LTTE condems attacks on civilians, says Colombo disregards Indian concerns

[TamilNet, Friday, 31 October 2008, 18:33 GMT]
Political Wing of the Liberation Tigers of Tamileelam (LTTE), in a statement dated 30 October, condemned the Sri Lankan government for carrying out indiscriminate aerial bombardment and artillery barrage on civilians in Vanni. "Within few days of the Sri Lankan Government saying to the Indian Government that it will not carry out attacks on civilians, it has carried out attacks on Paranthan and Vallipunam civilian areas," the statement issued by the LTTE said.
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SLA rejects request to relax restrictions on Jaffna fishing

[TamilNet, Friday, 31 October 2008, 18:27 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army (SLA) Jaffna district Commander Major. Gen. G. A. Chandrasiri said that the current ban and restrictions imposed on fishing in Jaffna peninsula will not be relaxed, citing security reasons, in response to requests made in the special meeting held in Kaangkeasanthu'rai SLA High Security Zone Friday to explore into matters related to essential services of the peninsula, sources in Jaffna said.
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Armed gang loot grocery store in Saththurukkondaan

[TamilNet, Friday, 31 October 2008, 18:24 GMT]
Unidentified men associated with paramilitary groups robbed a retail grocery store located in Sathurukkondaan, Batticaloa district run by a married woman last Sunday, according to a complaint lodged at Batticaloa police by the victim.
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Civilian houses damaged in SLAF attack on Ki'linochchi suburb

[TamilNet, Friday, 31 October 2008, 18:12 GMT]
Two Kfir fighter jets of Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) attacked a locality at Jeyanthinakar, a suburb of Ki'linochchi, Friday around 2:30 p.m. Seven civilian houses sustained damage in the attack. No one was wounded in the air strike.
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Tamil civilian abducted in Peliyagoda

[TamilNet, Friday, 31 October 2008, 17:32 GMT]
A Tamil civilian was abducted by unidentified persons, who arrived in a white van in Peliyagoda of Colombo district Wednesday night, Police said.
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Tamil Nadu shuts down for traders' bandh on Eelam Tamils issue

[TamilNet, Friday, 31 October 2008, 16:34 GMT]
Shops and commercial establishments in Tamil Nadu shut down and the state's roads wore a deserted look as a result of the traders' bandh (shut down) Friday on the Eezham Tamils issue. According to reports in the Indian media, the bandh was total all over the state as over 25 lakh traders, owing allegiance to 5,500 trade unions, took part in the peaceful agitation to show their solidarity with the Eezham Tamils. All political parties in Tamil Nadu had extended their support to this bandh which took place from six in the morning to six in the evening in Tamil Nadu and Puduchery (Puthuchcheari). The shutdown of the private sector has drawn more participation than the government organised human-chain, observers said.
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India, US working with hidden agenda against Sri Lanka, says JVP

[TamilNet, Friday, 31 October 2008, 14:51 GMT]
"Indian and United States of America have been working with a hidden agenda for their own political benefit political in Sri Lanka and also to safeguard the Liberation Tigers. The speech made US envoy William O'Blake in Mathurai in South India is part of that agenda," said Mr. Somawanse Amarasinghe, leader of the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), Sinhala nationalist party at a press briefing held Thursday.
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MI-24, Bell damaged in Tiger air strike on Mannaar garrison

[TamilNet, Friday, 31 October 2008, 13:09 GMT]
An MI-24 attack helicopter gunship of the Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF), deployed in Vanni offensive, and a Bell helicopter used to transport the wounded soldiers from the battlefield, sustained damage Tuesday night when Liberation Tigers of Tamileelam (LTTE) air wing, Tamileelam Air Force, carried out a bombing raid on the Sri Lankan garrison at Tha'l'laadi in Mannaar, according to a reliable military source.
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SLA arrests 16 Tamils in Vaazhaichcheanai

[TamilNet, Friday, 31 October 2008, 12:56 GMT]
Sixteen Tamil civilians including three women were taken into custody during a cordon and search operation conducted jointly by Sri Lanka Army (SLA) and police in Ka'n'nankiramam, Vinaayakapuram and Pa'ndimadu villages within Vaazhaichcheanai police division Thursday early morning.
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Tehelka on what the grass roots feel in Tamil Nadu

[TamilNet, Friday, 31 October 2008, 12:19 GMT]
"In these villages, it hardly matters that Pirabhakaran is an accused in the assassination of former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi, or that the LTTE is banned un India. Many have named their children after Pirabhakaran. Housing colonies have been given the names of LTTE martyrs", reports Tehelka Magazine in a feature article on Kolathur (Ku'laththoor), a Panchayat of 10 villages and 75,000 people, bordering Karnataka, in the Selam (Chealam) district of northwestern Tamil Nadu.
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U.S. convicts Ex-Liberian President's son for torture in Liberia

[TamilNet, Friday, 31 October 2008, 12:11 GMT]
A federal jury in Miami Thursday convicted the son of ex-Liberian leader Charles Taylor in the first test of American Law that gives prosecutors the power to bring charges for acts of torture committed in foreign lands, Washington Post reported. Human rights groups hailed the prosecution as a rare but critical use of a 16-year-old law that allows U.S. authorities to charge citizens with atrocities committed abroad, the paper added.
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UPFA MPs instructed not to leave country during budget debate

[TamilNet, Friday, 31 October 2008, 11:27 GMT]
Sri Lanka's President Mahinda Rajapaksa, in his capacity of Minister of Finance, is to present his fourth budget for the year 2009 in parliament on Thursday November 6th.  Meanwhile, the ruling United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA) has notified all government parliamentarians not to leave the country till the Budge-2009 is passed in parliament, parliamentary sources said. Mr. Rajapaksa assumed executive presidency in December 2005.
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Ki'linochchi town under artillery barrage, shells explode close to hospital

[TamilNet, Friday, 31 October 2008, 09:49 GMT]
Two artillery shells fired by the Sri Lanka Army exploded Friday morning close to the wall of the Ki'linochchi hospital, causing panic among the patients and the staff, initial reports from Ki'linochchi said.
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Abductions escalate in East

[TamilNet, Friday, 31 October 2008, 09:28 GMT]
Unidentified armed men arriving in a white van Wednesday around 9:30 a.m. at the Ullai ICCA Non-government Organization abducted the security officer on duty, in Poththuvil police division in Ampaa'rai district, according to a complaint made by the victim's wife to Poththuvil police. In Trincomalee, a Tamil youth was abducted Thursday night at Uppuve'li suburb of the city. There have been several reports of abductions in the Sri Lankan military controlled East during the recent days.
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21 cases of Malaria reported in Vanni, artillery fire wounds health worker

[TamilNet, Friday, 31 October 2008, 06:52 GMT]
A health worker spraying houses with insecticide in the fight against malaria epidemic in Aazhiyava'lai in Vadamaraadchi East was wounded in artillery firing by the Sri Lanka Army, according to the medical sources in Ki'linochchi on Friday. Meanwhile, TamilNet correspondent who visited the hospitals on Thursday reported seventeen patients with Malaria were being treated by Ki'linochchi hospital and four patients by the hospital in Mullaiththeevu.
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Pillayan's car collides with lorry in Kurunegala

[TamilNet, Friday, 31 October 2008, 06:01 GMT]
Sivanesathurai Chandrakanthan, the paramilitary leader of the factionalised TMVP and the chief minister of Eastern province, escaped an accident Friday morning in Kurunegala where his car collided with a lorry, Police said.
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Jaffna Tamil youth arrested in Colombo

[TamilNet, Thursday, 30 October 2008, 19:51 GMT]
A Tamil youth said to be resident of Jaffna was arrested by the Fort Police Wednesday in a cordon and search operation. Police said a time bomb and two detonators were found in his possession.
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5 upcountry Tamils arrested in Matara

[TamilNet, Thursday, 30 October 2008, 19:49 GMT]
Five upcountry Tamil youths were taken into custody by Sri Lanka police in a cordon and search operation conducted Wednesday in Matara town in the southern province following a grenade attack Tuesday evening in the busy bazaar of Matara town. The upcountry youths are being detained in the Matara police station for further inquiry.
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Tamil youth shot dead in Vaazhaichcheanai

[TamilNet, Thursday, 30 October 2008, 19:42 GMT]
Unidentified gunmen shot and killed a Tamil youth Wednesday around 9:30 p.m at Ka'ruvaakkea'ni in Vaazhaichcheanai police division in Batticaloa district as he was going along A'n'naa Veethi in an intoxicated state. This shooting took place around 500 m from Vaazhaichcheanai police station.
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Saiva priest, student reported missing in Valikaamam

[TamilNet, Thursday, 30 October 2008, 19:36 GMT]
Family members of the priest of a Saiva temple in Alaveddi in Valikaamam in Jaffna peninsula lodged a complaint with Human Rights Commission (HRC) Jaffna that the said priest had gone missing since October 20 after leaving home to attend to his daily duties in the temple. Meanwhile, the family members registered a complaint with Jaffna HRC that their son, as student at the Jaffna Technical College, has gone missing.
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White van squad abducts Tamil accountant in Ampaa'rai

[TamilNet, Thursday, 30 October 2008, 19:32 GMT]
Unidentified armed men arriving in a white van abducted Wednesday around 1:00 a.m a Tamil accountant attached to Thirukkoayil Multi Purpose Society, from his house in Thirukkoayil, according to his wife's complaint with Thirukkoayil police.
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White van abduction of Tamil youth in Negombo

[TamilNet, Thursday, 30 October 2008, 19:03 GMT]
A 25-year-old Tamil youth was abducted Tuesday evening at Kudaapaddu in Negombo police division by unidentified armed persons who arrived in a white van, according to complaints lodged with the police by his relatives.
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SLAF bombing kills IDP teenager, injures another in Puthukkudiyiruppu, Vanni

[TamilNet, Thursday, 30 October 2008, 11:20 GMT]
A 16-year-old boy was killed with his arm blown off and 17-year-old girl seriously injured in the Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) bombing the civilian settlement in Va'l'lipunam in Puthukkudiyiruupu division in Mullaiththeevu district, Thursday morning. SLAF kfir jet fighters dropped eight bombs in two sorties in the aerial strike that lasted from 9:15 a.m to 9:30 a.m, sources in Puthukkudiyiruppu said. Four houses of the residents of the area were destroyed in the bombing.
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Civilian killed, SLA steps up artillery barrage on Ki'linochchi suburbs

[TamilNet, Thursday, 30 October 2008, 11:18 GMT]
A 29-year-old man was killed at Iraththinapuram, a suburb south of Ki'linochchi Wednesday evening when Sri Lanka Army (SLA) launched artillery barrage targeting the suburbs of the town. Since last Friday, the SLA has been continuously firing artillery shells towards the civilian properties of the suburbs Kanakapuram, Uruththirapuram and Thirunakar where civilians were still engaged in moving their properties.
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Eastern University students boycott lectures

[TamilNet, Thursday, 30 October 2008, 04:53 GMT]
Students of Eastern University of Sri Lanka (EUSL) in Vanthaa'rumoolai are boycotting lectures since Monday, wearing black bands to express their condolence to the killing of their fellow Sinhalese student, S. P. Samarasinghe, on 21 August 2008, and the detaining of Sasikaran, a third year Agricultural Faculty Tamil student, arrested on suspicion of involvement in the killing of the Sinhalese student.The boycott of lectures and protest demonstrations will continue until Sasikaran is released, the vice president of EUSL student union said.
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Muslim trader arrested in Badulla

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 29 October 2008, 23:58 GMT]
Badulla Police Monday evening arrested a Muslim trader for allegedly supplying food materials to LTTE cadres in the area, media sources said. The trader has been identified as Aboobucker Ismail.
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SLN bans fishing in Trincomalee seas

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 29 October 2008, 23:56 GMT]
Sri Lanka Navy (SLN) Wednesday refused permission to hundreds of fishermen who went to the shore along Trincomalee to Kuchchaveli Wednesday early morning to fish in Trincomalee seas, fisheries sources said. The fishermen were told the directive was to ensure security SLN personnel manning checkpoints along the coastal area.
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Volunteer teachers in Batticaloa district demand permanent appointments

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 29 October 2008, 20:07 GMT]
Volunteer teachers in Batticaloa held a demonstration Wednesday from 9:00 a.m to 3:30 p.m in front of Batticaloa Zonal Education Office to draw the attention of the Ministry of Education to appoint them as permanent teachers. The Union of Volunteer Teachers in Batticaloa district handed a memorandum addressed to the Education Ministry to Batticaloa Zonal Education Director, A. M. E. Paul, to be sent through the Batticaloa Provincial Education Secretary.
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Uthayan Editor threatened by EPDP

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 29 October 2008, 19:47 GMT]
The Free Media Movement (FMM), an independent Colombo-based media watchdog, in a press release issued Wednesday, accused leader of Eelam People's Democratic Party (EPDP) leader Douglas Devananda for threatening Managing Editor of Jaffna Daily Uthayan, and condemned the disruption to the distribution of the paper by the paramilitaries of the EPDP.
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Tamil Nadu doctors seek to help Eezham Tamils

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 29 October 2008, 15:41 GMT]
Doctors' Association For Social Equality in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, has requested the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi and Union Minister for Health, Mr. Anpumani Ramados on Wednesday, to arrange permission for them to visit the war zone and offer their services to war-torn Eezham Tamils.
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SLA blocks oxygen cylinders urgently needed by hospitals in Vanni

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 29 October 2008, 15:37 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army (SLA) in Vavuniyaa has held back for weeks the vehicle bringing 52 oxygen cylinders from Colombo to Ki'linochchi public hospital urgently needed to save the lives of the Internally Displaced Persons, increasingly subjected to indiscriminate shelling, air attacks and road accidents. Although two of the three lorries with medical supplies that were waiting for weeks were allowed to reach the hospital on Monday, the lorry with oxygen cylinders was not allowed to cross the Oamanthai entry point by the SLA. There is acute need for oxygen cylinders at Ki'linochchi hospital, according to Dr. P. Brighton, the assisting Deputy Provincial Director of Health (DPDH).
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Sending food is a farce: D. Pandian

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 29 October 2008, 10:28 GMT]
"Sending food to an area that is being bombed continuously is a major farce," said D. Pandian, State Secretary of the Communist Party of India. He also expressed discontent over the fact that no information has been released until now on whether India's External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee had addressed the issue of ceasefire during his discussions with Basil Rajapaksa, Special Adviser to the Sri Lankan President.
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Turbines damaged in TAF airstrike on power plant, one killed

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 29 October 2008, 05:45 GMT]
A turbine operator of the Kelanitissa power plant was killed due to the impact of the explosion and two turbines and air coolers sustained damage when Tamileealm Air Force (TAF), the air wing of the Liberation Tigers of Tamileelam (LTTE) attacked the powerplant Tuesday night, according to the sources in Colombo. The air-strike was carried out on the target in Colombo, after attacking the Tha'l'laadi garrison of the Sri Lankan forces in Mannaar, inflicting heavy damage to the Tha'l'laadi base, which functions as the rear station for the Sri Lankan military operation on Vanni from the Mannaar front.
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Anni heading for victory in Maldives

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 29 October 2008, 01:11 GMT]
Mr. Mohamed Nasheed, popularly known 'Anni' has made a clear lead in the presidential elections of Maldives against Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, the present incumbent ruling the country for 30 years since 1978. With just five boxes to be counted, Anni has already secured more than 50 percent of the total votes polled. Following Nepal and Bhutan the tide in South Asia seems to be in favour of structural changes, deconstructing establishments.
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Police arrests family man from the islets, in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 28 October 2008, 20:30 GMT]
Jaffna police arrested a 37-year-old family man from Pungkudutheevu in the islets of Jaffna Monday in Jaffna for failing to produce documents to prove his identity. The police had not accepted the Sri Lanka Navy (SLN) identity card certifying his permanent residence in Pungkudutheevu as well as his occupation as a fisherman.
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White van armed men abduct Tamil youth in Kuchchave'li

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 28 October 2008, 20:21 GMT]
A 25-year old Tamil youth was abducted Monday night by unidentified armed persons who arrived in a white van in Kuchchave'li in Trincomalee district, police spokesman Ranjit Gunasekara told media.
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Ceasefire should be primary concern: Thirumavalavan

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 28 October 2008, 19:59 GMT]
Quick on the heels of the news-report that hundreds of Tamil schoolchildren had a hair-breadth escape from death due to airstrike by the Sri Lanka Air Force Tuesday, Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK) President Thol.Thirumavalavan said in a press meet in Chennai that "an immediate ceasefire in the island nation should be the primary concern of the Tamilnadu and Indian Governments." Thirumavalavan lauded Chief Minister Karunanidhi for his efforts to ensure peace in the island nation and requested him not to drop the resignation ultimatum, but to instead postpone it until a later date.
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Cash pours in as Tamil Nadu Government sets up relief fund for Eelam Tamils

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 28 October 2008, 19:54 GMT]
A day after the Tamil Nadu Government's relief fund for Eelam Tamils was set up by Chief Minister Kalaignar Karunanidhi, contributions to the tune of 26 lakh rupees have been received, according to news-reports in the Indian media. In a spirited show of solidarity and to reaffirm his commitment to the cause of mitigating the sorrows of Eelam Tamils, Karunanidhi made the initial contribution of ten lakh rupees from his personal accounts to the relief fund.
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White van squad abducts Prison Officer in Trincomalee

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 28 October 2008, 19:22 GMT]
Unidentified armed men in a white van abducted a Prison Officer attached to Trincomalee prison Monday around 7:00 a.m. while the officer was on his way from his house to his mother's house, in Anpuvazhipuram in Trincomalee.
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Technical College student abducted in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 28 October 2008, 19:10 GMT]
Unidentified armed men arriving on motorbikes abducted Monday morning a 20-year-old engineering student of Jaffna Technical College from the house of his adoptive father Mr. Thambimuthu, a leading lawyer in Jaffna, in A'laveddi, according to complaint lodged by Mr. Thambimuthu with Thellippa'lai police.
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Tigers launch airstrike in Mannaar, Colombo

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 28 October 2008, 18:55 GMT]
Sri Lankan military officials in Colombo said that the Liberation Tigers of Tamileelam (LTTE) carried out an air attack on Tha'l'laadi military base, the main artillery and Multi-Barrel Rocket Launcher (MBRL) launchpad of the Sri Lanka Army in Mannaar Tuesday around 10:30 p.m., dropping three bombs on the base. The Tiger aircrafts then proceeded to Colombo and dropped two bombs on Kelanitissa power station, while Sri Lankan Air Force (SLAF) bombers were searching for LTTE aircrafts in skys over Ki'linochchi between 11:00 and 11:30 a.m. Latest reports from Vanni said the Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) aircrafts were flying over the suburbs of Mullaiththeevu and Puthukkudiyiruppu with para lights focused on the ground from 1:30 a.m. on Wednesday.
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Colombo soft launches FM channel in Tamil Nadu

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 28 October 2008, 17:15 GMT]
Sri Lanka government resumed its broadcast to 'Listeners in All India', with a newly adopted name, diplomatically aiming at dampening the emotional upsurge of sympathy and support expressed all over Tamil Nadu State, sources in Chennai said. The Tamil Nadu media reports related to the Sri Lankan government's war on the Tamils in Vanni being unfavorable to it, the resumption of the broadcast from Colombo appears to be a propaganda measure adopted by Sri Lanka government, the sources added.
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3 IDPs wounded in SLAF attack

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 28 October 2008, 15:51 GMT]
A 50-year-old mother of three, a 38-year-old father of one and a 41-year-old father of two, were wounded Tuesday morning around 11:00 when Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) bombers attacked two civilian settlements in Ki'linochchi and Paranthan, medical sources at the Ki'linochchi hospital said. The victims were Internally Displaced Persons from Mannaar and Ki'linochchi districts. 750 school children and 17 teachers were attending classes at Paranthan Hindu College at the time of the SLAF air-strike. The college is located 750 meters from the attack site in Kumarapuram where three houses and three huts were fully destroyed, according to TamilNet correspondent who visited the attack site at Kumarapuram and the hospital.
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Handguns planted in UN premises in Mannaar

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 28 October 2008, 12:49 GMT]
The UN office in Colombo in a statement issued in Colombo on Tuesday said they have discovered two pistols hidden in the premises of one of its complexes in Mannaar.
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Violence against upcountry Tamils

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 28 October 2008, 12:03 GMT]
A gang of about fifteen Sinhalese armed persons entered the house of a Tamil family in Perk rubber estate in Horana electorate Sunday evening and attacked the inmates mercilessly with clubs and knives. Other Tamil families in the area along with the affected family fled into the nearby jungle to escape further attack from the Sinhalese hoodlums. The violence comes as reports in Colombo said an upcountry Tamil minister in the Mahinda Rajapaksa government, Mr. P. Chandrasekaran was currently under presidential investigation for alleged expression of support to the recent protest campaign lauched by the Tamil Nadu government that sought to protect Tamils in Sri Lanka.
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US, India, Israel plot against Sri Lanka, alleges JVP

[TamilNet, Monday, 27 October 2008, 20:45 GMT]
The Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), a Sinhala nationalist party, appealed to Sri Lanka’s President Mahinda Rajapakse to take stern action against the incumbent US ambassador in Sri Lanka for making a statement derogatory to the sovereignty of Sri Lanka. JVP has described the US ambassador's statement as a part of a plot hatched by the USA, India and Israel against Sri Lanka.
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Police uniform clad men abduct Tamil returnee from Korea

[TamilNet, Monday, 27 October 2008, 20:40 GMT]
A Tamil youth from Pazhukaamam, Batticaloa District, returning to Sri Lanka after working in Korea for three years, was abducted Monday afternoon by men dressed in police uniform, the relatives of the victim reported in a complaint lodged with Batticaloa district Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarian S. Jeyanamthamoothy.
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4 killed, 6 captured, Tigers raid TMVP camp

[TamilNet, Monday, 27 October 2008, 20:38 GMT]
Liberation Tigers of Tamileelam (LTTE) in Batticaloa district attacked a key paramilitary camp of the paramilitary group TMVP in the early hours of Tuesday, killing four operatives and capturing six gunmen from the camp, located at Chengka'ladi, 13 km northwest of Batticaloa city, according to the Batticaloa Command of the LTTE. Despite the LTTE claim of their attack on the TMVP within a few hours of the raid, the Pillayan faction of the TMVP blamed Karuna operatives for the attack. The Sri Lankan Police said that the Tigers were behind the raid that killed four operatives, Pushpan, Rajan, Mani Master and Ravi.
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Committee appointed to investigate Minister Chandrasekaran

[TamilNet, Monday, 27 October 2008, 19:01 GMT]
Sri Lanka's President Mahinda Rajapakse has appointed a three-member special committee chaired by the Sri Lanka's Prime Minister Ratnasiri Wickremanayake to investigate the conduct of Minister Periyasamy Chandrasekaran over his support to Tamilnadu political leaders in support of the LTTE and Sri Lankan Tamils while holding a cabinet minister post in the Sri Lanka government. The other members of the Committee are Nimal Sripala de Silva, Leader of the House and Minister of Health and Nutrition, and Dinesh Gunawardene, Chief Whip of the ruling United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA) and Minister of Urban Development.
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Accidental fire kills Police constable, associate commits suicide in Vavuniyaa

[TamilNet, Monday, 27 October 2008, 18:32 GMT]
One police constable died at Eerapperiyaku'lam sentry in Vavuniyaa division when the gun of a fellow constable accidentally went off Monday early morning. Later the fellow constable committed suicide by shooting himself with the same weapon, Police Spokesman Ranjit Gunasekara told media in Colombo.
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Grenade attack injures 2 policemen in Batticaloa

[TamilNet, Monday, 27 October 2008, 18:25 GMT]
Unidentified persons hurled a hand grenade Monday around 7:20 p.m on a police sentry post near the Clock Tower in Kalladi in Batticaloa police division injuring two policemen and two others.
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STF Commando killed, 2 wounded in Ampaa'rai - LTTE

[TamilNet, Monday, 27 October 2008, 14:20 GMT]
A Sri Lankan Special Task Force (STF) commando was killed and two wounded when a guerrilla unit of the Liberation Tigers of Tamileelam (LTTE) in Ampaa'rai ambushed the STF commandos in Kagnchikudichchaa'ru Monday around 12:50 a.m., according to LTTE officials in the East.
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Sideline Narayanan, Menon, on Tamil affairs: CPI leader

[TamilNet, Monday, 27 October 2008, 12:13 GMT]
M K. Narayanan, the National Security Advisor, and Shiv Shankar Menon, the Foreign Secretary, should be seen refrained from advising on Eezham Tamils and Tamil Nadu, the Communist Party of India (CPI), Tamil Nadu General Secretary, Mr. Pandiyan, urged the Indian government in a press meet on Saturday. He also said that Mr. Ram, Chief Editor of The Hindu could help through his rapport with Mahinda Rajapaksa in fixing the relief sent from India to Eezham Tamils to be accompanied by civil society representatives from Tamil Nadu. Sending relief through the Colombo government is not acceptable, he said.
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TNA condemns forced participation of civilians in Batticaloa paramilitary meeting

[TamilNet, Sunday, 26 October 2008, 23:47 GMT]
Tamil National Alliance (TNA) in a communiqué issued Sunday, condemned the actions of paramilitary factions led by Karuna and Pillaiyan for forcibly transporting Batticaloa residents, who did not extend their support to the meeting conducted by paramilitary groups expressing solidarity with the Government of Sri Lanka, to the venue of the meeting.
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LTTE Jayanthan brigade commandos raid paramilitary camp, 2 killed

[TamilNet, Sunday, 26 October 2008, 23:36 GMT]
A commando unit of the elite Jayanthan Brigade of the Liberation Tigers of Tamileelam (LTTE) in Batticaloa raided a paramilitary mini-camp in Vavu'natheevu Saturday night killing two and causing injuries to several others, the Tigers said in a note issued to media from Batticaloa on Sunday. The Tigers claimed they seized four assault rifles and ammunitions from the camp.
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JVP launches poster campaign in Trincomalee against India's intervention

[TamilNet, Sunday, 26 October 2008, 23:27 GMT]
Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), a Sinhala nationalist party started this week a poster campaign against the intervention of India in Sri Lanka's internal affairs. The posters called for the Indian government to allow Sri Lanka to defeat terrorism.
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Point Pedro youth arrested in Katunayake

[TamilNet, Sunday, 26 October 2008, 08:50 GMT]
Sri Lanka police arrested a Tamil youth in a sudden cordon and search operation conducted in Katunayake international airport area, a high security zone in Colombo district, Thursday night around 11:00 p.m. The Tamil youth has been identified as resident of Puloali in Point Pedro in Jaffna district and was temporarily residing in Wellawatte, according to sources.
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Heavy flood claims the lives of two, displaces 80,000 in South Sri Lanka

[TamilNet, Sunday, 26 October 2008, 08:40 GMT]
At least two people have been killed and 20 houses completely destroyed in different parts of Sri Lanka’s south and central areas due to floods caused by heavy rain, according to the officials at the Disaster Management Centre in Colombo.
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Grenade attack on Mosque in Kaaththaankudi, 4 wounded

[TamilNet, Saturday, 25 October 2008, 15:09 GMT]
Four Muslim civilians were wounded when unknown attackers lobbed a grenade into the Al-Husiniya Mosque, situated in the 1st Division, Kaaththaankudi. The attack was reported at 7:45 p.m., police said.
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SLA attacks Ki'linochchi hospital, artillery barrage on town

[TamilNet, Saturday, 25 October 2008, 14:47 GMT]
170 patients, including 60 warded inpatients with the staff of the Ki'linochchi hospital narrowly escaped Saturday evening an artillery attack launched by the Sri Lanka Army. One of the shells hit the hospital premises destroying the front wall. The buildings of the hospitals are intact, patients and the staff were still remaining inside the hospital premises, according to initial reports. At least five shells exploded in the close vicinity of the hospital. Many shells have hit the town, initial reports said.
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TMVP, Karuna groups organize demonstration in East

[TamilNet, Saturday, 25 October 2008, 14:02 GMT]
Paramilitary-cum-political parties, the Tamil Makkal Viduthalai Pulikal (TMVP) and the Karuna faction, which operate along with Sri Lanka Army (SLA) in the Eastern Province, have announced that a demonstration will be held 26 October, and have issued notices to the public in Eastern Province including NGO staff, school children and other public and private institutions to participate. The groups have warned the public of severe consequences if they fail to join in the demonstration.
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IPI condemns blocking of Jaffna newspaper distribution

[TamilNet, Saturday, 25 October 2008, 13:50 GMT]
The Press Institute (IPI), a Vienna-based media watchdog, expressed deep concern on the harassment of journalists of Jaffna daily Uthayan and interference with the distribution of the Uthayan newspaper by "members of the paramilitary groups linked to the Eelam People's Democratic Party (EPDP)," in a letter sent to Sri Lanka's President Mahinda Rajapakse Thursday.
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French Tamils protest against killing of Tamils by Sri Lanka State

[TamilNet, Saturday, 25 October 2008, 13:30 GMT]
Hundreds of French Tamils in the east of France assembled in front of the European Parliment in Strasbourg between 3:30 p.m. and 6:00 p.m. Friday, and demonstrated against the killing of Tamils, and aerial bombardment in the civilian settlements in the North East, sources in France said. The demonstrators carried pictures of tamils killed by aerial bombings and artillery attacks. The Mayor of Strarsbourg, represented by the Deputy Mayor, Mr Eric Elkouby, showed his support for the demonstration by standing amidst the protesters under heavy rain, attendees to the protest said.
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SLA turns away 26 lorries with humanitarian supplies at Omanthai

[TamilNet, Saturday, 25 October 2008, 13:06 GMT]
Though the officials in Colombo claimed that 54 lorries were sent to the Wanni on Friday, only 28 WFP supply lorries entered the LTTE controlled Vanni. Other lorries were turned away at Oamanthai. These include two lorry loads of medical supplies and eight carrying kerosene.
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STF commando killed, 2 wounded in Batticaloa - LTTE

[TamilNet, Saturday, 25 October 2008, 12:47 GMT]
Liberation Tigers of Tamileelam (LTTE) in Batticaloa said Saturday that they carried out a commando attack on a Sri Lankan Special Task Force (STF) post in a high security area on A5 road in Koappaavea'li in Batticaloa district Friday evening around 7:00 p.m.
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Time for Colombo to defeat LTTE with political solution: U.S. Ambassador to Sri Lanka

[TamilNet, Saturday, 25 October 2008, 10:16 GMT]
"The U.S. view is that the [Sri Lankan] government could further isolate and weaken the LTTE if it articulates now its vision for a political solution," said U.S. Ambassador to Sri Lanka Robert Blake while addressing an interactive session at the University of Madras on Friday, The Hindu reported. While ruling out the military option, Mr. Blake has alluded that the U.S. position was to militarily weaken the LTTE to defeat it politically. The United States has been a key player of the Co-Chairs for the Sri Lankan process, which has been managed by the facilitation of Norway till Sri Lanka unilaterally withdrew from the ceasefire.
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SLA artillery fire kills father, son in Ki'linochchi

[TamilNet, Saturday, 25 October 2008, 08:23 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army (SLA) launched artillery barrage on Ki'linochchi town and its suburbs Friday evening, killing a 68-year-old father and his son around 5:20 p.m. while they were moving their household articles to Tharmapuram to escape continuing SLA artillery fire on residential areas. Six shells fell and exploded in the densely populated suburb.
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Colombo to avoid reporting casualty figures on Vanni fighting

[TamilNet, Friday, 24 October 2008, 22:36 GMT]
The Sri Lanka Army (SLA) on Friday continued in its attempt to advance further into southern Ki'linochchi facing stiff resistance from the Tigers, according to the officials of the Liberation Tigers of Tamileelam (LTTE) in Vanni. Fighting intensified as SLA attempted to advance towards Naachchikkudaa on Friday, they said adding that the SLA has suffered heavy casualties. Meanwhile, Sri Lankan Defence Ministry officials said they have suspended reporting casualty figures of their side in the offensive that has been stepped up in Vanni.
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Woman shot, injured in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Friday, 24 October 2008, 22:35 GMT]
Two unidentified armed men arriving on a motorbike Thursday day night at a house in Tholpuram in Valikaamam opened fire at the husband and wife. The wife was seriously injured. Her husband managed to run from the site without any injuries.
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Governor General of Canada voices for UN human rights office in Sri Lanka

[TamilNet, Friday, 24 October 2008, 21:08 GMT]
"We strongly support the presence of the Office of the UN Commissioner for Human rights in Sri Lanka with a full mandate to report on the human rights situation", said The Governor General of Canada, Michaëlle Jean on the occasion of the presentation of credentials by Daya Perera, the new High Commissioner of Sri Lanka to Canada, on Wednesday. "It is important to ensure that civilians in conflict zones are protected, that they have access to humanitarian organizations, and that their human rights are respected", she said while conveying deep concern of her government "over the future of the Sri Lankan people".
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SLA arrests 9 upcountry Tamil youths

[TamilNet, Friday, 24 October 2008, 18:50 GMT]
Nine Tamil youths were arrested Wednesday morning by the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) with the help of three masked men during a cordon and search operation in Kirkil Estate in Uva Paranagama in the hill country, civil society sources in Colombo said. This was the first time the state armed forces had used masked men for their search operation to arrest upcountry Tamil youths.
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FMM condemns death threats to Human Rights Lawyers

[TamilNet, Friday, 24 October 2008, 18:46 GMT]
Free Media Movement (FMM), a Colombo-based media watchdog, in a press release issued Thursday, condemned a recent letter written in Sinhala by a group calling itself "Mahason Balakaya," which warned that the human rights lawyers representing "terrorists" will be "summarily killed or receive life-threatening injuries." FMM urged the Government of Sri Lanka to "immediately denounce these terror tactics and take meaningful steps to restore public confidence in the rule of law, human rights and democratic governance."
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Saiva priest arrested in Kandy

[TamilNet, Friday, 24 October 2008, 11:38 GMT]
A Tamil Saiva priest was arrested on Wednesday in Teldeniya in Kandy district, and is being detained in police station for interrogation by the Police Intelligence Unit. The priest was taken into custody by a special police team which went from Kandy Police Headquarters on a report from the intelligence unit, civil sources said.
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Badulla Police arrest two Tamil youths

[TamilNet, Friday, 24 October 2008, 11:30 GMT]
Badulla Police Wednesday arrested two Tamil youths while allegedly taking photographs of police station, court complex, municipal council complex, and Uva provincial Council Secretariat located in Badulla town, police sources claimed. The youths are being detained in the police station and subjected to interrogation by a police team of the Police Intelligence Unit, police sources added.
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EPDP enforces shutdown in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Friday, 24 October 2008, 11:12 GMT]
Eelam Peoples' Democratic Party (EPDP) brought about a forced shutdown Thursday in Jaffa peninsula assisted by Sri Lanka Army (SLA) and police to protest against the Sea Tiger attack on Sri Lankan ships Wednesday early morning, affecting normalcy of life in Jaffna peninsula. EPDP obstructed distribution of a local newspaper Thursday prompting the daily's Colombo head office to release a protest report besides lodging a complaint with the relevant authorities.
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Italian Tamils march to raise awareness about Tamils plight in Sri Lanka

[TamilNet, Thursday, 23 October 2008, 20:29 GMT]
More than two thousand diaspora Tamils in Southern Italy marched Thursday from Piazza Politama to the Palermo office of the Internal Affairs Ministry to hand over an appeal urging awareness on the plight of the Eezham Tamils in Vanni and elsewhere in the island of Sri Lanka.
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Address the root cause to end suffering: Vidyananda alumni

[TamilNet, Thursday, 23 October 2008, 20:13 GMT]
"It is our earnest feeling that the fundamental issue of our status as a nation, precisely on the question of which we are put to untold sufferings for ages by the successive Colombo governments, has to be addressed with priority and with urgency by the Indian government," reads a request from the alumni (Norway) of the Mu'l'liyava'lai Vidyananda College of Vanni, made on Thursday to the political parties of Tamil Nadu. Indian recognition of Eezham Tamil self-determination is the fundamental effective measure to discourage war and to lead to peace negotiations, the request said.
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2 Tamil youths arrested in Bandarawela

[TamilNet, Thursday, 23 October 2008, 19:12 GMT]
Two Tamil youths were arrested in an estate in Passara by a special team of the Bandarawela Police Tuesday night on receipt of information from Colombo police headquarters. M.Thineshkumar, 23, and S.Kumar, 25, of Hendala in Colombo district had gone to the estate to attend an age-attainment ceremony for a relative of theirs in Passara, when the youths were arrested
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Cheanaiyoor IDPs to be resettled

[TamilNet, Thursday, 23 October 2008, 19:07 GMT]
144 members of 44 internally displaced Tamil families, who had fled from Moothoor east in Trincomalee district in 2006 due to military operations of the Sri Lanka Army (SLA), were transported in six state sector buses Thursday from several welfare centres in Batticaloa district for resettlement in their village Cheanaiyoor, a once flourishing town and now deserted, civil society sources in Trincomalee said. The buses traveled via Vaakarai, south of the Trincomalee district, with police protection.
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Vaiko arrested for "pro-LTTE speech"

[TamilNet, Thursday, 23 October 2008, 17:22 GMT]
Tamil Nadu state police arrested MDMK General Secretary Vaiko, a staunch supporter of Tamil Eelam cause, on Thursday afternoon for allegedly making "highly inflammatory speeches in support of the LTTE".
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Thirumavalavan courts arrest with thousands of cadres, asks India to stop proxy war

[TamilNet, Thursday, 23 October 2008, 12:05 GMT]
In a powerful state-wide railway blockade of a scale that has not been witnessed in recent years in Tamil Nadu, Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK) President Thol. Thirumavalavan courted arrest Thursday morning with thousands of his cadres urging the Indian Government to stop the genocidal war against the Tamils within the next twenty-four hours. He said that the ongoing war in the island was "clearly a proxy war being waged by the Indian Government through the Sinhalese forces" and he urged upon New Delhi to put an end to it at the earliest.
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2 SLA killed in Ampaa'rai - LTTE

[TamilNet, Thursday, 23 October 2008, 10:42 GMT]
Two Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers were killed and one wounded Thursday at 11:05 a.m. in a gunfire ambush carried out by the Liberation Tigers of Tamileelam (LTTE) in Bakimitiyawa in Ampaa'rai district, according to LTTE sources in the East.
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Grenade attack on SLA sentry post in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Thursday, 23 October 2008, 10:31 GMT]
Unidentified persons hurled a hand grenade Tuesday night on the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) sentry post located close to Naavalar Veethi in Jaffna, and local residents had heard sounds of gunshots following the attack, sources in Jaffna said. Details are not known if anyone was killed or injured.
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Jaffna Hindu College Association voices for Tamil right to self-determination

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 22 October 2008, 22:24 GMT]
The Jaffna Hindu College Association (UK), on Wednesday, came out with a statement addressed to all political parties of Tamil Nadu and the Government of India to recognize the right to self-determination of Tamils as a nation in Sri Lanka. In the war-torn society of Eezham Tamils, the existing grass-root level democratic institutions are the alumni associations and village associations functioning from abroad. The Jaffna Hindu College is a 120 years old pioneering national institution that hosted Swami Vevekananda and Mahatma Gandhi when they visited Jaffna.
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SLA steps up fighting in Mu'rika'ndi, Akkaraayan

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 22 October 2008, 19:54 GMT]
Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) helicopter gunships were deployed in transporting casualties on Wednesday from newly occuppied territories in the southern frontiers of Ki'linochchi as Sri Lanka Army stepped up fighting amid stiff resistance by the Tigers. SLA launched artillery barrage in the frontiers also extended to target the suburbs of Ki'linochchi town, causing panic among the civilians who had come back for temporary stay in their houses due to the lack of shelter elsewhere following the monsoonal rain. More than 80 SLA soldiers were killed and 200 sustained injuries within the past 4 days, according to informed sources in Colombo.
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Sri Lankan DPU attack kills civilian, 2 wounded

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 22 October 2008, 19:12 GMT]
A Sri Lanka Army (SLA) Deep Penetration Unit triggered a Claymore mine at Thikkuvil in Poonakari (Pooneryn) Wednesday around 1:00 p.m., killing a civilian and wounding two, initial reports from the Poonakari said.
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Abducted Tamil trader found dead in Negombo

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 22 October 2008, 14:51 GMT]
The body of the abducted 40-year-old Subramanian Thavarajasingham, father of two children and a trader by profession was found near the Negombo railway station Sunday morning. He was abducted by armed persons arrived in a white van from his telecommunication centre located along Beach Road in Negombo on October 8th, sources said.
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RSF: State organizes violence against press in Sri Lanka

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 22 October 2008, 14:47 GMT]
Ranking Sri Lanka at 165, ninth from the bottom in a list of 173 countries, the Reporters Without Borders (RSF) in the "World Press Freedom Index" released Wednesday, said, "Asia still has the biggest representation in the 10 countries at the bottom of the ranking. Most of them are dictatorships, but they also for the first time include Sri Lanka (165th), which has an elected government and where the press faces violence that is only too often organised by the state."
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KKS harbour activities stall following Sea Tiger attack

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 22 October 2008, 14:43 GMT]
Activities of Kaangkeasanthu'rai harbour came to a halt Wednesday following the early morning Sea Tiger attack on two Sri Lankan supply ships in Kaangkeasanthu'rai harbour, sources in Vadamaraadchi said. Sri Lanka Army (SLA) and Sri Lanka Navy (SLN) jointly searched villages east and west of Kaangkeasanthu'rai harbour, and fishing boats in the seas off the same coastline, sources added.
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2 STF killed in Ampaa'rai - LTTE

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 22 October 2008, 14:05 GMT]
Liberation Tigers of Tamileelam (LTTE) on Wednesday claimed two Sri Lankan Special Task Force (STF) personnel were killed and one wounded in a mine explosion in Kagnchikudichchaa'ru jungle in Ampaa'rai district Wednesday around 1:50 p.m.
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Sea Tigers sink Sri Lankan supply ship

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 22 October 2008, 08:10 GMT]
Liberation Tigers of Tamileelam (LTTE) Sea Tigers on Wednesday claimed that they carried out a Black Tiger attack on Sri Lankan ship MV Nimalawa, which carried military and other supplies, in Sri Lankan naval harbour in Kankeasnthu'rai in Jaffna Wednesday morning around 5:00. The supply ship was sunk and another vessel, MV Ruhunuwa, sustained heavy damage, the Tigers said.
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Explosions target Sri Lankan ships in the seas off Vadamaraadchi

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 22 October 2008, 03:32 GMT]
Two big explosions were heard in the seas off Kaankeasanthu'rai Harbour in Jaffna around 4:00 a.m. Wednesday. Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers fired rockets from their coastal positions in Vadamaraadchi North, fishermen in the area said reporting heavy exchange of gunfire in the seas after the explosions. Meanwhile, Sri Lankan military officials in Colombo said one of their ships sustained damage in the attack and that they prevented the Sea Tiger boats from destroying the other ship. In the meantime, the SLA soldiers have instructed the fishermen not to access the seas off Vadamaraadchi Wednesday morning. The LTTE is yet to issue details of their attack.
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Eastern University Sinhalese students transferred to other campuses

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 21 October 2008, 19:52 GMT]
207 Sinhalese undergraduate students registered at the Eastern University of Sri Lanka (EUSL), Vanthaa'rumoolai, Batticaloa have been transferred to other campuses except the universities in North and East, based on the recommendation of the University Grants Commission (UGC), the administrative office of the Eastern University announced Tuesday.
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Police guard shot dead in Chaavakachcheari

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 21 October 2008, 19:30 GMT]
A member of the police unit guarding the office of Eealm Peoples Democratic Party (EPDP) in Chaavakachcheari was killed in gunfire Monday around 11:25 p.m, allegedly from the police sentry posts located in the surroundings of the EPDP office. Chaavakachcheari magistrate directed Chaavakachcheari police to arrest the three policemen who were on duty along with the victim Monday night, on suspicion of having shot and killed him.
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Grenade attack injures 5 Sinhalese workers in Kaaththaankudi

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 21 October 2008, 16:30 GMT]
Two unidentified persons arriving on a motorcycle lobbed a hand grenade Tuesday around 6:45 p.m on a house in Naavatkudaa in Kaaththaankudi police division in Batticaloa district, seriously injuring five Sinhalese drainage workers in the house, Kaaththaankudi police said. All the five injured men are admitted to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) in Batticaloa Teaching Hospital.
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Police arrest youth in the islets of Jaffna

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 21 October 2008, 16:18 GMT]
Jaffna police arrested a youth in Veala'nai in the islets of Jaffna Friday on instruction from Criminal Investigation Department (CID) in Colombo to the Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Jaffna, in investigations related to the recent suicide attack attempted on Sri Lanka Minister of Agriculture and the General Secretary of the ruling constituent Sri Lanka Freedom Party, Mithiripala Srisena, in Colombo, legal society sources in Jaffna said.
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Colombo main roads to be closed daily for one hour

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 21 October 2008, 16:05 GMT]
All main roads from Colpetty junction up toSri Lanka parliament building will be closed for general traffic both in the morning and afternoon from Tuesday till Friday for one hour to maintain the security of Prime Minister and cabinet ministers, cabinet Security Division announced Monday.
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STF commando killed, one wounded in Ampaa'rai

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 21 October 2008, 13:51 GMT]
A Sri Lankan Special Task Force (STF) commando was killed and one wounded Tuesday around 11:45 a.m. in a jungle area in Poththuvil in Ampaa'rai, according to the claims by the Liberation Tigers of Tamileelam (LTTE) in the East.
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Pandemonium in Indian Parliament over Eezham Tamil, Indo-U.S. issues

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 21 October 2008, 09:35 GMT]
Uproarious scenes over the issues of plight of Tamils in Sri Lanka, Indo-US civilian nuclear deal and attacks on north Indians in Maharashtra caused the both houses of the Indian Parliament to be adjourned till noon within few minutes of assembling on Tuesday, Press Trust of India reported.
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3 Sinhalese contract workers shot dead in Batticaloa

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 21 October 2008, 08:59 GMT]
Unknown attackers shot and killed three Sinhalese building contractors while they were sleeping in a house at Arasadi in Kokkaddichchoalai, 15 km south of Batticaloa city Monday around 9.30 p.m., police said.
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"No Home - Just Hope" photo exhibition of Vanni IDP's woes, in Norway

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 21 October 2008, 08:25 GMT]
Tamil Youth Organization (TYO) of the city of Bergen in Norway launched an exhibition titled "No Home – Just Hope" of photos depicting the plight of the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Vanni in Sri Lanka, in Hanseatisk Museum in Bergen town, Friday around 6:00 p.m, inaugurated by Eileen, Kolsås Dalen, culture consultant in Bergen Municipality, sources in Bergen said. Friday marked the day when the United Nations was founded.
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6 civilians including woman seek protection with HRC Jaffna

[TamilNet, Monday, 20 October 2008, 20:14 GMT]
Five civilians from Thenmaraadchi, including a young woman and a family man from Valikaamam sought Monday protection to their lives due to death threats by Sri Lanka Army (SLA) and SLA-backed paramilitaries with Human Rights Commission (HRC) Jaffna. Four of them were instructed by Chaavakachcheari Magistrate Court to surrender with HRC Jaffna office, HRC sources said.
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Shut down observed in Batticaloa district

[TamilNet, Monday, 20 October 2008, 20:10 GMT]
A general shut down was observed in Batticaloa district Monday against Tamil youths being abducted and killed by Sri Lanka Army (SLA) and Tamil youths arrested being killed, civil society sources in Batticaloa said. All public and private institutions, business establishments were shut down in Batticaloa district though SLA troops compelled the shop owners to open the shops.
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Jaffna fishermen's woes discussed with GA, in civil society meeting

[TamilNet, Monday, 20 October 2008, 17:23 GMT]
Government Agent (GA) met with a delegation of civil society members from the Federation of Fishermen societies from the peninsula to explore solutions to hardships faced by fishermen in Jaffna district last week. GA told the civil society delegation that he was not in a position to get the ban on fishing lifted, but that he will provide a response regarding increasing the monthly relief payment after consultations with higher authorities in Colombo.
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SLA imposes unofficial restrictions on Thenmaraadchi residents

[TamilNet, Monday, 20 October 2008, 17:21 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army (SLA) in Jaffna has imposed restrictions on the residents in Thenmaraadchi against buying food provisions in large quantities or to stock them from Sunday, following instructions from the Ministry of Defence, sources in Jaffna said. SLA authorities suspect that the people of Thenmaraadchi are providing food to Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eazham (LTTE) combatants who had infiltrated into Thenmaraadchi.
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Karnataka Tamils urge Delhi to recognise Eelam

[TamilNet, Monday, 20 October 2008, 12:53 GMT]
Stop the war, withdraw military assistance, recognise Eelam Tamils right to self determination and extend recognition to Tamil Eelam as India recognised the right to self determination of Bengalees in East Pakistan, said a memorandum issued by Karnataka Thamizhar Makkal Iyakkam (KTMI), which held a sit in (Dharna) agitation before the Gandhi statue on the M. G. Road in Bangalore on Monday.
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Tamil Nadu film industry vows support to Eezham Tamils

[TamilNet, Monday, 20 October 2008, 11:38 GMT]
Bringing the entire Tamil film industry in Tamil Nadu state of India to a standstill, more than two thousand artists converged at the southern tip of Rameswaram (Raameasvaram), which is situated in the close proximity to the island of Sri Lanka, expressing their support for Eezham Tamils struggle. Actors are also expected to hold a fast on November 01 to express their solidarity with the civilians who suffer due to the military offensive by the Sri Lankan forces.
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'Allow us to speak': French Tamil diaspora demonstrates

[TamilNet, Monday, 20 October 2008, 01:45 GMT]
Allow us to speak. We are not terrorists. What is happening in Sri Lanka is genocide: These were the voices of the thousands of Eezham Tamil demonstrators who braved defying a government ban and gathered in Paris on Sunday. Reflecting on his experience, Mr Somasundaram Sarveswaran, a participant said what is abominable that goes against all norms of civilization is silencing the civilian voice. "The Tamil national cause and the struggle against genocide of a people are not terrorist issues. There is a tendency today to look at everything related to Tamil as terrorism. This is why we earnestly look upon the leaders of Tamil Nadu to secure us our righteous global space as a priority, by recognizing the Tamil right to self-determination in the Island of Sri Lanka," he said.
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SLA post in Kathirkaamam attacked

[TamilNet, Sunday, 19 October 2008, 05:07 GMT]
Armed men attacked a Sri Lanka Army post in Kathirkaamam (Kataragama) in Hambantota district Sunday morning around 8:00 a.m., gunning down an SLA soldier who was on duty at the post, according to initial reports.
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Mahinda telephones Manmohan

[TamilNet, Saturday, 18 October 2008, 23:15 GMT]
Sri Lankan president Mahinda Rajapaksa telephoned Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Saturday to discuss recent developments in Sri Lanka. While the Sri Lankan press release is silent on details, the Indian brief discloses the PM's concern for the safety of civilians, ensured relief supply to IDPs, not enmeshing the Tamil community in the hostilities with LTTE and nurturing democracy in the East, apart from the usual reiterations on political solution, united Sri Lanka and Indian fishermen casualties. The Indian foreign minister Pranab Mukherjee was invited by his Sri Lankan counterpart to visit Sri Lanka at an early date, according to SL press release.
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Vavuniyaa Tamil youths arrested in Badulla

[TamilNet, Saturday, 18 October 2008, 17:43 GMT]
The police arrested two Vavuniyaa Tamil youths on Tuesday for allegedly taking photograph of the Badulla police station with their hand phone cameras. They are now being detained in the Badulla police station and being interrogated by the Intelligence Unit of the Police, media sources said.
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Tamil UNP activist abducted in Puththa'lam

[TamilNet, Saturday, 18 October 2008, 17:37 GMT]
Forty year old K.Mahalaingam, a former councilor of the Aarachchikatuwa Pradeshiya Sabha (PS) in Puththa'lam district was abducted from his house Thursday around 7:00 p.m. by unidentified armed persons arrived in a white van. He represented the main opposition United National Party (UNP) in the PS, according to complaints lodged with the Puththa'lam Police by his relatives.
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17 DMK MPs submit resignation letters to Tamil Nadu Chief Minister

[TamilNet, Saturday, 18 October 2008, 10:22 GMT]
Following Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Kalaignar Karunanidhi's ultimatum to the Central Government of India Tuesday on the national issue of Eezam Tamils in the island of Sri Lanka, 17 Dravida Munnetra Kazhakam including 2 Central ministers handed their resignation letters Friday to CM Karunanidhi in Chennai, media reports in Chennai said. Meanwhile, Tamil Film Industry will hold a rally Sunday in Rameswaram demanding the Centre to take efforts to stop the war on Eezham Tamils.
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SLA soldier recovered dead in Mukamaalai FDL

[TamilNet, Friday, 17 October 2008, 18:26 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army (SLA) in Mukamaalai Front Defence Line area on finding an SLA soldier dead with gunshot wounds Wednesday early morning at his post informed Kodikaamam police. Gunshot wounds found on the body indicate that he had been shot at from behind and it is unlikely that he committed suicide, the police said.
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Tamil fisherman abducted in Puththa'lam

[TamilNet, Friday, 17 October 2008, 18:24 GMT]
53 year-old Tamil Subramanian Ganeshan, a fisherman by profession was abducted Friday morning in Udappu in Munthal police division in Puththa'lam district by two unidentified armed men arrived in white van, according to complaints lodged with the police by his relatives.
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Policeman shot dead in Ea'raavoor

[TamilNet, Friday, 17 October 2008, 18:22 GMT]
Unidentified gunmen arriving on a motorbike shot and killed a policeman Thursday around 7:00 p.m near a liquor shop on Chengkaladi main road in Ea'raavoor police division in Batticaloa district, Ea'raavoor police said.
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Time for India to re-think, says Singaporean scholar

[TamilNet, Friday, 17 October 2008, 16:21 GMT]
The all-party resolution in Tamil Nadu should provide New Delhi an opportunity to do some introspection about its Sri Lanka policy, says TS Gopi Rethinaraj of the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, National University of Singapore in an article that appeared in Hindustan Times on Thursday. Unless India is able to lock SL in a broad bilateral security relationship, their leadership will have no qualms about allowing China or Pakistan to get a foothold, he says. "This is the real danger of India's current policy facilitating the military defeat of the LTTE. If India were to take a hard-nosed view of its interests, a subtle shift in its position on the LTTE will go a long way in safeguarding its strategic interests in the region besides securing the interests of ethnic Tamils in the island."
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Karuna faction overruns Pillayan's office

[TamilNet, Friday, 17 October 2008, 11:42 GMT]
The faction of the TMVP paramilitary, led by Vinayagamoorthy Muralitharan, alias Karuna, who was recently nominated by the Rajapaksa government as a national list MP, has overrun the main office of Sivanesathurai Chandrakanthan alias Pillayan, who was installed as the Chief Minister of the Eastern Provice by Mr. Rajapaksa. The attack on 'Meenakam office' in Koavinthan Road in Batticaloa city took place Friday around 12:30 p.m., initial reports said. Meanwhile, informed sources in Colombo said Pillayan was hurriedly escorted to Colombo by Rajapaksa's government and a meeting was arranged with Karuna.
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Karunanidhi announces human chain demonstration on Eelam issue

[TamilNet, Friday, 17 October 2008, 11:31 GMT]
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Kalaignar Karunanidhi has announced that a human chain demonstration would be held in Chennai on October 21 to remind the Union Government of India about the state's ultimatum on the national question of Eezham Tamils in the island of Sri Lanka. The resolution demanded the Central Government to take measures to ensure that there is no war in Sri Lanka and that peace prevails in Tamil homeland.
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Melamine in Lemon Puffs, Edna chocolate

[TamilNet, Friday, 17 October 2008, 11:21 GMT]
Sri Lanka's largest biscuit company, Ceylon Biscuits Limited, has ordered a recall of a popular biscuit, the Munchee Lemon Puff, after Swiss authorities found melamine traces in the product. The move comes amid an international health scare after milk tainted melamine, a poisonous substance used in the manufacture of plastic, led to the deaths of four children in China and made 53,000 thousand others sick. Meanwhile, Sri Lanka has ordered a ban on the sale of Edna chocolate products, the BBC Sinhala service reported.
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STF shoots dead 2 Tamils, 2 Muslims in Ampaa'rai

[TamilNet, Thursday, 16 October 2008, 19:26 GMT]
Sri Lanka Special Task Force (STF) commandos opened fire Thursday around 6:00 a.m, on four farmers, two of them Tamils and two Muslims, killing them at Vaddamadu pasture land in Thirukkoayil police division in Ampaa'rai district.
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Youth shot dead in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Thursday, 16 October 2008, 18:54 GMT]
Unidentified armed men on a motorbike following a youth shot and killed him Wednesday around 9:30 a.m as he was on his way to the area Village Officer's (Grama Sevaka) workplace, along Urumpiraay-Maruthanaamadam road in Jaffna, Koappaay police said. Jaffna magistrate Vasanthasenan, accompanied by Koappaay police, held the inquest into the death.
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Batticaloa girl arrested in Kalpity

[TamilNet, Thursday, 16 October 2008, 18:45 GMT]
22 year-old Tamil girl was arrested by the police in Kalpity in Puththalam district in northwestern province Tuesday night from a residence she was temporarily staying, Puththa'lam police said. She is being detained in the police station and under interrogation on a report that she had been closely associating with the LTTE cadres, police added.
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Civilian shot dead in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Thursday, 16 October 2008, 18:40 GMT]
Two unidentified armed men on motorbike shot dead a 42-year old family man Thursday afternoon in Thirunelveali area in Jaffna around 100 meters from his house, sources in Jaffna said. Jaffna magistrate Vasanthasenan conducted the inquest at the site of the incident and directed Jaffna police to hand over the body to Jaffna Teaching Hospital.
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IDPs to be resettled in Chennaiyoor in Moothoor east

[TamilNet, Thursday, 16 October 2008, 18:38 GMT]
226 members of 71 families who fled from Chennaiyoor village in Moothoor east in Trincomalee district following the military operation launched by the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) in April 2006 are to be resettled in their homes, civil society sources from Trincomalee said. The displaced have been staying in welfare centres located in Chengkaladi, Soukaddi, Sathurukondaan, Kokuvil, Navatkudaa, Ee'raavoor, Ka'luvaagnchikkudi and Maavadiveambu in Batticaloa district.
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SLA attempt to advance thwarted in Northern FDL - LTTE

[TamilNet, Thursday, 16 October 2008, 14:21 GMT]
The Liberation Tigers of Tamileelam (LTTE) on Thursday claimed that their defensive formations thwarted an attempt by the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) to advance into their territory across Mukamaalai Forward Defence Line (FDL) in Jaffna. Heavy fighting that erupted at 5:30 a.m. lasted till 2:30 p.m., the Tigers said, claiming that more than 15 Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers were killed and at least 40 wounded in the fighting.
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Shelling blocks access route, UN convoy returns to Vavuniyaa

[TamilNet, Thursday, 16 October 2008, 13:59 GMT]
28 lorries in a humanitarian convoy that included the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) supplies, which left Oamanthai entry point to Vanni at 2:30 p.m. Thursday returned back to Vavuniyaa, unable to proceed into Vanni due to artillery shelling. Two shells exploded near the convoy, according to the officials who returned back with supplies to Vavuniyaa. Meanwhile, humanitarian oficials in Vanni said that the Sri Lankan Ministry of Defence (MoD) and the Sri Lankan Army (SLA) Vanni Command were fully aware of the itinerary of the convoy and blamed the SLA for sabotaging humanitarian supplies by firing shells on the access route. The same tactic was adopted earlier by the SLA in Vaakarai in Batticaloa district, they further charged.
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Clashes erupt in Jaffna FDL

[TamilNet, Thursday, 16 October 2008, 13:01 GMT]
Clashes between Sri Lanka Army (SLA) and Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) erupted Thursday early morning in Thenmaraadchi Front Defence Line, after direct confrontations between Sri Lanka Navy (SLN) and the LTTE's Sea Tigers in Jaffna lagoon Wednesday night, according to the sources in Jaffna. As SLA in Jaffna has not released any information about this clash it is not known whether the clashes indicated a limited SLA military offensive.
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Australians protest against Bogolloagama press club meet

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 15 October 2008, 20:20 GMT]
More than 600 Australian Tamils protested in front of the National Press Club in Canberra Tuesday while the Foreign Minister of Sri Lanka, Rohitha Bogollagama, was addressing an invited audience inside the National Press Club, sources in Canberra said. The protesters highlighted Sri Lanka's escalating human rights violations against the media workers.
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Tamil jeweler shot dead in Wellawatte

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 15 October 2008, 19:39 GMT]
A Tamil jeweler was shot dead Monday afternoon when he was standing along Vihare Road in Wellawatte in Colombo by an unidentified came in a three wheeler. The jeweler has been identified as S.Nesarajah, 32. He was immediately transferred to Kalubowila Teaching Hospital where he was pronounced dead on admission.
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Tamil youth shot dead in Uppuve'li

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 15 October 2008, 19:38 GMT]
Unidentified armed men in a motorbike and a three wheeler shot dead a 25-year old Tamil youth Monday evening around 6:00 p.m. at Thevaanagar in Uppuve'li police division in Trincomalee, and fled from the scene, Police Spokesman Ranjit Gunasekara told media.
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Break diplomatic relations with Sri Lanka: Vaiko tells India

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 15 October 2008, 18:48 GMT]
The MDMK General Secretary Vaiko on Wednesday blamed the union cabinet of India for its 'crime and treachery' against Eezham Tamils by providing military assistance to Sinhalese. The fact of India's military help to Sri Lanka has been conceded in a letter written to him by the Indian PM, he said. "This is being done with full knowledge that such assistances are used for the genocide of Tamils. India should withdraw all assistance and compel Colombo to stop the war. Failing, India should warn Sri Lanka of severed diplomatic ties and imposition of economic sanctions. DMK should withdraw its support to the Congress-led coalition government and the Tamil ministers in the union cabinet should resign if India is not acting in these lines", he demanded in a statement issued from the headquarters of MDMK in Chennai.
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SLAF steps up air attacks in Vanni

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 15 October 2008, 13:58 GMT]
Two Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) bombers dropped more than ten bombs Wednesday around 9:10 a.m. on the civilian settlements in Manthuvil along Puthukkudiyiruppu - Mullaiththeevu road destroying eight houses. The bombers again dropped eight bombs on Keappapilavu civilian settlements along Puthukkudiyiruppu-Mu'l'liyawa'lai around 10:50 a.m destroying seven houses besides causing severe damage to paddy-fields. The attacks caused heavy damage to two roads.
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Medical, health crisis looms in Ki'linochchi

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 15 October 2008, 12:01 GMT]
120 refugees were admitted after snake-bite during the past 7 days alone in Ki'linochchi district's hospital functioning at Tharmapuram. One of the patients, a girl, has died and another, a 53-year-old woman, was being treated at the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of the hospital, according to Dr. P. Brighton, the assistant Deputy Provincial Director of Health (DPDH) on Tuesday. He said three lorries with urgently needed medicines to treat snake-bite and diarrhea have not entered Vanni despite three repeated attempts to cross the entry/exit point at Oamanthai in Vavuniyaa. Meanwhile, ambulance-transport for patients in need of urgent medical treatment at Vavuniyaa hospital has become increasingly difficult.
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Kanimozhi hands over symbolic resignation

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 15 October 2008, 09:45 GMT]
Kanimozhi Karunanidhi, the daughter of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Kalaignar Karunanidhi and a Member of Indian Parliament submitted Wednesday her resignation saying that it was for the party to take an "appropriate decision at appropriate time" on her resignation following the two-weeks ultimatum given to New Delhi by the Tamil Nadu government to exert pressure on Colombo to declare a ceasefire, The Times of India reported.
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SLA enters Magazine prison, abuse Tamil prisoners - MP

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 15 October 2008, 08:45 GMT]
Around 20 Sri Lanka Army (SLA) personnel Wednesday entered the Magazine Prison in Colombo, verbally abused and stripped the detainees sexually harassing them, the prisoners complained to Tamil National Alliance Batticaloa district parliamentarian P. Ariyaneththiran.
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4 siblings seek protection with Point Pedro Court

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 14 October 2008, 20:12 GMT]
Two sisters, one of them an 18-year-old student and her sister, 25, along with two brothers, sought protection with Point Pedro Court this week due to death threats. Meanwhile, Jaffna Prison, where more than 360 persons, with nearly half of them placed in protective custody, faces serious shortage of space as its building can accommodate only around a hundred, prison officials said.
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37 civilians arrested in Anuradhapura

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 14 October 2008, 19:55 GMT]
Thirty seven civilians, including Tamils and Sinhalese, were taken into custody for questioning in a search operation conducted Sunday from dawn till dusk, civil sources said. Following the killing of Major General (retd) Janaka Perera and 29 others, Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers are conducting cordon and search operations in hotels and business establishments in Anuradhapura town and suburbs daily.
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Trader reported missing in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 14 October 2008, 19:50 GMT]
A 46-year old trader from Achchuveali in Valikaamam East is missing since Saturday after leaving home around 11:00 a.m from his house, his wife said in a complaint with Human Rights Commission (HRC) Jaffna office. Number of disappearances has escalated in the recent weeks, civil society sources in Jaffna said.
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Tamil Nadu Government gives ultimatum to New Delhi to safeguard Eelam Tamils

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 14 October 2008, 19:39 GMT]
Giving a time frame of a fortnight to New Delhi to respond, an All Party Meeting organized by the Tamil Nadu Government at the State Secretariat in Chennai on Tuesday warned the Union Government of India that all forty members of the Indian parliament representing Tamils would resign en masse if New Delhi failed to take up the right steps to protect Eezham Tamils.
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Bus driver shot dead in Vavuniyaa

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 14 October 2008, 16:33 GMT]
A 38-year old driver of the Vavuniyaa depot of the Sri Lanka Transport Board (SLTB) was shot dead by unidentified armed men Sunday evening near Pa'ndaarikkulam Amman Temple in Vavuniyaa. Armed men waylaid him and shot the driver when he was riding home in his motorbike after work, witnesses said.
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Tamil Surgeon reported missing in Kandy

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 14 October 2008, 16:30 GMT]
A 50-year old Tamil ENT (Ear, Nose, Throat) surgeon working in the Kandy Teaching Hospital is reported missing since 11th October after he left his residence located along William Gopallawa Mawatte in Kandy town. He has failed to report to work thereafter, according to a complaint lodged with the Kandy Police by the Administrative Officer of the hospital.
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2 SLA soldiers, STF commando killed in Ampaa'rai - LTTE

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 14 October 2008, 13:27 GMT]
A commando team of the Liberation Tigers of Tamileelam (LTTE), attached to the Batticaloa Command of the Tigers, attacked a Field-bike Road Patrol of the Sri Lanka Army, killing two SLA soldiers Tuesday around 3:00 p.m. in Maha Oya division of Ampaa'rai district, according to a media release issued by the political division of the LTTE in Batticaloa. Meanwhile, LTTE's Ampaa'rai command claimed that a Sri Lankan Special Task Force (STF) commando was killed in a booby trap explosion in Kangchikudichchaa'ru in Ampaa'rai.
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Power cut to be reduced to 30 minutes in Jaffna peninsula

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 14 October 2008, 12:13 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army (SLA) authorities in Palaali SLA Head Quarters instructed Jaffna Sri Lanka Electricity Board (SLEB) to reduce the power cut imposed daily to 30 minutes, from the current 90 minutes with effect from Monday, in a high level meeting held with the SLEB officials who were summoned to the meeting. The new directive is to be carried out on a trial basis, SLA said.
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60 SLA wounded in Akkaraayan fighting on Sunday - LTTE

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 14 October 2008, 03:09 GMT]
More than sixty Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers were wounded Sunday when Liberation Tigers of Tamileelam (LTTE) defensive units put up heavy resistance to the SLA offensive forces along the Akkaraayan - Mu'rika'ndi Road, LTTE officials told media in Vanni on Monday.
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Sri Lankan forces blast bridge on humanitarian access route in Vanni

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 14 October 2008, 02:44 GMT]
Pearaa'ru bridge, located on Maangku'lam - Oddisuddaan Road, which branches off from the A9, the access route which was used by the World Food Programme (WFP) humanitarian convoy to Vanni during the first week of October has been destroyed by the Sri Lankan forces in joint attacks carried out since Sunday. In the meantime, rain has started to fall in densely populated areas in Vanni on Tuesday. Many of the refugees living under the trees were forced to seek shelter in buildings, temples, churches and with the neighbouring houses.
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Rajapaksa re-stages 'APC drama' to avert pressure from Tamil Nadu - Samaraweera

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 14 October 2008, 01:15 GMT]
Leader of the dissident SLFP (M) Wing and a former Foreign Minister of Sri Lanka, Mangala Samaraweera in the Rajapaska government, charged Monday that the Sri Lankan President was engaged in re-staging 'All Party Conference' drama as agitations and protests were growing in Tamil Nadu state in India and Tamil Nadu politicians have formed broad alliances as never before against the war in Sri Lanka. Stating that Rajapaksa regime is bogged down in war with its "Unitary State," Mr. Mangala Samaraweera said there is absolutely no possibility of finding a political solution that could address the just grievances of the Tamil people within Rajapaksa's Unitary State and its 13th Amendment to the Constitution.
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Resettled Moothoor IDPs lack basic facilities

[TamilNet, Monday, 13 October 2008, 21:40 GMT]
461 Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) belonging to 159 resettled last week in Kaddaippa'richchaan South, Kaddaippa'richchaan East Grama Sevaka (Village Level Administrator) Divisions in Moothoor East are facing severe hardships due to lack of basic amenities.
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Youth shot near SLA camp in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Monday, 13 October 2008, 21:36 GMT]
Two men on motorbike waylaid a youth Sunday around 6:45 p.m near the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) camp on Dutch Road in I'lavaalai, Valikaamam, and shot him dead after chasing away his two brothers who accompanied him, according to the complaint lodged by the brothers to I'lavaalai police. The brothers said they heard sound of gun shots soon after they were sent back when they went to inform the soldiers of the Vi'laan SLA camp located close to I'lavaalai SLA camp of the incident, the brothers said in the complaint. The soldiers at Vi'laan SLA camp had asked them to come back on Monday morning.
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Court directs Vaalaichchenai police to arrest suspects in abduction case

[TamilNet, Monday, 13 October 2008, 18:50 GMT]
Vaalaichchenai Magistrate M.Ganesharajah directed the Vaalaichchenai Police to arrest the suspects in connection with the abduction of Kanapathipillai Vasanthakumar, father of a child and resident of Vinayagapuram and to produce them in court on November 19, legal sources said.
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Sinhala woman arrested over Borelesgammuwa attack

[TamilNet, Monday, 13 October 2008, 16:35 GMT]
A Sinhalese woman was arrested by the police Sunday in connection with suicide bomb attack on the convoy of Minister Maithiripala Sirisena, General Secretary of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP), main constituent of the ruling United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA), Thursday afternoon at Borelesgammuwa. She is being held in detention and is being interrogated by the Terrorist Intelligence Division, media sources said.
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Public transport crisis looming in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Monday, 13 October 2008, 16:32 GMT]
Shortage of tires and spares for buses operated by Sri Lanka Transport Board (SLTB) in the North has reached a critical situation and may soon cripple transport services in the peninsula, officials of SLTB Koa'ndaavil bus depot said Friday. Sri Lanka government authorities’ delay in supplying the necessary spares in time is said to be the reason for the situation, they added.
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Tamil nationalism undefeatable - Prof. Kumar David

[TamilNet, Monday, 13 October 2008, 10:59 GMT]
Looking at the characteristics of Tamil nationalism within the four demographic groups, North, East, Colombo and the diaspora Tamils, Professor Kumar David, in an opinion column in the weekend edition of Lakbima, says that the anger of the Tamils with the Sinhala state, though very real, will always remain muted and the "rise of the LTTE in the shape of a militarist alternative is precisely the dialectical response, the antithesis, the rejection, that this [Sri Lankan] state of affairs gave rise to." The Tamil diaspora can drive the nationalist movement forward for decades, irrespective of the outcome of today's military campaigns, he says.
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SLA photographs residents in Trincomalee suburb

[TamilNet, Monday, 13 October 2008, 10:16 GMT]
Residents of Orr's Hill, a suburb of Trincomalee city with predominantly Tamils, are being photographed by the Sri Lanka Army (SLA). Members of each family are being photographed as a group to ensure that no strangers live with them, SLA officials said. Trincomalee Brigade headquarters of the SLA is located at the tail end of Orr's Hill facing Trincomalee Harbour.
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SLN arrests 10 Tamil youths in Trincomalee

[TamilNet, Sunday, 12 October 2008, 20:18 GMT]
Ten Tamil youths were taken into custody Sunday morning in a cordon and search operation conducted by the Sri Lanka Navy (SLN) soldiers at Manaiyaveli, a suburb in Trincomalee town, civil sources said. SLN, paraded several civilians before a group of masked colloaborators assisting the SLN, and took the civilians identified by the masked men to the Trincomalee Harbor Police Station.
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Fighting resumes in Ma'nalaa'ru, 19 SLA soldiers killed - LTTE

[TamilNet, Sunday, 12 October 2008, 20:17 GMT]
Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) officials in Vanni have claimed that at least nineteen Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers were killed Friday and more than thirty-five injured when Tiger fighters put up heavy resistance against the SLA attempt to enter into LTTE territory in southern Mu'l'laiththeevu district from several points in Tha'n'nimu'rippu and Ma'nalaa'ru with artillery and Multi-barrel Rocket Launcher fire support.
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Karuna operative, associate shot dead in Ka'luvaangchikkudi

[TamilNet, Sunday, 12 October 2008, 20:08 GMT]
Armed men who arrived in a motorbike shot and killed Karuna group operative, Tharmalingam Arunagiri, 27, and his associate, Thiruchelvam Rajendran, 18, near a liquor shop in Eruvil area in Ka'luvaangnchikkudi police division in Batticaloa district Saturday around 6:15 p.m. The two killed are renegades from Pillayan faction of the TMVP, operating now with Karuna, according to informed sources in Batticaloa.
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Diaspora Tamils seek solidarity with British Public

[TamilNet, Sunday, 12 October 2008, 19:57 GMT]
British Tamils, including a large group of second generation Tamils, took to the streets of London Saturday in a 'walking and talking' campaign, promoting awareness among people, wearing prominent yellow 'aprons' which read 'Stop Genocide of Tamils in Sri Lanka on the front side and 'Free Tamil Eelam', with the map of Tamil Eelam on the back, sources in London said.
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3 STF commandos killed in Ampaa'rai - LTTE

[TamilNet, Sunday, 12 October 2008, 11:47 GMT]
Three Sri Lankan Special Task Force (STF) commandos who were on a road patrol from Vammiyadi STF camp, located near Kagnchikudichchaa'ru region in Ampaa'rai district, were killed in a mine ambush by the Tigers Sunday around 3:25 p.m., LTTE sources in the East told media.
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Indian Express survey shows Tamil Nadu support for LTTE

[TamilNet, Sunday, 12 October 2008, 09:42 GMT]
A survey undertaken in 10 cities in Tamil Nadu by the best-selling daily newspaper The New Indian Express and the research agency C fore has reported that one-third of the respondents favoured the ruling DMK Government to snap ties with the Union Government for arming and training the Sri Lankan military. A clear majority of the respondents wanted India to lift the ban on the proscribed Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and 66% of the respondents said the LTTE is either freedom fighters and/or the sole and genuine representatives of Tamil voice.
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Tamil teacher arrested in Bandarawela

[TamilNet, Sunday, 12 October 2008, 09:15 GMT]
A Tamil teacher was taken into custody in Bandarawela town in Uva Province Saturday morning for questioning by the Sri Lanka Army (SLA). The Bandarawela Police said the teacher is being detained in the police station and being questioned to ascertain how he came in possession of some explosives which had been recovered from his room in Bandarawela.
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Grenade attack injures 4 in Ka'luvaangchikkudi

[TamilNet, Sunday, 12 October 2008, 09:10 GMT]
Unidentified persons lobbed a hand grenade Saturday around 9:45 p.m on a house in Kal'uvaangchikkudi police division in Batticaloa district seriously injuring four persons including a child, Ka'luvaangchikkudi police said. Two persons, of the four injured admitted to Ka'luvaangchikkudi hospital, were later transferred to Batticaloa Teaching Hospital for further treatment as their condition was critical, hospital sources said.
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68 civilians killed, 38 disappeared, 454 arrested in September, says NESoHR

[TamilNet, Sunday, 12 October 2008, 08:45 GMT]
The human toll for Tamils across the island for September, dominated by the Government of Sri Lanka's offensives to wrest control of Ki'linochchi, is 68 killed, 38 disappeared, 87 injured, 454 arrested and 36,000 newly displaced, a monthly report released by the North East Secretariat on Human Rights (NESoHR) Friday said. The total number of displaced since the military offensives by Rajapakse Government started in August 2006 is 190541 the report added.
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SLA shuns Perera's funeral

[TamilNet, Sunday, 12 October 2008, 08:40 GMT]
No senior officer of the Sri Lanka Army attended the funeral of Maj. Gen. Janaka Perera, the decorated former commander who was allegedly killed by a human bomber last Monday, according to the Sunday Times. The paper also reported that, following 'orders from the top', the remains of the general and his wife, another former Army officer, were kept waiting at Ratmalana Air Force base and, with permission not forthcoming for the caskets to be to be airlifted to Anuradhapura, later had to be taken by road with a dwindling escort of police.
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3 Tamils reported missing after arrest by SLA in Colombo

[TamilNet, Saturday, 11 October 2008, 19:45 GMT]
Three Tamil civilians, residents of Chaavakachcheri in Jaffna district and staying in Wellawatte, are reported missing after being taken in for questioning by the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) on Thursday evening, according to complaints lodged with the police and human rights groups in Colombo by their relatives.
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White van armed men abduct Tamil trader in Negombo

[TamilNet, Saturday, 11 October 2008, 19:42 GMT]
Unidentified armed men arriving in white van abducted a 42- year old Tamil trader from his communication centre located along Breach Road in Negombo town Thursday midnight, sources in Negombo said. Subramanian Thavarajasingham, a father of two children, lived in Mansion Place in Negombo and ran a communication centre on monthly rental basis, according to complaints lodged by his mother and wife with the Negombo Police Friday.
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UNP organiser in Vavuniyaa shot dead

[TamilNet, Saturday, 11 October 2008, 15:51 GMT]
Unknown armed men shot and killed United National Party (UNP) Vavuniyaa organiser, 53-year-old Mahesh Thavachelvam, at his residence in Vavuniyaa around 3:00 p.m. on Saturday, Police said.
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Ambush kills 2 STF in Batticaloa - LTTE

[TamilNet, Saturday, 11 October 2008, 15:45 GMT]
Liberation Tigers of Tamileelam (LTTE) ambushed a road patrol of the Sri Lankan Special Task Force (STF) commandos who were on a road patrol from Paalaiyadivaddai STF camp to Vellaave'li Friday night around 9:00 p.m., killing two STF personnel and wounding three, LTTE sources in the East claimed on Saturday.
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Male body washed ashore in Batticaloa

[TamilNet, Saturday, 11 October 2008, 11:50 GMT]
The body of a male in decomposed state was recovered by Batticaloa Police Saturday morning on a stretch of beach near Naavaladi Kadalaadchiyamman temple, police sources said. The body, yet unidentified, was handed over to Batticaloa Teaching Hospital.
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Diaspora Tamils in Germany exhibit humanitarian aid

[TamilNet, Saturday, 11 October 2008, 08:54 GMT]
More than 3,000 Eelam Diaspora Tamils in Germany, organised by 16 Tamil organisations, demonstrated on Friday through a central part of Berlin, exhibiting humanitarian supplies that they have collected to be sent to their kith and kin in Vanni, urging the International Community to facilitate transport from Colombo to Vanni.
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Vaiko courts arrest with thousands of cadres on Eelam Tamil issue

[TamilNet, Friday, 10 October 2008, 22:58 GMT]
Tamil leader Vaiko, General Secretary of the Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (MDMK) and a staunch supporter of the cause of Eezham Tamils, was arrested Friday along with thousands of his cadres in Chennai while staging a demonstration to condemn Indian involvement in the Sri Lankan military. He called upon the ruling DMK government in Tamil Nadu, headed by Kalaignar Karunanidhi, an important ally of the Central Government in India, to take the blame for every Tamil being killed in Eelam. "In the name of safe-guarding Sri Lanka's sovereignty, don't lose India's sovereignty and national integration," warned Mr. Vaiko in an emotional, vociferous speech, said media sources in Chennai.
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Ki'linochchi hospital urges civilians to donate fuel to continue critical services

[TamilNet, Friday, 10 October 2008, 22:13 GMT]
Unable to relocate three critical services, the Intensive Care Unit (ICU), Surgery Unit and the Maternity Ward, the Ki'linochchi hospital is forced to continue these services from the town, even after most of the civilians have fled the urban centre of Vanni, hospital spokesperson said. As fuel required to run the three critical units has reached dangerously low levels, Medical authorities at the hospital have urged civilians in Vanni to donate fuel to operate the basic services to save lives. Fuel supplies for September and October months are yet to reach the hospital.
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30 Tamils arrested in Colombo

[TamilNet, Friday, 10 October 2008, 20:18 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army (SLA) and police conducted cordon and search operations in Grandpass, Kotahena and Mutuwal in Colombo district from Wednesday night till Thursday and took several civilians, majority of them are Tamil, for interrogation. All were released later except 30 Tamil youths who are being detained in police stations for further investigation, civil sources said.
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SLA soldiers shoot dead civilian in Thenmaraadchi

[TamilNet, Friday, 10 October 2008, 20:10 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers attached to Kodikaamam SLA camp in Thenmaraadchi shot and killed a 45-year-old civilian during curfew hours Thursday around 9:00 p.m. near his house in Kachchaay North in Kodikaamam, sources in Chaavakachcheari said. Kodikaamam police said that the SLA soldiers had opened fire on him as the victim ignored troopers’ order to stop.
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Family man abducted in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Friday, 10 October 2008, 19:50 GMT]
Two unidentified armed men riding motorbikes abducted a 43-year old civilian from Chandilippaay Wednesday around 3:00 p.m. as he was returning from the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) camp where he had been summoned for interrogation, the victim’s wife said in a complaint with Human Rights Commission (HRC) Jaffna, civil society sources said.
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Police arrest 31 civilians in Vaazhaichcheanai

[TamilNet, Friday, 10 October 2008, 16:09 GMT]
Thirty one civilians were taken into custody Wednesday morning during a cordon and search operation conducted jointly by Vaazhaichcheanai police and Sri Lanka army (SLA) troops in Vinaayakapu'ram area within Vaazhaichcheanai police division.
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CaFFE complains of political victimization

[TamilNet, Friday, 10 October 2008, 15:09 GMT]
Campaign for Free and Fair Elections (CaFFE) in a press release issued Friday condemned Administration of Kelaniya University for illegally interdicting CaFFE spokesperson Mr. Rajith Keerthi Tennakoon to "serve political needs of the government," and called upon "all democratic forces and individuals to condemn and demand the withdrawal of this inhuman decision of the university." CaFFE further said that "Mr. Tennakoon has a clear right to not only partake in public activities such as with CaFFE, but even in open politics, under the University Establishment Code."
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Sri Lanka fiscally vulnerable, says World Bank

[TamilNet, Friday, 10 October 2008, 14:35 GMT]
Sri Lanka is named as one of the twenty eight countries as "fiscally vulnerable" in a report released by the World Bank Thursday. The report published ahead of the meetings of finance and development ministers,organized by the World Bank and IMF, said many of these countries had little or no room to take on new debt to afford the higher prices.
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3 civilians killed in Sri Lankan air-strike, IDP teacher, daughter among victims

[TamilNet, Friday, 10 October 2008, 04:11 GMT]
Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) bombers Friday morning attacked three localities in Paranthan, 6 km north of Ki'linochhci town. Three civilians, a 46-year-old teacher, her 11-year-old daughter and a 33-year-old mother of two were killed. Six civilians including a 14-year-old son if the teacher and another boy at the same age, were wounded at Kumarapuram. The wounded were rushed to Ki'linochchi hospital, still functioning at Ki'linochhci town. 12 houses were destroyed in the attack at Kumarapuram. A Saiva temple, Kumarapuram Murukan koayil, and a shop were also damaged in the air-strike.
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Displaced families resettled in Moothoor-Kaddaippa'richchaan village

[TamilNet, Thursday, 09 October 2008, 20:01 GMT]
377 members of 120 displaced families were resettled in Kattaiparichchan south village in Moothoor east in Trincomalee district Wednesday, civil society sources in Trincomalee said. The displaced families fled their villages and sought safety in Batticaloa district following the military operation by the Sri Lanka Army in April 2006.
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Abducted Tamil brothers found dead in Colombo

[TamilNet, Thursday, 09 October 2008, 19:48 GMT]
Bodies of two Tamil youths with gunshot injuries were recovered from Ja-Ela and Ragama in Colombo district Wednesday. Both were brothers and identified as Jebamalai Kugathas and his younger brother Jebamalai Sajith. Both were abducted by unidentified men from Inthurugoda on October 6.
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Second Rights petition filed against Karuna's appointment as MP

[TamilNet, Thursday, 09 October 2008, 19:35 GMT]
A second Fundamental Rights violation petition was filed in the Supreme Court Thursday against the appointment of Muralitharan Vinayagamoorthy, alias Karuna, a renegade of the LTTE and currently the President of TMVP, as national list parliamentarian from the ruling United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA), legal sources said.
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18 Tamils arrested in Gampaha

[TamilNet, Thursday, 09 October 2008, 19:28 GMT]
The Sri Lanka Army (SLA) and police, with the assistance of home guards, conducted a cordon and search operation in Gampaha town Wednesday morning till evening searching lodges, business establishments and buildings detaining several Tamils for questioning.
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Jayalalithaa recognises Eelam Tamils Right to Self-Determination

[TamilNet, Thursday, 09 October 2008, 18:33 GMT]
Ms. Jayalalithaa, former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu and leader of the state's major opposition party, All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK), said in a press release, clarifying AIDMK stand Thursday that her party fully recognized Eelam Tamils right to Self-Determination. She also said that her party accepted the demand for Tamil homeland with self-governance within a united framework of a Sri Lankan constitution.
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SLA shelling blocks A9 again

[TamilNet, Thursday, 09 October 2008, 14:27 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army (SLA) has stepped up artillery shelling targeting the A9 road from Vavuniyaa to Maangku'lam where traffic is diverted east of the A9 road into Mullaiththeevu district. The entire strip of the A9 highway between Vavuniyaa and Maangku'lam has been blocked after a bus narrowly escaped from the shelling on Wednesday. The reports of SLA blocking the route comes a day before humanitarian supplies are expected to arrive in Vanni.
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2 bodies washed ashore in Kaaththaankudi

[TamilNet, Thursday, 09 October 2008, 12:29 GMT]
Kaaththaankudi police in Batticaloa district recovered bodies of two males with eyes blind folded, hand and legs tied, and in a highly decomposed state, on Kaththaankudi beach, Wednesday around 9:30 p.m. Both bodies were bound to a log.
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TMVP informer shot dead in Batticaloa

[TamilNet, Thursday, 09 October 2008, 12:24 GMT]
Unidentified armed men who took away a young man Wednesday around 8:00 p.m. from his house at Kokkuvil in Batticaloa police division, shot and killed him, Batticaloa police investigating into the killing said. The police recovered his body Thursday morning and handed it over to Batticaloa Teaching Hospital for post mortem examination.
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SLA searches schools in Jaffna peninsula

[TamilNet, Thursday, 09 October 2008, 12:21 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army (SLA) conducted cordon and searches Tuesday and Wednesday deploying hundreds of soldiers in several schools in Vadamaraadchi, Thenmaraadchi and Valikaamam, sources in Jaffna said. The school offices, stores and other sections were subjected to search but no objects or weapons were recovered in these searches, the sources added.
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Trader abducted, goldsmith seeks protection with HRC, in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Thursday, 09 October 2008, 12:17 GMT]
Unidentified armed men in civil clothes arriving on motorbikes, forcibly abducted a trader from his shop Tuesday around 11:00 a.m at Navaali in Valikaamam, according to the complaint registered by his wife with Human Rights Commission (HRC) Jaffna office. Meanwhile, a 23-year-old goldsmith from Kachchaay in Thenmaraadchi sought protection with HRC Jaffna office due to death threat by Sri Lanka Army (SLA), according to his written complaint lodged with HRC.
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British, Norway ambassadors visit Jaffna

[TamilNet, Thursday, 09 October 2008, 10:46 GMT]
British High Commissioner to Sri Lanka Dr. Peter Hayes, and Norway's Ambassador Tore Hattrem accompanied by UNHCR residential representative in Colombo, were on a visit to Jaffna Wednesday. The emissaries met Jaffna Appeal Court Magistrate R. T.Vignarajah around 4:30 p.m. and discussed the humanitarian as well as the general security concerns of the civilians. Meanwhile, informed sources in Jaffna told TamilNet that the Sri Lankan Defense Ministry had initially declined permission for the delegation to visit Jaffna Prison and Kurunakar Special Rehabilitation Centre where civilians seeking protection from the threat of the SLA and paramilitaries are placed in protective custody.
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Bomb attack targets Sri Lankan minister in Colombo

[TamilNet, Thursday, 09 October 2008, 09:36 GMT]
A bomb attack has targeted the convoy of Maithripala Sirisena, the Sri Lanka's Minister of Agricultural Development and former Secretary of SL President Mahinda Rajapaksa's SLFP, at Piriwena Junction in Boralesgamuwa in Colombo Thursday around 1:15 p.m., killing at least one person and causing injuries to seven, Police said. A deputy minister, Siripala Gamlath, sustained injuries in the balst.
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4 Tamils arrested in Trincomalee

[TamilNet, Thursday, 09 October 2008, 09:23 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army and police Wednesday morning from 6:00 a.m. till 9:00 a.m. conducted a cordon and search operation in the Orr's Hill area in Trincomalee town where the brigade headquarters of the Sri Lanka Army is located. Sri Lanken armed forces took masked men with them to identify the strangers in the area during the operation, civil sources said.
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Tamil civilian shot dead in Trincomalee

[TamilNet, Thursday, 09 October 2008, 09:20 GMT]
Unidentified armed persons shot dead a 42-year-old Tamil civilian Wednesday evening around 5.30 p.m. in Anpuvazhipuram, suburb in Trincomalee town. The victim was a three-wheel owner and a resident of Paalaiyoottu, another suburb of the east port town.
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Muslim youth shot dead in Dehiwala

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 08 October 2008, 15:37 GMT]
A 27-year old Muslim youth was shot dead at Dharmaraja Road junction in Dehiwala in Colombo district Wednesday early morning around 2.30 a.m. The victim was identified as Farook Deen of Matale, according to police spokesperson Ranjit Gunasekara.
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Tortured trustee board president, 2 members, admitted to Jaffna Hospital

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 08 October 2008, 15:32 GMT]
The president and two members of Chee'ra'ni Amman Temple arrested by Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers, in the cordon and search launched in the temple following the Maasiyappiddi attack seriously injuring three soldiers, have been admitted to Jaffna Teaching Hospital with injuries due to torture, hospital sources said. The three elderly persons were admitted to the hospital five days ago.
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Eezham Tamils not abandoned by Tamil Nadu, says LTTE

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 08 October 2008, 13:55 GMT]
Expressing gratitude on behalf of the Eelam Tamils for the solidarity shown by the leaders and the masses of Tamil Nadu, the Political Division of the Liberation Tigers of Tamileelam (LTTE), in a statement on Wednesday said that Tamils, who are facing an onslaught by the indiscriminate shelling and bombardment by the Sri Lankan forces, are inspired by the expression of solidarity from Tamil Nadu.
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2 STF officers killed in Ampaa'rai - LTTE

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 08 October 2008, 08:40 GMT]
Two Sri Lankan Special Task Force (STF) officers were killed near Kagnchikudichchaa'ru STF camp around 9:45 a.m. Wednesday in a mine ambush, media sources in the East said the Tigers as claiming. Two STF troopers were wounded in the ambush, according to the sources.
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JVP files court action against Karuna's nomination as UPFA MP

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 07 October 2008, 19:32 GMT]
Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), Sinhala nationalist party, Tuesday filed a petition in the Supreme Court seeking annulment of the gazette notification issued by the Commissioner of Elections nominating Vinayagamoorthy Muralitharan alias Karuna, a renegade Tiger commander who turned leader of a paramilitary group operated by the Sri Lanka Army in Batticaloa and Ampaa'rai as a nationalist parliamentarian from the ruling United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA) to the seat that fell vacant due to the resignation of a JVP parliamentarian Vasantha Samarasinghe, legal sources said.
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Parliament approves emergency extension

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 07 October 2008, 19:25 GMT]
The Sri Lanka's parliament Tuesday by a majority of 84 votes adopted the motion moved by the government to extend the State of Emergency by one month, parliamentary sources said. 98 parliamentarians of the ruling United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA) including the newly appointed Vinayagamoorthy Muralitharan, alias Karuna voted for the motion. Fourteen parliamentarians of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) voted against the motion.
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SL police arrest seven Tamil youths in Anuradhapura

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 07 October 2008, 19:20 GMT]
Seven Tamil youths from upcountry districts were taken into custody during a cordon and search operation conducted by Sri Lanka police personnel in Anuradhapura from morning till noon in the aftermath of the assassination of Opposition Leader of the United National Party (UNP) in North Central Province, Maj. Gen (retd.) Janaka Perera.
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4 persons found dead in Horowopottana jungle

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 07 October 2008, 19:15 GMT]
Bodies of four persons were found in a hut located about 40km inside the jungles of Horowopottana in Anuradhapura district Tuesday, Police said. The victimes have allegedly gone into the jungle on September 29, and were reported missing when they failed to return. One of the victims is home guard, another a Sri Lanka Army, and two are residents of Serunewa village in the Anuradhapura district, according to media sources.
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Tamils in UK rally, demand direct British aid to IDPs in Vanni

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 07 October 2008, 16:46 GMT]
Several thousands, largely British Tamils, assembled outside the British Parliament Monday between 4:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. to demand action against indiscriminate aerial bombardment of Tamils by Government of Sri Lanka (G0SL), and to urge the British Government to urgently take direct action to help save lives in Vanni. More than six thousand attended the rally, according to an estimate by the organizers, the British Tamil Forum (BTF).
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Jaffna court allows bail for University student to sit final exam

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 07 October 2008, 16:10 GMT]
Jaffna magistrate court allowed cash bail for a Jaffna University, Agricultural Final year student arrested by Sri Lanka Army (SLA) in the search conducted Thursday following the attack on SLA soldiers guarding the electricity transformer in Kokkuvil, Jaffna, so that he could appear for his examination Monday, sources in Jaffna said. The student had filed a petition seeking bail in Jaffna courts, and Jaffna police who produced him and two others before Jaffna magistrate Monday said they have no objection to the three arrestees being granted bail.
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Two youths shot dead in Vavuniyaa

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 07 October 2008, 15:01 GMT]
Bodies of two youths, with ages estimated to be between 25 and 35 were found shot dead Tuesday morning, one at Kalnaatinankulam junction in Vavuniyaa police division and other at Sithambarapuram junction, with gun shot injuries and their hands tied from behind, sources in Vavuniyaa said.
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900 million USD in World Bank aid for Sri Lanka

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 07 October 2008, 14:52 GMT]
The World Bank will give Sri Lanka 900 million dollars in aid under its new four-year country assistance strategy aimed at achieving "more balanced and equitable growth" press reports said. World Bank country director Naoko Ishii said one of the aims of the country assistance strategy (CAS) aid to the island riven by protracted ethnic conflict is to expand economic opportunities in "lagging regions" in the interests of "inclusive and equitable" economic development, reports said.
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SL Premier: 200 military personnel killed, 1,000 wounded in September

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 07 October 2008, 14:45 GMT]
About two hundred military personnel were killed and over one-thousand wounded in the battle field in the military operation against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in September, said Sri Lanka's Prime Minister Ratnasiri Wickremanayake in Sri Lanka parliament Tuesday when moving the motion to extend the State of Emergency for another month, parliamentary sources said.
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62 SLA soldiers killed in 3 fronts in Vanni - LTTE

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 07 October 2008, 10:45 GMT]
Liberation Tigers of Tamileelam (LTTE) officials in Vanni told media that their defensive formations put up stiff resistance against the SLA offensive units that attempted to advance on three fronts in southern Ki'linochchi district from 5:30 a.m. on Tuesday. 26 SLA soldiers were killed in Akkaraayan - Mu'rika'ndi sector, 16 in Vanni Vizhaangku'lam and 20 in Vannearikku'lam. The SLA offensive units were pushed back in all three fronts the Tigers said claiming that 49 SLA soldiers were wounded in Akkaraayan and 23 in Vanni Vizhaangku'lam. The Tigers also claimed to have seized arms and ammunition in the clearing mission in the evening.
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Tamil Nadu exerts pressure on New Delhi against Sri Lanka's war

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 07 October 2008, 09:36 GMT]
The Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu state in Southern India, Kalaignar M. Karunanidhi, on Monday indirectly declared that his government would no longer tolerate Indian Central government aiding the Sri Lankan government against the Eezham Tamils, even if it aided Colombo "unwittingly". The move comes after the veteran DMK leader urged his party members to telegram New Delhi to convey their displeasure with the attitude of the Central government. He has issued a veiled threat to New Delhi implying that he would not hesitate to withdraw his support to the ruling UPA alliance, if Sri Lanka continued its war against Eezham Tamils, media reports in Tamil Nadu said.
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Bomb attack on Bus in Vanni, 3 killed, 6 wounded

[TamilNet, Monday, 06 October 2008, 18:27 GMT]
Three civilians were killed and six wounded Monday morning around 10:00 when Sri Lanka Army (SLA) Deep Penetration Unit (DPU) launched a Claymore attack targeting a civilian bus on Pu'liyangku'lam - Puthukkudiyiruppu road in Vanni, Tamileelam Police said.
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Muslim civilian abducted in Puththa'lam

[TamilNet, Monday, 06 October 2008, 17:58 GMT]
Unidentified gunmen arriving in a vehicle abducted a Muslim civilian Sunday early morning from his house in a suburb called Viruthoodai in Mathurankuli village in Puththa'lam district. Armed men called H.H.K.Nainamarikaar, 38, out of his house and pushed him into the vehicle and drove off, according to complaints lodged with the Puththa'lam Police by his wife and relatives.
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2 SLA soldiers killed in accident in Vaazhaichcheanai

[TamilNet, Monday, 06 October 2008, 15:40 GMT]
Two Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers were killed when the motorbike they were riding in collided with a cow crossing the main road between Vaazhzaichcheanai and Kumpurumulai in Vaazhaichcheanai police division in Batticaloa Sunday around 6:45 p.m, Vaazhaichcheanai police said. One of the soldiers died in Vaazhaichcheanai hospital, and the other in Batticaloa Teaching Hospital where he was earlier transferred for further medical treatment, hospital sources said.
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Journalist among the dead in Anuradhapura blast

[TamilNet, Monday, 06 October 2008, 12:11 GMT]
Five media organisations (SLWJA, FMETU, SLTMA, SLMMF, FMM) Monday expressed deep sorrow over the death of TV journalist Rashmi Mohamed around at 8:40 a.m. in Anuradhapura. Rashmi, a provincial correspondent of Sirasa TV, was covering the opening ceremony of the new office of the United National Party (UNP) in Anuradhapura, close to the old bus stand, a press statement issued by the Free Media Movement (FMM) in Colombo said.
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UPFA to appoint Karuna as national list parliamentarian

[TamilNet, Monday, 06 October 2008, 11:21 GMT]
Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa, following the advice by his brother and SL Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, has approved a suggestion to appoint Vinayagamoorthy Muralitharan, alias Karuna, a renegade Tiger commander who turned leader of a paramilitary group operated by the Sri Lanka Army in Batticaloa and Ampaa'rai, as national list parliamentarian of the UPFA, informed sources in Colombo said.
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Eastern Province must function as a separate unit - SL Chief Justice

[TamilNet, Monday, 06 October 2008, 10:53 GMT]
"Eastern province should continue to be separated from North. Eastern province is a very important province in Sri Lanka and will serve as an example to all other provinces in the country," said Mr.Sarath N Silva, the Chief Justice speaking in Batticaloa Saturday during the opening ceremony of a High Court and an appeal Court, sources in Batticaloa said. The event was chaired by High Court judge S.Paramarasa.
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Ex-Service Commanders elevated in rank with increased pension

[TamilNet, Monday, 06 October 2008, 10:35 GMT]
Sri Lanka Government has elevated in rank and increased pension privileges of two former Commanders of the Sri Lanka Army (SLA), two former Rear Admirals of the Sri Lanka Navy (SLN), and four former Air-Vice Marshals of the Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) with effect from October 1, 2008, political sources in Colombo said.
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SLA arrests youth, another reported missing, in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Monday, 06 October 2008, 10:28 GMT]
A 26-year-old Tamil youth from Kaithadi in Jaffna, temporarily staying Colombo, was reported missing after going out on an errand 22nd September, according to a complaint registered by his mother with the Human Rights Commission (HRC) office in Jaffna. Meanwhile, another 24-year-old Tamil youth has disappeared in Cha'ndilippaay Jaffna after being arrested by the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers while he was on his way to a closeby Saiva temple, his mother said in a complaint to the HRC.
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Janaka Perera assassinated, blast kills 28 in Anuradhapura

[TamilNet, Monday, 06 October 2008, 03:58 GMT]
Opposition Leader of the United National Party in North Central Province, Maj. Gen (retd.) Janaka Perera and his wife, a former Sri Lanka Army officer, were killed in a bomb blast in Anuradhapura Monday morning around 8:45. Around 28 persons were killed and 80 wounded in the blast, Police said. An attacker, strapped with hidden explosives, embraced the former commander killing himself and several others, initial reports said. Janaka Perera was the UNP candidate for the Chief Minister post in 2008 Provincial Elections in North Central Province, which was marred by violence.
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7 Tamil youths arrested in Wellawatte

[TamilNet, Sunday, 05 October 2008, 19:48 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army (SLA) troopers and police arrested seven Tamil youths during a cordon and search operation covering all lodges, hotels, houses and business places, conducted from Friday night till Saturday morning in Wellawatte area in Colombo, sources in Colombo said. The arrested are still being detained in the police station for further inquiries.
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2 farmers missing in Yala

[TamilNet, Sunday, 05 October 2008, 18:50 GMT]
Two Sinhalese farmers went inside Yala sanctuary for cultivation have been reported missing since October 1st, according to a complaint lodged with the Kotiayagala Police Sunday by the third farmer who accompanied them.
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STF killed, 2 wounded in LTTE booby traps

[TamilNet, Sunday, 05 October 2008, 16:59 GMT]
A Sri Lankan Special Task Force (STF) commando engaged in a search operation in the jungles of Kagnchikudichchaa'ru in Ampaa'rai was killed Sunday around 2:50 p.m. and two wounded when they were caught up in a LTTE laid booby trap, LTTE sources from the East told media.
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Jaffna Saiva organizations to discuss SLA searches of Temples

[TamilNet, Sunday, 05 October 2008, 09:18 GMT]
Saiva Organizations in Jaffna peninsula has called all the priests of Saiva temples, trustee board members of the temples, and Saiva organizations to attend a meeting Sunday to explore difficulties raised by current SLA searches in the Saiva temples in the peninsula, civil society sources in Jaffna said. Meanwhile, Sri Lanka Army (SLA) in Jaffna launched a search operation Saturday mornings in the Jaffna Teaching Hospital, hospital sources said. One side of the Hospital boundaries lies behind the SLA's 51-2th division head quarters premises.
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UNP lends support to GoSL's war effort

[TamilNet, Sunday, 05 October 2008, 09:02 GMT]
United National Pary (UNP) Senior Party Member and Colombo district parliamentarian, Ravi Karunanayake, accompanied by several of his supporters, visited injured Sri Lanka Army (SLA) officers at the Colombo Jayawardenepura Hospital and wished speedy recovery, political sources in Colombo said. The MP handed over essential goods to the injured, and complemented the officiers for the victories they have accomplished in the NorthEast battlefield, sources added.
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Children, Mentally-handicapped displaced due to artillery, air-attacks

[TamilNet, Sunday, 05 October 2008, 08:42 GMT]
Facing imminent danger from Sri Lanka Army's (SLA's) artillery attack, and aerial bombardment, more than ten homes sheltering orphaned children, mentally-handicapped, and elderly persons, located within a few miles radius from Ki'linochchi town, have been hurriedly relocated to interior villages of Vanni, hospital sources from Ki'linochchi said.
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ASP's knowledge on routine TID matters scrutinized in Tissainayagam trial

[TamilNet, Sunday, 05 October 2008, 06:31 GMT]
During cross examination by the Defense Counsel Anil Silva in the Tissainayagam trial at the Colombo High Court on Thursday, the Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP), Sri Lal Ananda Raj Ranasinghe of Terrorist Investigation Division (TID), who recorded the alleged confession made by Tissainayagam, admitted to errors in dates when the "alleged confession" took place, and failed provide answers to many questions on routine matters related to procedures at the TID, legal sources in Colombo said.
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Batticaloa Buddhist priest protests Police action

[TamilNet, Saturday, 04 October 2008, 14:39 GMT]
Batticaloa Buddhist Vihare incumbent Chief priest, Ven. Sumanaratna Thero, led a protest fast near Batticaloa Clock Tower Saturday morning demanding the Police Officer in charge of Batticaloa police station to be transferred for refusing permission to participate in the opening ceremony of the new Appeal Court building in Batticaloa by Chief Justice Mr. Sarath N. Silva, earlier the same day.
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SLA obstructs public entry into Valikaamam HSZ

[TamilNet, Saturday, 04 October 2008, 14:36 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army (SLA) in Jaffna refused to allow students, teachers and workers, to enter the High Security Zone (HSZ) at the Thellippazhai entry point Friday, preventing them from attending schools and work places located within the said HSZ, sources in Jaffna said. Meanwhile, SLA conducted searches in several areas in the HSZ, following the Monday night attack on SLA soldiers at Maasiyappiddi in Jaffna, on suspicion of Liberation Tiger combatant's penetration into the HSZ, sources added.
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SLA compels public to guard electricity transformer

[TamilNet, Saturday, 04 October 2008, 14:25 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army (SLA) in Jaffna imposed a system of compulsory work in Achchuveali Friday where two groups of 10 residents each of the area were assigned to guard the electricity transformer along with the SLA soldiers 24 hours, the groups alternating between day and night duty, local residents said. Meanwhile, SLA after searching the Point Pedro Sri Lanka Transport Board premises Thursday, launched cordon and search operations around the Zonal Education Offices in Puloali and Karaveddi areas in Vadamaraadchi Friday morning.
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Compulsory registration of Tamils, another act of oppression - TNA MP

[TamilNet, Saturday, 04 October 2008, 13:14 GMT]
Compelling all Tamils from North and East currently residing in Western province to register with police is another act of oppression, and has caused fear and apprehension, stated K.Thurairatnasingham, Trincomalee district Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarian in a media communique released Thursday.
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Jaffna doctors on token strike protesting collegue's murder

[TamilNet, Saturday, 04 October 2008, 13:05 GMT]
Jaffna Teaching Hospital (JTH) doctors went on an hour's token strike Friday at 8:00 a.m, along with the one-day island wide strike launched by the Doctors in all Sri Lanka government hospitals, condemning the killing of the 38-year-old lady doctor, Ms. Laxmi Idumil in Hambantota in the south, by a Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldier on 29 September, sources in Jaffna said.
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Tamil youth strangled to death in Vavuniyaa

[TamilNet, Saturday, 04 October 2008, 11:07 GMT]
Corpse of a Tamil youth was found Saturday morning along Fifth Lane at Vaiaravappuliyangku'lam in Vavuniyaa police division. The youth was murdered by strangulation after being tortured severely.
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3,000 SLA deserters to face military tribunal

[TamilNet, Saturday, 04 October 2008, 10:58 GMT]
About three thousand deserted soldiers of the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) including twenty one high ranking officers now under detention after arrest by the police are to be produced before military tribunal shortly, media sources reported quoting Military Spokesman Brigadier Udaya Nanayakkara.
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SLA soldiers attacked near electricity transformer in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Friday, 03 October 2008, 13:44 GMT]
Unidentified attackers attacked Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers posted at the electricity transformer area at Va'n'naaththi Paalam along Aadiyapaatham Veethi in Kokkuvil in Jaffna Thursday around 7:30 p.m. An explosion caused either by a hand grenade or by a Claymore device was heard from the place of attack, and gunfire followed the blast for nearly ten minutes, residents of the area said. There was no information on casualty or injuries to the SLA soldiers.
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SLA soldiers search Point Pedro SLTB depot

[TamilNet, Friday, 03 October 2008, 13:40 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army (SLA) in Jaffna which has been engaged in intensive searches in most of the Saiva temples in Jaffna peninsula and their surroundings from Tuesday, extended the search to Point Pedro Sri Lanka Transport Board (SLTB) Thursday, which lasted for nearly two and a half hours. No one was arrested or any objects were recovered during the search, employees of the depot said. The searches follow the attack on SLA soldiers Monday night at Maasiyappiddi in Valikaamam.
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SLA begins 4th recruitment drive

[TamilNet, Friday, 03 October 2008, 13:36 GMT]
Fourth recruitment drive since January, 2008, in Government controlled areas will continue till December 31 this year, according to media sources. The main aim of the recruitment is to fill current vacancies in permanent and volunteer forces in the SLA due to prevailing war.
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Multiple air strikes target civilian infrastructure in Ki'linochchi

[TamilNet, Friday, 03 October 2008, 13:22 GMT]
A key sluice transporting water to thousands of acres of agricultural lands in Vanni sustained damage in Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) indiscriminate bombardment Friday morning around 9:30 a.m., at Paravippaagnchaan, near Ki'linochchi town where LTTE's Peace Secretariat is located. Meanwhile, SLAF bombers dropped bombs in the vicinity of the UNICEF office located at Kaneasapuram in Ki'linochchi three times between 3:35 and 4:00 p.m. Centre for Women's Development and Rehabilitation (CWDR) was heavily damaged in the air strike.
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SLAF attacks Tamileelam Police HQ, artillery barrage on Ki'linochchi

[TamilNet, Friday, 03 October 2008, 04:58 GMT]
Sri Lanka Air Force Kfir bombers attacked the Headquarters complex of the Tamileelam Police, located along the A9 Road at the heart of Ki'linochchi town Friday around 9:30 a.m. Three bunker-busting bombs hit the premises of the Tamileelam Police, destroying a hall behind the Police HQ.The main building escaped destruction as Ratha Anti-Aircraft Unit of the Liberation Tigers of Tamileealm (LTTE) fired at the bombers. Two of the bombs hit the nearby store of the Tamils Rehabilitation Orgsniation (TRO) causing damage to it. The attack comes after continuous barrage of artillery and Multi-Barrel Rocket Launcher (MBRL) fire from 7:00 p.m. on Thursday to 4:30 a.m. on Friday, targeting the destruction of the township.
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Bomb blast in TMVP operative's office in Batticaloa

[TamilNet, Thursday, 02 October 2008, 19:38 GMT]
Amid unconfirmed reports of a key paramilitary operative, Pradeep master, a close associate of Pillayan, joined Karuna, a bomb exploded inside the premises of the operative's office at Vanthaa'rumoolai Uppoadai in Batticaloa district, Thursday morning around 6:30 a.m., causing serious injuries to a paramilitary person.
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Motorcycle gang abducts family man in Valikaamam

[TamilNet, Thursday, 02 October 2008, 19:14 GMT]
Unidentified armed men arriving on more than seven motorcycles abducted a family man from his house in Cha'ndilippaay area in Valikaamam Wednesday night, according to the complaint made by his wife to Human Rights Commission (HRC) Jaffna office Thursday. Local residents said that the abduction is related to the Monday night attack on a Sri Lanka Army (SLA) road patrol unit at Maasiyappiddi allegedly by Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).
Full story >>

7 Tamils arrested over Malwatte bomb blast

[TamilNet, Thursday, 02 October 2008, 19:11 GMT]
Seven Tamils were taken into custody by the police in cordon and search operations conducted following the bomb blast that took place along Malwatte Road in Fort, Colombo, police sources said. The arrested are now being detained in police stations located in Fort and Slave Island for further interrogation.
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TMVP person shot dead, one injured in Ea'raavoor

[TamilNet, Thursday, 02 October 2008, 19:06 GMT]
Unidentified armed men on motorcycle opened fire Thursday around 5:45 p.m on two Tamil Makkal Viduthalai Pulikal (TMVP) paramilitary personnel who were riding in a motorcycle on Batticaloa-Vaazhaichcheanai main road in Ea'raavoor in the Batticaloa district, killing one and seriously wounding the other, police said.
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Sri Lankan Police arrest 2 Saiva priests, 8 civilians in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Thursday, 02 October 2008, 19:02 GMT]
Maanippaay police, during a search conducted Tuesday in Kalvayal Murukan temple and Cheera'ni Amman temple in Valikaamam West, arrested the resident priests of the two Saiva temples, and eight civilians including the two trustees of the temples and persons who came to worship, sources in Maanipay said.
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51 lorries with humanitarian supplies reach Puthukkudiyiruppu

[TamilNet, Thursday, 02 October 2008, 18:51 GMT]
51 lorries, including 42 vehicles carrying supplies from the World Food Programme (WFP) and 12 belonging to Ki'linochchi Government Agent reached Puthukkudiyirupp in Mullaiththeevu district around 12:30 p.m. Thursday, sources in Puthukudiyiruppu said. Nine UN humanitarian officials and Ki'linochchi Government Agent Vethanayagan accompanied the convoy in eight vehicles.
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Sri Lankan artillery barrage hits Ki'linochchi town

[TamilNet, Thursday, 02 October 2008, 14:37 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army has started firing artillery shells towards Ki'linochchi town Thursday evening around 7:00 p.m., causing panic among the remaining civilians in the town and its suburbs. At least four artillery shells crossed over the town as TamilNet correspondent was reporting that the building of the Ki'linochchi hospital was shaken due to the blasts, causing fear among the remaining patients and the staff. A 33-year-old civilian was rushed to Ki'linochchi hospital in the evening. One shell hit the ground near UNDP office and the other near Ki'linochchi Government Agent's hostel, according to latest reports.
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CPI-led hunger strike draws thousands in Tamil Nadu

[TamilNet, Thursday, 02 October 2008, 11:14 GMT]
Thousands of people Thursday took to the venues in Tamil Nadu's capital city Chennai and other district capitals in the southern state of India to participate in a fasting campaign on Mahatma Gandhi's birthday demanding New Delhi to withdraw military assistance to Sri Lanka. Several Tamil leaders, including Panruti S. Ramachandran, who was actively engaged in the Sri Lankan process under the late Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, M.G. Ramachandran (MGR) in the mid-80's addressed the participants at Seappaakkam. CPI National Secretary D. Raja, in his address, charged that New Delhi was clandestinely assisting Sri Lanka in its war against Tamils and questioned what the Indian personnel who came under attack in the North of Sri Lanka were doing there.
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Karuna seeks Devananda's support for comeback

[TamilNet, Thursday, 02 October 2008, 11:02 GMT]
Amid reports of a renewed infighting among the factionalised TMVP paramilitary in the East, Vinayagamoorthy Muralitharan, alias Karuna, a former Tiger commander who turned leader of the paramilitary group operated by the Sri Lanka Army, Wednesday met the EPDP paramilitary leader and Sri Lankan Minister Douglas Devananda, seeking the latter's support to strengthen his position in the East, which is under the grip of the UPFA-installed chief minister and paramilitary leader, Sivanesathurai Chandrakanthan alias Pillayan, who was a former confidante of Karuna.
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Two fishermen reported missing in Vadmaraadchi East

[TamilNet, Thursday, 02 October 2008, 09:02 GMT]
Sri Lanka Navy (SLN) gunboats entered the waters off Maruthangkea'ni coast in Liberation Tigers of Tamileelam (LTTE) controlled Vadamaraadchi East Wednesday night and opened fire on the fishing boats Wednesday night. Two fishermen from Vaththiraayan, who went for fishing are reported missing.
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WFP food convoy enters Vanni

[TamilNet, Thursday, 02 October 2008, 08:48 GMT]
51 lorries carrying food supplies containing 650 MT to civilians in Liberation Tigers of Tamileelam controlled territory in Vanni entered the region Thursday morning around 10:30, according to the officials of World Food Programme (WFP) in Colombo. 30 lorries were carrying WFP supplies and the remaining were supplies under Ki'linochchi and Mullaiththeevu Government Agents. Six UN officials and Ki'lnochci GA N. Vethanayagam were escorting the supplies under UN flag.
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SLAF attacks LTTE Peace Secretariat, Political Division HQ

[TamilNet, Thursday, 02 October 2008, 08:25 GMT]
Sri Lanka Air Force on Thursday attacked the Head Office of the Political Section of the Liberation Tigers of Tamileelalam and the LTTE Peace Secretariat, both located close to each other at the heart of the Ki'linochchi town. The attack, reported around 1:00 p.m., also caused damage to nearby houses and the roads. Two civilians were killed and five wounded in the air-strike, according to initial reports.
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Trinco High Court orders inquiry into Habeas applications

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 01 October 2008, 19:14 GMT]
Trincomalee High Court Judge Mr.M.Ilancheliyan has forwarded to the Trincomalee Magistrate to hold inquiry on two Habeas Corpus (HC) applications, filed by mothers of two disappeared Tamil youths in Paalathoupoor in Moothoor division in Trincomalee district on 4th April 2007, legal sources in Trincomalee said. The High Court Judge issued the directive on Monday after determining that the prima facie case had been established by the applicants.
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Ramzhaan saves lives in airstrike - KNC

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 01 October 2008, 19:02 GMT]
The office of a Computer Training Centre (KNC) in Paarathipuram south of Ki'linochchi was destroyed Wednesday around 3:00 p.m. in Sri Lanka Air Force air strike. There was no casualties as the centre observed public holiday on Wednesday during the final day of Ramzhaan, KNC said in a note to media.
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Sri Lankan airstrike targets civil administration in Vanni

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 01 October 2008, 18:41 GMT]
Sri Lanka Air Force fighter jets Wednesday evening attacked the Secretariat of Tamileelam Civil Administration, located in Paarathipuram south of Ki'linochchi. The officials atttached to the Tamileelam civil administration, which coordinates the administration in Liberation Tigers of Tamileelam controlled areas in almost all civil activities, ranging from ensuring the availability of drinking water to the maintanance civilian infrastructure, told TamilNet that noone was wounded in the attack as they had taken necessary precautions. The attack, which destroyed the building complex took place at 2:40 p.m.
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Norwegian politicians express concern on humanitarian access, media coverage

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 01 October 2008, 15:08 GMT]
Norwegian politicians and activists who addressed the participants of a Eelam Tamil diaspora organised rally and a fasting awareness campaign on Monday and Tuesday in front of the Norwegian Parliament in Oslo, criticized the expulsion of International NGOs from Vanni and urged the International Community, including the Norwegian Government, to do their maximum to enable the International humanitarian agencies to be present with civilians in need of humanitarian assistance, and to enable access to media to visit the affected areas.
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SLA shelling blocks A9

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 01 October 2008, 14:20 GMT]
The Sri Lanka Army has been continually shelling the A9 road between Mu'rika'ndi and Kokkaavil during the recent days, shutting down the A9 road forcing the civilians to use alternative roads.
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TNA condemns grenade attack on Tamil MP's house in Ampaa'rai

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 01 October 2008, 12:32 GMT]
Tamil National Alliance (TNA), in a report released Wednesday, condemned the grenade attack on TNA Ampaa'rai district parliamentarian Chandra Nehru Chandrakanthan's house in Thirukkoayil Tuesday, and accused Sri Lanka government of using paramilitary operative Iniyabarathi to prevent TNA parliamentarians of Eastern Province from fulfilling their responsibilities to the constituents. Paramilitary opertive Iniyabarathi functions as Sri Lanka President Mahinda Rajapaksa's Ampaa'rai district coordinator.
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Tortured Tamil given asylum in U.S. after 7 years in detention

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 01 October 2008, 12:26 GMT]
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Southern California announced Wednesday an immigration victory for Ahilan Nadarajah, an ethnic Tamil farmer who, after being tortured in his native Sri Lanka, sought asylum in the United States. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials in the U.S. held him for nearly seven years, first in immigration jail and later under electronic monitoring because of secret, fake evidence accusing him of being a 'terrorist'.
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Rebuilt SLN base in Nedunththeevu officially opened

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 01 October 2008, 12:22 GMT]
Sri Lanka Navy (SLN) Northern region officially opened a rebuilt SLN base, fitted with new radars and other modern equipment, in Nedunththeevu (Delft), Monday, in a ceremony attended by top officials of SLN Northern region, sources in Nedunththeevu said. The base was destroyed by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) Sea Tigers in 2008. The previous SLN commander was replaced, and the newly appointed SLN commander of the Nedunththeevu base officially assumed duties at the opening ceremony.
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JB Jeyaratnam passes away

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 01 October 2008, 11:27 GMT]
JB Jeyaretnam, the veteran opposition politician in Singapore and the first opposition member to be elected as Member of Parliament in Singapore, passed away on Tuesday of a heart attack at the age of 82.
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2 civilians killed, 13 wounded in SLAF attack on Ki'linochchi suburb

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 01 October 2008, 06:14 GMT]
Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) attacked a civilian settlement 1 km south of Ki'linochchi town, close to A9 Road, killing two civilians and wounding 13, Wednesday around 10:30 a.m. A 2-year-old girl, a 4-year-old boy, a 16-year-old and seven other females were among the wounded rushed to nearby Ki'lnochchi hospital. 19 houses were destroyed. Some of the windows of Ki'linochchi hospital shattered and sharpnels from the bombs reached the hospital premises, according to initial reports.
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Grenade attack on TNA MP's house in Ampaa'rai

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 01 October 2008, 05:56 GMT]
Unidentified persons lobbed a hand grenade on the house of Tamil National Alliance (TNA) Ampaa'rai district parliamentarian, Chandra Nehru Chandrakanthan, on Thirukkoayil main street, Tuesday around 10:00 p.m, despite the presence of three policemen guarding the residence, the MP said. The blast had damaged only the front portion of the house and no one was injured, he said. Police said two attackers were riding in a motorbike.
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