Ariyalai Paddy-Fields in HSZ Released for Cultivation

THE SRI LANKA ARMY, honouring the commitments given to public authorities in Jaffna, has released a total of 103 acres of cultivable paddy-fields under the High Security Zone (HSZ) in the eastern Ariyalai area between railway tracks and A-9 road, on the instructions of Jaffna Commander Major General G.A Chandrasiri.

A total of 73 farmers registered in the Eastern Ariyalai Farmers’ Society began their tilling work in the newly released paddy-fields on Sunday (17) after they were conducted to the area by civil coordinating officers of the 51 Division. Those farmers are to receive a special identity card in view of security concerns.

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http://www.army.lk/morenews.php?id=15369

Tigers out of bounds in Jaffna - Maj Gen Mark Civilians extremely cooperative with security forces:

Major General L.B.R. Mark, the Commander of the 51 division in the North which covers the heartland of Jaffna said that the LTTE could not step into the region as the civilians were extremely cooperative with the security forces in preventing any form of infiltration by the terrorist outfit.

Gen. Mark was commenting on the current situation in Jaffna in an interview with the Sunday Observer in the backdrop of the operations currently being carried out by the security forces from all corners in encircling the LTTE in the Wanni.

“There was a time that the Tigers were jumping out of Jaffna to the Wanni and again from Wanni to Jaffna. But now these pranks will not work as the security forces are well aware of the strategies of the outfit and moreover the people of Jaffna are fed up with the LTTE and are very supportive of the security forces in crushing all forms of LTTE infiltration into the peninsula,” Gen Mark said.

He said that soon after the closure of the A-9 highway the LTTE made desperate attempts to infiltrate in a big way into the Jaffna region.

However, the untiring and effective measures adopted by the security forces with the assistance of the Jaffna civilians had crushed the LTTE’s attempts. Now the outfit being a ‘lame duck’ in the Wanni could not even think of returning to the Jaffna mainland.

He also said that the citizens’ committees comprising senior citizens in Jaffna were having a good rapport with the security forces and helping them in every way to maintain law and order.

“With the assistance of the civilians we were not only able to curb the infiltrations but were also successful in carrying out numerous raids and recovered a large haul of arms and ammunition. “The recent cultural festival and trade fair organised by the security forces in Jaffna was a grand success and the event highlighted the confidence the people of Jaffna have in the security forces.

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http://www.sundayobserver.lk/2008/07/06/sec00.asp

Tri-Aerial Attacks Take Tigers by Surprise

THREE SEPARATE AERIAL ATTACKS on key LTTE positions and movement off VIDATTALTIVE to the north of MANNAR and POONERYN, southeast of JAFFNA Thursday (3) between 12.00 noon – 3.30 p.m. caused extensive damages and losses to LTTE.

The first aerial attack at about 12.45 noon, 2 km southwest of VIDATTALTIVE was focused on a gathering of Tiger terrorist. The second one with MI-24 gun ships struck several vehicles carrying a group of Tiger terrorists for some of their clandestine operations in the area surrounding VIDATTALTIVE.

The last strike conducted by Fighter Jets at about 3.30 p.m. hit a WALLAIKADU See Tiger Base, some 15 km southwest of POONERYN, JAFFNA. The area is also known as Devil Point in the JAFFNA lagoon.

Pilots maintain all the three air strikes inflicted extensive damages to the LTTE in terms of their manpower and resources.

Extracted from,
http://www.army.lk/morenews.php?id=14312

Air strikes on LTTE line of bunkers and 3 LTTE artillery locations

WELIOYA: Air Force MI24 helicopters carried out air strikes on LTTE line of bunkers 3km north of MITHUKAIKULAM tank ahead in FDL today(25) around 1.15pm. These air strikes were made to support the ground troops in WELIOYA FDL. Air Force confirms that the air strikes were carried out effectively.

JAFFNA: Meantime today (25) around 1.45pm Air Force fighter jets bombed 3 LTTE artillery locations, 3km south of MUHAMALAI FDL. These air strikes too were made to support the ground troops in JAFFNA FDL. Air force confirms that the air strikes were carried out effectively.

Extracted from,
http://www.nationalsecurity.lk/fullnews.php?id=13422

Government troops captured 14 base in Mullaitievu

The security forces have entered Mullaitievu and they have already taken control of the One Four Base Camp where the LTTE leader at one time was hiding. The forces captured the camp yesterday after the sudden attack. The troops are in complete control of the area.

Meanwhile defence sources say the Sri Lanka Air Force attacked a LTTE bunker in the North of Alankumala area in this morning.

Air Force Media Spokesman Wing Commander Janaka Nanayakkara says the attack was launched around 11 AM today using MI 24 fighter craft. Air force pilots have confirmed that the attack was successful.

The Media Centre for National Security says 17 LTTE terrorists were killed in clashes with the security forces in the past 24 hours in Jaffna, Vavuniya and Welioya. The Army has recovered a corpse of terrorist and several military equipments.

Extracted from,
http://www.asiantribune.com/?q=node/11686

Twenty LTTE Artillery Shells Kill Six & Injure Twenty Including Catholic Priest

TWENTY ARTILLERY SHELLS fired by Tiger terrorists from their bases in POONERYN early this morning (29), as Army and Naval troops fought a sea battle against a pocket of Tiger boats sailing towards KERATHIVU island, MANDATHIVU, KOLOMBUTHURAI in JAFFNA for an assault, fell on the town area of JAFFNA killing six civilians and injuring twenty more including two children and a pastor who were fast asleep.

Nine seriously injured civilians were to undergo surgery at JAFFNA Teaching Hospital at any moment upon medical advice.

Tiger terrorists, unable to resist the military thrust offered by serving Army and Naval troops on the islet, lost four of their boats as a result of the heavy fire directed by the Army. Confirmed reports said eight Tiger terrorists died and many, including LTTE’s operations commander and his deputy were injured as a result of the resistance.

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http://www.army.lk/morenews.php?id=13605
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http://www.army.lk/morenews.php?id=13605

3 LTTE boats destroyed, 15 killed in Army-Navy counter attacks- Jaffna

Army and Navy troops deployed at the Chiraththivu islet, Jaffna sprung an ambush killing at least 15 terrorists as troops claimed to have thwarted a pre-dawn LTTE infiltration attempt at the combined military detachment located between the Jaffna mainland and the Mandathivu island today (May 29).

One soldier was killed while another 2 suffered injuries in this incident. Two navy sailors and an army soldier reported missing in action, military sources added.

Later troops also have reportedly repulsed a second wave of offensive launched by LTTE in six boats towards the islet from non-liberated Ponneryn area, as sources said 3 LTTE boats destroyed and another heavily damaged and sunk in the shallow waters at around 2a.m. Troops have also mounted heavy artillery attacks towards the fleeing terrorists as enemy fatalities were expected to soar, military source said.

Chiraththivu is a small islet located in close proximity of the Jaffna- Mandathivu causeway.

Security Forces are now engaged in search operations in the area, while a military official said that efforts are been made to recover another LTTE boat partially sunk in the shallow waters off the Chiraththivu islet.

Extracted from,
http://www.defence.lk/new.asp?fname=20080529_07

Journalist hacked to death in Jaffna

Sirasa Jaffna reporter P. Devakumaran was hacked to death this afternoon in Navthurei by an unidentified gang.

Paranirupasingham Devakumar, 34, and his friend were returning home at Vadukkodai on a motorcycle when they were taken by an unidentified group at Navatturai around 6.00 pm, report said.

Their bodies are presently lying at the Jaffna Teaching Hospital.

The friend, Mahendran Varadan was a 28-year-old employee of the District Secretariat.

Extracted from,
http://www.lankaeverything.com/vinews/srilanka/20080528130447.php

More foreign jobs for LTTE surrendees

The Foreign Employment and Promotion Ministry has broadened its vocational training programs in the Northern and Eastern Districts from May 1 to grant more foreign employment opportunities to LTTE surrendees.

It has been reported that over 60 LTTE cadres have so far surrendered to three rehabilitation centres, set up by the Security Forces in Jaffna, Batticaloa and Trincomalee districts.

The centres are operated with the assistance of the ICRC, UNICEF and other local government agencies.

Training programs such as sewing for female LTTE surrendees and motor mechanism, carpentry, plumbing and wiring for male surrendees will be conducted by the Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment (SLBFE) under the guidance of the Presidential Secretariat.

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http://www.sundayobserver.lk/2008/04/20/new03.asp

Army attacks LTTE boats with armour and artillery- Jaffna

Sri Lanka army at two separate occasions attacked LTTE boats detected in Jaffna lagoon last morning (April 9).

According to the defence sources in Jaffna, seven LTTE boats in two groups were detected in the Jaffna lagoon , off Ariyalai , moving towards security forces forward defence line (FDL) around 10.20 am. Army attacked the LTTE boats at close range using armour tanks, said the sources. Tank crews have confirmed that one LTTE boat was exploded during the confrontation, the sources added.

Elsewhere in the Jaffna lagoon, army directed artillery fire at an LTTE boat detected around 11.20 am. Later, a body of a suspected LTTE agent was found washed ashore said the sources.

Extracted from,
http://defence.lk/new.asp?fname=20080410_04

SLAF destroys black tiger base - Mankulam

Sri Lanka, Air Force supersonic fighter jets bombed at LTTE black tiger base located at Northwest of Mankulam this morning, (7 April).

Air force spokes person wing commander Andi Wijesoriya speaking to defence.lk said that their sorties were launched around 6.15 a.m. based on the information gathered through air surveillances and ground intelligence sources. The pilots confirm that the target was achieved accurately, he added.

Meanwhile, MI 24 helicopter gunships conducted air attack targeting LTTE bunker defences at south of Muhamalai in Jaffna around 6.30 a.m. today, (7 April).

The air attack were launched to assist ground troops who engaged in limited offensive operations in the area and to disrupt the LTTE formations, Air Force spokesperson further added.

Damages to the LTTE yet to be known.

Extracted from,
http://defence.lk/new.asp?fname=20080407_01

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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http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/

Prabhakaran 'hale and hearty', says Tamil MP

Tamil Tigers chief V Prabhakaran is "hale and hearty and ruling skillfully", a lawmaker of pro-LTTE party has said, rejecting claims that the elusive rebel leader was injured.

"Incorrect statements are being made saying Prabhakaran is injured in an air-attack," MP Selvarajah Gajendran of Tamil National Alliance (TNA), the LTTE proxies in parliament, said.

"He (Prabhakaran) is quite healthy and ruling skillfully," the lawmaker from strife-torn Jaffna told the House earlier this week while speaking on a motion to extend emergency in Sri Lanka by one month.

The Sri Lankan military had earlier claimed that Prabhakaran may have been injured in a November air raid. The military has intensified its offensive against the rebels after scrapping a tattered 2002 ceasefire in January.

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http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/001200803081656.htm

Forty-Four LTTE Men/Aides Seek Rehabilitation in Jaffna

Forty four detainees, having confessed that they were either connected to LTTE or have directly or indirectly aided and abetted the terrorist cause in the JAFFNA peninsula consented to receive rehabilitation after they reached Security Forces Headquarters, JAFFNA prisons on Tuesday (26).

Those surrendees after formal registration at the Police are to be absorbed into a rehabilitation programme in the peninsula beginning tomorrow (27). They have sought the rehabilitation in writing, according to the military sources.

During January 2007- February 2008, a total of three hundred and seventeen men and women, some of who claimed themselves to be LTTE cadres have turned up at the Sri Lanka Human Rights Commission in JAFFNA and wanted to seek protection saying that they were very much harassed, disgusted with the LTTE or exposed to LTTE conscription attempts.

Extracted from,
http://army.lk/morenews.php?id=11056

India continues to influence events in Sri Lanka

Since the government proposed and accepted the 13th amendment to Sri Lanka’s constitution as a means to devolve power within a unitary state, India’s interference in the affairs of its southern neighbour is becoming increasingly clear — and even coming under fire.

None would dispute the claim that India has a role to play in Sri Lanka’s ethnic crisis. After all, it was India which in the early 1980s trained, armed and financed several Tamil militant groups to fight the Sri Lankan government.

It was India which came to the rescue of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and other militant groups when the Sri Lankan security forces were about to capture the Tamil Tiger stronghold of Vadamarachchi in 1987.

It was India which imposed on Sri Lanka the 13th amendment to the constitution following a 1987 treaty.

Even after Rajiv Gandhi, the former Indian Prime Minister, who browbeat Sri Lanka into accepting the 13th amendment, was killed in a Tamil Tiger suicide attack, India continued to play its role of running with the hare and hunting with the hounds.

Though India banned the LTTE as a terrorist organisation, for strategic purposes, it maintains some secret links with the LTTE. A case in point was when the LTTE laid siege on Jaffna in 2000, India, responding to a plea from the then Sri Lankan government, asked the rebels not to capture Jaffna.

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http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticleNew.asp?

Sri Lanka Troops Close in on Rebel Town

Fighting raged across Sri Lanka's embattled north killing 44 combatants as government troops closed in on a strategic rebel-held town, the military said Saturday.

The latest gunbattles that erupted along the front lines in the northern districts of Jaffna, Mannar and Vavuniya killed 41 Tamil Tiger rebels and three soldiers on Friday, military spokesman Brig. Udaya Nanayakkara said.

Soldiers were just a short distance from the rebel-held town of Adampan, said Nanayakkara. Capturing Adampan would be a crucial step in the military's campaign to dismantle the rebels' de facto administration in the country's north.

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http://www.myfoxla.com/myfox/pages/News/Detail?

INGO/NGO BLOOD-SUCKERS & THEIR DILEMMA

A Joint-Statement titled " Abrogation of Ceasefire Agreement Will Escalate Spiral of Violence" has been published in the English & Sinhala newspapers on 28th & 29th January 2008.(quote): "The government's decision to abrogate the Norwegian-facilitated Ceasefire Agreement(CFA) signed with the LTTE in 2002 is a matter of grave concern to the undersigned civil society organizations."(end quote)

Who may these "civil society organizations" be? They are: Association of War Affected Women; Centre for Society and Religion; Centre for Human Rights and Development, Colombo; Centre for Women and Development-Jaffna; Christian Alliance for Social Action; Consortium for Humanitarian Agencies; Equal Grounds, Sri Lanka; INFORM; Home for Human Rights, Colombo; Human Development Organization, Kandy; International Centre for Ethnic Studies; International Movement Against Discrimination and Racism; Law & Society Trust; Mothers & Daughters of Lanka; Mannar Women for Human Rights and Democracy; Muslim Information Centre Sri Lanka; Muslim Women's Research and Action Forum; National Peace Council; Rights Now Collective for Democracy; SETIK, Kandy; Women and Media Collective.

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http://www.lankaweb.com/news/items08/310108-5.html

'Orissa Maoists linked to LTTE'

Earlier, there was the Nepal Maoist link. Now, investigation has unearthed the LTTE link of Koraput Maoists!

The link was unravelled after arrest of five top-ranking Maoists by Koraput police from Tamil Nadu. During investigation, police got vital clues that one arrested Naxalite had a direct link with LTTE in Tamil Nadu and the police suspect link of all arrested Maoists with the dreaded terror outfit.

Intelligence sources informed that the entry of Tamil refugees from Jaffna (Sri Lanka) to Malkangiri five years back could have established the link between Koraput Naxalites with Tamil cadres who later established their links with LTTE.

According to reports, the Naxalite cadres were arrested In Tamil Nadu in June, 2007, while imparting training to local unemployed youths in a forest range using looted arms of Koraput.

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http://www.newindpress.com/NewsItems.asp?ID=IEQ20080116215946&Page=Q&Title=ORISSA&Topic=0