Colombo blocks WFP supply ship scheduled to reach Vanni Tuesday

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 21 April 2009, 17:29 GMT]
Sri Lankan authorities have put off the departure of a ship with WFP supplies scheduled to reach Vanni on Tuesday despite the local civil officials in Vanni indicated the coordinates for the new landing point, Vavuniyaa District Secretariat officials told TamilNet Tuesday evening. Starvation-stricken civilians have long been waiting for humanitarian supplies to arrive and the officials urged the WFP to impress upon the government of Sri Lanka not to delay the humanitarian supply ship, the sources further said.
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Contradicting figures raise fears of disappearances

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 21 April 2009, 15:05 GMT]
While the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) claimed Monday that 30,000 civilians had reached territory under its control from the so-called safety zone, civil officials in Vavuniyaa and in Jaffna reported Tuesday that only 8,500 have arrived in the districts. However, SLA officers in Jaffna gave contradicting figures ranging between 5,000 and 12,000 in the custody of the army in Vanni, waiting to be evacuated. Meanwhile, over 1,000 civilian casualties were reported from reliable sources in Vanni Monday. In addition a large number of injured were also in the custody of the SLA. Unconfirmed reports put the casualty figure much higher. It seems at least one in ten suffered either death or injury in the SLA's operation to capture the civilians on Monday.
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Fr. Karunaratnam remembered on First anniversary

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 21 April 2009, 11:24 GMT]
Mr. K.Sivapalan, Deputy Chairperson of North East Secretariat on Human Rights (NESoHR), on the first year anniversary of the killing of founder Chairperson of NESoHR, Rev.Father Mariampillai Xavier Karunaratnam, recounts his services to the community, and asks why the International Community is standing by as a Rwanda unfolds in Vanni. Father Karunaratnam was killed by the Deep Penetration Unit (DPU) of the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) on 20th April 2008 while he was driving from his residential prayer and counseling center in Vavunikku'lam.
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Armed men shoot dead medical specialist in Vavuniyaa

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 21 April 2009, 07:51 GMT]
Unidentified armed persons waylaid a medical specialist of Vavuniyaa general hospital and shot at him Monday night around 7:00 p.m. when he was returning after attending patients in a private medical institution at Theakkuwathai in Vavuniyaa police division. He was rushed to the Vavuniyaa general hospital in a critical condition, but succumbed to injuries on admission to the hospital, police sources said.
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SLA shoots dead 3 Tamil youths in Vavuniyaa

[TamilNet, Monday, 20 April 2009, 21:56 GMT]
The Sri Lanka Army Sunday morning in a cordon and search operation shot and killed three Tamil youths at Thevarku'lam area in Vavuniyaa police division. Their bodies with gunshot wounds on heads and chests were handed over to the Vavuniyaa general hospital Sunday evening, police said.
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Armed gangs terrorize Pa'ndaarikku'lam villagers, in Vavuniyaa

[TamilNet, Monday, 20 April 2009, 18:23 GMT]
Residents of Pa’ndaarikku’lam in Vavuniyaa police division live in fear due to continuous housebreaks and thefts by unidentified armed gangs during nights, sources in Vavuniyaa said. Police have failed to arrest suspects even after several complaints lodged by affected residents, allege residents of Pa’ndaarikku’lam.
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LTTE welcomes US initiative, asks Sri Lanka to listen to IC

[TamilNet, Monday, 20 April 2009, 07:35 GMT]
The LTTE on Monday, in a significant statement, recognized and welcomed a refreshing attitude in US, different from the other countries. It pleaded the Sri Lanka government to listen to international opinion, to stop the war and enter into negotiations. But at the same time it warned Colombo of dire consequences if the war is continued. "The LTTE and the fight for our freedom will also continue. The methods may vary but Sri Lanka will never be able to live in peace as it imagines a military victory will bring. However, for the record, the LTTE would like to emphasize again that it is always ready to explore peaceful means to resolve the conflict”, the LTTE statement issued from the political headquarters in Vanni, read.
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Transport of goods through A9 route to Jaffna falters

[TamilNet, Saturday, 18 April 2009, 16:03 GMT]
The transport of goods to Jaffna through the newly opened A9 route had only been possible three times, in 56 lorries, since the launch of this procedure amidst much government publicity last month, sources in Jaffna said. The Defence Ministry does not permit the transport through A9 route because of the security risk of the goods and personnel involved, Jaffna Traders’ Union (JTU) sources said. The sources further expressed concern that the goods they wanted to bring from Colombo to Jaffna in lorries had first to be handed over to the SLA controlled Government Stores in Welisara where they have been delayed for weeks.
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'Regular rapes, killings, degrading interrogations in internment camps'

[TamilNet, Saturday, 18 April 2009, 13:25 GMT]
Tamil IDPs inside the barbed-wire internment camps in Sri Lanka Army (SLA) controlled Vavuniyaa are not only medically underserved, but are subjected to degrading interrogations and there are reports of regular rapes and killings, reveals a well known German writer and Human Rights activist, Thomas Seibert, who recently returned from Sri Lanka after a humanitarian trip, conducting personal interviews that described the plight of civilians kept as near-prisoners under the SLA occupation.
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SLA alleged of forcing fleeing Tamils to strip and walk naked

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 14 April 2009, 14:47 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army (SLA) personnel at the check posts in Jaffna, Vavuniyaa and elsewhere in Vanni subject both men and women coming from Liberation Tigers of Tamileelam (LTTE) held areas into SLA controlled areas to naked body checking before entering the check post, according to information given by the women held in the SLA detention centres to women representatives of Non-governmental Organizations in Jaffna. Though there are women SLA personnel at the check posts the women, irrespective of their age, have to undress at a distance from the check posts and walk naked to the check post where they are subjected to body check, the NGO representatives who visited the SLA detention centre in Jaffna said.
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Only 40 civilians reach SLA territory during 48 hour announcement by Rajapaksa

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 14 April 2009, 13:32 GMT]
As a few hours remained of Colombo's announcement of restricting military operations for 48 hours, sources in Jaffna and Vavuniyaa reported that only 40 civilians were registered as having arrived in SLA controlled territory from the Liberation Tigers of Tamileelam (LTTE) held area. 26 civilians arrived in boats to Point Pedro Munai in Vadamaraadchi while 14 civilians had reached Vavuniyaa by land during the said period.
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Sri Lankan soldiers sell jewelry pilfered from battle areas

[TamilNet, Monday, 13 April 2009, 11:57 GMT]
Jewelry shops in Anuradhapura in the north central province are reportedly busy purchasing gold items from Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers who return home from Wanni battle field on leave. Three-wheel drivers are allegedly working in hand in glove with SLA soldiers in disposing these items to jewelry shops in Anuradhapura town, according to media reports.
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SLA cordons off, searches Vavuniyaa bazaar area

[TamilNet, Monday, 13 April 2009, 11:39 GMT]
The Sri Lanka Army (SLA) and Police Sunday from morning till evening conducted cordon and search operation covering the entire bazaar area of Vavuniyaa town. Civilians were not allowed to enter or leave bazaar area till the operation was completed. People in the bazaar area were taken to a location close to the police station where they were subjected to severe interrogation and their identities were checked. Those failed to prove their identity were taken to the police station for further inquiry, sources said.
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3 Tamil youths from Vavuniyaa reported missing

[TamilNet, Sunday, 12 April 2009, 02:51 GMT]
Three Tamil youths from Vavuniyaa who left to Colombo Thursday morning and interrogated by Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers at Oamanthai check post are reported missing with Colombo Human Rights Commission office by the their relatives. The youths had travelled up to Madawaachi SLA check post where they had gone missing, the relatives said in the complaint.
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SLA arrests 66 Tamils in Colombo, Ampaa'rai, Vavuniyaa

[TamilNet, Saturday, 11 April 2009, 18:21 GMT]
The Sri Lanka Army (SLA) and Sri Lanka Police from Thursday till Friday morning conducted several cordon search operations in Colombo, Ampaarai, and Vavuniyaa. About 50 civilians, including 40 Tamils were arrested in Colombo division and detained in respective police stations for further inquiry. Police spokesman Ranjit Gunasekara told media that detained civilians had failed to prove their identity and justify their presence in the location. Most of the arrested Tamils are residents of Jaffna. 14 Tamil youths were taken into custody in Wellawatte area, he said.
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SLA conducts search operation in Vavuniyaa

[TamilNet, Friday, 10 April 2009, 08:03 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army conducted a cordon and search operation covering Second Cross Street in Vavuniyaa town Wednesday from morning till afternoon. The SLA took all occupants leaving a single person in their residents, business places and other institutions near the Soosai Pillaiyar Kulam junction for inquiry where they were subjected to severe interrogation.
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US Tamil groups meet with State Department on Sri Lanka crisis

[TamilNet, Friday, 10 April 2009, 02:17 GMT]
A group of American Tamils representing different diaspora organizations met with US Assistant Secretary of State Richard Boucher, and US Ambassador to Sri Lanka, Robert Blake, (via video link) on 8th April in Washington, D.C., to discuss the current humanitarian crisis Tamils face in Sri Lanka. The Tamil groups pressed for an immediate ceasefire and pointed out that no durable political solution is possible without the participation of the LTTE, and told the State Department officials that "...[N]egotiations should not preclude separation as a solution, and that confederation with power sharing at the center may be a viable alternative to total separation."
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Mullaiththeevu wounded die due to lack of antibiotics

[TamilNet, Saturday, 04 April 2009, 13:40 GMT]
Regional Medical Services Divisions (RMSD) for Mullaiththeevu and Kilinochchi received only 5% of the total allocation of monthly needs of medical supplies for the first three months in 2009, a report from Mullaiththeevu health officials received via Vavuniyaa District Secretariat said. Blood transfusion bags have been depleted and at least one death occurs daily due to the inability for blood transfusion, the report added. Several badly wounded civilians die without antibiotic treatment, health officials document in the report released.
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SLA shelling kills 12 pregnant mothers in March in Mullaiththeevu

[TamilNet, Saturday, 04 April 2009, 12:28 GMT]
Twelve pregnant mothers were killed due to shell blast injuries during March, according to a Mullaiththeevu Regional Director of Health Services (RDHS) report, a copy of which was obtained from Vavuniya District Secretariat. One pregnant mother, Jeruban Sathana, 22, died of severe infection without adequate medication (Septicemia) in her second trimester of preganancy, report added.
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Teacher, student die as tree falls on outdoor classroom

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 31 March 2009, 08:00 GMT]
A teacher and one of her female students were killed and 30 students sustained injuries when a tree fell on them while the teacher was conducting an outdoor class at Thiru Gnana Sampanthan Mixed School, Vavuniyaa, Tuesday noon, Police said.
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