‘LTTE killed 200 fleeing civilians’

P K Balachandran
First Published : 30 Apr 2009 02:08:00 AM IST
Last Updated :

COLOMBO: The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) had killed nearly 200 fleeing civilians in north eastern Sri Lanka, the Tigers’ former media liaison officer, Thaya Master, said in a video interview posted on Wednesday on the Sri Lankan defense ministry’s website.

“LTTE was keeping the Tamil people as hostages. LTTE attacked civilians who tried to get out of Suthanthirapuram. People were shot. Many died. Nearly 200 died due to LTTE fire. LTTE propaganda was that these people died because of military shelling,” Thaya Master told the interviewers.

The gory incident at Suthanthi­rapuram, a place outside the No-Fire Zone, allegedly occurred in January. The LTTE had at that time accu­sed the Sri Lankan army of shelling Suthanthirapuram and killing dozens of civilians.

“When people moved into Puthumattalan, there too civilians were shot when trying to get out. Many died. People were beaten up,” the former LTTE media commissar said. Puthumattalan is in the No-Fire Zone. It was captured by government troops on April 20. Thaya Master substantiated the ch­arge by the Sri Lankan government and the UN that the LTTE was forcibly recruiting very young children for its combat units.

“In all the refugee locations, the LTTE forcibly took away children as young as those born in 1994, 1995 and 1996.The LTTE conscripted the one and only child in a family. Sick children and heart patients were also recruited. When children were removed forcibly, the parents had attacked the recruiters. The recruiters retaliated and assaulted the parents, and forcibly removed the children,” Thaya Master recalled.

George Master, the former Sri Lankan postmaster who became the official English and Sinhalese translator for S P Tamilselvam, the slain head of the LTTE’s political wing, said that the civilians in the No-Fire Zone had been moving about for weeks trying to find a way out. But only some could get out because the LTTE would fire at those who tried to flee.

“Only the ablest of the lot were able to get out – the weaklings were unable to get out because there was firing from behind. I decided I am going to take it, even if I am going to get shot. I was lucky I was able to cross over,” George Master said.

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‘50,000 civilians still trapped in war zone’

PTI | Thu, 30 Apr, 2009,01:34 PM

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United Nations has said that the conditions were far from satisfactory in camps for displaced Tamil civilians in Sri Lanka and its top priority is to get an estimated 50,000 civilians still trapped in the war zone to safety.

Addressing a press conference, Under Secretary for Humanitarian Affairs John Holmes said that food, water and other basic supplies from UN agencies and non-governmental organizations were en route to help approximately 175,000 civilians who had fled the fighting between government forces and Tamil Tigers since January. While many had sought refuge in the Manik Farm camp for internally displaced persons and in transit centres and schools in and around Vavuniya, another 50,000 people were said to be trapped in the combat zone, he said. Although the conditions are very far from satisfactory in that camp and in those transit centres, I think with huge efforts we’re beginning to get a grip on that and the basics will be there to allow people to at least survive, he said. Holmes, who was recently in Sri Lanka, said that in the past four days the UN had set up 4,500 family-sized tents for internally displaced persons in northern Sri Lanka as part of efforts to ramp up humanitarian aid to thousands of civilians uprooted by intense fighting. http://newstodaynet.com/newsindex.php?id=16669%20&%20section=8

NO TEARS FOR LTTE

Author – ANIL CHAWLA Sri Lanka army is heading for a victory over LTTE. The defeat of LTTE has disturbed many in India, especially in Tamil Nadu. It is understandable that many Indian Tamils emotionally identify with the Tamils of Sri Lanka and are moved by their plight. However, it is important to understand the true nature of LTTE before Indian Tamils let their emotions rule their heads. LTTE under its leader Vellupillai Prabhakaran has earned reputation as the most violent and ruthless terrorist organization across the globe. There can be no denying that Tamils in Sri Lanka had and still have genuine grievances which were repeatedly ignored by the Sinhalese political leaders. From the fifties to late seventies, the grievances were constantly raised by many moderate Tamil leaders who believed in a process of dialogue. Sure enough, the moderates among Tamil politicians had a difficult time in convincing the Sinhalese politicians to yield ground and work towards fair and equitable governance. Nevertheless, the efforts of the moderates had attracted attention and sympathy from the international community. It may not be an exaggeration to say that the moderates might have succeeded if they had been able to continue their efforts of dialogue, reconciliation and integration. Efforts of the moderates were cut short by a series of brutal assassinations carried out by LTTE. The first major operation was assassination of the mayor of Jaffna, Alfred Duraiappah in 1975. Assassination in 1977 of a Tamil Member of Parliament, M. Canagaratnam, was carried out personally by Prabhakaran, the leader of LTTE. These are just two examples of hundreds of cold-blooded murders of Tamils carried out by LTTE. The violent and ruthless ways of LTTE led on one hand to extermination of all other Tamil militant groups and, on the other, forced moderate Tamils to either withdraw from political activity or side with Sinhalese parties. The radicalization of Tamil political space found its echo in the Sinhalese parties and mutual hardening of stances closed all avenues of national reconciliation and integration. This led to the civil war that had been raging in the island for the past three decades. The violent, merciless, cruel bloody ways of LTTE have no precedence in the history of South Asia. Hindu and Buddhist minds have streaks of kindness, compassion and pity. The militants of Indian Freedom Struggle were often soft-hearted poets. There is no prior instance of an Indian (or Sri Lankan) militant killing people of his own community with such ferociousness as Prabhakaran did. It is also important to note that for thousands of years, Buddhism and Hinduism have co-existed through much of Asia, without a single instance of a major clash. It is hence necessary to clarify that the civil war in Sri Lanka was not a Buddhist-Hindu war. Though much of Sinhalese leadership is Buddhist, LTTE cannot be called a Hindu organization by any stretch of imagination. LTTE leadership has never found any sympathy among Hindu organizations of India. Prabhakaran is a Christian (his son’s name is Charles Anthony) and most of his close associates are also Christians. It seems reasonable to guess that LTTE could attain its superiority over other militant Tamil groups (a) by its ruthless ways and (b) by the vast superiority of resources that LTTE could manage. Rabid fanatical elements of Christian churches are known to fish in troubled waters across the world. In all probability, these elements supported Prabhakaran and his men giving them money as well as arms and ammunition. Along with the resources to fight the war, the rabid Christian elements seem to have also supplied to LTTE a mindset that is typical of one-book-religions and is completely alien to this part of the world. All one-book-religions have no place for tolerance. Spread of Christianity through Europe, Africa and America was achieved by widespread genocide and torture. As the Pope talks of harvesting a new crop of souls in Asia, there is no attempt on the part of Church to apologize for inquisitions, witch-hunting, slavery, or opium wars or even the Bengal famine. These are viewed as acts of piety necessary for saving the souls of millions. In the eighteenth, nineteenth and first half of twentieth century, the evangelical agenda of Church was carried out in Asia by British, Portuguese and other European colonial powers. Thousands were brutally tortured and killed in Goa inquisitions. Script for Opium Wars was written by Christian missionaries. After the Second World War, the mainline political parties of Europe and America had turned too secular and could no longer be relied upon to further the expansionist agenda of fanatical elements of Church. The Church had to turn to native converts to carry the flag forward. Prabhakaran is one such native convert. Prabhakaran’s bloody ways can only be compared to the medieval Christian knights / vikings, who tolerated no dissent and killed innumerable members of their own communities on slightest pretext. If LTTE had succeeded to create a Tamil Eelam, Prabhakaran would surely have been the worst possible despot the world has ever known. Tamil Eelam would have done more harm than good to Tamils. Historically, Tamils of Sri Lanka were well educated and quite progressive. This changed after LTTE took control of Jaffna. During their reign in Jaffna, the liberals were brutally killed. Even academicians were not spared. Dr.Rajini Thiranagama was killed by LTTE on September 21, 1989. Her only fault was that she criticized LTTE for their atrocities. She was the head of the Department of Anatomy at University of Jaffna. She was also a Tamil human rights activist and feminist. The poisonous cancerous mindset of fanatic proponents of one-book religions has led to balkanization of South Europe. Success of Prabhakaran would have led to initiation of the same process in Asia. The Prabhakaran effect would not have remained confined to just Sri Lanka, but would have impacted the whole continent giving inspiration and strength to separatist elements in various regions. For example, Church-sponsored terrorism would have received a boost in north-eastern states of India. The Maoist or Naxalite elements have been known to receive support and cooperation from Churches in tribal areas of India and Nepal. Having tasted success in Sri Lanka, the fanatical rabid elements of Churches would have stepped up efforts towards disintegration and Christianization of India, China and rest of Asia. India has been fighting various forces, both Islamic and Christian, aiming to disintegrate her. Besides fighting them, India has had a close brush with the brutal ways of LTTE. On 21 May 1991, LTTE’s suicide bomber killed Indian ex-Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi. This made Indian public lose patience with LTTE and Prabhakaran. The fact that the assassination paved the way for a Roman Catholic (and her Christian coterie) to get complete control of the oldest political party of India may well be purely coincidental and need not be discussed here. The point here is only about the mindset of Prabhakaran and his organization. The mindset that tolerates no dissent and has no hesitation in cold-blooded killing of fellow politicians, women professors and even old friends, is a grave danger to peace and co-existence of human beings on this earth. Fortunately, LTTE has lost the war. But it may not be the end of the war. A war is fought not just on the field with guns and bombs. The most important place where a war begins and ends is in the minds of the people. As guns silence in northern and eastern Sri Lanka, the challenge before Sri Lanka Government is to ensure that LTTE does not become a myth – larger and more glorified than what it ever was. Government of Sri Lanka must take steps to write a true history of the civil war without mincing any words and portraying LTTE in its true colours. For the sake of good relations with majority population of India, the academicians, journalists and historians of Sri Lanka should clarify in unequivocal terms that the so-called civil war was a war between Sri Lanka government and a terrorist organization. It is necessary to underline the fact that there is no conflict between Buddhists and Hindus, who have been brothers through thousands of years. Actions speak louder than words. The Sinhalese political class must use the end of civil war as an opportunity to initiate extensive efforts for national reconciliation, reconstruction and integration. President of Sri Lanka must walk over the ghost of LTTE to extend a hand of friendship and brotherhood to Tamils of the country. If the Sinhalese population can act with the Buddhist qualities of kindness and compassion towards their Tamil brethren, they can surely win their hearts over. That will truly be a victory for everyone in Sri Lanka. Let us pray – May the Sinhalese have the strength and wisdom to be kind, considerate and compassionate towards their Tamil brethren; And May the Tamils of Sri Lanka have the strength and wisdom to exorcise the ghosts of LTTE from their minds and rebuild bonds of heart with their Sinhalese brethren. Lastly, let no tears be shed for LTTE either in Sri Lanka or in India. ANIL CHAWLA 26 April 2009

Future of Tamil Srilankans in Canada

The following is a view of a reader in the National Post published from Toronto

http://network.nationalpost.com/np/blogs/toronto/archive/2009/04/29/police-arrest-nine-people-at-tamil-demonstration-on-university-avenue.aspx

by RyanFrancis Apr 29 2009 6:47 PM

I cannot fathom how stupid Canadian politicians are. Can someone tell me how many borders seperate Sri Lanka from Canada? Thousands.. Anyone with an iota of common sense will know that the real Sri Lankan refugees have no means of travelling such a distance to seek refuge here. Most of the refugees are in India. The Tamils who migrated to UK, Australia, Europe and Canada are the immediate and extended family of top Tamil Tiger leaders! We are home to 300,000 extremist. All these people moved here under false documents so even the given names or they educational qualifications are bogus. Time will tell how things will play out on our shores. In the 90’s we had Tamil gang crime destroy Toronto.Now we are slowly uncovering huge credit/debit card scams organised by these Tamils. Someday they will be fighting here for a Tamil homeland.

Britain, France fail to halt Sri Lankan war against LTTE

IANS
First Published : 29 Apr 2009 12:08:30 PM IST
Last Updated : 29 Apr 2009 05:28:49 PM IST

COLOMBO: Visiting foreign ministers of Britain and France Wednesday said they failed to get Sri Lanka to halt its military campaign in the island’s north where thousands of civilians are trapped in the fast shrinking war zone.

“We tried very hard. We insisted and insisted but it is up to our friends to allow it or not,” French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner told reporters after holding talks with his Sri Lankan counterpart Rohitha Bogollagama here Wednesday.

Indicating that the talks have ended in failure, British Foreign Minister David Miliband said: “The international community has been asking for a ceasefire not to save (rebel leader Vellupillai) Prabhakaran, but a call to allow civilians to leave, for long term peace in Sri Lanka.”

“Now is the time for the fighting to stop. Sri Lanka’s
military advances have been spectacular, but winning the peace is as vital as winning the war,” Miliband said.

The ministers, who arrived in Colombo Wednesday on a one-day trip, also called on the Tigers to free the thousands of civilians whose numbers vary between 20,000 to 50,000, instead of holding them hostage.

“They are hostages of the LTTE and we want them freed immediately,” Kouchner appealed to the rebels.

Miliband and Kouchner are to call on President Mahinda Rajapaksa after visiting Vavuniya, a town 254 km away in the north where many thousands of displaced Tamils are housed in camps and welfare centres.

The visit of the British and French foreign ministers has assumed significance after Sri Lanka reportedly refused visa to Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt, who too was to come.

Colombo denied this, saying Bildt is invited to visit the island nation early May.

Sri Lankan troops have virtually cornered the LTTE into a small strip of coastal land less than 10 sq km.

The ruling coalition of President Rajapaksa have argued that agreeing to a truce will only give the Tamil Tigers breathing space and allow them to regroup.

The diplomatic efforts by foreign ministers of Britain
and France triggered noisy protests outside the British high commission here by Buddhist monks who asked foreign governments to lay off.

On Wednesday, hundreds of people, Buddhist monks included, staged a noisy rally outside the British high commission. The protestors were from the Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU), a party allied to President Rajapaksa’s ruling coalition.

Many carried anti-Britain placards as they squatted near the entrance of the British mission, shouting slogans against “international interference in an internal problem”.

“Our president who did not bow down to LTTE terrorism, will not bow down to international pressure,” read one banner. Another said: “We did to the LTTE what you could not do to the Al Qaeda.”

A third asked: “Gordon Brown, will you give a humanitarian lifeline to Osama bin Laden?”.

Even as diplomatic efforts were on to halt the war, with Colombo saying it is about to crush the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and end one of the world’s longest running separatist campaigns, the Sri Lankan navy battled a fleet of LTTE boats in the northeastern seas.

Navy sources said at least five rebel boats, including four explosive-laden suicide boats, were destroyed and over 25 ‘Sea Tigers’ killed during the clash off Mullaitivu, about 395 km from Colombo.

Mullaitivu is where LTTE’s elusive chief Velupillai Prabhakaran is said to be holed up along with his top aides including son Charles Antony and intelligence chief Pottu Amman.

There has been no immediate reaction from the rebels to the claims about destruction of their boats.

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Comments:

PEE-LAM IN WEMBLEY I quote “A better option would be to get their retained British MPs to present a Devolution Private Bill in Parliament to establish an Eelam in Wembley. They have an amazing assortment of characters for this purpose. Besides the corrupt MPs who can lead the way, there are the illegal immigrants, the economic migrants, credit-card fraudsters, welfare cheats, human traffickers, drug peddlers, the ungrateful MBBS and other graduates from Sri Lankan universities and, of course, the fanatical LTTE cadres. The last lot would be useful for ethnic cleansing of Wembley and collecting blood-money to run Wembley Eelam. If they start now on this project, then in five to ten years’ time they might see the beginnings of a Tamil Wembley Eelam with all the trappings of a nascent exclusively ethnic devolved Tamil province, if not, a Tamil state, but still singing ‘God Save the Queen’ for namesake in Tamil. We should all wish them good luck.
By Sen Guptha
4/29/2009 4:33:00 PM

Canada’s Liberal oppositionwants to create Tamil Ealam in Canada for its vote bank politics.

PTI | Wed, 29 Apr, 2009,10:15 AM

Canada’s main opposition party has pressed the government to make it easier for Tamil refugees in Sri Lanka to enter the country.

Liberal Party leader Michael Ignatieff on Tuesday called on Prime Minister Stephen Harper ‘to examine the feasibility of fast-tracking existing visa applications.’ Calling for special visa for those wishing to escape the violence and join their immediate family members in Canada, Ignatieff said ‘the international community has a responsibility to intervene and protect these innocent victims of civil war.’ Ignatieff’s statement was released as foreign ministers from Britain and France prepared to fly to Sri Lanka in an attempt to halt the army’s blistering offensive against Tamil Tiger rebels that has killed thousands of civilians. After months of heavy fighting, the Tamil Tigers have now been confined to a tiny strip of coastal jungle in the northeast and are said by the military to be down to their last few hundred fighters. http://newstodaynet.com/newsindex.php?id=16646%20&%20section=8

Prabhakaran, support in TN key to LTTE’s revival

By By Ashok Kumar Mehta Apr 28 2009 Sri Lanka’s President Mahinda Rajapakse has done the impossible: Defeated the world’s most dreaded and sophisticated guerrilla force through a bloody and brutal military campaign. The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) is no ordinary guerrilla outfit. It had unique capabilities to fight conventionally, wage insurgency and irregular war, including terrorism, and launch the most spectacular suicide attacks on land, sea and from the air. It possessed an air and naval wing with advanced military equipment which even some countries do not have. Political commentator Zachary Abuza notes: “It is premature to eulogise about the death of the LTTE. Tamil Tigers is the most cutting-edge, adaptive and creative terrorist organisation in the world. There is not a terrorist organisation in the world that has not adopted LTTE’s tactics or aspired to do so”. The LTTE’s list of assassinations of top leaders and rival Tamils is legendary. Their catalogue of inventions includes the human bomber (they have carried out more suicide attacks than Hamas and Hezbollah combined), the suicide boat squads (seven years before the sinking of USS Cole), suicide frogmen and the kamikaze air force’s nine attacks in 22 months and the martyrs’ posters for Black Tigers. All these are firsts. Other notables are adaptability — interchanging from guerrilla to conventional warfare, which was their undoing in this war, recruiting women in the ratio of three to two, one of the two organisations to use WMD (they employed chlorine gas against Sri Lankan forces in 1990) and having their suicide vest design copied by 12 terrorist organisations. The build-up and sustenance of LTTE’s military power was made possible by an elaborate network of fund raising, propaganda, political and arms-procurement organisations. Most of these have been undermined by sustained and proactive Sri Lankan diplomacy that led to the LTTE being declared a terrorist organisation by 31 countries including India. The revival of this network will be an uphill task but is certainly possible — it will depend on how, in the coming days, the Tamil diaspora views the defeat of the Tigers and the fate of Prabhakaran and other top leaders. Central to the rejuvenation of the LTTE is Prabhakaran’s longevity. His whereabouts have frequently been the subject of speculation. According to the Sri Lankan military, he is holed up in the shrinking “No Fire Zone” on Mullaithivu beach along with 500 fighters and 50,000 civilians, many of whom are the kith and kin of LTTE cadres. Prabhakaran is the centre of gravity of the Eelam movement. While the predominant view is that his death could lead to the break-up of what is left of the organisation, others feel that LTTE cannot be wished away that easily, with or without Prabhakaran. There’s his son Charles Antony, an aeronautical engineer to take over. One report suggests that Prabhakaran has already become a non-resident leader: that LTTE began relocating its assets before the fall of Kilinochchi in January this year, just like it had relocated to Mullaithivu jungles before the battle of Jaffna against the Indian Peace-Keeping Force (IPKF) in 1987. The LTTE is believed to have redeployed astride the A9 Kandy to Jaffna road in the north and to several pockets in the east, stretching to Amparai. Now that the LTTE is finished as a conventional force and a territorial entity, it will do what it is best at, guerrilla warfare. The revival programme will face two impediments — possible loss of support from the Tamils subjected to LTTE rule and employed as human shields, and the competition the Jaffna LTTE will face from their erstwhile comrades from the Batticaloa East, some of whom have been politically accommodated in the government and local administration. For two years there has been no devolution of power and scant development in the east. If the Rajapakse government is able to address the political and economic grievances of the Tamils on a war footing, like it did in chasing the military solution, the LTTE’s chances of bouncing back will be considerably diminished. The LTTE’s maritime and aerial outreach had created a regional threat, especially for India. Sea Tigers’ suicide vessels posed a threat to shipping in coastal waters. The Indian Navy and Coast Guard factored this in their deterrence and sank two LTTE vessels. More recently, the Indian Navy and intelligence played a key role in the Sri Lankan Navy sinking seven LTTE ships. The LTTE is known to still have a mini submarine, underwater scooters and sea craft. Three large warehouse ships are outside the Indian Ocean. These vessels are registered in Panama and the Bahamas but any future LTTE maritime threat to Palk Straits, Gulf of Mannar and Bay of Bengal is unlikely. The Czech-built Zlin 143 trainer aircraft, modified by LTTE air force which struck Colombo in 2007, raised fears in Delhi about the nuclear power plants and oil refineries in south India. Though the LTTE had declared that it would not attack India or any of its assets, on a one-way mission from Mullaithivu, the Zlin could have reached Bengaluru. Suitable defensive measures were initiated to negate the LTTE air threat, including deploying radars, UAV and anti-aircraft guns. The most palpable danger now is to Tamil Nadu where at least 13 persons have immolated themselves in sympathy for Sri Lankan Tamils and the LTTE has been revived. If the LTTE has to have any chance of being born again, it has to revive and consolidate its contacts and bases in south India, especially Tamil Nadu which was the first Indian state to advocate a separatist campaign and where, even while the IPKF was fighting the LTTE, the Tigers had extensive support. Neither have the links with ultranationalist forces been severed nor the connections with smuggling gangs. Underground separatist groups like Tamil National Liberation Army, Tamil National Retrieval Troops and Tamil People’s Liberation Army together with pro-LTTE parties like the MDMK, DMK, CPI, DPI, DMDK and the VCK may help the Tamil cause. Tamil Nadu has a large fishing industry supporting 800,000 people. Ramnathpuram district, the hub of this industry, is the hotbed of LTTE infiltration. The 650 km Tamil Nadu coastline has just 72 checkposts manned by police. Though the Coast Guard has increased its ships in Gulf of Mannar and Palk Straits, from two to four infiltration of Tamil Nadu by LTTE has recorded a success rate of six in 10 attempts. Strengthening of coastal security and modernisation of surveillance equipment is the first priority of the Coast Guard. In addition, 130,000 Tamils are in refugee camps in Tamil Nadu and Orissa since the late 1980s. A smaller number is dispersed across south India. There is a possibility of the LTTE coming through this channel. The LTTE has links with separatist groups in the Northeast, with Maoists in Nepal and may also have been in touch with Naxals. Some reports indicate that the LTTE has links with Lashkar-e-Tayyaba and that the attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team in Lahore was subcontracted to it. In 2000, when the NDA government was in power, the LTTE came within a whisker of capturing the Jaffna peninsula. The situation was so grave that Sri Lanka sought Indian Army’s assistance to evacuate its 40,000 military personnel. The catastrophe was averted but an MEA study, which has examined the impact on India and Tamil Nadu from an LTTE-controlled Jaffna, has said that the principal fear in 2000 stemmed from a free flow of LTTE across the Palk Straits leading to the militarisation of Tamil Nadu. With the tables turned, such a threat is now distant but feasible. At one time the LTTE enjoyed both political and popular support from Indian Tamils. That dried up after Rajiv Gandhi’s assassination except for fringe parties. Sri Lanka’s successful northern offensive has unleashed a humanitarian catastrophe which has the potential to create a groundswell of support for Sri Lankan Tamils and, to a lesser extent, for the fallen LTTE. It will be unwise to write off the LTTE. Its best bet for reincarnation is the growing Sinhalese triumphalism which is likely to obstruct a political solution any time soon. The LTTE’s global lobby is now in the hands of the Snow Tigers’ chief Tharmalingam Shanmugham, aka Kumaran Pathmarathan (KP), the arms-procurement czar who has been given additional charge of fundraising, rebuilding the shipping fleet and propaganda. For a ceasefire and their rejuvenation the Tigers are hoping for a BJP victory in India. Maj. Gen. Ashok Kumar Mehta (Retd) served with the IPKF in Sri Lanka http://www.deccanch ronicle.com/ op-ed/prabhakara n%2C-support- tn-key-ltte% E2%80%99s- revival-101

LTTE – the end game – 17

Sri Lanka refutes reports of ceasefire offer

IANS

COLOMBO: Amid mounting concern over civilian suffering, Sri Lanka Monday announced that “combat operations” against the Tamil Tigers had concluded and clarified that this did not amount to a ceasefire though it would stop using aircraft and heavy weapons.

The government ordered its security forces to stop using “heavy guns, aerial weapons and combat aircraft” that have allegedly caused thousands of deaths.

It said the military would instead start rescuing civilians from a small coastal area still held by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).

“The government has decided that combat operations have reached their conclusion. Our security forces have been instructed to end the use of heavy calibre guns, combat aircraft and aerial weapons which could cause civilian casualties,” the presidential secretariat said.

“Our security forces will confine their attempts to rescuing civilians who are held hostage and give foremost priority to saving civilians,” it said.

The defence ministry later clarified that there was no ceasefire and blamed “media illusionists” of twisting the government announcement as if to mean that military operations against the LTTE had been called off.

The ministry said the troops would continue with “the humanitarian operations to rescue the remaining 15,000-20,000 people held hostage by the LTTE” in the coastal belt of Mullaitivu district. But it would avoid the use of heavy calibre weaponry “coinciding with its zero civilian casualty policy”.

The death and destruction in the island’s north have caused widespread revulsion but Colombo appeared determined to pursue its military offensive until it crushed the LTTE.

Fresh fighting broke out Monday in Mullaitivu district about 395 km from capital Colombo, where the LTTE has been squeezed into an area less than 10 sq km area.

During the operations against the guerrillas, the Sri Lankan fighter jets had pounded the LTTE strongholds while its artillery rained shells in the rebel areas.

But Colombo Monday put a stop to the use of heavy firepower.

The defence ministry quoted an unnamed ministry official as saying that the decision was an exhibit “of its grave concern to avoid any form of collateral damage while surging into the remaining 10 sq km swathe” still with the Tigers.

“This is the extension of what the security forces have been continuing since the fall of Mullaitivu as terrorists resorted to taking thousands of civilians hostage,” the official said.

The ministry official stressed that the government’s decision was not a reaction to any “international pressure” but timed with the success of the world’s largest hostage rescue operation.

“Security forces are now reaching victory, combat mission reaching its conclusion and in no form will leave a breather for the internationally banned terrorist outfit or its leaders who are much wanted for thousands of war crimes and crimes against humanity,” the official has been quoted as saying.

The Sri Lankan move came amid the visit of UN humanitarian chief John Holmes who is here to assess the needs of the tens of thousands of civilians who fled rebel-held areas or are still trapped in the war zone.

It also came a day after the LTTE announced a unilateral ceasefire, which was promptly rejected by the government as a “joke”.

Amid escalating street protests in Tamil Nadu, India had Friday sent two envoys, National Security Advisor M.K. Narayanan and Foreign Secretary Shivshankar Menon, to urge Sri Lanka to end offensive operations.

Early Monday morning, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi got into the act by suddenly launching a hunger strike on the beachfront in Chennai to demand a ceasefire in Sri Lanka.

While thousands of supporters gathered and sporadic violence erupted across Tamil Nadu, the National Security Council of Sri Lanka met in Colombo and announced it was ending its “combat operations”, a move that was promptly conveyed to India.

Indian Home Minister P. Chidambaram, a Tamil himself, then telephoned Karunanidhi and conveyed the decision. The chief minister ended his hunger strike.

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown Monday, meanwhile, sent his International Development Minister Mike Foster to Sri Lanka “to conduct a humanitarian assessment” of the situation.

According to latest statistics, over 3,000 people fled the war zone and entered the government-controlled areas Sunday, taking the total number of civilian escapees to 111,512 in one week.

The Unicef said 50 tonnes of airlifted emergency relief supplies landed in Colombo Monday to be distributed to the Tamil civilians now in makeshift camps in Sri Lanka’s north.

Many thousands are in hospital after suffering grievous wounds in artillery shelling, aerial attacks and landmine explosions, blamed both on the military and the LTTE.
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LTTE – the end game – 16

Lankan army 6 sq km away from last LTTE hideout

COLOMBO: Making a final push to overrun the last patch of LTTE-held territory, Sri Lankan forces on Sunday captured strategic Vlayarmadam area and encircled remaining 6 sq km strip of land which is the possible hideout of LTTE Supremo Velupillai Prabhakaran and his top aides.

“Sri Lankan soldiers have liberated Valayarmadam area and so far rescued 500 civilians held hostage by LTTE from there,” the defence ministry said on Sunday.

According to the defence sources, army commandos and special forces soldiers backed by infantrymen of 10 Sri Lanka Light Infantry and 12 Gemunu Watch last evening entered into Valayarmadam area, located just 6 km from Vellamullivaikkal, the last remaining LTTE hideout.

“Troops declared the area fully secured this morning,” the ministry said.

Meanwhile, LTTE’s political head B Nadesan has denied the charges that his group was forcibly recruiting children as fighters to confront the government forces.

“LTTE political head B Nadesan has categorically denied recruitment and arming children as young as 12 to fight alongside the Tigers as alleged by news reports citing the UN,” the pro-rebel Tamilnet website said.

The UN Colombo office accusation coincides with the visit of the Emergency Relief Coordinator of the UN and Under-Secretary for Humanitarian Affairs John Holmes.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Lanka-army-6-sq-km-away-from-LTTE-hideout/articleshow/4450921.cms

LTTE – the end game – 15

Can diabetic Prabhakaran withstand sea escape bid?

PTI

LONDON: LTTE chief Vellupillai Prabhakaran is a diabetic and may not withstand the rigours of an escape bid by a submarine, a British newspaper has claimed.

The possibility is that the Tamil Tigers’ leader will fight till his death instead of surrendering, ‘The Sunday Telegraph’ newspaper quoted his former right-hand man Colonel Karuna as saying.

Prabhakaran’s son Charles has already “escaped by a submarine” to some unknown destination, the report said, while maintaining that the LTTE chief may have run out of options.

However, if he did get out, “Prabhakaran could find a welcome in the overseas Tamil Diaspora”. Colonel Karuna said, “In exile, he could expect to live well. He is a billionaire after stealing money intended for Tamil cause.”

Another possibility is that the surviving Tigers and their leader, now cornered in a shrinking patch of territory in the island nation, could commit mass suicide, “perhaps forcing their families to take part”, the report said.

Col Karuna, who defected to the Sri Lankan government, has claimed that the “ruthless” LTTE chief is still in command of his surviving fighters in the island nation.

“Sri Lanka lost so many fighters and civilians and Prabhakaran is responsible for all this. I used to say to him, ‘Why did you kill all those people?’ He’s a very horrible man. He has to be eliminated,” Colonel Karuna said.

Colonel Karuna, whose real name is Vinayagamoorthi Muralitharan — was a child soldier who rose to become the LTTE chief’s number two before defecting to the government in 2006, along with a group of supporters.

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Pakistan pushing guerrillas into Kashmir: Indian Army

Syed Moinullah Shah, a Pakistani militant and Brigadier Gurmeet Singh, right at a press conference at an army base in Srinagar. (Photo:AP)

IANS
First Published : 25 Apr 2009 02:35:20 PM IST
Last Updated : 25 Apr 2009 03:47:00 PM IST

SRINAGAR: The Indian Army Saturday accused its Pakistani counterparts of pushing guerrillas into the Kashmir Valley. To back their claim, Indian Army officials produced a Pakistani national who had infiltrated into the border state a fortnight back.

Saqib Moinullah 25, a resident of North West Frontier Province (NWFP) in Pakistan, said at a press conference here Saturday he had crossed into India through the Gurez sector of the Line of Control (LOC) along with 120 other people, including 31 guerrillas of the Hizbul Mujahideen (HM) outfit. The rest of the group comprised 40 porters and snow beaters and guides.

“I was motivated for joining the jihad (Holy War) as the people told me there was oppression in Kashmir,” Moinullah said.

“I was imparted training and sent across to join the other militants of the group here.”

However, he said he became disgruntled with the insurgent campaign after crossing into the Valley.

“I went to the house of a civilian and gave him Rs.1,000 to arrange dry fruits etc so that I could cross back into Pakistan.

“The civilian went to the army camp and reported my presence after which I was arrested,” he said.

He disclosed that his organisation had no link with the Taliban, which he said was operating in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

“During my training and subsequent crossing into the Valley, I did not come across any Taliban militants here,” he said.

Brigadier Gurmeet Singh, Brigadier general staff (BGS) of the army’s 15 corps who addressed the media, said the Pakistan army had been facilitating the infiltration of the guerrillas into the Valley.

“Based on intelligence reports, intercepts of conversations and mappings etc, it is clear that the Pakistan army has been aiding and assisting infiltration of terrorists into the Valley,” he said.

He that of the 120-strong group that had crossed into the Valley there were 31 guerrillas of whom 30 had been killed in different gun battles with the security forces while Moinullah was arrested alive.

“The rest of the group comprising porters, snow beaters and guides were forced back into the Pakistani side of the LOC,” the brigadier said.

He also gave details of the arms and ammunition seized from the slain guerrillas during the operation.

“Thirty AK-47 rifles, 13,000 rounds of AK-47 ammunition, 245 grenades of UBGLs (Under barrel grenade launchers), RPGs (Rocket Propelled grenades), 32 kilograms of explosives, detonators, switches etc were recovered from the slain terrorists,” the army officer said.

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