Sri Lankan political party admits arrest of KP

Sri Lanka Govt. losing the Thai Govt.’s co-operation to interrogate KP -UNP
Sri Lanka's main opposition party, the United National Party (UNP) has finally revealed the truth that the LTTE's leading arms procurement man, Kumaran
Pathmanathan also known as KP was indeed arrested in Thailand early this month. This is the first any political party in Sri Lanka announced the arrest of LTTE's
Number Two officially.
Meanwhile, Lakshman Kiriella, UNP Parliamentarian at a press briefing today (27 Sep.) at the UNP Media Unit ,explained in detail how this Rajapakse
Administration wantonly , or owing to diplomatic and security bungling lost a golden opportunity to apprehend and interrogate case of the KP.
“In the first week of this month, the Thai Govt. informed and instructed Sri Lanka Govt. specifically to attach a strict veil of secrecy in regard to the arrest of LTTE
arms procurer, Kumaran Pathmanathan (KP) in Thailand,” MP Kiriella said.
“Any responsible Defence Secretary of a country would understand that confidentiality and top secrecy in these matters is extremely vital on issues of this nature in the
interests of his own country and internationally,” he also said.
According to Kiriella, “but, this Defence Secretary of ours, Gotabaya Rajapakse who makes hollow boasts of destroying the LTTE could not understand this obvious
requirement of confidentiality, despite clear instructions from the Thai Govt. not to reveal this security information, released this very information to the Defence
website making a hash of the whole issue. This resulted in the Sri Lanka Govt. losing the Thai Govt.’s co-operation to interrogate KP.”
"When this course of action of this Govt. is seen against the background of the raging accusations made by former Ministers, Mangala Samaraweera and Sripathy
Sooriyarachi regarding the multi million rupee payments to LTTE by the Rajapaksa administration , during and after elections, it is a reasonable inference that the
Govt. entertained the fear that if KP is apprehended and interrogated, he would expose the arms purchases made by the LTTE out of the monies paid to them by the
Rajapaksa Administration," M.P. Kiriella alleged.
Furthermore he says , in the circumstances, the Rajapaksa administration is under a bounden duty to give an explanation to the people of this country as to why it
muddled up this issue and jeopardised the country’s security when the opportunity to interrogate KP was offered on a platter.

SRI LANKA: Long-term Muslim displaced face significant challenges

Photo: Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC)
Long-term but temporary housing for displaced Muslims in Hidathnagar village, Puttalam

District COLOMBO, 27 September 2007 (IRIN) - It was 17 years ago, but the memory is still fresh for T. Mohamed. “It was 11 June 1990 - that was the day,” he
recalled, the one that changed his life.
“I was in Colombo, captaining the Jaffna District soccer team and later I found myself cut off from my home town Jaffna,” the 45-year-old Sri Lankan remembered.
Mohamed, who is now a social worker, was among the thousands of Muslims forced out of their homes in northern Sri Lanka by the Tamil Tigers in 1990. In his
case, caught out on a visit to the capital, he was unable to return because the train and other transport services to Jaffna District were cut due to the escalating
violence.
Four months later, in October 1990, thousands of Muslims fled Jaffna after the Tamil Tigers issued warnings that they must flee the region or face deadly
consequences.
Muslims in Tiger-held areas of the northern districts of Mannar, Kilinochchi, Mulaithivu and some parts of northern Vavuniya also fled after warnings were issued to
their communities in the third week of October 1990.
In a report released in May 2007 - Sri Lankan Muslims Caught in the Cross Fire - the Brussels-based International Crisis Group said that as many as 75,000
Muslims from 15,000 families may have been forced out.
The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) in its Report on 2006 Welfare Centre Revalidation in the Puttalam District, found that over 62,000 displaced Muslims from
15,400 families were living in 141 locations in Puttalam District, about 120km north of Colombo.
There are lots of problems in returning home. One is transport as there is no land link to Jaffna, and two is security. What guarantee is there that what happened in
1990 will not happen again? Muslim displaced choose not to return
Most of the people surveyed had been living in their current locations for more than a decade, with 96 percent indicating a preference to stay there rather than return
to their places of origin.
“There are lots of problems in returning home,” Mohamad believes. “One is transport as there is no land link to Jaffna, and two is security,” he said. “What guarantee
is there that what happened in 1990 will not happen again?” The UNHCR confirms that the Muslim preference to remain in Puttalam may have been influenced by
concerns about security.
One sign that many Muslims will not be returning home in the near future is that, according to the UNHCR report, “a majority of Puttalam IDPs [internally displaced
persons] have already de facto locally-integrated in Puttalam.” In fact 11,118 of the displaced Muslim families have purchased land in the district.
World Bank project
Many Muslim IDPs are hoping that, with World Bank (WB) assistance, their living conditions will soon improve. In early September 2007, the WB launched a
US$34.2 million project for the Sri Lankan government to provide housing, safe drinking water and sanitation and for the displaced of Puttalam District. The project
was also designed to regularise land titles.
The Sri Lankan government, which is contributing $2 million to the four-year project, will repay the WB loan over 20 years. One aim of the project is to repair or
build 7,835 houses for Muslim IDPs and to build 9,885 new latrines.
Non-IDPs will also benefit
The WB said it was sensitive to concerns that the project might increase tensions between the displaced Muslims and the original residents of the district.
Photo: UNOCHA A map of Jaffna peninsula in northern Sri Lanka “It is as much a project for the non-IDPs as for the IDPs,” Naresh Duraiswamy, the team leader for the WB project, told IRIN. Though the non-IDPs will not benefit
from the initial cash grants for housing construction, they will receive some assistance. For example, the provision of safe drinking water, which 13,354 IDP families
will receive, will also go to 3,291 non-IDP families, according to the WB. Duraiswamy said 1,800 non-IDP families will also be given funds within the next six months
to construct their own houses.
Despite the scale of the WB project, much more is required if the IDPs are to be fully integrated within the host communities, according to the UNHCR survey.
The WB says only 50 per cent of the IDP housing needs will be met under its project, with homes being provided only for original IDP families, not for their
dependents.
Closure of welfare centres
To further integrate the Muslim displaced, a main objective for this year will be the closure of long-term welfare centres, says UNHCR Information Assistant
Sulakshani Perera, and the establishment of villages in which IDPs are given help to build permanent housing.
The WB project is a significant start in terms of helping the Muslim IDPs integrate, but, according to the 2006 UNHCR report, there are a host of broad challenges
ahead:
“The integration of Puttalam IDPs would be facilitated if they were to receive assistance in the form of improved access to public services such as water, health and
education as well as construction of basic infrastructure such as access roads,” it said. Unemployment is also an impediment: 60 percent of the IDPs over 18 have no
employment, according to the UNHCR survey.

'Military use to pressurise LTTE'
Thursday, September 27,2007 COLOMBO:

President Mahinda Rajapaksa told the UN general Assembly Wednesday that the government had launched military operations against the LTTE as
part of moves to exert pressure on the rebels and convince them that it would not be possible for them to obtain a military victory.
Speaking in Sinhala in the presence of world leaders at the 62nd UN General Assembly in New York the President stressed the ultimate goal of the government
remained to seek a negotiated and honourable end to the conflict and said the All Party Representative Committee was working successfully towards that goal.
His comments came a day after the LTTE, in a statement, said the Government must end what it termed were deceptions, military oppressions, ethnic cleansing and
serious human rights violations and accept the aspirations of the Tamil people and come forward to find a resolution that is based on the right to self-determination of
the Tamil people.
“I am proud to inform you that despite the significant challenge posed by the ongoing conflict with a ruthless terrorist group in the North of the country, we have freed
the Eastern Province from terrorism, and restored law and order there. My government has already launched a massive program of rehabilitation and reconstruction
in the East. We propose to make the Eastern Province of Sri Lanka a model for development and rehabilitation, essentially with our own efforts but also with the
assistance of all donors,” President Rajapaksa said.
The President said the Government was taking steps to return the usurped rights of the people by conducting Provincial and local government elections in the East by
early next year and added that there was a clear opportunity for the international community to play a vital role in breaking the cycle of conflict by focusing on
development.
While stressing that terrorism was terrorism anywhere President Rajapaksa stressed on the importance of concluding negotiations on a Comprehensive Convention
on International Terrorism which he said was for the moment limited to endless discussion.
“Sri Lanka has taken an upfront position in the global community’s efforts to deal with terrorism. We have become party to 11 of 13 UN Conventions for the
suppression of various acts of terrorism…All terrorist attacks whether in New York, Mumbai, Cairo, London or Colombo are acts that threaten the democratic way
of life and must be condemned unreservedly,” he said.
The President said Sri Lanka believed, as one of the founder members of the Human Rights Council, human rights was also too important to be used as a tool to
victimize States for political advantage and it was essential that international action to facilitate compliance with human rights standards was fair and even handed.
“Human rights have to be protected and advanced for their own sake, not for political gain.”
The President further said that although the UN system has set up mechanisms to deal with many problems the capacity of the UN to address these challenges
effectively has been brought into question. He said the UN must always remember that its primary function was to render assistance for the well being of its Member
States.
“As resources received by the UN are limited, it has been only possible to deliver limited results. We need to focus on these as they have often been characterized by
countless, poorly coordinated, ineffectively designed, ineptly staffed and overlapping programs, with unnecessary inter-agency rivalry,” he said.President Rajapaksa
also said that the World Bank established for economic development, the IMF set up for financial stability, and other regional banks established at the same time as
the UN need to implement new programs to assist the countries that are affected by several challenges.


'Agriculture failed to reduce poverty'

Thursday, September 27,2007 COLOMBO:

A USAID sponsored study of Sri Lanka's economic performance last year found that 34.3% of the labour force is engaged in agriculture, while it is
generating only 17.8% of GDP, said Mission director, USAID, Rebecca Cohn.
Speaking at the annual general meeting of the National Agri Business Council, (NAC) she said that FAO data for Sri Lanka show that production is virtually
unchanged from 15 years ago and not made the contribution to economic performance and reduction of poverty that it should. "In Sri Lanka agricultural productivity
has not kept pace and rural incomes of the small farmers are not benefiting," she said.
Policy advocacy is an important function of the NAC and I would urge you to continue this role, consistently representing the interests of the private sector to help the
government to formulate policies appropriate to facilitate rapid growth in the economic contribution of this sector.
"I believe that NAC can play an important role in advocacy and policy dialogue with the Government because policies that maintain the rural population in paddy
farming are not going to bring these small farmers out of poverty."

UN Chief assures support for eastern development Thursday, 27 September 2007

The United Nations Secretary General Ban-ki Moon has extended his willingness to assist the Government to carry out the development activities in the east.
This was conveyed by the Secretary General to the Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa during their discussion at the UN on the 25th.
The meeting also gave an opportunity to brief the Secretary General on the latest developments in politics and socio-economical aspects in Sri Lanka.
In response to the President’s long explanation of the swift development activities carried out by the Government in the East, the General Secretary stated that the
UN would take steps to expand the cooperation towards the Government development activities.
Later on the President met with the Nowegian Minister of International Development Erik Solheim and the discussions were focused on Sri Lanka’s current political
situation. The President informed him that the All Party Representative’s Committee (APRC) would take all the possible effort to bring forward a political solution to
the crises.
Mr. Solheim who was accompanied by Special Peace envoy Hans Bauyer said that it is his wish that Sri Lankans would achieve sustainable peace.
After that the President Rajapaksa met with the Prime Minister of Molta Lawrence Gonshi. The discussions were focused on extending the bilateral relationship
between the two nations in areas such as of trade and tourism.
President is scheduled to leave for Los Angeles to deliver a special speech at the Asian Summit. Last Updated ( Friday, 28 September 2007 ) ----------------UNP new policy 'follows LTTE defeat'Sri Lankan government says UNP has changed its stance on the federal solution.
Media Minister Lakshman Yapa Abeywardena said on Thursday with the LTTE’s military defeat in the recent past, United National Party has now decided to
abandon its stance on the federal solution as a means for resolving the ethnic conflict.
He also added that the then UNP government did promote federal system of governance during Oslo peace talks with the LTTE.
Although Substantive power devolution was brought with the 13th amendment to the constitution, central government restricting power in the provincial councils had
raised questions minister Abeywardena added.
Parliamentary select committee
He also said that the parliament has approved to appoint a parliamentary select committee to probe allegations of deals made between the LTTE and the government
from 1989 although it was initially to be investigated from 2005.
Speaking to Sandheshaya on Thursday United National party General Secretary Thissa Aththanayaka said "we are neither federal nor unitary’’.
Meanwhile Minister Abeywardena denied accusations levelled by some media organisation that the government is planning to bring new laws to curb media saying
that Government has no intension to bring any regulation to prevent media from providing information.

Fresh efforts to resume peace talks

Friday, September 28,2007 COLOMBO: Norway has started fresh initiatives to resume peace talks between the government and the LTTE while discussing the efforts at a meeting with
President Mahinda Rajapaksa in New York on Wednesday. Norwegian Minister Erik Solheim and special peace envoy Jon Hanssen Bauer discussed the peace
moves with President Rajapaksa and a Sri Lankan delegation on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York, a Norwegian spokesman said, adding that
further details were not immediately available. The international community has been pushing for the immediate resumption of peace talks and a political solution
through the All Party Representative Committee (APRC) and the latest push is believed to have come from US State department official Nicholas Burns who also
met President Rajapaksa this week.Asked about prospects for the resumption of peace negotiations, Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollagama told reporters in New York the Government was ready to
resume talks although the LTTE had failed in the past to respond to genuine efforts to resolve the conflict. "The Government is ready for talks, has always been. We
want the LTTE to come to talks. We are hopeful they will do so," Minister Bogollagama said, adding that President Mahinda Rajapaksa has reiterated this position. He said the Norwegian facilitators were now trying to restart talks and with greater pressure from the international community, the process could hopefully be
revitalised soon. "We need peace - peace that is honourable and sustainable. We cannot let the LTTE build capacity. We encourage the LTTE to stop violence." He
explained that the All Party Representative Committee would put forward devolution proposals aimed at resolving the crisis. "As the President emphasised, an
honourable end to the conflict is our aim." Regarding the possibility of "a new ceasefire" agreement, the Minister said some 780 people had lost their lives since the signing of a previous ceasefire in 2002, and
the country no longer needed such a deal on paper. He explained that the LTTE did not adhere to the Ceasefire signed in 2002, said that his predecessor Lakshman Kadirgamar was assassinated during the ceasefire
period. “We want to be more direct, more realistic. We will encourage the LTTE to stop the violence and we will still maintain the law and order situation and the security of
our nation, ” Bogollagama said.Answering a question raised by a journalist, the Minister said the entire Eastern Province liberated from the terrorists, was being targeted for development. Several
countries including India have already entered this process. "We need the fullest support of the international community for this endeavour." The LTTE, in a statement earlier this week, said the government should end its deceptions; halt its, military oppression, ethnic cleansing, and serious human rights
violations; accept the aspirations of the Tamil people; and come forward to find a resolution that is based on the right to self-determination of the Tamil people. Speaking to reporters in Oslo two weeks ago Norway said it stood ready at any time to facilitate talks between the government and the LTTE to help end more than
two decades of civil war. "We are ready as soon as they are ready, but there is no way we can impose any peace in Sri Lanka. We are available and ready (to help)," Norwegian Minister Erik
Solheim told foreign correspondents at a briefing in the Norwegian capital. Solheim, who brokered a 2002 ceasefire that now lies in tatters, said the parties to the conflict would eventually return to the negotiating table and he was willing to
travel to Sri Lanka once there was a chance it would help."We are in touch with the president and his people and with the Tamil Tigers on a more or less daily basis," Solheim said. He said direct contacts with the LTTE had
been rare recently because of the war. "But we are talking to them on the phone all the time."Meanwhile the Government peace secretariat (SCOPP), in a statement Thursday night, quoted Minister Tissa Vitharana as saying that he hoped the APRC proposals
would be released soon as consensus had been reached on most issues.

Diplomatic offensive in Geneva knocks out attempts of pro-Tiger lobbies to censure Sri Lanka

Fri, 2007-09-28 04:12 Geneva, 28 September, (Asiantribune.com):

The pro-Tiger NGO-INGO lobbies making a desperate bid to get the EU to table a resolution condemning Sri Lanka at
the Sixth Session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva were defeated due to most nations refusing to support such a move.
Sri Lanka was solidly supported by India, Japan, China, South Africa, Indonesia, Pakistan, Cuba, Indonesia, Thailand and Bangladesh.
No support was expressed for any action on Sri Lanka by the Asian, African, Latin American and Eastern European Groups of States and cross-regional Groups of
States such as the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) and the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC). The Sri Lankan case was also well-received within the Group
of Western States, which includes the USA.
The deadline for submissions of draft resolutions expired on Monday 12 noon, September 24 and the EU delegation confirmed to the Sri Lankan delegation that it
has not tabled any resolution on Sri Lanka.
Even the EU was divided, with only a handful of states doing the pushing. The states valued the constructive engagement (the President personally inviting Louise
Arbour etc) and principled resistance; of dialogue and deterrence. Finally only a few speakers from states criticised Sri Lanka: Germany, Switzerland and the
Netherlands. Their critical fire was met with critical fire from Dr. Dayan Jayatilleka, the Permanent Representative, who counter-attacked targeting their unfair
criticism.
The diplomatic counteroffensive this time round was different. The Sri Lankan delegation abandoned the quiet diplomacy of working behind doors trying to water
down resolutions. This time round the Sri Lankan delegation refused to cooperate with any statement that was damaging to Sri Lanka.
The first move by the EU was to get Sri Lanka to agree to a statement by the president of the Human Rights Council, which, while containing a token commendation
of the Govt, would have contained more criticism, and committed Sri Lanka to establishing a UN monitoring mission. That failed because Dr. Jayatilleka refused to
consider the draft text. The next step was to threaten a resolution, but this was countered by a series of meetings with ambassadors explaining the Sri Lankan
position. Dr. Jayatilleka ran a one-to-one campaign with other ambassadors and addressed all regional and cross regional groupings, including the western one which
contains the USA and Canada, in addition to the EU.
The Permanent Mission was backed the Human Rights Minster Mahinda Samarasinghe and a high level delegation. This was followed up with a second delegation
which is still in town, spearheaded by SCOPP (including Secy-Gen Professor Rajiva Wijesinghe and Ms. Shirani Goonetilleke, Director Legal SCOPP) with the
participation of the members of the Attorney General's department, Mr. Shavindra Fernando and Mr.Yasantha Kodagoda, who made several presentations at events
organised to inform and educate Council members and NGOs about the current situation in Sri Lanka and its challenges and offer opportunities for open dialogue.
- Asian Tribune -
LTTE Faces Fatal FactionalismSeptember 28, 2007: The military has been more active, with daily air raids, and increased army advances into LTTE territory. As a result, there are now nearly a
hundred casualties a day. In some cases, the army is attacking to destroy LTTE bunkers that are being used as staging areas for attempts to sneak terrorists into
government territory. The LTTE is making a major effort to carry out terror attacks in government territory, but has not been very successful. The LTTE have lost
their ability to terrorize populations into silence, so the police are getting a lot more tips about LTTE terrorist activities. Terrorists are being identified and arrested,
and their weapons caches discovered and captured. The LTTE are taking heavy casualties trying to sneak terrorists through army line. The LTTE have a manpower
shortage, partly because of the loss of eastern Sri Lanka, and partly because of Tamils becoming demoralized. The failed peace talks, loss of the east and improved
tactics by the military have led to desertions and reluctant recruits. The army front lines are more thickly manned, while the lesser number of LTTE fighters makes it
easier for army commandos to cross over and make attacks.
The navy fought a three hour battle with twenty LTTE boats, which were trying to evacuate LTTE gunmen trapped in a coastal enclave by the army. Three LTTE
boats were sunk, and the rest scattered. The LTTE commander of the operation was killed. The LTTE navy is now considered defeated, and can only go to sea with
commandeered fishing boats.

All these defeats have caused divisions in the LTTE leadership, and another split is more likely. The last one, which created the Karuna faction in eastern Sri Lanka,
and led to the loss of over half of LTTE controlled territory, is still causing arguments among the senior leaders. A further split could cause the loss of the northern
LTTE territory, and reduce the organization to a collection of separate Tamil terrorist groups.


2008 Budgetary expenditure Rs 1,516 b Shirajiv Sirimane
COLOMBO: The Government estimates that the total budgetary expenditure would be around Rs 1,516 billion for 2008, acting Finance Minister Ranjith
Siyambalapitiya said.
He said out of this, Rs. 725 billion would be allocated for recurrent expenditure while a further Rs. 790 billion would be utilised as capital expenditure.
The total budget allocation share increased by 15 per cent with recurrent expenditure increasing by 17 per cent while the capital expenditure by 14 per cent. The
Minister said that these would be forwarded for the Appropriation Bill which would be tabled in Parliament on October 10.
The country has launched an unprecedented number of development and infrastructure programmes such as the Norochcholai, Kerawalapitiya and Upper Kotmale
power generation project while the Hambantota Port and Weerawila Airport development projects too have been launched.
In addition, the Colombo South harbour development project and a new highway network too have commenced. This is the reason for the increase in capital
expenditure, the Minister said.
The Government has provided over 100,000 new employment opportunities in the Government sector while they would also continue with subsidies for Samurdhi,
fertilizer, oil and other sectors.
The Minister said they are hoping to increase revenue to meet the additional expenditure of the Budget. The tax net would be widened to get more people to pay
taxes. "Only 300,000 people pay direct taxes and I believe that this figure should be around one million. We are looking at achieving this target," he said.
The Minister said in addition, the Government this year decided to have a special Budget allocation to be used as a buffer to meet unexpected expenditures such as
high oil costs and also to meet expenditure incurred in natural disasters such as the tsunami and floods.
He said despite fighting a war the only four per cent of the GDP is spent for it. "We have observed that Sri Lankan expenditure is still lower that Singapore which is
not fighting a war," he said.
Airing his views on the printing of currency notes, he said they had estimated to print Rs. 20 billion for 2006 keeping in mind that the country would move ahead with
a six per cent GDP.
However, since the economic growth of 2006 was 7.4 per cent the country needed Rs. 32 billion worth of currency notes. The Central Bank ended up printing Rs.
40 billion and the extra Rs. Eight billion was utilised for the first quarter in 2007," he said. ------------------UNP demands Govt. explain why it jumped the gunThe UNP yesterday demanded that the Government explain why the arrest and detention of the LTTE’s notorious arms smuggler K. Pathmanathan had been posted
on the Defence Ministry website despite Thailand’s request to keep it under wraps. ===========