Newsvom 11.12.2005

[srilanka1998]

Awards honour Tamil youth
[ Inside Toronto ] [ 12:37 GMT, Dec. 11, 2005 ]

It's tough to balance a commitment to your education with extracurricular activities and a part-time job, but Piraveena Tharmalingham is determined. "Without determination, every day will be too long," the Scarborough teen told fellow Toronto Tamils last week. The non-profit Canadian Tamil Youth Development Centre (CANTYD) recognized 16 young Tamils as inspirations for their community, including Piraveena, 16, who received an Overall Achievement Award. The eleventh grader is student council vice-president at R.H. King Academy and volunteers at Toronto's Bloorview MacMillan Children's Centre, plays violin, sings to Karnatic music (a classical form from South India) and works at a tutoring centre.


SLA demands people in Jaffna to remove their fences
[ LTTE Peace Secretariat ] [ 12:39 GMT, Dec. 11, 2005 ]

The Sri Lankan Army (SLA) is forcing people living on the main roads in Jaffna to reduce the height of the fences surrounding their homes by half for security purposes. The SLA is enforcing this regulation so they can watch over all activity from their security posts on the road. SLA has said they are doing it due to recent attacks on SLA personnel. The people of Jaffna are becoming fearful as these orders by the SLA are bringing back painful memories of the time when the Indian Army was occupying Jaffna. It should be noted that this kind of fence reduction activity occurred while the Indian Army was deployed in Jaffna peninsula in 1987.


Sri Lanka irked over Norway comments on peace bid
[ AFP ] [ 12:40 GMT, Dec. 11, 2005 ]

Sri Lanka has expressed concern over Norway's remarks that it would only resume the role of peace broker in a three-decade ethnic conflict if both sides agree to a set of conditions, a press report said. Colombo expressed "concern" over the remarks made last week by Norwegian International Development Minister Erik Solheim, the Sri Lankan Sunday Times said, adding that it would raise the issue with Norway's ambassador. "The ministry has also been told to express the government's displeasure over why Mr. Solheim had gone public in the international media over this matter when it should have been raised with the government," the newspaper said.


Sri Lanka 'concern' at peace role
[ BBC ] [ 14:53 GMT, Dec. 11, 2005 ]

Sri Lanka has expressed concern over remarks by Norway that it will resume as a peace mediator only if certain conditions are met. The government was "displeased" that Norway had made such comments public, media and official sources said. President Mahinda Rajapakse asked Norway on Wednesday to resume its peace mediating role with the Tamil Tigers. The Tigers and government have observed a fragile ceasefire since 2002 but peace talks stalled in April 2003. Mr Rajapakse, who was elected president last month, made his request to Norway despite an election vow to review Oslo's role and calls from key coalition allies for it to be relieved of its duties. But although Norwegian International Development Minister Erik Solheim said the request was "a vote of confidence", he added: "We want to make sure we agree with the government as well as with the [Tamil Tigers] on the conditions before we accept to take on that role again."

 

[srilanka1998]

BBC singhala

Govt.should act

The release of the three policemen detained by the LTTE now seems to have hung over a demand to swap of LTTE cadres arrested by the security forces.
A wife of a detained policeman told Sandesaya that they held a protest in front of the office of the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) on Friday, December 9 because they failed in every efforts made to get the policemen released.

W.T.Malini said they now appeal to the new President Mahinda Rajapakse to take prompt action to negotiate with the LTTE for the release of the policemen.

"The policemen went there on duty and with the help of some catholic priests to arrest a paedophile. They have not done anything wrong", she said.

SLMM helpless

When asked what the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission has done in this regard Press and Information Officer, Helen Olafsdottir said that they have not received any information about swap of LTTE cadres for policemen.

Olafsdottir said the SLMM has written to LTTE and asked them to release the policemen but LTTE was not prepared to do so. She expressed confidence that LTTE would release them on December 20th following their court hearing.

Mission to save children

The former chairman of the Child Protection Authority, Prof.Harendra de Silva said the government should with the assistance of international organisations take firm action for their release.

He pointed out that the British police are also responsible in securing the release of these officers as the policemen were hunting a paedophile following information received from Britain.

The policemen were not on a defence mission but following a paedophile, and the information was passed on by a unit of the British police to the British High Commission in Sri Lanka.

LTTE says police officers 'illegally' entered their territory.


Explosion in EPDP office in Trincomalee

An explosion in the office of the Eelam People's Democratic Party (EPDP)
in Trincomalee wounded four people on Saturday, December 10.
R G Dharmadasa reporting from Trincomalee says that the Police suspects that the bomb which was in the drawer of a table may have exploded.

The police say that they will be awaiting a report from the Government Analyst before arriving at a final conclusion

Four EPDP members including Trincomalee District Leader Andrw Pulogaraja were injured.

Pulogaraja was later transferred to the Colombo National Hospital while the others are receiving treatment in the Trincomalee hospital.

In the past the EPDP has blamed Tamil Tigers for attacking them, however in this incident EPDP member within the premises said that they did not see any thing suspicious.


Grenade kills in Vavunia

A civilian died and seven, including a Sri Lanka Army soldier were injured in a bomb attack in Vavunia.
Police said that Subramaniam Yogapuththiram of Mankulam died on Wednesday afternoon when a grenade was lobbed from the top floor of the Vavunia bus station.

The grenade was aimed at a Sri Lankan Army Soldier passing by on a motorcycle, who went unhurt.

Divaina correspondent Dinasena Ratugamage reported that four of the injured were admitted to the Intensive Care Unit (CSU) of the Vavunia hospital.

Local police authorities blamed the attack on Tamil Tigers, which was denied by LTTE media head Thaya Master in Kilinochchi.

Vavunia District Judge M Ilancheliyan who visited the scene of attack ordered the police to arrest suspects.

"Do not arrest civillians," he added.


Two killed, two injured in Muttur

Angry Muslims have attacked and killed two Tamil civilians at Thoppur, Muttur in the volatile eastern Sri Lanka.
Another civilian has been admitted to Trincomalee general hospital with serious injuries.

The attack was triggered after a regional organiser of the main opposition, United National Party (UNP), was admitted to hospital with serious gunshot injuries.

Police said the UNP organiser was shot by the 'pistol gang' of the Tamil Tigers.

The villagers have told the police that the suspected LTTE cadres fled to the rebel-controlled area after the shooting.

Trincomalee Lankadeepa correspondent Amadoru Amarajeeva told BBC Sandeshaya that the authorities have employed extra security personnel.

Trincomalee Superintendent of Police (SP) Kapila Jayasekara said the situation is now under control.

 

[srilanka1998]

Japan says wants to host Sri Lanka peace talks
[ Reuters ] [ 16:15 GMT, Dec. 11, 2005 ]

Japan is willing to host direct talks between Sri Lanka's government and Tamil Tigers to revive a flagging peace process, a Japanese envoy said on Sunday, as suspected rebels launched several attacks across the island. A string of lethal strikes on troops in the last week has put a 2002 truce under greater strain than ever before. Recent attempts to arrange meetings have failed after the two sides refused to agree a venue -- the Tigers wanting to go abroad and the government wanting to hold it between the two front lines. "The government has told me that it is willing to make a concession and hold negotiations outside the country, preferably somewhere in Asia," peace envoy Yasushi Akashi told reporters in Colombo. "Japan is ready to host such direct negotiations provided of course the two parties are agreeable to it."


Betrayals and Insincerity are all a stumbling-block to achieving the Peace in Sri Lanka
[ TamilCanadian ] [ 18:15 GMT, Dec. 11, 2005 ]

The Tamils are not waging a war against the Sinhalese by trespassing into their territory, but are struggling from within the territory of their homeland to get it extricated from the aggressive Sinhalese rulers who are maneuvering hegemonistically to suppress and subdue the Tamils in their homeland depriving them of their rights. Sinhalese chauvinistic armed forces, to enable them to have their army camps together with security and surveillance zones, have trespassed into and occupied certain areas of the Tamil homeland leaving Tamil families in thousands driven to misery and desperation by evicting them from their lands and relieving them of their legally owned houses and properties. The present Buddhist Sinhalese dominated government should see that they honour and maintain the current ceasefire and the parties concerned enact a reasonable political framework that recognizes the Tamil need for self-government, which only could satisfy the political aspirations of the Tamils. Failing which, the Government is morally bound to pave the way for the separation amicably.


ICJ Concern over ASIO Raids on Sri Lankan Tamils in Melbourne
[ ICJ Australia ] [ 18:27 GMT, Dec. 11, 2005 ]

'The major sources of information leading to these raids is very likely to be Sri Lankan officials. The ability of Australian intelligence agencies to asses the real basis of information from foreign governments is limited. It is undoubtedly true that intelligence sharing between countries is a valuable tool in combating terrorism, however, Australia must exercise great caution that information provided by foreign governments against Australian people is not infected by the political motivations of those governments. Many Australians of Sri Lankan Tamil origin are here after being granted protection by this country from state-sponsored persecution. There is a real and serious concern that our international protection obligations under the Convention relating to the Status of Refugees are under threat from our legislative response to terrorism.


Lankan President prepares for war after three months till then peace talks
[ The Sunday Leader ] [ 21:56 GMT, Dec. 11, 2005 ]

The JVP leaders questioned the inability of the government to give the LTTE a good beating. To this, the President Mahinda Rajapakse gave the same answer he gave the JHU. President said that since the army does not have sophisticated, modern firepower to crush the LTTE, he is trying to play for time because it will take at least three months to acquire the necessary firepower to begin the onslaught against the LTTE. "The new Army Commander is researching and collecting the necessary data on the strength, firepower and fighting capabilities of the LTTE. After that, we can make necessary arrangements to be prepared for war," he said.


Colombo blocks Akashi from visiting Kilinochchi
[ TamilNet ] [ 22:31 GMT, Dec. 11, 2005 ]

The Sri Lankan government has prevented Japanese Special Peace Envoy, Yasushi Akashi, from visiting Kilinochchi to meet the political wing leaders of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) to discuss matters related to peace process. Denying media reports in Colombo that Japan wanted to become partner of the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM), Akashi said Japan has no intention of becoming a partner to the SLMM and applauded the Scandinavian countries for their effective work. Mr. Yasushi Akashi revealed at news conference on Sunday evening in Colombo that he has dropped the idea of visiting Kilinochchi in order to comply with the wishes of the Sri Lanka's President Mahinda Rajapakse.