EELAM - SRILANKA NEWS 180707
Over 100 Sri Lankan expatriate workers return home empty handed
Monday, July 16, 2007, 13:55 GMT, ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka.
July 16, Colombo: Over 100 Sri Lankan migrant workers who were in a detention centre in Jeddah returned to the homeland yesterday. They had to return due to reasons such as no employment, non-payment of salaries and harassment at work places.
The majority of them were women who worked as housemaids for small salaries.
Most of the returned workers were from outstations and some of them had no money to go back to the villages. Sri Lanka Foreign Employment Bureau had to pay the travel fare for 68 individuals to go to villages, a Bureau official said.
The money sent home by Sri Lankans employed abroad rose by 12.4 per cent to US$ 648 million dollars in the first quarter of this year. Over a million Sri Lankans are employed abroad, the majority of them housemaids in Gulf countries.
The visit of the parents of doomed Sri Lankan housemaid in Saudi delayed
Monday, July 16, 2007, 13:53 GMT, ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka.
The parents were to leave for Riyadh with the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Hussein Bahila yesterday. The Minister expressed hope to obtain the expected appointments in the coming few days. However, he said that the appeal was filed in the Saudi court pleading mercy for the destined woman.
The parents of the housemaid say that they received only the bad news of their daughter’s death sentence after she went to Saudi Arabia two years ago.
Death sentence on Sri Lankan housemaid: Saudi Embassy has not yet issued visas for the SL delegation
Monday, July 16, 2007, 13:46 GMT, ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka.
Rizana Nafeek was only 17 years old when the alleged of killing of a 4-month old child occurred in February 2005. July 16, Colombo: Saudi Arabian Embassy in Colombo has so far not issued the necessary visas for the Sri Lankan team, including the Deputy Foreign Minister, to enter Saudi Arabia to discuss the death sentence imposed on Sri Lanka House maid Miss Rizana Nafeek.
“The visa applications were made a week ago and the delay is yet to be explained,” a Foreign Ministry spokesman said.
Meanwhile, acting Foreign Minister Hussein A. Bhaila today met Saudi Ambassador Mohammed Al Aliat at the Foreign Ministry to discuss the matter.
“During the meeting the Ambassador assured the Acting Minister of Foreign Affairs to extend all possible assistance to the Government of Sri Lanka,” the Foreign Ministry said.
Minister Hussein A. Bhaila will visit Riyadh on Friday, 20th July 2007 to meet with religious leaders and high officials of the Saudi Arabian government to seek assistance to obtain a pardon from the parents of an infant who died under the care of Miss Nafeek. The Foreign Ministry and the Embassy of Sri Lanka in Riyadh are closely following developments and continuing with all necessary consular assistance to Miss Nafeek, the spokesman added.
Rizana Nafeek was only 17 years old when the alleged of killing of a 4-month old child occurred in February 2005.
“The visa applications were made a week ago and the delay is yet to be explained,” a Foreign Ministry spokesman said.
Meanwhile, acting Foreign Minister Hussein A. Bhaila today met Saudi Ambassador Mohammed Al Aliat at the Foreign Ministry to discuss the matter.
“During the meeting the Ambassador assured the Acting Minister of Foreign Affairs to extend all possible assistance to the Government of Sri Lanka,” the Foreign Ministry said.
Minister Hussein A. Bhaila will visit Riyadh on Friday, 20th July 2007 to meet with religious leaders and high officials of the Saudi Arabian government to seek assistance to obtain a pardon from the parents of an infant who died under the care of Miss Nafeek. The Foreign Ministry and the Embassy of Sri Lanka in Riyadh are closely following developments and continuing with all necessary consular assistance to Miss Nafeek, the spokesman added.
Rizana Nafeek was only 17 years old when the alleged of killing of a 4-month old child occurred in February 2005.
16 July, 2007 - Published 13:25 GMT
LTTE leaders 'allowed to escape'
Sri Lanka's opposition leader has accused the government of allowing the Tamil Tiger regional leaders to escape as the government troops recaptured a rebel stroghold.
Ranil Wickramasinghe told journalists in Colombo that the soldiers wanted to stop supplies to the LTTE as they moved forward to capture Thoppigala.
However, the soldiers are dissapointed that an order was issued from Colombo to allow the top LTTE leadership to escape from the area, according to Wickramasinghe.
Ranil Wickramasinghe told journalists in Colombo that the soldiers wanted to stop supplies to the LTTE as they moved forward to capture Thoppigala.
However, the soldiers are dissapointed that an order was issued from Colombo to allow the top LTTE leadership to escape from the area, according to Wickramasinghe.
'Victory party'
The government is to celebrate capturing the LTTE's eastern stronghold on 19 July in Colombo.
Opposition and United National Party (UNP) leader questioned as to why the government pays tributes to President Rajapaksa for the military victories in the east.
When Jaffna and Vadamaarachchi was captured in early stages, UNP leader said, it was the soldiers not political leaders who were paid tributes.
Military personnel questioned as to why Rajapaksa is trying to take the credit for their victories, he said.
'Secret deal' with LTTE
The main opposition and two sacked ministers of Rajapaksa administration have accused the government of having a 'secret deal' with the LTTE.
Former Foreign Minister Mangala Samarawera and Sripathi Sooriyaarachchi accused Rajapaksa supporters of paying lump sum of money to Tamil Tigers before and after November 2005 presidential elections.
Samaraweera who was the campaign leader for Rajapaksa and Sooriyaarachchi said the monies were paid to influence LTTE to force Tamil voters to boycott the elctions.
The government has denied the accusations.
16 July, 2007 - Published 14:06 GMT
Top official's murder condemned
Top official's murder condemned
The President of Sri Lanka, Mahinda Rajapaksa, has accused Tamil Tigers of killing the top government official in the eastern province.
Deascribing the killing of Chief Secretary of the Province, HM Herath Abeyweera, as a cowardly assassination, Rajapaksa says the killing 'further strengthens our resolve not to give in to the forces of terror.
Abeyweera has served 15 years as Ampara Dictrict Secretary prior to his appointment as the head of the Eastern Secretariat.
LTTE accused
The new Secretariat was formed after the Supreme Court ruled that the temporary merger of the north and the east was against Sri Lanka's constitution.
"He performed a great service for the entire East under most difficult conditions, in view of the separatist terrorism waged by the LTTE, which always sought to disrupt the civil administration," a statement issued by the presidential secretariat said.
"It is most regrettable that at a time when steps are being taken to restore democracy in the East, the country has lost a public officer of his calibre".
Abeyweera was fatally shot on Monday evening at the Eastern Secretariat premises in Trincomalee, police said.
He was leaving the office when assailants shot him at the Secretariat in Inner Harbour Road.
Deascribing the killing of Chief Secretary of the Province, HM Herath Abeyweera, as a cowardly assassination, Rajapaksa says the killing 'further strengthens our resolve not to give in to the forces of terror.
Abeyweera has served 15 years as Ampara Dictrict Secretary prior to his appointment as the head of the Eastern Secretariat.
LTTE accused
The new Secretariat was formed after the Supreme Court ruled that the temporary merger of the north and the east was against Sri Lanka's constitution.
"He performed a great service for the entire East under most difficult conditions, in view of the separatist terrorism waged by the LTTE, which always sought to disrupt the civil administration," a statement issued by the presidential secretariat said.
"It is most regrettable that at a time when steps are being taken to restore democracy in the East, the country has lost a public officer of his calibre".
Abeyweera was fatally shot on Monday evening at the Eastern Secretariat premises in Trincomalee, police said.
He was leaving the office when assailants shot him at the Secretariat in Inner Harbour Road.
Sri Lanka's President Will Restore Freedom in East
By Paul Tighe July 17 (Bloomberg)
By Paul Tighe July 17 (Bloomberg)
Sri Lanka's President Mahinda Rajapaksa pledged to restore freedom in the east after the killing yesterday of a civil servant in the region the army captured from the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam last week.
Herath Abeyweera, chief secretary of the Eastern Province, was shot dead in the port of Trincomalee, in an attack carried out by the LTTE, Rajapaska said in an e-mailed statement.
``The assassination strengthens our resolve not to give in to the forces of terror,'' Rajapaksa said. The government will ``proceed with our task of restoring freedom and democracy in the east, and all of Sri Lanka.''
The government said it will hold local elections and seek overseas investment in the eastern region after the army took control of the Batticaloa district following 14 years of fighting with the Tamil Tigers. The LTTE, which wants a separate Tamil homeland in areas of northern and eastern Sri Lanka, said it will respond to the offensive by targeting oil and army installations.
The killing in Trincomalee is ``yet another act of savagery by the LTTE in its campaign of terror to achieve its goal of a separate state, allegedly for the liberation of the Tamil people,'' Rajapaksa said. Tamils are ``severely oppressed'' by the LTTE's violence and terrorism, he added.
Gunmen shot Abeyweera in his office in Trincomalee, the Defense Ministry said in a statement. The killing was carried out by an unidentified man, TamilNet reported on its Web site, citing police.
Abeyweera also served for more than 15 years as the district secretary in Ampara in the east, the government said.
Vital Region
The LTTE considered the eastern region strategically vital, Keheliya Rambukwella, the defense spokesman, said at a briefing last week. The group's dream of a Tamil homeland ``will not be realized without the east,'' he added.
Elections will be held in the Eastern Province for local administrations, such as urban councils, ``in the near future,'' the government said last month. It also intends to attract tourists and develop the area that has a 462 kilometer (287 mile) stretch of coastline.
The LTTE considers the 2002 cease-fire it signed with the government remains the basis for holding any peace talks, S.P. Thamilchelvan, head of the group's political wing, said in an interview with TamilNet on June 25.
The accord recognizes the de facto existence of a Tamil homeland with its own civil administration, defense force and judiciary, he said.
Economic Growth
The truce, brokered by Norway, helped bring about uninterrupted growth in Sri Lanka's $26 billion economy. International donors, led by the U.S., Japan, the European Union and Norway, have appealed to both sides to come to peace talks.
The Tamil Tigers, a force of about 12,000 fighters, have their headquarters at Kilinochchi in the northern Jaffna region. They also have a 4,000-member naval unit known as the Sea Tigers. The group unveiled an air wing when light aircraft bombed areas near the capital, Colombo, in March and April.
Two attempts at peace talks between the government and the LTTE held in Geneva last year failed to make any progress.
Herath Abeyweera, chief secretary of the Eastern Province, was shot dead in the port of Trincomalee, in an attack carried out by the LTTE, Rajapaska said in an e-mailed statement.
``The assassination strengthens our resolve not to give in to the forces of terror,'' Rajapaksa said. The government will ``proceed with our task of restoring freedom and democracy in the east, and all of Sri Lanka.''
The government said it will hold local elections and seek overseas investment in the eastern region after the army took control of the Batticaloa district following 14 years of fighting with the Tamil Tigers. The LTTE, which wants a separate Tamil homeland in areas of northern and eastern Sri Lanka, said it will respond to the offensive by targeting oil and army installations.
The killing in Trincomalee is ``yet another act of savagery by the LTTE in its campaign of terror to achieve its goal of a separate state, allegedly for the liberation of the Tamil people,'' Rajapaksa said. Tamils are ``severely oppressed'' by the LTTE's violence and terrorism, he added.
Gunmen shot Abeyweera in his office in Trincomalee, the Defense Ministry said in a statement. The killing was carried out by an unidentified man, TamilNet reported on its Web site, citing police.
Abeyweera also served for more than 15 years as the district secretary in Ampara in the east, the government said.
Vital Region
The LTTE considered the eastern region strategically vital, Keheliya Rambukwella, the defense spokesman, said at a briefing last week. The group's dream of a Tamil homeland ``will not be realized without the east,'' he added.
Elections will be held in the Eastern Province for local administrations, such as urban councils, ``in the near future,'' the government said last month. It also intends to attract tourists and develop the area that has a 462 kilometer (287 mile) stretch of coastline.
The LTTE considers the 2002 cease-fire it signed with the government remains the basis for holding any peace talks, S.P. Thamilchelvan, head of the group's political wing, said in an interview with TamilNet on June 25.
The accord recognizes the de facto existence of a Tamil homeland with its own civil administration, defense force and judiciary, he said.
Economic Growth
The truce, brokered by Norway, helped bring about uninterrupted growth in Sri Lanka's $26 billion economy. International donors, led by the U.S., Japan, the European Union and Norway, have appealed to both sides to come to peace talks.
The Tamil Tigers, a force of about 12,000 fighters, have their headquarters at Kilinochchi in the northern Jaffna region. They also have a 4,000-member naval unit known as the Sea Tigers. The group unveiled an air wing when light aircraft bombed areas near the capital, Colombo, in March and April.
Two attempts at peace talks between the government and the LTTE held in Geneva last year failed to make any progress.
Last Updated: July 17, 2007 03:45 EDT
Sampur FR petition dismissed
The Supreme Court in Sri Lanka have accused human rights activists of trying to 'create news for international consumption'.
Chief Justice Sarath N Silva dismissed a Fundamental Rights petition against establishing a High Security Zone (HSZ) in Sampur.
The Centre for Policy Alternatives (CPA) has quoted Defence Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa and others as respondents.
Violation of Fundamental Rights
The CPA said establishing an HSZ is a violation of Fundamental Rights of the people in the recently captured regions in the east.
Nearly 15,000 residents were left homeless as a result of establishing HSZ in 90 sq.km area, petitioners said.
Heavily criticising the petition, the CJ urged the petitioners not to bring sensitive issues that affects national security to the attention of judiciary.
National security
The petitioners were also urged not to provoke Sampur residents by bringing in similar lawsuits.
The state counsel representing the Attorney General said the government is planning to resettle displaced in the region after security forces clear land mines.
The Supreme Court observed that the government should be given ample time to complete the security measures related to the area.
Chief Justice Sarath N Silva dismissed a Fundamental Rights petition against establishing a High Security Zone (HSZ) in Sampur.
The Centre for Policy Alternatives (CPA) has quoted Defence Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa and others as respondents.
Violation of Fundamental Rights
The CPA said establishing an HSZ is a violation of Fundamental Rights of the people in the recently captured regions in the east.
Nearly 15,000 residents were left homeless as a result of establishing HSZ in 90 sq.km area, petitioners said.
Heavily criticising the petition, the CJ urged the petitioners not to bring sensitive issues that affects national security to the attention of judiciary.
National security
The petitioners were also urged not to provoke Sampur residents by bringing in similar lawsuits.
The state counsel representing the Attorney General said the government is planning to resettle displaced in the region after security forces clear land mines.
The Supreme Court observed that the government should be given ample time to complete the security measures related to the area.
DESPERATELY POOR
By Simon Gardner Reuters, Tue Jul 17, 7:25 PM ET
Around 70 percent of the more than 190,000 people in the northern district of Kilinochchi, the heart of the Tigers' northern stronghold, are below the poverty line - earning $22.50 a month or less -- making it the poorest district in Sri Lanka.
The United Nations estimates around a quarter of the estimated 350,000 people living in the Tiger's de facto state in the far north have been displaced by the war. Hundreds of thousands have been displaced in the government-held south too.
Compounding the misery, thousands of families who survived the 2004 tsunami and were trying to rebuild their lives, have had to abandon homes in various states of reconstruction because of shelling. A government embargo on construction materials such as cement, steel and fuel, has forced aid agencies to halt or abandon development projects in rebel areas.
"Projects funded by the World Bank and ADB (Asia Development Bank) are unable to continue without construction materials," said Nagalingam Vethanayahan, the central government's representative or 'Government Agent' in Kilinochchi.
"Most of the people are living in small huts due to these restrictions. They are unable to do anything. We have to give up development work, no?" he added, lamenting the restrictions imposed by his own government and the military.
At another nearby settlement housing tsunami and war displaced, a new school funded by UNICEF has progressed no further than its foundations because of lack of building materials. The architect's model sits inside a nearby hut gathering dust.
Fishing, one of the main livelihoods in the area, is too dangerous.
"We only go 1 mile out to sea because of the navy, but there are no fish close to shore because of the season," said 22-year-old fisherman Sanmugamoorthy Nishan, idling in the camp with friends.
"When they see the boats, they don't know if we are fishermen or the LTTE, so they open fire," he added. "I know of four fishermen who have been killed by the navy in the past month."
Back at her hut, with little more than a few clothes, pots and a plastic mirror to her name, Thirvakumar lives in constant fear of shells booming in the distance and the sporadic growl of fighter jets flying overhead on bombing raids.
"I will only see my husband again if there is peace and the war ends," she said.
JHU hails deal with Tigers as a great tactical move
The JHU has decided that if any person gave money to the LTTE to win the presidential election with the aim of trapping the LTTE thereafter such person should be hailed and not condemned for such a clever tactic.
This JHU position was articulated by senior member Udaya Gammanpila during television debates on both the State and Private media.
Gammanpila has said that in the past it is the LTTE that has trapped various governments including former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and that if anyone trapped the LTTE by giving money with the aim of winning the election to destroy them thereafter the people should build a golden statue of such person and garland him everyday.
The JHU defence of the secret deal President Mahinda Rajapakse is accused of entering into with the LTTE prior to the Presidential election comes in the wake of growing opposition calls for a Parliamentary Select committee to probe the allegations.
The JHU members however have not responded to the allegation that President Rajapakse had submitted a Cabinet Paper on August 2, 2006 and obtained approval to provide over Rs 700 million for a housing scheme by a front company of the Tigers during the height of the battle for Mawilaru.
Meanwhile the JHU yesterday threatened to take legal action against Opposition Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe for accusing two MP monks of using luxury vehicles and of the party selling a TV license.
LTTE has huge profits: report
B. Muralidhar Reddy- The Hindu
COLOMBO: The London-based Jane’s Intelligence Review says the LTTE has not only created one of the “most sophisticated insurgencies in the world” but also has an annual “profit margin” of $200 to $300 m illion.
A report released on Wednesday says the Tigers have succeeded in establishing one of the sophisticated insurgency networks, largely due to a complex global network of financial resources and weapons that are integral to prolonging its campaign for a separate Tamil state.
In a rare report on the LTTE’s financial operations, Jane’s reports that with financial and procurement structures well organised and strategically positioned around the globe, the group has a profit margin that would be the envy of any multinational corporation.
The report details two overarching financial and procurement bodies that provide the main source of LTTE money, manpower and weapons: the Aiyanna Group and the Office of Overseas Purchases (nicknamed the KP Department).
As per Jane’s, the Aiyanna Group functions as the group’s intelligence and operations body, likely to be responsible for monitoring and ensuring the organisation’s financial support and revenue streams, while the KP Department is most probably the procurement arm.
The LTTE creates and staffs some charitable organisations, projecting its influence through this front to raise money from Tamil communities and, ultimately, convert the gains into arms, it reports.
The report says the system works as an efficient way to move funds wherever investment or procurement opportunities arise while utilising a charitable façade’s tax-free status and legitimacy.
B. Muralidhar Reddy- The Hindu
COLOMBO: The London-based Jane’s Intelligence Review says the LTTE has not only created one of the “most sophisticated insurgencies in the world” but also has an annual “profit margin” of $200 to $300 m illion.
A report released on Wednesday says the Tigers have succeeded in establishing one of the sophisticated insurgency networks, largely due to a complex global network of financial resources and weapons that are integral to prolonging its campaign for a separate Tamil state.
In a rare report on the LTTE’s financial operations, Jane’s reports that with financial and procurement structures well organised and strategically positioned around the globe, the group has a profit margin that would be the envy of any multinational corporation.
The report details two overarching financial and procurement bodies that provide the main source of LTTE money, manpower and weapons: the Aiyanna Group and the Office of Overseas Purchases (nicknamed the KP Department).
As per Jane’s, the Aiyanna Group functions as the group’s intelligence and operations body, likely to be responsible for monitoring and ensuring the organisation’s financial support and revenue streams, while the KP Department is most probably the procurement arm.
The LTTE creates and staffs some charitable organisations, projecting its influence through this front to raise money from Tamil communities and, ultimately, convert the gains into arms, it reports.
The report says the system works as an efficient way to move funds wherever investment or procurement opportunities arise while utilising a charitable façade’s tax-free status and legitimacy.
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