Civilian killed in SLA artillery barrage

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 30 April 2008, 11:59 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army (SLA) in Ma'nalaa'ru staged an artillery barrage targeting a civilian settlement in Nedungkea'ni in Vanni for two-hours from 9:50 a.m. Wednesday, killing a 52-year-old father of three and seriously wounding a 32-year-old mother of one, Tamileelam Police officials said.
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Medical student of Jaffna University shot dead

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 30 April 2008, 05:35 GMT]
Unidentified gunmen shot and killed a former medical student of Jaffna University from Pottpathi Veethi, Kokkuvil, in Jaffna at his house on Tuesday around 7:00 p.m, sources in Jaffna said. The victim is alleged to have been working for the Intelligence Unit of Sri Lanka Army (SLA), and said to have collaborated in the killings, and abductions in Jaffna peninsula, the sources added.
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2 Tamil youths abducted in Colombo

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 29 April 2008, 18:14 GMT]
Unknown men had abducted two Tamil youths at Muhathuvaaram in Colombo Monday evening in two separate incidents. They have been identified as Selvachchandran Nishanthan, 23, and Karunakaran, according to complaints lodged with the Muhathuvaaram Police and the Civil Monitoring Group by their relatives.
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UNP accuses ruling party of breach of East election rules

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 29 April 2008, 13:55 GMT]
Sri Lanka’s main opposition United National Party (UNP) parliamentarian, Laxman Kiriyella, charged that the paramilitary Pillayan group, Peoples Liberation Organization of Tamil Eelam (PLOTE), Eelam Peoples Democratic Party (EPDP) and Eelam Peoples Revolutionary Liberation Front (EPRLF) that are jointly contesting Eastern Province Provincial (EPC) elections with the ruling United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA), for carrying arms besides other violations during the campaign for the forthcoming Easter Provincial Council (EPC) election, UNP sources said.
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Grenade attack on EDF candidate’s house in Batticaloa

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 29 April 2008, 10:05 GMT]
Unidentified persons lobbed a hand grenade Monday around 8:00 p.m on the house of the Eelavar Democratic Front (EDF) candidate contesting Eastern Province Council (EPC) election in Batticaloa, at Punnaichoalai in Batticaloa district, injuring the contestant’s wife, mother and brother besides causing severe damage to the walls and windows, sources in Batticaloa said. The contestant, however, escaped being injured.
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15 civilians arrested in Mt.Lavinia, 3 in Hatton

[TamilNet, Monday, 28 April 2008, 10:57 GMT]
Fifteen civilians, majority of them said to be Tamils, were taken in for questioning in a cordon and search conducted Sunday evening in Mt.Lavinia. Some of the arrested are residents of Jaffna, Colombo, and Kaddaiparichchan in Moothoor east, reports from Colombo said.
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India to give $100 million soft loan to Sri Lankan defence: Economic Times

[TamilNet, Monday, 28 April 2008, 07:25 GMT]
Economic Times, one of India's leading business dailies, on Sunday revealed that in spite of possible "political and diplomatic ramifications", the Indian Government was "finalizing a soft loan package of $100 million for Sri Lankan defence department to buy arms and ammunition." The newspaper went one step ahead and dubbed this move "the India fund for fighting Tamil Tigers in Sri Lanka."
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SLA occupation of Madu, triggers fears of renewed Sinhalicisation

[TamilNet, Sunday, 27 April 2008, 17:42 GMT]
The Madu Road junction located on Mannaar-Madawachchi Road, which branches off the main route to Madu shrine, situated in the middle of traditional Tamil area, became the center of a Sinhala settlement in the 1970s. The Sri Lanka Government had the agenda of transforming the area into a full-fledged Sinhala colony, by using the lands of a cashew farm between the Madu Shrine and the junction. However, the settlement was later abandoned, fearing repercussions following large-scale massacre and arson committed by the Sri Lanka Army in December 1984 after a landmine blast. The spectre of a Sinhalicised Madu area has now become a dangerous new reality with SLA's occupation of Madu shrine.
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SLA killed, 4 soldiers lose legs in Vavuniyaa

[TamilNet, Sunday, 27 April 2008, 16:54 GMT]
Liberation Tigers of Tamileelam (LTTE) defensive units confronted the Sri Lanka Army in Paalamoaddai and Naavatku'lam in Vavuniyaa district on Sunday. At Paalamoaddai one SLA soldier was killed at 12:30 p.m. when the SLA attempted to advance, the Tigers said. Three SLA soldiers were wounded, two of them lost their legs. At Naavatku'lam Tigers seized a T-56 assault rifle, the Tigers said.
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Journalists Sivaram, Rajivarman remembered in Nelliyadi

[TamilNet, Sunday, 27 April 2008, 14:17 GMT]
“We raise our voices aloud demanding freedom of media despite the prevailing dangerous atmosphere. We join our hands with our media friends worldwide, and raise our hands along with them in the demand for the freedom of media,” the North Ceylon Journalists Association (NCJA) said in a message during a lunch offering Sunday to the elders and children in Nelliyadi Paramaananthaa Ashram, Home for the Aged and Children, held in remembrance of late TamilNet Senior Editor "Taraki" Sivaram and Selvarajah Rajivarman, sources in Jaffna said.
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Re-negotiate Kachchatheevu: CPI urges Indian Government

[TamilNet, Sunday, 27 April 2008, 09:41 GMT]
Communist Party of India (CPI) National Secretary D Raja urged the Indian Government to intervene in Sri Lanka's prolonged ethnic strife in view of the escalation of human rights abuses in the island nation. "Finding a solution to the ethnic crisis alone can bring about a solution to the problems of Tamil Nadu fishermen," he said. Recalling that the state Government of Tamil Nadu had protested when India ceded Kadchaththeevu to Sri Lanka in 1974, he urged upon the Indian Government to renegotiate the Kadchaththeevu Accord and facilitate Tamil Nadu fisherment to catch fish without any hindrance whatsoever.
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Mannaar Bishop demands open declaration of Madu as Peace Zone

[TamilNet, Sunday, 27 April 2008, 09:09 GMT]
Bishop of Mannaar, Rev. Dr. Rayappu Joseph, on Saturday told media that the warring parties should openly declare the Madu Shrine and its environs as Peace Zone in order to bring back Our Lady of Madu statue to the Holy Shrine. Meanwhile Sri Lankan Defence ministry in its official news on Sunday quoted Sri Lanka Army Commander Lt. Gen. Sarath Fonseka as saying: "those who were in charge of the statue have the responsibility of bringing it back". The SL defence ministry added that Madu "would be declared as a security zone," without specifying what it meant with the term, 'security zone.' Vicar General Rev. A. Victor Soosai on Saturday visited the Shrine for an inspection.
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Paramilitary shot dead in Batticaloa

[TamilNet, Sunday, 27 April 2008, 03:18 GMT]
Unidentified gunmen arriving at the Tamil Makkal Viduthalai Pulikal (TMVP) office in Vipulaananthapuram, Mayilampaavea’li in Ea’raavoor police division in Batticaloa district, shot and killed a paramilitary man who was in the office, Saturday around 5:45 p.m, Ea’raavoor police said.
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Search operation at Katunayake, 10 arrested

[TamilNet, Sunday, 27 April 2008, 02:16 GMT]
Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) and Sri Lanka Army (SLA) Sunday early morning launched a cordon and search operation in areas surrounding the Katunayake airbase and arrested 10 civilians, majority of them Tamils. Police sources said they are being detained at police station and being interrogated as they failed to prove their identity and justify their stay in the location.
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15 Tamils arrested at Matale

[TamilNet, Sunday, 27 April 2008, 00:24 GMT]
Fifteen Tamil civilians were arrested at Matale town Sunday morning in a cordon and search operation conducted by the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) and police. The arrested are being detained at Matale police station and interrogated as they failed to prove their identity and justify the presence in the location, media sources said.
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Tigers launch air attack in Ma'nalaa'ru - SLA

[TamilNet, Saturday, 26 April 2008, 21:46 GMT]
Sri Lankan military officials in Colombo said Sunday that Liberation Tigers of Tamileelam (LTTE) had launched air attack on Sri Lanka Army (SLA) positions in Ma'nalaa'ru (Weli Oya) in the early hours of Sunday around 1:45. This is the second time, after the Black Tiger raid on Anuradhapura airbase in October 2007, the Tigers have deployed their air wing combined with the their ground forces.
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Rae assails Canada's indifference to unfolding tragedy in Sri Lanka

[TamilNet, Saturday, 26 April 2008, 20:29 GMT]
Pointing out the "continuing fighting and terrible loss of life in Sri Lanka," Mr Rae, former Ontario Premier and an advisor to an earlier round of peace talks, said in a media release issued in Canada's Liberal party website that “[t]he world can't just sit back and let this death and destruction happen. This is a humanitarian disaster and must be met with a concerted response,” and that “Canada should put conflict prevention at the top of its foreign policy agenda. We can't be indifferent to this tragedy.”
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One million people in Sri Lanka may face starvation - WFP

[TamilNet, Saturday, 26 April 2008, 15:28 GMT]
“Scarcity of food items and the subsequent escalation in the cost of essential items may result in more than one million in the country facing starvation," Mohamed Saleheen, the resident representative of United Nations (UN) World Food program (WFP) in Colombo told the media Friday. As a result of the situation, the WFP country office in Sri Lanka is facing major crisis, he said, and urged donor countries to respond immediately to overcome the crisis.
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Thanthai Chelva remembered on his 31st anniversary

[TamilNet, Saturday, 26 April 2008, 14:59 GMT]
The 31st death anniversary of the late Tamil leader and the founder of the Federal Party (Ilankai Thamil Arasu Katchchi -ITAK), Samuel James Velupillai Chelvanayakam (SJV) was held in Jaffna near the SJV memorial statue at 9:45 a.m Saturday presided by Rev. Dr. Jebanesan of the South Indian Council of Churches.
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Sinhala goons terrorize Tamils in Negombo

[TamilNet, Saturday, 26 April 2008, 13:11 GMT]
Unidentified Sinhala gangs are allegedly engaged in terrorizing Tamil civilians residing along Assarappawatte Lane in Negombo town and robbing their valuables including jewellery, cash, cellphone and other items, reports in Colombo said.
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