Sri Lankan president vows to help British fight against terrorism

Sri Lanka's President Mahinda Rajapaksa has written to British Prime Minister Gordon Brown expressing solidarity and vowing to fight terrorism, reports said Friday.

'I write to express my solidarity with you, your government and the people of Britain at this critical time when your country faces an unprecedented threat of terrorism,' President Rajapaksa said in his message.

'I am glad and relieved that the British police were able to thwart the recent inter-linked terrorist threats in Britain preventing a situation of great tragedy, and wish them similar success in the future,' the letter said.

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http://news.monstersandcritics.com/southasia/news/article_1326879.php/
Sri_Lankan_president_vows_to_help_British_fight_against_terrorism

Terrorism makes negotiations difficult - Rohitha Bogollagama

Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollagama took office after his predecessor was assassinated by suspected Tamil Tigers in 2005. During his visit to Nepal this week, he made a pilgrimage to Lumbini and spoke to Nepali Times on Tuesday after meeting Prime Minister Girija Koirala.

.....What is the status of the Sri Lankan peace process, and how confident are you that things will be back on track?
We are a very resilient country despite all the internal and external shocks. The peace process is nothing new, we have been in this process since the 1982 Thimphu talks and the 1987 Indo-Lanka accord. The government has addressed the need for constitutional reforms and today we are looking for a process of counter-terrorism for lasting and sustained peace. As long as there is terrorism, negotiations are difficult.

But weren’t these concerns a part of the 2002 agreement? What went wrong?
That was a technical agreement, the focus was to put a stop to violence and convert that into a peace process. But when you try to do that, it has to be designed in such a way that it can bring parity to both sides, so one party is not put in an advantageous position. That is what went wrong. The LTTE was able to arm itself, openly oust the law enforcement bodies, and consolidate its position....

Read full interview here,
http://www.nepalitimes.com/issue/356/Interview/13720

Air Force Jets strike at Terror Targets- Mannar and Thoppigala

SL Air Force fighter jets carried out three air raids targeting LTTE positions at Thoppigala and an LTTE camp at Palampiddi in Mannar this morning (06). According to the Media Centre for National Security (MCNS), the air raids were conducted at 6:15 a.m. at Mannar and 6:20 a.m. at Thoppigala respectively. The pilots have confirmed that the targets had been achieved successfully.

Meanwhile, the troops who have commenced the last phase of the humanitarian mission to liberate Eastern province from the terror clutches moved further in to the LTTE dominated ground at Narakamulla yesterday (05). Defence sources said, that the air raids are being conducted to assist the ground advance by destroying remaining terror positions.

Extracted from,
http://www.defence.lk/new.asp?fname=20070706_01

Bank accounts of LTTE London leader frozen

A British Court yesterday froze all bank accounts of London LTTE king pin Shanthan alias Krishnatha Kumar and of his wife.

The Westminster Court which ruled on the matter also ordered that indictment against Shanthan be served before July 30. Since hard core criminals of the calibre of Shanthan are not produced before British law courts in person, video footage of the suspect was screened at the Westminster Court before the ruling was made.

A plea by a law firm that the suspect be granted bail was also rejected by Court.

Britain's Anti- Terrorism Unit had filed 28 charges against Shanthan including extortion, operation of business enterprises, printing press and oil storages with ill-gotten wealth.

Those employed at these enterprises were exclusively LTTE members, it was revealed.

The money earned by these business ventures as at July 2 is a staggering 4 billion sterling pounds.

The money thus earned had been utilised to purchase weapons to attack the Lankan Navy from China and Israel and outfits such as PPK.

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http://www.dailynews.lk/2007/07/06/sec02.asp

Sri Lanka getting ready to hold local government elections in the newly liberated East

Sri Lanka Cabinet of Ministers today decided to nullify the previously called nominations for several local government bodies in the Eastern Province.

The decision coincided with the government’s expressed intention to hold democratic elections in the Eastern province after the whole terrain would be freed from the hold of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).

Accordingly, the nominations received for the 2006 local government elections in one urban council and eight Pradeshiya Sabhas in the Eastern province will be nullified. Janaka Bandara Tennakoon, Minister of Local Government and Provincial Councils submitted the cabinet paper in this regard.

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http://www.colombopage.com/archive_07/July5180618SL.html

Mihin Travel 40% below other airlines

Chief Government Whip Minister Jeyaraj Fernandopulle yesterday told Parliament the establishment of Mihin Air by the Government has enabled Sri Lankans to travel to several countries at 40 per cent below the air fares charged by other airline services.

"At present, Mihin Air has commenced its operations to several destinations from Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA). Therefore as Sri Lankans, we should be proud and happy about the establishment of this airline serviced by the Government," the Minister said.

Responding to an oral question raised by JVP MP Anura Dissanayake whether the Government has transformed money belonging to Lankaputhra Development Bank to Mihin Air, Fernandopulle said Mihin Air is the only airline owned by the Government.

Mihin Air has started flight operations to Dubai, India, the Maldives and Bangkok compared with other airline services charges of Mihin Air is 40 per cent less than the other airline services, the Minister said.

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http://www.dailynews.lk/2007/07/06/news03.asp

No peace initiative, says Colombo

Sri Lanka on Wednesday refuted reports in a section of the press that it had launched “fresh initiatives” for peace and declared that the military offensive against the threat posed by the Tamil Tigers would continue.

Defence spokesman and Minister Keheliya Rambukwella told a news conference here that there was no truth in the reports that the Government had asked Norway to reach out to the LTTE leadership in Kilinochchi to explore the possibility of peace.

Four days ago, most of the local newspapers carried reports suggesting that on the eve of the Sri Lanka Co-Chairs meeting in Oslo on June 26, President Mahinda Rajapaksa conveyed a message to Norwegian Special Envoy John Hanssen Bauer that his Government was ready for talks with the Tigers.

Read more,
http://www.hindu.com/2007/07/05/stories/2007070551401400.htm