‘UN must protect civilians in Sri Lanka’ – Tutu, British academics

[TamilNet, Friday, 06 March 2009, 04:57 GMT]
Demanding that the UN protect civilians in Sri Lanka, Archbishop Desmond Tutu and several leading scholars at British universities have written an open letter to the British government urging it to press for a UN Security Council Resolution authorising a fact-finding mission to the island’s Northeast. “The deteriorating humanitarian and human rights situation throughout the war-afflicted areas of northern and eastern Sri Lanka warrants immediate attention and action by the Security Council,” the letter, published in the Times newspaper, said.
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Nanthikkadal

[TamilNet, Friday, 06 March 2009, 02:40 GMT]
The sea / lagoon of conches (Turbinella pyrum)
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Acid test for international actors

[TamilNet, Friday, 06 March 2009, 02:36 GMT]
It is clear that the Colombo government is waging a direct war on unarmed civilians with the intention of intimidation and subjugation of them. The hard truth is that for chauvinistic Colombo war with Eezham Tamil civilians is more important than its war with the Tigers. The war with the LTTE is only a part of the agenda aimed at making the Tamils orphans first. India and the Co-Chairs countries have a direct responsibility in perpetrating the present war leading to the genocide of Tamils. They cannot dodge their responsibility accusing the LTTE or saying it is internal affair of Sri Lanka and citing Russia and China possibly vetoing a move in the UN. Their immediate responsibility now is providing food and medicine at the doorstep of the civilians, unconditionally, even if it is going to be against the wishes of Colombo, writes an IDP activist in Vanni.
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Only 2.2% of humanitarian supplies reached Vanni in February - RDHS

[TamilNet, Friday, 06 March 2009, 01:41 GMT]
Dr. T. Sathiyamoorthy, the Regional Director of Health Services (RDHS) of Ki'linochchi district, in a situation report issued on Thursday said that only 109.71MT of food had been received for the month of February 2009 through the ships with the help of the ICRC. The real requirement per month, according to the RDHS is 4950 MT. "Consequently people are threatened with starvation unless the food condition is urgently rectified," the doctor said in his situation report adding: "Particularly children, women, elders and those who are seriously ill become vulnerable to the onslaught of starvation."
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SLA shoots dead Tamil youth in Batticaloa

[TamilNet, Thursday, 05 March 2009, 20:42 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers shot and killed a Tamil youth Thursday around 8:45 p.m on Punnaikkudaa Veethi near Ear’aavoor Public Market in Ea’raavoor police division and claimed that the youth was a member of Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) pistol group. SLA also claimed to have recovered a pistol and a hand grenade from the youth killed.
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President of Women’s Society threatened to death in Point Pedro

[TamilNet, Thursday, 05 March 2009, 17:36 GMT]
The President of the Women’s Association, who led the demonstration recently in front of Point Pedro Divisional Secretariat protesting against the inadequate relief food supply, filed a complaint Wednesday evening of threat to her life by unidentified persons who came to her house, to Point Pedro police. Some other activists representing the Fisheries Societies, Women’s and Rural Organizations in Vadamaraadchi who actively participated in the demonstration too have been issued similar death threats, sources in Point Pedro said.
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Perpetrating civilian starvation is violation of all norms of war: LTTE

[TamilNet, Thursday, 05 March 2009, 13:51 GMT]
"The brutalities committed by Colombo's armed forces on civilians have no precedence in any conventional war," said LTTE's Puthukkudiyiuruppu area political head C. Ilamparithy on Wednesday describing that the offensive by the Sri Lankan government denying food and medicine to civilians whom it claims as its citizens as an "abnormal violation of all norms of war." He urged direct presence of the International Community to witness the gravity of the situation by itself and urged the Tamil diaspora to engage with the IC in order to make it look at the crisis through the perspective of the affected people and to work for sending international journalists to visit and report the plight of the civilians besieged in Mullaiththeevu.
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SLA fires cluster shells near hospital, scores wounded

[TamilNet, Thursday, 05 March 2009, 07:05 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army has fired shells in the close vicinity of the makeshift-hospital at Maaththa'lan causing injuries to several civilians. A cluster shell that exploded 500 meters from hospital caused injuries to 37 civilians in tightly populated IDP area, according to medical sources. So far, 126 civilians were rushed to hospital on Thursday.
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2 SLA home guards killed in Puththa’lam

[TamilNet, Thursday, 05 March 2009, 06:39 GMT]
Unidentified gunmen lying in ambush opened fire Wednesday around 8:20 a.m on a road patrol unit in Puththa’lam area in Hambantota district, killing two home guards and took away their two guns and cartridges, police media spokesman, Ranjith Gunasekara said.
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SLA shelling kills more children, carnage in 'safety zone'

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 04 March 2009, 23:59 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army (SLA) stepped up artillery fire Wednesday inside the 'safety zone' killing 78 civilians. 21 of the victims are children, according to emerging details from various settlements. 23 civilians were killed in artillery barrage in the morning from 5:30 to 9:00 a.m. and 47 in the evening between 5:00 and 9:00 p.m. 182 civilians have sustained injuries. High number of casualties were reported in Pokka'nai and Maaththa'lan within the security zone. An ICRC worker, who was returning to his tarpaulin tent after transporting wounded civilians to ICRC ship was killed in Pokka'nai. A pregnant mother was also among the victims.
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ICRC worker killed in SLA shelling

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 04 March 2009, 17:15 GMT]
A staff worker of the ICRC in Vanni was killed Wednesday around 5:00 p.m. while he was returning after sending some of the seriously wounded patients from Maaththa'lan hospital in ICRC ship, reported TamilNet correspondent from Vanni. The victim was identified as Vadivel Vijayakumar, 36.
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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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SLA in killing spree in the 'safety zone', 73 killed, 160 wounded

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 04 March 2009, 02:55 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army fired artillery shells and air attacks by the Sri Lanka Air Force have claimed the lives of at least 73 civilians, most of them inside 'safety zone' on Tuesday in Mullaiththevu district, according to the details from medical and local aid workers in the district. More than 160 civilians have sustained injuries. Around 35 cluster-fitted artillery shells were fired within the last 3 days. 15 cluster shells were fired into civilian areas Tuesday alone. 11 children below age 10 have been killed, 4 in the morning, 5 in the night and one of the two children missing in morning was later identified as the child's mother recovered a fragment of its head. Maaththa'lan hospital was full of weeping mothers who were begging the doctors to save their wounded children from death.
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Shell landed on a civilian saves others

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 04 March 2009, 01:06 GMT]
An artillery shell fired by the Sri Lanka Army landed on a civilian standing within 150 meters from Maaththa'lan makeshift-hospital Tuesday, killing her on the spot. However, the shell didn't explode, saving the lives of around 20 civilians who were at the locality, according to medical sources. The hospital is located within the 'safety zone'. The victim was identified as Thangeswaran Neelampikai, 50.
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SLA shells hospital environs, 13 killed including 4 children

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 03 March 2009, 13:04 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army fired artillery shells targeting the environs of Maa'ththa'lan makeshift-hospital within the 'safety zone' from 5:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Tuesday. The shells hit the IDP settlement, located 200 meters near the hospital, claiming the lives of 13 Tamil civilians. Four of them were children, including a 1-year-old baby. 56 civilians have sustained injuries, according to medical sources. Two children below the age of 10 were reported missing. Meanwhile, Sri Lanka Air Force fighter bombers were seen bombing north of the 'safety zone' twice Tuesday morning.
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SLA arrests 10 civilians in Chilaw

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 03 March 2009, 12:06 GMT]
Ten civilians, majority of them Tamils were taken into custody in a joint cordon and search operation conducted by the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) and Police in Chilaw town from dawn to dusk on Monday. Hundreds of houses and vehicles were searched, media sources said.
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2 STF commandos killed, SLA soldier, policeman injured, in claymore attack in Batticaloa

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 03 March 2009, 11:11 GMT]
Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) launched a claymore attack on a team of armed forces patrol Tuesday around 8:00 a.m at Ma’ndoor in Vellaave’li police division in Batticaloa district, killing 2 Special Task Force (STF) commandos and seriously injuring a Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldier and a policeman, Batticaloa district LTTE said. Additional STF commandos and police deployed at the site of the attack jointly engaged in a search assaulting some Tamil youths in the area, the sources added.
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SLA launch search in Jaffna University surroundings

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 03 March 2009, 08:32 GMT]
Tension mounted around Jaffna University as large number of Sri Lanka Army (SLA) and police conducted an intensive search and checking operation from 6:30 a.m Tuesday in front of the entrances of University hostels and the faculties located along Aadiyapaatham road and Parameasvara junction in Jaffna, disrupting normalcy in the activities of the university, sources in Jaffna said. SLA arrested a Management Faculty student at the entrance of the hostel around 6:30 a.m but brought him and released him at the place of arrest after an hour, Jaffna University Students Union (JUSU) said.
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Vanni IDPs starving due to acute shortage of food

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 03 March 2009, 05:04 GMT]
The plight of people herded into the narrow strip of ‘safe zone’ assigned by the Sri Lanka government is growing worse with each day as vegetables, food items, milk powder for babies have become so scarce that they are starving, TamilNet correspondent reported Tuesday from Vanni. Liquid cash is not available as many are unable to withdraw from their savings in the banks, most of them gone out of function due to continuing indiscriminate attacks by Sri Lanka Army (SLA) artillery barrage and Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) bombings.
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Washington youths launch campaign to woo CNN's Anderson Cooper

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 03 March 2009, 02:50 GMT]
An international grassroots effort led by concerned youths in Washington State and Toronto area calls prominent CNN journalist, Anderson Cooper, to visit Sri Lanka and report on the growing culture of impunity towards media freedoms on the island. Driven by Jeffersonian instinct for the freedom of press, the Free-Our-Press website said the petition was inspired by the "call of conscience" of Lasantha Wickramatunga's final essay, where the late editor decried the plight of media freedom in Sri Lanka. The virtual campaign was launched with a new website that chronicles media suppression in Sri Lanka, and calls for 5000 supporters to join the campaign to woo Cooper.
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