Deadly blast in Sri Lanka capital

The blast was in a zone where key official buildings are located

A bomb has exploded in a police station in a high security zone in Sri Lanka's capital, killing at least four people.

Police confirmed the blast was caused by a female suicide bomber who was taken to the station for questioning.

Suspicion has fallen on the Tamil Tiger rebels who on Monday remembered suicide fighters who died in the civil war.

But it is not clear whether the blast, in Colombo, was accidental or was a deliberate act aimed at ending the ceasefire with the government.

Since 1987 more than 240 rebels have died in suicide attacks as part of the Tigers' struggle for a Tamil homeland in Sri Lanka's north and east.

A ceasefire was signed in 2002, but peace efforts have since stalled.

Officials said the latest blast occurred in a high security zone where the British and American embassies and the prime minister's residence are located.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/3872481.stm

India says it will keep backing Sri Lanka peace process:

New Delhi, July 11 (IANS) :

India has assured Norway it will continue to back the Oslo-brokered peace process in Sri Lanka but made it clear that it remains opposed to any break-up of the island nation.

Indian leaders also told Norwegian Foreign Minister Jan Peterson here that they would not dilute the demand over the extradition of Tamil Tiger chief Velupillai Prabhakaran but would not allow it to jeopardise the truce in Sri Lanka.

This was the first interaction between senior Norwegian officials and the new Indian government since the Congress party took power in May following national elections.

The Congress victory had fuelled speculation in Colombo that party chief Sonia Gandhi, whose husband and former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), might take a tough stand vis-a-vis Prabhakaran.

"We basically told the Norwegians that we stand for continuing our existing Sri Lanka policy," a senior Indian official told IANS.

"At the same time we have made it very, very clear that we are opposed to any break-up of Sri Lanka. In other words, we can never accept a Tamil Eelam state in our neighbourhood.

"We also said that while we will continue our hands off policy vis-à-vis Sri Lanka, we should be in the picture if and when the contours of a final solution emerge. That is very important."

Petersen met External Affairs Minister K. Natwar Singh and National Security Adviser J.N. Dixit separately during his three-day visit that ended Wednesday - the same day when a suicide bomber blew up in Colombo, killing four policemen.

It was the first suicide attack in the Sri Lankan capital since a Norwegian- sponsored ceasefire went into effect in that country in February 2002, bringing an unprecedented spell of peace.

Norwegian diplomats had been eager to meet the new Indian government leaders, in particular Natwar Singh and Dixit, to know New Delhi's thinking.

Both Natwar Singh and Dixit have been closely involved with India's Sri Lanka policy in the 1980s and 1990s in different capacities, and Dixit was New Delhi's high-profile envoy in Colombo when India deployed troops in that country.

Since the withdrawal of the Indian troops in March 1990, New Delhi has stopped getting directly involved in the Tamil ethnic conflict. But it keeps a close eye on developments in the neighbouring country.

Norwegian diplomats keep New Delhi routinely informed of their discussions in Sri Lanka with both LTTE representatives and Colombo leaders.

One Indian official, however, said that while the Norwegians gave "as good a briefing as possible to us, we are aware they don't tell us everything.

"They keep back maybe two or three percent, perhaps five percent, of what they know, for whatever reasons.

"But we are not unduly bothered. We eventually come to know everything. After all, we have plenty of sources in Sri Lanka."

http://news.newkerala.com/india-news/index...ullnews&id=1726

Date : 2004-07-12

The LTTE woman suicide bomber had stayed as a servant at the Colombo residence of a UNP activist.

Colombo 12 July: The LTTE woman suicide bomber who blew herself at the Kollupitiya Police station last week had stayed as a servant for more than a year at the Colombo residence of a UNP activist.

The UNP member had unsuccessfully contested the Kandy district at the last parliamentary polls. His father had been a minister in a previous government.

The UNP activist gave a statement to the Criminal Investigation Department yesterday.

However, there was no evidence to suggest that he knew of the bomber’s identity or her mission. The woman who introduced the bomber to unsuspected family has been detained.

Meanwhile our correspondent Walter Jayawardhana writes from Los Angeles as follows:

The Kollupitiya Suicide Bomber, who was sent to Colombo by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) was one of the walking bombs among several sent by the terrorist group as soon as the Ranil Wickremesinghe government lifted all road blocks following signing of the ceasefire agreement with LTTE Leader Velupillai Prabhakaran, sources close to intelligence services said.

But UNP spokesman Ravindra Randeniya and UNP Deputy Secretary General Tissa Attanayaka blamed the government and the weakening of the peace process as causes for the explosion of the bomb at Kollupitiya. Both spokesmen of the party refrained from condemning the blast.

Under the relaxed conditions of the Ranil Wickremesinghe government, the suicide bomber Thiyagaraja Jeyarani was sent to Colombo, and ironically found employment in a Colombo house of a UNP candidate from Kandy District, sources said.

But the unsuccessful UNP candidate who employed the assassin as a domestic hand did not know absolutely anything about the Black Tiger member they were employing, police said. The police said that they now know who introduced the Black Tigress to be employed at the house of the UNPer.

The intelligence services believe at least thirty similar Black Tigers are residing within the Colombo Municipal limits right now and all of them arrived with the Jeyarani who blasted herself at the Kollupitiya police station, July 7. Some are living in the Hendala Wattala area, police said.

Among the assassins to kill political and military figures and saboteurs to destroy economic targets in the city, intelligence services believe there might be more than 10 young women close to Jeyarani’s age living in the city waiting for an order to act from Kilinochchi.

Intelligence believe their possible targets are VIP’s, anti-LTTE Tamil politicians , cabinet ministers, military officials of all forces, intelligence officials and latest addition are people supporting Colonel Karuna Amman , the renegade LTTE leader.

http://www.asiantribune.com/show_news.php?id=10354

Sri Lanka sliding back to war, Tigers warn amid deepening rift

Mon Jul 12, 9:02 AM ET

COLOMBO (AFP) - Sri Lanka's Tamil Tiger rebels warned of a return to war as their unprecedented split deepened, signalling further trouble for the already faltering Norwegian-backed peace process.

The main Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) reacted angrily to a renegade regional commander's use of state broadcasting facilities to launch what they claimed was a propaganda war against them.

Breakaway Tiger leader V. Muralitharan told the BBC's Tamil language section late Sunday that his former boss, Velupillai Prabhakaran, passed on an arms shopping list to an agent in Thailand during peace talks there in 2002.

Muralitharan, who is better known as Karuna, was a member of the Tiger negotiating team but led an unprecedented split earlier this year in the monolithic organisation.

He went underground in April unable to resist an onslaught by Prabhakaran's forces.

"When negotiations took place in Thailand, Prabhakaran wanted to find out the details of weapons and gave lists of them," Karuna said. "But he didn't say what to ask for in the negotiations."

"You should understand that all his intention is towards a war, not towards achieving a permanent solution to the problem."

The LTTE said the Karuna crisis had seriously undermined the peace process and accused the government of pushing the country back to war.

More than 60,000 people have died in three decades if ethnic fighting.

"Most certainly we can define the current status as the lowest ebb in the entire process ... because of various actions of the government, the forces," the LTTE's political wing leader S.P. Thamilselvan said in a separate interview with the BBC.

"It's only during the times of war that the Tamil nation lost both the fighters as well as the civilians, but now with (the truce) we continue to lose our fighters and the civilians, so it makes us feel that we are drifting back (to war.)"

Karuna's rare interview to the BBC -- re-broadcast over state-run radio here -- has angered the LTTE, who slammed the government, saying it had aided Karuna.

Karuna had also given a longer interview which had allegedly been broadcast using Sri Lankan Broadcasting Corporation facilities, Tamil sources said.

The LTTE's eastern political wing leader E. Kousalyan said in a statement that the state had provided facilities to Karuna to attack the Tigers "with the obvious aim of destroying the mutual goodwill on which the ceasefire is based."

"The truth is out today beyond any doubt that the Sri Lankan state is providing him (Karuna) state facilities to wage a proxy war of black propaganda against the LTTE and to carry out terrorist attacks with the assistance Sri Lankan military intelligence to derail the ceasefire," Kousalyan said.

"We are ready to face the war that the Sri Lankan state has decided to thrust on us thus."

The latest LTTE statement came four days after a suicide bombing here, the first in the Sri Lankan capital since a Norwegian-arranged ceasefire went into effect from February 2002.

Karuna said he was forming a political party and denied involvement in a spate of killings in the eastern province, his former fiefdom.

Karuna began his revolt against the main LTTE in March and within five weeks went underground after the Tigers launched an offensive to recapture territory held by him.

Instead of putting up a fight, Karuna disbanded some 5,000 to 6,000 combatants under him and fled.

An opposition legislator admitted helping him to travel to the capital where he was allegedly helped by military intelligence.

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/a...de_040712130244

.....dilute the demand over the extradition of Tamil Tiger chief Velupillai Prabhakaran ....

we can never accept a Tamil Eelam state in our neighbourhood.

....

மதி கோடுகள் கீறி சந்தோசப்படுகிறீர்கள் :P செய்யக்கூடியளவு அவர்களும் செய்து பார்த்துவிட்டார்கள்தானே. நீங்கள் கூடத்தானஅ ராம் பிளேயரடன் சேர்ந்து பிரச்சாரம் செய்து பார்த்து விட்டீர்கள். எத்தனை தடவை உங்கள் மூக்குடைபட்டது இன்னும் திருந்த மாட்டீர்களா? :P :P :P

மதி கோடுகள் கீறி சந்தோசப்படுகிறீர்கள் :P

கந்தர்தான் பதில் சொல்லவேண்டும்.. நானல்ல..

:idea:

மதியும் கந்தரும் ஒருவர்தானே :P

ஆளவந்தார் அதை நான் தான் போட்டனான். ஏன் காணும் தாத்தாவுக்கு அரியண்டம் கொடுக்கிறீர்?

யாழ் களத்தில கன பேருக்கு விளக்கம் குறைவு.

வெளிநாடு வந்ததோடை மண்டை வெளிச்சிட்டுது. இனி பேய் கதைதான்........

உந்த வெளிநாட்டு வாழ்க்கைப் பிச்சை ஆரோ போட்டதுதானே... இல்ல பனங்கூடலுக்க இருந்து சுருட்டுச் சுத்தி இருப்பியள் இப்ப.... எல்லாம் போராட்டம் செய்த வேலை.....ஆனா போராடிய மக்களுக்குத்தான் இன்னும் விடிவு கிடைக்கேல்ல....! :P

ஓம் சுருட்டுதான் சுத்தி இருப்பம். இல்லை எண்டு ஆர் சொன்னது குருவி.

என்ரை காணியில என்ரை பனைக்கு கீழ சுருண்டு படுப்பன் இல்லை சுருட்டுதான் சுத்துவன் ஆர் அதை கேக்கிறது.

சோசல்ல சொகுசா வாழ்ந்து கொண்டு கதை அளக்கேல்லை கந்தர் கண்டியளோ.

போராடின மக்களுக்கு விடிவு கிடைகேல்லை எண்டு அந்நிய தேசத்தில இருக்கிற உங்களைமாதிரி ஆக்கள் விடூற கண்ணீருக்கு வேற பேர் இருக்கு....

ஓம் அப்பு பிச்சை வேண்டாம் நாயை பிடியுங்கோ எண்டு சனம் சொல்லியும் நாய் கடிச்சு குதறுறன் எண்டெல்லோ நிக்குது

Peace no longer on Sri Lanka agenda?

From CNN's Kasra Naji

Wednesday, July 14, 2004 Posted: 0801 GMT (1601 HKT)

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (CNN) -- A heavy air of pessimism and despondency has descended in Sri Lanka amid ominous signs the country may be slipping back into war after two-and-a-half years of relative peace.

The Norwegian-brokered peace process that had ushered in a period of relative peace is in tatters.

Street checkpoints that had largely disappeared soon after the February 2002 cease-fire are once again manned and active.

Street barriers that had been discarded are slowly being brought back.

Mobile police teams have again taken to setting up surprise checkpoints around the city.

And hardline allies of President Chandrika Kumaratunga are putting up posters denouncing the rebels for allegedly deploying suicide bombers while talking peace.

A suicide bombing in a police station in the capital last week that killed the bomber along with four officers led many people to ask whether the war had resumed.

The incident served as a reminder just how far Sri Lanka has come in the past two-and-a-half years, and just how easily it can return to the terrible days of death and destruction.

More than 65,000 have been killed in the twenty years of fighting between government forces and the Tamil Tiger rebels who are fighting for a separate homeland.

The rebels denied involvement in last week's suicide bombing, but few here believed them.

It had all the hallmarks of the Tiger suicide squad -- known as Black Tigers -- and it came soon after a spate of killings in the east where signs are that the Sri Lankan army, or some agencies within it, are backing a renegade leader known as Colonel Karuna in his fight against the main body of the rebels.

The message of the suicide bomber was clear -- stop this proxy war against us.

But there is little sign that message has been taken on board in Colombo.

Defense Secretary Cyril Herath denied the army was backing Karuna.

"Karuna's people can act on their own -- they don't need help," he told Reuters.

State-owned radio recently carried a long interview with Colonel Karuna in which he accused Tiger leader Vellupillai Prabakharan of planning for war while talking peace.

The interview drew sharp reactions from the rebels of the Liberations Tamil Tigers of Eelam (LTTE).

"The truth is out today beyond any doubt that the Sri Lankan state is providing him (Karuna) state facilities to wage a proxy war of black propaganda against the LTTE and to carry out terrorist attacks with the assistance of Sri Lankan military intelligence to derail the ceasefire," said the leader of the rebels in eastern Sri Lanka, E. Kausalyan.

He said the rebels were ready to go back to the battlefields.

And the head of the political wing of the Tigers, S.P. Tamilchelvan, issued a warning.

"Patience has a limit. We are being pushed to a situation when we would have to take the final decision."

The rebels have been fighting back.

Last week they executed two young men they accused of being collaborators. And a monk who had given shelter to anti-LTTE forces has died after a grenade attack on his temple.

Kumaratunga says she is committed to the peace process.

Officially, President Chandrika Kumaratunga remains committed to the peace process.

She has said the Karuna issue is an internal problem of the rebels and the government will not get involved.

Soon after last week's suicide bombing in Colombo, she said one or two incidents will not be allowed to derail the peace process.

Kumartugna has taken full control of the peace process since April when the general elections threw up a surprise result.

The electorates rejected then prime minister Ranil Wickremesinghe -- the architect of what was until then a largely successful peace process.

During the election campaign Kumaratunga maintained that Wickremesinghe had given too many concessions to the rebels.

Commentators here interpreted the results of the elections as an indication that while Sinhalese people wanted peace, they were not prepared to pay the price for it.

The peace talks are on hold as the two sides fail to agree on an agenda. The Norwegian facilitators don't seem to be able to bridge the gap.

The "Karuna factor" is looming large.

The emergence of Colonel Karuna appears to have tempted some elements in the Sri Lankan establishment that a chance of a lifetime has arrived.

They believe wresting the control of the east from the Tigers would seriously undermine the strength of the rebels in the north.

After twenty years of a bloody and inconclusive war, the hard-line Sinhalese nationalists now believe there may be a military solution to Sri Lanka's woes.

And newspapers here seem to be quietly going along with them. Reading the newspapers it is clear pushing for peace is no longer on the agenda.http://edition.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/asiapcf/....war/index.html

Can the renegade Karuna deliver his Big Magic?

By Taraki

Life goes on as usual in Batticaloa town and in its interior. The Army has stepped

up patrols and occasional checks on the main roads of the town. But no one appears

to be too hassled by this. But whenever I run into friends, acquaintances or

relatives, they invariably tell me that I am foolish to be back.

"You would be shot dead like Nadesan. Leave now", they say. But Batticaloa is my

home. This is where I was born and grew up. This is the only place in this wide

world where the evening air is sweetly suffused with memories of the girls whom I

once loved and the bars where I made merry in my first heady forays into manhood.

This has been my home despite years of a deadly internecine war between the LTTE and

another Tamil militant organisation to which I belonged, despite years of threats

posed by the (formerly) much-feared 'Razeek Group', despite the dire uncertainties

of life in the east during Eelam War III. (I am a reluctant sojourner of Colombo)

Therefore I won't let the 'Karuna Affair' dislodge me from the only place I wish to

settle down at the end of my travels, I tell my friends.

"The fox that lives in the Palmyra grove won't be startled by the rustling of

fronds," says the Tamil adage.

But no one appears to be convinced. "Leave before they kill you", they insist.

All these people, regardless of their political persuasions, are convinced that

Karuna and his men do not like the Tamil journalists of Batticaloa. They say that

his men murdered Nadesan and threatened others with death because he wants no Tamil

journalist around.

This is not a good start for Karuna. Bad press is bad for the kind of business he

intends to do in Batticaloa with the aid of his new found ally, Douglas Devananda.

The renegade's dislike of the Tamil press was obvious as soon as he decided to quit

the LTTE. Not a single Tamil journalist was informed of his decision. The

independent Tamil press was completely ignored by Karuna during his short-lived

rebellion despite repeated appeals by them seeking interviews to present his side of

the story. Tamil journalists in Batticaloa were not even allowed to visit the

LTTE-controlled areas during the rebellion. Those who reported the exodus of Jaffna

families were threatened. Karuna's men burnt thousands of copies of the Tamil daily

'Thinakkural' and threatened its local correspondent Shan Thavarajah with death.

Several lesser-known local journalists such as Venugopal were kept under house

arrest.

Instead, Karuna was seen welcoming with open arms the Sinhala press, including

irrationally anti-Tamil Sinhala nationalists, and international media at the

Meenaham Base.

Needless to say, this did not go down well with Tamil journalists. Karuna had rubbed

them on the wrong side. Also the majority of the newspaper reading public in

Batticaloa did not like the way in which the Sinhala nationalist press in Colombo

was gleefully promoting the renegade to proclaim the end of the Tamil cause. All

this embarrassed Karuna's supporters.

In fact, 'Siva', an undergraduate of the Eastern University from Koddaikallar who

was close to him during the 'rebellion', took up the matter with the renegade

commander and strongly advised him against giving interviews to Sinhala nationalist

media indiscriminately. "Ultimately we will have to rely on the Tamil press to reach

out to the people of Batticaloa. Hence, it is not prudent to alienate Tamil

journalists", the undergraduate had told him. Karuna had said he would consider the

matter. Period.

The murder of Nadesan and the continuing threats to local journalists shows that his

attitude hasn't changed.

Bad press is not a good start for Karuna.

But in Batticaloa, his association with the Sri Lanka Army and the EPDP is turning

out to be worse than bad press.

"My brother was shot dead on Karuna's orders for buying some provisions for the

Morokkoddanchenai Army camp. Now he had joined the military. What is he going to

tell hundreds of people like me now?" asked a man who had come to see Batticaloa MP

Jeyanandamoorthy three days ago.

As more details of the renegade commander's close association with the Army and its

intelligence emerge, even his covert supporters in Kiran and Valaichenai are

beginning to have second thoughts.

It has been well recorded by two Presidential Commissions of Inquiry into

Disappearances and by independent human rights groups that the Tamils of Batticaloa

have had very bitter and bloody experiences with the Sri Lankan armed forces in the

past. The deep psychological wounds are yet to heal. Memorials, widows and orphans

are constant reminders of the massacres, mass arrests, rape, torture,

interrogations, assassinations etc., by the military in Batticaloa. One cannot erase

these bitter memories etched deeply in the collective psyche of Batticaloa with a

single wave of the 'Karuna Wand'.

Talking of magic, let us look at the manner in which people in Batticaloa are

reacting to more information that is coming out regarding the renegade commander's

financial dealings.

On March 8, 2004, four days after Karuna went public that he was quitting the LTTE,

the registrar of companies issued a certificate of registration to a new company

called 'Mahajala Export and Import Company (Private) Limited' under his hand and

seal. The registration number of the company is N (PVS) 36846. The memorandum and

articles of association of the company were prepared and witnessed by S.

Thurairajah, Attorney-at-Law, Notary Public and Commissioner of Oaths.

The chairman of 'Mahajala Export and Import Company (Private) Limited' is Mrs.

Vithyapathy Muralitharan. The managing director is her father, Kanthaiya

Santhirasekeram of Kallady, Batticaloa.

Vithyapathy is the real name of Karuna's wife 'Nira'. The company appears to have

been a front for funneling money embezzled from the LTTE's coffers in the east.

Twenty five million rupees were deposited in her name in a private bank in

Wellawatte when the company was registered.

'Mahajala' means big magic. Interestingly, Karuna's personal aide and spokesman

Varathan who abandoned him recently says that he found it difficult to cope with

Nira's "avarice" and dictatorial manner when they were staying in the safe-house in

Mount Lavinia, which, according to Varathan was allegedly provided and looked after

by the military intelligence.

Nira joined the LTTE in 1989. She was trained in intelligence work in Jaffna. She

was sent back to Batticaloa after the Indian Army left and was soon promoted as the

head of the women's wing of the LTTE's intelligence unit in the district. She was

married to Karuna in Jaffna on the day President Premadasa was killed by a suicide

bomber in Colombo - May 1, 1993. 'Kuhanesan' the person who was (and still is) in

charge of Karuna's secret personal financial and business transactions was Nira's

driver when she lived in the Wanni. (Kuhanesan was one of the Tamil men who were

arrested with arms in the Hingurakgoda temple).

Speaking about an argument that he had had with her in the alleged military

intelligence safe house whether Karuna had any popular support in Batticaloa,

Varathan accuses her of goading the renegade with false visions of a business and

political empire in the east. Karuna had also registered two companies with

Kuhanesan as chairman.

In sorting out the state of financial ruin in which the renegade commander had left

the district, the LTTE's auditors and accountants have found that he has borrowed

more than thirty million rupees from local societies and businessmen. Karuna had

obtained the monies directly through Kuhanesan. There are no records of the

borrowings or of how they were spent. However, the LTTE has promised to repay the

loans over a period of time it has negotiated with the creditors.

Revelations about Karuna's financial misdemeanour have not endeared him to the

hundreds who paid heavy taxes to the Tigers under his command. The renegade eastern

commander was so strict about extracting 'tax' that even scores of die-hard LTTE

supporters were clamped behind bars for months until they paid up the amount

demanded of them. Some rich farmers and businessmen fell into permanent ruin, unable

to withstand the haphazard but harsh tax regime imposed by Karuna and his men in

Batticaloa. This eased greatly only after the LTTE headquarters started sending more

than ten million rupees a month to the erstwhile eastern commander.

"We put up with all their demands and paid our hard earned money because they

sacrifice their lives for us, for the sake of our future well being. I cannot

forgive anyone who takes that money for his personal use", said a friend in

Kaluwanchikudy, talking about Kuhanesan's transactions with him. He had to stop

building his house after Kuhanesan had demanded an amount almost equal to the cost

of construction.

One hears hundreds of stories like this in the towns and larger villages of

Batticaloa. And none of the victims in these stories are going to laud Karuna for

starting 'Mahajala Export and Import Company in his wife's name.

Meanwhile, I checked on a claim by an NGO in Colombo that Karuna has started

collecting 'tax' in Batticaloa. This is baseless. Some of Kuhanesan's private

transactions have been confused for tax.

The supporters of Karuna in the corridors of power in Colombo overlook many obvious

common sense facts about the situation in Batticaloa in their over enthusiastic

vision of Karuna as one who is going to wrest the east from the Tigers - at least

politically.

The renegade's "Big Magic' (Mahajala) dazzles them yet.

They hear only what they like to hear because the march of folly has already begun.

dailymirror

கோடிக்கணக்கானப் பணத்தை சுருட்டி கருணா மனைவியின் பெயரில் வைப்பு - பல நிறுவனங்கள் இயங்குவதாகவும் செய்திகள் அம்பலம்

[ மட்டக்களப்பு ஈழநாதம் ][ வியாழக்கிழமை, 15 யுூலை 2004, 16:17 ஈழம் ]

தமிழீழ விடுதலைப்புலிகள் அமைப்பிலிருந்து நீக்கப்பட்ட கருணா விடுதலைப்புலிகள் அமைப்பில் செயற்பட்ட காலத்தில் கோடிக்கணக்கில் பணத்தை சூறையாடி தனது மனைவியின் பெயரில் தனியார் வங்கியில் வைப்பிலிட்டிருப்பதுடன் ஏற்றுமதி இறக்குமதி நிறுவனங்களையும் நடத்திவருவது அம்பலப்படுத்தப்பட்டுள்ளது.

இது தொடர்பான விடயங்களை கொழும்பிலிருந்து வெளிவரும் டெய்லிமிரர் ஆங்கிலப் பத்திரிகை வெளியிட்டுள்ளது. தராகி என்பவரால் எழுதப்பட்டுள்ள செய்திக் கட்டுரையில் தெரிவிக்கப்பட்டுள்ளதாவது:-

தமிழீழ விடுதலைப்புலிகளால் கடந்த மார்ச் மாதம் வெளியேற்றப்பட்ட பின்பு மகாஜல எனும் பெயரில் ஏற்றுமதி இறக்குமதி தனியார் நிறுவனம் ஒன்றை கருணா பதிவு செய்துள்ளார்.

நிறுவனத்தின் தலைவராக கருணாவின் மனைவி நிரா என்றழைக்கப்படும் திருமதி வித்தியாபதியும், முகாமைத்துவப் பணிப்பாளராக கருணாவின் மனைவியின் தந்தையார் கல்லடியைச் சேர்ந்த கந்தையா சந்திரசேகரன் பெயரிலும் பதிவு செய்யப்பட்டுள்ளது.

மகாஜல ஏற்றுமதி இறக்குமதி நிறுவனத்தின் பதிவுச் சான்றிதழ் இலக்கம் (P.ஏ.ளு.) பீ.வி.எஸ். 36846 ஆகும். இது நிறுவனங்கள் பதிவாளர் நாயகம் அவர்களால் இந்நிறுவனத்திற்கான உடன்படிக்கை ஆவனங்கள், உப விதிகள் என்பன சட்டத்தரணியும் சத்திய ஆணையாளருமான எஸ். துரைராசா அவர்களால் அத்தாட்சிப்படுத்தப்பட்டுள்

மட்டக்களப்பு சிறைச்சாலைக்குள் துப்பாக்கிப் பிரயோகம்

மட்டக்களப்பு சிறைச்சாலைக்குள் துப்பாக்கிப் பிரயோகம் நடைபெற்றதில், கருணா பிரிவைச்சேர்ந்த கணபதிப்பிள்ளை மகேந்திரன் எனப்படும் சச்சுமாஸ்டரும், சரவணமுத்து சாந்தகுமார் என்பவரும் உயிரிழந்துள்ளனர். தியாகராஜா முரளிதரன் என்பவர்; காயமடைந்துள்ளார்.

சிறைக்குள் இருந்தவர்களில் கருணா பிரிவைச் சேர்ந்த 25பேரும், விடுதலைப் புலிகளைச் சேர்ந்த 6பேரும் இருந்துள்ளனர்.

இச் சம்பவத்தையடுத்து பொலிசாரும் விசேட அதிரடிப்படையினரும் சுற்றிவளைத்தும் புவிதரன் என்னும் ஆயுதபாணி சரணடையாமல் சிறைக்கூரைப்பகுதியில் ஏறிநின்று அருகில் வந்தால் சுடுவதாகவும் வெடிகுண்டு வைத்திருப்பதாகவும் 4 மணிநேரம் மிரட்டியுள்ளார். ஐ.சி.ஆர்.சி மற்றும் போர்நிறுத்தக் கண்காணிப்புக்குழவினருடன் நடாத்தப்பட்ட பேச்சுவார்த்தைக்குப்பின்பே கூரையிலிருந்து இறங்கிவந்து சரணடைந்துள்ளார். இவரிமிருந்து இரு மைக்ரோ கைத்துப்பாக்கிகளையும் இரு கைக்குண்டுகளையும் பொலிசார் கைப்பற்றியுள்ளனர். இவரது தலையனைக்குள் கருணா அணியினர் துரோகிகள் என்று எழுதப்பட்ட துண்டுப் பிரசுரங்களும் ஒரு சயனைட் குப்பியும் கண்டு பிடிக்கப்பட்டுள்ளது.

இது தவிர சிறையிலுள்ள கருணா அணியினர் வசம் இருந்த கைத்துப்பாக்கிகள் மற்றும் கைத் தொலைபேசிகளும் கைப்பற்றப்பட்டுள்ளன.

கடந்த மார்ச் மாதம் 30ம் திகதி கைது செய்யப்பட்ட சச்சு மாஸ்டர் எனப்படும் கணபதிப்பிள்ளை மகேந்திரன் கருணாவினால் உருவாக்கப்பட இருக்கும் அரசியல் கட்சியின் பொதுச் செயலாளராக மாறன் என்னும் பெயரில் நியமிக்கப்பட்டு சிறைக்குள்ளிருந்து தமிழ் ஊடகங்களுக்கு செய்திகளை அளித்து வந்தார் என தமிழ் பத்திரிகைகளில் செய்திகள் வந்திருந்தன என சிங்கள ஊடகங்கள் செய்தி வெளியிட்டுள்ளன.

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vow... what a breaking news... :P

Anura claims he did not take Karuna to Singapore

J. S. Nalin in Colombo, July 23, 2004, 11.17 p.m.. Minister of Tourism and Investment promotion Anura Bandaranaike today rejected a statement made by Tamil National Alliance MP K. Sivajilingam that he helped renegade LTTE Leader Karuna flee to Singapore. Issuing a statement the Minister said that he was in Singapore on a transit for less than one hour and was accompanied from the aircraft and back by the Sri Lankan High Commissioner in Singapore. He also accused the main opposition for spreading such rumours to damage the image of the Banadaranaike family. Yesterday during an adjournment debate on dengue in Parliament, MP Sivajilingam said that Minister Banadaranaike helped Karuna to go to Singapore. The TNA MP also thanked President Chandrika Kumaratunga for sending Karuna abroad. However, when the MP made this statement, not a single member from the Government bench denied the report.

Date : 2004-07-24

Anura nails the malicious canard TNA launched of Karuna visiting with him to Singapore.

Bejing, 24 July : Anura Bandaranaike denies any connection with renegade leader V.Muralitheran alias Colonel Karuna Amman. This was stated in a hard hitting statement released by him from Bejing who is at present on an official visit to China.

Earlier news stories were planted in the media stating that Colonel Karuna Amman left for Singapore.

The news item further reported that he left for Singapore accompanied with Anura Bandaranaike, Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment Promotion on a Singapore bound flight.

This issue was also raised in the floor of the Sri Labkan Parliament in the absence of Minister Anura Bandaranaike.

S. Sivajilingam, Member of Parliament belonging to Tamil National Alliance’s who took part in the adjournment motion debate on Thursday in Parliament on the spread of dengue in the country.

But it was noted that he strayed off the topic under discussion in the House to say that the LTTE renegade rebel leader Colonel Karuna Amman had been accompanied to Singapore recently by the Minister of Tourism Anura Bandaranaike.

He said that he would like to request the President to ask Karuna Amman to remain in Singapore without returning to Sri Lanka.

Minister Anura Bandaranaike was on his way to China and was not present in the House, when Sivajilingam made the reference to Karuna. In a hard-hitting rejoinder to what was stated in the Parliament by the green-horn Member of Parliament from LTTE’s proxy party Tamil National Alliance, Anura Bandaranaike said, "I have been informed this morning (yesterday) by our Embassy in Beijing, whilst on an official tour of China, that the Sri Lankan Press has carried banner headline "LTTE rebel leader Karuna had been taken to Singapore" by me.

Anura Bandaranaike said he had never met, seen or spoken to this so-called Karuna. "I have never had any contact with him before his defection or after his defection from the LTTE.

I have never indulged in the part time of accompanying unknown persons to any destination in the world. I was in Singapore on transit for less than one hour and I was accompanied from the aircraft and back by our High Commissioner in Singapore, H.E. Ajith Jayaratne and his staff."

Aanura Bandaraniake further said in his message that the names of all those who accompanied him on the official tour to China could be easily obtained if necessary from the airport authority.

- Asian Tribune -

http://www.asiantribune.com/show_news.php?id=10524

:P

India deports pro-LTTE Lankan Tamil MP

PK Balachanddran

Colombo, July 24

India has deported a pro-LTTE Tamil member of the Sri Lankan parliament, who had come to attend a conference organised by the pro-LTTE Tamil Nadu leader, P Nedumaran, in Bangalore on Sunday.

Official sources in Chennai told Hindustan Times over the phone that Tamil National Alliance (TNA) MP, MK Eelaventhan, who had arrived in Bangalore by a Sri Lankan Airlines flight on Saturday, was deported.

The case of the other MP and participant in the conference, Up Country Peoples' Front (UPF) leader P Chandrasekharan, had not been decided, the sources said. He had arrived in Chennai by a Jet Airways flight. The Union Home Ministry is believed to be looking into his case.

The case of Eelaventhan was clearer because he had been deported from India earlier, for working for the LTTE in Tamil Nadu in disregard of the ban on that outfit. When Eelaventhan's plans to attend the conference in Bangalore came to be known, the security agencies were on the 'look out' for him, the sources said.

The Bangalore conference is being organised by the "Ulaga Tamil Peramaippu" or World Tamil Federation, and the listed speakers are mostly drawn from the pro-LTTE lobby in Tamil Nadu.The poet laureate of the LTTE, Kasi Ananthan, is to be honoured with the title, "Ulaga Perun Tamizhar" (Great World Tamilian). Ananthan is a resident of Chennai.

In the invitation card of the conference, the Sri Lankan Tamil MPs have been described as Members of Parliament of "Tamil Eelam" and not "Sri Lanka". Such a description is significant in the light of the fact that the partition of Sri Lanka to form an independent Tamil Eelam is the preferred goal of the LTTE.

http://www.hindustantimes.com

ஈழவேந்தன் எம்.பி. இந்தியாவிற்குள் நுழைய அனுமதி மறுப்பு

கொழும்பிலிருந்து சேரலாதன்

தமிழ்தேசிய நாடாளுமன்ற உறுப்பினர் ஈழவேந்தன் தமிழ்நாட்டுக்குள் செல்ல இந்திய மத்திய அரசு அனுமதி மறுத்துள்ளது.

இந்தியாவில் நடைபெறும் உலகத்தமிழர் பேரமைப்பு மாநாட்டு நிகழ்வில் கலந்துகொள்வதற்காக ஈழவேந்தன் இன்று இந்தியா சென்றிருந்தார்.

ஏற்கனவே இந்தியாவில் அவருக்கான தடை உத்தரவு காணப்படுவதால் அவரை விமான நிலையத்தில் இருந்து உள்ளே செல்ல இந்திய பொலிசார் அனுமதி வழங்கவில்லை.

இது குறித்து இந்திய உயர் பீடத்தைச் சேர்ந்தவர்களுடன் மலையக மக்கள் முன்னணித் தலைவர் சந்திரசேகரன் பேச்சுக்களை நடத்தியிருந்தார். இருப்பினும் ஈழவேந்தனுக்கு அனுமதி வழங்கப்படவில்லை. இந்நிலையில் சற்றுமுன்னர் இலங்கைக்கு ஈழவேந்தன் திரும்பியுள்ளார்.

நன்றி - புதினம்

இலங்கை நாடாளுமன்ற உறுப்பினர் இந்தியாவில் நுழைய அனுமதி மறுப்பு

பெங்களூரில் நடக்கவுள்ள தமிழ் தேசியவாத அமைப்புகளின் மாநாடு ஒன்றில் கலந்துகொள்வதற்காக சென்னை விமான நிலையம் வந்திறங்கிய இலங்கை நாடாளுமன்ற உறுப்பினர் மா.க.ஈழவேந்தன், நாட்டிற்குள் நுழைய அனுமதி மறுக்கப்பட்டு இலங்கைக்கே திருப்பி அனுப்பப்பட்டுள்ளார்.

தமிழ் தேசியக் கூட்டமைப்பு சார்பாக இந்த ஆண்டு நாடாளுமன்ற உறுப்பினராகத் தேர்ந்தெடுக்கப்பட்டிருக்கு

HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH CHALLENGES THE LTTE TO SHOW ITS EFFECTIVENESS IN MAINTAINING HUMAN RIGHTS

By Walter Jayawardhana reporting from Los Angeles

July 28 10.30AM The New York based Human rights Watch said , In the midst of an upsurge in violence, that killed many in the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) controlled areas the rebel group recently organized the North East Secretariat on Human Rights (NESHOR), a body intended to promote respect for human rights and it was essential that they quickly demonstrated their effectiveness in protecting human rights.

The statement came immediately after the LTTE allegedly killed eight Karuna supporters near the Sri Lankan capital of Colombo.

Unfortunately, the renewed violence makes it essential that the LTTE's new human rights secretariat quickly demonstrates its effectiveness in protecting the rights of people in LTTE areas," said the Senior Legal Advisor of Human Rights Watch James Ross.

Going by the LTTE statement that an internal conflict within the Karuna group led to the killing of the eight Karuna loyalists while they slept, the Human Rights Watch statement said, “Even before the police were notified of the killings, the LTTE announced that these victims had been killed by "dissidents" within Karuna's own faction, and stated further that the killers had sought and received refuge with the LTTE.”

"Regardless of who perpetrated the killings, the LTTE's open protection of criminal suspects is an affront to the rule of law and the ceasefire agreement," said Ross. "Human Rights Watch calls on the LTTE to immediately turn them over to Sri Lankan authorities."

The following is the full statement of the Human Rights Watch: A spate of killings between factions of the separatist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) threatens Sri Lanka's ceasefire, Human Rights Watch warned today. More than a dozen people have been murdered over the last month in apparently politically motivated killings attributed either to the LTTE or a faction led by the LTTE's former eastern commander, Colonel Karuna, who broke away from the LTTE in March 2004.

"These targeted killings sadly show that the ceasefire has not meant an end to the violence that has plagued Sri Lanka," said James Ross, senior legal advisor for Human Rights Watch. "The LTTE and pro-Karuna forces should immediately halt these killings.

The violence between the LTTE and Karuna's group has spiraled in recent days. On July 25, police found the bodies of eight persons, most of whom were believed to be senior aides to Karuna, in a house outside the capital Colombo. They were apparently shot and killed while asleep. Police investigating the killings said that there was no evidence of crossfire or a gunfight, and that the killings appeared to have been committed by someone within the house.

Even before the police were notified of the killings, the LTTE announced that these victims had been killed by "dissidents" within Karuna's own faction, and stated further that the killers had sought and received refuge with the LTTE.

"Regardless of who perpetrated the killings, the LTTE's open protection of criminal suspects is an affront to the rule of law and the ceasefire agreement," said Ross. "Human Rights Watch calls on the LTTE to immediately turn them over to Sri Lankan authorities."

Human Rights Watch expressed serious concern at the recent spate of unlawful killings in and around Batticaloa, in eastern Sri Lanka. Kunjithamby Sivarasa, a local government official, was shot dead by LTTE cadres on July 9 at his home in the village of Ariyampathy. Velayutham Raveendran, a senior Eelam Peoples Democratic Party (EPDP) member, a political party opposed to the LTTE, was shot by armed gunmen on a motorbike at a bus stop in Akkaraipattu town, south of Batticaloa, on July 21. More than 100 EPDP members have been killed since the February 2002 ceasefire agreement.

The LTTE has claimed responsibility for the public executions of Balasuntaram Sritharan and Thillaiampalam Suntararajan on July 8 at Illupadichchai junction. Their dead bodies were found by the side of a road, blindfolded, with manacles around their ankles. The LTTE publicly stated that the two men had been sentenced to death as pro-Karuna "traitors" and called on all Sri Lankan Tamils to identify any other such "traitors." Aiyathurai Nadesan, a Tamil journalist, was shot in Batticaloa on May 31. On May 24, Eastern University lecturer Kumaravel Thambaiah was shot and killed at his home in Batticaloa. The Karuna group is suspected in both killings. The apparent intention of such executions is to terrorize the local population and prevent the exercise of the basic rights of free association and expression.

Kanapathipillai Mahendran, known as "Satchi Master," and Sarvanamuttu Shanthakumar, were killed in Batticaloa prison by a fellow inmate and LTTE cadre on July 14. The LTTE claimed that "Satchi Master" had been campaigning for Colonel Karuna and his supporters from within the prison. The killings raise serious questions over the security and management of the prison, particularly when authorities know that members of rival groups are being held within the same building. Human Rights Watch called on the Sri Lankan authorities to explain how lethal weapons were allowed inside the prison, and to ensure that known rival factions are kept securely away from each other.

In the midst of this upsurge in violence, the LTTE recently organized the NorthEast Secretariat on Human Rights (NESHOR), a body intended to promote respect for human rights.

"Unfortunately, the renewed violence makes it essential that the LTTE's new human rights secretariat quickly demonstrates its effectiveness in protecting the rights of people in LTTE areas," said Ross.

( go2lanka.com)

Date : 2004-07-29

People of Sri Lanka must bring peace to their country - Vidar Helgesen

Colombo 29 July : Vidar Helgesen Deputy Foreign Minister of Norway, a worried looking man explained "Norway cannot bring peace to Sri Lanka. It is the people of Sri Lanka who must bring peace to their country."

He pointed out, "People must realize that nothing comes for free, peace won't just happen. There must be effort put into the peace process."

Norwegian Foreign Minister Vidar Helgesen who came to Colombo last Sunday held a press conference yesterday to report the present critical situation country faces regarding the stalled peace process and its dangerous trends slowly but steadily moving towards another campaign and it has to be arrested.

Norwegian facilitator and the international community which tries to facilitate and broker a sustainable peace in the country, it seems have come to end of the tunnel but find in the end gloomy and dark, and the ray of optimism elusive.

It was a testy situation that prevails regarding the peace talks to take off, explained Norway's Deputy Minister.

"I have no doubts about the President's commitment, but she cannot operate in a vacuum," said Helgesen.

Helgesen said that Chandrika Kumaratunga was flexible in agreeing to the LTTE condition of discussing the Interim Self Governing Authority (ISGA) exclusively but the JVP , the junior partner in her government has continuously insisted that the core issue for a final settlement be taken up simultaneously.

A general feeling was that already Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam through their conditions for talks has spurn the momentum for talks and the latest killings they were involved has clearly put the Talks off the balance.

This was clearly evidence from what Helgesen said in the Press conference. He said the commencement of negotiations has to be held only at the negotiating table where concrete and substantive progress could be made. Till then what is said will be of little practical value.

Helgesen cautioned that the most important thing was to get back to the negotiating table and that "the gap was bridgeable," however as a parting shot warned the leaders to be "ready to make difficult choices and political sacrifices if their aim was peace."

In today's press conference Vidar Helgesen said "The cease-fire agreement is not peace." He told a press conference: "It has only frozen the war and that is now starting to melt at the edges."

Helgesen said that unless the killings stopped and the ground situation improved, mutual trust would continue to evade the two sides.

He further went on to say that it was an absence of mutual trust that was holding up any substantive progress in the peace process.

Helgesen said that the patience of the international community was being 'tested" and a frustrated international community could turn its attention elsewhere, as there were other problems in the world which were also crying for the international community's attention.

The press conference Vidae Helgessen held prior to his departure to Norway after another unsuccessful round of shuttle diplomacy, shows desperate signs of disappointment.

He however, said that Norway was not at all contemplating giving up. Oslo would take up the Sri Lankan situation with the international community and seek its views on how to carry the peace process forward.

Helgesen ruled out international military engagement here or taking up the issue at the United Nations security council as in the case of other countries currently engaging the attention of the international community.

- Asian Tribune -

http://www.asiantribune.com/show_news.php?id=10589

என்ன தாத்ஸ் செய்திபகுதியுக்கை இருந்து என்ன செய்யிறியள்.. ஒருதரும் கேட்பாரற்று விட்டிட்டினம்.. எப்படி இருக்கிறியள் ?... இருந்து காத்து வாங்கிங்கோ போட்டுவாறன். :wink:

Friday July 30, 5:44 PM

Sri Lanka Tigers release 34 child soldiers - U.N.

COLOMBO (Reuters) - Sri Lanka's Tamil Tigers have released 34 child soldiers, the United Nation's Children's Fund said on Friday, but it added the rebels were continuing to recruit underage fighters.

The group, which included 21 girls and 13 boys between the ages of 14 and 17, was handed over on Thursday evening to a UNICEF transit centre in the rebel-held northern town of Kilinochchi.

"Every child freed is a step in the right direction," UNICEF said in a statement.

But it added: "Over the past three months, recruitment of children by the LTTE has continued despite commitments the organisation made to cease all underage conscription. This is simply unacceptable and must cease now."

The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam have used children as a vital part of their fighting force in their 21-year war for a separate Tamil state. They have continued to recruit despite signing a truce with the government in February 2002.

An estimated 1,000 children left their ranks in April following a split within the rebel movement and the emergence of a breakaway leader called Karuna, who disbanded most of his forces, including the child soldiers.

But UNICEF has expressed concerns that the Tigers could re-recruit some of those children.

Nonetheless, Friday's release was the first positive news on the peace process after a week of meetings held by Norwegian envoy Vidar Helgesen that he said brought the island no closer to resuming talks that stalled in April last year.

The government has said it is flexible on the agenda for talks, but the Tigers accuse it of helping Karuna's faction and using it to weaken them. Analysts say negotiations are unlikely to resume until the rebel split is resolved.

http://in.news.yahoo.com/040730/137/2f90l.html

Date : 2004-07-30

LTTE should stop all recruitment of children - UNICEF urge.

Colombo, 30 July: Though Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam has released Thirty four child soldiers in Kilinochchi last night, UNICEF insist that Tamil rebel outfit continues to recruit children for their armed brigades and urged the Tamil rebel outfit to release all those children currently held by them and to desist from recruiting anymore.

Over the past three months, recruitment of children by the LTTE has continued despite commitments the organization made to cease all underage conscription. This is simply unacceptable and all recruitment must cease now, said Geoffrey Keele UNICEF spokesperson in Sri Lanka.

However, UNICEF says that the LTTE has continued to recruit children across the North and the East of the country despite having made a commitment to put an end to this practice.

Keele, spokesperson further said: UNICEF looks forward to a renewed commitment by the LTTE to cease all child recruitment and to release those children currently in their ranks. He added: "Every child freed is a step in the right direction," he emphasised in a statement released today.

UNICEF Colombo office in a statement released today said Thirty four child soldiers were released to the UNICEF-supported transit centre in Kilinochchi last night by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).

According to the press release the released 34 children include 21 girls and 13 boys ranging in age from 14 to 17 years old.

United Nations Children Fund said that it will begin work immediately with its partner NGOs to assess the situation of the children and to reunite them with their families.

Geoffrey Keele UNICEF spokesperson further said: UNICEF welcomes the release of these children. He added: All of these children will go home soon and we are very glad to assist them in reuniting with their families.

However, UNICEF says that the LTTE has continued to recruit children across the North and the East of the country despite having made a commitment to put an end to this practice and try to live up to their commitments.

- Asian Tribune -

http://www.asiantribune.com/show_news.php?id=10606