CID ordered to submit reasons for arrest of Mawbima journalist

[TamilNet, Saturday, 03 March 2007, 00:20 GMT]
Nimal Punchihewa, the head of Sri Lanka Human Rights Commission (SLHRC) ordered the officials of the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) to furnish details pertaining to the arrest of Tamil woman journalist Paremesawary Munusamy before March 20, when hearings were held Friday morning.
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Vavuniya lawyers continue boycott

[TamilNet, Friday, 02 March 2007, 12:25 GMT]
Lawyers in Vavuniya continued their boycott of the District Court and High Court in Vavuniya for the second day Friday protesting against a paramilitary group's demand for ransom and death threats against them, legal sources in Vavuniya said. The Chief Justice, Sarath N Silva, Friday morning, had requested the Lawyers in Vavuniya, Vavuniya District Judge Mr. Manickavasagar Illancheliyan and Vavuniya District High Court Judge Mr. Jeremiah Viswanathan to attend a meeting in Colombo immediately.
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10 Tamils arrested in Dehiwela

[TamilNet, Friday, 02 March 2007, 02:25 GMT]
Sri Lanka Police conducted a door to door search midnight Wednesday in the Tamil dominated towns of Dehiwela and Kalubovila in Mount Lavinia Municipal limits, and arrested ten Tamils including three women, sources in Colombo said.
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Dehiwela Police arrests 3 Tamil women under PTA

[TamilNet, Thursday, 01 March 2007, 12:22 GMT]
Dehiwela police arrested three Tamil women Wednesday midnight at their house in Vijayarama Mawatte in Kalubowila, Dehiwela, and has detained them at Dehiwela police station without stating the reason for the arrest, legal sources in Colombo said. Mano Ganeshan, Colombo District parliamentarian, contacted Dehiwela police regarding the arrests and was told that the three women have been arrested and held under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA).
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Paramilitaries issue death threat to Vavuniya Lawyers

[TamilNet, Thursday, 01 March 2007, 12:06 GMT]
Lawyers in Vavuniya made legal history by boycotting Vavuniya district Court and High court Thursday protesting against the persistent demand for ransom by a paramilitary group, and the death threats issued by the group, legal sources in Vavuniya said. Activities of a court has been completely suspended because of the boycott, Manickavasagar Illancheliyan, District Judge Vavuniya said Thursday at Vavuniya District Court.


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SLAF training aircraft crashes, 2 dead

[TamilNet, Thursday, 01 March 2007, 07:49 GMT]
A Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) flying instructor and a SLAF pilot trainee died instantly when a PT6 training aircraft crashed into the airfield in Anuradhapura airbase Thursday around 12:10 p.m., according to Sri Lankan military sources in Colombo.
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HRC conducts inquiries into death in Police detention

[TamilNet, Thursday, 01 March 2007, 00:44 GMT]
Sri Lankan Human Rights Commission (HRC) conducted inquiries Wednesday into the death of the Sinhala suspect held at the Police Head Quarters in Colombo. The officials from the HRC visited the scene and recorded statements from the Director of the Investigation section and the personnel involved in the interrogation of the deceased detainee, O. G. Chandrasena, HRC officials said.
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SLN fortifies Point Pedro harbour area

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 28 February 2007, 21:17 GMT]
Sri Lanka Navy (SLN) is constructing a large guard post at Point Pedro Munai area near the light house with the aim to reopen Point Pedro harbour which remains closed after the attack on 'City of Liverpool' ship. Myliddy waterfront serves as a temporary unloading wharf but is incapable of handling many vessels simultaneously. The new SLN guard post, while guarding ships unloading at Point Pedro harbour, is also meant to obstruct any Sea Tiger attacks.
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SLN destroys suspicious boat in the seas off Matara

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 28 February 2007, 04:49 GMT]
Sri Lankan military officials in Colombo have claimed that the Sri Lanka Navy destroyed a suspicious boat 230 nautical miles off Matara on Sri Lanka's southern coast around 8:30 a.m. Wednesday. Sri Lankan officials later said that the incident occurred 180 nautical miles from Dondra Point.
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Prisoners call off protest

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 28 February 2007, 00:15 GMT]
The Tamil political prisoners at Magazine Prison, Colombo, who started a fast-to-death campaign on 21 February demanding their release, called off their action temporarily on Monday following assurances given by the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) Parliamentarians to assist them, sources in Colombo said.
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Sinhalese suspect found dead at Police headquarters

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 27 February 2007, 17:09 GMT]
A Sinhalese man, arrested at Valaichenai in Batticaloa district on suspicion for working closely with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in November 2006 and held in custody at Police Headquarters in Colombo, was found dead in the toilet Tuesday morning, Colombo police said.


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SLA search, act of reprisal, students say

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 27 February 2007, 16:32 GMT]
Several student organisations in Jaffna peninsula including Tamil Student Union strongly accused Sri Lanka Army's (SLA) cordoning off and searching Jaffna Hindu College and surrounding areas Tuesday morning as reprisal against the student community and a preplanned measure to disrupt their educational activities.
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U.S., Italian Ambassadors wounded in shell fire in Batticaloa

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 27 February 2007, 05:13 GMT]
U.S. Ambassador to Sri Lanka, Richard O'Blake, and the Italian Ambassador to Sri Lanka, Pio Mariani, were slightley injuried by shrapnel of shells fired at Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) airfield in eastern Batticaloa, around 8:40 a.m, Tuesday. Reports said the diplomats were getting off a helicopter in which around 15 diplomats and senior officials flew to the eastern town when the shells hit the air field. Meanwhile, 2 SLAF helicopters that landed in Weber Stadium in Batticatoa city carrying Sri Lankan Disaster Management Minister narrowly escaped from 122 mm shell fire, according to military sources in Colombo.
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SL anti-terror officials detain Sinhala paper director

[TamilNet, Monday, 26 February 2007, 22:10 GMT]
The Financial Director of the Sinhala language weekly "Mawbima", Dushantha Basnayake, has been detained by the Sri Lankan Terrorism Investigation Division (TID) Monday evening at his workplace in Colombo. Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse, in a televised address, Saturday had charged that the weekly was "pro LTTE." The paper is owned by Tiran Alles, a close confidante of Mangala Samaraweera, the former SL Foreign Minister who was recently sacked by Mr. Mahinda Rajapakse. Mr. Tiran Alles was also removed from Sri Lanka's Civil Aviation Authority this month.
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JHU decides against submitting proposal to APRC

[TamilNet, Monday, 26 February 2007, 21:25 GMT]
Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU), all monks' party said Monday that it will not table its proposals to the All Party Representatives Committee (APRC) to find a political solution to the ethnic conflict, political sources in Colombo said. JHU reasoned that Mahinda Chinthanaya mandates a solution on the basis of unitary concept of constitution and therefore no alternate proposals are necessary.
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Eastern university scheduled to reopen on March 19

[TamilNet, Monday, 26 February 2007, 21:09 GMT]
The decision to reopen the Eastern University of Sri Lanka (EUSL) on March 19 was taken at a meeting held on Monday at 10:30 a.m. in Kallady, Batticaloa Vipulantha College of Aesthetic Studies of the university campus, Acting Vice chancellor S.Pathmanathan said.
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SL President leaves for China on 7-day official visit

[TamilNet, Monday, 26 February 2007, 03:11 GMT]
Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse around midnight on Sunday left Colombo on a seven-day official visit to China leading a delegation of about fifteen ministers. Several business leaders and officials of the Chamber of Commerce and Industries in the districts of Kandy, Galle, Matara and Kegalle also joined the President's delegation, sources said.
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Eastern Tamils oppose merger of Universities

[TamilNet, Monday, 26 February 2007, 00:32 GMT]
The initiative of the Deputy Minister of Higher Education, 'Myown' Mustafa to amalgamate the Eastern University of Sri Lanka (EUSL) with the Muslim-dominated South Eastern University, faces stiff resistance from Tamils and Muslims living Batticaloa district, sources in Batticaloa said.
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India donates second warship to Sri Lanka

[TamilNet, Sunday, 25 February 2007, 19:24 GMT]
India is to grant the Sri Lanka Navy another ocean-going warship as part of greater cooperation between the two countries, media reports in Colombo said Sunday.
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Jaffna faces shortage of critical medicines

[TamilNet, Sunday, 25 February 2007, 13:19 GMT]
Jaffna Teaching Hospital, Manthikai Government hospital in Point Pedro and other hospitals in Jaffna district are unable to perform surgeries as stocks of saline drip and other essential medicines have depleted, medical sources in Jaffna said. Government supplies of medicines earmarked for the first quarter of year 2007 has not been shipped from Colombo to Jaffna, hospital sources said. Residents of Jaffna peninsula requiring critical medicines are forced to pay up sometimes up to ten times the normal market value from private traders who have small amount of stocks left, according to Jaffna residents.
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