National ID identifies Mannar youth in alleged cyanide incident

[TamilNet, Thursday, 19 April 2007, 13:05 GMT]
The Tamil youth who allegedly killed himself taking cyanide after being arrested by the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) on Wednesday in Mannar has been identified by his National Identity Card (NIC) as Vaithilingam Roshan, 27, of Muttur in Trincomalee district. The acting Mannar Magistrate Mr.M.P.Farook who viewed his body at Mannar hospital Thursday afternoon ordered the hospital authorities to keep the body for three days for his relatives to claim, sources said.
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HRW urges Pope to discuss human rights with Rajapaksa

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 18 April 2007, 08:48 GMT]
The Asia Director of Human Rights Watch, Brad Adams, Tuesday, urged Pope Benedict XVI, to raise the deteriorating human rights crisis in Sri Lanka with Sri Lanka's President Mahinda Rajapaksa, who is visiting Vatican this week. Sri Lankan military and police forces, as well as proxy armed groups, are engaged in serious violations of the laws of war and human rights, reiterated Human Rights Watch in the letter.
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Tamileelam flag on pitch prompts paper’s ire

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 18 April 2007, 03:26 GMT]
The pitch invasion Monday by a man carrying the Tamileelam flag during the ICC Cricket World Cup Super Eight match between Australia and Sri Lanka at the Grenada National Stadium in St. George's, provoked a furious reaction from a Sri Lankan daily Wednesday. Condemning the action as “a dastardly act,” The Island newspaper’s editorial said: “The LTTE has once again demonstrated its capability to gain access anywhere at will.” Sri Lanka’s top cricket body “must take up the issue with the ICC and the West Indies Cricket without taking it lying down in typical Sri Lankan style,” the editorial fumed.
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Killing spree escalates in Vavuniya

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 17 April 2007, 16:06 GMT]
Four armed men, conversing in Sinhala and Tamil, entered the house of a former editor of a Tamil magazine in Vavuniya Monday night, shot and killed the father of one. The killers then instructed the victim's 7-year-old son, at gunpoint, to go to sleep, the grieving child told the district magistrate who conducted the inquest into the death of 32-year-old Chandrabose Suthahar, Tuesday. Killings were escalaing as never before on alarming rate in Vavuniya District, Manickavasagar Ilancheliyan, the district magistrate, told media appealing those concerned to act against the killing spree, after hearing the eyewitness boy.
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Tamil student abducted in Trincomalee

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 17 April 2007, 10:18 GMT]
Unidentified persons abducted a fifteen year-old student, a member of a resettled family in Thiriyai, a traditional Tamil village located about 42 km off north of Trincomalee town on April 10 night, according to a complaint lodged by his relatives with the Kuchchaveli Police and the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM).
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Armed men in white van abduct 2 civilians in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Monday, 16 April 2007, 20:39 GMT]
Unidentified armed men came in white van abducted a fisherman from Kolumbuththurai, Jaffna and a family man from Navatkuli in Thenmaradchy, their relatives lodged complaints at the Jaffna branch of the Human Rights Commission (HRC).
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13 fishermen missing, one youth abducted in Mannar

[TamilNet, Monday, 16 April 2007, 20:03 GMT]
Thirteen Tamil fishermen left for fishing Monday morning in Mannar Sea went on missing and another youth was abducted at Murunkan the previous night by persons came in a rickshaw.
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Unidentified aircraft over Jaffna town

[TamilNet, Monday, 16 April 2007, 18:23 GMT]
An unidentified aircraft flew over parts of government-controlled Jaffna just after dusk Monday, residents in the northern peninsula said. The aircraft passed low over Jaffna city centre and parts of Vadaramadchchi North and Valikamam sectors. Sri Lankan troops in some areas doused the lights of their camps as the aircraft approached, fuelling suspicions it was one of those operated by the Tamil Tigers, they said.
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Tamil youth shot, wounded in Trincomalee

[TamilNet, Monday, 16 April 2007, 10:08 GMT]
A group of armed men who came in a vehicle called out a Tamil youth from his house at Anpuvallipuram, a suburb in Trincomalee town Saturday night, and shot the youth. The seriously injured youth was admitted at the Intensive Care Unit of Trincomalee general hospital, medical sources said.
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Harper extends greetings on New Year

[TamilNet, Sunday, 15 April 2007, 11:55 GMT]
Prime Minister of Canada, Stephen Harper, extended his "warmest greetings to all those celebrating the Tamil New Year 'Chithirai Puththandu,' " in a press release issued by the Prime Minister's office Saturday.
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Jaffna residents reluctant to return due to insecurity- Bishop

[TamilNet, Sunday, 15 April 2007, 11:02 GMT]
"Of the more than 55,000 residents of Jaffna peninsula who left the peninsula in ships and planes seeking safety and refuge outside the peninsula, nearly 65% of them have not returned because of the escalating number of killings, abductions, forced disappearances, threat to lives, intimidation, harassment and restrictions in the peninsula," Rt. Rev. Thomas Saundaranayagam said, in a statement to media Sunday, following his participation along with the representatives of the People's Committee for Justice and Peace (PCJP) in meeting with the Jaffna Sri Lanka Army (SLA) Commander Maj. Gen. Chandrasiri.


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Batticaloa infant succumbs to shelling injuries

[TamilNet, Sunday, 15 April 2007, 10:55 GMT]
A six month old infant injured during artillery shelling by Sri Lanka Army (SLA) towards Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam ( LTTE) controlled Paduvankarai area in Batticaloa two weeks ago succumbed to the injuries on Saturday.


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Pirapaharan confers Maamanithar award to Poet Naavannan

[TamilNet, Sunday, 15 April 2007, 06:27 GMT]
Leader of Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, Velupillai Pirapaharan, Saturday bestowed the title Maamanithar (Great Human being) posthumously on poet Naavannan, Marusaleen Soosainayagam, who passed away on April 15 last year in Vanni at the age of 58. Mr. Pirapaharan honoured the late poet, a Catholic who hailed from Mannar, for his literary contribution to the Tamil struggle.
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23 civilians arrested in Trincomalee

[TamilNet, Saturday, 14 April 2007, 12:09 GMT]
Twenty-three persons, majority of them Tamils, were taken into custody in a cordon and search operations conducted in Trincomalee town and its suburbs by Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers Friday evening. The arrested are being detained in police stations and are being interrogated, sources said.
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TRO to assist IDPs in East through International, local NGOs

[TamilNet, Saturday, 14 April 2007, 06:14 GMT]
"There is an acute shortage of toilet facilities and 6,000 shelters in the East for Internally Displaced Persons, who languish without adequate food in Sri Lanka Army controlled areas, where the Tamil Rehabilitation Organisation (TRO) was blocked from attending the plight of the refugees," the organisation said a day ahead of the Tamil New Year, resolving to channel the humanitarian assistance through International and local organisations. Several camps lack roofs and 100 persons have to share a single toilet in average, although the NGOs have managed to put up 11,000 shelters and 1,600 toilets for more than 23,000 families that have sought refuge in the service centres.
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9 Tamil civilians arrested in Muthur

[TamilNet, Friday, 13 April 2007, 10:35 GMT]
Nine Tamil civilians were arrested in Iruthayapuram, a Tamil village in Muthur south division, during a cordon and search operation conducted by combined security forces on Thursday from dawn till evening. All of the arrested were handed over to the Muthur police for further questioning, sources said.
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Rajapakse to meet Pope

[TamilNet, Friday, 13 April 2007, 10:33 GMT]
Sri Lanka's President Mahinda Rajapakse is to pay a three-day official visit to Italy next week and is scheduled to meet Pope at Vatican on Friday during his stay in Rome, according to information released by the President's office.
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2 SLA troopers shot, injured in Thiriyai

[TamilNet, Friday, 13 April 2007, 10:16 GMT]
Unidentified armed men opened fire on a Sri Lanka Army (SLA) sentry post in Thiriyai, a resettled Tamil village in Trincomalee district Wednesday evening, injuring two troopers. The injured troopers were rushed to Trincomalee general hospital.


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Tamil youth files FR petition in SC

[TamilNet, Friday, 13 April 2007, 00:32 GMT]
A Tamil youth, who earlier served in Iraq with a security firm, filed a Fundamental Rights application in the Sri Lanka's Supreme Court challenging the arrest and detention served on him under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA). He has begged the SC to order for his release and to instruct the State to pay a compensation of 100 million rupees for violating his fundamental rights. He has cited the Director of the Terrorism Investigation Department (TID), Officer-in-Charge of the Gampaha Police Station, Deputy Inspector general of Police (DIG), Gampaha region, DIG for the Western province, Inspector General of Police (IGP), Defence Ministry Secretary and Attorney General (AG).
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Police arrests twelve civilians in Eravur

[TamilNet, Friday, 13 April 2007, 00:09 GMT]
Eravur Police arrested and detained twelve Tamil youths including a woman in a cordon and search operation conducted at Division No 5 of Eravur in Batticaloa district Thursday morning. Large number of police officers sealed off the entire area and conducted a door to door search for several hours. The Police questioned every individual and scrutinized the identity cards.
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