TNA MP in Vanni fears mass slaughter amidst starvation

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 21 April 2009, 10:33 GMT]
The Tamil Natonal Alliance (TNA) MP for Vanni, Sathasivam Kanagaratnam, who talked to TamilNet correspondent in Vanni on Monday blamed the Sri Lankan military for planning to cause a mass slaughter of civilians as Colombo announced a 24-hour ultimatum of surrender to the LTTE. Colombo has warned of concerted attacks into the so-called 'safety zone' starting from Tuesday noon. "The remaining area in the south of safe zone is full of civilians as many more have fled in recent days," Mr. Kanagratnam said fearing an unprecedented civilian carnage.
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SLA cluster bombs kill doctor, medical staff at Valaignarmadam

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 21 April 2009, 09:11 GMT]
A doctor at the makeshift hospital in Valaignarmadam and several other medical staff including civilians were killed Tuesday afternoon when Sri Lanka Army (SLA) fired cluster bombs on them, TamilNet correspondent in Vanni said citing a fleeing patient who escaped from the attack.
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'SLA advances behind human shield, act fast to rescue civilians,' Puleedevan urges UN

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 21 April 2009, 08:20 GMT]
Director of Liberation Tigers of Tamileelam (LTTE) Peace Secretariat S. Puleedevan on Tuesday told TamilNet that the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) has started to move on two fronts at Valaignar-madam and at Maaththa'lan using a section of the civilians who were caught by the SLA on Monday as human shields. When asked how the SLA was advancing, Mr. Puleedevan said the Sri Lankan military has forced hundreds of civilians to walk through LTTE defece line at gun point and was moving its troops under the cover of the civilians. "These are serious war crimes and the Sri Lankan government and the head of the armed forces are direct responsible for this carnage," Puleedevan said in a statement.
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ANC calls for ceasefire, supports independent Tamil homeland

[TamilNet, Monday, 20 April 2009, 21:58 GMT]
The ruling party of the government of South Africa (ANC) have reiterated calls for a permanent ceasefire in Sri Lanka and acknowledged the need for an independent Tamil homeland. ANC MP and chairmen of the Solidarity Group of Peace and Equality Sisa Njikelana in an interview with Tamilnet, Saturday, has stressed the need for bilateral talks between the Sri Lankan Government and the LTTE, an organisation that articulates the aspirations of the people. “This Government believes that by defeating the LTTE, the Tamils will just automatically fall for any offer given. I look at that with a nice cynical smile”, he said.
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Nadesan denies reports of human bomb, blames Colombo for deploying banned weapons

[TamilNet, Monday, 20 April 2009, 17:06 GMT]
Political Head of the LTTE, B Nadesan categorically denied reports in Sri Lankan and the Indian media that Tamil Tiger human bombs blew themselves up to prevent civilians fleeing the so-called safe-zone. "The LTTE denies these fabricated stories that seek to discredit us and divert attention away from the suffering of the Tamil people," he said when contacted by TamilNet Monday night. Sri Lankan forces have deployed three types of internationally banned weapons such as cluster shells, napalm bombs and phosphorus bombs against civilians, causing heavy casualties among civilians. He said nearly one thousand civilians were killed and many more wounded in SLA attacks.
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Casualties cross 1000 in SLA's attempt to capture civilians

[TamilNet, Monday, 20 April 2009, 13:18 GMT]
Hundreds of dead bodies and wounded civilians were still lying in Maaththa'lan and Pokka'nai, and more than 600 seriously wounded have been brought to a makeshift hospital functioning at a school in Mu'l'li-vaaykkaal in LTTE held area throughout Monday, TamilNet correspondent reports from Vanni. The correspondent personally witnessed nearly 300 dead bodies while fleeing from the area. Cluster shells and smoke or white-dust-emitting shells that made people to faint were widely deployed on civilians by the Sri Lanka Army in its effort to capture them. However, a large majority of the civilians fled towards LTTE held areas while around 8,000 were trapped and captured by the SLA.
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Chaos and carnage as SLA enters 'safety zone'

[TamilNet, Monday, 20 April 2009, 06:19 GMT]
Several hundreds of civilians are feared killed and injured and total chaos prevails among civilians as Sri Lanka Army (SLA) advanced into the so-called 'safety zone' in Pokka'nai Monday morning 11:00 a.m., according to latest reports from Vanni. Heavy fighting was reported along the bunds of the lagoon and patients in the Puthumaaththa'lan makeshift hospital were forced to run away as Rocket Propelled Grenades launched by the SLA hit the hospital. A few medical staff remaining in the hospital are hiding in bunkers. People were seen running in panic as dead and injured were seen lying scattered everywhere, eyewitnesses told TamilNet.
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SLA launches ground push targeting 'safety zone'

[TamilNet, Sunday, 19 April 2009, 20:38 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army (SLA) launched a fresh ground offensive in the early hours of Monday around 2:00 a.m. by opening fire along the stretch from Maaththa'lan to Mu'l'li-vaaykkaal, according to TamilNet correspondent in Vanni. Heavy shelling, rocket fire and gunfire was reported in Maaththa'lan, Pokka'nai, Valaignarmadam and Mu'l'li-vaaykkaal as SLA continued to fire from its positions. There are civilian casualties. Details are yet to emerge.
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Diaspora youth hunger strike ignites mass struggle for Eezham

[TamilNet, Sunday, 19 April 2009, 13:05 GMT]
The fast to death protest by Parameswaran Subramaniyan to draw attention of the International Community to the ongoing catastrophe in Sri Lanka, has reached the 13th day on Sunday. Thousands of Tamils of all ages and all walks of life have been pouring into the Parliament Square throughout the campaign, expressing their support to hunger strikers and their demands put forward to the British Government. The hunger strike launched by Parameswaran and Sivatharsan Sivakumaravel has become a key point of confluence drawing not only the first and second generation of Tamils in UK, but also attracting active participation of third generation of Tamils in the Eezham cause.
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French organisations vote, unanimously support Eezham Tamil independence

[TamilNet, Sunday, 19 April 2009, 09:41 GMT]
Exercising their right of free expression, 67 registered social welfare organisations of diaspora Tamils in France, took a pioneering democratic step of secret ballot on Saturday and unanimously declared support to the independence war of Eezham Tamils in the island of Sri Lanka, said Ki Pi Aravinthan in Paris to TamilNet. The Paris declaration read that in supporting the cause of Eezham Tamils, it has infallibly adopted the will and spirit of the Vaddukkoaddai Declaration of 1976 that was overwhelmingly mandated by Tamil voters in 1977, and was in line with the ideology behind the declaration of American independence, the Republic of France in 1789 and the UN human rights declaration of 1948.
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British Foreign Secretary listens

[TamilNet, Sunday, 19 April 2009, 00:06 GMT]
“We have heard their [Tamil] voice and will keep listening”, said British Foreign Secretary, David Miliband, in a statement on Saturday. Saying that the British government is for ‘immediate ceasefire’ and for civilians to be ‘allowed to leave’, and the UN is progressing in making GoSL agreeing to send ‘support to civilians’ and LTTE agreeing to ‘allow civilians to leave’, the Foreign Secretary didn’t fail to mention that this is a stance in unison of Britain, France, US and many other governments. Commenting on his statement, British diaspora circles told TamilNet that the statement didn’t touch the crucial issue of ‘civilians going where’.
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'Starvation poised for worse killings than shelling'

[TamilNet, Saturday, 18 April 2009, 17:42 GMT]
While around 60 civilians killed Friday and Saturday by Sri Lanka Army (SLA) shelling, civilians have already started dying and many more thousands are at the verge of death due to starvation that is silently taking its toll within the so-called safety zone, TamilNet correspondent reported Saturday. The imminent victims are elderly, children and women. "Gruel has become the staple food to keep soul and body together for a vast majority of the civilians for weeks now. If there is no instant action, more starvation casualties can be expected in the next few days than the hitherto known total of casualties caused by shelling," warns TamilNet correspondent citing health and administrative officials staying inside the so-called safety zone.
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Colombo shouldn’t block UN visiting safety zone: Nadesan

[TamilNet, Saturday, 18 April 2009, 09:28 GMT]
The Government of Sri Lanka should not block UN Chief of Staff Vijay Nambiar visiting the safety zone and acquainting himself of the conditions of the civilians, said LTTE political head, B. Nadesan when contacted by TamilNet on Saturday after reports of Sri Lanka rejecting UN appeal for ceasefire. "The GoSL is not making arrangements for his visit, to prevent him from knowing the nature and magnitude of its offensive and to prevent first hand verifications of the truth reaching the UN," he said.
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AFP puts spin on TamilNet report

[TamilNet, Friday, 17 April 2009, 11:04 GMT]
A TamilNet news report citing political observers in Colombo that appeared Thursday became a ‘view of the LTTE’ for the Agence France-Presse (AFP). Since its inception, TamilNet has been an independent news agency committed to reporting news with a Tamil perspective. However, it has become an objectionable practice with a section of the international media, including AFP, to refer to TamilNet as a pro-rebel, pro-LTTE etc. medium. But, Friday’s reporting by AFP has gone a step further by treating TamilNet report as LTTE’s belief or opinion. TamilNet does not such reporting as just oversight.
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Onslaught of civilians continues, more than 57 killed, 300 wounded Thursday

[TamilNet, Thursday, 16 April 2009, 17:36 GMT]
While Sri Lanka's President Mahinda Rajapaksa visited Ki'linochchi to boost the morale of his forces, shelling and cannon fire by his troops in Mullaiththeevu district killed more than 57 civilians within the so-called safety zone on Thursday, according to TamilNet correspondent in Vanni. Nearly 1,500 shell explosions were registered by the correspondent as fired by the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) on Thursday and around 600 of them hit the safety zone while about 150 cannon shots hit the coastline.
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French Tamil organizations to meet for discussions

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 15 April 2009, 22:22 GMT]
The Eezham Tamil organizations in France plan to meet Saturday for discussions on current situation and to take decisions on the future course of the liberation struggle of Tamils in the island of Sri Lanka, said Ki Pi Aravinthan one of the organizers of the event to TamilNet.
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Unprecedented carnage, SLA turns firepower on civilian zone

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 15 April 2009, 05:42 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army (SLA) Wednesday morning turned its artillery, mortar, 40 mm cannon, Rocket Propelled Grenade (RPG) and gunfire ranging from 50 caliber machine guns to LMG fire into the so-called safety zone, causing a carnage within a short period of time between 7:40 and 10:40 a.m. killing and maiming hundreds of civilians, according to the latest update by TamilNet correspondent in Vanni reporting from the area under attack. Civilians were struggling to transport the wounded to the hospital and many of the injured were lying along the roadside as gunfire and artillery barrage by the SLA continues. "It is impossible to assess casualty details, but at least 180 civilians are feared killed within 3 hours in the area between Mu'l'livaaykkaal to Pokka'nai."
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Last chance for Congress Establishment

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 15 April 2009, 02:26 GMT]
"The Indian Establishment has an arrogant way of reminding that it is the Eezham Tamils who will be needing India and not vice versa. But it is time to tell that they also will need us," writes a political analyst in Colombo. “There is an increasing tendency among Eezham Tamils today to rely more on the West for solutions and the blame squarely falls especially on the present Indian Establishment. Observers feel that in recent times the mounting anger of Eezham Tamils are more directed at perpetrators and abetters of the war than at Colombo, for it is always expected what the irredeemably chauvinistic state will do. If not for the abetters, the Tamils would have handled it on their own. In the Tamil mind, India tops the list of perpetrators and abetters”, writes the political analyst in Colombo who regularly contributes to TamilNet.
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Mass human tragedy possible any moment in 'safety zone'

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 14 April 2009, 23:53 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army (SLA) on Tuesday night launched a full scale ground offensive attempting to break the last earth bund of the Liberation Tigers of Tamileelam (LTTE) situated close to the safety zone on Puthukkudiyiruppu - Mullaiththeevu Road, TamilNet correspondent in Vanni reported Wednesday early hours, Sri Lankan time. When the Co-Chairs countries have asked for the extension of ceasefire, Colombo's defiance and ferocious attack on the civilian safety zone are widely seen by political observers as efforts to fulfil the agenda of India, which is scheduled to receive TNA, Wednesday.
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US should intervene directly with GoSL, LTTE to protect civilians - Professor Boyle

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 14 April 2009, 16:42 GMT]
With Norway's ouster as a third-party engaging with the Liberation Tigers of Tamileelam (LTTE), the role of the United States in having direct access with the Liberation Tigers has become critical to negotiating a ceasefire and bring relief to the more than 250,000 Tamil civilians caught in the war. Ambassador Lunstead points out that legal restrictions imposed by US domestic laws do not prevent the U.S. taking that role, and Professor Boyle further asserts that Geneva Conventions of 1949 makes it an obligation for the U.S. to intervene directly with both the Government of Sri Lanka (GOSL) and the LTTE in order to protect these innocent Tamil civilians.
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