Fonseka vows not to leave war to successor

[TamilNet, Sunday, 13 January 2008, 06:27 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army Commander Lt. Gen. G.S.C Fonseka, due for retirement this year, has claimed that he would not leave the war to his succeeding commander, at a New Year party hosted by him Friday evening to select local and international journalists at his residence at Bauddhaloka Mawatha in Colombo. Fonseka was being tactfully upbeat as news of an explosion inside Fort Railway station threatened to dampen spirits at the cocktail party.
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17 SLA, 5 Tigers killed in Pa'ndivirichchaan - LTTE

[TamilNet, Saturday, 12 January 2008, 14:09 GMT]
A two pronged ground movement by the Sri Lanka Army was thwarted at one front by the Liberation Tigers of Tamileelam after almost 6-hours heavy fighting in which 17 SLA soldiers and five LTTE fighters were killed, according to LTTE Operations Command in Mannaar, media sources in Ki'linochchi said. Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) helicopters landed at least 10 times, transporting wounded soldiers from the SLA defence line.
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LTTE, the most dangerous, deadly, says FBI

[TamilNet, Saturday, 12 January 2008, 03:09 GMT]
In a campaign "celebrating a century," U.S.'s Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) said of the Liberation Tigers: "Needless to say, the Tamil Tigers are among the most dangerous and deadly extremists in the world. For more than three decades, the group has launched a campaign of violence and bloodshed in Sri Lanka, the island republic off the southern coast of India." The website added that LTTE's "ultimate goal is to seize control of the country from the Sinhalese ethnic majority."
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Sri Lankan State not secular, nor fair- Retd Indian Colonel

[TamilNet, Friday, 11 January 2008, 21:01 GMT]
Noting that Sri Lankan State has a fundamental problems that lie at the root of the conflict, Retired Indian Colonel, Mr Anil Athale, in a column appeared in Rediff Friday, says "many Indian commentators have flippantly advised Tamils to accept Sri Lankan unity without realising that Sri Lanka is not a secular State like India nor is it a 'fair State' like the UK in terms of rule of law."
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"Military solution is all Mr. Rajapakse has left" - Wall Street Journal

[TamilNet, Friday, 11 January 2008, 15:47 GMT]
Despite holding moral high ground as countries have labelled the LTTE terrorists and cracked down on funding, Rajapakse's "commitment to the negotiated cease-fire has always been shaky," and Rajapakse and his party "have done little to win over moderate Tamils," said the Wall Street Journal in an article published in Friday edition, and added that "now, the military solution is all Mr. Rajapakse has left, and it's not a sure bet by any means."
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SLA, LTTE clash in Mannaar

[TamilNet, Friday, 11 January 2008, 08:16 GMT]
Heavy clashes erupted in Mannaar between the Sri Lanka Army and the Liberation Tigers on two fronts when the SLA launched ground movement towards Uyilangku'lam in Mannaar Town DS division at 6:00 a.m. and towards Paalamoaddai in Vavuniyaa - Mannaar border, around 8:00 a.m. Friday. Mannaar Operations Command of the Tigers told media in Vanni that the SLA units was pushed back to their old positions after counter attacks that were carried out amid heavy artillery fire. The SLA sustained heavy casualties in Uyilangku'lam, the Tigers said. Meanwhile the SLA handed over 3 dead bodies of females to Murungkan Police claiming that the bodies belonged to LTTE fighters.
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Conflict sustained by world equating oppressor and oppressed - paper

[TamilNet, Friday, 11 January 2008, 08:12 GMT]
The international community’s “stubborn refusal to accept, even when it is thrust in their faces, the racist oppression that underpins ethnic politics there and, consequently, the impossibility of reforming the Sinhala state,” is sustaining Sri Lanka’s conflict the Tamil Guardian newspaper argued this week. “It is [the] ready equating of the violence of the oppressor with the resistance of the oppressed which reveals the international mindset,” the paper’s editorial said.
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SLMM representatives preparing to leave Jaffna

[TamilNet, Thursday, 10 January 2008, 17:48 GMT]
The representatives of the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) are completing any remaining activities and are preparing to leave Jaffna peninsula on the 16th, two weeks after the unilateral withdrawal of Sri Lanka state from the Cease Fire Agreement (CFA) with Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), sources in Jaffna said. SLMM representatives are handing over their vehicles and equipments to two Danish Non-governmental Organizations which still remain in Jaffna peninsula, the sources added.
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LTTE requests Norway to continue facilitation, urges IC's support for Tamil rights

[TamilNet, Thursday, 10 January 2008, 05:51 GMT]
The Head of Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission Major General Lars Johan Solvberg on Thursday met Liberation Tigers Political Head B. Nadesan in Ki'linochchi, following the GoSL announcement of unilateral withdrawal from the Ceasefire. Noting that the GoSL has withdrawn from the CFA without any justifications, LTTE's political head said that the Tigers, even at this juncture, stood ready to implement every clause of the agreement and requested Norway to continue with its facilitation role with the support of the International Community. He urged the IC to recognize the right of the Tamil people to live with self-determination in their homeland and remove the bans it has placed on the LTTE.
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SLA hands over female dead body to Mannaar Police

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 09 January 2008, 21:03 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army on Wednesday handed over a dead body of a female in military fatigue to Mannaar police. The SLA said that an LTTE female cadre was killed during a confrontation with the SLA in Parappaangka'ndal area in Mannaar where the SLA claimed it had infiltrated 1 km into LTTE controlled territory. Meanwhile, four SLA soldiers with severe injuries were admitted at Mannaar hospital Wednesday. 13 SLA soldiers have been admitted at the hospital within the past 24 hours.
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STF, police search Eastern University student hostel

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 09 January 2008, 13:46 GMT]
Special Task Force (STF) commandos and police surrounded Wednesday dawn the student hostel in Vanthaa’rumoolay Eastern University and conducted a search operation, subjecting the students to intensive checking and interrogation until 9:30 a.m, sources in Batticaloa said. SLA and the police have been deployed in large numbers in Batticaloa district in the wake of Sri Lanka government’s announcement of its unilateral withdrawal of the 2002 Cease Fire Agreement signed with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), the sources added.
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STF shoots dead youth in Ea’raavoor refugee camp

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 09 January 2008, 13:22 GMT]
Sri Lanka Special Task Force (STF) troops lay in ambush and shot dead a youth coming out of the refugee camp in Tha’lavaai Wednesday around 12 noon, Chavukkadi in Ea’raavoor police division in Batticaloa district, sources in Batticaloa said. The STF claimed that the youth killed was Sankar, the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) Batticaloa district head, and that a micro pistol was found at the place he was killed.
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Indian PM to skip SL Independence Day Celebrations

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 09 January 2008, 10:43 GMT]
As Sri Lanka increased its military offensives against Tamils in the North following the abrogation of the ceasefire, the Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Monday virtually confirmed that he would not visit Colombo next month for the 60th anniversary of Sri Lanka's Independence Day on February 4. "I have not made up my mind", he said when asked whether he would be traveling to Sri Lanka next month during an interaction with journalists in New Delhi. According to reports in the Indian media, the immediate provocation for India's ire was Sri Lanka’s decision to abrogate the six year CFA without seeking to negotiate with the Tamils.
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SLA suffers casualties in Tiger artillery strike

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 09 January 2008, 09:54 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army suffered casualties Tuesday evening around 7:30 p.m. when Liberation Tigers of Tamileelam (LTTE) fired artillery shells on SLA troops, positioned 17 km southeast of Mannaar city at Parappaangka'ndal. At least 9 SLA soldiers with severe injuries were admitted at Mannaar hospital Tuesday night.
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SLA, LTTE clash in Mukamaalai FDL

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 09 January 2008, 07:08 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army faced stiff resistance from the Liberation Tigers of Tamileelam Wednesday morning when the SLA attempted to advance towards the Forward Defence Line of the LTTE at Mukamaalai in Jaffna district. Heavy fighting ensued between the SLA and the LTTE for one hour from 7:00 a.m. The SLA was forced to retreat as they suffered casualties in the confrontation, media sources in Vanni said citing LTTE's Northern Forces Operation Command.
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Col. Charles laid to rest in Ki'linochchi

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 09 January 2008, 01:29 GMT]
The remains of Col. Charles, Head of Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) Military Intelligence, killed Saturday evening in a random Claymore attack by Sri Lanka Army (SLA) Deep Penetration Unit in Pa'l'lamadu in Mannar, was laid to rest with full military honours in Kanakapuram Heroes Cemetery Monday.
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14 SLA killed in Mannaar clash - LTTE

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 08 January 2008, 17:18 GMT]
Liberation Tigers Operations Command of Maanaar told media Tuesday that a ground movement by the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) was thwarted at Mu'l'ikku'lam in Mannaar after 3 hours stiff resistance by the Tigers. Four more SLA soldiers were killed, trapped in a booby trap, while they were retreating with their casualties around 11:00 a.m., the Tigers said. Around 40 SLA troops were wounded, according to the LTTE claim. There were no Tiger casualties, they said. But, the SLA claimed that they had killed six LTTE fighters when the Tigers attempted to enter an area under SLA control.
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Tigers thwart SLA advance in Mukamaalai

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 08 January 2008, 10:38 GMT]
Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) forces successfully repulsed an attempt by Sri Lanka Army (SLA) troops Monday around 6:00 a.m at Mukamaalai Front Defence Line (FDL) to penetrate into LTTE territory, killing an SLA trooper, and injuring many. One LTTE fighter was killed, Mukamaalay LTTE operations command said.
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"Deepening media crisis in Sri Lanka"- IFJ

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 08 January 2008, 03:45 GMT]
Expressing alarm at the comments at made by Sri Lanka's Army (SLA) Commander Major General Sarath Fonseka labelling some journalists and sections of the media as "traitors," the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) is a press release issued Monday said, "the statement by Major General Fonseka and the allegations of death threats against journalists are indicative of a deepening media crisis in Sri Lanka."
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Colombo Cover-up

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 08 January 2008, 02:44 GMT]
James Ross, Legal and Policy Director of New York-based Human Rights Watch (HRW), in a hard hitting column appearing in the Tuesday edition of the Daily Mirror, said the Sri Lanka government has failed to "seriously investigate and prosecute those responsible for the horrific abuses of the past two years – the unlawful killings, the “disappearances,” the Karuna group’s abduction of children. The cover-up is the government’s determined effort to keep the issue off the international agenda."
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