News vom 12.12.2005

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Policeman shot as LTTEers remove female cadre from hospital

AN LTTE female cadre called Puvaneswari was taken away from the Vavuniya hospital yesterday while she was undergoing treatment after swallowing a cyanide capsule when she was apprehended by security personnel in Mannar on December 7, military sources said.

According to sources four men believed to be LTTE cadres armed with automatic weapons entered the Vavuniya hospital at 2.40 p.m. yesterday had taken away the woman cadre from her hospital bed after firing at the policemen who were guarding her.

A constable was killed in the incident sources said.

The female cadre who escaped from the Vavuniya hospital was brought from vavuniya a few days ago when she was attempting to swallow a cyanide capsule when she was examined by Navy personnel.

A sailor put his fingers into her mouth and prevented her from swallowing it completely. Later the female cadre was transferred to the Vavuniya hospital.

The sailor who prevented the woman cadre from consuming the cyanide capsule fully was also admitted to Mannar hospital after he was bitten by her.


Committee to probe Jaffna incidents

PRESIDENT Mahinda Rajapakse has appointed a two-man committee to investigate the serious breaches of peace that occurred in Jaffna recently.

The committee comprises judge Chandradasa Nanayakkara (Chairman) and former diplomat Javed Yusuf.

President Rajapakse has directed the committee to probe the factors that led to the incidents and make recommendations on averting such incidents in the future.


Army will help President for peace effort - Commander

ARMY Commander Lt. Gen. Sarath Fonseka said the Army would extend its fullest support to the Government to continue the peace process.

Speaking to media personnel at the Sri Dalada Maligawa in Kandy yesterday, Commander Fonseka said the Army would do its utmost to protect the people and the country.

Fonseka said he planned to give a proper place for talented officers and men in the Army.

The promotions process would be streamlined so that skills would also be considered, not just seniority.

Priority will be given to hose serving in the North-East. Their problems, including welfare and leave matters, will be addressed.

Referring to the recent incidents where 15 soldiers lost their lives, the Commander said all measures are being taken to protect the soldiers serving there. The Security Forces have a duty to protect the areas under their control. The Army would assist the President in his peace endeavours, Fonseka added.


Kasippu death toll reaches thirteen

THE death toll in the illicit liquor incident in Matara reached 13 yesterday with the death of three more people who consumed the poisonous brew.

Matara police told the Daily News that one person who was admitted to the Karapitiya hospital after consuming liquor from the same 'Kasippu' booth in Kekanadura died yesterday morning while two others died on Saturday.

Among the dead is an employee of the Excise Department.

The Excise Department has launched an immediate investigation into the incident which took place on Thursday.

Excise Commissioner General Parakrama Ekanayake Bandara said that a group of officials have already been dispatched to Matara to probe the incident.

"On the same day of the incident, I directed the Assistant Commissioner in Galle to find out the relevant details and obtain samples of the illicit liquor in question," he said.

The Commissioner said a group headed by a Deputy Commissioner of the Department was sent to the area yesterday for further investigations. They are expected to submit the final report on the incident today.

According to information disclosed so far, the 'Kasippu' booth which provided the illicit liquor was run by a woman who was in the habit of purchasing the brew from another person. Authorities believe that the liquor was poisoned after it was brought to the booth.
 
Sri Lanka reviewing Tamil Tiger policy
[ Xinhua ] [ 11:16 GMT, Dec. 12, 2005 ]

Visiting Japanese peace envoy Yasushi Akashi said here Sunday that the Sri Lankan government is engaged in a comprehensive review of its policy on the Tamil Tigers. Akashi made the remarks before ending a 5-day visit to the island after meeting with new Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse and other top political leaders. Akashi, a former UN undersecretary general, said Rajapakse's government is reviewing the whole process including the composition of the international truce monitoring group, the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM).


IFT appeals for curbing of military violence in North-East of Sri Lanka
[ IFT ] [ 11:19 GMT, Dec. 12, 2005 ]

The International Federation of Tamils (IFT) wishes to draw the attention of the International Community (IC) to the escalation of violence and disturbance to orderly civilian life in the SL government-controlled areas of the North-East, and request the IC to exert its influence on the Govt. of Sri Lanka to refrain from disturbing the calm,peace and rule of Law in these areas. We are sure the IC is aware of the fact that the brutal murder of two civilians in Neerveli, Jaffna, near the Sri Lanka Army Cantonment where paramilitary forces are also accommodated, sparked off the recent unrest in the North.


Sri Lankans Clash Over Begging Rights
[ AP ] [ 11:21 GMT, Dec. 12, 2005 ]

Angry villagers have clashed with a Buddhist monk over the right to solicit donations from tourists at the site where last year's massive tsunami swept a train off the tracks in Sri Lanka and killed some 2,000 people. The clashes occurred after the monk ran beggars off the site where the rusted, mangled train cars still sit nearly a year after the disaster - and began his own donation drive. The beggars retaliated by attacking the monk's operation, which brought in $5,700, a huge sum of money in a country where an average office worker earns $100 a month.


Sri Lankan government announces a phoney 'pro-poor' budget
[ WSWS ] [ 11:29 GMT, Dec. 12, 2005 ]

The new Sri Lankan government brought down the 2006 budget last Thursday' for the second time in less than a month. The latest version, which includes limited increases in welfare programs, rural subsidies and public sector salaries, is another crude attempt to bolster the political fortunes of the ruling coalition'the United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA). Just nine days ahead of the November 17 presidential election, Mahinda Rajapakse, then prime minister and UPFA candidate, insisted that the government present the budget. Its measures were an obvious ploy aimed at boosting his prospects in what was clearly going to be a close result.


War clouds breed fear, resignation in north Sri Lanka
[ Reuters ] [ 11:31 GMT, Dec. 12, 2005 ]

Sitting in his prosperous rice mill on the outskirts of the Tamil Tiger stronghold in northern Sri Lanka, Ponnampalam Raman knows only too well the price he will pay if a 2002 ceasefire collapses. Already displaced numerous times by a brutal two decade war in which towns and villages across northern Sri Lanka were flattened, Raman fears a rebel war ultimatum and deadly attacks on the military by suspected Tigers could spiral out of control. Bouncing his infant son on his knee as customers queue up to buy his rice, a grain-polishing machine thundering in the background, he has much more to lose this time around.


Sri Lanka on peace track despite violence in North East
[ Hindustan Times ] [ 17:32 GMT, Dec. 12, 2005 ]

The very disturbing series of violent incidents in Jaffna and the Eastern districts of Sri Lanka in the past week almost broke the ceasefire between the government and the LTTE. The country did seem to be on the brink of another debilitating war. But ironically, despite the violence, people are talking about peace rather than war. Both the Sri Lankan government and the LTTE have renewed their pledge to keep to the ceasefire agreement and begin talks. Some Tamil political sources said that the incidents had brought the focus back to the peace process and the LTTE, at a time when other matters could have claimed the attention of the country's new president, Mahinda Rajapaksa exclusively.


Sri Lanka rebels may go to Japan, army patrol hit
[ Reuters ] [ 17:33 GMT, Dec. 12, 2005 ]

Sri Lanka's Tamil Tiger rebels indicated on Monday they would be willing to attend peace talks in Tokyo, as violence again flared in the east of the country. Two soldiers were wounded in a claymore fragmentation mine attack by suspected Tamil Tiger rebels, the fourth such attack in a week, the military said. The Tigers denied involvement in the blast. On Sunday, visiting Japanese peace envoy Yasushi Akashi said new Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse's government had pulled back from its predecessor's opposition to overseas talks and that Tokyo would be willing to host the two parties.


"STF, SL Ministers complicit in paramilitary operations, Karuna in India"
[ TamilNet ] [ 18:05 GMT, Dec. 12, 2005 ]

The two paramilitary cadres who surrendered to the Tigers in Amparai disclosed that Karuna operates from India and that Pillayan was leading the Karuna group operating in the east. They also revealed that Government Ministers Mr. A L M Athaullah, Mr. Douglas Devananda and Maithripala Sirisena are complicit in helping paramilitaries operating in the east, during a press conference held at Thenakam guest house in Karadiyanaru Monday. The cadres also said that the paramilitaries were involved in violence against Muslims to create dissension between Tamil and Muslim communities. The cadres said that Iniyabarathy was functioning as their head and said they were told by Iniyabarathy, Pillayan and other key operatives that Karuna Karuna was operating from India.


20 policemen injured in Pesalai attack
[ BBC ] [ 18:41 GMT, Dec. 12, 2005 ]

There have been a series of attacks aimed at Sri Lanka police and security forces.Unidentified attackers have lobbed a grenade at Pesalai Police Station Monday evening. 20 injured policemen were reported to have admitted to Mannar hospital.Two Sri Lankan soldiers have been injured, one of them seriously, in a mine explosion near the eastern town of Batticaloa. The mine has detonated when the soldiers were checking a section of the road at Vantharumulai on Monday morning. Meanwhile, a civilian has been injured in a grenade attack at the bus stand in Valaichchenai.The explosions are part of a series of attacks in just over a week, in what's been considered the deadliest series of attacks on military patrols since a truce between government forces and the Tamil Tiger rebels in 2002.


The surviving children of Senthalir

Welcome to Tsunami Tender Sprout Home Initiative. TTSHI is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to raising funds for the rebuilding of Senthalir Orphanage in Northeastern Sri Lanka. Senthalir (Tamil for 'Tender Sprout') Orphanage was completely destroyed by the tsunami that struck Sri Lanka on December 26, 2004. Out of the 132 children living at the orphanage, only 38 survived. The surviving children of Senthalir were soon joined by 30 children who had been newly orphaned by the tsunami.Recognizing how important it is for traumatized children to move into a stable, permanent living environment as soon as possible, a pair of tsunami relief volunteers who had spent time at the orphanage founded TTSI to raise money for Senthalir''s reconstruction.
 
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