cannot be proved. They are not in a position to prove the allegation contained in the report.

It has been clearly stated that the Report of the US State Department was based on some sources such as Amnesty International, Humanwatch and imbalanced and haphazard private sources and communiques, he stressed.

Minister Samarasinghe further said that certain international elements were once again trying to fuel the flames of secession and undo the concerted efforts of the Government and the people of Sri Lanka for rehabilitation and national reconciliation. "The report does not speak of any war crimes at all," he said.

He said that he has already discussed this matter with the US Ambassador to Sri Lanka and she was very keen about the decision of the Sri Lanka President on this controversial report.

Courtesy: Daily News

An empty honour

2009-10-13T22:46:00.001-07:00

We are still trying to figure out why the Nobel Committee gave Barack Obama its annual Peace Prize. As far as it appears, the award was based on the fact that the U. S. President is a good-natured fellow who people seem to like --and who isn't George W. Bush.

In fact, committee chairman Thorbjoen Jagland didn't really try to pretend otherwise. Consider the committee's stated reasons, along with Mr. Jagland's comments when reporters pressed him to justify Mr. Obama's selection: - "He has created a new international climate." - "One of the first things he did was to go to Cairo to try to reach out to the Muslim world, then to restart the Mideast negotiations, and then he reached out to the rest of the world through international institutions." - "Obama has as president created a new climate in international politics. Multilateral diplomacy has regained a central position, with emphasis on the role that the United Nations and other international institutions can play." - "Obama [has] captured the world's attention and given its people hope for a better future."

What seems clear from all this bafflegab is that Mr. Obama is being given his award for mere words -- for striking fashionable poses in favour of multilateralism, for making a nice speech in Cairo, for offering "hope." Months after Americans learned to dismiss Mr. Obama's 2008 presidential campaign slogans as the bromides they were, Scandinavians apparently are still drinking his Kool-Aid.

So who should have gotten the Nobel Peace Prize?

Instead of droning on about "hope" and "a new international climate," a group of people charged with awarding an annual peace prize might find it useful to focus on a more mundane and obvious inquiry. To wit: What part of the planet was beset by bloody war in 2008, but is now entirely at peace?

The only nation that fits the bill is Sri Lanka. And the reason for that is a ruthless military campaign waged by President Mahinda Rajapaksa against a militarized Tamil death cult known as the Tamil Tigers. This conflict has taken nearly 100,000 lives since it began three decades ago. But Mr. Rajapaksa ended it definitively at one stroke, killing or capturing virtually the entire Tiger leadership. It is one of the only times in the history of modern warfare that a guerrilla/ terrorist movement has been utterly destroyed in such a fashion. Overnight, war became a stranger to Sri Lanka.

Sounds like a pretty good candidate for a "peace" prize, don't you think?

But of course, actually making peace is not what this nominal peace prize is about. It's about going through the motions of pursuing peace in a touchy-feely UN-approved way.

Mr. Rajapaksa has done some fairly nasty things en route to destroying the Tigers -- including imprisoning and perhaps even killing pesky journalists and human-rights activists. More importantly (from a Scandinavian point of view), Mr. Rajapaksa committed an unpardonable foreign-policy sin en route to his victory: flouting "multilateralism." Which is to say that he ignored the bien pensant voices from abroad urging him to let the Tigers go just as the Sri Lankan military was about to administer the coup de grace. Had he listened, the war would continue to this day.

It's so much more fashionable to honour a man such as Mr. Obama, whose foreign-policy record hasn't been sullied by the moral trade-offs that inevitably accompany actually doing something to create peace on the battlefield.

Since the entire body of work for which Mr. Obama is being honoured consists of idealistic pronouncements, the Nobel prize committee was able to pick him without worrying that the choice could stir up controversy among umbraged minority groups, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch or the UN's various institutional cheerleaders.

With this pick, the Nobel Committee has declared itself to be a debating society -- and it has given its shiny prize to the nice man who gave the best speech. It's like those beauty pageants wherein the MC asks contestants what they would do to promote world peace. The best answer earns applause, flowers and a trophy. But no one expects the winner to actually go out in her tiara and ballroom gown and stop people from fighting.

That task is left to head-knockers such as Mahinda Rajapaksa, Colombian President Alvaro Uribe, former Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and General Stanley McChrystal in Afghanistan. Their job is difficult and bloody. But every once in a while, as in Sri Lanka this year, they actually defeat the bad guys.

Then they go home, and turn on their televisions, and watch men such as Mr. Obama get showered with praise for their pretty words.

National Post Published: Saturday, October 10, 2009

Intelligence agencies in hunt for key LTTE arms dealers & front activists

2009-10-09T01:04:00.000-07:00

Suspect of major drug trafficking, human smuggling, gun-running and transnational terrorist activities....

Intelligence agencies in several countries are now on a hunt for several high-profile LTTE front agents cum arms dealers, with reliable suspicions of transnational terrorist activities including drug trafficking and human smuggling, informed sources said citing latest reports received.

According to these sources intelligence agencies are on the track of LTTE terrorist agents who are alleged to have links with many active militia and terrorist organizations abroad. These agents had worked clandestinely, based in foreign locations, aiding and abetting in many crimes against humanity perpetrated by the LTTE. This hunt is a combined effort of the intelligence circles in several countries, along with the concerned law enforcement agencies, the sources further said.

This tracking ;points to determined and coordinated efforts of intelligence agencies, which are fast shrinking the space for terrorists, their dealers and front groups to function with ease.

According to reports, Sivarasa Pirundaban alias Achchudan alias Suresh, Ravi Shanker Kanagarajah alias Shangili, Bahitharan alias Bhavi, Narendran Rathnasabapathi alias Naren, Ganeshruban alias Ruban, Ponnaiah Anandarajah alias Aiyya alias Rajah alias Aiyyanna are alleged to be under intense scrutiny.

Achchudan has provided LTTE with technical assistance and training for its pilots on air suicide missions in 1998 including the 2003-2004 CFA period. He is alleged to have co-coordinated the LTTE's air raids in Colombo via satellite communication from his overseas base station. According to available reports, Achchudan owns many air power related assets overseas.

Ravi Shanker alias Shangili is a Sri Lankan passport holder who had claimed bogus asylum to evade Canadian immigration authorities. He is a key LTTE gunrunner also allegedly engaged in human smuggling, who owns three vessels which are currently under operation and registered in Panama. According to informed sources, these vessels were used as floating LTTE warehouses cum armories. Shangili also runs a LTTE network with agents based in Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand.

Meanwhile, intelligence agencies have also turned the spot light on Bhavi, another key LTTE figure who runs the terrorist outfit's Far Eastern based illegal activities, involving its shipping fleet. He is also said to own a large share of LTTE's overseas assets including business ventures in real estate and shipping.

Ruban is also said to own a large share of LTTE's overseas assets including real estate, in East Asian countries.

Naren is another key figure of the LTTE's foreign procurement arm with diversified businesses in real estate and share-markets. Allegedly involved in many illegal arms procurement deals, Naren has reportedly twice been deported by Singaporean authorities.

Further information on the activities of these key LTTE arms dealers will follow, as intelligence services close in on them.


Ravishanker Kanagarajah alias Shangili		Sivarasa Pirundaban alias Achchudan alias Suresh

reference - defence.lk

"Our victory showed the world how humane our brave soldiers are..." - President

2009-10-04T19:43:00.000-07:00

"No one could charge the military for any crime as they had engaged in a humanitarian operation in a professional manner. I urge those who point their finger at us to be careful as their other fingers are pointed at themselves," President and Commander-in-Chief Mahinda Rajapaksa at the inauguration of the 60th Anniversary celebrations of the Sri Lanka Army on Saturday (Oct 03).

He said that terrorism is born and nurtured due to the lack of development . Now the government has taken over the responsibility of ushering in national development. Anyone who has witnessed the bravery of the army that fought the most dreaded terrorists in the world would not think of leaving the country. He said that this exhibition displays the pride of the Lanka Army which is experiencing its golden era. The Sri Lanka Army flag has strengthened the national flag.

President Mahinda Rajapaksa asserted that some internal forces were trying to charge Sri Lanka for war crimes to cover up their shortcomings and to degrade the hard earned military victory, but as long as there are patriotic people, these forces would not achieve their ignoble 'missions'.

The President said that no one could charge the military for any crime as they had engaged in a humanitarian operation in a professional manner.

"I urge those who point their finger at us to be careful as their other fingers are pointed at themselves," he said.

The President expressed confidence that those who witnessed the heroism of our soldiers who had defeated the world's most ruthless terrorists would not attempt to take up arms again to destroy this united country and would not think of a separate State when they reap the benefits of the country's development.

The President said that the 60th anniversary of the SLA would be the most spectacular event in its history, as an honour to the soldiers who recorded this victory by sacrificing their lives and limbs.

"The victory over the LTTE, after three decades, was not handed over to us on a platter. It was not a mere victory, but it is a victory that showed the world how humane our brave soldiers are. The soldiers carried guns in one hand and the Human Rights Convention in the other. At the same time their hearts were full of love for their fellow human beings," he said.

He said that over 30,000 military personnel had died during the 30-year war, of which over 23,000 were from the SLA.

"This shows the commitment of the SLA to defeat terrorism in this country. Armies of other countries may have the latest firepower, but their soldiers lack humanity. The SLA is the only Army that can celebrate its anniversaries with pride as it is the only Army that defeated terrorism. The SLA flag will flutter majestically among all Army flags of other countries," he said, adding that other armies could not defeat terrorism though they may have superior firepower.

"Our soldiers had fought the world's most ruthless terrorists who had adopted the most inhumane tactics like suicide bombers. I hope these armies study and research the means with which our Army defeated the LTTE. They have to study the courage, bravery and commitment of our soldiers and military leaders who led the war to its victory. They also have to study the humanity of these soldiers, who rescued thousands of civilians that suffered under terrorism," President Rajapaksa said.

He said the SLA is a professional and disciplined Army unlike the armies of those countries which talk against Sri Lanka.

"I think that our Army was encouraged to defeat terrorism by the support given by the people of this country. They gave their children to the Army, they protected the military leaders who led the war and tolerated all the hardships they faced until this victory," he said, pointing out that the people of this country - the Sinhalese, Tamils and Muslims - joined hands with the Government with one goal in mind - to defeat the LTTE.

He said the Government would do anything to protect the country and the hard-earned victory.

courtesy : defence.lk

State department admits there had been no recent rape cases by Sri Lanka army in response to controversial Clinton statement

2009-10-04T19:40:00.000-07:00

(By Walter Jayawardhana)

The United States went back on the statement of Secretary of State, Hillary Rodham Clinton and said the US does not have any recent evidence of women being raped while in Sri Lankan government custody.

Hillary Clinton generating widespread condemnation mentioned Sri Lanka as a country which uses rape as a military tactic while speaking at the Security Council meeting of the United Nations recently.

The Sri Lanka government officially protested against her statement and the cabinet spokesman Keheliya Rambukwella said Sri Lanka totally rejected and condemned the Clinton statement.

In a letter addressed to the Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollagama the State Department said there had been such charges only in the past- "over the years."

Melane Verveer, ambassador at large for global women issues of the State Department writing the letter to the Sri Lanka Foreign Minister said, "in the most recent phase of the conflict, from 2006 to 2009 ... we have not received reports that rape and sexual abuse were used as tools of war, as they clearly have in other conflict area around the world."

The letter further said, "We hope that this clarification puts the issue in its proper context."

The letter however said, "Secretary Clinton believes that Sri Lanka must focus to the future and move forward on the promotion of peace and the protection of human rights."

"We've seen rape used as a tactic of war before in Bosnia, Burma and Sri Lanka and elsewhere", the US secretary of state had said addressing the Security Council meeting. Following her statement by Secretary of State Clinton was widely condemned by the government as well as other political parties.

Wimal Weerawansa, leader of the National Freedom Front said her statement exposed from where the LTTE terrorists received their support over the years. The JHU held a protest demonstration condemning her in front of the US embassy in Colombo. They called the statement as mudsling and irresponsible. Many websites warned her not to pelt stones while living in glass houses.

courtesy : defence.lk

Religious observances spearhead Army 60th Anniversary, its mega exhibition & tattoo

2009-10-01T23:17:00.001-07:00

The series of celebratory events, designed to coincide with Army's 60th Anniversary under the theme "Victory through Commitment, Dedication, Sacrifice and Professionalism" gets underway from today (2) with commencement of the customary flag blessing ceremony at Anuradhapura Jaya Sri Maha Bodhi precincts.

Commander of the Army Lieutenant General Jagath Jayasuriya gracing the occasion as Chief Guest will join the representative gathering of officers and other ranks from all Regiments for the symbolic Flag Blessing rituals at the upper layer (Udamaluwa) at the sacred premises.

Members of the Maha Sangha, led by Ven. Pallegama Sri Niwasabhidana Nayaka Thero, Atamastanadhipathi (chief incumbent for eight sacred places) are expected to invoke blessings on all Army flags after offerings are made by Commander and other Senior Officers. Christian, Islamic and Hindu religious observances and services will follow before the Army Day (October 10th). Islamic religious observances at Davatagaha Jumma Mosque on 5th October 2009, Hindu religious observances at Sri Bala Selvanayagam Moorthi Kovil in Maradana on 6th October 2009 and the Christian Service at Cathedral Church in Colombo 07 on 7th October 2009 will complete the first phase of the Anniversary programme.

The 60th Anniversary celebrations on Saturday (3) enter another important phase with the opening of the grand Army Exhibition at BMICH premises where display of captured stocks of LTTE equipment, arms and ammunition, military hardware, Army expansion and achievements, etc is expected to draw massive crowds. Special musical shows and display of fire works are to add colour to the event on all four days of the Exhibition (Oct 3 - 7). A model enactment of the last battle in Puthumattalan is also to be staged both during this Exhibition and the Army Tattoo. The Exhibition will be open for public from 10.00 a.m. to 10.00 p.m. everyday and an entry ticket to the site is priced at Rs. 50.00. School students cost half the price.

The Army Day (Oct 10th) commemorative ceremonies at Army Headquarters begin with a Guard of Honour, accorded to the Commander of the Army Lieutenant General Jagath Jayasuriya. His subsequent Army Day address to the troops is also a main item on the day's agenda. Commander is also expected to visit recuperating War Heroes at the Military Hospital and declare open the newly-built operation theatre and a ward complex for injured War Heroes at the Military Hospital. Towards the end of the day, a Pirith chanting ceremony at Panagoda Sri Bodhirajaramaya, will culminate the day's proceedings. Issue of a first-day cover plus a special stamp and a Rs. 1000 worth special coin has also been organized to mark the occasion.

On 12th October, Army troops are to accord a special Guard of Honour to the Chief of Defence Staff General Sarath Fonseka who is also the most senior Army officer still serving.

A special volume of Army history, "Sri Lanka Army - 60 years On" that covers the period (1999-2009) is also to be released as part of the celebratory events.

The next attraction, the Army Tattoo will commence on 17th October at Kettarama Stadium and continue till 23rd October. This mega display of thrill and excitement will highlight speedy fixing of vehicles, instant construction of temporary bridges, parachute jumps, cultural shows, ceremonial display by women's corps, model simulation attacks and a host of other exclusive talents of elite Commando units and Special Forces. This rare show will be open to the public from 5.30 p.m. to 10.00 p.m. everyday. Entry tickets are available at Cargills Ceylon PLC and also at entry gates to the stadium. Tickets are priced at Rs. 200, Rs. 500, Rs. 1000 and Rs. 2000.

The modern Sri Lanka Army counts its birth after its founding in 1949 as a commonwealth force of the post-independent Ceylon and this maturity of the Army came about as a result of its dedication, professionalism and commitment to the cause. The Army has received recognition as a troop-contributing country to the UN and other member states and its extensive roles in de-mining, humanitarian services, national emergencies, construction and development work, etc,

Courtesy : Army Media

Rape - Hillary said!

2009-10-01T23:09:00.000-07:00

(By: Gomin Dayasri)
The photograph was released by CBS News in 2004. Iraqi POWs been sexually tortured by a US military woman at the Abu Ghraib prison.
Fury of a woman knows no bounds. Worse, when she is powerful and arrogant but yet failed to achieve her goals. Such is Hilary Clinton. The mighty Secretary of State failed to tame Sri Lanka. The failed Presidential aspirant, knowingly or unknowingly, received terrorist funding for her election campaign and was compelled to return the cash to comply with the law. Notwithstanding her strenuous efforts she could not save the lives of the terrorists, to whom she is obliged. Therein lays the story.
The anger is intensified because Sri Lanka in its drive to dismantle terrorism, did not heed to the pleas and pressures of Hillary Clinton to save the terrorists. Her pride is wounded but the country rid itself of terrorism. Having to hang her head in shame, she is hell bent to damage and destroy the country that defeated terrorism comprehensively, which her country has failed to achieve and continue to unsuccessfully grapple with forces of terrorism. Green Eyes, Madam? Understandably, a jealous woman is an angry woman.
Her recent intemperate outburst was in her capacity as the representative of the USA at the Security Council where she named and implied Sri Lanka as a country where women are raped and its Armed forces use rape as a weapon of war and remain unpunished.
In law it means she has to establish the defense establishment, willfully and intentionally, on a premeditated design uses and/or permits it forces to rape women on a pre arranged scale to achieve its objectives in war. Otherwise she fails flat on the charge. The significance here is that- there is not even a scintilla of evidence, not even a complaint- of simple rape during the course of the war against an individual member of the defense forces. While Clinton bases her charge on collective structured rape as a tool of war, in fact, there is not even an allegation of rape of a single woman by a rapacious member of the defense forces. Where do you stand in the dock, fair lady?
Except for the verbal indictment, not an iota of evidence was provided by Mrs. Clinton to substantiate the charge. She has a right to make a charge provided she can support it with material to reveal that rape was used as a weapon of war .The charge is not plain and simple rape but more serious since it is made against a State. Therefore accuser has to be responsible as to substantiate with hard facts. She accuses the Sri Lankan Forces having used rape as a tool to defeat terrorism. It requires proof of collective pre meditated rape on an organized scale. A charge unheard and unleveled against Sri Lanka's Armed Forces except by the Diaspora who is forever making irresponsible accusations without proof. Then Hillary Clinton stepped on the podium. Have her previous financiers sold her a fabricated story? Is it a meeting of minds between birds of one feather!
Where is the proof with credible evidence? Was there a single complaint lodged against the Forces of having raped a woman during the period of conflict? Where are the complainants- where are the victims? There is not a scintilla of evidence against any other than in the fertile imaginary mind of Hillary Clinton and the Diaspora. When a charge of rape was presented as in the Krishanthi Kumaraswamy's case indictments were filed in court and after trial the accused were sentenced. In the USA only 6% of those accused of rape even spend a single night in a lock up. Such is Justice in the USA.
There is established rape by the US Forces in Iraq in conflict situations with photographs produced (see Ernesto Cienfuegos in La Voz de Aztlan) wherein it is alleged that many of the photographs were freely disseminated to US occupying forces perhaps to inflame their nefarious desires and to motivate them to strike out against the Iraqi populace in a perverse manner. It is reported many of these pictures were found when the luggage of the soldiers were searched before they left for the US from Iraq.
The charge of rape is established against the Security Forces of Hillary Clinton.
Hillary Clinton talks of rape during periods of conflict. In her back yard in the United States in times of peace there were 232,960 cases of rape in 2006 which increased to 248,300 in 2007 [Justice Department(US) Table 2 page 17]. That amounts to 600 cases a day mostly women between 20 -24 of rape in times of peace [Justice Department (US) Table 4 page 17] on a normal working day in her home country. Justice Department reports 1 in 5 college girls in US universities have been raped or experienced attempted rape.It also reports the Indian American women are subjected to rape at a rate twice the national average and black Americans are raped more than white American women. These are statistics originating from a society where only 60%of rape is reported! Are not our women safer both in times of war and peace than their sisters in America?
Why does Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State not look after the folk back home before opening her dainty lips in the UN! Is she not concerned of her own electorate who are experiencing frequent rape from the criminal elements in her society and the women of the world from the unruly elements in her armed forces?
Practice before you preach, lady!
Mrs Clinton, learn the basic lesson-fast and furiously- from our Armed Forces to beat Terrorism. The art of carrying effectively a Humanitarian campaign where you win the hearts and minds of the people of Iraq and Afghanistan so that they do not provide men and material to the terrorist but wait to flee to the forces of liberation.
Women- inclusive of you- are a precious possession of society in times of war and peace. Teach US Forces, to treat women with respect and not to make love to them in an improper way to offend the people in such a manner which makes it necessary for your Commanders to seek frequently additional forces in occupying countries to control terrorism.
Do control terrorism and rape in your own country, Mrs Clinton, and then you can speak with your head held high in the UN.

De-mining expedited

2009-09-10T20:49:00.000-07:00

The Government has taken the initiative to import more de-mining machines to expedite the de-mining process in the North and to facilitate the speedy resettlement of the displaced civilians now living in welfare centres in the Menik Farm, sources from the Ministry of Nation Building told the Daily News yesterday.

The latest addition to the de-mining activities, five de-mining machines costing Rs. 270 million, will arrive in Sri Lanka from the Republic of Croatia. The five de-mining machines (MV-4 Flail machines) from the Republic of Croatia will be airlifted to Sri Lanka on September 12.

The Police Special Task Force too had engaged in de-mining activities to make the areas in the Vavuniya district safe for the public. The Police Special Task Force engaged in landmine clearing and de-mining operation under the Uthura Vasanthaya program has completed the clearing of a 27 km stretch of road along the Omanthai-Welioya road.

Within a short span of five months, 26,734 anti-personnel mines, 26 land mines, 20 death traps, 31 pressure bomb reels several hard bombs and huge quantity of detonators were removed by the STF team, Officer-in-charge Lal Jayathilake said.

They are now engaged in the operation along the Omanthai-Panikkanai road towards Puliyankulam. Accordingly, the villages of Alankulam, Navakkulum Junction, Sinna Pulleyarkulam.

Kovil Junction, Pulinda Kulam and Nedunkulam along the Omanthai-Welioya road have been made safe areas.

Nation Building and Estate Infrastructure Minister Rizard Bathiudeen, Nation Building and Infrastructure Development Ministers Rohitha Abeygunawardena and Minister S.M. Chandrasena are due to receive these five de-mining machines worth Rs.270 million imported from the Republic of Croatia at the Bandaranaike International Airport.

Earlier the Government imported five de-mining machines from Slovakia at a cost of Rs.260 million to expedite the de-mining process in the North.

According to the officials the machines imported will expedite the de-mining activities as only 10 square metres can be de-mined daily through manual work. But these machines can clear 5,000 square metres per day.

"The arrival of these latest machines will expedite the process to speed up the resettlement of displaced civilians in the North with is now at a speedy phase under Uthuru Vasanthaya program implemented by Senior Presidential Advisor and MP Basil Rajapaksa", Northern Province Governor Major General (Rtd) G.A. Chandrasiri told the Daily News.

He said the Sri Lanka Army and other organizations engaged in de-mining activities have completed the de-mining in the Giant tank area in the Mannar district and handed it over for cultivation.

According to Secretary to Nation Building Ministry W.K.K. Kumarasiri Sri Lanka Army and eight other organisations are engaged in de-mining activities in the North. The work is getting delayed as it is done manually. Meanwhile, the Government is also receiving support from various Governments to expedite the de-mining activities.

The United States is providing training and equipment to the Sri Lanka Army to assist its efforts to de-mine areas in the North.

The training will build additional military capacity to clear mines in the Northern Province and expedite the safe return of people displaced by the war to their homes, a US embassy statement said Wednesday.

The training is being conducted at the Sri Lanka School of Military Engineering at Embilipitiya.

The US Pacific Command also donated personal protection equipment (vest and visors) and de-miner equipment. The cost of the program is estimated to be over $100,000.

This is in addition to the $6.6 million the US recently contributed towards de-mining activities in the Northern Province, which was under LTTE control for years. The Indian Government also sent de-mining teams to Sri Lanka to assist the Sri Lanka Army to expedite the de-mining process.

"This will help the Government to expedite the process of resettling the displaced civilians in their villages within the shortest possible time frame as stipulated by the Government," the Governor Chandrasiri added.

Courtesy - Daily news

"Lahore attack on Sri Lankan cricket team last was financed by LTTE" says Pakistan Premier

2009-09-07T20:48:00.001-07:00

(By: Walter Jayawardhana)

Pakistani investigators have discovered the attack on the Sri Lankan Cricket team in Lahore, Pakistan was financed by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) terrorist group.

Pakistani Prime Minister Yousouf Raza Gilani told reporters that the finding by the Pakistani law enforcement authorities has been already conveyed to the Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa when they met recently in the Libyan capital of Tripoli.

He told reporters that a Pakistani team of detectives will be coming to Sri Lanka to further investigate the involvement of the LTTE terrorists and share information with the Sri Lankan government on the attack of the cricket team.

Pakistani Prime Minister told reporters detectives have now got indications to suggest that the terrorist group LTTE had financed the attack by 12 gunmen on the bus carrying Sri Lankan cricketers, March 2009, near Gadaffi Stadium in Lahore.

In June this year a terrorist group called Tehrik-e-Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack on the Sri Lankan cricketers.

LTTE terrorists have maintained connections with the Pakistani and Middle Eastern terrorist groups and the widely used suicide jackets by the Middle Eastern suicide missions is an invention by the LTTE, security experts say.

In March the Sri Lankan cricketers were on their third day of the second test match when the attack occurred. The damage to the Sri Lankan cricket team would have been greater if not for the bravery of the Pakistani driver of the coach who drove through a hail of bullets by the attacking gunmen. Six members of the Sri Lankan cricket team were injured while six Pakistani policemen and two civilians were killed.

The International Cricket Council cancelled Pakistan as the venue for the World Cup matches in 2011 followed by the cancellations of many scheduled visits of foreign cricket teams to the country, costing the nation millions.

Colombo University confers President and Defence Secretary with "Honorary Degrees"

2009-09-07T20:46:00.000-07:00

President Mahinda Rajapaksa was conferred with the honorary degree (honoris causa) "Doctor of Law" and Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa with the honorary degree "Doctor of Letters" by the University of Colombo yesterday, (06 September).

The Senate of the University of Colombo with the approval of the Council of the University resolved that these Degrees of Doctorates be conferred on President Rajapaksa and on Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa,

The University of Colombo conferred the titles on President and Defence Secretary in recognition of their services to the country in safeguarding its territorial integrity, sovereignty and defeating the LTTE by restoring peace and harmony among all Sri Lankan communities and uplifting the image of Sri Lanka within the international community, the Senate of the Colombo University stated.

The titles were conferred by the former Arch-Bishop of Colombo and present Chancellor of the Colombo University Most Rev.Oswald Gomis.

The awarding ceremony took place with the Postgraduate Convocation of the University of Colombo held at the Bandaranaike Memorial International Conference Hall (BMICH) attended by distinguished guests and invitees.

Technical analyst exposes 'C- 4' gutter journalism

2009-09-06T20:36:00.000-07:00

< C-4 video created from a video camera, not from a mobile phone.

< Sound dubbed: a case study for gutter journalism.

In video coding or broadcasting to create a final video for any occasion it is the practice to start with high quality video first while transcending with editing for a final product. Mpeg4 is a compressed format.

If one considers the Channel- 4 video:

● It says it came from a mobile phone video source. There are only two formats in mobile video formats. One is an old 3GPP format and the other an advanced Mpeg4, H-264 part 10 which is MP4 format which is highly processor intensive encoding and due to this issue, mobile phones in the present markets does not produce high quality videos. Such processors are not that powerful to take good quality video that Channel- 4 claims since channel - 4 video is much high quality than existing Smart phones can create TODAY.

● Within H-264 coding we also have extra component called Motion Vectors (VMC) which are used to predict motion on temporal and spatial domain. The Channel - 4 video have quite high quality VMC(motion Vector) and this VMC came from a video camera and not from a mobile phone source. Also Mobile source also tend to be blocky in nature when it come to motion.

● Since original video is from AVI and QuickTime format, the whole video scenario indicates that ORIGINAL video is of high quality that came from a video camera source since mobile formats does not use AVI or Quicktime which are high quality video formats.

● If they changed the mobile format to AVI or QT then the final video will be of poor quality. In the analysis it was found that the AVI and QT formats are of very high quality.

● Also it is quite explicit that the camcorder video was transferred to a computer for editing and sound was dubbed later and gun shots were not in synchronism with the video and normally audio is always way ahead of the video since video processing takes time and in this case the audio is very late INDICATING a very amateurish video and audio editing.

The Channel 4 canard

2009-09-06T20:34:00.000-07:00

The Channel 4, a British TV channel apparently engaged in a deliberate propaganda campaign against Sri Lankan citizens, has come up with its latest canard about the island nation. A video footage of very poor quality showing two persons clad in combat uniforms shooting down two others has been given a huge publicity by the Channel 4 TV claiming it to be of Sri Lankan soldiers "summarily executing Tamils".

The channel's so-called "foreign affairs correspondent", Jonathan Miller filing another twisted story of his about Sri Lanka, almost wows that it was "Sinhalaese" soldiers killing Tamils in the video. He further goes on breaching all rules observed in professional journalism by generalizing charges against one ethnic group of a multi-ethnic country; an obvious and irresponsible attempt to incite communal hatred. Shrewdly playing with his words this journalist not only conceals the serious question about the authenticity of the video footage but also brings about unnamed sources to support his mean objective of damaging ethnic harmony in Sri Lanka.

The following report is filed based on an analysis conducted by the defence.lk team involving specialists in the filed on the video itself and commentaries about it.

Professional journalism requires journalists to ensure the information he or she disseminates to be fair and accurate. Fulfilling this requires the journalist to avoid expressing comments and conjecture as actual facts.

Miller opens his story about the video calling the victory over terrorism in Sri Lanka is something to be celebrated only by the Sinhalese majority, which is certainly not the ground reality. It is interesting to know how a foreigner like Miller could make such a serious comment about the thinking of Sri Lankan people. Then he goes on saying that it has been a "brutal war" in which "unknown thousands of Tamil civilians were killed", yet fails to elaborate any source where his comments can be referred. Then comes a carefully edited video footage released by the LTTE propaganda arm during the wartime. At the end of this section Miller says, "now, we know one soldier had a mobile phone"; an obvious attempt to conceal the problem of authenticity of the video to the audience.

Then comes the scene of a man wearing an olive-green overall shooting a naked and loosely blindfolded man with his hands tied behind his back. The victim is shot at point blank range at the back of the head. Then the one with the camera turns at several other males lying on the ground apparently dead. The 1:02.781 (minute) video footage ends showing another man shooting the second blindfolded man in the same fashion as the earlier one. The only difference was the shooter was clad in a camouflaged combat uniform. Throughout the video, several men were heard shouting in Sinhalese and thundering blasts were clearly heard in the background as if the video was taken under heavy fire.

The pictures of the video footage were in very bad quality that there was no visible evidence whether the victims were actually injured in shooting. Also, the shooters were clad in combat clothes generally worn by all armies in the world. No Sri Lankan army insignias or anything such items were captured in the video to identify the shooters with the Sri Lanka army. Although the video footage seemed to have been taken with great deliberation to show what had happened at the location, the person who took it avoids directing the camera towards the shooters' faces. The voices heard in the background gives no clue about shooters or the victims. Furthermore, it is quite clear that the cameraperson was doing his work quite freely and openly without any objections from those who were committing the crime, as if they wanted him/her to carryout the work unhindered.

Irrespective of all mentioned above, Miller speculates that a "soldier" not shown in the video jumped with joy at the first shooting. Then he confirms that that a shooter was a "Sinhalese country boy". What's more, Miller says to the audience that the killing Tamils were like a game to the "Sinhalese Soldiers". It is only after speculating on all these that Miller decides to tell his audience that there is no independent authentication about the video.

However, he officiously tell the audience the group that claimed have handed over the video to him is not a "Tamil liberation organization" but a group of journalists in 'exile' fighting for media freedom. Moreover, he has found an unknown independent human right expert a "Sinhalese" to confirm him that video to be genuine. The whole episode if analyzed in the rational mind is an excellent example of deceitful journalism of the first degree. Miller closed his story creating disbelief in the audience that Tamils will be able to live peacefully with the other communities in the Island.

It is clear to any right minded person that it would not take much time for Sri Lankan defence officials to decide that the information in the video footage was insufficient for any further investigations. In fact, it is understandable that the aim of its originators was not to bring justice to the apparent victims shown in the video but to rekindle the dangerous ideology that gave life to the LTTE terrorists for decades. The government has rightly denied any breach of international law of war by Sri Lankan armed forces. Having painfully learnt the capacity of the LTTE propaganda arm - the only element of the terrorist outfit that still remains intact, the government has substantial evidence to prove that the video was a fake.

On the other hand, there is more than sufficient evidence that LTTE cadres masquerading in army uniforms had carried out crimes and used videos of such crimes to win international sympathy. Many LTTE cadres surrendered to the army have confessed to be involved in such crimes where they were asked to kill captives, mostly Tamils who were labeled as traitors. Civilians too have revealed seeing such videos showed by the LTTE cadres when they were held as a human shield by the LTTE. It was a commonly known tactic used by the LTTE to prevent civilians seeking refuge with the armed forces.

However, Miller's reportage on the video and the commentaries of the LTTE sympathizers that followed, attempt to generalize the accusations against the government and armed forces as whole. It should be noted that Sri Lankan armed forces have given refuge to thousands of LTTE cadres including over 120 senior leaders of the outfit. The parents of the LTTE chief himself and his mother in law were also among the rescued during the final phase of the conflict. If Sri Lanka adapted summary execution of LTTE cadres as a policy, none of the LTTE cadres would be left and there would be ample videos available for media when considering the strength of the LTTE propaganda arm.

Above all, there exists serious suspicion about the integrity of the parties involved in propagating this video. The group claimed to have smuggled the video out of the Island, the so-called Journalist for Democracy (JDS) is an unheard media rights group in Sri Lanka of which no details can be found about its members. The group apparently runs an internet blog that contains propaganda material usually used by LTTE lobbyists but does not give any information about the personnel involved. However, available sources confirmed that the members of this group to be LTTE hired hands and some are even wanted terrorists under the Prevention of Terrorism Act in Sri Lanka. Hence, there are valid reasons to the group to be in self-exile, allegedly leading the struggle for media freedom.

The Channel 4 too has a history of broadcasting distorted and misleading news about Sri Lanka. Specially, Jonathan Miller is doing his best to settle what appears to be a personal grudge he has with Sri Lankan people at the expense of his professionalism. It is interesting to watch how Miller has filed stories about Gaza and Iraq. There are few that can be easily goggled.

Even his story about Gaza after 22 days of bombing by the Israel in February was free from adjectives he often uses in his stories about Sri Lanka. He saw no "brutalism" in the bombing that many reliably claimed to have killed over thousand civilians including some 400 children, he found no "brutalized" people there. Moreover, it was not "shocking" for him to see the UN headquarters in Gaza bombed with white phosphorus. Nothing is "callous" or "sickening" about conflicts in Iraq, Gaza or in Afghanistan for Miller or for the Channel 4. This hypocrisy is of course common to many other similar media and is no longer a secret to the world.

It should be noted that it was this Miller who boastfully claimed the credit for having the first "face to face" interview with Interpol's wanted terrorist Kumaran Padmanadan alias KP few months ago. Unfortunately for Miller, the criminal that he ridiculed Sri Lankan government for being unable to nab for 25 years is now with Defence Ministry. KP is certainly spilling the beans and has given a very important place to the Channel 4 affair and Miller connection in his confessions. Though not much information on this is permitted to be revealed at this stage, it can be said with great responsibility that LTTE had made Channel 4 one of its propaganda allies.

Finally, the whole affair about the video indicates nothing but the dearth of genuineness on the part of the human rights activists in Sri Lanka. Jonathan Miller is certainly an unknown figure to Sri Lankans despite his pretence as an expert in Sri Lanka's affairs. Yet, the people who feed information to Miller, the so-called Sri Lankan rights activists, are well known to all discernible citizens here. Portraying these individuals as rights activists before ordinary Sri Lankan citizens is certainly a laughable matter for everyone knows that it is just a good business for them.

Government deeply regrets Erik Solheim's comments on SL

2009-08-29T18:33:00.000-07:00

The Government of Sri Lanka refers to the comments made by the Minister of Environment & International Development of the Norwegian Government, Erik Solheim, published in the 'Aftenposten' newspaper website of 28 August 2009, a news release from the Foreign Ministry said today.

It added "The Sri Lanka government deeply regrets the baseless comments contained therein and is perturbed by such statements being made by the Norwegian Minister against a friendly government.

It is unbecoming of Minister Solheim to attribute blame on alleged atrocities, contained in an unsubstantiated video footage, without any recourse to an exchange of views and total disregard to the position of the Government of Sri Lanka on the issues in question.

The criticism by him of a democratically elected Head of State, who is carrying out a vibrant agenda to safeguard the rights of the people of Sri Lanka, while having eliminated the scourge of terrorism, is unacceptable. It would be recalled that Norway continued its facilitatory role in the then peace process, even after the election of His Excellency the President Mahinda Rajapakse. The utterances of Minister Solheim have led the Government of Sri Lanka to reflect on his possible partisanship in the facilitatory role.

The Government of Sri Lanka hopes that a formal response would be received from the Norwegian Government with regard to the attributed comments by a Minister of that Government".

Courtesy: Government Information Department

'Channel 4' gets flak for exploiting journalist

2009-08-29T18:32:00.000-07:00

'Channel 4' UK , the news network which broadcast the false and unverified video footage on Aug 25 which allegedly showed the summary killing by Sri Lankan troops of Tamil civilians in January this year, has come in for heavy criticism from many quarters for the exploiting of a journalist to obtain a sensational news item.

The Daily Mail, UK said 'Channel 4' "promised to stretch reality television to the limit: one man pitting his wits against the Yukon wilderness with just a camera for company. But hopes for an epic three-month contest between man and nature were dashed when adventurer Ed Wardle failed to go the distance.

Seven weeks after striding out into the rugged forests of western Canada armed with a rifle and a fishing rod, Mr. Wardle had to be airlifted back to civilization suffering from starvation".

It reported that' Channel 4' faced criticism for allowing him to attempt the expedition unaided and apparently unprepared, to entertain viewers. During his adventure, Mr. Wardle, 34, was permitted to send out a daily posting on the Twitter website and transmit a single electronic signal confirming he was still alive.

"This is a pretty foolish enterprise. If Channel 4 is going to send people on this kind of expedition, they really must make sure they are up to it and have the skills necessary to survive," said Director of Media Watch, John Beyer.

"If they first of all did not check that Ed Wardle was competent, then that is the height of irresponsibility on the part of Channel 4, to do that merely to provide entertainment for us all back home to watch this man steadily deteriorate."

Courtesy: PRIU

"Channel 4" video false and fabricated - Govt.

2009-08-27T19:45:00.002-07:00

The video footage recently aired on 'Channel 4' UK claiming to display alleged atrocities committed by Sri Lankan forces against Tamils is absolutely false and fabricated. It has been deliberately put together to bring disrepute to the Government of Sri Lanka, states the Presidential Secretariat in Colombo.

The Government of Sri Lanka will make a strong protest to Channel 4 with regard to the contents of this video and also bring the matter to the notice of the relevant authorities, and seek to pursue remedies available with regard to the distortion of truth.

The Government of Sri Lanka view this unsubstantiated and admittedly unverifiable video footage as an attempt by elements opposed to the success of the reconciliation process under way in Sri Lanka and the ongoing efforts to rebuild the country after nearly 30 years of terror by the LTTE.

The Government has reasons to suspect that those who provided this false and doctored footage are those still supportive of LTTE terror, who failed in their attempts to discredit the Sri Lankan government at the recent UN Human Rights Council in Geneva.

Courtesy: President Media Unit

It's war crimes stupid!- The Island Editorial

2009-08-27T19:45:00.001-07:00

The British media has done it again! Channel 4, which is blatantly hostile to Sri Lanka and partial to the LTTE, has found 'evidence of war crimes' in Sri Lanka--a video footage of a naked civilian being shot dead by a person who looks like a Sri Lankan soldier.

This footage said to be a handout from a collective of 'journalists' from Sri Lanka is being bandied about as solid evidence of war crimes, which Britain, the US and the EU failed to charge Sri Lanka with at a recent UNHRC special session.

It is intriguing that Channel 4 did not care to check the video clip's authenticity before beaming it across the globe and tarnishing Sri Lanka's image. One is reminded of a widely circulated picture that the LTTE released in the aftermath of Prabhakaran's death. It showed a smiling Prabhakaran watching his own corpse on TV, while holding a newspaper. The message the LTTE sent out with that picture was that its leader was alive and kicking and the government's claim that he had been killed was a lie. This newspaper debunked the LTTE's claim by publishing the original picture--of Prabhakaran with Anton Balasingham--which LTTE propagandists had doctored by deleting Balasingham and inserting a TV set and some furniture. A week later none other than KP admitted that Prabhakaran was dead!

LTTE propagandists are quite adept at doctoring pictures. The man in it may be an LTTE cadre in an army uniform massacring dissidents or even an LTTE actor playing the role of a soldier. There are thousands of such cock-and-bull videos doing the rounds on the Net and only the na‹ve take them seriously. The most pertinent question to be raised in this regard is whether any filming would have been allowed, if war crimes had been perpetrated in the Vanni.

Technology is so advanced today that we could even produce a short film where 'Miliband' or 'Kouchner' shoots naked men in the back of their heads against the backdrop of streets strewn with dead bodies.

The British government, it may be recalled, stands accused of having 'sexed up' dossiers on Iraq and WMDs by way of a casus belli. So, it is not surprising that the British media has suddenly got hold of a video footage said to have been done in January this year to back the Brown government's anti-Sri Lankan campaign. What on earth took them so long to find that 'evidence'?

A British newspaper once published some pictures of the war zone taken by one of its photographers from a Sri Lanka Air Force chopper days after the final offensive, claiming they were irrefutable evidence of war crimes by the Sri Lanka Army. Would the SLAF have ever flown a group of journalists over the scene of the final battle, if the Sri Lanka military had had anything to hide there? Strangely, the British media has conveniently dropped the issue.

Now that Channel 4 has gone to town on 'evidence of war crimes committed in Sri Lanka', the onus is on it to prove that the video footage in question is authentic and the perpetrator in it is a real Sri Lankan soldier and the victim a Tamil civilian.

Why the British media has suddenly woken up to Sri Lanka's 'war crimes' again is not difficult to see. The EU is scheduled to decide on the renewal of Sri Lanka's GSP Plus concession soon and attempts being made in some quarters to have that facility scrapped are doomed to fail as cases against Sri Lanka presented by some NGOs are seriously flawed. The anti-Sri Lanka forces are looking for fresh evidence to bolster their campaign. The video footage at issue is their latest weapon against Sri Lanka. Unfortunately for them, their war crime project has a foundation of sand!

Courtesy: The Island

"WE fought the terrorists with unity and political will" - General Fonseka

2009-08-27T19:41:00.000-07:00

Speaking at a conference at the University of Jayawadenepura in Colombo last week, Sri Lanka's former Army Commander General Sarath Fonseka who led the island nation to its historic military triumph said the victory was achieved by adopting guerilla tactics while letting the terrorist group adopt conventional military strategies.

Pakistan, another South Asian country, attacked by guerillas has already expressed their desire to send small groups of combat troops to Sri Lanka to learn from the Sri Lankan experience.

General Fonseka, who has now been elevated to the position of the Chief of Defense Staff by President Rajapaksa described the secret of success of the Sri Lanka Army at as the transformation of the way of going into battle at the Eelam War 4 and reversal of methods both by the army and the terrorists.

General Fonseka said the LTTE as expected behaved almost like a conventional army while his forces stepped into the shoes of a guerilla warfare.

He said the army, as guerillas do, started making incursions into LTTE strongholds in small groups carrying out daring attacks when the terrorists challenged the army inside the jungle.

He described the Sri Lanka resolution to go to war was a political one and said with the other forces, like the navy, air force police and the civil defense force in unity fought the war with that political will.

He said, "Thirty years of war had caused a lot of frustration to the people, who had lost their faith in the Army.... I restructured the entire Army deviating from traditional methods, appointed new people of my choice untainted with corruption and dramatically increased the manpower of the Army with recruitment.

"We commenced our assault from the A9 road, the Maddu road, Mannar and the Mullaittivu jungles. Sometimes it took us four to five days just to take control of one or two kilometres. But the results were good. We minimised our casualties and increased losses of the enemy."

More LTTE war materials recovered

2009-08-26T03:03:00.001-07:00

Sri Lanka Army Troops engaging the search and clear operations in war affected areas yesterday (August 25) recovered a haul of war materials hidden by the LTTE in their last moment.

Troops belongs to 57 Division conducted search operations in Kilinochchi area recovered 6 x AP mines and in Visuamadu area recovered 06 x diesel barrels during the same day.

While Task Force 8 troops engaging search operations in general area Puthukkudiyirippu East recovered following list of items yesterday.

In general area Vellamullivaikkal troops recovered following military equipments.

Items	Quantity
DZP/PE 98-120 bombs	04
Hand grenades	34
60mm rounds	18
Explosive capsules	250
RPG rounds	07
C-4 Explosive (Kg)	30
7.62 x 39mm ammunition	1500
Micro pistols	03
Pistol magazines	07
Pistol rounds	133
I COM sets	09
GPS (Type 72)	01
Cyanide capsules	02

In general area Puthukkudiyirippu troops uncovered the following list of items.

Items	Quantity
RPG rounds	07
Claymore mines	05
81mm Mortar rounds	02
T-56 Weapon	01
T-56 Magazines	04
7.62 x 39mm ammunition	102

In addition to that, troops recovered 130mm arty gun barrel in Puthukkudiyirippu West and in Sugandipuram area and troops also uncovered 02 x 60mm mortar round and 01 x 60mm mortar fuse.

Meanwhile the Troops of Task Force 2 doing their search operations in general area Puthukkudiyirippu West uncovered 01 x T-56 weapon mark II.

LTTE linked attempt to challenge us law on foreign terrorist groups fails in federal appeals court 9th circuit

2009-08-26T03:02:00.000-07:00

An attempt by the Humanitarian law Project, an organization that consists of two listed terrorist organizations, the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam and Kurdistan Workers Party to do away the executive powers of the US President to list certain organizations as foreign terrorist groups was foiled by the 9th US circuit of Appeals.

The court, in San Francisco, decided in 2-1 majority decision the law regulates conduct, not speech and therefore does not violate the US constitution as the petition lawyers argued, court documents show.

The court said, "There is no right to provide resources with which terrorists can buy weapons and explosives."

According to the court decision the current law that allows United States Presidents to designate certain violent foreign groups as terrorist organizations and freeze their assets, and prevent any aid contributed to them was upheld.

Originally a law enacted by Congress in 1977 to impose economic sanctions against foreign nations considered a threat to national security called The International Emergency Economic Powers Act was used by Presidents. The Same law, in 2001, during the regime of President George W. Bush was used to issue executive orders to designate foreign terrorist groups and freeze their assets. Under the executive orders anybody who gives aid to any of the listed terrorist groups will pay twice the money as what is given to the terrorist group or a fine of $250,000 as penalty.

In Los Angeles the law was challenged by Humanitarian law Project that was supported by the LTTE and the PKK. At the initial stages the petition succeeded but the US government appealed against the decision.

Sri Lanka Air Force 'The Best Air Force in the World'

2009-08-23T20:40:00.001-07:00

Addressing the newly commissioned officers and passed out airmen at the SLAF Base China Bay today (Aug 21), Secretary Defence Mr Gotabaya Rajapaksa stated that the Sri Lanka Air Force compared to the rest of the world, could be rated as the best Air Force in operation.

"With limited resources and hi-tech machines, the Sri Lanka Air Force defeated the LTTE, purely using their knowledge, skills, and experience. It is the duty of the new officer and airmen to carry this pride of victory to the future unblemished, he further said.

Secretary Defence Mr. Gotabaya Rajapaksa was the chief guest of the commission and wings parade of No: 50 intake officer cadets and passing out parade of No: 136 regular and No: 96 Volunteer Airmen initial recruit course, at SLAF Base Chain Bay, Trincomalee.

Sixteen officer, including six pilots, were commissioned at the event while 329 regular and volunteer Airmen passed out. Officer Cadet WKRPGS Dharmasiriwardana received the 'Sword of Honour' for his successful completion of the training.

Recruit USD Gunawardana was the best all round recruit of No:94 Volunteer intake of Airman, while Recruit DKT Luids was adjuged best all round recruit of the No:136 Regular intake of Airmen.

The Commander of the SLAF Air Chief Marshal Roshan Goonatilake and a large number of senior and junior officers participated at the passing out parade. Parents, family members of the passed out officers and airmen were also among the gathered.

Wanted : LTTE Suicide "bomber" Abdul Shalam Fatima Yasmin

2009-08-10T21:52:00.000-07:00

The Sri Lanka Terrorist Investigation Division(TID) urgently calls on the public to provide any information to help arrest the above named suicide bomber who according to information frequents the area of Old Moor Street, Colombo 12 to the telephone numbers given below or to an Officer of the Security Forces or Police, or the nearest Police station.

The particulars are given below.

Name : Abdul Shalam Fatima Yasmin

Address : Old Moor Street , Colombo 12

ID No: 857835641 V

Date of Birth : 09.10.1985

Contact :

Police Headquarters : 011-2421111

Terrorist Investigations Division : 011 - 2321839 011- 2451636 011- 2384401

Crimes Investigation Department: 011-2320141

Colombo Police Emergency Operations Room : 011- 2243333

KP arrested

2009-08-06T20:10:00.000-07:00

Most wanted LTTE terrorist for International Police (Interpol) and local security divisions Kumaran Padmanadan alias KP has been taken in to custody by Sri Lankan law enforcement authorities, defence sources revealed .

The suspect is known to be responsible for cross-boarder terrorist activities of liberation Tiger of the Tamil Elam (LTTE)

photos - Prabhakaran with his youngest son in a swimming pool

2009-07-17T20:08:00.000-07:00

New Appointments made by His Excellency the President

2009-07-12T05:58:00.000-07:00

The present Army Commander General Sarath Fonseka was today appointed as the new Chief of Defence Staff. He took oaths before President Mahinda Rajapaksa at Janadhipathi Mandiraya today.

This appointment, effective July 15, 2009, is made in accordance with the powers vested in the President by the Chief of Defence Staff Act No. 35 of 2009.

Consequent to this appointment, Major General Jagath Jayasuriya was appointed as the Commander of the Sri Lanka Army, effective July 15, 2009.

The present Commander of the Navy Admiral Wasantha Karannagoda was appointed as the National Security Advisor to the President, from July 15, 2009.

The present Chief of Navy Staff Rear Admiral Thisara Samarasinghe has accordingly been appointed as Commander of the Sri Lanka Navy, effective July 15, 2009.

The current Chief of Staff of the Sri Lanka Army and Competent Authority for the Internally Displaced Persons in the North, Major General G. A. Chandrasiri took his oaths as the new Governor for the Northern Province today - July 12, 2009. Accordingly, Mr. Dixon Dela who was Governor of the Northern

Province was appointed as the High Commissioner for Sri Lanka in the Maldives, effective today - July 12, 2009.

Media Division

Presidential Secretariat

July 12, 2009

Ananda College pays tribute for Old Anandian war heroes - Pictures

2009-07-04T03:45:00.000-07:00