Troops capture Periyamadu Tank

The army troops captured the PERIYAMADU LAKE area completely today (14). Before this the Army had dominated three areas.

But a stretch 2.50 Km along the bund was under tiger domination.

A large number of tiger terrorists were killed and wounded in the confrontations today but exact figures were not confirmed.

Seven soldiers were injured and hospitalized

57 Brigade engaged the tigers in the lake area, which is 16 KM Northwards of MADU CHURCH

News and photo,
http://www.nationalsecurity.lk/fullnews.php?id=13180

LTTE vows to cause heavy damages to Govt troops

The LTTE has vowed to cause heavy damages to the Sri Lanka government troops in the event the troops enter the terrorist controlled area.

In an interview with a news agency, LTTE Peace Secretariat Head S. Puleedevan, has said: “Sri Lanka armed forces are losing a lot of soldiers. If they enter into LTTE area the losses will be much more. The heavy fighting is going on at the forward defence line and we have managed to inflict considerable damages to Sri Lankan armed forces. They are unable to gain any new territory.”

Pulidevan also charged that the Sri Lankan government is not willing to have peace talks and is evident by denying access to international mediators.

Extracted from,
http://www.colombopage.com/archive_08/June10171925JV.html

LTTE providing East Muslim youth arms training in Vanni to target TMVP in the East

News reaching Asian Tribune, from local sources, in the East claim that the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) are training local Muslim Youths from Akkaraipattu, Amparai and Kaathankudy, Batticaloa and other areas.

It is said that these youths may be affiliated to the Wahabbist Group that is linked to several murders including members of the TMVP. Agents of the LTTE are clandestinely picking up these Muslim youths locally and dispatching them for training in Vanni.

The purpose for the LTTE giving these Muslim youths training is clear as it is their intension to manipulate and make use of the Wahabbist Group to target members of the TMVP and possibly other democratic political groups in the East.

Extracted from,
http://www.asiantribune.com/?q=node/11755

LTTE must disarm before peace talks - President

President Mahinda Rajapaksa said that supporters of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) were able to raise millions of pounds each year from the Tamil community in Britain, some of whom were coerced into donating the money.

"You can't have two different attitudes towards terrorism," he told The Times in an interview this week during a visit to London for a Commonwealth meeting, where he raised the issue with British Prime Minister Gordon Brown.

"I don't agree that there are good terrorists and bad terrorists. There is only one kind of terrorist." There are about 150,000 Tamils living in Britain, mostly in North London. The Sri Lankans estimate that o70 million is sent home every year.

"These are not voluntary contributions, the money is taken by force, usually a percentage of their income," said President Rajapaksa. "The money is sent back to buy weapons. London is not the only place; money is also sent from Europe, Canada and other places."

President Rajapaksa said that he was taking steps to protect human rights. He blamed his Government's poor international reputation on "clever propaganda" by the Tigers. "We have failed in the propaganda fight," he said.

President Rajapaksa insisted yesterday that in spite of the cost in lives and damage inflicted to Sri Lanka's tourist trade he would not resume peace talks with the Tamil Tigers until the organisation agreed to disarm.

Read more,
http://www.defence.lk/new.asp?fname=20080614_03

LTTE massacre of 400 policemen in 1990 to be probed shortly

The massacre by the LTTE of 401 policemen who surrendered to the outfit on the orders of the Premadasa government in 1990 in the Eastern Province is to be investigated after a lapse of 18 years.

The government has decided to probe the mass murder in response to appeals from the family members of the victims, according to the Media Centre for National Security (MCNS).

Police personnel serving in Ampara, Trincomalee and Batticaloa were ordered to lay down arms and give themselves up by the then UNP government, which was struggling to salvage a fragile ceasefire with the LTTE, when the LTTE laid siege to many police stations in the area.

The police were ready to fight back, but they were not in a position to defy the government order to surrender.

The LTTE raided the police stations, seized all the weapons and ammunition, bundled the captives into police vehicles and drove away into the jungle. Thereafter, the police personnel including officers were ordered to dig their own graves, lined up and mowed down.

Although the government places the number of policemen killed at 401, police sources say, it could be as high as 600 and a full scale probe is needed to establish the actual number.

Read more,
http://www.island.lk/2008/06/14/news15.html

Lankan Foreign Minister to visit India from Sunday

The situation in Sri Lanka, which has been witnessing a spurt in violence recently, will come up for discussion here next week when Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollagama undertakes a visit here.

The Indian side is expected to convey its worry over the situation in the island nation when Bogollagama holds talks with External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee and meets Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Monday.

India has been closely watching the situation in Sri Lanka where violence and clashes between army and LTTE have marked a substantial increase.

The Sri Lankan army has said it has launched a major operation to capture LTTE chief V Prabhakaran "alive".

Commenting on the developments in Sri Lanka, Prime Minister said on Monday that the conflict in the neighbouring country "has given a lot of worries because many times it happens that when ethnic tensions increase, there is a tendency of increased inflow of refugees in our country".

It also creates "both domestic problems as well as foreign policy problems," he said.

Bogollagama will extend a formal invite to the Prime Minister for the 15th SAARC Summit to be held in Colombo in August.

Read more,
http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/001200806131865.htm

Lankan army threatening to catch LTTE chief

The Sri Lankan army now wants to do what the Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) could not 20 years ago, namely, storm the LTTE’s nerve centre in the Mullaitivu jungles in north-eastern Sri Lanka, and neutralize the rebel chieftain, Velupillai Prabhakaran.

Army Commander Lt Gen Sarath Fonseka told the Sinhalese language daily Dinamina that four divisions and a special task force were poised to storm the defenses of the LTTE in Mullaitivu; and that Prabhakaran’s HQ code-named “Base One Four” was just 21 km away.

Before long, Prabhakaran would be captured alive, he said. The idea of going straight for Prabhakaran is based on the belief that if the LTTE is decapitated, it will collapse like a house of cards.

Fonseka said the LTTE was being attacked simultaneously from four corners and that the thinly stretched rebels were suffering an unacceptable level of attrition. Their losses cannot be recompensed, because of a land and naval blockade, he contended.

According to the state-owned Daily News, the Sri Lankan forces are going to secure the coastline to deny the Tigers reinforcements.

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http://www.newindpress.com/NewsItems.asp?

Abdul Gayoom will arrive in Sri Lanka

President of Maldives Maumoon Abdul Gayoom will arrive in Sri Lanka on Saturday to watch the finals of the 7th South Asian Football Trophy tournament to be commenced at 7.30 pm tomorrow held at Sugathadasa Stadium in Colombo.

The Maldives and India will compete at this match. The Maldives has defeated Sri Lanka and India beat Bhutan in the semi finals.

Extracted from,
http://www.lankaeverything.com/vinews/sports/20080613135158.php

Sri Lanka to give citizenship to Tamil refugees

About 28,500 Tamils of Indian-origin now living in refugee camps in Tamil Nadu will soon get Sri Lankan citizenship, a prominent Sri Lankan Marxist party legislator claimed on Friday.

"We have discussed citizenship issue with Prime Minister Ratnasiri Wickramanayake and he has assured the matter will be taken up soon," a parliament member of the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna, R Chandrasekaran, told PTI.

Efforts are on to complete the formalities in this regard by the end of this month, Chandrasekaran said.

The parliament select committee has been discussing the issue for the last six months after it was reported that several thousand refugees, who had left the island country due to the war between the Tamil Tiger rebels and the Lankan army, were residing in camps in Tamil Nadu.

Read more,
http://www.rediff.com/news/2008/jun/06lanka1.htm

Sri Lanka Praises Cuban Science

Sri Lanka"s Science and Technology Minister Tissa Vitarana on Friday extolled the Cuban advances in that sector, from governmental commitment and support to putting science at the disposal of the people.

Science and technology are one of the mainstays for the development of a society and country, "and Cuba has made huge efforts and assigned funds through policy to boost this field," Vitarana stated.

The minister introduced Cuban specialist Sergio J. Pastrana to the National Sciences Foundation of Sri Lanka, where he spoke on the historic evolution of the several scientific branches on the Island and their current achievements.

Pastrana, who is foreign relations secretary at Cuba"s Academy of Sciences, highlighted that Cuba began encouraging the biotechnology industry from a proposal by Fidel Castro in the mid 1980s.

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http://www.plenglish.com/Article.asp?

Sri Lanka gov't donates 1,000 tents to China's quake-hit areas

Assistant Foreign Minister He Yafei, on behalf of the Chinese Government, received a shipment here on Friday of 1,000 tents from Sri Lanka, according to the Foreign Ministry.

This was the second shipment of quake relief aid from Sri Lanka.

The tents will be delivered to Tianshui in China's northwest Gansu Province in mid-June, the ministry said.

The Sri Lankan Ambassador to China, Karunatilaka Amunugama, said the Sri Lankan government and people felt deep grief over the May 12 disaster and conveyed their sympathies and condolences to the Chinese government and people.

After the earthquake, the president of Sri Lanka visited the Chinese Embassy in Sri Lanka and asked its Minister of Foreign Affairs to take charge of the quake relief aid to China.

Amunugama said Sri Lanka was helping China in return for the assistance and support China has offered to Sri Lanka.

Read more,
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-06/13/content_8363879.htm

BOI-Priority Garments JV for casual pants manufacturing plant

The Board of Investment of Sri Lanka signed an agreement with Priority Garments. Mr. Dhammika Perera, Chairman / Director General signed the agreement on behalf of the BOI. Hon Dr. Sarath Amunugama, Minister of Enterprise Development and Investment Promotion formally presented the investor with the BOI Certificate of Registrations.

The agreement signed with Priority Garments is for a project to manufacture casual pants for the export market. Priority Garments has taken over an existing factory at Madapatha owned by L Jinadasa Apparels, a BOI approved venture to commence operations. The company’s production is exported to a wide number of clients in the European Union and the USA. The investing companies in this venture are Orient Garments and Fascination Exports.

The Priority Garments venture is at an investment of US $ 430,000 and will create employment opportunities for a work force of 450. The venture located in Kahapola, Madapatha has already commenced commercial operations.

Mr. Priyanjith Weerasooria (MD, Orient Garments) and Mr. Noel Priyathilake (MD, Fascination Exports) signed the agreement on behalf of the company.

Extracted from,
http://www.fibre2fashion.com/news/apparel-news/newsdetails.aspx?news_id=58077