Two civilians killed, one policeman shot, injured in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 12 December 2006, 13:04 GMT]
A 50 year old civilian, caught in the cross fire in a clash between unidentified armed men and Sri Lanka Army (SLA) road patrol unit at Kokuvil in Jaffna Monday night, was killed on the spot. Jaffna police recovered the body around 8:45 p.m and handed it over to Jaffna Teaching hospital. In a separate incident at Udupiddy in Vadamaradchi, two unidentified armed men shot dead an employee of the Jaffna Teaching hospital at his house Tuesday around 7:00 a.m, sources in Jaffna said.
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SLAF kfirs drop eight bombs on civilian settlements in Batticaloa

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 12 December 2006, 09:12 GMT]
Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) kfir jets dropped eight bombs in four sorties Tuesday around 10:00 a.m on the civilian villages of Kattumrivu, Kathiraveli and Palchenai in the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) held territory in Batticaloa district, sources in Batticaloa said. No casualties were reported though four houses of civilians were badly damaged.


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UN demands protection of Vaharai civilians

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 12 December 2006, 05:34 GMT]
United Nations Office of the Resident and Humanitarian Co-ordinator in Colombo, in a press statement Tuesday called on the parties, the Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL) and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), to adhere to their responsibilities under international humanitarian law and said: "it is imperative that direct shelling where civilians reside stops and the civilian population must be granted full and unhindered freedom of movement, away from military operations."
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Protest condemning Vaharai killings held in Kilinochchi

[TamilNet, Monday, 11 December 2006, 22:56 GMT]
Several hundred residents of Kilinochchi held a demonstration Monday condemning the killings of Tamil refugees in Vaharai area by the Sri Lankan Army (SLA) and demanding the opening of the A9 land route, civil sources in Kilinochchi said. The demonstrators gathered in front of the Kilinochchi Kanthasami Kovil around 10:30 a.m. and marched north along A9 to the UNHCR office at Karadippokku Junction.
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AG seeks additional time on TRO funds case

[TamilNet, Monday, 11 December 2006, 15:59 GMT]
Sri Lanka's Attorney General's (AG's) Counsel requested additional time to file his response to Tamil Rehabilitation Organization's (TRO’s) written submission on the question of whether the High Court of Colombo has the jurisdiction to “vary or vacate” it’s order to freeze the TRO Bank Accounts, when the High Court held hearings on the case today, legal sources for TRO said in a press release issued Monday. The Judge acceded to the Attorney General’s request and set Friday 15 December 2006 as the date for the Attorney General’s submission.
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Sinhala nationalist movement demands ban on LTTE, abrogation of CFA

[TamilNet, Monday, 11 December 2006, 15:25 GMT]
The National Patriotic Movement (NPM), a broad coalition of extreme Sinhala Buddhist nationalists, held a protest meeting at Lipton Circle Monday at 3:00 p.m. demanding the Sri Lanka government to proscribe the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and to abrogate the Cease Fire Agreement (CFA) entered into with the LTTE. Wimal Weerawanse, parliamentary group leader of the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), a constituent of the NPM, warned that failure to meet the demands would result in a public agitation against the government, sources in Colombo said.


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ICRC transports 30 wounded from Vaharai

[TamilNet, Monday, 11 December 2006, 14:03 GMT]
The International Committee of Red Cross (ICRC) Batticaloa Monday noon transported 30 wounded, including 7 children in 7 boats from Vaharai to Valaichenai hospital, at least one guardian accompanying each child. The critically wounded were being transferred to Batticaloa hospital. Meanwhile, LTTE's Military Spokesman Irasiah Ilanthirayan told media that Sri Lanka Army fired artilleries hit the ground at the close vicinity while the injured were being boarded, causing the ICRC to abandon one part of their mission. The ICRC in a press statement said many difficulties had to be overcome to organize this evacuation and said more injured patients were waiting to be evacuated.
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Plantation Tamil worker strike continues for seventh day

[TamilNet, Monday, 11 December 2006, 11:12 GMT]
Plantation Tamil workers in the upcountry districts struck work Monday for the seventh day demanding that their daily wage increased to Rs. 300. They have been holding demonstrations, sit-in-protests in upcountry towns and villages irrespective trade union differences, Trade Union (TU) sources said.
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Church groups slam PTA

[TamilNet, Monday, 11 December 2006, 00:10 GMT]
Churches in Sri Lanka have denounced the revival of a draconian anti-terrorism law by the government. "Many still have painful memories of the harsh impact of the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) on the life of the nation not too long ago. It was political wisdom coupled with political will that finally led to it being suspended," Anglican Bishop Duleep de Chickera of Colombo said last week after the government declaration.
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"Colombo on genocidal war path" - Thamilchelvan

[TamilNet, Sunday, 10 December 2006, 23:50 GMT]
Liberation Tigers Political Head, S. P. Thamilchelvan, in his address on International Human Rights Day held in Kilinochchi Sunday, stated that the Sri Lankan Government, depriving the Tamil people of their fundamental birthrights such as the "right to life, right to national identity and the right to homeland," and disabling the Ceasefire Agreement with its presently introduced "Prevention of Terrorism" act, was on a "genocidal war path," violating not only human rights laws, but also the Geneva humanitarian laws by carrying out bombardments on hospitals and schools. "Tamil people stand deceived by the membership conferred on the Sri Lankan state to the newly formed Human Rights Council."
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Jaffna Tamil daily staffer disappears

[TamilNet, Sunday, 10 December 2006, 15:21 GMT]
An employee at the computer section of the Jaffna Tamil daily, Namathu Eelanadu, has not been seen from 4:30 p.m Tuesday, officials from the Jaffna Human Rights Commisssion (HRC) said Sunday.
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TRO appeals for SLMM, ICRC access to Vaharai

[TamilNet, Sunday, 10 December 2006, 12:48 GMT]
Pointing out that "over 30 shells have landed close to the Vaharai Hospital in the past few hours and 6 TRO Camps for internally displaced persons (IDPs) in the area have received direct hits from shells resulting in 17 deaths, including a 6 month old baby, and 67 injured," Tamils Rehabilitation Organization (TRO), in a press release issued from its Colombo office Sunday, appealed to the Humanitarian Organizations and the International Community to pressure Government of Sri Lanka to allow access to the ICRC and the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) to the Vaharai area.
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MP accuses Colombo for "coward's war"

[TamilNet, Sunday, 10 December 2006, 09:12 GMT]
Batticaloa District Tamil National Alliance parliamentarian S. Jeyanandamoorthy, has condemned Colombo Sunday morning for attacking Tamil women and children refugees in Vaharai. The entire Vaharai region has been under siege for more than 3 months. 40 000 civilians are tightly packed in the area and the Government of Sri Lanka has imposed a war on the civilian population, Mr. Jeyanandamoorthy said. The MP called on the International actors, monitors and the Norwegian facilitators "not to show bias in their condemnation of the attacks that targeted civilians."
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19 more Tamil refugees killed, new SLA offensive south of Vaharai

[TamilNet, Sunday, 10 December 2006, 06:16 GMT]
19 Internally displaced people, who fled artillery bombing in Palchenai and Vammivedduvan in Vahrai region to Kandalady Government School, were killed and more than 25 wounded when Sri Lanka Army fired artillery shells hit the school Sunday morning, according to LTTE's Military Spokesman Irasiah Ilanthirayan. Sri Lanka Navy gunboats were also engaged in firing shells towards densely populated refugee camps as Sri Lankan forces opened a new front towards Panichchankerni Sunday morning. Meanwhile, a Tamil Rehabilitation Organisation official in Vaharai told TamilNet all the five refugee camps in Vaharai were being targeted by artillery shelling forcing all civilians to flee.
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Under attack, Christians fear militant Buddhism

[TamilNet, Sunday, 10 December 2006, 03:29 GMT]
Amid growing violence in Sri Lanka that Church leaders have likened to the 'killing fields' of Cambodia, Christians in the island are facing increased persecution from Buddhist extremists, Release International reported this week. Christians in Sri Lanka are appealing to the international community for help, RI which monitors persecution of churches around the world, said. Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) also says Christians in Sri Lankan are facing more intense persecution as mob violence becomes an increasingly visible trend in the country.
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Karunanidhi orders explosives probe amid Delhi’s denials

[TamilNet, Sunday, 10 December 2006, 02:24 GMT]
After police in Tamil Nadu found a vehicle carrying a huge quantity of explosives meant for Sri Lanka, Chief Minister M Karunanidhi today ordered officials to ascertain whether any business house was exporting explosives without the Centre's knowledge. A Sri Lankan Government request for supplying the explosives, dated October 10, 2005, was carried by the vehicle's driver Ravi Verma, PTI said. According to the papers, the consignee for the explosives was a Sri Lanka naval base in Colombo.
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15 Tamil civilians feared killed, 41 wounded in 11 hour artillery barrage

[TamilNet, Saturday, 09 December 2006, 19:18 GMT]
At least 15 civilians, including a 6-month-old baby, were feared killed and 41 wounded when SLA troopers fired artillery shells towards IDP camps in Vammivedduvan and Palchenai, medical sources in Vaharai told TamilNet. The parents of the baby killed in artillery barrage were admitted at Vaharai hospital. Nine dead bodies, 5 male and 4 female victims, were brought to hospital, according to doctor M. Varathan at Vaharai hospital. Ten of 26 patients, incuding children from 3-years to 15, admitted at hospital were at critical state. Many more were feared wounded. The SLA has refused access to ambulances from Batticaloa to transport wounded out of Vaharai.
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Verugal offensive thwarted, 30 troopers killed, 1 captured alive - LTTE

[TamilNet, Saturday, 09 December 2006, 18:12 GMT]
Liberation Tigers officials in Vaharai told TamilNet Saturday night that Sri Lankan troopers who advanced into LTTE territory Saturday morning from Mahindapura camp, were defeated at 2:30 p.m. after 9 hours of stiff resistance by the Tigers. More than 30 troopers were killed, around 100 wounded, one soldier was captured alive and 9 bodies recovered by the Tigers. An artillery gun in Kallaru SLA camp was destroyed in LTTE artillery fire, LTTE officials claimed. The SLA troopers who had advanced 2.5 km into LTTE territory north of Vaharai, were hastely withdrawn after suffering heavy casualties.
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Avoid criticism, pay ransom, paramilitaries tell Tamil dailies

[TamilNet, Saturday, 09 December 2006, 12:34 GMT]
Following a 7th December press release by the Reporters Sans Frontiers (RSF) that "pro-government militia led by Tamil warlord Karuna" has issued death threats to distributors preventing the circulation of the papers in Batticaloa, paramilitary TMVP office in Colombo placed conditions as they attempted to negotiate with the management of Colombo Tamil dailies of allowing circulation of papers in Batticaloa SLA controlled areas, Tamil media sources in Colombo said.
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Teachers urge postponement of exams for refugee students

[TamilNet, Saturday, 09 December 2006, 12:24 GMT]
Parents and teachers of displaced Tamil students from Muttur east and Eachchilampathu divisions and sheltered in temporary structures in Vaharai and other areas in Batticaloa district have appealed to the education authorities to postpone the GCE (Ordinary Level) examination which is scheduled to commence Monday to a later date until a conducive situation is created for hundreds of students to sit for this examination, sources said.
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