N. Ram

‘Our armed forces are making rapid progress’

Chennai: Post-Kilinochchi, President Mahinda Rajapaksa expects the Sri Lankan armed forces to make rapid advances and capture Elephant Pass, which controls access to the Jaffna Peninsula, and other key targets in a short while. He is confident that, in the near future, the fighting cadres of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam will have nowhere to go outside the jungles of Mullaithivu district in northern Sri Lanka.

Speaking to me over the telephone from Colombo on Sunday evening, Mr. Rajapaksa expressed satisfaction that his ‘Zero Civilian Casualty Policy’ was implemented perfectly by the armed forces during the operations to liberate Kilinochchi, the administrative hub and de facto ’capital’ of the LTTE. They would continue to implement this policy in all their operations.

by Dayan Jayatilleka

"Hasta la Victoria Siempre!" ("Ever Onward to Victory!")   

- Che Guevara 

"One thing is now required—to deal the death-blow to the fascist beast…The last storming of the Hitlerite lair is on…give them no respite until they cease resistance."

- Stalin, Order of the Day, May 1, 1945 

With the liberation of Paranthan and Kilinochchi, the war has pivoted decisively in favor of the Sri Lankan armed forces and against the LTTE. We are winning a ground war, not against sporadic suicide bombers or home made rockets causing single digit casualties over long years, but against a ferocious insurgent foe fielding large formations, armed with heavy artillery, fast boats and light aircraft. We are doing so not with open ended foreign patronage, not while imposing collective punishment and inflicting civilian casualties which are almost a fifth of armed enemy casualties, but with minimum collateral damage despite the use of human shields by the enemy. If in the eyes of some, colossally disproportionate force is perfectly ok as a "defensive "measure to protect one’s citizens against the dangers and disruptions of sporadic rocket attacks, how much greater the existential danger to the Sri Lankan state and how much more justified Sri Lanka’s offensive against an enemy who has murdered many of our leaders, stultified our economic development for decades and secretly built six airstrips capable of deploying aircraft to bomb targets anywhere on this small island?

On November 27, 2008, Velupillai Prabhakaran, supremo of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, proclaimed in his annual Heroes’ Day message that the Sinhala state was “living in a dreamland of military victory.” He promised that it was “a dream from which it will awake.” A month earlier he had declared the capture of Kilinochchi — the LTTE’s administrative hub and de facto ‘capital’ following the loss of Jaffna in 1995 — to be “a day dream of Rajapaksa.” The realisation of this dream in the New Year is a body blow from which there can be no recovery as far as anyone knows. This is true in a political as much as military sense. Militarily, the LTTE has taken a continuous battering over the past two years. President Mahinda Rajapaksa did give it a window of opportunity to return to the peace talks. But after the success of the Mavil Aru operation — provoked by the Tigers’ foolish act of blocking the sluice gates — there was no stopping the Sri Lankan armed forces. In 2007 they rapidly evicted the LTTE, which had been fractured and weakened by the Karuna revolt, from the province. More surprisingly, over the past year the Sri Lankan army, backed effectively by the air force and navy, has made dramatic inroads into LTTE-held territory in the Northern Province. The capture of Kilinochchi was delayed owing to the presence of a large number of civilians, torrential rains, and the government’s determination to avert collateral damage. President Rajapaksa has done well to emphasise that the military achievement was not a victory of “one community over another” or a “defeat of the North by the South” but “a decisive victory over savage terrorism.”

National Post    

On Friday, Sri Lanka's army captured Kilinochchi, the de facto capital of the Tamil Tigers. This marks a crippling blow for the Tigers, a rebel militia and terrorist group that first took up arms more than a quarter-century ago. It also poses an indirect security risk for Canada: As the Tigers are routed from the battlefield, Ottawa must guard against fleeing Tiger leaders seeking sanctuary among this country's large Ontario-based community of expatriate Tamils.

B. Muralidhar Reddy 

Kilinochchi: To describe Kilinochchi, the administrative and political headquarters of the LTTE which fell into the hands of the Sri Lankan military on Friday, as a “ghost town” is an understatement. 

It is a town without a soul, roofs, windows and any conceivable civil and administrative infrastructure. For a bustling town that is home to an estimated 1,00,000 people, the destruction left behind presumably by the fleeing Tiger cadre as the military advanced is to be seen to be believe.

On 31st December, the LTTE Terrorists destroyed the water tank that supplied water to the whole Kilinochchi area, thus depriving people of the area their basic right to water, an already scarce commodity in the region.

For the full story, click on the following link: 

Courtesy: Defence.lk

By A Selvaraj, TNN  

CHENNAI: The ‘Q’ branch police on Tuesday arrested a 23-year-old Sri Lankan Tamil for helping the LTTE smuggle goods from the state. Dileepan, a native of Jaffna, was arrested from Red Hills and three satellite phones which he had brought from Switzerland were recovered from him. He landed in the police net after sleuths traced the calls he made to an LTTE organiser, Antony, who was under police detention.

Vankalai declared a sanctuary

By Lankika de Livera  

Vankalai, in the Mannar district, with its numerous bird species, has been declared a sanctuary by the Department of Wild Life Conservation (DWLC), a first in the area since the armed conflict erupted in the north several decades ago. 

This sanctuary, partly a Wetland, comprises Puliyantivu island, Tiruketiswaram, Pallimunai, Vankalai and the strips of land on either side of the causeway connecting the island of Mannar to the mainland. Covering about 4,800 hectares, it consists of arid-zone thorn scrubland and pastures, waterholes and tanks, sand dunes, mangroves, salt marshes, lagoons and sea-grass beds and maritime grasslands.

Jan 2 (Reuters) - Sri Lanka's military on Friday said it had seized Kilinochchi, which the separatist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) had claimed as capital of the nation they want to create for Sri Lankan Tamils.   

With that, the military has struck a strategic and symbolic blow that shows it has made the most battlefield progress at any time since the war began in 1983. That has analysts asking if the ground war could soon be over.   

Here are some scenarios of what could happen next:

Jan 02, Colombo: Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa announcing the capture of Kilinochchi by the Sri Lankan forces today issued a final warning to the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) to lay down arms and surrender. President officially declared the news of the unprecedented victory, addressing a gathering at the Presidential Secretariat this evening. He said the day Sri Lankan people are living under a one flag is not far away.   

"Whatever the words or language used to describe it, this is truly an incomparable victory. What our heroic troops have achieved is not only the capture of the great fortress of the LTTE, but a major victory in the world's battle against terrorism. The entire world must today appreciate the outstanding success of the Sri Lankan troops," the President said.

"This was a victory for the whole nation and the people of the country are the partners of this huge victory," President said. 

President Rajapaksa said his government is ready to wipe out the LTTE from this island if they are not ready to lay down the arms. 

President expressed his gratitude to the soldiers who made the victory possible as well as the people who gave the support in many ways to this historical victory in the past two years. 

Full text of President’s speech is given below:

The recently concluded Future Minds exhibition in Jaffna was a huge success. It drew thronging crowds for several days. The youth were ebullient and children frolicking. Enthusiasm that people evinced in that fun filled educational and industrial event bore testimony to the fact that the Taliban culture the LTTE imposed on Jaffna has given way to a democratic way of life. The exhibition had been preceded by a couple of mass protests against the LTTE in Jaffna. 

This kind of public response is indicative of the fact that the army has won over the northern populace and the northerners are thirsting for democracy and a better life which they richly deserve. It has also given the lie to the claim that the LTTE still enjoys popular support and people are awaiting its return. Those who support terrorism from a safe distance and expect the LTTE to make a comeback and turn that part of the country into a hellhole are only hoping against hope.

LTTE’s ’93 Base’ also under Army control

Troops of the Army’s Task Force 1 advancing towards Kilinochchi town are reported to have scored another victory against LTTE terrorists by gaining control over the Karadipokku junction, located between Paranthan and Kilinochchi along the A-9 main road by last evening (January 1).

The Karadipokku junction is the northern edge of the Kilinochchi garrison and the capture of this strategically vital place is yet another sign of the imminent fall of Kilinochchi, according to defence analysts.

Thursday, 01 January 2009

President Mahinda Rajapaksa in a New Year Message  to the nation today (January 1) expressed confidence  that the 'determined path' taken by the Government will see the dawn of peace and prosperity in the coming year.

The President also observed that all conspiracies against the country can be defeated if the nation stands together as one. "It is our resolve to strengthen the determination and commitment of our people towards making this New Year the truly victorious year of the nation," he added.
 
The full text of the President's message is given below:

New Year Message of Hon. Prime Minister 

In Sinhala  In Tamil

Thursday, 01 January 2009

"The dawn of New Year is a harbinger of new expectations" Prime Minister Ratnasiri Wickremanayake said in his New Year message.

Today's expectation of all beings is an auspicious tomorrow. The hope of everyone in the world is a better tomorrow, he said, pointing out that in order to make it a reality, we have to meet several challenges."

"One of the major challenges is to combat terrorism. Whether it is day or night, our war heroes are in battlefield to bring this for us al"."I have no doubt that this New Year will bring us the light of peace "said the Prime Minister in his new year message wishing all Sri Lankans' a Happy New Year.

In Sinhala  In Tamil

Thursday, 01 January 2009  

I have great pleasure in sending this message to all Sri Lankans at home and abroad on the happy occasion of the dawn of the New Year - 2009.

The past year has been quite significant in raising Sri Lanka's international profile. The notable highlight of our successful diplomacy was the hosting of the 15th SAARC Summit in Colombo, with the participation of 8 Heads of State or Government and 7 Observers. The assumption of the SAARC Chair has imposed a heavy responsibility on Sri Lanka. However, Sri Lanka under the dynamic leadership of President Mahinda Rajapaksa will be equal to the task of discharging its responsibilities for the greater benefit and welfare of the peoples of the SAARC region in the coming year.

The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) have released the sixteen Tamil orphans who were abducted on December 23rd by the tigers to be conscripted as “child” soldiers.

The tigers who refused to release the children in the age group of 11 – 14 despite entreaties by the Catholic church were finally compelled to release them because of strong protests by some bold and conscientious Tamil catholic priests.

Thirty Tamil catholic priests had planned to commence a “fast unto death protest fast in a Church from January 1st 2009.

Statement by the Coordinating Bureau of the Non-Aligned Movement on the Israeli’s Military Aggression against the Gaza Strip in the Occupied Palestinian Territory

The Coordinating Bureau of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) strongly condemns the military aggression, including airstrikes, carried out by Israel, the occupying Power, on the Gaza Strip, which has caused death and injuries to hundreds of civilians, including children, and destruction of Palestinian property and infrastructure.  

This unacceptable military escalation by Israel constitutes a grave breach of international law, including humanitarian and human rights law, fuels the cycle of violence and threatens international peace and security as well as the fragile peace process between the two sides.

Press Release by the NAM, OIC and the Arab Group in Geneva  

Geneva, 30, December 2008

A delegation of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC), the Arab Group and Palestine in Geneva met today the Secretary General of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), Mr Bekele Geleta, President of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent, Mr. Jakob Kellenbergerand a representative of the Director General of the World Health Organization in the absence of the Director General today. The delegation impressed upon the heads of these three humanitarian organizations to pressure Israel to stop the military action, end the violation of human rights standards and international humanitarian law and allow humanitarian assistance into Gaza.

Paranthan falls  

Kilinochchi, Mulaitivu to fall soon:  

Ranil WIJAYAPALA  

The Security Forces yesterday reached yet another historic victory in the Vanni liberation operation with Task Force I troops capturing the strategically important Paranthan town after cutting off the A-9 road from the North of Paranthan junction by yesterday evening, Army Commander Lt. General Sarath Fonseka told the Daily News last night.  

The 57 Division operating in the Kilinochchi front also gained momentum in their battle as they entered the build up area in the Kilinochchi passing the Iranamadu junction from the West of A-9 road.