Lasting peace pivot of S.Lanka poll, rebels not game
[ Reuters ] [ 10:23 GMT, Nov. 8, 2005 ]
Sri Lanka's presidential frontrunners both promise lasting peace with the Tamil Tigers if elected at this month's poll, but while their pledges strike a chord with ordinary voters, they may have misjudged the rebels. Sporadic grenade attacks and shootings in and around Tiger-held areas ahead of the Nov.17 poll serve as an eerie reminder of a silent conflict that has killed dozens since a 2002 ceasefire halted two decades of civil war. The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) -- blamed for the August assassination of the island's foreign minister -- are refusing to resume peace talks they pulled out of in 2003 because they are not ready for a long-term deal, analysts say.
Danish group tells U.N. Committee of police torture in Sri Lanka
[ AHRC ] [ 10:24 GMT, Nov. 8, 2005 ]
The Danish Rehabilitation and Research Centre for Torture Victims (RCT) has submitted a written statement to the U.N. Committee against Torture regarding the prevalence of police torture in Sri Lanka and the lack of effective remedies. The statement is submitted in advance of the Committee's hearings regarding Sri Lanka's compliance with the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment or Punishment, scheduled for November 10 and 11. At this time, the Committee will study Sri Lanka's second periodic report submitted in accordance with article 19 of the Convention. In its statement, RCT raises concerns regarding the large number of police torture cases, many of which involve torture "committed for the purpose of extracting confessions and as a result of the lack of proper investigation skills".
Who'll it be? Our man or the alien
[ Hindustan Times ] [ 10:26 GMT, Nov. 8, 2005 ]
Though the countdown for the November 17 Presidential election has begun, the question remains as to who would be the next President. Opinion polls conducted by professionals and impressions, during personal visits to politically important areas over the past two weeks, depict a conflicting picture. While surveys done by professional pollsters predict a close fight, if not a win for Ranil Wickremesinghe of the United National Party (UNP), personal visits to the field indicate decisive support for Mahinda Rajapaksa, the candidate of the ruling Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP).
UNP: 'We trapped and split LTTE, sank their ships'
[ TamilNet ] [ 10:58 GMT, Nov. 8, 2005 ]
Sri Lanka's opposition United National Party this week claimed credit for engineering a split within the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) through the peace process whilst at the same time keeping the movement locked in via an international security net. The UNP also claimed credit for the sinking of LTTE vessels during the peace talks. UNP stalwart Milinda Moragoda, a close confidante of the party's Presidential candidate, Ranil Wickremesinghe, was one of the negotiators who represented his government in six rounds of talks with the LTTE between September 2002 and March 2003.He rejected accusations by Sinhala ultra-nationalists, including Mr. Wickremesinghe's main opponent, that the UNP government had weakened Sri Lanka's national security when it signed a ceasefire with the LTTE in February 2002.
Catholics' demands to presidential candidates
[ Asia News ] [ 11:22 GMT, Nov. 8, 2005 ]
Ethnic conflict, freedom of worship and poverty: the Catholic Church in Sri Lanka is urging citizens to give these issues serious thought in view of the upcoming presidential election on 17 November, and it is calling on candidates to deliver precise answers. In an official statement, the Bishops' Conference said the next head of state 'must be committed' to stopping 'the cycle of violence and counter-violence which affects the north-east' of the country and offer 'all religious and ethnic communities' the possibility of 'participating in the peace process'. Archbishop Oswald Gomis has broadcast a message on the website of the Colombo archdiocese, inviting 'the Christian community' to vote 'without fear or favouritism'. 'In exercising the vote we should be deeply conscious of the issues that face the country and the Christian community in the present time,' wrote the bishop.
SLA paramilitary group cons youth into joining armed forces; youth seek refuge at LTTE camps
[ LTTE Peace Secretariat ] [ 11:29 GMT, Nov. 8, 2005 ]
Three youth, who escaped from the hands of Sri Lankan Army (SLA) paramilitary groups, revealed illicit information about the activities of the paramilitary force, the Karuna Group. All three youth were either abducted or conned into joining the group with false promises and eventually sought refuge at LTTE camps, where they were sent to murder LTTE cadres. Media sources held a briefing with the youth at Kokkaddicholai police office on 7 November at 4 p.m. The youths revealed facts about the Karuna Group pertaining to corrupt activities which include the abduction of children.
Canada: Layton rejects Liberal health-care proposal
[ CTV ] [ 11:59 GMT, Nov. 8, 2005 ]
NDP Leader Jack Layton says he'll no longer prop up the Liberal minority government, nudging the unlikely scenario of an election campaign in the holiday season a little closer to reality. However, in a speech to a Toronto business club, Layton would not say outright whether he would actively work to topple the minority government. Layton's outrage is over what he calls the Liberals' failure to put the brakes on private health care. He said that if the package presented last week to his party was before Parliament, the NDP would vote against it. "Unfortunately, for those of us committed to getting things done in this Parliament, and for all of those who were attempting to do so, there is no basis for our party to express confidence in this government," he said. "This Parliament's life is likely limited."
Elections Leave Sri Lankan Tamils Cold
[ IPS ] [ 20:34 GMT, Nov. 8, 2005 ]
Fighting elections in Sri Lanka's embattled northern Jaffna peninsula can resemble fighting a real war. Candidates move from bunker to bunker communicating constantly over wireless with soldiers in forward positions while helicopter gunships provide cover and gunboats patrol the coastline. And when the two frontrunners for the Nov. 17 presidential polls, Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapakse and Opposition leader Ranil Wickremasinghe decided to campaign back-to-back in this Tamil stronghold, last week, it bore all the characteristics of a military operation. The main focus of the two whistle stop tours appeared to be to woo the 100,000 plus voters of the armed forces and police, rather than the Tamil minority for which Jaffna is the cultural and political capital.
Poll boycott of Sri Lanka budget
[ BBC ] [ 20:36 GMT, Nov. 8, 2005 ]
Sri Lanka's opposition has boycotted the presentation of the annual budget, saying it is a government ploy to win votes in the presidential election. The budget was presented on Tuesday, just nine days ahead of the poll. The budget promised to expand the economy in the next three years, with the stress on tsunami reconstruction. Analysts say the budget is almost irrelevant as it still needs to be approved by parliament which can only happen after the poll. Ahead of the elections, both of the main contenders - ruling party candidate Mahinda Rajapakse and main opposition leader Ranil Wickramasinghe - promised to increase government spending, create jobs and reduce the cost of living.
'SCF has rendered significant service in a post-war situation'
[ LTTE Peace Secretariat ] [ 20:40 GMT, Nov. 8, 2005 ]
'Save the Childen Fund (SCF) has a long record of service in the Tamil Homeland and has helped the people immensely in its support to the most vulnerable segment of the society, the children, during and after the war and tsunami' said Mr.S.P.Tamilselvan, Head of the Political Wing in a meeting with SCF's outgoing Country Head Mr. Richard Mawer and his successor Mr.Gregoreg Frankalin Duty today, 8 November 2005 at the Peace Secretariat in Kilinochchi. At the outset Mr. Richard Mawer thanked Tamilselvan for the co-operation extended by the LTTE in carrying out SCF projects and said that the new Country Head would continue implemenation of projects in consultation with the LTTE and the community at large.
