Fr. Packiyaranjit's funeral held in Mannaar

[TamilNet, Saturday, 29 September 2007, 17:05 GMT]
The funeral of Rev.Fr. Nicholaspillai Packiyaranjit, who was killed in a claymore explosion in Mallaavi in LTTE controlled area on Wednesday, was held Saturday afternoon at Mannaar cemetery with large number of people attending. Earlier the body was kept at Bishop House and at St.Sebastian Cathedral for public to pay their homage for the popular priest known for his humanitarian work.
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Col. Soosai: "Southern polity trapped in family centric power politics"

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 26 September 2007, 17:03 GMT]
Col. Soosai, Liberation Tigers special commander of the Sea Tigers, addressing a gathering in Puthukkudiyiruppu, on Wednesday, to mark the 20th death anniversary of Thileepan, former LTTE political head of Jaffna district, and the 6th death anniversary of the founder of Air Tigers, Col. Shankar, said that the southern polity in Sri Lanka has repeatedly failed to demonstrate the ability to transcend itself from the family centric power politics into the politics of statesmanship, pointing at Rajapaksa brother's "family rule" in the south.
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Catholic priest on humanitarian mission killed in DPU Claymore attack

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 26 September 2007, 12:12 GMT]
Rev. Fr. Nicholaspillai Packiyaranjith, 40, the Mannaar district coordinator of Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS) was killed when Sri Lanka Army Deep Penetration Unit (DPU) attackers launched a Claymore attack on his Hiace vehicle, at Kalvi'laan on Maangku'lam - Ve'l'laangku'lam road, Wednesday evening, Tamileelam Police officials in Mallaavi said. Fr. Ranjth was bringing baby milk and essential humanitarian supplies for displaced children in his vehicle, JRS sources in Mannaar said.
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SLAF bombs Pooneryn

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 25 September 2007, 08:23 GMT]
Two Kfir bombers of the Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) on Tuesday carried out two bombing strikes on Pooneryn (Poonakari) division situated along the northwestern coast of Liberation Tigers of Tamileelam (LTTE) controlled Vanni mainland. Civilian settlements were the targets, initial reports said. First attack took place betweeen 12:15 and 12:40 p.m., and the second attack lasted till 1:20 p.m., according to initial reports.
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Tamil sovereignty, basis of peace talks - LTTE

[TamilNet, Monday, 24 September 2007, 17:37 GMT]
Liberation Tigers of Tamileelam (LTTE), in a statement issued Monday, urged the UN General Assembly which has gathered for its 62nd session in New York, USA, to recognize the concept of the sovereignty of the Tamil people and support the peace process in accordance with this principle. The LTTE statement characterized the confidence of some members of the International Community on Sri Lanka's latest All Party Representative Committee (APRC) which has not brought any constructive outcome to date, as a misplaced confidence.
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Students protest SLAF bombings near Vanni schools

[TamilNet, Sunday, 23 September 2007, 12:16 GMT]
Students, parents, teachers, and principals in Puthukkuddiyiruppu in Mullaiththeevu district, protested Friday against the continuing Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) bombing on areas close to schools in Vanni. They marched to the International Committee of Red Cross (ICRC) office in Puthukkuddiyiruppu and handed an appeal, requesting ICRC to intervene to stop the indiscriminate bombings by the SLAF, sources in Vanni said.
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Monks attend Mannaar peace march

[TamilNet, Saturday, 22 September 2007, 05:58 GMT]
Anti-War National Front and Felix Organization organized a peace procession in Mannaar town Saturday morning starting in front of the Mannaar courthouse and ending at St.Sebastian Church premises via main road. More than one hundred delegates comprising of Buddhist priests and peace activists from Anuradhapura participated in the procession and public meeting with their counterparts in Mannaar town.
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Kumaratunge to visit New York

[TamilNet, Saturday, 22 September 2007, 05:19 GMT]
Ms Chandrika Kumaratunge, former President of Sri Lanka, is scheduled to leave for New York Tuesday morning at the invitation of Bill Clinton Foundation. Her US visit coincides with President Mahinda Rajapakse trip to New York. Ms Chandrika Kumaratunge held the Executive Presidency post from 1994 till 2005, for two terms.
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SLAF bombs Visuvamadu for 2nd day, civilian killed, 12 wounded

[TamilNet, Saturday, 22 September 2007, 04:58 GMT]
An 85-year-old man was killed and 12 civilians, including his son and daughter who is a teacher, a six-months-old baby, a 9-year-old girl and two couples, were wounded when Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) Kfir bombers attacked Punnai Neeraavi village in Visuvamadu Saturday between 7:00 and 7:25 a.m. Civilians at the Visuvamadu market, situated 350 meters from the attack site, fled away in panic. The bombed area is located bordering the Ki'linochchi and Mullaiththeevu districts.
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TNA urges resettlement of Musali displaced

[TamilNet, Friday, 21 September 2007, 11:13 GMT]
Mr.Selvam Adaikalanathan, TNA Wanni district Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarian, in an urgent letter, has appealed to Sri Lanka's President Mahinda Rajapakse to take steps to resettle all families displaced from Musali divisional secretariat division in Mannaar district before the northeast monsoon, TNA sources said.
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SLAF bombs Visuvamadu in Vanni

[TamilNet, Friday, 21 September 2007, 08:44 GMT]
Two Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) kfir bombers dropped eight bombs in two sorties Friday between 12:15 a.m and 12:40 p.m on Visuvamadu junction, behind the shops in the area, in Puthukkudiyiruppu DS division of Mullaitheevu distirict, sources in Vanni said. A 65-year-old man identified as Nagappan and a child aged 3 years 3 months sustained injuries in the bombing while 5 students in a school located 800 meters from the bombed area fainted in shock of the exploding bombs.
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SLA intensifies security in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 18 September 2007, 02:46 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army (SLA) in Jaffna, in response to the recent increasing number of attacks against their troops in Jaffna peninsula, launched search operations and intensive checking in Jaffna town, Valikaamam areas, and coastal areas of Vadamaraadchi beginning Monday morning, sources in Jaffna said.


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Puthukudiyiruppu children malnourished

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 18 September 2007, 01:13 GMT]
United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), in a a six month long research involving 5250 children in the administrative area of Regional Health officer of Puthukudiyiruppu in Mullaitheevu district, Wanni, has found widespread serious malnourishment among the children.


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Pirapaharan pays homage to Thileepan on 20th anniversary

[TamilNet, Saturday, 15 September 2007, 13:11 GMT]
Leader of Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, Velupillai Pirapaharan, paid homage to Lt. Col. Thileepan (Rasiah Parthipan), at an undisclosed location in Vanni Saturday. Thileepan, LTTE's political wing leader for the Jaffna district, who fasted unto death in a twelve days' campaign putting forward five demands to the Indian government to meet the aspirations of the Tamil people soon after the signing of the Indo-Sri Lankan agreement in 1987.
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Bishop Malcolm Ranjith refutes press reports over his meeting with Rajapaksa

[TamilNet, Friday, 14 September 2007, 01:26 GMT]
Bishop Rt. Rev. Dr. Malcom, the secretary of the Congregation of Divine Worship of the Vatican, who visited Vanni Thursday to meet Liberation Tigers Political Head S.P. Thamilchelvan, has refuted press reports in Colombo which said that the Bishop had appreciated the Sri Lankan president for his measures to "wipe out terrorism," when he met the SL president, Mahinda Rajapaksa, Monday. "I never said I appreciated anything connected with the war. I did not go for the meeting with the President to say such things," Bishop Malcolm dismissed the media reports in Colombo. "I don't appreciate war mongering or any violence," he futher told the reporters in Ki'linochchi.
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Hope amid tragedy

[TamilNet, Saturday, 01 September 2007, 19:40 GMT]
Antony, a six year old boy lost his leg, his 4-year old brother Reginathan was killed, his mother and 6-month old brother were injured, and his father Jegan lost his leg during 02 January attack by Kfir fast attack aircrafts of the Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) at the coastal hamlet of Padakuththu’rai in Iluppaikadavai, Mannar town. Jegan lost four of his siblings. Amidst this tragedy, Antony showed remarkable resilience and a unique enthusiasm for his school work when TamilNet visited the family for an interview this week.
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Census in East after civilian displacement

[TamilNet, Friday, 31 August 2007, 13:02 GMT]
Tamil National Alliance (TNA) Parliamentarian blamed the Government of Sri Lanka Thursday, for conducting a census in Batticaloa district after Tamil people were driven out of the district due to the military offensives, said R. Sampanthan, MP, the Parliamentary Group Leader of TNA, Batticaloa district members of Parliament, T. Kanagasabai, S. Jeyananthamoorthy, Miss. K. Thangeswary and P. Ariyaneththiran, Amparai district MP, K. Pathmanathan and Jaffna district MP Suresh Premachchandran, in a joint press communiqué issued Thursday.


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STF attacks underage youths en route to parents - LTTE

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 28 August 2007, 06:56 GMT]
Fourteen underage youths, 9 boys and 5 girls, who were being taken to be handed over to their parents in Amparai district by the political division of the Liberation Tigers of Tamileelam (LTTE) and the members of the Child Protection Authority (CPA), dispatched from Vanni to ensure the release, were ambushed by the Special Task Force (STF) commandos at Thaa'ndiyadi in Amparai district Monday around 6:00 p.m. The underage youths were being taken to a civilian populated area in accordance with an arrangement for handover reached between the LTTE and the UN children's agency, UNICEF, LTTE District Political Head of Ampaa'rai, P. Kavaiyarasan told TamilNet.
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STF ambushes released underage youth

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 28 August 2007, 04:50 GMT]
Fourteen underage youths, 9 boys and 5 girls, who were being taken to be handed over to their parents in Amparai district by the political division of the Liberation Tigers of Tamileelam (LTTE) and the members of the Child Protection Authority (CPA), dispatched from Vanni to ensure the release, were ambushed by the Special Task Force (STF) commandos at Thaa'ndiyadi in Amparai district Monday around 6:00 p.m. The underage youths were being taken to a civilian populated area in accordance with an arrangement for handover reached between the LTTE and the UN children’s agency, UNICEF, LTTE District Political Head of Ampaa'rai, P. Kavaiyarasan told TamilNet.
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STF ambushes released underage youth en route to parents - LTTE

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 28 August 2007, 02:46 GMT]
Fourteen underage youths, 9 boys and 5 girls, who were being taken to be handed over to their parents in Amparai district by the political division of the Liberation Tigers of Tamileelam (LTTE) and the members of the Child Protection Authority (CPA), dispatched from Vanni to ensure the release, were ambushed by the Special Task Force (STF) commandos at Thaa'ndiyadi in Amparai district Monday around 6:00 p.m. The underage youths were being taken to a civilian populated area in accordance with an arrangement for handover reached between the LTTE and the UN children’s agency, UNICEF, LTTE District Political Head of Ampaa'rai, P. Kavaiyarasan told TamilNet.
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