Sea Tigers raid SLN camp close to Jaffna city

Liberation Tigers of Tamileelam (LTTE) Sea Tigers naval wing launched a raid in the early hours of Thursday on the Sri Lanka Navy camp located at Chi'ruththeevu islet, close to Ma'ndaitheevu island and Jaffna city, LTTE officials in Vanni told TamilNet. At least 13 Sri Lanka Navy personnel were killed and many sailors wounded in the raid carried out by a special marine wing of the Sea Tigers, the Tiger officials said adding that they have seized weapons including a 50-caliber machine gun, a mortar, two LMGs and military equipments including a radar from the strategic SLN camp situated at the islet facing Jaffna. 3 SLN bodies were also recovered by the Tigers and they identified one sailor.

The raid was launched at 1:25 a.m. and the camp was brought under the LTTE control at 2:00 a.m.

One 50 caliber machine gun, one radar equipment, one RPD LMG, one AK LMG, one 60 mm mortar, one 40 mm Rocket Launcher, four T-56 type-2 assault rifles were seized by the Sea Tigers.

141 shells for 60 mm mortar, 06 rockets for 40 mm Rocket Launcher, 930 rounds for 50 caliber machine gun, 430 linked 50 caliber rounds, an extra barrel for the 50 caliber gun, extra barrel for RPD LMG, 795 rounds for RPD LMG, and 1,380 linked 7.62 mm rounds were among the ammunitions. 10 masks, a solar panel with battery and a binocular were among the accessories seized by the Tigers.

Three dead bodies of the Sri Lanka Navy sailors were recovered by the Tigers.

There were no LTTE casualties in the operation, the Tigers said adding that their marines safely returned to their base in Vanni mainland after destroying the SLN camp.

The LTTE, on Thursday morning, displayed the weapons and military equipments seized in the attack to media in Vanni.

The Tigers also identified one of the SLN sailor killed in action as Ranasingha Aaarachchige Saman Pushpa Kumara from Bangalavaththa with Sri Lankan national identity card number 841912462 V.

205-acre land near BIA goes free to Malaysian businessman

The Divisional Secretary of the area is attempting to grant free a 205-acre plot of land at Kimbulapitiya in Katana, situated next to the Bandaranaike International Airport and the Air Force Camp, to a Malaysian businessman, reports say.

The state-acquired 'Kaludiyawatte' or 'Sanwardana Watte' had been meant to be distributed among the landless.

However, the late Chief Government Whip Jeyaraj Fernandopulle had made arrangements some time ago to grant the land on annual lease basis to the Malaysian businessman, identified as Tiru, with the related agreement to be signed on April 30th.

After the sudden death of Mr. Fernandopulle, the businessman had persuaded the Katana DS to grant him the prime land free.

In return, he has been promised a luxury apartment on a 30-acre plot.

According to reports, all preliminaries for the handover have already been made.

The land in question has a forest reserve within its boundaries, while a key canal as well as a high tension electricity line are located by it.

Pillayan Group killed 2 police in B'caloa - Ranil

The murder of two police officers for fearlessly opposing malpractices at the East PC polls are yet to be investigated, Opposition Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe has alleged.

Mr. Wickremesinghe said he had been told by top police officials that the Pillayan Group had shot the two dead in Batticaloa, one on the 15th and other on the 16th of May.

Speaking to UNP activists from the Central Province who campaigned for the party at the May 10th polls, he also said, "Yesterday (May 16th), a bomb exploded near Colombo Hilton. Police officers who had been protecting Pillayan and his councilors were targeted. We have doubts about the investigation into this bomb attack. According to today's Lankadeepa newspaper, the motorcycle used by the bomber had been owned by Vijayapalan Jinendran alias Jina, who works at Pillayan Group's office in Trincomalee."

"Yesterday afternoon, Trincomalee Police arrested Jina. But, this morning, the investigating team had been removed on the instructions of the Defence Ministry and Vijayapalan handed over to the TID. The Defence Ministry's intervention is suspicious. The government covered up the murders of T. Maheswaran and others. We suspect that the bomb attack investigation too, would be covered up," the Opposition Leader said.


"Sri Lanka has Asia's oldest police service. However, Rajapaksa's dictatorial fury is trying to destroy that police service. Therefore, all peace-lovers should unite to protect the country's police service for the sake of law and order and peace," he added.

Basil's daughter gets helicopter to travel from airport

The daughter of Presidential Advisor Basil Rajapaksa had been given a helicopter to travel to Colombo from the Bandaranaike International Airport at Katunayake, the United National Party has charged.

Ms. Rajapaksa was received by her parents on arrival from Singapore at the BIA at 8.05 am yesterday (May 17th), UNP General Secretary Tissa Attanayake told 'Lanka Dissent.'

Her baggage had been cleared without being subjected to any check, in complete violation of immigration and emigration regulations.

The trio had then come to Colombo on a helicopter, Mr. Attanayake added.

What is India's foreign policy in Srilanka?

Over the last 20 months, Srilanka's southern Sinhala majority dominated government has displaced more than 1 million minority Tamils from their traditional homelands. The majority dominated government has obtained loans from Iran, Pakistan, and China and has used most of these loans to buy offensive weapons to use against the minority Tamils.

The US, Canada, Australia, South Africa, Israel, and the European Union have all gone on record and warned the Sinhala leadership to observe UN mandated Human Rights provisions in their treatment of the minority Tamils.

Most of these countries have stated in public that the Tamils have legitimate grievances and the Sinhala majority continues to deny equal rights and opportunities to Tamils.

Even worse, the Sinhala government leaders (103 Ministers out of 225 members of parliment) have gone into partnership with rogue para military outfits and recently held elections in the Eastern Province to show case "subjugated" freedom for the Tamils.

The majority of the world leaders have mocked at the Sinhala leadership actions in these elections. Yet, Indian Foreign Ministry officials continue to cuddle these Sinhala leaders?

These same Foreign Ministry officials previously sided with the corrupt and the unfair rulers in Nepal & Bhutan and continue to cuddle the ruthless regime in Myanmar. India's foreign policy continues to prop up this ruthless Sinhala regime that is currently bankrupting the economy of Srilanka; inflation at a record high 30%, lost preferential garment export facilities to Europe, and lost preferential treatment by US development funds.

Do the Indian Foreign Ministry officials follow mainstream Indian objectives? Is India going to stand idle and watch the minority Tamils be subjugated by the majority Sinhalese?

What is India's foreign policy in Srilanka?

(2nd lead)Bomb explosion targets Police bus in Colombo

A three-wheeler fitted with a bomb rammed into a bus carrying riot control police, few hundred meters away from the Sri Lankan Presidential Secretariat, Friday noon, killing at least 6 police personnel and injuring around 90 people, including policemen. The explosion has taken place on Lotus Road inside the High Security area near Hilton Hotel.

The police personnel were on their way to provide additional security as the swearing-in ceremony of the Eastern Province Chief Minister, postponed yesterday, was to take place as scheduled on Friday at 4:00 p.m.

Sivanesathurai Chandrakanthan alias Pillaiyan, the de-facto leader of the paramilitary-cum-political party, the TMVP, was scheduled to be sworn in as the Chief Minister of the Eastern Province.

Eight killed in Sri Lanka blast

At least eight policemen have been killed in a suicide bomb attack in Sri Lanka's capital Colombo, the army says. More than 70 people were hurt when a man on a motorcycle rammed into a bus carrying policemen near a five-star hotel in the central business district. The army has blamed Tamil Tiger rebels for the attack. Fighting between the Tamil Tigers, who are seeking an independent state, and the army has worsened this year after the government pulled out of a truce. 'Like an earthquake' The blast happened near the Hilton Hotel and a twin-tower commercial building. Ekanjith Rawwalage, head of customer services at the hotel, told BBC News that the blast happened around 1230 local time (0700 GMT) near a police checkpoint outside the hotel. "It was a loud explosion. It felt like an earthquake," said Mr Rawwalage. He said some window panes of the hotel had been damaged by the explosion. He said all the guests were safe and the hotel gates had been shut. Mr Rawwalage said he had seen ambulances rushing the injured to the hospital. The area is also the site of the official residence of Sri Lanka's president and has been targeted in the past by Tamil Tiger rebels. The Tigers have fought for a generation for an independent state for the Tamil minority. About 70,000 people have been killed since the civil war began in 1983.

Two JVP armed wing cadres steal secret documents from Ketapearachchi's house

Mr. Sampath Ketapearachchi says that two armed cadres of JVP forcibly entered into his house around 1.00 AM today, tied him and his wife and stole the secret documents relevant to Sunil Handunneththi and Vijitha Herath from the upper floor of the house.

Mr. Ketapearachchi, the media secretary of Minister of Textile Development Mahinda Rathnathilaka is an ex-JVP activist. He first exposed through media that MP Sunil Handunneththi who attempted to flee the country for life due to threats from JVP was in the custody of JVP after his wife betrayed him.

He recently challenged JVP leader Somawansa Amarasinghe that he had evidence that MP Vijitha Herath was a security forces informant and betrayed many cadres appearing as a Billa.

The intruders entered the house calling him by his name. The two persons were known to him. They tied Mr. Ketapearachchi and his wife and stole the secret documents at gun point.

They later fired two shots upward, one damaging the roof of the house and fled in the motorcycle numbered MT 3676 on which they came.

Welikada police is investigating the incident following Mr. Ketapearachchi’s complaint.

Listen to 'LeN Radio' for more information.

Photos: Shantha Wijesuriya

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Pillaiyan begins assaulting opposition candidates as the police are asleep

Pilaiyan Group commenced attacking the Kalawanchikudi and Kallar people who supported the candidates of Tamil Democratic National Front (TDNF) at the recent Provincial Council election.

It is reported that these attacks were led by one Sinthuran who works as the in charge of the TMVP office.

Although the series of assaults were underway since May 11 up to date no one had lodged complaints in police since the attackers had threatened that entire families would be killed.
The supporters of one candidate named Kuganathan are the majority of the assault victims. Three of them have sustained serious injuries. A motorcycle belonged to one person was robbed.

The residents of the above said villages say that those who campaigned against Pillaiyan now spend the night in safe places in fear of death threats from Pillaiyan Group.

Minister Devananda's adviser killed

Lawyer Maheswari Velayuthan, an adviser of Minister Douglas Devananda was shot by an unidentified group of persons around 8.00 PM today at Peduruthuduwa in Jaffna and she succumbed to injuries while being taken to the hospital.

A group clad in likes of military uniforms entered the house of the mother of Ms. Velayuthan in order to search it and shot pointblank through Ms. Velayuthan's head before fleeing.

More photos of vote rigging by Pillaiyan Group(video annex)

The government and the government coalition
parties repeatedly say that the election for the Eastern Provincial Council was held peacefully and none other than the general situation in an election prevailed there.

Lanka-e-News posted a photo of a group of Pillaiyan Group cadres who flocked in Batticaloa Mahajana Vidyalaya for vote rigging. Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva said that it was the only photo available on vote rigging. Minister Champika Ranawaka of Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU) said today (13) at a press briefing that such photos of voters standing in a queue could be taken at any polling center.

We therefore decided to post a few more photos of the incident. They depict the way the group of the Pillaiyan Group cadres came to the Mahajana Vidyalaya polling center for vote rigging.

In one photo, Sri Lanka Communist Party candidate K. Thyagaraja who contested under Tamil Democratic National Front protests vote rigging of the Pilaiyan Group. Another photo depicts the tense situation erupted as police involved to prevent vote rigging.

We would like to say to the gentlemen who challenge us that we have more photos on vote rigging.

Photos by Shantha Wijesuriya

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Tamil detainees allege sexual abuse after transfer from Magazine Prison - MP

68 Tamil detainees, hurriedly transferred from New Magazine prison in Colombo Saturday around 8:50 p.m. by the Terrorist Investigation Department (TID) interrogators, were verbally abused, tortured and subjected to sexual abuse at the notorious Boosa Prison in Galle, according to complaints made by the parents to Tamil parliamentarian Chandrakanth Chandranehru. Expressing shock at the gross violation of Human Rights, the parliamentarian has promised the parents to bring the matter to the attention of relevant quarters. Sri Lanka's Commissioner General of Prisons, Major General (ret) Vajira Wijegunawaredena on Monday denied the allegation.

The TID interrogators stripped the detainees, who were brought to Boosa, naked abusing them verbally and subjected many of the victims for torture, sexual harassment and subjected them to sexual abuse, according to reliable allegations, the Tamil National Alliance parliamentarian had told media in Colombo. He questioned the need for the intervention by the Terrorist Investigation Department while the cases of the detainees were being heard at the Courts.

Vajira Wijegunawardene who dismissed the allegation has said that the detainees were transferred to Boosa and Mahara prisons for "security reasons".

Tamil detainees in Welikade 'maximum security' prison and the detainees in high security Magazine prison (named Magazine as British colonialists used the facility for storing ammunition) have been repeatedly urging the Tamil parliamentarians to bring their concerns to the International Community and exert pressure on the Sri Lankan government to expedite their cases that have been postponed fortnightly and not been heard for more than a year.

86 detainees in Welikade prison launched a fast-unto-death and demanded the authorities to let them meet UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Louise Arbour, who visited Sri Lanka on a fact finding mission last October. The detainees called off the fast as Ms. Louise Arbour met five representatives of the detainees and promised to look into their plight.

According to a research conducted by the London based Medical Foundation for the Care of Victims of Torture (published in the British Medical Weekly of 10 June 2000) sexual abuse of Tamil male detainees was a common problem in the Sri Lankan prisons. "Of the 184 men, 38 (21%) said they had been sexually abused during theirdetention. Three (7%) of the 38 said they had been given electric shocks to their genitals, 26 (68%) had been assaulted on their genitals, and four (9%) had sticks pushed through the anus, usually with chillies rubbed on the stick first," the study further said that Medicolegal reports written by 17 doctors supported the allegations of torture in Sri Lanka made by the 184 Tamil men. The study had defined sexual abuse as comprising assaults to the genitals, non-consensual sexual acts, and objects pushed through the anus.

EU passports: the awful truth

Is the European Union going to strip your passport of all symbols of the Crown? The answer is no. Unless of course Gordon Brown insists it is so or if the French were to give up the emblem of their proud republic, the Germans their imperial eagle and everyone else their own fiercely guarded national symbols.

Will the British passport be replaced with EU passports?

It is simply not going to happen. The awful truth about EU passports is much worse. Under the new Lisbon Treaty there are new powers to create truly EU passports and ID cards. These will not be about superficial trappings and trimmings – such as the Crown symbol and all that Lion and Unicorn stuff – but the gritty reality of growing ID surveillance demands from and between states across Europe, and beyond.

The legend of the EU’s evil intent to scrap national passport symbols is a potent one, for all it is complete cobblers. Over on EU Referendum, Richard North unravels and puts into perspective the latest stories about Foreign Office plans (after a non-binding European Commission suggestion) to include in passports a sticker telling Brits they can avail themselves of other EU consulates and embassies in the event of a crisis.

But the behind the scenes – and your passport cover – there is a lot going on with our ID documents. Now fitted with biometrics and microchips, all done to exacting, existing standards set at the EU and Trans-Atlantic level, there is lot, lot more to the modern passport than archaic heraldry or Royal flummery about “Her Britannic Majesty’s Secretary of State".

Today’s ID cards and passport have a simple objective, surveillance, one that is shared by all EU member states and, importantly, in these post-9/11 days the United States.

Writing in the newspaper today, Philip Johnston explains what the new ID era is for: “The answer has nothing to do with security, any more than the presence of CCTV cameras everywhere has anything to do with stopping crime, as even senior police officers now concede. It is about political control. The state wants to know where you are, and those who run it have always believed it has a right to know, but have usually been beaten back by Parliament.”

As I have written about here, the EU is now one of the places (conveniently free of scrutiny and accountability) where the latest in biometric controls are being dreamt up. This is with the UK’s enthusiastic support. Britain’s own “e-Borders” is a trailblazer – and there is more to come.

A little known element to the new Lisbon Treaty quietly drops old safeguards that specifically ruled out an EU dimension to ID cards and passports (the two are increasingly interchangeable).

Here is the detail. Part two, article 18 of the Nice Treaty states:
“18, 1) Every citizen of the Union shall have the right to move and reside freely within the territory of the Member States, subject to the limitations and conditions laid down in this Treaty and by the measures adopted to give it effect.
“18, 2) If action by the Community should prove necessary to attain this objective and this Treaty has not provided the necessary powers, the Council may adopt provisions with a view to facilitating the exercise of the rights referred to in paragraph 1.”

After a flaming row in Nice and British insistence, the following caveat was added – much to the chagrin of the Commission and most other countries.

Article 18, 3 declares: "Paragraph 2 shall not apply to provisions on passports, identity cards, residence permits or any other such document”.

This has now been ditched. In a silent U-turn, British officials let it go. What was a red line for Tony Blair in 2000 was no longer a red line for either Mr Blair or Mr Brown last year.

Article 17, of the Lisbon Treaty states:
“Citizens of the Union shall enjoy the rights and be subject to the duties provided for in the Treaties. They shall have, inter alia: the right to move and reside freely within the territory of the Member States... ”

Then tucked in Article 62 is the change.
“If action by the Union should prove necessary to facilitate the exercise of the right referred to in Article 17(2)(a), and if the Treaties have not provided the necessary powers, the Council, acting in accordance with a special legislative procedure, may adopt provisions concerning passports, identity cards, residence permits or any other such document. The Council shall act unanimously after consulting the European Parliament.”

The climb down was for simple reasons. Britain has allowed Article 18,3 to be removed in order to allow the UK to participate in EU borders and security measures, such as biometric passports and ID cards.

Britain fought, and lost a battle, in the European courts last year because it is excluded from existing sharing digital biometric information, such as fingerprints, with the 24 countries that are part of the Schengen system of common EU external border controls.

British law enforcement agencies have lobbied hard to “opt-in” and gain access to EU-wide databases of digital photographs and fingerprint taken from biometric visa applications.

EU plans for future databases holding a fingerprint register of all European passport holders are expected in the next decade and British securocrats, typical of the breed wherever they are from, want in.

I am not especially bothered about the Crown symbol on my passport. To the degree it exercises me at all, I would say it and the Crown prerogatives that go with it (and that are used to neuter opposition to EU Treaties amongst other things) should be removed from a central role in British politics and public life.

I do care about civil liberties. I may not share the same national symbol on my passport as a Frenchman, a German, a Pole, Italian or any other EU citizen but I do share what I believe is a common European interest in freedom. That is the issue with EU passports.

No justice in Sri Lanka--telegraph.co.uk

I wanted to write about Sri Lanka last week, but got side-tracked by the Burma cyclone, so forgive me for going back in time a few days now.

Karuna is accused of using child soldiers, torture and extortion

However, the news that the former Tamil Tiger commander Colonel Karuna will escape war crimes prosecution in Britain is, to put it mildly, profoundly disappointing.

Karuna, who had formed a hazy alliance with the Sri Lankan government after setting up a breakaway movement from the main LTTE four years ago, was jailed last December after he arrived in Britain on a Sri Lankan diplomatic passport with a false name on it.

The Sri Lankan government denies assisting him, although at his trial Karuna’s defence team alleged that the brother of Sri Lanka’s President Mahinda Rajapaksa, the defence minister Gotabhaya Rajpaksa, provided him the documents.

That’s the unproven assertion of an alleged war criminal, but for what its worth my sources tell me that the passport was a genuine document. It was only the name on it that was fake.

So why isn’t Karuna being prosecuted for war crimes? The short answer is ‘lack of evidence’, even though the use of child soldiers, extortion, killing us and torture by members of the ‘Karuna faction’ and his political party the TMVP are increasingly well-documented.

Even the usually mild-mannered UN children’s fund (UNICEF) have joined those organisations accusing Karuna’s organisation of gross violations of human rights.

Such is the record of this man, that a British government minister (Kim Howells in May 2007) described him as “appalling”, adding in the House of Commons that “we believe Karuna and his faction to be responsible for extra-judicial killings, abductions, intimidation of displaced persons and child recruitment.”

You don’t need to know much about Karuna, his men and his methods to understand why people aren’t queuing up to give evidence against him.

But if you want a clearer idea why exiles in London won’t testify, then I suggest you read an article in the Independent on Sunday by Dan McDougall, a former colleague of mine in New Delhi who always dug out ‘real’ stories.

He relates in compelling detail how the now-routine abductions in Sri Lanka by Karuna’s agents lead to extortion and misery in London where gangs demand huge sums of money from diaspora Tamils for the return/safekeeping of their loved ones back home in Sri Lanka.

McDougall’s main interviewee is a 27-year-old Tamil called Ariyathas Pushpathas, whose brother and cousin were kidnapped in Colombo six months ago.

The perpetrators, he alleges, were Karuna agents with links to the Sri Lankan government’s security services. "The Karuna Faction are kidnapping young Sri Lankan men in Colombo as a business enterprise and targeting the same diaspora the Tamil Tigers have been milking,” says Pushpathas.

"The trouble is, the Karuna are now an extension of the Sri Lankan army. The question I want to know is: am I being extorted and threatened by government agents?”

Of course this extortion-funding is the kind of practice which led the Tamil Tigers and its charity front-organisations to be outlawed across the world, and which the Sri Lankan government continuously accuses the wider world of failing to do enough to stop.

Sadly the increasingly discredited government of Mahinda Rajapakse seems unable to apply the same standards to its new (former LTTE) friends like Col Karuna who are now serving a dirty purpose in their current war to “make extinct” the Tamil Tigers still fighting in the north.

Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch, put his finger right on the point, when he issued a statement expressing his disappointment that Karuna was apparently going to escape trial, and calling on British prosecutors to look again at the evidence.

“If he [Karuna] does leave, the Sri Lankan government should be preparing to prosecute Karuna should he return to Sri Lanka. Its failure to do so would only highlight its complicity in his recent crimes.”

But of course, the Sri Lankan government won’t dare (or want) to prosecute Karuna, which means his deportation from Britain is, for all practical purposes, a free pass. Justice is not being done.

House burnt in Jaffna after clash between SLA, armed men

Tension prevailed in Thirunelveali area in Jaffna Sunday night as a clash erupted between a group of armed men and the soldiers of the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) inside the premises of a vacated house that belongs to a popular businessman in Jaffna. The house was burnt down allegedly by the SLA, after the exchange of gunfire, according to the residents in the area. The SLA troops stationed along the Palaali road near Thirunelveali junction opened fire indiscriminately in support of their soldiers who engaged in the clash with the armed men around 7:00 p.m. Casualty details were not available.

The house is located 200 meters from Post Box junction near Jaffna-Palaali road.

The armed men had taken position inside the premises of the vacated house, allegedly prepared for an ambush against the SLA soldiers.

The owner of the house, S.V. Balasingham, a businessman, had vacated the house and moved to India. Later, a person who had rented the above house was forced to seek protection with Human Rights Commission (HRC) in Jaffna due to death threats by SLA troops and the paramilitaries operating with them. His wife and children, abducted earlier by unknown armed men and released after being warned, had left Jaffna for good.

NGO woman worker abducted in Puththa'lam

A 26-year-old Tamil woman Thenmozhi Sangeetha was abducted Sunday evening in Thillaiyadi in Puththa'lam district. The victim had been working in a non-governmental organization in the area.

The abduction has been reported to the Norwegian Refugee Council and other related agencies for necessary action.

Only one photograph on election malpractices

Minister of Health and Nutrition Nimal Siripala de Silva said that the Eastern Provincial Council election was a victory to the government and the people of the Eastern Province while United National Party (UNP), Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) and LTTE were defeated shamefully.

He made these comments at a press briefing held in the Mahaweli Kendraya this morning on the victory of the election.

Recalling the statistics pointed out by MPs Lakshman Kiriella and Ravi Karunanayaka in the parliament to prove the government could not win the Eastern Provincial Council, Minister de Silva said that the UNP vote base had shattered into pieces and the people had gathered round the United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA).

He challenged the UNP to go to courts stating that UNP will lose both the election and the lawsuit. Minister de Silva said that UNP is in need of legal advisers as well.

He asked to show at least single photograph that could be manipulated by BBC to express that the election was corrupt.

Then Lanka-e-News journalist admitted the challenge of the Minister and said that he photographed a group of around 25 supporters of Pillaiyan attempting for vote rigging at Janatha Vidyalaya of Batticaloa.

The Minister responded saying that it was the only photograph available in an entire Provincial Council election. “You have photographed it. Such things can happen,” said the Minister.

Ministers Maithripala Sirisena, Rajitha Senarathna, Anura Priyadarshana Yapa, Abdul Majid and Dallus Alahapperuma participated in the pres briefing.

30% inflation dogs Sri Lanka

Noting that "[t]hirty percent inflation has never been heard of in this country [Sri Lanka] and does not exist anywhere but in banana republics," Dr Harsha De Silva, lead Economist at the Colombo-based regional Information and Communication Technology (ICT) policy and regulation think-tank, LIRNEasia, said in an interview that the "terrible economic management of the recent past" will hurt the "urban poor who would be unable to meet their minimum dietary requirements to avoid hunger due to the unaffordable cost of living."

• Harsha de Silva, Leader Interview

• Inflation indices explained

Commenting on the economic consequences of war, Dr Silva said: "The impact of the war is being felt across all sectors of this country. The indirect cost interms of lost investments, lost tourism, lost opportunities and migration of skilled workers itself in much bigger than the Rs.170 billion the government will spend this year on the war. Add to that the costs of looking after the displaced and rebuilding."

Dr. Harsha de Silva

Contrasting other countries in the region which have managed local inflation despite rising global market prices, with Sri Lanka, Dr Silva faulted the Governor of Central Bank for misleading Sri Lanka's President and people "by saying that inflation in Sri Lanka was totally a supply-side problem." He added that the "Governor and his henchmen" branded as traitors "any critics who pointed out massive money printing to accommodate the profligate Treasury was more an issue than imported inflation."

"...When the total revenue of the government is insufficient to meet even the debt obligations and defence expenditure, where is the money for all the others? So it is obvious that a politically motivated Central Bank will come to the rescue," Dr Silva said.

"If a country can be developed by printing money, we would be the richest country in the world! Unfortunately it does not work that way. Economics is based on certain theories and a fundamental premise is that 'there is no free lunch'," Dr Silva added.

Admitting that tightening monetary policy would help in the short term, Dr Silva said, "[w]hat we so desperately need is an independent Central Bank." Independence of majority members to the Monetary Board was earlier enforced by obtaining concurrence of the Constitutional Council which is currently defunct. Dr Silva pointed out that Central Bank may have crossed "ethical boundaries" by saying "appointments must be made from the 'private sector' instead of the concurrence of the Constitutional Council."

On per capita income, the Government touted figure of $1,617 obtained by dividing nominal GDP with number of people was misleading, Dr Silva said, noting that the "Household Income and Expenditure Survey, or the HIES, undertaken by the Department of Census and Statistics is a much more useful indicator to assess the reality at the household level. Now according to the figures just released, the annual mean per capita annual income is only US$ 670, nowhere near the US$ 1,617," Silva added.

On the continued deterioration and squandaring of Sri Lanka's wealth, a pessimistic Dr Silva said: "Waste is everywhere. Hundreds of ministers, thousands of staff around them, thousands of vehicles to transport and protect them and their families - billions of rupees are needed to meet these costs. I understand that in coalition politics one needs to pander to the demands of the dozens of crossers-over, but this is unbelievable. I wonder if any other country has such a large number of ministers. Clearly, the President must realise this is not good governance. But, nothing will change. This show will run until the last day of this government; if and when that would be. And thereafter, there is no guarantee the next government will not do the same."

Governor of Central bank has revised the measurement index of inflation for the third time, from Colombo Consumer Price Index or CCPI, to CCPI(New), and to Core Inflation, in an attempt to meet the figure of 10% announced with fanfare in January 2007 when the bank announced its monetary policy.

"Core Inflation is purely an internal measure of the CBSL [Central Bank of Sri Lanka], and to use it to suggest inflation is low in Sri Lanka, is an insult to the intelligence of the people in this country. In my view inflation - the real measure that people feel when they visit the grocery store, will continue to dog us for the rest of the year," Dr Silva said.

President leaves for Oxford

President Mahinda Rajapakse left for London today (11) to address the Oxford University students on the invitation of the Students’ Union of the university.

Pillaiyan to be appointed Chief Minister

The election result of the Batticaloa district has prompted the government to appoint Pillaiyan as the Chief Minister of the Eastern Provincial Council.

The President stated in advance that the person who attains highest number of preferential votes would be appointed as the Chief Minister.

Pillaiyan achieved the highest number of preferential votes and earned the highest number of votes for the government from Batticaloa district. He won all three electorates in the district and turning the 2005 Presidential result upside down, Pillaiyan-led United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA) team won the district with a majority of 46,739 votes. At the Presidential election President Rajapakse acquired mere 28,000 votes while Ranil Wickramasinghe gained more than 100,000 votes.

Pillaiyan said in public that he would be the Chief Minister if UPFA won the election. The day before the election was held, Pillaiyan said to an English newspaper hundreds more will rise to replace him if Pillaiyan was cheated.

Rising death toll in China quake

A powerful earthquake has shaken southwest China.

The earthquake registered a magnitude of 7.8 and was centred on an area of China's Sichuan province less than 100 km (60 miles) from the provincial capital of Chengdu. It was felt as far southwest as Bangkok, Thailand's capital, some 3,300 km (2,050 miles) away. Initial reports on Monday (12 May 2008) suggested a rapidly rising death toll.

India's Champoor power project, a terrible scandal, say activists

While India's National Thermal Power Corp (NTPC) Chairman Ram Charan Sharma told the media that the 500-MW thermal power project in Champoor in Trincomalee district will be one of the largest infrastructure investment in Sri Lanka, residents and rights activists complained that the Indian decision to pick Champoor for the power project had added to the Champoor displaced people's misery. "I have interacted with Indian diplomats (in Colombo) and am certain they are very sensitive to the human rights and humanitarian issues. But if India is involved in this, it will be a grave disappointment, even a terrible scandal," the activist told the Indo-Asian News Service (IANS), the agency reported.

"The Indian project that seeks to provide electricity to Sri Lanka's war-hit east has run into rough weather amid allegations that it will displace Tamils who have lived in the area for generations," IANS agency reported. "India is getting involved in a highly controversial project. The rights of the people are not being respected," the report quoted a rights activist as saying.

Sections of the Sri Lankan establishment are advocating to shift the proposed coal power plant from the location identified earlier in 2002 near Veppankuda, above the Marble Beach, to Sampoor region on the opposite side of Koddiyar Bay.

Champoor is a large and populous fishing village overlooking Trincomalee port. The Sri Lanka military seized Champoor from the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) after heavy fighting that left at least 350 civilians dead and hundreds injured and depopulated the area. Colombo declared Champoor a High Security Zone, making it out of bounds for civilians, most of whom now live in refugee camps in the neighbouring district of Batticaloa.

"Indian arguments that the coal-based plant is meant to benefit locals in Trincomalee are having no effect on rights activists and the thousands who fled the region after fighting between the Tamil Tigers and the military," the report said.

A joint venture company of the NTPC and the Ceylon Electricity Board will implement the project spread over 500 acres of land. A jetty is also to come up in Champoor, according to the current plan.

"The NTPC project will affect a large number of people," the report quoted K. Thurairatnasingham, a Tamil National Alliance (TNA) MP from Trincomalee, as saying. "We have conveyed our feelings to Indian diplomats. Our people cannot accept this," he added. "This is where our forefathers lived. It is the only land in a largely dry area with water resources suitable for cultivation.We are not saying we don't want the project. But why build it in an area that will force Tamils to give up for ever their ancestral land?" the MP asked, according to the IANS report.

Widespread violence, last-hour ballot stuffing mark elections in East

Paramilitary TMVP personnel entered several polling stations in the Tamil areas in Batticaloa and Trincomalee and stuffed the ballot boxes forcefully during the last-hour, before the ballot boxes were removed to counting centers in Batticaloa. Meanwhile, election officials said an average of 60% voter turn-out was registered across the three districts in the East. The polling was high in Sinhalese and Muslim areas while an average of 45-50% votes were registered in Tamil areas. The Centre for Monitoring Election Violence (CMEV) has recorded 64 incidents at 6:00 p.m. Saturday. Majority of major offenses were committed in Batticaloa district, followed by Ampaa'rai (12) and Trincomalee (08).

30 000 additional personnel, including STF elite commandos, from the Sri Lankan armed forces were deployed in duty to ensure free and fair elections throughout the Eastern province, according to the sources there.

Meanwhile the CMEV said systematic impersonation was most widespread with a particular concentration in the Batticaloa District where 15 of the 22 such incidents occurred.

Areas of serious concern in respect of violence and malpractice in the province are Valaichchenai and Kathankudy in the Batticaloa District, the Pottuvil Polling Division in the Ampara District and Thiriyai in the Trincomalee District.

The CMEV called upon the Election Commissioner to order a re-poll in these areas.

Following is the district-wise update on election malpractices reported by the CMEV at 6:00 p.m.

AMPARA DISTRICT

VOTER IMPERSONATION AND ELECTION MALPRACTICE IN ALAYADIVEMBU AND THIRUKKOVIL IN THE POTTUVIL POLLING DIVISION
CMEV monitors observed a number of incidents of electoral malpractices and of voter impersonation in particular, in thirteen (13) Polling Stations in the Pottuvil Polling Division Monitors observed children who looked as young as 13-15 years of age casting votes. They also observed that there was no proper procedure for the identification of voters, no designated officer to check the Identity Cards of voters and that only TMVP Polling Agents were present in these Polling Stations.

The Polling Stations in the Pottuvil Polling Division are :

• 42 Koraikalapu Shakthi Vidyalaya, Vinayagapuram
• 48 AK/Kalliyanthivu Wadivel Vidyalaya, Kalliyanthivu
• 49 World Vission Pre School, Thirukkovil 4
• 50 AK/Kanchirankuda Govt. Tamil Mixed School, Thirukkovil 4
• 51 AK/Thambiluvil Kalaimagal Vidyalaya, Thambiluvil (Hall No. 01)
• 52 AK/Thambiluvil Central College, Thambiluvil
• 53 AK/Thambiluvil Kalaimagal Vidyalaya, Thambiluvil (Hall No. 02)
• 54 AK/Thambiluvil Saraswathy Vidyalaya, Thambiluvil
• 70 AK/Alayadivembu Thirunavukarasu Vidyalaya, Alayadivembu
• 71 AK/Akkaraipattu Sri Ramakrishna Central College, Akkaraipattu Hall No.01
• 72 AK/Akkaraipattu Sri Ramakrishna Central College, Akkaraipattu Hall No.02
• 73 AK/Akkaraipattu Ramakrishna Mission School, Akkaraipattu
• 74 AK/Akkaraipattu As-Sipaya Vidyalaya, Jamath Alim Nagar

ASSAULT AND SNATCHING OF ID CARDS FROM VOTERS
UNP supporters claimed that they were assaulted and their national ID Cards snatched in close proximity to Galode Vidyalaya (Polling Station 51) and Miriswatte Vidyalaya (Polling Station 45) this morning. The Padiyathalaawa Police when contacted by CMEV, confirmed that they had received a complaint from the UNP supporters. The Police said they would reinvestigate and have summoned the complainants for this purpose.

INTIMIDATION
CMEV monitors reported that at 3.20 pm, a number of vehicles including jeeps and pick-ups were observed moving around Ampara Town. Some of these vehicles did not have license plates and in some of them, there were individuals dressed in civilian clothes carrying arms.

BATTICALOA DISTRICT

IMPERSONATION IN KATHANKUDY
CMEV was informed of alleged voter impersonation taking place at Polling Station 112 BT Japiathul Arabic Collage, Kattankudy, Batticaloa Polling Division at around noon. Farook Majeed Deputy Chairman, SLMC reported that a group of people standing in front of the Polling Station were distributing false ID cards to voters who were then being sent in to vote. The group continued to stay nearby, even up to midday.

Grama Sevaka Mr Mohamed Jaroof complained that he was threatened by UPFA supporters following an attempted impersonation of a voter. The Senior Polling Officer in Polling Station 114 Meera Balika Maha Vidyalaya reportedly called and inquired into the validity of a certified identity card (a replacement for the national ID) from the GS as the details on the card did not tally with the voting list. The GS denied that he had issued the certified National Identity Card. This had reportedly led to the GS being intimidated by UPFA supporters.

ASSAULT OF POLLING AGENT
An UNP Polling Agent, M. Siyath, was assaulted allegedly by supporters of M.L.A. Hisbullah outside the Polling Station 110 Hiluriya Vidyalaya, Kattankudy at 10 a.m this morning.

INTIMIDATION AT POLLING STATION IN KALKUDA
In Polling Station 24 and 25 BT Murakkoddanchenai Ramakrishna Mission Tamil Mixed School, Kalkuda Polling Division unidentified individuals in civilian clothing were observed obtaining information from Police Officers and making inquiries as to how many people had voted. The Police Officers were observed as having passing on this information.

TRINCOMALEE DISTRICT


BALLOT STUFFING IN THIRIYAI
An eye witness, who refuses to be named for reasons of his personal security, informed CMEV monitors of incidents of ballot stuffing in Polling Stations in Thiriyai - namely. Thiriyai M.V. Hall 2 (B 86), Thiriyai MV Hall 3 (B 87) and Al –Nooriya MV Hall 2 (B 83). He claims that by 7am this morning people transported in a bus and several vans entered the Polling Stations and stuffed the ballot boxes. In Polling Station, Thiriyai MV Hall 1 ( B84) the SPO and Police resisted and prevented ballot stuffing.

VOTER IMPERSONATION IN TRINCOMALEE
In the Trincomalee Polling Division, as reported to the Trincomalee Police and confirmed by CMEV monitors, unidentified persons, arriving in a Dolphin van 51-4198, an Intercooler 64-9347 and an Indian Jeep bearing the number WP HH 7288, had assaulted UNP MP Sarath Chandra Rajakaruna and his team and forcibly taken their camera. The incident took place at around 11.30 a.m. When contacted by CMEV, the Trincomalee Police Station stated that they could not confirm this incident.

VOTER IMPERSONATION IN KINNIYA
At 11am, CMEV monitors observed attempted voter impersonation at Polling Station 90 Naduoooththu Government Muslim School, Kinniya. Persons attempting to vote had to be turned away as their NICs did not tally with the Voter list. The area around the Polling Station was noted to be tense.

Eastern Provincial Council Elections final results

The first ever election in the demerged eastern Province was held yesterday (10) to elect 37 members to the provincial Council.

The results of the election are displayed as soon as officially announced.

Batticaloa District Polling Divisions
No. of Registered Voters - 330,950

United People's Freedom Alliance - 105,341 (58.09%) SEATS - 06
United National Party - 58,602 (32.31%) SEATS - 04
Tamizh Democratic National Alliance – 7,714 (4.25%) SEATS - 01
------------------------------------
Postal Votes - Batticaloa District-

United People's Freedom Alliance - 2,159 (51.72%)
United National Party - 1,282 (30.71%)
Tamizh Democratic National Alliance – 454 (10.88%)

Valid Votes - 4,174 (95.87%)
Rejected Votes – 180 (4.13 %)
Total Polled - 4,354
Regis. Electors - 4,427
-------------------------

Kalkudah Polling Divisions

United People's Freedom Alliance - 36,731 (66.81%)
United National Party - 15,673 (28.51%)
Eelam People's Democratic Party - 1,421 (2.58%)

Valid Votes - 54,980 (89.32 %)
Rejected Votes – 6,776 (10.68 %)
Total Polled - 61,556
Regis. Electors - 94,359
--------------------------

Padiruppu Polling Divisions

United People's Freedom Alliance - 14,379 (42.89%)
United National Party - 11,829 (35.28%)
TAMIZH DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL ALLIANCE - 3,594 (10.72%)
Eelam People's Democratic Party - 2,612 (7.79%)

Valid Votes - 33,529 (86.37 %)
Rejected Votes – 5,293 (13.60 %)
Total Polled - 38,822
No. of Registered Voters - 81,830
---------------------------------

Batticaloa Polling Divisions

United People's Freedom Alliance - 52,053 (58.78%)
United National Party – 29,770 (33.62%)
Tamizh Democratic National Alliance – 3222 (3.64%)
Eelam People's Democratic Party – 1,199 (1.35%)

Valid Votes – 88,552 (90.76%)
Rejected Votes – 9,011 (9.24%)
Total Polled - 95,563
No. of Registered Voters - 154,761
-----------------------------------------

Trincomalee District Polling Divisions
No. of Registered Voters - 242,463

Postal Votes - Trincomalee District

United People's Freedom Alliance - 4,938 (62.17%)
United National Party - 2,481 (31.24%)
PEOPLE'S LIBERATION FRONT – 411 (5.17%)

Valid Votes - 7,943 (95.08 %)
Rejected Votes – 411 (4.92 %)
Total Polled - 8,354
Regis. Electors - 8,517
-----------------------------

Mutur Polling Divisions

United National Party - 28,233 (59.08%)
United People's Freedom Alliance - 18,451 (38.61%)
UNITED SOCIALIST PARTY - 495 (1.04%)
PEOPLE'S LIBERATION FRONT – 160 (0.33%)

Valid Votes - 47,788 (92.67%)
Rejected Votes – 3,779 (7.33 %)
Total Polled - 51,567
No. of Registered Voters – 84,175
-------------------------------------

Trincomalee Polling Divisions

United National Party - 28,146 (62.26%)
United People's Freedom Alliance - 13,828 (30.59%)
PEOPLE'S LIBERATION FRONT – 1,408 (3.11%)
UNITED SOCIALIST PARTY – 537 (1.19%)

Valid Votes - 45,208 (90.01 %)
Rejected Votes – 5,020 (9.99 %)
Total Polled - 50,228
No. of Registered Voters - 91,598
-----------------------------------------

Digamadulla (Ampara) District Polling Divisions
No. of Registered Voters - 409,308

Postal Votes - Ampara District

United People's Freedom Alliance – 4,722 (55.24%)
United National Party - 3,401 (39.79%)
People's Liberation Front – 353 (4.13%)

Valid Votes - 8,548 (93.02%)
Rejected Votes – 641 (6.98 %)
Total Polled - 9,189
Regis. Electors - 9,467
--------------------------

Pillayan controls outer-B'caloa - CAFFE

The Pillayan-led TMVP has practically seized control of Batticaloa in areas outside the municipality and was engaged in large-scale vote rigging, the Campaign for Free and Fair Elections says.

The group had threatened voters and snatched official poll cards of several voters at Kiliveddi and was forcibly bringing voters to polling centres in Pattirippu, CAFFE said.

The local poll monitor said the law enforcement authorities have not taken any measure to prevent these incidents.

The TMVP has also threatened a senior election official at Kalladi, and ordered him against allowing any voting from taking place after noon.

Meanwhile, the LTTE-controlled Panduwankeri has so far reported only 15 people exercising their franchise, CAFFE said.

In most polling centres of Batticaloa, the UNP had no representation, after 14 of the agents were arrested and are being detained by the Kattankudi Police.

The reason for their arrest has not been made known, Nizbar Saffar of the UNP lawyers association said.

The UPFA's Batticaloa coordinator Siripala Amarasinghe told 'Lanka Dissent' that the district has reported no violent incidents today, with voting underway peacefully and a 50 per cent turnout.

By 2.00 pm, nearly 35 pc voted within the municipality area, while the outstations reported the figure to be more than 50 pc, UNP MP Sagala Ratnayake said.

Contacted by 'Lanka Dissent' he said no serious violent incidents have been reported from Batticaloa.

However, massive vote rigging was taking place outside the municipality area, he added.

Presidential Adviser and his goons wreak havoc in Trincomalee

UNP complained to the Deputy Inspector of Police Trincomalee that President's Adviser Bharatha Lakshman Premachandra forcibly entered into the hotel where Chief Opposition Whip Joseph Michel Perera was staying in Trincomalee and threatened him to leave the area immediately.

UNP media unit head MP Lakshman Kiriella requested from the Inspector General of Police to arrest this President’s Adviser who is now in Trincomalee with a band of hooligans and a group of ex-police and ex-Navy personnel.

Are the President's Advisers loiterers like this?

Mp Lakshman Kiriella questioned at a press briefing held in the Opposition Leader's official residence why the loiterers of this sort were appointed as President’s Advisers.

Mr. Premachandra went to UNP Trincomalee district candidate Sarath Lorenzo's house and forced him to resign from the candidacy pledging to take him to meet the President. Mr. Kiriella said that grenades were placed in front of the houses of UNP supporters Saman and Kapila and they were arrested by Police following complaints lodged against them.

Pillaiyan establishes camps

Mr. Kiriella said the MPs Joseph Michael Perera, John amarathunga and Ravi Karunanayaka also requested from the DIG in charge of the area to implement law against Mr. Premachandra.

Urging the security forces and police to safeguard the rule of law, Mr. Kiriella said that the people's sovereignty should be practiced in the election. He said that the police and the security forces would have to face the adverse effects otherwise.

Although the election campaigns were to be ended by 12 midnight of May 07, the Ministers are trying to take advantage through ceremonies held to lay foundation stones, UNP said.

Pillaiyan Group was setting up camps in various places in the Eastern Province since yesterday. UNP said that two such camps were set up in Palam and Palliukku areas in Batticaloa. They said that similar camps are being set up in Trincomalee and Ampara districts too. UNP further said that Pillaiyan had asked to send people to the Eastern Province for vote rigging.

MP Kiriella said that Associated Press journalists and Ms. Nimalka Fernando who were proceeding for election monitoring and reporting were attempted to block entry to the Eastern Province.

Tigers sink ship on polling day

Security forces have been reinforced for the elections Tamil Tiger rebels have sunk a naval cargo ship in eastern Sri Lanka, hours before important local elections were due to begin. The navy said a 65-metre (213-ft) ship had been hit by an underwater explosion but reported no casualties. Rebels said the ship had been loaded with munitions destined for Sri Lankan troops operating in the north. old ship video Saturday's local polls are the first in the region in 20 years and follow a government offensive last summer. Troops drove the Tamil Tigers from their bases in the region, which they had controlled for 13 years. Thousands of extra troops and police have been deployed to ensure security for the elections in the east coast towns of Batticaloa, Trincomalee and Ampara. On Friday, at least 11 people died in a bomb attack on a cafe in Ampara, which was blamed on the Tigers. There was no immediate comment from the rebels. 'Sea Tiger' attack A Sri Lankan navy spokesman, Commander DKP Dassanayake, said the cargo vessel Invisible "sank due to an underwater explosion" at around 0215 local time (2045 GMT Friday). He gave no details of the ship's cargo. A rebel statement quoted by AFP news agency said "Sea Tiger underwater naval commandos" had attacked the ship just before dawn. The army blamed the Tigers for the attack on the cafe in Ampara, in which 36 people were also wounded. Fighting is continuing in the north where the rebels have their main stronghold. About 70,000 people have been killed since the civil war began in 1983. The rebels want an independent state for minority Tamils in the north and east. The BBC's Roland Buerk in Colombo says Saturday's vote will lay the foundation for limited devolution that the government says is the answer to Tamil complaints of domination by Sinhalese-led central governments.

Questions over renegade Tamil Tiger

Former Sri Lankan Tamil Tiger rebel Col Karuna has just completed a prison sentence in the UK and is now in an immigration detention centre. The BBC's Frances Harrison looks at his past and what might happen to him next.

Col Karuna shortly after splitting from the Tamil Tigers

Col Karuna was once known as the favourite of the reclusive Tamil Tiger rebel leader Velupillai Prabhakaran.

He was one of his bodyguards having joined the rebels in their early days when he was aged 17.

He rose to become commander of rebel territory in eastern Sri Lanka and effectively number two in the Tiger military organisation.

He was widely recognised within the Tigers for his battlefield achievements. He was credited with several rebel victories including the recapture from the army of the northern town of Kilinochchi.

Split questions

But then in 2004 Col Karuna defected to the government forces. That left the Tamil Tiger leadership with very serious security concerns because he had intimate knowledge of their hideouts, strategy and methods.

Col Karuna's split from the Tamil Tigers was not clear cut and simple.

Karuna fought key battles in the north

According to the well informed Tamil commentator, Sivaram, who has since been assassinated, Col Karuna wanted a more direct relationship with the rebel leader in the north of Sri Lanka. He did not want to deal with the rest of the rebel administration.

He was summoned to rebel headquarters in the north to answer questions but he refused to go.

The Tigers later alleged Col Karuna had to answer charges of embezzling of funds.

Then Col Karuna gave an interview to the Associated Press news agency saying he was splitting from the Tigers.

As he gave more and more interviews to the media the renegade commander started giving new reasons for his behaviour.

He cited regional rivalries between Tamils from the east and the north of the island. Col Karuna was born in Batticaloa district in the east but most of the rebel leadership come from the northern Jaffna peninsula.

He started to complain that boys from the east had become the cannon fodder of the Tigers but the more backward east had not been rewarded with development funds after a ceasefire was signed in 2002 and peace talks were under way.

Then he said he'd defected to prevent the Tigers starting a new wave of war against the government.

The commentator Sivaram, who knew Colonel Karuna well, wrote that his rebellion "was ad hoc from start to finish" - there was no long term plan behind it.

The details of how Col Karuna negotiated his alliance with the Sri Lankan army are not clear. But he had met many senior officers and politicians during several rounds of peace talks abroad.

His defection triggered fighting in the east in 2004 between his forces and those rebels still loyal to the mainstream Tigers, during which hundreds of under-aged fighters were shown on Sri Lankan TV leaving the frontline and returning home.

UK issues

What's not clear is whether Col Karuna came to the UK late last year with the intention of staying permanently or just for a visit.

We are deeply concerned that Karuna and his faction... are still believed to be involved in intimidation and child recruitment UK High Commission Colombo

After his arrest in the UK, his lawyer said in court that he'd come to see his wife and three children.

Col Karuna said his forged diplomatic passport and visa were arranged for him by the Sri Lankan defence secretary.

Sri Lanka has denied this. But it's hard to see how Col Karuna could have got a diplomatic passport without the government knowing about it.

Once he'd quietly slipped into the UK rumours started circulating in Sri Lanka that Col Karuna was in London.

It's not known who tipped off the British police. It may have been prompted by the British High Commission in Colombo who were following up on the rumours.

Col Karuna was held for several weeks before being charged with identity fraud. In his court hearing the prosecution said he'd posed as a Sri Lanka government official attending a climate change conference.

His defence lawyer told the judge Col Karuna did not have a criminal record in the UK.

"It must have been a very frightening experience being taken away from his family into a detention centre and subsequently into the prison," the lawyer said.

Human rights groups called for him to be investigated for war crimes.

What next?

Meanwhile Col Karuna is back in immigration detention in the UK, having served a prison sentence over the passport issue.

Violence has continued in the east

The likelihood is that he will be deported back to Sri Lanka once the paper work is complete. His lawyer says he has not claimed asylum.

Human rights group Amnesty International has expressed disappointment that despite six months of investigation the British authorities haven't found enough evidence to charge him.

Amnesty said it was aware of numerous allegations against him that merited investigation.

Unusually the British High Commission in Colombo has also issued a statement saying: "We are deeply concerned that Karuna and his faction have allegedly been responsible for murder and abductions and are still believed to be involved in intimidation and child recruitment."

Will Karuna be prosecuted?

Human rights activists say the problem with trying to charge Col Karuna over rights abuses is finding witnesses who are willing to take the risk of coming forward.

Fighters in Karuna's group in the east

Even potential witnesses living outside Sri Lanka will be concerned about the safety of their relatives in Sri Lanka.

And there's the issue of jurisdiction.

To be charged with child recruitment in the UK the accused has to be a UK resident. In this case it would need a very broad interpretation of the law to say Col Karuna was a resident when he was visiting his family and had only been in the country two months.

The allegations of child recruitment against Col Karuna are widespread - both from the time he was with the Tamil Tigers and after he left them.

The United Nations children's agency, Unicef, has repeatedly issued statements accusing Col Karuna and his faction of forcibly recruiting child soldiers.

Journalists and other eyewitnesses have seen children as young as 13 holding Kalashnikov rifles and manning his checkpoints.

To be charged with torture in the UK a person has to be allied with state forces.

For Col Karuna that would have to be any time after March 2004 when he split from the Tigers.

Col Karuna could also in theory be investigated for hostage taking any time after 1988, including when he was with the Tigers.

But it would have to be proven that he wanted to influence the actions of a third party by taking a hostage.

The problem facing investigators may be that the Tigers would not be keen for his actions before 2004 to be scrutinised and the Sri Lanka Government won't want them investigated during the period he was allied with them.

On top of this, in particular cases it would it would be hard to prove the chain of command leading to Colonel Karuna personally in an organisation as secretive as the Tigers.

And after 2004 it would be even harder to prove because of the shadowy nature of different paramilitary groups operating in the east of Sri Lanka.

11 killed, 30 wounded, bomb explodes inside restaurant in Ampaa'rai

12 persons were killed and more than 30 persons were wounded in a bomb explosion inside a crowded restaurant in the centre of Ampaa'rai town in a pre-dominant Sinhala area, Friday evening around 6:00 p.m., initial reports said.

The explosion comes 12 hours ahead of the Eastern Provincial elections.

JVP calls for govt.'s response on UNHRC seat

The Sri Lankan government is yet to respond to a report by two international human rights bodies capable of influencing the United Nations, which calls for the suspension of the country's membership, along with that of three other countries, from the UN Human Rights Council, the JVP newspaper 'Irida Lanka' alleges.

In a study report released at the UN Headquarters on May 06th, Freedom House and UN Watch said Gabon, Bahrain, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Zambia were found as not qualified.

Their report comes as the UN General Assembly prepares to elect 15 new Human Rights Council members, or one-third of the body's membership, on May 21st.

'Irida Lanka' says this report had been prepared on information gathered from non-governmental human rights organizations functioning in these countries.

However, to date, the Human Rights Minister or any responsible government official has failed to respond to this report, the news article adds.

30 SLA killed, 5 bodies recovered, arms seized in Mannaar - LTTE

30 Sri Lanka Army soldiers were killed, five dead bodies of SLA troops were recovered after heavy fighting at Ka'rukkaaykku'lam Friday morning, according to LTTE's Military Spokesman Irasiah Ilanthirayan. Two PK Light Machine Guns, one AK LMG, five T-56 assault rifles and military hardware including ammunitions were seized by the Tigers. The SLA, while pulling back was towing an Armoured Personnel Carrier that had caught fire, the Tigers said. Ka'rukkaaykku'lam is located 2 km east of Adampan.

The Tigers had put up heavy resistance confronting the SLA in its attempt to advance with the support of air-attacks by the Sri Lanka Air Force and indirect fire using Multi Barrel Rocket Launchers (MBRL), artillery and mortar. The fighting which began at 5:30 a.m. ended around 8:00 a.m. when the SLA units were forced to retreat.

Arrangements were underway to handover the SLA dead bodies through the ICRC, the Tigers said.

Meanwhile, Sri Lanka Army claimed only 2 of their soldiers were killed in action, claiming that Adampan had been brought under their control. 15 Tigers were killed, the SLA claimed.

The pass office of the LTTE, during the CFA period, was located at Ka'rukkaaykku'lam.