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SriLankaTimelineYear2010
January4

SriLankaArmysdeminingFieldEngineertroopstillJanuary4,sincetheyear2002,clearedatotalland
extentof450.41squarekilometres(450,402,744squaremetres)of LTTE buried explosive devices, anti
personnelandantitankminesandUnExplodedOrdnance(UXOs)fromnorthernandeasternDistrictsof
Jaffna,Kilinochchi,Mullaitivu,Mannar,Vavuniya,BatticaloaandTrincomalee,.
Non Governmental Organizations (NGOs) are separately engaged in demining work in the same
Districts. The extent of area demined by those NGO deminers has not been included in the
geographicalextentfigureasgivenabove.
Atpresent,troopsarecontinuingtheirdeminingworkinVedithalattivu(Mannar),Mankulam(Kilinochchi)
and ThunukkaiAmathipuram (Mullaitivu) areas. Initial surveys have confirmed that about 600
squarekilometresareastillremainstobeclearedofminesandUXOs.
The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) decided to support the Opposition consensus presidential nominee
General(retired)SarathFonseka,anannouncementbyUnitedNationalParty(UNP)whichisleadingthe
allianceinsupportoftheGeneral.
WhileindicationswerethatamajorityintheTNAwouldbackFonsekaintheJanuary 26 poll, there had
beennoformalwordtillnowfromtheTNAontheirinteractionswiththeformerArmychief.
Seeking the support of TNA at the upcoming presidential elections, Fonseka has offered to grant
amnestytoallthedetainedLTTEcadresifheiselected.

January5

President Mahinda Rajapakse stressed that he would never merge the North and the East under his
administration.
Chief Government Whip and Urban Development and Sacred Area Development Minister Dinesh
GunawardenatoldParliamentonJanuary5thatthe17thAmendmentto the Constitution is now defunct
andtherewasnouseintakingupitsprovisions.
TheSriLankanParliamentvotedtoextendthestateofemergencyinthecountrybyanothermonth.

January67

TheslainLTTEchiefVelupillaiPrabakaransfatherThiruvengadamVelupillaipassedawayonJanuary6.
A total number of 16,989 Internally Displaced People (IDP) have been resettled and around 82,940 war
displacedarelivingineightIDPcentresinVavuniyaandtwoothercampsinJaffna.

January7

The United Nations Human Right expert said that the execution video depicting alleged execution of
Tamil prisoners by Sri Lankan soldiers is authentic and called for an inquiry into possible war crimes
duringthefinalstagesoftheconflictbetweentheGovernmentforcesandLTTEmilitants.
The direction pursued by the Government towards fulfilling the aspirations of theTamil people is vastly
different to that which is being followed by the TNA led by R. Sampanthan, Investment Promotion
MinisterAnura PriyadharshanaYapa told the Media at the Cabinet briefing. He said theTamil people in
the North are gradually being inducted into the democratic way of life. The High Security Zones
establishedinJaffnaatthetimeofwararebeinggraduallyremoved.
ForeignEmploymentPromotionandWelfareMinisterKeheliyaRambukwellesaidtheLTTEandtheTNA
werepartandparcelofthesameteamwhichtriedtoattaintheEelamgoalthroughdifferentmeansand
they have gained a new life after their May 18 defeat with the General (retired) Sarath Fonseka group
teamingupwiththeTNA.
TheTNAParliamentarianK.ThurairetnasingamsaidthepartyisextendingitssupporttoSarath Fonseka
atthePresidentialelectionaftergettinghimtoagreetoanumberofconditions.

January9

Military spokesman Brigadier Udaya Nanayakkara told the BBC Sinhala that just over 11,000 LTTE
suspectsareincustody,followingthereleaseof712formerLTTEcombatants.

January10

ThousandsofLTTEsuspectsinGovernmentcustodywillnotbereleasedsoon,saidPowerandEnergy
MinisterW.D.J.Seneviratne.

January12

PresidentMahindaRajapaksesaidTamilswouldbegivenagreatersayinmattersofgovernancethrough
devolutionofpowerstoprovincesandpromisedtocreateanupperHouseinParliamentbyproposingan
amendmentintheConstitution.

January13

TheSriLankanGovernmentistakingmeasurestothwartanyattemptbytheremainingLTTEcadresand
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itsoverseassupportersfromresurrectingthevanquishedterroristoutfit,theForeignMinistrysaid.
The Foreign Minister said that during the last four years the missions abroad mainly focused on
dismantling the LTTE terror network abroad and countering their misinformation propaganda against the
governmentwhileseekingtoattractforeigninvestmentsandtechnicalassistancefor development work
thatcontinuedinparallel.
President Mahinda Rajapakse said he will present his own solution to the problem of the people of the
NorthandEastduringhissecondterm.
January14

The Norwegian Council of Eelam Tamils (NCET) on the Tamil festival day of Pongkal, announced
initiation of three global committees: a Monitoring Committee to help and coordinate polls mandating
Tamil Eelam as well as constitutions cum elections for peoples councils in various countries an
Exploration Committee to examine the possibilities of founding a diplomatic centre in Oslo to represent
thepeoplescouncilsandaRepresentativeCommitteetodiscussapexcoordinationorunitedfunctioning
withotherconstructsthatemergewithnationalthinking.

January15

The Government is to expedite legal proceedings relating to the LTTE suspects held under the
PreventionofTerrorismAct(PTA)andEmergencyRegulations.
PresidentMahindaRajapaksesaidthatSriLankastillfacesaseverethreatfromseparatiststhoughthe
LTTEhasbeenmilitarilycrushedandthecountryunitedaftera30yearwar.
ThePresidentfurthersaidthattheGovernmentwouldgraduallyeasesecurityrestrictionsimposedinthe
NorthernandEasternProvincesaswellasotherpartsofthecountrybecausetheLTTEnolongerposed
aconventionalmilitarythreat.
ThePresidentdismissedalleffortsthathavebeenmadesofartofindpoliticalsolutionstothecountrys
ethnicproblemandsaidhewillpresenthisownsolutionaftertheforthcomingelection.

January20

The subtle aim of the TNA is to obtain a self governing unit for the North and East through Ranil
Wickremasinghes intervention by getting a retired general elected to power, said vocational and
Technical Training Minister Piyasena Gamage addressing a seminar attended by teachers at the A.N.
Receptionhall,BalapitiyaonJanuary10,DailyNewsreportsonJanuary20.

January21

TheUNSecretaryGeneralBanKimoonexpressedhisconcernovertheescalatingpreelectionviolence
inthecountryintherunuptothepresidentialelectionsonJanuary26.
AccordingtoDefenceMinistryreport,theBishopofJaffnaRt.Rev.Dr.Thomas Saundranayagamsaid,
"Jaffnaisreturningtonormal.TheA9roadhasbeenreopenedandcivilianscannowusetheroad.

January22

AfederalcourtintheUnitedStatessentencedtwopersons,identifiedas Sathajhan Sarachandran (30),

and NadarasaYogarasa (55), to 26 and 14 years of imprisonment respectively, in connection with their
effortstopurchaseUSDonemillionworthofhighpoweredweaponryfortheLTTE,adesignatedforeign
terroristorganizationintheUS.
A court in Sri Lanka has ordered the Police to immediately release 73 LTTE suspects. Earlier, a Sri
Lankan Minister told journalists that the Government would not be able to release LTTE suspects as
manytrainedsuicidecadresareamongthem.

January23

InanelectionrallyorganisedinsupportofthecommonoppositionpresidentialcandidateGeneralSarath
Fonseka in Jaffna, twominute silence was observed to honour the LTTE cadres killed during terrorist
activities.

January26

PollstartedforthePresidentialElectionsinSriLankaat7:00a.m.(SST)amidheavysecurity.
According to provisional figures, an average voter turnout of over 70 percent was recorded countrywide
presidentialelectionexceptintheNorthandEast,electionofficialssaid.
The election monitors say the voting has been peaceful for the most past except for some minor
incidentsintheNorth.Thevotingendedat4:00pm(SST)withoutanymajorincidents.

January27

The results released so far including the postal votes by the Elections Department, shows incumbent
President, Mahinda Rajapakse has received 1,319,980 or 59.47 percent and his contender, General
(Retired)SarathFonsekahasreceived860,816votesor38.78percent.
TheSecretaryGeneraloftheUNBan Kimoon expressed relief on the relatively peaceful conclusion to
SriLanka'sfirstpostwarnationalelection.

January28

IncumbentPresidentMahindaRajapaksewaselectedasthesixthExecutivePresidentofthecountryby
amassivemajorityofover1.8millionvotesonJanuary26election.Hepolledatotalof6,015,934votes
as against his closest rival General (Retired) Sarath Fonseka of the New Democratic Front (NDF) who
polled4,173,185votes.
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The lack of sufficient transportation facilities for the IDPs to go to the polling canters was the major
factorforthelowvoterturnoutintheNorth,themonitoringgroupssaid.
The election monitoring group Campaign for Free and Fair Elections (CaFFE) said that at
theManikFarm,5354registeredvotersdidnotgettheopportunitytoexercisetheirballotastheelection
officials refused to accept the temporary identity cards carried by the voters for voting in the morning
hours.
Issuing a statement the President's office said that he intends to build on the peace already achieved
andmovetowardsafullreconciliationprogram,toensurethatthecountryisrespectedaroundtheworld
forjusticeandequalityofrights.

February1

SriLanka'scoalitionofTamilparties,TNA,saysitisreadytoholddiscussionsonpowersharingwiththe
reelected President Mahinda Rajapakse if they are given an opportunity. TNA leader R. Sampanthan
saidheisreadytodiscussgenuinepowersharingproposalsinaunitaryStateifinvitedbythePresident.
The two main opposition parties that came together on one stage for the presidential elections are to
contestontheirownattheparliamentaryelections.UNPparliamentarianLakshmanKiriellasaidthatthe
UNP will contest as the UNF under the Elephant symbol at the General Election to be held sometime
beforeApril.
ThedefeatedpresidentialcandidateGeneralSarathFonsekahasalsoexpressedhisintentiontocontest
theparliamentaryelections.However,hehasnotrevealedwhichpartyhewouldrepresent.

February2

SriLankaPolicearrestedasuspectedLTTEcadreinconnectionwiththe2006bombattackonabusin
KebithigollewainNorthCentralProvince.
The USAID has announced USD three million in new funding to support International Organization of
Migration's(IOM)operationsofreturnandresettlementofsome77,000IDPsinNorthernSriLanka.
A total of 1200 IDPs would be resettled at Poonagari in Kilinochchi the Ministry of Disaster Relief
ServicesandResettlementsaid.

February3

Sri Lanka Police have arrested 37 suspects under Emergency Regulations over the alleged
assassination attempt on President Mahinda Rajapakse and his family by supporters of the main
oppositioncandidateGeneral(Retired)SarathFonseka.
TwoTamilpersonshavebeenarrestedinconnectionwithsupplyingthearmsfoundinaBuddhisttemple,
Bodhirukkaramaya,inMaligawatta.

February4

Addressing the nation on the first Independence Day since the end of the war President Mahinda
Rajapakse said that the people of the North and East suffered for thirty years without their democratic
rights and he was able to grant them democracy. The President speaking in Tamil asked the Tamil
people to live together with the rest of the country without any divisive policies. "Let us discuss our
issuesamongourselvesandresolvethem.Onecountry,onepeople,onelaw.Thatisour way,theonly
way,"headded.

February8

SriLankanMilitaryPolicearrestedtheformerArmyChief,formerChiefof Defence Staffs and defeated

Presidential candidate General Sarath Fonseka at his office for committing military offences. The
Government has accused Fonseka of plotting to assassinate the President and overthrow the
Governmentbyacoup.
SriLankanGovernmenthasadmitted2000InternallyDisplacedchildrenlivingoutsidethewelfarecamps
to59regularpublicschoolsinVavuniya.

February89

PresidentMahindaRajapaksedissolvedtheParliamentwitheffectfrommidnightofFebruary9underthe
powers vested in him underArticle 70 (1) of Chapter 11 of the Constitution.The election is likely to be
held on April 8 and the new Parliament would meet on April 22. Elections will be held to select 196
members of the Parliament and 29 would be chosen from the national lists of political parties and/or
independentgroups.

February10

The total number of resettled IDPs from Mannar, Vavuniya and Trincomalee till February 4, 2010 is
134,352,statedtheMinistryofDisasterManagementandHumanRights.

February14

Already175,000personshavealreadybeenresettledinthenorthand2216peoplewhoweredisplaced
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will be resettled in Karachchi area of Kilinochchi, said Minister of Resettlement and Disaster Relief
Services,RishadBathiudeen.
Resettlement of people has been completed in four Grama Seva (Village Service) divisions at
OddusudaninMullaitivu.Another3,000personswillberesettledatMulleyavelifromFebruary15.
The Government of China donated more machinery and equipment worth 17 millionYuan (285.4 million
SNR)toSriLankafortheinfrastructuredevelopmentofthewardamagedNorth.
February15

Despite the killings of top LTTE leaders, including its former chief Velupillai Prabhakaran, and the
decimationoftherebels,theconceptofTamilEelamhasnot died out amongst those harbouring it, Sri
LankanArmyChiefLieutenantGeneralJagathJayasuriyawarned.
The LTTE operated 11 bank branches in Northern Sri Lanka with claims of prompt service and various
loanfacilitiespriortoitsannihilationinMay2009.
The international election monitoring group, the Commonwealth Expert Team, issuing its final report on
2010PresidentialElectionsinSriLankasaiditwasgenerallywelladministeredonElectionDaybutthere
wereshortcomingsinthepreelectionperiodduetoincidencesofinterpartyviolence.
Sri Lanka's common opposition Presidential candidate General (retired) Sarath Fonseka, who was
defeated by a margin of 18 percent at January 26, 2010 Presidential Elections filed a petition at the
SupremeCourtonFebruary16challengingthereelectionofincumbentPresidentMahindaRajapakse.

February20

The Sri Lankan Government said that it will set up community villages to rehabilitate former LTTE
cadres. Over 11,000 former cadres of the LTTE are currently sheltered in 18 Staterun rehabilitation
centres.

February21

ThebreakawayformerTNABatticaloaDistrictParliamentarianThangeswariKathiraman announced that

shewillbecontestingtheupcomingGeneralElectionundertherulingUPFA.

February22

Sri Lanka would reestablish judicial system in the Kilinochchi and Mullaitivu Districts from next month
replacingtwodecadesof'KangarooCourts'runbythenowvanquishedLTTEoutfit.

February24

TheGovernmenthasresettledanotherbatchof1161IDPsintheiroriginalvillagesintheNorth.
ThedefeatedpresidentialcandidateandformerArmyChiefGeneral(retired)SarathFonseka signed his
nomination papers to contest the upcoming parliamentary elections scheduled to be held on April 8,
2010.

March1

SriLankaArmyhasexpediteditsdeminingactivitiesinthemineinfestedformerbattlefieldsintheNorth
inordertoacceleratetheresettlementofdisplacedciviliansstilllanguishinginthewelfarecamps.
InspectorGeneralofPoliceMahindaBalasuriyasaidPoliceStationswillbesetupinallliberatedareas
intheNorthin2010tofacilitatenormalcivilianlifeandciviladministrationinthem.

March7

India expressed its satisfaction over the resettlement process and development programs in North and
assured its continued support to the Sri Lankan Government's efforts when Indian Foreign Secretary
NirupamaRaocalledonPresidentMahindaRajapakseinColombo.

March9

TheAsian Development Bank (ADB) granted additional financial assistance of USD 12.8 million for the
rehabilitation of conflictaffected areas in the Northern Province, particularly to assist the return and
resettlementofIDPs.

March14

ThemilitarysourcesaidthatalltheroadblocksandbarriersintheJaffnapeninsulahavebeenremoved
tofacilitatethefreemovementoftheciviliansthere.
ContrarytoclaimsbyasectionofthemediathattheSriLanka'sproLTTEpoliticalparty,theTNA,has
givenupitsstanceonEelamthealliancehasreiteratedthedemandontherighttoselfdeterminationof
Tamils. In its manifesto for theApril 8 general election, the TNA has sought federal solution based on
sharedsovereigntywhilereiteratingitspositionontherighttoselfdetermination.Thestatedposition of
theTNAonEelamhasbeenthatithasneverarticulatedthe demand.Initselectionmanifesto,theTNA
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alsodemandedremergerofnorthernandeasternprovinces.
ContrarytoclaimsbyasectionofthemediathattheSriLanka'sproLTTEpoliticalparty,theTNA,has
givenupitsstanceonEelamthealliancehasreiteratedthedemandontherighttoselfdeterminationof
Tamils.
March18

The British Supreme Court has ruled that being a cadre of the LTTE, which has been designated as a
terroristorganisationbytheBritishGovernmentcanseekasyluminUK.
Sri Lanka's main opposition UNP commencing its election campaign in Jaffna promised to set up an

effectiveresettlementprogramintheNorth.
March21

Sri Lanka Election Department would set up special polling centers in Jaffna for over 1500 LTTE
suspects, who are being held in rehabilitation camps in Jaffna, to exercise their franchise at theApril
2010parliamentaryelection.

March22

There is a secret connection between the Sri Lanka opposition parties and the TNA to betray the
country,TransportMinisterDullasAlahapperumaalleged.

March24

TNA highlights the "dangers" arising from the postwar influx of Sinhalese into the predominently Tamil
JaffnapeninsulaandtheWannibydrawingattentiontotheconstructionofpermamentSriLankanArmy
campsintheintheregion.

March28

Releasing of all theLTTE suspects irrespective of whether they had been arrested or surrendered was
amongthedemandstheEelamPeople'sDemocraticParty(EPDP)hadplacedbeforetheGovernmentin
view of the General Election, a regional newspaper said on March 28 quoting EPDP leader
DouglasDevananda.

March30

TheBritishHouseofCommonssaidinretrospectthatitregretsUKarmsexportstoSriLankaduringthe
fragile ceasefire period and suggests that the UK Government should take a "longer term view about
unstable countries" when exporting arms as where the weapons end up and how they would be used
becomeimportant.
SriLankaPolicehastakenmeasurestodeploynearly60,000Policeofficerstomaintainlawandduring
theupcominggeneralelection,theInspectorGeneralofPolice(IGP)MahindaBalasuriyasaid.

April1

AnAustralian courthasreleasedthreepersons,whowerechargedwithsendingfundstotheLTTEafter
pleadingguiltytotheircharges.

April6

TheTamilNationalAlliance(TNA)hassaidthatitwasreadytosupporttheGovernmentinimplementing
a solution to the national issue if it is genuinely interested in resolving it. TNA legislator R. M. Imam
said, "The TNA is ready to support the Government if it comes out with a genuine effort to resolve the
nationalissue."

April8

Polls for the first postwar parliamentary elections in Sri Lanka opened in the morning at 7:00am (SLT)
amidheavysecurity.Thepollsclosedat4:00pm.Anestimated5055percentofthe14millionvoters in
SriLankacasttheirballotamidincidentsofsporadicviolence.

April9

The ruling United Peoples' FreedomAlliance (UPFA) won a huge majority close to almost twothirds in
the14thParliamentofSriLanka at the General election held onApril 8, reports Daily News. The UPFA
secured majorities over 100, 000 in six electoral Districts while its majority in the electoral District of
Kurunegala exceeded 200,000. The highest majority of 322,953 votes was recorded in the Gampaha
District.TheresultsforKandyandTrincomaleeDistricts havenotbeenreleased.Theywillbereleased
only after a repoll is held by the Elections Commissioner in electorates where counting has been
suspended on account of alleged malpractices. Of the results of 180 seats declared so far, the UPFA
haswonin120constituencies.Theoutcomeoftheelectionstothe225memberHouseshowsthatthere
is no change in the public mood since the January 26, 2010 Presidential election in which Mahinda
Rajapakse secured a second tenure by nearly 18 percentage points over the candidate backed by the
entireOpposition.
ThemainOppositiongrouping,ledbytheUnitedNationalParty(UNP),hassofarbaggedonly47seats.
The Democratic National Alliance (DNA), the third front led by the defeated common consensus
Presidential candidate and the former Army Chief General (retired) Sarath Fonseka, has fared poorly,
securing less than halfadozen seats. The proLTTE Tamil NationalAlliance (TNA) bagged a dozen of
the20seatsforwhichtheresultshavebeendeclaredsofarintheprovincesofnorthandeast.
The official final tally of the new Parliament is expected to be delayed for at least two weeks, as the
Election Commission has withheld the results of 12 seats in the Kandy District following complaints of
irregularitiesinsomepollingbooths.

April13

ATamilParliamentarianelectedfromSriLanka'srulingUPFAhasassuredtograduallyremovetheHSZs
inthenorthernpeninsula.FormerMinisterandEPDPleaderDouglasDevanandahasreportedlysaidthat
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theHSZsinthepeninsulawillberemovedasthereisnosecuritythreatanymore.
SriLanka'smajorTamilparty,TNA,hassaidthatitisnotopposedtosupportinganacceptableproposal
on finding a lasting solution to the ethnic issue. TNA MPelect from the Jaffna District, Suresh
Premachandran,saidthatthepartywasopenfordiscussionwiththeGovernment.Accordingtohim,the
TNAdoesnothaveanyideaatpresentas towhattypesofconstitutionalamendmentswerelikelytobe
brought forward. He has, however, added that if President Mahinda Rajapakse comes forward with
constitutionalreformsaimedatfindingsolutionstotheethnicproblemstheTNAwoulddefinitelydiscuss
suchproposalswithhim.
April16

Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapakse said that the SLFP led United UPFA Government should be
preparedtothwartafreshattemptsbyseparatistsoperatingabroadtothrowalifelinetotheLTTE.

April17

Sri Lankan Army has recovered valuable documents and photo albums belonging to slain LTTE chief
VelupillaiPrabhakaranduringasearchoperationinMullaitivu.

April20

Sri Lanka's Elections Secretariat has announced that the ruling UPFP) has won the 2010 General
Electionssecuring144seatsintheseventhParliament.

April21

SriLankaFreedomPartyleaderandFormerMinisterD.M.JayaratnawassworninasSriLanka'snext
PrimeMinisterbeforePresidentMahindaRajapakseattheTempleTrees.
MahindaRajapaksewillnamehisnewcabinetonApril23,aGovernmentofficialsaid.

April22

Sri Lanka has said that although the top LTTE leadership had been eliminated during the military
campaignin2009,theinternationalnetworkoftheoutfitwasintactandveryactive.
ColomboPagequotingMalaysianNationalNewsAgency BernamaTodayreportedthatMalaysianPolice
had arrested a number of key LTTE leaders among other foreign nationals between August 2009 and
March2010.

April27

SevensuspectedLTTEcadreshavebeenarrestedinTheNetherlands.TheSriLankan Ambassador to
HollandGraceAsirvathanprovidedtheinformation. AspertheBBC,thearrestscameafteranintensive
studyoftheLTTEbannedactivitiesinthecountry.ItquotedTheNetherlandsNationalCriminalofficeas
saying 16 residences and businesses were searched in the operation and computers, paperwork,
phones,documents,photos,DVDsand40,000Eurowereseized."Amongthe suspects are the leaders
of various organisations of Tamils in the Netherlands, which probably play a role in the international
network of the LTTE," it quoted the Justice Ministry as saying. Leaders of the Tamil Coordinating
Committee(TCC),theTamilRehabilitationOrganisation(TRO),theTamilYouthOrganisation(TYO),the
TamilWomenOrganisation(TWO)andtheTamilArtsandCulturalOrganization Netherlands(TKCO),are
believedtobeamongthesuspects.

May4

SriLankanGovernmentannouncedthatithasrelaxedseveralprovisionsinthe Emergency Regulations

without causing any detriment to the national security in order to return the country to normalcy and
accelerate development. ExternalAffairs Minister Prof. G.L. Peiris told Parliament during the debate to
extend Emergency Regulations held today that some of the regulations involving holding meetings and
gatherings,curfew,printingliteratureandprovidinghouseholder'snamestothepolicewouldberelaxed.
The Minister however said that the Military would continue to enjoy Police powers to deal with ongoing
investigations into terrorist activities. He said the government does not wish to continue the state of
emergencybutsomeemergencyregulationsareessentialsincetheproLTTEgroupsarestillattempting
tospreadterroristactivitiestodiscredittheGovernment.

May6

The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) threat against Sri Lanka has only shifted from the field of
battle to the field of diplomacy, with attempts of establishing a Transnational Government in exile to
continueLTTEpropaganda,saidExternalAffairsMinisterProfessorG.L.Peiris.

May7

SriLankaaskedwesterncountriestocrackdownonTamilstryingtorevivetheLiberationTigersofTamil
Eelams (LTTE) separatist movement, which was crushed in 2009, reports The Hindu. Declaring that
Colombowill not tolerate moves by the LTTE remnants to form a transnational Government, the newly
electedPrimeMinister,D.M.Jayaratne,saidtheGovernmentwasawareofmovesbysomesectionsof
the1.5millionethnicTamilslivingabroadtoreviveseparatistmovementintheNorth.

May9

Sri Lanka defence sources said that the authorities have blacklisted the 272 Tamils elected to the
Transnational Government of Tamil Eelam (TGTE) in elections held. These representatives of Tamil
Diaspora were elected from UK, France, Germany, Canada, Switzerland, Denmark, Norway, and
Australia.SriLankaGovernmenthasdeniedrecognitionoftheTGTE.

May11

InthefirstcaseofitskindinCanadaunderitsterrorismlaws,aSriLankanTamilhaspleadedguiltyto
raising funds for the banned LTTE. Appearing in the British Columbia Supreme Court in Vancouver,
TorontobasedPrapaharanThambithuraiadmittedraisingmoneyfortheLTTEin2008.

May12

Deputy Solicitor General Wasantha Bandara said that Defence Secretary did not order shooting LTTE
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cadres coming to surrender. He said this when retired General Sarath Fonseka was produced before
ColomboChiefMagistrateJanakiRajaratne.
The TNA, the single largest Tamil party in the Sri Lankan Parliament with 14 members, said that the
RajapakseGovernment'sconstitutionalproposalsareunacceptabletotheTamilsandotherminorities,an
Indianmediareportsaid.
May15

Sri Lanka has urged the European Union (EU) Governments not to provide any political or symbolic
support towards the LTTEs initiative to forming a so called Provisional Translational Government of
Tamil Eelam (PTGTE). Sri Lankas Ambassador to Belgium and Luxemburg and the EU Ravinatha
Aryasinha said the LTTEs initiative to forming a so called "Provisional Transnational Government of
Tamil Eelam", with "country working groups" at national and regional levels in western countries was a
rusetoperpetuateitsterroriststruggle.

May17

LTTE leader Visuvanathan Rudrakumaran has disclosed in a press statement that the controversial
Transnational Government of Tamil Eelam (TGTE) will be holding its inaugural sessions in the city of
PhiladelphiaintheUnitedStatesforthreedays.Rudrakumaranhasreportedlyannouncedthemeetingin
an email statement that had been circulated to email addresses of several Sri Lankan newspapers.
According to Rudrakumaran, May 1719 was chosen for the inauguration of TGTE in order to
demonstrate the will of Eelam Tamil nation for its independence and coincides with the first year
remembranceofthemilitaryvictoryagainsttheLTTE.

May20

DefenceSecretaryGotabhayaRajapakse,saidthatLTTEsympathisersoutsidethecountrywere trying
torevivetheTamilseparatistmovement.
GotabhayaalsosaidthatalthoughtheLTTEhadnotcarriedoutanyattackssincetheoutfit'sleadership
waswipedoutinMay2009,theprorebellobbyabroadwasstillactive.

May26

PolicearrestedakeysupporteroftheLTTE,onherarrivalinColombo.Wellinformedsourcessaid that
shehadbeeninstrumentalincollectingfundsinFrankfurtfortheterroristorganisationandplayedakey
roleintheantiSriLankademonstrationsheldintheGermanCommercialCapitalduringthe final stages
ofthehumanitarianoperationlaunchedbytheSFs.

May31

TheSriLankanGovernmentwhilemaintainingthatthereisnothreatoftheLTTEraisingitsheadagain
says that the Indian Government's decision to extend the ban on the terrorist organization for a further
twoyearsisaprecautionarymeasure.

June2

SriLankaistoseetheemergenceofanewTamilpoliticalpartywithformer TNAparliamentarianN.Sri
Kantha deciding to register his party, the Tamil National Liberation Alliance (TNLA), as a new Tamil
politicalpartyinthecountry.

June4

Addressing a press conference at the information ministry auditorium in Colombo, Mass Media and
Communication Minister Keheliya Rambukwella said that some diaspora elements and United Nations
human Rights High Commissioner Navaneethan Pillay were supporting the LTTE. The international
networkoftheLTTEisstillactive,hesaid.
TwoproLTTEactivistswerearrestedinParisfollowingthedeathofRameshSivarupanwhoisbelieved
tobeamemberoftheRuthrakumarfactionoftheLTTE,accordingtoinformedsources.

June5

Tamil Nadu Police had advised the Union Government of India not to grant permission for Malaysian
TamilpoliticianP.RamaswamytoarriveinTamilNadu,sourcessaid.

June6

Deputy Resettlement Minister Vinayagamoorthy Muralitharan alias Karuna Amman has held the TNA
partly responsible for the current plight of the Tamil civilians in the North. He has said that the TNA
continued to support the LTTE and its war efforts when everyone including himself defected from the
LTTEandcalledontheorganizationtogiveuparmsandstopthewar.
However,TNA LeaderR.SampanthandenyingMinisterKarunasstatementsaiditwouldnotbecorrect
tosaythattheTNAbackedthewar.
MakingitclearthatSriLankanGovernmentwillnottolerateanygroupsintheeastcarryingarms,Karuna
Ammanaskedthemtodisarmthemselves.

June8

LTTE cadres are reemerging a year after their defeat despite launching no attacks, Sri Lanka's prime
ministerD.M.Jayaratnesaid.D.M.JayaratnetoldParliamentthatremnantsoftheLTTEwereplanning
acomebackwithfinancialbackingfromTamilsabroad.
SriLanka'sGovernmentproposedmaintainingdefencespendingatnearlythesamelevelasinthefinal
yearofitsmassivemilitaryoffensiveagainsttherebels.Figurespresentedtoparliamentshowedthatthe
Government had allocated 201 billion rupees (1.8 billion dollars) on defence for 2010, down marginally
fromanestimated210billionspentin2009.

June15

AMalaysianGovernment ministerhasdisclosedthatforeignterroristsincludingremnantsof Sri Lanka's

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LTTE are using Malaysia as their operational base and to recruit new cadres. Malaysian Police had
detected the presence of several senior leaders of the LTTE who were reportedly using Malaysia for
shelterandlogisticbase,MalaysianNationalNewsAgencyBernamareported.
June16

Defence Spokesman and Media Minister Keheliya Rambukwella said that Sri Lankan Intelligence Units
aremaintainingacloserelationshipwithMalaysianIntelligenceUnitsandPolicetocurbLTTEactivities
there.

June17

Quoting the Dutch media, Colombo Page reports that the Netherlands authorities have again arrested
severalTamils as a part of an ongoing investigation into illegal activities of the LTTE movement in the
country. Radio Netherlands Worldwide states that the organisation, which seeks to establish an
independent Tamil State in northeast Sri Lanka, was placed on the European Union list of terrorist
organisationsin2006.

June20

ThreesuspectedoperativesoftheLTTEwerearrestedandacacheofdetonatorswasseizedfromtheir
possession, four days after a member of the banned outfit was arrested by the Police. The trio was
arrestedby theTamil Nadu ''Q'' branch during a raid atTiruchirapalli. 4,900 ordinary detonators and 430
electricdetonatorswererecoveredfromthem,anofficialreleasesaidinChennai.
38yearoldChiranjeevi,amemberoftheintelligencewingofLTTEwhowasarrestedonJune16,2010,
hadconfessedtohavingsmuggledexplosivesalongwithSiva,Selvam,Tamiz,duringthewarbetween
theLTTEandtheSriLankanArmy,Policeclaimed.

June21

Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapakse warned that an international LTTE network was still active a
yearaftertheseparatistsweredefeatedmilitarily.

June22

SriLankaGovernmenthaswarnedAustraliaaboutavesselcarrying200suspectedLTTE cadresonits
way to Australia, but is unaware if there are top LTTE leaders among them or from where the ship
departedfrom.

June30

TNA has handed in an application to Sri Lanka's Elections Commissioner to register it as a political
party. TNA parliamentarian Suresh Premachnadran said that the leader of the TNA party has been
named as parliamentarian R. Samapanthan and the joint secretaries of the party would be
parliamentarians Mavai Senathirajah, Suresh Premachandran and SelvamAdaikalanadan. Although the
partyfunctionedastheTNAtheregisteredpoliticalpartywasknownasITAK.

July1

Only the will and dedication of the people will resolve the internal conflicts in a country and foreign
militaryinterventiontoaninternalconflictisnotasolution,toldPresidentMahindaRajapakse.
The main Marxist party, JVP, which is a constituent party of DNA led by Fonseka, said that General
Fonseka is still a member of the DNA. JVP politburo member and DNA parliamentarianAnura Kumara
Dissanayake told a press conference that although General Fonseka has applied to register a new
politicalparty,hewouldremainintheDNA.

July2

Former Army Commander and DNA parliamentarian General (retired) Sarath Fonseka said the
GovernmentwasplanningtogetformerLTTEinternationalwingleaderKumaranPathmanathanaliasKP
tocontesttheNPCelection.

July4

DefenceSecretaryGotabhayaRajapaksedeniedreportsinasectionofthemediathattheGovernment
isplanningtoinstalltheformerLTTEinternationalwingleaderKumaranPathmanathanalias KP, who is
underdetention,astheCMoftheNorthernProvince.
DefenceauthoritieshavegivenciviladministrationintheNorthpermissiontoresettledisplacedcivilians
intheHSZsofJaffna,theJaffnaGovernmentAgentK.Ganeshsaid.
TheGovernmenthastakenstepstoensuretheelectrificationoftheentireKilinochchiDistrictwithin two
years.TherulingSriLankaFreedomPartyparliamentarianLohanRatwatte,whohasbeenassignedthe
taskofcoordinatingthedevelopmentsinthepowersectorintheKilinochchiDistrict.

July6

During2009theGovernmenthadspentSLR2,180milliontoclearlandminesintheNorthandEast,said
EconomicDevelopmentMinistryMediaDirectorKapilaAriyarathna. He further said up to May 2010 the
Government had conducted 17,654 educational programs on landmines and explosive devices to the
peopleintheNorthandEast.TheSriLankaArmyhadexpedited thedeminingprocesswith1,050Army
personnel deployed in the risky process which consumes time and energy while another six NGOs
participatingintheprocess.InadditiontotheArmypersonnelanother2013officersfromNGOstookpart
inthedeminingprocessheexplained.

July10

Sri LankaArmys Military spokesman Brigadier U.A.P.Medawela told media that theArmy had defused
290,000 unexploded ordnance that were left behind by the LTTE. This cache of unexploded ordnance
has been found in 1,744 square kilometres of land in Northern and Eastern Provinces and around 113
squarekilometresoflandareahavebeenclearedoflandmines.
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At least eight NGOs are assisting the Sri Lanka Army in demining operations. Sri Lanka Army has
deployed1,050Armypersonneltoexpeditethedeminingprocesswhileover2,000deminersfromNGOs
are also involved in the process. The source further maintains that according to the Economic
Development Ministry, the Government had spent SLR 2.18 billion last year to clear landmines in the
wartornNorthandEast.
July11

ASriLankannational,Chandrayoga,wasdetained attheAirportofChennai.Heallegedlyhaslinkswith
theLTTE.
SriLankanPrimeMinisterD.M.JayaratnesaidthattheGovernmentwillprovidemorethan3,000jobsto
youthintheKillinochchiandMullaitivuDistrictswhohavehaddirectcontactswiththeLTTE.

July12

SriLankanPresidentMahindaRajapaksein an interview to Philippine daily The Manila Times said that

theLessonsLearntandReconciliationCommissiontoprobeandreportonthelessonstobelearntfrom
theeventsduringtheethnicconflictwillhealthewoundsofconflict.
Sri Lankan authorities filed a third case before a civil court against formerArmy Commander and DNA
parliamentarianGeneral(retired)Sarath.

July13

UNPwouldinitiatedialoguewithotheroppositionpartiesonproposedconstitutionalamendmentsand the
abolishing of the Executive Presidency and create an Executive Prime Minister post that will be
responsibletoParliament.
TNA,themajorTamilpartyin Sri Lanka, said that it was awaiting an invitation from President Mahinda
RajapaksatodiscussthesolutiontotheethnicissuefollowingarecentvisittoIndiabyagroupofTNA
parliamentarians.

July14

As many as half of Sri Lankans seeking asylum in Australia are suspected of being former fighters,
operativesorsupportersofLTTE.SriLankanofficialsalsoestimatethatbetween25and50percentof
TamilsfleeingtoAustraliahaveconnectionstotheLTTE.
FBIsaidtheLTTEusesitssupportersincountriessuchastheUStoraisefundsandbuyweaponsand
explosives.
TheSriLankanGovernmentheldaCabinetmeetingintheformerLTTEstrongholdofKilinochchiinwar
batteredNorthernProvince.
Addressing a public gathering in Kilinochchi, President Mahinda Rajapaksa said that the Government's
largestfinancialallocationforregionaldevelopmentwenttouplifttheconflictravagedNorth.

July15

A special meeting of the Sri Lankan Cabinet, chaired by President Mahinda Rajapakse, held at
KilinochchitownintheNorthernProvinceapprovedanemergencyloanofUSD150millionfromADBfor
reconstructionofthedamagedpowerandwaterinfrastructureintheNorthernandEasternprovinces.
The ExternalAffairs Ministry in a statement said Sri Lanka had been removed from all marine war and
marinestrikesriskoftheJointCargoCommitteeJointCargoWatchList.
Minister of Mass Media and Communication Keheliya Rambukwella said the HSZs established in
Northernareawillnotberemovedastheyareessentialtoensurethesecurityintheregion.
SriLanka'sChiefCoordinatingOfficeroftheCompetentOfficeforIDPsintheVavuniyaDistrictsaidthat
thetotalnumberofIDPsremaininginwelfarecentersintheNorthiscurrently38,127.

July16

CanadianImmigrationOfficialsaremonitoringashipthatmaybeheadedtoBritishColumbiainCanada.
Theshipiscarrying200Tamilmigrants.SomeofthemaresuspectedtobeLTTEcadres.Theshipwas
lastspottedinMay2010intheGulfofThailand.
Figures released by the Statistics Department of Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) showed that the
economyofNorthernandEasternProvinceshaveshowngrowthalbeitsmallsincetheendofthewarin
May2009.
DeputyResettlementMinisterofSriLankaVinayagamoorthyMuralitharanaliasKarunatoldthatcivilians
wouldberesettledgraduallyinHSZs.62,000personshave been displaced due to the establishment of
HSZsintheNorth.

July17

TheExternalAffairsMinistry saiditwasnotinapositiontoascertainwhetherSriLankanswere among

boatpeopleheadingtoCanada.
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TheCanadaRevenueAgency(CRA) announcedthatithasrevokedthecharitableregistrationofOttawa
areacharity,Tamil(SriLanka)RefugeeAidSociety(TRAS)effectivefromJuly17.
July18

Sri Lankan authorities have initiated fresh moves with the assistance of International Police (]nterpol)
and other intelligence agencies abroad to break the `backbone of the LTTE international terror network
which is believed to be still active in certain countries. Interpol has already issued red notices on two
hardcoreLTTEterrorists.

July19

SriLankaMinisterofMediaKeheliyaRambukwellathattheGovernmentistakingmeasurestosetupa
MediaAuthoritytoobtainthesupportofthemediapersonsinthedevelopmentofthepostwarSriLank.
An Ottawabased aid group in Canada, Tamil (Sri Lanka) RefugeeAid Society (TRAS), stripped of its
charity status on July 17 was linked to an arms merchant for Sri Lankas LTTE rebels, according to
Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) documents released on July 19. The documents obtained by the
National Post allege that Thiruthanikan Thanigasalam, a convicted weapons dealer, had served as the
TorontorepresentativeoftheTRASofOttawa.

July20

TheUnitedNationsPanelofExpertsappointedbytheUNSecretaryGeneralBanKimoontoadvisehim
onSriLanka'saccountabilityduringthelaststagesofthewarwithLTTEhasmetinformallyinNewYork.
This is confirmed by the UN. However, the fourmonth clock assigned to conclude the panel's
investigationshavenotbeguntocountdownyet.ThepanelwasappointedinJune2010.
ThefinalreportofSriLanka'sAPRCthatwasreleasedtothemediabythemainoppositionUNPand the
SLMC has recommended that Sri Lanka shall be a unitary state while the state powers are shared
betweenthecentreandtheprovinces.

July21

TheSriLankanGovernmenthasgiventheopportunitiesforexLTTEchildcombatants,whohadmissed
theiropportunitytocompletetheireducationduetothewar,tositforthepublicexaminations.
Thousands of DNA people protested in the Sri Lankan capital of Colombo demanding the release of
former Army Commander General Sarath Fonseka who is currently in military custody over allegedly
violatingthemilitarylawwhileinuniform.

July23

Sri Lanka defence authorities said that the state intelligence agencies have unearthed many important
information on several hardcore LTTE terrorists who are involved in international activities of the
defeated LTTE. The intelligence agencies of theArmy have also recovered several diaries and secret
documentsthatbelongtotheheadoftheinternationalactivitiesoftheLTTE"Castro".
ColomboisalsopursuingseveralGovernmentstodismantlethreebroadgroupsthatarenowassumedto
be controlling the remaining proLTTE international factions: the US group is said to be headed by V.
Rudrakumaran, the UK group by Aruththanthai Emmanuel of the World Tamil Forum (WTF) and the
NorwaygroupbyNediyavan.
The Government Spokesman and the Minister of Mass Media and Information Keheliya Rambukwella
saidSriLankangovernmenthasnotchangeditsstanceonthePanelofExpertsappointedbytheUnited
NationsSecretaryGeneralandstressedthatitwillnotbechanged.
Some100LTTEcadreswhoworkedasdriversfortheLTTEarenowundergoingtrainingtoberecruited
asdriversfortheNTB,anauthoritativesourcesaid.

July28

Colombo High court sentenced two persons to 11 years of Rigorous Imprisonment for supplying
information to the LTTE to assassinate the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (Mahajana Wing) leader Mangala
Samaraweera.The two suspects, G.G. Ranaweera alias Malli and SampathThushara were accused of
providinginformationin2006onthemovementsofformerministertoassassinatehimeitherinColombo
orinhiselectorate,Matara.
The Sri Lankan Government has resettled 85 per cent of the nearly 300,000 war displaced Tamil
civilians in the Northern Province, according to Government spokesman and Media and Information
MinisterKeheliya.
The Island reported that the Police and Security Forces had so far identified 737 hardcore terrorists
among the 11,686 LTTE cadre who surrendered and they were being held separately from others
undergoing rehabilitation at different Governmentrun centres. Commissioner General of Rehabilitation
SudanthaRanasingheassayingthoseinvolvedinmajorterroristattacks would have to be legally dealt
with.
RehabilitationandLawReformsMinisterDewGunasekeratoldTheIslandthatthereweretwocategories
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ofLTTEcadreinGovernmentcustody.
July29

The Sri Lanka Government maintains that the Tamil Diaspora is now divided into two groups and the
majority is supporting its efforts towards improvement of the living standards of Tamils in the northern
andeasternprovinces.
KP answered questions on a wide range of issues, including his capture, breakdown of the various
attemptstonegotiatepeaceandadesperatebidtothwartannihilationoftheLTTE'smilitaryleadershipin
May2009.
SriLankanGovernmentsaidthattheHigherSecurityZonesextendedduringthewarcannotberemoved
completely overnight although some High Security Zones have already been narrowed as the
Governmenthastoensuresafetyofallcitizensinthecountry.
Military Spokesman Major General Ubaya Madewela, said High Security Zones in Kokavil, Muhamalei,
TilappomonJaffnaKankasanthurairoadhavebeenremovedandformerresidentshavebeenresettled.

July30

Sri Lanka Rehabilitation Commissioner Brigadier Sudantha Ranasinghe says that 3,000 surrendered
cadresoftheLTTEhavebeenreleasedsofar.TheRehabilitationCommissioner said that 11,698 LTTE
cadreswereidentifiedforrehabilitation.Amongthe3,000releasedexLTTEcadrestherewereuniversity
students,children,illanddisabledcadres,pregnantwomen,motherswith children, minor offenders and
thosewhowereacquittedbycourts,BrigadierRanasinghesaid.

August2

The TNA accused the Government of militarising some of the areas in the Northern Province earlier
occupiedbytheLTTE.
The Minister in charge of Resettlement, Milroy Fernando, told BBC Sandeshaya that the Government
needs to establish military camps in the area 'for national security'. "Can the navy be stationed away
fromthesea?"queriedtheministerwhenaskedaboutthenavyacquiringhundredsofacresinMannar.
Thoseaffectedwillbeonlya'smallnumberofpeople,'headded.
GuyPlatton,ChargedaffairesoftheDelegationoftheEuropeanUnion(EU)saidtheEUneverfeltthatit
wasacriminalactonthepartoftheSriLankanGovernment to wage war on the LTTE, though the EU
alwayswantedtoendthefightingtopavethewayforanegotiatedsettlementto avoid massive loss of
lifeincontraventionoftheGenevaConventions.PlattonwasrespondingtoaquerybyTheIsland,inthe
wakeofrecentrevelationofexcessesbyforeignforcesincludingUS,BritishandPolishtroops.

August3

Sri Lanka Security Forces announced that a key high security zone (HSZ) in the island's Tamil
dominatedJaffnapeninsulahasbeenremoved.Thishighsecurityzonewasineffectforaround15years
since the Army liberated the Jaffna peninsula from the Tamil rebels in 1995. The zone centered on
CeynorJettyinGurunagar,amajorfishercommunityareainJaffna.Governmentsourcessaidthatthe
highsecurityzonewasremovedtofacilitatetheresettlementprocess.
PrimeMinisterD.M.Jayaratne3statedthattheGovernmentisintheprocessofconfiscatingthe assets
includinghouses,plotsoflandandbusinessestablishmentsthatwererunbytheLTTEinColomboand
the suburbs. The Prime Minister moving the Motion to extend the Emergency Regulations by another
one month, in Parliament further stated that information about the assets of the LTTE in Colombo and
thesuburbsarebeingdivulgedbyLTTEcadreswhohavebeenarrested.ThePrimeMinisteralsostated
itisobviousthattheproLTTEInternationalOrganizationsareattemptingtoreinvigoratetheLTTE.

August4

U.S. Homeland Security is monitoring the Sri LankanTamil migrant ship heading to Canada.According
to reports of Sri Lankan media there are many cadres of LTTE aboard the Thai ship MV Sun Sea.
Meanwhile Canadian authorities said on August 1 that they are preparing to handle any situation that
may be arising from the arrival of the migrant ship carrying Sri Lankan Tamil refugees in Vancouver
IslandsometimeinthesecondweekofAugust.

August8

DeminingintheJaffnapeninsulaofNorthernSriLankahasbeenacceleratedandthepeninsulawillbea
minefreezonewithinSeptember2010.
TNA parliamentarian Suresh Premachandran said that IDPs from the Santhapuram area in the
Kilinochchi District were not allowed to resettle in their original homes after they were asked to return
home.

August9

Canada expressed concern that aThai ship MV Sun Sea heading to British Columbia with migrants on
board may be carrying cadres of LTTE. Canada's Public Safety Minister VicToews said that Ottawa is
concerned over the possibility that there may be Tamil Tigers on board the Thai cargo ship and the
authoritiesarecloselymonitoringthesituationbutdidnotelaborateonthestepstheGovernmentwould
take.

August11

AGovernmentappointedpaneltaskedwithinvestigatingthefinalyearsofSriLanka'scivilwaropenedin
Colombo.
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BernardGoonetilleke,theformerheadofSriLanka'snowdefunctPeaceSecretariatonAugust10, said
thatproLTTEelementswereinvolvedincollectingfundsfromtheTamilDiasporaevenafterthewar.
CanadianauthoritiessaidthattheywouldinterceptashipofTamilasylumseekersfromSriLankabefore
itreachedthecoastbecausethepassengersmayincludemembersoftheLTTE.Theshipwasreported
to be within 322 km of Canada's Pacific coast province of British Columbia, said Chris McCluskey, a
spokesman for Public Safety Minister Vic Toews. The Thai cargo ship MV Sun Sea was expected to
reach the Strait of Juan de Fuca off Vancouver island lateAugust 11 or earlyAugust 12. Between 400
and500peoplearebelievedtobeonboard.
August12

SriLankanForeignMinisterG.L.PeirissaidthatChinahaspledgeditssupporttoSriLankaagainstany
internationalpressureforaUnitedNationsledprobeintoallegedwarcrimes.
The Sri Lankan Foreign Minister dismissed Indian concerns that the Chinesebuilt deepsea port at
HambantotawaspartofBeijing'spolicytoexpanditsstrategicfootprintintheIndianOcean,describingit
asapurelycommercialventure.
SriLankanGovernmenthasissuedaresponsetoareportsubmittedbytheUnitedStatesDepartmentof
StatetotheCongress.

August13

ASriLankancourtmartial,probing chargesthatGeneral(retd.)SarathFonsekadabbledinpoliticswhile
inuniform,foundhimguiltyandrecommendedhimforadishonourabledischargefromrank.
Hundreds ofTamils seeking asylum from Sri Lanka sailed into Canada under escort of authorities, who
vowedtoscreenoutLTTEcadres.

August17

The Canadian Government said that authorities would screen each individual Sri Lankan Tamil migrant
whoembarkedonCanadianshoresonAugust13fromtheThaicargoshipMVSunSea.CanadianPrime
Minister Stephen Harper said that the Federal Government will not hesitate to strengthen Canada's
human smuggling laws. According to the Canada Border Services all 380 men and 63 women are
detainedwhilethe49childrenonboardMVSunSeaareeitherwiththeirfamiliesor in the care of local
social services. Public Safety Minister Victor Toews said that each migrant had paid 40,000 to 50,000
Canadian dollars to the ship operators to bring them to Canada from Thailand. He has described the
voyage as a human smuggling operation run by the overseas cadres of LTTE. Meanwhile, the UNHCR
has commended Canada for its reception given to the 492 Sri Lankan Tamil refugees arrived in British
Columbia'sVancouverIslandaboardtheThaicargoshipMVSunSea.

August19

Sri Lanka Army reports that Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa told the Lessons Learnt
Commission that the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Elam (LTTE) had used the Jaffna University Medical
Faculty to train some its cadres to treat the war wounded. He said that he had got the opportunity to
meet three 'LTTE doctors' now undergoing rehabilitation at Senapura rehabilitation centre.According to
him,asSinhalaandMuslimmedicalstudentshadnotbeenwillingtojointheJaffnamedicalfacultydue
toterrorism,theLTTEhadmadeuseofsomeofthoseslotstohaveitscadrestrained.

August26

Defence Secretary of India Pradeep Kumar will soon visit Colombo to get an idea normalising the
defence relationship between India and Sri Lanka with the end of the ethnic conflict in Sri Lanka. The
issueistobetakenupatthefirstannualdefencedialoguebetweenthetwocountries

August30

An investigative report by Canadian newspaper Globe and Mail revealed that an alleged LTTE human
smugglingringispreparingtosmuggleanothershiploadofTamilswhohaveleftSriLankatobesentto
Canada.ThereportsaystheTamilsarriveinBangkokfromSriLankaontwoweektouristvisasandstay
in rented apartments pretending to be tourists until the next ship is ready to sail to Canada.The report
citing the Thai Police said some of the refugees left on MV Sun Sea, the cargo ship that reached
Vancouverearlierthismonthwith492Tamilasylumseekersonboard,wererecentarrivals,whoentered
thecountryontouristvisasshortlybeforetheshipdepartedinApril.

September6

Sri Lanka's former Army Commander and Democratic National Alliance (DNA) Parliamentarian Sarath
Fonsekasaidthat200kilogramsofgoldbelongingtotheLTTEwasunearthedfromtheVellamullivaikkal
area in the Mullaitivu District during his tenure asArmy Chief. Fonseka told the Parliament during the
debatetoextendtheemergencyregulationsthatwhilelargerstocksofgoldhadbeenrecoveredafterhis
tenureasCommandernooneknewwhathappenedtothegold.

September13

Tamil National Alliance (TNA) decided to testify before the Presidential Commission on Lessons Learnt
andReconciliationwhentheywouldmeetinKilinochchionSeptember16,17and18.TheTNAaccepted
theinvitationandsaidthatitwouldtestifybeforetheCommission,astheyfelttheproblemsoftheTamil
peoplehadnotbeenrecordedeventhoughtheyhadbeenpresentedinpreviousoccasions.

September14

TheSriLankanLessonsLearntandReconciliationCommissionsuggestedPresidentMahindaRajapakse
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September14

TheSriLankanLessonsLearntandReconciliationCommissionsuggestedPresidentMahindaRajapakse
some interim measures to better the lot of resettled Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) and people
living in former conflict areas. Other measures suggested by the eightmember Commission include
enablingpeopletousetheirownlanguageinofficialdealings,especiallywhilemakingstatementstothe
police.

September16

Around25,000InternallyDisplacedPersons(IDP)remaininginwelfarecenterswillberesettledbytheSri
LankanGovernmentassoonasthedeminingiscompletedintheareaswheretheyaretoberesettled.
The Government producing resettlement figures said on September 16 that the total number of IDPs
remaininginwelfarecentersinVavuniya,MannarandTrincomaleehascomedownto25,260fromover
280,000IDPswhoescapedfromtheLTTEinlastphasesofthewarin2009.

September17

A court martial in Sri Lanka held the formerArmy Chief, Sarath Fonseka, guilty on all four counts in a
caserelatedtoprocurementofarmsinviolationofthetenderproceduresandrecommendedthathebe
jailed for three years. DirectorGeneral of the Media Centre for National Security Lakshman Hulugalle
said at a news conference that the punishment would be subject to approval of President Mahinda
RajapaksainhiscapacityasthesupremecommanderoftheArmedForces.
The Sri Lankan cabinet recently decided to award the contract to build a new deepwater container
terminalinColomboporttoaconsortiumconsistingofChinaMerchantHoldingsInternationalandAitken
Spence.Accordingtoreports,theterminalwillbebuiltbythe samecompanythatbuilttheHambantota
portcomplexChinaHarbourEngineeringCompany(CHEC)andSinoHydroCorporation.

September27

ThemediaspokesmanofSriLankaArmy,MajorGeneralUbayaMedawalasaidthatthe resettlementof
Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in the Eastern Province is totally completed at present and it is
successfullybeingcarriedoutintheNorthernProvinceaswell,accordingtoAsianTribune.Accordingto
the spokesman.90 per cent of the displaced families were resettled in their original abodes and only
27,000personstemporarilyhousedin5reliefvillageswereyettoberesettled

September29

TheSriLankanGovernmentorganisedaspecialjobfairfortherehabilitatedformerLTTEcombatantsin
Vavuniya at Pompemadu rehabilitation centre, reports Colombo Page. Deputy Minister of Rehabilitation
andPrisonReformsVijithamuniZoysatoldthelocalmediathatajobfairwillbeheldfortheformerLTTE
cadres who completed their rehabilitation and vocational training. According to the Minister over 25
private sector organizations from various fields such as garments and construction would participate in
thejobfair.

September30

Robert Blake, a senior American diplomat, suggested that the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation
Commission (LLRC), established by the Sri Lanka Government should identify persons responsible for
the serious violation of international humanitarian laws that occurred in the final stages of the conflict
withtheLTTEmilitants.Blakemadethis"expressedviewoftheUnitedStates"whenheaddressedthe
WorldAffairsCouncilinSanDiegoinCalifornia
President Mahinda Rajapaksa on approved the prison sentence given by the second court martial
against former Army Commander General Sarath Fonseka. According to local media the President
recommended a 30month jail term for Fonseka. The second court martial recommended a prison
sentenceofmaximumthreeyearsforFonsekaafterfindinghimguiltyoffourchargesrelatedtoalleged
irregularitiesinmilitaryprocurementsduringhistenureasArmyChief..

October4

SriLanka'sTamilPoliticalPartiesForum(TPPF)askedtheGovernmenttostartaciviladministrationin
the North after ending the military administration. Former Tamil NationalAlliance (TNA) MP and Tamil
NationalLiberationFront(TNLF)GeneralSecretaryM.K.Sivajilingamsaidthattherewasnoneedforthe
GovernmenttocontinueanadministrationmanagedbytheArmedForcesintheNorthfollowing the end
ofthewar.

October7

SriLanka'exArmychiefGeneral(retired)SarathFonsekalosthisseatinParliamentinaccordancewith
anordinancewhichclearlystatesthatifamemberisjailedheloseshisseatimmediately.Fonsekaisin
jail after President Mahinda Rajapakse on September 30, 2010 signed the paper endorsing the military
courtordersentencingFonsekaforaperiodof30months.

October8

Canadian authorities are searching for evidence of a possible second ship suspected of smuggling Sri
LankanTamilmigrantstoCanada.Canada'spublicsafetyofficersareusingsatellitesandhitecheaves
dropping equipment to locate and pick up signals from the suspected vessel to determine whether the
ship is smuggling migrants from Sri Lanka. An investigative report in August revealed that an alleged
LTTEhumansmugglingringispreparingtosmuggleanothershiploadofTamilswhohaveleftSriLanka
tobesenttoCanada.

October10

The Thai immigration officials with the aid of the Crime Suppression Division of Thai Police raided
severalapartmentsinBangkokandarrested155illegalSriLankanimmigrants.AccordingtoThaimedia
reportstheGovernmentsuspectedtheillegalTamilimmigrantstobeapartofagroup seeking to travel
to Canada as refugees. Many of the migrants were without travel documents or valid visas. Also,
Intelligence information revealed that a number of LTTE) militants were among the Sri Lankan illegal
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immigrantslivinginThailandwaitingtoseekasyluminathirdcountry,mainlyCanada.
October12

Sri Lanka's main opposition UNP said that it would continue to agitate for the freedom of former Army
Commander and democratic National Alliance (DNA) leader Sarath Fonseka. The UNP has planned
countrywide demonstrations on December 10 to coincide with the International Human Rights Day to
urgetheGovernmenttoreleaseFonseka.UNPGeneralSecretaryTissa Attanayake said that the party
hadalsoorganizedprotestralliesin20DistrictsinthecountrytobeheldinNovember2010.Attanayake
added that the country needed to agitate for the release of the man who had liberated the country from
terrorism.

October15

TheLLRCsoughtareportfromtheTIDovertheLTTEsuspectsindetentioninaweekstime.According
toCommissionChairmanC.R.deSilvaPC,theCommissionreceivedanumberofcomplaintsregarding
LTTEsuspectswhoaredetainedbythesecurityauthoritiesduringpublicsittingsofthe Commission in
Mullaitivu,KilinochchiandcertainareasintheEasternProvince.
Over500formerLTTEcadres,whosuccessfully completed their rehabilitation program at the Vavuniya
rehabilitationcentre,werehandedovertotheirparents.TheGovernmentplanstoreleaseanother2,000
rehabilitated former LTTE cadres next month. Over 11,000 exLTTE cadres surrendered to the Security
Forces during the final stages of the Eelam War IV and they were being rehabilitated at centres in
Vavuniya.
PresidentMahindaRajapakseassuredPMManmohanSinghthathewouldholddialoguewitha"broader
spectrum"ofstakeholderstoaddresstheTamilissue.
Sri Lanka has embarked on a firstofitskind multilingualism approach, comprising three languages
Tamil,Sinhalese and English. Sri Lanka has sought the help of the Indian Government in implementing
thepolicy.

October17

Despiteaprobebyitsdefenceauthorities,SriLankahasfoundnoevidencetosuggestthatitsterritory
isbeingusedbytheLeTtotrainterrorists.SriLankanForeignMinisterG.L.Peiris,whoisonafourday
visit to India, on October 16 said that there is no merit in such claims. "The matter was brought to our
notice.Itwasexaminedbyourdefenceauthoritiesbutwehavenotfoundanythingtoestablishit,"Peiris
told TOI, adding, that the two countries were involved in an intelligence sharing mechanism to prevent
anysuchactivity.
As reported earlier, one of the accused in the Pune (Maharashtra) bakery blast case had said LeT
operativeswerebeingtrainedinSriLanka.Thoughthetraining wassaidtohavetakenplaceinanarea
closetoColombo,SriLankanauthoritiesdeniedthiscitingheavypresenceofSecurityForce personnel
inthearea.

October18

A federal jury in Baltimore has convicted a Singapore national of conspiring to provide weapons to the
LTTEoperatinginSriLanka,theUSJusticeDepartmentsaid.

October19

President Mahinda Rajapakse said his Government would like consensus among all Tamil political
partiesforapoliticalsolutiontotheethnicconflict.
BeginningthefirststageofBudget2011,PrimeMinisterD.M.JayaratnepresentedtheAppropriationBill
inParliamentonOctober19,accordingtoDailyNews.ThehighestallocationintheAppropriationBillhas
been made to the Defence Ministry. It stood at SLR 215,220 million.A sum of SLR 75,250 million has
beenallocatedfortheEconomicDevelopmentMinistry.

October20

TheGovernmentisplanningmajorchangestotheproportionalrepresentationsystemin elected bodies,

beginningwithlocalGovernmentbodies.
The TNA, which won majority of parliamentary seats in the Northern and Eastern Provinces, has
opposedthemovesayingitwilladverselyimpacttheinterestsofminorities.

October23

TheCentralProvinceTIDarrestedaformerViceChairmanoftheTalawakelleUrbanCouncilallegedlyfor
aidingandabettingLTTEterroristactivities.
Brigadier Sudantha Ranasinghe, Commissioner General of Essential Services, said that 306 former
LTTE militants are to be released after rehabilitation. "We will be releasing 306 of them this afternoon",
Ranasinghe said, adding that over 4,000 of them had been rehabilitated and released. "We hope to
complete the release of all female excombatants rehabilitated by the end of this month", Ranasinghe
added. Some 11000 exLTTE militants either surrendered or were arrested by the military at the
conclusionoftheEelamWarIVinMay2009.

October24

The Government will indict some 1,000 former LTTE cadres in custody on charges of involvement in
terrorismduringthenearlythreedecadesethnicconflictinSriLankathatcametoanendinMay2009.
D.E.W. Gunasekara, Rehabilitation and Prison Reforms Minister, said these former LTTE cadres are
beingheldonchargesoftheirinvolvementinterrorism.AccordingtotheColomboPage,theGovernment
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has decided to indict some 1,000 former LTTE cadres who are currently in custody and release 23
former women LTTE cadres on October 25 (today). Gunasekara said the Government has so far
rehabilitated and released some 4,460 former LTTE cadres, including 304 females. The Government
continuestoscreenrefugeesinmilitaryruncampsforLTTEmilitants.
October25

The Sri Lankan Government said that it plans to resettle all the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs)
remaininginthewelfarecampsbytheendof2010.According to the Ministry of Resettlement the total
numberofIDPsremainingtoberesettleddroppedto18,799withthe17,641peoplestillintheVavuniya
relief villages and another 1,158 IDPs remaining in Jaffna.According to security sources the remaining
IDPswillberesettledbeforetheendof2010intheirvillagesoncetheongoingmineclearingprocessis
completed.

October27

TheColomboHighCourtsentencedacadreoftheLTTEto30yearsrigorousimprisonmentfordelivering
a bomb to assassinate former President Chandrika Kumaranatunga on December 18, 1999. Colombo
High Court Judge W.T.M.P.D. Waraweva delivered the sentence against the accused Sathyavel
Ilangeshwaramwhowas19yearsoldatthetimeofthebombing.Ilangeshwaramandsixothersincluding
a woman were accused on counts related to conspiring to assassinate the former President.
Kumaranatungalostaneyeduetothebombattackthattargetedheratthefinalpropagandarallyofthe
1999Presidentialelection.Twentysixpersonswerekilledand80otherswereinjuredintheincident.

October28

The British Prime Minister David Cameron said that there should be an independent investigation into
what happened during the decisive phase of Sri Lanka's war against the LTTE in 2009. Cameron made
thisobservationwhilerespondingtoaquerybytheoppositionLabourPartyMemberof Parliament (MP)
SiobhainMcDonaghontheassassinationandcivilrightsabusesallegedlytakingplaceinSriLanka."We
needtoseeanindependentinvestigationofwhathappened.Everyonehasreadthepapersandseenthe
TVfootage,butweneedanindependentinvestigation to work out whether what she suggests is right,"
hesaid.However,hedidnotcallforaninternationalwarcrimetribunalastheoppositionMPsuggested.

October29

Sri Lanka''s Supreme Court dismissed a petition filed by the former Army Commander and defeated
Presidential candidate Sarath Fonseka challenging President Mahinda Rajapaksa''s reelection at the
January 26 Presidential elections. The fivemember bench upheld a preliminary objection raised on
behalf of President Rajapakse and rejected Fonseka's petition without being tried. The common
opposition candidate and the Democratic National Alliance (DNA) leader alleged that election
malpractices took place during the January 26th presidential election ( which President Rajapakse won
with a wide margin of 18 percent equivalent to 1.8 million votes over Fonseka) and charged that the
resultswerethereforeunacceptable.

November7

PresidentMahindaRajapakseextendedthetenureoftheLessonsLearntandReconciliationCommission
(LLRC)byanothersixmonthsinordertofacilitatetheCommissiontorecordmoreevidence.

November11

IndianExternalAffairsMinisterS.M.Krishnasaidthatapilotprojecttoconstruct1,000housesforIDPs,
i.e.Tamils,innorthernandeasternSriLankawillbeginsoon.
Following the telecast of a story of alleged war crimes committed on Tamil civilians by the Sri Lankan
Security Forces during the final stages of Sri Lanka's war against LTTE in 2009 by the Doha based
international news channel Al Jazeera, the Sri Lankan Government accused the news channel of
attemptingtotarnishtheimageofcountry'sArmy.

November15

A Major General told the Colombo High Court that Sri Lanka Defence Secretary had given clear
instructions to the Security Forces not to shoot any one who was surrendering to them during the final
stagesofSriLanka'swarwiththeLTTE.

November19

Following his overwhelming victory at the Presidential elections in January 2010, Sri Lanka President
MahindaRajapaksecommencedhissecondterminoffice.

November21

SriLankanPresidentMahindaRajapakseconfirmedthathehadapoliticalsolutiontotheTamilquestion
inmindandthatdiscussionwithpoliticalpartiesandthepeoplewouldgoahead.
India has started work on construction of 1,000 homes for Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Sri
Lanka,. The construction of 1,000 homes is a pilot project for the commitment made by India to build
50,000housesinnorthernandeasternSriLanka.

November25

SriLankaArmy completedtheexcavationsofthemassgraveinKilinochchiDistrictwherethebodiesof
26SriLankansoldiersexecutedbytheLTTEmilitantswerereportedtohavebeenburied.
The LLRC, probing the events that took place during the final stages of war, will hold their public
sessionsinTrincomaleeDistrictinDecember,.TheLLRCwillcommenceitsnextopenpublichearingsin
Trincomalee in December 2010 to obtain the views of the people in Trincomalee to give them the
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opportunitytopresenttheiraccountsofwar..
IndianExternalAffairsMinisterS.M.KrishnaarrivedinColomboonafourdayvisittodiscussthewhole
gamut of issues between India and Sri Lanka, including the resettlement of three lakh war displaced
Tamilciviliansandthequestforapoliticalsolutiontotheethnicstrife.
November29

InalettertoIndianExternalAffairsMinisterS.M.Krishna,theTamilParties Forum(TPF),theumbrella
organisation of Sri LankanTamil parties andTamil NationalAlliance (TNA), said that efforts by India to
ensureequalityandjustice'toSriLankanTamilsshouldbecarriedforward.

November28

Army has managed to clear over 300,000 mines in the Northern and Eastern Provinces in the country.
Military Spokesman Major General Ubhaya Medawala has told the local media that the Army Field
Engineershavesofarclearedover306,000minesinalandareaof1,863squarekilometresintheNorth
andEast.

November30

ABritishTVchannel,Channel4,broadcastavideoofallegedmassacreofLTTEcadresandciviliansby
SriLankanSecurityForces,supposedlyshotshortlybeforethefinaltriumphoftheSriLankanArmyover
theLTTEinMay2009.

December6

Sri Lanka's main opposition United National Party (UNP) Hambanthota District Parliamentarian (MP)
SajithPremadasasaidthatonlytheLTTEmembershadcommittedwarcrimesinSriLanka.

December7

ThaiPolicearrested50illegalSriLankanimmigrantsinBangkok.SuspectedmembersoftheLTTEwere
believedtobeamongthearrestees.

December8

The Sri Lankan Government said that the LTTE militants had executed Sri Lankan Security Forces
personnelimprisonedbythemduringthefinalstagesofthewarin2009.

December13

In a move likely to further alienate the ethnic Tamils in the country, Sri Lanka has scrapped the Tamil
version of its national anthem at official and state functions. Now the national anthem 'Sri Lanka
matha....' can only be rendered in the majority Sinhala language at official functions, the Sri Lankan
cabinetdecided.
Deputy Minister of Resettlement Vinayagamoorthy Muralitharan aka "Colonel KarunaAmman, a former
seniorcommanderofLTTEsaidthattheLTTEcouldnot berevivedandtheformerLTTEcadreswould
never want to join a terrorist outfit again as they have suffered enough due to the war. He was giving
evidencebeforetheLessonsLearntandReconciliationCommission(LLRC).

December22

ASriLankancourtremanded160LTTEcadreswhowerehidingamongtheinternallydisplacedpeople.

December26

The Sri Lankan Government declared that steps would be taken to expedite the release of detained
membersoftheLTTEaftertheirrehabilitation.
SriLankaGovernmentrejectedaBritishBroadcastingCorporation(BBC)reportthathadclaimedthatthe
LLRCappointedbythePresidentMahindaRajapaksewasbiasedinfavouroftheLTTE.
Note:Compiledfromnewsreportsandareprovisional.

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