Tamil Civil Group calls off hartal in Trincomalee

[TamilNet, Monday, 16 January 2006, 02:44 GMT]
Trincomalee District Tamil Resurgence Forum (TRF) Sunday evening called off the general shut down, and the closure of government departments, and state, private sector banks in the district with effect from Monday, civil society sources said. The decision to call off hartal was taken after Mr.Mahinda Balasuriya, Senior Deputy Inspector General of Police for the North-East and Anuradhapura district, gave assurances during a meeting between a group of leading citizens and the members of armed forces that he would implement decisions taken to normalize the situation in the east port town from Monday. sources said.


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SL Parliament to debate extending Emergency

[TamilNet, Sunday, 15 January 2006, 15:51 GMT]
The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentary group is to meet Tuesday to prepare for a full debate on the extension of the State of Emergency following allegations that Emergency Regulations (ER) are being used by Sri Lankan police and armed forces to harass Tamil civilians, TNA sources said. The extension motion of the State of Emergency for another month is to be debated in parliament Thursday.
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Youth shot dead in Thenmaradchi

[TamilNet, Sunday, 15 January 2006, 12:13 GMT]
Sellathurai Yogarajah, 26, who was on his way to a Hindu temple in Kodikamam, in Thenmaradchi in Jaffna district, was shot and killed allegedly by Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers in Thenmaradchi Sunday around 8:30 a.m, civilian sources said. The victim's body was found on Varani North lane near Suttipuram Amman temple located in Kudamiyan.
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More Jaffna families flee to Vanni

[TamilNet, Saturday, 14 January 2006, 18:49 GMT]
More than 150 families fled from areas controlled by Sri Lanka Army (SLA) in the Jaffna peninsula and crossed to LTTE held Vanni region through Mukamalai, Saturday. These families were received at Transit centre for displaced people at Mukamalai by Tamil Rehabilitation Organization, a Sri Lanka Government registered Non-Governmental organization operating predominantly in the NorthEast, TRO said in a media release.
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SLN sexually harrassed women, beat men in Pesalai- NESHOR

[TamilNet, Saturday, 14 January 2006, 15:45 GMT]
Sri Lanka Navy (SLN) soldiers forced women to sit on the hot sand with their face to the sand, "asked crude sexually motivated questions and dropped their trousers in front of the women," and beat all 42 men, nine of them severely, said North East Secretariat on Human Rights (NESHOR) in a case report issued Saturday on the revenge attack by the SLN on residents of "Hundred House Scheme" in Pesalai following the claymore attack on SLN convoy which killed thirteen soldiers on 23rd December.
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Governor to hold Conference on Trincomalee violence

[TamilNet, Saturday, 14 January 2006, 13:38 GMT]
North East Provincial Governor, Mr.Tyronne Fernando, has called for a conference to discuss the volatile situation in the Trincomalee district following frequent general shut down by rival parties. The conference earlier scheduled to be held on Thursday has now been advanced to Wednesday evening and will be held in Colombo, provincial council sources said.


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Four injured in grenade attack on Tamil family in Trincomalee

[TamilNet, Saturday, 14 January 2006, 12:02 GMT]
All the members of a Tamil family were wounded in a grenade attack in Trincomalee on Saturday evening. An unidentified attacker lobbed a greande into the front verandah of the house located in Gandhinagar, 3 km southwest of the east port town, when the entire family, a father, mother and their two children, was watching a television programme following Pongal celebrations, police sources said.
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2 SLN troopers killed, 2 wounded in Kayts, Jaffna

[TamilNet, Saturday, 14 January 2006, 08:39 GMT]
A Sri Lanka Navy (SLN) personnel was killed on the spot and three others were seriously injured in a roadside blast in Kayts, an island north-west of Jaffna town, around 1.30 p.m., Saturday. A wounded trooper, later succumbed to his wounds, naval sources in Colombo said. The naval troopers were on a road patrol in the area when the mine went off, according to military sources in the northern town.
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SLA trooper killed in Mallakam grenade attack

[TamilNet, Friday, 13 January 2006, 12:57 GMT]
One Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldier was killed when unknown assailants hurled a hand grenade at the troops in Mallakam junction in Vallikamam at 3.45 p.m. Friday. One civilian was injured when SLA troops returned fire, sources from Jaffna said.
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One SL Police, two civilians injured in Jaffna grenade attack

[TamilNet, Friday, 13 January 2006, 12:16 GMT]
One Sri Lanka Police officer, Mr Piyantha, 46 was seriously injured in Nallur, Jaffna Aadiyapatham Road, Old junction when unknown gunmen hurled a grenade at the officer on patrol at 11.50 a.m. Friday, sources said. Two youths from Neervely, P Anushan, 23, and R Ravi, 21, who were riding on a bicycle closeby were also injured in the explosion. All three have been admitted to the Jaffna Teaching Hospital, medical sources said.
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Disarm paramilitary, stop Claymore attacks - SLMM

[TamilNet, Friday, 13 January 2006, 10:59 GMT]
The Scandinavian truce monitors, who condemned the Claymore attack on Sri Lanka Navy personnel in Chettikulam on Thursday, have blamed the Government of Sri Lanka emphasizing that the current situation also stems from "the fact that alternative armed elements have been able to operate freely in the East" in Sri Lanka Army controlled areas. While urging Colombo to "face up to its responsibility" to disarm the paramilitaries, the truce monitors said that the LTTE involvement in Claymore attacks cannot be ruled out. The SLMM appealed to both the parties to come up with firm confidence building measures with the "truthful aim of reaching a peaceful solution."
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Join hands to arrest spread of violence- EU Commissioner

[TamilNet, Thursday, 12 January 2006, 12:35 GMT]
Mrs Benita Ferrero-Waldner, Commissioner for External Relations, European Commission in a message issued Thursday said that inspite of the escalating violence "Sri Lanka's leaders may yet be able to build on to pull back from the brink: it is the profound desire of the people of Sri Lanka for peace," and added that "it is imperative that the government, other political parties and the Tamil Tigers heed the call of the people and join hands to arrest the spread of violence prevailing in the north and in the east."
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Peace Group calls for urgent talks on CFA

[TamilNet, Thursday, 12 January 2006, 12:24 GMT]
Peace Support Group (PSG), a group consisting of civil society peace activists, expressed "deep sorrow and concern" at the escalation of violence in the NorthEast, reiterated the necessity to "return to direct talks as a matter of the utmost priority," and called upon the Government of Sri Lanka and Liberation Tigers "to affirm their commitment to the maintenance of law and order in the areas under their control, and take all steps to prevent a return to armed hostilities," in a press release issued in Colombo Monday.
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Firing accidental in Point Pedro civilian's death, says SLA

[TamilNet, Thursday, 12 January 2006, 12:04 GMT]
69 year-old Kanapathy Murugesu, a retired Post Master, was shot dead by a Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers 200 meters south of 1st mile post, in Point Pedro in Jaffna district Thursday at 1 p.m., sources in Jaffna said. SLA sources said the gun had gone off accidentally killing the victim.
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Nine SLN sailors killed, 10 wounded in Claymore blast in Chettikulam

[TamilNet, Thursday, 12 January 2006, 10:48 GMT]
Nine Sri Lanka Navy sailors were killed and ten wounded when their bus hit a Claymore mine in Chettikulam Thursday evening around 4:20 p.m., Sri Lankan naval sources said. The attack took place on Madawachi - Mannar Road. A Sinhala home guard was reported killed and a Muslim youth was wounded in SLN gunfire following the attack. Sri Lanka Army soldiers who cordoned off and searched the area have attacked civilian residents in Veerapuram village located close to the site of explosion. Tension prevails in the area, civilian sources said.
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7 civilians wounded in SLA’s retaliatory fire

[TamilNet, Thursday, 12 January 2006, 06:43 GMT]
Five civilians, including a mother, a 60-year-old devotee and a 71-year-old man were wounded in Sri Lanka Army soldiers' retaliatory fire after two grenade attacks at the SLA troopers and policemen manning the checkpoints at two separate junctions in the suburbs of Jaffna town Thursday morning. Three policemen, an SLA soldier and two civilians were injured in the grenade attacks that took place at Parameswara and Thatatheru junctions, Police said.
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Civilian shot dead by SLA soldiers in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 11 January 2006, 22:16 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army soldiers opened fire in Kokkuvil, Jaffna, killing a civilian traveller on Jaffna KKS Road around 7:00 p.m. Wednesday, residents in Kokkuvil said. The SLA soldiers opened fire after two soldiers were wounded in a grenade attack, sources added. The victim was identified as Pasupathy Palani, a father of two, according to medical sources.
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Amnesty International concerned about escalation of violence

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 11 January 2006, 22:01 GMT]
Amnesty International has appealed to the parties to halt the killings, abductions and "disappearances," being reported daily from the north and east of Sri Lanka. The Amnesty International, in a public statement issued on Wednesday said it was appalled by the news of the killing by unidentified attackers of Member of Parliament Joseph Pararajasingam, while he attended mass at St Mary's Church, Batticaloa on Christmas Eve. The deteriorating security situation will also drastically effect aid and relief operations to those displaced by the tsunami and by years of conflict who see no hope of returning to their homes, Amnesty has warned.
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Australia condemns CFA violations in Sri Lanka

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 11 January 2006, 11:23 GMT]
In a media release issued on the 8 December, Mr Alexander Downer , Australia's Minister of Foreign Affairs said, "Australia is deeply concerned about the recent escalation in violence in the North and East of Sri Lanka, and condemns in particular the two attacks in Jaffna on 4 and 6 December by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE)," and called upon "both the Government of Sri Lanka and the LTTE to take appropriate steps to bring an end to the current violence and to work towards the implementation of the letter and spirit of the Ceasefire Agreement as a crucial step in seeking a just and sustainable peace settlement."
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Two de-mining workers abducted in Point-Pedro

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 11 January 2006, 11:14 GMT]
Two demining workers, Tharmasiri and Kandeepan, employed by the humanitarian Danish De-mining Group, DDG, were abducted by unknown armed men who came in a white Hiace van Wednesday early morning in Point Pedro, sources in Jaffna said. The workers were on their way to de-mining in their motorbikes. The abduction occurred close to the Sri Lanka Army's (SLA's) High Security Zone (HSZ) about 100 meters from the SLA 52-4 Brigade camp in the area, civilian sources said.
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