P.O.Box 782, Egmore, Chennai 600 008, India.
INDIA WELCOMES PEACE PROCESS
BUT WOULD PURSUE EXTRADITION OF PRABHAKARAN SAYS FORMER SPEAKER OF SRI LANKAN
PARLIAMENT
Former speaker and
Member of Parliament Anura Bandaranaike who returned to Ceylon from New Delhi
with MP Dr. Sarath Amunugama claimed that New Delhi had assured that India
would not allow a separate ‘Eelam’ state in Ceylon and they would pursue the
extradition of LTTE leader V. Prabhakaran wanted for the murder of Rajiv
Gandhi.
Speaking to newsmen,
Bandaranaike said they (he and Amunugama) visited New Delhi to apprise India of
the stand of the SLFP and the President on the peace process. "We wanted
to correct the position that we are not against peace" he stressed. He
noted that the New Delhi welcomed peace in Colombo without a division and it
would pursue the extradition of Prabakaran who is wanted for murder. He further
said that the visit was of use as it helped to correct the wrong impression
that the SLFP and the President were opposed to peace.
Mr. Bandaranaike,
accompanied by his colleagues, Mangala Samaraweera and Sarath Amunugama, called
on the Prime Minister, A.B. Vajpayee, and handed over a letter from Ms.
Kumaratunga. He said they had also met the External Affairs Minister, Yashwant
Sinha, the National Security Adviser, Brajesh Mishra, and the Foreign
Secretary, Kanwal Sibal.
For some time now, India
has been telling the two principal Sinhala parties to arrive at a consensus in
order to deal with the LTTE in the peace process. Sources, however, said that
the split in the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) had implications for
political stability in Colombo. The UNP-led Government now had a razor-thin
majority unless the Tamil parties' alliance came out in support. They also
pointed out that Ms. Kumaratunga, in her capacity as Executive President, had
the powers to dismiss the elected Government which had completed one year in
office on the 5th of December.
Despite consistent
efforts, to bridge the wide gulf between Ms. Kumaratunga and the Prime
Minister, Ranil Wickremesinghe, little progress has been made in this
direction. Given the obvious concerns of the SLFP-led People's Alliance on the
peace process and the role being played by the Norwegians, and the differences
between Ms. Kumaratunga and Mr. Wickremesinghe, Sri Lankan politics appears to
be entering an uncertain phase once again.
SEVEN GIRLS ESCAPE FROM LTTE
CAMP BUT FOUR ARE RECAPTURED.
Seven girls form
Thirukovil Vinayagar Vidyalayam, who were forcibly abducted by the LTTE a month
ago had escaped and were found by Military Intelligence. According to reliable
information the girls had been abducted by the LTTE whilst returning from
school and forced into a van with their school books and taken to Kavar Mali,
Tharavai in interior Batticaloa where they had been handed over to Thamilini
who is in charge of the women's training camp. The seven of them escaped on the
night of 6th December. They were pursued by the LTTE and of the 7 escapees four
were recaptured while the other three managed to go to a nearby village and
sought help there.
The village women are
reported to have disguised the3 girls as Muslim girls and put them into a bus
at Siththandy. When the girls got down at Batticaloa to take the connecting bus
to Kalmunai it is reported that LTTE women cadres who were on the look out for
the girls attempted to force them into a trishaw. On being approached by a
group of men believed to be from Military Intelligence (MI) the girls had
complained about their ordeal and requested help. On seeing the three girls in
conversation with the MI personnel the LTTE women cadres are reported to have
fled the scene.
Meanwhile according to
reports from Batticaloa three other female LTTE cadres who managed to escape
from LTTE clutches had arrived at the Army camp Batticaloa town on Saturday 7th
December seeking the protection of the security forces. These teenagers
identified as C.C.Krishnapullai Arukumari (17), Thangaiya Pradeepa (19) and
Devanayagam Rasikala (17) had escaped from LTTE clutches on 04 December.
According to the escapees they have been abducted by the LTTE on 10th
and 16th September and 10 November respectively. Arrangements had
been made to hand over these girls to their next of kin through the Batticaloa
police. Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) in Batticaloa has also been
informed about the abductions.
"EELAM BANK" IS
UNAUTHORISED AND ILLEGAL SAYS SRI LANKAN FINANCE MINISTER
Sri Lankan Finance
Minister K.N. Choksy has said that there was no reason why people should resort
to "illegal and unauthorised bank called Eelam Bank" when there were
a great number of legal banks in the North and East. He was responding to
questions raised by the Opposition in Parliament on the existence of an 'Eelam
Bank'. MPs sought clarification on what steps would be taken by Central Bank on
Eelam Banks. The Finance Minister said that in the north there were 55
authorised commercial bank branches and National Savings Bank, while there are
68 such in the East. "As such there is no reason why people should go to
an illegal and unauthorised "Eelam Bank", he said.
SRI LANKAN SPOKESMAN CONFIRMS
SIGHTING MYSTERY SHIP
A Sri Lankan Government
spokesman confirmed that a mysterious ship, suspected to be carrying weapons,
had been spotted on international waters, and said prompt action by its navy
prevented the off-loading of any shipment in its territorial waters. The
sighting has again raised concern in Ceylon as to whether Tamil militants
continue to bring in arms during the ongoing cease-fire. Media reports said
that the Indian Navy had located a vessel suspected to be carrying weapons and
fuel for the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam about 100 nautical miles off the
north-eastern Mullaitivu Coast.
LANKAN PEACE SHOULD ENSURE
GROUND DEMOCRACY - INDIA
India has reiterated its
support to a negotiated settlement in Ceylon, by emphasising that any solution
should ensure that democracy, pluralism and human rights were respected on the
ground.
This was conveyed to Sri
Lankan leaders by Foreign Secretary Kanwal Sibal, who met President Chandrika
Kumaratunge, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and others on December 9.
"India supports a peaceful negotiated settlement that meets the just
aspirations of all elements of Sri Lankan society, besides ensuring that the principles
of democracy, pluralism and human rights are respected on the ground",
said a statement released in Colombo by the Indian Mission. This is the first
time that India had linked these norms to its general support to settlement
within Sri Lanka's unity. The emphasis on these being reflected "on the
ground" shows its mounting concerns over developments in the north and
east, where LTTE has been consolidating its influence and holds sway over many
aspects of administration in areas that are not under its military control.
Reports are rife about continuing incidents of abduction and forcible
conscription of children and young adults, besides widespread LTTE-backed
protests against the Eelam People's Democratic Party (EPDP), which has been
given an ultimatum to leave the Jaffna peninsula by the end of December.
The non-LTTE parties
have appealed to India to ensure that any settlement that involves sharing of
power with the LTTE does not result in a regional military rule that does not
respect political pluralism. The High Commission said that during the
discussions with various leaders, the Indian side noted the positive signals
that have come out from the latest round of talks in Oslo. India would welcome
any progress that would bring peace within the framework of the unity,
sovereignty and territorial integrity of Sri Lanka it said.
INDIA SUPPORTS PEACE WITHIN
FRAME-WORK OF UNITY, SOVEREIGNTY AND TERRITORIAL INTEGRITY OF SRI LANKA BUT
RULES OUT INDIAN REPRESENTATIVES SITTING WITH LTTE
India will not take part
in an UNHCR-summoned meeting in Kilinochchi to discuss a range of issues
relating to the proposed repatriation of Ceylon Tamil refugees in India on a
voluntary basis.
The UNHCR has been informed
of India’s stance, the source said, stressing that Indian authorities were in
constant touch with the UNHCR regarding the repatriation of refugees. India
will deal directly with the UN agency, the source added. India recently
reiterated her support for a process that would bring peace within the
framework of the unity, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Sri Lanka but
ruled out the possibility of Indian representatives sitting with the LTTE.
Earlier India rejected calls to permit chief LTTE negotiator Anton Balasingham
to travel via India on medical reasons.
The Indian High
Commissioner in Ceylon was among the invitees to the meeting in the LTTE-held
area where the UNHCR was expected to explore the possibility of repatriating
85,000 Ceylonese, 64,000 of them living in refugee camps in south India. The
UNHCR believes that a cease-fire agreement and the subsequent progress made at
the peace process has paved the way for the government, the LTTE and India to
explore the possibility of bringing back people who fled north-east Ceylon over
a period of time.
Responding to a
question, UNHCR spokesperson Ms. Barret said the Indian High Commissioner was
among the senior diplomats invited to take part in the one-day workshop.
"We have also invited Norwegian ambassador Jon Westborg and the Japanese
ambassador," she said, adding that senior representatives of the
sub-committee on the Immediate Humanitarian and Rehabilitation Needs (SIHRN),
relevant ministers and officials and a representative of the India-based UNHCR
delegation would take part in the discussion. SIHRN is jointly headed by
ambassador Bernard Gunatilake, head of the Peace Secretariat and LTTE Political
Wing leader S. P. Thamilchelvan. Japan’s nominee for the peace process Yasushi
Akashi is the principal adviser to the sub-committee.
USE DONOR FUNDS FOR
REBUILDING THE DEVASTATED AREAS AND FOR REHABILITATION OF AFFECTED PEOPLE
"We will neither
tolerate nor allow those very destructive forces, which were responsible for
the destruction of the country, to divide the donor-booty between them".
This was declared emphatically by S. C. Chandrahasan of the Organisation For
Eelam Refugees Rehabilitation (OFERR) and of the Protection of Eelam Tamils
against Genocide (ProTeg), the two non-governmental organisations based in
Chennai, Tamil Nadu. He added that the donor countries disbursed large sums of
money to rebuild the country and for the rehabilitation of the refugees. And
this money, he said, must be utilised for the very purpose it was donated and not
for the LTTE to lay their hands on those funds. We will marshal the support of
the international community and the rights groups, which support just and
genuine causes and show our stiffest opposition to such evil designs by the
Tigers and by the Sri Lankan government. Chandrahasan, a lawyer by profession,
is the son of the great national leader late S. J. V. Chelvanayakam of the
Federal Party and later Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF). On 19 May 1982,
when Velupillai Prabhakaran, the present leader of the LTTE was involved in a
gun duel with Uma Maheswaran, at Pondy bazaar, Chennai, who was then the leader
of the LTTE, over a buxom young Tamil widow Urmila. Subsequently, the Police of
the Tamil Nadu state arrested both. Thiruvenkadam Velupillai, the father of
Prabhakaran, immediately contacted Chandrahasan to save his son from being
deported to Ceylon. Chandrahasan, a leading member of the TULF, agreed to help
Velupillai. He readily rushed to Chennai to stop the deportation of Prabhakaran
into the hands of the Sri Lankan government and the police, who was slapped
with various charges including attempt to murder, and the violations of the
Indian Explosive Act and Arms Act. In Chennai Chandrahasan met
Mr.M.Karunanithi, who was then an ally of Indira Gandhi, the Prime Minister of
India. Subsequently, Karunanithi deputed an emissary to Indira Gandhi with
Chanthrahasn’s request and the Indian Prime Minister promised that Uma
Maheswaran and Prabhakaran would not be deported to Sri Lanka, as requested by
the Government of Sri Lanka. Thus Chandrahasan prevented Prabhakaran from being
deported, tortured and from being even killed legally by the Sri Lankan
government or from experiencing the cruel fate Thangathurai and Kuttimani
underwent when they were killed with 55 other Tamil detainees at the Central
Prisons in Colombo during prison riots in July 1983.
On 19 December, the
Tamil Service of the BBC - Tamil Osai, contacted Chandrahasan for his comments
about the Tamil refugees and the proposed United Nations High Commissioner for
Refugees (UNHCR) — sponsored conference, at Kilinochchi, on 20 December. The
BBC contacted Chandrahasan regarding the proposed meeting of the sub-committee
by the UNHCR, for which ambassadors of Japan, Norway, India and representatives
of the Sri Lankan government and the LTTE had been invited. The meeting was to
discuss the resettlement of refugees presently in India. But the High
Commissioner for India in Colombo informed the UNHCR that India would not take
part in any meeting attended by the terrorist LTTE.
Chandrahasan responding
to the BBC said: "Generally the refugees over here (Tamil Nadu, India)
receive news about what is happening in the country (Sri Lanka). Through those
disseminated news, they are able to understand what is happening in their own
villages. "They are also able to understand very clearly about the
position regarding the high-security zone at Valikamam-North and about more
than 100,000 people who are still unable to return to their homes and about
their plight of continuing to remain as internally displaced persons.
"They receive feedbacks, on the one side about the harassments people
undergo under the Army and on the other side, about the Tigers levying taxes.
Therefore, when referring to peace, they expect that kind of peace, where human
rights are respected. "They are not ready to think of returning to an
environment where the rule of the jungle prevails according to whims and
fancies of individuals".
Meanwhile, the UNHCR
conference scheduled for 20 December in Killinochchi on the repatriation of
Ceylon Tamil refugees in Tamil Nadu was postponed due to flooding in the Vanni,
a UNHCR spokesperson said.
UNLAWFUL CONSTRUCTION OF
BUDDHIST VIHARA ON A LAND BELONGING TO
A CEYLON TAMIL LIVING IN INDIA.
In an open letter
addressed to the Prime Minister of Ceylon the MP for Jaffna district
Mr.M.K.Sivalingam has drawn his attention to a number of complaints received by
him and others in respect of an unauthorised construction of Buddhist Vihare on
a land belonging to a Tamil, with a sinister motive to disturb the peaceful
atmosphere in the ethnically sensitive Trincomallee district. The full text of
his letter is as follows:
I write this letter in
consequence of a number of complaints received by me in respect of an ongoing
construction of a Buddhist Temple on a private land at Vilangkulam, a Tamil
Village situated near the Trincomallee-Kandy Highway, in Trincomalee District.
According to the information from authentic sources a Buddhist monk has
indulged in this attempt to construct a Vihara unlawfully in the said land
without the permission of its owner who has been living in India, following the
displacement of all Tamil families of this village, several years ago, as a
result of the just ended Military conflict. I understand that this sinister
attempt to disturb the prevailing peaceful atmosphere in the ethnically
sensitive Trincomalee District has the tacit support of the Security Forces in
the area for there is an Army camp just 100 meters away from the place where
the said construction is going on. I understand further that no action has been
taken by the civil authorities, including the Divisional Secretary Trincomalee
and the local Police to stop the said attempt to disturb the peace in the area
inspite of the prompt complaints made in this regard. I am aware that the
Tamils of Trincomalee are worried and disturbed by the said developments. They
feel that the said attempt to construct a Buddhist Temple in an area where
there had not been any Buddhists, is indeed a part of a larger scheme to create
racial tension in the area. In these circumstances, I earnestly appeal to you,
sir to take appropriate action to ensure that no attempt to disturb and disrupt
the present peaceful atmosphere would be tolerated irrespectable of whichever
quarter from where it emerged".
VAIKO SHOULD BE RELEASED ONLY
AFTER HE DECLARES THAT HE DID NOT SUPPORT LTTE
Dr.Subramanian Swamy
addressing presspersons in Chennai on the 26th of December has said
that congress Leaders erred in affixing their signature on a petition seeking
the release of the MDMK general secretary Vaiko. The leaders diluted the
anti-LTTE campaign. He said that the Government did the right thing in
arresting Mr.Vaiko under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (POTA) and he should be
let off only after declaring that he did not support LTTE.
ANOTHER HUNGER STRIKE BY
DETAINED TAMIL YOUTH
Over 78 Tamil youth,
both from the plantations and the north-east, detained for long periods with no
court proceedings filed against them for 7 or 8 years will begin a death fast
demanding immediate unconditional release. CWC Deputy Leader M.S.Sellasamy
urged the government to take steps to release these young men by Thaipongal at
the latest and said this is necessary if the peace effort is to be meaningful
on the ground. "These poor Tamil youth have lost all confidence in
politicians and I urge ministers and other politicians not to visit these youth
on hunger strike as in the past and make false promises to them,"
Sellasamy said.
He said that although
many promises have been made in the past, nothing had come out of them. It is
useless getting the Attorney General's Department to appoint still more
committees on this matter because nothing is going to come out of them.
Sellasamy expressed the view that such detainees should either have charges
filed against them within a 6-month period or unconditionally released.
INDO-LANKA NAVAL TALKS TO
PREVENT LTTE FROM SMUGGLING ARMS
High level Indo-Lanka
naval talks on a range of issues, particularly enhanced co-operation between
the two navies as a part of the strategy to prevent the LTTE from smuggling
fresh consignments of armaments will take place in India shortly, defence
sources said. Navy chief Vice Admiral Daya Sandagiri will take part in the
urgent consultations with the Indian naval top brass, the sources said. The Sri
Lankan delegation will also meet with senior officers of the Indian Coast
Guard. The talks will focus on further strengthening of navy-to-navy
co-operation aimed at targeting LTTE sea movements. Over the past few years,
the Indians have been helping the navy, particularly with regard to
intelligence on LTTE activity. "We have no option but to take advantage of
India’s willingness to tackle illegal boat movements," a senior security
official said, expressing the belief that a lot would depend on the talks to
take place in India.
It was not clear whether
Defence Minister Tilak Marapana on a visit to India on matters relating to the
railways would join the naval talks. The talks were fixed subsequent to the
recent abortive bid made by the LTTE to smuggle in a huge arms shipment to
north-east Ceylon. Despite receiving information from India on the impending
ship movement, the navy did not succeed in intercepting it. But the Defence
Ministry in a subsequent press release admitted that there had been an attempt
to smuggle in armaments but due to naval presence it did not take place. The
sources revealed that there had been high level contacts between the two
countries subsequent to the failed bid.
ADVICE FOR REGIONAL POLICE
COMMISSIONS FROM UK
The Sri Lankan
government is to seek support and advice from UK to reorganise the police
service with regard to the creation of regional police commissions that would
be a part of the final solution to the north-east conflict, cabinet spokesman
Minister G.L. Peiris said recently.
Minister Peiris who was on an official visit to UK had a special meeting
in Belfast with the police of Northern Ireland. He said the experience of UK
with regard to the police service was very important in restructuring and
reorganising the service in Ceylon. The LTTE also stressed on the creation of a
regional police service during the third session of peace talks in Oslo early
this month (December). According to the 13th amendment to the constitution
there is provision for the creation of provincial police commissions although
it is not in effect.
It may be recalled that
the Regional Police force in its formative stage in the Northeast province of
Ceylon, set up in compliance to the provisions of the 13th amendment
to the Sri Lankan constitution, and helped along under the guidance of the
Indian Peace Keeping Force was overturned and ruined by LTTE with the
connivance of President Premadasa who was the leader of the governing party now
being headed by Prime Minister Ranil Wickremasinghe. In fact Ranil
Wickremasinghe was an important cabinet minister in the Government headed by
President Premadasa. The killers of Tamil United Front Leader Amirthalingam
allegedly sent by the LTTE hoodwinked the police security provided to the Tamil
Leaders in Colombo and gained entry into the premises to kill Mr.Amirthalingam
and another TULF Leader Mr.Yogeswaran.
WIVES PLEAD WITH SLMM FOR
RELEASE OF THEIR HUSBANDS FROM LTTE CUSTODY
A group of wives have
appealed to the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) to secure the release of
their husbands from LTTE custody. The wives in a letter said that their
husbands were active members of various political parties serving as full time
workers. After the recent cease-fire between the government and the LTTE their
husbands carried out their political activities in a democratic way with the
full belief that the LTTE would no more punish them. However the LTTE had
removed their husbands by force. The names and addresses of the persons
abducted are as follows:
Arumugam Soundararajah,
(28), Sripala Building, Batticaloa Town; Anthony (36), Thethavadi Veedy,
Araiyampathy; Poopalapillai Alagathurai (35), Thivukadu, Mandur; Chelliah
Kandasamy (36), Thiruvalluvar Veedy, Padirrupu 01; Vijayanathan Vidiyakaran
(29), 142, Beach Road, Navatkudah, Manchanthodduvai; Sellathurai, Thankarajah,
(36), Arons Lane, Thandavavely, Batticaloa; Nagarajah Nesarajah (48), Auvliyar
Lane, Batticaloa; Kandasamy Gnanasothy (49), Kathirgamar Veedy, Amirthakaly,
Batticaloa; Savarimuthu Mathivathanan (21), Selvanagar, Arayampathy.
The abduction had taken
place between January 18, and December 11 2002.
EPRLF ACCUSES LTTE OF
MURDERING LOCAL TAMIL LEADER
A Tamil political party
not associated with LTTE on Tuesday 23rd December accused Tamil
Tiger guerrillas of abducting and murdering one of its local leaders and urged
Colombo and the international community to end the LTTE's terror tactics. The
Eelam People's Revolutionary Liberation Front (EPRLF) said the dismembered body
of Poobalapillai Alagathurai was found in the eastern district of Batticaloa on
Sunday 21st December. An EPRLF statement said two cadres of the
Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) had forced Alagathurai, an elected
member of "pradeshya sabha" (local council) at Pooratheivu and a
senior activist of EPRLF, to accompany them on December 16 -- after which he
disappeared.
The statement quoted two
witnesses as saying that the LTTE had issued a written warning to Alagathurai
to resign from the council. "We condemn the abduction and brutal murder of
Alagathurai, who was serving the local community in a peaceful and dignified
manner," the statement said. "He was one of our leading members and
an elected representative of a local government body. "The Pooraitheivu
pradeshya sabha was becoming popular for its services without any corruption,
intimidation or extortion, which is prevalent in this region," the
statement added, referring to accusations that the LTTE has been widely
extorting money from local people and traders in areas it controls.
The EPRLF said the
murder "and the spate of abduction and disappearances since the Sri Lankan
government initiated peace talks raise a serious question about the real
objectives of LTTE. "Intimidation of members of other political parties,
journalists, civil servants and academics continues unabated in the north and
east". "It is clear that contrary to their public pronouncements the
LTTE continues to use murder, abduction, extortion and physical violence to
maintain their grip over the Tamil community". Political murder is LTTE's
modus operandi of becoming the sole representative of the Tamils. "We
would take this opportunity to remind the world that the LTTE has a long
history of assassinating popular and respected Tamil political leaders.
"We appeal to the president, the government of Sri Lanka, the
international community and all those who value human and democratic rights to
raise their voices against these murders and intimidation. "We call upon
the government of Sri Lanka to give the LTTE an ultimatum to cease this
campaign of terror or they would jeopardise the peace process."
BIKKHU FRONT AND JVP DEMAND
EXPULSION OF NORWEGIAN AMBASSADOR WESTBORG
The National Bikkhu Front
closely associated with the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna will hold a protest in
front of the Norwegian embassy on 23rd December against Ambassador Jon Westborg's direct involvement in
the transfer of radio equipment to the LTTE. The Front will lead the campaign
against Westborg before proceeding to President's House to hand over a petition
to President Chandrika Kumaratunge demanding the expulsion of the ambassador
from Ceylon. Earlier in December JVP Propaganda Secretary and Member of
Parliament Wimal Weerawansa in response to a question by a Academic reader
accused Westborg for strengthening the separatist movement in the island in
many ways. Weerawansa said " This individual today as an Ambassador
fulfils the same undertaking he did as the head of 'Redd Barna' (Save the
Children Norway) A few days ago he had imported a container full of highly
sophisticated communication equipment and with the aid of the defence secretary
had, handed it over to the Tigers." On Friday Peoples Alliance spokesman Dr.
Sarath Amunugama accused Westborg of taking advantage of his diplomatic
immunity and collaborating with the Tigers to boost their clandestine radio,
Voice of Tigers. Ambassador Westborg is already in Oslo for urgent
consultations in the face of the scandal in the import of radio equipment to
the LTTE.
DR.SWAMY LAUDS THE STAND OF
THE INDIAN GOVERNMENT
The Janata Party
president, Dr.Subramanian Swamy, has welcomed the "present stand" of
the Centre, made public on 7th of December, that the LTTE will
remain a banned organisation.
"The Indian people
support peace in Ceylon and a genuine federal constitution as the best solution
for the ethnic strife, but Indian people will treat it as a hostile act if the
Sri Lankan Government shares power or set up any administration in which the
LTTE, under Prabhakaran, finds a representation", Dr.Swamy said.
EELAM UPDATE IS NOW ON
THE WEBSITE
Readers can now access
Eelam Update on the OfERR website at www.oferr.org
to download the monthly Eelam Update soon after it is released. Eelam Update
will reach you much faster through the website than through hard copies sent
through postal mail. You can also access the latest information regarding the
Ceylon Tamil Refugees in Tamil Nadu India through the same website.
Proteg@eth.net
ProTEG, P.O.Box 782, Egmore, Chennai - 600 008. India.