News vom 2006

[srilanka1998]

News vom 22.01.2006

The tsunami legacy - One year on... where is the relief?
[ The Socialist ] [ 00:58 GMT, Jan. 22, 2006 ]

Part of the funds raised for tsunami victims in Sri Lanka have reached the country but never got any further than the pockets of the politicians and their cronies. The Sri Lankan executive director of 'Transparency International', J.C Weliamuna, announced publicly that: "Tsunami funds have been used for party political purposes and new houses given to people with political affiliations who were not affected by the Tsunami." The ruling United People's Front Alliance (UPFA) government and its some time ally, the Sinhala chauvinist JVP (People's Liberation Front) have been releasing relief only in those areas where they have political support. The JVP wants to exclude the minority Tamils from tsunami relief. The new president Mahinda Rajapaksa made a pact with the JVP that they will not deliver tsunami relief to those victims who live in the areas controlled by the LTTE.


Back to war
[ The News ] [ 03:18 GMT, Jan. 22, 2006 ]

Unlike Indonesia Sri Lanka has failed to usher in peace. Every opportunity for rapprochement has been squandered after the Tsunami. The news from Sri Lanka is not good. The new government and its nemesis the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) are home alone and trashing the house again. The 2002 ceasefire agreement is in tatters and Sri Lanka is at the brink of civil war. The head of LTTE's political wing S.P Thamilselvan told Reuters the LTTE will defy international opinion if necessary. The rebels, says Thamilselvan "have come of age". His statements are ominous.


Sri Lanka offers compromise as Norway moves to save peace bid
[ AFP ] [ 12:22 GMT, Jan. 22, 2006 ]

Sri Lanka offered a compromise to end a deadlock in peace moves with Tamil rebels when a Norwegian envoy visits this week, following violence that has claimed 140 lives in two months. The government said it was ready to make concessions on a venue for talks when Norway's International Development Minister Erik Solheim launches a mission Monday to salvage a 2002 ceasefire, in the face of almost daily killings of rebel supporters and government troops. Proposed talks on shoring up the ceasefire between the government of President Mahinda Rajapakse and the rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) had been held up over a bitter dispute on a possible venue, with the rebels calling for Oslo and the government backing an Asian capital.


S.Lanka's navy, fishermen nervously eye each other
[ Reuters ] [ 12:27 GMT, Jan. 22, 2006 ]

Off Sri Lanka's east coast, navy fast attack boat crews nervously eye local fishermen through heavy machinegun sights, worried they may soon be fighting Tamil Tiger rebels for control of crucial sea-lanes. The navy says a Black Tiger suicide attack sank one of its patrol vessels earlier in the month, and many fear that if Norwegian peace broker Erik Solheim -- due to arrive Monday -- cannot revive peace talks, war might not be far away. "Now, the navy won't let us go far out to sea," said Tamil fisherman K. Uhandaraja, who like many on the east coast had only recently resumed fishing after the 2004 tsunami devastated the industry. "We can only fish in a small area. If we cannot fish, there is no future for us," said Uhandaraja, 47.

 

[srilanka1998]

Zusammenfassung des Tages

Norway to suggest Geneva as venue for Sri Lanka talks - paper
Sunday, January 22, 2006, 13:05 GMT, ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka.

Jan 22, Colombo: Sri Lankan peace facilitator Norway is to suggest Geneva as a venue for peace talks between the Sri Lankan government and the LTTE.

The local Sunday Times today reported, 'Norwegian International Development Minister and Special Envoy Erik Solheim, who arrives in Colombo tomorrow, is expected to sound the LTTE over this proposal.'

The paper also said that President Mahinda Rajapaksa has conveyed to Norwegian facilitators during informal diplomatic soundings the Sri Lankan government's willingness to hold talks in Geneva as a compromise venue. This is on the basis that the government is not averse to conducting the second round of future talks in the Norwegian capital of Oslo.


Sri Lanka security forces recover military items from Ampara
Sunday, January 22, 2006, 13:02 GMT, ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka.

Jan 22, Colombo: A large stock of military items was recovered by a special team of the Special Task Force (STF) yesterday at Ampara.

Military sources said that on information received from a civilian, STF personnel recovered eight claymore mines, 370 rounds of Multi-Purpose Machine Gun (MPMG) ammunition and 369 rounds of T-56 ammunition hidden under the bushes in the Tamielyaya area, Ampara.

It is believed that these items were brought to cleared areas to target routine vehicle movements by the security forces and police.

Meanwhile, a 21-year-old youth was shot dead by unidentified pistol men, suspected to be from the LTTE rival group, yesterday near the Mamangam Kovil in Batticaloa.


Peace envoy arriving for crucial talks
22 January, 2006 - Published 13:33 GMT

The Norwegian minister for International Development, Erik Solheim, is travelling to Sri Lanka in an attempt to safeguard the fragile truce between the government and Tamil Tiger rebels.
Speaking with BBC Sandeshaya minutes before boarding the plain, the special peace envoy said both parties are 'eager' to engage in talks on saving the Cease Fire Agreement (CFA) signed in 2002.

The envoy, who played a major role in brokering the truce, is to meet Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera on Monday.

Minister Solheim is also scheduled to meet President Mahinda Rajapaksa, on Tuesday before flying by Sri Lanka Airforce helicopter direct to Wanni for a meeting with LTTE leader, Velupillai Prabhakaran.

International truce monitors and analysts feared another phase of civil war as violence escalated since December, last year.

Tamil Tigers are accused of killing nearly 70 Sri Lankan soldiers and sailors since President Mahinda Rajapaksa sworn in November 17 last year.

Tamil Tiger supporters say more than 40 Tamils have been killed by the security forces in a series of attacks since the start of December.

Others blame some of those deaths on the rebels or other armed groups.

The LTTE accused military of killing Tamil National Alliance parliamentarian Joseph Pararajasingham.

LTTE chief negotiator Anton Balasingham is also scheduled to arrive in Colombo on Monday to assist talks between the envoy and the LTTE.

Balasingham will then be flown to Wanni by Sri Lankan Air Force, Director Operations of the Sri Lankan Army Brigadier Athula Jayawardhana told bbcsinhala.com.

He said: 'The Army and the Air Force have been tasked with providing the security and the air passage to Anton Balasingham'.

Solheim said he is to meet other political party leaders including Minister Douglas Devananada upon his arrival from Wanni.


Tamil rebels accuse Sri Lankan military of attempted attack after explosion in rebel area
By DILIP GANGULY
AP

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) - Sri Lanka's Tamil Tiger rebels accused the army of sending commandoes to assassinate top guerrilla leaders after an apparent explosion was heard in rebel-controlled territory.

Separately, two suspected rebels were killed and a police officer was injured Saturday in a shootout at a checkpoint in the country's north, the military and rebels said.

The apparent explosion Saturday in a Tiger-held area triggered rumors of an attempt to kill rebel leaders.

"We are all fine," S. Pulidevan, a top rebel peace negotiator, said of the rebel leadership.

The pro-rebel Web site TamilNet said a seven-member group of army commandoes had invaded rebel areas but fled when civilian volunteers and rebels counterattacked them Saturday morning.

The Defense Ministry's Media Unit denied that it had deployed any team to target rebel leaders.

Also Saturday, rebels opened fire when police at a checkpoint in Vavuniya district tried to search them, military spokesman Brig. Athula Jayawardena said.

"Police retaliated and killed two terrorists," Jayawardena said. One police officer was injured, he said.

Separately, police said they discovered more than 14 kilograms (30 pounds) of explosives hidden under a seat on a passenger bus bound for the northwestern town of Mannar on Friday.

The C4 explosives - which can be used to make anti-personnel mines - probably belonged to the Tamil guerrillas, police officer Upula Seneviratne said. Five passengers on the bus were arrested, he said.

Also Saturday, the military found the body of a Tamil Tiger intelligence agent shot dead in eastern Batticaloa.

A faction that broke away from the main Tamil Tiger group in 2004 may have been behind the killing, Jayawardena said.

Violence has soared in northeastern Sri Lanka in recent months, putting a four-year-old truce under increasing strain.

At least 78 members of government security forces have been killed in violence, mainly mine blasts, blamed on Tamil rebels since Dec. 4. The guerrillas have repeatedly denied any involvement.

Norwegian International Development Minister Erik Solheim, who played a key role in arranging the cease-fire between the government and the rebels in 2002, is scheduled to arrive in Sri Lanka on Monday to try to jump-start stalled peace talks.

The rebels have fought the government since 1983 to create a separate state for ethnic minority Tamils, alleging discrimination by the majority Sinhalese.

More than 65,000 people died in the fighting before the truce.

On the Net:
TamilNet: http://www.tamilnet.com


UN concerned over Sri Lankan Tamil refugees fleeing to India
United Nations, Jan 22 (PTI)

Expressing concern over Sri Lankan Tamil refugees fleeing to India, the United Nations has said it was a sign of the deteriorating security situation in the island.

"Although small, this is the first arrival of refugees at Rameswaram reported since January 2003, and points to a worrisome deterioration of the security situation in the north and east of Sri Lanka," William Spindler, spokesman for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), said.

UNHCR is also closely monitoring the internal displacement situation, and is prepared to provide humanitarian relief assistance to new internally displaced when and if required, he told journalists.

Earlier this week, Secretary-General Kofi Annan had called on the country's Government and the separatist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) to support the ceasefire and resume talks, deploring a weekend attack on the facilities of the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission.

The Mission was set up under the ceasefire agreement of February 2002 and aimed at ending two decades of fighting between the Government and separatist forces that has claimed some 60,000 lives. PTI


Sri Lanka President calls for talks with Tigers:
Colombo, Jan. 22 (AP):

President Mahinda Rajapakse, on Sunday called for immediate talks with the Tamil Tiger rebels to halt spiraling violence threatening Sri Lanka's four-year-old cease-fire and taking this tropical island again toward the brink of war.

But in an interview, Rajapakse also had a warning for anyone who might take his wish for peace as a sign that the government was unable to take on the Tigers.

``Don't take my patience as my weakness,'' Rajapakse, 60, told The Associated Press, one day before Norwegian peace broker Erik Solheim was to arrive to try to bring the two parties _ who have fought for almost two decades, losing 65,000 lives _ back to the negotiating table.

``We are strong militarily, but I firmly believe that talks with trust can solve this problem,'' said Rajapakse, who won the Nov. 17 presidential election on pledges that he would not divide this island of 19 million people along ethnic lines, as the Tigers want. ``Let us sit down together and talk and from there we can pick the thread up and carry on.'' .

But, he said, he was still willing to reach out to the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, the ruthless separatist army that controls large parts of northern and eastern Sri Lanka.

``I am willing to trust the LTTE,'' Rajapakse said when asked about rebels' record, which includes unilaterally withdrawing from previous peace agreements.

``We can start the talks,'' as a confidence-building measure, Rajapakse said, adding ``before we go into details how to address the issues, the killings must stop.''

About two weeks after Rajapakse's election victory, Vellupillai Prabhakaran, the reclusive rebel leader, announced that he would intensify the struggle for an independent homeland if the minority Tamils' grievances were not addressed.

The rebels' Nov. 27 statement was followed by a sharp surge in violence, with suspected rebels attacking Sri Lankan security forces almost daily.

``Yes, 78 of our brave men have been killed by the LTTE,'' Rajapakse said.

The rebels are considered a formidable military machine. They recruit boys as young as 13 and make members wear cyanide capsules around their necks so they can commit suicide if captured.

They run training camps and equip their 3,000-4,000 fighters with tiger-striped uniforms and sophisticated arms. They also have tens of thousands of sympathizers.

``In return of my trust, I want the LTTE to trust us. We are all Sri Lankans and we can't let this small country go back to war,'' said Rajapakse, speaking in a room at Temple Trees, the prime minister's official residence. Rajapakse was prime minister before becoming president, and the presidential palace is currently being renovated.

Dressed casually, in a yellow T-shirt and jogging pants, he was protected by an enveloping security detail. Bodyguards with small arms were stationed every few meters (yards) along the pathway leading to the house. Two armed guards stood at the entrance of the room where Rajapakse was seated in front of a jumble of Sri Lankan newspapers. Marksmen in full battle dress were posted on sections of the parapet of the house, which is just a few hundred yards (meters) from the island's shoreline.

Referring to the killings, Rajapakse said ``It is becoming too much. They must stop.''

The rebels say they are not involved in the killings, but say ``people'' who are angry and frustrated by the presence of Sri Lankan troops were carrying out the attacks.

``They have not given me time to even breathe,'' he said of the rebel attacks that started soon after he assumed office.

``When the talks start and the killings stops, we will take the issues one by one and try to solve them. This is the only way.''

``Nothing can be pushed down their (rebels') throat or our throat,'' he said of the rebels sweeping demands for autonomy.

The last peace talks broke down in April 2003.

``I am spending too much time in dealing with this problem,'' he said of the attacks and uncertain future of his country. His dream, he said, was for a little time off. ``I wish I could go and see a rugby match.''


SLT goes for submarine cable system

Sri Lanka Telecom (SLT) on Wednesday inaugurated the local operations of the SEA-ME-WE 4 [South East Asia (SEA) Middle East (ME) Western Europe (WE)] fibre optic submarine cable project - a multi-regional connectivity resource milestone spanning 20,000 kilometers.

The state of the art submarine cable system is built and managed by a consortium of 16 operators representing 15 countries. Over 50 delegates from SLT's consortium partners, many of whom are also regional powerhouses were present.

The project, a vast fiscal and developmental undertaking for all the telecommunications companies involved, will lead to a significant increase in regional bandwidth capacity availability, and at the time of completion the project showed a commitment to improve infrastructure in keeping with demand as it was rolled out on schedule.

Chief Executive Officer of SLT, Shuhei Anan at the inauguration, reiterated the importance of SEA-ME-WE 4 to the region and SLT. He said that the cable allows Sri Lanka in particular to exploit its geographical location to provide a higher bandwidth requirement in the future.

As Sri Lanka is strategically located in the path of any future SEA ME WE cable, this has until now and will continue to allow SLT the opportunity to create substantial value addition. The country as a whole will benefit from this serendipitous cable route as Sri Lanka's competitiveness among global counterparts will increase at the same time as the company's access to higher connectivity, better reliability, improved security and enhanced speed.