Diaspora health meet highlights 'Village University'

[TamilNet, Thursday, 06 September 2007, 05:12 GMT]
Dr Mads Gilbert, a Professor of Emergency Medicine at University of Tromsø in Norway and a co-author of the book titled 'Save Lives, Save Limbs', gave a lecture on the concept of 'Village University', last Saturday when Tamil Diaspora health workers in Europe gathered in the Norwegian city of Bergen for a 2-day conference. The anesthesiologist with experience in training health care workers in many conflict areas of the global South, outrightly criticized the North centric approach to health in conflict areas. His impressive publication on alternatives awaits Tamil translation.
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Colombo aims to carve out Sinhala district between North and East - Sampanthan

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 05 September 2007, 19:46 GMT]
The Government of Sri Lanka is giving in for the demands of the extreme nationalist Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU), with its plans afoot to carve out a Sinhala district between Trincomalee district in the Eastern Province and Mullaiththeevu in the Northern Province, aiming to split the geographical contiguity of the Tamil homeland, charged R. Sampanthan, the senior Tamil parliamentarian and the parliamentary group leader of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA), addressing the Sri Lankan parliament Wednesday. The attempt to create a Sinhala district would spoil the chances for a negotiated settlement, Mr. Sampanthan further warned.
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Account freeze by Sri Lanka violates UN Declaration- TRO

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 05 September 2007, 10:46 GMT]
Freezing of Bank Accounts of the Tamils Rehabilitation Organization (TRO) in Colombo for more than one year without any charges being filed, and denying the TRO "day in court" to defend against the "false allegations," are violations of Declaration on the "Elimination of All Forms of Intolerance and of Discrimination Based on Religion or Belief proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly's Resolution 36/55 of 25 November 1981," said TRO officials in a media release issued Tuesday.
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Amnesty calls for impartial, international investigations on escalating Human Rights violations in Sri Lanka

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 05 September 2007, 08:02 GMT]
"There are grounds to fear a return to a pattern of the security forces involvement in extrajudicial killing of journalists and others," the Amnesty International noted in a public statement issued on Tuesday charging that the national Human Rights monitoring mechanisms, including the Commission of Inquiry (CoI), lacked capacity to launch prompt, impartial and independent investigations. The Amnesty called on the members of the United Nations Human Rights Council, before the sixth session of the Council, scheduled to be held between 10 - 28 September, to exert pressure on Colombo to invite an international monitoring mechanism to independently investigate rights violations in the country.
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6 Tamils reported missing in Verukal area

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 04 September 2007, 10:36 GMT]
Six Tamil civilians who went to Verukal river basin to collect honey and fishing on August 30 are reported missing, according to a complaint lodged with the Serunuwara police station by a Tamil civilian who is said to have escaped. Seven civilians had gone to the Verukal river basin to collect and honey and fishing.
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13 Tamil youths arrested in Gampola

[TamilNet, Sunday, 02 September 2007, 05:16 GMT]
121 persons including 13 Tamil youths were taken into custody in a combined cordon and search operation conducted by the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) and police in eleven police divisions in Gampola district Sunday from morning till dusk.
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220 Tamils in Boosa detention camp

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 28 August 2007, 09:01 GMT]
About 220 Tamils, men and women are being still detained in the Boosa detention camp in the Galle town in the southern province under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA). A Tamil woman of Dematagoda in Colombo city was released Sunday after 86 days in Boosa detention centre without any charge.
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Sri Lankan military desecrates war cemeteries in Batticaloa - TNA parliamentarian

[TamilNet, Sunday, 26 August 2007, 07:03 GMT]
Tamils returning to their villages after months in refugee camps in Batticaloa were frustrated to find out that the cemeteries of their LTTE war dead sons and daughters have vanished without any trace, said Tamil National Alliance parliamentarian P. Ariyanenthiran. Sri Lankan military has recently bulldozed and desecrated Tiger War Heroes Cemeteries in the district. The destruction of the largest war heroes' cemetery in Tharavai in Vadamunai region and the next largest cemetery at Thaa'ndiyadi in the western hinterland of the district "not only mark the SL forces' continued disrespect of the norms of the civlized world, but also reveal a colonization agenda in the near future," he charged.


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Western media ignores Sri Lanka State Terror- Aussie doctor

[TamilNet, Saturday, 25 August 2007, 13:35 GMT]
Queensland Pediatrician and Director of Townsville Hospital's Neonatal Unit, Dr John Whitehall, talking with Richard Fidler of ABC radio in the program "Conversation hour" early this week, said that in Tamil eelam there "is tremendous commitment from a population of only three million people [for separation]. You can't get 17000 people to take up arms and fight to death unless their hearts are in their cause," and added that "What I have come to be aware [is] you can't understand the situation in Colombo if you only focus on the terror which is coming from one side, and you don't mention the state terror, the terror inflicted by Colombo state."
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Court releases two PTA detainees

[TamilNet, Friday, 24 August 2007, 13:24 GMT]
Colombo magistrate court Thursday ordered the release of two Tamils who were taken into custody by the Grandpass Police on July 26 on information that they were in possession of transport permit issued by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). The Additional Magistrate Mr.Ajit Anaviratne made the order on a report by the police that there was no evidence to implicate the suspects Sellathurai Kanthasamy, 64, and M.Selvarajah, driver and cleaner with any offence under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA), legal sources said.
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10 Tamils arrested in Muneesvaram still under custody

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 22 August 2007, 02:18 GMT]
Ten Tamil civilians out of 62 arrested on Sunday night in a cordon and search operation conducted by the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) and police at Muneesvaram area in Chilaw (Chilaapam) district in the north western province are still being detained at Chilaw police station and are being interrogated by the Terrorist Intelligence Division (TID), civil society sources said.
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Kurankupaanchaan IDPs to be resettled

[TamilNet, Saturday, 18 August 2007, 02:49 GMT]
Nearly three hundred families displaced from Kurankupaanchaan, a hamlet in Kinniya division in Trincomalee district in 1990, are to be resettled. A team of Sri Lanka government officials led by the Kinniya Divisional Secretary is to pay a visit to Kurankupaanchaan village during the weekend to see the ground situation before making arrangement for the resettlement, civil society sources said.
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SL Tamil detainees on hunger strike in Tamil Nadu

[TamilNet, Friday, 17 August 2007, 17:48 GMT]
Two Sri Lankan Tamil detainees, on hunger strike from Tuesday in Chenkalpet Special Detention Centre (CSDC), are loosing consciousness, and were admitted to Chenkalpet government hospital Friday, sources in Chenkalpet said. 17 detainees in CSDC for Sri Lankan Tamils are on a hunger strike demanding release since Tuesday.
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APRC is dead, says UNP

[TamilNet, Thursday, 16 August 2007, 00:43 GMT]
After the Tuesday meeting of the All Party Representative Committee (APRC) on Constitutional Reforms was abruptly halted and adjourned indefinitely due to demands from Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) and Mahajana Eksath Peramuna (MEP) members, and failed to "finalise a draft report by today to keep to a deadline set by the United National Party UNP," the opposition UNP spokesperson said the "APRC process is dead in the water," the Morning Leader reported in the Wednesday edition.
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Sri Lanka's Rights violations dominate TNA's European talks

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 15 August 2007, 18:57 GMT]
Senior members of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) after concluding their month long visit to European capitals to meet with top Government officials, said in a press release issued Wednesday, that the meetings focussed on the "horrendous human rights situation" in Sri Lanka, the "retrogressive movement in regard to the political process," and the Sri Lanka Government's attempt to "impose a military solution" to the Tamil National conflict.
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Sri Lanka: ‘Holmes is a terrorist’

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 15 August 2007, 13:38 GMT]
Stung by a top UN official’s criticism that Sri Lanka has one of the worst records in the world for humanitarian aid worker safety, the Colombo government Wednesday condemned him as a “terrorist” and said he had been bribed by the Tamil Tigers to tarnish the country’s reputation. Meanwhile the head of the government's peace secretariat accused French aid group Action Contre la Faim of being responsible for the massacre of 17 of their own local staff last year through "negligence" and "irresponsibility". International monitors have blamed government troops for the killings.
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5 Tamils arrested near SL Parliament

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 15 August 2007, 04:36 GMT]
Sri Lanka Police arrested five Tamil youths near the Sri Lanka Parliament for staying overnight in an open ground located in Madiwela within the Sri Jeyawardanapura Municipal limits, around 4:00 a.m. Tuesday, sources in Colombo said. The youths allegedly had arrived there late evening in an auto trishaw and stayed there until dawn.
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53 School girls killed in 2006 SLAF bombing, remembered

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 15 August 2007, 02:03 GMT]
The first anniversary of the death of fifty three school girls killed at Va'l'lipunam Chegnchoalai orphanage premises from an aerial raid by Kfir fast attack crafts belonging to the Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) on 14 August 2006, was observed throughout Vannni in Ki'linochchi and Mullaitheevu districts at 10:00 a.m Tuesday, sources in Vanni said.
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SLA deserters arrested in Colombo for terrorising Tamils

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 14 August 2007, 10:54 GMT]
The Colombo police Monday arrested three Sinhalese persons who are said to be deserters of the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) on a complaint that they had been collecting names of Tamils who returned from abroad and staying with their relatives in Jampettah Street at Kotahena in Colombo city.
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Three to be charged in Kadirgamar assassination- AG

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 14 August 2007, 10:27 GMT]
Sri Lanka's Attorney General, Mr.C.R.de Silva, told the media Sunday on the second death anniversary of former foreign minister Mr.Lakshman Kadirgamar that indictments against three Tamils now in remand will be filed soon after statements from three persons are obtained, legal sources in Colombo said.
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