Stop arms supply to Sri Lanka: CPI urges Indian government

[TamilNet, Thursday, 27 March 2008, 14:36 GMT]
The Communist Party of India (CPI), a prominent ally of the ruling Congress party, has urged the Indian Government to "immediately stop supplying arms to Sri Lanka that was mindlessly killing Tamil people." A resolution to this effect was passed Wednesday in the party's four-day 20th National Congress at Hyderabad. According to reports in the Indian media, D. Pandian, State Secretary, Tamil Nadu moved this resolution which sought New Delhi to interfere in the war-torn island's ethnic problem towards finding a political solution.
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JVP: Sri Lanka moving towards Kosovo-type situation

[TamilNet, Thursday, 27 March 2008, 11:32 GMT]
Comparing the situation in Sri Lanka with the State of Kosovo before it declared independence, Weerawanse, parliamentary group leader the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) and the general secretary of the National Patriotic Movement at a press briefing held Wednesday said that the situations are similar, and that the damaging report by Ms Louis Arbor, High Commission of the UN Human Rights on Kosovo paved the way for Kosovo independence, media sources said.
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15 SLA killed, body recovered in Ma'nalaa'ru - LTTE

[TamilNet, Thursday, 27 March 2008, 05:59 GMT]
Liberation Tigers of Tamileelam (LTTE) Operations Command in Ma'nalaa'ru on Thursday said the Tigers confronted two Sri Lanka Army (SLA) offensive pushes within the last two days in the region. On Wednesday, the LTTE thwarted an SLA attempt to break into LTTE territory after 2 hours confrontation at Ceylon Theatre area from 1:15 p.m. 5 SLA soldiers were killed and the Tigers recovered the dead body of one SLA soldier with arms and ammunition. On Tuesday, 10 SLA soldiers were killed in a similar confrontation that erupted when the SLA attempted to advance, the Tigers said.
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Family man abducted in Jaffna High Security Zone

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 26 March 2008, 17:21 GMT]
A young family man was abducted Tuesday around 5:00 p.m at Paa’ndiyan Thaazhvu, Ko’lumbuththu’rai in Jaffna, an area within the High security Zone (HSZ) of Sri Lanka Army (SLA), according to complaint made by his wife to Human Rights Commission (HRC) Jaffna, sources in Jaffna said. The man had earlier been placed in the protective custody in Jaffna Prison due to death threats by SLA troops and SLA-backed paramilitaries, the sources added.
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Sri Lanka’s parliament Monk shuns Nonviolence- paper

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 26 March 2008, 14:25 GMT]
Athurliye Rathana, a celebrated monk and a Sri Lanka parliamentarian, “sounded more like an army general than a legislator or monk” when he said, "[w]e can sort this out on our own. We tried to discuss things, but the LTTE always wanted to fight. We must do our duty on the battle field," Washington Post said in an article that appeared in the Wednesday edition.
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SLN imposes fishing ban in Vadamaraadchi North

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 26 March 2008, 09:41 GMT]
The Sri Lanka Navy (SLN) issued a special order Tuesday banning all fishing activities in Vadamaraadchi North in seas from Point Pedro Munai and Katkoava'lam up to Valveddiththu'rai (VVT) until further notice. The fishermen who set out for fishing in the morning were turned back by the troops manning the check points along the coast, Fishermen Society Federation sources in Jaffna said.
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SLA soldier shoots dead fellow soldier in Northern Front

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 26 March 2008, 05:32 GMT]
A Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldier, who allegedly shot and killed a fellow soldier Sunday in Naakarkoayil Forward Defence Line (FDL) area, has been kept in remand custody at Kodikaamam Police.
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Student detained by Batticaloa police gets ill, parents complain

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 25 March 2008, 17:56 GMT]
A 28-year-old student of Batticaloa Technical College located at Magnchaththoduvaay, arrested by Special Task Force (STF) personnel 19 days agon, on March 6 and still detained by the police, is reportedly suffering from chest pain caused by harassments at Batticaloa police station. The relatives of the victim, Suntharamoorthy Anandan, has complained to the International Committee of Red Cross (ICRC) and to the Sri Lanka Human Rights Commission.
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Two young men seek protection with Jaffna HRC

[TamilNet, Monday, 24 March 2008, 17:19 GMT]
Two young men have sought protection with the Human Rights Commission in Jaffna claiming that they have been threatened with death by Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers.
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Search operation in Peradeniya, 1 Tamil youth arrested

[TamilNet, Monday, 24 March 2008, 11:22 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army (SLA) and Sri Lanka Police conducted a large scale cordon and search operation in Peradeniya police division from dawn to dusk on Sunday, media sources said. All trains to and from Peradeniya railway station were subjected to search and passengers were interrogated. One Tamil youth was taken into custody and is being detained in Peradeniya police station for further interrogation.
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SLA forces civilians to cleanup checkposts, military bases in Thenmaraadchi

[TamilNet, Monday, 24 March 2008, 02:48 GMT]
More than 600 men of all ages were rounded up Sunday around 7:00 a.m. by Sri Lanka Army (SLA) troopers in Vara'ni, Kudamiyaan and suburbs in Thenmaraadchi and taken away in military vehicles to be deployed for clean up and restoration work within and outside the military bases, sources in Jaffna said. The civilians were forced to work the whole day at gun point in and around the army bases, check posts and shrub lands along Kodikaamam – Point Pedro road, officials from Thenmaraadchi District Secretariat confirmed.
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SLA suffers heavy casualties in Mannaar, clashes erupt in Northern FDL

[TamilNet, Sunday, 23 March 2008, 15:15 GMT]
Liberation Tigers of Tamileelam (LTTE) Operations Command in Mannaar said upto 55 Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers were killed in heavy fighting that ensued between the SLA and the LTTE Saturday at Iththikka'ndal in Paalaikkuzhi, Mannaar. Meanwhile the SLA has handed over dead bodies of 10 LTTE cadres, 6 females and 4 males, at Mannaar hospital Sunday, claiming that the bodies were recovered in the heavy fighting on Saturday. On Sunday, 4 SLA soldiers were killed and 7 wounded, according to LTTE Operations Command in Vavuniyaa. As the rain ceased, the SLA engaged in offensive push in Mannaar, Vavuniyaa and along the FDLs in the North.
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Heavy fighting in Jaffna FDLs

[TamilNet, Sunday, 23 March 2008, 13:34 GMT]
Heavy fighting broke out in Jaffna peninsula when Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers attempted to advance from their positions in Mukamaalai, Ki'laali and Naakarkoavil towards forward defence lines of the Liberation Tigers, Sunday morning. At least one SLA soldier was killed and several others were wounded when the Liberation Tigers counter attacked the SLA soldiers, LTTE sources said.
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Steps are on to retrieve Kachchatheevu: Congress MP

[TamilNet, Sunday, 23 March 2008, 11:12 GMT]
A Congress leader in Tamil Nadu and Indian Upper House (Rajya Sabha) Member of Parliament, Sudarsana Natchiappan, has said that the Indian Government was taking steps to take back Kadchatheevu according to a report by Dinamani newspaper in Tamil Nadu Sunday. Mr. Natchiappan was participating in the 66th state executive committee meeting of the Human Rights Division of the Congress Party at Raameasvaram on Saturday.
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SLA cordons-off, searches Chunnaakam

[TamilNet, Sunday, 23 March 2008, 04:13 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers cordoned off large areas in Chunnaakam West including Uduvil North and Kantharoadai and conducted house to house search Sunday morning, sources in Jaffna said.
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Destroyed East villages, MP chronicles history

[TamilNet, Saturday, 22 March 2008, 16:33 GMT]
"Population of Sinhalese in the East was a mere 0.53 percent in 1827 but due to systematic colonisation and subsequent establishment of military camps along the borders of traditional Tamil areas, Sinhala settlers encroached into more than 25 percent of land owned by Tamils," said Maavai Senathirajah, Jaffna district Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarian, addressing, as the chief guest, to a gathering in Colombo Saturday on the occasion of the release of a book "Destroyed Tamil villages," authored by fellow Member of Parliament (MP), S.Jeyananthamoorthy, literary sources in Colombo said. T. Kangasabai, Batticaloa district TNA parliamentarian presided the function.
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SLA accelerates colonization of east

[TamilNet, Saturday, 22 March 2008, 15:18 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army (SLA) is involved in planned encroachment of lands belonging to Tamils in Koaraalaipattu North in Batticaloa district, and colonization of other Sri Lanka Government controlled areas by resettling Sinhala civilians, local residents of affected areas in Koaraalaipattu said.
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Military Officer in media position will affect war reporting, says CPJ

[TamilNet, Saturday, 22 March 2008, 11:59 GMT]
Citing incidents of "ongoing intimidation of Sri Lanka media ... and the treatment of Tamil journalists under investigation by the Terrorist Investigation Division," and the appointment of retired Major General Sunil Silva, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), a New York based media watch dog, in a letter sent to Sri Lanka's President Rajapakse Friday said, "[u]nsupported terrorist accusations threaten the security and livelihood of Tamil journalists. A military leader in a state media group threatens the objectivity of journalists," and urged Rajapakse to vigorously investigate attacks and provide the journalists with due protection.
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Ambush kills 2 SLA soldiers in Mannaar, 8 wounded

[TamilNet, Friday, 21 March 2008, 16:00 GMT]
Two Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers were killed and 8 wounded when a pressure mine ambush targeted their bus, which was on its way to South Bar SLA camp, on Station Road, 2 km south of Mannaar city, Friday around 7:30 p.m. The SLA and Police blocked the road and launched a cordon and search operation. Hundreds of civilians who are residents of Chaanthinakar located close to South Bar, were stranded on the road, when they were returning after attending Good Friday rituals at St. Sebastiyan Cathedral.
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VVT Sivan Temple holds Ther festival

[TamilNet, Friday, 21 March 2008, 12:13 GMT]
Chariot festival at the historic Sivan Temple in Valveddiththu'rai, the spring board of Tamil armed struggle and the home town of Leader of Liberation Tigers, Pirapaharan, was held Thursday amidst continued military activities and travel restrictions, sources in Jaffna said. Thousands of devotees from many parts of the peninsula attended the grand festival, and local residents exhibited their determination to preserve the culture and heritage.
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