Detained Jaffna undergrad files FR petition

[TamilNet, Saturday, 28 April 2007, 13:31 GMT]
Sivaraj Paheerathan, Jaffna university undergrad, currently being detained after the arrest by the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) on August 18, 2006 under the Emergency Regulations (ER), filed a Fundamental Rights (FR) petition in the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka Friday seeking to declare that his fundamental rights have been violated as his arrest and detention are illegal. The petition requested the Court to order the State to pay compensation of Rs.150,000 as relief, legal sources in Colombo said.
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3 SLN troopers killed in gunfire ambush in East

[TamilNet, Friday, 27 April 2007, 11:07 GMT]
A group of armed men waiting in ambush Friday morning shot and killed three Sri Lanka Navy (SLN) troopers who were on a road patrol in Kuchchaveli in Trincomalee, according to Sri Lankan military officials in Colombo.
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‘Come on you Sri Lankan Lions!’ – UK

[TamilNet, Friday, 27 April 2007, 10:40 GMT]
The British diplomatic mission in Colombo shed diplomatic neutrality on Friday to support Sri Lanka's cricket team in their World Cup final against Australia, AFP reported. "We're hoping for a repeat of the 1996 World Cup final result. Come on you Sri Lankan Lions. Let's hear you roar," a message from the UK High Commission said.


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CID requests Allaipiddy identification parade moved out of Jaffna

[TamilNet, Friday, 27 April 2007, 09:24 GMT]
Police Criminal Investigation Department (CID) officials investigating into the Sri Lanka Navy (SLN) Allaipiddy killing of August 2006 in which 11 civilians were killed, submitted a petition Thursday to Kayts Magistrate Mr. Jeyaraman Trostky, saying they had sought advice from the Attorney General to conduct the identification parade either in Trincomalee or Amparai areas, as it was not possible to organize a parade involving many soldiers in Kayts, due to the current extraordinary situation, legal sources in Jaffna said.
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Court releases 8 Tamil youths, orders detention of one woman

[TamilNet, Thursday, 26 April 2007, 21:01 GMT]
Colombo Chief Magistrate Wednesday ordered the release of six Tamil civilians and detention of one Tamil woman to a Rehabilitation Centre in the south. They were arrested in a cordon and search operation in Moratuwa in western province two months ago and detained in the Boosa detention centre in Galle.
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Attack alarm sparks airport panic, Colombo in dark

[TamilNet, Thursday, 26 April 2007, 17:51 GMT]
Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) personnel at Katunayake airbase fired precautionary shots into the air as an alarm was issued in Colombo that two unidentified aircrafts were observed over Puttalam sea Thursday around 11:00 p.m. All flights were grounded and power supply in Colombo city was cut off. The situation resumed normal Thursday midnight.
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Funeral of engineer killed in claymore explosion held in Mannar

[TamilNet, Thursday, 26 April 2007, 15:10 GMT]
The funeral of the Mr. Lourdunayagam Princely, 27 year-old Mannar District Project Engineer of the World Bank (WB) funded North East Housing Reconstruction Programme (NEHRP), one of the five civilians killed in the Monday's midnight claymore mine explosion which targeted a private passenger bus bound for Colombo was held Thursday around five p.m. in the Mannar general cemetery amid large crowd of people of all walks of life, sources said.


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Paris Tamils in walking vigil, urge release of Tamil activists

[TamilNet, Thursday, 26 April 2007, 05:28 GMT]
Around 2000 French Tamils marched in Paris Wednesday afternon in a silent walking vigil, organized by French Tamil Students Forum. Demonstrants carrying placards stating "we are not terrorists," gathered at place de la République at 3:00 p.m. and walked towards Place de Bastille where a meeting was held.
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SLA suffers casualties in fresh offensive in Madu

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 25 April 2007, 12:38 GMT]
Twelve Sri Lanka Army soldiers were killed and 33 wounded when a special unit of the SLA launched a fresh offensive amid artillery barrage towards Mullikkulam, 12 km northesat of Madu Church in Iranai Illuppaikulam GS division, Mannar, Wednesday evening according to initial reports from the area. 26 wounded soldiers were admitted to Anurdhapura public hospital and 7 more were rushed to military hospital, according to medical sources.


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Sooriyarachchi refused bail for third time

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 25 April 2007, 11:43 GMT]
The Kaduwela Magistrate Tuesday refused the bail application submitted on behalf of Mr.Sripathi Sooriyarachchi for the third time and ordered further two weeks' remand, legal sources in Colombo said. Mr.Sooriayarachchi was sacked from the non-cabinet minister post. He is a parliamentarian from the Sri Lanka Freedom party (SLFP), main constituent of the United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA) government.


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Mannar Police suspends night bus services from Mannar

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 25 April 2007, 10:34 GMT]
Mannar Police Wednesday ordered suspension of all state and private sector night bus services to and from Mannar other parts of Sri Lanka along Mannar-Madawachchi and Mannar-Vavuniya roads due to security situation, transport service sources in Mannar said. State and private sector bus operators were instructed to reschedule their services between 7.30 a.m. and 6 p.m.
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GoSL denies air transport to Batticaloa MPs

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 25 April 2007, 02:02 GMT]
The Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL) refused to provide helicopter transport to the four Tamil National Alliance (TNA) Parliamentarian of Batticaloa district, from Colombo to Batticaloa, to attend the District Development Council (DDC) meeting held at Batticaloa Kachcheri Tuesday, TNA sources said. The MPs requested transport help following death threats from Karuna Group. The meeting was organized to explore solutions to the IDP problems and to endorse the other development activities planned for the current year.
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Sri Lankan military officials meet in Palaali

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 24 April 2007, 13:42 GMT]
A defence team comprising high level officials of the Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF), Sri Lanka Army (SLA) and Sri Lanka Navy (SLN), were flown to Palaali airbase amid tight security Tuesday morning for an assessment of the air attack carried out by the Tigers on the High Security Zone Palaali garrison in Jaffna. A number of bombs dropped by the LTTE aircrafts had hit the military installations including the ammunition stores and camps along Kadduvan - Kankesanthurai (KKS) Road and in areas surrounding Mayiliddi harbour, according to a military official who did not wished to be named.
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Barrage of gunfire as Tiger aircrafts complete bombing raid, woman wounded

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 24 April 2007, 13:26 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army (SLA) troopers in camps across Jaffna Peninsula emptied bullets in the air in a barrage of gunfire after Tamileelam Air Force (TAF) attacked SLA's main base complex in the Jaffna peninsula in the early hours of Tuesday morning, residents in the peninsula said. A woman was wounded in Eezhaalai, 5 km southwest of Palaali when Sri Lanka Army soldiers opened fire from their positions as the Tiger aircrafts, that completed their mission inside the High Security Zone of the Palaali garrison, flew at low altitude on their way back to Vanni.
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Sri Lanka seeks US petroleum investors

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 24 April 2007, 10:49 GMT]
Sri Lanka’s Minister for Petroleum and Petroleum Resources Development, A. H. M Fowzie, will lead delegation on May 1 to a key meeting in Texas of investors in oil exploration organized by the US embassy in Colombo, reports said. Minister Fowzie and the US ambassador to Sri Lankan Robert O’ Blake are expected to address the breakfast meeting scheduled for May 1 in Houston, the Daily Mirror reported.
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4 civilians killed, 37 injured in claymore attack on bus in Vavuniya

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 24 April 2007, 05:11 GMT]
Four civilians including a women were killed and 37 wounded when the civilian bus carrying Tamil and Muslim passengers from Mannar to Colombo was hit by a Claymore mine around 11:30 p.m. Monday at Andiyapuliayankulam along Mannar-Madawachiya road in Vavuniya. Relatives of the victims have blamed the Sri Lanka Army for the attack on the civilian bus.
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Tamil businessman abducted in Colombo

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 24 April 2007, 01:31 GMT]
A leading Tamil businessman in Colombo was abducted by unidentified armed persons in a white van at Perera Lane junction along Galle road in Wellawatte while he was walking along the road around 8:30 p.m. Monday, his relatives lodged complaint at Wellawatte Police, sources in Colombo said.


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CID searches TNA MP's residence in Colombo

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 24 April 2007, 00:53 GMT]
Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of Sri Lanka police conducted an intensive search in Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarian N. Sri Kantha's official residence in Mathivela, Colombo Monday around 5:30 p.m. TNA parliamentarian Mavai Senathirajah's secretary Selvarajah Samuel who was at the residence during the search was interrogated for nearly three hours, according to sources in Colombo.
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Tiger aircrafts bomb Palaali military base

[TamilNet, Monday, 23 April 2007, 22:09 GMT]
Two attack aircraft of the Liberation Tigers bombed the Sri Lankan military’s main base complex in the Jaffna peninsula in the early hours of Tuesday morning, inflicting heavy damage and casualties, LTTE military spokesman Irasiah Ilanthirayan told TamilNet. Tamileelam Air Force bombers had hit an Engineering Unit of the complex and a military storage, the Tigers spokesman claimed. Meanwhile sources said continuous explosions were heard from inside the High Security Zone for five hours after the air raid. Military sources in Colombo confirmed that at least 6 of their personnel were killed. Informed military sources said more than 30 troopers were wounded the attack inside the HSZ.
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Rajapaksa delegates civil police powers to military

[TamilNet, Monday, 23 April 2007, 11:23 GMT]
Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa has delegated civil powers hitherto discharged by the Police to the three armed forces, Sri Lanka Army (SLA), Sri Lanka Navy (SLN) and Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) by a recent Extra-Ordinary Gazette Notification of 1491/18 under Chapter 40 of the Public Security Ordinance dated April 06, 2007. Civil powers entrusted with the police throughout the whole island have been delegated to the military by Mr. Rajapaksa.
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