ENB050408

Sri Lanka Tigers say resisting military onslaught
Thu Apr 3, 1:55 AM ET
Sri Lanka's Tamil Tigers said Thursday they were resisting a major military thrust into rebel-held territory and claimed to have killed at least 25 government troops in
two days of fighting.
The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) said they pushed back security forces from the Catholic pilgrim area of Madhu in the coastal district of Mannar where
heavy fighting has raged in recent weeks.
"The Sri Lanka army adamantly initiated several clashes within 1,500 meters of the church premises," a statement said. "The LTTE defenders successfully repelled the
Sri Lanka army offenders."
The separatists added that more than 90 soldiers had been wounded and placed their own losses at one killed and three hurt over the two days.
The LTTE statement came as the military said they killed 42 Tiger rebels for the loss of one soldier in the same area on Wednesday.
The latest defence ministry casualty claims bring to at least 2,562 the number of rebels said to have been killed by security forces since January.
The ministry has reported losing 152 soldiers in the same period.
The figures given by both sides in the decades-old ethnic conflict that has claimed tens of thousands of lives cannot be independently confirmed as journalists and
rights groups are barred from front-line areas.

02 April, 2008 - Published 16:54 GMT
LTTE political party hands in nominations
Peoples Front of Liberation Tigers (PFLT), the political party of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) registered with the Election Commissioner's
Department has handed over nomination papers for the forthcoming Eastern Provincial Council Elections.
The nomination papers were handed on Wednesday to the Ampara Government Agent, Sunil Kannangara.
Seventeen candidates including two women handed over the nomination papers signed by the Secretary of the Peoples Front of Liberation Tigers, Yogaratnam Yogi.
All of the candidates have in their applications given their address as No.392, Galle Road, Colombo.
Asked about the authenticity of the nomination papers handed over by the PFLT, a spokesman for the Election Commissioner's Department said as long as
nomination papers had been signed by a Justice of the Peace (JP), the department is obliged to accept them.
"The signatures will be checked and the identity will not be questioned", he said.
Only fourteen of the seventeen applicants have given their National Identity Card numbers in the nomination papers which were on public display at the Ampara
District Secretariat.
Since this is the first time PFLT is fileding candidates for an election, attempts by the BBC Sandeshaya to obtain a verification from the LTTE on the authenticity of
the nominations has not been successful.
The Peoples Front of Liberation Tigers (PFLT) was formed in 1989.

02 April, 2008 - Published 11:28 GMT
Hakeem resigns to contest the east
Three key leaders of the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress including the party president Rauf Hakeem have resigned from their parliamentary seats.
In a statement issued on Wednesday they said that they were resigning their parliamentary seats with immediate effect to offer a strong challenge in the Eastern
Provincial Council elections.
SLMC spokesman Nizam Kariyappar told media, Rauf Hakeem, the president of the party, Basheer Segu Dawood, the chairman and Hasan Ali, the general
secretary have decided to contest the eastern provincial council election.
Resignation handed in
The speaker of parliament, W.J.M. Lokubandara confirmed to the BBC Sinhala Service that the MPs had already tenderd their resignation letters.
The SLMC is to contest Eastern Provincial Council election in alliance with the main opposition United National Party (UNP) under the UNP election symbol
"Elephant".
Nizam Kariyappar says that, Rauf Hakeem will be the chief candidate for the Trincomalee district, Basheer Segu Dawood chief candidate for the Batticaloa district
and Hasan Ali ,chief candidate for the Ampara district.
Political trap
SLMC leader Rauf Hakeem told Sandeshaya that they wanted to show protest to the government's attempt to undermine democratic rights of the people in the east
with the help of armed groups.
He said SLMC Batticaloa organiser, MLAM Hisbullah had crossed over to the government after failing his undertaking to persuade SLMC to contest with the
government.
"In reality, Hisbullah tried to create a division among Muslim leaders but failed", he said.
After crossing over, Hisbulla told BBC Sandeshaya that President Mahinda Rajapaksa has given as assurance that he will be made the chief minister of the eastern
province if he "wins with a majority of Muslim members".
SLMC leader said that General Secretary of the party, Hassan Ali is tipped to be the Chief Minister's position claiming that it was not their only aim.
"Government riding on the back of armed groups is trying to win the election in the east, thereby to claim that it is a victory for democracy. It wants to tell the
international community that democracy is established in the east", SLMC leader said

Sri Lanka Credit Rating Cut By Fitch, Citing Deficit
April 3 (Bloomberg) --Sri Lanka's credit rating was cut by Fitch Ratings on concern the island's ability to repay debt may be affected by rising inflation, a large fiscal
deficit and record oil prices.
Sri Lanka's long-term foreign and local currency ratings were reduced by one level to B+, four levels below investment grade, from BB-. The cut puts Sri Lanka's
credit rating on a par with Mongolia and Jamaica. The outlook for the rating is stable, Fitch said in its report published today.
The downgrade ``reflects the increased vulnerability of sovereign creditworthiness to adverse shocks associated with rising inflation, persistently large fiscal deficits
and worsened terms of trade due to soaring oil prices,'' said James McCormack, head of Asia sovereign ratings at Fitch.
Sri Lanka's inflation accelerated to 23.8 percent in March, the highest in at least four years, on rising food and energy costs. President Mahinda Rajapaksa aims to
narrow the island nation's budget deficit to 7 percent of gross domestic product this year from 7.2 percent in 2007.
High and volatile inflation increases the risk of economic instability and discourages investment, with negative medium-term growth implications, McCormack said.
Standard & Poor's lowered its outlook on Sri Lanka's rating to negative in February, citing weakening state finances and the fallout from the island's 25-year civil
conflict. A negative outlook increases the chances of the rating being lowered.
Inflation
Sri Lanka's central bank on March 19 kept its benchmark interest rate at 10.5 percent for a 13th straight meeting. Central bank Governor Nivard Cabraal said last
month that ``tight monetary policy'' would be maintained through the end of this year on concern oil costs may fan inflation.
Fitch said that increases in inflation and domestic interest rates had led to greater foreign-currency borrowing by the government.
Sri Lanka last month hired Standard Chartered Plc and Deutsche Bank AG to help arrange a loan of as much as $300 million to finance projects.
The yield on Sri Lanka's 8.25 percent note due in 2012 has risen to 10.5 percent, according to prices from ING Groep NV. The difference in yield compared to
similar-maturity Treasuries has almost doubled to 7.9 percentage points from 3.97 percentage points over the same period.
Rising yield spreads indicate investors are demanding more compensation for the borrower's repayment risk.
Foreign-Currency Debt
``Despite the tightening of monetary policy, Fitch expects inflation to remain relatively high,'' McCormack said. ``It will prove challenging to reduce inflation
significantly without inducing a sharp slowdown in economic growth that would expose weaknesses in public finances.''
Sri Lanka's repayments of foreign-currency public debt will total $1.5 billion in 2008, $600 million of which is domestic, according to Fitch.
``Sri Lanka's ratings remain underpinned by its impeccable debt-service record, a business environment that compares favorably to regional and rating peers and a
moderate external debt-service burden,'' Fitch said.
Sri Lanka's economy expanded 7.6 percent in the fourth quarter from a year earlier, as increased exports of tea and rubber offset restraints on spending from five-
year high interest rates and renewed violence in the island's civil war.
Last Updated: April 2, 2008 23:24 EDT
India requested to allow rice exports to Sri Lanka
Thu, Apr 3 04:40 PM
Colombo, April 3 (IANS) Hit by soaring prices of rice, the Sri Lanka government has requested New Delhi to exempt the island nation from its recent curbs,
including hike in rice export duties.
'President Mahinda Rajapaksa is directly speaking to the governments of India, Pakistan and Burma, with the aim of importing rice from these countries. We hope
there would be a positive outcome,' Minister of Commerce and Consumer Affairs, Bandula Gunawardena told IANS Thursday.
He said that immediate import of rice from these countries would help ensure availability of rice at a reasonable rate in the local market, especially on the eve of the
Sinhala-Tamil New Year.
Sri Lanka has always looked to India whenever it faced a rice crisis in the local market, but it has been badly hit with the Indian government banning the exports of
non-basmati rice.
A top Indian diplomatic official confirmed the request made by Colombo and said it has been passed on to New Delhi for consideration.Gunawardena said that Myanmar has agreed to sell 100,000 metric tonnes of white rice to Sri Lanka.
'I am leading a delegation to Burma on Friday to finalise this deal,' Gunawardena said, adding that the Pakistani government has also agreed in principle to export
50,000 metric tonnes of rice to Sri Lanka.
'With these two countries conceding our request, we hope that neighbouring India would also consider our request positively,' he said.
Commerce and Consumer Affairs Ministry sources said there was an artificial shortage of rice in the local market due to hoarding and the unfavourable weather that
has hindered the milling of rice.

Sri Lankan refugee camps under police scanner
THE HINDU Staff Reporter
RAMANATHAPURAM: Sri Lankan refugee camps, particularly those in southern and central Tamil Nadu, are under the police scanner in view of United
Progressive Alliance Chairperson Sonia Gandhi’s visit to Karaikudi on Saturday.
She will participate in the inaugural function of an auditorium constructed by Union Finance Minister P. Chidambaram for Alagappa University and attend a rally at
Karaikudi. There are about 108 Sri Lankan refugee camps in the State. Of them, the Mandapam camp in Ramanathapuram district and Kottapattu in Tiruchi district
are protected. Over 7,000 Sri Lankan Tamils stay in these two camps.
According to a rough estimate, more than one lakh Sri Lankan Tamils are living in various parts of the State. In Sivaganga district, where Karaikudi is situated, there
are six opens camps at Thayamangalam, Okkur, Monkiloorani, Devakottai and Nattarasankottai, which has two camps.
Sanjiv Kumar, Inspector General of Police, South Zone, who is camping at Karaikudi, told The Hindu on Wednesday, that the Additional Director General of
Police, Law and Order, Vijay Kumar, had chalked out a plan of action to monitor Sri Lankan refugees. “As for open camp refugees and non-camp Tamils, we have
devised a mechanism to monitor them. It is being strictly enforced.”

Ban "My daughter, the Terrorist"
A Black Tiger Propaganda Movie from being Featured at the Film Festival, EROS Urges US
Wed, 2008-04-02 07:20 London, 02 April, (Asiantribune.com): Eelam Revolutionary Organization (EROS) has urged the United States Government to ban the “Black Tiger” documentary in
the United States of America, as it was a blatant propaganda film glorifying suicide bombers and terrorism in Sri Lanka and would entice would-be suicide bombers
to join terrorist organizations that are a threat to the interests of the United States.
Nesan Shankar Raji, a senior leader of the EROS in a statement said “My daughter the terrorist," a documentary on the lives and faiths of two female Black Tigers,
produced by Norwegian film maker, Beate Arnestad, is to be featured in a premier documentary film festival in the United States to be held in Durham, North
Carolina 4th of April.
He said that this is a propaganda film in favor of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), a banned terrorist organization in the E.U and many other countries
including the United States of America and it clearly glorifies suicide bombing and terrorism. It has nothing to do with freedom of speech. This is blatant propaganda.
He added “This kind of media propaganda will have a devastating effect and will entice would-be suicide bombers to join terrorist linked organizations such as Al-
Queda and other groups. There is clear evidence of the LTTE’s links in terrorist organizations linked to Al-Queda and the technology used in developing suicide
bomb jackets etc is often shared between these terrorist organizations for their own mutual benefits.”
Full statement by Nesan Shankar Raji of EROS is as follows::As one of the leaders of a mainstream, political party in Sri Lanka and a representative of peace loving Sri Lankan’s, I urge the United States Government to ban
“My daughter the terrorist," a Black Tiger documentary, due to be screened in the United States and take appropriate measures to prevent the film being screened at
the film festival to be held in Durham, North Carolina from 3rd to 6 April.
This documentary is a propaganda film in favor of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), a banned terrorist organization in the E.U and many other countries
including the United States of America and it clearly glorifies suicide bombing and terrorism. This kind of media propaganda will have a devastating effect and will
entice would-be suicide bombers to join terrorist linked organizations such as Al-Queda and other groups. There is clear evidence of the LTTE’s links in terrorist
organizations linked to Al-Queda and the technology used in developing suicide bomb jackets etc is often shared between these terrorist organizations for their own
mutual benefits.
The Norwegian film maker Beate Arnestad and architect of this documentary film has been on the payroll of both the LTTE and the Norwegian Government. The
Norwegian Government has been responsible for funding the LTTE for several years. Referring to the “Norwegians Against Terrorism” - NAT website, there is
ample evidence of the Norwegian Governments role in supporting, arming and funding the LTTE.
As the LTTE is proscribed as a terrorist organisation within the United States, the Government of the United States of America should ensure that this Norwegian
filmmaker Beate Arnestad is prevented from screening this documentary publicly.
Beate Arnestad stayed in Vanni under the hospitality of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam during the filming of this documentary; secondly Black Tiger cadres of
the LTTE were hand-picked by the Norwegian filmmaker to take part in this documentary.
This is clearly propaganda in favor of suicide bombing and killing many hundreds of innocent civilians. This documentary has nothing to do with free speech or media
censorship. The United States Government has a moral duty in stopping this film from being screened and having it banned in the United States of America.
- Asian Tribune -
15 SLA killed, heavy fighting in Mannaar - LTTE
[TamilNet, Tuesday, 01 April 2008, 17:20 GMT]
Heavy fighting ensued between the Liberation Tigers of Tamileelam and the Sri Lanka Army Tuesday from 5:30 a.m. till 11:00 a.m. when the SLA stationed in
Iththikka'ndal attempted to break into LTTE held territory in Ka'rukkaayk-ku'lam with Tanks and heavy artillery barrage and mortar attacks. 15 SLA soldiers were
killed and 25 wounded, LTTE's Operations Command in Mannaar told media in Vanni.
Meanwhile, another SLA push launched from Thirukkeatheesvaram was repelled from Paapaamoaddai, 4 km north of Thirukkeatheesvaram, according to the Tiger
command in Mannaar. The Tigers did not issue details on their casualties.