EU bans LTTE

[TamilNet, Monday, 29 May 2006, 20:39 GMT]
The European Union (EU) ministers Monday evening listed the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in EU's list of "terrorist organizations" while Tamil diaspora was holding worldwide protests including in several European capitols against the ban. The decision, widely expected to have an adverse affect on the already tenuous peace process, has been officially approved, agency reports from Brussels said.
Full story >>

Peace activists rally in Colombo

[TamilNet, Monday, 29 May 2006, 13:23 GMT]
More than one thousand peace activists from National Peace Council (NPC), representatives from its branches in all districts, and members from organizations that advocate, peace, democracy and human rights, belonging to all ethnic communities protested against the killing of innocents in a deteriorating situation in Sri Lanka that is leading towards war, at Lipton Circle Monday between 11:00 a.m. and 01:00 p.m, sources in Colombo said.
Full story >>

Curbing diaspora support counter-productive, say Finnish Tamils

[TamilNet, Monday, 29 May 2006, 13:11 GMT]
The representatives of the Tamil organisations in Finland, who met the Finnish Ministry of Foreign Affairs officials, after marching 2 km from the Helsinki EU office to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs at Merikasarminkatu Monday noon, told media that Norway which skillfully executed the facilitator role during the challenging internal opposition from the Sinhala extreme nationalist parties, was now being alienated by the external factors arising from the EU's move to ban the LTTE. More than 170 Tamils took part in Finland where a 250 Tamils live.
Full story >>

Civilian killed in Claymore attack in LTTE controlled territory

[TamilNet, Monday, 29 May 2006, 13:06 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army (SLA) troopers who penetrated 4 kilometers into the LTTE controlled Vilathikulam from the SLA camp in Iranai Iuppaikkulam, 20 km northwest of Vavuniya, exploded a Claymore mine killing a civilian who was cycling Monday morning, LTTE officials in Vavuniya said.
Full story >>

Civilian, EPDP member killed in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Monday, 29 May 2006, 12:47 GMT]
Two civilians were killed in Jaffna district Monday in the continuing violence that has gripped the Peninsula, sources in Jaffna said. In Erlalai North near the border of Palaly High Security Zone, Subramaniam Thevaraj (alias Ranjan) was killed by unknown gunmen at 10:30 a.m. In Navanthurai inside the Municipal district, Michael Johnson was shot dead by unknown gunmen in front of St.Nicholas Church at 12:30 p.m. Monday, sources said.
Full story >>

EU ban will impact the Peace Process - Thamilchelvan

[TamilNet, Monday, 29 May 2006, 05:21 GMT]
Pointing out that the Liberation Tigers never pulled out from the Geneva-II talks and that it was the obstacles that the Government of Sri Lanka introduced after willfully changing the procedures for the inter-theater transfer of LTTE's military commanders that derailed Geneva-II, S.P. Thamilchelvan, Head of LTTE's Political Wing, said in an interview with TamilNet on Saturday that EU's ban will impact the functioning of the monitors from EU countries, and the "decommissioning or abdication of arms is non-negotiable."
Full story >>

LTTE protests appointment of military officer as Trincomalee GA

[TamilNet, Sunday, 28 May 2006, 16:35 GMT]
S.Elilan, Trincomalee district political head of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) Sunday protested to the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) in the east port town, the appointment of a retired Major General of the Sri Lanka Army as the Government Agent of the Trincomalee district by the Government of Sri Lanka (GOSL), LTTE sources said. Elilan said that the civil administration of the district will be militarized by the appointment.
Full story >>

Two SLA soldiers injured in Thenmaradchy firefight

[TamilNet, Sunday, 28 May 2006, 13:49 GMT]
Two Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers were seriously injured in a firefight in Kovilakandy in Thenmaradchy SouthWest inside the High Security Zone (HSZ) when unknown gunmen attacked a SLA foot patrol which was returning to the camp at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, sources in Thenamaradchy said. Firefight followed by grenade attack lasted for more than 10 minutes, sources added.
Full story >>

Bauer discusses refugees' plight with TRO officials

[TamilNet, Saturday, 27 May 2006, 21:15 GMT]
Norwegian Special Peace Envoy Jon Hanssen-Bauer and members of the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) met with Tamils Rehabilitation Organization (TRO) officials at the TRO Secretariat Saturday 10:00 a.m. and discussed the escalating number of refugees and the ground situation in Jaffna and in the affected parts of Trincomalee, TRO sources in Kilinochchi said.
Full story >>

Two young boys killed in SLA attack on civilian tractor

[TamilNet, Saturday, 27 May 2006, 15:14 GMT]
A 12 and a 15-year-old boys were killed when Sri Lanka Army soldiers, who had moved into Thikiliveddai, an LTTE controlled border area, beyond the Kinnayadi lagoon, Saturday afternoon at 3:00 p.m., ambushed a tractor with farmers. Three civilians were wounded, Daya Mohan, Head of Batticaloa Political Wing of the LTTE said.
Full story >>

LTTE to reconsider CFA if EU bans the movement

[TamilNet, Saturday, 27 May 2006, 10:18 GMT]
Liberation Tigers will be forced to reconsider the relevance of the Cease Fire Agreement (CFA) to the peace process, and LTTE's committment and adherence to the CFA, if the European Union carries out its threat of proscribing the LTTE, S.P. Thamilchelvan, Head of LTTE's Political Wing, told TamilNet after meeting Norwegian Special Peace Envoy Jon Hanssen-Bauer in Kilinochchi on Saturday.
Full story >>

Colombo imposes embargo on cement, steel, limits fuel supply to North

[TamilNet, Saturday, 27 May 2006, 09:44 GMT]
Sri Lankan defense authorities, on Friday, banned the transportation of cement and steel to North. Government Agents (GAs) in Jaffna and Vavuniya have been informed of the decision by the Defense Ministry in contravention of the provisions in the February 2002 Ceasefire Agreement, political sources said. More than 20 lorries loaded with cement have been stopped at Omanthai checkpost Friday and are being held at the checkpost awaiting instructions from Defense Ministry, sources said.
Full story >>

Shelling reported at Batticaloa north entry point

[TamilNet, Saturday, 27 May 2006, 04:18 GMT]
Shelling and gunfire was reported across Kinnaiyadi lagoon in LTTE, SLA FDL posts located in Kinnaiyadi, nortwest of Batticaloa, civilian sources said. The gunfire was continuing for more than 30 minutes from morning 8:30. Civilians near the SLA sentry posts were moving towards Karuvakerny and Valaichenai areas. Kinnaiyadi is located 26 km northwest of Batticaloa.
Full story >>

Solheim meets SL President Rajapakse

[TamilNet, Friday, 26 May 2006, 18:34 GMT]
Mr. Erik Solheim, Norwegian International Development Minister, arrived at Katunayake International Airport Friday 6. a.m and met with Sri Lanka's President Mahinda Rajapakse at 11:00 a.m,. Mr. Solheim proceeded to India Friday around 6 p.m, where he will be meeting the Secretary of the Foreign Ministry, sources in Colombo.
Full story >>

Diaspora Tamils to hold protests worldwide

[TamilNet, Friday, 26 May 2006, 11:03 GMT]
Sri Lanka Tamil diaspora organisations in Europe, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and in Scandinavian countries, are to hold rallies voicing protest Monday, 29th May, against the expected proscription of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) by the European Union next week, organizers of the protests said. Protesters will conduct peaceful demonstrations in front of the Parliaments in their respective countries, said leaflets calling expatriate Sri Lanka Tamils to join the protests.
Full story >>

NEIAP Deputy Project Director assassinated in Batticaloa

[TamilNet, Friday, 26 May 2006, 10:19 GMT]
Duputy Project Director (DPD) of the World Bank assisted North East Irrigated Agriculture Project (NEIAP), Ratnam Ratnarajah, 48, was shot and killed by paramilitary cadres near his residence in Sri Lanka Army controlled Kalviyankadu, north of Batticaloa town at 14:15 p.m. Informed officers close to the slain NEIAP official, said, Mr. Ratnarajah, a disciplined and committed Director, was receiving a series of threatening phone calls allegedly from paramilitary operatives, asking the Director to employ Karuna group paramilitary Markan's relatives in NEIAP clerical positions.
Full story >>

3 paramilitary cadres killed, 2 captured in Trincomalee - LTTE

[TamilNet, Friday, 26 May 2006, 08:23 GMT]
A counter-ambush commando unit of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), killed 3 Karuna group paramilitary cadres and captured two cadres alive Friday morning around 7.30 a.m. when it launched an attack on the infiltrating five-member paramilitary group from the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) camp located in Pattiaddy, about 200 meters into the no-man zone from the SLA controlled area in the Trincomalee district, LTTE officials in Sampoor said.
Full story >>

STF orders shops closed in Batticaloa as punishment

[TamilNet, Thursday, 25 May 2006, 22:55 GMT]
"Special Task Force (STF) troopers went around the markets in Arayampathy and Kalavanchikudy areas in Batticaloa district Thursday around 12.30 p.m, assaulting many traders and forcing them to close their shops for five additional days, as punishment for their current two day voluntary shop shut down as a mark of respect for Col. Ramanan, the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) Deputy Commander of Batticaloa district, who was killed on Sunday" said Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarian P. Ariyanenthiran.
Full story >>

Rising number of displaced makes CFA meaningless - Elilan

[TamilNet, Thursday, 25 May 2006, 21:14 GMT]
"It is meaningless to say that we live in a peaceful period with the signing of a ceasefire agreement when increasing numbers of Tamil people are being displaced and forced to live under tree shades and culverts to save their lives from aerial bombardment and artillery attacks," said Mr.Elilan, Trincomalee district political head of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) addressing a condolence meeting held at Pattalipuram Tamil School mourning the death of Mr.Oppilamany Sankaran, a member of LTTE auxiliary force.
Full story >>

Sri Lanka gambles on EU ban taming Tigers

[TamilNet, Thursday, 25 May 2006, 16:02 GMT]
Sri Lanka’s President Mahinda Rajapakse this week hailed the expected proscription of the Liberation Tigers by the European Union next week, saying it would compel the LTTE to the negotiating table and Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera called on Middle Eastern countries to also proscribe the LTTE. But the LTTE warns that further proscriptions will precipitate the objective conditions for renewed war.
Full story >>