Emergency Regulations extended

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 21 March 2006, 13:27 GMT]
Sri Lanka parliament extended the state of emergency Tuesday, parliamentary sources in Colombo said. First imposed after the assassination of its foreign minister six months ago, Emergency Regulations have been extended every month, but the Sri Lanka Government said violence has fallen sharply since talks with Liberation Tigers in February.
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Ilamparithi details SLA's CFA violations to SLMM

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 21 March 2006, 02:12 GMT]
Violations of the Cease Fire Agreement (CFA) by Sri Lanka Armed forces after the February Geneva talks were pointed out to the officials of the Jaffna Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) when Jaffna district Political Head of the LTTE, Mr. C. Ilamparuthi, met the SLMM officials Monday 10 a.m at the LTTE Jaffna district Political Secretariat in Pallai, sources said.
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SLA steals prawn catch, Vallai fishermen complain

[TamilNet, Monday, 20 March 2006, 11:11 GMT]
Fishermen who catch prawns in the Vallai lagoon located between Point Pedro and Valigamam complained Monday that the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) stationed in the area regularly steal their catch and also has made fishing difficult by installing concertina fences in key areas in the lagoon, sources in Jaffna said. The prawn fishermen have registered complaints with the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) and the Vadamaradchy Fisheries consortium.
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SLAF trooper drowns in Galkissa

[TamilNet, Monday, 20 March 2006, 10:47 GMT]
A Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) officer, engaged in training exercises Monday morning, accidentally fell in the sea off Mt. Lavinia during a search and rescue exercise, Police said. The incident took place one km into the sea off Mt. Lavinia, Galkissa, located 11 km south of Colombo.
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Threats to Vavuniya traders must be stopped, MP tells Rajapakse

[TamilNet, Monday, 20 March 2006, 01:37 GMT]
Mr.Selvam Adaikalanathan, Wanni district Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarian has appealed to Sri Lanka's President Mahinda Rajapakse to take immediate steps to disarm persons intimidating members of the business community in Vavuniya district with death threats and extortion, sources in Vavuniya said.
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Three hundred police trainees begin training in Vanni

[TamilNet, Sunday, 19 March 2006, 00:31 GMT]
Three hundred officers newly recruited for Thamileelam Police started training on Saturday in Vanni. The recruits, under the coaching of Police Trainer S. Thamilarasan, were the second unit to be trained in 2006, said T. Kanahan, the head of administration of the Police.
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US Court orders release of Tamil asylum seeker

[TamilNet, Saturday, 18 March 2006, 22:28 GMT]
US Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit in San Francisco Friday ordered release of a Tamil Sri Lankan asylum seeker detained since October 2001 in San Diego on suspicion that he once belonged to the Liberation Tigers, an organization included in the US Terrorism List, Washington Post Saturday edition reported.
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SLA arrests Jaffna journalist

[TamilNet, Saturday, 18 March 2006, 17:16 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers arrested a journalist working for the Tamil daily Thinakkural for photographing the front portal of the admintrative office of Jaffna jail located on the Main Street in Jaffna Town at 4 p.m. Saturday, sources in Jaffna said. The SLA soldiers refused to accept press credentials of Kandasamy Iruthayabavan and took him into the SLA camp for interrogation. He was released after two hours, sources said.
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Kattankudy Muslims protest against violence

[TamilNet, Saturday, 18 March 2006, 10:58 GMT]
Kattankudy Muslims Saturday observed a shut down in protest against the escalating violence in their area where on Friday four motorbikes belonging to Muslim individuals, were hijacked, allegedly by paramilitary cadres. There is a concerted attempt to create communal violence between Tamils and Muslims, protesters said. Saturday's protest paralysed the entire Kattankudy. Transport on Batticaloa - Kalmunai road remained blocked and tension prevails in Batticaloa - Kattankudy Tamil, Muslim border areas. Sri Lanka Army (SLA) troopers were seen deployed in the streets.
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Hartal shuts down Batticaloa district

[TamilNet, Friday, 17 March 2006, 09:05 GMT]
A district-wide hartal, called by the Eastern University society, protesting against the increasing abductions by paramilitary cadres, has paralyzed the entire Batticaloa district Friday. Business establishments, government offices, markets, schools, private and public sector bank branches remain closed.
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Paramilitary issue raised in Congressional Hearing

[TamilNet, Friday, 17 March 2006, 02:19 GMT]
Congressman James A Leach, Chairman, Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific, and Donald Camp, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs, during a House Committee on International Relations, Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific Hearing on Recent Developments in Nepal held on 15 March 2006, mentioned the presence of armed paramilitary groups as one of the impediments to peace.
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Special Envoy to assist Solheim in Sri Lanka peace process

[TamilNet, Thursday, 16 March 2006, 10:58 GMT]
The Norwegian International Development Minister Erik Solheim has appointed Jon Hanssen-Bauer, Director, Fafo Institute for Applied International Studies, University of Oslo, as new Special Envoy to Sri Lanka Peace Process, according to a press statement issued by the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Oslo Friday. "Mr Hanssen-Bauer will report to International Development Minister Erik Solheim, who will lead the work, visit Sri Lanka regularly and be responsible for Norway’s role as facilitator of the peace process. Norway’s ambassador to Sri Lanka, Hans Brattskar, will continue to be the parties’ day-to-day point of contact in Sri Lanka", the press statement added.
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Jaffna DDC meets under heavy security

[TamilNet, Thursday, 16 March 2006, 10:53 GMT]
Mr. Douglas Devananda, Minister in the ruling United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA) government, and North East Governor Mohan Wijewickrema, retired Rear Admiral of the Sri Lanka Navy, Thursday morning arrived at the Jaffna District Secretariat in a troop carrier of the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) for the Jaffna District Development Committee (DDC) meeting held Thursday morning, sources in Jaffna said. The entire surrounding of the secretariat building was fortified with large numbers of troops and armored vehicles, sources added.
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TRO donates permanent houses to tsunami victims

[TamilNet, Thursday, 16 March 2006, 10:43 GMT]
"We have plans to build 250 houses in the Mullaitivu district. Houses we have constructed in Kallappad are expensive, structurally strong and are better than many similar houses donated as part of tsunami relief across Sri Lanka," said K.P. Regi, Executive Director, Tamils Rehabilitation Organisation (TRO), speaking at the handing over ceremony held Tuesday morning in Kallappadu village in the Mulaitivu district.
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Thamilchelvan to meet Norway's Ambassador, TNA

[TamilNet, Thursday, 16 March 2006, 02:06 GMT]
Head of Liberation Tigers Political Wing, S.P.Thamilchelvan is to meet Norway's Ambassador to Sri Lanka, Mr Hans Brattskar, and a representative of the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) at the LTTE Peace Secretariat Building Thursday, sources in Kilinochchi said. Thamilchelvan is also expected to meet the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarians also in Kilinochchi on the 20th March, sources added.
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Lectures resume at Jaffna University

[TamilNet, Thursday, 16 March 2006, 00:32 GMT]
Lectures at University of Jaffna suspended from December 2005 due to violence in Jaffna district and the presence of Sri Lanka Army (SLA) troops in the university environment, resumed for freshmen to Senior classes of students Wednesday, said an official of the Jaffna University Student Union (JUSU). Only a few out of district students attended the first day but JUSU official said most of the other outstation students will arrive soon.
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TNA to boycott Devananda meeting

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 15 March 2006, 22:54 GMT]
The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarians said Wednesday that they will boycott the District Integration Meeting schedueld for Thursday 16th at the Jaffna Secretariat to be chaired by Sri Lanka Cabinet Minister Douglas Devananda, the leader of the Eelam Peoples Democratic Party, with the newly appointed Governor for NorthEast, Rear Admiral (Retd) Mohan Wijeyawickrema, and Mavai Senathirajah, TNA parliamentarian as co-chairmen, TNA sources said. The EPDP is a paramilitary group working with Sri Lanka Government and a political party aligned with the ruling United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA).
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Valaichenai protests against student abductions

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 15 March 2006, 11:19 GMT]
Valaichenai-wide hartal was observed and Valaichenai Hindu College in Batticaloa was closed Wednesday as protesters demanded the release of students, Jeyaraj Kirisanth and Suthaharan Kulosan, who were abducted by paramilitary cadres two days ago, sources in Batticaloa said. All public institutions, shops, banks, and hospitals were closed and the streets were deserted. Security was strengthened with increased police patrols and Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers deployed at several key junctions, sources added.
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Canadian Tamils protest against HRW charges

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 15 March 2006, 11:00 GMT]
Expatriate Tamils in Canada reacted Wednesday against a report by Human Rights Watch alleging extortion by the Tamil Tigers, saying the report had characterized their entire community as one moribund by fear and questioned its integration into Canadian society. Pointing out there has not been a single prosecution for extortion in Canada amongst the Tamil community, they said anecdotal evidence and assumptions, not sound social science research, formed the basis for HRW’s allegations.
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UNICEF "shocked" over SLA misreport

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 15 March 2006, 09:55 GMT]
Junko Mitani, UNICEF Spokesperson in Sri Lanka said "UNICEF is shocked" on learning the figures of child recruitment cases quoted by the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) were incorrect, reported Morning Leader, a Sri Lanka English daily Wednesday. It further adds that UNICEF has opted to take action against State media for indicating UNICEF reported figures to be false.
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