Sunday 21 October 2007

The LTTE’s top level Arms, Money Laundering & Narcotics Agent Arrested in UK


The LTTE’s top level Arms, Money Laundering & Narcotics Agent Arrested in UK -Sri Lanka Guardian
Photo: LTTE Arm's & Money Laundering Dealer Kanagalingam Ramanasaijeeswaran alias Warren or Chooty in New Delhi, India in 2005.
By: Jagdish Rao, reporting from London (October ,20, London, Sri Lanka Guardian)
After nearly two years on the run, one of the the LTTE’s top Arm’s, Narcotics and Money Laundering Agent identified as Kanagalingam Ramanasaijeeswaran otherwise known as “Warren” or “Chooty” has been arrested in London, UK after allegedly making death threats to members of the Eelam Revolutionary Organisation (EROS) a democratic Sri Lankan Tamil political organisation and party who are opposed to the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).
It is learnt that death threat’s were made by telephone to senior members of EROS which resulted in Ramanasaijeeswaran’s arrest. It is said that he is presently on bail pending a full investigation by the UK’s Metropolitan Police. Kanagalingam Ramasaijeeswaran is one of the LTTE’s senior Arm’s, Narcotics and Money
Laundering Agent’s who is said to hold a British passport and a fake Liberian Diplomatic passport. He is also said to have residency visa’s to reside in Singapore and Dubai, where the LTTE is said to launder most of their funds from the United States, Canada and UK.
Kanagalingam Ramanasaijeeswaran who was born in Sri Lanka fled from the United Kingdom in 2005/2006 and has been on the run since and has been living in hiding. It is believed that he is soley responsible for stealing and extorting ten's of thousands of UK pounds from Sri Lankan Tamils in the UK and elsewhere and is
said to have fled to Colombo, Sri Lanka. Between 2003 and 2006 Mr Kanagalingam Ramanasaijeeswaran extorted over £250,000 UK sterling and laundered this money for the LTTE to fund their terrorist war campaign against the Sri Lankan Government and Armed Forces by making multiple trips to Sri Lanka, India. He also made frequent trips to Liberia for arms deals on behalf of the LTTE and was a close associate of the LTTE’s “KP” who was recently arrested in Thailand.
Kanagalingam Ramasaijeeswaran was said to have taken vast sums of money to Liberia to bribe Government officials and obtain a Diplomatic passport. He is also said to have been responsible for registering ships indirectly owned by the LTTE in Liberia.
He is described by many Sri Lankan Tamils in the UK who have had money stolen or extorted from them to be a higly trained con-artist of the LTTE who always openly boasted about his connections with the LTTE leadership in Vanni. He is said to be have been very close to the LTTE’s Intelligence Head “Pottu Amman” who has for many years tolerated his play-boy lifestyle given the fact that he has been a great asset to the LTTE. The Sri Lankan authorities are liasing with the UK’s anti -Terrorist branch of the Metropolitan Police to see if he can be detained under the “Prevention of Terrorism Act”.
It is learnt that the Kanagalingam Ramanasaijeeswaran was frequently residing right in the heart of Colombo at 14, Lorenz Road, Colombo 4, Sri Lanka where he was responsible for financing the LTTE Intelligence Agents present in Colombo, Sri Lanka. It is not known why the LTTE dispatched him back to the UK although it
is said that Kanagalingam Ramanasaijeeswaran was in New York, USA a couple of weeks ago before the bust up by the NYPD and FBI and led to the arrests of key LTTE agents involved in a plot to steal $250,000 from ATM’s.

TOP STORIES
A ray of hope in Sri Lanka
By IANS Sunday October 21, 07:24 AM New Delhi, Oct 21 (IANS)
Amid unending turmoil, there is a glimmer of hope in Sri Lanka. If all goes well, the government and the Tamil Tigers may be talking soon. But uncertainties remain, and all fingers remain tightly crossed.
Away from the limelight, Norway is busy trying to bridge the yawning gap between the Colombo authorities and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) that has again led to terrible misery in recent years.
This has involved months of intense diplomatic parleys among Norway, the peace facilitator, the US, the European Union and Japan - the four countries that make up the co-chairs to the peace process - as well as India.
Amid plenty of dark shadows, some silver linings have emerged. The LTTE has lost some of its cockiness after the military reverses in the east but still packs plenty of lethal energy. And after the eastern triumph, the government is faced with the limitations of a purely military approach.
The LTTE has been told that it can expect no diplomatic support in its quest for a free homeland. At the same time, after acting against the Tigers, the West is exerting pressure on Sri Lanka, even at the cost of earning a bad name.
India, the one country seen by everyone as a key to a possible solution, is also nudging Colombo, but quietly, to take the peace path. India's strong support to Norway has finally made Sri Lanka's rulers mend fences with Oslo, after months of open hostility.
The negatives are aplenty too.
The LTTE and the Mahinda Rajapakse government do not trust each other. The Tigers feel the government cannot come up with a credible power sharing
arrangement and that the international community will one day realise the folly of keeping the island united.
The government fears that the LTTE is not committed to peace. The military, eager to take on the Tigers in the north, feels that peace talks can be an impediment to an ultimate victory. Hardliners backing the government too think similarly.
Despite many imperfections, the attempts to evolve a national consensus on power sharing, driven by Sri Lankan cabinet minister Tissa Vitharana, are keeping alive the hopes of a negotiated end to the conflict. But the process has frustratingly got delayed.
After seeing the failure of their public statements to impact on the conduct of the two warring sides, the co-chairs now pursue India's path of eschewing public denunciations as these only harden attitudes, and work quietly, avoiding needless publicity.
Thus, after analysing what went wrong following the 2002 ceasefire agreement, the Norwegians have been busy interacting with all parties involved in the fractured peace process, Colombo and the LTTE included.
Now, careful attention is paid to all players in Sri Lanka to avoid charges of bias.
Diplomats and officials of countries involved in the peace process are in constant touch with one another, both in Colombo and across continents, over the telephone.
And though perceptions differ, there is a broad unanimity.
Everyone admits that the situation is Sri Lanka is dangerously fragile and that months of hard work will go down the drain if spoilers get into the act.
India remains deeply involved in the goings on while not engaging directly with the LTTE. The Indian view is that Colombo has to draw a clear line between an armed group and the larger Tamil issue -- and see how the varying and at times contrasting interests of different parties can be merged.

Convicts used as cover for Sinhala colonization in East- MP
[TamilNet, Saturday, 20 October 2007, 18:22 GMT]

Batticaloa District Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarian S.Jeyananthamoorthy in a letter addressed to the President of Sri lanka Mahinda Rajapakse
condemned the move by the Government of Sri Lanka (GOSL) to employ Sinhala prisoners at Maangkea'ni cashew plantation owned by Sri Lanka Cashew
Corporation(SLCC). Mr.Jeyananthamoorthy pointed out in his letter that the move to bring on Sinhala convicts will result in Sinhala colonization in future and exarcerbate ethnic conflict in
the area.
The full text of the letter follows:
"The cashew plantation located in Maangkea'ni, Batticaloa District has been long abandoned and is in an unusable state. There is a very large SLA camp constructed
at that site and as a result the entire plantation has been destroyed. Those previously employed in the plantation are languishing without any income for the past many
years.
"I now understand that steps are being taken to revamp the entire Cashew plantation at this location.
"Though it is not an appropriate step to be taken under the existing conditions, SLCC has decided to reactivate cashew cultivation in that location. At the same time I
learn that the cashew corporation has entered into a contract with the Prisons department to employ Sinhala convicts at this location. I also learn that this scheme is
being implemented by your advisor and parliamentarian Basil Rajapakse.
"In Vaakarai region, there are still a large number of former employees of Sri Lanka Cashew Corporation. Apart from this, when such an employment scheme is
implemented, priority should be given to the youths residing in the region. To bring in Sinhala prisoners to be employed here, without taking into consideration these
factors is an undemocratic act and should be condemned.
"Moreover I suspect that there are some ulterior motives behind bringing in Snhala convicts here under the guise of providing employment.
"This move could be a prelude to permanently keep these convicted prisoners here in order to create Sinhala colonization. In addition, allowing these convicts to
move around freely in this Tamil area will instill fear among the Tamil population and may lead to ethnic conflicts in the future
"In view of the reasons listed above, I wish to appeal to you take necessary steps to drop the idea of bringing in Sinhala convicts into this region and provide
employment for people from Vaakarai. In order to implement my request, I wish appeal to you to take the necessary steps to cancel the contract between the cashew
corporation and the Prisons department and allow the cashew corporation to function independently," the MP said.
IPKF: ''Hospital Massacre''
20th anniversary of hospital massacre remembered in Jaffna
[TamilNet, Sunday, 21 October 2007, 12:28 GMT]
Twentieth death anniversary of twenty-one persons including medical specialists, nurses, attendants, patients, and members of public who were killed inside Jaffna
Teaching Hospital (JTH) by Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) troops stationed in Jaffna Fort on 21st October, 1987 was held at the Jaffna Teaching Hospital
Sunday morning at 10:15 a.m., sources in Jaffna said. Mrs. K. Yogarany, a staffer at the Teaching Hospital, presided the event.Hospital Director, Mr Gnanajothi, Administrative Officer, K Pathmanathan, Nursing Administrator, C.Vairavanathan, Nursing School Principal Ms C. Thevamalar,
Supervisor K Kailayapillai, Doctors, Hospital staff and relatives of the victims participated in the memorial event.
The victims of the massacre included three leading medical specialists at that time, Dr.A.Sivapathasuntharam, Dr.K.Parimelalahar and Dr.K.Ganesharatnam, three
nurses and fifteen other employees.
The soldiers of the IPKF, advancing from the Jaffna Fort to the Jaffna Teaching Hospital, shot dead the 21 staff inside the hospital even after they identified
themselves as members of the medical staff.
MIGs above EelamNation:

There is no war in Sri Lanka - Mahinda

Maximum devolution could be achieved under one country, says the President Mahinda Rajapaksa. The president was speaking to Sandeshaya just before he left
India after meeting the Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh.
When asked about the concerns expressed by the Indian Prime Minister about the human rights situation in the North, president said, "Indian PM expressed his
concern about the food situation in the North and the East, na dthe conditions of the Tamil people. He also said it is important to identify the Tamil people sepearately
from the Tamil Tigers. Tamil Tigers had used the people as a human sheild. That is why people were affected in Kidraweli. The security forces were unaware of the
presence of civilians."
There were discussions about the security of the Indian Ocean and how both countries should work together on the issue said the president Rajapakse.
Speaking to Sandeshaya, the president said that Indian government did not support a military solution and neither he believed in a military solution.
No war, only retaliation
"It is the Western world that talks about a military solution. We only respond to attacks by the Tigers. A government has the right to retaliate. There is no war!
Western countries can't say that we do not have that right to react when we come under attack. We are not at war. We are seeking a political solution. We never
attacked them until a suicide bomber tried to kill my army commander. Even at Muhamalai they advanced three and a half kilometers through the forward defence
line. Only then we reataliated."
President said that he believed in a political solution and claimed that he had advised the All Party Conference and the Committee of Experts to study devolution
models.
When asked if it would be a Federal solution, the President said the attempt is for a suitable model. "Do not get hooked up on words!." He said.
"I have advised them to come up with a model that suits the needs of Sri Lanka."
President said as part of an attmpt to work with all parties in sri lanka he even signed the memorandum of understanding with the main opposition United National Party.
President said that he is prepared to talk with the people and the LTTE though he does not consider the LTTE as the sole representative of Tamil people.

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