Tamil Nadu fishermen assaulted, driven naked by Sri Lanka Navy

[TamilNet, Saturday, 26 September 2009, 17:34 GMT]
Twenty-four fishermen from Keechchaangkuppam in Naakarkoayil area in Tamil Nadu, fishing in Kanniyaakumari seas in five boats Friday night, were brutally assaulted and cast naked in the seas by Sri Lanka Navy (SLN) soldiers, sources in Naakarkoayil said. SLN soldiers had beaten the fishermen on their heads with the ice blocks taken by the fishermen to preserve their catch, the sources added. Fishermen in the coastal areas of Tamil Nadu saved the 24 fishermen who managed to swim ashore Saturday morning and admitted them in the local hospital, the sources further said.
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‘Paranoid Colombo machinates IDP human shield’

[TamilNet, Saturday, 26 September 2009, 13:43 GMT]
A whole world is duped in what Colombo is machinating in the name of resettlement of IDPs, Tamil circles in Jaffna commented, citing Sri Lanka Navy’s new internment camps around its installations in the island sector of Jaffna. Colombo’s aim is threefold: a human shield of civilians for its occupying forces, prevention of rightful owners reoccupying houses and lands around its military installations and eventually confiscating those lands in strategic areas for its expansion and other demographic conspiracies in the very heart of Tamil homeland, pointed out Tamil circles adding that a paranoid Sri Lankan state can never deliver justice to Tamils. The core truth is that the barbed-wire camps came up because the world powers wanted it. But some powers by not directly taking responsibility and some others like India by sitting on international action continue injustice, Jaffna circles said.
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NGOs hold parallel meeting at UN Human Rights Council

[TamilNet, Friday, 25 September 2009, 15:05 GMT]
Switzerland-based ECOSO NGO Interfaith International in Geneva, organized an open dialogue on the theme "War against terrorism and human security - consequences of the failure of state machinery and policies" as a parallel event to the 12th session of the UN Human Rights Council, Friday, where the panelists were drawn from well known academics, lawyers and human rights activists from various parts of the world, sources in Geneva said. The event was co-sponsored by the Himalayan Research and Cultural Foundation and the Al-Hakim Foundation.
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CPJ to honour Tamil journalist Tissainayagam

[TamilNet, Friday, 25 September 2009, 04:17 GMT]
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) will honour J.S. Tissainayagam as well as courageous journalists from Somalia, Tunisia and Azerbaijan with its 2009 International Press Freedom Awards at a ceremony in November. J.S. Tissainayagam was recently sentenced to 20 years in prison. "These are reporters who risk their personal freedom and often their lives to ensure that independent voices resonate within their nations and across the globe," CPJ Board Chairman Paul Steiger said.
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Another batch of Vavuniyaa IDPs to be detained in the islets of Jaffna

[TamilNet, Friday, 25 September 2009, 04:12 GMT]
Around 500 Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) held in the internment camps in Vavuniyaa brought to Jaffna Thursday were handed over to Sri Lanka Navy (SLN) who took them to Kaarainakar, in the islets of Jaffna to be again detained in camps close to the SLN base. The IDPs are being held in Ma’raignanasampanthar Vithiyaalayam in Kaarainakar while the SLN is constructing new camps in the abandoned civilian settlements to detain them, sources in Jaffna said.
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Court case mooted against India’s internment camps for Eezham Tamils

[TamilNet, Thursday, 24 September 2009, 18:47 GMT]
Long continuing human rights violations of Government of India and Tamil Nadu State Government, by the way they treat Eezham Tamils in internment camps and refugee camps in Tamil Nadu, are challenged by I’lanthamizhar Iyakkam (Young Tamil Movement) in Chennai, which is mooting a court case in this regard. Accusing the central and state governments for showing racial discrimination against Eezham Tamil refugees, for committing repression through their police and intelligence services and for failing in equal treatment compared to Tibetan and Burmese refugees, the YTM seeks redress under Articles 14 and 21 of the Indian constitution, says a document released by K. Arunabharathi, coordinator of YTM and plaintiff of the proposed case.
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Tamil technologist feared extra-judicially executed in Colombo

[TamilNet, Thursday, 24 September 2009, 15:33 GMT]
Kathiravel Thayapararaja, a 28-year old Tamil Electrical Engineer, is feared to have been extra-judically executed by Sri Lanka intelligent services, after being forcefully abducted sometime second week of September, informed sources in Colombo said. Thayapararaja's wife, Uthayakala, and the two children of her diseased sister who were under Uthayakala's care, have now been taken under the protection and care of a Church Organization in Colombo, after being left helpless with the disappearance of her husband, unconfirmed reports said.
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4 Tamil youths arrested in Up-country

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 23 September 2009, 17:00 GMT]
Sri Lanka police took into custody four Tamil youths in a search operation Wednesday morning in Bogawantalawa and Kotagala in the up-country where Tamils live predominantly. Two of the arrested youths are from Jaffna, relatives of the youths said.
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Move to make money for 3-wheelers owned by state armed cadres, in Vavuniyaa

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 23 September 2009, 13:48 GMT]
The office of Vavuniya Ramya House Army Civil Affairs has been shifted from the town to Ee’rataperiyaku’lam with immediate effect, causing inconvenience to the Tamil civilian travelers. The reason for the re-location of the office is mainly to enable the three-wheelers owned by Police, Army and Civil Defence force cadres to earn more money as hire from the Tamil passengers due to the long distance to the shifted office of Ramya House Army Civil Affairs in Ee’ratperiyaku’lam, according to well informed sources in Vavuniyaa.
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Young Tamil mother reported missing in Up-Country

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 23 September 2009, 12:25 GMT]
A 20-year-old Tamil female, who is a mother an 18 months old baby, is reported missing in Hatton in Up-Country since September 13 after she went out for shopping, Police said.
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Civilians clash with SLA in Vavuniyaa internment camp

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 23 September 2009, 12:09 GMT]
Additional police and Sri Lanka Army troops were brought into the College of Education internment camp in Vavuniyaa after clashes erupted between civilian inmates and Sri Lankan forces following the arrest and assault of a Tamil youth in the camp. Several civilians and armed personnel sustained minor injuries, sources in Vavuniyaa said.
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Court fixes inquiry into FR filed by Sunday Leader journalist

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 23 September 2009, 08:07 GMT]
The three –member bench of the Supreme Court Friday listed the Fundamental Rights petition filed by journalist Arthur Wamanan Sornalingam of the Sunday leader to be taken up on November 9 for inquiry as the court was told that the two parties concerned were agreeable to a mutually negotiated settlement. The petitioner cited the Police Chief, CID (Special Unit) OIC, its DIG and SSP, Minister Mano Wijeratne and the Attorney General as respondents. The Chief Justice Asoka de Silva, Jagath Balapatebendi and S.I.Imam were the members of the bench.
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Tamils protest in New York, say Ban ineffective, lacks leadership

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 23 September 2009, 04:08 GMT]
Several dozen American Tamils assembled near the United Nations building between 1st Avenue and 47th Street Tuesday around noon and protested against UN inaction, particularly the UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon, for first failing to prevent the bloodbath in May when more than 20,000 Tamil civilians were allegedly killed by Sri Lanka Army using heavy weapons, and now for allowing Sri Lanka to continue to incarcerate nearly 300,000 in military supervised internment camps with little freedom of movement. Protesters urged the UN to take swift action to pressure Sri Lanka to allow civilians to return to their villages and resume normal life, attendees to the rally said.
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US leadership in rights issues questioned

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 23 September 2009, 02:27 GMT]
Noting that the "[Obama] Administration has pursued a low profile approach to Sri Lanka, where a military offensive against rebels is believed to have killed thousands of civilians," Washington Post in an article in Tuesday edition says that rights advocates have been frustrated by several episodes and said US's new approach has undercut U.S. leadership on human rights issues. Responding to U.S.'s assertion that "it[US] is not going to preach its values and not going to impose its values," Kenneth Ross, executive director of Human Rights Watch, said "[t]he problem is they are not American values -- they are international values."
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HRW: World leaders should demand end to Sri Lanka detention camps

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 23 September 2009, 02:08 GMT]
Human Rights Watch (HRW), a New York-based rights group, in a press release issued Tuesday, expressed concern "about a lack of protection mechanisms in the camps and the secret, incommunicado detention - and possible enforced disappearance - of suspected combatants. Poor conditions, overcrowding, and inadequate medical care increases the risk of serious health problems during the coming monsoon season," and noting that "the authorities are not being open and honest with camp residents about when they may go home, keeping them in a state of uncertainty and anxiety," urged the world leaders to demand an end to Sri Lanka 'detention camps."
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Woman swallows cynanide, dies in hospital

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 22 September 2009, 20:26 GMT]
A Tamil female who swallowed cyanide capsule when a team of police officials from the Galle District Crime Division attempted to arrest her died after being admitted to the hospital in Vavuniyaa on Tuesday early morning.
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Kuppuzhaan

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 22 September 2009, 13:44 GMT]
The locality of Kuppuzhaay (Vernonia zeylanica) vegetation
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'Tamil heritage for sale in Colombo'

[TamilNet, Monday, 21 September 2009, 22:37 GMT]
Valuable antiquities plundered from the archaeological sites and monuments in Vanni by the occupying forces of Sri Lanka are now sold in the antiquarian market of Colombo, reports reaching from Colombo said. Before the war, the LTTE was maintaining a museum in Vanni, with a large collection of archaeological material including Buddhist artefacts.
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Colombo contemplates Malaysian model

[TamilNet, Monday, 21 September 2009, 22:36 GMT]
A participant in a study group that recently met in London cautioned that Colombo with the support of Asian powers is dreaming to follow Malaysian model of ethnic totalitarianism and related development model, ultimately aimed at erasing the territoriality of Eezham Tamil nation, bringing the entire island under Sinhala ethnic hegemony. “The Sri Lankan state has forgotten that even in the case with the 19th century Chinese migrants, after all the ethnic persecutions Malaysia had to finally concede secession of Singapore, to have peaceful development in the region. The Eezham Tamils who have right on the island ever since Sinhalese became Sinhalese need deserving justice and if Colombo thinks of Malaysia, who ever is going to support a Singapore in the island is going to have the say in the region,” commented another participant of the meet in London.
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UN envoy Kalin to arrive in Colombo Wednesday

[TamilNet, Monday, 21 September 2009, 17:30 GMT]
Mr. Walter Kalin, Human Rights envoy of the United Nations is scheduled to arrive in Colombo late Wednesday on a five-day visit that includes a tour to Vanni IDP camps holding tens of thousands of refugees. "Mr. Kalin will meet with senior government officials, international aid agencies, including UN staff, and also visit some sites holding internally displaced people (IDPs)," UN sources said.
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