TNA parlimentarians meet Jafna University VC

[TamilNet, Sunday, 21 January 2007, 09:28 GMT]
T.Srikantha, the recently appointed Jaffna district Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarian together with fellow Member of Parliament Shivajilingam met with the Acting Vice Chancellor of the University of Jaffna. Prof.K.Kumaravadivel on Saturday in an attempt to find a solution for the delay in re-opening the University of Jaffna that remains closed for more than five months.


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"Majority Report" authors commended

[TamilNet, Saturday, 20 January 2007, 19:33 GMT]
A group of Sri Lankan academics and civil activists in a letter sent to the members of the Experts Panel on Constitutional Reform Friday, said that the "Majority Report provides a reasonably compromised and remarkably consensual road map for effecting the necessary constitutional changes towards a political resolution," and added that "the onus is now on [Sri Lanka's] President Rajapakse and the leaders of the SLFP and the UNP to take the lead and act on these recommendations."
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"Anyone can join or leave SLFP"-Rajapakse

[TamilNet, Saturday, 20 January 2007, 00:27 GMT]
"Every one has the right to join or leave the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP). I will not object to any one leaving the party or joining it," said Sri Lanka's President Mahinda Rajapakse addressing the meetings of SLFP executive committee and all island working committee held Friday at Temple Trees.
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Protest against curbs on media to be held Tuesday

[TamilNet, Friday, 19 January 2007, 12:57 GMT]
Several Media associations are jointly to hold a public protest in front of the Fort Railway station on Tuesday from 12:30 p.m as part of a campaign for media freedom and safety of journalists in Sri Lanka, a leaflet issued by the joint group said Friday.
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Sinhala civilian slain, Tamils threatened in Vavuniya

[TamilNet, Thursday, 18 January 2007, 07:42 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army troopers and police personnel Thursday morning threatened Tamil civilians at Mathavadikulam, a suburb located 3 km south of Vavuniya town, after a gang shot and killed a Sinhala civilian Wednesday night. The SLA soldiers warned Tamil residents that they would be chased away from the area, residents complained. The killing follows the slaying of 6 Tamil civilians Tuesday night in Vavuniya. Tension prevails in Mathavadikulam and Moonrumurippu.
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Sivaram murder trial before Sinhala speaking Jury

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 16 January 2007, 16:38 GMT]
The Colombo High Court Tuesday fixed the inquiry into the murder of political analyst and a senior editor of TamilNet, Sivaram Dharmeratnam, before a Sinhalese speaking Jury. Judge W.A.D.Ratnayake allowed the application made by the sole suspect, an alleged member of an ex-militant turned paramilitary, that he should be tried before a Sinhala speaking jury, legal sources said.
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British forensic officers study Raviraj exhibits

[TamilNet, Saturday, 13 January 2007, 15:48 GMT]
A team of Britain’s Scotland Yard has left Sri Lanka after ten days of forensic and telephone analysis work with police investigating the assassination of Tamil National Alliance (TNA) MP Nadarajah Raviraj in November. The British police are taking a number of exhibits back with them for further forensic tests, a statement by the UK High Commission in Colombo said Saturday.
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Supreme Court setting policy of SL Government- Kiriyella

[TamilNet, Thursday, 11 January 2007, 12:02 GMT]
"Tamils did not demand a separate state in 1956. They only demanded their language rights but we denied their rights then. The Sri Lankan governments since independence in 1948 have not seriously attempted to solving this problem," Laxman Kiriyella, the United National Party (UNP) parliamentarian for Kandy district, said in Parliament Wednesday, speaking on the present state of affairs in the Northeast, parliamentary sources from Colombo said. "This government is reluctant to express its stand in important policy matters but uses the supreme court as a cover. Effectively, the Supreme Court is determining the policy of the government," he added.
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SLA intimidates Jaffna media- TNA MP

[TamilNet, Thursday, 11 January 2007, 00:07 GMT]
“Sri Lankan Army (SLA) soldiers Tuesday night entered three Jaffna based Tamil newspaper offices, threatened the staff, and took away at gun point the press communiqué from Jaffna University Students Union (JUSU) waiting to be published," said Kirushnan Sivanesan, the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) Parliamentarian for Jaffna district Wednesday.
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India, US should keepout of Sri Lanka- JVP

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 10 January 2007, 04:48 GMT]
“India while seeking a military solution to Kashmir conflict has no right to tell Sri Lanka to solve the North East problem without military action,” Bimal Ratnayake, a Member of Parliament of Jantha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), an ultra nationalist Sinhala Party, said in the Sri Lankan Parliament Tuesday morning while speaking on the bill of extending the Emergency Regulations.
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Four civilians disappear in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 09 January 2007, 20:14 GMT]
Four civilians including two youths have gone missing within the 48 hour period beginning Sunday, sources in Jaffna peninsula said, quoting complaints lodged with the HumanRights office in Jaffna. Two of the four are alleged to have been forcefully abducted at night by Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers traveling in a white van, according to the relatives.
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Mob led by SL Minister attack Journalists at UPM event

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 09 January 2007, 14:43 GMT]
An armed mob led by Sri Lankan Deputy Minister of Labour, Mervin Silva, arrived at the open air stage at Super Market Square in Nugegoda, the site of the first public event organised by the newly established United People's Movement (UPM), and attacked the journalists who were present at the site to cover the event which was about to commence at 3:00 p.m. Tuesday. The UPM is a political platform that seeks to establish consensus among especially the Southern polity on a Federal System of Governance, as against war and any other undemocratic, non-negotiable conclusion to the on going NorthEast conflict.
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Emergency extended, SL Parliament to debate de-merger of NorthEast

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 09 January 2007, 11:21 GMT]
The state of Emergency was passed for another month in Sri Lanka's Parliament Tuesday by a majority of 79 votes with 88 voting for and 9 against the motion. The motion, opposed by the Tamil National Alliance parliamentarians. UNP, JVP and JHU supported the motion. A debate on the de-merger of NorthEast would take place Wednesday.
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SLN re-imposes ban on fishing in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Monday, 08 January 2007, 13:19 GMT]
Sri Lanka Navy (SLN) has again imposed a ban on fishing along the coasts of Jaffna with effect from January 1st, the President of Northern Province Fisheries Society, T. Thavaratnam said. The ban which prohibits fishing night and day has pushed the families, which depend entirely on fishing for their living.
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Six civilians injured in bomb blast in Amparai

[TamilNet, Sunday, 07 January 2007, 10:42 GMT]
Six civilians were seriously injured in a bomb explosion Sunday around 10:30 a.m in the Central camp area in Amparai district near a shop which sells agricultural products and chicken feed, Amparai police said. The bomb had been hidden near the shop targeting the Special Task Force (STF) road patrol unit in Amparai Central camp area, the police added.


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One killed, another injured in Jaffna shootings

[TamilNet, Friday, 05 January 2007, 12:47 GMT]
Gunmen riding a motorbike shot and killed a 27-year old man in Adiyapatham Road in Kokuvil at 7:45 a.m. Friday. A group known as Ellalan Padai has claimed responsibility for the killing. In the same incident, another youth who was standing by the street was injured, sources in Jaffna said.
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Remains of Padahuthurai victims laid to rest

[TamilNet, Friday, 05 January 2007, 01:02 GMT]
Hundreds of civilians, religious leaders and civil representatives bade farewell to 13 of the 16 civilian victims killed Tuesday in Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) bombardment at the Mother Velankanni Church at Nochchikuda, Wednesday, sources in Mannar said.
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MP slams aerial bombardment on water refinery

[TamilNet, Saturday, 30 December 2006, 10:37 GMT]
The Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF), in its latest bombing raids in Vaharai on Thursday, completely destroyed a water refinery constructed by the UN agencies to remedy the drinking water shortage in the area near Verugal Murugan temple, charged S. Jeyanandamoorthy, the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) Parliamentarian from Batticaloa. In a press communiqué issued on Friday, the MP said: "the bombardment on the water refinery is not only a Ceasefire violation but is a human rights violation and a war crime too."
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De-populating Sampoor

[TamilNet, Thursday, 28 December 2006, 23:21 GMT]
Indian state owned National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) is set to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Colombo, on Friday, amid protests from Tamil parliamentarians who are voicing concerns that the Coal-Fired Power Plant project in Sampoor has a hidden political agenda to permanently evict Tamils from the Muthur east region. Around 30,000 Tamils were forced to leave the southern Trincomalee region into Vaharai when Sri Lanka military launched a major offensive and captured Sampoor from the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam in September.
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Night-watchman disappears in Vavuniya

[TamilNet, Thursday, 28 December 2006, 12:32 GMT]
Night watchmen at the Pampaimadu, Vavuniya Ayurvedhic Hospital has been reported missing from Wednesday 6:00 p.m., a complaint filed by his relatives at Vavuniya Police said. His possessions and motorbike were found intact inside the building by the Police, according to police reports.
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