Sri Lanka HRC key officials visit Jaffna

[TamilNet, Monday, 02 February 2009, 15:12 GMT]
A high profile team of Sri Lanka Human Rights Commission (HRC) Colombo arrived Friday in Jaffna where they met Sri Lanka Army (SLA) officers and the magistrates in Jaffna and discussed matters related to the interests of persons placed in the protective custody of Jaffna Prison and the civilians brought to Jaffna peninsula by the SLA and placed in detention camps, sources in Jaffna said. The team flew back to Colombo Sunday.
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TMVP person shot killed in Batticaloa

[TamilNet, Monday, 02 February 2009, 08:56 GMT]
Unidentified gunmen shot and killed a Tamil Makal Viduthali Pulikal (TMVP) paramilitary person Monday around 8:30 a.m at Chengkaladi in Ea’raavoor police division as he was on his way to Aiyangkea’ni on his motor cycle from the TMVP Chengkaladi office, Ea’raavoor police said.
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Shut down observed in East despite SLA threats

[TamilNet, Friday, 30 January 2009, 17:07 GMT]
A shut down in the North and East Friday called by the Tamil National Alliance to condemn the killing of Tamils in Vanni was totally observed in the East in a peaceful manner despite harassment and threats by Sri Lanka Army (SLA) of severe consequences for those taking part in the shut down, sources in Batticaloa said.
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Batticaloa district Tamils condemn killing of Tamils in Vanni

[TamilNet, Friday, 30 January 2009, 07:47 GMT]
The Association of Tamil People (ATP) in Batticaloa district vehemently condemns the systematic killings of the Tamils in Vanni by the Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL) while urging the International Community to come forward to stop the genocide and exert pressure on GoSL for an immediate ceasefire, according to an appeal made by the Association Thursday.
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Abducted Muslim trader released in Batticaloa

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 27 January 2009, 16:23 GMT]
The Muslim trader alleged to have been abducted by unknown Muslim armed men Sunday noon in Kaaththaankudi police division in Batticaloa district was released Monday night with his eyes bound and subjected to severe assault, Kaaththaankudi police said.
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Paramilitary releases 15 young recruits in Batticaloa

[TamilNet, Thursday, 22 January 2009, 15:46 GMT]
Due to the pressure exerted by UNICEF on TMVP Pillayan faction (Tamil Makal Viduthalai Pulikal) to release the children abducted and given military training by it, 15 of them were released in the presence of UNICEF officials Thursday in Batticaloa. The released children were produced in Batticaloa magistrate court through Batticaloa police where the magistrate directed the police to place them in the protective care of the ‘Sarvodaya’ in Chaththurukko'ndaan until 29 January, Batticaloa police said.
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Armed robberies escalate in Batticaloa

[TamilNet, Friday, 09 January 2009, 11:08 GMT]
Masked armed men robbed three houses, threatening the owners at gunpoint, at Puthukkudiyiruppu in Vaazhaichcheanai police division Thursday night, according to complaints lodged with the police. One of the houses robbed is located 200 m from the office of TMVP Pillayan paramilitary group, on Vaazhaicheanai Maadi Veethi.
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Peoples support will help surmount challenges: LTTE Political Head

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 06 January 2009, 08:23 GMT]
Pointing out that Ki'linochchi was where Sri Lanka military has suffered previous historic debacles, LTTE Political Head B. Nadesan, in an interview with TamilNet on Monday dismissed the occupation of the town as an insignificant setback in the context of a liberation struggle, and said, Tamil people’s support has always been LTTE’s strength, and with the moral backing of the global Tamil community the movement will surmount current and future challenges. "We have taken forward our struggle for more than 30 years, solely relying on the support of our people," and reiterated that the Tigers were spearheading the Tamil struggle, which was based on legitimate political aspirations as defined by the democratic mandate in the elections of 1977.
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Motor mechanic seeks protection with Jaffna HRC

[TamilNet, Friday, 26 December 2008, 15:23 GMT]
A 39-year-old motor mechanic from Koappaay sought protection to his life with Human Rights Commission (HRC) Jaffna office Friday due to death threats by Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers and SLA-backed paramilitary men, according to his complaints to HRC officials. The officials are taking action to place him in the protective custody of Jaffna Prison through Jaffna court.
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Muslim engineer’s house attacked in Kalmunai

[TamilNet, Monday, 22 December 2008, 14:44 GMT]
Unidentified armed men, who arrived at the house of Kalmunai Town Council Engineer in Chainthamaruthu in Klamunai lobbed grenade at his house and set fire to the vehicles parked inside the premises, Kalmunai police said. Meanwhile residents said that there had been difference of opinion between the engineer and paramilitary Karuna group regarding a new housing project launched a few days ago in Kalmumunai Tamil area in Ampaa'rai district.
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EPDP stages ’protest march’ in Vadamaraadchi

[TamilNet, Sunday, 21 December 2008, 17:13 GMT]
Eelam People’s Democratic Party (EPDP), the paramilitary-cum-political party led by Douglas Devanda, a cabinet minister in Rajapaksa regime, organized a ‘protest march’ in Vadamaraadchi Sunday around 3:15 p.m along Point Pedro-Jaffna road in which hundreds of persons, mostly women, were forced to take part with the armed escort by Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers. The marching protestors were instructed to shout slogans calling the SLA to "liberate" the North and to "free" people from LTTE controlled territory in Vanni.
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Douglas, Anandasangari prepare for election campaign in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Sunday, 21 December 2008, 12:48 GMT]
Douglas Devananda, a cabinet minister in the Rajapaksa government and the leader of paramilitary-cum-political party EPDP and V. Anandasangari of the TULF, are both busily engaged in preparatory meetings for election campaign in Jaffna, informed sources in Jaffna told TamilNet. No official announcement, however, has been made by Sri Lanka government on holding elections in Jaffna peninsula.
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Tamil motor mechanic shot, injured in Ampaa’rai

[TamilNet, Saturday, 20 December 2008, 07:24 GMT]
Unidentified gunmen on a motor cycle following a Tamil motor mechanic shot and seriously injured him Friday around 8:30 p.m at Thampiluvil in Thirukkoayil police division in Ampaa’rai district. The injured mechanic was rushed to Thirukkoayil District Hospital first and then transferred to Ampaa’rai Teaching Hospital for further treatment, Thirukkoayil police said.
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Eastern University students clash with police during protest fast

[TamilNet, Thursday, 18 December 2008, 13:27 GMT]
Eastern University students observing a protest fast in the university campus Thursday around 9:00 a.m. against the detention of two fellow students, raised strong objections when two Sri Lanka Intelligence officials who had come with the police tried to video film the protesters, sources in Batticaloa said. When the students tried to expel the two officials, police who had accompanied them opened fire on the ground, the protesting students said. The police, however, claimed that one of their men’s gun had accidently gone off.
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Police detain 8 Tamil youths in Batticaloa

[TamilNet, Monday, 15 December 2008, 17:14 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army (SLA) and police, assisted by paramilitary men, arrested eight Tamil youths in a joint cordon and search conducted Sunday night in Kokkaddichchoalai, Batticaloa town, Kaaththaankudi and Ea’raavoor police divisions. More than 900 houses were searched while nearly 4000 persons were interrogated during the operation, police media spokesman said.
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HRW: Sri Lanka's use of child soldiers to result in suspension of US military aid

[TamilNet, Saturday, 13 December 2008, 14:37 GMT]
Governments involved in the use of children as soldiers may no longer be eligible for US military assistance under legislation adopted by the US Congress on December 10, 2008, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said Thursday. Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Chad, Congo Sudan, and Uganda are expected to be affected by the new legislation passed unanimously by both the Senate and the House, HRW further said.
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Condoleeza Rice spotlights Rights violations in Sri Lanka

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 10 December 2008, 12:15 GMT]
United States Secretary of State, Condoleeza Rice, Wednesday, awarded the 2008 Human Rights and Democracy Achievement Award to Michael De Tar, the chief of the Political Section of our Embassy in Colombo, Sri Lanka, for engaging "constructively with Sri Lanka while underscoring our [U.S.'s] human rights," and for proposing the roadmap adopted by the Sri Lankan Government "to induce a paramilitary aligned with the government to begin to release its child soldiers [in the east]." The situation in the East, however, has rapidly deterioted recently with Human Rights Watch accusing the Colombo-backed paramilitaries in the east for thirty murders and thirty abductions during September and October.
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Women in protective custody, transferred to SLA detention centre, fear for safety

[TamilNet, Monday, 08 December 2008, 00:40 GMT]
The women and children who faced death threats in Jaffna from the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) and its paramilitary and placed under protective custody through the Sri Lanka Human Rights Commission in Jaffna at Kurunakar Rehabilitation Centre have been suddenly moved to the detention camp run by the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) inside its High Security Zone in Thellippazhai. The women and children are being denied the opportunity of meeting their family members besides fear for their safety, according to legal sources in Jaffna. They have appealed to the team of Magistrates who visited the camp to relocate them to a protection facility in Jaffna city.
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Colombo's development agenda aggravates factional fight within TMVP

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 03 December 2008, 00:59 GMT]
Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa's government has sidelined Sivanesathurai Chandrakanthan alias Pillayan, a key paramilitary leader operated by the Sri Lankan government and the Chief Minister of the Eastern Province, on the utlisation of funds allocated for 'development'. "Pillayan is being treated almost like a political prisoner by the Rajapaksa government these days, especially after the recent protests against the killings," according to a Colombo based journalist.
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Rights watchdog faults Colombo for deteriorating human rights situation in East

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 25 November 2008, 07:52 GMT]
"Killings and abductions are rife and there is total impunity for horrific abuses," in the eastern province, which the Sri Lankan government claims to have 'liberated' as an example of democracy in action, said the New York based Human Rights Watch (HRW). There have been at least 30 extra-judicial killings and 30 abductions in Eastern Province within the last 60 days, the HRW said blaming the Sri Lankan government for providing unqualified support to TMVP paramilitary factions. The attacks and other threats against journalists have caused the media to curtail reporting on the security situation in the East. Members of civil society organizations have also been subjected to threats, according to the HRW.
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