Nanthikkadal

[TamilNet, Friday, 06 March 2009, 02:40 GMT]
The sea / lagoon of conches (Turbinella pyrum)
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SLN arrested Vanni civilians held back in Point Pedro

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 04 March 2009, 16:08 GMT]
Only five of the 92 civilians fleeing war in Vanni and arrested Tuesday by Sri Lanka Navy (SLN) on the seas of Point Pedro have been handed over to the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) detention camp in Kodikaamam Government Tamil Mixed School (GTMS) while the fate of the rest 87 civilians remains unknown, Kodikaamam sources said. None of the arrested civilians has been produced in Point Pedro Magistrate Court either until Wednesday evening. Independent sources in Jaffna said that civilians fleeing war from Liberation Tigers held areas coming into Vavuniyaa and Jaffna peninsula and arrested are subjected to intensive screening by the SLA and that many of them have disappeared without any trace, a trend that continues.
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Humanitarian stocks completely depleted - Rev. Anton Rock

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 03 March 2009, 14:54 GMT]
“That there is nothing to eat for the next meal is the only certainty for us and we wait with the hope, praying that someone would come to ensure our safety,” Rev. Anton Rock who has sought refuge in Valaignarmadam in Mullaiththeevu with his parish members and other priests, displaced from Vaddakkadchi in Ki'linochchi, said in an interview given to the last monthly issue of the magazine ‘Paathukaavalan’ (Catholic Guardian) published in Jaffna by the District Catholic Diocese. “Burying the dead, dressing the wounds of the injured and wiping the tears of our fellow beings are our daily routine other than praying to God in the hope of someone will come to ensure our safety.”
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Pope’s emissary meets detained IDPs in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Monday, 09 February 2009, 10:25 GMT]
Internally displaced persons (IDPs) fleeing war and detained by Sri Lanka Army (SLA) in Kurunakar and Koappaay refugee camps pleaded Pope’s emissary, Rt. Rev. Mario Senario to get them permission to live and engage in their customary occupations, when he personally met them in the said camps, sources in Jaffna said. Bishop Mario Senario who conducted a special mass Sunday at 7:30 a.m in St. Mary’s church in Jaffna at the end of the mass said that he would convey in detail the plight of the Tamils caught in the war in Vanni to the Holy See.
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Pope’s emissary visits Jaffna

[TamilNet, Saturday, 07 February 2009, 17:18 GMT]
Representative of the Holy See from Vatican, Bishop Rt. Rev. Mario Senario, is on a visit to Jaffna to meet the displaced Tamils detained in camps in Jaffna and to learn of their situation, Jaffna Bishop’s House sources said. Biship Senario will also discuss the plight of the Tamils caught in war in Vanni. Jaffna Bishop, Rt. Rev. Thomas Saundaranayagam, and Rt. Rev. Mario Senario will also hold jointly a special mass for the safety of the Tamils in Vanni and for permanent peace for the Tamils in Sri Lanka Sunday 7:30 a.m. in St. Mary’s Church, Jaffna, sources added.
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Pope appeals for an end to fighting in Sri Lanka

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 04 February 2009, 15:31 GMT]
"News of the worsening conflict and the growing number of innocent victims induces us to address a pressing appeal to the combatants to show respect for humanitarian law and for people's freedom of movement, said Pope Benedict XVI at the end of Wednesday general audience held in Paul VI Hall, in an appeal for an end to the ongoing fighting in Sri Lanka.
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Hunger strike against killings of Tamil in Vanni continues, in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 03 February 2009, 05:35 GMT]
More than a hundred persons including women, men, children and priests led by Jaffna Bishop, Rt. Rev. Thomas Saundaranayagam, continued the hunger strike at Paasaiyoor St. Antony’s Church Monday, calling for the immediate stop of the killings of innocent Tamils in Vanni by the government of Sri Lanka, sources in Jaffna said. The participants in the hunger strike kept praying for the safety of the people in Vanni as artillery barrage and aerial bombings continued in Vanni, killing and maiming men, women and children, the sources added. The hunger strike began at 9:00 a.m and ended at 3:00 p.m.
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Expressing concern is not enough, countries should intervene - CJPCD Jaffna

[TamilNet, Sunday, 01 February 2009, 14:53 GMT]
“Mere expression of concern by the countries of the world is not enough; immediate intervention to urge Sri Lanka government to stop its killing and maiming of the innocent Tamils in Vanni is the need of the hour,” the Commission for Justice and Peace of Catholic Diocese (CJPCD) said in its message released at the end of the fifth day hunger strike in protest against the continuing Sri Lanka government’s artillery barrage and aerial strikes on the Tamils in Vanni, sources in Jaffna said.
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SLA shelling continues on 'safety zone', Colombo refuses international call for ceasefire

[TamilNet, Saturday, 31 January 2009, 08:37 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army (SLA) continued artillery shelling Saturday on civilian targets in Chuthanthirapuram. Eight wounded civilians have been rushed to Udaiyaarkaddu hospital and a mother has succumbed to injuries, according to initial reports from the medical sources. The shelling continues as Colombo refused International call for ceasefire. On Friday, the shelling destroyed Vanni head office of the Human Development Centre (HUDEC) of Caritas Jaffna, the social arm of the Catholic Church in the Jaffna Diocese.
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Stop the human tragedy in Vanni – CJPCD Jaffna

[TamilNet, Saturday, 31 January 2009, 08:18 GMT]
The Catholic community of Jaffna district, led by Jaffna Bishop Rt. Rev. Thomas Saundaranayagam, continuing its hunger strike for the third day at Jaffna Central College along with members of other faiths and civil organizations, issued a statement Friday, requesting the immediate halt to the human tragedy that is taking place in Vanni, the statement released by the Commission For Justice and of the Catholic Diocese of Jaffna (CJPCD) said.
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Canadian Tamils form human chain to protest Sri Lanka's genocide

[TamilNet, Saturday, 31 January 2009, 06:30 GMT]
In a show of solidarity with the Northeast Tamils caught up in the war in Sri Lanka, about 45,000 Canadian Tamils people took part in the protest throughout the day Friday, forming a human chain stretching from Bloor St. to University Ave. and Yonge St. and snaked all the way to Front.according to Staff Sgt. Deb Abbott of 52 Division, with about 30,000 on Front St. alone, Toronto Star reported.
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Muththukumar hailed as hero, tension escalates across Tamil Nadu

[TamilNet, Saturday, 31 January 2009, 05:13 GMT]
Protests and strikes spread across Tamil Nadu, snarling traffic at major important roads particularly in Chennai, demonstrators held vigils in Coimbatore, Thiruvannaamalai and Salem paying homage to Muththukumar who self-immolated to show solidarity with Eezham Tamils, and Madras High Court Advocates Association boycotted courts on Friday, while mainstream media said the prevailing tension in Tamil Nadu can snowball into a potentially explosive situation.
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Tamils held in prisonlike SLA detention centres - CJPCD

[TamilNet, Friday, 30 January 2009, 16:23 GMT]
“Considering the plight of the 2000 Tamils who had fled war and are detained in Sri Lanka Army (SLA) detention centres, a justifiable fear arises as to what would happen to those who come to these detention centres which are like prisons; youths detained in these centres are said to have gone missing,” Commission for Justice and Peace of the Catholic Diocese of Jaffna (CJPCD) said in its appeal sent on its third day of the protest fast observed in Jaffna, against the killing of Tamils in the Vanni, sources in Jaffna said.
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Only international-sponsored ceasefire can lead to the end of conflict - LTTE

[TamilNet, Friday, 30 January 2009, 09:14 GMT]
Liberation Tigers of Tamileelam (LTTE) Political Head B. Nadesan Friday blamed Colombo for stepped up genocidal artillery attacks on civilian targets Friday after committing a war crime of issuing ultimatum to civilians to move against their will into the hands of the genocidal military. Most of the civilians are continuously forced to live inside the bunkers and civilian casualties were mounting in Udaiyaarkaddu, Thearaavil and other areas, Mr. Nadesan charged. Only a permanent ceasefire mooted by the International Community and negotiations followed by it would resolve the conflict as envisaged by the Tamil people and the LTTE, Mr. Nadesan said.
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Last statement of Muthukumar

[TamilNet, Friday, 30 January 2009, 09:04 GMT]
Journalist Muthukumar distributed a 4-page statement in Tamil before his self-immolation Thursday in Tamil Nadu. TamilNet provides a translation for the English readership to grasp the significance, without taking responsibility for the accuracy of facts. "The sacrifice of young and idealistic Muthukumar is lamentable beyond words and thoughts of re-enactment should never become a necessity to anyone. It is a reminiscence of the Vietnam of 1960's when self-immolation of monks protesting brutal atrocities as a consequence of US military campaign was common. Such acts occur as a last resort of public frustration when governments suppress democratic space and don't respect overwhelming public opinion of emotional importance," said a diaspora Tamil academic.
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Pull back Indian military help to Lanka: Thirumavalavan

[TamilNet, Thursday, 29 January 2009, 16:06 GMT]
Taking part in a students' demonstration of the Murpokku Maanavar Kazhagam (Progressive Students Organization) held opposite Memorial Hall in Chennai Thursday, VCK President Thol. Thirumavalavan demanded the Indian Government to immediately take back all military help extended to Sri Lanka and blamed New Delhi for supplying sophisticated weaponry to exterminate the Tamil people in Vanni.
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Stop killing Tamils in Vanni now - Jaffna Catholic community

[TamilNet, Thursday, 29 January 2009, 11:53 GMT]
“Sri Lanka government’s attacks on the innocent Tamils in Vanni continue to kill hundreds while injuring many more according to the reports of ICRC, the only International humanitarian agency allowed to be present in Vanni,” said the report issued by Commission for Justice and Peace of the Catholic Diocese of Jaffna (CJPCD) Thursday, the second day of the protest fast against the killing of Tamils in the Vanni observed in Jaffna, sources in Jaffna said.
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Jaffna Catholic community appeals to stop killing of Tamils in Vanni

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 28 January 2009, 14:03 GMT]
“We are deeply grieved of the silence of the International Community and the world humanitarian agencies disregarding the great human tragedy that continues in Vanni in Sri Lanka. Will this silence be broken only after the total annihilation of the Tamils in Vanni?”, said the memorandum sent by the Commission for Justice and Peace of the Catholic Diocese of Jaffna (CJPCD) at the end of the first day of the protest fast launched Wednesday morning in front of St. Mary’s Church, Jaffna led by Rt. Rev. Thomas Saundaranayagam, Jaffna Bishop, sources in Jaffna said.
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Protest fast in Jaffna against Vanni killings, displacements

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 28 January 2009, 09:19 GMT]
More than 400 persons including Jaffna Bishop, Rt. Rev. Thomas Saundaranayagam, former Bishop of Church of South India, Catholic priests and nuns took part Wednesday morning in a protest fast, urging Sri Lanka government to stop the artillery barrage and aerial bombardment on Vanni civilians and to bring an end to their continuing displacements, sources in Jaffna said. The protest held in front of St. Mary’s Church in Jaffna began around 9:00 a.m. Meanwhile, a Sri Lanka Army (SLA) commander, who unexpectedly came and sat for about 15 minutes along with the protestors, told that Buddhist Sinhala Chauvinists are the primary cause of the current problem before leaving, the sources added.
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Tamil leaders label Pranab visit futile

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 28 January 2009, 07:32 GMT]
Frontline leaders in Tamil Nadu, including Dr.S.Ramadoss, Vaiko and Thirumavalavan have expressed their disappointment that Indian External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee never pressed for an immediate ceasefire when he met Sri Lankan President Rajapaksa during his emergency visit to Colombo Tuesday night.
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