LTTE seeking help of Indian leaders to escape defeat:Gotabhaya

Claiming that the LTTE was on the verge of "defeat" after suffering huge casualties at the hands of Sri Lankan security forces, the government has said that the Tamil tigers are making desperate efforts to rope in Indian leaders to stop the ongoing offensives against them.
"It is very clear that the LTTE is at a decisive stage. And no one can stop them getting defeated. So, they are trying their maximum to get Tamil Nadu (leaders) to pressurise the Indian government to pressurise the Sri Lankan government," Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, powerful Defence Secretary and brother of Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa, said.
"That is what the LTTE want and that is why this sudden pressure is coming. The (Sri Lankan) Government expects this situation as we know there is no other way for the LTTE. Anyway, the LTTE cannot escape facing military offensives now," he told the Sunday Observer.
Gotabhaya comment comes a day after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Saturday asked President Rajapaksa to ensure that Tamils do not get "enmeshed" in the conflict with LTTE and that their rights and safety are upheld.
During a telephonic conversation initiated by Rajapaksa, Singh said there could be no military solution to the conflict in the island country and asked the President to start a political process for a peacefully negotiated settlement within the framework of a united Sri Lanka.
Rajapaksa also sought reciprocity from India on permitting fishing in each others territorial waters. "For the last three years we have never prosecuted a single Indian fisherman though they are coming to our areas. Though we have arrested and questioned them, they were not subjected to any legal process," he said and alleged that Sri Lankan fishermen have been arrested, prosecuted and detained for over two to three months(News-The Hindu)

Strategic Vannerikulam Finally Falls to Troops

The whole area of VANNERIKKULAM, one of the well-fortified strongholds of the WANNI Tigers, completely fell to the hands of 58 Division troops by Sunday (19) afternoon.
Troops for some time in the past have been waging a fierce and committed battle to bring the area including the VANNERIKKULAM tank of which its bund connects AKKARAYANKULAM and NACHCHIKUDA road.

Bringing the past into present

Sri Lanka’s history and the Buddhist Civilization are more than 2500 years old. Still those ruins are standing as witnesses of a rich culture. Still the Archeologist could not find how the ancient Artist carved that magnificent works in massive rocks with their bare hands?
After the destruction on by the Taliban vandals of the world largest standing Buddha carved in the rock at the Bamiyan valley of Afghanistan located 230km northwest of Capitol Kabul, the next largest Samadhi Buddha statue on its final, carved into a granite cliff for the first time since the rule of the ancient kings in Sri Lanka. This giant 67.5 feet rock sculptured Samadhi Buddha is situated at Ridigama temple in Kurunegala, central province of Sri Lanka.

This is another wonderful work of art and this breathtaking work was initiated by few youth from an impoverished village called Rambadagalla in the outskirts of Kurunegala. All the villagers and these few youths at Rambadagalla were saddened when they came to know the destruction of the Bamiyan Buddha by the Taliban in Afghanistan. They lashed out with full of anger and declared that they should destroy some mosques. Hearing the news of the youth, the village priests emphasized them that the Buddhism based on compassion and non-violence and not on reprisal.
He suggested to the youth that the only way they can come up with that situation is to build a giant Buddha in order to compensate the loss. But their challenge was how to raise funds for such a massive project? They made their first donation for this work collecting Rs.1358/- (USD 12/-) made up of coins which they collected from Vesak Festival (Celebrating Gauthama Buddha’s Birth, Enlightenment and Nirvana) hold by the village.

The work was then initiated after they met the chief incumbent of the Kurunrgala Rambadagalla Monaragala Piriven viharaya, venerable Egodamulle Amaramoli Thero. Then the Thero was taken to India by a businessman who wanted to assist the project and introduced the Thero to a famous Indian sculptor / Artist Padma Sri Muttiah Stapathi and he arrived with his 10 men’s to start the project on 2003.
The estimated cost of the project is Rs.25 million and they had already spent Rs.11 million by now and the expenditure is likely to increase sharply. Amongst the many that aided the project was, Sri Lankan President Mr. Mahinda Rajapaksa donated two million five hundred thousand for the project and former Indian High Commissioner in Colombo Mrs. Nirupama Rao donated another two million five hundred thousand.
As such, they expect more assistance for the project from anybody, any organization and the Sri Lankans living in abroad and they can contact venerable Egodamulle Amaramoli thero on 037 2252018 at anytime.

- Asian Tribune -

Some relief to Singh by Baalu; Karunanidhi – Jayalalithaa locked in word war over SL Tamils

Twists and turns continue to mark the Tamil Nadu litical scene. To the relief of Congress leadership, a DMK senior has clarified that the 14-day period set at the all-party meeting in Chennai on Oct 14 for action by Delhi vis-à-vis war zone of Sri Lanka is not a deadline even as AIADMK supremo Jayalalithaa has dared DMK patriarch Muthavel Karunanidhi to 'quit' over SL-Tamil row.
In the first clarification from the DMK camp since the 'all-party conclave' delivered what is construed as the ultimatum to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, DMK senior and Union Minister for shipping and transport, T R Baalu said the Oct 14 outcome was not a 'deadline'.
It (the deadline/ultimatum) is also not aimed at giving trouble to the Manmohan Singh Ministry, he said for added emphasis in Chennai on Saturday amidst reports that Sri Lanka President Rajapaksa and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh decided to be in contact and that External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee had been invited to visit Colombo.
Mukherjee has accepted the invitation but indications are that his visit to SL may not materialize immediately.
Baalu, a confidant of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and DMK's senior most Minister in Delhi, made it clear: 'We are not pressurizing the Centre'.
He added: 'We are conveying our problem, our mental agony. Chief Minister M Karunanidhi is expecting some results within that time (14-day deadline)'.
Answering a question on the directive to MPs from TN to quit Parliament, Baalu replied: 'The decision to ask the MPs was not DMK's alone but the decision of parties which had attended the meeting'.
Replying to another question on resignations by DMK MPs and MPs, he was quoted as saying: 'We (DMK lawmakers and workers) are disciplined soldiers of Karunanidhi. His words are like mantras to us. We have only carried out his instructions'.
The 'resignation' letters were handed over to DMK chief M Karunanidhi. And are post-dated to October 29 when the fortnight's deadline to the Centre to halt Sri Lankan troops' offensive against Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) expires.
Another DMK senior was quoted in the local media as saying that the party has no intention to bring down the Manmohan Singh government. 'It's not our intention to pull out of the UPA. We did not pass the resolution (at the all - party meet) with that intention. We are not doing anything to help or save the LTTE. We only want to help the orphaned Tamils', the functionary said.
This soft pedaling in a manner of speaking, or U-turn as the DMK critics like to describe, has given ammunition to the AIADMK supremo to target her betenoire.
J Jayalalithaa has dared Karunanidhi to resign as TN Chief Minister if he really cares about the Tamils of Sri Lanka. 'If Karunanidhi really cares about the Tamils he should ask his MLAs to resign. Will he resign as chief minister? Will he have the guts to dissolve the state government', she said, according to TN media reports.
-Asian Tribune-

Sri Lanka Air Force had one of its biggest passing out parades

After a lapse of 20 years the Sri Lanka Air Force had one of its biggest passing out parades at the Sri Lanka Air Force Base, China Bay, Trincomalee on Saturday. The commissioning and the wing parade of 19 officer cadets and the passing out parade of 311 airmen took place at this ceremony held under the patronage of Air Force Commander Air Marshal Roshan Goonetileke. Picture by Rukmal Gamage

DMK supporting a terror group: Janata Party

india: Janata Party President Subramaniam Swamy yesterday attacked Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi for seeking a halt in military operations against the LTTE in Sri Lanka, saying it amounted to supporting the terrorist organisation and being "anti-national".
Holding the LTTE responsible for the killing of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, he wondered why Congress is listening to the DMK on this issue and demanded dismissal of the DMK government for indulging in "anti-national" activities.
"Karunanidhi's concerns for the Tamils in Sri Lanka are bogus. If he really wants to do something for them, he should fight with the Centre for the renewal of reservation announced for the children of Tamil refugees," he told reporters.
The Janata Party chief also claimed that three LTTE cadres who were injured in the ongoing military offensive are being treated at a hospital in Vellore in Tamil Nadu.(Daily News)

Troops clearing final hurdles in march towards Kilinochchi

Troops attached to the 57 Division and Task Force I, successfully continued their mission to capture the massive earth bund which has been described as the last obstacle in their march towards Kilinochchi, capturing over 1.5 Km stretch of earth bund in the West of Akkarayankulam and another stretch from the east of Akkarayankulam inflicting heavy damage on the LTTE, Military sources told the Daily News yesterday.
Fierce fighting erupted in Akkarayankulam west yesterday too as the LTTE continued to launch counter attacks on the troops now holding the massive earth bund west of Akkarayankulam tank as they are aware that the loss of this earth bund will result in losing the Akkarayan village also to the troops.
“Casualties were reported from both sides as pitched battles erupted west and east of Akkarayankulam tank on Saturday and Sunday as LTTE exerted maximum effort to stop the capture of the earth bund.
But troops successfully captured a large extent of the earth bund on Saturday pushing the LTTE further northwards”, sources added.
Task Force I operating under the command Brigadier Shavendra Silva in the Kilinochchi district moving towards Nachchikuda by yesterday afternoon completed the task of capturing the earth bund from west of Pandiveddikulam to Akkarayan west, capturing one kilometres stretch of earth bund in the east of Vannerikulam.
With the capture of the one km stretch of earth bund in the east of Vannerikulam the Task Force I troops have fully captured the 10 Kilo meters stretch of earth bund between the west of Pandiveddikulam and towards the east of Vannerikulam.
Pandiveddikulam is located some seven Kilometres north east of Nachchikuda.
There is only a three Kilo metres stretch of the earth bund west of Akkarayankulam to be captured by the 57 Division to take full control of the earth bund from west of Pandiveddikulam to Akkarayankulam.
“The only stretch of earth bund which had not been captured by the Task Force I troops is located between Nachchikuda to Jayapuram which is 11 Kilo meters in length.
But troops are now in control of the areas seven Kilometres north of Nachchikuda and the existence of this stretch of earth bund is not effective for the LTTE to defend the Nachchikuda Sea Tiger base,” sources added.
The Task Force I troops continued their march towards the north of the earth bund capturing Adampamodai village which is located 10 Km north east of Nachchikuda by yesterday afternoon.
With the capture of the Adampamodai village Task Force I troops can launch attacks towards Pooneryn in the North, Kiranchi or Valaipadu in the West, Nachchikuda in the South or Kilinochchi in the East, as they are now operating in an area with access to all directions.
Security Forces confirmed that over 75 Tiger cadres were killed on Saturday in both 57 and Task Force I battle fronts and more than 125 cadres were injured.
A number of troops sacrificed their lives in their effort to capture Akkarayankulam west tank bund and many others sustained injuries.
But the majority of the casualties were in the P3 category and reported back to the battlefront by yesterday afternoon.(Daily News)

No support to LTTE - Congress

INDIA: The Congress said it was worried about the situation in Sri Lanka, but said it was not supporting the cause of the LTTE or its chief Prabhakaran.
“We are only concerned about the civilian casualties. We are not supporting the cause of LTTE and Prabhakaran. It is a banned organisation in India,” Congress Media Department chief M. Veerappa Moily told reporters on Saturday.
Asked whether the move by DMK MPs to resign within a fortnight was a threat to the UPA Government, Moily said they have only expressed their concern.
To a question what the government can do beyond expressing concern, Moily said that in bilateral relations, such things do matter.
Meanwhile, Indian External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee is likely to undertake a visit to Sri Lanka shortly to discuss the situation, sources said yesterday.
The decision in this regard is understood to have been reached during a telephone conversation between President Mahinda Rajapaksa and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
The two leaders are believed to have decided that Mukherjee will meet Sri Lankan leaders and assess the situation, the sources said.
President Rajapaksa, who called up Singh told the Prime Minister that the military operation in the North is “in no way directed against civilians,” the sources said.
He told Singh it was the desire of his Government to bring about normality as early as possible.
The two leaders discussed the issue of displacement of Tamil civilians in the North with President Rajapaksa assuring Singh that the displaced Tamil civilians caught in the conflict between security forces and the LTTE would be resettled as soon as possible.
He said in fact there were more internally displaced persons in the East which is being quickly addressed.
Meanwhile, hundreds of fishermen from Chennai, Tiruvallur and Kancheepuram districts were detained by police after they tried to lay siege on the Sri Lankan Deputy High Commission in Chennai on Saturday.
There was tension in the air as the fishermen tried to force their way into the Deputy High Commission office.
They were blocked by the police.
More than 100 fishermen were arrested on the charge of violating Law and Order.(News-Daily News-PTI)

Indian Tamil film industry protests killings in Sri Lanka

Even as a few leading Tamil actors stayed away from the protest rally, a large number of artistes and directors of the Tamil film industry staged a protest here on Sunday against the killing of innocent Tamils in Sri Lanka.
Led by director Bharatiraaja and producer Rama Narayanan, they took out a rally from the Agnitheertha Kadarkarai to Kilakadu ground near the bus stand. Members of about 25 associations of the industry took part in the rally that went along the important roads of the island town amid tight security. Agony of Tamils
Wearing black shirts, black badges, the protesters shouted slogans against the Sri Lankan government for waging a war against the Tamils. Many carried placards and banners highlighting the suffering and agony of Tamils in the island nation. A few placards urged Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa to respect “human rights” and international conventions to be followed to protect citizens.
A group burnt the effigy of the Sri Lankan President at Thittakudi junction.
Later, they held a meeting at the Kilakadu ground in which most of the speakers urged the Central government to use its good offices to persuade Sri Lanka to stop the war immediately and put an end to the suffering of Tamils, majority of whom are of Indian origin.
Lyricist Vairamuthu charged that he had information that Mr. Rajapaksa was continuing the war as the aggression against Tamils would fetch votes for his party to come back to power. It had not respected the basic and prime duty of a popular government to protect its own people. The people of Tamil Nadu would not abandon their brothers and sisters in Sri Lanka, he said.
Director S.A. Chandrasekaran justified the choice of Rameswaram for the protest, saying this was the right place to agitate against the Sri Lankan government as it was very close to the island nation. Reports said there were differences in the film fraternity over holding the the place.
While director K.S. Ravi Kumar said the United Nations should intervene in the Sri Lankan affairs to save Tamils, who had become refugees in their own country, director Amir charged that the Central government was also one of the reasons for the current problem in Sri Lanka. He criticised it for secretly supplying radars to the island nation and providing training to its Army personnel.CM praised
A few speakers appreciated the ultimatum given by Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi to the Central government to stop the war in Sri Lanka.
Among actors, directors and producers who spoke were Vadivelu, Vijaya T. Rajender, Parthiban, Pandiarajan, Mansoor Ali Khan, Livingstone, Cheran, Karunas, Kovai Thambi, Kalaipuli Dhanu, and K.T. Kunjumon.(News-The Hindu)

MPs’ resignations: Karunanidhi decides to wait till October 28

CHENNAI: Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi on Sunday said he would hold on to the resignation letters of DMK MPs till October 28, the deadline set by the all-party meeting to the Centre to end the killing of Tamils in Sri Lanka.
Talking to reporters after DMK MP Dayanidhi Maran handed over his resignation to the Chief Minister, Mr. Karunanidhi said the all-party meeting held on October 14 had fixed two weeks time for the Centre to act.
Asked whether Mr. Maran and the DMK had come together in the interests of the Tamils, all he would say was all the political parties had come together to speak with one voice in support of the Sri Lankan Tamils. Those who had not come together to express solidarity stood exposed, he said. The Chief Minister refused to attach any importance to his meeting with Mr. Maran, saying it was yet another meeting.Strong message
Mr Maran said the resignation of the MPs would send a strong message against the genocide of Tamils in Sri Lanka.
To a question whether the meeting would improve the relations with the DMK, he said: “Let us hope so.”
He dismissed as baseless speculation the reports that he was planning to launch a forum in the name of his father, Murasoli Maran.
Later, responding to those who questioned the contribution of the DMK for the welfare of Sri Lankan Tamils, the Chief Minister, in a statement, recalled various agitations, rallies and meeting organised by the party since 1981.
Mr. Karunanidhi also recalled All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam general secretary Jayalalithaa’s statement in 1997 accusing the DMK government of creating law and order problems by allowing the LTTE re-entry into Tamil Nadu. Ms Jayalalithaa’s remarks evoked a strong reaction from PMK leader S. Ramadoss, who defended the DMK government, the Chief Minister said.
Reacting to Ms Jayalalithaa’s allegation that the human chain the DMK and its allies would be organising on October 21 would not serve any purpose, he said the protest would tell the world that people in Tamil Nadu were shedding tears for the Sri Lankan Tamils.
“It will urge the Indian government to take steps to put an end to the atrocities against the Tamils,” he said and called upon the party workers to take part in the human chain in large numbers.
The PMK will participate in the human chain to be held near the office of the DMS in the city, a press release from the DMK headquarters said.(News-The Hindu)