Sri Lankan military fires at SLMM Head of Mission
The Head of Mission for SLMM, Lars Solveberg, is currently visiting Kilinochchi. A meeting was held at the LTTE Peace Secretariat between the SLMM Head of Mission and the Secretary General of the LTTE Peace Secretariat, S Puleedevan, today morning.
 
The GoSL, having closed the A9 route, the essential agreement of the CFA, and causing immense humanitarian crisis akin to a Berlin Wall, sends the SLMM Head of Mission to discuss opening an alternate route, the Poonahari route to Jaffna. The suggestion was to use the coastal road from Mannar to reach the Poonahari jetti, then cross the 800 metres of sea to the Jaffna coast. The coastal road from Mannar is not in a condition to take the heavy traffic and heavy vehicles to Jaffna. The Poonahari jetti was destroyed by Sri Lankan military shelling since August. Then there is the 800 metres of sea to cross. A long list of impediments exists to convert this route into the main route to Jaffna. 
The SLMM Head of Mission was taken by Puleedevan to Poonahari to inspect the suggested alternate route. The SLMM office in Colombo was notified of the visit which in turn notified SCOPP and the Defense Ministry of Sri Lanka. The Head of SLMM Mission arrived at Poonahari at 3.00 pm. The first Sri Lankan artillery shell fired from Jaffna fell just 200 metres from the Head of Mission. He was forced to take cover in the only bunker. The Sri Lankan military continued to fire 12 artillery shells over a period of 30 minutes each of it falling closer and closer to the Head of Mission. The last shell fell only 10 metres away from him. Solveberg was not wearing a helmet nor was he wearing bullet proof jacket. He was certainly exposed to extreme danger. The distance from the Sri Lankan military camp from which the artillery firing occurred is less than two Km. Using the standard binoculars used by the Sri Lankan military, not only the white prominently marked SLMM vehicle but even the SLMM Head of Mission could have been recognized from the Sri Lankan military camp. The implication is that the artillery firing was aimed directly at the SLMM Head of Mission. The Head of Mission, having inspected the destroyed Poonahari jetti, agreed that it will take several months to repair just the jetti to a usable condition. He was not able to inspect the Mannar road to determine its feasibility as the main route to Jaffna.
08 November 2006
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Europe which has a total population of 800 million is made up of 45 language based nation states. South Asia which has a total population of one billion, (1000 million) is comprised of four states. Who is preventing and therefore benefiting by limiting new nation-states in South Asia?
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