Sri Lanka's peace broker Norway on Wednesday held a crucial meeting with a top rebel negotiator in London. \n
With the Sri Lankan forces poised to capture the remaining strongholds of the Lankan Tigers of Tamil Eelam, India on Thursday told Colombo to ensure the safety of the Tamil civilians who are caught in the war zone in the north of the island. External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee also asked the LTTE to allow civilians in the areas held by it to cross over to the safe zones of the Sri Lankan government
The four accused are--Karunakaran Kandasamy also known as Karuna; Pratheepan Thavaraja also known as Raja Pratheepan, Thambi Sampras and Steeban; Murugesu Vinayagamoorthy also known as Dr Moorthy and Vinayagamoorthy Murugesu; and Vijayshanthar Patpanathan also known as Chandru.
Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa has promised the United Nations that his forces would protect Tamil civilians as it pushes ahead with its offensive to defeat the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam. Rajapaksa gave this assurance over telephone to UN Secretary General Ban ki Moon, as his forces overran the last base of the sea Tigers near Mulaittivu, cutting off all their escape routes.
The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam has done much damage to the Tamil community in Sri Lanka, External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee told the Lok Sabha on Wednesday.
Over 6,000 Tamil youths, including 1,000 women, have responded to a recruitment drive for the ethnic community in the former Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam stronghold Jaffna for the first time in three-decades.
The counter-terrorism investigation team in London and Wales has arrested three men for allegedly funding the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam in Sri Lanka. The arrests were made in connection with allegations that money, equipment and weapon manuals had been stock-piled for use by the Tamil Tigers separatists. All three men were arrested on suspicion of the commission, preparation or instigation of acts of terrorism and have been transferred to a high security jail.
The Times accessed confidential United Nations documents that record nearly 7000 civilian deaths in the no-fire zone up till the end of April. UN sources told the paper that the toll surged from this point onwards, and an average of 1000 civilians were killed each day till May 19, the day after the LTTE supremo V Prabhakaran himself was killed by the armed forces
Making a final push to overrun the last patch of territory held by Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, Sri Lankan forces on Wednesday pushed deeper, capturing six kilometres of the 18 km 'No Fire Zone' as thousands of trapped Tamils civilians continued to flee the northern war zone.
The Obama administration continues to be gravely concerned over the plight of Tamil civilians caught up in the crossfire between the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam and the Sri Lankan security forces but has no plans to launch a massive military evacuation by the US Pacific Command till there is a halt in the hostilities in the conflict zone, senior administration officials revealed.
Stray incidents of violence were reported from some parts of the state as the day-long general strike called by an umbrella organisation of pro-Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam parties began on Wednesday morning. Incidents of stone pelting on state-owned buses were reported from some districts, police said, adding that no one was injured in the incidents. Normal life remained unaffected in the state capital where public transport services operated normally.
With the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam out of its way, Sri Lanka on Thursday assured India that it will implement a law for devolving powers to Tamil-dominated areas, as both the countries agreed on the need for a lasting political solution to the ethnic conflict. The assurance was contained in a joint statement issued after National Security Adviser M K Narayanan and Foreign Secretary Shivshankar Menon met President Mahinda Rajapaksa in Colombo.
The Obama administration has shelved the idea of launching a massive military evacuation of nearly 200,000 Tamil civilians trapped in the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam strongholds, sources have told Rediff India Abroad.
Sri Lanka on Friday assured India that a devolution package for the minority Tamil community in the country was not out of its radar as it discussed with India the key issue of resettlement of internally displaced people in the post Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam -era.
For the Lankan army, there are two questions involved -- defeating the LTTE conventionally, and destroying its capability for continuing its struggle for Tamil Eelam through acts of terrorism. The achievement of both these objectives will depend upon a critical weakening of the morale and motivation of the LTTE officers and cadres, leading to increasing desertions and splits in the organisation
Stepping up the momentum of their advance to capture the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam stronghold of Kilinochchi, the Lankan troops on Tuesday claimed to have killed scores of rebels after smashing through a string of LTTE bunkers. Government troops of the 53 Division, advancing from Kilaly village near Jaffna, carried out the ambush in the morning, a defence ministry official said
The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam sponsored Tamil Eelam Supporters Organisation conference in Delhi was a dud with major opposition parties like the Janata Dal-United, Biju Janata Dal and Bharatiya Janata Party staying away.
At least 52 Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam cadres and five soldiers were killed as heavy fighting raged today for control of the key Northern Sri Lankan city of Killinochchi, with government forces pressing fighter aircraft to pound Tiger bunkers on the outskirts
At least 42 Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam cadres and one soldier were killed in running gun battles between the rebels and security forces in the embattled Northern Sri Lanka, the army said on Thursday
"It is Tamils only who can be truly loyal to neighbouring India, and India should keep this in mind," the Tamil National Alliance Parliamentarian, M K Sivajilingam said.
At least 63 LTTE militants and three security forces personnel were killed in raging ground battles since weekend while Tamil Tiger rebels on Monday shelled a main Sri Lankan military air base linking the country to the embattled north.
Sri Lanka has slammed Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam chief M Karunanidhi's call for a Tamil Eelam, with Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa saying he can have it in India where a larger population of Tamils live.
In an interview, Sri Lankan Tamil writer Shobasakthi talks about his one-time leader Prabhakaran, the organisation, and how the Diaspora views the present situation.
The govt decided to recommend to the governor, the release of Murugan, Santhan, Perarivalan, Jayakumar, Ravichandran, Robert Payas and Nalini, serving life imprisonment.
Internally Displaced Persons, who live in government-run camps in Sri Lanka, lack the basic right of freedom of movement, according to a top United Nations official who visited the country recently.
V Balakumaran, a senior leader of the political wing of the LTTE, said India should come forward to improve the relationship with a sincere heart.
The Bush administration's point man for South Asia, Richard Boucher, has said that while Washington fully recognises the terrorist threat Sri Lanka continues to face from the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, it should continue acting like a democracy and protect all of its citizens. The senior diplomat feels that there is a need for a political solution "alongside whatever is going on militarily and we hope the Tamil Tigers will see that as well."
Vowing to pursue its campaign for 'Tamil Eelam', the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam has named alleged arms smuggler Selvarasa Pathmathan as its new chief to succeed Velupillai Prabhakaran, who was slain along with the entire rebel leadership in Sri Lanka two months ago. The Tamil separatist outfit, which was virtually annihilated by Sri Lankan troops in May, said it will 'modify' the strategies of its struggle but will continue to work for a 'free Tamil Eelam'.
As Prabhakaran was leaving his house, Rajiv Gandhi called his son Rahul and asked him to fetch his (Gandhi's) bulletproof jacket. He put the jacket on Prabhakaran's back and remarked with his usual charming smile: "Take care of yourself."
The Bharatiya Janata Party's key ally in Tamil Nadu, the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam on Wednesday slammed the saffron party alleging that it is anti-Tamil and claimed that the party could never grow in the state.
'While Prabhakaran made LTTE cadres consume cyanide in the face of imminent capture, he did not do so himself when he was cornered. This exposes Prabhakaran's hypocrisy,' says Varadaraja Perumal.
According to a report in The Times, The People's Liberation Army was founded in eastern Sri Lanka four months ago and has vowed to launch attacks against government and military targets unless its demands for a separate Tamil homeland are met. "This war isn't over yet," Commander Kones, head of the PLA's Eastern District military command said.
'Tamil Nadu is a state of temples, it's a holy land. People don't seem to realise that.'
"The unrest in Sri Lanka was triggered off only because the Tamils of the island were relegated, post-independence, to the status of secondary citizens in their own homeland. Decimation of the LTTE or the killings of its leaders will not wipe away the injustice meted out to this large community which had its roots in Sri Lanka," she said
Sri Lankan government on Wednesday night decided to formally ban the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, a move signalling end of prospects of peace talks with the Tamil Tigers against whom the security forces have launched a major offensive. The decision to ban the outfit with effect from midnight on Wednesday was taken at an emergency Cabinet meeting chaired by Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa.
A staunch supporter of slain LTTE supremo V Prabhakaran, he also criticised the former prime minister for sending the Indian Peacekeeping Force to Sri Lanka in the 1980s.
Vaiko has said the Tamils deserve a nation of their own.
The results of the recent presidential elections in Sri Lanka are likely to have stunned groups in Tamil Nadu that have been giving moral and material support to Tamils in the north and east of the island for decades. Tamil Nadu-based groups had asked Sri Lanka Tamils to protest against the election and boycott voting.
The 20-page report on the island nation covering the period from November 2006 to September 2007, notes that 'both parties have failed to cease the abduction, recruitment and use of children.'
Breaking a 28-year-long hiatus, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday embarked on an important visit to Sri Lanka with the message that India favoured a life of equality, justice, peace and dignity for Tamils in its "new journey" of peace and reconciliation.
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