Mano Ganesan blames Sri Lankan Consulate in Canada for fabricating stories on his visit

[TamilNet, Monday, 24 November 2008, 15:27 GMT]
Western Province People's Front (WPPF) parliamentarian and the convener of the Civil Monitoring Committee (CMC) in Colombo, Mano Ganesan, who returned to Colombo last Friday after a visit to Canada on the invitation by a Canadian organisation, blamed the Sri Lankan Counsel General in Toronto for fabricating a story in Sri Lankan Defence Ministry website on his trip to Canada. The story had alleged that Mr. Mano Ganesan was invited to Canada by the LTTE to attend a meeting "to give boost to LTTE fund raising."
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Colombo 'commissions' education for structural war on Tamils

[TamilNet, Monday, 24 November 2008, 13:28 GMT]
Beginning from curriculum, school textbooks, teachers, educational administrators and resources to the destruction of the existing educational infrastructure in the guise of war, the structural violence committed by the Sri Lankan state against Tamils has been condemned by the Trincomalee MP, Mr. Thurairetnasingam in a parliamentary debate on Friday. “An ethnicity can be devastated by the destruction of its education, and that’s what this government is bent on doing in the North and East”, said the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) MP, while exposing the short term and long term ‘conspiracies’ of the Colombo government in ruining the education of Tamils.
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Confession voluntary or coerced, Court to rule in Tissainayagam case

[TamilNet, Sunday, 23 November 2008, 17:35 GMT]
Oral submissions for the voir dire inquiry in the case against a senior journalist J.S.Tissanayagam held in detention for more than eight months were concluded Friday in Colombo High Court under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA), where State Counsel Sudarshana De Silva and Defense Counsel Anil Silva argued to establish whether the confession made by the journalist to the Terrorist Investigation Division (TID) of the Sri Lanka Police was voluntary or made under threat and duress, legal sources in Colombo said.
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Colombo court remands Jaffna hockey player

[TamilNet, Saturday, 22 November 2008, 20:38 GMT]
Galkissa magistrate court ordered remand till November 28 for a Jaffna hockey player who had come to Colombo with the Jaffna hockey team that participated in the Hockey National Competition held in Colombo last week. The player was arrested by the Wellawatte police when he was waiting at Wellawatte bus stand on November 14th to return to Jaffna.
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14 Tamils arrested in Colombo

[TamilNet, Saturday, 22 November 2008, 16:08 GMT]
The Sri Lanka Army and police Saturday took fourteen Tamil civilians into custody in a lightning cordon and search operation conducted covering Obeyasekara area in Rajagiriya division in Colombo. The operation commenced early morning around 3:00 a.m. Majority of them arrested are residents of north and east and other upcountry Tamils and had been working several business establishments and staying lodges, according to police sources.
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History to abet 'structural genocide'

[TamilNet, Saturday, 22 November 2008, 12:39 GMT]
The Colombo government at the height of its agenda for 'structural genocide' of Tamils, considered removing a chapter on the Kingdom of Jaffna in the history textbooks of the school children in Sri Lanka. However, to an opposing question by a JVP member in the Sri Lankan Parliament, the Minister of Education replied on Friday that they had dropped that plan. "The Colombo government has every justification to remove the Tamil Kingdom of Jaffna from the history of Sri Lanka if it wants to concede that Sri Lanka doesn't include the Tamil regions," commented Selvam Adaikkalanathan, the Tamil National Alliance parliamentarian of Vanni.
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Civilians in Vanni protest against Colombo's use of humanitarian supplies as tool of war

[TamilNet, Friday, 21 November 2008, 16:07 GMT]
People in Vanni marched in thousands towards two Government Agents' offices and two Divisional Secretariat offices in four locations on Friday protesting against Sri Lanka Government's restrictions on food and essential supplies, blaming Colombo for using humanitarian supplies as a tool of war to force civilians to flee against their will into the hands of Sri Lanka Army (SLA). K. Mahethevan, a representative of Vanni Peoples Welfare Organisation (VPWO), addressing more than 5,000 protesters in front of Ki'linochchi Government Agent's office at Tharmapuram described how the supplies were reduced from 600 lorries per month in 2007 to 250 lorries per month in 2008, but only 54 have allowed to cross into Vanni in the recent days.
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White van armed men abduct TELO district organizer in Vavuniyaa

[TamilNet, Friday, 21 November 2008, 12:50 GMT]
Vavuniyaa district organizer of the Tamil Eelam Liberation Organization (TELO), Rex Ganeshalingam, was abducted Thursday early morning around 4:30 from his house by armed persons arrived a white van, according to complaints lodged with the Vavuniyaa Police by his wife.
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SLA captain's remains recovered in Ki'laali FDL

[TamilNet, Thursday, 20 November 2008, 22:52 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army (SLA) units found the skeleton of an SLA officer of the rank of Captain Monday in Ki'laali Front Defence Line (FDL) area. An officer was reported missing in action in a limited military offensive in Ki'laali three months ago, by SLA to their head office in Colombo.
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130 SLA killed, 450 wounded in 3 days in Mukamaalai

[TamilNet, Thursday, 20 November 2008, 15:45 GMT]
At least 130 Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers lost their lives and more than 450 wounded in the offensive push within the last 3 days in Ki'laali and Mukamaalai fronts, according to a reliable Sri Lankan military source. 29 SLA soldiers lost their lives sustaining sniper fire, the source said and added several soldiers were killed while they were trapped in Tiger minefield. The LTTE is yet to release details on the fighting in Northern Front.
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JHU opposes TNA participation in APRC

[TamilNet, Thursday, 20 November 2008, 15:18 GMT]
The Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU), all Buddhist monks' party Thursday said inviting Tamil National Alliance (TNA) to the All Party Representatives Committee (APRC) deliberation is tantamount to allowing the LTTE to participate. Hence JHU severely opposes the invitation extended to TNA by APRC Chairman Professor Tissa Vitharane, said Narendra Gunatilake, JHU spokesman on international affairs at a press briefing held in Colombo.
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JMO gives evidence in Tissainayagam case

[TamilNet, Thursday, 20 November 2008, 15:17 GMT]
The Voire Dire inquiry to ascertain whether the confession made by journalist J.S.Tissanayagam to the Terrorist Investigation Division (TID) of the Sri Lanka Police was a voluntary one or one made under threat and duress in custody is being continued in the Colombo High Court Judge, legal sources said. The Additional Judicial Medical Officer, U. Mayuratharan, gave evidence when the case was taken up for inquiry on Tuesday.
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Tamil youth abducted in Colombo

[TamilNet, Thursday, 20 November 2008, 15:12 GMT]
A 28-year-old Tamil youth was abducted in Vaazhaiththoaddam in Colombo district Wednesday evening by armed members of a gang clad in military uniform, according to complaints with the Colombo police Thursday.
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ICRC facilitation of Oamanthai crossing ad-hoc

[TamilNet, Thursday, 20 November 2008, 12:39 GMT]
The ICRC's presence at the Oamanthai crossing point has been temporarily suspended since 18 November, as the organization could not obtain all necessary guarantees for the safe passage of civilians and goods, the organisation said in a press statement issued from Colombo. "Despite its lack of sustained presence at Omanthai, on 19 November, the ICRC staff managed to facilitate the ad-hoc passage of 24 patients from the Vanni seeking treatment in Vavuniya General Hospital and the transfer of 18 bodies of fallen fighters," the ICRC said adding that the ICRC was discussing new crossing-point arrangements with government and LTTE.
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75% of confiscated funds belong to INGOs, says TRO

[TamilNet, Thursday, 20 November 2008, 12:03 GMT]
Responding to the Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL) press release that the State has confiscated Rs. 71m from Tamil Rehabilitation Organization’s (TRO’s) bank account, TRO reiterated its denial of allegations that funds were “mainly used for terrorist activies,” and pointed out that the “GoSL has never produced any proof of these allegations in a court of law and has not brought any criminal charges against TRO,” and that Colombo has consistently denied TRO opportunity to defend against the allegations in the courts of law.
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Rajapaksa's three-pronged strategy

[TamilNet, Thursday, 20 November 2008, 01:47 GMT]
While celebrating its military achievements, Colombo is secretly prodded on an alternative game. Mahinda Rajapaksa is upto a three-pronged strategy now: limiting LTTE's jurisdiction with a low-profiled war, coercing Tamil political circles for his plans and conducting snap polls. A superficial solution is on the cards through Mahinda-Manmohan protocol. Unity and vigilance of Tamil Nadu are the need of the hour for countering any sabotage of the national cause of Eezham Tamils, writes TamilNet's Special Correspondent in a Situation Report.
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TNA parliamentarians grilled by CID

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 19 November 2008, 22:15 GMT]
Within the last few days, three Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarians, S. Jeyanandamoorthy, P. Ariyanethran and S. Kajendran, were summoned by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of the Sri Lanka Police for investigation after getting stipulated permission from the Speaker of the Parliament. The focus of the questioning was their speeches viewed as a breach of the 6th Amendment of the Sri Lankan constitution, which prohibits any opinion expressed inside or outside of the island, in favour of secession in Sri Lanka
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Colombo spent 50 million for every Tiger it killed - Vickramabahu Karunaratne

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 19 November 2008, 20:18 GMT]
Leader of New Left Front, Dr Wickramabahu Karunaratne, in a column that appeared last week in Lankadeepa accused India for instigating the current war in Sri Lanka. After enough damage has been done, now they push Rajapaksa government to stop the war and to go for talks. “They [the Colombo government] spent 500 billions of national wealth to kill Tigers. Accordingly, for each Tiger killed, they have spent 50 millions. All this is wealth of the people. How many thousand Sinhala were sacrificed in this war? Today mounts of Sinhala dead bodies are stacked under Palmyra trees," he wrote.
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74 Tamil political prisoners transferred to Magazine, jailed with criminal offenders

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 19 November 2008, 13:56 GMT]
Prison authorities of Colombo Remand Prison (CRP) Tuesday evening suddenly transferred 74 Tamil political prisoners, including senior journalist J.S.Tissanayagam to Colombo Magazine Prison, placing them with hardcore criminal prisoners from South, according to initial messages passed by the prisoners to their relatives. The political prisoners, who have been urging the authorities to transfer them to remand prisons in Northern and Eastern provinces, in their message said they have been intimidated by the move as they are reminded of the massacre of more than 50 Tamil political prisoners inside the nearby Welikada prison in July 1983 by prison guards and fellow Sinhala prisoners.
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Colombo confiscates Tamil rehabilitation funds

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 18 November 2008, 23:51 GMT]
Around 71 million Rupees in the accounts of the Tamil Rehabilitation Organisation (TRO) in the Sri Lankan banks have been confiscated by the Sri Lankan Government, according to a press release by the Financial Intelligence Unit of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka on Tuesday. The move is widely seen as an act of 'structural genocide' against Eezham Tamils, preventing Tamils looking after their own rehabilitation, discouraging individual, organisational and international contribution to Tamil rehabilitation and also as a response of Colombo to the rehabilitation funds being raised by the Government of Tamil Nadu, said a TRO activist in Norway.
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