Sri Lanka - News and Discussion

Philip · Post by **Philip** » 21 Aug 2009 18:21

http://www.dailymirror.lk/DM_BLOG/Secti ... RTID=58725

Air Force chief visits former Tiger air base

Air Force Commander Air Marshal Roshan Guanatillake, today, inspected the Iranamadu and Mullaitivu Air Force units, two locations which were earlier used by the LTTE air wing but is now being rehabilitated and developed into Air Force stations with operational runways.

The Air force said that both locations have runways built by the LTTE to operate light aircraft but when the Tigers withdrew they damaged the surfaces of the runways to prevent them being used by the Air Force.

These two locations will be rehabilitated and developed into SLAF stations with operational runways. The Commander inspected the development work being carried out and spoke to the Officers and Men and congratulated them on the rapid transformation of the area, and appreciated the high standards set by them under trying conditions, the Air Force said.

Kashyap · Post by **Kashyap** » 21 Aug 2009 18:52

Sri Lanka to train Pak army

By Our Correspondent

Friday, 21 Aug, 2009 | 05:00 AM PST |

COLOMBO: Following the victory of the Sri Lankan army over the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), a militant outfit once considered by many as an invincible force, Pakistan has asked Sri Lanka to provide training to its military personnel.

The government of Pakistan wants the Sri Lankan military to train its personnel in counter-insurgency operations, the Commander of the Sri Lankan Army, Lt-Gen Jagath Jayasuriya, told journalists on Thursday.

He said several other countries had also sought information about the strategy and tactics adopted by the Sri Lankan armed forces to decimate the LTTE in just three years of intense fighting.

Pakistan helped Sri Lanka fight the LTTE by supplying arms when other countries had put an embargo on arms sales to the country.

http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/daw ... rmy--bi-08

sivabala · Post by **sivabala** » 21 Aug 2009 19:20

Kashyap wrote: Sri Lanka to train Pak army
http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/daw ... rmy--bi-08

This is ridiculous. This should not be allowed to happen. Because, Srilankan army was trained by Indian counter insurgency school. Now, Pakistan army want to learn the curriculum of Indian army from Srilanka.

I wonder if there is any non-disclosure agreement between the training school and the trainees.

ramana · Post by **ramana** » 21 Aug 2009 22:06

X-posted.. from Book Review thread....

Sanku wrote:Sri Lanka: from War to Peace,
by Nitin Gokhale,
HarAnand Publishers, 2009.

How India secretly helped Lanka destroy the LTTE

http://news.rediff.com/slide-show/2009/ ... e-ltte.htm

Yet, in early 2006, India quietly gifted five Mi-17 helicopters to the Sri Lankan air force. The only Indian condition was: These helicopters would fly under Sri Lankan air force colours. New Delhi clearly did not want to annoy UPA's Tamil Nadu allies like the DMK unnecessarily.

The Mi-17s were in addition to a Sukanya Class offshore patrol vessel gifted by the Indian Coast Guard to the Sri Lankan navy in 2002.

These warehouses or ships of varying sizes were used by the LTTE to store arms, ammunition and even armoured personnel carriers. These ships, which had no names or identification numbers, used to remain on high seas for months on end. They were brought near Sri Lankan shores whenever the LTTE needed the arms. Smaller ships and craft were used to transport these arms to the Sea Tiger bases on the east and the west coast.

Indian and Sri Lankan navy sources revealed that well-coordinated operations by the two navies between 2006 and 2009 actually broke the backbone of the Sea Tigers.

The Indian Navy, the Sri Lankans said, helped in various ways.

For instance, the Indian Navy's Dorniers based at Ramnad in Tamil Nadu flew regular reconnaissance missions over the seas around Sri Lanka. These Dornier aircraft, fitted with high-powered radar, scoured the area for ships with suspicious movement and cargo.

Whenever such a ship was detected, the Indian Navy passed on the information to the Sri Lankans. The real time intelligence helped the Sri Lankan navy track and then destroy LTTE arms consignments.

Once the rogue ships were located, Sri Lankan navy's Offshore Patrol Vessels (OPV) would go after these floating warehouses and destroy them. The Sri Lankan navy destroyed the first warehouse ship on September 17, 2006, about 120 nautical miles east of the island. Three more such ships were sunk in early 2007.

Moreover, under an agreement between the two countries, the Indian Navy and the Coast Guard frequently sent out ships to patrol the Palk Strait and the Gulf of Mannar. The presence of warships and Indian Coast Guards's OPVs acted as a firm deterrence against the Sea Tigers.

We went near Australian waters and whacked the last four vessels,' Vice-Admiral Karannagoda told Jane's Navy International in March 2009. 'Yet we are not a big navy; we had to improvise and use innovation and ingenuity to get our job done. The Sri Lankan navy does not possess any frigate-sized ships, so we used offshore patrol vessels and old tankers, merchant vessels and fishing trawlers as support vessels.'

thusitha · Post by **thusitha** » 22 Aug 2009 03:02

This is ridiculous. This should not be allowed to happen. Because, Srilankan army was trained by Indian counter insurgency school. Now, Pakistan army want to learn the curriculum of Indian army from Srilanka.

I wonder if there is any non-disclosure agreement between the training school and the trainees.

We are training them in Counter Insurgency. Most probably to fight Taliban. Wouldn't that be good to India, getting rid of Muslim Fundamentalists. Could they use this counter intelligence training to fight a full fledged army like Indian army? I would say, it would be very unlikely. But I am not an expert military guy.

Gagan · Post by **Gagan** » 22 Aug 2009 03:16

The very fact that this was mentioned to journalists is telling. The cat is now out of the bag and everyone knows that the paks had asked the lankans for training the martial pak fauj. Massive loss of echendee already.

Not to worry, I think we know where this issue is headed now.

This is begining to sound like the nigerian 'we'll give the pakistan offer of development of nigeria its due consideration on merit onlee'

Of course the paks want counter insurgency training. Their fauj is being mauled left-right-and center by the purer-than-the-pak-fauj talibs. Not only that the jeehard in kashmir is not exactly going well, where the militants get killed off during the winters when the passes are closed and average life expectancy of the pakistan trained militant in the Indian part of kashmir is about 4-6months onlee. These militants could sure do with some insight into how the Indian army conducts counter insurgency about now.

pgbhat · Post by **pgbhat** » 22 Aug 2009 04:24

thusitha wrote: We are training them in Counter Insurgency. Most probably to fight Taliban. Wouldn't that be good to India, getting rid of Muslim Fundamentalists. Could they use this counter intelligence training to fight a full fledged army like Indian army? I would say, it would be very unlikely. But I am not an expert military guy.

You should hang around in TIRP thread more often.

Javee · Post by **Javee** » 22 Aug 2009 04:33

thusitha wrote:We are training them in Counter Insurgency. Most probably to fight Taliban. Wouldn't that be good to India, getting rid of Muslim Fundamentalists.

If they want to fight talibunnies, they should start with in their own army.

Gagan · Post by **Gagan** » 22 Aug 2009 04:52

But when has india said that it wants the talibunnies who are handing out the pak army their chuddies, to be destroyed?
From India's POV, the current situation in pakistan is what suits India best. A weak pakistan involved in killing its own people, and that too the terrorists that they themselves trained.

Poetic justice indeed.

Gagan · Post by **Gagan** » 22 Aug 2009 04:54

We went near Australian waters and whacked the last four vessels,' Vice-Admiral Karannagoda told Jane's Navy International in March 2009. 'Yet we are not a big navy; we had to improvise and use innovation and ingenuity to get our job done. The Sri Lankan navy does not possess any frigate-sized ships, so we used offshore patrol vessels and old tankers, merchant vessels and fishing trawlers as support vessels.'

Some operation that must have been. Intel no doubt provided by the venerable Tu-95s and some of ISRO's remote sensing satellites.
The dorniers would have been good for surveillance close to the coastline, for anything deeper into the ocean, the huge Tupelovs must have come in.

Kashyap · Post by **Kashyap** » 22 Aug 2009 08:01

Forbes India

A New Battle for Ceylon

S. Srinivasan, 08.21.09, 06:30 PM EDT

Amid the ruins of Sri Lanka's civil war lie gems of business opportunity for foreigners. But be prepared for a long, hard spell

A group of 43 businessmen from Colombo, Sri Lanka's capital city, were shocked to see the devastation when they landed in Jaffna in early July. Returning after three decades, they remembered this palm-fringed peninsula surrounded by blue lagoons had once been a thriving hub for industry. As many as 750 small factories churned out everything from household articles to export items in the 1970s. Now, they were all gone. What greeted them was broken bridges, burnt homes and families torn by the 26-year-long civil war. Hardly a place to talk business.

The scene elsewhere in the region is no different. The caustic soda factory in Paranthan is in ruins, the Kankesanthurai cement plant is dysfunctional and Valaichchenai paper factory has been idle for long. Even in Colombo, a city living under the constant shadow of terrorism, the mood is somber. The country came dangerously close to defaulting on its international payment obligations in March, when its foreign exchange reserves dipped to a mere $1.3 billion. President Mahinda Rajapaksa rushed to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and got a $2.6 billion bailout that has imposed strict conditions for fiscal discipline. He will have to raise taxes and cut expenditure to rein in a whopping 7% budget deficit.

Then, why does investment guru Jim Rogers now recommend Sri Lanka as the most compelling investment destination?

The answer, simply, is that the civil war is over. The separatist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) has been put down. The same ruin that kept the embers of despair aglow has now become the spark of opportunity for the shrewd businessman. "I have seen that when a long war like this ends, there rise enormous opportunities for investment," Rogers, co-founder of Quantum Fund and author of classics such as Investment Biker and Adventure Capitalist, told Forbes India. "Sri Lanka will need to be rebuilt now and there's little capital within the country."

Ask Roman Scott. This Singapore based British private equity manager, with family roots in Sri Lanka, believes the island nation's time has arrived. "It is going to be one of the best investment opportunities on the planet for the next two to three years," he says. His Calamander Group has launched the world's first PE fund exclusively focussed on Sri Lanka, with a likely corpus of $50-75 million. Scott says the conflict shaved off 1.5-2.5% from the gross domestic product (GDP) and even then, Sri Lanka has been the fourth fastest growing economy in Asia in recent years.

http://www.forbes.com/2009/08/21/sri-la ... india.html

Kashyap · Post by **Kashyap** » 22 Aug 2009 13:39

Sri Lanka Mobitel to spend US$30mn to cover former war zone

Aug 22, 2009 (LBO) - Mobitel, a unit of fixed access carrier Sri Lanka Telecom will spend up to 30 million US dollars expanding in to former war zones in the north and the east of the country, a top official said.

Chief executive Suren Amarasekera said the firm would be spending about 5 million US dollars immediately to cover the 'A-9' highway, which gives access to Jaffna.

The firm expects to have the northern network running before the end of the year. The government wiped out the last remnants of Tamil Tiger separatists in May.

"The timeline depends of defence authority clearance," he said. "We will also provide high speed data access so that people can access the best technology."

Amarasekera said over the next "2-3 years" up to 30 million US dollars would be spent on the north and the east.

http://www.lankabusinessonline.com/full ... =463794828

Sri Lanka to train Pakistani army to fight Taliban

Sri Lanka is to train Pakistan army officers to fight the Taliban insurgency with lessons from its devastating defeat of the Tamil Tigers.

Colombo has been inundated with training requests since it finally put down the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Elaam's (LTTE) 26-year rebellion in a final onslaught which claimed the lives of more than 10,000 civilians and left 300,000 displaced by the fighting.

The apparent accolade for the Sri Lankan forces will cause alarm among human rights groups which have accused the government in Colombo of war crimes over the shelling of civilians in a tiny "no-fire" zone in the last weeks of the war. The government denies the allegation.

Many of their artillery assaults were launched using aerial film footage from remote-controlled drones, which the Pakistan government is also to deploy in its own war on militants in the tribal areas along the Afghan border.

Now Sri Lanka is planning to set up new training centres in towns formerly held by the LTTE to train foreign forces in special operations.

"We received a request from Pakistan to train their officers on our small team operations, so we have decided to open several new training schools in Mullaitivu, Kilinochchi and Vavuniya to train local and foreign military officers," said Lieutenant General Jagath Jayasuriya, Sri Lanka's new army chief.

His army's operations manuals were being translated into English so other nationalities could learn their "innovative" strategies, he said.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldne ... liban.html

Chinese-built power plant project hailed by Sri Lankan government

www.chinaview.cn 2009-08-20 21:54:02

PUTTALAM, Sri Lanka, Aug. 20 (Xinhua) -- The Sri Lankan government Thursday hailed the smooth progress of the island's largest coal-fired power plant which is being built by a Chinese company in the northwest of the island.

Basil Rajapakse, the senior advisor to Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse stated at the power house sealing ceremony of the Norochchole Power Plant that he is satisfied that the first phase of the project can be completed 13 months ahead of schedule.

"As the largest commercial project between Sri Lanka and China, the plant is unique and very important for Sri Lanka because it can satisfy one-fourth of the island's electricity requirement when the two phases are completed," said Rajapakse.

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009- ... 919254.htm

Pranay · Post by **Pranay** » 22 Aug 2009 17:56

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/8214731.stm

Sri Lanka's army has said it will be happy to give training to members of the Pakistani military.
It says Islamabad has requested the training because of the country's success in defeating the Tamil Tigers.
In May, the government announced the end to a decades-long war with the rebel group.
The army's new commander told the BBC that Pakistan had already asked if it could send its military cadets to train in counter-insurgency operations.
"We'll give a favourable response," Lt Gen Jagath Jayasuriya said of the request.
He said the Sri Lankan military envisaged specialist courses lasting up to six weeks, directed towards small groups from interested armies.
Lt Gen Jayasuriya said there was external interest in how the military had defeated the rebel group in practical terms.
The army now wished to construct a written military doctrine in English.
Mutual support
He said Sri Lanka had offered similar training, through diplomatic channels, to other countries including the United States, India, Bangladesh and The Philippines.

Kashyap · Post by **Kashyap** » 23 Aug 2009 07:15

Macabre Expose

Piribaran arrest unravels Tiger operandi

Manjula Devi born in 1983 is a native of Anuradhapura and later moved to Kilinichchi. Schooled in Sinhalese medium, she could speak fluent Sinhalese.

A Black Tiger trained for a VIP mission, she fetched a ride to Colombo with a Shanmugalingam Suriya Kumara, a Lorry driver who frequented Kilinochchi transporting dry fish from Wanni to Colombo.

Sooriya Kumara, a native of Chunnakulam, Jaffna is married to a Sinhalese woman, Asha Dilrukshi. Both lived in a house in Rambukkana. They had a four year old child. Running between Jaffna and Colombo, Suriya Kumara had been charged by the LTTE’s police over a traffic violation. He was compelled to attend the hearing of an “LTTE court.” Visiting Kilinochchi frequently for court hearing, he was approached by an intelligence cadre of the LTTE, assigned to the entry-exit point in Puliyankulam, who offered to help him out of his trouble in return of his service to the LTTE’s intelligence wing. Suriya Kumar, reportedly, accepted the offer and was introduced to an LTTE intelligence wing leader identified in his nom de gurrae as Vinothan.

Later, Vinothan offered to sell him dry fish at a cheaper than market price, thereby cultivating a relationship. While travelling frequently to Wanni, Suriya Kumara made an extra income through his new business deal.

Some months later, Vinothan asked a favour. He requested Suriya Kumar to house a woman identified as his sister, who he said is going to Colombo to go abroad. It was Manjula Devi.

http://www.lakbimanews.lk/defence.htm

The resettlement of Internally Displaced Persons in Mannar region is in progress. Hundreds of families were resettled in their original places after nearly two decades in Musali, Mannar on Friday. Here the Muslim families who were forcibly evacuated from Musali by the LTTE terrorists are seen returning to their homes. Pic: Irshad, Colombo Kotte Corr.

http://www.sundayobserver.lk/2009/08/23/new02.asp

Sri Lanka offers Pakistan exclusive industrial zone: report

Aug 23, 2009 (LBO) - Sri Lanka has offered an industrial zone exclusively for Pakistan in a bid to promote inward investment from South Asian and Middle East regions, a media report said.

The Sunday Times newspaper quoted visiting chief of a regional business chamber, Tariq Sayeed as saying the offer had been made by Sri Lanka's industrial development minister Kumara Welgama.

Sayeed head the SAARC Chamber of Commerce and Industry, a body set up after the formation of the South Asian Association of Regional Corporation, which is made up of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, Pakistan, Maldives and Sri Lanka.

The offer comes soon after a Chinese company was handed over an exclusive industrial estate by the island's investment promotion agency.

The SAARC organization had been trying to promote regional trade which had been blocked by high tariff and non-tariff barriers after gaining independence from Britain.

Along with other Asian nations the South Asia suffered 'foreign exchange shortages' after sterling currency boards were broken and money printing central banks were set up.

http://www.lankabusinessonline.com/full ... 1637564867

pankajs · Post by **pankajs** » 23 Aug 2009 12:51

India behind Lanka's victory over LTTE: Book

shyamd · Post by **shyamd** » 23 Aug 2009 15:42

India also provided intelligence equipment to intercept LTTE convo's. Triangulate positions and launch SLAF. That is part of the success. Not sure if it was in the books. I have posted the details before.

Gerard · Post by **Gerard** » 23 Aug 2009 23:17

Sri Lanka Air Force the best in the world- Gota

Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapakse says the Sri Lanka Air Force had proven in the war against the LTTE that it was the best in the world as it had succeeded even when larger and technologically superior Air Forces in the world had failed. He said this while addressing new Air Force recruits at the Air Force academy in Trincomalee today.

Sanjay M · Post by **Sanjay M** » 23 Aug 2009 23:42

'LTTE Tried to Buy Nukes'

Philip · Post by **Philip** » 24 Aug 2009 15:27

The SLAF had little to counter,a few light trainer aircraft as "pretenders" of an air force.The alarming report of the LTTE wanting "nukes" is so audacious,that it should be examined very closely,as the LTTE's overseas procurement organisation is still in existence,even though its head may have been captured.Even an LTTE "dirty nuke" could cause havoc in either SL or India and armed with this report,both the GOSL and the GOI should make every effort at bringing to book the key Eelamists abroad by demanding their extradition from their host country.The remotest possibility that the remnants of the world's most dangerous terrorist entity planned to acquire nukes should be enough to get full international cooperation from concerned countries,as these nukes if acquired could even be sold to other terrorist entities like Al Q!.

Kashyap · Post by **Kashyap** » 24 Aug 2009 19:44

China woos Sinhalese-Buddhist majority

P K Balachandran
14 Aug 2009 02:44:00 AM IST

COLOMBO: In view of the strategic importance of Sri Lanka in the Indian Ocean region, Communist China is assiduously wooing the Sinhalese-Buddhist majority in the island nation by funding Buddhist religious schools, performing Buddhist rituals and sending a delegation of monks to interact with the heads of leading Sri Lankan Buddhist monasteries.

China had offered to give $ 10 million for e-learning in 691 pirivenas or schools to train Buddhist monks, and the Sri Lankan cabinet had approved the proposal, a spokesman of the government said on Thursday.

On August 20, a group of Chinese monks would perform rites as per the Chinese Buddhist tradition during a ceremony organised to mark the completion of the first phase of the 900 MW Chinese-aided coal-fired power project at Norochcholai, north of Colombo.

They would also present a replica of the Buddha statue in the Shaolin temple in China for installation at the plant.

http://www.expressbuzz.com/edition/stor ... Nbs=&type=

Sri Lanka names new envoy to Kingdom

Arabnews, 24 Aug. RIYADH: The Sri Lankan government has nominated Ahmed Aflal Jawad as the new ambassador to Saudi Arabia, the island’s Deputy Foreign Minister Hussein Bhaila told Arab News on Sunday.

“The Foreign Ministry has nominated Director General for Economic Affairs Ahmed Aflal Jawad as the country’s ambassador in Saudi Arabia to the High Post Committee of Parliament for formal approval,” Bhaila said, adding that the new envoy would likely be approved and posted to Riyadh before the Haj in order to have an envoy in time to help Lankan pilgrims.

Last year, around 6,000 Sri Lankans performed Haj and this year the Colombo government has requested an increased quota of pilgrims

http://www.arabnews.com/?page=1&section ... ry=Kingdom

Lankan bank opening in North to recruit only Tamil staff

Updated on Monday, August 24, 2009, 14:33 IST

Colombo: Putting behind the LTTE days, a Sri Lankan bank has announced its decision to open its first branch in the North and has decided to recruit the staff entirely from the Tamil speaking region.

The Colombo ‘Sampath Bank’ is reaching out to the people of Jaffna by opening its first branch in the Northern Peninsula, the first banking house to do so since the end of the civil war.

In accordance with the Government development scheme Uthuru Wasanthaya, the Bank decided to exclusively recruit qualified residents of Jaffna to staff its newest branch.

http://www.zeenews.com/news557876.html

India's help to Sri Lanka only self-defensive: Minister

Updated on Monday, August 24, 2009, 19:35 IST

Chennai: India on Monday said whatever assistance India had provided to Sri Lankan army in its war against LTTE "must have been purely self-defensive in nature".

India was "very clear on the policy of aiding Sri Lanka on self-defence and (it was) particular that normalcy returned" in previously LTTE-held areas, Minister of State for Defence M M Pallam Raju told reporters here reacting to claims in a book that India had a "hidden hand" in Colombo's victory over the militant outfit.

Asked about the book by television journalist claiming that India offered M17 choppers to Sri Lankan army, Raju said "it must have been purely in self-defence and no more". He did not elaborate.

India wanted to help Sri Lanka in resettlement of the (Tamils) population as "quickly as possible", he added.

http://www.zeenews.com/news557957.html

Kashyap · Post by **Kashyap** » 25 Aug 2009 19:01

Assassination attempt on Gota thwarted

Police seize stock of explosives from Modera

By Kurulu Kariyakarawana

Another major attempt to assassinate the Secretary of Defence Gotabhaya Rajapaksa was averted when State Intelligence Services (SIS) nabbed a senior LTTE intelligence cadre and seized a stock of powerful explosives hidden in a house at Modera yesterday.

Police Spokesman Nimal Mediwake told Daily Mirror that a stock of arms and explosives were recovered from Mutwal in Modera as part of a three-month investigation conducted by the SIS following the arrest of an LTTE rebel.

With the recovery the SIS unveiled a well-planned attempt to attack the Secretary of Defence’s vehicle convoy using an explosive-laden motorcycle driven by an LTTE cadre. The terrorists had also designed a back-up plan to attack the ambulance carrying the injured Secretary to the hospital if by any chance Mr. Gotabhaya survived the first attack using a female suicide cadre. The recovered items consisted of a suicide kit weighing five kilos, a modern automatic gun, ammunition, five hand grenades, 13 cyanide capsules, five batteries, a remote-control device, two mobile remote-control units, 50-feet of fuse wire and a detonator had been found hidden inside a steel cabinet in the house.

The police intelligence wing officials are now looking for the explosive-laden motorcycle and other suicide cadres who were to launch the attack.

http://www.dailymirror.lk/DM_BLOG/Secti ... RTID=59244

Sanjay M · Post by **Sanjay M** » 26 Aug 2009 11:06

S. Lanka shares hit 15-mo high on S&P outlook upgrade

Philip · Post by **Philip** » 26 Aug 2009 12:20

One failure of Indian diplomacy is that we dop b*gger all when it comes to furthering our heritage of Buddhism around thw world.Tibet is Buddhist and India should state in unequivocal terms that we will ptotect the interests of theTibetan people and their Buddhist heritage as it is INDIAN! It is amzing to see China pretending to be the promoters and well-wishers of Buddhism.All across Asia and even in the west Buddhism is revered and India can leverage its heritage as the birthplace of the Buddha and a protector of Buddhism with Buddhist countries.

Sri Lanka is a prime example where India receives a large number of pilgrims from the island visiting the sacred sites of Buddhism.On almost every flight to India,one sees Buddhist monks,nuns and pilgrims travelling on pilgrimage.The MEA should see that India takes notice of its duty and prevent interlopers like Communist China,the PRC who massacred Tibetan Buddhists from this outrageous diplomacy.

thusitha · Post by **thusitha** » 26 Aug 2009 16:55

Philip

One failure of Indian diplomacy is that we dop b*gger all when it comes to furthering our heritage of Buddhism around thw world.Tibet is Buddhist and India should state in unequivocal terms that we will ptotect the interests of theTibetan people and their Buddhist heritage as it is INDIAN! It is amzing to see China pretending to be the promoters and well-wishers of Buddhism.All across Asia and even in the west Buddhism is revered and India can leverage its heritage as the birthplace of the Buddha and a protector of Buddhism with Buddhist countries.

That would be great. There is not much of a much between Buddhism and Hinduism. Therefore no one should be threatened by this. I think their would be more and more SL tourist coming that way as well as from other Asian and Western Countries. It should be the Mecca for Buddhist. Not a bad Idea to promote India that way.

thusitha · Post by **thusitha** » 26 Aug 2009 19:02

SLankan army calls execution video a fabrication

COLOMBO (AFP) – Sri Lanka's military rejected on Wednesday a video clip broadcast in Britain allegedly showing its troops executing prisoners during the final stages of its battle against Tamil Tiger rebels.
Sri Lankan army spokesman Brigadier Udaya Nanayakkara said the footage aired by Channel 4 in Britain was a fabrication to discredit security forces who defeated Tamil separatists in mid-May.
"This video has been made to discredit the armed forces," Nanayakkara said. "This was said to have been filmed at a time when the Tigers too were operating dressed in (Sri Lankan) military uniforms."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20090826/w ... 826072155

Kashyap · Post by **Kashyap** » 26 Aug 2009 19:33

Video allegedly shows 'executions' in Sri Lanka: report

(AFP) – 16 hours ago

LONDON — The Sri Lankan High Commission denied its army was involved in atrocities against the ethnic Tamil minority after British television aired video Tuesday allegedly showing a soldier executing two men.

Channel 4 News showed disturbing footage of a man dressed in army uniform shooting a naked, bound and blindfolded man in the back of the head, while the bodies of several other men were seen nearby in a muddy field.

Another man was also shot in the same way towards the end of the video.

In its report, Channel 4 stressed it could not verify the authenticity of the video which it received from a group called Journalists for Democracy in Sri Lanka.

The group claims the video footage was taken in January by a soldier using a mobile phone.

Sri Lanka's office in London said soldiers were only involved in fighting against Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) rebels.

"The High Commission of Sri Lanka categorically deny that the Sri Lankan armed forces engaged in atrocities against the Sri Lankan Tamil community," it said in a statement to Channel 4.

"They were only engaged in a military offensive against the LTTE."

"The High Commission has noted that in many instances in the past, various media institutions used doctored videos, photographs and documents to defame the Sri Lankan government and armed forces," it added.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/ar ... 9GNRoQvbvQ

Sanjay M · Post by **Sanjay M** » 26 Aug 2009 23:21

More on the 'executions' thing:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/8223437.stm

Muns · Post by **Muns** » 27 Aug 2009 07:29

Youtube video of the soldiers speaking sinhalese by Channel 4 :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K7leSySfn0A

Philip · Post by **Philip** » 27 Aug 2009 12:26

It is within the realms of possibility that the SLA did "execute" LTTE cadre in the manner alleged in the video.However,unless the video has more actual info to prove that it is genuine,with dates,location,troops involved,etc.,given,it cannot be used as gospel truth.

Secondly,the LTTE throughout its two+ decade old war against the SL state,never used any of the clauses or rules of the Geneva Convention whatsoever.Approx. 100,000 innocent civilians were victims of LTTE carnage.Sinmhalese Tamils,Lankan minorities and even Indians were brutally tortured,murdered and even massacred by the LTTE without a hint of conscience.Rajiv's assassination was described by LTTE spokesmen as being merely "unfortunate".

We have seen very recently how the media has doctored images and pics of world events.The demonstrations for Pres.Ahmed-in-a-jam of Iran was shown by western media as demos against him,cropping out pics of him at the huge Teheran rallies in his support.An Indian journal had a feature on this.We know how Chechenya war clips were shown on the BBC falsely labelled as being from Kashmir.This morning ,a controversial Microsoft ad was in the news for replacing a black man's head with a white man in an ad for Poland! The LTTE's propaganda machine run by the diaspora is still alive and kicking though the head of the beast,Prabhakaran has been severed .The "twitching of the tail" of the LTTE will continue for some more time,as the diaspora is hell bent upon getting revenge for its catastrophic defeat.The only way in which it can hit back is to smear the image and reputation of the GOSL and it is using every means.

Even if the pics are true,disturbing as they are,from their diabolic track record the LTTE cadre probably got what they deserved.The Eelamists used and abused every international convention of war in their fight for Eelam.The Eelam wars were fought with no quarter asked and no quarter given.No tears (crocodile or genuine) need be spent for the LTTE and its diaspora.Their defeat is to be celebrated !

Stan_Savljevic · Post by **Stan_Savljevic** » 27 Aug 2009 12:48

Philip wrote: Secondly, the LTTE throughout its two+ decade old war against the SL state, never used any of the clauses or rules of the Geneva Convention whatsoever. Approx. 100,000 innocent civilians were victims of LTTE carnage. Sinhalese Tamils, Lankan minorities and even Indians were brutally tortured, murdered and even massacred by the LTTE without a hint of conscience. Rajiv's assassination was described by LTTE spokesmen as being merely "unfortunate".

So you mean to say that SLA == LTTE. So why should the moniker "terrorist" that is so freely bandied about and used so eloquently for the LTTE be not used for the SLA? If the SLA wants to nip such a campaign in its bud, it is incumbent on the SLA and GoSL (from which it takes orders from) to clear the doubts that it did not indulge in extra-judicial killings and massacres, all in the name of putting down the LTTE. Else, welcome to the free world where perceptions matter more than happenstances on the ground.

We have seen very recently how the media has doctored images and pics of world events.

Yes, this is a conspiracy by the west. But it is still incumbent on SLA and GoSL to prove that this is a conspiracy. GoSL should put up or shut up.

The "twitching of the tail" of the LTTE will continue for some more time, as the diaspora is hell bent upon getting revenge for its catastrophic defeat. The only way in which it can hit back is to smear the image and reputation of the GOSL and it is using every means.

The GoSL has its task cut out, it can prove whatever is its version, or shut its backside and take the propaganda now dished from the other side. You thought reams of crap from the lankaweb, lankadaily and pics of Pirabakaran's family saying "so and so is evil" were not propaganda?! As they say, the circle spins 24 hrs a day. Take that...

Even if the pics are true, disturbing as they are, from their diabolic track record the LTTE cadre probably got what they deserved.

Are you GOD to pronounce who deserved what?! If so, prove it.

Anabhaya · Post by **Anabhaya** » 27 Aug 2009 17:36

The videa appears to be execution of surrendered/captured tigers - interesting to see a vehicle pass the area @ 15 secs. They must have had dozens of such executions - some 200 rebels are rumoured to have been executed when SLA boxed in a large rebel concentration between PTK and Mullaitivu. Nothing everybody didn't know.

GOSL ain't sweating much over this I tell you. Mere rejection and on with their lives. The twitching tail of tigers indeed.

Stan_Savljevic · Post by **Stan_Savljevic** » 27 Aug 2009 17:55

When the GoSL offers to teach the IA "how we beat the tigers" propaganda via governmental channels, let them peddle such bullcrap to the pakis where this training belongs and will be more in sync. It is not like the IA is not aware of these shortcuts, it takes great pains in ensuring such extra-judicial stuff not happen. That is the difference between a regular army representing a civilian democracy and ..... Despite all the pracharayana, the hi-falutin GoSL and SL-is-a-great-country chanters need to learn a few things: Humility is a virtue. Now you know why our J&K crisis goes on and on, when your army can walk on and claim to have finished all resistance in x months.

SwamyG · Post by **SwamyG** » 27 Aug 2009 18:01

>>>>Secondly,the LTTE throughout its two+ decade old war against the SL state,never used any of the clauses or rules of the Geneva Convention whatsoever.Approx. 100,000 innocent civilians were victims of LTTE carnage.
What did tamilians in SL get before the civil war broke out? Violence on large scale sprouted around 1980s, what was happening till then?

Sanku · Post by **Sanku** » 27 Aug 2009 18:27

SwamyG wrote:>>>>Secondly,the LTTE throughout its two+ decade old war against the SL state,never used any of the clauses or rules of the Geneva Convention whatsoever.Approx. 100,000 innocent civilians were victims of LTTE carnage.
What did tamilians in SL get before the civil war broke out? Violence on large scale sprouted around 1980s, what was happening till then?

Uh just a correction, there is no correlation between the scale of violence between pre LTTE era and post LTTE (leaving aside JVP issues)

Any easy goggling will pull that up.

Stan_Savljevic · Post by **Stan_Savljevic** » 27 Aug 2009 18:44

Sanku wrote: Uh just a correction, there is no correlation between the scale of violence between pre LTTE era and post LTTE (leaving aside JVP issues)

Any easy goggling will pull that up.

Why dont you google that up and show us why TULF, then PLOTE, EPDP, LTTE etc. came up? In an umpteenth avatar of this thread, there are folks who would still go ahead and defend the indefensible. Independent of the violent thug-o-cracy that was LTTE. On the one side is a terrorist organization and on the other side you have a civilian government. If the government desires respect, it cannot resort to terrorist methods and claim sanctity that what they did was dharma and the need of the hour. Organized violence on surrendered terrorists was not right, and it never will be. Does nt SL have a judicial system? Take them to the court of law, fight the case, hang them or needle them, that is what civilian governments do.

PS: How long would it have taken us to put down the Geelanis and the Hurrirats? Or take down Ajmal Kasab? Beneath all the gritting of the teeth, there is the silent power of a confident democrazy!

PPS: All these assorted countries around us hate us not because of trade deficits or we indulge in our interests too far vis-a-vis them or any other bullcrap reason. They hate us because they cannot get over the fact that a buncha folks with diverse backgrounds can live together and obey a rule of law, however flawed its execution may be. In contrast to their own societies which have only one or two groups of people. We are winning the battle of ideas, and the hatred is a reflection of that. For those from SL, welcome to Murphy's laws of coexistence, two groups cannot stand each other, but 10 can.

Kashyap · Post by **Kashyap** » 27 Aug 2009 18:56

Sri Lanka shares hit 15-mo high on S&P outlook upgrade

By Shihar Aneez

COLOMBO, Aug 26 (Reuters) - Sri Lanka's bourse .CSE closed at its highest level in 15 months on Wednesday, led by blue chips and hotels shares after ratings agency Standard & Poor's raised its sovereign outlook to stable from negative.

The bourse in the first hour of trading rose 1.04 percent to hit 2,573.93 points, its highest since May 26, 2008, Reuters data showed. It closed 0.22 percent or 5.59 points firmer at 2552.03, its highest close since May 30, 2008.

http://www.reuters.com/article/rbssIndu ... 0320090826

14 Anti-tank mines planted along Giant Tank bund

The Indian De-mining Organization, Sarvatra, said yesterday that it had recovered 14 anti-tank mines planted along the one kilometre stretch of the Mannar Giant tank bund which is now under renovation with Japanese financial assistance.

Sarvatra has been engaged in de-mining operations in Sri Lanka since 2003.

The organization said that it had expedited the mine clearance work in the Rice Bowl area of Mannar so that it could complete the task before monsoon rain starts and hand over the lands for farmers to cultivate.

The Manager-Operation of Sarvatra, Mandir Singh told Daily Mirror yesterday that the area was a heavy mine field, and there were days when they recovered 200-300 anti-personal mines. Mr. Singh said only 10-20 mines were sometimes found in a day.

We now use a special machine called Arjun machine which can remove any type of mine without exploding. There are eight such machines in our possession. The earth is very hard and dry. So, we use specially renovated water bowsers to sprinkle water on earth and wait for three hours. Then, we de-mine easily, he said.

http://www.lankanewspapers.com/news/2009/8/47245.html

Prabhakaran tried to escape to jungles: Aide

STAFF WRITER 14:25 HRS IST

T V Sriram

Colombo, Aug 27 (PTI) Worried that LTTE's defeat at the hands of military would crush his dream of a separate Tamil homeland, slain LTTE chief V Prabhakaran had made a last ditch attempt to escape to the jungles in the north by breaching the Sri Lankan defence lines during the final phase of the war.

Prabhakaran's now detained close aide Gokulan Master, who was with the Tiger chief during the last stage of the war three months back, disclosed this during interrogation.

http://www.ptinews.com/news/250803_Prab ... gles--Aide

SwamyG · Post by **SwamyG** » 27 Aug 2009 19:39

Sanku wrote:
SwamyG wrote:>>>>Secondly,the LTTE throughout its two+ decade old war against the SL state,never used any of the clauses or rules of the Geneva Convention whatsoever.Approx. 100,000 innocent civilians were victims of LTTE carnage.
What did tamilians in SL get before the civil war broke out? Violence on large scale sprouted around 1980s, what was happening till then?
Uh just a correction, there is no correlation between the scale of violence between pre LTTE era and post LTTE (leaving aside JVP issues)

Any easy goggling will pull that up.

With Google, you get what you want {Trademark - SwamyG}

Sanku · Post by **Sanku** » 27 Aug 2009 20:27

Stan_Savljevic wrote:
Sanku wrote: Uh just a correction, there is no correlation between the scale of violence between pre LTTE era and post LTTE (leaving aside JVP issues)

Any easy goggling will pull that up.
Why dont you google that up and show us why TULF, then PLOTE, EPDP, LTTE etc. came up?

Yes its been done.
Please illustrate the number of death before LTTE, TULF etc started working and after that.

Since I have not made the claim that LTTE had same level of violence as pre LTTE era I dont have to defend it.

There is plenty of data, the killings really started after LTTE came into its own. Sure there were problems, but we are talking of scale of violence.

chetak · Post by **chetak** » 27 Aug 2009 23:07

[quote="Kashyap"]Video allegedly shows 'executions' in Sri Lanka: report
[quote](AFP) – 16 hours ago

There is something distinctly odd obout the videos.

A headshot at that range should have some bits of skull and brain matter flying around, no? The heads are jerking backwards... towards the gun and not away as would be logical

Also should the bodies not be falling forward or to the side?
They seem to be falling right back as though shot from the front.

Seemed odd to me.

Javee · Post by **Javee** » 27 Aug 2009 23:34

Philip wrote:Even if the pics are true,disturbing as they are,from their diabolic track record the LTTE cadre probably got what they deserved.The Eelamists used and abused every international convention of war in their fight for Eelam.The Eelam wars were fought with no quarter asked and no quarter given.No tears (crocodile or genuine) need be spent for the LTTE and its diaspora.Their defeat is to be celebrated !

Ah, nice. So if the eelamists start killing SLA soldiers, then I guess you wouldn't condone it, coz they deserved it, correct?

If SLA can stoop and start killing people (at this point, its all fuzzy, but you seem to be ok with extra judicial killing), then what is the difference between government forces and terrorists?

I just cant beleive the amount of contempt you show for these dead guys, even if they are from LTTE.