SLA unloads ammunition consignments in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Thursday, 13 March 2008, 11:23 GMT]
Sri Lanka Navy (SLN) vessels carrying large consignments of weapons to Sri Lanka Army (SLA) are reported being unloaded Tuesday and Wednesday in Kaangkeasanththu'rai (KKS) harobour, informed sources in Colombo said. Meanwhile, convoys of covered SLA heavy vehicles were seen going from KKS harobour to the Northern Front Defence Line (FDL) areas in Mukamaalai and Naakarkoayil in Vadamaraadchi east day and night on both days.
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RSF: Tamil journalists beaten in detention to extract confessions

[TamilNet, Thursday, 13 March 2008, 02:26 GMT]
Reporters Sans Frontieres (RSF), a Paris-based media watchdog, in a press release issued Wednesday, accused Sri Lanka Police for arresting five Tamil journalists on false information and beating them during detention, and said that the Police action was intended to extract confessions from the detainees. RSF urged Sri Lankan authorities to explain why the journalists are still being held.
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Dinamani: Tamil Nadu should shape Center’s policy towards Sri Lanka

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 12 March 2008, 15:02 GMT]
Referring to Chief Minister Karunanidhi’s letter to the Indian Prime Minister which protested Sri Lanka Navy (SLN’s) hostile actions including regular incidents of firing against Tamil Naadu fishermen fishing near Kachchatheevu, Dinamani, a mainstream Tamil Nadu daily, in an editorial on Tuesday assailed India’s insensitivity and Chief Minister Karunanidhi’s meek response to the serious violations of the SLN.
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Koaralaippattu North residents not issued NICs

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 12 March 2008, 02:45 GMT]
More than sixty percent of the people residing in the area belonging to 16 Grama Sevaka (GS) divisions under the administration of District Secretariat of Koararalippattu North, Batticaloa, have not received their National Identity Cards (NIC), according to statistics released by the Secretariat. Without the NICs, youths are targets for arrest by Sri Lanka security forces, civil society sources said.
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Shaping India's policy on Sri Lanka: a reader's response

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 12 March 2008, 01:08 GMT]
"Those who watch the current developments sense a race against time on the part of India in achieving something militarily in Sri Lanka. At times it looks as though it is India’s war," writes a reader from Tamil Nadu in response to the LTTE's statement on Monday. "The Refuse-to-Retire advisors cum analysts of India, whose writings often reek of revenge, sometimes back came out with enticing hints that the target is only the leadership of the LTTE, and thereafter India will protect the Tamils. Have these advisors ever seen in their lifetime India proving its credibility in safeguarding Tamil rights in Sri Lanka or for that matter, at least India winning a diplomatic war with Sri Lanka?"
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Moves afoot to bring Sinhalese port workers to KKS harbour

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 11 March 2008, 17:32 GMT]
Commissioner of Essential Services (CoES) in Colombo is making arrangements to employ Sinhalese port workers in Kaangkeasanththu’rai (KKS) harbour in unloading goods shipped from Colombo, civil society sources in Jaffna said. Representatives of the consortium of Jaffna fisheries societies raised concern with the Government Agent of Jaffna on the likely loss of income of the peninsula fishermen who are currently employed as laborers in KKS harbor.
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Court orders resettlement of 3000 IDP families in Valikaamam North

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 11 March 2008, 11:46 GMT]
Sri Lanka's Supreme Court Monday ordered Sri Lanka Government officials to expedite resettlement of first batch of three thousand families displaced from Valikaamam North in Jaffna district in their own lands, after a two member-committee comprising a representative nominated by the Jaffna High Court and a nominee of the Defense Ministry had scrutinized their applications and submitted their report to the Court, legal sources in Colombo said.
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12 Tamils arrested at Gokarella, Kandy

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 11 March 2008, 11:43 GMT]
Nine civilians, all said to be Tamils, were taken into custody on Sunday morning at Gokarella by the police when the bus they were traveling in was stopped and searched at the sentry point. Gokarella is located along Dambulla-Kurunagala road.
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5 civilians arrested in Wellawatte

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 11 March 2008, 03:10 GMT]
Five civilians, all said to be Tamils, were arrested Monday in Wellawatte area in Colombo city in a cordon and search operation conducted by the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) and police immediately after the time bomb explosion that took place near Roxy Theatre Monday morning around 7 a.m., media sources said quoting Wellawatte police sources.
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50% turnout, paramilitary manipulates voting in Batticaloa

[TamilNet, Monday, 10 March 2008, 11:10 GMT]
Voter turnout within Batticaloa municipal council was low till Monday noon, according to the sources in Batticaloa city. However, turnout at rural areas was above 50%. Despite the presence of a reasonable number of monitors, there were reports of fraudulent activities as paramilitary personnel were actively engaged in transporting voters to the booths. The TMVP paramilitary has heaped up anti-Muslim campaign warning Tamils that non-participation in local elections would benefit the Muslims. Paramilitary personnel were also seen visiting households checking civilians' participation in the elections. Violent incidents were low.
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International leftists urge support for Tamil cause

[TamilNet, Monday, 10 March 2008, 02:50 GMT]
More than thirty international leftwing political parties and organisations who met last week as part of a conference organized by Fourth International in Amsterdam made an appeal to “left wing and progressive forces to come forward in defence of the just cause of the Tamil people.” In a public statement they demanded that the Sri Lankan government “stop imposing its will militarily on the Tamil people.”
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Civilian killed, 4 wounded, bomb blast in Colombo

[TamilNet, Monday, 10 March 2008, 02:16 GMT]
A civilian was killed and four students wounded in an explosion, believed to be caused by a time bomb, hidden inside a concrete pot along the Galle Road, opposite Roxy theatre in Wellawatte, Monday around 7:00 a.m., Police said. The locality of Roxy theatre in Wellawatte is a congested Tamil residential suburb of Colombo.
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Batticaloa Elections arrangements finalized -Commissioner

[TamilNet, Sunday, 09 March 2008, 16:27 GMT]
All arrangements have been finalized for Batticaloa local council elections scheduled to be held Monday 10 February, Mahinda Deshapirriya, Deputy Commissioner of Elections announced Sunday.
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Sri Lankan forces beef up security in Batticaloa before local polls

[TamilNet, Sunday, 09 March 2008, 11:46 GMT]
Local government elections for nine local bodies including Batticaloa Municipal Council are to take place on Monday 10 March after a lapse of 14 years and all arrangements related to them have been made, according to Deputy Election Commissioner. People`s Action For Free and Fair Elections (PAFFREL) is the largest monitoring body, engaged with 300 monitors with 20 foreign nationals. However, Batticaloa has been turned into a militarised city with 12 more check posts and the deployment of additional Sri Lanka Army, Special Task Force and Policemen. 6,725 policemen have been engaged. More than 1800 policemen have been brought from Colombo.
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Genocidal policies exposed, Colombo stands weakened - Nadesan

[TamilNet, Saturday, 08 March 2008, 22:49 GMT]
"Signs of desperation are evident in Sri Lanka’s defense hierarchy as the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) divisions stay bogged down within a few square kilometers in Mannaar, unable to advance for nearly a year. While SLA commanders are on foreign jaunts to build hurried military alliances, Colombo has also suffered politically with its racist policies in governance exposed internationally, and has earned opprobrium from international community for the escalating human rights violations," said B. Nadesan, head of political section of the Liberation Tigers addressing the event held in Ki'linochchi to pay last respects to the slain parliamentarian, K. Sivanesan, Saturday.
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Court orders for full report on Muhathuvaaram blast

[TamilNet, Saturday, 08 March 2008, 14:43 GMT]
Colombo Additional Magistrate, Mr.Manjula Thilakaratne, Friday ordered the police to submit its full report on on March 12 the Muhathuvaaram bomb blast. He further ordered a private telephone company to hand over to the police eleven telephone numbers found in the cellphone said to have been used by the alleged suicide bomber and later recovered at the scene of crime, legal sources said.
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TID releases FMM spokesman, Charinikar editor Sivakumar after investigation

[TamilNet, Saturday, 08 March 2008, 11:41 GMT]
S. Sivakumar, the editor of bimonthly Charinikar and the spokesman of the Colombo based media watchdog Free Media Movement, was detained by the Terrirorist Investigations Department (TID) Saturday. FMM Convenor Sunanda Deshapriya told media that Police has detained Sivakumar on Saturday to record a statement. The detention comes following the arrest of journalist J.S. Tissanayakam and Jasikaran, an owner of a press Friday. Sivakumar was released within 12-hours of in late evening Saturday, according to Free Media Movement. The TID officials had taken a relative of Sivakumar into custody till turned himself at the Police.
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Diaspora groups demand international action over MP’s slaying

[TamilNet, Saturday, 08 March 2008, 02:52 GMT]
Tamil Diaspora organisations Friday condemned the killing of Tamil parliamentarian K. Sivanesan Thursday in a fragmentation mine attack blamed on Sri Lankan commandos and called for international action against the Colombo government. Pointing out that Mr. Sivanesan is the latest Tamil MP to be murdered by suspected Army-backed paramilitaries or members of the security forces in recent years, expatriate organisations from Australia, Canada and Britain called for the Sri Lankan government to be held accountable and for international sanctions to be imposed.
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WFP to continue relief activity in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Friday, 07 March 2008, 16:27 GMT]
World Food Programme (WFP), which had earlier considered suspension of its food assistance projects in Jaffna peninsula due to a critical shortage of cash contributions, brought relief to peninsula residents when it announced Friday the continuance of the projects during a meeting convened by Jaffna Government Agent (GA) at Jaffna Secretariat.
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TNA condemns Sivanesan killing

[TamilNet, Friday, 07 March 2008, 14:38 GMT]
The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) in a statement issued Friday strongly condemned the killing of its Jaffna district parliamentarian K.Sivanesan on Thursday at Maangku'lam along A9 highway. TNA has been expressing its deepest sorrow and distress over the killing of Mr. Sivanesan in a claymore explosion, the statement added. "Mr. Sivanesan worked hard for the emancipation of the Tamil people, against social injustice and for the development of co-operative movement. He won the hearts of Tamils by his unwavering stand on the freedom struggle by his deed and speech. He dedicated himself from the young age for the liberation of his people," the TNA statement said.
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