Refugees reject EPDP minister's request to return to Allaipiddy

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 07 June 2006, 17:08 GMT]
Allaipiddy refugees who are currently being given shelter in St. Marys Church and St. Nicholas Church at Navanthurai rejected request by Sri Lanka Government Minister Douglas Devananda, the leader of the Eelam People's Democratic Party (EPDP), to return back to their homes in Allaipiddy, sources in Jaffna said. Mr Devananda, heavily escorted by Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers, visited the refugees Wednesday. Sri Lanka Navy (SLN) and EPDP cadres are alleged to be responsible for the extra-judicial killing of 9 persons including an infant and a four year child on the 13th of May 2006 in Allaipiddy.
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Talking peace will not win us back Tamil Homeland - TNA MP

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 07 June 2006, 10:34 GMT]
"Students have been active in the past independently and individually in the struggle for liberation. Pon. Sivakumaran was the pioneer in this struggle which continues with the participation of thousands of students until today. Peace talks will not redeem our lost nation, we can only win the Tamil homeland by the active engagement in the struggle by all people," said P. Ariyanethiran, Tamil National Alliance (TNA) Batticaloa District Parliamentarian Tuesday participating as the special guest in the 32nd Student Uprising Day celebration held at Karadiayanaru in the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) Territory in the Batticaloa district.


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Impromptu rally as UK hunger strike ends

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 07 June 2006, 09:08 GMT]
Almost a thousand Tamils gathered in front of Britain’s Houses of Parliament as Thaya Idaikader, who had been staging a hunger strike since midday Friday prepared to end it, after his scheduled 101 hours. Begun as a one-man protest against the international community’s refusal to compel Sri Lanka’s government to halt atrocities against Tamil civilians, Idaikader’s protest struck a chord with the wider Tamil community in Britain and in many other Diaspora centres around the world.
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Claymore attack in Colombo, a covert act by Sri Lankan MI - Thamilchelvan

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 07 June 2006, 08:02 GMT]
"The Claymore attack in Colombo targeting a civilian bus Tuesday morning, is part of a Sri Lankan Military Intelligence (MI) designed covert programme to discredit the Tigers," LTTE's Political Head S. P. Thamilchelvan, charged Wednesday, when asked to comment on Sri Lankan reaction to the Claymore attack that targeted a civilian bus near Welisara Sri Lanka Navy camp Tuesday. The "covert programme" by the Sri Lankan MI also seeks to antogonize the Sinhala population against the Tamil people, Mr. Thamilchelvan further said from Norway's capital Oslo.
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Paramilitary cadre guns down Batticaloa hospital security guard

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 06 June 2006, 13:09 GMT]
A paramilitary gunman riding a bicycle shot and killed a Security guard of the Batticaloa Teaching Hospital, at the main entrance of the hospital Tuesday at 4:05 p.m., police said.
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Two EPDP cadres shot dead in Velanai

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 06 June 2006, 10:30 GMT]
Unknown gunmen shot and killed two men alleged to be members of the Eelam Democratic Peoples Party (EPDP) paramilitary group Tuesday morning while walking out of the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) camp in Velanai in the Jaffna islets, said sources of Jaffna. The two men died on the spot.
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US: Tigers have ‘legitimate goals, unacceptable methods’

[TamilNet, Sunday, 04 June 2006, 00:48 GMT]
Reiterating the United States’ opposition to the Liberation Tigers’ use of arms, US Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs, Richard Boucher, also said the US recognises the Tamils’ “legitimate desire … to govern themselves in their own homeland.” Furthermore, “they (Tigers) need to focus their vision on how to achieve their legitimate goals through a legitimate process of negotiation [rather than arms],” he said.


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TNA local election candidate, relative shot and killed in Valaichenai

[TamilNet, Saturday, 03 June 2006, 18:15 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers and paramilitary gunmen, who emerged from the grounds of Karuvakerni Vigneswara Vidyalayam school, opened fire and killed a local election candidate and his relative around 10:15 p.m. Saturday, Valaichenai residents said. The incident took place 500 meters from Valaichenai Police station.
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Transport Board worker gunned down in Batticaloa, one wounded

[TamilNet, Saturday, 03 June 2006, 16:00 GMT]
Unknown gunmen riding in a motorbike shot and killed a Sri Lanka Transport Board (CTB/SLTB) worker and wounded another youth, who were standing outside Valaichenai bus stand, Saturday around 7:45 pm., Valaichenai Police said.
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Sinhala goons flock to A11 road in Welikanda

[TamilNet, Thursday, 01 June 2006, 14:47 GMT]
Hundreds of armed Sinhala goons flocked to the A-11 road in Welikanda around 7:45 p.m. Thursday, after a protest against the presence of the paramilitary group camps and the massacre of 13 Sinhala workers on Monday in the village of Omadiyamadu, once used by the paramilitary Karuna group. Senior Police officer in Batticaloa, S.M. Keerigala, has requested the police stations to block the traffic along A11 till normalcy until normalcy returned to the area, Police sources said. The traffic between Colombo and Batticaloa remains cancelled and Welikanda remains tense.
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Tigers request diplomatic travel arrangements for Oslo meet

[TamilNet, Thursday, 01 June 2006, 11:27 GMT]
The Liberation Tigers (LTTE) have agreed, in principle, to participate in discussions in Oslo this month with the Norwegian facilitator responsible for coordinating and facilitating the Scandinavian truce monitoring mission, the SLMM. "The timely participation is dependent on travel arrangements with diplomatic privileges being made available to the LTTE delegation through Sri Lanka's territory," LTTE Political Head told media in Kilinochchi Thursday.
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Two EPDP cadres shot dead in Vavuniya, official wounded in Batticaloa

[TamilNet, Thursday, 01 June 2006, 07:43 GMT]
Two EPDP cadres were shot and killed at Pandarikulam in Vavuniya Thursday morning, Vavuniya Police said. Meanwhile, media coordinator of the paramilitary group in Batticaloa, was wounded in a grenade explosion in Batticaloa EPPD office.
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Captured Karuna cadres meet SLMM, ICRC

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 30 May 2006, 11:02 GMT]
Two cadres of Karuna paramilitary group who were captured by the fighters of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) on May 26th briefed the representatives of the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) and International Committee of Red Cross (ICRC) and the media Tuesday morning at the Trincomalee district political secretariat in Sampoor located in Muttur east. Mr.S.Elilan, LTTE district political secretariat was also present at the briefing, LTTE sources said.
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Omadiyamadu massacre, a planned act to discredit Tigers - LTTE

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 30 May 2006, 08:11 GMT]
Liberation Tigers Media Coordinator, Daya Master, on Tuesday, charged that the forces seeking to discredit Tigers, were behind the massacre of the Sinhalese workers who were settled in Omadiyamadu for Irrigation project work. The forces seeking to marginalise the Tigers, after the EU ban, have "designed and executed" the killings in the border village of Omadiyamadu, which was once used by the paramilitary Karuna Group, Daya master said.
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Toronto protest draws the largest crowd despite a transit strike

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 30 May 2006, 07:09 GMT]
Tens of thousands of Canadian Tamils thronged Mel Lastman Square in Toronto Canada Monday inspite of a transit strike in the city to protest against the human rights abuses committed by the Government of Sri Lanka against their relatives in the North and East. The rally in Toronto was the largest of in worldwide demonstrations that were held simultaneously from New Zealand to Canada. The larger venue overflowed and the people stayed on adjoining streets.
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13 Sinhalese settlers killed in Omadiyamadu, Welikanda

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 30 May 2006, 06:02 GMT]
Unknown attackers who entered the Sinhala settlement village of Rantharathenna in Omadiyamadu, around 10 km north of Welikanda in Polonnaruwa, Batticaloa border Monday night shot and cut to death 13 Sinhala settlers. Welikanda Police said 2 persons were admitted to Polonnaruwa and Welikanda hospitals. The attack on the village took place around 8:30 p.m. Monday, the Police said. Additional Sri Lanka Army soldiers were rushed to the village Tuesday morning. Omadiyamdu village was once used as a base for paramilitary Karuna Group.
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Civilian, EPDP member killed in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Monday, 29 May 2006, 12:47 GMT]
Two civilians were killed in Jaffna district Monday in the continuing violence that has gripped the Peninsula, sources in Jaffna said. In Erlalai North near the border of Palaly High Security Zone, Subramaniam Thevaraj (alias Ranjan) was killed by unknown gunmen at 10:30 a.m. In Navanthurai inside the Municipal district, Michael Johnson was shot dead by unknown gunmen in front of St.Nicholas Church at 12:30 p.m. Monday, sources said.
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EU ban will impact the Peace Process - Thamilchelvan

[TamilNet, Monday, 29 May 2006, 05:21 GMT]
Pointing out that the Liberation Tigers never pulled out from the Geneva-II talks and that it was the obstacles that the Government of Sri Lanka introduced after willfully changing the procedures for the inter-theater transfer of LTTE's military commanders that derailed Geneva-II, S.P. Thamilchelvan, Head of LTTE's Political Wing, said in an interview with TamilNet on Saturday that EU's ban will impact the functioning of the monitors from EU countries, and the "decommissioning or abdication of arms is non-negotiable."
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Jaffna Rights official receives death threats

[TamilNet, Sunday, 28 May 2006, 09:39 GMT]
Rohitha Priyadharshana, co-ordinator at the Human Rights Commission (HRC) in Jaffna, received a letter Friday threatening his life if he does not vacate his post, officials in the HRC said. A man believed to be a paramilitary working with Sri Lanka Military Intelligence, gave the letter, written in Tamil, through an employee at the HRC office, according to officials. The letter included Priyadharshana has been leading the investigation in several landmark cases where Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers of Sri Lanka Navy (SLN) were blamed for killing civilians, civil society sources said.
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NEIAP Deputy Project Director assassinated in Batticaloa

[TamilNet, Friday, 26 May 2006, 10:19 GMT]
Duputy Project Director (DPD) of the World Bank assisted North East Irrigated Agriculture Project (NEIAP), Ratnam Ratnarajah, 48, was shot and killed by paramilitary cadres near his residence in Sri Lanka Army controlled Kalviyankadu, north of Batticaloa town at 14:15 p.m. Informed officers close to the slain NEIAP official, said, Mr. Ratnarajah, a disciplined and committed Director, was receiving a series of threatening phone calls allegedly from paramilitary operatives, asking the Director to employ Karuna group paramilitary Markan's relatives in NEIAP clerical positions.
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