India should put a stop to activities of Tamil Tiger proxy TNA

Several leading Tamil political analysts and university dons expressed surprise at India’s attitude of tolerance towards Tamil National Alliance (TNA), which is a proxy of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), a terrorist organization banned in India. They said that it is a pity that India, instead of exposing these subversive elements, encourages them to mobilise Indian public opinion against the democratically elected government of Sri Lanka.

"How is it that India is tolerating anti Sri Lankan government campaign nurtured and conducted by TNA parliamentarians?" they asked. "New Delhi is well aware of the fact that TNA is a proxy political party of Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, which is a terrorist outfit that has been banned in India since 1992 and any direct or indirect help to TNA tantamount to helping the killers of Rajiv Gandhi."

The TNA parliamentarians are provided with visas to enter especially the state of Tamil Nadu and to conduct anti-Sri Lanka Government political activities. Since of late, TNA Parliamentarians with patronage from the Tamil Nadu state government are involved in planning and participating in protest rallies and campaigns against the Government of Sri Lanka. It is also alleged they are contributing huge amounts of money to various political parties as well as to numerous Tamil language dailies, weekly publication to carry their anti- Sri Lanka Government campaigns in Tamil Nadu.

"India should encourage Sri Lankan efforts to eliminate terrorists and to liberate the Northern Tamils from the grip of the LTTE," they pointed out. “Sri Lanka government has already restored democracy in the east and the Tamils in the North also eagerly waiting for these rights. Why Indian Government is not taking any actions against these TNA Members of Parliament for making use of the Indian soil to aid, abet a proscribed terrorist organization?” the analysts asked.

Tamil National Alliance parliamentarians are participating in protest rallies against Sri Lanka as well as they are allowed address public meetings to propagate and glorify terrorism. “By doing so, India is denying the democratic rights and freedoms to the Tamil people in the North”.

Families of number of TNA Members of Parliament namely M K Shivajilingam MP, Adaikalanathan MP, Mavai Senathirajah MP are allowed to live in Tamil Nadu and these MPs as well as other Tamil MP’s who represent the LTTE in proxy are allowed to freely conduct anti- Sri Lankan Government political campaign.

Since of late the presence of TNA parliamentarians and their political activities have increased in Tamil Nadu and they openly participate in the hate campaigns against Sri Lanka whipping up anti-Sri Lankan sentiments.

It is noted that State Government of Tamil Nadu, which is responsible for maintenance of law and order in the state, have failed to take any actions against these parliamentarians.

Furthermore, several Sri Lankan Tamil Members of Parliaments have participated in the events organized even by the Tamil Nadu state government leaders. The noteworthy one was the human chain demonstration recently conceived and organized by the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu.

Now it is learnt that two Sri Lankan Tamil MPs sympathetic to the Tamil Tigers are in New Delhi to meet political leaders as part of their efforts to bring about a ceasefire in their country.

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Teachers, INGO workers thrown to Vanni front

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A captured LTTE woman has revealed ongoing LTTE attempt to strengthen its frontline positions by deploying hundreds of civilians. She was among four female cadres captured by fighting elements of the Task Force I (TF I) conducting operations at Vallayarkuttirukkumoddai, about four kilometres east of the A 32 (Mannar-Pooneryn road) on Tuesday.

The army identified the informant as 28-year-old Ms Nilaveli, an English teacher who had been coaching Grade 6 to 10 students at the time she joined the LTTE at gun point. Captain Hemantha Dayaratne of the army media told ‘News-Lanka’ that she had graduated from the reputed Kopay College of Education (English Faculty). He said that Ms Nilaweli, while fighting against the army had been drawing a government salary from the Department of Education in Kilinochchi. She had joined the organisation to save her teenage brother and sister from forced conscription, the official quoted the trained teacher as saying.

According to her many of her batch mates joined the LTTE to save their loved ones.

The LTTE facing a severe dearth of trained cadres has forced a large group of public servants including lower grade employees of the Department of Agriculture and local employees of INGOs to resist the army advancing on its strongholds, both east and west of the A9 road.

The LTTE has also deployed over 100 male and female teachers alongside its frontline units now struggling to thwart a relentless army advance.

The LTTE facing a severe dearth of trained cadres has forced a large group of public servants including lower grade employees of the Department of Agriculture and local employees of INGOs to resist the army advancing on its strongholds, both east and west of the A9 road.

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India extended the ban on the LTTE

A special tribunal headed by a Delhi High Court judge upheld the Centre's notification for extending the ban on the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam for another two years.

The notification extending the ban on the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, declaring it as an unlawful association, was issued by the Union Home Ministry on May 15.

Justice Vikramjeet Sen, who was heading the special tribunal constituted under Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, upheld the government decision saying that there is sufficient evidence against the organization to justify the extension of ban.

The LTTE, also known as Tamil Tigers, is a terrorists group that has waged a violent campaign against the Sri Lankan government since the latter part of 1970s in order to create a separate Tamil state in the northern and eastern part of the island nation.

The group-led by V Prabhakaran has been proscribed as a terrorist organization by several countries including the United States.

The LTTE was involved in the assassination of former Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi in May 1991 and the group has been banned by India since 1992.

Additional Solicitor General P P Malhotra, while appearing before the tribunal, had contended that although the LTTE was based in Sri Lanka, it had sympathizers and agents on the Indian soil and there was urgent need to continue with the ban.

India was the first country ban the LTTE followed by USA, United Kingdom, 27 European Union Countries, Canada and it is learnt that Australia as well as Malaysia are seriously contempt plating on banning this terrorists’ outfit in their soil.

Waters Edge land handed back Roni

Counsel for the UDA Nihal Jayewardene, told the Court that the UDA abided by the recent Supreme Court judgement which declared that the alienation of this property to a private entrepreneur was mala-fide. The Court ordered the retired president Mrs. Kumaratunga to pay Rs. 3 million as compensation to the state, for misdirecting the Cabinet to believe that this land was alienated for a public utility purpose counsel Jayewardene also told the court that the UDA and the Sri Lanka Land Reclamation and Development Corporation are having discussions to decide how best the land could be used to benefit the people. A draft of this master plan is to be submitted to the court within two weeks.

The UDA is awaiting the valuation report from the Chief Government valuer in respect of the constructions done on this land. This report is also to be submitted to the court shortly.

The court yesterday issued notice on the permanent commission to investigate bribery and corruption. The court ordered that the commission should submit their findings in respect of the mala-fide deal and submit the progress of their investigation at the next hearing, in two weeks time.

Senior State Counsel N. G. Pulle, said that the Commission has started on the Investigation.

Uditha Egalahewa appeared for seven hotelier employees of the Waters Edge Club. He said that his clients are likely to lose their jobs. They are top hotelier, but unable to secure elsewhere as the hotel industry is at present having a lean time.

The court directed Mr. Egalahewa, to check the employees employment data and to check with the Commissioner of Labour, what best relief could be granted for them.

The counsel for the UDA said that the Chairman of the UDA, had expressed willingness to retain any competant employees.

Faiz Mustapha PC, appeared for some former land owner of Battaramulla, who had not received compensation, when the land was originally acquired by the state. The court advised the UDA to look into this matter.

The bench comprised the Chief Justice Sarath N. Silva, Justice Shirani Tilakawardene and Justice Saleem Marsoof.

Call to surrender arms first

Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa said that a ceasefire would solely depend on the LTTE’s readiness to lay down arms. He said that President Mahinda Rajapaksa had repeatedly emphasised that fresh negotiations

wouldn’t take place as long as the LTTE remained armed. "There’ll be no change in our position," he told News-lanka yesterday.

He said that the LTTE political wing leader Nadesan had conveniently forgotten the LTTE quitting talks in April 2003.

"We abrogated the ceasefire years later," he said adding that the ground offensive was on track with the army making steady progress.

STF confident of meeting LTTE threat in East

A series of hit and run attacks in the east, particularly directed at the renegade Karuna faction has prompted Army headquarters to review security measures in place to meet the LTTE challenge.

The army top brass has expressed serious concern over what a security official called an alarming increase in LTTE activity. LTTE infiltrators have claimed the lives of a dozen Karuna loyalists in the recent past.

Military spokesman Brigadier Udaya Nanayakkara said that action was being taken to neutralise the threat. "They are operating in small groups trying to cause panic," he told News-lanka yesterday. He speculated on the possibility of the presence of sleepers awaiting orders to launch operations.

With the army pulling out bulk of the infantry and support units for operations on the Vanni front, the Special Task Force (STF) has had to play a pivotal role in anti-insurgency operations in the East.

STF Commandant DIG K. M. L. Sarathchandra told News-lanka that the LTTE was making a desperate bid to make its presence felt in the East.

He said some of the infiltrators had been killed and their arms, ammunition and equipment recovered in operations carried out by his troops. A confident STF chief said that the LTTE wouldn’t be allowed to exploit the situation.

"We are on a heightened state of alert and will do everything possible to destroy them," he said.

Responding to our queries, he said that the LTTE had launched a major false propaganda campaign to deceive the Tamil Diaspora and people living in the South. He said that reports on several successful LTTE attacks on the STF had been posted on the pro-LTTE Tamilnet in the recent past. But nothing could be more ridiculous than the claim that the Jayanthan Brigade killed ten police commandos and wounded two at Koappaaveli on the Badulla road on November 4. TamilNet also claimed that the STF had lost three personnel two days later during a 30-minute confrontation in the Panama area.

The STF chief said that LTTE propagandists had based the two false reports on actual confrontations between LTTE cadres and his troops. "We didn’t lose any personnel although police commando Bandara received gunshot injuries during the second encounter," he said. According to him, the LTTE had lost one cadre identified as Satyamurthi.

The LTTE claimed that one of their units Friday (November 7) had killed four Sri Lankan military personnel including three police commandos and wounded two police commandos at Kohilaela, Tampitiya in the Ampara District whereas the victims were two Civil Defence Force personnel and a policeman providing security to farmers, he said.

He said that over 500 fresh commandos would be available for deployment in a few months. He said that the STF was deployed in the Ampara and Batticaloa Districts and a section in Yala. By end of this year, the STF would take over the entire Yala, he said.