Sri Lanka 's Jaffna University reopens after six months

Associated Press, Mon February 19, 2007 03:33 EST . - - JAFFNA, Sri Lanka - (AP) Sri Lanka's Jaffna University reopened Monday, authorities said, after being closed in August following renewed fighting in the northeastern region between the military and separatist rebels. The university, famed as one of the best educational institutions in Sri Lanka, has about 5,000 students and six faculties. The university was opened in 1974.

It was shut down after fighting broke out between the separatist Tamil Tiger rebels and the military on Aug, 11. After the clashes, the road to Jaffna from the south was closed by the government, saying the rebels were using it to transport weapons and fighters and taxing traders.

The university was subsequently shut down. The A-9 road remains closed, but supplies have resumed to Jaffna, the traditional homeland of the ethnic minority Tamils, by sea.

The Tamil Tigers have been fighting since 1983 to establish an independent homeland for Tamils following decades of discrimination by the Sinhalese-dominated government

SRI LANKA: Newsprint Shortage Adds to Curbs on Media

ipsnews.net, February 19, 2007. COLOMBO, Feb 19 (IPS) - Residents of the embattled northern Sri Lankan town of Jaffna who get to see the ‘Uthayan’ newspaper often get a copy that is thumb-worn and soiled from having passed through the hands of many avid readers.

Every single copy of this Tamil-language daily published in Jaffna, where the demand and the thirst for news has soared in the past year, is read by more people per copy than the average in most countries.

"Some 30 to 40 residents read each copy which is passed from house to house down a street and then returned to its original owner," says V. Kanamylnathan, the long-standing editor of the newspaper that is struggling to cope with an unlikely opponent -- an acute shortage of newsprint

Srilankans executed in Saudi

bbc, February 19. The Saudi Arabian interior ministry says four Sri Lankans convicted of armed robbery have been beheaded by the sword in the capital Riyadh. A statement published by the official SPA news agency named the four as Victor Corea, Ranjith de Silva, Sanath Pushpakumara and Sharmal Sangeeth Kumara.

It said they had been executed for robbing a number of businesses at gunpoint.

Executions are usually carried out in public in conservative Saudi Arabia, which applies a strict form of Sharia, or Islamic law. The Saudi government has announced at least fifteen executions so far this year.

Pak eyes larger share of SL's arms market

TOI, Feb 18, 2007. NEW DELHI: With an eye to corner a major share of Sri Lanka's military imports primarily aimed at countering the LTTE, a high-level Pakistani team led by Defence Secretary Tariq Waseem Ghazi will visit the island nation on Monday.

The visit comes in the wake of reports of alleged sleaze and bad quality arms received by Sri Lankan forces from Pakistan.

Colombo has placed orders worth up to 100 million dollars with Pakistan for tanks, armoured vehicles, different kinds of bombs, explosives, ammunition and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), premier journal Jane's Defence Weekly and Sri Lankan media reports have said, confirming that the value of the deals could go up to 200 million dollars in the next 18 months.

Rebel mortar fire injures civilians in Sri Lanka s northeast

people.com.cn, February 18, 2007. At least 3 civilians including a child were injured when the Tamil Tiger rebels fired mortars at a northeastern village, defense officials said Sunday.

The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) fired mortars landed at Ethavatunuwewa village in Welioya, a northeastern border village around 2 a.m local time Sunday (2030 GMT).

Officials said the mortar landed on a bunker housing civilians located close to a military detachment. Meanwhile, the death toll on Saturday's claymore mine explosion in Jaffna peninsula had risen to 4, officials said.

Largest Haul Of Weapons In The History Of The Sri Lanka Army From Operations In The East

From: www.army.lk 2007-02-17 02:02:15

THE SECURITY FORCES launched a limited military operation on 29th October 2006 to liberate the Un-cleared areas of VAKARAI as the LTTE terrorists had used the people in these areas as "Human Shields' to locate their guns and mortars to target the Security Forces.

Since the military operation was successfully completed on 19th January 2007, the Army is now engaged in a massive clearing operation including a de-mining programme for the resettlement of the people displaced by the LTTE terrorist activities.

In a search operation conducted on Saturday 17th February morning, twenty eight T 56 assault rifles, and an RPG have been recovered from the area.

Large quantities of arms including heavy weapons, explosive devices, mines, small arms , mortars and equipment have been recovered in the process of the clearing and de – mining operations. A total of two 152 mm artillery guns, five 120mm mortars, eight 81mm mortars, six hundred and twenty four T 56 assault rifles, two anti – anti-craft guns, RPG launchers and rockets , two suicide boats fitted with 22 and 24 Claymore mines each, seventy one claymore mines (some weighing 10-15 kg), thirteen machine guns, thirty four high tech communication sets, sixty two I-Com radio sets, large quantities of ammunition of all types, and anti- personnel mines have been recovered up to yesterday ( 16th February).

The Security Forces were compelled to launch the limited operation in the East on humanitarian considerations due to the closure of the Mavilaru anicut on 20th July 2006 by the LTTE terrorists which deprived drinking water to over 15,000 people and irrigation facilities for 30,000 acres of paddy and subsistence crops. This operation was launched on the 26th and the anicut was re –opened by Troops on the 8th of August . The LTTE terrorists then fired artillery displacing 40,000 Muslim people in the Mutur and Sampur area even threatening the Trincomallee harbour which compelled the Army to launch a humanitarian operation on 26th August. The entire area was cleared by 4th September.

Meanwhile the Special Task Force (STF)launched an operation to liberate the people from the grip of LTTE terror by destroying all their camps in the KANJIKUDICHCHIARU AREA.

His Excellency President Mahinda Rajapaksa visited VAKARAI on the eve of the 59th Independence Day (4th) to congratulate Troops, meet the people and to assess the situation in the area.

This is the largest haul of heavy weapons and small arms, explosives, claymore mines and high tech equipment left behind by the fleeing LTTE terrorists in the entire history in the twenty five year old history of the armed conflict.

The Army is continuing search and clearing operations. This is to achieve the target of resettling the displaced civilians of VAKARAI , BATTICALOA, as early as possible in spite of the grave risks due to the anti personnel mines, booby traps, Claymore mines and an assortment of explosives laid by the LTTE terrorists against the Security Forces.

Roadside blast kills civilian, wounds 5 soldiers in northern Sri Lanka , military says

Associated Press, Sat February 17, 2007 04:45 EST . - - COLOMBO, Sri Lanka - (AP) A roadside bomb blast killed a civilian and wounded five soldiers in northern Sri Lanka - on Saturday, the military said.

The attack by suspected Tamil Tiger rebels targeted a bus transporting soldiers in Tamil-majority northern Jaffna city, the government's national security media center said.

Sri Lanka military finds assault rifles hidden in former rebel-held village

Associated Press, Sat February 17, 2007 04:22 EST . COLOMBO, Sri Lanka - (AP) Sri Lanka - 's army found assault rifles Saturday hidden in an eastern village that it captured last month from Tamil Tiger rebels, a military spokesman said. The rebels have been fighting since 1983 to establish an independent homeland for Sri Lanka - 's minority ethnic Tamils following decades of discrimination under the majority Sinhalese-dominated government.

India seizes weapons, explosives destined for Sri Lankan rebels; detain 5 people

Associated Press, Wed February 14, 2007 05:43 EST . K.N. ARUN - Associated Press Writer - CHENNAI, India (AP) India's navy and coast guard have seized two caches of weapons and explosive-making material believed destined for Sri Lanka - 's Tamil Tiger rebels, and detained five people, officials said Wednesday. The material included hundreds of anodes, metal rings, rubber washers and metal nails all of which are used to make the lethal roadside bombs and land mines favored by the Tigers, who have been fighting since 1983 for a homeland for Sri Lanka - 's Tamil minority.

``We are convinced the consignment was meant for the LTTE,'' van Haltern said, using an acronym for the rebels' formal name, the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam. He did not elaborate.

Another suspected LTTE cache was found Tuesday aboard a boat intercepted near the town of Point Calimere, about 450 kilometers (280 miles) south of Chennai, said coast guard Cmdr. S.K. Panwar.

All five of the men detained were aboard the fiberglass boat, and three are suspected to be members of the Tigers, Panwar told the AP.

``We have seized one AK-56 assault rifle, 124 rounds of ammunition, huge quantities of hand grenades and detonators. There were also eight barrels containing a white colored chemical, which we suspect could be ammonia-based and usable in making explosives,'' he said.

Tamil Nadu state is home to nearly 56 million Tamils, who share broad cultural ties with Sri Lanka - 's 3.1 million Tamils. While many in Tamil Nadu sympathize with the plight of Sri Lanka - 's Tamils who have faced decades of discrimination from the island nation's Sinhala majority there is only tepid support for the Tigers in the Indian state.

India's government also has been reluctant to become deeply involved in Sri Lanka - since a disastrous military intervention in the 1980s led to the assassination of former Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi by a Tiger suicide bomber.

Sri Lankan military says 690 kilograms of powerful C4 explosives found in Jaffna

Associated Press, Wed February 14, 2007 03:25 EST Associated Press Writer - COLOMBO, Sri Lanka - (AP) Sri Lanka - 's military found 690 kilograms (1,518 pounds) of powerful military-grade C4 explosives in the northern city of Jaffna, an official said Wednesday. Jaffna, 300 kilometers (185 miles) north of Colombo, is the main ethnic Tamil city in the northern peninsula, which is home to Sri Lanka - 's Tamil minority on whose behalf Tamil Tiger rebels say they are fighting to create a separate homeland.

Samarasinghe said the house was specially built and had false walls. The 23 boxes of explosives, each containing 30 kilograms (66 pounds), were placed between the dummy walls, he said.

``This was a special ammunition storage site for the Tigers,'' Samarasinghe said, adding that the haul was the result of a civilian tip-off. ``The explosives were good enough to blow up large buildings.''

Calls to rebel headquarters in Kilinochchi for comment were not answered.

Separately, clashes between security personnel and rebels in eastern Ampara on Wednesday killed at least four people, Samarasinghe said.

Fighting between the Tamil Tigers and the military has left at least 68,000 people dead, including about 3,600 who died last year despite a 2002 Norwegian-brokered cease-fire.

Both sides claim they are still adhering to the truce.

A pro-rebel Web site says Sri Lanka 's air force has bombed a northern rebel territory

Associated Press, Mon February 12, 2007 03:32 EST . COLOMBO, Sri Lanka - (AP) Sri Lanka - 's air force bombed areas controlled by Tamil Tiger rebels in the island's volatile north on Monday, a pro-rebel Web site said. Bombs were dropped into rebel-held Mullaitivu district in the morning, TamilNet Web site reported, without giving details. There was no immediate comment from the Sri Lankan military.

Military Gains In Sri Lanka No Cause For Euphoria

PR-Inside.com, 12 Feb 2007 10:05 EDT. 2007-02-12 13:45:57 - Donor countries have pledged another $4.5 billion by way of aid to Sri Lanka, but have frowned upon the Mahindra Rajapaksa Government's pursuit of only military strategy against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam and inadequate focus on a negotiated political settlement Donor countries have pledged another $4.5 billion by way of aid to Sri Lanka, but have frowned upon the Mahindra Rajapaksa Government's pursuit of only military strategy against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam and inadequate focus on a negotiated political settlement. The Norwegian-brokered cease-fire is as good as dead, though neither side has formally abrogated it. The international community has made it clear that conversion of $ 9 billion worth of aid pledges into hard cash will be dependent on the progress of the peace process. Power sharing and devolution would expand the development horizons for the country, with higher aid and private capital inflows, and accelerate development of conflict affected and other lagging regions.

Sri Lankan navy destroys a Tamil rebel boat, at least 8 rebels killed

Associated Press, Sun February 11, 2007 23:49 EST . COLOMBO, Sri Lanka - (AP) Sri Lanka - 's navy said it destroyed a separatist rebel boat on Monday, killing at least eight insurgents off the country's east coast. One boat was destroyed and another boat was recovered, along with a body and weapons, said navy spokesman Commander D.K.P. Dassanayake.

He said the sea clash broke out after the navy spotted two suspicious boats in a restricted area off the coast of the eastern town of Pulmoddai, about 225 kilometers (140 miles) from the capital Colombo, at dawn Monday. No insurgent Tamil Tiger rebels survived the battle, said Dassanayake, adding that the navy suffered no damage. There was no immediate comment from the rebels, who have fought government troops since 1983 in an attempt to create an independent homeland for minority ethnic Tamils after decades of discrimination by the majority Sinhalese. The fighting has killed more than 68,000 people, including about 3,600 fighters and civilians who died after violence began escalating in late 2005 despite a cease-fire brokered by Norway in 2002. Both sides claim they are still adhering to the truce.

Sri Lanka President leaves on a foreign tour in domestic political rift

Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse on Sunday started a 3-day tour to the Maldivian Islands amidst an internal political rift.

The Sri Lankan President is expected to hold talks with his Maldivian counterpart, Abdul Gayoom, the Colombo foreign ministry said.

Rajapakse on Friday sacked Anura Bandaranaike, Mangala Samaraweera and Sripathi Suriyarachchi from ministerial positions, in a controversial move.

Addressing his Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP), the dominant party of the ruling United People's Freedom Alliance (UPFA) coalition, here Saturday, the Sri Lankan President said that the three sacked ministers had plotted to destabilize his government.

The SLFP's executive committee had approved the removal of three ministers.

Sri Lanka military: 2 Tamil Tiger rebels killed in clashes with army

Associated Press, Sun February 11, 2007 01:34 EST . COLOMBO, Sri Lanka - (AP) Sri Lankan troops clashed with separatist Tamil Tiger rebels, leaving two of the guerrillas dead in the country's volatile north, the military said Sunday.

The Tigers attacked army troops on a foot patrol Saturday in Welioya, about 255 kilometers (160 miles) northeast of the capital, Colombo, said senior Defense Ministry official Lt. Col. Upali Rajapakse.

The soldiers retaliated and two insurgents were killed in the fight, Rajapakse said.

There was no immediate comment from the rebels.

The tigers have fought government troops since 1983 in an attempt to create an independent homeland for minority ethic Tamils after decades of discrimination by the majority Sinhalese.

The fighting has killed more than 68,000 people, including about 3,600 fighters and civilians who died after violence began escalating in late 2005 despite a cease-fire brokered by Norway in 2002.

Both sides claim they are still adhering to the truce.

The Tigers have recently suffered a series of defeats, with government troops capturing several of their strategic eastern enclaves since September.

On Jan. 19, Sri Lankan troops in the east seized an eastern coastal strip that the military says was a main base for the Tigers' naval activities.

PAGE-01

PAGE-02

PAGE-05

PAGE-06

PAGE-07

Why Mahinda sacked his top ministers

By sacking top line ministers Mangala Samaraweera, Anura Bandaranaike and Sripathi Sooriyarachchi on Friday, Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa has sent out a clear warning that he will not tolerate the formation of any group in the ruling Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) which owes allegiance to his main rival, former President Chandrika Kumaratunga.

Samaraweera, Bandaranaike and Sooriyarachchi are closely identified with Kumaratunga, who Rajapaksa sees as a threat to the emerging order in the SLFP, though she no longer holds any political office and does not even reside in Sri Lanka.

Bandaranaike, who is Kumaratunga's younger brother, had been constantly talking of his being a scion of the Bandaranaike clan which founded the SLFP.

Samaraweera had been in touch with Kumaratunga. And his Sinhala paper Mawbima had been attacking Rajapaksa for the past one year.

All this did not fit Rajapaksa's plan to build an SLFP whose leaders would owe everything to him; depend entirely on him; and who would under no circumstances, hark back to the days when they were with Kumaratunga.

In the process of building a new-look SLFP and government, Rajapaksa had brought in his brothers, Basil Rajapaksa and Gotabhaya Rajapaksa.

It is this troika which has been running the party and the government.

The move to alienate the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) and admit a large number of defectors from the opposition United National Party (UNP) into the government was essentially meant to discard the old props and put up new ones.

The admission of 33 defectors, including 18 from the UNP, has lessened Rajapaksa's dependence on the Kumaratunga faction and the JVP, both of which could legitimately act as a check on him.

These moves were slammed by Samaraweera in a recent letter to Rajapaksa.

Rajapaksa reacted by downgrading Samaraweera and Bandaranaike in the last cabinet reshuffle, virtually asking them to go.

But Samaraweera intensified the conflict by trying to garner support among partymen.

Bandaranaike charged that some people close to Rajapaksa had threatened to skin him and Samaraweera alive and hang them.

In an angry retort, Rajapaksa said that nobody had a birth right to lead the SLFP and that he would establish that it belonged to the man in the street.

Warning that he would deal with dissidence with a heavy hand, he used a Sinhala expression which meant that he could be as hard as a village toughie if he wanted to.

The very next day, the dissident leaders were sacked.

Hindu priest gunned down in east Sri Lanka , military blames Tamil rebels

Associated Press, Thu February 8, 2007 01:51 EST . DILIP GANGULY - Associated Press Writer - COLOMBO, Sri Lanka - (AP) Gunmen shot dead an ethnic Tamil Hindu priest who had publicly welcomed Sri Lanka's president to a strife-torn eastern village after the military drove out Tamil Tiger insurgents, the Defense Ministry said Thursday. The government says it is willing to give limited autonomy to areas where Tamils live, but the rebels want to secede from Sri Lanka.
The military has managed to push the rebels out of their bases in some parts of east.

Sri Lanka attacks rebel training base in the north

COLOMBO, Feb 8, 2007 (Xinhua via COMTEX) - Sri Lanka Air Force on Thursday carried out air raids against Tamil Tiger rebel training facilities in the north, defense officials said.

Brigadier Prasad Samarasinghe, the military spokesman, said that Air Force helicopters had dropped bombs around 10:00 a.m. local time (0430 GMT) at the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam ( LTTE) sea wing training base in Mullaitivu, an area under Tiger control.

Samarasinghe said that the Air Force on Wednesday had similarly air raided LTTE facilities in the eastern port district of Trincomalee.

"We had heard that LTTE rebels were increasing their fighting cadre recruitment in the area," Samarasinghe said.

Officials said that a vessel carrying civilians from the northern Jaffna peninsula had arrived in the port of Trincomalee Thursday morning.

The government says the rebel threat is fast diminishing in the Eastern Province with the government's military successes.

In early September last year, the troops took control of Sampur, a key rebel stronghold south of the Trincomalee harbor.

On January 19, the troops annexed Vakarai, another key rebel center in the east.

President Mahinda Rajapakse last week visited both areas and vowed to restore civil administration soon for the first time in over a decade.

Some 40,000 civilians were estimated to have been displaced from Vakarai and the government claimed that they would be re- settled upon action to restore the infrastructure.

Nearly 68,000 have been killed in the island country's ethnic conflict since the mid-1980s.

Over 150 killed in a month's violence in Sri Lanka

Over 150 people were killed in violence over the last one month's period in Sri Lanka's restive north and east zones, Prime Minister Ratnasiri Wickramanayake told parliament on Wednesday

Speaking in the monthly parliamentary debate to extend the state of emergency by a further month, Wickramanayake said that some 53 troops and 101 civilians were killed in the escalation of violence.

Some 200 civilians and 181 troops were injured in the clashes, the prime minister added.

He said the state of emergency which gives sweeping powers to government troops to crackdown on terror acts of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) needs to be continued further.

Government troops annexed the key rebel stronghold of Vakarai in the Eastern Province mid-January, putting the area under government control for the first time in over a decade.

President Mahinda Rajapakse who is also the commander-in-chief of the troops visited the area last week and paid tribute to the troops for gaining Vakarai without a single civilian casualty.

Meanwhile the government on Wednesday accused a group of majority Sinhala community activists for working hand-in-glove with LTTE rebels.

Keheliya Rambukwella, the minister of Foreign Employment Promotion and the government's defense spokesman said that a journalist was among the three people arrested for links with the LTTE.

They had confessed to undergoing military training in the rebel held Kilinochchi in the north, Rambukwella told reporters.

He said a large haul of arms and ammunition had been recovered in the possession of the three arrested Sinhalese.

Sri Lankan air force bombs Tamil Tiger positions in northeast

Associated Press, Tue February 6, 2007 07:56 EST . BHARATHA MALLAWARACHI - Associated Press Writer - COLOMBO, Sri Lanka - (AP) Sri Lankan air force helicopters bombed two Tamil Tiger rebel positions near a strategic port and air base in northeastern Trincomalee District Tuesday while in capital Colombo, a bomb on display accidentally exploded, wounding 17 people, military said. There was no independent confirmation of the report and the rebels, who say they are fighting to create a separate homeland for Sri Lanka - 's 3.1 million Tamils, could not be reached immediately for comment.

Samarasinghe said two rebel locations were bombed after surveillance noticed that the insurgents were gathering at the two points.

It was not immediately known if the rebels suffered casualties.

Also on Tuesday, 17 people were hurt at an exhibition when a bomb on display exploded, a doctor and a military official said.

An anti-personnel mine accidentally detonated while officers were explaining to viewers how it works, said Lt. Col. Upali Rajapakse, a senior Defense Ministry official.

``We are treating 17 injured persons, including two Buddhist monks and two police commandoes,'' said Dr. Hector Weerasinghe, head of the Colombo's main hospital. Two patients were in critical condition.

The exhibition, organized by the government to commemorate the country's 59th anniversary of independence, had stalls showcasing military equipment, explosives and weapons captured from separatist Tamil Tiger rebels. The exhibition was being held at the capital's main exhibition center.

Rajapakse said the explosion was not linked to the rebel insurgency. Over the last few weeks, security has been tightened in the capital with an increased troop presence on the roads due to Independence Day celebrations.

Meanwhile, Samarasinghe, the military spokesman, visited the scene of the explosion and apologized to the victims.

The Tamil Tigers have been fighting since 1983 to create the homeland. A 2002 cease-fire halted the open war, but last year saw increasing hostility with about 3,600 people dying in violence last year.

The government says it is willing to give limited autonomy in areas where Tamil live, but rebels want sweeping autonomy which the government says will infringe on the island nation's sovereignty

Bomb explosion in capital Colombo wounds at least 14 civilians, military says

Associated Press, Tue February 6, 2007 05:43 EST . - - COLOMBO, Sri Lanka - (AP) At least fourteen people were hurt at an exhibition when a bomb on display exploded, a doctor military said.

The bomb was on display at an exhibit in the capital, Colombo, and exploded possibly due to heat, said Lt. Col. Upali Rajapakse, a senior Defense Ministry official.

``We are treating 14 injured persons, including two Buddhist monks,'' said Dr. Hector Weerasinghe, head of the Colombo's main hospital. Three patients were in critical condition.

The exhibition, organized by the government to commemorate the country's 59th anniversary of independence, had stalls showcasing military equipment and explosives.

Sri Lankan capital on alert after police seize fake vehicle plates

Associated Press, Mon February 5, 2007 04:42 EST . r COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) _ Sri Lankan police seized 91 vehicle number plates from a train in a Tamil-majority northeastern town, the military said Monday, sparking some concern in the capital that Tamil rebels could be planning a car bomb attack.

Military spokesman Brig. Prasad Samarasinghe, however, said it was still unclear exactly where the plates were being taken or what their intended use was.

``We don't know what their plan is, but we are investigating, but the number plates were found in Trincomalee on a train that had originated in Colombo,'' he said, correcting an earlier report that the train was heading to the capital.

The plates were found during a routine check of the train on Sunday evening as Sri Lankans celebrated their 59th Independence Day. Four people _ all ethnic Tamil men _ were arrested after a search of the train, Samarasinghe said.

Although Samarasinghe dismissed earlier reports that the plates could have been used by Tamil Tiger rebels in a suicide car bombing, the news alarmed Colombo, which has frequently been targeted by the insurgents in their decades-long civil war.

Security was tightened in the capital, where there was already an increased troop presence on the roads due to Independence Day celebrations.

Earlier, suspected Tamil Tiger rebels killed a Sri Lankan soldier during a raid on a northern security post early Monday in Vavuniya, the last government-held town ahead of rebel territory. The Defense Ministry said Tamil Tigers raided the post before dawn, killing one soldier and wounding three.

Meanwhile, an army foot patrol was attacked Sunday night near Trincomalee, a port town. The patrol fired back and a search operation found the body of a rebel. The military suffered no casualties.

The Tamil Tigers, formally called the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, have been fighting since 1983 to create an independent homeland for the country's ethnic minority Tamils after decades of discrimination by the majority Sinhalese.

About 3,600 people have died since violence escalated early last year despite a 2002 cease-fire.

The government says it is willing to give limited autonomy in areas where Tamil live, but rebels want sweeping autonomy which the government says will infringe on the island nation's sovereignty.

Refugees refuse to go back without a guarantee on safety

Refugees who fled the former LTTE-stronghold, Vakarai, have urged the Sri Lankan authorities to guarantee their safety before returning home.

The eastern Sri Lankan town was captured by the Sri Lanka security forces in early January.

President Mahinda Rajapaksa and armed forces commanders made a surprise visit to Vakarai and other captured areas on Saturday.

Rajapaksa pledged to 'liberate' Tamils and bring normalcy to the captured areas.

17,000 refugees

Nearly 17,000 refugees from over 4000 families are now living in temporary camps or with relatives.

President Rajapaksa made a surprise visit to Vakarai

President pledged to bring normalcy to recently captured areas

The refugees who earlier lived in 37 villages near Vakarai under LTTE-control fled their homes as violence escalated between Sri Lanka troops and Tamil Tigers.

Most of them are willing go back to their homes.

But the government should guarantee a safe return and pledge not to continue with attacks or search operations, they say.

Search operations

"There is no point of going back if we were to be arrested and sent to Boossa detention camp," a refugee told journalist Shanthi Selvadorai who visited a camp in Valaichchenai.

"We need to live a normal life".

Many refugees stressed that no militant group should be given free reign in and around Vakarai.

Presence of the militant groups, whether LTTE or anti-LTTE faction, would create more tension in already volatile eastern district, they said.

PAGE-06

PAGE-08

Sri Lanka president courts right-wing Buddhists, offers them environment portfolio

Associated Press, Thu February 1, 2007 06:38 EST COLOMBO, Sri Lanka - (AP) President Mahinda Rajapakse cemented his majority in Sri Lanka - 's Parliament by courting a party of hardline Buddhist monks and offering its lawmakers a ministerial office, officials said Thursday. A total of 19 members of the main opposition United National Party crossed over to the government side, while six members from the Sri Lanka - Muslim Congress also joined the administration.

The UNP has said Rajapakse's move to lure its members to defect has effectively ended a previous agreement between them to cooperate in solving the island's two-decade-long separatist war.

A negotiated power-sharing settlement with ethnic minority Tamils could be further hampered by the inclusion of the monks' party in government, as they have stridently opposed any talks with Tamil separatist rebels.

The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam rebels have been fighting since 1983 to create a separate homeland for the country's 3.1 million minority Tamils, saying that after decades of discrimination, Tamils can prosper only away from the domination of the majority Sinhalese.

About 68,000 people have been killed in the fighting, including some 3,600 fighters and civilians who died last year when the conflict escalated despite a 2002 Norway-brokered cease-fire.

Sri Lanka leftist party emerging as main opposition

font size ZoomIn ZoomOut

Sri Lanka's main leftist party, the JVP or the People's Liberation Front, claimed Thursday that it was fast emerging as the country's main opposition.

Somawansa Amerasinghe, the JVP leader, told reporters that "we are on the way of becoming the main opposition party. That is a wish of the people and it should happen."

The JVP said that the party will have to act as the country's main opposition with responsibility in view of mass defections by the current main opposition party, the United National Party (UNP), to the government of President Mahinda Rajapakse.

Some 18 members joined the Rajapakse administration on Sunday with 10 of them becoming cabinet ministers.

Political sources said that more UNP members are to join the government soon.

The JVP has a strength of 38 seats in the 225-member parliament and the UNP is left with just 44 after Sunday's defections.

The JVP leader dismissed government accusations that it was the refusal by the JVP to join the government that had led to the UNP members being accommodated in the government.

Amerasinghe stressed that his party was having talks with President Rajapakse based on a program in order to join the government.

"However the president started talks with the UNP even before our talks came into any conclusion," the JVP leader said.

The JVP was instrumental in ensuring Rajapakse's victory in the presidential election of November 2005 but stayed out of the government on policy differences -- mainly on the issue of peace negotiations with Tamil Tiger rebels.

Although opposing the government in parliament, Amerasinghe said that his party would support the government on its campaign against terrorism in the north and east.