4 civilians wounded in alleged SLA grenade attack in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 26 December 2006, 08:41 GMT]
Four civilians, two women and two brothers employed at a shop, were severely wounded in a grenade attack near a Sri Lanka Army (SLA) post close to Sathira Juction on Hospital Road in Jaffna town Tuesday noon. No SLA soldier was wonded in the grenade attack reported amid repeated threats by the SLA troopers to the shop owners in the area, to close down their establishments near the army post.
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Navaratnam's funeral in Montreal, Tuesday

[TamilNet, Monday, 25 December 2006, 20:11 GMT]
Federal Party co-founder V. Navaratnam's remains are kept for public to pay their last respects at Darche Funeral Parlour, 7679 Taschereau boulevard, in Montreal, and the funeral would be held Tuesday morning at 10:30 a.m. His nine grandchildren will carry the casket from the funeral parlour to the site of the burial service, family members said.
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Eastern University staff continues boycott

[TamilNet, Monday, 25 December 2006, 14:43 GMT]
The acadamic and non acadamic staff of the Eastern University of Sri Lanka (EUSL) continued their boycott for the 10th concecutive day demanding the release of abducted Vice Chancellor Prof. S. Ravindranath who is believed to be held by the paramilitary Karuna Group in Colombo from 15 December.
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Tigers confer 'Patriot' title on Navaratnam

[TamilNet, Sunday, 24 December 2006, 22:29 GMT]
The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) Sunday posthumously conferred "Naattu Patralar" (Patriot) title on V. Navaratnam, who passed away in Montreal, Canada, Friday at the age of 97.
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Two shot dead, six seriously injured in Batticaloa

[TamilNet, Sunday, 24 December 2006, 09:56 GMT]
Unidentified armed men opened fire on persons returning from a funeral Saturday around 11:00 p.m, killing two on the spot and seriously injuring six, at Puthukudiruppu in Batticaloa, sources from Batticaloa said. The injured were first rushed to Kathankudy hospital and later transferred to Batticaloa Teaching hospital in a critical condition.
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Navaratnam, the doyen of Federal Party, passes away

[TamilNet, Friday, 22 December 2006, 21:42 GMT]
V. Navaratnam, the only surviving founder member of the Ilankai Thamil Arasu Kadchi (ITAK), the Federal Party, and who turned 97 last October, has passed away in Montreal, Canada at 4:10 p.m. Friday. The doyen of Tamil politics who inked the Bandaranaiyake Chelvanayagam pact and negotiated with the Sri Lanka leaders for sharing state power within a federal framework for almost three decades, came to a conclusion that the Sinhala polity would never compromise or agree on any decision to share state power with Tamils, and left the Federal Party, calling upon the Tamil youth to fight for the establishment of a separate self-governing Tamil State, as early as in 1969.
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Indian Prime Minister receives TNA leaders

[TamilNet, Friday, 22 December 2006, 07:48 GMT]
Indian Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh Friday received five Tamil National Alliance leaders R. Sampanthan, Mavai Senathiraja, Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam, Selvam Adaikalanthan and Suresh Premachandran at his office in New Delhi. TNA MPs told media that the meeting was very cordial and that they had brought focus to the humanitarian crisis in Vaharai and Jaffna where food is used as tool of war by Colombo. Dr. Manmohan Singh emphasized that he had conveyed to Colombo that there could be no military solution to resolve the Tamil national problem and that it should address the political aspirations of the Tamil people through a negotiated settlement.
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Besieged Vaharai continues to starve

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 20 December 2006, 14:18 GMT]
More than 20 000 civilians in the Sri Lanka military besieged territory Vaharai are again forced to survive without humanitarian supplies. Children are again forced search for fruits and catch fish and crabs on their own to eat as main meal. Parents continue to suffer from psychological trauma witnessing the plight of their children.
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Vanni pays homage to 'Voice of the Nation' Balasingham

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 20 December 2006, 11:05 GMT]
"Anton Balasingham bore the cross for the liberation of Eelam Tamils," said Puthuvai Iratnathurai, the Poet and the head of the Cultural Organisation of Tamileelam, addressing the mourners at Kilinochchi where LTTE Commander Col. Theepan hoisted the Tamileelam flag at half mast. "Bala Annai, when he visited Vanni last, told me that he wished to breathe his last in an Independent homeland," Puthuvai told the gathering. "We will support our Nation's leader, paving the way for the freedom of our nation, fulfilling Bala Annai's wish."
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Global appeal for release of Vice Chancellor Raveendranath

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 19 December 2006, 15:11 GMT]
67 academics, colleagues, and partners of Eastern University, across country borders, Tuesday jointly urged for the safe release of Professor S. Raveendranath, the Vice Chancellor of the Eastern University, who was reported missing Friday in Colombo's High Security area. In September, an unidentified armed group kidnapped the Dean of the Faculty of Arts at Eastern University, demanding Professor Ravindranath's resignation in return for the Dean's release.
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Humanitarian situation worsens in Vaharai

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 19 December 2006, 13:30 GMT]
More than 20 000 civilians continue to stay in temporary refugee camps at schools and surrounding houses in villages Kathiraveli, Vammivedduvan and Palchenai in Vaharai region amid acute shortage of food and humanitarian supplies, a local NGO official told TamilNet. Many families from Vaharai were forced to leave behind their grandparents who were unable to walk long distances.
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TNA urges GoSL, employers to respect Up-Country Tamils' contribution

[TamilNet, Monday, 18 December 2006, 15:23 GMT]
The Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL) and the employers of the plantation sector, must act responsibly to address the plight of the plantation sector workers, the majority of whom, economically and socially the most marginalised Tamils of Indian origin, the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) said Monday, expressing solidarity with the plantation workers in the up-country. "It cannot be denied that these plantation workers, through their sweat and toil, have continuously made a steadfast contribution to the country's economy."
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Declare Vaharai a safe zone ­-Trinco MP

[TamilNet, Saturday, 16 December 2006, 00:23 GMT]
Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarian for Trincomalee district, K. Thurairetnasingam, urged the International Community and the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) to convince the Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL), to demarcate a safe zone in Vaharai where thousands of Internally Displaced People (IDP) from Trincomalee district who had fled their homes due to SLA onslaught are currently trapped.
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Balasingham's demise creates a great void - TNA

[TamilNet, Friday, 15 December 2006, 13:54 GMT]
R. Sampanthan, the Parliamentary Group Leader of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA), in a condolence message following the demise of Liberation Tigers theoretician Anton Balasingham, said: "Mr. Balasingham had a clear understanding of the inequalities and inequities to which the Tamil people as a whole, were consistently subjected by the Sri Lankan State. He was also aware of the collective violence unleashed against the Tamil people when they engaged in peaceful protests and civil disobedience campaigns. He also had clear comprehension of the political aspirations and goals of the Tamil people. He was able to articulate the views of the Tamil people on these questions with clarity."
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JVP meets US

[TamilNet, Thursday, 14 December 2006, 13:07 GMT]
Sri Lanka's ultra-Sinhala nationalist JVP (Janatha Vimukthi Perumana) is building a 'cordial' relationship with United States, which it earlier denounced as an imperialist force conspiring to divide Sri Lanka, reports in Colombo said.


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Mannar shuts down, traders ignore SLA threats

[TamilNet, Thursday, 14 December 2006, 11:36 GMT]
General shut down was observed in Mannar Thursday in remembrance of the internally displaced people in Vaharai in Batticaloa district killed due to the indiscriminate artillery fire and air strike by the Sri Lanka Army (SLA), sources in Mannar said. The appeal for show of solidarity was made by the Tamil National Alliance (TNA).
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SLA attacks LTTE medics transport, 5 killed, "cowardly act," says LTTE

[TamilNet, Thursday, 14 December 2006, 11:08 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army troopers attacked a convoy of wounded LTTE cadres transported by the LTTE medics from Vaharai to LTTE controlled Karadiyanaru for medical treatment via sea route Wednesday night around 10:30 p.m. SLA sources said 5 Tigers were killed and a wounded Sri Lanka Army soldier, K.M.S. Ratnayake, who was in the LTTE custody since 08 October and being transported by the Tiger medics, was captured. Meanwhile, LTTE's Military Spokesman Irasiah Ilanthirayan said the SLA has attacked an unarmed medical transport and described the attack, a "cowardly act."
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Vavuniya shuts down in remembrance of Vaharai victims

[TamilNet, Thursday, 14 December 2006, 08:46 GMT]
Normal life in Vavuniya Wednesday was affected to a great extent because of the shut down observed in remembrance of the dead Internally Displaced Persons of Vaharai in the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) rocket and artillery fire. Shops, bankss, government and private institutions remained closed in response to the request made by the Vanni Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarians.


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EROS founder dies

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 13 December 2006, 01:20 GMT]
Eliyathamby Ratnasabapathy, one of the founder members of the Eelam Revolutionary Organization of Students (EROS), passed away Tuesday morning in London after a prolonged illness. He was 68.
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AG seeks additional time on TRO funds case

[TamilNet, Monday, 11 December 2006, 15:59 GMT]
Sri Lanka's Attorney General's (AG's) Counsel requested additional time to file his response to Tamil Rehabilitation Organization's (TRO’s) written submission on the question of whether the High Court of Colombo has the jurisdiction to “vary or vacate” it’s order to freeze the TRO Bank Accounts, when the High Court held hearings on the case today, legal sources for TRO said in a press release issued Monday. The Judge acceded to the Attorney General’s request and set Friday 15 December 2006 as the date for the Attorney General’s submission.
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