Fein challenges SL Ambassador on "right to secession"

[TamilNet, Saturday, 23 February 2008, 18:01 GMT]
"A debate between us would enlighten the American people, Congress, and the White House over a question central to the foreign policy of the United States: when should a right to secession from an existing sovereign be recognized? Tamil statehood, which would end a grisly conflict that has killed tens of thousands in Sri Lanka, is too important to be left to sophistry," challenged Bruce Fein in a letter addressed to Sri Lanka's Ambassador to U.S., Bernard Goonetilleke, following the Ambassador's 25th speech in Washington, and 17th February article titled "Tamil homeland fantasy" in Washington Times.
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SLA conducts search operation in Ratota, Kandy

[TamilNet, Saturday, 23 February 2008, 16:12 GMT]
The Sri Lanka Army (SLA) and police conducted a cordon and search operation in Ratota town in Kandy district Saturday and questioned several Tamil civilians. Police said they launched the operation on the recovery of a bomb weighing 2 kg buried in a home garden.
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SLA arrests several Tamils in Mt. Lavinia

[TamilNet, Saturday, 23 February 2008, 16:07 GMT]
The Sri Lanka Army (SLA) and police launched a combined cordon and search operation Saturday in Mount Lavinia and surroundings in Colombo, and took several persons for questioning following the bus explosion that took place in the morning. Majority of the arrested are said to be Tamil civilians working shops and other offices in the locality, media sources said.
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Sri Lanka C.I.D., Police treat Tamils like stray dogs- Mano Ganesan

[TamilNet, Saturday, 23 February 2008, 13:50 GMT]
Mano Ganesan, Leader of Western People’s Front (WPF) Convener of Civil Monitoring Commission (CMC), in a press release issued Saturday, said that "[T]he Criminal Investigation Division (CID) has very clearly contravened the accepted norms, rules and regulations in conducting this arrest [of two tamils] let alone the civility and decency. They have failed to inform the police of the area where the ‘arrested’ persons were living at the time of ‘arrest,' and questioned whether the arrests were "deliberately done on purpose to put fear into the minds of Tamil Citizens."
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3 SLA killed in Vavuniyaa FDL - LTTE

[TamilNet, Saturday, 23 February 2008, 12:54 GMT]
A 3-member-team of a patrol unit of the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) in no-go zone between the Liberation Tigers of Tamileelam (LTTE) and the SLA at Naavatku'lam in Vavuniyaa were killed in an attack carried out by the Tigers Saturday around 10:15 a.m. The SLA is yet to recover the dead bodies of their soldiers lying near their Forward Defence Line, the Tigers said.
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Two Tamil youths arrested in Kandy town

[TamilNet, Saturday, 23 February 2008, 08:38 GMT]
Two Tamil youths were taken into custody in a cordon and search operation conducted in Kandy town from Thursday night till Friday morning. They are being detained in Kandy police station and being interrogated. Police said they were arrested when they failed to provide satisfactory reason for the stay in the location and also to prove their identity.
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International bias contributes to 'vicious cycle of violence', says Jaffna MP

[TamilNet, Saturday, 23 February 2008, 02:37 GMT]
“The International Community and India, which provide tacit support to Sri Lanka's belligerency, fail to stop or condemn attacks on civilians by Sri Lanka armed forces. But, whenever an attack takes place in the South it gets the prominence of news and International response is prompt. Then, as an occasional passing reference, the antecedents are cited. There is a definite pattern in the international behaviour related to events in Sri Lanka. By such one sided approach, do they encourage retaliations to take place in the South?” asks Jaffna district parliamentarian K. Sivanesan.
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Canada’s amended Security Certificate regime criticised

[TamilNet, Friday, 22 February 2008, 17:38 GMT]
The Canadian Parliament’s Bill C-3, enacted on February 12, came into force Friday, amending the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act 2000, one day before a Supreme Court deadline expired. The 2000 Act enabled the Government to detain and deport non-nationals it deemed inadmissible. Bill C-3 is in response to Supreme Court criticism that the security certificate regime was unconstitutional because it deprived concerned individuals of the opportunity to defend themselves because evidence cited for the government’s decision to detain or deport could be withheld from the individuals, their legal representatives and the public under terms of national security.
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8 civilians killed in SLAF bombardment in Poonakari, children among victims

[TamilNet, Friday, 22 February 2008, 05:37 GMT]
Eight civilians including a 6-month-old infant, a 4-year-old boy, their mother, a 8-year-old girl and an English teacher were killed, 14 including four children and another teacher were wounded in a Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) aerial bombardment of a civilian settlement at Kiraagnchi in the Poonakari division of Ki'linochchi district Friday at 8:10 a.m. Three houses were fully destroyed and many houses have sustained damage in the indiscriminate aerial bombardment in which more than 20 bombs were dropped by four bombers. Meanwhile, Sri Lankan ministry of defence in Colombo claimed that the SLAF had attacked "an inland sea tiger base" at Kiraagnchi.
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NE Bishops scheduled to meet UN special envoy

[TamilNet, Friday, 22 February 2008, 00:33 GMT]
A delegation of bishops from Northeast are scheduled to meet Angela Kane, UN Assistant Secretary General for Political Affairs who arrived in Colombo Wednesday morning for a week-long fact finding mission in the island, sources close to the Bishops said.
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Kosovo’s victory has lessons for other liberation struggles - paper

[TamilNet, Thursday, 21 February 2008, 16:16 GMT]
Describing Kosovo’s declaration of independence on Sunday and the ensuing international recognition as “a powerful shot in the arm to peoples resisting and seeking independence from tyrannical regimes,” the Tamil Guardian newspaper this said that “whilst every situation and every circumstance is unique, there are important lessons from the Kosovan march to independence for liberation struggles everywhere. The paper pointed out that just a few years ago, the idea of Kosovan independence had been dismissed by the international community and the Kosovan Liberation Army had been condemned as terrorists by the United States and other countries.
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STF arrests Tamil police constable, brother-in-law

[TamilNet, Thursday, 21 February 2008, 12:17 GMT]
In a joint search operation conducted by Special Task Force (STF) commandos and police Thursday in the Mochchimunai village within Kaththaankudy police division, a police constable and his brother-in-law were arrested, Kaththaankudi police said.
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Dry fish Trader shot dead in Negombo

[TamilNet, Thursday, 21 February 2008, 03:39 GMT]
Unidentified men operating in a white van shot and killed a dry fish trader Tuesday night 10:00p.m. in Negombo, Negombo police said.
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Tamil youth missing in Ea’raavoor

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 20 February 2008, 08:34 GMT]
A Tamil youth from Mu'rakkoddaagncheanai in Ea’raavoor police division in Batticaloa district has been missing since 11 February after leaving his home around 10:30 a.m, the youth's relatives said. The youth is mentally ill, and his relatives believe that he may have travelled to Vavuniyaa or Colombo.
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Policeman shot dead in Akkaraippattu

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 20 February 2008, 08:08 GMT]
Unidentified gunmen shot and killed Tuesday morning a Tamil policeman on his way to Batticaloa from Akkaraippattu in Akkaraippattu area in Ampaa’rai district. Sri Lanka police and Special Task Force (STF) jointly launched a cordon and search operation Tuesday around 10:00 a.m until 2:00 p.m in the area arresting more than 200 persons on suspicion, sources in Akkaraippattu said.
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India's Peace and War

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 20 February 2008, 01:24 GMT]
The now defunct Ceasefire Agreement in Sri Lanka was mooted and shadow-managed by the BJP government, according to Indian journalist, M.R. Narayan Swamy. Wickramasinghe and Pirapaharan were aware of this top secret mission of India, supervised by Vajpayee's Advisor Brajesh Mishra, but not J.N. Dixit who succeeded him with the change of government in May 2004. Dixit had to learn it from Wickramasinghe. The CFA signed in February 2002 was unilaterally withdrawn by the Sri Lanka government in January 2008. Swamy's revealing and the chronology of events implicate the Congress establishment and the ego war of the Chanakyas (Machiavellis) of New Delhi in belligerency returning to Sri Lanka.
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Expression of support to LTTE not an offence: Karunanidhi

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 19 February 2008, 16:55 GMT]
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi on Monday reiterated that mere expression of support to the LTTE was not an offence as per an observation of the Indian Supreme Court. He admonished Opposition leader Jayalalithaa for misleading the people on this issue.
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Tamil civilian abducted in Colombo

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 19 February 2008, 01:08 GMT]
A 39 year-old Tamil civilian was abducted by unidentified persons who arrived in a white colored van along Muhathurvaaram Road in Muhathurvaaram in Colombo Monday night around 8.30 p.m., media sources in Colombo said.
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SLA blocked in three fronts in Mannaar - LTTE

[TamilNet, Monday, 18 February 2008, 17:47 GMT]
Liberation Tigers of Tamileelam on Monday confronted Sri Lanka Army on three fronts in Maanaar from 4:00 a.m. Heavy fighting lasted till 7:30 p.m. when SLA movement was successfully blocked by the Tigers at Paalaikkuzhi, Kaddukkarai and Ka'rukkaayk-ku'lam according to LTTE's Operations Command in Mannaar. The SLA has suffered heavy casualties, the Tigers said. Atleast 10 SLA soldiers were killed by Tiger snipers. Sri Lanka Air Force Kfir fighter jets and MI-24 gunships were also engaged, providing support fire to the SLA forces. Meanwhile, sources in Mannaar city said tension prevailed in Tha'l'laadi as LTTE fired artillery shells fell inside the military garrison.
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SLAF jets bomb LTTE territory in Poonakari

[TamilNet, Monday, 18 February 2008, 17:17 GMT]
Two Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) fighter jets dropped more than three bombs Monday around 2:30 p.m on Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) territory in Poonakari (Pooneryn) in Jaffna after flying low over Jaffna peninsula prior to the air strike, sources in Jaffna said.
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