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30-09-2006 Indian Minister meets Sri Lanka President
Sept 29, Colombo: India's Minister of Water Resources Prof. Saifuddin Soz called on Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa at the President's Office today. Presidential Secretary Lalith Weeratunga and Indian High Commissioner Nirupama Rao also attended the meeting.
30-09-2006 6
charged in Md. arms deal sting By Matthew
Dolan Six South Asian arms dealers who paid undercover customs agents in Maryland hundreds of thousands of dollars to ship restricted, high-tech weapons to rebels in Sri Lanka and the Indonesian Army have been arrested by federal authorities in Guam, officials said Friday.[More]
30-09-2006 Sri
Lanka troops clash with rebels Sri Lanka's security forces killed 11 Tamil Tiger rebels in a pre-dawn clash in the island's restive east on Saturday, police said, as the worst violence since a 2002 ceasefire grinds on despite peace talk pledges. Police Special Task Force troopers opened fire on Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) guerrillas who attacked a remote police post, Ampara Deputy Inspector General of Police Lasantha de Silva told Reuters.[More] 30-09-2006 Deputy UN envoy for tsunami recovery deplores rising bloodshed in Sri Lanka 29 September 2006 – The United Nations’ Deputy Special Envoy for Tsunami Recovery today added his voice to the chorus of alarm at reports that more than 200 civilians had been killed and thousands more displaced during the past two months in fresh fighting between Government forces and Tamil rebels in Sri Lanka.[More] 30-09-2006 Clashes between Sri Lanka troops, rebels continue The military clashes between the Tamil Tiger rebels and the government troops continued in the war torn Northern and Eastern provinces on Friday with the killing of at least three people, defense officials said. Brigadier Prasad Samarasinghe, the military spokesman, said that two soldiers and a civilian were killed in the eastern Batticaloa district when the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam ( LTTE) rebels fired artillery and mortars at the Army installation around 5:30 a.m.[More] 29-09-2006 India working for Sri Lanka consensus By IANS
National Security Advisor M.K. Narayanan said this to three Sri Lankan Tamil politicians during an hour-long interaction here. V. Anandasangaree of the Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF), D. Sitharathan of the People's Liberation Organisation of Tamil Eelam (PLOT) and T. Sritharan of the Eelam People's Revolutionary Liberation Front (EPRLF) underlined the need for New Delhi to help Sri Lanka reach a political consensus on the Tamil issue.[More] 29-09-2006 Panchayati raj useful to Sri Lanka: Aiyar B. Muralidhar Reddy ``It provides a mechanism for devolution from the Centre to people at local levels''
COLOMBO: The Indian experiment on devolution of powers through Panchayati raj model could be useful for Sri Lanka in dealing with its ethnic strife, Union Minister for Panchayat Raj, Youth Affairs and Sports, Mani Shankar Aiyar, said here on Tuesday. In a nearly two-hour long interactive session with the All-Party Representative Committee (APRC) and Panel of Experts at the Peace Secretariat, the Minister dwelt at length particularly on the Indian examples pertaining to Gorkhas, Bodos and Mizos.[More] 29-09-2006 UK pledges help for lasting peace in Lanka Rashomi Silva COLOMBO: United Kingdom's top envoy Dominick Chilcott Wednesday said his Government would spare no effort to help Sri Lanka to secure lasting peace and stability here, in line with President Mahinda Rajapaksa's wish. He said President Rajapaksa in his recent speeches in Havana and New York has spelled out a clear vision for this country which embarks on power devolution that meets political aspirations of the North-East people and equality before the law for all its subjects.[More] 29-09-2006
29-09-2006 Sri Lanka: 3 dead bodies found on road in east, witnesses and police say The Associated Press VALACHCHANI,
Sri Lanka The bodies of three Tamil youths believed to have ties to
Tamil Tiger rebels were found on a road in eastern Sri Lanka and one
of them was beheaded, witnesses and police said Friday. Source-International Herald Tribune 29-09-2006 Sri Lanka war imperils civilians, tsunami aid - UN envoy COLOMBO, Sept 29 (Reuters) - A deadly new chapter in Sri Lanka's two-decade civil war is putting the lives of thousands of civilians at risk and derailing efforts to rebuild areas devastated by the 2004 tsunami, a senior UN envoy said.[More] 29-09-2006 A crisis and an opportunity in Sri Lanka B. Muralidhar Reddy The SLMM report, detailing the violations of the ceasefire agreement by the LTTE and the Government, underlines the need for a speedy return to the dialogue table. THE LATEST ruling by the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM), on the major violations of the Cease Fire Agreement (CFA) by the Government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam from July 22 to September 26, throws light on the growing humanitarian crisis in the island nation.[More] 29-09-2006 No official offer from Tiger leader - Govt Manjula Fernando and Rajmi Manatunga COLOMBO: Commenting on the latest development on the peace front with reports of the LTTE communicating their leader's desire to resume negotiations, the Government yesterday said there will not be any response from their side until the offer is made official. "There is no concrete statement, it was just a verbal offer and there will not be any response until it is official," Cabinet Spokesman and Media Minister Anura Priyadharshana Yapa said. [More] 29-09-2006 LTTE behind Pottuvil massacre: Sole survivor Bhakthi Dharmapriya Mendis COLOMBO: It was the LTTE terrorists who brutally hacked and chopped to death the 10 Muslim workers at Sasiriveli in Pottuvil, said F.I. Meera Mohideen, the only surviving victim of the incident now receiving treatment at the Ampara Hospital. [More] 28-09-2006 Norway envoy for Sri Lanka, India for talks By M.R. Narayan Swamy, Indo-Asian News Service New Delhi, Sep 28 (IANS) Norwegian special envoy Jon Hanssen-Bauer will reach Sri Lanka Sunday to lay the groundwork for talks between the government and the Tamil Tigers, even while India has sought an early resumption of dialogue between the two parties.[More]
28-09-2006 Lankan Govt proposes alternative road to Jaffna PK Balachandran The Sri Lankan government on Wednesday categorically rejected the LTTE's demand for opening the A9 highway between Vavuniya and Jaffna via Kilinochchi and Muhamalai, but proposed to open a land route through Mannar, in the North Western part of the island.[More] 28-09-2006 Sri Lanka military, rebels violate truce-monitors COLOMBO, Sept 28 (Reuters) - Sri Lanka's military and the Tamil Tigers have grossly violated a 2002 ceasefire in the past two months, Nordic truce monitors said on Thursday, accusing both sides of hampering their work.[More] 28-09-2006 200 civilians killed in two months of fighting in Sri Lanka, truce monitors say The Associated Press COLOMBO, Sri Lanka At least 200 civilians have been killed in two months of fighting between Sri Lankan soldiers and separatist Tamil rebels in the country's north and east and both sides are to blame, European cease-fire monitors said Thursday.[More]
28-09-2006 Tiger beaten by terrorist leaders defects, surrenders to Army COLOMBO: A man who joined the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) broke away from the group and has surrendered to the Army as he was beaten by the terrorists, the Government said yesterday. Arumugan Thanidan, 20, had joined the Tigers four months earlier and had received weapons training, a spokesman at the Media Centre for National Security said. Thanidan surrendered to the Army on Tuesday in Trincomalee, saying he had been beaten by the terrorist leaders, the spokesman said yesterday.-Source-Daily News
28-09-2006 LTTE arms cache seized in Jaffna JAFFNA: The Army yesterday seized a massive consignment of explosives and weapons belonging to the LTTE at Madduvil, Jaffna yesterday. Following a tip-off by a civilian, the Army captured these explosives and weapons hidden in a shrub jungle in Madduvil, Jaffna around 7.00 am yesterday, the Media Centre for National Security told the Daily News yesterday. Among the huge consignment of explosives seized were 10 claymore mines each weighing 7Kg, one LTTE communication set, two micro pistols, two magazines, three hand grenades, one satellite phone, 43 dry ration packs and 50 sets of field dressings.-Source-Daily News
Sri Lankan air force strikes Tamil Tiger rebel base in north By BHARATHA
MALLAWARACHI Meanwhile, a man who joined the Tamil Tigers in eastern Sri Lanka defected from the group and surrendered to the country's army, the military said. He claimed to have been beaten by the insurgents.[More] 27-09-2006 India lauds Rajapaksa Government's resolve to build consensus on ethnic issue B. Muralidhar Reddy On basic principles, India and Sri Lanka share the same vision India is ready to share with Sri Lanka our "own experience of unity in diversity, plural democracy and devolution COLOMBO: India has appreciated the resolve of the Mahinda Rajapaksa Government to build a consensus on the ethnic problem within a united Sri Lanka and on the basis of maximum devolution of powers.[More] 27-09-2006 India calls for "special efforts" to end Sri Lanka bloodshed COLOMBO (AFP) - India called for "special efforts" to end the upsurge of violence in Sri Lanka and said New Delhi supported a political settlement that would not break up the island. India's Youth Affairs and Sports Minister Mani Shankar Aiyar said they had an "abiding interest" in the sovereignty, unity and the territorial integrity of the island republic, which lies off the south Indian coast.[More] 27-09-2006 Fear, hunger stalk Sri Lanka's Jaffna Tamils JAFFNA, Sri Lanka, Sept 27 (Reuters) - First driven from their homes by a Tamil Tiger warning, then forced to move back as the military emptied schools-turned-refugee camps, many residents in Sri Lanka's northern Jaffna peninsula are hungry and afraid.[More]
27-09-2006 India stands for unity of Sri Lanka By Yohan Perera India will not allow a transgression of sovereignty and territorial integrity of Sri Lanka and will stand for the unity of the island neighbour in the same spirit it witnessed the progress of Sri Lanka despite the troubles, Minister for Panchayat Raj, Youth Affairs and Sports of India, Mani Shankar Aiyar said yesterday.[More] 26-09-2006 Tamils ask India to help end Sri Lanka crisis By Indo Asian News Service New Delhi, Sep 26 (IANS) Three Sri Lankan Tamil politicians Tuesday urged India to play an active role to help resolve the island's ethnic conflict, with one of them saying that a solution to the crisis was very much in sight. 'Tamils hope and pray that India once again involves itself and brings about peace (in Sri Lanka),' D. Sitharthan of the People's Liberation Organisation of Tamil Eelam (PLOT) told a conference arranged by the Institute of Peace and Conflict Studies here. 'India must help in getting Tamils devolution of power and democratic space in the northeast (of Sri Lanka),' T. Sritharan of the Eelam People's Revolutionary Liberation Front-Pathmanabha (EPRLF) added. Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF) president V. Anandasangaree, who described India as his 'motherland', said New Delhi had enough influence with both the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) and the United National Party (UNP), the island's two main parties, to goad them on the path of devolving power to the Tamil minority.[More] 26-09-2006 Anandasangaree urges Sri Lanka President to reopen A-9, without taxes from LTTE President of the Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF) V. Anandasangaree has urged President Mahinda Rajapaksa to reopen the A-9 (Jaffna-Kandy) Road, but said assurance should be obtained from the LTTE that the Tigers will no longer levy taxes on goods and passengers using the road. .[More] 26-09-2006 INTERVIEW-Sri Lanka, rebels as bad as each other-monitor By Simon Gardner COLOMBO, Sept 26 (Reuters) - Sri Lanka's new Nordic peace monitor has been in the job for less than a month, and already he is shocked and disappointed at what he sees. Since taking over as head of the unarmed Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission this month after his predecessor was forced out by a rebel ultimatum, Norwegian Major-General Lars Johan Solvberg has had to deal with a military offensive and a civilian massacre.[More] 25-09-2006 Delhi invites three parties from Sri Lanka B. Muralidhar Reddy For interaction to determine possible role for India in crisis resolution The invitation is believed to be part of the exercise by New Delhi for sustained interaction with Sri Lankan political parties COLOMBO: Close on the heels of the decision of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh not to meet a parliamentary delegation of the pro-LTTE Tamil National Alliance (TNA), India has invited representatives of three Tamil parties from the north-east to New Delhi for an "interaction" on the current situation in Sri Lanka. According to diplomatic and political sources here, Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF) leader V. Anandasangree, his counterparts in the People's Liberation Organisation of Tamil Eelam, Sidharthan and T. Sritharan of the Eelam People's Revolutionary Front (EPRLF-Padmanabha), are leaving for New Delhi on Monday.[More] 25-09-2006 Sri Lanka says sinks 11 rebel boats in naval clash COLOMBO, Sept 25 (Reuters) - Sri Lanka's navy sank 11 Tamil Tiger vessels and killed dozens of rebels in a fierce five-hour battle overnight, the military said on Monday, a fortnight after the foes agreed to resume peace talks to halt renewed civil war. "There were 25 Sea Tiger boats sailing south. Eleven boats were sunk, and about 70 cadres were killed," said Chief Inspector of Police Percy Perera of the Centre for National Security. He said five navy sailors were hurt in the clash. The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam were not immediately available for comment on the incident, which comes days after a suspected rebel front threatened to recapture recently lost territory near the strategic northeastern port of Trincomalee. 25-09-2006 Sri Lankan navy kills 70 rebels COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — The Sri Lankan navy said Monday it had sunk eight Tamil Tiger rebel ships loaded with troops and weapons during a five-hour sea battle, killing around 70 separatists. It was one of the largest clashes in Sri Lanka's conflict since weeks of fighting in August left hundreds dead and threatened to shatter a 2002 cease-fire agreement.[More] 25-09-2006 Sri Lanka rebels pound military camps in east Sri Lanka's Tamil Tiger rebels on Sunday fired mortar and artillery at two military camps in the eastern district of Batticaloa but caused no casualties, defense officials said. [More] 25-09-2006 Sri Lankan refugees arrive Staff Reporter UDUMALPET: A total of 51 Sri Lankan Tamil refugees arrived here on Saturday. The revenue officials have made various arrangements for their stay at a community hall at Vadapoothanam village near here. Source-The Hindu 24-09-2006 Rice
urges Sri Lanka on bid for new peace talks with Tamils 24-09-2006 'LTTE' leaflet makes Muslims flee Mutur areas PK Balachandran
Over 2,000 Muslims have fled from Mutur in the Trincomalee district
of Eastern Sri Lanka, after a leaflet, believed to have been issued
by a front organization of the LTTE, announced that the Tamil militant
group is going to launch a fresh military offensive. 24-09-2006 Muslim Families Flee Homes in Sri Lanka By ANTHONY
DEUTSCH 24-09-2006 After threats, Muslims again flee Sri Lankan town By M.R. Narayan Swamy, Indo-Asian News Service New Delhi, Sep 24 (IANS) Thousands of panicky Muslims are again fleeing Sri Lanka's eastern town of Mutur after purported threats from the Tamil Tigers, frustrating Colombo's efforts to resettle them following an earlier mass exodus. [More] 24-09-2006 LTTE cannot defeat govt - President The LTTE has no alternative but to stray from the path of violence and enter negotiations as the LTTE will never be able to defeat the government and this had been clearly spelt out to them, President Mahinda Rajapaksa told the Asia Society Conference in New York this week. The President said that the defensive measures taken by government troops was to safeguard the people and the nation from LTTE terrorist attacks. "It was a measure to bring them to the negotiating table", he said. The organisers had to arrange additional seats to accommodate the participants who turned up to listen to the President unexpectedly. A large number of world leaders, delegates, politicians and professionals were also present. The President sought the cooperation of the international community towards his government's effort to find a durable solution through an all party framework. President Rajapaksa said that throughout his political career he had fought for the protection of human rights and stressed that the value of human rights should be the base of any solution. "If human freedom is made a bait, the value of peace is lost", the President said. Source-Sunday Observer 24-09-2006 LTTE abducts three civilians by Ananda Pathiraja and Victor Marambage Kebitigollewa police are investigating an incident where three civilians have been abducted by the LTTE at Hirallugama, Moragoda in Kebitigollewa. The LTTE abducted the three civilians around 11.30 a.m. yesterday. One of them who escaped from the custody of LTTE had been shot at by the abductors. He later reported the incident to the police. H Q I Kebitigollewa, Chief Inspector Rohan Premaratne is conducting a search operation in the area. Source-Sunday Observer 24-09-2006 Sri Lanka 'ready' to share power The President of Sri Lanka, Mahinda Rajapaksa, has said that the country is ‘ready to share power’ with the minority communities.The President told the BBC in London that the government in principal has agreed for devolution of power as a solution to the national question.[More] 23-09-2006 Three more Tamil politicians coming to India By M.R. Narayan Swamy, Indo-Asian News Service New Delhi, Sep 23 (IANS) Three more Sri Lankan Tamil politicians are arriving here for consultations as India comes under pressure to save the island's barely alive peace process amid a surge in human rights violations. V. Anandasangaree of the Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF), D. Sitharthan of the People's Liberation Organisation of Tamil Eelam (PLOTE) and T. Sritharan of the Eelam People's Revolutionary Liberation Front (EPRLF) will fly in Monday to discuss the Sri Lanka situation with senior Indian officials. [More] 23-09-2006 Manmohan refuses to meet TNA team Amit Baruah The front has been kept at arm's length by the political leadership The LTTE would have used a meeting with Dr. Singh to show that its ties with India were on the mend NEW DELHI: In a setback to the Sri Lankan Tamil National Alliance (TNA), Prime Minister Manmohan Singh refused to meet its five-member parliamentary delegation camping here for the last couple of days. [More] 23-09-2006 Suicide kits found in Anuradhapura
The kits were hidden in a special cage created under the chassis of the van, he said. A claymore bomb, two remote controllers, two remote control circuits, four detonators and special laminated cards warning of explosives were also found by the police. Police said they also found a box containing meat in the van in an attempt to mislead police dogs. The driver of the van has been arrested but another suspect has run away after the officers stopped the van.- Source-BBC 22-09-2006 PM avoids Tamil MPs seeking 'closest' ties with India By M.R. Narayan Swamy, Indo-Asian News Service New Delhi, Sep 22 (IANS) A group of Sri Lankan MPs sympathetic to the Tamil Tigers Friday failed to meet Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and left for Chennai after seeking "closest contact" with India in order to open a new chapter in relations soured by the 1991 killing of former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi. [More] 22-09-2006 Ready to respond, says Rajapaksa B. Muralidhar Reddy Intensified battles along forward lines COLOMBO: Amid reports of intensified battles along the Forward Defence Lines (FDLs) in the Jaffna peninsula, President Mahinda Rajapaksa on Thursday announced that his Government was ready to respond to any "gesture of goodwill" and a "move towards a non-violent approach." [More] 22-09-2006 Sri Lanka: Tamil Tiger rebels kill ethnic minority Tamil civilian, military says By BHARATHA
MALLAWARACHI 22-09-2006 Sri
Lankan police detain man with explosive suicide belts The man was detained at a checkpoint around noon near the northern town of Medawachchiya and was being interrogated, said Brig. Prasad Samarasinghe, a military spokesman. He was also in possession of a Claymore mine, detonators, remote controls and timers, a high-ranking military official said. The official, speaking on condition of anonymity due to military regulations, said the man was a member of the Tamil Tiger rebel group who was targeting top government officials or high-ranking officers. Separatists are suspected of having plotted a failed suicide attack against the country's top-ranking military official, Lt. Gen. Sarath Fonseka, in April. Source-AOL 22-09-2006 Sri Lankan MPs seek India's help New Delhi, Sept. 22 (PTI): Ahead of their meeting with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today, five Sri Lankan MPs yesterday sought India's help in addressing the problems afflicting the island nation, including violence against ethnic Tamil people. [More] 22-09-2006 The world owed it to him!-The Island Editorial UNESCO deserves
public plaudits for its decision to award the much-coveted Madanjeet
Singh prize for the promotion of tolerance and non-violence to TULF
President V. Anandasangaree. It will be some consolation for the septuagenarian
being pursued by terrorists that the world has at last recognised
his selfless dedication to the onerous task of building racial amity
and finding a political solution to Sri Lanka’s problem.[More] 21-09-2006 Rajiv Gandhi killing 'thoroughly unacceptable': pro-LTTE MPs By M.R. Narayan Swamy, Indo-Asian News Service New Delhi, Sep 20 (IANS) A Sri Lankan Tamil party sympathetic to the Tamil Tigers Wednesday described the assassination of former Indian prime minister Rajiv Gandhi as "thoroughly unacceptable" and said the insurgents will have to regret the epoch-making event in a manner acceptable to the Indian people.[More] 21-09-2006 President tells international community at UN: Global support vital for transforming LTTE Reiterates commitment for negotiations
"It is our hope that the LTTE will transform itself from a terrorist outfit to one that is committed to dialogue and democracy. My Government stands ready to warmly respond to any display of goodwill and a move towards a non-violent approach," President Rajapaksa told the 61st General Assembly Sessions in New York. [More] 21-09-2006 Sri Lanka urges Tigers to join peace process Thu Sep 21, 2006 3:26 AM BST UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa called on the separatist Tamil Tigers on Wednesday to give up violence and embrace democracy and the peace process, including international negotiations brokered by Norway.[More] 21-09-2006 Guru Ravi Shankar in Tamil Tigers area By M.R. Narayan Swamy, Indo-Asian News Service New Delhi, Sep 21 (IANS) Spiritual guru Sri Sri Ravi Shankar Thursday visited Sri Lanka's northern areas held by the Tamil Tigers, his office said, indicating he may be engaged in efforts aimed at promoting peace in the island. [More]
62 Sri Lankan refugees reach Tamil Nadu Rameswaram, Sep 21: A total of 62 refugees arrived here today from Pesalai and Talaimannar in Sri Lanka as fighting between government troops and the LTTE intensified after a brief lull, officials said. The refugees were sent to the Mandapam transit camp after official inquiries, they said. The Mandapam camp was sealed from today and refugees will not be allowed to go outside it, officials said. Security had been tightened at Rameswaram island, Pamban bridge and along the coastline. Patrolling by Coast Guard and naval ships has been intensified in Palk strait. Helicopter patrolling too has been intensified in coastal areas. Fishermen have been advised not to venture into the sea from tonight, Additional Director of Fisheries Velsamy said.-[Source-newkerala] 21-09-2006 Tamil Tiger rebels kill dissident, another dead in northern fighting Colombo, Sept. 21(AP): The Sri Lankan army killed a Tamil Tiger rebel in a gunbattle in the restive northern Jaffna Peninsula overnight, the military said on Thursday, the same day that women's groups held a rally to call for an end to the violence.[More]
21-09-2006 UN Envoy to investigate LTTE child conscription Alan Rock, Special Envoy of UN Secretary General Kofi Annan is due to visit Sri Lanka shortly to investigate the conscription of children by the LTTE, said Radhika Coomaraswamy, UN Special Rapporteur on Children's in Armed Conflict at a meeting with President Mahinda Rajapaksa in New York yesterday. The Special Rapporteur also agreed to provide necessary assistance from the United Nations to the Government of Sri Lanka in its efforts to prevent child conscription by the LTTE. President Rajapaksa opined that the United Nations should play a more active role in this regard. Source-ReliefWeb 21-09-2006 PRESS RELEASE ''Human rights in Sri Lankan Tamil Literature'' The 33 rd European Tamil Literary Conference in London ( 'Ilakkiya Santhippu' ) In partnership with London Tamil Literary Forum & University of East London The 33 rd European Tamil Literary Conference is to be held in London on Sept 23 rd -24 th 2006 at the University of East London. The topic is human rights in Sri Lankan Tamil writing, with particular attention to marginalised people such as refugees, Dalith (‘untouchables'), women and children, and to Muslim literature. The annual Literary Conference is a prestigious international event, with different countries vying to host it. This is only the second time London has hosted the conference since the first conference in Germany in 1988. Authors, editors, journalists and human-rights activists who fled Sri Lanka in 1983 after the pogroms against Tamils were determined to promote independent Tamil writings and arts in Europe. A new form of writing ‘Puhalida Ilakkiyam' (‘Exile Writing') arose, which linked experiences of persecution in Sri Lanka and the challenges refugees face in Europe. It was often a form of dissent from both Government and LTTE atrocities, which cost one writer, Mr Salbalingam from Paris, his life in 1994. Participants from North America, Europe, Sri Lanka, India and Britain will attend the two-day conference. During the day there will be speakers, debates and readings in Tamil. After 6.30p.m., non-Tamil speakers are invited to attend cultural events, including screenings of short films, and performances by a dance troupe and theatre groups. It is highly appropriate that Britain at last hosts another conference, especially within the London Borough of Newham, There are approximately 180,000 Tamils in the U.K, of whom 8-10,000 live in Newham – many of whom have close links with UEL. The first language, cultural, music and dance schools of the Tamil diaspora started in London, and the first Tamil literary publications originated here. We want our guests from Europe, Sri Lanka and India to enjoy the demographic diversity and multicultural living of the East End. The Borough exemplifies the Conference's own aspiration to include all Tamils, regardless of their caste, religion, colour, gender or sexual orientation, and our opposition to any narrow party political interests and intolerances. To attend the Conference or cultural events please contact: Rajes Bala 0208 889 7827, rajesbala@hotmail .com K.K.Rajah 0208 470 7883, 07956 490 694, chanthippu33@aol.com The Venue: The Great Hall, University of East London, Stratford Campus, Romford Rd, Stratford, London E 15 The Dates and Time: 23.09.06: 9.30 am -21.30pm 24.09.06: 9.30.am – 20.30pm Transport: Stratford tube (Central or North London lines), Buses 25, 86 21-09-2006 AN APPEAL TO THE EXPATRIATE TAMILS OF SRI LANKA-V.Anandasangaree Inspite of several
set backs during the last few years, I now see a positive development
towards finding a solution for the ethnic problem of Sri Lanka. For
the information of the Sri Lankan Tamils I enumerate here certain
facts I consider relevant and very necessary for everyone to know.[More] 21-09-2006 Two more relief ships Jaffna bound Irangika Range COLOMBO: Two relief ships from the Colombo and Trincomalee harbours will arrive in Jaffna within this week carrying dry rations and essential food items to the people of the peninsula, including those internally displaced in the North and East provinces. [More] 20-09-2006 Three killed in Sri Lanka's northeast, curfew imposed COLOMBO (AFP) - Three people were shot dead by unidentified gunmen in northeast Sri Lanka, police said, and a curfew was put in place in a nearby town following an earlier massacre of 10 Muslim men. [More] 20-09-2006 Sri Lankan and United States Presidents meet in New York Wednesday, September 20, 2006, 11:19 GMT, ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka.
Sept
20, Colombo: Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa had a friendly
discussion with United States President George W. Bush at the United
Nations Headquarters yesterday. UN Secretary General Kofi Annan is
also in the picture. 20-09-2006 Pressure on LTTE to return to talks, says U.S. envoy B. Muralidhar Reddy COLOMBO: New U.S. Ambassador to Sri Lanka Robert O. Blake Jr claimed here on Tuesday that Norway is "persuading" LTTE to return to the negotiating table with "credible guarantees" that it would not use fresh talks to strengthen itself militarily. [More] 20-09-2006 Health workers killed in the east Two health workers were killed in the eastern Sri Lankan town of Kanthale. A Medical Laboratory Technician (MLT) and a pharmacist were killed by unidentified gunmen on Tuesday. The murder of Thanush and Madyapuram was the latest victims of the trade unionists said.[More] 20-09-2006 Rockets and rubble: Sri Lanka troops press campaign By Simon
Gardner KANKASANTURAI, Sri Lanka (Reuters) - Firing artillery shells toward Tamil Tiger positions as fighting flares despite peace talk pledges, Sri Lankan gunner Herath Rajaratne longs for the day he can return to his family and civilian life.[More] 20-09-2006 Sri Lankan police shoot 4 Muslim civilians during protest Associated Press, Wed September 20, 2006 05:08 EDT . BHARATHA MALLAWARACHI - Associated Press Writer - COLOMBO, Sri Lanka - (AP) Police opened
fire during a protest by Muslims in eastern Sri Lanka - on Wednesday,
wounding four civilians, a lawmaker said, while a government soldier
was killed in an overnight attack by suspected Tamil Tiger rebels
in the north. Muslims are Sri Lanka - 's second-largest minority after
ethnic Tamils, who are mostly Hindu, and generally oppose the Tamil
Tiger rebels, who are fighting to carve out a separate homeland for
the Tamils. Associated Press
writer Krishan Francis contributed to this report. 19-09-2006 US military aid to SL defensive: Envoy PK Balachandran The new American Ambassador to Sri Lanka, Robert O Blake, said here on Tuesday, that US military aid to Sri Lanka was only "defensive". In his first interaction with the Sri Lankan and foreign media, Blake was asked how American military aid to Sri Lanka could be reconciled with Washington's other objective of promoting peace talks with the LTTE.[More] 19-09-2006 Tigers shell Sri Lanka army positions By Simon Gardner MUKAMALAI, Sri Lanka (Reuters) - Sri Lankan Tamil Tiger rebels shelled recently lost positions on the Jaffna peninsula on Tuesday as accusations flew over responsibility for the weekend massacre of 10 Muslim civilians further south. Journalists on a media trip organised by the army to recently captured rebel positions saw shellfire from Tiger-held territory, although soldiers dismissed it as routine.[More] 19-09-2006 Only talks can end Sri Lanka conflict, India says By M.R. Narayan Swamy, Indo-Asian News Service New Delhi, Sep 19 (IANS) Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will meet in two or three days Sri Lankan Tamil MPs sympathetic to the Tamil Tigers, who arrived here Tuesday, as part of wider efforts aimed at resolving the ethnic conflict. [More] 19-09-2006 Sri Lanka: Government and Tamil Tigers Must Protect Civilians U.N. Human Rights Monitoring Mission Urged (New York, September 19, 2006) – Both the Sri Lankan government and the armed opposition Tamil Tigers have been responsible for numerous preventable civilian deaths and injuries since major fighting resumed in April, Human Rights Watch said in a briefing paper released today.[More] 19-09-2006 Muslims shut shops, offices in eastern Sri Lanka to protest massacre COLOMBO,
Sri Lanka Sri Lanka's main Muslim political party on Tuesday demanded
an impartial investigation into the killing of 10 civilians, as residents
in parts of the east shut shops and offices to protest the killings
that some blame on the government.[More]
19-09-2006 Refugees must be monitored: Karunanidhi With inflow of Sri Lankan refugees on the rise, Chief Minister M Karunandhi on Monday exhorted police and revenue officials to make joint efforts to ensure that no 'anti-social elements' used the situation to enter Tamil Nadu. [More] 19-09-2006 Muslims buried in Sri Lanka after being hacked to death POTTUVIL, Sri Lanka — The bodies of 10 Muslim men found hacked to death were buried in the village of Pottuvil yesterday as the Tamil Tiger rebels and Sri Lankan forces blamed each other for the massacre.[More] 19-09-2006 PM to meet Tamil MPs as part of wider consultations By M.R. Narayan Swamy, Indo-Asian News Service New Delhi, Sep 19 (IANS) Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will meet in two or three days Sri Lankan Tamil MPs sympathetic to the Tamil Tigers, who arrived here Tuesday, as part of wider efforts aimed at resolving the ethnic conflict. [More] 18-09-2006 Sri Lanka says Tiger rebels hack 11 Muslims to death By Simon Gardner COLOMBO, Sept 18 (Reuters) - Suspected Tamil Tiger rebels hacked 11 Muslim labourers to death in eastern Sri Lanka at the weekend, the army said on Monday, the latest in a string of mass killings and abuses. The deaths near the town of Panama in the tsunami-battered eastern district of Ampara -- which has so far escaped the worst fighting since a 2002 ceasefire -- come just days after the government and rebels agreed to meet for talks to halt violence that has killed hundreds of people since late July.[More] 18-09-2006 Sri Lankan military says Tamil Tiger rebels killed 11 Muslim civilians The Associated Press COLOMBO,
Sri Lanka Eleven Muslim men were found hacked to death in a remote
jungle in eastern Sri Lanka on Monday, the military said, blaming
Tamil Tiger rebels for the killings.
18-09-2006 Lankan Govt., LTTE blame each other for Muslim massacre B. Muralidhar Reddy COLOMBO: Sri Lanka Government and LTTE blamed each other for the massacre of at least eleven Muslims in Ampara district in the east on Sunday/Monday. [More] 18-09-2006 The LTTE after the fall of Sampur R. Hariharan The Sri Lankan military has had the better of a series of confrontations with the Tigers. The effects of Karuna's breakaway are clearly showing. But is the LTTE now planning something spectacular? AFTER THE Sri Lankan security forces captured the strategically important town of Sampur in the east on September 4, 2006, the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam have made it clear the 2002 ceasefire agreement has "ended." LTTE artillery based in the Sampur area had posed a strategic threat to the free movement of Sri Lankan naval ships from Trincomalee harbour across the Koddiyar Bay[More] 18-09-2006 Sri Lanka fighting ends lull, boat reported sunk COLOMBO, Sept 17 (Reuters) - Sri Lankan government troops and Tamil Tiger rebels exchanged gunfire and skirmished at sea on Sunday, bringing to an end a four-day lull in fighting around the besieged Jaffna peninsula. Residents reported brief exchanges of gunfire south of Jaffna near a vital road artery as well as a volley of artillery fire from both sides.[More] 18-09-2006 LTTE weapons ship destroyed at mid sea Ananth Palakidnar Colombo: The Navy assisted by the Air Force yesterday destroyed a suspected arms ship in the waters off Kalmunai. Air Force fighter jets and the naval gun boats destroyed the ship following a gun battle lasting several hours 120 nautical miles east of Kalmunai according to the Navy. [More] 18-09-2006 UN Chief pledges support for peace quest HAVANA: President Mahinda Rajapaksa met UN Secretary General Kofi Annan on the sidelines of the 14th Non-Aligned Summit in Havana where the current situation in Sri Lanka was discussed. [More] 17-09-2006
16-09-2006 When Ceasefires Fail James
Ross | September 15, 2006 Foreign
Policy In Focus www.fpif.org 16-09-2006 War and learning from our mistakes by Rohini Hensman The murder of
Kethesh Loganathan marked the first anniversary of the death of the
2002 Ceasefire Agreement (CFA), which occurred when Lakshman Kadirgamar
was assassinated. In retrospect, it should be clear that the murder
of Kadirgamar was the first shot in the Fourth Eelam War. Since then,
there has been a return to full-scale hostilities. Muslims, Tamils
and Sinhalese have been killed in large numbers, lakhs of people have
been displaced, ugly war crimes are routinely perpetrated by all the
armed parties. Who is to blame for this situation? And how can we
escape from the seemingly endless cycle of war, ceasefire, and then
more war? (More) 15-09-2006 Sri Lanka - seeking a tryst with peace[HINDU]Will the Government in Colombo and the Tigers heed the advice of the international community and return to the negotiating table soon? Will the Government in Colombo and the Tigers heed the advice of the international community and return to the negotiating table soon? (More) 15-09-2006 Terrorised Sri Lankan Tamil traders flee to India By M.R. Narayan Swamy, Indo-Asian News Service New Delhi, Sep 14 (IANS) Several Tamil traders and businessmen have fled Sri Lanka following a spate of killings and abductions that activists say has led to one of the most traumatic periods for the island's minority community(More) 14-09-2006 The Wider Implications of the Human Rights and Humanitarian Crisis in Jaffna[ UTHRJ]The events of August were a stunning reminder of how quickly conditions for civilians can deteriorate in Sri Lanka when impunity and communal extremism prevail. Fighting between the Sri Lankan forces and the LTTE closed the A9 Jaffna – Kandy trunk road on Friday 11 th August. The resulting humanitarian crisis from displacement and death because of the fighting and also from threats to air as well as and sea borne transport raised international alarms. The killing spree by state-linked killers that followed surpassed even the continued killings by the LTTE, increasing the anxiety of a populace already faced with the threat of starvation. As often happens, in reaction to the concerns raised by local and international agencies, the Sri Lankan government showed some token response before lapsing again into negligence and violence. Thereafter even if the situation gets incomparably worse and basic humanitarian and human rights norms are shamelessly breached, the international actors will inevitably relapse into the silence of disbelief, finding that even their strongest strictures have fallen on ears that are stone deaf. We have reached this point in the North East.[More] 13-09-2006 Global players 'moderately optimistic' on Sri Lanka By M.R. Narayan Swamy, Indo-Asian News Service New Delhi, Sep 13 (IANS) The international community overseeing Sri Lanka's peace process is "moderately optimistic" despite announcing that the Tamil Tigers and Colombo will return to torturous negotiations. The grouping of countries known as the co-chairs as well as India have their fingers tightly crossed even after the declaration that the government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) will meet in Oslo early next month. (More)
13-09-2006 V. Anadasangaree, winner of the 2006 UNESCO-Madanjeet Singh Prize. 12-09-2006
4:00 pm The Director-General of UNESCO, Koïchiro Matsuura
has designated President of the Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF)
Veerasingham Anadasangaree as the laureate of the 2006 UNESCO-Madanjeet
Singh Prize for the Promotion of Tolerance and Non-Violence. The Prize
was attributed on the recommendation of an international jury. The
members of the jury are: Andrés Pastrana Arango, former
President of Colombia; Bahia Hariri, President of the Commission for
Education, Science and Culture of the Lebanese Parliament; Inder Kumar
Gujral, former Prime Minister of India; Sergei Markarov and Manu Dibango,
both UNESCO Artists for Peace. 13-09-2006 The Sunday Times - Britain August 27, 2006 British GP charged over rocket sales Jonathan Milne and Abul Taher A BRITISH doctor has been arrested in New York , charged with aiding Sri Lankan terrorists by facilitating the purchase of American rockets and British submarine technology. Dr Murugesu Vinayagamoorthy, 57, from north London , is in a detention centre in New York , accused of laundering terrorist money. He is also alleged to have tried to bribe an official with $1m to have the Tamil Tigers removed from the government's terrorist blacklist. He was one of 11 men arrested and named last week after an FBI undercover sting operation. In London , however, his wife Pushpam insisted his trip to America was an innocent one to open a Hindu temple. The Tamil Tigers have been waging a civil war against the Sri Lankan government since 1983, conducting 200 suicide bombings including the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi, the former Indian prime minister. The FBI alleges Vinayagamoorthy, known as Dr Moorthy, is a senior Tigers intermediary, who is said to have said in a tape-recorded conversation that suicide bombing was inevitable: “We have no other means.” He is accused of trying to bribe undercover agents posing as corrupt State Department officials, and last year reportedly met a Chicago congressman to finance his trip to a Tigers stronghold in Sri Lanka . He and his wife are NHS GPs with the Enfield Primary Care Trust. They live in a large refurbished house with a swimming pool. He drives a silver Mercedes, she a silver Porsche, but they also have a maroon Rolls-Royce Silver Spirit and matching four-wheel drive.
12-09-2006 Sri
Lanka: Forced Return Threatens Safety of Mutur Displaced For
the largely Muslim population of the eastern Sri Lankan town of Mutur
the past six weeks have been a nightmare of forced displacement and
vulnerability. Over 45,000 people originally fled fighting in early
August between the Sri Lankan army and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil
Eelam (LTTE). They were then forced back to Mutur on September 6th
and 7th in a government-organized return that in effect removed them
from temporary shelters, however inadequate, in safe locations with
basic services to temporary shelters with virtually no services in
what remains a tense zone of potential conflict. With the return a
fait accompli, there is an urgent need for material assistance and
protective action by the government and international agencies for
the displaced people of Mutur.(More) 12-09-2006 Why the State is not the LTTE and vice versa By Kishali Pinto Jayawardena In the past,
our governments made particular grave errors in its handling of human
rights abuses, whether it was pitting itself against the Liberation
Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) or the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (a foe
quite as deadly and almost as ruthless as the LTTE in its time). 12-09-2006 http://www.sundayobserver.lk/2006/09/10/fea03.asp
| ||||||||
Police
in the north-central Sri Lankan town of Medawachchiya have found two
suicide kits in a van. Inspector of Police (IP) at Medawachchiya police
station Siripala Uswetti said they arrested the van as a police dog
behaved “in an unusual manner” at the police checkpoint.
US:
President Mahinda Rajapaksa yesterday called on the international
community to extend its fullest support to the Government for the
democratic transformation of the LTTE. 
