17 Tamil civilians arrested in Puththa'lam

[TamilNet, Monday, 19 November 2007, 10:06 GMT]
The Sri Lanka Police in a cordon and search operation conducted Saturday from dawn to dusk in four Tamil villages in Puththa'lam district took 17 Tamil residents into custody. Four of them are still being detained at Munthal police station and being subjected to interrogation by the Terrorist Intelligence Division as they failed to prove their identity and valid reason for their stay in the location.
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Viral fever sweeps across Jaffna peninsula

[TamilNet, Monday, 19 November 2007, 00:34 GMT]
A yet to be identified type of fever is spreading across the peninsula resulting in more than 700 patients being admitted at Jaffna teaching hospital sources close to the office of Director of Public Health services, Jaffna said Sunday. Hospital staff are working round the clock to find hospital beds under limited space and resources to accommodate the growing number of admitted patients, hospital administration officials said.
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TRO denies U.S. accusations, says proscription will harm Tamil people

[TamilNet, Sunday, 18 November 2007, 20:23 GMT]
Expressing dismay over U.S. Department of Treasury's action against the Tamils Rehabilitation Organization (TRO), and reiterating that TRO is NOT a "front to facilitate fundraising and procurement for the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE)," the TRO, in a press release issued Sunday, stated categorically that "all funds received are utilized according to the wishes of the donor, in line with the stated mission of TRO, to assist the tsunami and war affected populations of the NorthEast. None of these funds are, or have ever been found to have been, misappropriated for use by any other organization or used inappropriately by TRO itself."
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Trader shot dead, Hindu priest abducted, tortured in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Sunday, 18 November 2007, 12:26 GMT]
A Tamil business man was shot and killed Saturday morning by unidentified armed men, while a Hindu priest, abducted Friday by armed men, was severely tortured, and is fighting for his life, civilian sources said.
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Two Tamil young women detained in Anuradhapura

[TamilNet, Saturday, 17 November 2007, 11:20 GMT]
Two Tamil young women were arrested in Anuradhapura, capital town of the north central province in two separate incidents by Sri Lanka police and Sri Lanka Army, on Wednesday and Thursday, are now being detained in the Anuradhapura police station for interrogations by the Terrorist Intelligence Unit, police sources said.
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Civilian seeks protection with Jaffna HRC

[TamilNet, Saturday, 17 November 2007, 07:11 GMT]
A 32-year old civilian from Sarasaalai North, Thenmaraadchi sought protection Friday with Human Rights Commission (HRC) Jaffna due to death threats from Sri Lanka Army and SLA- backed paramilitaries.
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SLAF Kfirs bomb tsunami settlement in Mu'rika'ndi

[TamilNet, Friday, 16 November 2007, 10:42 GMT]
Two Sri Lanka Air Force kfir fighter jets dropped eight bombs in two sorties Friday between 6:15 a.m. and 6:25 a.m. targeting a civilian settlement in Mu’rika'ndi located close to Ki’linochchi, seriously injuring a mother of three children and another civilian besides completely destroying a private boat building yard which makes boats for tsunami affected fishermen, sources in Ki'linochchi said. Five huts of tsunami victims and the house of Mu'rika'ndi Hindu Viththiyaalayam principal were damaged in the bombing.
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Civilian seeks protection with HRC Jaffna

[TamilNet, Friday, 16 November 2007, 05:46 GMT]
A civilian from Madduvil north in Thenmaraadchi sought protection Thursday with Human Rights Commission (HRC) Jaffna due to death threats from Sri Lanka Army and SLA- backed paramilitary men.
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4 civilians seek protection with Jaffna HRC

[TamilNet, Thursday, 15 November 2007, 05:37 GMT]
Four civilians in Jaffna peninsula sought protection with the Human Rights Commission (HRC) Jaffna office against death threats from Sri Lanka Army (SLA) and SLA-backed paramilitaries, Wednesday, officials at the Jaffna HRC said.
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U.S. editorial advocates confederation, urges arms embargo against Sri Lanka

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 14 November 2007, 12:12 GMT]
Advocating arms embargo against Sri Lanka, Boston Globe in an editorial appeared Wednesday, quoted Human Right Watch's letter to members of the U.S. Congress that "there has been a significant jump in abuses by government forces such as indiscriminate shelling, extrajudicial executions, and forced disappearances," recommended that "arms sales to Sri Lanka be conditioned on that government improving its human rights record and accepting a United Nations monitoring mission to protect civilians caught in the conflict," and pointed out "current US policy contradictions," in U.S. donating military hardware to Sri Lanka Navy while urging Sri Lanka to seek a negotiated peace.
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"Disappearances and killings will continue" - Fonseka

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 14 November 2007, 03:15 GMT]
Disappearances and killings of will continue as long as ‘anti-terrorist’ operations are continuing, Sri Lanka’s Army commander, Lt. Gen. Sarath Fonseka said this week in a interview to British investigative reporters. Asked about human rights abuses in the newly captured Eastern province, the commander replied: “This area is not a normal area. So people getting killed and some people going missing will happen as far as the anti-terrorist operations are continuing.”
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Two civilians shot dead in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 13 November 2007, 12:06 GMT]
A well-known businessman from Chaavakachcheari and a young fisherman from Kurunakar were shot dead in two separate incidents Tuesday noon and Monday night in Jaffna, sources in Jaffna said.
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2 civilians shot dead in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Monday, 12 November 2007, 11:50 GMT]
Unidentified armed men on a motor cycle followed a fisherman Monday around 6:00 a.m and shot him dead at Mulavaichchanthi in Raasaavinthoddam area, sources in Jaffna said. Meanwhile, a civilian was shot dead Monday afternoon in Nalloor-Kachcheari road area, according to Jaffna police.
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Claymore explosion in Yala amid tightened security

[TamilNet, Saturday, 10 November 2007, 20:21 GMT]
At least one construction worker was killed and another wounded in a Claymore mine explosion inside the Yala sanctuary, one of the island's main tourist attractions, Saturday evening around 6:45, Police said. The attack comes in the wake of Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa advising his political adviser and brother, Basil Rajapaksa, a national list parliamentarian, to set a Joint Operations Command (JOC) in Thissamaharama. Mr. Basil Rajapaksa led a high-powered delegation to Thisssamaharama earlier in the day and decided to arm Sinhala farmers, in addition to setting up a JOC.
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Laborer abducted, two seek refuge at Jaffna HRC

[TamilNet, Saturday, 10 November 2007, 02:53 GMT]
Two civilians sought protection at the offices of the Human Rights Commission in Jaffna Thursday, and Friday, due to threats for their lives from Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers and SLA-backed paramilitaries, officials at the HRC said. Meanwhile, a day laborer from Nallur Jaffna was abducted Wednesday, according to complaints by his relatives at the HRC offices.
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International community is letting war decide Tamils' fate - paper

[TamilNet, Friday, 09 November 2007, 14:15 GMT]
By allowing the Sri Lankan state free rein and supporting it to wage war, the international community has made any rights the Tamils secure depend entirely on the battlefield outcome, the Tamil Guardian newspaper said this week. "The military has for two years blasted villages, driven hundreds of thousands from their homes and continues to abduct, torture and murder…For all the noise about human rights (and much of that has dissipated now), the state actually wants for nothing. Ironically, the more the international community is convinced the LTTE can be defeated, the freer the hand it will have."
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HRW endorses restrictions on arms sales to Sri Lanka

[TamilNet, Thursday, 08 November 2007, 12:30 GMT]
In a letter sent to U.S. Representatives Nita M. Lowey and Frank R. Wolf on US foreign operations funding, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said Wednesday: "there has also been a significant jump in abuses by government forces, such as indiscriminate shelling, extrajudicial executions, and forced disappearances...despite the creation of various new governmental bodies, there is little evidence that the Sri Lankan government is bringing the perpetrators of serious abuses to justice," and endorsed Senate's proposed conditions on "restricting the sale and transfer of arms to Sri Lanka."
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Sri Lanka restricts North East Tamils from visiting Colombo

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 07 November 2007, 16:26 GMT]
The Sri Lanka Police has introduced new regulations restricting temporary stay for Tamil civilians visiting Colombo from North and East provinces for urgent needs, civil sources in Colombo said. The visting Tamils are asked to bring letters from Grama Sevakar (village level officers) of their respective areas, stating the reason for their visit to Colombo, and to register their presence. Meanwhile some Divisional Secretaries are reported to have instructed the GS officials in their respective divisions not to issue letters to persons who wish to travel to Colombo.
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Police recover 3 civilian dead bodies in Yala

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 06 November 2007, 09:40 GMT]
Thissemaharama Police has recovered three dead bodies of Sinhalese cattle herders with cut injuries at Bambarawa in Yala sanctuary in southern Sri Lanka Monday evening. Thissemaharama division is situated in the constituency of the Sri Lankan president Mahinda Rajapaksa.
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2 family men abducted, civilian reported missing, in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 06 November 2007, 05:43 GMT]
Armed men abducted a family man from his residence in Kolumpuththu'rai 28 October around 7:30 p.m and took him away in a Sri Lanka Army (SLA) Buffel Armoured Personnel Carrier (BAPC) according to complaints registered with Human Rights Commission (HRC) Jaffna Monday. A father of three children was abducted from his house Sunday morning at Eazhaalai east and a family man is reported missing from Kokkuvil West, according to complaints made by relatives to HRC Jaffna.
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