4 Sri Lankans arrested, 10 GPS equipment seized -Tamil Nadu

A day after the seizure of satellite phones and other materials at Chinna Erwadi, the police on Tuesday arrested four Sri Lankans, including a hardcore Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) militant, and seized 10 Global Positioning System (GPS) equipment and a consignment of other items.

The consignment included 3,360 batteries, a set top box, 11 life jackets, sample pieces of uniform cloth, 10 multi-tester meters, a generator and pistol cover, the police said.

There was also a compact disc, which contained a speech delivered by Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (MDMK) general secretary Vaiko at a conference held in Oslo, Norway. The consignment was meant to be delivered at Mullaitheevu.

Based on a tip-off, a Special Branch police party led by Sub-Inspector G. Manivannan intercepted a van coming from Tiruchi at Uppur, a seaside hamlet near Thondi.

Those arrested were identified as Vijayaneethan alias Naveen (26), son of Sivasekaran of Trincomalee; Rakshanandan (21), son of Sivakumar of Wanni; Ramanan (31), son of Gunaseelan of Valvettithurai; and Sivaraman (23), van driver-cum-owner. Except Naveen, the others were living in a refugee camp in Tiruchi.

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http://www.thehindu.com/2008/07/31/stories/2008073155680700.htm

LTTE wants India's help to stop military drive

Tamil Tigers in Sri Lanka, engaged in fierce gun-battles with security forces in the island nation's embattled north, want India to intervene to halt the clashes between the warring sides, a leading daily here has claimed.

"As the LTTE is currently facing a series of setbacks in the (rebel stronghold of) Wanni warfront with senior LTTE military leaders killed by the security forces, the LTTE is once again seeking India's help to stop the ongoing military operations," the Daily Mirror said.

Besides, the paper claimed, "the Tigers' Political wing had initiated a campaign to pressurise the Indian central government to take action in this regard." "In order to achieve this goal the LTTE is using several channels for the purpose and mainly the pro-LTTE politicians in Tamil Nadu," the report said, adding the pro-rebel MDMK leader Vaiko had made several statements to this effect.

"Knowing that the Indian government can put pressure on the Sri Lankan government, it is learnt that the Tigers are expecting to use the opportunity to come into a Ceasefire Agreement," the paper said in an editorial yesterday.

The daily recalled that the LTTE's 'Peace Secretary' S Pulidevan had recently said the rebels would wait for the Norwegian facilitators to be granted access to Kilinochchi to further discuss issues relating to negotiations.

Meanwhile, security forces killed at least 13 guerrillas in separate attacks in the north and bombed a rebel base, the military said yesterday.

Air force fighter jets pounded a rebel base in Pooneryn late on Friday, hours after the guerrillas set off bombs in the southern suburb of Colombo and central district of Kandy, the defence ministry said.

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http://www.thedailystar.net/story.php?nid=40148

Pro-LTTE MDMK Leader Gopalswamyand UNP's Dr Jayalath Jayewardene held meetings with LTTE leaders in London

Fresh from their honeymoon with Minister Eric Solheim, Tamil Nadu's pro-LTTE maverick politician V. Gopalswamy, (VAIKO) leader of the MDMK party along with UNP's Dr Jayalath Jayewardene arrived in the UK on 15th April and held several meetings with LTTE leaders and their fund raising sympathizers based in London.

Foreign sources have informed Asian Tribune that both MDMK Leader Gopalswamy and UNP's Dr Jayalath Jayewardene were picked up from London Heathrow airport upon their arrival from Norway by Mr. Thilagaraja of the LTTE's (UK) branch otherwise known as the British Tamil Forum (BTF).

It is said that the parties attended several meeting organized by the British Tamil Forum (BTF) and met with senior LTTE leaders based in London. Both Gopalswamy and Dr Jayalath Jayewardene were looked after well otherwise by representatives of the LTTE for lobbying on behalf of the LTTE in Norway which was funded by the British Tamil Forum (BTF).

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http://www.asiantribune.com/?q=node/10625

VAIKO MEETS ERIC SOLHEIM AND BEGS OF HIM TO GIVE LIFE BACK TO THE ABROGATED CEASEFIRE AGREEMENT

India’s maverick politician Vaiko has begged of Norway’s most controversial peace negotiator and International Development Minister Eric Solheim who has been charged by non-tiger Tamil groups as a pro-LTTE man, to give life to a dead cease fire agreement that has been violated thousands of times by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) itself.

LTTE news sources revealed that the two controversial men met recently at Oslo’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Vaiko requested Solheim to help revive the Norway brokered abrogated Ceasefire Agreement (CFA) signed between Ranil Wickramasinghe government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam.

A close personal friend of the late Tamil Tiger “peace negotiator” Anton Balasingham, Soheim has been publicly attacked as a “White Tiger”, and enjoys very little credibility in Sri Lanka. He has been criticized by anti-LTTE Tamil groups and pro-Sinhala groups in the country as a non acceptable man.

Pro LTTE news sources said, Vaiko expressed his “gratitude on behalf of the Tamils in India to the Royal Norwegian Government for its engagement as facilitator to the CFA ..” when the two controversial politicians met each other in Oslo in Norway few days ago.

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http://www.lankaweb.com/news/items08/140408-1.html

Vaiko asks EU to press Sri Lanka on Tamil ethnic issue

MDMK chief Vaiko has asked the European Union not to turn a blind eye to the "sufferings of Tamils" in Sri Lanka and to pressure Colombo to end its offensive against the LTTE so that an "ancient race" could be prevented from being "totally wiped out".

"The situation today is very bad. A whole ancient race is about to be wiped out. I would appeal to the European Union to put pressure on the Sinhalese government {to end its military offensive on the LTTE}," he said.

The firebrand Tamil politician, who was speaking at a conference organised by the Art of Living foundation of Indian spiritual guru Sri Sri Ravi Shankar here, asked European nations to "not turn a blind eye to sufferings of Tamils in Sri Lanka" and also urged more active intervention by the International Committee for the Red Cross (ICRC) in the nation.

The government had formally scrapped the four-year long tattered ceasefire with the LTTE in January this year, also thereby terminating the role played by Norway, the main facilitator for talks from the side of the EU, to mediate between the warring groups.

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http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/001200804111161.htm

Lanka should remove defence system in Palk strait: MDMK

MDMK leader Vaiko on Friday demanded that the Centre ask the Sri Lanka government to remove the underwater defence system set up across the Palk strait on the International Maritime Boundary Line.

In a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, a copy of which was made available to the media, Vaiko said the system would damage and destroy the fishing boats of Indian fishermen.

He said the Sri Lankan navy had communicated to the Indian Navy to inform Tamil Nadu fishermen not to venture out for fishing between Kachatheevu and Neduntheeve in the Palk strait, as mines had been placed.

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http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India/Lanka

Vaiko urges Manmohan Singh not to visit Colombo

MDMK General Secretary Vaiko has urged Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh not to visit Colombo to participate in Sri Lanka's Independence Day celebrations, saying that it would send a "wrong signal" in favour of the Mahinda Rajapakse government which was using military might to resolve the ethnic conflict.

Vaiko, a staunch LTTE supporter, appealed Dr. Singh not to accept the invitation extended by Sri Lankan President Rajapakse for attending the National Day celebrations on February 4.

He cited the report of UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour, who after a visit to Colombo indicted the Sri Lankan military for gross human rights violation.

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http://www.indiavision.in/article/National/8695/

Police cracks down on LTTE supporters

The Tamil Nadu police have taken a stern view of LTTE sympathisers in the state. They have warned supporters against showing solidarity of any kind with the rebel outfit, even issuing an advertisement in the papers warning against holding rallies, condolence meetings or any other action that would appear to support the LTTE.

After top LTTE leader Thamilselvan was killed by Sri Lankan military earlier this month, the state saw rallies on the streets with MDMK leader Vaiko leading the demonstration to pay homage to the deceased leader. Though Vaiko and Nedumaran were arrested, this did not stop Tamil nationalists.

Large hoardings sprang up on roadsides to mourn the death of LTTE's top negotiator, while prayers and condolence meetings were held at street corners.

Such support for a LTTE man has made the Tamil Nadu police sit up. They have now put out an advertisement directing the pubilc to stop showing solidarity with the LTEE.

According to the notice, any action supporting banned organisations - by individuals or organisations - will be punished. The advertisement says rallies, condolence meetings or any other action supporting banned organisations by individuals or organisations will be punishable under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act.

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http://www.timesnow.tv/NewsDtls.aspx?NewsID=4603

Vaiko urges UPA to stop arms supply to SriLanka

Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (MDMK) Secretary Vaiko today urged the UPA government to stop supply and sale of arms to Sri Lanka and get back the radars already supplied.

In a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, a copy of which was released to the media here, he expressed shock over the continuous supply of radars.

He alleged that the Sri Lankan Air Force had killed thousands of innocent Tamil men, women and children all these years.

The UPA government was behaving contrary to the decision of the Union Government, which decided in 1998 at an all party meeting not to sell or supply any arms to Sri Lanka, he alleged.

''It is a proven fact that the Sri Lankan Government is guilty of genocide to achieve its goal of ethnic cleansing of Tamils,'' he alleged.

Extracted from,
http://www.newkerala.com/july.php?action=fullnews&id=52005