2 Tamil civilians shot dead in Batticaloa

[TamilNet, Thursday, 27 November 2008, 09:43 GMT]
Unidentified armed men shot and killed Tuesday night two Tamil civilians in two separate shootings, in Vaakarai and Vavu’natheevu police divisions in Batticaloa district.
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Vaiko urges British Parliament to restore Eezham Tamil sovereignty

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 26 November 2008, 19:06 GMT]
Vaiko, the general secretary of Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetta Kazhakam (MDMK) from Tamil Nadu, while addressing British parliamentarians of the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Tamils on Wednesday in the British Parliament, said that the British Parliament has a moral responsibility to rectify the historic injustice caused on to the Eezham Tamils during the colonial rule. It was the British who statutorily put the Tamil and the Sinhala territories together in 1833, made Ceylon a unitary entity and refused to consider federalism in their constitutional reforms. When they left in 1948, they passed on the power to the Sinhala majoritarian rulers, he said.
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Grenade attack injures policeman in Batticaloa

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 26 November 2008, 18:31 GMT]
Unidentified persons hurled a hand grenade Wednesday around 8:00 p.m on a police sentry post near Kalladi Clock Tower, seriously injuring a policeman. A Tamil civilian was seriously injured when the policemen in the sentry post opened indiscriminate fire following the attack.
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STF shoots dead 2 youths in Ampaa’rai

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 26 November 2008, 15:15 GMT]
Special Task Force (STF) commandos lying in ambush shot and killed two youths Tuesday around 11:00 p.m while the youths were going along Koamaari-Oora’ni Veethi in Poththuvil police division.
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19 Tamils arrested in Wattegama

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 26 November 2008, 13:20 GMT]
Nineteen Tamil civilians including six women were taken into custody by the Sri Lanka police in a cordon and search operation conducted in Wattegama town in Kandy district in the central province on Tuesday, sources in Kandy said. The arrested are being held in Wattegama police station and are being interrogated.
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White van armed men abduct Tamil youth in Trincomalee

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 26 November 2008, 13:16 GMT]
A Tamil youth was abducted from his house located in Linganagar, suburb in Trincomalee town by unidentified armed persons who arrived in a white van Tuesday night, according to a complaint lodged with the Trincomalee police headquarters.
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6 Tamil civilians including 4 in a family shot dead in Batticaloa

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 26 November 2008, 06:27 GMT]
Unidentified gunmen shot and killed the parents, son and daughter Tuesday around 12:30 p.m in Ka’luvaangchchikkudi police division and in a separate shooting unidentified armed men shot and killed a young woman Tuesday around 9:15 p.m in Vaazhaichcheanai police division while unidentified armed men shot and killed a family man Tuesday around 11:00 p.m in Karadiyanaa’ru police division.
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Relief supplies from Tamil Nadu still not reached Vanni

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 26 November 2008, 05:25 GMT]
Emergency relief supplies, sent by the efforts of Tamil Nadu people and their government, received in 100 containers in Colombo 11 days ago, have not reached Vanni due to the sabotage by the Sri Lankan military, a top government official, who did not wished to be named, told TamilNet. Severe flooding has cut off Vanni on Wednesday. However, contradicting to the ground reports, the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu Kalaignar M. Karunanidhi was made to believe that the supplies were reaching the affected civilians unhindered.
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Vanni irrigation bunds close to breach, threaten 10,000 IDPs

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 26 November 2008, 05:03 GMT]
Increasing water levels due to non-stop rain the past five days, and the earth bunds critically weakened to withstand water pressure in several irrigation tanks, including Visuvamadu and Udaiyaarkaddu in Vanni, are posing increasing danger to populated neighborhoods and closeby temporary shelters of internally displaced, civil society sources in Vanni said. More than 10,000 IDPs are being relocated throughout Vanni due to the threat posed by flood waters, according to local officials.
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Seeking solutions in horror-scope

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 25 November 2008, 20:19 GMT]
Ever since the Sri Lankan polity has become violent and belligerent, the top Sinhala politicians have abandoned the rational Heenayaana Buddhism to become Tantrics or perhaps Vajrayaana Buddhists. It has now become a routine for them to consult astrologers, seek propitiation or instigation from Malayala Tantrics and to undertake pilgrimages to temples and establishments of god-men in India just like visiting Sonia Gandhi, Manmohan Singh and M.K. Narayanan. They leave no stone unturned in winning the war with Tamils, writes Opinion Columnist Ampalam.
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Thousands of IDPs stranded by floods in Vanni

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 25 November 2008, 18:50 GMT]
Floods are flowing over most of the roads and civilians who had sought refuge in open lands and in temporary huts in low-lying areas were forced to seek shelter in schools, temples, churches and public buildings in Vanni. Patients from Ki’linochchi and Mullaiththeevu district hospitals in need of urgent treatment in Vavniyaa hospital cannot be transported as the trunk roads in Vanni remain submerged in water.
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STF shoots dead 3 TMVP deserters in Batticaloa

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 25 November 2008, 17:13 GMT]
Special Task Force (STF) commandos shot and killed three Tamil youths in a joint cordon and search operation Tuesday around 5:00 p.m in Karaveddi area in Batticaloa police division. The youths are said to be a group TMVP deserters, who escaped from from Mangkikkaddu TMVP camp which was attacked by the Tigers two weeks ago. The STF launched a cordon and search operation following the arrest of a person with gun shot wounds Tuesday around 3:30 p.m Tuesday, the sources added.
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Statewide protest in Tamil Nadu demands ceasefire in Sri Lanka

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 25 November 2008, 12:35 GMT]
Normalcy was disturbed in the 30 district capitals of Tamil Nadu on Tuesday from 7:00 a.m. till noon as thousands of demonstrators led by Communist Party of India (CPI), Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (MDMK), Tamil National Movement, Puthiya Thamizhakam, Periyar Dravidar Kazhagam and several other organisations took to the streets, blocking the railway, bus and postal services. Around 50,000 courted brief arrests. The organisers said the success of the protest in Tamil Nadu, especially amid heavy rain along the coastal districts, symbolised deep rooted support for Eezham Tamils cause. The protest called on the Central Government of India to prevail upon the Rajapaksa government to announce an immediate ceasefire.
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Rain, floods add to Vanni IDPs woes

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 25 November 2008, 12:30 GMT]
Continuous torrential rain for four days in several areas of Vanni has caused floods, destroying temporary huts of war-displaced civilians and disrupting transport on several roads of densely populated Northeastern region of Vanni. Several hundred volunteers of Tamils Rehabilitation Organisation and other local NGO were struggling to assist the displaced civilians to find shelter in various schools, churches, temples and other public places as thousands of civilians, forced to vacate their houses due to the Sri Lankan military offensive into Vanni, were deprived of proper shelter by the blockade imposed by the Sri Lankan government.
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Tigers release photos of Kugnchupparanthan battle

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 25 November 2008, 10:45 GMT]
The Liberation Tigers of Tamileelam (LTTE) on Tuesday released photos from the pitched battle reported on Sunday between Uruththirapuram and Kugnchup-paranthan. The Tigers had claimed at least 43 SLA soldiers were killed, 70 wounded and that they had recovered 8 dead bodies of the SLA soldiers. LTTE officials, who provided photos to media also revealed the identity of a Sri Lankan soldier as 20-year-old Inthika Ruwankumara from Polgahamulla, Angkada, Gamewela.
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LTTE ambush kills 2 Sri Lankan troopers in Batticaloa

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 25 November 2008, 08:33 GMT]
An ambush team of the Liberation Tigers of Tamileelam (LTTE) triggered a Claymore mine Tuesday around 7:15 a.m killing two Sri Lankan soldiers, who were patrolling along Ka'luvaagnchikkudi - Kuruma'nve'li Road, 20 km south of Batticaloa city, according to the LTTE sources in Batticaloa. Meanwhile, the Sri Lanka Police in Ka'luvaagnchikkudi said two Special Task Force (STF) commandos were killed and their motorbike was destroyed in the attack.
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Rights watchdog faults Colombo for deteriorating human rights situation in East

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 25 November 2008, 07:52 GMT]
"Killings and abductions are rife and there is total impunity for horrific abuses," in the eastern province, which the Sri Lankan government claims to have 'liberated' as an example of democracy in action, said the New York based Human Rights Watch (HRW). There have been at least 30 extra-judicial killings and 30 abductions in Eastern Province within the last 60 days, the HRW said blaming the Sri Lankan government for providing unqualified support to TMVP paramilitary factions. The attacks and other threats against journalists have caused the media to curtail reporting on the security situation in the East. Members of civil society organizations have also been subjected to threats, according to the HRW.
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Hundreds displaced in Trincomalee floods

[TamilNet, Monday, 24 November 2008, 15:52 GMT]
Seventeen GS (village unit) areas in five Divisional Secretariat divisions in Trincomalee district have been badly affected due to torrential rains since Saturday. Social department officials are providing cooked meals as immediate relief to hundreds of families displaced from low lying area are being sheltered in public buildings. Trincomalee district till Monday morning recorded the highest rainfall in the north and east- 159 mm, Jaffna 56 mm and Vavuniyaa 26 mm, according to meteorological department sources.
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Tamil lodge owner abducted in Vavuniyaa

[TamilNet, Monday, 24 November 2008, 15:50 GMT]
A 53-year-old owner of a temporary lodge located along Vavuniyaa-Mannaar road was abducted by unidentified armed men arrived in a white van Saturday early morning around 2:00 a.m., Police said.
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Missing Tamil youth found shot dead in Vavuniyaa

[TamilNet, Monday, 24 November 2008, 15:49 GMT]
The blind folded body of a youth with hands tied, recovered on the bund of Pa'ndaarikulam in Vavuniyaa Sunday morning with gunshot injuries, was identified as of Kumaraswamy Kugathasan, 22, of Paranthan in Ki'linochchi district. The youth went missing since November 13, according to complaints lodged with the Vavuniyaa police by his relatives.
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