Will Obama take full responsibility of Tamil homeland, ask Tamil circles

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 13 May 2009, 20:57 GMT]
As news reports quote US President Barack Obama saying Tamil Tigers to "free civilians," and Colombo government to stop indiscriminate shelling, Tamil circles in the US asked whether President Obama is prepared to take full responsibility of the Tamil homeland and whether he is prepared to give full assurance to the freedom and the aspirations of the Tamil people.
Full story >>

Tamil worker shot dead in Puththa'lam

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 13 May 2009, 20:55 GMT]
Unidentified armed persons Tuesday morning shot dead a Tamil civilian at Sirimipiady in Puththa'lam police division. The dead is said to be watcher of a coconut estate in the area.
Full story >>

“SL government conceals true picture of “Vanni safe zone”-UNP charges

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 13 May 2009, 20:49 GMT]
Dr.Jayalath Jayewardene, Deputy Secretary of the main United National Party (UNP) and parliamentarian made a scathing attack on the government led by President Mahinda Rajapakse that it is rejecting all statements made by the United Nations regarding the immense sufferings of Tamil people trapped in Vanni region without verifying the true picture. The government is committing blatant treachery by concealing the true situation in Vanni, he added at a press briefing held Tuesday in Colombo.
Full story >>

SLA barrage inflicts carnage, makeshift hospital reports disaster

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 13 May 2009, 19:21 GMT]
"Looking at the hospital and hearing the civilians cry, you feel only disaster," a key medical staff at Mu'l'li-vaaykkaal makeshift hospital told media Wednesday. More than 100 civilians, including many children, patients, a medical staff, voluntary doctor and an ICRC worker, were killed in Sri Lanka Army (SLA) artillery attack that targeted the hospital premises which is a junior school and the surrounding area which comprises many tarpaulin huts. The hospital is struggling with few medical staff as the medical facility has become a prime target for the SLA which has targeted it for the third time within 5 days. Civilians are struggling with starvation and live under bunkers as bullets fired by the SLA from two coastal ends were whizzing across the so-called No Fire Zone, which has been made into a killing field by the SLA, which completely disregards Geneva Conventions.
Full story >>

TNA warns of more bloodshed in the coming days

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 13 May 2009, 12:20 GMT]
Tamil National Alliance (TNA) has pointed out that 3000 Tamils have been killed and more than 1000 have been wounded in the last 3 days in the Vanni region, in a press conference held in Colombo on Tuesday night. Tamil National Alliance leader MP R.Sampanthan states, “The Government of Sri Lanka is mass killing Tamil civilians after denying them food and medicine. This is the reality. More bloodshed can happen in the next few days. We appeal to the International community to immediately stop this systematic slaughtering of civilians.”
Full story >>

Police arrest 4 Tamils in Chilaapam

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 13 May 2009, 11:15 GMT]
Munthal Police in Chilaapam district Sunday arrested four Tamil civilians including two women during a search operation conducted on receipt of information on suspicious activities in Kaddaikaadu village. The four are being detained in the police station for further interrogation, police sources said.
Full story >>

Intervene in the name of humanity: Pathmathan calls on IC

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 13 May 2009, 09:20 GMT]
"Every passing day is resulting in the loss of countless number of civilian lives and alienation of the entire Tamil community," said Selvaraja Pathmanathan, the LTTE plenipotentiary for international relations, in a statement issued on Wednesday, and called on the International Community for its urgent and immediate intervention, not based on territorial or geo-political ambitions, but based on basic human values. "It is our firm view that a cessation of all hostilities would be the only mechanism that would prevent further civilian carnage and we remain committed to an immediate and permanent ceasefire."
Full story >>

US, UK want UN to facilitate 'safe evacuation' of civilians

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 12 May 2009, 23:37 GMT]
The United States and Britain on Tuesday jointly called on the government of Sri Lanka and the Tamil Tigers to end fighting to allow a UN humanitarian team to visit the conflict zone to facilitate safe evacuation of civilians. However, the statement, which failed to stress ceasefire, was interpreted by Tamil circles as providing tacit approval for Colombo to continue its deployment of infantry support weapons. While asking the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam to lay down their arms, the joint statement has urged Colombo to abide by its commitment of April 27 to end major combat operations and the use of heavy weapons.
Full story >>

SLA conducts search operation in Polonnaruwa

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 12 May 2009, 16:20 GMT]
Police and Sri Lanka Army Sunday evening conducted a cordon and search operation in Polonnaruwa town and took about fifty Tamil civilians including women for questioning. Except two, others were freed after preliminary inquiry. Two are being detained for further interrogation, police sources said.
Full story >>

RSF condemn's Channel 4 journalists expulsion

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 12 May 2009, 16:05 GMT]
Referring to the expulsion of British Channel 4's three journalists from Sri Lanka for exposing "atrocious living conditions for [Tamil] civilians [in Vavuniyaa internment camps] and ill-treatment they have suffered" Reporters without Borders (RSF), the Paris-based media watchdog, said in a press release issued Monday that the reasons for expulsions are "unfounded and unacceptable" and that the expulsion is the "latest incident in a long list of serious press freedom violations connected with reporting of the war, including murders of journalists, arbitrary or abusive imprisonment, torture, ill-treatment, censorship and expulsions."
Full story >>

SLA attacks hospital, 47 massacred

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 12 May 2009, 05:51 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army (SLA) fired artillery shells killing at least 47 civilians, patients and the Administrative Officer K. Tharmakulasingam Tuesday morning around 8:00 a.m. At least 55 patients sustained serious injuries in the attack on the makeshift hospital which was functioning at Mu'l'li-vaaykkaal junior school. The attack came while around 2,000 wounded patients within the last 3 days were waiting for the ICRC to be transported in the ship. More than 2,600 civilians were killed within the past 3 days in Sri Lankan attacks in Vanni.
Full story >>

US violates Geneva Convention by permitting Sri Lanka to commit slow-motion genocide - Prof. Boyle

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 12 May 2009, 04:26 GMT]
Pointing to the statement issued by the U.S. Department of State that after an informal meeting at the United Nations that "[t]he United States is deeply concerned by the continued unacceptably high levels of civilian casualties," expert in International Law, Professor Francis A. Boyle said, the Obama administration is violating the 1948 convention for continuing to give "green light" to the Government of Sri Lanka to destroy the LTTE no matter what the cost to innocent Tamil civilians. Lawrence Christy, the head of Tamils Rehabilitation Organisation (TRO) Field Office on Monday put the death toll of civilians at more than 3,200 killed during the weekend.
Full story >>

White House protest accuses Sri Lanka of civilian massacre

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 12 May 2009, 02:32 GMT]
More than two hundred American Tamils protested in front of the White House in the Lafayette Park Monday 9:00 a.m. till 4:00 p.m., accusing the Government of Sri Lanka for slaughtering more than 3000 Tamil civilians crowded into a 5 sq.km. area during Saturday night and Sunday with the use of heavy weapons including multi-barrel artillery directed into the Safety Zone. Holding banners displaying "Stop the Genocide," the protesters called on President Obama to lead an international effort to establish a ceasefire between the two adversaries, Government of Sri Lanka and the Liberation Tigers.
Full story >>

Tamil Diaspora agitates as civilian death toll rises

[TamilNet, Monday, 11 May 2009, 19:57 GMT]
Around 2000 Tamil Diaspora men, women and children staged a protest demonstration Sunday in Toronto, Canada against the genocide of Tamils in Vanni blocking all lanes of a downtown Toronto highway for several hours, sources in Toronto said. “The Tamil Diaspora will not give up. The Sri Lankan regime continues to unleash terror on our people who have been silenced by brute force and unimaginable atrocities. ‘Mother India’ and International community remain silent. But we, the Tamil Diaspora, will see to that Justice is done. Tamil Eelam will be freed,” a protestor said.
Full story >>

UK: Sri Lanka belongs on UN Security Council agenda

[TamilNet, Monday, 11 May 2009, 19:19 GMT]
Britain’s Foreign Minister David Miliband said Monday he is “appalled” by reports of mass civilian casualties in Sri Lanka. Saying that he believed “very very strongly” that the humanitarian crisis in Sri Lanka merits the attention of the United Nations Security Council, he noted: “the civilian catastrophe in the North East of Sri Lanka speaks for itself and the international humanitarian law to which we all sign up needs to be followed in spirit and in letter.” Speaking at the UN in New York, Miliband also suggested Sri Lanka should not qualify for the $1.9m IMF loan Colombo is seeking.
Full story >>

Japan urged to act over Sri Lanka crisis

[TamilNet, Monday, 11 May 2009, 19:14 GMT]
Four international organisations - Human Rights Watch, Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect, International Crisis Group and Amnesty International - released a joint letter to the Japanese Prime Minister Monday, calling on Japan “to play a more active role in confronting the unfolding catastrophe in Sri Lanka.” The four organisations called on Japan “to support efforts for the [United Nations] Security Council to keep the situation in Sri Lanka under close and regular review and to consider the situation in Sri Lanka formally at the Security Council.” Meanwhile, American Tamils after a rally and a night vigil Friday in New York submitted a memorandum to the Japanese Ambassador to the United Nations.
Full story >>

Pathmanathan calls for urgent international intervention

[TamilNet, Monday, 11 May 2009, 09:19 GMT]
Refuting the Sri Lankan propaganda that artillery and shelling against the Tamil civilians was carried out by the Tigers, Selvarasa Pathmanathan, the LTTE's head of international relations on Monday urged the governments of the world to prevail upon the Sri Lankan Government to prevent it from causing a collective tragedy.
Full story >>

SLA continues to inflict carnage

[TamilNet, Monday, 11 May 2009, 01:30 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army (SLA) has stepped up relentless barrage of shelling using all sorts of heavy weapons on the so-called safety-zone (no-fire zone) in Mu'l'li-vaaykkaal and Vadduvaakal areas where more than 130,000 civilians have sought refuge without adequate bunkers and shelters. Civilian casualties are mounting amidst lack of medicine and food due to limited or denied supplies into the area of 7 square kilometres. Lawrence Christy, the head of Tamils Rehabilitation Organisation (TRO) Field Office on Monday put the death toll of civilians on Monday at more than 3,200 killed since Sunday evening up to Monday morning. He has called on the IC to immediately invoke the Responsibility to Protect (R2P) to the stop the genocide.
Full story >>

Sonia says war is over while 1200 civilian bodies are counted in Vanni

[TamilNet, Sunday, 10 May 2009, 23:56 GMT]
Congress president Ms Sonia Gandhi, sharing a platform with the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi on Sunday said: "Our government had done everything possible to bring an end to the hostilities and it was due to our resolute efforts that Sri Lanka announced conclusion of combat operations and people moved to safer places," PTI quoted Ms. Gandhi saying. Meanwhile, the same day has seen a massive massacre of civilians in the no-fire zone by the Sri Lanka Army using all kinds of heavy weapons and aerial bombing. Around 1200 bodies were counted so far and 1125 injured managed to reach the makeshift hospital.
Full story >>

Tamil survivors bear phosphorous burns - report

[TamilNet, Sunday, 10 May 2009, 23:24 GMT]
Tamil civilians who escaped the Sri Lankan military bombardment, treated by French doctors, included those with injuries from phosphorous bombs, AFP reported. Doctors at the French field hospital Cheddikulam, Vavuniya said that among those who were treated were those with white hands, possibly caused by burns from phosphorus- an incendiary weapon which is banned from use in civilian areas under an international convention. According to Peter Herby, head of the ICRC's (International Committee of the Red Cross) Arms Unit, there are specific rules on the use of white phosphorous that go beyond the general rules of war.
Full story >>