Tuesday, May 30, 2006

Stop Madhu attacks - Mannar Bishop

The Bishop of Mannar Rayappu Joseph has expressed his concerns over the killings taking place in the Madhu area.

Bishop Rayappu Joseph has written to Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksha that claymore mine attacks have been made from the jungle areas killing civilians.

The Bishop said that six civilians have been killed by claymore mines attacks within the last few weeks

“I have requested the Defence Secretary to take care that no military attacks happen in the reservation area said Bishop Rayappu Joseph.

Deep penetration

The Bishop explained that Madhu is considered a sacred area and many pilgrims visit the place thruought the year.

When questioned why the bishop wrote to the Defence Secretary when it is well known that the LTTE is responsible for claymore mine attacks he said that it is the deep penetration units of the army that were responsible for these attacks.

“The local army commanders have informed me that these attacks are not conducted by them and it's the rapid deployment forces roaming in the jungles which are under direct instruction from the Defence Ministry that are conducting these attacks”

(http://www.bbc.co.uk/sinhala/news/story/2006/05/060525_joseph.shtml)

Tiger leaders attacked in Batticaloa

Two claymore bombs have been exploded in an un-cleared area in Batticaloa by members of Karuna faction of the tiger organization targeting members of wanni tiger organization.

Several senior leaders of wanni tiger organization were killed in the blasts say unconfirmed reports.

One attack had been in Karadiyanaru area in Batticaloa. The attack had been carried out on a double cab traveling with an escort of two motor bikes.

The other attack had been launched on a luxury type jeep at an un-cleared area in Wadumunai.

Details about those who were killed in the two attacks have not been revealed yet.


(http://www.lankatruth.com/full_story/2006/May/20060529/20060529_2.htm)


Captured Karuna cadres meet SLMM, ICRC

Two cadres of Karuna paramilitary group who were captured by the fighters of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) on May 26th briefed the representatives of the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) and International Committee of Red Cross (ICRC) and the media Tuesday morning at the Trincomalee district political secretariat in Sampoor located in Muttur east. Mr.S.Elilan, LTTE district political secretariat was also present at the briefing, LTTE sources said.

Five cadres of the Karuna group from the Pattiaddy SLA camp had entered into the no-man zone located between the LTTE and government held territories in Muttur division to attack the LTTE camp on May 26th morning. Three of the Karuna group were killed on the spot in the attack launched by the LTTE.

Two of them Mr.P.Wijendran (25) of Mathurankuli and S.Gunarajan (22) of Panichchankerni were captured by the LTTE fighters, LTTE sources said.

Both Karuna cadres Mr.Wijendran and Mr.Gunarajan at the briefing said that about ten including them were brought to Trincomalee in a Dolphin van from Thivuchenai in Welikanda recently and were kept at a Sri Lanka Army (SLA) camp in the Trincomalee town close to sea shore.

Five of the cadres including them were later taken in a vehicle to Pattiaddy SLA camp in Thoppur in Muttur division. They were later asked by the SLA personnel to enter into the no-man zone and to attack the LTTE camp. Both of them were captured by the LTTE and three others in their group including the group leader Karuththa Ravi were killed in the attack by the LTTE, Wijendran told the SLMM.

Both cadres said at the briefing that there were four Karuna group camps in Thivuchenai.

(http://www.tamilnet.com/art.html?catid=13&artid=18343)

Sunday, May 28, 2006

Tamil auxiliary, SLA penetration team clash in Madhu, 1 dead

One Tamil auxiliary cadre was killed and another rushed to Kilinochchi hospital when Tamil auxiliary cadres who were on a road clearing mission in Madhu area on Parappukadanthan Road confronted a group of 15 Sri Lanka Army personnel who were hiding with a Claymore mine attached to a tree in the area, Mannar Political Wing Head of the Tigers, S. Iniyavan said. The penetration group, spotted by the auxiliary cadres of the road clearing patrol around 3:30 p.m., Saturday, exploded the Claymore and fled the scene after exchanging gunfire with the auxiliary cadres. The clash was reported inside the holy zone of the historic Madu church, Mr. Iniyavan further said.

The auxiliary cadres recovered 2 bags with instant food packs and 470 rounds, 7.62 mm, from the bags, Iniyavan added.

The area sourrounding the historic church of Madhu has bee declared a holy site by the Government of Sri Lanka.

The engagement of Sri Lanka Army penetration squads and the Claymore attacks where civilians were being killed, have angered the Catholic church in Mannar.

(http://www.tamilnet.com/art.html?catid=13&artid=18309)

Two young boys killed in SLA attack on civilian tractor

A 12 and a 15-year-old boys were killed when Sri Lanka Army soldiers, who had moved into Thikiliveddai, an LTTE controlled border area, beyond the Kinnayadi lagoon, Saturday afternoon at 3:00 p.m., ambushed a tractor with farmers. Three civilians were wounded, Daya Mohan, Head of Batticaloa Political Wing of the LTTE said.

The victims were identified, Kanapathy Balu, 12, and Vinayagamoorthy Nanthan, 15.

The wounded were admitted to LTTE's paramedical unit and later transferred to Chenkalady hospital in SLA controlled Eravur.

The Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission officials inspected the explosion site around 6:15 p.m.

(http://www.tamilnet.com/art.html?catid=13&artid=18310)

Tuesday, May 23, 2006

S.Lanka suspects troop, renegade contact by Simon Gardner

Some low-ranking Sri Lankan troops may be in contact with renegades opposed to the island's Tamil Tiger rebels, but there is no evidence of collusion, the head of the government's peace secretariat said on Tuesday.

The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) have said they will not resume peace talks until the government makes good on a pledge to rein in such groups -- in particular breakaway rebels led by a former Tiger commander called Karuna.

Truce monitors say the military is at least turning a blind eye to Karuna followers in military-controlled territory, but the government says it cannot find anyone to disarm and that anyway hunting them down could risk escalating violence.

"There is no doubt that the military at the highest levels has discouraged any contacts (or) any assistance to the Karuna group," Palitha Kohona, head of the secretariat, told Reuters.

"But at the lowest rank and levels ... human contacts that were established during the three years of ceasefire may have continued. I don't have any evidence as to whether they are continuing or not, but we suspect there might be," he added.

The Tigers accuse the military of helping Karuna's men kill their fighters, and say continued attacks are the single biggest hurdle to resuming peace talks aimed at permanently ending a two-decade civil war that killed over 64,000 people.

The Tigers have pulled out of talks indefinitely, and have warned a low intensity conflict raging despite a 2002 truce could spiral into a full-blown war.

"It is not going to be an easy task to ensure that government soldiers break off all their contacts that existed previously with now Karuna's men," said Kohona, formerly head of the United Nations treaty section in New York.

"The government is determined to ensure that armed groups are not assisted or facilitated in any way by the security forces of the country. There may be lapses in the message going down through the rank and file, but this is only to be expected in any military," he added, citing abuses by U.S. troops in Iraq.

Any soldiers found helping Karuna's group would be prosecuted, Kohona said.

"It is definitely not the type of relationship the government encourages," he added. "But given human nature, I wouldn't be surprised that people fraternise with each other ... They fraternise, they drink with each other, they visit each others' homes. As to what happens beyond that I do not know."

LOW INTENSITY WAR

The Tigers and Nordic truce monitors both now say Sri Lanka is locked in a "low intensity war", though the government disagrees and says it is only retaliating in limited bursts.

And while analysts say the Tigers -- who want to carve out a separate homeland for ethnic Tamils in the island's north and east -- are spoiling for a full-fledged war, Kohona says war is not an option.

He said he was disappointed the Tigers warn talks are unlikely this year given escalating clashes, but hopes a visit this week by Norwegian envoys Erik Solheim and Jon Hanssen-Bauer will help bring both sides back to talks.

"I hope that there are some new ideas that they will be able to come and discuss with both the government and the LTTE and the sincere hope of the government is that they will be able to persuade the LTTE at this stage to come back to the negotiating table," he said.

"If we don't have talks, we are condemning ourselves to an eternity of conflict."

The ceasefire is still technically holding.

But more than 270 troops and civilians have been killed since early April and the rebels and the military are fighting increasingly frequent skirmishes with mortars and rocket propelled grenades near their forward defence lines in the north and east.

(http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/SP144925.htm)

Prabhkaran’s days are numbered – Pilliyan

Pilliyan, Special Commander of the TamilEela Makkal Viduthalai Pulikal, told that Prabhakaran is now engaged in battle for his survival and not that of the Tamil people.

Prabhkaran exploits the suffering of the Tamils for his own political ends, he said. Citing an example he said: “Recently, when the Government closed entry to the A9 road, Praba group shed crocodile tears over the death of a child who died, according to a report, without proper medical facilities. But from the date of opening the A-9 road, Prabah Group has collected huge sums of money in the form taxes imposed on the passengers.

They haven’t made use of the money collected so far even to build one hospital. They have made use of those monies to line their pockets and to protect their political power. They grieve only because the revenue generated from road taxes is stopped. But the fact remains that they were unable to provide the necessary medical facilities and safeguard a child’s life.

Then what is all this talk about his Separate Administration serving the Tamil people? Separate Government? If even half of the monies received from the people at home and abroad have been utilized productively, many hospitals with modern facilities would have been constructed and no child would have died,” said Kuperan nom de guerre Pilliyan, Special Commander of the TamilEela Makkal Viduthalai Pulikal

The full text of the interview with the TMVP special commander Kuperan alias Pilliyan is given below:

Question: Your Leader Karuna Amman declared a unilateral Ceasefire against the Praba Group prior to the Geneva Talks. But in the last two weeks your special commando attack force penetrated into Muthur region attacked Prabah group and inflicted serious damages. After declaring ceasefire, why did you suddenly change tack and launch attacks on the Prabah group?

Special Commander Pilliyan: We didn’t declare ceasefire just for the sake of Praba Group. We knew well that they will not take it seriously. We declared ceasefire because we did not want to obstruct the efforts undertaken by the Mahinda Rajapakse’s Government and because we were keen that his peace efforts should succeed. Unfortunately during that period our members as well as our supporters were attacked by the Prabah Group. We categorically announced earlier that if in case our people were attacked by the Praba Group, we will attack them. During that said period, three of our members and our three supporters, a total of 6 people were shot and killed by Prabah Group. On 30 May they attacked our Kanthakadu camp. These attacks forced us to take retaliatory measures against them.

Question : So are you saying that the ceasefire declaration made by you earlier is now no more?

Special Commander Pilliyan : We announced a Ceasefire for a trial period of one month. Now the ceasefire has expired.

Question: Praba Group has come up saying that by attacking your Kanthakadu Camp, many truths have been exposed. One of them was the confirmation of your group functioning along with the Sri Lanka Army. What is your comment about this allegation?

Special Commander Pilliyan : Our Kanthakadu camp is not located either in the Government controlled area or in the Tiger controlled area. This is located in the no man’s land. This camp is located 9 kilometers away from Kaddumurichchan. You must understand one thing: if we were with the Sri Lanka Army, then the Army should be waging a war against the LTTE. On the contrary, they are keen on distancing themselves from us. This is a false propaganda let loose by them. Even Praba group know very well that we are not associated with the Sri Lanka Army. But they keep on repeating it because it is good propaganda for them. .

Question: After attacking Kanthakadu, the Tigers alleged that it was your group that abducted the members of the Tamil Rehabilitation Organization (TRO). Is this true?

Special Commander Pilliyan: Praba Group is leveling this false allegation after seeing our vehicles in the camp. They earlier announced that only one van belonging to the TRO was hijacked. After attacking our camp, now they come up with a new story that, two TRO Vans were hijacked. They keep on changing their stories which reveals their lies. Earlier they lied by alleging that it was we who hijacked van. Now to prove their lies they are coming up with another lie.

Question: Recently in an interview with the Reuters news agency, Anton Balasingham of the Praba Group has complained that the Government has failed to disarm the paramilitary groups as agreed in the peace talks. He went on to say that they have decided penetrate into the Government-controlled areas and personally take steps to disarm especially the arms belonging to the TamilEela Makkal Viduthalai Pulikal. Do you have any comments regarding this?

Special Commander Pilliyan: In fact we are not functioning within the Government controlled areas with arms. After we split from the Tigers they have been targeting us with false propaganda. They first said that the split was an internal matter and told no one should interfere, but now they are begging the Government to disarm us. Those who dare to do it let them come forward. They know well that this is not possible.

Question: Now you have opened up a head office called ‘Meenaham’ in the Eastern Province and is involved in political activities. After the signing of the Ceasefire Agreement in 2002 Praba Group opened up many offices and declared that they were involved in political activities. How do you describe the differences between your political office and the political offices earlier opened up by the Praba Group.

Special Commander Pilliyan: I can’t accept the statement made by you whether Praba Group was involved in political activities. As far as we are aware, their activities were all about collecting ransoms and abducting people. But we are not going to be ever involved in such criminal acts. We are not acting against the people. We have come forward to work truly and passionately for the Tamil people. This is only the beginning and soon we are going to dedicate ourselves completely to work for the basic needs and rights of our people.

Question: We learn that your ‘Meenaham’ Secretariat is located in the high security zone and it is given security by the Army?

Special Commander Pilliyan: If the lives of those working in an organization is threatened, then according to the law of the land, it is the foremost duty of the Government to provide security, Even if Prabakaran comes forward to the democratic mainstream of politics and open an office, then the Government forces would provide security. Who is providing security to the MPs and the cadres of the Tamil National Alliance? It is only the Government security forces.

Question : What has been the response of the people after the opening up of your political office and were you able to perceive any foreseeable changes in the people’s mindset ?

Special Commander Pilliyan: We have seen a noticeable change in the attitude of the people towards us. Their confidence in us is growing daily. We are now very near to them. We will not forsake them. This is a basic change. We will lead our people in the due and correct path. We are receiving enormous amount of support from the people. We receive a large number of people in our office. You can witness this personally if you visit our office.

Question: The last SLMM chief has said that he has seen your cadres in the Government controlled area with arms and because of this people’s normal life is disturbed. Is this true?

Special Commander Pilliyan: The armed persons supposed to have been seen by him was said to be not wearing any uniform or any special kit. They were in normal civilian dress and were carrying weapons he said. Based on this statement how can you say that they are our members. It could be also possible for the Praba’s cadres to come in this area with arms and introduced themselves as our members. That is what would have happened. Even today if you go to Valaichenai, you can see Praba group people roaming with weapons. We have never moved in the Government controlled area with arms. We have never functioned in any way to disturb the normal life of the civilians.

Question: There are several anti-Prabah political parties. Are you going to work with them? Or else are you planning to work alone?

Special Commander Pilliyan : Regarding this, we already released a statement after our split. We invited all the anti-Prabakaran forces to come and work together. At this juncture you have to take into consideration an important factor. To fight against Prabakaran is not our only aim.

After getting rid of Prabakaran the right solutions has to be placed on behalf of the Tamil people. Prabakaran is not important to us. Prabakaran, is only a temporary road bloc to achieving our reasonable solutions which have to be obtained honorably.

A sustainable peace has to be achieved. These are our cherished aims and objectives. To achieve these noble goals Prabakaran remains a stumbling block. Because of this we are ready to have common working program and work with all the political parties. While working together we should carefully avoid unnecessary power struggles and the competition for superiority over others in the group. Each group has to work without loosing their own identity for the benefit of our people. We are always prepared to cooperate with any alliance when they come forward to work for the welfare of the people without sacrificing the people for their personal power an authority,

Question : In the beginning, Muslims too were involved in Tamils’ struggle. But after 1990, when so many bitter incidents occurred, Muslims gradually withdrew their participation and retreated. Even now it is clearly evident that Muslims fear that they would be ignored in case the Tamils were able to achieve favorable solutions for their grievances. As a responsible people’s organization, what is your comments regarding the Muslims reasonable fear in this case?

Special Commander Pilliyan : We have a clear position regarding the Muslim people. We have taken up the position that Tamils and Muslim must live together peacefully without interfering in the other’s rights. At the same time, we should also address the rights of the Sinhala people living in our midst.

We are putting forward a working program and work in such a way so that the other brotherly ethnic groups may have confidence in us.

By crushing or suppressing other communities none of the communities could survive. Our intention is that the three ethnic groups that live in the East must live together with understanding of each others needs and with mutual trust on each others. When a sustainable peace is achieved it should reflect the reasonable aspirations and the rights of all the three ethnic groups.

If we have a solution acceptable to all, then only we will be able to move forward towards a sustainable peace. It must be understood clearly that the ethnic issues became so complex because of the rejection numerous reasonable aspirations of the Muslim community. Due to an individual’s greed power – Prabakaran, he undertook ethnic cleansing of the Muslims in 1990. Now we are determined that such ethnic cleansing should never occur in the future of the history of Tamils and Muslims relationship.

Question: Since of late, it is said that in the East, your organization is making use of your name and the stationeries of your organization to threaten and demand money as ransom and warning those working in the non-government organizations to leave their employment.

Special Commander Pilliyan : We are not involved in any of these activities. Thos who demand ransom, I am sure will not make use of names and stationeries of an organization which will be easily exposed. We are not going to repeat the same mistakes which are being committed by the Praba group.

This is the handy work of the Praba Group. I think I can tell you two examples regarding matter.

Recently, some one living in Kalladi in Batticaloa received a letter in my name demanding money. In that letter the name of the Bank as well as the Bank account numbers were given. When we received details about this threat, we hastened to investigate and found out the Bank account given in the letter belongs to the Praba Group.

In Kalmunai, making use of something similar to our stationery, a letter was sent demanding office space to open up an office or else to give rupees five lakhs. When we investigated, we came to know that it was the work of the Praba Group.

We possess arms only to safeguard our people as well as us from the Praba Group. With our weapons we will not at any given circumstances, try either to harass or threaten our people. We believe that these type deceptive activities are carried on by Praba Group and by a few individual miscreants.

Our letter heads are used to threaten those working in the non-government organizations. Regarding this issue a meeting was recently held in our ‘Meernaham’ office with the representatives of the NGOs’ and our position was very clearly explained to them by our representatives at the meeting.

At the same time I wish to emphasize that those working in the non-government organization must understand one thing very clearly. They must be determined to uphold our traditions, values and customs while discharging their duties.

Question: The main accusation against the Praba group is the forceful recruitment and abduction of the underage children. Recently Tamilselvan in the last meeting held at Geneva has alleged that your organization is responsible for the forceful recruitment and for the abduction of the underage children. Is Tamilselvan right?

Special Commander Pilliyan : Our Leader was the one who sent back the children abducted by the Tigers to their homes. There were 6000 cadres who remained under his command. We are never involved in forceful recruitments. Praba Group had many press conferences to criticize us. In those press conferences they made similar accusations against us. But many knew how those press conferences were organized and conducted. In our organizations we only accept those who come forward to enroll with us willingly and voluntarily.

When ever school students come forward to join us, we advise them to continue with their studies and face their educational examinations successfully.

Question: Since of late, in the North and East, killings have increased and the normal lives of the peoples are disrupted. People are living in the midst with fear and uncertainty. After your split, it is commonly believed that the killing spree has increased. What in your opinion is the real situation?

Special Commander Pilliyan : Regarding this Praba Group have to take the full responsibility. The killings are going on unabated and with impunity. The armed groups of youth are created by them. Sadly, it is our Tamil Teachers, loyal to the Praba group, are in a big way responsible for the creations of these armed cadres.

What they do is, they take the students in the upper classes such as in the GCE Ordinary Levels and Advance Levels to Wanni in the guise of study tours. In Wanni these school children are given a 9-day crash training on handling arms and other lethal weapons. They are being trained to handle claymore mines and grenades. These students trained in Wanni are then used to launch attacks in public places. Their new name is ‘Tamil People Upsurge Group.’

Nearly 10 percent of this so called People’s Upsurge armed group operate in the East and 90 percent operate in the North.

I feel sorry for the parents of these students. Parents send their children to schools for studies, but Praba group not only make use of them for their terrorists activities, ruining their future but also they are sent to killing fields to perpetrate serious criminal offences. In some cases they pay few others to kill the people. Killings are increasing because of the genocidal activities of the so-called Tamil People’s Upsurge group.

Kindly take a note of an important factor that the killing spree escalated only after the killing of Vigneswaran in Trincomalee. Once those loyal to Praba Groups are killed, the killings increases automatically following attacks on the Sri Lanka Military Commander and subsequently with the bombing of the Tamils and Muslims. These cannot be condoned or excused.

Not only that, Praba group has shot and killed many innocent youths accusing them of being our supporters. In fact we never have anything to do with those youths who were killed by the Praba Group.

Praba Group is forcefully giving arms training to government servants. If Praba Group is really genuine in waging a war, let them declare a war and see whether that all those trained by them would join them in their war and support them. They are with them because of fear.

At the end of such a war, I am certain only the children of the leaders of the Praba group are likely to survive, because those children are safely away and are studying in the foreign countries. Sooner or later the Tamil people will rise against the Praba’s leadership and kill him. This is a certainty. At present those people living in Wanni are living in the open prison of Prabakaran.

The Praba Group claims that they are protecting our people. That does not really mean the average Tamil person. What they mean is safeguarding their own children by sending them to foreign countries for their safety and security.

Where is Prabakaran’s wife and two children? Where are the children’s of B. Nadesan , Puthuvai Rasathurai, Tamilselvan , Balakumar? .. the list is very long.

Prabakaran is now engaged in a struggle to hold on to power for his own survival. This is Prabhkaran’s war and not the war of the Tamil people. But the tide has turned against him. His days are numbered. The international community, and the Tamil people are now fully behind the campaign to get rid of him. Now it’s a matter of time before he goes.

(http://www.asiantribune.com/index.php?q=node/240)

SLA troopers on paramilitary rescue mission killed

The Liberation Tigers commando unit that returned to LTTE Forward Defence Line (FDL) Sunday after completing the attack on three paramilitary camps in Welikande area, has claimed that 5 Sri Lanka Army troopers, including a Captain rank officer, who took part in a paramilitary rescue operation, were killed in confrontation with the Tigers. Informed defence circles in Colombo said that the SLA deaths were not revealed to avoid reports of SLA complicity in paramilitary issue.

The LTTE sources in Kokkaddicholai in Batticaloa district identified the Sri Lankan captain killed in action as LLoyd Fernando (5VIR RSP) from Kalwatte, Kurunegala.

The other soldiers killed in the confrontation were identified as Upul, Jeyakody, Tissanayake and Anura.

Four SLA troopers escaped with wounds, according to LTTE sources.

(http://www.tamilnet.com/art.html?catid=13&artid=17977)

Kohona: paramilitary link with "lowest rank" of SL forces

Amidst increasing accusations against Colombo of Sri Lankan troopers alleged involvement in extra-judicial killings and the terror-campaign let loose on Jaffna islets, Dr. Palitha Kohona, the Head of Sri Lanka Peace Secretariat, on Tuesday said that he suspects there might be contacts with the paramilitary cadres and the lower rank Sri Lankan troops.

Following the increased civilian killings and attacks on Tamil parliamentarian offices, the top brass of the Sri Lankan forces have been accused of masterminding escalating violence and creating fear psychosis in the minds of the Tamil population.

The Head of Sri Lankan Peace Secretariat, Palitha Kohona, who has been denying any existence of link between the Tamil paramilitary groups, and the Sri Lankan military and the political establishment, changed his position, in an exclusive interview to the Reuters.

"[...] human contacts that were established during the three years of ceasefire may have continued. I don't have any evidence as to whether they are continuing or not, but we suspect there might be," the Head of Sri Lankan Peace Secretariat was quoted by the Reuters.

"It is not going to be an easy task to ensure that government soldiers break off all their contacts that existed previously with the now Karuna's men," Kohona further said.

He continued: "...given human nature, I wouldn't be surprised that people fraternise with each other ... They fraternise, they drink with each other, they visit each others' homes. As to what happens beyond that I do not know."

This is the first time, a Sri Lankan official has attempted to provide an explanation to the charges of paramilitary - Sri Lanka military link.

The Liberation Tigers have been accusing Colombo for violating a crucial clause of the Ceasefire Agreement. The clause 1.8 of February 2002 CFA states that the Sri Lankan military should disarm the Tamil paramilitary groups.

Although the Government of Sri Lanka agreed to disarm the armed groups, at Geneva Talks in February this year, the paramilitary violence resumed within three days after the talks.

The paramilitary violence later spread to Vavuniya and Jaffna.

An elite commando unit of the Liberation Tigers, on April 30, launched a surprise attack inside the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) controlled Welikanda in Batticaloa- Polonnaruwa border, killing at least 18 cadres of the paramilitary Karuna Group. Tigers also said they killed five Sri Lankan soldiers, including a Captain rank officer, who took part in a paramilitary rescue operation.

Since the defection in April 2004 to the Sri Lanka Army of the renegade LTTE commander, Karuna, following the crushing of his rebellion against the LTTE leadership the violence against LTTE cadres and supporters has escalated sharply.

Apart from prominent academics, journalists and political activists supportive of the Tamil nationalist struggle, many ordinary civilians suspected of sympathy for the Tigers and some with relatives in the LTTE have been murdered.

Following the collapse of his rebellion in the face of a lightning offensive by the LTTE over the Easter 2004 weekend, Karuna escaped to Army-controlled territory with a handful of loyalists. They were given safe escort to Colombo by the Sri Lanka armed forces.

Kaunra cadres have been operating out of safehouses in Colombo provided by Sri Lankan Military Intelligence (MI), deserters from his ranks say. At least one Colombo safehouse was attacked by suspected LTTE commanders in late 2004, resulting in the deaths of eight paramilitaries and their MI handler.

Karuna himself established a close relationship with the one-time head of Military Intelligence, Sri Lanka Army Major General Shantha Kottegoda. It was during Kottegoda's - then promoted to Lt. Gen. - tenure as head of the SLA that paramilitary violence against LTTE cadres and, primarily, supporters became widespread.

(http://www.tamilnet.com/art.html?catid=13&artid=18250)

More attacks seen in north Sri Lanka by Peter Apps

MANKULAM, Sri Lanka (Reuters) - Glancing nervously into the jungle as they secure the main road north, Tamil Tiger fighters say they believe they are already at war and that government troops are operating behind their lines.

International truce monitors say a string of attacks in Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) territory -- yet more ceasefire violations as violence on both sides becomes what the monitors term a "low intensity war" -- suggest that the rebels could be right. The army denies the charge.

Most analysts say it was the rebels who began the cycle of violence with a series of attacks on troops, but the Tigers blame the government.

"The government has started an unofficial war with the LTTE and we want to face them," said Tiger fighter Shankar, one of a group of rebels guarding the A9 highway north through the rebel de facto state. "Our commander has advised us that if the government attacks LTTE cadres, we should retaliate immediately."

Asked if he wanted peace or war, standing next to the rough corrugated iron camp he shares with around 10 other fighters, he said in Tamil: "We like war."

The Tigers have fought for two decades for a separate Tamil homeland, evolving from a small group of young men to one of the world's most feared guerrilla armies, 10,000-20,000 strong with powerful naval and Black Tiger suicide bomber wings.

United Nations agency UNICEF says some are abducted as children against the wishes of their parents, but most fighters say they are volunteers. They say they will bite into cyanide capsules dangling around their necks rather than surrender.

Since a 2002 ceasefire, Sri Lanka's two-decade civil war has been halted. But since early April more than 270 people have died as naval battles, ambushes, murders and air strikes have led to many concluding that the island is once again at war.

Shankar says he believes Sri Lankan troops from wartime Deep Penetration Units are again operating behind rebel territory, launching hit-and-run attacks on fighters and civilians living in the one-seventh of the island under Tiger control.

BEHIND REBEL LINES

The Nordic-staffed Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) office in the northern town of Vavuniya says it has recorded at least seven attacks in rebel areas, including several on civilians. They believe military patrols are working alongside anti-Tiger Tamil armed groups.

"We believe that the Sri Lankan army and Tamil armed groups are operating behind LTTE lines," said truce monitor Bernt Gulbrandesen. "There are so many incidents it has to be an organized thing."

The Tigers say the first attack on them in rebel territory was a claymore fragmentation mine ambush on a rebel political wing leader in January, during a spike in violence that preceded a first round of peace talks in Switzerland.

That followed a string of claymore attacks on the military that were widely blamed on the rebels.

As the number of incidents soars, many civilians say they fear army attacks. But more than that, they fear aerial bombing.

The first official government strikes on the Tigers came in April after a suicide attack on an army headquarters in Colombo. The government hit the rebel heartland near their northern headquarters of Kilinochchi last week for the first time.

The Tigers say no one was hurt, but their persistent refusal to grant truce monitors access has raised suspicions that their fledgling air force headquarters might have been hit.

In Kilinochchi town itself, where many buildings were flattened by bombs and shells during the war, life is getting back to normal. But few civilians share fighter Shankar's enthusiasm for more conflict.

"I think war has come," said 67-year-old Subramaniyam Palaniamma, selling baskets in the marketplace. "We believe the bombs will come back. All of us are living in fear."

(http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/05/15/AR2006051500030_pf.html)

Karuna Faction attack had 15 Tigers killed

In an attack carried out by Karuna Faction at Nawaladi day before yesterday 15 Tigers have been killed. This attack which came day before yesterday night first targeted a camp of the Wanni Tigers and next a boat which was due to sail towards Sampur has also come under attack.

Intelligence sleuths say that Karuna Faction has reportedly used heavy weaponry like mortars in this attack.


(http://www.lankatruth.com/full_story/2006/May/20060523/20060523_3.htm)

Wanni Tigers agitated over Ramanan’s assassination

It is reported that the Tiger Organization has been perturbed over the death of Ramanan alias Kandiah Ulaganathan who was a senior member of the group. It is said that Ramanan was the uppermost leader killed during the past four years.

It is said he was master mind behind suicide attack on Army Commandar Sarath Fonseka, attack on the Temple of Sacred Tooth Relic and several other serious attacks executed in Colombo.

It is said that he was closely associated with Prabhakaran and Pottu Amman who was the second military leader in Batticaloa and Ampara.

According to security forces Ramanan was provided with high security and an accurate clue on his whereabouts was essential to target him. It is reported that the Tiger organization is investigating on any leakage of information within the organization.

Unconfirmed reports added that he had diffrences with Bhanu of Batticaloa and Ampara leader.

It is reported with his assassination Tigers’ strength in East has surfaced a crisis. This has led to lose the moral of its members that some are in qualms of leaving the movement, it added. He was associated with Karuna Amman for a long time and it is feared that his absence will be a big damage to the Tigers.

When Tiger leader Kaushalyan was killed the Tiger Organization made use of the assassination in winning the sympathy of international community. But in the present situation there is no hope in materializing that objective.

It is learnt because of this reason the Wani Tigers are blaming the Government for Ramanan’s assassination.

Wanni Tigers have decided to declare one week’s mourning on his death, it is also reported.

(http://www.lankatruth.com/full_story/2006/May/20060523/20060523_14.htm)

S.Lanka suspects some troops talk to renegades by Simon Gardner

COLOMBO, May 23 (Reuters) - Some low-ranking Sri Lankan troops may be in contact with armed groups opposed to Tamil Tiger rebels, but there is no evidence of large-scale collusion, the head of the government's peace secretariat said on Tuesday.

The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) have said they will not resume peace talks until the government makes good on a pledge to rein in such groups -- in particular breakaway rebels led by a former Tiger commander called Karuna.

Truce monitors say the military is at least turning a blind eye to Karuna followers in military-controlled territory, but the government says it cannot find anyone to disarm and that anyway hunting them down could risk escalating violence.

"There is no doubt that the military at the highest levels has discouraged any contacts (or) any assistance to the Karuna group," Palitha Kohona, head of the secretariat, told Reuters.

"But at the lowest rank and levels ... human contacts that were established during the three years of ceasefire may have continued. I don't have any evidence as to whether they are continuing or not, but we suspect there might be," he added.

The Tigers accuse the military of helping Karuna's men kill their fighters, and say continued attacks are the single biggest hurdle to resuming peace talks aimed at permanently ending a two-decade civil war that killed over 64,000 people.

The Tigers have pulled out of talks indefinitely, and have warned a low intensity conflict raging despite a 2002 truce could spiral into a full-blown war.

"It is not going to be an easy task to ensure that government soldiers break off all their contacts that existed previously with now Karuna's men," said Kohona, formerly head of the United Nations treaty section in New York.

"The government is determined to ensure that armed groups are not assisted or facilitated in any way by the security forces of the country. There may be lapses in the message going down through the rank and file, but this is only to be expected in any military," he added, citing abuses by U.S. troops in Iraq.

Any soldiers found helping Karuna's group would be prosecuted, Kohona said.

LOW INTENSITY WAR

The Tigers and Nordic truce monitors both now say Sri Lanka is locked in a "low intensity war", though the government disagrees and says it is only retaliating in limited bursts.

And while analysts say the Tigers -- who want to carve out a separate homeland for ethnic Tamils in the island's north and east -- are spoiling for a full-fledged war, Kohona says war is not an option.

He said he was disappointed the Tigers feel talks are unlikely this year given escalating clashes, but hopes a visit this week by Norwegian envoys Erik Solheim and Jon Hanssen-Bauer will help bring both sides back to talks.

"I hope that there are some new ideas that they will be able to come and discuss with both the government and the LTTE and the sincere hope of the government is that they will be able to persuade the LTTE at this stage to come back to the negotiating table," he said.

"If we don't have talks, we are condemning ourselves to an eternity of conflict."

The ceasefire is still technically holding, but more than 270 troops and civilians have been killed since early April and the rebels and the military are fighting increasingly frequent skirmishes with mortars and rocket propelled grenades near their forward defence lines in the north and east.

(http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/SP137768.htm)

Monday, May 22, 2006

Four tigers killed in Muttur by Karuna faction attack

In the un-cleared in Mutur, Trincomalee as a result of an attack on a security point of Wanni tigers four people have died. This incident has taken place this morning (20). The security forces have tightened the security receiving information on the attack.

(http://www.lankatruth.com/)

SLA forces attack LTTE camp- Elilan

Mr.S.Elilan, LTTE Trincomalee district political head Sunday complained to the Sri Lanka Monitoring Commission based in east port town that a group of soldiers of the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) had entered the LTTE controlled area, Aathiamankerni, a village in Serunuwara division and destroyed LTTE camp. This incident took place Sunday around 10.30 a.m., Mr.Elilan said.

“We consider this attack of the SLA on the LTTE camp as a provocative one and a blatant violation of the ceasefire agreement,” said Mr.Elilan.

SLA soldiers are reported to have shot and killed a Tamil civilian who came across when they were returning from LTTE area, Mr.Elilan said.

(http://www.tamilnet.com/art.html?catid=13&artid=18219)

Student, companion killed in SLA Claymore attack in Madhu

A 15 year old student and his companion were killed in a Claymore attack by Sri Lanka Army (SLA) Deep Penetration Unit (DPU) in the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) controlled jungle in Periya Pandivirichan at Madhu in the Mannar district Sunday, reported Voice of Tigers (VoT) Radio. The youths were out hunting when they were killed, according to VoT.

The two killed youths identified as Chandran Linton, 15, and Rasarathinam Mohan, 25, left home with two dogs for hunting Sunday around 11 a.m but failed to return at the due time. One of the dogs came home with injuries. The dog led victims' relatives to the site of the killings, added VoT.

The search party found out that one of the two Claymore mines fixed at the site had exploded killing the two youths and one of the dogs, said the radio.

The killings were reported to the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) officials who inspected the site of the SLA DPU offensive along with the resident priest of Madu Church in Mannar, said VoT.

(http://www.tamilnet.com/art.html?catid=13&artid=18228)

Sunday, May 21, 2006

LTTE Senior Commander Ramanan assassinated

A Senior Commander of the Liberation Tigers in the East, Commander Ramanan, the Deputy Head of the LTTE Military wing of the Batticaloa district, was assassinated by a Sri Lanka Army (SLA) sniper at Vavunathivu Forward Defence Line (FDL), 5 km southwest of Batticaloa, Sunday around 5:30 p.m., sources in Batticaloa said.

A Sri Lanka Army sniper targetted the Commander while he was inspecting the FDL positions of the Tigers in Vavunathivu, Batticaloa Eelanatham reported Sunday night.

The battle-hardened Commander Ramanan, has served as the Military Intelligence Chief of the LTTE in Batticaloa Amparai districts, and later as the Head of the Military Wing of Maavadymunmari division.

Commander Ramanan's decision to leave the renegade LTTE commander Karuna was a major setback for the renegade's plans to hold his ground in the east.

Ramanan is the most high ranking LTTE officials to be assassinated during the Ceasefire.

Vavunathivu FDL positions of the Tigers have recently come under increasing attack by the SLA troopers.

(http://www.tamilnet.com/art.html?catid=13&artid=18221)

Friday, May 19, 2006

Seven killed in fresh Sri Lanka fighting

At least seven persons, including five Tamil Tiger rebels, were killed today in fresh fighting in Sri Lanka's troubled regions, military sources said.

Five members of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) were killed in a confrontation with the breakaway faction led by Colonel Karuna at the Sampur area of Trincomalee, the sources said.

There were no immediate reports of casualties on the Karuna faction, but the residents in nearby areas said they heard heavy mortar bomb attacks in the area.

In the northern Vavuniya region, two army soldiers were shot dead by suspected Tiger rebels, the sources said.

The latest fighting came amid reports that a resolution in the European parliament yesterday criticised the LTTE and urged a ban on the group to cut off its international funding within the 25-member European Union.

There was no formal ban on the Tigers, Western diplomats here said adding, however, that a proscription was under consideration.

(http://www.outlookindia.com/pti_news.asp?id=386022)

Thursday, May 18, 2006

Farmers learn to fight from Sri Lanka's Tamil Tigers by Anuruddha Lokuhapuarachchi

Tamil farmer Thuraichami Wardanayagam is happiest tending his aubergine and chilli crops, but war clouds hang over his native Sri Lanka and he has turned to Tamil Tiger rebels for combat training.

He has been running and doing star jumps in this village just outside the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam's (LTTE) northern stronghold, and if all goes well he will learn how to handle a semi-automatic rifle and possibly even explosives.

The Tigers are offering men, women and youngsters training in the island's north and east as a spate of deadly attacks and military clashes between the rebels and the state threaten to rupture a 2002 truce that still technically holds.

"We don't consider this as training. This is vital to our lives," said 55-year-old Thuraichami Wardanayagam, doing physical training in a white and brown sarong and vest under the guidance of two rebels in Tiger-striped camouflage fatigues.

A spate of deadly attacks on Tamil civilians in the northern, army-held enclave of Jaffna which the rebels blame on the military and vice-versa have left many residents feeling too scared to venture out onto the streets.

Grenade attacks and shootings are now near daily occurrences in the town now controlled by Sri Lanka's majority-Sinhalese army and which Tamils regard as the cradle of their civilization.

Nordic truce monitors say they believe some troops are involved in extrajudicial killings of Tamil civilians.

On Wednesday, the latest in a string of mine ambushes by suspected Tigers killed two soldiers in the east, while a civilian was shot dead in Jaffna.

Some Tamils sympathetic to the Tigers' cause for a separate Tamil homeland want to learn to fight back if the time comes.

"So many things happened in and around Jaffna during the last four or five days. That means war has come," Wardanayagam said. "This is to protect us all, including our children, from war."

GEARING UP FOR WAR?

With more than 270 troops and civilians killed since early April -- including a fierce naval battle and aerial bombing raids just last week -- the violence looks just like periods of the two-decade civil war in which over 64,000 people died.

Truce monitors and the Tigers have both started referring to a "low intensity war". The government disagrees, saying the ceasefire holds and says it will limit itself to tactical bursts of retaliation if attacked.

The Tigers began training civilians since last year in parts of Sri Lanka's north and east they control as a precaution against any eventual return to a two-decade civil war that has already killed more than 64,000 people.

At the time, they said the civilians would be trained for their own safety and would not fight alongside them.

"The country is going towards war. That's why we're doing this training," said rebel media coordinator Daya Master. "In our controlled area, people in every village are getting self-defence training."

"If they want weapons training, we will give it to them," he added, saying several thousand people have been trained. "When the opportunity arises, they can join the LTTE if they want."

In Kilinochchi, the Tigers' nerve centre, heavily armed rebel fighters are visible on the streets. Some families have moved away from forward defence lines near government territory, arriving in the town on tractors with their worldly possessions.

The training lasts two hours each day, and comprises self-defence and physical exercise, first aid and finally weapons training for those deemed suitable.

"This training is very helpful for us to defend ourselves against the government's military forces," said one 60-year-old housewife, exercising in a green saree, her hair in a bun. She refused to give her name or be photographed for fear of being identified by the military.

"They always harrass us and our children. That is the reason I came to this training," she said.

(http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/COL7157.htm)

Wednesday, May 17, 2006

Tamil Tigers use civilians as shield: Sri Lankan official

The Sri Lankan government accused Wednesday the Tamil Tiger rebels of using civilians as a shield in attacks against the security forces.

Prasad Samarasinghe, the defense ministry spokesman, told reporters here Wednesday that the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam(LTTE) rebels carry out attacks against the government troops in heavily populated areas.

"They use them as a shield and even have some civilians in their payroll to attack troops," Samarasinghe said.

Over 150 members of the government troops have been killed by the Tiger rebels in the upsurge of violence since December last year, which has hampered the Norwegian peace facilitators' efforts to bring the two sides to the negotiating table.

Keheliya Rambukwella, minister of Policy Planning and government's defense spokesman, said that in spite of the violence,the government remained committed to the Norwegian-backed peace process.

Rambukwella said the government would be giving a full account of the violence and the numbers of security forces victims to the European Union in order for them to consider their moves to outlaw the Tamil Tigers.

The LTTE made a suicide assassination bid on Army Commander Sarath Fonseka late April, which upset the second round of talks in Geneva to discuss the truce scheduled for April 24-25.

The LTTE makes counter accusations at the government troops for carrying out extra judicial killings of Tamil civilians in the north and east.

The international truce monitors, the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM), has blamed both sides of doing nothing to build confidence to facilitate direct talks.

(http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/world.htm)

A Tiger Under Every Stone by TamilGuardian

The recent escalation of violence that has put the Ceasefire Agreement under severe pressure seems in many ways to reflect the mutually reinforcing relationship between Sinhalese and Tamil nationalisms and their respective protagonists. In such circumstances, an argument is put forward more vociferously that the ‘extremism’ and ‘provocation’ of the LTTE’ feeds and justifies the ‘hardline’ political rhetoric of Sinhala politicians and the violence of the state’s armed forces.

This perspective has, in many ways, informed the myriad of actors who have contributed to the recent peace process, either as direct participants or as advisors offering comment and analysis to the major players.

Advocates of this perspective have argued that the only way to wean the Sinhalese population away from the uncompromising positions of nationalist actors is to transform the LTTE. Transformation of the LTTE has thus been the mantra that has guided many international analysts and policy maker for the last three or four years.

The argument goes thus: if the LTTE’s military capacity is radically curtailed and its political autonomy contained within the boundaries of commitment to a ‘united’ or ‘unitary’ Sri Lanka, the Sinhala hardliners will no longer be able to mount such vehement opposition to any mention of devolution or federalism. Once the LTTE has been de – fanged, more moderate Sinhala politicians will be able to confidently advocate a political solution that grants significant autonomy to the Tamils.

It is also argued that while the LTTE remains a significant military and political ‘threat’, ‘spoilers’ in the south will always outbid moderate Sinhala politicians attempts to find a negotiated settlement by whipping up the Sinhala polity’s anxieties about a separate Tamil state. In the idiom of its exponents, the claim that transformation of the LTTE will undermine Sinhala ‘spoilers’ of the peace process and thereby allow for the ‘reform of the state by liberal actors is now almost axiomatic.

Given the current perilous standoff between the Sri Lankan government and the LTTE, it might be time to examine the basic premises of this argument. According to the ‘transform the LTTE first’ mantra, the political plausibility of Sinhala nationalist positions is directly related to the actions and perceived intentions of the LTTE.

However, a close examination of the dynamics of politics within the Sinhala polity would suggest that southern opposition to any form of political devolution for the Tamils is sustained through sources that are completely independent of the LTTE per se.

The ideal of a unitary Sinhala Buddhist state in which the minorities have a politically recognised but subordinate position, resonates with the interests of a multitude of groups within the Sinhala polity. A compromise with the Tamils is rejected, not because of anxieties or loathing of the LTTE (alone), but because such a compromise would necessarily destroy this utopian vision, the most basic political assumption and aspiration of Sinhala Buddhist common sense.

The vision of a unitary Sinhala Buddhist state in which there is both a massive centralisation of resources and seamless continuity between the language, rituals and beliefs of the Sinhala Buddhist world and the institutions of the state, clearly has its appeal both for political elites and for non elite sections of the polity. For aspirant social groups, a centralised Sinhala Buddhist state not only provides opportunities through public sector employment through which they can achieve upward mobility, it also protects and fosters the integrity of their Sinhala Buddhist world.

It is for this reason that all political concessions to the Tamils, however mild, are immediately interpreted as both a material and moral threat. Any minor political recognition of a Tamil claim to the island or the state can be seen as undermining both the Sinhala Buddhist state and the Sinhala Buddhist religious, cultural and linguistic world that it protects. So for example, attempts during the 1950’s and 1960’s to replace the Sinhala Only’ legislation with official recognition for Tamil were decried as attempts to ‘destroy the Sinhala race’ or ‘make the Sinhalese learn Tamil.’

The continuation of this phenomenon can be seen in the fierce opposition that was mounted against both the PTOMS and the LTTE’s proposals for an Interim Self Governing Authority (ISGA). The ‘transform the LTTE’ school of thought often argues that both these proposals conceded far too much to the LTTE and thereby played straight into the hands of the Sinhala ‘spoilers.’

However, it must be remembered that opposition to both proposals mounted well before the actual details of the proposal were released. The substance of the proposals was therefore irrelevant, what was problematic for the Sinhala Buddhists was the recognition of a Tamil political identity that these proposals entailed. Both the PTOMS and the ISGA contained the assumption that the Tamils have legitimate political interests that have to be recognised and accommodated through institutions outside the control of the Sinhala Buddhist polity. It is this possibility that is deeply problematic for the Sinhala Buddhist psyche. This is not a recent phenomena, either; well before the emergence of the LTTE, attempts by Tamil political leaders to negotiate a compromise with their Sinhala counterparts were destroyed by opposition using the imagery of a Sinhala Buddhist state and world under threat.

While the Sinhala Buddhist state fosters and protects the social aspirations of non – elite Sinhalese, it is also a useful resource for political elites. The excessively centralised state gives political actors vast resources with which to build patron – client networks and consolidate their power. Neither the UNP nor the SLFP, the two main Sinhala parties, have robust party structures and both rely on access to the state’s resources to build and maintain a support base. Political competition therefore revolves on the distribution of the state’s resources. The parties in power can distribute resources through subsidies and patronage while the parties in opposition promise greater resource while mobilising the discontent of sections who have been excluded from government largesse.

Crucially, the political parties have no incentive to aggressively promote a political settlement and even if they had an incentive, they do not have the party organisation through which to spread such a message. Political competition is played out in a public sphere dominated by Sinhala Buddhist common sense.

Alongside their deep antipathy to any form of political recognition for the Tamils, Sinhala Buddhist nationalists are also deeply intolerant to every form of autonomous Tamil political activity. In Sri Lanka this leads this results in all expressions of an autonomous Tamil political identity being dismissed as results of LTTE manipulation and coercion. The same principle is increasingly being extended to the international arena and Tamil Diaspora political activity is carefully watched for ‘pro-LTTE’ tendencies by the Sinhala nationalist press. The baleful distrust and anxiety created by Tamil participation in local government (council) elections in far away England recently led The Island newspaper to print a front page story. IAccording to the paper, ‘pro LTTE’ individuals standing for local council elections are promising a mini Eelam in London with sports facilities, funding for Saturday schools and centres for the elderly, exclusively for Tamils. The argument of the story is clear – all Tamil political activity, however mild and unconnected to the ethnic question, is inherently separatist and dangerous. The fact that local councils in Britain have long provided such community facilities for their Bengali, Punjabi, Gujarati, Chinese, Turkish and Pakistani citizens is somehow missed. ‘Even’ in Britain, today the Tamils are asking for a Saturday school, tomorrow they will want a separate state, the logic goes.

The poisonous racism that pervades mass circulation Island’s reporting of British Tamils is pervasive in wider Sinhala society and is reproduced within a variety of sources, over which the LTTE can have no possible influence. The political vision of a united Sinhala Buddhist Sri Lanka is reinforced and repeated through the media, the education system, public institutions, the rhetoric of politicians and recently the interventions of international actors.

Meanwhile, the biased and one sided international response to events in Sri Lanka simply reinforces the Sinhala Buddhist conviction that all Tamil political demands are indeed a moral threat to the Sri Lankan state and the Sinhala Buddhist world it protects. Each condemnation of the LTTE and its ‘reprehensible terrorist’ nature, every failure of the international community to stand by agreements such as the PTOMS, every instance where incidents of high profile violence against Tamils are followed by indifferent international silence, the Sinhala Buddhist position is once again assured of its (international) legitimacy.

Given that the sources of Sinhala Buddhist nationalist are demonstrably independent of the LTTE, transforming and containing the LTTE is unlikely to produce an attitude of compromise within the Sinhala polity. Indeed, once the Tiger has been de – fanged, there will be even less reason for Sinhala political leaders to concede even a modicum of political devolution. Attempts to transform the Sri Lankan state, which would give the Tamils some form of political recognition, would, as always, instantly arouse opposition as a cloak for dangerous Tamil separatist aspirations.

In order to transform the Sri Lankan state both pro peace advocates and the Sinhala polity have to replace their unhealthy fixation with the LTTE with a serious consideration of the sites and mechanisms through with Sinhala Buddhist nationalism is reproduced. International actors have to consider why they cannot confront Sinhala Buddhist nationalism of the Sri Lankan state with the same open contempt with which they dismiss Tamil aspirations.

As is increasingly argued on the Tamil street, in the absence of any change in either the Sinhala Buddhist or international mindset, the Tamils, whose struggle has never enjoyed or needed external legitimisation, may be better off concentrating on changing facts on the ground.

(http://www.sibernews.com/the-news/featured-articles/a-tiger-under-every-stone-20
0605174331/&cid=0)


Who is behind the escalation of violence in the north and east ?

The rise in violence, particularly killings in Jaffna, after the first round of talks in Geneva, is a disturbing trend that is yet to be investigated by the Police, judicial inquiries and the Sri Lankan Monitoring Mission.

"We can't say who's clearly responsible for the killings, as there are still many questions on who may have been behind it," said Helen Olafsdottir, spokeswoman for the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission to the New York Times. (May 16, 2006).

The mystery of who is behind the killings in places controlled by the government, the LTTE and other Tamil groups has not been resolved by the conflicting reports and lack of evidence.

The LTTE accuses the Security Forces. This charge is frequently advanced by the LTTE saying that the killings take place within a few meters of the Security Camps or checkpoints. Ulf Hendrickson, the retired Swedish major general who commands the monitoring force, told the New York Times (May 16, 2006) that his Monitoring Mission “had received reports of killings in which the police or soldiers could be implicated, taking pains to note that it was not the job of his mission to investigate individual killings, but to present the information to the proper authorities.”

He added: "I don't know how the security forces are involved. It could be individuals, it could be lower levels, it could be fundamentalist elements in the security forces." He said the police had promised to investigate.

Minister Nimal Sripla de Silva, the Government Chief Negotiator at the Geneva talks, said it "condemns all forms of reprisal attacks against innocent civilians."

Government sources say that it is aware of the attempts by the LTTE to provoke the Sinhala community to retaliate and it is taking all precautions to prevent a backlash against the Tamils which would favor the LTTE.

Political observers agree that there is no official policy of the government to attack Tamil civilians though it is possible that individual police and soldiers may go on the rampage provoked by the LTTE attacks on their camps or checkpoints.

The LTTE also accuses the “paramilitaries” meaning Douglas Devnanda’s group or their former commander Col. Karuna who has broken away. Analysts agree that the rivalry between the two main Tamil groups and the other anti-LTTE Tamil parties have contributed to the increasing violence. This week, for instance, the LTTE cadres gate-crashed into a Batticoloa hospital and gunned down two cadres of Karuna’s group recovering from battle injuries.

Karuna’s group has openly declared that it has called off the unilateral ceasefire announced in January as the LTTE has launched its new offensive against them saying that if the Government doesn’t disarm the “paramilitaries” then they will. The killings in the east of prominent LTTE politicians, like Joseph Pararajasingham, MP, are attributed to Karuna’s Group though they have not acknowledged it.

Douglas Devananda has denied any involvement with the killings despite his cadres in Jaffna have been either attacked or killed by the LTTE cadres. The LTTE has accused Devananda of killing of two workers in a newspaper office in Jaffna recently. Devananda’s office has denied such allegations saying that it is not in his interests to kill Tamils.

However, both Karuna’s group and Devananda’s EPDP have accused the LTTE of deliberately increasing the violence in the east and the north to smear them as being agents of the Government. A spokesperson for Devananada said:

“The LTTE is relying on the accusation that the “paramilitaries” are with the government to press their latest excuse to keep out of the talks. They have to prove this and escalating the killings of Tamils in the north and the east is their way of proving that the anti-LTTE groups are involved in killing the Tamils.”

The documented trend reveals that the LTTE has increased its violence since the end of the Geneva talks. The LTTE has been preparing for Eelam IV according to the pronouncement made by Velupillai Prabhakaran in his last annual speech delivered on November 27 – his birthday. He has also admitted that his preparations to launch his war were postponed because of the damage caused by the Tsunami. The standard LTTE tactic has been to target his Tamil rivals and the Sinhalese to provoke a backlash.

The recent explosion of violence in Trincomalee where the Sinhala community went on the rampage against the Tamils is a clear example of LTTE provoking violence to gain political mileage. All community sources agree that the LTTE planted the bomb on the cycle placed near the vegetable market in Trincomalee. The explosion was hear right the round world with the BBC repeating the pro-Tamil media figure of 40,000 fleeing the locality.

According to analysts the LTTE has thrived on creating chaos, backlashes and killings. The current trend conforms to its past performances. The other parties too may resort to violence but not to the same extent as the LTTE which has had no strategy other than increasing and decreasing violence as when it suits its political needs.

(http://news.google.lk/news/url?sa=t&ct=us/3-0&fp=446b61f061c25258&ei=o-trRJC5N4Ku
oQL8kP3UCA&url=http%3A//www.asiantribune.com/index.php%3Fq%3Dnode/138&cid=110
6580253)

Karuna demands payment from Sinhala villagers

The convenor of the All Ceylon Movement for Protecting Farmers' Rights Ven. Dambulle Nanda Thero says farmers in the border villagers have had to give their harvest to the Karuna Group in addition to facing threats from the Wanni Tigers.

The Ven. Thero says the Karuna Group demands 35-40 bushels of rice from farmers and the defence sectors do not take action, although they are informed of the problem.

<>The Karuna Group, a breakaway faction of the LTTE, runs a chain of safe houses in Sinhala and Tamil villages in the Welikanda area, on the border of the North Central and Eastern Provinces. Farmers in the border villages face threats from the rebels and several farmers from Moraweva in the Trincomalee district were gunned down recently while harvesting their paddy fields.

(http://news.google.lk/news/url?sa=t&ct=us/6-0&amp;fp=446b61f061c25258&ei=o-trRJC5N4Kuo
QL8kP3UCA&url=http%3A//www.colombopage.com/archive/May14133653SL.html&cid=0)

Low r

Monitors confirm deep penetration, extrajudicial killings charges

International truce monitors this week said they believed reports Sri Lanka Army troops were conducting Deep Penetration raids into Tamil Tiger controlled areas, killing several civilians. Their comments came as the LTTE said its frontlines to the north and south of Vanni were attacked by infiltrating SLA soldiers. Meanwhile, the international monitors also said Sri Lankan security forces are responsible for extrajudicial killings with the troops so unconcerned as to the consequences as to not even provide plausible denials.

The Nordic-staffed Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) office in the northern town of Vavuniya told Reuters Monday it has recorded at least seven attacks in LTTE-controlled areas, including several on civilians.

The monitors believe military patrols are working alongside anti-Tiger Tamil armed groups.

"We believe that the Sri Lankan army and Tamil armed groups are operating behind LTTE lines," truce monitor Bernt Gulbrandesen told Reuters. "There are so many incidents it has to be an organized thing."

Monitors also said that paramilitaries of the Karuna Group were being deployed in Vavuniya.

“I firmly believe that Karuna is going around this area,” Mr Jouni Suninen, head of the district office of the SLMM in Vavuniya told Reuters.

“We have eyewitnesses who tell us they have seen Karunas around. I cannot see how they could be operating here without the support of the army.”

Sri Lanka’s military and government reject accusations that there are backing the renegade LTTE commander in a campaign against the LTTE.

Howver, the monitors in Vavuniya told Reuters they are confident they have evidence. They say they believe Karuna’s men are operating from army camps and carrying out attacks behind rebel lines.

“We have eyewitnesses telling us that they are based in army camps,” said Mr Suninen.

Reuters quoted the Tigers as saying the first attack on them in their controlled areas was a claymore fragmentation mine ambush on a LTTE political wing leader in January, during a spike in violence that preceded a first round of peace talks in Switzerland.

Last week truce monitors said probable Tamil Tiger attacks on the military have been followed by disappearances and open killings of Tamil civilians.

“We have very strong indications that at least part of the government troops have been involved in these killings,” Suninen, an Finnish ex-army officer, said.

“The pattern is clear,” he added. In one case, a civilian was killed 60 metres from an army checkpoint. The soldiers told the monitors they heard nothing.

Suninen said at least 40 people have been killed in the last month by suspected Tigers, soldiers or associated groups around Vavuniya, just beyond the southern border of LTTE-controlled Vanni.

For the first time, the monitoring mission’s field staff were authorised to speak on the record about what they had found. They say publicity is the only weapon they have.

The monitors say suspected military killings target civilians believed to be LTTE-linked.

Ponnuthurai Thayanithi, 27, killed last week, had one sister who had died fighting for the Tigers but was not believed to have any direct link. Police initially refused to come and inspect the body, said Heiskanen.

“This is where the girl was killed in the middle of the day,” Heiskanen said. “As you can see, we’re about 60 metres from an army checkpoint. There are always three soldiers there. The girl had two bullets in her head. They didn’t hear or see anything.”

Heiskanen said he asked the soldiers why they had not noticed the killing taking place within sight and earshot. They said that as the shots were fired, there was a particularly strong gust of wind, so they had heard nothing.

“I said ‘how do you know what was the exact time?’“ he said. “It is ridiculous. They don’t even try to make things up.”

People have disappeared at government checkpoints and turned up dead. A white van seen before some of the killings appears to have moved with impunity through checkpoints and in one case was reportedly seen leaving an army camp, the monitors say.

(http://www.tamilnet.com/art.html?catid=79&artid=18154)

More death as war looms in Sri Lanka

`WORRYING SITUATION': Prominent LTTE rebels spoke about the tension in Sri Lanka while another rebel group was accused of working with the army

Two anti-personnel mines intended to target Sri Lankan military vehicles exploded prematurely yesterday, killing a village guard and wounding two policemen in the country's restive northeast, the military said.

Anti-personnel mines, which can be detonated by remote control, are the preferred weapons of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) rebels, also known as the Tamil Tigers.

The Media Unit of the Defense Ministry said the guard was killed and policemen hurt near the port town of Trincomalee -- about 230km northeast of the capital, Colombo -- when the mines were triggered. A military convoy was to travel along the road hours later.

Meanwhile, a senior Tamil Tiger rebel leader said yesterday that the spiraling violence in Sri Lanka is worrying and that they are prepared for a resumption of the civil war.

"It is a very worrying situation," Seevaratnam Puleedevan, a top Tamil Tiger said.

"A low intensity war is already going on, there are lot of civilians being killed in the military controlled areas in the whole north east," Puleedevan said. "If the war is thrust upon us then we are ready to retaliate," he said.

Another senior Tamil Tiger leader accused the government of waging an undeclared war on ethnic Tamils.

Speaking at a funeral for four insurgents killed last week in a suicide attack on a government navy patrol boat, senior rebel leader K.V. Balakumaran on Monday accused the military of deliberately targeting Tamil civilians.

"Our people are being blatantly victimized in an undeclared war by the Sri Lanka government armed forces and paramilitaries," Balakumaran said according to pro-rebel Web site TamilNet.

The government has denied targeting civilians, saying its actions were defensive and blamed the Tigers for the surging violence.

In another development, former Tamil Tigers now part of a breakaway group appear to be carrying out attacks and extortion in Sri Lanka's north and probably have army backing, despite denials, international truce monitors say.

The government denies any links to the so-called Karuna group, but the Tigers appear to have retaliated for attacks by ambushing the army. The rebels say Karuna killings must stop before they will come to peace talks.

"I firmly believe that Karuna is going around this area," said Jouni Suninen, head of the district office of the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) in the northern town of Vavuniya.

"We have eyewitnesses who tell us they have seen Karunas around. I cannot see how they could be operating here without the support of the army," Suninen said.

Former eastern Tiger commander Colonel Karuna Amman split from the mainstream Tamil Tigers in 2004, taking control of much of their eastern territories, but was swiftly pushed out by a Tiger offensive.

His group says they have attacked the rebels in the east, but not the north.

A senior Karuna aide and member of his fledgling political party, the TMVP, said there was no truth to the SLMM reports.

Karuna's powerbase is seen as his home area in eastern Sri Lanka, where the group says it has camps. The government says they are in uncontrolled jungle areas, while the Tigers say they are clearly next to army installations.

(http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/world/archives/2006/05/17/2003308600)

Karuna group has army backing: Lanka monitors

Vavuniya (Sri Lanka), May 16: Former Tamil Tigers now part of a breakaway group appear to be carrying out attacks and extortion in Sri Lanka’s north and probably have army backing, despite denials, international truce monitors say.The government denies any links to the so-called Karuna group, but the Tigers appear to have retaliated for attacks by ambushing the army. The rebels say Karuna killings must stop before they will come to peace talks.

“I firmly believe that Karuna is going around this area,” said Mr Jouni Suninen, head of the district office of the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission in the northern town of Vavuniya.

“We have eyewitnesses who tell us they have seen Karunas around. I cannot see how they could be operating here without the support of the army.”

The monitors will not give details of individual cases for fear the victims could be tracked down and killed.

Former eastern Tiger commander Col Karuna Amman split from the mainstream Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam rebels in 2004, taking control of much of their eastern territories, but was swiftly pushed out by a Tiger offensive.

His group says they have attacked the rebels in the east, but not the north.

A senior Karuna aide and member of his fledgling political party, the TMVP, said there was no truth to the SLMM reports.

“We don’t have any military activities in that area,” he said, denying the group had any support from the military.

Karuna’s powerbase is seen as his home area in eastern Sri Lanka, where the group says it has camps. The government says they are in uncontrolled jungle areas, while the Tigers say they are clearly next to army installations.

The Vavuniya monitors, who track violations of a 2002 cease-fire despite recent violence, say they are confident they have evidence. They say they believe Karuna’s men are operating from army camps and carrying out attacks behind rebel lines.

“We have eyewitnesses telling us that they are based in army camps,” said Mr Suninen.

The government’s reluctance to stop Karuna attacks is seen as a key reason the Tigers pulled indefinitely out of peace talks last month. Violence has since risen sharply and the SLMM says Sri Lanka is now in a low intensity war with the LTTE.

The monitors say both Karuna and the mainstream Tigers are using threats to extract money from local business leaders — but that Karuna members demand more money and have a greater tendency to kill if they do not get it.

Grenades are thrown at the houses of those who refuse to pay, they say, and then the businessmen are kidnapped and sometimes killed. Officials say 10 businessmen have been killed in the last three months in Vavuniya.

The local district judge says he has used court orders to block what he believes are Karuna bank accounts in the eastern towns of Ampara and Trincomalee used in extortion cases.

Local police say they know extortion is taking place, but that they believe Karuna only operates in the east.

“There are a lot of Tamil groups asking for money,” said senior superintendent, Mr J Abeysririgunawardena. “The businessmen in the community, they know the groups. But they are not coming to us.”

(http://www.navhindtimes.com/stories.php?part=news&Story_ID=051745)

Tigers, civilians see more attacks in north Sri Lanka

MANKULAM, Sri Lanka - Glancing nervously into the jungle as they secure the main road north, Tamil Tiger fighters say they believe they are already at war and that government troops are operating behind their lines.

International truce monitors say a string of attacks in Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) territory -- yet more ceasefire violations as violence on both sides becomes what the monitors term a “low intensity war” -- suggest that the rebels could be right. The army denies the charge.

Most analysts say it was the rebels who began the cycle of violence with a series of attacks on troops, but the Tigers blame the government.

“The government has started an unofficial war with the LTTE and we want to face them,” said Tiger fighter Shankar, one of a group of rebels guarding the A9 highway north through the rebel de facto state. “Our commander has advised us that if the government attacks LTTE cadres, we should retaliate immediately.”

Asked if he wanted peace or war, standing next to the rough corrugated iron camp he shares with around 10 other fighters, he said in Tamil: “We like war”.

The Tigers have fought for two decades for a separate Tamil homeland, evolving from a small group of young men to one of the world’s most feared guerrilla armies, 10,000-20,000 strong with powerful naval and Black Tiger suicide bomber wings.

United Nations agency UNICEF says some are abducted as children against the wishes of their parents, but most fighters say they are volunteers. They say they will bite into cyanide capsules dangling around their necks rather than surrender.

Since a 2002 ceasefire, Sri Lanka’s two-decade civil war has been halted. But since early April more than 270 people have died as naval battles, ambushes, murders and air strikes have led to many concluding that the island is once again at war.

Shankar says he believes Sri Lankan troops from wartime Deep Penetration Units are again operating behind rebel territory, launching hit-and-run attacks on fighters and civilians living in the one-seventh of the island under Tiger control.

Behind rebel lines

The Nordic-staffed Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) office in the northern town of Vavuniya says it has recorded at least seven attacks in rebel areas, including several on civilians. They believe military patrols are working alongside anti-Tiger Tamil armed groups.

“We believe that the Sri Lankan army and Tamil armed groups are operating behind LTTE lines,” said truce monitor Bernt Gulbrandesen. “There are so many incidents it has to be an organised thing.”

The Tigers say the first attack on them in rebel territory was a claymore fragmentation mine ambush on a rebel political wing leader in January, during a spike in violence that preceded a first round of peace talks in Switzerland.

That followed a string of claymore attacks on the military that were widely blamed on the rebels.

As the number of incidents soars, many civilians say they fear army attacks. But more than that, they fear aerial bombing.

The first official government strikes on the Tigers came in April after a suicide attack on an army headquarters in Colombo. The government hit the rebel heartland near their northern headquarters of Kilinochchi last week for the first time.

The Tigers say no one was hurt, but their persistent refusal to grant truce monitors access has raised suspicions that their fledgling air force headquarters might have been hit.

In Kilinochchi town itself, where many buildings were flattened by bombs and shells during the war, life is getting back to normal. But few civilians share fighter Shankar’s enthusiasm for more conflict.

“I think war has come,” said 67-year-old Subramaniyam Palaniamma, selling baskets in the marketplace. “We believe the bombs will come back. All of us are living in fear.”

(http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticleNew.asp?xfile=data/subcontinent/2006/May/subcontinent_May529.xml&section=subcontinent)

One LTTE cadre killed, 2 LTTE, 4 SLA troopers wounded

A Liberation Tigers woman cadre, Yalisai, was killed when Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers who moved beyond the no-man zone at Palamodai, north of Vavuniya, attacked an LTTE Forward Defence Line (FDL) around 2:30 p.m. Tuesday. Later, two LTTE cadres were wounded in Jaffna district when SLA soldiers attacked the FDL of the Tigers at Kandalkadu, located near Eluthumadduval between Nagarkovil and Muhamalai in Jaffna district, around 5:45 p.m., according to LTTE sources in Kilinochchi. Direct clash between the SLA troops and the Tigers erupted after the incident. Four SLA soldiers were wounded, according to SLA sources in Jaffna.

The Liberation Tigers have lodged a complaint on the incident with the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM), LTTE sources in Kilinochchi said.

The wounded SLA soldiers were rushed to Palaly military hospital.

(http://www.tamilnet.com/art.html?catid=13&artid=18160)

Claymore blast kills STF elite trooper in Thirukovil

A Special Task Force (STF) elite trooper was killed when a claymore mine exploded around 8.30 a.m., Wednesday. The blast targettet STF foot patrol along the Main Street in Thirukovil, Kalmunai Police sources said.

The STF personnel, Mr.Dharmaretna was seriously injured in the blast and succumbed to injuries while he was being taken to the Amparai general hospital, the sources said.

Sri Lankan Government troops immediately cordoned off the area and conducted a search operation, police sources said.

It is not known if any arrests were made.

(http://www.tamilnet.com/art.html?catid=13&artid=18168)

On a bloody front, S.Lanka troops want to hit back by Peter Apps

ALPHA COMPANY STRONG POINT, Sri Lanka, May 14 (Reuters) - Standing by the bloody dust where he says two of his men were shot dead by Tamil Tiger rebels, Sri Lankan Army Lieutenant-Colonel Kumar Wijenayake knows what he wants to do.

He wants to send out his soldiers from their positions some 200 metres (yards) from Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) territory to flush out rebel fighters he believes crept across no-man's land to kill his men.

Nordic truce monitors say Sri Lanka and the Tigers have already resumed a low intensity war, but the government says it is limiting itself to tactical retaliation and under the terms of a 2002 truce that still holds on paper at least, Wijenayake must hold back.

"I am a military man, not a politician," he says, wearing a sweat and dust-stained khaki t-shirt and with a pistol stuck in the belt of his combat trousers. "I think we should take more aggressive action. The enemy is attacking us, we should attack back."

Diplomats say a lack of compromises on both sides led to the island's peace process stalling. More than 270 people have been killed since early April and talks have been postponed indefinitely. The recent violence looks a lot like periods of the island's two-decade civil war.

On Saturday, violence came to Wijenayake's battalion for the first time with a hit-and-run attack around the front line they hold just north of the town of Vavuniya.

The position is near an ethnic Tamil village abandoned during the war. The majority Sinhalese soldiers do not remember its name. They only know it as the strong point held by Alpha Company, 10th Battalion, Sri Lankan Light Infantry (SLLI).

The troops say three or four rebel fighters crept up on the position in the late morning, picking their way through old wartime minefields. They lay in the brush, watching one of the most exposed sections of the front.

Eventually, two SLLI soldiers on patrol came into view. The suspected rebels fired bursts with AK47 assault rifles. The troops fired back, but the attackers escaped.

YEARNING TO RETALIATE

A bullet through the head killed one soldier instantly. His colleague died later from wounds to the chest and head. Reuters saw the bodies in the hospital morgue, still in tattered fatigues with blood drying on the tiled floor beneath the slabs.

The Tigers deny being behind most recent attacks on the military, but few believe them. The rebels say it is the government that has pushed the country to the fringes of war.

Firing across the front line has become increasingly common, as have increasingly serious naval clashes and government air strikes on rebel territory. Each side blames the other, and both say the ceasefire still holds.

For Lieutenant-Colonel Wijenayake, it is not that clear.

"Morale is OK," he told Reuters, strain clearly visible on the faces of his men as they nervously scanned the jungle. "But because of the ceasefire agreement, we cannot dominate the area. We cannot act in an offensive manner as we were trained."

The monitors say there is no doubt the rebels are hitting the military, but they also believe members of the armed forces are retaliating by killing Tamil civilians. The military denies the charge.

Kanagaratnam Pushparani's niece was shot dead within 60 metres of an army position on another area of the front line near Vavuniya. The girl's sister was a Tiger fighter, and truce monitors say signs of army involvement in the killing are too strong to ignore.

"I strongly believe the army was involved in this killing," she told Reuters in Tamil. "This girl was innocent. She did nothing. The immediate family has gone to the LTTE area. They were so afraid."

(http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/COL282514.htm)

Wednesday, May 10, 2006

LTTE Tax Collectors at Chunnakam Market Nabbed

adres belonging to the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, who functioned as Tax Collectors at the Chunnakam Market, one of the biggest vegetable markets in the Jaffna peninsula, was arrested by the Sri Lanka Army and Police.

The security forces assisted by policeman arrested 6 men, suspected to be the members of the LTTE from the Chunnakam market in Jaffna on Tuesday (09) while they were collecting extortions from vendors inside the market, Sri Lanka Army website revealed.

A search conducted afterwards by the Security Forces was able to detect a receipt book and a collection of Rs 15,000 in cash.

The Security Forces handed them over to the Manipay Police station for further investigations.

(http://www.asiantribune.com/index.php?q=node/31)

Is Cyber trekking of the LTTE at optimum? by Thanuka

According to a scholar on terrorism, most of the planning and coordination of 9/11 attack was conducted through internet and the FBI Director Ronald Dick was quoted as saying “The hijackers had used internet and used it well”.

It was way back in 1997 the LTTE hacked into Sheffield University computer system to send their propaganda for fund raising. This was done so covertly with the legitimate user IDs and passwords of some academics of the university.

One year later, the LTTE swamped a specific number of Sri Lankan missions abroad with nearly 1000 e-mails a day over a period of two-weeks.

LTTE in fact admitted the offence stating in the Email that " Internet Black Tigers are doing this to disrupt communications."

Wikipedia defines Cyber-terrorism as use of computers and information technology, particularly the Internet, to cause harm or severe disruption to others with the aim of advancing attacker's own political or religious goals. This implies that individuals or groups can use the anonymity afforded by cyberspace to threaten citizens, specific groups, communities and entire countries.

This definition does not seem to cover the subject area adequately. A better definition is offered by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. They specify that “cyber terrorism is the premeditated, politically motivated attack against information, computer systems, computer programs, and data which result in violence against non combatant targets by sub national groups or clandestine agents.”

Literature also suggests that ‘terrorists may be classified as cyber terrorists whether they solely rely on cyber terrorism to further their cause, or whether they use cyber terrorism in addition to other more conventional forms of terrorism’. That completes both definitions as Cyber terrorism has become a real threat because of a) its own sophistication and dynamics, b) dependence of financial institutions, production facilities, and government functions on computer technology and c) the vulnerability of economies that are increasingly dependent on electronic transactions.

Some argue that the term cyber terrorism simply does not exist because the worst that can happen on the computer is information warfare and hacking which could be classified as a crime and not terrorism. The terrorism label is said to be inappropriately heavy due to its improbability of creating fear of real physical harm or death among people using electronic means.

The need arose to define cyber terrorism with hate websites and hate emails, intrusion into sensitive computer networks gaining momentum. In order to deal with this global phenomenon of the abuse of computers and the Internet, an international convention, backed by national legislations, was needed.

In a case where in 1996, a computer hacker allegedly associated with the White Supremacist movement successfully disabled a US based Internet Service Provider and temporarily damaged part of its record keeping system. This was not identified as cyber terrorism as the intention of the attacker was not to further any political, social, religious, ideological goal.

In 1998, Institute for Global Communications (IGC) was bombarded with thousands of bogus e-mail messages sent by protestors against IGC’s hosting of the web-site for the Euskal Herria Journal supporting Basque independence. IGC had to give in and pull the site. This was considered an act of terrorism as the normal activities of the ISP in cyber space had been disrupted by using a pre planned methodology and the intention of the attackers was to further a political objective.

‘Cyber Terrorism and Information Warfare’ authored by Michael Vatis sheds light to cyber terrorism from Governments’ perspective. One is to use the system for disseminating propaganda. LTTE is one organisation that uses the information and cyber technology for dissemination of propaganda. Vatis says the Internet is used for fund raising. Once again the LTTE is leading in that. Internet transactions are found to be much easier for some members of Diaspora to contribute.

Intelligence gathering is another use in cyber technology. To what extent the LTTE is using cyber technology for intelligence gathering, such as hacking individual electronic mail and entering classified data bases etc, is not ascertained, not because it is not important, it is because there are no avenues to tap such information. Hacking has become technically possible and all that the hacker has to do is to download onto computers automated hacking scripts. And one needs is to put in a target, click on a button, and launch the automated script against your intended target or list of targets.

Vatis says ‘terrorists can communicate with their co-conspirators around the world’. Indeed so and the cost would be minimal. Communication is effective. The communication is well secured ‘outside the eyes and ears of government, law enforcement, or security agencies’. LTTE is one group that has exploited this global facility to its utmost.

But how big is the LTTE cyber threat?. This is not assessed. What is known is that LTTE has used cyber attacks on Sri Lankan government sites and also to hack into web sites to alter and send political propaganda. Some people refer to that as the first known instance of cyber-terrorism. But the facts are still far from knowledge as to how much they are using the cyber space for their own development.

The study ‘ E-fying terrorism’ carried out by Ranga Kalansooriya in 2004 was aimed at identifying the electronic face of terrorist and politically violent groups and to evaluate the campaign strategies that they have adopted through their e-outlets.

Kalansooriya described in his study how rebels who were fighting in the jungles or deserts, brought battle into the cyber world. He elaborated that ‘technology has always been a tool of advantage for terrorism since its inception, and the internet – Information Technology (IT) in particular – added new dimension to their strategies, tactics and operations’.

He identified that organizations such as Zapatista of Mexico and LTTE of Sri Lanka as local rebel groups with international reach and they have a significant presence on Internet with the aims of propaganda and fund raising. LTTE in particular, expanded its campaign into the World Wide Web during the very inception of the IT boom. LTTE naturally caters to international audiences including the ethnic Diaspora community.

Kalansooriya’s study brings out the point that contents of rebel websites will never admit that they are engaged in ‘terrorism’ or violence against unarmed civilians. Instead the propaganda will justify as it is the only available option to ‘liberate their peoples from the oppression. ‘ E-fying terrorism’ study when completed in 2004, had predicted that LTTE will be in full force on the web with dozes of websites, supported by other sympathetic and individual web pages catering to the Diaspora and their home countries.

The Sri Lankan Government eventually realised the extent of cyber threat of the LTTE, but any possible counter strategy and methodologies had fallen way short of requirement. LTTE activities have always been driven by commitment while the Government has no such aptitude.

Prof Jeganathan of the University of Chicago, referring to the Tamil Diaspora and Eelam websites stated that these websites "preserve the form of the nation as territory for the LTTE and those who want to believe in its mission". He said that the Pro LTTE Tamil viewers whether they are in the US or in Australia, the Eelam is real, not as a place but as an image although they have no intention of returning to Sri Lanka.

That is the key appoint and the strength that LTTE will carry for the next few decades with or without Prabhakaran. Pro LTTE Tamils argued that propaganda cannot be considered cyber terrorism as politically, each group has a right to express its appeals whoever they are targeting their propaganda at. Such propaganda will invariably have a provision for fund raising.

The anti LTTE factions are trying hard to express the way LTTE is using cyber space and recently accused Pottu Amman for launching sites including www.nitharsanam.com to put out threats, intimidations, hate e-mails, spam, and viruses. They also complain that LTTE operatives exert pressure on the web hosting companies in Europe and North America with the threat that court action will be taken if anti-LTTE stories are not removed.

It is reported that LTTE’s websites nitharsanam, neruppu etc are registered with go-daddy. This company has responded to the complaints stating that they are not expected to judge the alleged illegal activities. This could be true as there is only a thin line between propaganda and disinformation which the legislators can hardly fathom out.

LTTE is using the cyber system for networking among their fronts and cover organisations. The efficiency and cost saving on cyber networking has been immense. Procurement by the KP department has been heavily dependent upon cyber communication that always operate beyond detection.

Nonetheless the LTTE will continue to believe in bullets than bytes. For LTTE the cyber communication has been complementary to their primary activities. It is unlikely therefore that LTTE will resort to high scale acts that can be theoretically identifid as cyber-terrorism as they have attempted in the past.

(http://www.dailymirror.lk/2006/05/11/opinion/01.asp)