LTTE IN SOUTH AFRICA (By ROHAN GUNARATNA)

India's National Magazine From the publishers of THE HINDU; Vol. 15 :: No. 24 :: Nov. 21 - Dec. 04, 1998
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U.S. slams LTTE for violence and threatens to renew  the ban

The Indian Express : 5 March 1999

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A pre-exhumation survey to ascertain if a mass grave in Chemmani, Jaffna said to contain the bodies
of over 300 civilians had been tampered with, was conducted by a team of forensic experts
yesterday afternoon.

The soldier who made the mass grave allegation last July , Somaratne Rajapakse was convicted of
the murder of school girl Krishanthi Kumaraswamy whose body was found close to the site he
claims contains the grave.

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Muslims and Tamil separatism
The Island : 6 March 1999

By Kamalika Pieris

The present day Muslims are well aware of their early history in Sri Lanka. They are proud of their contribution, and also of the fact that they were welcomed by the Sri Lankan kings, and permitted to integrate with the majority community. They now stress the fact that they supported the Sinhalese as regard to Inde-pend-ence. Mr. T. B. Jayah had stated in the State Council in the 1930s that "we Muslims are fully united in our demand for independence for this country and in this quest we are one with the Sinhala community" (Island 4.2.99 p 3). The Sinnalebbe Educ-ational Founda-tion reminded us that it was Mudaliar A. Sinnalebbe of Batticaloa who, in 1948 proposed that the Royal Standard of King Sri Wickrama Rajasinghe depicting a lion holding a sword in its right paw, should once again be adopted as the official flag of free Lanka" (Daily News. 25.2.98 p 9). At the 66th anniversary celebrations of the Muslim Library at Slave Island, Colom-bo, speakers referred to the support rendered in the 1940s by the late Badde-gama Piyaratane Thero and the late Thellembura Pava-rakeerthi Thero to this library. In the 1950s the late Cyril de Soyza had donated a set of the Encyclopedia Britan-nica. (Daily News. 9.10.98. p 21) Recen-tly, Chairman, Al Islam Foundation, reminded us that the Muslims had stood for a united Ceylon, opposing claims by the Tamils for ‘fifty-fifty’. The Muslim leaders had supported the Sinhala Only Bill. They had refused all bribes from the Tamil Separatist Movement to support Eelam. They also pointed out that the Muslims in the east, who bore the brunt of the LTTE attacks, stood as a barrier to LTTE penetration into the Sinhala areas of the North Central Pro-vince, and Uva Province (Lanka Guardian. May 1988 p 17).

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Mass grave probe begins

BBC News South Asia : 5 March 1999

A team of criminal investigators and forensic experts has visited Sri Lanka's northern Jaffna Peninsula to examine
the site of an alleged mass grave.

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Statement of the National Movement Against Terrorism

The Island : 5 March 1999

We have reliably learnt that certain high officials/leaders of the Government of Sri Lanka have
secretly and unofficially commenced "negotiations" with the LTTE. We believe that at this very
moment with the unofficial participation of a few hand-picked officers of the armed forces this utterly
despicable transaction is taking place.

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US State Dept slams LTTE

Daily News : 3 Feb 1999

The US State Department has slammed the LTTE for undermining the work of the Jaffna Municipal Council through a campaign of killing and intimidation.

The LTTE has thus sabotaged the work of the Jaffna MC whose members had been elected in free and fair elections, the State Department says in its 'Sri Lanka Country Report on Human Rights Practice for 1998' issued yesterday.

"The LTTE regularly committed extrajudicial killings, including killing prisoners taken on the battlefields," the report stated.

It has also blamed the LTTE for disappearances, torture, arbitrary arrests, detentions and extortion. "The LTTE continued to control large sections of the north and east of the country through authoritarian military rule. It denied the people under its authority the right to change their Government, infringed on their privacy rights, routinely violated their civil liberties, operated an unfair court system, restricted freedom of movement, and severely discriminated against ethnic and religious minorities."

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SRI LANKA- AND A "SEPARATE TAMIL KINGDOM"?

Dr Olga Mendis OAM
President Sinhala Cultural and Community Services Foundation.
Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.

The negotiation of a new Extradition Treaty between the United States and Sri Lanka successfully concluded on February 24 at the US State Department, Washington, DC, the Foreign Ministry said yesterday. The negotiated text was initiated at the US Department of State by the two delegations. Ambassador Dr. Warnasena Rasaputram on behalf of the Government of Sri Lanka and Legal Adviser, US Department of State David Andrews on behalf of the Government of the United States of America were present. Senior officials of the Department of State were also present.

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Govt. accused of human rights abuses in LTTE areas

The indu : 28 Feb 1999

Colombo, Feb 28 (UNI): The US State Department's latest report on human rights practices in Sri Lanka has noted that ``the Government generally respected the human rights of its citizens in areas not affected by the insurgency'' but charged that the ``ongoing war with the LTTE continued to be accompanied by serious human rights abuses by the security forces.''

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NMAT attack peace moves

Sunday Times : 28 Feb 1999

The National Movement Against Terrorism has reiterated its opposition to any talks with the LTTE and thrown charges of treachery again those whom it describes as 'peace mongers and religious mercenaries.'

In a statement, the NMAT alleged the final betrayal of the nation had begun with certain high officials and leaders of the government holding 'negotiations' secretly and unofficially with the LTTE.

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Perumal visits Jaffna
Date: 26-02-1999 :: Pg: 13 :: Col: d

The former Chief Minister of Sri Lanka's North Eastern Provincial Council, Mr. Varadaraja Perumal, visited the northern Jaffna Peninsula earlier this week.

According to sources, Mr. Perumal's visit was to re-organise the Eelam People's Revolutionary Liberation Front (EPRLF). Besides meeting the local officials and cadres of the EPRLF, he reportedly met senior military officials during his overnight
visit on Monday.

 

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The greatest heroes are those in the battlefield - Gen. Ratwatte
Daily News : 23 Feb 1999

You, the mother Lanka's patriot sons who are committed to the cause of defending the country's sovereignty and independence will go down as the greatest heroes in our history, said Irrigation and Power Minister and Deputy Defence Minister General Anuruddha Ratwatte when he went on an inspection tour of the camps in the Padaviya and the Vanni operational areas on Saturday.

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NATIONAL MOVEMENT AGAINST TERRORISM

380, Bauddhaloka Mawatha, Colombo 7, Sri Lanka.

 

Some individuals from a so-called Organisation for Religious Amity have held a meeting at Mavai with some members of the LTTE terrorist group. These individuals included Buddhist and Christian clergy. When they returned to Colombo, their terrorist tour received wide publicity in the government-controlled media. It became apparent from the interviews given by these people that their real motive was not to inquire into the welfare of refugees, as they originally claimed, but to pave the way for negotiations with the terrorists.

 

Some time ago, the network of NGOs and western Christian organisations tried to force the government and the UNP into negotiations with the LTTE. When their efforts failed, they manipulated some members of the business community to do the same. This ended in failure as well. Their latest effort is the banner of ‘religious amity’.

 

What these individuals have done is against the law. The penalties for having contacts with, or giving publicity to a proscibed terrorist organisation are clearly stated. As such, these individuals and the government officials who provided publicity for their actions should be arrested. Failure to do this makes a mockery of the government and the legal system of the country.

 

LTTE terrorists have murdered not only thousands of Sinhalese and Muslims, but even Tamils who opposed them. They have attacked places of worship sacred to Buddhists, such as the Sri Maha Bodhi and the Dalada Maligawa, and slaughtered Buddhist monks. They have burnt down Catholic churches at Kokilai and Nayaru. They massacred scores of Muslims inside their mosque at Kattankudy. They have carried out the universally reviled policy of ethnic cleansing by killing or driving out the Sinhalese who lived in the North and East.

 

In view of this, we declare that those who talk to these terrorists are contemptible. These individuals are not religious people but traitors to all humanity. It must be pointed out that the monks who were involved can hardly be considered representatives of the Buddha Sasana. One of the bishops, it must be recalled, was involved in the discussions held in 1994 between the government and the terrorists, and misled the nation by saying that peace could be obtained through negotiations. We have seen the consequences of those negotiations. That bishop bears part of the responsibility for the death and destruction caused by the terrorists since then.

 

All these people and organisations have repeatedly deceived the nation into believing that negotiating with the terrorists is the way to achieve peace. We have seen the results of the Jayawardene-Rajiv Gandhi pact, the Premadasa-LTTE pact and the Kumaratunge-LTTE pact. We have seen how the terrorists rebuilt their military strength on each occasion that these so-called ‘peace talks’ took place. 21,000 people have been killed during the time span of these ‘peace talks’ and their aftermath. 89,000 Sinhalese, 40,000 Muslims and 30,000 Tamils have been rendered homeless. Those calling for ‘peace talks’ must bear the responsibility for this.

 

We call upon the people of Sri Lanka not to be misled by these ‘peace’ mongers. What they are peddling will not lead to peace, but to the destruction of our nation.

 

 

Aruna Batuvanthudave

(on behalf of the media committee of the National Movement Against Terrorism)

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One of ‘the Majors’ was an Intelligence wing officer, while all the others who were killed were Sea Tigers.

The names of the LTTE officers killed are ‘Lt. Col.’ Maharasan, ‘Lt. Col.’ Neelan, ‘Maj’. Rubanraj (Intelligence), ‘Maj’. Govin, Maj. Sindanaichelvam, ‘Maj.’ Isayvendan, ‘Maj.’ Marian, ‘Maj’. Kumaran, ‘Capt.’ Pavan, ‘Capt.’ Ahanoli, ‘Capt’. Isaiamudan, ‘Capt’. Kannan, ‘Capt’. Ruben, ‘Lt.’ Olinilavan, and’ Lt’. Sundaran

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A visit to Jaffna some reflections

The Island / Mid Week Mirror : 10 Feb 1999
By Partha S. Ghosh

My interest in Sri Lanka dates back to those gory days of 1983 when the island was rocked by anti-Tamil violence, the worst of its kind in the nation's recent history. Through my subsequent readings I developed a deep fascination for two towns in particular, Kandy and Jaffna, the seats of Sinhalese and Sri Lanka Tamil cultures, respectively. While it was easy to pay visits to Kandy, which I actually did several times turning it virtually into my second home, Jaffna remained in my dreams only for obvious reasons. And the more it remained out of bounds for the common Indian, my curiosity increased. The process gave rise to myth-buildings in one's mind the crux of which was that Jaffna was too distinct a socio-cultural reality to ever become a part of the Sri Lankan whole in the real sense. But this self-created myth of my imagination today stands exploded now that I have physically visited the peninsula and met its people.

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LTTE on verge of massive attack in north
Gunboats smash Tiger convoy carrying medical supplies
The Island / Mid Week Mirror : 10 Feb 1999

Alarm bells are being rung among the military intelligence community that a massive LTTE attack is imminent in the north, most probably aimed at troops in the Mankulam or Oddusudan areas, defence ministry sources said.

The suspicions were confirmed on Monday when navy gunboats intercepted a Sea Tiger convoy bringing medical supplies from India, obviously as part of the preparations for the attack.

It is a well-known fact that the LTTE stocks up on medical supplies immediately before an attack. These include bandages, pain killing drugs, etc., which are essential to treat war wounded. This is a standard practice among armies around the world.

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Vive le Sinhala Buddhist people!
The Island / Mid Week Mirror : 10 Feb 1999
By H. L. D. Mahindapala

When the 'Cats' cried 'Vive le (Sinhala-Buddhist) people!' in the last line of their article published in the Midweek Review of The Island ( January 13,1999) they may not have considered it as anything more than a rhetorical flourish to round off their anti-Sinhala-Buddhist article. They may also have not realised – however oblique that cheer may be - that it is a recognition of the fact that the Sinhala-Buddhists, in the course of their history, have shown a maturity far greater than some of the hysterical banshees screeching in the NGO circuits. They would never have expected it to be picked up and thrown back at them. They may regret having said that but it’s a bit too late now for them to retract.

 

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Tamil separatism and the "Thimpu Principles"

The Island : 6 Feb 1999
Kamalika Pieris

At the Thimpu talks held in Bhutan in 1985, the Tamil delegation consisting of TULF, LTTE, PLOTE, EROS, and EPRLF issued the following statement:

"It is our considered view that any meaningful solution to the Tamil national question must be based on the following four cardinal principles:

1. Recognition of the Tamils of Sri Lanka as a nation.

2. Recognition of the existence of an identified homeland for Tamils in Sri Lanka.

3. Recognition of the right of self-determination of the Tamil nations.

4. Recognition of the right to citizenship and the fundamental rights of the Tamils who look upon the
island as their country."

Let us examine each of these four assertions.

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We, the Society for Peace, Unity and Human Rights for Sri Lanka is the largest and most active Sri Lankan organization in Australia with sister organizations in all Australian states and territories. Established in 1994, we have been at the forefront in the war against Sri Lankan separatist  propaganda abroad and humbly consider ourselves to be self taught specialists in the field. The long and continuous engagement in this exercise has endowed us with an excellent understanding and a rare insight into the ardous role of an inforomation officer who is committed to effectively counter separatist propaganda rather than sit back and pass on government communiques and news releases. Experience has made us appreciate and understand the pitfalls, defeats and treachery such a person has to face in his/her uphill battle against the enemy, the separatists. We believe it is better to make a minor mistake or be temporarily defeated rather than not fight at all. After all, contrary to the dictums of arm chair bureaucrats and jealous couch potatoes, what counts is not losing a battle but winning the war.

In that light, we wish to lodge our strongest dissappointment and vehement protest with regard to the termination of the services of Mr Aruna Kulatunga as the Information Counsellor at the Sri Lankan High Commission in UK.

Aruna, was an extremely capable and effective information man who had numerous successes over the separatist propagandists to his credit. He is well liked by the patriotic Sri Lankan expatriate organizations in UK which have united through his superb skills at facilitation. If Aruna has made a mistake, by all means he can be corrected, warned or reprimanded. But at this dark hour when his services are most wanted his head should not be placed on the block. We are gravely concerned that his departure would paralyze the anti separatist propaganda war not only in UK but also world wide.

We anxiously plead with you and the Hon Minister of Foreign Affairs to  reinstate Mr Aruna Kulatunga without any delay.

SPUR

Special report on the London High Commission fiasco by a special correspondent - appeared on Sunday, January 10, 1998 on page 5 of the

"THE INDEPENDENT NEWS", a new weekly newspaper published in Colombo.

PRABHAKARAN HAS THE LAST LAUGH

Seven Tamil youth arrested with 50 Australian visas

(Daily News : 2 February 1999)

The CID yesterday took into custody seven Tamil youths in connection with the possession of fifty Australian visas.  These Australian visas had been used to send a number of LTTE members out of the country, the CID said.   The CID is investigating to ascertain how these genuine visas went into the hands of outsiders.  According to the CID investigations the youths who possessed the visas were involved with the LTTE.   The CID is also conducting investigations to ascertain whether any of the Embassy employees are involved in the visa racket.

Civilian shot dead by LTTE
Daily News : 28 January 1999

LTTE terrorists on Sunday shot dead P. P. Nishan, a civilian of Mada Kovil, Kopay South, Kopay, when he was returning from Udumbara Place towards Kayts, police sources said. An inquiry is in progress.

Meanwhile B. A. P. Piyasena, a farmer residing at Gonagala, Galapitagala in Uhana complained to the police that last Friday armed LTTE terrorists had forcibly removed two of his buffaloes while they were grazing on his paddy field.

In another incident, police on road patrol detected a land-mine weighing 1 1/2 kilos planted by the Tigers at Kaluwankerni Junction along the Valachchenai-Batticaloa Main Road last Sunday. The army bomb disposal squad who were summoned to the scene subsequently defused the mine.

In other reported incidents, the army shot dead G.Kavidasan of Gnanawil South, Chavakachcheri and R. W. Thivianathan of 1st Cross Street, Gurunagar, when they refused to respond when challenged by the army after they were detected loitering during curfew hours, police sources said.

These incidents took place at Gnanawil Chavakachcheri around 9 pm on Saturday and at Water Tank Road, Gurunagar around 12.25 am on Sunday.

LTTE fundraisers hauled up in German court

Sunday Times : 24 January 1999

Eleven Tamils have gone on trial in a German court for extorting funds from fellow Tamils for terrorist activity in Sri Lanka.

According to the German newspaper 'General Anzeiger' the trial against what it called 'the alleged ring leaders' of the LTTE in Germany began under strict security.

The newspaper said, 'the eleven Tamils are supposed to have collected money, by force, from fellow countrymen, between 1985 and 1990 in North Rhine-Westphalia and Berlin, in order to buy weapons for the LTTE in Sri Lanka.'

This was stated by the Public Prosecutor in his accusation before the District Court of Dusseldorf.

DUESSELDORF, Germany, Jan 20 (Reuters) - Eleven Tamils from Sri Lanka went on trial in Germany on Wednesday accused of extorting funds to raise billions of marks to support the armed struggle of the Tamil Tigers back home.

The state court in the western city of Duesseldorf also accused four of the Tamils of running a criminal group -- a German branch of the rebel group from the end of the 1980s to the mid-1990s.

Prosecutors say the gang of 11, aged between 33 and 56, had extorted cash from fellow Sri Lankan exiles in Germany to send back home to support the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam.

They say that since 1985 the German branch of the Tigers ran a so-called military department, set up to intimidate victims as well as the victims' relatives in Sri Lanka.

Monthly "contributions" ranged from five to 100 marks ($3 to $60), they said. One of the accused was accused of transferring 3.3 billion marks ($1.95 billion) to the Tigers between 1987 and 1991.

Prosecutors said the extorted funds were a vital contribution to their armed struggle.

The Tigers have been fighting for an independent homeland in the Indian Ocean island's north and east for the last 15 years.

Soldier Heroes Memorial Day

"De Sarana"  (Help the Nation) Project

LTTE activities in South Africa

Terrorist Mouthpieces Exposed !!! 

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With the announcement by Velupillai Prabhakaran on 26^th Nov 1998 that he is ready for negotiations under third-party mediation, the clamour for ‘peace talks’ with the LTTE is rising again. Some MPs and Ministers of the PA Govt., Leader of the UNP Ranil Wickramasinghe, so-called ‘peace activists’ of foreign-funded NGOs, Tamil rascist political parties and organisations and other miscellaneous supporters of the LTTE have begun to echo Prabhakaran’s voice. An Assistant Secretary of the UN, Jayantha Dhanapala, has already stated that the United Nations Organisation is ready to act as the third-party mediator if invited to do so. It is hardly a secret that the British Govt is waiting to intervene in Sri Lanka. It is also clear that the ulterior motive of the so-called ‘peace initiative of the business community’ is to press the Govt and the Opposition to negotiate with the LTTE. Therefore we issue this warning, that national and foreign forces are again trying their utmost to continue their conspiracy against the Sri Lankan nation and the Sinhala people.

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We won't be fooled for a third time

Door of peace always open to Prabhakaran - Ratwatte

Daily News : 9 Dec 1998

The door of peace is always open for Prabhakaran but this would not mean a slowing down of the Government's military offensive against the terrorists, Power and Irrigation Minister and Deputy Defence Minister General Anuruddha Ratwatte said.

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Prof. Alfred Jeyaratnam Wilson’s review of "Culture and Politics of Identity in Sri Lanka', (The Sunday Island of November 8, 1998), edited by Mithran Tiruchelvam and C. S.Dattathreya (Colombo, International Centre for Ethnic Studies (ICES),1998) deserve some attention because it contains summaries of the orthodox political ideologies currently peddled by intellectuals, academics, NGOs and some sections of the Churches and the media. A close scrutiny of Prof. Wilson's review
will also demonstrate the methodologies of this lobby whose primary aim has been to confine the national debate within the parameters that serve their partisan politics.

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Most of the Tamil racist parties either believed or pretended to believe that Prabhakaran had said in his speech on the 27th of November in Vanni, that he wanted peace. In the English translation of his speech, released by the so-called LTTE International Secretariat in London, which was published in 'The Island' of 2nd December, he had only said 'We have not closed the doors for peace', and these parties together with the NGO's demanded that the government should respond positively to this 'peace call' of Prabhakaran. The UNP, which had earlier agitated for unconditional negotiations with
the LTTE, also joined the bandwagon. 

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Following the U.S. footsteps, Canada has declared the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) a terrorist organisation along with some Indian Sikh extremist outfits, media reports said here today. 

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LTTE attack kovil compound:

General Ratwatte, service chiefs escape miraculously

Daily News : 7 Dec 1998

Power and Energy Minister and Deputy Defence Minister General Anuruddha Ratwatte and the three service chiefs miraculously escaped death yesterday when the LTTE fired mortars at a Hindu kovil compound in Oddusudan. 

The mortars landed only a few metres away from the minister and his entourage who were leaving the Kovil after attending a pooja around 1.30 p.m. DIG Lionel Karunasena was also with the Minister. 

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This is the second attempt on Mr Ratwatte's life 

Sir Lankan Deputy Defence Minister, Anuruddha Ratwatte has survived a mortar attack by Tamil Tiger rebels. 

However, four soldiers guarding him were killed and more than 40 other soldiers were injured in the attack in the northern town of Oddusudan. 

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COLOMBO: Sri Lanka's Tamil Tiger guerrillas today admitted that they had lost a key town in northern Sri Lanka and accused government troops of indiscriminate aerial attacks. The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in a statement from their London office said over 11,500 civilians fled the town of Oddusudan which the defence ministry said was in the hands of the military. The LTTE said that a "fleeing elderly civilian was killed" while many more were wounded when air force jets bombed the area on Thursday, reports AFP.

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Sure Victory' that never was declared ended 

South China Morning Post : 5 Dec 1998

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE in Colombo 

Sri Lanka's Defence Ministry yesterday announced the end of Operation Sure Victory, the biggest-ever offensive against Tamil Tiger rebels - which has left thousands dead and the military far from victorious.

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It is the bounden duty of all citizens to hail the duties performed by the armed forces and police to safeguard the country, said Ven. Devalegama Dhammasena Thera, Principal, Kavantissa Pirivena, Tissamaharamaya. He was addressing a large gathering of Buddhists at the Sathi Pirith chanted to bless the President, country, the armed forces and police. It was organised by Tissamaharama P.S and Tissamaharama D.C. offices under the guidance of Ven. Hakmana Pannaloka Thera, Viharadipathi, Tissamaharama Raja Maha Viharaya on the instructions of the Minister of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Development Mahinda Rajapakse and Hambantota District MP Chamal Rajapakse. 

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The LTTE is destroying a whole generation of Tamil children through its ruthlessly violent terror campaign, Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar said on Tuesday. 

Speaking during the committee stage debate on the votes of the Foreign Ministry, Minister Kadirgamar said: "There is a limit to all this violence. The LTTE has exceeded that limit. It is utterly, ruthlessly violent and it is violent to the children of the North." 

The Minister further said: 

"You make a very eloquent plea for the LTTE. It is the burden of your argument, my dear friend, and the burden of Mr. Anura Bandaranaike's argument, that since the LTTE has so many offices all over the world, so much of a marvellous network and so many contacts - you seem to be dazzled by them - we should do nothing, do nothing because there is nothing  we can do. What you are really saying is - why bother don't bother because you cannot do anything about it. What you are saying is that they are so great and so powerful, that there is nothing we can do about it. I refute that completely. I refute that absolutely and completely. We have to do something about it. 

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In the first official reaction to the latest offer by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) for a negotiated political settlement, the Sri Lankan Foreign Minister, Mr. Kadirgamar told Parliament on Tuesday that the ``group'' would have
to be ``contained'' before talks commence. 

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COLOMBO: Sri Lanka has rejected LTTE chief V Prabhakaran's offer for unconditional peace talks saying
Colombo would not forgive the rebels and enter into negotiations with ``a pack of murderers,'' a state-owned newspaper reported here on Wednesday. 

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(Island : 30 Nov 1998)

The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) has stepped up its on-going confrontation with the Sri Lankan Government by sending contradictory signals - while on the one hand expressing its willingness for a negotiated settlement with third-party mediation, on the other, still maintaining an aggressive military posture. 

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More than 5,000 young men have lost their limbs in Sri Lanka's North-East war. Every year, more and more of our able-bodied men are left with mere stumps for legs as the war drags on. Most are robbed of their livelihood and lives. 

They go to war to defend the integrity of the country - to save lives. As a result, they end up with their lives in shambles.

One may feel there is little one can do to help them rebuild their lives - but there are ways. An artificial leg gives a new lease in life to those cruelly disabled in the war. 

A few months ago, Upali Newspapers Ltd launched a campaign to raise funds for the Denzil Kobbekaduwa Trust to be used for the provision of artificial limbs to disabled soldiers. The campaign, carried out by way of appeals published in newspapers as well as individual requests to more than 81 eminent businessmen in the country. While it has resulted in the collection of a sum of over 800,000 rupees, the response from the top-notch businessmen has been disappointing.

Meanwhile, Air Lanka has agreed to fly in the finished limbs from their count ry of origin free of charge and a duty waiver has been requested for their import. There has, however, been no response yet on the duty waiver.

There has been sizeable contribution from workers in the Middle East and individual well-wishers here and abroad. However, the moneyed businessmen in the country who usually spend their capital freely to sponsor sporting events - and the like - have been silent.

The Denzil Kobbekaduwa Trust has tied up with two suppliers of the best quality limbs. One is a German-owned factory located in Sri Lanka and the other is a British company with a branch in Malaysia. The latter provides limbs to landmine victims in Cambodia. Both companies provide light, easy-to-use limbs that allow maximum comfort to the wearer. The legs, being of high quality, are relatively expensive. And the Trust needs money to support its work.

In an appeal for help to supply artificial limbs, Chairperson of the Trust, Lali Kobbekaduwa, says that all the boys who lose their legs come from different ethnic backgrounds but have one thing in common: "they come from desperately poor homes and have gone to war not only to fight for the integrity of our country but also to earn a wage that would help support their families". "You will agree that they have paid a terrible price for their patriotism and their poverty," she adds. 

Upali Newspapers and the Denzil Kobbekaduwa Trust appeals again for donations to this worthy cause. All names of donors will be published in 'The Island' and the 'Divaina'. It can also be arranged for donations to take place in the premises of a donor company in order to attract maximum attention to their generous act.

Money contributed towards giving soldiers back their lives is different to sponsoring sporting events but it is ultimately a case of what a company prioritises: buying artificial limbs for those who lost their legs on the battlefield while defending our right to life, or lending their name to a game or sporting event. One thing is certain - the soldiers need your help. 

LTTE IN SOUTH AFRICA (By ROHAN GUNARATNA) 

India's National Magazine From the publishers of THE HINDU; Vol. 15 :: No. 24 :: Nov. 21 - Dec. 04, 1998 

On the run in most other parts of the world organisationally, the terrorist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam is in the process of finding a haven and even striking roots in South Africa. An investigation.  Click here for the full Report

CANADIAN SECURITY INTELLIGENCE SERVICE DRAWS PARALLEL BETWEEN LTTE ACTIVITIES AND FUNDS RAISED IN CANADA

(Sri Lanka News Update : 24 Nov 1998)

Funds raised for the LTTE in South Africa are being channelled by the Tamil Rehabilitation Organisation (TRO) in Durban via its office in Australia. Addressing a Press Conference in Pretoria on Thursday at the conclusion of his 4-day visit, Minister Kadirgamar disclosed that the People Against Sri Lankan Oppression (PASLO) Group to whom be had given a patient hearing during his current visit to South Africa had said that they indeed collected large sums of money in South Africa which was channelled through Australia. Foreign Minister Kadirgamar had in bilateral talks with South African Foreign Minister Nzo on Monday, already drawn attention and expressed Sri Lanka's concerns about a well-known front organisation involved in LTTE fund-raising.

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Foreign Minister briefs South Africa groups on Sri Lanka situation

Daily News : 20 Nov 1998

Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar who is currently on an official visit to South Africa, on Tuesday and Wednesday held a series of meetings in Pretoria and Johannesburg with representatives of South African political parties, interest groups and academic bodies in discussing developments in Sri Lanka. 

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The breakdown is as follows: 

The Air Force on November,13 in Mullaitivu North in a successful strike totally destroyed a terrorist camp. Another strike by the Air Force on November 14, in Kokawil area destroyed an LTTE camp killing seven terrorists including three leaders. LTTE radio messages intercepted by the Army have confirmed that the three leaders were Samson, Ambu and Krishna.

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