British duplicity of proscribing LTTE, inaction to Colombo’s war questioned

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 28 January 2009, 18:55 GMT]
When the British Foreign Minister, Lord Mark Malloch Brown told a room-packed audience of the British Tamil Forum on Tuesday that the British government cannot interfere in the internal affairs of Sri Lanka, a member of the audience asked him then why did they proscribe the LTTE, which did nothing to Britain. The Minister had no answer. The British Foreign Secretary Mr. Miliband who attended the gathering reiterated the British Prime Ministers assurance two weeks ago to work for an immediate ceasefire and said that he would speak to EU foreign ministers in the next few days. He also said that Britain would consider sending a Special Envoy to Sri Lanka.
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SLA instructs Jaffna GA to open more detention camps

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 28 January 2009, 17:36 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army (SLA) and high government officials have instructed Jaffna Government Agent (GA), K. Ganesh, to open new detention camps in Jaffna peninsula for people brought from Vanni where an intensive war is being unleashed on the people in Vanni, Jaffna Secretariat sources said. Jaffna Teaching Hospital (JTH) had been held in a state of readiness Tuesday and Wednesday to treat the injured among the civilians brought to Jaffna peninsula by the SLA, the sources added.
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Death threats to Jaffna Asst. Election Commissioner

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 28 January 2009, 17:10 GMT]
Anonymous persons had issued death threats by phone to Jaffna district Assistant Election Commissioner (AEC), K. Kuganathan, according to complaints made by him to Jaffna magistrate court. Jaffna court instructed Jaffna police to investigate into the complaint using the phone numbers from which the death threat call had come, sources in Jaffna said.
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200 Journalists stage protest demo in Tamil Nadu

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 28 January 2009, 16:25 GMT]
More than 200 journalists and media persons staged a protest demonstration at the Chennai Press Club premises Wednesday condemning the killing of journalists in Sri Lanka, particularly the assassination of Sunday Leader's editor Lasanta Wicremtunge. They condemned the fact that reporters who expose the killing of innocent Tamil civilians and children, or who document the human rights abuses in the island are being systematically eliminated by the government.
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46 more civilians killed Tuesday, few wounded survive

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 28 January 2009, 12:27 GMT]
Only a few of the wounded have survived injuries caused by the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) artillery shelling on 'safety zone', according to the civilian volunteers in Udaiyaarkaddu, who have been helping people to bury their dead. Only a few dared to send the remains to hospital mortuary. Very few of the wounded have survived, TamilNet correspondent said Wednesday.
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Colombo's war crimes turn to rape of the fleeing - Jaffna MP

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 28 January 2009, 11:45 GMT]
Civilians who have been caught by the Sri Lanka Army recently in Vadamaraadchi East in Jaffna and from Murasumoaddai in Ki'linochchi district, who are confined to the 'detention camps' run by the Sri Lankan military, have complained to their relatives that the Sri Lankan soldiers have taken several women into their custody and were sexually abusing them, said Jaffna district parliamentarian S. Gajendran on Wednesday. Those who continue to justify and abet the on going war against Tamils and those who directly or indirectly advocate surrender of Tamil civilians to their adversaries are a party to war crimes, he further 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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SLA soldiers attack fishermen in Poonakari sea

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 27 January 2009, 16:43 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers posted along the coast of Poonakari and Kalmunai attacked indiscriminately the fishermen who had gone to fish there from Kurnakar area on the opposite coast of Jaffna lagoon, Kurunakar Fisheries Society sources said. Meanwhile, SLA banned fishing in the seas of the areas mentioned above as a measure strengthening the coastal security as Poonakari has been made the SLA commanding base for the Vanni mainland, sources in Jaffna said.
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300,000 civilians face hunger, Colombo, abettors re-enact African scene in South Asia

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 27 January 2009, 16:10 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army (SLA) has instructed UN and World Food Programme officials to keep away from 'safety zone,' which has been subjected to continuous inhuman artillery barrage, denying civilians any meaningful space of refuge, said the latest reports from the offices of the Regional Director of Health Services (RDHS) for Ki'linochchi and Mullaiththeevu. 300,000 Tamils are denied of even drinking water and are facing hunger, the reports say. "Completely given up by the International Community, the civilians are left to face the fate at the hands of their genocidal killers. Indications are that they would rather choose to die starving rather than getting caught by Colombo's army of predators," said a medical staff at Udaiyaarkaddu hospital.
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Jaffna Catholic priests protest against Vanni killings, displacements

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 27 January 2009, 13:05 GMT]
Members and bishops from Jaffna Catholic diocese led by Jaffna Bishop, Rt. Rev. Thomas Saundaranayagam, will launch a protest fast from Wednesday in St. Mary’s Church also known as ‘Periya Koayil’ in Jaffna, urging Sri Lanka government to stop artillery and aerial bombardment on Vanni civilians, and to bring an end to their continuing displacements, according to an announcement issued from Bishop’s House. The protest fast will begin at 9:00 a.m Wednesday and end at 3:00 p.m, and will continue on a rotational basis.
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TNA calls for shut down in North, East of Sri Lanka

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 27 January 2009, 12:31 GMT]
Tamil National Alliance (TNA) called upon the people in the North and East of Sri Lanka to observe a general shut down on Friday, the 30th of January, to protest against the killing of Tamil civilians by Sri Lanka armed forces. Several hundreds of Internally Displaced People (IDPs) assembled within the Colombo designated "safety zone" have died in the last four days from artillery and air strikes by Sri Lanka military.
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Tamil Nadu needs to forge an Eezham front

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 27 January 2009, 11:46 GMT]
It is time that like-minded political parties, civil groups, social activists, student organizations and cultural institutions of Tamil Nadu jointly forge a mass movement under one umbrella and aim to achieve independence and sovereignty for Eezham Tamils, urged a large number of mails received by TamilNet from India, Eezham and the Tamil diaspora all over the world in the last ten days in response to the call of TamilNet for opinion. "The front should face the forthcoming elections in Tamil Nadu on the question of achieving an independent and sovereign nation state for Eezham Tamils, in no uncertain terms, and get the mandate from the people", the mails further urged.
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No humanitarian supplies from UN, WFP, say TRO officials

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 27 January 2009, 11:34 GMT]
The World Food Programme (WFP) officials responsible for the food supply to civilians in Vanni and UN officials who were in the Chunthanthirapuram food station, the only station for delivering food supplies, are yet to resume humanitarian supplies to the thousands of civilians who are without any supplies, a Tamil Rehabilitation Organisation (TRO) official told TamilNet from Chuthanthirapuram. The WFP and UN officials fled the 'safety zone' after the artillery barrage by the Sri Lanka Army (SLA). Now, they are staying in Puthukkudiyiruppu (PTK), according to the instructions by the SLA, the TRO officials further said.
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Norway breaks silence, condemns war

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 27 January 2009, 10:21 GMT]
The Norwegian Foreign Minister, Jonas Gahr Støre, in a statement issued on Tuesday said his government condemned the ongoing war in Sri Lanka, which has caused "unacceptable sufferings to the civilians," in the country. Meanwhile, International Development Minister Erik Solheim has called on the parties stressing that all the people in conflict area should be able to move freely and that the civilians who flee the war must be assured a dignified and respectful treatment under the supervision and monitoring of UN and international observers. "The sick and the wounded must be given access for treatment and ambulances must be able to travel unhindered, in and out of the conflict area," Mr. Solheim has demanded.
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Dead bodies decomposed beyond identification - medical authorities

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 27 January 2009, 09:06 GMT]
Initial reports emerging from Udaiyaarkaddu hospital as the ICRC representatives came out of their bunkers and started helping the medical authorities said that many dead bodies of civilians that were not buried so far have become decomposed beyond identification. 3 shells exploded near the hospital as late as 1:40 p.m. Tuesday. There have been 2 fresh killings in artillery fire and at least 8 wounded were brought in Tuesday's shelling. There has been no sign of additional medical help coming into the region, the officials said.
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Students in Chennai protest against alleged Indian military aid to Colombo

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 27 January 2009, 07:00 GMT]
Tamil Nadu Police arrested a group of students in front of Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly Tuesday while they were attempting to protest against what they alleged as an attempt by the Indian Government to export battle-tanks to the Sri Lankan military, reacting to reports and photographs that have appeared in a largest selling Tamil daily (Erode edition of Dianthanthi). Meanwhle, Tamil political leaders in Tamil Nadu, when contacted by TamilNet said that they were investigating the veracity of the claim that tanks photographed at Erode were destined for the Colombo government.
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Artillery barrage continues on 'safety zone', no sign of external help

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 27 January 2009, 06:27 GMT]
The Sri Lanka Army (SLA) was continuing artillery barrage on civilian 'safety zone' despite the repeated calls to cease artillery fire by the medical authorities that are struggling to provide medical help, according to latest reports from Udaiyaarkaddu hospital on Tuesday. There is no sign of external medical teams or supplies coming in as requested by the hospital.
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Targeting civilians in safety zone, premeditated war crime of Colombo - Nadesan

[TamilNet, Monday, 26 January 2009, 20:12 GMT]
Liberation Tigers of Tamileelam (LTTE) Political Head B. Nadesan, Monday night told TamilNet that Colombo has committed a grave war crime by asking civilians and their facilities, including the ICRC, to move inside a 'safety zone,' without any shelter or infrastructure support and then by subjecting them to inhumane artillery barrage, killing hundreds and causing injuries to more than one thousand.
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'Biased UN official misleads humanity, safely sitting in Colombo' - Vanni journalist

[TamilNet, Monday, 26 January 2009, 17:59 GMT]
The UN spokesman in Colombo, Gordon Weiss, reported by AFP put the number of dead civilians inside safety zone on Monday only at ten, adding that he could not say who was responsible for the civilian casualties. “ We don’t know where the firing came from”, AFP quoted him saying. The UN, which has a universal franchise to intervene on behalf of civilians trapped in war has not only forfeited all its rights, including the right to monitor what is happening, to the genocidal government of Colombo, but also comes out with blatant lies aimed at protecting the perpetrator of war crime, accused Mr. Ravi, a journalist in Vanni.
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