“SL government conceals true picture of “Vanni safe zone”-UNP charges

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 13 May 2009, 20:49 GMT]
Dr.Jayalath Jayewardene, Deputy Secretary of the main United National Party (UNP) and parliamentarian made a scathing attack on the government led by President Mahinda Rajapakse that it is rejecting all statements made by the United Nations regarding the immense sufferings of Tamil people trapped in Vanni region without verifying the true picture. The government is committing blatant treachery by concealing the true situation in Vanni, he added at a press briefing held Tuesday in Colombo.
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TNA warns of more bloodshed in the coming days

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 13 May 2009, 12:20 GMT]
Tamil National Alliance (TNA) has pointed out that 3000 Tamils have been killed and more than 1000 have been wounded in the last 3 days in the Vanni region, in a press conference held in Colombo on Tuesday night. Tamil National Alliance leader MP R.Sampanthan states, “The Government of Sri Lanka is mass killing Tamil civilians after denying them food and medicine. This is the reality. More bloodshed can happen in the next few days. We appeal to the International community to immediately stop this systematic slaughtering of civilians.”
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Police arrest 4 Tamils in Chilaapam

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 13 May 2009, 11:15 GMT]
Munthal Police in Chilaapam district Sunday arrested four Tamil civilians including two women during a search operation conducted on receipt of information on suspicious activities in Kaddaikaadu village. The four are being detained in the police station for further interrogation, police sources said.
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Tamil trader shot dead in Mukaththuvaaram

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 13 May 2009, 11:11 GMT]
Unidentified armed persons in army uniform shot dead a Tamil trader Kamalaeshan Yogeswararan, 32, Monday early morning at Kimbulawela in Mukaththuvaaram in Colombo police division. The armed gang entered the house, shot dead the owner, and fled from the scene when neighbours rushed to the site following cries for help by his relatives, sources said.
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SLA shells hospital again, several killed including doctor, ICRC worker

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 13 May 2009, 10:07 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army (SLA) fired artillery shells hit the makeshift hospital in Mu'l'li-vaaykkaal East, killing at least 38 patients who were waiting for treatment at the hospital, a medical staff told TamilNet. "There are many more killed inside the hospital premises, but I can only confirm that 38 casualties that I have witnessed near the main theatre upto 2:53 p.m.," the medical staff told TamilNet. Many shells have hit the makeshift hospital premises across the road. Meanwhile, a patient who reached an administrative office put the casualty figures at 100 and said he had witnessed that an ICRC worker was killed. Meanwhile, LTTE's Director of Peace Secretarait S. Puleedevan when contacted by TamilNet said 39 female patients at a counselling aid center for mentally ill women were massacred by targeted SLA shelling in the morning. More than 40 patients were feared wounded, he said.
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Intervene in the name of humanity: Pathmathan calls on IC

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 13 May 2009, 09:20 GMT]
"Every passing day is resulting in the loss of countless number of civilian lives and alienation of the entire Tamil community," said Selvaraja Pathmanathan, the LTTE plenipotentiary for international relations, in a statement issued on Wednesday, and called on the International Community for its urgent and immediate intervention, not based on territorial or geo-political ambitions, but based on basic human values. "It is our firm view that a cessation of all hostilities would be the only mechanism that would prevent further civilian carnage and we remain committed to an immediate and permanent ceasefire."
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US, UK want UN to facilitate 'safe evacuation' of civilians

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 12 May 2009, 23:37 GMT]
The United States and Britain on Tuesday jointly called on the government of Sri Lanka and the Tamil Tigers to end fighting to allow a UN humanitarian team to visit the conflict zone to facilitate safe evacuation of civilians. However, the statement, which failed to stress ceasefire, was interpreted by Tamil circles as providing tacit approval for Colombo to continue its deployment of infantry support weapons. While asking the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam to lay down their arms, the joint statement has urged Colombo to abide by its commitment of April 27 to end major combat operations and the use of heavy weapons.
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Prof. Boyle: hold Emergency Meeting of UNSC to stop Tamil genocide

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 12 May 2009, 23:20 GMT]
Pointing out that, under the current circumstances, the Provisional Rules of Procedure of the United Nation's Security Council (UNSC) provide at least three ways to convene a formal meeting of the Security Council in order to terminate the Genocide against Tamils by the Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL), Prof. Francis A. Boyle, professor of International Law at the Illinois University College of Law, says, failure of the Secretary General, Governments of the United States, U.K, France, and India to hold a UNSC Emergency meeting indicates that they are all quietly supporting the GoSL genocide against the Tamils from behind the scenes, despite their crocodile tears in public.
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SLA conducts search operation in Polonnaruwa

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 12 May 2009, 16:20 GMT]
Police and Sri Lanka Army Sunday evening conducted a cordon and search operation in Polonnaruwa town and took about fifty Tamil civilians including women for questioning. Except two, others were freed after preliminary inquiry. Two are being detained for further interrogation, police sources said.
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RSF condemn's Channel 4 journalists expulsion

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 12 May 2009, 16:05 GMT]
Referring to the expulsion of British Channel 4's three journalists from Sri Lanka for exposing "atrocious living conditions for [Tamil] civilians [in Vavuniyaa internment camps] and ill-treatment they have suffered" Reporters without Borders (RSF), the Paris-based media watchdog, said in a press release issued Monday that the reasons for expulsions are "unfounded and unacceptable" and that the expulsion is the "latest incident in a long list of serious press freedom violations connected with reporting of the war, including murders of journalists, arbitrary or abusive imprisonment, torture, ill-treatment, censorship and expulsions."
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US violates Geneva Convention by permitting Sri Lanka to commit slow-motion genocide - Prof. Boyle

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 12 May 2009, 04:26 GMT]
Pointing to the statement issued by the U.S. Department of State that after an informal meeting at the United Nations that "[t]he United States is deeply concerned by the continued unacceptably high levels of civilian casualties," expert in International Law, Professor Francis A. Boyle said, the Obama administration is violating the 1948 convention for continuing to give "green light" to the Government of Sri Lanka to destroy the LTTE no matter what the cost to innocent Tamil civilians. Lawrence Christy, the head of Tamils Rehabilitation Organisation (TRO) Field Office on Monday put the death toll of civilians at more than 3,200 killed during the weekend.
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White House protest accuses Sri Lanka of civilian massacre

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 12 May 2009, 02:32 GMT]
More than two hundred American Tamils protested in front of the White House in the Lafayette Park Monday 9:00 a.m. till 4:00 p.m., accusing the Government of Sri Lanka for slaughtering more than 3000 Tamil civilians crowded into a 5 sq.km. area during Saturday night and Sunday with the use of heavy weapons including multi-barrel artillery directed into the Safety Zone. Holding banners displaying "Stop the Genocide," the protesters called on President Obama to lead an international effort to establish a ceasefire between the two adversaries, Government of Sri Lanka and the Liberation Tigers.
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Tamil Diaspora agitates as civilian death toll rises

[TamilNet, Monday, 11 May 2009, 19:57 GMT]
Around 2000 Tamil Diaspora men, women and children staged a protest demonstration Sunday in Toronto, Canada against the genocide of Tamils in Vanni blocking all lanes of a downtown Toronto highway for several hours, sources in Toronto said. “The Tamil Diaspora will not give up. The Sri Lankan regime continues to unleash terror on our people who have been silenced by brute force and unimaginable atrocities. ‘Mother India’ and International community remain silent. But we, the Tamil Diaspora, will see to that Justice is done. Tamil Eelam will be freed,” a protestor said.
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Japan urged to act over Sri Lanka crisis

[TamilNet, Monday, 11 May 2009, 19:14 GMT]
Four international organisations - Human Rights Watch, Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect, International Crisis Group and Amnesty International - released a joint letter to the Japanese Prime Minister Monday, calling on Japan “to play a more active role in confronting the unfolding catastrophe in Sri Lanka.” The four organisations called on Japan “to support efforts for the [United Nations] Security Council to keep the situation in Sri Lanka under close and regular review and to consider the situation in Sri Lanka formally at the Security Council.” Meanwhile, American Tamils after a rally and a night vigil Friday in New York submitted a memorandum to the Japanese Ambassador to the United Nations.
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4 Tamil women arrested in Puththa’lam

[TamilNet, Monday, 11 May 2009, 14:22 GMT]
Puththa’lam police arrested Sunday four Tamil women from Vaakarai in Batticaloa district staying in a house in Va’n’naaththivillu in Puththa’lam district on information given by residents of the area. Police said that the women are being detained on orders from the Ministry of Defence.
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Colombo / Kozhumpu / Ko'lumpu / Ko'lamba

[TamilNet, Monday, 11 May 2009, 13:46 GMT]
The point where the land bends inside
The point of the bend
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99 percent Norway Tamils aspire for Tamil Eelam

[TamilNet, Monday, 11 May 2009, 10:51 GMT]
In a secret ballot of universal suffrage, conducted by a Norwegian media simultaneously in 14 centres in the length and breath of the country among Eezham Tamils, 98.95 percent of the voters said that they aspire for the formation of an independent and sovereign Tamil Eelam in the North and East of the island of Sri Lanka. The voter turn out was a high 89.8 percent in the capital city of Oslo and an average 80 percent for the country, Utrop biweekly that conducted the ballot said. The ballot gains significance not only in democratically and concretely revealing what the Tamils want, but also in telling that the so-called Oslo Declaration that speaks about internal self-determination is not up to their expectations, Tamil circles said. A couple of days before the ballot, Norwegian Minister Erik Solheim advocated a federal solution to the crisis.
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Pathmanathan calls for urgent international intervention

[TamilNet, Monday, 11 May 2009, 09:19 GMT]
Refuting the Sri Lankan propaganda that artillery and shelling against the Tamil civilians was carried out by the Tigers, Selvarasa Pathmanathan, the LTTE's head of international relations on Monday urged the governments of the world to prevail upon the Sri Lankan Government to prevent it from causing a collective tragedy.
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Paramilitary group intimidates Tamil dailies in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Monday, 11 May 2009, 06:49 GMT]
The paramilitary group operating with Sri Lanka Army (SLA) in Jaffna threatened Jaffna Tamil dailies to refute news published related to the extortion through abduction of girl students in Jaffna peninsula, Colombo media organizations said. Meanwhile, SLA in Jaffna told the media that the particular news had been published though no one has complained to them or the police regarding the extortion.
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Grand response to Norway ballot: 80 percent turn out

[TamilNet, Monday, 11 May 2009, 03:41 GMT]
Around 80 percent of eligible voters among Eezham Tamils in the cities and other centres where a ballot was conducted to test the current validity of Vaddukkoaddai Resolution, turned out for the voting, Utrop news paper, which conducted the ballot, reported Sunday night. The voting took place on Sunday between 11:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m., simultaneously in 6 centres in the major cities and in 8 other centres in suburban and remote towns of Norway. People were seen standing in long queues to cast their votes on the gist of the Resolution, whether they like an independent and sovereign Tamil Eelam or not. This is the first time the question is tested through universal suffrage, 33 years after its endorsement by the Eezham Tamils in the 1977 general elections in Sri Lanka. The results are awaited Monday noon.
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