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15 MAY 2003
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15 AY 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
TIMES
ISSN 0266 - 44 88 Vol. XXII No. 4 15 MAY 2003
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LTTE & Tokyo Conference 03 LTTE Conditions for talks 04
NeWS in FOCUS O6 Repeating past errors 10 interim administration
- Questionable in law 12 When Constitutions become
a mere lottery 14
PM urges LTTE for talks 15 Self determination and
conflict regulation 17 Peace and human rights 24 NeWS Track 26 Classified 38
LTTE ar
There is a serious ing "Tokyo Conferenc Countries to be held with the Government that an interim admin of the tasks of rebuilt Tamil speaking homel agree to setting up su participation in the C
It will be recalled the second round of pediments that the G Prime Minister Ranil administration heade However, the fact is a seats in parliament a assortment of minorit Constitutional amend it lacks the requisite t tions of the political recognized that the e law, and whatever it Government's politica ing ever watchful of e Constitutional limits. satisfy the demando outside the framewor
The Norwegian f and the Japanese Sp number days travelin ings with Governmen both parties which w Tokyo Conference. E
Over sixty count and it is now certain to the laborious effor System, the prepara stage. The Conferent nity, in which the inte mitment to reconstru( the war-torn North ar Conference would co national community's many countries and i national Monetary Fl ence reflects the glc peace process in Sri
The opportunity c financial supportasp war-ravaged areas in LTTE to reconsider i salient points. Firstly, an indication of its lai perceived as not acti primary aim of this C Northeast of the isla
The country has cent weeks. Massive resulting in the deat sands of properties a process in which the In this Context it is tra engaging in the Com National Lotteries BC their respective con: interest.
 
 
 
 

TAMILTIMES 3
nd the Tokyo Conference
question mark about the LTTE's participation in the forthcomce on Reconstruction and Development of Sri Lanka' of donor on 9-10 June. Having suspended participation in peace talks last month, the LTTE has now resuscitated its previous demand istrative structure with powers of "decision making and delivery ing the war-damaged economy and restoring normalcy in the and." The LTTE leadership demands that the Government should Ich a structure, mainly under its control, as a precondition for its onference. the LTTE made a similar demand before and dropped it during peace talks having recognized the constitutional and legal imovernment faced in setting up such an institution. It is true that Wickremesinghe himself expressed the prospect of an interim d by the LTTE during the election campaign of December 2001. it that election, he managed to secure only a narrow majority of nd assumed office having cobbled together a coalition with an y parties. Establishing an interim administration would require ment which the government cannot carry through at this time as wo-third majority in Parliament. Whatever may be the imperfecprocesses and the Constitution itself in Sri Lanka, it must be lected Government must operate within the constraints of the does beyond those constraints is judicially challengeable. The al opponents and those opposed to the peace process are waitvery move to see whether the Prime Minister is overstepping his in this context it is doubtful whether he or his Government can f the LTTE on the issue of setting up an interim administration k of the Constitution. acilitators, including its Foreign and Deputy Foreign Ministers ecial Envoy Jasushi Akashi have made strenuous efforts over a g between Colombo and the Wannihaving meetings after meettand LTTE leaders with a view to finding a formula agreeable to ould enable the LTTE to make its decision to take part in the ‘ut so far their valiant efforts have proved unsuccessful. ries are expected to attend and participate at the Conference that it will take place with or without LTTE participation. Thanks ts by the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank and the UN tions for the Tokyo Conference have already reached the final ce is intended to provide an unprecedented and unique opporturnational Community would express its unified and strong Comction and development of the entirety of Sri Lanka, particularly of ld East. The sponsors have made the point that that the Tokyo nstitute an important platform for the demonstration of the inters strong support for the peace process in Sri Lanka. That so nternational financial institutions such as the World Bank, Interind and the Asian Development Bank are attending the conferbal nature of the close interest and positive support that the Lanka has attracted. if this unique Conference should be grasped to mobilize as much ossible for the benefit of the people, especially of those from the the Northeast of the island. Many countries have requested the ts decision to boycott the Conference drawing attention to two its absence will be perceived by the international community as ck of commitment to the peace process. Secondly, it will also be ng in the best interest of the people it seeks to represent, as the onference is to aid the reconstruction and redevelopment of the ነd.
been devastated by the unprecedented natural disaster in refloods have affected the greater part of the south of the island h and disappearance of hundreds, destruction of tens of thound displacement of several hundred thousand people. The peace people have invested so much hope has reached a crisis point. agic to see the offices of the Presidency and the Prime Minister edy of a self-induced constitutional crisis over the issue of the ard. The people expect that both the incumbents would respect stitutional positions and seek to work together in the national

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4 TAMILTMES
LTTE sets condit
for Peaceta
he setting up of an "interim administrative structure” under LTTE control with powers of "decision making and delivery of the tasks of rebuilding the war-damaged economy and restoring normalcy in the Tamil speaking homeland' has been put forward as a precondition for the Tamil Tigers to resume peace talks with the Government. "A positive and constructive response from the Prime Minister setting out his ideas and proposals in clear and concrete terms will certainly help our leadership to take a crucial decision on the resumption of peace talks and participation at the donor conference in Japan,” LTTE's chiefnegotiator Anton Balasingham stated in his letter dated 20 May to Norway's Deputy Foreign Minister Vidar Helgesen.
The following is the full text of Mr. Balasingham's letter:
“In accordance with the decision of the LTTE leadership I am advised to respond to a set of proposals submitted by you in connection with the request made by our leader, Mr Vellupillai Pirapaharan, to establish an interim administrative structure with adequate powers to undertake Northeastern reconstruction and development activities.
Your proposals are out-lined in three documents: a Draft Agreement (between the Government of Sri Lanka and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam), an informal paper on “Elements of a Strengthened and Expanded Mechanism for Reconstruction and Development of the North and East', and finally, a letter suggesting the use of locally elected bodies as a basis for development activities. We have given considerable thought and reflection to your proposals. Before presenting our critical review of the contents of your proposals, I wish to clarify as to why
the LTTE leadership suggest the formati interim administrati Northeast at this sta Originally the i administrative struc east was mooted by before the last gen UNP leadership end and the Prime Minis kremesinghe open. support of an inter structure with the a of the LTTE. As yo sue of interim admin up for discussion at sion of the peace talk land. Responding to LTTE delegation, Pr the legal and constit involved in the for administrative body eters of the Sri Lank avoid political cont stages of the talks, t ties decided to repl administrative struc lishment of a “Joi Humanitarian and F tivities' for the No ond session of peac ating teams agree( "Joint Task Force' tee on Immediate Rehabilitation Net role of this sub-com tify humanitarian needs of the North prioritise impleme to meet these nee would give primacy at rehabilitation of Persons (IDPs) ar mine action progra tivities supporting to their original ho
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15 MAY 2003
was compelled to on of an effective restructure for the
ge. jea of an interim ure for the Norththe LTTE months ral elections. The orsed the proposal ter Mr. Ranil Wicy campaigned in im administrative ctive participation are aware, the isistration was taken the inaugural sessin Sattahip, Thaithe proposal of the of Pieris explained utional constraints mation of such an outside the param(a Constitution. To oversy in the early he negotiating parace the idea of an ture with the estabnt Task Force for Reconstruction Actheast. At the sece talks, the negotito transform the nto a Sub-commitHumanitarian and ds (SIHRN). The mittee was to idenand reconstruction :ast population and station of activities ls. The committee "to activities aimed nternally Displaced d to humanitarian mmes and other acthe return of IDPs mes such as recon
OD ROVT WVU UN CON S) (T ) Eo
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struction of roads, production infrastructure, health facilities, schools and similar issues.'
You will appreciate that SIHRN was instituted on the basis of equal and joint partnership with the primary objective of restoring normalcy to the lives of Tamil people affected by prolonged war and to facilitate the speedy and unhindered return of the IDPs and refugees to their own homes and villages. The resettlement and rehabilitation of hundreds of thousands of uprooted persons is of paramount importance in addressing the urgent existential problems of the Tamil speaking population of the Northeast. SIRHN was established to undertake this immense humanitarian task. Unfortunately SIRHN failed to function effectively and no progress has been made towards alleviating the hardships and suffering of the displaced population. Despite the goodwill and the fullest cooperation of the LTTE, SIHRN has not been able to deliver on the expectations of the people. This lack of performance and the failure to produce tangible results on urgent humanitarian issues has eroded all confidence of the Tamil people in SIHRN, the only single institution that was created through lengthy sessions of dialogue.
It was under these frustrating circumstances that Mr. Pirapaharan, during his discussions with your Foreign Minister Mr. Petersen, suggested a new innovative structure for the Northeast with adequate authority and legal status for the rapid implementation of humanitarian and developmentactivities. This innovative new structure, in his view, should be efficient, transparent and accountable with definite functions and powers so that the peace dividends pledged to the people can be delivered to the people without delay, without corruption, without bureaucratic obstacles. The LTTE leadership is of the view that a permanent political settlement to the Tamil national question can only be actualised in a supreme constitution instituting a radically new polity, an endeavour that can

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1s MAY 2003
not be realised under the current unstable political climate. Since a permanent political settlement is not feasible in the immediate future, the Tiger leadership proposes an interim administrative structure with greater participation of the LTTE, in both decision making and delivery of the tasks of rebuilding the war-damaged economy and restoring normalcy in the Tamil speaking homeland. In this context, we wish to point out that the Government of India proposed an interim administrative mechanism following the Indo-Sri Lanka Accord of 1987, providing the LTTE with a dominant participatory role. Mr. Pirapaharan envisages that the proposed interim administrative mechanism should supersede the multiplicity of existing structures, which work at cross-purposes and impede the efficient utilisation of development funds.
Finally, in view of the upcoming donors conference in Japan, the LTTE leadership is of the view that an efficient, radically new administrative mechanism should be instituted immediately, without delay, with wide powers to expedite the resetlement, rehabilitation and reconstruction works in the Northeast. We are of the view that SIRHN, with its limited functions and powers, cannot undertake such monumental tasks.
Now let us scrutinize critically the set of ideas and proposals outlined in your communications addressed to the Vanni leadership and to me in London. The two-paged Draft Agreement, worked out by you with the consultation of the Government of Sri Lanka, was submitted to Mr. Thamilselvan on Saturday 17 May 2003. Constructed as
a joint agreement t and the LTTE, you tions the proposed opment and Recor (DRC) as an exp SIRHN. The func mechanism of the according to your d tablished throughn the parties follow with the donor con kyo donor conferent presented as a conc a notion or rather a to be worked outint jected to the “guida ment of the interna This draft on the DR Pirapaharan's expe crete framework fo istrative set-up. Ins attempts to situate overall package of ments to various i abstractly formulat envisaged federals
The other brief “Elements of a Stri panded Mechanism and Development East' is an interest some detailed inpu of the "Developme tion Council DRC an expanded mecl transforming it in structure consisting project committee tive body, deriving from the Prime Mi draft suggests that t equal representatic making bodies (in til
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TANILTIMES 5
between the GOSL r draft briefly menNorth East Develstruction Council anded version of tions, powers and proposed structure, raft, have to be esegotiations between ving consultations nmunity at the Toce.' The DRC is not rete proposal but as s a concept that has o a framework subance' and endorsetional community. C falls short of Mr. ctations of a conran interim admintead the draft paper the DRC within an f binding commitssues including an 2d "road map' of an olution. draft paper entitled engthened and Exfor Reconstruction of the North and ing document with t into the structure nt and Reconstruc). This draft offers manism of SIHIRN to a three-layered of a policy board, and an administraits sole authority inister' office. The he LTTE can enjoy n at the decisionhe policy board and project committee) but "he administration should primarily employ Tamils living in the North and East. This means the LTTE's political representatives cannot play any role in the administrative structure. Essentially the document is brief and fails to provide clear definitions of
the powers and functions of the decision making bodies and the question of the legal status of the DRC is not properly defined, but eventually subjected to legislation oy Parliament. Finally, and most importantly, the donor community is given the final determination over the establishment of the DRC. We do not know whether this draft is your own formulation or a set of proposals worked out by the government. The Colombo media has already given wide publicity to the proposal claiming that the government has decided to set-up a "central co-ordinating mechanism' with wide powers to implement reconstruction and rehabilitation works. Though the proposals have new elements they have limitations in addressing the central proposal made by the LTTE leader calling for the establishment of an effective interim administrative structure for the Northeast with significant participation of the LTTE. Finally, your letter suggests a model of utilizinglocally elected bodies (local government institutions) as a means to "run development and reconstruction related af. fairs of the Northeast.' While I appreciate your innovative initiatives, I should say that the powers and functions vested with the local government bodies are extremely limited and confined only to particular subjects and therefore cannot be an effective administrative mechanism to undertake the immense tasks of rehabilitation and reconstruction. Furthermore, we will be ridiculed by the Tamil masses for having fought a liberation war for political independence and statehood and finally ending up with village committees devoid of any authority.
While expressing our gratitude for your indefatigable endeavour in seeking solutions to break through the current impasse in the peace process we kindly request you to urge the Prime Minister Mr. Ranil Wickremesinghe to officially respond to our leader Mr. Pirapaharan's proposals for an interim administrative set-up. A positive and constructive response from the Prime Minister setting out his ideas and proposals in clear and concrete terms will certainly help our leadership to take a crucial decision on the resumption of peace talks and participation at the donor conference in Japan."

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sa Japan urges LTTE participation
May 24- The Japanese Government has urged the LTTE to make its utmost efforts to reach an acceptable agreement with the Sri Lankan Government urgently before the Tokyo Donor conference with a view to resolving other remaining issues later.
In a press release issued yesterday the Japanese Government said that with the fresh momentum generated at the Tokyo Conference other issued can be resolved later.
The release said that the Japanese Government was of the view that the Tokyo Donor Conference should be held as scheduled.
The Government of Japan, as the host country and one of the co-chairs of the Tokyo Conference on Reconstruction and Development of Sri Lanka scheduled on June 9,10 is concerned over the recent developments regarding the LTTE's participation in the Tokyo Conference, especially the latest stance reported to have been expressed by the LTTE at the press conference held on May 22.
The Tokyo Conference is intended to provide an unprecedented and unique opportunity, in which international community would express its unified and strong
commitment to reconstruction and development of the entirety of Sri Lanka, particularly of the war-torn North and East.
Thanks to the laborious efforts by the World Bank, the Asian Development ( Bank and the UN System, the preparations for the Tokyo Conference have already reached the final stage.
In the light of these circumstances as well as the acute needs of assistance to Sri Lanka, especially to the people in the war-torn areas of the North and East, the Government of Japan is of the view that the Tokyo Conference should be held as scheduled. If the Conference were not held as scheduled, it may mean an irreparable loss to the long suffering people of Sri Lanka.
The Government of Japan, therefore, urges the LTTE to make its utmost efforts to reach an acceptable agreement urgently with the Government of Sri Lanka on some of the outstanding issues before the Tokyo Conference with a view to resolving other remaining issues later with fresh momentum generated at the Tokyo Conference, the release said.
US on peace process
May 13 - The Assistant Secretary of State in the US government Ms Christina Rocca held discussions with President Ms Chandrika Kumaratunge regarding the stalled peace talks between the GOSL and the LTTE. During the discussion President Ms Chandrika Kumaratunge is reported to have told the US diplomat that peace talks should be taken forward by resolving the issues between government and LTTE through negotiations.
Sri Lankan President had expressed satisfaction over the
 

15 MAY 2003
stand taken by the US government on the issue of the ban on the LTTE, presidential secretariat sources said. The US government's position is that it would consider lifting the ban if the LTTE renounced terrorism and the concept of a separate State.
On the previous day Ms Christina Rocca met Prime Minister Mr.Ranil Wickremasinghe and discussed in detail the future approach of the peace talks in view of the stand taken by the LTTE to suspend its participation until decisions arrived at six-rounds of talks held earlier are implemented.
Addressing a press conference at the end of her two day visit to Sri Lanka before leaving the island, Ms Christina Rocca said that the aid summit conference scheduled to be held in Japan next month would benefit the Tigers, Tamils and the peace process.
She said that the US would link international aid for Sri Lanka to observing human rights and respect for democracy while renewing a demand that Tamil Tiger rebels give up violence. Rocca expected conditions to be attached to the foreign aid to be pledged next month for Sri Lanka at a donor conference in Japan.
"I think that there will be certain benchmarks or certain steps that we
would like to see accomplished as we move forward with reconstruction. I think adherence to basic democracy and human
rights will probably be one of them. But Ν I will leave the details of this to the con
ference in Tokyo.”
Asked about the several ceasefire violations, with the United States accusing the Tigers of resorting to assassinations, abductions, child recruitment and extortion, she said, "Let me just say that we are aware of these breaches in the ceasefire on the part of the LTTE. In order for H that situation to change, we call upon them to renounce violence, renounce all these activities, reject separatism, and honour democracy and human rights." She repeated her call for cohabitation between the President and Prime Minister. Ms Rocca said that she was worried about the possibility that cohabitation quarrels will eclipse peace talk deliberations. Rocca said, "I have spoken with figures both within and beyond the government regarding a broad range of issues, including cohabitation. In each visit, I have shared the international community's fervent hope that these quarrels be set aside so that a clear, consistent, and united Sri Lankan voice beheard at Tokyo.” “The present peace process has provided a tremendous boost to resolve Sri Lanka's ethnic conflict of two decades,' said Ms Christina Rocca.
Armitage to attend Tokyo Conference: May 24United States Deputy Secretary of State, Richard Armitage has confirmed his participation at the Tokyo donor conference next month. Armitage says that the conference is important for the international community to demonstrate its solid support for the peace process and its full commitment to contribute to the reconstruction and development of all regions in the county including the North and the East. The US Deputy Secretary is expected to discuss reconstruction and rehabilitation assistance to Sri Lanka at the confer
(CCC.

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15 AY 2003
The United States believes that the Tokyo conference should be held as scheduled notwithstanding the LTTE's stated position not to participate. The US agrees with the government of Japan that if the conference were not held as scheduled it would mean an irreparable loss to the long suffering people of Sri Lanka.
Meanwhile, it has been reported that India has indicated that it would not attend the Tokyo meeting if the LTTE participates in it.
Enlist Opposition Support - NPC
May 23 - “The National Peace Council welcomes the LTTE's expression of willingness to resume the negotiation processs and participate in the Tokyo donor conference next month if it receives a favourable response from the government. The formal request made to the Norwegian facilitators for the establishment of an interim administration for the North East is an indication by the LTTE of a way out of the present deadlock in the peace process,” The National Peace Council of Sri Lanka (NPC) stated in statement today.
The NPC's statement added, "As requested by the LTTE, it is important that the government should find a way to establish a legally-based administrative system for the North East that would recognise the equal participation of the LTTE. We note that the history of governmental efforts to resolve the ethnic conflict in the past have foundered on
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TAMILTIMES 7
unfulfilled promises and agreements that were not underpinned by an appropriate legal foundation.
“The NPC believes that the North East interim administrative council should comprise the LTTE on the one hand, and the government, major opposition party and other parties on the other hand. This would reflect the plural nature of society and give all parties a stake in governance and responsibility. Relief, reconstruction and development work should take place with the inclusive participation of the representatives of the ethnic communities inhabiting the north and east. The interim administration should function according to agreed and enforceable principles of transparency, accountability and human rights. "We urge that whatever course of action the government finally decides to take in its response to the LTTE, its approach must be one that includes the LTTE in an equal partnership together with a policy of bipartisanship between the government and major opposition party. We recognise that it was the government and LTTE's consensual approach up to now that enabled the sustainability and success of the peace process.
"There is now a further need to enlist the support of the opposition in taking the peace process forward. The creation of an interim administration, as demanded by the LTTE, would require constitutional amendment for which opposition support is indispensable. Therefore, if a sustainable peace process is the goal, then it is imperative that the consensual approach should be regained and strengthened as the first priority.”
PA rejects demand is for interim administration
May 24-The People's Alliance totally rejected the LTTE demand for an interim administration outside the Sri Lankan constitution and warned the Prime Minister that acceding to this demand would put the Government in peril.
"The Prime Minister cannot act illegally or unconstitutionally. If he does so, we will also have to take constitutional remedies,” PA Media spokesman Dr. Sarath Amunugama told the PA weekly media briefing on 24 May He said “the LTTE Political Chief Thamilselvam on Thursday submitted a very strong demand to the Prime Minister as a pre-condition of their participation in the Tokyo conference that the Premier should give him in writing that he (Prime Minister) will establish an interim administration with powers which will be defined in that letter and will be outside the constitution of Sri Lanka.'
"As far as all politicians in this country are concerned, we have taken an oath of allegiance to safeguard the Constitution of Sri Lanka. Ranil Wickremesinghe has also taken oaths on three occasions, once as a member of Parliament, once as a Minister and once as the Prime Minister. He has taken a solemn oath that he will not act contrary to the constitution of Sri Lanka,' he said.
This is the basic law of this country. Therefore the Prime Minister cannot agree to any agreement outside the constitution of Sri Lanka. It is indeed very ironic that this very constitution was established by late President J.R.Jayawardene and was fully supported by Ranil Wickremesinghe. So he cannot act outside that constitution, he said.

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8 TAMILTIMES
Amunugama said it is very funny that the Prime Minister who was quibbling about consultation quoting section 44 about the President consulting him about the Development Lottery is now being asked to give away the North and East without any consultation with the President at all.
Under the 13th Amendment, devolution of power has been effected by the Parliament of Sri Lanka. According to a Supreme Court judgement, devolution of power under the 13th amendment was possible with a two third majority and does not need a referendum. This is the law as it stands in this country, he said.
He said: “there is no way that the Prime Minister can change this law without coming to Parliament and going through the normal constitutional procedures for any change. That is simply impossible. He simply does not have the power to go into the areas of further devolution because that will require legislative sanctions through Parliament and certification by the President.”
Those are legal options that are available. So there is no way that the Prime Minister can give letters to the LTTE regarding actions either within or outside the constitution. Therefore if he gives such a letter, it will be an outright challenge to the constitution and the Parliament of Sri Lanka and also a violation of oaths that the Premier has taken thrice, Amunugama said. He said if the LTTE is ready for a federal structure, why are they talking of being outside the constitutlOn.
US Envoy on chances of Peace
May 9 - US Ambassador Ashley Wills said the cohabitation between the government and the main opposition was not going very well. "In fact it surprises me that these two parties are not getting along better when so much is at stake. Imagine how important it would be if the LTTE looked across the negotiating table and saw the two major political parties were united. What a formidable negotiating partner that would be. Right now that's not so. It's very troubling", he told the 11th Annual General Meeting of the Hotel Catering and Management Association (HCIMA) Sri Lanka Interna. tional Group.
The remarks were made as the government and Presi. dent Chandrika Kumaratunga clashed over the latter's deci sion to take over the Development Lotteries Board.
Wills said that he was reaching the end of his three-yea period as a guest in Sri Lanka and observed that he had com{ to appreciate that the present peace talks were the most seri ous attempt made in the last 20 years.
"There are too many things that could go wrong in thi peace process. Perhaps the biggest variable is the LTTE. Doe it really mean it? Can it be trusted? Is it really going to giv up its military identity and transform into a political Organi sation and take part in this country's democracy?" he asked "I don't know the answer to that. The LTTE has mad some encouraging statements but it has not lived up to all it words so we are still dubious,” he told the representatives o the hotel industry at the Holiday Inn Hotel.
He said that he had resisted saying that he was optimis tic. "For me being optimistic means that there is more tha
 
 
 
 
 

15 MAY 2003
50 per cent chance of success. And I don't think we are quite at a stage yet where there is a 50 per cent chance of success or better', the ambassador said.
Things had gone pretty well in the last 15 months. The cease-fire had held. It was an imperfect cease-fire. There had been violations on both sides. More frankly on the LTTE side than on the government side although the LTTE recently had suspended its participation alleging that the government of Sri Lanka had not lived up to its side of the particular bargain.
"I know that was quite unfair as the government is trying hard to abide by its obligations but it hasn't been able to meet all of them. But it has done pretty well. We acknowledge the imperfections but the cease-fire is a good thing for Sri Lanka' Mr. Wills said.
The cease-fire had held although it had been imperfect. The entire attempt was quite fragile. As an American guest in Sri Lanka, he was reluctant to express his estimation of the prospects because it really wasn't a process that the US controlled. It was something that Sri Lankans with the help of the Norwegians controlled, he said.
“There is a real chance of success. The cor-relation of forces, as the Soviets used to say, is as favourable as it ever has been. Internationally terrorism was never cool but now it is as uncool as it ever has been. I think the LTTE will be reluctant, and it should be reluctant, to the use of terror. So there are a lot or factors in Sri Lanka's favour. Overall there is a chance', the ambassador said.
He said that it was the duty of all Sri Lankans to help create circumstances to make a lasting peace possible. "If it comes all of you here will prosper. I will be delighted to see you prosper and the US will be thrilled to see this country rich. It should have been rich already. It has missed an opportunity because of this divisive ethnic problem and it had not been sorted out yet', he said.
Urging all Sri Lankans to become active in the pursuit for peace, he said, "Do what you can as members of this organisation, as members of the trade chambers, members of the major political parties or as common citizens to express your support in anyway you can for this attempt at peace.'
Bail refused for arms smuggling suspects
May 23 - Courts in Thailand have refused bail to three alleged LTTE suspects arrested and detained on 12 May with a haul of arms, ammunition and communication gear, after police objected to their release on instructions of the Thai government.
The men were arrested in a pick-up truck at the Royal Princess hotel car park in Ranong's Muang district, some 570 kilometres (353 miles) south of Bangkok, with police seizing ten nine-mm pistols, three 11-mm pistols and 45,000 rounds of ammunition, according to a local police officer. Police also seized five mobile phones, one of them programmed for contact via satellite. "These weapons are very modern, for special use by Swat teams,' Col Somchai said following the arrest.
Police said the weapons came from Bangkok to Ranong

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15 MAY 2003
for a shipment out of the country. "The three suspects have been on a list of suspected war weapon exporters for a long time. They belong to the group which smuggles weapons to the separatists in Tamil Eelam,” a police intelligence source in Bangkok told journalists, referring to the Tamil Tigers of Sri Lanka. The intelligence source said the smuggling ring was known to have conducted several gun-running operations from Thailand but police had little concrete information to work with until now.
The three, identified by Thai media as Aseervatham Sathyapavan, 34, from Jaffna, Thevarajah Sasijaran, 29 from Nadunkaney, and Gunapala Sugith, 27, from Chempiyanpathu, were charged with weapons possession and carrying concealed weapons in public, Ranong police added. Aseervatham Sathyapavan has reportedly lived in Thailand for at least ten years and speaks fluent Thai.
Muang district police chief Somchai Uamthanom said the suspects had been interrogated by officers from several agencies. They admitted obtaining the weapons on behalf of the LTTE but refused to reveal the source. The embassy of Sri Lanka had been asked to send officials to join the investigation.
Meanwhile, reports from Bangkok say that one of the suspects - Thevarajah Sasiharan - had even been with the LTTE delegation to February peace talks in Berlin, "The Island' reported from Colombo.
"They have been denied bail,” said Deputy Superintendent Surm Sak of Ranong Police, when contacted by telephone yesterday. "The investigation is not over yet and we are keeping them in our police lockup. These arrests are important because of the good relationship between Sri Lanka and Thailand.”
"We will continue investigations. It is our duty to prevent illegal weapons going out of our country to any other nation,” Sak stressed. Official sources in Bangkok said the Thai foreign ministry had formally requested police in the southern city of Ranong to object to bail.
In a written communiqué E9, the Thai foreign ministry emphasised that releasing the three suspects would encourage further activities detrimental to Sri Lanka's peace process, official sources in Bangkok told The Island. Accordingly, police objected to a request for bail made by lawyers hired by the LTTE. ތ"
The sources said the Sri Lankan embassy in Bangkok - which has now been asked to join police investigations - has fully endorsed the Thai government's view and had supported the rejection of bail.
Asiirwatham Sahayapavan, 34, from Jaffna, Thevarajah Sasiharan, 29, from Nedunkerny and Gunapala Sugiv, 27, from Chempiyanpur were arrested last week in a Japanese pick-up truck at the Royal Princess Hotel car park in Ranong's Muang district. The truck had been laden with an inventory of arms, ammunition and communication gear.
Inspector Sak, who is working under Muang district police chief Somchai Uamthanom, said the weapons were now being checked for serial numbers. The items being scrutinised are ten 9mm Glock pistols, three 1 lmm HK Mark 23 pistols and 45,000 rounds of assorted ammunition. Police also seized five mobile phones, one of them programmed

TAMILTIMES 9
for contact via satellite. The report of the investigators will enable Thai police to cover more ground and perhaps make
Ore arreStS.
Somchai has confirmed to the Bangkok Post that the three men were LTTE operatives. Sathayapavan has reportedly lived in Thailand for at least ten years and speaks fluent Thai. Thailand, which is the main host for negotiations between the government and Tigers, has long been regarded a safe haven for free-spending weapons purchasers of the LTTE.
"The Tigers are now in a dilemma over whether to publicly defend their operatives or to disown them, and claim that they were private operatives,” an official source in Bangkok said. The arrests came at a crucial juncture in the peace process, during a time when the world is waging a collaborated campaign against terrorism.
Aid only under
stringent conditions
May 10 - A European parliamentarian urged international donors to Sri Lanka to attach "stringent conditions” in a bid to strengthen the island's foundering peace process. Irish MEP John Cushnahan also said Tamil Tigers should end their boycott of peace talks and attend next month's donor conference hosted by Japan and co-chaired by the European Union.
He said it would be a "tactical blunder” by the LTTE if they failed to show up at the Tokyo aid pledging conference on June 9-10. "Some in the international community might interpret this as proof of a lack of genuine commitment to the peace process,” Cushnahan said. "Personally speaking, I believe such a view would be misplaced.”
Cushnahan, however, said foreign aid to Sri Lanka should be conditional and aimed at strengthening the Norwegianbacked peace effort that seeks to end three decades of ethnic bloodshed that has claimed over 60,000 lives. "I think it is important that the international community attach stringent conditions to the disbursement of funds. These funds should be provided on the strict understanding that the peace process is implemented fully in spirit and letter,” he said.
The LTTE suspended their participation in talks on April 21 after accusing the government of failing to deliver on promises made during six previous rounds of direct face-toface negotiations since September.
"I recognise the legitimacy of some of their grievances. But, I would also like to say to the LTTE directly that a peace process has not been fully implemented when abduction, recruitment of children, the targeted killings of political opponents and extortion continue,” Cushnahan said.
Cushnahan, who has monitored two elections in Sri Lanka in recent years, said it was important for the island's main political parties to take a common position on the ethnic conflict to ensure the success of the peace process. "It is important they speak with a common voice on this," he said, though he declined to comment on the latest cohabitation crisis between President Chandrika Kumaratunga and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe. O

Page 10
10 TAMILMES
PeVOUS, ETTO
Dr. Jehan Perera
The LTTE's participation in the Tokyo donor conference still remains in doubt. Unless it compromises, the LTTE has set a virtually impossible challenge to the government with its condition that the government should take concrete steps to establish an interim administration for the North East prior to the Tokyo conference to be held on June 9-10. Unless the LTTE recaptures the flexibility it showed at the outset of the peace process, when it acce-pted a federal solution and accepted partnership with the government in newly established institutions, the government will be hard pressed to satisfy it.
As a government functioning within the rule of law, and compelled to do so by institutions such as the judiciary, the government cannot go beyond the limits set by the constitution. Either the LTTE has to accept a government statement of its acceptance of the concept of an interim administration in principle or the LTTE has to accept an interim set up that is within the framework of the constitution. As neither of these seems likely the ability of the Tokyo conference to move the peace process forward continues to remain in doubt.
But the fact that the Tokyo conference will, in fact, be held is less in doubt after the US government's announcement that its deputy secretary of state Richard Armitage would be taking part in it. The US statement regarding Mr Armitage's participation made the point that the Tokyo conference was an im
portant forum for the international com--
munity to demonstrate its solid support for the peace process. The US dominance over world affairs in the post-war Iraq period is too great for even an unorthodox organization like the LTTE to ignore when very powerful countries such as Russia and France appear to have caved in before it.
For the past three years, since the commencement of the Norwegian fa
cilitation in the
US has been show in peace in Sri I edented high level IMF aid to Sri La be due to this US i facilitation has b maintaining the c between the gove the present time o est has provided process with a
Sri Lankans may :
where their countil
in global affairs th the global powers
interest exists me:
either the govern as they want has sl the LTTE's strug nation may have t point where the g to conform have for viable long te
Key Lesson
The LTTE's re-enter the peace accepting the Jap Tokyo conference as a potential spoi ess. As such it wo come the decisior ernment to go ah ence, and for the l
delegation to it,
LTTE is there. I ral to feel a sense prospect of the marginalised thro ness. However, at be judicious to b son from the pa: joicing over the both premature a The lesson fr mind is the sheer ing the ethnic cc operation of the Lanka Peace Ac
 

15 MAY 2003
peace process, the ing a strong interest anka. The unprecs of World Bank and nka this year would nterest. If Norway's :en indispensable in ommunication links nment and LTTE in f crisis, the US inter
Sri Lanka’s peace global dimension. not be fully aware of y is being positioned rough this interest of But the fact that this ans that the space for ment or LTTE to do nrunk. It is ironic that gle for self-determiaken the country to a lobal pressures on it )ecome too powerful rm resistance.
continuing refusal to process by graciously nese invitation to the may lead it to be seen ler of the peace proculd be natural to welof the Japanese govead with the confer'S to send a high level whether or not the would also be natuof satisfaction at the LTTE getting itself gh its own stubbornthisjuncture, it would arin mind a key lest that makes any reLTTE being left out ld unwise. m the past to keep in mpossibility of solvlflict without the coTTE. Both the Indoord of 1987 and the
peace talks of 1994-95 failed when the LTTE pulled out of them. The LTTE's decision to end those peace processes came as a great disappointment to the expectations of most people. Neither the Tamil nor the Sinhalese people wanted those wars to restart. But when they did, there was a belief that prevailed at that time that the LTTE could be marginalized by military and political means. There was also a hope that a viable solution could be found without it.
But on both occasions it took years of war for the realization to come that the LTTE had to be a part of the solution, and not kept out of it. In particular, the period of the last government, where the effort to marginalize the LTTE both militarily and politically reached its zenith, proved that there could be no solution to the ethnic conflict without the cooperation of the LTTE. The failure of President Chandrika Kumaratunga and the PA government must stand as a lesson to those who are determining the peace process today. They need to make a very special effort to bring the LTTE back to the peace process. If the LTTE persists in its refusal to take part in the Tokyo conference it might be tempting to see the conference as paving the way for its political marginalization. There is no question that an LTTE refusal to participate in the Tokyo conference will be an affront to both Japan and Norway which have tried so hard to bring the LTTE into this conference. Norway even sent its foreign minister to the LTTE's capital in the Wanni to meet with its leadership. In its latest effort the Japanese government has once again urged, or virtually appealed, to the LTTE to take part in the conference. But if the past is any guide, the anticipated political marginalization of the LTTE that could occur through international displeasure will not help the peace process.
Timing of demand
In assessing the present situation it must be noted that the LTTE's demand for an interim administration is not unreasonable in and of itself. The concept of an interim administration for the LTTE was floated first by President Kumaratunga herself who once admitted that she has offered the LTTE a 10

Page 11
15 MAY 2003
year term on conditions which were never formally announced. The principle of an interim administration once again found expression in the draft constitution of 2000 put before Parliament by the former PA government that was headed by the President. Finally, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe himself upheld the cause of an interim administration headed by the LTTE during the election campaign of December 2001.
Therefore, it can be seen that the problem with the LTTE's demand for an interim administration is not with the concept itself, but with its timing. By making this demand just three weeks prior to the Tokyo conference, and expecting the government to deliver it in concrete terms is unrealistic. This is more so because establishing an interim administration would require constitutional amendment which the government cannot carry out at this time as it lacks the requisite two-third majority in Parliament. In order to achieve Such a Super majority, the government needs the support of the oppo
sition.
The LTTE i blame for the gov ness to bring opposition into th LTTE has contil President in critic: which she has b also initiated. The the opposition to in the peace talks, inform the gov wish to have the peace talks. It w reversal of its men government to ne position and brin where they might the votes in Parli ment to the consti But what is qu government’s ina dent Kumaratul as the elected heac of the greatest nati instance it was re that the postponen Prime Minister of
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TAM TIMES 11
self must share the 2rnment's unwillinghe President and e peace process. The ually described the l, if not hostile terms, th reciprocated and LTTE has not invited join the government Perhaps they should ernment that they pposition also at the ll take a significant tal frameworkforthe gotiate with the opg them to the point be willing to provide ament for an amendtution. lite perplexing is the bility to give Presinga her due place of state on occasions onal importance. For ported in the media nent of the visit of the Thailand to Sri Lanka
to commemorate an important event in the history of Sri Lankan Buddhism had less to do with the inclement weather than with the absence of proper protocol involving the Presidsent. If this is true, it is a matter of great shame and disgrace that even religious and cultural matters are not spared the pettiness of politics. At least for the sake of national unity, the government should reconsider its differences with the President. It is right and proper that President Kumaratunga should jointly lead the government delegation to the Tokyo donor conference. Such an action could set the stage for a Presidential nominee, if not an opposition representative, to attend future peace talks with the LTTE. This would make it easier for the opposition to give parliamentary support to implement decisions taken at the peace talks. In the meantime, for the sake of sustaining the peace process and obtaining a maximum of economic aid for the people, the LTTE should take its place alongside the government delegation as joint partners at the Tokyo conference. O
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Page 12
12 TAM TIMES
"An Interim Administ Questionble in L
During recent discussions with Norwegian Deputy Foreign Minister, the LTTE leader, Mr Vellupillai Pirapaharan, had proposed the Setting up of an interim administrative structure with adequate powers to undertake Northeastern reconstruction and development activities. The Government's proposals in response, following discussions with Norwegians, were "out-lined in three documents: a Draft Agreement (between the Government of Sri Lanka and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam), an informal paper on “Elements of a Strengthened and Expanded Mechanism for Reconstruction and Development of the North and East', and finally, a letter suggesting the use of locally elected bodies as a basis for development activities.”
In his letter dated 21 May to the Norwegian Deputy Foreign Minister, the LTTE's political advisor Mr Anton Balasingham stated that "the Tiger leadership proposes an interim administrative structure with greater participation of the LTTE, in both decision making and delivery of the tasks of rebuilding the war-damaged economy and restoring normalcy in the Tamil speaking homeland.” Citing a previous example of such a proposal, Mr Balasingham said, "In this context, we wish to point out that the Government of India proposed an interim administrative mechanism following the IndoSri Lanka Accord of 1987, providing the LTTE with a dominant participatory role.”
According legal experts, neither the institutional arrangements suggested by Colombo nor an interim administrative structure as demanded by the LTTE can be set up with legal validity. "An interim administrative mechanism similar to the one proposed under the Indo Lanka Agreement can be set up by the President alone; and only while Emergency Regulations are in force', said Mr. V. T Thamilmaran, senior lecturer in law in the University of Colombo. "But even such a body cannot jointly
administer and util: the northeast, as it vention of the provi diment to Sri Lanka added.
Under Sri Lar there is no provisio whereby an effecti trative body can be made operable. Co to this fact when T. demand for such a 1996.
However, in a sé jointly by the Indi Governments prio) Indo Lanka Agreer Bangalore Propos made (underparagr for the President to ecutive power on a tration for the inte view to making it a nism responsible f reconstruction of th The matter was Indo Lanka Accorc a dominant role fo gers in the propose tration. The institu alise and hence fac it legality and oper dragged its feet ar military front preci the Indian army an gers.
Mr. Thamilmar ing to the provisi constitution the Pr her/his executive ity or body set up der Emergency Reg gency, which has Parliament every n 2001 when Preside ratunga's People A jority after its chi the Sri Lanka Musl over to the opposi "Firstly, given rably tattered state tween President an

15 MAY 2003
ation''
W
se funds to rebuild would be in contrasions of 13th amen's constitution', he
ka's constitution nor legal loophole re interim adminisestablished and be lombo has pointed amil parties made a body in 1994 and
it of proposals made an and Sri Lankan to signing of the ment (known as the als) provision was aphs 10.1 and 10.2) devolve his/her exun interim adminiserim period with a an effective mechaor development and he northeast.
taken up under the l too, providing for r the Liberation Ti:d interim administion did not materie the litmus test of ability as Colombo ld as events on the pitated war between d the Liberation Ti
an said that accordons of Sri Lanka’s esident can devolve lower to an authorby her/him only unulations. The Emerto be approved by nonth, lapsed in late nt Chandrika Kumailliance lost its maif coalition partner, m Congress crossed ion.
the current, irrepaof cohabitation bePrime Minister one
cannot even remotely contemplate any devolution of executive power to an interim administrative mechanism for the northeast. Secondly, the Emergency is not in force now and no right thinking person would endorse the re-imposition of its draconian regulations. Thirdly and most importantly, Appendix III to the 13th Amendment very clearly stipulates that all matters connected with Public Debt, Foreign loans, government funds, the Central Bank, Audit of the accounts of the GOSL and of the Provinces fall within the purview of the Central government. Therefore an interim body as envisaged under the Indo Lanka Agreement cannot ever be a viable mechanism for jointly utilising and administering funds for the development and reconstruction of the northeast', Mr. Thamilmaran said.
The North East Development and Reconstruction Council (NEDRC) that has been proposed by Colombo as an expanded version of Sub-committee on Immediate Humanitarian and Rehabilitation Needs (SIRHN) is not legally viable under the provisions of the constitution for the same constitutional reasons for which the earlier Joint Task Force concept was abandoned.
Article 76.1 of the Constitution expressly prohibits the Parliament from devolving its legislative authority, including the right to handle the country's finances, to any other body. This provision vests in the Parliament the sole right to control the finances and stipulates that the right is inalienable.
Giving further strength to Article 76.1, Articles 148-54 of the Constitution clearly prohibit any institution other than Parliament or one authorised by it from getting involved directly in disbursing or handling public funds.
Article 154 of the Constitution and section 13 of the Finance Act No. 38 of 1971 describe the duties and functions of the Auditor-General. The Article imposes a duty on him to audit the accounts of all public institutions including that of the Prime Minister's Office.
“In this context can the Auditor General be answerable to Parliament if the proposed NEDRC conducts its own auditing with his mere concurrence? No. It again raises the question of the proposed body's legality in another form,' Mr. Thamilmaran said.

Page 13
15 MAY 2003
A retired senior Treasury official in Colombo when asked to explain the legal nuts and bolts of setting up and running an administrative mechanism as envisaged in several rounds of peace talks said: “Parliament by legislation (Finance Act), the Public Accounts Committee (established under the Stainding Orders of Parliament) by its reports, and the Treasury by its minutes have laid down a long series of complicated rules (and practices as well) to secure Parliament's sole control over the country's finances'.
"In the final analysis, there is no way one can hope to circumvent this complex web of rules and practices in granting the right to a body to enable Colombo and the Liberation Tigers to jointly utilise and administer funds for the development and reconstruction of the northeast', the retired senior treasury official said.
Under Sri Lanka's Finance Act, expenditure over a certain amount of public money requires the approval of the cabinet. The President of the Republic will chair the meetings of the cabinet.
Also, the administrative mechanism proposed by Colombo has to necessarily recognise the mandate of the External Resources Department as the principal and co-coordinating agency of the Sri Lankan government for foreign loans and grants. Provisions of the Con
stitution, particula the 13th Amendme any doubt on this
"In this contex be a partner in né grants from foreig donor agencies to into the country's ( nership would end to spending the mo the LTTE cannot the involvement o matter is inevitabli statutory requirem loans and grants art Dept. of external into contractual ot of the governmen would also be nego grants as an equal posed body, the sig would be the busin government alone said.
The SIRHN a Force, which was as a mechanism foi and administration legally invalid an along the lines env negotiations for the
T6C82a SOS,
“The only wa blance of legality ( DRC is to constitu board or authority
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TAMILTIMES 13
ly Appendix III of nt leave no room for satter.
t, the LTTE would gotiating loans and n governments and bring in the money offers. But the parthere. When it comes hiesbrought in thus, have a say because f the cabinet in this in accordance with ents. As far as the concerned, only the eSOurces can enter ligations on behalf t. While the LTTE tiating for loans and partner in the proning of the contracts ss of the Sri Lankan Mr. Thamilmaran
nd the Joint Task proposed by earlier ’ the joint utilisation of funds, were held d hence inoperable 'isaged at the peace same constitutional
y to vest any semon the proposed NE te it as a statutory by an act of Parlia
ment. But Article 44 of the Constitution very clearly states that the functions of such bodies shall be assigned by the President and that she has the power to take over these functions with or without consulting the Prime Minister. The fate that befell the National Lotteries Board makes this amply clear', Mr. Thamilmaran said.
"But above all many legal experts have overlooked the important fact that an administrative mechanism set up specially to handle reconstruction and development of the northeast would be held illegal by the Supreme Court because the province is under a Governor's rule. The Governor is answerable to the President. Negating or undermining his authority by setting up a separate administrative mechanism for the province would tantamount to eroding the President's executive power, which the Supreme Court held as inalienable in its judgement rejecting the 19th Amendment to the Constitution brought by Prime Minister Ranil Wicremesinghe’s government”, he pointed out. "Also other provinces might object to such a mechanism', he added.
To change these provisions, a ruling party has to ultimately seek the Support of 2/3 of all the members of Sri Lanka's Parliament and the approval of the people at a referendum.
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Page 14
14 TAM TIMES
When Constituti become a mere lot
Kishali Pinto Jayawardene
It says much for the sanity of our politicians (and their legal advisors) that the uneasy 'cohabitation process' over the past fifteen months should be teetering on the verge of a constitutional breakdown over an issue as unbelievably pedestrian as the management of the Development Lotteries Board.
There is a simple irony secreted in this somewhere; politics and managing the constitution in this country has become, in fact, very much like a lottery in itself, engaged in by individuals who have no conception of constitutional governance.
Ergo, what we have is not a constitutional crisis but a lottery crisis, aggravated by the knee jerk reactions of some Government Ministers, (including reportedly the Minister of the Interior who holds, in another profound irony, the additional portfolio of Minister of Christian Affairs), taking upon themselves to supervise the storming of the Government Press by thugs. This was in order to prevent the printing of the Gazette Notification issued by President Chandrika Kumaratunge, taking over the Board.
If, however, President Kumaratunga is genuine when she complains of reduced allocations from the Board to the President's Fund, could not there have been a civilised dialogue between the parties before the Constitution was resorted to for a takeover? Instead, the almost-but-not-quite fait accompli nature of the Presidential action points to a motive deeper than that purportedly held out.
Statements from the President's Office this week, put the matter very well when they pointed out that "it is odd for a government who fails to consult the President on such vital national issues as the ceasefire agreement, reducing High Security Zones and conceding territorial waters to a second naval force to insist on prior consultation on a lottery.”
This is exactly the try would have taken the office of the Presi legitimate grievance a with regard to substar ing in the context of peace process, acted pursuance ofits electo vided that it did so wi the consequences.
Instead, the hamha it indulged in referen opment Board Lotter tion as to whether we forever to pursue trivia populist party politics ) of substance that will
try's future.
The office of the P tified the attempt to tak in reasoning that is bi innocence. According Article 44 of the Cons an essentially subjec sive discretion in hov net Ministers, Ministri ment of subjects under This is a constitu tion that sits at odds of the Attorney Gener, ered view has apparen Sultations with the Pl the President should before the impugnedd by the latter.
In further ill-advis have important rami the present political ( sons of the office of well as key political f ple’s Alliance, have belittle the Attorney ( views. The Attorney the principal state la land and public belitt subject as it has beer litical pressure for the ades, is highly unfort
As far as Article tution is concerned,

15 MAY 2003
DS tery
point. The counit much better if dency, having a it thinks it does tive issues aris
the spluttering appropriately in 'al mandate, proh due regard for
nded actions that De to the DevelI begs the ques
are condemned lities induced by rather than issues shape this coun
'resident has jusKe over the Board eathtaking in its to the President, titution gives her tive and exclushe treats Cabies and the assignthose Ministries. ional interpretawith the opinion al, whose considly been that conime Minister by lave been sought 2cision was made
'd statements that ications beyond risis, spokesperthe President as gures of the Peothought it fit to eneral, for these General remains w officer of the ing of this office, to invidious popast several dec
nate.
4 of the Constit is important to
note that subsection (1) by using the word “shall', first stipulates a mandatory consultation by the President with the Prime Minister where he considers such consultation to be necessary” with regard to two instances.
These are firstly, where the President determines the number of Ministers of the Cabinet, the Ministries and the assignment of subjects and functions to such Ministers and secondly, where the President appoints from among the MPs, Ministers to be charge of the Ministries so determined.
Article 44 (3) meanwhile specifies that the President may, at any time, change the assignment of subjects and functions and the composition of the Cabinet of Ministers. It is expressly provided that such changes shall not affect the continuity of the Cabinet of Ministers and the continuity of its responsibility to Parliament.
This sub section, which does not stipulate consultation of any kind unlike in the case of Article 44(1) is specifically referred to by President Kumaratunga in her letter. Further, the President has taken the view that, in any event, what is envisaged in Article 44(1) is only consultation and not concurrence or in other words, a mere obtaining of the views of the Prime Minister, “when the President considers it expedient to do so'. Therein lies the case for the Presidential take over of the Board.
This barebones reading ofthe constitutional provisions ignores in its entirety, the doctrine of responsible government, which stipulate a particular working of the constitution that has its origins in basic constitutional principles.
A Constitution, in its most severe sense, is but a "set of rules that authoritatively establishes both the structure and the fundamental principles of the political regime' (Malcolmson and Myers, 1996, p. 31). These rules “constitute' or establish the regime. The intermeshing of these rules and adherence to practices shaped by the context within which those provisions work, owe its logic to a simple rationale.
Constitutions, when written, are documents limited by the times during which they were reduced to writing. As living documents, they cannot be circumscribed by those limitations but are

Page 15
15 ዘAW 2003
supplemented by particular practices which are, as famously pointed out once by Sir Ivor Jennings; "the flesh which clothe the dry bones of the law; they make the legal constitution work; they keep in touch with the growth of ideas.....”
These are not mere exhortations but have tremendous political validity. A case in point was in 1975 when Australia underwent what has been referred to as its greatest constitutional crisis, following the dismissal of the Whitlam Government by the Governor-General using his Reserve Powers under Section 64 of the Constitution. Critiqued as a grave subversion of the democratic parliamentary traditions in Australia, this was one notable instance when constitutional analysts warned against "literal readings of constitutional documents, pointing out that the doctrine of "responsible government' is an essential part of any country's constitution. It necessarily followed therefore that the constitutional provisions, (which vested powers of sovereignty exclusively in the head of state), must be qualified by the obtaining of the "advice and consent” of the government in the actual exercise of these powers, even though there was no express limitation to that effect. Fundamentally, the breaching of constitutional principles or conventions as they are commonly called, cannot be resorted to unless there can be exceptional reasons for so doing.
From this viewpoint, no stretch of the imagination can justify the alleged non-allocation of funds from the Development Lotteries Board to the President's Fund as an acceptable or justifiably grave breach of faith for this departure from the principles of co-habitation that the December 2001 electoral mandate imposed on our rulers. For its own part and with regard to crucial issues impacting on the peace process, the Government needs to acknowledge the duty of consultation with the office of the President in a more forceful manner than has been hitherto evident.
In the alternative, the distasteful strong-arm tactics displayed at the Government Press may be a foretaste of what is to come if an open conflict is provoked between the Presidency and the Government. It is imperative there
P tO
It was "extren the LTTE leader suspend its partic tiations for the tim ever, encouraged your commitment political solution in furtherance of would, at this de your present stan partnership which ceded, already ach success. I believe f in complete accor sire of all our pec process continues tion,' Prime Minist esinghe stated in a the LTTE headqual on 30 April in rep Negotiator Anton B (See page 8 Tamil
The following is Prime Minister's le 2003:
"I write further t April 2003 in respo April, in which you organisation's con some critical issue peace process.
I must at the c complete agreemen ing the 14 months i fire Agreement has as a result of the sin nation shown by bc been substantial pro and development th try. For instance:
* The Ceasefire riod of 14 months; tl
fore that critical in country's public b which have already clergy and the bus calling upon our ru ing not only to the tution but also its s
(Соиrtesy: 1

TAMIL TIMES 15
M Urges LTTE Return to Talks
ly unfortunate that ip has decided to ation in the negobeing". "I am howy the reiteration of ) seek a negotiated the question, and nis, hope that you sive time, review e, and continue a as as you have con|eved considerable nally this would be
with the firm deple that the peace without interruper Ranill Wickremletter delivered to ters in Kilinochchi ly to LTTE Chief alasingham's letter Times, April 2003)
; the full text of the ter dated 30 April
o my letter of 22nd se to yours of 21st ad expressed your ern in relation to on the ongoing
utset express my with you that durwhich the Ceasebeen consolidated rity and determin sides, there has ess towards peace ughout the coun
as held for a pedaily toll of dead
ventions by this made, (some of en evident by the ess community), is to act accorder of the Constiit.
Sunday Times)
and maimed combatants and civilians has been brought to a halt.
* SLMM proccdures have been strengthened and its activities and coverage expanded; critical situations which would earlier have led to conflict have been defused and resolved.
* Places of worship and schools occupied by the Military have been handed over.
* The Government and LTTE have established SHRN an institution for decision-making in which both have equal participation.
* Through a joint approach by the Government and the LTTE to the Donors, a funding mechanism NERF has been established.
* Some of the issues pertaining to the Muslims have been addressed.
* Detailed study of Federal and Government structures has been undertaken by both sides.
* The Joint Gender Committee has been set up.
* Positive working relationships have been established between the parties at operational level.
* The International Donors, both multilateral and bilateral, have already disbursed substantial funding (in excess of US $ 30 million) for humanitarian and rehabilitation work in the NorthEast.
Although it has not been possible to reach agreement on all matters our joint resolve to cooperate has provided the space and confidence for the international community to participate in rehabilitation and development. The 14-month period of peace has therefore been one of steady progress and hope to our people.
Let me take up one by one, the various reasons which appear to have led your organisation to take what you have termed as a "painful decision'.
1. Exclusion of the LTTE from the Preparatory Seminar in Washington:
As you would know, the Japanese

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16 TAMILTIMES
Government suggested preparatory seminars in Washington, Brussels and Oslo prior to the Tokyo Conference. The Government of Norway later felt that it would forego this opportunity since the Oslo meeting last November had virtually served this purpose. Subsequently for various logistical reasons mainly connected with the Iraq crisis, the decision to hold a meeting in Europe was changed and it was proposed to have a preparatory meeting in Colombo in May. These arrangements were discussed at the meeting at Hakone.
There were two other significant reasons for going ahead with the Washington seminar in April. The first, was the fact that such a seminar would enable the gathering of major Donors who would be present in Washington as participants in the important Spring Meetings of the World Bank and IMF. The other reason was that it was important to obtain commitment of the Donors to this process before their attention was absorbed by the needs of Iraq as a consequence of the situation following that conflict.
The Washington preparatory seminar was not a pledging conference. The multilateral organisations present at the seminar announced their indicative figures under their Country programme at the meeting.
The LTTE's inability to attend the seminar was due to the fact that the organisation still remains a banned organisation under United States Law. I regret the LTTE could not participate and you will appreciate that the Government cannot be blamed for this situation.
From the inception the Government was committed to working with the LTTE in rebuilding the North-East. In fact the Tokyo Conference offered by the Japanese Government as a pledging conference for the Reconstruction and
Development of Sri Lanka too this fact into consideration. The Conference is to be opened by the Prime Minister of Japan.
2. The non-implementation of the terms and conditions enunciated in the truce document:
Both sides have obligations to fullfil the terms of the Ceasefire Agrement. While there has been increasing com
pliance, I agree with yet much to be donet the provision of the ment. Our view is
should commit them: The presence of the toring Mission has un in ensuring, to the e) observance of the C aspects. The final ol is normalisation of th However in view ol conflict has been lor malisation is bound process. Both sides impatient at the pace sation has taken plac necessary to renew ment to make progre
3. The sufferin experienced by hu sands of internally ( The highest prior by the Government, and the international leviate the condition displaced, as quickl ourselves have pledg tion to (a) take steps for the people of th and (b) solve the pi who have been displ helpless by war. In f progress. The Gove substantial loans fro and ADB for resettle displaced persons an been reduced signifi There is also th of de-mining of the ternally displaced settling and an effec under way with se Donors committed mine action. Indeed own TRO and its h ining unit working i endeavour is highly
Of course there done to make life be There have been de tation due to the bre; ment administratiot twenty-year confli weeks we have be measures to streng ness of implement: lish an effective cc nism for administr;

15 MAY 2003
you that there is implement fully, Ceasefire Agreehat both parties elves to doing so. Sri Lanka Monidoubtedly helped tent possible, the easefire in all its jective of course ground situation.
the fact that the g drawn out, norto be a difficult know, have been at which normalie and it would be pur joint commit
SS.
g and hardship ndreds of thoulisplaced Tamils: ity has been given your organisation community to als of the internally y as possible. We ed at the last electo make life easier e North and East, oblems of people aced and rendered act there has been rnment has taken m the World Bank ment of internally the numbers have cantly. e further question lands in which inpersons would be tive programme is veral international to humanitarian the work of your umanitarian demn the Vanni in this appreciated. s much more to be tter for the people. lays in implemenkdown in Governas a result of the t. In the last few en discussing the hen the effectivetion and to estabprodination mechation in the North
ern districts - the districts worst affected by the war. The Government will keep the LTTE briefed on these proposals prior to implementation.
We will also convey to you our views on making SIRHN more effective and look forward to reaching agreement on the modifications that are needed. As Mr. Bernard Goonetilleke's letter of 28th April, 2003 would have informed Mr. Tamilchelvan, we have formulated procedures to commence the 15 approved projects while the formal arrangements for NERF are being finalised. The Norwegian Facilitator will be apprising you of the manner in which we are overcoming this problem.
4. The aggressive Military occupation of Northern cities and civilian settlement:
Ever since the Ceasefire, the policy of the Government has been to restore normalcy in order that the civilian population would be enable to carry on their customary livelihood. The visible signs of this are, the increased production in fisheries and the bumper paddy harvest that has been experienced in the recent Maha season in the Vanni.
Though there are yet steps to be taken to reduce the constraints now necessitated by security considerations, the difference in people's lives over the past year is I believe quite evident. The Government is committed, as I mentioned earlier, to resolve the issues of the persons displaced by war. Mr. Austin Fernando, Secretary Defence by his letter dated 27th April, 2003 informed Mr. Tamilchelvan of the intention of the Army to release the two hotels in Jaffna town and the surrounding houses. Pre-fabricated buildings to house the troops have already been ordered. The Report prepared by General Nambiar on the Review of the High Security Zones, as mentioned in the Talks of 6th - 9th January will also be available when the Talks resume.
5. The marginalisation of the people of North-East in the macro economic policies and strategies of the
Government:
A careful reading of the "Regaining Sri Lanka” document which contains the vision and strategy for acceleration of development will indicate the (continued on next page)

Page 17
15 MAY 2003
Self determinati and conflict regula
Dr. Brendan O’Duffy,
Queen Mary University of London Visiting Fello (Presentation at the International Centre for Ethnic Studies, Colo
Those who assume the LTTE's concession on negotiating within the framework of a united Sri Lanka are, to paraphrase Richard Falk, pretending that the self-determination genie remains in the doctrinal box of a statist world. Instead, as Falk and others recognise, the post-Cold War era has presented real-political challenges to positivist attempts to define or restrict international legal rights of self-determination. The implications for the current Sri Lanka political process are signifiCant.
On the one hand, the Cold War moratorium on self-determination has been replaced by a potentially more open system of recognition based on political expedience and new norms of sovereignty recognition which make the mistreatment of ethnic minorities
(or ethnic majoritie nority) a potential intervention and e nition.
On the other principle of self-de that of non-secessic determination, bas tonomy (devolut power-sharing a group rights protec ity between the evc ternal and internal need to be addresse tutional settlement will argue below tha latory framework seemingly destabili nal self-determinati tual veto rules wh guards to territorial
(Continued from page 6) degree to which conflict related development has been emphasised. ۔۔۔۔۔۔
Regaining Sri Lanka is the National Economic Policy Framework of the Government. Its objective is to achieve and sustain a high rate of growth for a decade or so which will enable -
(a) the creation of employment opportunities and
(b) generation of sufficient economic resources for long term development of the North-East.
The specific strategies and plans for promoting economic development in the North-East will be worked out in consultation with the LTTE. There is no intention to exclude the LTTE from the process.
One of the achievements for the Government and the LTTE was the ability to cooperate in commissioning the Multi Agency Needs Assessment to identify the reconstruction and rehabilitation requirements of the North-East. Once the two parties agree on this Report, it will become the official plan
ning framework fo the North-East. Ref ning framework wil Regaining Sri Lanll planning framewor: mitted to the Tokyc addition to the Re document.
In the face of t developments, albei we might have desi unfortunate that thi has decided to suspe in the negotiations I am however, reiteration of your c a negotiated politi question, and in f hope that you wou time, review your continue a partnersh have conceded, alre siderable success.
I believe finall; complete accord w of all our people tha continues without i

TAM TIMES 17
tion
V» bo, on 8 May 2003)
by a-dominant miground for external entual state recog
and, the dominant ermination remains nist or internal self'd on regional auon), federalism, d individual and ions. The ambigulving norms of exself-determination d if a stable constiis to be reached. I tsuch a stable regumust build in the zing right of exteron, albeit with muich balance Safeintegrity with safe
the rebuilding of erence to the planbe included in the a document. This will also be subDonor Meeting in gaining Sri Lanka
nese very positive not at pace which ed, it is extremely LTTE leadership ld its participation or the time being. ncouraged by the mmitment to seek al solution to the therance of this, l, at this decisive esent stance, and ) which has as you dy achieved con
this would be in n the firm desire the peace process erruption."
guards against unilateral assertions of executive power.
Overview
This article aims first to provide an overview of the recent developments in International Law regarding national self-determination. Secondly, I will try to show from an "outsider's' perspective, how these international legal developments impact on some contemporary academic and public debates regarding negotiation and design of a political settlement in Sri Lanka.
Thirdly, by way of comparison with the British-Irish led process over Northern Ireland, it will be shown that agreement on a novel mechanism for Selfdetermination in 1993 was a pivotal aspect of the pre-negotiation phase leading to the Good Friday Agreement (1998). Finally, I hope to show how a modified version of the concurrent majority formula could be applied to balance the Sinhalese majority wish for the preservation of territorial integrity, with Tamil desires for national self-determination.
The overall aim is to show how creative mechanisms for self-determination and constitutional reform can contribute to the search for mutual exchanges between the protagonists in conflict.
National self-determination
The principle and practice of national self-determination has recently evolved with important implications for conflicts centred on ethno-nationalism. The dominant paradigm from the end of the Second World War to the end of the Cold War was based on the primacy of maintaining the integrity of states. Despite its name, "International law' continued to recognize only states, not nations, as holders of rights of self-determination.
In the post-Cold War era, modifications to the international legal status of self-determination expanded the potential justification of national self-determination in states whose regimes denied representation to particular sections of the population and were discriminatory based on race, creed or colour. More recent developments with implications for diminishing the statist status quo include international treaties such as the Copenhagen Agreement

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18 TAMILTIMES
(signed by 35 states, including the US), which justifies intervention to uphold democratic regimes.
It remains to be seen if the US attempt to assert this right in international law will be successful. Interventions in Yugoslavia (over Kosovo), Grenada, Haiti, Somalia, and most recently Iraq threaten to establish a new paradigm which elevates inter-state political practice (ostensibly based on democracy and human rights) above positive international law. As Richard Falk has emphasized, the legal justification of the recognition of new states following the break-up of the Soviet Union and Yugoslavia stretched the international legal interpretation of post-colonial exceptionalism to the point of breaking.
This recent practice is a significant confirmation of the extent to which the effective political outcomes that are consistent with geopolitical preferences ... produce legal results incompatible with earlier conceptions of legal doctrine. Community responses to such state-shattering practice are registered by way of diplomatic recognition and admission to international institutions. Precisely because of the limits of positive international law within the statist paradigm to manage deep-seated ethno-national conflict, modifications have evolved which attempt to preserve the stability of the inter-state system while encouraging internal or non-secessionist' forms of national self-determination, including forms of federalism and devolution, power-sharing, individual and collective minority rights protections.
The Lechtentein Draft Convention on Self-Determination Through SelfAdministration treats the latter (devolution and federalism) as necessary steps through which parties to a dispute should attempt to manage conflict, but also recognizes the need for mechanisms of self-determinations. Section l, Art. lb.defines rights of self-determination' as the free determination by those possessing that right of their political status and their free pursuit of their economic, social and cultural development, and may be implemented by establishment as a sovereign and independent State, free association or integration with an independent State, or emergence into any other political sta
tus freely determi concerned.
Where persiste national self-determ of guidance from makes it imperative confront and clarify der which Self-dete exercised.
Arthur Watts commentary on the Convention that: " equate degree of sel not been acknowle recognized rules an with the situation h war or other forms to extensive human
Sri Lanka’s case
For Sri Lanka, g ties inherent in deli determination in th ism, it would be r need to also regula nal self-determinat discussion of some argue that regulatil ternal self-determir re-enforcing strateg Some may hav the apparent conce nounced by the L government at the in November 2002 sued by the Norwe nounced that the tv “explore a solution ciple of internal st areas of historica Tamill-speaking pe eral structure w Lanka. But close conditionality attac plore”. Internal sel be considered by ther has actually c ing a purely interr Leaving aside ences between a federal model, or t a devolved model, stacles remain in tWeen the Sri Lan the LTTE. From t a clear obstacle to lution is the lack the Sinhalese pub opposition politic the permeance c

15 MAY 2003
'd by the people
claims exist for lation, the absence nternational law or governments to the conditions unmination could be
mphasizes in his iechtenstein Draft there even an ad-determination has ge, the absence of procedures to deal is often resulted in of conflict leading suffering.
iven the uncertainvering internal selfe form of federalaive to ignore the e process of exterion. In fact, in the cases below I will ng external and inlation is a mutually gy for state-craft. e been surprised by ssion on Eelam anTTE and the UNP Oslo round of talks . The statement isgian facilitators anvo parties agreed to founded on the prinlf-determination in | habitation of the ple, based on a fedthin a united Sri observers noted the ned to the world “ex-determination is to oth parties but neimmitted to acceptll form. he capacious differonfederal versus a tween a federal and wo fundamental obridging the gap bean government and government's side, selling a federal soconfidence among c, civic Society and establishment as to a federal solution.
Quite simply, there is widespread fear that federalism (or devolution) would be the first step on the slippery slope to the break-up of the country.
As a local government representative (from the PA opposition) declared: “What this (UNP) government is negotiating is not federalism, it is simply the break-up of the country. They are giving the LTTE what they couldn’t get through war.'
Such fears are long-standing, even foundational of conflict. In the postindependence period the mainly Tamil, Federal Party's advocacy of a federal solution created a Sinhalese nationalist backlash against what was perceived as the inevitable dismemberment of the country.
The claims to territorial statehood made in the Vaddukkottai resolution in 1976 were followed by the TULF manifesto for the 1977 General Election:
There is only one alternative and that is to proclaim with the stamp of finality and fortitude, that, “we alone shall rule over our land that our forefathers ruled. Sinhalese imperialism shall quit our homeland. The Tamil United Liberation Front regards the general election of 1977 as a means of proclaiming to the Sinhalese government this resolve of the Tamil nation. And every vote that you cast for the Front would go to show that the Tamil nation is determined to liberate itself from the Sinhalese domination.'
Further suspicions of ultimate Tamil motives were raised in 1984-85 when the Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF) first appeared to accept the Sri Lankan government's proposals for a devolution package, only to reject the proposals after coming under pressure from hard-liners in its base-in-exile, Tamil Nadu.
Many in the Sri Lankan political establishment became convinced that even ostensibly moderate Tamils were committed only to Eelam. Thus the Tamil consensus enunciated in the Thimpu principles in 1985, based on the recognition of Tamil nationhood, selfdetermination, traditional homelands and full citizenship rights were interpreted by governments and Sinhalese nationalists, in Jehan Perera's words, as meaning 'nothing short of independence”.
More recently, a prominent critic of

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15 MAY 2003
the peace process. Dayan Jayatilleka, has argued that a federal system for Sri Lanka would be "centrifugal' i.e. would lead to the dismemberment of the country. K. M. de Silva has argued that federal or quasi-federal devolution is not appropriate because the areas outside of the North and (parts of) the East do not desire devolution (though this is contradicted by the demands from Sinhalese-majority provinces for the full implementation of devolution following the establishment of Provincial Councils in 1987).
In my own research to date I have been struck by the near consensus across Sinhalese society of their belief or at least suspicion that the LTTE will use devolution or federalism as a staging post to independence. A former Army Officer's comments were typical: "They (LTTE) are setting up their own government, courts, extracting taxes. They have a navy and a merchant marine fleet. And their army fought the Sri Lanka Army to a truce. What does this add up to if not an independent state?’
Yet as significant as Sinhalese fears are of a federal settlement, they are matched by the Tamil fears of majority domination in a unitary constitution. (In fact, it is almost axiomatic that groups in conflict under-estimate the obstacles to moderation of maximal goals and over-estimate the unanimity of opinion of the other' when involved in negotiations).
Against those who assume that the LTTE leadership has a commanding grip on its local political branches and cadres, one should consider the likelihood that the LTTE concession on Eelam (if it is one) will present significant internal management problems, not least from those supporters and families of cadres who sacrificed their lives in pursuit of Eelam. Observers of the contemporary internal politics of the LTTE describe deep cleavages between the leadership's ostensible commitment to federalism and power-sharing and local rivalries with Tamil-speaking Muslims and Sinhalese, especially in the East.
Scepticism is warranted, but the fact that it is mutually felt is in some ways advantageous because it reveals symmetry and the need for mutualist mechanisms and approaches to conflict
regulation. Most cism and distrusts to cloud strategic stitutionalism. Hic ist legal or cultura perpetuate conflic force perceptions archies.
Can this gap i standing be bridge proach could be mechanism of sel became the fulcrur ess in Northern Ire
Northern Ireland Unlike in Sri Li lution' to their exi in Ireland was par ment of Ireland A two "Home Rule land, one in Dubli Catholic-dominate rate Parliament fort nated North.
However, this l partially implemen sistence on full inc whole island clash terests in a) maintail within the Empiref political reasons, a interests of the near estant “unionists” ir years of war, the (1921) granted (equivalent to Cana the 26 counties of th and devolved hom (within the United remaining 6 count Northern Ireland.
The opposing cl over the territory c were central points ing to and throug which broke out in suppression of the Northern Ireland C 111cnt.
Since that time ionist majority wa irredentist claim ov be removed from th as the condition for deal with the (Catha nority (then 35% o Northern Ireland.
Gradually, after failed negotiation

TAMILTIMES 19
mportantly, sceptiould not be allowed pproaches to conng behind essentialArguments will only pecause they re-enfunjust status hier
conceptual under|? One possible apadapted from the determination that for the peace procand.
nka, the British “so
from colonial rule ition. The Governit (1920) proposed parliaments for Ire, the capital of the south and a sepahe Protestant-domi
egislation was only ted as southern inlependence for the ed with British inning Irelandʼs place or geo-strategic and ld b) protecting the ly one million ProtIreland. After two Anglo-Irish Treaty dominion status la and Australia) to e Irish Free State’ :-rule government Kingdom) for the es, which became
ims to sovereignty Northern Ireland foontention leadthe "Troubles', 969 following the rimarily Catholic vil Rights Move
ne (Protestant) unadamant that the Northern Ireland Irish Constitution ny power-sharing ic) nationalist mihe population) of
petitive cycles of mong moderates,
followed by intensive waves of paramilitary violence, the British and Irish governments, agreed to institutionalise their inter-governmental relationship, address (but not resolve) their opposing claims to sovereignty and encourage power-sharing, economic, political and judicial reform. 诊
The Anglo-Irish Agreement of 1985 and the Downing St. Declaration of 1993 represented mutual recognition of the need to modify sovereignty claims created the basis for a progressive set of reciprocal exchanges that reaffirmed the parameters of a settlement.
More specifically, the bi-national, intergovernmental conflict regulation strategy shaped the strategic and tactical choices of the parties and movements in Northern Ireland, creating more stable negotiating blocs with the two governments taking a commanding lead.
Thus, there was a clear relationship between the development of an inclusive process (bringing paramilitaries into constitutional negotiations) and the opening of Sovereignty to negotiation in a more symmetrical, bargainable exchange relationship than existed hithertO.
A framework
The Joint Declaration (Downing Street Declaration) signed in London on 15 December, 1993 was a significant advance in British-Irish conflict regulation because it established agreement between the two governments on the primary regulative aspect of sovereignty: a process of self-determination requiring the consent of both a majority of people in Northern Ireland and concurrently a majority of people in the Irish Republic for any change in the status of Northern Ireland. Paragraph's four and five contained the heart of the exchange:
Paragraph 4:... The British Government agree that it is for the people of the island of Ireland alone, by agreement between the two parts respectively, to exercise their right of self-determination on the basis of consent, freely and concurrently given, North and South, to bring about a untied Ireland, if that is their wish.
Paragraph 5: (The Taoiseach) accepts, on behalf of the Irish Government, that the democratic right of self

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20 TAMILTIMES
determination by the people of Ireland as a whole must be achieved and exercised with and subject to the agreement and consent of a majority of the people of Northern Ireland and must, consistent with justice and equity, respect the democratic dignity and civil rights and religious liberties of both communities.
In addition the Joint Declaration reiterated that the parameters of a settlement must be founded on consent and encompassing arrangements within Northern Ireland, for the whole island, and between these islands (Paragraph 2).
By stating that the process of selfdetermination was for the Irish people alone, the citizens of the Irish Republic were also being given a veto on any unilateral exercise of self-determination by the current unionist majority. In other words, if the current unionist majority, fearing abandonment by their British patron, declared unilateral independence from the United Kingdom, they would be prevented by the current agreement from doing so without the consent of a majority in the Irish Republic. Henceforth, both Irish nationalist and British unionist preferences for self-determination were required for any change in the status of Northern Ireland. For the first time since 1918 the rights to self-determination were subject to all-Ireland consent, to be exercised concurrently in both parts of the island.
Implications for Sri Lanka
The effects of the bi-national treaty in turn shaped the internal debates within republicanism and unionism over participation in negotiations. The negotiations leading to the Good Friday Agreement itself are beyond the scope of this article. Suffice to say that the mechanism for self-determination was necessary, but not sufficient, for transforming the conflict from violence to constitutionalism.
The agreement on a mechanism for self-determination preceded the negotiation of the subsequent aspects of agreement, including creative powersharing institutions, substantive devolved authority from the UK, confederal links between Northern Ireland and the Irish Republic, and reciprocal individual and collective rights protections in both jurisdictions. A vital ellement in Ulster Unionist leader David
Trimble’s ability to day Agreement to a his sceptical commu cess in converting t sovereignty to an as by consent.
The mechanism f tion was the centre-l rate British-Irish Tre constitutive and regu Friday Agreement. ment amended Artic Constitution to conve ereignty over Northe aspiration for unity b In exchange, thi ment rescinded tw claims to sovereign Ireland as found in Government of Irela the Ireland Act (l United Kingdom's cl over Northern Irelar on the Act of Union c ment to relinquish so the concurrent major a clear constitutional unification. It should bi-national, concurri ciple is operative at of governance, both sharing executive (nc at the confederal lev sion-rules within the isterial Council.
If the concurrent was pivotal to encol modify its ethno-cer determination, can a gain LTTE accepta right of self-dete) Lanka?
H. L. de Silva h eralism in the Sri L. amount to 'evolutio de facto territorial North and East will appetite for more po devolution or federa tial to violate the ' postulate on which der of the Republi threatens to underr unity and the conce lective identity of th encapsulated in the ereignty of the pec properly described of the law of the CC rigidly statist view,

15 MAY 2003
ell the Good Fribare majority of nity was the suche Irish claim to piration for unity
or self-determinaiece of the sepaaty which is both ative of the Good he Irish governles 2 and 3 ofits rtits claim tosovrn Ireland into an y consent. : British governo sources of its y over Northern Section 75 of the ld Act (1920) and 949). While the aim to sovereignty .d remains (based f 1800) the agreeereignty based on ity rule establishes mechanism for realso be noted that ent majority prinsubsidiary levels within the power)w suspended) and 2l in terms of deciNorth-South Min
majority formula raging the IRA to tric claim to selfsimilar mechanism nce of a qualified "mination in Sri
is argued that fednkan context will nary secession' as autonomy for the merely 'whet the vers’. For de Silva, ism has the poteninal and essential he whole legal orrests' because it line the sense of pt of a single col: People (which is) oncept of the sovple which may be is the central norm nstitution....' Such ignore the extent
to which this unitary, statist conception itself contributed to subsequent conflict. In particular, it could be argued that the rare conditions de Silva identifies as the justifiable causes for challenging the central norm of the constitution - a government that "denies to the People their essential rights and freedoms and liberties - existed in Sri Lanka in the post-independence period.
There are grounds, in other words, for questioning and re-examining the "pre-existing values which precede and transcend the constitution'. To argue that these values and principles are "eternal and irrefragable and cannot be compromised by understandings reached by itinerant negotiators or anybody else', raises them to a perennialist or even primordialist axiom whose very rigidity can be considered a source of conflict rather than a source of stability while disagreement persists on the foundational legitimacy of the state. Moreover, any constitution that agrees a mechanism for amendment has agreed a priori to regulate rather than reify sovereignty.
A concurrent-majority mechanism
Neither does one need to accept the bona fides of the LTTE to progress a conflict regulation process. If one believes that the LTTE is bluffing concerning its acceptance of an internal solution, the best strategy is not to overturn the card table but instead to play the hand dealt and call the opponent's hand (whether or not it is a bluff). Already, there is evidence that the LTTE are facing, however grudgingly, the realities of political bargaining: committing in principle to power-sharing (with Sinhalese and Muslim parties) in the East; accepting the principle of multi-party democracy (moving away from its "sole representative' stance) and signing up to commitments to protect human rights in areas under its de facto authority.
There is no question that these commitments are being breached on the ground but over the longer term, and given reciprocal implementation moves by the Sri Lankan government, these commitments will become increasingly difficult to breach without risking both domestic and international status.
An agreed mechanism for self-determination offers a necessary, though

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15 MAY 2003
not a sufficient, approach to a settlement. The following proposal applies comparative empirical analysis of conflict transformation to recommend mechanisms for self-determination within the terms of the Liechtenstein Draft Convention on Self-Determination. The concurrent majority principle that was the linchpin of the British-Irish (Good Friday) Agreement could be adapted to the Sri Lankan case as follows, assuming the current federalist trajectory of negotiations:
* External self-determination for any constituent part of the Sri Lankan Federation (or devolved unitary state) will be subject to the ascent of concurrent majorities in the province seeking change and concurrently in the remaining Provinces, either individually, or taken as a whole.
* Internal self-determination would also be subject to the concurrent majority principle (as set out above). The regulation of internal, governmental aspects of sovereignty would be entrenched by the same provincial veto power, so that authorities devolved in the settlement constitution are immune from unilateral central retraction.
* A guaranteed minimal interval must be established (7 to 10 years) between any plebiscites on external selfdetermination.
* A guaranteed process must be agreed for initiating such a plebiscite on self-determination, such as through rights of initiative or through the authority of the Provincial Council and the central government.
* An international treaty with India could be made recognising the concurrent majority mechanism for self-determination in Sri Lanka and institutionalised cooperation on a schedule of common issues, such as fisheries, naval cooperation, migration, anti-crime initiatives etc. Maximally: a common secretariat staffed by representatives from each country. Minimally: regular inter-governmental meetings.
The main advantage of such an approach is to provide clarity on the related questions of external and internal self-determination. The concurrent majority veto powers should reassure the Sinhalese majority on the island that they have an effective veto over any change in the territorial status of the island. This mechanism of self-deter
mination removes threat that many a alism or constitute At the same t majority formulag any other potentia important safeguar ties devolved to th be rescinded witho ondly, that a consti exists for the achie independence, or a ince) in the future, consent of the rest approach is consist reading of the T which currently de self-determination. This formula a ria of popular sove H. L. de Silva and onal of the Sri Lan cause it gives the p resentatives) the fir lative aspects of sc separate, simultant concurrent majority tive assemblies). M posals address the a nism for constitutii which was a centra ing LTTE consent gotiation from the l tion attempt from tl 1997-2000 devolut It should also b mechanism does n plomacy' or interbetween or among eral) parts of Sri L ter-governmental iu ecutive authority ov aCaS.
If a peace deal Northern and Eastel ample, it is possible cant inter-governm cooperation betwee the Tamil homelar the territorial intere Sinhalese in the E theory, such intercould be extended tions with neighbo such as Tamil Nadu agreement between Lankan central gov using the concurret The same princi to the regulation of

TAMILJIMES 21
he 'slippery slope' sociate with federl devolution. ne, the concurrent arantees Tamils (or secessionists) two s: first, that authorie Provinces cannot it their consent, secutional mechanism rement of Eelam (or reconfigured Provalbeit subject to the of the island. This ent with even close himpu principles, ine Tamil claims to
so fulfils the criteeignty identified by others as foundatikan constitution beeople (or their repalsay on core reguvereignty, albeit in cous plebiscites (or votes in representaMoreover these probsence of a mechang devolved power, lobstacle in securin all phases of nendo-Lanka devoluhe mid-1980s to the ion amendments. e noted that such a ot preclude paradigovernmental links devolved (or fedanka, including in1stitutions with exer delegated policy
results in separate n Provinces, for exto envisage signifintal links allowing n areas claimed as d while protecting sts of Muslims and stern Province. In overnmental links to confederal relauring jurisdictions, provided there was the Indian and Sri rnments (the latter t majority rule).
ble could be applied ubsequent changes
to territorial composition of Provinces, a central point of contention given the ambiguity surrounding the relationship between the Northern and Eastern prov1CCS.
Anticipated objections:
1. Why would LTTE sign up to a mechanism that gives the Sinhalese majority a veto on external self-determination?
This is a particularly serious objection in light of the comparative analysis with Northern Ireland because a central portion of the logic of Sinn Fein acceptance of the concurrent majority rule was and in the belief that Catholic/nationalist will soon become the majority in Northern Ireland.
They have a realistic expectation that they will be able to achieve through referenda what they could not achieve through war. But the achievement of a Catholic/nationalist majority in Northern Ireland will notautomatically translate into support for Irish unification because, historically, approximately 1520% of Catholic/nationalists have expressed support for continuing the union with Britain.
The point is that demographic uncertainty incentives both groups to focus on internal (regulative) sovereignty, federation and power-sharing rather than fixating on the numbers game.
On the other hand, the LTTE demand for external Self-determination is not as deeply held as the Irish majority wish for territorial integrity and independence from Britain. In this sense, the nation-state goals are reversed as the IRA was fighting for the achievement of territorial reunification, claiming to fulfill the constitutional imperative to unity (Article 2 and 3) and consistent with a central ambition of the dominant party in Ireland: Fianna Fail. By contrast, the LTTE's and other Tamil demands for Eelam emerged only after the failure to reach internal accommodation with the Sinhalese majority in the post-independence period.
The goal of Eelam was arguably a result, not a cause, of Tamil disaffection with majoritarian domination, just as Sinhalese majoritarianism was a result of the iniquitous divide and rule strategy of favouring Tamils within the British colonial administration. Con

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22 TAM TIMES
current-majority principles can thus be seen as a way of addressing deeper structural cause of historical conflict, specifically guarding against the type of majoritarianism that sewed deeper divisions.
Secondly the idea that the Sinhalese majority would never accede to Tamil self-determination dismisses the viability of what Ian Lustick identifies as 'state contraction as an approach to state-craft. With the internationalisation of economies, the scale-advantages, attributed to large territorial states are less deterministic of growth than previously.
As a result, the same logic that applies to Tamil aspirations to become a Singapore or Hong Kong of South Asia has potentially equal implications for the Sinhalese-dominated regions of Sri Lanka. The current government's pursuit of regional economic links with South India and Japan is further testament to potential shifts away from an island-centric political economy. A divided Sri Lanka may be unthinkable for the majority, but constitutional mechanisms should be designed to take into account potential shifts in currently dominant conceptions of governmental and state sovereignty.
Against these forces of disintegration one has to recognise the particular stabilizing factors attributed to small islands. Adrian Guelke has written authoritatively on the bias in international politics for maintaining the integrity of small islands. The same pressures that promote international opinion in favour of Irish, Cypriot, Taiwanese (etc.) territorial integrity are likely to similarly promote the integrity of Sri Lanka.
So despite these countervailing potentials for integration or disintegration, the wider point is that the uncertainty of long-term prospects for either are best confronted and managed through political agreement which allows for either state-consolidation or state-contraction to be regulated rather than merely responded to.
2. Why would S give the LTTE an Eelam by force if a bid was continuous rest of Sri Lanka? In a generation of refu. argue that force was of the intransigence Lanka in preventings This is a version stitutionalism” argul sensual, inclusive (slightly optimistic) LTTE were to abrog ment to the constitu for self-determinatio recognition of any the international cor minimal. They woul the pariah status oft lic of Northern Cy view, it is clear tha tional sanctions again tion are insufficient nal security.
The break-up o Ethiopia despite expl recognition by the l ter Slovenian, Croti cession and almost ( tion by the 'internati The recognition of F the height of the Col on external self-de further cause for di once again the nee tainty.
Regionally, Sri ance, a crucial ally terest in preventing: Tamil independer likely to continue to deterrence to a non ration of independer brother' relationshi and TRNC, the Indi Tamil separatists ha to prevent Eelam as Tamil homeland. T India Accord, inclu mal and informal | relations is central
75047
EMERGENOY TRAM
Please Call: O7956
 
 

15 MAY 2003
nhalese majority xcuse to pursue elf-determination rejected by the other words, after als, Tamils could justified because of the rest of Sri elf-determination. )f the 'mega-conment against congovernance. One view is that if the ate their commitional mechanism n, their chances of utative Eelam by munity would be d achieve, at best, e Turkish Repubbrus. Against this t current internast state disintegrato provide exter
f Yugoslavia and icit threats of nonJS did little to dean or Eritrean seovernight recognional community'. Bangladesh during d War moratorium termination gives oubt, highlighting d to regulate cer
Lanka has, on balIndia - whose inprecedent-setting ce movement is act as an effective -negotiated declace. Unlike the "big p between Turkey an “big brother to s a clear incentive bridge to a greater at is why a Lankaling improved fornter-governmental o managing the it
erative process of conflict regulation.
More generally, the Indian experience supports the argument that a responsive and accommodative centre can reduce separatist demands by ethno-nationalists. Both the modifications of the federal system to recon-figure states along ethno-linguistic lines, and the subsequent practice of powersharing at the centre, however informal, are consistent with the need to regulate, rather than reify sovereignty. Moreover, far from maintaining a strict moratorium on external self-determination, Kashmir was granted the right to hold a referendum on self-determination.
Even though it has not been implemented, the recognition of the right to external self-determination is a potentially important precedent. On balance, this reactive, ambiguous and un-implemented policy also compares unfavourably to the regulated mechanism being . proposed for Sri Lanka.
If we consider the most proximate comparator to the political and strategic calculus of Tamils in Sri Lanka - their co-ethnics in Tamil Nadu - we can offer further hope for the durability of a quasi-federal, substantively devolved settlement.
Against H. L. de Silva's pronouncement that devolution to ethnically concentrated groups will accentuate the trend towards separatism, Atul Kohli has argued convincingly that separatism in Tamil Nadu has been successfully managed and reduced through the modifications to the federal system which offer incentives to cooperate within the federal union.
The reversal of the 'Hindi-first language policies of the post-Nehru era, granting Tamil co-equal status with the official federal languages (Hindi and English), combined with the opening up to opportunities for non-Brahman castes within the state administration, effectively neutralised the independence demands of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK). According to Kohli: As the DMK settled down to
"EL ONLY) ))--SRI LANKA
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SOUTH INDIA -SINGAPORE

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15 MAY 2003
rule, the predictable happened. Over time, the DMK lost much of its selfdetermination, anti-centre militancy, as well as its commitment to socio-economic reforms... Once national leaders made important concessions (though within firm limits) and the DMK achieved its major goal of securing increased power, realpolitik concerns took over and mobilising ideologies slowly lost their relevance for guiding governmental actions.
Like the IRA, and for a time the PLO, the DMK was transformed by changed political opportunity structures to shift from a military-political to a politicalmilitary movement. In Northern Ireland the resilience of the mechanism for selfdetermination is demonstrated by the reasonably solid public support for the Good friday Agreement and specifically, the solidity of the republican (Sinn Fein and IRA) commitment to it, despite the lower than anticipated census figures recently published.
Despite tactical appearances to the contrary, the IRA is trading weapons for significant electoral gains, police reform and demilitarisation, thus managing its grass-roots while deepening its stake in the Agreement.
It might lead to a united Ireland, but it might not, and in the margins of uncertainty there is a solid logic for power-sharing and federalism to tran
scend and changes to constitutive sov
ereignty. At the same time, the process of co-opting extreme ethno-nationalists into constitutional compromise was a reciprocal exchange. Both the British and Indian governments have had to concede significant aspects of regulative sovereignty, in terms of political autonomy, collective and individual rights protections.
By doing so they have made the prospects of international opprobrium much higher for any group that might assert a continued right to forceful separatism. Broadening the comparisons, we can posit that the best cure against external self-determination is the delivery of stable, regulated, internal selfdetermination.
Against those who assume that devolved autonomy or federation will lead to secession, comparative research suggests that when devolution or federal
solutions fail, it i the refusal or inab implement commi or federalism than demands amongs of Sikh demands i It is the only ca: ied by Ted Gurr a which devolution ( rangements led to for independence. cent cases of Ch within the Russia conclude that even port the argument til ments broke down of the centre to im volved authorities the whetted appeti ratists. More recen case of Sikhs in Pu port to the argum centre can reduced ence through subst In the Europea or significant dev tionally homoge moderated dem among Scots, Ca Flemish separatis the special condit inter-government in Europe, we ca. the South East A: is also conducive termination, com most of Africa ol of the Middle E. nomic and politic dia and Japan in p add to the potenti essary to distribu to underpin a pol In comparati texts, the joint Sri est in regulating a vital asset for c cause delivering of the self-deter reinforces its co And inter-goverr in areas such as links, frontier (na necessary to prov. cal security.
It is my conti lishment of inter. ment on the terri

TAM TIMES 23
s more often due to ility of the centre to tments to devolution because of growing eparatists. The case n India is illustrative. se in the ll cases studnd his colleagues, in or other autonomy arsubsequent demands Even if we add the reechnya and Georgia Federation, we can these exceptions suphat autonomy arrangebecause of the refusal plement promised deand not simply from tes of unilateral sepat developments in the njab lend further supent that a responsive lemands for independantive autonomy. un context, federation 'olution to ethno-nanous territories has ands for secession talans, Basques and ts. Even if we accept ions which facilitate al conflict regulation n also recognise that sian regional context to regulating self-depared for example to significant portions ast. Sri Lankan ecocal relations with Inarticular are likely to all reward power necte benefits necessary itical settlement. ve and regional conLankan-Indian interself-determination is onflict regulation bean Indian recognition mination mechanism nstitutional sanctity. lmental co-operation trade, infrastructure aval) controls will be de psychic and physi
ention that the estabgovernmental agreetorial integrity of Sri
Lanka, along with the principle of internal federation or entrenched devolution established with the "Delhi Accords' in 1983, were important parameters and foundations for subsequent inter-governmental relations.
Two important indicators of the success in establishing these grundnorms are the failure (to date) of the attempted PA-JVP alliance, which looks likely to stall on the PA's commitment to its own federal principles and opinion polls that show rising support for Indian involvement in the constitutional process. Given that the PA is also in favour of a more prominent role for India, a Lanka-India treaty guarantee would re-enforce the bipartisan underpinning of a settlement, necessary to secure the two-thirds majority to ratify an agreement.
Where significant historical sovereignty claims have been sought consistently, and particularly where they are based on bi-national cleavages, the structures of settlement have to be built on these "fault-lines' rather than wished away through assumed civic-national primacy.
Those who advocate both strong, centralised, unitary state and/or strong local government assume agreement on the polity, when there is none. It is crucial to understand that the recognition ofa right of self-determination does not mean acceptance of the veracity, historically, morally etc. of those claims, merely that they are felt subjectively by a named population (usually) living in a concentrated territorial space.
Instead, as has evolved in the Canadian-Quebec and the British-Irish constitutional relationships, once recognised and constitutionally entrenched, the principle of national selfdetermination can be regulated in practice by international treaty, domestic judiciary and mediated through routinised inter-governmentalism.
In these cases, it appears possible, indeed necessary, to constitute mechanisms for self-determination, while possibly disagreeing the trajectory of the nation-state. It is also clear that devolving or federating internal phases of sovereignty can be effective in reducing separatism, and thereby removing important sources of disagreement over the nation-state.

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24 TAMILTIMES
The Peace PrOC and Human Rig
We the undersigned, have long been committed to the integration of Human rights into every stage of the peace process and are concerned that this was not adequately reflected in the official statement of the last session of talks in Hakone. We note that since then the LTTE has suspended its participation in negotiations whilst at the same time reiterating its commitment to seek a negotiated political solution to the ethnic conflict.
We welcome the appointment of Mr Ian Martin as the Human Rights Advisor to the two negotiating parties at the fourth session of the peace talks in Thailand, 6-9 January 2003. However, we note that the statement issued at the conclusion of the Hakone sessions indicated the apparent lack of commitment by the two parties and their Norwegian facilitators to making meaningful human rights protection an integral part of the peace process in the interim period prior to a final constitutional settlement. We are perturbed that the two parties have still not made a clear and public commitment that they will be bound by these norms in verifiable and effective ways. We believe that no peace in Sri Lanka can be either just or sustainable in the absence of strong and effective protection of the full set of fundamental civil, political, economic, social, and cultural rights as recognized in a broad range of internationally accepted covenants. We therefore urge the two parties and their facilitators, as well as the community of bi-lateral and multi-lateral donors to Sri Lanka to reaffirm that the protection of the human rights of all Sri Lankans will be guaranteed throughout the duration of the peace process.
In particular, we write to express our deep concern over the following:
1. We were disappointed that the two parties at the Hakone session of talks opted for a markedly limited focus on HR, While the parties have requested
Mr. Martin to draft Human Rights and H ciples” which would fundamental human r tarian standards,” in short of a commitm tion of the full rang nized in international humanitarian law. W Lankan government commit themselves to and binding human which would be in constitutional settlen ded in this same se norms) is agreed to a 2. We also call c parties to agree expl tive mechanism for t protection of human system would requir strong internationale independent of the p flict and that would date the protection recognized human ri tarian law. The agre parties at Hakone to sure' that "aspects c ternational human ri tarian standards” are tice by their personn for a strong mechan low for independe monitoring.
We are disappoin Hakone statement m mitment to any moni It states instead tha been asked to submit strengthening of th Commission of Sri to develop the capac effective monitorir country,” and that “would involve int and assistance to t Office of the UN H for Human Rights' dination withʼ UNI( the SLMM. While recognition that til

15 MAY 2003
BSS ՈtS
"Declaration of umanitarian Prin"reflect aspects of lights and humaniour view this falls nt to the protec2 of rights recoghuman rights and 'e call on the Sri and the LTTE to a comprehensive rights document, orce until a final nent (itself grount of international ind enacted. n the negotiating icitly to an effeche monitoring and rights. Any such e from the start a lement that is fully yarties to the conhave as its manof internationally ghts and humaniement by the two "undertake to enif fundamental inghts and humani"respected in pracel” is no substitute sm that would alnt and effective
ted to note that the akes no firm comtoring mechanism. t Mr. Martin has "proposals for the e Human Rights Lanka to enable it ty for increasingly g throughout the
these proposals ernational advice he HRC from the gh Commissioner und in “close coorEF, UNHCR, and we appreciate the e Human Rights
Commission does not presently have the capacity for effective human rights monitoring, we are disturbed by the absence of provisions for effective monitoring which would commence immediately. Weare furthermore concerned that an arrangement whereby certain agencies would have - at mostthe task of monitoring only a specified set of rights - "UNICEF in relation to child protection, UNHCR in relation to the protection of returning internally displaced persons and refugees, and SLMM in relation to acts against the civilian population'- is not an adequate substitute for an independent and effec
tive body of international monitors.
Relying on the SLMM to offer assistance to the Human Rights Commission for the prevention of "acts against the civilian population' is clearly not adequate, given the fact that the primary commitment of the SLMM remains the preservation of the cease fire agreement, not the protection of civilians' rights.
3. With regard to the need for independent monitoring, we are concerned by the emerging outlines of the "Action Plan” for the rights of children, the monitoring of which "will be undertaken by a steering committee comprising of the TRO and the Dept of Probation and Childcare Services, and facilitated by UNICEF".
We are especially concerned by the provision that children demobilized from the ranks of the LTTE will be housed in "transit centres co-managed by the Tamil Rehabilitation Organization (TRO) and UNICEF”. The provision that" local probation and child care services officials will have periodic access to the transit centres' is in our view inadequate. Without specification of how long the children will remain "in transit,” or specific rules to guarantee the protection of the rights of the children involved, such an arrangement is subject to potentially grave abuse. Without independent, effective and continuous monitoring, even the strongest set of rules would be of little avail.
Many of the concerns outlined above are connected to the general limitations of the tripartite "GovernmentLTTE-International Agency” model that the two parties seem to have ac(continued on next page)

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15 MAY 2003
ASSessment of N in the Conflict A Of the North Ea
Muttukrishna Sarvananthan
Multilateral organisations such as the United Nations (UN), World Bank (WB) and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) jointly prepared an Assessment of Needs in the Conflict Affected Areas of the North East in April 2003 to be presented at the forthcoming Sri Lanka Donor Forum in Tokyo (see www.peaceinsrilanka.com) This document was based on a number of sectoral and sub-sectoral reports, which should be made available for public consumption as well. This note will briefly comment on the process (of preparation) and the contents of this document.
There was a fundamental problem in the process of preparing this document. This exercise was meant to assess the needs of the people of North&East (N&E) in a pause-in-conflict situation, but there was hardly any consultation with the people themselves. Of course it is not practical to consult each and every person in the N&E. Nevertheless some focus group
(Continued from page 24) cepted.
The less than transparent and inclusive process of developing policies or formulating action plans, excluding civil society participation, prejudices the quality of their content and effectiveness of their implementation. In conclusion, we call on all the parties involved, including the international donors, to ensure that meaningful human rights protection is adopted in practice as an integral part of Sri Lanka's peace process.
Signed: Sunila Abeysekera, Sunil Bastian, Sunanda Deshapriya, Rohan Edrisinha, Desmond Fernando, Mario Gomez, Ketheshwaran Loganathan, Manouri Muttetuwegama, Ramani Muttetuwegama, Jehan Perera, Kingsley Rodrigo, Paikiasothy Saravanamuttu, Suriya Wickremasinghe, Joe William, Javid Yusuf.
28th April 2003
meetings at the dis could have been a a democracy the ( parliament and loca be reasonable pro: Hence, the needs should have consu resentatives in the
Instead, the con volved meetings w tral government re province (Gover kachcheri staff), N ministrative staff staff, representativ mental Organisati national and interr N&E, academics a local businesses. M trade associations litically manipulate not be regarded a objective. The nee backwards to acco of the LTTE that Although most of have expressed th people the consult complete without themselves and the tives. This is a ma needs assessment As regards the assessment docum ements. One is t needs and the othe identified needs. in the document a However, there a components. For the United Nation gramme (UNDP) tify needs on the in the N&E. Go' human rights tha in the needs asses We understand th tion raised by the needs assessment left out. This is a needs of the peop

TAMILMES 25
eeds
e3S St
trict level (at least) ranged. Further, in lected members of l government could kies for the people. issessment exercise ted the elected repN&E as well. sultation process inrith the LTTE, cenpresentatives in the hment Agents and N&E provincial adlocal government "es of Non-Governons (NGOs – local, lational) working in nd representatives of any local NGOs and in the N&E are po'd, and therefore canas independent and dassessors bent over mmodate the needs is unrepresentative. those consulted may e needs of the local ation process is not meeting the people ir elected representajor drawback of the exercise. contents of the needs ent there are two elhe identification of r is the costing of the The needs identified re by and large real. e some key missing example, originally s Development Prowas expected to idenissue of governance fernance transcends have been covered sment (Section 3A). at due to the objecLTTE the proposed on governance was n instance where the le were sacrificed in
order to appease the LTTE. This is very unhealthy because sound governance is a prerequisite for reconstruction of a region/country in the aftermath of conflict (see Needs Assessment for Recovery and Reconstruction in Afghanistan prepared jointly by the ADB, UNDP & WB in January 2002). Besides, the extent of identified needs cannot be authentic given the time limitation.
Capacity building is obviously the overarching need in the N&E, which is clearly acknowledged in the needs assessment report. For capacity building to take place sound governance is sine qua non. Even a year after the signing of the MoU qualified professionals, administrators, managerial/finance personnel, etal are hesitant to work in the N&E primarily due to poor governance inthose areas, especially in LTTE controlled areas. Capacity building cannot be implanted from outside; it has to indigenously develop within the N&E by retaining human capital. Retention of human capital is not possible without a dramatic improvement in governance throughout the N&E particularly in LTTE held areas. Therefore, sound governance is central to reconstruction efforts, which is unfortunately not covered in the document.
The costing of the identified needs is at best guess-estimates. It is simply impractical to do a proper costing injust two months. More time could not be given for the exercise because the people expect tangible benefits on the ground in the shortest possible time. The original cost estimation was more than double that is presented in the document. We understand that this is because the government wanted the original estimation to be slashed by half for reasons best known to it. First of all, there is no guarantee that the donors will pledge whatever is asked for. Secondly, there is no guarantee that whatever is pledged at the Tokyo Donor Forum will be actually paid. Most of the foreign aid pledged at a similar Tokyo Donor Forum for the reconstruction of Afghanistan in early-2002 has still not materialised for a variety of reasons. Under these circumstances the decision to downsize the original cost estimation was a blunder.
Economic infrastructures (roads, railways, ports, telecommunications, power, irrigation, water & sanitation) are expected to consume 46% and social infrastructures (education & health) 12% of the total reconstruction cost

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26 TAMILTIMES
(pp4). Therefore, almost 60% of the total reconstruction costs are apportioned for economic and Social infrastructures. In a region emerging out of two decades of conflict it would be prudent to use labour-based technologies (as opposed to heavy machinery-based) as much as possible (in so far as there is no trade-off on time taken to complete the work and the quality of such work) for rehabilitation and reconstruction of economic and social infrastructures so that maximum employment opportunities could be created. For example, these labour-based technologies have been quite successful in the postconflict reconstruction of Cambodia. Perhaps the cost ofinfrastructure rehabilitation / reconstruction could be considerably reduced if more emphasis is placed on labour-based technologies.
The second largest component (after economic infrastructures) of the total cost of needs is for housing, which is 18% (pp4). There is a dearth of data on damage to and destruction of houses in the N&E. Hence, data presented on housing needs (Section 3D) should be treated cautiously.
The assessment of needs in the agriculture sector (including livestock, fishery and forestry) (Section 3F), the primary economic activity in the N&E, is very disappointing to say the least. Further, the assessment of needs in the industrial sector is submerged in the Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) Development part of the livelihoods' section (Section 3G), which is a serious lacuna in the necds assessment document. Industrial development should have been given greater promi
CCC.
It is amusing to note that "livelihoods' have been identified as a separate sector (Section 3G) in the needs assessment document. Livelihood is a crosscutting theme and therefore cannot logically form a separate sector. Furthermore, the section on protection and resettlement (Section 3A) has partly covered livelihood issues. This is a demonstration of donor-driven character of this document. The employment and skills training component of Section 3G should have been covered as a separate section because of its overarching character like capacity development (Section 3H).
It is a pity that the section on management of donor funds, which is of immense importance, is not made available for public scrutiny. The Sri Lankan
Colombo optimistic: ed National Front g Lanka Wednesday ex that the Liberation Tig would participate in Summit, which is sch in the first week of J
pan.
The government'. Minister G.L.Peiris, i briefing said that diff that arose between th the LTTE have now be government has take regarding the suggest LTTE.
Mr. Peiris further tween the Norwegian LTTE 's political ac Balasingham, have he cable solutions to pri and he expressed the h structive progress cou the peace process in til
According to Mr. I Special peace envoy, M and the Norwegian de ister, Mr. Vidar Helge in Colombo shortly a hold crucial talks witl ter and members of the team and later, b Kilinochch to hold ta leadership.
JVP wants decommi The JVP called on t make the decommissi weapons held by the
condition for the rem rity Zones. "Discussic disarming the LTTE, i and long-range W. decommissioned. W decommissioned can
ternational organisati not the government,” of the party Tilvin Sil
experience of manag tion of foreign aid ha; Now in the present construction of the ment of donor fund greater significance ticipated flow of fore which is largely ur non-transparent.

15 MAY 2003
May 1 - The Unitovernment of Sri pressed optimism ers of Tamil Eelam the Aid Donors' eduled to be held une in Tokyo, Ja
chief negotiator, h his cabinet press 2rences of opinion e government and :en resolved, as the in favorable steps ions made by the
said talks held bediplomats and the lvisor, Mr. Anton lped to find practioblems identified, ope that more conld be witnessed in he future.
Peiris, the Japanese Mr. Yasushi Akashi, puty foreign min'ssen, would arrive nd that both would the Prime Minisgovernment peace oth would visit kS with the LTTE
ssioning: May 1 - he government to oning of long range LTTE a minimum »val of High Secunsshould begin on fnot at least heavy apons must be Weapons that are be given to an inon if necessary and General Secretary va told the press.
ement and utilisabeen rather poor. ontext of the re&E the managels would acquire because of the angn aid to a region, accountable and
The government's decision to move the army camps from HSZs in Jaffna came in for severe criticism with the JVP alleging that this had been achieved through the collusion of both the government and LTTE. Mr. Silva asserted that the government ploy was to create in the minds of people a terror of the resumption of war and grant LTTE demands. "The government speaks of a bloodbath and puts fear into the minds of people about a resumption of war. Then it grants what the LTTE demands. There is no fear at this time that the LTTE will withdraw from talks, because they are achieving much more than they would through war,' he said.
World Bank funded NEIAP: May 1 - In a press release, officials of the World Bank funded North East Irrigated Agricultural Project (NEIAP) said, “NEIAP authorities could witness vast improvement in the implementation of agricultural development projects after the TRO took charge of the social mobilization work in the Mullaitivu district. NEIAP has planned to restore thirty tanks in the Mullaitivu district. Restoration work on twelve tanks began in 2002. Work on the balance eighteen tanks is to begin in this year. 162 acres under Kalvilankulam tank in the Thunukkai division and 106 acres under Kallavilankulam tank in Manthai east division would be brought back for paddy cultivation once the restoration at an estimated cost of nine million rupees is completed. Meanwhile the selection of beneficiaries from the war-affected families under the livelihood assistance scheme is underway. In addition to this an office of the NEIAP and a training centre would be opened in Mullaitivu district shortly.'
Navy captures boat: May 1 - Sri Lanka Navy took into custody a boat with six Tamils including a woman off Koneswaram Paul Point on 28 April. A 9 mm pistol, 15 live cartridges, two magazines and 8 detonators were detected from their possession. It has been revealed under interrogation that the suspects had set out from Nampur.
Economy better than expected: May 1 - Sri Lanka's economy expanded by a better-than-expected 4 percent in 2002, boosting hopes for strong growth in the

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15 MAY 2003
current year, the central bank said in its annual report. The figure beat the bank's forecast of 3.5 percent growth for 2002 and successfully reversed the country's first ever economic contraction of 1.5 percent a year earlier.
The central bank also forecast Sri Lanka: “In 2002, the economy recovered from the setback it experienced in 2001, benefiting from improved domestic conditions, mainly resulting from the peace process' and better financial management, the bank said in its 2002 annual report released recently.
But the bank's 2003 projection hinges on the government's ability to maintain momentum. "Every effort must be made to move forward in the peace process, achieve the envisaged fiscal targets and implement structural reforms,' the report said. The bank warned that a return to war would prove disastrous for the island's economy.
Relocate HSZs: May 1 - In a letter addressed to Mr. Austin Fernando, secretary to the Ministry of Defence in Sri Lanka, Mr. S.P. Thamilchelvan, head of the political section of the LTTE, expressed LTTE's dismay at SLA's new proposal to relocate the High Security Zone (HSZ) within Jaffna town. He further requested early action to move the military complexes from densely populated areas.
Great role of Hinduism: May 2 - Inaugurating the Second World Hindu Conference in Colombo, Prime Minister Mr. Ranil Wickremesinghe said that Hinduism is the oldest religion practised in Sri Lanka and that it played a great role developing the island's culture. Hundreds of Hindu and other religious scholars and clergy gathered under the aegis of Sri Lanka's Ministry of Hindu Affairs for a five day conference on Hinduism.
In his inaugural address the PM said further: "We meet at a time when we are trying to bring peace to Sri Lanka. We embarked on difficult peace process, but we have come this far today. But it is not easy. All parties have made a commitment not to engage in violence and to uphold the rights of all communities. We all have to denounce violence and it is only then it would be easy to achieve peace. We have to find an acceptable political settlement. But it is still easier said than done.'
Several senior United National Front (UNF) ministers also took part in the inauguration along with the PM. The conference opened at the Bandaranaike Memorial International Conference Hall near Colombo.
US, LTTE and pea The United States sa though guarded optil peace process in Sri ministration would c the LTTE as a foreig tion until it unequivo rorism in both word
Secretary of Stati king at a meeting to an annual report on t terrorism last year help of a broad coal make certain that ter porters were not safe of the world.
Referring to the si and the LTTE Mr. Po tive developments in gan in 200 l continue cally, the LTTE ha world's deadliest ter neered the use of su committed farmore si than any other terroris ceasefire between the ernment, established was formalized in F mal peace negotiation ber 2002 and were co “The LTTE has pu concept of internal a federal Sri Lankan s longstanding demand Eelam state. Its recen give reason to hope the form itself from a ter into a legitimate polit
Peace demo in Man than 3000 people de port of peace demand tation of the ceasefire Colombo and the Lib the conclusion of the randum was submitte government agent of M randum states, among the Tamils and the LT periences of being "d winked in many previc that “in the circumstal sonable on their part t caution.'
"We also solicit th of Tamil Eelam who h up International imag to temper their appro wisdom and thereby national Community and determination for litical negotiations." WB's push for pea World Bank today ca Sri Lanka’s fledgling said only greater polit

TAMILTIMES 27
process: May 2 - i yesterday that alism surrounded the anka, the Bush adntinue to designate terrorist organisaally renounced ternd deed. Colin Powell speamark the release of e patterns of global iterated that with tion the US would rists and their supany corner or cave
uation in Sri Lanka vell said: “The posiSri Lanka that bed in 2002. Historibeen one of the or groups - it piocide vests and has icide-bomb attacks t organization. The LTTE and the Govin December 2001, :bruary 2002. Fors began in Septemntinuing into 2003. blicly accepted the utonomy within a tate, conceding its for a separate Tamil t public statements it it intends to transrorist organization ical entity.'
var: May 3 - More monstrated in supng full implemengreement between eration Tigers. At meeting, a memoi to the additional annar. The memo
other things, that TE have bitter ex:ceived and hooduspeace talks" and ces it is not unreaadopt a policy of
Liberation Tigers .ve gradually built : and recognition, ich with tact and onvince the Interf their firm desire beace through po
e: May 3 - The ed for progress in eace process and :al stability could
ensure foreign and local private investments in the embattled island.
Visiting World Bank Managing Director Peter Wojcke said he hoped the suspension of ongoing peace talks between the Colombo government and Tamil Tiger rebels would be temporary and they would return to negotiations SOO. P
“The big money will come if there is a guarantee of stability," Woicke said adding, "We hope the peace process will make further progress and this country has a good potential if there is peace.' The World Bank was named the custodian of international donor money to be spent on rebuilding the island's war torn northern and eastern regions during earlier round of talks between the government and Tamil Tigers in January. “We have an exposure of about 100 million dollars and are always looking at ways of increasing that," Wojcke said.
The Bank will maintain the NorthEast Rehabilitation Fund (NERF) which was set up on April l l and the formalities before disbursing money will be completed in a "few days," a Bank official said. The Tamil Tigers had complained about slow progress in NERF allocating money for projects identified by a subcommittee of peace negotiators. Woicke said he believed there could be more investments in tourism to capitalise on the island's vast beaches and scenic highlands and earn much needed foreign exchange. 27 Intelligence operatives killed: May 3- Within a period of one year the LTTE has assassinated about 27 intelligence operatives attached to the three armed forces, reports said in Colombo. These killings have been carried out after signing the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU).
Sources said that the LTTE had appointed 'Prabha Master' as the new leader of its Pistol Group (PG), which had carried out these killings islandwide. Investigations revealed the three teams have now been deployed in Colombo to carry out killings against the IUM (Intelligence Unit Members). Information received is that the prime target of LTTE is to first get rid of the informants and then strike at the potential officers of the three security forces.
The Police have so far not been able to apprehend any suspects in connection with the killing of S. Devaraj, a military informant, who was alleged to have been shot by the LTTE on the eve of April 26 at Dehiwala. Director Military Intelligence, Brigadier H. Hendawitharana, told the press that Devaraj was brought down to Colombo from Tirukkovil in August

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28, TAMILTIMES
last year, especially because of threats to his life from the LTTE.
Even his family members were brought down to Colombo to prevent him venturing out from his Tirukkovil residence. Most of the times he stayed inside the camp and special escort was given to him every time he wanted to go out. But, unfortunately he had not even informed the guard on duty when he left home on this occasion, with his wife on a shopping mission, Brigadier Hendawitharana said.
Asked what action the DMI has taken to prevent such incidents in the future the Brigadier said that several measures have been taken but refused to divulge them.
A three member group which had come in a three-wheeler auto taxi shot him dead and disappeared. He was shot at 6 times with a 9mm pistol.
281,663 IDPs return home: May 3 - Based on the latest government estimates, the Ministry of Rehabilitation, Resettlement and Refugees (MRRR) in collaboration with the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) estimate that from January 2002 up to date approximately 281,663 internally displaced persons have returned home, relocated elsewhere or are in transit. This figure is based on information gathered by Government Agents in each district and subsequently reported to the Policy Planning and Co-ordination Unite (PPCU) at the MRRR, a press release from the Ministry of Rehabilitation, Resettlement and Refugees stated.
Ex-EPDP Chairman shot dead: May 3 - Former chairman of the Karaveddy south/west Pradeshiya Sabha (PS) Mr.Tharmarajah Jeyarajah was shot dead today around 6 p.m. at Thumpalai Maniayakaran junction near Point Pedro by unidentified gunmen who came in a motorbike, police sources said.
Forty-year-old Jeyarajah was a father of three children and was elected Chairman of the local body on behalf of the Eelam Peoples Democratic Party (EPDP). He went out of office with the dissolution of the local body when its life term expired recently.
Two unidentified gunmen who came on a motorcycle stopped the jeep in which Tharmarajah Jeyarajah was returning home from the Nelliady office of the EPDP with two others. The gunmen had shot him through his forehead and fled the scene, police said quoting civilians in the area.
One of the two persons accompanying the deceased in the jeep fled from the scene with gunshot injuries. The other
person had made as Pedro Police about 1 An angry EPD Devananda has alle of the Tamil Tigers i is no end to their vic series of peace talks their stripes. The k extortions still conti fering at their hands The LTTE has b venting other Tami the north from enga tivities, and the w EPDP and EPRLF w gers' claim to sol Tamils.
Devananda said north and the east w cally eliminated by said following a tru ernment and the LT other Tamil politica give up arms, leav EPDP vulnerable to
Peace facilitators il Norwegian Deputy Vidar Helgessen wi sary Mr. Erik Solhei cial peace envoy separately arrived il initiate talks with t United National Frol and the Liberation T (LTTE) on the resur peace process. Th peace talks between the LTTE schedule May 2 did not take p sion of the LTTE th ticipate in the peace ing until decisions gotiations held earli EPDP member a Eelam People’s De complained to the he on May 2, 2003 at at gnanam Sivakumar member was abduct was travelling in a bl "Sivakumar had Jaffna town and w brother's place in U LTTE cadres go "Kettabol' junction, town, and forced hi him into a black col ily parked there and office at Vyman Rc "At the LTTE O beaten up and manh tioned at length ab ties. They scolded th las Devananda and and told him that al

15 MAY 2003
atement to the Point he shooting. P leader Douglas ged the involvement n the killing. "There lence. A truce and a have failed to change illings, abductions, nue and we are suf,' Devananda said. een accused of prepolitical parties in ging in political acorst affected is the which oppose the Tirepresentation of
EPDP leaders in the ere being systematihe Tamil Tigers. He ce between the govTE in February 2002, l parties had had to ing parties like the
terrorist attacks.
n Colombo: May 4Foreign Minister Mr. th his special emism and Japanese speMr. Yasushi Akashi h Colombo today to he leadership of the t(UNF) government igers of Tamil Eelam mption of the stalled e seventh round of the government and 'd from April 29 to }lace due to the decihat it would not partalks for the time bearrived at peace neer are implemented. bducted: May 4 - mocratic Party has :ad of the SLMM that out 7.45 p.m., Thirualias Vellu, an EPDP ed in Jaffna while he us along Palaly Road. got into the bus from is on the way to his rumpirai, when, two t into the bus at about 1 km from the m out. Then they put our car that was readook him to the LTTE ad. ffice he was severely andled. He was quesbut the EPDP activie EPDP leader Dougits members in filth the EPDP members
in Jaffna would be taught a lesson. Eswaran, Sangar and Myuran of the LTTE were amongst those who had beaten and questioned him. The interrogation went on till midnight and then he was allowed to sleep on the floor with his hands tied up.
"Around 3 a.m. he escaped from their custody and ran to the nearest police post at "Palam Road” and the police on duty helped him to free his hand. From there he went to the EPDP office at Stanley Road, then proceeded to the Jaffna police station and reported the incident. The following belongings of Sivakumar are still with the LTTE: Cash Rs. 48,750, gold chain, gold ring, wrist watch, the shirt and sandals he was wearing,' the EPDP claims in its complaint.
Balasingham arrives: May 5 - Political advisor of the LTTE Mr.Anton Balasingham arrived in Killinochchi today via Katunayake international airport after having discussions with Norwegian Deputy Foreign Minister Mr. Vidar Helgessen in Colombo. Mr. Helgessen later told media persons that meeting with Mr.Balasingham was constructive and they were able to identify some of the obstacles that confront the present peace talks being taken forward.
Meanwhile the Norwegian mediators Mr. Erik Solheim and Vidar Helgessen and Japanese peace special envoy Mr.Yasushi Akashi met the Prime Minister Mr. Ranil Wickremasinghe on 4 May and held extensive discussions to find ways to resume presently stalled peace talks. Ministers Milinda Morogoda, Mr. G.L. Peiris and Minister Mr. Rauff Hakim were also present at the discussion.
Grenade attack on soldier: May 6 - Patkunam Ramesh employed as a soldier of the Sri Lanka army's National Guard (SLNG) was wounded in a grenade attack last night in Batticaloa town, police said. Patkunam Ramesh was at his home in Puthur in the Batticaloa district when he was attacked. Ranil's roadmap for peace: May 6 - Sri Lanka today called for a "road map" for ending the island's drawn-out ethnic conflict amid stepped-up international diplomacy to revive stalled talks with the Tamil Tigers.
Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe told parliament that even though the talks with Tamil Tigers were at an impasse, his government wanted to develop a plan to encompass the thorny issues of power-sharing.
"We will in consultation with all parties proceed to develop a road map towards this objective,” he told parliament.

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15 MAY 2003
"This (road map) will set out with clarity the sequence in which the substantive issues will be addressed in the unfolding process, so that the objective sought to be accomplished and the means by which this goal will be reached, becomes apparent.”
"The international community whose goodwill is abundantly at our disposal is engaged in a professional exercise of shuttle diplomacy which has already begun to show promising results,” Wickremesinghe said.
He did not indicate when the talks could resume, but said the negotiations so far limited to the government and the LTTE should be expanded to include Sri Lanka’s second largest minority, Mus
lims. "It is an imperative requirement at
this stage of the deliberations that a delegation articulating the aspirations of the Muslim community should have the opportunity of participating at discussions relevant to the Muslims at the plenary sessions (of peace talks),' the prime minister said
EPDP seeks LTTE assurance: May 6 - The EPDP says it will ask the government to seek an assurance from the LTTE that they will stop their atrocities against other political parties. EPDP Spokesman Thavarajah said today that if the LTTE fails to provide such an assurance, the EPDP will demand their legitimate weapons back for self defence. The EPDP is accusing the LTTE of eliminating local level politicians to gain control of local government bodies while sending out warning messages to members of rival parties. Three of their local leaders have been assassinated over the past month. EPDP leader Douglas Devananda says that the ceasefire agreement which forced the Tamil parties to give up arms had resulted in making other Tamil parties and its leaders defenseless and vulnerable.
Rs. 1720 m. for N-E schools: May 6 - The World Bank and Asian Development Bank have allocated Rs. 1720 million for upgrading school education in the North and East.
The World Bank has allocated Rs. 1000 million for the development of 80 selected schools in the North and East. his programme is implemented under the Second General Education Project (GEP2).
GEP2 will support the reconstruction of school buildings and other facilities to develop the educational infrastructure system in these selected schools, which were destroyed during the ethnic conflict. The Rs. 720 million allocated by the
Asian Development ondary School Educ zation Project. This in the process of Sup schools enabling sch acquainted with mod
Committee to prob Prime Minister Wick pointed a three-mei probe the spate ofkill ants in recent month The Prime Mini member committee, Secretary Austin Fer mander Lt.General L Advisor to Ministry Goonaratne one wee report.
The Prime Min Committee to probe that resulted in the formants despite th measures ordered by their safety.
The Committeel with looking into wh that has been taken t and probe the weakn arrangements for the
Suicide boat found and Army combine detected a Sea Tig den in Velvetithura peninsula on 5 May, ior Police officer. A troops discovered t given by the villages East. He said, “The in a shrub jungle cli tation behind the V about 800 meters a Troops found 14 Cla hing 14 Kg each a pedo charges weigh 2 Primer caps fitted said that the explosi with detonator cor( regifoam and this w Security Forces ha sive ridden boat oft
Indictments agains suspects: May 6 - T accused in the lorry Sri Dalada Maligaw ary 25, 1998 were Court Judge of Kan wasam, yesterday.
Three of the fou ent in the High Coul accused Subramani sconding. Accused ajah alias Master, M maligam and Kris

AML TIMES 29
Bank is for the Section and Moderniproject is currently blying computers to ool children to get ern technology.
2 killings: May 6 - remasinghe has apnber committee to ing of Army inform
ster gave the three comprising Defence nando, Army Comional Balagalle, and of Defence Merril k for finalising the
ster has asked the the security lapses Killing of Army ine specific security the government for
nas also been tasked at preventive action o-date by the Army esses in the security : Army informants.
: May 6 - A Police operation unit has er suicide boat hidin northern Jaffna according to a senccording to him the he boat on a tip off living in Polikandi boat was hidden pse to an onion plan2lvetithurai hospital way from the sea. ymore mines weignd 3 Bangalore Torng 21 Kg each with to each unit.' He ves were connected ls and packed with as the first time the i detected an explohis nature.
t Dalada Maligawa le indictiments on the -bomb attack on the a at dawn on Januserved by the High dy D. S. C. Lekam
r accused were prest of Kandy. The first am Ravindran is abMuthuligam Jeevaruttusamy Pillai Dharnnasamy Ramacha
ndran were served with the indictments and the charges were read out in Tamil.
Hearing was put off for May 12 and the presiding judge informed the accused and the 22 witnesses named that hearing would take place on May 13.
The indictments include 149 counts with 29 productions. One hundred and fifteen witnesses have been listed.
Peace envoy in Killinochchi: May 7 - The Japanese special peace envoy Mr. Yasushi Akashi arrived in Killinochchi today to meet leaders of the LTTE and was received by deputy political secretary of the LTTE Mr. S. Thangan, sources in Vanni said. The Japanese ambassador in Colombo and several diplomats accompanied Japanese special peace envoy. Mr. Akashi is expected to meet the leader of the LTTE Mr.V.Pirapaharan, Mr. Anton Balasingham and political head Mr.S.P..Thamilselvan.
LTTE's participation critical: May 7“Participation of the Government of Sri Lanka (GOSL) and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in the International Aid conference to be held in Tokyo next month is crucial for obtaining much needed funds to develop both LTTE controlled areas in the Northeast and Sri Lanka south. If the LTTE fails to attend, international community will be reluctant to commit funds. Further, it will also be a setback to the peace process," said Norways special emissary Eric Solheim in Vavuniya today.
In Jaffna, Solheim met with civil groups and Sri Lanka military commanders and visited different areas lying within high Security Zones.
During a meeting with the reporters Solheim said, “there is intense diplomatic activity to revive the peace process. But the success of the talks and the progress of the peace process very much depends on the hands of the leaders of the Government of Sri Lanka and the Liberation Tigers."
SLA to relocate 152 military camps: May 7 - Addressing a press conference along with the former Indian lieutenant general Satish Nambiar in Colombo today Sri Lanka's defence minister Mr.Tilak Marapone said his government had decided to relocate about 152 Sri Lanka Army (SLA) units in the northeast province and the relocation would take place in a manner that will not endanger the national security of the country, sources said.
Mr. Marapone further said the government has decided to reduce the size of the high security zones in the northeast

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30 TAM TIMES
to ease civilian lives. "I along with Peoples Alliance parliamentarian Mr. Lakshman Kadirgamar would hold talks with Lieutenant General Satish Nambiar Thursday on the high security zone issue," Mr. Marapone said. Minister pointed out that no one has asked the government to remove the HSZ in the northeast. But request has been made to the government to reduce the size of the HSZ. to allow resettlement of the internally displaced, he said.
"The Sri Lanka military has been instructed not to enter into any confrontation with the LTTE in areas under its control. The Sri Lanka government has not recognized the Sea Tigers as a legitimate naval unit. However we should accept the fact that the LTTE has a naval unit and an army under its control. It will be foolish to say that the LTTE has no army or navy," said Defence Minister Mr.Tilak Marapone.
Lieutenant General Satish Nambiar said he had prepared the report on the high Security Zone issues with a view to take forward the present peace process. "My suggestions and proposals regarding the activitics of the Sri Lanka Army should be based on supporting the present peace process. I have prepared my report on HSZ issue giving more importance to this objective,' he added.
69% of N-E children cut off from school: May 7 - Sixty-nine per cent of young children in camps for displaced in the north and east are cut off from formal school education according to a Survey carried out by the UNICEF. The head of the UNICEF Kilinochchi office Penny Bung who carried out the survey said that there was a total of 22,418 children, 15,467 of whom were unable to attend school. She identified poverty as being a key reason for the children staying away from school. Being orphaned in the war, lack of proper care and the employment of children were given as reasons for the high non-attendance and drop-out rate.
UNICEF has proposed a dua plan of readmission and vocational training to deal with the problem. Children who have not attended school for less than two years will be readmitted to regular school and others who are beyond the school-going age will be given vocational training through centres set up in every district.
No third-party in trawler attack: May 7 - The Sri Lanka Navy's Board of lnquiry into the sinking of the Chinese trawler off Mullaitivu coast, has submitted its much awaited report to President Chandrika Kumaratunga. "Though there is no direct hard evidence, the circum
stantial evidence pc the perpetrator of th SayS.
The Chinese fi Yung-Yu 225” wen ern coast on March fishermen, when an sel attacked it.
The Navy repor the LTTE's involve in the past, the locat the fact that the LT tant group capable o fact that only LTTE tain male and femal is of the opinion that sible for this attack a erate'. The Board of that the deed was d party' as speculate Monitoring Mission To prevent such ture, the Board of mended among oth vessels be permittec risk areas, and that action be taken again abide by these meas
Relocation of HSZ - President Ms Chai through her media was opposed to th Lanka Army (SLA present sites without with the LTTE on co Ms Chandrika Kur view that the internat no right to urge the Tamil Eelam to resu the Government of LTTE recognizes the ers,” said presidentia rim Peiris addressin, today. Relocation o northeast without mi way in the peace pro endanger the secur Mr. Harim Peiris sai Akashi meets Pira Following talks betw LTTE Mr. V. Pirapal nese special peace Akashi, the Tamil nese peace special Akashi that they wo quest to participate a ference in Japan seri ment of Sri Lanka to wards innplementing six previous rounds litical advisor Mr. A LTTE political Head lvan, Ms Adele Bala Maheswaran particip Mr. Pirapaharan.

15 MAY 2003
ints to LTTE being e attack,' the report
shing trawler, “Fudown off the east20, killing eighteen alleged LTTE ves
t says "Considering ment in such attacks ion of the attack and TE is the only milif such attack, known Sea Tiger Wing con» cadres... the Board the LTTE is responnd it has beendelibInquiry is confident one not by a "third d by the Sri Lanka
(SLMM).
incidents in the fuInquiry has recomr measures, that no to operate in high
sufficient punitive st vessels that do not
LľCS.
premature: May 7 ndrika Kumaratunge spokesman said she e relocation of Sri A) camps from the reaching agreements re issues. "President naratunge is of the ional community has Liberation Tigers of |me peace talks with Sri Lanka until the human rights of othIl spokesman Mr. Hag a press conference f SILA camps in the aking concrete headcess would certainly ity of the country, d. paharan: May 7 - veen the leader of the naran and the Japaenvoy Mr. Yasushi figers told the Japaenvoy Mr Yasushi uld consider his ret the Aid Donor conously if the Governok positive steps tog decisions taken at of talks. LTTE poAnton Balasingham, Mr.S.P..Thamilchesingham and Dr. Jay lated in the talks with
The Japanese delegation comprised of Japanese Special Envoy, Mr. Yasushi Akashi, Japanese Ambassador to Sri Lanka, Mr. Seiichiro Otsuka, Regional Directors at Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Takio Yamada and Mr. Ryousuke Kamono and Second Secretaries Mr. Koji Yagi and Mr. Masatomi Oikawa.
During the two and a halfhours talks, the Japanese special peace envoy Mr. Akashi requested the LTTE leadership to resume peace talks with the GOSL and to attend Aid Donors' Conference scheduled to be held next month in Japan.
Mr. Balasingham said at a press briefing, “We are not running away from peace talks. We have given time and space to the government to come out with positive steps regarding the implementation of the decisions already arrived at several rounds of talks.'
Norway delegation meets LTTE leaders: May 8 - Norwegian delegation comprising special envoy, Eric Solheim, Norway’s ambassador to Sri Lanka, Mr. Hans Brattskar, Head of the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) Tryggve Tellefsen, Second Secretary Tomas Stangeland and Advisor in the Foreing Ministry of Norway Ms Lisa Golden met with Mr. Anton Balasingham, Political Advisor of the LTTE, S.P. Thamilchelvan, Head of the LTTE political wing, Dr. Jay Maheswaran, ĻTTE commanders Col. Theepan, Col. Soosai, and Col. Banu this morning at the LTTE political head quarters in Kilinochchi.
Govt lodges strong protest: May 8 - Sri Lankan Government has lodged a strong protest over a series of killings allegedly by the LTTE of political leaders of some Tamil political parties and former intelligence operatives in violation of a truce. The protest was conveyed through Norwegian peace facilitators, government spokesman and constitutional affairs minister GL Peiris said, adding that the authorities will deal with the perpetrators under normal criminal law. "The government has protested strongly about the assassinations,' Peiris said. "Criminal law will be applied against those responsible for the killings in and around Colombo and the east (of the island).' Tiger activity under CID scrutiny: May 8 - The government has been compelled to direct the CID to revive investigations into Tiger activity in Colombo subsequent to a spate of attacks on Tamil soldiers and informants in the east and Colombo, police said.
A senior policeman told journalists, "We were directed to probe the recent killings at Mount Lavinia and Dehiwela where Tiger hitmen shot dead two sol

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15 MAY 2003
diers. Investigators were able to establish the identity of the Tigers responsible for the slayings subsequent to the arrest of two undercover operatives in recent raids carried out by plainclothesmen. They were produced before the Colombo (south) Magistrate and were remanded.” Their arrest and the subsequent interrogation revealed that the Tigers have stepped up intelligence gathering work in the city taking advantage of lax security measures. Subsequent to the Ceasefire Agreement, police and the military ceased operations, particularly raids on suspected Tiger hideouts. The agreement prevents the government from carrying out search operations and arrests under the Prevention of Terrorism Act. Instead arrests should be made in accordance with the Criminal Procedure Code.
The officer said: "We are in the process of tracking down the Tigers wanted in connection with the slayings in Colombo. Investigators have moved to the north-east in a bid to capture them.”
Five LTTE intelligence men in custody: May 9 - A team of Criminal Investigation Department officials have taken into custody five LTTE intelligence leaders on 7 May alleged to have supplied information to kill two army informers at Mt. Lavinia and Pepiliyana. The CID says that already three more suspects are remanded.
The LTTE chief intelligence man "Suri' has been arrested in Moratuwa, Soyzapura flats and "Gadaffi' in his Wellawatte house. The CID says that these two had supplied arms to kill army informers Kadirgamar Ragupathy and Lingarasa Devarasa to the LTTE pistol groups.
Police have also taken into custody the motor cycle and the three wheeler used to kill the army men. CID has received information that the LTTE supplied funds to purchase these two vehicles. The suspect “Suri' has worked as an electrical technician and "Gaddafi' as a three wheel driver while spying. The motor cycle has been bought for Rs. 65,000 at Nittambuwa and sold back for Rs. 45,000 after killing Ragupathy.
The CID has already received information about four members of the Tiger pistol gang who killed army informers. All of them have returned to Batticaloa which is their home town. The two informers "Suri' and "Gadaffi' had arrived in Colombo about five years ago from Batticaloa. SLMM slams LTTE for killings: May S - The Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission yesterday condemned the political killings as posing a threat to the cease-fire
agreement in the ( that lack of proofd that one of the part ble for the violence "It is very clear ties is responsible killings in Sri Lanka is a violation of tl ment. SLMM wou state that lack of p1 that one of the par responsible," the S "These criminal on the foundations democracy and hav lized society," the SLMM Stated. The acts spread a fear a ated political oppre nitely undermining when such acts ap tematically. “The s and killings of peop ernment forces whi tematically contin Cease-fire Agreeme The SLMM po plaints had been ma in addition to those parties operating in the wake of threats offices, individual families and elected the majority of these ants have blamed m a signatory to the C the SLMM said. Hov when the LTTE w these accusations th volvement.
"Ongoing SLM yet led to the perpet being identified. T tions rarely lead to LTTE and in the ca have identified perp of LTTE, the police difficulties in arrest said. Due to fear c witnesses to crimes ward to give eviden stating that this “se day concern for som and east.”
"Any violence, v spontaneous, creat insecurity and there rious threat to the st fire. SLMM looks these attacks. They present time of pe Lanka. Those who lence must realise t undermining their cease-fire and the whole, but also the

TAMITMES 3
untry and observed not rule out the fact s could be responsiin the north and east. hat ifone of the parDr threats, attacks or at this time, then that e Cease-fire Agreeid once again like to bof does not rule out ies might in fact be MM said.
acts are direct attacks and development of e no place in a civireport issued by the SLMM said that such long the people, cression and were defi, the peace process ear to be done sysame goes for attacks le related to the govch appear to be sysuing in spite of the nt,” the report stated. inted out that comle by the government by various political the north and east in and attacks on their members and their representatives. "In cases the complainembers of the LTTE, FA, for the attacks,' vever, they noted that as confronted with sy had denied any in
W inquiries have not ators of these crimes he police investigaaccusations against ses where witnesses etrators as members seemed to have had ng them,” the report f repercussions the feared to come fore, the SLMM added ms to be an every2 people in the north
hether systematic or s fear, distrust and ore represents a sebility of the Cease'ery seriously upon lo not belong to the ce building in Sri ngage in Such vioat not only are they own integrity, the beace process as a uture of the people
of Sri Lanka,” SLMM chief Maj. Gen. Tryggve Tellefsen stated.
SLMM worried over civilian training: May 8 - The Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission yesterday said they were keen to meet the LTTE in the wake of the recent complaints by both the army and police regarding the training of civilians by Tigers in eastern Sri Lanka in Mutur lately. "Some of the Tamil areas around Mutur have been used by the LTTE to conduct training programmes for people to perform the duties of home guards,' SLMM Head of the District (East) Jan Ledang told journalists adding that this was mainly with sticks being used for weapons and that "this is based solely on reports by police and army." He pointed out that this could "easily create problems' in the area. The Muttur area has lately witnessed violent incidents following the alleged abduction of certain Muslims by the LTTE. "At this time a military build-up or the use of force is not what's needed and we seek to get the Tamils and Muslims to have a dialogue on these matters,” Ledang said.
Sewing machines war widows in NE: May 9 - The Social Welfare Ministry in Colombo has made arrangements to provide 125 sewing machines worth Rs. 1.5 million to war widows and the women living in difficult circumstances in the North-East region, Social Welfare Ministry Secretary Ms. Viji Jegarasasingam said.
She said that the beneficiaries would be selected with the assistance of relevant Divisional Secretaries in those districts after careful screening procedures are followed. The Ministry has already provided 714 sewing machines to needy women living all over the country under the Ministry's special program to assist women-headed households and women and children living in difficult condition. So far the Ministry has provided 252 sewing machines to needy women this year, she added.
The sewing machines were provided by Latter-Day Saints Charities in Colombo 5 on a decision taken after a discussion between the Country Director of Latter-Day Saints Charities, Haynes Gearheart and the Social Welfare Ministry Secretary Ms. Viji Jegarasasingam. 16 EPRLF men abducted by LTTE: May 9 - The EPRLF, a non-LTTE Tamil political party, yesterday said that 16 of its cadres were abducted and some of them were killed by the Tigers in the Batticaloa district and in Colombo in separate incidents over a period of time. The EPRLF identified the victims as

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32 TAMILTIMES
Saverimutu Mathivathanan Selvanagar of Arayampathy; Arumugam Soundarajah, Sripala Building, Batticaloa; Anthony Clery, Thethavady Street, Arayampathy; Sivasambu Pulendrarajah 46, Lake Road, No. 2, Batticaloa; Sellathurai Thanga-rajah, Aerons Lane, Thandavanvely, Batticaloa; Nagarajah Nesarajah, Avuliya Lane, Batticaloa, Kandasamy Ginanasothy, Kadiragamar Road, Amirthakali, Batticaloa; Vijayanathan Vithyakaran, 142, Beach Road, Navatkudah, Batticaloa, Manchanthodu wai; Sellaiah Kandasamy, Thiruvalluvar Road, Pandiruppu; Poopalapillai Alaguthurai, Theevukadu, Mandur; Raju Suman, Kalkudah Road, Valaichenai; Seenithamby Ranjan, Thiruneetukerni; Marimuthu Rasalingam, 7th Division, Akkaraipattu, Chairman Alaiyadivembu Pradeshiya Sabha; Subramaniyam Jagathevan, Iruthayapuram East, Batticaloa, Ragupathy Karaitivu, Ampara District and Sithamparapilai Yasotharan, Puthur, Batticaloa.
Chandrika takes over Lottery Board: May 10-President Chandrika Kumaratunge took over responsibility for the administration of the National Development Lottery Board that functioned under the Minister of Economic Reforms, Science and Technology Mr.Milinda Morogoda, a senior Minister in the United National Front (UNF) government.
The President issued an extra ordinary gazette notification with effect from midnight 8 May in regard to the take over, presidential secretariat said in a press release.
The President's action provoked an angry reaction from Prime Minister, Mr. Ranil Wickremasinghe, who promptly wrote a letter Friday to Ms.Kumaratunge expressing his dissatisfaction over the manner in which responsibility of administering the Lottery board was transferred from one of his senior ministers without consulting him. "I cannot agree to the change of a subject that comes under a minister without consulting me. Hence I request you to stop issuing a extra gazette notification giving effect to the change,” the PM said in his letter.
Deadline for Donor Conference: May 10 -The Government and the LTTE would have to convey their decision concerning the participation at the June Donor Conference to the Japanese Government by May 14. The deadline set by the hosts was conveyed by visiting Japanese special envoy Yasushi Akashi to Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe in Colombo and the LTTE leaders during his visit to Kilinochchi on 7 May.
“Due to logistic receive their respons the day I discussed parties concerned, th told reporters at a si at the Colombo Hilt ture yesterday.
He said it would nity lost for the cour the donors meeting ir ger portion of funds East as well as the v pected, had to be can not be another oppol longtime to come,” In response to : there was any possi ence being postpon voy said, “At this st tension to cancel or which is indeed a m Sixty Governme national donor organ to participate at the c on June 9 and 10.
Two LTTE cadres - Trincomalee Magis dran today orderedt May 22 of two LTT) produced on a repo and Weapons Ordin malee Harbour Polic Sri Lankan Nav three Tamil Tigers sives in a boat in the near Trioncomalee. boat off the coast of and found 40 kilog explosives and 14 board.
He said sailors tion of the Scandin ing the truce to inve However, following the LTTE leadershi istry and the SLLM, on board were freed gers, Nagaratnam ) Romuleo, were arre to the Trincomalee
The latest arrest security forces repo boat packed with c land’s war-torn no Jaffna. Security fo cealed boat followi local residents in the tor of the peninsula
LTTE should en power: May 11 - “T should enhance thei is the only way to this country. If war every Tamil, regal

SMAY 2003
l reasons we must within a week from he matter with the ut is May 7,” Akashi ecial press briefing in before his depar
be a great opportutry and its people if Tokyo where a bigo rebuild the North hole country is ex'elled. "There would tunity like this for a he said.
question whether bility of the confer'd the Japanese enage we have no inpostpone this event jor conference.” nts and major intersations are expected onference scheduled
remanded: May 10 trate Mr. S.Thiagenhe remanding of till E suspects who were rt under Explosives ance by the Trinco
C.
y on 8 May arrested transporting exploisland's eastern seas The navy stopped the Trincomalee district ams (88 pounds) of claymore mines on
sought the intervenvian team monitorstigate the incident. discussions between ), the Defence Minthe boat and one man while two other Tirakash and Martin sted and handed over Harbour Police. came two days after rted finding another xplosives in the isrthern peninsula of ces found the conng information from Vadamarachchi sec
officials said.
lance its military he Liberation Tigers military power. This ensure our rights in is thrust on us again, dless of any differ
ences, should join the ranks of the LTTE's armed forces. That is the only way for us to survive as a people," said Mr. Ariyanayaham Chandra Nehru, Tamil National Alliance MP for Amparai, speaking at a seminar on the future of the peace process, organised by the East Lanka Journalists' Association in Batticaloa town Saturday.
Speaking further the parliamentarian said: "The Sri Lankan government and the Sinhala chauvinist forces want to use the LTTE to get aid. That's all. Beyond that they are not prepared to give anything to reconstructor develop our homeland. This is the reality today. Sinhala chauvinists who constantly berate the Tigers would have no scruples about spending the money that Colombo may get with LTTE's help in Japan. All of us should constantly bear in mind the fact that it was the strength of LTTE that brought about the current peace process”.
"Even those Sinhala politicians who are inveterately opposed to the Tigers are scared to let them go back to war. There was no need for the Sri Lankan government to call Gen. Satish Nambiar. His report is one sided. It reflects only the concerns of the Sri Lanka army brass. We do not need such reports. There are bettermilitary experts in the LTTE if the Sri Lankan government wants advice,' the MP said.
Balasingham leaves for London: May 11 - Political advisor and leader of the peace delegation for the LTTE, Mr. Anton Balasingham, is reported to have fallen ill in Kilinochchi and left for London for medical attention. Mr. Balasingham and his wife Adele Balasingham left Kilinochchi Public Grounds in a Sri Lanka Airforce (SLAF) helicopter. He is expected to fly to London from Katunayake. A Norwegian Embassy statement said that Mr. Balasingham had expressed a desire that his absence should not prevent scheduled meetings taking place. The Norwegian Embassy would therefore continue its planning for the meeting in Kilinochchi between Norwegian Foreign Minister, Jan Petersen and the leadership of the LTTE scheduled for Thursday 15 May.
Government's chief negotiator Minister G. L. Peiris had paid a courtesy call on Anton Balasingham at the Airport Garden Hotel before Balasingham left for London. The duo had talked for about half an hour, and Minister Peiris wished good health to Balasingham and hoped he would recover soon.
Talks depend on Government: May 12 - “We will regain hope for peace if the

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15 MAY 2003
response from the Sri Lanka government to our letter is positive and constructive,” said the Trincomalee district commander of the LTTE, Colonel Pathuman, at a passing out event held on 10 May at LTTE controlled Ralkuli village in Muttur division where certificates were awarded to a group of LTTE cadres who qualified as junior officers after arms training, sources said.
"We are disappointed over the peace talks which have been going on for the last fourteen months. Not a single rupee has been allocated for the rehabilitation of internally displaced by the government. Some critics say that the LTTE would derail the peace process and go for war once again. I say that choice between renewal of war and to continue with the present peace process is now in the hands of the government and not with the LTTE," said Colonel Pathuman.
Colonel Pathuman further said, "at this stage it is our duty to safeguard our people. No one can interfere in this aspect. The arms' training given to our cadres is to strengthen the security of our people and our military infrastructure.”
Trincomalee district political head of the LTTE Mr.S.Thilak said, "we must maintain our military might. Then only we would be successful in reaching a solution that meets the aspirations of our people throught the present peace process.”
"People would ask that while participating in the peace talks why we are giving arms training LTTE cadres. I would say that the present peace environment has dawned because of our military might. When we lose our military strength that will be the end of the peace process. Demonstration of our military strength is a key to sustain the peace process,” said Mr.Tilak.
Pirapaharan felicitates Kumar’s family: May 12 - Velupillai Pirapaharan, keader of the LTTE, awarded the "Maamanithar' medal to Yogaluxmi Ponnambalam, wife of late Kumar Ponnambalam, in honor of her husband in a special function held in Kilinochchi, on May 10. Late Kumar's son, Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam, a lawyer and Tamil National Aliance (TNA)Parliamentarian, and daugher Mirnalini Ponnambalam, a physician, ccompanied their mother to the function. Kumar Ponnambalam, president of he All Ceylon Tamil Congress, was shot Wead by unidentified gunmen at Wellwatte, a Tamil suburb of the capital olombo on 5 January 2000.
The LTTE bestowing the Most Emient Person (Maamanithar) award on the January 2000 said the award was for
Mr. Ponnambalam ism and for his outs to the cause of Tam
Couple shot in A Anthony Thevaraja Francis Catherina of near Kalmunai in A injured when assa around 9pm on 11 M admitted to the Bat pital and were und cording to medical
Thevarajah is was formerly a me People Revolutiona (EPRLF). He left f returned back to Sri after he left the orga in Sorikalmunai, an to work. On his retu he set up his reside and has been cultiv
The shooting in the couple was talk residence after Thev working in his fie camp. EPRLF sourc Tigers for the shoot
Grenade attack on 13 - Eight PLOTE n ded when alleged L. hand bomb at the Batticaloa today, Ba The wounded were a caloa hospital. The F been playing volley fice in a small pla LTTE cadre had thro ior local cadre of th ganam Niskanantha seriously. The allege arrived in a motorcy rushed to the Battica tackers got away. PL LTTE of carrying o' Meanwhile, a se ant was knifed to de same day allegedl Vavuniya, a former 1 was shot dead alle These murders have Sri Lanka Monitor said. Tamil journalist re May 14 - The Sri La liance (SLTMA) ha tice of several world the death threat issu caller to a former p and senior journalis agam, and appealed his safety, media so In an urgent lett to Protect of Journa

TAM TIMES 33
"dedicated patriottanding contribution
liberation'.
mpara: May 12 - h (40) and his wife Sorikalmunai village impara district were lants fired at them |ay. The couple were icaloa teaching hosergoing Surgery acSOCCS. rom Kalmunai and mber of the Eelam ry Liberation Front )r India in 1990 and Lanka in 1995. Soon nization, got married i went to MiddleEast rn from Middle East nce in Sorikalmumai ting his field. cident occured when ing in front of their arajah returned from ld near the Central es blamed the Tamil ing incident.
PLOTE cadre: May hembers were wounTTE cadre hurled a PLOTE Office in atticaloa police said. dmitted to the Batti"LOTE members had ball opposite the of yground when the wn the bomb. A sen2 group, Mr. Mylvarajah, was wounded dLTTE attacker had :le. The injured were loa hospital. The atOTE has accused the ut the attack. curity forces informath in Batticaloa the y by the LTTE. In memberofthe TELO gedly by the LTTE. been reported to the ng Mission, police
eives death threat: hka Tamil Media AlS brought to the nomedia organizations cd by an anonymous resident of SLMTA t, Mr.V.Manikavasfor help in ensuring urces said.
ær to the Committee ist (CPJ), Reporters
of San Frontiers (RSF) and International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), the SLTMA said a senior journalist Mr. Manickavasagam residing in Vavuniya received a death threat through a telephone call on 7th May.
A complaint has been made at the Vavuniya Police in this regard by Mr. Manickavasagam, according to the letter of the SLTMA, sources said.
Helicopter ride: May 14 - On a request by the SLMM the Sri Lanka Air force had airlifted three provincial LTTE leaders in the east in a helicopter to Wanni on 12 May, according press reports. The SLMM identified the three provincial LTTE leaders as Jeevendran, Kausaliyan in Batticaloa and Ampara and Tilak the provincial political leader in Trincomalee involved in talks with LTTE leader, Velupillai Prabhakaran.
Air force Commander, Donald Perera in this connection said that the three LTTE provincial leaders were flown to Wanni in a bell 212 helicopter. The approval of the Defence Ministry also had been received in this connection.
EPDP's security strengthened: May 14 - The security at the Eelam People’s Democratic Party (EPDP) office in Batticaloa district has been strengthened with effect from 13 May, said Batticaloa district EPDP leader, Paraneetharan Pratheepan. Number of Police officers in permanent security duty has been increased from 6 to 8, he added. Strengthening of security was a result of requests by his office to the Batticaloa Senior Police Commissioner and by the actions of EPDP leadership in Colombo bringing to the notice of the Security officials the urgent need to provide security to EPDP personnel in the light of continuing attacks by the LTTE, Pratheepan further said.
Bishops on constitutional crisis: May 14 - The Catholic Bishop Conference of Sri Lanka in a statement issued today expressed "profound disappointment' over the present political situation especially about the current standoff between Sri Lanka's Prime Minister and President over the latter's decision to take over a ministry amid objections and protests by the ruling party.
"The crisis is bound to disturb the present peace process which has already suffered a setback as the temporary withdrawal by the LTTE. Both leaders should forget their differences and work together to save the people of the country,” said the statement.
The Catholic Bishop Conference ap

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34 TAMILTIMES
pealed to the President and Prime Minister, "The dignity of their office and the responsibility they shoulder should inspire them to give uppetty party politics. The two leaders should work with great personal sacrifice towards the welfare of the people,” the statement further said.
Norwegians in Colombo: May 15-Norwegian Foreign Minister Mr. Jan Peterson accompanied by his deputy Mr. Vidar Helgessen arrived in Colombo yesterday to hold crucial talks with the leaders of the government and LTTE to in a bid to restart Sri Lanka's stalled peace talks. Japan and Norway are keen that the LTTE take part in crucial aid conference next month in Tokyo. The Tigers, however, say Colombo should first establish legally operable bodies and procedures to ensure a direct say for Tamils over the utilization of funds pledged by donors for reconstructing the war torn northeast.
Tigers in talks with Norwegians: May 15 - The LTTE would not participate in peace negotiations with the Sri Lankan government until Colombo implemented decisions taken at six rounds of talks since last year, Mr. Velupillai Pirapaharan, the leader of the LTTE told Norway's Foreign Minister Mr. Jan Peterson duringa crucial meeting in Kilinochchi today. Col. Karuna and Col. Pathuman, the commanders of the LTTE's Southern Front Forces and the head of the political division Mr. S. P. Thamilselvan were associated with Mr. Pirapaharan at the discussion with the Norwegian FM who was accompanied by his Deputy Vidar Helgesen and the country's ambassador in Colombo. -
The discussions between the LTTE delegation and the Norwegian team led by Mr. Jan Peterson began around 11.30 a.m. and continued until 2.30 p.m. at the LTTE's peace secretariat in Kilinochchi. The Norwegian FM
The LTTE legal advisor Mr. V. Rudrakumaran and economic advisor Dr. Jay Maheswaran were also present at the meeting.
LTTE signature holds up reconstruction: May 15 - The North East Reconstruction Fund (NERF) agreement has been completed but cannot go through because the LTTE hasn't signed the document.
"The document has been sitting with World Bank officials in Colombo for the past five days,” a senior government source said. "The officials are waiting for an opportunity to meet Thamilchelvan but the meeting has not been fixed as Thamilchelvan is evidently very busy in
Kilinochchi.”
Initially, the LT strongly about a Wor ishing the NERF ag of the main reasons for suspending peace blamed the governm Bank - for the slow
The NERF agre by the World Bank dorsed by the govel 10 May. World Ba lombo then sough Thamilchelvan with his signature. Howev has been slow in cor plained.
World Bank is th and is responsible money. Finalisation mit the LTTE and go fund for projects pri Committee on Imme and Rehabilitation N Delay in complet ment (due to certain l ing from the LTTE’s ernment entity) had 15 SIHRN projects b
Peace cyclist in Batt Kumar Soni (30), an Gujarat, currently or promoting peace, ar today, sources in Bat has visited several v the South of Sri L Batticaloa via Ampa to resume his journey stay in Sri Lanka is e. months, Kumar said. "I sincerely hope beautiful island will and be able to enjoy All are members of undertook this missic in this country and a Kumar added. He st on 2 October 2001, Lanka end of last n Nepal and Bhutan. Tamil Education Bo - The Jaffna distr Thamilleelam Educat Board (TEDB) was c at the Jaffna district fice at an event presi sor Shanmugathas o Jaffna, who said that TEDB branch was at it would give a boos development of the said.
Mr. Mavali Sena National Alliance Ja mentarian, lit the fla

15 MAY 2003
TE had complained dBank delay in fineement. It was one cited by the LTTE talks, although they ent - not the World progress.
ment was finalised last week and ennment on Saturday nk officials in Cot a meeting with a view to securing er, the appointment ning, the source ex
: custodian of NERF for disbursing the of the deal will pervernment to use the oposed by the Subdiate Humanitarian eeds (SIHRN). ing the NERF docuegal difficulties arisstatus as a non-govresulted in at least eing stalled.
ticaloa: May 16 - S. Indian citizen from a world cycle tour rived in Batticaloa ticaloa said. Kumar illages and cities in anka and came to rai. He is planning to Trincomalee. His kpected to last three
: that people of this renounce violence the fruits of peace. the same family. I n to promote peace ill over the world,' arted the cycle tour and arrived in Sri onth after visiting
ard opens: May 16 ict branch of the ional Development pened this morning Zonal education of ied over by Profesf the University of the opening of the mely step taken and to the educational peninsula, sources
hirajah, the Tamil ffna district parliame of sacrifice and
Mr.Semmanan, the Jaffna district deputy political head of the LTTE, hoisted the Thamileelam National flag. The flag of the TEDB was hoisted by the former Northeast provincial director of education, Mr.K. Kandasamy.
North East Provincial Education Ministry Secretary Mr.R.Thiagalingam and Provincial Director of Education Mr.S.Mahalingam also participated in the event.
Balraj to Singapore for treatment: May 16 - LTTE's Military Wing Leader, Colonel Balraj (Kandaiya Balasekeram) left for Singapore yesterday from the Katunayake international airport for urgent medical attention following a heart ailment. Balraj had, it is learnt, developed chest pains two weeks ago and was kept under observation in the north pending the preparation of his passport by the Immigration and Emigration Department, according to reports from Colombo. The LTTE military wing leader was brought to Colombo together with his doctor and accompanied by LTTE members Sudarshan and Sivakanthan. in an Air Force helicopter on Wednesday 14 May and housed at the Airport Garden Hotel prior to his departure for Singapore early Thursday morning at about 1.35 a.m. on Singapore Airlines flight SQ 401. Since the signing of the MoU between the Government and the LTTE, the LTTE had the opportunity to get medical facilities for their members in Colombo as well as in foreign countries.
The 38-year-old Balraj who suffered a heart attack had first sought the visa to go to Malaysia for medical treatment. However, permission was refused as the LTTE remains a banned outfit in Malaysia. Trinco coal power project given up: May 17-The Government has abandoned the proposal to construct a thermal coal power plant in Trincomalee following strong protests by environmentalists and the people of Trincomalee. The 300 megawatt plant is now planned for construction in Hambantota, deep south of the island, power and energy ministry sources said.
The Power and Energy minister Mr.Karu Jayasuriya visited Trincomalee a few months back and inspected a site close to the Trincomalee harbourto construct the proposed controversial thermal coal power plant. The government selected Trincomalee when the Catholic Bishop of Chilaw opposed the move to site the project at Nooraichcholai in the northwestern province.
An agitation against the project was launched by a group of leading citizens in Trincomalee led by human rights ac

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15 MAY 2003
tivist Attorney-at-law Mr.K.Sivapalan.
The Power and Energy Ministry has now decided to move the location to Hambantota and expects to solicit assistance from the private sector to build the plant.
LTTE cargo under proble: May 17The Customs is acting on the Attorney General's advice regarding the boxes of LTTE propaganda material seized on April 21 at the Peliyagoda container freight station, press reports in Colombo said. Director General S.A. C. S Jayathilake denied reports that he had been ordered to release the items and said they were handling the matter on the advice of the AG.
The container carried eight boxes of LTTE propaganda material, all destined to S.Sinnathurai of Kotahena from his son in Switzerland. The cargo which was described by the consignee as a gift from his son contained more than 4700 LTTE music CDs, 1100 audio cassettes, VCDs depicting battles between the LTTE and the Army, 13.jackets and caps, 133 Sweaters with the LTTE emblem, 50,000 greeting cards, newspapers and Magazines. The Customs chief said the parties concerned had given contradictory statements and he was keeping the Defence Secretary informed of the developments. The Ministry of Defence along with the National Intelligence Bureau (NIB) are reportedly conducting parallel inquiries.
LTTE office escapes damage: May 17 - A grenade was thrown at the main entrance to the LTTE administrative office in Thamaraikerni in Batticaloa district today. The 15 year old, J.R type grenade, generally used by the Sri Lanka Army (SLA), failed to explode and no one was injured, security sources said. The LTTE office administrator, Veeravarman, said that he and another LTTE cadre were at the office when the grenade was thrown. He added that the likely assailants are two persons, one belonging to Peoples Liberation of Tamil Eelam (PLOTE) and the other from the Intelligence wing of the SLA, who were seen loitering near the LTTE office. Veeravarman further said that they have registered a complaint with the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) regarding the incident. Call for unity between CBK, Ranil: May 17 - Ven. Rambukwelle Sri Vipassi, the Maha Nayake Thera of the Malwatte chapteryesterday called upon the President and the Prime Minister to work together for the sake of the country. Making a special statement from his official residence, the prelate said he was seriously concerned over the recent crisis that
had emerged b Chandrika Kumarat ister Ranil Wickrem referring to the on crisis over the DLB yake said he hoped t act in a manner that country into further
Japan's final appe - Japan yesterday appeal to the LTTE to boycotta donor cc in Tokyo. "The gov dently hopes that til sider its position p) miss the opportunit the Japanese Embas Japan, which f talks last week to c attend, has said it June 9-10 aid pledgi had been expected aid over three years "The conference a unique and prec which the internatio) express its unified ment to reconstructi of the entirety of S ment said.
India on Tokyo co The Indian governn not be represented ference in Japanne also participates. Th has already conveye ing it cannot sit do organization to disc India maintains tha nor conference in W cently because the invited.
Denmark urges r May 17 - “Denmar the suspension of th in Sri Lanka. We ur resume its participal and to commit itsel. kyo reconstruction normalisation of liv Lanka will be depe: contributions of b release from the Da "Denmark reitel made in Oslo to sul ess and reconciliati mark has pledged (equivalent to appr (LKR) as grant ass three years. In addi ing of upto 450 m. made available duri Several initiatives

TAMILTMES 35
etween President
unga and Prime Min
lesinghe - apparently
going Constitutional issue. The Mahana
he two leaders would
would not plunge the
crisis.
al to LTTE: May 17 made a final urgent to reverse a decision onference next month ernment of Japan arhe LTTE will reconromptly so as not to y,' a statement from sy said.
ailed in face-to-face onvince the LTTE to will persist with the ng conference, which to raise $3 billion in
2 is intended to prove ious opportunity in hal community would and strong commiton and development ri Lanka, the state
nference: May 17ment has said it will
l at the donor conxt month if the LTTE e Indian government !d its decision assertwn with the banned ussaid for Sri Lanka. t it attended the doVashington D. C. reLTTE had not been
sumption of talks: k is concerned over Ke peace negotiations ge the LTTE to fully ion in the peace talks to attending the Toconference. An early ing conditions in Sri indent on the positive oth parties,” a press nish Embassy said.
ates our commitment port the peace procom in Sri Lanka. Den1250 millions DKK oximately 2.2 billion istance over the next tion soft loan financillions DKK will be ng the next two years. have already been
started under this framework.
Denmark is now ready to release l million USD as a first trance to the NorthEast Reconstruction Fund (NERF) as soon as the LTTE is back in the peace process.'
Dutch help for resettled families: May 18 - The Netherlands has come forward to grant livelihood assistance to the resettled families in the north and east. The Ambassador for the Netherlands in Sri Lanka, Ms. Susan Blankhart, last week inaugurated a scheme for granting livelihood assistance to resettled families in the eight districts of the North and East. The donation of school furniture also took place at Trincomalee, last week.
The government of the Netherlands has donated 2.7 million Euros to assist resettled families and improve the education of North-East students. Of this amount, 170 million rupees will be utilized for the payment of livelihood assistance to resettled families in the eight districts. Rs. 67 million will be spent on supplying furniture to schools in the region.
Shock for Barbers in Jaffna: May 18Barbers in Jaffna got a rude shock last week when the LTTE ordered them to close their shops on Wednesdays instead of Sundays, reports from Jaffna said.
The LTTE has ordered that barber saloons in Jaffna must close on Wednesdays and be kept open on Sundays. Any barber flouting this order would be fined Rs. 100. Meanwhile it is reported that the LTTE is collecting information on sports clubs and youth clubs in the Valikamam West and Sandilipay divisions in the Jaffna district.
Names of office bearers and members and details of finances available to the clubs, are said to be of importance. Parents of youths who are members of these clubs are disturbed about this activity of the LTTE and are advising their children to keep away from the clubs.
Army Seargent killed: May 19 - Kathirkamathamby Navasooriyam, 30, alias Soori, employed as a sergeant in the ninth battalion of the Sri Lanka army's National Guard (9 SLNG) was shot dead by unidentified an unidentified gunman in the eastern Batticaloa town on 19 May around 1 pm according to police sources. The victim was at a hairdresser's saloon in Puthur, a high security zone suburb of Batticaloa when he was killed.
German aid for Jaffna economy: May 19 - The state run the People's Bank has launched a programme to make ready cash available to entrepreneurs in the

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36 HAMILTIMES
Northern Province with the assistance of German government-supported Rural Banking Innovations Project (RBIP), a press note by German Technical Cooperation (GTZ) said today. Speaking about the project, Mr. Sivapathaviruthayar, Regional Manager of the People's Bank Jaffna, said: "We all know what the entrepreneurs in Jaffna need most is money to set up their business”
People's Bank conducted a training workshop in May for the staff of the bank's Jaffna branch to sensitize them and to upgrade their capability to approach Jaffna. “This sort of training to our staff will enable them to mobilize more cash within the business community, which in turn will see a resurgence of economic activity in Jaffna,” he added.
"The Rural Banking Innovations Project, a cooperation between the People's Bank of Sri Lanka and the German Technical Cooperation (GTZ) on behalf of the German Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), was established in 1996 to support the Bank to re-orient itself towards commercial lending activities for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME)," according to the press note.
“The People's Bank, with the consultative support of the RBIP, will take the lead, in providing commercial credit facilities for start-ups, expansion of businesses and investments. This will help a lot of potential enterprises to set up their business,' he said.
Girls escape from camp: May 20 - Three teenage girls aged 10, 12 and 14 who reportedly escaped from a LTTE training camp in Batticaloa sought the protection of the Security Forces after reaching Arunapura Army camp in Polonnaruwa, yesterday.
The girls identified as Sinnawan Gowri (10), Yogaraja Rohini (12) and Sumithra Gnanapalan (14) of Motharamulai Pulliar Kovil Street, Kiran in eastern Sri Lanka had been reportedly abducted by the LTTE 11 days previously while returning from school.
The girls had undergone two days military training at a LTTE camp located in an unidentified location. They have been handed over to Aralaganwila Police to be handed over to their parents after conducting further investigations.
TNA meets LTTE leadership: May 20 - A Tamil National Alliance delegation led by its parliamentary group leader, Mr. R. Sampanthan, T held discussion with the LTTE's political head, Mr.S.P..Thamilselvan, regarding the possibility of the resumption of peace talks
with the Government the LTTE.
After about two a talks, Mr.Sampanthan the LTTE would ann the question of resumi the GOSL and partici nese aid summit at a
JVP seals pact with The JVP said yesterda memorandum ofundt SLFP in a bid to toppl ment. JVP propagand Weerawansa said hisp mittee would ratify th May while the SLFP the same four days la
Mr. Weerawansa details of the deal witl said the agreement h the nation. "We had President's house on and we have reached of the matters relatin we are yet to reach a new party symbol and alliance,' Mr. Weerav ists.
Killings in Batticalo raperumal Perinpam ( a former member of Organization of Tami was shot dead today gunman in the Batt PLOTE and police s Tamil Tigers for the
Security has b Batticaloa and securit who conducted body and examined the people passing throug junction and other k. town.
Meanwhile, a civ in a grenade attack at heart of Batticaloa ta civilian, identifie wounded in the explo to the Batticaloa hos said.
In another incid PLOTE member was edly by the LTTE in had been identified a
NE local polls: May ment today tabled in amend Local Govern cial Provisions Act Commissioner Gene call for fresh nomir three local governme Tamil dominated Nc
Nominations we

15 MAY 2003
of Sri Lanka and
ld a half hours of old journalists that unce its stand on gpeace talks with ating in the Japaress conference.
SLFP: May 20 - y it had finalised a rstanding with the e the UNF governSecretary Wimal arty's central com: deal on Friday 23 is expected to do er .
declined to give the President, but ad plans to revive a discussion at the Sunday (18 May) a finality on most g to the MOU but compromise overa a name for the new vansa told journal
a: May 21 - Kuma38), alias "Master,' Peoples Liberation 1 Eelam (PLOTE), by an unidentified icaloa town. The ources blamed the cilling.
een tightened in y service personnel searches of youths dentity Cards of h the Clock Tower 2y junctions in the
ilian was wounded Adigar Road in the wn 7.20 p.m. The as Jerome was ion and was rushed ital, Police sources
nt, another former gunned down allegBatticaloa tody. He s Kumar Perumal.
21 - The Governparliament a Bill to ment Elections Speempowering the ral of Elections to ations to the fiftyit institutions in the theast province. e called last year to
the fifty-three (three municipal councils, six urban councils and forty-four Pradesya Sabahs) local government institutions in the Northeast province along with other local authorities in the other parts of the country. However, at the request of the Tamil Mps representing the Northeast constituencies, the government postponed the elections for northeast local government bodies for June 25 this year. The government assured TNA at that time that elections to northeast local bodies would be held after calling fresh nominations.
SLMM demands LTTE release sailor: May 21 - The Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) in Trincomalee has confirmed that a sailor who was reported missing on May 13 is under LTTE custody at Koddawan LTTE camp after being arrested a few earlier.
Deputy Chief of the SLMM Hagrup Haukland told journalists that they have demanded the LTTE to release the sailor immediately after confirmation that he was under LTTE custody.
The LTTE has said that they have arrested the armed sailor while he was in their territory. Sailor I. P. A. K. Dharmadasa attached to Sri Lanka Navy, Horowpotana, was reported missing while on a training exercise at Palampattar, an area 13 kilometres South West of Trincomalee.
He was on his mission armed with his personal weapon - a T56, two T56 magazines and a rifle sling, Defence sources said. The Navy after their failure to trace the whereabouts of the Sailor had informed the SLMM Trincomalee which confirmed that the sailor was in LTTE custody.
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Page 37
15 MAY 2003
Tigers seek tangible response: May 22“The Liberation Tigers will participate in the Tokyo aid summit scheduled for next month only if the Sri Lankan government response to our suggestions is concrete, trustworthy, honest and not based on verbal pledges regarding our proposal for the establishment of an interim administration in the northeast province” said Mr. S.P. Thamilselvan, head of the LTTE's political division, addressing a press conference today in Kilinochchi.
Mr. Thamilselvan said that Colombo should reach a definite agreement on setting up an interim administration for the northeast that can effectively handle rehabilitation and reconstruction before participating in the Tokyo donor summit next month. "The international community will realize that it is not possible to restore normalcy in the northeast without establishing an interim administration for the region', he added.
To another question by a journalist that there is no provision in Sri Lanka's constitution for setting up an interim administration, Mr. Thamilselvan replied: “We are least concerned about the snags and problems in Sri Lanka's constitution. The Sri Lankan government should think and take concrete steps to go beyond the parameters of the constitution to resolve the
vious day from Karai south of Batticaloa.
Farmers had foun called Pooraanvelivett tres from Karaithivu hands tied behind the shot wounds in the he
Former PS chairma - Unidentified gunm wounded a former chai Pradeshiya Sabha Mr. (40), , at Valaichena Batticaloa.
Mr. Samuel, also k member of the Tamil E ganisation (TELO), a the Tamil National Alli tested the local govern Vaakarai PS in 1994. " the LTTE held area, a Batticalaoa town.
Relief from North r May 23 - A convoy goods donated by vari tal and civil organisat reached affected villag terday. The trucks a needed emergency ite Sinhala villages aff
interim administration issue.”
TNA briefs foreign envoys: May 22 - A delegation of the Tamil National Alliance told the American Ambassador for Sri Lanka Mr.Ashely Wills the urgency in setting up of an interim administration to rebuild the war ravaged northeast province and to rehabilitate the displaced families in their villages, TNA sources said.
The TNA appealed to the US Ambassador to exert pressure on the government to establish the interim administrative structure as requested by the LTTE leadership. TNA delegation comprised parliamentarians Mr. Joseph Pararaja-singham, Mr.N.Raviraj and Mr.G.G. Gajendrakumar, the sources
All Classes of Insur At Very Compe Young Drivers Special Rates for Lad
o Building OF
o Shop/Office o H
Instalment Terms AV Computerised Quc
J. Kulendr:
said. Beddington Insu) Body of LTTE cadre found (Wimbledon
e Olm:
May 22 - The body of a mem- 157A, Hartfield Ro ber of the LTTE's political di- London SW vision in the Amparai district Te:
was found in a paddy field with O2O 8543 gun shot wounds on 22 May. Fax: O2O 8
According to LTTE officials Mr. Poovannan was abducted by
VNe EXCelin The Persona
unidentified gunmen on the pre
 

TAM TIMES 37
hivu, 48 kilometres
the body in a field Li about four kilomethis afternoon with back and with gunld, back and chest.
wounded: May 22 en today shot and rman of the Vaakarai Samuel Pushparajah i, 32 km. north of
nown as Justine, is a elam Liberation Orconstituent party of ance (TNA). He conment election for the Vakkarai is a town in pout 64 km. north of
each flood victims: of trucks containing ous non-governmenions from the North ges in the South yesre delivering much ms to both Tamil and :cted by the recent
anCe Transacted etitive Rates Specialists ies/Mature Drivers
ire Liability
ealth Insurance
MEMBER
ailable
floods.
A truck containing goods donated by the Tamil Rehabilitation Organisation (TRO) was one of a convoy of vehicles taking part in a two-day humanitarian relief operation. Items donated by TRO included bed rolls, blankets, roofing sheets, kitchen utensils and clothes. Officers from the organisation visited Kalutara yesterday to deliver urgently needed relief items to flood victims. − LTTE abducted cadre - EPDP; May 23The Eelam People’s Democratic Party (EPDP) claimed that one of their supporters had been abducted and assaulted by the LTTE on Wednesday 21 May. They claimed that Edward Charles (28) and his wife Vino had stepped out of their home to purchase essentials when they were set upon. "As soon as they had reached the boutique Kamsan and four other LTTE members appeared from the house of Sivagurunathan,” they said. They alleged that Kamsan was in possession of a gun at the time and that the other LTTE members had been carrying knives.
“When Vino saw the LTTE members she ran back to her house and Kamsan Who had chased after her had not been able to catch up with her,” the EPDP said. They claimed that Vino’s parents were the candidates for Uppuweli Pradeshiya Sabha in Trincomalee district.
However Charles was attacked by the other four LTTE members and been abducted in a three wheeler to an unknown destination, they alleged.
The incident had been reported to the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission in Trincomalee and the Uppuweli police.
PA rejects interim administration: May 23 - Sri Lanka's main opposition People's Alliance (PA) today rejected the proposal for an interim council in the Northeast made by the LTTE, and warned that it would be forced to take constitu
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tional remedies if Prime Minister Ranil Wikcremasinghe agreed to the LTTE's demand “contrary to” the Constitution.
The LTTE's proposal urged the government to establish an interim administrative structure in the Northeast with adequate powers to undertake Northeastern reconstruction and development activities.
Addressing a press briefing, the PA spokesman and former minister, Mr.Sarath Amunugama, said no one has the right to act beyond the limit of the present constitution. O

Page 38
38 AML TIMES
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OBITUARIES
Mr. Sithamparapillai ThiruChelvam beloved husband of Dhanapathy, loving father of Sharmini and Shanjeev; son of the late Udayar Mr. and Mrs. Sithamparapillai of Kachcheri Lane, Nallur, Jaffna passed away peacefully in London on 5th May 2003 Friends and relatives paid their last respects at Merton Hall in Wimbledon, London SW19 on 11th May after which the cremation took place at the Putney Vale Crematorium, London SW 15. The members of the family wish to thank all those who paid their last respects at Merton Hall, Sent floral tributes and messages of sympathy and who attended the Cremation. The family would also like to thank everyone for their support during the period of bereavement. – 69 Toynbee Road, Wimbledon, London SW20 8SH. Tel 020 85425140
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15 MAY 2003
Mrs Annamary Michael Born: 3rd September 1907 Called to eternal peace: 21st April 2003 You are always
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IN MEMORAMS
In loving memory of Mr. Vellupillai Kumarasamy on the fourth anniversary of his passing away on 20th April 1999.
Fondly remembered and sadly missed by his beloved wife Sarojini; loving children Nirmala, Baskeran, Shyamala and Dayakaran, sons-in-law Rasa
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In loving memory of Mrs Ranjini Geetanjali Thirunavukarasu on the Seventh anniversary of her passing away on 24th May 1996. Sadly missed and lovingly remembered by her husband Thiruna vu kara Su; children Poornima and Pradeep; father Mahalingam; mother-in-law Mrs P. Ponnuthurai; Sisters Mrs Lalitha Dikushi Karunakaran and Priyadarshini Damayanthy; brothers Premkumar, Mohankumar, Ranjitkumar, Nimalkumar and Tilakumar, brotherS-in-law Karunakaran and Balanathan, Sistersin-law Kamalarani, Vijayalaxmi, Nirmala, Yasothara, Nalini, Kamaladevi and Sugirthadevi - M. Ranjitkumar, 12 Chase Lane, Barkingside, Essex IG6 1 BH. Tell: 020 8554 2095.
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Page 39
15 MAY 2003
FORTHCOMINGS EVENTS
Jun 1 Sri Raja Rajeswary Amman Temple, Dell Lane, Stoneleigh, Surrey Annual festival commences with Kodi Eattam (Flag Hoisting Ceremony)
Jun 3 Sathurthi Jun 5 Shashti Feast of St. Boniface Jun 6 Feast of St. Norbert Jun 9 Feast of St. Ephrem Jun 10 Sukka Eekaathasi Jun 11 Feast of St. Barnabas Jun 12 Pirathosam, Vaikasi Visakam
Jun 13 Fullmoon Jun 15 Sri Raja Rajeswary Amman Temple Ther (Chariot Festival) Jun 16 Theertham (Water Cutting Ceremony) Jun 17 Poo nga vanan; Sankadakara Sathuirthi Jun 18 Vaira Var Madai Jun 19 Feast of St. Romuald Jun 24 Feast of the Birth of St. John Baptist Jun 25 EekaathaSi Jun 26 Karthigai; Pirathosam Jun 27 Feast of St. Cyril of Alexandria Jun 29 Anawaasai Jun 30 Highgatehill Murugan Temple Annual Festival Com
mences With Kodi Eattan (Flag Hoisting Ceremony) At Bhavan Centre, 4A Castletown Road, London W14 9HQ. Tel: 020 7381 3086/4608. Website: WWW.bhavan, nef Jun 7 10.30 a.m. - 1 p.m. Dance Workshop by Shilpi Baruri. All welcome. Jun 14 6.30 p.m. Bhinna Abhinna (Separate but One). Western Classical Music comes together with Karnatic Music providing an exotic muSic mix. Jun 16 to 19 7 to 8 p.m. Lectures on Gita by Swami Parthasarathy. All welcome. Jun 29 6.30 p.m. Violin & Veena Concert in aid of Sivabhoomi (Jaffna) Cancer Fund by R.Ganesh & Kumresh - Violin, K. Jeyanthi - Veena. Forticket Tel 02073860924/ 7381 3086. Exhibitions from 12noon to 8 p.m. May 20 to Jun 3 Paintings/ Wall Hangings by Mridhu Dixit Jun 15 to 20 Kusun Shukla's concept of the Purity of Soul is portrayed through colours. Jun 24 to 30 Portraits of the Aged by Baljit Balrow All Welcome
WEDDING BELLS
We congratulate the following couples on their recent wedding.
Aravinthan son of Mr & Mrs P.Sivaji, 33 Kalyani Lane, Watala, Sri Lanka and Komathy caughter of Mr & Mrs P. Gopaakrishnan of Egeparken 14, 7th , 5240 Odense N.O, Denmark on 18th May 2003 at
Saraswathy Hall, Lorenz Road, Colombo 4, Sri Lanka.
Delesh son of Dr. Jeyadevan & Swendrini of 52 Fuller Drive, Wistaston, Crewe, Che-shire, CW2 6 TH. and Lohitha daughter of Dr. Puvanarajan & Gnana of 51 Blenheim Avenue, Gants Hill, lford, l'G2 6JQ on 25th May 2003 at The Pavilion, 324 Hoe Street, Walthamstow, London E17.
g. Veena se Performance Applauded
The London Veena Academy presented an orchestral programme in the Youth Music Festival held in Waterloo, London and won special applause from the audience. The performers and the conductor Sangeetha Vidwan Smt. Sivatharani Sahadevan were congratulated by the Chief Guest, Rt. Hon. Charles Clarke, M. P., Secretary of State for Education (who is at the centre of the picture above), for the very high standard of the performance. The performers included MiSS Sindhu and Madura Yogarajan (students of Smt Sivatharani Sahade van) on
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

TAMILTIMES 39
Distinguished Gathering Cele-brate New Year
(L to R) Mr.Chris Naidu, Business Development Director for South East
London, Royal Bank of Scotland; Mr. Sivas-ubramaniam, Director, Sales and Marketing, Link Air Travels; Mr. Mike Geerts, Regional Managing Director of Royal Bank of Scotland for South East England and Sri Lankan
Cricket Hero, Aravinda De Silva)
The Mayor of Croydon, The Srilankan High Commissioner, The Srilankan Cricketer Aravinda De Silva, Mr. Mike Geerts, Regional Managing Director, Royal Bank of Scotland for South East England were just Some of the well-known faces Seen at the celebrations of the Tamil and Sinhala New Year. More than 100 from the business community joined in the fun-filled evening at Rejez Restaurant, Norbury from 7 p.m. until 12 a.m on Monday the 14th of April.
The event was the first of its kind to have been held for the Srilankan community, both Tamil and Sinhalese in Croydon and was the brainchild of Link Air Travels, Mr. S. Sivasubramaniam. It was organised by the Royal Bank of Scotland and supported by Management House. Mr. Chris Naidu, the Business Development Direc
the Veena, Sri. Parthipan Nagarajah (student of Sri. K.T.Sivaganesh ) on the Violin, Mas. Thivian Thayaparan on the Miruthangam, Mas. Abiram Sahadevan (student of Sri Balachander) on Genjeera and Mas. Aathawan Thirunavukarasu (student of Smt. Kamala Pathmanathan) on the Flute,
Miss Yalini Sucindran (student of Smt. Selvaluxmy Ramakrishnan) gave an excellent performance of Bharatha Natyam, which was highly appreciated by the audience and the Chief Guest.
tor, Royal Bank of Scotland for South East London leading the evening's agenda, introduced the members of his team and their roles. He encouraged the guests to socialise and enjoy the Srilankan music and the Cuisine.
The High Commissioner for Sri Lanka in UK, Mr. Faiz Musthaspha said that he was thrilled and impressed to see the unity of the Srilankan business Community and praised their efforts and achievements. He Was
sure the same spirit would foll
low in projects to develop Sri Lanka. The Mayor, His Worship Councillor Stuart Collins said "I thoroughly enjoyed meeting people from the Srilankan community and am a great fan of their culture. The food and entertainment were very impressive and the company excellent. It was lovely meeting the cricket legend Aravinda De Silva as lam a keen sportsman myself. The evening definitely gave me a taste of what to expect when l visit Sri Lanka next month.'
Mr. Sivasubramaniam Said that he was pleased that the evening was a great Success and everyone was able to build valuable busineSS Contacts with local businesses, the management of the Royal Bank of Scotland and enjoy the evening. He also thanked the Manager and Sales Manager of Srilankan Airlines, the Regional Manager of Qatar Airways, the Deputy High Commissioner for Sri Lanka in UK, the councillors of Croydon and the guests who graced the occasion.

Page 40
40 TAMITMES
Book Review
Tamil Pages 2003:
An Unparalleled Culturallcon
The Brief Tamil pages (Tamil Olaikal) - a compendium of the Cultural, social, commercial and economic achievements of the Tamils in Great Britain and Europe has come up with its tenth anniversary issue published on 14th April this year - the Tamil New Year - following a decade of uninterrupted publication. During this ten-year period, this directory has grown in stature along with the endeavours and achievements of the Tamil community in Great Britain and Europe, and now has become a household name. No Tamil home, institution or business establish ment functions without this invaluable companion, an easy reference guide to our everyday activities. Starting as a small handbook ten years ago, this has grown from strength to strength in terms of information, quality, size and circulation and currently boasts
Tamil Performing Arts Society Silver Jubilee Drama Festival
A Review by Professor Kopan Mahadeva
The above festival was held recently and my wife and I were two of its committed viewers. There were some 200 others from the Tamil media and social groups including a few who had flown from the contiment for this special occasion. The hall used was Waltham Forest's Lloyds Park Theatre, with what 1 consider to be limited lighting and stage facilities.
The Show started a little later than the announced time. Three of the Society's best plays of the past had been carefully selected for the Festival, but I was viewing each for the first time and was resolved to mentally mop up all the salient features and details with no pen and paper. My objective was to enjoy the evening while getting a snap-shot view of the developed
more than three thous hundred odd pages. This compendium is poses. Apart from manual it has succe; public with the busin been a media to int each other, and has Tamils of many diff Scattered all over the
Above record { TamilS Eelam Europe dom du ades of tury, an invalua dent of The Su A perus OnSfraft Tamil country getic, V. ing lot v mously to the gro economy-theircontri weighing its populatic Out of the 3.7 millio UK over 250,000 are minorities, Asian bus for about 150,000 b these entrepreneurs
art of Tamil drama in over the past 25 yea! ently dedicated group director K. Balendra Anandarani, with thei The first on stage was Wait”) featuring Anar rajah, S. Vasuthevan S. Sanjeevraj. The pl eties and hopes of a t who had suddenly lo up son during the r Lanka in the late 19 the several Tamil yo who thus went myste their homes, alleged ernment forces for " joined one or anothe, ance groups which e. of the North and Ea, their kith and kin frc ernments. All the at quite well in this short vincing and effective Next came Kannaad Figurines). This was logical play with fou have been first stage ing welcome. The ac Dharshini Ganesha and V. SivaSuthan. ( I felt (and some ot marked about it) tha too long and rather
 
 
 
 
 

15 MAY 2003
and entries in its Six
rves Severa pureing a reference sfully linked up the SS community, has rCommunicate with rought together the rent persuasions, globe. l, this Serves as a fthe activities of the who migrated from ind Settled all over and the United Kinging the last two decthe Twentieth Ceni will prove to be an ble tract to the Stuuture social history. vey al of its pages dem| to anyone that the community in this area bold, enerbrant and enterpriswho contribute enorwith of the British bution markedly outon levels.
businesses in the owned by the ethnic inesses accounting usiness units. And Contribute over E13
the United Kingdom S from this consist) led by playwrightand his actor-wife rardent, loyal cast. Kaaththirppu ("The darani, K. KrishnaV. SivaSuthan and ay depicts the anxinother (Anandarani) st sight of a grownacial conflict in Sri OS. He was one of uths, mostly males, iously missing from y taken by the govguestioning' or had of the armed resistolvedamong Tamils t to try and liberate m race-biased govtors did their parts play, which was con
Vaarppukal ('Glass long, Socio-psychocharacters, said to " in 1978 with a rouSrs were Anandarani, lai, S. VaSuthe van n that day, as seen, 2r Viewers also rethis play appeared onotonous in parts,
million annually to the British economy. The British Government does recognize the enormity of our contribution to society and this country.
The Prime Moyers Tamil Pages, the brainchild of two young professionals - Messers. T. SrikanthaRajah and A. Gnanendran remains a symbol of the untiring and persistent efforts of these two over the past decade. The ef. forts, application, dedication and commitment of the editors and their team deserve the acclaim and the accolade of the entire Tamil community.
The Product The main codex of this directory is arranged in the standard alphabetical order - commencing with "Accountants" and ending in "Wedding Services". The European pagestakespride-of-placeatthe beginning, and the Advertisers index set at the very end. The entire book bristles with information; belches a myriad of brilliant colours, displays an elegant format and lavish layout; imprints imposing types set on glossy paper, and parades a multitude of womenfolk in their marvelous attires - a marvel to behold
And all this for freel
The Publishers: British Tamil Directories, 52 Kingsley Road, Wimbledon, London SW198HF, U.K.
E-mail: edi e 020 8543 2126 Fax: 020 85403442.
By Dr. S. Thiagarajah
particularly in the scene where love was Struggling to grow between psychologically affected daughter and the family's young guest Ramesh. The third and final play was a comedy called Verukkul Peyyun Mazlal (The Rain Within the Root). The script was by Chelziyan from Canada. There was so much of laughter, giggling and applause from the audience that the toddlers and infants who had accompanied some young families, and who were either sleeping in mothers' laps or were dozing off, suddenly woke up after ten o'clock and rather vociferously started competing for attention. Of the three, this was in deed the play I enjoyed best, perhaps of the new-blood contribution S of the acforS P. Sathiyendran and Charitha Annathurai, but more probably because the setting was modern and more lifelike, and because the artists themselves were Seen to enjoy themselves while playing their well-knit parts. The older characters were played by Anandarani and S. Vasuthevan who, again, in my opinion, gave their very best performances in this piece, having warmed up to easy-flowing and relaxed states during their difficult and substantial roles in the first two plays. This was to me theatre at its best, dazzling with universality, and I felt rewarded for the seven hours and twentypounds or so I spent that (continued on next page)

Page 41
15 MAY 2003
Dr. Shan was born in Kurunegala on the 5th of October 1963, where his father Dr. Philip Visvalingam was a private Medical Practitioner and his mother on the tutorial staff of Maliyadeva College. He was a student of St. Thomas College Mount Lavinia, where he won many prizes, was in the choir and the junior Cricket Team. He obtained distinctions in all the subjects at the GCE O/L. He then joined St. John's College Jaffna and excelled in studies and sports and was awarded the Gold Medal for general excellence and best Student in 1981. He followed his father's footsteps into Medicine
and entered Christian Medical College
Vellore 1983-1987. He won the Edward Gault Prize for research in Pathology, The Dr. Benjamin Prize for Community Medicine, The Dr. Ida Scudder Prize for the best paper on Medical Care of the sick and suffering and the All India competition on Geriatric Medicine Prize. He won Gold, Silver and Bronze every year for athletics, track and field events, Hostel Union games and was awarded the Reeves Belts Gold Medal as the best Sportsman in the Final Year. On his return to Sri Lanka, he was Resident Medical Officer at the Green Mennorial Hospital, Manipay and then worked at Base Hospital Polonnaruwa and at Delmon Hospital Colombo. He obtained "A" grade in Medicine, Surgery, Obstetrics and Gynaecology in the Australian Medical Examination and migrated to Australia in 1992. He was Resident Medical Officer at the Wooden Valley Hospital, Canberra. The wedding of Shan and Prianthidaughter of Dr. S.J. and Dr. (Mrs.) Benita Stephen was celebrated in Colombo in January 1994. He worked as Senior Resident Medical Officer in Obstetrics and Gynaecology at Westmead Hospital Sydney
(Continued from page 40)
evening, including for travel. Tamil Performing Arts Society is essentially an amateur theatre group founded by the Balendras and has so far staged over 50 different plays in some 200 venues mostly in London but also in faraway wenues such as in Sri Lanka, Canada, Norway, Australia, Holland, and Switzerland. They have also organised successful drama workshops and seminars. May their contributions continue.
In Cherished Memory of Dr. Shan V
and obtained the and the FRANZCC elected Fellow of the of Surgeons in Obs ogy-FICS in 2001. Nor ney Dep and and He foro in S. CeSS a top
Register presentatic Annual Sessions helic was invited to lecture Sions and Internatio was a guest Speake Sessions of the Ame Stetricians and gynae USA, Medical Confet USA, Women Health International Sympo D.C., Asia-Pacific Me in Seoul South Korea, World Menopause C and Geneva and inv in Athens in 2001. Dr Hugh Torode anc Laproscopic worksh( ogy and Obstetrics in Colombo in June 2 Commended and hi greatly appreciated. Cal talkS were record a number of his res lished in various Med appointed a Membe Committee of RANZ Chairman of the Edu fee. He was Examin gynaecology for the Council, visiting lect versity Medical Stu North Shore Hospital the Training program Doctors at Liverpool, Black Town Hospital ympic games he se Medical Officer. His S computers and its ro presentations and r education at the tim Within ten years, 19 ched the Acme of hi. reer and was loved a
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

RANIZCOG in 1998 G in 2001. He was International College trics and Gynaecolhe moved to Royal Shore Hospital Sydis Research Fellow, rtment of Obstetrics Gynaecology in 2000 Consultant in 2002. "as also Consultant her leading hospitals dney, with very sucul private practice as Obstetrician and Gyblogist. as actively involved eSearch and Won S in 1998 and 1999 he prestigious Crown medal for the best rech paper and the n at the RANZCOG in October 2000. He atthe Scientific Sesal Conferences. He r at the 50th Annual rican College of ob"cologists in Chicago ence in Indianapolis and Menopause-4th sium in Washington nopause Federation guest lecturer at the 'Onference in Berlin estigators Sessions
Shan conducted a p at the GynaecolSociety of Sri Lanka '02 which was highly excellent speech Some of theSe Medi2d on cassettes and 2arch articles puball Journals. He was of the NSW State COG and later the ation Sub Commitr in Obstetrics and Australian Medical rer to Sydney Unients at the Royal and was involved in nes of the overseas 2ampbell Town and At the Sydney Olred as a volunteer ecial interests were as a visual aid for search on ageless of his tragic death. 2 to 2002, he reaprofession and cad respected by all.
AMIMES 4
Such a devoted and dedicated ObstetriCian and Gynaecologist lost his life Suddenly in a caraccident at Waroonga, Sydney on 20th December at the prime of his life and the peak of his illustrious Medical career, leaving behind his beloved wife Prianthi, seven year old son Anwin, five year old Anjali and a year old Anika to bemoan this terrible loss. May the Lord comfort and sustain them always. His nother, brothers and Sisters, Prianthi's parents and brother too are shocked and saddened. In our deepest sorrow God's grace uphold His peace and His love sustains us. Being a dedicated and caring Doctor he had signed to donate his organs to others who were desperately in need and gave eight of them a second chance to live healthy lives.
To win the respect of people To earn the appreciation of honest critics, To appreciate beauty, find the best in others To leave this world better, radiating joy and love To know that others have benefited greatly beCause you have lived
This is to Succeed.
Sri Raja Rajesvary Аттап Temple :
Annual Festival Programme
The Annual Festival of the Sri Raja Rajeswary Amman Temple, Dell Lane, Stoneleigh, Surrey, UK commences on Sunday, 1st June 2003 with the Koddietram (Flag Hoisting Ceremony), continues for 15 days with the Ther (Chariot Festival) on Sunday, 15th June. The Ther procession will commence at 10 a.m. and Ambal wil return to the temple at 2 p.m. Theertham (Water Cutting Ceremony) will be on Monday, 16th June; Poongavanan on Tuesday, 17th June and Vaira var Madai on Wedn-esday, 18th June. During the festival Miss. Ds. Mangaiyarkarasi. , renowned lecturer from Tamil Nadu, India will conduct religious discourses from 7.30 p.m. to 8.15p.m. May Sri Raja Rajeswari Amman shower her choicest blessings on all her devotees.

Page 42
42 TAMILTIMES
SriLankan Airlines - FREE Colombo rtn.:
;s ..465 کھرے Singapo SriLankan E + tax J.
AIRWAYS
Special Business Class
£1050+ taxis
స్ట్రే (200403-30,0603) స్టో
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15 MAY 2003
Main Agent Visit the
For City of Gold ノ Take a break
in Dubai at the
SRILANKAN AIRLINES Everest - , - International i eXtentiOnS Hotel.
We have FREETR(P great packages OF THE FOLLOWING DESTINATIONS: from ras, Trichi, Trivandrum, under £200 "e, Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur, for 5 days. karta or Hong Kong. Make
CO savings Special Return Fares ಖ್ವ.:the 8 City of Gold 380+ tax duty free to pay
for your trip. Call now
響隸 for more details. stopoverallowed in Colombó)
LATEST BARGANS
S5 CO2COGéS
I CRO 3PB, Fax: 0208689 2576
T OUALITY JEWWELLERY
W SAREE SHOP OPENED BY ST EO RIN J EDYYE L L E RS
Range of Pure Kanchipuram Sarees
C9 Kolam CD Rangoli kshinotri (9 Apoorva (9 Mysore Silk
C) Banaras Silk SareeS ling Dresses (9 Children's Party Wear
0 Surithars 69 Turbans Cð Silk Vertis etc. etc...
ll sold at reasonable fixed prices isit us once and you will realise the difference
peeialists in Saurees
థ్రోన్ O'క్ష్"
οοπΝο. ONDONswm7 TEN FAX: 020. 8672 1910

Page 43
15 MAY 2003
Experienced Tamil
230 UPP LONDO
TEL:02 Web: http:
WESTER JEWEILLER
ZaveA RIC
The RIGHT people to do business with y
MAN AGENT ri attaff
FOR Sಳ್ತ° ಅ%: <. (ဂြိုဇွိုမျို & “To Jaffna... With LOV
AGENT. LIONAR and area V
TRANSFER
ROYAL FRONAIRPORT
YANG KAIP JoRDÁNTAN
:Bin WELAWA
"}{R} FROM 339 OO
COLOMBO(rtn) Promotional fares o FROM £465. Tax Lowest FARE
GET A FREE TRIP FROM
TOONE OF THE FOLLOWING DESTINATIONS:
Kadras, Trichi, Trevandrum, Singapore, Bangkok, NO ONE CAN BI Kuala Lumpur, Jakarta Or Hong Kong. AIRLINES PRIC TERMS 8 CONDITIONSAPPLY TO ALFARES NO STOPOVE
WEACCEPTAL TERMS CONDITIONS
MAJOR CREDIT CARDS O2O 876
| NAS FAX: 020 8767 5991, M
E-MAIL: infoGDs
 
 
 
 
 

TAM TIMES 43
eWeer in Londo
k VST US NOW ATEST 22CT, GOLD JEWELLERES
IDE RANGE OF STOCKS ALWAYS
AVAILABLE
Thali Kodi (a) Necklace Sets
9 Pathakkams Various types of Ear Studs immikkies (9 Panchayuthams
Chains, Bangles Etc. Etc...
WE ARE AT YOUR SERVICE
SEVEN DAYS AWEEK E PERFORM THALPOOJA AS WEL
ERTOOTINGROAD, TOOTING NSW177EW 0-87673445 FAX: 020-87673753
IWWW.luxmi.Com/Western
M /Ä 82 MTCHAM ROAD
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SW17 9NG
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KOMORDANAN KA 22:22 Garuda Indonesia Aaa
e” Jaffna Return fare of £ 513 + ta)
vide Tours from Airport
TRANSFER FRON AIRPORT
Fares to 1670atar Airway
PLUS ONIENIGH
mbo 5.390
B8 Bin WELLAWA ONY
n SriLankan Airlines. 1st May to 15th June ES TO MADRAS ΟΝ Υ g385. TAX TOONE OF THE FOLLOWINGOESTNATIONS: £410 SINGAPORE,
龚 KUALA LUMPUR, BANGKOK, зм соломво, ASARARGA SN
;7 7775
OBILE 07850 876921 skybooker.com
75766

Page 44
TRAVEL SHIPPING ARFREIGHT
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4 Auded way, offWarple Way, Acton, Lon. 020 8740 8379, 020 8749 0595, E-mail: glencarriersgaol.com (Fax: 20ם - BT40 4229( webs uNAccoMPANIED || || HOTELAG
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DOOR TO DOOR SER WICE AVAILABLE ON REQUEST
S.
MANAGENT FOR SRI LANKAN AIRLINES, CALAR AIRWAYS. EG"F
MAIN AGENf SriLTAKE ata
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APPOINTED Το Jaffna. With LOVE
AGENT FOR LIONAIR Il di ateid. W
TRANSFER
ROYA Return
FROMAIRPORT PLUS ONEMIGHT Y JORDANAN C EEEin WELLAWAITE
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соLомво rtin) PTo Thotlonial far'ES on FROM E 驾 TAX LOWESTFARE
GET A FREE TRIP TOONE OF THE FOLLOWING DESTINATIONS: FR ом | ladirai, Irithi, Irelandium, Sigipoli, Bangolink, FWJ JME LAPW BE KugaLumpur, Jakaria of Hongkದಿಗಿ9 ARWES PRICE TERIS ČIOMIOITIIMS APPLY TALL FARLES FILSTOPEP
ECCEPT ALL 11g TOOTING HIGH STRI RCREDIT CARD5.
TEL: O2O- 86
ே P FAX: U20-86720951 MOBIL চিত্ৰ 器 Internet: http:lf www.skywings.co.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

RAWEL SHIPPING ARFREIGHT LT D E YEARS OF EXC ELLENCE
INSERWOE
don W3ORQ TO THE
O2O 8743 7353 SRI LANKAN ite: www.glencarriers.co.uk || I COMMUNITY
IOMMODATIONAVAILABLE IN MOST LEADINGHOTEL INN 23PERPERSONPERNIGHTSHARINGBASIs
Competitive Airfares to Colombo other Worldwide destinations
ANKANAIRLINES- COLOMEO FRoME 465 LLLLLLL L LLLLLLLL0S LLLLLLLLL S LLLLS LLLLL LLLLLL
LLLLLL L LL L LLLLLLLHLLLLLLL0LLLLLLLL LLLLLLLL
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GAGENTS FOR EMIRATES & OTHER AIRLINES ASE RINC UES FOR SPEOAL OPPERS
43 7353 - ) O 257 3.3235 h
HANDLING CHARGES CREDIT CARDS ACCEPTED CONDITIONS APPLY
AGENTS
AIR, GARUDA INDONESIA, AIR INDLA 8 ROYAL JORDANAN
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TRANSFER aires to Qatar AirWays FROMARPORT
PLUS ONEMIGHT EEEn WWELLAWATIE o FROM 390 ONIYEMS Ai
Sri Lankan Airline:S is May to 15th June
4 1. O TOCNECF THE FOLLOWING DESTINATIONS:
SINGAPORE, SRI LAWKAW KUALA LUMPUR, BANGKOK, гомдовAS. JAKARTAOR HONG KONG, *
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e-Tail: bala(alsky wings.co.uk