..Make all Sri Lankan women wear clothing that makes it impossible to conceal bombs.
Here are our in house counter-terrorism expert's recommendations
These two suicide bombers were neutralized by the Lankaenews folks...
Sunday, January 27, 2008
43 TERRAS DOWN, FEWER TO GO
Our boy is ready, willing and waiting...
Sri Lankan forces eliminated 43 Tamill tiger terrorists in a day's work.
The world is a better place today.
[Source: AFP's website. Sentiments mine.]
Friday, January 25, 2008
THEY COME TO SRI LANKA TO LEARN FROM US..
...YET CLAIM TO BE HERE TO TEACH US...
Sri Lankan military's successes against the world's deadliest terror outfit has not gone unnoticed at a time when the world's mightiest military powers are struggling against lesser groups. As much as there was increased military training and cooperation between the US, India, UK, Israel and a host of other nations and Sri Lanka which led to improved military capabilities of the latter, Sri Lankan successes in the war have created a great learning opportunity for the western nations struggling against their own problems.
Currently there are many of these same nations studying Sri Lanka's handling of the war against the Tamil Tiger terrorists and also hiring many of our retiring Special Forces troops as contractors for military missions in Iraq and Afghanistan. Yet, we never hear of the western forces learn from us, as this article clearly shows;
"...In Sri Lanka, one of the more successful units of the army are the "Deep Penetration Units," that go into rebel territory to collect information, and destroy rebel morale and combat power. These are Long Range Recon Patrol (LRRPs). They belong to the Sri Lankan Special Force Regiment, which was established in 1986, as one of many military reforms aimed at dealing with a rebellion by the Tamil minority (18 percent of the population). The Tamils were better organized, and developed a deadly terrorist organization, as well as a strong force of irregulars. The war has been going on since the 1970s, and over 70,000 have died so far.
A LRRP unit, of a hundred or so men, was organized in the 1990s. The units existence and the names of those in it, were kept secret. That's because the LTTE (the Tamil rebel organization) was expert at hunting down and assassinating anyone they wanted (including heads of state and senior military commanders.) Initial operations of the LRRPs were very successful, but LTTE spies found out about the LRRP unit, and who was in it. About 80 members of the LRRP unit were subsequently killed by the LTTE, and the LRRP unit was disbanded. But in the last few years, the LRRP unit, known then, and now, as the "Mahasohon Brigade" has been reformed and is back in action.
Sri Lanka has several Special Forces type units. There are three Army Commando Regiments, three Army Special Forces Regiments (SF), the Navy Special Boat Squadron (SBS), the Air Force Special Force and the Police Special Task Force. All of these are small organizations, full of carefully selected men (and a few women), who train hard, and are usually found heavily involved whenever there is a successful operation against the LTTE. There are no more than 5,000 Special Forces troops, plus some support personnel. The "Mahasohon Brigade" is part of the 3rd Special Forces Regiment. In the last five years, India and the United States has sent many of their own Special Forces troops to Sri Lanka to help train their Sri Lankan counterparts..."
[ http://www.strategypage.com/dls/articles/200791921302.asp ]
Sri Lankan military's successes against the world's deadliest terror outfit has not gone unnoticed at a time when the world's mightiest military powers are struggling against lesser groups. As much as there was increased military training and cooperation between the US, India, UK, Israel and a host of other nations and Sri Lanka which led to improved military capabilities of the latter, Sri Lankan successes in the war have created a great learning opportunity for the western nations struggling against their own problems.
Currently there are many of these same nations studying Sri Lanka's handling of the war against the Tamil Tiger terrorists and also hiring many of our retiring Special Forces troops as contractors for military missions in Iraq and Afghanistan. Yet, we never hear of the western forces learn from us, as this article clearly shows;
"...In Sri Lanka, one of the more successful units of the army are the "Deep Penetration Units," that go into rebel territory to collect information, and destroy rebel morale and combat power. These are Long Range Recon Patrol (LRRPs). They belong to the Sri Lankan Special Force Regiment, which was established in 1986, as one of many military reforms aimed at dealing with a rebellion by the Tamil minority (18 percent of the population). The Tamils were better organized, and developed a deadly terrorist organization, as well as a strong force of irregulars. The war has been going on since the 1970s, and over 70,000 have died so far.
A LRRP unit, of a hundred or so men, was organized in the 1990s. The units existence and the names of those in it, were kept secret. That's because the LTTE (the Tamil rebel organization) was expert at hunting down and assassinating anyone they wanted (including heads of state and senior military commanders.) Initial operations of the LRRPs were very successful, but LTTE spies found out about the LRRP unit, and who was in it. About 80 members of the LRRP unit were subsequently killed by the LTTE, and the LRRP unit was disbanded. But in the last few years, the LRRP unit, known then, and now, as the "Mahasohon Brigade" has been reformed and is back in action.
Sri Lanka has several Special Forces type units. There are three Army Commando Regiments, three Army Special Forces Regiments (SF), the Navy Special Boat Squadron (SBS), the Air Force Special Force and the Police Special Task Force. All of these are small organizations, full of carefully selected men (and a few women), who train hard, and are usually found heavily involved whenever there is a successful operation against the LTTE. There are no more than 5,000 Special Forces troops, plus some support personnel. The "Mahasohon Brigade" is part of the 3rd Special Forces Regiment. In the last five years, India and the United States has sent many of their own Special Forces troops to Sri Lanka to help train their Sri Lankan counterparts..."
[ http://www.strategypage.com/dls/articles/200791921302.asp ]
BYE-BYE TERRORISM...LET THE WORLD LEARN FROM US
In stepped-up fighting, Sri Lankan security forces gunned down at least 43 Tamil Tigers and lost seven soldiers in the island's restive north, where the Air Force jets today raided an LTTE transport base in the rebel-dominated Kilinochchi area.
The aerial raid targeted the LTTE base located at two kms southwest of the depot junction in Selvanagar in Kilinochchi, the Defence Ministry said.
[http://www.hindustantimes.com ]
The aerial raid targeted the LTTE base located at two kms southwest of the depot junction in Selvanagar in Kilinochchi, the Defence Ministry said.
[http://www.hindustantimes.com ]
Thursday, January 24, 2008
THE TURKEY SHOOT CONTINUES..
THEY CALL THEM SELVES TIGERS, BUT WHEN FACED WITH REAL WAR, THEY DIE LIKE RATS...
At least 23 LTTE militants and a soldier were killed in fresh fighting between Tamil Tiger rebels and Sri Lankan security forces in the island nation's embattled north, the army said on Thursday. While three militants were killed in Muhamale, one LTTE cadre was gunned down in the same area on Wednesday, it said. In the third incident at Muhamale in Jaffna Peninsula, two rebels were killed in clashes on Wednesday, the army said.
Separately two militants were killed in Kilaly Jaffna on Wednesday after the army smashed their bunker hideouts, it said. Meanwhile, the army handed over nine bodies of LTTE militants killed in confrontations in Vavuniya recently to the International Red Cross Committee officials yesterday, the army said, adding the bodies included those of two female LTTE cadres. At Kallikulam in Northern Vavuniya, troops launched an attack targeting a group of LTTE militants, killing one rebel on Wednesday, it said. In an ambush, army killed eight LTTE militants in Kokkuthuduvai in North-east Welioya in two separate incidents on Wednesday, it said. Later in the same area, the army said it killed two militants in another attack on Wednesday.
[http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com ]
At least 23 LTTE militants and a soldier were killed in fresh fighting between Tamil Tiger rebels and Sri Lankan security forces in the island nation's embattled north, the army said on Thursday. While three militants were killed in Muhamale, one LTTE cadre was gunned down in the same area on Wednesday, it said. In the third incident at Muhamale in Jaffna Peninsula, two rebels were killed in clashes on Wednesday, the army said.
Separately two militants were killed in Kilaly Jaffna on Wednesday after the army smashed their bunker hideouts, it said. Meanwhile, the army handed over nine bodies of LTTE militants killed in confrontations in Vavuniya recently to the International Red Cross Committee officials yesterday, the army said, adding the bodies included those of two female LTTE cadres. At Kallikulam in Northern Vavuniya, troops launched an attack targeting a group of LTTE militants, killing one rebel on Wednesday, it said. In an ambush, army killed eight LTTE militants in Kokkuthuduvai in North-east Welioya in two separate incidents on Wednesday, it said. Later in the same area, the army said it killed two militants in another attack on Wednesday.
[http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com ]
Monday, January 21, 2008
FEAR THIS - WHEVER TAMIL TIGER SYMPATHIZERS LIVE
Those who support the so called Tamil cause are responsible for what is seen here; the first and only recording of a real life suicide bombing. In this case the target was a moderate tamil politician in Sri Lanka, and the attacker is a Tamil Tiger woman cadre.
Sunday, January 20, 2008
LTTE: Diminishing options and assets
"Prabakaran has shown again and again a tendency to lift huge boulders and drop them on his own feet. He started his career as the well-heard voice of the Sri Lankan Tamil cause. He seems destined to fade into history as its curse."
A great article by B.Raman
http://lankaguardian.blogspot.com/2008/01/ltte-diminishing-options-assets.html
A great article by B.Raman
http://lankaguardian.blogspot.com/2008/01/ltte-diminishing-options-assets.html
Monday, January 14, 2008
SRI LANKA HAS THE RIGHT TO TAKE ACTION AGAINST TERRORISM
...AND SO SAYS THE INDIAN EXTERNAL AFFAIRS MINISTER.
Such is the shameful existance of the small nations today. we live at the mercy of our bigger powers near and far, and cannot even defend ourselves without their approval, whether overt or covert.
In any case, the comments by Minister Pranab Mukherjee make a number of facts quite obvious. Chiefly among them is the most important, India's complete yet silent agreement for a comprehensive military strategy by the Sri Lankan government to marginalize the racist Tamil Tigers. However the Sri Lankans need to understand that once the intransigent Tigers have been beaten down with the blood and the guts of our sons and daughters, the Indians are more than likely to attempt to force their will upon Sri Lanka, in the guise of a humanitarian effort towards political settlement. This is the reason why the present day Sri Lankan politicians of all shades and colors need to unite to formulate a dignified settlement within which the nation can find a unified identity for all its people.
Here's an extract of Minister Mukherjee's interview;
"...Sri Lanka is well within its right to take action against terrorists, but the government should also continue efforts to arrive at a solution to the problem of ethnic minorities, including the Tamils, External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee has said.
Mukherjee has refused to criticise Sri Lanka for abrogating the ceasefire pact with the LTTE, saying that India was "not party to it (the ceasefire agreement)".
[Source: www.hindustantimes.com]
Such is the shameful existance of the small nations today. we live at the mercy of our bigger powers near and far, and cannot even defend ourselves without their approval, whether overt or covert.
In any case, the comments by Minister Pranab Mukherjee make a number of facts quite obvious. Chiefly among them is the most important, India's complete yet silent agreement for a comprehensive military strategy by the Sri Lankan government to marginalize the racist Tamil Tigers. However the Sri Lankans need to understand that once the intransigent Tigers have been beaten down with the blood and the guts of our sons and daughters, the Indians are more than likely to attempt to force their will upon Sri Lanka, in the guise of a humanitarian effort towards political settlement. This is the reason why the present day Sri Lankan politicians of all shades and colors need to unite to formulate a dignified settlement within which the nation can find a unified identity for all its people.
Here's an extract of Minister Mukherjee's interview;
"...Sri Lanka is well within its right to take action against terrorists, but the government should also continue efforts to arrive at a solution to the problem of ethnic minorities, including the Tamils, External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee has said.
Mukherjee has refused to criticise Sri Lanka for abrogating the ceasefire pact with the LTTE, saying that India was "not party to it (the ceasefire agreement)".
[Source: www.hindustantimes.com]
Sunday, January 13, 2008
FBI - TAMING THE TAMIL TIGERS, FROM HERE IN THE USA
An interesting article on the front page of the Federal Bureau of Investigations, on the FBI's on going anti-terror efforts aimed agianst the Tamil Tigers sheds the light on how seriously the terror threat is considered by the United States.
I have seen many Sri Lankan commentators assuming a changed political attitude towards the Tamil Tigers from the US in the event of a democrat such as Hillary Clinton becoming the next President. While it is mostly wishful thinking to assume a complete change of perspective from the entire US polity towards the well documented horrific terrorism of the Tamil Tigers anyway, there is even less possibility of a change of policy from the FBI towards the terror group, since the FBI has historically remained an institution of law enforcement which has excercised independence from political interference. This article should shed relief to the many millions of concerned Sri Lankans who have worried about the Tamil Tiger terrorists being awarded free-reign to raise funds and enhance their destructive capabilities in the event of a Democratic President occupying the White House.
Following is an extract of the FBI article;
"
TAMING THE TAMIL TIGERS - From Here in the U.S.
01/10/08
As terrorist groups go, it has quite a résumé:
Perfected the use of suicide bombers;
Invented the suicide belt;
Pioneered the use of women in suicide attacks;
Murdered some 4,000 people in the past two years alone; and
Assassinated two world leaders—the only terrorist organization to do so.
No, it’s not al Qaeda or Hezbollah or even HAMAS. The group is called the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) or the Tamil Tigers for short.
Needless to say, the Tamil Tigers are among the most dangerous and deadly extremists in the world. For more than three decades, the group has launched a campaign of violence and bloodshed in Sri Lanka, the island republic off the southern coast of India.
Its ultimate goal: to seize control of the country from the Sinhalese ethnic majority and create an independent Tamil state. Along the way, it has launched suicide attacks, assassinated politicians (including a government minister this week and even the Sri Lankan President), taken hostages, and committed all of kinds of crimes to finance its operations. The resulting civil war has taken the lives of nearly 70,000 Sri Lankans on both sides of the conflict since 1983 alone.
Why should you care? Certainly because of the suffering and bloodshed that the Tamil Tigers have caused. And because its ruthless tactics have inspired terrorist networks worldwide, including al Qaeda in Iraq. But also because the group has placed operatives right here in our own backyard, discreetly raising money to fund its bloody terrorist campaign overseas, including purchases of weapons and explosives.
The U.S. government has designated the Tigers a foreign terrorist organization, so their activities here are illegal. And we’re determined to stop them, using the full range of our investigative and intelligence capabilities.
In April, for example, we struck an important blow when our Joint Terrorism Task Force in New York arrested the alleged U.S. director of the Tigers. The man supposedly held several fundraising events at a church and various public schools in Queens and in northern New Jersey in 2004. He is also accused of arranging high-level meetings between the group’s leaders and U.S. supporters.
We’ve also arrested another 11 Tamil Tiger-related suspects in the New York City region. And in Baltimore, following a multi-agency investigation, a pair of Indonesian men pled guilty and were sentenced recently for working with others to export surface to air missiles, state-of-the-art firearms, machine guns, and night vision goggles to the Tigers in Sri Lanka.
You can help by being careful with your donations. Like other terrorists, the Tigers have raised funds under a variety of cover organizations, often by posing as charities. A great deal of money, for example, was raised for the Tigers following the 2004 tsunami that devastated Sri Lanka and many other countries.
And please report any suspicious activities to your local field office or anonymously through this website.
[http://www.fbi.gov/page2/jan08/tamil_tigers011008.html]
I have seen many Sri Lankan commentators assuming a changed political attitude towards the Tamil Tigers from the US in the event of a democrat such as Hillary Clinton becoming the next President. While it is mostly wishful thinking to assume a complete change of perspective from the entire US polity towards the well documented horrific terrorism of the Tamil Tigers anyway, there is even less possibility of a change of policy from the FBI towards the terror group, since the FBI has historically remained an institution of law enforcement which has excercised independence from political interference. This article should shed relief to the many millions of concerned Sri Lankans who have worried about the Tamil Tiger terrorists being awarded free-reign to raise funds and enhance their destructive capabilities in the event of a Democratic President occupying the White House.
Following is an extract of the FBI article;
"
TAMING THE TAMIL TIGERS - From Here in the U.S.
01/10/08
As terrorist groups go, it has quite a résumé:
Perfected the use of suicide bombers;
Invented the suicide belt;
Pioneered the use of women in suicide attacks;
Murdered some 4,000 people in the past two years alone; and
Assassinated two world leaders—the only terrorist organization to do so.
No, it’s not al Qaeda or Hezbollah or even HAMAS. The group is called the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) or the Tamil Tigers for short.
Needless to say, the Tamil Tigers are among the most dangerous and deadly extremists in the world. For more than three decades, the group has launched a campaign of violence and bloodshed in Sri Lanka, the island republic off the southern coast of India.
Its ultimate goal: to seize control of the country from the Sinhalese ethnic majority and create an independent Tamil state. Along the way, it has launched suicide attacks, assassinated politicians (including a government minister this week and even the Sri Lankan President), taken hostages, and committed all of kinds of crimes to finance its operations. The resulting civil war has taken the lives of nearly 70,000 Sri Lankans on both sides of the conflict since 1983 alone.
Why should you care? Certainly because of the suffering and bloodshed that the Tamil Tigers have caused. And because its ruthless tactics have inspired terrorist networks worldwide, including al Qaeda in Iraq. But also because the group has placed operatives right here in our own backyard, discreetly raising money to fund its bloody terrorist campaign overseas, including purchases of weapons and explosives.
The U.S. government has designated the Tigers a foreign terrorist organization, so their activities here are illegal. And we’re determined to stop them, using the full range of our investigative and intelligence capabilities.
In April, for example, we struck an important blow when our Joint Terrorism Task Force in New York arrested the alleged U.S. director of the Tigers. The man supposedly held several fundraising events at a church and various public schools in Queens and in northern New Jersey in 2004. He is also accused of arranging high-level meetings between the group’s leaders and U.S. supporters.
We’ve also arrested another 11 Tamil Tiger-related suspects in the New York City region. And in Baltimore, following a multi-agency investigation, a pair of Indonesian men pled guilty and were sentenced recently for working with others to export surface to air missiles, state-of-the-art firearms, machine guns, and night vision goggles to the Tigers in Sri Lanka.
You can help by being careful with your donations. Like other terrorists, the Tigers have raised funds under a variety of cover organizations, often by posing as charities. A great deal of money, for example, was raised for the Tigers following the 2004 tsunami that devastated Sri Lanka and many other countries.
And please report any suspicious activities to your local field office or anonymously through this website.
[http://www.fbi.gov/page2/jan08/tamil_tigers011008.html]
Friday, January 11, 2008
An independent point of view on the war
The civil war in Sri Lanka turns 25 years old this July. With no end in sight to the conflict, the (mainly Sinhalese) Sri Lankan government recently stated that it would not renew the ceasefire agreements signed with the paramilitary Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), which were brokered by the Norwegian government in 2002. The LTTE reaffirmed its commitment to abide by the ceasefire, but anyone who has been near the island state during the last two years will realize that there has been anything but peace. To give some idea of the scale of the war, Sri Lanka in 2007 was the most dangerous country in the world for journalists after Iraq and Somalia. The ceasefire has been all but a laughable notion in recent times.
Unlike the recent events in Pakistan, this brutal civil war has barely hit the news networks outside Asia during the past quarter of a century. For this length of time, two different peoples have been fighting over an island that could fit comfortably into Scotland. It is a brutal and senseless conflict between two peoples for a motherland. The LTTE has demanded a separate state in the north and east of the country. In the meanwhile, they have subdued the area under their control with a mixture of fear and terror. Add to that their record of ethnic cleansing and their use of child soldiers and suicide bombers.
The Sri Lankan government on its part has resisted this movement with a mixture of incompetence and butchery. Noted for its casual use of rape and torture, the government has gone out of its way to scupper peace deals in order to maintain its grip on power and therefore money. Corruption reigns supreme in Sri Lanka with opulence for those that can afford it, while on the east of the island there are still people living in tents constructed with old rice bags, three years after the tsunami struck.
This is a war that has both sides using extreme views, encompassing religion, culture and dubious heritage claims, in order to justify their points of view. Some of the more extreme elements of Sinhalese society believe, almost fanatically, that the whole island of Sri Lanka is their rightful home. They argue that the Tamils have the state of Tamil Nadu in neighboring India to live in. The Tamils themselves are in the grip of a siege mentality and have left the island in droves, setting themselves up in countries such as Australia, Canada and Britain. As a result of their experiences, they supply funds for the "war effort" through remittances sent back home.
It is interesting how the recent ceasefire seemingly evaporated after the Boxing Day tsunami hit the island. Almost immediately, the two sides went back to killing each other. Initially the LTTE seemed to gain the upper hand with daring air raids on the country's only international airport in Colombo. However, as the latest break in the ceasefire continues, it seems that the government has the caught the LTTE on the break with the East being recaptured and the killing of prominent members. This has come at a huge price. Sri Lanka's army is now larger than the major powers of Australia or South Africa. The human cost has been devastating with an "official" figure of 68,000 dead since 1983 (nearly half being civilian casualties). The conflict has produced an unprecedented brain drain in a country that was once noted as a beacon of education in the Indian Ocean.
The saddest thing about Sri Lanka's civil war is the seemingly trivial way in which it began. The issue over language was one of the first acts by the Sri Lankan government that irked the Tamil people. Instead of choosing sensible policies that represented and nurtured the multicultural island, post-independent Ceylon took a path of divisive nationalism that eventually escalated with the burning of the culturally irreplaceable Jaffna Library. Seventeen years later, the LTTE would bomb the sacred Temple of the Tooth in Kandy as revenge for the burning.
The Sri Lankan war is about to get a lot worse before it gets any better. The army is now on the ascendant and President Mahinda Rajapaksa (ironically a former actor in the Tamil film industry of India) has made it his mission to quash the LTTE militarily. The LTTE on their part are too fanatical to cave in and, while tactically overwhelmed by the might of the government's forces, their experience in the field over the last 25 years means that they will not be defeated easily. As a result, thousands more will become needless casualties of this war. Atrocities will continue to be perpetrated by both sides and the misery looks set to carry on -- a tragedy given the optimism in 2002 at the then newly brokered ceasefire.
Even if the civil war were to end tomorrow, the reconciliation of the island would be nigh impossible. Firstly, there are too many guns in too many hands. It would mean that those who fought as Tigers would have to readjust as civilians and those in the Sri Lankan army being laid off and returning to a rural lifestyle. Economically, that would be unacceptable to either side and so the potential for banditry is there to be exploited. However, even ignoring the seemingly vast rebuilding of the infrastructure, what has been lost over the past generation has been the trust and sense of unity on the island. Despite their differences, the Sri Lankans are ethnically quite similar. Intermarriage has been a fact for many Sri Lankan families since the colonial era. Culturally, too, there is more in common than either side would like to admit. However, 25 years of war and hatred has left a deep scar upon the psyche of the nation. These two "brothers" have continuously fought over the same patch of grass, until all that has been left is a quagmire of mud.
[http://english.ohmynews.com/articleview/article_view.asp?article_class=&no=381444&rel_no=1]
Unlike the recent events in Pakistan, this brutal civil war has barely hit the news networks outside Asia during the past quarter of a century. For this length of time, two different peoples have been fighting over an island that could fit comfortably into Scotland. It is a brutal and senseless conflict between two peoples for a motherland. The LTTE has demanded a separate state in the north and east of the country. In the meanwhile, they have subdued the area under their control with a mixture of fear and terror. Add to that their record of ethnic cleansing and their use of child soldiers and suicide bombers.
The Sri Lankan government on its part has resisted this movement with a mixture of incompetence and butchery. Noted for its casual use of rape and torture, the government has gone out of its way to scupper peace deals in order to maintain its grip on power and therefore money. Corruption reigns supreme in Sri Lanka with opulence for those that can afford it, while on the east of the island there are still people living in tents constructed with old rice bags, three years after the tsunami struck.
This is a war that has both sides using extreme views, encompassing religion, culture and dubious heritage claims, in order to justify their points of view. Some of the more extreme elements of Sinhalese society believe, almost fanatically, that the whole island of Sri Lanka is their rightful home. They argue that the Tamils have the state of Tamil Nadu in neighboring India to live in. The Tamils themselves are in the grip of a siege mentality and have left the island in droves, setting themselves up in countries such as Australia, Canada and Britain. As a result of their experiences, they supply funds for the "war effort" through remittances sent back home.
It is interesting how the recent ceasefire seemingly evaporated after the Boxing Day tsunami hit the island. Almost immediately, the two sides went back to killing each other. Initially the LTTE seemed to gain the upper hand with daring air raids on the country's only international airport in Colombo. However, as the latest break in the ceasefire continues, it seems that the government has the caught the LTTE on the break with the East being recaptured and the killing of prominent members. This has come at a huge price. Sri Lanka's army is now larger than the major powers of Australia or South Africa. The human cost has been devastating with an "official" figure of 68,000 dead since 1983 (nearly half being civilian casualties). The conflict has produced an unprecedented brain drain in a country that was once noted as a beacon of education in the Indian Ocean.
The saddest thing about Sri Lanka's civil war is the seemingly trivial way in which it began. The issue over language was one of the first acts by the Sri Lankan government that irked the Tamil people. Instead of choosing sensible policies that represented and nurtured the multicultural island, post-independent Ceylon took a path of divisive nationalism that eventually escalated with the burning of the culturally irreplaceable Jaffna Library. Seventeen years later, the LTTE would bomb the sacred Temple of the Tooth in Kandy as revenge for the burning.
The Sri Lankan war is about to get a lot worse before it gets any better. The army is now on the ascendant and President Mahinda Rajapaksa (ironically a former actor in the Tamil film industry of India) has made it his mission to quash the LTTE militarily. The LTTE on their part are too fanatical to cave in and, while tactically overwhelmed by the might of the government's forces, their experience in the field over the last 25 years means that they will not be defeated easily. As a result, thousands more will become needless casualties of this war. Atrocities will continue to be perpetrated by both sides and the misery looks set to carry on -- a tragedy given the optimism in 2002 at the then newly brokered ceasefire.
Even if the civil war were to end tomorrow, the reconciliation of the island would be nigh impossible. Firstly, there are too many guns in too many hands. It would mean that those who fought as Tigers would have to readjust as civilians and those in the Sri Lankan army being laid off and returning to a rural lifestyle. Economically, that would be unacceptable to either side and so the potential for banditry is there to be exploited. However, even ignoring the seemingly vast rebuilding of the infrastructure, what has been lost over the past generation has been the trust and sense of unity on the island. Despite their differences, the Sri Lankans are ethnically quite similar. Intermarriage has been a fact for many Sri Lankan families since the colonial era. Culturally, too, there is more in common than either side would like to admit. However, 25 years of war and hatred has left a deep scar upon the psyche of the nation. These two "brothers" have continuously fought over the same patch of grass, until all that has been left is a quagmire of mud.
[http://english.ohmynews.com/articleview/article_view.asp?article_class=&no=381444&rel_no=1]
Thursday, January 10, 2008
Asian Centre for Human Rights
CHAMPIONING TERRORISTS' RIGHTS
The article published under the heading "Sri Lanka: Time for International Action" by the individual calling himself an institution under the heading of Asian Center for Human Rights, is yet again a cry to the world to provide a life line to the racist terrorist Tamil Tigers who have been waging a debilitating terror campaign with the intention of establishing a mono-ethnic dictatorship through systematic ethnic cleansing.
The report attempts to white wash the Tamil Tigers under the guise of a Human Rights report, by subtle mis-representation and outright distortion of fact to mislead the wider international community that still mistakenly tends to believe anything published under the banner of 'Human Rights' to be legitimate and therefore believable. The blatant lies and accusations made in several places in this article quite well demonstrates its ill intentions by deliberately misrepresenting and even conveniently manufacturing scenarios to justify an international intervention, obviously intended towards providing the world's most vicious terrorist organization, the Tamil Tigers, an opportunity to re-group and re-arm to carry out its genocidal campaign against all those who stand against its neo-Nazi clam for a mono-ethnic, autocratic homeland.
The following extracts from the article abundantly illustrate its hidden agenda;
"I. How did the CFA fail?
The Cease Fire Agreement signed in February 2002 has been repeatedly violated with impunity both by the Sri Lankan government and the LTTE. Indeed, no Sri Lankan government (led by the majority Singhalese) has shown any intention of resolving the problems of the ethnic Tamils so far. In March 2004 the then government of the United National Party (UNP) split the Karuna faction from the LTTE. The Sri Lankan government then began a proxy war with LTTE using the Karuna faction. The CFA was in tatters..."
In contrast, here are the facts;
From February 2002, the LTTE attempted to escalate the conflict by killing intelligence operatives of the government, indiscriminate bombings, assassination of political opponents etc. The following is an analysis of the figures released by SLMM at the very early stages of the CFA from February 2002 to August 2005.
• Total number of violations was 1514 out of which 1436 were committed by the LTTE and 78 by the GoSL. The percentage being LTTE- 95% and GoSL- 5%
• 58% of LTTE violations were comprised of child recruitment violations
• Total number of Offensive military operations related violations were 28 out of which 25 were committed by the LTTE whereas 3 were by the GoSL.
• The total percentage of Offensive military operations comprised of 89% LTTE 11% by the government
• 95% of the Restore to Normalcy related violations were committed by the LTTE whilst the GoSL was accountable for 5% of such violations.
[http://defencewire.blogspot.com/]
By its deliberate attempts to equate the Sri Lankan government response to unceasing attacks and assassinations by the Tamil Tigers against its military and political leaders, the ACHR demonstrates its intentions to mislead the readers into believing the combatants to be equally guilty of wrong-doing, when well documented facts dictate otherwise.
The article also attempts to pre-empt any accusations against one of the most suspect international covert supporters of Tamil Tiger terrorism.
"...The failure of the peace process underlines the inherent weaknesses in small country peace brokerage. Norway never had the necessary leverage in the peace process, nor is it ever likely to have. In Sri Lanka, Norway has been little more than a messenger..."
Norway, a nation perched a world apart from Sri Lanka, has been a suspect participant in the island nation's degeneration from a peaceful third world country with a stagnant economy, into a nation threatened by racial fragmentation and devastating war brutalizing generations of its people. Though successive Sri Lankan governments have failed to confront Norway, a powerful NATO nation in any international forum and call it what it truly is, a nation supporting terrorism against Sri Lanka while pretending to be her friend, majority of Sri Lankans distrust and hold them totally responsible for the horrific acts of terrorism the Tamil Tigers have been able to wage on Sri Lankan soil with impunity. Norway's involvement has often caused raised eye brows with many international observers of the conflict, yet never been addressed in the forums where they should justifiably be taken up. The article conveniently fails to illustrate the fact that to the majority of the 70,000 innocent Sri Lankan lives lost, Norway has been none less than a messenger of death.
In a deliberate attempts to hide the fact that its true intentions are to white wash the terrorist group, the writer makes a single blurb of acts committed by the LTTE, which are mere misdemeanors when compared to the abjectly horrifying list of mass scale atrocities committed by the terrorist group since the signing of the ill-conceived cease-fire agreement by the GoSL;
" The LTTE has also been responsible for violations of humanitarian law. On 2 January 2008, at least four persons including three civilians died and about 20 others injured when suspected LTTE exploded a bomb targeting a military bus in Colombo. [2] On 5 December 2007, at least 15 civilians died and 38 others were injured in a landmine attack allegedly by the LTTE on a crowded bus in northern Sri Lanka..."
What the ACHR deliberately fails to illustrate is that in the aftermath of the Cease-fire agreement, and following the granting of unrestricted administrative powers to the terrorist group by the then government, the LTTE embarked on a swift pogrom of carrying out systematic annihilation of all opponents to its vicious dictum, actual or suspect, by a campaign of torture and execution. Within the first year itself countless numbers of Tamils from the Northern and Eastern provinces were abducted into torture camps in which confessions were forcibly obtained and most summarily executed. Tamil militants who have since joined forces with the SLG since then claim the numbers to be in the thousands, while there is no verifiable system to account for these activities.
Some survivors of these torture and elimination campaigns have since been recruited by the Sri Lankan military and employed in covert operations behind LTTE lines. Once inducted into the LTTE areas, the Sri Lankan military exercises little or no control on these elements, whose psychological set up make them deadly warriors and yet extremely dangerous human beings. While the Sri Lankan military bears some responsibility for employing such elements in its military campaign, the fact that they are the creations of Tamil Tiger terrorism must be clearly recognized.
The ACHR also 'forgets' to point out that the Sri Lankan government continues to provide even food and all infra-structure facilities for the Tamil civilians currently held hostage in the Tamil Tiger dominated areas through international relief agencies such as the ICRC and UN. It also 'forgot' to point out the fact that the LTTE still continues to recruit and deploy more than 6,000 child combatants in its campaign of terrorism.
The ACHR article herein referred to can be found on;
Wednesday, January 9, 2008
SURPRISE CHECK MAKES ANOTHER ONE BITE THE DUST
A surprise check conducted by the Special Task Force Commandos in Batticaloa resulted in the elimination of another prized tamil tiger terrorist today. A terrorist intelligence operative known as 'Shankar' was cornered by and was later killed when he hurled a hand granade at the STF personnel. This individual is said to have been the leader appointed by the tamil tiger organization to disrupt civillian life in the Eastern Province.
As we have said earlier, searches backed by proper intel and conducted with professional efficiency will harness environmental synergies to yield higher gains.
As we have said earlier, searches backed by proper intel and conducted with professional efficiency will harness environmental synergies to yield higher gains.
Tuesday, January 8, 2008
THE JUDICIARY, CHECK POINTS AND NATIONAL SECURITY
The Judiciary, Check points and National Security..the list and the sequence says it all.
The Judiciary, which at times acts blind to the stark realities of terrorism devastating the nation, has yet again unfailingly contributed its two cents into the confounding mess which is the average Sri Lankan's daily life. It is true to some extent that the permanent check points may not be the most efficient way of countering modern day terrorism, neither is its economic cost easily justified. Yet, they have acted as a deterrent in many occasions, and the amount of death and devastation they may have prevented by simply being there, cannot be accounted for in any practical sense. Nevertheless as a democracy and a soveriegn nation, Sri Lanka needs to obey the dictum of its judiciary.
The permanent nature of the check points may easily have made them obsolete in more ways than one, since there's more than one way into Colombo and terrorists could easily transfer their lethal weapons into any secure area using their erstwhile collegues in the sympathetic political movements such as the TNA. I wonder whether the TNA ministers' vehicles are ever searched for contraband or weaponry. Most probabaly not, and that raises the interesting question as to when or how long it would take these folks to hatch a plot to slaughter the entire government heirarchy in one go at a common location such as the Parliament.
In any case, most permanent check points were a big yawn to most people, even though they quite well understood the necessity of it. Life at the check point was one which varied between the apologetic to aggressive search by new conscript type soldiers usually accompanied by one or two experienced sharp shooters while the average Sri Lankan commuter inconvenienced by it made an elaborate attempt to hide their frustration bordering on hostility, for the sake of getting thru the process as soon as possible.
While balancing the need to obey the Supreme Court orders against realistic national security concerns, the government security apparatus also needs to continually improve its operational strategies to deal with the evolving realities of the war situation. The Supreme Court ordering the removal of permanent check points conveniently shifts some of the responsibility away from the respective governmental security organizations. And that means there is now someone else to share the blame if something goes wrong, as it did today killing a government minister and also blowing up a telephone box near the Lake House.
Irrespective of what it appears to be superficially, the situation provides a valuable opportunity for the security forces to re-evaluate its operational strategy in this respect and adopt a more effective method of screening which will harness all environmental advatages towards achieving its objective. For instance, surprise check points which close off a road from the front and rear both while armed soldiers speedily scan thru the 'captive' population will garner greater attention and co-operation from the civillians who are alerted to the possibility of the presence of a real threat among them. This creates a situation starkly opposite to the usual situation currently encountered at permanent check points and could result in the development of a collaborative security consiousness between the civillian population and the armed services, instead of alienating them as it does now.
Let us hope our busy and brilliant military planners do not miss out on an opportunity to take advantage of the current events to improve their own performance effectiveness instead of making it an excuse to avoid blame for any future terrorist attacks.
The Judiciary, which at times acts blind to the stark realities of terrorism devastating the nation, has yet again unfailingly contributed its two cents into the confounding mess which is the average Sri Lankan's daily life. It is true to some extent that the permanent check points may not be the most efficient way of countering modern day terrorism, neither is its economic cost easily justified. Yet, they have acted as a deterrent in many occasions, and the amount of death and devastation they may have prevented by simply being there, cannot be accounted for in any practical sense. Nevertheless as a democracy and a soveriegn nation, Sri Lanka needs to obey the dictum of its judiciary.
The permanent nature of the check points may easily have made them obsolete in more ways than one, since there's more than one way into Colombo and terrorists could easily transfer their lethal weapons into any secure area using their erstwhile collegues in the sympathetic political movements such as the TNA. I wonder whether the TNA ministers' vehicles are ever searched for contraband or weaponry. Most probabaly not, and that raises the interesting question as to when or how long it would take these folks to hatch a plot to slaughter the entire government heirarchy in one go at a common location such as the Parliament.
In any case, most permanent check points were a big yawn to most people, even though they quite well understood the necessity of it. Life at the check point was one which varied between the apologetic to aggressive search by new conscript type soldiers usually accompanied by one or two experienced sharp shooters while the average Sri Lankan commuter inconvenienced by it made an elaborate attempt to hide their frustration bordering on hostility, for the sake of getting thru the process as soon as possible.
While balancing the need to obey the Supreme Court orders against realistic national security concerns, the government security apparatus also needs to continually improve its operational strategies to deal with the evolving realities of the war situation. The Supreme Court ordering the removal of permanent check points conveniently shifts some of the responsibility away from the respective governmental security organizations. And that means there is now someone else to share the blame if something goes wrong, as it did today killing a government minister and also blowing up a telephone box near the Lake House.
Irrespective of what it appears to be superficially, the situation provides a valuable opportunity for the security forces to re-evaluate its operational strategy in this respect and adopt a more effective method of screening which will harness all environmental advatages towards achieving its objective. For instance, surprise check points which close off a road from the front and rear both while armed soldiers speedily scan thru the 'captive' population will garner greater attention and co-operation from the civillians who are alerted to the possibility of the presence of a real threat among them. This creates a situation starkly opposite to the usual situation currently encountered at permanent check points and could result in the development of a collaborative security consiousness between the civillian population and the armed services, instead of alienating them as it does now.
Let us hope our busy and brilliant military planners do not miss out on an opportunity to take advantage of the current events to improve their own performance effectiveness instead of making it an excuse to avoid blame for any future terrorist attacks.
Sunday, January 6, 2008
CREDIT CARD TIGERS OF TAMIL E-LAM ARRESTED IN INDIA
Liberation Credit Card Tigers if Vanni E-lam who claim to liberate citizens of various nations from drastic economic prosperity by liberating their credit card balances were felicitated recently in India in grand style for their selfless and humanitarian activities.
Read more on this heart-warming story:
http://mawbima.blogspot.com/2008/01/indian-police-bust-tiger-credit-card.html
Read more on this heart-warming story:
http://mawbima.blogspot.com/2008/01/indian-police-bust-tiger-credit-card.html
Tuesday, January 1, 2008
MERV THE PERV DECLARES WAR ON ALL MEDIA
Merv the Perv, having had the beating of his life at the Rupavahini corporation, has now declared war on all media, and his henchmen are said to be assaulting media personnel of even unrelated institutions.
Here is a report by BBC Sandeshaya, of one such incident which had taken place in Kiribathgoda, the hometown of Merv the Perv.
"..Minister's thugs' assault VFM team
Minister Silva is often accused of assaulting and threatening journalists
Labour minister Mervyn Silva's supporters are accused of assaulting media workers in Kiribathgoda on Sunday night.
VFM News Manager Pradeep Anura Kumara told BBC Sandeshaya that a group led by minister's official assaulted VFM workers who were pasting posters to mark radio station's anniversary...
[More.. http://www.bbc.co.uk/sinhala/news/story/2007/12/071231_vfm_mervyn.shtml]
Here is a report by BBC Sandeshaya, of one such incident which had taken place in Kiribathgoda, the hometown of Merv the Perv.
"..Minister's thugs' assault VFM team
Minister Silva is often accused of assaulting and threatening journalists
Labour minister Mervyn Silva's supporters are accused of assaulting media workers in Kiribathgoda on Sunday night.
VFM News Manager Pradeep Anura Kumara told BBC Sandeshaya that a group led by minister's official assaulted VFM workers who were pasting posters to mark radio station's anniversary...
[More.. http://www.bbc.co.uk/sinhala/news/story/2007/12/071231_vfm_mervyn.shtml]
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