Western Province (NA): Timeline (Terrorist Activities) -2007

At least six passengers were feared dead and sixty-three other received injuries in a blast that was triggered inside a bus bound for Giriulla from Nittambuwa in the Gampaha district on January 5, according to Sri Lanka Army (SLA) reports. The blast, believed to have been caused by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) cadres could have been triggered using an explosive device that might have been placed inside the bus. Six of those passengers in the crowded bus died on the spot following the explosion. BBC Sinhala adds that curfew has been imposed in Attanagalle, Watupitiwala and Nittambuwa until 6 a.m. on January 6 (today). Defense Affairs spokesman, Minister Keheliya Rambukwella, accused the outfit for the blast. It was clear that the LTTE was responsible "considering their past track record", Rambukwella told BBC Sinhala. However, the outfit has denied any involvement in the incident. Read less...

The Nation reports that Officials of the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) raided the Colombo office of the Tamil Rehabilitation Organisation (TRO), but finding only a caretaker in the building searched the premises and promised to return on January 8 (today). The raid follows similar search operations in Trincomalee and Vavuniya a day earlier. The TRO is an LTTE affiliated Non-government Organisation (NGO), engaged in emergency relief and development work in the north and east. The CID is reportedly working in collaboration with the Financial Intelligence Unit of the Central Bank, which is conducting an investigation into the finances of the TRO. The TRO, which worked exclusively in the North and East prior to 2002, was registered as a NGO in Sri Lanka after the cease-fire agreement was signed. The organisation is funded by both the Tamil Diaspora and international aid agencies. Read less...

On the same day, LTTE cadres destroyed a roadside power-generating transformer at Elakanda in the Wattala area of Gampaha district. Read less...

President Mahinda Rajapakse told Indian External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee in Colombo that he is confident that All Party Conference (APC) would contribute to a national consensus on power devolution and reiterated his steadfast commitment to a negotiated political solution to the national issue, according to Colombo Page. “The President emphasized the high priority his administration assigns in this regard to the mechanism of the All Party Conference (APC), and his confidence that the deliberations within this forum would contribute to a national consensus on devolution,” the President’s Office said on January 9. “The Sri Lankan leaders shared with the Indian Minister the measures taken to ensure security while pursuing the peace process,” the President’s office said. Read less...

Sri Lanka donors on January 30 agreed to provide "new development assistance" of $4.5 billion over 2007-2009, reports The Hindu. A statement issued at the end of the two-day deliberations said that based on ongoing negotiations, it was expected that the new development assistance over 2007-2009 would be in the region of $4.5 billion. "With the existing funding in the pipeline, Sri Lanka's total development assistance will rise to around $9 billion within the next three years. With the renewed development initiatives in the Eastern and Northern provinces, this is expected to increase further." Read less...