NGO Consortium urges immediate action to release kidnapped TRO staff

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 01 February 2006, 08:08 GMT]
The Consortium of Non Governmental Organisation in Vavuniya, representing 43 NGOs in Vavuniya District, on Tuesday, appealed to the Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse, the representative of the International Committee for Red Cross in Colombo (ICRC), the Head of Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) and the chairperson of the Consortium of Humanitarian Agencies in Colombo, to take immediate action to safeguard the lives and to ensure the safe return of NGO workers who have been kidnapped.
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TNA MPs walk out of parliament in protest of killings, abduction

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 01 February 2006, 06:07 GMT]
If Colombo continued to allow provocative incidents take place in Sri Lanka Army (SLA) controlled areas of the NorthEast, the peace talks planned between the Government and the LTTE would be in jeopardy, Tamil National Alliance (TNA) has warned the Sri Lankan Parliament Wednesday. "This is a calculated move to disturb the talks to be held in Geneva between the Government and the LTTE. We demand that the Government to act urgently in this matter and take appropriate action to save the dialogue," Mavai Senathirajah, TNA MP for Jaffna District told a press conference after walking out of the Sri Lankan Parliament.
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Sexual assault at Kopay SLA camp suspected, says TNA MP

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 01 February 2006, 02:25 GMT]
Tamil National Alliance (TNA) Jaffna district parliamentarian S Gajendran brought to the attention of Sri Lanka President Mahinda Rajapakse that residents in Kopay strongly suspect sexual assaults on women are taking place inside a Kopay Sri Lanka Army (SLA) camp, the parliamentarian told the local media, Tuesday. Several residents of the area had complained to the parliamentarian that they had heard a woman screaming for several minutes inside the camp at 5 p.m. Tuesday.
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Police constable shot, injured in Muttur

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 31 January 2006, 10:55 GMT]
Ranjith Ratnayake, 30, a police officer attached to Pachchanoor police, was shot and seriously injured by unknown gunmen at 5.30 a.m. Tuesday, while he was duty at the Pachchanoor police post sentry, police sources said.
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SLA cordon, search Thumpalai area

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 31 January 2006, 10:26 GMT]
Lourdes Mary Catholic Church area in Thumpalai, Point Pedro was cordoned off and house-to-house search conducted by more than 500 Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers from 7 a.m. to 10 a.m. Tuesday morning, sources from Point-Pedro said. Residents of the area were not allowed to getout of their houses and vehicular traffic was blocked from entering or leaving the area during the search operation.
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Indian Air Force Chief arrives in Colombo

[TamilNet, Monday, 30 January 2006, 14:04 GMT]
The Indian Air Force (IAF) chief, Air Chief Marshal S.P.Tyagi arrived Monday in Sri Lanka on a five-day official visit, Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) officials in Colombo said. During his stay in Sri Lanka, he is scheduled to meet SL President Mahinda Rajapakse, Prime Minister Ratnasiri Wickremanayake, Defence Secretary Gothabaya Rajapakse, Chief of Defence Staff Admiral Daya Sandagiri and the commanders of the three forces.
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Another grenade attack on civilian residence in Vavuniya

[TamilNet, Monday, 30 January 2006, 08:38 GMT]
Unknown attackers lobbed a grenade at a civilian residence in Vavuniya Sunday night. No one was wounded in the attack, which was the sixth grenade attack to be reported on civilian residences within the last few days, Vavuniya Police said. At least two houses of reputed businessmen were among the targets in Vavuniya. Incidents of extortions and violence, allegedly by paramilitary cadres, have escalated in Vavuniya.
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Tamil farmer shot dead in Lingapuram

[TamilNet, Sunday, 29 January 2006, 12:34 GMT]
Unidentified persons shot dead Mr.Thambiah Jeyarajah (50), father of six children Saturday night around 9.30 p.m.while guarding his paddy crop in Lingapuram, a Tamil village in Seruvila division, down south of Trincomalee district. He was the second Tamil farmer killed in Lingapuram within two weeks' period, Police sources said.


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Three vie for Jaffna campus VC post

[TamilNet, Saturday, 28 January 2006, 15:12 GMT]
The Jaffna University Senate Saturday decided to send the names of three Professors for the post of Vice Chancellor which is to fall vacant on March 12 when the incumbent, Professor S.Mohanathas, leaves office. Jaffna University Senate, which met Saturday afternoon, selected three out of six professors who contested for the post and decided to send these names to the President Mr.Mahinda Rajapakse for his choice through the University Grants Commission (UGC), sources said.


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Razeek cadre's residence damaged in grenade attack

[TamilNet, Friday, 27 January 2006, 11:13 GMT]
Paramilitary Razeek Group cadre Mr Baskaran's house was damaged Thursday night at 9.30 when an unknown assailant hurled a grenade, sources said. The house is located at Thiruchchenthuru Temple Road in Kallady, Batticaloa.
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Mannar fishermen's sufferings spotlighted

[TamilNet, Thursday, 26 January 2006, 17:33 GMT]
About twenty thousand fishermen in Mannar district have been directed by the Sri Lanka Navy (SLN) to submit their application forms before January 31, with two photographs of each applicant authorized by their respective village level officers (Grama Sevaka Officers), fisheries inspectors and secretaries of fisheries societies, to obtain special permit for fishing in Mannar sea. Starting from February every fisherman should possess a permit before he goes out to sea to fish, SLN said.
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Tamil civilian shot dead in Muttur

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 25 January 2006, 17:01 GMT]
Mr.Thambipillai Selvarajah (48) a mason by profession was shot dead by unidentified men Wednesday night around 7.30 p.m. close to the market in Muttur town in Trincomalee district. He was the second Tamil civilian shot dead by unidentified persons in the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) controlled Muttur town since Tuesday morning and the third in the Trincomalee district, police sources said.


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Two UNP parliamentarians cross over

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 25 January 2006, 17:00 GMT]
Two senior opposition United National Party (UNP) parliamentarians have crossed over to the SL Government. Sri Lanka's Opposition Leader Mr. Ranil Wickremesighe on Monday has told Mr. Erik Solheim, the visiting Norwegian Peace Envoy, that he will withdraw his support for peace efforts if Sri Lanka's President Mahinda Rajapakse tried to buy UNP members, sources in Colombo said.
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Journalist killed for reporting on paramilitary abuses- RSF

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 24 January 2006, 18:23 GMT]
Reporters sans frontières (RSF) in a press release issued Tuesday said that Subramaniyam Sugirdharajan, a correspondent of the Tamil-language daily Sudar Oli was killed for writing about "abuses committed in his region by Tamil paramilitary groups," and that in Sri Lanka, "the impunity enjoyed by the instigators and perpetrators of these murders encourages more violence against the press."
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Intelligence Chief Zacky in Jaffna to step up campaign

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 24 January 2006, 12:40 GMT]
Director of Military Intelligence (DMI) Brigadier Rizvy Zacky, a hardliner, has been recently posted as Brigadier General Staff Officer (GSO, Intelligence) at the Sri Lanka Army Head Quarters (SF HQ) Jaffna in a major reshuffle of the SLA and Intelligence apparatus. Execution-style killings of five students in Trincomalee and three women members of a family in Jaffna mark a stark change of pattern in the escalation of intensified serial killings of non-combatant civilians in Sri Lanka Army (SLA) controlled areas in the NorthEast. The pattern of violence also marks the return of hardliners who seems to prefer terror to subdue a population.
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US Tamils question timing of Ambassador Lunstead's speech

[TamilNet, Monday, 23 January 2006, 00:41 GMT]
Questioning Ambassador Lunstead's "reckless exercise at a time of great risk to the peace process, and just a few days before Mr. Erik Solheim’s visit, which everyone was looking to as the only way of defusing an extremely dangerous situation," US Tamils, in a memorandum to Secretary of State, Dr Condoleezza Rice and to Mr Nicholas Burns, the U.S. under secretary of state for political affairs, said they hoped that Mr. Burns, who will be in Sri Lanka during Mr. Solheim’s visit, "will clarify to everyone what US policy is at this critical time, and help revive the peace track."
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3 SLA troops injured in Vadamaradchy grenade attack, civilian beaten

[TamilNet, Sunday, 22 January 2006, 17:59 GMT]
Three Sri Lanka Army (SLA) troopers were injured in a grenade attack by unknown assailants in Thumpalai, Point Pedro at 3 p.m. Sunday, sources in Jaffna said. The soldiers severely beat a civilian worker during a cordon and search operation conducted by the SLA in the surrounding areas.
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Home guard, driver shot dead in Serunuwara

[TamilNet, Saturday, 21 January 2006, 10:29 GMT]
Unidentified men shot and killed Nilantha Madugalle aged 26, a home guard and Mahinda Navaretna aged 34, a three wheel driver Saturday morning around 8.35 a.m. at Serunuwara police division when they were going towards Mavilaru area, police sources said.
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Sri Lanka continues to violate state obligations towards Tamils, say Tamil parties

[TamilNet, Saturday, 21 January 2006, 00:20 GMT]
The Government of Sri Lanka not only failed to carry out proper investigations into the assasinations of reputed Tamil leaders, parliamentarians, journalists and activists, but it has also failed to take appropriate actions to prevent the recurrence of such crimes against the ordinary Tamil civilians, all four Tamil parties in the Lankan parliament charged in a joint memorandum sent to SL President Mahinda Rajapakse Friday. The joint statement was issued by the Tamil National Alliance (TNA), Ceylon Workers Congress (CWC), Upcountry Peoples' Front (UPF) and Western Province Peoples' Front (WPPF) that jointly staged a protest campaign within the chambers of the Sri Lankan Parliament.
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SLN soldiers attack, injure five Karainagar fishermen

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 18 January 2006, 12:04 GMT]
Sri Lanka Navy (SLAN) soldiers who were patrolling the northern seas off Jaffna islets attacked and seriously injured five fishermen from Karainagar at 12 midnight Tuesday, sources from Jaffna said. The injured fishermen with broken limbs have been admitted to the Jaffna Teaching Hospital, medical sources said.
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