KARUNA SENT FROM A JAIL TO AN IMMIGRATION DETENTION CENTER

Karuna Amman alias Vinayagamurthy Muralitharan , the former leader of the Tamil Makkal Viduthalai Pulikal (TMVP) has been released from a British jail and detained in an immigration centre, May 8.

British Home Ministry source said, “ He is detained under immigration powers of the government.”
It is customary for the British authorities to request the Sri Lanka High Commission in London to issue temporary travel documents for him to be deported to Sri Lanka. Those travel documents are different from a passports and a limited to a piece of paper carrying the photograph of the traveller. Sri Lanka High Commission sources in London said so far they have not received a request for the issuance of such a document from the British Home Office.

He fled to Britain, where his wife Vidhyawathie and her three children are living in London and got arrested, November 2 2007 for travelling with a forged diplomatic passport. He was later convicted on the offence and spent time in the jail.

Political analysts say the breakaway of Colonel Karuna, the man who was in charge of the Eastern Province under the LTTE was the beginning of the end of the Tamil terrorist outfit. After his departure the LTTE lost the sprawling Eastern Province to Sri Lanka government security forces. Karuna’s departure is believed to have supplied a pot of gold in intelligence to the Sri Lankan forces to drive away the Tamil Tigers from the province.

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http://www.lankaweb.com/news/items08/090508-1.html

Army captures Adampan Town - Mannar front

Sri Lanka Army soldiers fighting against terrorists on the Mannar front, captured Adampan town area this morning, May 09, defence sources said.

At least 15 terrorists were killed in hours long fighting erupted between security forces and the terrorists in the area, Media Center for National Security (MCNS) said.

Two army soldiers made their supreme sacrifice of the motherland while 7 others suffered injuries, MCNS further said.

Army liberated about 2 square kilometers area, lies between the Neelachcheana road and the dam of the Adampan tank, in the South of Adampan town, following after hours long fighting in last evening.

Extracted from,
http://www.defence.lk/new.asp?fname=20080509_02

Sri Lanka allows foreign media to cover council polls

Sri Lankan government today yielded to the demands of foreign media to allow them to cover this weekend's Eastern Provincial council elections after initial hesitation due to security fears.

"Our apprehensions were only that the foreigners should be protected during the elections. We wanted them to be free from any danger of any possibility of LTTE attack," a defence official told agencies.

"The issue has been sorted out. We have decided to allow the foreigners to cover the elections on producing a valid Media I-card," the official said.

Earlier, it was decided that any foreigner not registered as an election observer cannot be allowed in the Eastern province during the polls. The defence ministry intervened following the objections and decided to reverse the planned restrictions.

Fierce clashes between the Sri Lankan security forces and the LTTE has led to the death of more than 70,000 people since 1983. The government fully liberated the eastern part of the country from the Tamil rebels last July.

Campaigning for the Eastern Provincial Council Elections, scheduled for May 10, ended last night.

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http://www.zeenews.com/articles.asp?aid=441880&sid=SAS