SLAF airstrike kills 2 in Vanni

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 20 February 2007, 04:35 GMT]
Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) Kfir bombers attacked Parasankulam village 16 km northeast of Vavuniya, killing 2 civilians and wounding one, Tuesday around 7:30 a.m. Two hours later, the bombers dropped 12 bombs in another location, at Karipaddamurippu where a civilian house narrowly escaped, according to Tamileelam Police. As airstrikes were stepped up Tuesday, Deep Penetration Unit of Sri Lanka Army was also engaged in Claymore attacks.
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SL Minister's threats condemned by media associations

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 20 February 2007, 02:44 GMT]
Sri Lanka's Minister of Minister for Environment and Natural Resources, Champika Ranawaka's statement in Ravaya "advocating brutal suppression of democratic dissent," and call for the "elimination of those the JHU and NMAT perceive to be aiding and abetting the cause of the LTTE, including all pro-peace civil society activists and media activists," was condemned by a group of media associations in a press release issued Monday.
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30 Tamil civilians arrested in Kandy

[TamilNet, Monday, 19 February 2007, 15:58 GMT]
Thirty Tamil civilians were arrested in Kandy and Teldeniya in the central province Monday morning in a cordon and search operation conducted by the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) and police. Most of the arrested are natives of North East and Colombo. Government security forces on a tip off blocked all roads and searched all vehicles.
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Pakistan’s military assistance endangers regional security­ -TNA

[TamilNet, Monday, 19 February 2007, 15:54 GMT]
Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarians Mavai Senathirajah of Jaffna district and Thurairatnasingham of Trincomalle district speaking to media on Monday condemned Pakistan’s offer to provide military assistance to Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL). The MPs made the comment when asked about the announcement of arms purchase from Pakistan by Rohitha Bogallama, Minister of foreign affairs on Sunday.
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Fisherman's body washed ashore in Mullaithivu, one missing

[TamilNet, Monday, 19 February 2007, 14:49 GMT]
The dead body of a fisherman who was reported missing with another fisherman in Mullathivu since Saturday, washed ashore at Koriyadi in Vetrilaikeni in Vadamaradchi east Monday morning.. Sri Lanka Navy gunboats had fired at the fishermen around 2:30 a.m. Saturday in the seas off Mullaithivu.
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Student shot dead in Jaffna, tension prevails

[TamilNet, Monday, 19 February 2007, 11:29 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers shot dead a final year Art faculty student of Jaffna University Sunday around 6:30 p.m close to the SLA 52-4 Brigade Head Quarters and near his house in Iyattalai in Varani in Thenmaradchi region. Black flags were flown in the Jaffna University which was reopened Monday for studies after nearly six months. SLA soldiers were deployed around the University premises as the students observed a remembrance event paying homage to the dead student at Kailasapthy stadium in the Jaffna University.
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Security tightened in southern province

[TamilNet, Monday, 19 February 2007, 11:17 GMT]
Security has been tightened in Kataragama, Hambantota, Ambalantota, Hungama, Tissamaharagama, Lunugamvehera, Sooriyawewa and Tangalle, all police divisions in Galle district in southern province that come under Superintendent of Police in Tangalle in Galle district, Police said.


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Police fire kills one, injures one in Batticaloa

[TamilNet, Monday, 19 February 2007, 00:12 GMT]
A Muslim civilian was killed and a Tamil man was injured when Police fired indiscriminately following a grenade attack by unknown armed men at Chenkalady Police Post in Eravur Police division in Batticaloa district at 5:10 p.m. Sunday, sources in Batticaloa said.
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Education in peril

[TamilNet, Sunday, 18 February 2007, 00:33 GMT]
More than 7% of school-aged children in Jaffna, amounting to 10201 students, dropped out of schools in 2006, most of the dropouts occurring following the fresh outbreak of violence from 11 August 2006, say education officials in Jaffna. The schools in the district that boasted highest literacy rates 3 decades ago, and produced nearly 40% of the medical and engineering freshmen, now are gripped with fear of student abductions, and with high school education crippled with lack of school supplies and scarcity of books.
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Civilians arrested in Kandy still under detention

[TamilNet, Saturday, 17 February 2007, 18:04 GMT]
Fourteen civilians including nine Tamils, three Muslims and a Sinhalese arrested in a cordon and search operation conducted by the army and police covering Kandy bus stand area following a bomb scare on Friday evening are still being detained in Kandy police station and being interrogated by a special police team, sources said.
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TNA condemns threats against Tamil journalists

[TamilNet, Saturday, 17 February 2007, 09:06 GMT]
"We condemn in the strongest terms the killing of the President of Tamil News and Information Centre (TNIC) Mr. Gananathan the very next day an indirect threat to his life was made in the Sri Lanka National Radio on the 31st of January," said a communique issued by Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarians Friday in Colombo. "We also condemn the unlawful incursion of the Sri Lanka Military Intelligence personnel into the office of the TNIC on the 9th of February and their attempt to seize information and photographs of its Media Coordinator and International Media Coordinator," the communique signed by the parliamentarians said.
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Kandy police arrest 14 civilians

[TamilNet, Saturday, 17 February 2007, 00:30 GMT]
Kandy Police and Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers arrested 14 civilians, majority of them Tamils, in a cordon and search operation conducted Friday evening following a tip off that a bomb had been placed in the Kandy bus stand, sources in Kandy said. Kandy general hospital was also put on alert to meet any emergencies.
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SLA intensifies shelling from Muhamalai, Manalaru

[TamilNet, Friday, 16 February 2007, 15:22 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army (SLA) stepped up its artillery barrage on the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) held areas in two separate Front Line positions Friday evening, one from SLA Northern Front Defence Line (FDL) towards Muhamalai, Kilali and Vadamaradchi east and the other from Manalaru SLA camp in Mullaitivu district towards LTTE held areas, sources from Kilinochchi said.


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SL Police arrests three Tamil teachers in Nuwara Eliya

[TamilNet, Friday, 16 February 2007, 10:48 GMT]
Special police team of Criminal Investigation Department (CID) has arrested three Tamil teachers in Ragala in Nuwara Eliya district in the central province Wednesday night, and has taken them to Colombo Thursday for interrogation, upcountry sources said. Police said the three were arrested on information from one of the three Sinhala journalists, arrested earlier in Colombo, on charges of having received arms training from Liberation Tigers.


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Jaffna Court blocks attempts to send Jaffna youths to South

[TamilNet, Friday, 16 February 2007, 10:35 GMT]
The attempt by Jaffna Police to send the 14 youths who surrendered to Sri Lanka Police fearing for their lives from Sri Lanka Army (SLA) and paramilitaries working with SLA, to rehabilitation centres in South, was stopped by the intervention by the Jaffna District Judge, R. T. Vignarajah, legal sources in Jaffna said.
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Journalist reported missing in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Friday, 16 February 2007, 09:28 GMT]
A journalist working for two Tamil dailies, Thinakural and Valampuri, as correspondent of Vadamaradchi region, is reported missing since Thursday night, according to a complaint lodged with Nelliyady police by the journalist's family. The journalist, Subramaniam Ramachandran, 37, a father of two, was last seen at his private tuition centre Thursday evening.
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LTTE appoints Human Rights spokesperson

[TamilNet, Friday, 16 February 2007, 08:27 GMT]
Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) Friday appointed a spokesperson for Human Rights and Humanitarian Affairs. Ms. N. Selvy, who earlier served as a Peace Secretariat official has been appointed to the post, LTTE officials in Kilinochchi said.
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SLFP dissidents urge Colombo to prevent Rights abuses

[TamilNet, Friday, 16 February 2007, 04:19 GMT]
Former Sri Lanka's Foreign minister, Mangala Samaraweera, and former Port Development Minister, Sripathi Sooriyaarachchi, on Thursday accused the Mahinda Rajapakse government of alleged human rights violations, and warned that Sri Lanka faced international isolation unless steps were taken to stem the tide of disappearances and extra judicial killings, sources in Colombo said. Addressing a press conference at the Parliamentary complex, Mr. Samaraweera said his concern about the growing human rights violations in Sri Lanka was one of the main reasons that he was sacked by Mr Rajapakse.
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Damage to Vaharai schools extensive, says Education official

[TamilNet, Friday, 16 February 2007, 00:51 GMT]
An inspection team appointed by the Department of Education, led by R Gogularamanan and accompanied by two other technical officials visited Vaharai Thursday to view the damaged schools, Vaharai regional education officer N.Gunalingam said. "Most of the schools in Vaharai have suffered extensive damages. The team will detail the damages in a comprehensive report to the Ministry of Education," Gunalingam said.


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Colombo court orders release of 18 Tamil civilians

[TamilNet, Friday, 16 February 2007, 00:20 GMT]
The Colombo Chief Magistrate Thursday ordered release of 18 Tamil civilians arrested on February 9 in a cordon and search operation conducted in Borella and Mirihana in Colombo police division. The Magistrate made the order when the police told the court there was no evidence to implicate the said suspects with any offence.
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