Colombo irked by US Rights report

[TamilNet, Friday, 14 March 2008, 14:53 GMT]
The 2007 Country Report of Human Rights Practices in Sri Lanka released by the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor of the U.S. State Department has created shockwaves within the Rajapakse Government according to Media reports in Colombo Friday. Sri Lanka’s Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollagama had called on the US Ambassador in Colombo, Robert O Blake, to register “Sri Lanka’s serious concerns” on the report, Colombo media reported.
Full story >>

UPFA-TMVP secures Mayor post in Batticaloa MC

[TamilNet, Thursday, 13 March 2008, 16:10 GMT]
Paramilitary TMVP group Tamil Makkal Viduthalai Pullikal (TMVP) candidate, who jointly contested in the elections for the Batticaloa Municpal Council with Sri Lanka President Mahinda Rajapaksa's ruling United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA), was appointed Mayor of Batticaloa Municipal Council (MC) in the TMVP committee meeting Wednesday, TMVP Secretary, Kailasarasa said. Daughter of Sathiyamoorthy Rajan, the assassinated Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentary candidate in 2004 general elections, Pirabakaran Sivakeertha, known as Pathmini, polled 4,722 preferential votes and was appointed Mayor of Batticaloa MC.
Full story >>

LTTE ending use of child soldiers - US

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 12 March 2008, 04:22 GMT]
The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) “is eliminating the recruitment and use of child soldiers,” the US State Department said this week in its annual human rights report. The LTTE had not complied with its promise to end the practice by end of 2007, but its policy of recruiting one person from each family targeted those 18 years or older, the report said. Sri Lankan government forces were complicit in conscripting children for the TMVP (Karuna Group), “which used coercion, extortion, rape, and murder to force children and adults to join their ranks,” the report said.
Full story >>

UPFA-TMVP alliance wins Batticaloa local elections

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 11 March 2008, 00:40 GMT]
Sri Lanka President Mahinda Rajapaksa's ruling United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA) that contested jointly in the elections for the Batticaloa Municipal Council with the paramilitary TMVP group has secured 11 seats with 14,158 votes. The coalition of remaining paramilitary groups has won 6 seats. The Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) and the Eelavar Democratic Front (EDF) have both secured one seat each in the Municipal Council. Voter turnout was at 53 percent in Batticaloa city. Around 10% of the voters who turned up for voting have cast invalid votes.
Full story >>

50% turnout, paramilitary manipulates voting in Batticaloa

[TamilNet, Monday, 10 March 2008, 11:10 GMT]
Voter turnout within Batticaloa municipal council was low till Monday noon, according to the sources in Batticaloa city. However, turnout at rural areas was above 50%. Despite the presence of a reasonable number of monitors, there were reports of fraudulent activities as paramilitary personnel were actively engaged in transporting voters to the booths. The TMVP paramilitary has heaped up anti-Muslim campaign warning Tamils that non-participation in local elections would benefit the Muslims. Paramilitary personnel were also seen visiting households checking civilians' participation in the elections. Violent incidents were low.
Full story >>

Claymore mine recovered, Pillayan votes with SLA protection

[TamilNet, Monday, 10 March 2008, 10:48 GMT]
Police recovered a Claymore mine near Chanthive'li voting booth Monday around 7:00 a.m. after a rumor spread that a mine was placed near the Chanthive'li Chitthi Vinaaykar School. At Kiraan, a grenade explosion was reported near a voting booth around 9:00 a.m., Police said. Meanwhile, key paramilitary operative of the TMVP group, Sivanesathurai Chandrakanthan alias Pillayan, cast his vote at Vaazhaichcheanai Vipulananthar school with Sri Lankan police protection.
Full story >>

"Elect me or face conscription," paramilitary operative threatens voters

[TamilNet, Sunday, 09 March 2008, 17:11 GMT]
A key paramilitary operative of the TMVP participating in the local elections of Ea'raavoor pattu Piratheasa Chapai (PS), Irasaiah Satheeskumar alias Anpumani, has threatened Tamil families in Vanthaa'rumoolai that unless the voters elect him, he will forcibly conscript one child per household, residents of Vanthaa'rumoolai said.
Full story >>

Sinhala daily: Sri Lanka tops Asian countries in number of NGOs

[TamilNet, Saturday, 08 March 2008, 11:18 GMT]
Around 600 Non Government Organisations (NGOs) are officially present in Sri Lanka, while 400 more NGOs are also engaged in Sri Lanka without official presence, Divayina, a Sinhala language daily reported on Saturday. Highlighting that Sri Lanka had become a lucrative country for peace agencies, the paper pointed out that more than one hundred organisations were engaged in peace-related business, benefiting from the CFA. The newspaper criticized 8 organizations for managing to get foreign funding to the tune of 20 million rupees per year and further alleged that these organizations, which claimed to be researching about peace, were in fact supplying "false information" to foreign actors.
Full story >>

Key paramilitary operative's residence attacked

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 05 March 2008, 10:51 GMT]
Unknown men lobbed a hand grenade Wednesday 2:00 a.m. while Kumarasamy Pushpakumar alias Iniyaparathy, a key paramilitary operative of TMVP group was at sleep at Paa'ndirippu in Kalmunai police division in Ampaa’rai district, Kalmunai police said. The residence sustained damage. Nobody was wounded in the attack.
Full story >>

UPFA, TMVP alliance implicates GoSL complicity, collusion with armed group - CPA

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 27 February 2008, 13:37 GMT]
Centre for Policy Alternatives, a Colombo based think-tank that undertook a fact finding mission to Batticaloa district between February 8 and 11, said Sri Lanka's ruling United Peoples Freedom Allilance (UPFA) government, by opting for the alliance with the armed TMVP group in Batticaloa municipal council election, finds itself in a position where it is increasingly difficult for the GoSL to deny the charges of "complicity and collusion with the TMVP." The CPA's statement has warned that there was a clear sense of inevitability that the elections will result in a TMVP "victory" as it is the only "political actor" allowed to move around in recently resettled areas.
Full story >>

Bishop appeals for violence free elections in Batticaloa

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 26 February 2008, 14:10 GMT]
Rt.Rev.Dr.Kingsley Swampillai, Bishop of Trincomalee-Batticaloa, appealed to all political parties to extend their cooperation to help conduct a violence free election, when he addressed a meeting held in the auditorium of Batticaloa public library Tuesday morning attended by a number of Sri Lanka officials.
Full story >>

Ex-LTTE cadres forced to join TMVP

[TamilNet, Monday, 25 February 2008, 11:24 GMT]
Pillaiyan group Tamil Makkal Viduthalai Pulikal (TMVP) members are alleged to be forcing former members of Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in Batticaloa district who had opted to leave the LTTE and lead a normal life after Sri Lanka Army (SLA) took LTTE area in Paduvaankarai last year, to join the TMVP, sources in Batticaloa said.
Full story >>

Body of election candidate's brother recovered in Kiraan

[TamilNet, Saturday, 23 February 2008, 01:02 GMT]
Civilians recovered a male body washed ashore in in the coastal area near Sinnaveambu, Kiraan in Batticaloa, district Friday afternoon 5:00 p.m.in Batticaloa. Thiyagarajah, a father of 2 children, was abducted on his way to Vaazhaichcheanai from his house in Chinnaveampu and a complaint was lodged Friday morning at Vaazhaichcheanai police station, Eastern Province Deputy Police Commissioner, H. M. P. Herath said.
Full story >>

Local election candidate's brother abducted in Vaazhaichcheanai

[TamilNet, Friday, 22 February 2008, 08:25 GMT]
A brother of a local council election candidate for Vaazhaichcheanai regional council was abducted Friday around 6:30 a.m by Pillayan Group (TMVP) on his way to Vaazhaichcheanai from his house in Kiraan in Batticaloa district, Eelavar Democratic Front (EDF) Secretary and its chief contestant for Batticaloa Municipal Council, Pirapakaran said.
Full story >>

TMVP threatens Muslim journalist in Colombo

[TamilNet, Saturday, 16 February 2008, 00:53 GMT]
A Muslim, Parliamentary Journalist attached to Thinakkural Tamil daily office in Colombo, received Friday threats from Tamil Makkal Viduthalai Pulikal (TMVP) paramilitary group in a letter to his office address, warning him not to write news against their organization and that they will kill him if he does not heed the warning, the journalist said.
Full story >>

Police Units established to curb Batticaloa Election violence

[TamilNet, Sunday, 10 February 2008, 23:52 GMT]
A number of Special units have been established in Batticaloa district to curb election related violence and to enable the affected parties to lodge complaints against such incidences, police sources in Batticaloa said.
Full story >>

Paramilitary personnel shot dead in Akkaraippattu

[TamilNet, Saturday, 09 February 2008, 16:23 GMT]
Unidentified armed men shot and killed a paramilitary personnel belonging to Pillaiyan group of Thamil Makkal Viduthalai Puligal (TMVP) Saturday noon in Thirukkoavil area in Akkaraippattu police division in Ampaarai district, sources in Ampaarai said.
Full story >>

GoSL, TMVP partnership complicates east elections- PAFFREL

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 06 February 2008, 14:25 GMT]
People's Action for Free and Fair Elections (PAFFREL), a citizen-based Election watch organization in Sri Lanka, in a Press Communiqué issued Wednesday said that "[T]here was general agreement that the security situation had improved, particularly with reference to the levels of violence," but added that "[I]t is possible that violence and election malpractices will surface as the election campaign gathers momentum, as the armed groups have not been disarmed. PAFFREL noted that "further complicating factor is that the government has apparently decided that its partner in the east would be the TMVP, which is the breakaway LTTE group in the east and which retains its arms."
Full story >>

East elections, perversion of democracy, says Tamil Arasu Kadchi

[TamilNet, Saturday, 02 February 2008, 04:19 GMT]
Outlining the reasons for not participating in the forthcoming local elections in the east, a press release issued by Mavai Senathirajah, General Secretary, Ilankai Tamil Arasu Kadchi (ITAK) in Colombo Wednesday, said: TMVP, an armed paramilitary group which is aligning with the ruling party in the forthcoming elections is openly brandishing weapons and has a strong presence in Batticalo district. The release added that in this climate of fear, elections will be a perversion of democracy, and ITAK has decided not to participate.
Full story >>

Paramilitary operative shot dead in Chengkaladi

[TamilNet, Thursday, 31 January 2008, 13:47 GMT]
Unidentified armed men shot and killed a paramilitary personnel belonging to Thamil Makkal Viduthalai Puligal (TMVP) Wednesday night 7:05 p.m. at Siththaa'ndi in Ea'raavoor police division in Batticaloa district.
Full story >>