Pesalai victims traumatized

[TamilNet, Sunday, 18 June 2006, 05:02 GMT]
Bishop Rayappu Joseph, one of the first persons to enter the church, Our Lady of Victory, after the attack targeting civilians who had taken refuge in the church, told media that the attack was carried out by men in blue uniform, alluding that the attackers were Sri Lanka Navy men. "There was no fight on land; no LTTE cadre was present at the attack site in Pesalai," the Bishop of Mannar Diocese told BBC Tamil Service Saturday. Fear has gripped civilians of Pesalai, who have no other place to seek safety, says Parish Priest Vincent Patrick. Nearly 3000 civilians, most of them women and children, were forced to remain inside the Church, for hours, among the flesh and blood of the victims.
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EU ban unfair, effect on expatriate support marginal- Prof. Plate

[TamilNet, Sunday, 18 June 2006, 02:50 GMT]
"The European ban of the Liberation Tigers is unfair in one sense, but some one had to crack the ice; the situation cannot go on like this. However, the impact on the expatriate support is uncertain but probably marginal; the expatriates are loyal to a fault," Prof Tom Plate of University of California, Los Angeles, said Saturday when asked to comment on the EU ban.
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Three SLN soldiers drown in Colombo

[TamilNet, Saturday, 17 June 2006, 14:27 GMT]
Three Sri Lanka Navy (SLN) soldiers drowned in Modera sea in Colombo when their patrol craft capsized Saturday early morning, Sri Lanka naval sources said. One of the sailor's body was recovered Saturday afternoon, according to sources in Colombo.
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LTTE will be forced to retaliate, Thamilchelvan warns Colombo

[TamilNet, Saturday, 17 June 2006, 09:54 GMT]
The LTTE has requested the Head of the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) and the peace facilitor Norway's Ambassador to Sri Lanka to convey a strong warning to Colombo of possible retaliation following the provocative aerial bombing by the Sri Lankan Air Force (SLAF) in Mullaithivu, Kilinochchi, Batticaloa, and artillery fire towards LTTE territory from Sri Lanka Army (SLA) camps carried out during the last 2 days in violation of the Ceasefire Agreement (CFA), LTTE Head of Political Wing, S.P. Thamilchelvan said in Kilinochchi Saturday.
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Boat explodes, Colombo commercial hub, coastline security tightened

[TamilNet, Saturday, 17 June 2006, 04:26 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army officials in Colombo said a suspected LTTE boat exploded near the shore between Pamunugama and Epamulla, 17 km north of Colombo town, around 6:25 a.m. Saturday. State armed forces and the police have tightened security measures along the coastline and the commercial hub of the Colombo city following the arrest of the three persons by the Wattala Police in Panagamuwa area Saturday morning, security sources said.
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Colombo warns foreign INGO officials, journalists in Vanni

[TamilNet, Saturday, 17 June 2006, 03:30 GMT]
Sri Lankan military authorities in Colombo asked the foreign nationals working in International Non Governmental Organisations (INGOs) and journalists residing in Vanni to remain inside UN and INGO offices, NGO officials in Kilinochchi said Friday.
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Three policemen wounded in grenade attack in Pesalai

[TamilNet, Thursday, 15 June 2006, 17:41 GMT]
Three policemen were wounded when unidentified men lobbed a grenade at the police sentry located in Pesalai in Mannar district Thursday night around 7.40 p.m. The injured were identified as Bandara, 44, Wijewickrema, 41 and Abeyaratne, 32, police sources said.
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Japan, Switzerland condemn claymore attack on passenger bus

[TamilNet, Thursday, 15 June 2006, 11:37 GMT]
Embassies of Japan and Switzerland in Colombo, in press releases issued Thursday, strongly condemned the attack on passenger bus in the region of Anuradhapura which killed several dozens of civilians including children and expressed condolences to the Sri Lankan people and the authorities.
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Kebitigollawe attack, senseless violence used for political ends - LTTE

[TamilNet, Thursday, 15 June 2006, 06:34 GMT]
The Claymore attack on Sinhala civilians in Kebitigollawe Thursday morning was "senseless violence used for political ends," the Liberation Tigers condemning the attack said in press release issued from Kilinochchi. Armed acts targeting civilians "cannot be justified under any circumstances," the press release said and charged Sri Lankan armed elements who have intensified their attacks on Tamil civilians for political ends, have also begun targeting Sinhala civilians with the aim of blaming the Tigers. The LTTE has urged the International media "not to fall prey for the reprehensible propaganda tactic."
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64 killed, 94 wounded in Claymore blast in Kebitigollawe

[TamilNet, Thursday, 15 June 2006, 03:30 GMT]
64 passengers, including fifteen children and a Buddhist monk, were killed and around 94 wounded when a civilian bus was caught in a claymore mine blast near Kebitigollawe, 23 km southeast of Vavuniya, around 7:50 a.m. Thursday, police sources said. Wounded survivors were rushed to Kepitigollawe and Anuradhapura hospitals. The majority of victims are Sinhalese, officials said.
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Indonesian fishing trawler catches fire in Colombo harbour

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 14 June 2006, 11:11 GMT]
Indonesian fishing trawler "WEILAI-LANKA" anchored in the fisheries harbour in Modera in Colombo caught fire Wednesday afternoon around 3.15 p.m. Sixteen Indonesian crew were in the vessel at that time, and all members of the crew were rescued unhurt, naval sources said.
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One-sided pressure will not work- Thamilchelvan

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 14 June 2006, 09:45 GMT]
The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) is prepared to demonstrate the power of balance and the parity of status beyond any doubt to the Sinhala polity, if the the deteriorating relationship between the Government of Sri Lanka and the LTTE forces us to do so, said LTTE's Political Head S. P. Thamilchelvan in Kilinochchi responding to a question on Oslo meeting, sources in Kilinochchi said. The Sri Lankan delegation walked out from the Oslo meeting on a dispute on parity of status.
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Two SLA soldiers injured in gunfire in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 13 June 2006, 22:14 GMT]
Two Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers were injured in three incidents of gunfire and grenade attack by unknown gunmen in Jaffna during the last 24 hours, sources in Jaffna said.
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Jaffna Journalists to boycott Colombo meet

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 13 June 2006, 15:05 GMT]
Members of the Jaffna Journalists Association (JJA) have decided to boycott the North-South bridge of friendship meeting planned by a group of Media Institutions in the South to be held in Colombo on the 21st, 22nd of June, a communique issued by the JJA said Tuesday, sources from Jaffna said.
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JVP planning to protest in Norway

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 13 June 2006, 11:30 GMT]
Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), the extreme Sinhala Nationalist party that espouses radical marxism, in a memorandum issued Tuesday in Colombo, said that they are planning to hold a demonstration in Norway protesting against the Norwegian Government. JVP Parliamentarian, Mr Vasantha Samarasinghe who is currently on a visit to Norway will co-ordinate the protest rally calling on the Sinhala diaspora community in Norway to join in the protest, the memorandum further said.
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Bomb threat suspends work in Colpetty bank

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 13 June 2006, 11:16 GMT]
Work at the National Savings Bank located on Galle Road Colpetty was suspended following a bomb threat issued by an anonymous caller at 8:15 am Tuesday morning. Colpetty Police and Bomb Disposal Squad of the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) rushed to the location but found no explosive devices inside the building, sources in Colombo said.
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Pakistan to provide $250 million military hardware to Colombo - report

[TamilNet, Monday, 12 June 2006, 05:03 GMT]
A Mumbai based Indian newspaper, Daily News & Analysis (DNA), on Monday, reported that Pakistan had opend up a USD 250 million credit line for Colombo to purchase 40 tanks, and many other offensive systems from Pakistan. The move has raised several "new uncomfortable questions" for New Delhi, the report said. Bashir Wali, a former director of Pakistan's Intelligence Bureau and Pakistan's High Commissioner to Sri Lanka, has taken a personal interest in the move, the paper alleged.
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40,000 child prostitutes in Sri Lanka, says Child Rights Group

[TamilNet, Monday, 12 June 2006, 04:14 GMT]
Sri Lanka has nearly 40,000 child prostitutes and more than 100,000 children working as domestic aides, the National Child Protection Agency (NCPA) in Colombo said quoting statistics revealed by UNICEF and ILO, Colombo daily "Daily Mirror" reported in its Monday edition. The International Labor Organization (ILO) marked 12 June as "World Day Against Child Labor" to focus world attention on the urgent need to eradicate child labor.
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Sri Lanka's FM to visit Norway, Finland

[TamilNet, Sunday, 11 June 2006, 12:34 GMT]
Sri Lanka' Foreign Minister, Mangala Samaraweera is scheduled to visit Norway and Finland to discuss bilateral relations with high level officials, a media release from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued Saturday from Colombo said.
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Tamil businessman shot dead in Wellawatte, Colombo

[TamilNet, Saturday, 10 June 2006, 17:51 GMT]
A 67-year old Tamil businessman, riding in a car, was shot near Vihara lane in Wellawate, around 7:00 p.m. Saturday. The victim, who received five gunshot wounds, succumbed to his wounds on the way to hospital, Police said.
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