3 Tamil youths arrested in Colombo

[TamilNet, Thursday, 31 December 2009, 13:16 GMT]
Police Wednesday arrested three Tamil youths in Colombo in a cordon and search operation. One youth was taken into custody in Bambalapitya and two at Wellawatte. They are now detained in the fourth floor of the Criminal Investigation Department headquarters and being interrogated, according relatives of the arrested youths.
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Suduwella UNP Chief Organizer abducted, later found detained by TID

[TamilNet, Thursday, 31 December 2009, 13:09 GMT]
Kithsri Rajapakse, Chief Organizer for the main opposition United National Party (UNP) of the Suduwella Electorate was reported to have been abducted by a group of unidentified persons Wednesday evening. Later in the night Police media spokesman DIG Nimal Mediwaka told media that he had been detained by the Terrorist Investigation Department (TID) of the police for questioning.
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Restriction on fishing in East Coast Sea lifted

[TamilNet, Thursday, 31 December 2009, 13:03 GMT]
The restriction on fishing in the seas of eastern coast has been withdrawn with immediate effect. Fishermen could leave for fishing around the clock and return, excluding the high security zones in the Trincomalee harbor. Rear Admiral (retd) Mohan Wijewickrema, Governor of the Eastern Province announced the government’s decision of lifting the restriction with immediate effect at a conference with representatives of fishing societies held at Trincomalee Naval Headquarters Wednesday morning.
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Tamil political parties should unite to find a decision in facing presidential election - JUSU

[TamilNet, Thursday, 31 December 2009, 03:54 GMT]
Jaffna University Student Union (JUSU), in a press report Wednesday, said that all Tamil factions should forget their political differences to arrive at a united decision in regard to the forthcoming presidential election. Decisions spurred by emotions in the past and their consequences should be remembered and Tamils should not be allowed to be exploited like puppets in the hands of Southern political forces, the report further said.
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Sri Lanka Police arrests 3 Tamil youths in Colombo

[TamilNet, Thursday, 31 December 2009, 03:30 GMT]
Sri Lanka Police Wednesday arrested three Tamil youths in Colombo in a cordon and search operation. One youth was taken into custody in Bambalapitya, and the other two from Wellawatte, and all three are now detained in the fourth floor of the Criminal Investigation Department headquarters undergoing interrogation, according relatives of the arrested youths.
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Dengue claims 5 lives in Jaffna peninsula

[TamilNet, Thursday, 31 December 2009, 03:01 GMT]
Five persons, including two resettled Vanni IDPs, in Jaffna penisula have died due to dengue fever which is spreading at an alarming rate while hospitals are unable to treat dengue patients for want of basic facilities, according to Dr. K. Ketheswaran, Jaffna Director of Public Health (DPHS). Nearly 40 to 50 dengue patients are admitted to Jaffna Teaching Hospital (JTH) daily and they have to be accommodated along corridors due to lack of space, JTH administration said.
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Media persons need MOD clearance to visit Jaffna peninsula

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 30 December 2009, 14:08 GMT]
Restriction on the travel of media persons to Jaffna peninsula via A-9 highway still remains, Director General of the Media Centre for National Security, Lakshman Hulugalla, told media in Colombo Wednesday.
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Sri Lanka's civilian massacre censored in RSF's 2009 report

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 30 December 2009, 13:09 GMT]
Reporters sans frontières (RSF), in a 2009 round-up report of key events on journalists, journalism and war, refers to the "mass exodus of journalists from repressive countries such as Iran and Sri Lanka" as RSF's major concern," and notes that "[t]he authorities in these countries have understood that by pushing journalists into exile, they can drastically reduce pluralism of ideas and the amount of criticism they attract." However, the report fails to mention the "massacre of more than 20,000 unarmed Tamil civilians by Sri Lanka security forces during the first 5 months of 2009 after banning journalists and NGOs, and conducting a "war without witness," Tamil circles complained.
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SLA arrests Mannaar Tamil civilian in Colombo

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 30 December 2009, 12:11 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army(SLA) intelligence officers took into custody Sunday a Tamil civilian staying in a lodge in Colombo. Criminal Investgaation Department (CID) has notified the civilian's wife that her husband is being detained in the Fourth Floor of CID headquarters in Colombo.
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Indian envoy meets SL Navy Commander

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 30 December 2009, 12:07 GMT]
Indian High Commissioner Ashok K.Kantha Tuesday evening met the Commander of the Sri Lanka Navy Vice Admiral Thissara Samarasinghe in a courtesy call at the latter’s headquarters and discussed mutual interests of the two countries. The discussion included the matter of providing training of SL navy personnel in India, Colombo media reported quoting SL navy sources.
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Jaffna youth reported missing on his way to Colombo

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 29 December 2009, 13:17 GMT]
A youth from Jaffna who travelled through A9 road on 14 December had gone missing after boarding Yaazh Theavi train to Colombo from Vavuniyaa, according to a complaint made to Jaffna police by his family memebers.
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Batticaloa-Jaffna bus service resumed after 30 years

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 29 December 2009, 13:07 GMT]
The bus service between Battialoa and Jaffna was inaugurated after 30 years Monday by Battialcaloa SrI Lanka Transport Board (SLTB) Depot Manager, Thurai Manoharan, from Batticaloa Main SLTB terminal. Meanwhile, it has been announced that a bus services will operate between Kalmunai and Jaffna from 1st January.
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Amila Thera further remanded till January 8

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 29 December 2009, 12:47 GMT]
Horana Magistrate Tuesday ordered further remand for Venerable Dambara Amila Thera, an Executive Member of the National Patriotic Movement (NPM) until January 8 over allegations that he cheated persons, promising them foreign employment. The monk is being held at the Kalutara remand prisons.
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Monks observe Satyagraha in Colombo demanding Amila Thera's release

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 29 December 2009, 04:12 GMT]
Buddhist monks of National Bhikku Front Monday held a Satyagraha campaign in front of the Bo Tree located in Fort in Colombo demanding the immediate release of Venerable Dambara Amila Thera who is now in remand after the arrest by CID on Sunday.
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Abductees unreleased even after payment of ransom, in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 29 December 2009, 03:45 GMT]
Around fiteen to twenty persons had been swindled each for two hundred thousand rupees as ransom to have their abducted family members released in Jaffna, sources in Jaffna said. Sri Lanka Army (SLA) intelligence officers are alleged to have collaborated with certain persons in this racket.
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Around 800 persons including 50 women held in Boosa detention centre

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 29 December 2009, 03:14 GMT]
Nearly 800 youths including 50 women who had been either abducted in white vans or arrested by the armed forces in Vanni detention centres from January to September 2009 are being held in Boosa camp, according to a list sent to Human Rights Commission (HRC) Jaffna officials by HRC office in Colombo. Most of the families of the above detainees, being still held in Vanni detention centres, have no way of learning the fate of those abducted and arrested, the HRC Jaffna officials said.
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Curfew in Jaffna to be lifted - NP Governor

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 29 December 2009, 02:27 GMT]
Northern Province Governor, Major General G. A. Chandrasiri announced Monday that the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) imposed curfew on Jaffna peninsula will be completely lifted, in a meeting held in Jaffna to gather support to Mahinda Rajapakse in the forthcoming presidential election, sources in Jaffna said. Minister Douglas Devananda, Jaffna Government Agent K. Ganesh, Jaffna University Vice-chancellor took part in the meeting along with ardent supporters of Mahinda Rajapakse, the sources added.
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Jaffna youth missing

[TamilNet, Monday, 28 December 2009, 04:03 GMT]
Velmurugan Kirupananthan, 29, has been reported missing after he left his home town Jaffna on the 11th of November to see his relatives in Dehiwala. Kirupananthan has failed to return home until Sunday, according to a complaint lodged with the Jaffna Police by his relatives.
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Court remands Amila Thera

[TamilNet, Monday, 28 December 2009, 03:46 GMT]
Horana Magistrate Sunday remanded Venerable Dambara Amila Thera till Tuesday when the CID produced the Thera in the Court. Venerable Amila Thera was taken into custody from his Vihare at Talangama by CID officers on a complaint of cheating, following his announcement at a press briefing that his organization Patriotic National Centre (PNC) would extend its full support to the common opposition presidential candidate General (retd) Sarath Fonseka.
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Government seeks NGO's assistance to help resettled Vanni IDPs in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Monday, 28 December 2009, 03:31 GMT]
Sri Lanka Government extended a request to the International and local Non-government Organizations in Jaffna to help the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) from Vanni now resettled in Jaffna, in a conference held with the NGOs Sunday at Jaffna Secretariat. Jaffna Government agent presided the conference which was attended by Minister Douglas Devananda and the Governor of Northern Province, Major. Gen. G. A. Chandrasiri, sources in Jaffna said. Whatever assistance given to the above IDPs by the government leaves much to be desired, NGO representatives said.
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TNA engaged in gathering Tamils' opinion on presidential election

[TamilNet, Monday, 28 December 2009, 03:26 GMT]
Four TamiL National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarians are presently in Jaffna actively engaged in learning the opinions of several prominent persons and bodies regarding the stand to adopt in the forthcoming presidential election. Pathmini Sithamparanathan, one of the four MPs, said that they had already met many important persons and intellectuals besides consulting Jaffna University personalities and Jaffna Bishop, Rt. Rev. Thomas Soundranayagam gathering their opinion on the approach to presidential election, she added.
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ACTC decides to boycott presidential election

[TamilNet, Monday, 28 December 2009, 03:21 GMT]
All Ceylon Tamil Congress (ACTC) political party decided to boycott forthcoming presidential election and not to support any of the candidates contesting the election, in the ACTC National Conference held Sunday in Jaffna, presided by ACTC leader Vinayagamoorthy. 75 prominent members of ACTC and Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarian Gejendrakumar Ponnambalam participated in the conference, sources in Jaffna said.
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Virginia GAP draws boycott campaigners attention

[TamilNet, Monday, 28 December 2009, 00:47 GMT]
Tamil activists from Washington D.C. metro area and suburbs engaged in "boycott Sri Lanka campaign" focused their attention on the GAP and Banana Republic stores in the historic Old Town, Alexandria where they held a protest Sunday from 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Meanwhile, more than 20 Tamils from the Delaware Valley Region (Delaware, Pennsylvania and South Jersey) held protest rally at the same time in front of the Concord Mall in Wilmington, as part of the campaign currently being organized by the United States Tamil Political Action Committee (USTPAC) and the NoToSriLanka teams.
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CID arrests Amila Thera

[TamilNet, Sunday, 27 December 2009, 14:02 GMT]
Venerable Dambara Amila Thera, the President of Patriotic National Front (PNF) was taken in for questioning by a team of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of the Sri Lanka Police, according to a complaint by PNC Secretary and Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) parliamentarian Vijitha Herath to the police.
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Police arrest 6 Batticaloa Tamils

[TamilNet, Sunday, 27 December 2009, 13:59 GMT]
Six Tamil farmers, two each from Unnichchai, Aayithimalai and Vavunatheivu in Batticaloa district were taken into custody by Maha Oya Police Saturday near the border of two districts Batticaloa and Ampaarai when they went in search of cattle that have strayed across the borders.
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India denies entry visa to Sivajilingam

[TamilNet, Sunday, 27 December 2009, 13:31 GMT]
Tamil National Alliance (TNA) Jaffna district parliamentarian M.K.Sivajilingam arrived in Colombo Saturday after Indian Immigration officials at the Thiruchchirappalli airport in South Indial refused to allow Sivajilingam to enter India to attend a conference in support of Eelam Tamils, Tamil media in Colombo reported.
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JHU submits 29 proposals in support of Rajapakse election manifesto

[TamilNet, Sunday, 27 December 2009, 12:46 GMT]
Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU), a Sinhala Buddhist Monk party has handed over 29 point proposals to the incumbent President Mahinda Rajapakse in support of his election manifesto that is to be released during the first week of next month. One of the proposals is to renovate and reconstruct all Buddhist shrines and Buddhist archaeological sites which were destroyed in the north and east due to the three decade old war. The other proposal is to set up a Foreign Intelligence Service to destroy the international network of the LTTE now actively engaged abroad, after its defeat in the island.
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Maha Oya Police arrest 6 Batticaloa Tamils

[TamilNet, Sunday, 27 December 2009, 12:35 GMT]
Six Tamil farmers, two each from Unnichchai, Aayithimalai and Vavu'natheevu in Batticaloa district were taken into custody by Maha Oya Police Saturday near the border of two districts Batticaloa and Ampaa'rai when they went in search of their strayed cattle.
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Tsunami victims remembered in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Sunday, 27 December 2009, 02:26 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army (SLA) in Jaffna transported nearly a thousand people in vehicles to Thaazhaiyadi in Jaffna Saturday where a memorial event was held for the victims killed by tsunami tidal wave five years ago, sources in Jaffna said. Tsunami had claimed 956 lives in Uduththu'rai area, 76 in Ma'natkaadu and 16 in Maathakal in Jaffna district. Persons who participated in the event said that the tsunami memorial monument erected by Liberation Tigers and the graves of tsunami victims had been destructed by Sri Lanka Army (SLA) during the war.
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Sri Lanka’s tsunami aid: Over $1 billion missing or misappropriated

[TamilNet, Sunday, 27 December 2009, 01:20 GMT]
Nearly half a billion dollars in tsunami aid for Sri Lanka is unaccounted for and over 600 million dollars has been spent on projects unrelated to the disaster, press reports quoted anti Transparency International as saying Saturday. The anti-corruption watchdog demanded an audit of the money received by the Sri Lankan government to help victims of the Indian Ocean tsunami which hit the island on December 26, 2004, killing 31,000 people, AFP said.
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Asylum seeker dies without Indonesian medical aid

[TamilNet, Saturday, 26 December 2009, 18:11 GMT]
One of 250 asylum seekers from Sri Lanka who have spent the past eleven weeks refusing to leave their boat in Indonesia has died after being denied medical help, Australian press reports said. The 29-year-old Tamil man died late Wednesday after falling ill several days earlier, AAP said. The group’s spokesman, Sanjeev "Alex" Kuhendrarajah, said the man had been vomiting blood for two days but authorities ignored his pleas to be taken to hospital until after he had a seizure on Wednesday night. Refugee advocates have called on the Australian government to intervene and bring the asylum seekers to Australia.
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JVP office attacked by government supporters

[TamilNet, Saturday, 26 December 2009, 03:21 GMT]
A group of persons believed to be supporters of the ruling United Peoples' Freedom Alliance (UPFA) had attacked the political office of the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) located in Katugampola Thursday night, a JVP party spokesman said in a complaint to Pannala Police.
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TMVP cadre arrested with 4 T-56 rifles in Batticaloa

[TamilNet, Saturday, 26 December 2009, 03:12 GMT]
Kalkudaa Police Thursday arrested a cadre of TMVP led by Pillayan, Chief Minister of the Eastern Provincial Council (EPC), with four T-56 rifles and nine magazines in Maangkearni in Vaakarai division in Batticaloa district. The suspect has been identified as Sinnathamby Vettivel, 26.
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SLA refuses permission for IDP resettlement in Thenmaraadchi

[TamilNet, Saturday, 26 December 2009, 02:52 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army (SLA) authorities denied permission for the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) to resettle in their villages in Thenmaraadchi earlier occupied by SLA during war. Though SLA has removed its bases and men from the lands of the IDPs permission is denied saying that the lands are infested with mines, the IDPs said.
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2 students drown in temple pond in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Saturday, 26 December 2009, 02:36 GMT]
Two teenage students who bathed in Nanthaavil Amman temple pond in Kokkuvil East in Jaffna drowned Friday. One of them died in the pond while the other died while being taken to hospital. Both bodies were handed over to Jaffna Teaching Hospital mortuary.
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Boycott campaign in US gathers momentum

[TamilNet, Friday, 25 December 2009, 18:59 GMT]
While New York Tamil activists deployed a mobile billboard to spread the message of their boycott campaign urging ethical shoppers to shun garments and other products made in Sri Lanka whose 99% Sinhala military allegedly killed more than 30,000 civilians, activists in Florida and in Northern California held protest campaigns in Fort Lauderdale and in San Franciso city early this week. Organizers of the two protests said they are working with protest groups in other states to define a consistent boycott message.
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Copenhagen exhibits expose NorthEast environmental destruction

[TamilNet, Friday, 25 December 2009, 14:53 GMT]
Two environmentalists from Tamil Nadu, interrupted their world tour promoting environment preservation, to organize an exhibit in the hallways of the climate change conference in Copenhagen between 7th and 18th December, to highlight the irreversible deforestation in the Tamil homeland of North-East carried out by the Sri Lanka military. “Decades-long massive military operations and occupation of Tamil Eelam by Sri Lanka’s military have caused grave environmental destruction to the north and east of the island. Recovery is difficult as the Tamil homeland is in the dry and arid part of the island, depending on scanty and truant northeast monsoon,” the two activists said, echoing many eelam activists' sentiments.
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Poor quality rice given as relief food in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Friday, 25 December 2009, 02:48 GMT]
Rice that is distributed as relief food for the resettled IDPs and other needy people in Jaffna district by the government of Sri Lanka is of very poor quality and unsuitable for consumption, according to concerns raised by Non-government Organizations in Jaffna. All relief dry food items are purchased by the Commissioner of Essential Services (CES) in Colombo and sent to Jaffna for distribution, Jaffna Secretariat officials said. The officials further said that they distribute what is sent to Jaffna by the CES.
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Tamils staying beyond 30 days in Colombo should report: SL Police

[TamilNet, Thursday, 24 December 2009, 13:45 GMT]
Tamils coming from other countries or from North and East, should register themselves with the Sri Lankan Police in Colombo if they are staying in the city for more than 30 days, Sri Lankan Police Department said in a note to media on Wednesday.
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GoSL faces serious challenge at Human Rights Council - SL Minister

[TamilNet, Thursday, 24 December 2009, 13:25 GMT]
Sri Lankan Minister of Human Rights Mahinda Samarasinghe on Wednesday admitted that the Government of Sri Lanka finds itself in a situation to face the possibility of another serious challenge in the next meeting of the United Nations Human Rights Council as the UN Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial, Summary or Arbitrary Executions Prof Philip Alston is expected to submit a report. He said the International Community is focusing on Sri Lanka after Sarath Fonseka’s ‘erratic’ statement.
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2 Tamil youths arrested in Katunayake, Vavuniyaa

[TamilNet, Thursday, 24 December 2009, 12:43 GMT]
Colombo Police's 'Terrorist Intelligence Division' arrested a Tamil youth in Vavuniyaa and another at Katunayake International Airport Tuesday when he was about to take a flight to India.
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SLA, Police cordon, search Maligawatte housing schemes

[TamilNet, Thursday, 24 December 2009, 12:36 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army and Police personnel conducted a search operation Wednesday afternoon in Colombo at Maligawatte Housing Scheme, causing tension among the residents in the area.
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Colombo-Vavuniyaa mail train derailed, 20 injured

[TamilNet, Thursday, 24 December 2009, 12:33 GMT]
About twenty passengers were injured when the Colombo bound night mail train from Vavuniyaa derailed at Galgamuwa Wednesday night, the Railway control room said. The injured were admitted to nearby hospitals.
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Minister G. L. Pieris in Jaffna canvassing for Mahinda

[TamilNet, Thursday, 24 December 2009, 03:23 GMT]
G. L. Pieris, a cabinet minister in the ruling United People's Freedom Alliance (UPFA) and a former United National Party (UNP) prominent person, arrived in Jaffna Wednesday to campaign for Mahinda Rajapakse in the presidential election, sources in Jaffna said. G. L. Pieris who visited various places in Jaffna peninsula meeting people is expected spend some more days in Jaffna.
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SLFP appoints main organizer for North

[TamilNet, Thursday, 24 December 2009, 02:56 GMT]
Thilagakumara Udagama, being appointed as the main Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) organizer for Jaffna and Vanni districts in the North by the ruling United People's Freedom Alliance (UPFA), is presently in Jaffna actively engaged in election campaign in support of Mahinda Rajapakse, sources in Jaffna said. He said that eleven Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) campaign offices have been opened in Jaffna peninsula and that local persons will go from house to house canvasing votes for Mahinda Rajapakse in the presidential election.
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Fonseka revelations mandate independent probe into UN's role, says Boyle

[TamilNet, Thursday, 24 December 2009, 01:11 GMT]
Former Sri Lanka Army Commander, Sarath Fonseka's revelations of Gotabhaya Rajapakse ordering executions of surrendering LTTE leaders and their families, and UN chief of Staff Vijay Nambiar's reported role in the deadly surrenders "require a formal Investigation of the entire role played by the United Nations Organization and its Officials throughout the course of this latest irruption of the GOSL genocide against the Tamils starting in January of 2009 until today," said Professor Francis Boyle, professor of international law at the University of Illinois. "The U.N. Secretary General has the power to order and publish such an investigation," Boyle added.
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UN Official's involvement in LTTE leaders' killing questioned

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 23 December 2009, 12:29 GMT]
Following up on independent rapporteur for the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, Philip Alston's, request to Colombo to provide details of the killing of LTTE leaders who surrendered the arms, Inner City Press questioned, "given not only the UN's role in the final days of what even it called the "bloodbath on the beach" in Sri Lanka, but especially UN chief of staff Vijay Nambiar's reported role in the deadly surrenders, why Rapporteur Alston has not already demanded answers from the UN itself."
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SLA constructs Buddhist temple in Jaffna without Municipality Council permission

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 23 December 2009, 04:07 GMT]
More than a hundred Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers are engaged in building a Buddhist Vihara in Madaththadi Chanthi (Water Tank Junction) next to Jaffna holy Family Convent along A9 road, sources in Jaffna said. When the matter was brought to the notice of Minister Douglas Devananda he said that it was the SLA who is constructing the Buddhist Vihara and not the government. Civil society representatives in Jaffna, however, said that the SLA is building the Buddhist temple with the blessing of the government as it had already built several Buddhist places of worship with the statue of Buddha along A9 road in Vanni.
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Youth's body recovered from well in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 23 December 2009, 03:55 GMT]
Police recovered the body of a youth Tuesday from a well in A'laveddi in Valikaamam on information from local residents. The youth is suspected to have been killed elsewhere and his body brought and dumped in the well, police said.
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Resettled IDPs in Jaffna yet to be give initial payment

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 23 December 2009, 03:50 GMT]
More than half the number of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) resettled in Jaffna peninsula have not been paid the first stage payment of 5,000 rupees yet, according to information which came to light in a conference held by Jaffna Government Agent (GA) in Jaffna Secretariat Tuesday. Only 44% of the total 71,186 persons of 23,882 families resettled IDPs have been paid 5,000 rupees as initial payment in the first stage. Two thirds of the IDPs in Jaffna camps had been taken over by their relatives in Jaffna peninsula, the GA said. Meanwhile, IDP Welfare organizations in Jaffna complain that the relief food items supplied by UNCHR are of poor quality.
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Tamil doctor files Rights petition in Sri Lanka Supreme Court

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 22 December 2009, 13:13 GMT]
The Supreme Court Monday granted leave to proceed with the fundamental rights violation petition filed by a Tamil medical officer, S.Murali, against his interdiction on his alleged comments made on the conditions in the internment camps which the Sri Lanka Government said "had brought disrepute on the Government of Sri Lanka." The petitioner had been serving as an Acting Consultant Community Physician of the Health Care & Nutrition Ministry at that time of interdiction.
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Fonseka’s comment could restrict aid to Sri Lanka - Minister Peiris

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 22 December 2009, 12:36 GMT]
G.L.Peiris, a senior minister in the United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA) government, said Monday to Colombo media that the comments made by Sarath Fonseka about the final stages of the war may make it difficult for some officers to travel overseas for training and medical treatment while there could be restrictions on the aid provided to Sri Lanka. Minister G.L.Peiris said that the comments made by Gen (retd) Sarath Fonseka have far reaching consequences including the possibility of some of the military officers being questioned on the events and action being taken against them.
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Mobile billboard aids boycott campaign

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 22 December 2009, 08:23 GMT]
Times Square holiday shoppers were alerted Monday by a moving truck carrying a large bill board in its cargo bay urging the shoppers to boycott garments produced in Sri Lanka for Gap, Victoria's Secret and other big-label department stores, sources in New York said. The truck with a large billboard showing images of Tamil refugee suffering drove along popular shopping clusters in New York city, including 34th Street and Broadway. Lighting arrangements in the truck enabled the campaign to extend until early evening 7:00 p.m., according to the organizers of the campaign.
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SL government orders Fonseka to return bullet proof vehicle

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 22 December 2009, 07:19 GMT]
The Sri Lankan government has instructed General (retd) Sarath Fonseka to hand over immediately the bullet proof vehicle supplied to him for his security. Opposition Common candidate Sarath Fonseka Monday evening disclosed this at an election rally held in Anuradhapura.
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Dengue on rise in Vavuniyaa, 15 reported dead

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 22 December 2009, 07:15 GMT]
Health officials in Vavuniyaa say they were struggling to control the spread of Dengue fever in the district. Meanwhile, Sri Lankan health ministry sources in Colombo said the spread of the fever has been brought under control in Matale and Colombo districts, but situation in Vavuniyaa is getting out of control.
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Boston Tamils protest over Kerry report

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 22 December 2009, 01:04 GMT]
Tamils in Boston, U.S., protested in front of Senator John F. Kerry's office Monday against a report that Kerry's Senate Foreign Relations Committee released earlier this month that called for friendlier relations between the United States and Sri Lanka. "The protesters claimed that the report was biased towards the Sinhalese ethnic majority that rules Sri Lanka, and against the Tamil minority that has been fighting for a separate homeland for decades," Boston Globe reported in its Monday edition.
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Allegations of killing LTTE surrendees under UN probe

[TamilNet, Monday, 21 December 2009, 12:20 GMT]
Philip Alston, United Nations Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary and arbitrary execution to Permanent Representative of Sri Lanka to the United Nations office at Geneva, in a letter to Sri Lanka's President Mahinda Rajapakse, requested explanation for the allegations made by Sarath Fonseka on the extra-judicial executions of of three senior members of Liberation Tigers and their families when they tried surrender to the Sri Lanka military on the night of 17th May, Daily mirror reported. In the letter, Alston quotes Common Article 3 of Geneva Conventions of 1949 which prohibits killing of persons who have laid down their arms. These allegations, if proven, will amount to war-crimes.
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Passengers from Jaffna through A9 road subjected to inconvenience

[TamilNet, Monday, 21 December 2009, 07:53 GMT]
Though Sri Lanka government and its ministers say that all restrictions imposed on persons travelling from Jaffna to Vavuniyaa have been completely lifted they continue to experience undue delay and inconvenience, sources in Jaffna said. The buses carrying the passages from Jaffna have to wait at Jaffna esplande first and then allowed to go in convoys under military escort, the sources added.
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First election-related killing in Sri Lanka's south

[TamilNet, Monday, 21 December 2009, 04:07 GMT]
First killing in the Sri Lanka's presidential poll related violence has been reported from Beliatta in the southern province Sunday night. A youth was shot dead by unidentified persons close to the rural bank of the town. Police are investigating to confirm whether it was an election related violence.
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Third boycott protest held in Atlanta

[TamilNet, Monday, 21 December 2009, 03:30 GMT]
Tamil activists in Atlanta held a protest at the North Point Mall in the Atlanta's suburb of Alpharetta Saturday, urging ethical consumers to stop buying "made in Sri Lanka" products, especially the garments, for the 3rd time since this campaign started in September, an attendee to the protest said. North Point Mall is a super-regional shopping mall serving affluent part of the metropolitan Atlanta, according to the protesters.
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British Minister under fire for Lanka vacation

[TamilNet, Sunday, 20 December 2009, 15:48 GMT]
"Ben Bradshaw will be free to travel in Sri Lanka in a way that 100,000 displaced Tamils cannot," said the British daily Independent, adding, "the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, has raised eyebrows by taking a Christmas holiday in Sri Lanka days after the British government condemned the Colombo administration for its poor human rights record." Bradshaw's act follows a month after Gordon Brown blocked "Sri Lanka's attempt to host the next Commonwealth summit," and a week after last "David Miliband told the Commons that there remained ongoing concerns about the island's government after a crackdown on the Tamil population earlier this year," the paper said.
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Restriction on Upcountry Tamils traveling to Colombo to be lifted

[TamilNet, Sunday, 20 December 2009, 13:33 GMT]
Tamils of upcountry can travel to Colombo and other areas in the south without any restriction from Monday. Earlier they had to obtain clearance certificates from their respective police station due to security concerns.
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"Tamils should reject Mahinda, Sarath in the presidential poll" - Sivajilingam

[TamilNet, Sunday, 20 December 2009, 11:30 GMT]
"I am contesting in the presidential election only to give the Tamils of the North and East to register their unified protest against the presidential candidates Mahinda Rajapakse and Sarath Fonseka who were the key characters in killing our people and subjecting them to untold suffering," Sivajilingam, the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarian and the Tamil presidential candidate said Friday in a press meet held in Janatha Hotel in Jaffna. Sivajilingam extended a public appeal to TNA to support him in the election in order to show the world that the Tamils of the North and East reject both Mahinda and Sarath.
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"Tamils should claim rights gradually" - Douglas Devananda

[TamilNet, Sunday, 20 December 2009, 06:58 GMT]
Tamils have been reduced to the stage where they cannot no longer fight for their rights. Their non-violent approaches as well as armed struggle have failed leaving them in a situation where they can only claim their rights step by step, Minister Dougala Devananda said Saturday in a press meet held in Eelam People's Democratic Party (EPDP) office in Jaffna Srithar theatre. The minister further said that EPDP will take full responsibility of the consequences arising by Tamils in North and East voting for President Mahinda Rajapakse in the forthcoming presidential election.
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"Plans afoot to kill me" - Sivajilingam

[TamilNet, Sunday, 20 December 2009, 04:12 GMT]
Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarian and independent candidate in presidential election said that efforts are being made to kill him so as to prevent him getting the Tamil votes in North and East in the presidential election, in a press conference held in Jaffna Friday. He further said that he had received certain information from Basil Rajapakse, the brother of President Rajapakse and that pressure was exerted on him to return to India.
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Jaffna Tamil girl abducted in Colombo

[TamilNet, Sunday, 20 December 2009, 04:05 GMT]
Sinnappu Suhintha, 21, a resident of Jaffna, was abducted in Colombo, when she went out hospital where her mother was an in-patient, to buy food, according to a complaint lodged with the Maradana Police Friday by her relatives. Suhintha had come to Colombo to admit her mother Sinnappu Thavamany, 61, in the Colombo General Hospital for treatment.
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Referendum deciding identity

[TamilNet, Saturday, 19 December 2009, 19:40 GMT]
More than laying sound democratic foundations to the liberation struggle, the referendum will be deciding how the free Eezham Tamils and their descendants choose to identify themselves to the world – whether as ‘Sri Lankans’ or as Eezham Tamils, in the wake of international attempts to impose identity on them, commented Tamil circles in Canada on the on going referendum Saturday. Meanwhile, volunteers who worked for the referendum in France, especially the younger generation, shared their thoughts with TamilNet in a video interview.
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IFJ report adds to Colombo's woes on war-crimes video

[TamilNet, Saturday, 19 December 2009, 17:05 GMT]
International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), in a report released Friday after a fact finding mission to Sri Lanka, notes that the current political rivalry between the two leading presidential contenders is exposing the "abuses suffered by the media during the years of war, especially in its final stages." On possible new flashpoints the report notes the "anxiety in Sri Lanka official circles" when a video footage "purporting to show summary executions by army troops of a group of men described as Tamil civilians in Sri Lanka’s north" was broadcast on Britain’s Channel 4 in August. Despite attempts by Sri Lanka to dismiss the video as fake, a Colorado firm in the U.S, and British Daily Times have independently verified that video is authentic, raising the spectre of renewed calls for charging the presidential contenders of war crimes.
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SLA officers enrich on scrap metal bribes, complain Jaffna traders

[TamilNet, Saturday, 19 December 2009, 06:48 GMT]
Muslim traders in Jaffna alleged that they have to pay Sri Lanka Army (SLA) officers nearly 50,000 rupees as bribe to get the Ministry of Defence (MoD) permission to transport scrap iron to the South. Meanwhile, the SLA officers in Vanni are alleged to be making millions of rupees by sending thousands of metric ton scrap iron stored by Liberation Tigers in Vanni, sources in Vanni said.
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Sivajilingam contesting presidential election causes confusion among Tamil political parties

[TamilNet, Saturday, 19 December 2009, 06:29 GMT]
Confusion and rift among the constituent parties of Tamil National Alliance (TNA) came to light Friday when Thamizh Arasukk Kadchi (TAK) prominent persons walked away from the event of paying respects to Thanthai Selva’s memorial monument in Jaffna when Sivajilingam, TNA parliamentarian and presidential candidate, tried to participate in the event, sources in Jaffna said. Sivajilingam garlanded the monument alone and the TAK persons came and paid their respects 15 minutes after Sivajilingam had left the place.
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Vote Yes, Shander appeals to Canadian Tamils

[TamilNet, Saturday, 19 December 2009, 05:53 GMT]
"These are extraordinary times requiring extraordinary solutions made by extraordinary people. You are those extraordinary people. Tamils of Eelam unite! Step forward and say YES to the referendum of creating a separate state called Tamil Eelam," appeals Dr Ellyn Shander, a Connecticut Psychiatrist, a humanitarian worker and a critic of the Sri Lanka Government, on the Saturday referendum where Tamils will vote across Canada on the question of independent and sovereign Tamil Eelam.
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World obliged to expose civilian slaughters, Arnestad tells CNN

[TamilNet, Saturday, 19 December 2009, 02:15 GMT]
Beate Arnestad, the director an hour long documentary film, "My daughter the terrorist," in an interview with CNN Monday says that the lesson the world should learn from her film which follows two young, Catholic female LTTE fighters and the final end of the war when tens of thousands of unarmed civilians were killed by Sri Lanka military, is that the World has an obligation to expose the slaughter civilians by Governments for political reasons. The documentary made its World Premiere to a full house at Parkteatret in the Norwegian capital Oslo on the 12th March 2007.
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Tamil Nadu leaders wish well for referendum in Canada

[TamilNet, Friday, 18 December 2009, 23:04 GMT]
Tamil Nadu political leaders Pazha Nedumaran, Ko'laththoor Mani, Aruna Bharathi and Thamizharuvi Maniyan in their statements Friday wished well for the democratic move of Canadian Tamils in conducting a referendum on Tamil Eelam Saturday and urged all Canadian Tamils to make it a grand success. Other prominent leaders like Vaiko and Thol Thirumavalavan have already extended their support to this international effort. Mr. Thirumavalavan has recently called for such democratic exercises in Tamil Nadu too. In the meantime, the move for the referendum is enlightening many Canadians on the history of Eezham Tamil struggle and how the struggle predates militant movements, said a Canadian Tamil who happened to spend some time with Canadian intelligence officials in explaining what was Vaddukkoaddai Resolution.
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BTF, TNC welcome referendum in Canada, urge full participation

[TamilNet, Friday, 18 December 2009, 19:46 GMT]
British Tamil Forum (BTF) and Tamil National Council (TNC) of UK welcomed the referendum scheduled to take place in Canada Saturday on saying yes or no to independent and sovereign Tamil Eelam and urged the full participation of Eezham Tamils in Canada. Tamil National Council was initiated for the purpose of conducting a similar referendum in UK and the British Tamil Forum, the largest body of Eezham Tamils in UK co-officiates the ballot scheduled for January in UK.
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Buddhist monk accused of flogging a Vedda

[TamilNet, Friday, 18 December 2009, 19:08 GMT]
A Vedda aborigine of the island of Sri Lanka was allegedly flogged severely by a Sinhala Buddhist monk during a recent temple festival in Mahiyangane and the police refused to register a complaint, says Asian Human Rights Commission on Friday, requesting international public to intervene by sending urgent appeal to relevant authorities in Sri Lanka.
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Woman recovered dead in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Friday, 18 December 2009, 17:45 GMT]
Jaffna police recovered the corpse of a woman Thursday with blood stains on the head and neck from her house in Ariyaalai North within Jaffna Municipal Council limits. Neighbours noticing offensive odour emanating from her house found the woman dead in her house, sources in Jaffna said.
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Improve lives of resettled people in Moothoor, demands IDP Union

[TamilNet, Friday, 18 December 2009, 13:44 GMT]
The president of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) Union requested government authorities to take several actions which could greatly help the resettled people to improve their lives, in a meeting held Wednesday around 10:00 a.m in Kaddaippa’richchaan Vipulaanantha Mahaa Viththiyaalayam. Eastern Province Chief Minister, Sivanesathurai Chandrakanthan, Governor Mohan Vijayavickrama, Government Agent T. T. R. de Silva, Cooperative Development Minister, A. Majeed, Eastern Province Agriculture Minister T. Navaratnarajah, Divisional Secretary N. Selvanayagam and government officials participated in the meeting, sources in Trincomallee said.
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Merak Tamil refugees demand fundamental right to health-care, safety

[TamilNet, Friday, 18 December 2009, 12:35 GMT]
Two hundred and fifty four Tamil boat refugees who fled the war in Sri Lanka and currently held in a boat at the Indonesian Port of Merak after being intercepted by Indonesian Navy, demanded in a press release issued Thursday, that they are want "respect for their fundamental rights," and added that they are not "asking for anything more than a guarantee to live in a safe place and to safeguard the future of their kids. It is absolutely inhumane to deny this right to anybody."
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New police check posts erected in Akkaraippattu

[TamilNet, Friday, 18 December 2009, 03:35 GMT]
Akkaraippattu police erected additional check posts on the four main streets in their area Wednesday in order to prevent criminal activities which are on the increase since the announcement of presidential election. The police check posts in Chainthamaruthu in Ampaa’rai district, however, have been removed on request made to Minister Athavulla by the central committee of National Muslim Congress party, sources in Akkaraippattu said.
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EP Chief Minister’s vehicle set fire to in Thirukkoayil

[TamilNet, Friday, 18 December 2009, 03:16 GMT]
A vehicle belonging to the office of Eastern Province Chief Minister’s office in Akkaraippattu was set fire to by unidentified persons Wednesday around 6:00 p.m in Thirukkoayil area in Ampaa’rai district, Akkaraipattu police said. The driver of the vehicle managed to escape and inform the incident to Kaagnchirangkudaa Special Task Force (STF) who handed him over to Akkaraippattu police.
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Restrictions on travel through A9 road to Jaffna lifted

[TamilNet, Friday, 18 December 2009, 02:49 GMT]
All restrictions hitherto imposed on travel and transport between Jaffna and Vavuniyaa are lifted in keeping to a directive from Jaffna Sri Lanka Army (SLA) Commander, Jaffna Government Agent said in a media report Thursday night. The lorries transporting goods to Jaffna will, however, be permitted only in convoys with SLA escort as usual, the report said.
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Arjuna Ranatunga extends support to Fonseka

[TamilNet, Thursday, 17 December 2009, 10:14 GMT]
Former Sri Lankan Cricket Captain and Gampaha district SLFP MP Arjuna Ranatunga on Thursday expressed support to president candidate General (retd) Sarath Fonseka Thursday. Mr. Ranatunge made this announcement at joint press confrence in Colombo along with General Fonseka and UNP Vice President Karu Jayasuriya and JVP parliamentarian Anura Kumara Dissanayake.
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SL ruling party gang attacks JVP activists in Beliatta

[TamilNet, Thursday, 17 December 2009, 09:08 GMT]
Sri Lankan ruling party supporters Thursday morning attacked activists of the Sinhala nationalist Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) while they were participating in a party propaganda show held in Beliatta town in support of the opposition common candidate General (retd) Sarath Fonseka.
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No CA to monitor Sri Lankan state media during election campaign

[TamilNet, Thursday, 17 December 2009, 07:50 GMT]
Sri Lanka’s Commissioner of Elections Dayananda Dissanayake Thursday rejected the request to appoint a competent authority to monitor state media during the presidential election campaign. ”If the state media is monitored, the private media too should be monitored,” he said addressing Presidential candidates after accepting their nomination papers that were submitted Thursday.
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23 candidates file nominations in Sri Lankan presidential race

[TamilNet, Thursday, 17 December 2009, 07:42 GMT]
23 candidates including the incumbent Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa (UPFA), retired General Sarath Fonseka (New Democratic Party), Wickramabahu Karunaratne (Left Front), Siritunga Jayasuriya (United Socialist Party), Sarath Manamendra (Nawa Sihala Urumaya), M.B. Thaminimulla (Okkoma Wasiyo, Okkoma Rajawaru) and Battaramulla Seelaratne Thera (Ana Setha Peramuna) will be among the 18 political parties’ candidates that filed the nomination papers Thursday morning at the Sri Lankan Election Secretariat in Rajagiriya. Meanwhile, one person has filed objections against General Fonseka stating that he is a citizen of the United States of America, but it was overruled by the Commissioner.
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More than 1000 families displaced due to floods in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Thursday, 17 December 2009, 02:17 GMT]
More than a thousand people have sought refuge in churches and school buildings due to floods caused by relentless rain in Jaffna peninsula. 1329 persons of 374 Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) families brought from Vavuniyaa camps and settled in the abandoned tsunami shelters in Sri Lanka Army (SLA) occupied Maruthangkea’ni area in Vadamaraadchi had to leave the shelters and seek refuge in churches and schools, according to Jaffna Government Agent, K. Ganesh.
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Referendum to speak for themselves - paper

[TamilNet, Thursday, 17 December 2009, 01:39 GMT]
Why after three decades once again a democratic mandate on independent Tamil Eelam? The answer is simple says Tamil Guardian in an editorial this week: The collective demand and popular mandate of 1977 has been studiously ignored and instead all kinds of voices - including the Sinhala state, marginal Tamil actors and important members of the international community - have simply asserted that 'the majority' of Tamils reject independence, whilst simultaneously lending tacit or overt support to the systematic and forcible denial of any space for the Tamil people to freely express their views on this core issue. On their assertion, a war was waged to devastate Tamils. The demand to conduct UN-run referendum was only met with silence. The referenda on Tamil Eelam now being organized by the Diaspora are an effort by Tamils to speak over those speaking for them, the editorial said.
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Boat people are refugees from Sri Lanka - UNHCR

[TamilNet, Thursday, 17 December 2009, 01:35 GMT]
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has determined that all 78 people involved in the stand-off on board a ship fleeing Sri Lanka are refugees, Australian press reports said. The Australian Government says it will now be up to the UN agency to determine where the refugees should be settled. Meanwhile, Amnesty International said on Wednesday that Australia's offshore immigration detention centre on Christmas Island is in breach of human rights and must be closed.
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Yes or no to Tamil Eelam, referendum in Canada on Saturday

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 16 December 2009, 16:56 GMT]
Eezham Tamils in Canada will vote on the question of independent and sovereign Tamil Eelam at 31 polling centres using 52 voting machines across the country this Saturday between 9:00 a.m. and 9:00 p.m., said Coalition for Tamil Elections Canada, an independent body organizing the referendum. It is a historic opportunity never to be missed by the large number of Eezham Tamils in Canada, said Siva Vimalachandran, spokesperson for the coalition and chairperson for the York University Student Centre INC. "Casting aside all differences and biases they should make this democratic exercise a success, not only to uphold the basic premises of liberation of their nation in the island, but also to assert to their own diaspora identity and to be free from the shackles of Sri Lankan identity oppressors attempt to forcefully impose onto them globally,” he further said.
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Rajapaksa awards defected UNP MPs with ministerial portfolios

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 16 December 2009, 14:55 GMT]
Two parliamentarians who resigned from the main opposition United National Party (UNP) Wednesday morning were appointed minister and deputy minister in the United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA) government led by the Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa in the evening.
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Karuna, Pillayan groups supporting Rajapaksa clash in Ampaa'rai

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 16 December 2009, 14:21 GMT]
Three paramilitary men were reported missing when a major clash broke out between rival paramilitary men of TMVP Pillayan group and SLFP Karuna group around 2:15 p.m. at Thirukkoayil in Ampaa'rai district where a group of 50 operatives of Pillayan had gone in three vehicles to campaign for Mahinda Rajapaksa passing the office of the Sri Lanka Freedom (SLFP) manned by Karuna's paramilitary men headed by operative Iniyapaarathi. Three TMVP men sustained injuries, according to Sri Lankan Police. A vehicle, sent to locate the missing persons, has been set on fire around 5:00 p.m. by Karuna's men. The fate of the occupants were not known.
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2 UNP MPs cross over to UPFA

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 16 December 2009, 13:36 GMT]
Two parliamentarians from the main opposition United national Party (UNP) Wednesday extended their support to the ruling Mahinda Rajapaksa government, a day ahead of nominations for the up coming presidential elections to be held on January 26. Krunegala District MPs Johnston Fernando and Indika Bandaranayake made their intentions known at a joint press conference held in Colombo on Wednesday afternoon.
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22 election related violence reported before nomination day

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 16 December 2009, 13:34 GMT]
About twenty two cases of poll-related incidents of violence and intimidation have been reported to independent election observers. Majority of complaints have been made by the main opposition United National Party (UNP) and Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), according to Mr.Keerthi Tennakoon, co-coordinator of the Campaign for Free and Fair Elections (CaFFe).
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22 aspiring for SL Presidency pay their deposits

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 16 December 2009, 13:21 GMT]
Seventeen political parties and five independent candidates have paid their deposits when the Sri Lankan Elections Department closed its counter to accept the same Wednesday noon. The nominations will be accepted from 9.00 a.m. to 12.00 noon on Thursday. The qualified candidates to contest the forthcoming presidential election, scheduled to be held on January 26, would be announced by the SL Commissioner of Elections after 1:00 p.m. Thursday, spokesman of the department told media.
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Floods displace many in Vadamaraadchi

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 16 December 2009, 11:39 GMT]
Continuing rain and floods in Jaffna peninsula, particularly in Vadamaraadchi North and East, have caused people from the coastal areas to seek shelter in Churches and public buildings, sources in Jaffna said. The most affected are the people brought from Vavuniyaa camps and resettled in the abandoned tsunami shelters in Ma’natkaadu in Vadmaraadchi and those who have no relatives to take responsibility of them, the sources added.
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SLA, police extort money from passengers to Jaffna

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 16 December 2009, 02:34 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers and police personnel manning the bus terminal at Vavuniyaa demand money from the people travelling to Jaffna, who have to report for checking before travel, sources in Vavuniyaa said. The bus travel being the cheapest, people choose it rather than ship or flight which are run by agencies of prominent persons of the ruling United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA). The demand for bribe from passengers at Vavuniyaa appears to be a ploy to divert them to travel by ship or planes, the sources further said.
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Cast the first vote to Bahu: Manickasothy

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 15 December 2009, 21:43 GMT]
All Tamil political leaders should ensure in unison that Dr. Vikramabahu Karunaratne receive the first preferential vote in the presidential election, so that the two main candidates equal in their chauvinistic agenda against Tamils will not get the necessary 50 percent to win, said senior politician and civil movement member Manickasothy Abhimannasingham in an interview to media in Jaffna, Tuesday. Bahu was always consistent in his stand on Tamil question even under trying times and voting him is an opportunity to show the Tamil will locally and internationally, he further said. On the candidature of Mr. Sivajilingam, he said the candidature should not demonstrate Tamil disunity. His observation on TNA was that it is nowadays open about its proclivity to India and is now waiting only to receive instructions from India.
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Sivajilingam to contest SL presidential polls as independent candidate

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 15 December 2009, 10:07 GMT]
"There is no point supporting either of the two main candidates, Rajapaksa or Fonseka," said Tamil National Alliance (TNA) Jaffna district parliamentarian K. Sivajilingam Tuesday morning after making his deposit at the Sri Lankan Election Secretariat in Colombo stating that he would contest the presidential polls as an independent candidate.
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Heavy floods in East, 3 killed, IDP camps under water

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 15 December 2009, 09:37 GMT]
Lightning claimed the lives of three people and more than 25,000 have been displaced due to heavy floods as cyclone 'Ward' entered the Eastern coast Monday night. Vaakarai, Vaazhaichcheanai, Kaaththaankudi and Vavu'natheevu are among the worst affected areas in Batticaloa. Meanwhile, all the huts of 'welfare centers' located in Moothoor East and Eechchilampattu in Trincomalee district where hundreds of internally displaced Tamil families, still sheltered awaiting resettlement in their own villages, are under water due to torrential rain now being experienced. Roofs of these huts have been blown off due to gale winds due to depression that moves along the coast of North and East.
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Times expert authenticates Sri Lanka's Channel-4 war-crimes video

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 15 December 2009, 04:51 GMT]
Following independent verification by a US-based group of the authenticity of the Channel-4 video in October, UK's Times reported in its Tuesday edition that its own independent analysis of the Channel-4 broadcast video, showing Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers summarily executing unarmed Tamils stripped naked and hands tied behind the back, found "no evidence of digital manipulation, editing or any other special effects." Times' forensic analyst, Grant Fredericks, is an independent forensic video specialist who is also an instructor at the FBI National Academy, the paper said.
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Rajapakse brothers, Brigadier Silva, presumptive war criminals, says Boyle

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 15 December 2009, 04:18 GMT]
Former Sri Lanka Army (SLA) Commander General Sarath Fonseka's statement to the effect that the Rajapaksa Brothers, Gotabhaya Rajapakse and Basil Rajapakse, and Brigadier Shavendra Silva ordered the murder of surrendering LTTE leaders protected by a White Flag pursuant to a prior agreement to surrender that way sets forth a prima facie "war crime" under the customary international laws of war as codified into and exemplified by U.S. Army Field Manual 27-10 "The Law of Land Warfare" (1956), paragraph 504, said Professor Francis A. Boyle, University of Illinois College of Law, and an expert in International Law, in a note sent to TamilNet.
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Resettled IDPs in Jaffna ordered to register particulars with SLA, SLN

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 15 December 2009, 03:13 GMT]
The Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) brought from Vanni camps and resettled in Jaffna have been ordered to register their particulars with the local civil administrative authorities of Sri Lanka Army (SLA) or Sri Lanka Navy (SLN), sources in Jaffna said. These IDPs who had already registered their particulars with their local Village Officers are again being subjected to endless inconvenience, the sources added. The IDPs in Jaffna peninsula and the islets cannot move freely without the Family Registration Certificate (FRC) issued by SLA or SLN.
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SLN erects mini-camp in Kaaraitheevu in Ampaa’rai district

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 15 December 2009, 02:41 GMT]
More than 20 Sri Lanka Navy (SLN) men are engaged in erecting a mini-camp on the coast of Kaaraitheevu – 3, in Ampaarai district since Sunday, sources in Ampaarai said. A mini police station had been established last month in this same area and the setting up of a SLN mini-camp has caused fear among the local residents. Kaaraitheevu people have complained to Regional Secretary, S. Ramakrishnan and V. Krishnamoorthy, the District Coordinator of National Integration Ministry about the setting up of the SLN mini-camp.
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Fear for State armed forces remain among Jaffna residents – Ranil

[TamilNet, Monday, 14 December 2009, 14:19 GMT]
Ranil Wicremasinghe, the leader of the opposition, currently in Jaffna canvassing for Sarath Fonseka in the presidential election, witnessed ordinary people getting down from their vehicles to stand at the edge of the road when they saw the convoy of vehicles he was travelling in happened to pass by. He expressed concern to the journalists travelling with him that the people of Jaffna are still gripped in fear of the armed forces and that he could see how they had been traumatized due to harassment and intimidation by the armed forces during the war.
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Unrelenting rain continues in Jaffna peninsula

[TamilNet, Monday, 14 December 2009, 14:15 GMT]
Monsoon rains continue to pour down in Jaffna peninsula for the third day Monday flooding the low lying areas, sources in Jaffna said. The most affected by the persisting rain are the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) resettled in Jaffna and those living as permanent refugees evicted by Sri Lanka Army (SLA) because they are located in low lying areas that are easily flooded. However, no one had left their residences until now and they will have to move into school buildings if the rains do not stop, Jaffna Secretariat officials said.
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Grenade attack on UNP district office in Batticaloa

[TamilNet, Monday, 14 December 2009, 11:12 GMT]
Unidentified persons lobbed a hand grenade Sunday around 10:40 p.m on the United National Party (UNP) office located in the residence of UNP Batticaloa district branch president and member of Eastern Provincial Council, Arasaratnam Sasitharan, Batticaloa police said. None was injured in the blast but the office has been damaged a little.
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AG to institute legal action against Fonseka

[TamilNet, Monday, 14 December 2009, 10:45 GMT]
The Attorney General has been directed by the government to investigate and institute legal action against General (retd) Sarath Fonseka for making allegation against the Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapakse that the latter had ordered the Division Commander on the ground to kill LTTE cadres who made an attempt to surrender, according to Human Rights Minister, Mahinda Samarasinghe.
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Wickremesinghe holds talks on Sri Lanka situation in New Delhi

[TamilNet, Monday, 14 December 2009, 10:42 GMT]
Ranil Wickremesinghe, leader of the main opposition United National Party, left for India Sunday evening on a two-day visit to New Delhi on an invitation of the Indian government. During his stay in New Delhi he is scheduled to meet Indian Prime Minister Man Mohan Singh, Congress party leader Ms Sonia Gandhi, External Affairs Minister S. M. Krishna and National Security Advisor M.K.Narayan and discuss about the current political situation in Sri Lanka.
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99% assent Tamil Eelam in overwhelming turn out of 31,000 in France

[TamilNet, Monday, 14 December 2009, 02:23 GMT]
31,148 eligible Eezham Tamil diaspora voters over 18 in France participated this weekend in the referendum to say yes or no to independent and sovereign Tamil Eelam and 30,936 of them have said yes. The postal votes permitted to interior areas of France are yet to be counted and the number is expected to be between 2,000 and 3,000. In the absence of any official statistics, police estimates earlier placed the number of adult Eezham Tamils in France between 25,000 and 35,000. The near total turn out of voters amidst international campaign that Tamil Eelam is drowned in Mu'l'livaaykkal has stunned the observers. The public spirit has made sections of Tamil media, initially engaged in vicious campaign against the referendum, to make a U-turn supporting it later.
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Tamil woman beaten to death in Batticaloa

[TamilNet, Monday, 14 December 2009, 01:53 GMT]
A gang of unidentified men broke into the house of a young Tamil family woman and beat her to death in her sleep Saturday around 11:00 p.m in Kalkudaa police division in Batticaloa district. Police have arrested two suspects and detained them for interrogation and further action.
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FT: Fight for Eelam far from over, say young activists

[TamilNet, Monday, 14 December 2009, 01:18 GMT]
Popular British broadsheet Financial Times, on a follow-up article to October coverage on young Tamils, said that while the western crackdown on the Tigers’ financiers among the diaspora, has created despondency among this often wealthy migrant community, the "clued-up second-generation migrants were turning to political lobbying," and that, "[t]hese young activists said the fight for Eelam, an independent Tamil homeland, was far from over."
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Activists accuse South Africa of ignoring Tamil genocide

[TamilNet, Monday, 14 December 2009, 00:17 GMT]
Human rights activists have accused the South African government of double standards for "flirting" with Sri Lankan government officials and ignoring the genocide in the country, South Africa's Times reported Saturday. The accusations followed South Africa's minister of international relations, Maite Nkoana-Mashabane, to Colombo last month, where the Minister was quoted by Times as saying, "Sri Lanka has become a key partner [of South Africa] on several international issues such as human rights, poverty alleviation, globalisation and the reform of the United Nations."
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“We are not going to start another armed struggle” – PLOTE Sitharathan

[TamilNet, Sunday, 13 December 2009, 10:25 GMT]
“We are not preparing ourselves to launch another armed struggle. The accusations that we had abducted minors from Vavuniyaa camps are baseless,” Sitharathan, the leader of People’s Liberation Organization of Tamil Eelam (PLOTE) said in a press meet held Saturday in PLOTE office in Jaffna. He further said that after the talks held with President Mahinda Rajapakse his party has decided to support him in the forthcoming presidential election, sources in Jaffna said.
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Family rule or Democratic rule? – Ranil Wickremasinghe

[TamilNet, Sunday, 13 December 2009, 10:22 GMT]
“The time has come for the people to decide whether they want the Rajapakse family rule to continue or democratic rule to be restored in Sri Lanka,” Leader of the opposition and United National Party (UNP), Ranil Wickremasinghe, who is in Jaffna canvassing support for Sarath Fonseka, the common candidate of the opposition parties in the presidential election, said Saturday speaking among the students of the private College of Education near the Buddhist temple in Jaffna.
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Fonseka’s official residence searched for harbouring army deserters

[TamilNet, Sunday, 13 December 2009, 10:15 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army soldiers numbering about 150 led by the police Friday evening rounded up the official Bullers’ Residence of General(retd) Sarath Fonseka on a complaint that the latter( former SLA commander) had given shelter for a group of army deserters.
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Kantha’laay Koayil burgled, Pi’l’laiyaar statue missing

[TamilNet, Sunday, 13 December 2009, 10:05 GMT]
About one hundred kilo weighing bronze Vinaayakar statue was stolen from the historic Pilliyaar Koayil located in ancient Kantha’laay Tamil village Saturday early morning. The devotees who went to the Koayil to worship Saturday morning were taken aback when they saw the statue of the deity was missing, according to complaints lodged with the Kanthalaai Police.
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Fonseka names assassins of Nadesan, Puleedevan

[TamilNet, Sunday, 13 December 2009, 09:01 GMT]
Former Sri Lanka Army (SLA) Commander and presidential candidate Sarath Fonseka named Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa and Shavendra Silva, commander of army’s 58th division as directly responsible to the assassination of LTTE’s political leaders B. Nadesan, S. Puleedevan and police chief Ramesh, while naming presidential advisor Basil Rajapaksa, Norwegian minister Erik Solheim and various foreign parties as people involved in the episode, The Sunday Leader reported. While Basil Rajapaksa denied communication with Norway, Sri Lanka defence circles refused to comment. Meanwhile, Tamil circles commenting on Fonseka's 'revelations', said both the SLA Commander Fonseka and Commander-in-Chief Mahinda Rajapaksa cannot explain away their involvement in war crimes and the crimes against humanity.
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Sarath is only a tool to eliminate Mahinda – Ranil, in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Sunday, 13 December 2009, 08:18 GMT]
“The opposition intends to use Sarath Fonseka only as a tool to eliminate Mahinda Rajapakse from the presidential post; people should not be afraid of him because he was an army commander,” Ranil Wicremasinghe, the leader of the opposition said Saturday night in Jaffna at a press meet held in ‘Yaa’lpaadi’ guest house, sources in Jaffna said. “The failure of the people in the North and East to vote in the last presidential election enabled Mahinda to become president and the resulting sufferings of the Tamils is now clear to them,” Ranil further said.
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Colombo sacks Tamil doctor for internment camp comments

[TamilNet, Saturday, 12 December 2009, 13:09 GMT]
Sri Lanka Ministry of Health has interdicted a Tamil doctor, Dr Murali Vallipuranathan, for speaking out on the conditions on the detention camps, and informed him that the Ministry "found him to have acted in a manner that brought disrepute on the Government of Sri Lanka," Sri Lanka weekly Lakbima reported. Ministry of Health's communication, written in Sinhala dated 10th November 2009, said that Dr Vallipuranathan was being removed from service for causing disrepute to the Government of Sri Lanka, and that his salary was also being stopped.
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Bus passengers through A9 road suffer undue delay

[TamilNet, Saturday, 12 December 2009, 03:42 GMT]
Passengers travelling in Sri Lanka Transport Board (SLTB) buses through A9 road between Jaffna and Vavuniyaa are held for nearly six to eight hours in their buses until Sri Lanka Army (SLA) allow the buses to leave in a convoy, civil society sources in Jaffna raised concern. The passengers are not allowed to get down from the buses even to answer calls of nature, they said.
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No threat to Fonseka’s life - AG informs court

[TamilNet, Saturday, 12 December 2009, 01:58 GMT]
Sri Lanka’s Supreme Court Friday fixed further inquiry into the Fundamental Rights petition filed by General Sarath Fonseka for December 17. The FR petition came up for inquiry Friday before a three-member bench comprising Chief Justice Asoka de Silva, Justices Gamini Amaratunga and P. A. Ratnaike. General Fonseka has been nominated as the common presidential candidate.
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100th day of Tissainayagam's 20-year prison term

[TamilNet, Friday, 11 December 2009, 13:15 GMT]
Thursday marked the 100th day of Sri Lanka journalist, Jeyaprakash Tissainayagam's 20-year prison term. "Tissainayagam, known as Tissa, was convicted of “terrorism” charges for articles documenting human rights abuses by the Sri Lankan military, as well as the difficult conditions faced by Sri Lankans displaced in the nation’s long war. His sentence was a dire warning to other journalists who would dare be critical of the government. They are right to be concerned," Committe to Protect Journalists (CPJ) said in a report Thursday. Tissanayagam has been languishing in jail from 7th March 2008 when he was first arrested without charge.
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France goes for referendum on Tamil Eelam this weekend

[TamilNet, Friday, 11 December 2009, 08:15 GMT]
Eezham Tamils living in France will be voting this weekend to say yes or no for independent and sovereign Tamil Eelam in the island of Sri Lanka. Polling will take place in 30 centres in Paris and suburbs and in 5 centres outside, between 08:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. Saturday and between 08:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. Sunday. The formation committee for the country council of Eelam Tamils in France is organizing the poll with the support of 61 Eezham Tamil organizations and two NGOs in France. Taking the secret ballot will be officiated and presided over by independent French election officers coming from members of the local government councils of France. The poll gains significance at a time when Tamils are left with no choice other than politically proving their geopolitical importance as powers have made it absolutely clear that they are guided only by geopolitical considerations.
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Body of SLA soldier recovered dead in Jaffna identified

[TamilNet, Friday, 11 December 2009, 07:43 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army (SLA) officers Thursday identified the body of the soldier recovered dead with gunshot injuries Thursday morning. Jaffna magistrate Mr. Vasanthasenan who conducted the inquest into the death at the site where the body was found ordered post mortem examination to be held, sources in Jaffna said.
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HR Day observed in Jaffna after 3 years

[TamilNet, Friday, 11 December 2009, 07:28 GMT]
Thousands of persons whose family members had gone missing after abduction or arrest by Sri Lanka Armed forces and paramilitary men participated in an event organized by Jaffna Human Rights Commission (HRC) in Jaffna Veersingham Hall Thursday around 10:00 a.m to mark the 61st International Human Rights Day. Representatives of various Tamil political parties and human rights activists participated in the event which ended around 2:00 p.m. The day’s events concluded with the torch festival held in Aariyaku’lam in Jaffna after a procession which highlighted human rights, source in Jaffna said.
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Reveal whereabouts of surrendered, arrested Liberation Tigers – Mano Ganeshan

[TamilNet, Friday, 11 December 2009, 06:35 GMT]
“The government should maintain transparency in matters related to the Liberation Tigers who had surrendered or were arrested at the end of the war,” Mano Ganeshan, Democratic People’s Front (DPF) leader and parliamentarian said, in a special interview to TamilNet Thursday. Mano Ganeshan, presently in Jaffna, also said that Sarath Fonseka, the common opposition presidential candidate, is steadfast in solving the issues related to the reunion of the Liberation Tigers with their families and resettlement of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs).
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Senior HRW, ICG staff slam US Senate report

[TamilNet, Friday, 11 December 2009, 03:37 GMT]
The 18-page report released Monday by US Senate Foreign Relations Committee advocating the need to focus on economy and security of Sri Lanka instead of humanitarian considerations to initiate warming of relationship with Sri Lanka was slammed by Rights organizations as "incredibly shoddy" and drew comments that authors of the report appear to be people who "don’t know anything about Sri Lanka." The report comes amid growing concern among many activists that President Obama’s policy of diplomatic engagement with abusive or authoritarian governments, such as China, Burma, Iran, Sudan, and Syria, is being pursued at the expense of human rights, Inter Press Service (IPS) News Agency said.
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JVP supporters attacked while putting up Fonseka’s posters

[TamilNet, Friday, 11 December 2009, 02:45 GMT]
Ruling party supporters Thursday attacked activists of Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) while they were putting up posters of General (retd) Sarath Fonseka in three locations in Gampaha district in Western province. Four JVP activists were injured, JVP said in a press release. General Fonseka has been nominated as the common opposition candidate to contest the presidential election.
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NCET urges Obama to explore policy reciprocal to US-Tamil interests

[TamilNet, Friday, 11 December 2009, 01:49 GMT]
US president Barak Obama visiting Oslo to receive Nobel Peace Prize Thursday was urged by the Norwegian Council of Eelam Tamils (NCET) that the USA should explore possibilities of recharting a policy pragmatic to both the national question of Tamils and the US interests in the island of Sri Lanka. In a letter addressed to the President and made open to media, NCET expressed its deep concern about Monday’s recommendations of the US Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs seeking to strengthen Colombo and sidelining political solution to Tamils. Hundreds of Eezham Tamils in Oslo, joining many other organisations of international politics making demands to Obama, also took part in a vigil Thursday evening, marching from the city centre towards the Stortinget, the Norwegian parliament.
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Parents of Tamil detainees hold protest march in Vavuniyaa

[TamilNet, Thursday, 10 December 2009, 14:19 GMT]
Parents and relatives of Tamil prisoners held in Sri Lanka prisons in Vavuniyaa, Anuradhapura, and Jaffna held a peaceful demonstration Thursday in Vavuniyaa demanding the release of hundreds of Tamil civilians. The march commenced from the Vavuniyaa regional office of the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka (HRCSL) and concluded at Vavuniyaa District Secretariat building, according to sources in Vavuniyaa.
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Another SLA soldier found dead in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Thursday, 10 December 2009, 07:42 GMT]
A Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldier, who was on night duty guarding the Peoples Bank branch located along Stanley Road in Jaffna was found shot dead in the vicinity of the bank during the early hours of Thursday, Police said. The SLA has beefed up security following the report of another mysterious death among the SLA soldiers in Jaffna for the second day.
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SLFP office officially opened in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Thursday, 10 December 2009, 02:27 GMT]
The ruling Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) officially opened its office in Jaffna in a private building located on Fourth Cross Street in Jaffna town Wednesday. Sri Lankan Minister of Education, Susil Premajayantha, SL Media Minister, Anura Priyadharshana Yapa, Deputy Education Minister, Nirmala Kotalawela, Deputy Education Minister, Sachithananthan and EPDP paramilitary leader and Minister Douglas Devananda were present at the event presided by Jaffna district SLFP organizer Velmurugu.
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Text books, school uniform issue event conducted in Sinhalese in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Thursday, 10 December 2009, 02:23 GMT]
A "national" event of issuing free text books and school uniforms to students in Jaffna was held entirely in Sinhalese Wednesday in Jaffna Veampadi Girls’ College, sources in Jaffna said. Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa was to preside in this event and later his brother Basil Rajapaksa was to participate in the event instead of the president. But Basil Rajapaksa too did not attend the event as announced in the local media. In the meantime, the Sri Lankan president visited Vanni Wednesday to open a "national war memorial" north of Mullaiththeevu at the centre of Puthukkudiyiruppu tank.
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SLA soldier shoots himself to death in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 09 December 2009, 16:16 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army (SLA) authorities in Jaffna said that one of their soldiers shot himself to death Wednesday around 1:20 a.m in a police station located near Post Box Junction along Palaali Road in Jaffna.
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Colombo court remands 2 Tamil civilians

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 09 December 2009, 15:38 GMT]
Two Tamil civilians were ordered remand by the Colombo Magistrate Tuesday till December 16 on a report submitted by the Terrorist Investigation Division (TID) that they were cadres of the LTTE air-wing involved in sentry duties at the Visuvavamadu air strip.
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“Trinco district turned into military garrison”- Sampanthan

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 09 December 2009, 15:30 GMT]
Rajavarothiam Sampanthan, leader of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarian brought to the notice of the parliament that Trincomalee district is being turned into military garrison day by day by the Sri Lanka Army and historic Hindu Koayils there are being desecrated and destroyed to settle Buddhist Sinhalese in traditional Tamil villages. He cited the recent incident where unidentified gangs had desecrated the several centuries’- old Sivan Koayil called as Agasthiyar Thaapanam and located in Kanguveali. He added the said temple was founded by Hindu sage Agasthiyar. He said the government agent of the district is a retired Major General in the Sri Lanka Army and the governor of the eastern province is a retired naval commander.
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EP Hindu Association condemns destruction of Hindu temples in the East

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 09 December 2009, 12:42 GMT]
Eastern Province Hindu Association (EPHA) has expressed its deep grief and strong condemnation against the theft of the Sivalingam of Akaththiyar Thaapanam at Kangu-veali in Moothoor and the destruction of a Murukan koayil on Kunchithapaatha Malai and the construction of a Buddhist Vihara at its location, in Trincomalee district, in a report released by EPHA president Thiyageswaran. The report called on the Tamil ministers in the Sri Lanka government, the Eastern Province Chief Minister and members of Eastern Provincial Council members to eliminate the current threat to Hindu Religion and to safeguard same.
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Cluster voting booths to be installed in resettlement areas in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 09 December 2009, 03:17 GMT]
Cluster voting booths in the forthcoming presidential election are to be installed in Karaichchi and Poonakari areas where Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) had been resettled, Jaffna Assistant Election Commissioner (AEO), S. Suthakar said. Meanwhile, provisions have been made to enable IDP voters who had lost their identification documents due to the war, he further said.
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SL Armed Forces personnel in Jaffna show keen interest in postal voting

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 09 December 2009, 02:11 GMT]
The personnel of Sri Lanka armed forces stationed in Jaffna and Vanni show keen interest in postal voting in the forthcoming presidential election, Jaffna Election Department sources said. 7 January had been fixed as the last day for postal voting but it had been extended to 19 January.
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Palitha Kohona deserves prosecution by Australia: Professor of Law

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 08 December 2009, 12:10 GMT]
In light of accusations laid out by a US State Department report to Congress on possible war crimes carried out by the Sri Lankan armed forces, diplomatic immunity should be wavered and investigations carried out on the role played by Australian dual citizen and former Sri Lankan Foreign Secretary Palitha Kohona in the execution of LTTE Political heads B. Nadesan and the Director of LTTE's Peace Secretariat S. Puleedevan, says Don Rothwell, professor of international law at the Australian National University.
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Robert Blake arrives in Colombo

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 08 December 2009, 11:43 GMT]
Robert Blake, the United States Under-Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs arrived in Colombo for the first time after his assumption of the new post.
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Emergency extended for another month in Sri Lanka

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 08 December 2009, 11:39 GMT]
Sri Lanka’s parliament Tuesday evening adopted a motion moved by the Prime Minister Ratnasri Wickremanayake seeking the approval to extend the State of Emergency for another month by a majority of seventy four votes. Ninety five parliamentarians from the ruling party United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA) and its allies voted for the motion. Twenty one parliamentarians of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) and the main opposition United National Party (UNP), present in the House voted against.
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1,27,905 IDPs still held in Vavuniyaa camps

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 08 December 2009, 03:31 GMT]
While Sri Lanka government claims that Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) held in Vavuniyaa Sri Lanka Army (SLA) detention centres can move freely, 1,27,905 of them are still being held in the camps, according to information given by Northern Province governor, Major Gen. G. A. Chandrasiri, in a special press meet held by him Monday in Jaffna Secretariat.
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Death threats to journalists in Jaffna, a 'defence matter' – NP Governor

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 08 December 2009, 02:49 GMT]
The Governor of Northern Province, Major Gen. G. A. Chandrasiri, said that the issue of death threats being issued to journalists at a time when the government claims that normalcy reigns in Jaffna is a matter of defence and hence out of his area of power, in response to questions raised by journalists, in a special press meet held by the governor Monday in Jaffna Secretariat.
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Galle Sivan Koayil robbed, 17 artifacts stolen

[TamilNet, Monday, 07 December 2009, 13:39 GMT]
Seventeen bronze statues including those of Lord Shiva, Krish'naa, and Murukan with his consorts Va’l’li and Theivaanai were robbed from Galle Sivan Koayil Sunday early morning between 12 and 1:00 a. m by an unidentified group of persons. The gang had attacked the watcher of the temple and later tied him to a pillar. Thereafter they forced open the doors of the Moolasthaanam of the Koayil and took away artifacts which are about 150 years old and valued at around 15 million rupees.
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Indian parliament expunges remarks on genocide in Sri Lanka

[TamilNet, Monday, 07 December 2009, 08:13 GMT]
When Communist Party of India (CPI) member D. Raja in his speech Friday in Rajya Sabha pointed out what happened in the island of Sri Lanka was full-scale war and genocide against Tamils with the assistance of Government of India, the Chair ordered to expunge the word genocide from parliamentary records. The verbatim but lengthy debate Friday questioned the government on IDPs, Kachchatheevu, Tamil Nadu fishermen, and about sending a parliamentary delegation to meet Tamil IDPs. But when it came to the core issue of political solution, the debate had nothing new to offer as from Indian foreign minister S M Krishna to main opposition BJP’s Vekaiah Naidu were still harping on treating the Eezham Tamils not as a nation but as a ‘minority’ and perceiving solutions based on obsolete 13th Amendment. Even Raja was using the word ‘national linguistic minority’.
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SB Dissanayake crosses over to SLFP from UNP

[TamilNet, Monday, 07 December 2009, 08:10 GMT]
S.B. Dissanayake, the national organiser of the main opposition United National Party (UNP) and the Opposition Leader in the Central Province broke ranks with his party and crossed over to the ruling Mahinda Rajapaksa's Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) Monday. The move, which has brought the Sinhala politician with highest number of preferential votes in all the 13 electorates of Kandy in the last provincial elections to the side of Mahinda Rajapaksa, is viewed as a major setback to the UNP in the run up to the presidential elections with the common candidate General (retd.) Sarath Fonseka.
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IC should accept reality of genocide in Sri Lanka - Canadian student

[TamilNet, Monday, 07 December 2009, 02:25 GMT]
Kannan Sreekantha, one of three Canadian Tamil students, who started a 1000-mile walk from Chicago to Washington D.C., an awareness campaign titled 'Break the Silence' calling attention to the plight of Eezham Tamils, on Monday while returning to Canada, in a message to his contacts in the United States said: "Having done this project, while also being exposed to the emerging realities at point blank range, I now more than ever believe that the international community will one day fully come to accept that there has been a genocide committed in Tamil Eelam. All that we need to do is, act as catalyst in order to expedite this process."
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Colombo's aid program for refugees “flawed”: The Times

[TamilNet, Monday, 07 December 2009, 01:54 GMT]
Sri Lankan government bodies are incapable of administrating aid programs required to assist the thousands of refugees temporarily released from military camps, further compounding their suffering by refusing regional access to aid groups and organisations “far better skilled at delivering resettlement aid than local authorities” The Times has reported. Many refugees, including children and the disabled, who are without homes and entirely dependent upon aid programs after months of imprisonment have not been able to obtain basic essential items days after the Government claimed to have released thousands of civilians in custody.
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Sinhala Buddhists, Christians clash over attacks on Vihare, Church in Ja-Ela

[TamilNet, Sunday, 06 December 2009, 13:38 GMT]
Police riot squads, Special Task Force (STF), Sri Lanka Navy (SLN) and Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) Sunday were called to prevent clashes between two groups representing Sinhala Buddhists and Sinhala Christians following two separate attacks on a Buddhist Vihare and a Catholic church in Ja-Ela area by unidentified persons, Police spokesman I . M. Karunaratne said.
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Colombo's claims of free access a lie, says media, ICRC

[TamilNet, Sunday, 06 December 2009, 03:30 GMT]
Reporters and aid workers said they are still being barred from visiting Government internment camps housing thousands of Tamil refugees, days after Sri Lanka's Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollagama proclaimed on British television that the areas were "totally open."
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Tamils flee from East by sea, SL Police says

[TamilNet, Sunday, 06 December 2009, 03:12 GMT]
The killing of a youth and injury to another in a Sri Lanka Army (SLA) shooting Friday evening at Kiraan beach in Vaazhaichcheanai, Batticaloa, happened when a group of Tamil youth tried to flee the country by sea, Sri Lankan Police said Saturday. Food, medical items, gas cylinders and life jackets were recovered from the spot, according to the police, who alleged that a group of people were trying to flee the country by boat.
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Jaffna IDP voters can vote in Colombo

[TamilNet, Sunday, 06 December 2009, 02:39 GMT]
Registered voters of Jaffna Electoral District who are displaced and living temporarily in and around Colombo can apply to the Department of Elections to cast their votes for the Presidential elections at a polling station in the area they are now residing.
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Civilian killed in army fire at Vaazhaichcheanai beach

[TamilNet, Saturday, 05 December 2009, 23:47 GMT]
One person was killed and another was injured when soldiers of the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) of Kumburumoolai camp fired at a group of persons in an attempt to flee in boats Friday night from Vaazhaichcheanai sea beach. SLA soldiers rushed to the Vaazhaichcheanai beach on receipt of information that a group of people suspected to be asylum seekers assembled there Friday evening.
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Sri Lanka's modern-day genocide

[TamilNet, Saturday, 05 December 2009, 14:27 GMT]
""Genocide" is too limiting a term in any case. In recent years, governments have not necessarily been exterminating entire subgroups en masse with crystal-clear intent. Yet some governments show no qualms about shelling huge numbers of ethnic minority civilians trapped in confined war zones, as we saw in Sri Lanka earlier this year. More common still are governments that kick one ethnic group off its land and force the people into displacement camps where they become permanent wards of international humanitarian agencies -- think Darfur, for example, to mention just one place commonly labeled a "slow-motion genocide," says an article by Andrew Stroehlein, Communications Director at the International Crisis Group (ICG), in the December issue of the widely read Foreign Policy magazine.
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Attempts to split TNA

[TamilNet, Saturday, 05 December 2009, 06:35 GMT]
A faction led by Mavai Senathirajah and some by Srikantha, both Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarians for Jaffna, are said to be engaged in activities aimed at splitting TNA, sources in Jaffna said. Srikantha and Selvam Adaikalanathan, another TNA parliamentarian, met Monday Basil Rajapakse, the brother and senior advisor of President Mahinda Rajapakse, in Colombo after which Srikantha told press that Basil Rajapakse had consented to allow resettlement of 4,500 IDPs from Valikaamam North in the first stage. Meanwhile, Mavai Senathirajah said in a press release to the media that Thamizh Arasukk Kadchi (TAK) had sent a letter to President Mahinda Rajapakse requesting the resettlement of IDPs in Valikaamam North.
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Woman sexually abused, killed in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Saturday, 05 December 2009, 03:42 GMT]
The mother of a woman abducted, sexually abused and later killed by unknown persons recently in Araali in Vaddukkoaddai identified the body of the woman as her daughter Friday. The body of the woman had been found dumped in Araali, sources in Jaffna said.
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Civilians held for more than a year in SLA Thellippazhai Rehabilitation Centre

[TamilNet, Friday, 04 December 2009, 13:59 GMT]
One hundred and thirteen civilians, claimed to have surrendered themselves as Liberation Tigers, are being held for more than a year in Thellippazhai Special Rehabilitation Centre of Sri Lanka Army (SLA) in Jaffna peninsula, according to Jaffna Human Rights Commission (HRC) sources. Meanwhile, Sri Lanka government refuses to reveal the number of inmates continued to be detained in Kaithadi SLA detention camp which has been converted into a Rehabilitation Centre, Jaffna Secretariat (JS) sources said.
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St. John’s Ambulance activities in Jaffna lag behind for want of funds

[TamilNet, Friday, 04 December 2009, 13:54 GMT]
“The Non-governmental Organizations (NGOs) in Jaffna Peninsula are unable to carry on their projects in assisting the residents of Jaffna peninsula as the financial help from International countries has dwindled,” St. John’s Ambulance (SLA) Chief Commander Dr. Weerasooriya, said in a press meet held Thursday in Jaffna. However, SJA services continue despite government pressure in places including Hambantota, he added.
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Government demolishes Tiger monuments while erecting monuments for its soldiers

[TamilNet, Friday, 04 December 2009, 13:51 GMT]
Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL) which is actively destroying the Heroes Tombs and memorial monuments of Liberation Tigers in Vanni is simultaneously busy erecting memorial monuments for its soldiers killed, in many parts of Vanni, sources in Vanni said.
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9,95,612 from East eligible to vote in SL presidential election

[TamilNet, Friday, 04 December 2009, 08:44 GMT]
9,95,612 registered voters in the eastern province are eligible to cast their votes at the presidential election that is scheduled to be held on January 26.
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6 pay deposits to contest presidential polls

[TamilNet, Friday, 04 December 2009, 08:44 GMT]
Six prospective candidates from recognized political parties Thursday paid their deposits to submit nominations for the forthcoming presidential election which will be held on January 26. The nominations close on December 17, Sri Lankan Election Department said.
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Borella abductees in police custody

[TamilNet, Friday, 04 December 2009, 08:33 GMT]
Four persons, including a police sub inspector of the Colombo Crime Division and a leading businessman, reported abducted Wednesday night are now in the custody of Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of the Police, according to the police.
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Indonesian commandos attempt raid on refugee boat

[TamilNet, Thursday, 03 December 2009, 11:19 GMT]
Politicians and human rights groups have slammed Indonesia after claims that several high speed navy ships surrounded a boat carrying 250 Tamils docked at the Indonesian port of Merak and tried to storm the boat in an attempt to end a tense standoff that has lasted almost 8 weeks.
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Mano Ganesan backs Fonseksa

[TamilNet, Thursday, 03 December 2009, 11:17 GMT]
Democratic People's Front leader Mano Ganesan Thursday announced that his party would support General (retd) Sarath Fonseka, the joint opposition candidate in the forthcoming presidential elections in Sri Lanka. The DPF leader also said that he was presently negotiating with the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) to win their support to General Fonseka.
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SL Police Sub-Inspector, businessman abducted in Colombo

[TamilNet, Thursday, 03 December 2009, 10:29 GMT]
An unidentified gang Wednesday night abducted four persons, including a leading Sinhalese businessman from Wattala and a police sub-inspector of the Colombo Crimes Division (CCD) at Borella police division Wednesday night, Police said. They were abducted while they were returning after dinner after a famous fast-food outlet along Cotta Road in Borella.
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Fonseka visits India

[TamilNet, Thursday, 03 December 2009, 09:55 GMT]
General (retd) Sarath Fonseka, former commander of the Sri Lanka Army and Chief of Defence Staff later, is on a surprise visit to India. Close aides of Sarath Fonseka declined to divulge the purpose of visit to India. Fonseka has been nominated as the common opposition candidate at the presidential election that is scheduled to be held on January 26 next year.
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IDP resettlement must be unconditional - Amnesty International

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 02 December 2009, 17:12 GMT]
Amnesty International’s expert on Sri Lanka, Yolanda Foster, in a press statement issued from Washington said Tuesday that the Amnesty had received information about possible restrictions on families choosing to leave the camps in Vavuniyaa. Ms. Yolanda Foster referred to reports, which indicated that the IDPs could be asked to return to the camps after only 15 days. “A permanent release from camps must be accompanied by assurances that people are not subjected to further questioning or re-arrest in new locations,” said Foster. “It is also critical that the government maintain its responsibility to care for displaced people wherever they choose to go.”
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SL Supreme Court wants assessment report on Fonseka’s security

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 02 December 2009, 17:05 GMT]
Sri Lanka’s Supreme Court directed the Attorney General to furnish a security assessment report on General (retd) Sarath Fonseka when the latter’s Human Rights Violation petition was taken up for inquiry Wednesday. The former SLA commander, who has been nominated as the common presidential candidate of the opposition, has filed FR petition seeking the court to order the government to provide adequate security for him and to direct the government to allow him to stay in his official residence, legal sources said.
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Australians slam 'Indonesian Solution'

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 02 December 2009, 15:08 GMT]
Over a 150 people marched through the streets of Sydney on Sunday calling upon the federal government to abolish its harsh stance on refugees and grant asylum to hundreds of Tamil refugees currently being detained in Indonesia at Australia’s request. Citing persecution faced by Tamils at the hands of the Sri Lankan Government, protestors labelled Prime Minister Rudd’s “Indonesian Solution” as “racist” and called for the closure of the Christmas Island offshore detention centre, currently housing hundreds of Tamils.
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Resilience marks Maveerar Day in Sydney

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 02 December 2009, 09:03 GMT]
Thousands gathered on Saturday to commemorate Heroes Day 2009 in an outpouring of grief in Sydney. A series of artistic and visual tributes, including a spectacular centre piece display carrying the symbols of Tamil Eelam set behind commemorative tombstones, illuminated Parramatta Park amid an atmosphere of reflection and resolve as over 2000 members of the Diaspora paid tribute to the fallen soldiers of the liberation movement and reaffirmed their commitment to the establishment of Tamil Eelam. The sister of LTTE Political head B. Nadesan, along with family of Colonel Amuthap lit the flame of sacrifice to mark the event, which featured songs, poetry and a series of provocative dramas portraying the horrors of Mullivaiykal and the sacrifices made by the fallen soldiers throughout the struggle.
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Attacks on JVP political offices continue, A’pura office ransacked

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 01 December 2009, 11:26 GMT]
Supporters of the ruling United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA) are on the rampage in several areas in the south attacking offices of the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) since the latter extended its full support to General Sarath Fonseka, who is to contest as the common opposition candidate in the forthcoming presidential election. Submission of nominations by registered political parties is to begin on December 17 and the election is fixed for January 26.
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4 youths arrested in Katunayake HSZ

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 01 December 2009, 08:59 GMT]
Sri Lanka Air Force and Sri Lanka Police Saturday took four youths- two Tamils and two Sinhalese into custody in a cordon and search operation conducted covering the high security zone of the Katunayake International airport complex. The Katunayake Police said they are being detained and interrogated as they failed to prove their identity and justify their stay at that time.
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