WFP food convoy enters Vanni

[TamilNet, Thursday, 02 October 2008, 08:48 GMT]
51 lorries carrying food supplies containing 650 MT to civilians in Liberation Tigers of Tamileelam controlled territory in Vanni entered the region Thursday morning around 10:30, according to the officials of World Food Programme (WFP) in Colombo. 30 lorries were carrying WFP supplies and the remaining were supplies under Ki'linochchi and Mullaiththeevu Government Agents. Six UN officials and Ki'lnochci GA N. Vethanayagam were escorting the supplies under UN flag.
Full story >>

SLAF attacks LTTE Peace Secretariat, Political Division HQ

[TamilNet, Thursday, 02 October 2008, 08:25 GMT]
Sri Lanka Air Force on Thursday attacked the Head Office of the Political Section of the Liberation Tigers of Tamileelalam and the LTTE Peace Secretariat, both located close to each other at the heart of the Ki'linochchi town. The attack, reported around 1:00 p.m., also caused damage to nearby houses and the roads. Two civilians were killed and five wounded in the air-strike, according to initial reports.
Full story >>

Trinco High Court orders inquiry into Habeas applications

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 01 October 2008, 19:14 GMT]
Trincomalee High Court Judge Mr.M.Ilancheliyan has forwarded to the Trincomalee Magistrate to hold inquiry on two Habeas Corpus (HC) applications, filed by mothers of two disappeared Tamil youths in Paalathoupoor in Moothoor division in Trincomalee district on 4th April 2007, legal sources in Trincomalee said. The High Court Judge issued the directive on Monday after determining that the prima facie case had been established by the applicants.
Full story >>

Sri Lankan airstrike targets civil administration in Vanni

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 01 October 2008, 18:41 GMT]
Sri Lanka Air Force fighter jets Wednesday evening attacked the Secretariat of Tamileelam Civil Administration, located in Paarathipuram south of Ki'linochchi. The officials atttached to the Tamileelam civil administration, which coordinates the administration in Liberation Tigers of Tamileelam controlled areas in almost all civil activities, ranging from ensuring the availability of drinking water to the maintanance civilian infrastructure, told TamilNet that noone was wounded in the attack as they had taken necessary precautions. The attack, which destroyed the building complex took place at 2:40 p.m.
Full story >>

Norwegian politicians express concern on humanitarian access, media coverage

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 01 October 2008, 15:08 GMT]
Norwegian politicians and activists who addressed the participants of a Eelam Tamil diaspora organised rally and a fasting awareness campaign on Monday and Tuesday in front of the Norwegian Parliament in Oslo, criticized the expulsion of International NGOs from Vanni and urged the International Community, including the Norwegian Government, to do their maximum to enable the International humanitarian agencies to be present with civilians in need of humanitarian assistance, and to enable access to media to visit the affected areas.
Full story >>

SLA shelling blocks A9

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 01 October 2008, 14:20 GMT]
The Sri Lanka Army has been continually shelling the A9 road between Mu'rika'ndi and Kokkaavil during the recent days, shutting down the A9 road forcing the civilians to use alternative roads.
Full story >>

TNA condemns grenade attack on Tamil MP's house in Ampaa'rai

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 01 October 2008, 12:32 GMT]
Tamil National Alliance (TNA), in a report released Wednesday, condemned the grenade attack on TNA Ampaa'rai district parliamentarian Chandra Nehru Chandrakanthan's house in Thirukkoayil Tuesday, and accused Sri Lanka government of using paramilitary operative Iniyabarathi to prevent TNA parliamentarians of Eastern Province from fulfilling their responsibilities to the constituents. Paramilitary opertive Iniyabarathi functions as Sri Lanka President Mahinda Rajapaksa's Ampaa'rai district coordinator.
Full story >>

Tortured Tamil given asylum in U.S. after 7 years in detention

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 01 October 2008, 12:26 GMT]
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Southern California announced Wednesday an immigration victory for Ahilan Nadarajah, an ethnic Tamil farmer who, after being tortured in his native Sri Lanka, sought asylum in the United States. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials in the U.S. held him for nearly seven years, first in immigration jail and later under electronic monitoring because of secret, fake evidence accusing him of being a 'terrorist'.
Full story >>

Rebuilt SLN base in Nedunththeevu officially opened

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 01 October 2008, 12:22 GMT]
Sri Lanka Navy (SLN) Northern region officially opened a rebuilt SLN base, fitted with new radars and other modern equipment, in Nedunththeevu (Delft), Monday, in a ceremony attended by top officials of SLN Northern region, sources in Nedunththeevu said. The base was destroyed by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) Sea Tigers in 2008. The previous SLN commander was replaced, and the newly appointed SLN commander of the Nedunththeevu base officially assumed duties at the opening ceremony.
Full story >>

Grenade attack on TNA MP's house in Ampaa'rai

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 01 October 2008, 05:56 GMT]
Unidentified persons lobbed a hand grenade on the house of Tamil National Alliance (TNA) Ampaa'rai district parliamentarian, Chandra Nehru Chandrakanthan, on Thirukkoayil main street, Tuesday around 10:00 p.m, despite the presence of three policemen guarding the residence, the MP said. The blast had damaged only the front portion of the house and no one was injured, he said. Police said two attackers were riding in a motorbike.
Full story >>

PMK demands New Delhi to withdraw military aid to Sri Lanka

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 30 September 2008, 20:38 GMT]
The Pattali Makkal katchi (PMK, Toilers' Party) in Tamil Nadu staged Tuesday a protest rally in front of the Sri Lankan Deputy High Commission in Chennai, where more than 2000 Tamil activists took part. Welcoming the Tamil Nadu leaders who have extended their support to Eelam Tamils at a critical juncture, Dr. S. Ramadoss, the founder leader of the PMK, urged the remaining leaders to extend their support to pressurise the Central government of India to withdraw military support to the Sri Lankan government which is engaged in a genocide against the Eelam Tamils.
Full story >>

SLA cordon, search Trincomalee Orr's Hill area

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 30 September 2008, 17:24 GMT]
The Sri Lanka Army (SLA), and Police, with the assistance of home guards, conducted cordon and search operation in the Orr's Hill area, a suburb in Trincomalee town Monday and Tuesday. The headquarters of the Sri Lanka Army Brigade for Trincomalee district is located at Plantain Point in Orr's Hills area.
Full story >>

Britain to aid displaced through functioning NGOs in Vanni

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 30 September 2008, 16:29 GMT]
Representatives of British Tamils Forum who met the British Minister for the Department for International Development (DFID) Shahid Malik, on Tuesday in London, quoted the Minister as saying that the British Government did not agree with the general assessment of the Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL) that all local Tamil NGOs, which are currently working within the Vanni area were all controlled by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). The British aid would be channelled through local and international NGOs to the displaced civilians in Vanni.
Full story >>

Defining moment for IC's credibility - Norwegian Tamil Forum

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 30 September 2008, 13:19 GMT]
"The defining moment for the International Community is right now, if it really wishes to establish its commitment to a principled approach towards Tamil aspirations in the island of Sri Lanka," declared a Norwegian Tamil representative on Tuesday, while concluding a fasting awareness campaign, held for more than 30 hours in front of the Norwegian Parliament in Oslo, focusing on the plight of 230,000 internally displaced Tamil civilians in Vanni.
Full story >>

15,000 newly displaced from Ki'linochchi swell Vanni IDPs to 230,000

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 30 September 2008, 13:03 GMT]
Tamils Rehabilitation Organization (TRO), a humanitarian organization helping the displaced population in Northeast, in a report released Tuesday said, with the food stock in private stores and co-operative stores reaching dangerously low levels, the humanitarian conditions of the more than 230,000 Internally displaced are rapidly deteriorating. Since the departure of foreign NGOs on 16th September under Colombo's directives, 15,217 new IDPs from Ki'linochchi and Poonakari has joined the refugee population, the report added.
Full story >>

LTTE: SL military post raided in Trincomalee, 4 killed

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 30 September 2008, 08:31 GMT]
Four Sri Lankan military personnel, including Sri Lanka Army (SLA) and homeguards, who were manning a military post in Kantha'laay (Kantale) in Trincomalee district were killed Monday morning when Liberation Tigers of Tamileelam (LTTE) carried out a raid on the military post in the high security area, LTTE's Trincomalee command has claimed in a note issued to media on Tuesday. Two firearms were seized in the raid, the Tigers said.
Full story >>

43 Tamils arrested in Wellawatte, Wattala, Katunayake

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 30 September 2008, 07:05 GMT]
Forty three Tamils including were arrested in Wellawatte, Wattala, and Katunayake in several cordon and search operations conducted by the Sri Lanka Police, assisted by Sri Lanka Army (SLA), and home guards, from Sunday evening till Monday morning, sources in Colombo said.
Full story >>

Grenade attack wounds 21 Muslims in Kaaththaankudi, 7 children among the victims

[TamilNet, Monday, 29 September 2008, 14:34 GMT]
Unknown attackers riding in a motorbike lobbed a grenade near Jain Maulana mosque in Kaaththaankudi town Monday around 6:25 p.m., wounding 21 Muslim civilians. Five of the victims are children, according to initial reports. The attack has targeted Muslims on their way to evening prayers. Tension prevails in the town as elements of factionalised TMVP paramilitary and armed elements among the Muslims have been inciting violence between the Tamil and Muslim communities, sources in Batticaloa said.
Full story >>

Canadian Tamil youth campaign for IDPs in Vanni

[TamilNet, Monday, 29 September 2008, 13:55 GMT]
35 Canadian Tamil youths on Friday launched a fasting campaign named '30 Hour Famine' at the Richmond Hill Temple community hall in the province of Ontario in an effort to create awareness regarding the sufferings of the displaced civilians deprived of basic amenities in Vanni, whose plight has worsened after the Sri Lankan government ordered the International NGOs and UN agencies to withdraw aid workers from the region.
Full story >>

Tamil youth reported missing in Kalmunai

[TamilNet, Sunday, 28 September 2008, 17:36 GMT]
A Tamil youth who had gone to Kalmunai on his motorcycle 20 September to buy fertilizer has been reported missing since then with Kalmunai police in Ampaa'rai district Thursday, Kalmunai police said.
Full story >>