NA: Timeline (Terrorist Activities) -2009

Army troops conducted search and clear operations in the Putukudirippu and Putukulam areas of Wanni and recovered five hand grenades and 3000 rounds of FNC ammunition on December 1, reports Sri Lanka Army. Read less...

On the advice of President Mahinda Rajapakse the Government has taken action to grant the IDPs freedom of movement from December 1. Accordingly, 22,443 IDPs have gone away from their welfare villages. Out of this figure 9,778 have come back. "Any person can leave the welfare villages and return as they wish. No action will be taken against the persons who wont come back to IDP Villages. The freedom is not limited to 15 days," Minister Samarasinghe noted. The Minister rejected certain media reports that Security Forces personnel will go after the IDPs if they don’t come back. "It is up to them to decide whether to return or not. What the Government did was to grant the freedom for them to move away as they wish. However, the Government is carrying out the welfare activities in welfare villages further as usual," Samarasinghe added. Read less...

Troops during a search operation in the Meegasooriyapura area of Trincomalee District recovered one hand grenade. Read less...

KP was on Interpol’s most wanted list for various crimes, including arms smuggling and criminal conspiracy. Pathmanathan was one of the top LTTE operatives and the chief procurer of arms for the organization. He ran a global network of LTTE offices which were engaged in weapons procurement, logistics and money laundering operations. Initially based in Malaysia, where he set up a shipping company in 1987, he was forced to move out after the Malaysian Special Branch cracked down on LTTE activities in the country in 1990, culminating in the seizure of an LTTE ship the same year. KP then moved to Thailand, which became a safe haven for the LTTE. There he established himself as the head of banking, procurement and shipping for the LTTE. He is believed to have obtained citizenship of Thailand. In Thailand, KP set up and led the “KP Department”, the procurement arm of the LTTE, the oldest international wing of the organisation. He was responsible for equipping the LTTE cadres with a modern day arsenal which enabled them to challenge the Security Forces. KP was arrested by the Intelligence on August 6, 2009. Read less...

During search and clear operations in the Akkarayankulam, Kumulamunai, Muththuvinayagapuram, Ampalavanpokkanai and Putukudirippu areas of Wanni recovered 112 anti-personnel mines, three hand grenades, one Rocket Propelled Grenade (RPG) and one Arul bomb on December 2, according to a Sri Lanka Army report. Read less...

The Government of Sri Lanka seized three Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) ships overseas and is in the process of bringing them to the country, a news report revealed, according to Colombo Page. The ships are expected to arrive in Colombo soon, The Island said in a report on December 2. All information with regard to the ships had been disclosed to the Security Forces (SFs) by the recently arrested LTTE's chief arms procurer Kumaran Pathmanathan alias KP. Interpol has helped the SFs to act on information provided by KP, sources said. The ships were known to have been utilized for transportation of arms, ammunition, and human smuggling in the past by the overseas LTTE outfit. Sri Lanka Navy has taken charge of the three vessels and they are expected to reach Sri Lankan waters under tight security during the next couple of weeks, the report said, quoting highly placed Government officials. Sources have refused to divulge further information. Information about local contacts of the LTTE, provided by KP, was being verified, sources added. The seizure is considered as the first step in the Government's endeavour to confiscate LTTE's overseas assets. Sri Lanka Navy managed to destroy 10 LTTE vessels during war time which had been engaged in arms smuggling. Read less...

The Government will take over all the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) property and assets in the possession of individuals and groups in Sri Lanka and abroad, Daily News reported. The LTTE has 14 ships, five of them belonging to the self-appointed LTTE chief Kumaran Pathmanathan alias KP now in custody. Addressing the media at the Media Centre for National Security on December 2, Defence Affairs spokesman Minister Keheliya Rambukwella said the Government Intelligence has identified properties of the LTTE in various parts of the world. Action has been taken to confiscate these LTTE properties held by individuals and groups. “The Government has sought the Attorney General’s advice to take action to take ownership of the LTTE properties,” he added. It is known that the LTTE possesses 14 ships and five of them belonged to KP. The Government had taken steps to bring three ships belonging to KP. “More than 600 accounts of KP were frozen by the Government and it is in the process of probing LTTE financing channels,” the Minister added. Read less...

Army troops conducted search and clear operations in the Nanthikadal, Neththikulam, Periyathampane, Mankerni, Adampan and Mannar areas of Wanni on December 3 and recovered one 81-mm mortar base plate, one 60-mm booby trap, 79 anti-personnel mines, five hand grenades, three 81-mm booby traps, 4000 rounds of F&C ammunition, one T-56 weapon, one magazine, 29 rounds of T-56 ammunition and UXO's (Unexploded Ordnance, according to a Sri Lanka Army report. Read less...

Disaster Management and Human Rights Minister Mahinda Samarasinghe said that a total of 169,938 Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) have been resettled in their native places within a short period providing them along with the provision of health, shelter, sanitary, education co-operative, water, electricity and other facilities in their villages, reports Daily News. "As a result of the speedy resettlement program the number of IDPs in welfare villages has come down to 112,062 from 282,000," the Minister told a media briefing on December 4. Most probably by December 31 the Government will resettle a large number of IDPs out of the remaining or else complete resettlement activities, Minister Samarasinghe added. At present 105,664 IDPs are in Vavuniya, 1,738 IDPs in Jaffna, 2,298 IDPs in Trincomalee. Approximately 2,360 IDPs are receiving treatment in several hospitals. A total number of 112,062 IDPs are yet to be resettled. Read less...

The resettlement process in a way depend on the on-going de-mining activities. The Government has already put into operation 24 de-mining machines. It purchased 19 de-mining machines out of 24 while the UN has offered five machines. In de-mining activities priority has been given to public roads, common places and villages earmarked for speedy resettlement. Accordingly, public places, villages and many roads including A9, A32 roads and railway tracks are now free from land mines. Read less...

A special team from Kandy Police on information conducted a joint search operation with Army troops in the Dangeliyadda area and recovered 125 kilograms of C4 explosives buried in the area. Read less...

Army troops conducted search and clear operations in the Puthukkudiyiruppu area of Wanni on December 6 and recovered nine T-56 weapons, five T-56 magazines, one Multi Purpose Machine Gun (MPMG) tripod, one Sub Machine Gun (SMG) part, eight Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) photo albums, one LTTE document, one I-com set, one radio set, three antennas, one hand mike, eight CDMA phones, one CDMA phone charger, two CDMA receivers and one modem card, according to a Sri Lanka Army report. Read less...

Police intelligence service personnel serving in the Kumalawadi area of Batticaloa District recovered two T-56 weapons, three hundred and 10 rounds of T-56 ammunition, 10 T-56 magazines and two knives on December 6, according to a Sri Lanka Army report. Read less...

The troops in the Uppuvelli area of Trincomalee District recovered two claymore mines. Read less...

A Marxist group of Tamil militants with connections to the Palestinian Liberation Organisation and Cuba is preparing to mount a new insurgency in Sri Lanka. The People’s Liberation Army (PLA) was founded in eastern Sri Lanka in August and has vowed to launch attacks against Government and military targets unless its demands for a separate Tamil homeland are met. “This war isn’t over yet,” Commander Kones, head of the PLA’s Eastern District military command, told The Times during a night meeting in a safe house in the east of the country last week. “There has been no solution for Tamils since the destruction of the LTTE [Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam] in May. So we have built and organised the PLA and are ready to act soon. Our aim is a democratic socialist liberation of the northeast for a Tamil Eelam [the desired Tamil state].” Kones, a nom de guerre, claimed that the PLA had 300 active members and expected to recruit 5,000 volunteers from the 280,000 Tamil civilians recently freed from detention camps. He said that the PLA, commanded by a 10-man committee, was an entirely separate organisation from the LTTE, but said that former LTTE cadres would be able to join the organisation provided that they swore their allegiance to the PLA’s political aims. “There are former LTTE members in the PLA now,” he said. “But the LTTE was an extremist organisation that fought only for itself rather than the people’s needs. It is totally destroyed now and I don’t worry about it. We are socialist ideologues and we are trying to draw different Tamil groups together for a people’s struggle, a people’s war.” The PLA includes in its ranks several experienced insurgents. Commander Kones, now in his forties, had himself been given guerrilla training at a camp in Uttar Pradesh, India, in 1983, where his trainers included fighters from the Palestinian Liberation Organisation (PLO). “We still have a relationship with the PLO, as well as Cuba and Indian Maoist groups,” he said, adding, “They fight for their rights just as we do.” During later action against Government Forces in eastern Sri Lanka he was imprisoned and tortured, before escaping from the country to live in Europe. “We are much more politically skilled than the LTTE ever were and know how to avoid the ‘terrorist’ label that they acquired,” Kones said. “Our enemy is simply the Government here, and we fight just for Tamil rights. We are not against the international community. Indeed, we want them to support us in pressurising the Sri Lankan Government,” he added. Kones said that he had no intention of trying to emulate the LTTE’s style of warfare, but suggested a more asymmetric strategy involving attacks by widely dispersed PLA cells. However, he added that his targets would include economic and administrative centres, as well as military forces. Other PLA insiders said that one of their likely first fights would be with groups of former LTTE cadres led by ‘Colonel’ Karuna [Karuna split from the LTTE ranks in 2004 and later joined the Government, but still holds influence in eastern Sri Lanka.] “We are getting stronger by the day, much stronger than any other group,” Kones said, adding, “The day of action is close.” Read less...

Army intelligence in Mandaveli recovered two T-56 weapons, six T-56 magazines, two claymore mines, six hand grenades, 10 electric detonators and 40 kilograms of TNT explosives while they had been kept hidden in a structure. Read less...

During search and clear operations in the Oddusuddan, Ussan, Iranamadu, Visuamadukulam and Akkarayankulam areas of Wanni troops on December 7 recovered 519 anti-personnel mines (APMs), three 60-mm mortar tubes, three 60-mm mortar bipods, three 60-mm mortar base plates, one 81-mm mortar tube, six Rocket Propelled Grenades (RPGs), five RPG chargers and two hand grenades, reports Sri Lanka Army. Read less...

The Palestinian Ambassador in Sri Lanka, Anwar Al- Agha, on December 7 denied reports that a link exists between the People’s Liberation Organization (PLO) in Palestine and a new Tamil armed group called the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) in the East of Sri Lanka, according to Daily Mirror. Agha said that he was not even aware of the existence of such a group, and that it is not possible for such ties to exist. His observations follow a report which appeared in The Times hinting that an organization called the Peoples Liberation Army (PLA) in the East of Sri Lanka had the support of the well known PLO, who are active in Palestine, as well as another country. “We have had strong ties with the legitimate Government of Sri Lanka and have supported the Government in defeating terrorism and still support the Government in their efforts,” he emphasized. Read less...

The Trincomalee Police following information recovered one T-56 weapon, one magazine and twenty-eight rounds of T-56 ammunition from the Sinnapuram area of Batticaloa District on December 7, according to a Sri Lanka Army report. Read less...

Daily News reports that a large stock of C4 explosives and arms were recovered by Police and the Army in two separate locations in the Batticaloa area. Kandy Police Intelligence Unit launched a search operation in the Dangeliyadda area and unearthed 125 kilograms of C4 explosives following information provided by a Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) suspect, Police said. Read less...

Sri Lanka Government spokesman for National Security and Defence Minister Keheliya Rambukwella speaking to Daily Mirror said that the country was on a reconciliation course and as such it was likely that groups of this nature would exist and added that the matter would be dealt with “politically and administratively”. Military spokesman Brigadier Udaya Nanayakkara stated that a matter of this nature needed to be backed by substantial evidence. Read less...

Sri Lanka Parliament on December 8 extended State of Emergency for another month with a majority of 74 votes. Read less...

Suresh Premachandran, the party’s MP for the Jaffna District told Daily Mirror that his party was awaiting responses from the two main presidential hopefuls on their stands regarding a political solution to the ‘Tamil national question’. Premachandran said that neither of them appeared to be clear about his position in this respect. “Troops continue to occupy certain public places in Jaffna and some hotels. They have to be removed immediately so that the people can live normal lives. We do not mind these troops being there if they are confined to barracks. Demilitarisation should take place in the post war era. Today, we see the IDPs being resettled in an ad hoc manner. The government does not have a proper road map for the resettlement,” he added. Asked for his comments on the progress of the negotiations between the TNA and the main presidential candidates, Premachandran said that there had been some positive responses. “We want to see what they can offer to the Tamil people in terms of a political solution. There are talks about the 13th Amendment. Nevertheless, it has been implemented sans Police and land powers. So why do they talk about the 13th Amendment?” he asked. Responding to a query about TNA MP M. K. Sivajilingam stressing the need for a common Tamil candidate, Premachandran said that a majority of the members had not been in favour of such an arrangement. “If the two main candidates do not respond positively to our demands, we shall have to look for other alternatives. Anyway most members are not in favour of fielding a common Tamil candidate. Sivajilingam has not discussed this with the party either,” he added. Read less...

The Mannar Police serving the beach area arrested three fishermen with five packets of gelignite sticks that can be used for production of explosives, adds Sri Lanka Army. Read less...

The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) said on December 8 that a political solution based on federalism was foremost among their conditions for supporting either of the two main candidates at the presidential election, according to Daily Mirror. The TNA leader R. Sampanthan has already held negotiations with President Mahinda Rajapakse and General Sarath Fonseka, but the party has not yet to decided on its final stand. Besides, the party, which has 22 Member of Parliaments (MPs) , has also asked for the speedy resettlement of the displaced civilians, the scaling down of troops stationed in the Jaffna peninsula, the removal of High Security Zones and the withdrawal of plans to set up military camps in the Wanni area. Read less...

Army troops conducted search and clear operations in the Manikkulam, Neththikulam, Periyathampane, Adampan and Kalamadukulam areas of Wanni on December 8 and recovered six Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) made Rangan mines, 37 anti-personnel mines (APMs), two Un-exploded Ordinance, two 81-mm mortar bombs, one hand grenade and 160 crackers, according to a Sri Lanka Army report. Read less...

Authoritative sources said that the three ships were believed to be among the LTTE fleet that was targeted by the SLN during September 2006 – October 2007 period. The SLN destroyed eight vessels in four separate operations on the high seas. Read less...

The Government said that most of the people associated with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) now held in detention will be released, ABC News reported on December 9. The secretary of the Ministry for Disaster Management and Human Rights, Rajiva Wijesinha, said of the 11,000 LTTE cadres, only 200 are being charged, adding, the rest are in rehabilitation for eventual return to society. "The vast majority we believe, even if they were involved in actual combat, were more people who were conscripted and forced to do so," he added. "And then there are girls who I think were just forced into a rather horrid life for a few months. I think that in the long run we believe very much that what you would call real hardcore Tigers are extremely few," he further added, saying, most of the LTTE cadres handed themselves in. Read less...

The Government said the process of returning people displaced by the conflict to their homes is well under way and will be completed by the end of January 2010. It also claimed the 130,000 people remaining in refugee camps enjoy complete freedom of movement and can leave at any time. Read less...

The Sri Lanka Navy brought three LTTE ships to the Sri Lankan waters. Sources told The Island that the Government had taken custody of the vessels following negotiations with foreign officials subsequent to information provided by the new LTTE leader Kumaran Pathmanthan alias KP, who had been in charge of the LTTE arms procurement network. Read less...

Troops found three hand grenades, three APMs, 87 rounds of 7.62-mm ammunition, one Jonny mine and one Rocket Propelled Grenade from the Echchalanpaththu, Kowiladi and Periyawadduwan areas. Read less...

Army troops conducted search and clear operations in the Puliyankulam, Nochchikulam, Periyathampane, Iluppukulam, Kurukkandal, Adampan, Kilinochchi and Puthukkudiyiruppu areas of Wanni found one shotgun, 60 rounds of T-56 ammunition, 92 anti-personnel mines, one anti-tank mine, 57 unexploded ordinances, 11 hand grenades, one T-56 weapon, one hundred and sixty eight 81-mm mortar bombs, 4600 rounds of 9-mm ammunition, 2800 rounds of 5.56-mm ammunition on December 10, reports Sri Lanka Army. Read less...

Authorities in Thailand arrested five people, including a Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) cadre, for producing and smuggling more than 300 fake European Union (EU) passports and other official European documents, officials said on December 11, according to Daily News. They said Police seized from the group more than 300 bogus passports, produced in Thailand but made to look like official documentation from 14 EU countries including Britain, France and Belgium. The Department of Special Investigation (DSI) said the suspects, all arrested since August 21, were 32-year-old Pakistani man Azad Said Giyani and a 35-year-old Sri Lankan man, known to be a LTTE cadre. A 43-year-old Thai woman was arrested for assisting them. A 38-year-old man from Myanmar was arrested on suspicion of producing the passports and a 28-year-old Thai woman is also being held for helping him. Read less...

In a statement the DSI said Thai authorities had also picked up a British national, Ahoor Rambarak Fathi, at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport on September 27, 2009, carrying 104 stolen genuine passports. Fathi, travelling under fake Swedish documents, had passports from Britain, Spain, France, Sweden and Russia, that had been smuggled into Thailand. "He (Fathi) confessed that he had trafficked stolen passports into Thailand more than 20 times," the statement said. The DSI said Thailand is a known hub for the trafficking of fake and stolen passports. Read less...

Army troops conducted search and clear operations in the Kodikamam, Periyathampane, Iluppakaddavai, Vishuamadu, Udayarkattukulam, Vellamullivaikkal and Putukudirippu areas of Wanni on December 12 and recovered 19 hand grenades, 90 anti-personnel mines, two un exploded ordinances, 1791 rounds of T-56 ammunition, 16 presser mines, 5050 rounds of FNC ammunition, 227 detonators, three T-56 weapons, two T-56 magazines, 96 Multi Purpose Machine Gun ammunition and one body armour, reports Sri Lanka Army. Read less...

Naval troops found a massive haul of weapons and ammunition from the Kayts area of Jaffna District on December 12, the Media Center for National Security reported, according to Colombo Page. Among the items recovered were 30 RPG bombs, 70 hand grenades, fourteen 60-mm mortar bombs, two commando mortar launchers and thousands of ammunition rounds of various calibers. Read less...

The leader of People’s Liberation Organization of Tamil Eelam (PLOTE) said in a press meet held on December 12 in the PLOTE office in Jaffna, “We are not preparing ourselves to launch another armed struggle. The accusations that we had abducted minors from Vavuniya camps are baseless.” He further said that after the talks held with President Mahinda Rajapakse his party has decided to support him in the forthcoming presidential election, sources in Jaffna said. Read less...

31,148 eligible Eezham Tamil Diaspora voters over 18 in France participated this weekend in the referendum to say yes or no to independent and sovereign Tamil Eelam and 30,936 of them said yes, reports pro-Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) Website Tamil Net. The postal votes permitted to interior areas of France are yet to be counted and is expected to be between 2,000 and 3,000. In the absence of any official statistics, Police estimates earlier placed the number of adult Eezham Tamils in France between 25,000 and 35,000. The referendum was organised by the formation committee of the country council of Eezham Tamils called "The House of Tamil Eelam," supported by 61 Eezham Tamil organisations in France and two NGOs, Mouvement de la Paix (Movement for Peace) and Mouvement contre le racisme et pour l'amitié entre les peuples (Movement Against Racism and for Friendship between Peoples). Read less...

Financial Times, on a follow-up article to October coverage on young Tamils, said that while the western crackdown on the LTTE’s financiers among the Diaspora, has created despondency among this often wealthy migrant community, the "clued-up second-generation migrants were turning to political lobbying," and that, "[t]hese young activists said the fight for Eelam, an independent Tamil homeland, was far from over." Read less...

On December 13, the troops recovered 85 anti-personnel mines, one M-16 weapon, one unexploded ordinance, 16 rounds of T-56 ammunition, 2500 SG ammunition, three I-com sets, seven hundred and ninety 9-mm pistol ammunition, one Bino, eight silver compasses, nine I-com antennas, 253 detonators, 200 Multi Purpose Machine Gun (MPMG) ammunition, three mobile antennas, One Central Processing Unit (CPU), 200 CDs, one uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS), 490 digital camera chips, one Cannon digital camera, one Casio digital camera, one Panasonic Digital camera, one computer mouse and one computer card from the Periyathampanai, Mankulam, Kilinochchi, Udayarkattukulam and Puthukkudiyiruppu areas of Wanni, reports Sri Lanka Army. Read less...

The Criminal Investigating Division (CID) on December 13 arrested the Finance Division head of the Tamil Rehabilitation Organisation (TRO), a Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) front organization, in Jaffna, according to The Island. He was arrested by a special team of officers in Chunnakam where he lived with his wife. Prior to his arrest he had lived in a welfare camp in Vavuniya for a few months and moved to Chunnakam a few weeks ago claiming his wife was pregnant. She had worked as a Samurdhi animator in Kilinochchi. The suspect has admitted to his interrogators that he transferred millions of rupees to the LTTE accounts from the TRO funds. He is alleged to have provided millions of rupees to the terrorist organization for its war effort. Investigations have revealed that he provided TRO funds to slain LTTE chief Velupillai Prabhakaran, its Political Head S. Thamilselvan, Bhanu and several key members. Military intelligence had earlier said there were at least 10,000 LTTE combatants and activists in the Internally Displaced Person (IDP) centres. They had crossed over to the army held terrain during the final stages of the war on terror. Among them were family members of top LTTE leaders, including Prabhakaran’s mother and father. Read less...

Troops continued their search and clear operations in the Kilinochchi and Visuamadukulam areas of Wanni and recovered one Improvised Explosive Device (IED), one claymore mine, four hand grenades, 20 Rocket Propelled Grenades (RPG), one T-56 weapon, six T-56 magazines, 380 rounds of T-56 ammunition, one pouch, three 60-mm mortar bombs, five 81-mm mortar bombs, two 120-mm mortar bombs, one 60-mm mortar base plate, seven anti-personnel mines, four kilograms of C-4 explosives, four booby traps made using claymore mines and one booby trap made of 120-mm mortar bomb on December 14, reports Sri Lanka Army. Read less...

During search and clear operations conducted in the Periyathampane, Sinna Pandiparichchan, Sugandipuram, Devapuram Iranamadu, Adampan, Mulliyavelli and Puthukkudiyiruppu areas of Wanni on December 15 the troops recovered huge cache of arms and ammunition, reports Sri Lanka Army. The recoveries included 168 anti-personnel mines, seven 60-mm mortar bombs, six 120-mm mortar bombs, thirty-four 81-mm mortar bombs, 11 Rocket Propelled Grenades (RPG), 260 RPG propellers, fifty 81-mm mortar chargers, one claymore mine weighing about 2.5 kilograms, five claymore mines of one kilogram each, three hundred and seven 81-mm Para bombs, 460 rounds of 12.7-mm ammunition, 750 litres of kerosene, 53 kilograms of C-4 explosives, 28 unidentified chemical bottles of three litres each, two liquid cyanide bottles containing two litres each, one unidentified chemical can with 20 litres, 10 unidentified chemical cans containing 1 litre, one kerosene can containing 5 litre, one gas cylinder, 85 acid cans containing 6 litres each, 13 acid cans containing 20 litres each, 12 acid cans containing 10 litres each, two nitric acid cans containing 30 litres each, 380 nitric acid cans containing 2.5 litres each, three hand grenades, one 5.56 weapon, one 5.56 magazine and 17 rounds of 5.56-mm ammunition. Read less...

A parliamentarian from the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) is to contest the presidential polls to be held in January 2010, reports Colombo Page. The Election Secretariat sources said TNA Jaffna parliamentarian M. K. Sivajilingam paid his deposit to contest the polls as an independent candidate. Sivajilingam earlier said that he will contest as an independent candidate if the TNA does not a field a presidential candidate. The Jaffna Member of Parliament opposes both candidates, incumbent President Mahinda Rajapakse and the former Chief of Defence Staff General Sarath Fonseka. The TNA, however, was divided on its decision whether to support the two main candidates, or to field a contender from the party. Sivajilingam a leading member of the Tamil Eelam Liberation Organization (TELO), was an ardent supporter of the vanquished terrorist outfit of LTTE. During the height of the war, he was in Chennai (India), after taking leave of absence from the Sri Lanka Parliament in October 2008. Read less...

Troops continued their search and clear operations in the Iranamadu, Adampan, Vendikurichchi and Puthukkudiyiruppu areas of Wanni on December 16 and recovered eight anti-personnel mines, three land mines, one hand grenade, one pistol, three magazines, one Passport, three photo albums and some Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) documents. Read less...

Army troops conducted search and clear operations in the Vavunikulam, Sinnapandiparichchan, Nochchikulam, Mundampi, Adampan and Kokavil areas of Wanni and recovered one 81-mm mortar bomb, two 60-mm mortar bombs, 160 anti-personnel mines, one anti-tank mine, eight Rocket Propelled Grenades (RPG) and eight hand grenades on December 17, reports Sri Lanka Army. Read less...

Police recovered 4200 rounds of 5.56-mm ammunition and 11200 rounds of T-56 ammunition from the Puthukkudiyiruppu West area. Read less...

Sri Lanka Transport Board recommenced the commuter transportation between Kandy and Jaffna on December 18 after a lapse of 26 years, Colombo Page reported. The first bus bound for Jaffna after the A-9 highway was opened left the Kandy bus stand at 3am (SLST), the Chief Minister of the Central Province Sarath Ekanayaka said. The commuter service between the two cities had been suspended for 26 years due to the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) terrorism in the North. Early reservations of seats in the Kandy-Jaffna buses are available for the commuters. Read less...

99.82 percent of 48,583 voters mandated independent and sovereign Tamil Eelam in the poll conducted in 31 centres across Canada on December 19, the pro-LTTE Website Tamil Net reported. Read less...

Troops conducted search and clear operations in the Vavuniya, Kevil, Maradamadu, Sinnapandiparichchan, Naddankandal, Mundampiddi, Adampan and Puthukkudiyiruppu areas of Wanni and recovered huge cache of arms and ammunition on December 19, reports Sri Lanka Army. The recoveries include fifty-nine 40-mm Rocket Propelled Grenades (RPG), seventeen 60-mm mortar fuses, 1369 rounds of Multi Purpose Machine Gun (MPMG) ammunition, 101 anti-personnel mines, 14 RPG bombs, 77 hand grenades, three T-56 weapons, 12 T-56 magazines, 3338 rounds of T-56 ammunition, four M72 x A3 weapons, 525 artillery fuses, one 60-mm mortar launcher barrel, one Motorola base station, 12 unidentified fuses, eight claymore mines, one claymore remote, twenty 60-mm mortar bombs, 750 rounds of 7.62 ammunition, one C90 weapon, two RPG chargers, six 12.7 ammunition boxes, 60 rounds of 12.7 ammunition with links, three I-com communication sets, two Yesu communication sets, one Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) jacket, nineteen 122-mm artillery rounds, eight kilograms of C-4 explosives, seven 81-mm mortar fuses, one bag containing artillery boosters, a stock of weapon body parts, one four litres kerosene oil can and one five litres diesel can . Read less...

The interview given by Sarath Fonseka to the Sunday Leader on December 13, 2009 wherein he alleges that three Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) leaders who came to surrender with white flags during the final stages of the battle were shot dead by ground troops has opened an United Nations (UN) probe into possible war crimes charges against the Heroic Forces, reports Daily News. The UN Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial, Summary or Arbitrary Executions Philip Alston in a letter to President Mahinda Rajapakse has demanded an explanation regarding the allegations made by Fonseka that the Defense Secretary has instructed the Commander of the 58th Brigade of the Sri Lanka Army to shoot those surrendering. The UN is inquiring particularly "the circumstances of the death of three representatives of the LTTE Balasingham Nadeshan, Seevaratnam Pulidevan and Ramesh, as well as members of their families, in the night of 17 to 18 May, 2009." In his letter, Alston says that the information that he has received are based on the allegations made by Sarath Fonseka in the above mentioned interview. He also says "accounts of journalists embedded with the SLA 58th Brigade confirm some of the alleged circumstances of the deaths of Nadeshan, Pulidevan and Ramesh and their families." Referring to "fundamental legal rules applicable to all armed conflicts under international humanitarian law and human rights law", particularly Article 5 of the Geneva Conventions of 1949, the Special Rapporteur has inquired about the accuracy of the allegations and demanded information and documentary proof in the event that the accusations are inaccurate. The letter also seeks information on the family members of Nadeshan, Pulidevan and Ramesh. Read less...

The Presidential Secretariat in a release said the Government is making a careful study of the UN Rapporteur’s letter, prior to a formal response, and any action that may be necessary. Read less...

Troops conducted search and clear operations in the Mannar, Pratibguard, Kalmadu, Akkarayankulam and Puthukkudiyiruppu areas of Wanni and recovered two hand grenades, one Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTF) pack, one Olive Green (OG) uniform, one OG cap, one black face mask, one leather ground sheet, one anti-personnel mine, three hundred and twenty-four 23-mm bombs, two magazines, two T-56 bayonets, one VCD player, one T-56 weapon, 30 rounds of T-56 ammunition, two LTTE flags, one LTTE uniform, one Cyanide capsule 36 pressure mines on December 20, reports Sri Lanka Army. Read less...

Troops recovered one T-56 weapon, one T-56 magazine and 22 rounds of T-56 ammunition during search operation in the Uppuweli and Pirapiddi areas of Trincomalee District on December 20, according to a Sri Lanka Army report. Read less...

On December 21, Army troops recovered one T-56 weapon from the Vinayagapuram area of Batticaloa District, Sri Lanka Army reported. Read less...

Princess Chrisanta, a cargo vessel formerly belonging to the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) was acquired by the Navy on December 21, Daily News reported. It was held in a foreign country and was acquired through information gained through the state intelligence service, on a directive by President Mahinda Rajapakse and Defence Secretary Gothabaya Rajapakse. The vessel was escorted into the Colombo harbor on December 21. It was brought to the harbor by Navy tug boats Nandimitra and Vijayabahu. Six Navy personnel, led by former Media Secretary to the Navy, K.P.K. Dassanayake took part in the exercise. It is believed that the vessel was to be used to aid the escape of LTTE leaders following heavy losses in the war. It has the capacity to carry one light helicopter. This is the largest of the eight LTTE vessels discovered or acquired by the Navy so far. The vessel, 90 meters in length and 16 meters in depth has an enormous cargo capacity of 5,000 metric tons. The vessel which is now a property of the Sri Lankan Navy will be used in the future by the Navy as well as in the country’s development process. It is currently fully operational, needing only a few minor adjustments. Navy Commander Vice Admiral Thisara Samarasinghe emphasized that the LTTE had a strong international shipping network and received much support from foreign countries. However following the battle over terrorism, an increasing number of countries have decided to join forces with Sri Lanka and this situation would continue in the future, he said. Read less...

The troops recovered 29 rounds of T-56 ammunition from the Kurundankal area of Anuradhapura District. Read less...

Three Sri Lankan Tamils in Melbourne in Australia are to plead guilty to charges of providing money to the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), according to Colombo Page. Aruran Vinayagamoorthy, 35, Sivarajah Yathavan, 38, and Arumugam Rajeevan, 43, of New South Walse, are to plead guilty to a single charge of providing money to the LTTE, their lawyers informed the Australian Supreme Court on December 21. In addition, Vinayagamoorthy would plead guilty to providing radio transmitters to the terrorists. The three men were arrested in a raid in May 2007 and charged of being members of a banned organization and providing financial support to the organization. The prosecutors have charged the men with several counts but later dropped most of the charges. They are pleading guilty to single count of providing money to a banned organization. Read less...

Troops conducted search and clear operations in the Karaweddi, Periyapandiparichchan, Sinnapandiparichchan, Nandankandal, Piramanakulam, Mannar, Mundampiddi, Akkarayankulam, Adampan, Murusamodai, Punagari, Andankulam and Wellamullivaikkal areas of Wanni and recovered one claymore mine, five meters long detonator code, 192 anti-personnel mines, four 120-mm mortar bombs, four 81-mm mortar bombs, two 60-mm mortar bombs, four hand grenades, one 130-mm artillery shell, eight Rangan 99 bombs, two micro pistols, one CN 100 pistol, one MP22 pistol, nine pistol magazines, 30 rounds of pistol ammunition, one pistol holster, two “Yesu” radio communication sets, one pressure mine and 2525 rounds of T-56 ammunition on December 21, reports Sri Lanka Army. Read less...

During search and clear operations conducted in the Puthukkudiyiruppu, Kilinochchi, Mankulam, Andankulam and Wellamullivaikkal areas of Wanni the troops recovered nine 40-mm mortar bombs, 1460 rounds of T-56 ammunition, 25 rounds of 9-mm pistol ammunition, one round of shotgun ammunition, one I-com communication set with one battery, one range card, three 81-mm mortar bombs, seven anti-personnel mines and six Rocket Propelled Grenades on December 22, reports Sri Lanka Army. Read less...

In October, a boat carrying 255 Tamil asylum-seekers to Australia was stopped by the Indonesian navy. The interception followed a phone call from the Prime Minister to Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. The Government was concerned that a successful venture of that size could have spurred a wave of boats with similar passenger loads. The boat and its passengers were taken to Merak, where it has remained ever since. The passengers have refused to get off, insisting they receive the same generous treatment as the Tamils who were rescued by the Customs vessel Oceanic Viking, the first of whom arrived in Australia on December 20 after being confirmed as refugees. Refugee advocates have expressed alarm at conditions on the boat in Merak and the fate of the handful of Tamils who have left it. Ian Rintoul, who has been in regular contact with the Tamils, said about 247 people remained on the boat. Read less...

On December 22, the Security Forces recovered 100 grams of explosives, 25 meters of detonator cord and two hand grenades during a search operation conducted in the Thissapura area of Trincomalee District, according to a Sri Lanka Army report. Read less...

The Sri Lankan Government said that it has identified up to three former LTTE militants seeking asylum in Australia on a boat intercepted after a personal request from Kevin Rudd to Indonesia's President. In allegations that will further complicate the processing of the 255 Tamils on a boat moored at the Indonesian port of Merak, Colombo's high commissioner to Australia, Senaka Walgampaya, said Sri Lankan embassy officials in Jakarta had identified the individuals. "Of (the Oceanic Viking) lot we have no specific knowledge," Walgampaya told The Australian, adding, “But of those in the boat of Merak, I think open-source photographs have identified ex-Tamil Tigers." Read less...

The authority at Poonthotam detention camps in Vavuniya, Major Weerasekera, on December 23 said that more than 35 former Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) cadres detained in the camp were to be released on December 24, according to Daily Mirror. They told the reporters in Poonthotam that there are 209 detainees and 35 among them will be released on December 24.Some of the detainees who are in the camp have been with the LTTE for just three days while others have been for few months. However in other rehabilitation camps there are former LTTE combatants who have been with the LTTE for even for 24 years. Some of them have been ‘lieutenant colonels’ of the LTTE, according to the army. The detainees whom the journalists visited on December 23 are trained vocational activities such as beauty culture, tailoring, Masonry and sewing. Read less...

Former Navy Commander Admiral (Rtd) Wasantha Karannagoda told The Island on December 24 that the LTTE threw some 6,000 rounds of mortars overboard from one of the ships at the last stages of the war. Once they knew that they could not breach the SLN blockade on the last LTTE stronghold at Mullaitivu, the enemy had no option but to discard their arsenal. He said that by early 2009, the Sea Tigers (sea wing of the LTTE) lost their wherewithal to challenge the SLN not only on the high seas but coastal waters as well. Read less...

Three 60-mm mortar booby traps, 14 APMs, five hand grenades, a part of Multi Purpose Machine Gun barrel, 2000 rounds of FMC ammunition and 44 rounds of T-56 ammunition were recovered by the troops from the Akkarayankulam, Andankulam, Puthukkudiyiruppu and Poonagar areas. Read less...

Troops recovered eighty-six anti-personnel mines from the Periyanthampanei, Sinnapandivirichchan and Chiraddikulam areas of Wanni on December 24, reports Sri Lanka Army. Read less...

A Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) vessel recently seized and brought to Colombo by the Sri Lanka Navy had been among five ships acquired by the group during the Eelam War IV though they could not be used at least once to smuggle in weapons, The Island reports. A six-man Sri Lanka Navy (SLN) team comprised four officers and two men had stealthy infiltrated a harbor situated at a remote island in South East Asia about a month ago to take control of the 90-metre ship, sources said. The LTTE had abandoned the vessel in April/May after failing in their bid to mount a rescue operation. Unlike the eight LTTE-operated vessels hunted down on the high seas from September 2006 to October 2007, the fleet of five ships bought legitimately had been registered with Lloyds. Government sources told The Island that most of the vessels, if not all were of Japanese origin and were bought through front companies. Sources said that the vessels, including the one brought to Colombo were constantly under surveillance during the war with the help of foreign intelligence services. Read less...

A Singapore opposition party member has been extradited to the United States (US) where he stands accused of trying to supply arms to the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), according to a December 25 report, Daily News reported. Balldev Naidu, 47, a businessman and co-founder of the Reform Party, was extradited on December 18, the Straits Times newspaper said quoting the Home Affairs Ministry. He is wanted on charges of acting as a broker between firearms manufacturers and the LTTE between February and September 2006, as well as seeking to export the arms illegally from the United States to Sri Lanka. His alleged accomplice, Singaporean Haniffa Osman, 57, had pleaded guilty to the charges in 2008 and was sentenced to 37 months' jail by a Baltimore court. Naidu had been detained in Singapore prior to the extradition following his arrest by local authorities in September 2009. He is a founding member of Singapore's opposition Reform Party. The party's secretary-general Kenneth Jeyaretnam said last month that the US charges involved activities alleged to have occurred before the party was set up in 2008. Jeyaretnam had described Naidu as "a gentle family man and someone who would never intentionally become involved with terrorists or arms dealers". Read less...

Government sources said that of the remaining four ships, one had been in the custody of Canada since October. Sources pointed out that unlike the vessel seized by the SLN, the ship now in Canadian custody had arrived at an Indian port after the end of the war in May. Sources said that the ship had left an Indian port last September before being intercepted in Canadian waters. Sources expressed confidence that Canada and India would cooperate on this issue in a bid to identify LTTE terrorists among the 76 persons, who tried to reach Canada illegally in the detained LTTE ship. Sources said that they were in the process of tracking down LTTE assets, including remaining ships as part of an intelligence operation conducted under the purview of Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapakse. Read less...

Troops conducted search and clear operations in the Periyamadu, Sinnapandi, Chunnam, Vishuamadu, Silawatta and Mullaitivu areas of Wanni on December 26 and recovered 25 rounds of T-56 ammunition, 26 anti-personnel mines, one UXO, 98 rounds of 12.7 ammunition, three 60-mm para illumination bombs, one hand grenade and three claymore mines, reports Sri Lanka Army. Read less...

Army troops conducted search and clear operations in the Puthukkudiyiruppu, Periyanthampanei, Sinnapandiparichchan, Mullaitivu, Kumalamunai, Nallur and Akkarayankulam areas of Wanni and recovered 164 anti-personnel mines, 17 hand grenades, five Rocket Propelled Grenades (RPG), three RPG charges, one para-bomb, three 81-mm mortar bombs and two 60-mm mortar bombs on December 27, reported Sri Lanka Army. Read less...

The Government is planning to close down Menik Farm welfare camp in Vavuniya as soon as possible, Human Rights and Disaster Management Minister Mahinda Samarasinghe said, adding, that all Internally Displace Persons (IDPs) in the Northern region will be back in their homes by January 31. “We are working hard to resettle all the IDPs by January 31 to meet our 180- day deadline. At the moment, there are only about 80,000 IDPs in welfare camps,” he added. Speaking to The Nation, Minister Samarasinghe said about 120,000 IDPs had availed themselves of the freedom of movement by December 17. Of them, some 80,000 have returned to the welfare camps. According to the minister, the numbers had further come down by the evening of December 26 with only 80,000 persons remaining in the camps of which 72,000 had returned after visiting their relatives. “We are expediting the resettlement process to ensure the closure of the welfare camps ahead of the deadline. At the same time, the de-mining process is going ahead,” he said. Referring to IDPs willingly returning to the camps, he said, “This shows that the IDPs are satisfied with the conditions in the camps giving lie to the media reports to the contrary. We do not propose to encourage those taking advantage of the freedom of movement to return from December 1. They may come back the same day. They are not required either to return on the date of return they indicate in their application forms which they have to submit prior to leaving the camp. They may stay wherever they like,” he added. Read less...

Army troops during their search and clear operations in the Akkarayankulam, Andankulam and Puthukkudiyiruppu areas of Wanni recovered three booby traps made using 60-mm mortar bombs, 13 anti-personnel mines, four hand grenades, one 81-mm mortar bomb, 350 rounds of Multi Purpose Machine Guns ammunition and six 60-mm mortar bombs on December 28, reports Sri Lanka Army. Read less...

Troops recovered 346 rounds of T-56 ammunition, 22 rounds of SLR ammunition and 82 rounds of .22 ammunition from Wattegama area of Kandy District on December 28, Sri Lanka Army reported. Read less...

De-mining officials, meanwhile, say the de-mining process is difficult in the northern region as the LTTE have mined the areas in an unpredictable pattern which is hindering the resettlement of the IDPs by the deadline at the end of January. "There is no set pattern of landmines laid by the LTTE landmines and we confront with various challenges," Major K. Raju, an expert of the Swiss Foundation for Mine Action (FSD) told Indian reporters recently. According to Major Raju whose team is involved in de-mining activities in north-western Mannar District, the unpredictable landmines pattern, poor visibility because of thick jungles in the terrain was slowing the de-mining progress. Read less...

During search and clear operations conducted in the Wellankulam, Chempankadu and Puthukkudiyiruppu areas of Wanni the troops recovered six hand grenades, one 122-mm mortar bomb, one 40-mm grenade launcher, 16 kilograms of TNT, 35 kilograms of explosive powder, two .22 weapons, 20 detonators, one pressure mine, one claymore mine and two detonator codes December 29, reports Sri Lanka Army. Read less...

Government said that it has resettled over 173,000 Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) within five months in their native places, reports Colombo Page. Addressing a media briefing at the Wanni Security Forces (SFs) headquarters Wanni SFs commander and competent authority for IDPs Major general Kamal Gunarathne said as of December 23rd only 108,573 IDPs are remaining at the welfare villages out of over 280,000 displaced civilians received by the security forces. The Commander said the resettlement is not an easy task. The Government resettles 1,000 IDPs in their own villages on a daily basis immediately after the areas are cleared of mines. He said the dangerous inmates have been separated and sent for rehabilitation away from the regular IDPs according to UN regulations. Read less...

President Mahinda Rajapakse said on December 29 when he came into power he introduced a people friendly manifesto Mahinda Chinthana and told the public if it could be successfully implemented, the benefits would be for the whole country, Daily News reported. “People accepted it and rallied round us with new vigor. We never forgot our election promises. Today I have come forward for re-election after completing 98 percent of my promises,” he added. Read less...

Colombo Page reports that Sri Lankan authorities have decided to lift the night time curfew imposed in Jaffna from December 31. Governor of the Northern Province Major General G. A. Chandrasiri said that the curfew will be lifted from Jaffna as the normalcy has returned to the peoples' lives and the traveling on A-9 is permitted. The curfew will be lifted on the advice of Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapakse and Chairman of the Uthuru Wasanthaya Task Force, Senior Presidential Advisor and Parliamentarian Basil Rajapakse. Read less...

Troops conducted search and clear operations in the Anandapuliyankulam, Vishuamadu, Alankukulam, Ampakamam, Mulleyaveli, Mullaitivu, Andankulam, Puthukkudiyiruppu and Nilvelikulam areas of Wanni and recovered, five 81-mm mortar bomb, 29 Rocket Propelled Grenade, one 60-mm Para bomb, 42 detonators, two pressure mines, one claymore mine, two 81-mm booby traps, two T-56 weapon, 14 anti-personnel mines, 4000 rounds of MPMG ammunition, twenty eight 60-mm mortar bombs, nine booby traps, five anti-tank mines, one 120-mm mortar bomb, 15 kilograms of C-4 explosives, ten 82-mm mortar bombs, six claymore mines weighing about 15 kilograms each, four claymore mines weighing about 24 kilograms each, nine claymore mines weighing about 10 kilograms each, 2 metres long detonator code and 150 hand grenades on December 30, reported Sri Lanka Army. Read less...