Karuna group, SLA, abduct 5 IDPs

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 20 March 2007, 16:19 GMT]
Five persons, including a Hindu priest, two teen aged sisters, and two youths from the Internally Displaced People (IDP)s displaced from the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) held areas in Batticaloa district, have been taken away by paramilitary Karuna group personnel and soldiers of the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) Intelligence wing within the last 10 days, according to complaints lodged with Batticaloa Human Rights commission by their relatives.
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Colombo conspires to alter East's demography- NLF

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 20 March 2007, 11:41 GMT]
Dr.Wickremabahu Karunaratne, leader of the New Left Front (NLF) said at a news conference held Monday at Hotel Nippon in Colombo organized by the National Front Against War (NFAW) that Sri Lanka Government is conspiring to change the demography of the eastern province by forcibly driving out Tamil people and settling members of the majority community, media sources said.
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Abducted TRO staffers final rites held

[TamilNet, Saturday, 17 March 2007, 20:01 GMT]
The final rites for the seven TRO staffers abducted by the Sri Lanka Army (SLA)-backed Karuna paramilitary group in January 2006, and presumed murdered, were held on the Saturday, after three days of mourning, sources from Kilinochchi said. Framed memorials with photographs were taken to relatives home in Kilinochchi on Wednesday, 14 March, for people to pay respect. The pictures were taken in procession to the Kilinochchi Cultural Hall where the final ceremony was held.
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Sampanthan meets Akashi in Tokyo

[TamilNet, Friday, 16 March 2007, 11:17 GMT]
Mr.R.Sampanthan, parliamentary group leader of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) met with Mr.Yasusi Akashi, Special Peace Envoy for Sri Lanka in Tokyo Wednesday, TNA sources in Colombo said. The discussion, lasting about an hour, centered on the present situation in North East province where hundreds of thousands Tamil families are being displaced due to military operation from their own villages.
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Ships meant for civilian use, carryout military tasks

[TamilNet, Thursday, 15 March 2007, 20:23 GMT]
While refusing to open the A9 land route, the Sri Lanka government (GoSL), under the pretext of shipping passengers and essential food items to Jaffna district, is using the ships to bring in the requirements of its armed forces occupying Jaffna peninsula, civil society sources in Jaffna said. The ship 'Ruhuna', the latest ship arriving at Jaffna, was taken to Kankesanthurai harbour, used exclusively by Sri Lanka Navy (SLN), first unloaded the goods brought for the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) and the SLN.
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SL parliamentary delegation leaves for Japan

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 13 March 2007, 10:59 GMT]
A parliamentary delegation comprising four parliamentarians led by Speaker W.J.M.Lokkubandara left for Japan on an official visit Sunday night. Mr.R.Sampanthan, parliamentary group leader of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA), Mr.Vajira Abeyawardene and Mr.T.B.Ekanayake, Highways Minister are the other members of the delegation, sources said.
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TNA delegations meet British, Japanese ambassadors

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 13 March 2007, 09:59 GMT]
Batticaloa district Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarians appealed to the British Ambassador to Sri Lanka, Mr. Dominic Silcott Monday, urging the International Community to pressure Sri Lanka government to stop artillery attacks into civilian populated areas in Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) held areas and to provide the necessary facilities to the people displaced in the recent violence. The meeting lasted an hour starting at 2:30 p.m. Monday.
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751 IDPs return to Muthur Tamil villages from Batticaloa

[TamilNet, Monday, 12 March 2007, 23:16 GMT]
About 751 members of 348 displaced Tamil families returned Monday evening in several buses from Batticaloa to Killiveddy in Muthur division for resettlement in Sri Lanka government held villages. This was the first batch of several thousand IDPs who first sought refuge in Vaharai and then to Batticaloa following the military operations launched by the Sri Lanka Army in August last year on Muttur east villages.
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SLA forces exodus of Tamils in Batticaloa

[TamilNet, Monday, 12 March 2007, 01:34 GMT]
More than 100,000 people have moved out of Liberation Tigers controlled areas of Batticaloa district to the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) controlled areas as Sri Lankan armed forces continued shelling for the third consecutive day in their attempt to force evacuation of large section of Tamil population with the military agenda to capture additional territory, officials providing relief assistance said Sunday.
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International community must intervene to stop attacks on East

[TamilNet, Sunday, 11 March 2007, 18:50 GMT]
More than hundred and fifteen thousand people have been rendered homeless due to the indiscriminate and persistent shelling of Paduvankarai region in the Esatern province by the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) since 5th March, in its attempt to invade the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) held territory, T. Ariyanenthiran, Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarian for Batticaloa said in an urgent appeal on behalf of the TNA, requesting the International Community to intervene immediately to stop the Sri Lanka Government's war on Tamils in the east.
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Anuradhapura SLA commander killed in ambush

[TamilNet, Friday, 09 March 2007, 14:15 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army commander of the Anuradhapura Saliyapura Gajaba Regimental HeadQuarters, Colonel Jayantha Shurawera, and three of his men inlcuding a Major, and four national park employees were killed in a gunfire ambush inside the Wilpattu wildlife sanctuary around 10:30 a.m. Friday, military officials in Colombo said.
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Vessel Yala to carry Jaffna mail from Trinco

[TamilNet, Friday, 09 March 2007, 11:50 GMT]
The backlog of about six thousand parcels lying in the Trincomalee general post office and about two thousand such parcels expected to reach east port town from other parts are expected to be dispatched to Jaffna by a vessel "Yala" on March 13, said Trincomalee Post Master.
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TNA MPs visit Tamil political prisoners

[TamilNet, Friday, 09 March 2007, 00:12 GMT]
Seven Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarians accompanied by Minister for Justice and Legal Reformation, Dilan Perera, visited the Tamil Political prisoners at Magazine Prison in Colombo Thursday evening and discussed matters related to their release. The prisoners who had begun a fast-to-death campaign on 21 February had called off their action temporarily on February 26 following TNA parliamentarians' assurance to assist them.
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TNA urges Australia not to send back 85 Tamils

[TamilNet, Thursday, 08 March 2007, 08:59 GMT]
Tamil National Alliance (TNA) Parliamentarians urged the Australian and Indonesian governments, in press communiqué released on Wednesday, not to send back the 85 Tamils intercepted by the Australian Navy in Australian Sea on 22 February citing that if they were sent back their lives will be in danger from the Sri Lankan armed forces and collaborating paramilitary groups.
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Parents visit Sinhala soldiers in LTTE custody

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 07 March 2007, 23:06 GMT]
The parents and relatives of five soldiers of Sri Lanka armed forces currently in custody of Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) visited the soldiers in Kilinochchi Wednesday, LTTE sources in Kilinochchi said. The Red Cross facilitated the visit. The group arrived in Kilinochchi from Vavuniya and met the soldiers at a remand prison of the Thamileelam Police around 11:00 a.m. in the presence of V. Aravindan, Probation Officer of Thamileelam Police , Kumarasamy Kanagalingam, the Chief Inspector of Thamileelam Police and Selvaretnam Jeyapalan, the Chief Prison Guard.
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SLA abducts 3 youths in Vadamaradchy

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 07 March 2007, 13:15 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers abducted three more youths from the Vadamaradchy area between 4th and 6th of March, officials of the Human Rights Commission (HRC) in Jaffna said, citing complaints filed by the relatives of the missing.
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SL Parliament votes to extend Emergency Regulations

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 07 March 2007, 12:54 GMT]
Sri Lanka Parliament voted to extend the Emergency Regulations by one month during a sitting Wedesday morning after a debate presided by Speaker of the House, M. Locubanda, parliamentary sources in Colombo said. The motion to extend passed with a 105 majority, with 123 MPs voting for, and 18 MPs voting against.
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Sri Lanka parliament debates emergency extension motion

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 07 March 2007, 10:10 GMT]
Ratnasiri Wickremanayake, Sri Lanka's Prime Minister tabled a motion in parliament Wednesday morning seeking the approval to extend the State of Emergency for another month. The State of Emergency was declared on 13th August 2005, a day after the assassination of Lakshman Kadirgamar, former Foreign Minister in his residence in Colombo. Since then State of Emergency is being extended every month with the approval of parliament.
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SL Government's respect for Human Rights declines in 2006- US

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 07 March 2007, 05:14 GMT]
US Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2006, released by the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, reported human rights problems in Sri Lanka including "unlawful killings by government agents, high profile killings by unknown perpetrators, politically motivated killings by paramilitary forces associated with the government and the LTTE, and disappearances."
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Norwegian team visits key institutions in Kilinochchi

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 06 March 2007, 11:23 GMT]
Norwegian Ambassador to Sri Lanka, Hans Brattskar, and other officials visited Kilinochchi Hospital, Education officials and the North East Secretariat of Human Rights office in Kilinochchi Monday around 3:30 p.m, and held discussions on current issues related to people's medical needs, education and human rights, sources in Kilinochchi said.


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