Air-strike, a warning to SLAF- Thamilchelvan

[TamilNet, Friday, 30 March 2007, 13:25 GMT]
Liberation Tigers Political Head S.P. Thamilchelvan, stating that the air strike by the Tigers on the nerve centre of the Sri Lankan Air Force (SLAF) in Katunayake was "a one hundred percent successful mission," Thursday told media in Kilinochchi that the "precision air strike" by the Tigers on the SLAF was a "clear message" to the Sri Lankan state, to end the sustained bombardment of the Tamil homeland. "Within the last 6 months alone, the Sri Lankan Air Force has carried out at least 2 sorties every other day for more than 90 days. Hundreds of Tamil civilians have been killed, many wounded, and hundreds of thousands have been displaced due to the repeated bombardment," he added
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Stop SLA troopers looting IDPs' houses, urge Batticaloa MPs

[TamilNet, Thursday, 29 March 2007, 09:25 GMT]
The Sri Lanka Army (SLA) troopers are breaking into houses of IDPs from Paduvankarai in Battialaoa district west displaced by SLA offensives, and robbing the belongings, said Tamil National Alliance (TNA) Batticaloa district parliamentarians, in a letter to the President of Sri Lanka, Wednesday evening, urging him to take necessary action to stop the practice.
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Engineered Catastrophe

[TamilNet, Sunday, 25 March 2007, 11:52 GMT]
Batticaloa has turned into an area of humanitarian disaster, and a battle ground for refugee figures, as more than 100,000 residents of Paduvankarai districts were forced to flee to GoSL controlled regions by the shelling of Sri Lankan Armed Forces inside LTTE controlled areas during the first two weeks of March. The changing IDP numbers have swelled to 165,485. While UN appealed for "vital funds to boost its operations in eastern Sri Lanka" and leftist parties accused the Government of engineering "demographic change," Sri Lanka Government spokesperson K. Rambukwella dismissed the severity saying only 52,000 are displaced, contradicting his own administration's official figures.
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NGO worker killed, directors wounded in DPU attack in Mannar

[TamilNet, Saturday, 24 March 2007, 11:42 GMT]
Tamil Rehabilitation Organisation (TRO) directors who were returning after monitoring the relief assistance to the displaced civilians, following the Sri Lanka Army operation in Mannar Vavuniya border, were attacked by a Sri Lanka Army Deep Penetration Unit Claymore mine Saturday around 12:30 p.m., initial reports from Vanni said. Humanitarian worker Muthuraja Aruleswaran, was killed and 3 TRO directors, including the Assistant Executive Director of the TRO, Vadivel Ravichandran, 38, were wounded in the attack which took place at Periyamadu in Mannar district, located northwest of Madu.
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Karuna group, SLA, abduct 5 IDPs

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 20 March 2007, 16:19 GMT]
Five persons, including a Hindu priest, two teen aged sisters, and two youths from the Internally Displaced People (IDP)s displaced from the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) held areas in Batticaloa district, have been taken away by paramilitary Karuna group personnel and soldiers of the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) Intelligence wing within the last 10 days, according to complaints lodged with Batticaloa Human Rights commission by their relatives.
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Bishop calls for urgent help to Batticaloa IDPs

[TamilNet, Monday, 19 March 2007, 10:23 GMT]
"Around 1,53,000 Internally Displaced People from the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) held areas, are suffering without sufficient food, drinking water and other basic facilities for the last four or five days. The International community and humanitarian organizations should step in immediately to help the destitute people," Rt. Rev. Kingsley Swampillai, the Bishop of the Trincomalee-Batticaloa diocese of the Catholic Church said to media, explaining the dire situation in Batticaloa district and conveying his open appeal, Sunday.
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175 schoolchildren, 9 staff narrowly escape air strike on school

[TamilNet, Monday, 19 March 2007, 08:36 GMT]
Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) Kfir bombers Monday morning bombed a school in Chundikulam, wounding a female teacher and two schoolboys, attending 7th grade and 9th grade at the school, Chundikulam Vidyalayam, located 21 km northeast of Kilinochchi, in the southern part of Vadamaradchi East region in Jaffna district. Three bombs were dropped 25 meters from a class room. A bomb that hit a tree exploded in the air, wounding two children and a teacher. Around 175 schoolchildren, 8 teachers and the principal of the school narrowly escaped from the aerial attack. TamilNet correspondent who visited the site of the attack witnessed a second air strike at 11:45 a.m.
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751 IDPs return to Muthur Tamil villages from Batticaloa

[TamilNet, Monday, 12 March 2007, 23:16 GMT]
About 751 members of 348 displaced Tamil families returned Monday evening in several buses from Batticaloa to Killiveddy in Muthur division for resettlement in Sri Lanka government held villages. This was the first batch of several thousand IDPs who first sought refuge in Vaharai and then to Batticaloa following the military operations launched by the Sri Lanka Army in August last year on Muttur east villages.
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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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Armed men in white van abduct mason in Manipay

[TamilNet, Thursday, 08 March 2007, 21:49 GMT]
More than five unknown armed men in a white van abducted a mason Thursday around 2:00 p.m in Manipay area as he was returning from his mother's house in Manipay to Alady camp for Internally Displaced People (IDP) in Uduvil, according to complaints made with the Human Rights Commission Jaffna office.
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200 IDP families resettled in Vaharai

[TamilNet, Thursday, 08 March 2007, 06:12 GMT]
Two hundred Internally Displaced families (IDP) from Vaharai have been resettled in Oriyankadu area opposite Vaharai village, said sources in Valaichenai. Fifty-seven IDPs including 16 women, however, expressed their reluctance to be resettled at Oriyankadu, after being taken there by Vaharai Regional Secretariat officials, due to the temporary accomodations and they feel unsecure with the dominating presence of Sri Lanka Army (SLA), the sources added. The A15 route remains closed by the Sri Lanka Army (SLA).
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2 Karuna cadres injured in Batticaloa attack

[TamilNet, Sunday, 04 March 2007, 22:05 GMT]
Two cadres of paramilitary Karuna group were injured when their camp the located at Mylambavely adjoining the Sri Lanka Army camp along Trinco road came under attack at 7:05 p.m. Sunday. Four Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) staying in the nearby school building were injured in the counter attack. All six injured persons were rushed to the Batticaloa teaching hospital for treatment, sources in Batticaloa said.
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SLAF, SLA attacks displace 3500 civilians in Batticaloa

[TamilNet, Saturday, 03 March 2007, 07:32 GMT]
Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) Kfir jets dropped bombs in the villages of Tharavai and Kudumbimalai in the Liberation Tigers of Tamileelam (LTTE) controlled Batticaloa district around 10:40 a.m. Friday, sources in Batticaloa said. Meanwhile, Sri Lanka Army (SLA) stationed at 23-3 Brigade Head Quarters in Batticaloa, Valaichchenai Paper Factory, Chenkalady, Vavunathivu and Mylambavely Army Camps fired artillery shells into LTTE areas.
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Missed exams rescheduled for Vaharai IDP students

[TamilNet, Thursday, 01 March 2007, 00:11 GMT]
Officials of the Kalkudah Zonal Education office are making arrangements to conduct the special General Certificate of Examination Ordinary Level, and Grade five Scholarship Examinations for the students of Vaharai who missed the Examinations last year due to the military offensive of Sri Lankan armed forces, education officials said. The Zonal education officials and area principals met Wednesday to draw up the plans, sources said.
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Offensive aftermath

[TamilNet, Sunday, 25 February 2007, 01:01 GMT]
More than 200 civilians were killed and hundreds of others injured in the five-month long Sri Lanka military offensive carried out in sea, air and land on Vaharai and adjoining coastal hamlets. Nearly 40,000 IDPs stay in 49 temporary shelters and with friends and relatives elsewhere in the military controlled part of Batticaloa district. The Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) from Vaharai and neighboring Trincomalee district express resentment over the inequity in reimbursing relief and compensation by Sri Lanka Government authorities.
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SLA strips bare houses in Vaharai, Sampoor - MP

[TamilNet, Saturday, 24 February 2007, 15:45 GMT]
Batticaloa District Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarian S. Jeyanandamoorthy charged Saturday that Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers are dismantling civilians homes and stripping them of furniture and equipments in the recently captured Vaharai area. The internally displaced people (IDPs) who fled Vaharai before the SLA entered the area, have been prevented from entering the area by the soldiers guarding the entry points, the parliamentarian said. Meanwhile, the refugees from Sampoor had complained that the roofs of their houses have also been removed by the SLA.
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Marginalisation of CFA compells Tamils to resume freedom struggle - LTTE

[TamilNet, Thursday, 22 February 2007, 16:54 GMT]
The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, in a statement marking five years since the signing of 22 February 2002 Cease Fire Agreement (CFA) with the Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL), said the CFA formulated with the full support of the international community, had transcended the parameters of Sri Lanka’s majoritarian constitution, recognizing Tamil Eelam’s de facto existence and the balance of power between the Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL) and the LTTE. However, the international community’s insistence on a solution that does not infringe on the "territorial integrity and sovereignty of Sri Lanka," is deeply frustrating for the Tamil people, the statement said.
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Jaffna youth seeks protection with HRC

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 21 February 2007, 01:16 GMT]
One more Tamil civilian sought protection from the Jaffna branch of the Human rights Commission (HRC) Tuesday, HRC officials said. The 24-year old youth is from Allaippiddy in Jaffna islets and was staying as an internally displaced person at the IDP camp in Our Lady of Rosary (OLR) church when he sought safety with the HRC, officials added.
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International Community needs reassurance from Sri Lanka - British FM

[TamilNet, Friday, 16 February 2007, 16:11 GMT]
The international community needs to be reassured that the Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL) is committed to a peaceful solution, said Dr Kim Howells, British Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, who left Sri Lanka Friday concluding his two day visit. Dr. Howells met Sri Lankan president Mahinda Rajapakse, Sri Lankan Minister for Disaster Management and Human Rights and representatives of opposition political parties Thursday after visiting Amparai district Wednesday.
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Batticaloa GA visits Vaharai

[TamilNet, Friday, 02 February 2007, 00:44 GMT]
"Vaharai residents displaced due to the offensive of Sri Lanka army (SLA) will be resettled very soon, and displaced residents of Trincomalee district will follow soon after," said Sundaram Arumainayagam, the Government agent (GA) of Batticaloa district speaking to the press Thursday.
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