SLA threats put damper on general strike in North

[TamilNet, Friday, 11 July 2008, 01:06 GMT]
Amidst threats issued by Sri Lanka Army (SLA) troops, the general strike in the North fizzled out without any significant impact on the daily activities of the public, service sector, and work at Government offices, sources said. Though tension prevailed in the peninsula in the morning, the situation turned normal late morning, with a heavy intimidatory presence of SLA troops spread across the peninsula.
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13th anniversary of Navaali church massacre observed

[TamilNet, Thursday, 10 July 2008, 09:49 GMT]
Thousands of family members and friends participated in the 13th memorial mass and prayers held Wednesday in Navaali St. Peter's Church and Navaali Chinnakk Kathirkaama Murukan Koayil in remembrance of the 147 persons including women and children killed 9 July 1995 when Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) fighter jets dropped thirteen bombs on people who had sought safety in the above places of worship.
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SLA suspends issue of travel passes to Jaffna civilians

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 09 July 2008, 09:49 GMT]
Citing security reasons regarding the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) conference scheduled to commence by the end of July, Sri Lanka Army (SLA) officers manning the civil administrative centres in the North have temporarily suspended the issue of passes for general public to travel out of the peninsula for the past three days, sources said.
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CTTU extends support for General strike

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 09 July 2008, 02:42 GMT]
The Ceylon Tamil Teachers Union (CTTU ) in an official communiqué issued Tuesday called upon all it members to take part in the island wide general strike scheduled for July 10 in a show of support for the one-day token strike organized by the Marxist Jathika Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) with the blessings of main opposition United National Party (UNP).
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A9 gateway to Vanni re-opens at Oamanthai

[TamilNet, Monday, 07 July 2008, 11:58 GMT]
The ICRC resumed its services at A9 gateway to Vanni after having secured guarantees from the Government of Sri Lanka that attacks such as that took place close to the gateway would not be repeated, informed sources in Vavuniyaa told TamilNet. The ICRC resumed its services from 3:00 p.m. Monday.
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Tigers target SLAF bomber over Vanni

[TamilNet, Sunday, 06 July 2008, 14:37 GMT]
A Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) MiG-27 fighter jet was forced to return after it sustained damage in anti-aircraft fire over Ki'linochchi area in Vanni Sunday afternoon, LTTE officials told media in Vanni. Meanwhile, Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) officials in Colombo, admitting that an aircraft had a troubled landing at Katunayaka military airbase in Colombo after carrying out an air strike, said that the fighter jet had 'skidded off' the runway while landing.
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DS officials in Vanni seek guarantees for their safety

[TamilNet, Sunday, 06 July 2008, 08:28 GMT]
Expressing fear of being targeted by claymore attacks while serving the civilians in Vanni, two Divisional Secretaries (AGAs) presently working in Mullaiththeevu and Ki'linochchi districts have requested the Government Agents (GAs) of the two districts to be transferred from their present postings. The two divisional secretaries while condemning the killing of their colleague Nanthakumar have pointed out that they face severe hardships in providing services for the public in their administrative areas and have requested the Government Agents of the two districts to ensure their safety.
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LTTE leader pays homage to Black Tigers

[TamilNet, Sunday, 06 July 2008, 06:47 GMT]
LTTE leader Mr. V. Pirapaharan participated in the Black Tigers commemoration day events held Saturday in Vanni. 356 Black Tigers have laid down their lives, 254 of them in sea operations, during the last 21 years since 05 July 1987, when the first Black Tiger Captain Miller, drove an explosive laden truck on Sri Lanka Army (SLA) troops garrisoned at Nelliyadi Central College in Vadamaraadchi in Jaffna. Last year, Black Tiger commandos stormed the Sri Lankan airbase in Anudradhapura in LTTE's first combined Black Tiger and Tamil Eelam Air Force attack, destroying more than 10 air crafts.
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DPU shoot dead student in Vanni

[TamilNet, Thursday, 03 July 2008, 16:19 GMT]
Deep Penetration Unit (DPU) of the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) shot and killed a student of Mallaavi Central College Thursday around 10:20 a.m at Aiyangku’lam in Mallaavi in Vanni.
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Knowledge books mistreat Tamil history

[TamilNet, Thursday, 03 July 2008, 07:34 GMT]
The presentation of the History of Eezham Tamils, in some of the international reference material such as Britannica Concise Encyclopedia and The World Factbook by the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), has become a matter of serious concern for Tamils all over the world. When the discipline of history itself is being deconstructed in the portals of knowledge of the postmodern era on one hand, these international sources of information are still harping on colonial brand of Orientalism, by basing history on myths.
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Assure government employees in Vanni their safety – Ki’linochchi GA

[TamilNet, Thursday, 03 July 2008, 02:42 GMT]
"If attacks and assassinations of government employees continues, the government services in Vanni will be completely crippled in the near future," N.Vethanayagan, Ki'linochchi Government Agent (GA) said, speaking at the protest rally held in Ki'linochchi Wednesday morning to condemn the brutal killing of N. Nanthakumar, Divisional Secretary (Assistant Government Agent) of Thu'nukkaay division of Mullaiththeevu district in a Claymore attack carried out by the Deep Penetration Unit (DPU) of the Sri Lanka Army (SLA).
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HRW calls on GoSL to end illegal internment of IDPs in Mannaar

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 02 July 2008, 22:58 GMT]
The New York based Human Rights Watch has voiced against the illegal internment of around 400 Internally Displaced Tamils, who are languishing under Sri Lanka Army detention in a so-called 'welfare center' in Ka'limoaddai in Naanaaddaan division of Mannaar district. Since March 2008, the Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL) has detained civilians fleeing areas controlled by the rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) at Ka'limoaddai. The SLA has imposed severe restrictions on freedom of movement, instituting a daily pass system that limits to 30 the number of people who can leave the camp each day, and only if a family member remains behind to guarantee the detainees return in the evening.
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Sri Lanka Army chief says victory date now mid-2009

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 02 July 2008, 09:01 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army chief Lt. Gen. Sarath Fonseka this week again revised his timetable for defeating the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam; to mid-2009, from an earlier estimate of June 2008. Saying that the LTTE had lost its conventional fighting capacity, he told international correspondents Monday that, within a year, most of the remaining Tigers would be dead. Saying that the objective of the LTTE was to capture the entire island and wipe out the majority Sinhalese community, he vowed: "we will not allow that at any cost, we will fight them."
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12 SLA killed, 19 wounded in Vavuniyaa - LTTE

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 02 July 2008, 08:50 GMT]
Liberation Tigers of Tamileelam (LTTE) officials in Vanni told media Wednesday morning that the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) attempt to break into LTTE defences at Paalamoaddai on Tuesday was thwarted around 10:00 p.m. the same day. 12 SLA soldiers were killed and 19 wounded in the fighting that raged for hours, the Tigers said.
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A9 gateway to Vanni closed after SLAF attack

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 01 July 2008, 18:29 GMT]
The International Committee of Red Cross (ICRC) Tuesday evening informed the Government Agent (GA) of Ki'linochchi, N. Vethanayagam, that it has decided to withdrew its personnel from manning the A9 post in Pu'liyangku'lam after Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) bombers attacked a locality close to the gateway at 3:40 p.m., the GA told TamilNet. Four bombers attacked the location twice, endangering the lives of the civilians and the personnel manning the gateway.
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Nanthakumar’s remains cremated in Skanthapuram

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 01 July 2008, 08:50 GMT]
The remains of N.Nanthakumar, Divisional Secretary (Assistant Government Agent) of Thu'nukkaay division of Mullaiththeevu district killed Sunday afternoon in a Claymore attack carried out by the Deep Penetration Unit (DPU) of the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) was cremated Monday afternoon in Skandapuram with tearful homage in the presence of thousands of civilians including hundreds of government officers and a number of people displaced from Thu'nukkaay AGA’s administrative area.
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Sri Lankan forces arrest 60 Tamils in Vavuniyaa

[TamilNet, Monday, 30 June 2008, 15:46 GMT]
Sri Lankan forces Monday evening arrested around 60 Tamils, most of them who had their place of birth or residence address from Jaffna in their identity cards. Tamil National Alliance parliamentarian from Vanni, Selvam Adaikkalanathan said he had taken up the concerns of the relatives with the authorities.
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Tamil woman shot dead in Vavuniyaa

[TamilNet, Saturday, 28 June 2008, 10:42 GMT]
A 31-year old Tamil woman was shot dead by unknown gunmen waiting under the cover of shrub jungle when the victim was returning home after work with her husband in a motorbike near a cemetery along I'rampaikku'lam area in Vavuniyaa Friday night, police sources said.
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SLA shells A9 gateway to Vanni

[TamilNet, Thursday, 26 June 2008, 15:13 GMT]
A 52-year-old civilian was wounded when four artillery shells fired by the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) hit the Pu'liyangku'lam entry, exit point to the Liberation Tigers of Tamileelam (LTTE) controlled area in Vavuniyaa Thursday around 12:30 p.m., Tamileelam Police officials told reporters in Ki'linochchi.
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Heavy fighting in Vavuniyaa front

[TamilNet, Thursday, 26 June 2008, 14:33 GMT]
The Liberation Tigers of Tamileelam (LTTE) officials in Vanni told reporters Thursday that their fighters confronted the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) from 8:30 a.m. till 3:20 p.m. at Paalamoaddai in Vavuniyaa claiming that 8 SLA troopers were killed and 24 wounded in repeated clashes. Meanwhile, the Sri Lanka Army officials in Colombo claimed that their troops have brought Periya Madu in Maanthai West of Mannaar district, under their control.
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