Tuesday, October 05, 2004
Land mine threat still real in NE: UN report
Nearly 500,000 people in 405 villages were believed to be threatened by mines in Jaffna, Kilinochchi, Mannar, Mullativu, Vavuniya, Batticaloa, Trincomalee and Ampara, the UN Mine Action Report on Sri Lanka for 2004 said.
The UN report issued prior to the Nairobi Summit on a Mine-Free World, to be held end November, stated that Landmines, UXO and Improvised Explosive Devices (IED) stemming from the almost two decades of armed conflict were causing between 15 to 20 casualties daily.
Mine and UXO in Sri Lanka have been assessed as 'containable' on condition that the present peace process continues and that donor funding for capacity building and operations meet the current demand for expansion and procedural de-mining. The report stressed the necessity for continued coordination and quality management in de-mining operations, gathering and dissemination of data and management on mine action.
The annual expenditure for mine action in Colombo is nearly US$ 16 millions and includes the clearing of nearly 3,000 minefields and 700,000 land mines.
Sri Lanka officially became a party last month to the convention on Certain Conventional Weapons (CCW), which also prohibits the indiscriminate use of land mines and their intentional use on civilians during a war.
However Sri Lanka is yet to ratify the Convention on the Prohibition of Anti-Personnel Mines or the Mines Ban Treaty. As of June 30, 2004 143 states had ratified the convention, which came into force on March 1, 1999
The UN report issued prior to the Nairobi Summit on a Mine-Free World, to be held end November, stated that Landmines, UXO and Improvised Explosive Devices (IED) stemming from the almost two decades of armed conflict were causing between 15 to 20 casualties daily.
Mine and UXO in Sri Lanka have been assessed as 'containable' on condition that the present peace process continues and that donor funding for capacity building and operations meet the current demand for expansion and procedural de-mining. The report stressed the necessity for continued coordination and quality management in de-mining operations, gathering and dissemination of data and management on mine action.
The annual expenditure for mine action in Colombo is nearly US$ 16 millions and includes the clearing of nearly 3,000 minefields and 700,000 land mines.
Sri Lanka officially became a party last month to the convention on Certain Conventional Weapons (CCW), which also prohibits the indiscriminate use of land mines and their intentional use on civilians during a war.
However Sri Lanka is yet to ratify the Convention on the Prohibition of Anti-Personnel Mines or the Mines Ban Treaty. As of June 30, 2004 143 states had ratified the convention, which came into force on March 1, 1999
No support for NCPR: JHU
The Jatika Hela Urumaya (JHU) yesterday said it would not support the President's attempts to revive peace negotiations through National Council on Peace and Reconciliation (NCPR) since the talks would be based on the ISGA.
Speaking at a media conference JHU leader, Ven. Ellawala Medhananda Thera said the only advise they could give the President was for her to annul the 'ceasefire agreement' and act according to Sri Lankan law.
The JHU would be functioning only as a monitory group, the Ven. Thera said, adding that they had no intention of taking part in the the NCPR as they saw the move as a betrayal of the nation.
Ven. Medhananda Thera said the LTTE should abide by a list of conditions before resuming any form of dialogue.
"The LTTE has to recognize the territorial integrity of the country and its judiciary. It should give up arms and pledge that it would return to the permanent democratic stream," he said.
The LTTE should also end the use of suicide cadres and recruiting child soldiers and should immediately stop killing or attacking its political rivals and innocent civilians in the North and East. Giving in to LTTE terrorism and the ISGA demands would mean encouraging terrorism and thuggery, added the Thera.
The Ven. Thera accused the government of giving in to the terrorism unleashed by the LTTE on civilians in the North, the East and also Colombo, without taking necessary action under the criminal and civil law of the country.
Meanwhile the JHU at their Central Committee meeting held late yesterday decided to pressurise the government to take stern action against the Tiger's acts of violence.
The JHU also said the government should take immediate steps to rescue the home guards from the grip of the LTTE. - DH
Speaking at a media conference JHU leader, Ven. Ellawala Medhananda Thera said the only advise they could give the President was for her to annul the 'ceasefire agreement' and act according to Sri Lankan law.
The JHU would be functioning only as a monitory group, the Ven. Thera said, adding that they had no intention of taking part in the the NCPR as they saw the move as a betrayal of the nation.
Ven. Medhananda Thera said the LTTE should abide by a list of conditions before resuming any form of dialogue.
"The LTTE has to recognize the territorial integrity of the country and its judiciary. It should give up arms and pledge that it would return to the permanent democratic stream," he said.
The LTTE should also end the use of suicide cadres and recruiting child soldiers and should immediately stop killing or attacking its political rivals and innocent civilians in the North and East. Giving in to LTTE terrorism and the ISGA demands would mean encouraging terrorism and thuggery, added the Thera.
The Ven. Thera accused the government of giving in to the terrorism unleashed by the LTTE on civilians in the North, the East and also Colombo, without taking necessary action under the criminal and civil law of the country.
Meanwhile the JHU at their Central Committee meeting held late yesterday decided to pressurise the government to take stern action against the Tiger's acts of violence.
The JHU also said the government should take immediate steps to rescue the home guards from the grip of the LTTE. - DH
Sethusamudram a threat, claim Lankan environmentalists
By Damitha Hemachandra
Environmentalists rejected the recent statement by Jaffna University Geographer Dr. Soosai Anandan and claimed that the the proposed Sethusamudram project would jeopardise the environment of the Jaffna Peninsula and the future of the Mannar Oceanic National Park.
Dr. Anandan speaking in defence of the proposed Sethusamudram Shipping Canal Project said the project would be a boon, rather than a bane for the war-shattered economy of Jaffna.
Speaking further Dr. Anandan said that fears that the digging of the channel will lead to an increase in the water flow and eroding and submerging large parts of the western Jaffna coastline, were unfounded.
Dr. Anandan alleged that the proposed channel was too far away from the Jaffna coastline for changes in the water flow to have a significant impact on the coast, adding that the water flow would only be affected within one kilometre from the channel.
However Lanka Hydraulic Institute's (LHI) Hydraulic Engineer Dr. Malith Mendis thinks otherwise.
He pointed out that no one was in a position to accurately predict the changes to the water cycle in the Jaffna peninsula and its environs since there had been no study done on the subject.
"We have suggested the postponement of the project until serious investigations were done to study the water cycle and soil structure of the peninsula," he said.
Dr. Anandan had said that increased shipping through the Palk Strait would be a boost to minor ports on the Tamil Nadu and Jaffna coasts and had added that the presently undeveloped ports at Kayts, Talaimannar, Kankesanthurai and Point Pedro would get a chance to be developed.
Dr. Anandan also suggested that the project should be implemented only after the Tamil areas of the Sri Lankan North East acquired autonomy, adding that “It is only when the Tamils here have an autonomous administrative system that they will be free to develop the Jaffna peninsula and the ports here”.
These comments from Dr. Anandan came after DMK leader Karunanidhi's plea to the Sri Lankan Tamils "to lead a collective campaign to defeat the attempts by the Sinhalese to stop the Sethusamudram project, which would bring economic development to Tamil Nadu and Jaffna and would reduce business in Colombo and the proposed Hambantota ports".
However Trade, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Jeyaraj Fernandopulle said the implementation of the project would not affect the operation of the Colombo port.
The Rs. 50 billion SSCP project, which involves the development of a navigable channel from the Gulf of Mannar to the Bay of Bengal through the Palk bay, has been claimed by environmentalists as a threat to the fragile coastline of the Gulf of Mannar and the sensitive water balance of the Jaffna penninsula.
Environmentalists rejected the recent statement by Jaffna University Geographer Dr. Soosai Anandan and claimed that the the proposed Sethusamudram project would jeopardise the environment of the Jaffna Peninsula and the future of the Mannar Oceanic National Park.
Dr. Anandan speaking in defence of the proposed Sethusamudram Shipping Canal Project said the project would be a boon, rather than a bane for the war-shattered economy of Jaffna.
Speaking further Dr. Anandan said that fears that the digging of the channel will lead to an increase in the water flow and eroding and submerging large parts of the western Jaffna coastline, were unfounded.
Dr. Anandan alleged that the proposed channel was too far away from the Jaffna coastline for changes in the water flow to have a significant impact on the coast, adding that the water flow would only be affected within one kilometre from the channel.
However Lanka Hydraulic Institute's (LHI) Hydraulic Engineer Dr. Malith Mendis thinks otherwise.
He pointed out that no one was in a position to accurately predict the changes to the water cycle in the Jaffna peninsula and its environs since there had been no study done on the subject.
"We have suggested the postponement of the project until serious investigations were done to study the water cycle and soil structure of the peninsula," he said.
Dr. Anandan had said that increased shipping through the Palk Strait would be a boost to minor ports on the Tamil Nadu and Jaffna coasts and had added that the presently undeveloped ports at Kayts, Talaimannar, Kankesanthurai and Point Pedro would get a chance to be developed.
Dr. Anandan also suggested that the project should be implemented only after the Tamil areas of the Sri Lankan North East acquired autonomy, adding that “It is only when the Tamils here have an autonomous administrative system that they will be free to develop the Jaffna peninsula and the ports here”.
These comments from Dr. Anandan came after DMK leader Karunanidhi's plea to the Sri Lankan Tamils "to lead a collective campaign to defeat the attempts by the Sinhalese to stop the Sethusamudram project, which would bring economic development to Tamil Nadu and Jaffna and would reduce business in Colombo and the proposed Hambantota ports".
However Trade, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Jeyaraj Fernandopulle said the implementation of the project would not affect the operation of the Colombo port.
The Rs. 50 billion SSCP project, which involves the development of a navigable channel from the Gulf of Mannar to the Bay of Bengal through the Palk bay, has been claimed by environmentalists as a threat to the fragile coastline of the Gulf of Mannar and the sensitive water balance of the Jaffna penninsula.
No support for NCPR: JHU
The Jatika Hela Urumaya (JHU) yesterday said it would not support the President's attempts to revive peace negotiations through National Council on Peace and Reconciliation (NCPR) since the talks would be based on the ISGA.
Speaking at a media conference JHU leader, Ven. Ellawala Medhananda Thera said the only advise they could give the President was for her to annul the 'ceasefire agreement' and act according to Sri Lankan law.
The JHU would be functioning only as a monitory group, the Ven. Thera said, adding that they had no intention of taking part in the the NCPR as they saw the move as a betrayal of the nation.
Ven. Medhananda Thera said the LTTE should abide by a list of conditions before resuming any form of dialogue.
"The LTTE has to recognize the territorial integrity of the country and its judiciary. It should give up arms and pledge that it would return to the permanent democratic stream," he said.
The LTTE should also end the use of suicide cadres and recruiting child soldiers and should immediately stop killing or attacking its political rivals and innocent civilians in the North and East. Giving in to LTTE terrorism and the ISGA demands would mean encouraging terrorism and thuggery, added the Thera.
The Ven. Thera accused the government of giving in to the terrorism unleashed by the LTTE on civilians in the North, the East and also Colombo, without taking necessary action under the criminal and civil law of the country.
Meanwhile the JHU at their Central Committee meeting held late yesterday decided to pressurise the government to take stern action against the Tiger's acts of violence.
The JHU also said the government should take immediate steps to rescue the home guards from the grip of the LTTE. - DH
Speaking at a media conference JHU leader, Ven. Ellawala Medhananda Thera said the only advise they could give the President was for her to annul the 'ceasefire agreement' and act according to Sri Lankan law.
The JHU would be functioning only as a monitory group, the Ven. Thera said, adding that they had no intention of taking part in the the NCPR as they saw the move as a betrayal of the nation.
Ven. Medhananda Thera said the LTTE should abide by a list of conditions before resuming any form of dialogue.
"The LTTE has to recognize the territorial integrity of the country and its judiciary. It should give up arms and pledge that it would return to the permanent democratic stream," he said.
The LTTE should also end the use of suicide cadres and recruiting child soldiers and should immediately stop killing or attacking its political rivals and innocent civilians in the North and East. Giving in to LTTE terrorism and the ISGA demands would mean encouraging terrorism and thuggery, added the Thera.
The Ven. Thera accused the government of giving in to the terrorism unleashed by the LTTE on civilians in the North, the East and also Colombo, without taking necessary action under the criminal and civil law of the country.
Meanwhile the JHU at their Central Committee meeting held late yesterday decided to pressurise the government to take stern action against the Tiger's acts of violence.
The JHU also said the government should take immediate steps to rescue the home guards from the grip of the LTTE. - DH
No support for NCPR: JHU
The Jatika Hela Urumaya (JHU) yesterday said it would not support the President's attempts to revive peace negotiations through National Council on Peace and Reconciliation (NCPR) since the talks would be based on the ISGA.
Speaking at a media conference JHU leader, Ven. Ellawala Medhananda Thera said the only advise they could give the President was for her to annul the 'ceasefire agreement' and act according to Sri Lankan law.
The JHU would be functioning only as a monitory group, the Ven. Thera said, adding that they had no intention of taking part in the the NCPR as they saw the move as a betrayal of the nation.
Ven. Medhananda Thera said the LTTE should abide by a list of conditions before resuming any form of dialogue.
"The LTTE has to recognize the territorial integrity of the country and its judiciary. It should give up arms and pledge that it would return to the permanent democratic stream," he said.
The LTTE should also end the use of suicide cadres and recruiting child soldiers and should immediately stop killing or attacking its political rivals and innocent civilians in the North and East. Giving in to LTTE terrorism and the ISGA demands would mean encouraging terrorism and thuggery, added the Thera.
The Ven. Thera accused the government of giving in to the terrorism unleashed by the LTTE on civilians in the North, the East and also Colombo, without taking necessary action under the criminal and civil law of the country.
Meanwhile the JHU at their Central Committee meeting held late yesterday decided to pressurise the government to take stern action against the Tiger's acts of violence.
The JHU also said the government should take immediate steps to rescue the home guards from the grip of the LTTE. - DH
Speaking at a media conference JHU leader, Ven. Ellawala Medhananda Thera said the only advise they could give the President was for her to annul the 'ceasefire agreement' and act according to Sri Lankan law.
The JHU would be functioning only as a monitory group, the Ven. Thera said, adding that they had no intention of taking part in the the NCPR as they saw the move as a betrayal of the nation.
Ven. Medhananda Thera said the LTTE should abide by a list of conditions before resuming any form of dialogue.
"The LTTE has to recognize the territorial integrity of the country and its judiciary. It should give up arms and pledge that it would return to the permanent democratic stream," he said.
The LTTE should also end the use of suicide cadres and recruiting child soldiers and should immediately stop killing or attacking its political rivals and innocent civilians in the North and East. Giving in to LTTE terrorism and the ISGA demands would mean encouraging terrorism and thuggery, added the Thera.
The Ven. Thera accused the government of giving in to the terrorism unleashed by the LTTE on civilians in the North, the East and also Colombo, without taking necessary action under the criminal and civil law of the country.
Meanwhile the JHU at their Central Committee meeting held late yesterday decided to pressurise the government to take stern action against the Tiger's acts of violence.
The JHU also said the government should take immediate steps to rescue the home guards from the grip of the LTTE. - DH
