The Associated Press

Colombo, Sri Lanka: Sri Lankan fighter planes bombed and destroyed two Tamil Tiger rebel bases in the volatile north on Monday, in the second straight day of government air strikes against the insurgents' de facto state, the military said.In the latest attack, jets hit two bases belonging to the Sea Tigers, the guerrilla naval wing, deep in the rebel stronghold of Mullaitivu, said air force spokesman Wing Commander Janaka Nanayakkara.He said the air strikes wrecked the bases, with one being engulfed in fire.The strikes came two days after a fierce sea battle killed 17 rebels and destroyed six rebel boats off the northern Jaffna peninsula.

“ON reaching the Jaffna’s Kilaly lagoon, about 7 km away from the troop positions as of now, the entire western part of Kilinochchi district would be sans terrorists, enabling the troops to re-open a main supply route to Jaffna shortly, said Commander of the Army Lieutenant General Sarath Fonseka at the Gajaba Regiment Silver Jubilee commemorations,” held at Saliyapura Regimental Headquarters Monday morning (3).     

The Silver Jubilee commemoration of the elite Gajaba Regiment (GR), one of the most prominent and reputed Regiments in the Sri Lanka Army got underway, giving pride of place to the military ceremonials and traditions.    The ceremonies of the day commenced at 8.30 a.m. when the Chief Guest Lieutenant General Sarath Fonseka, Commander of the Army arrived at the premises of the Keterians who in turn was accorded a Guard of Honour plus the military Guard Turn-out. He was then received by senior officers of the GR who were awaiting their Chief’s arrival there.   

Obviously finding themselves with plenty of time on their hands, the boffins at Reporters Without Borders have seen fit to compile what they like to call a Press Freedom Index. In fact, they do it every year. Hours are spent trying to position as many countries as possible on a numerical scale, while monitoring the rise and fall of the various regimes is supposed to provide us with a meaningful insight into the availability of information and opinions to their citizens and the problems faced by journalists in supplying them.

Sri Lanka, it seems, has dropped a number of places in the last year. We are now ranked in the bottom ten in the world at 165 out of 173.

Most of us have enough of an idea about press freedom in other countries to realise that being described as practically the worst is tantamount to saying that there are no independent newspapers, radio stations or television networks, that any kind of criticism of the state administration is punishable by lengthy imprisonment, and that people are subject to an almost uninterrupted barrage of propaganda. But we all know that this isn’t the case here.