http://rajivawijesinha.wordpress.com/2011/10/29/opening-wounds-and-rubbing-salt-into-them-is-not-correct/#more-3843
Opening wounds and rubbing salt into them is not correct
October 29, 2011 in Interviews Tags: LLRC
An Interview with Presidential Advisor on Reconciliation, Parliamentarian, and former Secretary to the Ministry of Disaster Management and Human Rights Prof. Rajiva Wijesinha MP by Ayesha Zuhair
Question: Sri Lanka currently faces considerable pressure to allow an international, independent probe into war crimes allegations. Why is the government so reluctant to allow any external inquiry? Does it not make sense to allow such an inquiry instead of providing a rallying point for PRO-LTTE activists worldwide?
Answer:It is true that these allegations have become a rallying point for LTTE activists, but the international practice is that you don’t go for an international inquiry unless and until it is proven that domestic mechanisms are inadequate. Unfortunately, there has been a tendency in recent years among some countries to immediately say domestic mechanisms are inadequate without even studying them properly.
This goes into the question of sovereignty which the UN used to be very firm about. With the emergence of a unipolar world, some countries began to feel that the moral perspectives were entirely theirs. There is an idea that powerful countries decide what a just war is and what is not.
The paradox about the Sri Lankan situation is that it is universally agreed that the war against the LTTE was a necessary war. The LTTE was given several chances to negotiate and when the government decided that it could no longer allow terrorism to continue, the world concurred with this. But now, there is unreasonable pressure being exerted without any real basis for allowing such an inquiry.
Q: With regard to domestic mechanisms, of the criticisms levelled at the LLRC is that it cannot be expected to produce a fair report when those with close ties to the government are asked to judge its conduct. So can one expect this Commission to come out with an impartial report?
A;That’s a preposterous assertion! Who headed Britain’s inquiry into the Iraqi invasion? It was Sir John Chilcot who was a permanent secretary, and happened to be the father of Dominic Chilcot who was very a political ambassador. He was certainly not a civil servant in the classic sense of the word. So every country has to look to its experts.
The allegations made against C.R. De Silva are based on a completely flawed reading of his role with regard to the IIGEP and some confusion arising from a Western constitutional provision where the Attorney-general is a member of the Cabinet.
In Sri Lanka, the AG is not a member of the Cabinet. The AG in Sri Lanka has always been outside the political system unlike in Britain or America.
Q: Several international organisations including the UN have repeatedly stressed the need to deal with issues of accountability and the LLRC’S mandate does not mention accountability or violations of the laws of war. Should this not have been clearly stated in the mandate?
A;Sri Lanka should be more concerned with reconciliation, and the LLRC has not focused enough on reconciliation. To my mind, there was undue emphasis on lessons learnt, and this included a lot of discussion on what had gone wrong with the peace talks. That is an important aspect of course, but I don’t think the Commission should have spent so much time on it.
It was not the LLRC’S fault because the people making submissions wanted to talk about what had gone wrong. The Commission’s first interim report showed that they understood the importance of focusing on reconciliation. It was an excellent, brief reminder of what should be done to promote reconciliation and I think they did a very good analysis.
The government was at fault for not publicising those recommendations, not monitoring their implementation effectively, and not conveying this to the public.
In my letter of appointment, I was asked to monitor and communicate the work done in response to the LLRC recommendations but I am extremely sorry that our bureaucracy has not let me even begin this.
Although the Foreign Secretary was very helpful in sending me all the documentation before, I have had to work informally to try and get this across. The implementation is going on. They are doing a reasonably good job although it could be better. But because there is a lack of information, no one quite understands precisely where the lacunas are.
I don’t think the problem is particular to this issue but it is largely attributable to the breakdown in the communication skills of our bureaucracy in general. This is one reason why some of the excellent work that the government is doing is simply not known leading to questions that could easily be settled if it were known.
What is evident in the testimonies given before the Commission is that people don’t want retribution but clarity. Most representations by ordinary people showed that they were unaware of what had happened to their loved ones, and many of the complaints date back to the 20th century. So there was a complete lack of responsibility, let’s leave out the word accountability.
When I took over as Secretary to the Ministry of Disaster Management and Human Rights, I found that very little progress had been made in the preceding years to settle the outstanding disappearances that were registered with the UN Working Group on Disappearances in Geneva.
The vast majority of those figures related to the JVP period but we had not done enough. I am glad to say that during two years I was there, we responded actively and WG noted in its report that SL had engaged very actively and helpfully. But after the Ministry was closed, the same problem arose and many communications from Geneva were ignored, and this earned us a bad name. So there was a complete breakdown in responsibility.
Q: So you’re saying that there is a need to re-establish the Ministry of Human Rights?
A;There is a need for a dedicated institution, and this has been one of the key recommendations in the Human Rights Action Plan. It cannot be done on a make-shift basis. As to whether that is a separate ministry or whether that is a dedicated unit in the Pesidential Secretariat or the Foreign Ministry is not for us to decide. That is a decision for the executive to make. It should address not only international concerns, but more importantly domestic concerns as well.
Q: Although the government has maintained that the reconciliation process could be adversely affected due to these allegations, the counter argument is that a genuine process of reconciliation cannot take place if conflicting parties do not acknowledge events of the past. In this case, there are very serious allegations being levelled at the government, so does it not make sense for Sri Lanka to make way for an international probe that would acknowledge and lay to rest concerns over events that may or may not have taken place?
A;The assertion of war crimes and so on is not advanced by the ‘victims’. It is what I would call an international emphasis taken up by a few organisations in Colombo. Look at the examples being cited – South Africa and Cambodia. Can you compare Sri Lanka to these countries? In both these cases, a rogue regime was got rid of. In one case through negotiations, and in the other through a military offensive that the West opposed, so that it continued to back Pol Pot for a dozen years.
In both cases, the real fear was that there would be hatred expressed in violent action against the perpetrators who had been defeated. Nelson Mandela said we have to forgive these people so let them confess, and we’ll have a Truth and Reconciliation Commission. It was those who committed apartheid who had to confess. You don’t find instances of Mandela getting up and saying I was a terrorist, although that’s what he was accused of.
In Sri Lanka, the terrorist movement is dead so it is the people who defeated the terrorists who are being told they must confess to crimes.
Opening wounds and rubbing salt into them is not correct. I am certainly of the view that egregious crimes have to be considered but where is the prima facie evidence?
It is not incumbent on the Sri Lankan government to launch a witch-hunt. There are those who argue that we will get a political settlement if we press on human rights and accountability, which is wrong-headed. That only raises the people’s temperature.
Q: As a Government representative at the talks with the TNA, how optimistic are you that it will have a positive outcome?
A;I strongly feel that if the moderates on both sides can trust each other and work together – and they are by far the majority – we will see positive results. Every single survey from 2006 onwards was fully supportive of the President fighting the LTTE but equally supportive of a political solution, so one cannot accuse the Sinhalese of being racist.
Both the government and the TNA will have to recognise that there are extremists on either side who would prefer not to have a compromise. We must respect the extremists without giving into them where their views are not in the interest of progress. The government is absolutely sincere, and some of the work been done to promote reconciliation are documented in the following websites:
www.reconciliationyouthforum.com; www.youtube.com/reconcilesrilanka; and www.peaceinsrilanka.org courtesy: Daily Mirror
Monday, October 31, 2011
http://www.dailynews.lk/2011/11/01/news02.asp
Minister Samarasinghe tells UN:
‘Do not consider TNA as sole rep of Tamil public’
Chamikara WEERASINGHE
Sri Lanka’s Special Envoy on Human Rights, Minister Mahinda Samarasinghe has asked United Nations Under Secretary for Political Affairs Lynn Pascoe and UN Secretary General’s Chief of Staff Vijay Nambiar, not to consider the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) as the sole representative of Tamils in Sri Lanka.
Dr. N Maheshwari
Minister Samarasinghe who attended the 66th session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, told the Daily News that he made it known to Nambiar and Pascoe that TNA is not the only representative of the Tamil people.
Samarasinghe said he told Nambiar and Pascoe that they should be careful in dealing with the TNA for there are other political parties that represent the voice of Tamil people whose ideas and political views are quite contrary to that of the TNA.
The minister said he briefed Nambiar and Pascoe on the political situation in Sri Lanka and the progress of the government’s reconciliation process and North and East development during meetings held on the sidelines of the Third Committee meeting of the UN assembly.
“I pointed out to them that there are Tamil political parties in the South where majority of Tamil people live, and they too want to discuss with the UN officials about their ideas and the UN will have to invite them too,” said Samarasinghe.
”I told them that in this case they will not have time for anything other than discussing Sri Lankan politics with the leaders of the Tamil political parties in Sri Lanka,” he said.
‘I pointed out to them the statistics of the 2010 general elections and showed them that in the Vanni district the TNA only polled 38.96 percent whereas the UPFA polled 35 percent of the votes. In the Trincomalee district , TNA could only get 23.81 percent of the votes, whereas the UPFA secured 42.78 percent, he said.
Asked if he had met UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon on these occasions , he said he met Moon with Nambiar once and briefed them on the elections that were held in the country after the war, its de-mining success, resettlement of IDPs, rehabilitation of ex-combatants and also about the progress of the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC).
Minister Samarasinghe tells UN:
‘Do not consider TNA as sole rep of Tamil public’
Chamikara WEERASINGHE
Sri Lanka’s Special Envoy on Human Rights, Minister Mahinda Samarasinghe has asked United Nations Under Secretary for Political Affairs Lynn Pascoe and UN Secretary General’s Chief of Staff Vijay Nambiar, not to consider the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) as the sole representative of Tamils in Sri Lanka.
Dr. N Maheshwari
Minister Samarasinghe who attended the 66th session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, told the Daily News that he made it known to Nambiar and Pascoe that TNA is not the only representative of the Tamil people.
Samarasinghe said he told Nambiar and Pascoe that they should be careful in dealing with the TNA for there are other political parties that represent the voice of Tamil people whose ideas and political views are quite contrary to that of the TNA.
The minister said he briefed Nambiar and Pascoe on the political situation in Sri Lanka and the progress of the government’s reconciliation process and North and East development during meetings held on the sidelines of the Third Committee meeting of the UN assembly.
“I pointed out to them that there are Tamil political parties in the South where majority of Tamil people live, and they too want to discuss with the UN officials about their ideas and the UN will have to invite them too,” said Samarasinghe.
”I told them that in this case they will not have time for anything other than discussing Sri Lankan politics with the leaders of the Tamil political parties in Sri Lanka,” he said.
‘I pointed out to them the statistics of the 2010 general elections and showed them that in the Vanni district the TNA only polled 38.96 percent whereas the UPFA polled 35 percent of the votes. In the Trincomalee district , TNA could only get 23.81 percent of the votes, whereas the UPFA secured 42.78 percent, he said.
Asked if he had met UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon on these occasions , he said he met Moon with Nambiar once and briefed them on the elections that were held in the country after the war, its de-mining success, resettlement of IDPs, rehabilitation of ex-combatants and also about the progress of the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC).
Saturday, October 29, 2011
http://www.defence.lk/new.asp?fname=20111029_01
The ABC of Shameful Journalism - an Australian Example
Gone are the days when the Western journalists were respected in Asia as professionals and unbiased reporters. We, Sri Lankans have no doubt about this fact. Their malicious campaign against our nation, aimed at damaging the ethnic harmony, instigating violence and discrediting our forces has given us ample proofs for our conviction.
There was a time, we used to follow BBC Sandeshaya, and similar other western media reports covering Sri Lanka's situation. Initially, we believed their stories to be true. As they continue to offend our sensibilities, we thought it was out of their ignorance of the reality and we blamed the government for not keeping them adequately informed. Now, we know they are doing this purposefully lured by money just like their counterparts in bogus rights groups like Amnesty and the club. Interestingly, the most unscrupulous ones of them now file stories featuring the vary agents of their benefactors- former Tamil Tiger terrorists!!!
Australian based ABC TV , a longstanding insidious campaigner against Sri Lanka , has switched from its covert mode to overt recently as it filed another hateful lie against our nation , this time featuring an ex combatant of a ruthless terror group . The story attempts to hoodwink the world by trying to show this terrorist as an innocent civilian-witness to some "war crime" committed by Sir Lankan forces. Moreover, ABC TV aired the story timing Sri Lanka's President's visit to Australia.
No doubt that the producers have been paid lavishly by the LTTE rump in Australia. Unfortunately, there are no "investigative" journalists to investigate into the underhand deals of other journalists. Neither could we expect the prigging Western governments to conduct any investigations into the income of unscrupulous members of media and so-called rights groups.
The following is the truth behind this abominable lie of ABC TV ... the story of the spawn of terror that make good business out of others' sufferings.
Watch the Video revelation giving lie to ABC campaign.
http://www.youtube.com/user/onslorg#p/a/u/0/UA5ycWfeOAM
The ABC of Shameful Journalism - an Australian Example
Gone are the days when the Western journalists were respected in Asia as professionals and unbiased reporters. We, Sri Lankans have no doubt about this fact. Their malicious campaign against our nation, aimed at damaging the ethnic harmony, instigating violence and discrediting our forces has given us ample proofs for our conviction.
There was a time, we used to follow BBC Sandeshaya, and similar other western media reports covering Sri Lanka's situation. Initially, we believed their stories to be true. As they continue to offend our sensibilities, we thought it was out of their ignorance of the reality and we blamed the government for not keeping them adequately informed. Now, we know they are doing this purposefully lured by money just like their counterparts in bogus rights groups like Amnesty and the club. Interestingly, the most unscrupulous ones of them now file stories featuring the vary agents of their benefactors- former Tamil Tiger terrorists!!!
Australian based ABC TV , a longstanding insidious campaigner against Sri Lanka , has switched from its covert mode to overt recently as it filed another hateful lie against our nation , this time featuring an ex combatant of a ruthless terror group . The story attempts to hoodwink the world by trying to show this terrorist as an innocent civilian-witness to some "war crime" committed by Sir Lankan forces. Moreover, ABC TV aired the story timing Sri Lanka's President's visit to Australia.
No doubt that the producers have been paid lavishly by the LTTE rump in Australia. Unfortunately, there are no "investigative" journalists to investigate into the underhand deals of other journalists. Neither could we expect the prigging Western governments to conduct any investigations into the income of unscrupulous members of media and so-called rights groups.
The following is the truth behind this abominable lie of ABC TV ... the story of the spawn of terror that make good business out of others' sufferings.
Watch the Video revelation giving lie to ABC campaign.
http://www.youtube.com/user/onslorg#p/a/u/0/UA5ycWfeOAM
Friday, October 28, 2011
http://www.priu.gov.lk/news_update/Current_Affairs/ca201110/20111028ltte_manipulation_of_videos.htm
Thursday, October 28, 2011 - 04.45 GMT
LTTE manipulation of videos
By Prof Rajiva Wijesinha, MP
After the meeting held recently in the House of Commons, a young man who claimed to be Siobhain McDonagh’s researcher (and also to work for the Bank of Scotland, during a later conversation) agreed to send me video footage of attacks on hospitals. He claimed he had a lot, and this substantiated a clip he had prepared of Dr Shanmugarajah saying that the Sri Lankan forces were attacking the hospital at which he was working.
Predictably he did not send me that footage. That decision was, he said, after careful consideration, which I could understand. I suspect that footage was what had been supplied to Channel 4. We know from that meeting that Siobhain McDonagh had been in touch with Channel 4 over the making of its film. It would certainly have been very telling if material for that film had been supplied to Channel 4 by her researcher, after which she claimed that the film was an objective account on which she based her allegations against Sri Lanka.
Fortunately her researcher, Canaa as he told me his name was, or Daran as he signed himself in and then emailed me, could not let well alone. In addition to sending me the clip of Dr Shanmugarajah talking, he sent me two more clips. One was gruesome, and seemed to be of the dead body of a soldier being carried by fellow soldiers talking in Sinhalese. It dwelt horrendously on his mutilated face. I could see no reason for this except triumphalism, to be used perhaps as propaganda, to show how effective LTTE terrorism was.
Daran however told me, when I asked him, that he had obtained the clip from a site selling film clips made by Sinhalese soldiers. When I asked him how much he had paid for this, he said he had got it free, as a sample. I think the story most unlikely, because it is extremely unlikely that fellow soldiers, even if filming the bringing back of a dead body, would have dwelt quite so ostentatiously on a mutilated face.
Even more suspicious was the second video, that of what seemed to be an aerial attack. It may be viewed on www.youtube.com/reconcilesrilanka.
The first part had planes flying and smoke rising, but the main substance was the footage of wailing over dead bodies. Some of the wailing also seemed exaggerated and false, but that is of course a subjective view. Clear was the fact that nothing actually connected the latter pictures to the former, and it seemed clear to even an amateur eye like mine that there had been a great deal of editing.
But obviously it made sense to get a professional view, and I accordingly checked. I was told initially, after a quick glance, that it had ‘some strange faults and audio is definitely dubbed from the lady and the blue sheet with a dead body at the end of the movie’. The footage seemed to have been ‘Initially taken from a high quality camera’ which the makers had then tried to transpose ‘to mobile format and while trying to do this all the audio got badly compromised’ - which was precisely what had happened with regard to the Channel 4 footage.
This made even more suspicious the determination of Daran to claim that the Channel 4 film had not been edited at all. He kept insisting that it had been ‘authonticated’ but he was unable to say by whom this had been done, and only said that Channel 4 had said it had not been edited. Later, after the meeting, he claimed that it was something called ‘the American Institute of Technology’ that had ‘authonticated’ the film, but he was not aware of the report commissioned by the United Nations which said that the footage had been edited, and edited backwards with additions from another time or another place.
This is what makes laughable the assertion of the official inquiry into the Channel 4 film, which says again and again that ‘Channel 4 showed that the material broadcast showed no sign of manipulation or fakery’. It seems clear that that inquiry did not look independently at the material, or read the UN report itself. If I am wrong, it is obvious that the inquiry clearly had pretty low standards, given too that they completely ignored the suspect frames in the Channel 4 video, 17 of them, that the UN report had identified. When a video is being used as evidence, even a single frame being suspect puts it beyond the pale.
The investigation into the recently received clip that I asked for reported after further analysis that the video and the audio were ‘taken from a DVD (PS - Program Stream - Here video streams and audio streams are different files). The video was re-encoded to Mpeg1 but the audio was left untouched ‘with very high quality. It went on to say that the ‘Video camera is definitely very high quality and even after Mpeg1 (which is low encoding standard) video is remarkably high quality. Why Mpeg1 is a mystery and it may be some one thought mobile video is mpeg1’.
This is not the case but the final video got mobile video resolution, indicating an attempt ‘to get final video as mobile camera format’ - which is of course what we saw with the Channel 4 film. The game there was given away most obviously by what the UN commissioned expert report said was an optical zoom, which it seems is not available on mobile phone technology.
The investigation I asked for noted that ‘One thing is sure, they are now trying to move into more professional domain to do the editing... Although they are still amateurish ... End of the video got more info which does not show if you play...’ I suspect therefore that we will hear lots more in the future of Daran and his work, unless he is investigated thoroughly for his links with the LTTE, with Siobhain McDonagh, and with Channel 4. But I suspect that will not be done, since the resurgence of terrorism so long as it does not affect Britain is not of much interest to British authorities, and they will only be shocked into realizing the interconnected reach of terrorism when they feel under threat themselves.
Meanwhile the media will continue to regurgitate what terrorist propagandists send them. In Australia for instance I was sent by ABC, on the morning I arrived, what purported to be shocking photographs. They wanted to ask me about them, and indeed some of my friends in Australia suggested I refuse since I had little time to prepare. But knowing that, if they were like Channel 4, they would use this to say we refused to comment, I agreed, and then spent a few minutes studying the photos.
There were three subjects. The first was covered in nine photos, which showed a dead body surrounded by several soldiers. There was no indication that they were connected with the cause of death. The second was just a boy hanging, which was a horrifying picture, but connected with nothing else.
Most worrying of all were the last three pictures, which were of a man being tortured. He was surrounded by men in military uniform but, unlike in the case of the first nine pictures, no faces could be seen. Even more tellingly, while boots could be seen on a couple of people, one man was wearing rubber slippers.
There are several LTTE videos on youtube which have characters, often doing gruesome work while wearing rubber slippers. The chances are then that this is an extract from another of these. I did not argue this point, but simply pointed the glimpse of the rubber slippers during the interview with ABC news. They told me the interview would last about a quarter of an hour, but it went on for much longer, and it seemed from the tone that they saw their questions about the pictures as what would be their centrepiece. When I pointed out the rubber slippers to them however, they seemed deflated. Needless to say, when the interview was finally broadcast, it was restricted to a couple of minutes, with much more space given to hostile speakers such as I think Gordon Weiss, who had just begun to tout his book.
The bit about the pictures was completely omitted. ABC also failed to send me a tape of the whole interview, though this had been promised by the camera crew while I was being interviewed. I cannot help feeling then that the whole exercise was designed to trap me, assuming that I would issue a blanket denial, which sadly is what some Sri Lankan respondents do when faced with difficult questions.
ABC or its informants would then have triumphantly proved that the first nine photographs were genuine, and gone into what Richard de Zoysa would have described as a feather dance about a state of denial.
That scene of torture provided I believe a centrepiece too for the Channel 4 film that was telecast in June. Certainly the man from the ‘Times’, who came to the House of Commons meeting with a girl from Channel 4, thought that was the scene to which it was most important that Sri Lanka respond. After I pointed out the mixing of the photographs, which I suggested was the same technique Channel 4 had applied, using fraudulent footage mixed with what was true, hoping we would make blanket denials, he seemed more civilized, stopped interrupting, and even stayed on to talk to Sri Lankans at the reception that followed. Conversely, the Channel 4 girl fled, having refused to answer questions about the discrepancy between the UN experts’ view and what Siobhain McDonagh’s researcher had claimed about nothing having been edited in the Channel 4 film.
So many falsehoods, so much manipulation. But there will be no investigation of what all this is about, no effort to explain why Channel 4 refuses to tell even the UN who sent them the footage they have so proudly displayed, no attention to the manipulation that has been admitted even though Channel 4 and Siobhain Mcdonagh’s researcher claim there was no editing.
Thursday, October 28, 2011 - 04.45 GMT
LTTE manipulation of videos
By Prof Rajiva Wijesinha, MP
After the meeting held recently in the House of Commons, a young man who claimed to be Siobhain McDonagh’s researcher (and also to work for the Bank of Scotland, during a later conversation) agreed to send me video footage of attacks on hospitals. He claimed he had a lot, and this substantiated a clip he had prepared of Dr Shanmugarajah saying that the Sri Lankan forces were attacking the hospital at which he was working.
Predictably he did not send me that footage. That decision was, he said, after careful consideration, which I could understand. I suspect that footage was what had been supplied to Channel 4. We know from that meeting that Siobhain McDonagh had been in touch with Channel 4 over the making of its film. It would certainly have been very telling if material for that film had been supplied to Channel 4 by her researcher, after which she claimed that the film was an objective account on which she based her allegations against Sri Lanka.
Fortunately her researcher, Canaa as he told me his name was, or Daran as he signed himself in and then emailed me, could not let well alone. In addition to sending me the clip of Dr Shanmugarajah talking, he sent me two more clips. One was gruesome, and seemed to be of the dead body of a soldier being carried by fellow soldiers talking in Sinhalese. It dwelt horrendously on his mutilated face. I could see no reason for this except triumphalism, to be used perhaps as propaganda, to show how effective LTTE terrorism was.
Daran however told me, when I asked him, that he had obtained the clip from a site selling film clips made by Sinhalese soldiers. When I asked him how much he had paid for this, he said he had got it free, as a sample. I think the story most unlikely, because it is extremely unlikely that fellow soldiers, even if filming the bringing back of a dead body, would have dwelt quite so ostentatiously on a mutilated face.
Even more suspicious was the second video, that of what seemed to be an aerial attack. It may be viewed on www.youtube.com/reconcilesrilanka.
The first part had planes flying and smoke rising, but the main substance was the footage of wailing over dead bodies. Some of the wailing also seemed exaggerated and false, but that is of course a subjective view. Clear was the fact that nothing actually connected the latter pictures to the former, and it seemed clear to even an amateur eye like mine that there had been a great deal of editing.
But obviously it made sense to get a professional view, and I accordingly checked. I was told initially, after a quick glance, that it had ‘some strange faults and audio is definitely dubbed from the lady and the blue sheet with a dead body at the end of the movie’. The footage seemed to have been ‘Initially taken from a high quality camera’ which the makers had then tried to transpose ‘to mobile format and while trying to do this all the audio got badly compromised’ - which was precisely what had happened with regard to the Channel 4 footage.
This made even more suspicious the determination of Daran to claim that the Channel 4 film had not been edited at all. He kept insisting that it had been ‘authonticated’ but he was unable to say by whom this had been done, and only said that Channel 4 had said it had not been edited. Later, after the meeting, he claimed that it was something called ‘the American Institute of Technology’ that had ‘authonticated’ the film, but he was not aware of the report commissioned by the United Nations which said that the footage had been edited, and edited backwards with additions from another time or another place.
This is what makes laughable the assertion of the official inquiry into the Channel 4 film, which says again and again that ‘Channel 4 showed that the material broadcast showed no sign of manipulation or fakery’. It seems clear that that inquiry did not look independently at the material, or read the UN report itself. If I am wrong, it is obvious that the inquiry clearly had pretty low standards, given too that they completely ignored the suspect frames in the Channel 4 video, 17 of them, that the UN report had identified. When a video is being used as evidence, even a single frame being suspect puts it beyond the pale.
The investigation into the recently received clip that I asked for reported after further analysis that the video and the audio were ‘taken from a DVD (PS - Program Stream - Here video streams and audio streams are different files). The video was re-encoded to Mpeg1 but the audio was left untouched ‘with very high quality. It went on to say that the ‘Video camera is definitely very high quality and even after Mpeg1 (which is low encoding standard) video is remarkably high quality. Why Mpeg1 is a mystery and it may be some one thought mobile video is mpeg1’.
This is not the case but the final video got mobile video resolution, indicating an attempt ‘to get final video as mobile camera format’ - which is of course what we saw with the Channel 4 film. The game there was given away most obviously by what the UN commissioned expert report said was an optical zoom, which it seems is not available on mobile phone technology.
The investigation I asked for noted that ‘One thing is sure, they are now trying to move into more professional domain to do the editing... Although they are still amateurish ... End of the video got more info which does not show if you play...’ I suspect therefore that we will hear lots more in the future of Daran and his work, unless he is investigated thoroughly for his links with the LTTE, with Siobhain McDonagh, and with Channel 4. But I suspect that will not be done, since the resurgence of terrorism so long as it does not affect Britain is not of much interest to British authorities, and they will only be shocked into realizing the interconnected reach of terrorism when they feel under threat themselves.
Meanwhile the media will continue to regurgitate what terrorist propagandists send them. In Australia for instance I was sent by ABC, on the morning I arrived, what purported to be shocking photographs. They wanted to ask me about them, and indeed some of my friends in Australia suggested I refuse since I had little time to prepare. But knowing that, if they were like Channel 4, they would use this to say we refused to comment, I agreed, and then spent a few minutes studying the photos.
There were three subjects. The first was covered in nine photos, which showed a dead body surrounded by several soldiers. There was no indication that they were connected with the cause of death. The second was just a boy hanging, which was a horrifying picture, but connected with nothing else.
Most worrying of all were the last three pictures, which were of a man being tortured. He was surrounded by men in military uniform but, unlike in the case of the first nine pictures, no faces could be seen. Even more tellingly, while boots could be seen on a couple of people, one man was wearing rubber slippers.
There are several LTTE videos on youtube which have characters, often doing gruesome work while wearing rubber slippers. The chances are then that this is an extract from another of these. I did not argue this point, but simply pointed the glimpse of the rubber slippers during the interview with ABC news. They told me the interview would last about a quarter of an hour, but it went on for much longer, and it seemed from the tone that they saw their questions about the pictures as what would be their centrepiece. When I pointed out the rubber slippers to them however, they seemed deflated. Needless to say, when the interview was finally broadcast, it was restricted to a couple of minutes, with much more space given to hostile speakers such as I think Gordon Weiss, who had just begun to tout his book.
The bit about the pictures was completely omitted. ABC also failed to send me a tape of the whole interview, though this had been promised by the camera crew while I was being interviewed. I cannot help feeling then that the whole exercise was designed to trap me, assuming that I would issue a blanket denial, which sadly is what some Sri Lankan respondents do when faced with difficult questions.
ABC or its informants would then have triumphantly proved that the first nine photographs were genuine, and gone into what Richard de Zoysa would have described as a feather dance about a state of denial.
That scene of torture provided I believe a centrepiece too for the Channel 4 film that was telecast in June. Certainly the man from the ‘Times’, who came to the House of Commons meeting with a girl from Channel 4, thought that was the scene to which it was most important that Sri Lanka respond. After I pointed out the mixing of the photographs, which I suggested was the same technique Channel 4 had applied, using fraudulent footage mixed with what was true, hoping we would make blanket denials, he seemed more civilized, stopped interrupting, and even stayed on to talk to Sri Lankans at the reception that followed. Conversely, the Channel 4 girl fled, having refused to answer questions about the discrepancy between the UN experts’ view and what Siobhain McDonagh’s researcher had claimed about nothing having been edited in the Channel 4 film.
So many falsehoods, so much manipulation. But there will be no investigation of what all this is about, no effort to explain why Channel 4 refuses to tell even the UN who sent them the footage they have so proudly displayed, no attention to the manipulation that has been admitted even though Channel 4 and Siobhain Mcdonagh’s researcher claim there was no editing.
Thursday, October 27, 2011
If you are looking for ultimate exotic getaway, Sri Lanka is the perfect choice - London Evening Standard
If you're looking for the ultimate exotic getaway, Sri Lanka is the perfect choice. Not only is this stunning island blessed with beautiful beaches on which to catch some rays, but the food, friendly locals and ancient monuments will give you plenty to do throughout your break. If you're looking for a winter holiday on a budget, Sri Lanka has an abundance of high-quality budget hotels across the island, perfect option to help save a little money this year, a London Evening Standard article said.
Winter can certainly be a depressing time of year; with dreary weather, cold mornings and dark nights, it can feel as though the season is never-ending, especially if springtime is late in arriving. One of the best pick-me-ups is to have something to look forward to, something exciting on the horizon to take your mind off yet another gloomy evening. Winter sun holidays are becoming increasingly popular amongst those eager to escape to a tropical paradise for a week or so, especially for those who want to return with a healthy glow and a spring in their step.
While staying on the island, one of the first things that will strike you is the stunning landscape and pristine beaches that are dotted around. To really relax, head east to Trincomalee, a beautiful coastal town that offers white sand and clear waters all year round. Trincomalee is a relatively quiet destination, making it perfect for recharging the batteries, and many of the nearby budget hotels back straight onto the sands: perfect for sun worshippers and water sport enthusiasts!, the article added.
The country also has exotic and extensive wildlife, with elephants, leopards and jackals all calling the island their home. As a result, there are several game reserves to choose from, with Uda Walawe in the south being the most popular for elephant spotting and Horton Plains offering birdwatchers the chance to see some of the island's rarest and most exotic birds up close. However, remember that many tour guides are not affiliated with the parks themselves, and as a result may not be the best option in helping you spot the animals; if in doubt book an official tour guide through the park.
History lovers will also find plenty to keep them occupied on the island, as Sri Lanka is home to eight UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Among the most impressive of these is the Temple of the Tooth in the hill town of Kandy, where a sacred relic (believed to be the Buddha's left eye-tooth) is stored in a beautiful casket and is the subject of daily ceremonies and devotions from worshippers. Such ceremonies are extremely popular with tourists, although remember to dress and act conservatively should you visit; it is, after all, a religious service.
Courtesy : President's media
If you're looking for the ultimate exotic getaway, Sri Lanka is the perfect choice. Not only is this stunning island blessed with beautiful beaches on which to catch some rays, but the food, friendly locals and ancient monuments will give you plenty to do throughout your break. If you're looking for a winter holiday on a budget, Sri Lanka has an abundance of high-quality budget hotels across the island, perfect option to help save a little money this year, a London Evening Standard article said.
Winter can certainly be a depressing time of year; with dreary weather, cold mornings and dark nights, it can feel as though the season is never-ending, especially if springtime is late in arriving. One of the best pick-me-ups is to have something to look forward to, something exciting on the horizon to take your mind off yet another gloomy evening. Winter sun holidays are becoming increasingly popular amongst those eager to escape to a tropical paradise for a week or so, especially for those who want to return with a healthy glow and a spring in their step.
While staying on the island, one of the first things that will strike you is the stunning landscape and pristine beaches that are dotted around. To really relax, head east to Trincomalee, a beautiful coastal town that offers white sand and clear waters all year round. Trincomalee is a relatively quiet destination, making it perfect for recharging the batteries, and many of the nearby budget hotels back straight onto the sands: perfect for sun worshippers and water sport enthusiasts!, the article added.
The country also has exotic and extensive wildlife, with elephants, leopards and jackals all calling the island their home. As a result, there are several game reserves to choose from, with Uda Walawe in the south being the most popular for elephant spotting and Horton Plains offering birdwatchers the chance to see some of the island's rarest and most exotic birds up close. However, remember that many tour guides are not affiliated with the parks themselves, and as a result may not be the best option in helping you spot the animals; if in doubt book an official tour guide through the park.
History lovers will also find plenty to keep them occupied on the island, as Sri Lanka is home to eight UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Among the most impressive of these is the Temple of the Tooth in the hill town of Kandy, where a sacred relic (believed to be the Buddha's left eye-tooth) is stored in a beautiful casket and is the subject of daily ceremonies and devotions from worshippers. Such ceremonies are extremely popular with tourists, although remember to dress and act conservatively should you visit; it is, after all, a religious service.
Courtesy : President's media
http://www.defence.lk/new.asp?fname=20111027_02
Defence Secretary pledges eliminating drug menace in the country
Defence Secretary Mr. Gotabaya Rajapaksa has assured to rid the society of the illegal drugs problem as the 30-year long terrorism was eliminated from the country.
In an interview with state-run television, ITN (Independent Television Network) on Wednesday, the Defence Secretary said that the law enforcement authorities of the country are prepared to face the challenge of eliminating the illegal drugs, narcotics and illegal weapons from the society.
He emphasized that the law enforcement officials have launched several operations to arrest many underworld gang members and also seize their weapons. The country's security forces including Army and Navy have been involved in these operations, especially seizing narcotics, he added.
The Defence Secretary went on to say that even the specially trained troops had been deployed for the purpose.
The Secretary assured the countrymen that as terrorism was wiped out from the country, they would eliminate the underworld and also wipe out the drug menace and expressed confidence that the forces would succeed
Defence Secretary pledges eliminating drug menace in the country
Defence Secretary Mr. Gotabaya Rajapaksa has assured to rid the society of the illegal drugs problem as the 30-year long terrorism was eliminated from the country.
In an interview with state-run television, ITN (Independent Television Network) on Wednesday, the Defence Secretary said that the law enforcement authorities of the country are prepared to face the challenge of eliminating the illegal drugs, narcotics and illegal weapons from the society.
He emphasized that the law enforcement officials have launched several operations to arrest many underworld gang members and also seize their weapons. The country's security forces including Army and Navy have been involved in these operations, especially seizing narcotics, he added.
The Defence Secretary went on to say that even the specially trained troops had been deployed for the purpose.
The Secretary assured the countrymen that as terrorism was wiped out from the country, they would eliminate the underworld and also wipe out the drug menace and expressed confidence that the forces would succeed
http://www.defence.lk/new.asp?fname=20111027_04
Rajaratnam helped the LTTE prosper - The Pioneer
The sentencing of Sri Lankan hedge fund billionaire Raj Rajaratnam to 11 years imprisonment for insider trading on Wall Street, by the US Federal district court, has uncovered the role in fostering Tamil separatism in Sri Lanka, states The Pioneer.
Rajaratnam was investigated for his links with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam. According to an ex-Tamil Tiger turned FBI informant, codenamed 'Rudra', Rajaratnam and his father set up the Rajaratnam Family Foundation for charity which also became a front to channel funds to the Tamil Tigers, the website adds.
The Tamil Rehabilitation Organisation, was active in 17 countries before the US Treasury froze its assets in November 2007. Rajaratnam played a key role in transferring money from the TRO to the LTTE. An April 2007 affidavit by an FBI special agent regarding Rajarathnam's banking records showed that he wrote three checks totalling $1,000,000 between July and September 2000, which made its way to a TRO account in London. Most of the money was later withdrawn in cash, The Pioneer says.
It also adds that the TRO received maximum donations from America, where the Rajarathnam family was the largest private donor. The US Treasury said the TRO had "facilitated LTTE procurement operations, including purchase of munitions, equipment, communication devices, and other technology." Through 2003, Raj gave $5.05 million to his family foundation, which passed on $5 million to the TRO. In June 2004, he gave $1 million directly to the TRO. After the Indian Ocean tsunami in 2004, Rajaratnam set up Tsunami Relief, Inc, which was administered by staff at the Galleon Group headquarters in New York. It collected over $7 million and gave nearly half the money to the TRO in America and in Sri Lanka.
These huge monies have prompted victims of LTTE violence to file for damages in New Jersey, for crimes financed by Rajaratnam. His lawyers assert that there is "no connection" between Rajaratnam's donations to the TRO and the harm suffered by the claimants, as there is no evidence that he ever sponsored acts of violence.
The website further says that the deportation by India of the Sri Lankan Tamil Catholic priest, Fr SJ Emmanuel, to Dubai, when he arrived at Chennai has disclosed the role of the Catholic Church in fostering Tamil separatism in Sri Lanka.
Fr Emmanuel is the president of the UK-based Global Tamil Forum (GTF), a leading LTTE front and umbrella organization for the Sri Lankan Tamil Diaspora groups. The Sunday Observer from Canada reported that Emmanuel had recently visited Canada and Europe to raise funds and mobilize pro-LTTE groups to stoke anti-Colombo propaganda in the West. But now, moderate sections of the Diaspora are questioning Fr Emmanuel's role in radicalizing Tamil youth while not utilizing the millions of dollars collected through donations to help resettle and rehabilitate former LTTE cadres, The Pioneer adds.
For the full news report visit
http://www.dailypioneer.com/pioneer-news/edit/15564-complex-web-of-terror.html
Courtesy : President's media
Rajaratnam helped the LTTE prosper - The Pioneer
The sentencing of Sri Lankan hedge fund billionaire Raj Rajaratnam to 11 years imprisonment for insider trading on Wall Street, by the US Federal district court, has uncovered the role in fostering Tamil separatism in Sri Lanka, states The Pioneer.
Rajaratnam was investigated for his links with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam. According to an ex-Tamil Tiger turned FBI informant, codenamed 'Rudra', Rajaratnam and his father set up the Rajaratnam Family Foundation for charity which also became a front to channel funds to the Tamil Tigers, the website adds.
The Tamil Rehabilitation Organisation, was active in 17 countries before the US Treasury froze its assets in November 2007. Rajaratnam played a key role in transferring money from the TRO to the LTTE. An April 2007 affidavit by an FBI special agent regarding Rajarathnam's banking records showed that he wrote three checks totalling $1,000,000 between July and September 2000, which made its way to a TRO account in London. Most of the money was later withdrawn in cash, The Pioneer says.
It also adds that the TRO received maximum donations from America, where the Rajarathnam family was the largest private donor. The US Treasury said the TRO had "facilitated LTTE procurement operations, including purchase of munitions, equipment, communication devices, and other technology." Through 2003, Raj gave $5.05 million to his family foundation, which passed on $5 million to the TRO. In June 2004, he gave $1 million directly to the TRO. After the Indian Ocean tsunami in 2004, Rajaratnam set up Tsunami Relief, Inc, which was administered by staff at the Galleon Group headquarters in New York. It collected over $7 million and gave nearly half the money to the TRO in America and in Sri Lanka.
These huge monies have prompted victims of LTTE violence to file for damages in New Jersey, for crimes financed by Rajaratnam. His lawyers assert that there is "no connection" between Rajaratnam's donations to the TRO and the harm suffered by the claimants, as there is no evidence that he ever sponsored acts of violence.
The website further says that the deportation by India of the Sri Lankan Tamil Catholic priest, Fr SJ Emmanuel, to Dubai, when he arrived at Chennai has disclosed the role of the Catholic Church in fostering Tamil separatism in Sri Lanka.
Fr Emmanuel is the president of the UK-based Global Tamil Forum (GTF), a leading LTTE front and umbrella organization for the Sri Lankan Tamil Diaspora groups. The Sunday Observer from Canada reported that Emmanuel had recently visited Canada and Europe to raise funds and mobilize pro-LTTE groups to stoke anti-Colombo propaganda in the West. But now, moderate sections of the Diaspora are questioning Fr Emmanuel's role in radicalizing Tamil youth while not utilizing the millions of dollars collected through donations to help resettle and rehabilitate former LTTE cadres, The Pioneer adds.
For the full news report visit
http://www.dailypioneer.com/pioneer-news/edit/15564-complex-web-of-terror.html
Courtesy : President's media
http://www.defence.lk/new.asp?fname=20111027_01
Sri Lankan President holds discussions with Australian Prime Minister
www.defence.lk">Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa who is in the Australian city of Perth to attend the 22nd Commonwealth Heads of States Summit (CHOGM) met the Australian Prime Minister Mrs. Julia Gillard this afternoon at hotel Pan Pacific in Perth.
President has enlightened the Australian Prime Minister about the resettlement of internally displaced persons, and the activities of the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission. The report of the Commission, to be released shortly would be presented in Parliament.
www.defence.lk">The President has told the Australian Prime Minister that some of the LTTE members are raising funds in foreign countries to use against Sri Lanka and they are very active in Australia and several other European countries. He has told her that the charges being made against Sri Lanka are absurd and baseless. The President has emphasized that he himself and the Sri Lankan government is prepared to meet anyone at any time to explain the true situation about Sri Lanka. The two leaders have also focused attention on development and mechanisms of eliminating poverty.
Higher education was another subject that was focused in the discussion between the two leaders. The Australian Prime Minister has apprised the President on reformations of the Commonwealth. The President has pointed out that some time is required to study on this matter.
The Australian Prime Minister has appreciated the support being given by the Sri Lankan government to prevent illegal immigration and human trafficking. The President has thanked the Australian government for the assistance provided for de-mining activities in the Northern Province. Minister Professor G.L. Peiris parliamentarian Sajin Vas Gunawardena, president's Secretary Lalith Weerathunga and Governor of the Central Bank Ajith Niward Cabral have also attended these discussions. The summit of the Heads of States of Commonwealth will commence on Friday. Our special correspondent Mayuri Abeysinghe says that all arrangements have been made by now to hold this summit.
Courtesy :Department of Government Information
Sri Lankan President holds discussions with Australian Prime Minister
www.defence.lk">Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa who is in the Australian city of Perth to attend the 22nd Commonwealth Heads of States Summit (CHOGM) met the Australian Prime Minister Mrs. Julia Gillard this afternoon at hotel Pan Pacific in Perth.
President has enlightened the Australian Prime Minister about the resettlement of internally displaced persons, and the activities of the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission. The report of the Commission, to be released shortly would be presented in Parliament.
www.defence.lk">The President has told the Australian Prime Minister that some of the LTTE members are raising funds in foreign countries to use against Sri Lanka and they are very active in Australia and several other European countries. He has told her that the charges being made against Sri Lanka are absurd and baseless. The President has emphasized that he himself and the Sri Lankan government is prepared to meet anyone at any time to explain the true situation about Sri Lanka. The two leaders have also focused attention on development and mechanisms of eliminating poverty.
Higher education was another subject that was focused in the discussion between the two leaders. The Australian Prime Minister has apprised the President on reformations of the Commonwealth. The President has pointed out that some time is required to study on this matter.
The Australian Prime Minister has appreciated the support being given by the Sri Lankan government to prevent illegal immigration and human trafficking. The President has thanked the Australian government for the assistance provided for de-mining activities in the Northern Province. Minister Professor G.L. Peiris parliamentarian Sajin Vas Gunawardena, president's Secretary Lalith Weerathunga and Governor of the Central Bank Ajith Niward Cabral have also attended these discussions. The summit of the Heads of States of Commonwealth will commence on Friday. Our special correspondent Mayuri Abeysinghe says that all arrangements have been made by now to hold this summit.
Courtesy :Department of Government Information
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
http://www.island.lk/index.php?page_cat=article-details&page=article-details&code_title=37300
Sri Lanka woos Solheim in Norway
Countering war crimes allegations:October 20, 2011, 9:43 pm
by Shamindra Ferdinando
In the wake of the LTTE targeting Sri Lanka over accountability issues, the government has sought the support of one-time Norwegian peacemaker, Erik Solheim to counter those trying to haul the Sri Lankan leadership up before an international war crimes tribunal.
Solheim holds the Environment and International Cooperation portfolio in the current Norwegian government.
Government sources told ‘The Island’ that President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s special representative, Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva had met Solheim and Norwegian Foreign Minister, Jonas Gahr Store, separately. Responding to a query, sources said that a lengthy GoSL statement on Minister de Silva’s confab with the Foreign Minister didn’t refer to his meeting with Solheim. Environment Minister Anura Priyadarshana Yapa accompanied de Silva, Leader of the House and President Rajapaksa’s choice as his chief negotiator for two rounds of talks in Geneva, in early 2006.
Sources said that President Rajapaksa authorised the visit as part of an overall strategy to counter LTTE propaganda in the run-up to the much awaited release of the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC), report by Nov. 15, 2011. External Affairs Ministry sources said that the recently concluded ministerial visit had attracted the attention of the Norwegian media, particularly due to Norwegian mass killer Anders Behring Breivik publicly admiring the LTTE’s strategy. Norway TV 2 News quoted
Ministers de Silva and Yapa as having told FM Store that Norway should proscribe the LTTE for inspiring the 32-year-old Norwegian. Breivik killed almost 80 men, women and children in two separate attacks on the same day, last July.
Sources said that Norway was under LTTE pressure not to give into Sri Lanka’s move, amidst preparations for Heroes’ Day celebrations abroad.
The two ministers visited Oslo Cathedral, where they placed flowers for the terror victims, soon after arriving in Norway. In the wake of the Oslo massacres, Sri Lanka’s Ambassador in Oslo, Rodney Perera, wrote to several parliamentarians and the media urging a special prime ministerial committee inquiring into Breivik’s actions to investigate Breivik’s references to the LTTE.
Sources said that the ministerial visit to Oslo followed External Affairs Minister Prof. G. L. Peiris discussing the post-war scenario with Minister Solheim on the sidelines of the UNGA in New York late last month. The External Affairs Ministry said that the two ministers explored ways and means of enhancing bilateral cooperation. An EAM (External Affairs Ministry) missive to the cabinet quoted Minister Solheim as having said" that it would be difficult for Norway to ignore the views of the rest of the international community on Sri Lanka and in order to dilute such pressure, it would be important to engage the TNA in a political dialogue. Prof. Peiris told Minister Solheim that the GoSL would continue political consultations with all elected political parties, including the LTTE.
Prof. Peiris led the then Wickremesinghe’s team of negotiators who worked with Solheim.
The Sri Lankan Embassy in Oslo told ‘The Island’ that there had been a significant change in the Norwegian mood, vis-a-vis terrorism, following the July massacre. Sources said that the mainstream Norwegian press had given coverage to the Sri Lankan point of view, in spite of various interested parties attacking the country citing the controversial ‘Darusman report’ and ‘Sri Lanka’s Killing Fields’ as evidence of war crimes allegedly committed by the Sri Lankan military.
Sri Lanka woos Solheim in Norway
Countering war crimes allegations:October 20, 2011, 9:43 pm
by Shamindra Ferdinando
In the wake of the LTTE targeting Sri Lanka over accountability issues, the government has sought the support of one-time Norwegian peacemaker, Erik Solheim to counter those trying to haul the Sri Lankan leadership up before an international war crimes tribunal.
Solheim holds the Environment and International Cooperation portfolio in the current Norwegian government.
Government sources told ‘The Island’ that President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s special representative, Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva had met Solheim and Norwegian Foreign Minister, Jonas Gahr Store, separately. Responding to a query, sources said that a lengthy GoSL statement on Minister de Silva’s confab with the Foreign Minister didn’t refer to his meeting with Solheim. Environment Minister Anura Priyadarshana Yapa accompanied de Silva, Leader of the House and President Rajapaksa’s choice as his chief negotiator for two rounds of talks in Geneva, in early 2006.
Sources said that President Rajapaksa authorised the visit as part of an overall strategy to counter LTTE propaganda in the run-up to the much awaited release of the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC), report by Nov. 15, 2011. External Affairs Ministry sources said that the recently concluded ministerial visit had attracted the attention of the Norwegian media, particularly due to Norwegian mass killer Anders Behring Breivik publicly admiring the LTTE’s strategy. Norway TV 2 News quoted
Ministers de Silva and Yapa as having told FM Store that Norway should proscribe the LTTE for inspiring the 32-year-old Norwegian. Breivik killed almost 80 men, women and children in two separate attacks on the same day, last July.
Sources said that Norway was under LTTE pressure not to give into Sri Lanka’s move, amidst preparations for Heroes’ Day celebrations abroad.
The two ministers visited Oslo Cathedral, where they placed flowers for the terror victims, soon after arriving in Norway. In the wake of the Oslo massacres, Sri Lanka’s Ambassador in Oslo, Rodney Perera, wrote to several parliamentarians and the media urging a special prime ministerial committee inquiring into Breivik’s actions to investigate Breivik’s references to the LTTE.
Sources said that the ministerial visit to Oslo followed External Affairs Minister Prof. G. L. Peiris discussing the post-war scenario with Minister Solheim on the sidelines of the UNGA in New York late last month. The External Affairs Ministry said that the two ministers explored ways and means of enhancing bilateral cooperation. An EAM (External Affairs Ministry) missive to the cabinet quoted Minister Solheim as having said" that it would be difficult for Norway to ignore the views of the rest of the international community on Sri Lanka and in order to dilute such pressure, it would be important to engage the TNA in a political dialogue. Prof. Peiris told Minister Solheim that the GoSL would continue political consultations with all elected political parties, including the LTTE.
Prof. Peiris led the then Wickremesinghe’s team of negotiators who worked with Solheim.
The Sri Lankan Embassy in Oslo told ‘The Island’ that there had been a significant change in the Norwegian mood, vis-a-vis terrorism, following the July massacre. Sources said that the mainstream Norwegian press had given coverage to the Sri Lankan point of view, in spite of various interested parties attacking the country citing the controversial ‘Darusman report’ and ‘Sri Lanka’s Killing Fields’ as evidence of war crimes allegedly committed by the Sri Lankan military.
http://www.dailynews.lk/2011/10/26/news03.asp
Forces opposing development tarnishing govt’ - Def Secy
Chaminda Perera
“The government yesterday said that certain elements are trying to turn public opinion against it over the killing of Presidential Advisor on Trade Union Affairs Bharatha Lakshman Premachandra.
“It said that the forces opposing the country’s development in the aftermath of terrorism are behind this “dirty game of levelling baseless allegations against the government.”
Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa
Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa in an interview with the Independent Television Network yesterday said that no Parliamentarian was appointed to monitor the activities of the Defence Ministry.
He said that the government decided to appoint two Parliamentarians as supervisory MPs for the Urban Development Authority which comes under the purview of Defence and Urban Development Ministry.
The Defence Secretary said that Parliamentarian Duminda Silva was entrusted with the responsibility of supervising the government programme to build housing schemes in the North and Central Colombo areas for slum dwellers in the city. He said that Colombo District Parliamentarian Duminda Silva did not feature in any matter that related to the defence of the country. He added that the shooting that took place between the groups of the same political party is an unfortunate incident and that it should not have happened.
He was of the view that these incidents are taking place due to the preferential voting system. The Defence Secretary added that the law enforcement authorities have already arrested almost all suspects involved in this incident. He said two suspects who left for India hours after the murder were arrested by the Indian authorities at his request.
Defence Secretary stressed he had ordered a full scale investigation into this murder. ‘The government wants to ensure full and independent inquiry,’ he explained. Defence Secretary Rajapaksa said that the late Bharatha Lakshman Premachandra had not requested additional security from the government.
He said that Premachandra had never made such a request from him. Rajapaksa added that the government provided him security as the Presidential advisor on Trade Union Affairs. He denied an allegation made by the Opposition that law and order does not prevail in the country.
The Defence Secretary added that the people are experiencing freedom and Rule of Law in the country after a lapse of 30 years. He said that the Rule of Law is prevailing in the country after 30 years and people can travel to any part of the country at any time.
The Defence Secretary refuted the allegation that Parliamentarian Duminda Silva was given massive security. “He had only 12 Ministerial Security Division personnel and two of them were on leave when this incident took place,” he added.
He said that the security personnel providing him security were given only two T56 weapons.
“We appointed Minister Keheliya Rambukwella as the Defence Spokesman during the height of humanitarian operations to disseminate accurate news to the world in the face of misinformation being propagated by our opponents,” he added.
He said Minister Rambukwella did not go beyond what he was entrusted to do and did not meddle in the affairs of the military. The Defence Secretary said Parliamentarian Duminda Silva monitored the housing programme for the slum dwellers in the Colombo city.
He insisted that the government has deployed all its capabilities to eradicate the drug menace and underworld gangsters in the country and a massive operation is in progress to eradicate the underworld and the drug mafia in the country.
Forces opposing development tarnishing govt’ - Def Secy
Chaminda Perera
“The government yesterday said that certain elements are trying to turn public opinion against it over the killing of Presidential Advisor on Trade Union Affairs Bharatha Lakshman Premachandra.
“It said that the forces opposing the country’s development in the aftermath of terrorism are behind this “dirty game of levelling baseless allegations against the government.”
Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa
Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa in an interview with the Independent Television Network yesterday said that no Parliamentarian was appointed to monitor the activities of the Defence Ministry.
He said that the government decided to appoint two Parliamentarians as supervisory MPs for the Urban Development Authority which comes under the purview of Defence and Urban Development Ministry.
The Defence Secretary said that Parliamentarian Duminda Silva was entrusted with the responsibility of supervising the government programme to build housing schemes in the North and Central Colombo areas for slum dwellers in the city. He said that Colombo District Parliamentarian Duminda Silva did not feature in any matter that related to the defence of the country. He added that the shooting that took place between the groups of the same political party is an unfortunate incident and that it should not have happened.
He was of the view that these incidents are taking place due to the preferential voting system. The Defence Secretary added that the law enforcement authorities have already arrested almost all suspects involved in this incident. He said two suspects who left for India hours after the murder were arrested by the Indian authorities at his request.
Defence Secretary stressed he had ordered a full scale investigation into this murder. ‘The government wants to ensure full and independent inquiry,’ he explained. Defence Secretary Rajapaksa said that the late Bharatha Lakshman Premachandra had not requested additional security from the government.
He said that Premachandra had never made such a request from him. Rajapaksa added that the government provided him security as the Presidential advisor on Trade Union Affairs. He denied an allegation made by the Opposition that law and order does not prevail in the country.
The Defence Secretary added that the people are experiencing freedom and Rule of Law in the country after a lapse of 30 years. He said that the Rule of Law is prevailing in the country after 30 years and people can travel to any part of the country at any time.
The Defence Secretary refuted the allegation that Parliamentarian Duminda Silva was given massive security. “He had only 12 Ministerial Security Division personnel and two of them were on leave when this incident took place,” he added.
He said that the security personnel providing him security were given only two T56 weapons.
“We appointed Minister Keheliya Rambukwella as the Defence Spokesman during the height of humanitarian operations to disseminate accurate news to the world in the face of misinformation being propagated by our opponents,” he added.
He said Minister Rambukwella did not go beyond what he was entrusted to do and did not meddle in the affairs of the military. The Defence Secretary said Parliamentarian Duminda Silva monitored the housing programme for the slum dwellers in the Colombo city.
He insisted that the government has deployed all its capabilities to eradicate the drug menace and underworld gangsters in the country and a massive operation is in progress to eradicate the underworld and the drug mafia in the country.
http://www.infolanka.com/news/IL/dm70.htm
Build bridges of peace: PM tells EX-LTTE cadres BY SANDUN A. JAYASEKERA Oct 26, 2011
Prime Minister D.M.Jayaratne yesterday requested a group of ex-LTTE cadres to forget the past and contribute towards the promotion of racial harmony, inter -ethnic friendship and understanding once they resume their lives as law abiding and useful citizens of the country.
The Premier was addressing a ceremony held at the Wellawatte Ramakrishna Hall in connection with the re-integration of 367 ex-LTTE combatants to society, after rehabilitation and skills development by the Prison Reforms and Rehabilitation Ministry.
“You are rejoining your family members after several years which can be considered as an extremely joyful and important milestone in your life. You are going back to society as law abiding and useful citizens with improved knowledge and skills that will help you in your future endeavours. Please use your new found life to build bridges of peace and promote inter racial harmony,” Prime Minister Jayaratne said. He said all surrendered LTTE cadres ws[ere treated as equals and given skills development in many crafts and disciplines. They have now started their new lives with new hope and are engaged in employment useful to them-selves and the country.
The rehabilitation of nearly 12,000 ex-combatants in such a short time was not an easy task and such an operation has not been carried out in the recent history in any part of the world. Therefore, Sri Lanka’s rehabilitation programme was a record, he emphasized.
Prison Reforms and Rehabilitation Minister Chandrasiri Gajdeera said some 11,699 LTTE combatants had surrendered during the final stages of the humanitarian operation and over 11,000 have been rehabilitated and handed over to their families by now.
“We have taken measures to ensure their future success by giving skills development training with tools and apparatus to start a self-employment project. We give them a soft loan of Rs. 250,000 at 4% annual interest with the assistance of the BOC with the first year being interest free. I am glad that the rehabilitation programme has reached to a successful conclusion which is an example for any rehabilitation programme,” Minister Gajadeera said. He added that there were 24 rehab camps at the beginning and it has now come down to 4. After the conclusion of the rehab programme two camps will be kept open for those who need further training in their skills such as music and art. The ceremony was held to mark the Deepavali as well.
Source: Daily Mirror - Sri Lanka
Build bridges of peace: PM tells EX-LTTE cadres BY SANDUN A. JAYASEKERA Oct 26, 2011
Prime Minister D.M.Jayaratne yesterday requested a group of ex-LTTE cadres to forget the past and contribute towards the promotion of racial harmony, inter -ethnic friendship and understanding once they resume their lives as law abiding and useful citizens of the country.
The Premier was addressing a ceremony held at the Wellawatte Ramakrishna Hall in connection with the re-integration of 367 ex-LTTE combatants to society, after rehabilitation and skills development by the Prison Reforms and Rehabilitation Ministry.
“You are rejoining your family members after several years which can be considered as an extremely joyful and important milestone in your life. You are going back to society as law abiding and useful citizens with improved knowledge and skills that will help you in your future endeavours. Please use your new found life to build bridges of peace and promote inter racial harmony,” Prime Minister Jayaratne said. He said all surrendered LTTE cadres ws[ere treated as equals and given skills development in many crafts and disciplines. They have now started their new lives with new hope and are engaged in employment useful to them-selves and the country.
The rehabilitation of nearly 12,000 ex-combatants in such a short time was not an easy task and such an operation has not been carried out in the recent history in any part of the world. Therefore, Sri Lanka’s rehabilitation programme was a record, he emphasized.
Prison Reforms and Rehabilitation Minister Chandrasiri Gajdeera said some 11,699 LTTE combatants had surrendered during the final stages of the humanitarian operation and over 11,000 have been rehabilitated and handed over to their families by now.
“We have taken measures to ensure their future success by giving skills development training with tools and apparatus to start a self-employment project. We give them a soft loan of Rs. 250,000 at 4% annual interest with the assistance of the BOC with the first year being interest free. I am glad that the rehabilitation programme has reached to a successful conclusion which is an example for any rehabilitation programme,” Minister Gajadeera said. He added that there were 24 rehab camps at the beginning and it has now come down to 4. After the conclusion of the rehab programme two camps will be kept open for those who need further training in their skills such as music and art. The ceremony was held to mark the Deepavali as well.
Source: Daily Mirror - Sri Lanka
http://www.priu.gov.lk/news_update/Current_Affairs/ca201110/20111021s_most_compelling_destinations.htm
Sri Lanka, one of most compelling destinations for investment in C'wealth – Dr. Nonis
Sri Lanka today represents one of the most compelling destinations for investment in the Commonwealth, Dr. Chris Nonis, the Sri Lankan High Commissioner in London said.The Sri Lanka High Commission, London, in partnership with the Commonwealth Business Council, held a reception under the theme of "Expanding Pan-Commonwealth Trade”, and the opportunities which will ensue during the Commonwealth Heads of Government (CHOGM) meeting, which will be held in Sri Lanka in 2013.
The reception was attended by a wide representation from the Commonwealth High Commissions in London as well as members of the Commonwealth Business Council, the Commonwealth Secretariat, the British business community, and other Commonwealth organizations.
Addressing the gathering the High Commissioner said following 28 years of conflict Sri Lanka achieved peace in 2009, and moreover, has also achieved the political stability which ensures consistency in policy. The post-conflict era has ushered in an extremely conducive macroeconomic environment and there is concomitant progress in developing the infrastructure of the country, particularly in the previously conflict-affected areas, he said. Moreover, Sri Lanka is finally embarked on a comprehensive Reconciliation program, as it builds a pluralistic and inclusive society, in which all our communities can reap the dividends of peace, he added.
The underlying policy of pro-poor growth, and growth with equity as outlined in the "Mahinda Chintana" aims to bring the dividends of peace of all sectors of the country, and make that peace a durable one. He emphasized that with the end of the autocracy of terrorism, people throughout Sri Lanka are now experiencing democracy and development, the twin pillars of Commonwealth values.
Dr. Chris Nonis also referred to the keynote address which will be delivered by President Mahinda Rajapaksa, at the Commonwealth Business Forum in Perth, Australia, which brings together over 1200 business leaders from the 54 Commonwealth Countries, and will present the opportunity to highlight and articulate the very real progress that is being made in the country in the post-conflict era.
Pan-Commonwealth trade and investment also plays a substantial role in stimulating rural development and in this context it is most opportune that Sri Lanka will be hosting the CHOGM in 2013. It is international fora such as these which will serve to stimulate regional development, and further contribute towards Sri Lanka making that transition from developing to developed nation, and furthermore will provide opportunities for all Commonwealth Countries and Communities to engage with Sri Lanka and join together in this endeavor.
Dr. Mohan Kaul, CEO of the Commonwealth Business Council, in his address reiterated that the Commonwealth is the largest grouping of Countries after the United Nations, and some of the fastest growing economies in the world are part of this association, including two G8 and five G20 members.
He stated that the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting which is scheduled for Perth, Australia in 2011, and for Sri Lanka in 2013, will see the bringing together of Heads of State from 54 Commonwealth Countries, and this will provide tremendous opportunities for enhancing pan-Commonwealth trade, and contribute to the development of our regional economies, as well as those of other Commonwealth countries.
In preparation for CHOGM 2013 in Sri Lanka, the Commonwealth Business Council launched the publication ”Sri Lanka Investment Guide 2012”, which highlights the myriad of opportunities for investment in Sri Lanka from all other Commonwealth Countries.
Sri Lanka, one of most compelling destinations for investment in C'wealth – Dr. Nonis
Sri Lanka today represents one of the most compelling destinations for investment in the Commonwealth, Dr. Chris Nonis, the Sri Lankan High Commissioner in London said.The Sri Lanka High Commission, London, in partnership with the Commonwealth Business Council, held a reception under the theme of "Expanding Pan-Commonwealth Trade”, and the opportunities which will ensue during the Commonwealth Heads of Government (CHOGM) meeting, which will be held in Sri Lanka in 2013.
The reception was attended by a wide representation from the Commonwealth High Commissions in London as well as members of the Commonwealth Business Council, the Commonwealth Secretariat, the British business community, and other Commonwealth organizations.
Addressing the gathering the High Commissioner said following 28 years of conflict Sri Lanka achieved peace in 2009, and moreover, has also achieved the political stability which ensures consistency in policy. The post-conflict era has ushered in an extremely conducive macroeconomic environment and there is concomitant progress in developing the infrastructure of the country, particularly in the previously conflict-affected areas, he said. Moreover, Sri Lanka is finally embarked on a comprehensive Reconciliation program, as it builds a pluralistic and inclusive society, in which all our communities can reap the dividends of peace, he added.
The underlying policy of pro-poor growth, and growth with equity as outlined in the "Mahinda Chintana" aims to bring the dividends of peace of all sectors of the country, and make that peace a durable one. He emphasized that with the end of the autocracy of terrorism, people throughout Sri Lanka are now experiencing democracy and development, the twin pillars of Commonwealth values.
Dr. Chris Nonis also referred to the keynote address which will be delivered by President Mahinda Rajapaksa, at the Commonwealth Business Forum in Perth, Australia, which brings together over 1200 business leaders from the 54 Commonwealth Countries, and will present the opportunity to highlight and articulate the very real progress that is being made in the country in the post-conflict era.
Pan-Commonwealth trade and investment also plays a substantial role in stimulating rural development and in this context it is most opportune that Sri Lanka will be hosting the CHOGM in 2013. It is international fora such as these which will serve to stimulate regional development, and further contribute towards Sri Lanka making that transition from developing to developed nation, and furthermore will provide opportunities for all Commonwealth Countries and Communities to engage with Sri Lanka and join together in this endeavor.
Dr. Mohan Kaul, CEO of the Commonwealth Business Council, in his address reiterated that the Commonwealth is the largest grouping of Countries after the United Nations, and some of the fastest growing economies in the world are part of this association, including two G8 and five G20 members.
He stated that the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting which is scheduled for Perth, Australia in 2011, and for Sri Lanka in 2013, will see the bringing together of Heads of State from 54 Commonwealth Countries, and this will provide tremendous opportunities for enhancing pan-Commonwealth trade, and contribute to the development of our regional economies, as well as those of other Commonwealth countries.
In preparation for CHOGM 2013 in Sri Lanka, the Commonwealth Business Council launched the publication ”Sri Lanka Investment Guide 2012”, which highlights the myriad of opportunities for investment in Sri Lanka from all other Commonwealth Countries.
http://www.priu.gov.lk/news_update/Current_Affairs/ca201110/20111024oil_drilling_second_site_commenced.htm
Oil drilling in second site commenced
Cairn Lanka, exploring oil in the Mannar basin off northwestern coast has started drilling a second site.
The company has started work on a second well CLPL-Barracuda-1G/1 in the Block SL 2007-01-001.
Cairn Lanka, which began oil drilling operations in the Mannar basin in August, found gas deposits in its first well CLPL-Dorado-91H/1z.
According to the company, it has struck a gas deposit of a gross 25m hydrocarbon column with some additional liquid hydrocarbon potential in a sandstone between the depths of 3,043.8 to 3,068.7 meters.
Cairn hopes to drill three more wells under its exploration program, which is expected to be completed in early 2012.
Cairn has said earlier if Sri Lanka's drilling program is successful then commercial oil production can be expected by 2014 with a billion barrels.
The Block SL 2007-01-001 was awarded to Cairn in the 2008 Sri Lanka bid round.
Mannar basin has eight oil and gas exploration blocks and two of them have been granted to China and India. Russia's largest oil company, Gazprom and Vietnam Oil and Gas Group, PetroVietnam have expressed interest in oil exploration in the Mannar Basin.
Oil drilling in second site commenced
Cairn Lanka, exploring oil in the Mannar basin off northwestern coast has started drilling a second site.
The company has started work on a second well CLPL-Barracuda-1G/1 in the Block SL 2007-01-001.
Cairn Lanka, which began oil drilling operations in the Mannar basin in August, found gas deposits in its first well CLPL-Dorado-91H/1z.
According to the company, it has struck a gas deposit of a gross 25m hydrocarbon column with some additional liquid hydrocarbon potential in a sandstone between the depths of 3,043.8 to 3,068.7 meters.
Cairn hopes to drill three more wells under its exploration program, which is expected to be completed in early 2012.
Cairn has said earlier if Sri Lanka's drilling program is successful then commercial oil production can be expected by 2014 with a billion barrels.
The Block SL 2007-01-001 was awarded to Cairn in the 2008 Sri Lanka bid round.
Mannar basin has eight oil and gas exploration blocks and two of them have been granted to China and India. Russia's largest oil company, Gazprom and Vietnam Oil and Gas Group, PetroVietnam have expressed interest in oil exploration in the Mannar Basin.
http://www.dailynews.lk/2011/10/26/news02.asp
President to meet Aust. Premier today
Dinesh Weerawansa in Australia
President Mahinda Rajapaksa, who is on an eight-day official visit to Australia to attend the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) is due to meet Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard in Perth yesterday. The two leaders will discuss bilateral issues to further strengthen ties between Australia, the current host of the CHOGM, and Sri Lanka, the next host nation of the CHOGM in 2013.
Australian Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd called on President Rajapaksa at his hotel on Tuesday. Associated with the President was Minister of External Affairs Prof G.L. Peiris.
CBF
Meanwhile, the Commonwealth Business Forum (CBF) 2011, organised by the Commonwealth Business Council (CBC) in collaboration with the Australian and Western Australian governments and the private sector, began today and is due to end on Thursday.
A strong Sri Lankan business delegation is participating in the CBF.
This will provide a unique opportunity for delegates to contribute and present key policy recommendations to CHOGM, learn about new business and investment opportunities, conduct business with other international partners, network with key government and business leaders, and influence the debate on important trade and investment issues.
Major setback
Meanwhile, the LTTE shadow agents who attempted to discredit Sri Lanka by levelling baseless war crime charges in Victoria suffered a major setback on Tuesday when the Australian government announced that the visiting Sri Lankan Head of State enjoys diplomatic immunity.
Attorney-General Robert McClelland, who must consent to charges against the President levelled in Australia, is also yet to receive a request from the lawyer of a Sri Lankan-born Arunachalam Jegatheeswaran, who filed an indictment in the Melbourne Magistrate’s Court. It has now been disclosed that Jegatheeswaran, who had sought political asylum and become an Australian citizen in 1990, had closely worked with front organisations of the now defunct terrorist outfit.
McClelland’s spokesman said today that the Lankan leader who is in Perth for the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting, enjoys legal protection while in Australia. “Australia has obligations under International Law, including the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations which extends immunity to visiting heads of State,” he said.
Jegatheeswaran’s attempt is nothing new as LTTE sympathisers have made similar attempts in several countries, including the President’s recent visit to the United States for the United Nations General Assembly.
Tight security
Tight security operations are in place as 54 leaders of the Commonwealth meet during the three-day CHOGM which starts at the Perth Convention and Exhibition Centre on Friday. However, Police and protesters look set to clash in Perth if a policy of busting protest camps is pursued, as signalled by West Australian Premier Colin Barnett.
Protesters would not be allowed to set up camp in Perth during the Commonwealth leaders’ meeting and would be removed, Barnett said today. Occupy Melbourne and Occupy Sydney protesters have accused police of using heavy-handed tactics after people were dragged from protest camps set up in central city squares in recent days.
The WA Premier said protesters would be able to make their point peacefully but would not be allowed to interfere with CHOGM or the surrounding public events. When asked about the security response to the planned Occupy Perth action in Forrest Place, Barnett said it depended on how it was conducted.
Meanwhile, a man was arrested earlier this week after he allegedly entered a restricted security zone put in place for the Commonwealth leaders’ meeting in Perth. Police said the 37-year-old man entered the restricted area on Monday afternoon after he had been served a notice informing him he was on a list of excluded persons. Police said the man had been provided with information and a map showing security areas he was not permitted to enter.
President to meet Aust. Premier today
Dinesh Weerawansa in Australia
President Mahinda Rajapaksa, who is on an eight-day official visit to Australia to attend the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) is due to meet Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard in Perth yesterday. The two leaders will discuss bilateral issues to further strengthen ties between Australia, the current host of the CHOGM, and Sri Lanka, the next host nation of the CHOGM in 2013.
Australian Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd called on President Rajapaksa at his hotel on Tuesday. Associated with the President was Minister of External Affairs Prof G.L. Peiris.
CBF
Meanwhile, the Commonwealth Business Forum (CBF) 2011, organised by the Commonwealth Business Council (CBC) in collaboration with the Australian and Western Australian governments and the private sector, began today and is due to end on Thursday.
A strong Sri Lankan business delegation is participating in the CBF.
This will provide a unique opportunity for delegates to contribute and present key policy recommendations to CHOGM, learn about new business and investment opportunities, conduct business with other international partners, network with key government and business leaders, and influence the debate on important trade and investment issues.
Major setback
Meanwhile, the LTTE shadow agents who attempted to discredit Sri Lanka by levelling baseless war crime charges in Victoria suffered a major setback on Tuesday when the Australian government announced that the visiting Sri Lankan Head of State enjoys diplomatic immunity.
Attorney-General Robert McClelland, who must consent to charges against the President levelled in Australia, is also yet to receive a request from the lawyer of a Sri Lankan-born Arunachalam Jegatheeswaran, who filed an indictment in the Melbourne Magistrate’s Court. It has now been disclosed that Jegatheeswaran, who had sought political asylum and become an Australian citizen in 1990, had closely worked with front organisations of the now defunct terrorist outfit.
McClelland’s spokesman said today that the Lankan leader who is in Perth for the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting, enjoys legal protection while in Australia. “Australia has obligations under International Law, including the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations which extends immunity to visiting heads of State,” he said.
Jegatheeswaran’s attempt is nothing new as LTTE sympathisers have made similar attempts in several countries, including the President’s recent visit to the United States for the United Nations General Assembly.
Tight security
Tight security operations are in place as 54 leaders of the Commonwealth meet during the three-day CHOGM which starts at the Perth Convention and Exhibition Centre on Friday. However, Police and protesters look set to clash in Perth if a policy of busting protest camps is pursued, as signalled by West Australian Premier Colin Barnett.
Protesters would not be allowed to set up camp in Perth during the Commonwealth leaders’ meeting and would be removed, Barnett said today. Occupy Melbourne and Occupy Sydney protesters have accused police of using heavy-handed tactics after people were dragged from protest camps set up in central city squares in recent days.
The WA Premier said protesters would be able to make their point peacefully but would not be allowed to interfere with CHOGM or the surrounding public events. When asked about the security response to the planned Occupy Perth action in Forrest Place, Barnett said it depended on how it was conducted.
Meanwhile, a man was arrested earlier this week after he allegedly entered a restricted security zone put in place for the Commonwealth leaders’ meeting in Perth. Police said the 37-year-old man entered the restricted area on Monday afternoon after he had been served a notice informing him he was on a list of excluded persons. Police said the man had been provided with information and a map showing security areas he was not permitted to enter.
http://www.nationalsecurity.lk/MCNS/defence-security/index.php
Australian Federal Attorney-General Robert McClelland has refused to allow a deliberate propaganda stunt attempt by proxy LTTE fronts targeting the Sri Lankan President.
The president has arrived in Perth for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM).
Arunachalam Jegadeeswaran alias Jeganwaran,63 an Australian based terror activist cum sympathizer earlier filed charges in the Melbourne Magistrates Court against The Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa, claiming civilian targets were bombed in 2009 during Sri Lanka's civil war.
The Sri Lankan Ministry of Defence on August 01st released an official report titled "Humanitarian Operation Factual Analysis July 2006 - May 2009", in the presence of international diplomats and media giving lie to a series of staged misinformation campaigns by LTTE remnant groups.
Accordingly, 11,000 former LTTE cadres have been rehabilitated and reintegrated to the society since the end of the Humanitarian Operation on May 18, 2009.
Mr McClelland's office issued a statement saying he would be in breach of international laws which provide immunity to heads of diplomatic missions if he allowed the case to go ahead.
"Those immunities include personal inviolability including from any form of arrest or detention and immunity from the criminal jurisdiction of the receiving state," a spokesman for Mr McClelland said.
Australian Federal Attorney-General Robert McClelland has refused to allow a deliberate propaganda stunt attempt by proxy LTTE fronts targeting the Sri Lankan President.
The president has arrived in Perth for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM).
Arunachalam Jegadeeswaran alias Jeganwaran,63 an Australian based terror activist cum sympathizer earlier filed charges in the Melbourne Magistrates Court against The Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa, claiming civilian targets were bombed in 2009 during Sri Lanka's civil war.
The Sri Lankan Ministry of Defence on August 01st released an official report titled "Humanitarian Operation Factual Analysis July 2006 - May 2009", in the presence of international diplomats and media giving lie to a series of staged misinformation campaigns by LTTE remnant groups.
Accordingly, 11,000 former LTTE cadres have been rehabilitated and reintegrated to the society since the end of the Humanitarian Operation on May 18, 2009.
Mr McClelland's office issued a statement saying he would be in breach of international laws which provide immunity to heads of diplomatic missions if he allowed the case to go ahead.
"Those immunities include personal inviolability including from any form of arrest or detention and immunity from the criminal jurisdiction of the receiving state," a spokesman for Mr McClelland said.
http://www.nationalsecurity.lk/MCNS/defence-security/index.php
Govt must ok Sri lankan President’s case – Australian PM
26 Oct 2011 - 06:43
A war crimes case filed against the Sri Lankan president in an Australian court cannot proceed without the federal government's consent, Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard says.Sri Lankan-born Australian citizen Arunachalam Jegatheeswaran has lodged a war crimes indictment against President Mahinda Rajapaksa in the Melbourne Magistrates Court.The move came as Mr Rajapaksa was due to arrive in Perth for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM).But Ms Gillard on Tuesday made it clear no case could proceed without the government's say-so."No such legal action can be taken on an issue like this without the consent of the attorney-general," Ms Gillard told ABC Radio in Perth."And the attorney-general hasn't received any request in relation to this matter."Mr Jegatheeswaran's lawyers say they have written to Attorney-General Robert McClelland to alert him to the case.Mr McClelland's spokesman says he has not received any request for consent in relation to the matter, but federal police are looking into it.“The Australian Federal Police (AFP) has received a request to investigate the matter, which it is evaluating," the spokesman said.He also noted that Australia has obligations under international law which extends immunity to visiting heads of state.Ms Gillard reiterated her government was concerned about the persistent war crimes allegations."Australia and like-minded countries have been urging and will continue to urge Sri Lanka to address the serious allegations that have been made of human rights violations," she said.The indictment was filed under the Australian Criminal Code and is now set for first hearing on November 29.A series of reports have accused Sri Lanka of committing war crimes during its final 2009 offensive against the Tamil Tiger rebels.The offensive crushed the Tigers - who have also been accused of atrocities - and brought the decades-old conflict to an end.Mr Rajapaksa also was cited in a separate brief of evidence prepared by the International Commission of Jurists' Australian branch and handed to the Australian Federal Police earlier this month.That brief also reportedly levels allegations against Sri Lankan High Commissioner to Australia Thisara Samarasinghe. Both strenuously deny the claims.Australian National University international law expert Donald Rothwell says proponents of the cases face a significant challenge in proving that serious war crimes can overrule diplomatic immunity."While there may be sufficient grounds upon which to launch a war crimes prosecution, both High Commissioner Samarasinghe and President Rajapaksa would be able to claim immunity from prosecution which would bar the matter from proceeding in an Australian court," Professor Rothwell said.Mr Jegatheeswaran's lawyer, Lucien Richter, said he did not believe diplomatic immunity was an issue in this case."There is some authority to suggest that where crimes are of a substantial and international nature, such as war crimes or crimes against humanity, then effectively the authority of being head of state doesn't grant him immunity from those things," Mr Richter said."Certainly the ICJ (International Commission of Jurists') in their submission have come to a simple conclusion that immunity would not be a barrier to this prosecution."Courtesy: news.lk
Govt must ok Sri lankan President’s case – Australian PM
26 Oct 2011 - 06:43
A war crimes case filed against the Sri Lankan president in an Australian court cannot proceed without the federal government's consent, Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard says.Sri Lankan-born Australian citizen Arunachalam Jegatheeswaran has lodged a war crimes indictment against President Mahinda Rajapaksa in the Melbourne Magistrates Court.The move came as Mr Rajapaksa was due to arrive in Perth for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM).But Ms Gillard on Tuesday made it clear no case could proceed without the government's say-so."No such legal action can be taken on an issue like this without the consent of the attorney-general," Ms Gillard told ABC Radio in Perth."And the attorney-general hasn't received any request in relation to this matter."Mr Jegatheeswaran's lawyers say they have written to Attorney-General Robert McClelland to alert him to the case.Mr McClelland's spokesman says he has not received any request for consent in relation to the matter, but federal police are looking into it.“The Australian Federal Police (AFP) has received a request to investigate the matter, which it is evaluating," the spokesman said.He also noted that Australia has obligations under international law which extends immunity to visiting heads of state.Ms Gillard reiterated her government was concerned about the persistent war crimes allegations."Australia and like-minded countries have been urging and will continue to urge Sri Lanka to address the serious allegations that have been made of human rights violations," she said.The indictment was filed under the Australian Criminal Code and is now set for first hearing on November 29.A series of reports have accused Sri Lanka of committing war crimes during its final 2009 offensive against the Tamil Tiger rebels.The offensive crushed the Tigers - who have also been accused of atrocities - and brought the decades-old conflict to an end.Mr Rajapaksa also was cited in a separate brief of evidence prepared by the International Commission of Jurists' Australian branch and handed to the Australian Federal Police earlier this month.That brief also reportedly levels allegations against Sri Lankan High Commissioner to Australia Thisara Samarasinghe. Both strenuously deny the claims.Australian National University international law expert Donald Rothwell says proponents of the cases face a significant challenge in proving that serious war crimes can overrule diplomatic immunity."While there may be sufficient grounds upon which to launch a war crimes prosecution, both High Commissioner Samarasinghe and President Rajapaksa would be able to claim immunity from prosecution which would bar the matter from proceeding in an Australian court," Professor Rothwell said.Mr Jegatheeswaran's lawyer, Lucien Richter, said he did not believe diplomatic immunity was an issue in this case."There is some authority to suggest that where crimes are of a substantial and international nature, such as war crimes or crimes against humanity, then effectively the authority of being head of state doesn't grant him immunity from those things," Mr Richter said."Certainly the ICJ (International Commission of Jurists') in their submission have come to a simple conclusion that immunity would not be a barrier to this prosecution."Courtesy: news.lk
http://www.nationalsecurity.lk/MCNS/defence-security/index.php
Some trying to mislead int’l community
*Nation enjoys rich peace dividends
President Mahinda Rajapaksa said that the truth behind Sri Lanka’s humanitarian operation would be revealed once the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission Report is out. “Very soon, the LLRC Report will be out.
‘It will then be presented in Parliament. People would then be able to find out the truth,” the President said when he addressed a Sri Lankan community reception held at the Winthrop Hall of the University of Western Australia here in Perth Tuesday. The President said that some people are making a desperate attempt to mislead the international community.
They are trying to do this by fabricating stories and making false allegations against Sri Lanka. “We will not hide anything. The truth will be disclosed soon. I have been voicing in support of human rights since I first entered the Parliament in 70s. Then in the late 80s, we even took to streets, to protect human rights. But today, certain people are trying to pontificate to us on human rights,” he said.
He urged Sri Lankans to protect their mother tongue and culture, irrespective of their ethnic and religious origins. “Teach Sinhala and Tamil to your children though you live in another country. If not, your children will only have Sinhala names, though they are not real Sinhalese. They will have Tamil names though they are not real Tamils. Always protect your mother language,” he said.
He stressed the need to protect Sri Lanka’s 2,500-year-old rich culture. “It is your responsibility to protect it and preserve it for the next generation. Protect the rich values we have been maintaining as Sri Lankans,” he added.
He requested Sri Lankan expatriates to think seriously of returning to their motherland at least for a few years to serve the nation which now enjoys rich dividends of peace. “When I was first elected President in 2005, my biggest challenge was terrorism. Our battle against the LTTE was only against a ruthless terrorist outfit and not against any race or religion. We tried to talk to the LTTE in order to settle the issue though a dialogue but they walked off the negotiating table,” he said.
Outlining the circumstances which forced him to order the Security Forces to eradicate terrorism after the LTTE deprived innocent civilians of their basic human need of water at Mavil Aru, the President said Sri Lanka has made steady progress since becoming the first country to eradicate terrorism.
“We not only resettled over 300,000 displaced people in record time but also ensured their future by developing those areas in the North and the East. When the recent floods affected food crops in the Central Province, it is those cultivations of those resettled in the North and the East that came in handy,” the President said.
President Rajapaksa added that Sri Lanka is heading towards new economic horizons since the eradication of terrorism, developing infrastructure, especially in the North and East. “Our target is to supply drinking water to all.
The largest water supply project in the country after Colombo, was inaugurated in Batticaloa. Similarly, we are geared to face future challenges in power requirements with projects, such as, Kerawalapitiya, Upper Kotmale, Norochcholai and Sampur,” he said.
The President said Colombo now looks clean and beautiful, as any other major city in the world. “When you return to Colombo now, you will not see the smelly and ugly capital any more. Instead, we have developed it to be a clean and green city of which all Sri Lankans could feel proud of,” he said.
He thanked the Australian government for the support it has extended to Sri Lanka. Minister of External Affairs Prof G.L. Peiris, Minister of Sports Mahindananda Aluthgamage, Deputy Minister of External Affairs Neomal Perera were also present.
Earlier, Sri Lanka’s High Commissioner in Australia, Admiral Thisara Samarasinghe welcomed the President and said that the Sri Lankan community in Australia is delighted to receive the President who has given illustrious leadership to the country’s battle against terrorism.
Courtesy : dailynews.lk
Some trying to mislead int’l community
*Nation enjoys rich peace dividends
President Mahinda Rajapaksa said that the truth behind Sri Lanka’s humanitarian operation would be revealed once the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission Report is out. “Very soon, the LLRC Report will be out.
‘It will then be presented in Parliament. People would then be able to find out the truth,” the President said when he addressed a Sri Lankan community reception held at the Winthrop Hall of the University of Western Australia here in Perth Tuesday. The President said that some people are making a desperate attempt to mislead the international community.
They are trying to do this by fabricating stories and making false allegations against Sri Lanka. “We will not hide anything. The truth will be disclosed soon. I have been voicing in support of human rights since I first entered the Parliament in 70s. Then in the late 80s, we even took to streets, to protect human rights. But today, certain people are trying to pontificate to us on human rights,” he said.
He urged Sri Lankans to protect their mother tongue and culture, irrespective of their ethnic and religious origins. “Teach Sinhala and Tamil to your children though you live in another country. If not, your children will only have Sinhala names, though they are not real Sinhalese. They will have Tamil names though they are not real Tamils. Always protect your mother language,” he said.
He stressed the need to protect Sri Lanka’s 2,500-year-old rich culture. “It is your responsibility to protect it and preserve it for the next generation. Protect the rich values we have been maintaining as Sri Lankans,” he added.
He requested Sri Lankan expatriates to think seriously of returning to their motherland at least for a few years to serve the nation which now enjoys rich dividends of peace. “When I was first elected President in 2005, my biggest challenge was terrorism. Our battle against the LTTE was only against a ruthless terrorist outfit and not against any race or religion. We tried to talk to the LTTE in order to settle the issue though a dialogue but they walked off the negotiating table,” he said.
Outlining the circumstances which forced him to order the Security Forces to eradicate terrorism after the LTTE deprived innocent civilians of their basic human need of water at Mavil Aru, the President said Sri Lanka has made steady progress since becoming the first country to eradicate terrorism.
“We not only resettled over 300,000 displaced people in record time but also ensured their future by developing those areas in the North and the East. When the recent floods affected food crops in the Central Province, it is those cultivations of those resettled in the North and the East that came in handy,” the President said.
President Rajapaksa added that Sri Lanka is heading towards new economic horizons since the eradication of terrorism, developing infrastructure, especially in the North and East. “Our target is to supply drinking water to all.
The largest water supply project in the country after Colombo, was inaugurated in Batticaloa. Similarly, we are geared to face future challenges in power requirements with projects, such as, Kerawalapitiya, Upper Kotmale, Norochcholai and Sampur,” he said.
The President said Colombo now looks clean and beautiful, as any other major city in the world. “When you return to Colombo now, you will not see the smelly and ugly capital any more. Instead, we have developed it to be a clean and green city of which all Sri Lankans could feel proud of,” he said.
He thanked the Australian government for the support it has extended to Sri Lanka. Minister of External Affairs Prof G.L. Peiris, Minister of Sports Mahindananda Aluthgamage, Deputy Minister of External Affairs Neomal Perera were also present.
Earlier, Sri Lanka’s High Commissioner in Australia, Admiral Thisara Samarasinghe welcomed the President and said that the Sri Lankan community in Australia is delighted to receive the President who has given illustrious leadership to the country’s battle against terrorism.
Courtesy : dailynews.lk
Australian based terrorist kingpin exposed
Arunachalam Jegadeeswaran alias Jeganwaran
In a major breakthrough giving impetus into tracing and neutralizing of the LTTE's international network, defence intelligence sources claimed to have figured out vital information of Arunachalam Jegadeeswaran alias Jeganwaran, an Australian based terror activist cum sympathizer.
According to intelligence sources, Jegadeeshwaran, a technical consultant by profession now living in Sydney, Australia is revealed to have been a close associate of Prabakaran, Chief of the internationally banned terrorist outfit - LTTE. Evidences have also surfaced exposing Jegadeeshwaran's close involvement since 2001 with high profile members of the now military defeated terrorist outfit including its international wing head ? Castro. His involvements with the LTTE include designing and construction of key 'military' infrastructure facilities to the terror outfit. Jegadeeshwaran was born in Sri Lanka and later had obtained Australian citizenship in year 1987.
Jegadeesawaran and his family members are well-connected to the LTTE hierarchy for a prolonged period. During the final days of the conflict Prabakaran who had sniffed the outfit's inevitable defeat had entrusted Arunachalam Jegadeeshwaran to escort the former's parents to safe sanctuary with the security forces. It was Jegadeeshwaran who had handed over Prabakaran's parents at the IDP receiving center in Vavuniya.
Arunachalam Crishnakumar alias London Shanthan was very close to Balasingham and the duo more or less ran the LTTE in London. He also accompanied Balasingham and wife Adel during their last visit to Geneva for peace talks in February 2006.
It has surfaced that Arunachalam Crishnakumar alias London Shanthan who was arrested in London on charges of arms procurement and fundraising for the LTTE terrorist outfit to be the younger brother of Jegadeeshwaran. In a special operation conducted in 2007 UK Metropolitan Police from the counter Terrorism Command arrested A C Shanthan (51 yrs), the LTTE leader in the UK who operates under the title of President of the British Tamil Association (BAT) along with Goldan Lambert (29yrs), Head of Finance of the BAT.
They have been arrested under the UK Terrorism Act of 2000 under which bail is not allowed.
Jegadeeshwaran's son Arun, 21
His two children Brahami (daughter) 25, and Arun(son) 21 are also prominent activists of the Tamil Youth Organisation(TYO)- a key LTTE rump group.
His involvement with LTTE leaders in Sri Lanka and other activists based in Australia is to be exposed soon.
Defence constructions for LTTE:
According to information revealed Jegadeeshwaran had met with Castro during a visit to the country. Later, had arrived in 2005 with a Australian based Tamil swimming coach and met with LTTE sea Tiger wing chief Soosai.
In 2005 he had made a repeat visit to Vanni, accompanied by Australian MP Verginia and held discussions with Nadeshan and Para- key LTTE leaders. According to information revealed, Jegadeeshwaran had since been a close associate of Castro and aide.
Most astonishing information revealing his hardcore sympathy to the terror outfit is that Jegadeeswaran was the key figure involved in designing and construction of 'military' infrastructure for the LTTE including underground arms depots. He was also the mastermind behind the construction of the well fortified underground mansion built for LTTE chief Prabakaran
The construction work was carried out by the General Engineering Company established by Jegadeeshwaran on the advice of LTTE leadership.
In 2007 he had returned to Sri Lanka to work as a volunteer and initially stayed with relatives in the Tamil stronghold of Kilinochchi.
Meena impersonates Vanni Kumar's stunt appearance at Channel 4:
In the after math of the LTTE's military defeat the LTTE remnants that are spread throughout the globe are seen to organize themselves in a sinister campaign to up hold their Terrorist intentions in more inconspicuous forms such as Human Rights groups, Tamil Solidarity groups etc. They are also seen to be engaged in a parallel campaign targeting Sri Lankan Senior Military officials, diplomats, and government Officers by framing false charges against them.
It has now been identified that to this end, the LTTE remnants have adopted a new pattern where they use former LTTE cadres and supporters to bring discredit to Sri Lankan Officers by framing false charges against them. The newest attempt is been reported from Australia where a case has been filed against the H.E President of Sri Lanka, Sri Lanka's Deputy Representative to UN Maj Gen Shavendra Silva, and Permanent Representative to Sri Lankan High Commissioner to Australia, the former Commander of the Navy, Admiral TSG Samarasinghe.
It is interesting to note that this time the LTTE 'mouth pieces' have selected a character identified as Meena Krishnamoorthy, a lady who claims to be a Sri Lankan Tamil now residing in Australia who has a great talent and love for dancing.
The true face of Meena Navarangi Krishnamoorthy is rather different as revealed by Sri Lankan Intelligence and Law enforcement agencies. Meena Krishnamoorthy alias Eelanadi, went to Australia with her parents as an asylum seeker and later in the year 2004, returned to Sri Lanka, for nothing but to render her assistance to the LTTE, a terrorist organization that is designated by the US Department of State as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) and a banned organization in many countries.
She was a hard-line activist of the Tamil Youth Organisation (TYO), the international youth wing of the LTTE, that functioned under Castro, the international co-ordinator of the LTTE and under the personal supervision of the LTTE leader Vellupillai Prabhakaran. She also received a 06 months military training whilst in the Wanni, of the then LTTE dominated area. She married a fellow terrorist named Irasurathnam Dayakaran alias Kuveran in the year 2007.
While in Sri Lanka she worked under Castro until she was rescued by the Sri Lankan Security Forces during the last stages of the Humanitarian Operation.
Later in 2010 he deserted the Rehabilitation Centre and remains absconding to date. Further Sri Lankan Law Enforcement authorities have been informed by their Australian Counterparts on an inquiry made on Meena Krishnamoorthy, that she has been recorded in Australian indices as a sympathizer of the LTTE.
Australian Law enforcement authorities also confirm these individuals are sympathetic to the terror outfit.
It is evident beyond doubt that the continued efforts of such similar scale by LTTE rump groups and activists are aimed at derailing the reconciliation and rapid development taking place in the North and East, with soliciting international support.
A comprehensive revelation on these LTTE activists and their links with other international LTTE activists and its front organizations will be released in the immediate future.
Arunachalam Jegadeeswaran alias Jeganwaran
In a major breakthrough giving impetus into tracing and neutralizing of the LTTE's international network, defence intelligence sources claimed to have figured out vital information of Arunachalam Jegadeeswaran alias Jeganwaran, an Australian based terror activist cum sympathizer.
According to intelligence sources, Jegadeeshwaran, a technical consultant by profession now living in Sydney, Australia is revealed to have been a close associate of Prabakaran, Chief of the internationally banned terrorist outfit - LTTE. Evidences have also surfaced exposing Jegadeeshwaran's close involvement since 2001 with high profile members of the now military defeated terrorist outfit including its international wing head ? Castro. His involvements with the LTTE include designing and construction of key 'military' infrastructure facilities to the terror outfit. Jegadeeshwaran was born in Sri Lanka and later had obtained Australian citizenship in year 1987.
Jegadeesawaran and his family members are well-connected to the LTTE hierarchy for a prolonged period. During the final days of the conflict Prabakaran who had sniffed the outfit's inevitable defeat had entrusted Arunachalam Jegadeeshwaran to escort the former's parents to safe sanctuary with the security forces. It was Jegadeeshwaran who had handed over Prabakaran's parents at the IDP receiving center in Vavuniya.
Arunachalam Crishnakumar alias London Shanthan was very close to Balasingham and the duo more or less ran the LTTE in London. He also accompanied Balasingham and wife Adel during their last visit to Geneva for peace talks in February 2006.
It has surfaced that Arunachalam Crishnakumar alias London Shanthan who was arrested in London on charges of arms procurement and fundraising for the LTTE terrorist outfit to be the younger brother of Jegadeeshwaran. In a special operation conducted in 2007 UK Metropolitan Police from the counter Terrorism Command arrested A C Shanthan (51 yrs), the LTTE leader in the UK who operates under the title of President of the British Tamil Association (BAT) along with Goldan Lambert (29yrs), Head of Finance of the BAT.
They have been arrested under the UK Terrorism Act of 2000 under which bail is not allowed.
Jegadeeshwaran's son Arun, 21
His two children Brahami (daughter) 25, and Arun(son) 21 are also prominent activists of the Tamil Youth Organisation(TYO)- a key LTTE rump group.
His involvement with LTTE leaders in Sri Lanka and other activists based in Australia is to be exposed soon.
Defence constructions for LTTE:
According to information revealed Jegadeeshwaran had met with Castro during a visit to the country. Later, had arrived in 2005 with a Australian based Tamil swimming coach and met with LTTE sea Tiger wing chief Soosai.
In 2005 he had made a repeat visit to Vanni, accompanied by Australian MP Verginia and held discussions with Nadeshan and Para- key LTTE leaders. According to information revealed, Jegadeeshwaran had since been a close associate of Castro and aide.
Most astonishing information revealing his hardcore sympathy to the terror outfit is that Jegadeeswaran was the key figure involved in designing and construction of 'military' infrastructure for the LTTE including underground arms depots. He was also the mastermind behind the construction of the well fortified underground mansion built for LTTE chief Prabakaran
The construction work was carried out by the General Engineering Company established by Jegadeeshwaran on the advice of LTTE leadership.
In 2007 he had returned to Sri Lanka to work as a volunteer and initially stayed with relatives in the Tamil stronghold of Kilinochchi.
Meena impersonates Vanni Kumar's stunt appearance at Channel 4:
In the after math of the LTTE's military defeat the LTTE remnants that are spread throughout the globe are seen to organize themselves in a sinister campaign to up hold their Terrorist intentions in more inconspicuous forms such as Human Rights groups, Tamil Solidarity groups etc. They are also seen to be engaged in a parallel campaign targeting Sri Lankan Senior Military officials, diplomats, and government Officers by framing false charges against them.
It has now been identified that to this end, the LTTE remnants have adopted a new pattern where they use former LTTE cadres and supporters to bring discredit to Sri Lankan Officers by framing false charges against them. The newest attempt is been reported from Australia where a case has been filed against the H.E President of Sri Lanka, Sri Lanka's Deputy Representative to UN Maj Gen Shavendra Silva, and Permanent Representative to Sri Lankan High Commissioner to Australia, the former Commander of the Navy, Admiral TSG Samarasinghe.
It is interesting to note that this time the LTTE 'mouth pieces' have selected a character identified as Meena Krishnamoorthy, a lady who claims to be a Sri Lankan Tamil now residing in Australia who has a great talent and love for dancing.
The true face of Meena Navarangi Krishnamoorthy is rather different as revealed by Sri Lankan Intelligence and Law enforcement agencies. Meena Krishnamoorthy alias Eelanadi, went to Australia with her parents as an asylum seeker and later in the year 2004, returned to Sri Lanka, for nothing but to render her assistance to the LTTE, a terrorist organization that is designated by the US Department of State as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) and a banned organization in many countries.
She was a hard-line activist of the Tamil Youth Organisation (TYO), the international youth wing of the LTTE, that functioned under Castro, the international co-ordinator of the LTTE and under the personal supervision of the LTTE leader Vellupillai Prabhakaran. She also received a 06 months military training whilst in the Wanni, of the then LTTE dominated area. She married a fellow terrorist named Irasurathnam Dayakaran alias Kuveran in the year 2007.
While in Sri Lanka she worked under Castro until she was rescued by the Sri Lankan Security Forces during the last stages of the Humanitarian Operation.
Later in 2010 he deserted the Rehabilitation Centre and remains absconding to date. Further Sri Lankan Law Enforcement authorities have been informed by their Australian Counterparts on an inquiry made on Meena Krishnamoorthy, that she has been recorded in Australian indices as a sympathizer of the LTTE.
Australian Law enforcement authorities also confirm these individuals are sympathetic to the terror outfit.
It is evident beyond doubt that the continued efforts of such similar scale by LTTE rump groups and activists are aimed at derailing the reconciliation and rapid development taking place in the North and East, with soliciting international support.
A comprehensive revelation on these LTTE activists and their links with other international LTTE activists and its front organizations will be released in the immediate future.
http://www.defence.lk/new.asp?fname=20111025_05
Federal Attorney General slashes terror sympathizer's stunt targeting Sri Lankan diplomats
Australian Federal Attorney-General Robert McClelland has refused to allow a deliberate propaganda stunt attempt by proxy LTTE fronts targeting the Sri Lankan President.
The president has arrived in Perth for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM).
Arunachalam Jegadeeswaran alias Jeganwaran,63 an Australian based terror activist cum sympathizer earlier filed charges in the Melbourne Magistrates Court against The Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa, claiming civilian targets were bombed in 2009 during Sri Lanka's civil war.
The Sri Lankan Ministry of Defence on August 01st released an official report titled "Humanitarian Operation Factual Analysis July 2006 - May 2009", in the presence of international diplomats and media giving lie to a series of staged misinformation campaigns by LTTE remnant groups.
Accordingly, 11,000 former LTTE cadres have been rehabilitated and reintegrated to the society since the end of the Humanitarian Operation on May 18, 2009.
Mr McClelland's office issued a statement saying he would be in breach of international laws which provide immunity to heads of diplomatic missions if he allowed the case to go ahead.
"Those immunities include personal inviolability including from any form of arrest or detention and immunity from the criminal jurisdiction of the receiving state," a spokesman for Mr McClelland said
Federal Attorney General slashes terror sympathizer's stunt targeting Sri Lankan diplomats
Australian Federal Attorney-General Robert McClelland has refused to allow a deliberate propaganda stunt attempt by proxy LTTE fronts targeting the Sri Lankan President.
The president has arrived in Perth for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM).
Arunachalam Jegadeeswaran alias Jeganwaran,63 an Australian based terror activist cum sympathizer earlier filed charges in the Melbourne Magistrates Court against The Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa, claiming civilian targets were bombed in 2009 during Sri Lanka's civil war.
The Sri Lankan Ministry of Defence on August 01st released an official report titled "Humanitarian Operation Factual Analysis July 2006 - May 2009", in the presence of international diplomats and media giving lie to a series of staged misinformation campaigns by LTTE remnant groups.
Accordingly, 11,000 former LTTE cadres have been rehabilitated and reintegrated to the society since the end of the Humanitarian Operation on May 18, 2009.
Mr McClelland's office issued a statement saying he would be in breach of international laws which provide immunity to heads of diplomatic missions if he allowed the case to go ahead.
"Those immunities include personal inviolability including from any form of arrest or detention and immunity from the criminal jurisdiction of the receiving state," a spokesman for Mr McClelland said
http://www.defence.lk/new.asp?fname=20111025_02
Sri Lanka President attending CHOGM welcomed in Australia
www.defence.lk">President Mahinda Rajapaksa and the Sri Lankan delegation attending the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting arrived at perth International Airport on Monday. The president and First Lady Shiranthi Rajapaksa were welcomed by Senator for Western Australia, Mark Bishop and Membeof Western Australian Parliament Mrs.Elizabeth Behjat at the Airport. D. Frank Crawley, Consul for Western Australia, High Commissioner Admiral Thisara Samarasinghe, Deputy High Commissioner, A.L. Rathnapala were also present.
The Meeting will be held in Perth from 28th to 30th of this month. Heads of Government from 54 countries and about 3000 delegates will attend this Summit, which will be chaired by the Australian Prime Minister Mrs. Julia Gillard.
At this year's meeting of the Commonwealth Heads of Government, it is expected to focus attention on food security, sustainable development and development of the national resources and global challenges being faced by the member countries, challenges of the global economic crisis, and climatic disasters.
The Chairmanship of the Commonwealth is to be handed over to President Mahinda Rajapaksa at this Summit and accordingly Sri Lanka will be hosting the next CHOGM.
The Sri Lankan delegation included Minister of External Affairs Prof. G.L.Peiris, Minister of Sports Mahindananda Aluthgamage, the Deputy Minister of External Affairs Neomal Perera, Parliamentarian Sajin Vas Gunawardene and the Secretary to the President Lalith Weeratunge. (niz)
Sri Lanka President attending CHOGM welcomed in Australia
www.defence.lk">President Mahinda Rajapaksa and the Sri Lankan delegation attending the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting arrived at perth International Airport on Monday. The president and First Lady Shiranthi Rajapaksa were welcomed by Senator for Western Australia, Mark Bishop and Membeof Western Australian Parliament Mrs.Elizabeth Behjat at the Airport. D. Frank Crawley, Consul for Western Australia, High Commissioner Admiral Thisara Samarasinghe, Deputy High Commissioner, A.L. Rathnapala were also present.
The Meeting will be held in Perth from 28th to 30th of this month. Heads of Government from 54 countries and about 3000 delegates will attend this Summit, which will be chaired by the Australian Prime Minister Mrs. Julia Gillard.
At this year's meeting of the Commonwealth Heads of Government, it is expected to focus attention on food security, sustainable development and development of the national resources and global challenges being faced by the member countries, challenges of the global economic crisis, and climatic disasters.
The Chairmanship of the Commonwealth is to be handed over to President Mahinda Rajapaksa at this Summit and accordingly Sri Lanka will be hosting the next CHOGM.
The Sri Lankan delegation included Minister of External Affairs Prof. G.L.Peiris, Minister of Sports Mahindananda Aluthgamage, the Deputy Minister of External Affairs Neomal Perera, Parliamentarian Sajin Vas Gunawardene and the Secretary to the President Lalith Weeratunge. (niz)
http://www.defence.lk/new.asp?fname=20111025_01
ABC follows Ch-4 into Gaffe-land
The latest round of international LTTE misinformation and derogation propaganda against President Mahinda Rajapaksa and the Sri Lanka armed forces, a cooked up documentary on the ABC TV channel, Australia to coincide with the visit of the President to that country, has proved a hoax.
The truth behind the ABC Channel's recent documentary over alleged war crimes in Sri Lanka has been exposed. The documentary by the ABC was based on an alleged eyewitness Meena, who says that she witnessed the massacre of civilians and armed forces attacking hospitals with cannon fire. It has levelled war crime charges against the President, Permanent Representative for UN Dr. Palitha Kohona and the Lanka High Commissioner for Australia, Admiral Thisara Samarasinghe.
Meena was an LTTE cadre who is portrayed in the documentary as a civilian Australian national who had come to Sri Lanka during the war to learn Tamil which happens to be her mother tongue.
A number of defence personnel and political commentators are of the view that it was diabolically fabricated and designed as propaganda for the defeated LTTE terrorist outfit. Sri Lankan military has information to prove that she was a LTTE cadre who served in Castro's office and that she had undergone military training.
Defence Intelligence sources said they believed that the documentary had been produced aiming at the next Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Perth, Western Australia, from October 28, which President Rajapaksa will attend.
Military sources have found all the details of the so-called eye witness proving Meena was not an innocent civilian but an identified LTTE cadre who actively worked for the terror outfit. At the final phase of the humanitarian operation by the Sri Lankan forces, she had managed to get shelter at an IDP camp in Vavuniya and later had left for Australia as she had connections there.
Political commentators have repeatedly pointed out that knowingly or unknowingly international NGOs as well as some well known media organizations are still supporting the
LTTE overseas rump's propaganda around the world. They also stressed that their ultimate effort is to badly tarnish Sri Lanka with such malicious propaganda.
It is opined that this is only another step of tarnishing the Sri Lanka government like ex LTTE cadre Ramesh's wife Vathsala Devi filing a case against the Deputy Permanent Representative of UN Major General Shavendra Silva and former LTTE activist Vani Kumar's false story on Channel 4 documentary which the Sri Lankan government debunked with another video named 'Lies Agreed Upon'.
According to military intelligence, the so-called eye witness's full name is Krishnamoorthy Navarangi Meena and Eelanadee is the code name given her by the LTTE terror outfit. She was born on October 30, 1982 at Velvettithurai, the hometown of Prabhakaran. She had received her education in Australia and has received citizenship also. She arrived in Sri Lanka in 2004 to conduct a research study.
During her visit, she had met LTTE's International Propaganda, Procurement and Fundraising Unit Head Castro and joined the outfit and had undergone military training for six months in an LTTE base in Muthaiyankaddu. She was attached to the LTTE's female infantry regiment Malithi and attached to the LTTE's International Division functioning under Castro as she was fluent in English. She married LTTE cadre Kuberan (Irasarathnam Thayakaran) in 2007. The LTTE had sent her to South Africa to follow a course on law and again to Malaysia for some LTTE work.
She was pregnant in 2008 and registered for the delivery in Ponnambalam Hospital in Wanni used only for providing treatment for LTTE cadres. She had given birth to a still-born. ABC has insinuated that this unfortunate eventuality was an outcome of shelling in the area. At that time there were no military operations in the area, a fact well-known to UN agencies, INGOs and others working in the area.
When the humanitarian operations by Sri Lankan forces concluded, she had concealed her LTTE identity and moved to an IDP Centre in Vavuniya and later had left to Australia. Her husband Kuberan, a wanted senior LTTE cadre, had surrendered to the Sri Lanka Armed Forces on May 16, 2009 but had managed to escape from a rehabilitation centre.
Analysts who have thoroughly examined her statement in the documentary ask why she does not name the hospitals or at least the area which she witnessed attacks by the Government forces. She also fails to mention where she saw the massacre of civilians by Sri Lankan forces. . She says that she worked in an orphanage but the place or name of the orphanage is not given. Although she claims her husband was a civil administrator, but he has an identified LTTE combatant who participated in the LTTE Peace Talks Delegation too.
Courtesy: The Nation
ABC follows Ch-4 into Gaffe-land
The latest round of international LTTE misinformation and derogation propaganda against President Mahinda Rajapaksa and the Sri Lanka armed forces, a cooked up documentary on the ABC TV channel, Australia to coincide with the visit of the President to that country, has proved a hoax.
The truth behind the ABC Channel's recent documentary over alleged war crimes in Sri Lanka has been exposed. The documentary by the ABC was based on an alleged eyewitness Meena, who says that she witnessed the massacre of civilians and armed forces attacking hospitals with cannon fire. It has levelled war crime charges against the President, Permanent Representative for UN Dr. Palitha Kohona and the Lanka High Commissioner for Australia, Admiral Thisara Samarasinghe.
Meena was an LTTE cadre who is portrayed in the documentary as a civilian Australian national who had come to Sri Lanka during the war to learn Tamil which happens to be her mother tongue.
A number of defence personnel and political commentators are of the view that it was diabolically fabricated and designed as propaganda for the defeated LTTE terrorist outfit. Sri Lankan military has information to prove that she was a LTTE cadre who served in Castro's office and that she had undergone military training.
Defence Intelligence sources said they believed that the documentary had been produced aiming at the next Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Perth, Western Australia, from October 28, which President Rajapaksa will attend.
Military sources have found all the details of the so-called eye witness proving Meena was not an innocent civilian but an identified LTTE cadre who actively worked for the terror outfit. At the final phase of the humanitarian operation by the Sri Lankan forces, she had managed to get shelter at an IDP camp in Vavuniya and later had left for Australia as she had connections there.
Political commentators have repeatedly pointed out that knowingly or unknowingly international NGOs as well as some well known media organizations are still supporting the
LTTE overseas rump's propaganda around the world. They also stressed that their ultimate effort is to badly tarnish Sri Lanka with such malicious propaganda.
It is opined that this is only another step of tarnishing the Sri Lanka government like ex LTTE cadre Ramesh's wife Vathsala Devi filing a case against the Deputy Permanent Representative of UN Major General Shavendra Silva and former LTTE activist Vani Kumar's false story on Channel 4 documentary which the Sri Lankan government debunked with another video named 'Lies Agreed Upon'.
According to military intelligence, the so-called eye witness's full name is Krishnamoorthy Navarangi Meena and Eelanadee is the code name given her by the LTTE terror outfit. She was born on October 30, 1982 at Velvettithurai, the hometown of Prabhakaran. She had received her education in Australia and has received citizenship also. She arrived in Sri Lanka in 2004 to conduct a research study.
During her visit, she had met LTTE's International Propaganda, Procurement and Fundraising Unit Head Castro and joined the outfit and had undergone military training for six months in an LTTE base in Muthaiyankaddu. She was attached to the LTTE's female infantry regiment Malithi and attached to the LTTE's International Division functioning under Castro as she was fluent in English. She married LTTE cadre Kuberan (Irasarathnam Thayakaran) in 2007. The LTTE had sent her to South Africa to follow a course on law and again to Malaysia for some LTTE work.
She was pregnant in 2008 and registered for the delivery in Ponnambalam Hospital in Wanni used only for providing treatment for LTTE cadres. She had given birth to a still-born. ABC has insinuated that this unfortunate eventuality was an outcome of shelling in the area. At that time there were no military operations in the area, a fact well-known to UN agencies, INGOs and others working in the area.
When the humanitarian operations by Sri Lankan forces concluded, she had concealed her LTTE identity and moved to an IDP Centre in Vavuniya and later had left to Australia. Her husband Kuberan, a wanted senior LTTE cadre, had surrendered to the Sri Lanka Armed Forces on May 16, 2009 but had managed to escape from a rehabilitation centre.
Analysts who have thoroughly examined her statement in the documentary ask why she does not name the hospitals or at least the area which she witnessed attacks by the Government forces. She also fails to mention where she saw the massacre of civilians by Sri Lankan forces. . She says that she worked in an orphanage but the place or name of the orphanage is not given. Although she claims her husband was a civil administrator, but he has an identified LTTE combatant who participated in the LTTE Peace Talks Delegation too.
Courtesy: The Nation
http://www.defence.lk/new.asp?fname=20111025_03
The light of a new freedom More ex-LTTE cadres reintegrated
Another batch of 367 ex-LTTE cadres who have undergone a two-year rehabilitation program will be reintegrated into society today (Oct. 25).
This takes place a day before the Hindu religious festival of Deepavali or the festival of light celebrated by Hindus the world over.
The rehabilitated former members of the LTTE are handed over to their close relations by Prime Minister D. M. Jayaratne at Ramakrishna hall, Wellawatta.
These cadres have been given vocational training during the rehabilitation program. They were provided training in masonry, carpentry, tailoring, agriculture, motor mechanism, computer proficiency and handicrafts.
During and immediately after the final phase of the Humanitarian Operation 11,700 LTTE cadres surrendered to government security forces.
The government has allocated Rs.750 million for the rehabilitation process and so for this year and has spent Rs.2.5 billion on the rehabilitation of ex-LTTE cadres since the conclusion of the humanitarian operation in May 2009.
Courtesy: President's media
The light of a new freedom More ex-LTTE cadres reintegrated
Another batch of 367 ex-LTTE cadres who have undergone a two-year rehabilitation program will be reintegrated into society today (Oct. 25).
This takes place a day before the Hindu religious festival of Deepavali or the festival of light celebrated by Hindus the world over.
The rehabilitated former members of the LTTE are handed over to their close relations by Prime Minister D. M. Jayaratne at Ramakrishna hall, Wellawatta.
These cadres have been given vocational training during the rehabilitation program. They were provided training in masonry, carpentry, tailoring, agriculture, motor mechanism, computer proficiency and handicrafts.
During and immediately after the final phase of the Humanitarian Operation 11,700 LTTE cadres surrendered to government security forces.
The government has allocated Rs.750 million for the rehabilitation process and so for this year and has spent Rs.2.5 billion on the rehabilitation of ex-LTTE cadres since the conclusion of the humanitarian operation in May 2009.
Courtesy: President's media
http://www.colombopage.com/archive_11B/Oct25_1319561793CH.php
* President receives warm welcome from Sri Lankans in Australia, meets Australian FM Tue, Oct 25, 2011, 10:26 pm SL Time, ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka.
Oct 25, Colombo: In a move to show solidarity against anti-Sri Lankan elements, Sri Lankan expatriates in Australia today extended a warm welcome to their visiting President Mahinda Rajapaksa and the First Lady Shiranthi Rajapaksa.
Thousands of Sri Lankans of Sinhala, Tamil, Muslim and Burgher gathered at the Winthrop Hall of University of Western Australia in Perth to welcome the Sri Lankan President who is in the country to participate in the 22nd Summit of the Commonwealth Heads of Governments Meeting (CHOGM).
Addressing the gathering, the President praised the Australian Government for nonexistence of protests from pro-LTTE elements in Australia although he had to face such protests when he visited some western countries recently.
External Affairs Minister, Prof. G.L. Peiris, Sports Minister Mahindananda Aluthgamage, Secretary to the President, Lalith Weeratunga Parliamentarian Sajin Vass Gunawardena and Sri Lanka's High Commissioner Admiral (Retd.) Thisara Samarasinghe participated in the occasion.
The President also met Australia's Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd and discussed the present situation in Sri Lanka and government�s plans to develop the north and to achieve a political solution to the ethnic question
* President receives warm welcome from Sri Lankans in Australia, meets Australian FM Tue, Oct 25, 2011, 10:26 pm SL Time, ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka.
Oct 25, Colombo: In a move to show solidarity against anti-Sri Lankan elements, Sri Lankan expatriates in Australia today extended a warm welcome to their visiting President Mahinda Rajapaksa and the First Lady Shiranthi Rajapaksa.
Thousands of Sri Lankans of Sinhala, Tamil, Muslim and Burgher gathered at the Winthrop Hall of University of Western Australia in Perth to welcome the Sri Lankan President who is in the country to participate in the 22nd Summit of the Commonwealth Heads of Governments Meeting (CHOGM).
Addressing the gathering, the President praised the Australian Government for nonexistence of protests from pro-LTTE elements in Australia although he had to face such protests when he visited some western countries recently.
External Affairs Minister, Prof. G.L. Peiris, Sports Minister Mahindananda Aluthgamage, Secretary to the President, Lalith Weeratunga Parliamentarian Sajin Vass Gunawardena and Sri Lanka's High Commissioner Admiral (Retd.) Thisara Samarasinghe participated in the occasion.
The President also met Australia's Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd and discussed the present situation in Sri Lanka and government�s plans to develop the north and to achieve a political solution to the ethnic question
http://www.island.lk/index.php?page_cat=article-details&page=article-details&code_title=37692
Post-war relations:
MR praises Dutch action against the LTTEby Shamindra Ferdinando in PerthPresident Mahinda Rajapaksa yesterday evening urged the international community to follow the Dutch example in dealing with the LTTE seeking to destabilise Sri Lanka.Addressing a section of the Sri Lankan community based in Australia at the Winthrop Hall in Perth, Western Australia,
President Rajapaksa said that there couldn’t be a better recent example than the way the Netherlands had dealt with those raising funds to cause death and destruction in Sri Lanka.Commending the action taken by the Netherlands government, the President said that a court in the Hague last Friday sentenced five Sri Lankans to six years in prison for helping finance the LTTE.All five men — who now have Dutch citizenship — were accused of raising funds for the LTTE by extorting money from the Lankan Tamil Diaspora in the Netherlands.The men were charged with overseeing an international criminal and terrorist organisation involved in arson, bombings and murder. The prosecutors had demanded sentences of up to 20 years in prison.Sri Lanka recently allowed investigators from the Netherlands to inquire into LTTE operations and went to the extent of giving them access to Kumaran Pathmanathan alias KP, one time arms procurer for the organization and the senior most LTTE member currently in custody.Explaining the circumstances leading to the eelam war IV, the President said that the LTTE had ignored his offer for negotiations in November 2005 and initiated a major ground war in the East. "Today I’m being targeted both at home and abroad for eradicating terrorism, thereby restoring peace in the country torn apart by violence for over three decades," he said.Commenting on the recent attempts by the LTTE to move the US and Australian judiciary against the government of Sri Lanka over accountability issues, the Sri Lankan Leader said that those who still pursued the LTTE bid to divide the country on ethnic lines in spite of losing its conventional military capability were targeting him. The LTTE was trying to cause a rift between his government and the international community. It was nothing but a part of their overall strategy to isolate post-war Sri Lanka.The President thanked the Australiam government for thwarting an LTTE attempt to cause trouble.Thanking the Sri Lankan community in Australia for meeting the LTTE’s propaganda challenge, the President urged Sri Lankans living all over the world to unite against the on going efforts to cause fresh tensions among the communities.
Post-war relations:
MR praises Dutch action against the LTTEby Shamindra Ferdinando in PerthPresident Mahinda Rajapaksa yesterday evening urged the international community to follow the Dutch example in dealing with the LTTE seeking to destabilise Sri Lanka.Addressing a section of the Sri Lankan community based in Australia at the Winthrop Hall in Perth, Western Australia,
President Rajapaksa said that there couldn’t be a better recent example than the way the Netherlands had dealt with those raising funds to cause death and destruction in Sri Lanka.Commending the action taken by the Netherlands government, the President said that a court in the Hague last Friday sentenced five Sri Lankans to six years in prison for helping finance the LTTE.All five men — who now have Dutch citizenship — were accused of raising funds for the LTTE by extorting money from the Lankan Tamil Diaspora in the Netherlands.The men were charged with overseeing an international criminal and terrorist organisation involved in arson, bombings and murder. The prosecutors had demanded sentences of up to 20 years in prison.Sri Lanka recently allowed investigators from the Netherlands to inquire into LTTE operations and went to the extent of giving them access to Kumaran Pathmanathan alias KP, one time arms procurer for the organization and the senior most LTTE member currently in custody.Explaining the circumstances leading to the eelam war IV, the President said that the LTTE had ignored his offer for negotiations in November 2005 and initiated a major ground war in the East. "Today I’m being targeted both at home and abroad for eradicating terrorism, thereby restoring peace in the country torn apart by violence for over three decades," he said.Commenting on the recent attempts by the LTTE to move the US and Australian judiciary against the government of Sri Lanka over accountability issues, the Sri Lankan Leader said that those who still pursued the LTTE bid to divide the country on ethnic lines in spite of losing its conventional military capability were targeting him. The LTTE was trying to cause a rift between his government and the international community. It was nothing but a part of their overall strategy to isolate post-war Sri Lanka.The President thanked the Australiam government for thwarting an LTTE attempt to cause trouble.Thanking the Sri Lankan community in Australia for meeting the LTTE’s propaganda challenge, the President urged Sri Lankans living all over the world to unite against the on going efforts to cause fresh tensions among the communities.
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
http://rajivawijesinha.wordpress.com/2011/10/18/the-irresistible-attack-on-liam-fox/#more-3754
The irresistible attack on Liam Fox
October 18, 2011 in Post-Conflict Challenges Tags: Channel 4, House of Commons, Liam Fox, Lies Agreed Upon, Sri Lanka Guardian
Liam Fox (centre) with Adam Werritty (right) and Colombo politician Ravi Karunanayake pictured in Sri Lanka in 2009
Liam Fox has been the subject of much criticism, and some of it seems to relate to possible financial benefits to Adam Werrity, his former flat-mate. If indeed it turns out that Werrity has benefited from business deals through Fox’s influence, or that he has been funded by British tax-payers, then I presume such criticism is deserved.
I have been astonished however by other aspects of the hounding of Fox that have to do with Sri Lanka. I was alerted to this by Jason Burke of the Guardian, who called me up from Sri Lanka, where he now is, to ask about Fox. He seemed to assume that I would know about Fox’s visits to Sri Lanka, or perhaps it was only that I tend to answer questions and would provide good copy for a journalist. Unfortunately I could not help him since I met Liam Fox only once, and that four years ago when he came to see me soon after I became head of the Peace Secretariat. This was in the context of his having brokered several years previously what was known as the Liam Fox agreement, between President Chandrika Kumaratunga and Leader of the Opposition Ranil Wickremesinghe.
Though the agreement was no longer a reality, it seemed that Fox was still interested in contributing to peace in Sri Lanka, and I thought his commitment genuine. However, though I tried once or twice, I was not able to see him when I visited England, and unfortunately I missed his Lakshman Kadirgamar talk earlier this year, since I was abroad.
Jason Burke’s questions however ranged far and wide. He asked me if I knew of a Trust Fund, which he believed Fox had set up soon after the defeat of the LTTE, to assist in rebuilding the North. I had not heard of this, but told Jason that I had not been involved in that programme, but he should talk to the Secretary of the Presidential Task Force, Mr Divaratne. Then the questioning got stranger, since I was asked if I knew about Bell Pottinger, and whether they had any connection with Fox. Since I had worked with Bell Pottinger for about a year, when they were handling public relations with regard to Britain, I knew the firm, but had to tell him that they had not mentioned Fox at all in my presence – nor Adam Werrity, since that was his next question.
It was then that I remembered that I had first seen questions about Werrity in the Guardian, and it had had a picture of both of them in Sri Lanka on the occasion of the Kadirgamar Lecture. I asked Jason then whether he knew who had sent the Guardian that picture, and he immediately responded to the effect that he understood what I meant and thought it a relevant question. I suggested that he do some research into that, which he seemed to agree should be done.
Soon after he put the phone down, I came across an email which tied Fox to a programme I was to participate in the following day at the House of Commons. This was a screening of ‘Lies Agreed Upon’, the film produced by government to refute what Channel 4 had shown about Sri Lanka. The email carried an article that had appeared that day (October 11th) in the Sri Lanka Guardian which claimed that a decision had been made suddenly by our High Commissioner, Dr Nonis, to restrict the programme ‘to MPs and peers only’.
The article went on to say that the programme was being kept under wraps except by the SL Guardian and that ‘Channel 4 news who had featured the “Sri Lanka Killing Fields” documentary have also very reluctantly decided to avoid carrying this story due to political pressures from above. The Sri Lankan High Commission have successfully managed to covertly have pressure applied to them via their sources linked to Dr. Liam Fox and his associates at number 10 Downing Street’.
This gratuition juxtaposition of Channel 4 and Dr Fox (along with associates at 10 Downing Street), neither of whom had anything to do with the programme arranged in the House of Commons, seemed to me to confirm that the LTTE rump was one source at least of the attack on Dr Fox. I accordingly sent Jason a copy of the email.
A few minutes later the telephone rang. It was a lady called Polly Curtis from the Guardian in London. Jason had evidently contacted her, but I cannot be sure whether it was because of the email I had sent him or not. She asked more questions about Dr Fox and Bell Pottinger, which surprised me since I had not thought there was a connection between them, and all Jason had told me was that Bell Pottinger was close to the Conservative Party and its head, Tim Bell, was a friend of Fox. Polly however went further and told me that she believed Adam Werrity had attended meetings Bell Pottinger had had with Sri Lankan officials. She seemed to think this had happened in London.
She also wanted to know about Bell Pottinger’s involvement in the meeting at the House of Commons. I told her there was none, but then she told me that it had been alleged by the SL Guardian that they were behind that. It turned out then that there had been an earlier story about the meeting, and that the SL Guardian had claimed on October 10th that ‘The High Commission has decided to keep the meeting secret from the Tamils having dealings with them, fearing news will leak out and cause problems. The newly appointed High Commissioner Dr Nonis and his assistant Mr Amsa are said to be using the expertise of government’s PR guru Bell Pottinger and the controversial All Party Parliamentary Group Head Lord Nesabit to secretly hold this meeting’.
This was astonishing, and I suggested to Polly that she would do well to investigate the source of these strange allegations that were clearly intended to denigrate the High Commission. The fact that on the following day Dr Fox was also connected to the meeting in the Commons lends further strength to the belief that the pro-LTTE lobby are doing their best to rouse suspicions against Dr Fox and Sri Lanka together.
Sure enough, a few minutes later, Polly sent an email to the High Commission with some questions relating to the meeting, notably to ask why it was restricted and why Tamils had been upset. I called her and said that the restriction was because it was intended to address the questions that had been raised during the recent debate on Sri Lanka in the House, and we hoped that MPs and representatives of think tanks who would have an informed view would attend. Both Sinhalese and Tamils who had attended previous meetings on other topics had been left out, but the High Commission planned to have further screenings, including for the media. Polly’s final question was about the involvement of Bell Pottinger, as to which there was none, the original idea having come from a member of the Sri Lankan Liberal Party now living in Britain.
Whether Polly or Jason will look into the source and purpose behind some of the allegations remains to be seen. But meanwhile Channel 4 has true to form done what the Tigers want, in an article headlined ‘Liam Fox friend accused over Sri Lanka arms deal’. Will the Guardian follow suit, or will it go deeper into the question and find out what has been happening to ensure such intense pressure against Dr Fox?
The irresistible attack on Liam Fox
October 18, 2011 in Post-Conflict Challenges Tags: Channel 4, House of Commons, Liam Fox, Lies Agreed Upon, Sri Lanka Guardian
Liam Fox (centre) with Adam Werritty (right) and Colombo politician Ravi Karunanayake pictured in Sri Lanka in 2009
Liam Fox has been the subject of much criticism, and some of it seems to relate to possible financial benefits to Adam Werrity, his former flat-mate. If indeed it turns out that Werrity has benefited from business deals through Fox’s influence, or that he has been funded by British tax-payers, then I presume such criticism is deserved.
I have been astonished however by other aspects of the hounding of Fox that have to do with Sri Lanka. I was alerted to this by Jason Burke of the Guardian, who called me up from Sri Lanka, where he now is, to ask about Fox. He seemed to assume that I would know about Fox’s visits to Sri Lanka, or perhaps it was only that I tend to answer questions and would provide good copy for a journalist. Unfortunately I could not help him since I met Liam Fox only once, and that four years ago when he came to see me soon after I became head of the Peace Secretariat. This was in the context of his having brokered several years previously what was known as the Liam Fox agreement, between President Chandrika Kumaratunga and Leader of the Opposition Ranil Wickremesinghe.
Though the agreement was no longer a reality, it seemed that Fox was still interested in contributing to peace in Sri Lanka, and I thought his commitment genuine. However, though I tried once or twice, I was not able to see him when I visited England, and unfortunately I missed his Lakshman Kadirgamar talk earlier this year, since I was abroad.
Jason Burke’s questions however ranged far and wide. He asked me if I knew of a Trust Fund, which he believed Fox had set up soon after the defeat of the LTTE, to assist in rebuilding the North. I had not heard of this, but told Jason that I had not been involved in that programme, but he should talk to the Secretary of the Presidential Task Force, Mr Divaratne. Then the questioning got stranger, since I was asked if I knew about Bell Pottinger, and whether they had any connection with Fox. Since I had worked with Bell Pottinger for about a year, when they were handling public relations with regard to Britain, I knew the firm, but had to tell him that they had not mentioned Fox at all in my presence – nor Adam Werrity, since that was his next question.
It was then that I remembered that I had first seen questions about Werrity in the Guardian, and it had had a picture of both of them in Sri Lanka on the occasion of the Kadirgamar Lecture. I asked Jason then whether he knew who had sent the Guardian that picture, and he immediately responded to the effect that he understood what I meant and thought it a relevant question. I suggested that he do some research into that, which he seemed to agree should be done.
Soon after he put the phone down, I came across an email which tied Fox to a programme I was to participate in the following day at the House of Commons. This was a screening of ‘Lies Agreed Upon’, the film produced by government to refute what Channel 4 had shown about Sri Lanka. The email carried an article that had appeared that day (October 11th) in the Sri Lanka Guardian which claimed that a decision had been made suddenly by our High Commissioner, Dr Nonis, to restrict the programme ‘to MPs and peers only’.
The article went on to say that the programme was being kept under wraps except by the SL Guardian and that ‘Channel 4 news who had featured the “Sri Lanka Killing Fields” documentary have also very reluctantly decided to avoid carrying this story due to political pressures from above. The Sri Lankan High Commission have successfully managed to covertly have pressure applied to them via their sources linked to Dr. Liam Fox and his associates at number 10 Downing Street’.
This gratuition juxtaposition of Channel 4 and Dr Fox (along with associates at 10 Downing Street), neither of whom had anything to do with the programme arranged in the House of Commons, seemed to me to confirm that the LTTE rump was one source at least of the attack on Dr Fox. I accordingly sent Jason a copy of the email.
A few minutes later the telephone rang. It was a lady called Polly Curtis from the Guardian in London. Jason had evidently contacted her, but I cannot be sure whether it was because of the email I had sent him or not. She asked more questions about Dr Fox and Bell Pottinger, which surprised me since I had not thought there was a connection between them, and all Jason had told me was that Bell Pottinger was close to the Conservative Party and its head, Tim Bell, was a friend of Fox. Polly however went further and told me that she believed Adam Werrity had attended meetings Bell Pottinger had had with Sri Lankan officials. She seemed to think this had happened in London.
She also wanted to know about Bell Pottinger’s involvement in the meeting at the House of Commons. I told her there was none, but then she told me that it had been alleged by the SL Guardian that they were behind that. It turned out then that there had been an earlier story about the meeting, and that the SL Guardian had claimed on October 10th that ‘The High Commission has decided to keep the meeting secret from the Tamils having dealings with them, fearing news will leak out and cause problems. The newly appointed High Commissioner Dr Nonis and his assistant Mr Amsa are said to be using the expertise of government’s PR guru Bell Pottinger and the controversial All Party Parliamentary Group Head Lord Nesabit to secretly hold this meeting’.
This was astonishing, and I suggested to Polly that she would do well to investigate the source of these strange allegations that were clearly intended to denigrate the High Commission. The fact that on the following day Dr Fox was also connected to the meeting in the Commons lends further strength to the belief that the pro-LTTE lobby are doing their best to rouse suspicions against Dr Fox and Sri Lanka together.
Sure enough, a few minutes later, Polly sent an email to the High Commission with some questions relating to the meeting, notably to ask why it was restricted and why Tamils had been upset. I called her and said that the restriction was because it was intended to address the questions that had been raised during the recent debate on Sri Lanka in the House, and we hoped that MPs and representatives of think tanks who would have an informed view would attend. Both Sinhalese and Tamils who had attended previous meetings on other topics had been left out, but the High Commission planned to have further screenings, including for the media. Polly’s final question was about the involvement of Bell Pottinger, as to which there was none, the original idea having come from a member of the Sri Lankan Liberal Party now living in Britain.
Whether Polly or Jason will look into the source and purpose behind some of the allegations remains to be seen. But meanwhile Channel 4 has true to form done what the Tigers want, in an article headlined ‘Liam Fox friend accused over Sri Lanka arms deal’. Will the Guardian follow suit, or will it go deeper into the question and find out what has been happening to ensure such intense pressure against Dr Fox?
Monday, October 24, 2011
http://www.news.lk/news/sri-lanka/582-defence-secretary-warns-of-ltte-re-emergence
Defence Secretary warns of LTTE re-emergence
Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapakse has emphasized that no room should be left to nullify the freedom accorded to the country by the war heroes by eliminating tiger terrorism. He has said that pro-LTTE elements are still attempting to spread wrong opinions within the country and re-group once again. He has emphasized that these attempts should also be defeated.
The Defence Secretary made these comments at the function held to open the Security Service Headquarters in Kilinochchi last Friday. The government has spent Rs. 40 million for establishing this security service headquarters, the construction work of which was handled by the Sri Lankan army and completed within a short period of 9 months.
The Defence Secretary speaking at this function further said that the majority of the LTTE combatants who surrendered have already been rehabilitated and socialized. However, there could be some combatants living among the people without surrendering and there are some of them who have fled to foreign countries and protected by the Diaspora in the overseas countries. He pointed out that there is a possibility of them re-grouping once again, with the help of international elements and creating a situation as was in 1970s. The Defence Secretary assured that every step will be taken to prevent the emergence of such a situation. (niz)
Defence Secretary warns of LTTE re-emergence
Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapakse has emphasized that no room should be left to nullify the freedom accorded to the country by the war heroes by eliminating tiger terrorism. He has said that pro-LTTE elements are still attempting to spread wrong opinions within the country and re-group once again. He has emphasized that these attempts should also be defeated.
The Defence Secretary made these comments at the function held to open the Security Service Headquarters in Kilinochchi last Friday. The government has spent Rs. 40 million for establishing this security service headquarters, the construction work of which was handled by the Sri Lankan army and completed within a short period of 9 months.
The Defence Secretary speaking at this function further said that the majority of the LTTE combatants who surrendered have already been rehabilitated and socialized. However, there could be some combatants living among the people without surrendering and there are some of them who have fled to foreign countries and protected by the Diaspora in the overseas countries. He pointed out that there is a possibility of them re-grouping once again, with the help of international elements and creating a situation as was in 1970s. The Defence Secretary assured that every step will be taken to prevent the emergence of such a situation. (niz)
http://www.defence.lk/new.asp?fname=20111021_02
"All time surveillance on remaining tigers vital" says Secretary Defence at Kilinochchi SFHQ opening
www.defence.lk">The new Security Forces Headquarters Complex at Kilinochchi (SFHQ-KLN), comprised of an air-conditioned conference hall plus a separate auditorium, administrative offices, computer and signal room, mess hall and a few other wings was ceremonially opened on Friday (21) morning and handed over to the use of War Heroes serving Kilinochchi sector.
At the invitation of the Commander of the Army Lieutenant General Jagath Jayasuriya, Mr Gotabaya Rajapaksa, Secretary Defence as Chief Guest attended the ceremonial opening where the visiting Secretary Defence was greeted with a military Guard Turn Out plus a Guard of Honour before commencement of the day?s proceedings.
The Chief Guest, accompanied by Commander of the Army and Commander, SFHQ-KLN, lit the traditional oil lamp and warmed the new complex symbolically after entering it at the auspicious minute. The visiting guests afterwards looked around the complex and received a full account on all administrative procedures.
In addition to those perished, pockets of LTTE terrorists were arrested and some surrendered during the humanitarian operations in these areas. Similarly, some escaped capture in Sri Lanka. Those LTTE men as well as the Diaspora have teamed up together and are working hard to destabilize the country and resurrect their ruthless organization. Because of these concerns, Military Intelligence Corps had to be increased to 6 battalions from the original 1-2 battalions. The surveillance therefore has to be sustained at all times, so said Mr Rajapaksa delivering a brief address to the gathering of all ranks and other invitees.
Nestled on the banks of the famous Iranamadu reservoir, the new Headquarters premises, boasts a nicely-done ground for physical training, plus a sports complex. The entire construction, including the state of the art modern conference hall cost the Army a total of about Rs 40.6 million.
Labour for the entire construction and landscape design expertise were provided by troops of the 11 and 15 Engineer Service Regiments, 6 Field Engineers and hundreds of troops serving the SFHQ-KLN, on the instructions of Major General Nandana Udawatta, Commander, SFHQ-KLN under whose direction the new SFHQ-KLN became a reality within a matter of about 8 months after the first sod was cut in early February, this year.
Kilinochchi, one of the ancient cities in the north remained a vibrant commercial hub until Tiger terrorists encroached on it and set up its de-facto separate utopian state, a few decades ago before they were vanquished in May 2009.
"All time surveillance on remaining tigers vital" says Secretary Defence at Kilinochchi SFHQ opening
www.defence.lk">The new Security Forces Headquarters Complex at Kilinochchi (SFHQ-KLN), comprised of an air-conditioned conference hall plus a separate auditorium, administrative offices, computer and signal room, mess hall and a few other wings was ceremonially opened on Friday (21) morning and handed over to the use of War Heroes serving Kilinochchi sector.
At the invitation of the Commander of the Army Lieutenant General Jagath Jayasuriya, Mr Gotabaya Rajapaksa, Secretary Defence as Chief Guest attended the ceremonial opening where the visiting Secretary Defence was greeted with a military Guard Turn Out plus a Guard of Honour before commencement of the day?s proceedings.
The Chief Guest, accompanied by Commander of the Army and Commander, SFHQ-KLN, lit the traditional oil lamp and warmed the new complex symbolically after entering it at the auspicious minute. The visiting guests afterwards looked around the complex and received a full account on all administrative procedures.
In addition to those perished, pockets of LTTE terrorists were arrested and some surrendered during the humanitarian operations in these areas. Similarly, some escaped capture in Sri Lanka. Those LTTE men as well as the Diaspora have teamed up together and are working hard to destabilize the country and resurrect their ruthless organization. Because of these concerns, Military Intelligence Corps had to be increased to 6 battalions from the original 1-2 battalions. The surveillance therefore has to be sustained at all times, so said Mr Rajapaksa delivering a brief address to the gathering of all ranks and other invitees.
Nestled on the banks of the famous Iranamadu reservoir, the new Headquarters premises, boasts a nicely-done ground for physical training, plus a sports complex. The entire construction, including the state of the art modern conference hall cost the Army a total of about Rs 40.6 million.
Labour for the entire construction and landscape design expertise were provided by troops of the 11 and 15 Engineer Service Regiments, 6 Field Engineers and hundreds of troops serving the SFHQ-KLN, on the instructions of Major General Nandana Udawatta, Commander, SFHQ-KLN under whose direction the new SFHQ-KLN became a reality within a matter of about 8 months after the first sod was cut in early February, this year.
Kilinochchi, one of the ancient cities in the north remained a vibrant commercial hub until Tiger terrorists encroached on it and set up its de-facto separate utopian state, a few decades ago before they were vanquished in May 2009.
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