BATTICALOA, 10 November 2010 (IRIN) - Cheran was 15 when he was abducted into the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). He ran away two years later in January 2009.

EHAF has urged the Prime Minister in a memorandum submitted to him when he visited Batticaloa district, to appoint a Tamil Hindu officer in the archaeological department to study the stone inscriptions in collaboration with the Department of Hindu Cultural Affairs and to establish a museum to store these stone inscriptions in safe custody.

LONDRES, 10 (EUROPA PRESS)

Dos importantes miembros de los Tigres de Liberación de la Tierra Tamil (LTTE) en Sri Lanka se encuentran desaparecidos después de que fuesen arrestados por el Ejército el año pasado, en los últimos días de la guerra civil, según han relatado sus esposas a la Comisión sobre las Lecciones Aprendidas y la Reconciliación.

Desde que el portavoz de los LTTE, Rasiah Ilantherian, y el cabeza del servicio de inteligencia del grupo en Batticaloa, que responde al nombre único de Prabha, fuesen detenidos, no se ha tenido ninguna noticia de su paradero o estado de salud, han añadido las mujeres. La mujer de Ilantherian, Punitharuban Vanitha, ha anunciado que no tiene ninguna información acerca del paradero de su marido desde que fuese arrestado en mayo del pasado año.

Ambas se encuentran entre los cientos de tamiles y musulmanes que están testificando ante la comisión, que tiene la sede en Batticaloa, al este de Sri Lanka, donde se han estado llevando a cabo vistas judiciales durante el fin de semana.

Muchos otros civiles tamiles han presentado las mismas quejas acerca de familiares desaparecidos, según informa la cadena británica BBC.

Por su parte, el gobierno del país no he hecho ningún comentario al respecto de estas desapariciones, aunque previamente había rechazado las acusaciones de secuestros realizadas por diferentes grupos en favor de los derechos humanos.

La esposa del portavoz en paradero desconocido ha declarado que su marido fue capturado por el gobierno el 17 de mayo de 2009, poco antes de que la organización fuese definitivamente derrotada.

Punitharuban apuntó que en un principio fue informada de que su marido volvería al hogar después de ser atendido de unas heridas menores. Sin embargo, no ha tenido noticia alguna desde ese momento. De igual modo, Bobitha Prabhaharan, la mujer de Prabha, ha relatado igualmente su desconocimiento de cualquier dato acerca de su marido desde su desaparición.

LONDRES, 10 (EUROPA PRESS)

Dos importantes miembros de los Tigres de Liberación de la Tierra Tamil (LTTE) en Sri Lanka se encuentran desaparecidos después de que fuesen arrestados por el Ejército el año pasado, en los últimos días de la guerra civil, según han relatado sus esposas a la Comisión sobre las Lecciones Aprendidas y la Reconciliación.

Desde que el portavoz de los LTTE, Rasiah Ilantherian, y el cabeza del servicio de inteligencia del grupo en Batticaloa, que responde al nombre único de Prabha, fuesen detenidos, no se ha tenido ninguna noticia de su paradero o estado de salud, han añadido las mujeres. La mujer de Ilantherian, Punitharuban Vanitha, ha anunciado que no tiene ninguna información acerca del paradero de su marido desde que fuese arrestado en mayo del pasado año.

Ambas se encuentran entre los cientos de tamiles y musulmanes que están testificando ante la comisión, que tiene la sede en Batticaloa, al este de Sri Lanka, donde se han estado llevando a cabo vistas judiciales durante este fin de semana.

Muchos otros civiles tamiles han presentado las mismas quejas acerca de familiares desaparecidos, según informa la cadena británica BBC.

Por su parte, el gobierno del país no he hecho ningún comentario al respecto de estas desapariciones, aunque previamente había rechazado las acusaciones de secuestros realizadas por diferentes grupos en favor de los derechos humanos.

La esposa del portavoz en paradero desconocido ha declarado que su marido fue capturado por el gobierno el 17 de mayo de 2009, poco antes de que la organización fuese definitivamente derrotada.

Punitharuban apuntó que en un principio fue informada de que su marido volvería al hogar después de ser atendido de unas heridas menores. Sin embargo, no ha tenido noticia alguna desde ese momento. De igual modo, Bobitha Prabhaharan, la mujer de Prabha, ha relatado igualmente su desconocimiento de cualquier dato acerca de su marido desde su desaparición.

Three containers filled with explosives meant for road construction detonated outside a police station in eastern Sri Lanka, killing 25 people, most of them police officers, in a blast government officials called an accident.

 

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Three trucks carrying explosives blew up inside a police compound in eastern Sri Lanka on Friday, killing at least 25 people in what the military called an accident. The blast occurred in Karayinadaru, about 50 kilometers from the eastern port of Batticaloa and in an ethnically mixed area controlled by the Tamil Tiger separatists until 2007.

Unknown what set off three containers full of dynamite meant for road construction in eastern district of Batticaloa

Three containers filled with explosives meant for road construction have blown up outside a police station in eastern Sri Lanka, killing as many as 60 people in a blast government officials called an accident.

Images of the blast on Maharaja Television showed the police station reduced to rubble.

Military spokesman Major General Ubaya Medawala said it was unclear what triggered the explosion. The containers were being stored by the police station in the Batticaloa district for safety reasons.

The explosives, probably dynamite, were for a road construction project being carried out by a Chinese company, he said. The dead included police personnel and two Chinese construction workers, and could reach as high as 60.

Thyagendra Senthuran, a doctor at Chenkalady hospital near the blast site, said he had received 15 dead bodies and 20 wounded people, many with severe head wounds. "Still we are receiving bodies," he said.

Lakshman Hulugalla, a government spokesman, ruled out any possibility of sabotage, saying: "It is an accidental explosion."

The site of the blast, Karadiyanaru, is a small town in the former conflict zone in the east. The government has started a major construction drive there to build roads, reservoirs and other infrastructure following the end of the war with the Tamil Tiger rebels last year.

The area was once controlled by the now-defeated rebels, who carried out hundreds of bombings against government and civilian targets.

Nueva Delhi.- Unas 60 personas murieron hoy al estallar tres contenedores con explosivos de una constructora china en la población de Batticaloa, en el este de Sri Lanka, informaron portavoces militares a los medios ceilaneses.

El portavoz del Ejército, Ubaya Medawala, citado por la edición digital del diario "Daily Mirror" y de la televisión "Ada Derana", dijo que 60 personas perdieron la vida en el suceso, entre ellas dos trabajadores chinos.

Otras 45 personas que sufrieron heridas fueron trasladadas al hospital de Batticaloa e incluso algunas de ellas fueron evacuadas a Colombo por vía aérea, según la fuente.

En su página web, el Ministerio de Defensa cifró en 20 los muertos y explicó que dos trabajadores chinos de esta compañía acudieron en camiones a la comisaría de Karadiyanaru, en Batticaloa, para recoger los explosivos de estos contenedores, que usan para la construcción de carreteras.

Uno de ellos estalló de forma "accidental" y ello causó una reacción en cadena que hizo que los otros dos también explotaran, según Defensa.

"No hay ningún sabotaje o acción terrorista detrás de esta explosión", dijo el Ministerio en su nota.

Un portavoz de Defensa, Laksman Hulugalla, confirmó al canal de televisión indio "NDTV" que la explosión "no es un sabotaje", sino "un desafortunado suceso".

El mismo Hulugalla dijo al canal televisivo ceilanés "Ada Derana" que el contenedor pertenecía a la compañía china, que usa estos explosivos para la construcción de carreteras.

Se han registrado daños tanto en la comisaría como en los aledaños.

Desde que el Ejército de Sri Lanka desalojó a la guerrilla tamil (LTTE) del este de la isla, ésta es una zona muy militarizada, con numerosos controles y recintos de las Fuerzas Armadas y la Policía.

Nueva Delhi.- Unas 60 personas murieron hoy y 40 resultaron heridas en un atentado registrado en Batticaloa, en el este de Sri Lanka, informó a los medios ceilaneses el portavoz del Ejército, Ubaya Medawala.

Se trata del primer atentado de esta envergadura que se produce en Sri Lanka desde la derrota de la guerrilla tamil, en mayo de 2009.

Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao called on Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa in Colombo today and apprised him of her visit to the Northern and Eastern provinces of the island-nation and the assistance projects being undertaken by India for the benefit of internally displaced persons (IDPs).

An official press release issued here today by the Ministry of External Affairs said Mr Rajapaksa welcomed India's assistance.

Ms Rao also met with leaders of major political parties, including UNP Leader and Leader of the Opposition, Mr. Ranil Wickremesinghe, as well as leaders of the Tamil National Alliance and the Ceylon Workers’ Congress.

On the final day of her three-day visit tomorrow, she will be hosted for breakfast by Sri Lankan Foreign Minister G L Peiris. She will also hold further meetings with delegations of other political parties before departing for India later in the afternoon, the release said.

Earlier in the day, Ms Rao, who had visited Vavuniya, Kilinochchi and Jaffna yesterday, travelled to Mullaitivu and Trincomalee today.

In Mullaitivu, which was one of the districts most affected by the recent conflict, she received a briefing from the Government Agent (GA) there, Mr. N. Vethanayakam, on the status of efforts for resettling IDPs and rebuilding essential infrastructure in the region.

While 16,000 families have already been resettled in Mullaitivu, the GA said that de-mining was still a factor preventing the resettlement of others. He expressed deep appreciation for the assistance that had been received from the Government of India for resettling IDPs.

The Foreign Secretary subsequently met with a group of IDPs at the District Secretariat Office and distributed roofing sheets and agricultural toolkits among them.

Speaking on the occasion, she praised the spirit of the people of the region, saying that they had come through a very difficult challenge. She reiterated India’s concern for the welfare of the people of this region and said that India would continue to work with the Government of Sri Lanka to help resettle the people and rebuild their lives.

While speaking about India’s pledge to build 50,000 houses in Northern and Eastern Sri Lanka, she underlined that this would be done using local expertise and resources wherever available so that employment could be generated locally. She emphasized that peace was necessary for development and that the need of the hour was to look forward and benefit from the tremendous potential that Sri Lanka had as a country to grow and prosper.

In Trincomalee, Ms Rao met the Chief Minister of the Eastern Province, Mr. Sivanesathurai Sandirakanthan at the Eastern Provincial Council offices and discussed with him various projects with which India was assisting in the Eastern Province and others that were in the pipeline.

She noted in particular the project on housing, a project to assist war widows in Batticaloa by the Self Employed Women’s Association (SEWA) and another to build a vocational training centre in Eastern Province. She also invited the Chief Minister to visit India at his convenience.

Ms Rao also called on the Governor of the Eastern Province, Rear Admiral (Rtd) Mohan Wijewickrema, who briefed her on the development work undertaken in a number of sectors in the province following the restoration of peace in mid-2007. He also outlined future investment opportunities in the province, especially in the area of tourism.

While in Trincomalee, the Foreign Secretary visited the Koneswaram Temple and handed over to the temple management the keys of a bus gifted to the temple by the Government of India, the release added.

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The STF camp is located at Ma'nipuram junction. STF commandos in this camp have been tapping electricity from the main line to their camp.

As a young woman, Ranjani (not her real name), a 32-year-old Tamil from Sri Lanka's eastern Batticaloa district, only had bright hopes for tomorrow.

The assurance given by the Government Agent that discussion on the disappeared persons’ issue would be held in the Batticaloa District
Development Committee meeting held on Monday was not fulfilled. Tamil
National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarians representing the Batticaloa
district have lodged strong protest to the Government Agent in this
regard, sources said.

Economic Development Minister Basil Rajapakse has failed to
respond to questions raised by Tamil National Alliance (TNA)
parliamentarians at the Batticaloa District Development Council (DDC)
meeting held on Monday at Batticaloa District Secretariat over the

Sri Lankan Economic Development Minister Basil Rajapaksa Tuesday paid an official visit to Paasikkudaa in Batticaloa district and laid the foundation stone for
a tourist complex. The tourist complex is viewed as another step to settle yet more Sinhalese in the traditional Tamil areas of Batticaloa district, by the local residents.

It is hard to imagine things could change so much in just a year after the end of a bloody civil war. In Sri Lanka’s east, in rural Punani near the coastal city of Batticaloa, Tamil, Sinhalese and Muslim women work together in a modern factory owned by textile maker Brandix producing garments for Marks [...]

BATTICALOA, 26 May 2010 (IRIN) - Ganeshwary Santhanam, 31, is one of thousands of women who joined the now defeated Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), which fought for an independent Tamil homeland for more than 25 years.

A year after the end of Sri Lanka's civil war, Hindu priests offered food, fruits and flowers to deities Tuesday and prayed for the souls of thousands of minority Tamils killed in the violence. Many were expected to attend but only 20 people showed up for the commemoration ceremony in the former Tamil Tiger rebel stronghold of Batticaloa, apparently fearing government reprisals. On May 18, 2009, the government declared final victory in the 25-year civil war with the kil...

Senathirajah Jeyananthamoorthy, former TNA parliamentarian of Batticaloa district is elected for Transnational Government of Tamil Eelam (TGTE) topping the list of North West London. He secured 8,357 votes. The others elected from the constituency to TGTE are: Deluxon Morris (6,334), Balambigai Murugadas (5,879), Lalithasorubiny Pratheeparaj (5,521) and Jeyavani Atchuthan (5,446).

24 Tamil and six Sinhalese from Chilaw, Jaffna & Kilinochchi who try to leave for Australia by boat arrested in Batticaloa-Mil Official-JNW

Most of the  former  Tamil National Alliance parliamentarians will not  get the nominations to contest forthcoming parliamentary elections under the TNA list. According to the reports reached Colombo indicate the TNA has decided  not to give nominations  ten out of 22  former parliamentarians representing north and east province. Meanwhile, yesterday former Batticaloa district TNA parliamentarian Mrs. [...]

Incumbent wins first election since Tamil Tigers' defeat as rival Sarath Fonseka disputes result and says he fears arrest

President Mahinda Rajapaksa today won a resounding victory in Sri Lanka's first election since the defeat of the Tamil Tigers, confounding predictions of a close race.

His main rival, General Sarath Fonseka, the former head of the army, immediately disputed the result and said he feared arrest.

In a letter to the election commission, Fonseka said he would begin legal proceedings to have the result annulled.

As the votes were counted, troops surrounded the Cinnamon Lakeside hotel where Fonseka – the president's former ally, now turned bitter enemy, was staying.

"These people have surrounded the hotel with military and threatened my security people," Fonseka told Reuters by phone. "They had a plan to surround us and take us into custody and I don't know if this is that phase of that particular operation."

Brigadier Udaya Nanayakkara, a military spokesman, said there were no plans to arrest Fonseka, but rather to capture around 400 army deserters with him who could pose a potential coup risk.

"They have booked 100 rooms. They are highly-trained military people. We are suspicious about their gathering. General Fonseka has released nine deserters to the military police," he said.

The election commission declared Rajapaksa the winner with 57.8% of the vote to Fonseka's 40% in Sri Lanka's first election since the Tamil Tigers were crushed in a ruthless military campaign last year.

Electoral commissioner Dayananda Dissanayake told reporters. There was "no question" Rajapaksa had won more than the required 50% plus one vote to secure victory.

Rajapaksa's spokesman, Lucien Rajakarunanayake, said the president "has won a historic and resounding victory in the first free and fair elections held throughout the country since the defeat of terrorism".

The mood was subdued in Colombo. Shops and offices were closed as it was a public holiday, and the usually chaotic streets were empty. Driving along the Galle road, a small band of Sinhalese Rajapaksa supporters lit firecrackers, one of the few celebrations of his victory.

The low-key atmosphere in Colombo reflected the capital's support for the losing candidate. The results for the Colombo central district saw the ex-general winning 78,152 votes to Rajapaksa's 21,821

But in Kotte, off the main road leading to parliament, Kankanthange Siripala Perera, 50, said he voted for Rajapaksa. Wearing a pro-Rajapaksa T-shirt, he said: "Fuel, petrol and oil is expensive now because they spent a lot on the war. So he didn't have the money to develop the country, but after the election he will build up the country and the economy."

In Wellawatta, a predominantly Tamil area, Sellar Yoganathan, 52, who works for an airport pick-up service, said: "Tamil people are not so satisfied with the result. For 30 years we had to face the war. The results coming in show that most of the Tamil areas voted for Sarath Fonseka – Jaffna, Batticaloa, Puttalum etc.

"There's a lack of business opportunities for Tamils in the North. Mahinda told everyone that Jaffna and the north is clear but still the roads are closed and factories are not opening."

Soori Asgaram, a civil engineer who returned to Sri Lanka three months ago after living in Britain for 44 years, thought the result held out the best prospect for a resolution of the Tamil issue that has bedevilled the island for decades.

"Unlike Fonseka, Rajapaksa has not made racist speeches," he said from the northern city of Jaffna. "He has pledged to push for devolution of power to the north and east, and has said that the solution to the national question must have the agreement of all parties."

Fonseka resigned from the army in November after complaining that he was sidelined and wrongly suspected of plotting a coup. Fonseka as army commander led the ruthlesss military offensive against the Tamil Tigers, while Rajapaksa defied international pressure for a ceasefire and criticism over civilian deaths.

Entering the race with the backing of a coalition of opposition parties, Fonseka was Rajapaksa's main rival in a vitriolic election campaign marred by violence. The general accused his former boss of corruption and the president called Fonseka a dictator-in-waiting.

After the polls closed, government officials said they would seek to disqualify Fonseka's candidacy because he was not registered to vote, but the electoral commissioner later said that Fonseka's voting status was irrelevant to his candidacy.

Civil society groups have accused Rajapaksa of misusing state resources – including monopolising coverage on state TV – to bolster his campaign. Other critics have accused him of nepotism – he has two brothers in the government – and of tolerating corruption.

Polling stations in Colombo crowded but areas dominated by Tamil minority show less enthusiasm and blasts hit Jaffna

Sri Lankans crowded polling stations throughout Colombo today to vote in a hard-fought election to decide whether the incumbent president or his former army chief should lead the nation's recovery from a brutal civil war both men helped win.

However, enthusiasm for the poll in Tamil minority areas most affected by the fighting remained light, and early-morning explosions in the northern city of Jaffna were expected to further suppress voting.

Though it has been just eight months since President Mahinda Rajapaksa and retired General Sarath Fonseka led the country to victory in the quarter-century war against the Tamil Tiger rebels, many voters were focused on the stagnant economy.

"Life is difficult, the cost of living is high. We need a change of government to stop corruption," said Pathirannnehelage Priyalal, a 40-year-old businessman in the Colombo suburb of Gampaha who said he voted for Fonseka. "There has been no relief even after the war and if this government remains, even finding food will be difficult."

Rajapaksa, however, still retains strong support for his war victory and rights groups accuse him of misusing state resources – including the state media – to bolster his campaign.

"Mahinda must win," Prijanthi Ovitigala, 42, said minutes before voting in Gampaha. "This freedom is very important more than anything else, no previous political leader could win the war."

Rajapaksa and Fonseka, both considered heroes by the country's Sinhalese majority, have promised to bring development to the country and lead its rebuilding effort from the war. But neither has presented a detailed plan to resolve the underlying ethnic tensions – and the Tamil complaints of marginalisation – that sparked the rebels' separatist insurgency in the first place.

Several explosions were heard in Jaffna, a predominantly ethnic Tamil city, before polls opened at 7am (01.30 GMT). Election monitor Paikiyasothy Saravanamuttu said one blast was a grenade attack on the office of a ruling party organiser.

However, an opposition Tamil politician accused the military of firing artillery shells into the sea to dissuade voting among Tamils, who were expected to lean towards Fonseka.

"I think the government wants to minimise the voting," Suresh Premachandran said.

Military spokesman Brigadier Udaya Nanayakkara denied the military fired artillery.

Meanwhile, unidentified activists distributed leaflets in Jaffna calling for an election boycott, Saravanamuttu said.

The leaflets, signed by a previously unknown group calling itself Tamil Patriots, said the group did not agree with the decision of Tamil political leaders to back Fonseka.

"Our stand has always been that the Tamil people need not vote in an election to choose a president for the Sinhalese state. Our people should not permit the sacrifices of our warriors to go to waste," the group said in the letter.

During the last presidential election in 2005, won by Rajapaksa, the Tamil Tigers enforced a boycott among ethnic Tamils at gunpoint. This year, however, Tamils were expected to vote.

In the multi-ethnic eastern town of Batticaloa, Tamil voters enthusiastically lined up at polling stations, unlike in earlier elections when they feared violence, according to a resident.Polls were to close at 4pm (10.30 GMT), with first results not expected until Wednesday.

Sri Lanka war refugees face uneasy homecoming BATTICALOA, Sri Lanka ? Three years ago, Vairamuttu Bavani left her home in eastern Sri Lanka to attend her cousin’s wedding in the north. She didn’t make it back until September. Trapped by the civil war, Bavani, a Tamil, lost six members of her family and both her legs to a ... Original source on Gaea Times at : Tens of thousands of Sri Lankan war refugees come home to few jobs, ongoing surveillance.

A cyclonic storm "Ward" over the Bay of Bengal was likely to towards the Tamil Nadu coast during the next 48 hours, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said today.

The storm, over south-west and adjoining south-east Bay of Bengal remained practically stationary and lay centred at 1730 hours IST today near 8.50 N latitude and 84.5 E longitude, about 300 km north-east of Batticaloa in Sri Lanka, 550 km south-east of Nagapattinam and 700 km south-south-east of Chennai.

"The system is likely to move in a north-westerly direction towards Tamil Nadu coast during next 48 hours," an IMD bulletin said.

Under its influence, rainfall was likely at many places over coastal Tamil Nadu and Puducherry from tomorrow, with isolated heavy to very heavy falls.

Subsequently, there is likely to be an increase in rainfall activities, with scattered heavy to very heavy falls and isolated extremely heavy falls, over south coastal Tamil Nadu from tomorrow evening onwards, it said.

It said squally winds, with speed reaching 55-65 kmph, gusting to 75 kmph, were likely to commence along and off Tamil Nadu and Puducherry coasts from tomorrow morning.

The sea condition will be very rough to high along and off these coasts, it said, advising fishermen not to venture into the sea in the area.

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