Sri Lanka seeks one lakh tonnes of rice from India

The recent rains not only smashed Indian farm land but also in Sri Lanka, where the unexpected rains have ransacked the entire food grain fields.

Sri Lankan government has sought one lakh tonnes of rice from India to meet the requirements and controlling the inflation.

Recently, Indian government has imposed restrictions on exports of non basmati rice, thus may become a hurdle in exporting of foodgrain that Sri Lanka demands.

India, confronted with one of the highest rates of inflation, wants to ensure adequate supplies of essential commodities including non-basmati rice and has raised its minimum export price of non-basmati rice to 1000 dollars a tonne from 650 dollars a tonne.

Meanwhile Lankan importers urged the country's President Mahinda Rajapaksa to ask New Delhi to ease the restrictions for importing rice from India.

Read more,
http://www.commodityonline.com/news/

Lankan boat intercepted

Indian Navy on Monday intercepted a Sri Lankan boat and arrested two persons off Uchipuli coast. The boat was seized after being alerted by a naval patrol helicopter, police said.

Two persons identified as Anran (40) and Valentine (29) were taken into custody.

The boatmen were arrested when they were returning after dropping off a woman from Trincomallee and her three children at Arichalmunai. The woman, Nakuleswari, had paid Rs 50000 to the boatmen for ferrying them.

Police said Nakuleswari had come in search of her husband Srikandan, who had left the family in Sri Lanka and fled to India earlier.

Extracted from,
http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/004200803311441.htm

SLAF raids LTTE 'runway' in Mullaittivu

SLAF fighter jets made two air sorties today (March 31) at 9.45a.m., and 10.30a.m, respectively at an LTTE 'runway' located 10km West of Mullaittivu town.

According to Air Force spokesperson Wing Commander Andrew Wijesooriya, pilots confirmed to have taken the target successfully.

Extracted from,
http://www.defence.lk/new.asp?fname=20080331_02

A clear message on rights, says Colombo

Sri Lanka’s Supreme Court has said the Constitution and the Supreme Court rulings give “adequate recognition to the provisions contained in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.”

In a ruling made on the basis of the opinion sought by President Rajapaksa, the apex court held that the citizens could derive the “benefit guaranteed by the Covenant.”

It is immediately not clear what prompted the President to seek the court’s opinion. A few months ago, the apex court in another case observed that the United Nations and other international conventions were not binding on the country unless ratified by Parliament.

Read more,
http://www.hindu.com/2008/03/31/stories/2008033155771600.htm

Chandrika and Ranil try to stop aid says President

In an obvious reference to former President Chandrika Kumaratunga and United National Party leader Ranil Wickramasinghe President Mahinda Rajapaksa said they are conspiring to stop foreign aid to Sri Lanka in a way injurious to the common masses of the country to spite him.

Addressing the 18th Annual Convention of the ruling Sri lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) President Mahinda Rajapaksa accused not only the United National Party leadership but some past leaders of his own party of conspiring to stop foreign aid to the country to spite him in an obvious reference to former President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga.

He said certain leaders have tried to stop the GSP plus concessions granted by the European Union on purported charges of violation of human rights in the country by secretly conspiring against the people.

Before the President leveled these accusations Prof. G.L. Peiris, Minister of Export Development and International Trade has admitted that the government was in the know that former President Chandrika Kumaratunga has had talks with some European Union leaders.

Read more,
http://www.sinhalaya.com/news/english/wmview.php?ArtID=15052

Viral flu hits Sri Lankan troops in northern war zone

A new crisis has erupted in Sri Lanka's northern war zone with a virtual epidemic of dengue and chikungunya viral fever among troops due to the heavy rains and resultant floods, said a leading local newspaper on Sunday.

The Sunday Times disclosed that about 500 troops affected by the viral flu were being treated at hospitals in the Anuradhapura district.

Health officials said the crisis had arisen one month ago and health education and viral flu prevention activities were conducted in the affected areas and mosquito nets being widely distributed.

Anuradhapura Teaching Hospital Director Sarath Weerabandara said the outbreak began when unexpected heavy rains hit the area including the war zones.

He said blood samples had confirmed that the virus was largely chikungunya.

Read more,
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-03/30/content_7883448.htm

TMVP to support Govt at Eastern PC polls

The nomination lists for the forthcoming Eastern Provincial Council elections are to be completed before April 3. It is reported that except the UNP, the other political parties have completed their nominees' list for the Eastern Provincial Council.

The rift between the UNP and the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC), according to informed sources, is due to the symbol, which the two parties have not agreed on so far, was the main reason for the delay.

The nomination committee comprising SLFP General Secretary Maithripala Sirisena, Leader of the House, Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva and the Senior Presidential Advisor MP Basil Rajapaksa will finalise its nomination list today.

The nomination list of the UNP will be finalised by the Opposition Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe, who returned to the country today after a three-day Indian visit. According to party sources, the selection board which comprises its Leader Wickremesinghe, Party Chairman Rukman Senanayake, General Secretary Tissa Attanayake, Daya Palpola, Shibly Aziz and Joseph Michael Perera would arrive at a decision on the Alliance with the SLMC and other issues related to the polls.

Read more,
http://www.sundayobserver.lk/2008/03/30/pol02.asp

'Just a true Canadian': alleged Tiger bagman

Prapa Thambithurai lives in a suburban duplex north of Toronto, near the looping roller coaster tracks and fake theme park mountains of Canada's Wonderland.

"I'm just a true Canadian," is how he described himself.

But police allege the 45-year-old satellite dish installer, who emigrated from Sri Lanka two decades ago, is also a bagman for the Tamil Tigers, the guerrilla group that pioneered suicide bombings.

Two weeks ago, Mr. Thambithurai became the first person charged under Canada's terrorism financing law, which makes it a crime to collect money knowing it "will be used by or will benefit a terrorist group."

Part of the Anti-Terrorism Act brought in after 9/11, the law has been on the books for more than six years, but nobody had ever been charged until Mr. Thambithurai's car was pulled over in New Westminster, B.C. on the night of March 14.

Read more,
http://www.nationalpost.com/news/story.html?id=407533

UNICEF terminates official in Sri Lanka after drug offense

The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) today terminated the service of Lisa Woods, a communication consultant, who was fined by the local courts for being in possession of 80 mg of heroin.

The Sri Lankan Foreign Ministry said in a statement that the UNICEF country office has informed it of the termination. Ms. Woods left the country today.

Ms. Woods, a United States national, had arrived in Sri Lanka on March 5 this year to work with UNICEF on a 4-month assignment to assist in updating the UNICEF website and to write donor reports.

Ms. Wood was admitted to the Intensive Care Unit of a private hospital in Colombo on March 12 after being found unconscious in her hotel. She was placed under arrest by the police for the possession of heroin and produced before the Colombo Magistrate on March 25.

“The Government appreciates the cooperation extended by UNICEF to the law enforcement authorities and for the immediate administrative measures taken against the officer,” the Foreign Ministry said.

Extracted from,
http://www.colombopage.com/archive_08/March28170054JV.html

Sri Lanka scraps bid for $400m terminal at Colombo port

Sri Lanka, aiming to increase cargo capacity at Colombo port by half, scrapped bids for a $400 million terminal, a ministry official said.

New terms will be added and fresh bids will be called in three months, Tilak Collure, a ports ministry secretary, said in a phone interview from capital Colombo. He declined to elaborate.

Hutchison Port Holdings and PSA International, which were among five companies that bid for the 2.4 million-containers-a-year facility at Colombo's south harbour, will have to resubmit their offers, Collure said.

The companies are known to be the world's biggest port operators.

Read more,
http://www.gulfnews.com/business/Shipping/10201264.html

Sri Lanka's wounded Tigers growl at Delhi

India's hosting of Sri Lankan Army chief Lieutenant General Sarath Fonseka in Delhi this month has evoked an angry growl from the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). Castigating India for giving the Lankan army chief a "state welcome", the LTTE has warned India against committing "the historic blunder" of propping up "the Sinhala war machine".

India would be responsible for "the ethnic genocide of the Tamils [in Sri Lanka]" that a Lankan army, "re-invigorated" by Indian support, would carry out, an LTTE statement said. "While pronouncing that a solution to the Tamil problem must be found through peaceful means, it [India] is giving encouragement to the military approach" of the Sri Lankan government, the LTTE said. "By this historic blunder it will continue to subject the Eelam Tamils to misery."

Close on the heels of that strident statement came another, this
one critical of India's treatment of its Tamils. "Tamils are slaves in India," Thamilendhi, the head of the LTTE's financial unit, is reported to have said at a public function in Kilinochchi in Sri Lanka's Northern Province.

The LTTE's strident statements against India over the past fortnight are reminiscent of the statements it issued in the late 1980s and early 1990s when relations between India and the LTTE deteriorated substantially.

Read more,
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/JC28Df01.html

LTTE agents booked under NSA

Two suspected LTTE agents were booked under the National Security Act (NSA) here (Madurai) today.

Police said Muthuramalingam of Ramanathapuram District and Raja of Madurai were recently arrested by the State Police when they attempted to smuggle explosive materials meant for LTTE from Rameswaram.

On the orders from the State Government, they were booked under NSA today and lodged at the Madurai Central Prison, the sources added.

Extracted from,
http://www.chennaionline.com/colnews/newsitem.asp?

"Prabakaran" film director FASTs unto death demanding back his film copies

Sri Lankan film director Thushara Peiris, who has been brutally attacked by pro-Tamil Tiger elements at Chennai's Gemini Colour Laboratories and stripped of copies of his new film "Prabhakaran" which he processed at the studios said from a hospital bed in Colombo that he is starting a "fast unto death" sathayagraha from his sick bed demanding the Indian and Sri Lankan governments to intervene in getting back his robbed copies of the film.

"I have stopped taking food, water and medicine until the Indian and Sri Lanka governments intervenes and get back my copies of the film," he said from a bed of Colombo's Nawaloka Hospital where he was admitted for treatment caused in the mob attack in Chennai.

It is believed an LTTE instigated mob attack took place in Chennai where they believed that his maiden full length feature film entitled "Prabhakaran" depicted the character of the ruthless terrorist leader Velupillai Prabhakaran in very bad light and anti-Tamil flavour".

Many in the mob belonged to the Chennai Film Technician's Union and a leading newspaper in India, the Times of India, has also identified leaders of an extremist pro LTTE political party among the attackers.

The 39 year old talented film director , who has had his training in Italy , said he passed out for about 45 minutes after the brutal attack , and when he was conscious discovered that he was profusely bleeding and the film copies have been robbed.

Read more,
http://www.defence.lk/new.asp?fname=20080328_03

Sri Lanka probes poster campaign

The Sri Lankan government has launched a probe into a mysterious poster campaign that is asking would-be Tamil Tiger suicide bombers to turn themselves in to government hands in return for cash.

The campaign, run by an unknown pro-peace organisation, promises a new life overseas and $US93,000 each to extremists who change their minds

Those contemplating taking up the offer are asked to call a government operated telephone line.

The government has denied having any hand in the poster.

A military spokesman, who tried calling the number several time without any success, says the government thinks the poster campaign is a hoax to create mischief.

Extracted from,
http://www.abc.net.au/ra/news/stories/

Construction of Sampoor Coal Power Plant to commence in three months

Sri Lanka Ministry of Power and Energy says that the construction of the coal power plant in Sampoor will begin in June. According to the Ministry, the project that is a joint venture of India and Sri Lanka is aimed at providing 500MW to the national grid by 2012.

Indian based company NPTC under the supervision of the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) undertakes the project. The cost of the first phase of the project intended to be completed by 2012, is 500 million US dollars. The government is to find 70% of the funds through foreign aid and the rest is to be provided by the CEB and the Indian company.

A land of 700 acres has been allocated from the area that was under Tamil Tiger hold until recently and the surveys are underway at present. The surveys will be completed by April and the construction will be commenced afterwards.

Read more,
http://www.colombopage.com/archive_08/March27114804JR.html

Air Force warplanes destroy LTTE training facility and Radar post in Wanni

Sri Lanka Air Force fighter jets successfully carried out two bombing missions targeting two identified camps of LTTE terrorists located in Wanni region this morning (March 27). According to the defence sources the targets were a training facility and a Radar command post both located in Kilinochchi district.

Air Force Spokesman Wing Commander Andrew Wijesooriya speaking to defence.lk said that the first mission was launched around 6.25.a.m. targeting a training facility located inside a jungle patch at Kalmadhu, in Iranamadhu. According to the defence intelligence, the terrorists have also used the location as a marshalling point for the conscripts.

The second mission was launched at 6.35.a.m. targeting a Radar Command post located in the Vallaipadhu area, South of Poonaryn, said the Air Force spokesman. Meanwhile, defence intelligence revealed that the terrorists have been using the location to coordinate boat operations across the Gulf of Mannar. The location was a recently established one by the terrorists due to frequent air raids on the strategically important coastal belt in the Northwest of the Island, the sources further said.

According to Wing Commander Wijesooriya the targets have been positively identified through human intelligence and verified by air surveillance. The Kfir and F-7 fighter jets carried out the missions jointly and the targets were accurately hit the added citing the fighter pilots.

Extracted from,
http://www.defence.lk/new.asp?fname=20080327_01

Be firm, Israel tells Colombo

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has reportedly told his Sri Lankan counterpart Rathnasiri Wickramanayake, presently on a four-day visit to Israel, not to “give in to terrorism because it will only bring destruction to your country,” a statement said.

It quoted Mr. Wickramanayake, Sri Lanka’s first Prime Minister to visit Israel, as saying in Jerusalem that the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam was maintaining strong relations with terrorist groups such as PKK and some affiliates of the dreaded Al-Qaeda. On the current situation in Sri Lanka, Mr. Wickramanayake said: “The black Tigers are responsible for suicide operations and have perfected suicide bombings and assassinations.

It is generally believed that they learnt it from some Palestinian groups.” Mr. Wickremanayake has held talks with Israeli President Shimon Peres, Defence Minister Ehud Barak, and Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni. He will also meet Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas in the West Bank.

Read more,
http://www.hindu.com/2008/03/27/stories/2008032755091800.htm

Pro-LTTE activists assault Lankan director in Chennai

Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam supporters attacked a Sri Lankan film director in Chennai and prevented him from taking back prints of his film from a laboratory for allegedly portraying the banned outfit chief, V Prabhakaran, in a poor light.

The incident took place on Tuesday at Gemini Lab in Chennai where Lankan director Thushara Peiris had come to take prints of his film Prabhakaran , which shows the miseries of the people due to the civil war through the eyes of an escaped LTTE cadre.

S P Veerapandian, general secretary of Tamil nationalist party Dravida Iyakka Tamilar Peravai, S Vanniarasu Viduthalai Chiruthaikal and film director Seeman were among those who assaulted Peiris.

Extracted from,
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/

Pro LTTE Ram Doss wants Chennai SL office to be closed down

For re-publishing a collection of items that appeared in the Tamil Nadu media a Tamil Nadu based “human rights organization” called Manitham wants India ’s federal government in New Delhi to close down the Consul General office of Sri Lanka immediately.

The Executive Director of the “Manitham” (Man) Agni Subramaniam in an interview with the popular Tamil weekly magazine Kumudam said, the book issued by the Consul General’s office consisting of media reports from Tamil Nadu , “has created a stir among the supporters of Tamil Eelam in Tamil Nadu.”

Bringing it to the notice of Pattali Makkalai Katchi leader Dr. Ram Doss, who is an extremist leader of the Tamils, Agni, literally meaning Fire, told the magazine that the media reports carried in the book made the impression that Tamil people in Tamil Nadu are opposed to the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).

Read more,
http://www.sinhalaya.com/news/english/wmview.php?ArtID=15030

PNM against disarming Pillayan group

The Patriotic National Movement yesterday said disarming the Pillayan faction at this moment would make them targets of the LTTE and prevent the group from entering the democratic process.

Wimal Weerawansa told a press conference at the Library Services and Documentation Board Auditorium that the recent call to disarm them at this moment without helping them enter the democratic mainstream was a move against Tamils' aspirations.

He said certain elements are calling for the disarming of the group which would definitely result in them falling prey to LTTE.

The Government should encourage them to enter mainstream politics by giving the necessary impetus and gradually instilling in them faith in the democratic process. "We cannot disregard the fact that the Pillayan group is under the threat of LTTE. No other party engaged in democratic politics has faced a threat of such magnitude as the Pillayan group," Weerawansa said.

Referring to the forthcoming Provincial Councils Election, he said the Government has failed to conduct a census in the province which consisted of territories forcefully held by LTTE terrorists over a decade, before the Election was announced.

Read more,
http://www.dailynews.lk/2008/03/27/pol04.asp

SL create history in the Caribbean

Chaminda Vaas' double-strike just after lunch, sandwiched between the key scalps of half-centurions Dwayne Bravo and Ramnaresh Sarwan, and another from Muttiah Muralitharan on the stroke of tea left Sri Lanka needing four wickets to win their first Test in the Caribbean.

Bravo relished his first time opening the innings by scoring a fluent 83 and Sarwan's obdurate 72 gave West Indies hope of salvaging a draw but Sri Lanka came back hard to set up a tense final session. At 229 for 6 the hosts were battling the odds to pull off a great escape at the Providence Stadium.

West Indies began the final day facing a mountain to climb and Bravo and Sarwan took to it step by step. From the go it was evident they were playing for a draw; the first 15 overs yielded just 25 runs. Sarwan didn't score a boundary all session, reluctant to take any risks, and puttered along with tucks to the on side.

Read more,
http://content-sl.cricinfo.com/wivsl/content/

LTTE Ordeal at Omanthai with Escaped Fishermen; Three Dead & Five Rescued

A STRING OF INDISCRIMINATE Tiger terrorist fire attacks on a group of fleeing LTTE abducted and detained fisherfolk Wednesday (26) mid-noon in a jungle location, about 2 km to the east of OMANTHAI Entry/Exit point, claimed the lives of three of them and injured three more.

Troops stationed surrounding this Entry/Exit point managed to rescue five more, effectively responding to the enemy fire while that group of eleven Sinhalese detainees were on the flee, amidst a rain of Tiger bullets that were directed towards those escapees.

The story behind the tragedy records back to 10th February and 2nd March 2007 when LTTE Sea Tigers caught and abducted fourteen fishermen of KALPITIYA, NEGOMBO and TANGALLE areas while they were fishing some 20 nautical miles off KALPITIYA, PUTTALAM.

Tiger terrorists have at first taken those fishermen to ARIPPU by force. Later, terrorists have forced those abductees to undergo rigorous hard work as labourers after confining them to VISHWAMADU area in MULLAITIVU, but their determination to run away from the grip of LTTE terrorists never wavered, according to an escapee.

Read more,
http://www.army.lk/morenews.php?id=11898

Sri Lankan Air Force pounds rebel targets

The Air Force in Sri Lanka launched two separate air attacks at Tamil Tiger targets Wednesday morning in the north, said the Air Force.

Air Force spokesman Andrew Wijesooriya told the media that the first air raid was conducted around 10:15 a.m. (0445 GMT) using MI24 helicopters at two identified bases of the Liberation Tigers ofTamil Eelam (LTTE) at Alankulama and Kaliadanchan in the Mannar district.

Wijesooriya said the attack was undertaken as a ground support mission to the Army soldiers engaged in battles in the area.

The second air raid was carried out by fighter jets around 10:50 a.m. (0520 GMT) at a boat manufacturing facility of the LTTE inthe Vishwamadhukulama area in Kilinochchi, the spokesman said.

Read more,
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/

One STF soldier killed 3 injured in LTTE claymore blast in Batticaloa

One soldier of Police Special Task Force (STF) was killed and 3 others suffered injuries when LTTE terrorists detonated a claymore mine at Thandiadi in Batticaloa this morning (March 26).

According to the defence sources in the area , the claymore blast was carried out targeting a foot patrol undertaken by the STF down the Valakalai- Thandiadi road around 9.a.m.

The injured have been admitted to general hospital Batticaloa. A search operation is in progress, the sources added.

Extracted from,
http://defence.lk/new.asp?fname=20080326_05

Eleven More Tiger Corpses Delivered to ICRC

CORPSES OF ELEVEN TIGER CADRES, including six women cadres died during most recent offensives and clashes in MANNAR and WELIOYA were to be delivered to the ICRC officials Tuesday (25) afternoon at about 1.30 p.m. across the OMANTHE Entry/Exit point.

Many of those remains recovered from MANNAR area belonged to six women cadres and four males who perished in this week’s MANNAR area battles. The remaining one was from the WELIOYA sector. All those dead bodies were kept for delivery to the ICRC in MANNAR and PADAVIYA hospitals before they were removed to VAVUNIYA hospital this morning (25) after ICRC arrangements were finalized.

The ICRC at OMANTHE Entry/Exit point took over the remains for delivery to the LTTE in un-cleared areas.

Extracted from,
http://www.army.lk/morenews.php?id=11863

NEDUMARAN TO VISIT LONDON TO RAISE LTTE FUNDS

India’s pro-Tamil Tiger leader Pazha Nedumaran is scheduled to visit London to be engaged in fund raising activities of the proscribed terrorist group the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), sources close to Mari Amma Temple in Tooting London, said.

“Nedumaran is scheduled to address a gathering at the LTTE owned temple, March 29, but his visa has yet to be cleared by the British authorities,” the sources further indicated. The temple authorities admitted he is scheduled to speak but said his arrival cannot be confirmed as his visa is yet to be issued.

Golden Lambert and A.C.Shanthan , two accused who are out on bail on LTTE fund raising charges against them under Britain’s anti-terrorist laws are reportedly the main organizers of the Nedumaran fund raising event.

Read more,
http://www.lankaweb.com/news/items08/260308-4.html

Politics keeping Lanka from helping Tibet

A FREEDOM fighter, he was known as Tibet Jathika S Mahinda, though his original name was Tasilmgal. He came to Sri Lanka from the Sikkim-Tibet region in 1912 as a 14-year-old destitute.

He preferred to identify with Tibet instead of Sikkim because Tibet was better known among Sri Lankans. Ordained as a Buddhist monk of the Theravada tradition after his arrival in Sri Lanka, he mastered the local language and woke the sleeping Sinhala masses up by his powerful poetry which promised them hope and galvanised them into action. This monk from Tibet saw how the Sri Lankan culture and tradition were being swallowed by the fast-spreading western way of life and how the Sinhala Buddhists being converted to Christianity by missionaries from the West.

With his poetic idiom, S Mahinda, a socialist at heart, told the Sri Lankans in general and the Buddhists in particular that the local culture and the tradition were much richer and more meaningful than what was being imposed on them by the colonialists.

Tibet Jathika S Mahinda – meaning S Mahinda the Tibet national – was indeed a true Sri Lankan national hero at a time when our efforts to gain freedom, not by violent means but by negotiations with the Brits, were led by the West-aping men in top hats and tailcoats.

Read full article here,
http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticleNew.asp?

UNP Decide to contest for Eastern PC Polls

Sri Lanka's Main opposition United National Party (UNP) has decided to contest the Eastern Provincial Council Election to be held on May 10.

Working Committee of the party unanimously approved the party’s decision today. They also appointed a nomination board to coordinate the Eastern Provincial Council Election.

Ranil Wickranasinghe, the leader will discus with Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) and other parties, General Secretory, Tissa Atthanayaka said.

Party has also decided to urge government and election commissioner to disarm armed groups before nominating, Atthanayaka said to media.

UNP did not contested for Batticaloa mini Election.

Extracted from,
http://news.nidahasa.com/news.php?go=fullnews&newsid=515

Showcasing a success

ON the evening of March 11, heads of foreign missions based in Colombo received an invitation from the Foreign Ministry to gather at the office of Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollagama the following day at 11 a.m. for a briefing on the just-concluded local body elections in Batticaloa district. Similarly, members of the local and international press corps were called to his office for another briefing on the elections.

The invites raised several eyebrows. What has the Foreign Ministry got to do with the conduct of local body elections in just one of three eastern districts?

For the Mahinda Rajapaksa government and its Foreign Ministry, the Batticaloa elections constituted an extraordinary feat for more than one reason and deserved to be promoted as such.

The logic and objective of showcasing the Batticaloa elections to the international community is three-fold. First, the government succeeded in conducting the elections without any untoward incident in an area, parts of which were wrested from the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) less than a year ago. Secondly, the government can take credit for bringing a section of the LTTE, the breakaway faction led by Vigyanamurthy Muralitharan alias ‘Col’ Karuna, now led by Pillian, into the political mainstream.

Thirdly, and perhaps most importantly, it is a reflection of the commitment of the government to usher in democracy in the erstwhile LTTE-dominated areas and provide an idea of the shape of things to come in the East and eventually in the North, parts of which continue to be under the control of the Tigers.

Read the full article here,
http://www.hinduonnet.com/fline/stories/20080411250704600.htm

LTTE has links with global terror groups: Lanka PM

Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ratnasiri Wickremanayaka has alleged that the Tamil Tigers maintain links with international terror groups such as PKK and certain affiliates of Al-Qaida.

"According to some experts on terrorism, they maintain contacts with other terror groups such as PKK, Taliban, Islamic groups in the Philippines and even some affiliates of Al-Qaida," he said.

The Sri Lankan leader also said that certain reports mentioned about Tamil youths receiving training in Palestinian camps in Syria and Lebanon.

Read more,
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/

India will never allow a separate Tamil state: Lanka PM

India will never allow a separate independent state for Tamils to be carved out from Sri Lanka, the island's Prime Minister Ratnasiri Wickremanayaka said.

"It should be borne in mind that India will never allow a separate independent state for Tamils in Sri Lanka because such a development will have a disastrous effect in India," Wickremanayaka, who is the first Sri Lankan Prime Minister to visit Israel, told a gathering.

"India has always been committed to Sri Lanka's territorial integrity," he added.

The Sri Lankan Prime Minister, who is on a four-day visit, claimed that LTTE leader V Prabhakaran wanted to create a Tamil state by "including certain parts of India as well".

Read more,
http://sify.com/news/othernews/fullstory.php?id=14629393

LTTE 'military storage facility' destroyed in air strikes- Mullaittivu

The SLAF fighter jets took fresh air strikes at a LTTE 'military storage facility' this morning (March 25) at Uddayarkattukulama, in Mullaittivu.

According to Air Force Spokesperson Wing Commander Andrew Wijesooriya, the air sorties were conducted following well established ground and air surveillance information, at around 9.20a.m. The target was known to be a main LTTE arms, ammunitions and equipment storage facility, he further said.

The air strikes have triggered a series of explosion while, pilots have also confirmed debris and flames rising in the area, sources said.

Defence analysts state that these strikes were launched as a measure to neutralize the LTTE Wanni logistic and arms supply network.

The LTTE is yet to release casualty figures, defence sources said.

Extracted from,
http://www.defence.lk/new.asp?fname=20080325_04

India's Bharat Petroleum eyes wider Sri Lanka market share

India's Bharat Petroleum says it is looking for opportunities in Sri Lanka's aviation and retail fuel sectors after launching its 'MAK' brand lubricants partnering with a top auto dealer in the island.

"We hope that we will also be given an opportunity to enter the main product market which is the petrol and diesel trade," Bharat Petroleum marketing director S Radhakrishnan, told LBO.

"We are already here in a small way doing some bunkering and now lubricants."

Bharat Petroleum was one of the bidders for a third share in Sri Lanka's retail fuel market but the process was abandoned following a change in the country's economic policy after 2004, which ruled out privatization.

"Aviation, if we are given an opportunity, we would also like to start refueling in Colombo and other air ports," Radhakrishnan said

"We are waiting an opportunity from the government do that."

Read more,
http://www.lankabusinessonline.com/fullstory.php?

C-4 Explosives Emerge From House in Modera

ACTING ON A tip-off provided by neighbors after they entertained suspicion about the movements of some people into a house on ALUTH MAWATHA in MODERA, GRAND PASS, COLOMBO 15, a Police team searched the house early Tuesday (25) morning and recovered 4 kgs of C-4 explosives, ten electric detonators and four timers while they had been kept hidden inside the house.

Five suspects in this connection were taken in for questioning by the Police after preliminary investigations pointed to their involvement in collection of those explosives.

MODERA, a COLOMBO suburb has been in focus for the last couple of months as more and more LTTE activities were reported. It was only a month ago, an LTTE suicide bomber blew himself up when the Police and the troops swooped on his hide-out in a two-storeyed building.

The GRAND PASS Police are conducting investigations.

Extracted from,
http://www.army.lk/morenews.php?id=11862

Navy thwarts LTTE boat movement - Pulmoddai

Naval attack craft on patrol off Pulomoddai thwarted an LTTE boat movement from Nayaru to Pulmoddai this morning (March 25).

According to Naval Spokesperson Commander D.K.P Dassanyake, naval craft on sighting a cluster of LTTE boats at 1.a.m., making towards the Pulmoddai waters intercepted the vessels engaging in a seaborne fire attack forcing the LTTE vessels to retreat with damages.

Later, it was revealed through intercepted enemy communication that a LTTE boat has sustained damages and towed towards the Nayaru lagoon, the spokesperson further said.

Extracted from,
http://defence.lk/new.asp?fname=20080325_01

Govt. denies offering Chief Minister post to Pillaiyan

The government yesterday denied claims that it had offered to appoint TMVP leader Pillaiyan as the Chief Minister of East.

General Secretary of the United Peoples Freedom Alliance,

Minister Susil Premajayantha said "We have not offered the Chief Minister-ship to anyone. We will take a decision on it only after the elections to the Eastern Provincial council are completed."

He said at an SLFP Central Committee meeting presided over by President Mahinda Rajapaksa a decision had been taken that all political parties in the Alliance Government would contest under the single banner of the UPFA and the betel symbol. "I have written to several parties, including the JVP and the SLMC inviting them to join us and to contest under one banner and senior Advisor to the President Basil Rajapaksa had discussed this with the SLMC leader Rauf Hakeem a few days ago.

All the party leaders in the alliance, the Mahajhana Eksath Peramuna, Communist Party, Lanka Sama Samaja Party, Mahajhana Pakshaya, Jathika Hela Urumaya, National Unity Alliance and the All Ceylon Muslim Congress,were expected to meet yesterday afternoon to decide on the number of slots for each constituent party.

Read more,
http://www.island.lk/2008/03/25/news1.html

Iran, Sri Lanka Discuss Expansion of Ties

Iran's ambassador to Colombo and Sri Lanka's minister of port and aviation discussed expansion of relations and mutual cooperation in a meeting in the Sri Lankan capital.

During the meeting, the two sides reviewed activities of the Uma Oya developmental program, and the Iranian diplomat offered Tehran's assistance with Colombo in providing the Sri Lankan employees with higher educational opportunities.

The envoy also proposed Sri Lankan port authorities with further training at institutions in Iran as well as implementation of an employee exchange program.

The two sides also discussed adoption of introductory measures to pave the way for a visit to Sri Lanka by the Iranian President, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

Read more,
http://english.farsnews.com/newstext.php?nn=8701050152

'We are better off without the LTTE'

S C Chandrahasan is the son of Samuvel Selvnayagam, a Tamil leader who was known as the Mahatma Gandhi of Sri Lanka. After the island-nation's ethnic conflict began in 1983, Chandrahasan founded the Organisation For Eelam Refugees' Rehabilitation.

OFERR works in Sri Lanka and India, and has offices in all the 104 refugee camps in Tamil Nadu. It also works in the north and east of Sri Lanka, two regions badly affected in the conflict.

The soft-spoken leader slams both the Sri Lankan government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam for the mess in the island state.

He spoke at length to rediff.com's Special Correspondent A Ganesh Nadar.

What was the position on the ground at the time of the ceasefire and peace talks in 2002?

At the time of the ceasefire some areas were controlled by the Sri Lankan government and others were under the control of the LTTE. There were some hazy areas where both the LTTE and government troops moved around.

Read more,
http://in.rediff.com/news/2008/mar/24inter.htm

LTTE Van with Explosives Nabbed

AN LTTE VAN laden with explosives, believed to have been either left behind or parked in the jungles intending a huge blast against the Security Forces was spotted in KANCHKUDICHCHIARU, AMPARA by Special Task Force (STF) troops last evening (23).

The explosives were found hidden in the Dolphin van carrying two different number plates; (NP JZ 4782) on the front and (NC GC 4273) on the rear, and the explosives were connected to a detonating device for easy detonation when the troops recovered it.

STF, troops after defusing the explosive device, handed over the vehicle to the THIRUKKOVIL Police for further investigations.

extracted from,
http://www.army.lk/morenews.php?id=11841

Saudi Arabia to help Lanka in oil exploration, refining

The Kingdom has agreed to train Sri Lankans in the field of exploration and refining oil in the island. This was the outcome of yesterday's talks between Ali Al-Naimi, minister of petroleum and mineral resources and Abdul Hameed Mohamed Fowzie, minister of petroleum and petroleum resources development at a meeting held at the ministry headquarters yesterday.

"We had fruitful discussions with my counterpart here and we are happy that the Kingdom has agreed to cooperate with Sri Lanka in areas of mutual interests in the field of oil supply, exploration and investments," Fowzie said. The charge d' affairs of the Sri Lankan Embassy, W.S.M.S.Wijesundera, consul general in Jeddah, Abdul Latiff Mohammed Lafeer, commercial counselor, Yasantha De Silva, and Mohammed Jabir represented the ministerial team during the discussions.

Read more,
http://www.menafn.com/qn_news_story_s.asp?StoryId=1093190062

Sri Lankan PM arrives for historic visit

Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ratnasiri Wickremanayake arrived in Israel on Sunday, in the first visit by a Sri Lankan premier to the country.

Sri Lanka restored diplomatic ties with Israel in 2000, despite objections from the island's Muslim minority.

During his four-day working visit, Wickremanayake is to meet with Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni and President Shimon Peres, and travel to the West Bank for talks with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.

On Monday he will first visit the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial in Jerusalem, and then Sderot.

Last year, Israel exported about $60 million in goods to the South Asian nation, while imports were around $40m., according to the Foreign Ministry.

Cooperation between the two countries is strongest in agriculture and medicine, and Israel sent a rescue team to Sri Lanka following 2004's Asian Tsunami that killed more than 225,000 people in 11 countries.

Extracted from,
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?

Government in a hurry over polls: TULF

he Sri Lankan military on Sunday said the number of LTTE cadres and the soldiers killed in Saturday’s battles in the north had gone up to 52 and eight respectively. Meanwhile, Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF) chief V. Anandasangree charged the Mahinda Rajapaksa government with going ahead with elections to the eastern province in a “great hurry”.

In a letter addressed to Mr. Rajapaksa, the TULF leader argued that free and fair elections were not feasible until all “armed groups are disarmed.”

The immediate provocation for the missive is the reported decision to re-deploy sections of the Special Task Force (STF) from the Amparai district.

However, the government has termed reports on the re-deployment in a section of the local media as “misleading” saying only a few units of the STF were being pulled out for deployment in the northern battle front. Mr. Anandasangree said there was no doubt that the East had been liberated but not cleared fully of the LTTE problem.

Read more,
http://www.hindu.com/2008/03/24/stories/2008032455621600.htm

Tigers' deep sea mines pose new threat to Sri Lanka

The Tamil Tigers' deep sea underwater capability demonstrated off the eastern Sri Lankan coast Saturday might have added a new dimension to the military conflict, The Sunday Times said.

The navy could be facing a new challenge in the coming months if the Tamil guerrillas continue to attack Sri Lankan vessels with sea mines or human torpedoes, the weekly paper said.

A sea mine sunk a Sri Lankan naval Fast Attack Craft (FAC) off Nayaru on the Mullaitivu coast at about 2.25 a.m. Saturday. And although six men were rescued in the vicinity, the fate of 10 others was not known, it added.

Survivors said that they saw no Tiger vessel in the vicinity either with the naked eye or electronically and that there was no confrontation or firing. Hence the suspicion about a sea mine being the cause of the deadly explosion.

The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), however, gave a different version of the incident. The LTTE said there was a confrontation between the Sri Lankan Navy and a suicide squad of the Sea Tigers in which 14 navy men were killed and one FAC was sunk.

The LTTE further said that three Tigers, including a 'Lt. Colonel' and two women cadres, all members of the Black Tiger suicide squad, were killed. The names of the dead were announced.

Read more,
http://www.kalingatimes.com/international

Ship from Sri Lanka hits Bengal jetty

A ship carrying containers and construction equipment from Sri Lanka lost control Saturday and hit a Kolkata Port Trust (KoPT) jetty near here. No one was injured in the accident.

'The ship was coming from Colombo with heavy machineries and containers. On its way to Kolkata port, it lost control due to some technical problems and hit a jetty at Nurpur in South 24 Parganas district,' Kolkata Port Trust Chairman A.K Chanda told IANS.

He said the steering of the ship got jammed and the captain had no option but to stop it abruptly.

'The jetty was completely damaged but no human injury was reported in the incident,' Chanda said.

Extracted from,
http://www.indiaenews.com/india/20080322/105913.htm

Liberation for people in North soon - TMVP

The Thamil Makkal Viduthalai Pukkikal (TMVP) said that the people of the East were thankful to the Mahinda Rajapaksa Government and the military for ending the fearful era under the clutches of the LTTE terrorists.

The first woman Mayor of the Batticaloa district, Sivageetha Prabakharan of the TMVP told the 'Sunday Observer' that the TMVP hopes the Government would liberate the people in the North from the LTTE terrorists soon.

"We wish that our people in the North too will breathe the air of freedom soon," she said.

Agreeing that the TMVP still shelters children, she said that after the split, the LTTE tortured the younger brothers of the TMVP carders.

Mayor Prabhakaran, who seeks Government assistance to develop the district, assured that public money allocated for development would not be allowed to be misused under her administration.

Read more,
http://www.sundayobserver.lk/2008/03/23/pol01.asp

Nedumaran, 164 party workers arrested

Tamil Nationalist Movement leader P Nedumaran and many others were arrested in the city on Saturday for defying a ban on staging a demonstration against the alleged sale of arms by India to Sri Lanka, among other issues.

Nedumaran and 164 others, including 15 women from various pro-Tamil groups were held after they tried to stage a demonstration at the Memorial Hall here without police permission, police said.

The protesters also denounced attacks on the Tamil Nadu fishermen, allegedly by the Sri Lankan Navy, in the international waters.

Extracted from,
http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/004200803221915.htm

Sea Tiger Coordinating Centre Destroyed

AFTER PROLONGED SURVEILLANCE, Sri Lanka Air Force fighter craft shelled an LTTE base northwest of PUDUKUDIRIPPU, MULLAITHIVU Saturday (22) at about 2.10 p.m.

Intelligence reports revealed the target was a coordinating centre of Sea Tigers.Pilots confirmed the Sea Tiger base was destroyed in the air attack.

Extracted from,
http://www.army.lk/morenews.php?id=11791

LTTE attacking Indian fishermen, not Lankan Govt: SL Minister

Sri Lankan Minister for Highways Jayaraj Fernando today said the frequent attacks on Indian fishermen at the midsea were carried out by the banned LTTE and not by the Lankan Navy. In an informal chat with the newspersons here, he said it was only the LTTE, who attacked Indian fishermen. But they put the blame on Sri Lankan Navy to tarnish the image of Sri Lankan Government.

He said the Sri Lankan Government was keen on national integration within the island nation and not for any partition. ''We will not allow disintegration of the nation,'' he asserted.

He said the Sri Lankan Government was always ready for settling the ethnic issue through peaceful negotiations but the LTTE did not believe in these talks and instead they wanted to create problems in the island nation.

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

Windies fans feel the absence of Lasith

Walking out of the National Stadium after the drawn game between Sri Lanka and a Guyana Cricket Board President’s Eleven team I was confronted by a group of Guyanese cricket enthusiasts who noticed me sporting a Sri Lanka Cricket tee shirt.

‘You playing for Sri Lanka’, asked one of them in the group. ‘My playing days were long over’, I said, laughing to myself.

‘Hey mann, where is that mann Malinga? asked another in the group. I said is it Malinga Bandara? ‘No, no mann. That guy with the weired hair do and the peculiar slinging action. Oh, is it Lasith Malinga? That de guy’, they all shouted.

‘He didn’t play in this game. Is he being rested for the Test match’, they queried.

I said: ‘No my friends, he has been emitted due to injury and is not in the squad’, I said much to their disappointment.

‘Mann, when Malinga was here he took 4 in 4, you remember’, they asked. I said I was at the scene of action that day and lapped up every moment of that 4 in 4 blast, in the World Cup game at this venue, against South Africa, and described it to my newspaper.

Read more,
http://www.dailynews.lk/2008/03/22/spo03.asp

Sri Lanka starts whale watching

Sri Lanka is launching whale and dolphin watching tours in the island's Western and Southern waters in an effort to exploit a growing trend in eco-tourism, officials said.

The joint venture between Walkers Tours, a unit of John Keells Holdings, and state-rn Ceylon Fishery Harbours Corporation (CFHC) is part of a government and industry effort to increase the economic contribution from the island's fisheries sector.

Micheal Elias, chief executive of Walkers Tours, said the initiative would combine the marketing strengths of the private sector operator with the resources such as the boats and crews of the CFHC.

Read more,
http://www.lankabusinessonline.com/fullstory.php?

Troops capture one Square Kilometer in between Parayanakulam and Elanthivan area

The Army troops captured one square kilometer in between PARAYANAKULAM and ELANTHIVAN area today (22) morning. Fifteen LTTE terrorists were reported killed in the confrontation.

Due to the incident two soldiers were killed and another nine soldiers were reported injured. Five LTTE dead bodies were recovered by the troops subsequently.

Extracted from,
http://www.nationalsecurity.lk/fullnews.php?id=11312

Air strikes at LTTE sea tiger base - Mullaittiuvu

SLAF fighter jets launched precision air strikes at a pre-identified LTTE sea tiger base today (March 22), 7km North of Nayaru lagoon in Mullaittiuvu at 11.15 a.m., security sources said.

The air strikes came following intense terrorist activity monitored in the area since this morning, security sources said.

Pilots confirmed to have inflicted heavy damages to the LTTE sea tiger facility, sources further added.

Extracted from,
http://defence.lk/new.asp?fname=20080322_04

Navy Fast Attack Craft sinks in mystery blast; 6 crewmembers survive

A Sri Lanka Navy Fast Attack Craft (FAC) has been caught in a possible underwater blast this morning (March 22). According to the defence sources, the locally built P438 deployed in northeastern coastal waters off Nayaru has sunk due the blast that occurred around 2.30.a.m.

Upon the receipt of the SOS message from the sinking craft other sea units have immediately launched a search and rescue mission in the area. According to the naval sources, 6 crewmembers, including the Officer in Charge of the craft have been rescued so far.

The survivors have reported an underwater blast that damaged the boat's hull and caused it to be sunk in a short time. According to the survivors there has been no sea confrontation nor any LTTE craft were present in the area. Navy suspects the blast has caused by a possible sea mine or due to some underwater weapon developed by the terrorists.

Search and rescue mission continues.

Read more,
http://defence.lk/new.asp?fname=20080322_01

Army bus caught to LTTE pressure mine - Mannar

Bus carrying army personnel caught to a pressure mine explosion in the Mannar area around 7.15 p.m. today.

According to the initial information reached, 2 army personnel were killed while 6 others received injuries due to this explosion took place in general area south-bar in Mannar.

Extracted from,
http://www.defence.lk/new.asp?fname=20080321_03

TNA withdraws from EP poll at Prabhakaran's instance

LTTE leader Velupillai Prabhakaran has ordered Tiger proxy TNA not to contest the upcoming Provincial Council elections in the Eastern Province. He issued this order when TNA Parliamentarians were attending the funeral of slain colleague Sivanesan.

According to reports from the Wanni, LTTE political wing leader Nadesan had reiterated to the TNA MPs the LTTE unwavering commitment to a Tamil homeland in the North and East and that their objective will be achieved in the near future.

He had also ordered the TNA MPs to agitate diplomatic missions in Colombo and complain that the Government was violating human rights and also to speak against the ongoing conflict.

The fact that elections are to be held in a demerged East and its implication on the Tamil homeland concept encompassing the Eastern Province had also weighed heavily in the LTTE's decision to order the TNA out of the poll.

Read more,
http://www.dailynews.lk/2008/03/21/sec01.asp

SriLankan Airlines works harder to lure Indian tourists

SriLankan Airlines has announced it has redoubled its efforts aimed at bringing more tourists to Sri Lanka from India, in support of the country’s tourism industry.

“We are fully focused on our responsibility as the National Carrier to support our own tourism industry, although the airline itself has a thriving business in transit passengers traveling through our hub in Colombo,” SriLankan Airines employee said.

According to the airline, its most recent promotion in India offers discounted fares throughout the month of February for Indian travelers below the age of 27 to enjoy exciting holidays in Sri Lanka, with one condition--travelers must spend a minimum of three days in Sri Lanka.

“In the past, travel advisories in European countries have led to drops in arrivals from some of the island’s traditional tourism markets, although tourists have never been targeted in the country’s conflict,” the airline added.

“The airline has invested heavily in recent years in publicizing Sri Lanka as a destination in India, drawing attention to its value for money shopping, wide range of cuisine, superior hotel and convention facilities, cultural wonders, and diverse climates and landscapes.”

Read more,
http://www.eturbonews.com/1792/srilankan-airlines-works-harder-lure-indian-t

Information from the public Police seize stock of Explosives etc

The MEDAWACHCHIAY POLICE acting on information received from the public seized a large stock of explosives and accessories as given below from a van bearing No M.W.P.B 1824 which was proceeding towards MANNAR near the MEDAWACHCHIAYA roadblock in the evening around 5.45 on Wednesday (19).

Gelignite rods 242
Detonator cord 125 meters

Two suspects were taken into custody by the MEDAWACHCHIYA POLICE .
Police investigations reveal that the Gelignite rods and detonator wire was cunningly concealed inside an enclosure made for the purpose inside the vehicle.
MEDAWACHCHIYA POLICE are conducting further investigations.

Extracted from,
http://www.nationalsecurity.lk/fullnews.php?id=11264

UNP Contesting Eastern Elections - Keeping humor alive amongst Sri Lankans

The UNP of late has featured more prominently not so much for its merit as an opposition party but for a series of never ending humor presented to the masses. From the poster campaign inaugurated & ending on Valentine's Day to the miscalculated boycott of the Eastern Municipal Polls, the UNP always has added humor to a country that very much is in need of it.

Was it not too long ago that the UNP was shouting from West to East to gather opposition for the recently concluded Eastern Municipal Polls?

Why - they claim that the Government was contesting in tow with a paramilitary group called the TMVP led by the terrorist Pillyalan. If the UNP has identified the TMVP as a terrorist & chose not to contest then we should ask why the UNP chose to contest the Eastern elections when the LTTE was reigning in the East?

In the world of politics every decision is like a rabbit pulled out of a hat .... & the surprises will always continue, which continues the banter surrounding the most recent declaration by the UNP to contest the Provincial Council elections in the East.

Perhaps the Municipal elections were a mere cup of tea for the Grand Old Party to contest that they prefer to take on the Provincial elections instead?

Read more,
http://www.lankaweb.com/news/items08/200308-4.html

Are you training Lanka army, CPI asks Centre

The CPI on Tuesday alleged that the Centre was giving secret training to Sri Lankan Army personnel.

Raising the issue during the zero hour in the Rajya Sabha, CPI member D Raja wanted to know whether the government has a policy to train the Sri Lankan Army. He demanded that if there is a policy, the government come out openly with it.

Raja said that the Centre should not give training to the island nation’s army in a clandestine manner and added that he knew about Sri Lankan military officers being brought to the National Defence Academy.

Read more,
http://www.newindpress.com/NewsItems.asp?

Heated debate in the Sri Lanka parliament on the 17th amendment

A heated debate commenced in the parliament yesterday as Prime Minister Rathnasiri Wickramanayaka made a special statement with regard to the reactivation of constitutional council as required by the 17th amendment of the country’s constitution.

Premier said that the President has decided to not to activate the Constitutional Council until the report of the Parliamentary Select Committee on the subject makes its recommendations.

He also pointed out that the appointment of the 10th member to the council has been dragging for over 2 years and therefore it is essential to make suitable alteration to the existing law that is creating problems.

Joining the debate opposition leader Ranil Wickremasinghe pointed out that the tenure of the present general secretary to the parliament expires at the end of this month and without the council the vacancy will not be able to be filled.

He said that if somebody takes the appointment in the absence of the council it would only create a parliamentary privilege issue and therefore it would be difficult for the parliament to continue its proceeding in the near future.

Read more,
http://www.colombopage.com/archive_08/March1935552JR.html

JVP will contest in the East

The JVP has decided to contest the Provincial council elections for the Eastern Province.

Member of JVP Political Bureau Anura Dissanayake said the JVP will field a team consisting of Sinhalese, Tamil and Muslim candidates. The JVP did not contest the local government elections held for Batticaloa District recently.

Extracted from,
http://www.lankatruth.com/

Author Arthur C. Clarke dies

Author Arthur C. Clarke, whose science fiction and non-fiction works ranged from the script for "2001: A Space Odyssey" to an early proposal for communications satellites, has died at age 90, associates have said.

Clarke had been wheelchair-bound for several years with complications stemming from a youthful bout with polio and had suffered from back trouble recently, said Scott Chase, the secretary of the nonprofit Arthur C. Clarke Foundation.

He died early Wednesday -- Tuesday afternoon ET -- at a hospital in Colombo, Sri Lanka, where he had lived since the 1950s, Chase said.

"He had been taken to hospital in what we had hoped was one of the slings and arrows of being 90, but in this case it was his final visit," he said.

Read more,
http://edition.cnn.com/2008/SHOWBIZ/books/03/18/obit.clarke/index.html

President likens Eastern victory to universal franchise

President Mahinda Rajapaksa yesterday likened the democratic exercise in Batticaloa at the recently concluded election to the country obtaining universal franchise for the first time.

The President reiterated that with the successful conclusion of the local polls in Batticaloa, the main focus was directed not only with regard to the Eastern polity but also to the international arena. "The country could now demonstrate to the entire world that we are a Nation which respects democracy".

President Rajapaksa made this observation addressing Members of Local Government bodies from Batticaloa, elected at the recent elections, at the Presidential Secretariat.

He congratulated all elected Local Government members from Batticaloa on their becoming representatives of the people of Batticaloa.

Read more,
http://www.dailynews.lk/2008/03/19/news01.asp
Photo,
http://www.dailynews.lk/2008/03/19/main_News.asp

India installs radar system to curb LTTE infiltration and smugglings

The Indian Air Force has installed sophisticated radar with all modern systems available for aerial surveillance. It is reported that the main objective of installing this surveillance system is to prevent smuggling and infiltration operations of the LTTE exploiting the Gulf of Mannar to Sri Lanka.

Southern Air Command, Air Vice-Marshal Y.R. Rane after discussing with the Indian Air Force and Indian Coast Guard officials addressing the media said that that the new radar has eight antennae which could cover the entire Gulf of Mannar region. It had the capability to track objects such as ships, barges, trawlers, small boats and others in the Indian territorial waters off Mandapam coast.

Read more,
http://www.news.lk/index.php?

Tamils are slaves in India: LTTE leader

A leader of the Tamil Tigers has alleged that Tamils in India are not a free people but are slaves of the Indian state, according to a media report Tuesday.

“In ancient times the whole of India was a Tamil land. And the Chola kings (from Tamil Nadu) ruled over Sri Lanka for 70 years. Today, the Tamils are slaves in India and are fighting for their liberation in Sri Lanka,” Tamil daily ‘Sudar Oli’ quoted Thamilendhi as saying.

Thamilendhi is the ‘finance commissar’ of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).

He was speaking in Kilinochchi at the launch of a Tamil book ‘Let us Move Towards the Frontiers of Tamil Eelam’ written by Anbuselvan.

Read more,
http://sify.com/news/fullstory.php?id=14624990

Man arrested for aiding Tamil terrorist group

For the first time in Canadian history, a man has been charged with terrorist financing for allegedly raising money for the Tamil Tigers, police said Monday.

"The funds were allegedly raised for the LTTE [Liberation Tigers of Tamil Elam], which is a listed terrorist organization in Canada," said RCMP Supt. Lloyde Plante of B.C.'s Integrated National Security Enforcement Team (INSET).

"This is the first charge of this nature in Canada."

Prapaharan (Prapa) Thambithurai, 45, who lives in Toronto but was arrested on the weekend in Metro Vancouver, is charged with providing or making available property or services for terrorist purposes.

Asked to elaborate on the charge, Plante said: "He was soliciting funding that was to be utilized to support the LTTE, that was the allegation."

Read more,
http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/news/story.html?

MTNL seeking partner for Sri Lanka Suntel buyout: Indian regulator

India's Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd (MTNL) is looking for a joint venture partner to take up a 50 percent stake in Sri Lanka's Suntel which it is negotiating to buy, India's telecom regulator has said.

The Department of Telecom (DOT) said in its annual report that MTNL wanted a joint venture partner to retain the independence of the profitable Sri Lankan firm.

"As the target company is being run by highly-skilled professionals, to maintain its existing structure with regards to human resources and other policies, MTNL has in principle decided to limit its stake to 50 percent and is in talks to find suitable partners," the department said of MTNL in its annual report for 2007-08.

MTNL said it has been short-listed as the preferred bidder to acquire Sri Lanka's Suntel, which has some 300,000 customers.

Read more,
http://www.lankabusinessonline.com/fullstory.php?

Pak, Sri Lanka to boost gem industry

The governments of Pakistan and Sri Lanka on Monday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to develop Pakistan gem industry.

Pakistan High commission in Sri Lanka with the co-ordination of the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Recourse of Pakistan and Ministry of Enterprises Development and Investment Promotion of Sri Lanka organised a preliminary study visit of the Pakistan gem industry in 2007, an official announcement said.

Extracted from,
http://thepost.com.pk/BizNews.aspx?dtlid=150412&catid=7

President moves to stop strike action, pledges security to Rupavahini employees

Fruitful discussions between President Mahinda Rajapaksa and trade unions of the State Rupavahini Corporation (SLRC) yesterday (17th) resulted in averting disruptive strike action.

During the meeting held yesterday between the President and the SLRC employees, President pointed out that police inquiries would determine whether Minister Mervyn Silva was involved or not in the spate of attacks on Rupavahini employees and everyone should ensure that no violence be used on any media personnel again. IGP Victor Perera confirmed that full investigations into the attacks are being conducted.

Attending the meeting, Minister of Mass Media and Information, Anura Priyadarshana Yapa commenting on the incidents that took place earlier during the day stated that the armed forces were called to prevent a plan to disrupt work at SLRC.

Read more,
http://www.news.lk/index.php?

Seized boats meant for LTTE expose state’s vulnerability

THE recent seizure of two boats, suspected to be built for the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Elam (LTTE), from two boatyards near Cochin and Trichur has put the Kerala police in a tizzy.

The cops have been sitting over warning sounded by Intelligence agencies as well as Navy that the LTTE might shift their operations, especially drug trafficking and arms running, in the wake of tighter vigil on the Tamil Nadu and Konkan coasts.

The presence of a large number of migrant labourers from Tamil Nadu makes the task easy for the Tigers. The police had recently found an LTTE activist, Sadaratinam, living with migrant laourers in Idukki district bordering Tamil Nadu.

Investigations into 10,000 detonators found abandoned in Calicut bus stand last year led to a man from Madurai whom the police suspect is involved in a chain supplying arms to LTTE.

The seizure of the two steel boats, capable of negotiating deep sea, from Munambam near Cochin and Kodungalloor in Trichur district indicates that the LTTE may have turned to Kerala for sourcing boats they need to combat the Sri Lankan forces.

Read more,
http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticleNew.asp?

Checkposts to prevent LTTE infiltration

Sixty checkposts were set up along the coastal areas intensifying patrolling to check LTTE infiltration in the state, said DGP P Rajendran here on Sunday.

The DGP was here to inaugurate the police quarters on the Tamil Nadu Special Police premises at Kovaipudur. A total of 80 quarters were built at a cost of Rs 2.90 crore.

Speaking to reporters after the inauguration programme, the DGP denied any LTTE or Naxal infiltration in the state but said the police have intensified patrolling.

He also said the police have formed special teams to counter Naxal threat in all the districts and they are being given special training.

With respect to quarters for policemen, he said Rs 60 crore was allocated to construct around 5,000 quarters in the state.

Read more,
http://www.newindpress.com/NewsItems.asp?

Maoists, LTTE under control: Tamil Nadu police chief

A day after National Security Advisor M.K. Narayanan expressed concern over increased presence of Maoists and Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in Tamil Nadu, state Director General of Police P. Rajendiran said Monday that the menaces were 'very much under control'.

'Our sustained measures against Naxalites (Maoists) and cross-border terrorists have yielded good results. However, we are not letting our guard drop. We have created at least 60 checkpoints all along the (650 km long) coast of the state,' Rajendiran told IANS.

Rajendiran refrained from reacting directly to Narayanan's fears about a spurt in pro-LTTE activity in Tamil Nadu, expressed in a press meet in Sunday in Kerala.

In recent times, Leader of Opposition in the assembly J. Jayalalitha and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) have also stepped up their criticism of the DMK regime here for being soft on LTTE sympathisers.

Extracted from,
http://www.indiaenews.com/india/20080317/104729.htm

Major General Sarath Munasinghe dies

Former Deputy Speaker and Parliamentarian Major General Sarath Munasinghe has passed away at a private hospital in Colombo this morning.He had also functioned as an Army Media Spokesman. He was 59 years old at the time of his death.Major General Munasinghe enlisted into the Sri Lanka Army as a cadet on 15th February 1970 and was commissioned as an Officer in the rank of Second Lieutenant in the Sri Lanka Artillery and rose to the rank of Major General on 23rd February 1998.

During career of twenty nine years in the Army, he held many appointments. He was the Commanding Officer of 6th Regiment Sri Lanka Artillery, Commander 15 Brigade Group, Mannar, Commander 12 Brigade Group, Colombo, Coordinating Officer Welioya, Coordinating Chief Batticalao, Ampara, Polonnaruwa Districts, General Officer Commanding 51 Division and 54 Division in 1998.

Read more,
http://www.lankaeverything.com/vinews/srilanka/20080317055501.php

LTTE ready for talks if Lankan govt halts attacks

The Tamil Tigers in Sri Lanka have expressed readiness to hold talks with the government in Colombo if it halted the military operations against them, but warned that the offer should not be seen as "any desperation" on their part to stop the war.

"The LTTE is prepared to commence negotiations with the Sri Lankan government if the government security forces are ordered to halt their military operations. It was the government which started the war," the LTTE political head P Nadesan told a group of Parliamentarians from the pro-rebel Tamil National Alliance (TNA) in Wanni recently.

"The offer of the LTTE for a ceasefire and talks should not be construed as any desperation on our (LTTE) part to stop the war. The ball is in the Sri Lankan government's court. It was they who started the armed attack," Nadesan was quoted as saying by Suresh Premachandran, a TNA MP from Jaffna District who was present at the meeting.

Read more,
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/

New LTTE TV channel in Italy banned

An illegal TV channel operated by the LTTE terrorists in Italy has been shut down by the Italian Police from last Thursday (March 13) onwards. The ‘Tamil V Channel- Euro Television’ was transmitting extremely bogus programmes portraying a one-sided view of the situation in Sri Lanka in favor of the banned terrorist outfit since the beginning of this month in Italy.

“Although the channel was said to be transmitting on a trial basis, it transmitted controversial terrorists’ propaganda material objectionable to the democratic world.

The test transmission of the EuroTelevision transmitted an old interview of the slain TNA Member of Parliament K.Sivanesan with the intention of blaming the Deep Penetrating Forces of the Sri Lanka Army for the killing that occurred 20 kilometers inside Vanni, an area presently controlled by the LTTE.

The interview presented government's complicity without a semblance of factual accuracy to prove it,” the Asiantribune website reported on Sunday (16).

Read more,
http://www.news.lk/index.php?

M K Naryanan says Tamil Nadu, Kerala have LTTE small pockets

National Security Adviser M K Naryanan on Sunday asked Tamil Nadu and Kerala to keep a check on the activities of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) as both States had "presence of small pockets of the rebel group".

He said that the intelligence agencies were aware of "the presence of small LTTE pockets and their counterparts in the two states have been asked to closely monitor such activities."

Narayanan said the intelligence bureau had cautioned both the States that the LTTE units in Sri Lanka might be getting help from their supporters active in the two States.

Narayanan is on a visit to the famous Sree Krishna temple in Amalappuzha,

Extracted from,
http://www.dailyindia.com/show/225321.php/

Ahmadinejad to visit Sri Lanka in April

President Mahmud Ahmadinejad is scheduled to pay a visit to Sri Lanka in April, ColomboPage newspaper reported on Sunday.

President Ahmadinejad reportedly is to visit the projects developed with the help of Iran, particularly the water power plant project in Uma Oya.

The Iranian government agreed to invest 1.9 billion dollars in Sri Lanka’s projects, following President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s visit to Tehran in November 2007.

Rajapaksa discussed regional and international issues including Palestine and expansion of bilateral ties between Tehran and Colombo over his trip.

He also met with the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei and some high-ranking officials.

Rajapaksa’s visit was in the wake of an invitation by President Ahmadinejad.

Extracted from,
http://www.mehrnews.ir/en/NewsDetail.aspx?NewsID=655775

Sri Lankan former president's brother dies

Former Parliament Speaker Anura Bandaranaike, the younger brother of Sri Lanka's former President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga, died of heart attack on Sunday, officials said.

Extracted from,
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-03/16/content_7801483.htm

Remove Mervin or strike on Monday! Rupavahin employees tell President

The employees of the Sri Lanka Rupavahini (SLRC) Corporation have asked President Mahinda Rajapakse to take immediate action to arrest those responsible for brutal attacks on Rupavahini employees and take legal action against them. They have demanded that Minister of Labour Mervin Silva should be removed from his ministerial post and all those who have been victimized should be compensated.

They have warned that if their demands are not met they would resort to strike action from Monday (tomorrow). Five employees of Rupavahini Corporation have been attacked by thugs since Minister Mervin Silva broke into the corporation with his team of thugs to intimidate a news director and were detained and treated to an ink bath by the employees of the corporation.

The latest attack was on Anurasiri Hettige, a SLRC trade union leader, who was beaten by an unidentified gang using iron rods. Mr. Hettige is undergoing treatment in Intensive Care Unit of the Colombo National Hospital.

Extracted from,
http://www.lankatruth.com/index.php?

India-Sri Lanka power transfer project feasibility report soon

The feasibility study for the proposed $450-million mega undersea power transmission link between India and Sri Lanka is slated to be ready shortly.

The 200-km submarine cable would enable India to export electricity to the island nation and is likely to be set up with a capacity to wheel around 1,000 MW of electricity, government officials involved in the exercise said.

The report on the HVDC (high voltage direct current) link between the two countries is being prepared by State-owned transmission major Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd (PGCIL), which had earlier estimated that it can set up the link in around 40 months once all clearances are in place, officials said.

The link is likely to connect Madurai in Tamil Nadu and Anuradhapura in Sri Lanka’s North Central Province.

Read more,
http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2008/03/16/stories/

Sri Lanka sets an example by fighting terrorism: PM

Sri Lanka has set an example to the whole world by fighting terrorism and establishing democracy in the war-ravaged Eastern part of the country, Prime Minister Ratnasiri Wickramanayaka has said.

"The Government which overcame terrorism and established democracy (through the local bodies elections) in the East has set an example in this regard to the whole world," Wickramanayaka told a Pakistan delegation on Friday.

The Prime Minister said the people of the East had reposed their faith in the Government repudiating the LTTE's gun culture which was demonstrated in the just concluded elections.

A ten-member Pakistan delegation of the Senate Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs is on a four-day visit to the Island country.

Read more,
http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/001200803151550.htm

Former President attends the SLFP central committee meeting

Sri Lanka's former President Chandrika Kumaratunga last night attended the Central Committee meeting of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party held at the Temple Trees. The meeting was chaired by President Mahinda Rajapaksa.

The committee meeting which started around 7 pm went till around 9 pm, during which time the CC passed two proposals. Among them was the implementation of the 13th Amendment to the Constitution.

Although all the members had agreed to pass the two proposals, former President has reportedly claimed that she was against the 13th amendment.

Extracted from,

Three Arrested In Million Dollar Drug Haul

A Sri Lankan couple and one Maldivian man have been arrested trying to smuggle Rf 12 million (US$1 million) worth of heroin into the country.

Maldives Customs Service says the four kilograms worth seized is the largest amount of narcotics ever intercepted in a single haul.

The two Sri Lankans were caught at Male' International airport after travelling from Colombo, Sri Lanka, according to police, but the narcotics are believed to have come from Pakistan.

Sameen Ummul Faumiyya, 56, and Mohamed Wasood Mohamed Bisthaami, 38, were caught after bags of narcotics, held in plastic bags in a false compartment in their luggage, were uncovered during a security check.

Read more,
http://www.minivannews.com/news/news.php?id=4242

Sri Lanka nears MiG-29 purchase

Sri Lanka is in advanced talks with Russia over the procurement of five MiG-29 fighter aircraft, the head of the country's state-owned procurement agency has said.

Jayantha Wickramasinghe, chief executive officer of Lanka Logistics and Technologies Limited (the company created by the Sri Lankan Ministry of Defence in 2007 to procure equipment for the armed forces), said that the acquisition of four MiG-29SMs and one MiG-29UB was "well under way".

"Negotiations about these aircraft are continuing," Wickramasinghe told Jane's on 13 March. "We are discussing all possibilities."

The procurement follows the emergence of the air division of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), which used Zlin Z 143 light aircraft to bomb the airport and Sri Lankan Air Force (SLAF) base in Colombo in March 2007.

Extracted from,
http://www.janes.com/news/defence/jdw/jdw080314_1_n.shtml
about MiG 29,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mikoyan_MiG-29
Mig-29 Fulcrum Video Gallery,
http://www.air-attack.com/videos/50/Mig-29-Fulcrum.html


INDIAN AIR FORCE---MiG-29 busting--PAKISTANI BUNKER

LTTE training base destroyed in air raid - Mullaittiuvu

An LTTE training base was destroyed this morning (March 15) in an air raid carried out by SLAF fighter jets, North East of at Vishwamadukulama in Iranamadu, Mullaittiuvu.

According to SLAF sources the enemy target had been under constant surveillance and latest air reconnaissance information has revealed intensified terrorist activity in the area.

The LTTE training facility was left in rubbles as pilots returned following the precision air sortie at around 6.10.a.m.

The LTTE is yet to reveal casualty figures.

Extracted from,
http://defence.lk/new.asp?fname=20080315_03

The Elections in the East: USA Ambassador Robert Blake has had to eat his own words

Recently, US Envoy Robert Blake voiced himself that the local elections to be held in the liberated East could not be free and fair. In fact I wrote a Paper which was published in The Asian Tribune of February 7, : “Our US Ambassador expressing doubts of forthcoming elections in Batticaloa” where I assured him that our Elections Service was far superior to that of the USA and that he could be assured of a free and fair election.

Now the elections to the nine local government councils in Batticaloa are history. Though the polling stations were manned to the hilt with soldiers guarding the precincts, there was not a single incident where anyone was marched to a polling precinct with a revolver held to one’s head.

There was not a single incident reported where anyone threatened a polling precinct presiding officer with a gun and stuffed ballots into the ballot boxes as happened many a time during elections held in the Eighties, under the UNP rule! In fact Professor Sunanda Deshapriya, the Co-convenor of the Center for Monitoring Election Violence has said that the election was peaceful in Batticaloa District except incidents of vote rigging in Valachenai.(Lanka e News 11/3/08).

The incidents of vote rigging were sporadic instances and nowhere near the stolen elections of the US President in both 2000 and 2004.

Read more,
http://www.asiantribune.com/?q=node/10041

How accurate is the Human Rights Report on Sri Lanka?

The Human Rights Watch report has as promised generated vast appeal. Its report titled “Recurring Nightmare – State responsibility for “disappearances” & abductions in Sri Lanka brought with it several other avalanches as well. It was only to be expected.

Having gone through the 498 cases of “abductions / missing” highlighted, there were a few questions that came to mind – would a 5 year old & an 8 year old be involved in terrorist activity to be “abducted” by the Sri Lankan Army & taken for questioning? Most unlikely, but then didn’t the UN file many reports exposing the LTTE of recruiting child soldiers – but reports apart, very little has been done to curb the LTTE’s child recruitment?

Then there were also 20 other such cases of names & it was most surprising that their families didn’t know how old they were (report says “age unknown”). Does this not raise more than a few eyebrows & question the credibility of the said document which should have no faults whatsoever if it is seeking to accuse a State Government & its army of targeted abductions & disappearances?

Read more,
http://www.sinhalaya.com/news/english/wmview.php?ArtID=14975

FM strongly protests US State Department's Human Rights Report

Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollagama today (14th March 2008) called in the US Ambassador in Sri Lanka Robert Blake to register Sri Lanka's serious concerns about the recently released U.S. State Department's 2007 Country Report on Human Rights Practices in Sri Lanka.

The report presents a distorted view of the actual situation in Sri Lanka during the year 2007 and is unfortunately a litany of unsubstantiated allegations, innuendo and vituperative exaggerations.

It was noted that there was a suspicious similarity between the comments made in the report and the views expressed by those deliberately seeking to denigrate the Government of Sri Lanka. While Sri Lanka had concerns with respect to human rights in the late 2006 and early 2007, the government had taken a range of positive steps to address these concerns.

The Government was confident that the situation will continue to improve. Human rights is an important issue for the Government of Sri Lanka (GOSL).

The Minister who said the Foreign Ministry was in the process of preparing a detailed response on the issues raised in the U.S. State Department Report, went on to share Sri Lanka's objections to the conclusions of the State Department report.

Read more,
http://www.defence.lk/new.asp?fname=20080314_09

Hearing set for alleged Tamil Tiger conspirator

A Malton man charged in connection with a North American network that police allege provides weapons and other materials to a terrorist group in Sri Lanka has had a date set for his extradition hearing.

According to Justice Canada officials, Ramanan Mylvaganam, 30, will appear June 10 before a Federal Court judge as American authorities attempt to have him brought to the U.S. to face charges. Mylvaganam is expected to fight extradition.
Mylvaganam was arrested by RCMP on Aug. 22, 2006 at his Derry Rd. E. apartment. He was picked up on a provisional warrant at the request of U.S. authorities. One month later, he was granted bail.

"This whole ordeal has been a total shock to my family, especially my mother; she can't stop crying," Mylvaganam's brother, Raghu, said in an earlier interview.
Mylvaganam and four other Ontario men have been charged with one count each of conspiring to provide material support and resources to the Tamil Tigers, a political/military organization that has been waging war with the government of Sri Lanka since the 1970s. The group is trying to secure a separate state for the Tamil regions of the country.

In April 2006, the Tigers were added to Canada's official list of terrorist organizations.
In total, 12 men have been charged in the joint FBI-RCMP investigation into the alleged criminal organization.
The sweep also included arrests in Buffalo, San Jose, Seattle and Connecticut.

Read more,
http://www.mississauganews.com/article/12108

Sri Lanka to stop sending women overseas as housemaids

Sri Lanka has decided not to send women as housemaids to Middle East countries with effect from next year.

President Mahinda Rajapaksa recently advised the relevant ministries to implement this proposal from next year and send trained females as prospective nurses and attendants where they can earn more with due respect.

Currently, some thousands of Sri Lankan women are working as housemaids in the Middle East countries and most of them were subjected to harassments and physical abuses.

Extracted from,
http://www.colombopage.com/archive_08/March13161748JV.html

Another Rupavahini Corporation staffer hunted

The latest target of the hunt down of Sri Lanka Rupavahini Corporation staff is Anurasiri Hettige, the Chairman of the trade union attached to JVP.

When Mr. Hettige was waiting at Kotokawaththa junction to go for duty around 7.30 AM today (14), a group of thugs attacked him with a sharp knife injuring his head. He was immediately admitted to Colombo General Hospital with severe bleeding from his head. Poddala Jayantha, the Secretary of the Working Journalists' Association who was in hospital said to 'Lanka-e-News' that the doctors were attending his injuries.

This is the fifth incident of the spate of violence the SLRC workers are facing since Minister Mervin Silva who trespassed the SLRC premises and assaulted the News Director was chased by the staff.

Media organizations joined with the main opposition launched a massive demonstration before the SLRC on March 11 against hunting SLRC staff. On that day, they declared that the SLRC would strike work continuously if another worker is attacked.

Extracted from,
http://www.lankaenews.com/English/news.php?id=5546

China issues human rights record of United States in 2007

China issued on Thursday the Human Rights Record of the United States in 2007 in response to the Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2007 issued by the U.S. Department of State on Tuesday.

Released by the Information Office of China's State Council, the Chinese report listed a multitude of cases to show the human rights situation in the United States and its violation of human rights in other countries.

The report says the United States attacks more than 190 countries and regions including China on their human rights issues, but mentions nothing about its own human rights problems.

By publishing the Human Rights Record of the United States in 2007, the report says it aims to "help the people have a better understanding of the real situation in the United States and as a reminder for the United States to reflect upon its own issues".

Read more,
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-03/13/content_7778748.htm

UNESCO withdraws patronage to RSF

UNESCO has withdrawn its patronage of the Online Free Expression Day, organized by the non-governmental organization, Reporters Sans frontiers (RSF).

UNESCO reiterates its support for freedom of expression on the internet but felt compelled to withdraw patronage following the publication of information by RSF which did not follow the arrangements agreed upon between the two organizations concerning the event, said a press release issued by the UNESCO Secretariat in Paris on Wednesday(12)

The statement said that UNESCO could not endorse material published by RSF concerning a number of its Member States. Further, it objected to the use of UNESCO's logo along with the above material.

Political observers say that, interestingly, the RSF blacklist did not include a single Western country, and that its fire was concentrated on the so-called Third World.

RSF has several times published wrong information about Sri Lanka in a bid to tarnish its image.

Extracted from,
http://www.defence.lk/new.asp?fname=20080314_03

Sri Lankan Official in Riyadh to Seek Clemency for Rizana

Sri Lankan Deputy Foreign Minister Hussein Bhaila arrived in Saudi Arabia yesterday to lobby on behalf of a Sri Lankan maid who was sentenced to beheading for the death of an infant in her care.

“I came here to make a personal appeal to seek clemency from the parents of the infant who died in the hands of the teenaged maid,” Bhaila told Arab News on arrival at the King Khaled International Airport.

Rizana Nafeek, 20, was sentenced to beheading for the death of a four-month-old infant boy on May 22, 2005, in Dawadami, about 390 km west of Riyadh. Last week the case was passed to the Cassation Court in Riyadh.

Bhaila said that he came to the Kingdom on a request made by Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollagama, who has taken a personal interest in Nafeek’s case. Bhaila added that the Sri Lankan government respects the decisions of the Kingdom’s judiciary.

Read more,
http://www.arabnews.com/

UNP would never return to power - JVP Leader

Sri Lanka would have ended up in division by now with a state of Eelam in the North if Ranil Wickremesinghe was elected President at the last Presidential election.

Therefore, the JVP has no regrets for having enabled President Mahinda Rajapaksa to win the last Presidential election said JVP Leader Somawansa Amarasinghe.

The JVP Leader said so addressing a party rally held near the Kandy Central Market on Monday, March 10.

The rally was held to protest against alleged moves to fully implement the 13th Amendment to the Constitution which the JVP says would lead to a division of the country.

Amarawansa said the JVP’s stand at the last Presidential election helped to save a division of the country. If the people thought the JVP had taken a wrong decision then they would expect the people to pardon them like a mother would do to an errant child.

Read more,
http://www.dailynews.lk/2008/03/13/pol11.asp

S.B. Dissanayake asked why shouldn’t UNP contest Batticaloa elections

S.B. Dissanayake asked why shouldn’t UNP contest Batticaloa elections when it could have registered a facile victory in Batticaloa going by the last Presidential elections results: UNP Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe secured almost 12 lakhs votes whereas President Rajapakse could only poll 27808 votes in the East!

The UNP was not prepared to play into the hands of the Govt..’s machinations aimed at only winning elections by the foulest means collaborating with another terror group –the Pillayan who were as bad as or worse than the LTTE , because the Pillayan was backed by the Govt. to the hilt allowing them even to use weapons.

In some instances they had even gone to the prospective candidates’ houses and forced them at gun point to withdraw or contest under their symbol. Even, pro Govt. Douglas Devananda party had admitted that Pillayan group was committing atrocious crimes with impunity: abductions, intimidations and extortions.

It is alleged that a Mudalali. A friend of Minister Maithripala Sirisena was also a victim of extortion of the Pillayan group. The UNP candidates who were preparing for candidature was also threatened at gunpoint against contesting.

Read more,
http://lankaguardian.blogspot.com/2008/03/

Airtel appoints Madison Media as AOR for Sri Lanka

Ahead of its launch in Sri Lanka, Airtel has appointed Madison Media, Sri Lanka, as its Media AOR for that country.

Airtel had evaluated only two agencies in Sri Lanka - Mindshare and Madison.

Airtel director marketing & communications Gopal Vittal said, "Madison Media has been a strong partner and has played a part in Airtel's success story in India and we are confident that they will extend the same strong support in Sri Lanka too and deliver all that it takes to make us succeed there."

Added Madison World CMD Sam Balsara: "We are delighted on hearing Airtel's decision and are confident that the Madison way in Media will work in Sri Lanka too. If P&G gave us a head start in Media in India, Airtel is doing that in Sri Lanka."

Read more,
http://www.indiantelevision.com/