'13th Amendment powerless, youth may go for war again' - Eastern minister Hisbullah

[TamilNet, Monday, 10 November 2008, 15:55 GMT]
Powers devolved under the 13th amendment to provincial council are being taken away by the central government by issuing gazette notifications and circulars. The provincial council has no power to transfer even a police constable, lamented Mr.M.L.A.M.Hisbullah, a Minister in the Eastern Provincial Council in an exclusive interview to the weekly edition of the leading Tamil daily Virakesari published from Colombo.
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Sri Lanka rejects ceasefire with LTTE

[TamilNet, Monday, 10 November 2008, 11:11 GMT]
Sri Lanka's government rejected a ceasefire with the LTTE on Monday, again demanding the Tigers surrender or be destroyed. "The government will not go for a ceasefire with the LTTE. We will not have any form of discussion with the LTTE. We have already told them to lay down arms and there is no change in our stand," Agriculture Minister Maithripala Sirisena told Parliament, Reuters reported.
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2 STF commandos killed in Ampaa'rai - LTTE

[TamilNet, Monday, 10 November 2008, 09:53 GMT]
Liberation Tigers of Tamileelam (LTTE) Ampaa'rai command has claimed that 2 Sri Lankan Special Task Force (STF) commandos were killed in a mine attack in Kagnchikudichchaa'ru jungle Monday noon.
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Perth Tamils draw attention of Australia’s Foreign Affairs Minister to IDPs plight

[TamilNet, Sunday, 09 November 2008, 21:58 GMT]
More than two hundred Australian Tamils held a vigil in Perth, Western Australia on Friday between 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., in front of the electorate office of Minister for Foreign Affairs Stephen Smith, to create an awareness among the Australian public and inform the Australian government about the plight of the displaced people in Wanni. This is the fourth in a series of protest vigils, being organised by the Australasian Federation of Tamil Associations (AFTA).
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Political Prisoners to fast in Colombo, Anuradhapura

[TamilNet, Sunday, 09 November 2008, 15:27 GMT]
Tamil political prisoners in Colombo Remand Prison and Anuradhapura Prison have announced a one-day fast on Monday, urging the authorities to expedite their cases. The prisoners, who alleged that the authorities were conveniently availing themselves of the PTV (Prevention of Terrorism Act) provision that allows for indefinite inquiry, said even the cases that have come to the courts were being delayed. The prisoners have warned that they would launch fast-unto-death campaign if there was no positive response to their one-day fast on Monday.
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SLA intensifies artillery barrage on LTTE held Poonakari

[TamilNet, Sunday, 09 November 2008, 13:36 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army (SLA) in Jaffna stepped up artillery barrage since Friday and continues to pound Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) held Poonakari across Jaffna lagoon from its bases in Jaffna town and suburbs. The noise of artillery fire from the bases close to Jaffna Teaching hospital has severely affected the patients warded in the hospital, medical staff in the hospital said.
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13 upcountry Tamils detained in Colombo under PTA

[TamilNet, Sunday, 09 November 2008, 13:16 GMT]
Thirteen upcountry Tamil youths arrested in cordon and search operations conducted by the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) and Police with the help of masked men in several estates in Udapusselawa during the last week of October are still being detained under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) in Dam Police Station in Colombo
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Five wounded, SLAF bombers attack again civilian targets in Paranthan

[TamilNet, Sunday, 09 November 2008, 12:48 GMT]
Two Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) bombers attacked Kumarapuram, a suburb of Paranthan, Sunday around 12:50 p.m., causing injuries to five civilians, including a 2-year-old boy. The day was turned into another disasterous day for the child, Manoharan Vithuran, as the family was preparing to observe the 31st day rituals for their mother, Mrs. Manhoharan, who was killed in the SLAF bombardment on the same locality, 30 days ago. He was rushed to the Ki'inochchi hospital functioning in Tharmapuram and admitted at the Intensive Care Unit, according to TamilNet correspondent who visited the bombed site and the hospital.
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Impress upon Colombo to announce ceasefire, CPI urges Indian government

[TamilNet, Sunday, 09 November 2008, 12:24 GMT]
The Communist Party of India (CPI) Tamil Nadu State Secretary D. Pandian, in a statement issued on Sunday, referring to the clarification by the Liberation Tigers of Tamileelam (LTTE) Political Head B. Nadesan on the LTTE stand on ceasefire, urged the Centre to take immediate steps to impress upon the Sri Lankan state to announce a ceasefire without hesitation. Referring to Mr. Nadesan's statement that the Tigers were engaged in a defensive war and that it was the Sri Lankan state that unilaterally pulled out from the Ceasefire Agreement, Mr. Pandian said.
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Tamil trader shot dead in Vavuniyaa

[TamilNet, Saturday, 08 November 2008, 23:34 GMT]
Unidentified armed men shot dead a 70-year old Tamil trader inside his shop at point blank range Friday night at Kalmadu village in Vavuniyaa police division. The victim owned the shop located in Poompukaar, a suburb of Vavuniyaa.
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'Give way to Tamil Eelam and avoid Sinhala blackmailing for ever'

[TamilNet, Saturday, 08 November 2008, 17:28 GMT]
Don't abandon the Tiger. A Sinhala-dominated Sri Lanka is not in India’s interests, writes T S Gopi Rethinaraj, a Singapore National University scholar, in the November 2008 issue of Pragati, the Indian National Interest Review. A unified Sri Lanka under Sinhalese domination will be deeply inimical to India's interests. Colombo will permanently exploit India in the absence of a buffer that an Independent Tamil Eelam could provide, he wrote.
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Tigers reiterate consent to ceasefire

[TamilNet, Saturday, 08 November 2008, 16:42 GMT]
Liberation Tigers Political Head B. Nadesan, when contacted by TamilNet on Saturday, following reports of Tamil Nadu leaders seeking clarification on LTTE's stand on ceasefire, said "there is no hesitation on our side to reiterate our position that we have always wanted a ceasefire." It is the Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL) that unilaterally abrogated the ceasefire, Mr. Nadesan said and added that the Tigers were only fighting a defensive war since Colombo has thrust upon Tamils an aggressive war.
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Tamil farmer shot dead in Uyilangku'lam

[TamilNet, Saturday, 08 November 2008, 16:13 GMT]
Unidentified armed men, who came in a motorbike shot dead a Tamil civilian Sebastiampillai Selvarajah, a father of three children while he was working in his paddy field Thursday morning at Nochchikku'lam in Uyilangku'lam division in Mannaar district. The deceased also owned a cattle farm, sources said.
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White van armed men abduct Tamil civilian in Vavuniyaa

[TamilNet, Saturday, 08 November 2008, 14:38 GMT]
A 33-year-old Tamil was abducted in Vavuniyaa Friday evening by unidentified armed men who arrived in a white van, according to complaints lodged with the Vavuniyaa police Friday evening.
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CPI seeks clarification on Tamil ceasefire stand

[TamilNet, Saturday, 08 November 2008, 13:44 GMT]
Stating that the people of Tamil Nadu state and India were being led to a state of confusion by the calls that demanded both the warring parties in Sri Lanka to announce a ceasefire, the State Secretary of the Communist Party of India (CPI) Tamil Nadu, D. Pandian, urged in a statement issued from Chennai on Saturday that the Eezham Tamils' political leadership should clarify the Tamil stand on the issue. Consensus of the people of Tamil Nadu is that the Sri Lankan government should immediately stop the war. However, when questions were raised by certain sections, there is a need for clarification, Mr. Pandiyan said.
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4 killed in Tiger ambush in Ampaa'rai, weapons seized - LTTE

[TamilNet, Friday, 07 November 2008, 13:11 GMT]
Liberation Tigers of Tamileelam (LTTE) in East claimed Friday that one of their ambush units opened fire at a Sri Lankan Specia Task Force (STF) road patrol, killing 4 Sri Lankan military personnel including 3 STF commandos and causing injuries to three, including two STF commandos at 12:45 p.m. Friday at Thampitiya in Ampaa'rai district. Four T56-2 automatic rifles and ammunitions were seized by the Tigers, they said.
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70 of 1,000 IDP families of Kaddaipa'richchaan relocated to their native division

[TamilNet, Friday, 07 November 2008, 13:58 GMT]
240 members of 70 displaced Tamil families from Kaddaipa'richchaan North GS area in Moothoor division in Trincomalee district were brought to their native division, 20 moths after they were forced to flee their villages, on Friday. Despite their return, they continue to be IDPs as they are yet to be resettled in their lands, which have not been cleared and their houses are in a dilapidated state, according to civil sources.
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Women wing of VCK stages one-day fast in Chennai

[TamilNet, Friday, 07 November 2008, 09:10 GMT]
Thousands of women belonging to the Makalir Viduthalai Iyakkamm, the Women's Wing of the Viduthalai Chiruthaikal Katchi (VCK), went on a one-day fast in Chennai Thursday demanding an immediate ceasefire in Sri Lanka. This token fast is the first in a series of agitations that the party has decided to hold indefinitely until a ceasefire is established on the war-ravaged island. Senior Communist leader R Nallakannu and Rajya Sabha MP Kanimozhi Karunanidhi addressed the fasting protesters.
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Vaiko, Kannappan released after 14 days in custody

[TamilNet, Thursday, 06 November 2008, 18:55 GMT]
MDMK General Secretary Vaiko and Party Presidium Chairman Kannappan were released Thursday by a Chennai city court on the basis of the Tamil Nadu Government's submission that investigations had been completed in the sedition cases filed against them. The state's Additional Public Prosecutor admitted that there was no need to extend the remand because of the completion of the probe.
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Families fleeing war in Vadamaraadchi north placed in SLA refuge camp

[TamilNet, Thursday, 06 November 2008, 18:06 GMT]
Kaangkeasanthu'rai Sri Lanka Navy (SLN) patrol units Wednesday arrested 28 persons, including men, women and small children fleeing in boats to escape Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) bombings and Sri Lanka Army (SLA) artillery barrage on Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) held Vadamaraachi North, sources in Jaffna said. Kaangkeasanthu'rai police produced the arrested in Mallaakam district court Thursday where magistrate Ms. Sarojini Illankovan directed the refugees to be placed in the newly setup SLA refugee camp located in SLA High Security Zone (HSZ) in Thellippa'lai.
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