|
Sri Lanka plunged into a new constitutional crisis this week as the hostility
between President Chandrika Kumaratunga and Prime Minister Ranil
Wickremesinghe's government erupted into a new standoff, with the main opposition urging the former to dissolve
Parliament and dismiss the government while the latter threatening to impeach her first.
The latest crisis, which was triggered last Thursday when Kumaratunga issued a presidential directive taking over responsibility for the administration of the
National Development Lottery Board from Economic Reforms Minister Milinda
Moragoda, could undermine Norwegian brokered peace talks with the Liberation Tigers, AFP quoted international diplomats as saying.
The United National Front (UNF) government has rejected the President's directive and contested her authority on the matter. Senior journalists in
Colombo said Tuesday that the UNF feared Kumaratunga's actions, if unchallenged, would embolden her to seize a more significant prize such as the Defence or Media Portfolios.
Kumaratunga's main opposition People's Alliance (PA), which is in the final stages of negoatiating and election alliance with the Janatha Vimukthi Perumana (JVP) - the third largest party in Sri Lanka - called upon the President to sack the cohabitation government if the crisis is not resolved.
Addressing journalists in Colombo, Opposition leader Mahinda Rajapakse said the PA was fully backing the President and was prepared to face any eventuality even if it meant a snap poll.
"This is the death of democracy in Sri Lanka - and I am afraid dark days are ahead," said Rajapakse in reference to the government's defiance of the President's directive.
The dispute deepened a decades-long political feud between Wickremesinghe and Kumaratunga.
Kumaratunga's party lost to Wickremesinghe's coalition in the December 2001 parliamentary election but Kumaratunga can remain in office until 2005, because she was elected separately as president.
Although Kumaratunga's spokesman, Harim Peiris, declared she "has absolutely no intention of dissolving parliament," the government remained defiant.
"The people are with us. We would win with a better margin if elections were to be held anytime," Constitutional Affairs Minister and UNF cabinet spokesman, Professor G. L. Peiris told a special press briefing Tuesday.
"The issue is not confined to the Development Lotteries Board. There will be far reaching constitutional implications," the Prof. Peiris said.
"Tomorrow she could take over another ministry," he also told journalists.
The Daily Mirror quoted Justice and Buddha Sasana Minister W.J.M.
Lokubandara as warning Monday that "The government is prepared for any eventuality and will not hesitate to resort to impeachment process as the final weapon when the time comes."
Addressing a news conference held at the Information Department, flanked by Ministers
S.B. Dissanayake, Karunasena Kodituwakku and Bandula Gunawardena, Lokubandara said President Kumaratunga had acted in the meanest possible way to undermine the government, the peace talks and to show the world that the government was not stable.
Mr. Dissanayake said Prime Minister Wickremesinghe still felt that the conflict with the President could be sorted out through discussions, but "are prepared even to face an election if the need arises."
The UNF's optimism is challenged by a renewed vigour in the opposition camp, with the PA-JVP axis, which has been in discussion for several months , appeared close to being sealed in readiness for fresh elections.
"Our government is prepared to resolve the present constitutional crisis through discussion," Prof. Peiris said Tuesday, suggesting the UNF was unsure about triggering an election.
"[But] The President should initiate the discussion in this regard," he said. "The country could not move forward without consultation between the heads of the executive and legislature who are from two different political parties."
The UNF is concerned that the new constitutional crisis will adversely affect donor sentiment ahead of a key international aid conference due to be held in June on which the government has staked its hopes for Sri Lanka's economic revival.
"If there is an instability here I don't think that the international community will come forward to help us," Education Minister Karunasena Kodituwakku told The Associated Press.
Efforts to get the Norwegian peace process in Sri Lanka back on course have been interrupted by illness to the Liberation Tigers' chief negotiator, the BBC reported this week.
Norwegian mediators say Anton Balasingham, a diabetic who has had a kidney transplant, has returned home to London for urgent medical treatment. As well as his transplant and diabetes, he also has heart problems.
"Mr. Balasingham will leave Sri Lanka as soon as possible but he has expressed a desire that his absence should not prevent scheduled meetings to take place," the Norwegian embassy in Colombo said, adding that it "would therefore continue its planning for the meeting in Kilinochchi between Norwegian Foreign Minister, Jan Petersen and the leadership of the LTTE scheduled for Thursday 15 May."
Norway and Japan have been trying to persuade the Tigers to resume direct negotiations with the Sri Lankan Government and attend an international donors' conference in Tokyo next month.
Last month the LTTE leadership had informed the Sri Lankan government (GoSL) that it has decided to suspend its participation in the negotiations "for the time being." Expressing deep displeasure over certain critical issues relating to the ongoing peace process, the LTTE also said it would not be attending a major donor conference to be held in Japan in June to raise funds for Sri Lanka.
Outlining the LTTE's reasons for suspending negotiations, Mr. Balasingham had written to Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe: "The exclusion of the LTTE from a critical aid conference in Washington [on April 14], the non-implementation of the terms and conditions enunciated in the truce document, the continuous suffering and hardship experienced by hundreds of thousands of internally displaced Tamils, the aggressive Sinhala military occupation of Tamil cities and civilian settlements, the distortion and marginalisation of the extreme conditions of poverty and deprivation of the Tamils of the northeast in the macro-economic policies and strategies of the government have seriously undermined the confidence of the Tamil people and the LTTE leadership in the negotiating process."
Mr Balasingham, 64, was in Vanni, northern Sri Lanka for discussions with the LTTE leader, Mr. Vellupillai Pirapaharan, and other senior LTTE officials.
Constitutional affairs minister G. L. Peiris, the government's chief negotiator, said he met with Mr. Balasingham at a hotel near the airport and discussed "non-political matters" for about half an hour.
"I also conveyed the prime minister's good wishes for Mr Balasingham's speedy recovery," Peiris added.
Before returning to London for treatment, Balasingham said the coming week will be crucial. "If the government takes positive action (on our demands), we can consider participating in the talks and the aid group meeting, but otherwise it is going to be a problem," he said after meeting with Akashi last week.
The Tokyo aid conference is seen as crucial for Sri Lanka's government, which is expecting donations of about three billion dollars in aid over a period of three years to revive the war-shattered economy.
HIV/AIDS in India could spread like an epidemic, posing a threat to its society, economy and polity, if not controlled with drastic measures, press reports quoted a US think tank.
A new report by the Washington DC-based Centre for Strategic International Studies (CSIS) insists that the crisis will affect not India alone but have a ripple effect in the entire region.
The report quotes the US National Intelligence Council (NIC) to stress that India is one of five "second wave countries", including Russia and China, where infections of HIV and AIDS is on the verge of a "breakout" -- a stage when the infection is no longer confined to "high risk" populations, and breaks out into the general population.
The report says the Indian government, scientists and non-governmental officials working together have a chance of reversing the alarming trend.
Both the Indian national AIDS control programme and the joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) estimate that there were approximately four million reported AIDS cases in India in 2000-01.
The NIC report predicts that there will be 20-25 million HIV positive Indians by 2010. The Indian government considers these figures alarmist.
Even if the cost of anti-retroviral drugs continues to fall, the cost of treating this number of patients, including both paying for drugs and supervising treatment, will be astronomical, the report notes.
In other countries of the region, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Nepal have lower rates of HIV infection but have varying patterns of HIV transmission, some more threatening than others. Data collection is problematic in all states.
In Sri Lanka, which has the most effective health system in the region, infection has been detected in only a couple of surveillance sites, the report says.
Sri Lanka Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe's efforts at cohabitation with his arch rival President
Chandrika Kumaratunga failed yet again last week when the latter issued a directive seizing control of the lucrative Development Lottery Board (DLB) from a senior minister of the ruling United National Front (UNF) government.
The President issued an extra ordinary gazette notification with effect from Thursday midnight in regard to the take over, presidential secretariat said in a press release Friday.
However, amid rumours of the move, the government moved to physically prevent printing of the directive - which would make it legal and binding. Roads leading to the Government Printer's office in Borella were fully blocked by the police to apparently to thwart the issue of such a notification, while riot police stood by.
Meanwhile, Wickremesinghe wrote a letter Friday to Ms. Kumaratunge expressing his dissatisfaction over the manner in which responsibility of administering the Lottery board was
transferred from one of his senior ministers without consulting him
"I am unable to understand this abrupt action by you. I am sorry to state that you have not even afforded the elementary courtesy of discussing the matter with me, the minister responsible, before taking this extreme step," he said.
Economics Reforms Minister Moragoda, who is presently responsible for the DLB, added in a letter of his own to the President: "I
regret that your action seriously undermines one of the principal planks of the prevailing co-habitation arrangement and would therefore strongly recommend that you discuss this issue with the Prime Minister before proceeding with your decision."
The UNF Tuesday challenged the President's authority over the DLB.
"President Kumaratunge should have consulted the Prime Minister as both leaders represent two different political parties. The 1978 constitution requires so," said Constitutional Affairs Minister and UNF cabinet spokesman, Professor G. L. Peiris, told a special press briefing Tuesday.
"The UNF government has obtained a clear mandate at the last general election. If the President alters the subjects of ministers the mandate given by the people to the government will be of no use. The party that has obtained the mandate should be allowed to govern the country without any interference; if not, democracy will be destroyed," Peiris added.
Kumaratunga's spokesman said Monday that the issue did not have any bearing on the President as she
believed she had acted constitutionally and legally. He said any such ruling, if at all
would only be given to the UNF government and the Mass Communication Minister.
The President's move was widely seen as a challenge to the Prime Minister's authority. The Sunday
Leader, a popular Sri Lankan weekly close to the UNF government, observed in its editorial that the President's move was aimed at assessing 'the will of the UNF to fight back'.
The Associated Press on Monday quoted sources close to the President as saying that her motivation for taking over the DLB might have been to test the Prime Minister's strength because the President may, in coming months, dissolve parliament and call new elections.
Sources close to the President said that she was furious that the government had used strong-arm tactics to frustrate what she insists is a legal act, according to the Gulf News.
Government Printer, Neville Nanayakkara on Monday said he was awaiting a ruling from the Attorney
General on the printing of the contentious gazette notification regarding the
Development Lotteries Board. He said he would proceed on the matter only after the AG's decision.
The President's Counsel Wijedasa Rajapakse said a directive given by the
President is still valid even if it is not gazetted.
The Prime Minister said his government was prepared to challenge such directives, but would opt to sort out such constitutional issues amicably.
The final round of talks between the People’s Alliance (PA) and the Janata
Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) are progressing satisfactorily and the parties soon expect to sign a memorandum of understanding (MOU),
TamilNet said quoting a JVP leader last week. Mr. Wimal Weerawanse, the
Propaganda Secretary and spokesman of the JVP said that Premier Ranil Wickremesinghe’s
United National Front (UNF) government will be toppled after the PA-JVP pact.
The JVP says that the Cease Fire Agreement and the basis of the peace talks between the Liberation
Tigers and Colombo should be radically altered to nullify what it describes as “US new imperialist designs to destabilise India”. Dr. Sarath Amunugama lead the PA delegation.
The two parties have been engaged in negotiations for more than six months to bring about an agreement on forming a common political front. The JVP takes a tough stand on Colombo’s economic reforms. It says that the deregulation of the Sri Lankan economy is being dictated by the World Bank and the IMF to suit the interests of American big capital.
The PA, however, adhered to structural adjustment programs recommended by the IMF and World Bank while it was in power.
The JVP is opposed to granting autonomy to Tamils. The party argues that the ethnic conflict is fundamentally an economic one and that a socialist state would resolve the conflict.
The JVP, which professes a Stalinist brand of Marxism, also argues that Sri Lanka’s peace process is being managed by the US and its allies with the ulterior motive of destabilising India. The party opposes peace talks with the LTTE and has hinted on occasion that war should be resumed.
UNF sources accused the JVP of being manipulated by India to undermine the peace process.
Political analysts in Colombo say that the signing of the long expected MOU would trigger events that would eventually lead to the President taking over key cabinet portfolios such as defence and media and dissolving Parliament later.
They argue that the combined voter support of the PA and JVP would be adequate to rout Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe’s UNF when fresh elections to Parliament are called.
A Memorandum of Understanding was signed between the Republic of Maldives and Sri Lanka to increase the investment opportunities and to enhance the potential growth of tourism industry of the countries, visiting Maldivian President Abdul Gayoom said at a press conference held in Colombo, according to the Daily News Saturday.
"The MoU is meant to promote Sri Lanka and Male as joint tourist destinations and as a part of the MoU we will set up a joint task force", he said.
President Gayoom said that a high level trade delegation has also arrived here with him to meet key BOI figures. They have already met some of the Sri Lankan Ministers to explore the possibilities of investing in the two countries. "I think there are enough opportunities for the entrepreneurs to invest in the two countries, he said.
When asked if Male would host a round of peace talks between the Sri Lankan government and the LTTE, President Gayoom said that his country would
favourably consider a request to host talks in Male. "We in fact did invite to host peace talks in our country before the commencement of the talks," he said.
"I have assured the President Chandrika Kumaratunga and the Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe of our strongest support to the country's ongoing peace process," he said, and added that it is their country's desire to see peace restored in Sri Lanka.
Commenting on the environment and ecology he said that the green house effect and the consequent global warming is very critical for Maldive island and to the other islands in sea level. "We are glad to find that Sri Lanka has also joined us in our endeavour to save the sea level islands from the green house gas omission and its aftermaths" Gayoom said. He also said that both countries as SAARC nations have many things in common, "SAARC is our vehicle to take the region towards development and improved quality of life, and we wish SAARC every success"
Gayoom met President Kumaratunga and Prime Minister Wickremesinghe in their official residences. Western Region Development Minister M. H. Mohamad and PA parliamentarian A. H. M. Fowzie also payed a courtesy call on the visiting President.
Sri Lanka has been named as a "potential candidate" for US Free Trade Agreements (FTAs), US Trade Representative Robert Zoellick said according to the Sunday Times.
Speaking at a luncheon meeting of the Institute for International Economics on Free Trade Agreements and US Trade Policy, Mr. Zoellick said that the US would accelerate bilateral trade with small countries and regional approach to liberalising trade especially if the WTO talks stalled.
The UNF government has been pushing for an FTA with the United States in a bid to safeguard nearly 200,-000 jobs in the garment
industry that will face severe competition once the quota system comes to an end in 2004.
41% of Sri Lanka's exports are to the US, bringing in some 2bn dollars, a quarter of which is from apparel exports. To qualify for FTA status, he said, the US looks at each country's economic reforms status, how they support US positions on trade negotiations, US foreign policy objectives and the impact of an FTA on further regional integration. Sri Lanka was named as a "potential candidate" along with countries in the Middle East, the
Dominican Republic and Columbia.
With the standoff between President Chandrika Kumaratunga and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe's government deepening, the United States this week urged Sri Lanka's rival political parties to work together for the sake of peace.
"We've always urged the political parties and senior officials in Sri Lanka to
work for the cause of peace together," said State Department deputy spokesman Philip Reeker in Washington.
"That is certainly a message that Assistant Secretary [of state for South Asia] Christina Rocca will continue to underscore while she's there," he said.
Rocca concluded a three-day visit to this week, having met both the Premier and the President.
Presidential Advisor Lakshman Kadirgamar charged last week that the ceasefire agreement between the Sri Lankan government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) had eroded the sovereignty of the country to the point where it was in danger of being
reduced to a nominal sovereign state, said the Daily Mirror.
Addressing parliament Mr. Kadirgamar took the government to task for signing a structurally flawed ceasefire agreement (CFA) with the LTTE without first consulting President
Chandrika Kumaratunga. Opening the debate for the opposition on a special statement made by Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, Mr.
Kadirgamar said the opposition also had no confidence in the competence and the impartiality of the Sri Lanka
Monitoring Mission (SLMM).
He said that the powers and functions which the CFA vested in the Norwegian government are beyond the role of a facilitator. "This is the first time in the history of post independence Sri Lanka that a foreign government has been authorized to draw demarcation lines on the soil of Sri Lanka," he said.
“The Norwegian Government has now been cast in the role of a mediator or arbitrator, and the SLMM has been given the role of a judge, in the resolution of disputes between the parties which is not the basis on which Norwegian assistance was sought in the first place. The nature of the Norwegian Government's mandate has changed to such an extent, its role has become so inflated, as to make it incompatible with the sovereign status of Sri Lanka”, he added.
Mr. Kadirgamar also hit out at the SLMM for proposing that the Sea Tigers be recognized as a de facto naval unit. Slamming the government for seeking advice of foreign experts, Mr.
Kadirgamar said.
“Soon Sri Lanka will be a sovereign shell, the major attributes of a sovereign state - the capacity to govern, to resolve justifiably issues to enforce the law, to protect its citizens throughout the entirety of its territory are being drained away by stealth …”, he claimed.
PA frontliner, Anura Bandaranaike last week identified two media men in the country as the only journalists with guts while dismissing a scores of others as part of a Prime Minister's media mafia, said the Daily Mirror.
Winding up a debate on a statement made by Premier Ranil Wickremesinghe, Mr. Bandaranaike blasted the media but singled out The Sunday Times as the only newspaper which had the courage to expose the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission proposals that sought to grant de facto status to the LTTE's naval unit, the Sea Tigers,
and freedom to conduct naval exercises in designated areas.
"There are only two journalists in the country, Sinha Ranatunge and Iqbal Athas, who had the guts to expose these stories, while Prime Minister's media mafia headed by one 'Hetti' and comprising that rascal Thushara Gunaratne of the
Lankadeepa, Lasantha Wickremetunge, that despicable Editor of the 'third rate rag sheet' Sunday Leader, Fredrica Jansz and the ITN Chairman, Gyrika Perusinghe control the media," he said.
The Norwegian Foreign Ministry has slammed a Colombo based NGO for siphoning off tens of millions of rupees from Norwegian development grants given to the organisation, reported the Sunday Leader.
A detailed report by two international audit teams has found that a Norwegian national operating a multi faceted Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO,
Worldview International Foundation (WIF) in Colombo has rendered the NGO bankrupt.
The Norwegian government has now withdrawn all funding and is saying there is probably legal basis to
demand the NGO repay tens of millions of rupees that have been diverted and remains unaccounted for.
Worldview International Foundation (WIF) came in for severe criticism in a report commissioned by the Norwegian Foreign Ministry. According to the report written by the Norwegian audit firm UniConsult, WIF has spent Norwegian development assistance grants in violation of the agreement it had signed with the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (NORAD).
WIF has denied the accusations, but Chairman Progress Party in Norway, Carl I. Hagen has called for the organisation to be investigated by the National Authority for Investigation and
Prosecution of Economic and Environmental crimes.
Worldview International Foundation was established in 1979 in Colombo as an international NGO and is registered as an NGO with the Planning Ministry.
Tamil parliamentarians this week condemned a report by a retired Indian army officer which effectively recommended that the resettlement of up to a million Tamil refugees and internally displaced should be predicated on the Sri Lankan military's security concerns be allayed and the Liberation Tigers' placing of their heavy weapons under Sri Lankan military scrutiny.
Gen. Satish Nambiar had been retained by the Sri Lankan government to examine the High Security Zones (HSZs) established by the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) in towns and villages it had captured during offensives in the Jaffna peninisula and other parts of the North and East.
Although under the Ceasefire Agreement Colombo signed with the LTTE February last year the SLA has to vacate these locations as well has hundreds of homes, places of worship, schools and other public buildings, the military has refused to do so. Instead, the SLA had demanded the LTTE disarms and decommissions its heavy weapons first. The LTTE rejected the demand.
The Colombo government asked Gen. Nambiar to study the issue. His report published last week endorsed the SLA high command's
perspective, but instead of out right disarming, Gen. Nambiar suggested the LTTE places its heavy weapons under international supervision.
"It essential that where operationally feasible, HSZs be dismantled selectively in stages giving due consideration to the security concerns of the SLDF, and other HSZs reduced to reasonable proportions commensurate with security requirements," he said, dismissing the humanitarian case for resettlement.
"Suggestions regarding dismantling of HSZs and reducing the size of others, can only be effected provided certain measures are put in place to address the legitimate professional concerns of SLDF commanders at the operational level" he said.
"Any dismantling of the HSZs or forward defences of the SLDF will have to be
matched by simultaneous dismantling of LTTE operational military positions," he said.
"The reach of LTTE long-range weaponry and the organisation's perceived capability to launch surprise attacks, are major aspects that disturb SLDF commanders," he said further.
"If LTTE long-range weaponry can be placed in designated areas under international monitoring, a degree of confidence could be assured," he added.
"There is much suspicion and concern about the actions of LTTE cadres under the umbrella of 'political activities' provided for by the
[ceasefire agreement]," he said. "Some international assistance may be requested for the installation of surveillance and detection equipment around [Sri Lankan] installations."
Criticising Gen. Nambiar's report as biased, MPs of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA), a coalition of Sri Lanka's four main Tamil parties said the report 'belonged in a dustbin,' the Sudar Oli newspaper reported Sunday.
TNA MP and head of the All Ceylon Tamil Congress, Mr A Vinayagamoorthy, said the resettlement of civilians in their own homes was a
humanitarian matter that had to be solved by the government of Sri Lanka, and a military official had no business in it.
"Even Nambiar himself has admitted in his report that the matter has to be solved through discussions during the peace talks, so what's the use of this report? It belongs only in a bin," Mr
Vinayagamoorthy told reporters.
TNA MP and senior Vice-President of the Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF), Mr. Joseph
Pararajasingham was equally dismissive of Gen. Nambiar's report, saying the report contained plenty of mention of what the army thinks, what the Tigers think, what civilians think and what each one may or may not accept but little in the way of recommendations.
The General Secretary of the Tamil Eelam Liberation Organisation (TELO), Mr. Srikantha, said the report endorsed the Sri Lankan military, adding that Gen. Nambiar still held connections with the Indian military hierarchy and government.
He said India was erroneously viewing the LTTE and Tamil people as separate entities and was shaping its policy thus. Therefore the report from Gen. Nambiar held no surprises, according to Mr Srikantha.
Gen. Nambiar criticised the international ceasefire monitors of the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM), and said other
countries apart from the Nordic nations should be involved.
"There seems to be little doubt that the SLMM mandate needs some review," he said. Saying there was a need for an expanded monitoring mission, Gen. Nambiar suggested: "this can be met by supplementing the Nordic component of the SLMM with military and police observers from some other countries who may be encouraged to participate."
"Representatives from the major countries that agree to provide the additional
observers/monitors, and from so-me of the major aid donors. This would possibly give the mission greater credibility, acceptance and authority," he said, adding that "important international players like the USA, EU, Japan, India, etc may have a role" in the Norwegian peace process.
Civil society organisations and politicians continued to criticise the Sri Lankan governments plans to establish a new military base in the fort area in the centre of Jaffna, press reports said. Sri Lanka's Defence Minister Mr. Tilak Marapana's statement last Wednesday that the government planned to relocate troop, amidst public fears that the relocation would be further into populated areas, continuing to impede the return to normalcy on the Jaffna peninsula.
The Jaffna Public Organisations' Union warned that it would be forced into large-scale public protests if the Sri Lanka Army's (SLA) plan for a new base in the fort area went ahead. The warning came as SLA soldiers started clearing shrubs and small trees on the site of protests by civilians after suspending them for the duration of the protest, said the Uthayan. Bulldozers were used to shift sizeable obstacles out of the way to allow construction.
In a petition sent to the Sri Lanka Defence Ministry's Secretary Austin
Fernando, the NGO said it accused the plan to set up a new camp in the Dutch fort and its surroundings as a breach of the ceasefire accord
signed in February 2002. People of Jaffna and the surrounding islets never consented to the new base, while community and political organisations have vowed to engage in protest if the plans went ahead, the petition added.
An imperative part of the truce was the return of normalcy for civilians and that the Sri Lanka armed forces' bases, road blocks and sentry points were preventing the return to such normalcy, the Non-Governmental
Organisation (NGO) said.
The union said the new camp would be at the gates of Jaffna as far as people living in the islets are concerned and hence their lives would never be 'normal'. A number of development and modernisation plans for
Jaffna include areas adjacent to the old fort, and they would be made redundant were the army to set up base there.
The specialist Heart Hospital in Pannai would have no choice but shut down, and a similar fate awaited the famous Mutrtraveli
Grounds, home to many mass public and entertainment events in the past. Also threatened will be the nearby, and
newly renovated, Jaffna library, the organisation said. Other buildings and facilities in the immediate surroundings
expected to be affected are the fish market, Jaffna City Co-operative Society and government offices functioning in the coop's buildings.
The petition also stated thousands of civilians would be mobilized in a mass protest in the fort area if the Sri Lanka government went ahead with its construction of the base or new defence lines.
Another NGO based in Jaffna, the Jaffna Farmers Cooperative Societies'
Federation, expressed its fears that the proposed base would create mistrust amongst people towards the ceasefire
accord, said the Uthayan. Its opposition to the move were laid down in a petition sent to the SLMM. It said moving the current base of the 512 Brigade from a densely populated area to a site a short distance away was still a breach of the ceasefire accord and its clauses pertaining to normalcy.
The federation said in its petition that moving from one place to another within the bounds of the city would in no way help bring back normalcy, while the proposed base would threaten the only land route between Jaffna and its islets.
The proposed move also came under fire from prominent Tamil politicians. In the letter sent to the Sri Lanka Prime Minister the Tamil National Alliance MP A Vinayagamoorthy advised that the SLA base in the centre of Jaffna should be moved to an uninhabited area outside the boundaries of Jaffna city or to Palaly. He said in his letter that the proposed fort site is opposed by all sections of the community in Jaffna since it is very close to densely populated areas, reported the Uthayan newspaper.
The deluge of protests was a reaction to Mr.Tilak Marapana's statement last Wednesday that the government planned to relocate about one hundred fifty two SLA units in the northeast province and the relocation would take place in a manner that will not endanger the national security of the country.
The Minister was addressing a press conference along with the former Indian lieutenant general Satish
Nambiar Wednesday afternoon held at the office of the defence ministry, which was
attended by the heads of three armed forces, sources said.
Mr. Marapone further said the government has decided to reduce the size of the high security zones in the northeast to ease civilian
lives. "I along with Peoples Alliance MP Mr. Lakshman Kadirgamar would hold
talks with Lieutenant General Satish Nambiar Thursday on the high security zone issue," Mr. Marapana said.
Minister pointed out that no one has asked the government to remove the HSZ in the northeast. But request has been made to the government to reduce the size of the HSZ. to allow resettlement of the internally displaced, he said.
The government's relocation plans also came under fire from Sri Lanka's
President Ms Chandrika Kumaratunga, who opposed the movement of any troops in the region. Through her
media spokesman the President said she is opposed to the relocation of SLA camps from the present sites without reaching agreements with the Liberation Tigers on core issues
Relocation of SLA camps in the northeast without making concrete headway in the peace process would certainly endanger the security of the country, Mr.Harim Peiris said.
There is continuing speculation over the continuing existence of the Special Task Force (STF) camp in
Karaitivu, said the Virakesari. The base currently encompasses the district council building, Vipulanantha central library as well as a number of homes. STF camps in Karaitivu, Malwaththai and Akkaraippatru cotinue to remain.
Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) MPs for Amparai, HMM Hareez and MH Anwar Ismail, have said the Karaitivu base should
remain where it is as it helps keep the peace between the Tamil and Muslim communities. However, Tamil MP
Chandranehru said the presence of the camp was a clear breach of the ceasefire
accord and if anyone wished to have the STF for their protection then they will have to house them in their areas. Meanwhile, preparations are said to be underway for a new 25acre base in
Sadayanthalavai.
Civilians in the Jaffna peninsula have been distressed by the sudden
increase in live fire exercises by the Sri Lankan military close to residential areas, reported the Virakesari. People living in, Gurunagar, Pashaiyur and Columbuthurai are
increasingly frightened by repeated training exercises on the Gurunagar coast by the Sri Lanka army. Sudden bursts of gunfire often ring out in the dead of night as soldiers engage in live fire exercises.
Meanwhile, Two Tamils released recently from Kalutara prison have been
re-arrested by Sri Lanka military intelligence on suspicion of involvement in the killings of army informers in
Colombo, reported the Uthayan.
Elsewhere, the Sri Lanka Navy (SLN), tried to block a Tamil MP to visit his constituents. M. K.
Sivajilingam, Tamil National Alliance MP who was on his way to meet residents of Mandativu islet was stopped by the Sri Lanka Navy (SLN) who tried and failed to block him, said TamilNet. During his visit, residents complained that visitors were required to obtain permission from the SLN if they were to stay overnight. The fisher folks still undergo harassment from the SLN and that passes still have to be obtained from the SLN to go fishing.
Residents undergo severe hardship in getting medical attention for the seriously ill. In addition to the The residents woes are worsened by the SLN's disposition to block any aid to the Mandativu people.
Serious issues remain to be resolved in the areas of drinking water, transportation, fishing and agriculture, the MP learnt.
The Sri Lankan government was urged by civil society groups to rehabilitate the North-East region of Sri Lanka, which has suffered the most as a result of the
decades long ethnic conflict, before implementing Prime Minister Ranil
Wickremesinghe's 'Regaining Sri Lanka' plan, reported TamilNet.
The Chairman of the Co-nsortium of Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) in Trincomalee, Mr. T.
Thavasilingam, speaking at a discussion held Tuesday last week in Trincomalee attended by representatives of
provincial trade unions, said that there was an urgent need for rehabilitating all
infrastructure destroyed in the twenty-year-old war in the northeast province simultaneously with the resettlement of internally displaced persons.
The discussions were held under the auspices of the American Center for
International Labor Solidarity (ACILS).
Before implementing the 'Regaining Sri Lanka' project, action should be taken immediately to rehabilitate the northeast on par with
other provinces in the country, Mr. Thavasilingam added.
The Sri Lanka Field Rep-resentative of the ACILS, Mr. William Conklin, participated at the discussion. The objective of the discussion was to gather views and suggestions of civil groups
regarding the present peace process and the proposed rehabilitation and reconstruction projects in the North-East.
Link roads that connect main and trunk roads with villages in the northeast
should be reconstructed under an emergency program to facilitate the resettled
Internally Displaced Persons( IDPs) to market their agricultural produce and to revive their economy, said Mr. Thavasilingam.
He pointed out the urgent need to supply mid-day meal for children and their mothers of the internally
displaced families until they could commence activities of their livelihood in their villages.
Mr. Thavasilingam brought to the notice of the audience that only forty percent of people in northeast are provided with safe drinking water compared to
eighty percent in other provinces.
The General Secretary of the Ceylon Tamil Teachers Union (CTTU), Mr. T.
Mahasivam, said that the report on 'Regaining Sri Lanka' had been published only in two languages and not in Tamil. "This clearly indicates the Sri Lankan government's intention of marginalizing Tamils in the development of the country," he said.
The continued occupation of schools by Sri Lanka's armed forces is the most recent obstacle to providing 5,000 children in the Pallai region of educational facilities,
reported TamilNet.
Three schools in Kilali, Allipallai and Muhamalai areas in Pallai region in
Kilinochchi district cannot function in the original premises due to the occupation of school buildings by the Sri Lanka security forces, said Mr. Ariyaratnam, the
Kilinochchi district Commissioner of Education.
Temporary arrangements are being made to relocate these schools to nearby
sheds to allow continuation of education of children affected by the military camps, added Mr. Ariyaratnam.
The Education Commissioner added that war destroyed thirteen schools affecting the education of more than 5000 children. No effort has been taken to renovate these school buildings even the currently prevailing
peace climate, the Commissioner said.
Meanwhile, S. Puthirasihamany, Secretary for Pallai region, declared open a branch building of Sri Lanka Red Cross (SLRC) in Pallai last week, sources said.
Pallai was reduced to rubble under Chandrika Kumaratunge's People's Alliance (PA) regime when the Sri Lanka army launched Agni Khiela (Rod of Fire) offensive in April 2001, a year after the fall of the strategic Elephant Pass garrison.
A Norwegian government delegation met with the senior members of the
Liberation Tigers' political and military wings on Thursday, said the LTTE peace secretariat.
The Norwegian delegation comprised of special envoy, Eric Solheim, Norway's ambassador to Sri Lanka, Mr. Hans Brattskar, Head of the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) Tryggve Tellefsen, Second Secretary Tomas Stangeland and
Advisor in the Foreign Ministry of Norway Ms Lisa Golden.
They met with Mr. Anton Balasingham, Political Advisor and Leader of the
Negotiating team of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, S.P. Thamilchelvan, Head of the LTTE political wing, Dr. Jay Maheswaran, LTTE commanders Col. Theepan, Col. Soosai, and Col. Banu at the LTTE political head quarters in Kilinochchi.
"We wanted to explain our position and our recent decision to suspend the
peace talks," said Mr. Balasingham, speaking to reporters. "We are not scuttling the
peace process or breaking away from the peace process. We are suspending the peace process for some time."
"The main reasons are that the Government of Sri Lanka has failed to
implement certain decisions and also meet its obligations under the ceasefire agreement," he said "We have waited
patietly over the last fifteen months for the government to fulfill certain crucial
obligations of the ceasefire agreement."
"So we have given them some more time and conveyed our message to the
Government of Sri Lanka that the LTTE is prepared to wait and give them some space and that they should take immediate measures to rectify the problems," the LTTE's chief negotiator said.
"The government cannot sleep on these matters. They have to take some concrete measures.
Otherwise the peace process will not move forward."
A day earlier, Erik Solheim met with civilian groups and Sri Lanka military commanders in the North-East.
The Special Envoy of the Norwegian Governemnt, Mr. Erik Solheim, visited Jaffna, Vavuniya and Mannar districts to observe the prevailing conditions on the
ground, said TamilNet. He arrived in Vavuniya last Wednesday morning after touring Jaffna Tuesday. He is then visited Kilinochchi on
Thursday to hold talks with the LTTE leaders.
In Jaffna, Mr. Solheim met with civil groups and Sri Lanka military commanders and visited different areas lying within the High
Security Zones.
In Vavuniya, he met with refugee families in Poonthoddam camp and learnt the hardships the families undergo in making ends meet. Many refugees expressed their desire to return back to their own villages but were unable to do so due the army occupation or the places
being not cleared yet of mines. Others told him that they do not own any land and would welcome if they are given land in Vavuniya district with help to allow them to start their lives.
Mr. Solheim and his group also visited the technical centre run by the FORUT organization in
Poonthoddam and met its Vavuniya district director P. Suthanthiraraj, Implementation officer S. Christhopillai and
Comtech director S. Uthayan.
A sub-committee to promote Tamil-Muslim relations met for the second time last week to discuss contentious issues between the two communities in
Amparai. Four groups of twelve were appointed at the meeting to resolve any disagreements, reported the
Virakesari newspaper.
The meeting, which was chaired by the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) head for the area Carl Bert and representative Regi Halbergen was held last Wednesday morning in Alaiadi Vembu District Council Office.
The province was divided into four sectors and study groups were assigned to each sector, each with six Tamil and six Muslims. Among the matters investigated by the groups would be right of land problems. They would meet on 19, 20, 21 and 22 May for discussions and submit a report to the sub-committee's next meeting on 10 June.
The LTTE were represented by Batticaloa-Amparai Special Commander Ramesh, his political sector counterpart Mr Kausalyan, Amparai's Political Sector Head Bava, Special
Commander Stanley, Administrative head Nivaraj and TEEDOR head Henry. The
Muslim community was represented by Muslim Rights Commission chairman M I M Mohideen, A L M Jameel, A Nahulebbai, I M Ibrahim, Dr M A M Jaffar and Moulavi S M A Hareem. The Tamil National Alliance MP for Thigamadhulla Mr
Chandra Nehru was also in attendance.
The first sector will consist of Poththuvil and Lankalai, and the groups will be lead by Commander
Janarthanan (LTTE), S M A Kareem Moulavi (Muslim's representative). Amparai Political Sector Head Bava and Dr Abdullah ((Muslim's representative) will be in charge of the group looking at the second sector of
Attaalaichchenai, Akkaraippatru, Aalaiadivembu and Thirukkovil.
The third sector will consist of Ninthavur, Karaitivu and Kalmunaiwhile, which will be looked at be teams headed by Administrative Head Nibaraj, Dr M Farook (Muslim's representative). While
Sammaanthurai, Naavithanveli, Amparai, Thamana, Uhanai and Irrakkamam will form the fourth sector, which will be studied by groups lead by TEEDOR head for Amparai Mr Henry, I M Ibrahim (Muslim's representative).
Special Commander Ramesh told reporters that the discussions ran smoothly, adding the LTTE were working on the basis that Tamils and Muslims should live free of ethnic concerns. He said the Tamils have been repressed by the Sinhala government and would never do the same for Muslims in turn. This was the firm belief of the Tamil national leader Mr Pirapaharan and senior commander Karuna, he
added. On the matter of rights of land, he said these would be solved according to the law as there have been many
occurrences of unlawful occupations of government and private land by individuals.
Muslim Rights Commission's M I M Mohideen also said the talks were satisfactory, adding he hoped the talks would pave the way for a solution to contentious matter between the two communities and help them live united in future.
Meanwhile, representatives of the LTTE, the Sri Lanka government and religious heads from Musali in Mannar held a meeting in Murungan last week to discuss ways of improving relations between the Tamil and Muslim communities,
reported the Uthayn. The meeting was to counter the tensions that is prevailing between the communities after a Tamil farmer was killed there last Month. Among the delegates were Rev Father Xavier Cruz, Additional
Government Agent for Mannar Mr A Neekilappillai, LTTE's Mannar District Political Sector Head Mr M
Arunothayam and the district's Assistant Police Supt Shantha Udapamunuwa. Father Cruz urged everyone's cooperation to ensure few elements trying to inflame
hatred between the communities are defeated. The meeting was organised by
Murungan Traders Association.
The Liberation Tiger's officer training college Saturday held a graduation ceremony for the latest batch of officers who successfully completed the training programme, reported TamilNet. The LTTE's Trincomalee district commander, Colonel Pathuman, addressed the
newly commissioned officers.
"We will regain hope for peace if the response from the Sri Lanka government to our letter is positive and constructive," said Col.
Pathuman at the ceremony held at LTTE controlled Ralkuli village in Muttur division where certificates were awarded to the LTTE cadres who qualified as junior officers after arms training.
"We are disappointed over the peace talks which have been going on for the last fourteen months. Not a single rupee has been allocated for the rehabilitation of internally displaced by the government. Some critics say that the LTTE would derail the peace process and go for war once again. I say that choice between renewal of war and to continue with the present peace process is now in the hands of the government and not with the LTTE," said Col. Pathuman.
Colonel Pathuman further said, "at this stage it is our duty to safeguard our people. No one can interfere in this aspect. The arms' training given to our cadres is to strengthen the security of our people and our military infrastructure."
Trincomalee district political head of the LTTE Mr. S. Thilak said, "we must maintain our military might. Then only we would be successful in reaching a solution that meets the aspirations of our people through the present peace process."
Every successive government in power speaks of a peaceful solution to the
problem. But at the same time they procure arms and strengthen their military structure. Their main aim to suppress Tamils' rights and to uproot them from their homelands, Mr. Thilak said.
"People would ask that while participating in the peace talks why we are giving arms training LTTE cadres. I would say that the present peace environment has dawned because of our military might. When we lose our military strength that will be the end of the peace process.
Demonstration of our military strength is a key to sustain the peace process," said Mr. Tilak.
"We believe in peace. We would be glad if we regained our lost rights through the peace process. We could win war or peace only through strengthening of our military might," said LTTE district political head Mr.Thilak.
Tamil National Alliance parliamentarian Mr. K. Thurairetnasingham also spoke. Mr. Ilakkian, head of the military training academy presided over the event.
The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentary group leader Mr. R.
Sampanthan addressing a meeting at Pulmoddai, a Muslim village about 70km north of Trincomalee district, said that a lasting political solution could be found for the North-East problem only by ensuring equal rights and privileges to Muslims living in the province, reported TamilNet Saturday last week.
"A political solution that would endanger the interests of the Muslims in the northeast province would not last long and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) is fully supportive of a political solution that
would ensure equal rights to Muslims," added Mr. Sampanthan. Senior local Muslim leaders in the Pulmoddai village received TNA parliamentarians Mr. Sampanthan and Mr. K.
Thurairetnasingham at the Yan Oya ferry point.
Later in the evening at a meeting held at Pulmoddai Muslim Maha Vidiyalayam Muslim leaders aired their grievances and the shortcomings they undergo in the spheres of education, health, and electricity supply and road development and
requested Mr. Sampanthan to take steps to solve their problems. Mr. Cassim Thamby presided.
Mr. Sampanthan addressing the gathering said Tamils and Muslims are living in the eastern province for several centuries side by side. Mr. Sampanthan said forces against the peace
process are trying to create dissension between Tamils and Muslim to gain political
advantage. The Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna, Sihala Urumaya and other extremist forces are trying to derail the peace process by making the two minority communities clash each other in their traditional homeland, he said.
"We should think in a realistic way and both communities should unite to achieve a linguistic region under a federal set up with internal self determination," said Mr. Sampanthan. "Even now Muslim Tamil scholars contribute immensely to the development of Tamil language and its literature and this should not be forgotten."
The near absence of crimes against women in areas controlled by the Liberation Tigers is due to the severe punishment meted out by Tamil Eelam courts for offence related to sexual abuse, said one of Sri Lanka's leading women's
activists, said the Thinakural.
Nimalka Fernando, who is also a barrister, said the Tigers were implementing laws of the Sri Lanka government but with subtle changes. The public discipline engendered by them into the community and the different political climate that persists there also helps deter crime against women. Ms Fernando said the struggle has made the LTTE disciplined. She said crime against women elsewhere on the island was on the rise despite stricter laws, identifying some of the causes as educational environment, the social taboo on discussing sexual matters as well as the influence of television. Women have been particularly affected by the decades old war. Police and courts have failed women on many instances despite having adequate powers to deal with the crimes. She highlighted the cases of
Krishanthy Kumaraswamy's rape and murder, Sarathambal's murder and that of
Koneswary in Amparai as some of the more public examples of the abuse of Tamil women in the hands of Sri Lanka's security forces. Ms.
Fernando is the President of Movement for Inter-Racial Justice and Equality (Sri Lanka), and the Convener of the
Women's Alliance for Peace and Democracy in Sri Lanka.
The war memorial constructed by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) at Gopalapuram
junction in the village of Nilaveli, about sixteen km north of Trincomalee town in
memory of LTTE cadres who died in a midsea mishap in 1990 was declared open Monday last week, reported TamilNet.
The Gopalapuram war memorial was constructed in memory of 22 LTTE cadres who died in seas off
Trincomalee when they were returning after attacking a camp of the Eelam National
Democratic Front (ENDLF) a paramilitary group then backed by the Indian Peace Keeping Force
(IPKF) against the LTTE at Jamaliya, a suburb in Trincomalee.
LTTE Nilaveli division political head Mr. Thooyavan declared open the war memorial by cutting the ribbon. Tamil National Alliance (TNA) MP Mr. R.
Sampanthan first lit the traditional oil lamp, which was followed by another TNA MP Mr. K. Thurairetnasingham, LTTE Trincomalee district political head Mr. S. Thilak, OIC, Kuchchaveli Police Mr. Ludwyke and several leading personalities.
The Tamil Eelam national flag was hoisted by the LTTE Trincomalee district political head Mr. Tilak as hundreds of people including Sri Lanka police personnel and navy personnel and two members of the Sri Lanka Monitoring
Commission (SLMM) in Trincomalee watched the event.
Mr. S. Tharman, head of the TEEDOR in Trincomalee presided over the event.
"Today we are thinking that we are on the road to peace and the present peace environment has dawned in the country because of the sacrifice made by tens of thousands of LTTE cadres in the war. The authorities concerned should not allow any more sacrifice by Tamils and LTTE to achieve permanent and just political solution ensuring equal rights to all communities," said Mr. Sampanthan during his address.
Mr. Thilak said, "We fought a war with a goal to regain the lost rights of Tamil speaking people. We agreed to cease hostilities and joined the peace talks to find a negotiated solution to the ethnic conflict. We regret to say that we have not achieved anything during the last fourteen months of ceasefire. However we are determined to ensure that present ceasefire environment prevails and will pressure the Government of Sri Lanka to take action to alleviate existential problems of our people.
"The optimism the Tamils had when the Premier signed the ceasefire agreement and LTTE leader is no longer there," Mr. Thilak said. The war memorial was delayed for months when the Sri Lanka Navy objected to the construction.
The Trincomalee district branch of the Tamil Rehabilitation Organization (TRO) Sunday declared open its first divisional office at
Chenaiyoor in the LTTE held Muttur east, reported Tamil-Net. On the opening day TRO gave Rs10,000 for relatives of each of the three Tamil youths killed in the recent Muttur riot as compensation.
TRO Trincomalee district co-ordinator Mr. K. Mathavarajah said the TRO decided to open two branch offices in the Muttur division, one in the LTTE held area and the other in the government controlled area. "Today we open the first office in the LTTE held area Chenaiyoor. The second off-ice will be opened in government controlled area of Pachchanoor later," said Mr. Mathavarajah.
Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarian Mr. K. Thurairetnasingham
unveiled the name board of the TRO divisional office at Chenaiyoor. LTTE
Trincomalee district political head Mr. Thilak declared open the divisional office by cutting the ribbon.
Muttur division is neglected in the sphere of development by the government agencies. Some non-governmental agencies with the assistance of the LTTE political leadership in the Muttur have provided basic facilities to needy residents. Now the entry of TRO gives hope to the people of the area for a better future, said Ms Kaaronja, head of the
Education and Cultural Unit of the LTTE in Trincomalee.
Parliamentarian Mr. K. Thurairetnasingham said Muttur has been ignored in development in past. TRO could do some concrete developments in the Muttur division uplifting the living standard of the people. The village level officer Mr. K. Selvaretnam presided. TRO Trincomalee district director Mr. C. Kumarakurubaran proposed vote of thanks.
United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) in coordination with the Sri Lanka Red Cross (SLRC) in the
Trincomalee district is providing free spectacles and other medical assistance to help the poor, said the officer in charge of the UNHCR in Trincomalee, Ms Rocelle Brown, when addressing an event in connection the World Red Cross Day,
reported TamilNet Friday.
Free spectacles to more than ninety men and women selected from needy families were distributed at the event. Trincomalee branch development officer of the SLRC Mr.P.Manniwannan
presided. SLRC, Trincomalee branch treasurer Mr. S .Jeyashankar and SLRC branch senior programme co-ordinating officer Mr. T.
Subashkar also participated.
The Trincomalee district branch of the SLRC Thursday organized several activities in the district including villages in areas under LTTE control. A group of eye cataract patients selected from the resettled families in
Kappalthurai, Salli, Sambaltivu and other remote villages in this district were taken to Kandy Eye Hospital for operation by the SLRC volunteers in a private bus.
Indonesian military forces are set to launch a campaign against the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) this week after making Monday a non-negotiable deadline for the organisation to abandon its 26-year fight for independence.
In the past month, a ceasefire agreement signed in Geneva in December has continued to unravel and the Indonesian government and military are making increasingly explicit threats that a full-scale campaign is all but inevitable.
GAM ordered its fighters to take up defensive positions and cancelled all leave, after a fragile ceasefire
agreed last December appeared to be crumbling and Indonesian police arrested four of their negotiators.
The Indonesian government is reinforcing its military presence in the province and has issued a deadline of Monday for GAM to accept its terms for further talks. But the BBC's Jakarta correspondent says the guerrillas show no sign of backing down.
"The situation in the nation of Aceh today is entering the Second Colonial War," GAM spokesman Sofyan Dawood said in a statement, comparing Jakarta to Dutch colonisers who invaded
Aceh in the late 19th century.
His comments came after four GAM members of a joint committee established to monitor the ceasefire were detained. Indonesia says
they are suspects in bombings.
In an effort to keep the peace process going, the Swiss-based Henry Dunant Centre, which brokered the December ceasefire, tried to organise a joint council
meeting of GAM and Indonesian officials in Geneva on April 25 to discuss numerous ceasefire breaches.
However, when GAM sought to push the date back to April 27, the Indonesian Government pulled out of the talks and imposed a series of demands on GAM it now says must be agreed to by Monday - the first day of the Bali bombing trials.
With civilians making up the bulk of more than 10,000 people killed in Aceh in recent years, Acehnese community leaders sought
unsuccessfully this week to meet President Megawati Soekarnoputri, who decided last week to support a new military operation in Aceh.
Jakarta has already sent 3,000 troops to Aceh in the event of resumed hostilities. Security Minister Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said on Friday that a presidential decree, authorising a "security operation" in the
province, had been prepared.
GAM did not appear ready to concede to Jakarta on Friday. They warned that strategic installations, such as the oil and gas plant run by the American company Exxon Mobil, should shut down, as they could be used by the Indonesian military as operational bases.
There was initial optimism when GAM and the government agreed to the 9
December peace deal, designed to bring an end to the 26-year conflict which has claimed at least 12,000 lives.
Under the terms of the agreement, GAM fighters were supposed to place their weapons in special arms dumps, and the Indonesian military was meant to withdraw to defensive positions. Neither side has so far fulfilled its side of the bargain, and both sides continue to blame each other for the breakdown in relations.
The EU, US and Japan, who co-chaired a Tokyo conference last December on aid for Aceh, on Friday urged both sides to strive for a
peaceful resolution to the crisis.
But Indonesia's Foreign Minister, Hassan Wirayuda, defended a possible crackdown in the territory. "Honestly, what we are doing or will do in Aceh is much less than the American power that was deployed in Iraq. We aren't violating anyone's sovereignty," he said.
Nepalese Maoist rebels have condemned an American move to brand them as terrorists, the BBC reported Friday. A senior rebel leader said the move could affect the current peace process aimed at resolving the long-running insurgency.
The remarks follow a decision by the US State Department two days ago to list the rebel group as a terrorist organisation.
Rebel leaders have also threatened to resume violence, accusing the Nepalese Government of being insincere.
Rebel negotiator in the peace talks that started earlier this week, Krishna
Bahadur Mahara, said the Maoists were opposed to terrorism and they were a serious political force. He told the BBC the latest US move was unjustified.
The rebels earlier accused a number of foreign powers, including the US, of conspiring against peace moves.
Addressing a public rally in the western town of Dang on Thursday top rebels said the government was not committed to peace and that they may restart their campaign of violence.
The government says it is sincere about the peace process. It withdrew the terrorist label on the rebels in January ahead of a ceasefire and peace talks. But officials have not yet commented on the American move.
The rebels enjoy significant support amongst the public. A month ago, an estimated 30,000 people attended a rally in the Nepalese capital, Kathmandu, called by Maoist rebels ahead of peace talks.
On Wednesday last week the Unite States State Department added the Nepalese Maoist Party to its second tier of terrorist groups, bringing the number on the list to 38. The secondary group is said to act as a watch list for the first-tier, which includes groups such as al-Qaeda.
It is unclear why the US has made this move in the midst of the peace process in Nepal, the BBC said.
Some have linked it to the murder, last year, of two Nepali security personnel from the US embassy - the rebels admitted they had carried out the killing. Others argue the move may have been aimed at stepping up pressure on the rebels to be more flexible in the peace talks.
The United States has publicly backed the peace process and rejected a military solution to the seven-year conflict in which 7,000 people have died.
US Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage ended a tour of South Asia on Saturday reaffirming that he was cautiously optimistic about a thaw in relations between nuclear-armed
India and Pakistan, Reuters reported.
But he told reporters after meeting Indian leaders he saw a long road ahead in a step-by-step process to lasting peace.
India and Pakistan came close to war last year over New Delhi's allegations that Islamabad sponsors a
Muslim separatist revolt in Indian Kashmir. Pakistan says it gives only moral support to what it calls the Kashmiri "freedom struggle."
But this month they announced restoration of full diplomatic ties and an easing of curbs in transport links after Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee said he would extend a hand of friendship to Pakistan -- his third peace bid since 1999.
"I am cautiously optimistic that the process begun by the act of statesmanship by the prime minister of India could possibly lead to a step-by-step process that would eventually resolve all issues," Armitage said.
"It's a long trip to when we get there and I just hope we've begun a process," he said after meeting Vajpayee.
Armitage, who also declared himself cautiously optimistic after talks in Islamabad on Thursday, had been expected to encourage the thaw while studiously avoiding any sign that Washington was acting as a mediator between India and Pakistan.
New Delhi has long bristled at any suggestion of third-party involvement in its feud with Islamabad over Kashmir, mostly Hindu India's only Muslim-majority state.
But in a sign of the priority the US is placing on South Asia, President Bush dropped in on talks between Indian national security adviser Brajesh Mishra and his US counterpart, Condoleezza Rice, in Washington on Thursday.
Armitage, who said Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf had promised to close down any militant training camps remaining in Pakistan-controlled
Kashmir, also said all violence must end.
India says that Pakistan continues to train militants and help them infiltrate into Indian Kashmir to join the 13-year separatist revolt. Islamabad denies these cha-rges, though has said in the past some "rogue elements" may still be operating.
"Our point of view, the fact of the matter, is all violence has got to end," said Armitage. "It is a terrible thing when we reduce the death of a person, a loved one for some family, to a statistic. So I concentrate on the fact that all violence must end."
Analysts say the latest initiative, which Vajpayee, 78, has called the last in his lifetime, offers the best chance in years for peace between India and Pakistan, which have fought three wars since independence from Britain in 1947.
But they see a long process ahead, vulnerable to any major militant attack, before any summit talks, which would have to be held before Indian elections due in 2004.
Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee said Thursday that India would not reciprocate on Pakistan's offer to dismantle its nuclear weapons, but hoped never to have to use them against its longtime rival, the
Associated Press reported.
"We are seeking friendship with Pakistan, but we will be cautious," Vajpayee told Parliament during a
debate on the new peace overtures between the South Asian rivals. He said Pakistan's only target for nuclear weapons is India, but that India had other countries of concern.
"We don't accept Pakistan's proposal ... as Pakistan's nuclear program is India-specific," Vajpayee said. "But we are concerned about other states as well."
Pakistani Foreign Ministry spokesman Aziz Ahmed Khan said Monday that
Pakistan would get rid of its nuclear arsenal if India did so as well. Islamabad also suggested the bitter rivals make
South Asia nuclear-free.
"We don't want to use all our resources on buying arms and weapons," Vajpayee said. "But we have to defend ourselves in case of a threat."
Pakistan and India declared themselves nuclear powers after detonating atomic bombs in 1998. Neither
country has opened its arsenal to international inspectors and it is not known exactly how many weapons they have.
The international community has been pressing both nations to improve relations to prevent what many fear could escalate into a nuclear confrontation.
Anxious to avoid a repetition of the battles that split the Security Council before the war, most diplomats at the United Nations put a positive face on the resolution presented today by the United States, Spain and Britain seeking approval for allied forces' control of Iraq's political development and oil revenues, the New York Times reported.
But while giving an approving nod to the resolution's focus on the future - "charting a way forward," was the way the United States envoy, John D. Negroponte, put it - some Council diplomats expressed concerns about endorsing the allies sweeping assumption of authority over crucial aspects of Iraqi life.
The concerns, diplomats said, are likely to produce difficult negotiations, particularly given the United States' unwillingness to allow the United Nations any executive responsibility.
American officials in Washington have expressed confidence about securing Council approval. Even as they expressed reservations with the draft, no diplomats contradicted that assessment here today.
The resolution proposes to end 13 years of economic sanctions on Iraq and recognizes that the occupying powers, the United States and Britain, will jointly govern as the supreme Iraqi "authority" for at least 12 months, a term that can automatically be renewed unless the Council decides otherwise.
It also transfers both future oil revenues and a large portion of the $13 billion in existing oil revenues, now in a United Nations-controlled escrow fund, into an Iraqi Assistance Account controlled by the allies for "purposes benefiting the people of Iraq," including food and medical aid, weapons inspection, infrastructure repair and the cost of setting up and running an Iraqi government.
Anti-war France and Germany queried the limited and advisory role the resolution set out for the United Nations, and on Saturday deputy foreign minister Yuri Fedotov said Russia wanted "serious work and clarification" of the resolution.
Russian President Vladimir Putin spurned British attempts to win him over last month to an early end to sanctions, saying the question of alleged Iraqi stocks of banned weapons -- the reason given for war -- had to be cleared up first.
Without a resolution, no Iraqi or U.S. entity in Baghdad has the legal authority to export oil -- stalling reconstruction and prolonging a power vacuum that a diverse and fractious former Iraqi opposition is scrambling to fill.
But on Saturday, one of Iraq's top Shi'ite clerics ended years of exile and called for an Iraq free of foreign influence, just hours after Washington asked the United Nations to grant it sweeping post-war powers, Reuters reported.
Ayatollah Mohammed Baqir al-Hakim, leader of Iraq's biggest Shi'ite Muslim group, crossed from Iran near the southern city of Basra to a jubilant welcome from crowds of supporters.
Addressing a crowd at a stadium, he called for an independent government chosen wholly by Iraqis to replace ousted President Saddam Hussein, who was toppled by United States-led forces in a war launched on March 20.
"This government must be chosen by Iraqis and totally independent," Hakim told them in his first address in Iraq in 23 years. "We will not accept a government that is imposed on us."
Saddam himself, however, refused to accept the new situation in a letter he reportedly faxed to an Arabic-language newspaper.
"The truth which must be dealt with now is the resistance to the occupation, expelling and crushing it," read the letter signed by the toppled president -- or an impostor -- and faxed from Jordan to London's al-Quds al-Arabi.
India is set for a huge employment boost as large financial services groups continue to export jobs to cheaper locations, the BBC reported, quoting new
research. The country is set to remain the top choice for outsourcing IT and back office work, according to Deloitte Research.
The report predicts two million jobs will move offshore from the world's 100 largest financial services companies over the next five years. It says India could account for up to a million of the new positions thanks to its dominance in IT and software development.
Deloitte says pressure to cut costs in order to remain competitive is driving the trend. India has already
dominated the early market for companies choosing offshore processing - thanks to its large number of graduates with English-language skills but low salary expectations.
Large companies including Citigroup, HSBC and GE Capital have opened vast call centres or back offices in India, each employing
between 2,000 and 11,000 employees. But Deloitte expects the trend will gather momentum in the next two years, as leading companies seek to generate cost savings.
"The shifting of activities to lower-cost locations ignites the possibility of
transforming the structure of the financial services industry," suggested its report.
It predicts nearly three out of four major financial institutions will be offshore within two years and that India will be the top choice for almost half of them.
Competition for outsourcing projects include China, South Africa, Singapore, Malaysia and Australia.
It said the trend allows companies a "once in a generation opportunity" to
reduce costs. The survey predicts more functions will be moved overseas.
However, it warns companies preparing to take the plunge overseas to choose their destination wisely. “Those financial institutions that moved offshore too quickly are operating on a sub-optimal basis."
Surrounded by American tanks, an Iranian opposition group under orders to surrender agreed Saturday to turn over its weapons and submit to the demands of US forces, Army officials told the Associated Press. The US used the occasion to warn other forces not to assert power.
Representatives of the Mujahedeen Khalq, which the US deemed a terrorist organisation in the 1990’s operating near Baqubah, 45 miles northeast of the capital, struck the agreement
after two days of negotiations with United States armed forces. Their capitulation was reported by the US Army's V Corps
headquarters in Baghdad.
The Mujahedeen Khalq's well-armed force, which for years fought Iran's Islamic rulers from Iraq with the backing of Saddam
Hussein's regime, posed a potential challenge to the American-led
coalition's authority as Iraq's military occupier.
The Mujahedeen Khalq was allied with the late Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini's Islamic fundamentalists during the 1979 revolution that overthrew the
pro-American dictatorship of Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi. But the new government soon banned the
Mujahedeen Khalq and other groups that advocated a secular regime.
Military officials at V Corps, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the group had agreed to "voluntarily hand over all their weapons" including
sidearms. They will be permitted to retain their uniforms. The officials said members of the organization would not be classified as prisoners of war but under a status "yet to be determined."
The Mujahedeen Khalq's weaponry will be consolidated into one area, its members in another. They will be "protected by American forces," one military official said. A rival armed group backed by the Iranian regime is active in the area, and there have been fears the two would clash.
Saturday's capitulation, which appeared nonetheless to be a surrender in everything but terminology,
underscores the US desire to be the unquestioned and unchallenged armed force in Iraq a month after the fall of Saddam's regime.
Its announcement of the Mujahedeen Khalq developments was accompanied by a warning to any groups that might assert authority in postwar Iraq.
"Groups who display hostile intent or refuse to co-operate with the authority of the coalition will be subjected to the full weight of coalition military power," V
Corps said. "These groups are urged to submit to the authority of the coalition immediately."
The Mujahedeen Khalq, or People's Warriors, is the military wing of the Paris-based National Council of Resistance of Iran, an
umbrella body said to unite Iran's diverse opposition groups.
During the 1970s, the group was accused in attacks that killed several Americans working on defense projects in Iran, although the militant group denies targeting American citizens. It reportedly backed the takeover of the United States Embassy in Tehran in 1979.
Private military companies see prospects in world’s conflicts, writes Jeremy Lovell for Reuters.
Mercenaries no more, the successors to the dogs of war who rampaged across post colonial Africa now call themselves private military companies and focus on
postwar reconstruction, mine clearance and humanitarian aid.
The infamous private armies of the likes of "Mad Mike" Hoare, "Black
Jacques" Schramme and Bob Denard are long gone.
Missions like Hoare's failed 1981 take over of the Seychelles and Tim Spicer's abortive 1997 coup in Papua New Guinea are epitaphs to the post World War Two era of anarchy. In their place are private military companies (PMCs), staffed by former special forces and front line soldiers who find no call for their services in the civilian world but dislike the term mercenaries.
"We are not mercenaries. Northbridge is a legitimate private military company
that only works for democratically-elected national governments or recognised
agencies," said Andrew Williams, of the Anglo-American company Northbridge
Services Group.
"Our people are contracted to us, not directly to any government or other organisation. We have been
approached for other work but rejected it because it was illegal," he said in an interview. Northbridge was formed
barely two years ago by Williams, a former British paratrooper who fought in the Falklands War and has been involved in operations around the globe.
For a range of reasons governments across the globe are reducing the size of their standing armies without losing the desire to get involved in occasional muscular diplomacy.
"Take Afghanistan, the Balkans and now Iraq," Williams said. "National armed forces are over-stretched. We can offer legitimate governments the flexibility and breathing space they need for peacekeeping operations.
"Working with the Americans we can put a brigade on the ground fully equipped and with full logistical support anywhere in the world within three weeks," he added. A brigade typically numbers 5,000 soldiers.
Northbridge has 3,000 fully vetted British ex-servicemen on its books, with more from its US office.
An industry insider with years of experience in the world of private military companies said they had no role in high intensity conflicts but vast potential in low intensity wars and postwar clean-up operations.
"There has been a lot of interest in helping sort out the Congo conflict. A proposal was made just over a year ago to put together a force of 1,000 men - a battalion. They could be very effective," he told Reuters on condition on anonymity.
Attitudes to PMC's differed widely from country to country, he said, with the US actively promoting them at one end of the scale to the British government's fear of them at the other.
Northbridge's Williams has several contracts in West Africa and is negotiating
with the governments of Ivory Coast and Liberia among others.
He is shortly to send a demining team to Angola to work for an international oil company, sweeping the
ground through the mine-strewn countryside ahead of seismic search crews. No stranger to controversy, on May 2
Northbridge flew two planeloads of former special servicemen from an undisclosed British airfield to a secret location on a contract to rescue foreign workers held hostage on Nigerian oil rigs.
The mission was aborted as the hostages were released without a shot fired. "We brought in a representative of the hostage takers and
showed him the guys and their equipment waiting to go in. He got the message,"
Williams said.
While negotiating a large security and stabilisation contract with Ivory Coast, Northbrdge had a row with British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw over his assertion that Williams' men were mercenaries. Williams is still negotiating the contract, but admitted there were political problems with the British government.
"There is a hell of a lot of politics involved in this," he complained. His talks with the Liberian government, which have only just begun, involve using former combat engineers to repair sanitation and water supply systems ruined by the civil war.
Williams said Northbridge had no trouble recruiting highly trained military personnel whose skills were no longer needed in civilian Britain, noting that a rifleman could easily earn 300 pounds ($480) a day on a long contract.
He is developing close working ties with MPRI, a US semi-government private military company, and is looking forward to a rosy future.
"The Americans are going to pave the way on this. They fully recognise and endorse the private military company concept," Williams said. "With MPRI we aim to be the world's dominant force in PMC's. Who knows, two or three years down the line we may go for a Stock Exchange listing - not for the money but for the public credibility," he mused.
|
