After 15.02.2009

After 25.01.2009

After 07.01.2009

After 20 december 2008

Before 17 november 2005

Ministry of Defence

http://www.defence.lk/english.asp

Ministry of Foregin Affairs

http://www.slmfa.gov.lk/

Protect Sri-Lanka

http://www.protectsrilanka.org

Sri-Lanka Navy

http://www.navy.lk/

Sri-Lanka Air Force

http://www.airforce.lk/

Sri-Lanka Police

http://www.police.lk/

Gallant journalist Lasantha Wickramathunga passed away

(Lanka-e-News, January 08, 4.00 PM) Sunday Leader editor Lasantha Wickramathunga who was shot when he was arriving in the office this morning in his vehicle, passed away at Kalubowila Teaching Hospital a short while ago.

Wickramathunga was a fearless journalist who exposed corruption and other malpractices of the politicians. He came under constant threat of the rulers and there were legal measures too against him.

He was shot and injured previously too and there was an attempt to arrest his under the present regime. He was continuously under the threat of a powerful person of the government.

Lasantha Wickramathunga is a past student of St. Benedict College, Kotahena. He commenced his career as a journalist from Sun newspaper. He was one time the Private Secretary of late Mrs. Sirima Bandaranaike when she was the Opposition Leader. He was the Sri Lanka Freedom Party organizer of the Colombo North electorate too.

Lasantha is the son of Colombo North former MP and Colombo Municipal Council former Deputy Mayor Harris Wickramathunga.

He was the founder editor of Sunday Leader. Leader Press was once set on fire by the forces who were in fear of his pen.

(Lanka-e-News, January 08, 4.00 PM)

Assassination of Sunday Leader editor: Heinous crime committed to damage social fabric and bring disrepute to the country -President

(Lanka-e-News, January 08, 2009, 8.40 PM) Issuing a statement condemning the killing of Sunday Leader editor Lasantha Wickramathunga, President Mahinda Rajapakse says that his government reiterates its commitment to upholding the principles of Media Freedom and Freedom of Expression, even under the most trying circumstances.

Following is the full text of the statement;

‘My government and I most vehemently and unequivocally condemn the murder of Mr. Lasantha Wickramatunga, Editor of The Sunday Leader, which took place today.

‘I am both grieved and shocked by his tragic death as Mr. Wickramatunga was a close friend of mine who I have known for many years as a courageous journalist. ‘This heinous crime points to the grave dangers faced by the democratic social order of our country, and the existence of forces that will go to the furthest extremes in using terror and criminality to damage our social fabric and bring disrepute to the country. It is significant that such an attack was carried out at a time when the country is gaining repeated victories over the forces of terrorism, in our efforts to establish freedom and democracy throughout the country.

EU condemns murder of anti-government journalist in Sri Lanka

The Earth Times (Thu, 08 jan.2009 )

US Condemns Attacks on Media in Sri Lanka

By VOA News
09 January 2009

The U.S. State Department has condemned the murder of a Sri Lankan newspaper editor critical of the Colombo government, as well as a separate attack earlier this week on a private broadcasting network.

Spokesman Robert Wood called the killing of the "Sunday Leader" newspaper editor, Lasantha Wickramatunga, and the attack on a TV station "deplorable acts," aimed at silencing independent voices in Sri Lanka.

Sri Lanka's president, Mahinda Rajapaksa, condemned the murder and ordered a full investigation.

However, Reporters Without Borders said the president and state media are partly to blame for the editor's murder. The Paris-based press rights group said "they had incited hatred against him and allowed an outrageous level of impunity to develop as regards violence against the press."

Lasantha Wickramatunga was fatally shot Thursday morning as he drove to work.

Human rights group Amnesty International says at least 14 media workers have been killed in Sri Lanka since the beginning of 2006, while others have been detained and tortured.

In other news, Sri Lanka's military is projecting that it will take control of the last rebel-held territory within weeks.

After capturing the rebel headquarters, Kilinochchi, last week, the military said Thursday it has overrun another rebel-held town of Pallai. It said the rebels appear to be preparing for a last stand against the government in the northern town of Mullaittivu, one of the Tigers' last remaining strongholds.

The Tamil Tigers have dismissed the army's recent gains as "insignificant" and have vowed to continue to fight back.

Tamil rebels have been fighting since 1983 to establish an independent homeland for Sri Lanka's minority Tamil community. More than 70,000 people have been killed in the violence.

Some information for this report was provided by AFP and Reuters.

Sri Lanka Government bans LTTE – the terrorists’ outfit
Wed, 2009-01-07 23:27
By Ruwan Weerakoon in Colombo
Colombo, 07 January, Asiantribune.com): At the Cabinet meeting held today, it has been decided to proscribe the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam – a terrorist outfit led by Velupillai Prabakaran.
Minister Maithripala Sirisena said that at today’s cabinet meeting, President Mahinda Rajapaksa has submitted a cabinet paper seeking the proscription of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam.
Sri Lankan President in his cabinet paper pointed out that LTTE continues to hold thousands of Internally Displaced Civilians by force under their grip, as human shield, without allowing them to move for safe areas.
Cabinet Ministers have agreed with President’s contention and come to the conclusion to proscribe the terror outfit, said Minister Maithripala Sirisena.
Earlier, the LTTE was proscribed on 26 January 1998 after the terrorists bombed the holy Dalada Maligawa in Kandy.
The proscription was again lifted on 04 September 2002, to enable the LTTE delegation to enter into a dialogue with the Sri Lanka Government.
At the press briefing held today at the Government Information Department, Ministers Rohitha Bogallagama, Nimal Siripala de Silva, Kehaliya Rambukwella, Anura Priya Dharshna Yapa, were present when the announcement regarding the proscription of the LTTE was officially anounced.
- Asian Tribune -

Congratulations to Sri Lankan soldiers

Congratulations to Sri Lankan soldiers, you are great, thanks for your humanitarian work carried out so far against terrorists without blunders, you are soldiers copies worldwide. We regret the deaths of 2,000 soldiers and 15,000 terrorists over the past three years (because of the barbaric actions of terrorists for 30 years, Sri Lanka lost over 80,000 people, Sinhalese, Tamils and Muslims alike).

Bravo aux soldats Sri Lankais, vous êtes formidable, grâce à votre action humanitaire menée jusqu'à aujourd'hui (07.01.09) contre les terroristes et sans bavures, vous êtes des soldats exemplaires pour le monde entier. Nous regrettons les morts de 2000 soldats et 15.000 terroristes durant ces trois dernières années (à cause des actions barbares des terroristes durant 30 ans, le Sri Lanka a perdu plus de 80.000 citoyens, cinghalais, tamouls, musulmans confondus).

UN Says Lasting Peace in Sri Lanka Will Require Political Solution
Wed, 2009-01-07 05:37
United Nations, 07 January, (Asiantribune.com): The United Nations says that despite the recent military developments in Sri Lanka, it is convinced that lasting peace in the country will require a political solution.
Asked for UN reaction to the military advances in Sri Lanka, UN spokesman Farhan Haq told Asian Tribune :
"We are following the military developments in Sri Lanka. We remain very seriously concerned about the impact of the increased fighting on the civilian population.
"We continue to call on all sides to comply with international humanitarian law, to ensure the safety and freedom of movement of civilians, to allow humanitarian organizations to do their work in safety and to reach persons who need assistance.
He reiterated "We remain convinced that lasting peace in Sri Lanka will require a political solution."
- Asian Tribune -

Mahinda Rajapaksa and Gaza Situation
Wed, 2009-01-07 03:29
Ramallah, Palestine, 07 January, (Asiantribune.com): President of Sri Lanka Mahinda Rajapaksa telephoned Palestinian Authority Mahmoud Abbas and expressed his deep concern over the disastrous situation in Gaza, as a result of the invasion by Israeli troops.
He expressed his sympathies to the families of those killed in the attacks during this period. He also wished speedy recovery for those 3,000 odd injured.
President Abbas requested Sri Lankan President to support the Palestinian resolution coming before UN.
President Rajapaksa has assured that Sri Lanka will support any such resolution with regard to Gaza and that the support of Sri Lanka to the Palestinian cause will remain as firm as ever.
Rajapaksa also contacted Dr. T. Jayasinghe, Representative of Sri Lanka in Palestine and inquired about the ground situation and the wellbeing of the five Sri Lankans stranded in Gaza. President was informed that two of them want to get back to Sri Lanka, but there is a delay as Israeli authorities are insisting on visas to Jordan and flight details. One Sri Lankan employee was slightly injured when a window of the house fell on her as a result of an Israeli bomb falling on the compound.
Sri Lanka Embassies in Jordan and Israel are taking action to get the visas and send these Sri Lankan to Sri Lanka after getting them out to Gaza.
- Asian Tribune -

Tamil Nadu based Tamil TV channels spearheads LTTE’s anti-Sri Lankan campaign
Tue, 2009-01-06 07:40
Colombo, 06 January, (Asiantribune.com): Tamil Nadu based Tamil language television channels are continuously involved in a systematic disinformation campaign against Sri Lanka Government, Sri Lanka’s fight against world ruthless terrorist organization - Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam and the Sri Lankan armed forces.
It is alleged that the Tamil television channels are spearheading internationally LTTE’s anti – Sri Lanka campaign. LTTE still remains a proscribed organization in India, but India based majority of the Tamil language TV channels are coming up with anti- Sri Lankan campaigns to promote LTTE, which amounts to aiding and abetting terrorist activities against Sri Lanka.
Yesterday, 05 January, Tamil language television channels in their morning news bulletin highlighted that at least 53 Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers were killed, more than 80 sustained injuries. Also it was reported that Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) recovered 2 dead bodies of the SLA soldiers when the SLA launched an offensive to push through the 2nd Mile Post located in Paranthan to march towards Elephant Pass.
Sri Lankan Army sources dismissed the news report ‘baseless and factually an incorrect.’ They said that this was not the first time such misleading news stories were transmitted, but it has become a mischievous pattern for these Tamil Televisions channels since of late.
Reports reveal that those TV channels use Hotbird satellite as their platform to transmit their programs including anti-Sri Lankan news reports for other countries in Asia as well as in Europe.
Those type of campaigns, it was alleged are mostly led by Sun Television as well as by the Kalaignar Television.
The Sun Television network is owned by Kalanidhi Maran, the grandson of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Muthuvel Karunanidhi.
The Kalaingar TV is owned by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Karunanidhi himself in his capacity as the leader of the ruling DMK political party.
When Asian Tribune contacted Army sources to verify the authenticity of the news item transmitted in those two television channels, they dismissed those news report, ‘incorrect, misleading and mischievous.’
Sources said that Sri Lanka Army’s 58 Brigade Division was involved in a military push from Paranthan Santhi (junction) up to Elephant Pass, located in the north.
Army sources told Asian Tribune that Sri Lanka Army’s 58 Brigade Division was involved in a military campaign against the LTTE from the morning of 04 January until such time they entered Elephant Pass on 05 January - the gateway to the Jaffna Peninsula.
In that military campaign, SLA sources revealed that Sri Lanka Army lost 8 soldiers and 30 soldiers’ sustained injuries. Sri Lankan Army sources further said that out of the 8 soldiers assumed death, six bodies of those soldiers have gone missing and yet to recover.
Sri Lankan Army sources said that 58 Brigade Division which was earlier called ‘Task Force 1’ and was involved in the capture of Pooneryn, also in the capture of the strategically located Paranthan Santhi (Junction) , as well as Kilinochchi. After the capture of Kilinochchi, the Task Force 1 under the command of Brigadier Shavendra Silva was upgraded into 58 Brigade Division of the Sri Lanka Army.
The victorious 58 Brigade Division fought its way to Elephant Pass. Sources said in the campaign to capture Elephant Pass, 43 LTTE cadres were killed and nearly 58 of them injured. Sri Lanka Army sources said that some of those dead LTTE cadres’ bodies were seen lying in the areas captured by the Army and other bodies were seen being carried away by the fleeing LTTE cadres.
Sri Lankan Army sources told Asian Tribune that it seems whenever the LTTE losses more than thirty to forty people they always claims that Sri Lankan soldiers killed. They used to carry the images of their dead cadres as Sri Lankan soldiers killed, for their propaganda campaigns.
The Army sources said that Sri Lanka Army cannot do such mischievous and Goebbels’s propaganda campaign because at the end of the day the dead bodies of the Sri Lankan soldiers have to be sent to the hospital in Anuradhapura to be kept in the mortuary until next move to take their bodies to the respective soldier’s home town. In this process the number of soldiers dead would become a public secret.
Furthermore, every month, Prime Minister of Sri Lanka has to present the detail of Sri Lankan Army soldiers killed and injured in the previous month to the Parliament of Sri Lanka, when he presents the motion to the Parliament for the extension of the Emergency for the current month.
Therefore, death and injuries of Sri Lankan soldiers are public secrets as the Army as well as the government is answerable to the people of Sri Lanka, but as far as LTTE was concerned, Prabhakaran is the law unto himself.
- Asian Tribune -

Killinochchi… and Gaza
Sun, 2009-01-04 15:15
By Tisaranee Gunasekara
"Thousands of the Taliban went back to their homes. They began a normal life. The coalition forces began to employ thugs…..or warlords or whatever. They created militias of those people who had no limits to misbehaviour and who were sent to people's homes to search their homes, to arrest them and to intimidate them…… If they go to the Afghan homes and burst in and arrest or kill, does that leave the Afghan people with the feeling that they have a government? No". President Ahmed Karazi of Afghanistan (Los Angelis Times – 22.12.2008)
Killinochchi is an important milepost in the Fourth Eelam War, an outstanding victory for the Lankan Forces and a significant defeat for the LTTE. The Tigers’ response to the fall of Killinochchi was both characteristic and portentous - a suicide blast near the Air Force Headquarters in Colombo. According to the well informed Tamilweek, the LTTE has begun withdrawing from Elephant Pass and Mullativu and may withdraw from the Jaffna Peninsula altogether. If true, this development, together with the premeditated response to the loss of Killinochchi, would signify a shift from positional warfare to guerrilla attacks and in particular acts of terrorism in the South and in the East, partly as a morale booster and partly to create the ground conditions necessary for the birth of a new generation of Tigers and Black Tigers.
Much thus depends on the manner in which the government handles this historic victory and its aftermath. The initial signs are not encouraging. President Rajapakse, his government and his military officials deserve to be credited for this victory (just as they deserve to be blamed for the defeats and the setbacks; the attribution must work both ways). The Rajapakse administration’s desire to make political capital out of the fall of Killinochchi is comprehensible and indeed normal. However, in its blatant political exploitation of the Killinochchi victory, the regime overstepped the boundary of both good taste and good sense. This was as needless as it was unseemly; after all the Lankan electorate is hardly likely to reward Ranil Wickremesinghe for Killinochchi and therefore less self-aggrandisement would have helped rather than hurt the President’s image and the regime’s electoral prospects.
Reaching out to Tamils
A greater cause for concern is the regime’s inability/unwillingness to reach out to Tamils at a moment of considerable emotional significance. Sri Lanka is still a psychologically divided nation; especially where the war is concerned, Sinhala and Tamil reactions are, in general, diametrically opposed. In opinion polls a majority of Tamil respondents express a clear preference for an immediate ceasefire while most Sinhala respondents want the war to be continued. This is an understandable divergence since it is Tamils who have to bear the brunt of the war and it is Tamils who suffer most at the hands of both the LTTE and the Lankan state. Moreover the dominant section of the regime and the state regard the war as a Sinhala on Tamil conflict (as does the LTTE). Consequently many non/anti-Tiger Tamils would see the defeats and setbacks of the LTTE not as Sri Lankan victories but as Sinhala victories.
Given the non-existence of a Sri Lankan nation, it is unrealistic to expect a Lankan response from the Tamils (particularly since the state and the government habitually react in a majoritarian rather than in a Lankan manner). Therefore most Tamils are unlikely to feel elated about the Killinochchi victory. Given the regime’s Sinhala supremacist mindset and the absence of a political solution to the ethnic problem, most Tamils are likely to feel dismayed and worried rather than hopeful about the future. A majority of Sinhalese may welcome a Sinhala peace; but a majority of Tamils would not. This very real difference must not be glossed over; nor should it be condemned as unpatriotic. After all, the only kind of patriotism that exists in this country is of the ethnic or ethno-religious variety – an inevitable consequence of the non-existence of a Lankan nation. The problem must be acknowledged as a problem and dealt with; indeed, doing so is a necessary precondition for the creation of a Sri Lankan nation. If in moments of victory, the administration in particular and the Sinhalese in general, act with insensitivity and miserliness towards the minorities, it will impede the nation building process without which Sri Lanka will not know a lasting peace.
So long as Vellupillai Pirapaharan is alive the LTTE will neither give up Eelam nor give up arms. The LTTE’s New Year Message made this clear, yet again. A military response to the LTTE is thus unavoidable. But this unavoidable military response must go hand in hand with a political response to the Tamil people. Unfortunately such a dual approach is conspicuous by its absence. Mr. Pirapaharan depends on this critical absence to justify both the Eelam demand and the recourse to arms; to win fighters and sympathisers here and abroad. Given this seminal absence, all the LTTE has to do is to explode a few bombs in the South now and then. The regime will overreact as usual, with mass arrests, abductions, extra-judicial killings and attempted deportations – responses tailor made to suit the Tigers’ politico-propaganda needs.
The battle for Killinochchi was expected to be over in weeks; it took months. The battle for Vanni will be infinitely more difficult than Killinochchi. With its back to the wall the Tiger will fight more ferociously than ever before. The LTTE will also go out of its way to provoke the Lankan side into committing acts of violence and persecution against civilian Tamils, both in the war zone and in the rest of the country. Deaths and injuries from aerial bombing and shelling, mass arrests, attempts at deportation would be the responses the Tigers would try to elicit from the regime.
The duration and the final outcome of the war would depend to a great extent on the way in which the regime treats its Tamil citizens. Will the government come up with a political solution to the ethnic problem even as it pursues the next phase of the war and act with responsibility and consideration towards civilian Tamils in the pursuit of the next phase of war? Or will the government’s actions and reactions become even more majortarian supremacist than they have been so far? These are key questions, particularly because of the economic factors. It is not possible to keep defence expenditure at the current levels, given the worsening of the economic situation. The Golden Key debacle is just the tip of the iceberg. A financial crisis is unavoidable as is a debt crisis. Significant as the Killinochchi victory is, the harder part of the war lies ahead and some of the necessary preconditions to sustain the war are fast disappearing.
Sometimes winning the battle or even the war is the easy part. In Afghanistan the coalition forces were able to defeat Taliban with surprising ease. This victory became a pyrrhic one absence of a concerted programme to win the peace by winning over the populace. Today Taliban has made a comeback and is threatening the very survival of the Karazi government. This is a lesson the government should do well to heed, before it succumbs completely to hubris and makes the kind of avoidable mistake which will only help the Tigers.
The Tragedy of Gaza
The Israeli ground offensive in Gaza has begun. Hamas’ options were limited so long as the invasion was limited to air attacks; it had no capacity to bring down Israeli air crafts and all it could do was to fire some rockets into Israel which did very little real damage. With the commencement of the ground offensive, Hamas can finally fight back. As Israeli ground troops enter Gaza, the battle will become more even, and the casualties will begin to include more and more Israeli soldiers. Many ordinary Palestinians will join in this fight back, not because they are pro-Hamas but because Israel’s extremist policies and practices have left them with no choice other than resistance or capitulation.
With the new Obama administration there was a real possibility of isolating the extremists and strengthening the moderates in the Middle East – a precondition for any lasting peace. Israel has put paid to that very real potential with its brutal offensive. At the end of this criminal misadventure Hamas is likely to emerge politically strengthened rather than weakened, not just in Gaza but also in the West Bank. In fact the main political casualty of this monumental blunder is likely to be the moderate Fatah in general and the Abbas faction within it in particular. Other big losers may include the pro-Western rulers in the Islamic world. All over the Middle East, from Israel to Turkey, from the Palestinian territories to Egypt, political extremists and religious fundamentalists will gain from the tragedy of Gaza.
Israel of all countries should know that a people cannot be destroyed by the force of arms; that violence cannot kill the spirit of a nation. If wars and massacres, persecution and injustice can destroy a people, Jews would have become extinct centuries ago. With such a historic memory, it is ironic that Israel has not been able to comprehend and appreciate the Palestinians’ desire for liberation, their determination to survive and their will to resist. If Israel applied its own experiences to the Palestinian situation, it would not have blockaded, bombed, shelled and invaded Gaza. If Israel remembered how suffering gives rise to resistance and injustice engenders hatred and revenge, it would not have tried to starve and destroy the Gazans into submission.
Israel forgot and will be called to pay for her avoidable errors. She has already paid a heavy price for her refusal to be rational, for her inability to understand that real security is impossible so long as one’s policies give rise to generation after generation of angry Palestinian men and women willing to kill and die battling Israel. Perhaps the most telling indicator of the failure of Israel’s hard-line policy is that young Israeli Jews show an increasing tendency to migrate to the West, including to Germany, because they have lost faith in Israel’s future.
Israel facilitated the rise of Hamas because it wanted to fragment Palestinian resistance on religious lines, because it needed an enemy who could be demonised with ease. Israel and Hamas always had a mutually sustaining relationship and this will become intensified as the Gaza invasion progresses. President Abbas has discredited himself with his servility towards Israel and the West; the only moderately radical leader who could have made a positive difference, Marwan Barghouti, is serving six life sentences in an Israeli jail. The current vicious impasse can still be broken if Israel is willing to halt the offensive, lift the blockade and release Mr. Barghouti in time for the next Palestinian election. With President Obama in the White House, if Ms. Livni is elected the Prime Minister of Israel and Mr. Barghouti becomes the Palestinian authority President, there will be a real possibility of marginalising the Hamas and Israeli right-wingers and working towards a two state solution.
But as the Gaza invasion wends its destructive way, as opinions harden on both sides of the divide, such positive possibilities will rapidly evaporate. Instead Binyamin Netanhayu will win Israeli elections and Hamas the Palestinian Presidency. With extremists dominating both sides, peace will become more impossible than ever, whatever the efforts of Mr. Obama. And all over the world, fundamentalists of all faiths, terrorists of all types will become stronger and more numerous. If George W Bush killed the War against Terrorism with his Iraqi invasion, Israel has buried it with her Gaza offensive. As Eduardo Galeano asked, “And isn’t it clear that the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and the invasion of Gaza and Lebanon are the incubators of hatred, producing fanatic after fanatic after fanatic?” (How Much Longer?)
- Asian Tribune -

Arson Attack on London Kingsbury Buddhist Temple

Sun, 2009-01-04 03:22
By Janaka Alahapperuma- London

London, 04 January, (Asiantribune.com): A suspected gang of Tamil Tiger supporters has attacked and set fire to the Sri Saddhatissa International Buddhist Centre (SSIBC) popularly known as "Kingsbury Buddhist Temple", Kingsbury, London in the early hours of Saturday 3rd January 2009. The arson attack caused damages to the main shrine chambers of the temple, which is one of the most respected Sri Lankan Buddhist places of worship in the UK.

London, 04 January, (Asiantribune.com): A suspected gang of Tamil Tiger supporters has attacked and set fire to the Sri Saddhatissa International Buddhist Centre (SSIBC) popularly known as "Kingsbury Buddhist Temple", Kingsbury, London in the early hours of Saturday 3rd January 2009. The arson attack caused damages to the main shrine chambers of the temple, which is one of the most respected Sri Lankan Buddhist places of worship in the UK.
All the resident monks were inside at the time flames broke out and emergency services including fire fighters and Police were called to the Temple premises around 3.10am, but no one was injured. The suspected attack by unidentified persons caused damage only to the building. Arson in the London Buddhist Temple
The suspicion has fallen on Tamil Tiger terrorist supporters in London. This is the sixth time SSIBC has come under attack, and on numerous occasions, suspects have stolen the Sri Lankan flag which is always proudly displayed on the post in front of the temple, along with the Buddhist and British flags.
A previous attack caused severe damages to the building, glass windows and the vehicles parked outside. That particular assault in September 2008 came as retaliation against a visit to the temple by the Sri Lanka President Mahinda Rajapaksa, who was on transit in London, on his way to address the UN General Assembly and special summit of Commonwealth leaders in New York.
Meanwhile, the Sri Lanka High Commissioner in London, Nihal Jayasinghe has rigorously condemned the Saturday morning attack on the SSIBC. At the same time, he praised the Temple for its valuable services provided to various communities in the UK despite their different ethnicities. 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.
There have been many attacks on the temple and London community leaders, local politicians, multi-faith religious leaders, organisations and other related bodies are aware of the situation and are providing their fullest support.
A devotee said that "the community is devastated by this incident on a peaceful religious place and enough is enough, this is the sixth time, at least this time we expect firm action from the authorities". Another member of the Sri Lankan community said that the "liberation campaign victories achieved by brave Sri Lankan soldiers, especially the fall of Killinochchi has made many LTTE sympathisers angry and this is how they retaliate".
Despite the attack on the temple, Chief Incumbent of the Temple, Venerable Galayaye Piyadassi Nayaka Thero (MBE), Chief Sanga Nayaka of Great Britain said that the previously planned "Ranaviru Commemoration Bodhi Puja" celebrations for liberating the North and East of Sri Lanka and prayers for peace in Sri Lanka in the New Year 2009 will go ahead as planned on the same day (3rd January 2009) at 6.30pm.
Kingsbury temple also had a special religious programme on the New Year’s Day for the same cause. It also had its annual Inter Faith religious programme recently with the participation of representatives of all the major faiths in Brent and Harrow Boroughs in London. Representatives from Baha'i, Brahma Kumari, Buddhism, Catholicism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, Jainism, Sikhism, Zoroastrianism and many other Interfaith organisations participated in that programme.
Scotland Yard Police immediately came to the Temple and took finger prints and available video footage of the incident and however Metropolitan Police investigations are still underway.
- Asian Tribune -

Sri Lanka troops take another rebel stronghold

2009-01-05; 21:13:21

COLOMBO, Jan. 5 (Xinhua) -- Sri Lanka's government troops took southern causeway of Elephant Pass, another stronghold of the rebels, Defense officials said here Monday.

    Elephant Pass, which lies between the northern Jaffna peninsula and the former rebel headquarters of Kilinochchi, has been under the control of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) rebels since April 2000.

    The government troops said with the fall of Kilinochchi they are poised to completely crush the rebel outfit ending their over three-decade-long campaign to set up a separate Tamil homeland.    

Lankan troops close to Elephant Pass, take town enroute Mullaittivu

Press Trust of India

Monday, January 05, 2009, (Colombo)

Moving to retake the last remaining LTTE bastions in the north, Sri Lankan troops on Monday reached the southern outskirts of strategically vital Elephant Pass after capturing a key town on the road to the rebels' coastal stronghold Mullaittivu, the military said.

Fresh from their takeover of LTTE administrative headquarters Kilinochchi after 10 years, troops backed by helicopter gunships advanced further towards the LTTE pockets in the once rebel-dominated northern Sri Lanka.

The troops of 58 division captured the area southwards of the causeway along with the bridge in the A-9 road located south of the Elephant Pass after a series of heavy clashes with the rebels, the army said.

If the troops recapture the corridor, which was lost to the Tigers in 2000, a vital land link to Jaffna peninsula will be re-established.

Lankan troops also succeeded in completely capturing the Oddusudan town, located on the crossroads leading to the rebel town of Mullaittivu and were consolidating their positions.

Mullaittivu housed most of the military facilities of the Tigers and most of the rebels and civilians who fled from captured areas are said to be holed up there.

According to the battlefield reports, troops have also gained total control over Kurinchattiv village located on the eastern bank of Jaffna lagoon this afternoon.

"The fall of Kurinchattiv draws tactical advantage to the security forces, who are determined at flushing out the remaining LTTE fortifications in the Elephant Pass, Kilaly, Muhamalai and Nagarkovil areas," the army said.

Pottu Amman flees to South?

(Lanka-e-News, January 04, 2008, 4.45 PM)

Reliable sources say that a foreign intelligence service has informed Sri Lankan defense authorities that LTTE Deputy Leader as well as intelligence leader Shanmugalingam Shivashankar alias Pottu Amman has fled Vanni following the collapse of the bastions of the Tigers. However, with the lack of information regarding if he had fled to a foreign country, the sleuths believe that he has positioned himself somewhere in South.

Sources say that with the repeated failures of the LTTE, the responsibilities of Pottu Amman has been given to one Rathnam Master. Accordingly, Rathnam Master is responsible for the LTTE intelligence wing, the air wing and the Radha Regiment that provides security to Prabakaran. Pottu Amman has been given activities in South, sources say.
It is said that the LTTE is sending its permanent, trained cadres to foreign countries and southern parts of the country as civilians without sending them to the battlefront to be killed. The fact is proved as Tamil Nadu police arrested around 10 permanent, trained LTTE cadres from refugee camps there during the past couple of weeks.

Intelligence sections have learnt that about 30 suicide LTTE cadres have arrived in South with Pottu Amman. Security forces say that escape paths for Prabakaran who is now hiding in Viswamadu and Mulaithivu jungles have been blocked. Karuna Amman said to a weekend newspaper today (04) that Prabakaran is still in Vanni and there were no reports about his family.

Lankan troops enter Oddusuddan near Mullaitivu

Sunday, 04 January , 2009, 18:23

Colombo: Sri Lankan troops fighting their way towards the last major bastion of the Tamil Tiger rebels in the northeastern Mullaitivu district on Sunday entered a strategic township ahead of Mullaitivu town after fierce clashes, defence authorities here said.

Bolstered with confidence after retaking their main politico-administrative town of Kilinochchi two days ago, the troops backed by armour, artillery and aerial bombardment forced their way into Oddusuddan township.

"Troops of Task Force 4, who have continued their advances further northwards after capturing Nadunkeni have entered Oddusuddan township by this afternoon following the day-long fighting," the defence ministry said.

Sri Lankan troops capture Kilinochchi

It said that the strategically vital Oddusuddan junction located along the Mankulam-Mullaitivu (A-34) main highway had been used by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) "for their administrative and logistic purposes as it has direct route access towards Mullaitivu, Puthukkudiyiruppu, Mankulam and Nedunkerni".

"Troops are engaged in further consolidating operations in north and west of Oddusuddan areas," the defence ministry said.

It said that air force fighter jets raided LTTE defences to assist ground troops advancing in Mullaitivu and Kilinochchi fronts.

Images: The fall of Kilinochchi

On the Kilinochchi front, the troops were now marching further northward to capture their next target on the Jaffna-Kandy A-9 main highway, the open terrain of the Elephant Pass, despite heavy LTTE resistance.

Kilinochchi town is 350 km north of here. The Elephant Pass, 12 km from Kilinochchi on the Jaffna-Kandy main highway, is the isthmus to the northern Jaffna peninsula.

A military source said the troops fighting their way further northwards from Kilinochchi and Paranthan "were just two kilometres away from the Elephant Pass and its fall is imminent".

2 killed in Colombo suicide bomb blast

The fall of the Elephant Pass and Muhamalai, the last LTTE strongholds some 20 km north of the pass on the main highway, would enable the military to reopen fully the Jaffna-Kandy A-9 main supply route for public and troops.

EU MP Nirj Deva congratulates SL government on Kilinochchi victory also urged LTTE to down arms immediately

EU Parliamentarian Nirj Deva says the LTTE must lay down arms and respect democracy. After the capture of Kilinochchi –the heart of the LTTE, Mr. Deva said it's a victory for all the peoples of Sri Lanka including the Tamil people who have for a generation been oppressed in the North by the LTTE. EU Parliamentarian Nirj Deva

The international community must now help to rebuild the whole island and most investors would be happy to be here to assist the Sri Lankan government.

Speaking to the Asian Tribune he said LTTE has no international recognition due to their dangerous activities specially the extreme violation of human rights. Most of countries have banned the LTTE and its a lonely organization.

Mr. Deva said the government of Sri Lanka now has opportunities to obtain international support to develop its northern province which was under the LTTE control. He also congratulated the government of Sri Lanka and said the government has a legitimate right to defeat terrorism and bring peace to the masses and all the peoples of the Island.

He explained that even after a 25 year old long battle the LTTE terrorists they could not win the hearts of the masses and there is no state in the world formed by terrorists. He gave international examples about terrorists groups and said the British government ended the Irish conflict and today the European Union is a good example of how former enemies who killed each other in the millions are now working as friends in one common union with one parliament.

The military action must go towards a permanent peace and this can only be achieved by eliminating terrorism while addressing the political aspirations all the peoples of the island by ensuring equality of opportunity and equity under democracy and the rule of law for everybody.

- Asian Tribune -

Captured Kilinochchi deserted: Says Journalists

(Lanka-e-News,Jan.04,2009,11.00PM)

The main highway running through what was once Sri Lanka's LTTE heartland was nearly deserted Sunday, except for some stray dogs and abandoned cows.

Two days after the military captured the Tamil Tigers' administrative capital of Kilinochchi, the government led a victory tour of the newly seized areas, even as fighting raged on in the north and east as soldiers sought to capture the LTTe's last jungle strongholds.

Journalists were flown to the air force base in Anuradhapura from Colombo and then by an MI 17 helicopter to Mankulam from where they were taken to Kilinochchi and Paranthan along the A 9 road.

The land surrounding Kilinochchi was eerily abandoned. Intermittent gunfire and artillery barrages could be heard in the distance.

The scattered buildings lining the road have been pulverized by shelling. Army demining teams waved mine detectors over the road bed and dug up the middle of the A-9 highway searching for booby traps left behind by the fleeing LTTE.

The government has barred independent journalists from traveling to this area for a year and a half, but it agreed to bring reporters here to show off its success in driving the LTTEs out of their main stronghold.

"Day by day, the Tigers' territory is shrinking and their numbers are dwindling. The objective of finishing this war won't be that long off," said Maj. Gen. Jagath Dias, who commanded the battle for the town of Kilinochchi. "We will continue this operation to capture rest of the LTTE area and Prabhakaran soon," said Major-General Jagath Dias.

One hospital there was being used as a refugee registration centre.

"The LTTE kept us by force but we escaped fortunately," a 50-year-old man, who said he fled the LTTE with 23 other people, told reporters.

During Sunday's tour of Kilinochchi, reporters were shown the 11-mile-long (17-kilometer-long) defensive fortifications the LTTE built to defend their capital. A moat 1 1/2 yards (meters) wide and 2 yards (meters) deep was filled with stagnant water, empty mortar shells and unexploded grenades.

Behind it, stood an earthen wall more than 2 yards (meters) high and 5 yards (meters) deep. Every 10 yards (meters), there was a break in the massive barrier where guard posts and sniper positions made of logs and branches had been built.

Clothes and rubber flip-flops lay scattered about, along with makeshift stretchers made of sacks and two sturdy sticks.

Dias said the LTTE fought fiercely to defend Kilinochchi.

"It was very difficult to walk into Kilinochchi. It took 1 1/2 months to breach the earthen berm and ditches of the Tigers," he said.

The journalists were also escorted along the main A-9 road that once ran through the center of the LTTE's de facto state, until the guerrillas were driven off all the land west of the highway.

The military also planned to bring reporters into the town of Kilinochchi itself later in the day.

Dias said the former LTTE headquarters would be used as the main staging point to launch future offensives against the LTTE. -Pix by: Sudarh Silva-

London Kingsbury Buddhist temple attacked

(Lanka-e-News, January 03, 2008, 7.30PM)

An unidentified group threw petrol and set fire to the London Kingsbury Buddhist temple today (03) around 3.10 AM.

Our London correspondent says that the outer door and windows of the library in the ground floor of the temple has been burnt in fire. Around 10,000 pounds damage has occurred although no book in the library has sustained damage, he says.

It is suspected that a LTTE group caused the damage following the news that Kilinochchi was captured was spread in London. Kingsburg temple was attacked in a previous occasion too and security cameras were fixed in the temple after that. Images of four persons who came to set fire the temple has been recorded in cameras and one person is seen fleeing removing his shirt that was caught in fire.

Our reporter stated that London Metro Police that arrived in the scene of crime this morning had said that arrests could be made soon following information gathered from images.

Our correspondent further said that the Sri Lankans in London had organized a special Bodhi Puja today to invoke blessings to the war heroes that captured Kilinochchi in this temple.

Photos of Kilinochchi captured by security forces

(Lanka-e-News, January 03, 2008, 4.20 PM) Following are several photos released by the Defense Ministry following the troops led by Major General Jagath Dias of 57 Brigade and Brigadier Shavendra Silva of 58 Brigade captured Kilinochchi town.

After 15.02.2009

After25.01.2009

After 07.01.2009

After 01.01.2009

After 20 december 2008

Before 17 november 2005

15 november 2008

07 september 2008

20 july 2008

20 july 2008

24 december 2007

03 september 2007

11 april 2007

06 february 2006

19 january 2007

04 september 2006

08 august 2006

Before 17 november 2005

Twenty years after using ships, the Sri Lankan government has finally managed to reopen a road to provide food to 600 000 Tamil civilians living in the north (Jaffna) have improved their living conditions and their return to the capital Colombo.

(This article is written by AHFESL the 16.11.2008)

============================================================================================================================================

Today, the Sri Lankan army has successfully repulsed a group LTTE northward recovering land to the east and north-west. This has improved the lives of many Tamil, Sinhalese and Muslims who have been out of their refugee camps. The State has set up elections in these areas. Many foreign states participating in the development of these areas.

Of the 1,300,000 Tamil living in Sri Lanka, there are approximately 150,000 in the area currently controlled by the LTTE in the north. In this area, these Tamil serve as a human shield the LTTE, where many escapes reported to the regions controlled by the Sri Lankan army. The Gouvernement research recover the last area of the North, in order to liberate the people, and hoping to finally live in a country at peace after twenty-five years of war. This attempt to free these innocent Tamil, costs the daily lives of many soldiers of the Sri Lankan army and the LTTE from forcibly recruited into this terrorist group.

(This article is written by AHFESL the 27.04.2008)

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