Ban LTTE, end truce

The Government can make a fresh start to address Tamil grievances once it officially bans the LTTE and abolishes the Ceasefire Agreement signed with the LTTE, Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa said yesterday.

In an exclusive interview with the Daily News, Defence Secretary Rajapaksa said the Ceasefire Agreement has become a joke in the eyes of the people with so many violations.

“The Ceasefire Agreement exists only on paper. Obviously we can see that there is no Ceasefire. It has become a joke,” the Defence Secretary said.

He said so many Governments have signed a number of Ceasefire Agreements in the past since the Thimpu Agreement.

“Once you sign a Peace Agreement and then you come to the next Ceasefire Agreement or whatever agreement, you must abolish the other [previous] one. It had never happened. From the Thimpu Agreement there are so many peace agreements including the Indo Lanka Agreement,” Rajapaksa added.

Read more,
http://www.dailynews.lk/2007/12/29/sec01.asp

Cops comb TN coast for LTTE men

Tamil Nadu police and its intelligence wing ‘Q Branch’ have launched a combing operation following reports that a group of LTTE militants had sneaked into the coastal areas of Ramanathapuram district.

“We have asked all the lodges and hotels to be checked,” a police official said here today.

The search was launched following intelligence reports that the Tamil Tigers had entered through the coastal areas after a pitched battle erupted between the ‘Sea Tigers’, the naval wing of the LTTE, and the Sri Lankan Navy in the sea off Katchathivu and Nedunthivu.

Read more,
http://www.chennaionline.com/colnews/newsitem.asp?

Gayoom in Sri Lanka in January

Maldivian President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, his wife Nasreena M.A. Gayoom and a delegation will arrive in Sri Lanka on a State visit from January 16 to 19, said M.M. Jaffeer, Chief Protocol for Foreign Affairs Ministry.

The main highlight of the programme would be the meeting of President Gayoom and President Mahinda Rajapaksa.

The two Heads of State will sign an agreement on 'Transfer of Prisoners' at a special meeting. President Gayoom and his delegation are expected to visit Kandy, Nuwara Eliya and Sigiriya, sources added.

Extracted from,
http://www.dailynews.lk/2007/12/28/news15.asp

Airtel to launch $ 200 mn operation in Sri Lanka

Indian Telecom giant Bharti Airtel is looking to establish itself as a major player in the Island nation's mobile telephony space as it prepares to launch its USD 200 million operation here early next year.

Mobile penetration in Sri Lanka is pegged at around 30 per cent, with approximately 2 million mobile users being added each year.

"The Airtel philosophy is to stay beside the consumer and strive to find fresh and innovative ways to add value to their lives", CEO of Airtel Sri Lanka Amali Nanayakkara said in a statement.

Bharti Airtel Lanka Private Limited, a subsidiary of Bharti Airtel Limited, has already announced plans to launch 2G and 3G services in Sri Lanka by the end of the current financial year (2007-08).

Read more,
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/News/News_By_Industry/Telecom/

Improved Train Services from next year

The Railway Services have substantially grown during the last three quarters of this year when compared with the same period of last year says the general manager of railways, Dr. Lalithasiri Gunaruwan. The general manager revealed this information during a news conference held yesterday.

20 billion rupees has been allocated from the next year budget for the development of railways, and by the utilisation of these funds 15 locomotives and 15 DMUs will be imported by the department next year.

Services at railway stations and the punctuality of train services have improved this year, and the department will address the grievances faced by the railway staff.

Read more,
http://www.slr.sharinfo.net/improved-train-services-from-next-month

Benazir stood up for democracy, says Sri Lanka

Slain former Pakistan prime minister Benazir Bhutto "successfully stood up for democracy", the Sri Lankan government has said describing her assassination as "brutal".

A late night official statement Thursday, hours after she was killed, said the "ugly head of terrorism" had raised itself once again in claiming Bhutto's life.

"This brutal assassination underlines the need for an absolute commitment to fight terrorism in all its forms and manifestations in order to make it unacceptable in civilized society," it said.

In an interview to the BBC's Sinhalese language service, Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollagama said that Sri Lanka would extend support to Pakistan in its efforts to eradicate terrorism.

Former president Chandrika Kumaratunga described Bhutto as a "symbol of democracy and secularism".

"Bhutto was eliminated from the political scene by those who always benefit from war, racism, arms deals, and those who wish to rule by military power," she said.

"May this not happen to anyone else in other countries of the region."

Read more,
http://www.indianmuslims.info/news/2007/dec/27/