Tamil man abducted in Kotahena

[TamilNet, Friday, 01 February 2008, 18:34 GMT]
A Tamil person was abducted by unidentified men came in a black color van Friday morning around 10 a.m. while he was walking along Sivanantha Mawatte in Kotahena, a suburb in Colombo.
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Court releases SLAF officials charged with abduction, extortion

[TamilNet, Friday, 01 February 2008, 18:31 GMT]
The Colombo Chief Magistrate Friday discharged all the three officials of the Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF), including Nishantha Gajanayake, from the charges of abduction and extortion. The court made the order accepting the submission of the Attorney General (AG) that there was no evidence to support the charges, legal sources in Colombo said.
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Colombo High Court recommends more security to Mano Ganeshan

[TamilNet, Friday, 01 February 2008, 10:54 GMT]
The Colombo High Court Wednesday recommended to the Attorney General to provide at least eight police personnel and a back-up vehicle to Mano Ganeshan, Colombo district parliamentarian. The two-member bench of the court gave time till February 7 to the Attorney General to consider its recommendation. Justices K.Sripavan and Ms Shiranee Kulathunge were the members of the bench, legal sources said.
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SLA, police conduct search in Inginiagala

[TamilNet, Friday, 01 February 2008, 09:54 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army (SLA) and police jointly conducted a cordon and search operation in the area near the police guard post at 17th mile in Inginiagala in Ampaa’rai district following reports of a group of armed men on the move in the area, Ampaa’rai police said.
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Police rescinds collecting personal details of Tamils in Modara

[TamilNet, Thursday, 31 January 2008, 18:01 GMT]
“Sri Lanka Police has no authority to collect private personal details especially financial details even during the current State of Emergency in Sri Lanka,” Mr. R. Yogarajan, the Vice President of Ceylon Workers Congress (CWC) said in an interview to BBC Tamil service Thursday. The forms distributed to the Tamils by the police in Sinhalese language calling for personal details including place of work, phone number, and bank details, ending into the hands of criminal elements would be dangerous to the Tamils, Yogarajan told the BBC.
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Sri Lanka police arrests 3 Tamils in Colombo

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 30 January 2008, 18:45 GMT]
Ten Sri Lanka Secret Police personnel arriving in a white van Wednesday morning arrested three Tamil civilians in Mattakku’li area in Colombo and took them for interrogation, according to a complaint made to Deputy Minister P. Rathakrishnan by relatives of the arrested civilians.
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UNP to boycott official Independence Day celebrations

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 30 January 2008, 12:21 GMT]
The main opposition United National Party (UNP) has decided to boycott the 60th Independence Day official celebrations to be held on February 4 led by Sri Lanka's President Mahinda Rajapakse. UNP has appealed to people to attend prayer meetings in places of worships to be organized by the party throughout Sri Lanka.
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UNP to boycott official Independence Day celebrations

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 30 January 2008, 08:03 GMT]
The main opposition United National Party (UNP) has decided to boycott the 60th Independence Day official celebrations to be held on February 4 by the government led by President Mahinda Rajapakse. Instead the UNP high commend as appealed to people to attend prayers' meeting in places of worships organized throughout the country. UNP has organized its main prayer meeting at Dalada Maligawaa in Kandy, capital of the central province with a vow to regain lost fundamental and human rights under the present regime, UNP general secretary Tissa Attanayake said.
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Contain threats against media, RSF appeals to Rajapakse

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 29 January 2008, 16:12 GMT]
Reporters Sans Frontiers (RSF), a Paris-based media watchdog, expressing concern over escalating threats and violence against media personnel in Sri Lanka, in a press release issued Tuesday appealing to Mr Rajapakse, said: "Mr. President, it is not yet too late to restrain those of your close associates and political allies who sow trouble and fear among journalists," and added, "The violent behaviour of the men employed by some of your ministers is bringing the government into disrepute, a situation that will be hard to redress if nothing is done."
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FMM Condemns stabbing of Thinakaran associate editor

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 29 January 2008, 08:54 GMT]
Colombo based media watchdog, the Free Media Movement, on Tuesday said it was dismayed to report a second stabbing of a journalist within a week. Five persons who entered the house of Suhaib M Kasim, the associate editor of the Sri Lankan state-owned Tamil daily Thinakaran, on Monday, forcibly took him to veranda and stabbed him in his abdomen, the FMM reported. Urging the Sri Lankan police to conduct an urgent and open investigation into the violent act, the media watchdog noted with concern that the police had arrested "arbitrary characters" to be produced in the courts when journalist from the SL state owned television broadcaster Rupavahini, Hemantha Mawalage, was stabbed a few days ago.
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SLA steps up minor clashes in Madu region

[TamilNet, Monday, 28 January 2008, 19:34 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army, that has suffered casualties in medium scale offensive operations in Mannaar, has stepped up minor clashes as Tigers have successfully utilized booby traps and sniper attacks to confronting large number of SLA troops engaged in offensive operations. On Monday, Six clashes were reported in Pa'ndivirichchaan and Chinna Pa'ndivirichchaan areas close to Madu in Mannaar district and two clashes were reported in Vi'laaththikku'lam area bordering the Vavuniyaa district, in addition to a clash in Paalamoaddai.
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Suspects in Rupavahini journalist assault released on bail

[TamilNet, Monday, 28 January 2008, 16:30 GMT]
Kaduwela Magistrate Monday released the two suspects arrested in connection with the alleged attack of Sri Lanka Rupavahini Corporation journalist, Lal Hemantha Mawalage, on Rupees 50,000 bail each and fixed the inquiry for February 8, legal sources in Colombo said.
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Thinakaran editor stabbed in Colombo

[TamilNet, Monday, 28 January 2008, 16:28 GMT]
Suhaib Mohamed Kasim, associate editor of Thinakaran, the Sri Lankan state owned Tamil daily, was stabbed by unknown attackers at Maligawatte Monday night at 9:10, Police said.
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Tiger artillery targets Palaali airbase, fighting intensifies in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Monday, 28 January 2008, 08:01 GMT]
Liberation Tigers artillery fire targeted Palaali airbase Monday mornng while a helicopter carrying top military officials from Colombo was about to land. Tension prevailed in Palaali military complex as around 20 shells hit the base, informed sources said. All military and civilian transports were canceled. Meanwhile, Jaffna experienced a power-cut and the mobile phone links remained cut-off as Sri Lanka Army stepped up heavy artillery fire on LTTE Forward Defence Line. Sri Lanka Air Force bombers were flown from South in the skies over Jaffna to attack Tiger territory. SLA troops also suffered heavy casualties in the fighting in Northern Front.
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9 Tamils arrested in Grandpass, Colombo

[TamilNet, Sunday, 27 January 2008, 15:23 GMT]
Nine Tamil civilians were taken into custody by the security forces in a cordon and search operation conducted in Grandpass area in Colombo Sunday following the discovery of two suicide jackets with explosives found abandoned from a latrine pit Saturday morning. The security forces said they received a tip off by members of the Vigilant Committee enabling them to recover the suicide jackets.
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Providing moral support to Eelam, not a crime- Thirumavalavan

[TamilNet, Saturday, 26 January 2008, 18:53 GMT]
"Any move to suppress those expressing moral support to Tamil Eelam and LTTE is violation of all tenets of democracy and humanism, and will border on fascism," Viduthalai Chiruththaikal Katchi (VCK, Liberation Panthers Party) President Thol. Thirumavalavan said on Friday addressing a conference organized by his party in Chennai labeled "Redeem the Freedom of Expression."
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Media Organizations condemn attack on Rupavahini Editor

[TamilNet, Saturday, 26 January 2008, 18:35 GMT]
Pointing to Minister Mervyn de Silva for complicity in Friday attack on Rupavahini journalist, Mr Mawalage, five Colombo media organizations in a press release issued Saturday said, "Journalist Mawalage received continuous death threats after his role in the SLRC [Sri Lanka Rupavahini Corporation] staff protest... We strongly suspect that this knife attack could be retaliation for his role in SLRC staff protest," and added, "We hope that this will not be another attack on media in Sri Lanka which will be swept under the carpet as like what has happened to more than a hundred press freedom violations in recent times."
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Rupavahini producer injured in knife attack

[TamilNet, Saturday, 26 January 2008, 12:56 GMT]
Lal Hemantha Mawalage, news producer at state-run Television station, Rupavahini, has been admitted to the Colombo General Hospital after being attacked with machete and knives by unknown assailants at 11:30 p.m. Friday while walking in Athurugiriya in Colombo, sources in Colombo said. Mr Mawalage suffered injuries to both hands and body, according to his relatives. The attackers are suspected to be allied to non-cabinet Minister of Labour Mervin Silva who was involved in an altercation at Rupavahini on 26 December.
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Jaffna residents first to benefit from local paddy harvest– GA

[TamilNet, Saturday, 26 January 2008, 12:12 GMT]
Jaffna Government Agent (GA), K. Ganesh, in a press announcement Saturday, informed that the paddy expected to be harvested in the Maha cultivation 2007-2008 in Jaffna peninsula will not be sent out of the district. The GA took this step in response to the strong protest raised by NGOs and other civil organizations which pointed out that Jaffna peninsula will be facing an acute shortage of rice if the expected yield is shipped to outer districts, sources in Jaffna said.
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Witness in Maheswaran murder case threatened with death

[TamilNet, Friday, 25 January 2008, 15:33 GMT]
The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of the Sri Lanka Police Friday informed the Colombo Additional Magistrate Mr.Ravindra Premaratne that one of the witnesses in the murder of Colombo district parliamentarian Mr.T.Maheswaran did not come to court due to death threat by unidentified persons, legal sources said.
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