Only 40 civilians reach SLA territory during 48 hour announcement by Rajapaksa

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 14 April 2009, 13:32 GMT]
As a few hours remained of Colombo's announcement of restricting military operations for 48 hours, sources in Jaffna and Vavuniyaa reported that only 40 civilians were registered as having arrived in SLA controlled territory from the Liberation Tigers of Tamileelam (LTTE) held area. 26 civilians arrived in boats to Point Pedro Munai in Vadamaraadchi while 14 civilians had reached Vavuniyaa by land during the said period.
Full story >>

SLA continues offensive at the doorstep of 'safe zone'

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 14 April 2009, 12:32 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army (SLA) has intensified offensive push at the doorstep of safe zone since Monday 3:00 p.m. firing shells and Rocket Propelled Grenades (RPGs) into the civilian zone, according to the latest reports. The makeshift hospital at Puthumaaththa'lan reported Tuesday that it admitted at least 43 wounded civilians up to 5:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Many of the wounded had gunshot injuries. More than 240 explosions were registered within the safety zone. At least 25 RPG rockets, 65 shells and 150 canons (40 mm) were fired by the SLA into the safety zone since 3:00 p.m. Monday. Initial reports also said that a 44-year-old Red Cross (ICRC or SLRC) worker had sustained injuries on Monday.
Full story >>

Mexico insists R2P doctrine applicable to Sri Lanka

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 14 April 2009, 12:09 GMT]
Noting that Sri Lanka's and Foreign Secretary Palitha Kohona's statement that Mexico will keep Sri Lanka issues off-the table, and the analogy to Chiapas as inaccurate, the Mexican Ambassador to U.N, Claude Heller, said , "we were clear, in the case of Sri Lanka, there is a concern, there is a 'responsibility to protect' the population that are in very difficult situation," InnerCityPress reported. Mexico will work to assure humanitarian assistance to population, the Ambassador further said.
Full story >>

LTTE reiterates need for permanent ceasefire

[TamilNet, Monday, 13 April 2009, 17:52 GMT]
The Liberation Tigers of Tamileelam (LTTE) Political Division, in a statement issued in Tamil on Monday called the Sri Lankan announcement of restricting military operations for two days as an eyewash to create an impression of engagement on false premises. Condemning the move as a "political drama" aimed at "deceiving the International Community and the Tamil people", the LTTE said the Sri Lanka Army was continuing indiscriminate shelling and gunfire on civilians. The LTTE statement categorically stated that the Tigers were calling for a politically and militarily meaningful ceasefire with humanitarian considerations.
Full story >>

Nalloor Religious Head appeals Tamils to abstain from New Year celebrations

[TamilNet, Monday, 13 April 2009, 16:59 GMT]
“Celebrating New Year will not be appropriate while thousands of Tamils in Vanni are subjected to immense humanitarian agony and the proper thing to do is to pray for all parties involved to pursue a path to reach a good solution,” Nalloor Aatheenam (mutt) Chief Incumbent Srilasiri Somasunthara Paramaachchaariyaar Suvaamika'l, said in his New Year message to the press Jaffna Monday.
Full story >>

US engagement irks Colombo, Norway ousted from Sri Lanka peace mission

[TamilNet, Monday, 13 April 2009, 15:30 GMT]
Sri Lanka in a formal letter handed over to Norway's ambassador to Colombo, Tore Hattrem, Monday, has stripped the peace facilitator of its role in the Sri Lankan process, AFP said in a report Monday. "The government of Sri Lanka perceives that there is no room for Norway to act as (peace) facilitator," AFP quoted an official as saying. The announcement comes following recent reports leaked in Colombo press suggesting that the United States had contacted the LTTE leadership through a third party and that the LTTE, concerned of the security of the civilians, had proposed a longer period of ceasefire. Diplomatic circles in Colombo said that Sri Lanka's action was precipitated by the revelation that the United States Government was using Norway as a third party to facilitate a week long ceasefire.
Full story >>

SLA cordons off, searches Vavuniyaa bazaar area

[TamilNet, Monday, 13 April 2009, 11:39 GMT]
The Sri Lanka Army (SLA) and Police Sunday from morning till evening conducted cordon and search operation covering the entire bazaar area of Vavuniyaa town. Civilians were not allowed to enter or leave bazaar area till the operation was completed. People in the bazaar area were taken to a location close to the police station where they were subjected to severe interrogation and their identities were checked. Those failed to prove their identity were taken to the police station for further inquiry, sources said.
Full story >>

SLA attacks kill 23 Tamil civilians within 12 hours

[TamilNet, Monday, 13 April 2009, 10:43 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army (SLA) fired shells and gunfire killed at least 23 civilians within the last 12 hours from 8:30 p.m. Sunday to 8:00 a.m. Monday, according to TamilNet correspondent reporting from the safety zone in Vanni. Most of the killings, numbering between 15 - 20, occurred in the early hours of Monday when SLA stepped up a fresh ground push to advance into the safety zone. The SLA is trying to advance during the night aiming for bifurcating and capturing northern or southern part of the so-called safety zone contradicting the announcement by the Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa that he had instructed his ground forces to "restrict their operations during the New Year to those of a defensive nature."
Full story >>

SLA steps up ground offensive targeting 'safety zone'

[TamilNet, Monday, 13 April 2009, 08:21 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army (SLA) has begun advancing its fighting formations from Puthukkudiyiruppu targeting Mu'l'livaaykkaal in the early hours of Monday. The SLA launched the fresh move around 12:15 a.m. The offensive, contradicting the announcement by the Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa that he had instructed his ground forces to "restrict their operations during the New Year to those of a defensive nature," comes a day after a similar move was reported in the early hours of Sunday.
Full story >>

'Three insults to Tamils for the traditional New Year'

[TamilNet, Sunday, 12 April 2009, 19:32 GMT]
Disguised insults meant against Tamil struggle this week bring out a picture of the attitudes operating in Colombo, New Delhi and Chennai, writes a political analyst in Colombo. “It is not exactly the Sri Lankan government, but the Sri Lankan state that is the core symbol of oppression in the island. Ethnic chauvinism is the cornerstone of this state. No liberation can come to Eezham Tamils unless this symbol is deconstructed. It is important for both Tamils and Sinhalese to see that accepting this symbol as it is now, or imposing this symbol as the basis of any political discourse, will never pave way for peace of both.”
Full story >>

31 civilians killed in SLA shelling, gunfire in 'safety zone'

[TamilNet, Sunday, 12 April 2009, 09:11 GMT]
At least 31 civilians were killed throughout the day on Sunday inside the 'safety zone'. Exact figure of wounded civilians was not known, but at least 36 injured were rushed to the makeshift hospital at Puthumaththa'lan Sunday morning as Sri Lanka Army (SLA) was embarked upon concerted attacks on the zone since the early hours of Sunday. 30 of the victims were wounded in shelling and 6 in gunfire, medical sources said. Two of the victims had succumbed to their injuries at hospital.
Full story >>

Protests in Paris against genocide of Tamils in Sri Lanka

[TamilNet, Sunday, 12 April 2009, 07:39 GMT]
The protests against the carnage of innocent Tamil civilians in Vanni held in order to draw the attention of the International Community (IC) by French diaspora Tamils, launched in several popular places in Paris, reached its sixth day Saturday. Four Tamil youths are fasting unto death in the protest demonstration being held for the last two days near the Wall for Peace in Paris near the French Military Academy, the sources added. Members of Tamil Youth Organization (TYO) in France distributed pamphlets describing Sri Lanka government’s genocide of the Tamils to the tourists who visit the Wall for Peace monument from all over the world.
Full story >>

Tamil people subjected to Genocide - TNA

[TamilNet, Sunday, 12 April 2009, 07:18 GMT]
The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) in an urgent statement issued on Sunday pointed out the dramatic rise in Tamil civilian casualties over the last two weeks and said over 4,100 Tamil civilians have been killed and over 8,800 gravely injured within the four months of this year. The Foreign Affairs Committee of the TNA, in the statement said that 707 Tamil civilians have been killed within the last 9 days alone and over 1,000 gravely injured. Sri Lankan State's armed forces were deliberately targeting Tamil civilians and that the Tamil people in the island of Sri Lanka are clearly being subjected to Genocide, the TNA said. It urged the International Community to compel the Sri Lankan Government to stop all military operations immediately and to bring about an immediate ceasefire between the Sri Lankan State and the LTTE.
Full story >>

SLA embarks upon capturing attack on civilians, 300 shells explode within 45 minutes

[TamilNet, Saturday, 11 April 2009, 23:13 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army (SLA) embarked upon intense attack on the 'safety zone', in the early hours of Sunday, targeting a place called Pachchaip-pulmoaddai, aiming for bifurcating and capturing the northern part of the 'safety zone', initial reports from Vanni said. Heavy shelling and gunfire by the SLA started around 3:15 a.m. in the morning, and within 45 minutes, more than 300 shells exploded inside the civilian area of the safety zone around Pachchaip-pulmoaddai. Heavy civilian casualties are feared. Because of the rains, people are even unable to hide in the bunkers which are flooded, reports said. Meanwhile, since Friday, the SLA was building up heavily on the other side of the lagoon in Maaththa'lan, close to the makeshift hospital.
Full story >>

Fein debunks Patton-Boggs "white paper" on Sri Lanka

[TamilNet, Saturday, 11 April 2009, 21:52 GMT]
Bruce Fein, former Associate Deputy Attorney General and counsel for a Washington-based Tamil activist group, responding to a "white paper" on the current situation in Sri Lanka written and distributed to the media by Patton Boggs LLP, the Washington Law firm retained by the Government of Sri Lanka for advocacy work in the U.S., said, the "[p]aper is a collection of lies or misrepresentations calculated to conceal the ongoing genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes perpetrated against Tamil civilians by Sri Lanka’s armed forces," and "fails to discredit a single one of the more than 1,000 genocidal incidents marshaled in the model genocide indictment."
Full story >>

Ottawa protest continues for Fifth day

[TamilNet, Saturday, 11 April 2009, 21:45 GMT]
Protest by Canadian Tamil expatriates continued Saturday with several thousands joining the protest, CTV news broadcast announced. "The demonstrators, who arrived largely from Toronto and Montreal, are part of worldwide Tamil protests against what they describe as a deadly military offensive by the Sri Lankan military. Shouting "Tamil Tigers, freedom fighters," the protesters called on Canada to reverse its 2006 decision to list the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam as a terrorist entity under the Anti-Terrorism Act. They are also calling for an immediate ceasefire," Canadian daily Globe and Mail reported.
Full story >>

Halt mass murder of Tamils, South Asians appeal to UN, India

[TamilNet, Saturday, 11 April 2009, 20:16 GMT]
In a letter addressed to the UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon, Head of UNHCR, Navi Pillay, and to the Indian Priime Minister Manmohan Singh, several rights activists, journalists, and eminent citizens of India and Nepal, expressed concern about report of mass deaths of Tamil civilians in the Vanni region, and demanded that "UN and the International Community immediately intervene to ensure immediate cessation of the brutal and savage war in the Vanni region of Sri Lanka and ensure immediate humanitarian relief to the suffering thousands caught in the middle of the war." The South Asian citizens also urged all "National Governments to oppose all forms of financial aid to Sri Lanka until it ceases the war against its own citizens and ensures humanitarian aid and relief to be reached to the suffering thousands caught up in the Vanni region."
Full story >>

SLA arrests 66 Tamils in Colombo, Ampaa'rai, Vavuniyaa

[TamilNet, Saturday, 11 April 2009, 18:21 GMT]
The Sri Lanka Army (SLA) and Sri Lanka Police from Thursday till Friday morning conducted several cordon search operations in Colombo, Ampaarai, and Vavuniyaa. About 50 civilians, including 40 Tamils were arrested in Colombo division and detained in respective police stations for further inquiry. Police spokesman Ranjit Gunasekara told media that detained civilians had failed to prove their identity and justify their presence in the location. Most of the arrested Tamils are residents of Jaffna. 14 Tamil youths were taken into custody in Wellawatte area, he said.
Full story >>

Detainees displaced again due to floods in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Saturday, 11 April 2009, 17:39 GMT]
Around 660 civilians fleeing war in Vanni and held in the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) detention centres in Kaithadi in Jaffna district have been moved by SLA to Chaavakachcheari Hindu College as the detention centres are flooded due to the unrelenting rain that began pouring Friday early morning, sources in Jaffna said. Amidst meteorological department warnings that the rain will continue for two more days Jaffna Secretariat officials are facing a crisis in finding alternate places for the inmates in the detention centres in Mirusuvil and Kodikaamam, in Thenmaraadchi, the sources added.
Full story >>

SLA buildup poses severe threat to civilian security within 'safety zone'

[TamilNet, Saturday, 11 April 2009, 15:46 GMT]
The security of the main route running along the lagoon, linking the various villages of the safety zone within the stretch between Maaththa'lan to Valaignarmadam, has been compromised by the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) buildup since Friday. At some points, the SLA has put up military posts 200 meters closer to the road. The SLA was seen heavily engaged in positioning its troops, eyewitnesses said Saturday. 16 of the 38 civilian victims killed on Friday had succumbed to injuries caused by gunfire in Valaignarmadam and Pokka'nai areas as SLA snipers shot at civilians inside the safety zone.
Full story >>