BBC, 1 August 2007 Tamil Tiger 'forced recruitment' Tamil ...

BBC, 1 August 2007
Tamil Tiger 'forced recruitment'
Sri Lanka's Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) are accused of forcing young
people to join their ranks, ahead of a possible battle with government forces for the north
of the country. People in rebel-held Kilinochchi say that Tamil Tigers have introduced a
policy of demanding one person from each family. The Tigers - who want a homeland for
the island's Tamil minority - have been pushed back from the east of the island, but they
still hold a large swathe of territory in the north.

Asian Tribune, 1 August 2007
Tamil Nadu deports four suspected Tamils back to Sri Lanka
Chennai, 01 August, (Asiantribune.com): Four Sri Lankan Tamils said to be from the east
of Sri Lanka were arrested and deported to Colombo by the Q Branch police from Tamil
Nadu, India on Tuesday afternoon. According to Police report, Kajenthiran
Subramaniam, Kajan Sri Shanmuhathevan, Sivatharan Sivarasa, Thamaraimanalan
Thillai Nayakam arrived from Sri Lanka on a three months tourist visa. They were
arrested on 29 July in Chennai and were deported in a Colombo bound flight yesterday
afternoon from Chennai. It is learnt that on suspicion of the activities of this Sri Lankan
Group, Q branch Police tapped the telephone conversation of these Sri Lankans group
supposed to be one, whom later revealed by them as their contact presently living in
Colombo.

The Hindu, 1 August 2007
LTTE move to terrorise civilians: army
COLOMBO: At least three soldiers and two cadres of the Tamil Tigers were killed in the
battles in the north in the last 24 hours even as the LTTE accused the military of targeting
the fishermen community in Mullaitivu. According to the Defence Ministry, the soldiers
were killed when the LTTE triggered a claymore mine targeting the army personnel in
Jaffna on Tuesday. It said the mine was placed in close proximity to a well used by the
army troops to obtain water. The military alleged that the LTTE on Monday carried out a
cowardly claymore attack at Gurunagar in Jaffna, injuring a child who was passing by. It
said the bomb exploded in front of the Children's Park at Gurunagar targeting a
government vehicle. The military said the LTTE might have orchestrated the attack to
terrorise civilians supportive to the security forces' counter terror operations in the
peninsula.

Daily Mirror, 1 August 2007
Australia tightens noose on Lankan visa applicants
The Australian government has tightened the noose on Sri Lankan visa applicants,
especially those seeking student visas, in the wake of the ongoing conflict in the country
and has also updated its travel advisory to Australian tourists asking them to reconsider
the need to visit the country.The Daily Mirror learns the Austrlian High Commission in
Colombo has rejected several visa applications from students, mostly Tamil students
from the north and east, seeking to enter Australia for higher education purposes on the
basis that they may try to stay back illegally.

Daily Mirror, 2 August 2007
Govt. welcomes Karuna for polls in East
The Government said yesterday it welcomes the Karuna faction's move to contest the
local government polls to be conducted shortly in the Eastern Province. Chief
Government Whip and senior Minister Jeyaraj Fernandopulle told a news conference the
move would be welcomed all the more if Karuna himself was to contest the future
provincial council election in the east as well. Mr. Fernandopulle said all political
elements entering the democratic political mainstream should be welcomed. He said that
Karuna had requested the Elections Commissioner's Department to recognize his
movement named TMVP as a registered political party.

Daily News, 2 August 2007
Sri Lanka attracts record Rs. 71.46 b in investments in 1st Quarter
COLOMBO: Sri Lanka has attracted Rs 71.46 billion worth investments to the country
during the first six months of this year. It has generated 24,712 job opportunities in the
country. Minister of Investment Promotion and Enterprise Development Dr. Sarath
Amunugama said the Board of Investment of Sri Lanka has entered into 91 project
agreements worth of Rs 71.46 billion during first half of this year. These investments are
mainly in ICT, power, construction, apparel and telecommunications.

Daily News, 2 August 2007
Sri Lanka signs cooperation treaty with ASEAN
PHILIPPINES: Sri Lanka and Bangladesh signed a nonaggression pact with the 10-
member Association of Southeast Asian Nations on Wednesday, officials said. The
Treaty of Amity and Cooperation requires signatories to renounce the use or threat of
force against ASEAN members, stresses noninterference in signatories' internal affairs
and calls for settlement of disputes by peaceful means. Foreign Minister Rohitha
Bogollagama and Bangladesh Foreign Affairs Adviser Iftekhar A. Chowdhury signed the
documents in Manila after an annual gathering of ASEAN's foreign ministers.

The Hindu, 3 August 2007
Delhi, Colombo checking arms smuggling
MANILA: India and Sri Lanka are now engaged in a hand-in-glove operation to prevent
arms smuggling by the LTTE, according to Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Rohitha
Bogollagama. This was now the state of play, despite the technical time-lag for the
formalisation of any accord on coordinated patrolling along the Palk Strait, he said here.
What we need are results more than the methodology, he said. They [Indians] have
deployed quite a sizable Coast Guard in the Palk Strait, independent of Sri Lanka. That is
the understanding. We are working very closely with Indian Intelligence. Indian
cooperation is extensively extended to us.

Daily News, 3 August 2007
Jaffna civilians help track down Tigers
JAFFNA: Civilians in the North and the East are increasingly joining hands with the
Security Forces to combat LTTE terrorism and to prevent Tiger attacks which would
cause civilian casualties. Following a tip-off given by a civilian, Security Forces

recovered a haul of weapons including five suicide belts and anti tank mines, military
sources said. According to these sources the Security Forces launched a search operation
on a tip-off by a civilian and recovered an arms cache along with five suicide belts on
Wednesday at around 2.00 p.m. in Jaffna.

Daily Mirror, 3 August 2007
Arms and ammunition recovered in North
The army engaged in routine operations in the North recovered the biggest number of
suicide belts along with a stock of explosives and firearms in Jaffna acting on a tip off on
Monday afternoon. The explosives were recovered from an abandoned house in the area
which is believed to have been concealed by the LTTE for future attacks, Media Centre
for National Security reported. The recovered stocks contained five suicide belts filled
with high powered explosives, three Anti Tank Mines, two LTTE Improvised hand
grenades, a T-56 assault riffle, two T-56 magazines, 54 T-56 live rounds, two Claymore
Mines each weighing 5kg, two micro pistols, six micro pistol magazines, 48 micro pistol
ammunitions, five 9V batteries, five cyanide capsules, four Claymore Mine Connectors, a
Claymore Receiver, two Claymore mine Remote Controllers and 13 electric detonators.

Daily Mirror, 4 August 2007
Batti Army Chief wants Karuna group disarmed: SLMM
The debate whether to disarm or not to disarm Karuna continues with a senior army
officer telling the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission he felt the Karuna group, also known as
the Thamil Makkal Viduthalai Pullikal should be disarmed if normalcy was to be restored
to the east. Major General Daya Ratnayake, Batticaloa District General Officer
Commanding (GOC) 23 Division, expressed this view at a meeting with the SLMM
recently. Its spokesman Steinar Sveinsson told the Daily Mirror adding however that he
was unaware if the view was his personal opinion or official. This is the first time the
military had openly commented on the need to disarm the Karuna faction although
government ministers and even the Defence Secretary in the wake of the capture of
Thoppigala had expressed the intention of disarming armed groups in the east.

The Hindu, 5 August 2007
Colombo denies tampering with evidence in massacre probe
COLOMBO: Sri Lanka has refuted charges that authorities investigating the case of
execution style killing of 17 aid workers of a French NGO have tampered with the
evidence. The aid workers were killed after Muttur town in the east became a theatre of
battle between the military and the LTTE in August last year. The military and the Tigers
have blamed each other for the murders which triggered a furore within and outside the
island nation. Despite the passage of one year and an investigation by the Sri Lanka
Government, there is little clarity about the culprits responsible for the executions. The
probe came under a cloud in June after reports said an Australian pathologist engaged for
assistance had suggested that at least one bullet on the body of a victim did not match the
bullets found on the bodies of others.

Sunday Times, 5 August 2007
Cost of Living: Live with it, says Treasury Chief

With escalating fuel prices and a rising cost of living, the inevitable thing for Sri Lankans
to do is to face reality, according to Treasury Secretary, Dr. P.B. Jayasundera. In an
interview with The Sunday Times, Dr. Jayasundera, who is the chief financial officer of
the state, said global oil prices had doubled over the past three years and Sri Lanka's near
total dependence on fuel imports had compounded the crisis. He said oil prices were
around US$40 not long ago but now they were soaring beyond US$70 and Sri Lanka had
no alternative but to manage the huge outflow of foreign currency. He said the cost of oil
imports was now about US$2 billion a year with little or nothing by way of loans or
credit.

Sunday Times, 5 August 2007
President spurns CWC: Come or go
President Mahinda Rajapaksa will not heed the Ceylon Workers' Congress (CWC)
demand to extend a public apology if its parliamentarians are to withdraw their
resignations and the party is to extend support to the Government. The Sunday Times
learns President Rajapaksa has decided on this course of action on the basis that neither
he nor his Government had been the cause for the CWC members to resign their
portfolios and choose to withdraw support. He has taken up the position that it was up to
the CWC leaders to decide whether they want to recall their letters of resignation and
remain in the Government or quit. President Rajapaksa, it is learnt, delayed any action
until yesterday in view of an official ceremony CWC leaders held yesterday in Hatton.
The outgoing Norwegian Ambassador Hans Brattskar and Indian High Commissioner
Alok Prasad were the chief guests at the formal opening of a Vocational Training Centre.
The Norwegian Aid Agency, Norad, had funded the project whilst India had loaned a
group of experts for the Centre.

Daily Mirror, 6 August 2007
LTTE smuggling arms to Abu Sayyaf rebels
Philippines Police Chief Supt. Rodolfo 'Boogie' Mendoza has told the Manila based
Inquirer newspaper that three years ago they received an unconfirmed intelligence report
on the alleged entry of Tamil Tiger rebels in an Abu Sayyaf camp in Southern Mindanao.
Mendoza, who is familiar with the history of Abu Sayyaf, said the Tamil rebels had
disguised themselves as Pakistanis.However, he stressed that they were not able to verify
the authenticity of the information.

The Hindu, 6 August 2007
India supplies more radars to Sri Lanka
NEW DELHI: After a gap of a year, India has sent more radars to Sri Lanka to help it
ward off the threat of airborne attacks by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE),
Defence Ministry sources said. India had resumed non-lethal military aid to Sri Lanka
with the supply of two indigenous radars in 2005. This year in January it sent another
military radar to Sri Lanka which was followed by the dispatch of a similar radar in June.
The radars were sent on behalf of the Indian Air Force, the sources said.

The Hindu, 6 August 2007
9 Tigers killed, says army

COLOMBO: The military on Sunday claimed that at least nine LTTE cadres were killed
in fighting in the north and east in the last 24 hours. Separately, Rajiva Wijesinha, Head
of the Secretariat for Coordinating the Peace Process (SCOPP) in a statement has
questioned the premise of Gareth Evans, CEO of the International Crisis group (ICG),
that given the humanitarian crisis, the nation is a potential case for Right to Protection
(R2P)/international intervention.

Asian Tribune, 6 August 2007
Tigers distract Sri Lankan Navy with mock operations to save fleeing cadres from
the east.
Colombo, 06 August, (Asiantribune.com): The Batticaloa-Amparai districts Special
Commander of the Tamil Tigers, Jeyam, and his retreating cadres numbering around 275
in all are about to cross to Vanni in one or two days time. According local sources, these
Tiger cadres have managed to cross the two main supply route on their way from
Toppigala and reached Kumpurupittiya, a coastal village in the north of Trincomalee
district.

The Hindu, 7 August 2007
The discarded accord and the unwanted war
The perceptions of India's role and the India-Sri Lanka accord differ widely. A few
weaknesses made the accord self-defeating. Yet it opened a new chapter in the relations
between the two countries with cooperation rather than confrontation being the key
element of policy, which continues to this day. India's role is now better appreciated by
most Sri Lankans than in 1987 only because the IPKF men fought and died to uphold the
accord and ensure the unity of a country that was not their own. This recognition is a
small but fitting tribute to the 1,255 Indian soldiers who died on Sri Lankan soil.

Daily News, 7 August 2007
No pause in progress
NOROCHCHOLAI: President Mahinda Rajapaksa asserted that in recognition of the
crucial necessity of providing electricity to all households at an affordable rate, the
Government is now going ahead with the long-awaited 'coal powered electricity plant'
project at Norochcholai, with the full assistance and co-operation of the people and the
blessings of all religious leaders. President Rajapaksa made this assertion during and
inspection tour of the coal power plant site at Norochcholai yesterday, where he also
symbolically inaugurated the first phase of construction.

The Hindu, 8 August 2007
Report on rights abuses tendentious, says Colombo
COLOMBO: Sri Lanka on Tuesday said there was no justification for the demand for a
special U.N. Observer Mission on Human Rights. Referring to the Human Rights Watch

report Return to War �?“ Human Rights under Siege, the Presidential Secretariat here
said it was largely tendentious, and is replete with generalisations. The statement said the
report referred to issues that had been largely resolved and based on largely unconfirmed
and unsubstantiated allegations and outdated information.

Daily Mirror, 8 August 2007
Group says Tigers rising again in Britain under al Qaeda
The International Analyst Network warned yesterday of fears the LTTE, known to have
links internationally with al Qaeda, might carry out attacks on behalf of Osama bin
Laden's outfit in Britain as hired suicide bombers.
Former Sri Lankan National Intelligence Bureau operative Glen Jenvey said a worrying

investigation had found the LTTE �?“ infamous for pioneering human suicide bombers

�?“ was gaining ground in Britain while the government focused on Islamic extremists.

Daily Mirror, 8 August 2007
UN reviewing outstanding cases of enforced disappearance
The UN Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances is currently
reviewing 5,749 outstanding cases of enforced disappearance in Sri Lanka, the Amnesty
International secretariat said in its latest international monthly newsletter. According to
the London-based rights group, since 2006, hundreds of people have reportedly been
abducted by the security forces or armed groups in areas in the north and east of Sri
Lanka as well as in Colombo or forcibly disappeared.

Daily Mirror, 9 August 2007
Karuna faction assures full support for free poll in East
The TMVP (Karuna faction) yesterday assured it would give its fullest support and
cooperation for the holding of a free election and fair poll at the local government in the
East, scheduled for mid-November. The party said it would join forces with any other
political party or organization including the EPDP if they had the same goals as the
TMVP. In an interview with the Daily Mirror TMVP political wing leader Thileepan
reiterated that the use of weapons would be minimized and said the organization had no
intention of engaging in intimidatory tactics to lure voters. He said such a ploy would not
be necessary as the Provincial Councils in question were all predominantly Tamil.

Daily Mirror, 9 August 2007
Tigers pressure INGOs to channel funds through them
The LTTE is said to be pressurizing International Non-Governmental Organisations
(INGOs) operating in rebel controlled areas of the Wanni to channel funds to be used for
development purposes in the area through the Tamil Rehabilitation Organisation (TRO),
the Daily Mirror has learnt. Well informed sources also said two local staffers attached to
an INGO operating in Kilinochchi were abducted by the LTTE some two weeks ago and
subsequently released following pressure by the charity group which carried out large
scale assistance programmes in the area.

Daily News, 9 August 2007
Huge response for $ 500 m bond offer
COLOMBO: There has been a tremendous response from banks to the Government's
bond offer of US $ 500 million which will be channelled for the development of the
Eastern Province, Highways Minister Jeyaraj Fernandopulle said yesterday. Several
foreign banks including HSBC have indicated a positive response to this, he told the

weekly briefing at the Government Information Department. He said the LTTE was also
campaigning at international level not to grant the US $ 500 million to the Government.

Asian Tribune, 10 August 2007
Peace Secretariat and Peace Monitors agree emerging understanding to mutually
enhance peace monitoring role
Colombo, 09 August, (Asiantribune.com): A cordial working relationship has emerged
between the Secretariat for Coordinating the Peace Process (SCOPP) and the Sri Lanka
Monitoring Mission (SLMM) after their weekly meeting, which has subsequently led to
greater understanding mutually on issues relating to the Ceasefire Agreement and the
peace process. SLMM agreed that a closer relationship between SLMM and the LTTE
Peace Secretariat would further strengthen its peace monitoring role.

Colombo Page, 10 August 2007
Sri Lanka APRC closing on a final proposal
Aug 09, Colombo: Sri Lanka's All Party Representative Committee (APRC) sources said
that the committee is coming closer to finalize a set of power devolution proposals agreed
by major parties of the Southern polity. In a recent discussion held with the patronage of
the President Mahinda Rajapaksa between the associate parties of the government and the
Chairman of the APRC, Minister Prof. Tissa Vitharana, the parties have agreed to take
the province as the unit of power devolution, APRC sources said.

Daily Mirror, 10 August 2007
Emergency passed with low JVP support
Parliament extended the state of Emergency throughout the country for a further one
month yesterday, by 107 to 15 votes, amidst warnings from the JVP that it would
withdraw support for such resolutions in future, if they are applied to suppress civilians
instead of countering terrorism. Speaking during the Emergency debate, party front liner
MP Vijitha Herath stressed that the JVP would oppose the government if it used the state
of emergency to clamp down on Tamil and Sinhalese civilians in the North, East and
South of the country, instead of combating terrorism.

Daily Mirror, 10 August 2007
Govt. assures peace and stability during North and East polls
The government will ensure peace and stability is restored in the east before the
upcoming local government polls by enforcing the writ of the government in the
province, Information and Media Minister Anura Priyadharshana Yapa said yesterday.
Responding to a question raised by a journalist at the weekly Cabinet press briefing at the
information department he said the Commissioner of Elections has held peaceful
elections in the east in the recent past despite the presence of armed groups in the
province.

Daily Mirror, 10 August 2007
UN repeats demand: Disarm Karuna
Visiting UN Humanitarian Affairs Chief John Holmes yesterday stressed it was the
responsibility of the government to ensure the Karuna faction was disarmed as it was

operating in government controlled areas. The comments of the UN official came at a
joint news conference also attended by Human Rights Minister Mahinda Samarasinghe
who admitted that paramilitaries did exist and measures were being taken to ensure they
were disarmed before going to polls in the east.

Daily Mirror, 11 August 2007
Sethu Samudram comes to Parliament
The Sethu Samdurdam project became a point of discussion in Parliament yesterday with
the main opposition UNP charging that the government was keeping silent as India had
already started dredging the Palk Strait while the government assured that frequent
discussions were taking place between the two countries on the project. Minister Rauff
Hakeem said the initial study done on the project had over looked salient features that
should have been looked into.

The Hindu, 11 August 2007
Bid to damage Sri Lanka's reputation
COLOMBO: Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ratnasiri Wickramanayake on Friday accused
Sir John Holmes, United Nations Under Secretary General for the Office for the
Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), of tarnishing the international image of
the country. Taking serious exception to Sir John's reported remarks during the just-
concluded visit that the island was the most dangerous place on the earth for
humanitarian workers, the Prime Minister deemed it necessary to make a special
statement on the subject.

Asian Tribune, 11 August 2007
Sri Lanka Government to disarm para-military group operating in the east
Colombo, 10 August, (Asiantribune.com): Sri Lanka President Mahinda Rajapakse
disclosed the Government's intention of disarming the para-military group operating in
the Eastern Sri Lanka as it could significantly improve the protection of returning
internally displaced persons and other conflict-affected communities. John Holmes, the
UN undersecretary general for humanitarian affairs and emergency relief coordinator
welcomed the assurance by the President about the planned disarmament of paramilitary
groups operating in eastern Sri Lanka.

Asian Tribune, 11 August 2007
Military administration imposed in eastern Sri Lanka
The Sri Lankan military has quickly demonstrated its intentions regarding the capture of
the island's eastern province from the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). Far
from liberating the people of the East, the security forces are establishing a military
occupation over the entire area in preparation for stamping out any opposition to the
government and its continuing communal war. Following the army's conquest of the
LTTE's last major eastern stronghold, President Mahinda Rajapakse ordered a victory
celebration on July 19 at which he declared that a new dawn was opening up for the East
of the country. The ceremony, which evoked little popular enthusiasm, was an unabashed
glorification of the renewed civil war that has already resulted in thousands of deaths and
turned 200,000 into refugees.

Tamil Net, 13 August 2007
Heavy fighting in the seas off Pulmoaddai - LTTE
Three Sri Lanka Navy Fast Attack Crafts (FACs) were damaged and more than 20 Dvora
gunboats were chased away by the Sea Tigers, the naval force of the Liberation Tigers of
Tamileelam (LTTE), towards Trincomalee port Sunday night after a fierce sea battle off
Pulmoaddai that lasted from 10:00 p.m. till 2:30 a.m. Monday, according to Sea Tiger
officials in Vanni. Three Sea Tiger fighters were killed in action in the battle. More than
20 Israeli-built Dvora FACs were chased away to Trincomalee port after 4 hours of fierce
fighting, a Sea Tiger official told TamilNet. Sri Lankan military engaged in heavy
artillery firing towards sea from their positions in Kokki'laay, Kokkuththoduvaay and
Pulmoaddai.A simillar battle off the Pulmoaddai seas was reported a month ago, on 08
July 2007 in the same location.

Out Look, 13 August 2007
At least 12 killed in fresh violence in Sri Lanka (PTI)
Colombo, Aug 12: At least 12 people, including four government soldiers, were killed
and more than 20 injured in fresh violence in Sri Lanka's eastern and northern regions,
military officials and Tamil rebels said today. Suspected LTTE rebels set off a powerful
land mine at Kovilkandy in Jaffna today, killing four soldiers and wounding 14, military
officials said. A civilian was also wounded in the explosion which occurred when the
troops were on a routine patrol, they said. The attack came after the Tigers gunned down
a Tamil civilian at a marketplace in the Jaffna town, the Defence Ministry said. It said
five Tiger rebels were shot dead by security forces while the guerrillas were laying mines
in the north-eastern Weli Oya region. In the same area, the guerrillas fired mortars at a
village, killing a civilian and injuring four others, including a two-year-old child, the
Ministry said...

The Lanka Academic, 13 August 2007
4 soldiers killed in roadside explosion in northern Sri Lanka , military says
(Associated Press)
A bomb exploded near a military truck in restive northern Sri Lanka - on Sunday, killing
four soldiers and wounding 13 others, the military said, blaming separatist Tamil Tiger
rebels. Sri Lanka - has been engaged in a civil war with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil
Eelam since 1983. The rebels want to carve out an independent state for Tamils who have
faced discrimination from successive majority Sinhalese-dominated governments...

Daily Mirror, 13 August 2007
Peace not possible at present: Ranil (PTI)
Chennai: With ethnic strife continuing in Sri Lanka, peace was not possible at present,
Opposition Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe said here today. It was also tough to continue
the peace talks initiated by the Norwegian team, he told reporters in Chennai at the
airport. The economy of the country is also doing very badly and the country is facing a
lot of problems, Mr. Wickremesinghe, who is in India on a private visit, said. Responding
to a query on the ceasefire and the possibility of free and fair elections in the Eastern
Province, he said only Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa could comment on the

issue.

The Hindu, 13 August 2007
LTTE running globalised financial network: report (B. Muralidhar Reddy)
Colombo: As per the latest report of the London-based Janes Intelligence Review (JIW)
on the financial operations of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), after
accounting for an estimated $8 million in cost per year, the profit margin of its budget
would be the envy of any multinational corporation. The report titled, Feeding the Tiger

�?? how Sri Lankan insurgents fund their war, JIW claims that through its legal illegal
businesses and fronts, the Tigers generate $200 million to $300 million a year. JIW
maintains that the LTTE's financial and procurement structure is well-organised and
strategically positioned around the globe, and unlike the decentralised jihadist movement,
the LTTE is a centralised, hierarchical organisation commanded and controlled by its
founding leader, Velupillai Prabhakaran...

Daily News, 13 August 2007
Extortion, drugs, card fraud Tigers major revenue earners - Jane's
UK: The activities of the LTTE abroad - including extortion, narcotics trafficking and
credit card fraud - have a negative impact on the countries and societies that host its
presence, the prestigious Jane's Intelligence Review said over the weekend. The Tigers
financial and procurement structure is well organised and strategically positioned around
the globe, Jane's said in an expose of LTTE funding mechanisms. The organisation fulfils
its financial and procurement needs abroad. Far from the primary theatre of conflict, the
LTTE depends on a complex global network of professional managers and outsourced
people who acquire money and guns in countries with significant Tamil diaspora
communities, it said...

Asian Tribune, 13 August 2007
Violent clashes reported between two rival LTTE factions in Oslo: One dead and
two seriously injured
One of the injuredOne of the injuredOslo,13 August, (Asiantribune.com) A violent clash
erupted in Oslo, on Sunday evening, between the two rival LTTE factions, where one
Selika Ranjan (Mullaithievu) succumbed to his injuries and two other Tamils, namely
Kannan and Kuhan are reported to be in serious condition in the hospital with gunshot
injuries. They also, it is reported, to have sustained, lacerations due to Samurai sword
cuts. Reports revealed that clashes erupted between the supporters of LTTE's Naval
Commander Soosai and cadres from the intelligence wing led by Pottu Amman. The
police was notified by witnesses about the running fight between two LTTE factions at
17.50 yesterday evening...

Daily News, 14 August 2007
Navy foils escape bid of trapped LTTEers in East (Rafik Jalaldeen)
Trincomalee: The Navy yesterday foiled an LTTE attempt to rescue its cadres trapped in
the East killing six Sea Tigers and injuring several others. An LTTE boat was also
completely destroyed in the attack launched after a Navy patrol detected two LTTE boats
in the sea off Pulmodai early yesterday, Navy spokesman Commander D.P.K.

Dassanayake said... LTTE communication intercepts confirmed that six LTTE cadres
were killed and more than 10 others injured. The attack lasted for three hours till 2.30 a.m
yesterday, he said... Meanwhile, three LTTE cadres were killed and 10 others injured in a
confrontation with Security Forces on Sunday night in Pulmodai...

Bloomberg.com, 14 August 2007
Sri Lanka Offers Amnesty to Rebels Hiding in Eastern Region (Paul Tighe)
August 14: Sri Lanka offered an amnesty to members of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil
Eelam hiding in the eastern region, which was taken over by the army last month after 14
years of fighting. The offer will begin Sept. 1, President Mahinda Rajapaksa said in a
statement issued by the government late yesterday. A total of 521 Tamil Tiger rebels
have surrendered since the Eastern Province fell to security forces a month ago, the
government said. Rebels hiding in jungle areas will be tracked down and it would be a far
better option to surrender, Rajapaksa said. They will be rehabilitated and offered job
training, he added...

Daily Mirror, 15 August 2007
No rehabilitation for surrendering Tigers? (Gihan de Chickera)
Youth fleeing the LTTE and surrendering to the Human Rights Commission (HRC) in
Jaffna have to languish in the Jaffna prison instead of undergoing proper rehabilitation as
the government has no mechanism for such a purpose, Human Rights sources in the
North revealed. So far, a total of 52 males and one female, all below the age of 30, and
many fleeing the LTTE, have surrendered to the HRC office in Jaffna. Once in HRC
custody, the victims are handed over to the police, produced before a Magistrate and sent
to the Jaffna prison, Human Rights sources in Jaffna told the Daily Mirror yesterday...
The government, to date, has not put in place a mechanism for victims to undergo a
process of rehabilitation, although many face the trauma of death threats and are victims
of torture, the sources added...

Daily News, 15 August 2007
Nine terrorists killed (Rafik Jalaldeen)
Vavuniya: In two separate clashes between the Security Forces and the LTTE, nine Tiger
cadres were killed at the Vavuniya and Weli-Oya Forward Defence Lines (FDL) on
Tuesday, the Media Centre for National Security (MCNS) said. A group of LTTE cadres
fired at a Security Forces foot patrol with small arms and mortars towards Vavuniya

FDLs in the Northern Vavuniya area on Tuesday, MCNS spokesman said. �??The clash
erupted throughout the day and Security Forces successfully repulsed the attack killing

six Tiger cadres,�?? he added. A soldier succumbed to his injuries during retaliatory
attack. In another incident, three LTTE cadres were killed and arms discovered when
Tigers attacked an army foot patrol in Kalyanapura, Weli-Oya FDLs on Tuesday
evening...

The Hindu, 16 August 2007
Sri Lanka displaced vulnerable: report (B. Muralidhar Reddy)
Colombo: A fact-finding mission on the state of the displaced persons in the north and

east in Sri Lanka since the escalation of hostilities between the military and the LTTE

over a year ago, has said the conflict has led to a �??large scale shifting of

population�?? that has become vulnerable to machinations of several actors in the field.
A comprehensive report by South Asians for Human Rights (SHAR) led by the former
Prime Minister, I.K. Gujral, has concluded that the element of fear has had a major

impact on the people and their lives in the regions. �??Most people said that the

multiplicity of actors �?”GOSL, LTTE, TMVP and EPDP �?” made it difficult for
them to negotiate the simplest activities on a day to day basis...

The Lanka Academic, 16 August 2007
Military says 6 rebels, 1 soldier killed in battle in northern Sri Lanka (Associated
Press)
A group of Tamil Tiger fighters attacked a military foot patrol in northern Sri Lanka,
sparking a gunbattle that killed six rebels and one soldier, the army said Wednesday. The
battle began Tuesday when the rebels used small arms and mortar shells to attack the
soldiers in the northern Vavuniya area, on the frontier between government-controlled
areas and rebel held parts of the north, the military said. The death tolls could not be
independently confirmed, and rebel spokesman Rasiah Ilanthirayan did not answer a
phone call from The Associated Press seeking comment. Both the government and the
rebels routinely exaggerate death tolls on the other side...

Daily Mirror, 16 August 2007
Thailand deports top LTTE arms smugglers (Easwaran Rutnam)
Three top LTTE suspects who were under detention in Thailand for attempting to
smuggle weapons to Sri Lanka in 2003 were deported to Sri Lanka on Tuesday and are
now in CID custody, well informed sources revealed to the Daily Mirror yesterday...
However they were deported following pressure from the Sri Lankan government. The
ICRC was expected to visit the suspects in CID custody. Three LTTE operatives,
identified at the time as Sujit Gunapala (27), Sasiljaran Teverajah (27) and Satiepawan
Arseawatap (34), were arrested in the Ranong province in Thailand on May 12, 2003
with 10 Glock pistols and three HK Mark 23 pistols in their possession.

v, 17 August 2007
LTTE ban in Australia in the offing (Manjula Fernando)
Colombo: Sri Lanka is pushing a blanket ban on the LTTE in Australia and efforts
towards this goal are progressing, Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollagama told a news
conference yesterday. Announcing a top international counter terrorism conference which
will be hosted in Colombo from October 18 to 20 at the BMICH, the Minister said the
Government was working on the Australian ban but it was unreasonable to expect the
proscription to come into force overnight...

Asian Tribune, 17 August 2007
Sri Lanka: Explosive materials found in a guest house in Wellawatte (Walter
Jayawardhana)

Colombo (16 August): The police and the army detected two deadly claymore mines in a
travel bag lying in a guest house frequented by people coming from Northern Province to

Colombo. �??The man who brought the bag to the guest house has come from Vavuniya
a besieged district marked by frequent attacks by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil

Eelam.�??said Brigadier Prasad Samarasinghe , the Sri Lanka Army spokesman. The
police said the 9kilogram and 5 kilogram mines that could have harmed many people had
all the hallmarks of the LTTE. The Defense Ministry said the mines and detonators and
three hand grenades were discovered at a lodge in Wellawatte, called Ideal Guest Inn, in

Sinsaaba Road, opposite Wellawatte�??s Savoy Cinema, Colombo...

Daily Mirror, 17 August 2007
TNA to submit its own proposal on North East issue (Yohan Perera)
TNA is likely to come up with its own proposals to resolve the North and East issue its
Parliamentary Group Leader R. Sampanthan said yesterday. Mr. Sampanthan made this

point at the �??Business for Peace Forum�?? of the Federation Chamber of Commerce
(FCCISL) yesterday. He explained that many foreign government heads which the party
had met recently had requested the TNA to come up with a proposal. He said the party
would give it a serious thought. Emphasising particularly on the sentiments expressed by
India he said the subcontinent had informed them that the de-merger of the North and the

East is not acceptable by them. Elaborating more on the international community�??s
perception on Sri Lanka he said the nation is in a horrendous position with regards to

human rights. �??Sri Lanka has become the most militarised nation in the world with
GDP percentage spent on military has doubled in 2007 compared to the percentage it

spent in 2005,�?? he pointed out.

The Lanka Academic, 18 August 2007
Sri Lankan troops kill 2 Tamil rebels in sea, ground clashes, military says
Sri Lankan soldiers killed two Tamil Tiger rebels in separate sea and ground clashes
Friday in the volatile north, the military said. Last month, the government recaptured
rebel-held areas of eastern Sri Lanka - , but the guerrillas still control a virtual state in the
north. A Norwegian-brokered cease-fire in 2002 brought relative calm to the country, but
a new wave of violence that began in December 2005 has killed more than 5,000 people
and displaced hundreds of thousands...

Daily Mirror, 18 August 2007
UN backs Holmes, slams govt. (Reuters)
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said today that comments by a Sri Lankan Minister
calling his humanitarian coordinator a ???terrorist??? were ???unacceptable and
unwarranted???. UN Humanitarian Chief John Holmes who was in Sri Lanka recently in
an interview to Reuters said Sri Lanka was among the most dangerous places in the world
for humanitarian workers. He specifically referred to 17 aid workers attached to Action
Against Hunger (ACF) killed execution-style in eastern Sri Lanka a year ago. Several
government officials angrily rejected Mr. Holmes' statement and demanded a retraction...

Daily News, 18 August 2007
French court extends detention of 14 LTTE suspects (Asian Tribune)
France: The French court has decided to extend the period of detention of all 14 key
LTTE suspects who were arrested on April 1, 2007 for a further period four months till
the first week of December 2007, when they were produced to the courts in the first week
of August. According to the sources, Asian Tribune learnt that appeals for bail was ruled
out, as the charges pressed against the arrested LTTE suspects were serious in nature...

Colombo Page.com, 18 August 2007
Third Opposition rally in Anuradhapura
Colombo (Aug 17): The third rally of the 'People's Wave' protest campaign of the
National Council jointly formed by the United National Party (UNP) and the Sri Lanka

Freedom Party �?“ People's Wing (SLFP_PW) is now being held in Anuradhapura, the
capital of the North Central Province. UNP and SLFP-PW leaders are to address the rally
held in the Salgadu Grounds. Sources from Anuradhapura say that large crowds were
participating in the demonstration and the rally. The next rally and demonstration of the

�??People�??s Wave�?? campaign is to be held in Attanagalla, a traditional
stronghold of the Bandaranaike family that led the SLFP before the rise of Mahinda
Rajapaksa.

Asian Tribune, 18 August 2007
Nedumaran to crossover to Jaffna unlawfully on September 12
Chennai (August 18): The Tamil Tiger face in Tamil Nadu , P. Nedumaran has once
again reiterated his determination to enter Sri Lanka unlawfully by crossing the Palk
Strait, the narrow strip of sea by boats with his so called live-saving cargoes of food and
medicine to be distributed to the Tamils in Sri Lanka. He has anounced that that he would
take with him a large number of volunteers from Tamil Nadu by boats in violation of the

island nation�??s immigration laws. According to him the boat journey to Sri Lanka is
scheduled to commence from two separate locations - Nagapattinam and Rameswaram
Sea coast...

Asian Tribune, 18 August 2007
When the Suicide BOMBER is a Woman (Jan Goodwin)
On the day before she set out to blow up the Sri Lankan prime minister, Menake went
shopping for a sequined top to hide the vest full of explosives that would turn her into a
human bomb. It was the cyanide necklace that gave her away. The denim vest is a simple

garment, tailored to fit the young woman�??s body. Narrow shoulder straps hold the

midsection in place. It�??s not high fashion, but that doesn�??t matter, since the first

time it�??s worn will also be the last. The large disk that rests under the breast area is
filled with a mass of 3-mm steel balls, and behind that, next to the skin, sits a C-4 plastic
explosive. Two detonators, one on either side of her body, require just a gentle tug...

Daily News, 20 August 2007
80 p.c. of Air Defence System completed (Ranil Wijayapala)
Colombo: The Sri Lanka Air Force is ready to face any air threat from the LTTE with

more than 80 per cent of the Air Defence System completed with India�??s support, Air
Force Commander Air Vice Marshal Roshan Goonetilleke told the Daily News. In an
exclusive interview with the Daily News, Commander Goonetilleke said only a little

more has to be done to establish a comprehensive air defence system. �??Actually we
have finished 80 per cent of the work. We have very little more to do. And that 80 per
cent can definitely take charge of the kind of threat we saw in three [LTTE air]

attacks,�?? the Commander added...

Daily Mirror, 20 August 2007
Govt. recruits Tamils, Muslims to police in East (Sunil Jayasiri and Easwaran
Rutnam)
The government over the weekend stated a mass recruitment drive of Tamils and
Muslims to the police force in the Batticaloa district with more than 500 applications
being received and the Thamil Makkal Viduthalai Pullikal (Karuna faction) confirming

that in the future its cadres may also be recruited. �??During the last two days, more

than 500 applications had been received and most of them were from Tamils,�?? a
senior area police officer said. He said it was a major success and the police expected the
drive to reach the required number of youth within a short period...

Daily Mirror, 20 August 2007
There are now fresh hopes of a negotiated settlement to the ethnic conflict (N
Sathiya Moorthy)
There are now fresh hopes of a negotiated settlement to the vexatious and violence-ridden
ethnic strife in Sri Lanka, after all. On the one hand, All-Party Representative Committee
(APRC) Chairman, Minister Tissa Vitharana, has asserted that a consensus package on
power-devolution would emerge this week, after all. More importantly, for the first time
since President Mahinda Rajapakse came to power, Tamil Nationalist Alliance (TNA)
leader R Sampanthan has hinted at peace proposals of their own, for obvious
consideration by the Government and the Sinhala polity, which have been grabbling with
it all at the APRC...

Daily Mirror, 21 August 2007
Five killed in Vavuniya
A civilian bus driver and four security personnel including three female Home Guards
were killed in an LTTE small arms attack at a road block at Sumathipura in Vavuniya
yesterday. Military sources said a heavily armed LTTE group traveling in a jeep, opened
fire at the Ullakkulama road block manned by the Police and Home Guards... Meanwhile,
Fresh clashes erupted in Vavuniya on Sunday evening killing at least nine LTTE cadres

and injuring many others from both sides, military said yesterday. �??In one incident
seven LTTE cadres were killed and several injured, while a soldier was killed and eight

others were wounded in West of Omanthai,�?? a senior military official said. He said
fighting broke out on Sunday when the LTTE mounted a massive mortar attack on the
military�??s defence lines, prompting military to retaliate with heavy mortars. �??The

battle lasted for several hours before the LTTE fire was neutralized by the troops,�?? he
said...

Daily Mirror, 21 August 2007
Another aid worker shot dead (Easwaran Rutnam)
A local staff member of the Danish Demining Group (DDG) was shot dead in Jaffna
yesterday while another suffered injuries forcing the organisation to suspend operations
in the peninsula. The incident comes just days after the controversy surrounding the
statement made by UN Humanitarian Affairs Chief John Holmes that Sri Lanka was
among the most dangerous places for humanitarian workers. The incident is �??very

serious�?? and until we are sure of our staff safety we will suspend our Jaffna
operations, DDG Country Programme Manager Steen Wetlesen told the Daily Mirror
adding that the incident was possibly linked to the volatile security situation in Jaffna...

Daily News, 22 August 2007
Military Law programme between US and Sri Lanka
Colombo: Military law professionals from the U.S. Pacific Command, in partnership with
the American Embassy in Colombo, hosted a Military Law Exchange Programme with
the Sri Lankan Ministry of Defense to exchange ideas on ways to improve transparency,
accountability and human rights in military justice, the US Embassy said. A five-member
American team met with 35 Sri Lankan Army, Navy and Air Force personnel last week at
the Galadari Hotel to foster the mutual exchange of ideas and discussion of law affecting
military commanders...

Daily News, 22 August 2007
Govt committed to maximum devolution of power
Kotte: The Government is committed to maximum devolution of power within a unitary
State, Minister Jeyaraj Fernandopulle told Parliament yesterday. Responding to a special
statement made by Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) parliamentarian Wimal
Weerawansa, Fernandopulle who is also the Chief Government Whip said the
Government was amenable to power-sharing arrangement, provided that it preserves the
unitary nature of the constitution. �??This is the position of President Mahinda

Rajapaksa and that of the Government,�?? he said...

Daily Mirror, 22 August 2007
Did Tiger artillery target Army chief?; LTTE spokesman says attack �??no big

deal�?? (Sunil Jayasiri and Easwaran Rutnam)
The LTTE and the military were involved in a barrage of artillery exchanges in Jaffna
yesterday forcing Army Commander Sarath Fonseka to suspend a scheduled visit to

Palaly. The LTTE however played down the incident saying it was just part of a

�??routine exchange of shelling.�?? Commander Fonseka was scheduled to leave
Katunayake for Palaly on board a military helicopter last morning when bad weather
resulted in the flight being delayed. However some 45 minutes later, the approximate
time it takes for the helicopter to reach Palaly, the LTTE launched a barrage of artillery
shells towards Palaly and the Kankesanthurai harbour...

Daily Mirror, 22 August 2007
Foreign aid to Sri Lanka Over 27% in first half
The Japanese government maintained a leading position among development partners as
usual with the total disbursement amounting to US$75. Sri Lanka in the first half of this
year has obtained an increased aid commitment by foreign donors up by US$237 million
up by 27.11% The total foreign aid commitment to Sri Lanka has topped US$874 million,
the Treasury stated in its mid year report. It was stated that this aid comprised of US$803
million in project loans and US$71 million in grants. Japan has topped the list of aid
donors with US$362.8 million followed thereafter by the ADB with US$300 million...

Asian Tribune, 22 August 2007
Australian radio stations raise funds for Tiger terrorists
Sydney (Aug 22): Australia is now a gold mine for Tamil broadcasters to glorify the
internationally banned Tamil Tiger leader, Velupillai Prabhakaran and raise funds. Often
the radio stations in Melbourne and Sydney are open to Tamil Tiger leaders in the Vanni
who come on line regularly to plead for funds by glorifying the terror tactics of the Tamil
Tigers. These stations have a free run because the broadcasts are in Tamil and there is no
one to monitor the daily pro-Tamil Tiger propaganda. In addition to raising funds and
glorifying terrorism the broadcasters hint at veiled threats to those who do not toe the
LTTE line. The threats are aimed at twisting the arms of those Australian Tamils who
have relatives back in the Vanni areas...

Daily News, 23 August 2007
Abductions, HR abuses see drastic drop (Chaminda Perera)

Colombo: The People�??s Action for Free and Fair Election (PAFFEREL) yesterday
said there is a drastic drop in abductions, disappearances and other acts of Human Rights
violations over that reported a few months earlier in the country. The PAFFEREL in an
interim report on abductions, disappearances, indiscriminate arrests and assassinations
said there appears to be a significant decrease in arrests, disappearances and abductions

during July-August compared to the figures during May �?“June...

Daily Mirror, 23 August 2007
Sea Tiger base bombed (Sunil Jayasiri)
Air Force fighter jets yesterday bombed a key sea Tiger base north of Mullaitivu, which
was also believed to have been used to smuggle arms into LTTE-held areas, a senior Air

Force official told the Daily Mirror yesterday. �??The Tigers were using this base

named �??Naresh�?? from where they had been coordinating their activities with

foreign terrorist organizations via sea routes,�?? he said. He said the base had been used

as an LTTE training camp of its naval wing... �??Pilots confirmed that heavy damage
had been caused to the base, but the exact number of LTTE casualties is yet to be

known,�?? the official said.

Lanka Page, 24 August 2007
Sri Lanka reiterates maximum devolution of power within unitary state
Aug 23, Colombo: Sri Lanka government again said it always believes that maximum
devolution of power under a unitary constitution is the most comprehensive method to
devolve power in the country. Addressing the media today the Minister of Mass Media
and Information and Spokesman Anura Priyadarshana Yapa said the government is also
waiting for the final set of proposals of the All Party Representative Committee (APRC)
and is hoping that the final document would be a consensus of the majority of the
political parties in Sri Lanka. APRC was set up with the ultimate objective of coming up
with a set of proposals that would be the basis for settling the national question and also
be a basis for a future constitution, he said.

Daily Mirror, 24 August 2007
Indian Navy busts LTTE fuel racket
The Indian Navy and Customs on Tuesday busted a racket where diesel was reportedly
being sold to operatives of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelem (LTTE). This came to
light when a joint patrolling party headed by Rajiv Kumar, the leading Patrol Man of the
Indian Navy based at Rameswaram seized a mechanized boat and arrested 5 fishermen
with Sri Lankan currency. The arrested fishermen have been identified as S. Kumar (30),
A. Paltha (45), F. Robert (23), S. Packiaraj (32) and A. Anbukilavan (24). They all
belong to the Rameswaram and Thankatchimadam areas. The owner of the boat was
identified as Arulanandam of Verkodu. During interrogation, they confessed that they
handed over 50 litres of diesel to the operatives of the LTTE at Kottai Mannar in the
Mannar district. In exchange, the crew received Rs.1, 500 in Sri Lankan currency.

Daily Mirror, 24 August 2007
Indian Navy busts LTTE fuel racket
The Indian Navy and Customs on Tuesday busted a racket where diesel was reportedly
being sold to operatives of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelem (LTTE). This came to
light when a joint patrolling party headed by Rajiv Kumar, the leading Patrol Man of the
Indian Navy based at Rameswaram seized a mechanized boat and arrested 5 fishermen
with Sri Lankan currency. The arrested fishermen have been identified as S. Kumar (30),
A. Paltha (45), F. Robert (23), S. Packiaraj (32) and A. Anbukilavan (24). They all
belong to the Rameswaram and Thankatchimadam areas. The owner of the boat was

identified as Arulanandam of Verkodu. �??During interrogation, they confessed that
they handed over 50 litres of diesel to the operatives of the LTTE at Kottai Mannar in the
Mannar district. In exchange, the crew received Rs.1, 500 in Sri Lankan currency.

The Hindu, 24 August 2007

Battle front in Sri Lanka shifting north
COLOMBO: Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM), mandated to oversee
implementation of the virtually collapsed 2002 Cease-Fire Agreement (CFA) between the
forces and the LTTE, has recorded continuous multi-barrel rocket launcher and artillery
barrages in the Poonaryn area and the Jaffna Forward Defence Line (FDL) in the north in
the past few days. The latest situation report of the SLMM on the north and east is a clear
sign that slowly, but steadily, the fighting is shifting to north and it could be a matter of
days before the region witnesses a sharp escalation in hostilities.

Asian Tribune, 25 August 2007
LTTE to acquire shortly chemical weapons
Colombo, 25 August, (Asiantribune.com): Tamil Tiger leader Velupillai Prabakaran is in
the process of acquiring chemical weapons in the near future, Lanka intelligence sources
revealed. There is enough evidence available to prove that the LTTE already has built up
stocks of Cyanide and Potassium during the ceasefire period. On 12th of August in
Anuradhapura north - Medawachhiya, a Police roadblock was by passed by a tipper
vehicle and it was stopped at a second roadblock. The occupants tried to bribe the officers

but the officers didn�??t accept the bribes and after checking, they found 3,600 liters of

Sulfuric Acid. The suspects were handed over to the CID (Criminal Investigation
Department). Intelligence sources revealed that the suspects had past records of
smuggling explosives to LTTE controlled areas, as well as from LTTE-controlled areas
to government controlled areas. For what purpose does the LTTE need Sulfuric Acid?
According to a source, the LTTE has an underground laboratory in the Adampan area
bordering Mannar - Kilinochchi districts.

Daily Mirror, 25 August 2007
Omanthai crossing point to open 5 days a week
The government and the LTTE yesterday agreed to open the Omanthai entry/exit point
five days a week from Monday following meetings the ICRC had with the LTTE and the
military over the past few days. The crossing point will be open from 9 am to 5 pm
during the week. The LTTE put forward a set of proposals to the ICRC for the opening of
the Omanthai crossing point and the conditions were discussed with the army in
Vavuniya yesterday when the two sides compromised on opening the route five days a
week.

The Hindu, 25 August 2007
Red alert for LTTE operatives sounded along south-eastern coast
RAMANATHAPURAM: A red alert has been sounded along the south-eastern coast of
Tamil Nadu following a reported message from Sri Lanka that a group of suspected
operatives of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam had sneaked into the State for
smuggling. The Navy and Coast Guard conducted a massive search operation on
Thursday night by mobilising vessels deployed in the region. The police, the Coastal
Security Group and other agencies conducted a combing operation along the coast.
According to informed sources, the message, which originated from Sri Lanka, was sent
to all security agencies manning the east coast on Thursday. It said a group of 4 to 7
suspected operatives were headed for Rameswaram in a boat. They began their journey

from northern Sri Lanka [Jaffna area] in the late hours of August 22 (Wednesday).

Sunday Times, 26 August 2007
Government sidelines Karuna, promotes new front in East
In a significant shift of strategy and political alliances in the east, the Government is
believed to have virtually dumped the Karuna faction and is supporting a new Tamil front
for local elections in the east later this year, political sources said. The new front led by
Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF) leader V. Anandasangaree and including the
People's Liberation Organisation of Tamil Eelam (PLOTE) and the Eelam People's
Liberation Front (EPRLF- Pathmanabha Wing) is to begin its political activities in the
east within the next few weeks. It is due to function as the Tamil Democratic Alliance
(TDA) and is inviting other Tamil parties to join the alliance to contest local elections
followed by provincial elections in the east.

Colombo Page, 27 August 2007
Prices escalate in Jaffna, government doubles food shipments
Aug 26, Colombo: Sources from the Northern Province of Sri Lanka says that the price of
essential food commodities have risen to unbearable heights in Jaffna peninsula. The
price of a kilo of rice in most shops was around Rs. 130 last week while the price of a
kilo of wheat flour was also around Rs. 100 in some shops, Jaffna sources said. The price
of a kilo of dhal, a popular curry among the Tamils, was around Rs. 200. Price of
powdered milk was well over Rs. 300 and the majority of other items transported from
other areas were also sold at bloated prices.

Daily Mirror, 27 August 2007
Civilian casualties in air strikes, says SLMM: No, claims SLAF
The Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM), in its weekly assessment report for August
13-19, has noted civilian casualties in Air Force aerial bombings carried out in the Vanni
during that week despite the Defence Ministry saying the target was a rebel mortar
position. According to the SLMM, one child was killed and two civilians injured as a
result of the aerial attacks on August 13 and 15 in Nedunkerni and surrounding villages
in the Vanni, and adds that in Katkulam a rice mill was destroyed and a Co-op store
damaged while two houses were destroyed and a school building damaged.

Daily Mirror, 27 August 2007
Claymore mine recovered
A claymore mine was recovered from a private building near Dalada Maligawa in Kandy
yesterday. The recovery comes two days before the conclusion of the annual Esala
Perahera. Meanwhile two other claymore mines with a combined weight of 15 kg were
recovered by the army in Kalpitiya following a tip off by civilians yesterday. The two
mines were laid out to explode simultaneously along the Padaviya Road.

Daily News, 29 August 2007
UK training for LTTE 'police': Govt launches probe
COLOMBO: Sri Lankan Government and Defence authorities have launched an
investigation into reports that LTTE operatives received 'police' training in the UK after

the CFA was signed, with the blessings of Norway and the knowledge of the then UNF
Government. The top-level probe has been spurred as a result of revelations by an LTTE
cadre who was arrested at a police roadblock in Trincomalee, a highly placed defence
source said.

Daily Mirror, 29 August 2007
STF finds hiding child cadres in Ampara
The STF in Ampara yesterday found eight LTTE child cadres hiding in bushes in the area
where, the previous night the LTTE claimed, they, together with several other child
soldiers were to be handed over to the UNICEF. As was reported in the Daily Mirror
yesterday, the UNICEF said it had no knowledge of any handover of child soldiers by the
LTTE in Ampara and with the revelations following the youth at risk, suspicion had been
further raised that the lives of the children had been put at risk by the Tigers on the
previous night. Reiterating that they had no knowledge of such a handover in Ampara,
UNICEF spokesman Gordon Weiss stressed that a large scale

Daily Mirror, 29 August 2007
Explosives haul raise concerns in East
Controversy surrounds the arrest of two Tamils and a Sinhalese with a haul of explosives
in the East on Monday, with intelligence sources telling the Daily Mirror the explosive
material may have been supplied by a TMVP operative. Kalkudha Police said the Army
arrested the three men with the explosives found hidden in a fishing boat as the suspects
prepared to set sail on Monday morning. Among the items seized were three kilograms of
C-4 explosives, nine detonators and 25 gelignite sticks which could be used in a terrorist
attack. The Kalkuda OIC said the suspects claimed the items were to be used for fishing.

Daily Mirror, 30 August 2007
Govt. appoints committee to probe child soldiers
The government yesterday announced the setting up of a committee to inquire into
allegations of abduction and recruitment of children for use in armed conflict with
immediate effect. The announcement comes as the United Nations Security Council
Working Group on Children and Armed Conflict prepares to study a report on child
soldiers in October. According to the Ministry of Disaster Management and Human
Rights the committee will liaise and communicate with other consultative and
coordinating mechanisms established by the Government that bear responsibility for the
safeguarding of human rights and rights under humanitarian law, especially those of
children caught up in the conflict.

Daily Mirror, 30 August 2007
Top Pillayan associate killed, suspect held
The Pillayan faction is said to be holding and interrogating the killer of one of its
associates, Pillayan sources told the Daily Mirror yesterday. It said the killing last
morning was the result of an internal rift and was not carried out by the LTTE.Identified
simply as Murali, a former 'Commander' of the TMVP and a close ally of Pillayan, was
shot dead in the East by an unidentified gunman last morning and immediately news
spread that the LTTE was behind the killing.

Daily Mirror, 30 August 2007
Rupee plunges to all time low
The rupee yesterday plunged to an all time low of Rs.113.36 against the US dollar hitting
hard on the country's economy. The rupee that closed at the beginning of last week at
Rs.112 made a straight jump in one week by Rs. 1 and economic analysts predict further
fall in the coming few weeks and warned it would take the rupee to Rs. 115 to Rs.118 to
the Dollar. The weakening of the rupee would inevitably have an impact on the country's
economic expansion with Sri Lanka being heavily import oriented. Further it would
adversely affect the inflation rate which had seen a high of 17.2% just last month,
analysts said.

The Hindu, 30 August 2007
Sri Lanka to drop ethnic origin reference
COLOMBO: Sri Lanka has decided to exclude references like nationality, ethnic origin,
religion and language in all future registration of households by the police. The decision
follows a directive by the Human Rights Ministry on representations by civil society
groups which had raised objections against some of the details sought by the police. A
statement by the Disaster Management and Human Rights Ministry said here on
Wednesday that henceforth, the only information required to be furnished will be
confined to the chief occupant's name, identity number and address, names and ages of
family members together with their identity numbers and relationship to the chief
occupant.

Daily News, 31 August 2007
Rapid growth in tourism industry
COLOMBO: The tourism industry has seen a rapid growth. About 98 per cent of hotel
rooms in and around Colombo are full and 60 per cent of rooms in outstation hotels are
also fully booked, Media Minister Lakshman Yapa Abeywardena said. Addressing the
weekly press briefing at Seth Sevana, Colombo yesterday, he said, 55,130 tourists have
visited Sri Lanka up to this month. There is a gradual increase in tourists visiting Sri
Lanka in May during the past few months. Over 26,000 tourists arrived in Sri Lanka and
in June the number was over 30,000. Over 44,000 tourists arrived in Sri Lanka in July,
Abeywardena said.