Sri Lanka government to dispose its paddy stocks
Thursday, July 12, 2007, 18:29 GMT, ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka.
July 12, Colombo: The Sri Lankan government has decided to dispose its paddy stocks purchased and collected by the Sri Lanka Agricultural Products Marketing Authority (SLPMA) on government account with immediate effect.
A stock of approximately 110,181 metric tons of paddy purchased and collected by the SLPMA during 2006 Yala and 2006/07 Maha seasons are lying in stores currently, the Cabinet Spokesman Minister Anura Priyadharsana Yapa said.
“Taking into consideration the present trend in the relative increase in the price of local rice, and the existing shortage of paddy stocks in the market and the high price level created due to the increasing demand, it would be feasible to sell approximately 45,000 metric tons of stock available in the SLPMA stores,” the Minister said.
He said that the Cabinet has granted its approval to dispose 45,000 metric tons of paddy at Rs. 19.70 per kilo for White Short variety and Rs. 18.70 per kilo for White Long variety.
Sri Lanka's Western Province Chief Minister says govt aims to push Tigers to negotiating table
Friday, July 13, 2007, 16:41 GMT, ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka.
July 13, Colombo: Sri Lanka's Western Province Chief Minister Reginald Cooray says the national government's policy is not to end the North and East problem through war. He says the war is a strategy to push the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) to the negotiation table.
The Chief Minister expressed these views at a meeting today to announce the details of the Western Province’s celebrations to mark the capture of Thoppigala. The provincial celebrations are to be held parallel to the national functions.
The Western Provincial Council has advised the heads of public departments to give priority to appreciating the service and sacrifices of war heroes from the police and armed forces and their families.
In government schools, television sets should be used to show the chiefs of the armed forces handing over the official statement of the capture of Thoppigala to the head of the state and the President’s address to the nation. The circular on the celebration advises to cheer peacefully and proudly.
The government has also recommended holding celebrations in public offices with the patronage of the trade unions and to invite a police or security forces senior official to address the gathering.
Local elections to be held in east - Minister
[TamilNet, Friday, 13 July 2007, 10:15 GMT]
Mr.Janaka Bandara Tennekone, Minister of Local Authorities and Provincial Councils, at a press briefing held Friday said that amendment to Local Government Election Ordinance would be tabled in parliament on July 19 to call for fresh nomination to ten local authorities in the Batticaloa district, political sources in Colombo said.
Nominations were called last year for these local bodies but elections were not held due to unsettled climate in the east.
Two weeks ago the Elections Department cancelled all nominations submitted earlier and decided to call for fresh nomination when new election date is announced.
Elections to thirty three of forty three local bodies in the east were held last year.
Army Commander, CDS visit Thoppigala
THOPPIGALA: Chief of Defence Staff Air Marshal Donald Perera and Army Commander Lt. Gen. Sarath Fonseka flew to Thoppigala yesterday to express their gratitude to the valiant troops and all other service personnel.
They were received by Brigadier C. Gallage, Commander of Commando Brigade that captured the centre of Thoppigala. They first reached Illuppadichenai where the visiting military chiefs met senior officers serving the area and praised them for their valour and dedication.
They spoke to senior officers and instructed them to continue follow-up clearing operations and assist and coordinate with authorities in launching subsequent development plans upon clearing of minefields and booby traps.
Their second stop was the rocky plateau, Ruchiramale, where LTTE terrorists had their Nagesh base. The Commander spoke to his soldiers, congratulating them on their dedication and commitment to the Motherland.
Both Perera and Fonseka lauded their contribution to salvage the country from the grip of terrorism during these meetings before they saw for themselves a few buildings that had been used by the LTTE for their terrorist acts
Bill in Parliament soon for Eastern polls
Uditha Kumarasinghe and Rajmi Manatunga
COLOMBO: The Government will present a Bill in Parliament next week to facilitate the holding of Local Government elections in the Eastern Province which came under the full control of the Security Forces on Wednesday.
Chief Government Whip Minister Jeyaraj Fernandopulle told the media yesterday that the Bill seeks to cancel the nominations already submitted for Local Government polls in the province and call for fresh nominations.
“The draft legislation has been sent to the Supreme Court to be examined for its constitutionality. We expect to receive its determination by Tuesday and hope to place it before the House and get it passed on the same day,” he said.
Once the Bill is passed, elections will be held for every Urban Council and Pradeshiya Sabha in the province where polls were not held.
Fernandopulle said the Government’s intention was to enable the people of the East to exercise their political powers which they were long deprived of.
“The President is also considering holding a separate Provincial Council Election for the Eastern province in line with the Supreme Court ruling on the North and the East merger. It will be held after or at the latter part of the Local Government poll if necessary,” he added. The Government has commenced a movement from the East to win the hearts of the people, he announced.
The Government will take immediate measures to develop the road network and provide water and electricity to the liberated areas in Thoppigala, Nation Building Minister Susantha Punchinilame told the Government’s weekly press briefing held at Information Department yesterday.
He said: “Thoppigala possesses a series of geographical patterns. However, the LTTE has laid lot of landmines in Thoppigala area. Before resettling the people, the Government has to clear all these landmines because the UNHCR should give an assurance that all landmines have been cleared to resettle the people.”
He said the Government intends to develop Thoppigala as a model. The Government is also exploring the possibility of establishing a Military Training Centre at Thoppigala.
World Tea production up 2.5% : China and India lead
Sri lanka Tea production down 6.3 million
kilosForbes and Walker Tea Brokers Private Ltd., released their publication ‘Sri Lanka tea Review’ this week which as usual gave authoritative comment on the tea industry not only in the local context but internationally as well. World production had reached approximately 3.5 billion kilos last year registering increase of 2.5 per cent.
The Island
Friday, July 13, 2007
U.S. Troops Battle Iraqi Police in East Baghdad; R...
U.S. Troops Battle Iraqi Police in East Baghdad;
Rogue Lieutenant Captured, Military Says
Chris Hondros/Getty ImagesPfc. Daniel Sims of Clemson, S.C., guarding a post taken from insurgents, while across town his comrades battled Iraqi police officers.
By STEPHEN FARRELLPublished: July 14, 2007BAGHDAD, July 13 —
In a rare battle between American and uniformed Iraqi forces, United States troops backed by fighter jets killed six Iraqi policemen and seven gunmen during a predawn raid in which they captured a rogue police lieutenant, the military said Friday.
The Reach of WarGo to Complete Coverage » American commanders said that during the raid, against an Iraqi police position in eastern Baghdad, their forces had come under “heavy and accurate fire” from a nearby police checkpoint as well as surrounding rooftops and a church.
They said the captured lieutenant was a “high ranking” leader of a cell they suspected of having links to the Quds Force, part of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards. The Iraqi police had no comment.
The United States military has repeatedly accused the Quds Force of arming Iraqi militias with weapons and explosives. The Iranian government has denied those claims.
The Iraqi police are widely thought to be infiltrated by the Mahdi Army and other Shiite militias, as well as by Sunni insurgent groups, all of whom are accused of using their positions to plan and carry out widespread sectarian killings.
In a briefing in Washington, Gen. Peter Pace, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the fact that the police opened fire on American troops made them legitimate targets.
“The fact of the matter is that there are elements of the Iraqi police and elements of Iraqi Army that are infiltrated, and the Iraqi government is working very hard to work their way through that,” he said. “They’ve gotten rid of as much as 25 percent in some units, put in new recruits, retrained and put them back in the field.”
He added: “So the Iraq government and our coalition forces are doing all we can to ensure that we improve the quality. But the bottom line is going to be that we are going to defend ourselves, and we are going to go after those networks that are attacking our guys.”
Speaking after American criticism of the Iraqi government’s progress on performance benchmarks set by Congress, Jalal Talabani, the Iraqi president, insisted that there were “positive developments on the political level,” citing efforts within the government to create “a front of moderate forces committed to the political process and democracy.”
Mr. Talabani also claimed progress in intensive military operations carried out by American troops around Baghdad and central Iraq in recent months. “A successful campaign is on to eliminate terrorists, and so far large areas of Diyala and Anbar have been cleared,” he said late on Thursday.
A security official in the town of Muqdadiya in Diyala Province said seven men were killed Friday when gunmen attacked a house in the nearby village of Harbitila. The Iraqi Army also confirmed that a roadside bomb had killed a senior officer, Col. Abdul-Kareem Hameed, and three of his guards near Muqdadiya.
Farther south, in Wasit Province, the police found three unidentified bodies in the Tigris River. All were wearing civilian clothes, had been shot and showed signs of torture.
In eastern Baghdad, the Interior Ministry said five guards manning towers around the ministry had been killed in an insurgent attack with rocket-propelled grenades and machine guns. Nine guards were wounded. The compound is near the Finance Ministry headquarters, from which five Britons were abducted two months ago by kidnappers posing as government officials and police officers.
The body of Khalid W. Hassan, an Iraqi journalist working for The New York Times, was found in the Saydia district of southwest Baghdad on Friday.
Mr. Hassan was killed in the district while driving to work. A witness in a nearby line for fuel said a car had overtaken Mr. Hassan, and a gunman inside shot and wounded him. Gunfire from a second vehicle then killed him.
Two Iraqi employees of Reuters were killed the day before. Reporters Without Borders, a Paris-based group, says more than 191 journalists and news media assistants have been killed in Iraq since 2003.
Also in Saydia, police officials said they had found about half a dozen bodies, including those of an 11-year-old girl and two women. All had been blindfolded, bound and shot in the head. A car bomb also exploded in the area, killing two civilians.
The Iraqi police reported finding 21 unidentified bodies in Baghdad on Friday. Although the body count in such suspected sectarian killings has dropped since the start of the latest Baghdad security plan in February, in recent days the police have reported finding 20 to 30 bodies daily.
Mortar shells fired yesterday afternoon at Baghdad’s heavily fortified Green Zone, the seat of the Iraqi government and American Embassy, killed a senior Iraqi military officer, according to Iraqi Army officials.
Iraqi employees of The New York Times contributed reporting from Baghdad, Diyala and Kut
Rogue Lieutenant Captured, Military Says
Chris Hondros/Getty ImagesPfc. Daniel Sims of Clemson, S.C., guarding a post taken from insurgents, while across town his comrades battled Iraqi police officers.
By STEPHEN FARRELLPublished: July 14, 2007BAGHDAD, July 13 —
In a rare battle between American and uniformed Iraqi forces, United States troops backed by fighter jets killed six Iraqi policemen and seven gunmen during a predawn raid in which they captured a rogue police lieutenant, the military said Friday.
The Reach of WarGo to Complete Coverage » American commanders said that during the raid, against an Iraqi police position in eastern Baghdad, their forces had come under “heavy and accurate fire” from a nearby police checkpoint as well as surrounding rooftops and a church.
They said the captured lieutenant was a “high ranking” leader of a cell they suspected of having links to the Quds Force, part of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards. The Iraqi police had no comment.
The United States military has repeatedly accused the Quds Force of arming Iraqi militias with weapons and explosives. The Iranian government has denied those claims.
The Iraqi police are widely thought to be infiltrated by the Mahdi Army and other Shiite militias, as well as by Sunni insurgent groups, all of whom are accused of using their positions to plan and carry out widespread sectarian killings.
In a briefing in Washington, Gen. Peter Pace, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the fact that the police opened fire on American troops made them legitimate targets.
“The fact of the matter is that there are elements of the Iraqi police and elements of Iraqi Army that are infiltrated, and the Iraqi government is working very hard to work their way through that,” he said. “They’ve gotten rid of as much as 25 percent in some units, put in new recruits, retrained and put them back in the field.”
He added: “So the Iraq government and our coalition forces are doing all we can to ensure that we improve the quality. But the bottom line is going to be that we are going to defend ourselves, and we are going to go after those networks that are attacking our guys.”
Speaking after American criticism of the Iraqi government’s progress on performance benchmarks set by Congress, Jalal Talabani, the Iraqi president, insisted that there were “positive developments on the political level,” citing efforts within the government to create “a front of moderate forces committed to the political process and democracy.”
Mr. Talabani also claimed progress in intensive military operations carried out by American troops around Baghdad and central Iraq in recent months. “A successful campaign is on to eliminate terrorists, and so far large areas of Diyala and Anbar have been cleared,” he said late on Thursday.
A security official in the town of Muqdadiya in Diyala Province said seven men were killed Friday when gunmen attacked a house in the nearby village of Harbitila. The Iraqi Army also confirmed that a roadside bomb had killed a senior officer, Col. Abdul-Kareem Hameed, and three of his guards near Muqdadiya.
Farther south, in Wasit Province, the police found three unidentified bodies in the Tigris River. All were wearing civilian clothes, had been shot and showed signs of torture.
In eastern Baghdad, the Interior Ministry said five guards manning towers around the ministry had been killed in an insurgent attack with rocket-propelled grenades and machine guns. Nine guards were wounded. The compound is near the Finance Ministry headquarters, from which five Britons were abducted two months ago by kidnappers posing as government officials and police officers.
The body of Khalid W. Hassan, an Iraqi journalist working for The New York Times, was found in the Saydia district of southwest Baghdad on Friday.
Mr. Hassan was killed in the district while driving to work. A witness in a nearby line for fuel said a car had overtaken Mr. Hassan, and a gunman inside shot and wounded him. Gunfire from a second vehicle then killed him.
Two Iraqi employees of Reuters were killed the day before. Reporters Without Borders, a Paris-based group, says more than 191 journalists and news media assistants have been killed in Iraq since 2003.
Also in Saydia, police officials said they had found about half a dozen bodies, including those of an 11-year-old girl and two women. All had been blindfolded, bound and shot in the head. A car bomb also exploded in the area, killing two civilians.
The Iraqi police reported finding 21 unidentified bodies in Baghdad on Friday. Although the body count in such suspected sectarian killings has dropped since the start of the latest Baghdad security plan in February, in recent days the police have reported finding 20 to 30 bodies daily.
Mortar shells fired yesterday afternoon at Baghdad’s heavily fortified Green Zone, the seat of the Iraqi government and American Embassy, killed a senior Iraqi military officer, according to Iraqi Army officials.
Iraqi employees of The New York Times contributed reporting from Baghdad, Diyala and Kut
Who allowed to 800 cadres including LTTE leaders t...
Who allowed to 800 cadres including LTTE leaders to escape from Thoppigala?
(LeN-2007 July 13, 7.30 PM)
The United National Party says that it has information from Army internal sources that 800 cadres including LTTE leaders to escape by orders from the top and questions if it is a part of the deal between the government and the LTTE.
The head of the UNP media unit Lakshman Kiriella made this allegation at a special press briefing held in its office today.
He said that the Army spokesman Brigadier Prasad Samarasinghe had told earlier that around 1000 cadres including Tiger leaders Ramesh and Jeyam were stranded in Thoppigala and they would be captured or eliminate within two months. Media gave wide publicity to this. He asked how Thoppigal was captured in two three days in contrast to the earlier statement that it would be captured in two months.
As Indian intelligence had also said the military plans were changed suddenly to allow 800 LTTE cadres to flee to Mullaithivu via Welikanda, Serunuwara, Muthur and Manirasakulam safely with Multi barrel rocket launchers, Mr. Kiriella said .
Mr. Kiriella asked from Brigadier Prasad Samarasinghe and Major General Pannipitiya to explain to the public how the LTTE cadres fled to Mullaithivu whilst the Army had surrounded the Thoppigala area in three cordons.
The UNP MP said that the political hands avoided the victories of the heroic Army.
Mr. Kiriella said that the celebrations of the government after capturing the empty camps following allowing the LTTE to flee was a big joke. He said that this was another part of the President Mahinda Rajapakse's secret pact with the Tigers providing Rs. 1.5 billion.
He thoroughly denied the betrayal of the military plans of the heroic Army by the political leadership and allowing the Tiger cadres to escape.
He said that the truth was that the Army could not obtain the expected targets of the Thoppigala operation. Wickremesinghe briefs Islamic envoys
[TamilNet, Friday, 13 July 2007, 10:30 GMT] Mr. Ranil Wickremasinghe, leader of the main opposition United National Party (UNP), Friday briefed the envoys of Islamic countries including Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Maldives about the current political and human rights situations in the island. The briefing was held at the Cambridge Terrace residence of Mr.Wickremasinghe, political sources in Colombo said.
Mr.Wickremasinghe is reported to have brought to the notice of the envoys matters related to the abduction of
(LeN-2007 July 13, 7.30 PM)
The United National Party says that it has information from Army internal sources that 800 cadres including LTTE leaders to escape by orders from the top and questions if it is a part of the deal between the government and the LTTE.
The head of the UNP media unit Lakshman Kiriella made this allegation at a special press briefing held in its office today.
He said that the Army spokesman Brigadier Prasad Samarasinghe had told earlier that around 1000 cadres including Tiger leaders Ramesh and Jeyam were stranded in Thoppigala and they would be captured or eliminate within two months. Media gave wide publicity to this. He asked how Thoppigal was captured in two three days in contrast to the earlier statement that it would be captured in two months.
As Indian intelligence had also said the military plans were changed suddenly to allow 800 LTTE cadres to flee to Mullaithivu via Welikanda, Serunuwara, Muthur and Manirasakulam safely with Multi barrel rocket launchers, Mr. Kiriella said .
Mr. Kiriella asked from Brigadier Prasad Samarasinghe and Major General Pannipitiya to explain to the public how the LTTE cadres fled to Mullaithivu whilst the Army had surrounded the Thoppigala area in three cordons.
The UNP MP said that the political hands avoided the victories of the heroic Army.
Mr. Kiriella said that the celebrations of the government after capturing the empty camps following allowing the LTTE to flee was a big joke. He said that this was another part of the President Mahinda Rajapakse's secret pact with the Tigers providing Rs. 1.5 billion.
He thoroughly denied the betrayal of the military plans of the heroic Army by the political leadership and allowing the Tiger cadres to escape.
He said that the truth was that the Army could not obtain the expected targets of the Thoppigala operation. Wickremesinghe briefs Islamic envoys
[TamilNet, Friday, 13 July 2007, 10:30 GMT] Mr. Ranil Wickremasinghe, leader of the main opposition United National Party (UNP), Friday briefed the envoys of Islamic countries including Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Maldives about the current political and human rights situations in the island. The briefing was held at the Cambridge Terrace residence of Mr.Wickremasinghe, political sources in Colombo said.
Mr.Wickremasinghe is reported to have brought to the notice of the envoys matters related to the abduction of
* Peace was "not possible" with President Mahinda ...
* Peace was "not possible" with President Mahinda Rajapaksa
* Called on foreign powers to force the government to honour the terms of a 2002 ceasefire pact
S.P. Thamilselvan
Interview - Sri Lanka rebels vow to cripple economyBy Simon Gardner
KILINOCHCHI, Sri Lanka, July 12 (Reuters)
Sri Lanka's Tamil Tiger rebels aim to cripple the island's economy with major attacks on military and economic targets, a top rebel leader told Reuters on Thursday.
Tiger political wing leader S.P. Thamilselvan said peace was "not possible" with President Mahinda Rajapaksa, pouring cold water on international efforts aimed at halting a deadly new chapter in a two-decade civil war.
"Our targets would be in the future major military and economic structures of the government of Sri Lanka," he said in an interview in the rebels' northern stronghold of Kilinochchi.
"They will be targets which help the government sustain its military operations and military rule," he added.
"For instance (our) attack on the oil installations. That is one of the targets that will cripple the economy of Sri Lanka as well as the military capability of Sri Lanka, so such will be the tactic."
Thamilselvan's comments came a day after the government declared it had driven the rebels from their last jungle stronghold in the east after months of fighting in which the military has had the upper hand.
The capture of a jungle area called Thoppigala in the eastern district of Batticaloa came after the military captured vast swathes of terrain from the Tigers in the east this year.
"We can only say that Thoppigala and the jungles the government is now gloating about as if they had captured a new country or a state or something like that, is not going to last very long," Thamilselvan said.
Analysts say the Tigers' military machine is still intact in the north where they run a de facto state, and fear a conflict that has killed an estimated 4,500 people since last year could run for years.
The Tigers are fighting for an independent state in the north and east.
NO PEACE TALKS
Thamilselvan said the Tigers had no faith in a cross-party bid to forge a consensus devolution proposal for minority Tamils, and said they could not talk peace with the current president, who has repeatedly said he is open to talks at any time while forging ahead with military offensives.
"After closing all the avenues for the other party to participate in meaningful negotiations, the government inviting (us) to attend talks is meaningless," Thamilselvan added.
"Peace is not possible with this president, because during this president's term we find a euphoria, celebration, jubilation over the so-called victory in the east. Under such a person peace is not always possible."
Thamilselvan called on foreign powers to force the government to honour the terms of a 2002 ceasefire pact which has broken down on the ground.
Rajapaksa's government has vowed to continue with its drive to destroy all Tiger military assets, and analysts say the focus of fighting is now shifting to the far north, which is largely controlled by Tiger rebels.
Rebels say they will use all of their arsenal -- which includes suicide bombers and light aircraft that they smuggled into the country in pieces and reassembled -- to battle on.
"Let the Tamil people live in their traditional homeland," Thamilselvan said. "Leave the Tamil people without any military occupation or persecution. That will be the day there is no war."
Cut off the Tigers
Washington Times- Editorial 13 July 2007
A group of congressmen is urging the Bush administration to increase its involvement in Sri Lanka. A recent letter from Reps. David Price and Rush Holt and 48 other congressional Democrats and Republicans to President Bush calls on the administration to step up diplomatic engagement in order to help the small island nation reach a long-term peace with the terrorist rebel group the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam. Noting "a pressing need for a more concerted effort by the international community to bring both sides back to the negotiating table," the congressmen conclude that the United States "has the opportunity to serve as a leader of such a renewed international effort."
The protracted conflict dates back more than three decades and has cost more than 60,000 lives. A 2002 ceasefire brokered by Norway fell apart last year, although it became clear that the Tamil Tigers had used the break from fighting to re-arm. Fighting has escalated, as the Sri Lankan military claims to have at last beaten the rebels out of the east, which, along with the north, has been a Tamil Tiger stronghold.
Neither side, unfortunately, can boast a morally impeccable record. The congressional letter also calls on the Sri Lankan government to end the use of extrajudicial killings and disappearances in the government controlled areas. To its credit, Sri Lanka has made efforts to address this issue by creating a special commission, which, in sharp contrast to the Tamil Tiger organization, operates under the scrutiny of international observation. "When credible evidence is available," wrote Sri Lankan Ambassador Bernard Goonetilleke in a letter to Mr. Holt, "the government has taken steps to serve indictments on army and police personnel." Ten indictments were handed down against security and police forces in 2006 and 10 in 2007, according to the ambassador.
What human-rights violations the government may have to answer for, however, pale in comparison to the barbarity of the Tamil Tigers, who pioneered the use of the suicide bomb and have a track record of kidnapping children and turning them into soldiers. Human-rights issues will continue to be a concern until a genuine and lasting peace can be forged, and the United States can play a significant role in facilitating this by targeting and breaking up Tamil Tiger fund-raising networks in the United States, and working with Canada and the European Union to disrupt the Tigers' financial networks there as well. These networks, which according to Human Rights Watch rely on "intimidation, extortion, and physical violence," are critical to the Tigers' ability to perpetuate their terrorist campaign, and disrupting the flow of money to the terrorist group is an important step toward forcing its leadership back to the negotiating table.
Sri Lankan national held
The Hindu-Staff Reporter
RAMANATHAPURAM: In a late night operation on Tuesday, the ‘Q’ Branch police arrested Ungu alias Jeyaratnam, a Sri Lankan national, from Seeniappa Dharga near here.
A clandestine ferry service operator and smuggler who has been absconding for several years, he has been charged under the Passport Act. Ungu alias Jeyaratnam (39), son of Vediramu of Pesalai in Mannar district, was seen near the shore in a suspicious manner when a team of Q Branch personnel were patrolling there. He started running when they approached him but was overpowered. P. Mahendran, Deputy Superintendent of Police, Q Branch, told The Hindu that Jeyaratnam was an agent for transporting refugees.
He owned two fibreglass boats and had ferried more than 15,000 refugees from Sri Lanka to India since 1997, according to a rough estimate.
* Called on foreign powers to force the government to honour the terms of a 2002 ceasefire pact
S.P. Thamilselvan
Interview - Sri Lanka rebels vow to cripple economyBy Simon Gardner
KILINOCHCHI, Sri Lanka, July 12 (Reuters)
Sri Lanka's Tamil Tiger rebels aim to cripple the island's economy with major attacks on military and economic targets, a top rebel leader told Reuters on Thursday.
Tiger political wing leader S.P. Thamilselvan said peace was "not possible" with President Mahinda Rajapaksa, pouring cold water on international efforts aimed at halting a deadly new chapter in a two-decade civil war.
"Our targets would be in the future major military and economic structures of the government of Sri Lanka," he said in an interview in the rebels' northern stronghold of Kilinochchi.
"They will be targets which help the government sustain its military operations and military rule," he added.
"For instance (our) attack on the oil installations. That is one of the targets that will cripple the economy of Sri Lanka as well as the military capability of Sri Lanka, so such will be the tactic."
Thamilselvan's comments came a day after the government declared it had driven the rebels from their last jungle stronghold in the east after months of fighting in which the military has had the upper hand.
The capture of a jungle area called Thoppigala in the eastern district of Batticaloa came after the military captured vast swathes of terrain from the Tigers in the east this year.
"We can only say that Thoppigala and the jungles the government is now gloating about as if they had captured a new country or a state or something like that, is not going to last very long," Thamilselvan said.
Analysts say the Tigers' military machine is still intact in the north where they run a de facto state, and fear a conflict that has killed an estimated 4,500 people since last year could run for years.
The Tigers are fighting for an independent state in the north and east.
NO PEACE TALKS
Thamilselvan said the Tigers had no faith in a cross-party bid to forge a consensus devolution proposal for minority Tamils, and said they could not talk peace with the current president, who has repeatedly said he is open to talks at any time while forging ahead with military offensives.
"After closing all the avenues for the other party to participate in meaningful negotiations, the government inviting (us) to attend talks is meaningless," Thamilselvan added.
"Peace is not possible with this president, because during this president's term we find a euphoria, celebration, jubilation over the so-called victory in the east. Under such a person peace is not always possible."
Thamilselvan called on foreign powers to force the government to honour the terms of a 2002 ceasefire pact which has broken down on the ground.
Rajapaksa's government has vowed to continue with its drive to destroy all Tiger military assets, and analysts say the focus of fighting is now shifting to the far north, which is largely controlled by Tiger rebels.
Rebels say they will use all of their arsenal -- which includes suicide bombers and light aircraft that they smuggled into the country in pieces and reassembled -- to battle on.
"Let the Tamil people live in their traditional homeland," Thamilselvan said. "Leave the Tamil people without any military occupation or persecution. That will be the day there is no war."
Cut off the Tigers
Washington Times- Editorial 13 July 2007
A group of congressmen is urging the Bush administration to increase its involvement in Sri Lanka. A recent letter from Reps. David Price and Rush Holt and 48 other congressional Democrats and Republicans to President Bush calls on the administration to step up diplomatic engagement in order to help the small island nation reach a long-term peace with the terrorist rebel group the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam. Noting "a pressing need for a more concerted effort by the international community to bring both sides back to the negotiating table," the congressmen conclude that the United States "has the opportunity to serve as a leader of such a renewed international effort."
The protracted conflict dates back more than three decades and has cost more than 60,000 lives. A 2002 ceasefire brokered by Norway fell apart last year, although it became clear that the Tamil Tigers had used the break from fighting to re-arm. Fighting has escalated, as the Sri Lankan military claims to have at last beaten the rebels out of the east, which, along with the north, has been a Tamil Tiger stronghold.
Neither side, unfortunately, can boast a morally impeccable record. The congressional letter also calls on the Sri Lankan government to end the use of extrajudicial killings and disappearances in the government controlled areas. To its credit, Sri Lanka has made efforts to address this issue by creating a special commission, which, in sharp contrast to the Tamil Tiger organization, operates under the scrutiny of international observation. "When credible evidence is available," wrote Sri Lankan Ambassador Bernard Goonetilleke in a letter to Mr. Holt, "the government has taken steps to serve indictments on army and police personnel." Ten indictments were handed down against security and police forces in 2006 and 10 in 2007, according to the ambassador.
What human-rights violations the government may have to answer for, however, pale in comparison to the barbarity of the Tamil Tigers, who pioneered the use of the suicide bomb and have a track record of kidnapping children and turning them into soldiers. Human-rights issues will continue to be a concern until a genuine and lasting peace can be forged, and the United States can play a significant role in facilitating this by targeting and breaking up Tamil Tiger fund-raising networks in the United States, and working with Canada and the European Union to disrupt the Tigers' financial networks there as well. These networks, which according to Human Rights Watch rely on "intimidation, extortion, and physical violence," are critical to the Tigers' ability to perpetuate their terrorist campaign, and disrupting the flow of money to the terrorist group is an important step toward forcing its leadership back to the negotiating table.
Sri Lankan national held
The Hindu-Staff Reporter
RAMANATHAPURAM: In a late night operation on Tuesday, the ‘Q’ Branch police arrested Ungu alias Jeyaratnam, a Sri Lankan national, from Seeniappa Dharga near here.
A clandestine ferry service operator and smuggler who has been absconding for several years, he has been charged under the Passport Act. Ungu alias Jeyaratnam (39), son of Vediramu of Pesalai in Mannar district, was seen near the shore in a suspicious manner when a team of Q Branch personnel were patrolling there. He started running when they approached him but was overpowered. P. Mahendran, Deputy Superintendent of Police, Q Branch, told The Hindu that Jeyaratnam was an agent for transporting refugees.
He owned two fibreglass boats and had ferried more than 15,000 refugees from Sri Lanka to India since 1997, according to a rough estimate.
Thursday, July 12, 2007
Tigers admit losing key stronghold in Sri LankaT...
Tigers admit losing key stronghold in Sri Lanka
Thu Jul 12, 2:39 AM ETTiger rebels have admitted losing a key stronghold in eastern Sri Lanka to government forces and said they would revert to guerrilla tactics in the troubled region.
The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) fighters melted away from Thoppigala, a mountainous jungle area they dominated for over 13 years, rebel spokesman Rasiah Ilanthiriyan told the BBC.
Tamil forces who remained in the east had gone into "guerrilla" mode, he said, adding that "winning the war was not about taking control of real estate."
Sri Lanka's government claimed Wednesday it had captured the "nerve centre" and last remaining Tamil Tiger stronghold in the eastern district of Batticaloa following months of intense combat.
The island's president, Mahinda Rajapakse, paid tribute to troops for the advance, which coincided with a fresh effort by peace broker Norway to pull Colombo and the ethnic Tamil rebels out of a worsening spiral of violence.
"I join the people in offering tribute and all good wishes to the members of the armed forces, police and the Special Task Force who... captured the last stronghold of the terrorists located at Thoppigala," the president said.
Senior military commanders maintained that they would focus on the rebels' mini-state in the north of the country after neutralising the Tigers in the east of the country.
Norwegian ambassador Hans Brattskar, who is to leave Sri Lanka shortly, returned from the northern Tiger bastion of Kilinochchi Wednesday after failing to clinch a deal on restarting peace talks, diplomats said.
The LTTE had previously said they will not resume discussions unless government forces halt their military campaign. Fighting across Sri Lanka has worsened since the breakdown of a 2002 truce around 19 months ago.
Sri Lanka's 35-year-old conflict has claimed more than 60,000 lives, and over 5,000 people have been killed in fighting in the past 19 months, according to government figures.
THOPPIGALA CAPTURED
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Sri Lanka: Thoppigala and after
Thu, 2007-07-12 02:37 By Col R Hariharan (Retd.)
The Sri Lanka Ministry of Defence in a terse announcement said that the security forces had captured Baron's Cap (Thoppigala), the last stronghold of the LIberataion Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in the east. This success was awaited for the last three months.
The fall of Kokkadicholai, approximately 14 km south of Batticaloa, on March 28, 2007 had kindled high public expectations of Thoppigala's capture any time soon. This was only to be expected as the security forces had almost ended the LTTE domination of highways A5 on the west and A27 on the southwest that provided depth to the Thoppigala base. But it had taken three months for nearly two brigade strong troops to gain control of Thoppigala, manned by 300 to 400 LTTE cadres. And that is one fourth of the total time taken for the mission of 'wresting control of east from the LTTE.' This was no surprise as the nature of terrain and the extensive booby trapping and mining had made progress of security forces slow.
Writing on the subject of consolidation in the east, on April 4, 2007 Sri Lanka: Looking beyond consolidation. I had cautioned about the ground the realities not matching the public expectations. I had said: “However, LTTE's resilience and innovation in insurgency warfare should not be under estimated. Thoppigala is unlikely to fall like a plum, ripe for plucking. The 300 plus LTTE cadres at Thoppigala cut off from resources and external support could fight it out of desperation. With their exit routes blocked they will be literally fighting with their back to the wall. Thus Security Forces deployed in operations in Thoppigala could be tied down for a longer time than anticipated. Even after Thoppigala is captured attacks by mobile LTTE bands can be expected to continue in this sector."
Fortunately for them, the security forces were not been taken in by public expectations in planning the operations. They appear to have conducted the operations focusing on three aspects:
Minimising own casualty, attrition of LTTE defenders and concentration of superior fire power and force. Though there must have been every political temptation to speed up the operation, the Army Commander Lt Gen Sarath Fonseka appears to have maintained to his style of progressive consolidation of successes.
With this he has enabled the forces to minimise casualties, which is a great morale booster for future operations. The coordinated use of air force fighters and multi-barrel rockets appear to have been well thought of as they demoralise defenders even if they don't inflict huge casualties. This is likely to be a regular feature of operations in the future.
The LTTE on its part, despite the military setbacks in the east over the last one year and its ongoing feud with Karuna for even a longer period, appear to have been well prepared for the inevitable. This involved pulling out cadres from other areas as and when they became indefensible to fall back upon main defences.
Despite the loss of most of the artillery assets in earlier operations, it is significant that the LTTE had retained essential artillery fire power till the last days, abandoning cumbersome assets. Young LTTE deserters had reported LTTE's loss of morale in the face of casualties, food shortage etc. However, this does not appear to have affected the ability of the hardcore of fighters left behind to create and use integrated minefield defences to break the momentum of attacking troops to face the conventional troops intelligently.
LTTE appears to have pulled out essential cadres from its defences in a planned manner. If intelligence reports quoted in the media are correct, a group of 200 cadres led by Ramesh had sneaked out of Batticaloa area in the second week of June and travelled north across Welikanda, Serunuwara, Mutur and Manirasankulam in Kinniya using jungle tracks. This was probably the route adopted for thinning out. However, there are likely to be small groups left behind to carry out low level operations in the east.
Unfortunately, the capture of Thoppigala is not going to be the end game of LTTE in the east. Guerrilla operations are likely to be stepped up till they become expensive for LTTE to carry on the fight in the east. The LTTE's guerrilla operations likely to continue would include hit and run raids on government assets, Claymore attacks to disrupt free movement of troops particularly on road axes, and settling scores with Tamils including Karuna and company, who oppose LTTE. Any new development projects that could come up in Tamil areas could also be targeted. Thus in the coming months, the Tamil areas of east can expect a period of low level operations to continue. Encounters with escaping LTTE cadres like the one recently faced by the naval marines in Kuchaveli area, north of Trincomalee, are also likely.
However, LTTE actions in the east will be muted and restrained by the loss of control over resources and territory, if not the shortage of manpower. Thus to compensate such limitations in the east, LTTE could attempt some spectacular actions against more visible targets in Colombo. At the same time, the completion of security forces operations in the east, or at least restricting it to minimum levels, would probably release at least two brigades of troops for operations in the north. This can come in handy as and when operations in the north are joined in.
Operations in the north
In the north, the LTTE would be literally fighting with their back to the wall to defend the heartland of LTTE territory. If the defence of Thoppigagal is any indication of LTTE's fighting capabilities, the war in the north could drag on for at least two years, as assessed by both the Army Commander Lt Gen Sarath Fonseka and the Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa. LTTE has probably stashed away adequate reserves of arms and ammunition over the years to fight out the mother of all operations as and when it comes. But their limitations will be exposed as the operation drags on. Thus time is going to be an essential but invisible resource for both sides.
Considering this the security forces planning operations in the north will have to rework the strategies. And they appear to be doing so. These would include preponderance of fire power, destruction of reserves and dumps, naval blockade to prevent seaborne supply routes of LTTE and intelligent use of Special Forces behind the lines.
The number of small encounters along the forward defended localities in Muhamalai, areas west and east of Vavuniya, and along the Omanthai-Mannar axis show the two sides jockeying for domination. For the time being, security forces that were bent upon pushing LTTE back along the Omanthai-Mannar axis appear to be recasting their plans in face of the strong resistance.
Use of Special Forces for operations to destabilise the LTTE behind the forward lines appear to have been resorted to with some effect. Similarly, LTTE appear to be using small armed groups infiltrated to cut down and curtail free movement of troops and carry out selective killings behind the forward lines in Jaffna.
Both sides are also using heavy mortars and artillery bombardments to keep the heads down in the defences. These are usually preliminary preparations for war that could seamlessly be joined in. So the 'cleansing of the east' as the security forces call it increases the chances of eruption of war in the north.
In this context, the seizure of two trucks last month lined with over one ton of explosives wired and ready behind their panels showed the high level of sophistication LTTE has achieved in carrying out terror attacks. The police seizure of the car of a Kilinochi government official in Colombo transporting explosives hidden in the petrol tank also shows LTTE's ingenuity and detailed planning in furthering its terror operations. Fortunately, these operations were neutralised with the seizure of the vehicles. But they have shown the LTTE's potential to conduct such operations remains undiminished. They are likely to carry out such attacks as and when the battlefield stresses get too much. This is going to put further pressure on the police to tighten security measures, particularly in carrying out search operations in cheap lodges and hotels in Colombo much to the discomfort of travelling public.
According to defence columnist Iqbal Athas, the two explosives laden truck operations were controlled and directed from Canada and the UK respectively as revealed in interrogations. This would indicate the LTTE's capability to control terrorist operations from the sanitized settings in Canada and the UK. This could be the red rag for the civil society in these countries to further tighten the screws on Tamil militants based in their soil.
The Sri Lanka Navy's success against a fleet of Sea Tiger boats in an encounter off Point Pedro in the north-eastern tip of Jaffna peninsula on June 19, 2007 has confirmed that the Sea Tigers continue to have major problems in reasserting themselves in the seas off the coastline from Point Pedro to Alampil in the south.
This will have a major bearing when large scale land operations in Mullaitivu and Thenmarachi come through. The large high-powered LTTE boat seized in the action was well armed and equipped with radar to take on air craft as well as naval targets. It underlined the naval capacity built by the Sea Tigers over the years in improving the weaponry, equipment and performance of boats.
The action off Point Pedro indicated Navy's ability to launch a well coordinated operation involving more than one command. At the same time, it is useful to remember that the Navy's success came barely a month after LTTE's successful sneak raid on naval posts in Delft Island in May. That would indicate that things are not so water tight on the Mannar coast. And that can make a big difference, unless India fully cooperates to keep its coast sanitized. In all probability, despite the exchange of political rhetoric, India has already taken action to do so.
So the blue print for a full scale war appears to be nearing completion. President Mahinda Rajapaksa also appears to have given the green signal for it when he said, "To bring about permanent peace to this country the government is dedicated to chase out the terrorists from the Northern Province soon, like they were chased out from the Eastern Province," while speaking at a function at Thambalagamam two days back. But a mixture of conventional and insurgency warfare is an explosive one and things do not go according to the blue print. So chasing out the terrorists from north could become a messy process as past history has shown, because the LTTE has nowhere to go.
The situation makes utter mockery of the Co-chairs' reported effort to resurrect the peace process after their closed door meeting at Oslo on June 25, 2007. The absence of any statement at the end of the meeting would indicate that it was not only peace process that was discussed. The hardening stand against local LTTE operators in the UK and Australia during the last couple of weeks would indicate they might have discussed tightening the thumbscrews on LTTE's local network in their countries. Or have they given a lead time to the government to come down heavily upon LTTE to 'soften up' its journey to the peace process? Only time will tell.
The tragic reality is that chances of peace are sinking in the horizon as weapons are cocked and bombs are primed. One cannot help feeling sorry for the ordinary people of Sri Lanka, particularly in the north and east and in Colombo, who are bearing the burden of war they are financing, at the cost of their lives.
More than devolution of powers, human rights violations, abductions, colonization and all other issues the most urgent issue now is the right of the citizen to live in peace –that is bringing back peace. And surprisingly the cause of peace appears to have very few takers because it has been going on for too long.
For the decision makers of war, it's a distant thing fought by soldiers. And success in war is a heady thing that tends to blur the larger picture. This is what has happened in Sri Lanka
Col. R Hariharan, an intelligence specialist on South Asia, is a retired Military Intelligence officer. He served as the head of intelligence of the Indian Peace Keeping Force in Sri Lanka 1987-90.
- Asian Tribune -
FEATURE - Sri Lanka rebels bury 'martyrs', vow to fight on
Wed Jul 11, 2007 10:47 PM
KANAGAPURAM, Sri Lanka (Reuters) - Tugging at a cyanide capsule hanging around his neck, Tamil Tiger fighter and doctor Vaman watches yet another slain comrade buried to the wails of relatives and the chorus of a rebel anthem.He says the deaths only make him stronger.
Standing in characteristic Tiger-striped fatigues which conceal a prosthetic leg -- his own was blown off by a landmine during fighting in the early 1990s -- Vaman says he is ready to die to further the rebel cause for an independent state.
His friend and colleague Lieutenant Colonel Tamil Vanan was one of three Tiger fighters killed a day earlier by a roadside bomb ambush inside rebel territory. The insurgents blame army troops using their own guerrilla tactics against them.
The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam say the three were part of a medical team conducting an anti-rabies clinic.
"These attacks by the Sri Lankan forces will not stop our duties," said Vaman, who is director of the rebels' Tamil Eelam Health Service. Tamil Eelam is the name the Tigers give to the homeland they seek to carve out in Sri Lanka's north and east.
Suspected Tigers have launched a spree of ambushes and bombings in recent months which have killed hundreds of people, most of them troops, after a 2002 ceasefire collapsed. Political analysts say Sri Lanka can expect more dead.
Nearly 70,000 people have been killed since the war erupted in 1983, around 4,500 of those since last year alone, and the blood is still flowing.
"We are fighting for our country's young. We have been under oppression for the last five decades, so I will fight until my last breath," said 39-year-old Vaman, who says he joined the Tigers at 18 after watching troops beat minority ethnic Tamils in his native northern Jaffna peninsula.
The rebels wear cyanide capsules so they can bite into them and commit suicide to avoid capture.
SEA OF GRAVES
Wailing relatives collapse in front of open caskets at this 'martyrs' graveyard' near the rebels' northern stronghold of Kilinochchi.
"We put sand on our friend's grave, the blood they lost will get Tamil Eelam," goes the song played over loudspeakers.
Tiger fighters clutching Chinese-made assault rifles stand to attention. Others bow their heads in silence, behind them a sea of simple tombstones laid in neat rows where thousands of fellow 'martyrs' are buried.
President Mahinda Rajapaksa's government has captured a vast chunk of territory the rebels controlled in the east, and have vowed to push on and capture the rebel-held north too.
But the Tigers are much stronger in the north and there is no clear winner on the horizon yet.
The international community is increasingly agitated with both sides for a rash of human rights abuses and killings -- and for ignoring calls to halt fighting that has forced hundreds of thousands of civilians from their homes.
Selvy Navaruban of the Tigers' humanitarian affairs wing joined the rebels in 1997 after watching hundreds of fellow Tamils displaced and killed by the conflict.
"I thought better to fight and die for our homeland than sit at home and die for nothing," she said, her hair in the traditional plaits worn by many female Tigers. "When one of our colleagues dies, they give us the strength to fight on."
Rajapaksa hails fall of Tiger base Colombo, July 11 (PTI): Sri Lanka's President, Mahinda Rajapaksa, today welcomed the fall of what he described the "last stronghold" of Tamil Tiger rebels in the island's east.
Rajapaksa also paid tribute to his securitry forces for the capture of the Thoppigala base of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).
"I join the people in offering tribute and all good wishes to the members of the armed forces, police and the Special Task Force who... captured the last stronghold of the terrorists located at Thoppigala," he said in a statement.
The security forces today wrested control over Thoppigala base in the island's east after months of intense fighting, the defence ministry said earlier.
There was no immediate word from the Tigers who had maintained a stronghold in Thoppigala for 13 years. The hinduIn few days whole of East under govt control – DG MCNS Lakshman Hulugalle Wednesday, 11 July 2007 “Following the capture of the whole of Thoppigala, Government will issue a clear statement to mark the entire Eastern Province being taken under the State control,” the Director General of the Media Center for National Security Lakshman Hulugalle said.
“Security troops have entered the area Baron's Cap (Thoppigala); however it is not the only camp in whole of Thoppigala. There are few remaining areas left to be cleared which will lead to the full control of the Eastern Province,” Mr. Hulugalle added.
Mr. Hulugalle stated the above addressing a media briefing held at the Government Information Department premises today (11).
He added that the Security forces will be able to capture those few areas in few days.
Mr. Hulugalle added that Government has already stretched a vast development programme ‘Nagenahira Navodaya’ in par with the President’s ‘Jathika Saviya’ programme following the successful liberation of the LTTE controlled areas in the Eastern province.
Small member of LTTE cadres have withdrawn to the jungles in West of Thoppigala and troops are continuing to clear those area as well. Thoppigala is considered as the nerve centre of the LTTE in the East and it had been the last stronghold of the LTTE in the Eastern sector of the island. November elections in East is not possible– Lanka elections monitoring groupWed, 2007-07-11 16:57 By Joseph Thavaraja
Colombo, 11 July, (Asiantribune.com): Despite the military capturing LTTE headquarters and other rebel strongholds in the East, proposed elections in coming November in this region "is not plausible", a leading elections monitoring body in Sri Lanka said today.
Mr. Kingsley Rodrigo, Chairman of the independent elections monitoring group People's Action for Free and Fair Elections' (PAFFREL) speaking to the media said "There are 42 local government bodies including town councils in the region. But it is not possible to hold any elections in November."
Since 1988, no elections have been held in the East. There are practically no elected peoples' representatives.
Jeyaraj Fernandopulle, the minister of Highways said in early July that the government "was hoping to announce the date for elections within three weeks."
President Mahinda Rajapakse also informed the government parliamentary group recently that Eastern Province has almost been cleared and it will only be a matter of time before the entire province was freed from the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).
"There are four factors that prohibits the elections over there. Lack of a proper electoral register, lack of freedom to campaign due to threats, influx of IDPs and the presence of army camps" he said.
"The elections commissioner has to make a decision to go ahead..But even he has to receive official consent form the defence officials in the region. Therefore I am very doubtful" Mr. Rodrigo added.
- Asian Tribune
Tigers’ last Eastern bastion falls
றனில் and Rafik Jalaldeen
THOPPIGALA: Security Forces advancing to liberate the Thoppigala area from LTTE control dealt a mortal blow to the last line of Tiger resistance when it captured the outfit’s main headquarters base last morning releasing the grip on its Eastern stronghold.
The Security Forces are in a buoyant mood after capturing the nerve centre of the LTTE in Thoppigala which is its last stronghold in the East, Military Spokesman Brigadier Prasad Samarasinghe said. “Troops captured the last remaining main LTTE base in Thoppigala,” he added.
Advancing commandos were supported by armoured battalions and engineering units backed by aerial cover from the Air Force.
The Security Forces are in full control over Narakamulla and Tharavikulama areas where the LTTE leadership had its Eastern headquarters and other installations.
“Troops have reached the main headquarters of the LTTE in Thoppigala and assumed full control,” Brigadier Samarasinghe told the Daily News.
“Dealing a major blow to the Tiger hierarchy in the East, those military operations bring all of eastern Sri Lanka under Government control for the first time after 13 years,” the Army said in a statement. “The victorious soldiers are presently clearing enemy ‘pockets’ scattered in the dense jungle and are pursuing the LTTE cadres who are on the run,” the defence ministry said.
“A small number of Tiger cadres facing imminent defeat at the hands of the soldiers are in hiding in the West of Thoppigala jungle while troops are continuing their humanitarian mission,” he added.
The Brigadier said soldiers were also conducting clearing operations in the captured areas of land mines and booby traps.
The Security Forces clearing the area recovered arms and vehicles left behind and burnt by the fleeing Tigers.
They included two 120 mm mortar guns, a bowser, two double cabs, five tractors with dry rations, five motorcycles and five Canter vans.
The Tigers had used the area as their main command and control headquarters in the Eastern province.
Capturing the East was not just a battle to gain control over land but a battle to restore humanity in the land which was engulfed by terrorism of the LTTE.
The heroic soldiers completed their mission in the Eastern theatre yesterday far ahead of the schedule by capturing the nerve centre of the Thoppigala jungle or the Baron’s Cap after taking the control of Narakamulla and Taravikulam Tiger camp complexes.
It ended the troops’ long journey braving all forms of terrorism and criticism to achieve their noble humanitarian mission commenced on July 26 last year from Mavil Aru to restore water supply for 30,000 people in the South of Trincomalee. They engaged in battles sans attractive titles and foiled each and every threat posed by the LTTE in their bid to clear the East from LTTE threats after liberating Mavil Aru sluice gates fully on October 31.
They bravely faced the LTTE terror attack on Kattaparichchan, Muttur, Toppur, Selvanagar and Mahindapura in the wee hours of August 2 last year and foiled their plans to crippling supplies to Jaffna peninsula by flushing out terror outfit from Sampur, Ilakanthair in subsequent operations carried out from August 27 to September 31 last year.
Then they moved to clear the threats in the areas surrounding the Trincomalee harbour in Gangai and Manirasakulam from October 1 to 6 and then moved to liberate 30,000 civilian population kept as a human shield by the LTTE in Vakarai and Kathirveli from October 30 January 21.
The operation carried out in West and South of Batticaloa from February 24 to April 12 was meant to liberate nearly 65,000 people living there.
Then the troops entered the final phase of the Eastern battles in May this year to flush out LTTE terrorism from the jungle hideouts in Thoppigala.
Army bags Thoppigala‘Battlefield gains won’t affect evolving political solution’The focus of the military is likely to shift from the East to the Wanni after the capture of Thoppigala while the government concentrates on reconstruction and resettlement in the newly captured areas.The Island lk*** photoThe Army media unit released this photograph of a soldier moving towards Thoppigala or Baron’s Cap seen in the distance just before the strategic LTTE fortress was captured yesterday. Inset: Troops hoisting the Lion flag and the regimental flag on top of Thoppigala after its capture
Thoppigala Captured
Tigers concede losing stronghold
By Sunil JayasiriSecurity forces who fought a hard battle for several weeks, captured yesterday the last remaining Tiger bastion in the East - Thoppigala - Military Spokesman Prasad Samarasinghe said.
Soon after marching into the Tiger fortress, long considered impregnable, jubilant troops celebrated the event by hoisting the national flag, he said.
“Sri Lanka Army’s troops led by commandos reached Thoppigala or Baron’s Cap, the nerve centre of the LTTE in the East and took full control of Thoppigala yesterday morning,” he said.
However, he said a few LTTE cadres had withdrawn to the jungles west of Thoppigala and troops were conducting mopping up operations there now, Brigadier Samarasinghe said.
“Troops have overrun Narakamula and Tharavikulama where the LTTE leadership had its eastern headquarters and other fortifications,” he said.
The fall of Thoppigala marks the coming of the entire Eastern Province under the full writ of the Government, for the first time in 14 years.
Brigadier Samarasinghe said troops launched mopping operations in areas captured in and around south-west of Narakamulla while consolidating their positions.
Troops recovered two 120 mm heavy mortar guns left behind by the fleeing Tigers, but they had dismantled and damaged both of them before they fled, he said.
A large quantity of LTTE vehicles including two double cabs, five tractors fully loaded with dry rations, one bulldozer, five motorcycles, one anter lorry besides other equipment, which had been torched, were recovered by troops, he said.
Meanwhile, LTTE spokesman Rasiah Illanthirayan conceding that the Government forces had captured the Thoppigala base, warned that Government troops would not be allowed to hold it.
“We have made tactical withdrawals and it is not surprising that the troops have entered the area vacated by us. But whether they will be able to hold on to territory is another question,” Ilanthirayan told a news agency by telephone from Kilinochchi.
However he did not elaborate.
After capturing Mutur, Sampur and Vakarai area in February, troops commenced their final onslaught on the Tigers’ last stronghold.
The first phase was launched on February 24 by the troops backed by Air Force fighter jets which saw the capture of Kulukunawa, Shanthimale, Vavunativu, Kokkadicholai, Pillumale, Unnachchi and Eithyamale ensuring full security for the whole of the Mahaoya-Ampara A -27 road.
Under phase 11, launched on April 25, the military gained full control of the A-5 road between Mahaoya and Chenkalady and the other remaining Tiger bases including the popularly identified Beirut jungle base and the Tora Bora complex. These bases were mostly used by the Tigers for their training and logistical purposes.
The military claimed that at least 211 LTTE cadres were killed and many others injured during phase 11 of the military operations, in which 18 soldiers were killed and 68 injured.
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
Tiger base in east Sri Lanka falls
Army: Tiger base in east Sri Lanka falls
By KRISHAN FRANCIS, Associated Press Writer
1 hour, 50 minutes ago COLOMBO, Sri Lanka
Government forces captured the last Tamil rebel base in Sri Lanka's volatile east on Wednesday, the army chief said, dealing a major blow to the two-decade fight for an independent homeland. The fall of Thoppigala gives the government control over the entire eastern province for the first time in nearly 14 years. The Tamil Tiger rebels still control parts of northern Sri Lanka, where they maintain a de facto state.
The rebels have fought since 1983 to create an independent homeland for Sri Lanka's ethnic minority Tamils, who suffered decades of discrimination by majority Sinhalese-controlled governments. More than 70,000 people have been killed in the fighting.
The war has escalated over the past 20 months, with assassinations, airstrikes and steady fighting killing more than 5,000 people, despite a 2002 Norwegian-brokered cease-fire.
Troops seized Thoppigala on Wednesday and were chasing fleeing insurgents, army commander Lt. Gen. Sarath Fonseka told The Associated Press.
The military hailed the capture of Thoppigala as a major victory, and senior military officials on the ground said Monday they hoped to capture or kill the remaining rebels by the end of July, bringing all of eastern Sri Lanka under government control for the first time since 1994.
Rasiah Ilanthirayan, the rebels' military spokesman, said resistance in the east would not cease.
"We have changed our tactics and it is not surprising if they have entered the region. But whether they will be able to stay there peacefully is another question," Ilanthirayan said by telephone from the northern rebel stronghold of Kilinochchi.
He did not elaborate on the changed tactics.
Government and rebel forces have battled intensely for control of the Thoppigala base, hidden in a region of caves and crannies that made it ideal for guerrillas.
The rebels have been routed from their other eastern bases during heavy fighting over the last year.
Former Air Marshall Harry Goonetilleke called the seizure of Thoppigala an important success for the military, but said holding the region could be costly.
"You can win a battle with 2,000 troops but to hold it you need 10,000 minimum," he said.
The government is planning to recruit about 50,000 more troops, costing about $62 million per year in salaries alone, Goonetilleke said.
Goonetilleke said the government should now negotiate with the rebels rather than begin an all-out operation to capture northern guerrilla strongholds because a strike that would likely cause heavy civilian casualties and exacerbate a refugee crisis.
News of the military's latest victory came hours before peace-broker Norway's Ambassador Hans Brattskar was to meet top rebels in Kilinochchi to discuss the island's withered cease-fire.
Brattskar flew by government plane to Vavuniya, the last government-held town in the north before rebel territory, and would travel overland to the Tigers' headquarters, said Rajiva Wijesinha, a government official.
"I hope he will persuade their political leadership to return to the negotiating table," Wijesinha said.
In January, troops routed the rebels from their eastern coastal strongholds of Vaharai and Kathiraveli villages in the eastern Batticaloa district and in February launched operations to clear small rebel camps around Thoppigala.
Sri Lanka military gains control of last Tiger stronghold in EastWednesday, July 11, 2007, 9:06 GMT, ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka.
July 11, Colombo: Sri Lanka Army troops and commandos reached Thoppigala, the nerve center of the LTTE Tigers in the morning hours of today and assumed full control, the military said.
Military Spokesman Brigadier Prasad Samarasinghe said that few clearing operations are taking place. “The Army is in full control of the area and have captured all the major camps of the Tigers.
Small groups of Tigers have withdrawn to the jungle areas in west of Thoppigala where the clearing operations are going on,” Brigadier Samarasinghe said.
Meanwhile, troops have also gained the full control over Narakamula, and Tharavikulama areas where, the LTTE leadership had its' Eastern headquarters and other fortifications, the military said.
Thoppigala had been the last stronghold of the LTTE in the East. Sri Lanka Army, during their search and clear operations have found vehicles and equipment burnt by the fleeing terrorists which included two 120 mm mortar guns, one bowser, two double cabs, tractors with dry rations, motor cycles and cantor vans.
The rebels have fought since 1983 to create an independent homeland for Sri Lanka's ethnic minority Tamils, who suffered decades of discrimination by majority Sinhalese-controlled governments. More than 70,000 people have been killed in the fighting.
The war has escalated over the past 20 months, with assassinations, airstrikes and steady fighting killing more than 5,000 people, despite a 2002 Norwegian-brokered cease-fire.
Troops seized Thoppigala on Wednesday and were chasing fleeing insurgents, army commander Lt. Gen. Sarath Fonseka told The Associated Press.
The military hailed the capture of Thoppigala as a major victory, and senior military officials on the ground said Monday they hoped to capture or kill the remaining rebels by the end of July, bringing all of eastern Sri Lanka under government control for the first time since 1994.
Rasiah Ilanthirayan, the rebels' military spokesman, said resistance in the east would not cease.
"We have changed our tactics and it is not surprising if they have entered the region. But whether they will be able to stay there peacefully is another question," Ilanthirayan said by telephone from the northern rebel stronghold of Kilinochchi.
He did not elaborate on the changed tactics.
Government and rebel forces have battled intensely for control of the Thoppigala base, hidden in a region of caves and crannies that made it ideal for guerrillas.
The rebels have been routed from their other eastern bases during heavy fighting over the last year.
Former Air Marshall Harry Goonetilleke called the seizure of Thoppigala an important success for the military, but said holding the region could be costly.
"You can win a battle with 2,000 troops but to hold it you need 10,000 minimum," he said.
The government is planning to recruit about 50,000 more troops, costing about $62 million per year in salaries alone, Goonetilleke said.
Goonetilleke said the government should now negotiate with the rebels rather than begin an all-out operation to capture northern guerrilla strongholds because a strike that would likely cause heavy civilian casualties and exacerbate a refugee crisis.
News of the military's latest victory came hours before peace-broker Norway's Ambassador Hans Brattskar was to meet top rebels in Kilinochchi to discuss the island's withered cease-fire.
Brattskar flew by government plane to Vavuniya, the last government-held town in the north before rebel territory, and would travel overland to the Tigers' headquarters, said Rajiva Wijesinha, a government official.
"I hope he will persuade their political leadership to return to the negotiating table," Wijesinha said.
In January, troops routed the rebels from their eastern coastal strongholds of Vaharai and Kathiraveli villages in the eastern Batticaloa district and in February launched operations to clear small rebel camps around Thoppigala.
Sri Lanka military gains control of last Tiger stronghold in EastWednesday, July 11, 2007, 9:06 GMT, ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka.
July 11, Colombo: Sri Lanka Army troops and commandos reached Thoppigala, the nerve center of the LTTE Tigers in the morning hours of today and assumed full control, the military said.
Military Spokesman Brigadier Prasad Samarasinghe said that few clearing operations are taking place. “The Army is in full control of the area and have captured all the major camps of the Tigers.
Small groups of Tigers have withdrawn to the jungle areas in west of Thoppigala where the clearing operations are going on,” Brigadier Samarasinghe said.
Meanwhile, troops have also gained the full control over Narakamula, and Tharavikulama areas where, the LTTE leadership had its' Eastern headquarters and other fortifications, the military said.
Thoppigala had been the last stronghold of the LTTE in the East. Sri Lanka Army, during their search and clear operations have found vehicles and equipment burnt by the fleeing terrorists which included two 120 mm mortar guns, one bowser, two double cabs, tractors with dry rations, motor cycles and cantor vans.
Sri Lanka claims capture of last Tamil Tiger base in east
by Amal Jayasinghe1 hour, 9 minutes ago
Sri Lanka's military claimed Wednesday it had captured the last Tamil Tiger stronghold in the island's east following months of fighting, as peace broker Norway tried to revive a tattered truce.
The military took control of the Thoppigala jungle base used by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) following intense air and ground attacks, the defence ministry said. It gave no details of casualties.
"With this victory, the troops have captured the nerve centre of the LTTE terrorists in their last stronghold in the eastern province," the ministry said in a statement.
"Dealing a major blow to the Tiger hierarchy in the east, those military operations bring all of eastern Sri Lanka under government control for the first time after 13 years," the army said in a separate statement.
No independent confirmation of the claim was immediately available, and there was no comment from the Tigers, who since 1972 have led a campaign for an independent homeland for minority ethnic Tamils, mainly in the north and east.
"The victorious soldiers are presently clearing enemy 'pockets' scattered in the dense jungle and are pursuing the LTTE cadres who are on the run," the defence ministry said.
The army had compared Thoppigala -- situated next to the lagoon town of Batticaloa -- to the Tora Bora mountains in Afghanistan, as caves provided cover for the Tigers against air attacks.
In the same region on Wednesday, unidentified gunmen shot dead a Muslim man and wounded another at Valachchenai, while the military said it had killed or wounded five suspected Tiger rebels in the north of the tropical island.
The latest military claims came just one day after authorities said rebels were putting up stiff resistance and had slowed an advance on Thoppigala, with military and government spokesmen dismissing reports that it would soon fall.
Military spokesman Prasad Samarasinghe said the objective of the security forces was to take full control over the multi-ethnic eastern province by neutralising the LTTE, not just to take over Thoppigala.
The Tigers had used the area as their main command and control centre in the coastal eastern province, where they lost at least two key bases earlier this year.
The military claim also came as peace broker Norway renewed efforts to meet with the Tigers in the north of the island in a bid to revive negotiations.
Norway's top envoy here, Hans Brattskar, was in the rebel political capital of Kilinochchi for talks Wednesday with the guerrilla leadership to discuss the fate of the Oslo-brokered peace process, diplomats said.
They said Brattskar's visit would also be a farewell call on the Tigers as he ends his tenure in Colombo.
Diplomats close to the peace process said his visit followed pressure on Colombo from its international financial backers to resume negotiations that broke down last October.
International donors have asked both the government and the Tamil Tigers to return to the negotiating table and salvage a 2002 truce that now only exists on paper.
Neither warring party has formally renounced the truce, and the government has insisted its military push in the east is a "defensive, humanitarian" operation.
Sri Lanka's 35-year-old conflict has claimed over 60,000 lives, and more than 5,000 people have been killed in fighting over the past 19 months, according to government figures.
The military took control of the Thoppigala jungle base used by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) following intense air and ground attacks, the defence ministry said. It gave no details of casualties.
"With this victory, the troops have captured the nerve centre of the LTTE terrorists in their last stronghold in the eastern province," the ministry said in a statement.
"Dealing a major blow to the Tiger hierarchy in the east, those military operations bring all of eastern Sri Lanka under government control for the first time after 13 years," the army said in a separate statement.
No independent confirmation of the claim was immediately available, and there was no comment from the Tigers, who since 1972 have led a campaign for an independent homeland for minority ethnic Tamils, mainly in the north and east.
"The victorious soldiers are presently clearing enemy 'pockets' scattered in the dense jungle and are pursuing the LTTE cadres who are on the run," the defence ministry said.
The army had compared Thoppigala -- situated next to the lagoon town of Batticaloa -- to the Tora Bora mountains in Afghanistan, as caves provided cover for the Tigers against air attacks.
In the same region on Wednesday, unidentified gunmen shot dead a Muslim man and wounded another at Valachchenai, while the military said it had killed or wounded five suspected Tiger rebels in the north of the tropical island.
The latest military claims came just one day after authorities said rebels were putting up stiff resistance and had slowed an advance on Thoppigala, with military and government spokesmen dismissing reports that it would soon fall.
Military spokesman Prasad Samarasinghe said the objective of the security forces was to take full control over the multi-ethnic eastern province by neutralising the LTTE, not just to take over Thoppigala.
The Tigers had used the area as their main command and control centre in the coastal eastern province, where they lost at least two key bases earlier this year.
The military claim also came as peace broker Norway renewed efforts to meet with the Tigers in the north of the island in a bid to revive negotiations.
Norway's top envoy here, Hans Brattskar, was in the rebel political capital of Kilinochchi for talks Wednesday with the guerrilla leadership to discuss the fate of the Oslo-brokered peace process, diplomats said.
They said Brattskar's visit would also be a farewell call on the Tigers as he ends his tenure in Colombo.
Diplomats close to the peace process said his visit followed pressure on Colombo from its international financial backers to resume negotiations that broke down last October.
International donors have asked both the government and the Tamil Tigers to return to the negotiating table and salvage a 2002 truce that now only exists on paper.
Neither warring party has formally renounced the truce, and the government has insisted its military push in the east is a "defensive, humanitarian" operation.
Sri Lanka's 35-year-old conflict has claimed over 60,000 lives, and more than 5,000 people have been killed in fighting over the past 19 months, according to government figures.
The way Mahinda gave Rs. 500 million to LTTE revealed
(LeN-2007 July 10, 7.40pm)
The information on how President Mahinda Rajapakse handed over Rs. 500 million to the LTTE in the guise of a housing scheme has now revealed.
The President has obtained the approval for a cabinet paper on this regard.
It is during the Mawilaru ordeal that the Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces was continuing to deal with the LTTE. It was during this period of starvation and suffering that the Chief Executive of this country who neither honoured his pre election commitments to the Marxists or to the Buddhist monks was to be hell bent on honouring his agreement with the terrorists.
DAMNING evidence of the government's secret deal with the LTTE has now surfaced, revealing President Mahinda Rajapakse granted unsolicited multi million rupee bogus housing projects to the Tigers to allegedly facilitate the transfer of money under the deal.
The bogus projects were being given to the Wanni even as a water crisis depriving some 15,000 farmers of water raged on in Mawilaru, a humanitarian crisis was brewing in Muttur resulting in thousands of Muslims being displaced from their homes, and hundreds of soldiers had been killed in fierce fighting ordered by Rajapakse no less.
The projects were whitewashed through a cabinet paper submitted on August 2, 2006 by Rajapakse himself well after the decision had already been taken and after a large sum of money had already been transferred to the said company.
Two part deal In fact it was part of the deal agreed upon before the presidential election with the LTTE in exchange for the Tigers enforcing a boycott of the poll in the north and east.
The deal with the Tigers our investigation reveals was two fold. The first part was the payment of a large sum of money by Basil Rajapakse to the LTTE front man Emil Kanthan. Some of the money was in dollar notes, the numbers of which the LTTE had noted before putting it to good use to further their goal for a separate state.
The second part of the deal was to come into effect in the event of Mahinda Rajapakse's victory and was to include inter alia a housing project for the LTTE, disarming the Karuna group, appointing LTTE nominees to various political offices and resumption of talks in Thailand.
The cabinet note forwarded by the President on August 2, 2006 sought approval to grant the first housing project in the north and east in terms of the post election part of the deal. It was for forms sake to be under the Rebuilding the Nation Jayalanka Housing Programme and given to B & K Holdings (Pvt) Ltd. of No. 437A, 3rd Lane, Hirunavukulam, Thandikulum, Vavuniya. The deal was for the construction of 400 housing units at Trincomalee; and another 400 units in Batticaloa was awarded to Everest Civil Engineering services of 113/1, Mill Road, Ukulangkulam, Vavuniya.
The note also states ambiguously that 400 other housing units will be implemented in other districts but do not even name the districts, merely stating the entire cost estimate for the required 1200 housing units would be Rs. 757,166,000 (inclusive of consultancy fees).
Key player The key player in the entire drama was of course Emil Kanthan, the man the Attorney General's Department and the Terrorism Investigations Division have identified as a key LTTE intelligence officer in records filed in court.
In fact, former Airport and Aviation Chief Tiran Alles was arrested for allegedly providing funds to Kanthan, a matter he has hotly denied but an investigation by The Sunday Leader reveals it was none other than President Mahinda Rajapakse who provided funds to a front company of Kanthan under the guise of a housing project.
The consultant named in the cabinet note is GS Builders & Consultants of Vavuniya, who top sources said was also connected to Emil Kanthan.
Sources also said that while the cabinet note attempted to allude to some sort of procedural propriety by stating that approval was granted for invited and solicited offers no such thing had actually occurred and the reality was that President Rajapakse engineered the entire post secret deal operation.
It was in fact President Rajapakse who had directed the Reconstruction and Development Agency to put up a board paper and approve the project to be granted to the Emil Kanthan front.
Therefore there had been no cabinet approved tender board, no cabinet procurement committee approval as is mandatory in such development projects and certainly no pre qualification of contractors as per the government rules under ICTAD�s Grade M1 certification.
Shadow offensive Ironically even though a shadow military offensive was continuing in the north and east and the armed forces were engaging in combat with the terrorists, Rajapakse did not force a full blown military confrontation until after the Mawilaru incident and well after his cabinet paper was tabled.
President Rajapakse meanwhile maintained publicly he was a patient man who did not rush to war and was observing the Ceasefire Agreement even though there was to be a marked increase in civilian and military deaths in the north east, while privately seeking to allegedly honour promises made to the LTTE.
To top the diabolical deception the Rajapakse administration while making good its promises on the secret deal with the LTTE on the one hand was facetiously calling on the international community to convict the Tigers of war crimes over the Mawilaru anicut.
Our investigation shows that the trumped up projects were handed over to Barkavi Shanthikumar, the common law wife of whom the government identifies as a LTTE intelligence wing member and go-between Emil Kanthan and her two brothers Shanthikumar Kishokumar and Shanthikumar Gajankumar,. The projects were handed over through a construction company " B & K Holdings (Pvt) Ltd. of No.437A, 3rd Lane, Hirunuvakulam, Thandikulam, incorporated just one month after Mahinda Rajapakse took office as the President.
Diabolical deed President Rajapakse himself signed the cabinet note on August 2, seeking approval to grant the over Rs. 700 million project to the bogus company whose stated Vavuniya address in the cabinet note is anything but an office.
A Sunday Leader search revealed the company was incorporated on December 23, 2005 in Colombo and not in Vavuniya as stated in the Cabinet Memo giving as its address No.45/4, Church Road, Wattala. However our investigations found the address to be as mysterious as the one given in Vavuniya. There was certainly no office with that number on Church Road, Wattala.
The subscriber shareholders of the company " the common law relatives of the infamous Emil Kanthan -- have given their address as No. 48A, Albert Place, Dehiwala. Though this address exists our investigations found only a deserted residence which had been padlocked from the outside.
What is also potentially treacherous is that the bogus company to which the President and Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces was now handing over construction projects had as its primary objects not only the business of construction building but also building, owning, managing and operating plants for the generation of electricity using hydro power, thermal power, wind power, fuel or oil and bio gas or other resources not to mention the business of telecommunications.
Credentials The very fact the government had not checked the credentials of the companies to which the President was seeking to hand over a project running into over Rs. 700 million was evident from the above details alone and it was so because what was in play was part of the secret deal and the only credential required was that of the man who delivered Rajapakse the Presidency, Emil Kanthan. After all which other company incorporated just six months earlier with no credentials would be given a project worth over Rs.700 million? And just to cover their tracks a bank guarantee was sought.
Be that as it may, the authorised share capital of B & K Holdings Private Ltd. is stated as Rs. 10,000,000. The Secretaries are LM Management Services (Private) Limited of No 291/32A, Havelock Gardens, Havelock Road, Colombo 5.
Funnily enough President Rajapakse would have us believe that the cabinet was satisfied that this recently incorporated bogus company was sufficiently able to undertake a Rs.700 million project to construct homes in the north east when even the Vavuniya addresses given in the cabinet paper of both the consultant firm and B&K holdings were false to say the least.
A Sunday Leader investigation revealed there were no offices at these addresses. No. 113/1, Mill Road in Vavuniya was a residence where one P. Nandakumar and one Rajeswari Nandakumar lived. No. 437A, 3rd Lane in Vavuniya was also a residence occupied by one Wannisingham Subramanium.
Of little concern Certainly these did not look like the offices or the employees of two companies able to construct, maintain, manage and operate electricity generators, leave alone construct 700 million rupees worth of houses in the difficult north and east area.
For Rajapakse who is willing to waive the government's right to first refusal and transfer 25% of NTT shares in Sri Lanka Telecom to a company hastily incorporated in the Netherland Antilles like Global Telecommunications Holdings such a matter may be trivial.
Certainly even the cabinet note seeking approval seems to be mere chicanery and only an attempt to launder the money transfer under the alleged deal.
Pre-election promises Both Sooriyaarachchi and Alles who were President Rajapakse's closest allies at the time revealed it was Basil who had been the main negotiator for the President. Sooriyaarachchi also alleged Basil had paid millions in furtherance of the deal.
More importantly Alles had stated in his statement to the TID that Rajapakse had asked him to secure a connection to the LTTE during the presidential campaign and he had informed the then prime minister he could only give him a business contact Emil Kanthan.
Once the contact was introduced however it was Lalith Weeratunga, P.B. Jayasundera and Basil Rajapakse who decided on the nitty gritties and allegedly clinched the deal.
Keeping promises post win While President Rajapakse is not known as a man inclined to honour legal agreements or Memoranda of Understanding the promises to the LTTE which secured his victory and fulfilled his lifelong dream, he was determined to keep.
Once Emil Kanthan had made a request to hand over the moneys under the alleged deal through some project, President Rajapakse shortly after he took oaths as Chief Executive, was made aware of this. He immediately informed Treasury Secretary P.B Jayasundera to do the needful.
To this end President Rajapakse also requested that housing projects be handed over to persons nominated by LTTE's Emil Kanthan.
By a happy coincidence it was Tiran Alles then still close to Mahinda Rajapakse who headed RADA, the agency now in charge of reconstruction. However Alles had wanted tenders called and evaluations done before handing over such large housing construction projects but Rajapakse, sources alleged, had insisted that both the construction company and the consultant should be nominated by the LTTE link.
Approved without question Rajapakse had also insisted a board paper on the subject be put up for approval to the RADA board and as it was a request by the President himself the RADA board -- as is the habit in Sri Lanka and other underdeveloped, simple-minded third world countries -- had approved it without question.
President Rajapakse was to then call P.B. Jayasundera and tell him to release the money to RADA in order to facilitate the unsolicited projects.
RADA sources told The Sunday Leader there were many other bona fide projects discussed relating to the north and east. It is obvious the bogus projects were to be embedded within the bona fide projects to camouflage the government's subterfuge.
Cabinet paper It was to this end that President's Secretary Lalith Weeratunga, ever the bureaucrat and expert in cover-up documentation, who at a meeting at the Presidential Secretariat which included RADA officials, suddenly realised that the project which had been already granted to Emil Kanthan should be covered by a cabinet paper.
By this time some Rs. 150 million had already been paid to the bogus company of Emil Kanthan.
Furthermore once the Chief Operating Officer (COO) of RADA Saliya Wickramasuriya was appointed to the Ports Authority as its chairman it was Shanthi Fernando, wife of Sunimal Fernando, special advisor to President Rajapakse who took over as the COO of RADA.
The cabinet paper was therefore prepared by Lalith Weeratunga and the information had also been communicated to Shanthi Fernando.
The cabinet not surprisingly had approved the project which was indicated as the first housing project for the north and east under Rebuilding the Nation Jayalanka Housing Project. (See box for full text of cabinet paper)
Deal struck While speculation was rife during the 2005 elections the Rajapakses had struck a deal with the Tigers to disenfranchise over 600,000 voters in the north east in a bid to ensure a Mahinda Rajapakse win, details of the diabolical deed only came to light when ousted Minister Sripathi Sooriyaarachchi publicly announced he was privy to certain aspects of the secret deal with the Tigers and alleged a large sum of money had changed hands.
It was at about this time that former Rajapakse confidant and Airport & Aviation Chief Tiran Alles was also becoming increasingly distanced from the President. But it was not always so.
It was Alles, who was earlier widely rumoured to be the link man between the government and the LTTE, that Mahinda Rajapakse appointed as head of the lucrative Reconstruction and Development Agency (RADA) even though it was first speculated RADA would come under the purview of UNP cross-over Mahinda Samarasinghe's Disaster Management Ministry " an agency Samarasinghe had eyed when making his decision to jump. Though promised to Samarasinghe, we know now why RADA was kept within presidential control.
RADA was established in November 2005 under a Presidential directive, as successor to the Task Force for Rebuilding the Nation (TAFREN).
End of silence Meanwhile Alles who was credited with securing the deal with the LTTE for Rajapakse prior to the presidential election had maintained silence throughout the controversy over the secret deal which led to the Tiger enforced boycott of the election but finally broke his silence May 30. In a statement to the Terrorism Investigations Division (TID) Alles revealed details of the pre-presidential election deal with the LTTE and informed the TID he was requested by Mahinda Rajapakse as prime minister to establish a link with the LTTE to coordinate the presidential election strategy for the north-east.
So happy was Percival Mahinda Rajapakse with the results at the time that Alles was one of the first persons he rushed up to and delightedly hugged at his Presidential inauguration ceremony in November.
Be that as it may, Alles was arrested shortly after making the damning statement indicting the Rajapakses, for allegedly funding a LTTE intelligence wing member identified as Emil Kanthan.
Startling revelations However Alles in his statement while maintaining he at no stage was informed by Sri Lankan Intelligence that Emil Kanthan was a LTTE member, made some startling revelations including that Presidential Advisor Basil Rajapakse, President's Secretary Lalith Weeratunga and Treasury Secretary P.B. Jayasundera had also in his presence had discussions with Emil Kanthan on matters agreed upon prior to the presidential election.
He further said it was Basil Rajapakse who had several rounds of discussions with Emil Kanthan, a fact reiterated by former Minister Sooriyaarachchi on several occasions in public fora.
He also told the TID a full affidavit revealing the entire sequence of events was sworn by him on February 12 and that he would furnish it to the TID for further investigations. Indeed, Alles has revealed that it was Basil Rajapakse who gave money before the presidential election to the LTTE, details of which no doubt will also surface through the affidavit when it sees the light of day.
Answer to public President Percival Rajapakse not only as the country's first citizen but as the Commander in Chief has to now answer the people why he was to continue to deal with Emil Kanthan as the Head of State while the LTTE had only weeks before taken control of the Mawilaru anicut cutting off the water supply to 15,000 innocent civilians in the Seruwila area and resulting in the destruction of some 30,000 acres of paddy lands.
The LTTE when closing the sluice gates on July 20, 2006 claimed that under an ADB scheme meant for uncleared territory as well had been taken out of the implementation programme. According to TNA Parliamentary Group Leader R. Sampanthan the LTTE claimed this was the work of the new governor for the north east and the new government agent for Trincomalee.
It was even as the SLMM was sitting and talking to the LTTE and to local villagers to resolve this problem that the air force dropped a bomb in the vicinity and the meeting was thwarted. Attempts to resolve this conflict continued with even Norwegian Special Envoy Jon Hanssen-Bauer arriving in Sri Lanka and visiting Kilinochchi.
Agreement An agreement was reached but when the SLMM Chief, the Political Head of the LTTE and some people from that area went to release the water on Sunday, August 6 more military attacks were to follow.
Following this it was reported in the media the SLMM was holding the government totally responsible for the breakdown in the settlement to the Mawilaru water crisis after the security forces allegedly launched a fresh shell attack on LTTE cadres near the anicut just before the LTTE was to open the sluice gates.
Other agendas It was reported the SLMM Spokesman Thorfinnur Omarsson had in fact charged it was clear the government had other agendas in mind but stressed that it was not the end of the road as negotiations for a settlement were still continuing.
While the water war was raging on the one hand with the government only intent on a prestige battle rather than supplying water to the starving villagers, simultaneously the LTTE moved in to Muttur and heavy clashes between the Tigers and the military ensued resulting in the displacement of over 53,000 Muslims.
The army meanwhile vowing to recapture the anicut was to commence military operations from Kallaru army camp on July 28 risking the lives of soldiers even as troops attempted to move towards the anicut through heavily mined fields and amidst LTTE artillery attacks. By July 30 a fierce battle had commenced some 400 metres from the anicut which left several military personnel dead.
The incident was getting to such proportions the UNP also warned that an armed conflict between the LTTE and the government would result in the destruction of the Mawilaru tank, calling on both parties to adhere to the Cease-Fire Agreement (CFA).
Government stance On July 24, the Government Peace Secretariat released a report which stated the LTTE action was a war crime under International Law and the Roman Statute of the International Criminal Court, also saying; The LTTE has forcibly closed the water supply from the Mawilaru Anicut (irrigation channel) to the Seruwila, Muttur and Ichalampattu areas in the Trincomalee District, preventing the flow of water that sustains approximately 15,000 families and feeds approximately 30,000 acres of paddy land. The LTTE has prevented the Irrigation Department from opening the sluice gates. In addition, the LTTE has prevented the SLMM from having access to the location and blocked efforts by the SLMM to facilitate restoration of the water supply.
Two days later the Government Peace Secretariat, now desperate over Mawilaru stated, The Government of Sri Lanka, at the highest levels, has repeatedly called upon the LTTE, through the Norwegian facilitators and the SLMM, to restore the water supply to over 15,000 families in the Trincomalee District who have been deprived of water since the LTTE forcibly closed the Mawilaru Anicut on Thursday, 20 July, 2006.
The report went on to add, The Government of Sri Lanka has also raised the matter with the diplomatic community and international organisations. There is agreement that the denial of water to civilians by the LTTE is a blatant contravention of all norms of civilised behaviour and the rules of international law.
In what was to become a cruel joke and in their haste for prestige both the LTTE and the government claimed they had opened the sluice gates. However the SLMM confirmed the sluice gates had been opened by the LTTE.
Determined It is during this horrendous ordeal that the Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces was continuing to deal with the LTTE. It was during this period of starvation and suffering that the Chief Executive of this country who neither honoured his pre election commitments to the Marxists or to the Buddhist monks was to be hell bent on honouring his agreement with the terrorists.
Meanwhile it is ironically Tiran Alles who is arrested by the TID for keeping company with the LTTE point man to whom it is in fact the President of this country Mahinda Percival Rajapakse who granted projects signed under his very hand.
It is now Tiran Alles and funnily enough UNP Minister Jayalath Jayawardena who are being questioned by the TID on their knowledge of Emil Kanthan.
President Percival should know this. Knowing a man is one thing. Doing deals with him in order to disenfranchise hundreds of thousands of people in order to perpetrate election fraud is quite another.
Mahinda's note to cabinet
Rebuilding the Nation under Jayalanka Housing Programme First Housing Programme for North and East
The Reconstruction and Development Agency (RADA) has been directed by me to commence projects for equitable assistance to all needy communities, irrespective of whether they were affected by conflict or Tsunami, in the fields of housing, livelihoods, social and physical infrastructure.
One of the first projects identified for immediate and speedy implementation is the construction of housing units for conflict-affected communities in Kilinochchi, Mullaitivu, Trincomalee, Batticoloa, Ampara, Vavuniya and Mannar districts. Housing requirements obtained from 42 GN divisions in these districts amounted to 1200 housing units. The Board of Management of RADA granted approval to invite offers from consultants and contractors in the area to implement this project. Funds for the project are to be obtained from the Consolidated Fund.
Accordingly, offers were solicited from prospective consultants and parties willing to undertake housing construction in the stipulated areas. GS Builders & Consultants of Vavuniva was selected as the Consultant for the project.
B&K Holdings (Pvt) Ltd of No. 437A, 3rd Lane, Hirunavukulam, Thandikulam, Vavuniya, which offered the lowest quote for a 500 sq. ft housing unit at Rs 624,725/(exclusive of VAT) was selected as the Contractor for the construction of 400 housing units at Trincomalee. Another 400 units in Batticaloa was awarded to Everest Civil Engineering Services of 113/1, Mill Road, Ukulangkulam, Vavuniya, at the same rate of Rs 624,725.00 (exclusive of VAT).
Housing projects in Trincomalee and Batticaloa are in progress, and the total cost estimate for both projects is Rs 499,780,560/-. With the addition of 400 housing units to be implemented in other districts shortly, the entire cost estimate for the required 1200 housing units is Rs 757,166,000/- (inclusive of consultancy fees).I seek the approval of the Cabinet of Ministers to proceed with the construction of the 1200 housing units as envisaged above.
August 2, 2006 Sgd Mahinda Rajapakse President
P. B. Jayasundera sheds light
WHEN The Sunday Leader spoke to P.B Jayasundera regarding the secret deal significantly he did not deny meeting Emil Kanthan but referred instead to a meeting at ousted Minister Mangala Samaraweera's house and stated he had met people but did not know who they were.
Q: Your name has transpired as having been present at meetings..
A: I can only say I have not participated in any discusions with the LTTE
Q: With Emil Kanthan?
A:I haven't participated with anybody because I attend various discussions with various people. I don't know the people who come to those meetings and from which group.
Officially Minister Mangala Samaraweera invited us for a meeting so we have gone, so there must have been people but we went as officials. But our dealings are as officials. So I don't know why Tiran Alles made that statement because my dealings with him was only as chairman RADA, not beyond that.
By Sonali Samarasingh
The information on how President Mahinda Rajapakse handed over Rs. 500 million to the LTTE in the guise of a housing scheme has now revealed.
The President has obtained the approval for a cabinet paper on this regard.
It is during the Mawilaru ordeal that the Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces was continuing to deal with the LTTE. It was during this period of starvation and suffering that the Chief Executive of this country who neither honoured his pre election commitments to the Marxists or to the Buddhist monks was to be hell bent on honouring his agreement with the terrorists.
DAMNING evidence of the government's secret deal with the LTTE has now surfaced, revealing President Mahinda Rajapakse granted unsolicited multi million rupee bogus housing projects to the Tigers to allegedly facilitate the transfer of money under the deal.
The bogus projects were being given to the Wanni even as a water crisis depriving some 15,000 farmers of water raged on in Mawilaru, a humanitarian crisis was brewing in Muttur resulting in thousands of Muslims being displaced from their homes, and hundreds of soldiers had been killed in fierce fighting ordered by Rajapakse no less.
The projects were whitewashed through a cabinet paper submitted on August 2, 2006 by Rajapakse himself well after the decision had already been taken and after a large sum of money had already been transferred to the said company.
Two part deal In fact it was part of the deal agreed upon before the presidential election with the LTTE in exchange for the Tigers enforcing a boycott of the poll in the north and east.
The deal with the Tigers our investigation reveals was two fold. The first part was the payment of a large sum of money by Basil Rajapakse to the LTTE front man Emil Kanthan. Some of the money was in dollar notes, the numbers of which the LTTE had noted before putting it to good use to further their goal for a separate state.
The second part of the deal was to come into effect in the event of Mahinda Rajapakse's victory and was to include inter alia a housing project for the LTTE, disarming the Karuna group, appointing LTTE nominees to various political offices and resumption of talks in Thailand.
The cabinet note forwarded by the President on August 2, 2006 sought approval to grant the first housing project in the north and east in terms of the post election part of the deal. It was for forms sake to be under the Rebuilding the Nation Jayalanka Housing Programme and given to B & K Holdings (Pvt) Ltd. of No. 437A, 3rd Lane, Hirunavukulam, Thandikulum, Vavuniya. The deal was for the construction of 400 housing units at Trincomalee; and another 400 units in Batticaloa was awarded to Everest Civil Engineering services of 113/1, Mill Road, Ukulangkulam, Vavuniya.
The note also states ambiguously that 400 other housing units will be implemented in other districts but do not even name the districts, merely stating the entire cost estimate for the required 1200 housing units would be Rs. 757,166,000 (inclusive of consultancy fees).
Key player The key player in the entire drama was of course Emil Kanthan, the man the Attorney General's Department and the Terrorism Investigations Division have identified as a key LTTE intelligence officer in records filed in court.
In fact, former Airport and Aviation Chief Tiran Alles was arrested for allegedly providing funds to Kanthan, a matter he has hotly denied but an investigation by The Sunday Leader reveals it was none other than President Mahinda Rajapakse who provided funds to a front company of Kanthan under the guise of a housing project.
The consultant named in the cabinet note is GS Builders & Consultants of Vavuniya, who top sources said was also connected to Emil Kanthan.
Sources also said that while the cabinet note attempted to allude to some sort of procedural propriety by stating that approval was granted for invited and solicited offers no such thing had actually occurred and the reality was that President Rajapakse engineered the entire post secret deal operation.
It was in fact President Rajapakse who had directed the Reconstruction and Development Agency to put up a board paper and approve the project to be granted to the Emil Kanthan front.
Therefore there had been no cabinet approved tender board, no cabinet procurement committee approval as is mandatory in such development projects and certainly no pre qualification of contractors as per the government rules under ICTAD�s Grade M1 certification.
Shadow offensive Ironically even though a shadow military offensive was continuing in the north and east and the armed forces were engaging in combat with the terrorists, Rajapakse did not force a full blown military confrontation until after the Mawilaru incident and well after his cabinet paper was tabled.
President Rajapakse meanwhile maintained publicly he was a patient man who did not rush to war and was observing the Ceasefire Agreement even though there was to be a marked increase in civilian and military deaths in the north east, while privately seeking to allegedly honour promises made to the LTTE.
To top the diabolical deception the Rajapakse administration while making good its promises on the secret deal with the LTTE on the one hand was facetiously calling on the international community to convict the Tigers of war crimes over the Mawilaru anicut.
Our investigation shows that the trumped up projects were handed over to Barkavi Shanthikumar, the common law wife of whom the government identifies as a LTTE intelligence wing member and go-between Emil Kanthan and her two brothers Shanthikumar Kishokumar and Shanthikumar Gajankumar,. The projects were handed over through a construction company " B & K Holdings (Pvt) Ltd. of No.437A, 3rd Lane, Hirunuvakulam, Thandikulam, incorporated just one month after Mahinda Rajapakse took office as the President.
Diabolical deed President Rajapakse himself signed the cabinet note on August 2, seeking approval to grant the over Rs. 700 million project to the bogus company whose stated Vavuniya address in the cabinet note is anything but an office.
A Sunday Leader search revealed the company was incorporated on December 23, 2005 in Colombo and not in Vavuniya as stated in the Cabinet Memo giving as its address No.45/4, Church Road, Wattala. However our investigations found the address to be as mysterious as the one given in Vavuniya. There was certainly no office with that number on Church Road, Wattala.
The subscriber shareholders of the company " the common law relatives of the infamous Emil Kanthan -- have given their address as No. 48A, Albert Place, Dehiwala. Though this address exists our investigations found only a deserted residence which had been padlocked from the outside.
What is also potentially treacherous is that the bogus company to which the President and Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces was now handing over construction projects had as its primary objects not only the business of construction building but also building, owning, managing and operating plants for the generation of electricity using hydro power, thermal power, wind power, fuel or oil and bio gas or other resources not to mention the business of telecommunications.
Credentials The very fact the government had not checked the credentials of the companies to which the President was seeking to hand over a project running into over Rs. 700 million was evident from the above details alone and it was so because what was in play was part of the secret deal and the only credential required was that of the man who delivered Rajapakse the Presidency, Emil Kanthan. After all which other company incorporated just six months earlier with no credentials would be given a project worth over Rs.700 million? And just to cover their tracks a bank guarantee was sought.
Be that as it may, the authorised share capital of B & K Holdings Private Ltd. is stated as Rs. 10,000,000. The Secretaries are LM Management Services (Private) Limited of No 291/32A, Havelock Gardens, Havelock Road, Colombo 5.
Funnily enough President Rajapakse would have us believe that the cabinet was satisfied that this recently incorporated bogus company was sufficiently able to undertake a Rs.700 million project to construct homes in the north east when even the Vavuniya addresses given in the cabinet paper of both the consultant firm and B&K holdings were false to say the least.
A Sunday Leader investigation revealed there were no offices at these addresses. No. 113/1, Mill Road in Vavuniya was a residence where one P. Nandakumar and one Rajeswari Nandakumar lived. No. 437A, 3rd Lane in Vavuniya was also a residence occupied by one Wannisingham Subramanium.
Of little concern Certainly these did not look like the offices or the employees of two companies able to construct, maintain, manage and operate electricity generators, leave alone construct 700 million rupees worth of houses in the difficult north and east area.
For Rajapakse who is willing to waive the government's right to first refusal and transfer 25% of NTT shares in Sri Lanka Telecom to a company hastily incorporated in the Netherland Antilles like Global Telecommunications Holdings such a matter may be trivial.
Certainly even the cabinet note seeking approval seems to be mere chicanery and only an attempt to launder the money transfer under the alleged deal.
Pre-election promises Both Sooriyaarachchi and Alles who were President Rajapakse's closest allies at the time revealed it was Basil who had been the main negotiator for the President. Sooriyaarachchi also alleged Basil had paid millions in furtherance of the deal.
More importantly Alles had stated in his statement to the TID that Rajapakse had asked him to secure a connection to the LTTE during the presidential campaign and he had informed the then prime minister he could only give him a business contact Emil Kanthan.
Once the contact was introduced however it was Lalith Weeratunga, P.B. Jayasundera and Basil Rajapakse who decided on the nitty gritties and allegedly clinched the deal.
Keeping promises post win While President Rajapakse is not known as a man inclined to honour legal agreements or Memoranda of Understanding the promises to the LTTE which secured his victory and fulfilled his lifelong dream, he was determined to keep.
Once Emil Kanthan had made a request to hand over the moneys under the alleged deal through some project, President Rajapakse shortly after he took oaths as Chief Executive, was made aware of this. He immediately informed Treasury Secretary P.B Jayasundera to do the needful.
To this end President Rajapakse also requested that housing projects be handed over to persons nominated by LTTE's Emil Kanthan.
By a happy coincidence it was Tiran Alles then still close to Mahinda Rajapakse who headed RADA, the agency now in charge of reconstruction. However Alles had wanted tenders called and evaluations done before handing over such large housing construction projects but Rajapakse, sources alleged, had insisted that both the construction company and the consultant should be nominated by the LTTE link.
Approved without question Rajapakse had also insisted a board paper on the subject be put up for approval to the RADA board and as it was a request by the President himself the RADA board -- as is the habit in Sri Lanka and other underdeveloped, simple-minded third world countries -- had approved it without question.
President Rajapakse was to then call P.B. Jayasundera and tell him to release the money to RADA in order to facilitate the unsolicited projects.
RADA sources told The Sunday Leader there were many other bona fide projects discussed relating to the north and east. It is obvious the bogus projects were to be embedded within the bona fide projects to camouflage the government's subterfuge.
Cabinet paper It was to this end that President's Secretary Lalith Weeratunga, ever the bureaucrat and expert in cover-up documentation, who at a meeting at the Presidential Secretariat which included RADA officials, suddenly realised that the project which had been already granted to Emil Kanthan should be covered by a cabinet paper.
By this time some Rs. 150 million had already been paid to the bogus company of Emil Kanthan.
Furthermore once the Chief Operating Officer (COO) of RADA Saliya Wickramasuriya was appointed to the Ports Authority as its chairman it was Shanthi Fernando, wife of Sunimal Fernando, special advisor to President Rajapakse who took over as the COO of RADA.
The cabinet paper was therefore prepared by Lalith Weeratunga and the information had also been communicated to Shanthi Fernando.
The cabinet not surprisingly had approved the project which was indicated as the first housing project for the north and east under Rebuilding the Nation Jayalanka Housing Project. (See box for full text of cabinet paper)
Deal struck While speculation was rife during the 2005 elections the Rajapakses had struck a deal with the Tigers to disenfranchise over 600,000 voters in the north east in a bid to ensure a Mahinda Rajapakse win, details of the diabolical deed only came to light when ousted Minister Sripathi Sooriyaarachchi publicly announced he was privy to certain aspects of the secret deal with the Tigers and alleged a large sum of money had changed hands.
It was at about this time that former Rajapakse confidant and Airport & Aviation Chief Tiran Alles was also becoming increasingly distanced from the President. But it was not always so.
It was Alles, who was earlier widely rumoured to be the link man between the government and the LTTE, that Mahinda Rajapakse appointed as head of the lucrative Reconstruction and Development Agency (RADA) even though it was first speculated RADA would come under the purview of UNP cross-over Mahinda Samarasinghe's Disaster Management Ministry " an agency Samarasinghe had eyed when making his decision to jump. Though promised to Samarasinghe, we know now why RADA was kept within presidential control.
RADA was established in November 2005 under a Presidential directive, as successor to the Task Force for Rebuilding the Nation (TAFREN).
End of silence Meanwhile Alles who was credited with securing the deal with the LTTE for Rajapakse prior to the presidential election had maintained silence throughout the controversy over the secret deal which led to the Tiger enforced boycott of the election but finally broke his silence May 30. In a statement to the Terrorism Investigations Division (TID) Alles revealed details of the pre-presidential election deal with the LTTE and informed the TID he was requested by Mahinda Rajapakse as prime minister to establish a link with the LTTE to coordinate the presidential election strategy for the north-east.
So happy was Percival Mahinda Rajapakse with the results at the time that Alles was one of the first persons he rushed up to and delightedly hugged at his Presidential inauguration ceremony in November.
Be that as it may, Alles was arrested shortly after making the damning statement indicting the Rajapakses, for allegedly funding a LTTE intelligence wing member identified as Emil Kanthan.
Startling revelations However Alles in his statement while maintaining he at no stage was informed by Sri Lankan Intelligence that Emil Kanthan was a LTTE member, made some startling revelations including that Presidential Advisor Basil Rajapakse, President's Secretary Lalith Weeratunga and Treasury Secretary P.B. Jayasundera had also in his presence had discussions with Emil Kanthan on matters agreed upon prior to the presidential election.
He further said it was Basil Rajapakse who had several rounds of discussions with Emil Kanthan, a fact reiterated by former Minister Sooriyaarachchi on several occasions in public fora.
He also told the TID a full affidavit revealing the entire sequence of events was sworn by him on February 12 and that he would furnish it to the TID for further investigations. Indeed, Alles has revealed that it was Basil Rajapakse who gave money before the presidential election to the LTTE, details of which no doubt will also surface through the affidavit when it sees the light of day.
Answer to public President Percival Rajapakse not only as the country's first citizen but as the Commander in Chief has to now answer the people why he was to continue to deal with Emil Kanthan as the Head of State while the LTTE had only weeks before taken control of the Mawilaru anicut cutting off the water supply to 15,000 innocent civilians in the Seruwila area and resulting in the destruction of some 30,000 acres of paddy lands.
The LTTE when closing the sluice gates on July 20, 2006 claimed that under an ADB scheme meant for uncleared territory as well had been taken out of the implementation programme. According to TNA Parliamentary Group Leader R. Sampanthan the LTTE claimed this was the work of the new governor for the north east and the new government agent for Trincomalee.
It was even as the SLMM was sitting and talking to the LTTE and to local villagers to resolve this problem that the air force dropped a bomb in the vicinity and the meeting was thwarted. Attempts to resolve this conflict continued with even Norwegian Special Envoy Jon Hanssen-Bauer arriving in Sri Lanka and visiting Kilinochchi.
Agreement An agreement was reached but when the SLMM Chief, the Political Head of the LTTE and some people from that area went to release the water on Sunday, August 6 more military attacks were to follow.
Following this it was reported in the media the SLMM was holding the government totally responsible for the breakdown in the settlement to the Mawilaru water crisis after the security forces allegedly launched a fresh shell attack on LTTE cadres near the anicut just before the LTTE was to open the sluice gates.
Other agendas It was reported the SLMM Spokesman Thorfinnur Omarsson had in fact charged it was clear the government had other agendas in mind but stressed that it was not the end of the road as negotiations for a settlement were still continuing.
While the water war was raging on the one hand with the government only intent on a prestige battle rather than supplying water to the starving villagers, simultaneously the LTTE moved in to Muttur and heavy clashes between the Tigers and the military ensued resulting in the displacement of over 53,000 Muslims.
The army meanwhile vowing to recapture the anicut was to commence military operations from Kallaru army camp on July 28 risking the lives of soldiers even as troops attempted to move towards the anicut through heavily mined fields and amidst LTTE artillery attacks. By July 30 a fierce battle had commenced some 400 metres from the anicut which left several military personnel dead.
The incident was getting to such proportions the UNP also warned that an armed conflict between the LTTE and the government would result in the destruction of the Mawilaru tank, calling on both parties to adhere to the Cease-Fire Agreement (CFA).
Government stance On July 24, the Government Peace Secretariat released a report which stated the LTTE action was a war crime under International Law and the Roman Statute of the International Criminal Court, also saying; The LTTE has forcibly closed the water supply from the Mawilaru Anicut (irrigation channel) to the Seruwila, Muttur and Ichalampattu areas in the Trincomalee District, preventing the flow of water that sustains approximately 15,000 families and feeds approximately 30,000 acres of paddy land. The LTTE has prevented the Irrigation Department from opening the sluice gates. In addition, the LTTE has prevented the SLMM from having access to the location and blocked efforts by the SLMM to facilitate restoration of the water supply.
Two days later the Government Peace Secretariat, now desperate over Mawilaru stated, The Government of Sri Lanka, at the highest levels, has repeatedly called upon the LTTE, through the Norwegian facilitators and the SLMM, to restore the water supply to over 15,000 families in the Trincomalee District who have been deprived of water since the LTTE forcibly closed the Mawilaru Anicut on Thursday, 20 July, 2006.
The report went on to add, The Government of Sri Lanka has also raised the matter with the diplomatic community and international organisations. There is agreement that the denial of water to civilians by the LTTE is a blatant contravention of all norms of civilised behaviour and the rules of international law.
In what was to become a cruel joke and in their haste for prestige both the LTTE and the government claimed they had opened the sluice gates. However the SLMM confirmed the sluice gates had been opened by the LTTE.
Determined It is during this horrendous ordeal that the Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces was continuing to deal with the LTTE. It was during this period of starvation and suffering that the Chief Executive of this country who neither honoured his pre election commitments to the Marxists or to the Buddhist monks was to be hell bent on honouring his agreement with the terrorists.
Meanwhile it is ironically Tiran Alles who is arrested by the TID for keeping company with the LTTE point man to whom it is in fact the President of this country Mahinda Percival Rajapakse who granted projects signed under his very hand.
It is now Tiran Alles and funnily enough UNP Minister Jayalath Jayawardena who are being questioned by the TID on their knowledge of Emil Kanthan.
President Percival should know this. Knowing a man is one thing. Doing deals with him in order to disenfranchise hundreds of thousands of people in order to perpetrate election fraud is quite another.
Mahinda's note to cabinet
Rebuilding the Nation under Jayalanka Housing Programme First Housing Programme for North and East
The Reconstruction and Development Agency (RADA) has been directed by me to commence projects for equitable assistance to all needy communities, irrespective of whether they were affected by conflict or Tsunami, in the fields of housing, livelihoods, social and physical infrastructure.
One of the first projects identified for immediate and speedy implementation is the construction of housing units for conflict-affected communities in Kilinochchi, Mullaitivu, Trincomalee, Batticoloa, Ampara, Vavuniya and Mannar districts. Housing requirements obtained from 42 GN divisions in these districts amounted to 1200 housing units. The Board of Management of RADA granted approval to invite offers from consultants and contractors in the area to implement this project. Funds for the project are to be obtained from the Consolidated Fund.
Accordingly, offers were solicited from prospective consultants and parties willing to undertake housing construction in the stipulated areas. GS Builders & Consultants of Vavuniva was selected as the Consultant for the project.
B&K Holdings (Pvt) Ltd of No. 437A, 3rd Lane, Hirunavukulam, Thandikulam, Vavuniya, which offered the lowest quote for a 500 sq. ft housing unit at Rs 624,725/(exclusive of VAT) was selected as the Contractor for the construction of 400 housing units at Trincomalee. Another 400 units in Batticaloa was awarded to Everest Civil Engineering Services of 113/1, Mill Road, Ukulangkulam, Vavuniya, at the same rate of Rs 624,725.00 (exclusive of VAT).
Housing projects in Trincomalee and Batticaloa are in progress, and the total cost estimate for both projects is Rs 499,780,560/-. With the addition of 400 housing units to be implemented in other districts shortly, the entire cost estimate for the required 1200 housing units is Rs 757,166,000/- (inclusive of consultancy fees).I seek the approval of the Cabinet of Ministers to proceed with the construction of the 1200 housing units as envisaged above.
August 2, 2006 Sgd Mahinda Rajapakse President
P. B. Jayasundera sheds light
WHEN The Sunday Leader spoke to P.B Jayasundera regarding the secret deal significantly he did not deny meeting Emil Kanthan but referred instead to a meeting at ousted Minister Mangala Samaraweera's house and stated he had met people but did not know who they were.
Q: Your name has transpired as having been present at meetings..
A: I can only say I have not participated in any discusions with the LTTE
Q: With Emil Kanthan?
A:I haven't participated with anybody because I attend various discussions with various people. I don't know the people who come to those meetings and from which group.
Officially Minister Mangala Samaraweera invited us for a meeting so we have gone, so there must have been people but we went as officials. But our dealings are as officials. So I don't know why Tiran Alles made that statement because my dealings with him was only as chairman RADA, not beyond that.
By Sonali Samarasingh
Tuesday, July 10, 2007
Dead Mosque
Asif Hassan/AFP-Getty ImagesPakistani soldiers by a barricade near the Red Mosque in Islamabad today.
Mosque Leader Is Killed in Raid in Pakistan
By SALMAN MASOOD and SOMINI SENGUPTAPublished: July 10, 2007ISLAMABAD, July 10
One of the main leaders of the Lal mosque, where security forces have been fighting with militants holed up inside the sprawling compound, has been killed, according to an intelligence official. Explosions and machine-gun fire reverberated in the heart of the capital where the mosque is located, almost 13 hours after fighting began today. The intelligence official, who requested anonymity, said that the leader, Abdur Rashid Ghazi, had been killed. He was one of the two brothers who ran the mosque and religious school. The other brother, Mohammed Abdul Aziz, was arrested last week while trying to flee in a burqa.
Today, a military spokesman said that after 10 hours of fighting, 8 security forces and roughly 50 presumed militants were dead.
Roughly two dozen children, whom the army said were being held hostage, escaped.
Another 29 troops and special forces were injured, the military spokesman, Maj. Gen. Waheed Arshad, told reporters at a press briefing near the Lal Masjid, or Red Mosque. The spokesman said 50 men and 27 women had been captured, including 13 who were wounded in the battles.
Among them were the wife and daughter of one of the main leaders of the mosque.
The assault on the mosque began before daybreak, around 4:30 am, just hours after talks broke down to end the eight-day siege of the mosque. A series of deafening explosions were followed by a black plume of smoke rising to the sky. Throughout the day, explosions were followed by the rattle of small arms fire and by early afternoon, heavy bursts of machine-gun fire. General Arshad said the militants’ arsenal includes rocket launchers, grenades, landmines, and booby traps to foil troops trying to enter the compound. The militants, whom government officials described as being led by known radical Islamist groups, were using the minarets of the mosque to fire at the security forces.
“There is intense engagement,” the spokesman said at a midday briefing. “There is a lot of resistance. They are well-armed, well-trained terrorists.”
Of those who had been captured or wounded, General Arshad said it was too early to tell how many were part of the armed rebellion and how many had been kept inside against their will. Nor could military officials say how many still remained inside. “It’s too early to say who is who, who is a militant,” he said.
The Lal Masjid, having enjoyed decades of government backing, has in recent months become the epicenter of fierce anti-government religious extremism and an awkward millstone around the neck of the Pakistani President, Gen. Pervez Musharraf.
Early this morning, speaking to a private television station, Geo, Mr. Ghazi lambasted the military for betraying the cause of the “mujahideen” and pledged to fight to his death.
“Our army is being misused,” Mr. Ghazi said. “It used to be an army of the mujahideen.”
He refused to answer questions about how many civilians, including children, were being held hostage inside. It was unclear by midafternoon whether Mr. Ghazi was dead or alive.
General Arshad said earlier Mr. Ghazi was believed to be hiding in the southern reaches of the compound, possibly in a basement. By early afternoon, before the muezzins across the city called for the midday prayers, troops had reached the women’s madrassa, the Jamia Hafsa, where an unknown number of women and children are believed to be held hostage.
Relatives of those inside sat listlessly at a parking lot that has been dubbed the “surrender point” for those leaving the besieged mosque, waiting for closure. “We just want to find out if he has been martyred and where to collect his body,” said Jamila Bibi, whose son, Qazi Ajmal Mahmood, 18, had gone inside the mosque eight days ago for reasons she could not specify. He called her on someone else’s cell phone four days ago, she said, and told her he was not leaving. “Who knows what happened inside,” the woman said, clutching prayer beads and a cellphone. “Maybe people inside didn’t let him out.”
The morning strike began after a long late-night failed bid for a negotiated settlement, itself a turnaround in government policy after six days of sporadic gun battles and ultimatums demanding unconditional surrender. The delegation was authorized by General Musharraf and Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz as a last-ditch effort to end the siege and release the students and some of their family members who are being held inside as hostages, government officials said. Under discussion was a face-saving option that would allow Mr. Ghazi, the militants’ leader, to surrender himself and all the weapons inside the mosque to senior clerics, two senior officials said.
The negotiating team did not enter the mosque, but talked with the militants by cellphone and loudspeaker as they waited outside.
Until today’s assault, at least 24 people had been reported killed since gunfire broke out July 3, and scores, perhaps hundreds of students, teachers and militants remain inside the mosque grounds. The siege began after mosque leaders used students to press for Islamic law in Pakistan.
The delegation was led by Chaudhry Shujat Hussain, who is the leader of the Pakistan Muslim League, the ruling party. It included 12 clerics led by Mufti Rafi Usmani, the highest-ranking cleric of Pakistan. It also included Abdul Sattar Edhi, Pakistan’s best-known humanitarian figure, and Sumaira Malik, the minister for women’s development.
“The main point is that the people being held inside should be let go,” said Muhammad Ali Durrani, the Pakistani information minister.
Today, a military spokesman said that after 10 hours of fighting, 8 security forces and roughly 50 presumed militants were dead.
Roughly two dozen children, whom the army said were being held hostage, escaped.
Another 29 troops and special forces were injured, the military spokesman, Maj. Gen. Waheed Arshad, told reporters at a press briefing near the Lal Masjid, or Red Mosque. The spokesman said 50 men and 27 women had been captured, including 13 who were wounded in the battles.
Among them were the wife and daughter of one of the main leaders of the mosque.
The assault on the mosque began before daybreak, around 4:30 am, just hours after talks broke down to end the eight-day siege of the mosque. A series of deafening explosions were followed by a black plume of smoke rising to the sky. Throughout the day, explosions were followed by the rattle of small arms fire and by early afternoon, heavy bursts of machine-gun fire. General Arshad said the militants’ arsenal includes rocket launchers, grenades, landmines, and booby traps to foil troops trying to enter the compound. The militants, whom government officials described as being led by known radical Islamist groups, were using the minarets of the mosque to fire at the security forces.
“There is intense engagement,” the spokesman said at a midday briefing. “There is a lot of resistance. They are well-armed, well-trained terrorists.”
Of those who had been captured or wounded, General Arshad said it was too early to tell how many were part of the armed rebellion and how many had been kept inside against their will. Nor could military officials say how many still remained inside. “It’s too early to say who is who, who is a militant,” he said.
The Lal Masjid, having enjoyed decades of government backing, has in recent months become the epicenter of fierce anti-government religious extremism and an awkward millstone around the neck of the Pakistani President, Gen. Pervez Musharraf.
Early this morning, speaking to a private television station, Geo, Mr. Ghazi lambasted the military for betraying the cause of the “mujahideen” and pledged to fight to his death.
“Our army is being misused,” Mr. Ghazi said. “It used to be an army of the mujahideen.”
He refused to answer questions about how many civilians, including children, were being held hostage inside. It was unclear by midafternoon whether Mr. Ghazi was dead or alive.
General Arshad said earlier Mr. Ghazi was believed to be hiding in the southern reaches of the compound, possibly in a basement. By early afternoon, before the muezzins across the city called for the midday prayers, troops had reached the women’s madrassa, the Jamia Hafsa, where an unknown number of women and children are believed to be held hostage.
Relatives of those inside sat listlessly at a parking lot that has been dubbed the “surrender point” for those leaving the besieged mosque, waiting for closure. “We just want to find out if he has been martyred and where to collect his body,” said Jamila Bibi, whose son, Qazi Ajmal Mahmood, 18, had gone inside the mosque eight days ago for reasons she could not specify. He called her on someone else’s cell phone four days ago, she said, and told her he was not leaving. “Who knows what happened inside,” the woman said, clutching prayer beads and a cellphone. “Maybe people inside didn’t let him out.”
The morning strike began after a long late-night failed bid for a negotiated settlement, itself a turnaround in government policy after six days of sporadic gun battles and ultimatums demanding unconditional surrender. The delegation was authorized by General Musharraf and Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz as a last-ditch effort to end the siege and release the students and some of their family members who are being held inside as hostages, government officials said. Under discussion was a face-saving option that would allow Mr. Ghazi, the militants’ leader, to surrender himself and all the weapons inside the mosque to senior clerics, two senior officials said.
The negotiating team did not enter the mosque, but talked with the militants by cellphone and loudspeaker as they waited outside.
Until today’s assault, at least 24 people had been reported killed since gunfire broke out July 3, and scores, perhaps hundreds of students, teachers and militants remain inside the mosque grounds. The siege began after mosque leaders used students to press for Islamic law in Pakistan.
The delegation was led by Chaudhry Shujat Hussain, who is the leader of the Pakistan Muslim League, the ruling party. It included 12 clerics led by Mufti Rafi Usmani, the highest-ranking cleric of Pakistan. It also included Abdul Sattar Edhi, Pakistan’s best-known humanitarian figure, and Sumaira Malik, the minister for women’s development.
“The main point is that the people being held inside should be let go,” said Muhammad Ali Durrani, the Pakistani information minister.
British ranks LTTE as the second most dangerous terror group
British ranks LTTE as the second most dangerous terror group
July 7, 2007, 16:49 GMT, ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka.
July 07, Colombo: The British government has placed Sri Lanka’s Tamil Tigers as the second most dangerous terror group after the Al-Queda.
The United Kingdom already has put 44 groups on its list of terrorist organizations. As a result it will become illegal for British to be members of or encourage support for these groups.
The 44 international terrorist organizations currently proscribed under the Terrorism Act 2000 range from obscure sects to well-known groups like Hamas, Hezbollah and Al-Qaeda.
It has been widely reported that terror tactics of Al Qaeda are borrowed from the textbooks of LTTE.
IMF says Sri Lanka is economically strong.
Friday, 06 July 2007
International Monetary Fund (IMF) expressed satisfaction over the present economic situation in Sri Lanka.
These observations were made at a meeting, the representatives of IMF, had with the President Mahinda Rajapaksa today at the Temple Trees.
Monetary Reformative activities and multi purpose economic policies, adopted by the Government and the mutual relation prevailing between the Ministry of Finance and the Central Bank were also commenced by them.
They said, if Sri Lanka is able to resolve the North East conflict and restore peace it would definitely be able to achieve a tremendous economic development.
The President in response explained to the representatives that every effort is being made to liberate the East from the clutches of the terrorist and thereafter to develop the necessary infrastructure facilities, agriculture and the tourist industry which would enhance, the living standards of Sinhala, Tamil and Muslim, living in those areas.
"The Government is fully committee to bring forth a political solution, acceptable to all parties. All Party Conference is fully engaged today in an effort to arrive at such an acceptable resolution. Weekly discussions are held by the Council of Eminent Persons, on the national economy and the policies agreed upon by the council are implemented accordingly," stated the President.
Monetary Fund representatives accompanied by the Deputy Chief of the Asia Pacific Department, Ms Olin Liu, Secretary to the President Lalith Weeratunga, Governor of the Central Bank Ajith Nivard Cubral and the Secretary Ministry of Finance Dr. P.B. Jayasundara also participated at the occasion.
July 7, 2007, 16:49 GMT, ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka.
July 07, Colombo: The British government has placed Sri Lanka’s Tamil Tigers as the second most dangerous terror group after the Al-Queda.
The United Kingdom already has put 44 groups on its list of terrorist organizations. As a result it will become illegal for British to be members of or encourage support for these groups.
The 44 international terrorist organizations currently proscribed under the Terrorism Act 2000 range from obscure sects to well-known groups like Hamas, Hezbollah and Al-Qaeda.
It has been widely reported that terror tactics of Al Qaeda are borrowed from the textbooks of LTTE.
IMF says Sri Lanka is economically strong.
Friday, 06 July 2007
International Monetary Fund (IMF) expressed satisfaction over the present economic situation in Sri Lanka.
These observations were made at a meeting, the representatives of IMF, had with the President Mahinda Rajapaksa today at the Temple Trees.
Monetary Reformative activities and multi purpose economic policies, adopted by the Government and the mutual relation prevailing between the Ministry of Finance and the Central Bank were also commenced by them.
They said, if Sri Lanka is able to resolve the North East conflict and restore peace it would definitely be able to achieve a tremendous economic development.
The President in response explained to the representatives that every effort is being made to liberate the East from the clutches of the terrorist and thereafter to develop the necessary infrastructure facilities, agriculture and the tourist industry which would enhance, the living standards of Sinhala, Tamil and Muslim, living in those areas.
"The Government is fully committee to bring forth a political solution, acceptable to all parties. All Party Conference is fully engaged today in an effort to arrive at such an acceptable resolution. Weekly discussions are held by the Council of Eminent Persons, on the national economy and the policies agreed upon by the council are implemented accordingly," stated the President.
Monetary Fund representatives accompanied by the Deputy Chief of the Asia Pacific Department, Ms Olin Liu, Secretary to the President Lalith Weeratunga, Governor of the Central Bank Ajith Nivard Cubral and the Secretary Ministry of Finance Dr. P.B. Jayasundara also participated at the occasion.
“Govt will hold the election in the East soon,”
Minister Nimal Siripala De Silva.
Friday, 06 July 2007
“The Government will be taking steps to hold the local government elections in east as soon as possible under the directives of the President Mahinda Rajapaksa,” stated the Senior Vice Chairman of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP), Nimal Siripala de Silva.
Addressing a press briefing today (06), Minister de Silva stated that the Government will be facilitating the citizens of East to elect peoples’ representatives in accordance with their choices through these elections.
He pointed out that the Government has already stretched a vast development programme, a new leaf in the civil administrative structure following the successful liberation of the LTTE controlled areas in the Eastern province.
Minister also pointed out that though the Government has always been persisting in the view that there should be only a negotiated settlement to the ethnic crisis, LTTE has been continuously using it as a means of strengthening their war capability and if the Government re-enters the negotiation table, the LTTE should take it to notice that that they do not use it likewise again.
The discussion was also attended by the Minister of Health Promotion Dayarathna Herath, Western Provincial council Members Kumar Wijesinghe, Mayantha Dissanayaka and other office bearers of the SLFP.
Friday, 06 July 2007
“The Government will be taking steps to hold the local government elections in east as soon as possible under the directives of the President Mahinda Rajapaksa,” stated the Senior Vice Chairman of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP), Nimal Siripala de Silva.
Addressing a press briefing today (06), Minister de Silva stated that the Government will be facilitating the citizens of East to elect peoples’ representatives in accordance with their choices through these elections.
He pointed out that the Government has already stretched a vast development programme, a new leaf in the civil administrative structure following the successful liberation of the LTTE controlled areas in the Eastern province.
Minister also pointed out that though the Government has always been persisting in the view that there should be only a negotiated settlement to the ethnic crisis, LTTE has been continuously using it as a means of strengthening their war capability and if the Government re-enters the negotiation table, the LTTE should take it to notice that that they do not use it likewise again.
The discussion was also attended by the Minister of Health Promotion Dayarathna Herath, Western Provincial council Members Kumar Wijesinghe, Mayantha Dissanayaka and other office bearers of the SLFP.
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