9 upcountry Tamils arrested in Marawila, Kochchikade

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 17 June 2008, 03:56 GMT]
Police took into custody nine Tamil civilians including a woman into custody Monday in two separate incidents for alleged involvement with the LTTE. Marawila Police took eight Tamil youths and the Kochchikade Police took a Tamil woman. All are residents of Passara in Badulla district and have been employed in Marawila and Kochchikade, sources said.
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8 Tamils arrested in Polonnaruwa

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 17 June 2008, 03:03 GMT]
Eight Tamil civilians were arrested Tuesday morning in a cordon and search operation conducted jointly by the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) and police in Polonnaruwa town in the north western province. They are being detained in police station and are being interrogated for alleged involvement in LTTE activity, sources said.
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Italian Tamils express support for Eezham homeland

[TamilNet, Monday, 16 June 2008, 14:40 GMT]
Diaspora Tamils in Northern Italy gathered Sunday for Pongku Thamizh rally held in Piazza Argentina in Milan, one of the largest cities in Italy, from 3:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m., and voiced their support for Eezham Tamil homeland, Tamils right to self-determination, and protested against the Sri Lankan state's aerial bombardment of Tamil civilians and rights violations of the Tamil people in Sri Lanka. Burani Vainer, a renown lawyer in Italy for his legal defence of freedom struggles, addressed the audience as a chief guest, on the principles of the right to self determination.
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Abductions have blessings of Colombo- Ganeson

[TamilNet, Sunday, 15 June 2008, 00:01 GMT]
Responding to the recent press communiqué released by the Presidential secretariat, Mano Ganeshan MP, the leader of Western Province People Front (WPPF) and Convenor of Civil Monitoring Commission on Extra judicial killings and Disappearances state, in a press release issued Friday said: "It is good to note that the President is concerned of this situation but we did not create this situation. In fact this was created due the abductions created with the blessings of this Government."
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CPA: Trincomalee HSZ violates international law

[TamilNet, Thursday, 12 June 2008, 01:00 GMT]
Asserting that "sustainable solutions are required to reduce tension, discrimination and deprivation of communities," the Center for Policy Alternatives (CPA), a Colombo-based political, humanitarian think-tank, in a report on the current status of issues related to land in Trincomalee, said that, "[u]nfortunately, the various policies adopted by the authorities have had the opposite effect." Noting that 7,338 people will lose their homes due the 'reduced' High Security Zone (HSZ), the report said, "a serious review needs to be taken of the necessity of incorporating such a large extent of land into the HSZ."
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19 SLA killed in Vavuniyaa fighting - LTTE

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 11 June 2008, 22:07 GMT]
19 Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers, including a Lance Corporal, were killed and 23 soldiers were wounded when Liberation Tigers of Tamileelam (LTTE) fighters at the Kugnchukku'lam Forward Defence Line in Vavuniyaa district put up heavy resistance confronting a multi-frontal attempt by the SLA to break into LTTE territory, according to LTTE officials in Vanni. Two Tiger fighters were killed in the counter-attack.
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"Tamil eelam, not a hastily concocted concept"- Balakumaran

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 11 June 2008, 01:05 GMT]
Balakumaran, Senior member of the Liberation Tigers, during an interview to an Australian Tamil Broadcasting Corporation (ATBC) said that while support of the international community is necessary for achieving the goal of liberation, Tamil people should clearly understand that policies of the International community towards different nationalist struggles are often inconsistent and motivated by self-interest. He added that listening to other people’s dictates, and compromising the ideals only reflect the weakness of a liberation struggle, and expressed confidence on the strength and resilience of the Tamil people to confront obstacles in the marathon towards liberation.
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Sea Tigers raid key SLN camp in Mannaar

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 10 June 2008, 22:18 GMT]
Liberation Tigers of Tamileelam (LTTE) naval wing, the Sea Tigers, launched a surprise attack on Sri Lanka Navy camp at Erukkalampiddi in Mannaar in the early hours of Wednesday, brought the installation under their control and have seized the arms and military equipments, including a radar, LTTE officials in Vanni told TamilNet. The operation was carried out by Marine Commandos, a special forces unit of the Sea Tigers. The Tigers have seized a 50-caliber machine gun, 81 mm mortars, Light Machine Guns, Rocket Launchers and several other military hardware from the camp, the Tigers said.
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SLA shoots dead 3 men in Addaa’laichcheanai

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 10 June 2008, 17:06 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army (SLA) troops shot and killed two men Tuesday around 9:00 a.m in a joint cordon and search operation with police in Addaa’laichcheanai area in Akkaraipattu police division in Ampaa’rai district, and another man around 1:00 p.m. in a paddy field west of Addaa’laichcheanai, according to Akkaraipattu police. The police claimed that the three were members of Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and that the two shot dead in the first incident had hurled a hand grenade on SLA troops during the search, and SLA fired at the third man when he tried to escape.
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7 upcountry Tamil youths arrested in Yatiayantota

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 10 June 2008, 14:10 GMT]
Seven upcountry Tamil youths were taken into custody by the police following the discovery of two hand grenades in an estate in Yatiayantota in Sabragamuwa province. The police said they found the explosives hidden in the estate Panawatte in Yatiayantota on receipt of information.
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Fear mounts in costal villages of Jaffna lagoon

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 10 June 2008, 13:19 GMT]
Shells across Jaffna lagoon from Liberation Tiger of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) held areas fell and exploded Tuesday morning on Sri Lanka Army (SLA) bases and sentry points located in the coastal villages of Jaffna lagoon causing panic also among the residents, sources in Jaffna said. Large number of additional soldiers were brought from other areas in Jaffna peninsula and posted along the coastal line of the lagoon from Jaffna Fort to Ariyaalai during the last couple of days.
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SLAF fighter jets bomb LTTE FDL in Mukamaalai

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 10 June 2008, 11:22 GMT]
Four Sri Lanka Air Force Kfir fighter jets jointly bombed the Front Defence Line (FDL) positions of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in Mukamaalai Tuesday around 8:00 a.m. after circling over Jaffna peninsula for quite a long time, sources in Jaffna said. Meanwhile, SLAF spokesperson Janaka Nanayakara told media that a second air raid was launched on the LTTE FDL at 3:00 p.m. in the evening.
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4 SLA killed, 9 wounded in Vavuniyaa fighting - LTTE

[TamilNet, Monday, 09 June 2008, 15:20 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army (SLA) on Monday attempted to break through Liberation Tigers of Tamileelam (LTTE) Forward Defence Line three times at Paalamoaddai in Vavuniyaa district between 6:00 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. with the support of artillery and mortar fire. At least 4 SLA soldiers were killed in the fighting and 9 wounded, LTTE officials told reporters in Vanni.
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SLN conducts large scale search in Nedunththeevu

[TamilNet, Monday, 09 June 2008, 13:47 GMT]
Sri Lanka Navy (SLN) in Nedunththeevu, assisted by policemen and Sri Lanka Army (SLA) troops brought down from Jaffna peninsula in large numbers, launched a joint cordon and search operation in Nedunththeevu Sunday, clamping a curfew from 10:00 a.m to 3:00 p.m. sources in Jaffna said. Anyone arrested during this search is not known.
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International inaction reveal hollowness of external assurances - paper

[TamilNet, Monday, 09 June 2008, 10:29 GMT]
By rearming and stabilizing the Sri Lankan state after the ceasefire and then encouraging a hardline approach to the Liberation Tigers, the international community is responsible for the catastrophe unfolding in the island, the Tamil Guardian newspaper argued in its latest editorial. "Rather than seizing the moment [of the peace process] and making the restoration of the Tamils' dignity and self-rule their focus, the international community made the weakening and marginalizing of the LTTE their preoccupation" the paper said. "Presently, whilst an imposed solution is in the interests of everyone except the Tamils, a just solution is, conversely, in the interests of only the Tamils."
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SLA launches ground movement in Ma'nalaa'ru

[TamilNet, Monday, 09 June 2008, 08:01 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army launched a ground movement in Ma'naalaa'ru region Sunday night. The Liberation Tigers of Tamileelam claimed that at least 15 SLA soldiers were killed and more than 20 wounded when they put up heavy resistance Sunday night.
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42 SLA killed in two days, heavy fighting in Mannaar - LTTE

[TamilNet, Monday, 09 June 2008, 07:57 GMT]
At least 42 Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers were killed and 76 wounded Within the past 48 hours at two fighting fronts in Mannaar, Tiger officials cited LTTE Operations Command in Mannaar as saying. On Monday, 22 SLA soldiers were killed when the SLA launched a ground movement at 5:30 a.m. at Aalangku'lam towards Vaddakka'ndal, the Tigers said. The SLA move was thwarted at 10:00 a.m. Meanwhile, at Periyamadu the SLA opened a ground operation on four fronts on Sunday. The SLA was defeated at 2 of the fronts. Meanwhile, the SLA said it had recovered three dead bodies of LTTE fighters and handed over the bodies to Murungkan police on Monday.
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Defense Ministry culpable of exposing journalists to reprisals- RSF

[TamilNet, Sunday, 08 June 2008, 20:32 GMT]
While noting that Reporters sans frontières (RSF) has added Sri Lanka's Defense Secretary, Gotabhaya Rajapakse, to RSF's list of "Predators of Press Freedom," RSF in a press release issued Sunday, pointed to the ministry’s website "carrying virulent attacks on journalists critical of the government," and condemned the "defense ministry campaign against independent media, especially journalists who cover military affairs."
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3 SLA attempts thwarted in Vavuniyaa, Tigers attack DPU team - LTTE

[TamilNet, Sunday, 08 June 2008, 15:41 GMT]
Liberation Tigers of Tamileelam officials on Sunday said that the LTTE fighters in Vavuniyaa thwarted three repeated attempts by the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) to break into LTTE controlled territory throughout the day in Paalamoaddai in Vavuniyaa between 8:00 til 5:00 p.m.
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JVP Trincomalee parliamentarian protests against fishing ban

[TamilNet, Sunday, 08 June 2008, 14:29 GMT]
Trincomalee district parliamentarian of the Sinhala nationalist Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) Jayantha Wijesekara while participating in the emergency debate in parliament on Thursday said that people of Trincomalee district had a better life under the control of LTTE than under the rule of Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa. If the present fishing ban continues, the LTTE would draw popular support among the rural people for armed struggle, he warned.
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