4 Tamil youths arrested in Gampola

[TamilNet, Saturday, 15 November 2008, 20:21 GMT]
Four Tamil youths were arrested Friday night while they were waiting for bus in Gampola bus stand to go their estate in Pupuressa in Gampola district. Police said they were questioned by the police on seeing their suspicious movement in the bus stand, and were arrested as they failed to provide satisfactory reason for their stay in the bus stand.
Full story >>

3 STF killed in Ampaa'rai - LTTE

[TamilNet, Saturday, 15 November 2008, 14:26 GMT]
Liberation Tigers of Tamileelam (LTTE) Ampaa'rai Command claimed Saturday that 2 Sri Lankan Special Task Force (STF) commandos were killed and one wounded Friday evening in a LTTE land mine ambush on a STF patrol in Kagnchikudichchaa'ru. On Saturday morning. The Tigers said an STF commando was killed Saturday morning in a booby trap explosion while an STF unit was engaged in a search operation in the same area Saturday morning.
Full story >>

Rajapaksa claims occupation of Poonakari

[TamilNet, Saturday, 15 November 2008, 09:07 GMT]
Sri Lankan President and Commander-in-Chief of the SL Armed Forces Mahinda Rajapaksa on Saturday claimed that his forces have occupied the "full stretch of the A-32 road" (Mannaar- Poonakari) and the Poonakari area Saturday morning. "Now, we can open a land route to the Jaffna Peninsula after many years; I think we can say, it was after the Second Eelam war," Mr. Rajapaksa said in a message to the Sri Lankan media.
Full story >>

Youth of India voice for Eezham Tamils

[TamilNet, Friday, 14 November 2008, 14:37 GMT]
More than 10,000 students, coming from all the states of India marched to the Indian parliament on Friday in New Delhi, pressing educational demands including a 10 percent allotment of state expenditure on education. Political observers find great significance in the highlight of Eezham Tamil issue as a demand in this all India student rally. This is their only demand outside of the purview of education. The agitation took place against a backdrop of Sri Lankan president ruling out the possibility of stopping the war in the island, while on a visit to New Delhi on Wednesday. Even the Indian Prime Minister who received him hasn’t said anything on stopping the war, according to news reports.
Full story >>

60% of 327,730 IDPs in Vanni without adequate shelters - TRO

[TamilNet, Friday, 14 November 2008, 13:28 GMT]
Tamils Rehabilitation Organization (TRO), a local-NGO attending to the relief needs of the more than 320,000 Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), including the 90,000 tsunami and previously affected, in Mullaiththeevu and Ki'linochchi districts, said shortage of nearly 40% basic essential food for the IDPs have to be urgently met through local production, while embargo by the Sri Lankan government on building materials have left 60% of the refugees without adequate shelters, in a report issued this week.
Full story >>

White van abducts Tamil civilian in Puththa'lam

[TamilNet, Friday, 14 November 2008, 11:33 GMT]
Armed men who came in a white van abducted an ex-member of Kalpiddi Piratheasa Chapai (Pradeshiya Sabah) at Naavatkaadu in Kalpiddi village in Puththa'lam district Wednesday evening around 6:00 p.m., according to complaints lodged by the victim's relatives with the Police. The victim is J. Clarence, a 45-year-old father of four.
Full story >>

3 Tamil civilians detained in Puththa'lam police station

[TamilNet, Friday, 14 November 2008, 11:30 GMT]
Three Tamil civilians were arrested in a cordon and search operation conducted by the Sri Lanka Navy and police in areas Ammaathoaddam and Pa'l'livaasal-thu'rai in Kalpiddi village in Puththa'lam district are still detained in the Puththa'lam police station and being subjected to interrogation by the police intelligence unity, civil sources said.
Full story >>

Tamil youth abducted in Cheddiku'lam

[TamilNet, Friday, 14 November 2008, 11:07 GMT]
Armed men who arrived in a white van abducted Tamil youth from his house in Neriyaku'lam in Cheddiku'lam in Vavuniyaa district.
Full story >>

Pillayan operative Ragu slain in Colombo

[TamilNet, Friday, 14 November 2008, 08:59 GMT]
A private secretary of Pillayan and another person were shot dead while they were traveling in former TMVP spokesperson Asad Moulana's car at Oruwala in Athurugiriya in Nugegoda Friday around 11:30 a.m., Police said. The slain key operative, an associate of Pillayan was identified as Kumaraswami Nandagoban alias Ragu. Vinayagamoorthy Muralitharan alias Karuna, since his deportation back to Sri Lanka from UK, has been demanding the removal of Ragu from the TMVP.
Full story >>

'Solution from outside is Sri Lankan reality'

[TamilNet, Thursday, 13 November 2008, 20:46 GMT]
The traditional civil-military division of labour has now been altered by the war in Sri Lanka. Military is a leading stakeholder. Sri Lanka no longer is an exceptional ‘third world democracy’. It is now a full-blown ‘national security state’. The defence establishment has stepped into the domain of governance at par with the office of the president. The Sri Lankan state has always been an ethnic majoritarian and communal one. The only state reform initiative implemented in 1987 had to come from outside, because the state refused to reform itself voluntarily. That continues to be Sri Lanka’s problem even today, wrote well known political scientist of Sri Lanka, Professor Jayadeva Uyangoda, in an article appeared in the October 25th issue of Economic and Political Weekly.
Full story >>

Colombo creates human crisis at entry point - Nadesan

[TamilNet, Thursday, 13 November 2008, 10:54 GMT]
The closure of entry point at Oamanthai in Vavuniyaa by the Colombo government for the last three days has created a human crisis affecting emergency patients and supply of medicines to civilian hospitals, said B. Nadesan, the political head of the Liberation Tigers of Tamileelam (LTTE) on Thursday. Intense shelling by the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) on the entry point has made the ICRC officials posted there to leave. "By imposing a sanction on food, medicine and by maintaining an inhumane economic blockade, the Sri Lankan government is pinpointing the war at the civilians, disregarding International norms to be observed. The indications are that Colombo is adamant in pursuing an aggressive war," he told TamilNet.
Full story >>

TN should send relief as commodities, not money: Australian academic

[TamilNet, Thursday, 13 November 2008, 02:44 GMT]
The aid and relief money generously given to Sri Lanka by various governments and international organizations tacitly helps filling the coffers of the Sri Lankan government and its foreign exchange capacity in waging the war against Tamils. The Tamil Nadu government should therefore consider sending the relief money in the form of much needed commodities for the rehabilitation and resettlement of the IDPs in Vanni and should make sure that they reach the Eezham Tamils in the non-government controlled areas directly says, Professor E.A. Selvanathan of the School of International Business, Griffith University, Australia.
Full story >>

Unique agitation by All India Students Federation

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 12 November 2008, 21:49 GMT]
A special train, carrying over 2000 students of Tamil Nadu, members of the All India Students Federation (AISF), left Chennai on Wednesday to march towards the Indian Parliament in New Delhi, demanding end of attacks on Eezham Tamils, stoppage of military aid to Sri Lanka and initiation of peaceful political solution to the crisis. Students from many other states of India will join them in the agitation scheduled for Friday. Such an event is first in the history of AISF, said S. Mahendran, senior leader of the Communist Party of India, guiding the students.
Full story >>

Announce ceasefire, call back military and commence peace talks - TN Assembly

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 12 November 2008, 16:56 GMT]
Tamil Nadu Assembly unanimously passed a resolution Wednesday demanding "an immediate halt of military operations, reverting the Sri Lankan military to old positions and a commencement of political negotiations to find a solution to the Tamil problem." The house of representatives also urged New Delhi to press for talks between the Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL) and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). The resolution comes while the Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa is in New Delhi on an official visit.
Full story >>

Tamil youth shot dead in Vavuniyaa

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 12 November 2008, 13:46 GMT]
A Tamil youth was shot dead Monday night at Pattakaadu bund area in Vavuniyaa police division. The victim was not identified immediately. His body was recovered from the bund area Tuesday morning and transferred to Vavuniyaa general hospital for identification and postmortem, sources said.
Full story >>

Tamil woman abducted in Poththuvil

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 12 November 2008, 13:41 GMT]
A 36-year-old mother of three children residing in 3rd division , Poththuvil Eaththam in Ampaa'rai district was allegedly abducted by armed men Monday, according to complaints lodged with the police by her relatives. Relatives said no action has been taken by the police regarding their complaint.
Full story >>

APRC: how long you tolerate a farce, Suresh asks India and IC

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 12 November 2008, 01:20 GMT]
The All Party Representatives Committee (APRC) is a farce of the Sri Lanka government. It was always used to impress upon India and the International Community. The basic premise of the APRC not to go beyond unitary constitution of Sri Lanka, will not bring in any meaningful result. India and the IC know it well. Yet, if they continue to tolerate the farce, they will only be abetting the genocidal programme of Colombo, says Suresh Premachandran of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA).
Full story >>

4 Tamils arrested in Badulla

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 11 November 2008, 17:01 GMT]
Four Tamil civilians were taken into custody in a cordon and search operation conducted by the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) and police within the municipal limits of the Badulla Sunday night, sources in Badulla said. Four Tamils were among sixteen persons arrested on that day. Others were released after preliminary inquiry.
Full story >>

Persuade Rajapaksa to stop the war: Pandian urges Manmohan Singh

[TamilNet, Monday, 10 November 2008, 19:58 GMT]
The State Secretary of the Communist Party of India (CPI), D. Pandian, on Monday wrote a letter urging the Indian Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh to act swiftly to end the war in Sri Lanka. Noting that the LTTE has responded positively for the public call from the CPI to spell out their stand in unambiguous terms to the call for ceasefire, Mr. Pandian said urged Manmohan Singh to use his good offices to impress upon Mr. Rajapaksa to stop the war and agree for a ceasefire. Meanwhile, reports in Colombo said Mr. Rajapaksa has left Colombo to attend the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) summit, to be held in New Delhi.
Full story >>

Civilian killed in SLA DPU attack in Vanni

[TamilNet, Monday, 10 November 2008, 16:02 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army (SLA) Deep Penetration Unit (DPU) infiltrators triggered a Claymore mine in Nedungkea'ni, northeast of Vavuniyaa, inside Liberation Tigers of Tamileelam (LTTE) held area in Vanni, killing a father of one Monday morning, initial reports said.
Full story >>