149 Reports

Florida protest targets Mall shoppers

[TamilNet, Monday, 30 November 2009, 12:23 GMT]
More than twenty Fort Lauderdale Tamils protested in front of the Sawgrass Mills shopping center Saturday drawing attention to the shoppers of the boycott campaign to shun "Made in Sri Lanka" goods, especially garments. The Florida mall is one of the biggest in South East of USA, and visited by most tourists from Caribbean and South American countries. Leaflets distributed said that trade in garments by US big label stores with Sri Lanka promotes a Government that has allegedly killed thousands of Tamil civilians, committing possible war-crimes in the process, according to a recent US State Department report.
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'Resettled' by forced labour, without food or freedom to move

[TamilNet, Monday, 30 November 2009, 02:30 GMT]
The few thousands who have been resettled in selected divisions of Mullaiththeevu and Ki'linochchi districts, are reportedly affected by the lack of food supply, news reports reaching Vavuniyaa said. The 'resettled' are actually kept in schools in those areas and are extracted of forced labour to clear the locations of resettlement. Their freedom of movement is restricted. The whole operation doesn't look like resettlement of 'citizens' but of slaves, said a Tamil official on conditions of anonymity.
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SLA abductions of Tamil youth continue unabated in camps

[TamilNet, Monday, 30 November 2009, 02:19 GMT]
Several Tamil boys and girls including teenagers interned in the camps are called by name through announcing system by the Sri Lanka Army intelligence officers and are taken to unknown destinations, reports reaching from Vavuniyaa camps said. At least 10 young men and boys were thus 'abducted' on 21 November and around 30 youth, including girls, were taken on 27 November from Zone-0 IDP internment camp in Cheddiku'lam alone last week. They were taken in SLA vehicles and their family members lost all contacts with them since then, sources in Vavuniyaa told TamilNet Sunday.
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2576 Vanni IDPs still held in Pulmoaddai camp

[TamilNet, Sunday, 29 November 2009, 17:26 GMT]
Although government authorities claim that all the Vanni Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) held in Sahanagam camp 2 located in Pulmoaddai in Trincomalee district, 2,576 of them are continued to be detained, sources in Trincomalee said.
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Operation against underworld criminals stopped due to election

[TamilNet, Sunday, 29 November 2009, 17:24 GMT]
Sri Lanka Police sources said all operations launched against underworld criminals have been suspended on the orders from superiors. With the end of the war against the LTTE the police launched an operation to eradicate underworld criminals. Over one hundred under world criminals were killed in the campaign. But some of them, including notorious criminal Kudu Lal, who has the backing of powerful politicians fled the country, sources in Colombo said.
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North, East assigned 31 seats in new parliament

[TamilNet, Sunday, 29 November 2009, 17:21 GMT]
The number of parliamentary seats for the North and East provinces in the new parliament would be the same as at present-31. There is no change, according to gazette notification issued by the Commissioner General of Elections Dayananda Dissanayake.
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Book Review: The Tamil Genocide by Sri Lanka

[TamilNet, Sunday, 29 November 2009, 13:01 GMT]
The engagement of Professor Francis A. Boyle, an eminent American expert in international law at the University of Illinois College of Law, during the last years of Sri Lanka's conflict is traced in a forthcoming book published by Clarity Press of Atlanta. Titled "The Tamil Genocide by Sri Lanka: The Global Failure to Protect Tamil Rights Under International Law,” it is the first book to develop an authoritative case for genocide against the Government of Sri Lanka under international law.
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Fonseka to contest presidential election on swan symbol

[TamilNet, Sunday, 29 November 2009, 12:42 GMT]
Former Sri Lanka Army Commander General (retd) Sarath Fonseka, the common opposition candidate for the Sri Lankan presidential election, which is scheduled to be held on January 26 is to contest on the symbol swan and on the ticket of a newly registered political party. He held the first press briefing Sunday morning at Jaica Hotel in Colombo.
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Government supporters attack JVP activists

[TamilNet, Sunday, 29 November 2009, 04:55 GMT]
A group of supporters said to be from the ruling United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA) Saturday morning attacked a group of activists of Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) when the latter were putting up posters in connection with the rally supporting the opposition common presidential candidate General Sarath Fonseka in Maradana in Colombo, according to a press release by the JVP.
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Big GAP in ethics, US shoppers told

[TamilNet, Saturday, 28 November 2009, 22:44 GMT]
Several dozen protesters carried placards in front of the Gap and Banana Republic stores on Wisconsin Avenue, Maryland, from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Saturday, urging ethical U.S. shoppers to boycott garments produced in Sri Lanka, while another group of Tamil activists assembled in front of Victoria's Secret Stores in midtown Manhattan in New York to protest against the Store's textile trade with Sri Lanka, sources in Washington D.C. said. Protests were also held in Miami, Boston, Atlanta, San Franciso and Dallas. Leaflets distributed said that trade in garments by US big label stores with Sri Lanka promotes a Government that has allegedly killed thousands of Tamil civilians, committing possible war-crimes in the process, according to a recent US State Department report.
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IDPs brought to Jaffna face adversity

[TamilNet, Saturday, 28 November 2009, 19:35 GMT]
Around 20,000 Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) brought to Jaffna from Vavuniyaa camps and handed over to their relatives are experiencing hardships as they are unable to make a living on their own due to lack of funds and government restrictions, civil society sources in Jaffna said. The local and international Non-governmental Organizations (NGOs) in Jaffna are unable to help the IDP families for want of funds, the sources added.
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Resettle IDPs in Jaffna before Presidential Election – IDP Welfare General Committee

[TamilNet, Saturday, 28 November 2009, 19:09 GMT]
The Welfare General Committee (WGC) of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Jaffna demands the speedy resettlement of IGPs in their own places occupied by Sri Lanka Army (SLA) in its High Security Zones (HSZs) in Jaffna peninsula before the Presidential elections, WGC sources said. WGC has decided to present its request directly to Sri Lanka President, Mahinda Rajapakse when he visits Jaffna 8 December. Meanwhile, WGC strongly condemns Minister Douglas Devananda’s recent announcement that resettlement in HSZs in Jaffna peninsula will take place only in July 2010 after the presidential election.
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Carter, Tutu: continued detention, clear violation of international law

[TamilNet, Saturday, 28 November 2009, 01:29 GMT]
A group of eminent global leaders, whose members include former US President, Jimmy Carter, and South African Archbishop of Cape Town, Desmond Tutu, has written to Sri Lanka's President Rajapaksa to say they are “deeply worried” about the humanitarian situation faced by the largely Tamil civilian population who fled fighting in the north of the country, and warn that this could squander hopes for national reconciliation. The leaders add that the continued confinement of approximately 135, 000 internally displaced people is a “clear violation of international law” and that these people are being denied basic human rights, including the right to liberty and freedom of movement.
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Rapp snubs Sri Lanka's comment to US's war crimes investigations

[TamilNet, Saturday, 28 November 2009, 00:29 GMT]
United States will "press for accountability at the national level, at the level closest to where the crimes were committed," Washington Post said quoting Stephen Rapp, Ambassador-at-Large for War Crimes Issues appointed by President Obama. Rapp told the Post that last month, to a request by Rapp to investigate war crimes by the Sri Lankan military, which allegedly killed thousands of civilians in an offensive against the country's separatist insurgency, a Sri Lanka diplomat [not named] had told Rapp, "[w]e're following your [US's] lead. We [Sri Lanka] believe in eliminating these terroristic threats and resolving these issues once and for all."
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Thousands attend Heroes day remembrance at Excel Centre, London

[TamilNet, Friday, 27 November 2009, 15:42 GMT]
Over 50,000 British Tamils gathered at the Tamil National Remembrance Day held in the Excel exhibition centre. Specially designed interior props and the lighting resembled the “Maveerar Thuyilum Illam” Graves of fallen heroes. British Tamils carrying red roses, Gloriosa lilies (Kaarthikaippoo: Tamil Eelam national flower) and lamps, are filing into the main venue, at the Excel Centre in East London, where large cut-outs of Tamil Eelam were displayed on either side of the stage.
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Heroes’ Day address highlights political formation for liberation

[TamilNet, Friday, 27 November 2009, 11:58 GMT]
Heroes’ Day Address 2009, released from the headquarters of Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), Friday, stressed the importance of people evolving elected political bodies in the diaspora for the liberation of their home country and to mobilise international support for the liberation. “We are aware that Tamil people will not accept or forgive structures already formed for achieving the goal of Tamil Eelam and activists of them deviating at anytime from the goal,” the address said, citing in the meantime that “the way ‘Sinhala chauvinism’ behaved even after causing grave human catastrophe has brought in permanent rift between Tamils and Sinhalese.” The address came hard on Colombo for serious human rights violations it is committing on interned LTTE cadres, especially women and mothers, and urged the silent IC to act immediately.
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Eezham Tamil refugees in Thailand in dire straits – TNA parliamentarian

[TamilNet, Friday, 27 November 2009, 11:41 GMT]
Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarian Chandraneru Chandrakanthan who had spent three days in Thailand meeting Eezham Tamils who had sought refugee with Thailand UNCHR authorities said that nearly 4000 of them are facing insurmountable difficulties. The MP has requested the UN and the UNCHR to do the needful to these refugees. Tamils living in various parts of the world should pay attention to the sufferings of these refugees in Thailand remembering that there are Eezham Tamil refugees even out of Sri Lanka who need immediate attention and support, Chandrakanthan said.
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SLAF helicopter gunship comes down in Buttala, 4 killed

[TamilNet, Friday, 27 November 2009, 10:48 GMT]
A Russian built MI-24 helicopter gunship of the Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF), which was engaged in air cover to provide security to Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa's visit to Hambantota, crashed in Badalkumbura area in Nilakandura, Buttala, killing the pilot and three gunners Friday afternoon, according to informed sources in Colombo.
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Travel restriction on Jaffna IDPs lifted

[TamilNet, Friday, 27 November 2009, 09:14 GMT]
Sri Lanka Ministry of Defence Thursday lifted the travel restriction on Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) brought from Vavuniyaa camps to Jaffna who were not allowed to leave Jaffna, sources in Jaffna said. Meanwhile, it is reported that Ministry of Defence will be allowing private sector buses in Jaffna to operate Jaffna-Vavuniyaa travel service through A9 route. The government, in view of the forthcoming presidential election, has begun to announce concessions to the people of Jaffna peninsula, the sources added.
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JHU parliamentarian criticizes General Sarath Fonseka

[TamilNet, Thursday, 26 November 2009, 15:45 GMT]
Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU) parliamentarian Venerable Uduwe Dhammaloka Thera Thursday at a press conference made a scathing attack on General (retd) Sarath Fonseka, the opposition backed common candidate that he (Sarath) was a part of an international conspiracy aimed at making way for the intervention of foreign troops into the country. He declined to elaborate the allegation. The Buddhist monk is leading a group of the JHU.
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UNP, SLFP-M back Fonseka

[TamilNet, Thursday, 26 November 2009, 13:04 GMT]
The working committee of the main Sri Lankan opposition United National Party (UNP) Thursday endorsed General (retd) Sarath Fonseka as their common presidential candidate. UNP is the main constituent of the newly formed United National Front (UNF). The peoples’ wing of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP), led by rebel SLFP parliamentarian Mangala Samaraweera, former Foreign Minister in the President Mahinda Rajapakse’s government also endorsed General Sarath Fonseka as their common presidential candidate.
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Police arrest Tamil civilian in Akuressa

[TamilNet, Thursday, 26 November 2009, 08:52 GMT]
Sri Lanka Police arrested a Tamil civilian in Akuressa in Matara district Wednesday. Police sources said he was taken into custody on receipt of information that he was involved in several terrorist activities in the south including the bomb attack that took place on March 10 this year. Several persons were killed in the blast. Minister of Posts Mahinda Wijesekara was seriously injured.
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Sri Lanka fully intends to destroy Tamil Homeland, says Boyle

[TamilNet, Thursday, 26 November 2009, 02:17 GMT]
Responding to Sri Lanka's President Rajapakse's statement to heads of media Tuesday ruling out the re-merger of Northern and Eastern provinces, Professor Boyle said, "[o]bviously, the Government of Sri Lanka fully intends to carve-up, destroy, and dismantle the Tamil Homeland on the Island of Sri Lanka for all time, and towards that end inflict even more acts of genocide against the Tamils living there. Historically, the only way for this to be counteracted is to establish an Independent State for the Tamils on Sri Lanka."
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Nearly 3000 IDPs from Jaffna released

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 25 November 2009, 20:54 GMT]
Jaffna Government Agent (GA), K. Ganesh said that 3,117 persons of 983 families from Jaffna district who had been held in the camps in Vavuniyaa and Kodikaamam Raamaavil camps have been released Tuesday. He further said that 445 persons of 425 families brought to Jaffna and held in Kodikaamam Raamaavil camp were sent to their own places in Jaffna district Tuesday.
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More than 600 IDPs brought to Jaffna detained in Thenmaraadchi camp

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 25 November 2009, 20:32 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army (SLA) authorities in Jaffna have detained nearly 600 persons among the Internally Displaced persons (IDPs) brought to Jaffna from Vavuniyaa camps Tuesday night and held in Duraippah Stadiu, in Kodikaamam Raamaavil camp, as there were no relatives to take responsibility of them, sources in Jaffna said. Meanwhile, the Ambassadors of foreign countries in Sri Lanka who visited Jaffna Wednesday met the IDPs held in Kodikaamam Raamaavil camp, the sources added.
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NLF leader Karunaratne to contest presidential election

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 25 November 2009, 18:20 GMT]
Dr. Wickremabahu Karunaratne, leader of the New Left Front (NLF), Wednesday announced his candidature for the forthcoming Presidential election. He disclosed his decision at a media briefing held in Colombo. Meanwhile, General Sarath Fonseka, former Sri Lanka Army commander and the Chief of Defence Staff, said that he is to announce his future plans Thursday.
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Police arrest youth in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 25 November 2009, 15:17 GMT]
Chu’n’naakam police took into custody a youth from Uduvil East in Jaffna for alleged involvement in the killing of Charles Wijewardne, Superintendent of Police (SP) on 05 August in I’nuvil, sources in Jaffna said. The arrested youth had been produced in the court for the killing of the SP but had been released for want of evidence. Later, the youth who had been detained in Vavuniyaa camp had recently come to Jaffna to stay with his family in Uduvil, the sources said.
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Another batch of IDPs brought to Jaffna, held in Duraiappa Stadium

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 25 November 2009, 12:04 GMT]
Despite Jaffna Government Agent’s (GA) recent announcement that all Jaffna IDPs held in Vavuniyaa camps had been brought to Jaffna, a group of them were brought to Jaffna Tuesday night and held in Duraiappah Stadium, Jaffna Secretariat sources said. Sri Lanka Army (SLA) had refused permission for many Jaffna IDPs to enter Jaffna claiming that they were involved in ‘terrorist’ activities. No instructions have been issued by the Sri Lankan Defence Ministry about where the IDPs being held in the Stadium are to be sent to, the sources added.
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Foreign Ambassadors including Indian High Commissioner visit Jaffna

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 25 November 2009, 11:53 GMT]
Newly appointed Indian High Commissioner to Sri Lanka, Mr. Ashok K. Kantha is on a two-day visit to Jaffna while the Ambassadors of Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and South Korea to Sri Lanka paid a sudden visit to Jaffna Wednesday accompanied by high officials from their embassies, sources in Jaffna said. The sudden visits of foreign emissaries to Jaffna prior to the Presidential election in January have raised questions among the residents of Jaffna peninsula, the sources added.
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3 resettled IDPs arrested in Mannaar

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 25 November 2009, 11:53 GMT]
Three Tamil civilians were taken into custody by the Intelligence Unit of the Mannaar police Tuesday evening. Police sources confirmed that the suspects were a part of a group of Tamil civilians recently resettled in Adampan and Parappaagka'ndal villages in Mannaar district after being released from internment camps in Vavuniyaa.
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Media, journalists in Jaffna issued with death threat again

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 24 November 2009, 18:19 GMT]
Two black-helmeted persons arriving on motor cycles Tuesday around 7:00 p.m to the offices of Yaazh Thinakkural, Uthayan and Valampuri Tamil dailies in Jaffna issued a letter threatening the lives of their journalists and officials for publishing false news about ‘terrorists’, causing confusion among the residents of Jaffna peninsula, sources in Jaffna said. The letters signed, ‘Alliance Protecting Tamils’, accused the media and its reporters in Jaffna for reproducing Indian media released photos of Pirapakaran and Pottu Ammaan taken in 2002 and warned them of drastic consequences if they continue in the same manner, the sources added.
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Fonseka files FR petition seeking adequate security

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 24 November 2009, 15:22 GMT]
General Sarath Fonseka, former commander of the Sri Lanka Army and Chief of Defence Staff, Tuesday filed a Fundamental Rights (FR) petition in the Supreme Court seeking the court to order the government to provide adequate security and also to direct the government to allow him to stay in his official residence. He stated in the petition that he has come to court as the government is not complying with the request made by him.
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Police arrest Tamil youth in Ampaa'rai

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 24 November 2009, 12:58 GMT]
Akkaraipattu police took into custody a Tamil youth Tuesday in a sudden cordon and search launched in Koa’laa in Aalayadveampu in Ampaa’rai district for staying in Koa’laa without registering with the local police, sources in Ampaa’rai said. The youth had come a few days ago to Koa’laa to work as labourer in road renovation, the sources added.
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New Indian High Commissioner for Sri Lanka assumes duties

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 24 November 2009, 12:45 GMT]
Ashok K. Kantha, assumed duties on 9th November as the new Indian High Commissioner for Sri Lanka in place of Alok Prasad who has been appointed Deputy Defence Advisor in the Indian Foreign Ministry under Chief Defence Advisor Mr. M. K. Narayanan. The new High Commissioner has been serving as the Indian High Commissioner for Malyasia from April 2007 until 2009 November before being appointed to Sri Lanka.
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Train services disrupted in Vavuniyaa, Batticaloa

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 24 November 2009, 10:43 GMT]
Train services between Colombo and Vavuniyaa towards the north and between Colombo and Batticaloa towards the east had been disrupted Tuesday morning for several hours. The Inter-City train that runs between Colombo Fort to Vavuniya was derailed Tuesday morning around 7:45 a.m. near the Girambe sub-railway station that is located along Polgahawela and Potuhara, railway department media spokesman said.
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A group of IDPs in Vavuniyaa camp to be taken to Ki’linochchi

[TamilNet, Monday, 23 November 2009, 19:10 GMT]
A batch of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) from Ki’linochchi district is to be taken from Vavvuniyaa camp to Ki’linochchi Maha Viththiyaalayam on 30th November in the first stage of resettling Vanni IDPs in their own places, sources in Vavuniyaa said. The IDPs who are to be resettled in nine Village Officers divisions located east of A9 road in Ki’linochchi will be first lodged in the Maha Viththiyalam, the sources added. Meanwhile, Northern Province Governor Major Gen. G. A. Chandrasiri has directed the Government Agent (GA) to take action to enable shops to function in all the areas of Ki’linochchi district.
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Presidential election to be held first

[TamilNet, Monday, 23 November 2009, 18:46 GMT]
The extra- ordinary gazette notification announcing the decision of the government to hold the Presidential Election next year ahead of parliamentary election is to be released midnight Monday. The gazette notification is now being printed by the government press, political sources in Colombo said Monday evening.
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CID questions JVP weekly editor

[TamilNet, Monday, 23 November 2009, 18:44 GMT]
Chandana Sirimalwatte, editor of Sinhala weekly “Lanka” was questioned by the Criminal Investigation Department of Sri Lanka Police Monday for about two and a half hours over the news report on the alleged plot to kill General Sarath Fonseka by the government by deploying a woman suicide bomber.
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SLA in Jaffna refuses entry to 1500 Vanni IDPs

[TamilNet, Monday, 23 November 2009, 07:29 GMT]
1500 Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) from Vavuniyaa camps brought to Jaffna Friday claiming that they are from Jaffna peninsula are now being held in the abandoned Raamaavil camp in Kodikaamam as Sri Lanka Army (SLA) authorities in Jaffna refuse them permission to be settled in Jaffna. Most of these IDPs are not from Jaffna but residents of Mullaiththeevu and Ki’linochchi districts in Vanni and it appears that they will be held permanently in Raamaavil camp, Thenmaraadchi Divisional Secretariat sources said.
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Mannaar-Jaffna bus service resumed after 20 years

[TamilNet, Sunday, 22 November 2009, 16:26 GMT]
The public bus service from Mannaar to Jaffna has been resumed after twenty years in addition to the bus services resumed to Colombo from Mannaar, sources in Mannaar said. Sri Lanka Transport Board (SLTB) bus leaves Mannaar main bus terminal to Jaffna daily at 6:30 a.m.
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3 killed, 14 injured in accident in Batticaloa

[TamilNet, Sunday, 22 November 2009, 16:09 GMT]
A lorry loaded with fertilizer bags on its way to Ooththuuchcheanai in Vadamunai from Vazhaichcheanai in Batticaloa district Friday slipped off the road into a culvert on Velikkanthai main road killing three farmers and seriously injuring fourteen more, sources in Batticaloa said. The condition of Ooththuchcheanai-Vadamunai road, filled with pock marks and pot-holes due to persisting rains, was the cause of the accident, the sources said.
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Shortage of transport buses to ply on A9 road from Jaffna

[TamilNet, Sunday, 22 November 2009, 06:51 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army (SLA) civil authorities in Jaffna Sinhala Mahavidyalaya sent back Sunday nearly half of the persons who wanted to travel from Jaffna to out stations on personal errands as there were no buses to take them, sources in Jaffna said. Only 1655 passengers were permitted by SLA to travel. Meanwhile, the Sri Lanka Transport Board (SLTB) officials in Koa’ndaavil Depot said that their repeated requests to their superiors for more busses to be used in Jaffna peninsula remain unattended.
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Tamil Nadu fishermen stage protest on World Fishermen Day

[TamilNet, Sunday, 22 November 2009, 06:35 GMT]
Fishermen in Tamil Nadu have decided to fly black flags instead of Indian National flag in their fishing vessels in a protest against Indian Government’s failure to stop the Sri Lanka Navy (SLN) attacks on Tamil Nadu fishermen and condemning the Sri Lankan government, fisheries society sources in Puthukkoaddai district in Tamil Nadu said. Meanwhile, Tamil Nadu fishermen staged a boycott Sunday on World Fishermen Day without going for fishing, remaining in their houses where black flags were seen hoisted, sources in Tamil Nadu said.
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SLA, SLN conduct search operation in Panku’lam

[TamilNet, Sunday, 22 November 2009, 05:51 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army (SLA) and Sri Lanka Navy (SLN) jointly conducted cordon and search in Panku’lam area Thursday in Trincomalee district following the recovery of a consignment of explosives in the Pea’raa’ru jungle. No one was taken into custody, sources in Trincomalee said.
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Colombo announces new phase of 'IDP management'

[TamilNet, Sunday, 22 November 2009, 00:55 GMT]
Sri Lankan president Mahinda Rajapaksa’s brother and advisor Basil Rajapaksa MP on Saturday announced that the Tamils held in the internment camps of Vavuniyaa would be free, starting from December 01, to go and live wherever they want to or to choose whether they want to continue to remain inside the camps. Tamil sources in Vavuniyaa view the announcement with scepticism describing it as an 'election gimmick' while expressing fear of increased disappearances and militarisation of the Tamil homeland.
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Protest unsettles Victoria's Secret's catwalk

[TamilNet, Sunday, 22 November 2009, 00:12 GMT]
Several American Tamil activists protested in front of the midtown Manhattan New York State armory building where Victoria's Secret catwalk event was being held Thursday evening. While celebrities were arriving to attend the popular event, the protesters highlighted the Corporation's trade with Sri Lanka as aiding and abetting crimes against humanity, and war-crimes. "The New York Police attempted to harass the protesters, but we carried on our protest much to the dismay of the catwalk organizers," said a protest organizer.
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Dengue fever claims 2 lives in Vavuniyaa

[TamilNet, Saturday, 21 November 2009, 05:50 GMT]
Dengue is spreading fast in Vavuniyaa and its suburbs. Two persons have died and thirteen others warded in Vavuniyaa general hospital due to dengue fever until Thursday. Over thousand people seek treatment for dengue in Vavuniyaa general hospital daily and majority of them are internally displaced people now detained in camps in Vavuniyaa, hospital sources said.
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Vanni Government employees in Jaffna not allowed to report for duty in Vanni

[TamilNet, Saturday, 21 November 2009, 05:40 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army (SLA) civil administrative officials in Jaffna refused Friday to permit government employees earlier serving in Vanni to report for duty in Ki’linochchi and Mullaiththeevu districts in Vanni though Northern Province Governor, Major G. A. Chandrasiri had ordered them to report for duty in both districts. Many government employees including teachers who are originally from Ki’linochchi and Mullaiththeevu districts and now staying in Jaffna were not allowed to return to their places for duty Friday by the SLA civil authorities in Jaffna Sinhala Maha Viththiyalaya.
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Vanni IDPs held in Thenmaraadchi to be settled in Army HSZ in Vadamaraadchi

[TamilNet, Friday, 20 November 2009, 16:33 GMT]
Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) from earlier Liberation Tiger controlled areas in Vadamaraadchi East beyond Naakarkoayil detained in Mirusuvil and Kodikaamam IDP camps in Thenmaraadchi are to be settled in the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) High Security Zone (HSZ) in Ma’nattkaadu in Vadmaraadchi, according to Maruthangkea’ni Assistant Government Agent (AGA), S. Sriskantharajah. Ma’nattkaadu, Ampan and Kudaththanai villages are located in the HSZ where people are not permitted to move freely by the occupying SLA soldiers, sources in Vadamaraadchi said.
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Retired SLA major arrested for assisting LTTE in past

[TamilNet, Friday, 20 November 2009, 11:06 GMT]
A retired Major of the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) was arrested last week by the Terrorist Intelligence Division for allegedly assisting the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) while in service and after retirement. The suspect is a Sinhalese and a resident in a suburb in Colombo. He worked in the SLA intelligence unit while in service. He served in the SLA for fifteen years, police sources said.
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Tamil youth from Batticaloa reported missing

[TamilNet, Friday, 20 November 2009, 06:55 GMT]
A Tamil youth from Kiraanku’lam in Batticaloa district has gone missing after leaving to his work place in Colombo two weeks ago on 5 November, according to complaints made to Kaaththaankudi police and Human Rights Commission (HRC) by his father.
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IDPs taken to Vanni not allowed residing in their homes

[TamilNet, Friday, 20 November 2009, 06:42 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army (SLA) does not permit the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) taken to Poonakari and Thu’nukkai in Vanni to reside in their houses but keep them lodged in the school buildings, sources in Jaffna said. Meanwhile, SLA in Jaffna takes a group of teachers to these areas and brings them back daily in buses claiming that they teach the children of the IDPs. This is but an attempt by the government to show that the released Vanni IDPs are leading a normal life as it is not possible to conduct educational activities in schools occupied by IDPs, education officers in Jaffna observed.
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Police conduct house to house check in Trincomalee district

[TamilNet, Thursday, 19 November 2009, 17:55 GMT]
Sri Lanka Police with the assistance of Sri Lanka Army have been conducting house to house check in Trincomalee town and its suburb checking family cards to find out whether outsiders are staying without registering themselves with the respective police station.
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2 Tamil youths injured in landmine explosion in Mannaar

[TamilNet, Thursday, 19 November 2009, 17:51 GMT]
Two Tamil youths deployed by Sri Lanka Army for de-mining in Maanthai west in Mannaar district were injured Thursday around 2:15 pm as they attempted to remove a landmine planted under a tree, sources in Mannaar said.
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More Batticaloa IDP families released for resettlement in their villages

[TamilNet, Thursday, 19 November 2009, 17:49 GMT]
Fifty-one Internally Displaced Persons of eighteen families held in camps in Jaffna district were sent to Batticaloa Thursday by three state sector buses thorough A9 road. They are now given shelter in Batticaloa Sinhala Maha Vidiyalayam. They would be resettled in their villages in the district after screening by armed forces and police intelligence unit, sources in Batticaloa said.
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Fonseka instructed to vacate official residence on short notice

[TamilNet, Thursday, 19 November 2009, 10:35 GMT]
Retired Chief of Defence Staff and former SLA Commander General (retd) Sarath Fonseka is facing difficulty in securing a new residence in a safe location after the Sri Lankan defence authorities have given him near zero time to vacate his official residence in Colombo, sources close Fonseka said.
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Jaffna private sector lorries allowed to use A9 road

[TamilNet, Thursday, 19 November 2009, 05:57 GMT]
Governor of Northern Province, Major gen. G. A. Chandrasiri, said in a media release Wednesday that the lorries of private owners are allowed to transport goods through A9 road as a gesture related to the 64th Birth Day of President Mahinda Rajapakse and the completion of the fourth year of his term as President. This lifting of the restriction follows the earlier announced lifting of the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) imposed travel pass restriction on Jaffna residents by the Governor.
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SLA continues detention of IDPs in Kaithadi camp

[TamilNet, Thursday, 19 November 2009, 05:44 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army (SLA) authorities in Jaffna continue to detain a group of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) including female undergrads of Jaffna University though action is taken to close all IDP camps in Jaffna and to detain the remaining IDPs in Raamaavil camp in Thenmaraadchi, sources in Jaffna said. Though the relatives of the above IDPs in Jaffna had applied to take responsibility of the IDPs they are continued to be held as SLA has not issued the needed ‘clearance’ to release them, Jaffna Government Agent said.
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President calls Jaffna government heads for urgent meeting in Colombo

[TamilNet, Thursday, 19 November 2009, 05:23 GMT]
Sri Lanka President Mahinda Rajapakse has invited the top government officials in Jaffna District including the Government Agent (GA), Divisional Secretaries and Additional Government Agents for an urgent meeting at his official residence Temple Trees Thursday 6:00 p.m, Jaffna Secretariat sources said. This meeting taking place on the occasion of the President completing his fourth year of term and the presidential election expected to be announced any time has raised speculations among Jaffna peninsula residents.
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IDP camps in Jaffna to be closed, retaining Thenmarraadchi camps

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 18 November 2009, 16:22 GMT]
Sri Lanka government has decided to close the Jaffna camps in which Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) are detained while retaining Kodikaamam and Mirusuvil camps in Thenmaraadchi, Jaffna Secretariat sources said. According to this plan 68 persons from Mullaiththeevu and Ki’linochchi districts who had no relatives to take responsibility of them were transferred to Thenmaraadchi camps Wednesday from Koappaay Teachers’ College, the sources added.
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CID arrest heads of resettled IDP families – TNA parliamentarian

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 18 November 2009, 09:18 GMT]
Unidentified persons without uniform posing as personnel of Criminal Investigation Department arrest heads of IDP families who have been resettled in their own villages after detention in camps located in Vavuniyaa. These persons do not provide receipts to their relatives when they remove heads of their families, complained Mr. K. Thurairatnasingham, Trincomalee district Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarian, in parliament Tuesday.
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New prisons in Ki’linochchi, Maangku’lam, Mullaiththeevu

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 18 November 2009, 09:06 GMT]
Commissioner General of Prisons Major General V. R. de Silva said Tuesday at a press briefing that no political prisoners are detained in prisons. Only 630 persons are held in prisons under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) and Emergency Regulations (ER). Files pertaining to them have been handed over to the Attorney General for necessary action, he added.
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Court fixes inquiry into FR filed on SLA travel pass

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 18 November 2009, 05:51 GMT]
A three-member bench of Supreme Court Tuesday fixed the inquiry into the Funamental Rights (FR) petition filed by former parliamentarian and the leader of All Ceylon Tamil Congress, Appathurai Vinayagamoorthy against the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) imposed travel restriction requiring persons travelling out of Jaffna, to 18 January 2010. The petition had been filed in April 2009.
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Police instruct resettled Vanni IDPs in Batticaloa to re-register

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 18 November 2009, 05:16 GMT]
Police have requested all resettled Vanni internally displaced families in Batticaloa district to re-register them in the respective police stations immediately, sources in Batticaloa said.
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NP Governor annuls SLA travel pass procedure in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 17 November 2009, 18:49 GMT]
Jaffna Government Agent (GA) informed Tuesday media in Jaffna peninsula that the Governor of Northern Province, Major. Gen. G. A, Chandrasiri has annulled the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) imposed travel pass procedure on persons travelling out of Jaffna peninsula, sources in Jaffna said. Meanwhile, SLA authorities in Jaffna had insisted that the said procedure is still in force despite recent Ministry of Defence directive declaring that people could freely travel through A9 road submitting a photo copy of their National Identity Card (NIC), the sources added.
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Vanni IDPs in Thenmaradchi camps to be settled in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 17 November 2009, 17:03 GMT]
2010 persons belonging to 624 families from the districts of Mullaiththeevu and Ki’linochchi in Vanni who still remain in the interim camps in Thenmaraachi are to be settled in Jaffna as no relatives or friends had come forward to take the responsibility of looking after them, Jaffna Government Agent (GA), K. Ganesh told media. The government, faced with limited relief resources to maintain the Vanni IDPs in Thenmaraadchi, is trying to get them off its hands, NGO representatives in Jaffna said.
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Protest demonstration against assault of Tamil political prisoners in Colombo

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 17 November 2009, 12:47 GMT]
The Democratic People’s Alliance (DPA) staged a protest demonstration outside the main central jail in Colombo Tuesday against the assault of Tamil political prisoners by prison guards and fellow Sinhalese prisoners Friday, sources in Colombo said. The demonstrators demanded the release of Tamil political prisoners or to take legal action against them. Despite the assurance given by Sri Lanka government to United Nations (UN) Commissioner of Human Rights, Ms. Louis Arbour that the Tamil political prisoners would be released after speedy trials, during her visit last year, they are continued to be imprisoned without any legal action against them, the sources added.
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600 Tamil political prisoners held in Magazine prison without inquiry

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 17 November 2009, 09:39 GMT]
Six hundred Tamil political prisoners are still held in Magazine prison under the Prevention of Terrorism Act and Emergency Regulations without any inquiry or indictment against them in law courts. Twenty Tamil prisoners were released from the prison Monday following the direction from the Attorney General that there was no evidence to implicate them with any offence under the PTA or ER.
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Main suspect in 1996 Central Bank bombing claimed arrested in Vavuniyaa

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 17 November 2009, 09:34 GMT]
Sri Lanka police spokesman and Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), I. M. Karunaratne, claimed that the main suspect in the bomb attack on Sri Lanka Central Bank in 1996 has been taken into custody in Cheddiku’lam in Vavuniyaa district when he tried to get out of the detention camp with a forged National Identity Card (NIC).
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Volunteer staff of Kalmunai Base Hospital stage protest

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 17 November 2009, 09:30 GMT]
The protest demonstration launched by the volunteer health staff demanding permanent appointment continued for the second day Sunday in front of the outpatients division of Kalmunai Base Hospital in Ampaa’rai district, sources in Kalmunai said. Though 37 persons had been working as health volunteers for the past 5 years, it has been announced that 12 persons are to be appointed permanently as health staff on Tuesday on the recommendation of Minister Athavulla and this protest is launched in order to prevent them from assuming duties, the organizers of the protest said.
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Second ‘Valampuri’ conch shell caught in Jaffna lagoon

[TamilNet, Monday, 16 November 2009, 19:46 GMT]
A fisherman from Kurunakar in Jaffna caught a Valampuri Conch (a rare conch shell with right hand opening and turn) Monday in Jaffna lagoon area where fishing had been banned for the last 13 years since Sri Lanka Army (SLA) occupation of Jaffna peninsula. He sold the conch for nearly 3,3 million rupees to a trader in Jaffna, sources in Jaffna said. A shell of the same kind was caught in the same area by a group of nine fishermen last month, the sources added.
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Sri Lanka government, SLA obstruct Jaffna lorries using A9 road

[TamilNet, Monday, 16 November 2009, 18:55 GMT]
Sri Lanka government and Sri Lanka Army (SLA) are not permitting the lorries owned by Jaffna traders to transport goods through A9 road though the said lorries had been inspected by SLA in its Palaali Military Head Quarters and issued with roadworthy certificates to nearly 147 lorries that belong to Jaffna traders, sources in Jaffna said. Meanwhile, the lorries owned by Sothern traders are engaged in transporting essential goods and other items to Jaffna and are permitted to take Jaffna produces back to South and this procedure with its high amount of transport charges has caused prices of goods in the peninsula to rise, affecting local producers and consumers, Traders Union representatives in Jaffna said.
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Police assistance sought to distribute fuel in Jaffna peninsula

[TamilNet, Monday, 16 November 2009, 18:24 GMT]
Fuel shortage being acute in Jaffna peninsula in the past few days police assistance is being used to distribute fuel to customers throughout Jaffna peninsula, sources in Jaffna said. Thousands of vehicle owners were seen Monday waiting in long queues to get the limited ration of fuel. The failure to bring in and stock sufficient quantity of volume through A9 road, as it had been done earlier when fuel was shipped to Jaffna, is said to be the reason for the current acute shortage of fuel in Jaffna peninsula, civil society representatives said.
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Roshan Gunatilake appointed as new CDS

[TamilNet, Monday, 16 November 2009, 15:58 GMT]
General Sarath Fonseka relinquished his post as Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) Monday and Sri Lanka Air Force Chief Roshan Gunatilake assumed duties as the new CDS. Meanwhile, heads of the three armed forces did not attend the farewell ceremony accorded to General Sarath Fonseka Monday at Army Headquarters.
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Batticaloa fishermen asked to register their boats

[TamilNet, Monday, 16 November 2009, 15:53 GMT]
Sri Lanka Fisheries Department has warned fishermen in the Batticaloa district to register their crafts before November 20 or face prosecution. Those failing to register the boats with Batticaloa Fisheries Department will be prosecuted in law courts, sources in Batticaloa said.
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76 IDP bodies in Vavuniyaa hospital to be buried at State expense

[TamilNet, Monday, 16 November 2009, 15:48 GMT]
Seventy-six bodies of IDPs who died during the last three months are lying in the mortuary of the Vavuniyaa general hospital as no one had come forward to claim them and do the last rites. Forty of them are new born babies while rest belongs to elders and women dead due to natural causes and during delivery, hospital sources said.
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Jaffna residents still have to obtain SLA pass to use A9 road

[TamilNet, Monday, 16 November 2009, 05:30 GMT]
Although the Sri Lanka Ministry of Defence had announced that all persons can travel through A9 road showing their identity documents Sri Lanka Amy (SLA) authorities in Jaffna insist on all Jaffna residents obtaining the travel pass from their local SLA civil administration officers, sources in Jaffna said. Many Jaffna residents who had tried to travel through A9 road Saturday and Sunday without the SLA travel pass were sent back home, the sources added.
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SLA establishes another HSZ in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Monday, 16 November 2009, 05:28 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army (SLA) authorities in Jaffna informed the Fisheries Societies of the areas near Jaffna Lagoon that fishing will not be permitted in Kearatheevu, Changuppiddi areas including Poonakari, Fisheries society representatives said. People have not been permitted to enter these areas where SLA had sown numerous mines, for the last three years. The boats of the fishermen fishing in these areas will be confiscated and legal action will be taken on them, the SLA directive to the fishermen societies said.
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Voter turnout endorses NCET, 15 members elected

[TamilNet, Monday, 16 November 2009, 05:27 GMT]
The Norwegian Council of Eelam Tamils (NCET) attracted enough number of participants in the poll that took place Sunday in 16 centres of the different regions of Norway, in which 2767 voters turned out to elect 5 members under a national list and 10 under regional lists. Noticeable of the results was Mr. Bjønar Moxnes topping the national list polling 1864 votes. Mr. Vijayshankar from Tamil Nadu is elected to the Council topping the list of Western Region. Considering the electoral history of Eezham Tamils, who have hitherto been imposed with constitutions and were voting in elections conducted by others, this is their first ever country-wide elections, conducted by them on their own, to form a political body of their own, based on their own constitution. The eight-member Election Commission performed the task with professional perfection, observers said.
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Moothoor East farmers suffer due to SLA occupation of their lands

[TamilNet, Sunday, 15 November 2009, 17:48 GMT]
The lands belonging to the residents of Moothoor East in the Eastern Province being occupied by Sri Lanka Army (SLA) which had declared them as High Security Zones (HSZs), they face great difficulties in cultivating their lands, their sole livelihood, sources in Moothoor said. Most of their paddy fields and the tanks that provide water to them have been caught into the HSZs of SLA.
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Secretaries of SLFP, JVP hold special talks

[TamilNet, Sunday, 15 November 2009, 17:36 GMT]
General Secretary, Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP), Maithiripala Sirisena and the General Secretary of Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), Tilvin Silva held special talks last week on issues related to the current political situation in Sri Lanka and the political actions to be taken in the future, political sources in Colombo said. The talks had taken place only between the general secretaries of the two political parties, the sources added.
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Executive Presidential system inappropriate - Malwatte chapter chief incumbent

[TamilNet, Sunday, 15 November 2009, 17:19 GMT]
Kandy Malwatte Chapter Mahanayake Most Ven. Siddhartha Sri Sumangala Thero said that the systems of Executive President, Provincial Council and present election system are not appropriate to Sri Lanka when the Leader of Opposition and United National Party (UNP), Ranil Wickremasinghe went to Malwatte along with other UNP leaders Saturday to get the blessings of the Chief Incumbent, sources in Colombo said.
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Encroachment of government lands in Batticaloa Tamil areas

[TamilNet, Sunday, 15 November 2009, 16:46 GMT]
Ma’nmunai Southwest Divisional Secretariat has informed the Deputy Secretary to President Rajapakse confirming the illegal colonization of government lands in Batticaloa district in Eastern Province where Tamil people live predominantly. Batticaloa district Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarian Ariyanenthiran had already brought the issue of illegal colonization to the President and his Deputy Secretary had called for reports from the three Government Agents (GAs) in Eastern Province.
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Mini cyclone strikes Ampaa’rai coast

[TamilNet, Sunday, 15 November 2009, 16:14 GMT]
The mini cyclone that hit the coastal areas of Ampaa’rai in Batticaloa district swept over for more than 10 minutes Sunday around 9:45 a.m leaving more than a hundred houses and properties damaged, sources in Ampaa’rai said. Kalmunaikkudi, Chainthamaruthu, Chammaanththu’rai, Kalmunai, Maruthamunai and Thu’raineelaava’nai are some of the places hit by the cyclone. The settlements of tsunami refugees were also affected in Chaainthamaruthu and Kaavaakuvaddai villages, the sources said.
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Moothoor east IDP families suffer without proper shelters

[TamilNet, Sunday, 15 November 2009, 15:56 GMT]
One hundred and two Tamil displaced families who are not allowed to resettle in their villages Kadatkaraichcheanai and Champoor in Moothoor east which have been declared high security zone (HSZ) since the fall of Moothoor east to Sri Lanka Army in 2006 April, are undergoing untold hardships without permanent structures to live. They had first fled and sought refuge in Batticaloa.
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SL Government will decide later which election to be held first – President Rajapakse

[TamilNet, Sunday, 15 November 2009, 15:44 GMT]
President Mahinda Rajapakse did not announce which election would take place first, presidential or parliamentary, while addressing the national convention of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP), main constituent of the ruling United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA), Sunday evening despite wide speculation that he would announce the date for early presidential election. The convention was held at Kettarama Stadium in Colombo.
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87 Welikada Tamil prisoners on hunger strike

[TamilNet, Sunday, 15 November 2009, 10:24 GMT]
Eighty-seven Tamil political prisoners began a hunger strike protest from Saturday morning demanding guarantee for their lives and to strengthen the security for them following the attack on fellow Tamil prisoners Friday by Sinhalese prisoners in the presence of prison officials, sources in Colombo said. Seven of the Tamil prisoners attacked are admitted in the prison hospital. The fasting Tamil prisoners sent a memorandum to relevant authorities requesting release on bail or to prosecute them in court and to hold an impartial inquiry into the Friday incident of attack on Tamil political prisoners, the sources added.
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Indian Finance Minister arrives in Colombo

[TamilNet, Sunday, 15 November 2009, 05:45 GMT]
Mr. Pranab Mukherjie, Indian Finance Minister, arrived in Colombo Saturday afternoon on a two-day official visit. He is scheduled to meet President Mahinda Rajapakse, and other opposition political leaders while in Colombo.
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Tamil trader killed in Hatton

[TamilNet, Sunday, 15 November 2009, 05:44 GMT]
Tension among upcountry Tamil community in Hatton prevails following the killing of a Tamil trader by an unidentified gang on Wednesday. The victim has been identified as Karupannan Visvanathan, a popular trader in Puliyawatte estate in Hatton police division.
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SLA travel restriction on Jaffna peninsula residents remains

[TamilNet, Saturday, 14 November 2009, 08:28 GMT]
Though Sri Lanka Defence Ministry has announced that the A9 road has been opened to the public Sri Lanka Army (SLA) authorities in Palaali Military Head Office issued a new directive Friday which says that all residents of Jaffna peninsula should obtain the SLA travel pass as usual from their local SLA civil authorities if they wish to travel out of the peninsula, sources in Jaffna said. The Non-government Organizations Federation in Jaffna has sent an appeal to President Mahinda Rajapakse requesting the removal of the above travel restriction imposed on the people of the peninsula.
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A9 reopened, SLA authorities in Jaffna not informed

[TamilNet, Saturday, 14 November 2009, 07:54 GMT]
The A-9 highway was opened to the public Friday on a special directive by President Mahinda Rajapakse, Governor of the Northern Province G.A Chandrasiri said. However, when Colombo bound passengers went to Sinhala Maha Vidyalaya in Jaffna Saturday morning, they were informed by the SLA that they have not received official information from Colombo and only those who have the military passes in possession were allowed to travel.
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Natives of Norway, Tamil Nadu, among 37 contesting NCET elections

[TamilNet, Saturday, 14 November 2009, 06:43 GMT]
As the final list of candidates is out for the popular elections of the Norwegian Council of Eelam Tamils (NCET) scheduled Sunday, 9 candidates contest for 5 seats of the national list and 28 candidates are in the fray for 10 seats under regional list. Figuring in the list are three native Norwegians and one Tamil of Tamil Nadu. The NCET constitution, while permitting vote only to people of Eezham Tamil descent above 16, allows even others to be elected provided they accept the principle of the Council advocating independent and sovereign Tamil Eelam in the island of Sri Lanka. Another feature of the candidates list is that many of them are highly educated and are professionals in various walks of life. Seven in the list are women, eight under 35 and two over 60. Two are young women among the 5 who have already been elected by institutions for the second chamber.
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Vavuniyaa court remands TNA parliamentarian Kanagaretnam till 4 December

[TamilNet, Saturday, 14 November 2009, 05:20 GMT]
Mr. Sathasivam Kanagaretnam, Mullaiththeevu district Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarian was produced in Vavuniyaa Magistrate’s court Friday morning for the first time after six months detention in the headquarters of the Terrorist Investigation Division of the Sri Lanka Police. He was taken into custody from Oamanthai camp in May this year while he was staying with his family. He fled from Mullaiththeevu when Sri Lanka Army launched its final battle against the LTTE and sought refuge in Oamanthai.
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New Indian High Commissioner for Sri Lanka arrives in Colombo

[TamilNet, Saturday, 14 November 2009, 05:17 GMT]
Mr. Ashok K. Kantha, the new Indian High Commissioner for Sri Lanka arrived in Colombo Thursday. He is to present his credentials to President Mahinda Rajapakse during the weekend, sources in Colombo said. He called on Foreign Minister Mr.Rohitha Bogollagama at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Friday.
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Australia aiding and abetting Sri Lanka’s war crimes - Prof. Boyle

[TamilNet, Saturday, 14 November 2009, 00:25 GMT]
“Australia is a contracting party to the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees as well as to its related 1967 Protocol. Thereunder Australia has an absolute obligation to provide meaningful and humane asylum procedures, regulations and hearings to all Tamils fleeing from Sri Lanka,” said Francis A. Boyle, professor of International Law at the University of Illinois College of Law, in a note sent to TamilNet Friday.
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Ki'linochchi female undergrad arrested in Peradeniya University

[TamilNet, Friday, 13 November 2009, 11:21 GMT]
Sri Lanka Police Criminal Investigation Department (CID) officers took into custody a Tamil female undergrad, a native of Ki’linochchi, Thursday afternoon from Peredeniya University in Kandy but she is yet to be released and her whereabouts remain unknown, according to complaint lodged with Human Rights Commission (HRC) Kandy office by fellow Tamil undergrads.
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Tamil woman reported missing in upcountry

[TamilNet, Friday, 13 November 2009, 11:00 GMT]
Two Tamil women from Bogawanthalawa in upcountry had gone to collect firewood in the nearby jungle Tuesday evening and one of them is reported missing, according to complaints made to Boagawanthalawa police.
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Tamil political prisoners attacked in Colombo

[TamilNet, Friday, 13 November 2009, 04:40 GMT]
22 Tamil political prisoners in custody within the Colombo Remand Prison (CRP) were attacked Friday morning by Sinhala prisoners, initial reports from Colombo said. Seven of the prisoners were rushed to Colombo hospital with serious injuries.
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SLA refuses permission to Minister Douglas Devananda to take IDPs to Thenmaraadchi

[TamilNet, Thursday, 12 November 2009, 16:06 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army (SLA) in Thenmaraadchi in Jaffna peninsula refused permission Thursday when Jaffna based Sri Lanka Minister Douglas Devananda tried to take Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) who were evicted when SLA occupied Thenmaraadchi in 1990 to show their villages where they are to be resettled, sources in Jaffna said. Hundreds of men and women taken by Minister Douglas Devananda had to return disappointed to their camps or to the houses of relatives where they have been staying for more than 18 years being turned back at Aasaippi’l’ai Eattam near Ezhuthumadduvaa’l in Thenmaraadchi, the sources added.
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Acute fuel shortage in Jaffna peninsula

[TamilNet, Thursday, 12 November 2009, 15:38 GMT]
As employees of Sri Lanka Petroleum Corporation continue to fight for salary increase to meet the spiraling cost of living in Sri Lanka an acute fuel shortage prevails in Jaffna peninsula. Most of the fuel stations in Jaffna peninsula stand empty without customers and vehicles idle due to an acute shortage for petrol, diesel, kerosene in Jaffna peninsula though Sri Lanka government makes much publicity of having brought around 60.000 liters of fuel through A9 road to Jaffna recently, sources in Jaffna said. Meanwhile, policemen had confiscated the cameras of media persons who had tried to photograph the fuel stations and places where fuel had been stocked by hoarders, the sources added.
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Fonseka resigns

[TamilNet, Thursday, 12 November 2009, 10:02 GMT]
General Sarath Fonseka, the Chief of Defence of the Sri Lanka Army on Thursday resigned from his post, informed sources in Colombo said.
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Norway Eezham Tamils enfranchise all above 16

[TamilNet, Thursday, 12 November 2009, 06:42 GMT]
In the forthcoming elections for Norwegian Council of Eezham Tamils (NCET), scheduled to take place Sunday, all those of Eezham Tamil descent above 16 years will be permitted to vote according to the constitution of NCET. The move was in line with the trial project of the government of Norway enfranchising over 16 in commune elections in 2011. The NCET ballot will elect 5 under the national list and 10 under the regional list who will constitute the chamber of representatives. Another five members elected by Eezham Tamil institutions in Norway will make the second chamber. This is the first country-wide ballot taking place among diaspora Tamils, democratically electing representatives to form a Council.
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SLA erects minicamps, sentry posts in interior parts of Jaffna peninsula

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 11 November 2009, 18:20 GMT]
Fear and suspicion have risen among the residents of Jaffna peninsula as Sri Lanka Army (SLA) in Jaffna is actively engaged in hastily setting up minicamps and sentry posts manned by small groups of soldiers in the interior parts of Jaffna peninsula, sources in Jaffna said. Though SLA has announced that it is removing its sentry posts near the schools in Jaffna Town they are not being removed but relocated in the interior areas, civil society representatives pointed out. SLA continues to occupy Gnanam Hotel and Subhas Hotel in the heart of the town while it refuses to open Clock Tower Road, Power House Road and Victoria Road in the town for public use, they added.
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Sri Lanka expands number of troops and officers in its armed forces

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 11 November 2009, 11:29 GMT]
Though Sri Lanka government claims that the war with Liberation Tigers is over it is actively engaged in recruiting persons to serve as soldiers and officers in Sri Lanka Army (SLA), Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) and Sri Lanka Navy (SLN), according to statements made by the spokesmen of the three armed forces to media in Colombo. Recruitment to Sri Lanka Army, Sri Lanka Navy and Sri Lanka Air Force will continue to meet the targets for this year and the coming years, they said. New officers are much needed for defensive and offensive purposes, for humanitarian de-mining and for development work in the country, they added.
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Ministers invade Jaffna prior to Presidential Election announcement

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 10 November 2009, 19:11 GMT]
With the announcement of President Election expected to take place any time government ministers and deputy ministers have begun to visit Jaffna with the aim to gather support for President Mahinda Rajapakse, media sources in Jaffna said. Similar invasion of ministers to Jaffna had also taken place prior to the recent Jaffna Municipal Council (JMC) election but having won it the ministers have not stepped in Jaffna since then, the sources observed. The ministers and deputy ministers from Colombo now in Jaffna visit government departments in Jaffna meeting the public and officers.
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Court orders remand for 45 suspects arrested under PTA, ER

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 10 November 2009, 10:17 GMT]
Colombo Chief Magistrate Nishantha Hapuarachchi Monday ordered remand till November 12 for forty-five suspects, majority of them Tamils, arrested by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) and Emergency Regulations (ER) for allegedly being involved in terrorist activities in the hill country in the central province. They were produced in court after being interrogated by the CID held under the detention order of the Defence Ministry. Some of the suspects are Muslims and Sinhalese, sources in Colombo said.
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Household checking by police in Colombo reimposed

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 10 November 2009, 10:10 GMT]
The new Inspector General of Police (IGP), Mahinda Balasooriya, on his assumption of duty has reimposed checking of house holds of Tamil residents in Colombo. In a repetition as in the LTTE war period, police personnel have been instructed to question any visitor lodged in a residence not registered with the respective police station in the area and to take any person living in a household unregistered into police custody, sources in Colombo said.
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Age of struggle Tamil poetry comes in English

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 10 November 2009, 09:01 GMT]
Eezham Tamil poetry since 1970s by three leading poets has been translated into English and for the first time appears in an exclusive volume, which is to be launched in Canada Saturday. One of the poets, Puthuvai Rathnathurai, regarded as Tamil National Bard, was last seen among the displaced moving towards internment camps during the closing days of the war in Vanni and was taken into custody by the Sri Lanka Army. He is reportedly kept in undeclared captivity under rigorous conditions.
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Jaffna, an open prison since SLA occupation – Southern media persons

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 10 November 2009, 05:27 GMT]
A group consisting 27 media persons from the South brought to Jaffna by the Peace Congress Sunday told media in Jaffna that after 13 years of Sri Lanka Army (SLA) occupation Jaffna peninsula remains an open prison for its residents, before leaving Jaffna Monday. People lock themselves into their houses after dark and are subjected to various restrictions violating their freedom of movement, expression, imposed by SLA, they further said.
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India invites Ranil Wickremasinghe for talks

[TamilNet, Monday, 09 November 2009, 10:55 GMT]
Sri Lankan opposition United National Party (UNP) Leader Ranil Wickremasinghe Sunday left for India on an invitation from the Indian government. Mr.Ranil Wickremasinghe is expected to meet Indian National Security Adviser R.K. Narayanan, Foreign Minister and Indian Opposition BJP leader Lal Krishna Advani to discuss the current situation in the island, sources in Colombo said.
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Police arrest 2 Tamil civilians in Vavuniyaa

[TamilNet, Monday, 09 November 2009, 10:38 GMT]
The Intelligence Unit of the Sri Lanka Police Saturday night arrested two Tamil civilians in Thoa’nikkal in Vavuniyaa on information received that they had been members of the Liberation Tigers. They are now detained in Vavuniya police station and being interrogated to find out their involvement with the militant group earlier, police spokesman Nimal Mediwake said in Colombo.
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JU students boycott lectures following death threat to fellow students by SLA

[TamilNet, Monday, 09 November 2009, 08:59 GMT]
The students of the Art Faculty of Jaffna University abstained from attending lectures Monday morning following death threats to four of their fellow students from Vadamaraadchi by Sri Lanka Army (SLA) Intelligence Unit officers who had taken them away from their houses for interrogation to an SLA camp and assaulted them besides issuing death threats, Jaffna University Student Union (JUSU) representatives said. The students have informed the Vice-chancellor that the entire student community of Jaffna University will boycott lectures from Tuesday if immediate action is not taken to ensure the safety of the four students threatened to death by the SLA, they further said.
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LTTE welcomes all diaspora ballots

[TamilNet, Monday, 09 November 2009, 00:19 GMT]
The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in a press statement issued on Monday welcomed all the current democratic moves in the diaspora, such as referendum on Vaddukkoaddai Resolution, Country Councils and Transnational Government and said that even if one of the efforts is at shortfall, it will affect all the others. “These are democratic efforts for which people have taken over the leadership to gain their political aspirations and while welcoming them the LTTE requests that they should be accomplished with full participation of people,” said the statement addressed LTTE headquarters. "It is now a historical duty of all Tamils to firmly tell the whole world that what they desire is independent and sovereign Tamil Eelam and they have their homeland, nationalism and the right to self-determination to claim it," the statement further said.
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Government has to get the support of the South first to solve Tamil ethnic issue – Vasudeva Nanayakkara

[TamilNet, Sunday, 08 November 2009, 06:28 GMT]
Senior Advisor to Sri Lanka President Mahinda Rajapakse and a veteran Sinhalese politician, Vasudeva Nanayakkara, said that the government has to get the support of the people in the South of the country to solve the problems of the Tamils, in response to questions raised by the members of Jaffna Traders’ Association (JTA) in a meeting held Saturday evening in the JTA building in Jaffna. The members had asked as to why it was not possible to carry out the Supreme Court directive to resettle the IDPs from Valikaamam North in their own places now occupied by Sri Lanka Army while the Supreme Court order to demerge Northern and Eastern provinces had been executed overnight.
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Last of the Jaffna IDPs in Vavuniyaa camps brought to Jaffna – Jaffna GA

[TamilNet, Sunday, 08 November 2009, 05:59 GMT]
The assignment of bringing Jaffna IDPs in Vavuniyaa to Jaffna has been completed with the arrival of 3,588 persons of 1,114 families Saturday night in Jaffna, according to Jaffna Government Agent (GA) K. Ganesh. Meanwhile, a group of media persons from the South led by Jegan Perera, the Director of Peace Congress, has been allowed by the government to come to Jaffna independently after the closure of A9 land route by Sri Lanka Army (SLA) in 2006, sources in Jaffna said.
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Court orders further remand for 9 policemen in Angulana double murder

[TamilNet, Saturday, 07 November 2009, 17:01 GMT]
Nine police personnel who are suspects in the killing of two Sinhala youths in Angulana were further remanded till November 20 by the Chief Magistrate of Mount Lavinia, Mr.Harsha Settunge, Friday following a report by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) that they were awaiting for legal advice of the Attorney General (AG) to file the indictment.
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Vanni IDPs suffer in flooded Vavuniyaa camps

[TamilNet, Saturday, 07 November 2009, 16:56 GMT]
Most of the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) internment camps for Vanni IDPs in Vavuniyaa being flooded due to the current down pour many of the IDPs held in Menik Farm camp had fled from their shelters seeking refuge in the public halls and school buildings located inside the camp, sources in Vavuniyaa said. Meanwhile, amid heavy rains and thunder civil authorities continue to transfer IDPs from Menik Farm during nights and drop them in public places in areas where their homes are located.
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TID interrogates Selvam Adaikalanathan

[TamilNet, Saturday, 07 November 2009, 16:38 GMT]
Selvam Adaikalanathan, Vanni district Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarian, for the third day - Saturday - was summoned to the Headquarters of the Terrorist Investigation Division (TID) of Sri Lanka Police. But he was sent back home around 9:00 a.m. with the instruction that he should come to TID office when called for, sources in Colombo said.
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Vasudeva Nanayakkara to deliver speech titled “Tamils and Future” in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Friday, 06 November 2009, 18:20 GMT]
Vasudeva Nanayakkara, a senior Sinhalese politician and the senior advisor to President Mahintha Rajapakse, who arrived in Jaffna Friday is to deliver a speech titled “Tamils and Future” Saturday at Changkaraththai Hindu Youths’ Hall in Vaddukkoadai, sources in Jaffna said. Meanwhile, Vasudeva Nanayakkara met Jaffna district High Court Magistrate R. T. Vicknarajah in Jaffna Court Complex Friday where the magistrate stressed on the importance of resettling Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) from Valikaamam North evicted nearly 19 years ago by Sri Lanka Army (SLA) in order to establish High Security Zones (HSZ) in the said area, the sources added.
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Batticaloa AGA posted to Ki’linochchi

[TamilNet, Friday, 06 November 2009, 16:36 GMT]
The Additional Government Agent (AGA) of Batticaloa District in the Eastern Province, Ms. Rupawathy Ketheswaran, was shifted to Kilinochchi District in the Northern Province Thursday in an unexpected move by higher authorities in Colombo, sources in Batticaloa said.
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State of Emergency extended for another month

[TamilNet, Friday, 06 November 2009, 16:31 GMT]
Sri Lanka Parliament extended the State of Emergency for another month Friday after it was passed with a majority of 78 votes as 95 voted in favour of it while 17 voting against. Tamil National Alliance (TNA) and Muslim Congress (SLMC) voted against the motion. Main opposition United National Party (UNP) and Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) abstained from voting.
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Eye witness gives evidence in Tamil youth murder in Bamabalapitya sea

[TamilNet, Friday, 06 November 2009, 14:55 GMT]
Assistant News Editor of the TNL television channel, Sisikelum Dahampriya Balage, told Colombo Magistrate Thursday, in the case of the killing of a mentally ill Tamil youth in the Bambalapitya Sea, that he did not inform the police of the incident as several police officers were witnessing the scene and it was his impression it was taking place under the supervision of the police. “I viewed what happened on the beach below through the lens of a camera recorder from the seventh floor of a building located next to the Bambalapitya railway station” he said while giving evidence before Colombo Fort Magistrate, Gihan Pilapitiya, when the murder of Balawarnam Sivakumar, 26, was taken up for inquiry.
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35,000 IDP students still held in Vavuniyaa internment camps

[TamilNet, Friday, 06 November 2009, 09:15 GMT]
Thirty-five thousand students displaced from Vanni in the last leg of war are still being detained in internment camps in Vavuniyaa. The number of IDP students in these internment camps earlier was about 65,000. The number had dropped to 35,000 following current resettlement, education authority sources claim.
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NP Governor orders all Vanni government servants to immediately report for duties

[TamilNet, Friday, 06 November 2009, 04:43 GMT]
The Governor of Northern Province and former Jaffna district Sri Lanka Army (SLA) Commander, Major Gen. G. A. Chandrsiri, issued an order Wednesday calling all the government servants who had been serving in the districts of Mullaiththeevu and Ki’linochchi in war torn Vanni to immediately report for duties at the IDP camps in Vavuniyaa, in a meeting held in Trincomalee with the heads of the government departments, sources in Vavuniyaa said.
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IDPs brought to Jaffna suffer without shelters

[TamilNet, Friday, 06 November 2009, 04:28 GMT]
The Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) brought to Jaffna district from the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) internment camps in Vavuniyaa are suffering in pouring rain without sufficient shelter for them, sources in Jaffna said. Divisional Secretaries (DSs) of Jaffna district find hard to meet the immediate needs of the IDPs for want of funds, Jaffna Secretariat sources said. The ten government ministers recently appointed by the President of Sri Lanka for Divisional Secretary areas in Jaffna to function as resettlement coordinators have failed to return to Jaffna after their first visit. Jaffna district DSs are at a quandary to take decisions without the approval of the respective ministers and due to lack of funds to spend on the immediate needs of the IDPs, the sources added.
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US Legislators urge rapid release of interned Tamil civilians

[TamilNet, Friday, 06 November 2009, 03:49 GMT]
H. Res. 711 resolution, passed in the US House of Representatives Thursday by a vote of 421 to 1, reminded the Sri Lanka Government of its commitments to care for and ensure the 'speedy return' of those displaced by fighting, noting that Colombo made a commitment to the UN Human Rights Council that the 'bulk' of the IDPs would be resettled in 180 days, a period that will end on November 23, 2009. Fewer than 20% of those detained have been released as of Oct. 23, 2009. The resolution also emphasized that "the United States supports the rapid release and voluntary return of all civilian IDPs as a critical element of national reconciliation in Sri Lanka."
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Husband seeks HRCSL help to trace wife taken by SLA

[TamilNet, Thursday, 05 November 2009, 15:01 GMT]
Suntharalingam Thayaparan, a resident of Ki'linochchi , currently residing in Ne’lukkul’am in Vavuniyaa after being released from Menik Farm internment camp on October 26 has lodged a complaint with the regional office of the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka (HRCSL) to trace his wife Veni alias Arunthathi who was taken to Anuradhapura Teaching Hospital by the Sri Lanka Army in a helicopter for treatment to her head injuries caused due to the artillery fire in the last leg of military operation in Vanni region.
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Protest held against killing mentally ill Tamil youth in Colombo

[TamilNet, Thursday, 05 November 2009, 14:58 GMT]
Several political parties along with some human rights organizations Wednesday afternoon held a demonstration in front of Fort Railway station to protest against the police on the alleged attack on a mentally unstable Tamil youth in the shallow seas near the Bambalapitya Railway station last Thursday. Democratic People’s Front (DPF) led by parliamentarian Mano Ganeshan, United Socialist Party (USP) led by Sritunga Jayasuriya along with ‘Mothers and Daughters of Lanka’ and the ‘Platform for Freedom' organizations participated in the demonstration.
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TID interrogates TNA parliamentarian Selvam Adaikalanathan

[TamilNet, Thursday, 05 November 2009, 13:38 GMT]
Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarian Selvam Adaikalanathan has been subjected to interrogation by the Terrorist Intelligence Division of the Sri Lanka Police from Thursday morning. He has not returned to his residence located in Madiwela complex till Thursday afternoon, sources in Colombo said.
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General Sarath Fonseka returns home

[TamilNet, Thursday, 05 November 2009, 08:16 GMT]
Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), General Sarath Fonseka arrived at Bandaranaike International Airport from United States of America Thursday and was immediately driven away under tight security, an airport official said. "He arrived this morning in a commercial flight and was escorted out of the airport by his security convoy," the official added.
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Appeal sent to lift SLA restriction on travel through A9 road

[TamilNet, Thursday, 05 November 2009, 04:50 GMT]
The president of NGOs in Jaffna, C. V. K. Sivagnanam, sent an appeal Wednesday to government authorities to lift the restriction on travel to and from Jaffna through A9 road so that public could avoid spending exorbitant amount of money on air and sea travel, sources in Jaffna said. Sri Lanka Army (SLA) in Jaffna has ordered the people to travel by the same means of transport they had used to enter or leave Jaffna. This restriction has been imposed in order to keep the air and sea travel service from loosing business and it is alleged that high SLA officials receive big amount of money as commission from the air and sea travel agencies, the sources added. Meanwhile, Sivagnanam pointed out in his appeal that Jaffna peninsula is still being administered by the SLA and not by civil officers as widely claimed by the government.
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SLN arrests 18 Tamil Nadu fishermen in the islets of Jaffna

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 04 November 2009, 17:26 GMT]
Sri Lanka Navy (SLN) arrested eighteen fishermen from Tamil Nadu Wednesday early morning in the islets of Jaffna for illegal entry into Sri Lankan waters, sources in Jaffna said. Nearly 2000 fishermen in Puthukkoaddai in Tamil Nadu are boycotting fishing demanding the immediate release of their fellow fishermen, sources in Tamil Nadu said. Meanwhile in Tamil Nadu, Indian Navy arrested ten fishermen from Sri Lanka for trespassing on Indian seas Wednesday and the arrested fishermen were handed over to Fishing Harbour police in Tamil Nadu.
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Fonseka flees US

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 04 November 2009, 13:19 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army chief, Lt. Gen. Sarath Fonseka fled the United States cutting short his planned stay in the US to avoid being questioned by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) over warcrimes under his command, according to an AFP report. "Mr Fonseka's future chances of retiring to the US are now in jeopardy, and consequent developments in other countries of the world, except the rights violator nations, may make him a fugitive," legal sources in Washington said. Meanwhile, incriminating, anonymous, hearsay evidence has surfaced on the activities of his son-in-law, Danuna Tillakaratne, on making weapons deals from Oklahoma. Tamils Against Genocide (TAG), a US-based pressure group, said yesterday that TAG will be preparing a detailed document after further research on this matter for possible use by the US law enforcement authorities.
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Shivajilingam, Adaikalanathan arrive at Katunayake airport

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 04 November 2009, 12:52 GMT]
Tamil National Alliance (TNA) Parliamentarians Mr. Selvam Adaikalanathan and Mr. M. K. Sivajilingam arrived at Katunayake Bandaranayke International Airport Wednesday afternoon after several months stay abroad.
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British MPs hail US initiative on Sri Lanka warcrimes

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 04 November 2009, 05:17 GMT]
Joining international calls for a full independent investigation into alleged war crimes in Sri Lanka, a group of British Parliamentarians Tuesday welcomed the initiatives taken by the United States in this regard and urged the UK government to support Washington’s efforts. In a statement, the All Party Parliamentary Group for Tamils (APPG-T) welcomed US authorities questioning of Sri Lankan Army General Sarath Fonseka over the massacre of Tamil civilians in the closing months of the war this year.
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Vanni IDPs loose hope of resettlement in Vanni

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 04 November 2009, 03:54 GMT]
As immediate resettlement in their own villages in Vanni appears to be a remote possibility, Vanni Internally displaced Persons (IDPs) who are not originally from Jaffna district show interest in being brought to Jaffna, sources in Jaffna said. The government too, reluctant to commence immediate resettlement in Vanni, is actively encouraging Vanni IDPs to be sent to Jaffna with the aim of reducing the number of IDP camps in Jaffna, the sources added.
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SLA refuses fishing permission in Jaffna for IDPs from Vavuniyaa

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 03 November 2009, 17:57 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army (SLA) in Jaffna does not permit Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) brought from SLA internment camps in Vavuniyaa to engage in fishing in Jaffna peninsula though their relatives and friends are ready to help them to buy the needed fishing equipments, Fishermen’s Societies in Jaffna raised concern. Many persons in Jaffna have taken responsibility of maintaining their relatives and friends, creating a scarcity of places and houses to lodge the IDPs, the sources added.
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Eezham Tamil mandate picks up global momentum

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 03 November 2009, 12:47 GMT]
Spontaneous and parallel efforts to effect a global mandate of Eezham Tamils in proclaiming the desire for the creation of an independent and sovereign Tamil Eelam in the north and east of the island of Sri Lanka are picking up momentum among the diaspora in several countries of the world, following a similar mandate in Norway last May. Eezham Tamils exercising their self-determination in democratically coming out with such a mandate is widely viewed in Tamil circles as a common basis for all shades of their national politics. This week, VN Music Dreams of Norway has released a song upholding the Tamil national mandate, in the music composed by Udhayaa and voiced by Krishnaraj for the lyrics of Vaseeharan.
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Fonseka demands summary justice for LTTE cadres

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 03 November 2009, 11:45 GMT]
"We must deploy enough troops to provide security for these [resettled] areas. We must in these areas, this virus, there are still 1000’s of terrorists in IDP camps. We must identify these terrorist and destroy them. We must take them into custody and then resettle them. We must provide security in strength to these areas. I will only be happy that we finished the war we ended when I see this," said General Sarath Fonseka during a talk in a Budhist Temple in Washington D.C., according a website's English translation, before the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) asked for a "voluntary meeting" with the General to discuss the war-crimes alleged to be committed by Sri Lanka's military officials.
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Kandy Police arrest Tamil co-op manager in Mannaar

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 03 November 2009, 08:02 GMT]
Kandy Police Intelligence Unit took into custody on Monday a Tamil person working as the manager of a co-operative society located in Mannaar allegedly providing state money to the LTTE in past. The police claimed they arrested the person on information given by a LTTE cadre who is currently in their custody.
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Chinese Navy involved in attacks on Tamil Nadu fishermen - FMOA

[TamilNet, Monday, 02 November 2009, 10:59 GMT]
Fishing Motorboat Owners Association (FMOA) in Tamil Nadu publicly informed Sunday that Chinese Navy men had attacked fishermen from Tamil Nadu fishing on the maritime boundary between Sri Lanka and South India. According to the statements of Tamil Nadu fishermen who were attacked on the sea a few days ago, there were eight Chinese navy soldiers and two Sri Lanka Navy (SLN) men in the boat which attacked them, FMOA said. The media in India had given much publicity to the presence of Chinese Navy soldiers on Indian sea.
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2nd batch of Vanni IDP children admitted to Ratmalana Hindu College

[TamilNet, Monday, 02 November 2009, 10:30 GMT]
Sixty-seven children including 44 boys and 23 girls left Vavuniyaa Poonthoaddam Rehabilitation Centre Saturday to Colombo under the second phase of rehabilitation program. They were admitted to Colombo Hindu College to receive fully fledged education. They would be provided with all facilities such as lodging, clothing and other expenses, sources in Vaviniyaa said.
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Tamil civilian arrested in Kuchchave'li

[TamilNet, Monday, 02 November 2009, 03:57 GMT]
The Kuchchave'li Police in Trincomalee district Friday arrested a Tamil civilian suspected for having had association with the Liberation Tigers earlier. The arrested civilian is being held in detention by the Terrorist Investigation Department and is being interrogated, Sri Lankan police headquarters said.
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Fonseka, Gotabhaya entangle in US legal net

[TamilNet, Monday, 02 November 2009, 00:54 GMT]
United States appears to be slowly moving to corral Major General Sarath Fonseka, an aspiring US citizen, and Gotabhaya Rajapakse, a US citizen with property and family living in the U.S., into the US Justice system to investigate the two Sri Lanka officials for criminal culpability for allegedly issuing commands to the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) to fire heavy weapons towards the SLA demarcated No Fire Zone (NFZ) in the final stages of war killing more than 20,000 Tamil civilians. Colombo dailies report that Gen. Fonseka, currently on a private visit to the US, has been asked by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to have a "voluntary meeting" to discuss matters related to the recently released war-crimes report, and if he would be willing to testify against Sri Lanka's Defence Secretary.
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Sinhala encroachers deny Tamil owners land

[TamilNet, Sunday, 01 November 2009, 16:59 GMT]
"More than 1,486 Tamil families are unable to peacefully resettle in their homes in Trincomalee, Vavuniya and Batticaloa due to unlawful and widespread occupation of state land by members of the majority community," Sri Lanka's weekly, The Nation said, according information from Tamil National Alliance leader, Rajavarothiam Sampanthan and member of parliament, Packiyaselvam Ariyanethiran.
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Protest against video-captured killing of Tamil youth

[TamilNet, Sunday, 01 November 2009, 14:55 GMT]
The Democratic Peoples Front (DPF) led by Colombo district parliamentarian, Mano Ganeshan, is to hold a demonstration in front of the Fort Railway Station on November 4 at 12:00 noon condemning the assault and killing of a mentally ill Tamil youth by police and Sri Lanka Army soldiers in the sea of Bambalapitya on Thursday.
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Mannaar IDPs transported during nights from Vavuniyaa

[TamilNet, Sunday, 01 November 2009, 13:46 GMT]
Mannaar IDPs detained in Cheddiku'lam-Menik Farm internment camps are being transported to Mannaar during nights daily, and are being given shelter in transit camps. The IDPs are screened by the State Intelligence Units of the Sri Lanka Army and Sri Lanka Police to find out whether LTTE members are among the IDPs.
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596 Ampaa'rai IDPs seek urgent help for survival

[TamilNet, Sunday, 01 November 2009, 13:27 GMT]
596 IDPs from Ampaa'rai district transferred from Vavuniyaa internment camps have been stranded in their villages without any dwelling facilities and help, civil society sources said. Many IDPs are forced to stay with their relatives and friends. The Ampaarai IDPs, who are former residents of Poththuvil, Thirukkoay8l, Aalaiyadivempu, Kaaraitheevu, Naavithanve'li and Kalmunai, were brought in four stages from Vavuniyaa and sheltered in transit camps located in Kaaraitheevu Vipulananda Central College.
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Abysmal 90% fail rate of internee Tamil children in Year-5 exam

[TamilNet, Sunday, 01 November 2009, 12:43 GMT]
Sri Lanka's Tamil cultural destruction continues at unabated speed with the latest results of the year-5 exams released by the Department of Examinations, after a 30-day unexplained delay, revealed that only 507 students out of 5413 children who sat the Year 5 examination-2009 from the internment camps located in Vavuniyaa have passed. The Department released the results of Year 5 examination for other provinces on October 2.
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