Page 1
"Rising from the ashes the rebuilt aff
with Vida Helgessen and Eric Solheim in T
 

W
Library (above); Govt. and LTTE delegations
ailand for the forth round of peace talks (below)

Page 2
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15 ANUARY 2003
“I do not agree with a word of what you say, but I'll defend to the death your right to say it.”
-Voltaire
Tani
ISSN 0266 - 44 88 Vol. XXIII No. 1 15 JANUARY 2003
Published by: TAMIL TIMES LTD PO Box 121, Sutton, Surrey SM13TD United Kingdom Phone: 020 - 8644 0972 Fax: 020 - 824. 4557
Email: prajan(a)gn.apc.org editor(a)tamiltimes.org adminGltamiltimes.org
Website: http://www.tamilitimes.org
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manuscripts, photographs or artwork.
Talks - A modest progress 03
Jaffna Public Library 04 Talks - Solid progress 05 Talks - Blueprint emerges 06 Normalisation and security O7 Peace Process - Progress 09 Federal framework 14 Peace process - Reality check 16 Young forced to fill ranks 21 LTTE expands network 23 JVP rally against talks 24 Increase in cost of living 27 News Track 30 US closes in on TrinCO 35 Talking Points 36 Classified 38
Peace T
As 'famil lines' enters two decades, Sri Lanka thanks to the Cessation Ongoing peace process. the observance of the ce tions present much hop Though a more substant of peace talks between
just concluded fourth ro sions did not deal with t sion. This may have bee ing controversial issues The split in the Sri Lan Cast a doubt as to who previous rounds of talks a member of the Govers was embroiled in its ow the Peoples Alliance su ance of Muslim Parliame leader Rauf Hakeem frc Government delegation, and unhelpfully, raised The second issue that Curious and Controversi for the import of radio tra who has so far played a eye of the storm. Accu: calls for Jon Westborg's Norwegian Prime Minis Eventually, the issue we the Norwegian Embassy imported pursuant to at poses of advancing the reason to doubt it, One V and openly in this trans tiality became questione involved in matters that The third issue was the that almost threatened internally displaced peo Security Zones (HYZs) Committee on De-esca ties, the Army submittec decommissioning by th The LTTE reacted angri of weapons by the LTT 'defunct'. The dispute b Statements and Comme was this issue that over attendant press confer in this backdrop, what
peace process. They h though modest, signific
areas within and outsid struction Fund'. Human is to be established wit involuntary disappearaf issues in the peace pro The lesson to be learn sues of resettlement W make their efforts to ir Treating these mechar serve to exacerbate th the display of brinkmat
Confined to resettlemer
by both sides accompa
 

TAMILTIMES 3
alks - A Modest Progress
the twenty-second year of its continuous publication, for the first time in and its people have had the fortune of enjoying a year of non-fighting of hostilities between government forces and the Tamil Tigers and the Peace and normalcy may not have returned, but the absence of war and asefire by the parties dedicated to continue to remain engaged in negotia! for optimism. aloutcome was anticipated following the successful previous three rounds he Government and the LTTE, it must be stated that the outcome of the und in Thailand was quite limited. Contrary to expectations, the discusIe political core issues surrounding the conflict or its human rights dimenn not due to a lack of desire on the part of the parties, but certain interventhat cropped up in the period preceding the talks clouded the atmosphere. a Muslim Congress and fractious public infighting between the factions Mould represent the interest of the Muslim people at the talks. During the SLMC leader, Mr Rauf Hakeem, had represented their interests both as ment delegation and as a leader of the Muslim community. As the SLMC n internal crisis, Muslim MPs belonging to the United National Party and h as M.H. Mohamed and A.H.M. Fowzie, speaking on behalf of the Allintarians for Peace, made a request to the Prime Minister to remove SLMC m the negotiating team. Eventually Mr Hakeem went to Thailand as part of where his capacity to represent Muslim interests was, rather incautiously by the LTTE's chief negotiator Mr Anton Balasingham. dominated the media in the weeks preceding the peace talks was the al involvement of the Norwegian Embassy in Colombo as the 'consignee' nsmitting equipment for the LTTE. Norwegian Ambassador Jon Westborg, significant role in the peace process as one of the facilitators, became the sations of Norwegian partiality to the LTTE were accompanied by angry expulsion. Even President Kumaratunga weighed in with a letter to the ter questioning the role of the embassy in the import of the equipment. is somewhat defused with the Prime Minister's intervention who said that had acted at the request of his Government, and that the equipment was application by the LTTE's Peace Secretariat in Kilinochchi for the purpeace process. If the Prime Minister's version were true, and there is no wonders as to why the government itself did not deal with the LTTE directly action without putting the Norwegians into a situation in which their imparld. The Norwegians themselves would have been better advised not to get might lead to their impartiality being questioned. one that became more contentious between the Government and the LTTE oderail the peace process - the demand of the LTTE that resettlement of ple (IDPs) within the areas in Jaffna which have been designated as High in the Ceasefire Agreement. Pursuant to a decision taken by the Sub lation and Normalization (SDN) attended by representatives of both para document to the SLMM and the LTTE in which it proposed a progressive LTTE of its long-range weapons if resettlement of IDPs within the HYZs. y to the linking of the resettlement issue with the issue of decommissioning E and pulled out from attending the meetings of the SDN declaring it as ecame more and more contentious as the media became dominated with ntaries as to the respective merits of each party's case. And eventually it shadowed the entire proceedings of the fourth round of peace talks and the of CeS, s promising is that the parties are resolved to remain engaged within the ave fixing dates for future talks in the coming months and have reached ant decisions, including on the issue of resettlement of displaced people in e HSZs. The World Bank is to be the Custodian of the "North East ReConrights issues are to be discussed at the next round of talks. A mechanism the assistance of the ICRC in respect of persons "Missing in Action' and ces. A Committee with named Members was appointed to address gender Cess with terms of reference to be decided at its first meeting.
from the highly publicised recent disputes, particularly relating to the isithin HSZs and decommissioning of weapons, is that the parties should On Out them within the mechanisms available within the peace process. isms as defunct because of one or more disputes that Crop up will only 2m. Public exchanges employing intemperate or accusatory language or ship are best avoided. Normalisation of ordinary peoples' lives is not just t of displaced people. It also involves a parallel process of demilitarisation nied by a commitment to the non-use of violence.

Page 4
4 TAMILTIMES
REVIVING A LONG LOST TREASU
Jafna Public Lib
The Best in the R
Vimukthi Fernando
Jaffna library rises from humble beginnings. Fruition of the efforts of many philanthropists, it is said that the, large storehouse of knowledge grew from a free library conducted at the house of K. M. Chellappah.
Taking his example, a few intellectuals got the idea of establishing a library and formed a committee to carry out the task. Jaffna library opened at a rented room down Hospital Road, on August 1, 1934 with 844 books and 30 periodicals. It did not take long for the library to grow with the reading material as well as in numbers patronising it. January 1935 saw the library shifting to a more spacious building on Main Street, Jaffna.
In 1936, it was again shifted to a building near Town Hall and subscription and lending of books started. Soon, the demand for a permanent building and modern facilities began to rise and Sam Sabapathy, the first Mayor of Jaffna stood up to the task. Various fund raising campaigns were held and they managed to open the library on the present premises in 1953.
The Children's Section was opened in 1967 and the auditorium was added in 1971. At the time of its burning on June 1, 1981, it had acquired over 97,000 volumes including Dr. Ananda Coomaraswamy and Isaac Thambiah collections, some valuable first editions and ola leaf manuscripts with the history of Jafna.
The best library in the region Again. That's what it is going to be. With the latest state-of-the-art equipment - computers, printers, scanners, colour televisions, internet facilities, micro readers; telephone, air condi
tioning, fire alarm systems. Four insti forward in partnel The Ford Founda UNESCO, Govert and the Municipa The public librar) proud again today giant building of 2 with two wings a Structure.
A phoenix fro Jaffna library, w. point, the symbol Northern capital." Tamil culture' it ever, it became a " that ravaged Sri La decades leaving it with smoke, ridd bullet holes. Two rauding gangs bur ing its wealth of ashes.
More than 97,0 ported lost in the were the ola le wherein the histc penned. Severe w, community in Jafl was the backbone And now, a strengthen and the Government of S LTTE continues t year, there is hop Rebuilding of the l of the larger rebu The citizenry of J mendous spirit. P towards peace and of this hope is fo the future of their Sumathi Ramaswa Foundation. "Kno the free access to
 

15 JANARY 2003
and fire fighting tutions have come ship for the task. tion of USA, the ment of Sri Lanka il Council Jaffna. 7 of Jaffna stands . Painted white, a 7,880 square feet, dded to its main
m the ashes. The as once a pivotal of intellect in the "The repository of was called. Howvictim of the war inka for nearly two s walls blackened en with shell and decades ago, maned it down, turnknowledge into
100 books were reprocess. Priceless af manuscripts, ry of Jaffna was as the blow to the na, for the library of this society.
s peace efforts truce between the ri Lanka and the hrough its second 2 and opportunity. ibrary is only "part ilding of society. affna shows a treeople are positive development. Part r their future, and hildren," says Dr. my from the Ford wledge, especially information, is the
key to rebuilding a society. It plays a vital role in restoring the dignity of people. That is the UNESCO experience," adds Prithiviraj Perera, from UNESCO. Many had been the instances where UNESCO had helped in procuring, and installing libraries in troubled situations an training their staff. "It is vital for intellectual and civic life,” he says.
Back in Colombo from a visit to Jaffna, they are enthusiastic about their project. "A county's strength depends on institutions providing knowledge. They help people to come out of their dependence making them strong and self reliant,” say these experts.
Their plans for the peninsula's intellectual hub include a mobile library which would take the wealth of knowledge to the remote schools. Separate sections for children and disabled persons, an auditorium and an audio visual section. However, their primary concern is whether the ground situation would allow this to happen. Discussions are under way with the government to help get connectivity, to empower people with the internet, the global information sharing system.
This will help the average citizen to learn and use the internet. The aim is to make the library the centre of knowledge for the general citizenry, which is outside the university.
Sustainability is assured through technical support programmes, training for library staff and technicians, networking with other libraries.
A small fee is proposed to be charged for library services, for maintenance purposes. A Ford Foundation grant of US $200,000 goes in to the project through UNESCO, its implementing agency,
More projects are to begin in the near future in the peninsula though UNESCO’s cultural and communication arms. Preserving the heritage of selected ports, fortresses, kovils and temples in North an East, human rights and peace education, a peace radio station, an a media training institute are some of the future plans in the offing. O

Page 5
15 JANUARY 2003
PEACE TALKS - FOURTHRC
Solid progress despite a
Following the conclusion of the fourth round of peace talks in Thailand, the Norweigian government said in a statement that four days of peace talks
between the government and the LTTE
were frank and constructive with both parties agreeing to sustain the peace process even when difficult issues arose. It said that despite disagreement on issues relating to high security zones, the parties had agreed on an urgentaction pian for the resettlement of hundreds of thousands of people in the Jaffna district.
Following is the text of the statement issued by the Norwegian government:
The Government and the LTTE held the fourth session of peace talks at the Rose Garden in Thailand 6-9 January 2003.
Deliberations were conducted in a frank and constructive atmosphere, with both parties demonstrating their conviction that the peace process must be sustained even when difficult issues are addressed.
The main focus of the parties was on the need to ensure implementation of urgent humanitarian priorities. It was strongly emphasized that the significant political breakthrough made at the third session of talks in Oslo in December 2002, at which the basic principles for a political settlement were outlined, will be sustained through continued discussions on political matters. At the same time, political progress must be underpinned by tangible improvements in the daily lives of people. To this end, there is a need for more effective implementation by the parties as well as the speedy provision of funds by donor governments.
The parties recognized that the situation with regard to the High Security Zones involves major humanitarian and security concerns for both parties. Recent controversies surrounding this
matter were discus parties did not reach continuation of the Committee on De-E malization (SDN).
Notwithstanding on this particular iss phasized the need settling the hundrec displaced persons. ' parties agreed on a an Accelerated R gramme for the Jaff clear majority of res late to areas outside Zones, the first phas will focus on such a The plan sets out and corresponding ( A preliminary pi to be completed by
The formulation mendations and ider tial implementing a ruary 2003
The identificati sources from appro January 2003.
A plan to release used by the Security nal owners or intena submitted by 31 Jar
Members of the Immediate Humanit tation Needs (SIH both the GOSL an meet with the Uni Commissioner for R shortly to discuss UN in effectuating this lar needs ofthe displ lation will be dulyac resettlement proces The second ph Plan will focus on r and refugees in are Security Zones, as released by the Sec settlement. For this

AMILTIMES5
DUND ispute”
sed in depth. The agreement on the work of the Subscalation and Nor
the disagreement ue, the parties emor progress in rels of thousands of To this effect, the n "Action Plan for esettlement Prona District”. As the ettlement cases rethe High Security of the Action Plan
TCS. four specific tasks eadlines: hysical assessment 7 February 2003
of project recomtification of potengencies by 14 Feb
on of available repriate funds by 20
premises presently Forces to the origiled purposes, to be ruary 2003. Sub-Committee for arian and RehabiliRN), representing ld the LTTE, will ted Nations High efugees (UNHCR) NHCR participation plan. The particuaced Muslim popuccommodated in the
S. ase of the Action settlement of IDPs as within the High and when they are urity Forces for repurpose, the GOSL
will carry out a review with the assistance of an internationally recognized military expert, taking into account relevant humanitarian and security needs. Following the strong political and financial support pledged by the international community at the Sri Lanka Support Meeting held on Oslo on 25 November 2002, the parties stressed the need for moving from planning to implementation of humanitarian and rehabilitation programmes. The rapidestablishment of the North East Ricconstruction Fund (NERF) will be decisive for the specdy disbursement of international assistance. The partics welcomed a decision by the Sub-Committee on Immediate Humanitarian and Rehabilitation Needs (SIHRN) to select the World Bank as the custodian of the NERF. Furthermore, the partics confirmed the SIHRN as the prime decision-making body for mecting immediate humanitarian and rehabilitation needs in the north and cast. The GOSL in particular undertook to ensure that
r the respective roles of government in
stitutions engaged in the north and cast are properly clarified and co-ordinated with the SHRN.
In line with the agreement on basic principles for a political settlement, in which a number of issues werc idcntified for discussion, the parties will commence a process for discussion of human rights issues. Human rights will constitute an important element of a Final Declaration. As first steps in furthering human rights issues in the process, the parties agreed on the following:
A schedule on human rights issues will be worked out following discussions at the next session of peace talks. For this purpose, the assistance of the agreed human rights adviser to the parties will be sought.
An independent verification mechanism will be established for persons Missing in Action (MIA) and Involuntary disappearances, with the assistance of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).
As a means to reinforce respect for the provisions, of the Ceasefire Agreement, monthly meetings will be held between the GOSL, the LTTE and the

Page 6
6 TAMILTIMES
Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) in order to discuss issues arising from the regular SLMM summary of total recorded complaints and violations of the Ceasefire Agreement. Mr. Fernando (GOSL) and Mr. Karuna (LTTE) will be responsible for organizing these meetings and will report on progress made and any outstanding problems at each session of the peace talks.
The government expressed serious concerns related to the recent incident involving transportation of prisoners through Vanni. The LTTE gave assurances that the case will be examined and that appropriate action will be taken as a matter of urgency. More generally, the parties agreed to ask the facilitator to propose procedures to ensure rapid corrective action by the parties in cases of incidents that are or can be perceived as disrupting the peace process.
Following an agreement made at the third session of talks, a committee was established to ensure the effective inclusion of gender issues in the peace process. The terms of reference for the committee will be formulated by he members at their first meeting. The committee will be facilitated by the Royal Norwegian Government, which will seek to provide a senior Norwegian resource person and necessary financial resources. The committee will consist of the following five representatives of each party.
LTTE - Ms. Sivahimi Subramaniyam, Ms. Renuga Senmugaraja, Ms. Mathimalar Balasingham, Ms. Sridevy Sinnathampi, Ms. Vasanthapireminy Samasundaram.
GOSL - Dr. Kumari Jayawardena, Dr. Deepika Udagama, Ms. Kumuduni Samuel, Ms. Faizoon Zakariya, Dr. Fazeela Riyas.
The parties agreed that a Muslims delegation will be invited to the pace talks at an appropriate time for deliberations on relevant substantive political issues.
The parties confirmed that subsequent sessions of peace talks will take place on 7 - 10 February and 18 - 21 March 2003. The parties also agreed that additional sessions will be held on 29 April - 2 May, as well as at an appropriate time in June to be determined once dates for the International Donor Conference in Japan are established. O
Nakhon Pathom 10 - In the agreeme the just-concluded r npeace talks here, t out the route they w the political minefic For starters, the seeking an immedia plosive issues, part could destroy the st process between ( Tamil Tiger rebels.
But this does not from politically s Rather, the two side; ing to soldier on by that will, in the ent ring parties.
This was how th came the first major concluded talks - as views between a Si commander and the the resettlement of lands under military Lanka's north.
It arose after t mander suggested t Tigers of Tamil Eel rebels are known, s decommission its he north before Tamil c ted back to their hor During this fou which ran from Jar pulled out of a spel up in the war-ravage discuss the sensitive escalation and norm lt marked the fir the negotiations sir Colombo began the Thai naval base in Si The rebels declared tee was redundant members was the m who wanted resettl Tigers giving up th
 

15 ANUARY 2003
Marwaan Macan-Markar
Thailand, January nts reached during pund of Sri Lankahe negotiators laid ish to use to cross lds that lie ahead. y prefer to avoid te remedy for excularly those that ill fledgling peace olombo and the
mean shying away ensitive matters. sappear to be will
seeking solutions l, satisfy the war
enegotiators overobstacle at the just sharp difference of 'i Lankan military Tamil Tigers over Tamil civilians in ' occupation in Sri
he military comhat the Liberation am (LTTE), as the hould disarm and avy weapons in the ivilians are permit
ՈՅS. th round of talks, . 6-10, the LTTE cial committee set d island's north to issues such as dealisation. st major setback to ce the LTTE and ir peace talks at a ptember last year. that this commitsince among its litary commander ement tied to the
•ir weapons, Nev
ertheless, this act of protest did not result in the collapse of the talks.
On the contrary, the LTTE agreed to Colombo's proposal to speed up resettlement in areas beyond the disputed territory and, further, to seek the views of an Indian military expert on striking a balance between humanitarian and security needs.
After this compromise was reached, Anton Balasingham, the LTTE's chief negotiator, said: "The peace talks are going on very well. There is no crisis." A similar pattern emerges in the way the negotiators tiptoed around another sensitive subject - the political concerns of Sri Lanka's Muslim minority - during the talks at a resort here some 32 kilometres west of Bangkok.
The LTTE has maintained that the negotiations had no room for direct talks between the rebels and a Muslim delegation. The government, though, has included a Muslim member on its delegation.
The Muslims are Sri Lanka's second largest minority, making up seven percent of the country's 19.6 million people. The Tamils make up 18 percent of the population and the majority Sinhalese, 74 percent. The Tigers' resistance to talking to the Muslims did not prevent the fourth round of talks from ending with a statement where Muslim issues received mention for the first time.
“The particular needs of the displaced Muslim population will be duly accommodated in the resettlement process,' the statement said.
It added later on that the current negotiators, who are perceived as representing the Sri Lankan government - hence the country's Sinhalese majority - and the Tamil minority, have agreed to invite a Muslim delegation in the future to discuss pressing political issues.

Page 7
15 ANARY 2003
The LTTE's reluctance to permit a Muslim delegation at the talks stems from a tense relationship between the rebels and the Muslim community in Sri Lanka's north and eastern province, the region where the LTTE has been waging a war to carve out the separate state of Tamil Eelam.
Currently, there are over 70,000 Muslims from Sri Lanka's north seeking to be resettled in their homes after they were driven out at gunpoint by the LTTE in 1990.
Over 64,000 people have been killed during this almost two-decade long conflict.
This approach to negotiations - not evading the sensitive issues completely, but finding a way around them or expressing willingness to take them up in the future - was not lost on officials from Norway, who are facilitating this peace process.
In particular, the government and Tiger rebels agreed to stay on course with the talks despite the troubling issues remaining unresolved.
Vidar Helgesen, Norway's deputy foreign minister said, "History is in the making, and that requires hard work, and the parties have displayed a lot of hard work in a constructive manner in this meeting."
This attitude will be tested in the forthcoming rounds of talks, now that Colombo and the LTTE have agreed to take up human rights concerns during the peace process.
The development agenda for the war-ravaged north and east, ranging from infrastructure needs such as rebuilding roads to rebuilding hospitals and schools, is also another political minefield the negotiators will have to face.
Yet, if the language emerging from this pivotal round of talks is an indicator, both warring parties appear willing to stay engaged and talk, and not shy away from difficult issues.
It is a view reflected in a plea made in the final statement from the latest talks. The negotiators wanted the Norwegians to create a mechanism to "ensure rapid corrective action by the parties in case of incidents that are or can be perceived as disrupting the peace process.“ (IPS)
NOrr and
tOW,
An unrealistic opment should not could undermine t
In order to bui simply dismantling for cultivation wil ment Forces. The disturbing that ba,
Representative is vital if they are in this context sho
"Normalisatio the building of Ped tion of the level of ing to a friendly r security, but one in
Positive Develop of the Year 2002
One year has p fell silent in Sri La different from the up the last two dec year people have and begun to builc stopped creating started solving pr have stopped hur started trying to ul and live for each stopped asking it again and started can be made bette being removed anc ing of increased sa During the last ye Sri Lanka has inc ment of Sri Lank ship and all the p have started to ex peace. Democra Schooling for the proved. Security dom has increase society has clearly the new Sri Lanka Sri Lanka has bec

AES
malization, security | gradual changes ards a new Lanka
Teitur Torkelsson, SLLM
normalisation programme in the name of progress and develbe allowed to come into force at the expense of security, as this he building of permanent peace. ld peace the forces on both sides must be kept stable. In Jaffna, High Security Zones for resettlement and handing over land l decrease both security and combat potential of the Governbalance of forces is the basis of the Ceasefire agreement and ance is disturbing the Ceasefire. s of the LTTE have stated that maintaining their military strength o be successful in their negotiations. What applies to the LTT uld also apply for the Government. n and de-escalation are two concepts now guiding the way in ice in Sri Lanka. As SLMM defines De-escalation it is a reducintensity of the conflict. Normalisation is the process of returnelationship without violence. People want normalisation and
aust not undermine the other,
ments
assed since the guns nka. How is this year years that have made ades? During the last stopped waging war peace, people have problems and have oblems, and people ting each other and nderstand each other other. People have f the war will start asking how society r. Fear and distrust is | replaced with a feelfety and confidence. ar, the value of life in reased. The Governa, the LTTE leadereople in the country perience the value of cy is developing. population has imhas increased. Freed. The international shown it cares about and at the same time ome a part of the in
ternational community. These are dramatic changes and the speed of the developmentis even stillincreasing. People want more freedom, better living standards, more safety anda more stable political environment. To safeguard such developments they need a modern well-trained police force they can rely on for maintaining law and order.
Extremists, criminal organizations and other threats
Although the war has ended, some of the problems are still military in nature. However, the real threat to the new Sri Lanka now comes from the activities of extremists and criminal organisations. Those are the elements which are undermining the building of peace. All people in Sri Lanka must work together with the Government and the LTTE leadership, to protect society against these elements. Human rights violations are a destabilizing factor. Child recruitment, abductions and extortions are still a part of life in the North and East, according to complaints that SLMM is receiving. This is not the reality people like to live in and individual cadres must be active in

Page 8
8 TAMILTIMES
supporting the LTTE leadership in stopping these activities in their areas. In the same way Government servants must support the Government in improving and strengthening its institutions and eradicating corruption. Democracy must be developed in the North and East as attacks on political groups cannot be tolerated. Certain groups and individuals will continue to commit crimes and hide themselves behind the main parties that are working on solving the conflict. This is dangerous as it will be used by extremists to undermine the building of peace. The changes in the country are however clearly for the better. Never since the beginning of its monitoring has SLMM received as few complaints as during the month of November. Ceasefire violations of LTTE during November were at a historical low and for the first time, not a single case was ruled as a violation of the Government side. Among the reasons identified by SLMM is the progress in the peace talks and the increased dialogue and cooperation between the parties at all levels. Especially encouraging has been the problem solving spirit experienced in a series of important District meetings on De-escalation and Normalization chaired and facilitated by SLMM during November.
Changes of SLMM and the importance of information
SLMM has been monitoring, facilitating and advising the parties in the peace process during the last year and has on occasions bordered on exceeding its mandate. Nevertheless, voices recommending increased powers for SLMM can regularly be heard from both parties and members of the public. Undergoing changes of SLMM depend on the decisions and agreements of the Government of Sri Lanka and the LTTE. SLMM will do its utmost to inform the Government, the LTTE leadership and the public on what it sees, hears and believes. SLMM will strive to maintain its impartiality and credibility. There is increased need for both parties of the conflict to inform the members of their own forces as well as the general public on the developments. They must explain what they are doing
and define all these ne cepts that might sounc dangerous for some. TI encourage the people accept gradual and co The importance and
the Media is much m of war. But it is not e Accusations must bes and arguments. The r includes in depth rep nations, good judgen criticism on the cours
High Security Zones resettlement and sec Resettlement in Zones has received in in the last quarter of th discussion is not only| tarian concerns, but a torial concerns. Norm escalation are two col ing the way in the bui Sri Lanka. As SLMM calation it is a reducti intensity of the conflic is the process ofretur relationship without want normalization one must not undermi resentatives of the L that maintaining their is vital if they are to their negotiations. W LTTE in this context for the Government. T peace argument is th normalization goes t curity, while both re military balance. In ol the forces on both si stable. In Jaffna, sir High Security Zones and handing over la will decrease both se potential of the Govel balance of forces is Ceasefire agreement balance is disturbing unrealistic normaliza the name of progress should not be allow force at the expense could undermine thi manent peace. It is t further implementati agreement is linked

15 JANUARY 2003
y words and condifficult or even he parties should o be patient and trolled changes. esponsibility of bre than in times hough to accuse, upported by facts ole of the media rting and explaent and healthy e of events.
9 urity
High Security creased attention e year 2002. This pased on humanilso reflects terrialization and Dencepts now guidlding of Peace in M defines De-eson of the level of ct. Normalization ning to a friendly violence. People and security, but ne the other. RepTTE have stated military strength be successful in hat applies to the should also apply he paradox in the at the priority of efore that of sest on the present der tobuild peace des must be kept nply dismantling for resettlement ld for cultivation :urity and combat nment forces. The the basis of the nd disturbing that the Ceasefire. An ion programme in and development ed to come into if security, as this building of pererefore clear that in of the Ceasefire to the harmoniz
ing of normalization and security. It is in this context that a modern civilian police is imperative.
Realism and the new Sri Lanka
There will always be difficulties and different views on the future. The new Sri Lanka has chosen to solve internal differences through dialogue and not confrontation. The Cease-fire agreement will continue to be the basis of the harmonizing of mutual interests. Different groups in the conflict should recognize that their individual interests not only can, but must be harmonized. In simple words, that means that all people should practices justice towards each other in their daily life. After a long period of stagnation and destructure we are now experiencing the initial phase of a country and society in transformation. Sri Lanka has entered a new era. The new Sri Lanka is no longer stuck in the vicious circle of war which has halted development for decades. These are times for changing and modernizing society. Sri Lanka has become a part of the development of the international community. This era will not end, it is not limited to a period of time, it is a birth of a new society. Do not expect great leaps of change without effort. Too rapid changes should be avoided as stability and predictability are the two most important ingredients in security. Expect gradual changes with the direct involvement of each and every one of you. For a society to change, every person of that society has to change his or her behaviour, attitudes and expectations. The time has come when there will be more to lose from using force than from protecting the gains. The time has come to protect what you have gained during the last year. Each person has to share the responsibility for change. To share the responsibility with the Government and the LTTE leadership to form the new Sri Lanka. It is my belief that when history will look at the last twenty years in Sri Lanka, the year of 2002 will be considered to have been the best.
I wish all of us a peaceful and prosperous New Year. O
(The writer is the spokesman for the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission)

Page 9
15 JANUARY 2003
THE PEACE PROCESS: PR SOFAR AND CHALLENGE
Statement issued by Paul Caspersz, Kumar David, Rajan Philips, Vijaya Kumar, Marshal Fernando, Lalith Abeysinghe, Kogilavardani, Menaka Philips, Mahinda Ratnayake, Suhadini Wickremasinghe and Ranjith Wijeysinghe.
Twenty five years ago, a few of us in this group of writers and many others horrified by the riots of 1977 came together in founding the Movement for Inter-racial Justice and Equality (MIRJE). Two years later, in 1979, three of us in this group along with three others went on a fact finding visit from Kandy to Jaffna after it was placed under Emergency Rule by President Jayewardene. Our purpose was to carry out a civilian investigation of the abduction and killing of six young men by the security forces. Those killings did not "wipe out the menace of terrorism', as decreed by the then President, but they did "let slip the dogs of war' all over the land. Twenty three years and over sixty thousand lives later, this group of writers took advantage of the ceasefire conditions and made separate trips from Kandy to Batticaloa, the Vanni and Jaffna.
On the way to Jaffna, we had to pass through two check points, not more than a mile apart, in Omanthai, north of Vavuniya. The two checkpoints, one under the Army and the other under LTTE control, and the respective bureaucracies sharply symbolized the reality of two polities, if not two states, north and south of Omanthai. Writing for the group after the Jaffna trip, Paul Caspersz posed the question: "Is our task then not to prevent separation but to bring back into the former unity the two separated parts?' It was a spontaneous question from the heart, at the end of a journey of commitment, and firmly founded on the premise of justice and equality for all Lankans. The question also provides a positive framework to critically assess the peace process: its progress so far and the challenges ahead. Contrast this to comments by the mostly unfriendly critics of the peace process, who, while being conveniently blind to the disintegration of
the island's polity 50 years, portray forts not as a pro but as the path to illusions of unity. "When will th be held, and will were questions we that we were asked we spent in Jaffna of 2002. The ans been encouragin; peace negotiation the UNF governm two in Thailand a from September to The fourth round cluded in Thailan have been success both the previous forts and contemp other countries. round, three Sub-C tablished to addre and Rehabilitation and East; (b) Demalization; and ( including constitut and administrativ clusion of the thi Oslo, came the mi ment that the Sri and the LTTE agr lution founded or ternal self-determi torical habitation ing peoples, base ture within a unite "the solution has t communities.' T agreed on the sett mittee on Wome issues in the peac shifted, in the fou the humanitarian a and the parties progress must be gible improveme of the people”. TI the somewhat ov over rehabilitatio rity Zones (HSZ)
In support of th We do not ag

AMEL TIMES 9
DGRESS AHEAD
over the last 20 to he current peace ef. ess of reintegration paration from their
: peace negotiations hey be successful?" asked ourselves and during the four days from 16 to 20 July vers since then have . Three rounds of were held between ent and the LTTE - nd one in Norway - December in 2002. has just been cond. The negotiations ful in comparison to Sri Lankan peace eforary experiences in After the second Committees were esss (a) Humanitarian Needs in the North escalation and Norc) Political Matters ional, legal, political e issues. At the conrd round of talks in DmentOuS announceLankan Government eed “to explore a sothe principle of innation in areas of hisof the Tamil-speakon a federal struci Sri Lanka', and that o be acceptable to all he third round also ng up ofa Sub-Comto address "gender process'. The focus rth round of talks, to spects of the conflict, oted that "political underpinned by tanits in the daily lives e talks also survived rblown controversy l and the High Secuin Jaffna.
peace process ree with the inveter
ate skeptics that the peace talks are a smoke screen for the LTTE's preparations for the next offensive in its relentless march towards Eelam. On the contrary, the peace talks are subjecting the LTTE to national and international constraints and commitments as it has never experienced since its inception. The next “Eelam War” can only be prevented by strengthening and institutionalizing these constraints; prophesying the war, on the other hand, will directly contribute to its self-fulfilment.
One of the friendly criticisms of the peace process is that the process is monopolised by the UNF government, the LTTE, and their immediate supporters. This has led to feelings of exclusion in the South and among the Muslims, and the fear of a “totalitarian peace' becoming the lot of thc Tamils in the LTTE-dominated areas in thc North and East. To learn from previous experience, an exclusive UNFLTTE agreement, however grand and comprehensive, will not cut muster without a broader consensus involving other players and the people at large. But these concerns will have to bc addressed by critically supporting, consolidating and expanding the current process to make it inclusive and accountable, and not by vexatiously opposing and undermining it.
The People's Choice
Contrary to the professions by post1983 Sri Lankan governments, and the assertions of the LTTE and other Tamil militant groups, war was never the choice of the people, Sinhalese or Tamil. The biggest story of 2002 is that ordinary, subaltern Sri Lankans in their millions - Sinhalese, Tamils and Muslims, have been able to emphatically demonstrate that peace is their only choice. It is the responsibility of all Sri Lankans to ensure that our political leaders do not betray this unambiguous choice of the people.
It is worth noting that unlike the conflicts in Israel-Palestine, Northern Ireland, Kashmir etc., where neighbours fight neighbours politically and socially, the social relationship between the Sinhalese, the Tamils and the Muslims, never deteriorated to the same extent as their political relationship. Indeed, the leader of the LTTE Jaffna Branch told our group that the social relationship between the communities

Page 10
10 AML T4MES
remained positively cordial even during the war. In Jaffna, we saw Sri Lankan government soldiers going about in bicycles, very different from the days when tanks and armoured cars terrorized unarmed civilians. In Kayts, we were told that the LTTE cadres sometime undertake the delivery of meal parcels to soldiers at isolated army checkpoints.
The people in the South have witnessed and experienced the effects of the war for years on end. The destruction of public property, the stealthy shadow of the suicide bomber, the arrival of body bags at Ratmalana, the village funerals of dead soldiers, and the social ubiquity of maimed war returnees - these have been the stock experiences of the Sinhalese in the South. Who in their right minds, except those who demonically profited from the war and others who unconscionably invoke the doctrine of just war', would wish to return to those horrible days? The Sinhalese voters have endorsed the peace efforts in election after election every time the question was put to them beginning in 1994. They have also celebrated the current ceasefire by thronging the traditional Vesak and Perahara ceremonies, by congregating hugely in Madhu in LTTE-controlled Vanni, and by their incessant pilgrimages to the Naga Vihare and the Naga Dipa in Jaffna.
Our visits to Jaffna, the Vanni and Batticaloa have shown us the even more devastating war experiences of the Tamils and Muslims in those areas. Their fervent hope is not so much for peace in full regalia as it is for the current ceasefire to continue whether or not an agreement is reached. We saw not only how these areas have become 'separate' from the rest of Sri Lanka, but also how they were "separate' from each other. The LTTE Police Stations and Courts in the Vanni area are not the cause of this separation but its symptoms. More damaging is the destruction of the infrastructure linkages - roads, railways and electricity transmission, between the Northern and Eastern Provinces and the rest of the country.
The key sectors of Jaffna's economy - farming, fishing and commerce, are isolated and atrophied. Tens of thousands of farmers have been affected by the reckless landmining of
their farmlands. A 1,000 fisher house sula, who once su country’s fish req internal refugees a sea. For over ten ye government has bi fishing by Lankan security reasons, w to stop Indian traw Lankan waters. Afte tricity was restorec 2002, while the fin of kerosine and pet rived in Jaffna in 400,000 of the (preple of the Jaffna Pen within Jaffna and Vanni. The size an ternally displaced' international visito with human traged world.
Displaced and ple of Jaffna made statement for peac tral when the LTT Lankan army to r 2000. Even now th be left alone. What individual or group LTTE for all but declared goal. In ea act would have bec and the price of b the simple loss of a to the ultimate pric LTTE itself was a ing out capital pu ceived betrayals.
War is a Continua Politics is the Con
While peace be tial choice of the pi alities, military ex national developn force the UNF go LTTE to leave the negotiating table. sequences of the 's LTTE territories country exposed th separate state ar LTTE's commitme evident from the til insisting on having sage between its 'te of the country. The erbated the differer the Vanni and the E

15 JANUARY 2003
bout 6,000 of the
holds in the Peninpplied 30% of the uirement, are now nd cut off from the ars, the Sri Lankan een banning ocean famil fishermen for hile doing nothing vlers fishing in Sri rseveral years elecin Jaffna in April st overland supply trol in ten years arJuly 2002. Nearly 1995) 900,000 peoinsula are displaced on the tracts of the d misery of the "in
has shocked even rs who are familiar ies elsewhere in the
devastated the peothe most eloquent e by standing neuTE took on the Sri ecapture Jaffna in ney simply want to t is more, no Tamil has condemned the turning back on its arlier times, such an 2n called a betrayal etrayal varied from Parliamentary seat e of one's life. The past master in metInishment for per
tion of Politics, but clusion of the War :came the experieneople, economic reperiences and internents combined to overnment and the battleground for the The economic conseparation between and the rest of the e non-viability of a ld challenged the nt to it. This became me the LTTE began points of free pasarritory' and the rest war has also exaclces between Jaffna, astern Province, and
there is no uniform solution to the challenges and issues facing the peoples of these areas - not only the Muslims and the Sinhalese in the Eastern Province but also the Tamils in the three areas.
Militarily, while battles were won and lost the war was proving to be unwinnable for either side. The LTTE inflicted crushing defeats on the army in the year 2000, including the capture of the Elephant Pass, but the army was able to hold on to Jaffna despite the LTTE throwing everything it had into what it thought would be the final battle against the army. Baulked ofavictory in Jaffna, the LTTE hit back by attacking the Katunayake International Airport, in August 2001. The economic meltdown and the business panic that followed were the last straw to force the new UNF government to abandon the military approach and pursue the negotiation option.
On the international front, the implications of September 11 for Sri Lanka and the LTTE have been mixed. If nothing else, it finally confirmed to the LTTE the virtual impossibility of securing international recognition for a separate state in Sri Lanka. However, while declaring war on international terrorism and outlawing LTTE operations in their own countries which restricted LTTE's financing operations in the West, the Western governments came to recognize the LTTE as a necessary party to any settlement in Sri Lanka. There are a number of reasons for this apparent "double standard'. Despite its far reaching tentacles among the Tamil diaspora, the LTTE's operations have never posed a threat to the West in the way international militant Islamic movements are perceived to threaten the West. Like in Northern Ireland, Islam is not a factor in the Sri Lankan conflict, and Sri Lanka is the one instance where religion is not an issue in the conflict. Lastly, although Sri Lanka is one of the world's long standing conflictareas, it has no potential for escalating into an international or even regional crisis, unlike the Middle East, or Kashmir.
Those who insist that the UNF government should have exploited the postSeptember situation to defeat the LTTE with external help, also refuse to realize that the so called war on terrorism has either been unsuccessful in resolving or simply exacerbated the conflicts

Page 11
15 JANUARY 2003
in Afghanistan, the Middle East, Chechnya and Kashmir. New flashpoints are threatening in Indonesia, the Philippines, North Korea and even parts of Africa. Even in Northern Ireland, where September 11 contributed to the IRA's decision to decommission its arms three and a half years after the Good Friday Agreement of 1999, new political roadblocks are stalling the peace process.
Prime Minister Rani Wickremasinghe has been criticized for allegedly compromising national sovereignty by getting Norway and other governments involved in the peace process. The fact, however, is that it was President Kumaratunga who started the current foreign involvement - albeit for proscribing and talking to the LTTE at the same time, and the same critics did not spare her at that time. The real question is that if it is alright for Sri Lankan sovereignty to get Western help to make war with the LTTE, why then it is not alright to get the West to mediate peace with the LTTE and insure that the LTTE will not revert to fighting again. The principal players
One of the main arguments against the current peace process is that it has
been used to polit LTTE. Given its tinuing, although fractions, the LT est oftargets for v in the context of that Sri Lankan emmeshed in ov. there are few arol and that includes: bour, the postCatholic Bishop LTTE press conf “he (Prabaharan morse, but neithe The state and the worthy, even if no if the current pea anywhere they a on their transforn world struggling conflicts, the gro of insisting on "a tooth for a tooth' nesty based on ac bility.
In many respé LTTE peace pro of the initiatives c In fact, it was the
nationwide
1 O Year
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TAM TIMES 11
cally rehabilitate the yast record and conhighly reduced, inE is one of the easirbal castigation. But the vicious violence politics had become r the last 20 years, nd with clean hands, ri Lanka's big neighehru India. As the f Jaffna said after the rence in April, 2001:
did not express rehas the government". TTE are both blametequally in 'law', but ce efforts are to lead ld others have to tap native potentials. In a Io resolve its political wing ethos is not one n eye for an eye and a , but a culture of amceptance of responsi
:cts, the current UNPcess is a continuation of the PA government. PA government that
brought about a paradigm shift in Sinhalese political thinking in regard to the national question. Chandrika Kumaratunga deserves all the credit for being the first Sinhalese state leader, as President or Prime Minister, to admit that the Sri Lankan state had failed in the task of genuine National unification and to articulate constitutional changes to redress that failure. This will be her historical legacy even though her ill-advised military misadventures and her inability to reach consensus across party lines in Colombo ultimately thwarted her constitutional efforts and brought down her government in the 2001 Parliamentary election. The Norwegian route to the LTTE was also opened by her, despite her failed attempt to negotiate with the LTTE in 1994/95, and despite being the target of a failed LTTE assassination attempt in 1999. She also initiated thc rehabilitation program in Jaffna with the EPDP as her Tamil political ally.
According to a number of sources, the EPDP's involvement in the rchabilitation work in Jaffna, with access to state resources, was an important consideration in the LTTE's dccision
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Page 12
12 TAM TIMES
to pursue a 'counter-partnership' with the UNP. The LTTE found a willing partner in Ranil Wickremasinghe, who would seem to have chosen to bet his political career on a deal with the LTTE when he and the defeated UNP were opportunistically abandoned by all Tamil parliamentarians for the new PA government in 1994. The UNP and the LTTE got their chance to strike a peace deal when Ranil Wickremasinghe was elected Prime Minister in the 2001 December election. Whatever might have been his subjective intentions, the objective results of his peace initiative are proving to be beneficial to the country. The young members of his team have brought a new generational freshness and a conciliatory approach to an old and vexed problem which had often been complicated in the past by personal prejudices and egotistical intransigence. Their new approach appears to be resonating well with most of the people. Without the fear of war and insecurity the natural openness and conviviality of the Sri Lankan people are resurfacing.
On the negative side, President Kumaratunga has been taking a tantalizing approach to the peace process. Her formal statements support the peace process, but her habitual indiscretions and the actions of her main advisors and her brother, Anura Bandaranaike are clearly aimed at undermining the peace efforts. The LSSP and the CP have dissociated themselves from the statements and protestations of Sarath Amunugama and Lakshman Kadirgamar, and the SLFP leadership's growing closeness to the JVP despite its overt opposition to the peace process. Although, the People's Alliance might have run its course, the UNP and the LTTE should reach out to those sections of the PA - sections of the SLFP, the Left Parties, the NGOs and a large number of dedicated individuals, who are supportive of the peace efforts even though they are not included in the process.
History will repeat itself more tragically if the UNP and the LTTE do not broaden the support for the process, and at least try hard enough to secure the support of President Kumaratunga and the Sinhala constituency she currently represents. A rather disappointing feature of the peace process so far has been the government's lack of effort to reach
out to the Sinhala peo constantly informed process. The governn ize that its ultimate co country's people and in Colombo.
In the North and E only has to appear to also has to change for been justifiable conc the LTTE's continuit its political oppone1 taxation practices, a human rights includin of children as soldier argue that these viola failure of the peace p resent only a failure fulfill its new obligati the peace process is time there is a forum issues and to put pres: to stop its violations
The LTTE's newl cal process and the ni national limelight it is certainly conducive, i to the LTTE saying t the right time and in th its words have to be r at places where the Northern and Eastern the Tamil people, wh represent, and in a ma harm the welfare of Sinhalese living in the stances and the force ( the LTTE the "sole r the Tamil people at th extent 'internal selfpolitical theory mean democracy based on the LTTE should real 'sole representation' fair elections would with even the elemer
mocracy.
We would hopet will emphasize not nation but also co-de cially in regard to d of the peoples of the Muslim representati currently provided Muslim Congress a ernment delegation, agreement between SLMC to work toge addressing the speci local communities.

15 ANUARY 2003
le and keep them of the unfolding ent should realInstituents are the lot the diplomats
st, the LTTE not be changing but real. There have rns raised about gharassment of „ts, uneconomic hd violations of g the recruitment s. It is absurd to Lions constitute a ocess. They repof the LTTE to ons. The merit of that for the first for raising these sure on the LTTE of human rights.
ness to the politiational and internow enjoying are fnot compulsive, he right words at he right place. But matched by deeds y matter, in the Provinces, among om they claim to nner that does not the Muslim and se areas. Circumfarms have made presentatives” of e talks. But to the determination' in s consolidation of individual rights, ze that ultimately without free and be inconsistent tary norms of de
at the future talks inly self-determitermination espesaling with issues Eastern Province. an at the talks is y the Sri Lanka
part of the govnd there has been he LTTE and the her in the East in ic concerns of the
The challenges ahead
A common feature in all previous attempts at resolving the Tamil national duestion, from the celebrated Bandaranaike-Chelvanayakam Pact to the overdrafted Kumaratunga Constitution, has been the emphasis on reaching a grand conclusion in the form of legalistic agreements, legislative changes, or a comprehensive constitutional solution. Invariably, these end products became the targets of immediate political opposition and were either not fully implemented (e.g. the 13th Amendment) or abandoned. There was no emphasis on incremental steps, developing a normative consensus and inclusive participation, and a process that would continue notwithstanding government change. Until the 1970s, the fundamentals of the State were in place and the agreements, if successful, would have stemmed its slide into ethnic majoritarianism. At the present time, with the State disintegrated in some parts and dysfunctional for the most part, incremental reintegration and rebuilding, and inclusive participation are necessary conditions for success.
Although the four rounds of peace talks held so far have gone well, the talks appear to be taking on a globetrotting momentum with the risk of being isolated from the issues on the ground. The people are not expecting a grand resolution of the so called "core issues' but tangible improvements in the economic conditions of all Sri Lankans in general, and the restoration of normalcy in the war affected areas. Without evidence of change cynicism and disenchantment will grow in the South, while frustration and despair will engulf the peoples of the North and East. A compelling experience of change can come through opportunities to participate in the rebuilding and restorative activities. While it is impossible to ensure participation by everyone and in large numbers, the opportunities for participation should not be restricted to UNP and LTTE supporters and cadres.
The participation at the talks has been limited to UNP and LTTE representatives, but the Sub-Committees could be opened up to other participants to include representatives of the different ethnic communities in different areas, local political organizations and NGOs. We welcome the announcement

Page 13
15 JANUARY 2003
of the members of the Sub-Committee on Women, and urge that the same approach be extended to the other SubCommittees as well. This will be the first step towards a plural democracy.
The functions of the Sub-Committees should be decentralized to deal with different issues in different areas, and provide the building blocks for a federal society. A federal state presupposes a federal society; there are plenty of federal models in the world to draw from, but it is necessary to prepare the Sri Lankan terrain to receive the preferred federal structure. The Provincial Council System and the Kumaratunga Constitution were all attempts at topdown federalism. There is now an opportunity to reverse that process, without creating additional layers of bureaucracy and (unelected) political representation that duplicates efforts and wastes resources. Already, the country is paying for multiple layers of governance with little consideration being given to streamlining and co-ordinating their functions.
The issues raised at the talks and assigned to the Sub-Committees are difficult issues that require complex trade-offs and a “work in progress' approach rather than an insistence on instant agreements. The insistence often comes from outside detractors who for whatever reason would like to demonstrate that the talks are foundering rather than suggesting constructive ways to get over manifestly difficult situations. A case in point is the issue regarding the resettlement of displaced people in the army's High Security Zones (HSZ) in Jaffna, and the decommissioning of arms by the LTTE. Not so curiously, the first insistence was on the absolute decommissioning ofarms by the LTTE, and that was how the critics greeted the Oslo announcement that the LTTE had agreed to work towards a federal solution. Then came the Sri Lankan Army's requirement that vacation of HSZ areas by the army for resettling displaced people should be linked to the LTTE's decommissioning of its heavy weapons around these areas. While there was understandable brinkmanship on the part of both the army and the LTTE, the critics resorted to self-serving interpretations and predictions that the peace process was unravelling. The Monitoring Mission clarified that it is vital to maintain the
pre-ceasefire milit: stantial progress is should be a trade-o drawal from the HS decommissioning fourth round of ta humanitarian com and the need to sta side the HSZ areas The LTTE's cu with the army in th De-escalation and a major crisis but is not unusual duri As we see it, the h should take preced lation by both pa CVC Taller aS SUl made on other issu nouncement that bargaining chips a ble is also its admi, tions on the battle
It is very unfor irresponsible com made between the and the 50-year-ol lem of the "Retur Refugees' to Israel disingenuous for tl criticise the LTTE of Tamil civilians, Lankan Army sho Security Zones in regardless of the pl Tamil people. The gee camps in Jaff years after being ( curity forces. Ou such camp in Chl pants of which are families from the They have been i ten years and cann lage because it f close to the Palaly
It is not only LTTE also has fo of people of Jaffna ation of the Jaffn and, five years 700,000 people to the eve of the mi Jaffna. Not more til ple and a few Mu have now returne the displaced in t Vanni area contin to Jaffna, there we test marches abou

TAMILTIMES 13
ry balance till submade and that there fbetween the withZs by the army and by the LTTE. The |ks emphasized the ponent of the crisis rt resettlement out
rent refusal to work Sub-Committee on Normalization is not a minor hiccup that ng a peace process. umanitarian aspects ence while de-escaties proceed in an Ostantial progress is es. The LTTE’s anits weapons are its t the negotiating tassion of their limitaground.
tunate that wild and parisons are being Sri Lankan situation i international probn of the Palestinian |-Palestine. It is also he same people who for its harassment to argue that the Sri uld retain the High the Jaffna Peninsula ight of the displaced re are people in refuna for more than ten vacuated by the segroup visited one unnakam, the occufishermen and their village of Myliddy. h the camp for over ot return to their villls within the HSZ military base.
the army, but the rced the evacuation . It forced the evacua Muslims in 1990, ater, forced nearly leave their homes on itary's take over of lan half ofthosepeolims would seem to d, and the plight of le Peninsula and the ues. During our visit re petitions and prot the resettlement of
the displaced people of Chavakac
hcheri, the last group of people to be
displaced during the 2000 battle of Jaffna. But the organizers of these pro
tests clearly indicated that they were not
demanding the total evacuation of the
army from the HSZ areas, but an ar
rangement to reduce the area of army occupation and allow the resettlement
of civilians. Curiously, the connection
between the HSZ and rehabilitation was
not clearly dealt with in the MoU. As a
foreign diplomat in Colombo surmised
to members of our group, the LTTE
appears to have paid less attention to
civilian issues in the MoU, and it was
the TULF Parliamentarians who kept
raising the issue of the Army leaving
the HSZ areas to enable the return of the displaced people to their homes.
After one year of peace, the LTTE is
also being forced to respond to civilian
pressures in raising the issue of the dis
placed people.
The Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission has described 2002 as the year when "the guns fell silent". By any measure, 2002 has been a remarkable year for Sri Lanka. It marked a full year of ceasefire for the first time in nearly 20 years. It is still too early for political celebrations and an economic turnaround, but the people are enjoying their new freedom from the restrictions and uncertainties of war and the fear of being raped or suicide-bombed. The people’s choice is peace. The military experiences of the SL Army and the LTTE, as well as changing domestic and international circumstances have brought about a successful ceasefire. To the extent these objective conditions are likely to continue, it will be difficult for either party to return to the fighting mode. There will of course be violations and infractions but the real danger could be a state of general lawlessness and anarchy if the unwinding of the war machines on both sides is not incrementally and methodically undertaken. The other danger is in reaching agreements rather rapidly on paper at peace talks held at far-flung locations around the world, without corresponding changes in the ground situation at home. The biggest challenge, however, is to open the peace process at different levels and locations to include all of the principal players and involve the people themselves. O

Page 14
14 TAM TIMES
Federal frameWO The need for innov
PP Devaraj
The agreement reached between the Govt. and the LTTE on a federal solution has been hailed as a major breakthrough in the negotiation process. This has paved the way for concerted and detailed discussions on power-sharing arrangements.
In an interview given to the Sunday Observer (29/12/2002) Professor G.L. Peiris says, "We have used the term federal merely to define the system we envisage as suitable. This means that we are now firmly locked into a process... towards a new national unity based on equality and harmony among the communities".
Having agreed on a federal solution there is now a need to look at various models and evolve a suitable one for Sri Lanka. The Forum of Federations based in Ontario Canada was at hand in Oslo to give their expertise. Following the Oslo agreement a delegation of the LTTE made a visit to Switzerland to study the Swiss model. No doubt there will be several more discussions and examination of models of federalism in various countries.
A distinctive system appropriate to meet the specific multi ethnic nature of Sri Lanka will have to be fashioned. LTTE chief negotiator Anton Balasingham conceded that in the given circumstances expert opinion needs to be obtained to arrive at the best system of government.
It has also been recognized that negotiation on the complex issues regarding the structure of the state and the system of government will be a long and arduous one.
According to the statement issued by the Norwegian Govt. on 5th December the Govt. and LTTE agreed to initiate discussions on substantive political issues, such as but not limited to
* Power sharing between the center and the region as well as within the center
* Geographic region. * Human rights protection
Political all mechanism
* Public financ * Law and ord In his press il G.L. Peiris has ref cial Council systen at sharing of pow taken forward. He for "exploring new provide for sharin all sections of the p they have been loc equal status in the The Provincial has demonstrated comprehensive anc power-sharing arra tions of the popul they have been loc equal status in the the discussion on to be comprehensi The LTTE has Lankan Tamil pc ambiguity. In his Heroes” Memoria has this to say, "W consistent in our p our struggle for Tamil homeland, Tamil’s right to se the fundamentals cal struggle. Weh these fundament Thailand. The Tan in dignity in thei tuted lands witho external forces'.
Expanding fu LTTE theoreticial says, "We say th nation because th acteristics. They guage, culture, a ous territory whe centuries. They economic exister ness of nationals. gives them the determination ré

15 JANUARY 2003
rk: ation
d administrative
. terview Professor
•rred to the Provinas an early attempt ær that needs to be speaks of the need structures that will g power and ensure opulation to feel that ked after and enjoy country". Council experience the need for a more | clearly demarcated ingement. If all section are to feel that oked after and enjoy country the scope of power sharing needs ve and inclusive.
put forward the Sri isition without any speech delivered on l Day Prabhakaran
'e have always been
olicy with regard to self-determination. 'amil nationality and lf-determination are nderlying our politilve been insisting on ls from Thimpu to il people want to live
historically constiit the domination of
ther on this concept Anton Balasingham Tamil people are a
y have certain char
have a distinct lanstory and a contigu: they have lived for lso have a specific e, and a conscioustiments all of which ght to internal selfional autonomy or
self-government." (Interview Sunday Observer 1st December 2002).
Muslims form about 8% of the total population of the country. But of this only about 30% are from the North East. While about half of this 30% are in Amparai District. The territorial aspect of this 15% has found considerable emphasis in the demand for separate unit while the right of the non-territorial majority has not received so much attention.
Tamils in Sri Lanka belong to two distinct categories. In the official census classification these two categories are given as Sri Lankan Tamils and Indian Tamils.
LTTE Leaders both Prabhakaran and Anton Balasingham have spoken of Sri Lankan Tamils whose origins and traditional habitat are in the North-East of Sri Lanka. The Sri Lankan Tamils apart from having a contiguous territory have also a specific economic existence and consciousness of national sentiments.
The Indian Tamils constitute 7% or a little more of the total population of the country. They are concentrated in the Central, Uva and Sabragamuwa Provinces. The largest concentration is in the Nuwara-Eliya District where they constitute more than 50% of the total population of the district. Western Province, Southern Province and North Western Province also have smaller concentration of Indian Tamils. There are also Indian Tamils in North-East.
According to 1981 census, the popu-lation of Indian Tamils in Nuwara-Eliya district was 247,371. The Muslim population in Ampara during 1981 was 116,148. In the Nuwara-Eliya AGA division alone there were about 125,000 Indian Tamils out of a total population of 175,000. These figures will be higher in 2003.
The history, geographical location, economic existence, and consciousness of national sentiment of the Indian Origin Tamils are distinct and different to these of the Sri Lankan Tamils.
When a new system of power sharing is designed, how will the interests and aspirations of the 4th largest ethnic identity group, the Indian Tamils, be accommodated in an overall solution that meets their concerns also? The designing of adequately suitable structures and power sharing arrangements

Page 15
15 JANUARY 2003
for Indian Tamils are of critical importance. These issues cannot be left behind for solution at some future date. Professor G.L. Peiris has spoken of a whole spectrum of forms of federation operating successfully in the world today.
Swiss federation has enabled a large number of minorities to live in peaceful coexistence. The confederation cantons and the communes are the official authorities, which characterize the Swiss State.
However there are variations from canton to canton. Due to the importance of the communes as public communities forming the basis of the Swiss legal system, a right to maintain their independence has been granted to them. Some cantons have districts, which are of greater importance than communes with far-reachingjudicial, political and administrative powers. Structures have thus been designed according to circumstances and needs.
In Canada Francophones are a majority in Quebec and in the other provinces they are present in varying proportions. While there are federal laws governing the rights of communities in all the provinces there are specific ar
rangements indiff will be of relevanc
One of the fou ciples of the Cana the protection of m the past record of C perfect the protectic has now been mad of the identity ofm This principle is o to multi-ethnic sta be deliberate open to suppress minori submergence or as
Sri Lanka has a Tamils as officiall as is well known, Tamils as an offic really taking place. tions made by the Commission are ( extent that it virtua implementation. Th plementation of T language is most se areas where Indian eral areas there are teachers for Tamils several instances teaching Tamil. T
OUR El ECANT S.KS SU
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TAM TIMES 15
rent provinces that : to uS.
foundational prinlian constitution is inorities. Although anada has not been n of minority rights : an irrefutable part ulti-ethnic Canada. major importance es where there can or subtle attempts ty cultures through imilation. dopted Sinhala and anguage. However, implementation of ial language is not Even recommendaOfficial Languages lelayed to such an lly amounts to nonle impact of non-imamils as an official vere in many of the Tamils live. In sevsevere shortage of schools and there are of Sinhala teachers here are extremely
few Tamil officials at all levels of the administrative systems.
At the time of the passage of the 17th amendment to the constitution it was accepted that the three major ethnic minority communities, will have representation in various commissions (Civil Service, Police, Judiciary, Election). It is on the basic of this understanding an Indian Tamil member was included in the Constitutional Council. However contrary to the spirit of the 17th amendment no Indian Tamil was included in the names so far recommended to various commissions. Various other instances of discriminatory treatment can be given. Measures to implement protection of minorities will have to form a foundational principle of a future constitution.
Fcderalism as practised in Belgium has some uscful lessons for Sri Lanka. Belgium has three communitics based on language. These are the Flemish, Waloon and the German speaking community. The German speaking community is a small one. Belgium has three regions, namely, the Flemish, Walloon and the Capital Regions.
(continucd on next page)
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Page 16
16 TAM TIMES
The Peace Process A Reality Check
N. Ram, Editor, Frontline
The perception of a political breakthrough in the Sri Lankan peace process is seen to be misplaced if reality testing, which addresses six hard questions, is undertaken.
There is a widespread international perception that the peace process in Sri Lanka has made significant headway over the past few months and that, in the latest Oslo round of talks (December 2-5, 2002), there has been a "breakthrough' towards an enduring political settlement of the island's two-decadeold armed conflict. If the perception of a breakthrough were accurate, there would be reason to cheer on what would be a remarkable triumph of hope over horrendous experience. We would then need radically to revise our assessment of what used to be regarded as an intractable conflict or 'crisis', which defied a negotiated solution in the short as well as medium terms. We would also then need to recognise that the time frames and agendas indicated by the authors of the exercise - who promised "a step at a time' and a multi-stage and long drawn out talking process - have been overtaken by events and got dramatically telescoped.
Is the perception through accurate?
A recent visit to reading of the releval opments, and some enabled me to attemp ing of the perception. psychoanalysis, real technique of objectiv emotion or thought a a faculty present in n but defective in some the reality check is a tion that, with a breal in the latest round o! evidenced by an offic by the Norwegian g( cember 5, 2002), the two parties to a horre been bridged in a mai nobody could have a the relevant hard qu door to the exercise.
The core of the N ment’s statement wa that "responding to leadership of the Lil Tamil Eelam (LTTE) to explore a solutio principle of internal:
(Continucd from page 14)
Article I of the Belgian constitution says, "Belgium is a Federal state made up of communities and regions." The names of the communities and regions are given in the constitution. From this basic position follows power-sharing arrangements.
India with its complex multi-ethnic configuration has also in addition to the states other power-sharing arrangements to suit special needs.
Power sharing arrangements developed in several other federal systems can also provide useful examples. Power sharing is possible only if there is an electoral system that provides representation to the communities reasonably in proportion with population pro
portions. The Indian electoral system
has made provisions of all sections of th reasonable manner. system is going to Indian experience sh adopted to meet our
Powersharingm major communities territorial and ens equality of status to while recognizing th arduous process c power-sharing struct made by the head of ating team that nego ting into grips with the final settlement noted. In due cours have to be expanded inclusive.

15 ANUARY 2003
of such a break
Sri Lanka, a close ht texts and develcritical reflection t some reality testIn psychology and ity testing is the e evaluation of an gainst real life, as ormal individuals psychotics. Here gainst the percep(through achieved f talks in Oslo (as ial statement made bvernment on Degulf separating the ndous conflict has nner and at a speed nticipated. Asking estions opens the
orwegian governis the formulation a proposal by the beration Tigers of , the parties agreed n founded on the self-determination
for representation e population in a If new electoral be developed the buld be studied and
needs. ust include the four territorial or nonure security and all persons. Even at in the long and of evolving new tures the statement the Govt. negotitiators will be getthe nitty gritty of issues has to be e discussions will to make them more O
in areas of historical habitation of the Tamil-speaking peoples, based on a federal structure within a united Sri Lanka." On the face of it, this was a statement of intent and endeavour, vague in its contours and not amounting to any kind of commitment.
Nevertheless, superficial media coverage could plausibly report a breakthrough since the terms "the principle of internal self-determination,'"federal structure,' and "within a united Sri Lanka' were strung together in one sentence and there was no explicit reference to the LTTE's secessionist goal of “Tamil Eelam.” International media reports and G.L. Peiris, a senior Minister and the Sri Lankan government's chief negotiator, went so far as to claim that the LTTE had abandoned the goal of Eelam.
The Norwegian government's statement also highlighted recognition by the parties that "progress on political issues must be supported by the continued consolidation of the Ceasefire Agreement" and outlined some new concrete measures to “facilitate further de-escalation and to improve normalcy.” Peiris declared, at the press conference at the end of the Oslo talks, that the peace process
was "irreversible," adding "it is a com
mitment to peace. There is not going to be war." Anton S. Balasingham, the LTTE's chief negotiator, contributed his bit to the euphoria: "I totally agree with what Professor Peiris said.'
Let us review, on a strictly factual basis, the major developments relevant to the perception of a breakthrough.
II. Non-fighting as “Negative” Peace
The basis for all the hopeful readings is the prevailing reality of peace or non-fighting in Sri Lanka. This has been in place for a whole year now. Some analysts have characterised the situation as "negative peace'.
It was on December 24, 2001 that the LTTE unilaterally announced a ceasefire. The background to this was the military standoff in which the combatants found themselves in the NorthEast. The LTTE was obviously responding to the reality of a newly elected United National Front (UNF) government headed by Ranil Wickremaesinghe. The leader of the United National Party (UNP) had, at various points prior to his election, declared himself

Page 17
5 JANUARY 2003
to be in favour of peace talks "without preconditions," and even an interim administration headed by the LTTE. Soon, as the new Prime Minister noted in Parliament, there were "two cessations of hostility operating in parallel." Norwegian facilitation, initiated in 1998 by President Chandrika Kumaratunga and her People's Alliance (P.A.) government, paved the way for a negotiated Memorandum of Understanding, signed by the two parties to the conflict on February 22, 2002. This was the third ceasefire agreement the LTTE had signed since the Indo-Sri Lanka Agreement came unstuck, in 1989-90.
While some of the terms of the 2002 ceasefire have been criticised by the Sinhala Opposition parties, which accused the UNF government of making unprincipled and dangerous concessions to the LTTE, there can be little doubt that the non-fighting is popular among all constituencies in Sri Lanka - in equal measure, it seems, among the Sinhala, Tamil and Muslim people. According to figures cited in Parliament by Prime Minister Wickremasinghe, the war between the LTTE and the Sri Lankan state has taken an estimated 60,000 lives and directly cost the island 500 billion Sri Lankan rupees. Although Sinhala chauvinist elements, and notably the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), advocate a military offensive to eliminate the LTTE in a fight to the finish, nobody seriously believes that there can be a military solution to the 'ethnic confict”.
There have been reports and intimations of growing disaffection among sections of the Sinhala people. This disaffection centres on socio-economic issues and also on anxieties over where the Wickremasinghe government's entente with the LTTE is taking the country. Despite its general support to the peace process, political India's disquiet over the concessions, privileges and space extended to the LTTE by the UNF government is manifest. This disquiet is heightened by the peculiar situation in which India finds itself vis-a-vis the Sri Lankan peace process. Bilateral relations are in excellent shape, the top leaders of the two countries have been in close touch, and the S100-million line of credit India has extended to its small southern neighbour has sent out a strong positive signal. Nevertheless, given the
LTTE supremo's u ment in the Rajiv Ga India's ban on the strong public feeling there is no way in actively either as a peace process, or in India played no ro November 2002 dc Oslo and it is highly be any different ir Tokyo will hosta se ence. lndia’s disqu political reflection, encies in Sri Lanka been a number of ir North and the Ea LTTE's conduct in ing. Its power play, c extremist intoleran pand its parallel qui militarism and deter fighting machine primed up do not, in has made a break w extremism. There l reports of the LTT shipments for itself ances V. Prabakar premo, held out tc Sinhalese of the N continues to be a vo the Tamil United (TULF) and othern Tamil parties have for now, with th gramme and dictat ues with its rough smaller anti-LTTE as Douglas Devana s Democratic Party The LTTE has the ground situatic ninsula by orchestri the "humanitarian' displaced persons b through dismantlir zones' and making re-settlement and led to some specula the talks could run breakdown on thi has also invited af from Trond Furuh Lanka Monitoring that there could be tion in the balanc normalisation pro, of progress and de expense of secur

TAM TIMES 17
lisputed involvedhi assassination, yrganisation, and against the LTTE, la can participate facilitator of the onor conferences. : whatever in the or conference in Inlikely that it will mid-2003, when ond major conferet finds its sociocross all constitu. There have also cidents in both the it turning on the time of non-fightuest for hegemony, e, attempts to exsi-state structures, mination to keep its replenished and the least, suggest it ith Pol Potism and have been credible TE arranging arms . For all the assuran, the LTTE suthe Muslims and orth-East, the East latile region. While Liberation Front oderate Sri Lankan allen in line, at least hegemon’s pros, Tigerism continneck ways against bolitical forces such da’s Eelam People” (EPDP). lso put pressure on n in the Jaffna Peting the demand that issue of internally addressed urgently g the "high security them available for ultivation. This has ion in Colombo that to trouble and even issue. The situation thright clarification vde, head of the Sri Mission (SLMM), no one-sided reducof forces and that a amme "in the name lopment' and at the 7 was "unrealistic'
and "could undermine the building of permanent peace."
But sheer relief at the absence of conventional and guerilla warfare, bomb explosions, suicide attacks, and overt acts of terrorism is strong and palpable and keeps the negative factors in check. Economically, politically, socially, the peace dividend for Sri Lanka is in the nature of an axiom that requires no proof. Internationally too, there is great relief at this spell of non-fighting in Sri Lanka.
It is this peace platform that has provided Prime Minister Wickremesinghe and his government with momentum, opportunities, and an attractive national and international image, at least for now. A corollary is that if the hopes for peace are dashed by the LTTE reneging on the ceasefire agreement - after developing a seeming justification or inventing a plausible excuse - the UNF government's political and electoral stock can plummet in no time. In this sense, the fate of the Wickremasinghe government hangs precariously on how the LTTE chooses to behave in the near and conceivable future.
II. Does the LTTE have a real choice? This naturally leads to the sccond key question: how free or constrained is the LTTE in matters of war and peace? There are those who argue that, given the post-September 11, 2001 international situation and the political climate against terrorism, the LTTE has no real choice and that recidivism, a return to the path of war and overt terrorism, can virtually be ruled out. Even before September 11, several countries, notably India, the United States and the United Kingdom, either imposed a ban on the LTTE or designated it as a terrorist organisation under special laws. The proponents of the view that the Tigers will not return to war because the international climate forbids it include some leaders of the 'moderate' Sri Lankan Tamil parties, UNIF partisans, peace campaigners, and a fluctuating band of international pundits.
An additional constraining factor is believed to be the hardened climate for fund-raising by the LTTE in developed countries. It is suggested that the prospect of these external sources of major fund-raising completely drying up will act as an effective deterrent to Pol Potist

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18 TAMILTES
recidivism. These restraining factors are real and should not be brushed aside in an exercise of reality testing. In other words, the relevant question is not whether these restraining factors are at work. It is whether their weight is such as to counteract the LTTE's proven extremist and Pol Potist character, its commitment to Tamil Eelam through armed struggle and terrorism, and the formidable military and political capabilities it has built up over the years.
An alternative answer to the question of how free or constrained the LTTE is in matters of war and peace is suggested by the Sri Lankan Tamil journalist and political analyst, D. B. S. Jeyaraj: "Perplexing as it seems, other indicators suggest that the LTTE has not reviscd its fundamental objectives but only engaged in atactical shift as a political ploy... If so, the LTTE game plan is clear. The proclaimed intention of seeking a federal solution is only for international consumption. It seems the Tigers want the negotiating process to fail at some stage without any blame attaching to them. The peace process should not arrive at a logical conclusion; instead, it should collapse without a satisfactory solution being structured. If and when that happens, the LTTE could opt out and exercise its “right of extermal self-determination' and pursue a “secessionist war' again. Pinpointing the failure of Colombo to arrive at a federal solution, the Tigers would assert that the Sinhala people were incapable of redressing and accommodating Tamil grievances and aspirations within a united Sri Lanka' ("A tactical shift", Frontline, January 3, 2003).
Such a reading of the evolving situation is backed by the LTTE's horrifying track record. The question that must be kept open at this time of non-fighting is whether the new international situation, including the signal sent out of the recent Oslo donors” conference that the Tigers must renounce separatism as well as the use of violence and terror if external funds are to flow into the North-East for the work of rehabilitation and rebuilding, can exert the kind of overwhelming pressure that will compel the LTTE to make a decisive break with this track record. III. Is a Southern consensus possible? It is axiomatic that any peace process, in order to be successful, must win
broad agreement fro 'Sinhala' political part the Sri Lanka Freedol and ideally from all th a popular base in the
The LTTE's extre aside, the Indo-Sri L ran into political heavy the SLFP led by Srime opposed it and the JV it. President R. Prema entente with the LT bother to try and win port for whatever pol had in mind. Between President Kumaratul sively broke with the tr political chauvinism al going devolution pro serious attempt to en the quest for a constitu But the SLFP and the non-cooperation and the UNP and its Wickremasinghe, and opportunistically m cause with the JVP.
The present politi volving 'cohabitation emasinghe's UNF go by a parliamentary ma ecutive presidency ol Chandrika Kumaratur plications as well as o political power seems hands of the newly ele For several tense mon of"impeaching"the F an ill-advised legisl checkmate the Presid the "19th Amendmer tion.” But all this cha ka's Supreme Court pi mark judgment in C seven Supreme Court position that "the exec People is inalienable cised by the Presider to dissolve Parliame a year after the gener Parliament by resol President to do so) is the executive power tributed to the Presid in trust for the Peop cannot be alienated; a in this feature requir amendment to be a thirds majority in P. approved by a simpl

15 JANUARY 2003
n the two main es - the UNP and Party (SLFP) - parties that have south. hist intransigence anka Agreement weather because vo Bandaramaike P waged war on |asa”s 1989-1990 TE did not even Opposition sup|tical solution he | 1995 and 2001, nga - Who deciadition of Sinhala ld made bold, farposals - made a gage the UNP in tional settlement. P.A. encountered obstruction from leader, Ranil found themselves laking common
ical situation, inbetween Wickrvernment backed jority and the exf the P.A. leader, ga, presents compportunities. Real 'd to pass into the ‘cted government. ths, there was talk resident and even ative attempt to 2nt by bringing in it to the Constituged with Sri Lanonouncing a landctober 2002. All judges upheld the utive power of the and shall be exert"; that the power t (not earlier than al election, unless tion requests the "a component of of the People, atnt, to be exercised le" and therefore ld that any change 's a constitutional lopted by a tworliament and also majority in a ref
erendum.
The apex court's judgment tilted the balance of power back towards the President. Although she has publicly stated that she has no intention of dissolving Parliament, she clearly retains the executive power to do so "in the interest of the people and the country." She also retains the power to dismiss the government for the same reason. It is not inconceivable that this will happen if something goes terribly wrong with the peace process.
Some commentators have seen the "breakthrough' formulation agreed upon in Oslo chiefly as a response to the expiry of the one-year constitutional restraint on the President's executive power to dissolve Parliament. But whatever the motivations behind that formulation, it is clear that the UNF government's attitude towards the chief Opposition party and President has changed noticeably. Through regular meetings between a Minister assigned for the job and Lakshman Kadirgamar, former Foreign Minister and currently Senior Adviser to the President on Foreign Affairs, the President is kept informed of the progress and complications of the peace process. Constitutionally speaking, the President of Sri Lanka has vast executive powers, especially in relation to questions of war and peace. Bowing to the 2001 popular mandate, Kumaratunga has thus far wisely exercised executive restraint. Her active cooperation and support is imperative if the peace process is to make further headway.
Some weeks ago, Peiris ruled out in Parliament any possibility of Opposition participation in decision-making relating to the peace process. But the Oslo statement promises that the Government of Sri Lanka "will, in order to arrive at the broadest possible consensus, establish an appropriate mechanism for consultation with all sections of opinion as part of the ongoing peace process.” The statement also records the acknowledgement by the parties that "the solution has to be acceptable to all communities." In a press release dated December 13, 2002, the SLFP has welcomed this attitudinal change and remarked that "wisdom has finally dawned on the two negotiating parties.” More materially, the main Opposition party has taken a favourable stand on the concept of find

Page 19
15 JANUARY 2003
ing a political solution along federal lines (withoutmentioning the word "federalism”). “We commend for the consideration of the Parliament and people of Sri Lanka," the SLFP statement says, "the concept of devolution of power to the regions presented by President Kumaratunga to the people of Sri Lanka in the draft Constitutional proposals of October 1997 and August 2000. These proposals set out clear solutions, acceptable to all communities, for the resolution of the core issues of the ethnic question.'
This signals a new opportunity to work out a Sinhala political consensus on the systemic change needed to accommodate the just demands and aspirations of the Tamil-speaking people. If agreement can be reached between the main Sinhala political parties on the nature and unit of the federal structure (by whatever name called) pertaining to the North-East, that would be a genuine breakthrough. It is another question whether such a structure will be acceptable to the LTTE.
IV. What about an interim administration?
The idea of an interim administration for the North-East, to take charge until a final political settlement was reached, first came on to the agenda with the implementation of the Indo-Sri Lanka Agreement of July 1987 (even though the text of the Agreement did not mention or provide for an interim administration). The LTTE first agreed to, and then went back on, an extremely liberal proposal made by India and accepted by the government of President J.R. Jayewardene, with consequences that were fatal to the attempted political solution.
The widespread impression about the approach of the Wickremasinghe government to the ethnic conflict was that it was in no hurry to find a final political solution and that it would be satisfied with adhoc "practical' arrangements with the LTTE for the North-East so long as non-fighting prevailed. The apprehension was expressed in Sri Lanka and India that the UNF government was going to "hand over the North-East to the LTTE. The instrumentality of this "handing over' would be an interim administration dominated by the LTTE, with token representation for
Muslims and perh tions. In his April ference at a jung Wanni, Prabakara focus of the forthc land would be the terim administratic The project ran weather, in Sri Lal nationally. Democ and security conce despite the many ground made to t government could interim administra wanted. Eventually Court judgment tha of power between government with jority ruled out, in plication, an interi the North-East. Th pass muster with tunga, whose exec not be taken away tional amendment r majority in Parlian a referendum.
Consequently, by the UNF gover to bypass the who terim administrati powered committe vember, at the end of talks in Nakorn it was announced t taken "significant three key areas - c military concerns, - and that three c constituted to deal The committe ponderantly LTTE resentatives, woul tiators. The legal a tus of the commit ately ambiguous.
It remains to b event of the peace LTTE pressure for administrative and intensify, and whi or practical arrang will approximate a tion.
W. What will hap to the parallel st
The SLFP in December 13, 20

AMLIMES 19
ps some other sec10, 2002 press conle location in the in revealed that the ming talks in Thaiformation of an inn in the North-East. into political heavy ka, India and interratic, human rights rns were raised and, concessions on the he LTTE, the UNF not put in place the cion that Prabakaran , the same Supreme t restored the balance he President and the parliamentary maprinciple and by imm administration for Le project would not President Kumara:utive powers could without a constituequiring a two-thirds nent and approval in
a decision was made nment and the LTTE le concept of an inon and take the eme route. In early Noof the second round Pathom in Thailand, hat the two sides had steps" touching on vilian rehabilitation, and political matters ommittees had been
with these areas. es, comprising preand government repd report to the negond constitutional staees was left deliber
seen whether, in the process progressing, some kind of interim political control will ther the committees aments made by them n interim administra
pen te structure?
its press release of )2 asks another kind
of hard question: "Does the UNF government know where it is going? Does it know the destination? And when we reach the destination what will we find - a so-called federal state with a standing Army, a standing Navy, a permanent administration, an independentjudicial system, a tax structure, a banking system - what would this mean other than a separate State by a friendlier name?'
Despite the polemical tone, these questions about where UNF government policies - supervening on existing rcalitics in the North-East - are taking Sri Lanka are astute and go deep into the heart of the challenge. The issue of decommissioning of arms, not to mention disarming of the LTTE fighters, is bound to come up soon enough if the peace process is to make any sense. So will democratic and human rights issues, including the issue of children snatchcd from their families to be trained as fighters and the condition of women in LTTE-controlled areas. Thc existence of a quasi-state structure, armed to the tecth and boasting its own institutions of governance, notably an efficient taxcollection machincry, a "Chicf Justice of Tamil Eelam" and kangaroo courts dispensing speedy justice, will be a major roadblock as the peace process progresses. Will thc LTTE agrec to dismantle, cven in stages, this parallel statc structure in the region of its military control?
V. The framework for a final settlement
The announcement from Oslo, at thc end of the third round of talks, that the Sri Lankan government and the LTTE had "decided to explore a solution founded on the principle of internal selfdetermination in areas of historical habitation of the Tamil-speaking peoples, based on a federal structure within a united Sri Lanka' came as a major political surprise. It seemed that the political agenda had been brought forward so that the fourth and fifth round of talks in Thailand, scheduled for January and February 2003 respectively, could engage with the three major areas identified - consolidation of the ceasefire, humanitarian and rehabilitation action, and political matters - simultaneously.
Does this mean that something dramatic - a final political settlement ac

Page 20
20 TAMILTIMES
ceptable to the LTTE, which the UNF government will present in Parliament as radical new constitutional proposals on federal lines - is round the corner?
When the hard questions are asked, it becomes clear that neither the key concepts nor the contours of a political settlement have been defined by the negotiators. A huge gulf separates the two sides when it comes to basic concepts, ground realities, and practice.
The key words in the announcement of a "breakthrough' in Oslo are the folllowing: (a) the principle of internal selfdetermination, (b) a federal structure, (c) areas of historical habitation of the Tamil-speaking peoples, and (d) a united Sri Lanka. It must be noted that (a) figures for the first time in an official statement accepted by the Sri Lankan government, (b) figures for the first time in an official statement accepted by the LTTE, (c) is a formulation lifted from the text of the Indo-Sri Lanka Agreement, and (d) is clearly an imposition on the LTTE by the weight of international public opinion.
But how do these key words, expressing key concepts, perform together? What, for example, is the relation between the principle of internal self-determination and a federal structure? Are areas of historical habitation of the Tamil-speaking peoples a proxy for the "homeland' that the LTTE has always claimed as the historically determined birthright of the Sri Lankan Tamils? Can the principle of internal self-determination be exercised within a united Sri Lanka?
In order to answer these questions, we have plenty of guidance, theoretical as well as practical, from the LTTE. First, there are the first three of the four "Thimpu principles,"put forward by the LTTE and the other Sri Lankan Tamil militant organisations in July and August 1985. These are recognition of the Sri Lankan Tamils as a distinct nationality; recognition of the traditional homeland (the North and East of the island) and a guarantee of its territorial integrity; and recognition of the right of self-determination of the Tamil nation. Then there is Prabakaran's notorious instruction, issued in his 1989 "Heroes Day' address, to his cadres to gun
him down if he ever, ery” to the "ideal” o the April 10, 2002 p the Wanni, the LT asked by an Indian this deadly instructic answer was in a li mative. In his Nover Day” address, Praba for what was to follo ing that the LTTE attachment to the rig nation," he explain homeland, the Tami of the Tamils to se were "the fundame tives' and that the L sisting on these issu Thailand.'
He stated that " the Tamils are entil self-determination, right had "two asp external.' Internal "entitled a people Tamil people wante dom and dignity in their historically cor lands, without the d nal forces." They their national identil velopment of their la economy" and to ". land under a system Characterising til aspiration of our pi that this demand cor tial meaning of inter tion.” Then came t that set the stage f through': "We are p favourably a politic offers substantial II and self-governmer on the basis of our ri determination.' Wh course, in the Oslo any reference to th held out in his 20 speech: "But if our p determination is den for regional self-rule no alternative other form an independer Does all this so the secessionist goal misleadingly claims

15 JANUARY 2003
committed "treachf Tamil Eelam. At press conference in TE supremo was journalist whether in remained and the ght-hearted affirber 2002 "Heroes karan set the terms ow in Oslo. Assertstood "firm in the ght to self-determied that "the Tamil l nation, the rights lf-determination' ntals of our objecTTE had been "ines from Thimpu to
as a distinct people led to the right to " adding that this ects - internal and self-determination to self-rule.' The ed to “live in freetheir own lands, in nstituted traditional omination of exterwanted to "protect y, pursuing the denguage, culture and live in their home
of self-rule.' his as "the political 2Ople," he asserted stituted "the essennal self-determinahe key formulation or the Oslo “breakrepared to consider cal framework that egional autonomy it in our homeland ight to internal selfat was missing, of announcement WaS e threat Prabakaran )02 "Heroes Day' eople's right to self. lied and our demand is rejected, we have than to secede and nt state.ʼ
und like giving up l of Eelam (as Peiris 2d in Colombo) and
settling for a federal solution within a united Sri Lanka - even assuming that the best elements of the BandaranaikeChelvanayakam Pact of 1957, the IndoSri Lanka Agreement of 1987, and the Kumaratunga proposals of 1995-2001 can be creatively combined and improved upon by, let's say, 50 per cent through an astonishing Sinhala political consensus?
As the scholar, Professor V. Suryanarayan, suggested in an analysis published nearly four years ago, the LTTE's conceptual approach to a federal structure has been extremely confederal in content. He cited as evidence certain constitutional proposals prepared by a London-based firm of solicitors in the 1990s and handed over informally to President Kumaratunga. These proposals envisaged the creation of a Union "which would be in the form of a confederal structure, consisting of two states each being internally autonomous.' Each state would have its own internal constitution, which would determine the size and structure ofthe legislature. A Central Council comprising "an equal number of representatives from each state' would be empowered to look after foreign affairs, defence, security, monetary policy, common currency, and inter-state relations ("Talking to the Tigers', Frontline, January 29, 1999). At other times, the LTTE’s ideological supporters abroad have held out other 'models' such as the Commonwealth of Independent States and even the European Union.
The details of the confederal idea may have changed, but the "principle of internal self-determination' and "self-rule' can be manipulated to demand something way out, way beyond what the Sri Lankan state can offer at its enlightened best. Add to this Jeyaraj's interpretation that the LTTE "has not revised its fundamental objectives but is only engaged in a tactical shift as a political ploy” and you have a possible disaster in the making,
It is the task of all reasonable people, people of goodwill, to work to ensure - against the heavy odds - that the disaster does not take place and that Sri Lanka is not pushed back into a no-win Wa. (Courtesy the Frontline)

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15 JANUARY 2003
Sri Lanka's young for
of|rank ofendere
Amy Waldman, New York Times
KINNAIYADI, Sri Lanka, Dec. 29 - The floods ruined this season's paddy harvest in this village of sandy earth and slanting palms.
The harvest of its youth went ahead. Ten days ago, at least 18, and possibly 60 or more, young people, according to different villagers” estimates, were taken off to join the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, one of the world's most ruthless and effective secessionist movements. Many of them were boys and girls, some as young as 12.
Some were taken by force, yanked from houses or scooped up along the roadside like found treasure. Others went "voluntarily," to spare their parents after Tiger cadres repeatedly threatened them if they did not supply the movement with a child. They were loaded into tractor-trailers and taken
away.
For 20 years, the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam have fought for a separate state for the minority Tamils of Sri Lanka, the island nation off India's southern tip. The Tamils, many of whom are Hindu, are concentrated in the northern and eastern parts of the country. They say their cause has been motivated by discrimination against them by the Sinhalese, many of whom are Buddhist, who make up three quarters of the country's population of 18 million.
Much of the rebels' battle has been fought on the backs, and bodies, of child soldiers, according to human rights organizations, including the United Nations.
Today, however, the Tigers have paused in their armed struggle and put aside the quest for their own state. They are in peace talks with the Sri Lankan government. They are trying to obtain regional autonomy for the Tamil people and to transform themselves into a legitimate political organization.
They insist that they no longer have,
or accept, children in cent months, they ha highly publicized rel dren.
In an interview i Tigers’ administra movement's political ilchelvam, said: "We the disinformation ca ous governments. Til scription. There were But in whisperec villagers - afraid for identities were revea lentless recruiting ca the only way to savi send them away. One two nieces and one r how parents, angry t ing their own child, l toward their neighbor A police intellig firmed that children estimated the numbe villager interviewed 60 over three days. a human rights orgal sequently visited the that 100 young peopl were taken.)
Complaints filed aid groups, as well Tamils and commu Tiger-controlled inc indicate that childen tion, while down frc tinue.
There was a tim ple, including some their own. The caus for a poor child, the meals and security. While Some chi untarily, swayed by at which Tigers sho of battle victories, petite for war here alone have lost 17,(
 

TAMILTIMES 21
their ranks. In ree undertaken the ases of l65 chil
Killinoch chi, thc ive capital, the leader, S. Thamwant to discount mpaign of previCC WaS O COno child soldiers." interviews herc, their lives if their led - told of a rempaign, in which e children was to : woman who had ephew taken told hat they were losnad steered cadres s' children as well. ence official conhad been taken; he r at 30 or 35. One put the number at A representative of lization, who subvillage, was told , mostly under 18,
with international is interviews with ity leaders in the th and east, also stment and abducm past levels, con
when young peohildren, joined on seemed just, and movement offered
iren still join vol2cruiting meetings propaganda films llagers say the apgone. The Tigers 0 cadres in battle,
and the country a total of more than 64,000 lives. So to bolster their ranks, the Tigers appear to be continuing to use coercion, both of those under and over
8.
Whether classified as recruitment or abduction, taking children into the movement is a violation of a cease-fire agreement signed last February, which, bars, in accordance with international law, hostile acts against civilians. It is also a violation of the Tigers' own public pledges.
The Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission, a team of Scandinavians invited by both sides to monitor the cease-firc, has certifical 281 cascs of child recruitment from February through October, with more than 400 cases still being investigated; in November, there were 24.
"We also clearly realize our complaints arc the tip of the iceberg," said the group's spokesman, Teitur Torkelsson. "They're not even half." In the north, international aid groups have about 50 open cases of children who have been taken sincc thc ccasc-fire was signcd. There have also becn reports that homes the Tigers maintain for children orphaned by war have been uscd as rccruiting grounds for the rcbcls.
But most of the complaints comc from the Batticaloa district in Eastcrn Province, where this village is.
In fact, the conscription in Kinnaiyadi appears to be only the latest wave of forced recruitment, often of children, in the Batticaloa area. Here, Tamils said, the Tigers' policy remains as it has long becn: every family with three or more children must give one.
"They have thousands, and they're still taking them," said the Rev. Harry Miller, an American Jesuit pricst who has lived in the town of Batticaloa for more than a half century. In July, he said, the Tigers took eight children from outside a Hindu temple feast on the edge of Batticaloa. "We haven't gotten any back,' he said.
Of the problems in the east, Mr. Thamilchelvam said they were "instances' that had been brought to the notice of the high command, and the political hierarchy had been ordered to make sure they were not repeated. But he said the demographics of the area - there are large Muslim and Sinhalese populations as well - meant that Tamil

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22 TAM TIMES
youths often sought protection by joining the guerrillas.
This village is technically under government control, with an army camp just feet from its edge. But it has largely been forgotten by the government. The school ends at fifth grade and often is closed by flooding; the only nearby hospital, serving a constellation of villages and towns, can see only 50 patients a day.
Instead, it is the Tigers who hold sway here, which is why villagers have been afraid to even make an official complaint to the police. Terror chokes the shady byways. Residents, as in much of Batticaloa, say they do not open their mouths except to eat. To speak, even anonymously, they said, could mean putting their lives on the line. No one knows who is with the Tigers, but anyone might be.
If the past is any guide, those taken will be taken to Tiger training camps, given new names and told their past is a closed chapter. Some parents may never see their childrcn again.
One 64-year-old woman near Kinnaiyadi, who spoke on condition of anonymity out of fear, told how last February, Tigers tried to extort money from her son under threat of death. To save him, his own son, 19, agreed to join the movement. He has not becn seen since.
Others catch glimpses, often in brief and tearful reunions, of their children at the Tigers' annual Heroes' Day celebrations. Some young recruits escape, although the Tigers sometimes take a relative hostage until the escapee return.S.
A few are released, as was the case in an incident involving five young men from the town of Batticaloa between the ages of 18 and 22 who were taken on Dec. 17. One of them, who spoke along with his mother - both of them too fearful to be identified - said he and his friends had gone to a Tiger office with some cadres because they thought they would be able to watch films. Instead, they were put in a van, taken two hours away and told that now that they were 18, it was their duty to join the movement and either fight for a separate state or help run a peacetime administration. Their families, meanwhile, had found their sons” bicycles outside a Ti
ger office. The Tig men hadwillingly jo and told the parents bikes and jewelry.
Skeptical, tena manded that their so of them if they had and they protested ganizations. The yo etly released two d been taken.
Mr. Thamilchel the Tigers' hierarc sisted there had been tion. Civilians, "esp ple,” had volunta movement, he said. Children who h relatives during the uge with the movem in orphanages, he s insisted that childre ages were not allow ment.
But critics of the insisted that the orp selves fertile recruit organization. One l caloa in the east tol brothers were forci the Tigers and the them, the Tigers to were taking her sis to educate her. She, on a battlefield.
Visits to two north, in the jungle gers' base, did little purpose. At the Sen girls, the pictu Prabhakaran, the feared leader, is in the girls call him " or less the foster p dren," said Janani,
Tari
TIMES
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15 ANUARY 2003
rs said the young ned the movement, to take home their
ious mothers dens be asked in front joined voluntarily, o international orung men were quiays after they had
ram, who is third in hy, repeatedly inno forced conscripecially young peoily supported the
ad lost parents and war had sought refent and been placed aid. Tiger officials n from the orphaned to join the move
guerrillas have long hanages were themment grounds for the 8-year-old in Battidhow after her two bly conscripted by n died fighting for ld her mother they ter to an orphanage too, ended up dead
orphanages in the area that is the Ti: to clarify their real :holai orphanage for re of Velupillai igers' revered and the classroom, and Uncle.' "He's more arent for these chilthe 43-year-old Ti
ger who runs the orphanage.
At the boys' orphanage, there was a shrine to the Tigers' suicide bombers.
One girl who had come at 14 - out of her "desire," she said nervously, as several cadres listened - was now, at age 17, a cadre, as were several other girls. . Janani said perhaps "two or three" had joined the movement. She would not permit a visit to the older girls' quarterS.
The 17-year-old cadre was also not an orphan - her parents were alive and living in the area. Tiger officials say that if they believe the movement can better raise a child from a poor family, they will take him or her, with the parents' permission.
Janani said that perhaps 10 percent of the girls were not truly orphans. Sometimes parents came wanting to take their children back, she said, but if the children did not want to go, “We can't force them.'
It is not hard to find evidence of the Tigers' history with children, particularly as they move former military cadres into the civil administration they run in the north. There is the 18-year-old customs official who said he joined at 16, the assistant in the political wing who joined at 15 or 16, and another who joined at 12, and from the battles he cited, first fought at 14 or 15.
Then there is the cemetery outside Kilinochchi, the final resting place for 1,938 war heroes. The headstones have the cadres' real names, their "movement names,” their parents” names, their villages of origin and the dates of their deaths.
On each, the only thing missing is the date of birth.
(New York Times, January 6, 2003)
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15 JANUARY 2003
Need for opposition and civil society role
Jan 9 - As the fourth round of talks was taking place, the National Peace Council of Sri Lanka, in statement said that the main opposition party should play a constructive role, and an opportunity of participation in the peace process should be provided for other parties and civil society organisations.
NPC's statement said, "The step by step approach taken by the government and LTTE at the recently concluded fourth round of peace talks in Thailand to resolve the dispute over the Sri Lankan military's high security zones is a welcome reconfirmation that they are committed to resolving problems in within the framework of the peace process. The decision taken to postpone discussion on the high security zones until an independent expert opinion is obtained was a pragmatic measure. This has enabled the parties at the peace talks to continue discussing other important matters without being stalled by this issue.
"In the Sri Lankan context, the balance of forces and the security of each side has been viewed as an important basis on which the peace process has been moving forwards. On the other hand, the resettlement of displaced persons is a humanitarian priority. The people must feel that they are obtaining the benefits of peace in order for them to support the peace process wholeheartedly. The issues of resettlement, demilitarisation and demobilisation are sensitive ones that exist in peace processes wherever civil wars have ended. In Sri Lanka, these issues have come up at an early stage. This reflects the dynamism of the peace process and not its weak
CSS,
"The National Peace Council regrets to note that the opposition has been looking at the issue of high security zones and many other matters connected to the peace process in a pessimistic manner. This has been increasing the apprehensions of the people about the stability of the peace process. It would be more constructive if the opposition were to propose an alternative and practical approaches to resolve the conflicting interests at stake.
"We also note that the present peace process taking place between the government and LTTE is, by and large, an exclusive one with little opportunity for other parties and civil society to either participate in, or contribute towards, the decisions being taken by the two main parties. This is giving rise to resentment and suspicion. We welcome the decision at the peace talks to recognise the right of women to partici. pate in the peace process by the formation of a women's com: mittee charged with representing gender interests in the peace process. We also call for a more inclusive peace process ir which those parties in the opposition can be constructive par ticipants.”
Experts join Lankan peace process
India's retired heavy-weight, Lieutenant General Satis Nambiar, joins the galaxy of international personalities in volved in the Sri Lankan peace process this month when h

TAMILTIMES 23
will be called upon to prepare a report on how to resettle civilians in Jaffna without compromising the security of military installations on the peninsula.
Officials at the peace talks in Thailand said Nambiar has been asked to head an international team of experts who will be tasked with preparing the report.
Nambiar currently heads the United Services Institution of India, a tri-service think tank based in New Delhi. During a long and eventful career in the lindian Army, Gen Nambiar held several sensitive posts, including that of director general of military operations and deputy chief of army staff.
He is most famous for refusing to give in to NATO pressure as the first force commander and head of mission of UN forces in former Yugoslavia in March 1993. He finally resigned from that post.
Another internationally known figure to join the process in February is lan Martin, the former head of Amnesty International. He will begin setting up a monitoring process for Human Rights in the North and East. This would be similar to the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission, which now probcs, and reports on ceasefire violations.
The other well-known international figure is Yasushi Akashi, a former UN Under-Sccrctary General who handlcd the Cambodia settlemcnt. Akashi is Japan's special envoy to the Sri Lankan Peacc Process and is handling two tasks. The first is developing the government's "Regaining Sri Lanka" initiative and the sccond is to prepare a development and employment-gencrating programme for thc North and East. Akashi will be in Sri Lanka from January 14 and will bc meeting top governmental officials and also flying to Kilinochchi for talks with the LTTE leadership.
LTTE is expands network
Jan 6 - While engaged in peace talks with the government of Sri Lanka, the Tamil Tigers have begun to expand their administrative network in areas controlled by them in northern and eastern Sri Lanka. Even in arcas in thcsc regions supposed to be under the control of government forces, where they have opened uo "political offices", they are expanding their network in recent months.
Particularly in the areas under its control, the LTTE is expanding its administrative departments dealing with finance, education, health, environment and transport in addition to maintaining its own judicial services and police stations.The departments of the administrative units arc being headed by senior members of the LTTE, who have been involved in directing military operations against the security forces in the past.
“Our aim is to develop the area in kceping with our objectives and the directions of the leadership,” said a senior member in charge of the Forest Conservation department of the LTTE. He said LTTE leader Velupillai Prabhakaran had drawn up plans to protect the environment, which includes replantation of areas affected by fighting between the two sides. "Our leader has directed us to plant more than 800,000 trees - most of them teak and other trees which have timber value,' he said.
He said the LTTE does not impose taxes on timber coming into the guerrilla-controlled areas as they have been di

Page 24
24 AML TIMES
rected to prevent felling of timber and encourage timber being brought into their areas from the south of the country.
Among the administrative departments of the LTTE, the departments coming under the Financial division is one of the most powerful departments drawing a large revenue. The Customs department of the LTTE has established its offices in the southern and northern borders of the areas under their control.
Most of the taxes are imposed by its customs department at the entry point to the LTTE-controlled region at Omanthai in the north of the island. All consumer items are taxed 10 per cent of the value, while non-essential items, including alcohol, are taxed 25 per cent of the value. Pharmaceuticals are excmpted from tax. "Our collection is well over a Rs. 2 million ($19,000) per day, but sometimes it could be higher," a LTTE cadre in charge of its customs department at Omanthai said.
If somcone tries to evade tax by concealing the goods they are taking with them, or under-values them, the entire goods are confiscatcd. "Our laws at the entry points are very strict. If somebody undervalues his goods we have no scheme to impose a finc, but we confiscate the goods," he said. Recently a trader who had under-declared a stock of chocolates was forced to surrender his entire stock and return emptyhandcd.
The LTTE-operated bank also has expanded its services by cncouraging fixed deposits, children's savings schemes and foreign exchange deposits.
The LTTE departments consist of paid employees as well as some of the cadres. An employee in these departments earns an avcrage salary of Rs7,500 ($70) per month.
Senior members of the LTTE explained that though some of these departments had been set up in the mid-1990s, most of them have become active only in the past few months. "The Forest Conservation Department was established in 1993, but we could not carry out the functions until recently duc to the war," a senior member of the department said.
JVP rally against peace talks
Jan 8 - In a massive show of strength against the peace talks between the Sri Lanka's United National Front government and the LTTE, the Janata Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), gathered more than 25 thousand party members and supporters for a march and rally at one of Colombo's busiest intersections on 8 Januaary. Speakers at the rally denounced the peace talks to settle the island's ethnic conflict as a western imperialist conspiracy to divide country.
Thousands of JVP cadres clad in red poured into the city from provincial towns and villages from morning. They were gathered at three points from where massive processions moved towards the Lipton Circus Eye Hospital Junction are: in the heart of the capital, Colombo.
"Defeat the Elephant-Tiger conspiracy", the marcher shouted (Elephant is the symbol of Prime Minister Rani Wickremesinghe's United National Party).
The event was called Jana Balaya (People's Power). Addressing the large gathering amidst loud cheering, gen eral secretary of the party Tilvin Silva called upon the peopl to get to the street till they see the end of this government

15 JANUARY 2003
and protest against the so-called peace process which was in reality the talks for the division of the country.
Addressing the rally, the propaganda secretary of the JVP, Mr. Wimal Weerawanse, said the JVP was working towards an opposition alliance to launch mass agitational campaigns aimed at overthrowing Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe's government.
He slammed the Norwegians for interfering in the internal affairs of the island. JVP speakers lambasted Mr. Jon Westborg, the Norwegian Ambassador in Sri Lanka, accusing him of working in cahoots with the Liberation Tigers referring to the role the his embasy played in the import of radio equipment for the LTTE.
"January 8 is a very important day as we have started our campaign against the government. And we know we will be victorious as we have the faithful followers of our motherland who are gathered here today. All round us is a mass of heads,” he said indicating the huge crowds of people at the Lipton circus.
With the support of the masses belonging to all races and religions, and the other forces, the JVP would be able to achieve their target of toppling the UNF government. The country will then be ruled by a faithful government and not a treacherous one like the UNF," JVP's Propaganda secretary of the JVP Wimal Weerawansa said.
"This so-called peace process is basically to give more power to the Tigers for them to roam more freely and import high tech equipment without taxation. The LTTE can do anything, while in contrast our local forces can't even lift a finger outside their camp as they are ordered not to do so. Despite claims by Prime Minister Wickremesinghe that the country is nearing to achieve peace, the reality is that the country is marching towards Eelam" Mr. Weerawansa claimed.
Mr. Weerawanse said the UNF government was frightened about the growing disillusionment among the people, caused by the sky rocketing cost of living and "its treacherous association with the LTTE'. "The year 2003 is the crucial year to make or break our country, and it is up to us to decide whether we need a one Sri Lanka or a Sri Lanka divided into two', he said.
Overwhelming support for peace process - Survey
The overwhelming public support for the current peace process remains unchanged according to a survey canied out by the Centre for Policy Alternative.
There is a notable percentage (74.7 per cent) of Sri Lankans who are aware of the second round of peace talks. However, only 24.7 per cent say they know about the decision taken at the talks.
The survey revealed that over 60 percent Sri Lankans are satisfied with the outcome of the second round of talks. It further reveals that an overwhelming majority (77.8 percent) of Sri Lankans think the return and resettlement of Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) should be top priority.
While half the Sri Lankans believe that the Government is committed to treating the return of the IDP as a priority in the peace process only 17.9 per cent believe the LTTE's commitment to the return of the IDP, the survey shows. Over

Page 25
15 JANUARYf 2003
46 per cent of Sri Lankans interviewed who were aware of the LTTE participation in the Oslo in November last year, disapproved of the LTTE's participation.
However, an overwhelming majority of the Tamils (98 per cent) and upcountry Tamils (74.6 per cent) communities approve of the LTTE's participation at the Oslo meeting. While a majority (45.3 per cent) of the Sri Lankans express that they are unaware of the PA's official statement that accused the Norwegian facilitators of being partial towards the LTTE and overwhelming majority of the Tamil (78 per cent) community disagree with this statement.
The survey also indicates that since June 2002, there is a steady increase of people's approval for Norway assisting in the Sri Lankan peace process. Though the majority of Sinhalese approve of Norway's assistance, when compared to other ethnic communities their approval is low.
Abducted EPRLF man found dead
24 Dec - The body of a senior member of the EPRLF (Varatharajah Perumal group), Poopalapillai Alaguthurai (35) abducted allegedly by the LTTE on December 16 was found on December 21 in the Mandoor lake with injuries supposedly sustained due to torture and mutilation. The body of Poopalapillai Alaguthurai, deputy chairman of Porathivu Pattu Pradeshiya Sabha was found minus an arm. It was recovered by The Wellawely police who recovered the body took it to the Batticaloa hospital for a postmortem. Acting district judge V. Vinoba on 23rd at Batticaloa general hospital held an inquest.
Alaguthurai, who got married one month ago had gone to his sister's home at his native village Mandoor third Kuruchchi and had supper on this fateful day at 7.30 p.m. Then he fetched some food and was on his way to his wife's residence situated in the same village. His failure to turn up at the EPRLF office made his colleagues to contact his home people next day and found him missing.
A statement issued by T.Subathiran, EPRLF Member of Jaffna Municipal Council said that LTTE had issued written warning to Alagathurai to resign from the council. According to two witnesses, on the day of the abduction, two LTTE members Mylvaganam Paramanathan and Ramaiah Ragakutty alias Rajan took him away ostensibly for a discussion.
"This murder and the spate of abduction and disappearances since the Sri Lankan government initiated peace talks, raises a serious question about the real objectives of the LTTE. Intimidation of members of other political parties, journalists, civil servants and academics continues unabated in the North and East. There have been at least four similar abductions and disappearances in the Eastern province within last four weeks. It is clear that contrary to their public pronouncements the LTTE continues to use murder, abduction, extortion, and physical violence to maintain their grip over the Tamil community. Political murder is the LTTE's modus

TAMILTIMES 25
operandi of becoming the sole representative of the Tamils," the statement said. Mr. Thurairatnam, national organizer of EPRLF and the chairman of Pooratheivu Pradeshya Sabha have already lodged a complaint with the SLMM and Wellawely police.
Reporting the incident, TamilNet said, "LTTE denied any involvement in the abduction and subsequent murder of Alaguthurai. LTTE further said that with the current climate of peace they will not engage in such activities and that nefarious elements intent on sabotaging peace efforts are involved in treacherous acts to apportion blame on LTTE."
Meanwhile, police are yet without any clues about another three EPDP members, who were abducted allegedly by the LTTE on December 3. The abducted are EPDP Batticaloa Organizer Viji Thangarajah and Nesiah Nesarajah, who was Former North East Provincial Council Mcmber as well as translator Gnanajothi of Badulla. Nesiah Nesarajah who was earlier a prominent leader of EPRLF Varatharajah group later joined the EPDP.
Tigers expand radio broadcast
Jan 1 - Voice of Tigers (VoT) announced in its daily nightly broadcast that it will increase its broadcast time and distance from 16 January marking the tenth memorial anniversary of Colonel Kittu.
The increased coverage is possible after a five-kilowatt FM transmitter was imported in October through the embassy of Norway, which is acting as peace broker in Sri Lanka.
President Chandrika Kumaratunga wrote to Norwegian Prime Minister Kijel! Magne Bondevik to protest against the involvement of the Embassy in importation of the radio equipment.The JVP mounted a campaign for the expulsion of the Norwegian Ambassador Jon Westborg for his role in the affair.
Prime Minister Ranil Wickremasinghe came to the rescue of the Ambassador by giving graphic details of the events surrounding the import of the cquipment as part of the peace process. He said that it was on the request of his government that the Embassy played the role of the consignce.
"It is disheartening to witness orchestrated opposition by the chauvanistic elements in the South to the import of broadcast equipment by LTTE," S.P..Thamilchelvan, head of the Political Section of the LTTE, said addressing the VoT technicians in a ceremony held to open a new VoT building in Vanni.
"We have been working on importing new broadcast equipment for VoT for the past several years. Current peace climate has made this possible now. We regard the new equipment as very essential in this climate of peace. It is our cardinal duty to inform Tamil people on all issues affecting the current peace talks so that Tamil people can express their opinions on matters affecting them. Recent efforts by the People Alliance (PA) and other extremists to draw the Norwegian Government into this matter, condemning the involvement of the Norwegian Government and creating a controversy over this can only be viewed as an ill conceived at

Page 26
26 TAMILTIMES
tempt to sabotage the peace process." Thamilchelvan added.
EPDP meets US Ambassador
Jan 7 - An EPDP delegation comprising the Secretary General of the Party Mr. K. N. Douglas Devanada MP, Dr. K. Vigneswaran, Mr. S. Thavarajah and Ms. Maheswary Velauthan met the United States Ambassador Mr. Ashley Wills on 6 January, and EPDP Press release said.
The release also said the EPDP delegation explained to the Ambassador how the LTTE was carrying on its hostile acts against the EPDP and other democratic political parties. The hostile acts, which began in September 2002 in the form of threats, have now advanced to abductions and killings the in a systematicway.
The EPDP brought to the attention of the Ambassador the contents of the two leaflets issued recently by the LTTE. The leafcts contained a call to members of the EPDP and other democratic parties to join the LTTE, with a veiled threat to those who did not do so. The sccond leaflet accused the EPDP and other democratic parties for engaging in the abduction and killing of their own members and putting the blamc for such acts on the LTTE. The EPDP delegation also brought to the attention of the Ambassador that the LTTE was also responsible for the violation of human rights of sevcral civilians. The party requested the ambassador to intervcnc in the matter of LTTE detention centres in the Mullaitivu District, where the LTTE according to their own admission held more than 400 detainees.
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The EPDP delegation requested the Ambassador to use is good offices to pressurize the LTTE to respect democacy, pluralism and human rights.
LSSP concerned over course of peace process
7 Jan - The Lanka Sama Samaja Party has expressed grave concern over the indeterminate nature of the discussions engaged in by the government and the LTTE as part of the peace process, a press release issued by the LSSP leader Batty Weerakoon said.
It said: "It took the LTTE nearly a year to admit the reality that a possible solution to the ethnic conflict has to be on the basis of a united Sri Lanka. This lengthening out of the substantive exercise involved in the peace process has given rise to other issues which though they appear to be of a pressing nature could be resolved only within the parameters agreed on for the purposes of reaching an acceptable political solution, Among these issues are the High Security Zones in the North and the EP Muslim demand that they be free of LTTE control of their affairs.
"The government's failure to establish a meaningful relationship with the President has pushed it to non-transparent devices in accommodating the LTTE as has happened in helping it with the accommodating equipment. This non-transparency has helped others to transform what has been claimed to be an act of goodwill into something of a demonic character.
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"The LSSP does not dismiss off hand the government's claim that it alone is not to be blamed for the failure to establish the prerequisite understanding with the President for the needed bi-partisan approach to the peace process. But the LSSP does not see that the government has any justifiable reason for its failure to involve Parliament in the monitoring process. The LSSP together with the CPSL and others who also seek a peaceful solution to the conflict did suggest to the Prime Minister himself right at the commencement of the process that he moves to set up a Parliamentary Select Committee under the chairmanship of the Leader of the Opposition for this purpose. The government did accept the need for such monitoring but its failure to follow this up has effectively shut Parliament out of the on-going process.
"The LSSP stands for a positive PA response to the formula that has been stated by the LTTE as what should be worked out in the negotiations. This is a formula that was also the basis of the PA's October 1997 presentation to Parliament. In its Article l it stated, “Sri Lanka is one, Sovereign and Independent Republic, being an indissoluble union of Regions and shall be known as the Republic of Sri Lanka." The draft Constitution presented to Parliament by the PA in August 2000 and torn and set on fire by the UNP and the JVP made no departure from this basic position when its Article 1.(1) stated, “The Republic of Sri Lanka is one, free, sovereign and independent State consisting“of the institutions of the Centre and the Regions which shall exercise power as laid down in the Constitution."The UNP rejecting it in Parliament said that it did so despite agreement already established with the PA, because the Maha Sangha were not made aware of its provisions. The JVP declared as reason for its rejection that it tears the country into bits and pieces.
"The decision by the people at the last parliamentary election to keep the PA in the Opposition in the present Parliament should make no difference to its political solution hammered out by the President herself and embodied in the legislation it proposed. The parliamentary power struggle that motivates both government and opposition should not be allowed to push the PA to opportunistic alliances and unprincipled politics that turns its back on accepted political positions.
"The LSSP is part of the Sri Lanka Left that has shunned opportunist and unprincipled politics. Its present task within the PA as recognized by its recent party conference is the
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TAM TIMES 27
building of a progressive platform for the PA in respect of both the national question and the imperialist threat to us as a nation.
“The LSSP cannot accept any PA alliance with the JVP on the peace process unless the JVP unequivocally accepts the PA's position on the devolution of political power as embodied in the PA's Constitutional Bill that was presented to Parliament in August 2000. In the alternative the JVP has the obligation to present to the PA its alternative political solution to the ethnic conflict."
Sharp increase in cost of living
The cost of living in Sri Lanka has risen further giving rise to widespread discontent among many sections of society.
Shell and Laugfs have increascd the price of LP gas claiming that the price of LP gas in the world market has risen recently.
Shell and Laugfs have increased the price of a LP gas cylinder by Rs. 30 and Rs. 65 respectively.
The chairman of the Laugfs Gas Lanka, W.K.H. Wegapitiya said that the price of a gas cylinder might cven go up further in the cvent of a war in the Middlc East.
Although the Fair Trade Commission has ordered Shcll to reduce the price of a gas cylinder by Rs. 45, a spokesman for Shell told The Sunday Times that they are not in a position to comply due to the high pricc of LP gas prevailing in the world market.
The prices of bread and bread-related itcms too have gone up between Rs. 1 and Rs. 1.50 after Prima Ceylon Limited announced a pricc increase in flour claiming that the pricc of flour has recorded an increase in thc world markct.
Mr. Parakrama Dassanayakc, the President of thc Bakery Owners' Association of Sri Lanka said that they were forced to increase the prices of bread and other flour-based products in conscquence. "The other reason for the increasc is thchikc in prices of margarine, yeast, gas and diesel," he said. He added that margarine and yeast priccs have gone up by 15 to 20 percent.
Wheat flour price has been increased by Rs. 2.50. This increase in price came into effect from midnight 8 January. The price of Prima Mill Brand flour has gone up from Rs. 19.50 to Rs. 22.00 and Prima Grecn flour has gone up from Rs. 16.20 to Rs. 17.20. Prima Ceylon which is the sole distributor of wheat flour in Sri Lanka stated in a press release that the reason for the price increase was the higher international prices of wheat, which have occurred due to severe droughts experienced simultaneously in America, Canada and Australia.
Cabinet minister and CWC leader, Arumugam Thondaman in a press release said that this increase would result in serious economic difficulties. He also said that the largest number of wheat flour consumers were the estate workers from the Nuwara Eliya region.
He also added that most of the estate workers earned a daily wage and they had adjusted to spending the wage according to their needs. This sudden price increase will completely disrupt their routine, he said. Thondaman further stated

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28 TAM TIMES
that not only the estate workers but the whole nation would be affected by the increase.
"Since the flour industry has been handed over to Prima this monopoly has caused havoc in the country. There's no price control and I believe that the prices should be immediately controlled to prevent anymore distress to society," Thondaman added.
The increase in the price of wheat is not only confined to the product itself. It affects the prices of any wheat flourbased product such as bread, stringhopper, hopper etc. The prices of these products are already high and should they increase then the country will be in an economic turmoil.
Meanwhile, according to the weekly price bulletin issued by the Hector Kobbekaduwa Agrarian Research and Training Institute, there has been a steep increase in the price of rice and vegetables when compared to last year.
Gathering Storm in the East
The MoU has been in operation for nearly a year now. While the government and the LTTE congratulate themselves on the peace process (supported by the silence of civil society), as is evident from the findings detailed in Bulletin 31, released on 13 January, of the University Teachers for Human Rights (Jaffna), there is little to celebrate. The MoU has instead of empowering political space narrowed it even further. Bulletin 3 concentrates on the LTTE's suppression of dissent among ordinary people and rival political groups, its child conscription programme in the East and the growing Tamil-Muslim tensions in the East.
Despite the statements made by the government representatives, the LTTE representatives and civil society activists in the South, the peace process still fails to address or recognize serious violations of human rights and even of the terms of the MoU by the LTTE. This report highlights the recent elimination of members of rival political groups by the LTTE such as P. Alahathurai a prominent member of the EPRLF (V) whose body was recently discovered in Batticaloa, tortured with his hand and ear severed. We ask why the LTTE are able to abduct, torture and murder members of opposition groups with the apparent complicity of the State police forces who are not investigating these crimes. The LTTE continue to refuse to accept any political or civil identity independent of them. Civil society by its refusal to speak out about human rights violations and the present situation in the North and East is made an accomplice in the LTTE's programme of terror. The UTHR(J) once again tries to highlight how a totalitarian political ethos is being consolidated with callous disregard for the human life and human rights.
This report documents how despite the statements of our politicians the MoU has served only to further narrow political space. Not only are the LTTE abducting members of rival political groups they are also intensifying their child conscription programme. As UTHR (J) reports have consistently documented, child conscription has been proceeding and has not depreciated appreciably with the peace process. In fact child conscription has intensified under the MoU and spread to areas under government control. Forcible child conscription is also part of our present peace process. UTHR (J) highlights a few recent cases of escapees from LTTE camps and also lists

15 ANUARY 2003
those who have been abducted whose lives are unaccounted for. Neither the SLMM, the government nor civil society groups are making the LTTE accountable for child conscription. Far from decreasing LTTE conscription in the East in the 10-13-age range seems to be on the rise. This may be because child soldiers are easier to school to unthinking obedience. It is suggested that older cadres who are in peace' are seeking to consolidate personal power and developing personal agendas of self improvement through expropriation of wealth and exploitation of fear are proving less easy to control and manipulate. Batticaloa is nightly violated by the vans with tinted glass which travel openly though government controlled areas. These vans are for abducting political opponents and children. Bulletin 31 also draws attention to the plight of the LTTE's underage returnees and to the children returned due to psychological trauma. These children have received little publicity in recent times though the frequency of trauma amongst the LTTE cadres is high especially with the level of forcible conscriptions. The LTTE's method of disciplining children is through the application of abuse, torture and beatings. Several children have been killed or returned severely disabled. These traumatized children are victims of a brutal war, a brutal totalitarian force and victims of a future without hope. What LTTE courts exist to give these children, or any child conscripted by the LTTE justice? With regard to the North the LTTE has recently been urging the resettlement of displaced peoples especially those who formerly lived in the High Security Zones. Without any guarantee from the LTTE to protect human rights or to guarantee
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15 JANUARY 2003
a permanent and lasting peace, the people resettled in the HSZs would be completely at the mercy of the LTTE. Meanwhile the LTTE continues to appropriate property and extort money in the North-East.
Some of the most deeply troubling issues at the moment relate to the worsening of Tamil-Muslim relations in the East fanned and stoked by the LTTE. The LTTE has taken an active role in not only propagating anti-Muslim rhetoric but also instigating boycotts of Muslim goods and shops. These boycotts also allowed the LTTE to secure lucrative monopolies over the trade of commercial goods and produce. When this resulted in price rises in the "Tamil' market and people choosing to buy instead from the Muslim market, a grenade was thrown into the Muslim market on 2" of January. The LTTE has mobilized a number of organizations for anti-Muslim political action in the East and has been behind several violent incidents. This is creating and worsening tensions in the North and East and further radicalising young Muslim youth. UTHR (J) examines the case of auto driver A.T.M. Hussain (Kalanthar) found on the 5th of January his neck cut and his hands tied behind his head. Despite an official denial of involvement by Karuna, circumstantial factors indicate LTTE's complicity.
UTHR (J) points to the growing troubles in the East and the continuing suffering and resentment in the North and East. The LTTE's rise in child recruitment, rule of terror and abduction of political opponents has to be seen in the context of a complete lack of popular support in the North and the East which has led to its intensification of terror to maintain a seeming "consensus'. When there is no independent press, no political space, no law enforcement or organization that is holding the LTTE accountable, and children continue to be brutalized and militarised in the North and East, then there cannot be a meaningful peace.
Film raises controversy
It is a film that has caused widespread controversy anc speculation following its premier last month in Norway anc screened in London's West End on December 19. The film "In The Name of Buddha", seeks to portray the conflict be tween the Sri Lanka's Tamil minority and the Sri Lankan Arm and Indian Peacekeeping Force.
The film portrays a story from a Tamil viewpoint an presents the majority Sinhalese, who are overwhelmingly Buc dhist, in a bad light for the treatment meted out to the Tamil by the military which had been engaged in a bitter and violet armed conflict with the Tamil Tigers. The film's accounts ( human rights violations inflicted on ordinary families in Nortl eastern Sri Lanka contains disturbing scenes of the violen and prejudice that descended on the community from Sri Lal ka's mainly Buddhist population. Its debut on November 17 the 12th Oslo International Film Festival coincidentally can just days before the Sri Lankan Aid Conference in Oslo on November last year.
Religious and nationalist groups have protested that the fil
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was an attack on the Buddha and the Buddhist religion. The fact that film had not in any way been critical of the Tamil Tigers has prompted them to allege that it was an LTTE inspired film. These groups have urged the government to take action to prevent the screening of the film in western countries. It is very likely that it will not get approval for it to be screened in Sri Lanka.
Claiming to speak for the Muslims, Colombo's Grand Mosque's General Secretary Nazushan Hassen said in a statement, "It is with regret we noted in the media, during the last few days, that a film titled "In the name of Buddha' is to be screened in the United Kingdom portraying the Buddhists in Sri Lanka as villains in attacking innocent Hindus. At a time when every attempt is being made to resolve the ethnic conflict in our country which had ravaged for over two decades, a film of this nature will be an impcdiment to the peace process. We appeal to the Prime Minister and the Minister of Foreign Affairs to lodge a strong protest with thc Prime Minister of Britain against the screening of the proposed film. The Buddhists of Sri Lanka are peaceful and generous people. This is amply exhibited in their tolerance for other communities and religions, from the time of the Sinhalese kings. Hence, portraying such people as villains is nothing but a mischievous distortion of facts. The freedom of expression should not be toutcd to distort facts, create hatred and hurt the feelings of others. Views expressed in the film can only be termed sadism and not freedom of expression."
The Catholic Church has also protested against the screening of a film. The church in a press release signed by Fr. Cyril Gamini Fernando said: "Our attention has been drawn to some articles published over the past few weeks in the national newspapers in Sri Lanka, saying that a film named "In the Name of the Buddha" was shown to a selective audience, its central theme being the war that raged in the north and the east of the country. According to the articles, the film is an attempt to interpret this war as one between Buddhists and Tamils, the former harassing the latter. "We are aware that due to the war that raged in this country for over 20 years all creeds, communities and languages have suffered. We stress that attempting to see Buddhism or Buddhists as perpetrators of this war is not only a distortion of truth, but is a calculated attempt to create a religious strife that has never existed in this country. If the film has made such a mean attempt we denounce it."
"At a time when peace talks are being pursued to end this brutal war that has adversely affected all communities in this country and seek a lasting solution acceptable to all communities, we never approve of a production and screening of a provocative film of this nature, based on outright falsehood. We, if truth has been distorted, as revealed by the media, never hesitated to join hands with our Buddhist brethren who protest against the screening of this film. We appeal to the Sri Lankan Government to take every step possible in this regard," the release said. O
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Page 30
30 TAMILTIMES
EPDP office attacked: 16 Dec - The latest attack on an EPDP office was at Atchuveli where a bomb had completely destroyed the building.
Jaffna DIG, Edward Witharana said the attack had taken place on Saturday night when there was nobody at the office. The damage has been estimated at Rs 500,000.
Mobile police that had been summoned had brought the situation under control.
An EPDP spokesman said several of their offices at Chavakachcheri, Nelliady, Jaffna, Kayts, Delft and Ninthavur had been attacked in the recent past, allegedly instigated by the LTTE.
USS 1.62 million aid from Japan: 16 Dec - The Government of Japan decided to extend an Emergency Grant Aid of about USS 1.62 million to UNHCR (Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees) as emergency assistance for the internally displaced persons in Sri Lanka.
This assistance will be extended as part of the emergency assistance of about US$ 2.86 million which Japan pledged at the Oslo Donors' Meeting for Sri Lanka Peace Process Support on November 25, 2002.
Eelam “banks” doing well: 17 Dec - Fixed deposits in four Eelam "banks'maintained by the LTTE have increased rapidly during this year, Vavuniya sources said. These "banks' had been opened at Kilinochchi. Income of the "banks' had also increased due to the repayment of instant loans and agricultural loans promptly, "bank managers' said. There are more than twenty thousand account holders in these "bank branches' with 82 employ
C6:S.
World Bank aid to prevent AIDS: 18 Dec - The World Bank is to provide US$12.6 million to Sri Lanka to fight the spread of the HIV virus and reduce the stigma attached with the disease. Nearly 4,800 people in Sri Lanka are infected with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, according to the United Nations Program on AIDS and the World Health Organization. The World Bank
grant will finance AIDS prevention
support efforts to
emerging epidemi which HIV infect ticularly susceptib commended gover trol the deadly d measures were "n vent the furthers tion among highly
Rs. 21 m Dutch ies: 18 Dec - Th granted a Rs. 21.5 a Human Rights s cational institute u of the University ( tribution was aime institutional capac the study of Huma well as supporting cation programme "The support
further promote : and knowledge of is a fundamenta Netherlands De Dutch embassy st ongoing process C democratizsation human rights, by those involved in
ing awareness o. society is crucial.
activities are tar
munity centres,
prison personnel,
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Lankan asylum Dec - The Nether repatriated 45 Sri ther illegally en failed to obtain
cording to the D lombo. It said th rejects and the il carried out in line ment. “More retu future,” the emb
European Unic ining effort: 20
 

15 ANARY 2003
for Development and Humanitarian affairs with the European Union (EU), Paul Neilson said in a report that the Inter
a national HIV and
project. It will also educe the risk of an of tuberculosis, to 2d patients are parle. The World Bank hment efforts to consease, but said the ot sufficient to prebread of HIV infecvulnerable" people.
aid for rights stude Netherlands has million aid to set up tudy centre, an edunder the law Faculty y Colombo. The condat strengthening the ity of the centre for in Rights (CSHR), as its human rights edu
is of importance to and raise awareness human rights, which component of the velopment Co-An atement said, "In the fpeace-building and
, the promotion of
means of educating the process and raisdifferent levels of CSHR's educational eting lawyers, comrmed forces, police, workers and children ector and the media.”
rejects return: 19 ands government has Lankans who had eiered the country or political asylum, acitch embassy in Coreturn of the asylum egal immigrants was with a bilateral agreens are expected in the ssy said.
to fund NE demDec - Commissioner
nally Displace Persons from NE returning to resettle in their homes are facing severe hazards due to the buried land mines, and EU will do its maximum to provide financial support towards NorthEast demining ef. fort. EU is planning to distribute about two million euros to land mine victims in the North East province, Nielson further said in his report. Nielson estimated that about 600,000 land mines may still be buried in the NorthEast and that on the average 10-15 civilians become victims to landmines in their own homes and surrounding areas or in the fields.
LTTE returns children: 20 Dec - The Vavuniya LTTE political leader for, Mr. Ezhilan, returned six children under the age of 18, two of them girls, who wanted to join the LTTE, to their parents, in the presence of Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) officials and journalists in Vavuniya, Tamil Net reported. The SLMM’s representative in Vavuniya, Mr. Jukka Polonen speaking at the event said that the SLMM has received several complaints regarding many children who join the LTTE without the knowledge of their parents and the LTTE's attention was drawn to the matter. He said that the SLMM has continuing discussions with the LTTE regarding identifying children who join without parents' knowledge. In his speech, Mr. Ezhilan said that though the children come voluntarily with eagerness to join the LTTE, the LTTE leader has sent instructions not to accept children.
ICRC scaling down operations: 20 Dec - The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is pursuing the cases of 10,000 missing persons in Sri Lanka for which they have records since 1992. The ICRC DelegateGeneral for Asia and the Pacific, Reto Meister, said that half of those missing were civilians while the other half comprised both Government soldiers and LTTE militants. Mr. Meister said the ICRC was scaling down its operations in Sri Lanka since the ceasefire in the war-torn island was holding. Progress had been made in the

Page 31
15 ANUARY 2003
political negotiations in Sri Lanka and a conflict situation was now in a "period of transition'. Internally-displaced persons had started returning to their homes and prisoners were being exchanged.
Germany pledges additional aid: 23 Dec - The German government pledged an additional three million Euros towards the immediate needs in the North and East and in support of the peace process in the country between the government and the LTTE.
A release issued by the German embassy in Colombo stated that their government had made available an additional grant of three million Euros which is an equivalent of Rs. 285 million, to the Sri Lankan government to meet the needs of those affected by the conflict in the North and East.
Agreement to rebuild A9 signed: 23 Dec-Asian Development Bank (ADB) signed an agreement at Kilinochchi to provide a Rs.600m loan to rebuild 103km segment of Jaffna-Kandy road (A9) beginning from Vilakuvaithakulam in Omanthai to Jaffna Town.
K.M.P Wijewardene, President of Sri Lanka Road Development Authority (RDA) signed on behalf of the Government of SriLanka (GOSL). Eight other officials from Private Contracting companies were other signatories to the agreement.
The A9 work is scheduled to begin in January 2003 and is expected to complete before the end of 2003. The completion of the road work will promote social and commercial link between the regions of the South including the capital Colombo with Jaffna peninsula in addition to making the journey for civilians travelling to and from Jaffna much easier.
Expatriate center opened in Batticaloa: Dec 24- In acknowledging "the enormous contribution of Tamil expatriates from across the world to the progress of our struggle', LTTE has opened a "co-ordination center for Tamil expatriate visitors to get any help they need to make their visit an enjoyable and rewarding experience” in Kalladi in easstern Batticaloa.
Speaking on the occasions, Kausalyan, Head of Batticaloa-Ampara
political section o hoisted the Tami “Like Israel's Gol 2 January 1948 to ish Federations in thousands of Jew, made possible the expatriates respo Pirapaharan's app that kept our strug These centres refl. to our expatriate c patriate brothers a suffered as they re areas across the glo face difficulties fi to make a living in did not forget thei ing of people back When the ex center we will pro tion and help nece their needs during met. Our commit culture and techno brings fear to other us. These are the intellect and deep nity by our leader that our people ca this labour in fre nity.” said Kausal
Former TELO m - M. Uthayakumar former member of day at 6:55 pm in Batticaloa district, the Batticaloa hos went emergency S critical condition, tal sources. Whe: was standing by th were fired and a
made at him from
by an unidentified
SLMM probes 11 - The LTTE has a youths in the 20 various parts oft during the past st man for the Sri La sion said on 24 Di office in Batticalo of 11 abductions day from both fan army brigade he spokesman Teitu press.

TAMILMES 31
the LTTE having Eelam flag, said, a Meir's speech on he Council of JewChicago that made to give more that Jewish State, Tamil lded to our leader al in times of need le moving forward. ect our appreciation ommunity. "Our exnd sisters too have located to unknown be. Even while they hting nature, trying an alien culture they roots or the sufferin the NorthEast. patriates visit our vide all the informassary to ensure that their short stay are tment to education, logical advancement s who try to suppress result of the vision, love for the commu... We fervently hope n enjoy the fruits of edom and with digyan.
ember shot: Dec 25 , 25, reported to be a TELO, was shot toAaraiyampathy in the and was admitted to pital where he underurgery and was in a according to hospiMr. Uthayakumar e roadside, gunshots grenade attack was a vehicle on the road
gang.
abductions: Dec 25 legedly abducted ll 30 age group from he Batticaloa district ven days, a spokesnka Monitoring Miscember. The SLMM received complaints y the LTTE on Monily members and the adquarters, SLMM
Torkelsson told the
He said that according to the complainants, the victims had no ties with political parties.
In a bid to resolve this issue, the SLMM had tried to contact LTTE representatives in the Batticaloa district but had yet made no contacts, Mr. Torkelsson said. He noted that it was not clear what exactly was taking place in that area but they were investigating. the complaints.
Lankan naval chief for Delhi: Dec 25 - Sri Lanka’s Navy chief, Daya Sandagiri, left for India today to hoid high-level talks in New Delhi during the next two days in a move to curb alleged smuggling of arms by the LTTE. The Vice-Admiral would meet the top brass of the Indian Navy during the talks to "strengthen cooperation be tween the two navies," defence sources said. The meeting comes close on the heels of the spotting of a mysterious vessel off the north-eastern Sri Lankan coast. Last week, the Indian Navy had spotted the vessel, said to be loaded with a consignment of arms and fuel, and had reportedly informed the Sri Lankan navy. Searches by the latter did not yield results and the vessel was last sighted moving towards South-East Asia.
During the 10 months of the bilateral ceasefire agreement in force, there had been reports of the LTTE increasing its military strength in terms of personnel and arsenal. The Sri Lankan military had also maintained a state of preparedness with the acquisition of military hardware. Given the LTTE's extensive shipping network and its near-total control over the waters off north-eastern Sri Lanka, the naval cooperation with India has become imperative, according to defence sources.
LTTE cadres remanded for abduction: Dec 26 - Five LTTE cadres who allegedly abducted a man from the Kalmunai Central Camp area have been arrested and remanded. Kalmunai Chief Inspector M.N. Nizam said the man identified as Ravindren was sleeping when the five LTE cadres stormed into his house and took him away forcibly in a van. Inspector Nizam said he had informed the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission of the developments.

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32 AML TIMES
Balance of Forces vital for ceasefire: Dec 26-Responding to the demand by the LTTE to dismantle military High Security Zones in the Jaffna peninsula and free up land for resettlement of displaced persons, the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) said, "In order to build peace the forces on both sides must be kept stable. In Jaffna, simply dismantling High Security Zones for resettlement and handing over land for cultivation will decrease both security and combat potential of the Government Forces. The balance of forces is the basis of the Ceasefire agreement and disturbing that balance is disturbing the Ccascfire.”
“Representatives of the LTTE have stated that maintaining their military strength is vital if they are to be successful in their negotiations. What applies to the LTTE in this context should also apply for the Government. Normalisation and de-escalation are two concepts now guiding the way in the building of Peace in Sri Lanka. As SLMM defines De-escalation it is a reduction of the level of intensity of the conflict. Normalisation is the process of returning to a friendly relationship without violence. People want ormalisation and security, but one must not undermine the other,' the statement issued by SLMM Chief Gen. Trond Furuhovde stated.
13 Navy men further remanded: Jan 2- An officer and 12 seamen of the Sri Lanka Navy have been further remanded till January 8 for allegedly accepting Rs. 600,000 to release a boat of illegal Sri Lankan emigrants bound for ltaly.
According to police about one hundred persons going to ltaly through an agent had been apprehended in the sea off Galle and the Navy personnel had demanded one million rupees as a bribe. The agent had paid them Rs. 600,000 and the emigrants to be were released. On entering the Mediterranean sea they were apprehended by the Italian coast guard and deported. The suspects are being charged under the limmigration Act.
Goods worth Rs. out of Customs: J sons including thre four wharf clerksha the Customs officer the alleged theft ofc ued at over Rs. 90 Colombo Port. The allegedly transpo goods over several when the final lorry on a tip off, while the Chalmers Wal According to a Cust yards of drapery, re and crockery were band. The alleged ducted by three Col helped by four wh consignment cleare forged documents. " pects arrested were cleaners who were ti traband to the wareh authorities sealed til house and the cont cated. “Sri Lanka is at a PM: Jan 5 - Sri Lan Mr. Ranill Wickrem ress to people sai security matters sh to derail the mom negotiation. The co stage that would c Sri Lanka.”
He further saic has made steady p achieve peace in th ernment has achiev last year that far e. ment militarily dul ades of war. The signed between t Front government laid a firm founda "LTTE has no its armed struggle state of governan northeast conflict tion of the north ment of civilians political solutior overcome the sho
WWW.armaSSOCiates.co.uk - uS
 

15 JANUARY 2003
million spirited to the implementation of the ceasefire i 3 - Fifteen per- agreement. businessmen and "No move should be made to abane been arrested by don the peace talks and there is long n connection with way ahead in the path towards peace. mestic goods val- President Ms Chandrika Kumaratunge million from the has played a key role in promoting a suspects had been political solution as the means to end ing these stolen the conflict. ays from the Port "It is a positive signal the Peoples oad was detected, Alliance (PA) has extended its support making its way to to the UNF government in this regard. / house in Pettah. The Sri Lanka government is commitms official, 60,000 ted to safeguarding the religion and dymade garments cultural identities of the Sinhala and among the contra- Muslim communities. heft had been con- "Although we have been forced to ombo businessmen take several unpopular decisions, the arf clerks and the economy is recovering and we have i from customs on been able to achieve a three percent The eightother sus- economy growth.” he lorry drivers and Fourth round of talks begin: Jan 6ansporting the con- The fourth round of direct talks beouse. The Customs tween the LTTE and the Sri Lankan he Chalmers Ware- government began today at the Rose raband was confis- Garden hotel, 32km west of Bangkok,
Thailand. crucial stage’ says The LTTE delegation led by its ka's Prime Minister chief negotiator Mr. Anton Balasinasinghe in an add- gham's comprised Mr. S.P. Tamid, "arguments over lselvan, head of the LTTE's political ould not be allowed section, Colonel Karuna, Batticaloa2ntum of the peace Ampara Special Commander and Mrs. untry has entered a Adele Balasingham, Secretary to the ecide the future of delegation.
The government's team led by cabi, "The government net minister Prof. G. L. Peiris comprised ogress in its bid to Ministers Milinda Morogoda and Rauf e country. The gov- Hakeem and Director of Sri Lanka's 2d successful results Peace Secretariat, Bernard Gunatillake. ceeded its achieve- Amongst the LTTE's resource peong the last two dec- ple attending the talks were legal ex'easefire agreement pert Mr. Visuwanathan Rudrakumaran, e United National Dr. Jay Maheswaran, a development and the LTTE has expert and Mr. Pulidevan, head of the ion in this regard. LTTE's Peace Secretariat. The Norweagreed to abandon gian facilitators were led by Deputy ind pursue a federal Foreign Minister, Mr. Vidar Helegesen, e as a solution the and included Eric Solheim. Military de-escala- The talks are expected to conclude st and the resettle- on 9 January. are also part of the Both sides should Japanese Foreign Minister's visit: omings with regard Jan 6 - The Japanese Foreign Minister
FullinkS - ARM Online lnSuranCe

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Ms Yoriko Kawguchi today flew to Jaffna by special aircraft and surveyed the progress of resettlement and humanitarian projects in the northern peninsula implemented with Japanese aid. This was the first visit of a Japanese Foreign Minister to the war torn Jaffna district. She also toured Chavakachcheri and Sarasalai areas in Thenmaradchchi areas, worst affected by the war in the district, sources said.
She told civilian representatives that the government of Japan would provide more aid to mine clearing projects in the north in the near future, sources said.
Later Japanese Foreign Minister attended the event held at Colombo Hilton Hotel where an agreement was signed between Japan and Sri Lanka. According to this agreement the government of Japan would provide a grant of estimated 1.2 million US dollars, which would cover transport support for mine clearance activities in the Wanni area, purchase of necessary equipment for the rehabilitation of public facilities in Jaffna, sources said.
Adding that Japanese government is very optimistic towards the peace process and promise more financial aid to Sri Lanka, Japanese Foreign Ministerpointed out the need of co-existence with India in achieving lasting peace in the island
BOBLEP project in NE: Jan 6- Four hundred ninety three more schools are to be brought under the Book Based Language Enrichment Project (BOBLEP) in the New Year 2003 by the ministry of education in the northeast province. The main objective of the BOBLEP is to help pupils improve their reading and language ability in Tamil, English and Sinhala. The project funded by the International Development Agency of the World Bank is now being implemented in seventy-five schools in the northeast province. This year the number of schools will be increased to five hundred and sixty eight in the northeast. In the other seven provinces more than two thousand eight hundred schools are to be brought under the BOBLEP scheme.
Drums of peace in Jaffna: Jan 7 - War-ravaged Jaffna will throb to the "drums' of peace in the form of a mega
ہ-.kSع8:عۃ
peace concert, when tiste Pushpavanam centres stage at a gal the Jaffna Hindu Co January 10.
The concert, has celebrate Sri Lanka The Ministry of Co sumer Affairs toge GSM, Shakthi TV/F the concert, the first war torn zone in dec The concert will the opening of a CW the formal discussic Sala and State Ger outlets there. "Peopl an opportunity to c initiative in Decemb a similar concert. T will provide people chance to celebrate it Minister of Comme Affairs Ravi Karun press conference in
Journalis's home The home of senic Senathirajah Jeyana Batticaloa in easter attacked with gren night on 7 Januar poured petrol and se located in the Sri La curity zone in Valai tres north of Battical spread due to rains neighbours, his co. journalist and his f the house escaped t Mr. Jeyananda ceived several deat allegedly from a su: tremist group in the also alleged to hav next to the journal 26, 2002, mistaking Mr. Jeyanandal respondent for Tan He is also a senio the Tamil Daily Vi
“Every child in sc Jan 8 — “Every cl gramme" sponsore the northeast provi rated in Trincomal ary, morning by th Resource Develop Cultural Affair

| AML TIMES 33
opular indian aruppusamy takes musical show at lege Grounds on
been organised to s peace process. hmerce and Conner with, Dialog M, has organised of its kind in the des. lso coincide with E outlet and mark ms to open a Salu eral Corporation e in Colombo had lebrate the peace r last year through is show in Jaffna in the peninsula a an upbeat mood," ce and Consumer anayake said at a Colombo.
attacked: Jan 8 - or journalist, Mr. ndamoorthy, from 'n Sri Lanka, was ades around midy. The attackers et fire to the house inka army high sechenai, 32 kilomeoa. The fire did not and the efforts of leagues said. The mily who were in he attack. moorthy had rethreats in the past pected Islamic exarea. This group is set fire to a house st's home on June it for his residence. noorthy is the coril Net in Batticaloa. correspondent for akesari.
ool programme”: ild in school proby the UNICEF in Ice will be inauguThursday, 9 JanuMinister of Human ent, Education and
Dr. Karuna sena
Kodituwakku.
Around seventy five thousand children will be enrolled into Grade One in all schools in the northeast and border villages adjoining the northeast under this scheme and the UNICE will donate school kits to every newly enrolled children, sources said.
Minister of School Education Mr. Suranimala Rajapakse will participate as guest of honour. The resident UNICEF representative in Colombo Mr. Ted Chaiban will also attend thc event.
The North East Provincial Ministry of Education estimates around 56,615 students would be admitted this year into Grade l in the province alone and about nineteen thousand children will be enrolled in schools locatcd in boarder areas of other provinces, sources said.
UNICEF sources said more children would be enrolled into Grade One this year compared to past as the twenty year old war has ceased with signing of the Cease-fire Agreement between the government and the LTTE.
Until the ceasefire agreement came into force, educational facilitics to several thousand children had becn denicd as their parents stayed in welfare and refugee camps. Now the situation has changed and more people from refugee camps and welfare centres arc slowly returning to their villages, sources said.
Greenlight for resettlement outside HSZ: Jan 8 - While the question ofresettling refugees in High Security Zones in Jaffna has become an issue at the ongoing peace talks in Thailand, security forces and the LTTE during talks in Vavuniya have decided to rehabilitate more than 2000 families outside the HSZs in Vavuniya.
At a special meeting at the Vavuniya Government Agent's office, betwee Vavuniya Deputy Commander Parakrama Pannipitiya and LTTE's Vavuniya Political Wing Leader Elilan, the two sides also agreed to demine about 30 villages earmarked for resettlement.
At least 3,400 families have been resettled since the ceasefire agreement came into effect.
Help for Puttalam refugees: Jan 8 - Some 2,000 families in 69 welfare cen

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34 TAM TIMES
tres in the Puttalam District have been offered financial assistance to rebuild their temporary dwellings under a programme initiated by Wanni Rehabilitation Minister Noordeen Mashoor.
Under the programme, which is part of a Rs. 4 million rehabilitation project, each family is given Rs. 2000 to reconstruct their temporary dwellings. Minister Mashoorand hisministry officials also visited the refugee centre at Karambai vilalge where several dwelling were destroyed in a recent fire. The families affected by the fire were given Rs. 5,000 each.
President wants suicide squads disbanded: Jan 9 - President Chandrika Kumaratunga wants the LTTE to disband its suicide squads as the government no longer maintains a Directorate of Military Intelligence (DMI) run special operations team which carried out raids behind the LTTE lines, particularly in the east.
Her spokesperson Harim Peiris said at a press briefing yesterday that the LTTE must reciprocate by disbanding suicide squads responsible for mounting human bomb attacks in the south particularly on civilian targets over the years.
Tigers abduct suspect from Prison Dept. Vehicle:Jan 9-The government has brought to the notice of the Norwegian-led Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) about a serious violation of a cease-fire agreement in relation to the overland movement of vehicles on the Kandy-Jaffna A9 road. The SLMM was in touch with the LTTE regarding the incident, the sources said.
This follows the interception of a Prisons Department vehicle carrying a group of prisoners from Jaffna to Anuradhapura via Vavuniya, near Kilinochchi and the forcible removal of a prisoner. He was described as a former member of the LTTE. "We were to produce him in relation to High Court case,” a government source said. Ac: cording to the source, a group of armed persons had blocked the vehicle as it was passing Kilinochchi area and ordered the officials to hand over the prisoner. However, it was not clear whether the LTTE wanted to rescue the man or he was wanted by the LTTE in connection with some other incident.
Jaffna Prisons's daram said the parti had been removed b sons was charged foi the LTTE and had be failed to turn up inco was taken up.
Police had arre Sivalingam Jayasee and produced him be Magistrate who rema being taken by the p be produced before t Court.
The suspect alor charged under PTA h at l l am and staye Mankulam LTTE pc the three suspects hac by the LTTE.
The following di cials had taken the around 7 a.m, but fiv from Mankulam tow sons appeared, over officials and escapec Under the ceas reached in February 1 agreed to permit unre ofvehicles to and f ninsula along the AS
LTTE continues to diers: Jan 9 - The S ing Mission says the ing to recruit child si to the SLMM, them over 600 complaint year from Tamil pal their children have
the LTTE. The SLM whatever reason, th fit to continue forci dren into their cadre lic claims to the con
The SLMM add abducted children h The monitoring mis possible the LTTE distant from the Tig north and are thus cc children despite a LTTE leadership th has stopped recruit ages of the childré from 12 to 17 years
According to thi is to be addressed a Thailand.

15 ANUARY 2003
hief S. Sivasuncular suspect who unidentified perinvolvement with en on bail, but had urts when the case
sted the suspect, lan, at Malakan fore the Mallakam Inded him. He was risons officials to he Vavuniya High
g with two others ad left Muhamalai i overnight at the lice station where been interrogated
ay the Prison offisuspects and left e kilometers away "n four armed perpowered the prison with one suspect. efire agreement ast year, the LTTE stricted movement rom the Jaffna pe) route.
recruit child solri Lanka Monitor! LTTE is continuoldiers. According ission has received s since March last ents claiming that been abducted by 1M asserts that for e Tigers have seen bly conscript chilldespite their pubtrary.
is that most of the ail from the East. sion presumes it is in these areas are er hierarchy in the bntinuing to abduct ssurances by the at the organization ing children. The n abducted range
e SLMM, the issue the peace talks in
ICRC to trace missing persons: Jan 9 - Government and the LTTE agreed during recent peace talks in Thailand to ask the International Committee of the Red Cross to set up a new, independent tracing system, the humanitarian agency said. The ICRC has been carrying out its own tracing work in Sri Lanka - since 1990.
The agency said it welcomed the move because it was“increasingly concerned about the fate of persons unaccounted for in connection with armed conflict and internal violence throughout the world and the anguish this causes their families.” The agency said it was "deeply committed to heightening awareness of this issue among governments, the military, national and international organizations ... and the general public." The ICRC said it has been approached by the families of over 20,000 civilians and combatants in the past 12 years. Few of the missing have been found, either dead or alive.
Two teenagers abducted in Batticaloa: Jan 10 - The Army has sought the assistance of the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission to probe an incident where a suspected group of LTTE cadres had abducted two teenage schoolboys in Batticaloa. Military sources said the two abductees identified as Janaka Raj and S. Gobhi, both aged sixteen were
students of Ramakrishna Maha Vidya
laya and Vannamunna Maha Vidyalaya in Batticaloa.
More escape from LTTE: Jan 10 - A new trend has been observed since November with a high rate of escapees from the LTTE in the north and east coinciding with the decrease in complaints and violations, the Scandinavian monitors said on 9 January. SLMM Deputy chief Hagrup Haukland told the press that this new trend was observed with youngsters increasingly escaping from the LTTE. The LTTE has threatened the families, the SLMM said, following such incidents, as they wanted to get back their recruits. SLMM has approached the LTTE to put an end to strong arm tactics and at times adhered to and at other times fallen on deafears, the SLMM deputy chief said. Mr. Haukland said that the SLMM has no capacity to track them within the Ceasefire Agreement. Complaints

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recorded by the beginning of March last year up to December 31 against LTTE has amounted to 1403 out of which 502 are violations and 452 ruled as nonviolations with the rest remaining as closed or pending cases. During this time the number of complaints against the government amounted to 385 out of them 54 are ruled as violations and 293 are non-violations while the rest are pending.
NUA slams SLMC split: Jan 10 - The National Unity Alliance (NUA), led by Mrs Ferial Ashraffhas charged the two factions of the crisis-ridden Sri Lanka Muslim Congress of bringing disgrace upon the party's founder, late leader M. H. M. Ashraff.
NUA Spokesperson Abul Kalaam told the press that its party leader Ferial Ashraff who is also the wife of the late Mr. Ashraff was deeply saddened by the present split in the SLMC. Meanwhile, NUA sources said Mrs. Ashraff even gave over the SLMC party leadership to be solely carried out by Mr. Hakeem soon after the demise of Mr. Ashraff as she did not want a split within the SLMC. But despite her giving up of her leadership of the SLMC, such a crisis situation which has arisen between Mr. Athaullah and Mr. Hakeem was very tragic.
Kofi Annan’s visit in February: Jan 10- United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan is scheduled to visit Sri Lanka towards the end of the next month, a foreign ministry spokeman said. This is the first official visit in 35 years by a UN Secretary General to Sri Lanka. The last was by U. Thant in April 1967. Mr. Annan, during his twoday stay in Sri Lanka will visit Jaffna with Foreign Minister Tyronne Fernando. The visit will further strengthen the new ties that the UNF government has established with the United Nations. Sri Lanka was left out during Mr. Annan's visit to South Asia in 2001 due to the absence of an official invitation by the then government, the source said.
LTTE has breached ceasefire: SILMIMI: Jan 1 1 - The LTTE has breached the Ceasefire Agreementby threatening the security forces on 6 January morning, Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission said. SLMM deputy chief Hagrup Haukland said it was "ridiculous" of the LTTE to have behaved in such a man
US Asia
NEW DELHUnited States is newfound strateg ertly expand its v South Asia. And dia’s help in co creasing sway in achieve these twi etous eyes are on port of Trincoma for its naval ass around its Diego dian Ocean.
To gain acci jewel" that is Tri world's biggest r Washington has step in as its pro: ence over the p arousing suspicic gemony. To mak the US, as part of term presence in
ner as they have especially since ating in a govern “Its totally off ta iour on the part c A person intr LTTE cadre had rity forces persc they refrain from houses and other apannai, north o day in question.
Military sp Sanath Karunara diers had been c on buildings, ho pants when an L. had shown his ic duced himself a ened the troops. troops, that they they continued c However, to the LTTE, the tri mission after the to their base. Li reported to the P. and Sri Lanka (SLMM) in Jaffr man said.

ATES 3.5
closes in on South ’s “strategic jewel
Rahul Bedi
I, January 6 - The looking to India, its ically, to help it covttal naval influence in the US also wants inntaining China's inthe lindian Ocean. To n aims, the US's covthe eastern Sri Lankan lee as a staging point ets stationed in and Garcia base in thc In
2ss to the "strategic ncomalice, one of thc latural decp harbours, "persuaded" India to cy to extend its influort without overtly on of superpower hee this move possible, establishing its longAsia, has successfully
no authority to do so, the forces were operment controlled area. rget and a misbehavif the LTTE," he said. oducing himself as an
threatened the secunnel demanding that collecting details on buildings at Vannarf Jaffna town, on the
okesman Brigadier ne said a group of solollecting information uses and their occuTTE cadre in civvies entity card and intros Pavalan and threatFurther he had told the would be arrested, if ollecting data.
avoid any clash with pops had stopped their incident and reported ter this incident was lice at Vannarapannai Monitoring Mission a, the military spokes
pressured the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eclam (LTTE) - who have been fighting for nearly two decades for an independent homeland- to persevere in their peace talks with the Sri Lankan government.
Located on the busy East-West shipping route stretching from the Sucz Canal to the Malacca Straits, Trincomalec "controls" the Indian Occan. Through a combination of diplomacy, bullying and astute bargaining, a paranoid India had for several decades managed to prevent outside powers -cspccially the US - from having access to Trincomalcc. But "with the Unitcd States now India's most covetcd ally, Dclhi is unlikely to object to Washington neatly tying up various strategic bonds to fully dominatic the Asian region", a senior Indian sccurity officer said. Delhi is hoping to profit from its growing defense relations with thc United States, he addcd.
During the Cold War years, the Unitcd Statics had wantcd to station a Voice of America transmitter in thc area as a precursor to its warships using the harbor, but India had steadfastly opposed any such move. One of thckey clauses of the 1987 accord that lcd to the deployment of the Indian Peace Keeping Force in Sri Lanka to disarm the LTTE declared that Trincomalceparticularly its oil tanks, located around 20 kilometers from the Indian coast - would not be controlled by any foreign power "inimical" to India.
But all that has now changed. After September 11, India-US defense relations are no longer confined to strategic cooperation through dialogue, periodic policy reviews and reciprocal visits by senior officials and service commanders, but extend to joint military maneuvers and the inflow of US military hardware.
Expanding bilateral strategic cooperation led to the reactivation of the Indo-US Defense Policy Group (DPG), the apex military coordination body to further negotiations between the Pentagon and India's ministry of defense

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36 TAMILTIMES
that were stalled after sanctions following New Delhi's 1998 nuclear tests.
In a quiet, 35-year deal recently clinched with Sri Lanka - with US approval - the state-owned Indian Oil Corp (IOC) has hammered out a 200 million rupee (US$4.16 million) agreement to refurbish the voluminous oil tanks at Trincomalee. This refurbishing is happening for the first time since World War II, when British warships used them to refuel.
Currently, Ceylon Petroleum Corp operates only 15 of Trincomalee's 99 storage tanks, limiting sales to 25 tonnes per vessel and making the fuel expensive. But once the IOC activates the tanks and brings in petroleum products from its nearby Chennai refinery on the Indian mainland, supplies will be augmented to 12,250 kiloliters, making fuel not only cheaper but increased to 200 tonnes per ship.
To further cement its presence across the island, the IOC is also planning on taking over 100 retail petroleum outlets. The two sides are also considering an offshoot off the proposed pipeline between the southern Indian cities of Chennai and Madurai to the Sri Lankan capital, Colombo.
Providing the entire operation protection at Trincomalee will be UStrained Sri Lankan soldiers. Under Operation Balanced Style, US Sea Air Land Forces (Seals) specialists have begun training Sri Lankan army and navy personnel in security techniques to protect Trincomalee.
Sri Lankan police teams are being sent to the US for anti-terrorism courses with emphasis on bomb disposal. US
military cooperation has also been ex
tended to the island's air force that operates a wide range of Israeli-made combat aircraft.
The US Navy has long been looking for access to a strategically located South Asian port for its Fifth Fleet, established in 1996 for permanent deployment in the Indian Ocean to bolster the US Middle East force. US missile strikes during the war in Afghanistan were executed, among others, by Fifth Fleet warships, demonstrating America's ability to exercise military power against states deep inland.
But security sources said in a recent reassessment that Washington realized that to successfully maintain its sustained forward deployment posture in the Indian Ocean region and to counter growing Chinese ambitions in the area,
Ta
O Cops Top Corr. 18 Dec - The SI considered by most corrupt of all publi in the country, wit identified as being tion, according to a day aftera public op by a well-known in
The local unit ternational in a surv at a news conferenc said 39.2 percent of damned the police Mr. Welliamuna of vey carried out in 1 the North and East a vital health and educ next to the police in Painting a sad pictu tration in Sri Lanka that most people co sector which they be rupt. In the 2002 G dex, according to T. tional, Sri Lanka ra out of a scale often reflects levels of co lic sectoras perceiv ple, country analys zens. It ranks 46 no worst corrupt count
Neighbouring Pakistan at 77. Finla corrupt in the world the United Kingdol and Japan in 10, 16 Mr. Welliamun plans to take any o ing corruption, but i
it needed access to
bases like Trincon The United S edged the Indian ing force” in the wants a closer w with it that includ patrol the sea lanes bian Sea to the M. Singapore coast.
Since October ships, along with been patrolling th lacca Straits, throu 80 percent of Japa the Middle East. T nection will furthe curity network.
(Inter Press

15 ANUARY 2003
king Points
Iption League i Lankan police are people to be the most c sector institutions h politicians being pehind most corrupreport issued yesterinion poll conducted ternational body. of Transparency Iney report announced e held at the BMICH people interviewed as the most corrupt. he unit said the sur7 districts other than lso revealed that the lation sectors ranked terms of corruption. re of public adminis, the survey revealed uld not identify any lieved was least corlobal Corruption Inransparency Internanks 56th scoring 3.7 in an indicator which }rruption in the pub/ed by business peots and ordinary cititches higher over the ry, Bangladesh. ndia ranks 73, with indisplaced the least with a 9.7 score with m, the United States and 21 respectively. a said they had no ne to courts in fightn positive terms they
strategically located lalee.
ates has acknowlNavy as a "stabilizIndian Ocean and )rking relationship es arrangements to from the North Aralacca straits off the
2001, Indian Navy the US Navy, have piracy-ridden Magh which pass over l's oil supplies from he Trincomalee conr tighten the US seO Service Asia Times, 7 January, 2003)
were planning an Integrity Award system whereby clean officials could be recognised. Transparency International local chief J. C. Welliamuna said their aim was to form a coalition against corruption and push for reforms in the system. O Copying terrorist tactics
20 Dec - In an exclusive interview with the BBC's Francis Harrison, Soosai, the Commander of the Sea Tigers, the marine armed wing of the LTTE, said that Al Qaeda, the terrorist group led by Osama bin Laden, had copied tactics from the Tamil Tigers. Soosaibelieved that the other groups should learn from the Tamil Tigers and the Al Qaeda.
The interview by Harrison with Soosai recorded during the LTTE celebrations of Heroes” Day in late November last year and broadcast over the BBC Television could now be seen in the BBC Website's South Asia section, under the heading, "Tamil Tigers Reveal Suicide Secrets" as a video clip. The news feature introduced the Black Tigers as "the Original Suicide Bombers of the World." The Sea Tiger leader Soosaiclaimed that the destroyer USS Cole was attacked in Yemen using LTTE tactics says. He told BBC, "They are using our tactics. I think in Yemen they used our strategy of suicide attack to blow up an American ship. That is exactly what we used to do," referring to the attack in October 2000 on destroyer USS Cole in Yemen attributed to Al Qaeda in which 17 US troops were killed.
In the news program that featured masked suicide bombers in black uniforms Frances Harrison reported that, "The Tamil Tigers have sent more young men and women to their deaths than any other group in the world' (as suicide bombers).
“They are arguably, the most disciplined force and the most ruthless," she said. Some suicide bombers, known as Black Tigers who were shown for the first time to the public on the last "Heroes Day" of the LTTE interviewed in the program said they were ever ready to go back to fighting.
The BBC report, drawing attention to the covered faces of the suicide bombers, concluded, "It's not until they showed their faces the war will be truly over." O Threat for Journalists
December 16 - A directive from Sri Lanka's police chief has drawn flak from a campaigning group in the island which has raised objections to a directive from him to police officers to keep files or

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journalists that included names, home addresses and telephone numbers.
The police department has acknowledged that its Inspector General recently issued the directive, but says the move is only a way of encouraging good relations with journalists and nothing more.
However, the Movement for Social Democracy said in a recent statement that maintaining such files pose "a major risk of being the beginning of maintaining a dossier on journalists with the police. It is in that sense a serious invasion of the privacy of the journalist as a citizen, and deserves to be condemned as such.
"It could easily extend to the political leanings of the journalist, organizations of democratic dissent he or she is associated with, and a whole range of other private information," it said. "Such information could be used by the police itself for acts of revenge or by politicians who do not like the work of a particular journalist. In that sense this circular has more than the touch of a fascist or police state," the statement said.
The group has urged the police chief to withdraw the circular, saying: "Despite its overt good intentions, (it) can in fact bring a major threat to the freedom of the journalist, the freedom of the media and the freedom of expression that is guaranteed by the constitution.” O Obey my son or you are out:
A recent report in the Colombo newspaper stated that a powerful Minister hailing from the Southern province of the island had summarily dismissed il security personnel given for his personal protection for not working according his orders. This Minister was a powerful Minister of the previous PA government, but defected from it joined the present governing party just before the parliamentary election in December 200l.
The reason that precipitated the transfer of these security personnel was their failure to comply with the request of the Minister's son to accompany him to a nightclub at a five-star hotel in Colombo. They had refused to accompany him saying that it was not part o their duty to do so. The son had complained to the father about the "conduct of the security personnel following which the Minister had issued them the marching orders.
A few days later, acting fast against the latest five star hotel brawls by rich political brats the police have summoned the sons of Ministers S. B. Dissanayake and Mahinda Wijesekera for questioning over the alleged attack on the son of a top official. The sons of the Ministers are alleged to have assaulted Pavithra Fernando, son of Airport and Aviation Services Chairman Hemasari Fernando.
Mr. Fernando tolc had suffered seri warded in hospita
The midnight took place at the C Colombo Oberoi
O Plot to kill Pri Factor fiction nalistic imaginatic The Interior N a special police tea report carried in a December Lakm spiracy to assassi UNF and LTTE p present PA strong 'strongman' altho been speculated as Mahinda Rajapak The Minister' is to start investig the matter and to group actually b nouncing the inv that if the investi was a false news tion will be taken cerned.
Meanwhile, M that he had lodged to inquire into th conspiracy to ass who is the leader which Rajapakse scribing the week Rajapakse believe was willing to de than to assassinat investigations rev was false, then it sow divisions wit In the mea Nirodha, a freela the CID that he about the plot to a on the direction ( to be the new p journal. After wr it over to Ranjith The investig tained document that a woman n Perera had beel “Lakmina” newsp 2002. She has no pear before the Colombo Fort M
O Questions foi
The JVP Par Wimal Weerawa ment a series o from Prime Mi singhe, regardir Minister's Secre

TAM TIMES 37
the press that his son us injuries and was
rawl on 18 December scade nightclub of the otel in Colombo.
ident? 'Or a figment ofjourthat has gone too far? inister has appointed m to probe into a news Sinhala weekly on 15 na, regarding a connate the President by otting together with a man. The unidentified ugh not identified has the Opposition Leader ー.
directive to the team ations immediately on arrest any person or 'hind the plot. In anstigation, he stressed sations revealed that it report serious legal acagainst the paper con
Mahina Rajapakse said a complaint at the CID e news item about the assinate the President, of Peoples Alliance of is leading figure. Dely as a 'scurrious rag' :d that every MP in PA fend their leader rather her, adding that if the ealed that the news item was more an attempt to hin the PA ntime, one Nuwan nce journalist, has told lad written news story ssassinate the President fRanjith Silva alleged blisher of the weekly ting the story he handed Silva... he told the CID. tors said they had obary evidence to prove med Tecla Dilrukshi the publisher of the per until December 20, w been directed to apID on an order by the gistrate.
the Prime Minister
amentary group leader, sa has tabled in Parliaquestions to be asked ster Ranill Wickremea meeting the Prime ary Bradman Weerako
on had with the Leader of the South Asian Relations Committee of the European Parliament on December 25.
Following are the questions listed for oral and written answers by the Premier: l. Did Mr. Bradman Weerakoon, Sccretary to the Prime Minister have a discussion with Ms. Maria Carrilho, the leader of the Committee for South Asian Relations of the European Parliament on 25 December, 2002 at 2.30 p.m.? 2. According to the report of this discussion, Mr. Bradman Wecrakoon had agreed that according to the history of Sri Lanka there had been separate flags for different areas and on that basis giving Eelamists a separate national anthem and a national song would not be a problem to Sri Lanka. Does the Prime Minister accept and confirm this? 3. Docs the Prime Minister know that the national flag of Sri Lanka was planned and officially recognized by a committce made up of acclaimed leaders representing all communities? Docs thc Prime Minister know that this committee consisted of Tamil leaders G. G. Ponnampbalam and S. Nadesan, Muslim leader T. B. Jayah and Sinhalese leaders J. R. Jayewardene and S.W. R. D. Bandaranaike? If the Prime Minister knew this, had he made the Secretary of the Prime Minister aware of this? 4. Did the Sccretary of the Prime Minister give the above assurance to Ms. Maria Carrilho with the knowledge and agrecment of the Prime Minister'? Or had the Secretary of the Prime Minister acted on his own? 5. Docs the Prime Minister believe that the National Flag of Sri Lanka docsn't adequately represent all the communities in Sri Lanka? 6. Does the Prime Minister know that out of the 190 flags hoisted at the UNO, Tamils have been accepted as a community only under the National Flag of Sri Lanka? 7. If the Prime Minister rejects his Secretary's statement what actions would the Prime Minister take; i. about the assurances his secretary had expressed. ii. preventing his secretary from giving assurances about the sacred national symbols to the international community?
(Continued from page 39)
es, All welcome. Feb 86.30 p.m. Veena by Subathra Raguraman wife of Bhavan's violin teacher Balu Raguraman. Feb 226.30 p.m. Benefit Programme for Bhavan. Bharatanatyam - The Dance of Krishna by Sita Nandakumara Feb 287.45 p.m. Music Fusion by Bhavan's students of Karnatic Vocal, Veena, Violin & Mridangam

Page 38
38 TAMILTIMES
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Jaffna Hindu parents seek professional partner for their Engineer son, 30, employed in USA. Please send horoscope, details. M 1328 C/o Tamil Times.
Jaffna Hindu professional parents seek doctor/dentist/ lawyer bride for their Chartered Accountant Son, 27, 5'8", working for a multinational firm in London. Please send details. M 1329 C/o Tamil Times. Jaffna Hindu parents seek professional bride for son, Medical Doctor, 25, 5'9". Please send details. M 1330 C/o Tamil Times.
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OBTUARIES Mr. C. Viyakesparan
Born: 29.04.1932Died: 13.12.2002-12-31 Camagasabai Viyakesparan, beloved husband of Neelambal, adored father of Jivitkumar, Brana van and Senthuran, loving father-in-law of Roshanthi and Ramanthi; most loving Appappa (grandfather) and sorely missed by Manisha, Manojkumar, Ambika and Janaka, loving brother of Wiyageswari (Colombo); brother-inlaw of late Balambal, late
Mahadevan (New Zealand),
Sahadevan (Colombo), Rasadevan (Canada), Vamadevan and Nadarajah (both of CoIотbo) passed away peacefully on Friday, 13 December 2002.
The funeral took place on Thursday, 19* December followed by cremation at the Ruislip Crematorium, London. The family wish to extend their Sincere thanks to all those who comforted them during their time of tremendous loss, sent floral tributes and assisted them in numerous other ways. - 787B Kenton Lane, Harrow, Middlesex HA36AH.
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SANUARY 2003
Mr. Poniah Natliah
PONIAH NALLIAH, Born in Alaveddy, Sri Lanka May 20, 1913. Died Toronto, Ontario, Canada December 13, 2002.
Retired Principal, Hindu College, Bambalapitya, Tea
cher, Royal Primary School and Rajah School Sandilipay. Lived in Lilly Avenue, Wellawatte prior
to emigrating to Canada in 1983.
Dearly beloved husband of late Rasalakshmy, loving father of Chandran (USA) and Malar (Canada). Father in law of Shirani and Sarveswaran. Gra
nd father of Haran, Radha, Priya, Logan and Niroshini.
Brother of Muthuthamby (Malyasia) late Mrs. Murugesu, late
Chellappah, late Nadarajah (Malaysia) late Sengamalam
Murugesu and late Dr. Raja
ratnam (Alaveddy). Brother in
law of Mrs Rajaratnam (Alaveddy) Mrs. Vaheisvaran, Dr. Sivapalasundaram, Mrs. Maniarpillai, Mrs SivaSubramaniam
(all of Australia) and late Sivapathasundaram, late Mrs. Selvarajah (Malyasia) and late Sivagnanasudaran (Australia).
Funeral rites were performed in Toronto, Ontario, Canada on Wednesday December
18, 2002.
Chandaran and Malar wish
to thank relatives and friends who attended the funeral, Sent floral tributes, messages of sympathy and assisted and supported them during the pe
riod of bereaVement.
Chandrar 513-755-9108
(bnalliahQfuse.net) Malar 905-477-6301 (Malar,SarveswaranOcan, Xerox.com)
rgery
entists urgeons of England HS, Private Patients Welcome. , HA30OJ
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Mr. R. Thanabaltasooriar
Rajaratnam Thanabalasooriar, Retired Head Guard, Ceylon Government Railway of Nallur, Jaffna, beloved husband of Menakai; loving father of Sumathy Sritharan and Sriram; much loved grandfather of Gajan, Kumaran, Luximi, Ratha, Gobi and Aarthi, father-inlaw of Sivathillainathan, Rajini and Parasakthy, son of the late Mr. & Mrs. Rajaratnam of Nalllur, son-in-law of the late Mr. & Mrs. Murugesapillai Sabaratnam of Vaddukottai, beloved brother of Sivam de Costa (Sri Lanka) and Parameswary Sivapragasam, loving brotherin-law of Sarojini Sothinathan and Sakunthalai Sivaramalingam (India) passed away in London on Thursday,2*January 2003 and the funeral took place on Sunday, 5 January af South London Crematorium, Rowan Road, London SW16. The members of the family wish to thank all friends and relatives who attended the funeral, sent floral tributes, messages of sympathy and assisted them in numerous ways during the period of berea Verment — 29 Fairlawn Court, Cherry Orchard Estate, Charton, London SE7 7DS. Tel: 02O8319.0322.
AMILIPERFORMANC
ARTSCELEBRATES SIVERJUEBLEE.
The Tamil Performing Arts Society (1978-2003) presents a Tamil Drama Festival of 3 Plays directed by K.Balendra at Waltham Forest Theatre, Lloyds Park, Winns Terrace, Walthamstow, London E17 on Saturday, 8" February 2003 at 6 p.m. The festival is organised as one of the events planned this year by this active theatre group to mark their Silver Jubilee celebrations. For details please telephOne 020 - 8422 2859

Page 39
15 JANUARY 2003
The First year Remembrance
Mrs Pavalam Ramasamy of Jaffna, Sri Lanka. Born: 10.12.1925 Djed 29.11.2001
Dear Amma Everyone says you went away, but to us you continue to live with us everyday. Sadly missed and forever remembered by your loving children Eng. Vijayaratnam (Head, Dept of Agricultural Engineering, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Jaffna), Vijayakumar (Jaffna), Vijayadevi, Vijayarani and Jegasothy (all of London); in-laws Selva ( Research Officer in charge of Agricultural Research Station, Thirunelvely, Jaffna), Nathan, Sundaralingam, Thilllainathan(allof London), Naguleswary (Jaffna); grandchildren Purushowththaman, Toothiransali, Luxana, Anand, Meni, Luxey and Vasanth. 11 Bulstrode Avenue, Hounslow, Middlesex TW33AA. Tel: 02085776377.
18, 2000.
Third Year Remembrance
in ever loving memory of Gregory Joseph, formerly of Cement Corporation (Kankesanthurai and Puttalam) and of Nigeria on the third anniversary of his passing away on January
Sadly missed and fondly remembered by his loving wife Erin; children Dr. Eugene, Enakshi and Hyacinthe, daughter-in-law Dr. Sharmini; son-in-law Paul Wood and daughter-in-law Noeline — 338, Meadowood Lane, Vadnais Heights, Minnesota 55127, USA. Tel: 651 482 7558.
Forthcoming Events
Feb 1 South London Tamil Welfare Group (SLTWG) DropIn Te: O20 8540 3285 2 Feast of the presentation of the Lord, Jesus Christ 4 Sathuthi 5 Feast of St. Agatha 7 ShaSinti 8 Feast of St. Jerome Emiliani 9 Karthigai 11 Feast of Lady of Lourdes 12 Sukkla Eekathasi 14 PirathoSam *5 SLTWG Drop-In. e 0208.540 3285 16 Fu Moon
17 Masi Maham 19 Sankadakara Sathurthi 21 Feast of St. Peter Damian 23 Feast of St. Polycarp 26 Krishna Eekathasi 28 Pirathosam At Bhavan Centre, 4A Castl etown Road, London W1. 9HQ. Tel: O2073813086460 Website:www.bhavan.net. Feb 6 p.m. India's Republi Celebrations- Chief Guest: H.E Shri Ronan Sen, High Commis sioner for India along with Sm Kaimala Sen Cultural Programme of patrioti song & colourful classical danc (continued on page 37
 
 

TAMIL MES 39
Tenth Anniversary Remembrance
in loving memory of Mrs Ganeswary Tharmalingam of Kondavil East, Jaffna on the tenth anniversary of her passing away on 21 January 1993. Sadly missed and fondly remembered by her loving husband Tharmalingam; children Brabalini, Bremjit and Ranjit; son-inlaw Dr. W. N. Linganandhan, daughters-in-law Dr. Vani Bremjit and Shamini Ranjit grandchildren Abhirami, Sathya, Praneeta, Prasheeda, Prashoban, Praveen and Anjana. — 5, Beaulieu Boulevard, Beaulieu Park, Chelmsford, Essex CM16EA. Tel: 0.1245 466363
Ariaraj- Dr. S. J. P.
Faith, nighty faith, the promise sees, And looks to that alone; Laughs at impossibilities, and cries;
"It shall be done.'
Charles Wesley.
Lovingly remembered by his family.
Stourbridge - UK
Dr. S. J. P. ARARAJ FFARCS
in loving memory of a wonderful husband. The life that I have, is all that I have And the life that I have is yours. The love that I have, of the life that I have Is yours and yours and Jyours. A sleep I shall have, a rest I shall have -Yet death would be just a pause - For the peace of my years, in the long green grass Will be yours and yours and yours
Stourbridge - UK.
Jaffna College Alumni Annual Dinner Dance
The Annual Dinner Dance of the Jaffna College Alumni Association (UK) took place on 26* October 2002 and was wel attended by the Alumni and friends of the college. This was preceded by the AGM at which the new committee was elected. The following were elected office bearers.
President: Mr. R. Anantha
Nathan, Secretary: Mr.G.J. Guna sekaram, Treasurer: Mr.R.Chandrakumar, Committee: Mr. E. S. Selvadurai, Mr. A. Ganesan, Ms. Gopini Kris
hna, Mr. Sooriyakumar, Mr. 8, Mrs. S. Ganesharajah, Dr. Indra Srikantharajah, Mr. S. Sivakumar, Dr. R. S.Thambyrajah, Dr. S. Gnananandha, Dr. S. Maheswaran, Mr. F. Stephens and Mr. G. Worthington.
At the meeting the newly elected President, Mr. R. Anantha Nathan thanked the outgoing President, Mr. E. S. Selvadurai and the Committee for all their services and hard work in the past. The President expressed his wish to increase
(continued on page 33)

Page 40
40 TAMILTIMES
First Year Remembrance
RASIAH KANDIAH (23.8.1913 - 21.01.2002) ("Anpaham" Kokuvil East, Kokuvil)
It is rare that a star should go out here on earth Most think it only happens in the sky. A great soul has been plucked from our midst without warning There is a hole in our hearts we cannot fill if we try. But great men like this cannot be extinguished, Put out like a simple fire. For they carry on burning today and forever In our minds, in our hearts, in our lives,
Beloved husband of retired teacher Sornamma, a loving fa
ther and father-in-law, a great and wise grandfather, a noble
friend to many, a man whom the world shall never forget.
30/2 Mayfair Road, Colombo 13, Sri Lanka
Third Death Anniversary of
& 2. ల్లో ❖ “ ጎ` , 7 °, Mrs Sivapackiam Muthukumarasamy (28.04.1923 - 08.01.2000) fevery creature, rock and tree could talk, Their lips would whisper your name. Your life has meant so much to so many people, Without you our world will never be the same. Although you might not be with us in flesh today, And we will never make you smile again, Fear not for you are still in our hearts and lives For in our memories forever you will remain.
A beloved wife to her husband, Mr Muthukumarasamy, a loving mother to her children, a caring mother-in-law to her sons-in-law and daughters-in-law and a wonderful grandmother to her many grandchildren.
2 Raybell Court, Linkfield Road, lsleworth, Middlesex.
 
 

In 1997, Tamil enthusiasts gathered at the Ramakrishna Mission Hall in Colombo to honour Shri R. Kandiah by the draping of a 'Pon Aadai' to honour him to mark the publication of the book “ The ESsence of Hinduism" which was the culmination of several hours of dedicated and painstaking work. The Ministry of Hindu Cultural Affairs recognised the potential this book had to enhance the understanding of Hinduism, Tamil poets and leaders.
Shri Kandiah was inspired by the moving accounts by Bharathi on the plight of the lndianS in Karumbu Thoddam in Fiji. At the age of seventy five, he visited Fiji, where the "Then India Sanmarga Sagam" requested him to write a book in Tamil for the benefit of the Indian children there, who were proud of their Tamil heritage and yet were limited in the resources to learn this ancient language. Subsequently, he set out to prepare a book containing many absorbing stories, life sketches of Indian poets and leaders who had inspired him. His wife SornaImma assisted him in the de9tails before going to press. The Ministry of Hindu Cultural Affairs arranged for the printing of 20,000 copies which were distributed free in Sri Lanka and Fiji.
Shri Kandiah's association With the Ramakrishna Mission Started in the late thirtie S. Under the guidance of Shri Thambithurai, and along with Messers S. Cheliah and M. V. Rajaratnam and other residents of Kokuvil, he requested the RamakriShna MiSSion fO establish a School in Kokuvil. The school was inaugurated by Swami Vipulananda Adigal on 21st April 1938 and Shri Kandiah was appointed Headmaster. Thus began a period of transition of lifestyles with the increasing influence and inspiration of Ramakrishna and Gandhi and the wearing of kathar.
By 1944, Kandiah master, as he was then known Was One of the few to follow a course conducted by Madam Montessori herself and obtain a Diploma. This newly added teaching resource together
Shri R. Kandiah An Appreciation
15 ANUARY 2003
with dedicated Service to the School, led to its expansion With additional classrooms. Pupils from deprived backgrounds were nurtured and encouraged to plana better life through education. Lessons in Veena, Violin, Karnatic music, handicrafts and handloom spinning (a very Gandhian pastime) were introduced to extend and vary pupils' educational experience. Internationally, past pupils will remember the Friday morning assembly that began with Thevarem and Sivapuranam followed by parables from Ramakrishna and concluded with School notices. During Vijayathasami, there were steady streams of eager-eyed three year olds waiting to be initiated by Kandiah master.
Kandiah master was a proud man and realised the importance of the advice, graduate first" given to Gandhi when the latter was in the United Kingdom. Kandiah master the Self-educated and avid reader obtained a BA in Sanskrit and Tamil in 1969. He actively promoted various village improvement schemes - Kokuvil Library and Nandavil Amman Kovil. In appreciation he was appointed a Justice of Peace. During the ten-year presidency of the All Ceylon Tamil Teachers Association, he worked with Messers Handy Perinpanayagam and Nesiah to resolve the disparity in pay between the English and vernacular feacher:S. He was also president of the Gandhi Seva Sangam and together with Shri Velauthapillai, built a strong base to cope with the social upheavals brewing in Sri Lanka
Kandiah master was transferred after completing 26 years at Kokuvil to Navatkuli Maha Vidyalayam as Principal. His days became longer and valued family life shorter, as he commuted daily and attended the many meetings, that he was part of. In 1970 he retired aged 57.
In 1987, because of social tensions, Kandiah master and his wife moved to Colombo and from there they travelled to Fiji, Singapore and Malaysia. They were in England in 2001.

Page 41
15 JANUARY 2003
To his grandchildren, he was a valued Source of information from Hinduism to Tamil Literature. One such discussion on the prominence of Women in Indian society, led to his translation of Bharati's 'Puthumai Pen from Tamil to English. He was meticulous in his approach to written work which became painfully obvious when the booklet for his grandson's miruthanga arangetram was revised at least on five occasions. He was truly
moved when in the U. his grand daughte arangetram.
Kandiah master’ the donation of his C the Jaffna University 2002 bringing to an e ice following which ness on 21st Januar Om Shanti Om SI
The Seventh Christmas celebrations of the Sri Lanka Railway Past Employees Association was held on Sunday, 15th December 2002 at Squadron Air Training Hall, Merton Road, Wimbledon amidst a large gathering of members, their families and friends who had braved the bitter wintry conditions to take part in the annual Celebrations.
The proceedings commenced very late due to the late arrival of the invitees, with the switching of the Christmas Tree lights by Mr. T. Sri Pathmanathan, Secretary of the South London Tamil Welfare Group.
in the absence of the president, the Vice-President Mr. P. Gnananandan wellcoming the invitees thanked them for honouring their invitation for the function, in spite of the poor weather conditions. He called upon the audience to observe two minutes silence, as a mark of respect to the members who had passed away, and specially on the tragic death of Mr. S. Navaratnarajah, retired Station Master who was knocked by a van in Scarborough, Canada.
The much awaited Fancy Dress Competition of children between ages 5 and 12 took place and the judges were Mrs
Sri Lanka Railway Past Emp Celebrate Christmas
Charmaine Segaraja de Havilland and Mis, kkarasu. KiarShini a the giris and boys resi mously adjudged th prizes were distribut nayagam (Secretary) palam (Committee Mi lowed by the Christ Winners of the 1st a MaS.. Beno and Mr. S spectively and the pri by Mr. P. Chellathuré After an adjournr. the audience reasse game and the Musica were cancelled due t hour. X'mas Pappa and wished everyon and distributed Swee 26 Children who were them. The X'mas P present from Mrs Ra half of her husband ASSOCiation
The proceedings ing of cakes and the ( tion Mr. M. BalaSundr a Merry Christmas ar perous New year.
Dual Appointments for Dr. Indra krishnan
Dr. B. lindrakrishnan, a Consultant Gastroenterologist and Hepatologist from anta, USA has been appointed for a -- ee-year term in the MRCP(UK) Exami- Ons Board. The examination format
has considerably cha Indrakrishnan is ex Some American fla examination. He part Board examination in ber 2002 and has be national Advisor fron Recently he attend Advisors” Board mee expected to play a k ing the exchange Sp for physicians from tain advanced traini iSedfields in Medici Dr Indrakrishnar College of Physicia. College of Physiciar can College of Phys College of Gastroen He is a 1985 gr sity of Colombo anc College, Colombo.
 
 
 

TAMITMES 4
(in 2001 he attended r's Bharath natiya
s final public act, was ollection of books to / Library in January nd a tradition of Servhe succumbed to illy 2002 hanty Om shanty
Nitkunan
Singhe, Mrs. Thavam S Kamala Thirunavuld Dinushan among pectively were unanihe winners and the ed by Mr. M. Selvaand Mrs P. Arulamember). This was folmas Raffle and the nd 2nd prizes were S. Vaithianathan reizes were distributed ai (Treasurer)
nent for Xmas lunch, mbled, the Tombola al Chairs competition O the lateness of the arrived at this stage 9 a Merry Christmas sand presents to the anxiously waiting for зppa too rөсөivөd a Sakulasuruar on be, the Patron of the
ended with the Servorganiser of the funcam wishing everyone da Happy and Pros
nged recently and Dr. pected to introduce vour into the MRCP icipated in the MRCP in Glasgow in Decemeen appointed Inter1 USA for the college. ed the International ting in London and is ey role in orchestratponsorship programs both Countrie:S to Obng in higher specialre.
is a Fellow of Royal ns of London, Royal is of Canada, Ameriicians and American terology. aduate of the Univerfan old boy of Royal
Ammamma Feted
On 14th Dec 2002 a surprise function was organised by the students of Ammamma (Mrs Gnanatheepam Sivapathasundaram) to show their appreciation of her love, affection and dedication to them at the South London Tamil School. She is affectionately called Ammamma by everyone.
The program started with Songs from the younger children from her classes and ended with a forest scene from the Ramayana. The original performance was produced and directed by her more than ten years ago. The acting was as good as it was then and those who took part were Saravana Namasivayam (Rama), Sumathy Shantalingam (Seetha), Sentheesan Yoga rajah (Lakshmana) and Luxini Kiritheran (The deer)
There were speeches extolling her great ability from Messers Pon Balasundaram, Mali Mahalingham and Kanagasundaram, and also from her students Seran Anandarajah, Sambavi Raviraj, Shobama Sreetharan, Ahilan Khaiasawasan and Rubini Perimpanathan.
The evening was a grand success and Ammamma was surprised and delighted. Her message to all of us was "Never forget your Mother Tongue and always respect your parents."
The proceedings ended with a sumptuous dinner.
Thamaya Wignesvaran
(Continued from page 31) the membership of the association and appealed to all those who attended the college to contact him or any committee member in order that their names Could be included in the mailing list
The organisation of a social outing, participation in the Annual Inter School Cricket Tournament and the Annual Dinner Dance to be held in the first week of November 2003 were Some of the items decided On.

Page 42
42 TAMILTIMES
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Page 44
TRAVEL, SHIPPING ARFREIGHT
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14 Allied Way, off Warple Way, Acton, Lo 020 8740 8379, 020 8749 059:
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UNAccoMPANIED EAC GAGE
NEXT SALNG
OADING-25ANUARY OR ETACOLOMEIO-15 FEERUARY POOE
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PSRINIVASAN
INDEPENDENT FINANCIAL ADVISOR LS SLL K LLL0 LL S K LLLKLLLK LLLLL KLLLLZaL LLL K0KKKK LLLaLLLL0 LLL 32, Abbots Lane, Kenley, Surrey, CR8 5J, United Kingdon El Fax: 020 - 8763. 2220 Te:O2O-B763222 Personal:O2O - 8763. 1222 Mobile: Ս958 - 42 42 22 We have launched a New Web Site on the World-wide web for the benefit of our clients in the U.K and World-Wide, who are intercs tcd in Financial Products General Insura CG Products
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tuli ul. Contact LuS on E-mail ప్ర్రా FOT Life ASS LT"an Ce リー Srinića srinivasan.co.uk FSA For General IFISLIrace
i ARM(Garmassociates.co.uk
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

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, 020 8743 7353 |
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SRI LANKAN COMMUNITY
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SRILANKANAIRLINESM
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ALL FARES EXCLUDING ARPORT TAXES & HANDLING CHARGES
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