4 Sinhalese villagers abducted in Ampaa’rai

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 09 September 2008, 16:09 GMT]
Unidentified armed men in uniforms similar to that of Special Task Force (STF) commandos abducted Friday four villagers who had gone to collect honey in Paa’namai Aa’lavai jungle area in Poththuvil police division in Ampaa’rai district, according to the complaint made Sunday to Poththuvil police by one of the four abductees who had managed to escape.
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Sri Lanka parliament extends emergency

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 09 September 2008, 14:17 GMT]
Sri Lanka's parliament Tuesday adopted a motion moved by the government led by President Mahinda Rajapakse to extend the State of Emergency for another month by a majority of 99 votes. 110 parliamentarians voted in favor for the motion to extend the emergency. Eleven parliamentarians of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) voted against the motion. Parliamentarians of the main opposition United National Party (UNP) abstained, parliamentary sources said.
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155 SL forces killed, 983 wounded in August - Sri Lankan PM

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 09 September 2008, 10:56 GMT]
155 Sri Lankan armed personnel were killed and 983 wounded during August in the war against the LTTE, said Sri Lanka's Prime Minister, Ratnasiri Wickremanayake, when the parliament resumed sittings Tuesday to debate on the motion of extending the State of Emergency for another month, parliamentary sources said.
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Mother, daughter shot injured in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Monday, 08 September 2008, 15:26 GMT]
Unidentified gunmen on motorcycles forcibly entered a house in Navakkiri in Puththoor shot and seriously injured a mother and her daughter Monday around 6:00 p.m, sources in Jaffna said. The victims, first rushed to Achchuveali hospital by the relatives, were later transferred to Jaffna Teaching Hospital for further treatment.
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Casualty toll: 85 SLA killed in Vannearikku'lam

[TamilNet, Friday, 05 September 2008, 17:14 GMT]
85 Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers were killed in Vannearikku'lam and 280 wounded in the fighting on Monday and Tuesday, according to informed sources close to the hierarchy of the Sri Lankan military. Meanwhile, Jayaratna florist, one of the leading florists in Colombo, took in charge 56 remains of SLA soldiers on Wednesday, before the 29 dead bodies handed over by the Tigers had reached Colombo. The high toll was not anticipated by the top brass of the SLA, which deployed elite Special Forces (SF) with high-powered rockets and explosives during the offensive push at Vannearikku'lam on Monday.
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Tamil youth shot dead in Nilaave'li

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 03 September 2008, 03:14 GMT]
Unidentified armed persons arrived in a vehicle Tuesday evening shot and killed a Tamil youth who had been running a video centre in Periyaku'lam area in Nilaave'li in Trincomalee district.
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1200 Tamils languishing under custody in Western Province - SL Minister

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 02 September 2008, 14:35 GMT]
Upcountry Peoples Front (UPF) parliamentarian and a deputy minister in Mahinda Rajapaksa's government, P. Rathakrishnan, has compiled a report with details of around 1,200 Tamil youths of both sexes, languishing in the detention centres and prisons in South after being arrested in Colombo and its suburbs recently. Mr. Rathakrishnan has told media that he would demand the advisory committee of the Sri Lankan Defence Ministry to expedite the inquiries against the detainees and the police to ensure that innocent Tamil civilians are not harmed when enforcing 'law and order.'
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Two youths shot dead in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Sunday, 31 August 2008, 15:32 GMT]
Unknown armed men shot and killed two youths Sunday afternoon east of Jaffna District Secretariat in Chu'ndikkuzhi, Police said. The victims were identified from the identity cards in their possession as 26-year-old Nithyananthan Thushyanthan, from 120 Brown Road, Jaffna and 29-year-old Kanagaratnam Narmathan, from Kantharmadam 119/2. One of the victims is a student of a Malaysian University, who seems to have come to Jaffna recently.
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DPU attack kills 2 civilians in Vanni

[TamilNet, Friday, 29 August 2008, 03:49 GMT]
A 15-year-old boy and a 33-year-old vegetable trader were killed on the spot at Olumadu Thursday evening when a Sri Lanka Army (SLA) Deep Penetration Unit triggered four Claymore mines targeting the grocery traders who were riding in a motorbike towards Nedungkea'ni in Mullaiththeevu district, Tamileelam Police said. The attack came a few hours before the Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) dropped leaflets instructing the people of Vanni to move out of the LTTE controlled areas to Vavuniyaa.
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Jury discharged in Sivaram murder case, trial put off

[TamilNet, Thursday, 28 August 2008, 14:19 GMT]
Colombo High Court Judge A.T.Ratnaike Wednesday discharged the Sinhalese speaking Jury in the murder case of popular military analyst and TamilNet editorial board member Dharmeratnam Sivaram (Taraki) following the submission by the prosecution that whereabouts of one of the key prosecution witnesses was not known, legal sources said.
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Tamil Diaspora must act to prevent humanitarian tragedy - MP

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 27 August 2008, 09:39 GMT]
The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) Member of Parliament from Jaffna District, Selvarajah Gajendran, on Tuesday, urged the Tamil Diaspora to provide assistance to local aid agencies working among the IDPs in Vanni and to campaign in their host countries to exert pressure on the GoSL to remove restrictions on the transport of emergency supplies to Vanni and urge the International Community to support the Tamil people's right to live in peace in their homeland. The Sri Lankan government has ordered Government Agents to operate from Vavuniyaa and has actively discouraged even UN agencies from entering Vanni, the MP said.
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Ten thousand Tamil voters deprived from voting in Sabaragamuwa election

[TamilNet, Saturday, 23 August 2008, 21:26 GMT]
Nearly 10,000 Up-Country Tamils who are eligible to vote were deprived from voting on Saturday at Ratnapura and Kegalle districts in Sabaragamuwa provincial council elections as they did not have National Identity Cards (NIC), a senior Ceylon Workers Congress (CWC) member told media in Colombo.
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Violence marks election campaign in North Central and Sabaragamuwa provinces

[TamilNet, Thursday, 21 August 2008, 16:13 GMT]
The election campaign in Sri Lanka's North Central and Sabaragamuwa provincial elections to be held on August 23 came to an end Wednesday midnight with scores of election related violence that topped up to 250 reported incidents from both provinces including a murder, arson, attempted murder and intimidations. Ten political parties and eight independent groups are contesting in Polonnaruwa while 11 parties and seven independent groups are contesting in Anuradhapura. More than 21,000 police are being deployed in the provinces as well as Sri Lanka Army soldiers.
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Mother, son abducted in Ampaa'rai

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 20 August 2008, 18:51 GMT]
Unidentified men operating from a white van forcibly entered a home located along Hospital road, Kalmunai within Ampaa’rai-Kalmunai police division, Ampaa'rai district and abducted a mother and her son sitting for GCE Advanced Level Examination from their home Wednesday early morning 1:30 a.m., according to a report lodged with Kalmunai police.
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SLA ban, restrictions cripple Fisheries Societies’ activities in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Sunday, 17 August 2008, 04:49 GMT]
One hundred and seventeen fisheries societies in Jaffna peninsula have been disabled to continue their development activities due to the continuing fishing ban and restrictions imposed by Sri Lanka Army (SLA) and Sri Lanka Navy (SLN), President of Jaffna Peninsula Fisheries Societies Unions’ Federation, S. Thavaratnam expressed concern. The fisheries societies entirely dependent on membership subscription to carry on their activities are forced into inactivity, he added.
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SLA deprives Tamil devotees from attending Madu Shrine

[TamilNet, Friday, 15 August 2008, 21:14 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army (SLA) hierarchy in Mannaar blocked Friday Tamil Catholic devotees from taking part in the special mass of blessing from Our Lady of Madu. Tamil Catholic devotees from Mannaar and Vavuniyaa were deprived from taking part in the mass, according to sources associated with the Church. Around 500 Catholic devotees from the South along with three Sri Lankan ministers were escorted by the Police to take part in Friday's blessings in Madu. However, Tamil speaking devotees who were present at Madawachchi were refused entry by the Police.
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Anarchy reigns in Sabaragamuwa - JVP

[TamilNet, Friday, 15 August 2008, 05:22 GMT]
Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), the Sinhala nationalist party, alleged at a press briefing in Ratnapura Thursday that the government has unleashed anarchy in the Sabaragamuwa province against opposition parties contesting in Sabaragamuwa Provincial Council (SPC) election which is scheduled to be held on August 23
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UNP chief ministerial candidate injured in attack

[TamilNet, Thursday, 14 August 2008, 05:51 GMT]
Film actor cum politician Ranjan Ramanayake, United National Party (UNP) chief ministerial candidate in Sabragamuwa Provincial Council election, was injured Wednesday night when persons alleged to be supporters of the ruling United People's Freedom Alliance (UPFA) attacked the convoy of UNP vehicles in Gal-Ela area in Ratnapura district, in Sabaragamuwa province. Two police officers of the police security team accompanying the convoy were also injured, sources in Colombo said.
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STF, police harass women in Ampaa’rai, says MP

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 13 August 2008, 02:58 GMT]
Special Task Force (STF) commandos and police in Aalayadiveampu area in Ampaa’rai district are harassing women during nights on the pretext of searches, K. Pathmanathan, Ampaa’rai Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarian said. “Many residents of this area and other places in Ampaa’rai district have brought this matter to my notice,” the MP further said.
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SLAF fighter jets bomb Mullaiththeevu, 2 civilians wounded

[TamilNet, Monday, 11 August 2008, 18:04 GMT]
Two Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) Kfir jets dropped sixteen bombs in four sorties Monday around 8:20 a.m. on Puthukkudiyiruppu civilian settlements in Mullaiththeevu district. Two women including a lady teacher were injured in the bombing while many houses and fruit trees were damaged.
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