SLA intimidates Jaffna media- TNA MP

[TamilNet, Thursday, 11 January 2007, 00:07 GMT]
“Sri Lankan Army (SLA) soldiers Tuesday night entered three Jaffna based Tamil newspaper offices, threatened the staff, and took away at gun point the press communiqué from Jaffna University Students Union (JUSU) waiting to be published," said Kirushnan Sivanesan, the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) Parliamentarian for Jaffna district Wednesday.
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44 Tamils arrested in Colombo

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 10 January 2007, 22:26 GMT]
Forty four Tamils were arrested in a sudden cordon and search operation conducted jointly by Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers and Police personnel in Mount Lavinia, Colombo, from Tuesday night 10:00 pm until Wednesday early morning 4:00 a.m, sources in Colombo said. Most of the arrested were from NorthEast and Hill country areas. More than 100 security personnel were involved in this operation.
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49 Tamil youths arrested in Kalutara, Chilaw

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 10 January 2007, 19:39 GMT]
Forty-nine Tamil youths were taken into custody in two cordon and search operations separately conducted by the combined State security forces in the western and northwestern provinces Tuesday night and Wednesday morning.
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Karuna group "bans" Tamil dailies in Trincomalee

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 10 January 2007, 14:55 GMT]
Karuna paramilitary group imposed a "ban" to sell Thinakural, Sudaroli and other newspapers in Trincomalee district, the proprietors of the news papers said. The News agents were summoned by the Karuna group in Trincomalee Tuesday and threatened they would be shot to death if they fail to comply, according to sources.
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SL President must offer solution, truce - paper

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 10 January 2007, 12:28 GMT]
Warning Sri Lanka’s President Mahinda Rajapakse that a military solution to the ethnic question, “will be a long and arduous task that will take a long time,” The Morning Leader newspaper urged him instead to “forward [to the LTTE] a viable set of proposals and at least call for a temporary cessation of hostilities.”
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2 Muslims shot injured in Kathankudy

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 10 January 2007, 09:49 GMT]
Karuna paramilitary members arriving on motorcycles shot and seriously injured two Muslim civilians standing along Kathankudy Dean Road around 8:05 p.m Tuesday, Kathankudy sources said. The paramilitary personnel have also severely attacked two more civilians and the attacks have caused the Tamils and Muslims living on Kathankudy boarder to move to safer places.


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Shelters in schools affect education in Trincomalee

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 10 January 2007, 02:42 GMT]
Education activities of children in Trincomalee district are badly affected due 17 government schools being used as temporary shelters for the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), educational sources said.
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General shut down in East continues for second day

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 10 January 2007, 02:01 GMT]
The general shut down organized by the public in Batticaloa and Amparai on Monday condemning the Sri Lankan Government’s decision to de-merge North and East continued on Tuesday , bringing the normal activities in the two districts to a stand still, sources in Amparai said.
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Mob led by SL Minister attack Journalists at UPM event

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 09 January 2007, 14:43 GMT]
An armed mob led by Sri Lankan Deputy Minister of Labour, Mervin Silva, arrived at the open air stage at Super Market Square in Nugegoda, the site of the first public event organised by the newly established United People's Movement (UPM), and attacked the journalists who were present at the site to cover the event which was about to commence at 3:00 p.m. Tuesday. The UPM is a political platform that seeks to establish consensus among especially the Southern polity on a Federal System of Governance, as against war and any other undemocratic, non-negotiable conclusion to the on going NorthEast conflict.
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US urges south to form basis for renewed talks

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 09 January 2007, 12:57 GMT]
"Attacks that deliberately target civilians are clear acts of terrorism," said US Embassy in a press statement Tuesday, condemning the attacks on civilian buses and stated that the "on going violence in Vakarai" has caused significant hardship to civilians. The US has urged the SLFP, UNP and the All Party Representative Committee (APRC) to "accelerate their concentration of the power sharing proposal" that can form the basis for renewed peace talks.
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40 Tamils arrested in Colombo suburbs

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 09 January 2007, 11:28 GMT]
More than 40 Tamils were arrested Tuesday in a cordon and search operation conducted by the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) and Sri Lanka Police from Monday night until morning Tuesday in areas of Minuwangoda, Negombo, Wattala and Gampaha in the western province following the explosion in Wattala Monday morning of a transformer supplying electricity to the area.
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Emergency extended, SL Parliament to debate de-merger of NorthEast

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 09 January 2007, 11:21 GMT]
The state of Emergency was passed for another month in Sri Lanka's Parliament Tuesday by a majority of 79 votes with 88 voting for and 9 against the motion. The motion, opposed by the Tamil National Alliance parliamentarians. UNP, JVP and JHU supported the motion. A debate on the de-merger of NorthEast would take place Wednesday.
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2 Tiger cadres shot dead in Vavuniya - SLA

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 09 January 2007, 10:58 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army officials in Vavuniya said their troopers had shot dead two Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam cadres in Karuvelapuliyankulam area in Vavuniya, in a gunfight Tuesday, when SLA troopers tried to surround six LTTE cadres who had entered into Karuvelapuliyankulam jungle hills, crossing Atamasgada road. One SLA trooper was injured in the fight.
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General shut down in East against dividing NorthEast

[TamilNet, Monday, 08 January 2007, 20:51 GMT]
People of Batticaloa and Amparai district staged a general shut down Monday condemning the Sri Lankan Government's decision of dividing North and East and demanding the immediate stoppage of killing civilians and carrying out aerial bombing and other attacks on civilians by Sri Lankan Forces.
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JVP demands SL government to declare war against the Tigers

[TamilNet, Monday, 08 January 2007, 19:41 GMT]
The Sinhala nationalist Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) Sunday demanded the Government of Sri Lanka led by President Mahinda Rajapakse to declare full scale war on the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) openly after proscribing it. The JVP politburo made the demand in a statement issued Sunday.
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TRO urges GoSL to guarantee security of humanitarian workers

[TamilNet, Monday, 08 January 2007, 16:22 GMT]
The Tamil Rehabilitation Organisation, which has been subjected to Sri Lankan Police raids and paramilitary attacks, has urged the Government of Sri Lanka to guarantee security of the humanitarian staff of the organistion. The Trincomalee office of the TRO was attacked Saturday and Sunday nights by armed men, believed to be paramilitary members operated by the Sri Lanka Army. The attack on Trinomcalee TRO office comes after Sri Lankan police raid on Friday.
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5 Tamil youths detained by Eravur police

[TamilNet, Monday, 08 January 2007, 13:25 GMT]
Seventy civilians were arrested in a search operation launched by Eravur police and the Special Task Force (STF) at Savukkady in the Earvur police division in Batticaloa district Monday from 6:00 a.m until 11:30 a.m. Five Tamil youths among the arrested were detained while the rest were released after interrogation, Eravur police said.


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SLA beefs up troops around Jaffna schools

[TamilNet, Monday, 08 January 2007, 13:20 GMT]
Tension prevailed in Jaffna Monday when Sri Lanka Army beefed up troop deployment near schools and colleges in the town as 80% of the students of Jaffna Hindu College, Hindu Ladies College, and the Hindu Primary vacated the school premises after a student mob burned a Sri Lanka Transport Board owned bus on Kastooriyar Road Monday morning at 8:00. The incident comes in the wake of a warning issued by the Jaffna District Tamil Students Uniton Friday, calling the students to agitate against the forced disappearances of students in Jaffna.
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3 STF personnel injured in LTTE retaliation

[TamilNet, Monday, 08 January 2007, 11:33 GMT]
Three Special Task Force (STF) personnel were injured in an retaliation attack by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) when the STF and police tried to penetrate into LTTE held Kanchikudicharu in Amparai district Sunday around 5:00 p.m, Police said.


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Negotiate a new ceasefire, UNP tells Rajapakse government

[TamilNet, Sunday, 07 January 2007, 22:43 GMT]
The main opposition United National Party (UNP) Sunday appealed to the government of Mahinda Rajapakse to work out a fresh ceasefire agreement with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam. UNP General Secretary Tissa Attanayake made the request at a press briefing held Sunday.


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