There are around 93,000 Sri Lankans currently working in Lebanon, 86,000 of them housemaids, said Jagath Wellawatta, Chairman of Sri Lanka's Foreign Employment Bureau. "It is logistically very, very difficult to get in contact with that many people. We have under 500 people waiting to be evacuated, but we hope that number will increase," he said.
"We have very few officials in the
``The others escaped the attack by the LTTE,'' Samarasinghe said, blaming the separatist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam. The bomb exploded prematurely, he said.
The failed attack came amid a surge in violence between the insurgents and the government, threatening a four-year-old cease-fire and raising the prospect of all-out civil war.
Anders Oljelund met with S.P. Thamilselvan, the political head of the rebels, and Seevaratnam Puleedevan, the head of the rebels' Peace Secretariat in Kilinochchi, the rebel stronghold in the north.
After the meeting, Thamilselvan told reporters that there was no change in the rebels' position that EU monitors should leave by Sept. 1.
Earlier, government chief spokesman, Keheliya Rambukwella, said in
The rebels argue that since the EU in May listed the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, or LTTE, as a terrorist group, monitors from
Oljelund arrived in the capital
During their meeting, Thamilselvan also asked Oljelund to press the government to stop alleged harassment of Tamil civilians living in the northeast, the traditional homeland of ethnic Tamils.
No comment was immediately available from Oljelund.
Earlier, government spokesman Rambukwella said the administration wants the EU to continue its role as peace monitors. ``Our stand is clear that the EU member states should remain in the monitoring team,'' he said.
The Tamil Tigers demand comes amid a surge in violence between the insurgents and the government, threatening the four-year-old cease-fire and raising the prospect of all-out civil war.
More than 750 people have died since December with both sides accusing the other of violating the truce. About 65,000 people were killed between 1983 and 2002, when
The rebels have fought the government demanding a separate homeland for the country's ethnic minority Tamils saying they can only prosper away from the domination of majority Sinhalese.
Associated Press writer Dilip Ganguly contributed to this report from
Among the major changes to the cabinet structure, the Foreign Ministry portfolio will be given to the 20-year veteran of international diplomacy and the former head of UN's Treaty Section Dr. Palitha Kohona. Dr. Kohona recently left his UN post and taken over the post of Special Advisor to President Mahinda Rajapakse on the Peace Process and the Director General of the Secretariat Co-ordinating the Peace Process (SCOPP).
Dr. Palitha Kohona received his secondary education in Sri Lanka, at S.Thomas' College Mt. Lavinia, from where he went on to obtain LL.B (Hons) at the University of Sri Lanka and an LL.M from the Australian National University. He obtained a Doctrate from
Prior to assuming the current position Dr. Kohona was the Chief of the UN Treaty Section in
At the Treaty Section, Dr. Kohona implemented major managerial changes, including a move to a highly computerized work environment and significantly improved its performance and output earning the UN21 Medal. Dr. Kohona was the Secretary of the UN Inter-Departmental Group established to report on measures to advance the international rule of law and he headed a working group tasked to make recommendations on improving the performance monitoring mechanisms in the Organisation. He led a UN legal delegation to
Prior to joining the UN, Dr. Kohona was with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Australia in 1983. Posted to
Gunmen stormed the office of the independent newspaper Tuesday in northern
``The government considers this with utmost importance and believes this attack was intended to harm the government's image as a nation with freedom of expression and media independence,'' an official statement said Wednesday.
``The government ... will take every possible step to bring the culprits to book,'' the statement said.
Dressed in black, the attackers broke into the office of the newspaper based in the northern town of
Editor N. Vithyatharan said the gunmen demanded to see three reporters who managed to escape the office. He said the newspaper's editorial manager and a circulation assistant died, and another employee was seriously wounded.
Uthayan is an independent newspaper, but is considered to have close links to Tamil Tiger rebels fighting for a separate homeland for the country's ethnic Tamil minority.
``I have no doubts that this is a work of armed groups working with the government security forces,'' Vithyatharan said, adding the reason for the attack may have been a cartoon the newspaper published on Monday depicting a former rebel leader prostrating himself before the president.
The person shown in the cartoon, Douglas Devananda, is now a government minister.
Tamil Tiger rebels accuse the government of using other armed Tamil groups to attack the guerrillas. The groups, which once fought alongside the Tigers for a separate state, gave up their struggle after a failed India-arranged peace accord in 1987.
The government has denied backing such groups.
President Mahinda Rajapakse, scheduled to address an international media freedom conference in
``His thinking was that the Tigers had done it ahead of his speech to embarrass him. But we clearly told him that the government should bear the responsibility,'' Vithyatharan said.
Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam rebels have fought the government since 1983 to create a separate nation for ethnic minority Tamils, accusing the majority Sinhalese-dominated state of discrimination.
More than 65,000 people were killed in the conflict before a Norway-brokered cease-fire was signed in 2002
Sri Lankan government offers Tamil rebels seaplanes for internal meeting ahead of talks
The Tigers have said they must hold a meeting among themselves before they agree to attend the planned peace talks in
But the talks, originally scheduled for April 25, became mired in disputes over travel arrangements and spiraling violence, as the country teeters on the edge of a return to civil war.
The Tigers had demanded that government helicopters fly their commanders to the rebels' headquarters for the internal meeting before any future peace talks are held.
The government had instead proposed using private helicopters, but the rebels rejected the idea. The dispute strained relations, and the insurgents pulled out of the talks.
On Wednesday, government peace secretariat chief Palitha Kohona said, ``We have offered them (the Tigers) seaplanes and have agreed on the landing site.''
``On behalf of the peace secretariat, we hope the LTTE will take this opportunity to complete their internal consultations so that (they) could proceed to
There was no immediate comment from the rebels.
Kohona's comment came a day after President Mahinda Rajapakse urged the Tigers to resume peace talks.
The talks are meant to salvage a 2002 cease-fire that appears to be on the verge of collapse amid violence which claimed about 150 people, including 79 government troops, in April.
The Tigers began fighting in 1983 for a separate state for minority Tamils, claiming discrimination by the country's Sinhalese majority.
More than 65,000 people were killed in the fighting before
Over 10 million people were eligible to vote in the elections for 226 local councils, which come as spiraling violence threatens a four-year-old cease-fire between the government and the Tamil Tiger rebels.
Elections in the north and east where the Tigers operate have been postponed due to security concerns.
The ruling United People's Freedom Alliance faces competition from the Marxist People's Liberation Front, a coalition member that backed Rajapakse during the presidential elections but is running its own candidates in the local polls.
The Liberation Front has 40 seats in the 225-member national legislature, and its support is crucial for Rajapakse.
However, a strong showing by the Marxists who oppose Rajapakse's support for
Meanwhile, the main opposition United National Party, or UNP, which signed the Norwegian-brokered cease-fire with the Tamil Tigers in 2002, also faces internal rifts following its defeat in the last presidential election. The UNP currently holds a majority of local councils.
The polls closed at 4 p.m. (1000 GMT) and voter turnout was estimated at about 50 percent, said a government official who declined to be named as he is not authorized to speak to the media. Results were expected early Friday.
Upali Ratnayake, a spokesman for The Peoples' Action for Free and Fair Election, said the poll monitoring group has received reports that five people were injured in election violence around the country. No other details were available.
Police spokesman Rienzie Perera confirmed that five people were injured and said authorities were investigating the incidents.
The local elections come as spiraling violence threatens the truce between the government and the rebels. More than 166 people, including 87 government security personnel, have been killed since December.
The rebels began fighting in 1983 to create a separate state for ethnic minority Tamils, accusing the majority Sinhalese of discrimination. More than 65,000 people were killed before the cease-fire.
Both sides agreed in
) Tamil Tiger rebels in a boat fired at a Sri Lankan navy post in the port town of Trincomalee on Thursday but retreated when the navy retaliated with gunfire, a navy spokesman said. Norwegian Minister of International Development Erik Solheim, whose peace efforts led to a 2002 cease-fire in Sri Lanka - , is scheduled to visit Colombo April 6 to meet with President Mahinda Rajapakse, the Norwegian Embassy said in a statement.
Solheim's trip will be preceded by a visit by another peace envoy, Jon Hanssen-Bauer, starting Monday. He will look after the day-to-day issues relating to the peace process.
The truce has come under severe strain due to spiraling violence, with more than 166 people, including 87 government security personnel, killed since December.
The Tamil Tigers began fighting in 1983 for a separate state for minority Tamils, claiming discrimination by the country's Sinhalese majority. The conflict has cost an estimated 65,000 lives.
Elections Secretariat
Sarana Mawatha
Rajagiriya
Sri Jayawarthanapura.
Through : Divisional Secretary, Kattankudy
Our federation is an organization representing 40 Mosques and 84 social service institutions. Our Kattankudy town has a population of 45000 people and this town is supposed to be the
most thickly populated town in the whole of
The decision that you have taken is a denial of the basic democratic rights of the Muslims living in Kattankudy as well as in Batticaloa district. Moreover, it is very biased, unjust and unfair.
Therefore, we urge you to reconsider your decision and to take early action to conduct the election to our Urban Council. In support of our request we, in addition to various other obvious facts, urge you to consider the following facts as well.
Kattankudy town consists of 100 percents Muslims population and comes under complete government control.
As elections were not held for the last 9 years instead of being administered by Kattankudy Muslims, this town is run by officers who are non-Muslims.
As the representatives of the people are not governing the Urban Council, many basic problems such as non availability of pure drinking water, continues piling of garbage all around the town, very badly damaged roads, no proper drainage systems, frequent flooding of the town after every rain, remain unsolved, uncared and un attended for the last so many years.
In-sufficient staff to run the council also could be added to the list.
No development programmes for the town is put forward or planned or under taken by the officers of the council for many years.
will deny the opportunity to our people to rule themselves and will make our people the slaves of those superior officers who are keen to block the development of the Muslims in the district.
will prevent us from placing our urgent needs and requirements and will make us depend on the bones thrown by the officers who are biased against Muslims.
our town which has not seen development for a long time will fall definitely to the bottom very soon.
Further, we categorically state that no officer in this district or party has the moral right to make recommendations that will deny our community it’s life and development.
And also if the general election, presidential elections could be held without any disturbance why not local body election in an exclusive Muslim town?
Therefore, we earnestly request you reconsider your decision and hold elections to our Council.
Thanking you
Yours Sincerely
(Moulavi AJM Ilyas-falahi)
Secretary
24th March 2006
The decision to file this application was taken after the SLMC leader Rauff Hakeem accompanied by his Secretary General and other official had met the elections commissioner yesterday to discuss the course action to be taken lift ban on the nomination lists by the party under its symbol, consequent to an order by court suspending the restraining order issued against the party, its leader and the secretary general on the eve of the local government elections.
The party which aspires to be a driving force against all anti democratic Tamil political parties also envisages that the country's two decade long ethnic conflict should be resolved through a federal solution in a united
The AITUK's constitution while impressing upon equality of citizens in all parts of the country has also stressed that the rights of Tamils and Muslims must be secured. The party has also vowed to work for the betterment of those who were displaced internally and externally due to the war.
"Recognition for the party by the Elections Commissioner was granted on February 10, 2006," the AITUK General Secretary K. Vigneswaran told the Lanka Academic. Dr. Vigneswaran a former parliamentarian was earlier an advisor to Eelam Peoples Democratic Party (EPDP) leader Douglas Devananda, but broke ranks with him several months ago owing to alleged 'undemocratic' style adopted by the EPDP leader.
Emphasizing why such a party was created, Dr. Vigneswaran pointed out that the aim of AITUK was to rally together democratically minded and likeminded people, as there was a void of such 'democratic organizations' in the country's Tamil political sector.
Meanwhile, it is reliably learnt that many top notch Tamil politicos such as former parliamentarians from the Tamil United Liberation Front, Eelam Peoples Democratic Party, Eelam People's Revolutionary Liberation Front, People's Liberation Organisation of Tamil Eelam,, North East Provincial Council members and several Local Authority Chairmen are said to be part of this new party.
The agreement was reached after talks between
Solheim is scheduled to meet
The government will agree to the destination, senior presidential sources s aid. Talks are likely to start next month, they said.
Norwegian envoy holding crucial talks with guerrilla leader to save
Norwegian envoy
Solheim was meeting Tiger leader
In the latest of a series of attacks blamed on the rebels, a police officer was wounded when a grenade was thrown at a security bunker in the northern town of
Police on Wednesday were also searching for those responsible for a series of explosions in the Sri Lankan capital that caused widespread panic but no known casualties, Deputy Inspector General of Police P. Jayasundara said.
Separately, unidentified gunmen shot and killed two people, believed to be rebel supporters, in the Tamil city of Jaffna, about 40 kilometers (25 mile) south of Kilinochchi on Wednesday, a police officer said.
About 81 government security personnel have been killed in attacks by suspected Tamil Tigers since Dec. 4. The rebels deny involvement. Another 40 civilians have been killed by unidentified assailants, with the government and the rebels blaming each other for the killings.
Solheim played a key role in arranging the cease-fire, halting nearly two decades of civil war that killed 65,000 people from both sides. Subsequent peace talks broke down in April 2003 when the Tigers withdrew demanding more autonomy for the Tamil-majority north and east.
Both the government and the Tigers have said that they are willing to resume talks aimed at proper implementation of the cease-fire to end the violence.
However, disagreement over the venue and the agenda have delayed the resumption of talks. The Tigers want the talks to be in
The rebels want the government to disarm armed groups opposed to the rebels first and then meet. The government, in turn, says the Tigers should stop attacking government forces first.
The rebels have fought the government since 1983 to create a separate state for ethnic minority Tamils accusing majority Sinhalese of discrimination.
Human Rights Watch (HRW) say that Tamil Tiger killings of political opponents reached the rate of one per day by June 2005.
Issuing its world report for 2006 on Wednesday, HRW says that this "alarming rate" owed to to the killing of "particularly of Tamils in opposition to the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam".
Stating that "respect for human rights has been seriously eroded" over the past year in several Asian countries, HRW particularly names Nepal, Cambodia, Thailand, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and China,
"Tamil Tigers continued to assassinate political opponents with complete impunity," accuses HRW.
Noting that the December 2004 tsunami "wrought tremendous destruction," particularly to the areas already most affected by the country's protracted civil war, HRW says "sectarian interests hijacked aid distribution mechanisms".
According to this report, since February 2002 Ceasefire agreement, "an estimated two hundred Tamils have been killed for apparently political reasons. Most of the killings have been attributed to the LTTE."
The HRW blames the security forces for extra judicial killings. "While some cases of deaths in custody and torture have been investigated, no one has been prosecuted or punished as yet," the report adds.
Releasing another report on the human rights situation in ten Asian countries The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) reiterated the allegation by saying, "the Sri Lankan police are granted further impunity to commit abuses".
Without a functioning National Police Commission, AHRC say "criminal elements within the police will be encouraged to blatantly flout legal and disciplinary provisions, while complainants receive threats and intimidation".
"A start can be made by implementing the recommendations of the Human Rights Committee and the Committee against Torture."
Norwegian Ambassador to
He said that he had no reason to believe that the Tamil Tigers will go to war and was optimistic that the LTTE wants to come to the negotiation table.
Speaking on the scheduled visit of Norwegian envoy
Tamil Tiger negotiator
He said “it is not the LTTE. It is not the government, but we know who they are”
Howeve,r Haukland did not disclose who is responsible for the attacks.
An explosive devise was set off at the Batticaloa SLMM office on Friday night.
Commenting on the attacks on security personnel in the north and east S.P.Thamilselvan, leader of of the Tamil Tiger political wing said that it was a reaction from the civilians.
“Our people are been handled in a high handed manner and they are reacting ’’ said Thamilselvan.
