DIVO-RCE IL-LUTION

*EDF, Independents Groups Nominations for Batticaloa
*Pillayan Signed MoU with Government
*The UNP has decided to boycott the election
*TNA to boycott Batticaloa local polls
*Sri Lanka devolution panel to suggest only administrative changes

________“Give me some package,” President tells APRCPresident Mahinda Rajapaksa has told the All-Party Representative Committee (APRC) that he needs “something” from its report to be handed over to him on
Wednesday as “everybody expects us to put a political package on the table.” The President made this comment during a luncheon he hosted at Temple Trees in
view of Thai Pongal with Minister Douglas Devananda and Indian High Commissioner Alok Prasad among the invitees.
The President said he would study the Report first and then put it to Cabinet before a final decision was made on whether to make public its contents or not. The
APRC is to hand over its report to the President on Wednesday and resume sittings once again to implement selected themes under the present Constitution.
APRC Chairman and Minister Tissa Vitharana told The Sunday Times the committee was meeting on a daily basis to finalise the report by Wednesday. “Once the
final document is handed over to the President, we will select certain areas to implement it under the present Constitution. It will be discussed with the same parties.
The doors are open for the JVP and the UNP. It is up to them to be a part of the discussions, but we will go ahead with the final document.
“So far the JVP has not shown any interest, while the UNP maintains its initial stand that the constituent parties of the Government should first reach a consensus,”
Minister Vitharana said. Although no time period was given on completing the second report Minister Vitharana said that the parties were keen to see that a final
outcome be reached soon.

*Responding to a question on various armed groups,
he said only the Forces and the Police are entitled to carry arms and all other groups are illegal.
He reiterated the Government's commitment to human rights, noting that Sri Lanka was the only country in the world which appointed eminent independent observers
from foreign countries to oversee the rights inquiries. The Government is bringing in a Witness Protection Act and there has also been a drastic reduction in
disappearances and abductions, the President further said.
President Rajapaksa was addressing a media conference held in Colombo with the participation of the heads of Media Institutions and several Government officials.Wednesday, 23 January 2008

If others are disarmed, we will: TMVP
Wednesday, January 23,2008 COLOMBO:
The Tamil Makkal Viduthalaip Pulikal (TMVP) said Tuesday it stands ready to disarm if other recognised political groups including the EPDP are also
disarmed. The outfit led by Pillayan in the absence of Karuna Amman who is in British police custody also asserted that its political activities would not go hand in
hand with its military wing which is very active in the East. TMVP spokesman Azad Maulana said that the outfit would go down in history as the first “political party” to represent the people of the East. He was responding to
the concerns raised by UNP leader Ranil Wickremesinghe that historically the TMVP would be the first armed outfit to be registered as a political party. “The EPDP still has arms and so do a few other political groups. If they are completely disarmed then we will also disarm,” the TMVP spokesman said. However the
TMVP had on earlier occasions said they would disarm if the LTTE was disarmed as it posed a threat to TMVP cadres in the East. The TMVP spokesman further claimed that some political parties of the calibre of the UNP were making various allegations against the TMVP in an attempt to
prevent it from contesting the Eastern polls. “Our political outfit operates separately from our military unit. We will not use arms when contesting the polls. We will contest it democratically,” Maulana said. The TMVP has been accepted and registered as a political party by the Elections Commissioner and will contest the upcoming polls in the East under the ‘boat’
symbol. The Elections Commission is today expected to officially inform the TMVP that it has been registered. Earlier the organisation had sought to register either under the name ‘TMVP’ or ‘National Party’ in order to contest the now highly controversial polls in the
Batticaloa district after deciding not to join hands with the EPDP and several other Tamil parties which formed an alliance to face the elections.
-----------------------
Karuna pleads guilty, faces jail
British detectives examine possibility of trying him for war crimes From Neville de Silva in London
Breakaway LTTE “eastern commander” Karuna alias Vinayagamoorthy Muralitharan has pleaded guilty to breaching British immigration laws and will be sentenced
by a Crown Court on Friday. He faces a jail term of up to 24 months and/or a fine. Karuna, who was produced before Magistrates Derek Price and Geoff Edwards
at the Uxbridge Courts on December 24, pleaded guilty to a charge of violating the UK ID Card Act of 2006. The sentencing is to take place at the Isleworth Crown
Court.
Karuna entered the United Kingdom on a diplomatic passport allegedly issued by the Government. Though it bore his picture, his name was given as Kokila
Dushmantha Gunawardena who held the designation Director of Wild Life. The British High Commission in Colombo had issued him a visa purportedly to attend a
conference on climate change upon the submission of a Third Person Note (TPN) by the Foreign Ministry.
Karuna Amman Although it was earlier stated that the passport along with the visa application form and the TPN were sent to the private firm to which the British High Commission in
Colombo has outsourced the processing of visa application, British sources say this is not correct. Highly placed British sources said the passport, visa application
and the TPN were handed over to the British High Commission but not by the persons from the Foreign Ministry who usually delivers them.
When this issue was raised in Parliament, Deputy Foreign Minister, Hussein Bhaila, denied knowledge of the passport or the TPN. The sentencing on Friday comes
amidst reports that the Crown Prosecution Service is studying the possibility of bringing him to justice for alleged crimes committed in Sri Lanka in breach of UN
conventions. This is particularly the UN Convention against Torture.
British laws allow offences committed against this Convention anywhere in the world to be tried in British courts. The provision (Section 25 (1) of the UK ID Card
Act 2006 under which Karuna pleaded guilty states:
“It is an offence for a person with the requisite intention to have in his possession or under his control: (b) an identity document that was improperly obtained and that
he knows or believes to have been improperly obtained; or (c) an Contd. from identity document that relates to someone else.” The British Foreign and
Commonwealth Office (FCO) and the Home Office confirmed that Karuna had pleaded guilty when he was produced in court for violating the 2006 Act.
If Karuna is sentenced to imprisonment which seems very likely, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) is expected to spend the coming months in sifting evidence
and trying to construct a case against him probably under the Convention against Torture which provides a hugely wide- ranging definition of torture in Part 1 Article
1 of the convention. Although commonly referred to as the Convention against Torture its full title covers “other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment.”
Karuna who was arrested last November is believed to have sought asylum in Britain when taken into custody. He was living with his wife and family in affluent
Kensington at the time of his arrest. He had entered Britain in September last year. A Home Office spokesman told the Sunday Times that seeking asylum did not
necessarily mean a person could not be returned to his or her country.
“The 1951 Refugee Convention allows us to exclude persons from the protection of asylum where there are serious reasons for considering that an individual has
committed a serious crime or other acts which make him or her undeserving of international protection.” “The Convention also provides that in some circumstances
persons can be returned to the country of origin even though they may have a well-founded fear of persecution there,” the spokesman said.
Authoritative British sources said that while Karuna serves out his expected sentence, the CPS would examine whether charges could be framed against him. The
basis of their study would be what Karuna has told investigators from immigration, Metropolitan Police and British intelligence during his detention at an immigration
centre and evidence that has been gathered from several other sources relating to Karuna’s activities before and after he defected from the LTTE.
British authorities are aware that Karuna was brought to the airport for his flight to UK in a closed car that drove to the tarmac. He was taken on board the aircraft
by an airport official. Authoritative sources said that the diplomatic passport carried by Karuna (under an assumed name but with his photograph sans the familiar
moustache) was examined both in Colombo and in the UK by experts who had pronounced it to be a genuine Sri Lankan passport. If Karuna gets the maximum
sentence of 24 months then the Crown Prosecution Service has that much time to file charges.

TNA to boycott Batticaloa local polls
[TamilNet, Wednesday, 23 January 2008, 16:32 GMT]
Parliamentarians of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA), in a parliamentary group meeting held Wednesday, unanimously agreed to boycott elections to nine local
authorities in the Batticaloa district. Mr. R.Sampanthan, President of the TNA parliamentary group presided over the meeting.
The TNA earlier filed fundamental rights petitions in the Supreme Court seeking the postponement of the local elections in Batticaloa district on the grounds* that the
security situation is not conducive to hold free and fair elections.
But later the TNA withdrew its FR petition when the Supreme Court informed that it has no authority to postpone these elections but it is prepared to consider application later if there was threat to hold free and fair election.

UNP decides to boycott Batticaloa local elections
[TamilNet, Wednesday, 23 January 2008, 11:22 GMT]
The main opposition United National Party (UNP) Wednesday decided not to contest the elections to nine local authorities in the Batticaloa district in the eastern
province. The Political Affairs Committee of the UNP met Wednesday with Mr.Ranil Wickremasinghe in the chair and decided that the ground security situation in
the Batticaloa district is not safe to conduct a free and fair election, party general secretary Mr.Tissa Attanayake said.
The party is also of opinion that the civil rule in Batticaloa district has been disturbed due to the free movement of armed groups supported by the government in the
district.
Meanwhile, the number of political parties registered with the Department of Elections has been increased to 58 with five more new political parties registered to
contest the local elections in the Batticaloa district, sources said.

Sri Lanka devolution panel to suggest only administrative changes
P.K. BalachandranWed, Jan 23 12:33 PM Colombo, Jan 23 (IANS)

The report of the Sri Lankan panel on devolution of powers, which is to be submitted to President Mahinda Rajapaksa Wednesday, will
suggest only 'administrative changes' and avoid recommending any 'structural alterations' in the country's constitution.
'What we are going to submit this evening is entirely within the existing constitution,' Prof Tissa Vitharana, chairperson of the All Party Representative Committee
(APRC) on devolution, told IANS.
'However, at the same time, we will give the president a separate report on our search for an entirely new constitution with a new system of devolution,' Vitharana
added.
'The APRC would recommend administrative arrangements to fully implement the 13th amendment of 1987,' said the leader of the Eelam Peoples' Democratic Party
(EPDP), Douglas Devananda.
Asked to spell out the details, he said that, mostly importantly, there was a recommendation to set up a political system in the Tamil-speaking northern and eastern
provinces.
'The committee has recommended the institution of an interim political administration in the northern province, and the holding of elections for a new council in the
eastern province,' Devananda said.
The provincial councils system, which the 13th amendment had introduced in the country in 1987, had not worked in the north and east.
The combined northeast provincial council was dismissed in 1990, and since then, there has been no provincial council in that part of the country.
'The absence of a provincial council had prevented the emergence of a local political leadership in the north and east. This is one of the major lacunae in the existing
political system,' Devananda pointed out.
Militant extremist groups like the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) had filled the vacuum and prevented moderate groups from emerging.
'The panel's recommendation will create a political leadership that will fill the vacuum,' Devananda reasoned.
A member of the panel, from another minority party, who did not want to be identified, said that there was a recommendation that 'de facto' power over a number of
subjects be transferred to the provinces and 'undue' central interference in provincial administration be stopped.
'The central government now uses the concurrent list to arrogate to itself a lot of power, and further marginalize the provinces. The panel has suggested that this be
stopped and the centre should act in a more restrained manner,' the member said.
'We are hopeful that the president will accept the recommendations because he has the will. Previous governments had no will. President Rajapaksa has publicly said
a number of times that he wants to implement the 13th amendment fully,' Devananda said.
But everyone, including Rajapaksa, recognises that the 13th amendment is not the final solution for the ethnic conflict in Sri Lanka, which is all about power sharing.
'What is going to be given today is only an interim report, a report on an interim arrangement. It is only a starter,' Devananda said.
Clearly indicating that he had a long term, larger view on the matter of devolution, Rajapaksa said Tuesday that he would negotiate with all communities - Tamils,
Muslims, Burghers and Sinhalese - and all political parties to find an answer to their political demands.
Rajapaksa said that the era of exclusive negotiations with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) was over.
'We do not recognise the LTTE as the sole representative of the Tamil people,' he asserted.
'All communities have political demands which have to be addressed,' the president said, opening the door for the APRC to go ahead with its mandated task of
working out a new constitution with a news system of devolution, albeit within a unitary system.
The APRC's short report would be placed before the Sri Lankan cabinet later in the evening for an 'on the spot' decision, a cabinet minister said.

Sri Lanka: full implementation of 13th Amendment recommended
B. Muralidhar Reddy
All Parties Representative Conference moots provincial councils in north & east QUEST FOR PEACE: Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa (left) receives recommendations for a political solution to the ethnic conflict from Tissa Vitharana,
Science and Technology Minister, who headed a panel which studied a possible settlement in Colombo on Wednesday.
COLOMBO: Full and faithful implementation of the 13th Amendment to the Constitution, holding of provincial council elections in the east and establishment of an
interim provincial council in the north are the key recommendations made by the All Parties Representative Conference (APRC) in its interim report submitted to Sri
Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa on Wednesday.
According to a member of the Committee, who shared the contents of the document with The Hindu, the members are of the view that pending consensus among all
parties on further amendments to the Constitution on devolution of powers for resolution of the ethnic conflict, the President should initiate measures to translate into
actions the provisions of the 13th Amendment and establish provincial councils in the east and the north to enable people have a say in the governance of their affairs.
The APRC was established by Mr. Rajapaksa in mid-2006 to forge a consensus among all parties on a political solution acceptable to all for resolution of the three-
decade-old ethnic conflict. However, the Committee suffered a setback when the main opposition, United National Party (UNP) withdrew from it in protest against
the President’s decision to induct rebel members of the party into the government. The Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) has also walked out and now wants
dissolution of the APRC.
Focus of report
The 13th Amendment, focus of the interim report of the APRC, followed the Indo-Sri Lanka Accord in 1987. Among other steps it envisages province as the unit of
power and devolution of powers between the centre and the provinces as a solution to the ethnic crisis. However, for a variety of reasons successive governments
have not been able to implement various provisions of the Amendment.
In its four-page report titled, “Action to be taken by the President to fully implement Relevant Provisions Of the present Constitution as a prelude to the APRC
Proposals,” the Committee said: “The Government should endeavour to implement the 13th Amendment to the Constitution in respect of legislative, executive and
administrative powers, overcoming existing shortcomings. Adequate funds should be provided by Government to facilitate effective functioning of the provincial
councils. The centre should hereinafter route all finances in respect of special projects undertaken by the centre in the Provinces, if they are on subjects under the
purview of the Provinces, through the respective Provincial Administrations.”
On northern and eastern provinces, the APRC has recommended special arrangements necessary to permit maximum devolution of power to the Northern and
Eastern Provinces under the 13th Amendment.
“The APRC is of the view that conditions in the Eastern Provinces are conducive for holding elections to the provincial council and that elections should be held
immediately. Conditions in the Northern Province are far from being peaceful. A free and fair election in the North will not be possible in the near future. Hence an
alternative arrangement is required in the Northern Province to enable the people of that Province to enjoy the fruits of devolution.
Appropriate order
“As it is not possible to hold elections in the North, the President could make appropriate order to establish an Interim Council for the Northern Province in terms of
the Constitution. It may be necessary for such an Interim Council to make statues. The interim council of a province will aid [and] advise the Governor in the exercise
of his executive powers, and will function until provincial council elections are held in that province. The interim council should reflect the ethnic character of the
province.
“Hence, it is proposed that the interim council for a province should consist individuals who have political experience and an abiding in the development of the
province and in its people and be acceptable to the people of the province. A person to qualify for appointment as a member of an interim council should have a
thorough knowledge of the particular province.
On implementation of the official language provision of the Constitution, which envisages Tamil also as a national language along with Sinhala, the Committee said the
government should take immediate steps to ensure that Parliament enacts to provide for the full implementation of chapter IV of the constitution on language. “There
are many contexts in which remedial measures will assume an administrative, rather than a legislative, character,” it said.
The Committee said it was mandated by the President to prepare a set of proposals that would be the basis for a solution to the national question. “After 63 sittings
over a period of 11/2 years the consensus document is being finalised and it should be possible to hand it over to the President in the very near future.
“The outcome would be a basis for appropriate constitutional arrangement. Implementation of this would of course require amendment of the present Constitution,
and in respect of some Articles, approval by the People at a referendum.
“This would of course take time, once a favourable climate is established.
“Under the circumstances, the APRC taking into consideration its own proposals, has identified a course of action to achieve maximum and effective devolution of
powers to the provinces in the short term.
“The emphasis would be on meeting the aspirations of the Tamil speaking peoples, especially in the North and East. This would be done within the framework of the
present Constitution, that is, the 1978 Constitution.
“The course of action proposed by the APRC would be implementable with immediate effect, and envisages an interim arrangement pending the restoration of
democratically elected Provincial Councils in the North and East.”


(January 24, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian)
As of Monday 4:00 p.m. four independent groups and one registered political party, EROS's Eelavar Democratic Front (EDF), have filed nominations for the forthcoming local Government elections to be held in Batticaloa district, sources in Batticaloa said.
According to information released by the Batticaloa elections office, EDF and an independent group has submitted their nominations for Koralaipattu
(Vazhaichcheanai ) and Koralaipattu North (Vaaharai).
Two independent groups have filed nominations one each in Eravoorpattu and Manmunaipattu.
T.Krishnananthalingam, the Assistant commissioner of Elections for Batticaloa district announced last week that nominations for the elections will be accepted from
Friday 18, January till 25 January. The acceptance of deposits, however, is expected to end by 24 January noon.
Twelve independent groups have paid their deposits out of which four have submitted their nominations.
Elections Department sources said that the election for the nine local bodies would be held during the second week of March.
Earlier, Sri Lanka's Commissioner of Elections rejected the appeal made by the political parties to postpone the elections to nine local authorities in Batticaloa district
as the current security situation on the ground is not conducive for holding polls.
However, the Commissioner said that he would hold consultation with the Inspector General of Police (IGP) to strengthen the security in the Batticaloa district during
election period and to provide adequate security to candidates contesting the elections.
Meanwhile, TMVP Pillayan group and UPFA have signed a MoU to contest local government elections at Batticaloa. Pillayan signed for TMVP and Minister and
General Secretary of UPFA Minister Susil Premajayanthe signed on behalf of the two parties.
According to the MoU Batticaloa Municipal council would be contested under therbetel leaf – the symbol of UPFA and other bodies in Batticaloa district will be
contested under TMVP symbol.
However, the UNP has decided to boycott the local government lections in Batticaloa over security related issues.

Sri Lankan Navy plants mines along marine border with India

23 Jan 2008, 1948 hrs IST,PTI
MADURAI: Breaking international conventions, Sri Lankan Navy has planted mines along the maritime border with India, a move that could prove to be fatal to
Tamil Nadu fishermen, official sources said.
According to a fax message received by the Navy office at Rameswaram from their Sri Lankan counterparts, mines had been planted between Nedunthivu and
Kachathivu, to prevent LTTE activists from crossing to Indian territorial waters. The movement of LTTE was increasingly noticed in that area, the message said.
The Navy officials in Madurai have also been asked to warn the Indian fishermen against crossing the International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL). A copy of the
message has been forwarded to Tamil Nadu Chief Secretary, the sources said.
Officials said this was against international maritime rules and could only prove to be fatal to the fishermen.
Many fishermen could not identify IMBL and distinguish between Indian and Sri Lankan waters.
Meanwhile, fishermen groups said that the LTTE had all the latest gadgets to detect and escape the mines and it would only hurt them.
Alleging that the move was to prevent Indian fishermen from entering the Sri Lankan waters, they asked the Coast Guard and Navy officials to take appropriate steps
to get the mines removed.

Sri Lanka's President : I did not want to push his troops into rebel-held territory to defeat the guerrillas.
Tue Jan 22, 10:49 AM ET
Sri Lanka signals shift in war on Tamil Tigers by Amal JayasingheTue Jan 22, 10:49 AM ET
Sri Lanka's President signalled a shift in the war against the Tamil Tigers, saying he did not want to push his troops into rebel-held territory to defeat the guerrillas.
President Mahinda Rajapakse also said Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) may not have been behind a string of recent bombings on the island, and pointed at
the possible involvement of political and business interests.
"We will hit if we are hit," the president said of his military strategy.
"The recent operations in the north are not aimed at advancing... I don't believe in a military solution," he told reporters.
The remarks were in sharp contrast to statements from the island's military and even the president's brother -- defence secretary Gotabhaya Rajapakse -- who have
stated their intention to seize the rebels' mini-state in the north and eliminate the guerrilla leadership.
The government had also earlier this month pulled out of a tattered Norwegian-brokered truce with the rebels, underscoring its sentiment that it has the upper hand in
the long-running conflict.
Furthermore, the defence ministry has justified the decision to return to open war by pointing to a string of bomb attacks in and around Colombo and the south of the
island -- which have claimed the lives of dozens of civilians and a government minister since the start of the year.
But the president said "other groups" may be at work in the conflict -- pointing to two blasts in Colombo that did not appear to be the work of the rebels.
"It is not like the LTTE to set off bombs to cause only a huge sound and no casualties," the president said.
"Why should they risk their men to plant these 'dumb bombs' when they are used to causing huge casualties."
Two people were slightly hurt in the two blasts. One bomb was inside a high security zone and the other was at an isolated railway platform here. Unlike the rebels'
trademark mine attacks, there were no pellets packed into the bombs.
"We have to face it. The idea of these attacks is to create panic and give the impression that Colombo is not safe... It is clear that these are not LTTE bombs. This is
what I believe. We are investigating," he said.
"There could be more incidents like this in Colombo and (the adjoining district of) Gampaha," the president warned, without giving further details.
The president's comments, however, came as fighting continued to rage in the north -- with security forces reporting 46 people killed, most of them rebels.
Since the start of this month, the Sri Lanka defence ministry has claimed it has killed 592 rebels against just 26 soldiers dead.
The military's death toll claims cannot be independently verified.