Once more, marching into an unwinnable war? ‘SURGICAL STRIKE’ ON IRAN WILL COST ISRAEL & U.S. DEARLY . . .

by Selvam Canagaratna

"Every war is its own excuse. That’s why they’re all surrounded with ideals. That’s why they’re all crusades."

- Karl Shapiro, The Bourgeois Poet (1964)

Welcome to 21st Century neocolonialist gunboat diplomacy at its naked worst.

Britain’s senior politician [and, for now, its Foreign Secretary] William Hague seems to have woken up, Rip Van Winkle-like, after an apparent three-decade-long slumber to warn the world of the dangers it faces of another Cold War should Iran succeed in acquiring nuclear weapons. [Peace-loving Briton that he is, Hague insisted that his country did not currently support military action against Iran, but added ominously "all options must remain on the table."]

Of course, when it comes to scaremongering Hague was left at the post by CNN’s TV Presenter Erin Burnett. Her ranting was best characterised by journalist Glenn Greenwald: "It’s the sort of thing you would produce if you set out to create a mean-spirited parody of mindless, war-hungry, fear-mongering media stars, but you wouldn’t dare go this far because you’d want the parody to have a feel of realism to it, and this would be way too extreme to be believable. She really hauled it all out: WMDs! Terrorist sleeper cells in the US controlled by Tehran! Iran’s long-range nuclear missiles reaching our homeland!!!! She almost made the anti-Muslim war-mongering fanatic she brought on to interview, Rep. Peter King, appear sober and reasonable by comparison."

Writing on his blog, author Matt Taibbi commented: "Virtually all of the Iran stories of late have contained some version of rhetorical sophistry. There’s a weird set of internalized assumptions that the media brings to these stories. In fact there’s an elaborate belief system we adhere to: our newspapers and TV stations may blather on a thousand times a day about attacking Iran and bombing its people, but if even one Iranian talks about fighting back, he is being ‘aggressive’ and ‘threatening’. We can impose sanctions on anyone, but if the sanctioned country embargoes oil shipments to Europe in response, it’s being ‘belligerent.’ The news ‘hook’ in most all of these stories is that intelligence reports reveal Iran is ‘willing’ to attack us or go to war – but then there’s usually an asterisk next to the headline, and when you follow the asterisk, it reads something like, ‘In the event that we attack Iran first’."

As for Mr. Hague, he seems blissfully ignorant of some major developments in the Middle East; either that, or he is guilty of deliberate deceit.

CIA photographs in the late 1950s showed what looked almost certainly to be a nuclear reactor being built at Dimona in the Negev desert. The images were rushed to the White House, but there was absolute, stunning silence. As investigative journalist Seymour Hersh wrote later, the CIA analysts who sent the information to the Oval Office "had no doubts that Israel was going for the bomb. They also had no doubts that President Eisenhower and his advisers were determined to look the other way."

It is a measure of Israel’s duplicity that while it consistently denies possessing nuclear weapons, it has equally consistently refused to be a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NNPT), and has never allowed inspectors from the UN’s International Atomic Energy Authority (IAEA) into the country.

Iran, on the other hand, has all along been a signatory to the NNPT and has also allowed IAEA inspectors into the country.

Deepak Tripathi, author of Breeding Ground: Afghanistan and the Origins of Islamist Terrorism and Overcoming the Bush Legacy in Iraq and Afghanistan, writing on February 21, noted: "The Israeli government’s hasty and aggressive posture following the Delhi bombing [of an Israeli embassy car] has caused offense in the Indian capital. Officials in Delhi have made plain that India will not be recruited into the anti-Iran alliance under Israeli–US pressure. India ‘will not allow Washington, the Jewish lobby and much of Europe to push the country into a corner’ over Iran. How India conducts its ties with that country dating back to ancient times is its business. Furthermore, police investigations into the bombing cannot be rushed to suit external interests. The law of the land must take its course."

What particularly irked Indian officials, in Tripathi’s view, was that immediately after the Delhi bomb Israeli Premier Benjamin Netanyahu sought to upstage India’s police investigations, describing the Iranian government as the world’s "largest terror exporter" and Hezbollah in Lebanon as Iran’s "protégé." Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman went further saying, "We know exactly who is responsible for the attack and who planned it, and we’re not going to take it lying down."

Israel’s Energy and Water Resources Minister Uri Landau jumped in with his own two-cents worth, calling India’s support for the Palestinians at the UN ‘a mistake’, and said he intended to "persuade" the Indians to change their stand.

Wrote Tripathi: "A full-scale Israeli offensive to force a complete overhaul of Indian foreign policy was under way. Police investigations were only beginning in Delhi when Israeli ministers spoke with such shocking certainly – the worst kind of megaphone diplomacy. For those sitting in the Indian capital, certain inferences were difficult to avoid. India had recently announced that it would abide by the UN sanctions against Iran, but would not obey additional sanctions imposed by the United States and the European Union. India would continue to buy oil from Iran, and an Indian trade delegation would visit Tehran in coming weeks."

Alex Kane, a staffer on the internet publication Mondoweiss, interviewed Mark Perry, a journalist and historian after his recent bombshell piece in Foreign Policy magazine exposing how Israeli intelligence attempted to recruit known Pakistani terrorists to wage covert war on Iran by disguising themselves as CIA agents. The interview occurred just after Israel had accused Iran and/or Hezbollah of being behind the recent attacks in New Delhi, India and Georgia on Israeli diplomats and embassies. Excerpts:

Mark Perry: Policy makers here are convinced that Israel and Iran are conducting a very low-level, asymmetric war. So they concluded that if Israel uses proxies to kill Iranians, then it’s likely the Iranians will respond.

Alex Kane: Do you think that this is moving very fast to a full-out war in the region?

Perry: Anytime you escalate on something like this, you run the danger of starting a conflict you don’t want. And I’m a military historian, and everyone says, well, what is the historical metaphor?

It’s August 1941. In August of 1941 the Japanese high command determined that they would bomb Pearl Harbor because the United States would not respond or would enter into negotiations and that they could get away with it. Four years later, 80 percent of their cities were destroyed, millions of Japanese were dead and Japan was absolutely on its knees.

No matter what you think is going to happen in this conflict, it’s not going to happen. You multiply your assessments of losses by three, four or five. War is a serious business and you’re not going to get away with a surgical strike. Iran is not going anywhere – it’s going to be there forever. And if you hit Iran and you’re Israel, I think you’re asking for much bigger trouble than, "well we can do it today, and tomorrow they’ll sit back and say, ‘gee, we shouldn’t develop nuclear weapons.’ That’s not going to happen. If there’s a war, we don’t know where it’s going to end, but one thing’s for sure: it will be a lot worse than we think."

Kahawatta killings - A dire signal to The nation of the demonic scourge of illicit drugs

by Chandra Wicremasinghe

The horrendous Kahawatta killings.

It is reliably reported that the brutal murders of a mother and daughter in Kahawatta are linked to a drug mafia that has been terrorizing that area for quite some time.The immediate cause of these inhuman killings has been attributed to the mother upbraiding the drug dealers concerned for trying to inveigle her school going daughter to become one of the distributors, by getting her to take a lunch packet with sachets of heroin inside, to be handed over to a drug trafficker waiting at the bus stand. Apparently, the leaders of the gang had been able to carry on their invidious trade because of the protection given by a politician in the area. Following the mindless killings, the people of the area, who were aware of what exactly was happening, had been increasingly getting impatient and incensed at the inaction of the authorities to nab the criminals who were well known and who had acquired notoriety for their nefarious activities in that entire Kahawatta area. Finally, driven to the end of their tether, the people had in sheer desperation, taken the law into their hands ,running amok,creating mayhem and burning down the houses of the suspects. It will be recalled that even the Hon Prime minister, in one of his public speeches, had referred in no uncertain terms to certain leading politicians in the governing party, who were well known for their dealings in illicit drugs! One would find this tacit acknowledgement of a state of anomie in the country by no less a person than the Prime minister, tragic and most depressing indeed!

The distribution of ‘BULBUL’
among school children.

These fears are further re-inforced by frequent reports of a sweetmeat (BULBUL laced with a hallucinogenic substance) being distributed to school children by three wheeler drivers and other school children who have got `hooked’ on the drug, through the wiles of unscrupulous drug agents organizing and supervising these clandestine networks. From ‘BULBUL’ these school children graduate in no time, to hard drugs like heroin and Ecstasy. Just a couple of days ago newspapers carried reports of a three wheel driver being nabbed by the Police with forty five small packets of heroin in his possession. On interrogation,he had confessed that the packets of heroin were to be distributed free to school children who would hopefully get ‘hooked’ on the drug to become in no time, compulsive addicts who would in turn, become distributors of the drug among their school friends, in order to make the money they need, to feed the pernicious habit.

If these unscrupulous drug dealers with their country wide networks, succeed in enticing school children to become addicts in this manner, one could only imagine the horrifying scenario that would unfold in the future, affecting and undermining with devastating short and long term effects, the entire educational system, leading to a steady breakdown in law and order and the destabilization of the entire social structure, with the country lapsing in good time, into anarchic conditions! It is therefore imperative that the Govt. takes immediate cognizance of the immense danger the entire nation faces frontally, by drawing up an urgent action plan to root out this demonic menace, before it assumes epidemic proportions, enervating irreparably, the vital energies of the population.

Rewards for services rendered and the resultant deterioration of law and order.

It is common knowledge that there has been a lot of pussyfooting on the part of the powers that be, due often to certain top politicos being obliged to underworld racketeers and drug dealers for numerous favours granted and services rendered to them at various stages of their political careers. As it is wryly said, there is nothing called a free lunch! To wheeler dealers, thugs and racketeers, giving material assistance to politicians to accelerate their upward levitation to Parliament and high ministerial position, is indeed a promising investment with prospects of future rewards in ample measure! Our present day political culture has become so warped that thuggery and ill-gotten money seem to be necessary prerequisites for political advancement! This is indeed a depressing reflection of the current societal mores that seem to pervade society, across the board. When politicians protect and harbour criminals from the operation of the laws of the land, what is the example they hold out to the law enforcement authorities themselves? One might therefore righteously ask,where the discipline is coming from, which is so crucially fundamental to the maintenance of law and order.

We have seen a steep increase in violent crime country- wide in recent years, which includes gruesome murders, rapes armed robbery et al. This escalation in violent crimes appears to have a direct co-relation to the deterioration of law and order stemming from the inability of the law enforcement authorities to carry out their duties with the expected dedication and efficiency. This again could be attributed to the general indiscipline pervading the country resulting in a depressing sense of ennui amongst the people.

Laws delays and the need to modernize investigative techniques.

Many statutes in Sri Lanka need to be revised to bring them in line with social developments and to keep abreast of the new trends in criminal behaviour. The law enforcement authorities have similarly, to update their investigative techniques to combat the rising wave of sophisticated crime. Laws delays constitute a major stumbling block to the expeditious dispensation of justice which latter is the mainstay of the confidence reposed by people in the judicial process and the criminal justice system. Modern social problems have to contend with an antiquated system of court procedures. The in- built inefficiencies of the criminal justice system are indeed starkly reflected in the tragically low rate of convictions recorded.

The statistical probability of conviction of criminals, is a shocking 4% !

In Sri Lanka, stemming from certain religious sensitivities, the death penalty, although pronounced by court on criminals at times, is never carried out. However, with the rapid deterioration of law and order in the country, even eminent and highly respected religious dignitaries who are appalled by the heinous crimes perpetrated, seem now to be in favour of the restitution and the implementation of the death penalty, which they probably have realized is the only effective deterrence to halt the alarmingly rising trend of grave crime. It is indeed not surprising that criminals have scant regard for the law in the knowledge that even if they are caught and indicted, the chances of conviction are minimal. The statistical probability of a criminal getting convicted, even if charged in court, is a shocking 4% !This is, if anything, only a sad reflection of an effete, inefficacious criminal justice system that obtains in the country today. It is common knowledge that the prisons in the country, far from being reformatory institutions of delinquents and criminals, are now little more than the breeding grounds of hardened criminals! It is only too well known that criminal activities including drug trafficking, contract killings, heists etc. are hatched and orchestrated by Mafia bosses from within the confines of prison walls, using the handy cell-phone!

What can one expect when thugs, racketeers and people of criminal persuasion have a field day in the knowledge that the chances of their being incarcerated are somewhat remote. It is, as a cynic put it, a matter of law and disorder! There have been Presidential Commissions appointed to examine and report on the current state of law and order in the country. The recommendations made in these Commission reports do not seem to have found favour in certain quarters which would be materially affected by their implementation. This is most unfortunate as the criminal justice system of the country which should take a good share of the blame for the parlous state of affairs in this regard and which needs to go through a complete revamping, continues to plod along the same tortuous ways and by-ways, much to the exasperation of the public.

I have dealt with the deterioration of the law and order situation in the country and the resultant steep rise in grave crime, by way of a protasis to the drug problem, as the latter is only symptomatic of the larger moral and socio-economic malaise that seems to afflict the entire polity of this island. What appears to be necessary is a searching appraisal of the overall current situation with a view to assessing the magnitude of the drug menace in all its dimensions. Once this is ascertained, the next step would be to map out strategies to combat the problem.

The need to formulate effective Preventive Strategies and Rehabilitative Programmes.

There should be carefully formulated comprehensive preventive strategies and the necessary rehabilitative programmes put in place at the outset. The former should be reinforced by tough legislative measures which would effectively circumscribe and stymie the illegal activities of the drug lords who fund and organize the mafia networks. Educational programmes to build up awareness, particularly in the minds of the youth, should be organized sensitively and incorporated in the school curricula and disseminated via the electronic media. One cannot underscore the key role strategic planning plays in the formulation of policies and their implementation in meeting challenges and successfully overcoming them. In this regard, it has to be remarked that the failure to react decisively and the resultant paralyzing inaction in many areas of national policy, could only be attributed to the lack of or oftentimes the absence of, properly formulated strategies to meet exigent situations. We seem to be fast becoming a nation of crisis riders, looking on askance while things deteriorate and then suddenly blow up in one’s face! We then ride the resultant anarchic chaos the best we could and once the panic abates and a sense of normalcy returns, sit back and await the visitation of the next crisis! We do take things for granted far too much in this respect, often exulting in the minor skirmishes we overcome, while losing the bigger battles disastrously! It cannot be overstressed that strategic planning is a sine qua non for the success of any major undertaking. What is necessary is the political resolve to formulate such strategies and the courage and the determination to put them into operation brushing aside the political fallout that is likely to follow. Certain inherited legacies and attendant commitments may at times restrict the room for strategic manouvre.

But these should be thought through afresh and incorporated in revised forward plans. The stormy passage of the law against money laundering in Parliament some time ago, is a clear pointer to the desperation shown by the interest groups adversely affected by the enactment of such laws.

Drug Trafficking and the need to enact tough legislation viz confiscation of assets (both moveable and immoveable)of convicted drug traffickers. .

Drug trafficking is a self-reinforcing activity which expands the illicit trade and uses it’s profits in turn to increase capital. One way of breaking the vicious circle is by depriving those engaged in the trade of their motivation. Drug seizures can be compensated by traffickers by hiking the price of the drug as an interim measure and simultaneously increasing shipments. It is observed that a very effective way of de-motivating those engaged in illicit trafficking is by the confiscation of their assets and property which would seriously undermine their capacity to finance, organize and maintain their clandestine networks.

The basis of the power of the drug barons is the ability to corrupt both the high and the low with remarkable facility. Once their power bases are effectively weakened, the options open to them would correspondingly diminish. Legislation is already in place in certain countries to use monies confiscated from drug traffickers to combat the illicit trade. Such monies can be productively used for the improvement of the capacity of law enforcement agencies and for the setting up of drug abuse prevention projects. Sri Lanka should in like manner, resolutely pursue the enactment of tough new anti-drug legislation which would act as a positive deterrent to the big time drug dealers engaged in the illicit drug trade.

The rapid spread of drug addiction among the youth of the island should be viewed with the gravest concern as it would progressively undermine social and economic stability and even pose a threat to national security. In the war against illicit drugs it is necessary to carry the battle into the camp of the big time dealers thereby eroding effectively and destroying their power bases. No quarter should be given in this frontal assault on one of the most pernicious scourges this country has had to battle against aside from the LTTE!.

It is indeed a tragic irony that countries like the US who are the biggest consumers, are often those enthusiastically funding alternative development programmes to curb production on the supply side. Paradoxically, there do not seem to be tangible, determined efforts by such conspicuous consumers to stem an insatiable domestic demand! Human rights issues are often trotted out as excuses for non-interference in the liberties of individuals and the flourishing illicit trade is often winked at by law enforcement authorities in these countries.This presents a classic example of the tyranny of the demand curve which enslaves the hapless producer in most poor developing countries. Countries like Guatamala and Columbia have been ripped apart by the indiscriminate killings carried out daily by drug lords, who have established their own fiefdoms which produce and distribute cocaine, with huge consignments finding their way to the US via the Mexican border. The newly elected President of Guatamala has identified the villain of the piece as the US, which country exercises a magnetic pull for the drug, with the insatiable demand of its huge population of addicts.In a desperate bid to bring to an end the horrendous cycle of violence plaguing the country, he has declared, much to the consternation of the US , that he is going to legitimize drugs in Guatamala! These are of course extreme measures taken by countries reduced to dire straits by powerful drug cartels, in order to meet and counter uniquely intractable domestic situations which rarely find parallels outside South America!

The unsettling effect the Drug problem has on the Criminal Justice System of Sri Lanka..

One noticeable problem in Sri Lanka is the unsettling impact the widespread drug menace has on the criminal justice system of the country by the increasing numbers of persons arrested for drug related offences. A very high proportion of offenders consigned to remand prison are those taken in for drug related offences. It is therefore natural to expect widespread drug abuse inside prisons here. In fact, the estimated percentage of drug abuse in prisons in Sri Lanka viz.45%, is the highest in the Asia/Pacific region! This is indeed a graphic illustration of the enormous dangers to society that lie ahead unless drastic policy measures are not immediately put in place to curb the menace.

Demand/Supply reduction strategies.

In the formulation of counter strategies to combat the drug menace, it is essential also to take cognizance of certain global trends which are being facilitated by the electronic media and the use of sophisticated techniques of transportation combined with the enormous power and wealth behind the cartels that operate these international networks. Any counter measures, to be effective ,will have to match the sophistication and subtlety and deviously innovative methods of these traffickers.

Conclusion

In the final analysis, there is no getting behind the fact that in a developing country like ours, it is only well formulated preventive strategies and implementational programmes, combined with the harshest punitive measures for convicted drug dealers(which should include the confiscation of both moveable and immoveable properties belonging to them, in addition to incarcerating them in prison for their entire lifetime), that would compel those involved in the illicit drug trade, to move away and abandon it’s production and consumption. True enough, the country is going through a period of heavy weather on the economic front and equally irksomely, on the international front, having to face the venomous wrath of a vengeful West .But all this should not detract the government from focusing on the critical problem posed by the ‘seemingly intractable menace of illicit drugs’, which can be challenged and overcome, if the govt. only shows the same unflinching determination and firm political resolve displayed by it, in crushing the LTTE.

(The writer is a former Senior Advisor to the President and Ambassador to France)

China Feb commodity imports stronger than expected

China's imports of main commodities posted a surprise rise in February versus January, despite a shorter month, with crude oil hitting a daily record, soothing market worries that a slowing economy has yet to cut into use of commodities. 
Imports of copper, of which China is the 



world's largest buyer, climbed to 484,569 tonnes, 17% more than January and double the year-earlier level, according to data the General Administration of Customs posted on its website (www.customs.gov.cn) on Saturday.
"That's a surprise. We may have underestimated investors' appetites," said Fu Bin, analyst at Jinrui Futures, a subsidiary of top copper producer Jiangxi Copper.


Fu was referring to investors who import copper and resell the metal domestically to obtain cash for financing other investments, while China maintains a tight credit policy.


Some analysts had expected copper imports to be capped as domestic prices were below the cost of imports, though others have argued China may need to build up stocks ahead of the expected seasonal demand rise from March to May.


Imports of crude oil, of which China is the world's No 2 buyer, hit a daily record of about 5.95 million barrels, an 18.5% rally over a year earlier. The previous daily high was set in September 2010 at 5.67 million bpd.


The peak imports contrast with the earlier market view that maintenance work at oil plants, and top oil refiner Sinopec Corp's reductions in Iranian oil imports in the first few months this year, could cut into purchases.


"In view of potential supply disruptions surrounding the Iran nuclear issue, oil firms may have raised imports beyond the requirement by refineries to bolster the stocks and provide a cushion for future uncertainty," said a Beijing-based oil analyst.


Iron ore imports also rose 9.5% last month to nearly 65 million tonnes versus January, one-third higher than February 2011.


The surge in shipments over February was mostly a result of a faster than predicted recovery in steel output over the month. Daily crude steel runs rose to 1.93 million tonnes, up from 1.83 million tonnes in January and 1.68 million tonnes in December.


The higher ore imports may have bolstered domestic stocks as local ore miners also lifted production sharply in February, by a quarter versus last year at 81.57 million tonnes, data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed on Friday.


Economic data released on Friday -- a 20-month low CPI, plus factory output and retail sales cooling more than forecast -- reinforced expectations that Beijing will focus on growth rather than inflation this year, and steer the economy away from a sharp slowdown.


Soybeans were among the few items that posted a month-on-month fall in imports, with shipments down 17% versus January at 3.83 million tonnes. Still, compared to a year earlier, imports rose 65%.


The cutback from January was much anticipated due to negative margins for importers as high domestic inventories kept local prices below import costs.

B’desh to use Hambantota port

Bangladesh has said that it would use services of Sri Lanka’s newly built Hambantota harbor, The Financial Express stated.

Speaking to the media Bangladesh Finance Minister AMA Muhith said “Sri Lanka offered Bangladesh to use its newly built deep seaport at Hambantota 'which will be helpful for us'.

“Let's explore the benefit since Hambantota port users wouldn't need to go inside the Colombo. That will help save time,” Muhith said.

The fourth Sri Lanka-Bangladesh Joint Economic Commission (JEC) sessions in Dhaka, Bangladesh successfully concluded on 08 March. The SL-B’desh JEC sessions, revived after almost two decades, resulted in effective renewal of bilateral trade cooperation, according to Minister Rishad Bathiudeen who led Sri Lanka’s national delegation to Dhaka.

Action by HRC Can Help Promote Reconciliation and Lasting Peace in Sri Lanka

by Ambassador Eileen Chamberlain Donahoe

| March 8, 2012

Yesterday, after consultation with partners including those who will join us as co-sponsors, we tabled a draft resolution on Sri Lanka for consideration by the Human Rights Council (HRC) at its 19th Session.

Three years since the end of the conflict, it is our belief that the government of Sri Lanka must take concerted actions on the ground to foster national reconciliation and accountability. The U.S. Government has provided humanitarian and development assistance to facilitate post-war reconciliation, and we believe that HRC action can further assist in this aim.

After consulting broadly with delegations from all regions and incorporating many helpful suggestions to the initial draft, we have introduced a moderate, reasonable, and balanced resolution text as a basis for further discussion and collaboration with our many partners in the Human Rights Council. In this regard, we reiterate our long-expressed willingness to work in partnership with the government of Sri Lanka on this resolution, and on the broader issues of reconciliation and accountability.

This resolution is not intended to condemn; indeed, it acknowledges the contributions of the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC), which has made many constructive recommendations to the Sri Lankan government. However, many international and domestic observers share our conclusion that the government has not yet promulgated a credible action plan for implementation of those recommendations, nor has it taken the additional needed steps since the war to foster national reconciliation.

Our intention is clear: we want the countries of the world to join in encouraging the government of Sri Lanka to take the steps needed to ensure meaningful and lasting national reconciliation after a long conflict, to reach out sincerely to the Tamil population and bring them back in to the national life of Sri Lanka, and to ensure accountability for actions taken during the war.

Time is slipping by for the people of Sri Lanka. Together with the international community we want to work with Sri Lanka in order to bring lasting peace to the island. We firmly believe that action now in this Council reflects the international community’s ongoing interest in and support for action on the ground in Sri Lanka. Numerous international and domestic observers have echoed our concern that the government of Sri Lanka must now establish domestic processes that will sow the seeds of lasting peace on the ground. With this resolution, the countries of the world can extend their hand of cooperation to help all the people of Sri Lanka achieve that goal. [Opening Remarks by Ambassador Eileen Chamberlain Donahoe at Informal Consultations on a Draft Resolution on Promoting Reconciliation and Accountability in Sri Lanka at the Human Rights Council]

Soldiers’ killing over personal dispute - Army

It has now been revealed that a Soldier shot himself after killing two other soldiers over a personal dispute in Chavakachcheri, Jaffna, Military Spokesman Brigadier Nihal Hapuarachchi stated.

‘According to initial investigations, there is no third party involvement in this case, it was due to a personal dispute,’ the spokesman said.

Mean while the army Head Quarters said in a statement,

“Three soldiers who were on duty at Murugan Kovil, Chavakachcheri were killed due to a shooting incident last night. Initial inquiries have revealed that the shooting was due to a personal dispute among the three soldiers and that there was no third party involvement. Chavakachcheri Police is conducting further investigations.

Troops on their search and clear operations in the general areas of THIRUKETHISWARAM, PALAMPIDDI and MARATHODAI recovered twenty-five anti personnel mines on Thursday (8). 

Meanwhile, demining groups recovered one hundred and forty-two anti personnel mines, three anti tank mines and one jumping mine from MARATHAMADU, KANNADI and GAJABAPURA areas on the same day (8).”

Pro-Tamil groups target Lankan academic at Indian university seminar

Close on the heels of Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalithaa writing to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh seeking to discourage frequent visits of Sri Lankan delegates to Tamil Nadu, activists of various pro-Tamil movements disrupted an international conference and forced the organisers to send away a Sri Lankan academic, on Thursday.

The members of Naam Tamizhar Iyakkam, May 17 Movement, Sri Lankan Tamils Protection Federation, as well as MDMK cadres barged into the conference venue at Manonmaniam Sundaranar University (MSU) and protested against the participation of Jeeva Niriella, faculty of law, lecturer, University of Colombo, Sri Lanka in the three-day international conference on ‘Exploring Linkage Between Drug Usage and Criminal Victimisation’ organised by the department of criminology.

This is the second such incident of a Sri Lankan visitor facing a protest by pro-Tamil outfits. In January this year, Thirukumaran Nadesan, husband of Nirupama Rajapaksa, niece of Sri Lankan president Mahinda Rajapaksa’s suffered an even harsher treatment when slippers were hurled at him in Rameswaram where he visited to offer prayers in the temple.

This time around, the agitators, about 20 of them, entered the hall during the afternoon session of the conference posing as participants and started raising slogans against Sri Lanka. They also held placards demanding Jeeva to leave India as well as accusing Sri Lanka of genocide.

“Jeeva Niriella was visibly shocked by the sudden development. We were also taken aback. Since we though that the safety and security of the delegate was important, we took her out of the venue through another exit. We then told the protesters that she was sent and that she would not participate in any of the sessions for the rest of the conference,” said a faculty from the university. The protesters then left the spot. No police complaint has been lodged by the organisers, but disbelief and shock was writ large.

However, earlier in the day, Jeeva had addressed the participants of the conference on ‘Women and Justice’ and said that Sri Lanka was achieving a lot in women empowerment. Jeeva noted that Lanka had the first woman prime minister. She also said that the country’s present chief justice was a woman. Even during her address, she was confronted by a participant who questioned her claims of women empowerment by alleging that international NGOs have reported that crimes were perpetrated on women in large scale. While Jeeva maintained silence, another delegate came to her rescue and answered the query, Times of India reports.