M.I.A. ACCUSED OF QUESTIONABLE LYRICS & ARTWORK USE: Sri Lankan/American hip-hop artist, DeLon, also links her to terrorist group.

Sri Lankan/American hip-hop artist, DeLon, questions Interscope recording artist, M.I.A. (Mathangi "Maya" Arulpragasam), for using images representative of the terrorist group, The Liberation Tiger Tamils of Eelam (LTTE).

The LTTE has long been recognized by the FBI as one of the deadliest terrorist groups in the world, and has been credited with the perfection of the use of suicide bombers, invention of the suicide belt, mass recruitment of child soldiers, and pioneering the use of women in suicide attacks.

The LTTE is only terrorist organization to have assassinated two world leaders.

On July 29, 2008, DeLon posted his remixed version of M.I.A's song, "Paper Planes" on YouTube. The educational video contained graphic evidence of M.I.A's imagery and usage of the symbols of the LTTE.

Within 12 hours of release, the video drew over 10,000 user views and comments. Hours later, Interscope under the Universal Music Group (UMG) umbrella, had the video removed from YouTube for "endangerment" of M.I.A.'s reputation as a "Freedom Fighter." Subsequently, DeLon is filing a lawsuit against UMG for infringement of his 1st Amendment rights. On July 31, 2008, the video was made available for download at: http://public.me.com/ceylonrecords and generated over 6,000 downloads in just 2 hours.

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http://eurweb.com/story/eur46284.cfm

Melbourne business college chief arrested after FBI tipoff over Tamil Tiger terror offences

AUSTRALIAN Federal Police have arrested, at the request of the FBI, a director of a Melbourne business college believed to be linked to the Tamil Tigers over alleged terrorism offences in the US.

Thulasitharan Santhirarajah, 34, is expected to face extradition proceedings after his arrest on Monday when AFP agents raided homes and businesses around Melbourne, including the office of his Melbourne International College.

The raids were conducted at the request of the FBI, which has been cracking down on the fundraising activities in the US of members of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam.

A spokesman for federal Attorney-General Robert McClelland yesterday confirmed the US had requested that Mr Santhirarajah be detained.

"The man is wanted to face prosecution for alleged terrorism offences in the United States of America," the spokesman said. "As this is an ongoing law enforcement matter, it would be inappropriate to comment on the specifics of the case."

Mr Santhirarajah appeared briefly in Melbourne Magistrates court on Monday and was remanded in custody until next month.

As well as the city office of the college, AFP agents raided five properties and businesses in Narre Warren, Dandenong and Lysterfield.

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http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,24027253-5013404,00.html

The R2P controversy

One event that made front page news last week was the expulsion of Dr Rama Mani the executive director of ICES from the country following an internal crisis within the organization.The faction opposed to Dr Mani had leaked to the press an e-mail written by her to the International Crisis Group wanting to become the local representative to promote the doctrine of 'responsibility to protect' (R2P for short).

That email basically sealed the fate of Dr Mani because no government can possibly ignore an international NGO which seeks to promote foreign intervention in that country. This talk of a responsibility to protect first came up in this country at last year's Neelan Tiruchelvam memorial lecture which was delivered by Gareth Evans, a former Australian politician turned international NGO operative.

According to the website of the International Crisis Group (ICG), which advocates the responsibility to protect, the right to protect concept arose because of the incidents that occurred in Rwanda, Bosnia and Kosovo.

The first thing to note is that Sri Lanka is not a Kosovo, Rwanda or a Bosnia where a majority community seeks to eliminate a minority through mass killings; a fact which Gareth Evans, the head of the ICG himself has admitted.

What we have here is a counter-insurgency operation against a terrorist outfit that has been listed as a terrorist group by the USA, Canada, India, Australia, and the EU. This year, the FBI categorized the LTTE as the most dangerous and efficient terrorist organization in the world, ahead of even the Al Qaeda - the main bugbear of the west.

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http://www.island.lk/2008/02/10/politics3.html

Some NGOs providing assistance to LTTE: Sri Lankan PM

Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ratnasiri Wickramanayake has warned that some NGO activists were assisting the LTTE to save the outfit from defeat.

The Tiger militants are being blamed for the recent spate of attacks on civilians in Sri Lanka on the eve of the Diamond Jubilee Independence Day celebrations of the country.

While the US' FBI had named the LTTE as one of the most dangerous terrorist organisations, there were some elements in the country, including NGOs, that had attempted to supply the Tamil Tigers with highly nutritious food and bullet proof suits to save it from defeat, he said.

Wickramanayake, speaking in Parliament on the motion to extend the State of Emergency in the country for another one month, yesterday said the Tigers are now mainly confined to the small jungle area in the north.

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http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/World/Rest_of_World/

Tigers tried to target Gotabhaya in U.S.

The movement of two suspected LTTE hit men from Canada to the USA during a recent private visit to America by the Defence Ministry Secretary Col. Gotabhaya Rajapaksa sparked off a quick re-action from the US Federal Agencies.

The Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) which was tipped off by friendly agencies about the movement of LTTE operatives swiftly tracked down Col. Rajapakse to provide him with security, according to reliable sources.

The unassuming Secretary had traveled incognito to prevent inconveniencing enforcement agencies providing security to him. He was forced to reluctantly accept security provided by the FBI when the full extent of the threat was explained to him.

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http://www.asiantribune.com/index.php?q=node/7510

Indian spymaster speculates whether KP whisked away by FBI

Adding further confusion to the alleged arrest of top LTTE international operative Kumaran Pathmanathan (KP) in Thailand, a former head of the counter terrorism unit at the Indian intelligence agency RAW (Research and Analysis Wing) B. Raman has speculated whether KP had been whisked away by the FBI to be questioned by them on the LTTE's links with Al Qaeda.

Raman's speculation comes amidst reports that a top Sri Lankan defence and intelligence team that went to Thailand last week to secure KP's deportation to Sri Lanka had failed, with the Thai authorities denying that KP had been arrested by them. KP, who was believed to have been arrested by Interpol in Thailand a fortnight ago, was also wanted by India in connection with the assassination of former Indian prime minister Rajiv Gandhi.

B. Raman who was also a top Indian civil servant and known as a spymaster writing to a think tank called the South Asia Analysis Group said: "In September,2003, the Thai Police informally picked up Hambali, the then operational chief of Indonesia's Jemmah Islamiyah, at Ayuthya and handed him over to the FBI, which flew him out to Diego Garcia for questioning.

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http://www.dailymirror.lk/2007/09/17/front/04.asp