President to appoint committee to study

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

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

• 
  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

"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

(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

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!

(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.