Tigers feast on innocent lives
The terrible blood lust of the LTTE has claimed the lives of
64 civilians in the North Central Province and underscored the terror
group's brutal intention of plunging Sri Lanka into a State of bedlam.
We have here further evidence that the LTTE is not at all concerned
about a negotiated end to our conflict. It seems to be savagely clinging
to the notion that it could divide Sri Lanka by continuing to spill
innocent blood.
We vehemently decry these demonic designs of the LTTE and ardently
join our voices to that of President Mahinda Rajapaksa in calling on the
people to remain calm and collected in the face of these bloody,
provocative acts of the Tigers.
We fully agree with the President's reading of the Tiger brutality as
being aimed at provoking communal violence. Our fervent wish is that the
people would not fall for the machinations of the LTTE but continue to
practise the virtues of tolerance and goodwill.
Meanwhile, it is all too clear that the LTTE is not having peace on
its mind. Its answer to the steady restraint shown by the State and the
people is more and more murderous acts. The Keabethigollewa bloodletting
is the worst such show of force by the Tigers against civilians since
the installation of the CFA in February 2002. Clearly, the Tigers are
growing increasingly desperate and wild.
Does not the world community, including, of course, the Co-Chairs,
see here an LTTE which is virulently opposed to anything approaching a
negotiated end to our conflict? Don't they see that it is the LTTE and
LTTE alone which is opposing peace to the last breath of their brutal
bodies? If so, they need to collar the Tiger and make it see sense.
The LTTE is spurning the cooperation extended by the State and is
hell bent on sowing the seeds of discord and division in Sri Lanka. The
snuffing out of more than 60 innocent lives proves this beyond dispute.
This point is further established by the LTTE's recent refusal to
talk to the Lankan State's representatives at the proposed Oslo
discussions revolving around SLMM - linked issues. Hardly a week after
rebuffing the State's earnest moves to keep the possibility of
face-to-face talks with them open, the Tigers have run amok with blood
and gore on their minds.
The world should now be in a position to take in all facts of the
Lankan case.
The State has gone more than the extra mile to accommodate the Tigers
but the latter are simply indifferent to their responsibilities.
The inference is unavoidable that increasingly tough measures should
be used on the LTTE to enlighten it.
The EU has joined scores of major States in outlawing the LTTE. We
hope more and more States and global actors would join in this process
of banning the LTTE and showing it the door.
The use of the "big stick" in this fashion would perhaps convince the
Tigers that they can no longer turn a blind eye on what is expected of
them. President Rajapaksa has vowed to continue with his efforts at
reviving the peace process and we hope the world would see the nobility
of his motives.
However, this is all the more reason why the Tigers must be brought
to heel. |
The arrest of LTTE activists in Britain
Dushy Ranetunge in London speaks to the key
witness
As reported in the Sunday Observer, three LTTE
activists were arrested by the British police late in the evening on
June 8, outside the premises of the anti LTTE, Tamil Broadcasting
Corporation (TBC). Among the activists arrested was Nadarajah
Sethurupan who allegedly runs the website with links to the LTTE
intelligence wing. The LTTE is a listed terrorist organisation in
the United Kingdom.
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Terracotta and Mrs Thatcher
My last visit in China, before returning to
Beijing, was to Xian, site of the famous terracotta warriors. They
were created over 2000 years ago for the tomb of Shi Huang Ti, who
unified China and built the Great Wall...
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Dhammacarini vege-fair: A Gourmet's Wonderland
I remember attending a dinner party hosted by a
friend more than two decades ago. The invitation was for a night
with Robert Knox and the wording was in 'ye olde English'. It was
quaint, original and memorable.
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Panic Nation - Chapter One:
Whose opinion can we trust?
Frederick II of Germany wrote in the thirteenth
century: One ought not to believe anything, save that which can be
proven by nature and the force of reason.' His views were echoed in
the sixteenth century by the French essayist Michael de Montaigne:
'I would have every man write of that which he knows'.
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Finland - where well-known mobile phone was born
What comes into your mind when you hear the name
'Nokia'? Of course it is one of the world's most well known mobile
phones with very attractive features, which connects people. Believe
it or not, Nokia is a historical town in Finland.
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