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Biological weapons; a looming threat of bio-terrorists?

"Terrorists do not see any thing but the target. They are ready to use any kind of warfare in reaching the objective. They are prepared to achieve the goal at any cost and terrorist activities may take innocent lives in thousands, peaceful environments of the societies and ethnic groups, ethical values and so on. We strongly believe that human beings have intelligence, the ability to comprehensively think and reason out happenings, whereas brutes have instinct, the ability to meet the biological needs."

by Dr.K.K.D.S.Ranaweera

(February 01, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) The term Biological Weapons became a fashionable jargon in recent time especially after the attack on US World Trade Centre. According to Reuters’s recent reports, several individuals victimised due to Anthrax were found in Florida but the cause was not yet detected. American investigators started looking into this dilemma as it may carry a series of consequences over against the humankind. Before we go into details of Biological Weapons and their destructive dimensions it is more appropriate to understand what the Biological Weapons are.

Biological weapons are any infectious agent such as a bacteria or virus when used intentionally to inflict harm upon others. This definition is often expanded to include biologically-derived toxins and poisons. According to an unclassified report of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, Chemical and Biological Terrorism: Biological warfare agents include both living microorganisms (bacteria, protozoa, rickettsia, viruses and fungi), and toxins (chemicals) produced by microorganisms, plants or animals.

Use of biological weapons in warfare or terrorism has a very long history. The Mankind against the Mankind throughout the history has been employing biological weapons and its applications are found unceasingly increasing. According to the first recorded use of biological weapons, Romans used dead animals to contaminate water sources of the enemies with the aim of killing opponents and lowering their moral. In the sixth century B.C., Assyrians applied rye ergot to poison enemy wells and Solon of Athens used the purgative herb hellebore (skunk cabbage) to poison the water supply during the siege of Krissa. In 1346 AD, plague broke out in the Tartar army during its siege of Kaffa (at present day Feodosiys in Crimea). In 1797, Napoleon attempted to infect the inhabitants of the besieged city of Mantua with swamp fever during his Italian campaign.

Use of biological warfare has a long history

Dr. Anton Dilger, a German-American physician, in 1915, established a small biological agent production facility at his home in Washington, DC. Dr. Dilger produced an estimated litre or more of liquid agent by using cultures of Bacillus anthracis (Anthrax) and Pseudomonas mallei (Glanders) provided by the Imperial German government. That agent was reported to use in infecting 3000 herds of horses, mules and cattle destined for the Allied forces in Europe. Several hundred military personnel were also reported to be affected by the same agent. Japanese military officials, in 1931, had attempted to poison their enemies by lacing fruit with cholera germs, but that "the investigators did not develop the disease". In 1942, the US programme on Biological Warfare was launched and it grew in size. Accordingly, in 1956, then the Soviet Union accused the US of using biological weapons in Korea. In 1966, a bacterial strain named Bacillus subtilis was released into the subway system of the New York City to study the adversity effects of using it. In 1992, Russian former President confirmed that Anthrax was used in Biological Warfare research studies but promised to terminate all the studies of that nature. Again an exceptional concern on biological weapons arose immediately after the terrorist attack on World Trade Tower last September.

A team of international reporters of investigative journalism uncovered the truth about biological weapons. They also pointed out as to how bio-warfare and bio-terrorism are rapidly becoming national and international evils. In this connection, several disclosures related to biological weapons project conducted by different countries allover the world are of significance to deliberate; How the CIA secretly built and tested a model of a Soviet-designed germ bomb. How a religious cult in Oregon in the 1980s sickened hundreds of Americans in a bio-terrorism attack that the government played down to avoid panic and copycat strikes, plans by the U.S. military in the 1960s to attack Cuba with germ weapons. How the Pentagon embarked on a secret effort to make a superbug. How the former Soviet Union produced biological weapons under a hidden programme and how the germs were tested on humans. How Moscow’s scientists made an untraceable germ that instructs the body to destroy itself. How the Pentagon attempted to improvise defences against Iraq’s biological weapons during the 1991 Persian Gulf War.

Many well-known microorganisms are used as Biological Weapons agents

According to reports a wide range of micro-organisms and toxins can be used as biological weapons agents. Majority of these agents is capable of causing mass destruction of the mankind. It is worth knowing some of these agents and their nature of evil.

According to recent information, a 7-month-old child has developed the skin form of anthrax. He is the youngest victim in a growing number of anthrax cases across the US. It means that the disease does not care of country’s powerfulness, age of victims and so on. Therefore it is worth understanding what anthrax is.

Bacteria causing Anthrax can form spores, which can either be eaten in contaminated meat, breathed in or simply infect the skin directly through human to animal contact. Anthrax spores are a silent, odourless, and invisible. Lager spores usually lodge in the throat and trachea (windpipe). In some parts of the world, this can be found in cattle or other hoofed mammals. The bacteria can produce toxins, which enters the blood stream and cause haemorrhaging (bleeding) and tissue decay. An infected patient cannot pass on the disease to other people.

There are three types of anthrax depending on where the infectious spore has contacted on the patient. The first, cutaneous anthrax, which produces a skin lesion and is rarely painful. This is the least serious compared with other two types. The second type is intestinal anthrax, caused by the consumption of contaminated meat. This type produces severe food-poisoning type symptoms, leading to fever and blood poisoning. It is frequently fatal. The third is respiratory anthrax, which is caused when spores are breathed in by the patient and lodge in the lungs.

Symptoms of anthrax normally develop within two days of exposure. Initially, symptoms of anthrax are similar to a simple flu, but respiratory symptoms rapidly worsen and the patient usually goes into some kind of shock between two and six days later. However, this disease is frequently fatal.

Curing of anthrax

Giving antibiotics to anthrax patients can cure the disease, particularly the cutaneous variety and the chances of cure are greatly reduced in case of intestinal or respiratory infection. Although, there is a vaccine against anthrax, it is not recommended except for those at high risk, such as meat industry workers.

As a precautionary step, gas masks can be used but their value against biological attack is still questionable. Even in laboratories, researchers protect themselves by wearing sealed body suits in preventing organisms from getting through. However, the success of a gas mask relies heavily on a perfect seal between mask and face, which is very difficult to achieve and any gaps and the organism could get through.

There are many other microorganisms having a great potential of being be biological weapons agents;

Cryptococcus neoformans - Cryptococc-osis, an illness of humans induced by a type of yeast Cryptococcus neoformans which affect the central nervous system causing subacute and chronic disease.

Clostridium botulinum - Botulism - An intoxication with the performed Botulinum toxin of Clostridium botulinum. Vomiting, constipation, ocular and pharyngeal paralysis can be resulted after 24-72 hours of intoxication.

Yersina pestis - Bubonic plague - A very contagious epidemic disease caused by a bacterium Yersina pestis (also called Black Death of the 14th Century) and spread by infected rats. The majority of cases develop a bubo in the regional lymph glands. The infection can be transferred to men and if the bacteria reach the lungs, symptoms like fever and delirium (an abnormal mental condition, which occurs in high fever) may appear. Untreated cases are always fatal and therefore antibiotics should be administered promptly.

Ebola virus. This virus causes one of the viral haemorrhagic (bleeding) fevers which is contagious and lethal. Symptoms of this disease include high fever, delirium, severe joint pains, bleeding from body orifices and convulsions leading to death.

Plasmodium spp. Malaria - A disease caused by sporozoa of the genus Plasmodium. It is characterised clinically by fever which is often periodic, varying degrees of anaemia, splenic enlargement and various syndromes. This disease can affect several organs including brain, liver and kidneys.

Vibrio cholerae - Cholera - An acute and often fatal infectious disease caused by a specific bacterial organism Vibrio cholerae. It is characterised by free-flowing watery diarrhoea, vomiting, muscle cramps, severe dehydration with so many other complications.

Salmonella typhi - Typhoid - Typhoid fever caused by a bacterial strain Salmonella typhi is characterised by fever, toxaemia, abdominal signs and symptoms leading to intestinal haemorrhage or perforation, enlargement of spleen etc.

Brucella spp.- Brucellosis (undulant fever)- A disease caused by bacteria strains Brucella spp.

Smallfox is a virus infection having a great tendency to spread. It is assumed that this virus has been eradicated from the world but in recent times, there are evidences pointing out accidental outbreaks from laboratories. The virus infects the body through the mucous membrane and later enters the blood stream. Haemorrhagic (bleeding) complications may be developed. The disease is toxic and fatal.

Arboviruses

Venezuelan equine encephalitis - This disease is commonly caused by arboviruses and reservoirs of this disease can be horses, mules or birds. It is somewhat similar to Japanese B encephalitis transmitted to humans by Culex mosquito. The disease severely affects the brain and spinal cord.

Dengue fever - An acute disease caused by a special group of arboviruses transmitted by Aedes aegypti mosquitoes. This disease can eventually cause complications like internal bleeding.

Chemicals produced by other living organisms can be used as Biological Weapons agents

Cobra venom is principally neurotoxic producing a selective neuromuscular block affecting mainly the muscles of eyes, tongue, throat and chest.

Aflatoxin produced by fungi species like Aspegillus flavus affects the liver severely. There are so many other toxins that can be used as biological weapons agents.

Some of these agents are highly lethal; others would serve mainly in an incapacitating role. Some authors have also speculated about the possible terrorist use of new, genetically-engineered agents. They could be designed for even very specific purposes like for attacking specific ethnic groups.

How dangerous Biological Weapons dangerous are?

Comparatively, chemical weapons despite their all horrors become less lethal as they are dispersed and diluted. In contrary, Biological Weapons are immensely destructive. In addition to being very lethal even in tiniest quantities of disease organisms, they can multiply into massive populations in the nature. They also can naturally mutate making the available protective measures powerless. Botulinum toxin has been described as 3 million times more potent than the chemical nerve agent sarin. Botulinum toxin annihilates by slow asphyxiation, as the cells of the victim’s breathing muscles die from within. Anthrax takes three excruciating days to destroy the membranes of the lungs and intestines. These very reasons appealed the warfare specialists to look into possible ways of using these agents as loathsome instruments of war and terror. These weapons are of mass destruction, intrinsically of terror and infinitely cruel.

Are biological agents have been produced in our societies?

It is difficult to discover comprehensive data on biological weapons production. However, it is clear that substantial amounts of biologically active weapons have been produced by various nations. A report points out biological weapons produced by the nation of Iraq: UNSCOM has discovered that Iraq produced 19,000 litres of botulinum, 8,400 litres of anthrax, 2,000 litres of aflatoxin and clostridium. In July 1995, Iraq has admitted that it had looked to build a biological warfare capability. In 1988, it had imported 39 tonnes of growth for agents eg. anthrax and botulinum. UNSCOM has destroyed much of the growth media, but it thinks as much as 17 tonnes is still unaccounted for.

Can we be defended from biological weapons?

Biological defence may be divided into the following categories: prevention, protection, detection, treatment, and decontamination.

Prevention : Prevention may take several forms. In the case of biological warfare, international disarmament and inspection regimes may deter production and dissemination of biological agents. Intelligence assets may indicate potential threats and allow for preventative action to be undertaken.

Vaccination programs may provide substantial protection against naturally-occurring agents. But some agents require several inoculations over an extended period before immunity is conferred. Yet there are no vaccinations for many biological agents. The most dangerous thing is that limited or no protection measures are available against genetically-engineered variants designed to defeat such vaccines.

Protection : Forms of protection against biological warfare agents are limited in capacity. Protective suits, clothing and filters may provide limited protection for short periods of time. However, the persistence of biological agents such as anthrax makes such protections mainly useful for military personnel and first responders. Anthrax can remain active and potentially lethal for at least 40 years.

Respirator or gas mask: Filters usually made of activated charcoal block even very minute particles (about one micron). Over-garments are also recommended to wear in preventing germs from contacting with wounds or skin injuries. In case of attack possibly with a biological weapon agent, it is best if the individuals are placed in a closed room which is insulated with plastic or non-permeable material and which is ventilated with filtered air. But unfortunately, we cannot afford to keep such rooms ready for emergency cases. Traditional disinfectants like formaldehyde can be used as effective surface sterilising agents. For some biological weapons agents like bacteria, antibiotic therapy can be started within a few hours of exposure but before symptoms appear.

Is there any thing that we can do in refusing biological weapons?

It has been reported that after the collapse of the former Soviet Union, technologies of nuclear weapons and other sophisticated warfare techniques were sold out to hands of several ethnic groups who are fundamentalists, fanatics or extremists. Most of them are not interested in recognising others’ well-being nor do they give any value to other ethnic groups. Terrorists do not see any thing but the target. They are ready to use any kind of warfare in reaching the objective. They are prepared to achieve the goal at any cost and terrorist activities may take innocent lives in thousands, peaceful environments of the societies and ethnic groups, ethical values and so on. We strongly believe that human beings have intelligence, the ability to comprehensively think and reason out happenings, whereas brutes have instinct, the ability to meet the biological needs. By looking at the activities what some individuals and terrorist groups are engaged in, one may think that humans tend to lose intelligence and instead acquire instinct. On the other hand, another can think that we may dishonour animals by making these individuals equal to brutes because beasts have their own but very benevolent principles incomparable to any other being. Bio terrorism can be one of very efficient ways of terrorist in near future.

This is high time where politicians, intelligentsia and other laymen should come together to voice against terrorism. We should give up all types of power struggles and come up with a harmonious forum for combating with the terrorism. It is a social responsibility of all governments, non-Governmental organisations, politicos and other institutions to give due thoughts in formulating an overall effort to cope up with bio-terrorism.

(February 01, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian)Opposition and UNP Leader Rail Wickremesinghe addressing the media in Colombo set March as the deadline for the Govt. to solve the acute sufferings of the people. He said, month of March was chosen as the Govt. had promised to win the war against the LTTE by that time.

The people are not the scapegoats for Govt.’s bungling of the economy and muddling up of the country’s stability. Neither the war is an excuse .It cannot hoodwink the masses because only 20% of the Budget was allocated for the war. Has the balance 80 % vanished into thin air? he asked , as the Govt. is raising prices of goods by the hour and imposing taxes on various false pretexts adding to their already poverty stricken state.

The Govt. cannot haphazardly bulldoze with lies and deceits over the people who are prostrated already with hardships and burdens. If the Govt. cannot solve the problems by March, the UNP will take to the streets in protest on behalf of the people, he sternly warned.

"During the second phase of Tamil racism the generation of Prabhakaran emerged. They were brought up on the mythical Tamil history and the concept of a Tamil nation and were told that Tamils had had a separate kingdom in this country for more than two thousand years until it went under the Portuguese, then the Dutch and finally the British. They were told that however, when the British went back (did they?) the Tamil kingdom was handed over to the Sinhalas and that it was the duty and the right of the Tamils to liberate their kingdom from the Sinhala imperialists."
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by Prof. Nalin de Silva

(The views expressed are his own)

(February 01, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) Tamil racism in Sri Lanka has entered the fourth phase with the formation of the so called Tamil National Alliance (TNA). As we said last week in these columns the Tamil Hindu Vellala leadership of Tamil racism is no more and now we have the phenomenon of Tamil Christian (Catholic) Karaivar leadership of LTTE, the sole representative of the Tamils as declared by the TNA. The TNA has only one policy in effect. Do what the LTTE tells them.

The first phase of Tamil racism baptised by the British, commenced in 1833 with the appointment of one representative each to represent the Sinhalas, Tamils and Burghers. With that the British equated more than two thousand three hundred years of Sinhala history with a continuous history of Tamils in Sri Lanka that did not extend for more than two hundred years. They also equated more than seventy five percent of the population of Sinhala people with less than ten percent of Tamils.

They had no regard for the unique culture that the Sinhalas had created in this country over a period of more than two thousand three hundred years and as far as they were concerned, that culture did not have a weightage more than that was given to Tamil culture that was nothing but a continuation of Tamil culture in the Malabar coast from where the Dutch imported Tamils for their tobacco cultivation. The first phase of Tamil racism in Sri Lanka lasted till about 1947. The Tamil leadership was Tamil Hindu Vellala and they tried to manipulate at that centre (Legislative Assembly until 1931 and then the State Council) and have political power over the entire country. The Tamil racist leadership wanted more representation for them than for the Sinhalas at the centre and in this they were assisted by the British.

Three infamous incidents out of many during this period were the demanding of a Tamil representative for the western province by Mr. Ponnambalam Arunachalam and the others in 1917, the opposition to universal franchise by Mr. Ponnambalam Ramanathan and the others around 1929, and the demanding of fifty fifty representation by Mr. GG Ponnambalam in the forties. Universal franchise was opposed by Tamil racist leadership as it would have given more representation to the Sinhala people in the state council. During this period the Tamil racists coined the concept of a Tamil nation with a history of more than three thousand years in Sri Lanka. In this exercise as well, they were assisted by the British and were influenced by the mythical history as given in Yalpanam Vaipava Malai written by a Tamil poet who had been "commissioned" by the Dutch. While the Tamil Hindu Vellala leadership in Colombo was fighting against the Sinhalas to deprive Sinhalathva its rightful place in the country, in Jaffna the Vellalas maintained the repressive regime against the less privileged casts.

Mr. SJV Chelvanayakam whose racist politics have been described by his son-in-law Dr. AJ Wilson was the first to realise that with universal franchise the Tamil racists would not be able to control the centre. With the election of the first parliament it became clear to some other Tamil racists as well that the natural Sinhala majority in the parliament could not be turned into a minority by any artificial means such as demarcating new electorates or having multiple member constituencies. Mr. Chelvanayakam was the leader of theof the second phase of Tamil racism that commenced in and around 1947. During this period the leadership was in the hands of Tamil Vellala Christian (Catholic) and the ideology had changed from Hindu Vellala supremacy to western Christian (cultural) hatred against Buddhism and was camouflaged in western liberal terminology.

Though the Tamil leadership in the first phase talked about a Tamil nation they could not do much to "create" a nation or even to convince the Tamils that they should think as a nation. The Vellala supremacy was an obstacle to this which was probably realised by Mr. Chelvanayakam. He lamented that while the Sinhalas were a nation the Tamils were not. Ironically his Christian "liberalism" helped him to propagate the idea of a nation among the Tamils across the caste and other barriers not only in the Jaffna peninsula but in the other parts of the island as well. However this awakened the other castes, especially the Karaivars to such an extent that within four decades the Vellala leadership itself was replaced by a Karaivar leadership.

In the second phase of Tamil racism Mr. Chelvanayakam having realised that it was no longer possible to control the centre, shifted his politics to the northern and eastern provinces demarcated by the British in the present form as late as 1889. He wanted to establish a separate state and formed his own political party Illankai Thamil Arasu Kadchi (Lanka Tamil State Party-the so called Federal Party) to achieve this objective. However, in the beginning he was very careful not to talk of a separate state and concentrated on a federal state. He followed the policy of "little now more later" as described by Dr. AJ Wilson. The party was called in English the Federal Party to mislead first the English educated Sinhalas and then the other Sinhalas. (Since the lingua franca changed from Sinhala to Portuguese and then to English among the "upper" crust of the Sinhala society in this country this has been the pattern! It is heartening to note that the lingua franca is gradually shifting back to Sinhala among the youth in these sections of the society. )

During the second phase of Tamil racism the generation of Prabhakaran emerged. They were brought up on the mythical Tamil history and the concept of a Tamil nation and were told that Tamils had had a separate kingdom in this country for more than two thousand years until it went under the Portuguese, then the Dutch and finally the British. They were told that however, when the British went back (did they?) the Tamil kingdom was handed over to the Sinhalas and that it was the duty and the right of the Tamils to liberate their kingdom from the Sinhala imperialists. The generation of Prabhakaran took these myths very seriously and they took up arms to win back their "kingdom" from the Sinhalas. Thus began the third phase of Tamil racism, with Prabhakaran and his cousins in the early seventies. While some of his cousins continued to be members of the TULF the others formed their own parties to establish the mythical Eelam. This was a mixed period when several groups claimed leadership and had different agenda. However, they were all after Eelam, except for a few in the TULF. Even they were not against an Eelam in theory having accepted the self determination of the Tamils.

While some wanted Eelam in stages, through a federation and a confederation Prabhakaran and others wanted Eelam and nothing but Eelam. Self determination coined during the cessation of Norway from Sweden in 1905, became a theoretical concept of Tamil racism during this period, helped by western liberalism and Marxism.

Also during the same period the concept of a so called Tamil homeland was created. The so called Thimpu conditions summarised the conceptual apparatus that Tamil racism had acquired from the beginning of the twentieth century to the Vadukkodai (Vadugoda) resolution of 1976. All the Tamil racist parties agreed that Tamils were a separate nation, the Tamils had the right of self determination and that the northern and the eastern provinces demarcated by the British, were the Tamil homeland.

During this period the NGO’s were working overtime browsing through the western political science and sociology books and "research papers" to pick up concepts and theories to deprive Sinhalathva its rightful place and promote Tamil racism (These imitators are not creative at all and if not for the western theories and concepts they would not be able to earn a living.) .

Human rights, fundamental rights, secular state and what not were quoted in defense of Tamil racism. However, they did not realise that there is not a single secular state in the world today. No state is formed in a cultural vacuum, something that western political science does not talk about, and cultures are associated with religions. All the western states are Christian (Catholic) states. Two Swedish postgraduate students in Political Science who came to meet me recently were surprised to realise that Sweden is a Christian country with a Christian state. The myth that they have been told by their lecturers at home was that Sweden is secular. The western political scientists tell us that the state should be separated from the religion forgetting that state, religion and culture , not to mention knowledge are all bound together. They also tell us that people are equal, forgetting that it does not imply that cultures are equal within the context of a country. Buddhist, Hindu and Islam cultures (civilisations) do not enjoy the same status as the Christian culture (civilisation) in the west. However, the westerners and their imitators ("golayas", golaya is not the same as student or pupil. I do not know of an English word that conveys some of the connotations in golaya) want us to treat all cultures as equal in non western countries.

During the third phase of Tamil racism Prabhakaran and the non Vellala (mainly Karaivar) gradually got the upper hand. Prabhakaran killed some of the Hindu Vellala leadership and the others were threatened with death. He also insisted at the Thimpu talks that the LTTE should be recognised as the sole representative of the Tamils. In 1985, most of the other Tamil racist parties could not agree with this demand. However, this has come to an end now. With the TNA accepting that the LTTE is the sole representatives of the Tamils, the Tamils have lost their soul. The fourth phase of Tamil racism has begun. Now Tamil racism has only the Tamil Christian (Catholic) Karaivar leadership of the LTTE, that is supported by the majority of Bishops, mainly Tamil and many Christian (Catholic) elite in the peace campaign for pieces. It is interesting to note that the peace campaign has more than its share of Christians (Catholics).

The non national forces that wanted to get a federal state through the PA government is now back with the UNP, the direct agent of the non national forces. However the UNP has two faces. In spite of UNP being the agent of the non national forces it had a somewhat national face under the Senanayakes who did not give up their western suits and top hats for the "jathika anduma". Strangely enough it was

JR Jayawardhane though chose to wear the national costume who had an out and out non national face. As Mr. DB Dhanapala had remarked Mr. DS Senanayake was a Sinhalaya in a western suit and a top hat. Unlike Mr. Jayawardhane who was culturally an Anglican, Senanayakes were culturally Buddhists. Mr. DS Senanayake was instrumental for the Minneriya and Galoya schemes if not for which Tamil racists would have claimed many other parts in the island including present north central province as their homeland. Senanayakes though accommodated Tamils as ministers in their cabinets did not enter into agreements or pacts with the Tamil racists. It was Mr. JR Jayawardhane who first entered into an agreement in 1977 with the Tamil racists parties before an election. Senanayakes did not enter into any pre election pacts or agreements but they were prepared to accommodate Tamils in their cabinets. With Mr. Jayawardhane it was different. He promised certain things before the elections to the Tamil racist parties in order to get their support in the parliament after the elections.

Mr. Ranil Wickremasinghe is not only the "avessa bena" of Mr. Jayawardhane but the political nephew as well. The face of the UNP under him is not different from that under Mr. Jayawardhane. Just as much Mr. Jayawardhane entered into a pact with the TULF, Mr. Wickremasinghe has entered into some kind of understanding with the TNA. The London based Tamil Guardian, journal of the LTTE, in an editorial has said that the LTTE supports the UNP. The LTTE has announced that the TNA backed by them would help the UNP. The LTTE’s organ, The Tamil Guardian has said that favourable conditions proposed by the UNP compelled the TNA to throw its weight behind the UNP. In the leader editorial published in the November 21 issue of the Tamil Guardian, the LTTE has said, in no uncertain terms, that it preferred Ranil Wickremasinghe led UNP to President Kumaratunga led PA capture power at the general elections on 5th December.

The London based organ of the LTTE has also accused the Prime Minister Mr. Ratnasiri Wickremanayake, for demonstrating the strength of opposition of the PA to ,what it said, the Tamils rights , by calling on the Sri Lankan armed forces to defeat the "conspiracy" of an interim administration for the Tamil North- East. The Tamil Guardian has described it as, "an idea mooted by the main opposition United National Party (UNP) for de-escalating the conflict and paving the way for a negotiated settlement." The editorial has also praised the UNP for recognizing the Tamil Tigers cannot- for now at least- be defeated militarily and that protracted war will reduce this possibility further. The LTTE journal, Tamil Guardian has said that whilst the Tamil community understood that neither Sinhala party was going to meet their aspirations, "the UNP will -at least in the short term - attempt to discuss these and more importantly, explore ways to cease hostilities........The much needed respite this could bring the people of the North and East compels the alliance of Tamil parties to throw its growing weight behind the UNP," .

Senanayakes and Jayawardhanes differ not only in entering into pacts, agreements or understandings with the Tamil racist parties. Their attitudes in implementing policies are also different. Mr. Dudley Senanayake resigned when it was learnt that nine people were killed as a result of armed forces opening fire at the people during the Hartal in 1953. In contrast Mr. Jayawardhane imposed curfew and got the army on the streets and did not resign when people died protesting against the Indo Lanka agreement and the 13th amendment to the constitution in 1987.

In the fourth face phase of Tamil racism the UNP of Jayawardhane face has entered into some kind of understanding with the TNA backed by the LTTE. We do not know what exactly has been promised to TNA, meaning the LTTE in this fourth phase of Tamil racism. But we know exactly how the second face of the UNP would get them implemented and how they would crush any movement opposing the relevant bills before the parliament.

(Professor Nalin de Silva is a Sri Lankan theoretical physicist, philosopher and a political analyst. He is a Professor in the Department of Mathematics at the University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka.)

(January, 31, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) Susanthi Thambirasa, who has been arrested on the charge of being a LTTE suicide bomber, will be freed on tomorrow with consent from the Attorney General, State Counsel Gihan Gunatilake informed the Court of Appeal today morning (Jan. 31st), according to court sources.

The State Counsel was making submissions when Gowrie Shankar Thavarasa, the lawyer appearing on behalf of the accused, filed a habeas corpus, calling for the producing of her client before the court.

A resident of Ampara, Susanthi was arrested along with Parameswary , Freelance reporter to closed down weekly Mawbima news paper at Rama Krishna Road in Wellawatte on 23rd November 2006 , under the PTA by the TID.

Attorney J.C. Weliamuna, also making submissions on behalf of the accused, requested her release, pointing out that she had been detained for over a year without charges.

Justices Ranjith Silva and Sisira Arbrew heard the case.

At the time of her arrest, Susanthi was a relief announcer at the Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation and also worked at Sunera Foundation, an NGO.

Following the arrest of Susanthi and Parameswary - Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, Defence Spokesman Keheliya Rambukwella and several other government leaders claimed the two of being LTTE suicide bombers.

(January 31, Islamabad, Sri Lanka Guardian) President Pervez Musharraf on Thursday welcoming Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollagama who is on a two day visit to Pakistan, expressed Pakistan’s deep gratitude to Sri Lanka for the principled position adopted at the Commonwealth. The President said he was particularly grateful to Minister Bogollagama, who had strongly argued against Pakistan’s suspension from the Commonwealth at the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group (CMAG). President Musharraf said it was unfortunate that the Commonwealth had to hastily enforce the suspension, being unwilling to allow Pakistan the time required to operationalize reforms. He expressed the hope that the Commonwealth would adopt a more realistic appreciation of the steps taken by Pakistan for the consolidation of democracy in the country.

Responding, Foreign Minister Bogollagama said Sri Lanka was glad to have been able to stand by a good friend. The Minister said he was confident that given a little more time Pakistan would have been able to resolve the issues that were of concern to CMAG. The Minister added that it was his expectation that Pakistan would very soon be able to have the suspension against the country removed and that Sri Lanka would continue to vigorously pursue action in this regard.

The Foreign Minister also conveyed to the President the good wishes of President Rajapaksa. President Musharraf said Pakistan held the President in high esteem and wished him success in his endeavours to end the conflict.

President Musharraf briefed the Foreign Minister on the steps taken by the Government of Pakistan to ensure that the elections in Pakistan on February 18th were carried out in a fair, clean and transparent manner. Minister Bogollagama expressed confidence that Pakistan would be able to restore to restore democracy through the forthcoming election. He said stability in Pakistan was important to the entire region and Sri Lanka looked forward to seeing the process embarked upon being completed successfully.

Minister Bogollagama also briefed President Musharraf on recent developments in Sri Lanka – the termination of the CFA, the announcement on immediate measure to fully implement the 13th Amendment, and the continuing military engagement against LTTE terrorism. He noted that the government was holding local government elections in the Eastern Province in March and would soon take steps to conduct provincial elections in the East. An interim advisory committee as a temporary measure would be implemented in the Northern Province. He emphasized the painstaking manner in which President Rajapksa was seeking to build a consensus within Sri Lanka to find a resolution to the present conflict. Minister Bogollagama expressed the deep gratitude of the Government of Sri Lanka for the support provided by Pakistan in the context of the present conflict in Sri Lanka.

President Musharraf said as a country which is also fighting terrorism, Pakistan well understood the challenge faced by Sri Lanka and expressed his support for the efforts of the government in its fight against terrorism and to preserve Sri Lanka’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. He emphasized the need for elimination of terrorism in all its forms and manifestations and appraised Minister Bogollagama of the efforts being made by Pakistan to combat the menace of terrorism and extremism.

Foreign Minister Bogollalgama also paid a courtesy call on Prime Minister Mohammedmian Soomro at the Prime Minister’s Office. The Prime Minster expressed satisfaction at the increased interaction taking place between Sri Lanka and Pakistan and the enhancement of bilateral relations between the two countries.

The Foreign Minister also paid a courtesy call on former Prime Minister and Leader of the Pakistan Muslim League(N) Mr. Nawaz Sharif. Minister Bogollagama recalled the former Prime Minister’s close association with Sri Lanka during his period as Prime Minister. Mr. Nawaz Sharif who referred to Sri Lanka as “a very very dear friend”, said that he had great respect for the present leadership and saw tremendous potential for increased cooperation.

The Foreign Minister of Pakistan Inam-ul-Haq was associated in the meetings of the President and Prime Minister. Minister Bogollagama was accompanied by Dr. W. Dorakumbura, Sri Lanka’s High Commissioner in Pakistan, Grace Asirwatham, Director General/ South Asia and SAARC , Ravinatha Aryasinha , Director General /Public Communications and George Cooke, Assistant Director.

Image: Opposition leader Raila Odinga attends a press conference at his Orange Democratic Party headquarters in Nairobi, Kenya, Thursday, Jan. 31, 2008. An opposition lawmaker was shot and killed by a traffic police officer in the Rift Valley Thursday, a police official said, the second opposition lawmaker to be killed this week in a country that has been gripped by ethnic fighting since last month's disputed presidential election.

(January 31, Nairobi, Kenya, Sri Lanka Guardian) An opposition lawmaker was gunned down by a police officer Thursday in the second fatal shooting of an opposition legislator this week amid ethnic fighting sparked by Kenya's disputed presidential election, officials said.

National police chief Hussein Ali said the police officer, who has been arrested, shot David Too in a dispute over the officer's girlfriend. The opposition said it was an assassination plot.

Henry Kosgie, an official of the opposition Orange Democratic Movement, told a news conference that witnesses had reported seeing Too shot as he traveled by car from Nairobi to the western city of Eldoret.

Angry residents of Eldoret marched on the police station after the shooting but ran away as paramilitary officers fired into the air.

Within minutes of the news reaching the western town of Kisumu, an opposition stronghold, gangs of men armed themselves with machetes and set up burning barricades. Businesses shut down and workers began to flee from the town center.

The killing came as negotiators began the first day of talks to resolve the country's deadly election dispute, and the head of the African Union warned the country was turning to ethnic cleansing, and even genocide.

Opposition party secretary-general Anyang Nyongo said it was "part of an evil scheme" to kill legislators and rob the opposition of its majority in parliament.

An Associated Press reporter saw Too's body at a hospital in Eldoret, where Deputy Police Chief Gabriel Kuya said the traffic officer had discovered that his girlfriend was having an affair with Too, and chased the two on his motorcycle when he saw them together in a car.

"He drove toward the side of the woman and shot her in the stomach twice. Her partner (legislator Too) pleaded with the officer not to kill her but he turned his pistol on him instead, hitting him four times in the head," Kuya told the Media.

At an African Union summit in neighboring Ethiopia, chairman Alpha Konare said, "Kenya is a country that was a hope for the continent. Today, if you look at Kenya you see violence on the streets. We are even talking about ethnic cleansing, We are even talking about genocide. We cannot sit with our hands folded."

Kenya's President Mwai Kibaki listened from the front row. Opposition leader Raila Odinga's party rejects Kibaki's Dec. 27 re-election as flawed, tried to prevent him from attending and appealed to the 52-nation bloc not to recognize him. The international community and international and local observers agree that Kibaki's razor-thin victory came because of a rigged vote tally.

In Nairobi, six negotiators — three representing Kibaki and three representing Odinga — were meeting under the mediation of former U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan.

"The mood is serious. They can feel the weight of the nation on their shoulders," said a spokesman for Annan, Nasser Ega-Musa.

Odinga has said he wants a new election, while Kibaki has made clear he will not negotiate his position as president.

Annan has said it could take a month to resolve the immediate dispute over the election and a year to map out a plan for dealing with decades-old ethnic animosities and land disputes underlying the violence.

Much of the violence has pitted other tribes, including Odinga's Luo, against Kibaki's Kikuyu people. Kikuyus, Kenya's largest ethnic group, have long been resented for their dominance of Kenya's economy and politics.

Hundreds of Kikuyus have been killed, and members of the group account for more than half of the 300,000 chased from their homes, most in the Rift Valley.

Human rights groups and others accuse politicians of orchestrating some of the violence.

The top U.S. diplomat for Africa, Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Jendayi Frazer, said Wednesday that she believed the month of violence has descended into ethnic cleansing.

Frazer said she did not consider the killings genocide. (Agencies)

Suicide attack kills four civilians – Jaffna

by Defencenet

(January 31, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) A suicide bomber exploded himself in Thirunaweli, Jaffna killing four and injuring another two. According to reports, all casualties are civilians. The incident occurred in a marketplace along Thrirunaweli- Kalliyankadu road at 11.25AM toady (31at).

Meanwhile four black tigers were arrested by Vavuniya police in Irattaperiyakulam on the 27th of this month. Preliminary investigations have revealed that these cadres were on a mission to eliminate a VVIP. The arrest was made after a senior LTTE cadre who was arrested in Colombo revealed the whereabouts of the tiger team. The suspect also revealed that four other black tigers from the same team were sent to Kandy on another mission. According to his information, the tiger team was residing in the 'Le Kandyan' hotel in Heerassagala, Kandy. A police team was immediately dispatched to arrest these cadres. However the tigers had vacated the hotel before the police could make the arrest. Police later found out that the four suspects had used fake identities and had claimed they were millionaire businessmen when they made the reservation at the hotel.

(January 31, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) Since the commencement of the year 2008, Sri Lanka has been actively engaged in a series of negotiations in trade and investment agreements with key countries from within and outside the region, according to a statement released by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Colombo.

The 11th round of Technical Level Negotiations with India on the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) between Sri Lanka and India was held from 2 – 4 January 2008 in Colombo. Also the 2nd Review Meeting of the Pakistan – Sri Lanka Free Trade Agreement and First Round of Technical Level Negotiations on a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) with Pakistan was held on 24 – 25 January 2008 in Colombo. Senior officials of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Department of Commerce, the BOI and other key agencies participated in these negotiations.

In the meantime, the First Round of Negotiations on an Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement with Kuwait was concluded at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Colombo on 30 January 2008. After two days of negotiations, considerable progress had been made on the draft text and the two Parties have agreed to convene the next round of negotiations early with a view to finalizing the Agreement. Senior officials of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Board of Investment took part in the negotiations.

The Sri Lanka – Kuwait negotiations will be followed by negotiations on a Sri Lanka – Jordan Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement, from 6-7 February 2008.

Sri Lanka Embassies in Kuwait and Jordan have actively pursued the convening of these negotiations with relevant authorities in the respective capitals.

Sri Lanka has so far concluded over 26 Investment Promotion and Protection Agreements. The Agreements are designed to create a conducive legal environment to generate the flow of foreign capital.

The series of negotiations that are being held in the trade and investment spheres signifies the continuing investor confidence in Sri Lanka.

- Sharing my thoughts with the Tamil Diaspora

(Thoughts of a Diaspora Tamil Woman, for your reading and reflection).

(January 30, London, Sri Lanka Guardian) The plight of our people has been steadily reaching newer levels. And, after being an observer with a hands-off approach, I decided to do something about it. I became proactive - in small ways. As a mother of two young children living in Ottawa, Canada and having many commitments, it was not easy to change my inaction - but I did. I firmly believe now, that if we all do our little part and started working towards a common vision, that vision will and must materialize. I realise there's spiritual element to this as well, and of course some people are skeptical when it comes to these things. But I still wanted share my simple suggestions at the end of this article, with other ordinary people who, like I used to be, are a bit lost when it comes to how they can help.

It all began in 1983 for me. Following the horrifying experience of the riots, I remember the first time my family settled in Jaffna. I remember the 3 day ship journey to Jaffna, the light blue waters of the KKS harbour and the village school where my family was given bread and potato curry. How lovingly the senior students – my people - served the food to us. How good the food tasted, especially after being in a crowded ship for 3 days and having experienced sea sickness.

Children are resilient and if given the chance they bounce back. I soon forgot and overcame the bad memories thanks to my people and Jaffna. I was just a little girl and I was swept away by the simple beauty of my hometown Chavakachcheri – the lush paddy fields, the tall palmyrahs, the mango groves and the hot white sand that made me hop and jump when I tried walking barefoot to the kovil close by. Jaffna healed me and my horrific memories of the riots. Jaffna saved me in many ways. Jaffna taught me culture, the beauty in living close to nature, the importance of an ecologically sustainable living and embedded in me deep spiritual beliefs.

Then I remember how the war started. Little by little and then all in a rush. The many atrocities that happened. I remember the first time a loved one got killed. I remember a friend who was arrested and disappeared. I remember a childhood acquaintance who was later gang-raped and murdered by Sri Lankan soldiers – became to be known as the Krishanthy Kumarasamy case.

I remember proudly waving at Indian soldiers only to be terrified of them a few months afterwards. What a betrayal by India! But more was to come. I remember how stupidly and naively I voted for Chandrika Kumarutunga when I moved back to Colombo, having just turned 18 and got voting rights, trusting the South to deliver peace as they promised. Instead, the war intensified under Chandrika's regime and I lost a beloved cousin of mine who had just entered University - her body blown into pieces in one of the many aerial bombings by the Sri Lankan Air Force in the North. How naïve I was in hoping that a Sinhalese government would deliver peace to the Tamil people.

Then, now in a new millennium and in another country, I got sadder and angrier as I read the latest news or heard from people who visited Sri Lanka. I could almost feel the terror that our people are experiencing on a daily basis - It was almost palpable. We cannot trust our enemy one little bit nor should we let them get away with what they have done to us. Let our fighters carry on with what they are doing but meanwhile, I decided that I need to do my part – in whatever small ways I can.

When we look at the Tamil Diaspora, some of us still lay our hopes on the International Community - I am not saying it's a bad thing but it should not be the only thing. Some of us wait for some sort of miracle to happen. Some of us feel absolutely hopeless and pessimistic. Some of us feel tortured to live this way – reading the news of our homeland, feeling angry and depressed – then only to get distracted by trivial things in daily life. Only a rare few Tamils undertake the weight on their shoulders and do more than their part in helping our homeland. They are the dedicated people who though living abroad have not forgotten their duty. These people of the Tamil Diaspora are true leaders and beacons of hope.

However, most of us do nothing. I have friends who simply sigh and change the topic or don't talk about it anymore. Even worse, I have friends who don't even give it a second thought. They like to believe that they have lots of rights in Canada. They thrive in the small things of daily lives and happily chat in English with their kids. One part of our future generation is being utterly traumatised in Sri Lanka, while the other part (or to be fair, the majority of other part) is growing up oblivious to what's happening to their brethren back home.

So I put together a simple plan on how I (a housewife and a mother) can change my habits, and then I acted on it. It was a very liberating experience for me. Small things can make a big difference. Hence, I share my thoughts with and for the people who might have adopted a "hands-off" approach (like I did before) or "looking the other way" approach.

Act 1 - Get in touch with the North East. Help relatives and friends in North East.

Almost all of my close relatives are living abroad. But I took some trouble to get contact details of distant relatives in Sri Lanka. I contacted my mother's second cousin's family in the North, whom I met only once in my life when I visited them as a child. They were just so happy that I remembered them and called. Now we are in touch at least via mail. I called a long lost relative in Batticola. For two decades, the people of the East have experienced the worst of Sinhalese brutality in terms of large scale massacres. This is due to geographical proximity as well other factors which has made them more vulnerable. My relative in Batticola was ecstatic that I called. As far as I am concerned, a two way communication was helpful to both parties. I feel connected. Also, sending a small amount of money goes a long way. In these horrific times, they need all the help that they can get. Initially, I felt ashamed that I didn't contact these people before. But better late than never.

Act 2 - Help the charities that do work in the North East

About 5 years ago, I realised if I can afford to spend $20 a month on McDonalds, I can sponsor a child. So I sponsored this little girl through Foster Parents Plan. The country they chose was Bangladesh. 5 years on, I still felt so happy of my decision whenever I got a letter or picture from her. So later, I started to donate to the orphanages in Vanni directly through a friend who is personally involved with the orphanages. I allocated a small percentage of my salary for this purpose. I also started contributing in Tamil events and through Tamil organizations using common sense and a bit of trust. In doing so, I brushed aside a long felt concern - "I really need to know how and where my money is going". A quote from one of my favourite writers comes to mind.

"You often say, 'I would give, but only to the deserving'.

The trees in your orchard say not so, nor the flocks in your pasture.

They give that they may live, for to withhold is to perish" – Kalil Gibran

I felt that if we don't give now (our time, money and energy) to our people back at home, our culture and our nationhood might perish eventually. Once I started giving my time, money and energy in small ways, I felt more confident in terms of futures results.

Act 3 - Boycott Sri Lankan goods

Self explanatory - just check the label of whatever you buy. For example, I stopped buying MD brand that I used to use a lot.

Act 4 - Write to local MPs, NGOs and to the media.

Get details of your local MP and engage them. Write to them regularly or schedule a fact to face meeting so that after a while, they get to know you and a relationship can be formed. I started writing to NGOs and the media, and was amazed at some of the responses that I got. They really like to hear from ordinary people. I feel that I doing my part educating people. This takes maybe 1 or 2 hours of my time per week. And I do believe, if many people start doing this, it could be a powerful factor.

Act 5 - Teach our children Tamil language. Teach them the ancient and recent history of Tamil homeland.

This is a very important point for two reasons. The next generation of children needs to be aware. They will have to carry on the struggle of rebuilding our nation once we are no longer here. Also, teaching our children our language and history is not only beneficial for our people back home, but also good for our children's self concept, self image and identity (regardless of age).

Act 6 - Don't imagine the worse or NOT try something out because of an assumption.

I have a friend who says with gloom "even if Tamil Eelam materialises it'll be a bad state. We will destroy ourselves". Would you give a 10 months old child a can of coke just because "he's going to be doing that anyway when he is 18" (I actually heard a father say that and I feel sorry for both him and the kid!). This kind of logic is flawed. We can't give up on things by imagining a bad future. You nurture and nourish a plant so that it'll be bear good fruits. We'll just have to heal with love and hope.

Act 7 - Think collectively and truly identify with North East as Tamil Eelam.

We need to think collectively and truly identify with North East as Tamil Eelam. Our thoughts and actions stemming from this identity will have far reaching consequences. Freedom is ours to take - not something that we need to ask from somebody else. Once we start believing in Tamil Eelam, it will materialize. Meanwhile, I feel better when I introduce myself as a "Tamil from the North East of Sri Lanka now referred to as Tamil Eelam by us" – a rather long winded answer to the simple question "where are you originally from?" But I still feel good saying it. I used to say "Sri Lankan".

We might have a few dilemmas. For example, we might not have a flag and song that is recognised by others. Recently, the Principal of my daughter's school had a bright new idea. In order to reflect the cultural diversity at the local school, he wanted to display the different flags of the different nations the children's families were coming from. It was an extremely nice thought! But I did not feel like giving the Sri Lankan flag nor could I give our flag with the Tiger emblem on it since it may not be perceived as a national flag. I felt really troubled and at the end had to tell the Principal that we didn't want any representation by flags. So we do have road blocks in this area and we need to work on that but I still rather identify with our unborn nation than to be identified with Sri Lanka - even for formalities. This was an important psychic change.

Act 8 - Positive visualisation

Positive visualisation is not just day dreaming or just hoping, but actually visualising the final goal in mind so that we can work towards it. I have practiced this in my personal life with good results. Once I drew a picture of a goal that I wanted (a seemingly impossible goal at that time), put it in my study room, and every day reflected on it for couple of minutes. This clarified things in my mind. This helped and kept me in focus on what I wanted to achieve and what needs to be done on a daily basis - all the small steps that I had to do in order to achieve this big goal.

Nowadays, I also visualise visiting my hometown (now the home of a big army camp) and see what has to be done from my part in order to achieve this. This last point (positive visualisation) kind of encompasses all of the above points: Visualise -> Get Proactive -> Act; Visualise -> Get Proactive -> Act. I visualise my family visiting my mother's cousin's family in Jaffna and having lunch with them. I visualise my kids playing together with theirs! This may seem a bit far fetched but I truly believe that the Universe will respond to my thoughts as well as my actions. I believe we can create our own future if we really want to. We just have to start off this process by being proactive first. The rest will follow.

Some skeptics might call me a dreamer. But I rather dream than despair. I rather believe than be cynical. I rather pray and plead to the Universe, than to turn the other way and pretend everything is fine - as the Tamil saying goes "Prayers that are said for the common good always work". I rather act and consequently feel good about myself for the small yet powerful deeds that I am doing in helping out my people. It's all worth it in the end.

A Mother – Wife – Daughter – most importantly a Tamil!

"Our wishful thinking sarong clad Chinthanaya President on a marathon run."

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Colombo is controlled by Mervyn like idiotic Chinthanaya men.

Let us not have any hope that there will be free and fair elections under this Chinthanaya President in the future.

Mahinda’s idiotic band wagon is well ready to rig votes to stay in power.
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[January, 31, 2008, Sri Lanka Guardian]

Does any one really understand our President? Anyone who don’t we can make them really understand him. He is Hon. Mahendra Percy Rajapakse, who is best known as President Mahinda Rajapakse. He is a God given President of Sri Lanka destined to lead our nation on the path of decline.

He is the head of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka! He is the head of nation’s defence service!! He is head of nations finance!!! He has powers to control the nation’s parliament. He can hire and fire persons. Elected legislators are not important for him. He knows how to appoint first class rascals as parliamentarians. As Finance Minister he controls the finance of the nation. The constitution of the nation safeguards him from not becoming accountable.

This God given President will play all the dirty games to control the damn weak parliament in order to prevent it using its power to impeach him. Thanks to our late President Junius (Genius) Richard Jayawardene! His wishful thinking had produced a constitution that is breading maggots, worms, suckers, parasites and abominable baboons to run our state machinery.

"Portrayal of Mahinda’s bandwagon"

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One cooked grain of rice is good enough to measure for a pot of cooked rice. The infamous non elected Member of Parliament and the well-known thug Dr Mervyn Silva who comes from down south Matara is a good yardstick to measure the capabilities of our ministers.

Mahinda is ruling the country by changing his Chinthanayas daily. His Chinthanaya Ministers too does not have common Chinthanayas. Mahinda the Chinthanaya and his bandwagon Chinthanayas are all hilarious stock the country had ever seen. The best of the Chinthanaya is Mervyn Chinthanaya. He is an embodiment of idiosyncrasy of this government. A damn squib, who can only survive in the disgraceful government that only knows to pamper and panegyrise such lethal worms for its survival.

We can write pages and pages about this man and also about all those who admire him in the government. His career conduct reached the peak when he got hammered by the people publicly for attacking a media man. It is no secret that he was appointed as organizer of Kalaniya electoral division for his ruling SLFP after nefariously ousting the former minister and MP Sripathi Sooriyarachchi. Unfortunately, his skills are only limited to making and displaying large size cut-outs and banners in the Colombo and Kalaniya areas.

Whist the thug minister clung on to his ministerial position, even after being publicly exposed of his appalling conduct, he is able and is continuing to play balls by removing his victim T.M.G Chandrasekera the News Director of the state controlled Rupavahini Television channel

In Sri Lanka, justice always works in reversal. T M G Chandrasekera who is a professional journalist and even recently Lal Hemantha Mawalage, another journalist was attacked. It is knowledge cadres of Mervyn are involved in issuing death treats on him.

T M G Chandrasekara is a victim of Mervyn and his guru the Chinthanaya President. It is time the Chinthanaya President respond to few questions facing your people in the Country. If this is how he is going to govern the country, how does he expect to retain the remaining brainy and the intellectuals in the country? If you continue to represent the violent elements and the violence itself, how could you wipe out the real terrorism the country is facing and bring about respectable governance to progress the country?

The way the politics of Sri Lanka is rotting, it won’t be surprising, one day the worst corrupt of the corrupt Mervyn will become the President of Sri Lanka. Is the Chinthanaya President grooming him to become the President of Sri Lanka? Chinthanaya President became the President because of hora votes. He is being accused of bribing the LTTE Tamils to prevent the Tamils in the north from voting.

With all the experience of underhand dealings the Chinthanaya President is capable of making even a donkey or a monkey the President of Sri Lanka. He will have his Machchan Prabhakaran to help him extend his agenda any time, so long as he could dish out his corrupt wealth and squandered finance of the nation. It is proving Chinthanaya President cannot survive without the cardboard Dutugemunu Mervyn. Mervyn will continue to survive in the government with the backing of the Chinthanaya President as both have bilateral benefits from their mutual interests.

The Chinthanaya President Rajapakse came from nowhere and said that bomb blast in the south recently was not the work of the LTTE. If not who did it? Such statement should come from the DIG and not the President, who has been accused of bribing the LTTE in the past. Did the LTTE bribe him again to come to their aide?

The government is failing. If it fights a war, there is lots of kick backs for the politicians derived from arms deals. If peace is proceeded, no such dividend is embedded. So long as commission Kakka’s can influence the government, war will always stand up. Commissions and side kicks are important for these politicians.

Does Mervyn Silva really understand what good governance is? He only knows criminal governance and cannot and will not know what is ‘just’ and ‘justice’ is.

The Chinthanaya President and his goons do not realise the changing attitude of the people. Our people are no longer gamayas (villagers). They slowly and steadily changing to adapt the wider world behaviours. The so called village people will soon teach the self promoting village President a good lesson one day, until then Chinthanaya President can play his fiddle stick like king Nero.

(January 31, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) No PowerPoint presentations required in briefing LTTE leaders or rank and file. The SLA has also recently transformed. The language of communication at all levels of the command shifted from English to ‘layman’ Sinhala. The present Commander of the Army and the Defence Secretary played a role in this and also in separating political plans from military plans.

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by Defencewire

"You must not fight too often with one enemy, or you will teach him all your art of war." - Napoleon Bonaparte

Military theoreticians have long established some fundamental principles of war, which have remained unchanged for several thousand years. These principles are incorporated into modern warfare as the art of war became the science of war. The Principles of War

(1) and the adherence to it by the Army and LTTE can be analyzed as follows;

Objective- Direct every military operation toward a clearly defined, decisive, and attainable objective. As Clausewitz pointed out “No one starts a war—or rather, no one in his senses ought to do so—without first being clear in his mind what he intends to achieve by that war.” Although an unconventional army, the LTTE has maintained a clear objective in mind (Eelam- a politico-military objective). The Sri Lanka Army has a new military objective under General Fonseka. It is now upto the politicians to create a political objective better than Eelam.

Offensive- Seize, retain, and exploit the initiative. Until 2005, the LTTE dominated offensive actions, which role is now being replaced by the Army.

Mass- Concentrate the effects of combat power at the decisive place and time. The LTTE’s Oyatha Alaikal/ Ceaseless Waves are a good example of this strategy. However, not a single Ceaseless Wave was launched recently. The Army has its own force concentrations under Task Force I and II. However, these concentrated forces are rarely deployed in mass, thus eliminating high casualty rates unlike Agnikeela and Muhamalai debacles. The modus operandi of the new Mechanized Infantry Regiment is yet unclear, but furthers the application of this principle by the SLA.

Economy of force- Allocate minimum essential combat power to secondary efforts. The Army’s adherence to this principle is currently being tested by the LTTE through attacks in the south. The Army is also testing the LTTE in the same area through LRRP operations.

Maneuver- Place the enemy in a disadvantageous position through the flexible application of combat power. Both sides apply this principle against each other by attempting to off balance each other by posing new problems and new dangers faster than a side can deal with them.

Unity of command- For every objective, ensure unity of effort under one responsible commander. This is a highly politicized issue in a three forces command. Rebel forces are monolithic and have better success at assigning the right responsibilities to the right command. LTTE commanders are given objectives to achieve and the rank and file must comply, or pay with their lives. Recently, the Army has instilled a greater sense of responsibility and accountability to the command. Recent appointments, promotions, demotions and transfers were based on merit and not on seniority or political allegiance.

Security- Never permit the enemy to acquire an unexpected advantage. The LTTE has been at the receiving end of this principle lately, with the loss of weapons ships, ‘Col. Charles’, Thamilselvan etc. The military too suffered (i.e. Anuradhapura attack), but less in terms of loses suffered in 1996-2002.

Surprise- Strike the enemy at a time or place or in a manner for which he is unprepared. This is the LTTE’s forte and it hasn’t failed them yet. The Sri Lankan military has also improved in this area through surprise attacks on Tiger leadership and assets.

Simplicity- Prepare clear, uncomplicated plans and clear, concise orders to ensure thorough understanding. Again, the rebels hold the advantage. No PowerPoint presentations required in briefing LTTE leaders or rank and file. The SLA has also recently transformed. The language of communication at all levels of the command shifted from English to ‘layman’ Sinhala. The present Commander of the Army and the Defence Secretary played a role in this and also in separating political plans from military plans.

Conventional Armies and state militaries evolve by incorporating experiences through reflection, generalization, theorization and reapplication. This is an advantage of an institutionalized Army. The disadvantage is the amount of time consumed in transforming learning into new strategies. Repetition of the same strategy without innovation can backfire. As Sun Tzu once said "Do not repeat the tactics which have gained you one victory, but let your methods be regulated by the infinite variety of circumstances.”

(1) US Army Field Manual, FM 3-0, Chapter 4.

"The Chief Minister is a liar- Mr.Vaiko"

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by Special Correspondent in Chennai

(January 31, Chennai, Sri Lanka Guardian) General Secretary of one of political parties in Tamil Nadu , the MDMK , Vaiko referring to the Media expose on phone tapping of politicians, police officials and journalists by the state intelligence termed it “fascist” in a media release here on yesterday (30). Calling the denial of the news report by the chief minister in the Assembly “a blatant lie,” Mr.Vaiko said the expose was “only the tip of the iceberg.” Stating that Media in Chennai had mentioned only the phone number of Mr K.S. Radhakrishnan, headquarters secretary of MDMK in its report, Mr Vaiko added that eight phones of MDMK office-bearers were tapped according to a reliable source.

The MDMK chief said censoring letters and tapping phones were a fascist activity. He said it was a continuance of the censorship and surveillance introduced by the colonists. Mr Vaiko pointed out that such acts were no longer prevalent in many democracies. Stating that the atrocious sections of acts such as the Indian Postal Act and Indian Telegraph Act that allow surveillance in the name of national security were used by many state governments to spy on the opposition, Mr.Vaiko said he had sought removal of such clauses during a debate in the Parliament in 1988.

Accusing the DMK-led regime of “unprecedented” level of tapping phones in the name of “national security,” Mr Vaiko said, “it is a very dangerous trend.” Mr Vaiko also accused the chief minister of “being evasive” in his reply to the “phone tapping incident.” He said the US President, Mr Nixon, had to lose his job because of the Watergate scandal in which the phones of the opposition were tapped and exposed by the journalists.

Mr.Vaiko said, “Not only the phones of the opposition, even that of some ministers are tapped,” adding that “only fascists will indulge in such acts.” He demanded an enquiry into the tapping incident by a sitting judge of the High Court. The Media expose created headlines in the vernacular media. A leading Tamil daily Dinamalar quoted by Indian Media expose in detail on Wednesday and said this had stirred up a debate in the political circles in Tamil Nadu State.

"The Tamil Nadu Congress Committee, which had earlier informed the VCK’s ‘hail LTTE’ meeting to its high command and pleaded for stern action against those supporting the banned outfit, has thanked the chief minister for having declared in the Assembly that those indulging in activities supporting proscribed organizations were liable for prosecution. TNCC president M. Krishnasswamy, in a statement, also expressed the hope that the Tamil Nadu police would take appropriate action against the LTTE-supporters in the state following the government’s decision."
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by Special Correspondent from Chennai

(January 31, Chennai, Sri Lanka Guardian) In a move to ‘appease’ its key ally, Congress, which is up in arms over the increasing pro-LTTE campaign in the state, the ruling DMK in Tamil Nadu on Wednesday warned of stringent action against those supporting banned outfits in any manner.

In an apparent reference to the LTTE, Law minister Durai Murugan made a suo motu statement in the Assembly announcing that any activity in support of the banned outfits is a crime under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and those indulging in such activities would be subjected to legal action.

In pursuant of the Tuesday’s debate on the floor of the Assembly on the practice of extending support to banned outfits and chief minister’s assurance that his government was ready to seek the suggestions of legal experts on whether a new legislation should be enacted, Mr Durai Murugan said a high-level meeting presided by chief minister and attended by finance minister K.Anbhazhagan, himself, advocate general Masilamani, chief secretary L.K.Tripathy and top civil and police officers discussed the issue Wednesday morning.

The meeting, he said, discussed in detail whether a new act was necessary or the existing legislation was enough to take action on those supporting banned organisations. Finally, the meeting, he said, arrived at a decision that any activity in support of any banned outfit such as organising campaigns, distributing hand bills, pasting wall posters, demonstrations, processions and fasts and taking part in them were against the provisions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act 1967 (37 of 1967).

“The government’s announcement is a warning to those individuals and those who function as a movement or organisation who commit such offences. Action will be taken against those found to be indulging in any one of these above mentioned activities, as per the particular law,” he said. The announcement comes in the wake of the Congress demand to arrest Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK) leader Thol Thirumavalavan, another ally of DMK, for his speech at a recent public meeting seeking revocation of the ban on LTTE.

Unconvinced over the Chief Minister’s explanation quoting a Supreme Court observation on a POTA case that mere vocal support for a banned outfit could not be considered an offence and his assurance that he was even prepared to enact a legislation in consultation with legal experts if necessary to prevent expression of views supporting banned organizations, the Congress and the AIADMK had on Tuesday staged separate walkouts accusing the government of failing to curb pro-LTTE activities.

Meanwhile, the DMK government’s Wednesday announcement seems to have pleased the Congress that has 35 members and is extending outside support to it. The Tamil Nadu Congress Committee, which had earlier informed the VCK’s ‘hail LTTE’ meeting to its high command and pleaded for stern action against those supporting the banned outfit, has thanked the chief minister for having declared in the Assembly that those indulging in activities supporting proscribed organizations were liable for prosecution. TNCC president M. Krishnasswamy, in a statement, also expressed the hope that the Tamil Nadu police would take appropriate action against the LTTE-supporters in the state following the government’s decision.

(January 31, Chennai, Sri Lanka Guardian) Conflict anywhere is detrimental to peace. This thought is universally accepted but the irony is that it rarely, if ever, gets translated into action. Each of the South Asian countries is currently embroiled in problems relating to political stability, ethnic harmony and economic development, giving the impression that the entire region is on the boil. Beneath the surface calm, there are undercurrents of violence.

Sri Lanka, for instance, is fast turning into a war zone with Colombo carrying out daily land and aerial strikes against the strongholds of the separatist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelum (LTTE), which, ironically, is vigorously trying for peace after being pushed into the defensive. Buoyed by the success of its attacks on selected northern and eastern LTTE targets, Colombo is justifying its resort to a military solution to the decades-old ethnic crisis. India has already welcomed the interim recommendations of the All Parties Representative Conference which are strikingly similar to the basic premises of the Indo-Sri Lanka 1987 peace accord.

President Mahinda Rajpaksa has welcomed them as constituting an “auspices and important initial step” towards a political settlement. However, the absence of a consensus within Sri Lanka’s political class over the APRC report being taken as the basis for a renewed Colombo-LTTE dialogue has created a deadlock that threatens the interim report’s fate just as political differences led to the collapse of the Colombo-New Delhi accord.

The idea of treating the province as the unit of power, and the devolution of powers between the Centre and the provinces, formed the core of that accord, and the ARPC has built upon it to recommend immediate implementation of the 13th Amendment to the Constitution enabling early elections leading to the actual dissolution of powers. The negativism of major parties like the Janata Vimukta Peramuna and United National Party threatens the implementation of the ARPC report also. New Delhi may like to ask itself whether it can help avert a stalemate by playing a facilitator’s role in securing the report’s political acceptance and initiating negotiations on it.

"And the majority of those other Tamils living in the safe shadow of Colombo and other majority Sinhalese towns, in their heart of hearts worshipping Prabakaran as the heroic leader of all Tamils."

by Hubert E. Weerasooriya

(January 31, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) Prabakaran, in his jungle fastness in the Wanni, must be one of the happiest men in the world. Starting from scratch, unknown and unsung, with little education, he has risen to world fame having liquidated all his rivals, and been acclaimed as the most ruthless terrorist leader of the world. He is adulated and his praise sung by virtually every Tamil of Sri Lankan origin living all over the world, not to speak of a host of foreign Tamils and even some Christian clergy.

He has no worries. An army of intelligent Tamils are working overtime to fill his coffers to run the war. They are routinely pinching the hard earned pennies of fellow Tamils living safely in foreign lands, glorifying in the victories of Prabakaran’s armies which they swallow from the website. Well they have to pay for their entertainment while not risking themselves to any danger of facing a bullet or shrapnel. A few, with memories of the 1983 holocaust may even feel a vestige of justification in the massacre of the innocent peasants of whole villages with the brutal butchery of all their women, children and babies in arms the horrendous slaughter of 800 unarmed policemen, not to mention the number of Buddhist priests young and old killed, and pious Muslims at prayers in their mosques. Then a host of other Tamils, misdirection their talents and energies are globe trotting and buying up the most murderous weapons of war. Yet others business minded Tamils who could have been business tycoons in ordinary life bringing wealth to the nation and their own Tamils are busy organising fleets of ships to send these death dealing instruments of war to Lanka to kill fellow beings.

And the majority of those other Tamils living in the safe shadow of Colombo and other majority Sinhalese towns, in their heart of hearts worshipping Prabakaran as the heroic leader of all Tamils. For did not their parties with one accord (except for a brave lone exception) pray to the British government not to proclaim LTTE as a terrorist organisation and are now calling on the government to lift the proscription. And Prabakaran must be contemptuously witnessing the Sri Lanka government coming on banded knees praying for "PEACE". Of course he knows the Sri Lanka government has to do so to stave off an immediate economic disaster.

But Prabakaran finds these occasional cries for "Peace Negotiations" useful. It is during negotiations that he replenishes his supplies.

Last time he fooled the world with a ploy of Unilateral Cessation of Hostilities. He found the four months sufficient to build up his arsenal with the most sophisticate weapons of war brought in his ships and surreptitiously landed ashore.

Now he has to stave off these "Peace Negotiations". But he has to do so subtly, unlike last time when he suddenly downed two of our war planes. For, a friendly foreign country. Norway has come on the scene. So what better way than asking for impossible conditions such as de-banning and lifting the Government Proscription against the LTTE. He must be smiling to himself, that he has even bluffed the ambassadors of such world giants as the U.S.A. and England in making them believe that he is serious about Peace.

And who suffers?

When I saw that revealing picture in a Sunday Paper of two good looking Tamil girls probably in their late teens learning to fire a 120 m.m. mortar as members of an Artillery Brigade of young women of the LTTE, I was saddened. For most of them would be scattered pieces of flesh if a bomber of the government forces spotted them. Surely they were not born for this. Should they not have blossomed out to be doctors, lawyers, engineers, artists, writers and even professors of Universities?

But do the diaspora of Tamils overseas, or those snug in the safe towns of the rest of Sri Lanka care for their kith and kin?

Of Course Prabakaran does not. They are only cannon fodder for him. He has no place in a world without war.

‘The resulting failure was not only in making an accurate reading of the Tamil Tiger mind: there was a similar inability to assess the limits of Sri Lankan concessions on offer to the Tamils. At no time except in the 1987 Indo Sri Lanka accord, the Sri Lankan authorities agreed to let Tamils rule in the Eastern Province. The concession made in the Accord was withdrawn as soon as it came unstuck.”

______________________________________

by A. K. Verma

(January 31, Chennai, Sri Lanka Guardian) The cyclical politics of Sri Lanka are again at cross roads. The choice before the Sri Lankan Central Government is between expediency and statesmanship. The majoritarian complexes, as in the past, stand like an immovable rock limiting the options before the Government. Like President Premdasa earlier, the Central leadership is again seeking the company of a strange bed fellow, the JVP this time. A union of the two might strengthen Sinhala public opinion against the Tamils, but it will cause no dent on the traditional posture of the Sri Lankan Tamils of the North and East. How does one then move forward?

An obvious option is that India should be approached to provide its good offices once again to become an interlocutor between the Sri Lankan Tamils and the Central Government. The thoughts of some might even run to seeking a more decisive form of an intervention from India.

The history of ethnic strife in Sri Lanka establishes two facts very clearly, the uncompromising quest for Ealam on the Tamil side and an equal determination on the Sinhala side not to succumb to the Tamil pressure. The Indian policy in the past was based on the fantasy that it could work out an acceptable middle path between the two extreme positions. From arms training to Sri Lankan Tamils to Thimpu talks, to the 1987 Sri Lanka accord and to the activisation of IPKF in Sri Lanka, the Indian authorities had failed to comprehend that its leverage with the two adversaries had not been of a magnitude as to give it a decisive role in the troubles between the two. Believing in the principles of Panchashila, the thoughts of any kind of intervention in Sri Lankan affairs should have been taboo for the Indian Government. How did errors of policy, now widely acknowledged, actually occur?

More than any individual, the mechanism of policy making has to be blamed. In point of fact, no structured mechanism for making high level policy decisions existed then, as it perhaps exists not even today. Decisions were often made on a cue from the top, but usually that cue was not the distilled product of an informed debate, arising from options formally presented in the shape of approach papers from persons who could be identified as experts in their fields. Some time adhoc core committees would be constituted whose membership would necessarily be all bureaucrats with individuals qualifying for the membership on the basis of jobs held in the government. Apart from the fact that such adhoc dispensations did not bring about the required level of scholarship, expertise or experience into the consideration of issues, the proceedings would often be marked by fruitless pursuits of one-man upmanship, opposition for the sake of opposition and wrangling for being identified as the most productive participant. Most members might contribute by being mere mute spectators. They would be none the worse for their substandard work culture, because setting of standards, commitment, accountability and supervision were virtues which the system rarely demanded. For example when the July 87 India SriLanka accord was signed, there was no study to check whether Prabhakaran was genuinely ready to give up Ealam and surrender all the arms held by the Tigers. Again, when it was claimed that the IPKF would be able to clear the field of the Tigers within a week, the claim was not tested by independent scrutiny, before being accepted. The irony was that the decision to air drop troops at certain locations was also taken in complete isolation, even without an intelligence briefing. The locations were manned by the Tigers. The paratroopers descending to the earth were decimated in large numbers. Even the assumption that Dravidian nationalism and Sri Lankan Tamil nationalism reinforced each other, on the basis of which many decisions were taken , was a subjective formulation but no body in the policy making apparatus was willing to test it empirically or otherwise.

In the core group there were occasions when a member would only be interested in wrecking the progress being achieved by the rest. As no minutes of the meetings were officially kept or circulated, irresponsibility would never become an issue to haunt anyone ever.

Such adhoc committees or core groups as they were sometimes called, often functioned without being given objectives to be sought, by the political leadership. At the end of the day the most articulate or the best informed would be able to carry the group with him but it did not necessarily mean that his recommendations would be in the best interests of the country if only because the discussions in the group would have taken place without laid down policy objectives, options and consideration of short, mid or long-term impact.

The resulting failure was not only in making an accurate reading of the Tamil Tiger mind: there was a similar inability to assess the limits of Sri Lankan concessions on offer to the Tamils. At no time except in the 1987 Indo Sri Lanka accord, the Sri Lankan authorities agreed to let Tamils rule in the Eastern Province. The concession made in the Accord was withdrawn as soon as it came unstuck. Sri Lankans cannot bear the thought that the port of Trincomalee should come under Tamil governance and they would try to frustrate such a possibility till the end.

No new security management exercise seems necessary in India in order to conclude that Indian involvement, if any, in the ethnic crises on Sri Lanka must abide by the following parameters:

* The invitation to India has to be from both the sides.

* India must know in advance the ultimate fall back position of each side and its exit policy.
* Prabhakaran will not settle for less than defacto Ealam in a designated Tamils territory.

* Is the Sri Lanka Government in a position to get a Sinhala majority to live with a fully autonomous Tamil territory within an integrated but federal Sri Lanka structure? The Sinhalas must be transparent about it.

*The plantation Tamils should have the freedom to stay in their existing abodes.

India must first be convinced that the two adversaries genuinely feel the urgency of a political solution. Only then it should offer its good offices. There is also an absolute need to tighten its national security management apparatus so that progress or lack of it could be monitored at every stage in terms of goals set.

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