3 Tamils reported missing after arrest by SLA in Colombo

[TamilNet, Saturday, 11 October 2008, 19:45 GMT]
Three Tamil civilians, residents of Chaavakachcheri in Jaffna district and staying in Wellawatte, are reported missing after being taken in for questioning by the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) on Thursday evening, according to complaints lodged with the police and human rights groups in Colombo by their relatives.
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White van armed men abduct Tamil trader in Negombo

[TamilNet, Saturday, 11 October 2008, 19:42 GMT]
Unidentified armed men arriving in white van abducted a 42- year old Tamil trader from his communication centre located along Breach Road in Negombo town Thursday midnight, sources in Negombo said. Subramanian Thavarajasingham, a father of two children, lived in Mansion Place in Negombo and ran a communication centre on monthly rental basis, according to complaints lodged by his mother and wife with the Negombo Police Friday.
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Ambush kills 2 STF in Batticaloa - LTTE

[TamilNet, Saturday, 11 October 2008, 15:45 GMT]
Liberation Tigers of Tamileelam (LTTE) ambushed a road patrol of the Sri Lankan Special Task Force (STF) commandos who were on a road patrol from Paalaiyadivaddai STF camp to Vellaave'li Friday night around 9:00 p.m., killing two STF personnel and wounding three, LTTE sources in the East claimed on Saturday.
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Male body washed ashore in Batticaloa

[TamilNet, Saturday, 11 October 2008, 11:50 GMT]
The body of a male in decomposed state was recovered by Batticaloa Police Saturday morning on a stretch of beach near Naavaladi Kadalaadchiyamman temple, police sources said. The body, yet unidentified, was handed over to Batticaloa Teaching Hospital.
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Diaspora Tamils in Germany exhibit humanitarian aid

[TamilNet, Saturday, 11 October 2008, 08:54 GMT]
More than 3,000 Eelam Diaspora Tamils in Germany, organised by 16 Tamil organisations, demonstrated on Friday through a central part of Berlin, exhibiting humanitarian supplies that they have collected to be sent to their kith and kin in Vanni, urging the International Community to facilitate transport from Colombo to Vanni.
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Vaiko courts arrest with thousands of cadres on Eelam Tamil issue

[TamilNet, Friday, 10 October 2008, 22:58 GMT]
Tamil leader Vaiko, General Secretary of the Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (MDMK) and a staunch supporter of the cause of Eezham Tamils, was arrested Friday along with thousands of his cadres in Chennai while staging a demonstration to condemn Indian involvement in the Sri Lankan military. He called upon the ruling DMK government in Tamil Nadu, headed by Kalaignar Karunanidhi, an important ally of the Central Government in India, to take the blame for every Tamil being killed in Eelam. "In the name of safe-guarding Sri Lanka's sovereignty, don't lose India's sovereignty and national integration," warned Mr. Vaiko in an emotional, vociferous speech, said media sources in Chennai.
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Ki'linochchi hospital urges civilians to donate fuel to continue critical services

[TamilNet, Friday, 10 October 2008, 22:13 GMT]
Unable to relocate three critical services, the Intensive Care Unit (ICU), Surgery Unit and the Maternity Ward, the Ki'linochchi hospital is forced to continue these services from the town, even after most of the civilians have fled the urban centre of Vanni, hospital spokesperson said. As fuel required to run the three critical units has reached dangerously low levels, Medical authorities at the hospital have urged civilians in Vanni to donate fuel to operate the basic services to save lives. Fuel supplies for September and October months are yet to reach the hospital.
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30 Tamils arrested in Colombo

[TamilNet, Friday, 10 October 2008, 20:18 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army (SLA) and police conducted cordon and search operations in Grandpass, Kotahena and Mutuwal in Colombo district from Wednesday night till Thursday and took several civilians, majority of them are Tamil, for interrogation. All were released later except 30 Tamil youths who are being detained in police stations for further investigation, civil sources said.
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Vanni IDPs struggle with inadequate humanitarian supplies

[TamilNet, Friday, 10 October 2008, 17:45 GMT]
Humanitarian supplies that reached Vanni in the first week of October were only adequate to cover rice for 7 days, dhal for 5 days, flour for 4 days and per registered IDP families, according to the Government Agent of Ki'linochchi, N. Vethanayakam, who collected reports from the workers engaged in coordinating the supplies at Ka'ndaava'lai Divisional Secretariat in Ki'linochchi district on Thursday. In the meantime, the supplies expected this week didn't reach Vanni on Friday amid reports of heavy shelling blocking the A9 road.
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Abducted Tamil brothers found dead in Colombo

[TamilNet, Thursday, 09 October 2008, 19:48 GMT]
Bodies of two Tamil youths with gunshot injuries were recovered from Ja-Ela and Ragama in Colombo district Wednesday. Both were brothers and identified as Jebamalai Kugathas and his younger brother Jebamalai Sajith. Both were abducted by unidentified men from Inthurugoda on October 6.
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18 Tamils arrested in Gampaha

[TamilNet, Thursday, 09 October 2008, 19:28 GMT]
The Sri Lanka Army (SLA) and police, with the assistance of home guards, conducted a cordon and search operation in Gampaha town Wednesday morning till evening searching lodges, business establishments and buildings detaining several Tamils for questioning.
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Jayalalithaa recognises Eelam Tamils Right to Self-Determination

[TamilNet, Thursday, 09 October 2008, 18:33 GMT]
Ms. Jayalalithaa, former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu and leader of the state's major opposition party, All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK), said in a press release, clarifying AIDMK stand Thursday that her party fully recognized Eelam Tamils right to Self-Determination. She also said that her party accepted the demand for Tamil homeland with self-governance within a united framework of a Sri Lankan constitution.
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2 bodies washed ashore in Kaaththaankudi

[TamilNet, Thursday, 09 October 2008, 12:29 GMT]
Kaaththaankudi police in Batticaloa district recovered bodies of two males with eyes blind folded, hand and legs tied, and in a highly decomposed state, on Kaththaankudi beach, Wednesday around 9:30 p.m. Both bodies were bound to a log.
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TMVP informer shot dead in Batticaloa

[TamilNet, Thursday, 09 October 2008, 12:24 GMT]
Unidentified armed men who took away a young man Wednesday around 8:00 p.m. from his house at Kokkuvil in Batticaloa police division, shot and killed him, Batticaloa police investigating into the killing said. The police recovered his body Thursday morning and handed it over to Batticaloa Teaching Hospital for post mortem examination.
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British, Norway ambassadors visit Jaffna

[TamilNet, Thursday, 09 October 2008, 10:46 GMT]
British High Commissioner to Sri Lanka Dr. Peter Hayes, and Norway's Ambassador Tore Hattrem accompanied by UNHCR residential representative in Colombo, were on a visit to Jaffna Wednesday. The emissaries met Jaffna Appeal Court Magistrate R. T.Vignarajah around 4:30 p.m. and discussed the humanitarian as well as the general security concerns of the civilians. Meanwhile, informed sources in Jaffna told TamilNet that the Sri Lankan Defense Ministry had initially declined permission for the delegation to visit Jaffna Prison and Kurunakar Special Rehabilitation Centre where civilians seeking protection from the threat of the SLA and paramilitaries are placed in protective custody.
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4 Tamils arrested in Trincomalee

[TamilNet, Thursday, 09 October 2008, 09:23 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army and police Wednesday morning from 6:00 a.m. till 9:00 a.m. conducted a cordon and search operation in the Orr's Hill area in Trincomalee town where the brigade headquarters of the Sri Lanka Army is located. Sri Lanken armed forces took masked men with them to identify the strangers in the area during the operation, civil sources said.
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Tamil civilian shot dead in Trincomalee

[TamilNet, Thursday, 09 October 2008, 09:20 GMT]
Unidentified armed persons shot dead a 42-year-old Tamil civilian Wednesday evening around 5.30 p.m. in Anpuvazhipuram, suburb in Trincomalee town. The victim was a three-wheel owner and a resident of Paalaiyoottu, another suburb of the east port town.
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Eezham Tamils not abandoned by Tamil Nadu, says LTTE

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 08 October 2008, 13:55 GMT]
Expressing gratitude on behalf of the Eelam Tamils for the solidarity shown by the leaders and the masses of Tamil Nadu, the Political Division of the Liberation Tigers of Tamileelam (LTTE), in a statement on Wednesday said that Tamils, who are facing an onslaught by the indiscriminate shelling and bombardment by the Sri Lankan forces, are inspired by the expression of solidarity from Tamil Nadu.
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JVP files court action against Karuna's nomination as UPFA MP

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 07 October 2008, 19:32 GMT]
Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), Sinhala nationalist party, Tuesday filed a petition in the Supreme Court seeking annulment of the gazette notification issued by the Commissioner of Elections nominating Vinayagamoorthy Muralitharan alias Karuna, a renegade Tiger commander who turned leader of a paramilitary group operated by the Sri Lanka Army in Batticaloa and Ampaa'rai as a nationalist parliamentarian from the ruling United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA) to the seat that fell vacant due to the resignation of a JVP parliamentarian Vasantha Samarasinghe, legal sources said.
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Parliament approves emergency extension

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 07 October 2008, 19:25 GMT]
The Sri Lanka's parliament Tuesday by a majority of 84 votes adopted the motion moved by the government to extend the State of Emergency by one month, parliamentary sources said. 98 parliamentarians of the ruling United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA) including the newly appointed Vinayagamoorthy Muralitharan, alias Karuna voted for the motion. Fourteen parliamentarians of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) voted against the motion.
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