New 24 hr Ultimatum to LTTE; Military Offensive Continues - Secretary Defence
THE Security Forces will continue their military operations until it rescues the last civilian held hostage by the LTTE and the last LTTE leader is killed or surrenders to the Security Forces, Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa told the Daily News yesterday. He said it is high time for the LTTE leaders to let the remaining civilians arrive in the Government controlled areas and surrender to the Security Forces as a 24- hour ultimatum has already been issued by the Government for them to surrender. “They should either surrender to the Security Forces or see their end at the hands of the troops,” Rajapaksa added. He said the Security Forces displayed their professionalism to the entire world by successfully rescuing the civilians in the biggest ever hostage rescue mission....
PEOPLE of all walks of life yesterday lauded the Security Forces for rescuing over 35,000 civilians who were held hostage for months by the LTTE despite numerous appeals made by the Government and the Iinternational Community to release them. Ven. Elle Gunawansa Thera who firmly believed that terrorism can be defeated at a time when the then UNF Government was pandering to the LTTE yesterday lauded President Mahinda Rajapaksa , Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa and Service Commanders for confining the LTTE terrorists to a narrow stretch of land which was also dedicated for the civilians....
THE Sri Lankan army has done the civilised world proud by undertaking probably the biggest ever rescue operation in the world to save tens of thousands of civilians taken hostage by a terrorist outfit banned in many countries. Yesterday, the troops smashed the LTTE defences in the ‘civilian safe zone’ enabling over 35,000 men, women and children to move to safety in the government-held areas. Prabhakaran's death squads, true to form, used suicide bombers and fired heavy weapons killing as they did dozens of civilians in a desperate bid to prevent them from fleeing....
"AS far as the Indian Government is concerned, the LTTE is a terrorist organisation and Prabhakaran is a terrorist. The Government and Congress party consider the LTTE to be responsible for Rajiv Gandhi's assassination. We would expect Lanka to hand Prabhakaran over to us. Karunanidhi's remarks saying "Prabhakaran is not a terrorist" are his personal," Congress party spokesperson Kapil Sibal said. Meanwhile, Sri Lanka termed Karunanidhi's remarks as a poll stunt and said the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister was a "Chanakya" trying to exploit the issue for electoral gains....
MULLAITTIVU: PANDEMONIUM has broken out in the PUTHUMATHALAN “No Fire Zone” (NFZ) Monday (20) afternoon as a gathering of some 5,000 or more trapped civilians defied LTTE threats, braved to cross two more LTTE built earth bunds. Those fleeing civilians have been challenged, confronted and surrounded by gun-trotting Tigers inside the NFZ on their way but resisting civilians have gone on arguing against their detention by the LTTE. Heated arguments have prompted Tigers to react to the chaos by firing at them.
A DELEGATION of officers, attached to the Pakistan National Defence University (NDU), now visiting Sri Lanka as part of their study programme called on Lieutenant General Sarath Fonseka, Commander of the Army Tuesday (21) morning at the Army Headquarters. The visiting team of delegates, headed by Rear Admiral Tayyab Ali Dogar as Group Leader included seventeen military officers from Pakistan tri-services and military men from Saudi Arabia, Germany and United Kingdom. 