White van armed men abduct Tamil youth in Colombo

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 18 November 2008, 14:36 GMT]
A 23-year-old Tamil youth, a resident of Jaffna, was abducted Monday night along Peoples Park in Colombo by a gang of six men clad in army uniform, according to a complaint lodged with the police by his relatives. The armed men arrived in a white van and forced the youth into the van before driving away.
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‘It is not the big brothers but the younger ones who watch’

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 18 November 2008, 04:50 GMT]
How the leadership in India in general and Tamil Nadu in particular going to respond to the question of Eezham Tamil liberation has become a test case. Watching the youth and grass-root public uprising in Tamil Nadu, defence analysts in London, Delhi and Colombo, off the record agree that the line of attempting a military defeat of Tamil nationalism can turn out to be disastrous to those who commit it, contribute to it or allow it. They also see a warning to the policy makers of the so-called International Community against meddling with Tamil affairs, writes a media student from Chennai presenting a cross section of reflections from India, Sri Lanka and Europe.
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Students of JNU voice for Tamil Eelam

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 18 November 2008, 02:14 GMT]
The Democratic Students' Union (DSU), Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, in a statement on Sunday demanded unconditional declaration of ceasefire from the Sri Lanka government and a stop to the genocide of Tamils. Based on Marxist-Leninist principles of self-determination, it called for support to the Eezham Tamil independence.
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Head of a Tamil radio station held in Colombo under anti-terror law

[TamilNet, Monday, 17 November 2008, 18:49 GMT]
Reporters Without Borders (RSF), a Paris-based media watchdog, in a press release issued Monday, urged Colombo to release the manager of a Tamil radio A. R. V. Loshan who was arrested Saturday, pointing out that the "allegations against him of having "links with terrorists" and "aiding terrorist activities" should be based on evidence and not on simple conjecture."
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Tigers repulse SLA in North, SLA targets Maangku'lam

[TamilNet, Monday, 17 November 2008, 12:39 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army (SLA) launched another offensive push for the third consecutive day from Jaffna Monday morning. 8 SLA soldiers were killed and 29 wounded when the Liberation Tigers of Tamileelam (LTTE) put up stiff resistance from 5:00 a.m. till 11:00 a.m., thwarting a three frontal attack by the SLA on LTTE Forward Defence Line (FDL) in Mukamaalai, Ka'ndal and Ki'laai, the Tigers said. Meanwhile, the SLA which claimed its forces entered Kumizhamunai near Naayaa'ru lagoon south of A'lampil in Mullaiththeevu district, on Monday said its forces from Vannivi'laangkulam were attempting to occupy Maangku'lam on A9.
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Sri Lanka wants 'friends' to buy tea

[TamilNet, Sunday, 16 November 2008, 19:10 GMT]
Sri Lanka has appealed to "friendly countries" to buy tea to help the country weather the global financial crisis, AFP quoted officials as saying. Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollagama and senior officials of the tea board on Friday met ambassadors and envoys of main tea-buying countries to urge their support. The Sunday Times newspaper reports that the decline in tea prices (which have almost halved in the past two months), and the large volume of unsold tea have caused a cash-flow crisis throughout the supply chain. However, last week demand had improved at last week’s Colombo auctions, reports said.
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Sri Lanka Police arrest Tamil radio journalist in Colombo

[TamilNet, Sunday, 16 November 2008, 19:02 GMT]
Mr.A.R. V.Loshan, veteran Tamil radio journalist and announcer, was arrested Saturday early morning around 1:30 a.m. by the Terrorism Intelligence Division (TID) of the Sri Lanka Police from his residence located in Wellawatte, Colombo and was taken to the Bambalapitya Police station. The police officers who took him into custody had told his relatives in writing that Mr.Loshan was arrested on reports implicating him with terrorist activities and aiding terrorists, media sources reported.
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Wickremasinghe leaves to New Delhi

[TamilNet, Sunday, 16 November 2008, 17:03 GMT]
Ranil Wickremasinghe, leader of the main opposition United National Party (UNP) and the Leader of the Opposition in the current Sri Lanka parliament, is scheduled to leave Colombo Sunday night to New Delhi. He is to meet the Indian Foreign Minister Pranab Mukherji first and discuss the Sri Lanka's conflict with Indian foreign ministry officials of the South Block, media sources said in Colombo.
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Court summons JMO in Tissainayagam case

[TamilNet, Sunday, 16 November 2008, 16:57 GMT]
Colombo High Court re-issued summons on the Judicial Medical Officer to be present on Tuesday when the case against a senior journalist J.S.Tissanayagam who has been detained for more than eight months was taken up Friday under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA). The court was informed that the JMO had failed to appear in court though summoned, legal sources said.
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Youth of India voice for Eezham Tamils

[TamilNet, Friday, 14 November 2008, 14:37 GMT]
More than 10,000 students, coming from all the states of India marched to the Indian parliament on Friday in New Delhi, pressing educational demands including a 10 percent allotment of state expenditure on education. Political observers find great significance in the highlight of Eezham Tamil issue as a demand in this all India student rally. This is their only demand outside of the purview of education. The agitation took place against a backdrop of Sri Lankan president ruling out the possibility of stopping the war in the island, while on a visit to New Delhi on Wednesday. Even the Indian Prime Minister who received him hasn’t said anything on stopping the war, according to news reports.
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Pillayan operative Ragu slain in Colombo

[TamilNet, Friday, 14 November 2008, 08:59 GMT]
A private secretary of Pillayan and another person were shot dead while they were traveling in former TMVP spokesperson Asad Moulana's car at Oruwala in Athurugiriya in Nugegoda Friday around 11:30 a.m., Police said. The slain key operative, an associate of Pillayan was identified as Kumaraswami Nandagoban alias Ragu. Vinayagamoorthy Muralitharan alias Karuna, since his deportation back to Sri Lanka from UK, has been demanding the removal of Ragu from the TMVP.
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'Solution from outside is Sri Lankan reality'

[TamilNet, Thursday, 13 November 2008, 20:46 GMT]
The traditional civil-military division of labour has now been altered by the war in Sri Lanka. Military is a leading stakeholder. Sri Lanka no longer is an exceptional ‘third world democracy’. It is now a full-blown ‘national security state’. The defence establishment has stepped into the domain of governance at par with the office of the president. The Sri Lankan state has always been an ethnic majoritarian and communal one. The only state reform initiative implemented in 1987 had to come from outside, because the state refused to reform itself voluntarily. That continues to be Sri Lanka’s problem even today, wrote well known political scientist of Sri Lanka, Professor Jayadeva Uyangoda, in an article appeared in the October 25th issue of Economic and Political Weekly.
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Colombo creates human crisis at entry point - Nadesan

[TamilNet, Thursday, 13 November 2008, 10:54 GMT]
The closure of entry point at Oamanthai in Vavuniyaa by the Colombo government for the last three days has created a human crisis affecting emergency patients and supply of medicines to civilian hospitals, said B. Nadesan, the political head of the Liberation Tigers of Tamileelam (LTTE) on Thursday. Intense shelling by the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) on the entry point has made the ICRC officials posted there to leave. "By imposing a sanction on food, medicine and by maintaining an inhumane economic blockade, the Sri Lankan government is pinpointing the war at the civilians, disregarding International norms to be observed. The indications are that Colombo is adamant in pursuing an aggressive war," he told TamilNet.
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Young SLA soldier recovered dead in Ariyaalay FDL

[TamilNet, Thursday, 13 November 2008, 09:57 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army (SLA) troops Wednesday morning recovered the body of a fellow trooper from a sentry post located in the Front Defence Line (FDL) area in Ariyaalay in Jaffna and handed it over to Jaffna police. Gun shots were heard from the said area Tuesday midnight and the soldier was found with gun shot wounds during the search conducted on hearing the gun reports, SLA troops said in the statement to the police.
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TN should send relief as commodities, not money: Australian academic

[TamilNet, Thursday, 13 November 2008, 02:44 GMT]
The aid and relief money generously given to Sri Lanka by various governments and international organizations tacitly helps filling the coffers of the Sri Lankan government and its foreign exchange capacity in waging the war against Tamils. The Tamil Nadu government should therefore consider sending the relief money in the form of much needed commodities for the rehabilitation and resettlement of the IDPs in Vanni and should make sure that they reach the Eezham Tamils in the non-government controlled areas directly says, Professor E.A. Selvanathan of the School of International Business, Griffith University, Australia.
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Announce ceasefire, call back military and commence peace talks - TN Assembly

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 12 November 2008, 16:56 GMT]
Tamil Nadu Assembly unanimously passed a resolution Wednesday demanding "an immediate halt of military operations, reverting the Sri Lankan military to old positions and a commencement of political negotiations to find a solution to the Tamil problem." The house of representatives also urged New Delhi to press for talks between the Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL) and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). The resolution comes while the Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa is in New Delhi on an official visit.
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APRC: how long you tolerate a farce, Suresh asks India and IC

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 12 November 2008, 01:20 GMT]
The All Party Representatives Committee (APRC) is a farce of the Sri Lanka government. It was always used to impress upon India and the International Community. The basic premise of the APRC not to go beyond unitary constitution of Sri Lanka, will not bring in any meaningful result. India and the IC know it well. Yet, if they continue to tolerate the farce, they will only be abetting the genocidal programme of Colombo, says Suresh Premachandran of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA).
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SL Police arrests Ki'linochchi doctor in Colombo

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 11 November 2008, 07:38 GMT]
Sri Lankan Police in Colombo has arrested Ayurvedic doctor Velupillai Sivanesan, who is attached to the Ki'linochchi Regional Director of Health Services (RDHS) in Colombo's Nippon Hotel on Saturday while the doctor was on an official mission to clear medicine for Ki'linochchi Ayurvedic hospital, according to medical sources in Ki'linochchi. The arrest by Slave Island Police has taken place Saturday, the sources added.
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2 killed, 4 wounded, TMVP camp attacked in Vavu'natheevu - LTTE

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 11 November 2008, 06:44 GMT]
A camp of the TMVP paramilitary at Mangkikkaddu in Vavu'natheevu was attacked Monday night at 10:45 p.m., the LTTE said. Two TMVP personnel were killed and four sustained injuries and fled the camp. Four T56-2 assault rifles, one Rocket Propelled Grenade (RPG) launcher and ammunitions were seized in the raid, according to the Tigers.
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Persuade Rajapaksa to stop the war: Pandian urges Manmohan Singh

[TamilNet, Monday, 10 November 2008, 19:58 GMT]
The State Secretary of the Communist Party of India (CPI), D. Pandian, on Monday wrote a letter urging the Indian Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh to act swiftly to end the war in Sri Lanka. Noting that the LTTE has responded positively for the public call from the CPI to spell out their stand in unambiguous terms to the call for ceasefire, Mr. Pandian said urged Manmohan Singh to use his good offices to impress upon Mr. Rajapaksa to stop the war and agree for a ceasefire. Meanwhile, reports in Colombo said Mr. Rajapaksa has left Colombo to attend the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) summit, to be held in New Delhi.
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