LTTE Commander killed in Claymore attack

[TamilNet, Saturday, 10 June 2006, 10:10 GMT]
Lieutenant Colonel Mahenthi, an LTTE Commander in the Mannar district, was killed along with three LTTE cadres in a Claymore attack carried out by the Sri Lanka Army soldiers on Vellankulam - Thunukkai Road on Saturday morning, LTTE officials in Killinochchi said. A civilian farmer, seriously wounded in a Claymore attack Saturday morning around 6 a.m., succumbed to his wounds at Killinochchi hospital. Two employees of the World Bank-funded North East Irrigated Agriculture Project (NEIAP) were wounded in a separate attack in Nedunkerni. Claymore attacks by the Sri Lankan Long Range Reconnaissance Patrol (LRRP), known as the Deep Penetration Unit (DPU), have escalated in LTTE-controlled Vanni.
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Thousands mourn Vankalai victims

[TamilNet, Saturday, 10 June 2006, 07:41 GMT]
More than five thousand people took part in the funeral procession of the four victims in Vankalai who were beaten, stabbed and hanged to death allegedly by Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers Thursday night. The funeral Mass was held Saturday morning at St. Anne's Church at 9:00 a.m. by Vicar General A. Xavior Cruz and Mannar Bishop Rayappu Joseph, sources in Mannar said.
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LTTE issues Communiqué in Oslo

[TamilNet, Friday, 09 June 2006, 15:24 GMT]
The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam issued a Communiqué on Friday after concluding meetings begun two days ago with Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) and the Norwegian facilitators in Oslo.
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4 health officials wounded in deep penetration attack in Vanni

[TamilNet, Thursday, 08 June 2006, 08:49 GMT]
Four health officials of Tamileelam Health Service Mobile Medical Service were wounded when Sri Lanka Army Deep Penetration Unit (DPU) exploded a Claymore mine together with three explosives. A nurse and the driver of the vehicle were seriously wounded in the attack that took place at Akkarayan, 20 km from Kilinochchi around 10:30 a.m. Thursday, Police officials in Kilinochchi said. Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) officials visited the attack site.
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Students Resurgence Day observed in Muttur east

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 07 June 2006, 12:41 GMT]
Thamileelam Students Resurgence Day was observed at Kallady Tamil School in Muttur east and Eachchilampathu divisions in Trincomalee district Tuesday. Mr.K.Lingeswaran, President of Muttur East Tamil Students Forum presided. Students lit the flames of sacrifice and Mr.Arun of Kathiraveli Students Wing hoisted the Thamileelam Nation Flag. Mr.S.Elilan, Trincomalee district political head of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) addressed the event.
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World Environment Day celebrated in Kilinochchi

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 06 June 2006, 12:19 GMT]
Tamil people, under the Sri Lankan occupation, are obstructed to carry on their age-old lifestyle of living in harmony with the nature and its environment in their traditional homeland, said Shanmugalingam Ranjan, the Director of Planning and Development Secretariat (PDS) of Tamileelam, addressing media after the World Environment Day celebrations in Kilinochchi Monday.
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10,000 graduate from self-defense training in Mullaitivu

[TamilNet, Sunday, 04 June 2006, 22:06 GMT]
More than ten thousand residents of Vanni villages took part in a graduation ceremony completing self-defense training at the Lt.Malathi Sports ground in Puthukkudiyirruppu in Mullaitivu, Sunday, sources from Vanni said. Graduates wore red-bands and stood in training formations for men and women.


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Thileepan Hospitals serve Muttur displaced Tamils

[TamilNet, Sunday, 04 June 2006, 16:00 GMT]
The medical needs of about fifty thousand people residing in LTTE-held villages in the Muttur east, Eachchilampathu division in the Trincomalee district and Vaharai division in the Batticaloa district are being looked after by Thileepan Medical Hospitals located in Pattalipuram, Valaithoddam and Kathiraveli, which are manned by medical officers from the Thamileelam Medical College, said Mr. S. Elilan, Trincomalee district political head of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).
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US: Tigers have ‘legitimate goals, unacceptable methods’

[TamilNet, Sunday, 04 June 2006, 00:48 GMT]
Reiterating the United States’ opposition to the Liberation Tigers’ use of arms, US Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs, Richard Boucher, also said the US recognises the Tamils’ “legitimate desire … to govern themselves in their own homeland.” Furthermore, “they (Tigers) need to focus their vision on how to achieve their legitimate goals through a legitimate process of negotiation [rather than arms],” he said.


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SLA sentry in Kaakaithivu attacked, no one injured

[TamilNet, Saturday, 03 June 2006, 14:18 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army (SLA) sentry points located near Kaakai thivu junction in Aanaikottai area inside the Jaffna Municipal perimeter came under gunfire from the nearby housing development at 1:30 p.m. Saturday sources in Jaffna said. SLA soldiers returned fire but no one was injured in the firefight. The gunmen used a house vacated by a family who moved to Vanni to mount the attack and escaped, according to sources.
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Alarming increase in arrests of Muttur youths- TNA MP

[TamilNet, Saturday, 03 June 2006, 12:20 GMT]
Mr.K.Thurairatnasingham, Trincomalee district parliamentarian Saturday expressed concern over the increase in the number of arrests of Tamil youths by the security forces in Muttur division in the Sri Lanka government controlled territory, sources said. "Nefarious elements assisted by supporters of Sri Lanka Government are trying to create rift between Muslims and Tamils residing in Muttur town by publishing anonymous pamphlets," said Mr.Thurairatnasingham in a statement released Saturday on the tense situation prevailing in Muttur town.
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Tigers request diplomatic travel arrangements for Oslo meet

[TamilNet, Thursday, 01 June 2006, 11:27 GMT]
The Liberation Tigers (LTTE) have agreed, in principle, to participate in discussions in Oslo this month with the Norwegian facilitator responsible for coordinating and facilitating the Scandinavian truce monitoring mission, the SLMM. "The timely participation is dependent on travel arrangements with diplomatic privileges being made available to the LTTE delegation through Sri Lanka's territory," LTTE Political Head told media in Kilinochchi Thursday.
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Families flee from Batticaloa border villages

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 31 May 2006, 17:40 GMT]
Batticaloa Government Agent (GA) Mr. S. Punniyamoorthy said Wednesday that more than 65 families fleeing from the border villages of Batticaloa district have been placed in the Kirimichchai school building in the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam controlled (LTTE) region.
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Manthuvil parents to file habeas corpus petition against Varani SLA

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 31 May 2006, 03:53 GMT]
Lawyers representing the parents of the eight civilians who disappeared from the Manthuvil East Seerani Kelakkai temple on the night of May 6 will file habeas corpus petitions in Jaffna High Court against the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) commanding officers stationed in the 52-4 Brigade headquarters in Varany, legal sources in Jaffna said. The parents are accusing the SLA soldiers from the Varany camp, located 3 km from the Kelakkai temple, of complicity in the disappearance of their sons.


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Canadian Tamils join global protest against EU ban

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 30 May 2006, 02:56 GMT]
On the Tamil Diaspora's day of solidarity around the world, more than 4,000 Canadian Tamils stood in front of the federal parliament in Ottawa Monday to protest against the European Union ban of Liberation Tigers, and to condemn the killing of Tamil civilians by the Sri Lanka security forces. Four parliamentarians addressed the crowd, including a member of the governing party. All parliamentarians expressed their solidarity with the Tamil cause, and one of them promised to raise the Tamil issue in the House.


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EU ban will impact the Peace Process - Thamilchelvan

[TamilNet, Monday, 29 May 2006, 05:21 GMT]
Pointing out that the Liberation Tigers never pulled out from the Geneva-II talks and that it was the obstacles that the Government of Sri Lanka introduced after willfully changing the procedures for the inter-theater transfer of LTTE's military commanders that derailed Geneva-II, S.P. Thamilchelvan, Head of LTTE's Political Wing, said in an interview with TamilNet on Saturday that EU's ban will impact the functioning of the monitors from EU countries, and the "decommissioning or abdication of arms is non-negotiable."
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Jaffna Rights official receives death threats

[TamilNet, Sunday, 28 May 2006, 09:39 GMT]
Rohitha Priyadharshana, co-ordinator at the Human Rights Commission (HRC) in Jaffna, received a letter Friday threatening his life if he does not vacate his post, officials in the HRC said. A man believed to be a paramilitary working with Sri Lanka Military Intelligence, gave the letter, written in Tamil, through an employee at the HRC office, according to officials. The letter included Priyadharshana has been leading the investigation in several landmark cases where Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers of Sri Lanka Navy (SLN) were blamed for killing civilians, civil society sources said.
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Bauer discusses refugees' plight with TRO officials

[TamilNet, Saturday, 27 May 2006, 21:15 GMT]
Norwegian Special Peace Envoy Jon Hanssen-Bauer and members of the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) met with Tamils Rehabilitation Organization (TRO) officials at the TRO Secretariat Saturday 10:00 a.m. and discussed the escalating number of refugees and the ground situation in Jaffna and in the affected parts of Trincomalee, TRO sources in Kilinochchi said.
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Colombo imposes embargo on cement, steel, limits fuel supply to North

[TamilNet, Saturday, 27 May 2006, 09:44 GMT]
Sri Lankan defense authorities, on Friday, banned the transportation of cement and steel to North. Government Agents (GAs) in Jaffna and Vavuniya have been informed of the decision by the Defense Ministry in contravention of the provisions in the February 2002 Ceasefire Agreement, political sources said. More than 20 lorries loaded with cement have been stopped at Omanthai checkpost Friday and are being held at the checkpost awaiting instructions from Defense Ministry, sources said.
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Sri Lanka gambles on EU ban taming Tigers

[TamilNet, Thursday, 25 May 2006, 16:02 GMT]
Sri Lanka’s President Mahinda Rajapakse this week hailed the expected proscription of the Liberation Tigers by the European Union next week, saying it would compel the LTTE to the negotiating table and Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera called on Middle Eastern countries to also proscribe the LTTE. But the LTTE warns that further proscriptions will precipitate the objective conditions for renewed war.
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