SLN bans fishing east, west of KKS harbor

[TamilNet, Friday, 06 January 2006, 00:09 GMT]
Sri Lanka Security Forces have banned fishing on seas east and west of Kankesanthurai Harbor High Security Zone (HSZ), stripping nearly six hundred fisher families from their livelihood, said K Thavaratnam, president of Jaffna District Consortium of Fisheries Unions. According to Sri Lanka Navy (SLN) officials the ban will be lifted only when violents incidents subside and Jaffna district returns to normalcy, Mr Thavaratnam further said.
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One youth killed, three injured in Valaichenai grenade attack

[TamilNet, Thursday, 05 January 2006, 16:42 GMT]
Mr Kunam Thanus, 22, was killed and three others seriously injured when unknown gunmen hurled a grenade and fired gunshots at the youths Thursday night at 8 p.m. near a tailor shop in Kanagaratnam Road, Valaichenai, sources from Batticaloa said.
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Man without National ID card, shot dead by SLA

[TamilNet, Thursday, 05 January 2006, 11:54 GMT]
Rasaratnam Kuganenthiran, 24, also called Sinnathamby, a resident of Puthukkulam in Kiran Batticaloa was shot dead by Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers Thursday 9.30 a.m. in front of the offices of a local NGO, Thadagam, on the Korakallimadu Batticaloa-Valaichenai Highway, sources in Batticaloa said. Sources said the Mr Kuganenthiran did not have the National Identity card in his possession.
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Indian Executive shot dead in Colombo

[TamilNet, Thursday, 05 January 2006, 11:25 GMT]
Mr Atmakuru Prasad, 25, from Hydrabad in Andhra Province in India was shot dead by unknown gunmen at 9.30 p.m. Wednesday near Alfred Place in Dehiwela Colombo, sources said. Mr Prashad was returning to his house after finishing his dinner at a Galle Road hotel when he was shot.
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SLA fire seriously injures two Jaffna youths

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 04 January 2006, 11:37 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers indiscriminately fired at youths near Ainthusanthi (Five Junction) in the outer perimeter area of Jaffna town Wednesday 11.45 p.m. seriously injuring Rasaratnam Kandeepan, 25, from Urumpirai west, and Poolokasundaram Selvakrishnar, 30, from Manvetty Navanthurai, sources in Jaffna said.
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Tamil Americans urge Co-chairs to promote "equal partnership for peace”

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 04 January 2006, 00:35 GMT]
A group of US organizations representing Tamil Americans, in a letter sent to Co-chairs of the Tokyo Donor Conference Monday, welcomed the Co-chairs' call for an immediate meeting of the Government of Sri Lanka and the Liberation Tigers, and urged the Co-chairs to make clear to both sides that attacks on civilians will not be tolerated, ask military to withdraw from civilians homes and public buildings and to threaten SL Government with sanctions if steps are not taken to disarm paramilitaries.
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Trinco Students' funeral to be held Thursday

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 03 January 2006, 17:10 GMT]
Funerals of the five Tamil students killed by Sri Lanka armed forces on Tuesday will take place together on Thursday morning in the Trincomalee Hindu Cemetery. Bodies of the students are now kept in their respective houses for Trincomalee residents to pay last respects. The bodies will be brought to Trincomalee Sri Koneswara Hindu College on Thursday morning around 9 a.m., sources said.


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TNA accuses Security forces of killing Tamil youth in Trinco

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 03 January 2006, 15:53 GMT]
The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) Tuesday charged that the State armed forces have killed five Tamil youths in Trincomalee town and injured two others. "The five youths killed came by their death as a result of gunshot injuries. The terror of the State's armed forces has been unleashed against the Tamil people. It would be futile for the State to think that the Tamil people can be suppressed in this way," TNA said in its press release issued Tuesday.


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SL Navy blocks fishermen from entering Northern Seas - Jaffna MP

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 03 January 2006, 15:06 GMT]
Sri Lanka Navy (SLN) personnel in Valvettithurai and Polikandy coastal areas in Jaffna have blocked fishermen from fishing for the past 3 days, Jaffna District Tamil National Alliance (TNA) Member of Parliament Mr.Selvarajah Gajendran told TamilNet Tuesday. The fishermen who are dependent on daily income from fishing for their livelihood were blocked also from moving their boats to other parts of the Jaffna peninsula, the MP said.
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Free Tamil women from fear of rape- Sithamparanathan

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 03 January 2006, 11:33 GMT]
International community should condemn the acts of sexual harassment and rape by the Sri Lanka security forces on Tamil women and urge the Sri Lanka Government to vacate the military from Jaffna, said Ms Pathmini Sithamparanathan, Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarian for Jaffna and a social activist, in a letter sent Tuesday to Ambassadors of Co-chairs and other European countries in Colombo.
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Chief Hindu priest shot dead in Kiran

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 03 January 2006, 11:12 GMT]
Sellathamby Visagaratnam, 55, Chief priest at the Santhively Kannagi Amman temple was shot dead by unknown gunmen on Monday night at 10-30 pm at Alaiyadychcholai in Kiran Valaichenai, sources in Batticaloa said.
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Mannar youth missing

[TamilNet, Monday, 02 January 2006, 11:35 GMT]
Mr.Navaratnam Thiyogu Vasanthakumar, 25, who was taken away by three masked men on the 26 December night has not returned home yet, his wife, Ms Siromi, 23, mother of four year old girl Monday lodged a complaint with the Mannar Citizen Committee, Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) and the Sri Lanka Human Rights Commission (SLHRC), civil society sources said.
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War and Peace- LTTE way: Taraki, 1991

[TamilNet, Monday, 02 January 2006, 00:08 GMT]
In the 12 June 1991 issue of Sri Lanka's English daily, Island International, late Dharmeratnam Sivaram, popular journalist and Senior editor at TamilNet, writes on issues that dominated the early Premadasa period after the departure of IPKF as prevailing climate appeared ripe for peace talks. However, on the day the article appeared, two soldiers were killed in a Batticaloa landmine attack. Enraged soldiers massacred 150 Tamil civilians (13 June) in Kokkadichcholai. LTTE retaliated by killing 19 soldiers (20 June) in an ambush, leading to continued blood letting as Eelam War II (June 1990 to 1994) was fought without any hopes of peace talks.
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Christian prelates meet LTTE in Kilinochchi

[TamilNet, Saturday, 31 December 2005, 10:05 GMT]
Bishops and Senior Clergymen from different districts across Sri Lanka met with the Liberation Tigers leadership in Kilinochchi Peace Secretariat at 11.45 a.m. Friday. Discussions focussed on exploring ways to return normalcy to the NorthEast which has witnessed increasing levels of violence in the last few weeks, sources in Kilinochchi said. Prelates expressed their deep desire that peace return to NorthEast.
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SLN withdraws passes from Punguduthivu fishermen

[TamilNet, Friday, 30 December 2005, 14:55 GMT]
Angered by the damages to the Sri Lanka Navy (SLN) building caused by the residents of Punguduthivu when they protested against the rape of Tharsini (20), the SLN command has withdrawn fishing passes from Punguduthivu fishermen, Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam, Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarian said Friday. Mr Ponnambalam has written a letter to Ratnasiri Wickramanayake, Deputy Minister of Defence, requesting him to direct the SLN to immediately reissue the passes.
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SLN's restrictions strip Mannar fishermen of livelihood- Selvam

[TamilNet, Friday, 30 December 2005, 10:50 GMT]
Mr.Selvam Adaikalanathan, Wanni district Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarian Thursday appealed to Sri Lanka's President Mr.Mahinda Rajapakse by a memorandum to take immediate steps to lift the ban on using boats with 30 HP engines and restrictions in taking kerosene by fishermen of Mannar district. He said the restrictions imposed by the Sri Lanka Navy (SLN) after the violent incidents of December 22 have deprived the livelihood of many local fishermen.


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Pararajasingham slaying has endangered direct talks - TNA MPs

[TamilNet, Thursday, 29 December 2005, 16:33 GMT]
Addressing the mourners who had gathered to pay the last tribute to the slain Tamil National Alliance MP, Mr. Joseph Pararajasingham, TNA parliamentarians Mavai Senathirajah and M.K. Sivajilingam said that the Government of Sri Lanka and the Sri Lankan President, in his capacity as Defense Minister, are responsible for the continued engagement of paramilitary cadres and for the killing of the MP. "The whole affair of resuming the peace process has been placed at maximum risk by the brutal act," Mr. Sivajilngam told the gathering.
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Jaffna Catholic hierarchy mourns the death of Pararajasingham

[TamilNet, Thursday, 29 December 2005, 13:38 GMT]
The Bishop of Jaffna and the priests belonging to the diocese expressed profound sadness at the loss of Joseph Pararajasingham and said the act was unjustifiable and unacceptable to men of good-will. "Perpetrators of this inhuman act will, one day, stand trial in the presence of the creator," Bishop of Jaffna Thomas Soundaranaygam said in his message.
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Policeman shot, seriously wounded in Batticaloa

[TamilNet, Thursday, 29 December 2005, 11:40 GMT]
Unidentified gunmen shot and wounded Alagaratnam Lingarajah, 36, a Sri Lanka Police constable, Wednesday night 8:45 p.m. at Thandawanveli Telecom Juction in Batticaloa town. Gunmen riding in a motorbike opened fire on the policeman, who was off-duty and was going to a shop to purchase food, Batticaloa Police said. The wounded policeman has been admitted to Batticaloa Hospital.
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Mannar observes hartal condemning Pararajasingham killing

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 28 December 2005, 18:44 GMT]
A general shutdown was observed in the Mannar district Wednesday, condemning the killing of the late Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarian, Mr. Joseph Pararajasingham. Mannar District Tamil Resurgence Movement organized the hartal. Normal life in Mannar town and its suburbs was completely paralyzed, sources said.


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