TAMIL GUARDIAN No. 355 ISSN 1369-2208 WEDNESDAY AUGUST 29, 2007free fortnightly The hunted soul of the Tamil Diaspora PAGE 6 Remembering another massacre THE first anniversary of the mas- home. were also killed. coordinates on to the Sri Lankan But UNICEF’s Colombo sacre of fifty three school girls by Some 100 children were "These children are innocent military via the UNICEF and the chief, JoAnna VanGerpen told Sri Lankan Air Force jets was wounded, many critically. Girls victims of violence," said Ann M. International Committee for the reporters: "we don't have any evi- marked in Tamil Tiger-controlled from various schools in the near- Veneman, Executive Director of Red Cross (ICRC). dence that they are LTTE cadres." Vanni last week. The school girls by district of Mullaitivu and the UN children’s agency, The Sri Lankan government However, apart from the lone were killed on August 14, 2006 Kilinochchi were staying over- UNICEF, said in a statement. said it targeted an LTTE training protest by UNICEF, the Sri when four SLAF jets dropped six- night at the compound, attending The site of the building had camp, killing "50-60 terrorists" Lankan air strike on the school- teen bombs in repeated passes a two-day course in first-aid. been designated a humanitarian and showed journalists what if girls did not draw any internation- over the Sencholai-run children’s Four staff at the institution zone and the LTTE had passed its claimed was footage of the attack. al condemnation . 2 TAMIL GUARDIAN Wednesday August 29, 2007 NEWS AADDCCHHAAYYAA Rains, troop shortages hit SRI LANKAN & SOUTH INDIAN Sri Lankan push north RESTAURANT & TAKEAWAY Amal Jayasinghe ing anonymity. "This time, we nce analyst Tissa Ravindra Perera PROMPTLY ATTENDED SERVICE infiltrated their lines and kept said. AFP them on their toes." The military has suffered But for defence analyst Namal heavy losses trying to break into The Best Caterers In SRI LANKA'S military has been Perera, that success may require LTTE territory in the north of the unable to push into Tamil Tiger the deployment of a huge number island in recent weeks, while the South West London strongholds in the north due to the of troops if the military wants to Tigers have experienced similar threat of monsoon rains and a lack maintain control over the areas setbacks trying to gain a foothold of manpower, defence officials wrested from the LTTE. in the army-held Jaffna peninsula. Opening Hours: 12 Noon to 11PM and analysts say. "With the manpower commit- A recently retired senior mili- The government had hoped to ment in the east expected to be tary officer predicted that govern- build on recent territorial gains in very heavy, it will be a challenge ment forces might not be able to 164 Merton High Street the east of the troubled island by to deploy more men for a new replicate in the north the tactics going after guerrilla bases in the offensive in the north," Perera used in the east because the ter- South Wimbledon northern Wanni region, where the said. "It will be difficult at this rain was different. Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam time." "In the east, there are no clear- London SW19 1AZ (LTTE) run a mini-state. "As long as the army is tied ly demarcated areas of control "Inter-monsoon rains start in down in the east, the LTTE knows and that helped us to sneak into Tel: 020 8540 8192 October and it will be difficult to the military will not make a new areas dominated by the Tigers," move tanks and heavy guns in push in the north." said the retired officer, declining boggy conditions," said one field LTTE spokesman Rasiah to be named. "In the north, there commander who asked not to be Ilanthiriyan admitted the Tigers is a physical boundary and getting named. "But in the run-up to the had suffered a setback with the through that is not going to be monsoon, there could be smaller- loss of territory in the east, but easy. We have already lost a few scale operations." said they were bolstering their groups that tried." The LTTE last month admit- defences in the north. A February 2002 Norwegian ted losing its final bastion in the "Militarily you can't call this facilitated truce is in tatters and jungles of Sri Lanka's Eastern an advantageous situation," Ilan- some 5,200 people have been province, but vowed to keep up thiriyan said. "Because, if you killed in fighting in the past 19 hit-and-run attacks in the area. want to control one region, you months alone, according to gov- Fresh One senior officer attributed may have to lose control over ernment figures. the victory last month to a combi- another region." Sunanda Deshapriya, director nation of superior tactics, fire- The Rivira newspaper report- of the Centre for Policy Alternati- power and guerrilla-style attacks ed that the Tigers had withdrawn ves, an independent think-tank, behind enemy lines. cadres from the eastern front and said neither side was keen on 59 Kingston Road "What they used to do is send sent them to the north. returning to negotiations that col- small groups to harass us. We had "The next battle which will lapsed last October and predicted to tie up a large force to hold our start in the Wanni will be decisive the "war atmosphere" would con- London static positions," he said, request- for both parties," the paper's defe- tinue. SW19 1JN Government sidelines Karuna, UK sets up new Tamil front in East Tel: 07723 614 183 INA significant shift of strategy eral Secretary T. Sridharan to visit The move has angered the Ka- and political alliances in the east, Batticaloa and have a hurriedly runa faction which is claiming With Compliments the Sri Lankan Government is summoned meeting with govern- that the step was aimed at sidelin- believed to have virtually dumped ment officials and representatives ing the group, which assisted the the anti-Tamil Tiger Karuna para- of international and local NGOs. military in the recent months. Ga- military Group and is supporting The visiting delegation told nesh Mahesh, spokesman for the a new Tamil front for local elec- the NGO community that the pur- Thamil Makkal Vidithalai Pulli- tions in the volatile east later this pose of the visit was to listen to gal (TMVP) - the Karuna Group's year, The Sunday Times reported. the problems of the people of the political wing - told The Sunday JJenasenas FFoooodd The new front is led by the area and convey them to Presi- Times that the government was leader of the splinter Tamil Unit- dent Rajapaksa to find solutions. promoting groups which had ed Liberation Front (TULF), V. Among the grievances which never sighted the areas when the Anandasangaree and includes the they listened to were issues about people were facing difficulties. People's Liberation Organisation continued child recruitment by The plans to promote the new of Tamil Eelam (PLOTE) and the the Karuna group in the govern- political front come amidst critic- && WWineine Eelam People's Liberation Front ment-controlled areas and the dif- ism that the Karuna group has (EPRLF - Pathmanabha Wing). ficulties in travelling to some of been permitted to move with wea- Currently none of these three par- the areas newly regained from the pons in government-controlled ties have any parliamentary repre- LTTE. The delegation was later areas. sentation. flown to Vakarai, where for mon- The Nation reported that The trio are due to function as ths tens of thousands of Tamils Douglas Devananda, leader of the 225 Southcroft Road the Tamil Democratic Alliance were subject to indiscriminate Sri Eelam Peoples Democratic Party (TDA) and is inviting other Tamil Lankan bombardment, before (EPDP), Sri Lanka's largest Tamil parties to join the alliance to con- returning to Colombo. paramilitary group cum political London test local elections followed by Last Friday night the trio met parry, has urged the government provincial elections in the east, President Rajapaksa and briefed to make sure that the Karuna fac- SW16 6QT the Sunday Times said. The TDA him about the visit as well as the tion conducts its political activi- is to begin its political activities problems in the area. Mr. Sidd- ties unarmed. There have been in the east within the next few arthan who took part in the meet- several clas-hes between EPDP Tel: 0208 677 5668 weeks, the paper said. ing told The Sunday Times said and Karuna Group gunmen in the Apparently as a sign of suppo- their plans were to contest the two east in the past few weeks. rt, the Sri Lankan government this upcoming elections and their visit For several weeks Sri Lankan week provided a helicopter to Mr. was aimed at looking into the press reports have been suggest- Anandasangaree, PLOTE leader grievances of the people in the ing the TMVP will not be allowed With Compliments Dharmalingam Siddharthan and Eastern Province and the NGOs to contest the Eastern Province EPRLF-Pathmanabha Wing Gen- working in the region. elections to be held later this year. TAMIL GUARDIAN Wednesday August 29, 2007 3 NEWS Sri Lanka’s disappearances continue NEARLY six thousand outstand- of President Mahinda Rajapakse. ing cases of enforced disappear- In a report titled "Return to ances in Sri Lanka are being War - Human Rights Under reviewed by the United Nations Siege", the New York based Hu- Working Group on Enforced or man Rights Watch earlier this Involuntary Disappearances, acc- month put the number of disap- ording to Amnesty International.