GoSL’s Rights team visits to assess Jaffna situation

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 14 February 2007, 15:36 GMT]
"Normalcy is yet to return to Jaffna. The residents are deprived of the freedom of movement, and continue to experience restrictions and difficulties in getting the essential commodities since the closure of the A9 six months ago," said Rt. Rev. Thomas Soundaranayagm, the Bishop of Jaffna, participating in a meeting Wednesday, convened by a team from Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL from Colombo, held in the High Security Zone area in Jaffna town. Minister of Human Rights and Disaster Management, Mr Mahinda Samarasinghe, who led the team said their mandate is to explore means of restoring normalcy to Jaffna and remedy the short comings in the supply of essential commodities.
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Jaffna students end boycott

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 14 February 2007, 14:54 GMT]
High School and Secondary school students in Jaffna peninsula returned to their classes on Wednesday, in response to the communiqué issued by Jaffna Students Union calling for an end to the two weeks-old boycott of classes. However, attendence was low at Hartley College, Point Pedro and Velauththam MahaVidyalayam, the schools where two abducted on 17 January were attending classes.


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LTTE shells Meesalai camp, 10 SLA troopers injured

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 14 February 2007, 12:40 GMT]
Ten Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers were injured when more than forty shells fired by Liberation Tigers hit the SLA camp located in Meesalai area along A9-high way between 11:30 am and 12:00 noon Wednesday, sources in Jaffna said. SLA command has not released official details of the attack and casualties.
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Armed paramilitaries rob bus in Batticaloa

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 14 February 2007, 11:53 GMT]
Karuna group armed paramilitaries in military fatigues waylaid a Colombo bound civilian bus from Kathankudy in Batticaloa on Sithandy main road in Eravur police division Tuesday around 8:20 p.m., and robbed Rs. 1,500,000 rupees, several national identity cards, 15 hand phones and jewellery from the passengers, according to complaints made to Eravur police.
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LTTE responds to UN report on Children and Armed Conflict

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 14 February 2007, 11:34 GMT]
Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), in a report issued by the Peace Secretariat in Kilinochchi, Wednesday stated that the LTTE which runs a civil administration with "extensive civil services," in which it's members take part, was entitled as a "functioning defacto-state" to recruit those above the age of 17. The Tigers were prepared to observe the minimum age of 18 when this practice has been accepted as an international standard by all the states, the LTTE statement said. The statement is the LTTE's response to the report made following the mission of Allan Rock, Special Adviser to the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict on Sri Lanka.
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Body found in Vaharai well

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 14 February 2007, 00:25 GMT]
Sri Lanka Police recovered a decomposed body of a male in a well in Vaharai around 2:30 p.m. Tuesday, Police sources said. The body was bound inside a sack. Police transferred the body to the Valaichchenai District Hospital for autopsy and identification.
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6 STF troopers injured in mortar fire in Vavunativu

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 13 February 2007, 12:05 GMT]
Six troopers were injured in a mortar attack launched on Vavunativu Special Task Force (STF) camp Tuesday from 6:30 a.m until 7:20 a.m by Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) from the no-man zone, Batticaloa police head quarter said. The STF retaliated the attack but information on LTTE casualties were not released by the police.
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Two shot dead in Thenamradchi

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 13 February 2007, 12:00 GMT]
Unidentified armed men on a motor cycle chased a youth and shot him dead Tuesday around 9:30 a.m as he was returning from Kodikamam town to Kachchai along the road behind Kodikamam police station in Thenmaradchi. Meanwhile, unknown gunmen shot dead the owner driving his tractor along the Navatkuli-Kerativu road, one hundred metres from the Navatkuli Sri Lanka Army (SLA) camp in Thenmaradchi, around 1:30 p.m Tuesday.
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SLA re-opens Uyilankulam entry point

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 13 February 2007, 00:11 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army (SLA) Monday morning around 11.30 a.m. opened the entry point at Uyilankulam to enter areas controlled by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). SLA closed the Uyilankulam entry point following artillery attack on a SLA sentry located near the Uyilankulam sentry point Sunday night.
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Military victory unlikely to produce lasting solution - British Minister

[TamilNet, Monday, 12 February 2007, 11:36 GMT]
"A military victory for one side is very unlikely to produce a lasting political solution," says British Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, Dr Kim Howells, who is visiting Sri Lanka Tuesday to assess the impact of recent fighting on the civilian population and will hold a series of meetings with the Sri Lankan government, diplomatic and civil society representatives in Colombo.
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SLAF steps up aerial bombardment in Vanni

[TamilNet, Monday, 12 February 2007, 07:16 GMT]
Six Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) Kfir bombers Monday morning dropped 18 bombs in Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) controlled Visvamadu in Mullaithivu district in Vanni.
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Samaraweera returns from Singapore

[TamilNet, Sunday, 11 February 2007, 22:17 GMT]
Mangala Samaraweera who lost his Ministry portfolio when President Mahinda Rajapakse sacked three ministers in his cabinet last Friday, returned Colombo Sunday evening from Singapore, political sources in Colombo said. Mangala Samaraweera was in Singapore when Mr. Rajapakse sacked the dissident ministers who were critical of the Government.
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Eight "white van" abductions in Jaffna in 3 days

[TamilNet, Sunday, 11 February 2007, 01:10 GMT]
Eight Tamil male civilians have been abducted by unidentified armed men in white vans within seventy two hour period beginning Wednesday, Jaffna branch of Human Rights Commission (HRC) officials said. According to complaints registered at the HRC office by the victims relatives, three men were abducted on Wednesday and five on Friday.
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SLA extends curfew hours in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Sunday, 11 February 2007, 00:01 GMT]
Palaly military command announced Friday over radio broadcast from Palaly base that curfew hours in Jaffna peninsula have been extended by an hour to ten hours effective Friday. The new curfew hours begin at 6:00 pm and will last till 4:00 am the following day early morning.
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Tamil teacher shot dead in Vavuniya

[TamilNet, Saturday, 10 February 2007, 01:55 GMT]
Unknown gunmen shot dead a male teacher in Pattanichchur Puliyankulam area in Vavuniya Friday evening at 7:40 p.m., Vavuniya Police said. The killing brings the number of homicides by armed men in Vavuniya in February to 6, sources in Vavuniya said.
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Rajapakse sacks dissenting SLFP ministers

[TamilNet, Friday, 09 February 2007, 15:29 GMT]
Shortly after rumblings of discontent amongst the ranks of the ruling Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) over the recent admission of opposition MPS into his mammoth cabinet, President Mahinda Rajapakse sacked three of the most vocal dissenters on Friday, Presidential Secretariat officials said. SLFP stalwarts Anura Bandaranaike, Mangala Samaraweera and Sripathi Suriyarachchi were stripped of their portfolios Friday soon after their criticism of the government become public and vocal.
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UN urged not to ignore Rajapakse regime

[TamilNet, Friday, 09 February 2007, 12:58 GMT]
The UN security council working group which is set to study underage recruitment in Sri Lanka later Friday should not ignore the practice of Sri Lanka President Mahinda Rajapakse’s regime in the practice, a senior columnist with The Guardian newspaper wrote in Friday’s edition on Guardian's 'Comment is Free' section. And condemning political movements for the violence they turn to, “whilst ignoring their complaints and the degree of support they command leads only to political stalemate and more bloodshed,” Jonathan Steele said in his column. He criticised President Rajapakse for destroying the 2002 truce by trying to reoccupy the areas recognised as under Tiger control.
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Two SLA troopers injured in Vavuniya attack

[TamilNet, Friday, 09 February 2007, 12:06 GMT]
Two Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers were injured when unknown gunmen fired at a SLA foot patrol in Nellukulam area in Vavuniya around 12:00 noon Friday, Police sources in Vavuniya said.
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Bomb scare halts train service in Colombo

[TamilNet, Friday, 09 February 2007, 10:59 GMT]
The train service between Dematagoda and Maradana in Colombo came to a halt on Friday morning for about several hours following a tip off to the authorities concerned that an anonymous parcel had been lying on the rail track between these stations, Maligawatte Police said.
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Locals flock to witness St.Mary statue miracle in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Friday, 09 February 2007, 06:35 GMT]
Hundreds of people lined up infront of a residence near Hospital Road in Jaffna town Thursday where statue of St.Mary had shed 'blood of tears' from her eyes, residents in Jaffna said. The statue was moved to the nearby St.John's Baptist Church under the custody of its pastor when it became difficult to control the increasing number of people curious to witness the "miracle," sources in Jaffna said.


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