War needs to continue, dependancy on the West bypassed - Rajapaksa

[TamilNet, Friday, 15 August 2008, 10:16 GMT]
"The war against the LTTE will continue without a break until the capture of the Ki'linochchi and Mullaiththeevu", declared Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa on Thursday while addressing a public meeting following the inauguration of an irrigation project in Polonnaruwa in the North Central Province. Mr. Rajapaksa also proclaimed that the era of rulers who were dependent on the West was over with his regime in Sri Lanka. Meanwhile, Somawanse Amarasinghe, the leader of the Sinhala extreme nationalist JVP, charged that Mr. Rajapaksa has 'surrendered the sovereignty of Sri Lanka' to India.
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4 IDP children food poisoned in Ki’linochchi

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 13 August 2008, 15:14 GMT]
Four children in a family displaced from Periya Pa’ndivirichchaan in Mannaar district due to Sri Lanka Army (SLA) offensives and presently lodged at Ki’linochchi Mu’rippu School are admitted to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of the Ki'linochchi hospital Wednesday morning. The children had eaten rice cooked Tuesday noon for breakfast Wednesday, hospital sources said.
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Ministry stops English training for Tamil teachers in South

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 13 August 2008, 11:20 GMT]
Sri Lanka's Education Ministry has decided not to enroll Tamil teachers from the NorthEast to English Teacher Training College in Maharagama and Kalutara for English Language training when the courses recommence on September 1. Only Sinhalese teachers are to be admitted in these education institutions in future, according to education officials.
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Mullaiththeevu residents protest against SLA attacks

[TamilNet, Monday, 11 August 2008, 18:47 GMT]
Residents of Mullaiththeevu staged a protest march Monday condemning the recent Sri Lanka Army (SLA) artillery attack on Mullaiththeevu town injuring Mullaiththeevu Government Agent, on Mullaiththeevu hospital, the killing of Thu’nukkaay Assistant Government Agent, Nanthakumar and Ki’linochchi Development Officer in SLA Deep Penetration Unit attacks. The demonstrators voiced their protest against the indiscriminate Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) bombings of areas near schools during examination time and on civilian settlements in Vanni.
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SLAF airstrike kills civilian, 6 wounded in Visuvamadu

[TamilNet, Sunday, 10 August 2008, 05:38 GMT]
Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) bombers attacked on Saturday a populated village, known as 'Redd Barna' settlement, in Visuvamadu after targeting an irrigation tank in the area. A 40-year-old civilian, who was working at his paddy field was killed and six civilians were wounded, according to medical sources. The SLAF has stepped up indiscriminate bombardment on civilian settlements as the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) fired artillery shells have targeted Mullaiththeevu and Akkaraayan hospital zones. At least five civilians were killed and more than 25 wounded in artillery and air-strikes carried out by the Sri Lankan forces in Vanni on Friday and Saturday.
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SLA shelling targets another hospital zone in Vanni, IDP killed

[TamilNet, Saturday, 09 August 2008, 15:19 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army (SLA) launched an artillery attack targeting the area near Akkaraayan hospital, Vanneari and Aanaivizhunthaan in the Karaichchi division of Ki'linochchi district Friday evening around 6:30 p.m., killing a 49-year-old internally displaced person from Mannaar, who was residing in Vanneari. The attack on IDP settlement has caused the IDPs temporarily residing in the area to flee the area again.
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Government officials urge SLA to observe Safety Zones

[TamilNet, Saturday, 09 August 2008, 08:10 GMT]
The target of the artillery attack of the Sri Lanka Army in the early hours of Friday in Mullaiththeevu was a residential enclave located within 500 meters radius of the Mullaiththeevu General Hospital, housing the Mullaiththeevu Government Agent (GA), the Medical Superintendent (MS) and many other government officials, who coordinate the essential services of the district. The attack was timed before a token protest scheduled for Friday by the government servants to voice against the killing of the Deputy Planning Director, Poonakari, in a claymore attack two weeks ago. TamilNet’s Vanni correspondent talked to the GA and the MS on Friday noon.
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NESoHR: 70,000 new IDPs in Vanni in 60 days

[TamilNet, Friday, 08 August 2008, 11:35 GMT]
Documenting that during June and July, an additional 70,800 people registered with the Kilinochchi and Mullaitheevu Secretariats as new Internally Displaced People from areas proximity to Mannar, Vavuniyaa, Ma'nalaa'ru, and Mukamaalai Foward Defence Lines (FDLs), a report released Friday by NorthEast Secretariat on Human Rights (NESoHR), a Vanni based rights group, said that restrictions imposed by the Sri Lanka Government on taking essential items to Vanni have further hampered assistance given by the humanitarian agencies.
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NESoHR: 70,000 new IDPs in Vanni in 60 days

[TamilNet, Friday, 08 August 2008, 11:35 GMT]
Documenting that during June and July, an additional 70,800 people registered with the Kilinochchi and Mullaitheevu Secretariats as new Internally Displaced People from areas proximity to Mannar, Vavuniyaa, Ma'nalaa'ru, and Mukamaalai Foward Defence Lines (FDLs), a report released Friday by NorthEast Secretariat on Human Rights (NESoHR), a Vanni based rights group, said that restrictions imposed by the Sri Lanka Government on taking essential items to Vanni have further hampered assistance given by the humanitarian agencies.
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2 civilians killed in SLA shelling in Vadmaraadchi East

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 06 August 2008, 08:00 GMT]
A 45-year-old father of three and a 30-year-old father of one were killed Wednesday morning when Sri Lanka Army (SLA) fired artillery shells targeted civilian settlements, fishing huts and the stretch along the coast in Vettilaikkea'ni in Liberation Tigers of Tamileelam (LTTE) controlled Vadamaraadchi East of Jaffna district. One civilian was wounded in the shelling and rushed to hospital, according to initial reports from Vadamaraadchi East.
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Jaffna, Colombo register highest in civilians deaths, disappearances, says NESoHR

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 06 August 2008, 06:17 GMT]
A total of 38 civilians were killed, 42 disappeared in July, with Jaffna accounting for the highest number of killings (14), and Colombo registering the highest number of disappearances (12), said a report released Monday by the NorthEast Secretariat on Human Rights (NESoHR), a Kilinochchi-based rights group.
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Jaffna Catholics to raise funds to help Vanni IDPs

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 06 August 2008, 05:17 GMT]
The Commission for Justice and Peace (CJP) in Jaffna peninsula has extended an appeal to all Catholics in the peninsula to generously contribute to a relief fund when special mass and Holy Communion will be held Sunday in the Catholic churches in the peninsula towards helping the 50,000 Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Vanni, according to the Catholic Guardian religious magazine.
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Jaffna/ Yaazhppaa'nam/ Yaazhppaa'nap Paddinam/ Yaazhppaa'naayan Paddinam

[TamilNet, Friday, 01 August 2008, 13:36 GMT]
The city of the bard / minstrel
The city of the lord of bards / minstrels
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SLAF fighter jets bomb Ki'linochchi

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 30 July 2008, 01:07 GMT]
Two Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) bombers dropped at least four bombs Wednesday morning between 6:20 and 6:35 a.m. targeting Thiruvaiyaa'ru, 4 km east of Ki'linochchi. The aerial strike comes as the Sri Lankan government has rejected to respect the unilateral ceasefire announced by the Liberation Tigers of Tamileelam (LTTE) in connection with the SAARC summit taking place in Colombo from 26 July to 04 August.
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Colombo snaps outside communication with Vanni

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 29 July 2008, 15:52 GMT]
Sri Lankan Telecommunication Department has cut off the telephone numbers with +9421228 format (Ki'linochchi lines) for the last few days, disabling the only available mode of communication to the outside world from Vanni at a time when more than 100,000 civilians have displaced in Ki'inochchi and Mullaiththeevu districts due to the Sri Lanka Army offensive. Fundamental services such as hospitals, civil services and media dependent on telephone communication have been severely affected, according to civil sources in Ki'linochchi.
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SLA fires artillery, MBRL from Northern Front

[TamilNet, Monday, 28 July 2008, 14:48 GMT]
A barrage of heavy artillery and Multi Barrel Rocket Launcher (MBRL) fire from the Northern Front was launched by the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) Sunday and Monday into Liberation Tigers of Tamileelam (LTTE) controlled territory in Iyakkachchi, Pazhai and Vadamaraadchi East villages despite no provocation from the LTTE side, sources in Ki'linochchi said.
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Ki'linochchi, Mullaiththeevu, not far away, says Rajapaksa

[TamilNet, Sunday, 27 July 2008, 09:40 GMT]
It is "not too far away," to "liberate the people of Ki'linochchi and Mullaiththeevu" and make them live under a "democratic set up" now being "enjoyed by the people of the eastern province," declared Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa, addressing a provincial election campaign meeting in Anuradhapura on Saturday. The statement comes after Sri Lanka Army officials in Colombo told media that their forces were making "rapid progress" in Vanni claiming that the SLA recovered 37 dead bodies of LTTE fighters together with arms as the Sri Lankan forces were engaged in consolidating an offensive line south of Mallaavi.
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Homage paid to slain Vimalakumar in Ki'linochchi

[TamilNet, Friday, 25 July 2008, 14:34 GMT]
Homage to Santhalingam Vimalakumar, Deputy Planning Director of Poonakari division in Ki'linochchi District Secretariat killed Friday morning in a DPU Claymore attack at Kokkaavil in Oddisuddaan was paid in an event held Friday in the conference room in Ki'linochchi Secretariat presided by S. Regi Aloysius, the head of Ki'linochchi Secretariat Welfare Association. Government Administrative officials, Medical Officers, Education Department officers and a large number of people took part in the event paying their last respects to the remains of Vimalakumar.
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Development official killed in DPU Claymore attack

[TamilNet, Friday, 25 July 2008, 05:35 GMT]
Deputy Planning Director of Poonakari (Pooneryn) division and a development official at Ki'iinochchi District Secretariat, Santhalingam Vimalakumar, 33, was killed Friday morning following a Claymore attack that targeted his motorbike at Kokkaavil in Oddisuddaan. Mr. Vimalakumar was on his way to Vavuniyaa on official engagement while he was attacked, according to officials at the District Secretariat.
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Looming humanitarian crisis in Vanni

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 22 July 2008, 11:25 GMT]
45,338 additional persons have been displaced in Mannar, Vavuniyaa, Ki'linochchi, and Mullaitivu districts, due to the shelling and aerial bombardment by th Sri Lanka Security Forces in the last four weeks, adding to the Internally Displaced People (IDP) population of 107,048 in Vanni, said a report released by the Tamils Rehabilitation Organization (TRO). The report warned that the restrictions imposed by the Government of Sri Lanka to humanitarian agencies to attend to the IDP needs have created conditions for an imminent humanitarian crisis in Vanni.
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