Prabhakaran and a few of his cohorts are now completely surrounded and are expected to commit suicide within the next 24hrs, thus ending a 30 year-old bloody conflict once and for all.
There is no heavy fighting at this moment as regular troops engage in clearing operations removing civilians from the area. The LTTE has given up the fight!
President Mahinda Rajapakse is expected to make a speech on Sunday afternoon or Monday morning to declare the victory. He is expected to land tomorrow morning.
Middle-level LTTE leaders are surrendering in large numbers. High profile leaders like Poddu, Soosei, Bhanu, Rathnam etc are still alive with their leader and have surrounded themselves with several hundred civilians. They are expected to blow themselves up. The Army expects the civilians to escape before this suicide.
Among those who surrendered today was the wife of LTTE Political Wing Leader Thamil Selvan. She was caught with her new lover while escaping from the LTTE.
The Army has now withdrawn the cream of its fighting units. Yesterday's operation to rescue civilians was conducted primarily by fresh Special Forces recruits from 4 SF who drew a cable and inflated tyre tubes to save trapped civilians crossing the lagoon/sea.
The 59, for example, is operating with a batallion of 4SF but primarily with 1 Mechanized Infantry with two platoons from 3 Mechanized Infantry in the reserve. Since what is left now is a clearing operation, the going is easy for them.
>> Full Story
Saturday, May 16, 2009
Prabha to commit suicide
Soosai, Pottu and Swarnam in NFZ but no sign of Prabhakaran - Brig. Shavendra Silva
(Lanka-e-News 16.May.2009 3.45PM) 'Pottu Amman, Swarnam and Soosai are still entrenched in the No Fire Zone. We have heard their voices through their communication system but we are in no position now to confirm whether Prabhakaran is inside with them or somewhere else said Brigade Commander of the 58 Division Brigadier Shavendra Silva in an interview with the other web site.
Tigers are still in possession of two or three heavy weapons but have lost almost all their main weapons and even the manpower has gone down very badly. While many of the cadres perished on the front lines, a number of them have also fled from the LTTE and surrendered to the Armed Forces said Brigadier.
>> Full Story
Last call from Prabakaran to KP
(Lanka-e-News, 16.May.2009, 1.30 PM)A source linked to an Italian intelligence firm said that LTTE leader Vslupillai Prabakaran has talked to his right arm associate Kumaran Pathmanathan alias KP, the LTTE’s international arms dealer, over a satellite phone.
The phone call was made around 2 AM on May 07 from Sri Lanka to Malaysia, says the intelligence bureau that is monitoring the communication of the international terrorist organizations. The LTTE leader asked KP to assume the leadership of the LTTE and lead the struggle following any circumstance within the coming few days. He has urged KP to work with the people mentioned in an email he has sent. Prabakaran has asked to carry on the struggle since the conditions are good for the Ealam struggle internationally, the Intelligence bureau.
The voice of the LTTE leader was feeble because he might have been ill or angry, said the bureau adding that the voice matching software has proved that the voice was Prabakaran’s.
Political observers say that Prabakaran’s phone call can be a crucial one since the LTTE leaders were sending their wives and families to Army-held areas since the following May 15.
>> Full Story
Sri Lanka issue failed in Tamil Nadu, says DMK leader
New Delhi, (IANS) DMK leader Dayanidhi Maran said Saturday that the victory of his party in the Lok Sabha elections in Tamil Nadu showed that the Sri Lankan issue had failed to sway voters in the state.
As the DMK proved pollsters wrong with a strong performance in a majority of Tamil Nadu’s 39 Lok Sabha seats, Maran told NDTV TV: “People (of Tamil Nadu) have given a clear mandate.”
Asked if the emotive issue of Sri Lanka’s military offensive against the Tamil Tigers had played a role in balloting, as many had expected, he said: “That has not played a role.”
AIADMK leader J. Jayalalithaa and her allies in the MDMK and PMK had taken an aggressive line in Tamil Nadu during the election campaign blaming the Sri Lankan and Indian governments for the suffering of Tamil civilians in the island nation.
Jayalalithaa threatened to send the Indian Army to Sri Lanka to carve out a Tamil Eelam state if her coalition won most seats in Tamil Nadu and if she ended up playing a key role in government formation in New Delhi.
>> Full Story
Will return from Jordon to a terror free nation- President
President Mahinda Rajapaksa addressing the G11 Summit in Jordan today has said he will return to Sri Lanka as a leader of a nation that vanquished terrorism. The President has meanwhile cut short his Jordon trip and will return tomorrow morning, a government official told Daily Mirror.
He was earlier scheduled to return on Monday.
The President was meanwhile briefed about the developments in the north by Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa this morning.
>> Full Story
India’s Congress led UPA all set to return to power
Riding on a strong performance in game-changing states, the Congress today powered the UPA for another term in office with the coalition close to majority in the Lok Sabha without the need for allies like the Left parties.
The party has won 76 seats and was leading in 129 others in a House of 543, its best performance after 1991 when it secured 244 seats. And with allies DMK and Trinamool Congress, who have done exceedingly well, the Congress-led UPA is poised to get 257 seats.
The NDA led by BJP was far behind at 166 seats with the saffron party alone winning 50 seats and was ahead in 67 others.
BJP ally Shiv Sena has won 3 seats and was ahead in 8 while other allies Akali Dal was ahead in 4. Its other ally RLD has one seat and was ahead in four.
The Third Front, including the Left parties, was ahead in 76 constituencies while the Fourth Front comprising RJD and SP was leading in 26 seats.
On its road to victory, the Congress humbled the Left Front in its bastions of West Bengal and Kerala and put up an impressive showing in Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu that vastly tilted the scales in favour of the UPA. The party also did well in Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Punjab and Haryana. – (NDTV)
>> Full Story
Tiger supporters set fire to Toronto Mahavihara
Madeleine White
Staff Reporter
A Buddhist monk believes an early morning fire at a temple in Scarborough is related to the ongoing conflict in Sri Lanka.
Police and the Ontario Fire Marshal's Office are investigating after the Sri Lankan Buddhist temple's east emergency entrance was found burning around 4:30 a.m.
Three monks were in the building, located on Kingston Rd. just south of Military Trail Rd., and escaped uninjured to a smaller building beside the temple after calling police.
Nalaka, a resident monk, said he believes the incident is connected to the war in Sri Lanka. He also said the monks have received threats in the last week.
A former resident, who goes to the temple, said the incident has caused upset in the Sinhalese community.
"Every single Sinhalese person in Toronto is calling each other right now. It's very alarming," said the resident who did not want to be named.
Police would not confirm whether they believe the fire is an arson, but an official with Toronto Fire Services said they are treating it as suspicious. Damage is estimated at $10,000.
The fire comes less than a week after the main Buddhist temple of the Sri Lankan Buddhist community in France was attacked on May 10. Extensive damage was caused during the incident. The Asian Tribune is reporting monks and community leaders believe it was organized by the international network of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam.
>> Full Story
After the war - Island Editorial
All indications are that the decapitation of the LTTE is imminent. Ink on this comment may still be wet when the final offensive draws to a successful conclusion.
It is not just a civil strife that Sri Lanka has quelled; it has won a ‘world war’, given the backing the LTTE received from the leading nations on a flimsy pretext. It is a miracle that a small country could withstand such unbearable international pressure without buckling and accomplish a military mission against a ruthless terrorist outfit with tentacles spread all over the world. Some world powers stand unmasked! By having made an abortive attempt to scuttle the war against the LTTE, they have forfeited whatever moral right they may have had to crusade against global terrorism.
It is being argued in some quarters that though the LTTE is crushed on the battlefront its war will continue in some other form. Residual terror might last for sometime in the form of terror attacks mainly on civilian targets in the rural backwaters carried out by some remaining LTTE cadres. But, a fully-fledged guerrilla war is never a possibility without a solid base, which the LTTE will be left without after losing the last patch of resistance.
The LTTE managed to wage an effective war of attrition as it operated from the Vanni which no government could wrest control of for over two decades. The LTTE won’t be able to operate from Tamil Nadu either. It no doubt has stockpiles of arms and a support base there but it won’t be able to set up base there because of India’s national security concerns. No other country will want to harbour the LTTE anymore. So, anyone who expects an LTTE comeback is only hoping against hope! There is little that the Tiger backers also could do overseas after the collapse of Prabhakaran’s Golden Key with billions of US dollars going down the gurgler. It is doubtful whether they will be left with funds, energy and, most of all, any morale to create another Prabhakaran and begin a separatist project from the very beginning. The biggest problem of what remains of the LTTE will be cadres. The LTTE had to do without volunteers for years and therefore had to recruit child soldiers. Now that the East and the North have been opened up, no more forcible conscriptions will be possible.
Moreover, the Vanni people will never forgive the LTTE for the brutal crimes it perpetrated against them in the name of liberation. Prabhakaran laid bare his true face by killing the hostages who tried to escape. He has killed more Tamil people than members of the armed forces and civilians of other ethnic communities. All the democratic Tamil political leaders have perished at the LTTE’s hands. So, that the LTTE, which was without volunteers to fight for its cause and faced with a severe manpower crisis even when its performance was at its zenith, won’t be able to attract new members to resume terrorism goes without saying.
The LTTE’s failed military campaign may adversely affect many including the bogus peaceniks and the whole caboodle of INGO/NGO activists who lined their pockets on the pretext of conflict resolution and humanitarian assistance. The liberation of the Vanni has proved that they swindled their donors to the tune of millions of US dollars without doing anything for the people in that part of the country. Worse, all their predictions have proved wrong!
>> Full Story
LTTE sealed off from the sea
Two divisions of the military, the 58 and 59 division, linked up this morning and 
sealed off the LTTE from accessing the sea thus confining them to a small land area. Meanwhile more than 9000 civilians fled the conflict zone yesterday.
>> Full Story
Friday, May 15, 2009
Piti Makuna’s days are numbered!
Thousands of parasitoids en route from US to destroy bug that’s destroying papaya, other trees. - By Hassina Leelarathna reporting from Dubai
(May 15, Dubai, Sri Lnaka Guardian) Thousands of hungry parasitoids are enroute to Sri Lanka and will soon be devouring the mealy bugs (piti makuna) that are causing havoc to trees and plants in six provinces and have become a major headache to farmers and politicians alike.
A consignment of 10,000 parasitoids whose scientific name is "Pseudophycus,” reproduced under quarantine conditions at a lab in Puerto Rico, will reach Katunayake on Friday afternoon from where they will be whisked away by Agrarian Services officers to places where they can gorge on the piti makunas, lay eggs on them, and eventually destroy the dreadful bugs.
I say all this with some certainty as the parasitoids, all 10,000 of them, are right here with me, in six plastic vials inside a sealed white cardboard box held securely with a red cloth ribbon, at the Dubai airport as I await the flight to Colombo, the final leg of my trip from Los Angeles.
As local media have reported, the voracious Paracoccus marginatus, AKA Papaya mealy bug, is devastating papaya, manioc, chili and brinjal (eggplant) cultivation in the Western, North Western, Sabaragamuwa and North Central provinces. With a taste for sap or latex milk, it has attacked a wide range of trees including, papaya, araliya (temple flowers), jackfruit, breadfruit, rambutan, as well as foliage plants and citrus trees that are mostly grown in home gardens. Scientists have even warned that araliya and papaya trees face extinction unless the rapid spread of the disease is immediately stalled.
>> Full Story
Sri Lanka will be able to redeem entrapped civilians in NFZ in the next 48 hours- President
(Colombo Lankapuvath May 15) Addressing the Sri Lankan community in Jordan, President Mahinda Rajapaksa stated that the Sri Lankan Forces working tirelessly in the North would be able redeem the Tamil civilian trapped in the No Fire Zone (NFZ) among LTTE cadres as human shields.
Continuing further President appreciated the contributions made towards the motherland by the migrant labour force in Jordon and other Arabian countries. Their participation as a foreign exchange earner is also remarkable and valued.
President said he is aware of the interest of these people in the present situation prevailing in the North. So many soldiers have suffered death over three decades. More recently the LTTE attempted to disrupt the lives of the people in Mawilaru in the east by closing the sluice gate supplying water for their daily needs and farming. Government succeeded in bringing it under control and establishing normalcy.
The government also succeeded in disestablishing the cease fire of 2001 which had given legal right to the LTTE in the East and North. Government troops have succeeded in confining the LTTE to a small stretch of land in the north and is now engaged in the final phase of destroying the LTTE.
>> Full Story
Terror Suspect commits suicide – by jumping off a seven-storied luxurious apartment at Wellawatta
Friday, 15 May 2009
A LTTE terrorist committed suicide by jumping off a seven-storied luxurious apartment in 37th Lane, Wellawatta late last evening (14) when the troops found four explosive-laden LTTE suicide jackets, hidden in the terrorist’s apartment, military sources said.
The terrorist succumbed to his injuries after the fall and has now been identified as Themudara Pillai Sachindran (23).
The dead body of the terrorist is lying at Colombo south (KALUBOWILA) hospital awaiting legal procedures, sources further said.
>> Full Story
Soosai’s wife, son, relatives in Navy hands
LTTE Sea Tiger leader Soosai’s wife, son, Soosai’s sister-in-law and her son have been taken into custody by the Sri Lanka Navy off the coasts of Mullaitivu while attempting to escape by boat. A load of cash too was recovered and is in the process of being counted, says the Navy spokesman.
Video:
The final rescue mission on the way; LTTE continue to fire at escaping civilians
Sri Lankan soldiers have reached the final phase of their hostage rescue mission as they opened up an escape route for the last group of hostages held in the Vellamullivaikkal area last morning (May 14).
According to the latest battlefield reports, troops of 58 Division were just 1.5 km short of dominating the whole northeastern coast of the Island by last night. The expected linkup of the 58 and 59 Divisions, who are merely 2km apart on the coast will mark the total liberation of the coastline in the Island nation from the terrorist hold.
Troops of 53 and 58 Divisions since Wednesday (May 13) started manoeuvring southwards along the western and eastern borders of the newly declared civilian safety zone (CSZ) in order to keep the terrorists engaged on the northern frontage. The 53 Division marched along the bank of the Nanthikadal lagoon whereas the 58 Division crossed the open coastal terrain amid heavy LTTE shelling and machine gun fire. The manoeuvre became a success, as the hostages in large numbers have been able to find their way to the government controlled areas across the southern frontage.
>> Full Story: Defence.lk
Sri Lanka to buy military helicopters from Russia
COLOMBO, May 15 (RIA Novosti) - Sri Lanka has ordered a number of military transport helicopters and other weaponry from Russia, the country's defense secretary said in an exclusive interview with RIA Novosti.
"I have managed to reach an agreement with Russia on a loan to purchase military equipment, primarily helicopters for the air force, and other weaponry," Gotabhaya Rajapaksa said, adding that the helicopters had been already ordered.
Rajapaksa did not specify the amount of the deal or the number of helicopters, but said they were needed in the first place "to transport military personnel."
"We will need them in the future. We are already using [Russian-made] Mi-17 and Mi-24 helicopters, and we need more," the official said.
He added that Sri Lanka was willing to develop stronger military ties with Russia.
"We would like to bring our relations to the level where we could share [combat] experience," Rajapaksa said.
One of the areas of military cooperation could be Russia's help in mine clearing in the north of the country.
Shi Lanka's government has long been involved in fighting against Tamil Tigers, a militant group based in northern Sri Lanka. Founded in 1976, the group has actively waged a secessionist campaign that seeks to create an independent Tamil state in the north and east of Sri Lanka. More than 80,000 people have died in the conflict since 1983.
Government forces are currently involved in an offensive to wipe out the remaining Tamil Tiger rebels. Sri Lanka has rejected international calls for a ceasefire, and the UN says over 6,000 civilians have died in fighting since January. Thousand of civilians, some estimates say up to 50,000, have also been cut off by the fighting and are trapped in jungle areas with little access to food or water.
>> Source
IMF loan for Sri Lanka not appropriate right now: Clinton
WASHINGTON (AFP) — US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said here Thursday it "is not an appropriate time" to consider a massive International Monetary Fund loan for Sri Lanka.
Clinton told reporters that the United States has been "trying to convince both sides," the Sri Lankan government and the Tamil Tiger guerrillas, to stop fighting.
"We have also raised questions about the IMF loan at this time. We think that it is not an appropriate time to consider that (loan) until there is a resolution of the conflict," Clinton added.
The United States is the main shareholder in the IMF and its approval is key to the release of the loan.
Clinton's comments came two weeks after the IMF said talks with Sri Lanka for a bailout package of around two billion dollars were continuing despite reports the fund was under pressure to withold the planned financing.
News reports said US officials indicated that they want the IMF loan to Sri Lanka, aimed at helping the low-income Asian country cope with the global financial crisis, delayed to prod Colombo to step up aid to civilians.
>> Full Story
Thursday, May 14, 2009
Sundays Leader not to carry defamatory articles on Defence Secretary
Sunday Leader Newspaper Organisation has made a promise before courts that it will not publish articles denigrating Defence Secretary Gothabaya Rajapaksa in the future.
The case came up for hearing before the Mount Lavinia District Court today. The Sunday Leader Newspaper promised before the court that it will not publish any articles defamatory in nature on the Defence Secretary. District Judge Mohamed Mackie said that publishing such articles in the future would amount to contempt of court and a punishable offense. Attorney At Law M.U.M. Ali Sabry appeared for Mr. Gothabaya Rajapaksa on the advice of Attorney At Law Sanath Wijewardena.
>> Full Story & Video
UN Security Council says Sri Lanka has a legitimate right to combat LTTE terrorism
May 14, Colombo: Strongly condemning the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) for its acts of terrorism over many years, the United Nations Security Council said the Sri Lankan government has a legitimate right to combat terrorism in the country.
At the request of the European Union members of the UN Security Council, UK, France and Austria, the Council held an informal meeting on Sri Lanka on Wednesday at the UN headquarters in New York and issued a strongly worded press statement. The Council strongly condemned the LTTE for its acts of terrorism over many years, and for its continued use of civilians as human shields, and acknowledged the legitimate right of the Government of Sri Lanka to combat terrorism.
It further demanded the LTTE to lay down its arms and allow the tens of thousands of civilians still in the conflict zone to leave.
The members of the Security Council expressing their deep concern over reported use of heavy weapons in the conflict zone said they expect the Sri Lankan government to fulfill its promise not to use heavy weapons.
The Sri Lankan government has repeatedly denied firing heavy weapons into the no-fire zone where thousands of civilians are held as human shields by the LTTE.
The Security Council demanded that both warring parties respect their obligations under international humanitarian law.
>> Full Story
Video: US President Barack Obama on Sri Lanka
Before leaving the White House to deliver a commencement speech in Arizona, US President Barack Obama spoke to reporters on Sri Lanka's current situation.
Relief for IDPs from Lankan diaspora in USA
The first consignment of relief goods to the IDPs in Vanni from the Sri Lankan diaspora in USA was handed over to the Disaster Relief Services Minister Ameer Ali at his Ministry in Colombo on Tuesday.
As a totally independent voluntary project the relief program for the IDPs also opened a website futuresrilanka.com and their main coordinating centre was located in Sri Lanka.
The Sri Lankan Diaspora in USA had managed to link with a large number of Sri Lankans in every part of the world, project coordinator Priyantha Samarajeewa said.
"We do not consider any country borders, colour bar, ethnicity, religion or race since donors are willing to share their happiness, protection and wealth with innocent needy people.
"Already lot of Sri Lankans and other nationals have come forward to help the needy through our web, the coordinator said.
"There is no cash payments involved with the projects but contributions are made by credit cards through secure Internet Payment Gateway account and it is a 100 percent transparent transaction," the coordinator Priyantha Samarajeewa said.
Minister Ameer Ali said the initiative taken by futuresrilanka.com was a meritorious act and as a Sri Lankan he was happy that they do not consider all Tamils as terrorists like in the past.
>> Source
A tale of two Tigers - Island Editorial
Former LTTE military commander Karuna Amman was wise enough to take the tide in his affairs at the flood. After years of fighting for a megalomaniac given to fratricidal violence, finally it dawned on him that the LTTE's violent campaign was doomed to fail. He also fell from grace like the LTTE deputy leader Mahendraraja or Mahattaya.
Prabhakaran is the LTTE and the LTTE Prabhakaran; no other person could emerge popular within that organisation. Mahattaya paid with his dear life and those of 257 of his loyalists for a personality clash he had with the leader. The same fate awaited Karuna and a few other Eastern Province LTTE leaders, who were summoned by Prabhakaran to the Vanni in 2004 so that they could also be eliminated. Some of them went to Prabhakaran's lair and never returned. Karuna sensing danger defected with thousands of battle hardened cadres.
Today, Karuna is going places in national politics while his former boss is desperately crying out for help to save his life in an ever shrinking patch of land. Yesterday, we reported Karuna, now a minister, had received a letter confirming his appointment as a vice president of the SLFP. He may be a traitor in the book of the pusillanimous Eelamists who have made a business of the conflict and are living in clover while sponsoring terrorism from a safe distance. But, being a minister and SLFP vice president is certainly better than to be a failed leader who is hiding behind hostages and dying many times before his death!
Prabhakaran could have avoided that fate if he had, like Karuna, taken the tide in his affairs at the flood, when opportunities presented themselves. None is more doltish than a person who antagonises India while trying to carve out a separate state in this country.
>> Full Story
95 kids died in US-Taliban clash: Afghan official
Ninety-five Afghan children are among the 140 people said to have died in a recent US-Taliban battle in western Afghanistan, according to a list drawn up by Afghan officials, a lawmaker said on Wednesday. The US military disputed the claim.
Afghans blame US air strikes for the deaths and destruction in the villages of Gerani and Ganjabad in Farah province.
Sixty-five of the reported victims on the list were female, either adults or children, said lawmaker Obaidullah Helali, a lawmaker from Farah and a member of the government’s investigative team. If the Afghan toll is correct, it would be the largest case of civilian deaths since the 2001 US-led invasion to oust the Taliban.
USmilitary spokesman Col. Greg Julian said, “There is no physical proof that can substantiate” the Afghan list of victims. The US has refused to release a number of people it thinks died in the May 4-5 clash in Farah’s Bala Baluk district.
Julian said militants are to blame for the deaths because they kept villagers hostage during the fight.
The International Committee of the Red Cross also has said that women and children were among dozens of dead people its teams saw in the two villages, but it did not provide an overall figure. – (NDTV/Associated Press)
>> Full Story
Obama: Sri Lanka must end warfare
(AP) WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama scolded both sides of Sri Lanka's quarter-century-old civil war on Wednesday, demanding that the government stop shelling hospitals and that Tamil Tiger rebels cease using civilian shields.
Before leaving the White House to deliver a commencement speech in Arizona, Obama told reporters that the situation on the south Asian island could turn from a humanitarian crisis to a full-blown catastrophe. He strongly urged both sides to take steps to alleviate suffering.
"Tens of thousands of innocent civilians are trapped between the warring government forces and the Tamil Tigers in Sri Lanka with no means of escape, little access to food, water, shelter and medicine," Obama said on the White House's South Lawn. "This has led to widespread suffering and the loss of hundreds, if not thousands of lives."
>> Full Story: AP
Cashier jailed for £300,000 petrol station fraud
A cashier has been jailed after more than 1,000 credit and debit cards were cloned at a Northampton petrol station, netting international fraudsters at least £300,000.
Suntharam Thevaratnam, 33, turned off CCTV cameras and allowed a bug to be placed inside the Chip and PIN machine at the Shell garage on the A45 near Wootton.
The Sri Lankan-born Tamil was employed as a night shift cashier when police began investigating more than 1,000 complaints of card 'skimming'
At Northampton Crown Court yesterday, he was jailed for three years having pleaded guilty to fraud.
Rebecca Crane, prosecuting, said: "This case involves the skimming of credit and debit card details in the UK and substantial usage by others of at least £300,000. It may well be more."
>> Full Story
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Powerful claymore mines found in Colombo
Eighteen claymore mines each weighing 7.5 kgs and hidden in a garage at Lucas Road in Thotalanga, Grandpass were recovered by the Army this evening (May 13), says police.
Grandpass Police said that some suspects were taken into custody for questioning from the garage located at Lucas Road, adjacent to Thotalanga, where large number of people viewed the annual Vesal pandal.
Further investigations are continuing.
Prabhakaran talks abound on poll eve
CHENNAI: A plethora of rumours about LTTE chief V Prabhakaran started doing its rounds in Chennai as the countdown for Wednesday’s Lok Sabha elections in Tamil Nadu began.
Though the rumour mills started whirring a few days back, the last couple of days saw anxious people enquiring if the LTTE chief had been killed in the war. Some of them even wondered if the Sri Lankan government would make it known to the world only after the elections in Tamil Nadu.
Their theory was that the Indian government could have urged Lanka not to make any crucial announcements on the war before the last phase of polling, LEST it could swing voters in Tamil Nadu more against the Congress.
Another rumour was that Prabakaran had fled Sri Lanka and is now in some European country, along with a few close associates.
The third rumour, which sounded more credible than the other two, was that the LTTE leader was not in the war zone, where the Sri Lankan army is inching forward to flush out the militants completely.
>> Full Story
Three held for Sri Lankan team attack
Lahore, May 13 (IANS) Three men said to belong to the Lashkar-e-Jhangvi terror group have been arrested for their alleged involvement in the March 3 attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team that claimed the lives of eight Pakistanis and injured six players.
Quoting sources, Geo TV said the accused are members of banned militant outfit Lashkar-e-Jhangvi and hail from southern Punjab. Following their arrest, they had been moved to an undisclosed location for interrogation.
This raises to seven the number of people who have been arrested for the attack. Four of them had been arrested on the day of the assault
The sources said that two of the men arrested Tuesday were directly involved in the attack on the Sri Lankan players, while the third hand provided logistics support to the attackers.
According to sources, they had received training in a militant camp situated in Wana. The planning had begun about two months before the Sri Lankan team arrived in Pakistan.
>> Full Story
Mini- Demonstration on the Theme - PROTECT CANADA FROM TERRORISM
To: Toronto Media
We are writing to let you know that a mini-demonstration will be held close to the Riverdale Park in Toronto (Broadview - Gerrard St. area) from 4.00 p.m. ( today afternoon), on May 13, 2009, to highlight the dangers of TERRORISM taking root in Canada, and the urgent need to take action to safeguard the peace and security of this great nation which is home to people from all over the world.
We shall appreciate if you would assign a representative of your esteemed media organization to cover this event. Thanking you for your kind cooperation.
Mahinda Gunasekera
On behalf of the Coordinating Committee
TERRORIST AIRCRAFT PROPELLERS, WHEELS & ACCESSORIES UNEARTHED
MULLAITTIVU: ALERT 57 DIVISION troops, commanded by Major General JAGATH DIAS Wednesday (13) unearthed, what confirmed to be a stock of an LTTE light aircraft accessories from PUTHUKKUDIYIRUPPU east area, ending a series of numerous speculative theories, stories, and arguments over LTTE’s air capability.
Wednesday’s unexpected recovery of one four cylinder engine, three propellers, one aircraft radio set, five aircraft main wheels, three nose wheels, two partly-
used main wheels, four pilot headphones, three battery chargers, three digital meters, three computer graphic manuals, ground marshalling torches, flying (aerial) computers, two flying simulation units, twenty-three runway lights, four head lights, two ordinary runway lights, bolts, transmitters, flying maps, three marine radars, thirty-five high speed boat engines, one water scooter laden with explosives, one aircraft towing carrier, put all theories, regarding LTTE’s air capabilities to an end once for all, since the troops and the Sri Lanka Air Force have by now destroyed the entire LTTE air fleet while debunking their exaggerated theories.
All those aircraft accessories, concealed and kept buried after wrapping them neatly in polythene inside a large coconut grove at the time the troops started digging in with the help of earth moving bachoes.
At the time, this story was pasted, troops led by Major General JAGATH DIAS, General Officer Commanding for 57 Division, Colonel MAHINDA WEERASURIYA, Deputy General Officer Commanding (DGOC) and Colonel SENARATH BANDARA, 572 Brigade Commander were busy excavating the area further for more and more hidden gains. 
In the past three years, Air Force fighter craft have shot down three more terrorist light craft.
>> More Images.........
Kingsbury Buddhist Temple comes under attack
A suspected gang of Tamil Tiger supporters has once again attacked the Sri Saddhatissa International Buddhist Centre (SSIBC) popularly known as “Kingsbury Buddhist Temple-London” in the wee hours of Wednesday (Today) May 14th.
This attack by Tamil Tiger supporters caused damage to the glass windows, panels and the building. No one, including the residing monks, was injured and London Metropolitan Police were called immediately to the temple premises around 3.15 am.
This is the seventh (7th) time Kingsbury temple has come under physical attack and on numerous other occasions, suspects have stolen the Sri Lankan flag which is always displayed on the post in front of the temple, along with the British and Buddhist flags. Previous attacks caused severe damage to the building, glass windows and vehicles parked outside.
Meanwhile, the Sri Lankan High Commissioner in London, Nihal Jayasinghe has vehemently condemned the Wednesday morning attack on the temple. The High Commissioner also called this continuous vandalism a denial of pluralism. He further expressed his displeasure on previous lacklustre investigations carried out by the authorities and their inability to take any action in bringing the culprits to justice.
Multi-faith religious leaders, organisations and peace loving local community leaders strongly condemn this brutal attack and are providing their fullest support to the temple.
There have been many attacks on Buddhist temples, Sri Lankan Sinhalese shops and businesses, innocent Sinhala residents, houses, vehicles as well as London based Sri Lankan community leaders who oppose Tamil Tiger activities in the UK.
Kingsbury Buddhist temple was subjected to an arson attack in January 2009 and all other previous incidents were reported and so far no positive action has been taken by the Police.
A devotee of the temple said that the community is devastated by this incident at a peaceful religious place and expect firm action from the authorities. Whenever Sri Lankan forces capture Tamil Tiger strongholds in quick succession, angry terrorist sympathizers retaliate at soft targets in major cities in the Western world.
In recent times, Tamil Tiger supporters have attacked Sri Lanka High Commission, India High Commission and Chinese Embassy in London and caused much damage. They also beheaded the Sri Nehru statue in front of the India House in London. In Europe they have attacked Sri Lankan embassies in Norway, Netherlands, Paris and also attacked the Paris Buddhist Temple in France.
Protests are an inconvenience - Prabha’s brother-in-law
LTTE Chief V. Prabhakaran’s brother-in-law, Rajendran, has in an interview with a Canadian newspaper expressed his displeasure of street protests against the war in Sri Lanka, claiming that “It causes inconvenience to certain others.”
He has also said that the open display of Tiger symbols threatens to divert sympathy from the plight of civilians trapped in the war zone.
Rajendran is married to Vinothini, Velupillai Prabhakaran’s older sister.
The Rajendrans, who have stayed home during the protests, have neither seen nor heard from Mr. Prabhakaran in three decades
>> Source
A Tamil woman with 17 days old infant with bullet wounds tells reporter: if LTTE fight for us how come they shoot us
(By Walter Jayawardhana)
Stewart Bell of the National Post is one of the most experienced and knowledgeable Western reporters about the Tamils of Sri Lanka and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam. The Canadian reporter now in Sri Lanka covering his favorite story asked a Tamil woman in a hospital with a 17 days old infant with bullet wounds an interesting question. "Asked how she felt about the Tamil Tigers, who have led a three-decade rebellion for the creation of a Tamil homeland, she smiled. "When they started, they said they are fighting for the Tamil people, but if they say so, how can they shoot us?"
"The rebels gave them no choice. They threatened to shoot anyone who tried to abandon them, Mrs. Dhanalakshmi" told the reporter.
By listening to several like her Bell said he could understand the glimpse of the life inside extremely narrowed rebel territory. The following is the full story:
"Just 17 days old, the girl was fast asleep in the slender arms of her mother, whose hip was bandaged where the bullet had struck.
"Born in a bunker in the heart of Sri Lanka's northern war zone, to a lullaby of shelling and gunfire, she escaped last week in a fishing boat with her mother.
"Now they are IDPs, internally displaced persons. They are exhausted and frightened but relieved to have reached safety after a year on the run in rebel territory.
"Interviewed yesterday at a military hospital, the mother provided a rare glimpse of life inside the strip of beachfront where the Sri Lankan Army is trying to finish off the country's separatist rebels.
"The United Nations described the situation in the conflict area as a "bloodbath" yesterday after a hospital official said that almost 400 had died in a weekend artillery barrage that the rebels and the government blamed on each other.
>> Full Story
Of those propaganda hit men - Island Editorial
At the forefront of the Save the Tigers campaign is a section of the western media, either directly or indirectly controlled and/or influenced by their respective governments in spite of their claims of impartiality and independence.
Their recent coverage of the humanitarian situation in the Vanni is a testimony to the fact that they are far from independent and impartial and that they are ready to let ethics fall by the wayside if that suits their agenda. How a BBC story based on a single source that an intelligence dossier on weapons of mass destruction in Iraq was 'sexed up' by the Blair government to make a case for invading Iraq finally drove weapons expert and inspector Dr. David Kelly to suicide in 2003 is also a case in point. The attendant scandal shook the BBC to its foundation.
BBC, it may be recalled, blacked out Sinn Fein leaders until the IRA agreed to eschew violence, though its journalists are under strict instructions not to use the term 'terrorists' to describe even the blood thirsty terrorists in other parts of the world. A former BBC correspondent, Pill Rees, boasts in his much publicised yet mediocre book, Dining with Terrorists, that during twenty years of his reporting conflicts, he never used the word 'terrorists' to describe 'armed militants'! What an achievement!
>> Full Story
Army at doorstep of last Tiger stronghold
Sri Lanka Army Commander Lt. General Sarath Fonseka said that, “Velupillai Prabhakaran and the rest of the tiger terrorists are under siege, and in the throes of death from my troops.”
In the meantime Sri Lanka Army’s 59 Division commanded by Brigadier Prasanna Silva made a tactical move under the direction of the Army Commander. On Tuesday, the 59 Division troops advanced from the south of the newly demarcated ‘No Fire Zone’ along the coastline, into the areas south of Vellamullivaikkal.
The 593 Brigade commanded by Lt. Colonel Sujeeva Yapa with three battalions under his command, 11 (GR) commanded by Major W.M.D.S. Gunawardane, 4 (SR) Sinha Regiment commanded by Major I.K. Lokukatagoda, 16 (SLLI) commanded by Major B.J. Lekamge, on Monday night, surmounted the earth bund put up by the LTTE, and crossed into the newly demarcated ‘No Fire Zone’ across the Nanthikadal lagoon.
>> Full Story
Two Asian conflicts, two different responses from the West
by Andrew Buncombe, Commentator, The Independent
Two South Asian military operations. Two conflicts to get rid of two well-trained, well-armed militant groups that the governments say are threatening the very survival of the countries. Yet, seemingly, two very different perspectives from the West.
To Sri Lanka, where the government is battling to end a three-decade-old civil war and crush the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), the international community has expressed serious concern about the civilian death toll – estimated to be 6,500 and rising. David Miliband, the British Foreign Secretary, is just one of a series of foreign envoys to have personally visited Colombo to urge the authorities to enact a ceasefire and allow civilians to escape safely. Diplomats have also appealed to the Sri Lankans not to use heavy weapons as they close in.
The concern is well placed. Just yesterday, after a weekend in which hundreds of Tamil civilians were said to have been killed by government artillery shelling, there were reports of another 47 deaths after a shell hit the sole remaining field hospital in the war zone. The government again denied the claims, as they have denied every previous report that civilians have been killed by their shells. The UN has warned of a "bloodbath".
In Pakistan, by contrast, the operation to drive the Taliban from the Swat valley has been welcomed in the West. US officials have expressed a hope that it represents a "new determination" in Pakistan's government to finally confront militants. Indeed, many observers have remarked on the happy coincidence that the operation began the very week that President Asif Ali Zardari found himself in Washington seeking billions of dollars in aid and military support.
Can this different approach be explained away entirely by self-interest? Is the West less concerned about Pakistan's civilian casualties simply because it sees the Taliban as a direct threat to US and Nato troops in Afghanistan? Can it afford to care more about the Tamil civilians because the LTTE is not a threat to the West?
Dr S Chandrasekharan, who heads the Delhi-based South Asia Analysis Group, believes it is possible to draw a distinction. In Pakistan, he said, the military is not targeting civilians, whereas in Sri Lanka there have been constant reports of attacks on hospitals and civilian areas that were supposed to be a "no fire zone". "In any military operation there is collateral damage," he said. "In Pakistan it's killing, in Sri Lanka it's slaughter."
>> Source
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Troops Capture Wadduvakal Causeway - Northern Humanitarian Operation - 12 May 2009
The 59 Division troops led by overlooking Div Commander, Brigadier Prasanna Silva have stepped-up into the on-going hostage rescue operation, with initial advances made by 6 SLLI and 12 SLLI infantrymen crossing the LTTE constructed earth bund cum ditch North of the Wadduvakal causeway, early this morning (May 12).
According to latest military reports, the initial forward military thrust was followed by the induction of Special Forces resulting in a rapid wipe-out of the remaining terrorist resistance in the area. Troops have advanced 300m further into LTTE defences after consolidating positions at the Wadduvakal causeway, military said.
>> More on defence.lk
Video:
UN Security Council refuses to discuss killing in Sri Lanka
New York, May 12 (DPA) Top diplomats from Britain and France were rebuffed Monday when some UN Security Council members refused their request to discuss the fighting in Sri Lanka, which killed more than 400 people during the past weekend.
The council members that opposed taking up the issue were not named publicly.
Foreign Ministers David Miliband of Britain and Bernard Kouchner of France were also joined by Austria's Michael Spindelegger, the federal minister for European and international affairs, to protest inaction by the 15-nation council at UN headquarters in New York.
'We are more than shocked, we cannot support the way in this particular place while people are suffering and dying,' Kouchner told reporters, showing his indignation.
When asked which council members opposed their request, Miliband said, 'We can only speak for ourselves. Others can speak for themselves.'
'We are clear, this is an issue that the UN Security Council should address, it involves major civilian loss of lives and distress,' Miliband said. 'It does have ramifications for the region. We as European members of the UN Security Council, we believe that the issues belong here.'
Both Miliband and Kouchner said they were ready to tell council members 'what they have seen' in Sri Lanka, but apparently they were not allowed to.
As a rule and unless a crisis is already on the council's agenda, a majority of nine council members have to approve a new issue be put on the agenda of discussion. Some council members have opposed discussion over matters they consider domestic matters.
China in the past opposed discussion of Myanmar's political crisis and Russia opposed discussion of Chechnya, where armed opposition was fighting Russian troops for independence.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon Monday urged warring parties in Sri Lanka to respect international humanitarian efforts protecting civilians following reports of the weekend massacre of over 400 civilians.
'Thousands of Sri Lankans have already died in the past several months due to the conflict, and more still remain in grave danger,' Ban said, adding that he was appalled at the killing.
'The reckless disrespect shown by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) for the safety of civilians has led to thousands of people remaining trapped in the area,' Ban said.
In Colombo, the UN said more than 400 people were killed and more than 1,200 injured in the fighting over the weekend and the government and rebels accused each other of the killing in a narrow land strip near the coast of the Mullaitivu district, 395 km northeast of the capital.
'We can call it a bloodbath,' UN spokesman in Colombo Gordon Weiss told DPA.
He explained that although he had no confirmation of who was responsible for the killings, both parties were responsible for the well-being of civilians caught in the conflict.
>> Full Story
UK, France & Austria rebuffed at UN Security Council
The attempt made by Britain, France and Austria to get UN Security Council to discuss the Sri Lankan situation was rejected by the other members of the council. Foreign Ministers David Miliband of Britain and Bernard Kouchner of France and Austria's Michael Spindelegger, the federal minister for European and international affairs were rebuffed by the members of the 15-nation council at UN headquarters in New York for trying to bring in the proposal which had been rejected earlier.
Both Miliband and Kouchner were in Sri Lanka, had discussions with Sri Lankan leaders including President Mahinda Rajapakse and visited refugee camps in the Vanni. The attempt by them together with the Austrian minister was rejected by the other members of the Council claiming the matter was an internal affair of Sri Lanka and it need not be discussed at that level.
Russia, China, Japan and Vietnam consider that the fighting is an internal matter and it is not necessary to include on the Security Council agenda.
>> Full Story
Jeyaraj murder suspect arrested in Vavuniya
A key suspect involved in the assassination of late Minister Jeyaraj Fernandopulle was arrested in Chetikulam, Vavuniya last night. Police claim the suspect had made the logistical arrangements for the murder.
>> Full Story
Canada says protest gives image of LTTE involvement
The Canadian government says Tamil-Canadian protests, including one that shut down a Toronto highway on the weekend, are giving people the idea that a terrorist group is part of the demonstrations.
Minister of International Co-operation Bev Oda says she noticed red flags being flown at the protests bearing the symbol of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, the Sri Lankan guerilla group that has been engaged in a prolonged civil war with government troops in that country on behalf of the ethnic Tamil community.
The Tamil Tigers are considered a terrorist group by the Canadian government.
Oda told CBC Newsworld that the flags being flown "would say to Canadians that ... the terrorist organization is part of the demonstrations that happened."
Some protesters chanted their support for the Tamil Tigers at Sunday's highway protest.
The thousands of people who flooded onto the Gardiner Expressway left only after receiving assurances that the Liberals would raise their plight in Parliament.
Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff says he will continue to press the Harper Conservatives on the humanitarian crisis in Sri Lanka but is distancing the party from the demonstration itself.
Ignatieff issued a statement urging that future protests be lawful and stressing that Liberal MPs took no part in the protest.
He also says the Liberals unequivocally condemn the Tamil Tigers.
"The Liberal Party of Canada stands firmly against terrorism, and I restate our unequivocal condemnation of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam," said the statement.
Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty also assailed the tactics of the protesters who shut down the highway, saying the bloodshed in Sri Lanka does not justify such action.
>> Full Story
Comments by UK, France, Austria to UN Security Council
Informal comments to the Media by H.E. Mr. David Miliband, Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs of the UK; H.E. Mr. Bernard Kouchner, Minister of Foreign Affairs of France; and H.E. Mr. Michael Spindelegger, Federal Minister of European and International Affairs of Austria, on the situation in Sri Lanka, the Middle East and other matters.
UN Webcast: Video - (RealPlayer) 14 minutes
UN chief slams disrespect by LTTE for civilians
The following statement was issued today by the Spokesperson for UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon:
The Secretary-General is appalled at the killing of hundreds of civilians in Sri Lanka over the weekend. Thousands of Sri Lankans have already died in the past several months due to the conflict, and more still remain in grave danger.
The Secretary-General has repeatedly called upon the parties to the conflict to stop using heavy-calibre weaponry, including mortars, in the areas with high civilian concentrations. The Secretary-General is deeply concerned by the continued use of heavy weapons in this situation. The reckless disrespect shown by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) for the safety of civilians has led to thousands of people remaining trapped in the area.
The Secretary-General once again calls on both sides, in the strongest terms possible, to adhere to their obligations under international humanitarian law. The LTTE must immediately allow the remaining civilians in the conflict zone to leave. He reminds the parties that the world is watching events in Sri Lanka closely, and will not accept further violations of international law.
The Secretary-General urges the Government of Sri Lanka to explore all possible options to bring the conflict to an end without further bloodshed and to make public the terms under which that can be achieved without further loss of civilian life, and for the LTTE to give sober and positive consideration of those terms.
>> Source: UN
Sri Lankan troops poised for big breakthrough - Next 24 Hours?
On the basis of reports from the military commanders I can say that the troops are poised for a major breakthrough in the next 48 hours. The LTTE would soon lose its wherewithal to offer organised resistance and the troops expect to repeat a feat like on April 20 when the military succeeded in breaching the three-kilometre Tiger earth wall-cum-band and facilitated the escape of 1.16 lakh civilians from the LTTE clutches,” Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa told Doordarshan in an interview here on Monday.
COLOMBO: The Sri Lankan military is hopeful of neutralising the military capabilities of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam inside the new safety zone (NSZ) in the next 48 hours and paving the way for the release of civilians being held hostage, even as the United Nations characterised the heavy casualties inside the zone in the last two days as a ‘blood bath’ in which over 100 children are believed to have died.
“On the basis of reports from the military commanders I can say that the troops are poised for a major breakthrough in the next 48 hours. The LTTE would soon lose its wherewithal to offer organised resistance and the troops expect to repeat a feat like on April 20 when the military succeeded in breaching the three-kilometre Tiger earth wall-cum-band and facilitated the escape of 1.16 lakh civilians from the LTTE clutches,” Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa told Doordarshan in an interview here on Monday.
The Defence Secretary denied reports of shelling on the NSZ by the military and dismissed them as propaganda by the LTTE to coincide with Monday’s U.N. Security Council meeting. He charged the Tigers with indiscriminate firing at a group of 1,000 fleeing civilians.
The military said 250 of them were either killed or injured in LTTE firing and released purported transcripts of intercepted communication among the Tigers forcibly stopping civilians. It said the LTTE suffered heavy casualties as the troops pushed deeper into the NSZ.
>> Full Story
Tamil protesters were arrested at illegal demo in Central London
(By Janaka Alahapperuma from London)
Nearly 40 pro Tamil Tiger protesters have arrested so far by London Metropolitan Police on Monday afternoon (11th May) at illegal demonstration in front of the British Parliament.
Traffic in Central London near Westminster came to a standstill as few hundreds of Tamil Tiger supporters staged an unauthorised sit-in around the Houses of Parliament.
Around 300-400 Tamil supporters calling for a immediate ceasefire in Sri Lanka pushed past police lines in Parliament Square which is a high security zone and banned area for any kind of unauthorised events since 2005.
However they took up positions illegally sitting in the middle of the road between the Parliament square and Whitehall near the British Foreign Office breaking the Law of the land and British Terrorism Act 2000.
Police diverted traffic and the main gates entrance to the Houses of Parliament were closed off. And the approaches to Parliament Square from Westminster Bridge and Whitehall also were closed due to violent behaviour of the protesters.
Tamil Tiger supporters, including several hunger strikers, have been camped in Parliament Square since last month created traffic chaos in the area. Last month, two protesters jumped into the River Thames and several arrests were made during a march attended by thousands.
Tamil Tiger Leader Orders Diaspora Members To Block Highways
MEDIA RELEASE
The Tamil Tiger controlled media in Toronto, namely, Tamil Vision Inc., Canadian Multicultural Radio, and other media have been announcing the order coming from a Tiger Terrorist leader asking the diaspora members to block the highways in their respective cities.
The diaspora which is totally controlled by the Tiger hierarchy do not enjoy the right to free speech or other freedoms guaranteed by Canada’s Charter of Rights and Freedoms, and are like puppets on a string controlled by a terrorist leader in the narrow sliver of land to which the Tigers are confined to in the jungles of Mullativu in northeast Sri Lanka. The order comes from Tiger land and the herd of Tiger supporters are ready to break the laws of Canada, not caring if they trespass on the rights of other citizens of this country.
Canada should ensure that law and order is maintained, and those who break the law are duly punished. The citizens of this country cannot be further inconvenienced, or their rights trampled upon by any group, whether they are supporters of a brutal terrorist organization or otherwise. Act now, and ensure that terror supporters engaged in disruption of the normal life of our cities are firmly dealt with.
Any additional expenditure incurred by cities in policing, clean up and other administrative costs should also be billed to the organizations representing the pro-Tamil Tiger diaspora.
Mahinda Gunasekera
Honorary President
SRI LANKA UNITED NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF CANADA
Monday, May 11, 2009
Radar info proves mortars fired at civilians were by LTTE: SL Army
Colombo, 11 May, (Asiantribune.com): The news story carried by certain Foreign news agencies alleging that 378 civilians were killed and 1,122 injured due to artillery shelling by the Sri Lanka Army on a hospital at Vellamullivaikkal in Mullaitivu has been strongly denied by the Sri Lanka Army.
The news reports quoted a government doctor named Dr. V. Shanmugarajah working within the No Fire Zone. This raises doubts as to the veracity of the story. Sources say that the doctor had spoken to the journalist based in Colombo by a satellite phone.
The Health Ministry says that it has not provided any satellite (or sat) phones to any of the ministry officials in the conflict zone.
This raises doubts whether this Dr. V. Shanmugarajah is really a government doctor? If so, whether he has been forcibly detained to work for the LTTE. These types of sat phones are normally used only by the LTTE and it may have forced the doctor to speak to the journalist and relay false and distorted information to gain international attention, sources said.
Sri Lanka military spokesman Brigadier Udaya Nanayakkara says that they possess radar information to prove this fact. The spokesman told Asian Tribune that the LTTE who have positioned their mortar launchers in the previously declared 'Safe Zone' fired mortars towards innocent civilians in the re-demarcated 'New Safe Zone' this morning. The LTTE mortar fire had commenced around 9.00 am and continued till about 10.00 am.
The aim of this despicable false campaign was to portray to the outside world that the Sri Lankan army was still deploying heavy weapons to fire at the government declared ‘Safe Zone’.
Information obtained through the SL Army’s mortar locating radars or Artillery Radar, Electronic Ray Mechanism detected these mortar attacks as originating from within Tiger controlled areas in the Safe Zone. Electronic Ray Mechanism radar data can proof that LTTE Terrorist attack by mortars towards civilians.
Meanwhile, 685 civilians escaped from the clutches of the LTTE and reached army controlled areas in Karayanmullivaikkal civilians reached the troops in Mullaittivu north on Sunday (May 10) morning. When they reach the Government control area it was observed that four of those civilians had sustained serious gunshot injuries due to LTTE fire. They were rushed to Anuradhapura Hospital for further treatment.
LTTE leader V. Prabhakaran and his remaining second rung leaders are a desperate lot while being restricted to a mere 3 sq.km area within the safe zone and are taking cover behind civilians. They very well know that without the civilian shield, they do not stand any chance whatsoever against the military.
>> Full Story
Two hard-core senior LTTE leaders killed
(Colombo-Lankapuvath-May 11) So called "spokesperson" of the world's most ruthless terror outfit, LTTE, known as Ilanthirayan has succumbed to his injuries today, 10 May, pro-LTTE websites claimed.
According to the pro-LTTE website, Ilanthirayan was a senior cadre of the terror outfit from Batticaloa and he had been in key positions of the terror outfit.
Meanwhile, Second-In-Command of the LTTE sea tiger wing identified as Cheliyan was killed in a confrontation occurred when troops advanced to capture the LTTE build earth bund in general area Karayanmullivaikkal on 7th May.
According to the available sources, Cheliyan has led many attacks on the Sri Lanka Navy in the past and received injuries in a confrontation with the Navy on 27th March 2008.
>> Full Story
LTTE commits bloodbath against civilians; more evidence surface
Video footage showing civilian casualties that claimed to be taken in the civilian safety zone (CSZ) in the Vellamullai Vaikkal, in Sri Lanka are being often aired by many international media. Voices that said to be from pro LTTE sources are being heard blaming the government for constantly shelling the civilians.
However, there is ample evidence suggesting that LTTE has been taking the whole world for a ride with its well engineered propaganda ploys.
According to the defence.lk special correspondent at Karayamulli Vaikkal, five LTTE cadres including four child soldiers surrendered to Army 53 Division this morning (Apr 11) have revealed that LTTE had brutally crushed several civilian attempts to seek refuge with the armed forces during the weekend.
"We were given orders to shoot anyone, even at our parents if they dare to seek refuge with the soldiers, leaving LTTE leader unsafe" a 16 year old child soldier among the surrendered said.
"Yet, we did not want to do that, we saw senior LTTE cadres firing shells and machine guns at boats carrying large groups of women and children on Saturday morning (Apr 9), many had died" , the boy further went on to say.
A 23 year old youth, the eldest among the surrendered told that he decided to dessert the outfit with the younger ones, after witnessing the carnage on Saturday.
"I could not guess how many died. I could no longer stand this treachery against my very own people..., so I decided to quit ".
Meanwhile, Sri Lanka Army electronic warfare units on the same day received three separate radio transmissions indicating LTTE had actually attacked the civilians. The following are the English translations of the three Radio communications:
Transmission 1- 0345 Hrs (May 9)
Senduran: "I have captured 20 persons trying to escape, more people are coming, I cannot control them".
Priyalan: "Try to stop as much as you can till I send reinforcements".
Transmission 2- 0355 Hrs (May 9)
Senduran: "Give a vehicle to send 20 persons captured".
Amburaj: "Vehicle with "Malaravan Master" has been sent to your place; don't let any civilian escape".
Transmission 3- 0615 Hrs (May 9)
Thirumalai Master: "How did so many civilians got injured?"
Senduran: "Many people came, we couldn't control and we had to fire on them"
Giving lie to the pro LTTE claims that Sri Lanka Army has been indiscriminately attacking the civilians over 1000 people managed to sought refuge with the armed forces personnel during the weekend. According to our sources, these civilians too have confirmed that LTTE attacked them with maching gun and shell fire when they crossed over to government controlled areas.
>> Full Story
Canadian outrage after Toronto highway blockage
Comments from Canadians
Aaron Greyard
Are these people stubborn or just stupid or both?
What do they think the Canadian government has the power to do? The UN and Canada has asked for a ceasefire.
Canada is NOT going to invade Sri Lanka to save a group that labels it a terrorist organization! What's next invading Iraq to stop the persecution of Al-Qaeda members there?
Debbie
Maybe it's time they were deported back. It's not Canada's fight, we are not the fix-it-all nation they are trying to use us for. Don't bring your wars to Canada.
KevinLee
This is truly pathetic on the part of the Tamil supporters...endangering children and the elderly by charging up and onto a major highway? To all the human rights "supporters" out there, why are you so selective as to whose rights you "support"? You are just like any other protestors and looking for a "flavour-of-the-week" cause to champion. No one is happy about what is happening in Sri Lanka but do not forget the the LTTE (they ARE terrorists) do not have clean hands either.
Jan
I Think is a little too much, yesterday it was a terrible delay on Yonge/Dundas/University bus lines & today a Highway? I am sorry for the Tamil people but is not much we can do for them in Canada. Give us a break please!!!!!!
Robert
Where is the Ontario Government (Toronto has none) leadership? What a disgrace to let the manipulated non-Canadians disrupt OUR way of life in such a way. Trudeau has been gone for years so let's now get back to the real world of being Canadians. If you do not agree with the Canadian way of life then catch the next boat but do not attempt to continue to force your misbegotten beliefs on our once proven stable government and society. Step up McGuinty and put Miller on a leash.
Bazz
We truly are the sucker nation of the planet! We continue to allow this crap to go on in our streets and we aren't even remotely involved in this conflict! How about protesting in the U.S. or Britain or India? Why not? Because they wouldn't put up with it in any other place. I've had it with hyphenated Canadians - remember all those "Canadians" in Lebanon who needed rescuing? Talk about citizenship of convenience........
suche
They have done many protests over the several few months. What have they achieved, other than to show their support for a terrorist organization? Why would anyone listen to them when they are waving flags identified with a notorious terrorist organization? This is all part of LTTE propaganda. Have you noticed that all the blame has been put on the Sri Lankan government, while nothing has been revealed about the LTTE? Have you seen the footage of Tamil civilians fleeing from LTTE controlled areas into army controlled areas? Have you seen videos of the LTTE shooting these fleeing civilians?
A terrorist, whether it be the Taliban or the LTTE, is a terrorist. And terrorism is a issue that should not only concern Sri Lankans, but rather the world.
The accusation of 300 and some people killed by the Sri Lankan army came from Tamilnet, which is a pro-LTTE website!!!!
>> Full Story
>> More Comments: Globe and Mail
Illentheriyan reportedly injured in fighting
LTTE Military wing Spokesman Irasiah Ilanthirayan sustained serious injuries during fighting early yesterday. LTTE media said that he was injured in army shelling yesterday. Illantheriyan has not spoken to the media for some time.
>> Full Story
Tamil protesters close down Gardiner Expressway – Pathetic Loosers
Tamil protesters have made their way onto the Gardiner Expressway tonight, closing 
six-lanes of traffic in both directions and attracting a massive police contingent. Police put out a city-wide alert, calling for all available officers to the highway at Spadina Avenue. Some officers were reportedly hurt on the scene.
Two weeks ago, thousands of protesters began a five-day demonstration in front of the U.S. Consulate on University Avenue to draw attention to the on-going civil war in Sri Lanka. The protest, which shut down the thoroughfare between Dundas and Queen streets, was mostly peaceful; police arrested 15 people, charging them with mischief and breach of peace.
"There are minor inconveniences that are attached to any demonstration," Police Chief William Blair told media at the time.
"The inconvenience of these demonstrations is a small price to pay to be such a diverse and international community."
>> Full Story
Sunday, May 10, 2009
Cries of US and its allies on civilian casualties
By S. Akurugoda
(May 10, Melbourne, Sri Lanka Guardian) While killing hundreds of civilians in Afghanistan and in Iraq, cries of United States and its allies on Sri Lanka (who has “Zero Civilian Death Policy” when fighting terrorism) remind us the story of a tricking thief who cried “thief, thief catch a thief”, just to avert the attention and as a part of a ploy set to escape from the crowd around him.
As per the media reports, US is planning to rush hundreds of millions of dollars to Pakistan help fight the Taliban and al-Qaida. Last week, US-led air strikes killed hundreds of Afghans, including women and children and destroyed houses. All we hear is that the Pentagon launched a joint investigation into what appeared to be one of the heaviest civilian death tolls at the hands of coalition forces. That is the end of the story.
In Pakistan’s Swat clashes, according to the information minister for the North West Frontier Province Mian Iftikhar Hussain, up to 500,000 people were expected to flee the valley. Swat is already struggling to house half a million people driven there by fighting from other northwestern regions over the last year. According to a AFP news item appeared in The Age, Austrlaian News paper, the United States and other Western nations, in contrary to what they preach to us, have opposed the peace deal with the Swat Taliban, ‘warning that other deals had broken down and given the militants time to regroup’.
A US bombing raid in August last year at Azizabad resulted in 90 civilian deaths. The US originally said no civilians died. It later issued a directive intended to reduce the chances of similar mass civilian deaths. That is the end of another story.
It is interesting to note that none of the so-called human rights organisations (who are vociferous when the Government of Sri Lanka initiates retaliatory or rescue operations) has asked the US and its allies to ‘Stop Killing Civilians’, ‘Arrange Cease Fire’ and ‘Start Peace Talks' immediately or to fulfil the 'Legitimate Aspirations' of the Afghanistan people and so on so forth.
Apart from their ability to dismissals of any crime committed by themselves out rightly, these super powers are champions of justifying and regretting after committing such crimes.
The US military said, little over two weeks ago, it was “deeply saddened” by a deadly raid it launched in Iraq that Baghdad said violated a landmark security pact with Washington.
>> Full Story
Tamil Tigers are terrorists and unless you defeat them you can’t build the united Sri Lanka, says British MP-Malcolm Bruce
Liberal Democrat Chairman of the Commons International Affairs Select Committee and MP for Gordon, Malcolm Bruce accused Tamil Tigers as terrorists and said “unless you end terrorism you can’t actually build the united Sri Lanka”. He made this eye opening statement on BBC Radio-4 interview after coming back to UK from a two day visit in Sri Lanka.
At the invitation of Sri Lanka President Mahinda Rajapaksa, a cross-party group of UK parliamentarians visited Sri Lanka for 'an independent fact finding mission' on 4th and 5th of May. It was focused on the ongoing humanitarian crisis largely exaggerated by pro- Tamil Tiger propaganda network, few British politicians and some NGOs and INGOs.
The group was headed by the special envoy of the British Prime Minister, Des Browne, Labour MP for Kilmarnock and Loudoun. The delegation included John Bercow (Conservative MP for Buckingham); Malcolm Bruce (Liberal Democrat MP for Gordon); Eddie McGrady (Social Democratic and Labour Party MP for South Down) and Mohammad Sarwar (Labour MP for Glasgow Central).
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Prebhakaran's fate decided after Lok Sabha Polls
DefenceWire can confirm, not a forceful threat, but a humble request by the Indians has been made to temporarily postpone the very last phase of the offensive against the Tiger leadership, trapped north of Vattuvaan. The temporary 'banning' of the use of heavy weapons was a symbolic gesture of this 'understanding' between the Sri Lankans and the Indians.
The temporary halting of a planned Special Operation to capture/kill Prabhakaran has been put in the back burner until the elections in India come to an end on the 14th. All naval assets have been pulled into prevent Prabhakaran's escape by sea and the elite units, Offensive Divisions and the entire government is biting their time for the opportune moment.
We have been told that the period AFTER the Indian elections, where a few weeks will lapse due to counting of ballots, negotiations between parties and formation of a government was being considered to be that opportune moment.
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Tamil Refugee Camp Horror Stories ‘Wrong’ -British MP Bruce
(Lanka-e-News 10.May.2009 1.30PM) A Team of British Parliamentarians, on an invitation by the Sri Lankan Government, visited the camps for the displaced Tamils who have managed to flee from being held as a 'human shield', and they also visited the perimeters of the no-fire zone. Their comments are being eagerly awaited, and the article below is one of the first: These comments dispel the clamor of 'genocide' and 'starvation' and abuse of these innocent Tamils as claimed by protesting expatriate Tamil-terror supporters all over the world.
Horror stories in Britain about conditions in Sri Lanka camps housing hundreds of thousands of Tamil refugees are wrong, a north-east MP said last night
Gordon Liberal Democrat Malcolm Bruce, chairman of the Commons overseas development committee, said there may be shortages but refugees he spoke to were happy to have escaped the fighting in the north of the island state.
Back from a two-day flying visit, he said his delegation, led by ex-Scottish secretary Des Brown, was the first international group to have reached the war-torn area near Vavuniya, where 123,000 men, women and children are surviving in primitive conditions in government camps.
The delegation faced an angry tirade from President Mahinda Rajapaksa when they arrived in the capital of Colombo asking questions about what had happened.
The president was “aggressively defensive” about the campaign against the rebels, who have conducted a terrorist campaign for decades – including the earliest suicide bombers – in support of the fight for independence.
“The president lost his temper with us and accused us of treating Ceylon like a colony,” said Mr Bruce. “He categorically denied the Sri Lanka army has bombarded civilians and said we had been killing civilians in Iraq and Afghanistan and we should not be lecturing him.”
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Sri Lanka arrests UK television journalists, says report
Sri Lankan police arrested three journalists for London-based Channel 4 television news Saturday on charges of tarnishing the image of government security forces, authorities said.
Police spokesman Ranjith Gunasekera said the trio was arrested in the eastern city of Trincomaleeon Saturday. He said investigations are continuing.
Nick Paton-Walsh, the channel’s Asian correspondent, spoke to the Associated Press by telephone shortly after the arrest, saying that he was being driven to the capital, Colombo, along with producer Bessie Du and cameraman Matt Jasper.
The Channel 4 had been covering fierce fighting between government forces and the separatist Tamil Tigers.
Walsh said he believed the arrests were connected to his recent report on conditions for war refugees and alleged sexual abuse in camps for those who fled the northern war zone.
ITN News, which produces Channel 4, confirmed that its reporting team has been ordered to leave the country by the Sri Lankan Defense Minister, “after reporting allegations of abuse and ill-treatment of Tamils held in internment camps.”
“Their original report, broadcast on Channel 4 News on 5th May, contained the first independently filmed video from one of the internment camps in the city of Vavuniya in the north of Sri Lanka,” ITN said in a statement. “The report contained claims that dead bodies were left where they fell, shortages of food and water, and sexual abuse.”
ITN said it would seek an explanation from the Sri Lankan government for the decision to expel the journalists.
The government has denied the Channel 4 report.
In recent weeks, the government and aid groups have been struggling to cope with more than 120,000 civilians who fled the war zone, overwhelming displacement camps.
Media rights group have accused the government of carrying out a ruthless campaign against the media and dissidents amid the military’s recent successes against rebels.
Government troops have ousted the Tamil Tigers — who once ran a de facto state in the north and east — from their northern strongholds in recent months, cornering them into a sliver of land just 2.4 miles (4 kilometers) long on the northeastern coast.
Journalists are still largely banned from the northern war zone, making it difficult for independent journalists to verify either government or rebel reports of the conflict. The government argues the area is too dangerous for noncombatants.
The government also has come under heavy criticism for a spate of attacks on and arrests of journalists viewed as critical of the offensive against the rebels. The government denies any hand in the suppression of journalists. – (AP)
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Massive Terrorist Explosives & 31 Dead Tigers Found
MULLAITTIVU: TROOPS continuing their search and clear operations in the general areas of KARAYANMULLIVAIKKAL, VELLAMULLIVAIKKAL, UDAYARKATTUKULAM and VAVUNAVILLU 
Friday (8) uncovered thirty-one LTTE dead bodies, thirty-two T-56 weapons, two Rocket Propelled Grenades (RPG), four Multi Purpose Machine Guns (MPMG), one 12.7 weapon, one 40 mm grenade launcher, two I-com sets, two claymore mines, three T-56 magazines, two detonators and two maps.
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