ICRC staff escape SLA shelling in Mullaiththeevu

[TamilNet, Monday, 09 February 2009, 23:29 GMT]
ICRC staff who went to Maaththa'lan coastal area located north of Mullaiththeevu town, came under Sri Lanka Army artillery fire around 11:00 a.m. Monday, media reports in Vanni said. The ICRC staff had gone there after informing the Sri Lankan defence authorities that they would be present there for the preparatory work to facilitate transportation of the wounded civilians.
Full story >>

Civilians killed by SLA gunfire after bomb blast

[TamilNet, Monday, 09 February 2009, 19:48 GMT]
Reports from Vanni indicate that the civilian casualties at the military checkpost claimed as 'IDP rescue centre' by the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) was in fact due to gunfire at the civilians by the SLA after a bomb blast, according to civilians who escaped the scene back to LTTE territory.
Full story >>

Tragedy of civilians as international mechanism backs out

[TamilNet, Monday, 09 February 2009, 12:33 GMT]
Eight died and forty injured among fleeing civilians, reportedly caused by a human bomb according to news released by Sri Lankan military Monday. 15 military personnel also died and 24 injured in an 'IDP rescue centre' north of Visuvamadu, the military said. There were children among the dead as seen in the video released by the Sri Lankan military. The US Embassy in Colombo was quick to condemn the LTTE, based entirely on the Sri Lankan military version of the story.
Full story >>

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.
Full story >>

80 killed, 200 wounded, carnage continues inside 'safe zone'

[TamilNet, Sunday, 08 February 2009, 19:24 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army (SLA) continued indiscriminate barrage of artillery shelling on the 'safety zone' killing more than 80 civilians and causing injuries to 200. Most of the casualties were reported along the roads. Every single shell fired by the SLA was exploding in densely populated civilian area and people were forced to stay inside bunkers. However, as people feared ending up in the hands of the SLA which is close to Chuthanthirapuram, they were fleeing in thousands further into LTTE territory amid shelling, facing deaths and injuries on their way, said TamilNet correspondent in Vanni. According to eyewitness reports, 40 dead bodies of civilians, including children and women, were seen along the 2.5 km stretch of Paranthan Puthukkudiyiruppu Road between Chuthanthirapuram and Theavipuram.
Full story >>

Russia, UK protect Colombo's international impunity

[TamilNet, Sunday, 08 February 2009, 06:00 GMT]
While world powers look apparently condemning Colombo for its culture of impunity allowing armed forces and other elements to commit human rights violations, some among the very powers are engaged covertly in ensuring international impunity to Colombo's war crimes by dodging discussion on Sri Lanka in the apex international security system. During the closed-door meetings of the UN Security Council this week, when Mexico moved for briefing on Sri Lankan situation, Russia reportedly blocked it saying it was not in the agenda. When the British Representative to the UN was asked why Sri Lanka was not in the deliberations, while Sudan was in, the answer was that the situation was entirely different in Sri Lanka where "proscribed" Tamil Tigers were long "blighting" the government and that has to be brought to an end.
Full story >>

More than 180 killed in Sri Lankan bombardment within 48 hours

[TamilNet, Sunday, 08 February 2009, 04:00 GMT]
More than 120 civilians were killed in Sri Lanka Army (SLA) shelling Friday and Saturday inside the safety zone in Chuthanthirapuram, Iruddumadu, Udaiyaarkaddu and Theavipuram within the last 48 hours. At least 59 civilians were killed Friday and more than 62 killed on Saturday. Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) bombed Puthukkdiyiruppu (PTK) Ponnampalam hospital killing 61 patients on Friday. Casualty figures from SLA shelling in Puthukkudiyiruppuu were not available.
Full story >>

SLA traps hundreds of civilians in safety zone border

[TamilNet, Sunday, 08 February 2009, 03:05 GMT]
Around 4,000 civilians, fleeing intense shelling by the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) have been caught by the SLA that entered a bordering area of Chuthanthirapuram safety zone Friday, according to initial reports. The SLA soldiers opened fire on the civilians, instructing them to walk deeper into SLA controlled territories carrying white flags with them, according to youths who managed to escape.
Full story >>

Missing SLA soldiers' parents urge ICRC to approach LTTE

[TamilNet, Sunday, 08 February 2009, 02:25 GMT]
Parents of missing Sri Lankan soldiers this week urged the ICRC to approach the LTTE to check whether their sons were in Tiger custody as reports appeared in Colombo media of Sri Lanka Army (SLA) overrunning an LTTE detention camp in Visuvamadu area. The association of missing soldiers parents, based in Kandy, has sent a letter to the ICRC in Colombo urging it to take up the issue with the LTTE as they feared 750 Sri Lankan soldiers were in LTTE custody.
Full story >>

Congress cadre immolates himself to death protesting party inaction

[TamilNet, Saturday, 07 February 2009, 19:17 GMT]
Congress functionary Sirkazhi (Cheerkaazhi) Ravichandran, a 47-year-old father of two children, immolated himself Saturday to protest his party's inaction on the Eelam Tamils issue. He succumbed to hundred percent burn injuries and died a short while later at 3:45 p.m. Two days earlier, he had an altercation with the Union Minister Mani Shanker Aiyar blaming the Congress party for failing to stop the war in Sri Lanka. He had also told a couple of his friends about his decision in order to bring about a change in the attitude of the Congress.
Full story >>

SLAF bombs Ponnampalam hospital, 61 patients killed

[TamilNet, Saturday, 07 February 2009, 13:12 GMT]
Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) bombers on Friday bombed and fully destroyed Ponnampalam Memorial hospital in Puthukkudiyiruppu (PTK), killing scores and wounding many, according to initial reports received from PTK. Meanwhile, the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) launched indiscriminate artillery barrage on the hospital, totally disabling the rescue of the surviving patients. 61 patients were killed in the air attack. The bombardment comes after US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and British Foreign Secretary David Miliband urging the warring parties not to attack medical facilities both within and outside the safety zone following the claim by SL Defence Secretary Gotabhaya that hospitals outside safety zone were legitimate targets.
Full story >>

SLA hands over body of Tamil farmer to Vaazhaichcheanai hospital

[TamilNet, Saturday, 07 February 2009, 08:39 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers in Paduvaankarai in Batticaloa district handed the body of a Tamil farmer Friday morning to Vaazhaichcheanai hospital claiming that he had committed suicide by taking poison, sources in Batticaloa said. Vaazhaichcheanai district magistrate who held the inquest into the death ordered Vaazhaichcheanai police to find the true cause of death and submit the report before 12 February.
Full story >>

Fonseka, Gotabaya Genocide charges filed with US Justice Dept

[TamilNet, Friday, 06 February 2009, 19:39 GMT]
Bruce Fein, counsel for US-based group Tamils Against Genocide (TAG), Thursday afternoon 3:00 p.m. submitted to United States Attorney General, Mr Eric Holder, the Model Indictment charging U.S. citizen and Sri Lanka's Defense Secretary, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, and U.S. green card holder and Sri Lanka's Army Commander, Sarath Fonseka, for genocide, war crimes and torture against Tamils in Sri Lanka. The Counsel urged the Department to open a grand jury investigation into the crimes, based on evidence amassed in the three volume 1000-page document which the Counsel said "amply satisfies the Department's threshold for commencing a criminal investigation."
Full story >>

Tigers seize SLA arms storage in PTK

[TamilNet, Friday, 06 February 2009, 16:02 GMT]
Liberation Tigers of Tamileelam (LTTE) this week seized an arms storage from the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) in Puthukkudiyiruppu (PTK), sources close to LTTE told TamilNet Friday. Hundreds of SLA crack commandos were drawn into Mannaka'ndal and Keappaapulavu 'boxes' and were cut off from their rear supplies during a pre-emptive strike by the Tiger forces, resulting in the loss of more than one thousand SLA soldiers since February 01. An arms storage, which was full of weapons as the SLA was in full preparation to launch its 'final assault' on PTK was seized by the Tiger commandos engaged in the preemptive strike.
Full story >>

Welcome to armed forces, hindrance to academics: India's Sri Lanka policy

[TamilNet, Friday, 06 February 2009, 08:11 GMT]
While the genocidal armed forces of Sri Lanka are warmly welcomed in India for training, the academics of the island of Sri Lanka, seeking registration to do doctoral research in Indian universities, including Buddhist monks, are waiting to get clearance from the Foreign as well as Human Resource Development ministries of India for nearly a year now, student sources in Colombo said.
Full story >>

Minister, members come hard on Colombo in British Parliament

[TamilNet, Friday, 06 February 2009, 08:04 GMT]
The situation in Sri Lanka is nothing short of shocking. Any attempts, including by representatives of the Sri Lanka government to defend the shelling of the [Puthukkudiyiruppu] hospital are frankly unacceptable. Such attacks are serious violations of international humanitarian law, said Bill Rummell, Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office, in the British Parliament on Thursday. “The statement made by the Sri Lankan Government on Tuesday—that civilians should move out of the conflict area because they could no longer guarantee their safety—was extraordinarily worrying. […] The call for a temporary no-fire period by the [British] Foreign Secretary and Hillary Clinton this week should be acted upon immediately," he said.
Full story >>

Emergency session of Canadian parliament discusses ceasefire, political solution

[TamilNet, Friday, 06 February 2009, 08:00 GMT]
Amidst demonstration and vigil of thousands of Canadian Eezham Tamils outside, and against the backdrop of Canadian government’s call for ceasefire coupled with 3 million dollars aid to the affected, the Canadian parliament had an emergency debate on the crisis in the island of Sri Lanka Wednesday that lasted four and a half hours. Cutting across party lines members were vocal in stressing the need for immediate ceasefire and federal perspectives of political solution. The balance of the debate was heavily against the Colombo government.
Full story >>

Civilian sufferings unacceptable – Danish FM

[TamilNet, Friday, 06 February 2009, 06:31 GMT]
“The Danish government, greatly concerned about the situation of the civilians in the conflict areas in North Sri Lanka, is following the situation closely as well as is engaged in exerting pressure on the parties in conflict through institutions including the EU,” Denmark Foreign Minister, Per Stig Møller, said in a report 3 February. Around 4000 Tamils staged a demonstration 4 February starting from Copenhagen Town Hall to the entrance of the Danish Parliament, sources in Copenhagen said.
Full story >>

SLA attacks 'safety zone' using short-range mortars, gunfire, claiming lives

[TamilNet, Thursday, 05 February 2009, 20:59 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army (SLA) on Thursday shell-attacked saftey zone in torrents not allowing people to come out of bunkers throughout the day in Chuthanthirapuram and Iruddumadu civilian refuges. Two of the sixteen dead bodies of civilians brought to hospital had gunfire injuries, according to medical sources. More than 6,000 shells exploded inside the safe zone, reported TamilNet correspondent amidst shelling audible throughout reporting. The SLA has deployed several short and medium range mortars to fire shells on Chunthanthirapuram and Iruddumadu.
Full story >>

Vavuniyaa hospital canteen owner abducted

[TamilNet, Thursday, 05 February 2009, 18:07 GMT]
The owner of the canteen in the Vavuniyaa general hospital was abducted by a group of unidentified persons Tuesday night around 8.30 p.m. from the hospital premises, according to complaints lodged with the Vavuniyaa police by his wife. The abductors had allegedly told the victim that he was being take for questioning over some incidents.
Full story >>