News vom 07.03.2006

[Admin]

Sri Lanka Marxist party against Norway's role as facilitator


Mar 07, Colombo: The Marxist Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna said that the party does not like the double role of the Norwegian facilitator and said "We should not continue to keep Norway as the facilitator."

Making a special statement at the parliament today, Wimal Weerawansa, Propaganda Secretary of the JVP said “Our stance is that the motherland could not be protected without defeating both terrorist backing Norway and terrorist backing media.”

Weerawansa referring to a news item published in the ‘Sunday Leader’ of 5th with the heading “The Tiger Report on Paramilitaries” said the article could be seriously considered as another critical instance of betraying the national security. “This article is based on a statement presented by Anton Balasingham, Theoretician of the Tiger Organization at the Geneva talks.”

“As indicated by Mr. Balasingham this newspaper states that the government security forces do have transactions with the paramilitary groups. A list of names of the intelligence unit of the security forces is also published along with the article. Another list of these officers has been produced informing that they are associated with the much debated Karuna faction. Besides it has divulged certain members of the EPDP, which is a party within the government,”

In his statement Weerawansa raised another issue published in the front page of ‘Sunday Island’ of 5th which was titled “Oslo rolls out red carpet for Tamilchelvan”. Offering a state welcome to Tiger members and inviting them to Norway being the coordinator of the negotiations is compared by Mr. Weerawansa as a special treatment for one party during the intermission of a match by the match referee.

Mr. Weerawansa said “such a country should not be continued as the mediator leaving the motherland in danger. Taking a bold decision for the safety of our motherland is more imperative than the faded faces of international community. The government should not betray the sovereignty of the country.”

More civilians take to A-9 road after Sri Lanka peace talks


Mar 07, Colombo: There has been a rapid increase of civilians using the A-9 highway after the Geneva talks.

At present about 1000 civilians pass the Omanthai road barrier daily. The security sectors have extended to them facilities to enter uncleared areas without obstructions. The civilians have the freedom to travel anywhere after being examined at the barrier. The government is also operating bus services for them to travel to Colombo and other areas from Omanthai.

Sri Lankan authorities say civilians in the North are ‘upbeat’ about the opportunity to travel in a conducive environment.

UNP extends fullest support for Sri Lanka peace


Mar 07, Colombo: The main opposition United National Party (UNP) has assured its full support for the Sri Lankan government's peace initiative.

UNP Deputy General Secretary Tissa Attanayake says the party believes everybody should be united to resolve the national problem.

He further argued that all stakeholders to the problem should make sure the country is not heading towards another war.

Speaking to media in Colombo, Mr. Attanayake added that his party has already started a door-to-door election campaign targeting the forthcoming local government elections

 

[srilanka1998]

Sri Lanka To Be Free Of Land Mines By 2008 -Government Official
[ AP ] [ 11:25 GMT, Mar. 7, 2006 ]

Sri Lanka has cleared more than half of the country's estimated one million land mines, sown during two decades of civil war, and should be able to complete the task within two years, a government official said Tuesday. The mines were laid during fighting in Sri Lanka's northeast, the main battleground between government forces and rebels who have been fighting since 1983 to carve out a separate state for the island's 3.2 million Tamil minority. "Almost 55% of land mines have been cleared so far," M.S. Jayasinghe, secretary in charge of reconstruction and development in conflict-affected areas, told a news conference in Colombo.


Lankans take dim view of Indo-US deal
[ Hindustan Times ] [ 11:26 GMT, Mar. 7, 2006 ]

If comments in Sri Lankan media are any indication, Sri Lankans have a dim view of the new-found Indo-US strategic alliance sealed in New Delhi on March 3. Edit-page articles in the leading English dailies over the past few days suggest that the Sri Lankans view the alliance with skepticism if not trepidation. The majority Sinhalas as well as the minority Tamils and Muslims view the United States and India somewhat warily, though for very different reasons. It is likely that this pattern will be seen in regard to the US-India nuclear and strategic alliance also. Before going into the reasons for the disapproval, let us see how the media has commented on the Delhi Deal. The first shot was fired on March 2, interestingly enough by the state-owned Daily News.


Peace Talks Again? !
[ TamilCanadian ] [ 11:43 GMT, Mar. 7, 2006 ]

The first round of talks on the implementation of the Cease Fire agreement has been conducted in Geneva. We are aware of the situation of a war breaking when the peace talks with former Prime Minister Ranil Wickremasinghe broke and of conditions worsening when Mahintha Rajapakse assumed power as the new Sri Lankan President. However, the Tamil Eelam Leadership, aspiring for a solution to the Tamil Eelam national issue through peace talks, offered a fresh chance to the new President. Though many welcome the peace talks, the question, as to whether we should engage in peace talks again and again, when the right solutions are unable to be achieved, looms big in their minds.


Tigers say ready to resist if war is thrust
[ PTI ] [ 15:10 GMT, Mar. 7, 2006 ]

Voicing concern over "conflicting" signals coming from Sri Lankan government after the talks in Switzerland, Tamil Tiger rebels today warned that they were ready to resist if a war was "thrust" on them. The 12-member LTTE delegation, which held talks with Sri Lankan government's representatives in Switzerland last month, returned home today, saying they were not hopeful of a positive outcome from the discussions. The Tigers stayed over in Switzerland and travelled to Norway before returning home while the LTTE's London-based chief negotiator returned to Britain last month itself. The LTTE said it was concerned about conflicting signals coming from the coalition government in Colombo after the Swiss talks.


Tamil perspective on negotiating peace in Sri Lanka
[ Northeastern Monthly ] [ 16:07 GMT, Mar. 7, 2006 ]

To reflect a comprehensively Tamil perspective on negotiating peace in Sri Lanka, it is imperative to recall the evolution of the Tamil struggle. Unless this problem is properly identified, solutions are futile. Therefore it is important to examine, at least briefly, the problem in its historical perspective. The process of negotiations to resolve the conflict began with the then Tamil moderate leadership signing the Bandaranaike-Chelvanayakam Pact in 1957 and the Dudley-Chelvanayakam pact in 1966. But they failed due to both agreements being unilaterally abrogated by the respective governments that were party to them. In consequence, certain events and developments took place between the years 1970 and 1985 that led to the collective mobilisation of the Tamils of the northeast to agitate in an organised and structured manner for the restoration of their lost rights.