Suspected Tamil Tiger rebels attack army patrol, wound two soldiers

Suspected Tamil Tiger rebels detonated a land mine and opened fire on an army foot patrol Monday in eastern Sri Lanka, wounding at least two soldiers, the Defense Ministry said.

The attack on the 12-member army contingent occurred in the town of Vantharumoolai, 17 kilometers (11 miles) northwest of Batticaloa, eastern Sri Lanka's main town. One of the wounded soldiers was in serious condition, the Defense Ministry's Media Unit said.

The soldiers returned fire but there were no reports of rebel casualties. Tamil Tiger representatives couldn't immediately be reached for comment.

Meanwhile, the military said Monday that about 10 rebels stormed a state-run hospital in northern Sri Lanka, killing a police guard and rescuing a comrade who was taken there after swallowing cyanide upon being arrested.

The rebels entered the hospital Sunday in the government-held town of Vavuniya, shooting an armed policeman and ordering four unarmed officers to leave, the Media Unit said.

They then took away the woman, who apparently survived after swallowing cyanide when she was arrested on suspicion of being a member of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam. Vavuniya town borders territory held by the rebels.

Tokyo's offer reflects Colombo's stand

Sri Lanka willing to hold talks outside the country

COLOMBO: Japan on Sunday offered to host direct talks between Colombo and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) to "review the operation" of the ceasefire agreement (CFA).

The offer by Tokyo's visiting special representative Yasushi Akashi follows a change in Colombo's position that the talks should be held inside Sri Lanka.

"The Government told me that it is willing to have negotiations outside the country, preferably in Asia," Mr. Akashi told a press conference. "Japan is ready to host such direct negotiations, provided the two parties are agreeable to it and also with the facilitators and the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) participating as appropriate." "What is envisaged is review of the operational aspects, not the review of the agreement as such."

Colombo's call for a review ran into a deadlock as the LTTE insisted that the talks be held either in rebel-held territory or abroad. The LTTE rejected Norway's proposal to hold the talks at the international airport near Colombo.

Mr. Akashi, who announced Colombo's flexibility after meeting President Mahinda Rajapakse last week, said the new Government was giving "the highest priority" to the peace process and that was formulating a "comprehensive approach" to end the conflict, not merely an aggregation of the transitional approaches.

In a departure from his routine as Tokyo's special representative, Mr. Akashi did not meet the LTTE during his visit. "I have decided to comply with the wishes of the Government which is engaged in a very comprehensive review of the situation of peace."

Asked about media reports that India could join Norway, Japan, the E.U. and the U.S. as a co-chair for the efforts to back the peace process, Mr. Akashi said: "I don't think that question arises," as the current co-chairs had hosted the aid support conference in 2003.

Fanoos spares Jaffna

The Meteorology Department said yesterday that the cyclone 'Fanoos' was centred about 70km Northeast of Jaffna at 9.00 a.m. and was unlikely to hit the North - East coastal belt.

Speaking to Sunday Observer, Deputy Director of Met Department S.H.Kariyawasam said "based on previous motions of the cyclone we could say that it would not hit the coastal belt. But Northern part of the island would experience strong winds and heavy intermittent showers".

However, he said, timely warnings had been given to people living in coastal areas and fishers were told not to go fishing and engage in any naval activities.

The sea areas off the coast extending from Mannar to Mullaitivu through Jaffna will experience very rough conditions according to the Met Department. The coastal belt extending from Jaffna to Kalpitiya may be inundated by sea waves generated by strong winds, it said.

Meanwhile, Additional District Secretary, Mannar Nicholas Pillai confirmed that there were no reports of cyclone experience or damages caused by strong winds so far. There has been a continuous drizzle in Mannar, he said.

An NGO official based in Jaffna said that there was heavy rain in the peninsula on Friday night but no sign of a serious threat. He also said that people, especially the fishers, had been alerted of the possible danger.

Tamilnet website reported that strong 50-60 kmph wind has caused damages to roofs and houses in the low lying areas had been flooded. Some families in Vadamarachchi North and East have sought shelter at schools and community centres.

Rebels warn Sri Lanka last chance to avert war

KILINOCHCHI, Sri Lanka - Sri Lanka’s government faces its final opportunity to avert a return to a civil war, the Tamil Tigers have warned, vowing to use all available resources to fight unless given a homeland.

The Tigers, who used suicide bombers to devastating effect in their drive for autonomy and have threatened to resume their struggle next year unless given political powers in the north and east, said their deadline depends on new President Mahinda Rajapakse’s response.

“We don’t prefer war. If a war is thrusted on the Tamil people, the Tamil people and the LTTE (will) make use of all the resources available to fight back,” S.P. Thamilselvan, head of the Tigers’ political wing, told Reuters in the northern rebel stronghold of Kilinochchi in an interview late on Friday.

“We consider this is an important final opportunity,” he added, saying the Tigers would give Colombo a “short space” to come up with a peace blueprint that accepts their demands for a homeland for ethnic Tamils and self-determination.

“Whether the short space is going to be first half, mid or the latter half (of 2006) is in the hands of Colombo.”

Rajapakse, allied to hardline Marxists and Buddhists who detest the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), has already ruled out a separate homeland for Tamils outright.

A surge in attacks against the military, which culminated in two claymore mine blasts this month that killed 14 soldiers in the northern Jaffna peninsula, have raised fears of a return to a war that killed over 64,000 people up until a 2002 truce.

The Tigers, accused of assassinating the island’s foreign minister in August, deny any hand in attacks on military patrols and sentries -- which analysts say is a stock denial -- and the ceasefire is at its lowest ebb.

Some tsunami aid workers are considering pulling out of coastal rebel territory and Colombo’s stock exchange has plunged amid fears a return to war will torpedo any hope of an influx of much-needed foreign investment into the $20 billion economy.

Fighting words

“Any living being if challenged or if tortured or if threatened of its existence will fight back, that is nature’s law, and we human beings are no exception and we Tamils are no exception,” Thamilselvan, 38, said in his native Tamil through a translator.

The armed forces’ claim on Friday that they could defeat the Tigers if war resumes was a provocative mistake, he added.

“We take it as an egotistic and supremacist thinking mode in which the Sri Lankan forces behave,” he said. “It is a ridiculous thing for the military to say things like that and most irresponsible... What type of a victory would that be?”

“Even after facing defeat in several instances at the hands of the LTTE, the military has not learnt proper lessons.”

Any resumption of hostilities would be a major setback for plans to restore crumbling infrastructure like roads, hit by years of under-investment as war swallowed state resources.

The road from Jaffna to Kilinochchi is still lined with the charred remains of homes shelled to oblivion before the truce, segments of wall still standing pockmarked where strafed with bullets.

Analysts say the Tigers have used the ceasefire to regroup and rearm, and say the fact they scuppered the chances of Rajapakse’s moderate rival during last month’s presidential election with a boycott that scared hundreds of thousands of Tamils from voting, shows they are not ready for lasting peace.

The rebels, who have also sustained losses blamed on feuding with a renegade faction they accuse the military of supporting, have called on the international community to ensure Rajapakse and the military implement the terms of the ceasefire.

“The ceasefire agreement is the bedrock of the entire peace process and is at grave risk,” Thamilselvan said.

“In the event of all else failing, after exhaustion of all avenues of considering viable alternatives, then the Tamil people will have to exercise their right to self determination.”

Tigers demand urgent talks to defuse Sri Lanka war fears

Tamil Tiger rebels have asked Norway to arrange urgent peace talks with Colombo to prevent Sri Lanka from sliding back into war after 31 people died in a week of violence.

A report on the website of the rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) says they have told Norway's top envoy here, Hans Brattskar, immediate negotiations should begin to maintain a tenuous truce in place since February 2002.

"Our commitment to the ceasefire and the peace process remains undiluted and what we request now is to urgently arrange a high-level meeting between the parties...," said the LTTE's political wing leader S. P. Thamilselvan.

In a report on their official website, the LTTE said only face-to-face negotiations could "bring about normalcy and avoid confrontational postures between the civilians and the occupying military."

There was no immediate comment from the government or the Norwegians.

The LTTE leader flatly rejected a call by new President Mahinda Rajapakse to revise the ceasefire and dismissed Rajapakse's election pledge to abandon plans to turn the country into a federal state in exchange for ethnic peace.

The government of Rajapakse -- who had earlier promised to overhaul the peace bid and review the role of the Norwegians -- on Wednesday did a U-turn and asked Oslo to stay on.

"It is true that Mr. Mahinda Rajapakse went to town with rigid stances relating to the 'unitary state' and the necessity to review the ceasefire," said Thamilselvan.

"But the ground realities and hard facts dictate there is no need to review the ceasefire for it is comprehensive and all-encompassing and what is needed is implementation of what has been agreed upon between the parties," he said.

He said the "rigid stance" of sticking to a unitary state may have been an election campaign ploy, but it was not helpful to resolving the decades-old ethnic conflict between the majority Sinhalese and minority Tamil communities.

Rajapakse was elected president last month.

The Tigers agreed in December 2002 to settle for a federal state rather than full independence, but direct talks between the guerrillas and Colombo have been stalemated since April 2003.

Diplomatic efforts to revive the process also remain deadlocked.

Following a surge in violence in the embattled northern and eastern regions that began last week, the military declared Friday it was ready to meet "any terrorist challenge."

The chief of defence staff, Daya Sandagiri, however, said it did not expect the country to slip back into full-scale war.

Rajapakse asked Norwegian envoy Brattskar to keep up peace brokering efforts even though two key allies of his government had insisted Norway be expelled from the peace process, accusing it of favouring the rebels.

Norway has said the two parties must agree to certain unspecified conditions before it resumes the role of peace facilitator in a country where more than 60,000 people have died in ethnic violence since 1972.

CFA, Muslim Tamil amity, key to peace - Thamilchelvan

Pointing out that the recent escalation of violence is due to military aggression and sabotage activities of Sri Lanka Army (SLA) supported paramilitaries, LTTE's Political Head Mr. S.P.Thamilchelvan stressed the urgent need for effective implementation of the Cease Fire Agreement (CFA) and the critical need to maintain Muslim, Tamil amity to maintain peace, when he addressed the media following a meeting with the Norwegian Ambassador Hans Brattskar Friday morning. The meeting that began at 9:30 a.m. lasted for one and a half hours at the LTTE's Peace Secretariat in Kilinochchi.

Mr. P. Nadesan, Head of Tamileelam Police and the Head of LTTE's Peace Secretariat Mr. Pulithevan also participated in the meeting with Norwegian Ambassador Mr. Hans Brattskar. Second secretary of the Norwegian embassy, Tom knappskog accompanied Mr Brattskar to the meeting.

Referring to Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse's invitation to Norway to continue with its facilitatory role to the peace process in Sri Lanka, Thamilchelvan told reporters that the change of Government in Colombo is a southern affair, and that the Norwegian facilitation and the monitoring are continuing uninterrupted in LTTE controlled areas. "Our leadership has always been positive to and supportive of the Norwegian facilitatition," LTTE's political head told the reporters.

Norwegian Ambasador Mr. Hans Brattskar [right] with Tom Knappskog, second secretary of the Norwegian Embassy.

Referring to the situation in the East, LTTE's political head said LTTE was fully aware of the forces attempting to cause dissension between the Muslims and Tamils in the east. LTTE leader Mr. V. Pirapaharan has issued clear directives to district level political and military wings of the LTTE to be vigilant and to take all efforts to strengthen relationship between the two communities, Thamilchelvan told the reporters.

Thamilchelvan said the LTTE was aware of the anonymous handbills issued by nefarious forces to threaten and create fear among resettled Muslims in Jaffna. Thamilchelvan stressing the critical importance of Muslim Tamil relationship appealed to the Muslims to ignore the anonymous threats and said Tamils and Muslims should act with restraint and not fall prey to the forces attempting to create disharmony.

The Norwegian Ambassador briefed LTTE's Politicall Head on his meetings with SL President Mahinda Rajapaksa, his visit to New Delhi with former peace envoy and Norway's Minister for Development, Mr. Erik Solheim, the concerns related to the tense situation prevailing in the Jaffna peninsula and the urgent necessity for the parties to meet and find ways of effectively implementing the Cease Fire Agreement, LTTE's Peace Secretariat said.

For a question on the LTTE's stand to Mahinda Rajapakses framework of Unitary state, Thamilchelvan replied that a clear answer was provided in LTTE leader's Heroes day speech. The movement is prepared wait some time to see Mr Rajapalse'sa appraoch to peace to ascertain if the stand was a pre-election necessity, and if the new President has grasped the fundamentals of the struggle, Thamilchelvan said.

A High level delegation of the Norwegian Government would meet LTTE leadership to discuss the process forward, Mr. Thamilchelvan added and said the meeting did not focus on the process forward. It was a meeting where the official stand of the new Sri Lankan Government with regards to Norwegian facilitation was expressed, he added.

Norwegian Ambassador Hans Brattskar shaking hands with LTTE Political Head S.P. Thamilchelvan 

President Mahinda Rajapakse presenting the Budget yesterday 

News in Brief

Muslim, Tamil factions clash in Muttur, one critically injured

One man was seriously hacked and a motorcycle belonging to another set on fire by angry mobs of two different factions belonging to two communities in Muttur yesterday afternoon. An armed gang had hacked a person with swords in the morning and the victim had been rushed to Trincomalee hospital in a critical condition.

A group of associates of the victim had tried to attack a person who was in the rival faction shortly afterwards. The person who had come on a motorcycle had fled abandoning it and the gang had set fire to the motorcycle. The Muttur police had strengthen the security in the area by deploying additional forces.

Hakeem wants review of SLMM also

SLMC leader Rauff Hakeem yesterday proposed that the Nordic Council which is the forum for the governmental co-operation of Nordic countries, should send a special team here to assess the performance of the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM).

Mr. Hakeem made this suggestion when he met Japan's special peace envoy Yasushi Akashi in Colombo yesterday.

The SLMC leader told Mr. Akashi that just as much as there was a need to review the ceasefire, there was also a necessity to re-evaluate the role played by Nordic truce monitors so that they could overcome the shortcomings in their mission and perform better.

The Nordic Council which was formed in 1952 has five member countries - Norway, Denmark, Iceland, Finland and Sweden and three autonomous territories. The Secretariat of the council is in Copenhagen.

Mr. Hakeem also told the Japanese Peace Envoy that he saw the decision by President Rajapakse to re-invite Norway as a prudent move and appreciated India's efforts to convince the government and its allies the need to retain Norway.

Commenting on the violence unleashed on Muslims in the East, the SLMC leader suggested that Japan got stronger commitments from both the government and the LTTE that they do their maximum to ensure the maintenance of law and order in the areas. Mr. Akashi in response said Japan was concerned about the incidents of violence against the Muslims and the escalation of violence in the North as well and that he would visit the East tomorrow to meet leaders in the area. The SLMC leader stressed the importance of the co-chairs enlightening the new President on the need for an inclusion of a Muslim delegation in future talks and also the significance of engaging Muslim representatives in discussions on the North and East conflict at all levels.

Weather warning

The cyclonic storm 'Fanoos' was located about 500 km to the North-East of Trincomalee yesterday, the Department of Meteorology said in a release.

It is moving to the West. Under its influence, especially the deep sea areas off the coast extending from Jaffna to Batticaloa via Trincomalee will experience very rough conditions, strong winds and intermittent rain or thundershowers, the release said.

The Meteorology Department requested people to refrain from fishing and Naval activities in the seas and be vigilant about latest weather advisories.

No fear of war but prepared to face any LTTE threat: Admrl Sandagi

Sri Lanka's top defence official claimed here today that the country's Armed Forces ''are fully prepared to face any threat'' from the Tamil Tiger rebels but allayed increasing fears that the present volatile security situation in the North-East would not lead to yet another bloody war in the island nation.

Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), Admiral Daya Sandagiri, who is also the head of the Joint Operations Headquarters (JOH) said that all necessary steps had been taken to deal with the situation following the two claymore mine attacks in the Jaffna peninsula that left 15 soldiers dead within three days, keeping in mind the existing Ceasefire Agreement with the LTTE.

''The specific challenge for the armed forces at present is that the LTTE is trying to provoke the troops in Jaffna.

We are fully aware of it and not getting ourselves trapped into it. We are mindful of the situation and act with full restrain to ensure that the ceasefire agreement is continuing.

We will not breakaway from this position,'' Admiral Sandagiri, flanked by tri-service chiefs, told reporters here today.

Commenting on the current security situation in the Jaffna peninsula that has created a kind of tension within Sri Lanka and abroad, Admiral Sandagiri said that the armed forces have taken full charge of the situation and in the process of introducing some security measures to prevent the recurrence of such incidents.

''The LTTE is trying to provoke the armed forces to meet their own strategy. But the government is standing that the peace process should continue and the negotiations should start.

Having these two situations in parallel, the government forces are well prepared to face any challenge from the LTTE. We have taken charge of the situation. One should not get exited about the small incidents of this nature,'' he said.

Claiming that those two claymore explosions ''are not acts of war, but of terrorism,'' Admiral Sandagiri said that the war was not at all imminent in the island nation.

''There are so many ceasefire violations by the LTTE.

But that does not mean that we are going for war. Under these conditions, the act of war is not something that we are mindful of. I do not consider the word war is a right application here, because it is not what we are really thinking of,'' Admiral Sandagiri said.

He, however, said that with the available defence allocation the government forces are in the process of acquiring new weapons to meet the future challenges, but refused to divulge the details of those weapons.

Meanwhile, the LTTE's political wing head, S P Thamilselvan has welcomed President Mahinda Rajapakse's move to have formally invited the Norwegian government to resume its role as facilitator ''as a reciprocal act'' to rebel leader Velupillai Prabhakaran's annual speech on November 27.

He has made these remarks at a meeting with Norwegian Ambassador Hans Brattskar in the rebel-held Kilinochchi region today.

Claming that the organisation remained committed to the truce pact, Mr Thamilselvan has urged the facilitators to organise a top level meeting with the government to ''effectively implement'' the shaky truce.

''Our commitment to the CFA and the peace process remains undiluted and what we request now is to urgently arrange the high level meeting between the parties to effectively implement the CFA, for this alone can bring about normalcy and avoid confrontational postures between the civilians and the occupying military,'' an LTTE website has quoted Mr Thamilselvan as saying at the meeting with the Norwegian Ambassador.

EID Mubarack 

President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga was felicitated for her decade long service to the country by the Ministry of Finance at the BMICH yesterday. Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapakse, Finance Minister Dr. Sarath Amunugama, Treasury Secretary Dr. P.B. Jayasundera and Presidential Secretary W.J.S. Karunaratne were also present on this occasion.  

Here Finance Minister Dr. Sarath Amunugama hands over a memento to President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga felicitating her decade long service to the country. 

I gave the country the best I could

President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga in an emotionally charged address told a gathering at the BMICH yesterday that she did what she had to do to the best of her ability during her 11 year tenure at the helm.

"I took blows but I did not wilt for I did what was good for my country" the President said at the function to pay tribute to her service to the nation.

She said she safeguarded media freedom to the extent of allowing certain media to repeatedly abuse her, since she was a firm believer media freedom and recalled the times when media personnel were thrown to the seas.

President Kumaratunga expressed the hope that her successor carries forward her legacy of standing steadfastly for a negotiated solution to the ethnic question since her battle was now half won being able to convince a recaltricant opposition that the solution put forward by her represented the way ahead.

President Kumaratunga said the immense trust placed in her by the ordinary people and most of her cabinet colleagues spurred her on to tread the path which she chose vis a visa the ethnic question, which first originated during her 1993 Southern Province Election campaign. "From there onwards I believed we found the way and from August 1995 onwards we presented these proposals to the country.

There was war but we went ahead with our proposals for a negotiated settlement", President Kumaratunga added. She said she took upon this responsibility squarely on her shoulder with some Ministers of her Cabinet backing her to the hilt while some less so, and this gave her the strength and courage to go all the way.

"If you are a leader you have to take radical decisions and the final decision lies fairly and squarely at your door". the President observed.

In this endeavour she was ready to take the slurs and insults of the private media and even some 'religious people".

"I am happy that I did not sway in my conviction on this issue", President Kumaratunga added. She said she still believe they had the solution but they should have the courage to say it loud and clear that would see an end to the calamitous conflict that has bedeviled the nation for the last 57 years. President Kumaratunga said the foundation for this process began under her Government and she hoped and wished those who follow her would continue the process without the trials and tribulations she had to undergo.

"Even though I have thought of devolution and a negotiated settlement I achieved nothing. To persuade over 65 per cent people now, when it was at 23 and to persuade the second major party in the country to openly accept the solution I proposed 11 years ago, that is devolution, is a huge success", the President claimed.

She added that the leader of this party is now talking much about devolution than her. "I think this is more than the half the battle won. Now, it is left for those who take over from me to take this forward or to take this backward" the President said adding that she hoped the latter would not happen.

She also said that she was telling all these not just to say how much she had done but just to see that people of this country must be fully aware of this legacy.

"It is up to the people the ensure that their leaders take this legacy forward whatever problems that may arise", the President remarked.

"Now both parties agree on this situation and the fact that the leader of the second major party is talking more about devolution than even herself was testimony to the huge success achieved by her in this respect.

"I go with great satisfaction and pride because I know I did not wilt against my conscience.I go with clean hands with no blood.But I go with my head held high ,I hope with some dignity.

She said she doubted if there was any leader in the world who had been abused as had been her lot at the hands of the private media during her entire term in office.Yet it was her firm belief to protect this right of expression even if she personally suffered by it.

According to JVP-Mahinda concept Chandrika is also a traitor —

According to Mahinda Rajapakse- JVP theory, even President Kumaratunga and parties in the UPFA who accept federalism, should be treated as traitors of the country, said UNP presidential candidate Ranil Wickremesinghe, addressing a campaign rally in Weligama.

Wickremesinghe said that Rajapakse, Somawansa Amerasinghe and Wimal Weerawansa were branding those who support federalism as traitors. "If that is the case, President Kumaratunga and other parties in the UPFA who have faith in a federal solution to the ethnic issue were also traitors.

"I wish to query Mr. Rajapakse, whether he would call President Kumaratunga who appointed him as the Prime Minister, also a traitor, with his new concept".

The federal solution to the ethnic crisis was first proposed by Chandrika Kumaratunga and both the PA and UPFA, the SLFP lead alliances that included Mahinda Rajapakse, contested the 1999, 2000, 2001 and 2004, elections on a federal platform, Wickremasinghe added.

"Then Mr. Rajapakse spoke in favour of a federal framework that would not divide the country and the southern people voted for it. Now, he is made to dance to the JVP‘s tune and calling everyone who speak of a federal solution as traitors. A person who is unable to stick to a consistent policy on national issues is certainly not fit to lead the nation" he insisted.

He said that Rajapakse who advocated the Indian federal system as a model for Sri Lanka, when he visited India.

He said that he would never divide the country and any solution to the ethnic issue would have the approval of the people and political parties that matter.

Presidential Election; A test for the SLMC’s bargaining power - Hakeem

We are conducting these campaign rallies not only to secure victory for the UNP presidential candidate Ranil Wickremesainghe but also to protect and strengthen the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress, said SLMC leader Rauff Hakeem, when he addressed a rally held in support of Ranil Wickremasinghe at Akkaraichenai, in Muthur, Friday, October 28.

"SLMC has identified economic and development needs of Muslims living in villages and areas across the island and has entered into an agreement with the UNP to improve those", he said.

Hakeem also said that without the support of the SLMC no person could enter Parliament from Trincomalee.

He said that he was aware of the valuable contributions of the people of Muthur for the party, and those would be honoured and respected in the right way. Those who just raise their voice on the security situation had no explanation on the discriminations cast on the community in P-TOMS, he added.

The JVP will come before you claiming that they had cleaned and repaired your houses, in order to convince you to vote for their candidate. The JVP has plans to totally curtail the bargaining power of our party. This presidential election is a test for the bargaining powers our party which we have had right through. Muslims must decide as to who should determine the outcome of this presidential election? The Muslims, Tamils or the JVP, Hakeem added.

You must also decide whether to give in the powers of this movement which you have fostered to its traitors and the JVP, he said.

We have requested Ranil Wickremasinghe to find immediate solutions to the discrimination cast on the Muslim fishermen of Muthur by the security personnel.

"Mahinda Rajapakse was the Minister of Fisheries for six years, was he able to provide a single Multi-day Boat to the fishermen in Muthur? Not even single ordinary boat was given to these fishermen", he said.

‘Mahinda, who failed to do any thing so far for the Muslim fishing community in the East, What he will do for the betterment of the Muslims after he becomes the President?' He queried.

Tiger deserter shot dead

Munza Mushtaq in Colombo, November 2, 2005, 10.20 p.m.. A Tiger cadre who deserted the LTTE organisation was shot dead in Valachchenai at around 1.00 p.m. today. Army reports claimed that the deserter was shot at by LTTE cadres.

Investigations also revealed that, the deceased who was identified as Sellathambi Punyamoorthi had also been under repeated LTTE death threats because of the desertion of his ranks with Tamil Tigers. He was living a 'normal life' in a Government controlled area, prior to his death, army reports said.

A previous police complaint lodged by the victim about one and half months back further claimed that his motorbike was also robbed by Tamil Tigers in revenge of his desertion.

Sri Lankan intelligence officer gunned down in Colombo

RUWAN WEERAKOON Associated Press Writer COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) _ Suspected Tamil Tiger rebels fatally shot a senior military intelligence officer in the Sri Lankan capital, the Defense Ministry and police said Sunday.

Lt. Col. Rizwi Meedin, 39, who commanded the army's intelligence unit in Colombo, was shot late Saturday night as he drove home, said Defense Ministry spokesman Brig. Nalin Witharanage.

``The officer had gone out in the night for some work and his wife got a call around midnight with the caller telling her that her husband has been shot,'' Witharanage said. ``We found him in the driver's seat of his car with bullet wounds on his head and neck.''

He was declared dead at a hospital.

Witharanage said Meedin, who had previously been involved in investigating the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, had received death threats from the rebels.

Police Senior Deputy Inspector General Sirisena Herath said he believed the killers were Tamil Tiger fighters.

``All indications are that this was the work of the LTTE,'' Herath said.

He said police had arrested four suspects and were combing the city. He did not disclose the identities of the arrested men.

A pro-rebel Web site, TamilNet, reported the incident, calling the assailants ``unknown gunmen.''

The government also blamed the Tamil Tigers for the May 31 slaying of another commanding officer of the intelligence unit, Maj. Nizam Mutaliph, in Colombo.

More than 40 intelligence operatives, including civilian informers, have been killed since the government and the LTTE signed a cease-fire in 2002 halting 19 years of civil war that left nearly 65,000 people dead.

Tamil Tiger guerrillas began fighting in 1983 for a separate homeland for Sri Lanka's 3.2 million ethnic Tamils, claiming discrimination by the country's Sinhalese majority.

Forensic experts examine the interior of the car in which army intelligence officer, major T. Meedin, was gunned down 30 October 2005 in Kiribathgoda. Meedin was the second most senior officer of the military intelligence to be gunned down. AFP 

CBK-Mahinda guerrilla war rages

A three-and-half-year-old ceasefire, shaky but standing, has taken away a full fledged war between Government troops and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) though the latter is still engaged in low intensity attacks.

But a bigger "guerrilla war" seems to be escalating in the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) with just 17 days to go for the presidential elections. There is no "ceasefire" in sight and there are fears of more "political landmines" and "attacks" escalating as the D-day draws near.

Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapakse's media campaign co-ordinator and Ministerial colleague Mangala Samaraweera, once whispered to a friend as he walked out of the Janadipathi Mandiraya that he hoped he would not have to come there again. Not until Rajapakse was elected President, he was heard to say.

In Matara later last week he was busy on the campaign trail when his phone rang. President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga was on the line. It was a social call and Kumaratunga would want to know how he was keeping, or so he thought. They had not spoken in a while.

When he picked up the phone and said "hello," there was Kumaratunga berating him on reported remarks at a news conference days earlier. She referred to remarks said to have been made by Samaraweera that Kumaratunga had endorsed the SLFP candidate's "Mahinda Chinthanaya" or Mahinda's Vision - his manifesto. She said neither she, nor the SLFP had officially endorsed it. Kumaratunga said Samaraweera is not her official spokesman and should not make statements on behalf of her ever again.

Samaraweera said he did not announce that Kumaratunga had endorsed the manifesto. He said the question at the news conference was one that he could not avoid. Hence, he had stated the fact - Committee members appointed by the SLFP Central Committee had endorsed the document. In fact, they had placed their signatures acknowledging their approval, he said. Kumaratunga then told Samaraweera that he should correct it at the very next news conference by saying the 'Mahinda Chinthanaya' did not receive her approval.

That same evening Samaraweera drove to Colombo. There was another polls related news conference. Ahead of that, he briefed Rajapakse about the Presidential telephone call, and the demand to retract what he had reportedly said. "If she wants - let her say it. You don't have to do it," the Premier responded. Samaraweera made no mention about it at the news conference that followed. In other words, Samaraweera no longer takes orders from President Kumaratunga, but from Prime Minister Rajapakse.

Elsewhere, the new addition to the Cabinet, Minister Dilan Perera (who still remains as Deputy Minister in charge of the media) ran through Rupavahini video footage of the news conference. There was no retraction. Perera told this to Kumaratunga who then shot off a strong letter to her now erstwhile protege Mangala Samaraweera. In that, she insisted that a retraction should be made. It was then that the former Media Minister went through video footage of what he had said during the original press conference. He realised he had made no references to an endorsement of the 'Mahinda Chinthanaya' by Kumaratunga. Instead, he had only said that members of the Committee (named by the Central Committee) had endorsed it.

Emboldened by the realisation, Samaraweera sent a letter with a copy of the tape back to Kumaratunga. The matter seems to have ended there. It soon came to light that Kumaratunga was also engaged in another form of letter writing to SLFP stalwarts.

That had taken the form of a questionnaire where she was seeking their views on some critical issues at the presidential elections - the P-TOMS (or Post - Tsunami Operational Management Structure), a settlement to the ethnic conflict through a united Sri Lanka instead of a unitary one, Rajapakse's agreements with the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) and the Jatika Hela Urumaya etc.

One of the recipients was SLFP General Secretary Maithripala Sirisena. Rajapakse learnt from Sirisena that he would not be replying to this Presidential survey until after the elections are over. It seemed the SLFP Secretary was also not that loyal to the party leader (Kumaratunga) as one would have expected. Surely, as politicians they all see the winds of change. SLFP sources said that Kumaratunga also telephoned known party organisers at the district level to seek their views. Her lament was that the JVP was coming to the fore and she feared the SLFP would be swallowed up. This cannot be allowed to happen, she had said.

Meanwhile, Kumaratunga held talks with the UNP's Presidential candidate Ranil Wickremesinghe last Monday mainly on a common approach to the peace process. But UNP sources said they also discussed a wide range of other issues. Kumaratunga is learnt to have briefed Wickremesinghe on some changes she was making in respect of extended terms and promotions for officers in the armed forces.

It is not clear whether Wickremesinghe endorsed them or made any comments, but it was ironic that she should have discussed these extensions with the Opposition Leader and not her own Prime Minister.

Bi-partisanship carried a little too far, maybe. On the opposite page our Defence Correspondent deals with the unprecedented changes Kumaratunga has effected with just 18 days to go for the Presidential elections. If she hoped for her party's candidate, Mahinda Rajapakse to win, she had not bothered to brief him. In the event of such a victory, it was Rajapakse who was going to be the Minister of Defence and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces. The two leaders are also learnt to have discussed the prevailing security situation, particularly developments in the East.

However, the Prime Minister had not had any contact with the President in the past week, or more. But she had conveyed to the Premier, through senior security officials, that he should not attend an election rally in the eastern Muslim village of Kathankudy. Intelligence reports had said a Tiger guerrilla plot was afoot to assassinate him. A vehicle with a claymore mine inside was to be used, or so the reports had said. Copies of these intelligence reports had also been sent to him.

Like during every election, some of those in the intelligence community played a dual role of reporting to the Government and to their own sources in the Opposition. Security advisors to Rajapakse had identified at least one senior intelligence officer in a service arm who was very active in this role. Yet, Rajapakse decided to be safe than sorry, and decided to keep away from the Kathankudy rally.

Days before the event, Rajapakse had telephoned Police Chief Chandra Fernando who is personally spearheading efforts to ensure the security of all candidates, particularly Wickremesinghe and Rajapakse. The IGP had confirmed there were reports of serious threats. So much so, even Kumaratunga had telephoned to inquire whether Rajapakse had in fact gone to Kathankudy ignoring her advice.

The Premier now had second thoughts. He still wanted to go East. So he asked his brother, Gothabaya, to check whether he should re-consider. The former Lieutenant Colonel, who later acquired US citizenship, is now a security consultant to the Prime Minister. He is now the most sought after person by senior officers in the security forces. Brother Gothabaya made calls to his own sources in the intelligence community and serving officers in the east. He told brother Mahinda he should go and there was no problem on the ground.

Rajapakse then travelled and addressed the rally. Joining him were Mangala Samaraweera, Wimal Weerawansa, A.H.M. Fowzie and a host of others. "It would have been a foolish thing if I did not take part in the rally," Rajapakse told an aide who accompanied him.

Last Tuesday, Kumaratunga had a delayed meeting with members of the Podu Peramuna Executive Committee. Rajapakse had turned up there but left without meeting her. He probably knew that if he came on time, the President would still not be there, and then he could leave saying he was there, but not having to engage the President in yet another verbal duel.

The meeting had begun hours later. Kumaratunga charged that Rajapakse had abandoned all the efforts she and her party had taken to achieve peace.

"I also told him this," interjected Minister Fowzie prompting Kumaratunga to prod harder at Rajapakse (in absentia). It was LSSP's Tissa Vitharana who pointed out there was no point in raising an issue over principles and paving the way for a Wickremesinghe victory. At the end of the meeting, participants had taken a formal decision to support Rajapakse. Another formal decision, that is. How many more formal decisions Rajapakse needs from the SLFP is the question with only 17 days for the polls.

That same night, around 1 a.m. Rajapakse had a visitor at Temple Trees. It was Venerable Uduwe Dhammaloka Thera. The two had a friendly discourse. Rajapakse aides said Ven. Dhammaloka Thera had asked Rajapakse for the portfolio of Buddhist Affairs if he won. Rajapakse had responded by assuring the prelate he would give him a position in keeping with his talent and capability to make a worthy contribution to Buddhism in Sri Lanka. Apparently the Ven. Dhammaloka was not pleased. Later in the week he announced his support for Wickremesinghe. Rajapakse aides claim he had been offered the position of a head of a proposed Buddhist Affairs Authority by Wickremesinghe.

Rajapakse's campaign staff is also worried about Foreign Minister Anura Bandaranaike. It was early this week that Rajapakse's Running Mate wrote to his sister Kumaratunga complaining that Minister Jeyaraj Fernandopulle had offered the post of premiership to Wimal Weerawansa or Mangala Samaraweera. He claimed it was rightfully his because the SLFP Central Committee had decided so. Bandaranaike also castigated Nirmala Kotelawala, a deputy minister, for his remarks that he was criticising Rajapakse and was not fully backing his campaign. Bandaranaike had declared he had never heard of "this Kotelawala".

The latter hit back this week by saying "how can he know about me. He is never in the country." With this polls round the corner, some multi million dollar deals are being negotiated by some ruling party VIPs. In one instance, a prime plot of land meant for a hospital had been sold to a private institution. A billion dollar oil exploration deal is also said to be on the pipeline.

Meanwhile, Kumaratunga continues to maintain a tight rein on the state media. The news schedules of Rupavahini are being delivered to her daily. The State print media gives her prominence on their front pages, sidelining the ruling party's Presidential candidate. State media officials were last week discussing with a senior Government officials about some files containing alleged deals made by Rajapakse.

SLFP insiders now forecast a stepped up "guerrilla war" as Election Day draws near. They say several "missiles" were in store to be fired. "Don't be surprised if there are a few crossovers. There will also be speakers on our platform batting for Wickremesinghe," said a campaign staffer.

Plans are afoot for president Chandrika Kumaratunga to address the nation. Although a date has not yet been fixed, indications are that the address, to be nationally televised and broadcast country wide, is likely to be on November 15. This is a day after the polls campaign closes. Though it is not a polls related address, SLFP sources says, she will tell the nation on the eve of her retirement her achievements and her commitment to the peace process. She is also to spell out the policies that she followed as leader of the SLFP.

Kumaratunga, who has to end her term within the next four weeks, has been a fighter during her eleven and half year career. In 2003, she took over the defence portfolio from Wickremesinghe's UNF Government and later sacked it from power by dissolving Parliament. She then called a General Election and having won the elections, formed a United People's Freedom Alliance (UPFA) Government.

They say there are no permanent enemies in politics. There are only permanent interests. So the Opposition has become her darling, as her "guerrilla" war with Rajapakse and his team continues. This is one instance where there will be no ceasefire either before the elections or thereafter.

President calls for Jeyaraj's explanation

President Chandrika Kumaratunga has blasted Commerce Minister Jeyaraj Fernandopulle and called for his explanation over a statement the minister made naming JVP propaganda secretary Wimal Weerawansa as the prospective Prime Minister under a UPFA government.

The President's letter calling for explanation followed an interview Minister Fernandopulle has given to a Tamil newspaper claiming Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapakse, if elected president would assign Minister Mangala Samaraweera or Wimal Weerawansa as Prime Minister, due to Foreign Minister Anura Bandaranaike not campaigning for Rajapakse.

The Foreign Minister last week wrote to the President complaining bitterly against Fernandopulle's comments stating he had violated party discipline. Bandaranaike had also in his letter made reference to a plot to undermine the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) by a group working for Rajapakse.

This president in her letter to Fernandopulle had accused him of acting contrary to party decisions and reminded him of several attempts by him to undermine the party. She has also reminded the minister of JVP's attempts to destroy the SLFP and questioned whether he was a tool in their hands.

Kumaratunga has further brought Fernandopulle's attention to his political history and the role played by the Bandaranaikes in giving him due recognition.

The Sunday leader learns that Fernandopulle on being informed of President Kumaratunga's letter had been visibly upset and decided to explain his position to Kumaratunga and extend his solidarity with the Bandaranaikes. (Sunday Leader)

UNP AND LTTE WORRIED THAT THEY CANNOT STUFF BALLOT BOXES BECAUSE OF KARUNA IN THE EAST

United National Front sources said that they are highly worried that Velupillai Prabhakaran would not be able to deliver the necessary number of votes from the Eastern Province for the victory of Ranil Wickremesinghe at the forthcoming Presidential elections due to the opposition from Karuna.

The pro-UNF Daily Mirror said Karuna would soon distribute leaflets in Batticaloa requesting people not to vote for Ranil Wickremesinghe.

In the past parliamentary elections the LTTE openly violated election laws and stuffed ballot boxes and openly practiced impersonations by using small children to vote to elect their proxy party , Tamil National Alliance members to the parliament.

They were expected to use the same methods at the forthcoming Presidential elections to bring victory to their allegedly favorite Ranil Wickremesinghe to power.

In the internecine warfare between Prabhakaran faction and Karuna faction one faction has been opposing the other faction in all their military and political activities. Karuna faction is therefore expected to oppose Ranil Wickremesinghe candidature at the Presidential elections since UNF’s alleged secret pact with the LTTE.

Although the LTTE publicly has declared that they would help neither candidates UNF political opponent Janatha Vimukthi Permuna (JVP) has alleged that there is a secret pact between Ranil and Prabhakaran to obtain Tamil votes.

JVP leader Somawansa Amerasinghe in a exclusive interview with this correspondent said that it was the reason why Ranil Wickremesinghe refused to condemn the LTTE for the assassinations of Former Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar and the two principals of Jaffna schools who refused to let LTTE recruit child soldiers . Somawansa also said due to the same reason Ranil also refused to praise the European Union for its ban of the terrorist outfit.

Sri Lanka to cut phone links to 13 countries to stop scams

Sri Lanka will cut international direct dialling to 13 countries next week in a bid to stop "modem hijacking" and Internet porn scams.

Sri Lanka will cut international direct dialling to 13 countries next week in a bid to stop "modem hijacking" and Internet porn scams.

The main international gateway operator, Sri Lanka Telecom, was asked to halt direct dialling to the 13 nations on Tuesday after complaints that subscribers were billed for long-distance calls they never made.

Aruna Amarasekara, director-general of the Telecommunications Regulatory Commission of Sri Lanka, said the blockage will be in force for three months but subscribers could still make operator-assisted calls if necessary.

"We have decided to do this because of modem hijacking," Amarasekara told AFP Sunday.

He said local subscribers were also advised to block international access on their telephones to prevent unauthorised dialling by malicious programs, or diallers, installed by some websites.

Some websites surreptitiously install diallers on a surfer's computer and use the phone connection to dial long-distance telephone numbers, running up huge bills, he said.

Sri Lanka has found that most of the unauthorised calls terminated in the Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, the Cook Islands, the Wallis and Futana Islands, Papua New Guinea, Nauru, Tuvalu, Tokelau, Western Samoa and Kiribati.

Major General D. Wijesinghe (retd) and the Chief of Staff of the Army Major General S. Fonseka salute the Monument of the Fallen Heroes at the Sri Lanka Sinha Regiment Regimental Centre, Ambepussa at a ceremony held a few days ago. The Chief Guest was Major General Wijesinghe.
 

Criticism strengthens me - Ranil

United National Party Presidential candidate Ranil Wickremesinghe said he welcomes criticism since it strengthens him.

Addressing a public rally in Hanwalle, Wickremesinghe said "Although my rivals criticize me at every step, I am strengthened by it , for if they ever cease to criticize, it might weaken me."

Wickremesinghe said that the JVP has been accusing every UNP leader since the late President J R Jayewardene of dividing the country.

"When President Jayewardene introduced the Provincial Council system, as a measure to solve the ethnic problem, the JVP not only accused him of dividing the country and betraying the nation to the Indian army but also maliciously destroyed public and private properties as well as human lives."

The JVP, he said has now proved that they accept the system that they vehemently opposed, at the cost of property and life, by representing Provincial councils.

Wickremesinghe, recalled how the JVP accused President Premadasa of providing LTTE with arms and the same old accusation of dividing the country was leveled against him.

"When President Premadasa was assassinated by the LTTE these groups stooped to the level of lighting crackers and eating kiribath. During the previous election JVP leaders tried to remove the plug they claimed to have connected the UNP to the World Bank. Since they failed to reduce the cost of living, develop the economy or do anything at all, they have found out that it was not a valid slogan and people are not ready to believe them. Therefore the Somawansa, Weerawansa duo is resorting to the old accusation of dividing the country," he said.

Sri Lanka troops on alert after protester killed by army gunfire

Government soldiers were on alert in a Tamil village in northern Sri Lanka - on Saturday, a day after troops fired on villagers protesting the alleged rape of a girl by a soldier, killing one person and injuring two others, a military spokesman said.

The violence took place in Puttur East village on the Jaffna Peninsula, the traditional homeland of Sri Lanka - 's Tamil minority, about 300 kilometers (185 miles) north of the capital, Colombo.

``The situation is still tense but unlike yesterday there are no violent activities,'' military spokesman Brig. Nalin Witharanage said Saturday. ``There are troops on standby to move in when there is a requirement.''

Friday's protest occurred after residents accused a soldier of trying to rape a 16-year-old girl in the village.

The dead villager was identified as 20-year-old Tharmaraja Nirojan, a farmer.

Witharanage said soldiers and police were forced to open fire in self defense when suspected rebels among the protesters threw six hand grenades into their camp, of which three exploded, injuring one soldier.

Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam rebels began fighting the government in 1983 to create a separate country for ethnic minority Tamils, accusing the majority Sinhalese of discrimination.

About 65,000 people were killed in the conflict before a Norway-brokered truce was signed in February 2002. The uneasy truce has held even though peace talks broke down in 2003 over the rebels' demand for greater autonomy in the north and east.

The rebels have a heavy presence in Jaffna.

Scores of people have been killed in scattered outbreaks of violence since the cease-fire, with tensions escalating after a rebel leader and about 6,000 of his followers split away from the Tigers' main faction in March 2004.

The government and Tigers blame each other for the violence, with the Tigers accusing the military of aiding the breakaway rebels, a charge the government denies.

Go North EC tells EU

The Elections Commissioner Dayananda Dissanayake has requested the European Union Election Observers to be detailed specially in the North-East in an effort to discourage organised election rigging, a spokesman for the Elections Commissioner's Department said.

The spokesman said the Elections Commissioner had also decided to assign Grama Niladaries in polling stations to avoid voter impersonation.

Assistant Returning Officers will also be appointed to cluster polling stations, which will be set up 500 meters inside the government controlled areas in order to enable voters residing in LTTE controlled areas to exercise the universal franchise.

Transport facilities for the voters to polling stations and back into LTTE controlled areas will be arranged by the Assistant Government Agents and Grama Niladaries.

The EU will have 22 long term observers and 44 short term observers who will monitor the election on the polling day.

Meanwhile, postal voting of the Presidential election will take place on November 7 and 8. There are 323,428 public servants eligible for postal voting plus 24,724 displaced voters.

According to the Elections Commissioner's Department, the total number of registered voters for the forthcoming Presidential elections is 13,327,160.

There will be 10,486 polling stations islandwide and 710 counting centres.