Sri Lanka news columns

Fight not against Tamils, but against LTTE terrorism - Defence Secretary While concerns about the plight of Wanni civilians escalated with more MPs from the Tamil Nadu Government resigning in protest and demanding the intervention of the Indian Central Government, the Sri Lankan Government reiterated its commitment to end LTTE terrorism. While the issue has reached boiling point in Tamil Nadu which is going for its elections soon, Sri Lanka’s no nonsense Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa said that it was very unfair for Tamil Nadu to demand of the Indian Government, which has a longstanding relationship with Sri Lanka, to pressurise the Sri Lankan Government to halt military offensives against the LTTE. Rajapaksa, who fought many battles against the LTTE when he was in the Army, told the Sunday Observer that the fight is not against Tamils, but to combat LTTE terrorism. “More than for us, terrorism is a serious problem to India. T...

As the noose tightened round more crucial LTTE held positions in the North this week, almost by cue its Tamil Nadu proxies raised their decibel levels in trying to get the Indian Government to halt the Sri Lankan military drive once again, as was done in 1987. By Tuesday, an all-party meeting summoned by the state’s ruling DMK headed by Chief Minister Muthuvel Karunanidhi issued a blunt warning to the Central Government that if there is no halt to the war and there is no ceasefire within two weeks, 39 MPs from the state would resign. On the same day, Mr. Karunannidhi’s daughter Kanimozhi, submitted her resignation saying that it was for the party to take “an appropriate decision at the appropriate time.” This so-called all-party meeting was, however held without the Chief Opposition Party AIADMK led by Jayalalitha and its allies MDMK, the BJP and DMDK as they all chose to boycott it. Though it is very unlikely that India would intervene in the Lankan matter, as it hastily did in 1987; ...

15 Oct 2008, 2212 hrs IST,PTI COLOMBO: Assuring that the current developments in northern Sri Lanka, including the escalation in the fighting against LTTE, was a "temporary phase", Sri Lankan government said on Wednesday night that it should not be construed as an offensive against ethnic Tamil civilians. The remarks came hours after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said the situation in the island nation is a cause for concern and asked Colombo to find a negotiated settlement that respects the unity and integrity of Sri Lanka and also respects the human rights of minorities, particularly Tamils. "This is only a temporary phase and will end after security forces attain victory over the LTTE. The government is not against the Tamil civilians but only against the terrorists," a senior Foreign Ministry official said. He said the government in Sri Lanka has already made it clear that it will endeavour to address the justifiable concerns of India. The Sri Lankan President h...

By Shamindra Ferdinando The SLAF struck twice southeast of Puthukkudiyiruppu targeting Tigers engaged in setting up defences on Wednesday as government sources asserted that suspension of the ongoing offensive on the Vanni front would give a fresh lifeline to the LTTE. Nothing could be illogical as a ceasefire at this juncture, the sources told The Island. Dismissing Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi’s demand to halt the offensive, the sources said the Chief Minister was talking on behalf of the LTTE. The sources said that a ceasefire would also jeopardise the ongoing naval operations in the Gulf of Mannar to thwart LTTE attempts to bring in supplies, particularly explosives from Tamil Nadu. With the destruction of LTTE ships on the high seas, Tamil Nadu had become the last overseas supply line, the sources said. Jets launched from Katunayake zeroed-in on what SLAF spokesman Wing Commander Janaka Nanayakkara called an LTTE bunker construction site two kilometres south-east of Pu...

SYDNEY: Australia is considering formally declaring the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) a terrorist group, Foreign Minister Stephen Smith said yesterday. Visiting Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollagama said he had asked Canberra to join countries such as Britain and the United States in taking the step against the LTTE. “As I indicated to the Foreign Minister, that is currently under consideration by the Attorney-General,” Smith told reporters after a meeting with Bogollagama in Canberra. Smith said the Tigers were already effectively banned in Australia. “For a considerable period of time the LTTE has effectively been listed under United Nations arrangements, that effects a freeze on LTTE assets in Australia and as a consequence (it is) unlawful for the use of LTTE assets in Australia,” he said. Bogollagama said it was time that Australia named the Tigers as a terrorist group in a bid to help forge a political settlement with the Tamil community. “It’s time we addressed terroris...

by Ranil WIJAYAPALA The ground realities in the Kilinochchi and Mullaitivu battlefronts have put the LTTE in total dilemma. In the main battlefront, the Tiger outfit is about to lose their de-facto capital Kilinochchi. From the Pooneryn front, the 58 Division is now heading towards their final goal to capturing the huge earth bund whilst the 59 Division is now heading towards the LTTE military stronghold Mullaitivu, again capturing another huge earth bund in the West of Nayaru lagoon. For the LTTE all these three locations are top most priorities. They were main strongholds of the LTTE from its inception, apart from Jaffna. Losing any of these strongholds would be a defeat to them. The pride of the LTTE would go forever once they lose control of Kilinochchi. In the same way, they will lose their links with outsiders once they lose the stretch up to Pooneryn in the North Western coast and the stretch in Mullaitivu in the Eastern coastal line....

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This country has already experienced situations in which the LTTE has made use of volatile situations of this nature to accomplish their terror plans. Onall these occasions the politicians had hair splitting arguments to prove that their main opponents were behind such assassinations but ultimately it was the LTTE which had always been behind those assassinations It has been a proven fact that the LTTE never tolerated any unity in the Southern polity. Their attempts always aimed at disturbing the South once they observed signs that the South is uniting against LTTE terrorism. The LTTE observed that Southern polity is reaching towards consensus at this decisive juncture as the military defeat of the LTTE is nearing. Though many politicians cry foul about military successes to appease their disgruntled political leaders, they are supportive of the military successes against the LTTE. The politicians who are supportive of defeating the LTTE ...