2007: The year in review

[TamilNet, Thursday, 03 January 2008, 07:34 GMT]
For the people of the NorthEast, 2007 was a grim year. Sri Lanka’s security forces and allied paramilitaries intensified their campaign of abductions (‘white van’ abductions), torture, and murder of Tamil civilians. Tamil civil society leaders bore the brunt of the counter-insurgency campaign. Jaffna remained an open prison with shortage of essential items, east falling under the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) control with thousands displaced as Colombo concocts colonization schemes to make east a Sinhala majority province.
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Maheswaran killing, disturbing erosion of democracy- FMM

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 01 January 2008, 12:50 GMT]
The Free Media Movement (FMM), a Colombo-based media watchdog, in a press release issued Tuesday, strongly condemned the assassination of United National Party (UNP) MP T. Maheswaran, and said the murder adds to the "incredible number of political killings and the suppression of those who seek to bring to light gross human rights abuses," in Sri Lanka, and FMM is "mindful that the Sri Lankan Police have been unable and unwilling to bring the killers of other high profile political figures."
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Maheswaran MP assassinated in Colombo

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 01 January 2008, 04:37 GMT]
Colombo district Tamil parliamentarian of the opposition United National Party, T. Maheswaran, was shot at Ponnambala Va'neasvarar temple at Kochchikkadai in Colombo Tuesday around 10:00 a.m., while he was paying homage at the shrine, and succumbed to his injuries at Colombo hospital. The shooting, which also claimed the live of his bodyguard, comes a few hours after the parliamentarian had said that he would reveal details on how abductions and killings in Jaffna are managed by the Sri Lankan establishment through the EPDP paramilitary, from Colombo. Eleven days ago, the government of Sri Lanka had reduced the Ministerial Security Division guards provided to the MP from Eighteen to two.
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Batticaloa elections: Colombo's rehearsal for paramilitary politics

[TamilNet, Monday, 31 December 2007, 19:55 GMT]
In the backdrop of the Mahinda Rajapaksa Government announcing local government elections in the Batticaloa district, three Tamil paramilitary-cum-political parties, the EPDP, PLOTE, EPRLF (Naba wing) and the yet-to-be-registered TMVP of Pillayan's group revealed that they had reached an agreement to form an electoral alliance after a meeting summoned at the Batticaloa office of the EPDP Saturday. A spokesperson of the paramilitary coalition told media that although the four outfits had agreed on principle, the final decision would be taken after consultations with their respective leaders and key operatives.
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Mano Ganeshan to leave Sri Lanka

[TamilNet, Sunday, 30 December 2007, 14:14 GMT]
Mano Ganeshan, the leader of Western People's Front(WPF) and Colombo district parliamentarian speaking to media said that he has decided to leave Sri lanka due to security reasons. Mr.Ganeshan said that the decision to go abroad was due to the recent withdrawal by Government of Sri Lanka (GOSl) the 10 security personnel and the security back up vehicle provided to him.
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VoT bombing victims remembered in Ki'linochchi

[TamilNet, Sunday, 30 December 2007, 03:40 GMT]
A memorial event was held Friday afternoon at 3:30 p.m. in Ki’linochchi Cultural Centre to pay homage to the three editorial staff workers at the Voice of Tigers (VoT) radio station and eight civilians, residents and travelers who lost their lives when Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) Kfir bombers attacked VoT, LTTE’s official broadcasting corporation located at 155 Mile Post, 3.5 km south of Ki'linochchi November 27th afternoon.
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U.K. group urges protection for Sri Lanka's rights defenders

[TamilNet, Friday, 28 December 2007, 19:49 GMT]
A U.K-based Rights Group, Tamil Information Center (TIC), in a report released this week expressed serious concern "over the plight of human rights defenders in Sri Lanka, who are facing persecution and threats to life from [Sri Lanka] government authorities," and said the situation requires "urgent intervention by the International Community." The report urged the "Government of Sri Lanka to bring to an end a cycle of cumulative disregard for human rights in general and for abuses against human rights defenders in particular and to accept the offer of the international community to establish a human rights monitoring mechanism."
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Inefficient relief action adds to refugees woes in Trincomalee

[TamilNet, Thursday, 27 December 2007, 16:35 GMT]
More than twelve thousand people in Verukal and Eachchilampattu areas in Trincomalee are undergoing immense suffering due to the negligence of Sri Lanka Army (SLA) Government Agent (GA) for Trincomalee, Maj. Gen. T. T. R. D. E. Silva, in carrying out flood relief work. The GA is insisting on employing the service of SLA troops and police to carry out the relief work, normally done by civil administrative officials, Trincomalee district Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarian K. Thurairatnasingam accused Thursday.
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Tsunami third anniversary memorial events held in Vanni

[TamilNet, Thursday, 27 December 2007, 00:22 GMT]
Memorial functions to mark the third anniversary of the civilians killed by 2004 December Tsunami disaster were held in various parts of Vanni including Mullaiththeevu, Vadamaraadchi East and Puthukudiyiruppu, with thousands of civilians taking part in the events.
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Batticaloa flood victims need urgent help - MP

[TamilNet, Sunday, 23 December 2007, 19:49 GMT]
Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarian for Batticaloa District. S. Jeyananthamoorthy, appealed to the Batticaloa Aditional Government Agent, K Maheshan, to immediately take all necessary steps to provide relief assistance to the flood victims in the Batticaloa district. Continued torrential rain is falling in Batticaloa, Amparai and Polannaruwa districts for more than 24 hours, and most of the low lying areas in Batticaloa have become submerged resulting in a large number of civilians becoming displaced from their residences, sources in the region said.
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Colombo reduces security of two more Tamil MPs

[TamilNet, Thursday, 20 December 2007, 10:08 GMT]
The security provided to T. Maheswaran, the Colombo district parliamentarian of the opposition United National Party (UNP) and Tamil National Alliance (TNA) MP N. Srikantha, has been reduced by the Government of Sri Lanka Thursday despite the parliamentarians calling for additional protection under the present volatile situation. Mr. Srikantha's Ministerial Security Division (MSD) guards were reduced to four from nine, meanwhile Mr. Maheswaran's MSD security was reduced to two from Eighteen.
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Sri Lanka ranked third in murders of journalists

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 18 December 2007, 16:49 GMT]
Press Emblem Campaign, an independent media watchdog based in Geneva, in a press release issued Monday said, Sri Lanka ranked third worldwide in number of journalists killed in 2007 in line of duty, behind Iraq and Somalia. "Sri Lanka ranks third, seven journalists killed this year against four last year due to the intensity of the civil war," the press release said.
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Eelaventhan loses membership in SL parliament

[TamilNet, Saturday, 15 December 2007, 18:55 GMT]
Tamil National Alliance (TNA) national list parliamentarian M.K. Eelaventhan was not allowed to take part in the third voting of the 2008 Budget in the Sri Lankan parliament Friday. Sergeant At Arms at the Sri Lankan parliament asked the senior Tamil MP to leave the parliament as he had lost his membership in the House due to his nonattendance for more than three months, parliamentary sources said.
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Paramilitary releases Batticaloa TNA MPs relatives, secretary

[TamilNet, Saturday, 15 December 2007, 18:46 GMT]
The Sri Lanka Army operated paramilitary Pillayan Group Saturday night released P. Sriskandaseya, the brother of Batticaloa Tamil National Alliance MP P. Ariyanethran, Arunasalam Sivapalan, the nephew-in-law of parliamentarian S. Jeyanandamoorthy and Ira. Nagalingam, the secretary of the parliamentarian K. Thangeswari.
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UPFA budget passed by 47-vote majority

[TamilNet, Friday, 14 December 2007, 12:17 GMT]
Third reading of the 2008 budget was passed by 47 majority votes Friday evening in Sri Lankan Parliament. 114 members voted for the budget and 67 voted against. 37 JVP members and SLFP parliamentarian Wijeyadasa Rajapaksa abstained from voting. The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) voted against the Budget of Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa. Soon after the voting was over there was a pandemonium in the House as SLFP parliamentarians Mahindananda Aluthgamage and Jagath Pushpakumara placed a wreath in front of the opposition leader's chair, antagonizing the UNP.
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EU Condemns abductions of parliamentarians' relatives

[TamilNet, Thursday, 13 December 2007, 11:14 GMT]
Following reports of abductions of two relatives and a secretary of Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarians in Batticaloa, by Sri Lanka Army (SLA) operated paramilitary Pillayan Group, the European Union, on Thursday, condemning abductions said it was deeply concerned by disturbing reports of abductions of a number of civilians connected to members of the Sri Lankan parliament. Kidnapping is the behaviour of terrorists and the EU condemns it without reservation, said a press release issued by the British High Commission, acting as local EU Presidency on behalf of Portugal.
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TNA MPs warned to abstain on budget vote, relatives abducted

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 11 December 2007, 19:16 GMT]
Paramilitary Pillayan Group on Tuesday abducted the brother of Batticaloa district Tamil National Alliance MP P. Ariyanethran, P. Sriskandaseya, 54, secretary of TNA MP K. Thangeswari, Ira Nagalingam and the son-in-law of TNA MP S. Jeyanandamoorthy's sister, Arunasalam Sivapalan, 28. The paramilitary has warned the family members of the three abducted victims that the TNA MPs should refrain from voting against the Budget of Sri Lankan president Mahinda Rajapaksa, on Friday, if they wished to see them live on Saturday.
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Nadesan calls for attitudinal shift in rights approach

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 11 December 2007, 13:17 GMT]
The Government of Sri Lanka remained unperturbed despite severe criticism from U.N representatives who had visited the island and confirmed the large-scale violation of human rights against Tamils, because it continued to receive military and monetary aid from those who actually condemn the human rights violations, charged Liberation Tigers Political Head B. Nadesan, Monday, on the International Human Rights Day. Declaring that the human rights violations by the GoSL in SLA-controlled areas was nothing short of a "systematic genocide of the Tamils," he called upon the International Community to use "severe pressure" against Colombo to put an end to the flagrant violation of human rights.
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Paramilitary marches civilians in Batticaloa

[TamilNet, Monday, 10 December 2007, 11:43 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army (SLA) operated paramilitary Pillyan Group Monday noon forced hundreds of civilians from Kathirave'li and Vaakarai areas that were recently captured by the SLA in the East, into government operated buses, taken from depots in Polonnaruwa, Batticaloa and Vaazhaichchenai, to forcibly participate in a march held at Batticaloa city with the protection of SLA, Special Task Force (STF) and the Police. Meanwhile, the federation of non governmental organisations in Batticaloa was instructed by the paramilitary to call its members to march against the lack of humanitarian assistance by the GoSL. But, the motive of the march was changed by the paramilitary at the last moment.
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Disparity in condemning attacks on civilian targets, counterproductive - TNA MPs in Oslo

[TamilNet, Saturday, 08 December 2007, 13:49 GMT]
"The recent condemnations on the attacks of civilian targets in Sri Lanka came only after witnessing attacks on a civilian target in the South. There was no condemnation by the International Community when Mannaar Coordinator of an International NGO, Rev. Fr. Nicholaspillai Pakiyaranjith, was slain in a Claymore attack in Vanni by the Sri Lankan DPU team. Why did the IC fail in condemning the indiscriminate air-attacks on civilian targets in Vanni?," asked the Batticaloa district Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarian S. Jeyanandamoorthy and Jaffna district MP K. Sivanesan while talking to media in Oslo on Friday after a meeting with the Norwegian Special Envoy Jon Hanssen-Bauer.
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