Ananthi blames war criminal Silva for blocking collective memorial at Mu'l'livaaykkaal

[TamilNet, Monday, 17 May 2021, 19:23 GMT]
SL President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and Commander of the SL Army, General Shavendra Silva, have deployed the occupying military to suppress the 12th collective Mu'l'ivaaykkaal Remembrance of Tamil Genocide at the sacred memorial site, said former councillor Ms Ananthy Sasitharan on Monday. She was talking to TamilNet after the SL military blocked her from entering Mullaiththeevu. The SL military was using Covid-19 as an excuse to shut down two divisions surrounding the memorial place. War criminal Silva, who commanded the notorious 58th Division that waged the genocidal onslaught in Vanni in May 2009, is now leading Colombo's Operation Centre for Preventing COVID-19 Outbreak in addition to being the commander of the SL Army. His military men were also responsible for destroying, desecrating the memorial lamp and removing the enormous memorial stone brought to Vanni from Jaffna on 12 May.
Full story >>

Occupied Tamil Eelam marks Heroes' Day indoors, SL military detains seminary principal

[TamilNet, Friday, 27 November 2020, 16:44 GMT]
The Police of the occupying state of genocidal Sri Lanka detained a Tamil Catholic priest, S. Baskaran, who is the principal of St. Martin’s Seminary while conducting Tamil Eelam Heroes’ Day remembrance at the entrance of the seminary, located near the Bishop’s House in Jaffna. Amidst tightened harassment from the SL military and the police against public remembrance events, the people and their political representatives resolvedly and emotionally marked the commemoration lighting flames of sacrifice inside their premises. The mobilisation for indoor remembrance has drawn the attention of the younger generation of Tamils like never before in the post-2009 context, journalists in Jaffna said. All the occupying Sinhala soldiers and the police personnel were deployed in the public places, junctions and along the road everywhere, reminding the people the level of military occupation.
Full story >>

Muslims join Tamils opposing Colombo's suppression of Thileepan Remembrance in North

[TamilNet, Monday, 28 September 2020, 23:19 GMT]
Tamil business and student communities in the North-East observed hartal on Monday condemning SL State's widespread hostility towards the annual commemoration of Lt Col Thileepan on Saturday. Occupying Colombo's police and military were trying to block the business owners from conducting the shutdown. However, the business chambers didn't succumb to the pressure. Also, Muslim traders in the cities of North fully observed shutdown. They also marked hartal in their residential suburbs in Jaffna showing solidarity with Eezham Tamils. Except for the hospitals and necessary public transportation, the cities and towns were at a standstill in Jaffna, Mullaiththeevu, Vavuniyaa and Mannaar.
Full story >>

Criminals banished from South deployed for Sinhala colonisation in Musali, Mannaar

[TamilNet, Thursday, 30 July 2020, 20:09 GMT]
Criminals and former military men absconding from law enforcement authorities for crimes committed in the South, particularly those with a previous military background, have been provided with an escape route if they agree to take part as settlers in the occupied country of Eezham Tamils. The tendency has been observed in Ko'ndaichchi in Musali division of Mannaar district, informed sources in the division said. In addition to Sinhala workers who previously worked in Ko'ndaichchi cashew farm, there are tens of Sinhala colonists with criminal background from Colombo, Kegalle, Matara and Gampaha districts in the South. Although only twenty-seven families are registered in the voters' registry, and they were provided with housing scheme, there are scores of other Sinhalese living in the so-called “Sinhala Gammana” village in Ko'ndaichchi.
Full story >>

Monk commanding Sinhala-Buddhicisation of North-East threatens Tamil villagers in Batticaloa

[TamilNet, Saturday, 04 July 2020, 22:28 GMT]
Panamure Thilakawansha Thero, the extremist Sinhala Buddhist monk based in Arisimalai in Pulmoaddai, whom Gotabaya Rajapaksa referred as “chief prelate for the Northern and Eastern Provinces” in his Presidential Task Force for ‘archaeological heritage management’ in the East, paid a threatening visit to Batticaloa on Saturday. The anti-Tamil and anti-Muslim monk, accompanied with fifteen SL Army soldiers, warned Veaththuch-cheanai Tamil villagers to keep away from their village deity Vairavar and the nearby playground. The monk claimed the folk-deity land as a Buddhist “archaeological heritage site”. Veaththuch-cheanai is situated in Vellaa-ve'li of Poaratheevup-pattu DS division, 40 km south of Batticaloa city.
Full story >>

Ex-councillor: Poverty-stricken Tamils at receiving end of SL military brutality in North

[TamilNet, Sunday, 21 June 2020, 23:11 GMT]
The occupying SL Army fired gunshots at 24-year-old Tamil man at a close distance between 25 and 50 meters distance on Saturday, says former civic councillor Sutharsing Vijayakanth, who is the general secretary of Progressive Tamil National Party. The soldiers fired when the victim, Ramakrishnan Nakarasa, was fleeing from the chasing SL Army after his motorbike was stuck in the sand. The four men, who were released on bail, witnessed the incident, he said after talking to them on Sunday. The SL Army was twisting facts on the episode in its report to the SL Police, Vijayakanth said. The SLA was claiming that it fired after the late Ramakrishnan had pulled down a soldier while riding a motorbike.
Full story >>

Tamil man killed, Sinhala Army opens fire at motorbike rider at Mukamaalai in North

[TamilNet, Saturday, 20 June 2020, 23:53 GMT]
Occupying Colombo’s Sinhala soldiers opened fire at a 24-year-old Tamil man, who didn’t stop his motorbike when the SL Army stopped him at Mukamaalai in Pazhai in Ki'linochchi district on Saturday evening. The victim, Nakarasa Ramakrishnan, was seriously wounded with four gunshots hitting his head and neck, the residents said. Then, the SL soldiers denied transportation to medical treatment for the seriously injured man for one hour, resulting in his death on the way to the hospital. In the meantime, SL Police was trying to twist the incident as something that happened when Mr Ramakrishnan attempted to grab the weapon of an SL Army soldier. A total lie, the villagers claim. The gunshots were fired targeting the victim’s head when he failed to stop, they said. The incident has occurred 300 meters away from A9 Highway near the war-time Forward Defence Line.
Full story >>

Resentment between SL forces and Tamils escalates in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Saturday, 13 June 2020, 19:20 GMT]
Frustration and resentment against the occupying SL military and the SL police are escalating in Jaffna peninsula as witnessed in various incidents in recent times. On Tuesday, a group of Tamil residents in Analai-theevu islet assaulted SL Navy officers, who were threatening their fellow residents receiving treatment at the local hospital after being attacked by SL Navy personnel in an earlier clash. The SL Navy imposed a travel blockade for two days and harassed the people. The dispute was reported after SL Navy men started to roam around the residential areas with suspicious intent, Tamil families in the islet said.
Full story >>

SL Army’s 231 Brigade sexually abuses Tamil women in Batticaloa suburb

[TamilNet, Saturday, 30 May 2020, 22:38 GMT]
There have been allegations of soldiers of the occupying SL Army’s 231 Brigade Headquarters at Kalladi sexually abusing Tamil women for some time. In recent weeks, the issue has become a menace of increasing threat, community leaders in the area complain, on condition of anonymity. The SLA soldiers, who are predominantly Sinhalese, exploit the poverty-stricken families by providing minor jobs and seeking the households. Higher ranking officers and commanders are also involved in the exploitation, and some women are taken to the military quarters and abused by more than two or three soldiers during the nights, reliable sources said. The soldiers have started to collect details of female-headed households triggering widespread fear, the sources further said.
Full story >>

Occupying SL military desecrates Remembrance Day candles, harasses Tamil politicians

[TamilNet, Monday, 18 May 2020, 23:20 GMT]
The occupying Sinhala military and SL Police were blocking Tamil political parties from marking Mu'l'livaaykkaal Remembrance Day in Jaffna (TNPF) and Batticaloa (TNPF and ITAK) meting out various harassments. Former Chief Minister Justice CV Wigneswaran (TMK) was turned away at a checkpoint by the SL military Monday morning. The SL Police in Jaffna approached the SL judiciary on Sunday in a bid to block TNPF leader Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam and his fellow party members from attending the Remembrance event. The SL Police was arguing that they had failed to comply with COVID-19 measures during the remembrance events held earlier. However, they managed to convince the judge on Monday reversing the court decision with the help of a team of attorneys. Meanwhile, Sinhala soldiers were roaming around desecrating the remembrance lights that were lit by the people in Jaffna city in the evening.
Full story >>

Remembrance event urges Tamils to own justice project, establish genocidal intent of Sinhala state

[TamilNet, Monday, 18 May 2020, 07:11 GMT]
The UN and the West, adopting a “soft approach” towards the “Sinhala state” have not only paved the way for diluting the gravity of its crimes. They also emboldened the SL State to wage unabatedly its post-2009 “structural genocide” against Tamils in the North-East, said the declaration of the main May 18 Remembrance event, held at Mu'l'livaaykkaal on Monday. One of the lessons learnt by the Tamils was that they must be careful in trusting anyone, who portray themselves as the saviours of Tamils. Demanding justice for the genocide must be a mechanism to pursue the cause of Tamil national question, especially by “proving the intent of the genocide,” the statement read by Fr Leo Armstrong proclaimed. Around three-hundred Eezham Tamils braved the seven-layered SL military blockade in their resolve to mark the eleventh May 18 Remembrance and Awakening Day against Tamil genocide emotionally.
Full story >>

SL Army fires at Tamil youth in Point Pedro, Jaffna

[TamilNet, Friday, 15 May 2020, 12:26 GMT]
22-year-old Anushan Pasupathy sustained three gunshot wounds as the occupying SL Army (SLA) opened fire at the Tamil youth while he was riding a motorbike between Kaanthiyoor and Mu'raavil in Point Pedro, Jaffna, around 10:30 pm on Thursday. One of the SL Army soldier groups, deployed on Jaffna-Point Pedro Road fired at him without any provocation. The youth has been admitted to the hospital with three wounds. The incident has taken place near Manthikai hospital at Point Pedro in Vadamaraadchi. Three-member groups of SL Army soldiers have been deployed along the roads, junctions and suburbs in Jaffna to carry out the duties of the SL Police. In recent days, there have been reports of increasing violent acts by the Sinhala soldiers, who are stationed in the occupied Tamil homeland. The SLA soldiers claim that they are controlling the spread of COVID-19 as well as assisting the SL Police.
Full story >>

Remembrance of Tamil Genocide and Resistance commences in occupied Tamil Eelam

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 13 May 2020, 22:55 GMT]
The eleventh annual Mu'l'livaaykkaal Remembrance, commemorating tens of thousands of deaths and enforced disappearances in the genocidal war waged by the SL State against the nation of Eezham Tamils with the abetment by external powers, has commenced as the awakening week of Tamil nation against genocide. The remembrance week began with a commemoration at Nanthik-kadal near Mu'l'livaaykkaal in Mullaiththeevu and another event at Chemmani mass grave site in Jaffna on Wednesday. The occupying Sinhala Army was deployed in large number, and the SL Police was trying to block those who mobilised to launch the remembrance week. However, the participants braved the harassments in Jaffna and Vanni in commencing the memorial week.
Full story >>

Occupying Sinhala soldiers mete out revenge assaults against Tamil families in Jaffna, Vanni

[TamilNet, Saturday, 09 May 2020, 11:31 GMT]
A group of Sinhala soldiers, believed to be coming from the 522 Brigade camp of the occupying SL Army in Point Pedro, entered the house of Aingaran Achchitha and assaulted the women and children who were home in Vadamaraadchi East, Jaffna. 64-year-old Vijeyaluxmy Pathmanathan, the mother of Achchitha's husband, has been admitted to Point Pedro Base Hospital with injuries. The incident occurred around 10:45 pm Friday. The soldiers were searching for Aingaran, a former LTTE member, who had slapped a soldier following a minor quarrel sometime back in January. Mr Aingaran, fearing extra-judicial revenge, has gone underground as the SLA soldiers have been searching for him.
Full story >>

SL military seizes up to fifty schools in North for quarantine purposes amidst public objections

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 28 April 2020, 20:05 GMT]
The occupying SL military has seized around fifty schools in the Northern Province in recent days intending to convert these as Quarantine Centres (QCs) sparking protests from the public and educational organisations. People were protesting at Araali in Vadduk-koaddai in Jaffna. General Secretary of the Ceylon Teachers’ Union Joseph Stalin has condemned the move. However, the SL military continues to relocate the furniture away from the schools and bring people to the seized schools. While there was no identified pattern of COVID-19 spread in Mullaith-theevu, Ki'linochcih and Mannaar districts of the Northern Province as well as the islets off Jaffna, the militarised QCs in large numbers in the midst of densely populated areas have caused fear among the public.
Full story >>

Occupying Colombo converts 6 Tamil colleges in North as quarantine centres for SL military

[TamilNet, Monday, 27 April 2020, 21:53 GMT]
Occupying Colombo’s military has started to convert a Tamil college of teachers in Jaffna and five other schools in the Northern province as Quarantine Centres for military personnel stationed in the region. Civil sources in the North have condemned it as a high-handed move disregarding the safety of Tamil civilians in the densely populated areas. The top brass of the Sinhala military has not consulted the provincial and local authorities. They have not even asked the provincial health director for advice. Nirosh Thiyagarajah, the Chairman of Valikaamam East Divisional Council, has condemned the conversion of Jaffna National College of Education (JNCOE) at Koappaay into a military QC.
Full story >>

Occupying SL military instructed to prepare Secret Quarantine Centers in North-East

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 15 April 2020, 22:16 GMT]
SL Army Commander Lt Gen Shavendra Silva has instructed his commanders in the North and East to transform the secret detention camps, which the occupying SL military used in the past to torture and kill former LTTE members as undeclared Quarantine Centers (QC). The undisclosed QCs would be used for “isolation purposes” if the COVID-19 pandemic was to take large proportions in the North-East, informed ex-paramilitary sources in the North said. Already, there are military-operated, publicly-declared QCs in the North-East and the South. The openly declared QCs used to house “Sri Lankans” and foreigners, are maintained as state-of-the-art facilities by the SL military. In contrast, the proposed secret QCs are intended to be used “to keep the situation under control in a worst-case scenario”, an informed source said.
Full story >>

SL military claims village-level sweeping powers over civil officers in Vanni

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 08 April 2020, 22:09 GMT]
The occupying SL Army, a predominantly Sinhala force, has brought more than two hundred Village (GS/GN) Officers and village-level Samurdhi Development officers, most of them Tamils, under its control citing instructions from SL President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to monitor the delivery of relief measures caused by the COVID-19 lockdown. The SL Army, which convened a meeting on Wednesday, instructed the village-level civil officials to accompany the soldiers on a house-to-house control operation. The public officials are severely disrupted from carrying out their work according to their priorities as they are being forced to accompany the soldiers in their surveillance-style control of civil affairs in Vanni, a group of GS officers told TamilNet.
Full story >>

Colombo uses COVID-19 situation to militarise civil administration in North

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 07 April 2020, 20:19 GMT]
The Community Based Organisations and Non-Governmental Organisations involved in assisting the people, who have lost their livelihood due to the long-lasting curfew imposed to control the spread of COVID-19 pandemic, are complaining about military restrictions hampering their work in Jaffna. The occupying SL military has beefed up its checkpoints on the main highways that connect peninsular Jaffna with the Vanni mainland and the rest of the island. The SL soldiers operating the Elephant Pass (EPS) and Poonakari (Pooneryn) checkpoints are refusing to accept the documents provided to the organisations even though the SL Police has sanctioned such permits at the request of Village (GS) and Divisional Secretaries in the public sector.
Full story >>

Shavendra-ban, COVID-19 no hindrance to SL Navy “Balanced Style” training with US Green Berets

[TamilNet, Friday, 03 April 2020, 22:23 GMT]
Members of a US Army Special Forces (Green Berets) Operational Detachment Alpha (SFOD-A) team, attached to the US Indo-Pacific Command (USINDOPACOM) have conducted a four-week-long training with two notorious wartime formations of the occupying navy of genocidal Sri Lanka in Trincomalee in March. The Green Berets providing specialised training to SL Navy has a long history. The “Operation Balanced Style” sessions went on at secret locations in the South in 1996 and 2001. After 2009, the USINDOPACOM started to conduct naval port visits, various training programmes including the latest Joint Combined Exchange Training (JCET). The US military has also experimented with “temporary air logistics hub concept” as well as grooming a marine force for the unitary state in the Sinhalicised and militarised district of the capital city of the occupied country of Eezham Tamils.
Full story >>