Merv warns media

Deputy Highways Minister Mervyn Silva, at a function in Kelaniya today warned that if some media continue to report the way they do they will have to face the same fate as detained Parliamentarian Sarath Fonseka.

The Deputy Minister said journalists should not write in a way which would ultimately force them to be hanged.

While claiming that a certain newspaper will not sell without news about him the Deputy Minister later urged the media to scold him if they must but at the same time report only the truth.

“When you look at some of these people who write about me and scold me I personally know their background is not good,” he said.

Mervyn Silva was just yesterday reappointed to his post in the government after he was cleared by an SLFP disciplinary committee from charges against him involving an incident where he had tied a Sumurdhi official to a tree in Kaleniya.

Dictatorship will ruin country, Ministers and family, says Fonseka

18th amendment passed with 2/3 majority

UNF 09, SLMC 08 & TNA 01 voted for it

(Lanka-e-News, Sep. 08, 2010, 9.40 PM) The draft proposal of the 18th amendment was passed in Parliament today (18) with a majority of 144 votes. 161 voted for it while 17 voted against. MPs of the UNF, Lakshman Seneviratne, Abdul Cader, Earl Gunasekera, Nimal Wijesinghe, Prabha Ganeshan, Diggambaram, Sri Ranga and Upeksha Swarnamali; TNA Digamadulla District M.P. H R Piyasena and 8 MPs of the SLMC voted with the Govt. Democratic National Alliance and Tamil National Alliance MPS voted against the amendment. The main Opposition party, the UNP boycotted the amendment debate.

Soldier transferred for saluting Anoma Fonseka

An Army soldier who saluted Anoma Fonseka , the wife of Army Commander when she went to pay tribute at an Army memorial situated at Parliament Road, Sri Jayawardenapura had been given orders by the Defense Ministry to be transferred immediately to another place of work in the Army. Mrs. Fonseka who performed a religious pooja on the 8th ,lighting traditional ‘pahans’ invoking blessings for the release of Gen. Fonseka , had gone to the Army memorial to pay her tribute. It is reported that the soldier who saluted Mrs. Fonseka had been summoned by the Defense Secretary privately and blamed for his action , and later given an official transfer. The picture depicts the Army soldier who was transferred on the instructions of the Defense Secretary saluting Mrs. Fonseka

US upholds LTTE aid ban

The US Supreme Court has upheld a ban on aid to designated terrorist groups including the LTTE, even when that support is intended to steer the groups toward peaceful and legal activities, the US media reported.

According to US media reports the US court, Monday, left intact a federal law that the Obama administration considers an important tool against terrorism. But human rights organizations say the law's ban on providing training and advice to nearly four dozen organizations on a State Department list squanders a chance to persuade people to renounce extremism.

The justices voted 6-3 to reject a free-speech challenge from humanitarian aid groups to the law that bars "material support" -- everything from money to technical know-how to legal advice -- to foreign terrorist organizations.

The aid groups were only challenging provisions that put them at risk of being prosecuted for talking to terrorist organizations about nonviolent activities.

But Chief Justice John Roberts said in his opinion for the court that material support intended even for benign purposes can help a terrorist group in other ways.

In this case, the Humanitarian Law Project, civil rights lawyer Ralph Fertig and physician Nagalingam Jeyalingam, among others, wanted to offer assistance to the Kurdish or Tamil groups.

The government says the PKK has been involved in a violent insurgency that has claimed 22,000 lives while the LTTE waged a civil war for more than 30 years before their defeat last year.

LTTE network still active (By Gandhya Senanayake in Mullaitivu)

Defense Secretary, Gotabaya Rajapaksa said that although the LTTE has been eliminated in Sri Lanka, the international web of the Tigers is still active but yet they do not have the capabilities to wage a war.

He made this statement when he addressed the security forces after opening the first Security Forces headquarters in Mullaitivua this morning.

The Defense Secretary added that organizations such as the Global Tamil Forum in the UK, the transnational government in the US and groups in Norway still carry the ideology of the LTTE and therefore the intelligent units of the army and all other security services have to be vigilant.

The Defense Secretary also said that the navy has a special role to play and that they need to protect the country from rebels who arrive in the country subsequent to receiving military training from other countries.

He added that the army should play a different role and should build a relationship with the public.

“Soldiers should know the intelligent capabilities of the LTTE and they should concentrate on sustaining the peace they achieved after hardships and many sacrifices. Security forces have an important role to play to prevent Sri Lanka from going back to the dark Age,” he said.

He also added that they will look into facilities when they set up camps for soldiers although it was not done so in earlier occasion.

“We will look into facilities before setting up camps unlike in the past so that soldiers can perform their duties well,” he said.

Meanwhile the Security Forces Headquarters Commander for Mullaitivu Major General Prasana deSilva, speaking to Daily Mirror online said that the army presence in Mullaitivu will be curtailed once civil administration is fully established in the area.

He said that following discussions with the Inspector General of Police (IGP) Mahinda Balasuriya and Defence Secretary Gotabahya Rajapaksa 5 to 6 police stations will be established in the area soon and once that is done the army presence will be reduced.

He also said that Mullaitivu, which is now operating on generators, will be connected to the main power grid by the end of this month. Public transport will be increased to the area and job opportunities will also be provided to the resettled families.

Country’s valuable lands are all now under the Rajapakse family

(Lanka-e-News 09.May.2010 11.30pm) Anura Kumara Dissanayake M P addressing a media briefing on the 9th at the JVP Headquarters at Pelawatte , Bataramulla said, at the recent distribution of Ministries when the new Cabinet was appointed , the important Institutions like the lands reforms Commission, Telecommunication regulatory Commission, Attorney General and legal Draftsman’s Dept , Urban development Ministry, Land rehabilitation and development Corporation, Coast conservation Dept., Petroleum resources development Secretariat, Oil resources development Institution, Finance Ministry, Security Division ,Highways , Ports and Aviation services are all distributed among the President’s family members . It is crystal clear from this that the Cabinet appointments have been made not with the objective of developing the country. The President before the elections promised to prune down the Cabinet to 35 to 37 Ministers , but now , already it has gone up to 42. Though the assurance given was that only those who were capable will be appointed as Ministers and Deputy Ministers , what has truly taken place is only just changing the names of the Ministries. The Gazette notification of the Ministries and their functions was delayed this time. According to that gazette notification the President has taken into his fold , Finance, Defense, Ports and aviation services, planning and Highways . There are 78 Institutions under the President now!

The lands reform Commission Committee was traditionally under the Lands Ministry . A large amount of the lands of this country under the State are under the purview of the lands reform Commission Committee. All those are now under the President. The Telecommunication regulatory Commission which ought to be under the Posts and telecommunication Ministry are also now under the President. This is a place where there is colossal monetary flow. The Attorney General’s Dept. and the legal draftsman’s Dept. which were under the Ministry of Justice have been brought under the control of the President.

Likewise , the important Urban development Authority as well as the lands rehabilitation and development Corporation under the Urban development Ministry have been brought within the ambit of the Defense Ministry. These types of things have never occurred anywhere in the world. These Ministries and Institutions have been distributed not based on any method .. They have been done to suit and please the President’s Family and relatives. The most valuable lands of this country belong to the Urban development Authority. By gazette notification these have been transferred to the Urban development Authority .This is a ploy to appropriate the most valuable common lands to himself , Anura Kumara asserted. Traditionally , coast conservation Dept. came under the Fisheries Ministry. But , now this has been brought under the purview of the Ministry of Ports and aviation services. All the coastal lands belong to the Coast conservation Dept.. Hence, a large strip of coastal land in the North and the East too is now under the President. These lands are the most valuable lands . Another important Institution is the Crude oil resources development Secretariat and Oil resources development Institution which was under the Petroleum Ministry . The President has divested it of the Ministry of petroleum and vested it under the President. It is evident from all these actions of the President , all important Ministries and Institutions of this country had been by careful calculation and manipulation brought under him , his family and relatives, not for the country’s development , but for the development of his family, Anura Kumara Dissanayake pointed out

Deputy Minister Muralidharan makes request on behalf of wife of former LTTE leader Tamilselvan

Deputy Minister of re settlement, Vinayaga moorthy Muralidharan had made a request to the Govt. on behalf of the wife of former political wing leader Tamilselvan who died in an air attack by the SL Air Force . He had asked the Govt. to grant permission to her who is expecting political asylum in India to go there.

At the moment Tamilselvan’s wife is in the custody of the security Forces.

If party wants me to resign from leadership, I am prepared to do so –Ranil says in India

(Lanka-e-News 11.May.2010 9.00PM) UNP leader Ranil Wickremesinghe who is on a private tour of India, is to make a special statement as to whether he will continue to be the UNP leader or not, immediately after he returns to SL. Wickremesinghe’s private Secretary, Sudath Chandrasekera had conveyed this message passed to him by Wickremesinghe over the phone from India. When Lanka e news inquired about this from Chandrasekera, he stated that Wickremesinghe did everything possible for the progress of the party and make it victorious. After the defeat at the Presidential and General elections, he wanted to step down from the leadership, but it is the party members who requested him not to do so., and urged him to continue as the leader. He added , that Wickremesinghe had told him over the phone that he has no necessity to forcefully remain as leader , and if it is the wish of the party that he should resign, he has no desire to continue in that position.

It is reported that Mr. Wickremesinghe before he left for India has met the members of the Committee headed by Joseph Michael Perera to reorganize the party and told , if necessary he is prepared to resign from the leadership. The Re organization Committee was appointed by the UNP Executive Committee.

Military to decide on CM

By Melanie Bamunusinghe


The Military will decide if to go ahead with the Court Martial (CM) against former Army Commander General Sarath Fonseka next Tuesday as scheduled despite it clashing with Parliament proceedings or postpone it for a later date or time.

The next Court Martial hearing is scheduled for Tuesday, the same day Parliament is scheduled to convene and General Fonseka is expected to attend Parliament.

The Democratic National Alliance (DNA) had earlier claimed that the next Court Martial cannot proceed as scheduled as General Fonseka is a member of parliament and is protected under the parliamentary privileges and so he can attend parliament.

Military Spokesman, Major General Prasad Samarasinghe told Daily Mirror online that discussions regarding the date and time of the next Court Martial is still ongoing and a statement will be issued soon.

The Court Martial is probing into four charges against General Sarath Fonseka regarding military procurements under the section ‘disgraceful conduct’ in the Army. (Daily Mirror online)

Mervyn says will resign if guilty

By Jamila Najmuddin


Deputy Media Minister Mervyn Silva, who assumed duties at his Ministry in Colombo today, made a pledge that he will resign from his new post if there are allegations against him and if such allegations are proven to be true.

The Deputy Minister, who is known for his frequent clashes with the media, also urged journalists and media institutions to contact him directly if they have any concerns noting that he even sleeps separately from his wife at home just to make sure his mobile is reachable even at night.

The Deputy Minister, who is now the acting Media Minister in the absence of President Mahinda Rajapaksa who is in Bhutan for the SAARC summit, said that he will setup a complaints desk at the Media Ministry for journalists to lodge complaints or make suggestions.

He also mentioned the name of one electronic media institution saying that media house has done a lot of wrong. However he was later seen serving cake to the crew of the same media institution who were also at hand at the event this morning when he took office.

“If I have done anything wrong against the media and if there is proof then I will resign from my Ministry,” Minister Silva added.

Minister Silva meanwhile added that the “Rajapaksa Company” has done a lot of good to the country and if not for them this country would suffer the same fate as some western countries who are facing economic issues. (Daily Mirrior online)

Akon ticket money refunded

Organizers of the cancelled Akon concert (which had been scheduled to be held here last Saturday) have begun refunding the cost of the tickets purchased, officials said; adding that the rescheduled concert in the Maldives had also been postponed.

“We have already begun refunding the money. Those who purchased tickets from Dialog and Cinnamon Grand Hotel will be refunded on Thursday 29th April,” an official at Platinum Entertainment told Daily Mirror online.

The concert by Akon was to be held in Sri Lanka last Saturday but had to be cancelled as a result of protests by some groups who charged that the singer had disrespected Buddhism by having a group of semi-nude dancers perform in front of a Buddha statue in one of his videos.

Platinum Entertainment had later made arrangements to hold the concert in the Maldives and obtained the approval of the Maldivian government as well. However, when contacted by Daily Mirror online today, Platinum Entertainment said that the concert had been “postponed” but would not comment on the reason for the postponement. (Daily Mirror online)

Gas companies seek price increase

By Mahinda Nissanka.

Shell and Laugf Gas companies have sought permission to increase the price of gas from May 1 with the Consumer Affairs Authority expected to take a decision today after meeting Internal Trade Minister Johnston Fernando.

A senior officer of the Consumer Affairs Authority said a price revision was due to be effected soon in keeping with the pricing formula according to which prices were due to be revised every two months.

He said price of gas in the world market had increased.

When the Shell and Laugf Gas companies sought permission for a price increase from the former minister but with the Treasury removing the import tax of Rs.8.70 a price increase was averted.

A 12.5 Kg cylinder of Shell gas is sold at Rs 1550 while Laugf gas sells a 12.5 cylinder of gas at Rs.1421.

General to take a leaf from JR’s book

Democratic National Alliance (DNA) leader MP Gen. Sarath Fonseka has borrowed a book from the Parliamentary library, which discusses how President J. R. Jayewardene fought against the Samagi Peramuna government of Mrs. Sirimavo Bandaranaike between 1970 and 1977.

Mr. Jayewardene was the Opposition leader at that time with only a handful of MPs in his party. The then SLFP led government enjoyed a two-thirds majority in Parliament. The book written about his role as the Opposition leader describes how he withstood heckling and bullying by SLFP strongmen at that time, and led his party to a landslide victory in 1977.

DNA General Secretary MP Vijitha Herath told the Daily Mirror yesterday that Gen. Fonseka who had a discussion with his MPs on Tuesday burrowed this book from the library to be read while being held in detention.

Besides, the DNA has decided to vote against the state of emergency on May 4. Gen. Fonseka will speak during the debate on the extension of the state of emergency on that day.

Mr. Herath said that Gen. Fonseka acquainted himself with the Parliamentary staff and knew how to access the research division of the House meant for MPs.

Asked how the DNA would act in Parliament in the future, he said that his party would stand together with the UNP on common issues.

“Otherwise, we will act independently,” Mr. Herath said.

Di Mu is new Prime Minister

General Secretary of the People’s Alliance (PA), Dissanayake Mudiyanselage Jayaratne was sworn in as the Prime Minster before President Mahinda Rajapaksa a short while ago. Mr. Jayaratne entered parliament from Gampola electorate following the General Election in 1970 from the United Front led by Mrs. Sirimavo Bandaranaike. Born in June 7, 1931 he is one of the earliest members of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party when it was founded in Kandy in 1951. He was educated at Doluwa Maha Vidyalaya where he was later a teacher. He was later postmaster at Doluwa, Gampola from 1960-62. He was defeated in the General Election of 1977 and later re-elected from the Kandy District. In the 1989 General Election, he obtained 54,290 votes; the highest polled by a candidate of the district from the SLFP and was a member of the opposition in the parliament. He was a key member in organizing the People's Alliance and in the General Election of 1994, he was elected again with the highest number of votes from the Gampola electorate and appointed Minister of Land, Agriculture and Forestry in the cabinet of Prime Minister Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga. Following the election in 2000 he was appointed Minister of Agriculture, Food and Corporative. With the General Election victory of the PA in 2004, he was appointed Minister of Post and Telecommunication and Upcountry Development and later in 2005 he was appointed Minister of Post and Telecommunication and Rural Economic Development under President Mahinda Rajapaksa. From 2007 to date he has been the Minister of Plantation Industries. In 2001 he was elected Chairman of the Asia Pacific Region of Food and Agriculture Organization. Mr. Jayaratne is the 20th Prime Minister of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka.

Trouble brews as it begins: No wishes or greetings from Weerawansa to Speaker

After Chamal Rajapakse was appointed as the Speaker of Parliament, all leaders of the political parties spoke well of the Speaker and wished him well. But, Wimal Weerawansa , the NFF leader and who parades as a prominent partner of the UPFA did not express such eulogies .

Among those who used the tongue most to bring the Rajapkses to power, Weerawansa was leading.

It is reported that Weerawansa is in deep despair and disappointment over the allocation of slots to his party members in the National list, and non appointment of MPs as promised. During the election campaign, he identified himself as the 'Mawbime panchayudha' ( weapon of the motherland).

Whether Weerawansa who is now in total despair will use the weapon to battle out his political disappointment or lay down his weapon ? political analysts ask.

22 Armories of Sinha regiment Headquarters sealed

According to reports reaching lanka e news , 22 Armories of the Sinha regiment Headquarters at Gampaha have been sealed. This sealing had been done at the time when Gen. Sarath Fonseka became a candidate at the Presidential elections. Gen. Fonseka was the Head of the Sinha regiment before he became the Army Commander. It is reported that during the Presidential elections , instructions had been given to the Head Commander of the Sinha regiment that no vehicle shall be taken out from the Regiment camps without the orders of the Defense Ministry. During the Presidential elections , the Sinha regiment Headquarters administration was transferred to the Military Police by the Defense Ministry . After the elections , a large number of officers suspected of being close to Gen. Fonseka were transferred to Kilinochchi, reports say.

Where owing to special reasons, the Sinha regiment armories had not been sealed , every armory of the Army had been ordered to be sealed every day from 5.00 p.m . to 6.00 a.m. the following day . These seals cannot be opened by anyone except by the Army spokesman Major General Prasad Samarasinghe , the duty officers and others on special occasions, according to Prasad Samarasinghe. When Lanka e news inquired from the Army spokesman about this sealing , he answered in the affirmative.

I am ashamed to feed my children out of the salary collected from CID

(Lanka-e-News, March 30, 2010, 7.25PM) A top rung police officer of the CID told Lanka e news he is ashamed to feed his children out of the salaries he collects from his vocation.

This officer who wished to remain anonymous made this statement while he is undergoing training abroad. The present CID has become shameless lackeys of politicians and has been politicized on a scale as never before in SL, he added. Investigations are never conducted impartially, and they are all warped by political agendas. Hence, he said, his conscience does not permit him to feed his children out of the earnings from this job.
When Mendis was the CID Director, that was the last period when the CID carried out its duties independently. Thereafter, gradually it became a place where the politicians’ wishes were carried out and not the duty to the public was carried out. It is now a degraded den stooping to the lowest level only to please politicians best, he pointed out.

Because of this disgraceful state of affairs , many scrupulous police officers are disillusioned. The CID which was the ‘cream’ of the police plunging so low beyond redemption is a matter for regret, he noted.
At the last Presidential elections 80% of the police officers voted for General Fonseka at the postal polling. But when the results came the picture had been distorted. The CID should first investigate this before anything else, he asserted.

A friend of Sarath Fonseka and Basil Rajapaksha over 40 years writes a open letter

Hello my friends,

This morning I read a statement by the President of Sri Lanka referring to General Sarath Fonseka ' a fool!" As a friend of Sarath Fonseka, as a patriot who was involved in anti LTTE activities for over 30 years and above all as a Sri Lankan, I take umbrage for this irresponsible and unbecoming statement, coming from the head of state of Sri Lanka. In a democracy even if we do not agree with our opponent, we have to respect his right to harbor any opposing views. If we do not want others to contest against you, why do we hold elections and also call them free and fair elections?

In 1970's I attended a meeting for Mahinda Rajapaksa and listened to a speech by Prof. Vinnie Witharana and came home galvanized by the idea of electing young men to the parliament. After a resounding victory of the SLFP, Mahinda Rajapaksa became the youngest MP of the parliament. I was truly happy for two reasons. First of all he was the brother of Basil Rajapaksa, who was my classmante at Ananda College. He was also a close friend of late Gamini Fonseka, who subsequently became a dear friend and virtually a mentor and father to me.

Gamini Fonseka had a property in Weerawila called "Senasuma" and he was unable to get a telephone connection as he had campaigned for the UNP during the 1970 elections and it was Mahinda Rajapaksa using his influence who got the telephone for this facility. In his usual way Gamini never forgot this favour and continued the frienship until his death.

In 1989 Gamini contested the Matara district on the UNP ticket and I ran the campaign for him. During the campaign and even after the victory Mahinda rajapakse used drop in at our Matara residence/office on his way from Beliatta to Colombo. Those were dangerous times as there was a huge threat against candidates of all parties. I still remember how on the first day of our Matara campaign a UNP supporter called "Kalu Mahaththaya" was murdered in Wimal Weerawansa's hamlet. All these things happened 20 years ago and yet the memories are fresh. I also remeber how Gamini used to entertain his friends such as Dm Jayarathne, Jeyaraj Fenandopulle, S. B. Dissanayake and Mahinda Rajapaksa in Deputy Speaker's office although they belonged to the opposition. I remember Gamini appealing to Ranjan Wijerathne on behalf of his opposition friend's security matters.

My thoughts go back to pur A/L class at Ananda College nearly 40 years ago. I was in the same class with Basil Rajapakse, Rajitha Senarathne, Bandula Padmakumara and Ananda Wickramasinghe, the present Consul General for Sri Lanka in California. I was the only one who took part in any sports activity out of four of us. I played for the soccer team with Dr. Sunil Wimalawansa who is an eminent epidemiologist in New Jersey today. We had Ananda Jayathilake who played for the Ananda cricket team and Tissa Ekanayake who was a cadet and an athlete. I played soccer and did athletics. Bandula Pathmakumara even then was involved in film industry and I remember him winning a competition for young journalists conducted by the "Wisithura" newspaper.

A friend of Sarath Fonseka and Basil Rajapaksha over 40 years writes a open letter
(Lanka-e-News 24.March.2010 8.00AM)

Hello my friends,

This morning I read a statement by the President of Sri Lanka referring to General Sarath Fonseka ' a fool!" As a friend of Sarath Fonseka, as a patriot who was involved in anti LTTE activities for over 30 years and above all as a Sri Lankan, I take umbrage for this irresponsible and unbecoming statement, coming from the head of state of Sri Lanka. In a democracy even if we do not agree with our opponent, we have to respect his right to harbor any opposing views. If we do not want others to contest against you, why do we hold elections and also call them free and fair elections?

In 1970's I attended a meeting for Mahinda Rajapaksa and listened to a speech by Prof. Vinnie Witharana and came home galvanized by the idea of electing young men to the parliament. After a resounding victory of the SLFP, Mahinda Rajapaksa became the youngest MP of the parliament. I was truly happy for two reasons. First of all he was the brother of Basil Rajapaksa, who was my classmante at Ananda College. He was also a close friend of late Gamini Fonseka, who subsequently became a dear friend and virtually a mentor and father to me.

Gamini Fonseka had a property in Weerawila called "Senasuma" and he was unable to get a telephone connection as he had campaigned for the UNP during the 1970 elections and it was Mahinda Rajapaksa using his influence who got the telephone for this facility. In his usual way Gamini never forgot this favour and continued the frienship until his death.

In 1989 Gamini contested the Matara district on the UNP ticket and I ran the campaign for him. During the campaign and even after the victory Mahinda rajapakse used drop in at our Matara residence/office on his way from Beliatta to Colombo. Those were dangerous times as there was a huge threat against candidates of all parties. I still remember how on the first day of our Matara campaign a UNP supporter called "Kalu Mahaththaya" was murdered in Wimal Weerawansa's hamlet. All these things happened 20 years ago and yet the memories are fresh. I also remeber how Gamini used to entertain his friends such as Dm Jayarathne, Jeyaraj Fenandopulle, S. B. Dissanayake and Mahinda Rajapaksa in Deputy Speaker's office although they belonged to the opposition. I remember Gamini appealing to Ranjan Wijerathne on behalf of his opposition friend's security matters.

My thoughts go back to pur A/L class at Ananda College nearly 40 years ago. I was in the same class with Basil Rajapakse, Rajitha Senarathne, Bandula Padmakumara and Ananda Wickramasinghe, the present Consul General for Sri Lanka in California. I was the only one who took part in any sports activity out of four of us. I played for the soccer team with Dr. Sunil Wimalawansa who is an eminent epidemiologist in New Jersey today. We had Ananda Jayathilake who played for the Ananda cricket team and Tissa Ekanayake who was a cadet and an athlete. I played soccer and did athletics. Bandula Pathmakumara even then was involved in film industry and I remember him winning a competition for young journalists conducted by the "Wisithura" newspaper.

Sarath Fonseka was my roommate and we became very close to each other. He was a born leader even then and could function extremely well under tremendous pleasure. In a short period of time, after joining Ananda from Dharmasoka college, he became the sergeant of the Ananda Cadet platoon and led his platoon to a glorious victory beating Royal - a formidable opponent. He was also an exemplary swimming captain who brought so many accolades to Ananda College.

I personally think that through competitive sports, we test ourselves, mould our character and learn more about who we are. These lessons do not always come easily. Sometimes we win; just as often we lose. After all sports merely reflect life. Sports teach the aspect of teamwork to achieve the same goal. It makes you not worry about what you are doing. It teaches you to work together to get done what needs to be done. I think that is what Sarath Fonseka did in defeating the LTTE terrorism.

After my school days for the first time I met Basil Rajapaksa at the funeral of Rajitha Senarathne's father. He gave me his visiting card and we started exchanging greeting cards. We strated talking to each other very often when he was living in California. He has been always graccious to me and his wife Pushpa Rajapaksa has helped me in an official matter when she was the legal officer at the UDA even without knowing that I was a classmate of Basil. (At that time I too did not know that she was basil's wife.) I have tremendous respect for both of them and I would never utter a bad word against them because there is no reason for me to do that. even today when people bring up unsubstantiated allegations against them, I defend them to the hilt. If the presidential candidate was Basil Rajapaksa, I may not have taken sides during the last presidential elections. I also must say a speacial word about that wonderful human being Ananda Wickramasinghe, who is the Consul General for Sri Lanka in California. Although I never had any contacts with him until November 2009 after leaving school I know what an honorable gentleman he is. It saddens me to think that I am on the other side now. However, he should have been our ambassador here in Washington as he has all the qualities that is needed in the tactful art of diplomacy. I sincerely wish the President would restore the honor of this august institution that represents our beloved motherland, Sri Lanka by sending him here. I really do not remember Gotabhaya Rajapaksa or Dudley Rajapaksa in school. Neither of them took part in any sports activities and unless they have been in your class it is hard to remember them. I have spoken to Gotabhaya via a video conference at a gathering for "Api Wenuwen Api" and also at the Sri Lankan Embassy in Washington, DC. I hear that Dudley is a wonderful gentleman who never throws his weight around. If the President needs loysl people, Dudley Rajapaksa should be a candidate. We started this anti LTTE activities in the US nearly 25 years ago. I have never seen this present representative taking part in a demonstration or contributing a penny for the anti LTTE campaign. Shakespeare said that some are born great and some get greatness thrust upon their heads. For Jaliya, this job was thrust up on his head and with his meekly smile and his love of being photographed with powerful people and also paying for journalists to write hosannas about him has become his passion. Well, we can understand the psychology behind it - for a man whose service was terminated at MJF exports for misappropriation and also once deported from the United States this is an absolute honor - especially when he has not even passed his GCE A/L exams! Then we have his second in command who has once been the ambassador to Israel. Now he plays the second fiddle, disgracefully to cement his life here. We are determined to deal with these two as they only discredit our country. I also wish to write a few words about wonderful people such as Rear Admiral Sarath Weerasekera who was a superb soccer player at Ananda and also went on to play for Sri Lanka. He is contesting in Amapara district and I only wish him well in whatever career he chooses. I feel sorry that I missed his lovely daughter Sulochana's wedding although I was in Sri Lanka during that time. The other people who were involved in sports activities at Ananada College such as present DIG PKP Pathirana, DIG SarathChandra , the Commandant of the STF, Jayantha Alwis, Major General Gamini Goonasekera, AVM Channa Gunaratne and Col. Lalith Gunaratne are a few names that come to my mind. When I was there in Sri Lanka during the last presidential campaign I organized the old Anandians get together at General Sarath Fonseka's office and about 500 Anandians attended. At the conclusion when we sang " Jaya Jaya Anandapa Matha" I cried shamelessly. An old Anandians get together was organized by the President's campaign a few dates later. Many people confided to me that they too were invited. My response was " please attend!" and those were General Fonseka's instructions to me. This letter is not written as an apolgy to the President of Sri Lanka. General Fonseka will never apologize because he never committed anything wrong. Neither would I because I never did anything illegal by taking part in General Fonseka's campaign. Whether the President of Sri Lanka choose to pardom him or not, it is his prerogative. However I want to tell this. President Rajapaksa"s baseless statements agains a man incacerated has no value. We have fought against the LTTE for 30 years using our own resources. We will continue to do that for General Fonseka until we die. We are not frightened. Further you are challenging the UN and IMF in Sinhala and in English, you plead with them. We will not allow you to get the second installment of the loan from the IMF. Your ambassador and his deputy have no clout here in Washington, DC although the ambassador has surrounded himself with some people who change the color of their neck tie and embrace whoever is ambassador who will be on duty - whether he represents the UNP or the SLFP. This Prof. G.L. Peiris - I have met him three times here in Washington, DC representing three different administrations and three different opinions. I do not know which view of his to be accepted or believed. This legal eagle has become a shameless person. This was the same person who wanted to compromise our HSZ's! Today he has become the legman for our president and if Ranil becomes the President he would be the first man to somersault into his administration! I have tremendous respect for Mr. Champika Ranawaka but if he thinks that UN has no right to scrutinize a member nation. If that is the case Sri Lanka should leave the United Nation. If the Executive President does not respect the judiciary we as citizens of Sri Lanka should have a place to go. That is why we have chosen the UN to lobby our grievances and ask for redress. Mr. Ranawaka, what have you got to say about the police overriding the judiciary - as you know that Maj. Gen. Sunil Silva was arrested although he was granted anticipatory bail by the judiciary? I have been Sarath Fonseka's friend for over 40 years and we have been true friends to each other. When Jaffna was threatened under Kumaranathunge government he appealed to me on behalf of Maj. Gen. Gamini Hettiarachchi to supply certain items. I did that - as a matter of fact I air lifted them and that helped the army to repel the LTTE terrorists. I did that at my expense. When he became the Commande of the army I did not even try to supply a towel to the army. I still remain a poor person here who doesn't even own a house although I have lived here for over 20 years. Sarath and I have never discussed business although we have been extremely close friends. I am really proud that I took part in his campaign and I know he meant well for Sri Lanka. I will never give up my exercise to expose the injustices committed in Sri Lanka against this war hero. I do not want Sri Lanka to become another Iran or Burma. Sincerely,

Sanath de Silva

Jackson who stooped most rewarded best with a 'kuttiya' of Rs. 56 lakhs

There are reports that Actor Jackson Anthony has tried to collect a sum of rupees 200 million on the propaganda deal to popularize the SL image internationally .

According to information reaching Lanka e news, Jackson Anthony has presented his image popularizing program to the President.

Jackson Anthony has asked for a sum of Rs. Six million as an initial payment for this program. However, the Treasury has refused to make this payment in the present difficult circumstances. But, overriding the Treasury, on the orders of the President as the Finance Minister , a sum of Rs. 56 lakhs have been released to him , it is learnt.

Jackson Anthony was a leading Speaker among the stage and screen Artistes at the President’s election campaign. He has also written to the newspapers extolling the President.

Jackson Anthony was a lucky beneficiary of a Rs. 10 million loan from a Bank for the production of the film ‘Aba’. Besides, his advertisements of it were done by the State Rupavahini free of charge. The Rupavahini also telecast speeches of President and Ministers recommending filmgoers to see 'Aba'.

It is to be noted that even award winning films did not receive such State patronage via the Rupavahini. At the Sirasa Awards ceremony, 'Aba' was not able to reach anywhere close to the highest level films, and received no special awards, despite all the unilateral State patronage .

Govt.‘s aim and ambition to accelerate General’s death keeping him in jail: Poya day poojas for General’s health –Anura Kumara Dissanayake

JVP Anura Kumara Dissanayake stated on the 28th that the General’ s health has deteriorated: he is having breathing difficulties and speech problems. His wife could not decipher what he was speaking and his voice was also beyond recognition. Dissanayake charged that the Govt.‘s design and desire is to accelerate his death by indefinite incarceration and blame on natural causes. Dissanayake made this announcement when addressing a media briefing at the DNA leader General Sarath Fonseka’s office yesterday. Why has n’ t a specialist been summoned by the Govt. and Gen. Fonseka attended to,? he asked. While taking legal action against this Govt.’ course of action and staging protests, special poojas have been organized across the entire country today 29th (poya day) to invoke blessings on Fonseka and for his recovery, Dissanayake added.

Answering a question posed by the media that Fonseka has been assigned a Doctor from the Naval Force; Dissanayke, said, although this had been promised, nothing has materialized. In any case the Doctors in The Navy are not specialists; they are ordinary Doctors who treat coughs and colds of navy officers. This is not to underestimate them. But, the health problem of the General is not a cough or cold, it is much more serious. It is imperative that he is treated by a specialist. A number of specialists have already spoken to Anoma Fonseka offering their services. They are prepared to give of their best for the sake of General Fonseka, the true patriot. Gen. Fonseka‘s sickness is unlike that of others. This is the consequence of the bomb attack by a suicide bomber when he was an Army Commander in action sacrificing his all for the country. Bomb shrapnel are still embedded in his lungs and body. Despite the Govt. being fully aware of all this, this is its way of expressing gratitude to the Army Commander who saved the country from the terrorists and freed it from the fear that permanently stalked the land, even the President and his Govt.- so many Govt. politicos were victims of LTTE terror, he pointed out

Q Your allegation that the Govt. is trying to kill Gen. Fonseka by natural causes is a serious one ? A Why, in the place where he is kept in custody even the windows are shut with planks. The Bogambara prisoners on the other hand, get a better treatment, they are allowed to be in the open for two hours. He is not even given that facility. Because every effort made by the Govt. to punish him turned futile, it is taking revenge by these methods. Earlier Prabhakaran tried to kill the General through a suicide bomber and failed. Now, is n’t this Govt. trying to accomplish what Prabhakaran failed? Anoma Fonseka also speaking on the occasion, said, when she went to see the General on the 28th morning, the day of the meeting, his cough has aggravated and he was experiencing breathing difficulties. Daughters told him to take treatment promptly. I have already explained that following the suicide bomber’s attack, his body is embedded with shrapnel, and his lungs are affected due to the proneness for phlegm accumulation. Yet no medical services have been provided so far. Jayantha Katagoda … We do not approve this type of treatment meted out to the Army Commander by the Govt. under any circumstances. The country, people, the President and his Govt. are living in peace today because of him. He created the environment of peace for them. But, this Govt. is creating the worst environment and making life hell for him by inflicting all the sufferings and harassment. Why is specialist medical treatment not provided to the war Hero who freed the country from terrorism, who is the leader of the DNA political party, who is the Colombo District Candidates’ group leader? We totally condemn and denounce the Govt.’s ruthless and ungrateful attitude, he noted.

Govt. supporters forcibly paste election posters on Assist. election Comm.’s vehicle!!! –thank lawlessness or the Govt. for these violations?

The alarming proportions lawlessness in the country has reached and the open election law violations practiced by the ruling party with impunity was clearly demonstrated yesterday (28) when the Assist. Elections Commissioner’s car was pasted with a number of election stickers of a Govt. politician by a group of his supporters forcibly. This incident occurred when the elections officer was going home after work at about 8.30 p.m. on the Sri Jayawardenapura Parliament route.

The Elections officer has resisted this, and has had a tussle with the Govt. politico supporters. The Assist elections Commissioner has lodged a complaint with the Welikade police yesterday night itself.

Akon saddened by Sri Lanka uproar

Singer Akon on Wednesday said he was disheartened Sri Lanka planned to deny him a visa to perform on the Indian Ocean island nation, after Buddhists angered by a video he appeared in staged a violent protest. Akon's international booking agents, American Talent Agency, said in a statement they had postponed the show until the safety of both the performers and fans could be guaranteed, but were working to secure a new date. On Monday, hundreds of rock-throwing protesters attacked the headquarters of Sri Lanka's largest private broadcaster, which was the media sponsor of Akon's planned April concert in the Buddhist-majority nation. Four people were injured. The protesters were apparently angered by the "Sexy Bitch" video by French DJ David Guetta featuring Akon, in which a statue of the Buddha on top of a building appears briefly in the background as dozens of scantily dressed women dance near a pool. "I was not aware that the statue was even on the set of the video until now. I would never set out to offend or desecrate anyone's religion or religious beliefs," Akon said in a statement. On Tuesday, the government said it would deny Akon a visa to enter the country as a result of the religious uproar. "I myself am a spiritual man, so I can understand why they are offended, but violence is never the answer and I am disheartened," Akon said.

Sri Lanka's Buddhist clergy are hugely influential in ordinary life and politics, and in the past hardline Sinhalese nationalists have become violent against those they see as offending Buddhism. In December 2004, a hand grenade attack at a concert by Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan that killed two people and wounded 19 was blamed on Sinhalese nationalists angry the concert fell on the first anniversary of the death of a renowned Buddhist monk.

Presidential Election petition filed against election of Mahinda as President

(Lanka-e-News, Feb.17, 2010, 9.30AM) The common Presidential candidate Gen. Sarath Fonseka filed an election petition through his lawyers yesterday (16) challenging the election of Mahinda Rajapakse as President at the recent elections. Elections petition had to be filed within 21 days of the announcement of the election results. But, on the 08th February, General Fonseka was arrested by the military Police and has been kept in detention without any charges being filed even as of today. It is worthy of special note that Gen. Fonseka filed this petition while he is being held in custody by the Govt. allegedly on arbitrary and capricious grounds.

This petition cites as respondents, the present President, other Presidential candidates, the Elections Commissioner and others. The petitioner claims that the election was not conducted fairly and freely, and in the counting of votes there were fraudulent practices. The petition of Gen. Fonseka therefore requests Court to render the election of President as null and void, and to obtain an order for a re-count of the votes polled by all 21 candidates including himself at the Presidential elections before their representatives and Agents .

Attorneys at Law Razik Zarook PC and Kalinga Indratissa, SLBC Chairman Hudson Samarasinghe and Wimal Weerwansa MP have also been stated as respondents in this petition. The petition alleges that these respondents were engaged in election malpractices acting as corrupt agents of the Presidential candidate Mahinda Rajapakse. The petition further states that a number of offences were committed violating the election laws by obstructing the majority of the voters from exercising their franchise freely and fairly ,. Generally ,by resorting to intimidation, bribing and unduly influencing them.

General ‘s arrest is a political revenge no matter what explanations are offered – President finally responsible regardless of who did this

Special communiqué of Religious summit leaders

(Lanka-e-News, Feb.17, 2010, 9.30AM) The religious leaders’ summit in a special communiqué had stated that the arrest of Gen. Fonseka by the Army, the opposition Presidential candidate at the recent Presidential elections is an act of wreaking political revenge on him. No matter what explanations and justification the Govt. might advance, it is very clear it was a calculated concerted effort to exact revenge. The communiqué goes on to say that at a time when the opposition parties are preparing to file an election petition and the general election is around the corner, this action is most unethical, incorrect and a high handed act. Irrespective of who took this decision, the President cannot disclaim responsibility as he is finally answerable.

This communiqué was signed by 20 religious leaders including Ven. Dr. Ithepane Dhammalankara Thero, Prof. Bellanwila Wimalaratne Colombo ArchBishop Malcolm Ranjith, former Arch Bishop Oswald Gomes and Duleef De Chickera, the Colombo bishop at the religious summit held on the 12th Friday. The communiqué issued to the media under the signature of Dr. Ven.Ithepana Dhammalankara Thero is as follows …

The abducted Disabled police officer who worked for Gen. Fonseka dumped near Town Hall by abductors after torturing him to lie about the General

(Lanka-e-News, Feb.15, 2010, 9.45AM) A disabled Police officer J. Ashok Kumara residing at ‘ Kusume gedera’ Ragama working for General Sarath Fonseka who was abducted on the 11th of Feb. was found abandoned near the Town Hall yesterday after being tortured to force him tell lies about Gen. Fonseka . The abductors had dumped him and gone. The group who abducted him had inflicted cruel torture on Kumara by painful plucking of his hair one by one from his eye brow. According to Ashok Kumara he was abducted by a group in police uniform and taken in a police vehicle . Later he was blindfolded and mid way transferred to another vehicle. After they traveled about an hour , the blindfold was removed . The group who was there wore black dresses.

After taking him to an unknown destination he was subjected to torture . He was forced to state and admit the following statements as true : 1. that the General gave him a weapon 2. that he saw General Fonseka and Ajuna Ranatunge engaged in sexual relationship with Upeksha Swarnamali the actress who played the role as General’s assistant in the teledrama ‘Paba’ 3. that when preparing Kumara’s pension payment, the General Fonseka who was the Army Commander at that time made obscene advances to his wife.

The abductors have tortured Kumara forcing him to surrender to these requests .When Kumara had stubbornly refused , these torturers have brought him and dumped him in the vicinity of Town Hall stating ‘ go and complain to any police , we are not afraid’, and gone away. Ashok Kumara who is undergoing treatment at the Ragama Hospital said , he could identify the culprits in Police uniform and those in black suits who tortured him if he sees them again.

Free General: JVP to start a march in protest from Campbell Park tomorrow

A protest march organized by the JVP demanding the Govt. to release General Fonseka will start from Campbell Park tomorrow (16) at 3.00 p.m.

The march which will commence at Campbell Park will leave for Lipton circus where a demonstration is to be staged.

Final decision next week regarding elephant symbol after discussion with all parties –Ranil

(Lanka-e-News, Feb. 15, 2010, 10.40AM) Although the Executive Committee of the UNP has decided to contest under the elephant symbol, the leader of the party Ranil Wickremesinghe said, by virtue of the powers vested in him, he can under the circumstances finally decide after discussing with all parties with a view to arriving at a suitable decision in the best interests of all. Hence, he will discuss with all parties and take a final decision next week whether it is will be the elephant symbol or any other. Ranil Wickremesinghe stated this at a media briefing at his official residence on the 14th where Tissa Attanayake and Karu Jayasooriya also participated. Mr. Wickremesinghe opened his speech with the remark ‘War Hero Sarath Fonseka is in jail, KP the villain is in a palace’ Saving Fonseka and Ekneliyagoda who was abducted are not two matters, they are one, protecting the crumbling Democracy in the country, he pointed out.

We have held over 20 very successful demonstrations and protests for the release of Gen. Fonseka. But, the Govt. is pressurizing the media not to write about them. When I asked the President to release Gen. Fonseka, he tells me to speak to the Army Commander. I did not think the President was so foolish and naïve as to give such replies. Anyway I opened his mind by telling him I am before the President of the country ,and as the Head of the State he can tell the Army Commander or the Navy chief. I made it clear to him that I met him to discharge my duty and following traditions to request the release of an erstwhile Army Commander who saved the country, the people and the President himself from the deadly terrorists who stalked the land for the 30 years and a threat to even President’s life. It is the President’s duty to comply after I have made a request, he noted.

Police inspect Bank Safe of election funds of Gen. Fonseka

find Rs. 15 million and $ 5.5 lakhs

(Lanka-e-News 16.Feb.2010 9.30AM) The election funds of the opposition Presidential candidate Gen. Fonseka deposited in a safe in a private Commercial Bank was inspected by the CID yesterday (15).

This inspection was done with an order obtained from the Courts . It was confirmed that a sum of Rs. 15 million and US dollars 5.5 lakhs in cash were found in the Bank Security Safe in the name of Dhanuna Thilakaratne and his mother .

The Lawyers of Dhanuna had declared that these monies were funds received for Fonseka’s election purposes, and they have adequate documents to prove that.

Dhanuna Thilakaratne’s family told Lanka e news that the Police after the inspection of the Safe had left with or without sealing it , adding that they suspect this is a scheme by the Govt. to link these funds to the HI Corp Co. alleged deals .

It was however further revealed that the amount of Dollars in the Safe was much below the amount allegedly involved in the HiCorp Co. deal.

Sri Lanka monks call for release of arrested Fonseka

BBC- http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/8514960.stm

Sri Lanka's Buddhist clergy have called for the release from custody of former army chief and defeated presidential candidate Gen Sarath Fonseka.

In a rare political move, leading monks told President Mahinda Rajapaksa they did not support the arrest of a man who risked his life to serve the country.

Gen Fonseka was credited with the battlefield defeat of the rebel Tamil Tigers after a decades-long civil war.

He was arrested last week on charges of plotting to overthrow the government.

He has denied the charges.

The leading monks of Sri Lanka's main Buddhist sects made their appeal to the president in a joint letter.

"We insist that we cannot approve the arrest of the former army commander Gen Sarath Fonseka," the letter said.

"We urge you to use your presidential powers to acquit from all charges, release and provide security to Gen Fonseka and the group who served the motherland risking their lives to safeguard the sovereignty of the motherland and save peoples lives."

The monks are well respected by both politicians and civilians in the mainly-Buddhist nation.

Gen Fonseka's arrest has provoked clashes between his supporters and those of President Mahinda Rajapaksa, who was re-elected on 26 January.

Where is my father ? from Aparna foseka blog

http://thissidesrilanka.blogspot.com/2010/02/where-is-my-father.html

I am Aparna Fonseka, youngest daughter of General Sarath Fonseka of Sri Lanka. Today, 8 February 2010, I decided to start this blog because of the unfortunate and disgraceful incident that happened to my father. I am tired of watching from the sidelines and reading what people have written without being able to defend. However vile, destructive or poisonous the remarks about him and my family have been, I’ve been listening silently. I’ve stayed silent even after there was an assassination attempt on his life. I’ve been silent when they accused my brother-in-law of being an arms dealer. I’ve been silent when they surrounded our house and put us under arrest. But today, my father was dragged away before his family and his life is in danger again. I cannot be a silent spectator any more.

My father dedicated forty years of his life to serving my motherland, Sri Lanka. Unlike other politicians or top officials, he did not earn a single penny other than respect from his country men. He rescued Sri Lanka from the ruthless terrorists, the LTTE (Liberation of Tamil Tiger Eelam), who spread fear and violence in the nation. Today, he was arrested without a warrant or a valid reason at his office in a manner that even a criminal or enemy would not be treated.

The person who came to the office to arrest my father was Major General Sumith Manawadu who was the officer in charge of Mullaitivu during the Eelam War IV and he was transferred to the Army headquarters in Colombo as punishment for issuing wrong orders to the ground troops, which resulted in the death of 117 soldiers in combat. According to what I’ve seen in newspapers, The Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa knew of this rift and used Major General Manawadu for several operations against my father. It was Major General Manawadu who also played the role of Commanding Officer in “Operation Trans Asia” who kept us under house arrest till the election results were called off and spread false rumors saying we were keeping army deserters. The only men who were with us on Election Day were my cousins, some party leaders, few retired army officers and the men who were legally appointed by the court for my father’s protection. The state media published news stating that the military that surrounded the hotel was for our own protection. This coming from a government who wouldn’t even assign enough military personnel for my father’s protection after he had resigned! Why would they send five hundred for our protection on Election Day? It was another story that the government cooked to silence skeptics and dampen questions that were being raised. We had decided to go to a hotel because of the threats we’d been getting from the government.

The state media is trying to label my father as a traitor to brainwash civilians. The rural areas only hear the voice of the state media and if some person raise their voice against the government in power, they will lose their jobs and even their lives. As soon as the election was over, the government seized my father’s office, took most of the equipments, and with no valid reason, arrested over 13 men who worked there. This was only the beginning they had launched against my father. They fired 14 military officers with the accusation that they were planning a military coup. There is no evidence for any of these allegations but I am also aware that they are capable of making false evidences after taking these people under arrest. Democracy inSri Lanka has screeched to a halt. As the president said after the rigged election results were announced, “the law is equal to every person who lives in the country but to the president.”

On 2009, my father was known as the best army commander in the world. (Eg.http://www.lankaweb.com/news/items09/150109-8.html) Everyone wanted to know his methods and tactics. They were impressed by how he ended terrorism which had been going on for almost three consecutive decades. I can wholeheartedly say that he is the most patriotic man I know and possibly the most patriotic man who has ever lived in Sri Lanka. He sacrificed his life in the war not once, but three times! Sri Lanka, what more do you want from him?

Only my mother, sister and I can understand the amount of work and thought he put into the miraculous victory. There were countless days when I fell into restless sleep not knowing whether he would arrive home from work safely because of the many threats he had on his life. For weeks we wouldn’t see him because he had gone to join our brave soldiers at the war front. After the suicide bomber’s attempt, I sat for two whole days in the emergency room praying for a miracle to save my father’s life.

Now, I am sitting here clueless begging people for information and for help. I do not know where my father is, where they’ve taken him, what they’ve done to him. Why are they attacking him? For trying to save our country from corruption? Or because he is the only man with courage enough to stand up against the corrupt government? Or is it because he was the only one who understood the hardships of Sri Lankan civilians who live from one day to the next? My father is a hero and this is how they show their gratitude? I need my father back. This is an urgent and sincere request to help find him.

Sincerely,

Aparna Fonseka

(Daughter of General Sarath Fonseka)

Sarath Fonseka , the best Army Commander in the world, says Indian Defense Secretary

Secretary of Defense Gotabhaya Rajapaksa told state owned Independent Television Network that the professionalism of the Sri Lankan security forces has won widespread praise across the world and the Indian Defense Secretary M.K. Narayan called the army commander Lieutenant General Sarath Fonseka the best army commander in the world for his role against capturing back LTTE occupied areas in the North and the Eastern Provinces of Sri Lanka.

“After crushing the Malaysian terrorism in the 1950’s this the first time any terrorism has been defeated and the Indonesian leaders whom I met during my recent visit told me that Sri Lanka has given an important message to the world regarding how to deal with terrorism,” Rajapaksa told a prime time TV interview that had been co-broadcast by several other TV channels including certain privately owned ones like the Derana, nation wide.

He said when he visited Israel recently he was accompanied by the Director General of the Sri Lanka Navy and the Commander of the Navy of Israel requested thirty minutes with our Naval official to ask him how Sri Lanka has minimized the attacks by LTTE’s suicide boats.

The ability of the accuracy of the bombing targets of the Sri Lankan Airforce avoiding minimum collateral damage to the civilians has been highly praised, he said. While in Sri Lanka the “Zero civil casualties” policy has been extremely successful , during the the recent Israel –Palestenian clash in Gaza there had been 700 civilans killed. “During recent clashes in Sri Lanka civilian deaths could be counted on one’s fingers,” he said. He said certain pro-LTTE media outlets have been showing pictures of the past as civilian casualties, fraudulently.

He said always civilian casualties are caused by indirect fire in wars but our air men have become so brilliant in hitting the targets accurately. He referred to the recent video clips shown on the TV indicating how Sri Lankan pilots hit two artillery guns accurately while they were being transported to be hidden in a Mulaithivu jungle. In the same way pilots destroyed Sea Tiger boats from the air recently , Rajapaksa said.

Rajapaksa said the capturing of LTTE occupied land in the Northern Province was predominantly an army battle. He said these achievements would never have been won without the experience , the knowledge, the bravery and heroism of Lieutenant General Sarath fonseka. He said he was proud of the army commander for doing such a tough job. The constant advise of the West was that Sri Lanka cannot afford to win such a war since the LTTE was so powerful. If we could have done such a difficult task, Rajapaksa said , doing anything else as a nation , should be a very easy task.

Reminding that all sorts of pressures from outside as well from inside was brought on the President Mahinda Rajapaksa not to get involved in the Mavil Aru incident. The people said Prabhakaran was brilliant mind in war tactics and strategy and it should be resolved amicably. But Rajapaksa said our army commander very well knew Prabhakaran was not ready for any settlement.

Pointing out another reason why Sri Lanka won in the fourth Eelam War Gotabhaya Rajapaksa said Army Commander used tactics and strategy against the LTTE which Prabhakaran could not figure out how to react. He said the army commander used soldiers in small groups in attacking the enemy. He had a wider frontage in dealing with the enemy , to attack from several places at the same time, Rajapaksa said. The army commander also used special forces and commando units in attacking the LTTE, the Secretary of Defense said.

He said , our navy did not have means of going into the deep blue sea to face the enemy and destroy the weapons carrying ships. Showing special methods, he said our navy went to 1800 nautical miles to meet the enemy in the deep sea and have destroyed 10 floating ware houses of the LTTE arms since 2007 putting them into very difficult situation. The navy also started using smaller boats to face the challenge of the suicide boats of the Sea Tigers, Rajapaksa said.

Gotabhaya Rajapaksa said sinc e 2006 the government had recruited 50,000 new personnel to the army, navy, airforce, special task force , police and civil defence force increasing the strength of these forces by 40 percent. The majority have been recruited to the army , he said. He said the foreigners advised that we could not afford to face a sustained war and there was no chance of winning. Their advise was that the LTTE , using their suicide bombers destroy the rest of the country while this war was being conducted. But the police did an excellent job in conducting thorough investigations and destroyed many of the cells LTTE established all over the country. People even did not know the excellent work the police was doing in this task.

He said this time all three armed forces, the police, and the civil defence force focused on one single task of destroying and defeating the LTTE. All of them were working hard on one single goal which made the task easier , Gotabhaya Rajapaksa said. No body was having two minds on that, he insisted.

Gotabhaya Rajapaksa said , every month the government has been recruiting an average of 5000 people. During last December alone the government recruited 4000 to the army Rajapaksa said.

Replying to the criticism that this was purely a military victory and political leadership was not necessary and no political leader could take praise for it Gotabhaya Rajapaksa said the political leadership provided by President Rajapaksa was an essential ingredient in this victory. He said in any country , it is the political leadership that provided to the army that brings ultimate peace. The people who say the political leadership is not essential are people who want to conceal the quality of the leadership President Mahinda Rajapaksa provided .He said if the political leadership did not provide the army what they needed for the war the army would have gone nowhere.

Gotabhaya Rajapaksa said President Mahinda Rajapaksa always stood by the armed forces when international pressure has been brought against various people not to sell weapons to Sri Lanka. For instance, He said to put the country out of such precarious situations President Mahinda Rajapaksa has had four telephone conversations with the President of China, and eight telephone conversations with the President of Pakistan during the war.

He said his main reason for the war to succeed was the dedication of the soldiers and their heroism . It was not the weapons provided to the soldiers that won the war but the man behind the weapons, he said. A clear political and military leadership was provided to the soldiers to carry on with their task, he said. He said the military leadership had more than three decades of experience in dealing with the terrorists from their junior officer days. He said in our military history no body else had such dedication and experience to defeat the LTTE. He said the families of soldiers demonstrated a similar heroism.

Replying questions about the fate of Prabhakaran Gotabhaya Rajapaksa said LTTE being a Fascist organization has been always linked to one individual called Prabhakaran. He was so concerned being the sole leader of all Tamils, leaders of TELO, EPRLF, PLOTE etc., he thought, should be physically eliminated . He even suspected his second in command and also killed him. So, in this war Rajapaksa said, arresting Prabhakaran is an important task. Gotabhaya said, if he had not already escaped he must be holed up in the Mulativu jungles. If he is still there, said the Defense Secretary, arresting him could be done during a short period of time. During a former battle, decades ago, when he was cornered in Velvetiturai, he was contemplating on committing suicide but in the first instance he got, changed his mind and escaped to Mulativu jungle. Once again , he could be expected to run away to somewhere rather than committing suicide, Rajapaksa said. But he said, Mulaitivu has been surrounded from all sides.

Rajapaksa said both pro- LTTE elements as well as Prabhakaran want to revitalize the LTTE and carry on with their programs. He said the army is not without a plan to face that and the army had expected to combat such a situation and not allow so precious a peace snatched out of the hands of the nation.

Rajapaksa said at the time of the people’s verdict in December 2005 part of Sri Lanka was governed by a gang of armed men running banks, police and law courts in their areas in the Eastern and Northern Provinces. Even national telephone directories of the nation carried the phone numbers of these illegal institutions. The public opinion was against this and the UNP government had systematically suppressed that. If Mahinda Rajapaksa did not come to power very soon the birth of two nations from the island of Sri Lanka was inevitable. Terrorists were maintaining their garrisons in that part of the country and they could not be visited by us. Under such circumstances this government liberated the Eastern Province which was under the jack boot of Prabhakaran.

He said when the army later captured Kilinochchi, the reaction of the LTTE was that the army captured a deserted town. The LTTE strongholds fell one by one. By today they had been fully chased out from Jaffna peninsula.

He said , long ago , a mere capture of a place like Mankulam would have been the subject for every one to brag about for months. But he said the LTTE strongholds fell so rapidly the fall of Oddusudan or Mankulam did not win a decent headline in the newspaper as so many fell at the same time. When the LTTE fell from Thoppigala in the Eastern Province the outfit called it a tactical withdrawal. When they fell at Kilinochchi they used the same statement. Gotabhaya Rajapaksa wondered whether their next “tactical withdrawal’ is going to end up in the sea.

The Defense Secretary said similar statements are being used by certain political party in the South too. He said in the ancient times too, Sri Lanka had the misfortune of having such traitors who betrayed the country. Rajapaksa said history in the ancient times recorded proudly about heroes who fought for our country like the soldiers and not traitors who refuse to see the truth and working for a personal gain.

During the capture of the Eastern Province, Rajapaksa said the army was able to catch tons of weapons allowed to be smuggled into the country by the UNP government. He said both in the Eastern Province and the Northern Province the security forces fought very hard and neither place was a walk over as some people try to describe.

The Defence Secretary said whe Mrs. Sirima Bandaranaike handed over the country to J.R. jayewardene’s UNP in 1977 nobody had died due to the LTTE trouble. 22,000 Sinhalese people lived in Jaffna. Muslims and Sinhalese lived in Jaffna and Kilinochchi. There was even a Sinhala Mahaa Vidyalaya in the northern town. But by 1994 there were numerous LTTE garrisons in the North. In 1994 7174 of the police and the army had died in Jaffna. He said today, Mangala Samaraweera is lamenting about the deaths in the army But during during 2000 when Mangala Samaraweera remained a powerful Minister, for an year an average about 2000 died an year. Rajapaksa asked what did Samaraweera do to stop those deaths. He said during the last three years he is lamenting about only 3703 people had died. He said, the army would soon liberate the the whole Northern Province and asked Samaraweera not to deceive the people.

Speaking about the media , Rajapaksa said, he always confronted the editors and tried to tell them when utterly inaccurate information is published aginst the security forces. He said if any journalist is in custody it is not because the person is a journalist but a terrorism related inquiry has led the security services to that person Not only journalists but ever policemen and army men have been arrested relation to terrorist activities. That does not mean the security forces are angry with the police or the army.When a delivery man of the Udayan newspaper is arrested in connection of terrorism, some carry placards saying he is a journalist.

Commenting on Sirasa TV he said when a LTTE terrorist bomb was set in a bus and when it was discovered in time not injuring anybody, Sirasa started broadcasting old library shots of the injured.When Kilinochchi fell Sirasa only showed a corpse. He said there was no motive for the government to set fire to the Sirasa because the government lacked any motive. He alleged after Kilinochchi fell, because they supported the LTTE and now wanted public sympathy and win a fraudulent insurance claim the fire in the station was an inside job. He said the police is gathering evidence into that affect currently. If there was damage how did the station started broadcasting live after two hours, following the incident.. In the same manner, he alleged , they had collected insurance claims in the year 2000. He said Sirasa represented the interests of the LTTE.

The Secretary of Defence said some have alleged that the intelligence men of the army were responsible for the killing of the journalist recently. He said , once, just after the UNP came to power , there had been an attempt to destroy the intelligence men of the army and betray them to the LTTE. Using a Sinhala epithet , Rajapksa said , why should the intelligence men waste their time killing a rat snake (Garandi) when they were engaged in a more important job of destroying the LTTE.

Rajapaksa said Sri Lanka today is enjoying the same close friendship with India the country had enjoyed during the time of Indira Gandhi and Sirima Bandaranaike or even better. While maintaining and protecting our own sovereignty Rajapaksa said we must also appreciate the security of the neighbour and area superpower. He said under President Rajapaksa the country is benefiting by its close friendship with SAARC countries, Asian and Middle Eastern countries. Asked whether under Asif Al Saldari the friendship of Pakistan would affect, Rajapaksa said, under whatever change of governments both in Sri Lanka or Pakistan , Pakistan would always protect Sri Lanka’s sovereignty .

Commenting on NGO’s, he said despite the millions they spent, except the LTTE buildings, the NGO’s had brought no development to Kilinochchi.

He said even now those LTTE cadres who would down their weapons should be rehabilitated and trained in some vocation . Buthe said , no LTTE leader should be pardoned like that. They should be prosecuted and punished if proven guilty, he said. Rajapaksa said, he cannot oppose whatever decision the President takes about Prabhakaran by handing him over to India. But he had done so much damage to Sri Lanka , Rajapaksa said, he must be hanged for the crimes he had committed against Sri Lanka if the security forces happen to catch him.