Police arrest 9 Tamil youths in Mannaar

[TamilNet, Thursday, 19 February 2009, 21:50 GMT]
Nine Tamil youths were taken into custody during a cordon and search operation conducted in Mannaar town Tuesday from about 9:00 p.m till 10:00 p.m. They are still detained in the Mannaar police station and being interrogated, media sources said.
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30 families wiped out in massive attack Wednesday, shelling continues

[TamilNet, Thursday, 19 February 2009, 18:11 GMT]
Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) fired 32 bombs, both cluster and bunker busters and Sri Lanka Army (SLA) fired more than 200 artillery shells, wiping out more than 30 families along the Iranaippaalai Ananthanpuram Road where humanitarian institutions including orphanages, houses of displaced and elders were located, TamilNet correspondent in Vanni reported on Thursday. More than 180 huts were destroyed in the massive bombardment. Meanwhile, 24 civilians were killed in Puthukkudiyiruppu in SLA artillery barrage in the early hours of Thursday. 10 more civilians were killed in Ira'naippaalai, Aananthapuram and Valaignarmadam villages.
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LTTE identifies Sri Lankan PoW killed in SLAF air attack

[TamilNet, Thursday, 19 February 2009, 16:09 GMT]
A Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldier who was in the custody of the Liberation Tigers of Tamileelam (LTTE) was killed in the air attack carried out by the Sri Lanka Air Force on Aananthapuram on Wednesday, according to LTTE officials.
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Eyewitness account on Vavuniyaa internment camps

[TamilNet, Thursday, 19 February 2009, 11:14 GMT]
"Now, what is happening here is genocide in many forms. Needless to say scattering people all over to unknown and unfamiliar places will ultimately lead to a weak population and result in damages done to our culture, education, and relationships. I can foresee a maimed Tamil generation with no hope in the future. The international community can make statements. But none will pay heed. For me the future looks dark and gloomy," reveals a letter written by a professional eyewitness, who visited the barbed-wired internment camps and hospital in Vavuniyaa couple of days ago.
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UK's Frontline Club suppresses genocide debate

[TamilNet, Thursday, 19 February 2009, 07:20 GMT]
Reinforcing the growing evidence of systematic attempts at suppressing debate on genocide in Sri Lanka, one of London's well known media avenues, the Frontline Club, Wednesday withdrew invitation to a Tamil genocide legal advocacy group to participate in a panel discussion on the crisis in Sri Lanka scheduled to take place on the 24th February. The reason given for Wednesday's decision not to include Tamils Against Genocide (TAG), by Frontline Programme Manager, Deborah Dwek, was that Frontline felt the discussion wouldn't be balanced without a spokesperson for the Sri Lankan government being on the panel.
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38 civilians arrested in Gampaha town

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 18 February 2009, 17:18 GMT]
Thirty eight civilians were taken into custody in cordon and search operations conducted in Gampaha town from Sunday evening till Monday evening. 25 of them are Tamil civilians, majority of them are residents of North and East, sources said.
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Students in detention camps to attend schools under SLA control

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 18 February 2009, 16:49 GMT]
Students of the civilians brought from Liberation Tigers held territories and held in the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) internment camp in Mirusuvil are to attend a temporary school in Kodikaamam, taken to the school and back to their camp each school day by SLA soldiers, Thenmaraadchi education office sources said. Students held in similar detention camps in Koappaay Government Teachers’ Training College and in Kurunakar are to attend school under SLA surveillance, the sources added.
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India offers ‘final thrust’ for ‘subjugation’ of Tamils

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 18 February 2009, 16:40 GMT]
Accusing the Tigers for committing damages to the Tamil community and calling them for laying down arms and releasing the civilians, the Indian Foreign Minister Pranab Mukherjee in Indian Parliament on Wednesday offered India’s facilitation to evacuate civilians, working along with the Colombo government and the ICRC, who would be responsible for the security, screening and rehabilitation of them, BBC reported. This offer without taking responsibility, neither to the future plight of the civilians nor to the political consequences that would follow, is the 'best of its abetment' India is rendering to Colombo in the subjugation of Tamils, according to Tamil political observers.
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Jaffna District Development annual meeting postponed

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 18 February 2009, 16:19 GMT]
The annual meeting of the Coordinating Committee to plan the future development schemes for Jaffna district scheduled to take place Thursday has been postponed due to security reasons, Jaffna Secretariat sources said. An event of issuing appointments by the Northern Province Governor on Thursday in Jaffna too has been postponed for the same reason, sources in Jaffna said. The annual Jaffna District Development meeting has been postponed for the fourth time since its inception in 2006, the sources said.
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Tamil diaspora doctors prepared to enter Vanni, demand access

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 18 February 2009, 15:13 GMT]
Doctors organised in charity and aid organisations in Australia and Norway have urged their foreign ministries, United Nations Secretary General and the ICRC to secure urgent permission from Sri Lankan authorities to facilitate safe passage of their convoy of doctors and medical supplies. Dr. V. Manomohan, the president of Australian Medical Aid Foundation (AMAF) and Dr. T. Sivakanesan, the coordinator of Norwegian Tamils Health Organistaion (NTHO) said Wednesday that their organisations that have rendered medical aid for a long time, especially in the aftermath of Tsunami, have the necessary skills, manpower and resources to engage immediately in the medical aid, given that a safe passage is provided to their medical units.
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Sri Lankan government rejects ceasefire call by TNA

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 18 February 2009, 15:11 GMT]
Sri Lanka Ministry of Defence spokesman Minister Keheliya Rambukwella said Wednesday that his government was not prepared to stop the war as requested by the parliamentary group leader of Tamil National Alliance (TNA) R. Sampanthan, in a press meet in Colombo on Tuesday. "There is no need to stop the war against the LTTE when they are loosing the war," Rambukwella said. The statement of Sampanthan in the Tuesday press meet in the parliamentary complex that people in Vanni are being killed by the Sri Lankan armed forces is not true, he further said.
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Karuna group shoots dead Tamil engineer in Kalmunai

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 18 February 2009, 14:36 GMT]
Paramilitary Karuna group men gunned down a Tamil engineer Tuesday around 8:20 p.m after calling him out of his house in Yard Veethi in Kalmunai police division in Ampaa’rai district, his relatives said. There had been arguments between the victim and Iniya Barathi, Karuna group Amparai district head and a co-ordinator of President Mahinda Rajapakse, in recent times on matters related to road development contracts in Ampaa’rai, they said.
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SLAF airstrike targeted PoW centre - Vanni Radio

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 18 February 2009, 12:20 GMT]
Tamileelam Vaanoli, a commercial broadcast of the Voice of Tigers (VoT), in its news broadcast on Wednesday said the Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) attack on Aananthapuram near Ira'naippaalai on Wednesday had targeted a rehabilitation centre for Prisoners of War. LTTE officials are yet to confirm the report.
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Massive air attack on civilian targets, scores killed

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 18 February 2009, 09:10 GMT]
At least 50 civilians were killed Wednesday around 12:50 p.m. when four Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) bombers dropped cluster bombs on Internally Displaced Civilians at Aananthapuram in Ira'naippaalai, according to initial reports from medical sources. More than 70 wounded were rushed to hospital so far and 10 of the victims have died on the way to Maaththa'lan hospital. Meanwhile, Sri Lanka Army (SLA) launched an artillery barrage blocking transportation of wounded to hospitals. Doctors in the makeshift hospital told TamilNet that unless the seriously wounded were not evacuated by the ICRC to Trincomalee or elsewhere, many would die at the hospital. There is no medicine at the hospital as Colombo has refused to allow medical supplies to Vanni since December 2008.
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Vanni civilians in Vavuniyaa camps mentally affected – Rev. Jeyanesan

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 18 February 2009, 09:04 GMT]
The civilians fleeing the war zone in Vanni and held in the detainment camps in Vavuniyaa are mentally affected severely as they are not permitted to come in contact with their family members or relatives living out of Vanni, according to the interview given to BBC Tamil service by Rev. S. Jeyanesan, the head of the Church of American Ceylon Mission in Sri Lanka, Monday. Rev. Jeyaneasn and his group, obtaining special permission, visited the various detention camps in Vavuniyaa where the Vanni civilians are held to learn of the situation of the detainees.
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8 Tamils arrested in Katunayake

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 17 February 2009, 20:08 GMT]
Eight Tamil civilians, all are residents of North East provinces were taken into custody in a cordon and search operation conducted in the high security zone of the Katunayake international airport Monday. The police said they were arrested as they failed to prove their identity and justify their presence in the location.
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Sampanthan accuses Sri Lanka of genocide of Tamils

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 17 February 2009, 19:21 GMT]
"A news black-out of Sri Lanka Government's slaughter of Tamils through indiscriminate artillery barrage and bombings prevails, while the International media is publishing false information spread by Colombo," said Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentary group leader, R. Sampanthan, in a press meet attended by a large number of local and international journalists Tuesday afternoon in Sri Lanka parliamentary complex, sources in Colombo said.
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We are deeply sad, puzzled: LTTE Political Head

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 17 February 2009, 16:16 GMT]
"We are deeply sad and puzzled at the attitude of the apex institution of humanity, the United Nations, in not taking effective measures to protect the life, security and interests of innocent Tamil civilians," said LTTE's Political Head B. Nadesan on Tuesday. "Instead, the UN is engaged in fruitless exercises of accusing the wrong side, without coming and seeing what is happening by themselves," he said. When stopping the war is the need of the hour, allowing it and lamenting civilian sufferings is a faulty policy, Mr. Nadesan said, adding that indicting the defensive LTTE and exploiting the plight of civilians for the agenda of those who are waging the war will not bring in any positive results.
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SLN to use confiscated Tamil Nadu boats

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 17 February 2009, 04:12 GMT]
Sri Lanka government directed Jaffna Government Agent (GA) to have the boats of Tamil Nadu fishermen confiscated on Sri Lankan waters handed over to Sri Lanka Navy (SLN) for its use. More than one hundred boats confiscated from Tamil Nadu fishermen had been earlier handed over to SLN through Sri Lanka Fisheries Department, sources in Jaffna said.
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SLA bans re-telecast of Tamil Nadu TV in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 17 February 2009, 00:03 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army (SLA) officers in charge of their camps in Jaffna peninsula have ordered the cable TV operators not to re-telecast programs of Makkal TV from Tamil Nadu, civil society sources in Jaffna said. The recent news reports in Makkal TV on the present Vanni situation, and the TV's political analysis segments have irked the SLA hierarchy resulting in the ban, sources added.
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