Veteran Tamil writer 'Varathar' passes away

[TamilNet, Thursday, 21 December 2006, 22:46 GMT]
Shanmugam Varatharasan, a well known Tamil writer and a literary award winner, known as 'Varathar,' passed away Thursday at the age of 82, at his residence on Manipay road in Jaffna. Varathar, besides being a creative writer, was a successful publisher of Tamil literary works of many Tamil writers, accommodating fresh and alternative ideas in Tamil creative writing.
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Abducted VC's mother appeals for son's release

[TamilNet, Thursday, 21 December 2006, 19:55 GMT]
Mrs. Saraswathy Sivasubramaniam, 75, the mother of abducted Vice Chancellor of Eastern University appealed to the abductors to release his son without harm when TamilNet talked to her and her extended family in South London Thursday. "For the last 28 years my son and his family have been living in Batticaloa, the foremost thing in his mind was the development of Batticaloa, especially modernizing the agriculture in Batticaloa," she said. Prof. Raveendranath is 55.
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SLA shoots dead a youth in Vavuniya

[TamilNet, Thursday, 21 December 2006, 14:00 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army (SLA) handed over the dead body of a youth to Vavuniya hospital Thursday evening , claiming the youth was killed in a fight between the SLA and the Linberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) Wednesday between 5:00 and 6:00 p.m at Nedunkulam area in Kidachoori in Vavuniya when five LTTE cadres entered 50 meters into SLA held area.
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Solheim extols Balasingham's integrity

[TamilNet, Thursday, 21 December 2006, 02:07 GMT]
"I met so many other people in the Peace Process in Sri Lanka, of all communities. But I have to say that Bala is one of the very very few people who never lied to me in this peace process," said Erik Solheim, the Norwegian International Development Minister, addressing the large crowd assembled in Alexandra Palace UK to pay respect to late Anton Balasingham, advisor and theoretician for the Liberation Tigers, Wednesday.
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Karunanidhi praised for message on Balasingham

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 20 December 2006, 18:31 GMT]
S.P. Thamilchelvan, head of Liberation Tigers Political Division, in his concluding telecast address to expatriate Tamils in Alexandria Hall in London Wednesday to pay last respects to theoretician and political advisor of the LTTE Mr. Anton Balasingham, thanked Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu state, Muthuvel Karunanidhi, for the comfort he gave to Tamils worldwide by being the first voice to deliver condolence message from Tamil Nadu, and to Ms Adele Balasingham for her three decade long service to welfare of Tamil women and for her motivating support to her husband's service as the "Voice of Tamil Nation."
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Jaffna peninsula mourns for Balasingham

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 20 December 2006, 17:17 GMT]
Tamils in Sri Lanka Army (SLA) occupied Jaffna peninsula observed Wednesday as a day of mourning for the demise of Anton Balasingham, the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam's (LTTE) theoretician and chief negotiator who passed away last Thursday in London. Most of the shops, private and public establishments remained closed for the whole day while the roads were empty with the residents keeping indoors. Quiet events paying homage to late Anton Balasingham were held in higher educational institutions, University of Jaffna and Technical College.
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Besieged Vaharai continues to starve

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 20 December 2006, 14:18 GMT]
More than 20 000 civilians in the Sri Lanka military besieged territory Vaharai are again forced to survive without humanitarian supplies. Children are again forced search for fruits and catch fish and crabs on their own to eat as main meal. Parents continue to suffer from psychological trauma witnessing the plight of their children.
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Vanni pays homage to 'Voice of the Nation' Balasingham

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 20 December 2006, 11:05 GMT]
"Anton Balasingham bore the cross for the liberation of Eelam Tamils," said Puthuvai Iratnathurai, the Poet and the head of the Cultural Organisation of Tamileelam, addressing the mourners at Kilinochchi where LTTE Commander Col. Theepan hoisted the Tamileelam flag at half mast. "Bala Annai, when he visited Vanni last, told me that he wished to breathe his last in an Independent homeland," Puthuvai told the gathering. "We will support our Nation's leader, paving the way for the freedom of our nation, fulfilling Bala Annai's wish."
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Thousands throng Balasingham’s funeral held in London

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 20 December 2006, 10:16 GMT]
Thousands of Tamils in London have been paying their respects to Anton Balasingham, the LTTE’s theoretician and chief negotiator who passed away last Thursday. Thousands of people are filing past Mr. Balasingham’s body which is lying in state at Alexandra Palace in north London. In parallel, a funeral service is being held in Vanni, with footage from each location being broadcast to the other.
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SLA trooper seriously injured in claymore attack in Vavuniya

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 20 December 2006, 10:04 GMT]
Unidentified persons triggered a claymore device Wednesday around 12:10 p.m, concealed in a rubble heap along the A9 route at Thandikulam in Vavuniya, seriously injuring a Sri Lanka Army (SLA)trooper who was first rushed to Vavuniya hospital and later transferred to Anuradapura hospital for further treatment, Vavuniya police said.


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Two LTTE cadres to be disciplined over Thirukkovil episode

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 19 December 2006, 17:22 GMT]
Two Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) cadres have been ordered transferred to Kilinochchi from Amparai, to face disciplinary action for enlisting underage youths from a tuition centre in Thirukkovil Monday, LTTE officials in Amparai told TamilNet. All the 23 civilians, including the 21 students, in the custody of an LTTE unit attached to a training camp, were freed after an internal investigation initiated by LTTE Commander Ram.
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Humanitarian situation worsens in Vaharai

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 19 December 2006, 13:30 GMT]
More than 20 000 civilians continue to stay in temporary refugee camps at schools and surrounding houses in villages Kathiraveli, Vammivedduvan and Palchenai in Vaharai region amid acute shortage of food and humanitarian supplies, a local NGO official told TamilNet. Many families from Vaharai were forced to leave behind their grandparents who were unable to walk long distances.
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Melbourne Tamils pay homage to Balasingham

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 19 December 2006, 12:19 GMT]
Over 700 Melbourne Tamils and community leaders gathered in Mt Waverley Sunday to remember the life of the late Anton Balasingham, theoretician and chief negotiator of the LTTE, who passed away last Thursday. Mrs. Betty Wilby, mother of Mrs. Adele Balasingham, inaugurated the meeting by lighting a candle.
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Amparai LTTE commander orders release of 21 students

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 19 December 2006, 05:57 GMT]
Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) Amparai District Special Commander Ram has ordered immediate release of 21 students and 2 teachers who were found in the custody of an LTTE unit in Amparai Tuesday, LTTE's Military Spokesman Irasiah Ilanthirayan told TamilNet. The cadres were removed from operational duty and an internal investigation was on, the LTTE spokesman quoted Commander Ram.
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University students protest supporting plantation workers

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 19 December 2006, 02:24 GMT]
Large number of University of Colombo students held a protest rally Monday afternoon at 12:30 p.m near Thummulla junction in Colombo, in a show of support to demands for wage rise of the tea plantation Tamil workers, sources in Colombo said. The Students warned that if the government does not accede to the demands of the plantation workers the protest will spread to all the other universities.
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Reduced curfew hours bring little succor to Jaffna residents

[TamilNet, Monday, 18 December 2006, 20:09 GMT]
The reduction in curfew hours announced by the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) for Jaffna district brings little relief to the residents cut-off from rest of Sri Lanka, living with severe shortage of food and basic essentials, and gripped with fear of abduction by SLA and paramilitaries as part of the counter-insurgency campaign unleashed by Colombo, civil society sources from Jaffna said.
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TNA urges GoSL, employers to respect Up-Country Tamils' contribution

[TamilNet, Monday, 18 December 2006, 15:23 GMT]
The Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL) and the employers of the plantation sector, must act responsibly to address the plight of the plantation sector workers, the majority of whom, economically and socially the most marginalised Tamils of Indian origin, the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) said Monday, expressing solidarity with the plantation workers in the up-country. "It cannot be denied that these plantation workers, through their sweat and toil, have continuously made a steadfast contribution to the country's economy."
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Eastern University shuts down in protest against forced disappearance of VC

[TamilNet, Monday, 18 December 2006, 13:39 GMT]
Students and academic staff of the Eastern University in Vantharumoolai, 17km north of Batticaloa, have shut down the University in protest against the reported forced disappearance of their Vice Chancellor in High Security area in Colombo, Friday. Vice Chancellor Professor S. Raveendranath, a founder member of the EUSL, was forced to submit resignation of his post in October to the University Grant Commission (UGC), to secure the release the Dean of the Arts Faculty, Bala Sugumar, who was abducted by the paramilitary demanding the resignation of the Vice Chancellor. The resignation, pending approval by the UGC, had forced the VC to function from Colombo till he was reported disappeared.


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Torrential rain floods Muslim, Tamil villages in Amparai

[TamilNet, Monday, 18 December 2006, 13:31 GMT]
Several Muslim and Tamil villages in Amparai have been inundated with floodwater from torrential rain, and thousands of families have been displaced from their homes in Amparai district. About twelve thousand members of seven thousand families from 27 grama niladhari sectors in Pottuvil division have been displaced and sheltered in temporary structures, sources said.


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14,000 Civilians displaced from Vaharai

[TamilNet, Monday, 18 December 2006, 00:37 GMT]
Nearly Fourteen thousand Tamil refugees have been displaced from LTTE-controlled Vaharai area in Batticaloa District towards the areas under the control of Sri Lankan Army (SLA), Koralai Pattu North (Vaharai), Regional secretariat sources reported on Sunday.
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