LTTE asks whether UN abets Colombo discrediting combatants

[TamilNet, Thursday, 12 March 2009, 11:04 GMT]
Liberation Tigers of Tamileelam (LTTE) Puthukkudiyiruppu political head C. Ilamparithi categorically denied Wednesday the misuse of a high energy food sent for children by UNICEF in June 2007 by diverting the therapeutic food to the use of LTTE cadres. Based on a report of Colombo alleging the 'discovery' of the said food samples in the belongings of a dead LTTE cadre, the Colombo UN office on Tuesday came out with a statement deploring the diversion of its assistance meant for severely malnourished children.
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Tigers blast 6 Sri Lankan artillery positions in Vanni

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 11 March 2009, 11:54 GMT]
The Liberation Tigers of Tamileelam (LTTE) Black Tiger commandos and Col. Kiddu Artillery formation launched a joint attack destroying six artillery positions of the Sri Lanka Army in the early hours of Tuesday, confirmed an LTTE official in Vanni to TamilNet on Wednesday. Six artillery weapons platforms in Thearaavil, located around 18 km from Puthukkudiyiruppu junction, were completely destroyed in a "precise mission" carried out by the Black Tiger commandos and the Tiger artillery formation, the official said. Ammunition dumps were also destroyed, the Tigers said.
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2 STF commandos injured in LTTE attack in Batticaloa

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 11 March 2009, 05:56 GMT]
Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) combatants launched an attack Monday around 8:45 p.m on the Special Task Force (STF) sentry post located between Koappaave’li and U’rukaamam in Ka’radiyanaa’ru police division in Batticaloa district, seriously injuring two STF commandos, Batticaloa district LTTE sources said.
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Knowing folly

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 11 March 2009, 02:12 GMT]
The pleading tone of the US Ambassador in Colombo, Robert Blake, even in selling what is already existing or is in proposal, last Friday, show the mood of Sinhala chauvinism in the South, living in the euphoria of ‘victory’ and delusions of ‘post-LTTE’ politics, writes Opinion Columnist Chivanadi. “A striking note of the ambassador’s speech was the importance he gave to the electoral process in ending the conflict.” It is ‘knowing folly’ of Mr. Blake to paint a picture of hope on the end of conflict through electoral process in Sri Lanka, after weakening the Tamil fighting force, he says.
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Hillary, Menon discuss Sri Lanka

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 10 March 2009, 19:26 GMT]
US Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton and visiting Indian Foreign Secretary Shiv Shankar Menon met for 45 minutes in Washington, Monday. “A discussion of one regional issue, in particular, was Sri Lanka -- the importance of trying to find a way to make sure that whatever happens in the armed conflict, that there is a political settlement in the future that both the US and India can help create, and participate in", reports Rediff News Tuesday, citing Administrative sources in Washington.
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Tiger shelling reaches Pa’lai, Mukamaalai, Ki’laali areas

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 10 March 2009, 13:16 GMT]
Large number of shells said to be launched by Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) since Monday midnight fell and exploded near A9 road in Pa’lai and Mukamaalai, until Tuesday afternoon, sources in Thenmaraadchi said. Around 22 lorries loaded with goods which started to Jaffna along A9 road around 11:00 a.m Monday are yet to reach Naavatku’li but 25 buses carrying Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers have reached Thenmaraadchi along A9 route around Tuesday afternoon, the sources added.
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Police station opened in SLA occupied village in Mannaar

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 10 March 2009, 07:09 GMT]
Sri Lanka Police key officials participated in the official opening of a police station Monday around 10:00 a.m. in Muzhangkaavil village, which was earlier under the control of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in Mannaar district. Four police stations were established last year later part in Chilaavaththu’rai, Madu Church, Vidaththaltheevu, Illuppaikkadavai and the one established this year are the five police stations opened in Mannaar district. Civilians are not allowed to enter these villages.
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LTTE breaks through SLA lines amidst casualties

[TamilNet, Monday, 09 March 2009, 14:53 GMT]
The Sri Lanka Army divisions surrounding Puthukkudiyiruppu face the threat of attack from behind their lines as LTTE fighters managed to break through their lines despite suffering casualties on Sunday, reports from Jaffna said quoting Sri Lankan military sources of anonymity. In the meantime, Sri Lankan defence sources in Colombo claimed recovery of more than 100 bodies of LTTE fighters. The Voice of Tigers, the official radio of the LTTE has claimed that more than 450 SLA soldiers were killed and around 1,000 injured in the first four days of the month in the clashes in Puthukkudiyiruppu alone and more than 100 SLA dead and 450 injured on Sunday.
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'Evacuation enforced is negation of territoriality'

[TamilNet, Monday, 09 March 2009, 10:49 GMT]
While concern is mounting up beyond limits on the plight of civilians facing sanctions and attack by Colombo, a new concern looming large about their future is the possible prodding or pressed evacuation coming from ‘strategic partners’, to see them ending up in the hands of the Sri Lankan state. The 'evacuation' move, and not protection of them in their own land, is seen as negation of the territoriality of Tamils and is understood as signalling Colombo to continue the war against Tamils, their national aspirations and against their fighting force, diaspora Tamil circles observed.
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TNA urges IC to ensure Sri Lankan forces do not bomb besieged civilians

[TamilNet, Monday, 09 March 2009, 06:24 GMT]
The leaders of four major Tamil parties, the ITAK, ACTC, EPRLF and TELO comprising Tamil National Alliance (TNA), on behalf of the 22 elected parliamentarians from North and East, sent an appeal to the International Community urging it to ensure an immediate cessation of the war and ensure that adequate medical supplies, food and shelter be sent to the 333,000 civilians inside the area under siege by the Sri Lankan military. "The civilians are merely asking, that the SriLankan armed forces do not bomb them, and that the government permits adequate food, medicine and shelter into the area." Since the beginning of this year, more than 2150 civilians have been killed inside the so-called ‘safe zones’ by bombing campaigns carried out by the Sri Lankan armed forces and over 5000 are wounded, the TNA appeal said.
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Heavy fighting reported in Vanni

[TamilNet, Sunday, 08 March 2009, 16:19 GMT]
Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) launched heavy artillery barrage and mortar fire Saturday midnight on Sri Lanka Amy (SLA) soldiers of its 55th Division stationed in Chaalai, Chu’ndikku'lam and some areas of Puthukkudiyiruppu, killing and seriously injuring considerable number of soldiers, according to an SLA source in Thenmaraadchi.
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Indian High Commissioner rebuffs memorandum of Mauritian demonstrators

[TamilNet, Saturday, 07 March 2009, 21:45 GMT]
The Indian High Commissioner in Mauritius rebuffed a memorandum of thousands of Mauritian Tamil demonstrators Friday, requesting India to stop the war against Tamils in Sri Lanka. The representatives of the demonstrators were seeking to submit the memorandum in person to the High Commissioner who is a Tamil and they had informed the High Commission of their request five days in advance. On Friday, Third Secretary Ms Menon and the Deputy High Commissioner who received them, turned down their request. Angered at the contempt, the demonstrators chose to burn the memorandum outside the High Commission. The Vice Prime Minister of Mauritius and the Justice Minister were active participants of the emotion-charged demonstration, organized by National Movement Against Genocide of Tamils in Sri Lanka, reports Koomaran Chetty from Mauritius.
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Mediaperson killed in SLA shell attack

[TamilNet, Saturday, 07 March 2009, 17:10 GMT]
TamilNet sadly shares the news of the killing of an independent media person Friday, in Sri Lanka Army (SLA) shell attack inside the 'safe zone' in Vanni. He was long helping TamilNet’s independent Vanni correspondent and even just before his killing, he had assisted our main correspondent in covering a story. He was killed hit by an SLA shell while in his cottage in the 'safe zone'.
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Sri Lankan attacks kill 208 civilians within 72 hours

[TamilNet, Saturday, 07 March 2009, 12:33 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army (SLA) fired artillery-fitted cluster shells hit several IDP settlements within the 'safety zone', claiming the lives of at least 53 civilians Saturday until 3:00 p.m. Around 112 civilians sustained injuries. On Friday, 86 civilians were killed and more than 100 civilians were wounded. Dead bodies were not brought to the hospital as shelling continued. Thousands of civilians within the 'safety zone' were forced to remain inside the bunkers. 69 civilians were killed on Thursday in the indiscriminate shelling and Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) bombardments. More than 330 civilians have been wounded within the last 3 days.
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‘True friends’ coordinate prodding civilians into barbed wires

[TamilNet, Friday, 06 March 2009, 13:50 GMT]
Colombo plans to open two routes to prod Tamil civilians chose to stay under the protection of the LTTE into its barbed-wire internment camps, according to news reports, Friday. One route will be leading to north towards Chalai and the other towards south through Mullaiththeevu, the reports indicated. Meanwhile, India is likely to establish a field military hospital at Pulmoaddai, in the coast south of Mullaiththeevu to treat evacuated civilians Bernama.com reported, quoting Xinhua news agency.
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3 SLA soldiers injured in LTTE attack in Batticaloa

[TamilNet, Friday, 06 March 2009, 12:10 GMT]
Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) combatants launched an attack Thursday around 9:15 p.m on Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers at Kommaanththu’rai 6th mile post area in Ea’raavoor police division, injuring three of them, LTTE in Batticaloa said.
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Acid test for international actors

[TamilNet, Friday, 06 March 2009, 02:36 GMT]
It is clear that the Colombo government is waging a direct war on unarmed civilians with the intention of intimidation and subjugation of them. The hard truth is that for chauvinistic Colombo war with Eezham Tamil civilians is more important than its war with the Tigers. The war with the LTTE is only a part of the agenda aimed at making the Tamils orphans first. India and the Co-Chairs countries have a direct responsibility in perpetrating the present war leading to the genocide of Tamils. They cannot dodge their responsibility accusing the LTTE or saying it is internal affair of Sri Lanka and citing Russia and China possibly vetoing a move in the UN. Their immediate responsibility now is providing food and medicine at the doorstep of the civilians, unconditionally, even if it is going to be against the wishes of Colombo, writes an IDP activist in Vanni.
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Police arrest owner of Poobalasingam Book Depot in Colombo

[TamilNet, Thursday, 05 March 2009, 21:10 GMT]
Prevention of Terrorism branch police arrested the owner of Poobalasingam Book Depot, Sritharasing, for sending Tamil Nadu ‘Ananda Vikadan’ weekly magazine to Ratmalana Air port to be sent to Jaffna branch of Poobalsingam Book Depot when the police at Ratmalana air port found articles and photos in ‘Ananda Vikadan’ in favour of Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), Sritharasing’s relatives in Colombo said.
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SLA shoots dead Tamil youth in Batticaloa

[TamilNet, Thursday, 05 March 2009, 20:42 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers shot and killed a Tamil youth Thursday around 8:45 p.m on Punnaikkudaa Veethi near Ear’aavoor Public Market in Ea’raavoor police division and claimed that the youth was a member of Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) pistol group. SLA also claimed to have recovered a pistol and a hand grenade from the youth killed.
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Perpetrating civilian starvation is violation of all norms of war: LTTE

[TamilNet, Thursday, 05 March 2009, 13:51 GMT]
"The brutalities committed by Colombo's armed forces on civilians have no precedence in any conventional war," said LTTE's Puthukkudiyiuruppu area political head C. Ilamparithy on Wednesday describing that the offensive by the Sri Lankan government denying food and medicine to civilians whom it claims as its citizens as an "abnormal violation of all norms of war." He urged direct presence of the International Community to witness the gravity of the situation by itself and urged the Tamil diaspora to engage with the IC in order to make it look at the crisis through the perspective of the affected people and to work for sending international journalists to visit and report the plight of the civilians besieged in Mullaiththeevu.
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