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.

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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.

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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,
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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.

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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.

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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).

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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,
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