SLA, police cordon, search Akkaraipattu

[TamilNet, Thursday, 31 January 2008, 10:46 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army (SLA) and police started a large scale cordon and search operation from Thursday early morning in Aalayadiveampu, Koa’laavil and Naavatkaadu in Akkaraipattu in Ampaa'rai district, following the killing of two Sinhalese men at Aalayadiveampu Wednesday around 9:00 p.m, Akkaraipattu police said.
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Contain threats against media, RSF appeals to Rajapakse

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 29 January 2008, 16:12 GMT]
Reporters Sans Frontiers (RSF), a Paris-based media watchdog, expressing concern over escalating threats and violence against media personnel in Sri Lanka, in a press release issued Tuesday appealing to Mr Rajapakse, said: "Mr. President, it is not yet too late to restrain those of your close associates and political allies who sow trouble and fear among journalists," and added, "The violent behaviour of the men employed by some of your ministers is bringing the government into disrepute, a situation that will be hard to redress if nothing is done."
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Providing moral support to Eelam, not a crime- Thirumavalavan

[TamilNet, Saturday, 26 January 2008, 18:53 GMT]
"Any move to suppress those expressing moral support to Tamil Eelam and LTTE is violation of all tenets of democracy and humanism, and will border on fascism," Viduthalai Chiruththaikal Katchi (VCK, Liberation Panthers Party) President Thol. Thirumavalavan said on Friday addressing a conference organized by his party in Chennai labeled "Redeem the Freedom of Expression."
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Media Organizations condemn attack on Rupavahini Editor

[TamilNet, Saturday, 26 January 2008, 18:35 GMT]
Pointing to Minister Mervyn de Silva for complicity in Friday attack on Rupavahini journalist, Mr Mawalage, five Colombo media organizations in a press release issued Saturday said, "Journalist Mawalage received continuous death threats after his role in the SLRC [Sri Lanka Rupavahini Corporation] staff protest... We strongly suspect that this knife attack could be retaliation for his role in SLRC staff protest," and added, "We hope that this will not be another attack on media in Sri Lanka which will be swept under the carpet as like what has happened to more than a hundred press freedom violations in recent times."
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Fisherman abducted in Batticaloa

[TamilNet, Saturday, 26 January 2008, 09:13 GMT]
A 45-year-old fisherman from Eechchantheevu was abducted 200 meters away from Vavu'natheevu police station Saturday around 6:00 a.m., Police said.
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Armed men abduct paramilitary UPFA candidate in Batticaloa

[TamilNet, Saturday, 26 January 2008, 08:05 GMT]
A man appointed by the TMVP paramilitary group to contest in Batticaloa Municipal Council Elections under the ruling United People's Freedom Alliance (UPFA) ticket was abducted by unidentified armed men, around 10 p.m., Friday, Kaaththaankudi police said.
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Tamil youth arrested in Deraniyagala

[TamilNet, Friday, 25 January 2008, 11:39 GMT]
A Tamil youth, resident of Killinochchi was taken into custody on Wednesday midnight by the police at Noori Estate in Deraniyagala in upcountry, in a cordon and search operation. Police said he was arrested as he failed to provide reasons for his stay in the location. Meanwhile, the Police have warned all Tamil plantation workers in Ratnapura district not to give accommodation to strangers in their houses.
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Youth abducted in Kotahena

[TamilNet, Friday, 25 January 2008, 01:00 GMT]
A Tamil youth from Batticaloa district, a resident of Poaratheevu, recently captured from Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) by Sri Lanka Army (SLA), was abducted in Kotahena, Colombo on the 14 January by group of five men operating in a white van with license plate number 2534899, the relatives of the youth stated in a complaint lodged with P.Rathakrishnan, Deputy minister and an Upcountry United Front (UPF) parliamentarian.
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TNA to boycott Batticaloa local polls

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 23 January 2008, 16:32 GMT]
Parliamentarians of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA), in a parliamentary group meeting held Wednesday, unanimously agreed to boycott elections to nine local authorities in the Batticaloa district. Mr. R.Sampanthan, President of the TNA parliamentary group presided over the meeting.
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"International HR intervention, only over our dead bodies" - Weerawansa

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 23 January 2008, 10:12 GMT]
"As long as there is JVP in Sri Lanka, no one can intervene and subject the Sri Lankan leaders to international investigations on Human Rights," declared Wimal Weerawansa, the Propaganda Secretary of the Sinhala extreme nationalist party, in a protest against UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Louise Arbour, held in front of the UN office in Colombo Wednesday 10:00 a.m., sources in Colombo said.
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Court denies injunction to postpone Batticaloa elections

[TamilNet, Monday, 21 January 2008, 15:47 GMT]
Sri Lanka's Supreme Court Monday refused to issue an interim injunction to postpone the elections to nine local authorities in the Batticaloa district. "The Supreme Court has no authority to issue such interim injunction," said the Chief Justice Mr. Sarath Silva after hearing the submissions in the two Fundamental Rights violation petitions filed by the Tamil National Alliance (TNA), legal sources said.
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4 Tamils arrested in Moneragala

[TamilNet, Sunday, 20 January 2008, 23:54 GMT]
Five Up-Country Tamils were arrested by Sri Lanka Army on Saturday at Thanamalwila area in Moneragala division were being detained at Sooriyawewa police station and subjected to interrogation. They were arrested in a cordon and search operation.
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APRC: key to peace or an albatross?

[TamilNet, Sunday, 20 January 2008, 01:02 GMT]
J.R. Jayawardena's Government claimed that the Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution passed in August 1987 fulfilled the promises made in the Indo-Sri Lanka Accord, to 'devolve power' to the Tamil people. The Liberation Tigers dismissed the legislation outright, and said it allowed "perpetuation of the domination, oppression and exploitation of the Tamil masses by the racist Sinhala state," and N. Satyendra, a constitutional scholar and attorney who represented ex-militants in Sri Lanka trials, ridiculed the legislation as a "comic opera."
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Census officials escape claymore attack in Vadamaraadchi

[TamilNet, Sunday, 13 January 2008, 18:06 GMT]
A team of officials involved in census work in Jaffna peninsula escaped injuries in a claymore attack targetted on them Sunday noon in Sampanthan Kadai area in Karaveddy as the device failed to explode completely, sources said.
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Residents catch paramilitary robbers in Batticaloa

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 09 January 2008, 10:12 GMT]
Residents of Naavatkudaa area in Batticaloa district way laid and caught five members of the paramilitary Pillayaan group Tuesday around 8:00 p.m. as the paramilitary group was about to rob a house in the area, police said. Kanagaratnam Athiravan, one of the five caught, is the person in charge of Kalladi Pillayaan camp. The public got together and caught the robbers, who carried three T-56 type assault rifles with them, and handed the robbers with their rifles over to the Kaaththaankudi police.
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"Deepening media crisis in Sri Lanka"- IFJ

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 08 January 2008, 03:45 GMT]
Expressing alarm at the comments at made by Sri Lanka's Army (SLA) Commander Major General Sarath Fonseka labelling some journalists and sections of the media as "traitors," the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) is a press release issued Monday said, "the statement by Major General Fonseka and the allegations of death threats against journalists are indicative of a deepening media crisis in Sri Lanka."
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Colombo removing witnesses to impending carnage- Gajendrakumar

[TamilNet, Monday, 07 January 2008, 00:24 GMT]
Colombo abrogated the CFA to remove the presence of the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) which was instrumental in exposing rights violations by all sides. "Government will want to rid the Northeast of any witnesses of the carnage that it intends to unveil on the Tamil people in the name of safeguarding the Sovereignty of the State," said Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam in an interview to TamilNet this week. He added that anti-Tamil actions by Rajapakse Government are taking place under the full glare of the International Community which is able to only make verbal condemnations, but remains largely ineffective to reign in on Colombo on the rights abuses.
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Kumar Ponnambalam remembered on eighth anniversary

[TamilNet, Saturday, 05 January 2008, 13:33 GMT]
Eighth year anniversary of Kumar Ponnambalam, president of the All Ceylon Tamil Congress, who was shot dead by unidentified gunmen at Wellawatte, a Tamil suburb of the capital Colombo around 11.15 a.m. 5 January 2000, was commemorated in U.K. and in Vanni in simple ceremonies.
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Kārai-tīvu/ Kārainakar, Marukkāraṅ-kuḷam, Ceṅ-kārai, Kara-gaha-vala

[TamilNet, Saturday, 05 January 2008, 00:06 GMT]
The island of Kārai shrubs

The tank or pond of Marukkārai shrubs/ trees

The (place of) Ceṅkārai shrubs

The jungle or thicket of Kara shrubs
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Sri Lanka withdraws from CFA

[TamilNet, Thursday, 03 January 2008, 11:29 GMT]
Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollagama on Thursday evening officially conveyed in writing to the Norwegian Ambassador Tore Hattrem in Colombo that the Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL) was withdrawing from the February 2002 Cease Fire Agreement (CFA). The message was conveyed to the Ambassador at the Sri Lankan Foreign Ministry in Colombo. The CFA formally ends on 16 January, the day after the Tamil festival Thaippongkal. GoSL has also suspended the Status of Mission Agreement (SOMA) with 14-days advance notification.
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