New fire over ire

Fresh fire erupted between the government and international aid organisations together with human rights monitors over the latest developments at the battle front.
The defence ministry in a web posting said groups “pretending to be humanitarian agencies, aid agencies, free media, civil rights movements... have made the continued bloodshed on Sri Lankan soil a lucrative business.” It accused aid agencies and rights groups -- who have been highly critical of a government offensive in northern areas held by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam -- of trying “to ensure that the LTTE’s war would never end.”
 “Both have been acting in perfect harmony since both are interested in terrorism to prevail in the country,” the ministry said in a report posted on its website. The website citing “very reliable sources” also accused the Care International group of being part of the “abominable conspiracy” saying that the local worker who was killed by shellfire in a government-designated “no-fire” zone was “a hardcore LTTE cadre”.
 The statement coincided with a fresh report from the New York-based Human Rights Watch that said indiscriminate army shelling was killing dozens of civilians every day in a supposed no-fire zone. 
Even while the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Dr. Navi Pillay resumed pressure on the government to allow human rights monitors into Sri Lanka key stalwarts of the government reiterated that there was no going back on its previous stance.
Speaking at a press briefing Senior Government Minister, Nimal Siripala de Silva dismissed fears of a special debate conducted at the UK House of Commons yesterday initiated by Labour MP Joan Ryan. The MP called for UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown to expel Sri Lanka from the Commonwealth if the Government did not declare a ceasefire. “We have faced more serious issues in the past; this is just an empty threat,” Silva claimed.
Stating that the international community who call for the ceasing of military action in the North would act the same way if put into the situation faced by the Sri Lankan forces Transport Minister, Dulles Allahaperuma asked the critics of the war to consider the facts carefully.
The Minister declared that the military intelligence knows without a doubt that the LTTE leadership including Prabhakaran and Pottu Aman are in the 20km area to which the LTTE have been relegated.
“The US and their allies are conducting the war on terror against Al-Qaeda in Afghanistan,” he said, “Our question to them is that if they found out that Osama Bin Laden and Mullah Mohammed were in a small conquerable area, would they back away or keep going until they find these terrorists? How would the military of US, UK, France and Canada act if the terrorist leaders they vowed to defeat are in this 20 km area and they knew it?”
He also added that Sri Lankan military forces deserve commendation because of the disciplined and humane manner in which they conducted their operations. “The LTTE have been using innocent civilians as human shields and we need to save them from this. Nowhere else in the world do you see a military such as ours as along with their defensive approaches, they genuinely care for the people who come to them for protection.”
Meanwhile, Health Minister Nimal Siripala De Silva stated that Indian Ambassador Alok Prasad visited the Health Ministry this week to commend the Government and the Health Ministry’s efforts in handling the IDP’s in the North. “On behalf of India, he thanked the Government and the Ministry for our efforts and offered further assistance of medical teams and supplies to support our efforts in the North. He said that the Indian-Sri Lankan friendship has been strengthened and will continue to grow strong.”