Security Forces Commander North and Colonel Commandant of the Armoured Corps Major Gen G. A. Chandrasiri Tuesday said that the officers and men of the Armoured Corps have made many sacrifices to defend the territorial integrity and the sovereignty of the country.

by Dayan Jayatilleka

If Douglas Devananda did not exist, the democratic system would have had to invent him. Any resolution or even sustainable management of North-South relations in Sri Lanka, any successful attempt at nation-building and conflict transformation, devolution and autonomy, requires the fulfilment of the following four conditions: that the Sri Lankan state have a moderate Tamil partner; that the Sinhalese – especially the Sinhala leadership-- have a Tamil leader they can trust; that the Tamils have a moderate leader who can negotiate with the State as well as the Sinhala community; and that this moderate Tamil leader is capable of survival and standing up to Tiger terrorism.

THE BRUTAL TERRORISM of the LTTE has not spared even the animals who are peacefully living in the thick jungle patches in Mullaitivu. They too become victims of merciless traps and anti personnel mines set by the LTTE in the jungle to delay the speedy advance of the troops into Tiger strongholds

For the real sun seeker, the ultimate holiday destination this summer is the island paradise of Sri Lanka.

An increasing number of tourists from the Middle East region are travelling to Sri Lanka in search of an exotic location with plenty of sun and clean, unspoilt & uncrowded beaches.

The destination recently reported a surge in tourist industry arrivals in the first quarter of this year.

The highest performer during the period was the Middle East, which registered an increase of 80.6% in comparison with 2007 according to the Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau.

For the sun-sea-and-sand enthusiast, Sri Lanka offers unbeatable value. Due to its location along the equatorial zone it has a tropical climate which varies with the regions and the seasons.

ROME: Police say they have arrested 33 suspected members of Sri Lanka's Tamil Tiger rebel group in pre-dawn raids across Italy.Police in Naples said Wednesday that the suspects were picked up in cities including Rome, Genoa, Bologna, Naples and Palermo at the end of a two-year investigation. Two more were being sought in Naples.

On Monday, Stockwell Day, Canada's Minister of Public Safety, announced that the federal government has outlawed the World Tamil Movement (WTM) using provisions in the Anti-Terrorism Act. The decision is welcome, and signals that our government will not stand idly by when evidence suggests its own citizens are being subjected to coercion at the hands of terrorist agents in Canada.

OTTAWA, JUNE 16, 2008 — The Honourable Stockwell Day, Minister of Public Safety, today announced that the Government of Canada has listed the World Tamil Movement (WTM) as a terrorist group, effective June 13, 2008,  pursuant to the Criminal Code of Canada.

by Prof. James Petras

(June 16, Washington, Sri Lanka Guardian) Throughout modern imperial history, ‘Divide and Conquer’ has been the essential ingredient in allowing relatively small and resource-poor European countries to conquer nations vastly larger in size and populations and richer in natural resources. It is said that for every British officer in India , there were fifty Sikhs, Gurkhas, Muslims and Hindus in the British Colonial Army. The European conquest of Africa and Asia was directed by white officers, fought by black, brown and yellow soldiers so that white capital could exploit colored workers and peasants. Regional, ethnic, religious, clan, tribal, community, village and other differences were politicized and exploited allowing imperial armies to conquer warring peoples. In recent decades, the US empire builders have become the grand masters of ‘divide and conquer’ strategies throughout the world. By the 1970’s, the CIA made a turn from promoting the dubious virtues of capitalism and democracy, to linking up with, financing and directing, religious, ethnic and regional elites against national regimes, independent or hostile to US world empire building.

A British tabloid has recently reported that Sri Lanka, at the current UPR session of the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva, has requested the British Government to abolish its monarchy. Certain elements in Sri Lankan politics and media have used this statement to bring discredit to the Sri Lankan Government and the Sri Lankan Mission in Geneva. Commenting on this completely distorted media report, H.E. Dr. Dayan Jayatilleka, the Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Sri Lanka to the United Nations in Geneva has made the following statement: 

The Permanent Mission of Sri Lanka to the United Nations in Geneva wishes to contradict several inaccuracies and distortions contained in a report in the London Daily Express, which seems to have been echoed by certain other news organizations, to the effect that Sri Lanka called for the abolition of the British monarchy. There was no such call, not by Sri Lanka and not by the UN Human Rights Council. Indeed the quote cited in the Daily Express does not include such a call. It recommends only that the UK 'consider' the holding of a referendum on the desirability or otherwise of a written constitution, preferably republican, with a bill of rights. The Daily Express has omitted the reference to a bill of rights.

Prof. Rajiva Wijesinha, Sri Lanka’s Peace Chief writes to Head, BBC Sinhala Service

By Prof. Asoka Bandarage

Narrow interpretations of cultural identity and models of conflict resolution built on ethnic dualism contribute to ethnic polarization and inhibit sustainable peace. To improve both the analysis and processes of conflict resolution, it is necessary to move beyond the bipolar ethnic model and explore the multi-polar nature of conflicts.