PAGE 10 ISSUE 907 NEWSLANKA 23 APRIL - 2009 comp/images/Issues/Archive/Issue_907.pdfPAGE 10 ISSUE 907NEWSLANKA 23 APRIL - 2009 Wimal attacked, JVP blamed by Norman Palihawadena (DM

NEWSLANKAPAGE 10 ISSUE 90723 APRIL - 2009

Wimal attacked,JVP blamed

by Norman Palihawadena(DM - 21/04/09) A vehicle in which NationalFreedom Front MP Wimal Weerawansa wastravelling came under attack near the MuncheeBiscuits Factory at Homagama yesterday. Threebody guards of Weerawansa and MP AchalaJagoda who was following in another vehicle wereinjured in the attack but both MPs escaped unhurt.According to Weerawansa, when he was returningafter an election campaign he received a call onhis hand phone that a vehicle of another comradein his party had been ataackd. "Soon afterreceiving this message I informed DIG Balasuriyaof the incident and proceeded to the place of theincident. When I reached the place a crowdsurrounded my vehicle and started pelting stones.My security guards shot in the air and the crowddispersed," Weerawansa said.Three of his men were injured and admitted toHomagama Hospital. A complaint has been lodgedwith the Homagama Police.Speaking to TheIsland, Weerawansa blamed the JVP for theattack. "We of course have ideological differencesand this should not lead to physical blows," hesaid. JVP Parliamentarian Vijhitha Herathdismissed the charges and said that at the time ofthe incident Weerawansa was at Ward Place nearthe Norwegian Embassy. Our people wereengaged in a campaign in Homagama. At that timean NFF member arrived in Homagama in a vehiclewithout number plates We made a complaint aboutit and the Homagama Police took the vehicle intocustody. Weerawansa arrived at the HomagamaPolice to get the vehicle released," Herath said.

Last day ofcampaigning today

(BL - 22/04/09) Campaigning for the WesternProvincial Council election ends at midnighttoday and political parties are winding up theiractivities with a bang. SLFP General SecretaryMaithripala Sirisena said that the UPFAcampaign for the Western Province has been astrong and successful one and that he is surethat the party will receive two thirds of the votesin the province. “We are sure from the responseswe have received in the rural and urban areas inthe Province that we are going to win this

election.”UNP GeneralSecretary TissaAttanayake statedthat while the UNPwill be conductingits final rallies in allthree districts, thelast and the mostimportant campaignrally will take placein Central Colombothis evening. JVPGeneral SecretaryTilvin Silva saidthat the party willconduct a largerally in Colombotoday to wind uptheir campaign forthe WesternProvincial Councilelection.

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Govt did not allow EUprobe - FM

ElectionsCommissioner vows to

end vote duplication

(ISL - 22/04/09) Foreign Minister RohithaBogollagama told Parliament that the governmenthad not agreed to allow the EU to conduct anyinvestigation as a pre-condition for the extension ofthe GSP+ relief package to Sri Lanka.The government was only in dialogue with the EUto secure an extension of this facility, he said.He was replying a remark made by oppositionleader Ranil Wickremesinghe, who had earlier inthe day said that the government had allowed theEU to conduct an investigation on Sri Lanka beforeallowing continuation of the GSP+ relief packagefor Sri Lankan exports to EU countries. (SI)

(BL - 22/04/09) In a meeting with the partysecretaries, Elections Commissioner DayanandaDissanayake stated that measures will be taken toensure that voters registered in more than onelocation will be prevented from voting more thanonce.“Special measures will be taken to ensure that the133,000 voters who have registered in more thanone location will not be able to vote more thanonce,” UPFA Secretary Susil Premajayantha said.Although, duplication of votes has been takingplace for years due to individuals owning more thanone residence for various purposes, the ElectionsCommission has for the first time establishedmeasures that will enable their officers to preventduplicated votes and said that their team is workinground-the-clock to identify votes that have beenduplicated.Premajayantha said that the ElectionsCommissioner had assured that the security invarious areas in the Western Province will beincreased during Election Day. “We are sure theelection will be conducted in a fair and justmanner.” However, JVP MP Sunil Handunnetti saidafter the meeting that he does not expect theelections will be conducted fairly or democratically.

Sri Lanka parliamentapproves amended

Nation BuildingTax draft

(ColomboPage)Apr 21, Colombo: Sri Lankaparliament passed the amended Nation BuildingTax draft this evening with a majority of 54 votes.The draft received 85 votes for it and only 31against it.The main opposition United National Party, MarxistJanatha Vimukthi Peramuna, and the TamilNational Alliance parliamentarians voted againstthe amended Nation Building Tax draft.With the parliament approval, Sri Lankagovernment will increase the Nation Building Taxrate by 2% with effect from 1st of May.According to the government this tax will be ineffect for only two years as the government hopesto deploy the revenues for the developmentprocess in the North and East.The Nation Building Tax will be applicable to everybusiness that earns a daily income of Rs. 1,000 ormore.

Amana Takaful Insurancetops Rs. 1 billion in GWP(DN - 21/04/09) Amana Takaful Insurance recordedits first year of premium income above Rs. 1 billionin 2008 together with a significant improvement tothe bottom line, celebrating its 10th year ofoperations in Sri Lanka.Despite manyadversities, bothlocal and global,we haverecorded aboveindustry averagegrowth since ourinception.Topping the Rs.1billion mark isour biggestachievement todate and we willcontinue to growfrom strength tostrength,” saidChairman, Amana Takaful Insurance TyeabAkbarally. Gross Written Premium (GWP) grew by26.56 percent to record Rs 1,024 Mn, which is wellabove the industry average.Life insurance showed major growth where GWPgrew by 44 percent to reach Rs. 188 Mn. GeneralInsurance recorded a growth of 23 percent toachieve a GWP of Rs. 835 Mn. Total assets grewby 14.87 percent to reach Rs.1,053 Mn in 2008 asagainst Rs. 917 Mn in 2007.

Sri Lanka rupee looks fordirection, amid rate cutApril 22, 2009 (LBO) - The Sri Lanka rupee edgedlower but recovered before hitting a psychological120.00 level against the greenback, Wednesdaywith some exporters taking profits, dealers said.The rupee opened wide at 118.75/119.25 a dayafter the central bank talked up the rupee,weakening towards 119.65/120.00 and recoveringto 119.00/119.10 levels later in the day."There is a psychological barrier at 120.00 rupeesand some exporters are looking to book forward," adealer said. "But recent rate cuts give them moreholding power." Low interest rates allow exportersto borrow rupees at a lower cost and delayconverting dollars. To keep rates down the centralbank also has to ultimately 'print' more money andinject fresh liquidity to the market.Sri Lanka cut the main signal rate by anaggressive 175bp to 13.00 percent in a bid toboost lending as private sector credit contracted5.6 percent in February, the Central Bank said.The so-called 'penal' reverse repo rate which setsthe ceiling on Interbank rates has now become themain signal policy rate of the monetary authority.The penal interest rate has been cut from a high of19.00 percent from the beginning of the year.Central Bank Governor said final touches werebeing put on a bailout from the InternationalMonetary Fund (IMF) which could be disbursed inunder three weeks.The central bank said a 500 million dollar long-term loan with Libya is also at an "advancedstage." In the government securities market a bondmaturing on 01.04.12 which was trading at around16.65 percent fell to 15.80/90 levels, with businessdone at 15.85, dealers said.A bond maturing on 01.03.11 which traded around16.60 yesterday fell to around 15.55/65 withbusiness done at around 15.60.

Tyeab Akbarally

Sri Lankan stockspropelled by more

gains in warApr 22, 2009 (LBO) - Sri Lankan sharesextended gains Wednesday as the militaryrescued more civilians trapped in a no-fire-zonein an offensive to crush the 25-year-old TamilTiger separatist rebellion, brokers said.The All Share Price Index of the Colombo stockexchange rose 1.35 percent (23.64 points) toend at 1,777.58 while the Milanka index of liquidstocks went up 0.98 percent (18.04 points) toclose at 1,867.56.Turnover improved to 270.9 million rupees."The favorable developments in the war frontcontinued to propel the market," said GeethBalasuriya of Acuity Stockbrokers."Institutional investors are slowly returning to themarket with the rates falling continuously."National Development Bank (NDB) was the mosttraded stock amongst the blue chips andcontributed 82.3 million rupees to the day'sturnover.NDB gained 1.50 rupees to close at 94.50.Conglomerate John Keells Holdings (JKH),which has business interests in transport,finance, property development, food processingand retail sectors, contributed 38.9 millionrupees to turnover.JKH went up 25 cents to close at 64.00."We expect the positive sentiment to continue.However, do not rule out the possibilities of profittaking towards the latter part of the week," saidBalasuriya.Index heavy Sri Lanka Telecom gained 75 centsto close at 38.75, while Dialog Telekom,subsidiary of Telekom Malaysia, closed flat at5.25.Nestles Lanka Limited, a subsidiary of Swissfood giant Nestle, gained 10 rupees to close at285, in thin trade.Chevron Lubricants Lanka, a subsidiary of U.S.based petroleum giant Chevron, gained onerupee to close at 115.75.Foreign buying was at 45 million rupees, whileforeign selling amounted to 118.6 million.At Wednesday's treasury bill auction thegovernment rolled over two billion rupees ofthree month bills at 13.38 percent, 2.5 billionrupees of the six month bills at 14.90 percentand 3.5 billion one year bills at 15.40 percent.

PAGE 11ISSUE 907 NEWSLANKA 23 APRIL - 2009

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Ceylinco Insuranceposts Rs. 732m

pre-tax profit(DN - 21/04/09) Ceylinco Insurance PLC recordeda pre-tax profit of Rs. 732 million for the yearended December 31, 2008.During the year under review Ceylinco InsurancePLC made an operational profit of Rs. 1,149million, before making provision for fall-in value ofinvestments and writing off non-yieldinginvestments, to the value of Rs. 416.8 million.This move served to make the financial statementsof the company more transparent, whileexpressing a clearer picture to shareholders.Announcing the profit, Deputy Chairman ofCeylinco Insurance - General, Ajith Gunawardena,said; “What we have achieved in 2008 isremarkable, given the conditions that prevailed.We are very positive and confident that CeylincoInsurance will be able to post even better resultsby the end of 2009. Our entire team is determinedto achieve the desired results during this year,while staff morale is at a very high level. In fact,everyone is rallying round, giving a little bit morethan their best.”Deputy Chairman R. Renganathan said: “Ourability to outperform the industry’s average growthis evidence of the trust and confidence thatCeylinco Life has built up over the years.

Ramani KANGARAARACHCHI(DM - 22/04/09) The IMF loan is very much ontrack and the Government will get it within a fewweeks, Governor, Central Bank Ajith NivardCabraal told Daily News Business. He said thatthere is no truth in somerumours going around that theUS is trying to block this loanand it is a matter of time but itwill not take months.The Government havingexplained to the IMF as tohow the intensification ofglobal financial crises inSeptember 2008 haveadversely impacted thefavourable trends in severaleconomic indicators, relatingto the external sector sought aloan of approximately USD1,900 million recently.The IMF has been informedthat as a result of the waragainst terror in Sri Lankacoming to an end shortly,there is an immediate need for a large quantumof external financing to continue with theresettlement, rehabilitation and reconstructionwork in the Northern Province, and thecontinued rapid development of the EasternProvince.This is essential expenditure, to uplift the livingstandards of the people in the areas affected bythe conflict and to successfully implement the

Government’sefforts tobring a sustainable solution to the problem.Cabraal said that the USD 500 million loanapplied from the Government of Libya is on a

fast track and it will be availablewithin another two weeks.He said that peace and socio-political stability that would beachieved as a consequence ofsuch initiatives would almostcertainly, yield enormouseconomic and social benefits byway of rapid expansion of thedomestic economy.He said that the availability of anIMF facility for balance ofpayments support at this time,would help to supplement theGovernment’s efforts to stabilizethe external sector performanceof the country, and enable thecountry to face the times aheadwith greater confidence and

certainty.Such funds would be used to finance the newneeds as well as to bridge any gap that mayarise due to the global financial crises.It is also expected that such support wouldenhance the assistance from other developmentpartners as well as significantly improveinternational investors’ confidence on Sri Lanka.

Ajith Nivard Cabraal

Reserves down to US$ 1.3billion Trade deficit

contracts to lowest in fouryears Apparel exports up

by 7 percentBy Devan Daniel

(ISL - 22/04/09) The country’s foreign reserves droppedfurther to US$ 1.3 billion in February this year, enough tofinance imports for about 1.3 months. However the CentralBank expects the actual number of months to be muchhigher in view of low oil import bills.The trade deficit for February 2009 contracted by 75.5year-on-year to record US$ 78 million, the lowest in fouryears. In February last year, the trade deficit stood at US$317 million.Meanwhile, the cumulative trade deficit for the first twomonths of the year dropped by 72 percent to US$ 262million from US$ 937 million recorded during thecorresponding period in 2008.The Central Bank says the contraction in the trade deficit isa result of a sharp decline in imports which significantlyoutpaced the decline in exports.

Imports…According to figures released by the Central Bank, importsdeclined by 37.3 per cent to US$ 602 million in February2009 from US$ 959 million last year."Expenditure on intermediate goods declined by 42.7 percent in February 2009 to US dollars 289 million, led bypetroleum imports, which accounted for nearly one third ofthis as crude oil prices continued to hover around USdollars 45 per barrel," the Central Bank said in a statementyesterday.During the month, consumer goods declined by 33.1 percent to US dollars 142.1 million and sugar imports declinedtoo, despite the increases in the average import price by19.5 per cent in February 2009.Motor vehicles imports declined by 78.6 percent whiletextiles and garment imports declined by 21.8 percent andinvestment goods declined by 31.2 percent to US$ 165million in February 2009.The cumulative expenditure on imports decreased by 40.2per cent to US$ 1.2 billion by end February 2009, downfrom US$ 2.1 billion in the corresponding period of January-February 2008.

Exports…Export earnings from all major sectors declined by 18.4percent in February 2009 to US$ 524 million from US$ 642million last year.Agricultural, industrial and mineral exports declined by 31percent, 13.4 percent and 45.5 percent respectively.Export earnings from tea contracted by 33.4 percent.However, apparel exports to the US and EU haveincreased by 1.5 percent and 15.4 percent during themonth."Textiles and garments, which are the major subcategorieswithin the industrial exports, grew by 7.0 per cent,

(Contd: on P19)

No truth in rumours, says CB Governor:

IMF loan on track

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NEWSLANKAPAGE 12 ISSUE 90723 APRIL - 2009 PAGE 13ISSUE 907 NEWSLANKA 23 APRIL - 2009

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The annual Sinhala and Tamil New YearCelebrations organised by the Sri LankaEducational Cultural and Welfare Foundation washeld in grand style at the Byron RecreationGround and the Harrow Leisure Centre in Harrowon Sunday 12 April 2009 amidst a massivegathering.The Chief Guests were HE Justice NihalJayasinghe, High Commissioner of Sri Lanka andMrs. Indira Jayasinghe. Among the many specialguests were Rt. Hon. Tony McNulty, MP forHarrow East and Employment Minister; CouncillorJohn Nickolay, the Worshipful Mayor of theLondon Borrow of Harrow and MayoressCouncillor Joyce Nickolay; Councillor JohnMarshall, the Worshipful Mayor of Barnet andMayoress Rosie Daniels; Councillor Nizam Ismail,Harrow Council; Councillor Bob Blackman, DeputyLeader of the Brent Council; Mrs. Mei Sim Lai,Representative Deputy Lieutenant of Brent;Councillor Navin Shah of the G.L.A.The celebration beganat 11am in the Byronrecreation ground, withraban playing and thehoisting of the NationalFlag by HE SumithNakandala, the DeputyHigh Commissioner ofSri Lanka, and thesinging of the NationalAnthem. This wasfollowed by therendering ofJayamangala Gatha andthe enactment of ageold customs by thechildren of the SriSaddhatissaInternational Centre School. Pirith was chanted tobless the crowd for the New Year. The traditionaloutdoor games and sport competitions whichincluded coconut-scraping, pillow-fight, races,couple-races, sack-races, balancing the lemon,blind man's bluff, coconut-palm-weaving, climbingthe grease pole, etc., were sponsored by wellwishers and proved very popular.All the VIPP on arrival were taken to a loungewhere they were served with typical Sri Lankandelicacies and Ceylon Tea until the long queue ofpeople waiting to enter the hall gained entry. Afterthe observation of the five precepts the ceremoniallighting of the lamp took place by all the VIPPpresent.Reverend Galayaye Piyadassi, President, in hiswelcome address thanked all the attendees fortheir presence and regretted any inconveniencecaused by the sale of tickets and the long queues

as a result of attendance restrictions imposed bythe Harrow Leisure Centre. But the Foundation stillwas able to achieve its objectives in promotingunity, togetherness and harmony and adherenceto our cultural and religious traditions among theyoung as witnessed by the large gathering ofyoungsters. Family values as in our society was a

very important and it was becoming sohere too, as witnessed by the numbers ofteenagers driven to drink, drugs andviolence.His Excellency the High Commissionerthanked Rev Galayaye Piyadassi,President and the Committee as well asthe members of the organising committeefor staging these traditional New YearCelebrations since 1991 and especiallythis year, despite various difficulties. It isof special importance this year when thecountry is on the threshold of achievingunity and harmony. It was the duty of all

Sri Lankans to unite torebuild Sri Lanka theeconomy to make SriLanka a Peaceful andProsperous New YearThe SLECWF Troupedance & drums werecomposed andchoreography by Prof.MudiyanseDissanayake, Universityof the Visual andPerforming Arts, SriLanka; the childrendances were trained byLalita Kalavedi KumuduPerera; the childrenvocal performances

were trained by Sangeeta Visharada ArchanaDissanayake; the guest performances werepresented by Mr. Weerasiri Malwatta & VisharadaAnusha Malwatta and Troupe; and, the culturalpageant was compéred by Mr. SisiraGunawardena, Miss Rowena Goonetilleke andMiss Dinusha Wanigaratne. Sangeetha VisaradhaJagath Wickremasinghe enlivened the musicalshow from 7:30pm onwards with music providedby the Sky High Band.The Main sponsor for the event was Lyca Mobilewhile co- Sponsors were the Bank of Ceylon, SriLankan Airlines, Sampath Bank, Harrow Solicitorsand Advocates, Hirdaramani Group Sri Lanka,Sujeewa Antiques Sri Lanka and Trico Shipping.All the Advertisers in the Souvenir and thesponsors also greatly helped the celebrations.

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Grand Bak Maha Ulela Celebrations at the Harrow Leisure Centre organised by Kingsbury Temple

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'My Wish' has a vision. A vision to help theterminally ill children and their families in Sri Lanka,by carrying out social and welfare activities, and tobring a little light and laughter into their lives.Those involved in this project have gained much

experience in carrying out various charity anddevelopment projects in Sri Lanka following theTsunami.It was whilst working on the above projects that thetragic plight of the overwhelming number of sickand dying children and their families came to ourattention. During several visits to the cancer

hospital in Colombo, we were struckby the overcrowded conditions, thesight of children receivingchemotherapy while seated on thefloor and the absence of basiccomforts for sick children.We were unable to help at that time,but resolved to help them as soonas possible. An art exhibition washeld in Glasgow, and the moneyraised was used to help some ofthese children. However, the fundsraised were not adequate enough toproperly address the scale of theproblems faced by these childrenand their families.It was apparent that there is asignificant lack of long-termcharitable support for children whoare approaching the end of their

lives through terminalillnesses.The My Wish Projectwas established by agroup of like-mindedpeople who realisedthat the time has nowcome to provide muchneeded continuoushelp to these childrenand their families.The project aims toimprove the quality oflife for children with lifethreatening illnessesand their families whilein hospital in a numberof ways, for example:

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essential medicines,food and clothing,which families arestruggling to afford- providing childrenand families with arange of activities,support andeducational materials- granting a wish, as asource of inspirationfor childrenundergoing difficultmedical treatments- improving the life ofmothers, who arevirtually long termcarers, by providingessential food,clothing, counsellingand respite accommodation- providing the hospital with essential equipmentand a multi-sensory room which providesstimulation and relaxation for sick childrenAs well as helping terminally ill children and theirfamilies, the project will have an impact on otheraspects of Sri Lankan society and will be of greatbenefit to the Sri Lankan health service.The My Wish Project iscommitted to raising funds locallyand internationally to enable thisproject to move forward.

We would like to invite all SriLankan groups, associations,organisations and individuals tocome forward to offer theirsupport in raising funds for thisvery worthwhile cause and tohelp relieve the suffering of thesechildren and families in SriLanka. You can help in any of thefollowing ways:- One off donation- Regular monthly donation- Sponsor a child and family: fora week, a month, or a year- Donation of medical equipment- Fundraising or volunteering on

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One of our country's most colourfulpoliticians Dr. A.C.S. Hameed (Shaul tohis friends) was born in April, (April 10,

1928 to be exact) and left us on September 6,1998. He was a wonderful human being, alwayssmiling and ever ready to lend his ears not onlyto his constituents but to others as well. Hewas a well known teacher in his early days,later joining politics, he crowned his career bybeing appointed the very first Foreign Ministerof a Sri Lankan government. He is one of thefew 'gentlemen politicians' I have met in myfive and a half decades of journalism and healso appreciated my work in the columns of theSunday Observer, Daily News and of course theSun and Weekend. He was also an avid readerof Newslanka and his finest quality Idiscovered after an extremely lengthyassociation with him was that he never uttereda word about or against anyone even hisbitterest political foes. This splendid man willbe remembered by millions and I personallywill be failing in my duty if I don't rememberhim in my column. I vividly remember histelling me long, long years ago that a 'noprofile is even better than a low profile' andthat's what he stuck to throughout his publiclife.To write a piece on Dr. A.C.S.Hameed will probablytake the whole of Newslanka and even more but Ican tell you in a nutshell how he took on thewestern press and triumphed in style. For thispurpose I will reproduce an article of mine I wrotein a Sri Lankan Sunday paper after a few monthsfollowing Hameed's, titled 'World press raves overour instant envoy' Here are some excerpts fromthat piece of mine:-'Sri Lanka which has been receiving barrages ofadverse publicity in the western press during thepast seven years has suddenly got a favourableprojection of news in all the leading papers inBritain, Europe and America. And the only reason

for this sudden change of attitude can be attributedto the fact that Sri Lanka's first ever Minister of'Foreign Affairs Mr. A.C.S.Hameed who nationallywas regarded as somewhat of a fresher to aministerial position, particularly foreign affairs, andwhom the press and government officials thoughtws a novice at the Internationl game, had comjeout with flying colours at all his confrontations.'He became the first ever Sri Lankan politician tobe feature on the front page of tye New YorkTimesand the first ever to be written about onh thefront page of the lrgest6 selling English newspaperof Europe the 'Heral Tribune' and also receivedextremely lavish publicity in London, particularly inthe Sunday Times.'No pressman would have looked twice at him if hewalked along Fleet Street for he looked another'immigrant' like the thousand of others but this dourlittle man rose from obscurity to international famealmost overnight and became Sri Lanka's instantambassador.'Here in Britain it all started when he held a pressconference at the Sri Lanka High Commission. Hehad invited them to tell his side of the story to thepeople of Britain through the media.'During the lengthy conference he flashed hissmile, took his own time and all questions fired athim candidly and with good humour and this wasnot histrionics for the smile always led to long,clear and serious answers.'Most reporters were kenly interested on the Tamilissue and Mr. Hameed gave them the hint that hewas there to explain policy and not to debate it.'He told them that extremism in the North is boundto be met with extremism in the South and thatwas something neither side wanted.'He also became the first Sri Lankan politician tohave a dialogue with the representatives of theTamil population in the UK.As for my own view as a journalist and editor ofNewslnka, Mr.Hameed was truly an outstandingpolitico, a peerless conversationalist and a

superlative analyst and a thorough gentleman withno flaws such as arrogance or even a streak ofbeing irrational.Battling with the hostile western press that poureddiabolical falsehoods against Sri Lanka into theircolumns, day after day, and week after week, gotmany a government official and our journalists whoattempted to change the attitude of the western

press, no where for many years.However with Dr. Hameed being appointedForeign Minister those barrages of adverse andhopeless publicity suddenly started dwindling andthe country got a favourable projection in all theleading broadsheets in Britain, America andEurope.Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's words in our strap



Vegetarian Fried Rice Squid Rings Ala Hodi(Potatoes with Yellow Gravy)

4 cups cup of cooked riceGround chilli paste 15 tablespoonsOnion and garlic paste 4 tablespoon1 cup frozen vegetablePotatoes boiled and cut in to cubesSoya sauce 4 tablespoon and salt to tastePepper 2 tablespoonsHeat about four table of oil in a pan then you addin the onion and garlic paste fry till golden brown.Add in the rice and saute it.Next add in chill paste and mix the rice wellAdd in the mixed vegetables and potatoes andfry for ten mins. Add in the soya sauce and saltand pepper.

Squid rings 500gmsgarlic 2 cloves crushedegg 1cornflour 1 tbspmilk 1 tsptoasted bread crumbs 1 cup approximatelyoil for deep fryingPut squid and garlic in a bowl. Leave it for15mins.Beat egg, corn flour and milk together.Dip squid rings into egg mixture. Coat with breadcrumbs. Deep fry in hot oil for 2 minutes or untilgolden brown. Do not overcook as this willtoughen the squids. Serve with dipping sa

1 lb Potatoes, boiled and peeled1 onion chopped1-2 green chillies chopped1 sprig curry leaves (optional)1/2 tsp fenugreek seeds1/2 tsp cumin seeds (optional)1 inch piece cinnamon5 inch piece of rampe (optional)1/2 tsp turmeric1 tsp mustard seeds1-2 pieces goraka*1- 1 1/2 cup coconut milk1 tbsp vegetable oilSalt to tastePut the pan on medium flame; add the oil, whenthe oil is hot add the mustard seeds, cumin,fenugreek and fry till the mustard seeds pop.Next all the other ingredients except thepotatoes, goraka and coconut milk. Fry for a fewminutes till the onions are soft.Cut the potatoes into 1 inch pieces. Add to thepan and stir. Add salt to taste. Next add thecoconut milk, and the goraka. Add salt to taste.If the curry is too thick add about 1/2 cup hotwater. Cook to a boil, stirring constantly.Serve Hot! This goes well with rice, hoppers,string hoppers or roti.*If Goraka is not available, add juice of 1/4 limejust before taking off the heat.

Sri LankanRecipes

Sri LankanRecipes

Caption Dr. A.C.S.Hameed as Foreign Minister congratulates Newslanka Editor Reggie Fernandoafter Newslanka won three prestigious British awards in its fifth year of publication.

"The heights by great men reached and kept, were not attained by sudden flight - But they, while theircompanions slept, were toiling upward in the night."

Sri Lanka's first Foreign Minister Dr. A.C.S.Hameed erased the tarnished imageof our country in the western press



OBITUARIESABEYESEKERA - OLIVER LIONEL - MahaiyawaCemetery, Kandy.ABEYSEKARA - WIMALA - 21/1, Kandewatte Road,Nugegoda.ABEYSENA - ROMOULD STANLEY - No. 7,Mahawatta Road, WelisaraAJANTHA - P.L.A. -. 275/9, Dickwela Road,Siyambalape.ANTHONIS MALLIKA - No. 8/11, Raja Mawatha,Rajamahavihara Road, Pita Kotte.ANTHONY - C.F.B. - No.99/6, Alwis Town, Hendala,Wattala.BALAPUWADUGE EDMUND MENDIS - No. 21/11,Ananda Balika Mawatha, Pagoda Road, Pita Kotte,CHANDRASEKERA - DR. H.I.CHANDRASEKERA - LINCONCHANDRASEKERA - WASANTHA - 36, BiyagamaRoad, Pethiyagoda, KalaniyaCONGREVE - HELEN CONSTANCECROOS: W. MARGRET - Henry Cot, Mirisankotuwa,Bolawatta.DE MEL - DR R.G. KENNETH - 21/50, PolhengodaGardens, Colombo 05.DE SILVA - BADRA - 189/1, Galle Road, RatmalanaDE SILVA - GAMINI - 134/31, Galudupita Rd,Welisara, Ragama.DE SILVA - HILDA - No. 234/5, 3rd Lane, PahalawalaRoad, Pelawatte.DE SILVA - PASKUWAL HANDI HINNINONADE SILVA RUPINA - No.11, Balagala Cross Road,Hendala, WattalaDE ZOYSA - ETHIGE MABEL HENRITTA SILVATHILLAKARATNA - No.6, St. Mary's Road,Mahabage Junction, Negombo RoadDHARMARATNE - DORATHIEDIAS - WINIFRED -No.6, Yodayakanatha Road,Alwis Town, Hendala.FERNANDO - BLOSSOMFERNANDO - CELINE - No. 31/20, Balagala Road,Hendala.FERNANDO - IROMI - No. 16, 3rd Lane (Palm GroveAvenue), RatmalanaFERNANDO - MARK - No. 35/4, Uyana Road,Moratuwa.FERNANDO - NOELINE - Church View, Munnakkara,Negombo.FERNANDO - SYBIL - “Carmel” Martin De PorresRoad, WennappuwaFERNANDOPULLE - RAVI - 27A, Jawatta Gardens,Colombo 5.GANAPATHY - LEELA - 450/31, Piachaud Gardens,KandyJEYASINGHAM - Dr MARINA DILRUKSHI - 15,Hartland Way, Morden, Surrey, SM 45 QN.JEYASINGHAM - MARINA DILRUKSHI - UK. 15,

Hartland Way, Morden, Surrey, SM 45 QN.KARUNANAYAKE - CHARLOTTE KAMALA - 26/1,Samudrasanna Road, Mount Lavinia.KARUNARATNA - NANDA - 50/11, 1st Lane,Gamunupura, Kaduwela.KARUNATILAKA - M.L. - “Kithsiri”, Tellambura,Nakiyadeniya.KODAGODA - M. SIRIYAWATHI - 103/4, Old Road,Nawinna, Maharagama.LORENSUHEWA - YASAWATHIE - 271, Matara Road,Magalle, Galle.MANTARA - NASSAR HILLARY HASHIM - No.14, SriDevamitta Mawatha, “China Garden”, Galle.MOHIDEEN - HADJIANI KHAIRUN NISSA - 21,Buthgamuwa Road, Kalupaluwawa, Rajagiriya.NISHANTHI - No.62, Temple Road, Negombo.PANDITA - VINCENT - 500/125,Thimbirigasyaya Rd, Colombo 05PARAMANANDAM - MRS. LOURDESPUSHPAM - No. 30, A.G. Hinniappuhami Mw.,Col-13.PASTOR LAWRENCE - HANDAPANGODAMUDALIGE DON LAWRENCE, - No. 11,Rodrigo Place, Mattakkuliya, Colombo-15PAUL - I.P. - Holy Trinity Church, N'Eliya.PAUL - I.P. - Holy Trinity Church, N'Eliya.PEDRIS - BEATRIX - 8, Alfred Place, Colombo3.PEIRIS - SURENPERERA - GAFTON BERNARD - 22, BalagalaRoad, HendalaPERERA - K.D.C.PERERA - MERCY - No. 15, Pieris Mawatha,KalubowilaPUNCHIHEWA - P.E. - No.67, Weralupe TempleRoad, Ratnapura.RATHANAWATHIE DEVASINGHE WALPOLARATWATTE - HUBERT STANLEY - 22/1, UnionPlace, Dehiwela.Rev. Bro. J. DON REMIGIUS -De MazenodHouse, 40, Farm Road, ColomboSAMARADIWAKARA - WIMALA - ParagthiMawatha, Pannipitiya.SAMARADIWAKARA - WIMALA -166, TissaMawatha, Bangalawatta, KottawaSELINA NALINI SUMATHIRATNE - No.43/14,Neelammahara Road, Maharagama.SIRIWARDENE - TILDA DAISY FERNANDO -No: 118/51, “Isuru Pedesa” Sri RahulaMawatha, Katubedda, MoratuwaSUNDARALINGAM - RASIAH - 715,Bloemendhal Rd, Modera Colombo 15. T.P.:2522501.THERESA (MIURI) GOMES - 9B 37R, NationalHousing Scheme, Raddolugama

TYAGARAJAH - RATNA - No.40, Ward Place,Colombo 7VENERABLE SAM GUNAWARDENA - 30/9,Bangalawatte, Lewella, KandyVINCENT - THAMBIRAJAH R. - 15/3 A 1st Lane,Jambugasmulla Road, Nugegoda.VYSE - ELMO - No. 63, Chilaw Road, Negombo.WEERASINGHE - NALINI - No. 16, St. Joseph'sRoad, NugegodaWEERASURIYA - 9/2, First Cross Road, Walpola,Matara.WELAGEDARA - CHANDRA

Gemini(the Twins) 21st May - 20th June

Cancer(the Crab) 21st June - 20th July

Leo(the Lion) 21st July - 19th / 22nd Aug

Virgo(the Virgin) 20th / 23rd Aug - 22nd Sept

Libra(the Scale) 23rd Sept - 22nd Oct

Scorpio(the Scorpion) 23rd Oct - 21st Nov

Sagittarius(the Archer) 22nd Nov - 20th Dec

Capricorn(the Goat) 21st Dec - 20th Jan

Aquarius(the Water Carrier) 21st Jan -19th Feb

Pisces(the Fishes) 20th Feb - 20th March

Aries(the Ram) 21st March-20th April

Taurus(the Bull) 21st April - 20th May

EDITED BY REGGIE FERNANDO

LONDON CORRESPONDENT - LAKE HOUSE (ANCL)

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You will meet new business contacts this week.Come or go settle your personal problems right now.Get your friends to advice your partner.Lucky day Thursday.

Problems from loved ones must be stopped at any cost.Offers of a trip must be accepted. A business venturemay turn to be a loss. Stop investing any more.Lucky day Monday.

You must keep in touch with what's happening.You are quite a hit at work, keep it up. Be more caringabout your partner. Reading will help you at work.Lucky day Monday.

Cut down on your generosity for the moment.Get your kids to follow your footsteps. A close friend issick and is waiting for a visit from you.Lucky day Friday.

Your aging friends and relatives want you startseeing them. Go somewhere on holiday and a newlove will bloom. Your home needs doing, start now.Lucky day Friday.

Enjoy yourself this week with that old flame who iswaiting for you. Don't be vague, be straight and open.Beware! Hollow promises will downgrade you.Lucky day Thursday.

Right now everything is going your way, so be happy.Keep off financially problematic friends and relatives.You'll have a lovely time this week with ……Lucky day Tuesday.

Whatever happens your mate will NOT leave you.Luck is one the cards but be patient. Try and get out ofyour financial problems as it's affecting your life.Lucky day Thursday.

It is time you visited friends and relatives who are sickand feeble. Do not reveal any personal info to anyone.What you do will benefit your whole family.Lucky day Tuesday.

A change in planning has disorganized your homeenvironment. Look after money matters this week.Don't take your problems out on loved ones.Lucky day Saturday.

You are a hot favourite among the opposite sex.Your loving ways will take you places. Be careful ofnewly found friends. Be patient and all will be well.Lucky day Saturday.

Ignore the views of relatives. Look into new ways ofgetting out of financial worries. Don't bother about whatothers say - you carry on regardless.Lucky day Monday.

Prof Sunanda Mahendra(DN - 22/04/09) April 18 is the day I heard the sadnews of the demise of my good friend TissaAbeysekara, the well knownfilmmaker and the bilingualcreative writer who won theprestigious Gratiaen award forhis collection of short storiestitled ‘Bringing Tony Home’(2008). My mind goes as farback as 1961 when he wantedto make his first film for whichhe assigned me the task ofwriting a Sinhala lyric.Later the song was recordedbut owing to some mishap thefilm did not come to light. Thefilm was titled as Kalamediriyo(glow worms), based on anexperience woven around thelife of a pop singer.Tissa with all his ups anddowns in life had the goodopportunity of being groomedunder the master filmmaker Lester James Peries.He was constantly thankful to Lester for paving theway to reach the highest calibre of film experiencefor which he was bestowed with the lifeachievement award, when the entire gathering gotup as a standing oration to Tissa, which he later

recalled as the greatest memorable event in hisfilm career.Tissa in a way could be reckoned as the pioneer inthe film script writing function, where he excelled

by recounting some of theSinhala novels and shortstories into film scripts.One good example is theshort story Nidhanaya byG B Senanayake.Tissa had the special skillsin the transformation ofthe literary narrative tovisual language. One ofhis remarkablecontributions during theearly part of sixties is hisoriginal collection ofSinhala short stories titledIpanella which I believeshould be rediscovered asit is one of the landmarksin the narrative tradition.This is long forgotten ifnobody was interested in

further publications.Tissa was a tireless or indefatigable artiste who leftno stone unturned in his hunt for creativity. His wasa constant non stop career in the field of massmedia, where he was most wanted as a unique

presenter both in the sound and in visual given theopportunity Tissa would undertake a media workwith prior preparation which is seldom observedtoday by others of the same profession.“You entrust this to Tissa. He would do an excellentjob of work.” Was the comment I have heard overthe years. History and anthropology of any folklore,as I knew, were some of his favourite subjectareas.The brilliant creativity he possessed was engulfedin those areas. This factor is visualized in suchcontributions as ‘In the Kingdom of the Sun and theHoly Peak’, Pitagamkarayo and ‘Roots, Reflectionsand Reminiscences’.We had a lot to learn from Tissa is the feeling Ihave gripped over the years during our associationin many a field linked to mass communication. Inorder to teach the subject of cinematography, hegot his students at Sri Lanka Television TrainingInstitute to see good films initially. This he felt as amust in the film studies.Followed by the screening of a number of selectedfilms, he would deal with some of the salienttechnical aspects such as close ups, long shots,special effects etc. He knew his politics too and hewas outspoken at times which I presume also hada boomerang effect.So Tissa is no more. I remember a long trip I wentwith him as far back as sixties.

(Contd: on P19)

Random memories of Tissa Abeysekara :

Remarkable contribution to film industry

Dr. Tissa Abeysekara

Death Announcement

Lincoln Chandrasekera

30 March 1928 17 April 2009

With deepest regret we announce the passing away ofour beloved husband, father, father in law

and grandfather.Always in our thoughts and in our hearts and

never to be forgotten.The funeral was held on 22 April. We are holding bana

at the home on Thursday 23 April at 19.00 and arehaving 7 days alms giving at home

on Friday 24th April 2009.Please call the family on 01732 355 076 or

07766 712 051 for further details.


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Reservesfrom P11helping to contain the impact of negativegrowth in other subcategories," theCentral Bank said.It said tea and rubber, recorded year-on-year declines, due to depressed demandand lower prices. Exports of coconutsincrease despite the lower prices in theinternational markets. The cumulative

earnings from exports have declinedduring the first two months of 2009 by15.2 percent to US$ 1 billion down fromUS$ 1.19 billion in last year.The Central Bank used to publish theBalance of Payments position which itdiscontinued sometime last year asreserves began to drop. Remittances hadin the past helped keep the Balance ofPayments position in surplus but a deficitwas recorded during the second half of

2008. "Private remittances decreased by5.3 per cent from US dollars 523 millionrecorded during January and February2008 to US dollars 495 million in thecorresponding period of 2009.Remittances during January andFebruary were 89 per cent (US dollars233 million) in excess of the trade deficit,thereby easing the pressure on thecurrent account balance," the CentralBank said.

Remarkablefrom P18On our way back the car broke downdashing out one of the rear wheels on to anearby boutique. We were all bewildered bywhat happened. But Tissa wascontemplative and just remarked: “Machangwhy should this bloody thing happen to us?”I feel the death had come to Tissa too soon.

There is yet another episode which I recallnow. When his film Mahagedara was filmeda certain group of film enthusiasts planned agreat big seminar chaired by the lateProfessor Ediriweera Sarachchandra.The discussion centered round Tissa’sscript, direction and acting calibre. ProfessorSarachchandra just remarked that he wasreminded of Martin Wickramasinghe’sGamperaliya and Chekhov’s CherryOrchard.

Tissa was requested to respond to thecreative process, when he remarked thattwo of his favourite works are Gamperaliyaand Cherry Orchard - needless to say thatperhaps those would have inherentlyinspired his creative process and he added:“But I know where I stand for I am positivethat Mahagedara is my own original work.”Well that is what any original writer may saytoday. Tissa too is influenced by greatmasters of the past and the present.

CHELVATAMBYMANICCAVASAGAR

(DM - 21/04/09) Among the variousmonuments of Hindu antiquity found in SriLanka, the Thirukoneswaram Hindu temple inTrincomalee is one of the three principalplaces of worship dedicated to God Siva. TheThiruketheswaram in Mannar andMunneswaram in Chilaw are the other twotemples of equal repute.The annual festival of this ancient andhistorical temple commenced with the flaghoisting ceremony on Wednesday (8.4.2009)and the chariot festival will be held on Friday,April 24, and water-cutting ceremony on April25, 2009 (Saturday).The Board of Trustees of this temple hasmade elaborate arrangementsfor the success of this festivaland the flag hoisting was doneby the Mahotsava Chief Priestof this temple ‘SivagamaVithagar Sivashiri SivakukakKurukal.The Koneswaram temple, as asacred place of Hindu worshipof the ancient past, would haveremained in its original form, upto the present day, had not themisguided zeal of thePortuguese friends caused it tobe razed to the ground, toprocure building materials fortheir new fortifications whichthey built on the rocky promantory by the cliffand overlooking the deep blue sea.Further, there is a legendary story about theKoneswaram temple.A Portuguese soldier once entered thesanctum sanctorum (shrine room) and defiledit by his presence, as he was drunk andcarrying a piece of roasted beef in his hand.The wrath of God having fallen on the man forhis unholy behaviour in desecrating the holyplace, he has fallen accidentally into the seabelow and drowned.It is said that the dead soldier’s apparitioncould still be seen by the faithful when thepriest, after the ‘pooja’ holds his torch, overthe edge of the precipice as and when nightfalls.Koneswaram was flourishing as a greatcentre of Saiva worship and pilgrimage assuggested by the hymn sung in honour of its

presiding deity by the Saiva SaintThirugnasampanthar in the seventh century.In 1623, the Portuguese captain, GeneralDon Constantine de Sa de Noronha, with thepermission of the viceroy of India DonTeronimo de Azevedo to built a fort, marchedtowards the Koneswaran temple, with aformidable army, destroyed the sacrededifice, threw off idols into the sea, and on itssite built a triangular fort and fortified it withartillery and garrison. The required materialsto build the fort were collected from the debrisof the destroyed temple.The Dutch who drew away the Portuguese in1658, demolished the old fort and in its placebuilt a bigger one acclaimed as the mostmagnificent fort along the Eastern coast ofthe island. With the evacuation of the Dutch, it

was handed over to the British on August 26,1795, which they named as Fort Frederick inhonour of Frederick, the Duke of York (1763-1827) who established the Royal MilitaryAsylum in England in 1801, for the sons ofthe English servicemen.The saga of this historic temple is said tohave been described in a Tamil poem writtenby one kaviraja Varojayan, an erudite and acelebrated bard of ancient Sri Lanka.In the days of old, a king named Manu NeethiKanda Cholan, who ruled over the countryCholamandalam, came to know about thewonders of Tirukkonatamalai (Trincomalee),had come over the island on a pilgrimage ashe was a great devotee of the God. Later, hisson, Kulakoddu Maharajah, having learntabout the holy place from his father, hadcome over to Trincomalee and built thistemple which is dedicated to Lord Siva.

The British occupation of the Maritimeprovince of Ceylon in 1796, had one salutaryeffect on the inhabitants and this was inrespect of the freedom of worship.Furthermore, according to Hindu tradition,God Siva, as Mahadeva, is the creator.The God Siva’s consort is Parvathi, thedivine vehicle of God Siva is the sacred bullknown as Nanthi. Lord Siva, as the supremepower performs five fold functions Creation(Padaithal), Maintenance (Kattal),Destruction (Alittal), Purification (Maratittal),and Release (Arulal).In fact, the Cosmos is sustained by Lord Sivaand that functional state is represented bythe dance.The Cosmos is conjectured as the body ofSiva and the movements or the activities ofthe Cosmos is conceived of as the dance. Bythe dance process, the Cosmos, the earthinclusive, is set in motion and sustained.When he stops the dance, the Cosmos grindsto a halt and life on earth becomes extinct.When he dances again Cosmos is broughtinto existence.Not only Hindus but also Buddhists havegreat respect for God Konesar and themajority of them visit this temple to payhomage.During the Ther festival, the deities aredecorated and illuminated and taken throughthe streets which shows one’s progress in lifeand the lesson is that throughout his life onemust control human and passions and guidethem with the help of its soul.These passions are the driving force of life,but untrained and unguided will wreck aman’s life. This is the symbolic meaning ofthe Chariot festival.

Thirukoneswaram Hindu temple in Trincomalee

Koneswaram annual festival


Dulverton Road Croydon CR2 8PJ

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NEWSLANKA NEWSLANKA

FREE WEEKLY NEWSPAPER

E: info newslanka.net@ ISSUE 907T: 020 7978 9030THURSDAY - - 2009APRIL 23

(Daily News- 22/04/09) - The request by BritishPrime Minister Gordon Brown for a pause inmilitary action was deemed as unnecessary byPresident Mahinda Rajapaksa considering theunexpected exodus of 35,000 civilians to thecleared areas from the No Fire Zone (NFZ). Thiswas said by President Rajapaksa during atelephone conversation initiated by the BritishPrime Minister on Tuesday.President Rajapaksa observed that this movementof civilians had evoked a completely new situationand he had instructed that additionalconsignments of food, medicine and otheressentials be dispatched to these civilians who aresheltered.He explained that the people took to fleeing to thecleared areas amidst shooting and other forms of

intimidation by the LTTE, now holed up in the NFZ.Subsequently by evening, another 5,000 peoplehad moved out of the NFZ along the beach front tothe North, he said.President Rajapaksa pointed out that he has aresponsibility to take care of the welfare of thesecivilians and is committed to providing the requiredfacilities and conditions.He assured the British Prime Minister that thesedisplaced persons would be re-settled in theirareas of habitation within the shortest possibletime, following the clearance of landmines, whichis being done with the assistance of the UN, andwhen the environment is secured. He also referredto the need for infrastructure development inKilinochchi and other areas that had been underLTTE control all these years.

With regard to the political process, PresidentRajapaksa outlined that once terrorism has beeneliminated, political proposals in terms of the SriLankan agenda, which are at present beingformulated will be presented.He elaborated that already steps had been takento implement the 13th Amendment to theConstitution. He hoped that the Tamil NationalAlliance which had hitherto rejected his invitationto participate in political consultations wouldparticipate in this process in the near future. ThePresident also explained to the British PrimeMinister that he envisages the holding of Localgovernment elections in the district of Jaffna withinthe next two months.On inquiry by Prime Minister Brown with regard tothe status of his Special Envoy to Sri Lanka,

President Rajapaksa informed that Sri Lanka’sposition on the non-acceptability of the saidappointment remained unchanged.The President stated that this situation had beenfurther compounded with the participation of theappointee at a Conference held in London recentlywhere it was resolved to establish a sovereignstate of Tamil Eelam, which is the doctrine of theLTTE, and the remarks he had made therein.He stated, however, that in deference to thetraditional warm relations between the twocountries, that while there is a standing invitationfrom Sri Lanka to the UK for a high level visit, across-party parliamentary delegation could alsoundertake a visit for which the timing could beworked out through diplomatic channels.

Brown calls Rajapakse

Press Release

LTTE welcomesUS State Department’s

Statement(20th April 2009) - The Liberation Tigers of TamilEelam appreciates the genuine concernsexpressed by the United States Government’sstatement dated 16th April 2009, on the escalatinghumanitarian catastrophe in the Vanni/Mullaitivuregion. This is an important step towardsmeaningful international action to actually protectand provide relief to the forlorn Tamil civilianpopulation incurring daily causalities andunspeakable tragedies from the offensive militaryoperations of the Sri Lankan armed forces towardsthe safe zone where they were asked to go into, bythe same Sri Lankan Government.Apart from the plight of the civilian population inthe safe zone, the Tamil people in other parts ofthe Tamil homeland are facing... Cont on p2

Tigers fail to surrender(Dailymirror.lk - 22/04/09) - The military said therewas no response from the LTTE leadership to itscall to surrender as more and more civilians intheir hundreds continued to reach cleared areasyesterday.“The time is over, we are continuing with ourhumanitarian operations,” military SpokesmanUdaya Nanayakkara told the Daily Mirror. He alsosaid more areas have been captured since troopsentered the ‘Safe zone’.On Monday afternoon, the government asked theLTTE leader to surrender within 24 hours.Meanwhile, Army Commander Sarath Fonsekahad told state media that the military captured thePuthumatalan hospital in the Safe zone and alsobreached the eastern coast of the safe zone.Informed sources said the troops separated thesafe zone into two, and advancing both towards tonorth and south of the safe zone by yesterdayevening.Meanwhile, the Defence Ministry said 58 Division

soldiers yesterday morning enteredthe areas of Puthumanthalam andAmapalavanpokkanai in the safezone and rescued more civilians.“Troops rescued nearly 3,000civilians early yesterday , andwalked into the vacated areas.Troops have now established theirpositions across the safe zone fromPuthumathalan to the beachhead,”the ministry said.It said the manoeuver has savedlives of several thousands ofcivilians trapped in the areaextending from PuthumathalanNorth to the northern border of thesafe zone.CONT ON P2

France to launch reliefoperation with Britain

France on Wednesday proposed carrying out a jointrelief operation with Britain to help civilians in SriLanka who have fled fighting between governmentforces and Tiger rebels."We will try to launch an operation," Foreign MinisterBernard Kouchner told a radio interview, adding thathe would discuss the plan with his British counterpartDavid Miliband.Kouchner said French and British boats could bedispatched to help the tens of thousands of civilianswho have fled the conflict zone "because these peopleare on the beaches and some are drowning at sea."Authorities in Sri Lanka said Wednesday that 60,000men, women and children had managed to escapeover the previous two days as the governmentpressed on with its offensive against the rebels.Kouchner cautioned that the proposal was still at anearly stage."You know there have been a lot of relief operationsand unfortunately, people are a bit tired of all that, asare governments," he told France Culture radio.He also said there were no plans for a militaryintervention. "We have certainly not reached thatpoint," he said.

NEWSLANKA NOTICEDUE TO TECHNICAL PROBLEMS, WE HAVE LOST ACCESS TO ALL E-MAILS

THAT WERE SENT TO US BEFORE 18.00HRS ON 03/04/09.SO IF YOU HAVE SENT SOMETHING THAT WE HAVE NOT ANSWERED OR

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Meditation sessions with guidance in English

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SL willfrom P8it would be easy for investigatorsin Oslo to identify those who werepresent and take necessaryaction."Was it because those responsibleare now Norwegians?’’ one sourceasked.Information available suggestedthat only one person had beenquestioned and that he had notbeen detained."The Norwegian police are givingthe investigation of the attack thehighest priority, and the police aredoing everything they can to bringthe culprits to justice," theNorwegianstatementsaid.Norwayclaimed alongstandingfriendship withSri Lanka withthe RoyalNorwegianGovernmentsaying that alltheir effortshave been towork for peacewithin a unitedSri Lanka."All attentionwas nowdirectedtowards theprecarioussituation forthe civilianstrapped in theconflict zone,and to end thefight withoutfurtherbloodshed," aNorwegianstatement

said.Earlier last week Mr. JonHanssen-Bauer, Norway’s SpecialEnvoy to Sri Lanka, said thatNorway had not been able to playa mediation role in Sri Lanka’s civilwar since the peace processbroke down three years ago."We cannot be facilitators in apeace process which has in effectbeen suspended since 2006,"Hanssen Bauer said.He made this comment after theSri Lankan government hadannounced that it "perceives that itis no longer feasible for Norway toact as facilitator in its engagementwith Sri Lanka in the currentcontext."

Cricinfo staffBangladesh Under-19 197 (Hasan 82*, Ekanayake3-32) and 117 for 1 (Rubel 73*) drew with SriLanka Under-19 369 (Rajapaksha 110, Chandimal

106)ScorecardDinesh Chandimal and Banuka Rajapaksha scoredbrilliant hundreds but Sri Lanka had to be content

with a draw in theiropening game on thethe tour of Bangladesh.Resuming on 110 for 2,both batsmencontinued in strongfashion, with Rajapkshaplaying the aggressor.Both batsmen,however, were retiredout, but not beforeRajapaksha hadsmashed 16boundaries and foursixes during his 130-ball innings with

Chandimal hitting 16 fours during his 150-ball stay.Kushal Janith Perera's 50 off 85 balls, comprisingsix boundaries, made it a day to forget for theBangladesh U-19 bowlers as the visitors finishedwith a lead of 172.It was a much better showing from Bangladesh U-19 second time around as Mohammad Rubel toreinto the Sri Lankan U-19 attack. He remainedunbeaten on 73 off 71 balls, stroking 10 fours andtwo sixes en route.The two teams will face off next in the firstYouth Test beginning Wednesday in Fatullah.© CricinfoBangladesh Under-19s 1st inningsS. Khan c KKMR Perera b M Ekanayake 4M. Rubel c BMB Ekanayake b Jayarathne 15Saikat Ali lbw b Jayarathne 1Asif Ahmed c Udayanga b M Ekanayake 9Irfan Sukkur c Udayanga b KKMR Perera 18Mahmudul Hasan retired hurt 82

Tasamul Haque lbw b Udayanga 7Anamul Haque c Chandimal b M Ekanayake 8N. Hossain c BMB Ekanayake b KKMR Perera 39Kamrul Islam c & b KKMR Perera 4Saddam Hossain not out 4Extras (lb 6) 6Total (all out; 61.1 overs) 197

(Contd: on P22)

Bangladesh U-19 v Sri Lanka U-19, 1st match, 2nd day

Chandimal and Rajapaksha shine in drawn match



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Sandasen Marasinghe(DN - 21/04/09) Colombo District JudgeSampath Wijeratne yesterday extended theenjoining order that restrained the Sri LankaSchools Rugby Football Association (SLSRFA)from acting on its decision to demote the St.Anthony’s College team of Kandy to Group 1Segment 2 in 2009 season till May 04.The Court also fixed May 06, for hearing of theanswers and objections filed by the defendantsK.D. Punyadasa, Kumara Rodrigo and A.K.B.Dodanwela respectively the President,Secretary and the Treasurer of the SLSRFA inconnection with this action. The enjoiningorder also prevented SLSRFA from taking anysteps preventing St Anthony’s College (SACK)playing at the School League RugbyTournament 2009 in Group 1 Segment 1 tilldetermination of this plaint.Principal of the St. Anthony’s College of KandyRev. Fr. TitusRodrigo filed theplaint beforeColombo DistrictCourt and prayed todeclare the decisionby the SLSRFA todemote the St.Anthony’s College to

Group 1 Segment 2 in the School RugbyLeague Tournament 2009 was null and void.The defendants filing the answers and theobjections stated that the plaintiff learnt evenbefore June 28, 2008 by means of a news itemin a newspaper that his school had beendemoted to Group 1 Segment 2. If the plaintiffwas not satisfied with the same decision of theSLSRFA it could have taken two remedialactions at the initial stage. The plaintiff couldhave appealed to the SLSRFA or to the SportsAssociation of theEducation Ministry.The defendants furtherstated that the plaintiffdeliberately did not takethese actions with theintention to jeopardise theSLSRFA LeagueTournament 2009. Thedefendants also stated

that there were nearly 65 schools that playedRugby while 3000 students involved in thegame.If the tournament were canceled thosestudents would never entertain that opportunityagain in their life again. Based on thesegrounds to deprive these players ofparticipating in the tournament was unjust.The defendants prayed before the Court todismiss the case.

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It was a busy day for His Excellency theHigh Commissioner for Sri Lanka in theUK – Justice Nihal Jayasinghe. However,he very graciously found some time toreceive the FOC team bringing thetraditional invitation to welcome him asthe Chief Guest of the Festival of Cricket2009, to be held on Sunday, 12th July,2009 at the Winchmore Hill C.C., ThePaulin Grounds, London N21 3ER.Since its inception in 1989, andcommencing with His ExcellencyChandra Monarawala,The High Commissioner at that time, ithas been a tradition that the HighCommissioner for Sri Lanka hoists theSri Lankan national flag , at the FOCopening ceremony.The FOC was the brain child of OldAnandian – Mr.G.C. Perera -, at a timeCivil war and ethnic unrest appeared tohave enveloped the country and the

words 'Unity' and 'Friendship' were attheir lowest ebb. The FOC enabledfeelings of unity and friendship to return,in the form of a sporting event, - themuch loved game of Cricket !.At the meeting, HE Justice NihalJayasinghe, was informed of thearrangements and progress of theFestival of Cricket 2009 by office bearersof the FOC 2009 team - Hon. JointPresidents Brian Ratnayake andJay(antha) Edirappuli, Hon. Secretary -Victor Wickramasinghe, Hon. Treasurer -Wickrama De S. Waidyanatha, Hon.Assistant Secretary - Dr. SirinimalFernando and Hon. Sub CommitteeChairmen - Methsiri Wijeratna (FundRaising), and N. Wimalendran(Charity).The Country Manager, Bank ofCeylon – The Main Sponsor - CyrilMadadeniya was also present (Pix byNimal Navaratne).

FOC Team, and BOC Country Manager with His Excellency, the High Commissioner for Sri Lanka in the UK – Justice Nihal Jayasinghe

FOC Joint Presidents with His Excellency the High Commissionerfor Sri Lanka in the UK - Justice Nihal Jayasinghe.

FOC’s 21st Visit to the Sri Lanka High Commission - UK



Chandimal

CH & FC to becoached by

from P20Bowling O M R W EconPLM Jayarathne 10 1 25 2 2.50M Ekanayake 12 4 32 3 2.66KKMR Perera 19.1 10 30 3 1.56KAKV Perera 5 1 16 0 3.20RJI Udayanga 8 0 49 1 6.12AK Perera 1 0 3 0 3.00PC de Silva 3 0 18 0 6.00MDUS Jayasundera 3 0 18 0 6.00

LD Chandimal retired out 106MDUS Jayasunderab Saikat Ali 29BMB Ekanayake c Irfan Sukkur b Saikat Ali 2PBB Rajapaksha retired out 110MDKJ Perera retired out 50AK Perera lbw b Kamrul Islam 4RJI Udayanga lbw b Kamrul Islam 0KAKV Perera lbw b Shahadat Hossain 36PC de Silva c & b Saddam Khan 15KKMR Perera lbw b Saddam Hossain 10M Ekanayake not out 0Extras (b 6, nb 1) 7Total (all out; 93.3 overs) 369

Bowling O M R W EconKamrul Islam 14 1 47 2 3.35Shahadat Hossain (2) 12 1 51 1 4.25Saddam Hossain 9.3 0 46 1 4.84Saikat Ali 15 4 54 2 3.60Asif Ahmed 12 2 44 0 3.66Noor Hossain 19 3 70 0 3.68Mahmudul Hasan 9 0 36 0 4.00Tasamul Haque 2 0 14 0 7.00Saddam Khan 1 0 1 1 1.00

Bangladesh Under-19s 2nd inningsSaddam Khan c Chandimal b de Silva 25Mohammad Rubel not out 73Saikat Ali not out 17Extras (lb 2) 2Total (1 wicket; 21 overs) 117

Bowling O M R W EconPLM Jayarathne 3 0 17 0 5.66M Ekanayake 2 0 10 0 5.00KAKV Perera 2 0 9 0 4.50PC de Silva 4 0 26 1 6.50RJI Udayanga 7 0 37 0 5.28MDUS Jayasundera 3 0 16 0 5.33

former center three quarter of Harlequins UK(ISL - 22/04/09) Australian David Edwards, formercenter three quarter of Harlequins UK will be the newcoach of CH & FC for the 2009 rugby season. The 52-year-old David, a Welshman, began with playing forSwansea school and the youth teams. He went on torepresent Swansea District team and played forAbacravon Harlequins in the Premier league.

Sri Lanka Under-19s 1st innings

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Group 3 Asia/OceaniaTie - Godamanna,

Rajapakse impressiveSL Davis Cup Team Elevated to Group 2:

Richard Dwight(DN - 21/04/09) The promotion of the Sri LankaDavis Cup team from Group 3 to Group 2 was along time coming, for not since 1999 had our teamthe privilege of moving over to Group 2, and sowhen our Davis Cup squad comprising.Harshana Godamanne, Rajiv Rajapakse, SankhaAtukorala and Guyanga Weerasekera, triumphedalong with Pacific Oceania at the now concluded2009 Asia/Oceania Group 3 Davis Cup tie in Syria,to be elevated to Group 2 in 2010 - theirachievement was all the more praiseworthy.The 8 nation 2009 Davis Cup tie Group 3 held inSyria from April 13 to 19 were divided intocategories A and B. In Group 'A' were PacificOceania, Lebanon, Tajikistan and Singapore,Group 'B' had Sri Lanka, Syria, Saudi Arabia andIran. In Group A Pacific Oceania forged aheadwinning all their 3 ties beating Lebanon, Tajikisanand Singapore. Lebanon won 2 ties and lost thethird to Pacific Oceania.Tajikistan just won the odd tie against Singapore,with Singapore loosing all their 3 ties. PacificOceania was most outstanding to be placed first ingroup 'A' with Lebanon placed second.Sri Lanka virtually dominated Group 'B', withGodamanne and Rajapakse acquitting themselvescreditably well, in stamping their class by winningall 3 ties against Syria, Saudi Arabia and Iran.Whilst Syria won 2 ties and lost the third to SriLanka. Saudi Arabia just won one against Iran withIran ending losing all their 3 ties. Sri Lanka wasfirst while Syria was placed in Group B.The four contending teams for promotion to Group2, were Pacific Oceania, Sri Lanka Lebanon andSyria. The outcome was both Pacific Oceania andSri Lanka placed first and second were successfulin their quest for promotion to Group 2 in the year2010.The Sri Lanka Davis Cup squad of HarshanaGodammana, Rajeev Rajapaksa, AsankaAtukorala and Guyanga Weerasekera, with nonplaying captain and manager, Asiri Idamalgodaarrives this morning at 8.15 a.m. at theBandaranaike International Airport.

Chris Dhambarage(DN - 21/04/09) Former champions IsipatanaCollege with eleven coloursmen and two nationalplayers in their ranks are confident of maintainingan unbeaten record when the new inter schoolrugby season kicks off this week.The lads from Havelock Park will be up against St.Peter’s College in their opening match of theseason on Friday at Bambalapitiya. EarlierIsipatana had the better of D. S. SenanayakeCollege by 25 points to nil in a friendly game.They also figured in two warm up matches againstCR and FC and CH and FC in addition to theirtraditional fixture against the old boys team.Isipatana College have always lived uptoexpectations as a major force in the schools rugbyscene despite not having a playground of their own.But they have worked hard every year to achievesome great results while producing someoutstanding ruggerites in the past who have gone torepresent the country with distinction. The IsipatanaCollege Rugby Chairman Hassan Sinhawansa saidthat thy have produced a total of 53 national playerssince 1960 including six Sri Lanka captains namelyHisham Abdeen, Nalin de Silva, Viraj Prasantha,Champika Nishantha, Sudath Sampath and SajithMallikarachchi.Incidentally Isipatana’s contribution to Sri Lankarugby was quite clear during their recent triumphagainst Thailand where a total of 37 points out of 51points came through the efforts of six formerIsipatana ruggereites namely Ashan de Costa,Lasith de Costa, Dinesh Kumara DinsuhaChaturanga, Reza Mubarak and SrinathSuriyabandara.This year they have already clinched the WesternProvince seven a side tournament and alsoreached the semifinals of the All Island seven a sidetournament organized by the Sri Lanka SchoolsRugby Football Association. Isipatana Collegestarted their off season training way back inNovember and then switched to their usualpractices from February. However their progresshave been somewhat disrupted without a ground oftheir own.As a result their training have been restricted to justthree days per week at Havelocks Sports Club andthat too for a period of only two hours. Despitethese many setbacks Isipatana College aredetermined to make an impact once again underthe guidance of coaches Shamly Nawaz and

Daham Sampath.Last year Isipatana College experienced mixedfortunes where they were placed sixth in theLeague tournament and were the runners up in thePresident’s Trophy knock out tournament. But theywere able to make a clean sweep while winning allseven-a-side tournaments during the season.They emerged champions in the annual Singerunder 20, Western Province, All Island and ZahiraCollege sevens and also clinched the Under 18 AllIsland ten a side tournament. However in theleague tournament they had a shock start whilegoing down to their arch rivals Trinity College Kandy10-29 at Longden Place.But Isipatana College came back strongly like a truechampion outfit to beat a strong Royal outfit by 17points to 12 points and retain the Major MilroyFernando Memorial Trophy. Isipatana College cameout with even a better performance in their nextouting as they outplayed St. Anthony’s CollegeKandy by 32 points to 10 points in a one sidedencounter at Havelock Park.They followed up this with another convincing 26points to nil victory over Dharmaraja College Kandyat the Bogambara Stadium. Isipatana College thensuffered a stunning 15-17 defeat at the hands of S.Thomas’ College at Mount Lavinia in a thrillinggame in which they could have forced a draw hadskipper DinushaChaturanga added theextra points to theirsecond try.In another unfortunatesituation IsipatanaCollege went down toKingswood CollegeKandy 3-6 with skipperDinsuha Chaturangaagain missing a lastminute penalty fromkicking range.They figured in anotherclose encounter wherethey went down fightingby a solitary point 7-8against St. Peter’sCollege at HavelockPark. But IsipatanaCollege eventuallyconcluded last year’sinter school rugby

season with a rousing 62 points to three pointsvictory over Vidyartha College Kandy in their finalleague fixture at Havelock Park.The Isipatana College First XV Rugby Pool for 2009PROP FORWARDS: Dinuk Dananjaya, DanushkaSooriyarachchi, Mohamed Wasim, M. PrasadHOOKER: Thilina LankaSECOND ROWERS: Sajid Suhayb, S. AmaldeniyaFLANKERS: Mohamed Hamza, Tharindu Lakshan,Deshan Arachchige, Uthpala SeneviratneNUMBER EIGHT: Tharindu SiriwardenaSCRUM HALF: Mohamed Rizwan, Shenal DiasFLY HALF: Niroshana Fernando (captain)CENTRES: Prasad Devinda, Roshan Attanayake,Yuresh FonsekaWINGERS: Ashan Chaturanga, VishwamithraJayasinghe, Chanaka PrasadFULL BACK: Prasad Devinda, Dilanka JayasekeraCOACH: Shamly Nawaz and Daham SamathThe fixtures: April 24: v St. Peter’s at BambalapitiyaMay 2: v Mahanama at Havelock ParkMay 9: v Kingswood at NittawelaMay 16: v Royal at Reid AvenueMay 23: v Trinity at PallekelleMay 31: v St. Joseph’s at Havelock ParkJune 6: v S. Thomas’ at Havelock ParkJune 12 v Thurstan at Longden Place

Isipatana - studded with eleven coloursmen

Now at a screen near you -www.newslanka.net

NEWSLANKAPAGE 24 23 APRIL - 2009 ISSUE 907



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SurrenderCont from p1The ministry also said that Aerial observationthrough the Air Force Unmanned Aerial Vehicle(UAV) on Monday revealed that a small group ofLTTE cadres had been firing indiscriminately at agroup consisting of several thousands of civiliansattempting to cross over to the cleared areasthrough the northern borders of the safe zone.

“Troops of the 55 Division,based in North ofPuthumatalan just onekilometer north of the safezone on Monday received5863 of these civilianswho had managed toescape.“The civilians broughtthree bodies with themalong with several dozensof others with gunshotinjuries. They said theyhad to leave behind manyothers gunned down bythe LTTE,” the ministrysaid quoting civilians whohad fled the LTTE.The ministry also said 373civilians had been injureddue to the three suicideblasts in the Safe zone onMonday at least

seventeen civilians werekilled.Meanwhile, the UnitedNations Children’s Fund(UNICEF) said it heldgrave fears for thosechildren who remaintrapped in the conflictzone. With tens ofthousands of children stillcaught amid growinghostilities between theLTTE and troops of theGovernment of Sri Lanka,UNICEF warned ofdreadful consequences forchildren.“If fighting continues and ifthe LTTE refuses to allowpeople to leave the conflictzone, then we face theintolerable inevitability ofseeing many more childrenkilled,” said UNICEF’sRegional Director for SouthAsia, Daniel Toole.The United Nations estimated that more than100,000 people remain trapped in the middle ofintense fighting on a 14 square kilometre strip ofbeach in Sri Lanka’s north.“With this latest surge in fighting, our greatest fearis that the worst is yet to come,” said Mr Toole.“With the high concentration of people in a small

space, the number of children killed in this conflictwill continue to escalate. This is a price tooheavy to pay. Solutions should be sought not justto win the war, but to win peace.”UNICEF supports calls by the UN SecretaryGeneral for a cessation in fighting during whichaid workers could access the conflict zone andthose civilians who want to leave were given thechance to do so.

LTTECont from p1... severe military oppression,countless indignities and denial ofbasic human rights. The peopledetained by the Sri LankanGovernment at military controlleddetention camps in Vavuniya aresubjected to incessant persecutionand torture by the Sri Lankan stateforces. The Tamil people in Jaffnapeninsula, Mannar, Vavuniya,Trincomalee, Batticaloa and Amparaiare subject to atrocities of the SriLanka ’s military, police andparamilitary rulers on a daily basis.The IDPs in North and East of theIsland are subject to indefinitemilitary control without any effectivemechanisms to facilitate their safetyand return to their own homes andvillages.So far, while the rest of the world hasconcentrated on apportioning blame,the United States has stressed theimportance of finding solutions to putan immediate end to the plight of theTamil civilians being lured andattacked in the safe zone by the SriLankan Government. USA has alsobeen openly acknowledge the needto address the basic discrimination,inequality and racism towards theTamil people by the Sinhalese SriLankan Government that was and isthe root cause for our fight forfreedom. The community that hasbeen fighting for justice over its

treatment and unequal status willnow never forget the deep woundsleft by the innumerable deaths oftheir kith and kin directly caused bythe actions of the Sri LankanGovernment. A military solution willnever lay this problem to rest, as theSri Lankan Government envisagesand constantly promises everyone.The LTTE would like reiterate itscommitment to a ceasefire withoutany preconditions, as urged by theUS and other members of theinternational community. The LTTE isalso ready for a meaningfulnegotiation on all issues related tohumanitarian access, security,movement and welfare of the Tamilcivilian population.The LTTE urges the Sri Lankangovernment to stop its militaryactions, including shelling andbombing civilian areas and acceptthe call of the United States andother members of the Internationalcommunity for a ceasefire, which webelieve will create a conduciveatmosphere for talks on all relevantissues.We note the Sri LankanGovernment’s recent statements thatwe are not in a position to ask for anypreconditions. We would like to makeit clear that while the basic rights ofthe Tamils continue to be denied,while successive Sri LankanGovernments always consider thatthe way to address our grievances..

(Contd: on P4)

No taker for childrenkillers’ bodiesby S.K.Kaluarachi and

Lalith Chaminda.(ISL - 22/04/09) Nobody came forward to theKarapitiya Teaching Hospital yesterday (21) toaccept the bodies of the father and son, the mainsuspects in the killing of a three-year-old boy anda 10-year-old girl at Negekanda in Akmeemanaon April 17.However, one person called over at theKarapitiya Teaching Hospital to identify the deadfather and son. The bodies were then handedover to the Grama Sevaka to be buried at StateexpensesA ten-year-old girl Irangani and a three -year oldboy Kaveen Raksmika went missing while athome at Nugekanda in Akmeemana on April 17and on the following day their bodies wererecovered from two places in the neighbourhoodby the Police and the villagers.A father and son who were arrested in thisconnection were later shot dead by the Policewhen they tried to escape.

(DM - 22/04/09) The Tamil Tiger rebels will neversurrender, the head of the separatists' peacesecretariat told Reuters ysterday, despite theirbeing outgunned in an apparent final offensive by

the Sri Lankan military. Seevaratnam Puleedevan,secretary-general of the LTTE peace secretariat,urged the international community to intervene byforcing a permanent ceasefire, which the

government has ruled out.The military says around 50,000 people havefled the Tiger-held area so far since Monday,and had given the LTTE until noon yesterday, adeadline already passed, to surrender or bedestroyed.“The LTTE will never surrender and we will fightand we have the confidence that we will winwith the help of the Tamil people,” Puleedevantold Reuters by telephone. He said he was nearthe border of the no-fire zone in Sri Lanka'snortheastern coast.The LTTE is surrounded there by around 50,000troops expected to soon deal a final blow to theTigers, who have waged war since 1983 tocreate a separate state for Sri Lankan Tamils.LTTE leader Vellupillai Prabhakaran was insidethe no-fire zone, Puleedevan said.“He is with us and he is directing the waragainst the Sri Lankan armed forces and

providing a lot of support and assistance to thepeople,” Puleedevan said.The LTTE founder created its culture of committingsuicide by taking cyanide in case of capture, and ofpioneering suicide bombing as a weapon of war.The latter has landed the LTTE on U.S., EU, Indianand Canadian terrorist lists.Puleedevan accused the military of using Tamilcivilians as human shields, an accusation theUnited Nations, a host of western countries andpeople who have escaped LTTE-held areas havemade against the rebels.“The time is running out for the internationalcommunity to intervene, because you know that abloodbath is going to happen,” he said.Military spokesman Udaya Nanayakkaracategorically rejected the accusation.“We have never used civilians as human shields.We were on the other side and the LTTE wasshooting and killing people and using them ashuman shields. We went in and rescued them.How can anyone say we were using civilians ashuman shields?” he said.

(Contd: on P4)

Will never surrender: LTTE



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NEWSLANKAPAGE 04 23 APRIL - 2009 ISSUE 907LTTE

Will never

NCPA vows to wipe outchild domestic labour

Police pin down 13 SLteam attackers

Cont from p2

from P2

by Dilanthi Jayamanne

is through military action and not constitutionalchanges, while the injustices against the Tamilsnow also includes daily shelling and killing of Tamilmen, women, children and even unborn babies (forall of which we have pictorial evidence), while theinternational community watches on in deafeningsilence, the LTTE and the fight for our freedom willalso continue. The methods may vary but SriLanka will never be able to live in peace, as itimagines a military victory will bring.However, for the record, the LTTE would like toemphasise again that it is always ready to explorepeaceful means to resolve the conflict.

Puleedevan also accused the government of killing1,000 people and wounding 2,000 on Monday viashelling.The government has denied that and accuses theTigers of creating a humanitarian crisis to buildinternational pressure for a ceasefire to try andrearm, as they have done in the past.The United Nations and witnesses who haveescaped Tiger areas have repeatedly said theLTTE was shooting people who try to flee andforcing others including children as young as 15 tofight.“People are giving full support to us and theyare fighting with us, because the LTTE is fightingfor them,” Puleedevan said.“That's why they are voluntarily joining and fightingwith us. We are not taking any children with us inour armed forces.” Sri Lanka's air force on Mondayreleased video taken from an unmanned droneshowing what it said were people streaming out ofthe no-fire zone and congregating by thethousands at an army reception centre just outsideof it.Another one said showed what the air force saidwere Tiger gunmen shooting toward hundreds ofpeople corralled tightly together at the edge of thesurf. Muzzle flashes could be seen.

(ISL - 22/04/09) Expressing grave concern over theemployment of children under 18 years of age asdomestics, the National Child Protection Authorityvowed to eradicate this menace.Perturbed by media reports in this regard,Chairman of the National Child Protection Authority(NCPA) Jagath Wellawatta said they would soonremedy this situation by wiping out child domesticlabour in Sri Lanka completely.He said yesterday (21) that reports carried onRizana, now condemned to death in Saudi Arabia,a child domestic throwing a baby into a well carriedin newspapers on April 2 had made the NCPArealize that by employing children below the age of18 as domestics it affected the development oftheir personality, hindered their education andcurtailed their childhood freedom."They get sexually abused and receive corporalpunishment from their employers. In the end thechildren are psychologically affected. However,there is a dire need for a proper monitoringscheme to even come up with laws that would leadto punishment to prevent such calamities," he said.The NCPA would amend labour laws to preventemployment of children below the age of 18 asdomestics and carry out an island wide programmeto free children already employed, he said.The NCPA would initiate a foster parentprogramme to care for children freed by them.Wellawatta urged politicians, media personnel, civilorganizations, community leaders, artistes andNGOs to assist in carrying out this program.

(DM - 22/04/09) The Punjab police claimed onTuesday to have identified 13 terrorists who carriedout the attack on the Sri Lankan team at Libertychowk. In an exclusive interview with Geo newscorrespondent Mian Abid, IGP Punjab ShaukatJaved revealed that the investigators gatheredimportant information into the Liberty attack fromthe terrorist who was arrested at Manawan.Shaukat said that the attack on the Sri Lankanteam at Liberty chowk bore resemblance to theManawan attack.He further said that all 13 Sri Lankan teamattackers had been identified and law-enforcingagencies would soon apprehend the culprits.

President, UK PM in telephone conversation

By Jamila Najmuddin(DM - 22/04/09) The government yesterdaylambasted the United Nations for accepting anenvoy from Britain whose appointment hasalready been rejected by the Sri Lankangovernment, to discuss issues concerning theisland.Government Defence Spokesperson, KeheliyaRambukwella told the Daily Mirror that thegovernment would not allow anyone to “barge”into the country and would turn a deaf ear tointernational criticism especially at a time whenthe war was almost won by the security forces.Minister Rambukwella further said issuesconcerning Sri Lanka were to be looked into bythe government and not special envoys who hadbeen rejected continuously by the President ofthe country. He also said it was “unjust” for theUN to allow an envoy from Britain to arrive attheir doorstep and discuss about a country whichthey were not affiliated to.“We are not under British rule anymore and thatis why Britian should not interfere in our affairs. Itis unfair for the UN to accept such an envoy.Some countries are operating on a differentagenda but we do not care as our commitment istowards the people of this country and we will doeverything possible to save them from terrorism,”Minister Rambukwella said.The Minister furthersaid the UN did not have the right to send aspecial representative to hold discussionsregarding Sri Lanka and UN representatives

cannot function as officials in Britain or any otherinternational countries. “This is wrong and we willnot allow this,” Minister Rambukwella said.Britian’s Special Envoy Des Brown has alreadyflown to New York to begin discussions regardingSri Lanka with the UN, sources said.Former British Defence Secretary Des Brownwas appointed as an envoy by British PrimeMinister Gordon Brown to visit Sri Lanka monthsago, a move which was vehemently rejected bythe Sri Lankan government.According to international media reports the UNSecurity Council behind closed doors on Mondaydiscussed getting a briefing from Ban Ki Moon’senvoy Vijay Nambiar who visited Sri Lanka lastweek.The US Deputy Permanent RepresentativeAlejandro Wolff was quoted in the internationalmedia stating that the US “supports the call” bythe UK for a briefing on Sri Lanka. According tothe Inner City Press, in a closed door meeting, itwas France which made the request for thebriefing.Meanwhile the request by British Prime MinisterGordon Brown for a pause in military action wasdeemed as unnecessary by President MahindaRajapaksa considering the unexpected exodus of35,000 civilians to the cleared areas from the NoFire Zone (NFZ). This was said by PresidentRajapaksa during a telephone conversationinitiated by the British Prime Minister on Monday,the President’s office said.

(Contd: on P5)

HRW SEEKS UNCOMMISSION OF

INQUIRY ONSRI LANKA

(DM - 22/04/09) Human Rights Watch says thereis a need for a United Nations commission ofinquiry to investigate war crimes in Sri Lankaadding that the army is still using heavy artillerywhile the LTTE continues to block civilians fromfleeing the war zone.Sources in the 20-square-kilometer “no-fire zone”reported to Human Rights Watch that the SriLankan army is still using heavy artillery inattacks on the densely populated area and thatthe LTTE continues to block civilians from fleeing.There were unconfirmed reports of civiliancasualties even today. At least 10,000 peoplehave managed to escape in the past day, butsome reports say that 50,000 to 100,000 civiliansremain in the conflict area under grave threat.“The government’s ‘final warning’ to the TamilTigers should not be considered a final warningto the thousands of trapped civilians,” said BradAdams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch.“Both sides need to show far greater concern forcivilians, or many more civilians will die.”Under international humanitarian law applicableto the armed conflict in Sri Lanka, both the SriLankan armed forces and the LTTE are obligatedto take all feasible precautions to minimize harmto civilian life and property. But since January,both sides have shown little regard for the safetyof civilians in the embattled Vanni region innortheastern Sri Lanka, and more than 4,500civilians are believed to have died in the fighting,according to UN estimates. The LTTE hasviolated the laws of war by using civilians as“human shields,” by preventing civilians fromfleeing the combat zone, and by deliberatelydeploying their forces close to densely populatedcivilian areas. The Sri Lankan armed forces haveshelled densely populated areas, in violation ofthe laws of war.Human Rights Watch reminded Sri Lanka of itsobligations under international law to investigatecredible allegations of war crimes, including bymembers of its own forces, and appropriatelyprosecuting those responsible. Past Sri Lankangovernment investigations into allegations of warcrimes have led to few prosecutions, particularlyin recent years. Human Rights Watch also calledon the UN Security Council to establish aCommission of Inquiry into allegations of warcrimes by both sides. “The Sri Lankangovernment needs to hear loudly and clearly froma concerted international community that they,just as the Tamil Tigers, will be held accountablefor what happens to the civilians in the no-firezone,” said Adams. “It is high time for thehumanitarian crisis in Sri Lanka to be officiallytaken up on the Security Council’s agenda.”

Avoid civiliancasualties: US toSri Lanka, LTTE

(DM - 22/04/09) The United States hasexpressed its deep concern over humanitariansituation in Sri Lanka's northeast where troopsare poised for a final assault against the LTTE,reports say."We are very concerned about humanitariansituation there. It is dire," State DepartmentActing Spokesman, Robert Wood, told reportersas he called on both the warring parties to ceasehostilities and protect the civilians in the No FireZone (NFZ).Stating that the U.S. was working with a numberof interested parties to see an end to the conflict,he said the U.S. would continue trying in thisregard. "But it's important that both sidesminimize, to the greatest possible extent, anycivilian casualties, protect civilians, and allowhumanitarian organizations to get food to thepeople who need it," Wood said.Noting that the ground conditions there as "veryserious" he said, "I don't have a magic formula foryou in terms of how we deal with it, but the U.S.would continue to work with others in theinternational community to try to see what can bedone to stop it." When asked about the 24-hourdeadline declared by the Sri Lanka governmentto Tamil Tigers to surrender or die, Wood's said:"I haven't seen those comments, but again, wecontinue--well, let me just say, first and foremost,that we recently issued a statement on theconflict in Sri Lanka."

(DM - 22/04/09) Secretary-General Ban Ki-moonwelcomed the escape of thousands of civiliansfrom the conflict zone in north-eastern Sri Lankabut also expressed deep concern about the fateof the civilians who remain in the conflict zoneand the potential for large-scale casualties. Whilecondemning the army’s continued use of heavyweapons in the so-called no-fire zone, a 14-square kilometre area in the Vanni region, healso deplored “the use of force by the LiberationTigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in preventing thedeparture of civilians from the conflict zone.”In the light of the latest outflow of displaced

persons, theUN and itspartners areintensifyingefforts toprovidehumanitarianassistance. “Itis now

imperative for UN staff to be allowed into theconflict zone to facilitate relief operations and theevacuation of civilians,” the Secretary-Generalnoted.He stressed that humanitarian agencies must beallowed to assess needs and bring in adequaterelief supplies and they must also be allowed tohave full access to screening centers.Aid groups have been preparing to receive largenumbers of new internally displaced persons(IDPs), in addition to around 65,000 already inmakeshift camps after fleeing combat.The UN Office for the Coordination ofHumanitarian Affairs (OCHA) stressed the needto bolster hospital resources, provide additionalmobile teams and strengthen disease controlmeasures for arriving IDPs, who are expected tohave higher levels of malnutrition. OCHA notedthat water is being supplied to camps in the areaby tankers until sufficient infrastructure is inplace.

Lanka slams UN over British envoy

Civilians escape war zone: Ban relieved



(DM - 22/04/09) New Delhi:The LTTE is "a terroristorganization" and its chiefVellupillai Prabhakaran "aproclaimed offender", IndianPrime Minister ManmohanSingh said yesterday.He was clarifying the Congressposition two days after TamilNadu Chief Minister M.Karunanidhi's contentiousremark about the LTTE Chiefbeing a "friend"."Tamil Nadu Chief Minister hasclarified his position and theCongress party spokesmanKapil Sibal has explained (the)Congress position," the primeminister told a TV channel.DMK Chief in a televisioninterview describedPrabhakaran as a "good friend"but Mr. Karunanidhi did a U-turn on Monday when he saidthe LTTE was indeed a terroristoutfit and that his remarks weretaken out of context.Mr. Sibal rejected Mr.Karunanidhi's comments as his"personal opinion" and said theCongress views Prabhakaranas a terrorist and the LTTE asan extremist outfit.The DMK is a key ally of theCongress-led UnitedProgressive Alliance (UPA).Meanwhile Priyanka GandhiVadra yesterday sought tokeep away from the row over

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MKarunanidhi’s remarks aboutLTTE chief V Prabhakaran,maintaining it was “both apersonal and political matter”for her.In an interview with The IndianExpress, Priyanka said she didnot share brother RahulGandhi’s views that the familywas still to get justice for theassassination of Rajiv Gandhi.“Rahul and I perhaps react tothis particular thing slightlydifferently. I know Rahul. Hehas no anger in his heart, nohatred in his heart. He was onlyreferring to the fact that thejustice system takes a longtime,” she said.Priyanka, who met Nalini(convicted in her father’sassassination case) in jail lastyear, said she was not seekingjustice from any individual. “Iactually think that justice issomething that I cannotdemand from other humanbeings. Justice is somethingthat the universe will give me.You see this fact that this lady(Nalini) has suffered as muchas, if not more than, I havesuffered. In a sense, that isjustice. Nobody has made hersuffer. Circumstances havecreated that suffering.”(Times of India)

India says Tigers are terrorists


Civiliansfrom P4President Rajapaksa observed that this movement ofcivilians had evoked a completely new situation and hehad instructed that additional consignments of food,medicine and other essentials be dispatched to thesecivilians are now sheltered.He explained that the people took to fleeing to thecleared areas amidst shooting and other forms ofintimidation by the LTTE, now holed up in the NFZ.Subsequently by evening hours, another 5,000 peoplehad moved out of the NFZ along the beach front to theNorth, he said. President Rajapaksa pointed out that hehas a responsibility to take care of the welfare of thesecivilians and is committed to providing the requiredfacilities and conditions. He assured the British PrimeMinister that these displaced persons would be re-settled in their areas of habitation within the shortestpossible time, following the clearance of landmines,which is being done with the assistance of the UN, andwhen the environment is secured. He also referred tothe need for infrastructure development in Kilinochchiand other areas that had been under LTTE control allthese years.With regard to the political process, PresidentRajapaksa outlined that once terrorism has beeneliminated, political proposals in terms of the Sri Lankanagenda, which are at present being formulated will bepresented. He elaborated that already steps had beentaken to implement the 13th amendment to theConstitution. He hoped that the Tamil National Alliancewhich had hitherto rejected his invitation to participate inpolitical consultations would participate in this process inthe near future. The President also explained to theBritish Prime Minister that he envisages the holding ofLocal government elections in the district of Jaffnawithin the next two months.On inquiry by Prime Minister Brown with regard to thestatus of his Special Envoy to Sri Lanka, PresidentRajapaksa informed that Sri Lanka’s position on thenon-acceptability of the said appointment remainedunchanged.The President stated that this situation had been furthercompounded with the participation of the appointee at aConference held in London recently where it wasresolved to establish a sovereign state of Tamil Eelam,which is the doctrine of the LTTE, and the remarks hehad made therein. He stated, however, that in deferenceto the traditional warm relations between the twocountries, that while there is a standing invitation fromSri Lanka to the UK for a high level visit, a cross-partyparliamentary delegation could also undertake a visitfor which the timing could be worked out throughdiplomatic channels.

(DM - 22/04/09) FormerLTTE media spokesmanand media coordinatorDaya Master has justsurrendered to thearmy along withGeorge, the traslator offormer political headThamilchelvan, militarysources confirmed.They had reportedlycome to the clearedareas along with fleeingcivilians.

Daya Master

Daya Master surrenders



Only 12 squarekilometres more -

Keheliya

Karunanidhi's strike willnot affect services -

Chennai airport

(DM - 22/04/09) Only a narrow strip of twelve squarekilometres is left to be captured by the army in theSafe Zone, Defence Spokesman KeheliyaRambukwella said today. The length of the strip isapproximately 8Km and the width varies from 1kmto 2km. This came as troops of the 58 Divisioncaptured a 6km stretch North of the Safe Zonelinking it with the 55 Division.

(DM - 22/04/09) The dawn to dusk general strike,called by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi,demanding an immediate ceasefire in Sri Lanka, willnot affect air services in and out of Chennai, a topairport official said.Chennai Airport Director K Natarajan said alldomestic and international flights would operatenormally.Karunanidhi had last night called for a 12-hourgeneral strike on Thursday with the cooperation ofall political parties to condemn the Sri Lankangovernment's offensive against LTTE and expresssolidarity with Tamils there.

China backs Sri Lankanfight against LTTE

(DM - 22/04/09) BEIJING: China on Tuesday cameout in support of the Sri Lankan government’s effortsto wipe out the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam andapprehend its leader V. Prabakaran.It also backed the decision of the Nepal's PrimeMinister Pushpa Kamal Dahal, Prachanda, to inductMaoist forces in the country’s army.“Both Nepal and Sri Lanka are friendly to China. Wesupport the efforts of their governments tosafeguard national integrity while ensuring securityand political stability,” Jiang Yu, spokeswoman forthe Chinese foreign ministry said at a press briefing.She was responding to a question about the end ofthe 24 hour deadline for surrender given toPrabhakaran by the Sri Lankan government.The statement comes at a time when relationshipbetween China and Nepal has become strongerthan ever before. China recently promised toenhance its annual assistance to Nepal by 50 percent to 150 million yuan ($23 million). It is alsoconsidering investing in hydropower projects in theHimalayan kingdom bordering India.Beijing is also pushing the international communityto enhance financial support to help Somalia sortout its political problems and tackle the menace ofpirates, who have been harassing foreign shipssailing past the country/ China is among thecountries who have sent war ships to counter thechallenge posed by the pirates."We expect positive outcome from the internationaldonors’ conference on Somalia so as to providesubstantive support for the Somali political process,"Jiang said while referring to an international donor’sconference in Brussels on Wednesday andThursday which would gather representatives fromthe United Nations, the African Union and theEuropean Union. (Times of India)

30 school childrenhospitalised for food

poisoning(DM - 30/04/09) At least 30, eight-year-oldstudents attached to the Al-Noor National Boy’sSchool in Walachchenai admitted to the hospitaldue to food poisoning today, Police Spokesmansaid.

UN refugee agencysays more than

100,000 have fledSri Lanka'swar zone

(ColomboPage) Apr 21, Geneva: UnitedNation's refugee agency said today withthe new arrivals of over 40,000 people,more than 100,000 have fled the SriLanka's war zone along the northeasterncoast of Mullaitivu where they have beentrapped for months.Ron Redmond, spokesperson for the UNHigh Commissioner for Refugees(UNHCR) said the newly escapedcivilians are expected to reach thedistricts of Vavuniya and Jaffna within 48hours and few thousand have alreadyarrived in each district."As civilians are transported into the sites,UNHCR is still ascertaining the totalnumber of new IDPs in the two districts,"Mr. Redmond said in Geneva.The UNHCR official said the UNHCR andshelter agencies are working with thegovernment to identify more land,including in the district of Mannar, toalleviate overcrowding at the existing IDPsites as more civilians arrive.UNHCR said that the agency togetherwith the government and partners isproviding emergency shelter support andnon-food aid to the new arrivals whilecarrying out protection monitoring at thesites and stockpiling relief items inpreparation for additional displacement.Voicing greave concern over the civiliansstill trapped inside the conflict zone, theUNHCR official called on the LTTE toimmediately allow people to move toareas where they feel safe."We also urge both parties to the conflictto adhere to international humanitarianlaw and ensure that the safety of theinnocent civilian population is the toppriority," he said.


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Norway appeals toGovt. and LTTE

(DM - 22/04/09) In a message to the two sidesin the Sri Lanka conflict, Norway says it expectsthe Government of Sri Lanka and Tamil Tigersto avoid further civilian losses, by refraining fromfiring into or attacking the safe zone. "It isunacceptable that hundreds of civilians havebeen killed or wounded in the latest stages ofthe fighting in Sri Lanka. This could have beenavoided,” said Minister of the Environment andInternational Development, Mr Erik Solheim.“The Government of Sri Lanka themselves havedeclared a safe zone for civilians. Norwayexpects them to refrain from firing into orattacking the zone so that civilians are killed orwounded,” said Mr Solheim.“The Tamil Tigers claim that they are fighting onbehalf of the Tamil population in Sri Lanka. Theymust ensure that everyone who wants to is ableto leave the zone, and must stop firing at them,”he added.Mr Solheim underlines that thesignificant civilian losses could have beenavoided if the Sri Lankan government and theTamil Tigers had sought a political end to thewar. Norway has been working for this for a longtime.He says it is essential that the Sri Lankanauthorities give international relief organisationsaccess to everywhere there are civilians, ascalled for by the UN Secretary-General.“Norway expects those fleeing the war zone tobe treated decently. They must not be subject toabuse, and their safety must be guaranteed.They must be registered in order to preventdisappearances. And they must be allowed toreturn to their homes as soon as possible,” saidMr Solheim. Today Norway is allocating anadditional NOK 20 million to relief efforts in SriLanka. Norway will continue its efforts, togetherwith the US, the EU and Japan, in the group ofdonor countries to appeal to the Government ofSri Lanka and the Tamil Tigers to showresponsibility for the civilian population and stopthe fighting without further loss of life.“So far these efforts have been in vain. Bothsides have chosen a military solution,” said MrSolheim.Norway Post

TAMIL TIGER DEFENCES BREACHEDBY SRI LANKA ARMY

1. 12km-long defensive earthworks constructed by Tamil Tigers usingmechanical diggers2. Sri Lankan army uses explosives to destroy a 3km section3. Gap allows thousands of refugees to flee Tiger-held territory

(ISL - 17/04/09) The constructionwork of the Dehiwala fly over, at acost of Rs. 870 million, will bedeclared open today byInfrastructure, Highways and RoadDevelopment Minister T. B.Ekanayaka.The fly over is 337 meters in lengthand 7.35 meters in width.The government has spent Rs.30

million as additional expenditure forinstallation of electricity transmissionlines, telephone lines and waterlines. The British firm Mabay &Jonson Ltd and Access EngineeringLtd have been contracted to build thefly over. Around 40,000 vehicles aday are expected to have an easypassage when the fly over iscommissioned.

(ISL - 20/04/09) Timesonline onSaturday (April 18) reportedArunachalam Chrishanthakumar,known as AC Shanthan, becamethe first person to be convicted ofaiding the Liberation Tigers of TamilEelam (LTTE) since the BritishGovernment declared them anillegal terrorist group in 2001.Chrishanthakumar, a propertyvaluer from Norbury, South London,bought electrical components seenin remote-controlled bombs used bythe guerrilla force fighting a civil warin Sri Lanka.Details of links between the TamilTigers and the British authoritieswere revealed during a nine-weektrial at Kingston Crown Court.LTTE representatives had frequentmeetings with the Foreign andCommonwealth Office andChrishanthakumar regularly metSpecial Branch officers and wascontacted by MI5 as part of effortsto monitor the 300,000 Tamils livingin Britain, the court was told. ClareShort, the former InternationalDevelopment Secretary, appearedas a defence witness and told thecourt that the Government gavemillions of pounds in humanitarianaid to areas of Sri Lanka controlledby the Tamil Tigers during a four-

year ceasefire that ended in 2007.The court heard that from the early1990s Chrishanthakumar had beenhead of the United TamilOrganisation (UTO), based inBermondsey, South London, whichwas regarded as the public face ofthe Tamil Tigers in Britain. Whensupport of the LTTE and the UTOwas made illegal he became leaderof the British Tamil Association,which he insisted was separatefrom the guerrilla organisation.Jonathan Laidlaw, QC, for theprosecution, told the court thatChrishanthakumar, 52, waseffectively head of the LTTE inLondon. "He was coordinator of theprocurement exercise. He was incontact with senior LTTE figures inSri Lanka, receiving orders andrequests, and on occasions buyingequipment himself," he added.In 2004 Special Branch officersdiscovered that Chrishanthakumarhad bought items includinghandcuffs and boots for the TamilTigers’ police force from an armysurplus shop in Southsea,Hampshire. He was not arrestedbut agreed to stop buying suchitems, the court heard.

(Contd: on P8)

Convicted London-based LTTEprocurement agent’s MI5 link bared

Work on Dehiwela fly over begins




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French police to charge184 Tamil rioters

(Asiantribune.com): French police will file criminalcharges against most of the 184 Tamil Tiger cadresand sympathizers detained for rioting, possessing ofweapons and damaging public property. On Mondaypolice arrested 211 Tamils who fought policemen afterattacking several busses and cars at La Chapelle areain Paris.After preliminary investigations, 27 of them weredischarged. Police is conducting investigations toascertain the links between the detained Tamils andthe LTTE, which is a banned terrorist organization.On Monday Hundreds of demonstrators blocked anintersection in central Paris, throwing bottles atpassing buses as they demanded that Sri Lanka endits military assault on Tamil-held areas.

Convicted

Father of three beatento death

from P6

by Lalith Chamind and S. K. Kaluarchchi

However, it was alleged that he was later ordered bythe LTTE leadership in Sri Lanka to buy laptopcomputers, printed circuit boards, remote controlequipment and satellite equipment.Mr Laidlaw said: "Certain of the electrical componentsare of a sort which are used by the LTTE in improvisedexplosive devices, the bombs which were targeted atgovernment forces." Chrishanthakumar also boughtsmall, high-powered magnets of the sort that havebeen used to attach limpet mines to Sri Lankan navalvessels, he said. The Tamil Tigers first used aremotely controlled explosive device in December2005. In the next 12 months they successfully used 70such devices against government forces andpoliticians.Chrishanthakumar was convicted of conspiracy toreceive property to be used for the purposes ofterrorism and possessing military manuals for terroristpurposes.The jury failed to reach a verdict on three chargesagainst Chrishanthakumar: receiving militaryequipment and outfits, receiving money and belongingto a proscribed organisation.They also failed to agree on a charge againstJagatheeswaran Muraleetharan, 46, from Powys, MidWales, of receiving electrical components for thepurposes of terrorism. His brother, JeyatheswaranVythyatharan, 40, also from Powys, was cleared of thesame charge after the nine-week trial. MurugesuJegatheeswaran, 34, from Mitcham, South London,was found not guilty at an earlier stage of receivingelectrical components for the purposes of terrorism.The Crown Prosecution Service will decide next weekwhether to seek a retrial on outstanding charges.

(ISL - 20/04/09) A father of three children in GalleWakwella road was beaten to death by the son of arelative. The deceased was heavily drunk and hadmisbehaved at home when the incident occurred. Thedeceased was H. M. Wimalasiri Fernando (51). Thejudicial medical officer U.D.P. Pereara who conductedthe post mortem had revealed that heavy damage tothe brain had caused the death.

SL will not acceptcompensation for

damage to missionin Oslo

(ISL - 19/04/09) The Sri Lanka government willnot accept the Norwegian offer ofcompensating the government for damagecaused by an attack on Sri Lankan Embassy inOslo last Sunday by a group of pro-LTTEdemonstrators."We will not be accepting the offer ofcompensation made by Norway," a seniorforeign ministry official said on condition ofanonymity. "We can meet the cost ourselves."Officials in Colombo are also unhappy that theNorwegian Foreign Minister had not directlycontacted his counterpart in Colombo toexpress regret over this attack.In a news release last week, the RoyalNorwegian Embassy in Colombo said thatNorway’s Foreign Minister "has personallyconveyed his regrets through the Sri LankanEmbassy in Oslo.""Given the fact that a Norwegian minister couldtalk to the chief of the LTTE’s political wing andpolice, Nadesan, on the telephone, what is thedifficulty for Norway’s foreign minister to talk toour minister about this attack?’’ an official of theColombo foreign office asked.The Norwegian news release said that "Norwaywill compensate the Sri Lankan government forthe damages done to the property of the SriLankan Embassy."Diplomats in Colombo said that this was anindication of Norway accepting culpability forthe attack by not providing the requiredsecurity.Norway has taken up the position that therewas tight surveillance of LTTE groups and theonly foreign diplomatic mission in Osloprovided a static police guard was the IsraeliEmbassy.There has been extensive comment here thatthe fact that the attack was videoed bysomebody who seem to have accompanied thegroup responsible for the outrage,

(Contd: on P20)

Prabha is getting itback: UNP

By Kelum Bandaraand Yohan Perera

(DM - 22/04/09) The UNP yesterday attributedthe present fate of LTTE leader VelupillaiPrabhakaran to retribution since he killed anumber of UNP leaders in addition toengineering the defeat of its leader at the 2005Presidential Election. UNP Chairman GaminiJayawickrama Perera told Parliament that UNPLeader Ranil Wickremesinghe was denied ofthe presidency as the LTTE ordered the boycottof elections in areas held by it at that time. “TheUNP leader was attacking the LTTE with hisbrain. How can one accuse the UNP of havingany deals with the LTTE?” he asked.He also said the Karuna faction defected with6,000 cadres from the LTTE as a result of theceasefire agreement signed by the UNP.“Prabhakaran has been subjected to the fate ofretribution,” he said.He charged the same fate had befallen formerPresident Chandrika Kumaratunga for allegedcorruption and frauds committed during hertime. “Retribution recoils and the wrong doerssuffer at least in their death-beds,” he said.Responding to Mr. Perera, Nation Building Non-Cabinet Minister Susantha Punchinilame saidbrain power alone would not be sufficient whendealing with the people of this country.“MP Perera said his leader attacked the LTTEwith his brain power. It is of no use. We have toact in a manner that will be felt by the people’shearts,” he said.

Former editor recalledfrom diplomatic post

(ISL - 18/04/09) Lalith Alahakoon, formereditor of The Nation, has been recalled fromthe Sri Lankan High Commission in Islamabadwith immediate effect. Alahakoon, whoreceived a diplomatic posting followingrepresentations made to the Government inthe immediate aftermath of the abduction andassault on Keith Noyahr, the Deputy Editor ofThe Nation, is believed to have exchangedwords with Sri Lankan High Commissioner AirMarshall Jayalath Weerakkody.


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by Saman Indrajith(ISL - 22/04/09) SLMC leader RauffHakeem yesterday (21), demanded thatthe government withdraws the proposedamendments to the Local AuthoritiesElection Laws. He said that the Bill in itspresent form would never be passedsince it would not receive a two-thirdmajority in Parliament.This demand, he said, was an ultimatumto the government."The government has issued anultimatum to the LTTE. Similarly, theSLMC would like to issue an ultimatumto the government to withdraw the LocalAuthorities Elections Amendment Bill,"

Hakeem said.MP Hakeem, speaking during theadjourned debate on Local Authorities(Special Provisions) Amendment Bill,said that the Bill had been referred tothe Supreme Court by the SLMC andthe Court said that all ProvincialCouncils must first approve it. Now it isfacing certain defeat in the EasternProvincial Council, he said.The creation of the old ward system assuggested by the amendments, woulddestroy the healthy representation thatminority parties have achieved underthe PR system, Hakeem said.Hakeem thanked the members of theEastern Provincial Council including

government members for recognisingthe dangers in the Bill and rejecting it.The government has managed to getthe final vote postponed till mid-may, buteven then the Bill would be rejected, hesaid.Hakeem said that the government wastoo eager to plan a local governmentpoll in the Northern Province. Beforeholding an election, the governmentmust ensure equal facilities andprotection for all parties to contest there,he said.President Mahinda Rajapaksa is keen tohold elections for the Jaffna MunicipalCouncil first. But the government mustfirst ensure that legislation is enacted to

allow displaced Muslims from Jaffna tocast their votes from centres outside thearea.Thousands of Muslims were chased outof Jaffna by the LTTE and they are nowliving in camps. They too are citizens ofthis country and must be allowed tovote. The President had once promisedthe SLMC that necessary legislationwould be enacted for the purpose ofensuring the voting rights of displacedMuslims.The proposed amendments to the LocalAuthorities Election Laws is an outcome of the Parliamentary SelectCommittee on Election Reforms headedby Minister Dinesh Gunawardena.

(DN - 22/04/09) Addressing thewidely publicized UN worldconference against racism andracial discrimination under thetheme ‘United against Racism,Unity and Justice for all’,currently under way in Geneva,Sri Lanka’s most senior ethnicTamil Cabinet Minister said thatSri Lanka’s PresidentRajapaksa was firmlycommitted to the fullimplementation of the 13thAmendment to the Constitutionwhich gives substantiveautonomy to the provinces. Healso called upon theinternational community to putpressure on the LTTE to allowthe civilians in its captivity toleave unconditionally Social Welfare Minister Douglas Devananda meeting

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon

‘Sri Lanka firmly committed tofull provincial autonomy’

Hakeem wants proposed amendmentsLocal Authorities Elections Laws Bill withdrawn

By Lakna Paranamanna(BL - 22/04/09) The Campaign forFree and Fair Elections (CaFFE)named the Western ProvincialCouncil election campaign period, asone of the worst elections campaignsever in Sri Lankan history.“So far, nearly 97 incidents havebeen reported, including one murder.The groups or individuals responsiblefor these crimes can still be seenroaming freely, carrying out theirelections campaigns. Seriousviolations of law and order have beencommitted,” CaFFE SpokesmanKeerthi Tennakoon said. Among thetotal number of incidents that havebeen reported, an equal number of37 incidents have occurred in theDistricts of Colombo and Gampahaeach. Tennakoon said 60% of theincidents are assaults and damages

to property.He also added nearly 62,000individuals have registered more thanonce within the province and as aresult, total number of 133,000polling cards has been issued inexcess. “This is a clear violation of abasic regulation for a free and fairelection. So the free and fair state ofthis election is a questionablematter.”“This is one of the worst provincialelections held after the North CentralProvincial election. The violationshave already cost one life. Even theauthorities that are supposed to actagainst these violations seem toremain silent,” accused Tennakoon.The CaFFE had filed a petition at theCourt of Appeal regarding the doubleregistrations issue on Monday.

Pre-election violence among theworst in history – CaFFE



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PAGE 10 ISSUE 907 NEWSLANKA 23 APRIL - 2009 comp/images/Issues/Archive/Issue_907.pdfPAGE 10 ISSUE 907NEWSLANKA 23 APRIL - 2009 Wimal attacked, JVP blamed by Norman Palihawadena (DM