STF shoots dead two LTTE political cadres in Amparai

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 31 October 2006, 16:39 GMT]
Special Task Force (STF) soldiers shot dead two from the political wing of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam(LTTE)when the SLA cordoned off and searched Vinayagapuram in Thirukovil in Amparai Tuesday around 8:30 a.m, S. Jeya, Amparai District Political Head said. Area residents were led to a public place for intensive search and interrogation.
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SLA Mandur offensive repulsed, one STF trooper killed, two injured- LTTE

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 31 October 2006, 16:17 GMT]
One trooper was killed and two others from the Mandur Kampikattu Bridge Special Task Force (STF) of the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) in Batticaloa were seriously injured by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) counter attack Tuesday around 3:30 p.m, said S.Seeralan, Batticaloa District LTTE Deputy Political Head.
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Trader shot dead in Point-Pedro

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 31 October 2006, 16:14 GMT]
Two unidentified armed men riding bicycles shot dead a trader Tuesday around 8:30 a.m at his shop near Lourdes Mary Church on the Point Pedro-Thumpalai road in Point-Pedro, Vadamaradchi. The assailants, pretending as buyers, shot the trader and escaped.
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Fifteen youths abducted in Batticaloa

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 31 October 2006, 15:07 GMT]
Fifteen students of Chenkalady Central College are alleged to have been abducted on Monday at 5.30 pm in Chenkalady in Batticaloa district by armed men traveling in a white van. The parents of one of the missing have lodged complaints with Eravur Police, International Red Cross(ICRC) and Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission(SLMM), Tuesday afternoon, civil society sources said.
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Grenade lobbed at SLA checkpost in Mannar

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 31 October 2006, 14:56 GMT]
Unidentified attackers lobbed a grenade into a Sri Lanka Army (SLA) checkpost located close to the public playground in Mannar town while the soldiers were checking a lorry at 6:35 p.m., Tuesday, Police said. Tension prevailed in the town and the shops were closed for the day as SLA soldiers detained an old passenger of the lorry.
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Kuchaveli villagers under paramilitary threat- TNA

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 31 October 2006, 12:38 GMT]
Many residents from villages in Kuchavel Pradeshya Sabha division, who have been returning to resettle after being displaced before 2002, are again fleeing the villages due to threat from paramilitary cadres, Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentary group leader, Mr Sampanthan complaiend in a letter sent to Sri Lanka's President, Mahinda Rajapakse, Tuesday.
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TNA condemns killing of PS member, attack on MP's House

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 31 October 2006, 12:19 GMT]
Tamil National Alliance (TNA) in a press release issued Tuesday, accused two Sinhala Homeguards for killing the elected TNA member Seruwila Pradesiya Sabha, and condemned the grenade attack on the private residence of TNA Vanni parliamentarian, Sivanathan Kishore.
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Norwegian MP criticizes closure of A9

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 31 October 2006, 10:33 GMT]
Jan Bøhler, Labour Party parliamentarian and leader of the Oslo Labour Party, expressed concern about the failure of the week-end talks between the Sri Lanka Government (GoSL) and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), and commended the efforts of the Norwegian Tamils supporting peace, Monday around 7:00 p.m in front of the Norway Parliament, source in Norway said. The GoSL blockade of the A9 landroute to Jaffna should be criticized by all who care about humanitarian issues, said Jan Bøhler in his address.
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Claymore attack kills SLA trooper, injures 3

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 31 October 2006, 10:32 GMT]
A Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldier was killed and three others were seriouly injured when unidentified attackers triggered a claymore mine targetting a SLA foot patrol at Rangathgama junction in Poovarasankulam, Vavuniya around 8:45 a.m, Tuesday, police said.
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Body of youth with gunshot wounds found in Kattankudy

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 31 October 2006, 09:43 GMT]
Kattankudy police recovered the body of a youth with gunshot wounds near Puthukudiruppu Ayurveda Medical Centre in their division, Tuesday around 9:30 a.m, Sources in Batticaloa said. Sri Lanka Army (SLA) and Special Task Force (STF) road patrol unit first found the body with hands and legs bound and eyes tied, said Kattankudy police.
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Three civilians killed in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Monday, 30 October 2006, 17:16 GMT]
Three civilians were shot dead by unidentified men in the northern Jaffna peninsula in three separate incidents on Sunday and Monday, civilian sources said.
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Fuel crisis cripples Jaffna

[TamilNet, Monday, 30 October 2006, 12:22 GMT]
With storage tanks running dry, private and coopertive stores in Jaffna peninsula have stopped distributing diesel to Government offices and private vehicle owners with effect from today, civil society sources in Jaffna said Monday. The fuel crisis will seriously impact all commercial and administrative activities in Jaffna and will cripple functioning of institutions, including schools, that depend on public transport, officials warned.
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Two bodies with gunshot wounds found in Sathurukondan

[TamilNet, Monday, 30 October 2006, 12:02 GMT]
Bodies of two men, riddled with bullets and hands bound, were found Monday morning by Sri Lanka Army (SLA) and Special Task Force (STF) road patrol troopers in a paddy field along the Pillaiyarady Veethy (road) at Sathurukondan Thannamunai in the Batticlaoa police division, police sources said.
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Police officer shoots himself dead in Pothuvil

[TamilNet, Monday, 30 October 2006, 11:18 GMT]
A policeman attached to Pothuvil police station in Amparai district shot himself dead in an apparent suicide Monday around 1:50 a.m at the his room near Pothuvil police station, said the police.
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Verugal Pradesiya Sabha member shot dead

[TamilNet, Monday, 30 October 2006, 11:14 GMT]
Gopalasundaram Pathmakalaparan, member of the Verugal Pradesiya Sabha in the Eachilampathu division in Trincomalee district, was shot dead Monday afternoon around 2:00 p.m. by unidentified armed men, Serunuwara Police said.
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SLA attacks, arrests 46 fishermen from Gurunagar

[TamilNet, Monday, 30 October 2006, 10:54 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army (SLA) stationed in camps along Gurunagar shores south east of Jaffna town fired at, and launched mortar attacks for more than 15 minutes on nearly 46 Gurunagar fishermen returning to shores in 15 boats to Jaffna Municipal areas from Liberation Controlled areas of Pooneryn and Kanjikuda at 6:00 a.m Monday, sources in Jaffna said. One boat was destroyed and no one was injured, according to sources.
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Civilian shot injured at Kannankuda, Batticaloa

[TamilNet, Monday, 30 October 2006, 09:06 GMT]
Unidentified gunmen shot and seriously injured a civilian on his way to fish in a lake close to his house at Kannankuda in the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) held territory in Batticaloa district Sunday around 9:00 p.m, Batticaloa police said. The injured man was rushed to Batticaloa Teaching hospital.
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Statement by the Norwegian Facilitator

[TamilNet, Monday, 30 October 2006, 07:23 GMT]
At the conclusion of the 2-day meeting in Geneva between the Government of Sri Lanka and the Liberation Tigers, the Norwegian Facilitator issued a statement urging “both parties to allow themselves some time to reflect on the situation and not to draw hasty conclusions or take actions that could increase the suffering of civilians in Sri Lanka.” “Norway will be in ongoing dialogue with the parties to discuss all possible ideas on how to move the peace process forward,” the statement further said.
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SLA kills two LTTE cadres in Batticaloa

[TamilNet, Monday, 30 October 2006, 00:05 GMT]
Two LTTE cadres, allegedly on leave visiting their parents, were shot dead by the Sri Lankan Army (SLA) in two different interior villages in Batticaloa Saturday, Batticaloa District LTTE Deputy Political Head, S.Seeralan, said Sunday. Representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) have made arrangements to transfer the bodies to the LTTE, Seeralan further said.
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Three siblings, a child shot injured at Vantharumoolai

[TamilNet, Sunday, 29 October 2006, 19:10 GMT]
Unidentified armed men opened rapid fire on a house Saturday around 7:00 p.m. at Vipulananda Road in Vantharumoolai in Eravur police division, seriously injuring three young siblings and a child. The injured were rushed to Batticaloa Teaching hospital.
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TNA MP Kishore survives attack on his house in Vavuniya

[TamilNet, Sunday, 29 October 2006, 17:44 GMT]
Unknown attackers, believed to be paramilitary operatives, lobbed six grenades on Vanni district Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarian Sivanathan Kishore's house located in Rambaikulam, 1 km east of Sri Lanka Army controlled Vavuniya Sunday around 10:00 p.m. The parliamentarian who was at his house narrowly escaped from the attack.
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One shot dead, two teens injured in Vantharumoolai

[TamilNet, Sunday, 29 October 2006, 17:33 GMT]
Unidentified gunmen shot dead one youth and seriously injured two others Sunday around 7:05 a.m. at Vantharumoolai Market Road in Eravur police division.
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No agreement in Geneva on Humanitarian crisis, Tigers respond on pluralism and democracy

[TamilNet, Sunday, 29 October 2006, 16:57 GMT]
The talks in Geneva ended Sunday without any agreement between the Parties, the Government of Sri Lanka and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam on the Humanitarian crisis and the re-opening of closed gateways. Responding on Democracy the Tigers said they were "more committed to the democratic principles" than the GoSL and challenged the GoSL to repeal the sixth amendment to the SL constitution as a token of its commitment to democracy and pluralism. The LTTE also challenged the GoSL to remove its armed forces from the Tamil homeland and allow the holding of a referendum under international supervision to ascertain the aspirations of the people in the homeland.
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Rajapakse, Wickremesinghe to co-chair MoU monitoring committee

[TamilNet, Sunday, 29 October 2006, 14:47 GMT]
The high level committee appointed to monitor the implementation of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed by the ruling Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP), main constituent of the ruling United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA), and the main opposition United National Party (UNP), is to co-chaired by Sri Lanka's President Mahinda Rajapakse and the opposition leader Ranil Wickremasinghe, political sources in Colombo said.
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Second post-mortems on Muttur aid workers' bodies held

[TamilNet, Sunday, 29 October 2006, 14:35 GMT]
Second post-mortems on eleven exhumed bodies out of seventeen aid workers of a French based non-governmental organization "Action against Hunger," who were shot and killed in Muttur in the first week of August, were carried out over four days last week at Colombo police morgue in the presence of one Australian forensic expert, sources in Colombo said. Anuradhapura Judicial Medical Officer (JMP) Dr.D.L.Waidyaratne, who also carried out the first post-mortems on the bodies in Trincomalee general hospital in August, carried out the second one in Colombo.
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15 dead, 55 thousand families homeless due to floods in South

[TamilNet, Sunday, 29 October 2006, 14:30 GMT]
Fourteen persons including an eight-year old child were killed and about fifty five thousand families have been rendered homeless in the south of Sri Lanka following heavy rain and landslides in the last two days, social services department sources said. Internally displaced persons about two hundred thousand people have been sheltered in temporary shelters located in schools and public buildings, according to the same sources.
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Stressed Sri Lankan negotiators throw journalists out

[TamilNet, Sunday, 29 October 2006, 14:26 GMT]
Sri Lankan government delegates in Geneva to negotiate peace with Tamil Tiger rebels were ‘under a lot of stress’ and wanted journalists removed from their hotel, diplomats told AFP on Sunday.
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6 civilians killed in Vadamaradchy bomb blast

[TamilNet, Sunday, 29 October 2006, 12:44 GMT]
Six civilians were killed and one seriously injured when a bomb allegedly carried by a bicyclist exploded in Udupiddy in Vadamaradchy along Udpiddy-Valvettiturai road at 3:30 p.m. Sunday, sources in Point Pedro said. The injured civilians was first admitted to the Valvettiturai hospital and later transferred to Jaffna Teaching Hospital, hospital sources said.
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Tigers warn Sri Lanka on military provocation in Northern Front

[TamilNet, Sunday, 29 October 2006, 09:04 GMT]
LTTE's Military Spokesman Irasiah Ilanthirayan, Sunday morning condemned the Sri Lankan armed forces for escalating the military hostilities by engaging in provocative offensive preparations and rehearsals in Northern Front in Jaffna while the Parties were engaged in talks in Geneva. Talking to media before entering the Conference Centre at rue de Varembé in Geneva, the Tiger military spokesman warned that any "Sri Lankan aggression, following the provocation, causing implications on the talks at this critical juncture, would have serious consequences."
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SLA intensifies deployment in Northern Front, curfew imposed

[TamilNet, Sunday, 29 October 2006, 05:59 GMT]
Amid reports of deployment of additional troops and military hardware in Northern Front, Sri Lanka Army, from Palaly military base, Sunday morning announced curfew in villages near Northern Front Forward Defence Line (FDLs). Meanwhile, Sri Lankan troopers engaged in a major training exercise throughout Saturday night in Palaly, Thondamanarau lagoon and Valalai area in Vadamaradchy sector of the Jaffna district. The SLA rehearsal comes following a sudden visit by Sri Lanka Army commander Lt. Gen. Sarath Fonseka to Palaly Saturday as Parties, the GoSL and LTTE delegations were engaged in talks in Geneva, Switzerland.
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Paramilitary cadre shot, injured in Batticaloa

[TamilNet, Saturday, 28 October 2006, 21:59 GMT]
A member of paramilitary Karuna group was shot and seriously injured when unknown gunmen fired at a group of cadres walking from Pillaiyar Temple along Badulla Road to the paramilitaries' office Saturday morning in Chenkalady in Batticaloa District, Eravur police source said.
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Commanding officer at Kommathurai Military Camp killed

[TamilNet, Saturday, 28 October 2006, 20:26 GMT]
B.D.Wijetunga, 42, the commanding officer, Artillery Division of Kommathurai military camp, was seriously injured during a gunfire exchange with unknown gunmen near Eastern University campus in Vantharoomoolai, Batticaloa on Saturday at 12:30 pm, sources in Batticaloa said. He was admitted to Batticaloa Hospital where he succumbed to his injuries, hospital sources said.
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No progress on Humanitarian issues, CFA- Thamilchelvan

[TamilNet, Saturday, 28 October 2006, 18:07 GMT]
First day of talks in Geneva between the Government of Sri Lanka and the Liberation Tigers, focusing on the urgent humanitarian issues and the re-opening of A9 concluded without the parties agreeing to any measures to relieve the humanitarian crisis in the Tamil homeland, Liberation Tigers Political Head S.P Thamilchelvan told TamilNet.
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3 SLA troopers injured in Eluthumadduval, 1 killed in Vadamaradchy

[TamilNet, Saturday, 28 October 2006, 17:18 GMT]
Three Sri Lanka Army (SLA) troopers were injured in a claymore ambush on their military vehicle in a depopulated area between Nagarkovil and Eluthumadduval behind the Forward Defense Lines (FDL) Saturday morning, military sources in Jaffna said. Meanwhile, an SLA soldier was killed when unknown gunmen hurled a hand grenade at a sentry near Saraiyadi in Vadamaradchy along Point-Pedro - Jaffna road Saturday afternoon, sources said.
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Jaffna Rights Group records 379 disappearances

[TamilNet, Saturday, 28 October 2006, 14:01 GMT]
379 cases of disappearance of young men and women have been registered at the offices of the Jaffna Human Rights Commission (HRC) from December 2005 until now, officials at the HRC said Saturday. The number represents only the disappearances where there are no details of the youths available, and does not include those who were released, or who were killed and their bodies recovered later, sources said.
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Talks should address democracy, human rights, development- GoSL

[TamilNet, Saturday, 28 October 2006, 12:43 GMT]
Expressing hopes that the talks will build the "required atmosphere and move the country forward to the realization of a just and honorable peace," Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva, in the opening speech on behalf of Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL) Saturday morning said, GoSL's APC is "formulating a political and constitutional framework for the resolution of the national question." He said that despite provocations of the LTTE, GoSL is continuing the dialogue, and cautioned "LTTE not to consider GoSL's commitment to the peace process as a sign of weakness."
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Civilian shot dead in Eravur

[TamilNet, Saturday, 28 October 2006, 12:20 GMT]
Unidentified gunmen shot dead a elderly man Friday at 8:30 p.m at Murakodanchenai in Eravur police division in Batticaloa, Eravur police said. The assailants called the victim out of his house, shot him at close range, and escaped from the site, Police added.
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Peace process depends on ceasefire implementation - LTTE

[TamilNet, Saturday, 28 October 2006, 10:49 GMT]
The Liberation Tigers called Saturday for the full implementation of the February 2002 ceasefire agreement (CFA), saying "such actions will bring normalcy in the lives of our people, and help in taking forward the peace process towards a satisfactory conclusion." Addressing the opening session of the Norwegian facilitated negotiations in Geneva, LTTE's Political Head, Mr. S. P. Thamilchelvan, said: "the best we can hope for from the current talks is therefore, the strengthening of the CFA agreement that has the potential to lead to a permanent, just peace in this island."
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Geneva Talks II begins

[TamilNet, Saturday, 28 October 2006, 10:37 GMT]
"Developments in Sri Lanka in the past months have seriously endangered the peace process," said Switzerland Foreign Affairs Deputy Head Ambassador Heidi Tagliavini who gave the opening address wishing the facilitator and the Parties better understanding, in Geneva Saturday. Stressing the need for "confidence in the Norwegian Government as facilitator seeking ways to lead the delegations to a better mutual understanding, confidence in the other Party as a partner with whom one can engage," Ms. Heidi Tagliavini said the International Community the recent developments in Sri Lanka have caused considerable concern within the International Community.
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3 SLA troopers injured in Vavuniya claymore attack

[TamilNet, Saturday, 28 October 2006, 04:15 GMT]
Three Sri Lanka Army (SLA) troopers were injured when unknown assailants triggered a claymore mine targetting a SLA road patrol in Veppankulam area in Vavuniya at 7:30 a.m. Saturday, Vavuniya Police said. Injured soldiers have been taken to Vavuniya Teaching Hospital first, and later transferred to Anuradhapur Hospital, according to hospital sources.
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Is Colombo ready for a paradigm shift, asks TNA MP

[TamilNet, Saturday, 28 October 2006, 01:26 GMT]
A full scale war is unavoidable if the southern polity fails to timely demonstrate that it is ready for a paradigm shift in the approach to solving the Tamil national question, said Batticaloa District Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarian S. Jeyanandamoorthy, speaking to TamilNet after meeting the LTTE delegation in Geneva Thursday.
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Batticaloa cultivators protest against SLA ban

[TamilNet, Friday, 27 October 2006, 21:36 GMT]
Batticaloa cultivators demonstrated from 9:00 a.m to 12:00 noon Friday in front of Vantharumoolai Agricultural Productivity Centre demanding the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) lift the 2 month ban to take agricultural vehicles, implements, and fertilizer to their paddy lands in the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) held areas from Batti-Vallaichenai main road, civil society sources said.
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Karuna ‘abducted hundreds of children’ – The Times

[TamilNet, Friday, 27 October 2006, 15:48 GMT]
The Karuna Group has abducted between 300 and 900 children — some as young as 12 — since March, The Times newspaper reported this week, quoting international and local aid workers in Sri Lanka. The paramilitary group’s “escalating activity has emerged as a key factor behind the upsurge in violence that has killed more than 2,000 people this year and left a 2002 ceasefire agreement in tatters,” the British newspaper said.
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Teacher-training college to be established in Mannar

[TamilNet, Friday, 27 October 2006, 15:42 GMT]
Education Ministry has given permission to establish a teacher-training college in Mannar district, said Mannar Zonal Education Officer Alfred Ragal. Wanni district parliamentarian Selvam Adaikalanathan had been urging the Education Ministry and North East Provincial Education Ministry for a teacher-training college for Mannar district to facilitate non-trained teachers in their own area.
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Tamil Norwegians hold vigil in Bergen

[TamilNet, Friday, 27 October 2006, 15:03 GMT]
Tamils living in Bergen, Norway held a peace event Thursday evening, expressing their desire for just peace and condemned the human rights violation committed by the Sri Lankan Armed forces and the paramilitaries operating with them. Representatives of major political parties took part in the event, held in the town centre.
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Theatre owner shot dead in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Friday, 27 October 2006, 11:50 GMT]
The owner and operator of a mini-cinema was shot dead by unknown gunmen inside a jewellery store in Kannathiddy junction in the heart of Jaffna town at 10:15 a.m. Friday, sources in Jaffna said.
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Two SLA soldiers injured in Aavarangal claymore attack

[TamilNet, Friday, 27 October 2006, 11:35 GMT]
Two Sri Lanka Army (SLA) troopers were seriously injured when unknown assailants triggered a claymore mine along Jaffna-Point Pedro Road in Aavarangal in Valigamam East, on a SLA foot patrol at 10:00 a.m. Friday, sources in Jaffna said. The injured soldiers were taken to Palaly Military Hospital.
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Fresh Sri Lankan offensive towards Vaharai repulsed - Ilanthirayan

[TamilNet, Friday, 27 October 2006, 09:41 GMT]
An offensive launched by the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) towards Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) controlled Vaharai region in the East was repulsed by the Tigers Friday, according to LTTE Military Spokesman Irasiah Ilanthirayan, who was speaking to media from Geneva, Swtizerland.
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Rajapakse, Wickremesinghe meet prior to Geneva peace talks

[TamilNet, Friday, 27 October 2006, 09:37 GMT]
Sri Lanka's President Mahinda Rajapakse and Ranil Wickremasinghe, Leader of the main opposition United National Party (UNP), Friday morning met at Temple Trees in Colombo and discussed the issues related implementation of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) and the UNP and monitoring MoU's progress, political sources in Colombo said.
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TNA appeals to UN: "GoSL uses Humanitarian crisis as tool of war"

[TamilNet, Friday, 27 October 2006, 06:36 GMT]
The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) consisting 22 out of the 23 Tamil members elected to Sri Lankan Parliament from the NorthEast, in an appeal to the United Nations High Commissioners for Human Rights and Refugees, said that the Government of Sri Lanka was using the humanitarian crisis as a tool of war. Detailing the humanitarian situation prevailing in all the districts of NorthEast, the TNA charged that the GoSL was engaged in a policy to drive the Tamil civilian population out of the Trincomalee District. The TNA's appeal to UN comes a day before the talks in Geneva.
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Two youths shot dead in Chelvanayagapuram

[TamilNet, Friday, 27 October 2006, 05:48 GMT]
Bodies of two youths were found at 3rd mile-post, near Chelvanayagapuram, a suburb about 4 k.m. north of Trincomalee, Friday morning. Unidentified armed persons shot the youths dead Thursday night, said residents of the area.
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Vavuniya stranded to be sent to Jaffna in November

[TamilNet, Friday, 27 October 2006, 01:06 GMT]
More than 2500 people stranded in Vavuniya who came from Jaffna Peninsula to Vavuniya and other area for various reasons before the closure of A-9 road on August 11, will be sent to Jaffna by ships from November 1 onwards, Sivanathan Kishore, Tamil National Alliance Parliamentarian for Vanni district, said Thursday quoting the Commissioner of Essential Services.
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EU allocates Rs.667m to help displaced Sri Lankan Tamils

[TamilNet, Friday, 27 October 2006, 00:26 GMT]
The European Commission (EU) is concerned about the upsurge in violence in Sri Lanka from the beginning of 2006 that directly affects thousands of civilians in the island, said the report of Louis Michel, the EU Commissioner for Humanitarian Activities, read by Julian Wilson Head of the Delegation of the European Commission to Sri Lanka and the Maldives, at a press briefing held Wednesday around 11:00 a.m at the EU office in Colombo.
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NGO staffer disappears near Chemmani

[TamilNet, Friday, 27 October 2006, 00:18 GMT]
A field officer attached to Non Violent Democrative Activities Group (NVDAG), a local Non Governmental Organization (NGO), disappeared after being interrogated by the Sri Lankan Army (SLA) stationed along the A9 highway between Chemmani road junction and Ariyalai Mampalam junction Wednesday, civil society sources in Jaffna said.
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TNA urges LTTE to prioritize opening of A9, warns humanitarian catastrophe in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Thursday, 26 October 2006, 18:34 GMT]
Tamil National Alliance (TNA) in an urgent letter to the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) Thursday, noting that the humanitarian situation in Jaffna has reached critical levels since the closure of the A9 highway, appealed the Tigers to take-up the opening of the A9 highway as a matter of top priority at the forthcoming talks in Geneva. Sri Lanka Army conrolled Jaffna, with 653,755 persons, requires 11,000 Metric tons of food supplies per month. For the last three months, only 14,000 Metric tons of food items had been sent by ship, the short fall is 19,000 Metric tons. The fuel that is currently available is grossly inadequate.
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SLN, Sea Tigers clash in Jaffna lagoon

[TamilNet, Thursday, 26 October 2006, 16:10 GMT]
Gunboats of Sea Tigers and Sri Lanka Navy (SLN) clashed for 5-hours in the Kilaly bay Thursday morning from 3:30 a.m. to 8:30. A Sri Lankan naval source that did not wish to be identified said their gunboats off Kerathivu had mistaken Sea Tiger patrol vessels in Sangupitty area as an LTTE attempt to launch an attack on Jaffna.
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SLA shelling intensifies in Vaharai - Elilan

[TamilNet, Thursday, 26 October 2006, 15:05 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army (SLA) from its Mankerny base began firing artillery shells and Multi-Barrel Rockets into Liberation Tigers controlled Panichchankerni area Thursday morning from 6:30 a.m. till 9:00 a.m., according to S. Elilan, Trincomalee Political Head of the LTTE.
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LTTE delegation arrives in Geneva, enters consultations

[TamilNet, Thursday, 26 October 2006, 14:52 GMT]
Delegation of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), headed by Political Head of the Tigers S.P. Thamilchelvan arrived in Geneva International Airport Thursday morning and engaged in internal consultations Thursday around 4:00 p.m. with the legal advisors and diaspora experts in Geneva.
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JVP's counselors on de-merger as advisors to GoSL delegation

[TamilNet, Thursday, 26 October 2006, 14:11 GMT]
H.L. de Silva and Gomin Dayasiri, two of the three counselors for the JVP petition that led to the recent ruling by Sri Lanka Supreme court on NorthEast de-merger, arrived in Geneva as legal advisors to the Sri Lankan delegation.
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Youth shot, injured in Kathankudy

[TamilNet, Thursday, 26 October 2006, 09:49 GMT]
Unidentified gunmen called a youth out of his house in Thalankuda, Arayampathy in Kathankudy police division in Batticaloa Wednesday around 8:10 p.m. and shot at him. The seriously injured victim was rushed to Batticaloa Teaching hospital, said Kathankudy police.
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Six injured in Eravur bomb explosion

[TamilNet, Thursday, 26 October 2006, 09:27 GMT]
One man, three teens and two children, collecting vegetables in a field located on Chelvi Theatre Road in Chenkalady in Eravur police division Batticaloa, were seriously injured Thursday 8:30 a.m, when a bomb concealed in the garden exploded, said Eravur police. The injured were rushed to Eravur hospital first and then transferred to Batticaloa Teaching hospital for additional treatment.
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3 paramilitary cadres killed, 8 wounded in Chenkalady

[TamilNet, Thursday, 26 October 2006, 07:00 GMT]
A paramilitary cadre of Karuna group, who joined the group recently, shot and lobbed grenade at his fellow cadres, killing three and critically wounding eight around 1:00 a.m. Thursday, Eravur Police said. The paramilitary cadres were at sleep inside the Chenkalady Pillayar temple, close to the Black Bridge camp of the Sri Lanka Army, located 15 km northwest of Batticaloa town.
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Youth shot dead in Vavuniya

[TamilNet, Thursday, 26 October 2006, 04:23 GMT]
A Sinhala youth was shot dead by unknown gunmen in Thekangkaadu area in Vavuniya at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Vavuniya Police said.
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Tamileelam Legislature enacts Child Protection Act

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 25 October 2006, 22:29 GMT]
Tamileelam Child Protection Act 2006 (Act No. 03 of 2006), enacted by Tamileelam Legislature Secretariat and which became effective on October 15, brings into law measures to protect the Rights and well-being of children from inception of life through adolescence, Head of Tamileelam Judiciary, E. Pararajasingham, told TamilNet Wednesday. The Act, containing 83 sections, makes education compulsory upto grade 11, mandates registration of all child births, outlaws enlisting of children under 17 years in Armed Forces, makes participation of under 18-year olds in armed combat illegal, and proscribes all forms of child labour.
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FMM condemns burning of 10,000 copies of Virakesari

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 25 October 2006, 09:39 GMT]
The Free Media Movement (FMM)- Sri Lanka condemned the burning 10,000 copies of the Tamil daily Virakesari, and Metro News near Kiran Regional Secretariat 22nd Monday around 3:50 a.m. by paramilitary cadres alleged to be belonging Karuna group, in a statement released Wednesday in Colombo, political sources in Colombo said. Earlier in August, paramilitaries collaborating with the SLA threatened the owner of Surena Travels not to deliver to Muruges and Son Stores, Sudaroli and Thinakural news papers.
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NorthEast shuts down against de-merger

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 25 October 2006, 07:38 GMT]
The entire districts of NorthEast Wednesday came to a standstill following a shut down protest expressing Tamil opposition to Colombo's move to de-merge the NorthEast. Very few vehicles plied the streets, shops remained closed, businesses and private institutions remained closed and the Tamil towns in Sri Lanka Army (SLA) controlled areas, Batticaloa, Trincomalee, Vavuniya, Mannar and Jaffna were deserted, despite the threats by the SLA and paramilitaries.
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SLA shoots dead youth in Valvettiturai

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 24 October 2006, 18:21 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army (SLA) troopers shot dead a youth near Athiyady Hindu Temple on Beach Road in Valvettithurai, soon after a claymore attack triggered by unidentified persons killed a SLA trooper at the same place Tuesday morning around 9:30 a.m, said Valvettithurai residents.
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Two civilians injured in Valaichenai shootings

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 24 October 2006, 15:45 GMT]
Unidentified persons waiting in ambush opened fire seriously injuring a youth riding his bicycle for work, at Kinnaiady in Valaichenai police division in Batticaloa Tuesday around 6:40 a.m, Valaichenai police said. In a separate incident, a woman, 30, was caught in the cross fire between two rival groups and was seriously injured around 11:00 a.m, at Vinayagapuram in the same police division.
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One SLA trooper dead, another injured in Vadamaradchy claymore attacks

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 24 October 2006, 10:06 GMT]
One Sri Lanka Army (SLA) trooper was killed and another seriously injured in two separate claymore attacks triggered by unknown persons on SLA road patrol units in Vadamaradchi Tuesday. The first attack launched around 8:30 a.m. along Udupidy- Vathiry road in Navindiln a SLA trooper was seriously injured, and an hour later in a second attack near Athiyady Kovil on Beach Road in Valvettithurai, a SLA trooper was killed on the spot, sources in Point Pedro said.
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LTTE to focus humanitarian issues, CFA implementation in Geneva

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 24 October 2006, 06:37 GMT]
S.P. Thamilchelvan, the Political Head of the Liberation Tigers, before leaving Kilinochchi Tuesday morning, with Norwegian Ambassador Hans Brattskar and the LTTE delegation, for talks in Geneva, told media that the Tigers were participating in the talks respecting the call by the International Community. "Agenda for the talks has not been worked out," Mr. Thamilchelvan said. "However, on our part, we have prepared to focus the urgent humanitarian crisis caused by the Sri Lankan state terrorism in the Tamil homeland," he told media adding that the Tigers were also prepared to focus the implementation of the Ceasefire Agreement.
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Home guard seriously injured in Amparai

[TamilNet, Monday, 23 October 2006, 22:40 GMT]
Unidentified armed men opened fire on a police sentry point at 39th Colony Sunday around 6:30 p.m seriously injuring a home guard. Sri Lanka Army (SLA), Special Task Force (STF) and the police cordoned off and conducted a search operation in the 39th Colony, a village on the Amparai-Batticalo district boundary and recovered a T56 type assault rifle with its magazine, Amparai police said.
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SL Police introduce vehicle pass system in Amparai

[TamilNet, Monday, 23 October 2006, 18:43 GMT]
Sri Lanka Police introduced a "Pass" system for all vehicles leaving the Amparai district to rest of Sri Lanka with effect from Monday for security reasons. Owners of vehicles have been instructed to obtain their passes from the offices of Assistant Superintendent of Police located Akkaraipattu, Kalkudah and Amparai, Police said.
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IFJ condemns bombing of VoT radio station

[TamilNet, Monday, 23 October 2006, 16:51 GMT]
The International Federation of Journalists has condemned the bombing of the official radio station of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), the Voice of Tigers (VoT), by the Sri Lankan Air Force (SLAF) in Vanni last Tuesday. The IFJ, reminding the Sri Lankan government of its "absolute obligation" under the Geneva Convention to respect the safety of journalists, said it hoped the attack does not set a "terrible precedent" for further "targeted attacks" on media outlets. The SLAF attack on Thamileelam Vanoli tower in Kokkavil, destroyed the main transmitter and tower of the station that broadcasts three services, the VoT, a Sinhala service and a Tamil commercial service from Vanni.
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SLN arrests three Muslims in Mannar

[TamilNet, Monday, 23 October 2006, 15:40 GMT]
Sri Lanka Navy (SLN) arrested three Muslim villagers of Puthukudiruppu in Erukalampiddy division in Mannar district Monday around noon for allegedly transporting fuel to LTTE held villages. The suspects were handed over to the Mannar Police in the evening.
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Shell injures police, civilian in Vavunathivu

[TamilNet, Monday, 23 October 2006, 15:34 GMT]
A civilian and a police Seargent were seriously injured when a mortar shell exploded near the police sentry point on the Vavunathivu Sri Lanka Army (SLA) Forward Defence Line (FDL) Monday around 6:30 a.m, said residents in Vavunathivu.
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Two Tamil youths shot dead in Trincomalee

[TamilNet, Monday, 23 October 2006, 15:18 GMT]
Unidentified armed persons shot and killed two Tamil youths in Trincomalee district in two separate incidents. The youth killed in east port town Sunday night around 9 p.m. has been identified as Jeyaratnam Jesuthadasan, 27, and the youth killed at Serunuwara Monday afternoon at 1:30 p.m. was identified as Nadarajah Inthiran, 23, police sources said.
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Paramilitary cadres burn Tamil dailies in Batticaloa

[TamilNet, Monday, 23 October 2006, 10:58 GMT]
Fifteen paramilitary cadres alleged to be belonging to Karuna group, stopped a private bus and a van transporting Tamil dailies Virakesari and Metro News from Colombo to Batticaloa and Amparai, near the Kiran Regional Secretariat, and set fire to the news papers in a compound opposite the Secretariat Monday around 3:50 a.m., civil sources from Kiran said.
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Lorry driver shot dead, one injured in Vavuniya

[TamilNet, Monday, 23 October 2006, 10:37 GMT]
Unidentified armed men stopped a lorry and shot dead the driver and injuring another at Poonthodam in Vavuniya Monday around 10:30 a.m. said Vavuniya police. The injured was rushed to Vavuniya hospital.
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Saivite priest shot dead in Vavuniya

[TamilNet, Monday, 23 October 2006, 10:35 GMT]
Unknown men shot and killed a Saivite priest in Vavuniya Sunday night around 9:30. The victim was one of the organisers of a vigil group against theft and robberies, civil sources in Vavuniya said.
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Ruling SLFP, opposition UNP sign MoU

[TamilNet, Monday, 23 October 2006, 08:04 GMT]
The Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP), main constituent of the United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA) government and the main opposition United National Party (UNP) Monday signed a 10-clause Memorandum of Understanding to implement a four point common national agenda. The UNP, under the 2 year long MoU, said it would "extend support to the Government in the pursuit of a negotiated settlement to the on-going conflict while opposing terrorism in all its manifestations and upholding human rights."
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Sri Lanka in "interminable and intractable crisis"- UN

[TamilNet, Monday, 23 October 2006, 01:56 GMT]
Prof. Philip Alston, United Nation's Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, speaking to the United Nations General Assembly, Third Committee, 20 October 2006, said that the "dramatic attacks in recent days and spiraling number of extrajudicial executions" indicate that "Sri Lanka is not so much on the brink of a new crisis but, instead, only in the midst of an interminable and intractable crisis that has already exhausted its fair share of international attention," and called upon the United Nations Secretariat to "establish a full-fledged international human rights monitoring mission in Sri Lanka."
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6 youths disappear near Chemmani

[TamilNet, Sunday, 22 October 2006, 15:33 GMT]
Six youths have been reported missing near Chemmani, the gateway between Valigamam and Thenmaradchy, within five days from Monday 16 October, the Human Rights Council (HRC) officials said in Jaffna Sunday.
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Cabinet to meet to finalize MoU

[TamilNet, Sunday, 22 October 2006, 15:19 GMT]
Sri Lanka's President Mahinda Rajapakse has summoned a special cabinet meeting Monday to decide on the final draft of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) which is to be signed with the main opposition United National Party (UNP) to implement the agreed six identified issues under the common national agenda giving top priority to peace process, sources said.
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Claymore injures SLA trooper in Karaveddy

[TamilNet, Sunday, 22 October 2006, 13:46 GMT]
One Sri Lanka Army (SLA) trooper was seriously injured when a claymore attached to a tree exploded on soldiers returning to their camps in Nelliyady, Karaveddy 4 km southwest of Point Pedro after conducting a cordon and search operation in Vathiry area at 2:00 p.m. Sunday, sources in Point Pedro said.
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Aid workers' postmortem scheduled to begin this week

[TamilNet, Sunday, 22 October 2006, 12:42 GMT]
Postmortem examinations on eleven bodies of seventeen aid workers killed in Muttur in the first week of August exhumed and kept in Colombo police morgue would begin in the presence of Australian forensic experts who are expected before the end of this week, sources in Colombo said.
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Two Tamil fishermen shot dead in Mannar

[TamilNet, Sunday, 22 October 2006, 12:36 GMT]
Bodies of two Tamil young fishermen who left Pesalai in Mannar district on Friday afternoon for fishing were found with several gunshot injuries Sunday morning inside their fibre glass fishing boat about 15 km off Pesalai coast. The victims have been identified as 19 year-old Savarian Robinson Koonja and Sahayam Ajith Croos of Ward No: 08 of Pesalai, fisheries sources said.
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US should support "confederal Sri Lanka"- Boston Globe

[TamilNet, Sunday, 22 October 2006, 12:16 GMT]
The Boston Globe, in an editorial appeared in the 22 October edition, said that Washington should prevail on Colombo to "withdraw its armed forces from the Tamil areas in the north of the island," and urge Colombo to open A9, to demonstrate Washington's seriousness towards advocating a "permanent peace that provides for Tamil self-government and human rights in a confederal Sri Lanka."
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SLA shells injure two youths, child in Vaharai

[TamilNet, Sunday, 22 October 2006, 10:52 GMT]
Three members of a family including a 3 year old boy was seriously injured when high explosive artillery shells fired by the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) from Valaichenai brigade and Sinhapura camps on residential settlelments in the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) controlled Vaharai areas in Batticaloa district at 6:00 pm Friday, hit their house, said sources in Vaharai. The injured were rushed to Vaharai hospital and are listed in serious condition, hospital sources said.
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US says backs Sri Lanka, urges talks

[TamilNet, Saturday, 21 October 2006, 22:41 GMT]
As the Sri Lankan government and the Liberation Tigers prepare for their first face-to-face talks since February, the United States Saturday, whilst supporting the negotiations, threw its weight behind the Colombo government. "We have excellent relations with the government of Sri Lanka. I have met with President [Mahinda] Rajapakse. We are signaling our strong support for the government of Sri Lanka. We do not recognise Tamil Tigers and we don't support them,” Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Nicholas Burns told a round table of South Asian journalists.
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Rajapakse briefs JHU, UPFA allies on MoU

[TamilNet, Saturday, 21 October 2006, 16:15 GMT]
Sri Lanka's President Mahinda Rajapakse in the capacity of the leader of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) briefed the constituent parties of his United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA) and all monks party Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU) in two separate discussions held Saturday on the details of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the SLFP and the main opposition United National Party (UNP), political sources in Colombo said.
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Abducted youth found dead in Earvur

[TamilNet, Saturday, 21 October 2006, 15:52 GMT]
The body of a Tamil youth, abducted by unidentified armed men Wednesday at Santhanamadu in Sithandy area in Eravur police division in Batticaloa, was recovered with assault injuries at 4th Kurichchi, Nagathambiran Road in Sithandy Saturday morning around 9:00, by Eravur police, sources in Batticaloa said.
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SLA embargo burdens Thirukovil residents

[TamilNet, Saturday, 21 October 2006, 12:28 GMT]
People's representatives of Thirukovil region in Amparai district highlighted the hardships caused by travel restrictions and material embargo imposed by the Sri Lanka Army (SLA), to Mr. Herath Abeyaweera, Government Agent (GA) Amparai district, at the Thirukovil Regional Secretariat Thurday 9:00 a.m., Thirukovil Secretariat sources said. The Special Task Force (STF) soldiers of the SLA have blocked medicines, fuel, fertilizer and materials essential for cultivation and building construction to be taken into Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) controlled areas.
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De-merger issue raises lot of questions - Richard Boucher

[TamilNet, Saturday, 21 October 2006, 11:49 GMT]
Richard Boucher, US Assistant Secretary of State for Central and South Asian Affairs, when responding to a question at a press conference at the Galle Face Hotel Friday said that the timing of the "unfortunate" issue of NorthEast de-merger in Sri Lankan politics, raised lot of questions, right before the next round of talks, noting that the Sri Lankans were facing a critical moment and it was time to move forward and reverse the negative momentum.
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Mannar family appeals to trace disappeared youth

[TamilNet, Saturday, 21 October 2006, 11:39 GMT]
The family of a Tamil youth of Periyakamam in Mannar district who was reported disappeared eight months ago has sought the assistance of the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) and Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka (HRCSL) to trace his whereabouts.
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Rajapakse, Wickremasinghe to meet to finalise MoU

[TamilNet, Saturday, 21 October 2006, 11:36 GMT]
President Mahinda Rajapakse in the capacity of the leader of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP), main constituent of the ruling United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA) and Mr.Ranil Wickremasinghe, leader of the main opposition United National Party (UNP) are scheduled to meet on Saturday or Sunday to finalise the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) and the basis for power-sharing, sources said.
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8 killed within 24 hours in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Saturday, 21 October 2006, 01:27 GMT]
Seven civilians were shot and killed by unidentified armed men and the body of a youth from Kandarmadam with cut injuries was found in a well in Neeraviady Jaffna peninsula within the last 24 hours from Thursday 6:00 p.m to Friday 6:00 p.m., civil society sources in Jaffna said.
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Abducted driver escapes, alleges SLA torture

[TamilNet, Saturday, 21 October 2006, 00:39 GMT]
An auto trishaw driver who disappeared after being last seen at a Sri Lankan Army (SLA) check point in Jaffna Wednesday, escaped from the SLA camp in Chavakachcheri and appeared in Courts under the protection of Human Rights Committee (HRC)'s Jaffna branch officials Friday, legal sources said. The driver alleged he was taken to several SLA camps and was tortured while in SLA custody.
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3 abducted Tamils found shot to death in Colombo

[TamilNet, Friday, 20 October 2006, 21:33 GMT]
Three Tamil residents in Colombo, abducted by unidentified persons driving a white van on Thursday, were found shot to death in Piliyandala and Ragama areas, Police sources said. People Vigilance Committee (PVC), a Committee comprising a number of political parties and civil right organizations in Colombo, in press release issued Friday said, nine Tamils have been killed and thirty-three have disappeared in the last few weeks in Colombo. The release added that nine persons have been released after paying ransom.
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Vehicle pass system re-introduced in Vavuniya, Mannar

[TamilNet, Friday, 20 October 2006, 16:39 GMT]
A "Pass" system for all vehicles leaving the districts of Mannar and Vavuniya to rest of Sri Lanka has come into effect from Friday. Vehicles have to obtain passes from police stations in Vavuniya, Chettikulam and Mannar before leaving to outstations, civil sources said. However vehicles moving between Mannar and Vavuniya are exempted from the pass procedures, sources said.
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Two SLN Dvora vessels damaged in sea clash - LTTE

[TamilNet, Friday, 20 October 2006, 14:09 GMT]
Liberation Tigers officials in Kilinochchi said Sea Tigers retaliated a Sri Lanka Navy flotilla that launched an attack on Tiger vessels in the seas off Tiger territory in Nagarkovil. Sea Tigers chased the SLN flotilla towards Kudathanai in North. Two Dvora Fast Attack Crafts were damaged in the confrontation, they said.
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Boucher visits eastern port town

[TamilNet, Friday, 20 October 2006, 11:53 GMT]
Mr.Richard Boucher, US Assistant Secretary of State for Central and South Asian Affairs, Friday morning visited Trincomalee and held discussions separately with officials of civil authority, Sri Lanka military, Urban Council and non-governmental organizations, sources in Trincomalee said.
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Stranded Jaffna residents protest in Vavuniya

[TamilNet, Friday, 20 October 2006, 09:43 GMT]
Jaffna peninsula residents, trapped in Vavuniya district following the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) imposed closure of the A9 land route to Jaffna when clashes erupted between SLA and Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) August 11, marched in protest from Vavuniya Secretariat to the offices of Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) and International Committee of Red Cross in Vavuniya Friday and complained against the long delay in sending them home, Vavuniya Secretariat sources said.
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SLA transport ban impedes development in Batticaloa

[TamilNet, Friday, 20 October 2006, 09:23 GMT]
P. Ariyanenthiran, Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarian for Batticaloa said that despite the assurances given by Basil Rajapakse, brother of and Senior Advisor to the President of Sri Lanka, on June 29 that the military-imposed economic and transport restrictions in Batticaloa district would be lifted, situation on the ground has remained the same with all development projects at a standstill without building materials.
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Policeman shot, injured in Vavuniya

[TamilNet, Friday, 20 October 2006, 07:47 GMT]
Unidentified gunmen opened fire on a police road patrol unit Friday morning around 9:00 a.m. at Pandarikulam in Vavuniya seriously injuring a policeman, said Vavuniya police. The injured was rushed to Vavuniya hospital and his condition is listed to be life threatening, hospital sources said.
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2 Civilians shot dead, auto-rickshaw driver disappears in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Friday, 20 October 2006, 05:18 GMT]
An auto trishaw driver from Chavakachcheri has disappeared after being seen interrogated by the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers at the Five Junction check point in Jaffna Wednesday, civil society sources said. Meanwhile, two civilians were shot dead in different incidents in Jaffna Peninsula, Thursday.
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Akashi visits Muttur

[TamilNet, Friday, 20 October 2006, 00:24 GMT]
Mr. Yashushi Akashi, Japanese special peace envoy, paid a visit to Muthur town Thursday morning and met Muslims, Tamils and Sinhala residents at the Muthur Divisional Secretariat, sources in Trincomalee said.
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Nimalarajan remembered by Jaffna Journalists

[TamilNet, Friday, 20 October 2006, 00:05 GMT]
North Lanka Journalist Association (NLJA) assisted by Jaffna journalists observed 6th death anniversary of Mylvaganam Nimalarajan, BBC correspondent and a senior journalist, Thursday, civil society sources in Jaffna said. Members of the paramilitary Eelam Peoples Democratic Party (EPDP) are widely believed to have been responsible for the 19 October 2000 killing.
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UNP leader meets Buddhist prelates over MoU

[TamilNet, Thursday, 19 October 2006, 22:06 GMT]
Ranil Wickremasinghe, leader of the main opposition United National Party (UNP) Thursday met with Mahanayaka Thera of Malwatte Chapter and Mahanayaka Thera of Asgiriya Chapter separately and briefed them about the proposed Memorandum of Understanding between the two major political parties Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) and UNP to forge a national consensus to identified six issues giving top priority to the ethnic conflict.
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Civilian shot, injured in Mannar

[TamilNet, Thursday, 19 October 2006, 22:05 GMT]
Unidentified armed persons shot and injured the head of a family in his residence located in Ward No: 08 of Pesalai Wednesday night around 7.40 p.m. The victim has been identified as Veera Arachchilage Antony Silva aged 38 and a father of two children.
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Tamil fisherman shot dead in Trincomalee

[TamilNet, Thursday, 19 October 2006, 22:03 GMT]
Unidentified persons shot dead a Tamil fisherman of Division No: 10 of Trincomalee town Thursday afternoon around 2:30 while fishing in Back Bay Sea. The victim has been identified as Rajagopal Karunakaran.
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Hindu Temple, 13 houses damaged in SLAF bombing

[TamilNet, Thursday, 19 October 2006, 17:55 GMT]
A Pillayar temple, a Multi-Purpose Co-operative Society building and 13 houses were badly damaged Thursday morning around 11:00 when SLAF kfir attack aircrafts bombed civilian settlements in Tharavai and Iralakulam in the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eeelam (LTTE) controlled area in Batticaloa district.
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Mannar Tamil youths arrested in Kalpity

[TamilNet, Thursday, 19 October 2006, 17:21 GMT]
Seven Tamil youths, aged between 19 and 35, from Talaimannar in Mannar district, arrested by Kalpity Police on Monday, were remanded by the Puttalam Magistrate till October 23. Parents of the youths have lodged complaints with the Mannar District Citizens' Committee, civil sources said.
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US diplomat meets Rajapakse, Wickremasinghe, Hakim

[TamilNet, Thursday, 19 October 2006, 16:19 GMT]
Richard Boucher, US Assistant Secretary of State for Central and South Asian Affairs Thursday held discussions with Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse. The discussions were centred on the proposed peace talks between the Government of Sri Lanka (GOSL) and Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and on human rights situation in the country, diplomatic sources in Colombo said.
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Tigers, Norwegian facilitators agree on Geneva travel arrangements

[TamilNet, Thursday, 19 October 2006, 14:31 GMT]
Liberation Tigers Political Head S. P. Thamilchelvan, after meeting Jon Hanssen-Bauer, the Norwegian special envoy to Sri Lanka peace process, in Kilinochchi Thursday, told media that the Tigers had given their consent to participate in the talks in Geneva, provided that the International Community, through Norwegian facilitators, guarantees a safe travel arrangement. Switzerland Ambassador also met the LTTE Political Head in Kilinochchi Thursday.
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GoSL urged to ensure legal basis for merged NE before November 7

[TamilNet, Thursday, 19 October 2006, 14:05 GMT]
The Tamil National Alliance Parliamentary Group on Thursday in the Sri Lankan Parliament, urged the Government of Sri Lanka to immediately take the necessary action to validly restore the Status Quo Ante pertaining to the constitution of the North-East as one Unit. "Failure to take immediate steps to validly merge the Northern and Eastern Provinces as one Unit, will permanently shut the door on the possibilities of finding a solution within one country." The TNA has urged the Sri Lankan Government to respond favorably by the 7th of November 2006 the latest.
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Two SLA troopers killed in Vavuniya claymore attack

[TamilNet, Thursday, 19 October 2006, 13:36 GMT]
Unidentified men activated a claymore mine at Pathiniyar Mahilankulam in Vavuniya Thursday at 8:45 a.m killing two Sri Lanka Army (SLA) troopers of a road patrol unit on the spot, said Vavuniya police.
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US top official arrives in Colombo

[TamilNet, Thursday, 19 October 2006, 08:52 GMT]
US Assistant Secretary of State for Central and South Asian Affairs, Richard Boucher, arrived in Colombo Thursday around 9:50 a.m. on a two day visit. Mr. Boucher will discuss with the leaders of the Government of Sri Lanka (GOSL) matters related to the peace process, human rights, and access to conflict areas, diplomatic sources said.
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TNA boycotts SL parliament protesting NE merger ruling

[TamilNet, Thursday, 19 October 2006, 08:49 GMT]
Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarians Thursday morning walked out of the Sri Lanka's parliament in protest of the Supreme Court ruling that the temporary merger of the North and East provinces was illegal and violated Sri Lanka's constitution. Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam in a statement to the parliament Thursday said his party would boycott the sittings of the parliament until the Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL) reveals its stand on the merger decision, parliamentary sources said.
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Muttur aid workers' bodies exhumed

[TamilNet, Thursday, 19 October 2006, 04:06 GMT]
The exhumation of fifteen bodies of the seventeen aid workers killed in Muttur town during the first week of August this year commenced Wednesday at four different cemeteries located in Trincomalee and its suburbs in the presence of Anuradhapura Magistrate, four judicial medical officers, and the representatives of the French based non-government organization Action against Hunger (ACF), civil society sources in Trincomalee said. Earlier two bodies of the aid workers were exhumed and sent to Colombo police morgue.
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Civilian killed in artillery fire in Mirusuvil

[TamilNet, Thursday, 19 October 2006, 01:41 GMT]
A civilian from Thavasikkulam, Mirusuvil in Thenmarachchi region was killed when a shell exploded in the area around 6:00 pm Wednesdy, civil sources said. Sporadic exchange of artillery fire between Liberation Tigers and the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) continues across Muhamalai Forward Defense Lines (FDL), according to residents in Thenmaradchy.
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Youth killed, 2 SLA troopers injured in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Thursday, 19 October 2006, 01:05 GMT]
An unidentified youth was shot dead, two Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers were injured, and an elderly civilian was injured by SLA fire in three separate incidents in Jaffna Wednesday, civil society sources in Jaffna said.
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Muslim youth abducted in Batticaloa

[TamilNet, Thursday, 19 October 2006, 00:55 GMT]
Unidentified gunmen in a white van abducted a Muslim youth Tuesday around 7:00 p.m from his home at Kavathamunai MPCS road in Valaichenai police division in Batticaloa, said Valaichenai police. Relatives of the victim, Mohamed Thaheem 21, a trader, have registered a complaint with the Valaichenai police.
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Young mother shot dead in Batticaloa

[TamilNet, Thursday, 19 October 2006, 00:12 GMT]
A young mother living at Selvanayagam road in suburb of the Batticaloa Municipal limits was shot dead by unidentified gunmen around 6:40 pm Wednesday, Batticaloa Police said.
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"LTTE prepared for talks" - Akashi

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 18 October 2006, 12:09 GMT]
Yasushi Akashi, Japanese peace envoy, after meeting Political Head of Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), S.P.Thamilchelvan in Kilinochchi Wednesday, said: "We obtained commitments from Mr. Thamilchelvan that LTTE has prepared to go to Geneva for talks on the 28th October. I have insisted the importance of both sides to end all acts of violence and create an atmosphere for peaceful, sincere and honest discussions."
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Woman killed, boy wounded in SLAF bombing

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 18 October 2006, 11:07 GMT]
A 52-year-old woman was killed, a 10-year-old boy and a 38-year-old man were wounded Wednesday morning around 10:00 when two Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) Kfir bombers dropped more five bombs on civilian settlements in Karadiyanaru and Vadamunai in Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) controlled territory, northwest of Batticaloa town, sources in Batticaloa said. The Kfir bombers returned to Uthuchenai at 11:00 a.m. and bombed the area for an hour.
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Home guard injured in Amparai

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 18 October 2006, 11:03 GMT]
Unidentified armed men attacked Police sentry point, manned by five home guards, at Thamanabantha, in Amparai district Tuesday around 3:15 a.m. seriously injuring one of the home guards. The injured was rushed to Amparai hospital, police sources said.
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Tigers ready for talks, Colombo should end offensives, air-strikes - Thamilchelvan

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 18 October 2006, 10:08 GMT]
"Colombo drew first blood, launching major offensives and air-strikes into our territory in Vaharai, and in Vanni mainland, even after we made it clear that we were serious about the talks in Geneva, extending our full support and providing necessary assurances following the call by the International Community to engage in talks and cease all violence," LTTE's Political Head S.P. Thamilchelvan told TamilNet after meeting Japanese delegation headed by Special Envoy Yasushi Akashi at the LTTE Political Head Quarters in Kilinochchi Wednesday. Tigers are prepared for talks in Geneva, Mr. Thamilchelvan said.
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Jaffna Grama Sevakas boycott, demand safety

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 18 October 2006, 09:59 GMT]
Jaffna District Grama Sevakas Union (JDGSU) officially informed Government Agent (GA) Jaffna Monday evening that members will boycott duties from Tuesday, until threats to their lives from Sri Lanka Army (SLA) is removed and safety ensured, official spokesperson for the boycotting staff. Mr. Markandu Mahendran, Grama Sevaka (GS) of Ariyalai, was shot to death Monday while on duty at his office allegedly by Intelligent Operatives of the SLA.
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SLMM inspects scene of STF Amparai offensive

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 18 October 2006, 09:45 GMT]
Edward and Bjørn Kjelsaas, officers of the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM), accompanied by Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) Amparai District Political Head S. Jeya, inspected the destroyed houses and properties by STF artillery shelling, and spoke with the affected civilians Tuesday morning around 11:30 a.m., sources in Amparai said. Earlier, Mr Jeya, had briefed the SLMM at the LTTE political office on the Thursday's pre-dawn offensive of the Sri Lankan Special Task Force (STF) into Liberation Tigers territory in Kanchikudicharu.
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Passengers injured, vehicles damaged at Habarana

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 18 October 2006, 07:42 GMT]
Vehicles along key roads leading to Trincomalee and Batticaloa have come under attack by Sinhala gangs in Habarana area where more than one hundred Sri Lanka Navy (SLN) personnel were killed in a bomb attack on Monday afternoon, civil society sources said. Gangs have hurled stones at vehicles belonging to Tamils and Muslims, sources added.
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Naval base in Galle attacked, mob riots in port city

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 18 October 2006, 03:25 GMT]
A 15-member attack team in five vessels entered the Sri Lankan naval base Dakshina, in the southern most port city Galle attacking four Sri Lankan naval vessels and installations. At least three explosive laden attack vessels, attacked naval crafts including a ship, and destroyed a Fast Attack Craft (FAC) and two water jet inshore patrol vessels anchored in the port base around 7:45 a.m. Wednesday, according to informed defense correspondents in Colombo. Sinhala mob looted around 20 shops owned by Tamils in the JVP stronghold port city.
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SLA trooper wounded in Sithandy

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 17 October 2006, 19:25 GMT]
Unknown armed men opened fire on a Sri Lanka Army (SLA) unit of the Murakodanchenai SLA camp at Sithandy in the Eravur police division in Batticaloa district Tuesday around 12:30 p.m. seriously wounding an SLA trooper, military sources said.
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Orphanage escapes Sri Lankan air strike, one wounded

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 17 October 2006, 15:11 GMT]
Arivucholai, an orphanage housing 216 children in Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) controlled Puthukudiyiruppu in Mullaithivu district, narrowly escaped a catastrophic air-strike from SLAF kfir aircrafts Monday evening, according to S. Kalaivannan, an administrative official at the orphanage. Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) officials Tuesday afternoon visited the orphanage, a brother orphanage to Sencholai, Tuesday afternoon. The LTTE administration has sought security assurances through the SLMM in Kilinochchi.
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U.S. Assistant Secretary Boucher to visit Trincomalee

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 17 October 2006, 12:45 GMT]
Assistant Secretary of State for Central and South Asian Affairs, Richard Boucher, is scheduled to visit Sri Lanka Thursday and Friday in Support of Peace Talks, U.S. Embassy in Colombo said in a press release issued on Tuesday. Mr. Richard Boucher will meet with Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse, Mangala Samaraweera, civil society leaders, NGOs and will travel to Trincomalee to meet with local government officials and civic leaders, according to the U.S. Embassy. This is the second visit by Mr. Richard Boucher to Sri Lanka this year.
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Two youths shot dead in Trincomalee

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 17 October 2006, 11:12 GMT]
An employee at the World Bank funded North East Housing Reconstruction Project (NEHRP) in Anpuvallipuram and an unidentified Tamil youth in Paliayootu were shot dead in Trincomalee in two separate incidents, sources in Trincomalee said.
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Police constable shot dead in Batticaloa

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 17 October 2006, 10:40 GMT]
Unidentified gunmen shot dead a police constable attached to Kallady police station in Batticaloa Tuesday around 5:20 a.m at a bus halt close to the Kurukal Madam Special Task Force (STF) camp in Batticaloa, said the police.
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SLAF bombs broadcast tower in Vanni

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 17 October 2006, 10:38 GMT]
Two Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) Kfir bombers Tuesday destroyed the main broadcast tower and transmitter of the Thamileelam Radio that broadcasts the official broadcast of the Liberation Tigers, the Voice of Tigers (VoT), Thamileelam Vanoli, a commercial Tamil service and a Sinhala language broadcast. Political Head of the LTTE, S.P. Thamilchelvan, who visited the broadcast station along the A9 Road in Kokkavil, 15 km south of Kilinochchi, charged the Sri Lankan Government for attacking the broadcast station with a "planned agenda to suppress the freedom of expression prior to the talks scheduled in Geneva."
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US condemns Habarana attack on SL Navy

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 17 October 2006, 09:54 GMT]
The United States Assistant Secretary, Bureau of Public Affairs, Sean McCormack, has condemned the "suicide attack" Monday near Habarana in Sri Lanka. "Though there have been no claims of responsibility this attack is in keeping with the tactics of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam," a press release issued by the U.S. Embassy in Sri Lanka said Tuesday. "Only through the cessation of violence, a renewed commitment to peace talks, and constructive engagement by both sides can a political solution to this conflict be achieved."
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Scrap CFA, oust Norway, Weerawanse urges SC

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 17 October 2006, 09:07 GMT]
Wimal Weerawanse, the parliamentarian and propaganda secretary of the Sinhala nationalist Jantha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), welcoming the Monday verdict of the Sri Lankan Supreme Court (SC) ruling that the merged Northeastern province was unconstitutional, invalid and illegal, told the press in Colombo Monday that the SC should declare the Cease Fire Agreement (CFA) illegal and oust Norway from its facilitator role.
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Fisherman abducted in Thalavaai

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 17 October 2006, 06:52 GMT]
A fisherman was abducted by unidentified armed men on Saturday night from his house located Sinnathamby Road in coastal village Thalavaai in Eravur police division in Batticaloa district, according to a complaint filed by his wife with the Police Monday, sources in Batticaloa said.
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Two civilians shot dead in Point Pedro

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 17 October 2006, 06:47 GMT]
Two men, a Muslim, and a Tamil were shot dead by unidentified gunmen in two separate instances in Point Pedro and Viyaparimoolai area in Vadmaradchchi north Monday, said civil society sources in Point Pedro.
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TNA protests against de-merger verdict, parliament adjourned

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 17 October 2006, 05:57 GMT]
Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarians Tuesday morning disrupted the proceedings of the Sri Lankan parliament, protesting against the Sri Lankan Supreme Court ruling that the merged NorthEastern Province was "illegal." The Tamil MPs protested in the assembly against the Sri Lankan judiciary which they charged was being used to nullify any arrangement towards a peaceful resolution of the national problem. Sri Lanka has rebuffed the International Community by Supreme Court ruling resulting in a scuttled P-TOMS, and now the 18-year-old merger of North East has been ruled "illegal" rejecting the Indian arrangement, the MPs charged.
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Abducted Hindu priest released in Colombo

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 17 October 2006, 03:28 GMT]
Unidentified armed men abducted the Hindu priest of Colombo Kochikadai Ponnambalavaneswara temple Saturday around 2:00 p.m at the Fort bus stop and released him Monday 5:00 a.m at the Five Lamps junction in Colombo, said civil sources in Colombo.
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Batticaloa schools observe hartal protesting killing of teacher

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 17 October 2006, 01:27 GMT]
Students and teachers in all schools in Batticaloa town and its suburbs observed hartal Monday the condemning the killing a male teacher of Kinaiyady Saraswathy Vidyalayam in Valaichenai Wednesday by the Sri Lanka Army (SLA), sources in Batticaloa said. The teacher was shot dead while conducting classes.
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Policeman, SLA trooper killed in Valvettithurai claymore blast

[TamilNet, Monday, 16 October 2006, 19:23 GMT]
A policeman attached to Valvettithurai police station and a Sri Lanka Army (SLA) trooper were killed by a remotely triggered claymore blast Monday around 12:45 a.m., when the SLA road patrol was attacked between Udupidy and Valvetithurai in Vadmaradchchi north, police sources said. The SLA unit was on its way Valvettithurai from the Udupidy junction SLA camp when the attack occurred.
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SLAF revenge bombing kills baby, girl in Mullaithivu

[TamilNet, Monday, 16 October 2006, 16:24 GMT]
A one-year-old baby girl and a 12-year-old girl were killed and 15 civilians were wounded when Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) bombers attacked Kaiveli, a village in Puthukudiyiruppu, between 5:15 and 5:45, Monday, medical sources in Mullaithivu said. Four SLAF Kfir bombers targeted a civilian settlement on the left side of Puthukudiyiruppu - Paranthan Road. 9 civilian houses were destroyed in the bombardment. A one-month-old baby miraculously escaped from the attack. A Kfir jet came down in Negombo when it took off to bomb Puthukudiyiruppu this evening.
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SLAF Kfir bomber comes down in Negombo

[TamilNet, Monday, 16 October 2006, 13:46 GMT]
A Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) Israeli-built Kfir bomber came down as it took off to bomb LTTE territory Monday evening at 5:45 p.m. The Kfir jet fell into the Negombo lagoon.
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Military installations "legitimate targets" when Colombo bombs locations far off FDLs, says LTTE

[TamilNet, Monday, 16 October 2006, 13:24 GMT]
LTTE's Military Spokesman, Irasiah Ilanthirayan, ruling out the possibility of "suicide mission" as the mode of attack on Sri Lanka Navy in Habarana Monday, declined to reject Tigers regarding the military targets outside the Forward Defence Line (FDL) localities as legitimate targets if and when Sri Lankan military continued to engage in aerial bombardment and artillery shelling far beyond the defence line localities into LTTE territory.
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4 civilians killed in Jaffna Monday morning

[TamilNet, Monday, 16 October 2006, 11:49 GMT]
Four civilians including a gramasevaka and a Sinhalese man were killed between 6:00 a.m. and 8:30 a.m. Monday in Jaffna peninsula, civil society sources in Jaffna said.
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SLA trooper killed, two injured in Vavunathivu mortar fire

[TamilNet, Monday, 16 October 2006, 10:02 GMT]
One SLA trooper was killed and two seriously injured when Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) retaliated with mortar fire against the heavy mortar attack launched SLA soldiers from Vavunathivu SLA base on LTTE's Forward Defence Line (FDL) Sunday at 10:00 p.m., said Vavunathivu sources.
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Building contractor shot dead in Amparai

[TamilNet, Monday, 16 October 2006, 09:54 GMT]
Unidentified gunmen shot dead a contractor at Malkampity road in Samanthurai police division in Amparai district Sunday at 9:00 p.m., said Sammanthurai police. The victim succumbed to his wounds after being admitted to Akaraipattu hospital in a critical condition, hospital sources said.
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Three bodies given decent burial in Mirusuvil

[TamilNet, Monday, 16 October 2006, 09:48 GMT]
Three bodies of civilians killed, during the period after the August 11 clashes in areas close to Thenmaradchchi Sri Lanka Front Defence Lines in Muhamalai, were exhumed at Mirusuvil in Thenmarachchi Monday in the presence of Chavakacheri magistrate Annalingam Premshankar, legal sources in Chavakachcheri said. After the mandatory death inquests and postmortem examinations on the bodies were held they were given decent burial.
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Bomb blast in Habarana targets SLN vehicles, 99 killed, 150 wounded

[TamilNet, Monday, 16 October 2006, 09:15 GMT]
A Canter vehicle with explosives blasted in an open space where more than 24 Sri Lanka Navy (SLN) vehicles and buses with more than 340 SLN troopers were parked, killing 99, around 1:40 p.m. Monday. At least 150 sailors were wounded in the attack, according to Sri Lanka military sources in Colombo. The attack took place near Digampatana junction in Habarana, a predominantly Sinhala area, 80 km southwest of Trincomalee. About 87 bodies are lying in Dambulla hospital.
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NorthEast merger "illegal," rules SL Supreme Court

[TamilNet, Monday, 16 October 2006, 07:04 GMT]
Sri Lankan Supreme Court Chief Justice Sarath N Silva Monday ruled that the merged Northeastern province was unconstitutional, invalid and "illegal." The de-merger campaign, launched by the Sinhala natioanlist JVP and the extremist all monks party, received a legal recognition by the five-bench Sri Lankan Supreme Court ruling. The northern and eastern provinces were merged according to the Indo-Sri Lanka agreement signed in 1987 by the then Sri Lankan President, J.R.Jayawardene, and the then Indian Prime Minister, Rajiv Gandhi.
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Akashi arrives in Colombo

[TamilNet, Monday, 16 October 2006, 05:02 GMT]
Yashushi Akashi, Japanese special peace envoy arrived in Colombo Sunday night around 10 p.m. at Katunayake International Airport on a five day stay. He is scheduled to meet Sri Lanka's President Mahinda Rajapakse Monday morning and Minister Nimal Sripala de Silva this afternoon at the latter's office regarding the proposed peace talks scheduled to be held on October 28 and 29 in Geneva.
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4 civilians killed, 2 injured in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Sunday, 15 October 2006, 13:06 GMT]
Four civilians were shot dead and two seriously injured in Jaffna peninsula in three separate incidents within the 24-hours from 6:00 p.m. Saturday and 6:00 p.m. Sunday, civil society sources in Jaffna said.
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Two youths shot, injured in Arayampathy

[TamilNet, Sunday, 15 October 2006, 11:58 GMT]
Unidentified gunmen shot and injured two Tamil youths from Arayampathy in the Kattankudy Police limits around 2:30 p.m. Saturday, Police sources said.
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Post-mortem on aid workers' bodies to be held this week

[TamilNet, Sunday, 15 October 2006, 11:53 GMT]
The remaining fifteen bodies of the seventeen aid workers of the French based non-governmental organization "Action against Hunger" (ACF) in Muthur, killed in August, are scheduled to be exhumed on Wednesday (October 18) at four cemeteries in Trincomalee town in the presence of Anuradhapura Magistrate, four Judicial Medical Officers (JMO) and ACF officials, legal sources said. Two bodies earlier exhumed on the orders of the Anuradhapura Magistrate are now stored in Police morgue in Colombo.
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Observer Editor's sacking politically motivated, say Media Groups

[TamilNet, Sunday, 15 October 2006, 11:48 GMT]
Five main journalists associations in Sri Lanka condemned the sacking of Rajpal Abeynayake from the Editorship of Sri Lanka's weekly broadsheet, Observer, and said the politically motivated act portends danger to Press Freedom in Sri Lanka, in a press release issued Saturday. Mr Abeynayake wrote a column critical of the Sri Lanka's president, Mahinda Rajapakse's speech to Sri Lankan diplomats in Colombo, in the Observer's 8th October edition.
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STF offensives repulsed - LTTE

[TamilNet, Sunday, 15 October 2006, 09:50 GMT]
An offensive launched by the Sri Lankan Special Task Force (STF) troopers Saturday night into Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) controlled territory south of Batticloa, was repulsed according to LTTE officials in Batticaloa. A Tiger Major and a Captain were killed in action, the Tiger officials said. Meanwhile, residents who fled Periya Porathivu said two civilians were wounded in artillery shelling from Paddiruppu bridge STF positions Friday night. Meanwhile, LTTE sources in Amparai said the STF troopers who penetrated into Kanchikudicharu were forced to retreat following a series of Tiger ambush attacks launched on them.
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Three Singhalese men shot dead in Vavuniya

[TamilNet, Sunday, 15 October 2006, 06:40 GMT]
Three Singhalese men were shot dead at Kanthapuram, about 8 km. from Vavuniya, around 9 a.m., Sunday. They were travelling in a car with two other Muslim men when their vehicle was stopped by unidentified persons, who allowed the Muslim men to leave the area and killed the three, according to the Police in Vavuniya. Eight people have been shot dead in Vavuniya during the past three days.
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Staff boycott work after monk goes berserk inside Secretariat

[TamilNet, Saturday, 14 October 2006, 22:11 GMT]
The staff of the Manmunai North Divisional Secretariat in Batticaloa boycotted duties for an hour from 10:00 a.m. Friday condemning the cantankerous behavior of the Buddhist Monk, Ampitiya Sumanarathna Thera, inside the Secretariat at 9:30 a.m., shouting and swearing at the working staff. Officials said the belligerent Thera falsely accused the staff of reneging on providing funds allocated to renovate the Sri Mangalaramaya Vihara where he is the chief priest, Secretariat sources said.
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UNP to decide Monday on joining UPFA cabinet

[TamilNet, Saturday, 14 October 2006, 17:23 GMT]
The working committee of the main opposition United National Party (UNP) is scheduled to meet Monday to take a decision whether to join the Cabinet of Ministers in the ruling United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA) government and finalise the draft Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to be signed with the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP), the main constituent of the ruling UPFA, political sources said.
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SLA arrests two Tamil youths in Mannar

[TamilNet, Saturday, 14 October 2006, 17:19 GMT]
The Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers arrested two Tamil youths at Uyirtharasankulam in Mannar district Friday evening when they were riding a motorbike towards their houses. Later they were handed over to the Mannar Police, sources said.
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Killings, forced disappearances again on increase

[TamilNet, Saturday, 14 October 2006, 16:13 GMT]
Armed abductors, riding in white van and three-wheelers, during curfew imposed nights in Jaffna for the past 3 days, have abducted at least 10 persons, issuing death threats to the victims' families warning them not to file complaints with the Sri Lanka Human Rights Commission (SLHRC) and the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM), according to eyewitnesses in Kokkuvil, 6 km northeast and Alaveddy, 11 km north of Jaffna town. Meanwhile, an automechanic was shot into his eyes and killed at his workshed at Thattatheru Junction Saturday around 3:30 p.m. A family man was rushed to hospital with gunshot wounds in Vadamaradchi in the morning.
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3 youths killed, another injured in Vavuniya

[TamilNet, Saturday, 14 October 2006, 13:07 GMT]
Three youths were killed and another injured when armed men stopped the auto-rikshaw in when they were travelling in and opened fire. The incident occured at Samalankulam in Vavuniya, around 1 p.m., Saturday, police said.
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29 reported missing in Colombo - Civil Monitoring Committee

[TamilNet, Saturday, 14 October 2006, 08:33 GMT]
The Civil Monitoring Committee (CMC), formed recently in Colombo by involved Tamil and Sinhala politicians, to monitor extra judicial killings, abductions and disappearances, based on the records registered so far, reported Friday that 29 persons were still missing in Colombo. Six persons were reported killed. Eight persons were released, according to the list compiled from the details become public and from the people who are willing to talk.
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Security tightened in Jaffna, trader shot dead

[TamilNet, Friday, 13 October 2006, 22:03 GMT]
The Sri Lankan Army (SLA) in Jaffna Peninsula introduced tight security measures Friday after 9 persons including 3 Policemen and 3 cadres of the paramilitary Eelam Peoples Democratic Party (EPDP) were killed Thursday, civil society sources said.
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SLAF Kfir jets drop 48 bombs on Vanni

[TamilNet, Friday, 13 October 2006, 18:48 GMT]
Six Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) Kfir bombers, in one of the biggest bombing raids in the heart of Vanni, dropped at least 48 bombs in two sorties on Muttayankattu village in Mullaithivu district, Friday between 7:00 and 9:00 a.m., Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) officials in Kilinochchi said. Muttayankattu is located 10 km southeast of Puthukudiyiruppu.
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Two youths shot dead in Vavuniya

[TamilNet, Friday, 13 October 2006, 14:35 GMT]
Unidentified armed men shot dead two youths aged about 25 Thursday night. Bodies of these youths with gunshot injuries were recovered Friday morning at Kanthapuram, about eight km off Vavuniya town. Hands of these youths were tied and face of one of the dead was covered with a black cloth, residents of the area said.
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Home guard shot dead in Aariampathy

[TamilNet, Friday, 13 October 2006, 12:14 GMT]
Unidentified men shot and killed a home guard near a petrol filling station located at Aariampathy Friday morning around 6.30 a.m, sources in Batticaloa said. The victim was waiting for bus to report for duty at police check point at Kallady in Batticaloa when he was shot.
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LTTE hands over 74 SLA bodies to ICRC

[TamilNet, Friday, 13 October 2006, 03:07 GMT]
Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) handed over 74 bodies of Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers in black body bags to ICRC Thursday evening in Kilinochchi. Another soldier's body was brought to Kilinochchi Thursday evening. More than fifty bodies of SLA soldiers are strewn around in the battlefield in unidentifiable state, according to LTTE officials. 133 SLA soldiers were killed in action or reported missing according to the official figures released by the Sri Lankan defence ministry media co-ordinating centre Thursday. More than 200 SLA soldiers were killed when LTTE defense formations under Special Commander Col. Theepan defeated the SLA forces Wednesday, LTTE officials claimed.
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SLA guns down two youths in Thikkam

[TamilNet, Friday, 13 October 2006, 02:02 GMT]
Sri Lankan Army (SLA) soldiers at the Manambi Market Army Checkpoint, in Vadamarachchy region in Jaffna district, opened fire and killed two youths traveling in an auto trishaw along the Thikkam- Mavil junction road when the youths defied SLA order to stop, around 12:00 noon Thursday, civil sources said.
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Budget support conditional on peace agenda- Wickremasinghe

[TamilNet, Friday, 13 October 2006, 01:34 GMT]
"We will not oppose the Budget of the government once the peace process is on the track moving forward," said Ranil Wickremasinghe, leader of the main opposition United National Party (UNP) addressing a press conference held at Cambridge Place Thursday. The United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA) government is to table its Budget for the year 2007 in the second week of November, parliamentary sources in Colombo said.
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NGOs to testify before Select Committee

[TamilNet, Friday, 13 October 2006, 00:46 GMT]
Non-governmental organizations (NGO) identified as potential threats to national security are to be called to testify before the parliamentary select committee appointed to inquire into the activities of NGOs, said Mr.Wijitha Herat, Chairman of the Select Committee. Wijitha Heart is a parliamentarian representing the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP).
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Tamil media subjected to intimidation, says Press Group

[TamilNet, Friday, 13 October 2006, 00:05 GMT]
Tamil media persons and Tamil media institutions in Sri Lanka have been subjected to intimidation and harassment said an International Press Delegation in its press briefing at Galle Face Hotel Wednesday at the conclusion of the International Mission's three-day visit to Colombo, sources in Colombo said.
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Co-chairs must act to stop war- Gajendrakumar

[TamilNet, Thursday, 12 October 2006, 18:30 GMT]
"Co-chairs and the International community should go beyond making statements by taking concrete steps to pressure the Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL) to stop waging an aggressive war and to compel the GoSL to engage in meaningful talks with the Liberation Tigers," said Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam, the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarian, at a press meet held Thursday morning in Colombo Renuka Hotel, TNA sources in Colombo said.
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Sri Lankan offensive in Amparai - LTTE

[TamilNet, Thursday, 12 October 2006, 12:26 GMT]
Sri Lankan Special Task Force (STF) troopers launched a pre-dawn offensive into Liberation Tigers territory in Amparai Thursday. "The STF ground troopes have moved in 6 km into our territory inside Kanchikudicharu," said LTTE Amparai District Political Head S. Jeya. STF was continuing to target villages in the area surrounding Kanchikudichcharu with artilery shelling from Thirukkovil, Sahama, Kanjirankudah camps and Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) bombers were also targeting the villages, Mr. Jeya said.
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Rajapakse-Wickremasinghe MoU to be signed late October

[TamilNet, Thursday, 12 October 2006, 11:53 GMT]
Sri Lanka's President Mahinda Rajapakse and leader of the main opposition United National Party (UNP), Ranil Wickremasinghe, Thursday met and discussed in detail regarding the implementation of six point programme agreed upon by the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP), main constituent of the ruling United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA) and the UNP following four rounds of talks, political sources in Colombo said.
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2 Police killed, 2 EPDP cadres injured in Jaffna claymore attack

[TamilNet, Thursday, 12 October 2006, 11:43 GMT]
Two Sri Lanka Police constables were killed, one Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldier and two cadres of Eelam People's Democratic Party (EPDP) were injured when the pickup truck they were travelling in from Ariyalai along Navalar Road came under claymore attack, close to Kachcheri-Nallur junction, at 11:50 a.m. Thursday, sources in Jaffna said.
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"Cease violence, foster a conducive environment for talks," US urges GoSL, LTTE

[TamilNet, Thursday, 12 October 2006, 11:43 GMT]
The United States is deeply concerned that ongoing violence in Sri Lanka is putting the agreement to return to talks in Geneva in October 28-29 at risk, the US Embassy in Colombo said in a press release issued on Wednesday. "We call on both sides to cease hostilities immediately and foster an environment that is conducive to holding productive discussions in Geneva," the statement said.
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Muslim worker shot dead in Colombo

[TamilNet, Thursday, 12 October 2006, 09:56 GMT]
A Muslim worker from Kattankudy in Batticaloa district, employed at the Sri Lanka Port Authority (SLPA) in Colombo, was shot shot dead by unknown gunmen riding in a three-wheeler at 8:45 p.m. Thursday in Maradana, sources in Colombo said.
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Abducted mill worker shot dead in Batticaloa

[TamilNet, Thursday, 12 October 2006, 09:54 GMT]
A rice mill employee abducted by unknown gunmen Wednesday around 6.00 p.m at Vinayagapuram in the Valaichenai police division in Batticaloa, was found dead with bullet wounds Thursday morning around 3.00 a.m at 4th Cross street, Kanakipuram in Vinayagapuram, said Valaichenai police.
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"Violence against children" addressed in UN study

[TamilNet, Thursday, 12 October 2006, 09:40 GMT]
A report addressing violence against children in family, schools, alternative care institutions and detention facilities, places where children work, and communities was presented by independent Expert, Prof. Paulo Sérgio Pinheiro to the Third Committee of the General Assembly on 11 October 2006 in New York. The study did not address children in armed conflict, as the "issue fell within the mandate of the Special Representative of the Secretary- General for Children and Armed Conflict," but considered related issues, including violence against refugees and other displaced children.
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UNHCR spotlights Batticaloa IDPs woes

[TamilNet, Thursday, 12 October 2006, 09:07 GMT]
UNHCR representative stressed the urgency for providing the basic facilities of displaced people from Pullumalai village in LTTE controlled territory along Chenkaladi-Badulla road in Batticaloa district before the onset of northeast monsoon at a conference held at the Eravur divisional secretariat, sources in Batticaloa said. N.Puvanendran, Divisional Secretary presided.
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Three EPDP cadres shot dead in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Thursday, 12 October 2006, 08:31 GMT]
Unidentified gunmen shot dead three cadres of Eelam People's Democratic Front (EPDP), including the group's principal organizer for the Jaffna islets, at 11:30 a.m. in the central part of Jaffna town Thursday, sources from Jaffna said. One EPDP cadre was injured in the attack. EPDP is a paramilitary group operating with the Sri Lanka Army (SLA). A youth was killed and the owner of a clothing store was injured when Sri Lanka Police opened fire after the killings.
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A.J. Kanagarathna, a pioneer journalist, passes away

[TamilNet, Thursday, 12 October 2006, 02:01 GMT]
A long term journalist, previously attached to Saturday Review in Jaffa, A.J. Kanagarathna, 74, passed away in Colombo Wednesday morning.
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Rajapakse, Wickremasinghe to meet Thursday to finalize MoU

[TamilNet, Thursday, 12 October 2006, 01:56 GMT]
Sri Lanka's President Mahinda Rajapakse and Opposition Leader Ranil Wickremasinghe are scheduled to meet Thursday to finalize the draft of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) that will outline the understandings reached between the two parties in resolving national issues. Members of the delegations of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP), main constituent of the ruling United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA) and the main opposition United National Party (UNP) who participated in the four rounds of talks will also attend the discussions, political sources in Colombo said.
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Bauer to visit Colombo next week

[TamilNet, Thursday, 12 October 2006, 01:26 GMT]
Norwegian special peace envoy Jon Hanssen Bauer is expected to visit Colombo next week to meet government and LTTE leaders to finalize arrangement for the proposed peace talks scheduled for October 28 and 29 in Geneva, Colombo media sources said.
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Kidnappers release Eastern Campus Dean

[TamilNet, Thursday, 12 October 2006, 00:15 GMT]
The kidnapped Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Culture, Eastern University of Sri Lanka (EUSL), Dr Bala Sugumar, was released by the kidnappers on Tuesday midnight in Batticaloa, near his home, after he was held captive for ten days, family sources said.
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Tamil youth abducted in Mannar

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 11 October 2006, 15:46 GMT]
Unidentified men Sunday afternoon had abducted a Tamil youth named Simon Godwin Nixon at a place near pubic cemetery in Mannar, according to a complaint lodged with the regional office Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka (HRCSL), Mannar Police and the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM).
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Auto driver shot dead

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 11 October 2006, 15:32 GMT]
Unidentified gunmen shot and killed an auto-rikshaw driver at Thumpalai road in Pt.Pedro in Jaffna peninsula, around 10:30 a.m., Wednesday.
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Tamil teacher shot dead by SLA in Batticaloa

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 11 October 2006, 15:13 GMT]
A Tamil graduate teacher was shot dead Wednesday morning around 9:00 a.m. by Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers stationed in Kinnaiayadi camp while he was taking class to students. Thirunavukarasu Sivagnaselvam, 32, is a teacher at Saraswathie Vidiyalayam located in Valaichchenai police division in Batticaloa district. He was rushed to the Valaichchenai government hospital but succumbed to injuries.
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LTTE captures SLA soldier, locates 75 dead bodies of Lankan troopers

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 11 October 2006, 13:48 GMT]
LTTE Military Spokesman Irasiah Ilanthirayan Wednesday evening told media that the Tigers had repulsed the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) offensive Wednesday. SLA troopers who broke through the LTTE Forward Defence Line (FDL) positions in Kilali and Muhamalai were defeated, leaving around 75 dead bodies of Sri Lankan soldiers inside the LTTE territory in Kilali. A soldier was captured alive by the Tigers, he said. Three tanks were damaged and one destroyed, according to LTTE military spokesman. Meanwhile, SLA sources in Colombo claimed 35 were killed and more than 300 wounded in the Sri Lankan offensive.
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Vessel leaves Trinco taking stranded passengers

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 11 October 2006, 11:24 GMT]
About five hundred stranded Tamil civilians in Vavuniya Wednesday left from Trincomalee port by a vessel "Sakthi" chartered by the Sri Lanka security forces. The civilians were brought to Trincomalee from Vavuniya by several buses Tuesday evening and they spent Tuesday night on board the vessel, port sources said.
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SLA meets stiff resistance in Jaffna offensive

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 11 October 2006, 11:16 GMT]
Twenty two Sri Lanka Army troopers were killed and 113 injured when LTTE retaliated advancing SLA troopers towards the LTTE territory from SLA Muhamalai Defence Line Wednesday, military sources in Colombo said. Major clashes between Liberation Tigers and Sri Lanka Security forces took place in Thenmarachy Forward Defence Lines (FDLs) and seas along littoral villages from Kilali to Sangupiddy along Jaffna lagoon from early morning Wednesday.
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Akashi to visit Sri Lanka Sunday

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 11 October 2006, 11:12 GMT]
Mr. Yasushi Akashi, representative of Government of Japan to Sri Lanka is to visit Sri Lanka on 15 October Sunday and will spend five days, a press release issued by Embassy of Japan in Colombo said Wednesday. Mr Akashi is expected to hold talks with the Government of Sri Lanka and the Liberation Tigers to promote the on-going peace efforts, the press release added.
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Sri Lanka launches offensive in Jaffna, curfew imposed in Thenmaradchi

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 11 October 2006, 04:16 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army has launched ground troop-movement into Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam controlled territory with heavy artillery and MBRL rocket fire since 6:30 a.m. Wednesday, LTTE Military Spokesman Irasiah Ilanthirayan told media. Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) was notified by the LTTE on the Sri Lankan offensive, LTTE officials at the Peace Secretariat in Kilinochchi said. The offensive, shattering peace hopes, comes few hours after an official announcement by Norway that parties had agreed to meet in Switzerland from 28 to 29 October.
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Eastern University appeals for release of kidnapped Dean

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 11 October 2006, 03:03 GMT]
The Senate of the Eastern University of Sri Lanka (EUSL) Tuesday appealed to the kidnappers to release the Dean of the Arts Faculty, Bala Sugumar, without further delay, officials of the Eastern campus said. Education has come to a standstill due to fear and uncertainty gripping the staff and students at the campus in the aftermath of kidnapping, the appeal said.
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Oxfam funds housing for war, tsunami affected in Batticaloa

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 11 October 2006, 02:41 GMT]
Oxfam Planning Director in Batticaloa M. Yogeswaran laid the foundation stone for the housing scheme in Santhipuram, Kaluthavalai in the Manmunai South Eruvilpattu Regional Secretariat where Oxfam will construct 22 houses each worth 850,000 rupees, civil sources said. Oxfam is filling the void left by other Non-governmental Organisations (NGOs) which withdrew their commitments due to recent violence, Yogeswaran added.
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IOM conducts capacity-building program in Kilinochchi

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 11 October 2006, 02:21 GMT]
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) with the help of Centre for Health Care (CHC) conducted a 6 day integrated Capacity Building Training Program for the staff from CHC , various Non Governmental Organizations (NGOs), and staffers at the Medical Officer of Health (MOH) office, at the Training Auditorium of CHC located along A-9 road in Kilinochchi, sources in Kilinochchi said.
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Third group awaits sea-journey to Jaffna

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 11 October 2006, 01:52 GMT]
Vavuniya district Secretariat have made arrangements to send the third group of civilians stranded in Vavuniya and Mannar to Jaffna in ship from Trincomalee harbor on Wednesday, officials said. The Jaffna bound passengers had left Jaffna before 11 August on personal business and were unable return due to the closure of A9 land route.
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Police officer injured in Jaffna grenade attack

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 11 October 2006, 01:12 GMT]
A Sri Lanka Police constable was seriously injured when unidentified assailants hurled a hand grenade towards a police street patrol between Kalviyankadu and Kopay Tuesday at 11.00 a.m, sources in Jaffna said.
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Youth's body, weapons found in Eravur

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 11 October 2006, 00:58 GMT]
The body of a Tamil youth alleged to be a member of Liberation Tigers was recovered near Murkodanchenai tank by Sri Lanka Army (SLA) after the SLA sentry points were attacked by LTTE cadres Monday night around 8.00 p.m., Eravur police said.
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Gurunagar fishing boats used in SLN naval exercise

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 11 October 2006, 00:05 GMT]
Gurunagar Fishermen's Development Society made an urgent appeal to the Government Agent (GA) Jaffna, the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) and the Sri Lanka Human Rights Commission (SLHRC) in Jaffna Tuesday to help recover their fishing boats and outboard motors confiscated by the Sri Lanka Navy (SLN), sources in Jaffna said.
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Armed robberies escalate in Batticaloa

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 10 October 2006, 22:14 GMT]
Masked gunmen robbed millions of rupees worth of jewelry and cash from civilian residences on Sunday and Monday nights inside the Batticaloa and Kattankudy Police limits, Police sources said.
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SL Defence Ministry bans importation of remote controlled toys

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 10 October 2006, 15:14 GMT]
Sri Lanka's Defence Ministry has banned with immediate effect the importation of remote controlled toys. "Due to prevailing security situation restrictions have been imposed on the importation of remote controlled toys to the country," said a statement of the Ministry of Defence with the signature of Defence Ministry Secretary Gotabaya Rajapakse.
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3 killed, 2 injured in Vavuniya bomb explosion

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 10 October 2006, 11:37 GMT]
A bomb concealed in a Dolphin van taken into custody by Vavuniya police 15 days ago exploded Tuesday around 12 noon, half an hour after being released, killing 3 civilians and seriously injuring 2 at Periyarkulam, Poonthottam in Vavuniya, said Mr. Chanthanayake, Officer-in-Charge (OIC) Vavuniya Police.
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Media delegation briefed on the woes of Tamil journalists

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 10 October 2006, 11:25 GMT]
The delegates of International media, who arrived in Colombo on Monday on a fact finding mission, to assess the climate of press freedom in Sri Lanka, held a meeting with the representatives from Sri Lanka Working Journalists Association (SLWJA), Free Media Movement (FMM), Sri Lanka Tamil Media Alliance (SLTMA), Sri Lanka Muslim Media Forum (SLMMF) and Federation of Media Employees Trade Union (FMETU ) in collaboration with the Sri Lanka Press Institute (SLPI), sources in Colombo said.
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Karuna group member shot dead in Akaraipattu

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 10 October 2006, 11:22 GMT]
An unknown armed youth riding a motorbike shot dead a member of the Karuna paramilitary group Tuesday around 10:30 a.m at Akaraipattu in Amparai district, said Akkaraipattu police. Akkaraipattu district Magistrate Mr. T. L. A. Manab visited the scene to conduct inquest into death, and ordered the police to hand over the dead body to the relatives after post-mortem examinations.
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International Community should ensure SLMM access to FDLs - Thamilchelvan

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 10 October 2006, 10:19 GMT]
Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) Political Head S. P. Thamilchelvan accused Colombo for being the "aggressor" despite the International Community's efforts and the LTTE leadership's assurances in ceasing violence to create conducive environment for talks. Colombo has denied access to truce monitors to the Northern Front where Sri Lanka Army (SLA) has been seen readying for a frontal assault, he told TamilNet after meeting the Norwegian Ambassador Hans Brattskar in Kilinochchi Tuesday.
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SLA forces Union college to relocate

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 10 October 2006, 06:56 GMT]
Arrangements are underway to move educational activities of Tellipalai Union College in private buildings in Chunnakam, Malakam and Maruthanamadam areas following the refusal of the SLA to allow the college to function in its own premises which fell into the newly extended High Security Zone (HSZ) of the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) in Jaffna, sources from Jaffna said.
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20 youths abducted in 2 days in Amparai

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 10 October 2006, 05:22 GMT]
More than 20 Tamil youths were reported abducted in Akkaraippattu and Thirukkovil area in Amparai district by unidentified armed gang traveling in white vans on Sunday and Monday, civil society sources said. Relatives of abducted filed four complaints, two in Akkaraippattu and two in Thirukkovil, sources added.
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Fishmonger shot dead

[TamilNet, Monday, 09 October 2006, 21:24 GMT]
A fishermonger was shot dead by unidentified gun men in Savatkadu area in Valikamam sector of the Jaffna peninsula, around 11:30 a.m., Monday, police said.
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SLA reinforces artillery batteries in Northern Front

[TamilNet, Monday, 09 October 2006, 16:59 GMT]
The Sri Lanka Army (SLA) was seen moving truck loads of military hardware from its Palaly main base to Forward Defence Lines in Jaffna Monday. Consignments of artillery ammunition, mortar shells, and rockets were rushed in heavy military vehicles via two routes, Palaly-Jafffna Road leading to the A9 Muhamalai FDL, Ariyalai area and Point Pedro Road towards Nagarkovil FDL in Vadamaradchi East since Saturday night. Meanwhile, Sri Lanka Navy ordered fishermen in Gurunagar to hand over more than 240 outboard motors and fishing boats, according to fisheries union officials in Jaffna.
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Civilian injured in STF gun mishap in Karativu, Amparai

[TamilNet, Monday, 09 October 2006, 14:05 GMT]
A civilian was seriously injured when a Special Task Force (STF) trooper's gun accidentally went off at the Karativu junction Monday around 1:30 p.m. when the STF was engaged in street security operation on Akkaraipattu-Kalmunai road at Karaitivu in Amparai district. The injured man was first rushed to Kalmunai Ashrof Memorial hospital and then transferred to Kalmunai Base hospital.
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SLA trooper injured in claymore attack in Vantharumoolai

[TamilNet, Monday, 09 October 2006, 11:50 GMT]
A group of unidentified armed men triggered a claymore mine Monday around 10.30 a.m on Komanthurai Sri Lanka Army (SLA) road patrol unit on Theevu road at Vantharumoolai in the Eravur police division, seriously injuring a SLA trooper, said sources from Vantharumoolai, sources in Batticaloa said.
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Samurdhi officer shot dead in Akkaraipattu, Amparai

[TamilNet, Monday, 09 October 2006, 11:22 GMT]
Unknown gunmen on bicycle shot and killed a Samurdhi officer attached to Akkaraipattu Alayadivembu Regional Secretariat in Amparai District Sunday around 7.00 p.m, said Akkaraipattu police.
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Co-Chairs' ambassadors meet Sri Lanka's President

[TamilNet, Monday, 09 October 2006, 09:31 GMT]
Co-Chairs' ambassadors in Colombo Monday morning met with Sri Lanka's President Mahinda Rajapakse and expressed their concern about the continuous hostilities between the Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL) troops and Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) even after both parties agreed to resume peace talks during the later part of October. The meeting comes following an urgent LTTE warning to the truce monitors Saturday that Sri Lanka Army (SLA) was readying for an offensive in the Northern Front.
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Wild elephants kill three females in Akkaraipattu

[TamilNet, Monday, 09 October 2006, 07:31 GMT]
Two women and a child were crushed to death by some wild elephants when they entered the village Alimnagar in Akkaraipattu in Amparai district Sunday night around 09:30 p.m. The dead have been identified as Parwathi Amma, 55, Ismail Aysha, 26 and Salman Sharmila, 6, civil sources said.
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Police officer shot dead in Chenkalady

[TamilNet, Sunday, 08 October 2006, 21:17 GMT]
Unidentified gunmen opened fire on a security patrol unit of the Chenkalady police Sunday around 8:05 a.m near the Chenkalady police sentry point killing a police constable, said Eravur police.
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Muttur aid workers massacre inquiry put off

[TamilNet, Sunday, 08 October 2006, 17:12 GMT]
The Anuradhapura Magistrate, appointed to conduct the inquest proceedings into the killing of seventeen aid workers of Action against Hunger (ACF) in Muttur last week, put off the further inquiry for October 11 without making an order for the exhumation of remaining fifteen bodies buried after the first post-mortem examination. The family members of the slain aid workers did not attend the hearing on October 4 when the case was taken for inquiry, legal sources said.
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Paramilitary cadre injured in sniper attack

[TamilNet, Sunday, 08 October 2006, 16:56 GMT]
A member of the Razik paramilitary group was injured in a sniper attack by unknown gunmen Saturday at 6:00 p.m. at the Vavunativu Sri Lanka Army (SLA) camp in Batticaloa, said civil society sources.
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Dead body of Mankerni SLA Major located in Panichchankerni

[TamilNet, Sunday, 08 October 2006, 15:47 GMT]
LTTE Trincomalee Political Head Sunday said the Tigers in Vaharai located 3 more bodies, 2 Sri Lankan troopers and a paramilitary cadre, in LTTE controlled Panichchankerni. A Sri Lanka Army Major who led the crack forces and paramilitaries into Tiger territory, identified as Major W.S.A Wijetunge, was among the dead. Nine bodies of Sri Lankan soldiers were dug up, in addition to the 2 bodies recovered later, and handed over to the ICRC by the Tigers in the presence of Trincomalee District SLMM in Vaharai Sunday. Earlier, Sri Lanka had declined to receive the bodies.
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TNA urges International Community to prevail upon Colombo to cease violence

[TamilNet, Sunday, 08 October 2006, 15:12 GMT]
The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) in an urgent press release Sunday appealed to the International Community to prevail upon the Government of Sri Lanka to cease all military operations immediately and actively work towards creating a conducive atmosphere for the resumption of peace talks. Mavai S. Senathirajah MP, on behalf of the TNA Parliamentary Group said: "There can be little doubt that any such further offensive military operations by the GoSL will almost certainly result in the break-out of full scale war and a complete negation of the Ceasefire Agreement."
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SLA reconnaissance unit repulsed in Muhamalai, 5 killed - Ilanthirayan

[TamilNet, Sunday, 08 October 2006, 13:01 GMT]
A unit of the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) troopers, on a frontal reconnaissance mission, moved into the LTTE territory across Muhamalai Forward Defence Line (FDL) Sunday morning around 6:30 a.m., LTTE Military Spokesman Irasiah Ilanthirayan said. The SLA unit was repulsed into no-go zone, with at least five dead bodies, and the unit retreated leaving behind 3 weapons, he said. Meanwhile, residents in Jaffna said the SLA intensified Multi-Barrel Rocket Launcher (MBRL) artillery fire towards LTTE territory Sunday evening.
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International team on Press Freedom to visit Sri Lanka

[TamilNet, Sunday, 08 October 2006, 11:19 GMT]
A five-member International Mission on Press Freedom comprising delegates from the International Media Support (IMS), International Press Institute(IPI), International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), United Nationals Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the International News Safety Institute (INSI) will arrive in Colombo Monday on a three day visit at the invitation of leading media institutions and organizations in the country, media sources in Colombo said.
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STF fires artillery shells into LTTE territory in Amparai

[TamilNet, Sunday, 08 October 2006, 10:35 GMT]
Sri Lankan Special Task Force troops in Kanjirankudah STF base intensified artillery fire towards Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) controlled Kanchikudichcharu, Vinayakapuram and Thankavelauthapuram areas Sunday evening at 3:00 p.m., LTTE's Military Spokesman Irasiah Ilanthirayan said. Civilians in the LTTE controlled area were forced to flee and take refuge at safer locations.
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Jaffna Civil group appeals for conducive educational climate

[TamilNet, Sunday, 08 October 2006, 00:04 GMT]
Prominent civil society members led by Jaffna Bishop, Rev. Fr. Thomas Saundaranayagam, at a press meet held Saturday at 10.30 a.m at the Bishop's House, appealed to the President of Sri Lanka and Sri Lanka security forces to consider favorably demands of the Jaffna District Student Federation (JDSF), and to create conditions conducive for education in Jaffna, civil society sources in Jaffna said. Jaffna students are to return attending schools after the Civil group convinced the JDSF to call off the 3-week long boycott in a conference held Wednesday.
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SLA preparing for Jaffna offensive, Tigers warn SLMM

[TamilNet, Saturday, 07 October 2006, 16:30 GMT]
Heavy deployment of Sri Lankan armed forces is reported in Thenmaradchi and Vadamaradchi East along the Northern Front Saturday, LTTE sources said. The Peace Secretariat of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), Saturday night, in an urgent communiqué to the Head of SLMM, informed Sri Lanka's military build-up and urged the monitors to take immediate steps to visit Muhamalai FDL and confirm Sri Lanka's preparations for the offensive. LTTE's Political Head told TamilNet that LTTE is concerned of SLMM's limited access to Muhamalai. Unhindered access is vital for a fair and neutral judgement on the SLA offensive that will likely lead to a full-scale war, Thamilchelvan said.
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12 SLA soldiers missing in "Mankerni fighting" - SL Defense Ministry

[TamilNet, Saturday, 07 October 2006, 16:26 GMT]
Twelve soldiers of the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) have been reported missing in the fight with the LTTE in Mankerni area, private electronic media reported Saturday evening quoting defence ministry sources. The announcement comes after a Sri Lankan soldier, who was captured alive in LTTE controlled Panichchankerni in a Sri Lankan offensive towards LTTE controlled Vaharai.
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Rajapakse, Wickremesinghe to meet before signing MoU

[TamilNet, Saturday, 07 October 2006, 16:19 GMT]
Sri Lanka's President Mahinda Rajapakse and Leader of the main opposition United National Party (UNP) Mr.Ranil Wickremasinghe, are scheduled to meet Tuesday before signing the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP), main constituent of the ruling United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA), UNP general secretary Tissa Attanayake said Saturday.
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Political package to be prepared before GoSL-LTTE peace talks

[TamilNet, Saturday, 07 October 2006, 16:04 GMT]
Political package for solving the ethnic crisis would be prepared by the All Party Conference (APC) before the peace talks between the Government of Sri Lanka (GOSL) and Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) which is scheduled to begin during the last week of October, APC Chairman Professor Tissa Vitarana said Saturday.
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Fishing trawler washed ashore in Mannar coast

[TamilNet, Saturday, 07 October 2006, 16:01 GMT]
A fishing trawler worth about seven million rupees was washed ashore in Thalvupadu in Mannar district Saturday morning. On receipt of information through village level authority Sri Lanka Police and Sri Lanka Navy (SLN) soldiers rushed to the site and examined the vessel, sources said.
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Claymore mine recovered in Murunkan

[TamilNet, Saturday, 07 October 2006, 12:11 GMT]
A minor employee of the Murunkan general hospital was arrested Thursday in connection with the discovery of a live claymore mine in a by-lane along Mannar-Madawachchi (A-14) highway at 7:30 a.m. in the Murunkan police division. The suspect, Sebastian Vethanayagam, 41, father of four children, was produced in Mannar courts Friday morning after interrogation, legal sources said.
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GoSL waging war against Tamils - Sampanthan

[TamilNet, Saturday, 07 October 2006, 11:04 GMT]
The government of Sri Lanka is not fighting a war against the Liberation Tigers, but in reality is waging a war against the entire Tamil community in Sri Lanka, said R.Sampanthan, Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarian speaking in the parliament on Thursday during the debate on extending the emergency. Tamil people are under going severe hardship. If either the Interim Self Governing Authority (ISGA) or the Joint Mechanism (JM) had been in place, the current difficult situations would not have arisen, he said.
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Colombo declines to receive bodies of dead soldiers, captured soldier talks to media

[TamilNet, Saturday, 07 October 2006, 08:07 GMT]
The fighting formation of Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) forces, "boxed" an area of 10 square kilometers and defeated Sri Lankan offensive towards Vaharai Friday, LTTE Trincomalee Political Head S. Elilan said Saturday. Accusing Sri Lanka for violating the Ceasefire Agreement (CFA) and the Geneva Agreement of disarming the paramilitary cadres, Mr. Elian said 400 Sri Lankan troops, including 80 paramilitary cadres, were involved in the Sri Lankan offensive. K.M.S. Ratnayake, a soldier from Sri Lanka's 6th Battalion of Gemunu Watch, was captured alive by the Tigers. Colombo has refused to accept 9 bodies of SLA soldiers killed in the encounter, Mr. Elilan said.
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Retired school principal shot dead in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Saturday, 07 October 2006, 07:56 GMT]
Former principal of the Mahajana College in Thellipalai, Mr.C.Nagarasa, 67, was shot dead by two unidentified men, at his home near Thurkai Amman Temple, around 7:00 a.m., Saturday. Sri Lanka Army maintains a camp about 50 metres from Mr Nagarasa's house.
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LTTE Political Head writes to Norwegian facilitator

[TamilNet, Saturday, 07 October 2006, 06:00 GMT]
The Political Head of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, S.P. Thamilchelvan Friday sent an urgent letter to the Norwegian Special Envoy, Jon Hanssen-Bauer, informing the Norwegian facilitator on the LTTE stand following the Sri Lankan offensive in Vaharai. The LTTE decision to abide by the Co-Chairs call was a goodwill gesture, extended to the Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL), the officials in Kilinochchi said alluding that the LTTE leadership's message was a reminder of the moral obligations bound with the call to cease the violence in creating a conducive environment for talks.
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Three-pronged SLA offensive thwarted - Elilan

[TamilNet, Friday, 06 October 2006, 13:40 GMT]
The Tiger forces repulsed a three-pronged Sri Lanka Army offensive on LTTE controlled Vaharai territory after a defensive fight that lasted for 11 hours, LTTE's Trincomalee District Political Head S. Elilan said. At least seven civilians were wounded in heavy SLA shelling towards civilian settlements. More than 30 SLA troopers were killed, and one wounded soldier was captured alive, Mr. Elilan said. The offensive was launched from Kajuwatte SLA camp, south of Vaharai towards Panichchankerni, from Sinhapura SLA camp 3 km inside the LTTE territory in Kattumurivu and Sri Lanka Navy attempted to land troops in Panichchankerni around 1:00 p.m., according to initial reports from Vaharai.
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SLA constructs new sentry points in Ariyalai

[TamilNet, Friday, 06 October 2006, 11:41 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers from 51-4 brigade have strengthened the Ariyalai camp by constructing additional sentry points along Kanagaratnam Road and Chemmani Lane. Ten additional sentries have been erected this week, Ariyalai residents said.
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SLN, Sea Tigers clash in Mannar seas

[TamilNet, Friday, 06 October 2006, 10:57 GMT]
Heavy fighting was reported between Sea Tigers and Sri Lanka Navy (SLN) in seas near Ketkarativu, a central island between Talai Mannar and Delft island Friday early morning between 12:00 midnight and 2:00 a.m., sources in Jaffna said. Although both sides have feared to have suffered casualties no official details are available.
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Woman reported missing after entering Vellanai SLN camp

[TamilNet, Friday, 06 October 2006, 10:25 GMT]
A 40-year old woman living near Velanai Amman Kovil, summoned by the Sri Lanaka Navy (SLN) to the Kanchatheva camp in Velani for interrogation Wednesday, is reported missing according to a complaint filed by her relatives with the Sri Lanka Human Rights Commission Jaffna office (SLHRC) Friday, said SLHRC sources.
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LTTE Defence Council discusses military situation - Ilanthirayan

[TamilNet, Friday, 06 October 2006, 09:05 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army troopers, engaged in a new offensive, have moved north of Mankerni into Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) controlled area in an offensive drive towards Panichchankerni, according to Tigers. "The Sri Lankan offensive has disregarded the assurances of ceasing all violence acts and the call by the International Community for talks," LTTE's Military Spokesman Irasiah Ilanthirayan said. The Tigers have called on the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission to ensure monitoring access to the border areas where Sri Lankan forces were engaged in offensive acts. The Defence Council of the LTTE has been summoned to discusss the current development, he further said.
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JHU demands GoSL to stick to 'Mahinda Chinthanaya'

[TamilNet, Friday, 06 October 2006, 08:25 GMT]
Ellavala Methanatha Thera, leader of Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU), the all monk Sinhala national party, speaking on the Emergency extension bill debate in the Sri Lanka Parliament Thursday, said the Sinhalese people made Mahinda Rajapakse the Sri Lanka's President only on the basis of 'Mahinda Chinthanaya' which categorically rejects a Tamil Homeland, a Tamil Nation and the Tamils' right to self-determination, and the peace talks should be held on this basis, parliamentary sources in Colombo said.
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SLA launches new offensive towards Vaharai

[TamilNet, Friday, 06 October 2006, 05:21 GMT]
Sri Lankan forces have launched a new offensive towards Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) controlled Vaharai region Friday morning. Sri Lanka Army (SLA) troops from Mankerni SLA camp advanced into LTTE controlled territory south of Vaharai with heavy artillery shelling, Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) bombardment and rocket fire from the Sri Lanka Navy gunboats, according to civilian sources. Thousands of civilians, most of them recently displaced from Trincomalee, were struggling to flee to safer areas. Civilian casualty figures are yet to be reported. "An inhumane war has been thrust upon 61,000 civilians," says Trincomalee District parliamentarian Thurairatnasingham.
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Shortage of children milk food in Jaffna - NCJ

[TamilNet, Thursday, 05 October 2006, 22:21 GMT]
39,000 children under the age of five face malnutrition in Jaffna due to severe shortage of infant food including milk, said North Ceylon Association of Journalists (NCJ) in an appeal Thursday to the Jaffna residential representatives of International Committee of Red Cross (ICRC), civil society sources said. The NCJ sought the assistance of the ICRC to bring in milk food products to Jaffna peninsula.
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Body of Vallipunam school girl to be buried in Vavuniya

[TamilNet, Thursday, 05 October 2006, 20:07 GMT]
Vavuniya District Judge, M. Ilancheliyan Thursday gave directions to bury the body of the schoolgirl, Dayalini who was injured in the Sri Lankan Air Force Kfir attack on Chencholai on August 14, and later succumbed to injuries.
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SLA trooper killed in Vavuniya claymore attack

[TamilNet, Thursday, 05 October 2006, 20:04 GMT]
A Sri Lankan Army (SLA) soldier was killed and two others injured in a claymore explosion targeted at the SLA foot patrol in Nampankulam area in Vavuniya at 7:50 a.m. Thursday, Vavuniya Police said.
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Victor Perera, Sri Lanka's new Inspector General of Police

[TamilNet, Thursday, 05 October 2006, 16:38 GMT]
Victor Perera has been appointed Sri Lanka's new Inspector General of Police (IGP) with effect from October 12. Currently he has been serving as the most senior Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG). Chandra Fernando, present IGP will relinquish his post on October 11.
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Emergency extension debate begins, TNA sit-in-protest continue in parliament

[TamilNet, Thursday, 05 October 2006, 16:21 GMT]
Ratnasiri Wickremanayake, Sri Lanka's Prime Minister Thursday tabled a motion in the parliament seeking the approval to extend the State of Emergency for another month while parliamentarians of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) continued their sit-in-protest in the well of the House for the sixth day demanding the immediate re-opening of the A-9 land route, the only gateway to the Jaffna district from rest of the country and lift the economic embargo on the Jaffna population.
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SLFP, UNP to sign MoU

[TamilNet, Thursday, 05 October 2006, 13:01 GMT]
Sri Lanka’s two main parties, the ruling Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) and the main opposition United National Party (UNP), have agreed to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) before 15th of October 2006, SLFP sources said Thursday. The UNP and the SLFP are expected to announce formally agreement in a joint statement later in the day.
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Sri Lanka doubles defence spending

[TamilNet, Thursday, 05 October 2006, 10:46 GMT]
Sri Lanka's hardline government plans to double defence spending next year, Reuters reported Thursday. Defence spending will rise 100 percent next year to 139.6 billion rupees from 69.5 billion budgeted for 2006, the appropriation bill seen by Reuters ahead of its presentation to parliament showed.
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Video shop owner shot, injured in Amparai

[TamilNet, Thursday, 05 October 2006, 09:14 GMT]
Unidentified gun men shot and injured a video shop owner Wednesday around 7:30 p.m at his house in Mayalahu Raoad at Akaraipattu, 50 meters from Akaraipattu police station in Amparai district, said Akaraipattu residents. The man, seriously injured, was rushed to Akaraipattu hospital and then transferred to Amparai district hospital for intensive treatment.
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18 Tamil youths arrested in Colombo

[TamilNet, Thursday, 05 October 2006, 03:25 GMT]
Sri Lanka Police, went on board the Vavuniya-Matara train at Fort station in Colombo on Tuesday morning and checked each compartment until the train reached Matara where they arrested 10 Tamil youths travelling in the train, sources said. Police, boarding the Colombo bound train from Galle at Panadura, took into custody 8 Tamil youths when the train reached Fort Station on the same day, Deputy Police Commissioner Mr. Poojitha Jayasundara said. The searches on trains were conducted after the Police were tipped that youths suspected of links to terrorism are travelling in the trains, the commissioner added.
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Wickremasinghe pledges support to TNA protest

[TamilNet, Thursday, 05 October 2006, 01:26 GMT]
Ranil Wickremasinghe, leader of the opposition, pledged support to the TNA protest when Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarians Mavai Senathirajah, and Suresh Premachandran led by R. Sampanthan met Mr Wickremasinge Wednesday evening in the Sri Lanka Parliament complex to discuss opposition party's stand on their sit-in-protest in Sri Lanka's parliament, TNA sources said.
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Jaffna students call off boycott

[TamilNet, Thursday, 05 October 2006, 00:30 GMT]
Jaffna District Student Federation called off the 3-week long boycott following a conference held between Jaffna Bishop, Rev. Fr. Thomas Saundaranayagam, and the representatives of the Federation, held at the Bishop's House at 3.00 pm Wednesday. The Directors of Education, Vice Chancellor of Jaffna University, professors, lecturers and a number of well-wishers discussed the impact of boycott in the education and submitted a memorandum urging the Government of Sri Lanka to create conditions conducive for education, sources in Jaffna said.
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Woman, auto driver shot dead in Jaffna peninsula

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 04 October 2006, 22:24 GMT]
Unidentified armed men shot dead a 50 year old woman, Ms. Thurainayagam Jeyamalar allias Kuttiyamman, at Urikadu in Valvettithurai, around 8.30 a.m Wednesday. Seperatley, an auto-rikshaw driver was shot dead at Adiyapatham road in Kokuvil, Wednesday afternoon.
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JVP protesters march in thousands against Co-Chairs, Norway

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 04 October 2006, 21:55 GMT]
Thousands of Sinahala nationalist protesters marched against Co-Chairs involvement and Norwegian facilitation in the Sri Lankan peace process Wednesday evening in Colombo. The Sinhala nationalist party, the JVP, launched the protest campaign under a coalition named "Joint Front for Protection of Nation" that comprised 12 pro JVP trade unions, University Students Association and National Bhikku Front.
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Mannar Tamil student released on surety bail

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 04 October 2006, 13:31 GMT]
A Tamil student arrested by the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) Tuesday afternoon during a search operation following the discovery of a ten kilo weighed claymore mine at a site located closed Uyilankulam SLA camp was allowed in surety bail by the Additional Mannar Magistrate T.J.Pirapaharan.
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SLFP, UNP leaders to meet again on Thursday

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 04 October 2006, 12:15 GMT]
Another round of talks are scheduled to be held between the leaderships of Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP), main constituent of the ruling United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA) and the main opposition party United national Party (UNP) October 5 in the Jayawardhanapura parliamentary complex. The decision to meet for another round was taken at the conclusion of the third round of talks held between these parties Wednesday.
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TNA's sit-in-protest in Sri Lanka's parliament enters fifth day

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 04 October 2006, 12:04 GMT]
Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarians Wednesday continued their sit-in-protest for the fifth day Wednesday in Sri Lanka's parliament demanding the immediate opening of the A-9 land route to Jaffna district linking other parts of the country and lift economic embargo on the Jaffna population since the fresh fight broke out between the Sri Lankan troopers and the LTTE on August 11.
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Claymore mine recovered in Wellawatte

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 04 October 2006, 12:01 GMT]
A Claymore mine found along a road in Wellawatte area in Colombo was recovered Wednesday morning. The Police rushed to the site on receipt of information and recovered the Claymore mine concealed in a heap of rubbish on one side of the road, military sources said in Colombo.
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SLAF Kfir jets bomb Vadamaradchi East

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 04 October 2006, 04:24 GMT]
Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) Kfir bombers flew over Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) controlled Kudarappu in Vadamaradchi East and dropped at least nine bombs in the area around 9:15 a.m. Wednesday. Four Tsunami reconstructed houses were destroyed in the bombardment, according to residents.
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IPU Secretary General to visit Sri Lanka

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 04 October 2006, 03:17 GMT]
A delegation from the Inter Parliamentary Union (IPU), a worldwide organization of parliamentarians working for peace and co-operation, led by its Secretary General Mr.Anders B.Johnsson, is to arrive Wednesday in Colombo following an invitation by President Mahinda Rajapakse, poitical sources in Colombo said. The IPU delegation will assist in helping to forge national consensus in among political parties in Sri Lanka in resolving the ethnic question, sources said.
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Armed robberies increase during curfew hours in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 04 October 2006, 00:58 GMT]
Seven armed masked men robbed more than Rs. 100,000 in cash, and jewellery worth many hundred thousands rupees Monday night from residents in five houses located in the Kachchery-Nallur road region inside Jaffna Municipality during the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) imposed 'dusk to dawn' curfew hours, sources in Jaffna said. During the same night unidentified gunmen beat to death a 75 year old woman at Elalai North located close to the High Security Zone (HSZ) before disappearing with valuables from her house.
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Civilians turn to SLHRC for protection amid death threats

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 04 October 2006, 00:06 GMT]
More than 15 internally displaced families from Maduvil north in Thenmaradchchy complained that they have been receiving death threats from the Sri Lanka Army (SLA), and sought protection from the Sri Lanka Human Rights Commission (SLHRC) Jaffna office, civil society sources in Jaffna said Tuesday. IDPs say they fear for their lives if they return to their homes in Thenmaradchy without security guarantees, the IDPs said.
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SLFP, UNP hold third round of talks

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 03 October 2006, 11:30 GMT]
Third round of talks between the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP), main constituent of the ruling United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA) and the main opposition United National Party (UNP) were held in the Jayewardenepura parliamentary complex Tuesday morning, political sources in Colombo said. Sri Lanka's Prime Minister Ratnasiri Wickremanayake led the SLFP delegation and Karu Jayasuriya, Deputy Leader of UNP led the UNP team.
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TNA continues sit-in-protest in Sri Lanka's parliament

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 03 October 2006, 11:27 GMT]
Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarians continued their sit-in-protest in the well of the Sri Lanka's parliament Tuesday for the fourth day demanding the immediate lifting of economic embargo on the Jaffna peninsula, and the re-opening of the A-9 landroute to Jaffna. Normal business of the parliament was conducted without any interruption, parliamentary sources in Colombo said.
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SLAF bombs Vanni as Special Envoy meets Thamilchelvan

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 03 October 2006, 11:07 GMT]
Three Kfir jet bombers of Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) flew over Vanni and attacked Pooneryn as Norwegian Special Envoy Jon Hanssen-Bauer met the Liberation Tigers Political Head S. P. Thamilchelvan in Kilinochchi to discuss the modalities for creating a conducive environment for talks, LTTE sources in Kilinochchi said. Mr. Thamilchelvan told media after the meeting that Colombo was continuously engaged in "offensive aggression," despite the assurances given to the Norwegian facilitators following the call by the Co-Chairs to cease all violence. Tigers were still extending support to unconditional talks as urged by the International Community, the LTTE political head told TamilNet.
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Jaffna fisher familes driven to abject poverty, starvation - NPFC

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 03 October 2006, 10:25 GMT]
The International community should immediately intervene to help prevent the fisher families in the Jaffna peninsula from being driven close to starvation due to the total ban on fishing enforced by government of Sri Lanka (GoSL) in the peninsula, said the President of Northern Province Fishermen Consortium (NPFC) Mr. C. Thavaratnam, in an urgent appeal made to the International Community Monday, in Jaffna.
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Jaffna students boycott enters seventh week

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 03 October 2006, 10:23 GMT]
Schools in the Jaffna peninsula remain closed as students continued their boycott of schools, and higher institutes of learning, as the boycott entered seventh week, sources in Jaffna said. Student Association members said that they will resume educational activities only if the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) creates an atmosphere of normalcy conducive for education.
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Murunkan Police retaliates against attack, 1 killed, 4 civilians wounded

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 03 October 2006, 09:21 GMT]
Murunkan Police Tuesday said they retaliated a group of attackers who lobbed grenade and shot at two police checkposts behind the Murunkan Police station around 2:00 a.m. Four civilians, 2 family men and 2 teenage girls, in Murunkanpitty were wounded when Police fired mortar shells. Additional policemen, Special Task Force (STF) personnel and Sri Lanka Army troopers were rushed to the site. Troopers recovered the body of a youth with gunshot injuries which the Police claimed to be of a LTTE cadre.
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JVP to protest, calls for ouster of Norway

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 03 October 2006, 03:33 GMT]
Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), marxist coalition partner of ruling alliance, is to hold a protest rally Wednesday 4:00 p.m. calling for the ouster of Norway from Sri Lanka's peace process, and demanding the Government of Sri Lanka to withdraw from the Cease Fire Agreement (CFA), political sources from Colombo said.
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12 Tamils arrested in Colombo

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 03 October 2006, 02:55 GMT]
Twelve Tamils were arrested in Colombo suburbs of Dehiwela, Bambalapitya, and Colpetty during a search conducted by Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers and Sri Lanka Police Monday afternoon lasting four hours, sources in Colombo said.
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Arrested Kalpity fishermen to appear in Mannar Court

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 03 October 2006, 00:02 GMT]
Thirty one Kalpity fishermen who were arrested by the Sri Lanka Navy (SLN) based in Talaimannar on September 21 for allegedly entering the high security zone in six trawlers were ordered remand and by the Mannar additional magistrate T.J.Pirapaharan, and are to appear in court Tuesday , legal sources said.
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Sectarian violence re-surfaces in Muslim town, Kattankudy

[TamilNet, Monday, 02 October 2006, 17:37 GMT]
Clashes between orthodox Muslims against an Islamic sect that preaches pantheism resurfaced in Muslim town Kattankudy Sunday and continued for the second day, in which 32 houses and a van were damaged and 3 motorbikes burned down. Police curfew was re-imposed Monday.
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Sri Lanka expels MSF from Jaffna

[TamilNet, Monday, 02 October 2006, 15:56 GMT]
Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL) expelled three medical specialists of Médecins Sans Frontiérs (MSF) (France) serving in Point Pedro Manthikai Government hospital in Vadamardchchi Sunday, medical sources said. The hospital fell inside newly extended High Security Zone (HSZ) declared by the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) after Aug 11 when clashes erupted in the Jaffna peninsula between the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and the SLA, said Manthikai hospital sources.
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Skeleton of male person recovered from Thalvupadu sea shore

[TamilNet, Monday, 02 October 2006, 12:31 GMT]
A human skeleton recovered from Thalvupadu sea shore in Mannar district Sunday evening was handed over to the Mannar general hospital by the Mannar Police. On a tip off from members of the public the Mannar Police rushed to the coast and recovered the skeleton said to be of a male person.
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Hindus' Navarathri festivals conclude

[TamilNet, Monday, 02 October 2006, 12:08 GMT]
Hindus across Northeast and other regions of Sri Lanka, and in diaspora communities around the world concluded celebrations of the nine-day 'Navarathiri' (nine nights) festival Sunday. "Vijaya Thasami, the tenth day festival is being celebrated today. 'Navarathiri' is an annual festival celebrated by Hindus across the world, especially in India and Sri Lanka, where prayers are held for first three nights for Goddess ‘Thurgai’ (bravery), second three nights for Goddess ‘Lakshmi’ (wealth) and the final three nights for Goddess ‘Saraswathy’ (education).
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ICRC hands over bodies of slain LTTE cadres

[TamilNet, Monday, 02 October 2006, 11:49 GMT]
Liberation Tigers Batticaloa District Commander Col. Ramesh, who had taken command recently, attended the funeral of three of the eleven Tiger cadres who were killed in an alleged Sri Lankan Special Task Force (STF) ambush inside the LTTE territory in Batticaloa. The bodies of the 11 Tiger cadres killed Saturday dawn in the counter-insurgency Special Task Force (STF) attack, were handed over to the Tigers by the Representatives of the International Committee of Red Cross (ICRC) Sunday around 3.30 p.m, according to Batticaloa District LTTE Deputy Political Head, S. Seeralan.
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Police constable shot dead in Pothuvil

[TamilNet, Monday, 02 October 2006, 11:28 GMT]
Unidentified armed men shot dead a police constable attached to Pothuvil police station Monday around 9:00 a.m at Rottai region in Pothuvil, Amparai district and escaped from the site on the victim's motor cycle, Pothuvil police said.
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Talks between SLFP-JVP held

[TamilNet, Monday, 02 October 2006, 10:07 GMT]
Talks were held Monday morning between the delegations of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP), main constituent of the United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA) government and the Sinhala nationalist party Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP). Talks centred on the twenty point demands put forward by the JVP to join the government. The JVP demands included the cancellation of the ceasefire agreement and the withdrawal of the Norwegian facilitation in the peace process.
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Norwegian special envoy meets GoSL

[TamilNet, Monday, 02 October 2006, 09:53 GMT]
Norwegian special peace envoy Jon Hanssen Bauer who is in Colombo on a four-day visit Monday morning met with Minister Nimal Sripala de Silva who led the government delegation that attended the Geneva peace talks held in February in Geneva under the direction of President Mahinda Rajapakse. The discussion which lasted for half an hour between them centred on taking forward the peace process between the warring parties.
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Tamil civilian shot dead in Killiveddy

[TamilNet, Monday, 02 October 2006, 07:57 GMT]
Unidentified armed persons shot dead a Tamil civilian at Bharathipuram in Killiveddy in Muttur division Saturday evening. He was identified as S.Thangarajah, 44 and labourer, police sources in Muthur said.
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Trader shot and injured in Mannar

[TamilNet, Monday, 02 October 2006, 04:33 GMT]
Unidentified armed persons shot and injured a trader at Vayal Road in Mannar, around 8:25 p.m., Sunday. He was first admitted to Mannar general hospital and later transferred to Anuradhapura hospital as his condition was reported critical, sources said.
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Five civilians injured in SLA rocket fire in Batticaloa

[TamilNet, Monday, 02 October 2006, 00:04 GMT]
Barrage of rockets fired by the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) from Valaichenai Paper Factory and Murakodanchenai camps between 6:00 p.m and 7:40 p.m. Saturday have seriously injured five civilians including three women in the villages of Thihilivettai, Pondukalchenai, Navalpitty and Tharavai in LTTE-controlled northeast areas of Batticaloa district, sources said. The injured were rushed to the Medical Centre run by the LTTE where they are being treated, residents said.
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Norwegian peace envoy arrives in Colombo

[TamilNet, Sunday, 01 October 2006, 17:43 GMT]
Norwegian special peace envoy Mr. Jon Hanssen Bauer arrived in Colombo accompanied by Norwegian foreign ministry officials Sunday afternoon by Sri Lankan Airlines flight, sources in Colombo said.
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ICRC calls for worker safety, unhindered access to victims

[TamilNet, Sunday, 01 October 2006, 12:21 GMT]
The International Committee of Red Cross (ICRC), Sunday in a press release issued following a grenade explosion in front its office in Jaffna Saturday night, called on all parties to the conflict to respect humanitarian aid workers, and to provide "unhindered access to victims of conflict," to humanitarian agencies.
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IPU assistance sought to forge consensus between SLFP, UNP

[TamilNet, Sunday, 01 October 2006, 12:10 GMT]
The Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), a worldwide organization of parliamentarians working for peace and co-operation with its Secretariat based in Geneva, has been invited to assist in forging a consensus among political parties in the south, especially between the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP), main constituent of the United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA) government and the main opposition United National Party (UNP), said Mr.Mahinda Samarasinghe, Disaster Manager Minister to the press in Colombo Sunday.
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Rajapakse to meet JVP leaders this week

[TamilNet, Sunday, 01 October 2006, 11:46 GMT]
Sri Lanka's President Mahinda Rajapakse is scheduled to meet a delegation of the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) members Monday at Temple Trees on the latter's twenty-point demands to join the United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA) government in power. With international pressure mounting on the two warring parties, the Government of Sri Lanka and Liberation Tigers, to enter unconditional talks, the JVP demands which include immediate cancellation of the Ceasefire Agreement (CFA), and withdrawal of Norwegian facilitation, are unlikely to receive serious hearing, sources speculated.
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Former RAW chief protests India’s ‘ambivalence’ over LTTE

[TamilNet, Sunday, 01 October 2006, 11:41 GMT]
India’s former spy chief has criticised Delhi for not engaging with the both the Liberation Tigers and Sri Lanka’s government to prevent the slide into conflict. "India's inability to fully comprehend the ground realities in Sri Lanka and, hamstrung by the past, its reluctance to do business with LTTE to help evolve an equitable settlement may prove to be a monumental foreign policy blunder,” J.K. Sinha, former head of India’s external intelligence agency said.
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Sea-mines recovered in Kalpity coast

[TamilNet, Sunday, 01 October 2006, 11:38 GMT]
Two sea- mines, each weighing 20 kg., were recovered from the coastal area Kandakuli in Kalpity division in Chilaw district Sunday morning. These sea-mines were reportedly washed ashore on the beach, military sources said in Colombo quoting Kalpity Police.
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Sri Lanka backs Korea’s candidate for UN secretary general

[TamilNet, Sunday, 01 October 2006, 04:21 GMT]
Having pulled its own candidate, Jayantha Dhanapala, out of the race to succeed Kofi Annan as UN secretary general, Sri Lanka is backing has thrown its backing behind South Korea's Ban Ki-Moon, AFP reported this weekend. Annan has served two five-year terms and his successor is widely expected to come from Asia under an unwritten rule of regional rotation. Apart from Mr. Ban, other Asian candidates are India's Shashi Tharoor, Annan's under secretary general for communications and Surakiart Sathirathai, a deputy prime minister of the recently ousted Thai regime.
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