30,000 Tamils march in London over Sri Lanka's internment camps

[TamilNet, Sunday, 18 October 2009, 20:37 GMT]
More than 30,000 British Tamils marched to draw attention to the Sri Lankan government's continued incarceration of over 280,000 Tamils in military supervised camps despite earlier pledges to release within 180 days from the end of war in May. Protesters, young and old, carried banners and chanted slogans expressing that 150 days have passed with no concrete steps taken to resettle the Tamils held in the “concentration camps" in Vavuniyaa.
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15 IDPs abducted from transit camp

[TamilNet, Sunday, 18 October 2009, 15:50 GMT]
Fifteen Internally Displaced Tamil men were abducted by a group of unidentified persons clad in army uniform Saturday evening from the transit camp located in the complex of Eachchilampathu Sri Shenpaga Maha Vidiyalayam in Seruvila division in Trincomalee district. Abducted IDPs are married and in the age group 25-45, according to complaints filed with the police and the civil authority by abductees relatives, civil sources in Trincomalee said.
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Jaffna judges, magistrates, lawyers can travel via A9 road with SLA permission

[TamilNet, Sunday, 18 October 2009, 09:25 GMT]
Minister of Justice and Law Reforms, Milinda Moragoda, said that the judges, magistrate and lawyers in Jaffna peninsula can travel through A9 road to Vavuniya obtaining permission from the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) commander in Palaali military base in response to a request extended when he met the magistrates, judges and lawyers of Jafna in the Legal building complex in Jaffna town Friday, sources in Jaffna said. People in Jaffna peninsula can travel through A9 road only after getting the ‘travelling pass’ from their local SLA civil authorities.
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Tamil internment, a manifestation of Sinhala state racism - paper

[TamilNet, Saturday, 17 October 2009, 16:04 GMT]
"Despite the manifest outrage of international human rights groups like HRW and Amnesty International, relief agencies and several Western states, Sri Lanka defiantly continues to brutalize the [Tamil] detainees [locking them up in barbed wire militarized camps]. Whilst various international actors attempt to goad, cajole and compel Sri Lanka to let the civilians go, few have examined the reasons for their incarceration. As far as the Tamils are concerned, it is obvious: this is the latest manifestation of the Sinhala state racism," the British paper Tamil Guardian said in the latest weekend edition.
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Armed robber kills one, injures one in Vavuniyaa

[TamilNet, Saturday, 17 October 2009, 15:24 GMT]
An armed man clad in Sri Lanka Army (SLA) uniform opened fire at a group of Tamil villagers who confronted the man when he attempted to rob a house in the Ellappar Maruthankulam in Vavuniyaa district Friday night around 9:00 p.m. One villager was killed and another one was seriously injured in the incident. The armed man fled from the scene with the loot of one hundred thousand rupees in cash and twenty six sovereigns of jewellery, sources said.
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Sri Lanka refuses visas to two Canadian MPs

[TamilNet, Saturday, 17 October 2009, 04:48 GMT]
Patrick Brown, Conservative Member of Parliament (MP) for Barrie, and Paul Calandra Conservative MP for Oakridges Markham have been denied visas by the Sri Lankan Consulate in Toronto to visit the internment camps in Vavuniyaa Sri Lanka, where more than 300,000 Tamil refugees are being held against their wishes in military supervised camps, sources in Canada said. Mr Brown in an interview with a Canadian Tamil TV said that although the Consulate has "clearly said no" to his visit he is prepared to try again. The MP added that he is "incredibly suspicious" of the Government and that he believes "what every one is saying, that there are breaches of human rights, breaches of international obligations, and deplorable conditions...and I think it is true."
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SLA obstructs journalists meeting IDPs brought to Jaffna

[TamilNet, Friday, 16 October 2009, 09:25 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army (SLA) officials in Jaffna did not allow media in Jaffna to meet and interview the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) brought to Jaffna from Vavuniyaa SLA internment camps Friday. The officials who had warned the IDPs of severe consequences should they meet or say anything to media persons said that they have been directed by the Ministry of Defence not to allow the media to meet the IGPs. Meanwhile the fate of two female undergrads who were among 28 women undergrads brought from Vavuniyaa internment camps to Jaffna, is not known, according to University officials in Jaffna. The two undergrads were taken for interrogation by the SLA from Kaithadi detention camp. The others have been handed over to Jaffna University administration.
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Postal bags sent in passenger buses from Jaffna to Vavuniyaa

[TamilNet, Thursday, 15 October 2009, 17:54 GMT]
After a long time postal bags from Jaffna were sent in Sri Lanka Transport Board (SLTB) passenger buses to Vavuniyaa through A9 road after being inspected by Sri Lanka Army (SLN) and police in the check post located in Jaffna Sinhalese Maha Viththiyaalyam precinct, sources in Jaffna said. The postal bags transported with SLA and police guards will be handed over to postal authorities in Vavuniyaa who will send them to other places in the country, the sources added
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Tree falls on internment camp, seriously injuring 3 IDPs

[TamilNet, Thursday, 15 October 2009, 15:31 GMT]
Three inmates of one family detained in the Cheddiku'lam internment camp in Vavuniyaa were seriously injured when a huge branch of a tree fell on their hut Tuesday evening following heavy shower. Tension prevails in the camps as the inmates fear flooding during the imminent monsoon season.
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Stop transferring IDPs from Vavuniyaa to camps in other areas - Bishop urges govt.

[TamilNet, Thursday, 15 October 2009, 07:38 GMT]
Rev. Duleep de Chickera, Anglican Bishop of Colombo has urged the Government that if IDPs said to be released from Vavuniyaa are in fact being transferred to camps in different regions, this is misleading and must stop. Reports of the lack of co-ordination amongst State Authorities are disappointing, and all those responsible for implementing this decision should be required to ensure co-ordination, compassion and speed.
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Government merely relocating IDPs instead of resettling them

[TamilNet, Thursday, 15 October 2009, 07:27 GMT]
Sri Lanka government is actively engaged in merely relocating Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) from one internment camp to other camps instead of resettling them in their own places, IDP Welfare Organizations in Jaffna raised concern. The government, in an attempt to ward off pressure from International Community to speedily resettle the IDPs in their original villages, is putting up an appearance of resettling IDPs and it is suspected it is intentionally dragging its feet in resettling the residents of Vanni in their villages, they further said.
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150 IDP families to be resettled in Trinco villages after screening

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 14 October 2009, 16:09 GMT]
One hundred and fifty members of forty-nine IDP families detained in the internment camps in Vavuniyaa were brought by state buses to Trincomalee Saturday and are lodged in Aalangkea’ni Vinaayakar Maha Vithithhiyaalayam in Ki’n’niyaa Divisional Secretary division. Civil authorities say that they would be resettled in their villages Thampalakaamam, Kii’n’niyaa and Kantha’laay, in Trincomalee district after being screened by government armed forces to find whether they were involved in terrorist activities in past.
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IDPs brought to the islets of Jaffna starve

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 14 October 2009, 06:01 GMT]
Jaffna Government Agent, K. Ganesh, extended an urgent call to local and International Non-government Organizations (NGOs) in Jaffna to provide food for the IDPs brought to the islets of Jaffna from Vavuniyaa internment camps, now detained in Sri Lanka Navy (SLN) special camps and other places in the islets of Jaffna. The dry food rations given to the IDPs under World Food Programme (WFP) are insufficient to meet the needs as no food is provided by the government to them, the GA said in an urgent meeting held with the representatives of NGOs in Jaffna Secretariat, Tuesday.
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Miliband cosmetically presents catalogue of failures

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 14 October 2009, 01:18 GMT]
British Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs David Miliband on Tuesday presented a written statement to the House of Commons on the 'developments' in the island of Sri Lanka since his last visit in April in response to his concerns on minimising humanitarian impact, strengthening of the rule of law to address human rights and on setting out a political process to address the grievances of 'minorities'. Tamil circles find nothing worthy has been achieved in the last six months but the cosmetic presentation of the catalogue of failures by Mr. Miliband raises concern in them whether the British government is up for appeasement with the aggressive elements in the island.
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SLA forcibly takes 99 IDPs from Pulmoaddai to Vavuniyaa

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 13 October 2009, 15:50 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army (SLA) forcibly took away ninety-nine internally displaced men between the age of 40 and 50 detained in camps located in Pulmoaddai to Vavuniyaa internment camp in eight vehicles without prior notice. SLA soldiers arrived at Pulmoaddai camp Friday night around 8:00 p.m and through public address system called out the names of ninety-nine IDPs. They were bundled into the vehicles when they came out of the camp in response to the call. They are all heads of families. They are now held in Ne’luku’lam camp in Vavuniyaa, sources in Vavuniyaa said.
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SLA denies permission to Thirumavalavan to meet public in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Monday, 12 October 2009, 07:26 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army (SLA) authorities in Jaffna turned down the request of Thol. Thirumavalavan, Tamil Nadu Parliamentarian and leader of Viduthalai Chiruthaikal Kadchi (VCK) Party, to meet the public in Jaffna when the delegation of Tamil Nadu MPs was taken to Jaffna Public Library for a meeting Sunday, sources in Jaffna said. Meanwhile, Jaffna University Students expressed their strong protest against India for having let down the Eezham Tamils and for deceiving them continually, when the MPs met students in Jaffna University Sunday, the sources added.
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Release 250,000 Tamils from illegal detention immediately, HRW tells Colombo

[TamilNet, Saturday, 10 October 2009, 20:40 GMT]
Pointing out that "[d]eteriorating conditions, including a shortage of water since October 5, 2009, combined with the prospect of flooding during the imminent monsoon season, have led to rising tensions among camp residents and clashes with the military," New York based rights watchdog, Human Rights Watch (HRW), called on international donors Japan, the United States and European Union member states "to send a clear message to the Government of Sri Lanka that continued detention of the displaced will have serious consequences for Sri Lanka's relationship with the international community."
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SLN holds IDPs as prisoners in the islets of Jaffna

[TamilNet, Saturday, 10 October 2009, 17:49 GMT]
Nearly five thousand Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) brought to the islets of Jaffna from Vavuniyaa camps are being held by Sri Lanka Navy (SLN) within newly constructed internment camps without allowing them to go out of the camps or to meet their relatives, sources in Jaffna said. Meanwhile, some of the IDPs handed over to their relatives and held in abandoned houses too are not permitted by the SLN to leave their places or to meet their relatives, NGO representatives in Jaffna said.
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Tamil Nadu MPs delegation to see IDP internment camps

[TamilNet, Saturday, 10 October 2009, 11:45 GMT]
Eight Members of Parliament from Tamil Nadu, from the ruling Congress Party and its supporting political parties Dravida Munetra Kazhakam (DMK) and Viduthalai Chiruththaikal (VCK) are expected to arrive in Colombo Sunday and from there they will be taken to the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) internment camps in Vavuniyaa where the Vannin IDPs are detained, sources in Colombo said. Meanwhile, opposition parties in Tamil Nadu and India including Communist Party have expressed their strong protest for not having included any MP from the opposition or prominent leaders who had stood up for Eezham Tamils for many years. Sri Lanka government intends to take this delegation on a ‘guided tour’ to ‘selected spots’ in an effort to hide the true conditions under which the IDPs are suffering, representatives of IDP welfare organizations said.
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Disabled IDP youth gains admission to Jaffna medical faculty

[TamilNet, Friday, 09 October 2009, 12:46 GMT]
An Internally Displaced Tamil youth who lost both legs during the final battle launched by Sri Lanka Army against Liberation Tigers in Vanni region and held in Vavuniyaa internment camp had gained admission to the medical faculty of the Jaffna University. He has been admitted to the medical faculty and is attending lectures, according to Vice-chancellor Professor N. Shanmugalingam.
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