White Pigeon delegates meet EU parliamentarian

[TamilNet, Sunday, 08 January 2006, 13:18 GMT]
Executive Director of Tamil Rehabilitation Organization (TRO), K.P. Regi, Chairman of White Pigeon, Dr N S Moorthy, and Evelyn Rodriguez, a volunteer at White Pigeon met with Jean Lambert Member of European Parliament (MEP). at her offices in London Friday, sources in UK said.
Full story >>

Tamil Resurgence Convention to be held in Muttur east

[TamilNet, Sunday, 08 January 2006, 12:08 GMT]
Tamil Resurgence Convention (TRC) is to be held on January 10 evening at Kadatkaraichchenai, a village in the LTTE held Muttur east. This is the first convention to be held in the New Year 2006 in the northeast. The main objective of the TRC is to seek the international community to recognize the self-determination rights of the Tamil-speaking people in the northeast province, organizers said.


Full story >>

STF fired at students in Trinco- paper

[TamilNet, Sunday, 08 January 2006, 01:39 GMT]
The execution style killing of five Tamil students, all under 20 years of age, on Monday at Dock Yard Road in Trincomalee town, was allegedly carried out by “a team of Police Special Task Force (STF) commandos,” said the Situation Report column of Sunday Times in its 8th January Sunday edition. The paper further said the deployment of the STF was ordered by “a retired police official who has now been named as an advisor in the Defence Ministry,” and the order was issued during the period “when Defence Secretary Gothabaya Rajapakse was away in India accompanying his brother, President Mahinda Rajapakse.”
Full story >>

SLTMA demands protection for Tamil media persons

[TamilNet, Sunday, 08 January 2006, 00:24 GMT]
The Sri Lanka Tamil Media Alliance (SLTMA) has requested the Media Minister Mr.Anura Priyadarshana Yapa to take immediate steps to stop harassment of Tamil media institutions and Tamil media persons by government armed forces. SLTMA in its letter to the Media Minister listed several incidents where members of armed forces have subjected Tamil media persons and institutions with unwanted inquiries and harassment, sources said.


Full story >>

Doyenne of Hindu scholars, Thangamma Appakuti, celebrates 81st birthday

[TamilNet, Saturday, 07 January 2006, 15:14 GMT]
The eighty first birthday celebrations of Ms Thangamma Appakuti, the endeared savant of Tamil and Hindu culture, was celebrated Saturday 12.00 noon in a simple ceremony held at Tellipalai Thurkai Amman Temple Cultural Hall, sources from Jaffna said. Dr K Sivalingarajah, K Thevarajah and Dr S Nithiananthan from Jaffna University and many other well wishers were present at the ceremony.
Full story >>

CTTU demands withdrawal of SLA troops from Trinco town

[TamilNet, Saturday, 07 January 2006, 14:57 GMT]
The Ceylon Tamil Teachers Union (CTTU) has requested Sri Lanka's President Mr.Mahinda Rajapakse to order an impartial inquiry into the execution-style killing of Tamil students in Trincomalee, and to the bring the culprits responsible for the crime before the Court of Law. The CTTU also urged the President to withdraw State armed forces deployed within the fifty meter zone of schools, hospitals, places of worships and public places in the Trincomalee town immediately and areas where civilians live in large numbers, CTTU sources said.


Full story >>

Explosives found in bus, Murunkan Police detains driver, passengers

[TamilNet, Saturday, 07 January 2006, 14:49 GMT]
The Murunkan Police on Friday morning around 4.40 a.m. detected explosives in a Mannar bound bus that left Colombo Thursday night and arrested five persons including the driver and the conductor of the bus. The explosives were discovered during an inspection at the checkpoint in Kaddaiadampan, a village in the Mannar, Police said. The Murunkan Police served three-day detention order on the driver who is a Sinhalese, conductor and three passengers for further investigation, legal sources said.


Full story >>

TamilNadu parties ready to lend support to Tamil struggle- Ramdoss

[TamilNet, Saturday, 07 January 2006, 12:21 GMT]
"While the Tamil National struggle in Sri Lanka has assumed new dimensions in its progress towards its goal, parties in Tamil Nadu are spiritually bound to provide unflinching support to Eelam Tamils. We are mobilizing our supporters in India to show our strength and unequivocally express our support," said Leader of Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK), Dr Ramdoss, when Sri Lanka's Leader of Upcountry Peoples Front (UPF), Periyasamy Chandrasekaran met him Saturday. Mr Chandraseakaran is currently on a two week long visit to Tamil Nadu to meet political leaders sympathetic to Tamil struggle, media co-ordinator for UPF in Colombo, Prabha, said.
Full story >>

SL Police arrests 30 Tamil youths in Puttalam

[TamilNet, Saturday, 07 January 2006, 06:25 GMT]
More than 100 police officers cordoned and searched Puttalam Town area Friday between 7 to 9 p.m. and arrested 30 Tamils including two women, sources in Puttalam said. Arrested youths are being detained in Puttalam Police station.
Full story >>

TRO's Travelling photo exhibit to continue into 2006

[TamilNet, Saturday, 07 January 2006, 06:21 GMT]
Labelled "The healing continues..," the Tamils Rehabilitation Organization (TRO), an NGO registered with the Government of Sri Lanka working exclusively in the NorthEast, in conjunction with the international TRO offices, has held nineteen exhibitions in fourteen countries displaying photographs of emergency response to the Tsunami, its devastation and long term reconstruction, rehabilitation projects, TRO sources said. Exhibitions in additional cities will take place thorughout 2006, sources added.
Full story >>

Two LTTE cadres die in SLA's claymore attack in Trincomalee

[TamilNet, Saturday, 07 January 2006, 05:58 GMT]
The Deep Penetration Unit (DPU) of the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) in Thambalakamam jungle has killed two cadres of Liberation Tigers Friday early morning around 2 a.m in a claymore mine attack. The attack took place inside the LTTE held area, Elilan, Political Head of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) for Trincomalee district, told TamilNet Saturday.
Full story >>

Sri Lanka's President meets TNA delegation

[TamilNet, Saturday, 07 January 2006, 05:31 GMT]
Sri Lanka's President Mr. Mahinda Rajapakse and a delegation of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) led by its parliamentary group leader Mr.R.Sampanthan began Saturday around 11 a.m. at Temple Trees at the invitation of the SL President, parliamentary sources in Colombo said. The discussion currently is in progress, government sources said.
Full story >>

General shut down cripples Trincomalee fourth day

[TamilNet, Saturday, 07 January 2006, 05:25 GMT]
Normal life in Trincomalee town and its suburbs was completely paralyzed Saturday due to a general shut down called by the Tamil Resurgence Forum (TRF) which renewed its call for continued general shut down until the withdrawal of armed forces from the east port town soon after the burial of five slain Tamil students Thursday afternoon.
Full story >>

Senior PLOTE cadre shot, injured in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Saturday, 07 January 2006, 05:17 GMT]
A senior member of Peoples Liberation Organization of Tamil Eelam (PLOTE), Kennedy, was shot and seriously injured by two unknown gunmen at the bicycle park in front of Jaffna Teaching Hospital at 10.15 a.m. Saturday, sources in Jaffna said. He was immediately admitted to the emergency operating unit of the Jaffna Teaching Hospital with life threatening gunshot injuries, medical sources said.
Full story >>

Halo Trust to resume Jaffna demining operations Monday

[TamilNet, Saturday, 07 January 2006, 02:06 GMT]
Non-Governmental Organization, Halo trust, which suspended its demining operations in Jaffna following the theft of two of their vehicles, announced Friday that it will be resuming its operations from Monday, 9 January, officials of the NGO said.
Full story >>

SLN Dvora reported missing

[TamilNet, Friday, 06 January 2006, 22:15 GMT]
A Sri Lanka Navy (SLN) Dvora fast attack craft has been reported missing off the coast of Trincomalee, naval sources said. A big explosion was heard off the coast of Foul Point around 2.30 a.m. Saturday, police in the eastern port town said. A statement issused by the Sri Lanka Army said two survivors of the crew have been found and thirteen are still missing and the Dvora has sunk without any traces. Liberation Tigers' media spokesperson Daya Master, speaking to TamilNet from Kilinochchi, said that LTTE has no involvement in the explosion.
Full story >>

SLA arrests 10 youths in Mannar

[TamilNet, Friday, 06 January 2006, 18:22 GMT]
Ten youths, nine tamils and a muslim, were arrested in Uppukulam, in the northwestern district of Mannar during a joint house-to-house search by the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) and police, Friday. The operation began around 6.30 a.m. and lasted till noon, sources said.
Full story >>

Trincomalee suburbs tensed as SLA builds new sentry

[TamilNet, Friday, 06 January 2006, 15:59 GMT]
Tension prevails in Anpuvallipuram and Abeyapura, suburbs of the Trincomalee town located off about 2 km northwest along Trincomalee-Kandy highway following attempts by the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) to set up a new sentry since Friday afternoon. Tamils live in Anpuvallipuram and Sinhalese reside in the adjoining suburb Abeyapura. The new sentry near the junction, which leads to Anpuvallipuram has drawn the opposition of Tamil families, civil sources said.
Full story >>

Protest in Colombo over indiscriminate arrests of Tamils

[TamilNet, Friday, 06 January 2006, 12:40 GMT]
Hundreds of protesters demonstrated Friday afternoon 3 p.m.at the Five Lamp junction in Colombo city against indiscriminate arrests and harassment of Tamil people in Colombo under the Emergency Regulations. Several organizations and Sinhala and Tamil political party leaders participated in this jointly organized event, sources said.
Full story >>

Two killings in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Friday, 06 January 2006, 12:08 GMT]
Two Tamil youths were killed in two different incidents in Vadamaradchy and Valigamam area Thursday night. Thabendran Mathan, 28, a long term employee at the Point Pedro Urban Council was abducted from his home by unknown men and was stabbed to death Thursday night, sources in Jaffna said. The body was discovered along Thumpalai Road near 2nd Cross Street, 1 km east of Point Pedro town with severe cut wounds, sources said.
Full story >>