Sri Lankan military says 5 Tamil rebels, 3 soldiers killed in fighting in the north

Clashes in Sri Lanka's embattled north killed five Tamil Tiger rebels and three soldiers, while air force jets bombed a rebel training camp, the military said Saturday.

The combatants were killed Friday in four separate clashes in the Jaffna, Mannar and Welioya regions, the military said in a statement.

On Saturday, fighter jets bombed a rebel training camp near their de facto capital of Kilinochchi, the statement said. It did not give details on any damage or casualties.

Rebel spokesman Rasiah Ilanthirayan could not be reached for comment.

It was not possible to obtain independent accounts of the battles because reporters have been barred from the war zone. Each side often exaggerates the other's casualty figures while underreporting its own.

Tamil Tiger rebels have fought since 1983 to create an independent state in the island's north and east for ethnic minority Tamils who have been marginalized by successive governments controlled by majority ethnic Sinhalese.

More than 70,000 people have been killed in the violence.

Source: IHT

Rebels Reeling From High Losses

The pace of combat has increased, with over a thousand weekly casualties, most of them on the rebel side. The government believes it has killed over 2,000 LTTE fighters so far this year, while losing fewer than 200 military personnel. This rate of loss by the LTTE, along with lost fortifications, weapons and territory, indicates that LTTE control of the north will not last much longer. Unless, of course, the LTTE can put together one of the surprise offensive operations they have used in the past, to push back government forces.


Another sign of LTTE desperation is the selling of stolen cars, to raise badly needed cash. In the past, LTTE operatives had stolen cars and trucks in government territory, then moved them north or east into LTTE territory. But the situation is so desperate in the north, including fuel shortages, that these stolen vehicles are being driven south and sold.


March 11, 2008: A bomb went off in the capital, killing one and wounding six. The LTTE was suspected, as they have been notably more active lately in trying to carry out terrorist attacks in government territory.


March 10, 2008: For the first time in 14 years, elections were held in eastern Sri Lanka. As expected, former LTTE members, who had led a rebellion against the mainline LTTE leadership, won in the predominately Tamil area.


March 6, 2008: For a year now, the government has been negotiating the purchase of five MiG-29 jet fighters, for about $15 million each. Some legislators believe this purchase involves bribes, although the price is a bit below what MiG-29s are going for these days. The MiG-29 is sought because its radar can pick up small aircraft flying close to the ground. This is the kind of air force the LTTE still has, and the MiG-29 is the kind of aircraft that can deal with this threat. However, it has been nearly a year since the LTTE has sought to use these small, single engine commercial aircraft in an attack. The LTTE "air force" may well have been destroyed in one of the increasing number of attacks the air force has been making on rebel targets.


Source: strategypage.com

Sri Lankan state TV employees on work stoppage

The employees of Sri Lanka's state television Rupavahini said Friday that they have stopped work after one of their colleagues was attacked Friday morning on his way to work.

Anurasiri Hettige, an assistant director and the president of the staff union, was admitted to the Colombo National Hospital with neck cuts, the hospital Director Hector Weerasinghe said.

Hettige became the fifth Rupavahini employee to be under attack since Dec. 27, 2007 when Deputy Minister of Labor Mervyn Silva stormed the television station premises to attack a news editor.

The irate employees assaulted Silva leaving him in hospital following his attacks on the news editor.

Reports said that Silva attacked the news editor because the state television failed to broadcast his speech.

The employees alleged that Silva's men were responsible for all five attacks against their colleagues.

They said that the station transmission will carry on as usual despite the work stoppage but with pre-recorded programs.

Source: xinhuanet.com

Hearing set for alleged Tamil Tiger conspirator

A Malton man charged in connection with a North American network that police allege provides weapons and other materials to a terrorist group in Sri Lanka has had a date set for his extradition hearing.
According to Justice Canada officials, Ramanan Mylvaganam, 30, will appear June 10 before a Federal Court judge as American authorities attempt to have him brought to the U.S. to face charges. Mylvaganam is expected to fight extradition.
Mylvaganam was arrested by RCMP on Aug. 22, 2006 at his Derry Rd. E. apartment. He was picked up on a provisional warrant at the request of U.S. authorities. One month later, he was granted bail.
"This whole ordeal has been a total shock to my family, especially my mother; she can't stop crying," Mylvaganam's brother, Raghu, said in an earlier interview.
Mylvaganam and four other Ontario men have been charged with one count each of conspiring to provide material support and resources to the Tamil Tigers, a political/military organization that has been waging war with the government of Sri Lanka since the 1970s. The group is trying to secure a separate state for the Tamil regions of the country.
In April 2006, the Tigers were added to Canada's official list of terrorist organizations.
In total, 12 men have been charged in the joint FBI-RCMP investigation into the alleged criminal organization.
The sweep also included arrests in Buffalo, San Jose, Seattle and Connecticut.
Mylvaganam, a computer engineering student at University of Waterloo, came to Canada from Sri Lanka in 1992. He served as vice-president of the university's Tamil Students Association in 2004.
According to his brother, Mylvaganam was supposed to start a job at Microsoft's international headquarters in Redmond, Washington in late 2006. But those plans were put on hold when he was arrested, his brother said.
U.S. prosecutors say the arrests are in relation to a network in which men in Canada and the U.S. allegedly used their post-secondary studies as a cover for terrorist activities.
Officials say the group kept in contact with top Tamil Tiger operatives in Sri Lanka and the United States. It tried to obtain equipment such as compasses, computers and night-vision goggles for the Sri Lankan group, but also had bigger plans that included the purchase of aviation equipment, according to American prosecutors.

Source: mississauganews.com

Stop Indian military aid to Sri Lanka: PMK

The PMK, an ally of Tamil Nadu’s ruling DMK, Thursday demanded a halt to all Indian military aid to Sri Lanka following the “genocide” of Tamil people in the island nation. “India should ensure this genocide stops, and halt all military aid to the Sinhalese chauvinist regime in Sri Lanka which has directed its entire strength in a barbaric manner against the Tamil race in the island,” Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) founder S. Ramadoss said here at a meeting to express solidarity with the minority in the neighbouring country.

“The Lankan navy is mercilessly mowing down innocent Indian Tamil fishermen in the Palk Strait. To effectively combat this, our central government must reclaim the Kachchatheevu atoll without any delay,” Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi leader Thol Thirumavalavan said at the meeting.

The islet situated in the narrow expanse of water between India and Sri Lanka was ceded to Sri Lanka in the mid-1970s.

Addressing another function, Tamil Nadu’s Director General of Police P. Rajendiran said: “Everybody is talking about the increased activity of the (Liberation) Tigers (of Tamil Eelam) in Tamil Nadu. Anyone pointing them out to me would be welcome.”

“Everyone knows how many smuggling craft have been seized at sea by our Coast Guard. Further, our vigil on the shoreline has been considerably increased,” he added.

The LTTE has been fighting for a separate Tamil homeland since the late 1970s in northern Sri Lanka. Over 70,000 people have perished in the civil war so far. A ceasefire agreement with the LTTE in January 2002 was abrogated by the Sri Lankan regime in January this year.

Source: thaindian.com

Airtel signs $100-mn investment agreement to start Lankan ops

Bharti Airtel Lanka (Pvt) Ltd, a subsidiary of Indian telecom giant Bharti Airtel, has signed a 100-million dollars investment agreement with the Board of Investment (BOI) of Sri Lanka to begin Lankan operation by this year.

The agreement, signed yesterday, is the second phase of the company's commitment to invest 200 million dollars in Sri Lanka over the next 5 years, officials of BOI said.

With mobile penetration in Sri Lanka estimated at around 30 per cent and growing at a rate of approximately 2 million mobile users per annum, Bharti is looking at cornering a high market share in the next few years.

According to the officials, Airtel is expected to begin operations in a big way in Sri Lanka by this year end.

It will, however, have to compete with the Telekom Malaysia-owned Dialog Telecom (the largest operator in Sri Lanka), Celltel Lanka (owned by Luxembourg-based service provider Millicom International Cellular), Hutchison (owned by Hong Kong-based Hutchison Telecommunications) and Sri Lankan government-owned Mobitel.

Sri Lanka now has 2.7 million fixed access subscribers, 7.9 million mobile and 2,00,000 internet and email subscribers.

"The investment will enable Airtel here to roll out all passive infrastructure necessary to gear up the company for launch of its services," a BOI statement said.

It said this underlined the company's (Airtel) commitment to deliver quality services to the mobile subscriber market in Sri Lanka.

Source: indiatimes.com

33 rebels killed in Lanka clashes

At least 33 Tamil Tigers were killed in fierce ground clashes with security forces in Sri Lanka's embattled north as the Air Force jets pounded three LTTE camps in the rebel stronghold of Mannar, officials said on Wednesday.

''Air Force fighter jets pounded three LTTE camps, located in the north and east of Madhu area in Mannar this morning,'' the Media Centre for National Security (MCNS) said.

In ground clashes, at least one rebel was killed in Thirukkunishwaran area of Mannar on Tuesday, the army said, adding another guerrilla was gunned down in Muhamalai in Jaffna peninsula.

Separately, troops killed three LTTE cadres in Karampakulam in Vavuniya yesterday, the MCNS said.

In another confrontation, at least four rebels were shot dead by security forces at Janakpura in northeast Welioya on Tuesday, it said.

At least five LTTE cadres were killed in Umayaratuwarankulam in Vavuniya yesterday in clashes with security forces, the Defence Ministry said.

In a fierce encounter, troops gunned down nine rebels at Periyawalayanwaddukulam in Vavuniya on Tuesday.

Another five rebels were shot dead by troops in Kontakkarankulam in Vavuniya on Tuesday, the MCNS said, adding five more LTTE cadres were gunned down in Maruthamadu in the same region.

Source: NDTV

LTTE's criticism of India shows outfit is becoming weak: Lanka

Sri Lanka today said the LTTE's outburst against India in the wake of the recent visit of the island nation's Army Chief to the neighbouring country was indicative of the outfit's deteriorating strength.

"We don't bother to what LTTE says (on India) as it is a terrorist organisation. This only shows that they (LTTE) are becoming weak," Foreign Minister Rohithat Bogollagama told reporters here.

Bogollagama said Sri Lankan Army Chief Sarath Fonseka's recent week-long tour to India was part of the visits undertaken "from time to time" by various officials and leaders and should not be seen in any other context.

The LTTE yesterday criticised India for hosting the Sri Lankan army chief and said the "historic blunder" will "reinvigorate" the island's military which was carrying out "ethnic genocide" against the Tamils.

"The LTTE strongly condemns the Indian State's action of extending a state welcome to the military chief of the Sinhala State which has unilaterally abrogated the ceasefire agreement (with the Tamil rebels) and has launched widespread military offensives in the Tamil homeland," it said in a statement.

On the local body elections in eastern Batticaloa swept by a group of former rebels, the Sri Lankan Foreign Minister said his government was encouraged by its success as it was conducted in a peaceful manner with a high turnout.

Source: PTI

Sri Lanka charges Tamil Tiger leader for murder

The Sri Lankan authorities have filed indictment against the leader of the rebel Liberation Tigersof Tamil Eelam (LTTE) Velupillai Prabakaran for the murder of former foreign minister, officials said Tuesday.

Officials from the Attorney General's Department said that Prabakaran and five other rebels were charged on Tuesday for the August 2005 murder of then Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar.

A fellow Tamil, Kadirgamar was gunned down near the swimming pool of his Colombo home by a LTTE gunman. Kadirgamar had led an international campaign against the rebels which resulted in several countries banning the rebel outfit.

The Colombo High Court in October 2002 sentenced Prabakaran for 200 years imprisonment for bombing the country's Central Bank building and killing about 100 people in January 1996 in trial held in absentia.

The Sri Lankan authorities have not been able to arrest the LTTE leader as he lives in the rebel hideout in the island's Northern Province.

Prabakaran's LTTE has been fighting the government troops since the mid-1980s to set up a separate homeland for the Tamil minority in the north and east, resulting in the killing of more than 70,000 people.

Source: xinhuanet.com

Ex-Tamil Tigers win polls in Sri Lanka's tense east

A pro-government militia of Tamil Tiger defectors has swept to victory in the first local elections in Sri Lanka's restive east in 14 years, official results showed Tuesday.

The armed Tamil People's Liberation Party (TMVP), which broke away from the main separatist movement, the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, won 72 of the 101 council seats in Monday's vote in the district of Batticaloa.

The government-backed TMVP had been widely expected to win the vote as it had been calling the shots in the troubled region since security forces drove out the main Tamil Tiger rebels eight months ago.

Colombo plans to use Monday's polls here as a curtain-raiser for a larger provincial council election later in the year to allow Tamils, who are in the minority nationally but a majority in Batticaloa, to have greater autonomy.

"This peaceful election underlines the aim of the government to create an environment in which all our people could live in freedom and harmony," Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse said in a statement.

The United Nations has accused police and security forces in Sri Lanka of colluding with the TMVP, led by V. Muralitharan, to recruit child soldiers to fight the Tigers.

Muralitharan, better known as Colonel Karuna, defected in March 2004.

The government has angrily denied such charges and accused UN diplomats of being "terrorists," but local and international rights groups have documented alleged excesses of the TMVP with the tacit support of the security forces.

The TMVP took complete control of eight out of nine councils, with a ninth going to its proxies under the president's People's Alliance.

The results showed about 51 percent of the 290,000 electorate turned out to cast their ballots.

Poll monitors said some people had been forced to vote, but there were no major incidents of violence.

The government poured an additional 6,500 police and security forces into the region to secure the election. In some areas, they were deployed to drive away wild elephants blocking polling booths.

Although the vote was conducted in relative calm, fighting raged elsewhere in the island's embattled north where the military reported killing 10 rebels for the loss of three government soldiers on Monday.

After taking the east of the island from the Tigers in July, the military has turned its attention to the Tigers' mini state in the north, and appears confident of victory.

In the east, the election campaign was marred by allegations that the TMVP was imposing gun law amid reports of murder and intimidation, which the group has denied.

The TMVP founder, Karuna, is now in a British jail after being convicted of entering London with a fake "official" passport.

He says Sri Lanka's government arranged his clandestine passage to Britain to escape him being targeted by Tamil Tiger rebels, but Colombo has denied any involvement.

Source: AFP