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tart arms rebellion.

Eastern Provincial Council Chief Minister Sivanesathirai Chanrakanthan says that a plan is underway to annihilate the Provincial Council in the same way the Northeast Provincial Council under Chief Minister Wardharaja Perumal was demolished in late 1990s.

He made these comments participating in the budget debate of the Provincial Council.

Commenting on the killing of his personal secretary Raghu, he said that it was not an LTTE act. Extending his sorrow to the family of Raghu's family, Mr. Chandrakanthan said that his assassination was a threat to the democratic victory of the people of the province.
Pointing out that all Sinhala doctors left the province after the killing of medical officer Palitha Padmakumara, he said that these acts were plots against democracy and the killing would not be the answers to the problems.

LTTE moguls in Canada SL Consulate General



SL Consulate General in Toronto Bandula Jayasekara alleged that LTTE moguls in Canada secretly met at the Sri Ganapathy Kovil in Toronto few days ago and discussed how to invest the money they looted from Tamils in Canada. He added that one mogul has said that if the Sri Lankan government destroys the LTTE, the money collected in Canada would become theirs. A well informed source told that the recently exposed pizza business is one such investment, Bandula said.

Sri Lanka set to develop tourism in the East.
Wednesday, 19th November 2008
Source : Sri Lanka Tourism.

We want a people based tourism to flourish in the East!

Sri Lanka Tourism in its attempt to develop the East, now liberated after the 22 years of war in the region has set in place a process to fast track development. Regions listed are: of Pasikudah, Arugambay, Trincomalee, Nilaveli, Waakarai, Verugal and Kalkudah.

Sri Lankan car theft ring was broken up and 11 members arrested by the Metropolitan Police Department between March and October this year. The gang is believed to have stolen about 60 vans and trucks worth a total of Yen 60 million (About US$ 600,000) over a six-month period beginning in September last year alone, mostly in the Tokyo and surrounding areas.
Car dealers or car thieves? Japanese police crack down on Sri Lankan car thieves with 11 arrested




About 1,000 Hiace vans, a Toyota Motor Corp. model, have been stolen in Tokyo and 16 prefectures this year to date according to insurance industry reports.

A survey by the General Insurance Association of Japan reported that the Hiace model last year surpassed Toyota's Land Cruiser sport-utility vehicle model in terms of insurer payouts for stolen autos. Many owners of older vehicles carry only 3rd party insurance and thefts are not covered. The figure therefore could be more than than triple the 1000 reported claims.

Investigators speculated that one reason Hiace vehicles are so prone to theft is strong demand in developing countries. Unlike SUVs, Hiace v ans are not generally equipped with an antitheft device, they added.

A Sri Lankan car theft ring was broken up and 11 members arrested by the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) between March and October this year. The gang is believed to have stolen about 60 vans and trucks worth a total of Yen 60 million (About US$ 600,000) over a six-month period beginning in September last year alone, mostly in the Tokyo and surrounding areas. The police operation was slow and many gang members left the area or even departed Japan before the police got to them.

About half the stolen vehicles were Hiace vans. The police allege the boss of the group bought them for Yen200,000 (About US$2000) per van from the thieves. He then had the stolen vehicles disassembled and brought to Yokohama Port for shipment to Sri Lanka, Thailand and other countries, according to investigative sources.

One arrested suspect is turning crown witness with a promise of a shorter jail sentance. He has given valuable information to the police with the names, addresses and phone numbers of Sri Lankan car theives operating in other parts of Japan. The police have launched a full scale investigation into the continued theft of these vans and more arrests are possible in the very near future. Some of the suspects are already on their way out of Japan.

The stolen vehicles were reassembled upon arrival at their destinations and marketed there. Some were used as taxicabs and buses, while some engines were diverted for use on fishing boats, the witness said.

This year, the Chiba and Aichi (Nagoya) prefectural police have arrested members of theft rings one after another. In these groups too, a large number of Sri Lankans have been detained for questioning.

The ring apprehended by the Aichi prefectural police had allegedly stolen hundreds of vehicles, including Hiaces, since spring last year.

The number of stolen Hiace vehicles began increasing sharply last year. The Hiace model ranked ninth on the list of insurance payments for stolen cars in 2005 and rose to fifth in 2006, according to the insurance association, which compiles the data each November. Eventually, the Hiace rose to occupy first place on t he list last year.

As a result, it is believed that criminal groups shifted their focus to vans such as the Hiace, in which anti-theft equipment such as immobilizers are not usually installed.

A member of a theft ring arrested by the MPD reportedly told investigators the thieves had targeted Hiaces produced during the years when an immobilizer was not offered on the model. The ring had stolen even old, shabby-looking vehicles of the Hiace model.

The police believe the smuggling routes for stolen Hiace vehicles were established in the past couple of years, master minded by a Sri Lankan who speaks fluent Japanese, has been in the 'Car Export' business for many years and lives in a luxury apartment. The ring leader is still free but his days are numbered as the evidence mounts against him rapidly. The police have informed immigration and requested that they ensure he does not leave the country.