R. Hariharan  

As the Sri Lanka security forces move in for what they promise to be the closing call on the Tigers, Prabakaran’s dream of a Tamil Eelam looks farther than ever before. 

The battle being waged by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) to defend Mullathivu in the face of the Sri Lanka security forces’ onslaught may well be the last conventional military operation by Tamil insurgent leader Velupillai Prabakaran in the two-year-long “Eelam War IV.” Mullathivu is the LTTE’s last bastion, what is left from an original domain of nearly nine districts it had ruled for over a decade. The security forces are building up a four to six division-strong force for what they promise to be the closing call on the LTTE.

By Shamindra Ferdinando

Pic. Sujatha Jayarathne 

Dismissing a recent BBC report on heavy loss of life due to an artillery attack on the Puthukudiyirippu (PTK) hospital, the government yesterday emphasized that there hadn’t been a single death at any hospital in the LTTE-held area due to military action.  

Health Secretary Dr. Athula Kahandaliyanage warned that, had the medical staff of PTK hospital given false information to the media, they would be severely dealt with.

Foreign Secretary Dr. Palitha Kohona speaks to Hard Talk about meeting both regional and global concerns with regard to the advancing military exercises in the North. He maintains that the work carried out by his Ministry has been effective in better dealing with the international concerns and reiterates that there is sufficient understanding of the international community towards government’s war against terror as a result.

 By Vijita Fernando, Women’s Feature Service

Rupa Manel Silva, 49, has come a long way. Born into a humble family in a remote village in the hills of Bandarawela, Rupa was compelled to give up her education after her O-Levels. Her father passed away when she was only 16 and the family found it difficult to support Rupa's schooling any further. Married shortly after that, she and her husband moved to Narahenpita, a suburb of the Sri Lankan capital of Colombo in 1978.