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Jaffna Peninsula
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South Asia Monitor.
The 1995 proposals called for greater devolution of power within a structure
closely resembling the present Sri Lankan provincial arrangement.
A loose confederal structure, with some
kind of explicit recognition of the Tamils as a collective group within it and
with stronger guarantees of their inclusion in power at the national level,
might be more successful.
More...
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India only aspires, doesn't act like a regional heavyweight - Commentry
Rediff, June 8.
Luckily, the Lankan war has not resulted in an
outflow of refugees from that island to India, though there is a trickle. The
government is caught in a cleft: worried about its political allies and
Tamilian sentiments on one side, and about opposing terrorism globally on
the other side. A security affairs expert put the case in perspective. "Being a great power
means having the ability to overcome your domestic opposition and other
problems to act in accordance with your national interests. In Lanka, we
simply cannot act since we are being pulled in different directions, and if
we can't do anything in our backyard, we are not even a regional power,"
he lamented. In our backyard, Norway is far more active in trying to secure peace while
New Delhi twiddles its thumb.
More...
Published: Sun Jun 11 20:00:50 EDT 2000
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India values Lanka unity: Jaswant
Rediff, June 11.
India is understood to have conveyed its ''position and
perception'' on the Sri Lankan crisis and stressed the need
for an early political settlement to the ethnic problem without affecting the
unity and territorial integrity of the island nations. Indian Foreign Minister Jaswant Singh, who arrived in Colombo Sunday
afternoon on a two-day official visit, conveyed New Delhi's stand at a dinner
meeting, hosted by President Chandrika Kumaratunga. At his meeting with Kumaratunga, Jaswant is believed to have reassured
Lanka on New Delhi's stand that India values the unity and territorial
integrity of its neighbour.
More...
Published: Sun Jun 11 19:54:16 EDT 2000
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Tiger 'victory rally' in Toronto canceled
India-abroad, June 11.
A Sri Lankan Tamil community organisation's grand plans to
hold a massive event to celebrate the military successes of separatist Tamil
guerrillas in their native island nation came to naught when the amphitheater it had
hired decided against hosting the rally.The World Tamil Movement (WTM) was greatly disappointed when the Molson
Amphitheater here, following a threatening call it received and subsequent
consultations with the police, canceled the rally at the last minute, leaving the
community high and dry. The organizers were expecting at least 20,000 people to pack the amphitheater
yesterday and hoped to raise about Cnd$100,000 at the event.
More...
Published: Sun Jun 11 19:49:11 EDT 2000
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US journalist body flays censorship
AsianAge, June 11.
A journalist’ body in the US has expressed concern over
continuance of censorship regulations on Sri Lanka’s local
media and urged President Chandrika Kumaratunga to lift
“all censorship regulations immediately.”“CPJ finds it alarming that Sri Lankan residents now have
less access to news and information about the civil war than
people living outside the country,” the committee said in a
statement.Conveying its concerns to Ms Kumaratunga in a letter, the
CPJ said, “as an organisation of journalists dedicated to the
defence of press freedom around the world.(PTI)
More...
Published: Sun Jun 11 19:42:57 EDT 2000
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‘India should not meddle in Lanka
issue’
AsianAge, June 11.
Notwithstanding battle of wits among NDA constituents over
government’s refusal to intervene in Sri Lanka, experts say
India should not meddle in the internal affairs of a sovereign
country. “It is an internal affair of Sri Lanka and let them handle their
business,” says Bhabani Sengupta, former external affairs
advisor to then Prime Minister I.K. Gujral.“My strong opinion is that India should not think of any
military intervention,” Mr Sengupta told PTI.However, there are some who say that the decision not to
intervene to resolve the ethnic strife could contribute to the
unravelling of India’s position as a regional power.“It is very disappointing that the Vajpayee government is not
discharging its national obligation. Indian ocean is very
much our concern. We cannot be sitting ducks leaving it to
others to play,” says former external affairs minister and
senior congress leader K. Natwar Singh.
More...
Published: Sun Jun 11 19:40:10 EDT 2000
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Red alert: More attacks feared in Lanka
Asian Age, June 11.
Sri Lankan police have declared a red alert in the city
warning about the presence of 25 more LTTE human bombs
ready to launch attacks, in the wake of the recent suicide
bomb attack here which killed a senior minister and 24
others.Local media reports quoting police officials said here on
Sunday that despite frequent crackdown by police on the
LTTE hideouts in the city, a well co-ordinated network of the
rebel bombers continued tister’s office in Colombo, the
police had said that over a dozen suicide bombers had
sneaked into the city.One police official even said that they had the identity and
photographs of the bombers.
More...
Published: Sun Jun 11 19:37:02 EDT 2000
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'Special' treatment to TULF irks other Tamil parties
Hindu, June 11.
Former Tamil militant groups now in mainstream Sri Lankan politics
are in a sulk about their meeting tomorrow with the External Affairs Minister, Mr. Jaswant
Singh. Representatives of the four groups - Eelam People's Democratic Party (EPDP), People's
Liberation Organisation of Tamils (PLOT), Tamil Eelam Liberation Organisation (TELO) and
the Eelam People's Revolutionary Liberation Organisation (EPRLF) - are scheduled to meet the
minister jointly. ``Of the Tamil parties, we have the largest number of MPs in Parliament, yet we do not get a
separate meeting. But the TULF, which has stopped attending meetings on constitutional
reforms, gets to see the Minister alone,'' fumed Dr. Vigneswaran, an EPDP representative.
More...
Published: Sun Jun 11 19:24:06 EDT 2000
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India may want LTTE on board
Hindu, June 11.
According to highly-placed Government sources, the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) in
its last meeting reiterated that the LTTE's participation was necessary for any lasting negotiated
deal in Sri Lanka. While endorsing LTTE's participation, India, at the same time, is clear that Tamil secession in Sri
Lanka is non-negotiable. Policy-makers, while endorsing Sri Lanka's ``unity and territorial
integrity'', have veered to the view that a lasting solution would depend on two factors. The Sri
Lankan Government will have to accommodate the maximum autonomy for the Tamil
population. On its part, the LTTE has to concede that realising its maximalist goal of a Tamil
Eelam is impossible. In the negotiations towards autonomy, which might begin subsequently, a devolution package
based on the Thimpu negotiations of 1985 and talks which immediately followed this meeting
could become the reference point.
More...
Published: Sun Jun 11 19:20:37 EDT 2000
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Sri Lanka hopeful as Jaswant arrives
Hindu, June 11.
The Minister of External
Affairs, Mr. Jaswant Singh, arrived here this
afternoon amid anticipation that after a decade of
disengagement, India was once again preparing to
take the initiative in finding a solution to Sri Lanka's
bloody ethnic conflict. The President, Ms. Chandrika Kumaratunga, and
Mr. Singh held a one-to-one meeting this evening at Temple Trees, the President's official home.
The meeting lasted 45 minutes. No aides were present, and details of the meeting were not
immediately available.
More...
Published: Sun Jun 11 19:15:41 EDT 2000
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M. Karunanidhi: Tiger under wraps
Hindustan Times, June 11.
Karunanidhi’s Sri Lankan Tamil march skidded to a halt on two counts — his
government’s dismissal in 1991 for hobnobbing with the LTTE and the subsequent
indictment of the DMK and its chief by the Jain Commission in the aftermath of Rajiv
Gandhi’s assassination by the Tigers. This led to the fall of the United Front
government in 1997 in New Delhi. Curbing his Tamilian instinct, Karunanidhi
mothballed the Sri Lankan issue even while distancing himself from the LTTE. Ever since he was voted back in 1996, Karunanidhi has reserved his comments on
Sri Lanka, silently toeing the official Delhi line. Till lesser politicians of the state like
Vaiko and Ramadoss, and even a new Dalit leader, Krishnaswamy, became leading
advocates of the Tamil cause in Lanka. These leaders had no compunction in
backing the LTTE with their organisations reportedly funded by Tiger money in their
early days.
More...
Published: Sun Jun 11 19:09:09 EDT 2000
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Tamil Eelam group wants India to lift ban on LTTE
Hindustan Times, June 11.
he TELO leader felt that it was time India and the Indians set aside emotions and
the various omissions and commissions of the LTTE and looked at the grim reality in
Sri Lanka. Millions of Tamils and Sinhalas were suffering because of the continuing
war, and India could not just look on passively, he said. But spokesmen of the other Tamil parties said that TELO stood isolated on this
issue. The leader of PLOTE, Mr.D. Siddharthan, and the Senior Vice President of
the TULF, Mr.V. Anandasangaree, said that it was not possible for India to lift the
ban on the LTTE given the fact that only last month New Delhi had reimposed the
ban giving very elaborate security reasons.
More...
Published: Sun Jun 11 19:00:36 EDT 2000
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Sri Lanka Sets Curfew After Bombing
AP, Sunday June 11 2:30 PM ET.
The government set a curfew Sunday in neighborhoods near the site of a suicide-bomb assassination to prevent revenge attacks on minority Tamils suspected in the attack. Troops killed 11 Tamil Tigers in the northern Jaffna Peninsula, where the rebels have been fighting to establish a homeland for minority Tamils, the government said. Indian Foreign Minister Jaswant Singh, who arrived Sunday for discussions on the military and political situation, met with Sri Lanka's foreign minister, Lakshman Kadirgamar, and then informally with President Chandrika Kumaratunga. They allowed photographs, but no questions from the media.
More...
Published: Sun Jun 11 17:56:20 EDT 2000
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Thilanga Sumathipala elected uncontested to Presidency of
Sri Lankan Board.
Crickinfo, June 11.
Thilanga Sumathipala was re-elected President for the third successive year at the AGM for the Board of Control
for Cricket in Sri Lanka (BCCSL) today. In a dramatic twist to a controversial period in Sri Lanka cricket board
politics Sumathipala was elected uncontested after his three contestants suddenly withdrew from the election. His main rival, Jayantha Dharmadasa is claiming that Thilanga Sumithapala was an illegal candidate. Dharmadasa
also declared that he would be taking legal steps. The exact nature of this legal plan is as of yet not clear. The Minister of Sports, Mr SB Dissanayake, finally called for the postponed election after a directive from the
Attorney General, and had refused to delay it further despite numerous objections and an alleged request by the
Interim Committee to extend their period in office.
More...
Published: Sun Jun 11 13:28:20 EDT 2000
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Jaswant Singh in Colombo
Frederica Jansz in Colombo, 10.10 p.m. SLT Sunday June 11.
Foreign Ministry sources said today that Indian External Affairs Minister
Jaswant Singh, this evening held a one to one discussion with Sri Lankan
Foreign Minister, Lakshman Kadirgamar which lasted for one hour at Temple
Trees, President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunge's official residence.
The Indian Minister thereafter had a brief meeting with the President
before adjourning for dinner.
Mr. Singh is scheduled to meet for official discussions with President
Chandrika Kumaratunge tomorrow (Monday) at 10 a.m. He will in the
afternoon meet with Opposition Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe and other Tamil
political party leaders.
The real reason for Mr.Jaswant Singh's arrival in Colombo has been clouded
in secrecy. Indian newspaper reports have speculated that the high level
meeting in Colombo may possibly carry a proposal to initiate a ceasefire
between Lankan troops and the LTTE waging a bloody war in Sri Lanka's far
North. Further speculation has suggested that the Indian Minister may
carry a message from India's Central government on the possibilities of
power sharing within a unitary framework in Sri Lanka.
Published: Sun Jun 11 12:27:31 EDT 2000
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Sri Lanka Airforce to get new fighter planes
Frederica Jansz in Colombo, 10.20 p.m. SLT Sunday June 11.
Defence Ministry sources revealed today that the Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF)
in two weeks will receive four new MIG - 27's and four Kfir Jets with a
capacity to carry 1000 kilogram bombs. The present air fleet has the
capacity to carry only upto 500 kilograms of explosives. The planes will be
flown in battle for the SLAF by mercenary pilots.
Published: Sun Jun 11 12:27:31 EDT 2000
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Rebels reportedly hamper Sri Lanka military supply
routes
UPI, June 11, 2000 03:35.
Sri Lanka's separatist Tamil Tiger guerrillas blocked supply routes to the Jaffna peninsula by shelling the air force base and the sea port in the region. The Sunday Times reported, in a heavily censored report, that rebels fired on the air base at Palaly and also rendered the Kankesanthurai port useless for government troops. The report said that the government stopped flying fixed-wing aircraft to Palaly, which once also served civilians flights. Only helicopters were allowed to fly to the base, located adjacent to the government's largest military garrison on the peninsula. The government reportedly discontinued flights of fixed-wing aircraft to the peninsula fearing that rebels could shell the base or use missiles to shoot down planes.
More...
Published: Sun Jun 11 11:53:39 EDT 2000
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Indian foreign minister in Sri Lanka for crisis talks
AFP, Sunday, June 11 8:38 PM SGT.
India's Foreign Minister Jaswant Singh arrived here Sunday for conciliatory talks amid embarrassing calls at home to partition Sri Lanka to end the island's ethnic conflict, diplomats said. Indian foreign ministry spokesman R.S. Jassal told reporters in New Delhi Saturday the visit was "part of a high-level political engagement" between the two countries. "The purpose of the visit is to further buttress the existing appreciation and understanding between India and Sri Lanka. The Indian foreign minister in his meetings will discuss all aspects of bilateral relations," Jassal said.
More...
Published: Sun Jun 11 11:47:19 EDT 2000
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Sri Lanka troops kill 11 Tigers amid truce offer
AFP, Sunday, June 11 5:37 PM SGT.
Sri Lankan troops attacked rebel bunkers in the northern peninsula of Jaffna killing nine guerrillas, the government said Sunday. The attack came as the separatists offered a temporary truce in the embattled region.
More...
Published: Sun Jun 11 11:44:56 EDT 2000
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Sri Lanka overhauls VIP security amid suicide bombing fears
AFP, Sunday, June 11 2:29 PM SGT .
Sri Lanka was set for a security shake up amid fears that at least 25 Tamil Tiger suicide bombers have infiltrated the capital, police said Sunday. "There is bound to be a shake up in VIP security after such a lapse," a senior police officer said, adding that the minister had been warned he was a potential target for the separatist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). "We can't ask politicians to cut down on their activities because by nature they want to be closer to the people," a senior official who declined to be named said. "It is up to the police to ensure he his given adequate protection."
More...
Published: Sun Jun 11 11:42:55 EDT 2000
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Sri Lanka crisis needs resolution, refugees a problem in India: minister
AFP, Sunday, June 11 1:52 PM SGT.
Sri Lanka's lingering and bloody civil war must be resolved politically, an Indian federal minister said Sunday, stressing that a huge influx of Tamil refugees was a severe problem for India. Commerce and Industry Minister Murasoli Maran from the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu told the Hindustan Times daily that lasting peace in the neighbouring war-torn Sri Lankan island could only be reached through a political settlement, preferably within Sri Lankan itself, but did not rule out any foreign involvement. "There has to be a political solution," he said. "The opposition and the ruling party there may come together in Lanka but we do not know what the Buddhist clergy is thinking."
More...
Published: Sun Jun 11 11:40:49 EDT 2000
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Indian minister visits Sri Lanka
BBC News, 08:29 GMT Sunday June 11.
Indian Foreign Minister Jaswant Singh arrives in Sri Lanka on Sunday for talks with government and opposition leaders aimed at finding a political solution to the country's long-running civil war.
The two-day visit comes just days after a row erupted over a suggestion by a key ethnic Tamil ally of the Indian coalition government that Sri Lanka should end the war by splitting in two along the lines of the Czech and Slovak republics.
More...
Published: Sun Jun 11 04:45:53 EDT 2000
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Rain prevents play on first day of the tour
Crickinfo, 10 June 2000 .
The torrential rains that have drenched Colombo in the last few days have prevented any play on the first day of Pakistan’s tour. The gloomy whether was however unable to dampen the spirits of the Pakistan players who were in a jovial mood today. Perhaps still elated after their triumph in Dhaka they arrived early in the morning, disappeared for some indoor practice before returning for a spot lunch and a gentle sing song.
The Sri Lanka selection committee has recently been joined by Dav Whatmore after the resignation last week of Sidath Wetimuny and Asantha De Mel. He will join former opening batsmen and wicket-keeper, Brendon Kuruppu and T.H. Kehelgamuwa in the selection committee.
More...
Published: Sun Jun 11 01:27:36 EDT 2000
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Lankans pin much hope on Jaswant Singh’s visit
The Hindustan Times, Colombo, June 10 .
THE VISIT of Indian External Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh here on Sunday at the invitation of the Sri Lankan Government, will be taking place at one of the most critical junctures in Sri Lankan history. A Sri Lankan diplomat told The Hindustan Times that both Sri Lanka and India were "desperate" about finding a solution to the ethnic crisis which assumed dangerous proportions after the LTTE threatened to take over Jaffna. And now, after Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi's statement that "divorce" or separation of Tamil Eelam could be an option, the crisis has assumed a new and perhaps a more dangerous dimension.
There was already some intelligence sharing and naval cooperation, but Sri Lanka might ask for the strengthening of such cooperation, the diplomat said. He indicated that the issue of joint patrolling of the seas between the two countries would be raised by the Sri Lankan side
More...
Published: Sun Jun 11 01:00:10 EDT 2000
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Jaswant dashing to Colombo with PM's 5-point brief
JAL News, 10 June.
External Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh flies to Colombo Sunday afternoon, carrying a 5-point brief from Prime Minister
Atal Bihari Vajpayee for personally conveying to Sri Lanka President Chandrika Kumaratunga to allay all apprehensions about India's stand
in the current ethnic Tamil turmoil the island nation is facing.
These points are:
- India respects sovereignty and territorial integrity of Sri Lanka;
- India also respects the rights of the ethnic Tamil minority in Sri Lanka and favours devolution of powers to restore normalcy in the areas
witnessing the Army-LTTE clashes for the past one month;
- India will not intervene in the Sri Lanka crisis and there is absolutely no question of any attempt, covert or otherwise, by India to liberate the
northeastern areas of the island nation;
- India rejects and disapproves any Czech-type division of Sri Lanka; and
- India reserves its right to decide on continuation of training to some 2,500 personnel of the Sri Lankan army and para-military forces in
various Indian military and para-military organisations which has been put on hold since past one month. (Almost 2400 of the 2500 personnel
sent for training in the last batch were Sinhalese while Tamils numbered less than 100, sources said.)
More...
Published: Sun Jun 11 00:44:53 EDT 2000
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My formula was for Lanka, not NDA: Karunanidhi
NewIndPress, June 10.
Chief Minister M Karunanidhi on Saturday made it clear
that the forumla suggested by him to resolve the Sri Lankan crisis was in
fact addressed to the Sri Lankan Government and not meant to be
imposed on the NDA. ``I had said that if one of the three solutions _ a quasi-federal set-up or a
confederal set-up or a Czechslovakia model _ is accepted, it will not pose
any threat to South Asia, or India, or Tamil Nadu.'' It was made only as
asuggestion and he would not insist that the NDA Government adopt it.
More...
Published: Sun Jun 11 00:32:22 EDT 2000
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Jaswant visit to calm Sri Lanka's nerves
NewIndPress, June 10.
In an effort to calm Sri Lanka's nerves over some recent
statements, especially by DMK leader and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M
Karunanidhi who advocated division of Sri Lanka, and reiterate India's
official position on the country's unity and territorial integrity, Minister for
External Affairs Jaswant Singh is flying to Colombo tomorrow.`I am going as a friend of Sri Lanka, as a friend of peace,'' Singh said
here on Saturday. He added that after the recent assassination of Sri
Lankan leader C V Gooneratne by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam
(LTTE), he wanted to personally convey New Delhi's concern to a
nation under siege.Gooneratne's assassination has, however, strengthened the view in Delhi
that the LTTE's vision of Eelam cannot be allowed to come to pass.
More...
Published: Sun Jun 11 00:28:36 EDT 2000
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Czechs And Balances
Outlook India.
Some see the Tamil Nadu CM's flip-flops as unseemly but
his supporters say he's added a historical context
JUne 11
Strangely, both the Sri Lankan government and the pro-Eelam parties of
Tamil Nadu seem to agree that Karunanidhi has once again become the
rallying point for the Tamils. According to a spokesperson of the Sri
Lankan foreign office, despite many flip-flops, Karunanidhi has managed to
achieve what he wanted to achieve. "He has created a situation where the
Sri Lankan government can no longer take India's help for granted. To that
extent, we have become vulnerable," he says.
More...
Published: Sat Jun 10 21:10:50 EDT 2000
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Dishonouring a Word - A commentry by Prem Shankar Jha
Outlook India, June 10.
It is the Vajpayee government, not Chennai, that has let them down in their
hour of crisis. It has let down not only Sri Lanka but also India, for it has
reneged on the Rajiv Gandhi-Jayawardene accord of 1987. That accord
committed India to preserving the unity of Sri Lanka within a federal
framework that would give equal rights to all Sri Lankan citizens and a
measure of self-government to the Tamils of the north and east. This
obliged India not only to prevent Colombo from imposing a purely military
solution to the Tamil problem within a unitary state (something that it had
already done), but to prevent the ltte from vivisecting Sri Lanka by force of
arms. That is the commitment that India is now refusing to honour.Even a child can see what all this adds up to: India will do nothing at all in
Sri Lanka without the ltte's prior consent - the consent of a party that has
repeatedly invaded India to commit murder, that has assassinated a former
Indian head of government on Indian soil and for whose leader there is a
warrant of arrest waiting to be executed. Thus has a party that revels in
being described as nationalist brought shame to India.
More...
Published: Sat Jun 10 21:06:58 EDT 2000
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Sri Lanka truce for sake of injured elephant
CBS/UPI, June 10.
While the separatist Tamil Tiger guerrillas and the Sri
Lanka government haggle over a ceasefire in the northern Jaffna peninsula that would allow
civilians to flee, they have agreed in the east of the country to hold their fire for the sake of an
injured elephant. A pro-rebel Web site, Tamil Net, said Saturday that the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam have
agreed to allow government veterinarians to enter the rebel-controlled Sangamam forest to
attend to the pachyderm that was wounded during a recent battle between government forces
and the Tigers.
More...
Published: Sat Jun 10 20:54:11 EDT 2000
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Cold comfort for Sri Lankan cricket
IOL, June 10.
Sri Lanka's cricket board, smothered by litigation and racked by
corruption scandals, will elect a new administration on Sunday. But there is no sign the vote will end a crippling battle for control of the sport
whose prestige and wealth has increased markedly since Sri Lanka's World Cup
win in 1996. On Friday, two courts dismissed last-ditch challenges to the candidacy of former
board president Thilanga Sumathipala, the front-runner in this year's race. "It's all about money and poltics," said one former cricket administrator who
declined to be identified. "Politicians have moved into every level of the game, including the regional
cricket associations which ultimately elect the committee," he added.
More...
Published: Sat Jun 10 20:45:30 EDT 2000
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Dias asks govt to intervene in Sri Lankan cricket crisis
Dawn, June 10.
A former Sri Lankan cricket vice-captain Roy Dias has called upon the government to
take "serious note of the current crisis in the administration of cricket in the country, and take remedial steps
before it is too late, because our players, about to start a Test series against Pakistan, are demoralised. "Urgent steps are needed, before the game itself descends to depths from which it may never recover," he told
newsmen here on Friday. The three Test series against Pakistan will begin next week and would be followed by a three-nation
tournament involving Pakistan, South Africa and Sri Lanka.
More...
Published: Sat Jun 10 20:39:29 EDT 2000
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TMC pledges support for Centre on
Lanka crisis
AsianAge, june 10.
Tamil Maanila Congress president G.K. Moopanar on
Saturday said the TMC would support the centre in its
sincere efforts to amicably resolve the ethnic crisis in Sri
Lanka. He was responding to a question on the visit of external
affairs minister Jaswant Singh to Sri Lanka at an informal
chat with newspersons. He said the TMC’s stand on the Sri
Lankan issue reflected the popular mood in the state.
Hence, unlike the Marumalarchi DMK and the Pattali
Makkal Katchi the TMC need not organise rallies and fasts
on this issue, he added.
More...
Published: Sat Jun 10 20:28:54 EDT 2000
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Faint echo of the Tigers' roar? -Commentry
Hindu, June 11.
True, the MDMK
distanced itself from the LTTE in the years immediately after the Rajiv assassination, but this, as
Mr. Vaiko himself concedes now, was part of a strategy. ``They never lost touch with me, and I
never lost touch with them,'' he says. When the MDMK broke away from the DMK, it took a
greater chunk of the youth in the party. A pro-militancy line appealed to those who left the
DMK to join the MDMK. The ``no-to-LTTE'' stance was intended to shake away the
``pro-terrorism'' tag which alienated large sections of the voters from his nascent party. Now,
after having established the MDMK as a key and acceptable political player in the State through
electoral alliances, Mr. Vaiko is once again true to his political constituency.
More...
Published: Sat Jun 10 20:18:28 EDT 2000
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Scepticism in Lanka over Jaswant
visit
Times of India, June 11.
Foreign Minister Jaswant Singh's two-day visit
to Sri Lanka, beginning Sunday, has been greeted with a
mix of scepticism and surprise by political leaders here."Why has he suddenly decided to come here? We are very
suspicious about this because of the manner in which India
has been changing its stance. I don't think it is for the good
of the country. The less visits we have from these countries,
the better it is for us," said Tilak Karunaratne, leader of
Singhala Urumuya, an extremist Sinhalese outfit that has
been opposing talks with the LTTE.
More...
Published: Sat Jun 10 20:12:02 EDT 2000
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Jaswant on fire-fighting mission to
Lanka
Times of India, June 11.
Contrary signals from India have confused
and irritated the Sri Lankan government, though no one
close to President Chandrika Kumaratunga is willing to
publicly say so. Foreign minister Jaswant Singh's visit to
Colombo on Sunday is basically to reassure the President
and her team that New Delhi remains committed to durable
peace in the island.Singh's visit will help reinforce India's commitment to the
unity of Sri Lanka and its wish to assist in finding a political
solution to the ethnic problem. It is also about time India
sends out the right message as there is a feeling in the island
that New Delhi's behaviour is like the proverbial dog in the
manger: India does not want any other country to interfere
in what it considers its backyard, yet so far it has done very
little by way of cobbling together a solution to the ethnic
conflict.
More...
Published: Sat Jun 10 20:05:15 EDT 2000
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Karunanidhi’s views on Lanka obsolete: Panja
HT, June 10.
SRI LANKAN President Chandrika Kumaratunga and her Cabinet should tackle the
aspirations of Sri Lankan Tamils without any interference from third parties. And India does not support any idea propagating the division of the country into two
parts as suggested by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi, Union Minister of
State for External Affairs Ajit Kumar Panja said here yesterday. “India strongly condemns the killing of Sri Lankan Industries Minister and 22 other
innocent people by the LTTE. But we believe that the only way to solve this problem
is by granting local autonomy to certain parts of Sri Lanka or creation of new states
without disturbing the sovereignty and integrity of the nation. This will definitely put
an end to the LTTE crisis,” Mr Panja told The Hindustan Times. “Karunanidhi’s suggestion of dividing the
nation to bring about peace in Sri Lanka is a theory of the last millennium.
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Published: Sat Jun 10 19:55:28 EDT 2000
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Jaswant to help revive Lanka peace process
Deccan Herald, June 11.
Informed sources said Mr Singh will also discuss with the Lankan leadership the contents of President Kumaratungas devolution package
and the progress on her consultations with that countrys political leaders on this package.On two occasions in May, the Indian leaders were briefed here about these issues by Sri Lankas Norwegian facilitator Erik Solheim. This
will be the first time since the latest intensification of conflict in late April that India will directly engage the Lankan leadership in high
political level consultations.The sources said a decision on Mr Singhs visit was taken at the meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Security on Thursday which was
also attended by senior DMK Minister Murasoli Maran. Incidentally, Mr Singhs visit comes at a time when, according to reports from
Colombo, the LTTE has approached to International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) for facilitating a cease-fire in Jaffna Peninsula.
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Published: Sat Jun 10 19:47:03 EDT 2000
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RAW asked to penetrate LTTE inner circles
DeccanHerald, June 11.
It has been asked to establish contact with the LTTE to put, as one intelligence source said ''maximum pressure" on them to accept what is
offered by the Sri Lankan government. But it is unable to penetrate the inner circle of the tightly controlled cadres of the LTTE. Consider the facts. RAW handpicked and trained all LTTE cadres. It has today as additional secretary, a senior officer, who initially was
involved in the training of LTTE and other Tamil forces in Tamil Nadu, Dehradun and other places. There are a host of retired RAW
officers who have handled the Sri Lankan desk and whose expertise is available.In the last few weeks RAW has given
accurate intelligence on the state of the battlefield. In May, RAW received information about Maj Gen Janaka Pereira, Overall Force
Commander, Jaffna peninsula, who had said that the army should withdraw from the peninsula. This was rejected by President
Kumaratunga.It has also established contact with the LTTE in London in order to work as a possible lever if negotiations with the Sri Lankan
government were to start. Senior officials were in London at the end of May, making contact with Anton Balasingham. This was going on
when External Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh was briefing British officials about the Lankan situation, say intelligence sources.
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Published: Sat Jun 10 19:42:28 EDT 2000
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Jaswant to lay stress on cessation of hostilities
Hindu, June 11.
Mr. Singh will reassure Colombo of India's commitment to the unity and integrity of Sri Lanka
and discuss proposals to meet the political aspirations of the Tamil minority. He is travelling to
Colombo at the invitation of the Sri Lankan Government, and will review the current situation
with the President, Mrs. Chandrika Kumaratunga, and the Foreign Minister, Mr. Laxman
Kadirgamar. In his delicate diplomatic mission, Mr. Singh is expected to emphasise New Delhi's strong
interest in the restoration of peace and stability and a renewal of harmonious relations between
the majority and minority communities. He will also stress the importance of the LTTE abjuring
terrorism.
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Published: Sat Jun 10 19:29:57 EDT 2000
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TRC demands ban on PMK and MDMK
Hindu, June 10.
The Tamizhaga Rajiv Congress (TRC), a constituent of
the ruling NDA at the Centre, today demanded a ban on two other constituents,
the Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) and Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra
Kazhagam (MDMK), for `extending support' to the outlawed LTTE. In a resolution adopted at the party's executive, the TRC said the act of any
political party in extending open support to a banned organisation in the country
should be construed as `illegal', and the party should be banned.
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Published: Sat Jun 10 19:20:19 EDT 2000
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Slain Sri Lanka Minister Eulogized
AP, Saturday June 10 12:10 PM ET.
President Chandrika Kumaratunga eulogized her slain minister of industrial development Saturday, as government jets and artillery bombarded the rebels believed responsible for his slaying. ``He was a man of the rarest caliber,'' President Chandrika Kumaratunga said in a message read out by Tourism Minister Dharmasiri Senanayake during the funeral. ``I shall deeply miss his support.''
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Published: Sat Jun 10 18:24:45 EDT 2000
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Tamil fest cancelled
Toronto Sun, June 10.
A Tamil cultural festival planned for today at the lakeside Molson
Amphitheatre has been cancelled. A member of the Tamil group organizing the event said Molson
officials were prompted to scratch the event after receiving
complaints from Sri Lankans."They're saying they are getting too many pressures from the Sri
Lankan embassy or something," Sen Nadarajah of World Tamil
Movement of Ontario said.
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Published: Sat Jun 10 12:48:00 EDT 2000
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Sri Lanka rejects cease-fire offer
CBS/UPI, June 10.
The Sri Lankan government Saturday rejected an
appeal by the separatist Tamil Tiger guerrillas for a temporary cease-fire on humanitarian
grounds in the war-torn northern Jaffna peninsula.
The state-run Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation said that the government has described the
rebels' offer as a move to satisfy their ``petty desires''.
The Sri Lankan armed forces have accused the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam of coercing
civilians living in the rebel-held territory of the northern Jaffna peninsula to join the LTTE's
combat units. The government troops claimed that the Tigers were imparting weapons training
to hundreds of able-bodied men and women in areas they control
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Published: Sat Jun 10 12:34:18 EDT 2000
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Sri Lanka's Petition - A Commentry
Himal Magazine, June 9.
It cannot of course be denied that developments in Sri Lanka would have their impact on Tamil Nadu. The emergence of Tamil Eelam would
certainly arouse Tamil pride in the state. This, in turn, would fuel some amount of Tamil chauvinism. When the courts vetoed the state
government’s efforts to make Tamil the sole medium of instruction in Tamil Nadu, Tamil scholars lamented openly that while "Eelam Tamils
were on the verge of establishing a state, Tamil Nadu Tamils could not even get their children educated in Tamil".
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Published: Sat Jun 10 11:49:12 EDT 2000
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33 killed in Jaffna; LTTE for cease-fire
Indian Express, June 10.
As many as 25 Sri Lankan soldiers and eight civilians
were killed in an army offensive to re-capture lost areas in northern
Jaffna Peninsula, even as LTTE today appealed to international
humanitarian agencies to work out a cease-fire to evacuate civilians.An officer and 24 soldiers were killed and 49 wounded when troops
conducted a limited operation near Sarasalai, southeast of Jaffna
town to destroy an LTTE 'strong point', an official release said here.
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Published: Sat Jun 10 11:38:58 EDT 2000
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Tamil rally cancelled over
threatening call
'Interest of public safety'
National Post, June 10.
A rally in Toronto to celebrate recent military advances in Sri Lanka
by the Tamil Tigers was cancelled yesterday after the owners of the
amphitheatre where it was to be held received threats. The World Tamil Movement was to have held a rally tonight at the
Molson Amphitheatre, but the company that manages the
downtown venue abruptly cancelled the event yesterday "in the
interest of public safety." Ferg Devins, director of corporate affairs for Molson Canada, said
his company received a threatening telephone call about the Tamil
rally. "We received a call this afternoon that raised a public safety
concern," he said. "The matter was referred to the police." Spokesmen for the World Tamil Movement were not available for
comment yesterday.A similar rally to be held in Ottawa last weekend was also
cancelled, after the operators of the community centre learned of the
organizers links to the Tamil terrorist group. In the House of Commons on Thursday, Lloyd Axworthy, Canada's
Foreign Minister, said that he had "no tolerance" for groups raising
money here for violent ends and would ensure that such practices
were criminalized.
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Published: Sat Jun 10 11:32:55 EDT 2000
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Jaswant Singh meets PM on eve of Colombo visit
Hindu, June 10.
External Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh is leaving for
Sri Lanka tomorrow on a two-day visit mainly aimed at reinforcing India's position
that it favoured a negotiated political settlement to the ethnic strife within the
framework of that country's territorial integrity.
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Published: Sat Jun 10 11:22:06 EDT 2000
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Gooneratne laid to rest
Hindu, June 10.
Amid tight
security, the bodies of Industrial
Development Minister C V
Gooneratne and his wife Shyama
Gooneratne killed in a suicide bomb
attack on Wednesday, were laid to
rest today. Thousands of mourners, including
ministers and political party leaders,
attended the funeral at the people's park in Dehiwala despite heavy rains.
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Published: Sat Jun 10 11:17:22 EDT 2000
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Slain Sri Lankan minister cremated amid tight security
AFP, June 10.
Sri Lanka's slain Industry Minister C. V. Gooneratne and his wife were cremated in Colombo on Saturday amid tight security following fears of more Tamil rebel attacks.
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Published: Sat Jun 10 11:05:36 EDT 2000
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Indian Minister to Hold Talks in Sri Lanka
Reuters, Saturday June 10 10:16 AM ET.
Indian Foreign Minister Jaswant Singh will travel to Sri Lanka on Sunday to hold talks with government leaders, whose forces are locked in a long battle with Tamil Tiger separatists, a spokesman said.``This is a high-level political engagement that will cover the entire range of the India-Sri Lanka relationship,'' spokesman Raminder Singh Jassal told reporters. India believed in a negotiated political solution to Sri Lanka's 17-year-old ethnic conflict. ``The first step toward this is cessation of hostilities and abjuring of terrorist violence,'' the spokesman said.
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Published: Sat Jun 10 10:56:28 EDT 2000
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Ban The Child Soldier
Asiaweek, June 9.
In Sri Lanka, boys and girls in their early teens are routinely and often forcibly drafted by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam.
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Published: Sat Jun 10 08:50:49 EDT 2000
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Chandrika discusses draft of new Constitution with opposition
Broadcastindia.com/Agencies/Doordarshan, June 10.
Sri Lankan President Chandrika Kumaratunga resumed talks with the opposition United National Party leader Ranil Wickremesinghe to finalise the draft of a new Constitution providing regional autonomy to the Tamil dominated north and eastern provinces.
More...
[Watch]
Published: Sat Jun 10 08:41:14 EDT 2000
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Sri Lanka Tigers urge temporary truce as fresh fighting kills 27
AFP, June 10.
Tamil Tiger rebels on Saturday called for a temporary truce in Sri Lanka, as fresh fighting killed 27 people and the country was placed on red alert for the funeral of an assassinated senior minister. There was no immediate reaction from the government, which placed its police and troops on maximum alert amid fears of violence during Saturday's funeral in Colombo of Industry Minister C.V. Gooneratne.
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Published: Sat Jun 10 08:37:43 EDT 2000
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Thousands pay homage to slain Sri Lankan minister
Reuters, June 10.
Thousands of mourners paid homage on Saturday to a senior Sri Lankan cabinet minister and his wife who were among 23 people killed by a Tamil Tiger suicide bomber in the capital earlier this week. Army commandos circulated among parliamentarians, religious dignitaries and municipal councillors who joined the Gunaratnes' family in the procession. Hundreds of police sealed off the route, along which fluttered white mourning flags. Sri Lanka's giant neighbour India and former colonial power Britain also condemned the attack, saying such acts of terrorism had no place in a democratic society.
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Published: Sat Jun 10 08:33:00 EDT 2000
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Indian Foreign Minister to Visit Sri Lanka
Xinhua, Saturday, June 10, 2000 2:27 AM EST.
Indian Minister of External Affairs Shri Jaswant Singh will arrive here for an official visit, a news release issued by the Sri Lankan Foreign Ministry said Saturday. The release said S.J. Singh is scheduled to arrive here on an official visit at the invitation of the Sri Lankan government from June 11 to 12. During his visit, the minister will call on Sri Lankan President Chandrika Kumaratunga and also hold discussion with Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar on the situation of the country.
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Published: Sat Jun 10 08:28:23 EDT 2000
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Fierce clashes in Jaffna
BBC, Saturday, 10 June, 2000, 11:59 GMT.
Government and rebel forces in Sri Lanka say there has been a fresh outbreak of heavy fighting in the northern Jaffna peninsula. In the capital, Colombo, security was tight as the authorities prepared for the funeral of cabinet minister CV Gooneratne, who died in a suicide bomb attack on Wednesday.
More...
[Listen]
Published: Sat Jun 10 08:23:16 EDT 2000
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Sri Lanka on full alert for minister's funeral
Channel NewsAsia, Saturday, June 10 4:00 PM SGT.
Sri Lanka was on full alert Saturday amid fears of more Tamil rebel suicide attacks, even as the country geared up for the cremation of its assassinated industry minister later in the day. Army soldiers and policemen armed with assault rifles have been deployed along the funeral route in the capital Colombo.
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Published: Sat Jun 10 07:30:16 EDT 2000
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Sri Lankan Army, Rebels Clash
AP, Saturday June 10 5:52 AM ET .
Government jets and artillery bombarded rebel bunkers amid heavy fighting as the freshly supplied military kept up attacks in Sri Lanka's 17-year-old civil war, both sides said today. In Jaffna Peninsula, the government said 25 soldiers were killed and 50 wounded in Friday's fighting. No rebel casualty toll was given, but military spokesman Brig. Palitha Fernando said large numbers of dead militants were seen in a line of bunkers the army destroyed east of Jaffna city.
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Published: Sat Jun 10 07:17:38 EDT 2000
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Troops destroy terrorist bunker in Chavakachcheri
SL Government, 09 June 2000.
Troops attacked and destroyed a terrorist bunker in Chavakachcheri, Jaffna around 9.30 a.m, yesterday, the Special Media Information Centre, reports.
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Published: Sat Jun 10 02:43:41 EDT 2000
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Sri Lanka rebels urge temporary truce in Jaffna
abc news, 10 June 2000.
COLOMBO, June 10 (Reuters) - Sri Lanka's Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), who are fighting government troops in the northern Jaffna peninsula, fear mounting civilian casualties and have urged two key international aid groups to help broker a temporary ceasefire. In a statement from their London office seen by Reuters on Saturday, the LTTE called on the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to help arrange the truce in Thenmarachchi division, where fierce battles erupted on Friday. Military officials said on Friday that fierce battles had erupted near the key town of Koddikamam in Thenmarachchi division when the LTTE launched a dawn attack, but that troops had beaten back the rebel assault.
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Published: Sat Jun 10 02:37:19 EDT 2000
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Fresh fighting in Jaffna, 8 killed
The Assam Tribune, COLOMBO, June 9 .
Six LTTE rebels and two Sri Lankan soldiers were killed and 12 troops injured in different confrontations in northern Jaffna as fighting between the two resumed on a small scale after a brief lull, says PTI.Yesterday’s incidents took place after a four day lull in fighting.
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Published: Sat Jun 10 02:25:05 EDT 2000
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Lanka police on prowl, detain 60
The Pioneer, Saturday, June 10, 2000.
Several students from Moratuwa University were detained on Thursday, along with 15 men and women taken from their homes in a dawn raid on the neighborhoods around the bomb site in a suburb of the capital.
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Published: Sat Jun 10 02:21:09 EDT 2000
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Govt committed blunder by withdrawing IPKF: J N Dixit
The Indian Express, Saturday, June 10, 2000.
Former Foreign Secretary J N Dixit today said the government had committed a "blunder" by withdrawing the Indian Peace-keeping Force (IPKF) from Sri Lanka as it would have completed its task within the next six months."It was just a matter of six months more. We should have insisted (then Sri Lankan) President Premadasa that it was not an overnight treaty to be put off that simply and that the settlement of the crisis there was important not only for Sri Lanka but also crucial for India as well," he said in an interview on the "Opinion Today" programme.
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Published: Sat Jun 10 02:17:40 EDT 2000
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Sri Lanka rounds up bomb suspects
BBC, Saturday, 10 June, 2000, .
Sri Lankan police are reported to have detained 60 people for questioning in connection with a suicide bombing which killed 23 people in the capital, Colombo. An unnamed police official told the Associated Press that some of the recent arrests were made on the basis of information extracted under interrogation from four suspects who were arrested immediately after the bombing.
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Published: Sat Jun 10 02:08:43 EDT 2000
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Chandrika flayed on arms issue
The Asian Age, Colombo, June 9 .
“The battle of Elephant Pass was not lost in the Salterns surrounding the area but on the banks of the Beira Lake where the government treasury is,” Mr Wickremesinghe said speaking on the debate for the extension of emergency in Parliament on Thursday.The Opposition leader said that Elephant Pass was lost due to the callousness of government officials and the Army should not be blamed for it. “If Elephant Pass was defended it would have created a crisis within the LTTE and given the government a morale boost.”(UNI)
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Published: Sat Jun 10 02:03:16 EDT 2000
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New fighting on Sri Lanka's Jaffna peninsula
CNN, June 10, 2000.
Fierce fighting between government troops and Tamil Tiger rebels erupted near a key town in Sri Lanka's northern Jaffna peninsula on Friday, military officials said. The military said the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Ealam (LTTE) had launched a dawn attack on military defenses around the town of Koddikamam, but troops had beaten back the rebel assault.
In an interview with CNN, U.S. Undersecretary of State Thomas Pickering, who has urged a negotiated solution to resolving the Sri Lanka conflict, predicted a "humanitarian disaster" if the war continues.
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Published: Sat Jun 10 01:58:12 EDT 2000
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