By HARSH V. PANT

Special to The Japan Times 

LONDON — One of the world's longest running insurgencies might be coming to an end with the Sri Lankan government close to overrunning the last remaining holdouts of the rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) forces. The Sri Lankan military says that only 500 fighters remain in a narrow patch of territory.

We have at no time gone for a ceasefire. We will not do so now. There is no time for that now. In the five or six days remaining, we have given the opportunity for the LTTE to lay down their arms and surrender to the Armed Forces and, even in the name of God, free the civilians held by them. If they have no regard for their own lives they should even consider the lives of others.

by Peter Genovese/The Star-Ledger 

Tanya and Sumith De Silva had two good reasons for opening Sigiri on Route 27 in Edison.   

One, Sigiri, which may be the state's only Sri Lankan restaurant, is a short drive from Little India, the stretch of Indian restaurants, markets and stores on Oak Tree Road in Edison.  

by Amal Jayasinghe  

COLOMBO (AFP) – Sri Lanka's president on Thursday ruled out halting the military's offensive against the Tamil Tigers, and warned the rebels that they must give up or be killed.

Senior Presidential Advisor and Parliamentarian Basil Rajapaksa made an inspection visit to Manik Farm in Chettikulam today (30) to observe the progress of the ongoing humanitarian relief activities.

The visit was also aimed at instructing the relevant officials to plan out the next steps of the services provided by the Government, our correspondent from Vavunia said.

In an interview to CNN-IBN in Colombo, President Mahinda Rajapaksa has made it clear that the Government’s key objective now was “getting the civilians out from the clutches of the LTTE”. Noting that the military operations were “almost over,” the President said the choice before the LTTE was “either surrender or face the Army”. The interview:

Colombo, (Asiantribune.com):“As you all know we are poised on the threshold of defeating terrorism and embarking on an era of lasting peace and security for all our people…The dire warnings by some of our friends in the international community of a blood bath, if the security forces entered the NFZ, did not come to pass.”

- Russian Ambassador

In this interview, the Ambassador of the Russian Federation in Sri Lanka, Vladimir P. Mikhaylov speaks to C. A. Chandraprema, about the ongoing situation in Sri Lanka. Mr Mikhaylov has served in, among other places, the USA and Pakistan before being posted to Sri Lanka last September. He has visited the IDP camps in Vavuniya and takes a keen interest in the unfolding situation in this country.

B. Muralidhar Reddy 

Tigers killed hundreds of fleeing civilians, say two former LTTE officials

COLOMBO: Sri Lanka military on Wednesday said that as the troops continued marching into the no-fire zone (NFZ), where the LTTE leaders and cadres were taking shelter among an estimated 20,000 civilians, the Tigers have readied six large boats with sophisticated equipment to facilitate the escape of their top leaders.

Interview with Daya Master and George Master

Colombo, (asiantribune.com): As the curtains are finally coming down on the LTTE saga, Daya Master, the media wizard for the Tigers for years, believes that Prabhakaran’s game is up. ‘People will not accept him (Prabhakaran),’ he says. ‘It is too late; the people have already rejected the man and if he takes a decision that he should have taken long ago … to return to his old native place to live in peace… it will not help’, Daya Master, whose name is Velayutham Thayanithi, asserts.

The Peace Secretariat believes it is important to share with the world the manner in which the Sri Lankan government dealt with the problem of terrorism. This may be particularly useful to countries that think that they know, or perhaps know that they think, that the entire world is very disappointed that in their efforts to deal with what they see as terrorism they have caused such untold suffering. Such countries should realize that there is a way to limit suffering, and should also be encourage to set an example of best practice. These examples should be followed not only by poor countries with limited resources, but even by rich countries whose size or resource base makes it difficult for them to understand the principle of proportionality.

President Mahinda Rajapaksa told visiting UK Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs Secretary of State David Miliband that the humanitarian operation to free innocent Tamil civilians held hostage by the LTTE would continue unabated.  

 

 

Apr 29, Ambilipitiya: British Foreign Secretary David Miliband and French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner met Sri Lanka President Mahinda Rajapaksa this evening at Ambilipitiya and held discussions on the current humanitarian situation Sri Lanka.

The forcibly evicted Muslims in 1990 from Musali, Mannar will be resettled in the final phase of the resettlement project commencing today, Ministry of Resettlement and Disaster Relief Services informed. 409 persons from 122 families are being resettled today in the first phase, Ministry sources added.

COLOMBO (IRIN) - As government forces tighten their grip on a narrow spit of land in north-eastern Sri Lanka and the last remnants of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), who have been fighting for an independent Tamil homeland since 1983, international concern over the safety of thousands of civilians trapped alongside them intensifies.

Hon. Douglas Devananda, Minister of Social Services and Social Welfare, led a high-level Sri Lankan delegation to the United Nations’ Durban Review Conference, which was held in Geneva 20-24 April 2009 to evaluate the progress made towards achieving the goals set by the World Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance in 2001.

By Kath Noble

The United Nations is a lot more worthwhile than it sometimes appears. From afar, as we read about its seemingly endless debates, there is a tendency to conclude that the money could be put to more effective use. International bureaucrats simply do not look up to the job of saving the world. Recruit more doctors and teachers, or spend the funds on developing alternative energy resources, preventing nuclear weapons falling into the hands of terrorists and finding a cure for HIV/AIDS, we are tempted to proclaim. Hurry up and do something. Although the United Nations is supposed to be working towards such objectives as well, there is no getting away from the impression that its main purpose is to boost employment in the hospitality sector, all those restaurants and clubs that keep visiting diplomats entertained.

By Ruwan Weerakoon in Colombo

 Colombo (Asiantribune.com): Operations to rescue the trapped Tamil civilians, who are held hostages by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, are continued by the Military, said Sri Lanka Government’s Defence spokesman Minister Keheliya Rambukwella, during the Defence media briefing held this morning.

US Foreign Policy: in Outer Space 

by Ru Freeman

Yesterday's NYT editorial expresses, yet again, the concern within America's corridors of power regarding the threat of the Taliban's imminent advance upon Islamabad and its intention to take over a nation which isn't simply trying to acquire nuclear energy for peaceful endeavors (as Iran claims), but actually possesses nuclear weapons. The article repeats Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton's concern that Pakistan was "abdicating to the Taliban," and that the U.S. has been wrong in their policy of assuming that General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani was in control of the situation.

The attention of the Government of Sri Lanka has been drawn to reported statements alleging that a visa had been denied to the Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt to visit Sri Lanka together with the French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner and the British Foreign Secretary David Miliband.