News vom 13.01.2006

[srilanka1998]

Woman named as state tax chief
[ Sacramento Bee ] [ 00:37 GMT, Jan. 13, 2006 ]

A Sri Lankan attorney who came to California in 1986 will take the reins as the state's new tax czar, the first time a woman has been named executive officer of the Franchise Tax Board in its 55-year history. Selvi Stanislaus, 45, was the unanimous choice of the three-member Franchise Tax Board on Wednesday, following several hours of closed-door deliberations. She edged out interim FTB Director Will Bush, who until this week was widely considered the leading contender for the top job.


Victims of tsunami in tents as aid agency 'sits on millions'
[ The Daily Telegraph ] [ 11:24 GMT, Jan. 13, 2006 ]

A REPORT has criticised Britain's Disaster Emergency Committee over the millions of pounds in donations for the survivors of the Asian tsunami that are still lying in its bank account, while tens of thousands of people left homeless by the disaster are still living in tents. The DEC, which received pounds 372 million in total, was told that the situation was "unacceptable'' by a team of independent evaluators commissioned by the DEC itself to assess how the aid agencies, which come under the DEC's umbrella, had responded to the disaster. Valid International, which specialises in improving the quality and accountability of humanitarian assistance, sent teams to all the tsunami disaster zones. Its report, obtained by the BBC's Newsnight programme, criticised the DEC agencies.


Influx of Sri Lankan refugees continues
[ The Hindu ] [ 11:31 GMT, Jan. 13, 2006 ]

The influx of refugees continued for the second day today with a group of nine Sri Lankan Tamils arriving here this morning. Revenue officials said they had made arrangements to accommodate them at the Mandapam transit Camp near here. A group of 24 Sri Lankan Tamils arrived here from Talaimannar yesterday, the first after hostilities broke out between the Sri Lankan army and suspected Tamil Tiger rebels on January 7 off Trincomalee. They were accommodated in the Mandapam camp, the officials said. The refugees, who arrived today, included three men, and an equal number of women and children. They belong to Desali in Mannar district.

 

[srilanka1998]

S.Lanka truce monitors question if cease-fire holds
[ Reuters ] [ 12:45 GMT, Jan. 13, 2006 ]

With more than 100 people killed in December, international truce monitors questioned on Friday whether Sri Lanka still had a cease-fire and said both government and Tamil Tiger rebels had to face up to their responsibilities. A string of suspected rebel attacks, including a claymore fragmentation mine ambush on Thursday that killed nine sailors, have pushed the 2002 truce to its limits. Many fear a resumption of the two-decade-old war that has killed more than 64,000. "Killings and serious attacks continue and the situation is getting worse," the unarmed Nordic-staffed Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) said in its strongest ever statement. "If the parties don't react immediately they risk going back to war."


New S.Lanka war worse for hunger than tsunami - UN
[ Reuters ] [ 12:47 GMT, Jan. 13, 2006 ]

Return to war in Sri Lanka could have more impact on malnutrition than the 2004 tsunami, the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) said on Friday, with new violence already hitting aid programmes. Since December, a string of suspected Tamil Tiger rebel attacks on government forces have stretched a 2002 truce to breaking point, and the WFP says it now has much more difficulty persuading trucking firms to take food to conflict-hit areas. "All the signs look bad," WFP country director Jeff Taft-Dick told Reuters in his Colombo office. "It could deteriorate pretty fast. A resumption of fighting would have a more serious impact on malnutrition levels than the Indian Ocean tsunami.


Claymores and compellence
[ Tamil Guardian ] [ 12:48 GMT, Jan. 13, 2006 ]

The unprecedented violence in Sri Lanka's Northeast is forcing the government of President Mahinda Rajapakse to abandon its hardline stances on the peace process. The unprecedented violence that has gripped Sri Lanka's Northeast lately has alarmed observers of the island's protracted conflict and sparked fears of a return to all out war. Apart from the continuing cycle of targeted killings in the shadow war between the Liberation Tigers and Sri Lankan military intelligence, there are two new aspects to the violence. One is the violent public protests in Jaffna against Sri Lankan security forces (and the latter's heavy handed responses). The other, and for many, the most alarming, is the series of devastating claymore attacks which have killed over sixty soldiers and sailors since mid December.


SLMM questions whether there is still a Ceasefire in Sri Lanka.
[ SLMM ] [ 17:51 GMT, Jan. 13, 2006 ]

It is important to emphasise that the current situation also stems from the fact that alternative armed elements have been able to operate freely in the East in Government controlled areas. These forces have destabilised the ceasefire and are one of the major reasons for increased tension between the Parties. We therefore urge the Government of Sri Lanka to face up to its responsibility to disarm these other armed groups so that the rule of law can be reinstated in the affected areas. Increasing amount of civilians is being caught in the middle leading to major disturbances in the local communities. The conflict between the two sides is hurting civilians and preventing any restoration to normalcy. We urge both Parties to consider carefully how they can mend the situation instead of merely blaming each other and pointing fingers. The Parties need to come up with firm confidence building measures with the truthful aim of reaching a peaceful solution.


McGuinness To Meet Tamil Tigers
[ Derry Journal ] [ 17:59 GMT, Jan. 13, 2006 ]

Martin McGuinness, The Sinn Fein Chief Negotiator will be taking part in the initiative at the invitation of Sri Lankan peace mediation group INTACT, will travel to Sri Lanka next week to meet with the country's president Mahinda Rajapakse, political parties and representatives of the Tamil Tigers to advise them on how methods employed in the Irish peace process can be applied to their own conflict situation. Speaking to the 'Journal' Mr. McGuinness said he hoped to impress on everyone the critical importance of dialogue and negotiation. "Peace making requires a departure from the mindset of victory and defeat to a position of compromise and accommodation with your opponents" he said. "I will encourage them to view the conflict through the eyes of their opponents in order to gain an overview of the causes of the conflict and an insight as to how to reach consensus on areas of agreement from which to build an enduring peace process."


Trincomalee JVP MP assaulted
[ BBC ] [ 18:56 GMT, Jan. 13, 2006 ]

The town was deserted during the week due to Hartal Tension prevailed in the volatile eastern Sri Lankan district of Trincomalee as the minority Tamil community prepares for Saturday's festival, Thai Pongal. The Sinhala parliamentarian of the district, Jayantha Wijesekara, was assaulted by a group of Sinhala youths as he was distributing leaflets asking not to continue with the Hartal on the day of Tamil religious festival.Sinhala Organisation of Trincomalee said the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) MP and his supporters were assaulted and his vehicle was damaged near Abhayapura. Artur Tititan, the district head of Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) has complained to the police that he was accused of supporting LTTE and threatened with abusive language by a group of youths.


Probe urged for "President's threatening"
[ BBC ] [ 18:57 GMT, Jan. 13, 2006 ]

Media watchdogs in Sri Lanka have protested an alleged threat to a senior editor of an English weekly by President Mahinda Rajapaksa. Free Media Movement (FMM) urged an impartial inquiry into the complaint made to the police by Lasantha Wickramatunga, editor of Sunday Leader. The journalist has complained to the Inspector General of Police (IGP) alleging that the president threatened him with abusive language over the telephone regarding a recent article published in his newspaper.


Sri Lanka truce monitor base hit by grenade attack
[ Reuters ] [ 21:47 GMT, Jan. 13, 2006 ]

Attackers threw a grenade into the compound of truce monitors in Sri Lanka's restive east early on Saturday, damaging vehicles and a building but causing no injuries, officials said, as fears of a return to war grow.The first direct attack against the monitors since a 2002 ceasefire halted a two-decade civil war came just hours after the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) reprimanded both Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam rebels and the government over a spike in violence."A hand grenade was lobbed into our compound in Batticaloa and exploded," said SLMM spokeswoman Helen Olafsdottir. "We don't know who was behind it. It is the first time one of our offices has been directly attacked."