LTTE propaganda on Channel 4
An open letter to Chief Executive Officer,Channel 4, P.O.Box 1058, Belfast, BT 1 9DU from Ben Silva, UK.
With reference to the video broadcast by you on the 25th of August 2009, related to Sri Lanka , any one could have dressed up as a Sri Lankan soldier and acted as in the video clip. The back ground Sinhala voices do not appear to convey any meaning.
Although violence against fellow humans is common in the Western culture, such as My lai massacre, Abu Gharaib, Genocide of native American Indians, Nuclear Bombing of Japan, Fire bombing of Dresden and so on, Sri Lankan soldiers kill only in self defence. It is highly unlikely for a Sri Lankan soldier to behave in the manner shown in the video clip.
What is most likely is that this video clip is a fake LTTE propaganda video clip.
It is a shame that you tie up with LTTE , for cheap publicity and sensationalism
It is disgraceful that you are carrying out propaganda for what was known as the deadliest terror organisations in the world, without verifying the authenticity of the broadcast material.
It looks like LTTE have taken a considerable amount of time to produce this fake video clip.
The Government of Sri Lanka rejects Channel 4 story as concoctedPosted on August 26th, 2009
Courtesy : Ministry of Foreign Affairs
The attention of the Government of Sri Lanka has been drawn to a news item telecast on Channel 4 television in the UK which is also available on the Internet which depicts Sri Lankan forces allegedly committing atrocities against Tamils.
The Government of Sri Lanka strongly and unequivocally denies the allegations contained in the video footage telecast on Channel 4. This footage is diabolical and there is absolutely no truth in its concocted story which is based on this footage. The Government of Sri Lanka is of the view that the purpose of the video, which is evidently orchestrated by LTTE front organizations, is a deliberate and sinister attempt to cause embarrassment and bring disrepute to the Government of Sri Lanka in order to disturb the post conflict developmental and rehabilitation phase.
At a time when the Government of Sri Lanka is focusing on the reconciliation and healing process and rebuild the country, the contents of this video appear to be deliberately intent on tarnishing the sincere efforts and commitment of the Government of Sri Lanka.
“Channel 4″ video false and fabricated – Govt.
Courtesy: President Media Unit
The video footage recently aired on ‘Channel 4′ UK claiming to display alleged atrocities committed by Sri Lankan forces against Tamils is absolutely false and fabricated. It has been deliberately put together to bring disrepute to the Government of Sri Lanka, states the Presidential Secretariat in Colombo.
The Government of Sri Lanka will make a strong protest to Channel 4 with regard to the contents of this video and also bring the matter to the notice of the relevant authorities, and seek to pursue remedies available with regard to the distortion of truth.
The Government of Sri Lanka view this unsubstantiated and admittedly unverifiable video footage as an attempt by elements opposed to the success of the reconciliation process under way in Sri Lanka and the ongoing efforts to rebuild the country after nearly 30 years of terror by the LTTE.
The Government has reasons to suspect that those who provided this false and doctored footage are those still supportive of LTTE terror, who failed in their attempts to discredit the Sri Lankan government at the recent UN Human Rights Council in Geneva.
Comments from Readers
TITLE OF NEWS ITEM: IS THIS EVIDENCE OF SRI LANKAN ‘WAR CRIMES’?Channel4News – http://www.channel4.com/news/articles/world/asia_pacific/is+this+evidence+of+sri+lankan+aposwar+crimesapos/3321087
The video footage has got typical hallmarks of a doctored Video for every one to notice it. It is visible here that stage played actions were created for the video.
1. The shot fired at the man kneeling down can be heard, but the man is still up, within seconds the body should be either fallen on the ground or should shows signs of the gun shot injury. Both sequential outcomes are missing.
2. When the Gun is fired, gun does not move at all, indicating sound is not synchronised and added later.
2. The Sinhala words they spoke are not coinciding with the sound. `
3. The men lying on the ground seems like actors.
This video should be viewed in the background of other videos/photos made public during the height of the war, for example:
1) a photo given wide publicity of Tamil women and children fleeing rocket fire, which was proved to be FAKED and was in reality a cropped photo of a staged scene in which the uncropped picture showed people on the sidelines laughing and watching the fleeing persons and capturing them on camera, while others stood completely nonchalant at a distance in the background.
2) A photograph of Prabhakaran purportedly watching a TV broadcast of his own body being found and laughing, which was produced as evidence that he was still alive. However, it was clearly shown to be a doctored photograph of Prabhakaran from an earlier pic in which there was no TV on the shelf. The altered parallax lines of the floor moldings and cupboards clearly showed it to be a doctored photo.
3) A photo of a severed human head and body parts were published on the Internet as being fro m the North of Sri Lanka, but it was proven to be a photo that had been published at a much earlier date (date authenticated), and was from the Iraq war.
It is hoped that Channel4 will act as a responsible news organization and conduct a full inquiry into this weird video and its origins. It owes a full apology to Sri Lanka for the libelous misrepresentations therein
Sunday, August 30, 2009
After Independence : Unprecedented development in the North
After Independence : Unprecedented development in the North
As peace returned to the once war torn Northern theatre, the people of the North today witness development projects in their areas,hitherto never ever witnessed since independence, Political Observers disclosed.
The government of President Mahinda Rajapaksa, through the concept of 'Uthuru Wasanthaya" (Northern Spring),spearheaded by by the Chairman of the Northern Task Force,Senior Presidential Adviser,Basil Rajapaksa,MP, has launched an extensive development effort in the North covering every aspect close to the needs of those people.
Intellects from the Jaffna peninsula have stated that no government in the past since independence have focussed attention on the North as done today by the government of President Mahinda Rajapaksa."Its' huge task the President and his government has embarked upon but that was the need during the past six decades of independence", they have claimed to a group of independent observers who toured the Northern front recently.
The ignorance to address the needs of the northern people by many previous governments, the Jaffna people claim led to uprisings that finally ended in terrorism."We are grateful to the President and his government for crushing the LTTE which continued terrorist acts despite attempts by the government to discuss peace moves", a senior citizen from Jaffna who have had his two sons killed by the LTTE had disclosed to a news agency in South East Asia.
The 'Uthuru Wasanthaya' programme launched by the government has embarked upon all needs of the Jaffna people covering the basic needs of their legitimate aspirations, the residents said.
Educationists in Jaffna have welcomed the measures taken by Colombo to upgrade schools and provide all facilities to students."We need to build an educated Tamil generation after thirty years of war that took our bright children away as a result of LTTE terrorism", a senior educationist told www.news.lk from his home in Chundikuli,Jaffna.His wife is a retired teacher from the Chundikuli Girls' School, a well respected educational institute in the peninsula.
This week the farming community in Jaffna from the agriculture were jubilant over the efforts by the government to help them restart cultivation that was affected by LTTE terrorism for over two decades. Senior Presidential Adviser, Basil Rajapaksa present on that occassion assured the farming community that all possible facilities would be given to them to embark upon a successful agricultural journey.
With electricity being restored to normalcy, the health facilities in all hospitals have been widened to ensure better services to the patients both outdoor and indoor.
The fishing industry has made great success after the lifting of restrictions on fishing in June this year.The fish production has doubled and plans are underway to to bring the excess to Colombo.
Life in Jaffna is back to normal with an effective passenger rail and bus transport service catering to the public from dawn to dusk.
Courtesy : Government Information Department
As peace returned to the once war torn Northern theatre, the people of the North today witness development projects in their areas,hitherto never ever witnessed since independence, Political Observers disclosed.
The government of President Mahinda Rajapaksa, through the concept of 'Uthuru Wasanthaya" (Northern Spring),spearheaded by by the Chairman of the Northern Task Force,Senior Presidential Adviser,Basil Rajapaksa,MP, has launched an extensive development effort in the North covering every aspect close to the needs of those people.
Intellects from the Jaffna peninsula have stated that no government in the past since independence have focussed attention on the North as done today by the government of President Mahinda Rajapaksa."Its' huge task the President and his government has embarked upon but that was the need during the past six decades of independence", they have claimed to a group of independent observers who toured the Northern front recently.
The ignorance to address the needs of the northern people by many previous governments, the Jaffna people claim led to uprisings that finally ended in terrorism."We are grateful to the President and his government for crushing the LTTE which continued terrorist acts despite attempts by the government to discuss peace moves", a senior citizen from Jaffna who have had his two sons killed by the LTTE had disclosed to a news agency in South East Asia.
The 'Uthuru Wasanthaya' programme launched by the government has embarked upon all needs of the Jaffna people covering the basic needs of their legitimate aspirations, the residents said.
Educationists in Jaffna have welcomed the measures taken by Colombo to upgrade schools and provide all facilities to students."We need to build an educated Tamil generation after thirty years of war that took our bright children away as a result of LTTE terrorism", a senior educationist told www.news.lk from his home in Chundikuli,Jaffna.His wife is a retired teacher from the Chundikuli Girls' School, a well respected educational institute in the peninsula.
This week the farming community in Jaffna from the agriculture were jubilant over the efforts by the government to help them restart cultivation that was affected by LTTE terrorism for over two decades. Senior Presidential Adviser, Basil Rajapaksa present on that occassion assured the farming community that all possible facilities would be given to them to embark upon a successful agricultural journey.
With electricity being restored to normalcy, the health facilities in all hospitals have been widened to ensure better services to the patients both outdoor and indoor.
The fishing industry has made great success after the lifting of restrictions on fishing in June this year.The fish production has doubled and plans are underway to to bring the excess to Colombo.
Life in Jaffna is back to normal with an effective passenger rail and bus transport service catering to the public from dawn to dusk.
Courtesy : Government Information Department
Last modified on: 8/3/2009 1:18:25 PM De-mining process given priority in resettlement
Last modified on: 8/3/2009 1:18:25 PM
De-mining process given priority in resettlement
As the government much concern on the maximum security of the civilians to be resettled, the de-mining process underway in the liberated areas are been given the priority in the resettlement agenda of the "Uthuru Wasanthaya " program.
The LTTE terrorists, once called themselves as the "sole representative" of the Tamil community, have heavily laid land mines in these areas to obstruct the humanitarian mission launched by the Sri Lankan security forces to liberate over 300,000 Tamil civilians from LTTE clutches.
Indian government has already extended their fullest corporation to the de-mining process sending logistical and manpower assistance.
Several foreign governments have also financially assisted the de-mining process launched by the Sri Lankan government over the past few months.
Northern rehabilitation moves fast
Thirty-five to forty percent of the 180 day 'Wadakkin Wasantham' (Northern Spring) resettlement and rehabilitation program spearheaded under the leadership of senior Presidential Advisor Basil Rajapaksa MP has been completed, with 35 villages in Vavuniya now ready to receive IDPs for resettlement, Vavuniya GA Ms.P.S.M.Charles told the Sunday Observer. Statements relating to 100,000 prospective resettlers among the IDPs have already been forwarded to the security forces and the respective GAs for their confirmation and the resettlement process will begin immediately on receipt of the confirmations, she said.
Under the 'Wadakkin Wasantham' program IDPs will be resettled in Vavuniya, Jaffna, Mannar, Batticaloa and Trincomalee areas, she said.
IDPs belonging to the Kilinochchi and Mullaitivu districts would not be resettled immediately for reasons of their own security, she said.
The resettlement of 3,525 IDPs in Vavuniya scheduled for resettlement today (Sunday) in the Trincomalee district has been postponed due to unavoidable circumstances and the resettlement will take place shortly, the GA stated. This is the single largest batch of Vavuniya IDPs to be resettled in Trincomalee, she said.
Every effort was being made to resettle a maximum number of IDPs in their former villages before the monsoonal rains expected in the first week of October, well-informed sources of the Ministry of Resettlement and Disaster Relief Services said.
Massive explosive detections on information gleaned from suspectsTigers still taking cover among IDP’s says IGP
By Shamindra Ferdinando
The police said that there was irrefutable evidence that many LTTE cadres, including hardcore operatives, continued to take refuge among civilians accommodated at welfare centres in the Vavuniya region.
The police top brass Friday (August 28) said that interrogation of suspects taken from welfare camps had led to a spate of recent detections in areas formerly under LTTE control.
At a Police Headquarters press briefing on Friday (August 28), IGP Jayantha Wickremaratne said that since the collapse of the LTTE last May, the police had made substantial recoveries on information provided by LTTE suspects.
One of the biggest detection had been made on August 21 when an LTTE suspect led the police to a buried arsenal comprising 114,000 rounds of pistol (.45) ammunition, 27,990 rounds of 5.56 ammunition and 5,368 rounds of 23 mm ammunition at Vallipuram, he said.
A smiling IGP said that the recovered stock of pistol ammunition would be adequate to meet police requirement for several months.
Detailing ongoing police operations in the areas previously held by the LTTE as well as in the South, the police chief asserted that had the LTTE been given an opportunity to use the amount of explosives and other armaments recovered by the police alone, about 100,000 people would have been massacred.
He said that the Central Range Intelligence Unit, too, had recovered six LTTE boats laden with 970 kgs of C4 plastic explosives buried in the eastern Vanni. The recovery made on August 1 on information elicited from an LTTE cadre masquerading as a civilian in a Vavuniya welfare camp was one of the biggest detections in the recent past, he said.
Although the IGP steered clear of political issues relating to nearly 300,000 persons held in detention, Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa told The Sunday Island that the government would not open up welfare camps without screening people.
"Had we released all, those terrorists masquerading as civilians would start exploding bombs," he said accusing the opposition and a section of the international community of playing politics with a purely security issue.
Wickremaratne said that national intelligence services had also recovered 2,500 kgs of C4 plastic explosives, 53,000 detonators, 30,000 primers, 19,306 rounds of ammunition for 14.5 mm anti-aircraft guns, 53,550 rounds of 12.7 and 12,810 rounds of 7.62 mm ammunition on June 30.
In a separate detection on August 8 in the Puthukudirippu area, the police had found two buried container loads of candles to be used in the manufacture of anti-personnel mines and hand grenades, he said, adding the recovered items included a large stock of shoes and belts.
Items recovered since the end of war included communication equipment, locally made mortars, anti-personnel mines and a machine used in what he called the ``mortar manufacturing process.’’
He appreciated the work carried out by different arms of the department, particularly the Colombo Crime Division, Central Range Intelligence Unit, Terrorist Investigation Division and the CID. They had made a significant contribution in anti-terrorist operations.
Responding to queries, the police chief and police spokesman Senior DIG Nimal Mediweka urged the media not to paint a bad picture over a spate of recent incidents involving police officers. Of some 75,300 officers and men in the department, only a few had caused trouble.
Wickremaratne assured that disciplinary and legal action would be taken against any officer found guilty of misconduct.
The IGP said that the police had also located a boat used by Sea Tigers to carry out surveillance on the Galle harbour before mounting an attack a few years ago. The trawler worth about Rs. 3 million and a lorry also used to facilitate the same operation, too, had been seized, he said.
He estimated the total weight of explosives recovered since January 2007 at over 4,000 kgs with C4 plastic explosives topping the recoveries. According to him, 1,663 kgs of C4 explosives, 443 kgs of TNT, 942 kgs of claymore mines, 92 kgs of suicide belts and jackets and 815 kgs of anti-personnel and land mines.
De-mining process given priority in resettlement
As the government much concern on the maximum security of the civilians to be resettled, the de-mining process underway in the liberated areas are been given the priority in the resettlement agenda of the "Uthuru Wasanthaya " program.
The LTTE terrorists, once called themselves as the "sole representative" of the Tamil community, have heavily laid land mines in these areas to obstruct the humanitarian mission launched by the Sri Lankan security forces to liberate over 300,000 Tamil civilians from LTTE clutches.
Indian government has already extended their fullest corporation to the de-mining process sending logistical and manpower assistance.
Several foreign governments have also financially assisted the de-mining process launched by the Sri Lankan government over the past few months.
Northern rehabilitation moves fast
Thirty-five to forty percent of the 180 day 'Wadakkin Wasantham' (Northern Spring) resettlement and rehabilitation program spearheaded under the leadership of senior Presidential Advisor Basil Rajapaksa MP has been completed, with 35 villages in Vavuniya now ready to receive IDPs for resettlement, Vavuniya GA Ms.P.S.M.Charles told the Sunday Observer. Statements relating to 100,000 prospective resettlers among the IDPs have already been forwarded to the security forces and the respective GAs for their confirmation and the resettlement process will begin immediately on receipt of the confirmations, she said.
Under the 'Wadakkin Wasantham' program IDPs will be resettled in Vavuniya, Jaffna, Mannar, Batticaloa and Trincomalee areas, she said.
IDPs belonging to the Kilinochchi and Mullaitivu districts would not be resettled immediately for reasons of their own security, she said.
The resettlement of 3,525 IDPs in Vavuniya scheduled for resettlement today (Sunday) in the Trincomalee district has been postponed due to unavoidable circumstances and the resettlement will take place shortly, the GA stated. This is the single largest batch of Vavuniya IDPs to be resettled in Trincomalee, she said.
Every effort was being made to resettle a maximum number of IDPs in their former villages before the monsoonal rains expected in the first week of October, well-informed sources of the Ministry of Resettlement and Disaster Relief Services said.
Massive explosive detections on information gleaned from suspectsTigers still taking cover among IDP’s says IGP
By Shamindra Ferdinando
The police said that there was irrefutable evidence that many LTTE cadres, including hardcore operatives, continued to take refuge among civilians accommodated at welfare centres in the Vavuniya region.
The police top brass Friday (August 28) said that interrogation of suspects taken from welfare camps had led to a spate of recent detections in areas formerly under LTTE control.
At a Police Headquarters press briefing on Friday (August 28), IGP Jayantha Wickremaratne said that since the collapse of the LTTE last May, the police had made substantial recoveries on information provided by LTTE suspects.
One of the biggest detection had been made on August 21 when an LTTE suspect led the police to a buried arsenal comprising 114,000 rounds of pistol (.45) ammunition, 27,990 rounds of 5.56 ammunition and 5,368 rounds of 23 mm ammunition at Vallipuram, he said.
A smiling IGP said that the recovered stock of pistol ammunition would be adequate to meet police requirement for several months.
Detailing ongoing police operations in the areas previously held by the LTTE as well as in the South, the police chief asserted that had the LTTE been given an opportunity to use the amount of explosives and other armaments recovered by the police alone, about 100,000 people would have been massacred.
He said that the Central Range Intelligence Unit, too, had recovered six LTTE boats laden with 970 kgs of C4 plastic explosives buried in the eastern Vanni. The recovery made on August 1 on information elicited from an LTTE cadre masquerading as a civilian in a Vavuniya welfare camp was one of the biggest detections in the recent past, he said.
Although the IGP steered clear of political issues relating to nearly 300,000 persons held in detention, Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa told The Sunday Island that the government would not open up welfare camps without screening people.
"Had we released all, those terrorists masquerading as civilians would start exploding bombs," he said accusing the opposition and a section of the international community of playing politics with a purely security issue.
Wickremaratne said that national intelligence services had also recovered 2,500 kgs of C4 plastic explosives, 53,000 detonators, 30,000 primers, 19,306 rounds of ammunition for 14.5 mm anti-aircraft guns, 53,550 rounds of 12.7 and 12,810 rounds of 7.62 mm ammunition on June 30.
In a separate detection on August 8 in the Puthukudirippu area, the police had found two buried container loads of candles to be used in the manufacture of anti-personnel mines and hand grenades, he said, adding the recovered items included a large stock of shoes and belts.
Items recovered since the end of war included communication equipment, locally made mortars, anti-personnel mines and a machine used in what he called the ``mortar manufacturing process.’’
He appreciated the work carried out by different arms of the department, particularly the Colombo Crime Division, Central Range Intelligence Unit, Terrorist Investigation Division and the CID. They had made a significant contribution in anti-terrorist operations.
Responding to queries, the police chief and police spokesman Senior DIG Nimal Mediweka urged the media not to paint a bad picture over a spate of recent incidents involving police officers. Of some 75,300 officers and men in the department, only a few had caused trouble.
Wickremaratne assured that disciplinary and legal action would be taken against any officer found guilty of misconduct.
The IGP said that the police had also located a boat used by Sea Tigers to carry out surveillance on the Galle harbour before mounting an attack a few years ago. The trawler worth about Rs. 3 million and a lorry also used to facilitate the same operation, too, had been seized, he said.
He estimated the total weight of explosives recovered since January 2007 at over 4,000 kgs with C4 plastic explosives topping the recoveries. According to him, 1,663 kgs of C4 explosives, 443 kgs of TNT, 942 kgs of claymore mines, 92 kgs of suicide belts and jackets and 815 kgs of anti-personnel and land mines.
A Happy day which gave an icing on the cake for patriotic sri lankans.
KP ARRESTED what a news! 8/7/2009 10:13:38 AM
Most wanted LTTE terrorist for International Police (Interpol) and local security divisions Kumaran Padmanadan alias KP has been taken in to custody by Sri Lankan law enforcement authorities, defence sources revealed.
The suspect is known to be responsible for cross-boarder terrorist activities of liberation Tiger of the Tamil Elam (LTTE).
http://www.defence.lk/new.asp?fname=20090806_11
LTTE’s self appointed leader after the annihilation of its top leadership and the organization’s long term international arms procurer Kumaran Pathmanathan alias KP had been arrested in an East Asian country following a joint intelligence and military operation by a Sri Lankan team, defence sources confirmed last night.
Government Defence Spokesman and Minister Keheliya Rambukwella speaking to Rupavahini last night confirmed the arrest of KP and said it was a big blow to the remaining foreign network of the LTTE.
According to defence sources the arrest had been made following weeks long intelligence operation in East Asia by several teams from Sri Lanka. The Sri Lankan intelligence and military teams with the help of authorities in those countries had arrested and interrogated several LTTE operatives in East Asia who had been in contact with Pathmanathan. KP had been arrested on Wednesday night based on information extracted from them.
The state television Rupavahini broke the news last night and announced that Kumaran Pathmanathan had been arrested. Fifty four year old Pathmanathan is on Interpol's most wanted list for various charges including arms smuggling and criminal conspiracy. He is also wanted by India in connection with the assassination of former Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi in 1991 and for violation of the Terrorist Act and the Indian Explosive Act.
Pathmanathan was one of the top LTTE officials and the chief procurer of arms for the organization. He ran a global network of LTTE offices which were engaged in its weapons procurement, logistics and money laundering operations. Initially based in Malaysia, where he set up a shipping company in 1987, he was forced to move out after the Malaysian Special Branch cracked down on LTTE activities in the country in 1990, culminating in the seizure of an LTTE ship the same year. Pathmanathan then moved to Thailand, which became a safe haven for the LTTE. There he established himself as the head of banking, procurement and shipping for the LTTE. He is believed to have obtained citizenship of Thailand.
On an earlier occasion in 2007 there were conflicting reports from Thailand that Pathmanathan had been arrested on September 11, 2007. The reports were preceded by the detention in Ranong Province of three other LTTE operatives the month before, for trying to buy guns and 45,000 rounds of ammunition.
Kumaran Pathmanathan also known as KP is now being questioned in Colombo. The Hindustan Times today quotes MP Basil Rajapaksa as saying KP was flown down to Colombo following his arrest although details of how arrest was conducted was not revealed.
Pathmanathan had met with two visitors from London, England at a hotel room in KL in the afternoon of August 5th.
He had received a call on his cellular phone. KP had then signaled to his visitors that he was going out to the corridor and walked away while conversing on the phone.
He had not returned for a long time and the when the worried visitors from Britain went out in search there was no sign of the new global tiger chief.
Meanwhile the friend who had been talking to KP on the phone had heard a sudden thud and some noise while chatting. The phone went dead and repeated calls were not successful.
The friend then alerted some assistants of KP in Malaysia who went in search of KP to the place where he was staying in KL. The place was empty but KP’s insulin and syringes and other medical stuff was still there.
The visitors from London also got alarmed and contacted circles close to KP.
Meanwhile KP seized in Malaysia was taken to Bangkok in Thailand.
Sri Lankan authorities were contacted and a team from the Police Terrorist Investigation Department flew to Bangkok in the early hours of Thurasday August 6th.
The team returned with Pathmanathan alias KP on a special flight on the same day.
KP was handcuffed and had a mask covering his head and face when disembarking from the plane at Katunayake Airport.
He was whisked away in a vehicle with tinted glasses to a high-security , secret location run by the terrorism investigation dept personnel.
KP is to be interrogated intensively by Sri Lankan anti-terrorist sleuths.
It is widely believed that the arrest was made possible through “inside information” supplied by some members of the LTTE abroad who were opposed to KP donning the tiger leadership mantle after the demise of supremo Velupillai Prabhakaran.
New LTTEleader Selvarajah Pathmanathan aka KP, who was arrested overseas and brought to Colombo on Thursday, has begun to divulge vital information about the LTTE and himself.
The Island learns that the entire operation was handled by Sri Lankans.
Sources described KP in captivity as rattled and co-operative, though he had been projected by the pro-LTTE media as a tough man.
Exactly where KP was arrested is not yet known. According to initial reports he was nabbed in Thailand, but the Thai press says the Thai government is unaware of any such arrest and has ordered a probe into the reports at issue. LTTE activists overseas insist that KP was arrested in Malaysia. They say a charter flight was used to bring him to Katunayake, from where he was flown to a secret location in a military helicopter.
A top defence official contacted for comment declined to reveal where KPhad been taken in and how he had been brought to Sri Lanka. “What matters now is that he is in Sri Lanka,” the official said, “we took him and delivered him to the governmnet in one piece.”
Asked repeatedly at a press briefing in Colomb yesterday where the arrest had been made, Defence Spokesman and Minister of Foreign Employment Promotions and Welfare Keheliya Rambukwella refused to go into specifics. He curtly said KPhad been arrested in a Southeast Asian country.
The Sri Lankan government has indicated its willingness to hand over KP to India in connection with the Rajiv Gandhi assassination and other violations of the Indian law.
Minister Rambukwella said the government would certainly let New Delhi have KP if a request to that effect was made. He said no such request had been made so far.
Sources said KP, now being questioned at an undisclosed location, was spilling the beans on his local financiers who helped the LTTE buy arms and ammunition.
The government, sources said, was banking on KP’s arrest to elicit infomation on the LTTE’s gun running and narcotics operations which pose a threat to the entire region.
-Island.lk-
Sri Lanka is capable of defeating LTTE terrorism wherever it emerges- Defence spokesperson on KP's arrest
Sri Lankan forces, intelligence units and other defence authorities are capable of defeating LTTE terrorism wherever or whenever it tries to reemerge, says government Defence Spokesperson, Minister Keheliya Rambukwella.
Speaking at a special media briefing held at the Media Centre for National Security (MCNS), Colombo; Minister said that LTTE's self claimed leader after V. Prabhakaran and the outfit's head for international terrorist activities Kumaran Pathmanadan alias KP was arrested outside the island yesterday (Aug 6) and brought into the country this morning (Aug 7).
The Minister underscored the importance of the arrest as the removal of the remaining LTTE leader who tried to overshadow the country's victory over terrorism.
" Though we have successfully defeated LTTE in the battle, a seed of doubt was left in the minds of average persons that there was a possibility for KP to resume the terrorist activities , owing to the connection he had with international terrorist network.", said the Minister.
The Minister further pointed out that there has been a clear attempt by some of the unpatriotic
politicians to down play the forces victory over terrorism and to promote an idea that LTTE will make a comeback with KP's leadership.
"Our defence authorities have foreseen this situation, and proactively and determinedly taken action to defeat this and also taken the key LTTE remnant into custody", he said.
Also, he highlighted though the suspect was among the most wanted terrorist by many INTETPOL and various other foreign law enforcement agencies, it was the Sri Lankan authorities that finally located him.
Finally, the Minster pointed out the international support that Sri Lanka is currently having in her endeavor to curb terrorist activities. Though he did not divulge all the details of the arrest due to security reasons, he said that arrest was made a success due to the unreserved , and adequate support of the " international friends" of Sri Lanka.
Open letter to Murray McCully, New Zealand Minister of Foreign AffairsPosted on June 16th, 2009
Roshan Mendis NEW ZEALAND
Dear Mr McCully,
I am deeply concerned that the National-led government has failed to designate the Tamil Tigers as a terrorist entity, despite pre-election pledges by National to move swiftly to bring New Zealand into line with our like minded allies on this issue. I refer to your newsletter of 8 August, 2008, in which you categorically assert, “‘That the Tamil Tigers are fully fledged terrorists is beyond dispute.”
In the aftermath of the end of the civil war in Sri Lanka, the Tigers are pinning all their hopes for revival on the concerted efforts of the diaspora. Unable to directly raise funds or operate effectively in Australia, Canada, the US or the EU, New Zealand is increasingly becoming the country of choice for the Tigers to regroup and reorganize. LTTE cells operating in Auckland and Wellington have assumed responsibility for fundraising and procurement efforts throughout Australasia, previously co-ordinated from Melbourne. Emboldened by the Government’s inaction, certain front organizations have even used taxpayer-funded community grants to print Tamil Tiger posters and flags for so-called ‘cultural’ functions. It seems incredible that the Tamils Rehabilitation Organization (TRO) continues to function openly in this country (with a registered address of 371 Dominion Road, Mt. Eden, Auckland) despite being unequivocally exposed as a front for the Tamil Tigers. Just this week, four Tamil defendants on trial in New York pleaded guilty to conspiring to provide material support to the LTTE by laundering millions of dollars through the TRO.
I understand that the reluctance to proscribe the Tamil Tigers derives from historical concerns in some quarters that doing so during the ceasefire period would destabilize the peace process, and that doing so during the fighting would make the Tigers less inclined to agree to a future ceasefire. Clearly, both these concerns are no longer valid. I have to wonder then why the government continues to drag its feet on this important issue. I sincerely hope that your government has not compromised on its earlier principled position on this matter as a result of the sustained and intense lobbying it has come under by a section of the Tamil community. While moving to designate the Tamil Tigers would no doubt ruffle the feathers of some of the Tamil community residing here, the overwhelming majority of South Asian immigrants in New Zealand would be strongly supportive of such a move. I need not remind you that among the large Indian diaspora resident in New Zealand, there is no love for the Tamil Tigers, particularly since the organization assassinated former Indian Prime Minister, Rajiv Gandhi.
In the event, I would be grateful for your responses to the following:
1) Do you still consider the Tamil Tigers to be ‘fully fledged terrorists’ as per your assertion in 2008?
2) Are you aware that the LTTE has stepped up its activities in New Zealand in recent months?
3) Do you still consider it necessary to use the post-September 11 toolkit of counter-terrorism legislation to make groups such as the Tamil Tigers subject to special scrutiny from counter terrorism authorities?
3) Has the government abandoned plans to designate the Tamil Tigers as a terrorist organization? If so, what is the basis for this change of position?
I look forward to your reply to my specific queries at your earliest possible convenience.
Many thanks,
Kind regards,
Roshan Mendis
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