Tamil civilian abducted in Batticaloa

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 09 July 2008, 12:09 GMT]
A Tamil civilian employed as a security officer in a private office in Maamangkam area, within Batticaloa police division taken away by Thamil Makkal Viduthalai Puligal (TMVP) men last Saturday, according to complaints lodged with the Batticaloa police and with the Batticaloa office of the Human Rights Commission by his relatives.
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CTTU extends support for General strike

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 09 July 2008, 02:42 GMT]
The Ceylon Tamil Teachers Union (CTTU ) in an official communiqué issued Tuesday called upon all it members to take part in the island wide general strike scheduled for July 10 in a show of support for the one-day token strike organized by the Marxist Jathika Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) with the blessings of main opposition United National Party (UNP).
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112 troops killed, 793 wounded in June - Sri Lankan PM

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 08 July 2008, 08:53 GMT]
Ratnasiri Wickremanayake, the Sri Lankan prime minister Tuesday opening the debate in the parliament on the motion seeking approval to extend the State of Emergency for another month revealed that one hundred and twelve Sri Lankan armed forces personnel were killed and seven hundred and ninety three were injured in the battlefield against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in June.
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Protection seekers in Jaffna face uncertain future

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 08 July 2008, 00:21 GMT]
Nearly three hundreds civilians who sought protection with Jaffna Human Rights Commision (JHRC) and kept in protective custody within Jaffna prison premises are facing danger of being removed against their wishes as a result of the activities of a local judge, sources in Jaffna said. Continued threats from in Sri Lanka Army (SLA) Intelligence and paramilitary operatives forced many civilians to surrender to the HRC from various parts of the peninsula during the past two years. The SLA has earlier forced protection seekers at Jaffna prison to sign a letter, stating that they were LTTE members, before accommodating them to the centre at Thellippazhai.
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Sivajilingam seeks referendum to decide Tamil Eelam

[TamilNet, Monday, 07 July 2008, 01:42 GMT]
Let the International Community hold a referendum to get the will of Eezham Tamils for an independent homeland if it is not convinced of their sentiments shown explicitly through the events of Pongku Thamizh all over the world. Australia supported such a referendum in East Timor, said Tamil National Alliance MP, Sivajilingkam to TamilNet, when he came to address the Pongku Thamizh event held at Sydney on Sunday.
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Spontaneous show of solidarity in Canada

[TamilNet, Sunday, 06 July 2008, 23:00 GMT]
In a spectacular show at short notice, more than 75,000 Canadian Tamils spontaneously gathered at Downsview Park in Toronto, Canada, for the Pongku Thamizh event, forging solidarity for the cause of Eezham, on Saturday. It was in fact a response to the oppressive policies of the International Community against Eezham Tamil nationalism, observers say.
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Tigers target SLAF bomber over Vanni

[TamilNet, Sunday, 06 July 2008, 14:37 GMT]
A Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) MiG-27 fighter jet was forced to return after it sustained damage in anti-aircraft fire over Ki'linochchi area in Vanni Sunday afternoon, LTTE officials told media in Vanni. Meanwhile, Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) officials in Colombo, admitting that an aircraft had a troubled landing at Katunayaka military airbase in Colombo after carrying out an air strike, said that the fighter jet had 'skidded off' the runway while landing.
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LTTE leader pays homage to Black Tigers

[TamilNet, Sunday, 06 July 2008, 06:47 GMT]
LTTE leader Mr. V. Pirapaharan participated in the Black Tigers commemoration day events held Saturday in Vanni. 356 Black Tigers have laid down their lives, 254 of them in sea operations, during the last 21 years since 05 July 1987, when the first Black Tiger Captain Miller, drove an explosive laden truck on Sri Lanka Army (SLA) troops garrisoned at Nelliyadi Central College in Vadamaraadchi in Jaffna. Last year, Black Tiger commandos stormed the Sri Lankan airbase in Anudradhapura in LTTE's first combined Black Tiger and Tamil Eelam Air Force attack, destroying more than 10 air crafts.
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SLA continue artillery barrage on LTTE territory across Jaffna lagoon

[TamilNet, Sunday, 06 July 2008, 01:53 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army (SLA), from its artillery bases along Jaffna lagoon coast, continue artillery fire on Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) held territory across the lagoon from Friday night. Meanwhile, Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) helicopters stepped up surveillance mission in the lagoon area as well as on the coastal areas in Vadamaraadchi as Tigers observed Black Tigers Day on Saturday.
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UPFA fields disabled soldier against Janaka Perera

[TamilNet, Saturday, 05 July 2008, 10:06 GMT]
A soldier of the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) who lost his two legs in an LTTE ambush in which a veteran SLA Commaner Lieutenant General Denzil Kobbekaduwa and eight others including Lieutenant General Wijaya Wimalarathne were killed in Jaffna in 1992, is one of the candidates contesting on the ruling United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA) ticket in the North Central Provincial Council against the main Opposition United National Party (UNP) which is led by its chief ministerial candidate Major General (retd) Janaka Perera, reports said.
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Abducted restaurant owner released

[TamilNet, Thursday, 03 July 2008, 14:31 GMT]
The owner of a restaurant abducted June 30 Monday night from Paduvaankarai within Palugaamam police division in Batticaloa district was released early morning Thursday, sources said.
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Knowledge books mistreat Tamil history

[TamilNet, Thursday, 03 July 2008, 07:34 GMT]
The presentation of the History of Eezham Tamils, in some of the international reference material such as Britannica Concise Encyclopedia and The World Factbook by the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), has become a matter of serious concern for Tamils all over the world. When the discipline of history itself is being deconstructed in the portals of knowledge of the postmodern era on one hand, these international sources of information are still harping on colonial brand of Orientalism, by basing history on myths.
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HRW calls on GoSL to end illegal internment of IDPs in Mannaar

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 02 July 2008, 22:58 GMT]
The New York based Human Rights Watch has voiced against the illegal internment of around 400 Internally Displaced Tamils, who are languishing under Sri Lanka Army detention in a so-called 'welfare center' in Ka'limoaddai in Naanaaddaan division of Mannaar district. Since March 2008, the Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL) has detained civilians fleeing areas controlled by the rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) at Ka'limoaddai. The SLA has imposed severe restrictions on freedom of movement, instituting a daily pass system that limits to 30 the number of people who can leave the camp each day, and only if a family member remains behind to guarantee the detainees return in the evening.
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Media institutions hold protest demonstration in Colombo

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 02 July 2008, 14:41 GMT]
Five media organizations and prominent political leaders staged a protest demonstration Wednesday around 12:30 p.m. at Colpetty Junction, condemning the attacks let loose on journalists and media men. The demonstrators called on the Sri Lankan government to immediately appoint a ministerial sub-committee to conduct inquiries into the Monday attack on Media Director of the Sri Lankan Press Institute (SLPI) Namal Perera and the British Embassy officer Mahendra Ratnaweera.
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Sri Lanka Army chief says victory date now mid-2009

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 02 July 2008, 09:01 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army chief Lt. Gen. Sarath Fonseka this week again revised his timetable for defeating the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam; to mid-2009, from an earlier estimate of June 2008. Saying that the LTTE had lost its conventional fighting capacity, he told international correspondents Monday that, within a year, most of the remaining Tigers would be dead. Saying that the objective of the LTTE was to capture the entire island and wipe out the majority Sinhalese community, he vowed: "we will not allow that at any cost, we will fight them."
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12 SLA killed, 19 wounded in Vavuniyaa - LTTE

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 02 July 2008, 08:50 GMT]
Liberation Tigers of Tamileelam (LTTE) officials in Vanni told media Wednesday morning that the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) attempt to break into LTTE defences at Paalamoaddai on Tuesday was thwarted around 10:00 p.m. the same day. 12 SLA soldiers were killed and 19 wounded in the fighting that raged for hours, the Tigers said.
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US condemns attack on British Embassy officer, SLPI Director

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 01 July 2008, 13:46 GMT]
The United States Embassy in Colombo on Tuesday condemned the attack on a staff member of British High Commission and a director of the Sri Lankan Press Institute (SLPI) on Monday in the heart of Colombo. The attack on Media Director of the SLPI Namal Perera and the British Embassy officer Mahendra Ratnaweera was carried out at Narahenpitya in Colombo near the Sri Lankan Department of Information by a group of attackers, who came in a white van Monday evening. The attack came a few days after a government paper alleged that the SLPI had sent members connected to LTTE to a course in Denmark under Journalist label.
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Nanthakumar’s remains cremated in Skanthapuram

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 01 July 2008, 08:50 GMT]
The remains of N.Nanthakumar, Divisional Secretary (Assistant Government Agent) of Thu'nukkaay division of Mullaiththeevu district killed Sunday afternoon in a Claymore attack carried out by the Deep Penetration Unit (DPU) of the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) was cremated Monday afternoon in Skandapuram with tearful homage in the presence of thousands of civilians including hundreds of government officers and a number of people displaced from Thu'nukkaay AGA’s administrative area.
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Heavy fighting in Vavuniyaa, 9 SLA killed - LTTE

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 01 July 2008, 05:53 GMT]
Nine Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers were killed and 12 wounded Tuesday as fighting continued throughout the day at Paalamoaddai, according to LTTE officials Tuesday evening.
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Media organizations demonstrate against detention of journalist Tissanayagam

[TamilNet, Monday, 30 June 2008, 15:26 GMT]
Members of five media organizations staged a peaceful demonstration Monday around 10.30 a.m demanding the release of senior journalist J. S. Tissanayagam who is held in the custody of Terrorist Investigation Division (TID) of Sri Lanka police for the last 115 days, in front of Colombo District Court. The Court extended the detention order served on Tissanayagam and two other Tamils, V. Jasikaran and Ms. V. Valarmathy until September 5 on request made by TID.
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