News vom 19.01.2006

[srilanka1998]

Urgent Appeal for Humanitarian Assistance Jaffna Conflict IDPs
[ TRO ] [ 02:03 GMT, Jan. 19, 2006 ]

At the start of December 2005 there was an increase in the level of violence in the Jaffna Peninsula, Trincomalee and other regions of the NorthEast of Sri Lanka. The NGO Consortium and local NGOs have stated that, 'Many families in the Jaffna peninsula and Trincomalee felt that due to escalating violence that there was a threat to their personal safety from the Sri Lankan Security Forces and paramilitary forces. Many of these families identified the Vanni region as a place where they could temporarily move for safety.' In light of this influx of IDPs TRO is making an 'URGENT APPEAL' to the Tamil Diaspora and the international community for desperately needed funds to build temporary shelters, provide food and water, non-food relief (NFR) items, medical treatment and transportation to meet the needs of these families.


Refugee arrival from Sri Lanka continues
[ Chennai OnLine ] [ 02:19 GMT, Jan. 19, 2006 ]

The arrival of Sri Lankan Tamil refugees in small groups, which began on January 12, continued with 15 more refugees from Mannar area landing here today. With this, a total of 68 refugees have arrived here. Intelligence sources say the refugees are fleeing the Island mostly due to the fear that war could break out any time. They also complained that the conditions for living in Pesalai, Mullaithivu and Talaimannar were worsening every day. They said the refugees had complained of human rights violations, including torture and rape by the Sri Lankan army in Pesalai and other areas.Officials said the Tamils were fleeing mainly due to the fear of the Sri Lankan Army, which, they said, did not have a good track record, especially on human rights.


'The little ones are getting scared'
[ HomeTown Life ] [ 03:08 GMT, Jan. 19, 2006 ]

On Jan. 2, a number of young people were in a park near the beach. A grenade was thrown near them, which sent five Hindu college students running from the area.It was first claimed that a group of Sri Lankan sailors thought these five youths had thrown the explosive and chased them. Next, Sri Lankan officials said the students died from an explosion from the grenade they were handling.McLaughlin heard reports that the five boys were chased, tortured, and, "Put to the ground one by one and shot dead." International cease-fire monitors told reporters the youths were killed, "execution style," a description used by the BBC, Reuters and other news agencies.


Canadian parties commit to active role in Sri Lankan peace process - CTC
[ TamilNet ] [ 05:12 GMT, Jan. 19, 2006 ]

The four national parties contesting in the upcoming federal election in Canada, have vowed to play an active role in the Sri Lankan peace process in a public debate organized by the Canadian Tamil Congress (CTC) at the Delta Toronto East Hotel in Toronto on Tuesday. Referring to a media report Wednesday in the National Post that cited Peter MacKay, a leading member of the Conservative Party, as supporting a ban on the LTTE, the spokesman of the national body of the Canadian Tamils, Ashwin Balamohan, said that the issue has been raised with the Conservative Party and said all the four parties have reiterated their commitment to an "unbiased policy" on the Sri Lankan issue.

 

[srilanka1998]

Broker Oslo seeks to restore ragged Sri Lanka truce
[ Reuters ] [ 11:44 GMT, Jan. 19, 2006 ]

Peace talks in Sri Lanka next week will seek to strengthen a battered ceasefire between Tamil Tiger rebels and government forces but no major breakthroughs are likely, broker Norway said on Thursday."I think it's very important to play down the expectations," Norwegian Minister of International Development Erik Solheim told reporters ahead of his Jan. 23-26 visit."What could hopefully be achieved through this visit is some kind of understanding between the parties on how they would stabilise the ceasefire," he said.Solheim's visit, during which he will separately meet leaders of both sides, is widely viewed in Sri Lanka as a last chance to avoid a resumption of war that has killed more than 64,000 people since 1983. "If we can make some small steps in the right direction during this visit I would be more than satisfied," he said.


Sri Lanka extends emergency as crunch peace bid looms
[ Reuters ] [ 11:55 GMT, Jan. 19, 2006 ]

Sri Lanka extended a countrywide state of emergency on Thursday as suspected Tamil Tiger rebels kept up sporadic attacks against the military ahead of a last-ditch peace effort. Norwegian peace envoy Erik Solheim is to hold talks with the government and, separately, with the rebels next week in what is seen as the last chance to prevent the resumption of a fratricidal war that has killed over 64,000 people since 1983. In the Tamil-dominated north and east of the country, which the Tigers claim, tensions were running high. On the road into the eastern port of Trincomalee, government troops were erecting new bunkers with railway sleepers and tree trunks, cladding them with branches and leaves. Armoured personnel carriers ferried sailors wearing body armour along a main supply route as soldiers, their faces covered by balaclavas, sped past on motorbikes, rifles at the ready.


Sri Lanka to learn from Sinn Fein chief negotiator
[ AFP ] [ 12:40 GMT, Jan. 19, 2006 ]

Ethnically divided Sri Lanka was in talks with the chief negotiator of the Irish Republican Army (IRA), Martin McGuinness, in a bid to learn from the Northern Ireland peace process, officials said. McGuinness held talks with President Mahinda Rajapakse on Tuesday, officials said, adding that the visitor had also made a presentation to cabinet ministers on his experiences. They said McGuinness was due to have separate talks with the rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) on the island's faltering efforts to end three decades of bloodshed that has claimed over 60,000 lives. "There is a lot we can learn from his experience," an official in Rajapakse's office said on Wednesday. "Cabinet ministers had a closed door meeting with him."


Thousands of Tamils flee from government-controlled areas in Sri Lanka
[ WSWS ] [ 12:41 GMT, Jan. 19, 2006 ]

As the danger of open civil war in Sri Lanka intensifies, thousands of Tamils in the North and East of the island have fled their homes to areas controlled by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). Several dozen people have also left for the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu. The exodus comes after two months of steadily escalating violence. At least 150 military personnel, LTTE members and civilians have died since the election of President Mahinda Rajapakse. The armed forces have stepped up the harassment and intimidation of Tamils through increased patrols, checkpoints and arbitrary cordon and search operations.


Sri Lanka vows end to peace deadlock amid lull in violence
[ AFP ] [ 12:52 GMT, Jan. 19, 2006 ]

Sri Lanka vowed "every endeavour" to end a deadlock in peace moves and said next week's visit by a top Norwegian envoy could help bring Tiger rebels back to the table amid a lull in violence. Government spokesman Nimal Siripala de Silva said the government was "positive" that Norway's International Development Minister Erik Solheim will be able to end the impasse in the Oslo-backed peace process. "The government response to this visit is very positive," de Silva said here. "The government will make every endeavour within its means and power to break the present deadlock and resume peace talks as soon as possible."



Sri Lankan president takes first significant step to resume peace talks with Tamil rebels
AP

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) - The Sri Lankan president was to plead with opposition parties Thursday to support a resumption of peace talks with the Tamil rebels, officials said, as the country slides closer to civil war amid spiraling violence.

President Mahinda Rajapakse planned to use a meeting of all political parties to build a national consensus on talks with the rebels, who want to carve out a separate homeland for Sri Lanka's 3.2 million ethnic Tamil minority. A 2002 Norway-brokered cease-fire has come under serious strain, with at least 75 Sri Lankan soldiers killed in the violence since Dec. 4.

"This is a major step in efforts to resume the peace talks," said Lucian Rajakarunanayake, a director at the Presidential Media Unit, in reference to Thursday's meeting.

A consensus is crucial to implement any autonomy deal between the government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam because any agreement must get parliamentary approval, where Rajapakse heads a minority government.

"The president is making efforts to convince all the parties concerned that there should be a national consensus as without that it will be difficult to move the peace process forward," Rajakarunanayake said.

Rajapakse's alliance has 106 seats in the 225-member Parliament with the opposition groups having 116 members. But the opposition is not united - it includes 22 lawmakers from the rebel's proxy party, The Tamil National Alliance, and nine members of a Buddhist monk party which opposes the rebels.

Rajapakse also has problems in his coalition. The radical Peoples' Liberation Front with 39 seats is opposed to any concessions to the rebels - who say Sri Lanka's Tamils can prosper only away from the domination of the 14 million Sinhalese.

The country's 19-year civil war ended with the 2002 cease-fire. Six rounds of peace talks were held, but stalled after the rebels made sweeping autonomy demands.

"The LTTE's strong desire for international recognition is a factor that needs to be built into any government strategy to bring back the LTTE into the peace process," said Jehan Perera, a top political analyst, suggesting the government and the political parties should be ready for wide-ranging concessions.

The government's predicament will come under sharp focus when Norwegian peace broker Eric Solheim visits Sri Lanka beginning Jan. 23 during which he is scheduled to meet with top rebel leaders and the government to emphasize the need for peace talks to resume.

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Low expectations for Lanka talks
[ BBC ] [ 12:55 GMT, Jan. 19, 2006 ]

Norwegian peace envoy Eric Solheim has played down hopes that he will be able to achieve a major breakthrough in talks in Sri Lanka next week. Mr Solheim is due to meet President Mahinda Rajapakse and Tamil Tiger rebel leader Velupillai Prabhakaran. Although a 2002 ceasefire is still formally in place, analysts say Sri Lanka is now enduring a low intensity guerrilla war. Peace talks facilitated by Norway stalled in 2003. In the latest violence, three policemen and one civilian have been killed in an explosion in the town of Batticaloa, officials say. Seven army personnel and 13 police were also injured in the incident as were five civilians.


Broker Oslo seeks to restore ragged Sri Lanka truce
19 Jan 2006 10:51:24 GMT
Source: Reuters
By Alister Doyle

OSLO, Jan 19 (Reuters) - Peace talks in Sri Lanka next week will seek to strengthen a battered ceasefire between Tamil Tiger rebels and government forces but no major breakthroughs are likely, broker Norway said on Thursday.

"I think it's very important to play down the expectations," Norwegian Minister of International Development Erik Solheim told reporters ahead of his Jan. 23-26 visit.

"What could hopefully be achieved through this visit is some kind of understanding between the parties on how they would stabilise the ceasefire," he said.

Solheim's visit, during which he will separately meet leaders of both sides, is widely viewed in Sri Lanka as a last chance to avoid a resumption of war that has killed more than 64,000 people since 1983.

"If we can make some small steps in the right direction during this visit I would be more than satisfied," he said.

Sri Lanka extended a national state of emergency on Thursday as suspected Tamil Tiger rebels kept up sporadic attacks against the military that have pushed a 2002 truce to the brink of collapse. More than 100 people have died since early December.

"Even when we see all these horrible killings the situation in Sri Lanka is much, much better than it was during the all-out war," Solheim said. "It should be recalled that ... up to 2,000 people were killed in one battle," he said.

The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam run a de facto state in the north and east and have threatened to resume their armed struggle this year unless new President Mahinda Rajapakse gives them a separate Tamil homeland and wide autonomy.

Solheim said that a ceasefire was a pre-condition for a resumption of full peace negotiations, broken off since April 2003 when the Tamil Tigers accused the government of doing too little to rebuild war-hit Tamil areas.

"It's absolutely impossible to speculate" about when formal peace talks might resume, he said. "The most important thing now is to find a way for them to respect the ceasefire."

"The main problem is the increased violence," he said, noting the spate of attacks on soldiers, the killing of a Tamil parliamentarian and other deaths.


The Finale of Tamil Patience
[ Tamil Mirror ] [ 17:03 GMT, Jan. 19, 2006 ]

Time is running out for a peaceful political solution for the long festering ethnic crisis that had eaten into the very core of the Sri Lankan society rupturing the social fabric. The result had been arising grave crime including white collar crime, economic depression, family dislocation, general lawlessness, etc.Tension has risen to such heights that it is neigh impossible to contain the Tamil peoples' resentment towards the Sinhalese Army of occupation any more, resulting in the present violent reaction by the People. It appears that the basis for any chance for a lasting peace in the country had been wiped clean by the obstinate attitude by President Mahinda Rajapakse and his Defense establishment. The Tamils in Srilanka are constrained to believe that they could live with respect and honor only under a Separate Nation of their own.The LTTE's two Nations policy appears to be close to realization.