Sri Lanka extends anti-terror laws
Sri Lanka’s government on Tuesday extended tough anti-terror laws, arguing that remnants of the defeated Tamil Tiger rebels could still try to stage a comeback.
Prime Minister Ratnasiri Wickremanayake told parliament that the government wanted to extend the state of emergency by a month despite last month’s defeat of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and the deaths of their leaders.
Largest ammunition dump explodes in SLA Vavuniyaa camp
Residents of Eerapperiyaku’lam in Vavuniyaa reported hearing loud explosions, and seeing fire from the ammunition dump of the 211- Due Command of the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) in Vavuniyaa from 6:00 p.m. Tuesday. The explosions have been continuing for more than an hour, according to reports from Vavuniyaa. The ammunition dump is one of the largest used by the SLA, military observers said.
The attack on Sri Lanka will start soon – Seeman
A massive human chain protest was organized by Karnataka Tamil Makkal Iyyakkam on Sunday morning in Bangalore to mobilize the public support to the rehabilitation of the displaced Tamils, to demand the international community to investigate war crimes and to condemn the genocide of Tamils by the facist Sri Lankan state.
Sri Lankan army ‘colonising’ Tamil lands
Sri Lanka’s Army Commander General Foneska’s statement on recruiting 100,000 new recruits has raised fears, in the minds of Sri Lankan Tamil Observer groups, of systematic colonisation of the Tamil lands in the North and the East by the Sinhala army. This fear is becoming a pre-occupation with these observers, as they mull over the issue of peaceful settlement of Tamil issue.
Take steps for rehabilitation of displaced and ensure equal status for Lankan Tamils
AIADMK chief J Jayalalithaa today urged the Centre to expedite immediate measures for the rehabilitation of internally displaced persons (IDP) in Sri Lanka as well as to ensure equal status for them on the lines of the majority Sinhalese in the island nation.
She said that the miserable conditions of the Tamils in Sri Lanka continued despite the end of the war.
Tamils problem larger than that of LTTE
Declaring the Tamil problem as “larger than that of the LTTE”, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Tuesday expressed hope that Sri Lanka would show courage in meeting their legitimate concerns.
“The Tamil problem is larger than that of the LTTE. I sincerely hope that the Sri Lankan government will show imagination and courage in meeting the legitimate concerns and aspirations of Tamil people to live their lives as equal citizens and with dignity and self-respect,” he said in the Lok Sabha.
Over night disappearances of people in the camps on an increase
Reports from ID camps in Vavuniya states the over night disappearances of people in the camps, was on an increase. People in the camps say this was part of the filtering operation carried out by the forces. Sources say these operations has almost been completed in Kadirgamar camp and Anandakumaraswamy camp. However, over night evacuation of people as part of the filtering process was continuing in the Arrunasalam and other camps.
Aid ship asked to leave without unloading the cargo
Sri Lankan authorities today ordered a foreign‐owned ship carrying aid for Tamil civilians to leave the island without unloading its cargo.
Sri Lankan defence ministry said the cargo of food and other supplies had been destined for the now defeated Tamil Tiger rebels.An official stated the ship had tried to enter Sri Lankan waters without following the proper procedure but added that a search of the vessel confirmed it was not carrying any arms or ammunition.
Defence officials refuse to release the six foreign nationals
Defence officials have refused to release the six foreign nationals now living in camps. Officials say they did not adhere to defence ministry instructions and had stayed back in safety zones. Those detained are from Britain, France and Norway and their embassies are making efforts to get these people released.
Inside the Manik Farm detention centre
The following report was provided by an elderly person who visited several relatives being held in one of the internment camps set up by Sri Lankan authorities to house nearly 300,000 civilians who fled during the final weeks of fighting between the army and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).
