Tamil MPs protest in parliament against killings in NorthEast

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 17 January 2006, 07:56 GMT]
Pandemonium prevailed in the Sri Lankan parliament Tuesday when it met for the first time in the new year 2006 following the protest held by parliamentarians of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA), Ceylon Workers Congress (CWC), Upcountry Peoples' Front (UPF) and Western Province Peoples' Front (WPPF) against the killing of parliamentarian Mr. Joseph Pararajasingham, rape and murder of a girl, Tharshini, in Pungudutivu, killing of five Tamil students in Trincomalee and several Tamil civilians by the Sri Lankan armed forces and the paramilitary groups and the arbitrary arrests of Tamil civilians in Colombo, parliamentary sources said.
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Norwegian Ambassador, SLMM Head to meet LTTE Political Head

[TamilNet, Monday, 16 January 2006, 11:11 GMT]
Norwegian Ambassador to Sri Lanka, Hans Brattskar, and the Head of Mission of the Scandinavian truce monitors, Hagrup Haukland, will be visiting Kilinochchi to meet the Political Head of the Liberation Tigers, S P Thamilchelvan on Tuesday, according to the LTTE Peace Secretariat in Kilinochchi. The LTTE is likely to press for urgent de-escalation of violence in Sri Lanka Army (SLA) controlled areas of the NorthEast in the meeting viewed to be a preparatory meeting for the visit of Norwegian Development Minister Erik Solheim, expected to take place at the end of the January as announced by the Norwegian Foreign Ministry.
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Two LTTE supporters killed in Akkaraipattu

[TamilNet, Monday, 16 January 2006, 10:56 GMT]
Two Tamil youths Chandranathan Sasikumar, 23, also called Appuhami, a resident of Kurukkal Road in Akkaraipattu and Gopalakrishnan Suresh, 16, of RKM Road Akkaraipattu, were shot dead by unknown gunmen on Monday at 12 noon at Deans Road in Akkaraipattu Town, sources in the eastern province said. Both victims were said supporters of Liberation Tigers, Akkaraipattu residents said.
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Colombo not forthright in paramilitary issue- SLMM

[TamilNet, Sunday, 15 January 2006, 01:59 GMT]
"The [Sri Lanka] government claimed that it had nothing to do with this [Karuna] group and was not aware of their existence. But when we visited the spot in the east and asked the Sri Lankan army where we could find Karuna, they told us where to go. So it was clear that the local army knew where he was," said Sunday Leader, a Colombo weekly, in the Sunday edition, quoting Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) Spokesperson Helen Olafsdottir as saying in an interview to the paper.
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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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LTTE sharp shooters take aim on Pongal day

[TamilNet, Saturday, 14 January 2006, 18:16 GMT]
Liberation Tiger fighters from the forward lines in the Northern region battle front participated in a sharpshooting competition in an undisclosed location in the North Vanni region under the command of Northern Region Senior Commander Col Theepan on Thai Pongal day, Saturday, LTTE media sources in Kilinochchi said. This event marked the second such competition held in 2006 following the one held on the New Year, reflecting the increased importance given by LTTE military leadership to markmanship.
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LTTE condemns attack on SLMM office

[TamilNet, Saturday, 14 January 2006, 14:19 GMT]
Expressing concern about the attack on the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) offices, and relief that no one was hurt in the attack, Head of the Liberation Tigers Political Wing, S P Thamilchelvan, in a letter to the Head of the SLMM, Mr Hagrup Haukland, Saturday said: "Our leadership views this attack as an attempt to wreck the ceasefire agreement. Our leadership also expresses the continued support of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam to the SLMM to implement the ceasefire agreement in its fully intended meaning and to rectify the deteriorating ceasefire environment. "
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Two fighters killed in SLA attack on Trinco minicamp - LTTE

[TamilNet, Saturday, 14 January 2006, 13:52 GMT]
The Liberation Tigers on Saturday said two of their fighters, a Lieutenant and a Second Lieutenant were killed Friday evening when a minicamp located in the LTTE held Kadavanaikulam area in Trincomalee district was attacked by a group of around 50 soldiers of the Sri Lanka Army, according to the LTTE's Trincomalee Political office. The LTTE Political Head in Trincomalee, Mr. S. Elilan has lodged a complaint with details, the sources added.
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Lankan soldiers attack LTTE minicamp in Trincomalee - Elilan

[TamilNet, Friday, 13 January 2006, 15:49 GMT]
A minicamp of the Liberation Tigers in Trincomalee district was attacked by Sri Lankan troopers Friday evening, the Tigers have informed the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) truce monitors in the east port town. The Tigers have lost contact with the minicamp which was attacked by the Sri Lankan soldiers around 5:15 p.m. in Kadavanaikulam near Palampoddaru Bridge, LTTE sources said. At least 4 cadres were reported missing. Exact casualty figures were not available at the moment.
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Thousand Tamil families flee Muttur, Seruvila villages

[TamilNet, Friday, 13 January 2006, 12:27 GMT]
More than one thousand families have fled from their homes in the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) controlled divisions of Muttur and Seruvila in the Trincomalee district due to harassment and intimidation allegedly by the government troops manning sentries located in their villages and have sought refuge in schools and with their relatives in the LTTE held areas, social service activists 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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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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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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Large crowds attend Resurgence Convention in Muttur east

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 10 January 2006, 17:24 GMT]
Large number of Tamils thronged the grounds of Kadatkaraichchenai, a village in Muttur east for Tamil National Resurgence Convention, the first in the New Year in the northeast province held Tuesday evening. Thousands walked from several villages in the divisions of Vaakarai, Verugal and Eachilampathu to Kadatkaraichchenai, a village in the Muttur east, sources said.
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US wants cost of return to war to be high

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 10 January 2006, 12:43 GMT]
The United States Ambassador to Sri Lanka, Jeffrey Lunstead, told a business gathering in Colombo on Monday that the US wanted the "cost of a return to war to be high," in Sri Lanka. Resisting from accusing the Sri Lankan Armed forces in the escalation of the recent viloence, the US Ambassador, in his address to the American Chamber of Commerce in Sri Lanka, said that the US wanted it to be clear, if the Tigers chose to "abandon peace," they will face a "stronger, more capable and more determined" Sri Lankan military.


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Students graduate from Kilinochchi English Language College

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 10 January 2006, 12:01 GMT]
Second batch of twenty three students who completed the Diploma course at the Kilinochchi English Language College were awarded graduation certifications by Head of LTTE Political Wing, S P Thamilchelvan in a ceremony held at the Tamil Rehabilitation Organization's (TRO's) secretariat Monday 10 a.m., sources said.
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SLA attack on LTTE sentry said repulsed

[TamilNet, Monday, 09 January 2006, 18:54 GMT]
The deep penetration unit of the Sri Lanka Army, backed by paramilitary groups, entered the no-man zone in Vavunatheevu and attacked the LTTE sentries in the area at 7:30 p.m. Monday night, but the LTTE returned fire and the attackers withdrew, LTTE sources in Batticaloa said, quoting Mr. Thayamohan, the political head of the LTTE for Batticaloa-Amparai.
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White Pigeon delegates meet EU parliamentarian

[TamilNet, Sunday, 08 January 2006, 13:18 GMT]
Executive Director of Tamil Rehabilitation Organization (TRO), K.P. Regi, Chairman of White Pigeon, Dr N S Moorthy, and Evelyn Rodriguez, a volunteer at White Pigeon met with Jean Lambert Member of European Parliament (MEP). at her offices in London Friday, sources in UK said.
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SLA informant shot dead in Point Pedro

[TamilNet, Sunday, 08 January 2006, 12:52 GMT]
Sinnarasa Rasaiah, 47, from Vinayaga Mudaliyar (VM) Road in Point Pedro town, and owner of a bakery, was shot and killed at 3.30 p.m. Sunday by unknown gunmen who forced entry into the bakery located within 100 meters of the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) 52-4 Brigade Head Quarters within the High Security Zone (HSZ) encompassing the Point-Pedro harbour, sources said. Residents allege that Rasaiah was a military informant.
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