Two youths arrested near Thondaman residence

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 16 January 2007, 18:02 GMT]
Two youths were taken into custody by the Police Monday on a complaint that they had allegedly used a telescope to monitor the Dimbulagala residence of Minister Arumugan Thondaman. The suspects were arrested on receipt of information from the security officials of Mr.Thondaman.
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Sivaram murder trial before Sinhala speaking Jury

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 16 January 2007, 16:38 GMT]
The Colombo High Court Tuesday fixed the inquiry into the murder of political analyst and a senior editor of TamilNet, Sivaram Dharmeratnam, before a Sinhalese speaking Jury. Judge W.A.D.Ratnayake allowed the application made by the sole suspect, an alleged member of an ex-militant turned paramilitary, that he should be tried before a Sinhala speaking jury, legal sources said.
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16 UNP MPs to join UPFA government - SL Minister

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 16 January 2007, 16:14 GMT]
Sixteen parliamentarians of the main opposition United National Party (UNP) are to join the United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA) government, media reports in Colombo said Tuesday evening quoting a senior Sri Lankan Minister D.Jayaraetne, the general secretary of the Peoples Alliance (PA), a constituent of the UPFA government.
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Sri Lanka steps up offensive on Vaharai

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 16 January 2007, 08:35 GMT]
Heavy casualties were reported in fresh fighting as Sri Lankan armed forces launched a three pronged ground offensive towards Panichchankerni, south of Vaharai, towards Eachilampattu and Uppooral in the north. 12 Tiger fighters were killed and 7 wounded according to LTTE Military Spokesman Irasiah Ilanthirayan who also claimed more than 40 SLA troopers were killed. Meanwhile Sri Lankan military sources in Colombo claiming to have inflicted a heavy casualty, more than 30, on the Tigers said 4 Sri Lankan troopers were killed, inclduing an officer and 20 wounded.
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Sinhalese police officer arrested in Matara

[TamilNet, Monday, 15 January 2007, 18:26 GMT]
A former officer in-charge of the Trincomalee Harbour Police was arrested Monday with a suspect, allegedly belonging to Liberation Tigers, in possession of 4.5 million rupees inside a hotel in Matara in the southern province, media sources in Colombo said quoting security forces.
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SLMC to join UPFA government

[TamilNet, Monday, 15 January 2007, 11:03 GMT]
The leadership of the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) is completing formalities towards joining the United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA) government led by President Mahinda Rajapakse, SLMC general secretary, M.T.Hassan Ali told media persons in Colombo Sunday.
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More than 250 Tamils arrested in South, taken for questioning

[TamilNet, Saturday, 13 January 2007, 19:35 GMT]
Sri Lanka Security forces assisted by Police arrested 209 youths in Gampaha, 36 in Nittambuwa, 22 in Minuwangoda, and 7 in Borelesgamuwa Friday and Saturday during separate cordon and search operations, sources in Colombo said.
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Wickremesinghe to meet Rajapakse amid speculation of party split

[TamilNet, Saturday, 13 January 2007, 19:26 GMT]
Mr.Ranil Wickremasinghe, leader of the main opposition United National Party (UNP), is to meet Sri Lanka's President Mahinda Rajapakse next week amid speculation that a group of UNP parliamentarians are likely to cross over to the government side and will accept new positions as ministers with cabinet rank, political sources in Colombo said.
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British forensic officers study Raviraj exhibits

[TamilNet, Saturday, 13 January 2007, 15:48 GMT]
A team of Britain’s Scotland Yard has left Sri Lanka after ten days of forensic and telephone analysis work with police investigating the assassination of Tamil National Alliance (TNA) MP Nadarajah Raviraj in November. The British police are taking a number of exhibits back with them for further forensic tests, a statement by the UK High Commission in Colombo said Saturday.
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SLA claims trooper's death in Ariyalai, suicide

[TamilNet, Saturday, 13 January 2007, 13:21 GMT]
A Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldier who was found dead after sounds of gunfire at the 513-brigade camp in Ariyalai in Jaffna Friday night, committed suicide, officials at the camp said. However, Jaffna Acting District Court Judge, Mr M Thirunavukkarasu, who visited the crime scene, found suspicious evidence contradicting the Camp officials' assertions, and directed further investigations into the trooper's death, sources said.
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Northeast, Anuradhapura Bishops meet Rajapakse

[TamilNet, Saturday, 13 January 2007, 03:21 GMT]
Sri Lanka's President Mahinda Rajapksa met with Jaffna Bishop Rev.Thomas Saundranayagam, Mannar Bishop Rev.Rayappu Joseph, and Anuradhapura Bishop Rev.Norbert Andradi at Temple Trees Friday afternoon. The discussions centered on the hardships faced by civilians in the Northeast and steps that can be taken to alleviate the suffering, sources in Colombo said.
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Jafffna Army Commander orders registration of motorcycles

[TamilNet, Saturday, 13 January 2007, 00:14 GMT]
In a special announcement made on Friday, the Head office of the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) command in the North issued strict orders directing residents to register all motor cycles and scooters including the light vehicles used by women in Jaffna peninsula, before Saturday at the SLA camps in their areas, and to obtain permits to operate the vehicles. Failure to register these vehicles will result in the arrest of the owner and confiscation of their vehicle, the announcement warned.
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Tamil suspects detained at Boosa camp

[TamilNet, Friday, 12 January 2007, 23:08 GMT]
Tamil civilians arrested by the Sri Lanka's forces under the newly introduced Prevention of Terrorism (PTA) Act are now sent to Boosa detention camp located in Galle in the south of the island due to lack of space in Colombo jails. About sixty Tamils taken into custody in Colombo recently are likely to be sent to Boosa detention camp shortly, sources in Colombo said.
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Relatives appeal for release of Eastern University Vice Chancellor

[TamilNet, Friday, 12 January 2007, 13:59 GMT]
Dr.Malaravan, son-in-law of Professor Sivasubramaniam Raveendranath, the Vice Chancellor of the Eastern University of Sri Lanka (EUSL) who was abducted on Dec 15th in Colombo in High Security area in the Bauddhaloka Mawatte, issued a second urgent appeal to the abductors to release his uncle. Dr Malaravan said that the members of Raveendranath's family will ensure that the Professor will resign his post of Vice Chancellor at the Eastern University. From the time Dr.Raveendranath was abducted, all activities at the Eastern University have been at a complete stand still.
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Media watchdog condemns paramilitary ban on papers

[TamilNet, Friday, 12 January 2007, 11:52 GMT]
Free Media Movement, a Colombo based media watchdog, Friday said it noted with deep concern the alleged ban imposed by the Karuna paramilitary group on the sale of Colombo Tamil dailies Virakesari, Thinakkural and Sudar Oli in the East. The paramilitary group, operated by the Sri Lanka Army, had banned the sale of the Tamil papers, except the EPDP paramilitary owned Thinamurasu and the Sri Lanka Government owned Thinakaran in Sri Lanka Army controlled areas of Batticaloa district. The group has issued death threats to news agents in Trincomalee in an attempt to block the distribution of independent Tamil papers in the district.
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10 Tamils abducted in 5 days in Colombo, Puttalam

[TamilNet, Friday, 12 January 2007, 08:27 GMT]
Eight Tamils have been abuducted in Colombo and two in Puttalam within the last five days. The abductors had released one of the victims after keeping him blindfolded for a full day. Nine of the victims are still reported missing, Civil Monitoring Commission reported Friday. The fate of Professor S. Raveendranath, the Vice Chancellor of Eastern University, abucted in Colombo's High Security area, is not known for almost a month since December 15.
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Supreme Court setting policy of SL Government- Kiriyella

[TamilNet, Thursday, 11 January 2007, 12:02 GMT]
"Tamils did not demand a separate state in 1956. They only demanded their language rights but we denied their rights then. The Sri Lankan governments since independence in 1948 have not seriously attempted to solving this problem," Laxman Kiriyella, the United National Party (UNP) parliamentarian for Kandy district, said in Parliament Wednesday, speaking on the present state of affairs in the Northeast, parliamentary sources from Colombo said. "This government is reluctant to express its stand in important policy matters but uses the supreme court as a cover. Effectively, the Supreme Court is determining the policy of the government," he added.
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SLA intimidates Jaffna media- TNA MP

[TamilNet, Thursday, 11 January 2007, 00:07 GMT]
“Sri Lankan Army (SLA) soldiers Tuesday night entered three Jaffna based Tamil newspaper offices, threatened the staff, and took away at gun point the press communiqué from Jaffna University Students Union (JUSU) waiting to be published," said Kirushnan Sivanesan, the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) Parliamentarian for Jaffna district Wednesday.
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44 Tamils arrested in Colombo

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 10 January 2007, 22:26 GMT]
Forty four Tamils were arrested in a sudden cordon and search operation conducted jointly by Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers and Police personnel in Mount Lavinia, Colombo, from Tuesday night 10:00 pm until Wednesday early morning 4:00 a.m, sources in Colombo said. Most of the arrested were from NorthEast and Hill country areas. More than 100 security personnel were involved in this operation.
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SL President must offer solution, truce - paper

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 10 January 2007, 12:28 GMT]
Warning Sri Lanka’s President Mahinda Rajapakse that a military solution to the ethnic question, “will be a long and arduous task that will take a long time,” The Morning Leader newspaper urged him instead to “forward [to the LTTE] a viable set of proposals and at least call for a temporary cessation of hostilities.”
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