Tamil woman passenger arrested in Colombo

[TamilNet, Thursday, 25 January 2007, 00:51 GMT]
Sri Lanka Police took a Tamil woman passenger into custody during a search operation conducted in train bound for Galle from Fort Station in Colombo Tuesday evening on a tip off that explosives were hidden in a compartment, sources said.


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Youth surrenders at the Jaffna Rights Group office

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 24 January 2007, 15:18 GMT]
A youth from Vadamaradchy surrendered at the Jaffna office of the Sri Lanka Human Rights office on Wednesday bringing the total number of civilians surrendered since Aug.11, to 42, rights officials said.
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Journalists call for media freedom

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 24 January 2007, 12:50 GMT]
The journalists in Sri Lanka staged a demonstration in front of the Fort Railway Station, Colombo around 12:30 p.m. Tuesday, condemning the intimidation of media persons and media institution and stressing the freedom of expression.
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Demonstration held in Colombo against spiralling cost of living

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 24 January 2007, 11:59 GMT]
"Cost of living has escalated and that is driving the poor even poorer, and people are undergoing immense hardship," said Anurakumara Dissanayake, Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) parliamentarian and one of the coordinators of United Front For The Protection in of Motherland, during the protest demonstration held in front of Fort Railway Station in Colombo around 4:00 p.m Tuesday, media sources in Colombo said.
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12 Tamil youths arrested in Colombo sent to Boosa camp

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 23 January 2007, 10:04 GMT]
Twelve of Tamil youths arrested on suspicion and detained in four police stations in Colombo were suddenly transferred to Boosa Detention Camp in Galle in the southern province Monday. They were among several Tamil civilians, majority of them natives of Jaffna and upcountry Tamil plantations arrested by government security forces in Colombo and its suburbs during several cordon and search operations conducted recently, and detained in several police stations in the capital city, media sources in Colombo said.
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Three Tamil youths arrested in Kandy

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 23 January 2007, 10:01 GMT]
Kandy Police arrested three Tamil youths who are natives of Jaffna district when they were traveling in a three-wheeler Sunday night, sources in Kandy said. The Police took the youths and the three-wheeler into custody. The youths are being detained in Kandy police station.
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UNP dissidents firm in joining SL government- Jayasuriya

[TamilNet, Saturday, 20 January 2007, 22:24 GMT]
Mr.Karu Jayasuriya, dissident leader of the main opposition United National Party (UNP), told media persons in Colombo that there is no change in the decision to cross over to the government side by a group of dissident UNP parliamentarians. He added that he would meet Mr.Ranil Wickremasinghe on Monday in Colombo at the latter's invitation, sources said.
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"Majority Report" authors commended

[TamilNet, Saturday, 20 January 2007, 19:33 GMT]
A group of Sri Lankan academics and civil activists in a letter sent to the members of the Experts Panel on Constitutional Reform Friday, said that the "Majority Report provides a reasonably compromised and remarkably consensual road map for effecting the necessary constitutional changes towards a political resolution," and added that "the onus is now on [Sri Lanka's] President Rajapakse and the leaders of the SLFP and the UNP to take the lead and act on these recommendations."
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Tiger artillery fire kills 4 SLA soldiers at Panichchankerni

[TamilNet, Saturday, 20 January 2007, 15:05 GMT]
Four Sri Lanka Army soldiers were killed and three wounded in LTTE artillery fire at Panichchankerni Saturday afternoon, military sources in Colombo said.
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145 persons arrested in Puttalam district

[TamilNet, Saturday, 20 January 2007, 10:06 GMT]
145 persons were arrested during a combined cordon and search operation by the Sri Lanka Army and Police in Puttalam, Anamaduwa and Vannathivillu in the North Western Province, from Thursday night till dawn of Friday. Majority of arrested are Tamils, sources said.
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Four SLA soldiers killed in Eachchilampathu

[TamilNet, Saturday, 20 January 2007, 10:00 GMT]
Four Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers were killed and 3 injured in a mortar attack launched by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) Friday evening at Eachchilampathu, south of Trincomalee district, military sources in Colombo said.
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Sri Lanka allocates oil exploration in Mannar

[TamilNet, Saturday, 20 January 2007, 06:05 GMT]
Sri Lanka has given one of eight blocks to explore for oil in Mannar to India and another to China, reports said this week. Sri Lanka is planning to allocate the rest of the six blocks in three months. A Norway-based company was originally handling the exploration process, but the Sri Lankan government has bought the information off it and passed it to an Australian firm for interpretation instead, the reports said. Colombo has already sold two sets of the available data to India’s Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) and British Gas.
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Forty civilians arrested in Wattala

[TamilNet, Friday, 19 January 2007, 18:38 GMT]
In a cordon and search operation conducted by the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) and Police from Thursday night till early morning Friday in Wattala in Colombo city, forty civilians, majority of them Tamils, were taken in for questioning.
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Protest against curbs on media to be held Tuesday

[TamilNet, Friday, 19 January 2007, 12:57 GMT]
Several Media associations are jointly to hold a public protest in front of the Fort Railway station on Tuesday from 12:30 p.m as part of a campaign for media freedom and safety of journalists in Sri Lanka, a leaflet issued by the joint group said Friday.
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SLA troops enter vacated Vaharai hospital

[TamilNet, Friday, 19 January 2007, 12:23 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army sources in Colombo claimed Friday afternoon that their troops have entered the Vaharai hospital without facing any resistance from the Tigers. Liberation Tigers Military Spokesman, verifying that the Tigers had relocated their positions in Panichchankerni where the SLA had obstructed the land route to Vaharai village, said LTTE had no combatants in Vaharai village where the hospital is located. Meanwhile, thousands of civilians who crossed through Kadjuwatte exit and entry point were escorted to Mankerni Catholic school and provided midday meal.
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JVP will agitate if government takes in UNP MPs - Vijith Herath

[TamilNet, Thursday, 18 January 2007, 12:12 GMT]
"We will gather people and agitate on the streets against the government if it takes in United National Party (UNP) parliamentarians who are against 'Mahintha Chinthanaya,' and this may even lead to the downfall of the government," Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) parliamentarian for Gampaha district, Vijith Hearath said, commenting on the reported likely cross-over of 18 UNP parliamentarians to the government, political sources in Colombo said.
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Kohona assumes duties as Sri Lanka's Foreign Secretary

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 17 January 2007, 23:19 GMT]
Dr. Palitha Kohona, the current Secretary General of Sri Lanka Government's Secretariat for Co-ordinating the Peace Process (SCOPP), assumed duties as Sri Lanka's new Foreign Ministry Secretary Wednesday. Mr. Mangala Samaraweera, Foreign Minister, did not attend the function held at the Foreign Ministry Wednesday morning.
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Two more youths surrender to Jaffna Human Rights group

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 17 January 2007, 19:51 GMT]
Two more youths sought protection with the Jaffna Humarn Rights Commission (HRC) group on Wednesday, adding to the 39 civilians already surrendered at the Jaffna office of the HRC, sources in Jaffna said. The youths complained of serious threats and intimidation by Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers.
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Wife appeals for release of Eastern University VC

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 17 January 2007, 19:43 GMT]
R.Jegatheswary, wife of Professor Sivasubramaniam Raveendranath, the Vice Chancellor of the Eastern University of Sri Lanka (EUSL), issued an appeal on Tuesday to the media seeking their help in obtaining the release of her husband abducted on Dec 15th in Colombo in High Security area in Bauddhaloka Mawatte.
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Family seeks protection with Rights Group

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 17 January 2007, 00:05 GMT]
An elderly couple from 15th mile post in Udupiddy, aged 56 and 54, together with their 15-year old daughter surrendered themselves on Tuesday at the Jaffna office of the Sri Lanka Human rights Commission (SLHRC) seeking protection from the Sri Lanka army (SLA) troops. HRC has obtained a court order to place the family in protective custody at the Jaffna prison.
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