Amparai LTTE commander orders release of 21 students

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 19 December 2006, 05:57 GMT]
Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) Amparai District Special Commander Ram has ordered immediate release of 21 students and 2 teachers who were found in the custody of an LTTE unit in Amparai Tuesday, LTTE's Military Spokesman Irasiah Ilanthirayan told TamilNet. The cadres were removed from operational duty and an internal investigation was on, the LTTE spokesman quoted Commander Ram.
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Reduced curfew hours bring little succor to Jaffna residents

[TamilNet, Monday, 18 December 2006, 20:09 GMT]
The reduction in curfew hours announced by the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) for Jaffna district brings little relief to the residents cut-off from rest of Sri Lanka, living with severe shortage of food and basic essentials, and gripped with fear of abduction by SLA and paramilitaries as part of the counter-insurgency campaign unleashed by Colombo, civil society sources from Jaffna said.
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14,000 Civilians displaced from Vaharai

[TamilNet, Monday, 18 December 2006, 00:37 GMT]
Nearly Fourteen thousand Tamil refugees have been displaced from LTTE-controlled Vaharai area in Batticaloa District towards the areas under the control of Sri Lankan Army (SLA), Koralai Pattu North (Vaharai), Regional secretariat sources reported on Sunday.
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Red Cross hands over bodies of six LTTE cadres

[TamilNet, Sunday, 17 December 2006, 11:15 GMT]
Batticaloa district ICRC handed over to M. Mathy, Karadiyanaru LTTE head of political wing, Friday around 11:00 a.m, bodies of six Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) cadres killed in an ambush by Sri Lanka Army (SLA) and its paramilitary troopers Wednesday at Miyankulam. The LTTE cadres, injured in an earlier battle, were being taken for treatment across the Colombo-Batticaloa road at Miyankulam, when they were ambushed, Batticaloa sources said. Miyankulam lies on the border between LTTE held area in Vaharai and SLA held areas.


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Seven civilians feared killed in SLA artillery attack

[TamilNet, Saturday, 16 December 2006, 18:52 GMT]
Seven Internally Displaced civilians traveling from Kathiraveli to Vaharai in a two-wheel tractor were killed when an artillery shell fired by the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) exploded on their vehicle at 5:00 pm Friday, injured passengers in the tractor told medical officials in Kathiraveli. The fellow passengers told the officials that they had to bury the dead before returning to Kathiraveli.


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More IDPs arrive from Vaharai

[TamilNet, Saturday, 16 December 2006, 03:42 GMT]
Around 4000 people from nearly 1000 families from Vaharai area in the LTTE controlled Batticaloa district arrived to military controlled area on Thursday and Friday and the authorities made arrangements to house them in the villages of Mankerny, Vinayagapuram, Kiran, Chenkalady and Savukkady, S. Punniyamoorthy, the District Secretary of Batticaloa said.
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We've lost a friend, says Norway

[TamilNet, Saturday, 16 December 2006, 03:01 GMT]
Norwegian special envoy for the peace process in Sri Lanka Jon Hansen-Bauer praised late Anton Balasingam for his invaluable contribution to the peace efforts, and said Norway will miss a much valued friend. Speaking at a memorial meeting in Oslo arranged at the Tamil Resource and Consultation Centre in Oslo Friday, the Norwegian Special Envoy said that it is through Mr. Balasingham he learned much about the plight of the Tamils in Sri Lanka.
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Tamil Nadu leaders express sorrow over Balasingham’s death

[TamilNet, Friday, 15 December 2006, 15:33 GMT]
“I am unable to bear the sorrow over the death of my friend Mr Anton Balasingham, who I have known for many years. Balasingham grieved for his people dismissing his terrible illness as “merely a pebble compared to the vast ocean of tragedy faced by his people,” he captivated Tamils worldwide for his dedicated service to his people, developed, nurtured friendship with Norway and people like us, and kept the flame of self-respect of Tamils burning bright until his last breath,” said M. Karunanidhi, the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, in a report of condolence issued Thursday. “I express my deep sympathies to his wife and friends," he added.
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Balasingham's demise creates a great void - TNA

[TamilNet, Friday, 15 December 2006, 13:54 GMT]
R. Sampanthan, the Parliamentary Group Leader of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA), in a condolence message following the demise of Liberation Tigers theoretician Anton Balasingham, said: "Mr. Balasingham had a clear understanding of the inequalities and inequities to which the Tamil people as a whole, were consistently subjected by the Sri Lankan State. He was also aware of the collective violence unleashed against the Tamil people when they engaged in peaceful protests and civil disobedience campaigns. He also had clear comprehension of the political aspirations and goals of the Tamil people. He was able to articulate the views of the Tamil people on these questions with clarity."
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SLA shelling kills two civilians, injures three in Vaharai

[TamilNet, Friday, 15 December 2006, 12:22 GMT]
Kallaru Sri Lanka Army (SLA) in Trincomalee launched shells Friday around 12:30 p.m on Kathiraveli civilian settlements in Vaharai in the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) territory killing two civilians and seriously injuring three, sources from Vaharai said.
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STF, LTTE exchange mortar fire in Batticaloa

[TamilNet, Friday, 15 December 2006, 10:54 GMT]
Special Task Force (STF), stationed at Pattiruppu Bridge, Kalavanchikudy in Batticaloa, launched mortar shells Friday around 1:30 a.m on Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) territory in Porathivu. The LTTE retaliated with mortar fire. Two civilians were injured in the exchange, sources from Batticaloa said.
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LTTE leader's condolence message on the demise of Anton Balasingham

[TamilNet, Friday, 15 December 2006, 07:08 GMT]
LTTE leader Velupillai Pirapaharan, bestowing the title of honour, Voice of the Nation, as a recognition for Anton Balasingham's service for the Tamil freedom movement, said: "There is a permanent place for Bala annai in the development and growth of our expanding movement. As elder statesman, as ideologue, as philosopher, above all as my intimate friend, he gave me inspiration and encouragement; gave advice and support. He shared my feelings and my burden. From the very inception of our movement he shared with me burdens of all the trials, tribulations, challenges and difficulties. He stood as the protagonist in the forefront of our political and diplomatic maneuvers."
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Anton Balasingham - The Times’ Obituary

[TamilNet, Friday, 15 December 2006, 06:52 GMT]
In an obituary Friday, The Times of London described Mr. Anton Balasingham, the theoretician and chief negotiator of the LTTE who passed away Thursday, as “the one man the Tigers could trust with their destiny in what looked like being a breakthrough in talks.” At one stage in the Norwegian peace process, the British broadsheet noted, Mr. Balasingham had steered the Tigers away from their demand for independence. However, it said, “everybody underestimated the determination of hardcore Sinhalese organisations like the JVP and hardline Buddhist clergy to scuttle any deal that gave the Tamils even a hint of autonomy.”
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Tamil homeland, diaspora in 3-days mourning for Balasingham

[TamilNet, Thursday, 14 December 2006, 21:52 GMT]
Liberation Tigers officials in Kilinochchi announced a 3-day mourning period, Friday, Saturday and Sunday, for the death of LTTE's theoretician and political advisor Anton Balasingham. Meanwhile, representatives of the diaspora Tamil organisations, expressing condolences following the demise of Mr. Anton Balasingham, have also announced a 3-day mourning, according to IBC Tamil radio.
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LTTE leader salutes 'Voice of the Nation'

[TamilNet, Thursday, 14 December 2006, 18:42 GMT]
LTTE leader V. Pirapaharan in his condolence message following the demise of Anton Balasingham Thursday said that a "source of unwavering strength in the political and diplomatic efforts of our freedom movement, and the light of our nation is extinguished," and conferred the title "Voice of the Nation." LTTE leader, in his message further said: "Bala Annai has a permanent historic place in the growth and the spread of our movement. He was its elder member, its ideologue, its philosopher and, above all, my best friend who gave me encouragement and energy. He shared my sorrows, my anxieties and my travails."
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Anton Balasingham passes away

[TamilNet, Thursday, 14 December 2006, 14:11 GMT]
Anton Balasingham, theoretician and political advisor of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), has passed away in London Thursday. Mr. Balasingham has been associated with the Tamil liberation struggle for more than 30 years and participated as chief negotiator on behalf of the Liberation Tigers in almost all political negotiations, beginning with the Thimpu talks in 1985. He was diagnosed with bile duct cancer (cholangiocarcinoma), a rare and aggressive malignancy of the biliary system, in the middle of November.
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Sanctioning Impunity

[TamilNet, Thursday, 14 December 2006, 13:20 GMT]
“Memories of psychological trauma, physical pain from torture, and the loss of dignity while I was incarcerated in prison for one year in 1993 after I was arrested under PTA, still haunt me. Nightmares have returned after I heard that PTA has been reimposed. All local and international organizations concerned of human rights should exert pressure on Colombo to repeal the act," "Mahes", 38, a father of three children, from Valaichchenai said Monday.
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JVP meets US

[TamilNet, Thursday, 14 December 2006, 13:07 GMT]
Sri Lanka's ultra-Sinhala nationalist JVP (Janatha Vimukthi Perumana) is building a 'cordial' relationship with United States, which it earlier denounced as an imperialist force conspiring to divide Sri Lanka, reports in Colombo said.


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SLA attacks LTTE medics transport, 5 killed, "cowardly act," says LTTE

[TamilNet, Thursday, 14 December 2006, 11:08 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army troopers attacked a convoy of wounded LTTE cadres transported by the LTTE medics from Vaharai to LTTE controlled Karadiyanaru for medical treatment via sea route Wednesday night around 10:30 p.m. SLA sources said 5 Tigers were killed and a wounded Sri Lanka Army soldier, K.M.S. Ratnayake, who was in the LTTE custody since 08 October and being transported by the Tiger medics, was captured. Meanwhile, LTTE's Military Spokesman Irasiah Ilanthirayan said the SLA has attacked an unarmed medical transport and described the attack, a "cowardly act."
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Vavuniya shuts down in remembrance of Vaharai victims

[TamilNet, Thursday, 14 December 2006, 08:46 GMT]
Normal life in Vavuniya Wednesday was affected to a great extent because of the shut down observed in remembrance of the dead Internally Displaced Persons of Vaharai in the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) rocket and artillery fire. Shops, bankss, government and private institutions remained closed in response to the request made by the Vanni Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarians.


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