Identity of Jaffna victims raises questions

[TamilNet, Sunday, 25 December 2005, 12:43 GMT]
One of the five bodies recovered by the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) and transferred to Jaffna Teaching Hospital claiming to be those of LTTE fighters, after the firefight near Jaffna Fort Saturday, was identified as belonging to Krishnar Vimaleswaran (31), a watcher at Jaffna Central College, located 300 meters from where the bodies were found. Relatives identified another body as belonging to Balasingham Santhirakanthan (24) who owns a motorbike repairshop in Kottadi Jaffna.
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Pararajasingham slaying, a barbaric act - fellow Batticaloa MP

[TamilNet, Sunday, 25 December 2005, 01:19 GMT]
"The slaying of the senior and experienced politician from Batticaloa, Mr. Joseph Pararajasingham, while at prayer inside the church on the holy day of Christmas, was a barbaric act affecting the collective Tamil psyche," said the fellow Batticaloa District Tamil National Alliance (TNA) Member of Parliament Mr. S. Jeyananthamoorthy, who was on a political tour to Europe. The Batticaloa MP said that the time has come for the International Community, specially the EU and the Co-Chairs, to prevail upon the Sri Lankan Government to fully comply with the Ceasefire Agreement.
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4 men, 1 woman killed, 3 SL troopers wounded in Jaffna attack

[TamilNet, Saturday, 24 December 2005, 15:12 GMT]
Dead bodies of four men and a woman have been brought to the Jaffna Hospital at 10:30 p.m., medical sources in Jaffna said. The bodies, yet to be identified, have been recovered near Jaffna Fort where a firefight between unidentified gunmen and Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers was reported at 6.10 p.m. Saturday. Three SLA soldiers were njured in the firefight, one of them seriously. The trooper with serious injuries was air lifted to Palaly military hospital, sources said. Meanwhile Sri Lanka military sources in Colombo claimed that those killed in Jaffna were armed men who ambushed their troopers. Tension prevails in Jaffna.
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Firefights in Point Pedro, Thavady

[TamilNet, Saturday, 24 December 2005, 01:39 GMT]
Unknown assailants hurled hand grenades and fired at the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) post guarding the Northern Regional Bus Depot located at 1 km from Point Pedro town on the Pt Pedro-Jaffna road at 9 p.m. Friday. SLA returned fire and the firefight continued for more than five minutes, according to residents.
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Chavakachcheri woman succumbs to gunshot wounds

[TamilNet, Saturday, 24 December 2005, 01:01 GMT]
Ms Markandu Pushpamalar (31), also known as Malar, who was injured when Sri Lanka Army (SLA) fired indiscriminately at civilians following a grenade attack on their checkpost in Chavakachcheri Friday 1.30 p.m, succumbed to injuries at the Jaffna Teaching Hospital Saturday morning, medical sources at the hospital said.
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Vaiko meets Indian Premier, Defence Minister in New Delhi

[TamilNet, Friday, 23 December 2005, 13:54 GMT]
Vaiko, the General Secretary of the Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (MDMK) from the Tamil Nadu state in India, met Indian Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh in New Delhi Friday at 5 p.m. Following the meeting with the Indian Premier, Vaiko also met the Indian Defense Minister Pranab Mukherjee Friday evening. When contacted by TamilNet, the MDMK chief Vaiko described his meetings with Manmohan Singh and Pranab Mukherjee as cordial and constructive. Sri Lanka was trying to trap India to get embroiled into Sri Lanka's conflict as it did in the eighties, Vaiko said, adding that he had cautioned the Indian leaders that Sri Lanka's moves are inimical to Tamil interests.
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SLA attacks on Jaffna civilians increase, NGO closes office

[TamilNet, Friday, 23 December 2005, 12:58 GMT]
Two civilians, Ms K Malar (31) and K Rajathurai (64) were seriously injured and were admitted to the Jaffna Teaching Hospital after Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers fired indiscriminately after the SLA sentry near the Multipurpose Cooperative building in Chavakachcheri came under grenade attack at 1.30 p.m. Friday, sources said.
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Chavakachcheri Police post comes under attack

[TamilNet, Friday, 23 December 2005, 12:29 GMT]
Chavakachcheri police post in Thenmaradchy came under grenade attack and small-arms fire at 8.30 p.m. Thursday, sources in Jaffna said. Police returned fire from their positions inside the Police station premises and the firefight lasted for more than 15 minutes, according to sources. No injuries were reported.
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Grenade attacks in Puttur, Katkovalam sentry points, 2 soldiers injured

[TamilNet, Friday, 23 December 2005, 11:29 GMT]
Unidentified men Friday morning around 5.30 a.m. lobbed a grenade at the checkpoint of the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) located along the sea shore near Katkovalam in Vadamarachchi-Point Pedro area in Jaffna district. One soldier was reported injured, sources said. In another similar attack one SLA soldier was injured when unidentified persons lobbed a grenade at the army sentry point located at Ramavil area between Kodikamam and Puttur in Jaffna district, sources in Jaffna said.
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WPPF leader meets Thamilchelvan in Kilinochchi

[TamilNet, Thursday, 22 December 2005, 16:36 GMT]
Leader of Western Province People's Front (WPPF), Mano Ganeshan, met with Head of LTTE's Political Wing, S.P.Thamilchelvan, in Kilinochchi Thursday morning sources in Kilinochchi said. "Forming a united front of all Tamil parties to secure a formidable bargaining position in Sri Lanka parliament was the basis of our discussion today," Mr.Ganeshan told the reporters after his meeting.


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Attacks escalate in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Thursday, 22 December 2005, 08:42 GMT]
Unidentified gunmen and Sri Lanka Army soldiers exchanged gunfire for more than five minutes near Ainthusanthi, a junction in the outer suburb of Jaffna town around 4:30 p.m. Thursday. Four civilians, severely beaten up by the soldiers, were rushed to Jaffna Hospital. A policeman was wounded at Kantharmadam junction, 300 meters away from the University of Jaffna, around 1:00 p.m., when unidentified attackers launched an attack on the troopers, Police said. An SLA vehicle narrowly escaped from a claymore attack at Nelliyadi in Vadamardhci around 5:30 a.m. Thursday. Grenade attacks were reported in Ariyalai, Kopay, and near Nachimar Temple in Jaffna. Tension prevails in Jaffna.
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LTTE urges Norway to initiate steps to restore normalcy

[TamilNet, Thursday, 22 December 2005, 06:15 GMT]
Noting that the Tamil people have been highly pertubed over the brutal rape and the murder of Tharshini Ilayathamby in Punguduthivu, and the military-unleashed violence on the peaceful demonstration where the Vice Chancellor of the Jaffna Univeristy was attacked and a lecturer was shot, has created "tension, panic and uncontrollable civilian unrest," the Political Head of the Liberation Tigers, Mr. S.P.Thamilchelvan has called for meaningful steps on the part of the Norwegian facilitators and the International Community in a letter addressed to the Norwegian Ambassador, Mr. Hans Brattskar on Wednesday.
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Tamil activist shot dead in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Thursday, 22 December 2005, 02:59 GMT]
Mr K. Navaratnam (47), Jaffna district organizer for Tamil Resurgence Task force, was shot dead by unidentified gunmen in front of the Thinakural offices in KKS road in Jaffna town at 5.30 a.m. Thursday, sources from Jaffna said. He worked part-time as news paper distributer and had gone to collect Thinakural edition for delivery to Poopalasingham Book Shop located on the Hospital Road when he was shot.
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SLA attacks on Jaffna protesters justified, says Fonseka

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 21 December 2005, 20:52 GMT]
A "third force" in Jaffna is using peaceful demonstrations to instigate violence and therefore Sri Lanka Army (SLA) had to take defensive action, said Lt. Gen. Sarath Fonseka, the Sri Lanka Army commander, justifying the recent attacks by the SLA soldiers on unarmed protesters in Jaffna, during a meeting between SL President Mahinda Rajapakse and TNA parliamentarians Wednesday at Temple trees, TNA sources said. The Vice Chancellor of Jaffna Campus, the Dean of the Arts Faculty and a TNA Member of Parliament were attacked, several students were injured and a lecturer received gunshot wounds when the SLA soldiers violently brokeup a peaceful demonstration near Jaffna campus Monday.
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SLA Corporal killed, six soldiers injured in Kilaly ambush

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 21 December 2005, 13:50 GMT]
A Sri Lanka Army (SLA) Corporal was killed and six soldiers including two SLA majors were injured when unknown gunmen ambushed a SLA military vehicle along Kachchai-Kilali road in Thenmaradchy at 6.30 p.m. Wednesday, sources in Jaffna said. Gunmen used light machine guns and grenades in the attack, according to sources. Three SLA soldiers were injured in two other grenade attacks in Ariyalai and Kalviyankadu.
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SLA assault on VC, Arts Dean worrisome sign - NPC

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 21 December 2005, 11:02 GMT]
National Peace Council (NPC), a Colombo based NGO, in a Media release issued on Wednesday condemned the security forces for attacking non-violent protests of students and staff of Jaffna campus, including Vice Chancellor and the Dean of Arts. The violence began when Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers attacked the students marching to the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) offices against the killing of Ilyathamby Tharsini (20) in Punguduthivu near an Sri Lanka Navy post. Postmortem examination has revealed that Tharsini was raped before being strangled to death.


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LTTE, SLMM meet in Pallai

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 21 December 2005, 01:03 GMT]
Recent attacks by Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers on unarmed civilians have made Tamil people lose all confidence in the peace process and in the Cease Fire Agreement (CFA), C.Ilamparithy, Jaffna district political head of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) Tuesday told a two-member delegation of the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) Tuesday at the LTTE's political secretariat in Pallai. The pattern of attacks clearly indicates that the attacks were premeditated, Ilamparithy further told the SLMM.
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Vavuniya undergrads boycott in support of Jaffna students

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 20 December 2005, 13:02 GMT]
Undergraduates from Vavuniya campus boycotted classes Tuesday to protesting against the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) aggression including physical assault and indiscriminate firing on students at the Jaffna campus, sources in Vavuniya said. Vavuniya students accused the SLA of violating students right to non-violent protest and demanded that SLA immediately withdraw from the Jaffna Campus area.
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SLA attacks protesting auto-rickshaw drivers in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 20 December 2005, 12:32 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers Tuesday 3.30 p.m. attacked group of more than one hundred auto-rickshaw drivers and their vehicles who had assembled in Jaffna town in a protest by the Auto-Owners Union in support of a colleague injured by the SLA Monday, sources in Jaffna said. The auto drivers blocked Stanley Road, Kasturiar road and the roads proximity to the SLA camp when the SLA attacked the protesters.
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SLA trooper knifed in Ampan

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 20 December 2005, 11:43 GMT]
Ajit Kumara, a Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldier attached to the Ampan SLA camp located in the High Security Zone (HSZ) in Vadamarachy East, received cut injuries from a sharp instrument by unknown attackers at 10 a.m. Tuesday, security sources said. The injured soldier has been admitted to Palalay military hospital in serious condition.
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