SRI LANKA IN FOCUS

India-Lanka discussions on situation in island nation tomorrow

2008-10-25T19:25:00.001+05:30

India and Sri Lanka will have high-level discussions on the situation in the island nation, particularly concerning the well-being of ethnic Tamils, here tomorrow amid mounting pressure on government from some Tamil parties to act.
Basil Rajapaksa, Special Adviser of the Sri Lankan President, will hold talks with External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee during which he is expected to spell out the measures being taken by Colombo to ensure safety of civilians while undertaking the military campaign against the LTTE.

Basil, who will also meet National Security Adviser M K Narayanan and Foreign Secretary Shivshankar Menon during his day-long visit, is expected to bring a message from President Mahinda Rajapaksa on his intentions.

The Sri Lankan President, during a telephonic conversation with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh last Saturday, assured him that "all necessary measures" are being taken to ensure safety and well-being of the Tamil community in the island nation.

Fearing that civilian Tamils in Sri Lanka may become victims of circumstances, the Indian side is keen to know what steps the Rajapaksa government is taking and planning to take to ensure their safety amidst raging conflict between the military and LTTE in north of the island nation.

Singh has already told the Sri Lankan President to ensure that the rights of civilian Tamils are not compromised and they do not get "enmeshed" in the conflict.

The fact that Sri Lanka is sending a high-ranking envoy here to discuss the situation is seen here as "seriousness" being attached by Colombo to keep New Delhi posted on happenings in that country.

The UPA government is facing intense pressure from its key constituent DMK and some other Tamil parties to act to end conflict in Sri Lanka.

PTI

India must stop military assistance to Lanka demands Communist Party of India

2008-10-25T18:04:00.000+05:30

CPI(Communist Party of India) today demanded that India should stop military assistance to Sri Lanka and reopen and renegotiate an agreement that provides rights to Indian fishermen in the international waters between the two countries. Party MP D Raja said whether lethal or non-lethal any assistance provided to Sri Lanka now now would be used in war and this would be construed as a "collaboration" in the "offensive" against Tamils by that country.
He said the government has not not come clean on the issue and on the rights of the Indian fishermen under the Katchathivu agreement of 1974.

Raja said the government use its good offices with the Sri Lankan president Rajapakse and bring about a ceasefire and a political solution to the problem of ethnic Tamils.

PTI

Karunanidhi condemns attack on Rajiv statue

2008-10-25T18:00:00.000+05:30

Condemning the attack on former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi's statue at suburban Kodungayur, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi today said strict action will be taken against those responsible for the "grave crime".

"Those who committed the grave crime will be arrested under the stringent detention law, the Goondas Act. Those, detained under the act, cannot come out on bail for a period of one year," he wrote in DMK's organ 'Murasoli'.

Karunanidhi said he had asked police to take stern action against those who committed the crime without any delay.

The attack on the statue yesterday triggered angry reactions from Congress workers, who staged demonstrations at various places demanding immediate arrest of culprits involved in the act.

Condemning the incident, TNCC President K V Thangkabalu had expressed apprehensions that sympathisers of the banned LTTE could be behind it.

Karunanidhi today said the crime might have been committed by some anti-social elments as "some mischief mongers" wanted to create friction in the relationship between Congress and DMK. "The masks of these persons will be torn soon."

He claimed that yesterday's human chain, organised by DMK to press the Centre to take stern steps to prevail upon the Sri Lankan Government to stop its offensive in the Northern parts of the island nation, was a "great success".

Despite heavy rains, people from all walks of life gathered and formed one of the biggest human chain, he said and thanked all those, who co-operated with the DMK in the agitation.

timesnow

Tamil Nadu film directors remanded to judicial custody

2008-10-25T17:31:00.000+05:30

Tamil film Directors Seeman and Ameer, arrested on charges of sedition for their pro-LTTE speeches on the Sri Lankan issue, were today remanded to 15 days judicial custody by a Magistrate Court in Ramanathapuram.

Mr Seeman and Ameer were arrested here last night for allegedly speaking in support of the banned LTTE at the October 19 rally organised by the tinsel world at Rameswaram to condemn the killing of innocent Tamils in Sri Lanka.

The Q Branch police, taking cognisance of the speech, registered a case in Ramanathapuram, leading to their arrest.

They were taken to Madurai by air this morning from where they were taken to Ramanathapuram by road.

They were later taken to Madurai and lodged in Central Prison.

mynews

'Kashmir resolution will help solve Palestine, Lankan conflicts'

2008-10-25T17:29:00.000+05:30

Moderate Kashmiri separatist leader Sajjad Lone Saturday said a credible dialogue process between Indian administered Kashmiris and New Delhi can set an example for Palestine and Sri Lanka to resolve their conflicts through parleys. He also called for a boycott of the coming state elections in Indian administered Kashmir.

"If dialogue process in Kashmir becomes successful it can be an example for Palestine and Sri Lanka," Lone said addressing a news conference here.

The dialogue process between Kashmiri separatists and New Delhi has been as fruitless as talks between Palestinian groups fighting Israeli occupation and Tel Aviv.

The other major conflict, in Sri Lanka, has consumed more than 300,000 lives but repeated talks between insurgents fighting for freedom and government have failed.

Announcing the boycott of coming general elections in Kashmir, Lone called the exercise as an "irrelevant issue".

"New Delhi should first institutionalize the dialogue process," Lone said.

Lone who authored 'Achievable Nationhood', one of the many roadmaps to Kashmir's freedom from Indian rule, entered into parleys with New Delhi in 2006.

kashmirnewz

LTTE claims Lanka army attack killed civilians in Kilinochchi

2008-10-25T17:25:00.001+05:30

Sri Lankan army intensified their pressure on the rebel stronghold of Kilinochchi, destroying bunkers, as Tamil Tigers today claimed that the advancing government forces had launched an artillery barrage on a village, killing two civilians.

"Sri Lankan Army carried out artillery barrage last evening targeting Sivanakar, a village 7 km west of Kilinochchi. In this attack former Cooperative Society Manager Sinaiya Ramalingam (68) and his son, a schoolteacher, Ramalingam Vijiyananthan (32) were killed," a LTTE statement said.

The pro-tiger website 'Tamilnet' said the two were shifting to a safer place when the attack took place, in which a tractor driver narrowly escaped death.

The Sri Lankan defence ministry reported heavy fighting in four places around Akkarayankulm, Iranamadu, Kokavil and Kalmadu areas, all close to the rebel stronghold of Kilinochchi. It did not provide any details of casualties, in keeping with the new government line.

"Troops of the 57 Division operating east and west of the Akkarayankulama Tank bund, Kilinochchi, made further strides into LTTE positions inflicting heavy damages to LTTE," the ministry quoted the sources as saying.

According to military, two separate confrontations were reported in general area of Akkarayankulama while sporadic fighting were also reported northeast of the same area.

Separately, troops of the 57 Division flanking the eastern Kilinochchi battlefront and moving towards Iranamadu area met with stiff LTTE resistance at around 7.30 pm on Friday, the ministry said adding LTTE suffered heavy casualties.

PTI

Heavy fighting as Sri Lanka troops push into Tiger territory: military

2008-10-25T17:20:00.001+05:30

Sri Lanka troops were locked in heavy combat with Tamil Tiger guerrillas in the island's north where soldiers made several advances into rebel-held territory, the defence ministry said Saturday.

Two separate confrontations were reported southwest of the Tamil Tiger political capital of Kilinochchi on Friday and sporadic fighting continued afterward, the ministry said.

"Heavy fighting at the Akkarayankulam and Iranamadu areas has been reported between troops and LTTE since Friday morning," the ministry said.

It gave no details of casualties and said the authorities had decided not to release figures of those killed and wounded in the latest round of fighting.

The ministry said earlier this week it would not divulge details about casualties because of the "need for operational security." The announcement came just after the military reported 36 soldiers were killed in the worst single loss for security forces in the past six months.

There was no immediate word from the Tigers about the latest fighting, but the guerrillas in a statement said military shelling had killed two civilians south of Kilinochchi.

Defence ministry maps show troops are about 10 to 15 kilometres (six to 10 miles) southwest of Kilinochchi.

Tens of thousands of people have died on both sides since 1972, when the LTTE launched its campaign to carve out an independent state in the Sinhalese-majority island of 20 million people.

AFP

Lanka to censor war casualty figures

2008-10-25T02:48:00.000+05:30

The Sri Lanka government on Friday decided to censor casualty figures coming out of the northern battle fields where its armed forces are locked in battle with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).

Independent verification of the fighting and casualties is anyway not possible because journalists are banned from the war zone. Both the LTTE and the Lankan defence ministry are accused of exaggerating enemy casualties and underreporting their own.

Also, claims made by the armed forces about LTTE casualty often do not match their own estimate of the Tigers’ strength.

The LTTE also seldom publishes the casualty figures of their own cadres. Friday's decision would make it even more difficult to get the correct picture of the war situation. The defence ministry said that it decided “suspend the reporting of all casualty figures in relation to the ongoing counter terrorist operation in Wanni. This is in consideration of the continuing advance of the security forces there and the need for operational security, whereby such reportage may impede the successful accomplishment of the mission.”

Meanwhile, an additional 51 lorries carrying essential services and goods were dispatched to the conflict areas on Friday, said Essential Services Commissioner S B Divarathne.

hindustantimes

Military solution in Sri Lanka very difficult: U.S.

2008-10-25T02:42:00.001+05:30

Asks parties to accept political solution without waiting for LTTE defeat

The United States is encouraging all parties in Sri Lanka to accept a political solution to the conflict without waiting for a military defeat of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eeelam.

In an interactive session at the University of Madras on Friday, U.S. Ambassador to Sri Lanka Robert Blake rejected Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s view that political talks could come only after the LTTE was wiped out or disarmed. “A military solution is going to be very, very difficult,” he said, citing Sri Lankan Army Chief Sarath Fonseka’s statement that even if the Army occupied all of northern Sri Lanka, a residual guerrilla force of at least a thousand LTTE fighters would go underground.

Mr. Blake made it clear that the ruling and opposition parties needed to agree on the All Parties Representative Committee’s blueprint for constitutional reform. “The greatest failure of the last 25 years has been the failure of the main Sinhalese parties to reach agreement,” he said adding 90 per cent of the APRC document had found consensus.
Three-fold benefits

“The U.S. view is that the [Sri Lankan] government could further isolate and weaken the LTTE if it articulates now its vision for a political solution,” said Mr. Blake. Moving forward on a political solution would have three-fold benefits — to reassure 2,00,000 refugees in the Vanni region that they can move south and aspire to a better future; to disprove the LTTE’s claim of being the sole representative of Sri Lanka’s Tamils; and to persuade Tamils overseas to stop funding the LTTE.

A political solution could also improve the human rights situation “that has disproportionately affected Tamils” and would hasten reconciliation, he added.

Mr. Blake felt that India and the U.S. could use their strategic partnership to good effect in Sri Lanka, where the two countries “share exactly the same perspectives, the same values.” While refusing to comment on the demands in Tamil Nadu for Indian intervention in Sri Lanka, the Ambassador noted that “with Indian help and leadership, we have a good chance of making progress on this.”

So far as the U.S. was concerned, he ruled out any military intervention on the island. In fact, the U.S. recently effected a complete freeze on all military assistance to Sri Lanka after concerns were voiced about the human rights situation and the use of child soldiers. However, the U.S. earlier “helped the Sri Lankan military defend itself against terrorism,” by supplying a maritime radar system and 10 inflatable boats to the navy.

The American ban on the LTTE, which was followed by several other countries, also cut the flow of money and weapons to the Tigers, the result of which could be seen in their recent military defeats, he said.

Today, most American aid to Sri Lanka was either humanitarian in nature or was focussed on building the economic and political infrastructure of the eastern part of the island. This year, the U.S. had contributed $32.7 million worth of food and other commodities through the Food for Peace programme, said Mr. Blake.

Hindu

Sri Lankan government minister says India has a right to intervene in the ethnic crisis

2008-10-22T18:57:00.002+05:30

Periyasamy Chandrasekaran, Leader of the Upcountry People's Front and a Member of Parliament for the Nuwara Eliya district today said India's intervention in the Sri Lankan terrorism issue cannot be avoided.

Speaking at the parliament this morning Minister Chandrasekaran said at the moment most of the civilians in the Kilinochchi district are facing more difficulties due to the on going war in Northern region.

He said there are no political solutions to the ethnic conflicts in the world.

Minister Chandrasekaran pointed out due to this conflict many Tamil leaders in the country have been killed in the past decades.

"In this situation people in the Tamil Nadu have a certain rights to intervene in the ethnic crisis in Sri Lanka," the Minister added.

colombopage

Anti-terrorist exhibition in UK highlights Tiger atrocities

2008-10-22T01:15:00.000+05:30

The European Community will get a first hand eye witness account of LTTE atrocities against innocent civilians in Sri Lanka when an anti-terrorist exhibition of photographs is launched by the anti-terrorist Sri Lankan Forum in Britain in several European cities shortly.

The first leg of this exhibition organised in collaboration with the Presidential Media Unit, the Foreign Ministry and the Sri Lanka High Commission in UK will open at the centre one hall at Cheswick Street London, near Scotland Yard Headquarters at 10 a.m. today.

A Presidential Media Unit release said Lord Nesby, a senior member of the British House of Lords will be among the main invitees at today’s opening ceremony.

Among other leading personalities attending as invitees will be, Conservative Party Shadow Foreign Secretary and former Conservative Leader William Hague, British Parliamentarians Stephen Cameron and Andrew Leet and Sri Lanka High Commissioner Nihal Jayasinghe.

A large number of intellectuals, media personalities and Sri Lankans domiciled in Britain will also be present.

The release said the Exhibition will feature nearly 280 large size photographs in addition to screening of short video films and distribution of pamphlets showing the LTTE barbarism.

The photographs will include those of politicians of all communities, from Jaffna Mayor Alfred Duraiappa to Major General Janaka Perera as well as intellectuals and other eminent persons killed by the LTTE.

The exhibition will also portray the massacre of civilians, destruction to property caused by the LTTE terrorists and their suicide attacks and conscription of child soldiers.Photographs depicting the development and stabilisation of democracy in the Eastern Province following its liberation from LTTE clutches will also be included in the exhibition.

When Sri Lanka is facing a decisive moment in its efforts to defeat LTTE terrorism comprehensively Sri Lankans resident in Europe too have rallied round to support that effort.

The second leg of the exhibition will be at the Hague in Netherlands on October 27 and 28 and the third in Paris, France on October 30 and 31.

dailynews

Sri Lanka pushes war ahead despite Indian pressure

2008-10-21T23:13:00.000+05:30

Sri Lankan troops advanced deeper into areas held by the rebel Tamil Tigers after smashing through a 10-km (6-mile) trench line that has been the site of heavy combat for two months, the military said on Tuesday.

And with diplomatic pressure mounting from New Delhi since last week, officials said Sri Lanka's government was planning trips to India and Pakistan to shore up support for a war it is increasingly certain it can win.

On Tuesday, the Defence Ministry said soldiers fought across massive earthen dams and trenches built by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) at Akarrayankulam and Vannirakulam, amid heavy monsoon downpours.

"Intense fighting was reported between troops and the LTTE over the long earth bund (dam) at Vannerikulam and Akkarayankulam, as troops made their first moves after consolidating their newly gained positions," the Defence Ministry said in a statement.

The military gave no casualty figures for the fighting.

The army on Monday said it had captured those areas after weeks of battles in the north of the Indian Ocean island nation, where it is trying to end a 25-year-old civil war.

The LTTE has been fighting for a separate homeland in the north and east for Sri Lanka's ethnic Tamil people.

Both areas are a little more than 10 km southwest of the rebels' capital of Kilinochchi along a curving front that extends west to the port of Nachikkudah, also the site of heavy fighting for weeks as the army moves up the coast and pushes east.

LONG SLOG

Soldiers are advancing toward Kilinochchi on several fronts, and the military says some of them are within 2 km of a target as strategic as it is symbolic.

"They have dug a lot of trenches to slow down our advance," retired General Hamilton Wanasinghe, a former Sri Lankan army commander and defence secretary, told Reuters. "It must be tough going otherwise we would have cleared there by now."

Defence analyst Iqbal Athas said Vannirakulam was "just one more village on the way" to Kilinochchi amid resistance and now heavy rain that has turned roads to muddy quagmires.

"It is indeed a long slog, and what it tells us is that contrary to what was expected, there has been heavy resistance and there will be more," Athas said.

President Mahinda Rajapaksa's government, dominated by the ethnic Sinhalese majority, is increasingly confident of winning a war that has energized his political base.

Local media on Tuesday reported that his brothers, Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa and special presidential advisor Basil Rajapaksa, would head to Pakistan and India respectively to strengthen defence ties amid heightened tensions with New Delhi.

Last week, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh urged Sri Lanka to find a political end the war and protect 230,000 displaced Tamil civilians, after protests led by Tamil legislators in his ruling coalition.

"The defence secretary may visit India and Pakistan for the purpose of tightening cordial relations on defence affairs," Defence spokesperson Keheliya Rambukwella said.

Pakistan provides weapons to Sri Lanka, which diplomats say rankles India but gives Colombo some leverage against a regional giant that has always been a major player in the war.

Singh and Rajapaksa spoke over the weekend on the phone, and the Rajapaksa's office in a statement released on Tuesday said the issue of stopping the war never came up in the discussion.

He also reiterated the fact that the government is providing aid to refugees from the fighting, the statement said.

Most analysts expect India to do little except press for political devolution deal for Tamils, since it already provides Sri Lanka non-lethal military equipment and intelligence about the LTTE, which it has designated a terrorist group.

Reuters

Army advances will not end war

2008-10-21T22:57:00.002+05:30

EVENT: The Sri Lanka Army is poised to capture the key rebel town of Kilinochchi, an army spokesman said yesterday.

SIGNIFICANCE: The army has advanced along the western coast to within two miles of Kilinochchi, the administrative centre for the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam. The capture of Kilinochchi would inflict a significant blow against the rebel group, prompting the government to say that it may soon win the three-decade civil war.

ANALYSIS: The Sri Lanka Army (SLA) has been significantly strengthened since the last phase of the conflict against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), which resulted in a battlefield stalemate. It now says that the rebels are on the verge of collapse. The government in Colombo, which since mid-2006 has made crushing the LTTE its priority, also says that that the Tigers will soon be wiped out and the war over.

The recent advances follow two years of intense campaigning -- first in the island's east (in 2006-7) and, since 2007, in a four-front offensive against the LTTE's northern stronghold. The rebels have been running a mini-state from the town of Kilinochchi, the largest town in the Vanni region, for over a decade. Its capture would be a major blow to their cause.

Yet the LTTE show distinct signs of resilience, and a more realistic outlook is for further protracted and sustained conflict. The government's planned increases in defence expenditure and the military's fresh recruitment drives suggest that preparations for this eventuality are under way.

Questionable claims. Government assertions of imminent victory are based on equating the military's recent territorial gains to LTTE weakness. However, the SLA has made similarly impressive territorial advances before without conclusive results. The Tigers have appeared on the brink of defeat on other occasions, notably in 1999, but later proved able to blunt the state's offensive and inflict serious defeats.

There are a number of reasons why government hopes of an impending, strategic victory are unlikely to materialise:

1. Tactical difficulties. To destroy the LTTE, the military must achieve several goals:

It must steadily advance into the rebels' longstanding jungle base areas in Mullaitivu, in the eastern Vanni.

It must maintain effective control over previously captured territories -- including the sprawling eastern province and the Jaffna peninsula.

At the same time, it needs to protect Colombo and the south from bomb attacks.

A conclusive victory would require fulfilling these objectives simultaneously, which is a tall order.

2. Prior experience. Given these tactical needs, the military's recent territorial gains are inconclusive. When the LTTE launched a counter-offensive in 1999, the military controlled more of the Vanni region than it does at present. It held the ground from Kilinochchi's northern outskirts through Elephant Pass and all of Jaffna, and was advancing steadily up central and western Vanni. The LTTE then controlled only Kilinochchi town (which it recaptured in 1998, having lost it to the SLA in 1996) and part of Mullaitivu district. Nonetheless, in that limited space the rebels were able to mass sufficient troops and material for a significant counter-offensive, recapturing the entire Vanni area and going on to overrun Elephant Pass and southern Jaffna.

3. LTTE tactics. The SLA has significantly expanded in recent years, both in terms of numbers (from 100,000 to 160,000) and firepower. Yet the LTTE have done likewise. They had just two artillery pieces in 1999 but now have several more, as well as a large number of heavy mortars. They have also expanded their naval wing and acquired a rudimentary air force.

As in 1999, the LTTE's true fighting capacity is not known with certainty. That they have not resisted the SLA more strongly thus far is being interpreted as weakness. Yet it can also be argued that the LTTE strategy is more in line with a protracted 'war of the flea', with a strategic stalemate as the goal.

Resilient LTTE. The military is already facing significant troop shortages. Casualties and desertions are increasing, especially in key front-line units. Civilian hospitals in Colombo and the SLA garrison towns of Vavuniya and Anuradhapura are handling a steady stream of seriously wounded soldiers.

At the same time, guerrilla attacks and bombings are increasing in government-controlled areas. Although each individual attack may not be serious, large numbers of military personnel are tied up in efforts to pacify and/or protect these areas:

A recent attack in Anuradhapura killed a prominent former general together with 30 civilians, demonstrating the LTTE's ability to strike a key logistical and operational town for the SLA.

There are persistent reports that hundreds of guerillas have re-infiltrated the east, from where they were driven out after a year of campaigning by the SLA.

There have also been regular attacks against troops, police and Sinhalese civilians in the south, including occasional (albeit small) blasts in Colombo.

Difficult terrain. The military has had to work unusually hard to secure territorial gains on the northern battlefronts. In principle, its new assets and simultaneous assaults (on the Mannar, Jaffna, Vavuniya and Weli Oya fronts) should have delivered quicker gains.

Moreover, it is significant that Mannar is the only front where the LTTE have fallen back. A marshy area that is short of drinking water, prone to flooding in the monsoons and parched in the hot season, it is particularly harsh terrain for a protracted war. Until the LTTE's strongholds in Mullaitivu are captured, the SLA will need to hold Mannar -- especially since the government has made much political capital from its gain there.

Rebel staying power. The Tigers are suffering casualties, but the numbers are much lower than the government claims. More importantly, they are neither unprecedented nor intolerable for the rebels, who have previously demonstrated an ability to sustain high attrition rates:

The government claims that the LTTE have suffered 8,000 casualties this year. Yet examination of the data together with local press commentary and LTTE statements indicate that this is an exaggeration. A more credible estimate of LTTE losses in 2008 is approximately 2,000.

Even in 1997, the most intense year of the earlier phase of the conflict, the LTTE lost almost the same number. This represented more than 10% of the rebels' numerical strength that year. They nonetheless proved capable of a major counter-offensive in 1999 and 2000.

Crucially, while the military's 'teeth' units have been campaigning relentlessly for over two years, the LTTE's core forces have yet to be committed to battle. In the past year of resistance, the rebels have mainly deployed units of new recruits, including those withdrawn from the east, stiffened by a few experience cadres. Where core units have been committed, especially in Jaffna, SLA advances have been quickly stopped, often with heavy losses.

CONCLUSION: The military has made impressive territorial gains this year, but this does not amount to a strategic weakening of the LTTE. Similar territorial gains made in the late 1990s against a much weaker LTTE were swiftly reversed in a year-long counter-offensive which the exhausted military could not resist. In assessing the LTTE's capacity for survival, the rebels' present territorial confines should be compared to those of 1995-1999, rather than that of the 2002-2006 ceasefire period. A swift victory by the military is highly unlikely.

Source: Oxford Analytica

India hasn’t demanded halting war against LTTE: Rajapaksa

2008-10-21T18:24:00.002+05:30

Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa Tuesday asserted that there was no demand from the Indian government to halt the military campaign against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in the northern part of the island.

Rajapaksa made the statement while addressing Sri Lankan media heads and editors at his heavily-guarded official residence Temple Trees.

‘In response to a question, President Rajapaksa said that in the telephone conversation with the Indian Prime Minister (on Saturday) there was no reference to the stopping of military operations against the terrorism of the LTTE. He (the President) had made it very clear that the operations were against the LTTE,’ a statement from the president’s office said.

Rajapaksa’s statement comes at a time when Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi, at an all-party meeting in Chennai last week, said that all 40 MPs from the state would resign if India did not intervene by Oct 29 to stop the ‘genocide’ against Tamils in Sri Lanka.

Fifteen MPs, including two central ministers, as also Karunanidhi’s daughter Kanimozhi, have already submitted post-dated resignation letters to the chief minister.

However, Rajapaksa has told local media heads and editors that he ‘was aware of the political pressures in India at the moment, especially considering the reality of coalition politics and the diverse interests that surface in such situations’.

‘President Rajapaksa said that the friendly relations between Sri Lanka and India remain very strong. India had always helped us when necessary and supported us in international fora,’ the statement from his office said.

Claiming that it was the ‘primary responsibility’ of his government to look after all the citizens, Rajapaksa said that he carries out ‘this responsibility to the fullest especially with regard to the people who are temporarily displaced in the north, due to the ongoing military operations to defeat terrorism.’

‘There is a wrong impression created in Tamil Nadu that this not been done. This is furthest from the correct position. All these are our citizens and we take every measure to look after and provide for them,’ the president was quoted as saying.

Addressing the meeting, Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollagama said: ‘The recent developments in Tamil Nadu and the recent activities there did not reflect the policies of New Delhi.

‘The message of New Delhi has been that it stands for the rights of the Tamil people and against the LTTE,’ he added.

Bogollagama has invited Indian External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee to visit Colombo to discuss the situation in the northern part of the island.

Renegade rebel leader Vinayagamoorthy Muralitharan, known as Karuna Amman, who now heads the Tamil Makkal Viduthalai Puligal (TMVP) said at the meeting, that the support of the people in Tamil Nadu to the Tamil people in the north ’should not’ become support for the LTTE.

‘Mr. Muralitharan (who was recently appointed as a government MP) added that the military operations in the Wanni could not be stopped immediately. With his own experience in fighting, it was his understanding that India could not bring an immediate stop to the fighting in Kargil (in Jammu and Kashmir when Pakistani troops intruded into the area in 1999),’ the president’s office statement said.

sindhtoday

Lanka says Mukherjee can clarify humanitarian position himself

2008-10-21T15:51:00.000+05:30

Sri Lanka has said that it has invited Indian External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee to the island nation to 'clarify' for himself the humanitarian position in the country.

Stating this Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollagama said that his government was maintaining a close relationship with India and shared a similar stand on the issue of terrorism.

“With the view of clarifying the position of the Government with regard to the humanitarian mission in the North, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has invited the External Affairs Minister of India Pranab Mukherjee to Sri Lanka,” an official release on the minister’s statement said.

Quoting the minister, it said, the government has taken measures to brief the international community of its position.

As far as sending a delegation to India, Bogollagama said, the Government so far has not taken any decision. But a formal request has been forwarded to New Delhi inviting Mukherjee, the release said.

Referring to the decision of several parliamentarians of the Tamil Nadu Government to forward their letters of resignation to their Chief Minister, Bogollagama said: “none of them have resigned from their portfolios yet”.

The Foreign Minister said the goal of the Sri Lankan government was to bring democracy to all parts of the country and pointed out that it has become a reality in the East after the liberation of the province from the “clutches of terrorism”.

He affirmed that in the near future the people of Mullaittivu and Wanni will be a part of the democratic process in the country as terrorism will be is militarily defeated.

expressindia

Rajapaksa opposes ceasefire with LTTE

2008-10-21T14:28:00.000+05:30

The sudden tumult in Tamil Nadu seeking an immediate truce in Sri Lanka has hit President Mahinda Rajapaksa where it hurts him most. But he is most unlikely to go for a ceasefire with the Tamil Tigers, regardless of what India may desire.

Until Tamil Nadu's DMK and its allies dramatically told the Congress-led central government to pressure Colombo to cease its military campaign against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) by Oct 29, Sri Lanka believed it was on the victory lap, with no roadblock seemingly in sight.

Despite a creaking economy, what favoured Rajapaksa was that large sections in the majority Sinhalese community shared his view that the costly conflict against the LTTE was about to end, on Colombo's terms.

The present war is thus the president's political lifeline. This is why his government contemptuously dismissed the LTTE's unilateral announcement of a ceasefire ahead of the SAARC summit in Colombo Aug 1-3.

Only the naïve can expect him to take a U-turn now when he thinks, rightly or wrongly, that his moment of glory is around the corner.

The military's ability to clear the eastern province of the LTTE and kill some of its key leaders besides putting the guerrillas on the defensive in the north made many to gloat in Colombo that success was finally in sight.

That is when Tamil Nadu erupted, taking Rajapaksa and his advisors by surprise.

In the process, India-Sri Lanka ties are under strain again. Anti-India sentiments are on the rise among the Sinhalese who until the other day were happy with New Delhi's military and diplomatic support.

But it will be a fallacy to believe that Rajapaksa's ire is caused solely by the unrest in Tamil Nadu. And it will be equally wrong to assume that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh needed the Tamil Nadu protests to wake him up to the grave and complex situation in Sri Lanka.

While Sri Lanka wants deeper economic and even strategic ties with India, this wavelength gets disturbed every time India does or says what Colombo thinks is interference in its affairs.

Much before Tamil Nadu's politicians roared this month, New Delhi had been telling Colombo repeatedly but quietly that there can be no military end to the conflict; there has to be a broader devolution process; bombings of civilian areas should stop; and the thousands displaced by fighting needed to be helped to rebuild their homes.

All these points have been reiterated this month - but loudly.

Contrary to public knowledge, Manmohan Singh has discussed Sri Lanka with select policy makers several times in recent years. But the one time he met the pro-LTTE Tamil National Alliance MPs in New Delhi, Rajapaksa was furious and asked editors in Colombo to "hammer" Manmohan Singh.

But Manmohan Singh has persisted. This August, in his close-door talks with some key political players in Colombo, he posed a pointed query: will Sri Lanka agree to a genuine power sharing minus the LTTE?

This makes many in Sri Lanka to feel that India may be trying to quietly keep alive the Tigers a la 1987 when it forced Colombo to halt a successful push into Jaffna, leading eventually to the India-Sri Lanka accord.

But 2008 is not the 1980s. The LTTE is today outlawed in various countries including India. And in this age of war on terror, no one can be seen to be on the side of a violently insurgent group.

However, there is one common thread to the 1980s and now: LTTE's determination to carve out an independent state and its confidence -- which its critics say is misplaced -- that the goal can be achieved yet.

The LTTE is telling the population in the area it controls that it needs only two more months to turn the tables on Colombo. It is also furiously enlisting Tamils, including the young, to fight on.

As for Sri Lanka, Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who presides over the war machine, has declared that no purpose will be served by a ceasefire.

As long as both Colombo and the Tigers do not agree to sincerely embrace peace, there can be no lasting truce to a conflict that has foxed even Norway, veterans in conflict resolution. Can Tamil Nadu succeed where Oslo failed ?

msn

India steps in, sends relief supplies to Lankan Tamils

2008-10-21T13:00:00.000+05:30

India has started sending humanitarian aid for Tamil civilians trapped in the battle zone in north Sri Lanka.

Announcing this at a press conference here on Monday, convened ahead of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s trip to China and Japan, Foreign Secretary Shivshankar Menon said some supplies had already been sent through agencies such as the International Committee of the Red Cross. Some convoys had got through to the people trapped in the fighting and Delhi was trying to ensure that its supplies too reached them through such agencies.

Menon said India saw the present situation in Sri Lanka as a humanitarian crises. On the larger issue of settling the conflict, Delhi continued to suggest a political settlement within a united Sri Lanka in which all communities were "comfortable." He said the conflict could not be settled militarily.

Without giving details, Menon said the aid was expected to be in the form of food and other essential items for civilians trapped in or around the war zone, as the Sri Lankan army tried to wrest Killinochi town and others areas from the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).

The present gesture makes a political point. But it cannot be compared with the 1987 symbolic air drop of relief supplies when the Sri Lankan military laid siege to Jaffna peninsula.

That was seen as arm-twisting by Delhi.

This time the relief supplies will go through international agencies, with Sri Lanka’s concurrence.

Menon did not confirm reports that External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee was travelling to Colombo to discuss the crises with the Sri Lankan government.

"Nothing is settled" on the issue, he said.

expressbuzz

Victory against LTTE delayed by concern over civilains: Rajapaksa

2008-10-21T12:57:00.000+05:30

As India was mounting pressure on Sri Lanka to ensure the safety of Tamil civilians caught in the war zone, President Mahinda Rajapaksa has said that the victory against the Tamil Tiger rebels was “prolonged” due his government’s “grave concern” for civilians, media reports here said Tuesday.Addressing an award ceremony in Colombo Monday, Rajapaksa, who is also the commander-in-chief of the armed forces, has said that his government has “directed the armed forces to refrain from inflicting any harm, even a scratch, to the innocent civilians who are being utilised as human shields by the terrorists in the Wanni”.

“The battle against terrorism, which we could convincingly win within a few days, is nevertheless prolonged due to the grave concern and the optimum caution exercised by the highly disciplined armed forces who are fighting under severe constraints, to cause no harm or loss to innocent, civilian human life,” the state-run Daily News quoted Rajapaksa as saying.

“We are proud to have an army which is complying and carrying out their humanitarian operations accordingly,” he said, claiming that Sri Lanka was the only country to provide “food and other essentials to a ruthless terrorist outfit, while simultaneously fighting them”.

In a telephone conversation with Rajapaksa, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had Saturday expressed India’s “deep concern on the deteriorating humanitarian situation in the north of Sri Lanka, especially on the plight of the civilians caught in the hostilities”.

Stressing that “the safety and the security of these civilians must be safeguarded at all costs”, Singh also said that “the rights and the welfare of the Tamil community of Sri Lanka should not get enmeshed in the on-going hostilities against the LTTE”.

Singh also reiterated that there was “no military solution” to the conflict and urged Rajapaksa “to start a political process for a peacefully negotiated political settlement within the framework of a united Sri Lanka”.

India’s reiteration of concern for Tamil civilians in the island’s north came a few days after Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi, at an all-party meeting last week, threatened that all 40 MPs from Tamil Nadu would resign if India did not intervene to stop the “genocide” against Tamils in Sri Lanka before Oct 29.

Fifteen MPs of DMK, a key ally of the Manmohan Singh government and the ruling party of Tamil Nadu, have already handed over post-dated resignations over the situation in Sri Lanka.

thaindian

Indian alarm as major Sri Lankan battle looms

2008-10-20T21:25:00.001+05:30

INDIA is preparing to send its foreign minister to Sri Lanka to deliver a stern warning to the Colombo Government amid reports that one of the most crucial battles in the 25-year war against the Tamil Tigers is imminent.

No date has been set for the visit by Pranab Mukherjee as concerns mount among India's Tamil population that the Sri Lankan army has over-run the Tigers' last major defences south of their headquarters.

India is seeking to halt the Sri Lankan army as it closes in on the rebel stronghold amid fears a major humanitarian tragedy is in the making.

In a series of tense telephone calls with Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has in effect warned the Sri Lankan army to hold back and avoid creating a new wave of refugees from the fighting.

Mr Singh's warning has been spurred by the growing outcry against the Sri Lankan offensive among the 60 million Tamils in the south Indian state of Tamil Nadu, who sympathise with their kinfolk in Sri Lanka. However, analysts believe Mr Singh is unlikely to succeed, despite his clout in the region.

Sri Lanka's powerful Defence Minister, Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, who is the President's brother, said yesterday the Tamil Tigers were on the verge of defeat and suffering huge casualties, and that they were trying to "rope in" India in a last-gasp attempt to get the offensive halted.

"It is very clear the LTTE (Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam) is at a decisive stage. And no-one can stop them getting defeated. So they are trying their maximum to get Tamil Nadu to pressure the Indian Government to pressure the Sri Lankan Government," Mr Gotabhaya Rajapaksa said.

Nearly 40 MPs from India's ruling national coalition Government, including six ministers, have handed in resignations to protest at the Sri Lankan army's offensive against the rebels, and have demanded action by the New Delhi Government to force Colombo to halt the action.

Reports yesterday suggested that Finance Minister P. Chidambaram, who comes from south India, could quit.

New Delhi is making it clear it is not planning any sort of military intervention in Sri Lanka similar to that which preceded former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi's assassination by the LTTE. However, it is determined that the Sri Lankan Government understands there can be no military solution to the conflict in the island nation.

New Delhi fears that if Colombo is allowed to achieve the sort of military victory that now looks likely, it will spell the end of political reforms designed to accommodate the ambitions of the Tamil community.

The reports yesterday claimed the Sri Lankan army's 57th division had pierced the Tamil Tiger defences south of the rebel headquarters at Kilinochchi, and said 19 of their fortified bunkers had been overrun.

theaustralian

Film personalities lead huge rally

2008-10-19T22:07:00.001+05:30

Over 2,000 members from the Tamil film world, led by noted director Bharatirajaa, led a rally here on Sunday, demanding a halt to the Sri Lankan Army's ongoing offensive in the northern part of the island nation.

The film personalities had arrived here yesterday by a special train from Chennai. However, none of the top actors or actresses took part in the rally.

Among those present were directors like K Bhagyaraj, Parthiban, Cheran and Santhana Bharathy and Tamil film council producers president Rama Narayanan.

Speakers at the rally urged the Centre to take immediate steps to stop the alleged 'massacre' of Tamils in Sri lanka.

Bharathirajaa, who spoke to reporters later, said the rally was an opportunity for the film fraternity to express their solidarity with the Tamils in Sri Lanka. The coming together of the industry would attract everyone's attention, he said, adding that they were confident that a solution would soon be found.

"Those who have sympathy for the Tamils have gathered for the rally," he said.

Actor Sarath Kumar, who is the president of the South Indian Film Artistes Association, said that top actors and actresses would stage a fast at Chennai on November 1 on the Sri Lankan Tamil issue.

The rally commenced after prayers were offered at the famous Ramanathaswamy temple here for the well being of Sri Lankan Tamils.

Hindu

DMK supporting a terrorist organisation: Janata Party

2008-10-19T18:21:00.000+05:30

Janata Party President Subramaniam Swamy on Sunday attacked Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi for seeking a halt in military operations against the LTTE in Sri Lanka, saying it amounted to supporting the terrorist organisation and being "anti-national".

Holding the LTTE responsible for the killing of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, he wondered why Congress is listening to the DMK on this issue and demanded dismissal of the DMK government for indulging in "anti-national" activities.

"Karunanidhi's concerns for the Tamils in Sri Lanka are bogus. If he really wants to do something for them, he should fight with the Centre for the renewal of reservation announced for the children of Tamil refugees," he told reporters here.

He said these reservations for Sri Lankan Tamil students were announced by the Rajiv Gandhi Government in 1988 when Tamil Nadu was under President's rule and the UPA Government discontinued it, saying it was "unconstitutional".

The Janata Party chief also claimed that three LTTE cadres who were injured in the ongoing militray offensive are being treated at a hospital in Vellore in Tamil Nadu.

Swamy said his party will explore if some seat adjustments are possible in view of elections in Madhya Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir with the BJP, which is the "ideologically closest party".

"We are trying to ensure that the anti-UPA votes are not split in setting up of candidates and have decided to hold discussions with BJP whose ideology is close to ours," he said.

Accusing Finance Minister P Chidambaram of failing to control inflation and the current crisis in the markets, he said he should step down on moral grounds.

zeenews

LTTE seeking help of Indian leaders to escape defeat:Gotabhaya

2008-10-19T18:15:00.001+05:30

Claiming that the LTTE was on the verge of "defeat" after suffering huge casualties at the hands of Sri Lankan security forces, the government has said that the Tamil tigers are making desperate efforts to rope in Indian leaders to stop the ongoing offensives against them.

"It is very clear that the LTTE is at a decisive stage. And no one can stop them getting defeated. So, they are trying their maximum to get Tamil Nadu (leaders) to pressurise the Indian government to pressurise the Sri Lankan government," Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, powerful Defence Secretary and brother of Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa, said.

"That is what the LTTE want and that is why this sudden pressure is coming. The (Sri Lankan) Government expects this situation as we know there is no other way for the LTTE. Anyway, the LTTE cannot escape facing military offensives now," he told the Sunday Observer.

Gotabhaya comment comes a day after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh yesterday asked President Rajapaksa to ensure that Tamils do not get "enmeshed" in the conflict with LTTE and that their rights and safety are upheld.

During a telephonic conversation initiated by Rajapaksa, Singh said there could be no military solution to the conflict in the island country and asked the President to start a political process for a peacefully negotiated settlement within the framework of a united Sri Lanka.

Rajapaksa also sought reciprocity from India on permitting fishing in each others territorial waters.

"For the last three years we have never prosecuted a single Indian fisherman though they are coming to our areas. Though we have arrested and questioned them, they were not subjected to any legal process," he said and alleged that Sri Lankan fishermen have been arrested, prosecuted and detained for over two to three months.

PTI

Several ministers, MPs offer to quit on Sri Lanka Tamil issue

2008-10-19T17:44:00.001+05:30

Several Indian ministers, and MPs have offered to quit on Sri Lanka Tamils issue. The issue is getting hotter with every passing day and if Sri Lanka is not able to resolve the issue, the Sri Lankan Tamil issue may well become a major election plank in this South Indian state of Tamil Nadu, from where Sri Lankan Tamil originally belonged.

Every Tamil party is trying to cash in on charged up atmosphere in Tamil Nadu on the issue of Sri Lankan Tamil safety in the island nation.

Seven ministers in Prime Minister Manmohan Singh government have submitted their resignation to their party boss and Tamil Nadu chief minister M Karunanidhi. Seven other members of Indian Parliament have also submitted their resignations and have handed over it to Karunanidhi.

With Karunanidhi repeatedly saying that he can go to any extent on the issue, Manmohan Singh government is under tremendous pressure on the issue.

The Prime Minister yesterday in a telephonic conversation with Sri Lanka president asked him to ensure the safety of Tamils in his country.

Prime Minister Singh said that Tamil community in Sri Lanka should not get enmeshed in the on-going hostilities against the LTTE and that the rights and safety of Tamils there are upheld.

The Sri Lankan President called Dr Singh on Saturday to discuss the situation on the island. Expressing concern at the deteriorating humanitarian situation in the north of Sri Lanka, as civilians were caught up in hostilities, Dr Singh requested Lanka to ensure uninterrupted relief supplies to internally displaced persons.

A statement from Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) said “President Rajapakse assured the Prime Minister that all necessary measures are being taken to ensure the safety and well-being of the community in Sri Lanka”.

Manmohan Singh also reiterated there was no military solution to the conflict and urged the President to start a political process for a negotiated political settlement within the framework of a united Lanka. “The Prime Minister asked President Rajapaksa to instruct the Sri Lankan Navy to desist from firing on Indian fishermen and reiterated that killing of fishermen is unacceptable,” the PMO statement added.

Source: khabrein

Food delivered to war-displaced civilians in Sri Lanka

2008-10-19T04:02:00.000+05:30

The World Food Programme on Saturday delivered 750 metric tonnes of food to an estimated 2,30,000 civilians in the country’s north, where the military and the LTTE are engaged in battles.

The United States Office’s statement here said the convoy, consisting of staff and vehicles from a number of UN agencies, has delivered the food. It also monitored the distribution at three locations where there is a heavy concentration of civilians, before driving back to Vavuniya.

“The convoy had been forced to turn around on Thursday after heavy-weapon fire disrupted its route to the north. After receiving renewed assurances of safe passage from both parties to the conflict, the 50 trucks and nine support vehicles drove through heavy rain on Friday to reach the displaced civilians. Food is being distributed from the three locations by government agent networks,” it said.

Separately, the military said the Kilinochchi battlefront has been intensely active since Saturday as soldiers of the 57th Division “cleared the LTTE-built earth-bund from both the east and west of Akkarayankulam Tank.”

A Defence Ministry statement said soldiers have entered the remaining LTTE ‘hiding areas’ north of Akkarayankulam Tank. It further said Task Force 1 soldiers, operating south of Nachchikudha, commenced their offensive on Saturday. Simultaneously, soldiers are continuing to maintain their southward thrust from Pallawarayankaddu south.

“At present, Task Force 1 soldiers have cut off all land access routes available for the terrorists trapped in their Nachchikudha stronghold. Troops manning the blockades in Nachhcikudaha have thwarted two LTTE reinforcement attempts this morning,” it said.

The Ministry said soldiers attacked 25 LTTE cadre near Pallawarayankaddu and another group in Madam. “Intercepted radio transmissions revealed that terrorist leader Bhanu has abandoned his position on the western half of the Kilinochchi front. According to sources, Bhanu was in charge of the LTTE defence against the Task Force 1. The terrorist leader has repositioned himself in LTTE hiding areas south of Kilinochchi,” it said.

Meanwhile, helicopter gun-ships attacked ‘LTTE resistance points’ 1.5 km north of Akkarayankulam on Saturday.

Air Force spokesperson Janaka Nanayakkara said the missions were carried out to support the Army’s 57th Division, which is now in a commanding position north of Akkarayankulam Tank.

Source: Hindu

Ready to pay any price: Karunanidhi

2008-10-19T04:00:00.001+05:30

“We are ready to pay any price to stop the annihilation of the Tamil race in Sri Lanka, whose future has become a question mark,” said Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi here on Saturday.

In a statement, the Chief Minister said he was disturbed over the sufferings of the Sri Lankan Tamils. But there was a silver lining as both Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and the External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee had strongly backed the resolutions adopted at the all-party meet here on October 14.

The Prime Minister in an interview had categorically said India had been pressing for a negotiated settlement in Sri Lanka as there could not be a military solution to the ethnic issue.

The Prime Minister also expressed his concern over the harassment and killing of Tamil fishermen by the Sri Lankan Navy. This showed the Prime Minister’s support to the Tamils.

Mr. Mukherjee in a statement on Thursday said the situation in the island was causing anxiety and innocent Tamils had become victims of circumstances for which they were not responsible. India wanted Sri Lanka to honour the rights of Tamils and no attempt should be made to prevent the movement of food and other essential commodities to them. He had reiterated that a political solution alone would satisfy the feelings of all people in Sri Lanka, Mr. Karunanidhi said.

These statements, the Chief Minister said, had given hope that the Central government would step in to save the suffering Tamils in the island.

Source: Hindu