Mob led by SL Minister attack Journalists at UPM event

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 09 January 2007, 14:43 GMT]
An armed mob led by Sri Lankan Deputy Minister of Labour, Mervin Silva, arrived at the open air stage at Super Market Square in Nugegoda, the site of the first public event organised by the newly established United People's Movement (UPM), and attacked the journalists who were present at the site to cover the event which was about to commence at 3:00 p.m. Tuesday. The UPM is a political platform that seeks to establish consensus among especially the Southern polity on a Federal System of Governance, as against war and any other undemocratic, non-negotiable conclusion to the on going NorthEast conflict.
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US urges south to form basis for renewed talks

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 09 January 2007, 12:57 GMT]
"Attacks that deliberately target civilians are clear acts of terrorism," said US Embassy in a press statement Tuesday, condemning the attacks on civilian buses and stated that the "on going violence in Vakarai" has caused significant hardship to civilians. The US has urged the SLFP, UNP and the All Party Representative Committee (APRC) to "accelerate their concentration of the power sharing proposal" that can form the basis for renewed peace talks.
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40 Tamils arrested in Colombo suburbs

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 09 January 2007, 11:28 GMT]
More than 40 Tamils were arrested Tuesday in a cordon and search operation conducted by the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) and Sri Lanka Police from Monday night until morning Tuesday in areas of Minuwangoda, Negombo, Wattala and Gampaha in the western province following the explosion in Wattala Monday morning of a transformer supplying electricity to the area.
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TRO urges GoSL to guarantee security of humanitarian workers

[TamilNet, Monday, 08 January 2007, 16:22 GMT]
The Tamil Rehabilitation Organisation, which has been subjected to Sri Lankan Police raids and paramilitary attacks, has urged the Government of Sri Lanka to guarantee security of the humanitarian staff of the organistion. The Trincomalee office of the TRO was attacked Saturday and Sunday nights by armed men, believed to be paramilitary members operated by the Sri Lanka Army. The attack on Trinomcalee TRO office comes after Sri Lankan police raid on Friday.
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UN calls for protection of civilians, says Vaharai demands urgent response

[TamilNet, Monday, 08 January 2007, 10:08 GMT]
The United Nations office in Colombo has condemned the deliberate targeting of civilians and called for the protection of all civilians throughout the island. A statement by the UN office that deplored the latest incidents involving two buses which resulted in the deaths of 20 innocent civilians, quoted Amin Awad, the acting resident and humanitarian coordinator, as stating that the civilians in Vaharai are the "most vulnerable of the vulnerable." The UN agencies stood ready to assist the civilians, but said there has been no access to Vaharai for humanitarian agencies. The last convoy, after repeated protests, was allowed on 29 November with humanitarian supplies for two weeks.
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Second bus bomb kills 15 in South, 40 wounded

[TamilNet, Saturday, 06 January 2007, 09:35 GMT]
Another bus explosion was reported in South, claiming 15 lives, on Galle Road, at Seenigama in Meetiyagoda Police area in Galle District, 88 km southeast of Colombo Saturday around 2:20 p.m. More than forty civilians were wounded in the second explosion reported within 24 hours, according to Karapitiya hospital sources. Military officials in Colombo blamed the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam for the bomb attacks in buses Friday and Saturday. LTTE Military Spokesman Irasiah Ilanthiryan denied the accusation as baseless accusations.
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SL Police raids TRO Colombo office

[TamilNet, Saturday, 06 January 2007, 08:26 GMT]
Sri Lankan Police, without producing any warrant, raided the Colombo office of the Tamil Rehabilitation Organisation Saturday morning and searched the office, NGO officials at the TRO office in Colombo told media. The raid on Colombo office by the CID, follows after the raids on Vavuniya and Trincomalee offices Friday. "The continuous harassment of TRO is having a tremendously negative impact on the delivery of humanitarian assistance to the affected people of the NorthEast," the TRO, the only organization working in some of the most severely affected parts of the NorthEast, said in a press statement Saturday.
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6 killed, many wounded, bus explodes in Western Province

[TamilNet, Friday, 05 January 2007, 13:37 GMT]
Six persons were killed in an explosion inside a bus at Kalapittiya near Nittambuwa, 36 km northeast of Colombo, Friday around 6:30 p.m. Around fifty passengers were wounded, as the bus, on its way to Giriulla from Nittambuwa, took fire following the explosion, Police said. 10 persons were seriously wounded. Police has clamped a curfew in the area til Saturday morning 6:00 a.m.
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STF, Police storm TRO offices in Trinco, Vavuniya

[TamilNet, Friday, 05 January 2007, 09:07 GMT]
Sri Lankan Special Task Force personnel and the Police simultaneously stormed the regional offices of the Tamil Rehabilitation Organisation in Trincomalee and Vavuniya, and interrogated the NGO officials who were present at the offices seizing all the documents. Four TRO workers were taken by the STF and the police from the Vavuniya office located at Kurumankadu Friday around 11:30 a.m.
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Remains of Padahuthurai victims laid to rest

[TamilNet, Friday, 05 January 2007, 01:02 GMT]
Hundreds of civilians, religious leaders and civil representatives bade farewell to 13 of the 16 civilian victims killed Tuesday in Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) bombardment at the Mother Velankanni Church at Nochchikuda, Wednesday, sources in Mannar said.
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First shipment of essential food items expected from Tamilnadu

[TamilNet, Thursday, 04 January 2007, 17:46 GMT]
A ship containing food provisions from Chennai is expected to reach Kankesanthurai port Thursday night, the first of its kind in the plan envisaged by Colombo to transport essential food items directly from Tamilnadu to Jaffna peninsula, sources from Colombo said. The goods, imported through a private person will be distributed to the residents of Jaffna district by the Government Agent (GA) Jaffna.
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Sri Lanka military vows to ‘annihilate’ LTTE in east then north

[TamilNet, Thursday, 04 January 2007, 14:02 GMT]
After taking control of the eastern province in the next two months, Sri Lanka’s military will recapture the areas held by the Liberation Tigers in the north of the island, the Army (SLA) Chief said this week.
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MP urges UN to persuade Colombo on safe-haven

[TamilNet, Thursday, 04 January 2007, 06:57 GMT]
Batticaloa district Tamil National Alliance parliamentarian, S. Jeyanandamoorthy, has urged Ban Ki-moon, the UN Secretary General, to prevail upon the Sri Lankan Government to declare a safe-haven in the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) besieged Vaharai region, for the protection of the civilians from artillery, multi-barrel rocket attacks, and aerial bombardment from the Sri Lankan forces. Government of Sri Lanka has earlier rejected the call to declare a humanitarian zone encompassing the Vaharai hospital and the surrounding areas for the protection of the civilians in Vaharai.
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Tamil mother, daughter arrested in Maskeliya

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 03 January 2007, 20:10 GMT]
A Tamil mother and her daughter were arrested Wednesday morning by the Maskeliya Police in the central province on receipt of information that they had taken photographs of the Mousakelle reservoir located in the high security zone, sources said.


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Prices soar as stocks dwindle in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 03 January 2007, 12:24 GMT]
Prices of essentials such as fuel, food, medicine and other agricultural products have sky-rocketed in the Jaffna peninsula as remaining stocks have dwindled, despite assurances given by Maj. Gen. Chandarasiri Sri Lanka Army (SLA) Commander for Jaffna, to the Government Agent (GA) Jaffna Saturday at a meeting held in Kankesanthurai that there is sufficient stock of food and fuel, and that arrangements are being made to distribute them to residents across Jaffna, civil society sources in Jaffna said.
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JVP prepares to face to snap election

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 02 January 2007, 20:26 GMT]
Somawanse Amerasinghe, leader of the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) has alerted the party's politburo to face a snap general election at any time. He cautioned the members of the JVP politburo that the announcement of several popular measures and development projects by the government led by Sri Lanka's President Mahinda Rajapakse should be considered as an indication for a snap parliamentary election, media sources in Colombo said.
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Irresponsible statements jeopardize MoU- UNP

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 02 January 2007, 17:43 GMT]
The main opposition United National Party (UNP) has appealed to President Mahinda Rajapakse not to jeopardize the smooth implementation of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed by the UNP and the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP), main constituent of the United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA) government, by making irresponsible statements, media sources in Colombo said.
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Aerial attack on Padahuthurai, a crime against humanity - Bishop

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 02 January 2007, 10:22 GMT]
The Bishop of Mannar Diocese, Rt Rev Rayappu Joseph, who visited Padahuthurai hamlet, which was completely destroyed by indiscriminate aerial bombardment by the Sri Lanka Air Force Tuesday morning, has condemned the bombardment and said the attack had destroyed the settlement of the Internally Displaced persons. There was no military installation of the LTTE in the area, the Bishop told media. The Bishop, calling the bombardment "a crime against humanity," urged the International Community to send independent observers to NorthEast. Death toll has risen to 15, including 7 children below age nine , a pregnant woman, her child and husband.
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UNP to submit fifth proposal to APRC

[TamilNet, Monday, 01 January 2007, 17:57 GMT]
The main opposition United National Party (UNP) is expected to submit its own political proposals to the All Party Representative Committee (APRC) when it meets on January 8 in the parliamentary complex, political source in Colombo said. This is in response to a decision taken by the Experts Committee of the APRC on Thursday to stop all further discussions on its recommendations until all political parties participating in the APRC submit their political proposals to end the ethnic conflict.
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Battle for Vaharai

[TamilNet, Monday, 01 January 2007, 11:35 GMT]
Vaharai, a large backwater on Sri Lanka’s east coast, is an area with large fertile fields, lagoons and virgin forests in the northern part of the Batticaloa district. More than 15,000 residents and IDPs are now trapped in Vaharai as the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) conducts its brutal campaign to evict Tamils from the region, closing A-15 the main access road to the town, and imposing economic embargo, while Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) kfirs fly bombing raids terrorizing the civilians to flee. "They [LTTE] won't be able to keep the civilians for long. Food and medicine is in short supply," Brigadier Prasad Samarasinghe, the top military spokesman, told Reuters in a interview Friday.
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