Intelligence operatives harass freelance journalist

Intelligence operatives harass freelance journalist in Mannaar

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 11 September 2013, 06:37 GMT]
Two unidentified operatives claiming to be Sri Lankan intelligence officers interrogated Senior Journalist P.A. Antony Mar in Mannaar at his residence on Tuesday, the freelance journalist has complained to SL Police Tuesday evening. The investigation was carried out in a threatening manner, the journalist told Police in his complaint.

The so-called intelligence officers came in a motorbike to Antony Mar's residence situated on Moor Street and collected his personal details and questioned him in a threatening voice.

Mr Antony Mar has been associated with Ilangkai Thamizh Arasuk Kadchi (ITAK) earlier. He was an ITAK candidate in an earlier election, media sources in Mannaar said.

SL military intelligence collects details of TNA candidates in Mannaar

[TamilNet, Monday, 12 August 2013, 23:43 GMT]
The intelligence operatives of the occupying Sri Lankan military in Mannaar have been visiting the houses of candidates of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) taking part in the provincial elections and ‘registering’ the personal data, their affiliations and details of the family members in an intimidating way, the candidates taking part in the Northern Provincial Council elections say. Some of the ‘visits’ have taken place during the nights.

Two different teams of intelligence operatives have been collecting details, one claiming that they were from ‘State Intelligence Service’ and the other team claiming as the intelligence division of the SL military in Mannaar.

The visiting intelligence squads have been asking the TNA candidates where they studied in the past and their employment history.

The details of family members and their whereabouts have also been registered by the visiting intelligence squads.

A similar round of ‘intelligence harassment’ was reported before the nominations were filed to intimidate possible candidates from coming forward to participate in the elections. A former government agent of Mannaar, two lawyers, a doctor, a councillor and a village officer were intimidated this way before the nominations.

Now, the second round of harassment targets those who have been officially nominated by the TNA.

SL military intelligence backs Buddhist extremist move in Batticaloa

[TamilNet, Saturday, 01 June 2013, 22:25 GMT]
The threatening act of Sri Lankan military intelligence operatives, who took close-up photographs of the Tamil protestors against the construction of Buddha statue at the entrance to Batticaloa city on Wednesday, has exposed the nexus between the Sri Lankan Defence Ministry and the Sinhala Buddhist extremists, alternative political activists in Batticaloa said. The harassment by the SL military intelligence has also provoked Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarian Mr S. Yogeswaran to react saying that if any untoward incident befalls the peaceful demonstrators, it would be considered as the work of the Sri Lankan intelligence operatives who were involved in the act of public harassment on peaceful demonstrators. In the meantime, Batticaloa Magistrate NMM Abdulla has issued an injunction order prohibiting the construction of the Buddha statue, legal sources in Batticaloa said.

The SL Police in its report to the court had admitted that the construction of the statue at the site would cause public controversies, the legal sources further said.

However, news sources in the city said that the chief Buddhist monk at the Mangalarama Buddhist temple in Batticaloa has vowed to appeal the decision of the magistrate court and resume the construction of the statue at the same spot.

The Tamil National Alliance parliamentarian of Batticaloa Mr. S.Yogeswaran has condemned the act of the Intelligence personnel for taking photographs of the participants of the demonstration.

Mr. Yogeswaran said that he, as a member of parliament, took photographs of those intelligence operatives who were involved in the hostile act against the peaceful protestors.

A tense situation emerged at the scene for a while during the protest on Wednesday when the demonstrators were rounded up by the SL military intelligence.

Chronology:

01.06.13  SL military intelligence backs Buddhist extremist ..

29.05.13  TNA MPs, EPC councilors hold protest against erect..

26.05.13  Buddha statue to be erected at the entrance of Bat..

Indian military intelligence visits Jaffna, Vanni

[TamilNet, Friday, 31 May 2013, 10:18 GMT]
A team of high-ranking Indian military intelligence officials, led by Indian Armed Forces Intelligence Unit Director General R.N. Singh, visited Jaffna and Vanni on Wednesday and Thursday. The team was received by the genocidal Sinhala military occupying the country of Eezham Tamils. The Indian visit, that took place while Rajapaksa delegation was in Beijing and was signing major agreements on money and defence, follows China’s Vice Intelligence Minister’s visit to Jaffna and Trincomalee in April. Any visit of Indian officials is nowadays considered a jinx and is much feared by Tamils in the island, just as they fear sooth-saying persons coming in the middle of the night with curses from the cremation ground, because of the long history of such Indian visits foretelling escalation of miseries during the war and aftermath, commented news sources in Jaffna.

India and genocidal Sri Lanka have military to military relationship.

The commander of the occupying Sinhala military, Maj. Gen. Mahinda Hathurusinghe, first received the visiting team of Indian military intelligence at Palaali in the Sinhala military zone in Jaffna.

At Palaali, the visiting Indian team marked an important imperial ritual of paying homage at a recently opened memorial for the IPKF that had committed war crimes against Tamils quarter a century ago.

The Indian military doesn’t pay homage anymore at the abandoned memorial, remembering soldiers died in the war against Tipu Sultan, erected by its Madras Regiment at the fort of Sri Rangapatna, commented an academic in Jaffna.

After holding talks with the Sinhala commanders in Jaffna, the intelligence team left for Ki’linochchi. In Vanni the team was received by the commanding officer of the occupying Sinhala military headquartered in Vavuniyaa.

Visiting Director General of Military Intelligence of India, Lieutenant General RN Singh was accorded a warm welcome on his arrival at the Vavuniyaa airstrip by the commander of the occupying Sri Lankan military in Vanni, Major General Boniface Perera on Thursday. [Photo courtesy: Daily Mirror]

Even though it was said that the visiting team was discussing about ‘humanitarian activities’ taking place in the North, news sources said that there were strict orders from the visiting team to the Sinhala military that no news on the deliberations should be revealed.

Tamil media was not allowed to photograph the visit in Jaffna, but photos of the visit to Vavuniyaa were somehow released to Sinhala media in Colombo. In Jaffna, officials of the Indian diplomatic mission had made many restrictions on the release of news in the local media.

The team was on a visit to get first hand experience of the ground situation, commented news sources.

The presence of Indian military intelligence in Vanni during the genocidal massacre is a widely acknowledged secret among the SL military sources.

But this is the first time after the withdrawal of the IPKF in the early 90s that a high-ranking Indian military intelligence team is making an official and open visit to the island, news sources in Jaffna commented.

High SL military intelligence protection marks Chinese envoy visit to Jaffna

[TamilNet, Friday, 26 October 2012, 19:50 GMT]
The visit of the Chinese ambassador in Colombo, Wu Jianghao, to Jaffna on Thursday was conspicuous of the SL military intelligence protection he was getting, perhaps the highest a foreign visitor to Jaffna was getting in recent times, news sources in Jaffna said. Usually, SL police in the peninsula or ministerial level security officials provide security to visiting foreign dignitaries. But, top officials of the SL military were looking after the security arrangements to the Chinese envoy. In giving protection, he was surrounded by more than 6 SL military intelligence officers, clad in civil clothes. The SL military intelligence personnel did not allow journalists to get closer or to interact with the visiting envoy.

It looked as though China and occupying Sri Lanka wanted to send a message on the nature of their extraordinarily special relationship to impress upon Eezham Tamils, the news sources commented on the visual impression the visit had made.

Speaking in Jaffna, the ambassador said that the Chinese aid is of a different nature from what India gives, and they should not be compared. Aid, in whatever way and from whatever sources, is a matter of welcome for the affected people in the North and East, he added.

The Chinese-assisted road construction projects in Jaffna would be successfully concluded soon, he said.

The envoy visited the Jaffna Public Library to donate one million rupees (about 7700 US dollars).

He met various groups of people and visited the SL-government controlled Municipal Council to meet the Mayor.

The Chinese ambassador’s visit to Jaffna followed his meeting with a parliamentary team of the TNA at the embassy in Colombo on Wednesday.

The TNA was favourably signalled by India for this meeting, informed circles said.

During the meeting, when the TNA requested China to help stopping SL militarization of the Tamil country in the island, the envoy in turn advised the TNA to find solutions with the Colombo government without third party involvement.

Sri Lanka couldn’t have won the genocidal war against Eezham Tamils without the generous firepower assistance that was coming from China, is the view of many military analysts.

After the war, China’s aid priority in the North and East was concentrating on building cantonments and camps for the occupying Sinhala military.

Chronology:

26.10.12  High SL military intelligence protection marks Chi..

25.10.12  Occupying China announces informant rewards to cou..

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SL intelligence steps up harassment on Tamils in Colombo

[TamilNet, Thursday, 12 July 2012, 23:50 GMT]
Officers claiming to be from the Sri Lankan Defence department, but carrying ID cards issued by SL Police Department, have been visiting selected houses in Kirulappane and Dehiwale suburbs of Colombo this week demanding new registration of household members, sources in Colombo said.

While the details of household members were registered already by the police officials and the GS officials of the given areas, a three-member team, carrying ID documents issued from the SL police headquarters in Colombo as CID officers, have been visiting selected houses without informing the local police.

When residents in Kirulappane area contacted the local police, the police in Kirulappane was not aware of any new registration project in the area.

However, the visiting team, when confronted by the residents documented that they were on a mission to register details of those who reside in the houses on the instruction of SL Defence Ministry. They were registering details of those who had come recently from North and East to Colombo's suburbs, the sources said.