Jaffna HSZ-located phone used for extortion threats

[TamilNet, Saturday, 20 October 2007, 05:29 GMT]
Several leading businessmen, editors, and directors of newspapers in Jaffna have made complains to Human Rights Commission (HRC), Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) and Jaffna magistrate, of receiving threats from a hand phone located in the High Security Zone (HSZ) of the Sri Lanka Army (SLA), sources in Jaffna said. The call had warned that failure to pay or reporting the matter to police or the magistrate would result in severe punishment, according to the complaints made, sources in Jaffna said.
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SLAF bombs Puthukkudiyiruppu in Vanni

[TamilNet, Friday, 19 October 2007, 21:30 GMT]
Five Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) Kfir bombers dropped more than twenty four bombs in two sorties Friday morning, targeting civilian settlements in Vea'naavil and surrounding areas, sources in Vanni said.
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9 Tamil civilians arrested in Trinco suburbs

[TamilNet, Friday, 19 October 2007, 17:11 GMT]
Nine Tamil civilians were taken into custody in a cordon and search operation conducted by the Sri Lanka Army Friday at Paarathipuram and Puthukuddiyiruppu, suburbs in the north of Trincomalee city.
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32 civilians arrested in Badulla, Ratmalana

[TamilNet, Friday, 19 October 2007, 17:09 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army (SLA) has arrested nineteen civilians including four women at Ratmalana and 13 others at Badulla in cordon and search operations conducted from Thursday dusk to Friday dawn. Majority of them are Tamil civilians.
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Resettlement of Batticaloa IDPs begins

[TamilNet, Friday, 19 October 2007, 11:23 GMT]
The first stage of resettlement process of Internally Displaced People (IDPs) in areas close to Chengkaladi-Badulla main road A5 Highway, Batticaloa district was initiated Thursday morning 10:00a.m.
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Family man shot dead in Pungkudutheevu

[TamilNet, Thursday, 18 October 2007, 21:12 GMT]
Two unknown armed men on a motorcycle shot dead a family man Wednesday around 7:00 p.m during curfew hours in the High Security Zone (HSZ) in Pungkudutheevu, an islet of Jaffna under the exclusive control of the SLN.
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Artillery shelling shuts down A9 entry point

[TamilNet, Thursday, 18 October 2007, 18:41 GMT]
The entry, exit point between Sri Lanka Army controlled areas and Liberation Tigers of Tamileelam (LTTE) controlled Vanni, has been closed Thursday as the parties exchanged artillery fire, sources in Vavuniyaa said. All traffic through the gateway including ambulances carrying patients in critical condition was blocked as shells exploded close to the International Committee of Red Cross (ICRC) office in the no-man's land, sources in Vanni said.
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Two children, grandfather killed, SL Navy attacks refugee-boat in the seas off Mannaar

[TamilNet, Thursday, 18 October 2007, 06:03 GMT]
Two children and their grandfather were killed and the remaining two children with their mother were seriously wounded when Sri Lanka Navy (SLN) gunboats opened fire on them, Thursday early morning at 4:30. The fate of the refugee-family from Ira'naimaatha Nakar in Naachchikkudaa, located 40 km northeast of Mannaar, ended in tragedy in the seas off Peasaalai. Whereabouts of the father, Jim Maximus, is not known, although some reports said he has been handed over to the Police in Thalaimannar.
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Tamil mother files FR petition in Supreme Court

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 16 October 2007, 04:15 GMT]
A 28-year-old Tamil woman has filed a Fundamental Rights (FR) violation petition in the Sri Lanka's Supreme Court to order her release immediately and compensation of Rs. 500,000 for illegal arrest and detention in Welikada prison. Ganeshanathan Sridevi gave birth to her fourth child in the police station during her detainment. She has cited Borella Police Chief Inspector Kamal Pushpakumara, Inspector General of Police, Defence Secretary, Commissioner General of Prisons and Attorney General as respondents in her petition, legal sources said.
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Girl student disappears in Pungkudutheevu

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 16 October 2007, 02:48 GMT]
A 21-year-old girl student is reported missing after she left home Sunday to attend classes in a private educational institute after going through the Sri Lanka Navy (SLN) camp area on her way to the institute in Pungkudutheevu, an islet of Jaffna, according to complaints lodged by her family members with the Human Rights Commission (HRC) Jaffna, Monday.
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SLA mini-camp in Yala overrun - LTTE

[TamilNet, Monday, 15 October 2007, 14:33 GMT]
Liberation Tigers of Tamileelam (LTTE) have overrun a Sri Lanka Army (SLA) camp near Yala sanctuary in southern Sri Lanka Monday evening, LTTE field officials in Ampaa'rai told TamilNet. 6 SLA troopers were killed, and many wounded in the raid which took place 40 km south of Poththuvil, the Tigers said, claiming that the camp was under their control for 3 hours during which time they seized arms and ammunitions from the camp. The Yala sanctuary, one of the island's main tourist attractions, lies on the southern end of the Ampaa'rai district.
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TNA opposes police station in Silaavaththurai

[TamilNet, Sunday, 14 October 2007, 05:19 GMT]
No useful purpose would be served in establishing a police station in the deserted village Silaavaththurai in Mannar district without taking immediate steps to resettle them in their traditional habitats, said Mr. Selvam Adaikalanathan, Wanni district Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarian. Silaavaththurai residents have all been displaced to other areas after the recent offensives by Sri Lanka military on 01 September.
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Displaced Tamil families to be resettled in Thullukudiruppu

[TamilNet, Saturday, 13 October 2007, 12:43 GMT]
Eighty seven Tamil families displaced from Thullukudiruppu village in Mannaar district in December, 2006, and staying with their relatives in Pe'saalai are to be resettled from Monday, according to a decision taken at a discussion held with Mannaar Divisional Secretary Ms Stanley de Mel Friday. Mannaar Bishop, Rt.Rev Rayappu Joseph, and representatives of international and national nongovernmental organizations participated in the discussion with displaced families.
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Welikade detainees call off fast-unto-death campaign

[TamilNet, Saturday, 13 October 2007, 10:40 GMT]
Tamil detainees at Welikade remand prison in Colombo have called off their fast-unto-death campaign on Saturday 6.00 p.m, after the visitng UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Louise Arbour, assured them that their cases will be resolved within 3 months.The fasting detainees, since Wednesday, have been demanding Ms. Louise Arbour, to visit the Welikade prison, look into their plight and exert pressure on the Sri Lankan government to expedite their cases that have been postponed fortnightly and not been heard for more than a year. She met five of the 86 fasting prisoners.
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SLA hands over 4 dead bodies to Mannaar hospital

[TamilNet, Friday, 12 October 2007, 16:30 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army (SLA) Friday evening handed over four dead bodies recovered from Maanthai village near Thirukkeatheesvaram, a border area between the Liberation Tigers of Tamileelam (LTTE) controlled area and the SLA controlled area in Mannaar. The SLA claimed that the dead were LTTE cadres. However, the victims could be innocent civilians, according to local residents. Two SLA soldiers were killed when a clash erupted in the border area Friday around 4:30 p.m., according to the SLA.
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Two Tamil civilians abducted in Colombo

[TamilNet, Friday, 12 October 2007, 11:40 GMT]
Two Tamil civilians were abducted in suburbs of Colombo, one in Wellawatte Tuesday night, and the other Kotahena Friday, according to complaints with the police and the Civil Monitoring Committee on Missing Persons.
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Strategy behind rights violations said not exposed

[TamilNet, Friday, 12 October 2007, 06:55 GMT]
The gross statistics on death and disappearances in Jaffna is known to everyone, and they paint a picture of military rule, but "the real reason behind the violations, the Sri Lankan military machine conducting the death theatre, and the depth of fear instilled into the civilians in Jaffna to witness against the perpetrators, are not exposed to the world," said Liberation Tigers Human Rights Spokesperson N. Selvy as hundreds of crying family members of the victims were blocked in Jaffna by the Sri Lanka Army from seeing the visiting High Commissioner Louise Arbour, on Friday. The SLA blocked journalists from entering the UNHCR office, GA's office, UN office and the Bishop's House.
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Tamil telecom engineer arrested in Colombo

[TamilNet, Friday, 12 October 2007, 05:38 GMT]
A young Tamil civilian, telecommunication engineer by profession, was arrested Wednesday night around 10.30 p.m. by the Terrorist Intelligence Division (TID) of the Sri Lanka Police. Ten TID operatives went to his residence located at Rudra Mawatte in Wellawatte and took him for further investigation, according to a complaint lodged by his relatives with the Wellawatte Police Thursday.
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SLA arrests 44 Tamil fishermen in Kalpity

[TamilNet, Friday, 12 October 2007, 02:27 GMT]
Forty four Tamil civilians, all residents of Vaalaichchenai in the east, were taken into custody at Kalpity in Puttalam district by the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) Thursday. They were in a lorry travelling to Kalpity to engage in fishing in western coastal sea.
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TNA parliamentarians visit fasting detainees at Colombo prison

[TamilNet, Thursday, 11 October 2007, 14:46 GMT]
Three Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarians, Sivanathan Kishore, P. Ariyanenthran and K.Pathmanathan visited Thursday the Tamil political detainees who have launched a fast-unto-death campaign at the remand prison in Welikada. The prisoners handed over three separate petitions to be forwarded to the visiting UN Human Rights High Commissioner Louise Arbour, Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa and Attorney General C.R.de Silva.
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