SLMM inspects scene of STF Amparai offensive

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 18 October 2006, 09:45 GMT]
Edward and Bjørn Kjelsaas, officers of the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM), accompanied by Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) Amparai District Political Head S. Jeya, inspected the destroyed houses and properties by STF artillery shelling, and spoke with the affected civilians Tuesday morning around 11:30 a.m., sources in Amparai said. Earlier, Mr Jeya, had briefed the SLMM at the LTTE political office on the Thursday's pre-dawn offensive of the Sri Lankan Special Task Force (STF) into Liberation Tigers territory in Kanchikudicharu.


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Passengers injured, vehicles damaged at Habarana

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 18 October 2006, 07:42 GMT]
Vehicles along key roads leading to Trincomalee and Batticaloa have come under attack by Sinhala gangs in Habarana area where more than one hundred Sri Lanka Navy (SLN) personnel were killed in a bomb attack on Monday afternoon, civil society sources said. Gangs have hurled stones at vehicles belonging to Tamils and Muslims, sources added.


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Naval base in Galle attacked, mob riots in port city

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 18 October 2006, 03:25 GMT]
A 15-member attack team in five vessels entered the Sri Lankan naval base Dakshina, in the southern most port city Galle attacking four Sri Lankan naval vessels and installations. At least three explosive laden attack vessels, attacked naval crafts including a ship, and destroyed a Fast Attack Craft (FAC) and two water jet inshore patrol vessels anchored in the port base around 7:45 a.m. Wednesday, according to informed defense correspondents in Colombo. Sinhala mob looted around 20 shops owned by Tamils in the JVP stronghold port city.
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Orphanage escapes Sri Lankan air strike, one wounded

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 17 October 2006, 15:11 GMT]
Arivucholai, an orphanage housing 216 children in Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) controlled Puthukudiyiruppu in Mullaithivu district, narrowly escaped a catastrophic air-strike from SLAF kfir aircrafts Monday evening, according to S. Kalaivannan, an administrative official at the orphanage. Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) officials Tuesday afternoon visited the orphanage, a brother orphanage to Sencholai, Tuesday afternoon. The LTTE administration has sought security assurances through the SLMM in Kilinochchi.
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Two youths shot dead in Trincomalee

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 17 October 2006, 11:12 GMT]
An employee at the World Bank funded North East Housing Reconstruction Project (NEHRP) in Anpuvallipuram and an unidentified Tamil youth in Paliayootu were shot dead in Trincomalee in two separate incidents, sources in Trincomalee said.
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SLAF bombs broadcast tower in Vanni

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 17 October 2006, 10:38 GMT]
Two Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) Kfir bombers Tuesday destroyed the main broadcast tower and transmitter of the Thamileelam Radio that broadcasts the official broadcast of the Liberation Tigers, the Voice of Tigers (VoT), Thamileelam Vanoli, a commercial Tamil service and a Sinhala language broadcast. Political Head of the LTTE, S.P. Thamilchelvan, who visited the broadcast station along the A9 Road in Kokkavil, 15 km south of Kilinochchi, charged the Sri Lankan Government for attacking the broadcast station with a "planned agenda to suppress the freedom of expression prior to the talks scheduled in Geneva."
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US condemns Habarana attack on SL Navy

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 17 October 2006, 09:54 GMT]
The United States Assistant Secretary, Bureau of Public Affairs, Sean McCormack, has condemned the "suicide attack" Monday near Habarana in Sri Lanka. "Though there have been no claims of responsibility this attack is in keeping with the tactics of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam," a press release issued by the U.S. Embassy in Sri Lanka said Tuesday. "Only through the cessation of violence, a renewed commitment to peace talks, and constructive engagement by both sides can a political solution to this conflict be achieved."
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Scrap CFA, oust Norway, Weerawanse urges SC

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 17 October 2006, 09:07 GMT]
Wimal Weerawanse, the parliamentarian and propaganda secretary of the Sinhala nationalist Jantha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), welcoming the Monday verdict of the Sri Lankan Supreme Court (SC) ruling that the merged Northeastern province was unconstitutional, invalid and illegal, told the press in Colombo Monday that the SC should declare the Cease Fire Agreement (CFA) illegal and oust Norway from its facilitator role.
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Two civilians shot dead in Point Pedro

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 17 October 2006, 06:47 GMT]
Two men, a Muslim, and a Tamil were shot dead by unidentified gunmen in two separate instances in Point Pedro and Viyaparimoolai area in Vadmaradchchi north Monday, said civil society sources in Point Pedro.
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TNA protests against de-merger verdict, parliament adjourned

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 17 October 2006, 05:57 GMT]
Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarians Tuesday morning disrupted the proceedings of the Sri Lankan parliament, protesting against the Sri Lankan Supreme Court ruling that the merged NorthEastern Province was "illegal." The Tamil MPs protested in the assembly against the Sri Lankan judiciary which they charged was being used to nullify any arrangement towards a peaceful resolution of the national problem. Sri Lanka has rebuffed the International Community by Supreme Court ruling resulting in a scuttled P-TOMS, and now the 18-year-old merger of North East has been ruled "illegal" rejecting the Indian arrangement, the MPs charged.
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Batticaloa schools observe hartal protesting killing of teacher

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 17 October 2006, 01:27 GMT]
Students and teachers in all schools in Batticaloa town and its suburbs observed hartal Monday the condemning the killing a male teacher of Kinaiyady Saraswathy Vidyalayam in Valaichenai Wednesday by the Sri Lanka Army (SLA), sources in Batticaloa said. The teacher was shot dead while conducting classes.
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Military installations "legitimate targets" when Colombo bombs locations far off FDLs, says LTTE

[TamilNet, Monday, 16 October 2006, 13:24 GMT]
LTTE's Military Spokesman, Irasiah Ilanthirayan, ruling out the possibility of "suicide mission" as the mode of attack on Sri Lanka Navy in Habarana Monday, declined to reject Tigers regarding the military targets outside the Forward Defence Line (FDL) localities as legitimate targets if and when Sri Lankan military continued to engage in aerial bombardment and artillery shelling far beyond the defence line localities into LTTE territory.
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SLA trooper killed, two injured in Vavunathivu mortar fire

[TamilNet, Monday, 16 October 2006, 10:02 GMT]
One SLA trooper was killed and two seriously injured when Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) retaliated with mortar fire against the heavy mortar attack launched SLA soldiers from Vavunathivu SLA base on LTTE's Forward Defence Line (FDL) Sunday at 10:00 p.m., said Vavunathivu sources.


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NorthEast merger "illegal," rules SL Supreme Court

[TamilNet, Monday, 16 October 2006, 07:04 GMT]
Sri Lankan Supreme Court Chief Justice Sarath N Silva Monday ruled that the merged Northeastern province was unconstitutional, invalid and "illegal." The de-merger campaign, launched by the Sinhala natioanlist JVP and the extremist all monks party, received a legal recognition by the five-bench Sri Lankan Supreme Court ruling. The northern and eastern provinces were merged according to the Indo-Sri Lanka agreement signed in 1987 by the then Sri Lankan President, J.R.Jayawardene, and the then Indian Prime Minister, Rajiv Gandhi.
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Akashi arrives in Colombo

[TamilNet, Monday, 16 October 2006, 05:02 GMT]
Yashushi Akashi, Japanese special peace envoy arrived in Colombo Sunday night around 10 p.m. at Katunayake International Airport on a five day stay. He is scheduled to meet Sri Lanka's President Mahinda Rajapakse Monday morning and Minister Nimal Sripala de Silva this afternoon at the latter's office regarding the proposed peace talks scheduled to be held on October 28 and 29 in Geneva.
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Two youths shot, injured in Arayampathy

[TamilNet, Sunday, 15 October 2006, 11:58 GMT]
Unidentified gunmen shot and injured two Tamil youths from Arayampathy in the Kattankudy Police limits around 2:30 p.m. Saturday, Police sources said.
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Observer Editor's sacking politically motivated, say Media Groups

[TamilNet, Sunday, 15 October 2006, 11:48 GMT]
Five main journalists associations in Sri Lanka condemned the sacking of Rajpal Abeynayake from the Editorship of Sri Lanka's weekly broadsheet, Observer, and said the politically motivated act portends danger to Press Freedom in Sri Lanka, in a press release issued Saturday. Mr Abeynayake wrote a column critical of the Sri Lanka's president, Mahinda Rajapakse's speech to Sri Lankan diplomats in Colombo, in the Observer's 8th October edition.
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STF offensives repulsed - LTTE

[TamilNet, Sunday, 15 October 2006, 09:50 GMT]
An offensive launched by the Sri Lankan Special Task Force (STF) troopers Saturday night into Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) controlled territory south of Batticloa, was repulsed according to LTTE officials in Batticaloa. A Tiger Major and a Captain were killed in action, the Tiger officials said. Meanwhile, residents who fled Periya Porathivu said two civilians were wounded in artillery shelling from Paddiruppu bridge STF positions Friday night. Meanwhile, LTTE sources in Amparai said the STF troopers who penetrated into Kanchikudicharu were forced to retreat following a series of Tiger ambush attacks launched on them.
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Staff boycott work after monk goes berserk inside Secretariat

[TamilNet, Saturday, 14 October 2006, 22:11 GMT]
The staff of the Manmunai North Divisional Secretariat in Batticaloa boycotted duties for an hour from 10:00 a.m. Friday condemning the cantankerous behavior of the Buddhist Monk, Ampitiya Sumanarathna Thera, inside the Secretariat at 9:30 a.m., shouting and swearing at the working staff. Officials said the belligerent Thera falsely accused the staff of reneging on providing funds allocated to renovate the Sri Mangalaramaya Vihara where he is the chief priest, Secretariat sources said.
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SLA arrests two Tamil youths in Mannar

[TamilNet, Saturday, 14 October 2006, 17:19 GMT]
The Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers arrested two Tamil youths at Uyirtharasankulam in Mannar district Friday evening when they were riding a motorbike towards their houses. Later they were handed over to the Mannar Police, sources said.


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