Govt. Alleges Suspects had Dealings with LTTE; Medics in Police Custody
HUMAN RIGHTS Minister Mahinda Samarasinghe said a group of medical doctors are being detained at the Criminal Investigation Department on ‘reasonable suspicion of collaboration with the LTTE’, BBC reported yesterday.“I don't know what the investigations would reveal but maybe they were even part of that whole conspiracy to put forward this notion that government forces were shelling and targeting hospitals and indiscriminately targeting civilians as a result of the shelling,” he said. The minister says the doctors must be produced in court every month while investigations proceed pending possible charges. He said these investigations could last up to a year, but there might be extensions to that.
THE SRI LANKA NAVY which was on high alert to detect the British ship which set-off for Sri Lanka in mid March, spotted the suspicious merchant vessel Captain Ali in the western seas 150 km off Panadura in the early hours of yesterday, Navy Spokesman Captain D.K.P. Dassanayaka said. Captain Dassanayaka told the Daily News the vessel MV Captain Ali, captained by a former SLMM member was detected by the Navy in the sea off Panadura around 4 am yesterday and was being taken to Panadura for further investigations.
THE Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) violated the rights of millions of Sri Lankans over three decades, Don Randall of the Liberal Party speaking during the debate on a Private Member’s motion on Sri Lanka in the Australian Parliament said.“Having had a long association with the Australian - Sri Lankan community and having watched closely the atrocities committed by the LTTE over many years, few were more thrilled at the prospect of Sri Lankan peace and unity than me when I saw that the Tigers were defeated recently,” Randall said..jpg)
COMMANDER OF THE ARMY General Sarath Fonseka in the aftermath of the War just ended went to Colombo Military Hospital this morning (5) in order to interact with War Heroes recuperating from injuries received during Wanni battles. General Fonseka, deeply concerned about their medical progress and needs spoke to medical specialists attending those inmates and received a first-hand account on each and every soldier undergoing treatment for serious injuries. General Sarath Fonseka inquired into possibilities of sending soldiers on long-term treatment to their houses for a.....
THE linchpin and tower of strength behind the successful completion of the war against terrorism, Mr. Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, Secretary Defence who was formally an infantryman in his mother unit, the prestigious Gajaba Regiment (GR) recalled his cherished yesteryear memories when he paid a visit to the GR Headquarters at Saliyapura, Anuradhapura Friday (5) morning. 
NEARLY 176,000 anti-personnel mines buried by the LTTE had so far been detected and removed between 2002 and March 31, 2009, Senior Advisor to the Nation Building Ministry M. S. Jayasinghe said. Several international groups along with the Sri Lanka Army were engaged in the demining but most of the mines were removed by the Sri Lanka Army, he said. In the Eastern Province about 98 per cent of mines have been removed and demining groups are now concentrating on the Thoppigala area.
THE UN, and many European nations, are very angry at Sri Lanka for defeating the separatist Tamil rebels, after nearly 30 years of fighting. The UN, and particularly Norway, were trying hard to work out a peace deal. The Tamils, represented by the LTTE (an organization eventually recognized as an international terrorist group) refused to budge on their demand for partition of the island. A decade ago, the LTTE controlled a third of the island, although Tamils are only 13 percent of the population. It used to be 18 percent, but many have fled because of the LTTE violence, and government attempts to cope. Three years ago, fed up with over a decade of failed peace efforts, the government was determined to crush the LTTE and regain control of the entire island.
* HCHR cannot supercede United Nations Secretary General * Unfortunate if UNHCR inter-governmental decisions are ignored.WE would like to remind all concerned that the independence of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (Navanethem Pillay) cannot be presumed to exceed that of the UN Secretary-General, India’s Permanent Representative to the UN in Geneva A. Gopinathan said. “It would be extremely unfortunate if inter-governmental decisions adopted by the Human Rights Council were to be ignored or set aside, and the High Commissioner and/or her....
THE Yal Devi train which was suspended beyond Vavuniya for the past 20 years due to LTTE terrorism will run up to Thandikulam from today. Transport Minister Dullas Alahapperuma said the restoration of the rail track in North destoyed by the LTTE 20 years ago is undertaken by the Government under the Uthuru Mithuru project as the people of both North and South eagerly wait to see the Yal Devi get on track again. “The railway track and the signal system have already been completed up to Thandikulam,” the Minister said.
A 36 MW power plant has been set up in Chunnakam, Jaffna at a cost of $ 35 million. MTD Walkers PLC, the holding company of the diversified Walkers group of companies undertook the setting up and operation of this power plant in Jaffna. Head of Operations of MTD Walkers PLC, Air Vice Marshall (Retd.) Lal Perera said that they had invested in this plant in 2007 during the war when other investors were reluctant to invest. "We are now in a position to provide power to the entire peninsula," he said. The current electricity requirement is around 33 MW whilst the delivery is around 24 MW. This results in a one-and-a-half hour power cut in the peninsula.