SLA forces Union college to relocate

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 10 October 2006, 06:56 GMT]
Arrangements are underway to move educational activities of Tellipalai Union College in private buildings in Chunnakam, Malakam and Maruthanamadam areas following the refusal of the SLA to allow the college to function in its own premises which fell into the newly extended High Security Zone (HSZ) of the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) in Jaffna, sources from Jaffna said.


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20 youths abducted in 2 days in Amparai

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 10 October 2006, 05:22 GMT]
More than 20 Tamil youths were reported abducted in Akkaraippattu and Thirukkovil area in Amparai district by unidentified armed gang traveling in white vans on Sunday and Monday, civil society sources said. Relatives of abducted filed four complaints, two in Akkaraippattu and two in Thirukkovil, sources added.
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SLA trooper injured in claymore attack in Vantharumoolai

[TamilNet, Monday, 09 October 2006, 11:50 GMT]
A group of unidentified armed men triggered a claymore mine Monday around 10.30 a.m on Komanthurai Sri Lanka Army (SLA) road patrol unit on Theevu road at Vantharumoolai in the Eravur police division, seriously injuring a SLA trooper, said sources from Vantharumoolai, sources in Batticaloa said.
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Co-Chairs' ambassadors meet Sri Lanka's President

[TamilNet, Monday, 09 October 2006, 09:31 GMT]
Co-Chairs' ambassadors in Colombo Monday morning met with Sri Lanka's President Mahinda Rajapakse and expressed their concern about the continuous hostilities between the Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL) troops and Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) even after both parties agreed to resume peace talks during the later part of October. The meeting comes following an urgent LTTE warning to the truce monitors Saturday that Sri Lanka Army (SLA) was readying for an offensive in the Northern Front.
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Dead body of Mankerni SLA Major located in Panichchankerni

[TamilNet, Sunday, 08 October 2006, 15:47 GMT]
LTTE Trincomalee Political Head Sunday said the Tigers in Vaharai located 3 more bodies, 2 Sri Lankan troopers and a paramilitary cadre, in LTTE controlled Panichchankerni. A Sri Lanka Army Major who led the crack forces and paramilitaries into Tiger territory, identified as Major W.S.A Wijetunge, was among the dead. Nine bodies of Sri Lankan soldiers were dug up, in addition to the 2 bodies recovered later, and handed over to the ICRC by the Tigers in the presence of Trincomalee District SLMM in Vaharai Sunday. Earlier, Sri Lanka had declined to receive the bodies.
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TNA urges International Community to prevail upon Colombo to cease violence

[TamilNet, Sunday, 08 October 2006, 15:12 GMT]
The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) in an urgent press release Sunday appealed to the International Community to prevail upon the Government of Sri Lanka to cease all military operations immediately and actively work towards creating a conducive atmosphere for the resumption of peace talks. Mavai S. Senathirajah MP, on behalf of the TNA Parliamentary Group said: "There can be little doubt that any such further offensive military operations by the GoSL will almost certainly result in the break-out of full scale war and a complete negation of the Ceasefire Agreement."
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International team on Press Freedom to visit Sri Lanka

[TamilNet, Sunday, 08 October 2006, 11:19 GMT]
A five-member International Mission on Press Freedom comprising delegates from the International Media Support (IMS), International Press Institute(IPI), International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), United Nationals Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the International News Safety Institute (INSI) will arrive in Colombo Monday on a three day visit at the invitation of leading media institutions and organizations in the country, media sources in Colombo said.
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STF fires artillery shells into LTTE territory in Amparai

[TamilNet, Sunday, 08 October 2006, 10:35 GMT]
Sri Lankan Special Task Force troops in Kanjirankudah STF base intensified artillery fire towards Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) controlled Kanchikudichcharu, Vinayakapuram and Thankavelauthapuram areas Sunday evening at 3:00 p.m., LTTE's Military Spokesman Irasiah Ilanthirayan said. Civilians in the LTTE controlled area were forced to flee and take refuge at safer locations.
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SLA preparing for Jaffna offensive, Tigers warn SLMM

[TamilNet, Saturday, 07 October 2006, 16:30 GMT]
Heavy deployment of Sri Lankan armed forces is reported in Thenmaradchi and Vadamaradchi East along the Northern Front Saturday, LTTE sources said. The Peace Secretariat of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), Saturday night, in an urgent communiqué to the Head of SLMM, informed Sri Lanka's military build-up and urged the monitors to take immediate steps to visit Muhamalai FDL and confirm Sri Lanka's preparations for the offensive. LTTE's Political Head told TamilNet that LTTE is concerned of SLMM's limited access to Muhamalai. Unhindered access is vital for a fair and neutral judgement on the SLA offensive that will likely lead to a full-scale war, Thamilchelvan said.
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Political package to be prepared before GoSL-LTTE peace talks

[TamilNet, Saturday, 07 October 2006, 16:04 GMT]
Political package for solving the ethnic crisis would be prepared by the All Party Conference (APC) before the peace talks between the Government of Sri Lanka (GOSL) and Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) which is scheduled to begin during the last week of October, APC Chairman Professor Tissa Vitarana said Saturday.
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GoSL waging war against Tamils - Sampanthan

[TamilNet, Saturday, 07 October 2006, 11:04 GMT]
The government of Sri Lanka is not fighting a war against the Liberation Tigers, but in reality is waging a war against the entire Tamil community in Sri Lanka, said R.Sampanthan, Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarian speaking in the parliament on Thursday during the debate on extending the emergency. Tamil people are under going severe hardship. If either the Interim Self Governing Authority (ISGA) or the Joint Mechanism (JM) had been in place, the current difficult situations would not have arisen, he said.


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Colombo declines to receive bodies of dead soldiers, captured soldier talks to media

[TamilNet, Saturday, 07 October 2006, 08:07 GMT]
The fighting formation of Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) forces, "boxed" an area of 10 square kilometers and defeated Sri Lankan offensive towards Vaharai Friday, LTTE Trincomalee Political Head S. Elilan said Saturday. Accusing Sri Lanka for violating the Ceasefire Agreement (CFA) and the Geneva Agreement of disarming the paramilitary cadres, Mr. Elian said 400 Sri Lankan troops, including 80 paramilitary cadres, were involved in the Sri Lankan offensive. K.M.S. Ratnayake, a soldier from Sri Lanka's 6th Battalion of Gemunu Watch, was captured alive by the Tigers. Colombo has refused to accept 9 bodies of SLA soldiers killed in the encounter, Mr. Elilan said.
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LTTE Political Head writes to Norwegian facilitator

[TamilNet, Saturday, 07 October 2006, 06:00 GMT]
The Political Head of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, S.P. Thamilchelvan Friday sent an urgent letter to the Norwegian Special Envoy, Jon Hanssen-Bauer, informing the Norwegian facilitator on the LTTE stand following the Sri Lankan offensive in Vaharai. The LTTE decision to abide by the Co-Chairs call was a goodwill gesture, extended to the Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL), the officials in Kilinochchi said alluding that the LTTE leadership's message was a reminder of the moral obligations bound with the call to cease the violence in creating a conducive environment for talks.
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LTTE Defence Council discusses military situation - Ilanthirayan

[TamilNet, Friday, 06 October 2006, 09:05 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army troopers, engaged in a new offensive, have moved north of Mankerni into Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) controlled area in an offensive drive towards Panichchankerni, according to Tigers. "The Sri Lankan offensive has disregarded the assurances of ceasing all violence acts and the call by the International Community for talks," LTTE's Military Spokesman Irasiah Ilanthirayan said. The Tigers have called on the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission to ensure monitoring access to the border areas where Sri Lankan forces were engaged in offensive acts. The Defence Council of the LTTE has been summoned to discusss the current development, he further said.
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JHU demands GoSL to stick to 'Mahinda Chinthanaya'

[TamilNet, Friday, 06 October 2006, 08:25 GMT]
Ellavala Methanatha Thera, leader of Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU), the all monk Sinhala national party, speaking on the Emergency extension bill debate in the Sri Lanka Parliament Thursday, said the Sinhalese people made Mahinda Rajapakse the Sri Lanka's President only on the basis of 'Mahinda Chinthanaya' which categorically rejects a Tamil Homeland, a Tamil Nation and the Tamils' right to self-determination, and the peace talks should be held on this basis, parliamentary sources in Colombo said.
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SLA launches new offensive towards Vaharai

[TamilNet, Friday, 06 October 2006, 05:21 GMT]
Sri Lankan forces have launched a new offensive towards Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) controlled Vaharai region Friday morning. Sri Lanka Army (SLA) troops from Mankerni SLA camp advanced into LTTE controlled territory south of Vaharai with heavy artillery shelling, Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) bombardment and rocket fire from the Sri Lanka Navy gunboats, according to civilian sources. Thousands of civilians, most of them recently displaced from Trincomalee, were struggling to flee to safer areas. Civilian casualty figures are yet to be reported. "An inhumane war has been thrust upon 61,000 civilians," says Trincomalee District parliamentarian Thurairatnasingham.
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Navalady families' tsunami woes continue

[TamilNet, Friday, 06 October 2006, 00:24 GMT]
Families of tsunami destroyed Navalady in Batticaloa District picketed in front of the offices of the Batticaloa Municipal Council, Manmunai North Regional Secretariat and Kacheri Planning Secretariat Wednesday at 10:00 a.m., demanding permanent housing, civil society sources in Batticaloa said. More than 250 families have been living with only basic facilities in make shift tents in Thiraimadu, Batticaloa for the past two years.


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Shortage of children milk food in Jaffna - NCJ

[TamilNet, Thursday, 05 October 2006, 22:21 GMT]
39,000 children under the age of five face malnutrition in Jaffna due to severe shortage of infant food including milk, said North Ceylon Association of Journalists (NCJ) in an appeal Thursday to the Jaffna residential representatives of International Committee of Red Cross (ICRC), civil society sources said. The NCJ sought the assistance of the ICRC to bring in milk food products to Jaffna peninsula.


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Emergency extension debate begins, TNA sit-in-protest continue in parliament

[TamilNet, Thursday, 05 October 2006, 16:21 GMT]
Ratnasiri Wickremanayake, Sri Lanka's Prime Minister Thursday tabled a motion in the parliament seeking the approval to extend the State of Emergency for another month while parliamentarians of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) continued their sit-in-protest in the well of the House for the sixth day demanding the immediate re-opening of the A-9 land route, the only gateway to the Jaffna district from rest of the country and lift the economic embargo on the Jaffna population.
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18 Tamil youths arrested in Colombo

[TamilNet, Thursday, 05 October 2006, 03:25 GMT]
Sri Lanka Police, went on board the Vavuniya-Matara train at Fort station in Colombo on Tuesday morning and checked each compartment until the train reached Matara where they arrested 10 Tamil youths travelling in the train, sources said. Police, boarding the Colombo bound train from Galle at Panadura, took into custody 8 Tamil youths when the train reached Fort Station on the same day, Deputy Police Commissioner Mr. Poojitha Jayasundara said. The searches on trains were conducted after the Police were tipped that youths suspected of links to terrorism are travelling in the trains, the commissioner added.


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