Government rejects ceasefire offer unilateral Tamil Tigers

New Delhi, April 26, 2009. - The Government of Sri Lanka did not take half an hour today or reject a cease-fire announcement of the Tamil Tigers, which is produced in full visit by a UN envoy and hours after the Sri Lankan Army to snatch his junior guerrilla stronghold.
"The LTTE (Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam) is not in a position to ask or demand anything. Intend to declare a cease-fire as long ago have sunk the knee, "Efe said by telephone from Colombo Sri Lankan Foreign Secretary, Palitha Kohona.
The guerrillas had announced in a statement minutes before a unilateral ceasefire and an end to offensive operations in northeastern Sri Lanka, where he is surrounded by the army in a small coastal strip along with tens of thousands of civilians.
"Given the unprecedented humanitarian crisis and in response to calls by the UN, European Union, the Governments of the United States, India and others, the LTTE announced a unilateral ceasefire. All offensive operations will cease with immediate effect, "said the guerrillas in the note.
On Saturday, the LTTE had denounced a situation of "starvation" to "165,000" people in the areas under their control, but the UN estimates that there are actually some 50,000 Sri Lankan Government and the estimates are between 15,000 and 20,000.
And today, the guerrillas warned that "starvation" imminent, accusing the government of deliberately blocking food supplies and medicines and continually attacking civilians trapped in rebel territory.
Complaints, however, that were described by Kohona as a "cynical effort" aimed at UN Undersecretary for Humanitarian Affairs John Holmes, who arrived last night to the island to check the situation of civilians affected by conflict.
Holmes today called "urgent" the LTTE to abandon their weapons and enable the output of civilians, and urged the Government to limit the use of heavy weaponry in its offensive against the guerrillas.
"We need a new humanitarian pause to get aid and aid workers in the combat zone," the official was quoted by the Ada Derana TV channel.
The army launched on Monday a bloody offensive that resulted in the move to government areas of around 110,000 civilians housed in camps by the Government for that purpose in the north of the country under very precarious conditions.
"They have been arrested and are in concentration camps where they are subjected to torture in violation of all international conventions. Not allowed to return home this population. Some are used as human shields, "the LTTE.
Holmes, who has defended a "pause" in the conflict and access to the areas of humanitarian personnel, is scheduled to travel to Vavuniya (north) to verify "in situ" the situation of civilians, Efe said UN spokesman in the country, Gordon Weiss.
In recent days have increased diplomatic pressure and international concern about the fate of those trapped in the combat zone, but the Sri Lankan government seems determined to finish the LTTE militarily, fighting for more than 25 years to get a independent state for the Tamil minority.
A few hours before the announcement of the guerrillas, the army said in fact the penultimate making people in rebel hands, Valayarmadam, and the capture of 23 suspected guerrillas, the "rescue" of about 700 civilians and killed 12 rebels in a naval battle.
"They have about 500 guerrillas, who also dressed as civilians so as not to distinguish. They are just 6 square kilometers, "said Efe by telephone military spokesman Udaya Nanayakkara.
Convinced of his victory, the Government today also rejected a request from U.S., EU, ​​Japan and Norway, the so-called "Tokyo Quartet" - to offer an amnesty to the guerrillas, who asked to surrender to a third party.
"There will be no amnesty for the LTTE. They will have to surrender or face removal by the Sri Lankan forces, "he was quoted by different means the Secretary of Defense Gotabhaya Rajapaksa.
In a very different side, the combat strategy is seen by analysts as one of the keys to the overwhelming victory today was the ruling Alliance People United for Freedom (UPFA) in regional elections in the West-including the capital, Colombo.

Sri Lanka celebrates independence with 52 civilians killed in fighting in north

New Delhi, February 4, 2009. - The United Nations denounced the killing of 52 civilians in the fierce battles that occur in northern Sri Lanka, a country that celebrates its independence today embarked on a violent military offensive against Tamil guerrillas weakened.
"At least 52 civilians have died in attacks recorded last night at the Suranthapuram sector. We are awaiting more details, "he told Efe by telephone UN spokesman in Sri Lanka, Gordon Weiss.
Weiss also reported a cluster bomb attack against Puthukudiyirippu hospital, which has been bombing since last Sunday and is close to several areas of combat between the army and the LTTE (Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam).
At the moment it is unknown whether there have been casualties in this latest attack, while in the registered until Monday, according to the Red Cross, at least twelve civilians have been killed and 30 others were injured and the bombs have damaged kitchens, church, the flag of women and children and the operating room.
"We believe that civilians have started to leave the center in search of a safe place. We are waiting to know if there are more dead in this last attack, "he told Efe by telephone the Red Cross spokeswoman, Sarasi Wijeratne.
While all eyes point to the responsible Army, a military spokesman declined to Efe that the attacks against the hospital have been the work of the Ceylonese aviation, in line with the official government version, which says not to act against civilian targets.
"We have never used or have cluster bombs. We know that violates international Efe said spokesman Udaya Nanayakkara. Regarding Suranthapuram there fighting against the guerrillas. In any case, the dead would guerrillas dressed as civilians. "
This Sunday expired within 48 hours set by the Government to the civilians who remain in LTTE areas entering a security zone as the "only way" to be safe during the fighting with the army facing guerrillas.
Since late 2007, the Army has embarked on a powerful offense that has allowed him to major guerrilla strongholds and the bulk of its territory to go around in a forest area of 200 square kilometers in the northeast.
That achievement was welcomed by the Sri Lankan president, Mahinda Rajapaksa, who attended today the military parade held in Colombo to mark the anniversary of independence, obtained in 1948 from the hands of the British Empire.
"I trust that within a few days decisively defeat the terrorist force that many said was invincible," Rajapaksa said in his address to those attending the parade, including military's top leaders.
"We managed to almost completely defeat the cowardly forces of terror that kept frightened our nation. (...) Our heroic Armed Forces have given us the opportunity to celebrate the anniversary of independence free from the shadow of terrorism," he added.
Your Executive is facing, however, a growing international pressure to spare the civilian population caught in a war zone, Sri Lanka estimated that 120,000 people compared to the 250,000 estimated by international organizations.
Since the beginning of the war in 1983 the Tamil Tigers open against the state, have died in the Indian Ocean island nearly 100,000 victims of ethnic conflict, and hundreds of thousands are displaced.
Given the precarious situation of the Tamil Tigers, the United States, European Union, Japan and Norway yesterday urged the rebels to lay down their arms and negotiate with the government to the civil war, to avoid further bloodshed.
The LTTE remains under the control of small urban and Puthukudiyirippu Visuamadu, in January after losing the strategic Elephant Pass, the town of Kilinochchi, the de facto capital-and the town of Mullaitivu, which was his last great bastion.
The "tigers" Tamil struggle to proclaim an independent state in the north and east of the island, where ethnicity has a major presence in front of the Sinhalese majority in the country.

Two kings in Lanka

The historical poem "Mahavamsa", a count of eight centuries the kings of Sri Lanka, includes the legendary fighting the Sinhalese king against a king Dutugamunu said Tamil usurper Elara, who had seized the north after invading the island from India with his troops. In battle, Dutugamunu stood before his enemy and the two fought on the backs of their elephants, until the Sinhalese mortally wounded with a dart at Elara, older and less agile.

"The water tank is red red with the blood of the dead," cries the poem about the battle. Of that history has been more than 2,100 years, but Dutugamunu is today one of the most beloved by the nationalist elements of the Sinhalese majority, which dominates the state in the Indian Ocean island. In Sri Lanka keeps running blood. And it's no secret that its President, Mahinda Rajapaksa, dreams of emulating the legendary Dutugamunu, in view of the military surge has brought to its knees in the north to the Tamil Tigers.

"If there were civilians there, we would soon destroy even a day," replies the other end of the line military spokesman in Sri Lanka, Udaya Nanayakkara. In the past year and a half, the troops have conquered a territory larger than the province of Seville, about 14,800 square kilometers and have cornered the Tamil Tigers (LTTE) in a jungle in the northeast corner of Sri Lanka.

But his successful offensive, supported by an overwhelming superiority of arms and an army 15 times more numerous than the guerrillas, now faces the barrier humanitarian aid organizations and various powers remind the Government: UN says that in recent guerrilla strongholds there are 250,000 civilians trapped and helpless before the government aircraft bombing, fighting and alleged incessant pressures-and-shots of the guerrillas to not flee the last areas under their control.

"We can not give a deadline, because we have to minimize the harm caused to civilians," Nanayakkara said. That is also the Sri Lankan government's official version, but so far the factor has not stopped previous civil progress. And the standalone versions are very nice: the UN spokesman in the country, Gordon Weiss, last week accused the army of a slaughter of 52 civilians died. Reason for the hawks in the government calling for the evacuation of foreign aid: the witnesses are at risk because they pose a risk.

"We have about 20 workers in the field, but I can not specify where they are. Some are with patients, others have been displaced. We are concerned about hygiene, shelter, medicine. Since late January has not been possible to carry humanitarian aid to war zones, "says the Red Cross spokeswoman, Sarasi Wijeratne. His is the only organization authorized by the contenders to operate.

The antipathy of both sides for the standalone versions crystallizes in the difficult working conditions faced by the Red Cross in its relief efforts to civilians or banning reporters access to the battlefields. In the environment outweigh the threats and murder against journalists, as the famous case of editor Lasantha Wickramatunga. Critical of the government and aware of his danger, Wickramatunga, shot his way to work on January 8, left ready for a devastating article that was published after his death:

Others walked, he wrote in reference to President Mahinda Rajapakasa-in the shadow of death that your Presidency has been for the freedom they once fought hard. You can never forget that my death took place before your eyes. As anguished as I know you'll also know that you will have no choice but to forgive my murderers. "

"It's just another murder," he later told the BBC the defense secretary, Gotabhaya Rajapaksa (blood brother of the president). He himself, considered one of the toughest defenders of the final solution against the guerrillas, was the subject of an assassination attempt by the LTTE. As was the current chief of staff Ceylon, Sarath Fonseka, who heads the Army operations.

The offense of Fonseka and Rajapaksa clan has so far had an undoubted success: the LTTE has shifted from controlling large swathes of eastern and coastal north where the Tamils ​​have more presence, to be cornered in an area of ​​140 square kilometers in Mullaitivu jungle areas, the historic feud that has always retreated when things against the Army got rough.

But things look bad for the guerrillas, worse than other times, according to the Army, the LTTE has only 600 guerrillas "in direct control disposal", which are surrounded by some 50,000 soldiers covering all sides. He even speculates the possible sea escape their supreme leader, Velupillai Prabhakaran, as his old hideouts fall one after another in the hands of the troops.

The Tamil Tigers are aware of its obvious military inferiority, so his strategy so far has been based on as much as possible to resist the advance and retreat of the troops taking with civilians when their positions were untenable. Using this technique, limiting their losses, they say, have so far lost their fiefs main their de facto capital, Kilinochchi, the strategic Elephant Pass and Mullaitivu town.

The strategy has the support of one of its most experienced wings: the division of advertising, communications expert and counter-information from sites like Tamilnet, in English, or Puthinam, in Tamil, with trying to attract the attention of the diaspora and the international community to achieve a cease-fire or mediation. These days, the Tamil media are recreated in attacks against hospitals, shooting at civilians and, in short, the word "genocide."

In this beautiful island of India hanging on maps and in the offices, the indictment raises old ghosts in the minds of the Tamil community. Comprise 18 percent of the population, or approximately two million people (no reliable census) but have seen since independence the state was built by the Sinhalese majority following exclusionary criteria and even discriminatory. A widely cited example is the declaration of Sinhala as the sole official language.

So the guerrillas underpins their messages with references to discrimination, genocide. And yet, apart from that there is no independent verification of their claims, a possible mediation of the international community or a ceasefire are proving difficult. Mainly because the Government of Sri Lanka feel too close to military victory as a carrot to accept different, but also because India, the main regional power, rubs his hands with the possibility of Prabhakaran's head, responsible for the murder of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi.

But the pressure on the government increases. India, which provides a quiet supply weapons to the island can not afford to support Rajapaksa too openly because this would earn the wrath of its own Tamil population, 66 million people who share culture and traditions with their "brothers" of the north Sri Lanka. And the United States, the European Union Japan and Norway have requested a temporary ceasefire to allow trapped civilians to flee. Rajapaksa even received a call from the UN secretary general, Ban Ki Moon, who asked him to stop the fighting a few hours. "Thank you for your interest, sir, but it is not possible," Rajapaksa said.

The government estimate, the coffins of soldiers arriving each month to Colombo, the humanitarian crisis or possible international scolding are a price worth paying: for the first time in decades, Rajapaksa has managed to convince the population that is possible to sweep the guerrillas militarily, who at 25 years of existence is one of the bloodiest organizations worldwide and has kept the country divided in two with his violent challenge.

Since the beginning of the war in 1983 almost 100,000 people have died, as told by phone the Minister of Minorities, Dev Gunasekara, between sporadic outbreaks of ethnic violence, military actions or attempts suicide Division of the guerrillas, the Tigers Black, who was photographed with its supreme leader before going to certain death and dragging with them you get in your way.

Tamil guerrillas like to cultivate the mystique of the revolution: its symbol is a roaring tiger uniform and go as if they were. With the uniform, get a cyanide pill to be swallowed as if capturados.Cuentan-or had-with an air force (a couple of Czech-made aircraft) and a Armada.Hasta this offensive the army, had set up a mini de facto state hospitals, police, courts and customs of their own.

And at the same time maintaining discipline among their ranks with an iron hand and fed with a striking loyalty marketing attention (to sell patriotic songs online), thanks in part to funds raised by contributions from the powerful Tamil diaspora in abroad, where they developed a powerful system of client connections that go from Paris to Toronto and was hit hard from 11-S in New York.

Prabhakaran has shown himself always offensive disregard of human rights. Militant from the origin of the guerrillas, has committed several murders he has ordered another as the Rajiv Gandhi mentioned and is wanted by Interpol for multiple counts. Dryness gives an idea of ​​the expulsion order of 80,000 Muslims living in the Tamil areas, who set a deadline (completed) within 24 hours. They left with nothing.

In its relentless race for the independence of the Tamil minority and establish itself as the unique voice of ethnicity in Sri Lanka, Prabhakaran has not hesitated to eliminate its political opponents, near or far-, using child soldiers, and to resort to attacks suicide or shot in the neck to end any dissent or threat.

So capture the Tamil leader would head to crown the best military offensive Rajapaksa. It would be a blow, the total defeat and a violent symbolic strikes a Elara Dutugamunu stripped of his former righteousness. But when the Sinhalese king key will end the dart to the guerrillas, will the real challenge: making the Tamils ​​feel comfortable in Sri Lanka.

It is not easy. For the next day, the government is preparing for several detention camps to house Tamil refugees, similar to others that languish Muslims. In the Tamil area, the LTTE has dominated political life until the point where military to dismantle a vacuum will probably dangerous to the community, which will be disorganized. For the Tamils, the challenge will be to build a political movement away from violence.

Put another way, depend on their ability to adapt to the day after, but also the hitherto nonexistent compassion and magnanimity of Rajapaksa, when the blood stops flowing.

As if the president lacked will, history offers clues: despite its defeat, the invader King Elara went down in history as a righteous king and respected, who managed to ensure consistency throughout their subjects regardless of their ethnicity. After defeat in the battlefield, Dutugamunu himself regretted his action and ordered the fallen king cremated with honors. The pain was so great that he ordered to build a mound. "He never knew the joy, remembering the destruction of both his enemies and his own soldiers," the "Mahavamsa". Let's see.

Maoist rebels kills 49 police in the biggest attack of the year

New Delhi, 15 March 2007. - The Maoist guerrillas in India today ended the lives of 49 policemen in a violent assault against a detachment in the central region of Chatisgarh, which is the biggest rebel attack on what this year.
The attack took place at 02.15 am local time (20.45 GMT Wednesday) about 525 kilometers from the capital of the region, Raipur, ranked Rani Bodli, where there were 24 troops from the Army Corps of the region and other 55 members of the Special Police, who are actually villagers in support tasks.
A total of 15 members of the Army Corps and 34 Special Police officers were killed and 12 personnel of security forces were wounded, as reported in the regional parliament Chatisgarh Governor, Ram Vichar.
The position of the security forces were in a jungle area of difficult access within a district, Dantewada, badly beaten by the Maoists, known in India as "Naxalites" because they rely on the student movement "Naxalbari", the 70's.
"About 500 armed Naxalites attacked the police station with grenades and molotov cocktails, and opened fire indiscriminately," Efe reported by telephone the inspector general of police in the area of Bastar, RK Vij.
After going around the place and kill its defenders advantage that most of them slept, guerrillas seized their weapons and undermined the surrounding area, which has hampered the rescue of the bodies.
"There were about 80 policemen on the job, and 13 of them have been taken to hospital," said Vij.
Dantewada district in the south, has become the epicenter of violence by the guerrillas since the regional government contributed to the establishment of anti-Maoist movement called "Campaign for Peace" (Salwa Judum), which enrolled about 50,000 villagers.
In fact, speaking of the "Special Police Officers", in reality the authorities refer to the local tribal youth, including girls, who receive a monthly salary of 1,500 rupees (25 euros) as payment for help security forces in operations against the rebels.
Although the Maoist guerrillas often operates in twelve Indian regions, their attacks usually take place on a small scale, as evidenced by the murder last March 5, national deputy Sunil Mahato along with two of his bodyguards in neighboring Jharkhand.
In Chatisgarh, the Naxalites have been committed in the past two years 1,187 acts of violence, but only the attack committed on 17 July 2006 against Errabore refugee camp, which killed 60 people, had the entity of attack Today, India PTI news agency reported.
The region of Chatisgarh, undeveloped, poverty has one of the reasons why many young people in rural areas embrace guerrilla activity, whose origins are linked but the university movement.
Initially, the Maoist guerrilla movement had a powerfully with students of the Indian state of Bengal, and only later developed in rural and impoverished areas of the states of central and eastern India, where about 6,000 people have died due to violence.
The guerrillas, grouped in the Communist Party of India (Maoist), took its name from the Bengali village "Naxalbari", where in 1967 there was a violent rebellion based on the ideas of Mao.
Considered by the Indian state as "terrorists", the Naxalite guerrillas maintain an ideology that runs from the struggle to establish an independent Maoist state in the east and center of the country, to an alleged collaboration with international armed movements and the secret services of Pakistan.
"The notion that a Naxalite hates his country is idiotic. He is someone who loves his country more than the rest of us, so it feels more annoying than others when it is corrupted. Not a bad citizen who commits crimes. It is a good citizen driven to despair, "says Abhay Naxalite in his blog.