130 Tamils from government held Muttur villages return

[TamilNet, Friday, 16 March 2007, 11:44 GMT]
A batch of about 130 persons from 40 Tamil families displaced from their villages in government controlled territory in Muttur and Serunuwara divisions returned from Batticaloa to Killiveddy in Muttur police division Thursday around 11 in night in two buses for resettlement. Another batch of 147 persons from 47 Tamil families are waiting in Batticaloa to return to their villages, divisional secretariat sources said.
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13 Tamils arrested in Mt.Lavinia

[TamilNet, Thursday, 15 March 2007, 11:11 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers and Police arrested thirteen Tamils from North and Eastern provinces in a pre-dawn search conducted Thursday in Hathuduwa area in Mt.Lavinia, a suburb of Colombo city, police said.
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Tamils arrested in Tissamaharagama still in detention

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 13 March 2007, 21:38 GMT]
Ten Tamil civilians arrested in Tissamaharagama, in the southern province Sunday night in a cordon and search operation conducted by the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) and Police are still being detained in the police station and being questioned.
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SLA forces exodus of Tamils in Batticaloa

[TamilNet, Monday, 12 March 2007, 01:34 GMT]
More than 100,000 people have moved out of Liberation Tigers controlled areas of Batticaloa district to the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) controlled areas as Sri Lankan armed forces continued shelling for the third consecutive day in their attempt to force evacuation of large section of Tamil population with the military agenda to capture additional territory, officials providing relief assistance said Sunday.
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International community must intervene to stop attacks on East

[TamilNet, Sunday, 11 March 2007, 18:50 GMT]
More than hundred and fifteen thousand people have been rendered homeless due to the indiscriminate and persistent shelling of Paduvankarai region in the Esatern province by the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) since 5th March, in its attempt to invade the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) held territory, T. Ariyanenthiran, Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarian for Batticaloa said in an urgent appeal on behalf of the TNA, requesting the International Community to intervene immediately to stop the Sri Lanka Government's war on Tamils in the east.
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Court releases 8 Tamil detainees, SLN arrests 4 in Negombo

[TamilNet, Saturday, 10 March 2007, 12:45 GMT]
Colombo magistrate court Thursday and Friday released twelve civilians, eight of them Tamils, who were arrested in cordon and search operations in Colombo and its suburbs and detained in Boosa detention camp located in Galle in southern province. Meanwhile, Sri Lanka Navy (SLN) arrested four in Negombo suspected of attacking fishing boats, sources in Colombo said.
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Tigers hand over 4 STF bodies to ICRC in Batticaloa

[TamilNet, Saturday, 10 March 2007, 06:27 GMT]
Liberation Tigers Batticaloa District Deputy Political Head S. Seeralan handed over four bodies of Sri Lankan Special Task Force (STF) personnel killed Friday at Pullumalai, to the Batticaloa ICRC Saturday morning, Tiger officials in Batticaloa said. The LTTE has thwarted STF ground troop movement and seized 1 PK LMG, 1 RPG, 1 M16A2 assault rifle, 5 T56-2 guns and ammunition including 40mm mortar shells. A three pronged ground offensive with SLA/STF artillery barrage has forced more than 40 000 Tamils to flee their villages in LTTE controlled area.
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6 Tamils detained in Dambulla, 3 remanded, 29 released

[TamilNet, Saturday, 10 March 2007, 00:38 GMT]
Of the 38 civilians arrested in Dambulla and its suburbs in north central province Thursday, six civilians, all Tamils have been detained in police station for further investigation. Three were produced in Dambulla magistrate court Friday and remanded, legal sources in Colombo said.
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TNA urges Australia not to send back 85 Tamils

[TamilNet, Thursday, 08 March 2007, 08:59 GMT]
Tamil National Alliance (TNA) Parliamentarians urged the Australian and Indonesian governments, in press communiqué released on Wednesday, not to send back the 85 Tamils intercepted by the Australian Navy in Australian Sea on 22 February citing that if they were sent back their lives will be in danger from the Sri Lankan armed forces and collaborating paramilitary groups.
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Parents visit Sinhala soldiers in LTTE custody

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 07 March 2007, 23:06 GMT]
The parents and relatives of five soldiers of Sri Lanka armed forces currently in custody of Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) visited the soldiers in Kilinochchi Wednesday, LTTE sources in Kilinochchi said. The Red Cross facilitated the visit. The group arrived in Kilinochchi from Vavuniya and met the soldiers at a remand prison of the Thamileelam Police around 11:00 a.m. in the presence of V. Aravindan, Probation Officer of Thamileelam Police , Kumarasamy Kanagalingam, the Chief Inspector of Thamileelam Police and Selvaretnam Jeyapalan, the Chief Prison Guard.
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SL Police chief admits Sri Lanka forces involved in abductions

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 06 March 2007, 12:03 GMT]
Sri Lankan security forces are involved in abductions of civilians for ransom, the country’s Police Chief admitted Monday, saying a ‘large number’ of officers and troops had been arrested on charges of abduction and extortion. However the Inspector General of Police, Victor Perera also asserted that “organised groups” were conducting abductions and killings “to embarrass the government.”


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Decomposed body recovered from Kelani river, girl abducted in Negombo

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 06 March 2007, 10:40 GMT]
Wellampitiya police recovered the body of a youth in decomposed state from Kelani river at Kohilawatte in Wellampitiya police division Monday, police said. Meanwhile, unknown persons abducted the five year old daughter of a popular Tamil businessman Monday evening in Negombo and have demanded ransom to release her, according to complaints made to Negombo police.
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3 Jaffna youths arrested in Chilaw

[TamilNet, Monday, 05 March 2007, 22:29 GMT]
Three Tamil youths, natives of Jaffna district, were arrested Saturday night in a house located close to Chilaw town in northwestern province. One youth had arrived from abroad few days ago and the other two have been staying in the area for the last two years renting the house.
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SLA readies for Manalaru offensive, Tigers warn of bloodbath

[TamilNet, Monday, 05 March 2007, 12:07 GMT]
"We are aware that the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) has amassed military hardware close to Manalaru in preparation for a major offensive towards Mullaitivu area. Consequence of this offensive will be a catastrophic bloodbath across Sri Lanka," said Mr. Thamilchelvan, Head of LTTE Political Wing, speaking to TamilNet after meeting the Norwegian Ambassador to Sri Lanka, Hans Brattskar and Norwegian Embassy official Erik Nuremberg, in Kilinochchi Monday.


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VoT begins satellite transmission using Eurostar

[TamilNet, Sunday, 04 March 2007, 16:47 GMT]
Voice of Tigers, the official radio broadcast of Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), began satellite broadcast to South Asian countries from Vanni starting from today, LTTE sources from Kilinochchi said. "We are holding the inauguration ceremony on the 69th birthday of late Anton Balasingham as a mark of respect for his contribution to the progress of Tamil media. I also wish to thank all the staff at VoT for making the station a voice of Tamils," said Head of LTTE's Political Wing, S.P. Thamilchelvan speaking at the event.
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Jurists charge SL Government forces of extra-judicial killings, torture

[TamilNet, Friday, 02 March 2007, 21:22 GMT]
Anti-terrorism laws in Sri Lanka have led to widespread and systematic rights abuses, a panel of global jurists said on Friday, charging Sri Lanka government forces of extra-judicial killings and torture, Reuters reported in a story datelined 2 March from New Delhi. The panel expressed concern over "extra-judicial killings, torture, enforced disappearances and arbitrary detentions" by troops in the Indian Ocean island nation," the report added. Meanwhile, the Dutch government in a cabinet meeting today decided that "no Tamil asylum seekers would be sent back to Sri Lanka until 1 July," reports in Dutch media said.


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10 Tamils arrested in Dehiwela

[TamilNet, Friday, 02 March 2007, 02:25 GMT]
Sri Lanka Police conducted a door to door search midnight Wednesday in the Tamil dominated towns of Dehiwela and Kalubovila in Mount Lavinia Municipal limits, and arrested ten Tamils including three women, sources in Colombo said.
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Police arrest Tamil teacher in Maskeliya, 4 Tamils in Kandy

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 28 February 2007, 18:09 GMT]
A Tamil teacher working in Maskeliya in Nuwara Eliya district in the central province was arrested Tuesday in a search operation by the police. Hatton Magistrate remanded him till March 16 when he was produced in courts Wednesday.
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Arrests of Tamils in upcountry areas escalate

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 27 February 2007, 00:15 GMT]
Sri Lanka police arrested 11 Tamils in during a search operation at 4:00 a.m Monday at Lunugala Upper Division in Poonagala, Bandarawella, while Karantheniya police arrested 4 youths returning in a lorry from Galle, sources in Bandarawela said. Meanwhile, Koswathe and Karruvakadu police each arrested one plantation Tamil youth Monday, sources said.


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American Tamils call for Recognition of Tamil Sovereignty for NorthEast Sri Lanka

[TamilNet, Monday, 26 February 2007, 11:46 GMT]
Pleading to the international community that "the just aspirations of the Tamils should not be held hostage by fictitious claims of protecting the territorial integrity and sovereignty of a failed state," a consortium of Tamil organizations in the US, in a press release issued Monday, urged the International Community to "recognize the current de-facto Tamil state should their authentic representatives exercise the right to external self-determination," and called upon fellow Americans "to stand with the Tamil Americans in support of the inalienable right of self-determination."
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