Akashi visits Muttur

[TamilNet, Friday, 20 October 2006, 00:24 GMT]
Mr. Yashushi Akashi, Japanese special peace envoy, paid a visit to Muthur town Thursday morning and met Muslims, Tamils and Sinhala residents at the Muthur Divisional Secretariat, sources in Trincomalee said.
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Hindu Temple, 13 houses damaged in SLAF bombing

[TamilNet, Thursday, 19 October 2006, 17:55 GMT]
A Pillayar temple, a Multi-Purpose Co-operative Society building and 13 houses were badly damaged Thursday morning around 11:00 when SLAF kfir attack aircrafts bombed civilian settlements in Tharavai and Iralakulam in the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eeelam (LTTE) controlled area in Batticaloa district.
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Two SLA troopers killed in Vavuniya claymore attack

[TamilNet, Thursday, 19 October 2006, 13:36 GMT]
Unidentified men activated a claymore mine at Pathiniyar Mahilankulam in Vavuniya Thursday at 8:45 a.m killing two Sri Lanka Army (SLA) troopers of a road patrol unit on the spot, said Vavuniya police.
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Civilian killed in artillery fire in Mirusuvil

[TamilNet, Thursday, 19 October 2006, 01:41 GMT]
A civilian from Thavasikkulam, Mirusuvil in Thenmarachchi region was killed when a shell exploded in the area around 6:00 pm Wednesdy, civil sources said. Sporadic exchange of artillery fire between Liberation Tigers and the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) continues across Muhamalai Forward Defense Lines (FDL), according to residents in Thenmaradchy.


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Youth killed, 2 SLA troopers injured in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Thursday, 19 October 2006, 01:05 GMT]
An unidentified youth was shot dead, two Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers were injured, and an elderly civilian was injured by SLA fire in three separate incidents in Jaffna Wednesday, civil society sources in Jaffna said.
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Illiberal democracy

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 18 October 2006, 16:08 GMT]
The electoral democracy in Sri Lanka, bolstered by regularly held "open, free and fair" elections, is often characterized as robust and vibrant by the international community. However, Sri Lanka has been plagued by decades of ethnic violence. Discriminatory legislation and a politicized judiciary have bred inequality, failed to deliver social justice, and have raised explosive issues related to sovereignty in the multi-cultural state. Reasons for Sri Lanka gaining increasing notoriety as a violator of international norms in human rights, and the State emerging as a killing field, can be traced to its polity's gradual, inexorable shift towards an illiberal democracy.
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Woman killed, boy wounded in SLAF bombing

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 18 October 2006, 11:07 GMT]
A 52-year-old woman was killed, a 10-year-old boy and a 38-year-old man were wounded Wednesday morning around 10:00 when two Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) Kfir bombers dropped more five bombs on civilian settlements in Karadiyanaru and Vadamunai in Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) controlled territory, northwest of Batticaloa town, sources in Batticaloa said. The Kfir bombers returned to Uthuchenai at 11:00 a.m. and bombed the area for an hour.
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Jaffna Grama Sevakas boycott, demand safety

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 18 October 2006, 09:59 GMT]
Jaffna District Grama Sevakas Union (JDGSU) officially informed Government Agent (GA) Jaffna Monday evening that members will boycott duties from Tuesday, until threats to their lives from Sri Lanka Army (SLA) is removed and safety ensured, official spokesperson for the boycotting staff. Mr. Markandu Mahendran, Grama Sevaka (GS) of Ariyalai, was shot to death Monday while on duty at his office allegedly by Intelligent Operatives of the SLA.


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SLMM inspects scene of STF Amparai offensive

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 18 October 2006, 09:45 GMT]
Edward and Bjørn Kjelsaas, officers of the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM), accompanied by Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) Amparai District Political Head S. Jeya, inspected the destroyed houses and properties by STF artillery shelling, and spoke with the affected civilians Tuesday morning around 11:30 a.m., sources in Amparai said. Earlier, Mr Jeya, had briefed the SLMM at the LTTE political office on the Thursday's pre-dawn offensive of the Sri Lankan Special Task Force (STF) into Liberation Tigers territory in Kanchikudicharu.


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Passengers injured, vehicles damaged at Habarana

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 18 October 2006, 07:42 GMT]
Vehicles along key roads leading to Trincomalee and Batticaloa have come under attack by Sinhala gangs in Habarana area where more than one hundred Sri Lanka Navy (SLN) personnel were killed in a bomb attack on Monday afternoon, civil society sources said. Gangs have hurled stones at vehicles belonging to Tamils and Muslims, sources added.


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Naval base in Galle attacked, mob riots in port city

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 18 October 2006, 03:25 GMT]
A 15-member attack team in five vessels entered the Sri Lankan naval base Dakshina, in the southern most port city Galle attacking four Sri Lankan naval vessels and installations. At least three explosive laden attack vessels, attacked naval crafts including a ship, and destroyed a Fast Attack Craft (FAC) and two water jet inshore patrol vessels anchored in the port base around 7:45 a.m. Wednesday, according to informed defense correspondents in Colombo. Sinhala mob looted around 20 shops owned by Tamils in the JVP stronghold port city.
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SLA trooper wounded in Sithandy

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 17 October 2006, 19:25 GMT]
Unknown armed men opened fire on a Sri Lanka Army (SLA) unit of the Murakodanchenai SLA camp at Sithandy in the Eravur police division in Batticaloa district Tuesday around 12:30 p.m. seriously wounding an SLA trooper, military sources said.
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Orphanage escapes Sri Lankan air strike, one wounded

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 17 October 2006, 15:11 GMT]
Arivucholai, an orphanage housing 216 children in Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) controlled Puthukudiyiruppu in Mullaithivu district, narrowly escaped a catastrophic air-strike from SLAF kfir aircrafts Monday evening, according to S. Kalaivannan, an administrative official at the orphanage. Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) officials Tuesday afternoon visited the orphanage, a brother orphanage to Sencholai, Tuesday afternoon. The LTTE administration has sought security assurances through the SLMM in Kilinochchi.
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SLAF bombs broadcast tower in Vanni

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 17 October 2006, 10:38 GMT]
Two Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) Kfir bombers Tuesday destroyed the main broadcast tower and transmitter of the Thamileelam Radio that broadcasts the official broadcast of the Liberation Tigers, the Voice of Tigers (VoT), Thamileelam Vanoli, a commercial Tamil service and a Sinhala language broadcast. Political Head of the LTTE, S.P. Thamilchelvan, who visited the broadcast station along the A9 Road in Kokkavil, 15 km south of Kilinochchi, charged the Sri Lankan Government for attacking the broadcast station with a "planned agenda to suppress the freedom of expression prior to the talks scheduled in Geneva."
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Scrap CFA, oust Norway, Weerawanse urges SC

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 17 October 2006, 09:07 GMT]
Wimal Weerawanse, the parliamentarian and propaganda secretary of the Sinhala nationalist Jantha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), welcoming the Monday verdict of the Sri Lankan Supreme Court (SC) ruling that the merged Northeastern province was unconstitutional, invalid and illegal, told the press in Colombo Monday that the SC should declare the Cease Fire Agreement (CFA) illegal and oust Norway from its facilitator role.
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TNA protests against de-merger verdict, parliament adjourned

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 17 October 2006, 05:57 GMT]
Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarians Tuesday morning disrupted the proceedings of the Sri Lankan parliament, protesting against the Sri Lankan Supreme Court ruling that the merged NorthEastern Province was "illegal." The Tamil MPs protested in the assembly against the Sri Lankan judiciary which they charged was being used to nullify any arrangement towards a peaceful resolution of the national problem. Sri Lanka has rebuffed the International Community by Supreme Court ruling resulting in a scuttled P-TOMS, and now the 18-year-old merger of North East has been ruled "illegal" rejecting the Indian arrangement, the MPs charged.
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Batticaloa schools observe hartal protesting killing of teacher

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 17 October 2006, 01:27 GMT]
Students and teachers in all schools in Batticaloa town and its suburbs observed hartal Monday the condemning the killing a male teacher of Kinaiyady Saraswathy Vidyalayam in Valaichenai Wednesday by the Sri Lanka Army (SLA), sources in Batticaloa said. The teacher was shot dead while conducting classes.
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Policeman, SLA trooper killed in Valvettithurai claymore blast

[TamilNet, Monday, 16 October 2006, 19:23 GMT]
A policeman attached to Valvettithurai police station and a Sri Lanka Army (SLA) trooper were killed by a remotely triggered claymore blast Monday around 12:45 a.m., when the SLA road patrol was attacked between Udupidy and Valvetithurai in Vadmaradchchi north, police sources said. The SLA unit was on its way Valvettithurai from the Udupidy junction SLA camp when the attack occurred.
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SLAF revenge bombing kills baby, girl in Mullaithivu

[TamilNet, Monday, 16 October 2006, 16:24 GMT]
A one-year-old baby girl and a 12-year-old girl were killed and 15 civilians were wounded when Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) bombers attacked Kaiveli, a village in Puthukudiyiruppu, between 5:15 and 5:45, Monday, medical sources in Mullaithivu said. Four SLAF Kfir bombers targeted a civilian settlement on the left side of Puthukudiyiruppu - Paranthan Road. 9 civilian houses were destroyed in the bombardment. A one-month-old baby miraculously escaped from the attack. A Kfir jet came down in Negombo when it took off to bomb Puthukudiyiruppu this evening.
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SLAF Kfir bomber comes down in Negombo

[TamilNet, Monday, 16 October 2006, 13:46 GMT]
A Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) Israeli-built Kfir bomber came down as it took off to bomb LTTE territory Monday evening at 5:45 p.m. The Kfir jet fell into the Negombo lagoon.
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