“Cut off NGOs’ aid to LTTE”

Sri Lanka on Thursday reasserted there was no question of holdings talks or declare a ceasefire unless the LTTE lays down its weapons and demonstrates its genuine interest to negotiate.

Minister and spokesperson Keheliya Rembukwella said at a news conference “rumours” were spread during the recent SAARC Summit that security forces had halted the offensive in the north. “There is not an iota of truth in these rumours. As a matter of policy, the government is determined to weaken the LTTE militarily.” He claimed the police and security forces were engaged in a “humanitarian mission with a great determination to liberate Kilinochchi and Mullathivu...”

“The government has taken a policy decision to continue this humanitarian mission until all the innocent Tamil civilians are liberated from the LTTE. Till that [goal is achieved], the government will never go for negotiations or accept the conditions put forward by the terrorists,” he said.

Military spokesman Brigadier Udaya Nanayakkara claimed the forces are advancing into the LTTE’s remaining strongholds in the north. In multiple assaults on LTTE strongholds, at least 10 LTTE cadre and one soldier were killed, and 36 Tigers injured. Separately, Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa said “denying LTTE access to INGO [International NGO] and NGO material” is a critical element in Sri Lanka’s efforts to destroy the group. In an interview to an English daily, he referred to concerns over the “use of heavy vehicles belonging to the Norwegian People’s Aid (NPA) by the LTTE for terror activities.”

Read more,
http://www.hindu.com/2008/08/08/stories/2008080856891500.htm

Delhi accused of pressuring Colombo to end offensive against LTTE

It is three weeks since a high-level Indian delegation arrived in the island for closed-door discussions with Sri Lanka’s leaders, but the reverberations from the visit still continue with Sri Lanka’s Marxist-cum-Nationalist party, the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) slamming India for ‘its invasive dictatorial foreign policy’. Indian diplomatic sources in Colombo have stated that the meeting focused ‘mainly’ on the security considerations of the upcoming Saarc summit to be held in Sri Lanka.

Meanwhile, the government has staunchly denied that India’s three top most bureaucrats, National Security Adviser M.K. Narayanan, Foreign Secretary Shiv Shankar Menon and Defence Secretary Vijay Singh who met President Rajapakse, Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapakse and Presidential Secretary Lalith Weeratunge had applied pressure to stop the war against the Tamil Tiger rebels.

The government denial of Indian pressure came as the JVP accused the Indian government of wanting the military campaign against the LTTE stopped at a time when the Tiger rebels were weakened and many key guerilla camps in the north taken over by government troops.

Sri Lankan officials have dismissed the unprecedented heights to which media speculations reached regarding the recent visit of the Indian delegates, with some reports stating that thousands of Indian troops will arrive in the country.

Read more,
http://www.dawn.com/2008/07/12/int11.htm

It’s very unrealistic to think of a ceasefire at this stage -Basil

Q: Analysts see the May Eastern victory as a triumph of war strategy and political consolidation. Is there a danger of you and Gotabhaya exercising more power in this scenario?

First you need to see that the East was not a favourable province for the PA. The President lost the East badly at the Presidential election. We lost over 168,000 votes. In this campaign the UNP used three SLMC leaders and a prominent Sinhala politician to defeat the govt. Then the TNA made a public appeal for the people to vote against us; then the LTTE created tension to dissuade voters. Even the JVP contested separately. All we had was the faith that we had genuinely done work to develop the East. We had that confidence when we went before the people.

But on strengthening myself and Gotabhaya I need to deny that belief because I haven’t even gone to the East after the elections. I used to visit there at least once a week before but now the people have spoken and there is an elected people’s representative there who can handle the development; we don’t need to get involved there. My involvement in the East is less now. Even in the military side more and more power is coming to the Provincial Councils. The military presence is much less there. Those days the centre had more power because we worked through the governor, but now there are ministers and the CM so our involvement is negligible. Politically, we have power because our presence is strengthened after the elections in the East.

Q: Although you say your involvement is minimal, there must be much left undone in the East?

There is a lot to be done. We have resettled at least 90% of the displaced. Our target is to leave none unsettled by end December. On livelihoods too we are progressing with the help of donor agencies. The infrastructure development too is continuing according to plan. The East must be having the largest number of bridges in the entire country as planned. Water, fisheries harbour and roads will take priority. Even the World Bank has cited the East as a priority in the recently pledged funds. Reconstruction of the irrigation canals is also underway. The Trincomalee industrial estate is already underway.

Read more,
http://www.nationalsecurity.lk/fullnews.php?id=13259

Gota to UN: Check LTTE infiltration

Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa yesterday called for stringent measures to prevent the LTTE from using what he called UN cover to mount operations in the South.

As troops step up pressure on the LTTE on four fronts in the Vanni theatre, the enemy would resort to hit and run attacks in the South, he said, a UN employee apprehended south of Vavuniya could have been on a special mission to destabilise the the souther parts of the country.

"There is no option but to take all precautions to thwart the LTTE’s plan," the Defence Secretary told The Island yesterday asserting the enemy wouldn’t hesitate to manipulate the UN or any other foreign NGO to achieve its targets.

HE said the government wanted all agencies to immediately scrutinise their local employees as there could be LTTE agents on their payroll. "I have repeatedly warned of the LTTE taking refuge in NGOs and using their cover to facilitate clandestine operations but unfortunately they turned a blind eye," he said. He said last Wednesday’s arrest of a Kilinochchi-based LTTE assassin on the payroll of the UN must prompt a thorough investigation.

The Defence Secretary said the on-going UN investigation targeting the suspect Thiagaraja Prabhakaran, a resident of Batticaloa would reveal the real extent of the LTTE infiltration of the organisation. Police took him into custody at Iratteperiyakulam, south of Vavuniya on Wednesday afternoon.

Read more,
http://www.island.lk/2008/05/05/news1.html

Sri Lankan business community donates to the housing project for armed forces

Sri Lankan business leaders handed over checques for the "Api Wenuwen Api Fund" to the President Mahinda Rajapaksa and Defense Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa at the Temple Trees today.

Under the 'Api Wenuwen Api' scheme the Ministry Of Defence in cooperation with the Central Bank of Sri Lanka is building 50,000 housing units for armed forces personnel. The project is phased over five years, with 10,000 houses to be completed each year.

Any donation made to “Api Wenwen Api” Fund is treated as a donation made to a government fund and will be 100% tax deductible.

Extracted from,
http://www.colombopage.com/archive_08/February15132342CH.html

Lankan Defence Secy denies helping Karuna

Sri Lankan Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapakse has rejected accusations that he helped renegade LTTE leader V Muralitharan, better known as Colonel Karuna, to secure a diplomatic passport through which he entered Britain.

His remarks came a day after BBC reported Karuna's allegations made in a British court that Rajapakse, younger brother of President Mahinda Rajapakse, "arranged everything" for him to travel to the UK using a diplomatic passport.

Karuna was sentenced to nine months in prison by the Isleworth Crown Court in West London on Friday for traveling on a forged passport to Britain

"I haven't helped him (Karuna). It is wrong for the British judiciary to make public these claims without verification," Gotabhaya Rajapakse told 'Lakbimanews'.

Reading out Karuna's statement in the open court, the prosecution had charged that President's Rajapakse's brother was known to him since he defected from the LTTE.

Read more,
http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/000200801271401.htm

Is a ban on LTTE Lanka’s next step?

Sri Lanka’s decision to call off the February 2002 ceasefire with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) is at one level a logical move as the truce was only on paper.

In the last two years and more both sides have used air power and artillery in what is virtually a full-fledged war between the two sides.

Yet Wednesday’s move signals the growing confidence of President Mahinda Rajapaksa and the defence establishment in Colombo that the military has gained the upper hand. The next step could be a ban on the LTTE.

The President’s brother defence secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa had already given a hint in an interview to the government-controlled Daily News last week.

He said the government should officially withdraw from the ceasefire and ban the LTTE for a fresh approach to the Tamil question. The ceasefire agreement brokered by Norway had become a joke in the eyes of the people, he added.

Read more,
http://www.dnaindia.com/report.asp?newsid=1143105

LTTE facing manpower and ammunition shortage: Official

The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam is wilting under pressure due to a sharp decline in recruiting cadres and acute shortage of arms and ammunition, a top government official has said.

"Faced with a severe shortage of ammunition and dwindling numbers due to growing losses and sharp drop in recruitment, the LTTE is struggling to hold their positions," Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa said.

He said bulk of LTTE cadres were deployed across the Jaffna frontline, where skirmishes take place almost every day.

"On the Vavuniya front basically the fighting is taking place in the jungle, while Mannar is a open territory.

Read more,
http://www.expressindia.com/latest-news/LTTE-facing-manpower-and-ammunition-shortage

India a major factor in Sri Lanka: Rajapaksa

India is 'a major factor' in any resolution of the Sri Lankan ethnic conflict and Sri Lankans must realise this, says Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa.

Asked about India's role in finding a solution to the dragging conflict, Rajapaksa told the state-run Sunday Observer: 'India is a major factor and we have recognised it from the very beginning.

'Lots of people talk about the international community but we believe that India is the major factor in our problem.

'We have to realise the importance of India because it is becoming a superpower,' he added.

Read more,
http://www.indiaenews.com/srilanka/20071230/88808.htm

Ban LTTE, end truce

The Government can make a fresh start to address Tamil grievances once it officially bans the LTTE and abolishes the Ceasefire Agreement signed with the LTTE, Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa said yesterday.

In an exclusive interview with the Daily News, Defence Secretary Rajapaksa said the Ceasefire Agreement has become a joke in the eyes of the people with so many violations.

“The Ceasefire Agreement exists only on paper. Obviously we can see that there is no Ceasefire. It has become a joke,” the Defence Secretary said.

He said so many Governments have signed a number of Ceasefire Agreements in the past since the Thimpu Agreement.

“Once you sign a Peace Agreement and then you come to the next Ceasefire Agreement or whatever agreement, you must abolish the other [previous] one. It had never happened. From the Thimpu Agreement there are so many peace agreements including the Indo Lanka Agreement,” Rajapaksa added.

Read more,
http://www.dailynews.lk/2007/12/29/sec01.asp

Sri Lanka vows to kill Tamil Tiger leader

Sri Lanka's government has marked the birthday of Tamil Tiger leader Velupillai Prabhakaran with a vow to kill him.

The island's powerful defence secretary, Gotabhaya Rajapakse, said Colombo now had the upper hand in the long-running conflict, with the elusive guerrilla chief limited in both his movements and ability to score strategic victories.

Earlier this month the political head of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), S.P. Thamilselvan, was killed in what the government said was a precision air strike on the north and not a mere lucky hit.

"The killing of Thamilselvan sent a very powerful message: they know we have good intelligence on their movements," Rajapakse told AFP in an interview Monday at the heavily-fortified defence ministry in Colombo.

Read more,
http://www.afp.com/english/news/stories/071127014209.pwzwzbh1.html

Lanka conscious of Tamil Nadu factor: Defense Secretary

The Sri Lanka government is conscious of the Tamil Nadu factor in determining New Delhi's Sri Lanka policy, and it strives to ensure that the war waged in the island's North and East is directed against the LTTE terrorists and not against innocent Tamil civilians, Defense Secretary, Gotabhaya Rajapksa, has said.

In an interview to the state-owned Rupavahini TV channel on Sunday, Rajapakasa said that India's Central government would be able to help Sri Lanka fight LTTE terrorism only if Tamil civilian casualties were minimal, in view of the fact that Tamil Nadu state was home to 60 million Tamils.

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http://www.hindustantimes.com/StoryPage/StoryPage.aspx?id=9f72c0d4

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.

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