No stop till terrorism is defeated

- President Rajapaksa

"I will not stop till terrorism is defeated," said President Mahinda Rajapaksa to the Sri Lankan media commenting on the bomb blast by the LTTE on a train at Dehiwela yesterday (26).

The President said: "My Government and I are committed to defeating terrorism. No one should have expectations that there will be a let up in the battle against terrorism because of the frenzied attacks by the LTTE. I will leave no room for terrorism in this country."

"In its desperation the LTTE is now trying to whip communal strife and take the country back to the situation as in 1983. The Government will not let this happen," he added.
President Rajapaksa said the bomb blast on the train at Dehiwela followed the discovery of three other bombs placed in passenger buses by the LTTE, which were found by bus employees and passengers. This showed the extent of the LTTE's frenzy in the face of its current defeats and setbacks in the North. It was clear that in the face of defeat the LTTE was increasing its attacks targeting innocent civilians. This is the reality that can be seen from these savage attacks,
He said the Government's battle against terrorism was not directed against the Tamil people. The Government was committed to protect the rights of the Tamil people, as it had done in the East. We intend to take the success in the East forward, until we ensure the people of the North of their rights.

The President emphasized there would be no let up in the war against terrorism. There will be a political solution given from the Tamil people. "We have sent a speedy message to the North from the East", he said.
He called on the media to act with responsibility in the national interest in dealing with the government's war against terrorism.

President Rajapaksa was addressing the heads of media institutions and editors of the Sri Lankan media at a meeting to discuss current issues with them at Temple Trees today (27)

Courtesy: Presidential Media Unit

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Final Battle On...Officially

- Army Commander

The final battle to recapture the Vanni is officially declared. Army Commander Lt. Gen Sarath Fonseka, talking to local journalists have revealed the intention to recapture Tiger Heartlands. The declaration of intent comes after the abrogation of the CFA and observations of LTTE defensive actions, specially in Mullaithivu, Mannar and Pooneryn sectors.

According to reports and DefenceWire's own sources, five specially trained Offensive Formations comprising Task Force I (Commanded by Maj. Gen. Jagath Jayasuriya), which includes the 57 Offensive Division advancing towards Vavuniya North, Kilinochchi and Mullaithivu from Vavuniya, 58 Offensive Division (Commando, 10GR, 8SR, 6,8 and 9GW) advancing from Mannar South to Mannar North and Kilinochchi (via Parappakandal, Adampan, Mullikulam etc), the newest addition, the 59 Offensive Division under Brigadier Nandana Udawatte, which commenced the advance on Monday towards Mullaithivu from Weli Oya and Task Force II comprising the 53 and 55 Divisions, including 1 Commando, 1 Special Forces, Air Mobile, 5th Gemunu (3 GW, Muhamale) and 8th Wijeyaba (8 VIR, Nagarkovil) Regiments advancing towards Pooneryn will trap the Tigers into their territory, forcing the Tigers to go on the defensive. In addition 2 and 3 Commando and 2 and 3 Special Forces Regiments will performing medium and deep battle-space operations, offensive raids and other specialized roles. Newly formed Mechanized Infantry Units integrated into each Task Force will spearhead the advance.

An unspecified, yet high number (possibly around 500) of LTTE fighters, including elite Charles Anthony, Soothiya and Malathi unit fighters have been killed and an equal number injured in recent fighting in North Mannar, North Vavuniya, Weli Oya, Muhamalai and Nagarkovil. The total number of LTTE killed since the start of fresh offensives in the last quarter of 2006 could be over 2500 with the SLA implementing a 'Kill Ten a Day' policy in the five fronts mentioned before, and SLAF's relatively accurate bombings.

Casualties to own troops is around 1000 killed and over 4000 injured since the last quarter of 2006, of which about 25% will never return to the battlefield. These figures are expected to rise to at last threefold by mid to late 2008. SLA's calculations are to end the war by the end of August 2008. Many casualties are due to booby traps.A heavy daily dose of mortars, artillery and rockets being fired at the Tigers every day, who are responding with own artillery. Face to face confrontations have been limited so far.

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Paving way for Tamil Eelam....

In mathematics we speak of necessary and sufficient conditions but with Tamil Eelam we have just two conditions any one of which will guarantee Tamil Eelam. One is LTTE military victory over the government forces which now is impossible though Ranil Wickramasighe has been saying all along that "this war is un-winnable" meaning that we should surrender. He will awake from his dreams very soon. The other is devolution in any shape or form however innocuous.
This latter condition for Tamil Eelam is a possibility if Mahinda Rajapaksa decides on the slightest form of devolution which will even in an extremely small way dent the existing unitary character of the country. It is that minute denting that the infamous "International Community" is waiting for to recognize any declaration of independence by any area where the Tamils are in a majority. Please remember that all the Tamil political parties have the letter E which stands for one thing and one thing only, namely Tamil Eelam the carving up of our country that has been a unitary state from the beginning of our history except for brief periods of occupation by enemy forces.

Where the Muslims are in a majority they will likewise declare independence which the International Community will accept with the greatest of extreme sadistic pleasure. To that end the Muslims have been colonizing the Buddhist Deegavapi lands ever since CBK was put into power by a stupid electorate. They are continuing to do so under this government as well.
Over and above all these considerations the JVP has issued a threat that if there is going to be any devolution they will put the government out of office which means another general election. Mahinda Rajapaksa may with full justification think that all the work he has done that will benefit the poor would secure him their votes at a new general election held so soon.

That is where the danger is for all of us. From the day Mahinda came into power the MTV and Sirasa have both brainwashed the rural masses against his government everyday and the government has never taken any steps through government channels to correct the image projected by the MTV and Sirisa.. If all the Sinhala Buddhists saw Ranil Wickramasinghe as an enemy then he should not have got any more than 25 percent of votes at the last Presidential Elections. But he got 47 percent. Apart from everything else common sense tells us that it is too risky to go for another election so early in Rajapaksa's term of office.

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Baloney will not deter military operations - Army Chief

The present military operations leading to the Wanni, the last bastion of LTTE terrorists, will not be affected by the false and distorted campaigns carried out by the unpatriotic media or the diplomats , Army Commander Gen. Sarath Fonseka said.

He blamed some media personnel for their highly irresponsible role in reporting on fighting terrorism in the country. Gen. Fonseka said that there were no major obstacles for the military in their operations as these unpatriotic media, non governmental organisations, some diplomats and certain foreign organisations had tried to show the world.

"They are trying to distort present military operations to discredit and discourage the military intending that we would give up our offensive in the Wanni. It will never happen as the Sri Lankan military is getting stronger now", he said.

The Army Commander said that the Army is five times stronger than earlier and our defence lines are stronger.According to Gen. Fonseka, the military has the capability to remain in the East while extending the military operations towards the Wanni. He said that East had not been weakened unlike in the past, where the military captured Jaffna using its all resources and abandoning the East.

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Open Letter to Mr. Gotabhaya Rajapaksa

- Defence Secretary,

Government of Sri Lanka Colombo, Sri Lanka

Sir:
The word that is going around is that* “Enough is Enough. It is now clear to everyone that all these terrorist activities are being planned and executed by the LTTE Tamil Tiger terrorists living in lodges in Colombo. Therefore, the Sri Lanka Government should take immediate actions to inspect all these lodges and arrest suspected personnel.”*

* *Last June when 301 Tamils of a population of 125,036 Tamils in Colombo were removed from lodgings and bussed North, as it had been suspected for months that these lodgings were cocoons for Tamil Tiger bomber-assassins, there was a big hue and cry by Human Rights advocates, local and foreign, saying that it was ‘ethnic cleansing’. They obviously did not have an inkling of what ‘ethnic cleansing’ was all about. Perhaps they may want to be honest with themselves and revisit incidents of ‘ethnic cleansing’ around the world before labeling the Sri Lankan government’s alleged act of ‘ethnic cleansing’ with the 301 Tamils sent north.
Here is what ‘ethnic cleansing’ is all about, and not the 301 Tamils bussed north which the bleeding-hearts Human Rights activists would like us to believe.

In 1990 when the Tamil Tigers wanted 100,000 Muslims in the North of Sri Lanka to get out within 24 hours, leaving their belongings and treasured valuables at the nearest mosque, that was a text book example of ‘ethnic cleansing’ /par excellance./ Prabhakaran made Idi Amin look like an angel as Amin had a heart to give the Asians in Uganda three months to leave the country and not 24 hours, the deadline being November 9^th , 1972. And that was “ethnic cleansing”. When in August 1977, the 400 Sinhalese undergraduates and lecturers were stoned and chased out from the Jaffna campus and the peninsula itself, that was ‘ethnic cleansing’. I hope these bleeding-heart human rights activists now got a real understanding of what ‘ethnic cleansing’ is all about.

With that pressure from busy-bodies of Human Rights groups, Sir, your government let loose the 301 Tamils and they took a bee-line back to the Colombo lodgings, terrorists and all.
But what is painful is that these lodgings have been recognized to be the spawning grounds for the likes of, Minister Douglas Devananda’s attempted suicide bomber who killed herself and one other and injured two others critically. Then the Nugegoda market place bombing which killed 19 and injured 37, and now the Slave Island bombing which has killed four and injured 28.
So these bleeding-heart human rights advocates won the day with a shot in the arm, when the Supreme Court brought down an interim order in response to a petition filed by the Centre for Policy to stop removing these Tamils from suspected bomb making lodgings. But, then, there hasn’t been one single voice of reason screaming that there have been human rights violations by the Tamil Tigers abusing the right to life by snuffing out the breaths of the unfortunate innocent victims who were killed by these terrorists assassins by detonating their planted bombs. The question that goes begging is who has the democratic rights –is it the Tamil Tiger terrorists who are allowed to go about killing with impunity or is it the innocent civilians who have a right to life, and are killed by these Tamil terrorists for no reason at all? That is indeed the million dollar question.

Another question that needs to be answered is, was the rounding up of Colombo’s transient lodgers who were all Tamils from the North, to be checked out by the law enforcing authorities a fair price to pay, because some among them would, very likely go out and plant a bomb to kill scores of innocent civilians. Is the government abdicating its responsibility to guard the right to life of its subjects by giving into these bleeding-heart human rights activists with knee-jerk reactions?

But what is needed here is to keep the eye on the ball. The fact is that Sri Lanka is at war, and we’ve got to make sure that we do not harbour Tamil Tigers, mousing-up with tripping wires, detonators, exploding chemicals, gunny bags filled with millions of lead pellets and suicide body packs, and later for them to go out and plant the assembled bombs to kill hundreds of people.
If there was one suicide bomber among the 301 Tamils bussed back to the north only to be kept away from Colombo, then it would have been a substantial winning for the government even though having been lambasted by Human Rights critics, as the Devananda, Nugegoda and Slave Island bombings would have never happened. At that point Sri Lanka could have told these bleeding-heart human rights activists, to go fly a kite as the government believes that safeguarding the right to life of her subjects overrides sending back the Tamils to where they came for the security of her peoples.

Let them know that protecting human rights is no monopoly of theirs as it also happens to be Sri Lanka’s business, and that is protecting the right to life of those that the Tamil Tigers want to snuff out. Especially when Prabhakaran expects his Tamil Tiger Colombo lodgers sent on a mission to plant a bomb on a busy street in Colombo by hook or by crook and detonate it.
Sir, your Government does have a choice. If you all are not allowed by Human Rights activists to sieve out these assassins from the private lodgings as one would use a pest controller to get rid of vermin, then for God’s sake have these underground bomb assembling lodgings closed for good. Remember, the government has a role to play in this feud. To keep Law and Order as well as guarding the right to life of its citizens, and the latter would certainly override removing the transient Tamils from these suspicious lodgings. There is no reason to hesitate. Just, do it.

Asoka Weerasinghe

OttawaCanada

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Proscription on LTTE soon

The Cabinet has discussed its action to Proscription of the LTTE soon.
The Cabinet has already discussed the issue in the wake of annulling the CFA, which, says Environment Minister Champika Ranawaka, was already dead. All what the government has done is to write the death certificate, according to the Minister. He recalled that the JHU (then Sihala Urumaya) was the first to oppose the CFA on the very day it was signed.

Those who expressed their opposition included Champika Ranawaka, Ven. Ranpathwila Wimalarathana Thera, former DIG (Crimes) H.M.G.B. Kotakadeniya. As expected right from the start the LTTE began violating the agreement and the process reached its climax with the Mavil Aru incident. To date the Tigers have violated the CFA over 300 times.

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Govt. shouldn't try to walk on one leg
-By C P Kuruppu

The People know that the government is winning the war on terrorism and they salute the heroic forces for the sacrifices they make while achieving the victories. But the government should not expect to remain popular only on its military achievements. It is just like trying to walk with one leg.

The fact is that 2008 does appear a happy year to consumers. With the start of the New Year the consumers have had to pay more for their essential food items like dhal, sugar and potatoes. The Shell gas price has gone up by Rs. 175. The prices of bakery products had shot up two weeks ago due to the increased price of wheat flour by the Prima Company. The average price of rice is around Rs.60 per kilo and a coconut is Rs. 30.

The people expect the government to take steps in the New Year to ease their unbearable burden on the commodity prices. But it has not happened and this could be a stumbling block in achieving national. The government knew that the prices will go up. The import tax concessions given to the importers of essential food items came to an end on the 25th December 2007 . The Consumer Protection Authority (CPA) has allowed the Shell Gas Company to increase the price of a gas cylinder. Prima increased the flour prices with informing the CPA.

During the budget debate the government said that it has given many concessions under the budget and has taken many other steps to reduce the prices. The Trade Minister Bandula Gunawardene now says the prices of essential goods will be stabilised by April 2008. Does that mean the government expect the consumers to wait for another three months till April to buy their essential commodities at reasonable prices? We hope not. The budget proposals are for a whole year. The ordinary consumer cannot wait for a full year till the proposals are materialised. They expect the government to take steps, even out side the scope of the budget to ease their burden.

The Commodity Importers say that with the lifting of the tax concessions given to them the prices of eight commodities like, potatoes, green gram, gram, dry chillies, sugar two types of dhal and tin fish had gone up. Apart from the prices of those products the prices of local products like rice and coconut and vegetables also have also gone up.
It is unlikely that the prices of the rice and coconut would come down unless the government steps in. The traders say that the December floods in the paddy and vegetable producing areas and coconut tree disease in the Matara District helped the prices to go up. But the consumers believe that the real reason is hoarding and black marketing.

The Prima Company increased wheat flour prices for the sixth time in one year making the prices of bakery products to shot up again. The government is going to introduce an amended Consumer Protection Bill to prod the Prima. In the mean time the government imported from China a thousand ton consignment of wheat flour and distributed among low income groups.
The CPA has again allowed the Shell Gas Company to increase the gas prices by Rs.175. Its new price is Rs. 1488. This is the sixth time that the Shell Gas increased its prices in 2007. With regard to gas and other fuel prices not only the government of Sri Lanka but also the government of America is unable to keep the price down as the world crude oil prices have again shot up again nearing $100 mark.

There are two other commodities of which the prices have sky rocketed. They are the wheat flour and the milk powder. The government has given long and mid term concession given to develop the production of rice which is the best alternative to wheat flour and the production milk and animal husbandry. But the consumers believe that the government should have given them subsidies to cushion the high cost of wheat flour and the milk powder, at least until their international prices come down. The people expected the government to take sufficient steps in the New Year to ease out their burden.

The rising cost of wheat flour and milk powder is a temporary one. The prices of these two commodities have gone up due to the prevailing severe drought conditions for more than a year in the wheat and milk producing countries. We all know that just after a drought a good weather prevails. Then the wheat and milk production will naturally go up and the prices will come down. Until such time the government must step in to ease the burden on the people.
It is important that with out delay the government must identify some of the projects and areas where the wastage and corruption is high and try to curb them immediately. The money saved from those projects may be diverted to give concessions to needy consumers of essential goods, especially to those of the low income groups. If immediate action is not taken the government's popularity will slump.

The government should not forget that people's stomachs too speak. Not only the UNP but also the JVP, a constituent party of the UPFA that won on betel leaf symbol is attacking the government on rising cost of living. They do it because it is one of the issues that directly affect the common man and an issue that they can capitalise to the fullest. The Mahinda Rajapaksa government must remember that Madam Sirimavo Bandaranaike's government did a lot of good work for the wellbeing of the common man but her government was defeated at the 1977 General Elections on cost of living issue.

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Government to annul CFA
- goodbye to SLMM

The government annulled with effect from Jan.2 the so-called the ceasefire agreement and the 'memorandum of understanding' (MOU) between the LTTE terrorists and the Sri Lankan State in 2002. The decision will be conveyed to the Norwegian Government and other relevant parties within 14 days in accordance with clause 4 of the CFA.

It brings an end to the 'services' of the so-called Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission which was little more than a scarecrow during this period. The SLMM - staffed with Scandinavians - rarely condemned the Tigers' ceasefire violations. Instead they were more interested in finding fault with the Security Forces and the Government.

The agreement was signed by the then Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and Tiger 'Supremo' Velupillai Prabhakaran alias the self-styled Sun God. Former President Chandrika Kumaratunga was informed of the CFA only at the last minute. The agreement gave the LTTE the idea that it was a legitimate organization and began imposing customs duties and other taxes on those using the A-9 road. At the same time the LTTE backed out of peace talks on several occasions giving flimsy excuses and violated the CFA an umpteen number of times. The so-called peace that prevailed at the time gave LTTE cadres grand opportunity to enter government controlled areas and assassinate at will members of the State's intelligence services.

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Govt will liberate North soon
- President

President Mahinda Rajapaksa asserts that his Government which liberated the East, would likewise liberate the North as well by next year and provide equal health facilities to all by the provision of a fully-equipped hospital in every district.

President Rajapaksa made this assertion last Tuesday at Temple Trees where he felicitated the Ampara Hospital staff on their being awarded an internationally renowned Asia-Pacific Region 'Quality' Award in recognition of the qualitative service. This is believed to be the first ever of its kind to be awarded to a government institution.

The President said that the Government was making a colossal investment annually in the health sector envisaging a quality and optimum service to the people who have great faith and expectations in the Government Hospitals, its doctors and the nursing staff.
He praised and thanked the Ampara Hospital staff who had shunned petty ideologies and worked with team-spirit and commitment to achieve the high standards.
President Rajapaksa underscored the importance of installing 'Bio-Metric' machines in all government institutions, inclusive of the health sector in which there had been much anxiety in the recent past.

"This measure which would be extended to Parliamentarians too, would help enhance efficiency in the public service", he added. President Rajapaksa also made a presentation of awards to the Ampara Hospital staff.
Health and Nutrition Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva speaking on the occasion, lauded the services of the Ampara Hospital staff who had done a yeoman service and qualified for an award. "This was a classic example where the attention of the whole world was focused on Sri Lanka's entire health sector", Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva said.

Ampara Hospital Medical Superintendent P.K. Lanka Jayasinghe said a qualitative shift for the better could be made within the public service, if there could be a paradigm shift in the development of idealogies and concepts. Minister and Ampara District Parliamentarian P. Dayarathna, the Acting Health Ministry Secretary, Secretary-General of Health Services, Dr. Krishan Silva, K.V.C. Janaka, J. Dahanayake and other officials of the Nursing staff participated.

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LTTE could be banned if attacks continue

- President

Government may outlaw the Tigers if they continue to mount large scale attacks, President Mahinda Rajapaksa said last night.
"One or two more attacks, we have no option," Rajapaksa told reporters after hosting a Christmas evening. "(We will) have to ban." "There is a limit to our patience," he was quoted by Reuters as saying.
He said he would seek peace while continuing to fight the Tigers and did not view the two as mutually exclusive. "We are convinced peace is possible only if we can weaken the LTTE militarily," Rajapaksa said. The LTTE is outlawed as a terrorist group by a host of nations, including the United States, Britain, India and the European Union.
The LTTE was initially banned in 1998 after the attack on the Sri Dalada Maligawa in Kandy.
The proscription was lifted along with the signing of the Ceasefire Agreement in 2002. The Government recently banned the Tamil Rehabilitation Organisation, a front organisation of the LTTE.

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