Sri Lanka Latest News: 04/28/07

Saturday, April 28, 2007

President met the Sri lanka team

President Mahinda Rajapaksa, who is now in Barbados to watch the final match, yesterday met the Sri Lanka team and wished them good luck.

News & photo from,
http://www.colombopage.com/archive_07/April28123636CH.html

Govt asked to speak on 'Q-LTTE link'

The BJP and SP on Saturday asked the Government to comment on a website’s claim that Ottavio Quattrocchi, an accused in the Bofors kickback case, and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) conspired to kill Rajiv Gandhi in 1991.

The obscure website claims Quattrocchi met LTTE leader Anton Balasingham at a five-star hotel in Paris and French intelligence agencies secretly recorded their conversation.

BJP MP Vijay Kumar Malhotra and SP MP Ramji Lal Suman raised the matter in Lok Sabha and asked the government to give an official response.

"The matter is very serious, but the government has not yet responded to it," said Malhotra, who wanted a formal response from the government...

Colombo sealed off amid LTTE bomb fears

The Sri Lankan capital Colombo was sealed off for over three hours this morning with poilice checking every single vehicle leaving and entering the city as part of a new security operation.

Police said the checks were carried out on vehicles and people amid fears that Tamil Tiger rebels could smuggle in weapons or bombs to set off attacks in the capital.

Huge traffic jams were reported at every entry point to the capital and in some places doctors and ambulances were unable to get in to the city because of long lines of traffic.

The sudden operation came as Sri Lankans prepared to watch the island's team play Australia in the finals of the cricket world cup later today.

Extracted from,
http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/001200704281121.htm

B Raman's Views on LTTE

Sometimes the things B Raman says worry me. In his latest comments, he says "India should not have anything to do with the LTTE so long as it is led by Rajiv's assassins. If it removes them, the Govt. of India should give it its full backing."

I personally don't think India should resume support for LTTE under any circumstances. Going beyond the fact that they assassinated an Indian Prime Minister -- one whose political heritage I don't particularly like -- they attacked our army, connived with our enemies, and fanatically profess a racially exclusivist ideology. I think they've done a lot more harm to India than Sri Lanka has done, so I don't see why they should get our favoritism.

I certainly hope that B Raman isn't harbouring a closeted Hamid Gul streak, where the ex-spymasters and retired generals have the soft corner for their pashtun relatives across the border, even to the point of defying the national interest. RAW should uphold a better tradition than ISI, by staying within state lines.

The LTTE are completely untrustworthy, and are engaged in international criminal activities across the world. I think that Karuna may not be as bad as Prabhakaran, but I'm not sure
what the extent of his role was in anti-Indian activities.

Extracted from,
http://rajeev2004.blogspot.com/2007/04/b-ramans-views-on-ltte.html

Aussies will lose. It’s written in the law, says Sri Lankan fans

In Sri Lanka numerous religious ceremonies have been held to bless the team. The prayers of well-wishers of all communities are flying all the way to Barbados to strengthen the power and the skills needed to score the final victory.

The three other Asian cricketing nations – India, Pakistan and Bangladesh – too are hoping that the Sri Lankan team will do better than their 1996 Cup-wining match, defeating Australia, and bring home the World Cup once again.

There is no doubt that in trying to be too smart AI has put its foot in the wrong place and hit its own wicket. It will take a long time for AI to live down its “Damn-nasty” image in Sri Lanka.

The Sri Lankan team, however, ignored the politics of AI and went on with their game, playing by the rules, of course.

News & photo from,
http://www.asiantribune.com/index.php?q=node/5488

Sri Lanka has already won; the hearts and minds of millions of cricket fans throughout the world

Mahela Jayawardena has brought the Sri Lanka cricket team to the brink of another historic victory. He and his magnificent men are poised to repeat the performance of Arjuna Ranatunga and his magnificent men in 1996. While Arjuna led us there with his no hold barred attitude towards the Australians, Mahela is taking us there with his iron determination and a superbly united and well oiled team of batsmen, bowlers and fielders...

"If we win, we get in the history books, if we do not, we are already in the history books as the team that has played cricket as it should be played and as a bunch of world class cricketers who have already won the hearts and minds of the cricketing world. We have nothing to lose."

Mahela and his team have the best wishes of millions of cricket fans across the world.

LTTE behind killing of five Indian fishermen, says TN police

The LTTE was behind the killing of five Indian fishermen off the Kanyakumari Coast on March 29, Tamil Nadu police said.

DGP D Mukherjee, in a statement here tonight, said this was revealed during the interrogation of six LTTE cadre arrested on April 11 last off Tuticorin Coast.

He said 12 Indian fishermen, who had been reported missing since March 4 last, were abducted by the sea tigers and were in the LTTE's custody now.

The Q branch CID, which took up the investigation of the case on April 23 interrogated the six. The interrogation revealed that the six belonged to the LTTE's sea tiger wing and were involved in smuggling of arms and ammunition from a LTTE ship in the high seas and transporting them to the LTTE camps in Sri lanka, he said.

Extracted from,
http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/004200704272171.htm

Sinhalese LTTE spy arrested

A Sinhalese man has been arrested by the Buththala police for allegedly spying for the LTTE, said the Buththala police on Thursday April 26.

The Police said that he was also commissioned by the LTTE for certain murders to be committed in future. He was readying for it on orders of the LTTE, reported Lankadeepa, the Sinhala language broadsheet published in Colombo on April 27.

On April 20, Secretary to the Ministry of Defence, Gotabhaya Rajapakse said that an investigation into Sinhala LTTE cadres had revealed that there were several Sinhala women who underwent training in the handling of arms under the LTTE...

Sri Lanka hopes to repeat '96 World Cup upset

Jayasuriya is the most-capped one-day cricketer in history, a flamboyant opening batsman whose fearless stroke play can give an innings unstoppable momentum, and a useful spin-bowler as well. Vaas is the master of new-ball bowling who can destroy an opponent's innings almost before they start. Murali is the unorthodox wizard of spin who bamboozles the most gifted, in-form batsmen...

The Sri Lankans must field well, in particular denying Ponting any second chances. Dropping him early in his innings ended South Africa's vestigial hopes in the semifinal. Doing the same in the Ashes test series late last year meant that England, which had looked set to level the contest at 1-1, instead conceded only the second 5-0 whitewash in the rivalry's history...

Sri Lanka also knows it could do all of the above, and still lose. Logic points to an Australian victory. But it also did, and much more compellingly, back in 1996...

Read more,
http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/04/27/sports/cricket.php
Photo,
news.bbc.co.uk

LTTE's growth due to DMK Govt. in TN, says Jayalalithaa

The growth of LTTE to the level of conducting air strikes was only due to the DMK government in Tamil Nadu allowing smuggling of military equipment to them from the State, AIADMK supremo Jayalalithaa alleged today.

In a statement here, she said during the DMK rule, a terrorist organisation in the neighbouring country had become strong enough to conduct air strikes, in an obvious reference to the air strikes carried out by the LTTE.

She said besides arms and ammunition, food, medicine and other materials were being smuggled from the Tamil Nadu Coast, adding "most of those involved in such activities belong to the DMK."

Cases were being foisted against AIADMK functionaries, while anti-social elements were having a free run in the State, she said adding law and order situation had completely deteriorated.

Extracted from,
http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/004200704271860.htm

Mangala to be reinstated in the ministry

Sources close to the Sri Lanka government speculate that the former Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera would be reinstated as the Minister of Ports and Civil Aviation soon after the May Day.

A compromise was dealt between President Mahinda Rajapaksa and the former Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera by Western Province Chief Minister Alevi Mawlana and the two held extensive talks at the Temple Trees last Tuesday...

Photo,
http://www.geocities.com/sunj_s/mangala01.jpg

UNP criticizes Sri Lanka President’s visit to Caribbean

Sri Lanka’s major opposition United National Party (UNP) today criticized the President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s visit to Caribbean to watch the national team playing in the World Cup final with Australia tomorrow.

UNP MP John Amaratunga compared the President’s visit to Nero’s fiddling while Rome was burning. He said that the former President Chandrika Kumaratunga did not go to watch the World Cup final in 1996 in which Sri Lanka won....