Daughter visits Gandhi assassin

A DEVOTED daughter's attempts to understand the assassination of her father in one of modern India's most notorious political killings has led Priyanka Gandhi to a prison cell meeting with one of the killers of her father, former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi.

Ms Gandhi, now 36 and the mother of two young children, was 19 at the time her father was blown up by a Tamil Tiger suicide bomber in May, 1991.

The country's biggest selling English-language newspaper, the Times of India, said accounts of Ms Gandhi's meeting last month with Nalini Sriharan, 43, the only survivor of the conspiracy that killed her father, add "another chapter to an amazing story of how the Gandhi family has tried so bravely to come to terms with the tragedy of Rajiv's death".

The paper reported that a "visibly emotional Priyanka made Nalini sit next to her and asked several short questions related to the assassination. (Such as) Why had it happened? For what purpose? What was Nalini's involvement?"

Priyanka is quoted as saying, "My father was a good person. It could have been resolved through talks. Had you known about my father's good nature, you would not have done this."

Nalini, who was 26 at the time of the assassination, was sentenced to death but that was commuted to life imprisonment after Gandhi's widow, and Ms Gandhi's mother, Sonia Gandhi, pleaded for clemency for the sake of the convicted woman's five-year-old daughter.

Ms Gandhi asked repeatedly who was behind the assassination plot, which is blamed on Tamil Tiger separatists fighting in Sri Lanka.

Nalini said she did not know.

The Times of India reported that Nalini believed Ms Gandhi was moved to meet her following a series of letters sent from prison to Sonia Gandhi, including one wishing her well when she was in hospital recently.

Details of the meeting, which took place in the prison for women in Vellore, in the state of Tamil Nadu, on March 19, was confirmed by Nalini's mother as well as her lawyers.

But with Ms Gandhi remaining silent about the reported encounter, a lawyer in the state capital, Chennai, is reported to have filed an application with a local court to get details of the meeting.

Rajiv Gandhi was widely esteemed in India as a politician who was a genuinely decent person. Seventeen years after his assassination, he remains deeply mourned by his widow and two children, Priyanka and her brother, Rahul, a leader of the Congress party and the man tipped to become prime minister after the next general election.

Source: theaustralian

EU Greens Criticise Slovakia for Arms Trade Agreement with Sri Lanka

The Greens faction in the European Parliament on Thursday in Brussels condemned an arms trade agreement between Slovakia and Sri Lanka that it says violates multiple provisions of the European Union Code of Conduct on Arms Exports.

"I am shocked to hear that Slovakia has signed an agreement to sell weapons to the government of Sri Lanka, a country which has been locked for 25 years in a civil war during which massive infringement of human rights, notably against civilians, has occurred," according to Greens Rapporteur for arms exports Raul Romeva i Rueda.

The Greens rapporteur in EP pointed out that Slovakia is a member of the European Union that has pledged to adhere to the Code of Conduct on Arms Exports. According to him, the EU is planning in the near future to adopt a common position that would make the code binding on all member countries. Meanwhile, the Code has been deemed politically binding ever since its inception a decade ago.

"It is very disconcerting that individual member countries continue to sign arms trade contracts without following the code, consulting other member states or reporting to the EP," said the Spanish MEP who is poised to call Slovak authorities to account and turn to the EU Council over the issue.

Source: tasr.sk

LTTE launches counselling services for traumatised students

Concerned over the fallout of psychological stress among students in LTTE-controlled areas due to the fighting, the rebels' outfit has launched a first ever counselling services in a school in northern Sri Lanka to help the students deal with their traumas.

"School students in war time in Wanni face many psychological traumas due to factors such as death of friends and relatives or fear of bomber planes flying overhead," the LTTE said in a statement on Monday.

The very first counseling service was conducted in the Kanakapuram MV school in Kilinochchi on last Tuesday, it said, adding the services will be available for the students during weekends and school holidays.

Such counseling services are being planned for all the schools in Wanni, the statement said.

The student counselling will help children face challenges of seeking safety in the "rudimentary" bunkers, shortages of educational equipment and facilities and economic hardships faced by their parents, it said.

"Students at Kanakapuram MV school have faced an aerial bombing just two months ago after which they scattered in panic as shrapnel from bombs fell inside their school and injured one of their school mates," the statement said.

"It is hoped that the counselling service inside the schools will help the students deal with their traumas without allowing it to affect their education and growth," it said.

Initially, one centre will be established in a school in an area which would serve all the schools in the locality.

Though one in each school is desirable given the psychological stresses faced by the students, problems of availability of skilled staff and other resources will limit these facilities at present, the statement said.

Speaking at the opening ceremony, Zonal Education Office teacher advisor Murukesu said these centers will raise awareness among students about the psychological stresses that affects them thus enabling them to seek assistance.

Murukesu said these centres will come under the concerned schools as well as the villages that are served by the centres.

Source: expressindia

Lanka protests screening of pro-LTTE film in US

Sri Lanka has lodged a strong protest with the US over the screening of a pro-LTTE film My daughter the terrorist at a premier American film festival.

Sri Lankan Ambassador to United States Bernard Goonetilleke has lodged Colombo's strong protest over the screening of the film in a letter addressed to both the US State Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, media reports said.

The film, a documentary on the lives and faiths of two female Tamil Tigers produced by Norwegian filmmaker Beate Arnestad, was featured in a documentary film festival in Durham, North Carolina on April 4.

Earlier, the Sri Lanka embassy in Washington has urged the authorities of the US State Department and the FBI to take appropriate measures in preventing screening of the controversial film during the four-day festival.

The film is said to be a distortion of exploitation of the freedom of speech guaranteed by the First Amendment, an official statement said in Colombo.

"My daughter the terrorist" has audaciously portrayed a 12-year-old Tamil girl's path towards becoming a suicide bomber, trained and brain-washed by the LTTE terrorist movement, the release quoted sources from Sri Lankan Foreign Ministry as saying.

It goes on to say that the Norwegian producer Beate Arnestad had arrived in Sri Lanka during the Ceasefire Agreement period and entered Wanni "without the permission of the Foreign Ministry or any responsible state body for the filming of the movie".

"Sri Lankan expatriates from all over the US have risen in indignation and fury at the gross insensitivity of the organisers of the film festival," The release said.

Source: hindustantimes

Canadian POLICE MOVE ON TAMIL GROUP

WTM denies it is funding terrorism

Counterterrorism police in Quebec and Ontario effectively shut down a non-profit organization for Canadian Tamils this weekend due to allegations it has been raising money to finance terrorist activities in Sri Lanka.

The RCMP was expected to announce details of its unprecedented actions as early as today, but several sources said police had moved in to enforce a Federal Court restraining order against the World Tamil Movement.

The WTM's offices in Montreal and Toronto have been under police investigation for six years, and were raided by police in 2006. While no charges have yet resulted, the decision to seek a restraining order suggests Ottawa is aggressively pursuing the group.

The restraining order pertains to real estate in Montreal and other assets in Toronto.

The recent events are focused mostly on Montreal. Police sealed off the Montreal WTM office on Friday, said Steven Slimovitch, the group's lawyer. He said his clients were barred from entering the premises, disrupting community programs.

"A Federal Court judge has issued an order to seal the office of the World Tamil Movement and to essentially put it under the trusteeship of the federal government," he said.

The order was issued under a section of the Criminal Code dealing with terrorism financing, but Mr. Slimovitch said no defence counsel were present for the hearing and his clients deny the allegations they are financing terrorists.

"My clients have never been charged with terrorism-financing, and my clients have never had a chance to defend themselves against terrorism-financing accusations," he said.

The action is the latest development in two related RCMP-led investigations called Project Osaluki and Project Crible. The probes, by the Integrated National Security Enforcement Teams in Ontario and Quebec, are examining allegations the WTM has been funnelling money to the Tamil Tigers to finance civil war in Sri Lanka.

The Tamil Tigers are an outlawed terrorist group in Canada. Knowingly raising money for the group or financing its activities is against the law and punishable by up to 10 years in prison. Many members of Canada's large ethnic Tamil community support the Tigers and their fight to create an independent state for Sri Lanka's Tamil minority.

Police went to court last week to ask for restraining orders against WTM properties in Toronto and Montreal, said a source familiar with the case. Officers were in the process late yesterday of serving official notice to the people associated with the properties.

Police officers were having difficulty finding at least one per-son linked to the group and its properties. The RCMP was apparently waiting for that to take place before publicly announcing the moves it had taken.

This appears to be a first in the realm of terrorism, but the police action is similar to the way police routinely deal with organized crime: Officers will appear before a judge in private and present affidavits seeking judicial approval to restrain properties considered proceeds of crime.

While the property is restrained, the owner cannot sell it, move it, alter it or dispose of it. The order secures the property pending a court hearing. The owners are then notified and can appear before the courts and mount a defence against the Crown's allegations.

A judge will then decide whether the restrained property should be forfeited to the Crown or returned to its owner. The process is similar to how police restrain fortified clubhouses of the Hells Angels Motorcycle Club and other bike gangs.

The weekend police action in Montreal has disrupted community activities scheduled for the group's headquarters in the city's Cote-des-Neiges district, Mr. Slimovitch said.

"Essentially they're shutting down the entire community -- artistic things, sporting things," he said. "My clients completely deny any terrorism financing. They support the Tamil people and they support the Tamil people's right to self-determination, but they are very much against any form of terrorism."

An official with the WTM Montreal office declined comment and referred all questions to Mr. Slimovitch. The lawyer said he intends to go to court to have the reasons for the order disclosed.

Corporal Elaine Lavergne of the RCMP said the police force could not comment as a result of the secrecy order.

"We are under the authority of a court," she said. She could not even disclose the level of court that issued the order, which she said is sealed from public view. "It has never happened before," she said of the sweeping secrecy provisions.

The president of the WTM's Ontario branch, Sitta Sittampalam, also declined to comment yesterday. "I was asked by my lawyer not to reveal anything on this matter," he said. "I'm not in a position to divulge anything."

Source: nationalpost.com

Clashes leave dozens dead in Sri Lanka: defence ministry

Sri Lanka marked its traditional new year Sunday with security forces and Tamil separatists locked in fierce combat resulting in heavy losses on both sides, defence officials said.

Security forces pounded Tamil Tiger positions in the rebel-held northern Wanni region and troops smashed bunkers belonging to rebels in the Jaffna peninsula, further north, the defence ministry said.

At least 87 guerrillas had been killed since Saturday, the ministry said.

The latest clashes came as the country marked the new year, which is observed by the majority Sinhalese community and the minority Tamils.

Police said they stepped up security in the capital Colombo and elsewhere amid fears of rebel attacks during the festive period. Most Sri Lankans in cities travel to the provinces to be with their families over the new year.

Festivities were also marred by a nation-wide electricity breakdown for nearly an hour, officials said, adding that a technical failure at a power station caused the blackout.

In the north of the island, ferocious battles erupted on Saturday when the military launched a fresh advance into rebel-held territory, the defence ministry said.

It said troops captured areas from the guerrillas, a claim denied by the Tigers.

The ministry said troops killed at least 77 Tigers for the loss of 12 government soldiers in the Mannar area of Wanni region on Saturday while another soldier and 10 rebels were killed elsewhere.

However, a Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam statement said the Tigers lost only three of their fighters in Mannar, adding that the Tigers killed at least 25 government troops and wounded another 75 in eight hours of fighting.

At least 2,845 Tamil Tiger rebels have been killed by government troops since the start of the year, while 171 soldiers have lost their lives during the same period, according to defence ministry figures.

Verification of casualty claims is impossible as Colombo bars journalists and aid workers from travelling to embattled areas.

Tens of thousands of people have died since 1972 when the Tamil Tigers launched an armed struggle to carve out an independent homeland in the island's north and east for Tamils.

Source: AFP

JVP split could bring greater Indian involvement in Sri Lanka: Expert

The split in the anti-Indian political party, Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), may pave the way for greater Indian involvement in finding a solution to the vexed ethnic question in Sri Lanka, says Sri Lankan researcher Anupama M. Ranawana.

Writing in the latest issue of Groundviews Ranawana points out that the majority Sinhalese community have been very wary and disapproving of Western mediation, but have consistently welcomed Indian initiatives.

“The situation has become more conducive to Indian involvement in the wake of the fractious split in the JVP, which has always been a strong critic of India, ” the author, who is attached to Colombo’s Centre for Policy Alternatives (CPA), says.

With 11 of the 37 MPs of the JVP taking a moderate stance, the party’s anti-Indian plank is bound to be weakened. The JVP has consistently opposed India’s efforts to encourage the Rajapaksa government to devolve power to the minority Tamils. With the JVP’s voice weakened, the Sri Lankan public will take kindly to an Indian face on a foreign mediator, says Ranawana.

Both Sri Lanka and India have high stakes in finding a political solution to the ethnic conflict, the author argues.

Sri Lanka is faced with a prospect of Western and Japanese economic sanctions because of the war and the consequent violation of human rights. Therefore, Sri Lanka needs to work towards a political settlement with an external third party mediator.

“A strong armed third party must take control of the unstable situation,” Ranawana recommends. And India fills the bill.

“India’s proximity to Sri Lanka and cultural similarities place her in a unique position to be the ideal mediator,” the researcher argues. “India, as a non-Western power, will have chances to advocate a political solution that is home grown.”

President Mahinda Rajapaksa has already accepted the need for a pre-eminent Indian role, Ranawana points out. Rajapaksa has promised to “fully implement” the 13th amendment to the Sri Lankan constitution, a devolution scheme enacted under India’s aegis in 1987 but never properly implemented.

The Sri Lankan author says that India will only gain by taking a greater role in Sri Lanka. Its status as the “leader” of the region will be fostered if it did. And as National Security Advisor M.K. Narayanan’s recent remarks show, India is uneasy about the growing influence of China, Japan and Pakistan in Sri Lanka and sees the need to counter it.

Furthermore, India has a growing economic stake in Sri Lanka to defend and build. In 2007, it exported $2.77 billion worth of goods to Sri Lanka, up from $510 million in 1999.

“For both India and Sri Lanka, Indian involvement in the Sri Lankan peace process is no longer an option to mull over on a sunny day; it has become a necessity,” Ranawana concludes.

Source: newindpress

Norway opposes ‘external’ solution to Sri Lanka conflict

No “externally designed solution” will end Sri Lanka’s dragging ethnic conflict, a senior Norwegian diplomat has said, as an international conference here called for a negotiated end to decades of fighting. Norway’s special envoy to Sri Lanka, Jon Hanssen-Bauer, told the two-day meeting that ended late Friday that Oslo would be more than happy to back “any solution endorsed by the Sri Lankan people”.

“One should not be tempted to try impose an externally designed solution to conflicts but assist the parties in defining a domestic one,” Hanssen-Bauer told the meeting organised by the Art of Living Foundation of Indian spiritual guru Sri Sri Ravi Shankar.

“The common understanding between the government and the LTTE (Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam) has been that talks are aimed at finding a political solution that is acceptable to all communities in Sri Lanka,” he said. “For Norway, any solution endorsed by the Sri Lankan people is acceptable.”

Although Sri Lanka has withdrawn from the Norway-brokered ceasefire agreement of 2002 with the LTTE, Oslo remains the designated mediator between the Tamil Tigers and Colombo.

Hanssen-Bauer’s comments follow criticism from ruling circles in Sri Lanka that Norway has been biased towards the LTTE and that it wants to foist on the island a solution to the conflict not acceptable to the majority.

Reflecting his own style of functioning, Hanssen-Bauer added: “In our view, mediation works best when the mediators opt for a low profile and avoid visibility on their own behalf.

“They should aim for a limited role, be more obsessed with process than results, and stay involved through the complex ups and downs of a typical peace process.”

Participants from Sri Lanka appealed for negotiations to end one of the world’s longest running conflicts that has claimed more than 70,000 lives since 1983 and led many more to flee the country and take shelter in other countries.

Arumugam Thondaman, the Sri Lankan minister for youth empowerment and socio-economic development, said he was “strongly of the opinion that there is no military solution (to the conflict). It is essential to evolve a political solution”.

Buddhist monk Seevali Nayaka Thero said it was time for both the government and the LTTE to think about the lives being lost because of the war.

“In any place, in any country, only by war you cannot solve the problems. Only peace talks and reconciliation can solve the problem,” he added. “This is exactly the message Buddha conveyed 2055 years back. It is very important we have to stop the war, we cannot take any more loss of lives.”

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, who has in the past visited LTTE-held areas in northern Sri Lanka, spoke about the importance of spiritualism in resolving any conflict.

“Whether it is inter-religious conflict or intra-religious conflict or it is a conflict between communist or capitalist ideology, it all starts in the minds of people, in the hearts of people.

“When such conflict begins, they shut themselves from reasoning, prejudice overtakes, and communication goes haywire. It’s here we need to build the trust among the communities. Spiritual leaders, religious leaders, can play a bigger role in this.”

Among others who took part in the conference were India’s MDMK leader Vaiko, Chhattisgarh Home Minister Ramvichar Netam, Members of European Parliament Erika Mann and Nirj Deva, Rajiv Wijesinha of the Sri Lankan Peace Secretariat, Colin Archer of the International Peace Bureau (Switzerland), Sri Lankan MP Jayalath Jayawardene and Maduluvave Sobitha Nayaka Thero (Sri Lanka).

Source: thaindian

Musharraf pledges support to end terrorism in Sri Lanka

Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf Friday voiced his country’s support to Sri Lanka in the fight against terrorism. According to the president’s office here, Musharraf gave the assurance at a meeting with his Sri Lankan counterpart Mahinda Rajapaksa in China on the sidelines of the multilateral Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) annual conference.

“President Musharraf reiterated his country’s opposition to terrorism in all its manifestations and assured Sri Lanka of all assistance to defeat terrorism in the country,” an official source here said.

The president’s office said that the two leaders discussed bilateral issues, including trade and economic and defence co-operation.

Extending his condolences to Rajapaksa over the April 6 assassination of his cabinet minister Jeyaraj Fernandopulle, the Pakistani president “condemned such acts of terror and underlined the need for its elimination”.

Congratulating Musharraf over his commitment to restore democracy in Pakistan, Rajapaksa “explained the actions being taken to defeat the terrorism of the LTTE (Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam) in Sri Lanka”.

The two presidents also agreed to the need to transform the existing Free Trade Agreement between the two countries to a Comprehensive Economic Partnership.

Musharraf also thanked Rajapaksa for Sri Lanka’s support for Pakistan when “some member states” suspended it from the Commonwealth.

China and Pakistan are the two main military suppliers to Sri Lanka, where a dragging Tamil separatist campaign has left thousands dead.

The BFA conference is being held April 11-13 at Boao in China’s Hainan province. The theme this year is “Green Asia, Moving Towards Win-Win Through Changes”.

The BFA was set up in 2001 as a platform for high-level interaction between leaders from Asia and across the world and with the aim of promoting development goals of Asian countries through greater regional economic integration.

Source: thaindian

Sri Lanka says 26 rebels killed

At least 26 Tamil Tiger rebels, two soldiers and a civilian have been killed in fighting across Sri Lanka's northern districts, the defence ministry said Friday.

Security forces smashed rebel bunkers and exchanged artillery with Tamil Tiger guerrillas in two days of fighting, while air force jets bombed a suspected Tiger sea base on Thursday, the ministry said.

A Tamil laundry owner was shot dead on the Jaffna peninsula on Friday, the ministry said, blaming the attack on the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).

There was no immediate comment from the LTTE, who have been fighting for autonomy in the island's north and east for Tamils from the majority Sinhalese community.

The latest violence came as both the Sinhalese and the Tamils prepared to celebrate the traditional New Year on Sunday.

Security forces have killed at least 2,750 Tamil Tiger rebels since the beginning of this year, while 158 government troops have lost their lives in the same period, according to defence ministry figures.

The guerrillas have disputed defence ministry figures. There is no independent verification of casualties since authorities prevent journalists and most aid workers from travelling to embattled areas.

Tens of thousands have died since the conflict erupted in 1972.

Source: AFP