Bogollagama requests help of UN to uplift secured people of Eastern Province

By Walter Jayawardhana

BOGOLLAGAMA REQUESTS UNITED NATIONS TO JOIN IN SRI LANKA GOVERNMENT PLAN TO UPLIFT THE CONDITION OF SECURED EASTERN PEOPLE

Calling the re-development plan introduced by the Government of Sri Lanka to the nation’s Eastern Province a model for post conflict peace building the island nation’s foreign Minister called on the United Nations to join in complementing the effort to up lift the people who were secured from the LTTE, when he met UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon in New York.

Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollagama who met with UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon at the UN Headquarters in New York today (13  March  2007), called on the international community including the UN to join in complementing the Sri Lanka Government’s efforts in uplifting the economic standards of the people of the Eastern Province, where considerable areas had recently been secured from the LTTE. He said the re-development of the Eastern province in Sri Lanka could serve as a model for post-conflict peace building and development, Sri Lanka’s Permanent Mission in New York said in a statement.

Minister Bogollagama who arrived in New York March 12, was spending  the next day meeting with the Secretary-General, Ms. Ann Veneman, Executive Director, UNICEF and  Mr. Kemal Dervis, UNDP Administrator as well as other senior UN officials.

“Minister Bogollagama also thanked the Secretary-General for the very prompt statement he issued when a group of Ambassadors in Sri Lanka who travelled to Batticaloa on a humanitarian mission last month, came under LTTE mortar fire.  He said the LTTE must understand that they cannot hinder the efforts of the Government, as well as the international donor community, in providing relief to the people”, the statement further said.. 

Briefing the Secretary-General on efforts currently under way in Sri Lanka to find a political settlement to the present conflict, the Minister detailed the painstaking process that had been pursued over the past 13 months by President Mahinda Rajapaksa with the aim of seeking a “southern consensus”.  He noted that very soon, after considering the views of all stakeholders, the Government would find a political resolution to the current conflict, the statement added. 

The UN Secretary-General who recalled that he had known and met with President Mahinda Rajapaksa  on several occasions, and had also  hosted him while the Foreign Minister of South Korea, said he had deep personal respect for President Rajapaksa and came to appreciate the daunting challenges Sri Lanka faces.   

“Discussing issues concerning human rights in Sri Lanka, the Minister apprised the Secretary-General of the tangible measures taken by the Government of Sri Lanka over the past few months to improve the human rights situation in the country.  These included both the investigation of alleged instances of violations and leaving no room for such incidents in the future. The Minister said the Sri Lanka Government will remain responsible and accountable in this area. 

“The Foreign Minister also called upon the international community to support Sri Lanka’s efforts to deal with LTTE as a terrorist organization and assist in curbing LTTE fund raising and arms procurement.

“Secretary-General also complimented Sri Lanka for maintaining a strong working relationship with the UN, especially in the reform of the United Nations where the country’s representation plays a very productive role.  He looked forward to continued constructive engagement between Sri Lanka and the UN in the future,”the statement said. 

Minister Bogollagama was accompanied to the meeting by Dr. Palitha Kohona, Secretary Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Prasad Kariyawasam, Permanent Representative of Sri Lanka to the UN in New York and other officials.  The Secretary-General was accompanied by Mr. Vijay Nambiar, Chef de Cabinet, Ms. Angela Kane, Assistant-Secretary-General for Political Affairs and other UN officials.

Mannar man Rahulan alias Anthony produced in Tiruchi court

By Walter Jayawardhana

MANNAR MAN RAHULAN ALIAS ANTHONY PRODUCED IN A TIRUCHI COURT AND POLICE LOOKING FOR RAMESH KUMAR

A criminal court in the South Indian city of Tiruchi ordered a Sri Lankan Tamil named Rahulan alias Anthony to be kept in the custody of the Q Branch of the Tamil Nadu Police for further question him on the ongoing investigation into supplying explosive and other warlike material to the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).

The man produced in the court on March 13 is considered to be an important link in the investigations and most probably a member of the terrorist group the LTTE from Mannar. He will be kept for a further period of ten days by the Q Branch of the Tamil Nadu Police.

According to prior information released by the Tamil Nadu police in the case it was after questioning Rahulan alias Anthony they were able to trace 4.5 metric tons of iron balls at a place called Perambalur locked up in a house where soap was being manufactured.

The Q branch of the Tamil Nadu police, which investigates into terrorist activities in the state, initially took Rahulan into custody after questioning another man connected with the LTTE, from Sri Lanka, named Arulseelan, resident in the city of Tiruchi and on the information divulged by him.

Based on the information released by Rahulan alias Anthony, the Q branch, raided the house where soap was being manufactured, locked inside a room.

The house is owned by a LTTE sympathizer named Ramesh Kumar and he is believed to be on the run after the seizure of the iron balls. The police said they still looking out for Ramesh kumar.

Meanwhile the Tamil Nadu Congress Committee has said that it would not allow a situation where a culture of violence to be developed in the state of Tamil Nadu.

In a recent press conference the Congress Committee said it would not tolerate a culture of arms in the state and oppose any room for violence in the state.

Welcoming the State’s steps to crack down on the supporters of Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam in Tamil Nadu, TNCC president M. Krishnasswamy said the peace prevailing in the State should not be disturbed by the “unlawful activities” of LTTE supporters. He congratulated the State police for arresting 12 LTTE supporters and detaining them under the Goondas Act.

Tamil Net admits the LTTE turns kidnapped children into suicide bombers

By Walter Jayawardhana

COMMENTING ON NORWEGIAN FILM ON LTTE FEMALE SUICIDE BOMBERS TAMIL NET ADMITS THEY KIDNAP CHILDREN FOR WAR AND TRAIN THEM AS SUICIDE BOMBERS

The semi-official organ of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam(LTTE), the Tamil Net, admitted that a suicide cadre of their organization, known as a Black Tigress about whom a Norwegian documentary film has been made was a child kidnapped at the age of 12 years.

This is the first time that they publicly admitted that some of the child soldiers they kidnap are turned to be walking bombs, obviously by brainwashing.

Quoting the synopsis of the Norwegian film, that has been made with the consent of the LTTE, the Tamil Net said, “When civil war permeates your childhood, it is impossible to escape. At 12, she disappears from her mother, falling into the hands of the guerrilla,” describe the producers in film synopsis. Taking a child without the consent of the parents is kidnapping.

Commentators said the synopsis itself somewhat justifies the kidnapping of children for the war, a practice of the LTTE, that has been universally condemned by all human rights organizations in the world including the United Nations. All Tamil organizations opposed to the Tamil Tigers have accused the Norwegian government for turning a blind eye to the barbaric practice of kidnapping children for war and imprisoning them in their abominable military barracks subjecting them to child abuse and occasionally sexual abuse by some military trainers. One such supervisor had committed suicide in the Eastern province when a child soldier got pregnant.

<<Black Tiger

A poster of the Norwegian film and a scene of the  documentary

The Tamil Net reported, “For the first time the Tamil Tigers have allowed a foreign film team to “hand-pick, follow, interview and dig deep,” into the lives and faiths of two female Black Tigers, according to the producers of a documentary film titled “My daughter the terrorist,” which made its World Premiere to a full house at Parkteatret in the Norwegian capital Oslo Monday(March 12).”

Admitting the practice of conscripting child soldiers, the Tamil Net said, Beate Arnestad, the director of the 58 minutes long documentary film, follows two young, Catholic females, with the nom de guerre ‘Dharsika’ and ‘Puhalchudar’, who have been LTTE fighters since their teens and have become part of LTTE’s elite force, the Black Tigers.”

As if a 12 year old girl kidnapped and traumatized by separating from her mother and constantly brainwashed in the vigorous training to become a walking bomb to kill others could speak the truth the director of the film, Arnestad is quoted in the news story as saying, “”I believe that by letting the girls speak, getting to know their thoughts and dreams, we will get closer to understanding both this conflict, and ‘terrorism’ in general, a little better.” The quote has been taken from the website of Snitt Film Production, the production company.

Death toll rises to 13 as Air Force Migs and kfirs bomb Thoppigala

By Walter Jayawardhana

DEATH TOLL AMONG TAMIL TIGERS RISE TO 13 AS AIR FORCE MIGS AND KFIRS BOMB NA’RAKAMULLA BARRACKS AT THOPPIGALA

Intercepted radio messages of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) revealed that the death toll among them due to the air raids by the Sri Lanka Air Force among their cadres has now risen to 13 including four senior cadres.

“Two senior LTTE intelligence leaders Vendran and Illakkian who were seriously injured in the air strikes on identified Tiger terrorist targets in Na‘rakamulla, Thoppigala yesterday (12) had succumbed to their injuries, intelligence sources confirmed today (13)” the Defense Ministry sources said.

According to the same sources eight LTTE fighters died immediately by the air raid on the LTTE garrison at Na’rakamulla, Thoppigala also known as Barron’s Hat in the deep jungles of Ampara District, West of Batticaloa.

Early intelligence reports confirmed that a military training instructor and an intelligence chief were among the dead immediately after the bombing of the terrorist garrisons.

The bombing raids were carried on for the second day on March 13 at 10.30 by Israeli made Kfir jets and Russian made Mig27 supesonic jets pounding on selected military sites of intelligence units and training bases, the Sri lanka air Force said in a statement.

Intelligence sources said a large number of LTTE cadres have been injured in the attacks in the second raid but did not reveal the number of dead.

The rebels also known as the Tamil Tigers confirmed the air raid, but denied any casualties were sustained.

“Yes, there was some air movement and some sort of bombing, but we suffered no casualties. The report is negative,” spokesman Rasiah Ilantheriyan (Marshal) said from Kilinochchi, the de-facto rebel heaquarters in the north.

The LTTE customarily deny any casualty in Sri Lanka Air Force raids among their cadres or say only civilians died by the bombs.

The Thoppigala camp serves as a major training base for the Tamil Tigers. It is considered one of the last major LTTE redoubts in the east, as Sri Lankan forces have carried out several ground and air attacks over the past year and captured territory. After the fall of Thoppigala many LTTE cadres are thought to have escaped to the Thoppigala camps.

Number of refugees swell to 127,000 in the East due to fresh fighting

By Walter Jayawardhana

UN REFUGEE AGENCY SAYS THE NUMBER FLEEING WAR IS 40,000 SWELLING THE NUMBER OF REFUGEES BEYOND 127,000 IN THE EAST

The United Nation’s refugee agency, UNHCR said by now 40,000 civilians have fled the newly war effected areas in the Eastern Province of Sri Lanka swelling the number of refugees in the area to more than127,000 people.

A March 13 dated announcement of the agency said  “ More than 40,000 civilians have fled fierce fighting in eastern Sri Lanka over the past week, pushing to an estimated 127,000 the number of displaced within the affected district of Batticaloa.” The air raids on the Thoppigala military barracks of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam have started in the deep jungles bordering settlements in the Ampara region.

The agency said that the recent movement is taking place from areas held by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in western Batticaloa, mainly to the government-controlled areas of Kalawanchikudy and Aarayampathy in the southern part of the district.

As an immediate and initial response, the agency said, UNHCR has transported 2,500 plastic sheets and 1,925 lightweight family tents to be distributed among the affected population. The refugee agency is coordinating with other agencies on the ground to carry out further relief operations.

An agency release said, “The government, through local officials, has made an urgent appeal for immediate food assistance for at least the next four weeks. With existing displacement sites overcrowded and continued difficulties in allocating land, UNHCR said it was concerned about the welfare of the displaced in the district.

As fighting continues, more people may be forced to flee, and UNHCR has asked the government to step up efforts to meet the needs of the displaced. “The new wave has created further pressure on an already difficult situation and it will require more resources and capacity from all actors,” said Amin Awad, UNHCR’s representative in Sri Lanka.

“Awad urged all sides involved in the conflict to ensure the protection of civilians. “It’s essential that all parties comply with their obligations under international human rights and humanitarian law.”

At the same time, UNHCR and other agencies are monitoring the return of civilians from six divisions in Batticaloa to the Trincomalee district. The returns began on Monday. More than 300 people have been transported to a transit centre in Killaveddi.

“The government of Sri Lanka has said that all return movements will be voluntary. However, inter-agency monitoring reports from Batticaloa indicate that heavy pressure has been applied on internally displaced people (IDP), including local authority statements that aid will be stopped if they stay in Batticaloa.

This pressure, coupled with security concerns in the sites for IDPs, has forced many displaced people to return to Trincomalee even though they have expressed serious reservations about the security situation in their areas of origin.

“UNHCR is continuing to advocate for voluntary return, without undue pressure or duress. We have offered to accompany the process. UNHCR insists on removing the obstacles for return and we want to help prepare for conducive conditions for any return,” UNHCR spokesperson Jennifer Pagonis told reporters in Geneva on Tuesday.

“She added that the refugee agency was also concerned about the welfare of an estimated 10,000 internally displaced people in the grounds of Madu church and surrounding areas in LTTE-controlled Mannar, in the northern part of Sri Lanka.

The security situation in this area has deteriorated significantly in the last weeks and the LTTE has now issued instructions that all IDPs should be moved from the church grounds and has restricted access by humanitarian agencies to the site. Many of the IDPs there sought refuge in the church grounds for security reasons and in order to avoid forced recruitment by the LTTE.

UNHCR estimates some 465,000 people are displaced by the conflict in Sri Lanka, including 223,000 people who have fled their homes since the violence flared in April last year after a long ceasefire. Last December, more than 20,000 civilians fled the coastal strip of Vaharai and sought refuge in government-controlled areas of Batticaloa district.”