Army.lk caught using fake photographs

By Badrinath Mahalingam

For the last one week the Army.lk website has severely restricted its use of photos, and has almost exclusively published only "file photos" unrelated to the articles. We have heard from reliable sources working in the government that this is due to a direct order from above to stop publishing photos that are not personally approved by a high ranking official. This order came about after the defence.lk website was caught several times using fake photographs, sometimes even showing dead bodies of Sinhala soldiers while claiming they were LTTE fighters.

Out of the 20 articles currently published on the army.lk front page, only two articles have had photographs "approved" to be published. These two articles are titled "Troops Collect Fifteen Dead Tigers & Twenty Weapons" (located at http://www.army.lk/morenews.php?id=20926) and "Besieged Civilians in their Hundreds Reach Cleared Areas" (located at http://www.army.lk/morenews.php?id=20924). Unfortunately both of these articles contain fake photographs, evident from the date the pictures were taken.

In the first article, the following photographs are shown:

The article states:

"Tigers during Sunday (29) unsuccessfully tried to assault advancing troops but the troops took an upper hand and reacted hard against them. Tigers went on running amok leaving behind their arms and ammunition and also their own cadres."

"ARMY troops engaged in extensive search and clear operations in captured areas, north of PALAMATTALAN, PUTHUKUDIYIRIPPU this morning (30) collected dead bodies of fifteen more Tigers along with twenty T-56 weapons and one Multi Purpose Machine Gun (MPMG)."

As you can see in the photographs, there are 20 T-56 weapons and one multi purpose machine gun, so the story must be true, right? There is only one small problem. Even though the story seems to match the photograph (with the exception of the 15 dead LTTE fighters they claimed to have recovered), the photograph itself was taken in February of 2008!

So rather than write articles based on actual events, and then adding related photographs to the article, the Army.lk writers start out with fake photographs, and then "create" a story based on the photograph. How else could the fake photograph have the exact number of T-56 rifles as the story, and exact number of multi purpose machine guns. It is clear that the story originated from the photograph, and the photograph itself was a fake from more than a year ago.

Please note once again the amount of detail this creative writer adds to a non-existant story based off a photograph taken a year before:

"Tigers during Sunday (29) unsuccessfully tried to assault advancing troops but the troops took an upper hand and reacted hard against them. Tigers went on running amok leaving behind their arms and ammunition and also their own cadres."

First the tigers "unsuccessfully tried to attack", then the Sri Lankan army soldiers "reacted hard against them" resulting in the tigers "running amok" in panic. In that state of panic the tigers "started abandoning their weapons and ammunitions and even their own cadres". Just see the extent of fantasy writing the Army.lk website goes to. The photograph is a year old, yet these creative writers have imagined a whole series of events on how that photograph came to be. And the scariest part is that the government of Sri Lanka then presents these fantasy movie scripts to the world as factual "news".

The only other article on their website to contain a photograph is "Besieged Civilians in their Hundreds Reach Cleared Areas" which has the following photograph:

Though the article was published on March 30th, the photograph they show, which was supposedly taken the same day, was actually taken on March 13th. So once again we see that the army.lk and defence.lk websites both manufacture stories and extensively use fake photographs to mislead the public. Add to this the fact that the daily reported number of LTTE fighters killed never matches between the Army.lk website and the Defence.lk website, both of whom are official government websites. When one government website says 40 LTTE fighters were killed, and the other website says only 2 fighters were killed, it becomes obvious someone is making up stories. What is so surprising is that the government officials are so stupid that they do not even compare the stories they publish to make sure there are no contradictions.

In summary, out of the 20 articles currently being displayed on the Army.lk front page, there is not a single authentic photograph included. 18 of the articles contain no photographs at all, or sample pictures labeled as "file photos". The remaining two articles that do contain photographs actually have fake photographs, as well as creatively manufactured storylines based on those fake photographs.

Another example of imaginative stories created from a photograph was the following, reported last week both on Army.lk and Defence.lk:

Defence.lk stated about this photograph: "LTTE built statue of the megalomaniac terror chief Prabakaran is located in the centre of Iranapalai junction." Unfortunately the fiction writers at Defence.lk didn't even take the trouble to read the name writen on the statue's plaque before writing their story line:

When the official government defence department can't make out the difference between a Prabhakaran and a Senthuran, it is no wonder that they have been unable to capture him for 30 years. Even though Tamil is supposedly an official language in Sri Lanka, it is obvious that even high ranking officers in the defence department do not know how to read it. How else can you explain not a single person in the defence department realizing who the statue was in the photograph? But truth is not important for the government of Sri Lanka. More important is to create catchy fantasy stories, like the one of the LTTE fighters who "ran amok", "dropping their weapons", which happened to be photographed by the defence department a year before.

Defence.lk is 41% more lethal than Army.lk; writers deserve promotion

By Shankar Neelan

We have taken the last two months worth of battle reports from both Army.lk and Defence.lk (both official government websites) and compiled the daily battle reports into a chart for comparison. What we find is quite shocking. There is absolutely no relationship between the reports from the two websites. Some days Defence.lk reports 30 LTTE fighters killed, but army.lk reports only 2 killed. There are spans of an entire week where army.lk reports extremely low casualties, but defence.lk reports daily 20 to 30 LTTE fighters killed, mostly "sniped". What this shows is the two websites are filled with reports written by creative writers, who obviously don't compare notes between each other's stories. In fact Defence.lk has managed to net-kill 41% more LTTE fighters than Army.lk:

One of the most humorous aspects of the Defence.lk writer's style is the repetitive use of the word "sniped" to net-kill mass numbers of LTTE fighters. After going through every report over the last two months I found Army.lk has never reported a single LTTE fighter having been killed by a sniper. In every single Army.lk report the LTTE suffers "heavy casualties" due to close quarters combat. But in every single Defence.lk report, the report always concludes with at least 5 or 10 LTTE fighters being "sniped" from long range. On one day the writer became a little too excited and he sniped 30 fighters at one go. What this shows is its simply two seperate people making up stories, and their story patterns remain repetitive because its the same person writing every day. They don't have the intelligence to make up new stories each day, or even to match their stories with their other website writers.

What we find in the analysis is that the Defence.lk writers are in a competition to "outdo" the Army.lk writers, to prove that they are doing a better job then the others, and really deserve that promotion they have been asking for. In the past we have shown how the Defence.lk writers went so far as to create fake photographs, and to photoshop pictures to create false stories. Now we have conclusive proof that every single story is just a creative writing assignment, with numbers pulled out of their ass. How else can you explain that over a period of 2 months there are only 3 days where the casualty figures match between Army.lk and Defence.lk. The numbers are so far off that there isn't even a slight resemblance between the two.

In conclusion I would like to point out that the Defence.lk writers deserve special recognition for their accomplishments. Over the sample period of 2 months they have proven to be 41% more lethal then their top competitor - having net-killed a whopping 1174 LTTE fighters, compared to Army.lk's meagre 835 fighters. Thats a 339 kill improvement, while maintaining the same basic costs. In the present times of economic struggle, with the Sri Lankan government "dusting off the begging bowl" to get a 4 billion dollar IMF loan, I think we need to encourage as much efficiency in government as possible. The defence.lk writers have proven themselves, that they are the most efficient and lethal net-writers out there. In fact, I feel their accomplishments are so spectacular, we should even consider replacing Army.lk with a Defence-2.lk. Imagine if we could have two defence websites, each with a 41% improved lethality rate. That would result in the Sri Lankan government killing 82% more LTTE fighters for the same cost. That is called using intelligence to rise above the economic downturn - thinking out of the box. Who's the modaya now?

Sri Lanka heading to massive financial crisis due to government failure

By Senthil Ganeshan

Sri Lanka main opposition United National Party (UNP) today said that the government is heading to a massive financial crisis due to their mismanaged economic policies.

Speaking to the media, opposition chief minister of the Central PC and National organizer of UNP, S.B Dissanayake said that this has already resulted in huge problems throughout the country.

According to the Dissanayake a large number of jobs have already been cut off and several companies had also closed due to the financial crisis.

He pointed out that the profit of the companies registered with the Stock Market in Sri Lanka had declined by 61 percent in the past few weeks.

The main opposition blamed the government that they don't have a proper system to save the country's economy as corruption and frauds are rampant.

However, critiques point out that the financial crisis and declining stock market yields are not only limited to Sri Lanka but even superpowers like the US are facing an economic melt down due to the global recession.

----------------------------------------------

- IMF Loan request raised to nearly 4 billion dollars.

- IMF Loan may still be vetoed by US, which would lead to a complete financial collapse of the government.

- Government is paying armed forces personnel with newly printed money each month, resulting in collapse of the rupee.

Sri Lanka: East Has Become Bihar-Like

By Ratna Sivanesan

A Press Release from the Asian Human Rights Commission

The abduction of Varsha and the Extra-judicial killings of the Alleged Abductors

Sri Lankans looked at their TV screens and newspapers last week with shock and shame as the story of the abduction and killing of six year old Varsha Jude Regi of Trincomalee came to the attention of the entire nation. Although much has been talked and written about this horror story, the real societal meaning has been glossed over. The abduction has taken place in an area where abductions for ransom are now quite common. People, depressed by the absence of the rule of law or any sort of protection, appeared to show pleasure when they heard about the extra-judicial killings of such abductors. These are clear features of a place where law does not exist. The other area in the Indian subcontinent which has become infamous for similar abductions and lawlessness is Bihar in India. Now the common saying in India is “if you are from Bihar do not tell anyone.”

Varsha’s tragic story is that this six year old went to school on Wednesday 11 March. By noon she was allegedly abducted by a person trusted by the family to teach the computer to her and her brother. He was known as “computer-uncle.” The abductors thereafter began negotiations with the relatives and the father who is working in the Middle East. The kidnappers demanded a Rs 30 million ransom. While the family members were negotiating giving a Rs 1 million, the girl’s body was found in a bag on Friday, 13 March. Her throat had been slit and the bag containing her body was left in a drain on New Moors lane in the heart of Trincomalee town.

Adding more to the horror of the story, two persons, Oswin Mervin Rinawushan and Vardharajen Janarathan were both found dead while in police custody. The police reported that after Rinawushan had been arrested and in police custody, he was taken out and that he then attacked the police. In retaliation the police shot him dead. The story relating to Janarathan is that when he, too, was taken out by police in handcuffs, he managed to pick up some cyanide and swallow it. It is said that there are a few more suspects. It is very likely that if they are arrested something similar would happen to them as to the earlier suspects.

Further adding yet more horror to the story, the two main political parties of the east TMVP and what is known as Kuruna’s party accused each other of being behind the kidnapping and the killing of the little girl. The TMVP has been accused of being behind the murder because the school bag belonging to little Varsha was found in the TMVP office. The TMVP stated that together with two thousand of their former cadres, Kuruna has joined the Sri Lanka freedom party and they had taken with them some of the office equipment of the TMVP. The issue for the public would not be which one of these groups is responsible but that it is the new political guardians of the Eastern province that are allegedly behind the assassination of little Varsha for purposes of ransom.

It has also come to light recently that there had been several other earlier abductions for ransom including a leading businessman, a manager of a movie theater and a bus conductor in Trincomalee. They are of course in addition to a much larger list of such abductions.

Important Considerations

a. When abductions become a common occurrence; this is a clear indicator of the breakdown of law enforcement. This is not a surprise in the East which was a theatre of civil war for a long time and which has come out of the control of LTTE not long ago. However, the role of government under these circumstances is to re-establish law enforcement as its number one task. The government has not approached the matter in this way and perhaps the government is not even capable of addressing the matter in this way. The reason the government is incapable of dealing with the matter is because, even in the safer area in the South, the failure of the rule of law is an admitted fact. A government that is not capable of imposing the rule of law in more safe areas in the South cannot be expected to be capable of ensuring the rule of law in the East.

b. Handing over the East to political groups which have no commitment to the rule of law; perhaps due to the very incapacity to uphold the rule of law, even in the South, the government has been willing to hand over the East to anyone so long as they do not oppose the government. The primary concern seems to be to accept electoral support from anyone who wishes to give it, irrespective of whether they are bandits or political criminals.

c. People’s pleasure in seeing extra-judicial killings of abductors; the police seem to be quite happy that the arrested abductors are no longer alive and even state that people are very happy about their deaths. This kind of mental attitude is a sad demonstration of people’s helplessness in the face of failed law enforcement. In such situations people either take to lynching of alleged criminals themselves or are quite happy when the police do it for them. Almost daily stories of this kind are heard from Bihar. Sometimes a few people are killed in what is called encounter killings. Some video clips have been published in which a policeman on a scooter is shown with the alleged suspect tied to the back of the scooter and dragged along roads in a public place. When humanity descends to such a wretched situation, the only pleasure they can derive is to see cruelty perpetrated on their alleged tormentors. Any consideration of law or due process does not even enter their minds.

d. The entire population accepts the police story of the way the suspects had been found dead and do not want to probe it further to find the truth. Almost everyone suspects the police story about such deaths in police custody. In fact, no one believes these stories are true. But neither the government nor any other agency will want to probe into the matter. Any probe will surface too many additional factors which government and society are unwilling to deal with. To the extent of such unwillingness, the situation of lawlessness will remain unchallenged. Again, this is another similarity with Bihar. The problem of lawlessness is so complete and complex in Bihar that even the central government of India has not taken any significant action to deal with that part of India.

A Society Crippled by Shock and Shame

Sri Lanka today is a society crippled by shock and shame. It cannot even deal with such a humanly moving tragic situation of a child’s abduction and murder as in the case of Varsha Jude Regi. It is just another incident and another tragedy. To forget the tragedy as soon as possible is the best way out. Put the entire blame on the alleged abductors and then feel happy that those suspects are no longer alive. When the human psyche reaches such a state of uncaring, only extremely bold decisions by governments, with foresight enough to want to re-establish the rule of law, can rescue such a society again. Today, however, the leaders of the present regime are themselves the prisoners of the same situation. They can only shed crocodile tears for the loss of a child like Varsha.

It is civil society that must take the initiative and try to break out of this base condition of lawlessness seen everywhere in the country.

About AHRC: The Asian Human Rights Commission is a regional non-governmental organisation monitoring and lobbying human rights issues in Asia. The Hong Kong-based group was founded in 1984.

One LTTE gunman pins down 50 Sri Lankan special commandos

By Balakumar Anjaneyan

This video is a few weeks old, but it shows how clueless the Sri Lankan special commandos are. Here a single LTTE gunman pins down around 50 commandos on the beach at Chalai. In developed countries, the military is trained to storm the enemy's sniper position, but in Sri Lanka these commandos just try to hide. One even tries to dig a hole into the sand to hide like an ostrich. How humiliating for him to be caught on tape doing this. Note how no one has any idea what to do as they are being fired on. They neither try to get out of the line of fire, nor do they try to neutralize the attacker. They just lay there in the sun like idiots.

UN concerned for single staff member, doesn't care for 200,000 other civilians

By R. Srivatsava

Today the U.N. released a statement that they were deeply concerned for the well being of one of their paid staff workers forcibly conscripted by the LTTE to fight against the Sri Lankan army. I find it odd that the UN has so much concern for this one person, yet for two months the UN has said absolutely nothing when thousands of other civilians have been murdered by the Sri Lankan army.

In their report they are so concerned that a 16 year old daughter of their paid staff worker has also been conscripted to fight, but no mention of all the other children of the Tamil people currently dying in the Vanni at the hands of the Sri Lankan army. They are very concerned anytime a child is made to fight in the war, but why aren't they bothered when many hundreds of children have been killed by the Sri Lankan government in artillery bombings? Does this seem balanced to anyone? One 16 year old child is conscripted to fight under emergency situations, and the UN sends out press releases to the world, yet 700 children have been murdered by the Sri Lankan government in less than two months, and the U.N. remains completely silent. What exactly are the moral values of the U.N. that compell it to speak quickly when the LTTE merely conscripts someone, but remain silent when the Sri Lankan government engages in mass murder?

Does the U.N. consider murder to be a lesser crime than conscription? If a single act of forced conscription can result in the U.N. sending press releases throughout the world, then a single act of murder should likewise generate even more of a response from the U.N. We should have seen 3,000 such press releases from the U.N. condemning the Sri Lankan government for all the times civilians have been murdered in the last two months! But the facts are the U.N. has remained completely silent despite thousands of murders and other attrocities being committed by the Sri Lankan government.

Fear not! The U.N. is not ignoring your sufferings, they are just waiting for another case of a forced conscription before they speak out and chastise the LTTE for their inhuman war crimes. Until then, stay in your bunker, eat whatever leaves you can scrounge, and keep having faith that the U.N. is there to help you. After your children have been murdered and your daughters raped, the U.N. will be there to provide food for you inside the government's concentration camps. The next three years of your life will be wonderful, all thanks to the U.N. and their great concern for your people. You may be raped, murdered or starved, but they will never let you be forcibly conscripted - for that would be a crime against humanity.

The press release from the UN states:

"The UN in Sri Lanka has protested to the LTTE that UN national staff, as well as children in general, are protected under national and international law from recruitment by armed groups, and has called for their immediate release."

Find a single conscripted 16 year old girl: demand the LTTE immediate release her. Find 200,000 civilians being bombed to hell by the Sri Lankan army: wait silently for two months and then congratulate the army for putting an end to terrorism. Welcome to the double standards of the United Nations, who's only aim is to satisfy member states. The purpose of all organizations are to benefit their members. In this case the Tamil civilians happen to not be members of the UN, so their wellfare is irrelevant. How else can you explain the U.N. being so concerned for a single conscripted girl, but not caring at all when 3,000 civilians have been killed. Though they were quick to immediately condemn the LTTE as soon as they heard about this conscription, the U.N. has been hearing of civilians being killed by the Sri Lankan government for months, yet isn't in a hurry to say anything.

The U.N. is so hypocritical that they are blaming the LTTE for the Sri Lankan government's own crimes. It is the Sri Lankan government who is bombing the civilians. It is the Sri Lankan government who is starving the civilians by not allowing food into the area. It is the Sri Lankan government who is not allowing medecine into the area. Yet the U.N. says the Sri Lankan government is not at fault. Who is at fault for all of these crimes? Of course its the LTTE. Its the LTTE's fault that the Sri Lankan government is bombing the civilians. It's the LTTE's fault that the Sri Lankan government is not allowing food to the civilians. Its the LTTE's fault that the Sri Lankan government is not allowing medecine to the civilians. Everything is the LTTE's fault in the eyes of the U.N. despite the fact that it is the Sri Lankan government doing everything. The Sri Lankan government is the one who invaded the Tamil homeland. The Sri Lankan government is the one with hundreds of artillerly cannons firing into the heavily populated civilian areas. It is the Sri Lankan government dropping bombs from airplanes on the civilians. But all of that is the fault of the LTTE in the eyes of the U.N. simply because the U.N. must defend their own member states. They are completely blind to all of these attrocities, but as soon as they see a single child recruited as a soldier, they swoop down with their eagle eyes to point out the violation of human rights.

Dear United Nations keep your false concern for my people to yourself. We don't want your false mercy and compassion. While 3,000 of my brothers and sisters were murdered by the Sri Lankan government you sat silently without concern. Now you want to pretend that you are so concerned for one single girl who has bravely taken up arms to defend her people? If you are not here to help us, then leave us be to die an honorable death, defending our people from the Sinhala invaders. Let our children die with weapons in their hands, rather than die helplessly in a bunker with bombs falling from above.

In every country in the world, in times of emergency, the citizens are required to sacrifice and serve their country by taking up arms. Even a country like the United States has had forcible conscription during past wars. Why do you think someone should be exempt from this sacrifice just because he was a paid worker for the U.N.? Thousands of other Tamil civilians have also been forcibly conscripted to defend their people and homeland, but you haven't spoken up to protect them. Why is it you are only concerned for those people who were your paid workers? During times of peace they benefitted from your work, and earned more money than others, but now that it is a time of war they will have to sacrifice like all of the Tamil people have to. There will be no special protection for your chosen few. Keep your hollow and false compassion for your own people. While thousands of Tamil civilians are being murdered, you pretend to be alarmed and shocked that one person is being forced to fight. All Tamils will live together as one and die together as one. If you don't have compassion for all of our people, then we do not want your compassion for any of our people.

"Hunting the Tiger" on SBS News Dateline

By Tamil Arasi

The following is a news program broadcast yesterday on an Australian television network. Take special note of the third part where the Sri Lankan defence minister explodes at the reporter for asking questions he didn't like.

Welcome to the Vanni: Video from Vakthaa.tv

By Priya Chandramukhi

Everyone was asking for this video. Now Vakthaa.tv has posted it, so it shouldn't disappear:

http://www.vakthaa.tv/v/3320/oddusuddan-ambush.html

U.N. rights chief points to war crimes in Sri Lanka

By Stephanie Nebehay

GENEVA, March 13 - Both sides in Sri Lanka's conflict may have committed war crimes and must suspend fighting to let thousands of civilians escape, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay said on Friday.

Warning that the loss of life may reach "catastrophic levels", she urged the government and Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) rebels to suspend hostilities to allow evacuation of up to 180,000 civilians trapped on the northeastern coast.

Pillay said the government had repeatedly shelled the designated "no-fire" zones for civilians and also cited reports that the separatist guerrillas were holding civilians as human shields and had shot some as they tried to flee.

"Certain actions being undertaken by the Sri Lankan military and by the LTTE may constitute violations of international human rights and humanitarian law," Pillay said in a statement issued in Geneva.

"The world today is ever sensitive about such acts that could amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity," added the former U.N. war crimes judge, who grew up in a poor Indian neighbourhood in Durban as a member of South Africa's Tamil minority.

Sri Lanka's military has encircled the LTTE Tamil Tigers in a mere 37 sq km (15 sq miles) of the island nation's northeastern coast and is fighting to deal a death blow to a civil war that has raged off and on since 1983.

More than 2,800 civilians may have been killed and more than 7,000 injured since Jan. 20, according to a range of credible sources, Pillay said. Many had been inside the "no-fire" zones.

Hundreds of children were believed to be among the dead.

"The current level of civilian casualties is truly shocking and there are legitimate fears that the loss of life may reach catastrophic levels, if the fighting continues in this way," Pillay said.

"The brutal and inhuman treatment of civilians by the LTTE is utterly reprehensible and should be examined to see if it constitutes war crimes," she said. (reporting Stephanie Nebehay; editing by Jonathan Lynn)

Defence.lk caught with more fake photographs

By Sunil Devan

Today in an article titled "LTTE plot for mass scale chemical attack bared" the government has posted the following photograph, which is so obviously altered that it is ridiculous:

Please click on the photo to see an enlarged version. The entire photograph has been created using repetitive pattern brushes. Note the bushes on the left of the two people. See how the exact same pattern repeats itself throughout the bush. A similar pattern occurs on the right side of the people. There is a very clear split in the photo between the people and the background, indicating the photograph was not taken in the Vanni at all. This is a studio photograph, pasted on top of a picture in the Vanni, but the job is done so poorly that anyone can see it is fake.

We have been proving time and time again that the Sri Lankan government lies to their own citizens, and has been releasing false information for months. Just this week the Sri Lankan military was caught showing pictures of dead Sinhala soldiers, claiming they were bodies of LTTE fighters. Now this latest case just futher proves that there is no level the Sri Lankan government won't stoop to in order to stop the freedom struggle of the Tamil people.

Below are some closeups of the edited photograph:

See the drastic change from one photograph's background into the other photograph's background. The trees and bushes were added on top of the picture.

Note that the same light pattern on the leaves repeats itself 5 times in a row.

Note the two wires. The bottom one is copied pixel for pixel from the top one. Also note that the bottom wire disappears in midair due to a bad smudge effect. To make it clearer to you, below we have enlarged the two wire sections 400% and placed them next to each other. Note that every single pixel is identical (click for enlargements):

Both wires identical pixel for pixel.

Note the blue tarpaulin suddenly becomes the walking path! Also note the brownish walking path has been created using a square pattern repeated several times. You can see the square pattern clearly where it joins the bushes. The brown walking path also is painted on top of the soldiers leg!

In this picture the blue tarpaulin was "created" by copying from an area with a different lighting, so there is a stark contrast between the tarpaulin the soldier is standing on, and the "created" tarpaulin just to his right. One is light blue, one is dark grey.

Here you can clearly see a patern repeated to fill the bottom right corner of the main photograph. Those who have used photoshop, are very familiar with this technique.

Another sloppy example of using a pattern to create the walking path. Note that in some places the walking path is on top of the tarpaulin. This is a sign that the editor was a complete amature. Also note the blue smudge on the right side of the walking path. The editor accidentally copied a piece of the tarpaulin onto the path when he meant to take a "sample" of the path to replicate elsewhere. Again it shows he is a complete amature.

The same light pattern is repeated three times, indicating it is a pattern being copied from elsewhere to fill the background.

Notice the yellow and red flower on the left is pixel for pixel identical to the flower on the right.

Now go back and click on the original photograph so that you can see it expanded 500%, and look through it to see some of these things I have pointed out. It will not only be completely apparent that the photograph has been edited, but it will also be clear that it was edited by a half-blind idiot.

What this case shows is that the Sri Lankan government thinks the sinhalese are foolish idiots. They think they can shovel piles of horse crap on them, and they will keep their mouth open wide asking for more while clapping their hands and cheering. The sinhalese are in complete denial, refusing to accept that their government would ever mislead them about the war. In this case the lie is just a harmless photograph, but what about the lie about the sinhalese who have died in this war? There have been over 20,000 sinhalese soldiers killed in fighting over the last one year, but the Sri Lankan government keeps feeding you piles of horse crap like this photograph, saying there have been no casualties. The same is the case with regards to Tamil civilian casualties. There have been thousands and thousands of innocent civilians killed in this fighting by the government, but they continue to lie to the country saying no one has been killed. Everyone needs to wake up and realize these politicians are cheaters, and their only aim is to fill their own pockets. They neither care about the unity of the country, nor about Sri Lanka's citizens.

Postscript: After seeing this article, the Sri Lankan government first removed the photo from their website in an attempt to cover the truth, but the AFP press wire had already published it online along with many newspapers. As a result, many hours after having deleted the photo, the Sri Lankan government again placed the photo on their website with the caption, "The background of the image has been altered due to extreme security concerns". Since the photo had already been published by AFP, their only option was to pretend the photo was meant to be edited.

Fighting moves to Thevipuram

By Sesha Balasingham

Reports from the Vanni indicate heavy fighting is currently going on at Thevipuram. Thevipuram was previously located in the original no fire zone, and was occupied by the Sri Lankan army on February 2nd. The LTTE first broke through the forward defence lines of the 58th division on Sunday night, and has since launched several attacks on the 57th and 58th divisions at Thevipuram and Visuamadu. Most recently the heaviest fighting has now moved to Thevipuram, with hundreds of Sri Lankan soldiers killed in combat.

Sri Lankan government caught posting pictures of dead Sinhala soldiers claiming they are LTTE

By Karuna Indranil

The above photograph was originally shown on the Sri Lankan army's official website in an article claiming they recovered 150 bodies of LTTE fighters, but today it has disappeared (but not before I had saved it). Please click on the photo to see a close up of the first soldier. It is obvious by his facial features, skin complexion, uniform and haircut that he is a dead Sri Lankan soldier. If you look down the line, you will see several other dead bodies with similar hair cuts, skin complexions and facial features.

Once this fact was pointed out in this blog, the photo disappeared from the Sri Lankan government's website. You can check the article here to see for yourself:

http://www.defence.lk/new.asp?fname=20090309_08

Notice there are no longer any photos that show closeups of the dead fighters. Why? Because it was obvious many of them were Sri Lankan soldiers. That this was a deliberate act of deception is further proven by the fact they have replaced the old photos with completely different photos, but they have retained the same file names. This is done so all the links to the photos on various websites will not show that the photo has been deleted. People will click and go to the "new" photo and think the allegation is false. If the photos were not present, people would immediately understand the government was hiding something.

For example the original photo above is now the following:

http://www.defence.lk/img/20090309_LP06.jpg

Please note that in the old photos it was pouring rain, and in this new photo it is sunny outside. This new photo isn't even from the same area as the other photos. It is a very hasty attempt to replace the old photo with something, so people don't see that the dead bodies are Sinhalese soldiers mixed with LTTE fighters.

Here is the close up of the dead Sinhala soldier. Just see how the army treats their dead "heroes". They dump their bodies into piles and pretend they are the bodies of LTTE fighters.

LTTE overuns PTK junction; fighting reported up to Visuamadu

Latest news from the battlefield indicates LTTE fighters have overun the PTK junction, with fighting reported all the way to Visuamadu. The 57th division, which is supposed to be avoiding combat and being held as a "reserve" force, was hit in attacks that have penetrated all the way through the 58th division to the secondary reserve lines. Its is not clear whether the LTTE plans to hold the territory, or if it is only a hit and run attack meant to damage the Sri Lankan forces. Reports indicate hundreds of Sri Lankan soldiers have been killed in the fighting. Meanwhile, the Sri Lankan government has promised to completely finish the LTTE within the next 72 hours. We shall report back in 3 days as to whether this has been accomplished or not.

Sri Lankan Army caught fabricating fake news

In the last 3 days the Sri Lankan army website has been caught altering their news stories and fabricating "weapons finds". First let us look at the orignal photos that accompanied the article titled "More & More Astonishing Weapon Hauls Found" (http://army.lk/morenews.php?id=20556):

As the title suggested, these "astonishing weapons" include an old pair of boots, and a wooden toy gun made in 1920.

The second photo of "astonishing weapons" includes some old calendars, a broken belt buckle, and some CD-ROM disks. It is believed the LTTE planned to throw the CD-ROMs at advancing troops to grievously injure them. We still havent figured out how the broken belt buckle was going to be used. We can't rule out the possibilty that the LTTE may have been planning to use the old calendars to make crumpled up balls of paper, which they would then hurl at the government soldiers.

The third photo of astonishing weapons shows the same deadly CDs we already discussed, but with the addition of two old pairs of pants. The pants, being seperated from the persons wearing them, indicates the LTTE planned a surprise naked assault to shock and scare the advancing troops. The army is currently searching for the two matching naked fighters that were previously linked to these pants.

That concludes all of the "astonishing weapons" discovered for this article. It is quite embarrassing for the Sri Lankan government to publish such a ridiculous find under the title "astonishing weapons". But don't worry, because they know how to solve this problem. Three days later, THE SAME ARTICLE HAS NEW PHOTOS:

Three days after the article is published, photos of the most sophisticated weapons ever found on the battlefield are added next to the photo of old boots and a belt buckle. All of the missile launchers are sparkling clean and brand new, with fresh paint, as though they just got unloaded from Pakistan in Colombo. Each missile launcher has Tamil words painted neatly on them, to give the impression that they were clearly in the possession of the LTTE.

Think for a minute. If you wrote this article, and had to choose between putting the photo of the old boots and broken belt buckle, or putting the photo of the super sophisticated missile launchers never seen before in the battlefield, which one do you put? Well the Sri Lankan government chose to put the picture of the old boots - that is until they changed their mind 3 days later and decided to put something better.

When you see the video of the 13 missile launchers being found, we find further discrepancies. In one place they show the missile launchers being dug up from the dirt, wrapped in plastic. In another place they show the missile launchers being carried out of a secret bunker in the ground, completely unwrapped. In a third place they claim the missile launchers were found inside an oil tank, and they show the picture of the very visible oil tank on their website, which obviously isnt a place to hide anything of value.

Another point to note is that in the last 3 days, the Sri Lankan army has reused the same battle photos in three different articles. The pictures found in this article http://www.defence.lk/new.asp?fname=20090307_03 as well as this article http://www.defence.lk/new.asp?fname=20090306_03 are actually the same as the story of the Chalai infiltration (http://www.defence.lk/new.asp?fname=20090305_10). So they have made three articles out of a single event. Further, they show 6 bodies, but claim to have killed 100 LTTE fighters. "Amazingly" they have 100 guns to show, but only six bodies.

In a recent article titled "LTTE Arms, Ammunition & Explosives Recovered" (http://army.lk/morenews.php?id=20558), the government shows the following photo claiming it to be the recovering of LTTE weapons:

We are supposed to believe that this cardboard box has been burried under the ground for days, yet it is not damp, not dirty, and not damaged in any way. This is clear proof that many of the photos provided by the Sri Lankan army are fake. Click on this closeup below to see clearly that this box was never burried under the ground:

There are absolutely no signs of this box having ever been burried under the ground. A hole in the ground draws water and moisture, so a cardboard box burried under the ground will be completely damaged. Further it will be covered in mud and dirt, and there will be very clear signs that it had been burried. This photo shows the Sri Lankan army has dug a fake hole, and then took a photo of two soldiers pretending to take this box out from the hole. For those of you who have served in the Sri Lankan army, ask yourself if that yellow tape is military issued. Case closed, fraud proven.

Heavy fighting at Mankulam

Reports from the battlefield indicate there has been heavy fighting at Olumadu, just outside Mankulam. Olumadu was captured by the Sri Lankan army last year on November 25th. Olumadu is located around 4 kilometers from Mankulam, on the Mullaitivu road.

55th Division to link with 58th Division

After facing fierce resistance South of Chalai, the 55th division plans to avoid the coast by linking up with the 58th division North of PTK. Heavy fighting was reported yesterday in the area marked by a red circle. Though the army had claimed to be fighting in Palamattalan, our reports indicate they have not been able to cross the natural water inlet at Chalai, and have been calling in air strikes against the opposite shore for the last few days.

Sri Lankan Army pushed back to Chalai

Unconfirmed reports state the Sri Lankan army has been pushed out of Palamattalan back to Chalai, across the natural water inlet. As a result of this, there have been plans to avoid the coast and link the 55th division with the 58 division in the north of PTK instead.

UN calls for an immediate ceasefire

Yesterday the U.N. secretary general called for an immediate cease fire in Sri Lanka and said that thousands of civilians had been killed by the Sri Lankan government. He also stated that the UN has received reports that people have died from starvation in the no fire zone due to the government blocking food aid shipments. The report can be read on the UN website here:

http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=30099&Cr=sri+lanka&Cr1=

The report concludes, "The Secretary-General today also urged the Government to begin “serious” efforts to resolve the underlying causes of the conflict."

The particular wording used has raised a lot of eyebrows. It seems the UN wants more than an end to the fighting, but wants a political solution for the Tamil people. It is obvious international opinion has completely shifted sides over the last two months. If the Sri Lankan government refuses to heed the UN, as well as countries such as the US and UK, there may be a solution forcibly impossed on them, much like was done in serbia, granting autonomy to the Bosnians.

It appears the killing of an ICRC worker and wounding of his son by government artillery shelling of the so-called "safe zone" has convinced the UN to change their position.

Current Situation in PTK

As of now the LTTE still holds 90% of PTK. They will try to defend it, and if that proves to be impossible they will take positions across the lagoon and defend the bridges entering it. They had a lot of success stopping the advancement of the 55th division and 59th division across the water inlets, so they may try this with the remaining divisions as well.

The LTTE is still publishing a daily newspaper and broadcasting Voice of Tigers on the radio, so its not that things have completely broken down. If you see the videos of the civilian areas, vehicles are still moving in both directions as normal. A lot of what happens depends on how many civilians are actually in the area, because that also determines how many people will join the battle. If it is at the high end (400,000 civilians) then the LTTE has a much better chance to defend. If it is on the low end (the government's 60,000 civilians) then that makes it much harder, as there will be fewer people coming forward to join in the battle against the sinhalese invaders. It is impossible for anyone to have accurately counted, but I would guess the number is probably in the middle at 200,000.

There are no signs of panic in the civilian areas. There are still clear signs of civil order and discipline, indicating a large presence of LTTE cadres/police throughout the civilian areas.

The LTTE is also consciously withdrawing from areas, which is evident because no bodies are recovered by the government. If the LTTE positions had been overan, the dead bodies would be proof. But when the LTTE chooses to withdraw from an area over night, the government then steps in when the morning arrives. This is what happened at PTK junction.

There has been plenty of evidence showing that the LTTE can move by boat freely at will. Their recent attack near elephant pass at the rear of the 55th divisions shows they are not boxed in by a naval cordon as the government claims. If the LTTE wanted to completely vacate PTK and infiltrate into other parts of the island they could easily accomplish it, but they want to stay to defend the civilians to the best of their ability.

STF commandos kill rape victim's mother

Two days ago there was a report that a 14 year old Tamil girl was raped in front of her mother by STF commandos in Baticaloa. Today the STF commandos returned to her house and finished their "job" by murdering the mother for having reported the incident to the police.

It is disgusting that this woman can tell the police what happened and then be left helpless as those same police come back to her house two days later and murder her. There is no way Tamils can live peacefully under the Sinhalese, as this is the treatment they are given day in and day out.

Two days ago this case was reported in many places including in the comments of this blog. The Sinhalese readers commented as usual "oh another fake rape case". That is how Sinhalese treat Tamils who have been victimized, by accusing them of being liars. Now each and every one of you Sinhalese "patriots" have this woman's blood on your hands. You are all guilty of this murder, because when she came to you with her story asking for justice, you accused her of being a liar and left her to be killed by your own police force.

Alleged video of Oddusudan ambush released

Yesterday a video alleged to show an ambush on the Mankulam-Oddusudan road had been released on the internet, but the footage was so disturbing that it disappeared from all hosting sites within minutes of being posted. We have no way to determine if the footage is accurate, or if it may have been an older video, but we have never seen the footage before.

The video showed a lone Sri Lankan army transport vehicle being hit by machine gun fire and RPGs. There appears to have been no return fire, as everyone in the vehicle seems to have been killed in the flurry of machine gun fire.

Once the machine gun fire finishes, four or five LTTE members (including at least one female fighter) approach the back of the vehicle and climb inside, as blood pours out from the floor. Then one by one they drag the bodies out and dump them in a pile on the road. Altogether around 20 bodies are piled up, at least one still slightly moving. At one point there is some further movement inside the vehicle, so an LTTE fighter again shoots two of the dying soldiers.

The footage is extremely graphic and very disturbing to watch, as it shows the war in its full brutality. Especially disturbing is the manner in which the dead (and some living) soldiers are dumped onto the ground. I am not criticizing either side, but just pointing out the fact that war is terrible and we should never feel happy at the death of anyone. These types of violent actions are obviously carried out by soldiers on both sides, as that is what war is.

I suggest everyone should watch the clip, so you can understand how bad this war is and the urgent need for peace. The option for peace is in the hands of the Sinhalese and Sri Lankan government, as they are the ones who have initiated this war by invading the Vanni. The people in the South have been sheltered from seeing what is happening to their own soldiers in the war. If they saw the true nature of this war, without the cover of the propaganda curtain, I believe everyone would want peace in this country. Remove the songs, flashy military vehicles, and propaganda messages and see the actual death that this war is bringing to both sides. The government likes to show high tech airplanes, boats and battle tanks in their propaganda news clips, but war is not as clean as they like to show. War reduces people on both sides to act like animals and engage in violence that is unimaginable.

I am not able to provide a link to the video, as it has disappeared from all the sites I have seen it hosted on, but keep an eye out for it. Those who have seen it will understand exactly what I am talking about. If you find a working link for the video, post it in the comments.

Sri Lanka's war zone - an insider's testimony

I don't usually post newspaper articles here, but this one was very revealing and may not be seen by most people. It is a first hand report from foreign ICRC workers delivering food in the Vanni. It shows how others view the Sri Lankan army, and reveals how undisciplined they are. "No officers within 30 km of the front lines" sums up the Sri Lankan army command structure. The Sri Lankan government still doesn't realize how pubic opinion has completely turned against them throughout the world.

Sri Lanka's war zone - an insider's testimony
By Peter Foster (http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/peter_foster/blog/2009/03/02/sri_lankas_war_zone__an_insiders_testimony_)

THE humanitarian situation in Sri Lanka deepens daily, with up to 200,000 (the Sri Lankan government says 100,000) civilians trapped in the conflict zone as Sri Lanka's armed forces attempt a final rout of the Tamil Tiger rebels (LTTE) in defiance of requests from India and others for a ceasefire.

I have referred in the past to the difficulties for aid workers in Sri Lanka, so I wanted to share a communication that I received from a veteran international aid worker who was delivering food-aid to displaced people in the Vanni towards the end of last year.

I'm giving you the account in full below, but what is interesting to me is how it shows the extent to which relations between the Sri Lankan government and the United Nations are strained on the ground.

To my source it appeared that Sri Lanka army and politicans didn't see the UN as 'their UN too', but rather a "hostile and subservient" force in its own country.

Attempts to deliver aid (such as shelter materials) are often obstructed for fear of anything landing up in the hands of the LTTE. From this perspective, 'humanitarian aid' becomes indistinguishable (to some of those prosecuting this war) from 'aiding' the enemy.

This explains a lot of Sri Lanka's foot-dragging when it comes to meeting its humanitarian obligations. It is true that the LTTE (shooting at fleeing civilians) is worse, but then it is fair to expect higher standards from a democratically elected government.

The source also reports that UN vehicles and staff were subjected to searches in disregard of the Vienna Convention that grants immunity from such intrusions. "Not even in Kosovo in 1998 (before NATO came in) were the Serbs so disrespectful of international UN staff as is the Sri Lankan Army," the aid worker adds.

This attitude towards the UN and its humanitarian mission has very serious implications - not just for the suffering displaced people on the ground who need an effective aid-operation - but because it gives the world another reason not to take at face value the 'good intentions' of the Sri Lankan government.

Pro-Tamil groups are pressing hard to have the Sri Lankan war-effort censured at the UN (which won't happen because China and Russia will veto such efforts), accusing the Sri Lankan government of conducting what amounts to a 'genocide' against the Tamil minority.

Without wanting to get into the legal definition of 'genocide', such claims - true or false, exaggerated or otherwise - are given a certain amount of force by the apparent reluctance of the Sri Lankan government to be more transparent and co-operative with international agencies as it conduct its war.

The ultimate question, as I have written in the past, is what post-War settlement the right-wing Sinhalese government of Mahinda Rajapakse intends to impose on Sri Lanka's Tamils.

The fear - fuelled by the repeated attacks on the Sri Lankan media (most recently the Tamil newspaper editor N Vithyatharan), the refusal to tolerate dissent in Sri Lanka and the often chauvinist rhetoric of key figures in the Sri Lankan government, including the army chief Sarath Fonseka - is that the final settlement will be so discriminatory and demanding of subservience from the Tamil minority that it will amount to a piece of ethnic suppression/cleansing in all but name.

Only time will truly tell if those fears are justified. I make no predictions, however I do believe that the legitimacy of such fears - indignantly dismissed as Tamil propaganda by the Sri Lankan government - is deepened by the current Sri Lanka's government's apparently hostile attitude towards the UN, both on the ground and in international diplomatic circles.

What follows is a simple account of one aid workers experience on the ground in Sri Lanka. At one level it is perfectly mundane, but at the same time provides a rare insight into how difficult and highly politicised aid has become on the ground in Sri Lanka.

The correspondent writes as follows:

"On one particular food convoy which consisted of 60 x 35 ton trucks loaded to capacity the loading of it was monitored by soldiers and trucks they were sealed and secured in a compound the night before departure. Fuel tanks were sealed as were spare wheels etc. This may be reasonable in order to deny giving help to the enemy but it also included searching personal effects of UN international staff - short of body searches everything was searched.

On 2 occasions government propaganda leaflets were secreted into vehicles by a soldier - these were aimed at the Tamils who would be unloading vehicles at the destination.

When the convoy left it was escorted by the army to the SLA [Sri Lankan Army] front line (to prevent anything being added to the loads) and then accompanied by ICRC [Red Cross] through 30 kilometers of no-man's land (NML) to the LTTE checkpoint. Apart from counting trucks there was no problem from the LTTE.

About 10 kilometers into NML 2 shells landed to the rear far enough away to cause no damage but the light vehicles (Toyota Land Cruisers) shuddered with the vibration. This despite being assured by both sides that it would be safe.

On arrival at Puthukkudyiruppu (PTK) the convoy split and 30 trucks went to Dharmapuram - it was still daylight and the state of the IDPs [internally displaced people or refugees] in shacks, etc along the roadside and deeper into the countryside was easy to observe. There was no chance to get out and speak to them as the mission was to deliver food and educational material to Dharmapuram, unload and get out. The government had given times to keep to.

One staff member compared the situation of the IDPs to that he'd seen in Somalia when talking to the BBC. The IDPs were living very basically. The BBC added that Somalia had no government since 1991. This angered the government which only wants to see positive reporting and the person who made the remark was banned from carrying out any more humanitarian activity in the Vanni. Such is the control of the press and objective reporting. Clearly the government is scared about the world hearing what is going on.

The following morning from first light (6am) some IDPs were visited in Dharmapuram. IDPs were found living under plastic sheet shelters, used rice bags, cardboard etc. There were no shelter materials which agencies wanted to distribute as the government would not allow these to be taken in case LTTE used them as defence stores.

...............................

On the return trip there were further shellings to the front of the convoy which lasted about 2 hours. When it stopped the convoy carried on south out of the battle area. In no man's land the road was partially blocked by debris which was found to be shell debris - a shell impact was found on the track and broken branches across the road. This was the case also 500 meters further on. The shelling was happening despite being given assurances by both parties that it would be safe. Had the convoy not stopped or proceeded with care it could easily have been under the shelling.

The track was cleared and we drove on - arriving at the government front line where there were some troops and an ICRC tent with some of their staff. The front line was at a river and over a dozen SLA soldiers were splashing around almost naked in the river. Only one man was clothed and holding and weapon. Is it much surprise that the army take such heavy casualties? It was odd that that only a corporal was present - no officers. One wondered where the officers were - an officer was not seen for another 25 kilometers!

Later, at Omantai Checkpoint, (a purpose-built government vehicle search area) the convoys have to stop. Each and every one of the UN trucks is systematically searched. Although they were empty by this time, some 4 hours was spent by soldiers measuring interior dimensions and comparing them with external dimensions. Engines, chassis, driving compartments - everything was subject to such detailed searches.

Not only that, but the UN cars occupied by UN staff went through the same routine. International staff are required to empty out their personal effects while every item is examined by soldiers with a pompous attitude which would not have been tolerated by those being searched on Belfast Streets years ago. Food containers were opened, toothpaste tubes, etc. The troops are unsupervised except by Military Police junior NCOs. No officers are present.

A UN staff member who told the BBC that the situation of the displaced community in the battle area was comparable to that he saw in Somalia some years before. As a result of making that comment the government ordered that he report to the commanding general. He refused to do so as it was very likely to be reprimanded and he was not to be humiliated. He was informed that he was persona non grata in the LTTE area and was to keep out of it. Foreign eyes are not supposed to say anything about what is seen in the battlefield.

He returned to Colombo and went into low profile. In the following days a TV studio (which did not tow the government line) was trashed by 20 thugs with weapons, a leading journalist (critical of the government) shot dead in the street, an ambassador called to the Minister for Foreign Affairs for making unbecoming comments at the funeral of the journalist.....there is a risk in saying anything critical of the situation in Sri Lanka.

Fighting reported in Kevil, near Elephant Pass

Heavy fighting has been reported in the Kevil area on the coast near Elephant pass. No further details are available at present. It appears to be targeting the rear supply base of the 55th division.

Sri Lankan army makes shocking discoveries in PTK

We enter the eighth day of silence from the government in regards to the PTK battle. Though they initially claimed PTK had fallen on the first day itself, they have subsequently changed their story multiple times. In one version the 58 division "captured" PTK, and in another version the 53rd division "captured" PTK. After the dramatic capture, the government announced their forces were actually 200 meters outside the city. Following that admission we were then left with 8 days of silence - no mention at all as to what is happening with 50,000 soldiers trying to enter PTK.

Instead of providing us with actual battlefield information, the Sri Lankan military has turned to more important stories:

1) "Swimming pool found, needs cleaning", ( source: http://army.lk/morenews.php?id=20472)

2) "Cable television distributor office found, looted" ( source: http://www.defence.lk/new.asp?fname=20090228_01 )

3) "20 year old photos of Vaiko found, startling discovery" ( source: http://www.defence.lk/new.asp?fname=20090301_02 )

4) "15 Children in Vavuniya recovering [while hundreds still killed each day in bombings]" ( source: http://army.lk/morenews.php?id=20470 )

5) "70 year old man wrestles gun from three LTTE cadres and kills the entire LTTE army" ( source: http://www.defence.lk/new.asp?fname=20090302_01 )

6) "19 civilians liberated from LTTE area [to join other 35,000 tamils in prison camps]" ( source: http://www.defence.lk/new.asp?fname=20090226_09 )

7) "SLA Troops conduct medical clinic in Jaffna [to treat wounds caused by security forces]" ( source: http://www.defence.lk/new.asp?fname=20090228_10 )

8) "Call to end use of child soldiers [suggestion to use them for testing artillery bombs on instead]" ( source: http://www.defence.lk/new.asp?fname=20090226_07 )

Since most of you do not have time to read through all of their fascinating articles, I will highlight the accomplishments of the Sri Lankan army's last 8 days in PTK here:

( picture source: http://www.defence.lk/img/20090226_17.jpg )

"Terrorist toilet recovered in PTK after heavy damages dealt to LTTE. Security forces are still searching for the toilet brush, suspected of having been burried as the LTTE withdrew. Intercepted terrorist radio communications indicate senior LTTE leaders were present on the front lines to defend this toilet at all costs. Soldiers are presently searching the toilet to disable any mines or booby traps the LTTE may have left before they allow security forces to use it. The presence of a stainless steel flush knob indicates a foreign hand, probably NGOs, working hand in hand with the terrorists. It is reported one Tamil civilian, obviously being used as a human shield, came running out in a shocked manner as the security forces broke down the locked door. The presence of an obnoxious odor seems to suggest the LTTE was using this toilet to store some form of chemical or biological weapons. Photos of other notable discoveries included below."

( picture source: http://defence.lk/img/20090228_01l.jpg )

"Used terrorist cell phone recharge card. Security forces were dissappointed that it had already been used and had no more validity."

( picture source: http://www.defence.lk/img/20090226_04.jpg )

"Terrorist carrom board. Security forces are looking for where the terrorists have burried the striker and dots. If they are unable to find them, suggestions are to reopen A-9 early and have the dots supplied from Colombo."

( picture source: http://defence.lk/img/20090228_01t.jpg )

"Security forces capture LTTE leader Anton Balasingham. So far he refuses to tell interrogators anything. He has also reportedly refused all attempts to feed him. If he continues to refuse food, security forces may have to resort to force feeding."

( picture source: http://defence.lk/img/20090228_01N.jpg )

"Terrorist baby mosquito protector recovered by security forces. This was obviously used by terrorist babies so they wouldn't be bitten by mosquitos as they planned their terroristic attacks. The security forces have developed unique screening methods to identify terrorist babies from ordinary civilian babies, which they are employing at all screening centers to seperate out the terrorist babies."

( picture source: http://defence.lk/img/20090228_01u.jpg )

"Terrorist plastic waste basket cover. This clearly reveals dark secrets about the LTTE's garbage recycling plans."

( picture source: http://defence.lk/img/20090228_01y.jpg )

"A terrorist black and white laser printer, obviously used for making fake passports and printing counterfeit currency notes."