CANADA is boosting its immigration screening in Sri Lanka – shifting overseas CSIS agents from New Delhi to Colombo in a bid to keep defeated Tamil Tiger terrorists from landing in Canada. In addition to moving agents from the Canadian Security Intelligence Service and the Canada Border Services Agency from their posts in India, the federal immigration department is adding staff to manage the growing backlog of Sri Lankan visa requests.
DURING my recent visit to Sri Lanka I had the occasion to meet with many government officials in many ministries. I also met with several distinguished members of the business community in Colombo. At all of my meetings I asked the question, "Have any of you ever heard of Bruce Fein?" The answer I always received, along with blank expressions, was "No." I couldn’t believe it. I usually said in response, "How can you not be aware of the Washington mercenary attorney, lobbyist, and PR consultant that is paid by LTTE supporters to bury your country?" Usually, there was very little interest in the subject, so we just moved on. How sad, I felt.
TWO MALAYSIANS suspected to be LTTE supporters have been arrested while staying at a lodge at 37th Lane in Wellawatte by a special police team, according to police sources. In the search that followed a “pen drive” containing pictures of scenes of the Wanni battlefield as well as LTTE Leader Prabhakaran have been found and taken into custody. Police sources further said that the two suspects are being interrogated in order to find out the purpose for which such material were in their possession and also to ascertain whether they are LTTE members. It has transpired that the two suspects had arrived in Sri Lanka three months ago.
LEADER OF THE LTTE in the United States and one of the LTTE's senior arms procurement agents were among four suspects who pleaded guilty in a US court on Tuesday for conspiring to provide material support to the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). Those who pleaded guilty were Karunakaran Kandasamy, Pratheepan Thavaraja, Murugesu Vinayagamoorthy, and Vijayshanthar Patpanathan. The guilty plea proceedings were held before Chief United States District Judge Raymond J. Dearie. Kandasamy and Pratheepan face a 20-year maximum statutory sentence. Vinayagamoorthy and Patpanathan face a 15-year maximum statutory sentence.
WANNI: MORE AND MORE startling stockpiles of LTTE sophisticated weapons, explosive devices, arms and ammunition, left hidden or buried in VELLAYANMADAM, south of PUTHUMATTALAN continue to emerge, as 9 Sri Lanka Artillery soldiers went on examining former LTTE hideouts, further deep in the above area as the clearing was intensifying. Military hardware including one more Anti Aircraft Gun (AAG), popularly known as ‘pedal gun’, T-56 mark 1 weapon, T-56 mark 2 weapon, G3-A3 weapon, several parts of 12.7 mm weapons, a few Global Positioning Systems (GPS), ..........
A twenty-member medical team, headed by Prof. Ashmini Fernando from Ragama Medical Faculty is in Vavuniya now in order to examine physical and psychological condition of LTTE affected children who had been living in Mullaittivu and Kilinochchi orphanages when terrorists were in control of those areas. Army troops who had housed them in a Vavuniya relief village at the initial stage brought their presence to the notice of the National Children Protection Authority (NCPA). Chairman NCPA Jagath Wellwatta has already obtained a four-storied building in Vavuniya for re-location.....
THE SRI LANKAN government said yesterday it appreciated the sentiments expressed by Indian Foreign Secretary Shiv Shankar Menon who said in New Delhi that President Mahinda Rajapaksa was right in a way when he said he fought India's war since the LTTE had killed Rajiv Gandhi. Mr. Menon had said it was a welcome statement from the Sri Lankan President because the security of Sri Lanka was interlinked with that of India and pointed out that Indian security would not remain safe if Sri Lanka's security was threatened as the spillover effects of terrorism would certainly affect India.
DEFENCE SECRETARY Gotabhaya Rajapaksa praising the service of the Sri Lanka Air Force, said that our war heroes have proved that if the correct leadership is given there is nothing impossible for them to win. "The skill and capability of the service personnel behind the equipment manoeuvring it, mattered most in winning this war against terrorism," he said.
AS SRI LANKA comes out of the throes of a 35 year-old conflict, all Sri Lankans are joyous that the war is over. The International Community should stop preaching and extend its full cooperation to the government and the people in ushering in a new era of reconciliation and rapid development. These are the common sentiments expressed by all panellists. An International Forum on Sri Lanka was held recently (5th June 2009) in the hallowed surroundings of the internationally-famed Oxford Union at the University of Oxford. Themed "Post Conflict Reconstruction & Democratisation of Sri Lanka’s Former Conflict Regions," it featured an eminent panel that were carefully selected to represent all the different stakeholders.
THE condition of internal displaced persons (IDPs) in welfare centres in the North has achieved tangible progress compared to his last visit to Sri Lanka, Japanese special envoy Yasushi Akashi said adding that resettlement of IDPs have to be made after demining activities are completed. Addressing the media yesterday, he said when he met President Mahinda Rajapaksa last morning, he found that the President was very committed to expedite the resettlement of IDPs in their original dwellings. The most important matter is to ensure the security and safety of the people due to the high number of landmines in the area, he said.
