Anti-terrorism regulations suppress legitimate civil activities - CPA

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 13 December 2006, 11:39 GMT]
Colombo based Centre for Policy Alternatives (CPA) in a statement issued Tuesday, noting the public pronouncements made last week by the Sri Lankan President and Prime Minister that the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) of 1979 was to be reintroduced, and calling for urgent clarification by the Government on the state of confusion and mixed messages surrounding the operational status of the PTA that contradict the February 2002 Cease Fire Agreement (CFA), expressed serious concern regarding the new regulations called Prevention and Prohibition of Terrorism and Specified Terrorist Activities Regulations (PPTSTAR).
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APRC to continue without JVP

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 13 December 2006, 10:58 GMT]
All Parties Representative Committee (APRC) would continue to meet to formulate a political consensus in finding a solution to the ethnic conflict. The withdrawal of the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) would not deter the functioning of the APRC, said Minister Tissa Vitarane, Chairman of the APRC Wednesday.
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Monitors urge parties to refrain from violence in Vaharai

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 12 December 2006, 11:33 GMT]
The Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM), in an statement issued from Colombo Tuesday, urged the Parties, the GoSL and the LTTE, to refrain from "any further viloence" in Vaharai area. Restriction of SLMM access by GoSL forces to areas where violations may have taken place is in itself a violation of the CFA and more importantly prevents the SLMM from working according to is mandate, charged the statement. "The LTTE has failed to protect civilians in Vakarai by restricting their movements," the SLMM statement accused the Tigers.
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JVP quits from APC deliberation

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 12 December 2006, 10:53 GMT]
The Sinhala nationalist Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) has withdrawn from the deliberation of the All Parties Conference (APC) in protest to the report of eleven-member experts panel report. The decision to quit the APC was announced by Somawanse Amerasinghe, leader of the JVP at a press briefing held Tuesday, electronic media sources said.
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SLAF kfirs drop eight bombs on civilian settlements in Batticaloa

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 12 December 2006, 09:12 GMT]
Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) kfir jets dropped eight bombs in four sorties Tuesday around 10:00 a.m on the civilian villages of Kattumrivu, Kathiraveli and Palchenai in the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) held territory in Batticaloa district, sources in Batticaloa said. No casualties were reported though four houses of civilians were badly damaged.


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New regulations mandate "written approval" for peace facilitation

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 12 December 2006, 05:42 GMT]
Sri Lankan president Mahinda Rajapakse, in his public address on 06 December, stated that his government had decided to "reactivate the provisions of the The Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA)." On the same day he announced that he had defined "terrorism" in new regulations called Prevention and Prohibition of Terrorism and Specified Terrorist Activities Regulations (PPTSTAR) which makes explicit reference to the PTA. The facilitation process has to be conducted as an "approved transaction," and upon "written approval" from Colombo, according to the PPTSTAR.
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UN demands protection of Vaharai civilians

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 12 December 2006, 05:34 GMT]
United Nations Office of the Resident and Humanitarian Co-ordinator in Colombo, in a press statement Tuesday called on the parties, the Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL) and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), to adhere to their responsibilities under international humanitarian law and said: "it is imperative that direct shelling where civilians reside stops and the civilian population must be granted full and unhindered freedom of movement, away from military operations."
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SLA seeks ICRC assistance in locating missing soldiers

[TamilNet, Monday, 11 December 2006, 15:41 GMT]
The Sri Lanka Army (SLA) has sought the assistance of the International Committee of Red Cross (ICRC) to trace and bring back the bodies of four soldiers reported missing in the fighting in Vaharai in Batticaloa district. ICRC sources confirmed that it had received such request from the SLA, media sources in Colombo said.
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Sinhala nationalist movement demands ban on LTTE, abrogation of CFA

[TamilNet, Monday, 11 December 2006, 15:25 GMT]
The National Patriotic Movement (NPM), a broad coalition of extreme Sinhala Buddhist nationalists, held a protest meeting at Lipton Circle Monday at 3:00 p.m. demanding the Sri Lanka government to proscribe the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and to abrogate the Cease Fire Agreement (CFA) entered into with the LTTE. Wimal Weerawanse, parliamentary group leader of the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), a constituent of the NPM, warned that failure to meet the demands would result in a public agitation against the government, sources in Colombo said.


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ICRC transports 30 wounded from Vaharai

[TamilNet, Monday, 11 December 2006, 14:03 GMT]
The International Committee of Red Cross (ICRC) Batticaloa Monday noon transported 30 wounded, including 7 children in 7 boats from Vaharai to Valaichenai hospital, at least one guardian accompanying each child. The critically wounded were being transferred to Batticaloa hospital. Meanwhile, LTTE's Military Spokesman Irasiah Ilanthirayan told media that Sri Lanka Army fired artilleries hit the ground at the close vicinity while the injured were being boarded, causing the ICRC to abandon one part of their mission. The ICRC in a press statement said many difficulties had to be overcome to organize this evacuation and said more injured patients were waiting to be evacuated.
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Vaharai students miss GCE(OL)

[TamilNet, Monday, 11 December 2006, 12:29 GMT]
Sri Lanka's Department of Examination organized General Certificate of Examination (Ordinary Level) began Monday in about 3900 centers except in the three centers in Vaharai, Kathiraveli and Vammivedduwan located in LTTE held areas in Batticaloa district, education officials in the East said. Sri Lanka Army (SLA) has refused to allow question papers and other related documents to be transported through Mankerni checkpoint from the co-coordinating center located in the government controlled Valaichchenai.


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"Colombo on genocidal war path" - Thamilchelvan

[TamilNet, Sunday, 10 December 2006, 23:50 GMT]
Liberation Tigers Political Head, S. P. Thamilchelvan, in his address on International Human Rights Day held in Kilinochchi Sunday, stated that the Sri Lankan Government, depriving the Tamil people of their fundamental birthrights such as the "right to life, right to national identity and the right to homeland," and disabling the Ceasefire Agreement with its presently introduced "Prevention of Terrorism" act, was on a "genocidal war path," violating not only human rights laws, but also the Geneva humanitarian laws by carrying out bombardments on hospitals and schools. "Tamil people stand deceived by the membership conferred on the Sri Lankan state to the newly formed Human Rights Council."
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Paramilitary penetration into Pendugalchenai beaten back- LTTE

[TamilNet, Sunday, 10 December 2006, 13:29 GMT]
Attempt by a group of 25 members of paramilitary cadres and Sri Lanka Army (SLA) to penetrate into Liberation Tigers controlled area of Pendukalchenai to launch attacks around 7:30 a.m. Sunday was foiled when the LTTE counter attacked killing two and injuring ten paramilitaries, S. Seeralan, head of LTTE Batticaloa political wing said. Two cadres of LTTE were also killed in the counter attack.
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19 more Tamil refugees killed, new SLA offensive south of Vaharai

[TamilNet, Sunday, 10 December 2006, 06:16 GMT]
19 Internally displaced people, who fled artillery bombing in Palchenai and Vammivedduvan in Vahrai region to Kandalady Government School, were killed and more than 25 wounded when Sri Lanka Army fired artillery shells hit the school Sunday morning, according to LTTE's Military Spokesman Irasiah Ilanthirayan. Sri Lanka Navy gunboats were also engaged in firing shells towards densely populated refugee camps as Sri Lankan forces opened a new front towards Panichchankerni Sunday morning. Meanwhile, a Tamil Rehabilitation Organisation official in Vaharai told TamilNet all the five refugee camps in Vaharai were being targeted by artillery shelling forcing all civilians to flee.
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Verugal offensive thwarted, 30 troopers killed, 1 captured alive - LTTE

[TamilNet, Saturday, 09 December 2006, 18:12 GMT]
Liberation Tigers officials in Vaharai told TamilNet Saturday night that Sri Lankan troopers who advanced into LTTE territory Saturday morning from Mahindapura camp, were defeated at 2:30 p.m. after 9 hours of stiff resistance by the Tigers. More than 30 troopers were killed, around 100 wounded, one soldier was captured alive and 9 bodies recovered by the Tigers. An artillery gun in Kallaru SLA camp was destroyed in LTTE artillery fire, LTTE officials claimed. The SLA troopers who had advanced 2.5 km into LTTE territory north of Vaharai, were hastely withdrawn after suffering heavy casualties.
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Thousands flee Eachilampattu, Palchenai

[TamilNet, Saturday, 09 December 2006, 08:49 GMT]
Hundreds of Sinhala, Tamil and Muslim families started fleeing villages surrounding Eachilampattu border area into SLA and LTTE controlled territory as thousands of refugees from Palchenai and Verugal areas north of Batticaloa district started fleeing towards Vaharai, where Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) Kfir bombers engaged in aerial bombardment in an attempt to block civilians from reaching Vaharai.
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SLA fired artillery shells hit school, 13 refugees wounded

[TamilNet, Saturday, 09 December 2006, 06:29 GMT]
Thirteen refugees, including a 4-year-old child, were wounded when Sri Lanka Army fired artillery shells hit a school in Paalchenai, 8 km north of Vaharai Saturday, around 11:20 a.m., as SLA intensified a ground offensive from Eachilampattu, via A15 trunk road towards Verugal, 15 km northwest of Vakarai amid indiscriminate artillery barrage. Nine wounded refugees from the school where IDP families were staying, were rushed to Vaharai hospital, medical sources said. Heavy fighting was reported between Liberation Tigers and the Sri Lanka Army at Eachilamapattu.
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Jaffna Bishop urges firm action from Co-chairs

[TamilNet, Friday, 08 December 2006, 12:55 GMT]
Robert O. Blake, US Ambassador to Sri Lanka paid a sudden visit to Jaffna Thursday and met with Jaffna Bishop Rev. Thomas Soundaranayagam at the Bishop's House, and discussed the current situation in the Jaffna peninsula, source in Jaffna said. The Rev. Bishop stressed on the urgent need for the Co-chair countries to exert due pressure on the Sri Lanka government (GoSL) to restore peace in Sri Lanka, Bishop's House sources said.
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Re-opening of landroutes, non-negotiable humanitarian priority - Thamilchelvan

[TamilNet, Friday, 08 December 2006, 10:15 GMT]
Liberation Tigers Political Head, S. P. Thamilchelvan, Friday told media after meeting Norwegian Special Envoy Jon Hanssen-Bauer in Kilinochchi, that the re-opening of A9 and A15 landroutes constituted basic humanitarian priorities for the survival of the civilian population. "It is critical that the International Community addresses the issue of Colombo's cooperation in re-opening of A9 and A15 landroutes ensuring the Tamil people their top-most basic humanitarian need," Mr. Thamilchelvan said. Tamil people are at the verge of losing hopes in Norwegian facilitators, the SLMM and the International Community for failing to condemn Colombo for refusing to re-open the landroutes, he said.
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UN: Karuna denies child recruitment, commits to collaborate with UNICEF

[TamilNet, Thursday, 07 December 2006, 17:45 GMT]
Vinyagamoorthy Muralitharan (Karuna), who leads the paramilitary Karuna Group operated by the Sri Lanka Army (SLA), has contacted the UN Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict, on Monday, regarding the listing of his group to the UN Security Council, according to a press release issued by the UN office in Colombo. The move, comes following a report by Allan Rock, the Special Advisor to the UN Special Representative, who accused the Sri Lankan military for recruiting children to the ranks of the paramilitary group, in November when he concluded a 10-day mission to Sri Lanka. Tamil Tigers in October outlawed the recruitment of under-17s.
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