International community must intervene to stop attacks on East

[TamilNet, Sunday, 11 March 2007, 18:50 GMT]
More than hundred and fifteen thousand people have been rendered homeless due to the indiscriminate and persistent shelling of Paduvankarai region in the Esatern province by the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) since 5th March, in its attempt to invade the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) held territory, T. Ariyanenthiran, Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarian for Batticaloa said in an urgent appeal on behalf of the TNA, requesting the International Community to intervene immediately to stop the Sri Lanka Government's war on Tamils in the east.
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Sri Lanka's gross violations of Human Rights must stop- Selvy

[TamilNet, Sunday, 11 March 2007, 10:37 GMT]
Humanitarian Spokesperson of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), N. Selvy, Saturday expressed dismay at International Community's discourse with Colombo by failing to adopt a humanitarian strategy to end the culture of impunity in Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL) administered territory. Despite expressing reservations on the effectiveness of the International Independent Group of Eminent Persons (IIEGP) according to the terms and reference of Colombo, Selvy said: "if the monitoring system could discipline the Sri Lankan state and bring the culprits to book, it would be worthwhile."
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Tigers hand over 4 STF bodies to ICRC in Batticaloa

[TamilNet, Saturday, 10 March 2007, 06:27 GMT]
Liberation Tigers Batticaloa District Deputy Political Head S. Seeralan handed over four bodies of Sri Lankan Special Task Force (STF) personnel killed Friday at Pullumalai, to the Batticaloa ICRC Saturday morning, Tiger officials in Batticaloa said. The LTTE has thwarted STF ground troop movement and seized 1 PK LMG, 1 RPG, 1 M16A2 assault rifle, 5 T56-2 guns and ammunition including 40mm mortar shells. A three pronged ground offensive with SLA/STF artillery barrage has forced more than 40 000 Tamils to flee their villages in LTTE controlled area.
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Aid workers massacre probe flawed- ICJ

[TamilNet, Saturday, 10 March 2007, 06:09 GMT]
Criticizing the probe into the massacre of 17 aid workers of French NGO Internationale Contre la Faim (ACF) in Muttur as flawed, the official observer of International Committee of Jurists (ICJ), Michael Brinbaum, said the investigators had hastily acted on the presumption that the killings were done by the LTTE, and the mid-hearing substitution of a Tamil magistrate was "unlawful." He advocated the use of Australian experts to analyze ballistic evidence and said it is imperative the Sri Lankan Government acts to "dispel serious concerns about whether [its] justice system is now able to carry out independent and credible investigations."
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55 civilians killed in Mannar in 14 months

[TamilNet, Saturday, 10 March 2007, 00:32 GMT]
Fifty-five Tamil civilians were killed, 105 injured, and 16 reported missing in Mannar district from 2006 January to February 2007 in military operations carried out by the Sri Lanka forces, civil sources said.
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40,000 civilians displaced in two days in Batticaloa

[TamilNet, Friday, 09 March 2007, 13:09 GMT]
More than 40,000 civilians were displaced within the last 48 hours in Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) controlled Paduvankarai area as heavy artillery and Multi-Barrel Rocket Launcher fire by the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) continued, forcing the civilians to flee from Kokkaddicholai and the surrounding villages. "Batticaloa is experiencing another tragic humanitarian crisis without the attention of the International Community," charged Batticaloa district parliamentarian S. Jeyanandamoorthy. Meanwhile, a third front, opened by the Sri Lankan Special Task Force troopers at Pullumalai, 31 km southwest of Batticaloa, was thwarted by the Tigers, according to the LTTE.
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Vessel Yala to carry Jaffna mail from Trinco

[TamilNet, Friday, 09 March 2007, 11:50 GMT]
The backlog of about six thousand parcels lying in the Trincomalee general post office and about two thousand such parcels expected to reach east port town from other parts are expected to be dispatched to Jaffna by a vessel "Yala" on March 13, said Trincomalee Post Master.
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SLA reopens Uyilankulam checkpoint

[TamilNet, Friday, 09 March 2007, 11:39 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army (SLA) Friday morning reopened the Uyilankulam checkpoint, the gateway to Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) held territory in the Mannar district. The Uyilankulam checkpoint was closed by the SLA following a clash between the government troops and LTTE cadres Wednesday, sources said.


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Thousands displaced in fresh Sri Lankan offensive

[TamilNet, Thursday, 08 March 2007, 13:35 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army has launched heavy artillery barrage towards Liberation Tigers controlled territories in Batticaloa district since Thursday morning as Sri Lankan Special Task Force (STF) began a two pronged ground offensive from Chenkalady through A-15 (Batticaloa Badulla Road) and from Pulukunawa and Syambalanduwa. Around 10 000 civilians were forced to flee from the shelling inside the LTTE territory. Liberation Tigers said their fighters were engaged in a defensive fight on two fronts. Two civilians were killed in SLA shelling on Thandiyadi. Access routes were closed Thursday morning. Wireless telephone link and mobile network remain dead in the district.
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Parents visit Sinhala soldiers in LTTE custody

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 07 March 2007, 23:06 GMT]
The parents and relatives of five soldiers of Sri Lanka armed forces currently in custody of Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) visited the soldiers in Kilinochchi Wednesday, LTTE sources in Kilinochchi said. The Red Cross facilitated the visit. The group arrived in Kilinochchi from Vavuniya and met the soldiers at a remand prison of the Thamileelam Police around 11:00 a.m. in the presence of V. Aravindan, Probation Officer of Thamileelam Police , Kumarasamy Kanagalingam, the Chief Inspector of Thamileelam Police and Selvaretnam Jeyapalan, the Chief Prison Guard.
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Policeman killed at Parapankandal in Mannar

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 07 March 2007, 10:12 GMT]
A police constable was killed Wednesday morning at 6:45 a.m. when uidentified men attacked a police party with small arms at Parapankandal area close to Uyilankulam along Mannar-Madawachchi road, sources in Mannar said
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Sri Lanka parliament debates emergency extension motion

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 07 March 2007, 10:10 GMT]
Ratnasiri Wickremanayake, Sri Lanka's Prime Minister tabled a motion in parliament Wednesday morning seeking the approval to extend the State of Emergency for another month. The State of Emergency was declared on 13th August 2005, a day after the assassination of Lakshman Kadirgamar, former Foreign Minister in his residence in Colombo. Since then State of Emergency is being extended every month with the approval of parliament.
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JVP, JHU to appeal court order on CFA

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 07 March 2007, 10:09 GMT]
The Sinhala nationalist Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) and all monks' party, Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU), Wednesday said they will appeal the order of the Court of Appeal dismissing their petitions seeking the cancellation of the Ceasefire Agreement (CFA) signed by the then Sri Lanka' Prime Minister Ranil Wickremasinghe with Velupillai Pirapaharan, leader of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), on 22 February 2002, legal sources in Colombo said. Justice S.Sriskandarajah Tuesday said the petitioners have no valid legal reasons to seek the cancellation of the CFA and the court has no jurisdiction to order such act.
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SLA fires artillery on LTTE-held villages in Mannar

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 07 March 2007, 10:07 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army (SLA) Wednesday launched indiscriminate artillery fire on Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) held villages in the Mannar district. The attack commenced at 8.30 a.m. and continued till about 12.30 p.m., sources in Mannar said. Several hundred residents from villages Palaikudi, Parapukadanthan and Adamban fled from their houses and sought refuge in Madhu church.
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SL Government's respect for Human Rights declines in 2006- US

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 07 March 2007, 05:14 GMT]
US Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2006, released by the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, reported human rights problems in Sri Lanka including "unlawful killings by government agents, high profile killings by unknown perpetrators, politically motivated killings by paramilitary forces associated with the government and the LTTE, and disappearances."
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LTTE shells hit Manthuvil Base

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 07 March 2007, 01:26 GMT]
Artillery shells launched by the Liberation Tigers of Tamileelam (LTTE) hit the 52 Brigade Head Office of the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) situated at Manthuvil in Thenmaradchy region in Jaffna district around 12:00 noon Tuesday. Two shells fell inside the Base and one outside it. Ambulance was seen rushing out of the Base towards Palaly Military Hospital following the attack, civilians of the area said.
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SLAF bombs Vanni, DPU Claymore targets civilian bus

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 06 March 2007, 13:51 GMT]
Sri Lanka Air Force Kfir bombers Tuesday morning bombed Vallipunam in Mullaithivu district. No casualties were reported. The air raid was reported at 8:30 a.m., according to LTTE's Military Spokesman Irasiah Ilanthirayan. Meanwhile a Deep Penetration Unit of the Sri Lanka Army has detonated a Claymore mine targeting a van carrying civilians from Mallavi to Palappani in Mullaithivu district Tuesday afternoon.
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Mannar court orders remand for three including a police constable

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 06 March 2007, 13:02 GMT]
Three suspects including a police constable, arrested on suspicion that they attempted to transport banned goods to LTTE controlled areas in Mannar district, were ordered remand till March 8 by Mannar Additional Magistrate Mr.T.J.Pirapaharan. The police constable had been working in Mannar Police and the other two are the driver and cleaner of the lorry, which was seized with banned goods, sources said.


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Appeal Court dismisses petitions challenging CFA

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 06 March 2007, 10:34 GMT]
Sri Lanka's Court of Appeal Tuesday rejected three petitions, one by the Sinhala nationalist Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna and the other two by all monks' party Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU), challenging the legal validity of the Ceasefire agreement signed on 22 February 2002 by Ranil Wickremasinghe, then Prime Minister of the United National Party (UNP) government of Sri Lanka and Velupillai Pirapaharan, leader of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), legal sources in Colombo said.
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UNP demands to know JVP, JHU's position on SLFP-LTTE deal

[TamilNet, Monday, 05 March 2007, 21:27 GMT]
The main opposition United national Party (UNP) Monday requested the Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU), all monks' party and Sinhala nationalist Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) to state their stand on the allegation leveled by ousted ministers Mangala Samaraweera and Sripathi Sooriyarachchi that some politicians of ruling Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) had struck a secret deal with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) before the last presidential election.
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