Sunday, November 4, 2007

Sri Lanka to release 97 Indian fishermen

Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa has ordered the release of 97 Indian fishermen who were detained by the Lankan Navy for allegedly straying into the waters of the island nation, Tamil Nadu Government said today.

"It is learnt from the Deputy High Commissioner of Sri Lanka in Chennai that the President has ordered the release of detained fishermen from Nagapattinam district. This has been made possible due to the timely intervention of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi," an official release said. The fishermen were expected to be released immediately, the release added.

Read more,
http://news.indiainfo.com/2007/11/04/071104165

Expel SLMM tiger agents! – Weerawansa tells Govt.

The government should take immediate measures to expel Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission that is playing the role of international agent of separatist tiger terrorists says Information Secretary of the JVP Wimal Weerawansa.

He said this when ‘Lankatruth’ asked his opinion regarding the message issued by SLMM on the death of tiger deputy terrorist leader Thamilselvan.

Speaking further Mr. Weerawansa said SLMM which hesitated to issue a message when former Foreign Minister Luxman Kadirgamar was assassinated by tiger terrorists or when a tiger suicide terrorist group attacked SLAF base at Anuradhapura on the 22nd irrefutably displays their partiality to separatist tiger terrorists organization by issuing a message when a senior tiger terrorist leader dies in an attack.

Read more,
http://www.lankatruth.com/full_story/2007/Nov/04/20071104_05.htm

Jayalalithaa flays Karunanidhi for condoling LTTE leader's death

Condemning Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi for "eulogising" LTTE political wing secretary Thamilselvan, AIADMK supremo Jayalalithaa on Saturday night demanded the dismissal of his government for violating the Constitution by supporting the banned Sri Lankan outfit.

In a statement here, she said Karunanidhi's "action of praising Thamilselvan", killed in an airstrike by the Sri Lankan airforce on Friday, was unconstitutional as the LTTE was banned in India and its leader V Prabhakaran was a proclaimed offender in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case.

She alleged it was clear from Karunananidhi's action he had "secret ties" with the LTTE and had been "helping" them.

Read more,
http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/000200711040346.htm

LTTE is back to zero - TULF leader

With the death of the LTTE's Political Wing Leader S. P. Thamilselvan, the Leader of the Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF) Veerasingam Anandasangaree, the politician who had written the highest number of letters and pleas to the terrorists, has again requested the LTTE leadership to comeback to the negotiating table to save young lives.

In an interview with the Sunday Observer he said that the Tamil political parties are willing to help the LTTE if the terrorists end the armed struggle and entre the democratic stream. These youth have the courage to achieve whatever the deadly desires of the leadership risking their lives. So it is high time to use these valuable lives to develop the country. It is sad that they are sacrificing their lives for an unrealisable cause," he said.

Q: Despite severe defeats, yet there are no clues that the LTTE will enter the democratic path. In this climate do you think the only option to liberate Tamils is militarily weakening the LTTE?

A: I do not agree with you. One thing that I agree is that the LTTE would never come to the negotiating table because they have their own problems. They will not come for a settlement. The government's intention to beat them first and then come for talks would not help to end the problems of Tamils. Terrorism can be defeated by this way but what I hope is that the peace package must come out along with these military operations.

There are people in this country who say that once the problem is solved militarily and since the terrorists are defeated, that there is not problem for the Tamils. They will try to forget our grievances. The problems of Tamils were there for the last 50 years.

Read the full article,
http://www.sundayobserver.lk/2007/11/04/pol01.asp

Karu J. will be UNP leader after budget - Rajitha

The UNP (D) Group yesterday predicted a power change within the UNP after the forthcoming budget, with another batch of six to eight prominent MPs already in line to join either UNP(D) or the Government directly.

Holding that a victory the UNP (D) was a victory for the UNP, Minister Rajitha Senaratne said there would be an exodus from the UNP and added they (D-group) would grab power within the party after the budget, with heir apparent to the UNP Minister Karu Jayasuriya installed as leader.

Asserting that the UNP(D) would never divert from the policy of being within the UNP Dr. Senarathe said that their fight was to rid the party from a one man dictatorship.

Read more,
http://www.dailynews.lk/2007/11/02/pol01.asp