Sri Lanka: Civil, Political and Economic Rights

[makinda]

Australia & the Tamil Struggle
Sri Lanka: Civil, Political and Economic Rights

http://www.tamilnation.org/images/diaspora/judge.jpg

Ms Virginia Judge MP (Strathfield)
Address 176 Burwood Road,
BURWOOD NSW 2134
Phone (02) 9747 1711
Fax (02) 9747 6054
Email [email protected]


Sri Lanka is in crisis. This is a nation divided—a nation where civil, political and economic rights are not equally shared. Last week I returned from a visit to Sri Lanka, where I went to witness these things for myself and to research a suitable project for funds raised here after the tsunami to assist victims and their families in Sri Lanka. I did so at the urging of the 3,000-strong Tamil community in my electorate of Strathfield, Sydney, New South Wales. Many came as refugees fleeing the 20-year civil war in Sri Lanka. They are proudly Australian, exemplary citizens contributing much to our civic life and community. But they are also deeply concerned for their homeland, especially the Tamil minority.

The Tamils are a distinct people with their own language, culture, traditions and spirituality. Since independence in 1948, power has been vested mainly in the Singalese— predominantly Buddhists—who currently comprise about 80 per cent of the population. The Tamils—mainly Hindus—comprise the remaining 20 per cent of the population, along with much smaller Christian and Muslim communities.

Over time these minorities have progressively seen their rights eroded through ingrained discrimination and segregation. As a result, the Tamils and other minorities have a sense of oppression and alienation. These are some examples of that discrimination at work. Tamils have to get higher marks than Singhalese for entry to the same courses at universities. In the Civil Service and private enterprise, jobs have been systematically allocated to Singhalese over Tamils. In enterprise and commerce the Tamils have been systematically cut out of the opportunities afforded to the majority. Several Catholic priests informed me about the systematic and endemic abuse of human rights by the Sri Lankan Government within the Tamil community. Indeed, one priest gave me a six-page list of churches damaged and destroyed by aerial bombing and shelling in the north of the island. There were 93 fully damaged, 186 partially damaged and 20 requiring minor repair! All these things breed resentment, frustration and hatred.

To make matters worse, the majority-dominated Government has manipulated and used the media to provoke bias against the minorities. Racism and fear is fostered. It is the politics of division, exclusion and misrepresentation, with the truth hidden from the outside world. I experienced first-hand a concerted campaign to prevent me from travelling to Tamil Eelam.

Before I left Sydney, the editorial advisor and head of the Australian Bureau of the Asian Tribune alleged I was carrying nearly $100,000,00 cash into Sri Lanka. If true, this would have meant I had broken Australian law as well as placing my life in danger. I believe this was a covert effort to try to scare me from visiting Sri Lanka. Thankfully I did not fall for this pathetic attempt and I was able to witness for myself the suffering of this proud people as well as their determined efforts to rebuild their community.

The Tamils are a resilient people. I observed that in a remarkable three year period the Tamils developed a virtual state within the north and north-east of Sri Lanka. I visited their judiciary and court, school of law, police station, police academy, medical and technical colleges and small industries, a community bank plus a children's home housing 278 children left orphaned by the war and the recent tsunami. The Tamil Rehabilitation Organisation (TRO) runs a variety of development, relief and reconstruction projects as well as assisting several non-government organisations with their projects. All this is a tribute to the spirit and resilience of the Tamil people. "

But it is no substitute for a final political settlement to this long-lasting dispute. Thankfully, some sort of end is in sight with a cease fire brokered by the Norwegian Government signed in February 2002. For the first time in a generation, the economy started to flow and people could travel about the island, albeit it with some difficulty. It is the beginning of a road map for lasting peace, and now the Sri Lankan Government must deliver by giving up its monopoly of power. That means a genuine federal structure that guarantees the right of the Tamil minority to autonomy so they can protect their culture and enjoy full economic and political rights.

Every human has the right to a place they can call home, and to equality of opportunity, to social justice, to freedom: one united Sri Lanka based on a federal structure with equity and self-determination for the Tamil people. War is destructive and tragic. There are casualties on both sides. Acts are committed that should never have happened in civil society. The curtain needs to be pulled right back.

The Tamil and other minority groups need support. The international community needs to take urgent action, conduct independent research, visit these areas, engage with the community and see first-hand what is happening. That is my prayer and hope for this beautiful country. Then the weapons can be put away forever. Then the precious resources of this bountiful country can be put into improving the lives of these beautiful people who have suffered so much for so long. That is worth the dream. That is worth the effort. That is worth the struggle. I commend the plight of the Tamil people to the House.


http://www.tamilnation.org/diaspora/australia/050915judge.htm

[crazy_m]

What r u trying to gain after posting this crap:rolleyes: Nonsesnse!!!:rolleyes:

[nAPs2JAAN]

what the purpose of doing this huh? do you think we are gonna support LTTE?
Get lost from here before you get kicked out

[Tissaka]

http://www.slideshare.net/Lankan/ltte-terrorist-attacks-in-sri-lanka


On 30th Nov 1984 LTTE launched an attack on Dollar Farm and Kent Farm. 62 Unarmed civilians were brutally killed.

On 14 May 1985 LTTE attacked the sacred Jaya Sri Maha Bodhi, Anuradhapura and Killed 120 and wounded 85 civilians.

On 17 April 1987, 30-60 LTTE cadres stopped 06 vehicles plying on Trincomalee - Habarana Road, and killed 122 Civilians and wounded 44 others.

On 21 April 1987, a car bomb exploded at Pettah Bus Stand killing 110 civilians and injuring 298 others

On 02 May 1987, 30 Buddhist monks and 4 civilians shot dead at Arantalawa, Ampara.

On 03 August 1990 LTTE terrorists attacked Meera Jumma and Husania Mosques and massacred 103 Muslims and wounded 70.

On 11 Auguast 1990 LTTE terrorists killed 116 Muslims at Eravur.

On 29 April 1992 Group of 30-40 LTTE Cadres attacked Alichipothan and killed 56 Muslim Civilians and wounded 15 others.

On 01 October 1992 LTTE terrorists attacked Palliyagodella Village and Killed 146 Civilians including Children.

On 01 May 1993 LTTE suicide terrorist exploded himself killing the President R. Premadasa and 15 others.

On 26 May 1996 LTTE terrorists assassinated Dimbulagala Nayaka Thero.

On 11 November 1996 LTTE exploded two bombs at Slave Island and Killed 19 Civilians.

On 31 January 1996 LTTE exploded Central Bank at Colombo Fort and killed 82 Civilians and 100 others injured.

On 25 January 1998 LTTE Blasted a Bomb at Sri Dalanda Maligawa.

On 24 July 1996 two bombs ripped through a crowded train in Dehiwala Railway Station. 70 commuters were killed and over 500 were wounded.

On 18 September 1999 LTTE Cadres attacked Punchi Seegiriya, Kalpengala, Bedirekka villages and killed 58 civilians

24 dead and 150 wounded when LTTE botched attempt to kill President Chandrika Kumaratunge on 18 December 1999.

38 dead and 50 injured, in LTTE Terrorist attack at Rajagiriya on 10 March 2000.

Alfred Duraiyappah - Former Mayor and MP for Jaffna killed on 27 July 1975 By LTTE A Thiyagarajah - MP for Vaddukkodai Killed on 25 May 1981 V Dharmalingam - MP for Manipay Killed on 03 September 1985

K Alalasunderam - MP Kopay, killed on 03 September 1985 Sri Sabaratnam - Leader TELO, killed on 06 May 1986 A Amirthalingam - MP, opposition leader & leader TULF, Killed on 13 May 1989

V Yogeshwaran - MP for Jaffna, killed on 13 July 1989 T Ganeshalingam - Provincial Minister for North & East, killed on 28 January 1990 K Pathmanaba - Leader EPRLF, Killed on June 1990 Dr. Rajini Thiranagama - Lecturer in Anotomy, University of Jaffna

K Kanagaratnam - MP for Eastern Province, killed on 15 July 1990 Ranjan Wijeratne - Defence Minister & Deputy Minister of Finance, killed on 01 March 1991 Rajiv Gandhi - Prime Minister of India, killed on 22 June 1991

Ranasinghe Premadasa - President of Sri Lanka, killed on 01 May 1993 Gamini Dissanayake - Presidential Candidate and MP Nuwara Eliya, killed on 23 October 1994

A Thangathurai - MP for Trincomalee, killed on 05 July 1997 Mohommed Maharoof - MP for Trincomalee, killed on 20 July 1997 S P Tharmalingam - SLFP Organizer Jaffna, Killed on October 1997

Sarojani Yogeshwarn - TULF Mayor of Jaffna, killed on 16 May 1998 Pon Sivapalan - TULF Mayor of Jaffna, killed on 11 September 1998

Dr. Neelam Thiruchelvam - TULF MP, killed on 29 July 1999 Atputharajah Nadarajah - EPDP MP Jaffna, killed on 02 November 1999


C V Gooneratne - Industrial Development Minister, killed on 07 June 2000

•30/11/84 29 Sinhalese Villagers killed at Kent Farm, Oddusudan

•30/11/84 33 Sinhalese Villagers killed at Doller Farm

•01/12/84 11 Sinhalese Villagers killed at Kokilai, Vavuniya

•13/12/84 27 Tamils killed at Oddusudan

•19/01/85 11 civilians killed in Yal Devi Explosion

•14/05/85 120 civilians killed at the Sri Maha Bodhi, Anuradhapura

•14/05/85 18 civilians killed at Wilpattu.

•02/06/85 13 civilians killed in CTB bust at Morawewa.

•04/06/85 13 Sinhalese killed at Dewatte, Trincomalee.

•03/05/86 16 killed in a bomb blast in a Tri-Star Plane at Katunayake Airport.

•07/05/86 14 killed in bomb explosion CTO Fort. •25/05/86 20 Sinhalese shot dead and 20 houses set on fire Mahadiwulwewa, Trincomalee

•31/05/86 13 killed in a bomb blast at Veyangoda station.

•04/06/86 17 Sinhalese villagers including Bakamune Subaddalankara Thero, shot deat at Andankulam, Trincomalee.

•11/06/86 22 persons killed, in tow explosions in Trincomalee.

•25/06/86 16 Sinhalese killed in bomb explosion, Sittaru, Kantale.

•08/07/86 15 Sinhalese villagers shot dead at Monkey bridge, Trincomalee.

•19/07/86 12 Sinhalese shot dead at Medirigiriya,Polonnaruwa.

•22/07/86 32 Sinhalese killed in mine explosion at Mamaduwa, Vavuniaya.

•24/07/86 12 civilians killed in a bus-bom at Issenbessagala, Medawachchiya.

•07/02/87 28 Sinhalese killed at Arantalawa, Ampara.

•22/03/87 26 Sinhalese villagers shot dead at Serunewa, Horowpothana.

•17/04/87 96 Sinhalese killed at Trincomalee/Habarana Road.

•20/04/87 15 Sinhalese villagers shot dead at Jayanthipura, Trincomalee.

•02/06/87 30 Buddhist monks and 4 civilians shot dead at Arantalawa, Ampara.

•11/06/87 13 civilians killed in a pressure mine explosion, Veppankulam.

•06/10/87 18 Sinhalese shot dead at Batticaloa.

•06/10/87 27 Sinhalese villagers shot dead at Sagarapura, kuchchuveli, Trincomalee.

•06/10/87 22 Sinhalese shot dead at Talawa, Eravur.

•07/10/87 30 Sinhalese shot dead at Ampara.

•15/10/87 14 Sinhalese passengers shot dead on Ella Kantale, Trincomalee.

•16/10/87 11 Sinhalese hostages killed at Pulmoddai, Trincomalee.

•06/10/87 27 Sinhalese villagers shot dead at Sagarapura, kuchchuveli, Trincomalee.

•06/10/87 22 Sinhalese shot dead at Talawa, Eravur.

•07/10/87 30 Sinhalese shot dead at Ampara.

•15/10/87 14 Sinhalese passengers shot dead on Ella Kantale, Trincomalee.

•16/10/87 11 Sinhalese hostages killed at Pulmoddai, Trincomalee.

•09/11/87 23 civilians killed, 106 injured in a bomb explosion at Maradana, Colombo.

•12/11/87 12 Tamils killed in landmine explosion, Cheddikulam, Vavuniya.

•02/03/88 14 Sinhalese villagers shot dead, Morawewa, Trincomalee.

•05/03/88 16 Muslims and 8 Sinhalese killed in a mine explosion, Sitturu, Kantale.

•11/03/88 19 Passengers of a private bus killed, Suhadagama, Horawpothana.

•14/03/88 13 villages killed at Galametiyawa, Kantalai, Trincomalee.

•31/03/88 10 Muslims and 07 Tamils killed at Saindamaradu, Kalmunai.

•08/04/88 14 Sinhalese killed at Horowpothana, Meegaswewa, Anuradhapura.

•01/05/88 12 Sinhalese, 9 Muslims and 5 Tamils wee killed at Sittaru in landmine explosion.

•28/07/88 16 civilians killed at Etawetunuwewa, Welioya.

•25/08/88 11 civilians killed by cutting their necks, Marawila, Polonnaruwa.

•09/10/88 44 villagers killed at Mahakongaskada, Medavachchiya.

•14/11/88 28 Sinhalese killed at paniketiyawa, Gomarankadawela.

•02/02/89 11 Sinhalese hacked to death, Bogamuyaya, Maha Oya, Ampara.

•11/02/89 34 Sinhalese villagers killed at Dutuwewa, Horowpotana.

•27/02/89 37 Sinhalese villagers shot dead at Borawewa, Polonnaruwa.

•17/08/89 18 civilians killed in an IED explosion at Nochchikulam, Vavuniya.

•26/07/90 19 Sinhalese killed at Thammannaelawaka, Medawachchiya.

•03/08/90 103 Muslims killed and 70 wounded at Meera Jumma and Hussaina Mosques, Kathankudi, Batticaloa.

•05/08/90 17 Muslim farmers killed at Mullayankadu, Ampara.

•06/08/90 33 farmers killed at Ampara. •07/08/90 30 Sinhalese killed at Bandaraduwa, Uhana, Ampara.

•08/08/90 26 Sinhalese killed in a bus at Meegaswewa, Anuradhapura.

•11/08/90 116 Muslim killed at division 3 and 6, Eravur.

•13/08/90 14 civilians killed in bus ambush, at 15th Mile Post, Pulmoddai, Welioya.

•19/09/90 23 Sinhalese killed and 11 houses burnt at Vellanmundal, Puttalam.

•21/09/90 15 killed at Pudukudiyirippu, Ampara.

•23/01/91 25 civilians killed at Bogammuyaya, Maha Oya, Ampara.

•02/03/91 13 civilians killed Havelock Road bomb explosion that killed Ranjan Wijeratne.

•14/04/91 17 Sinhalese killed, Ethimalai, Monaragala.

•20/04/91 21 civilians hacked to death at Niyadela.

•27/06/91 16 civilians killed in two claymore explosions at Lahugala, Ampara.

•06/07/91 16 Muslims and 2 Sinhalese killed at Pudur, Polonnaruwa.

•19/09/91 13 Muslims killed at Palliyagodella, Polonnaruwa.

•10/04/92 25 civilians killed in bomb explosion in Ampara.

•29/04/92 56 civilians killed in Muslim village, Alinchipothana, Polonnaruwa.

•02/06/92 15 passengers killed in bust at 209th Mile Post at Ampara.

•15/07/92 19 Muslim passengers killed in a bus at Kirankulam, Batticaloa.

•01/09/92 22 Muslims killed in an explosion in Saindamaradu, Kalmunai.

•01/10/92 15 civilians killed at Konwewa, Welioya.

•15/10/92 172 civilians killed 4 Muslim villages - Pallayagodella, Ahamedpura, Pamburana and Agbopura in Polonnaruwa.

•01/05/93 17 killed at Armour street explosion that killed President R.Premadasa.

•16/03/94 17 Sinhalese killed in Kudiramalai, Puttalam.

•24/11/94 55 killed in bomb blast at Grandpass including Gamini Dissanayake.

•25/05/95 42 civilians killed at Kallarawa, Trincomalee.

•07/08/95 22 People died in bomb blast at Torrington Square.

•21/10/95 16 villagers killed at Mangalagama, Ampara.

•21/10/95 36 civilians killed at Moneratenna, Bowatta, Polonnaruwa.

•21/10/95 19 villagers killed north or Padaviya, Galtalawa, Welioya.

•25/10/95 11 civilians killed at Athimale, Kotiyagala, Monaragala.

•15/10/97 18 civilians killed at bomb blast in Galadari Hotel, Colombo.

•24/01/98 A suicide bomber had exploded 02 bombs in the vicinity of Dalanda Maligawa, Kandy.

•06/02/98 A Suicide bomber exploded at Air Force Road block, Slave Island, killing 03 Airmen.

•05/03/98 Bomb exploded near Maradana Police Station, killing 38 civilians and injuring 270 civilians.

•11/09/98 An explosion took place inside the Municipal commissioner’s office closer to Nallur Kovil. Mr. P Sivapalan mayor of Jaffna and 07 others killed and 15 wounded.

•17/07/99 A time bomb fixed to a bicycle exploded exploded near old police station, Batticaloa. 02 civilians died and 17 were wounded.

•29/07/99 A suicide bomber exploded himself whilst Dr. Neelam Thiruchelvam was travelling in Rosmid place junction.

•22/09/99 An explosion occurred in a private bus parked at the Negambo private bus stand injuring 02 civilians.

•22/09/99 A bomb exploded in a People’s Transport Service bus plying from Negambo to Kuliyapitiya, injuring 09 passengers.

•26/09/99 A bomb exploded in a private bus near the 2nd Mile post of Badulla, Passara, Monaragala killing 01 civilian and injuring 28 others.

•18/12/99 An explosion suspected to be triggered off by a LTTE suicide female terrorist took place at the Town Hall, Colombo.

•18/12/99 A explosion at Ja-Ela bus stand where the UNP presidential Election rally was held. 12 civilians killed with Major Gen C L Algama and 45 others wounded.

•05/01/2000 A suicide bomber exploded near Prime Minister Office in Flower Road, Colombo killing 05 persons and injuring 24 civilians.

•25/10/95 12 villagers killed at Panama, Ampara.

•26/10/95 26 villagers killed in an attack on 03 Kabethigollawa villagers.

•11/11/95 15 civilians killed in a suicide attack at Slave Island.

•31/01/96 89 killed in Central Bank building bomb blast.

•24/07/96 68 people killed in a bomb attack at Dehiwala Railway station.

[hemalsilva]

http://www.lankalibrary.com/war/Praba2.gif http://sjc-static10.sjc.youtube.com/vi/LJeKfiu8ggY/2.jpg

[malkavi]

:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:


Ane paw meya......................

[nAPs2JAAN]

http://www.lankalibrary.com/war/Praba2.gif http://sjc-static10.sjc.youtube.com/vi/LJeKfiu8ggY/2.jpg
:shocked: :shocked: :shocked: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :yes: :yes:

[crazy_m]

http://www.lankalibrary.com/war/Praba2.gif http://sjc-static10.sjc.youtube.com/vi/LJeKfiu8ggY/2.jpg

Now that's more like it!!!:yes: :lol:

[makinda]

my friend Tissaka
15 January 2007 Vaharai tragedy - An Unfolding Misery
"In violation of International Humanitarian Law (IDL) and International Human Rights Law (IHRL) the Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL) continues to deny Humanitarian Agencies, including the UN and ICRC, access to the 15,000 Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in the Vaharai Division of Batticaloa District in the NorthEast. These IDPs were displaced from the Muttur, Sampoor, and Eachchilampattu Divisions of the Trincomalee District beginning in August 2006."

http://www.tamilnation.org/images/indictment/vaharai2/19_02_07_vaharai_05_03.jpg

2 January 2007 Aerial attack on Padahuthurai, a crime against humanity
"One may wonder whether this indiscriminate killings of innocent people is the will of God. Man was created by God to live in peace, happiness and freedom. Denying freedom to anyone cannot be the will of God. To survive in this world one has to be strong. We must learn to strengthen ourselves in unity and face any hardships to gain our freedom. Let us pledge ourselves to fight for our freedom and happiness as we pay our deepest love and respect for the innocent lives robbed so cruelly," Rev. Fr. James Pathinathar in his address at the funeral of the Padahuthurai victims of Sri Lanka's crime against humanity

http://www.tamilnation.org/images/indictment/070102iluppaikadavai6.jpg

10 December 2006 Sri Lanka's President Mahinda Rajapakse's war crime in Vaharai: artillery attack on refugee camps kills 34 Tamil women, children and civilians and wounds hundreds
http://www.tamilnation.org/images/indictment/vaharai1/va8.jpg


19 November 2006 38,000 Tamils face starvation in Vaharai, humanitarian disaster imminent - Sampanthan
"...Under human rights law, there is a recognised right to adequate and available food......whatever the full contours and permeations of the right to food might be, it is clear that it constitutes a violation of the human rights law to deny adequate food to a given population. Moreover, it would be especially unlawful and egregious to deny the right to adequate food as government tactic to control certain persons or as a weapon of war. The most egregious violations include denials of food and medicine or medical supplies, especially for children.… If food is likely to be used by both the general population and enemy combatants, the destruction or denial of food, in circumstances where one can reasonably foresee that the general population will suffer, will necessarily involve the indiscriminate use of food as a weapon. [these] denials also violate related prohibitions under the laws of war, and constitute serious war crimes... Fear of food falling into the hands of enemy combatants is not an excuse for denying food to the civilians... It is time for the international community to recognise that, in addition to medicine and medical supplies, food should always be treated as neutral property during an armed conflict. Because of highly predictable consequences, both short term and long term, food should never be used as a weapon of war. ." Professor Jordan J. Paust, Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law, May ’98

29 August 2006 Sri Lanka Para militaries abduct 7 Staff Members of the Tamils Rehabilitation Organisation, a Registered Charity and 8 months later, Sinhala Sri Lanka government freezes its bank accounts "Humanitarian assistance to the recently displaced people of the NorthEast by local NGOs, INGOs and even UN agencies has now been effectively shut down by the actions of members of the Sri Lankan security forces. Currently, due to the pullout of most international agencies from the NorthEast, TRO is one of a handful of organizations assisting those recently displaced by war. TRO wishes to categorically state that the current humanitarian situation in the NorthEast of Sri Lanka is reaching a critical stage. There is a desperate need, recognized by all who are involved in humanitarian work, which the international community is being prevented from responding to effectively. The timing of this action by the Central Bank of Sri Lanka with callous disregard to its consequences truly shocks not only the TRO staff but also the Tamil Diaspora community."
14 August 2006 Sri Lanka Air force kills 61 school children and wounds 129, 14 August 2006
http://www.tamilnation.org/images/indictment/060814chencholai.jpg

6 August 2006 Sri Lanka Army massacres 15 NGO workers
Sri Lanka aid group says 15 tsunami staff executed
13 May 2006 Baby of four months and a 4-year-old child, among 9 Tamils murdered by Sri Lanka Navy troopers in Mandaithivu, Jaffna Murdered: Ketheeswaran Yathursan (4 months), Ketheeswaran Thanushkanth (4), Palachamy Ketheeswaran (25), Ketheeswaran Anex Ester (23), Abraham Robinson (28), Sellathurai Amalathas (28), Kanesh Navaratnam (50) , Joseph Anthonymuttu ,(64) Sinnathurai Sivanesan(46), Murugesu Shanmugalingam (72), S Kantharoopan (29), Shanmugalingam Parameswari (65), Ratnam Senthuran (38)


27 April 2006 Brian Senewiratne, a Sinhalese from Australia - Sri Lanka Bombs its Own People
http://www.tamilnation.org/images/indictment/060513madaithivu1.jpg
"This is not an Appeal, nor a Plea – humanitarian or otherwise. It is to apprise foreign Governments, the international media, religious leaders, NGOs, leaders of civic society and people outside Sri Lanka, of what is going on in that country. It is not a request for help or intervention. I am merely presenting the facts to the outside world and my sympathy to a devastated people in Trincomalee... I am attaching some photographs mailed from Trincomalee on 26 April 2006. If you find them shocking, I tender no apology. It is time the world was shocked by what is going on behind the closed doors of Sri Lanka. " more




27 April 2006 International Federation of Tamils calls upon the International Community to condemn and censure Sri Lanka's war crime & gross breach of the CFA
"..Neither party to the CFA has a right to adopt retaliatory measures. The parties must report any violation to the SLMM for appropriate action or give two weeks' notice to terminate the agreement. Defying this stipulation, unilaterally commencing a retaliatory attack is a gross breach of the CFA. In addition, the attack by government forces on civilian targets, causing death and extensive damage to civilian property, making people destitute is a humanitarian violation and is a war crime under Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court Article 2 ( c ) and 2(e). International Humanitarian Law does not permit warring parties to attack civilian targets and civilian lives. The "retaliatory action" directed on civilian targets in Trincomalee-Batticaloa areas on 25-26 April are the actions of a terrorist state intent on terrorising the Tamil people into submission..." more

26 April 2006 Sri Lankan Air force bombs Muthur - D.B.S.Jeyaraj

http://www.tamilnation.org/images/indictment/060426retaliation2.jpg
[img]http://www.tamilnation.org/images/indictment/060425retaliation1.jpg[img]
"..Many areas in the region are virtually a sea of rubble after the intensive attack. Apart from bombs dropped in six different air force sorties, there were at least 80 shells by the Navy and over 160 shells by the Army. Rescue work is currently underway and many of the affected houses, dwellings and other buildings are yet to be cleared. The casualty toll may go up when all the debris and rubble are cleared.The areas affected are Sampur. Muthur, Senaiyoor, Kadatkaraichenai, Kattaiparichhaan, Iraalkuli, Soodaikkudaa, Ilakkanthai, Santhoshapuram, Paattaalipuram, Koonitheevu and Uppaaru. These villages are in Muthur East and largely adjacent to the coast.People have fled their homes and sought refuge in the Muthur division interior areas after the attack. Massive displacement has occurred. 43, 158 people from 10, 718 families are currently displaced in Trincomalee district. The bulk of these are from the Muthur region.. A human tragedy may occur if their needs are not met on time..." more

26 April 2006 Urgent Appeal by TRO for Internally Displaced (to ICRC, UNHCR, Bilateral and Multilateral donors) for humanitarian assistance to the War IDPs.
"..Thousands of persons from Ralkuli, Kadakaraichchenai, Senaiyoor, Sampoor, Ilakkanthai, Sudaikuda, Paddalipuram and Upparu in the Trincomalee district have been displaced due to the ongoing air, sea, and ground attacks by the Security Forces of Government of Sri Lanka. The IDPs affected by the previous week’s communal violence are also streaming into LTTE controlled areas from the government controlled areas. The number of IDPs has passed the 30,000 mark and continues to rise. Due to extensive and continuous shelling and bombing the relief and rescue efforts are being severely hampered and travel to the affected areas to carry out humanitarian work has been nearly impossible..."
26 April 2006 Fifteen thousand Tamils in Muttur east flee for safety
"..More than fifteen thousand Tamil people of about four thousand and five hundred families from Chenaiyoor, Kaddaiparichchan, Koonitheivu, Soodaikuda, Kadatkaraichenai, Santhoshapuram and several hamlets in the Muttur east Wednesday morning gathered in the village Pattalipuram in Muttur east fearing of more air strike and artillery fire. These families started walking toward Pattalipuram while SLAF Kfir jet resumed its bombing 26 April, Wednesday early morning.." more

26 April 2006 12 bodies of civilians recovered from Muttur east
"..Initial reports from Muttur east in Trincomalee district 26 April, Wednesday morning said at least twelve bodies of Tamil civilians including men, women and children killed in Tuesday evening air strike by Kfir jets, and artillery attack by Sri Lanka Navy (SLN) and Sri Lanka Army (SLA) were recovered from Muttur east area. More casualties are expected from Tuesday attack by government troops, a NGO source in the affected area said. Five bodies have been identified as belonging to K. Meiyan and his two year old son Meiyan Kishanthan, Ms Nagiah Rukmani, Ms Pathiniyan Nagamma and Ms Veerapathiran Pagawathipillai. All were from Sampoor, Muttur east, according to civil sources.

The Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) launched air strike on several villages in the LTTE held Muttur east village Tuesday evening following the bomb attack on Lt.General Sarath Fonseka, Commander of the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) in Colombo.

Three-pronged attack launched by the SLA, SLAF and Sri Lanka Navy on Muttur east villages commenced around 5.30 evening Tuesday ceased around 10 p.m. in the night. But the attack resumed around midnight Tuesday for about an hour, civil sources said.

Groups of people searching for causalities in the Tuesday attacks said at least twelve bodies of Tamil civilians were recovered so far. The death toll is expected to increase. Large number of injured is seeking treatment in Sampoor government hospital where acute shortage medical facilities prevail, sources said."

26 April 2006 Sri Lanka Armed Forces Attack on Civilian Population Centres Continued For Second Day; 13 Dead; Many wounded
"Bodies of 12 victims, all Tamils were counted so far in Kadatkaraichenai, Kaddaiparichaan, Senaiyoor and Eachilampatrai. Bodies of women and children were also found among the dead. Many are wounded. Damage to property is extensive. In the air-attack on a Muslim village in Muthur, a Muslim was killed and 9 wounded. On Tuesday alone, the SL Forces had bombed at least in 150 places."



25 April 2006 Tamil Population Centres in Trincomalee Are Under Non-Stop Bombardment
"The armed Forces of Sri Lanka - Army, Navy and Air Force are conducting a joint-non-stop attack on Tamil civilian areas in Trincomalee. Dr. Kohona, the Director-General of the Sri Lanka government Peace Secretariat said the navy shelling and air strikes should not be counted as violation of CFA. He called it a fair reply to the suicide bomb blast earlier in the day in Colombo (on a military target). Condoning the attack on Sampur and adjoining villages in Trincomalee... the Sri Lanka Peace Secretariat boss called the attack by state armed forces on its unarmed civilians, justifiable... The International community, neighbouring India and the so-called Co-Chairs and the Diplomatic community in Colombo have not thundered "Halt!" nor denounced the violation of the humanitarian laws of armed conflict by the Sri Lanka State." more

"war crimes" means - Intentionally directing attacks against the civilian population as such or against individual civilians not taking direct part in hostilities..." Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court Article 2(e)(i)

19 April 2006 Five Tamil civilians shot and killed by SLA soldiers in Puthur East, Jaffna
Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers shot and killed five Tamil civilians Tuesday night close to an SLA 51-1 Division camp located at Vatharavathai, 13 km north-east of Jaffna. The soldiers took the five civilians, a Municipal Council official, an electrical mechanic, a farmer and two auto-rikshaw drivers, into their camp and later brought them out to an open terrain and gunned them down, villagers said. A terror-campaign, let loose on the civilians in Puthur in October 2005, when the villagers spoiled a rape attempt by the soldiers, triggered a series of Claymore attacks in Jaffna. Tuesday's killings come a few hours after Australia commending Colombo for "not retaliating in kind."

[Tissaka]

as*hole makinda,

http://www.spur.asn.au/AIChildSoldiers.jpg

[makinda]

2001-2006 Sri Lanka's War on Eelam Tamils in the Shadow of a Ceasefire
"...The plan is to destabilize the Tigers, bait the group into confrontation and ultimately launch an offensive aimed at destroying the fractured Tamil movement once and for all," the analysts at Strategic Forecasting (Stratfor) said quoting unnamed sources inside the Sri Lankan government....Colombo probably hopes a renewed guerrilla war will be tempered by internal struggles and that, once weakened, the Tigers can be destroyed, the US analysts said....According to the US analysts, in the event of a renewed war “the Tigers will likely end up weaker - perhaps no longer in a position to make the demands for autonomy that helped cause the internal strife in the first place. 'On the other hand, baiting a wounded tiger could be a dangerous game', they cautioned. Colombo promoting Karuna to destroy LTTE with tacit approval of US says US based think tank Stratfor

September 2000 Sri Lanka's relentless use of food & medicine as weapons of war, September 2000...
"the intentional withholding of medicine and medical supplies from LTTE controlled areas is a clear violation of common Article 3 and is a war crime." Professor Jordan J. Paust

July 2000 British Members of European Parliament strongly criticise Sri Lanka's human rights record ...
"The MEPs, Richard Howitt and Robert Evans, say the government has not done enough to protect civilians caught up in the war against Tamil Tiger rebels and is covering up their suffering. The men accuse the authorities of implementing an oppressive press-censorship policy and of not allowing essential supplies, including baby food and medicine, to be distributed in areas controlled by the Tamil Tigers..."

June 2000 More than five hundred civilian casualties due to bombing and shelling by Sri Lankan security forces says Mannar Bishop
"I am given to understand that the attitude of the armed forces is that " it is better to kill the people than allow them to go into the LTTE controlled areas". "
May 2000 UNHCR says Sri Lanka ignored ceasefire notice to allow Tamil civilians to leave conflict zone...
April 2000 Humanitarian Law Project accuses Sri Lanka of hostage taking ...
"International Educational Development/Humanitarian Law Project requests that the Commission take immediate steps to secure the release of 5114 Tamil women, children and elderly who are trapped in St. Mary’s Church and school at Kilali near the Sri Lankan Army’s (the SLA) Elephant Pass military base. ..We fear that the SLA is trying to use them as human shields. We consider this action by the SLA to be "hostage-taking" under the Geneva Conventions and hence a serious violation of humanitarian law. If they are killed in the course of the armed conflict, the SLA would be the chargeable party based on its refusal to let them flee..."

September 1999 International Red Cross deplores Sri Lanka bombing of Tamil civilian centres.
"..Twenty one Tamil civilians were killed and 35 wounded when the air force carried out a bombing raid in northeastern Sri Lanka, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said Thursday (16 September 1999). Fifteen civilians, including women and children, died during the attack while another six died in hospital in the district of Mullaitivu on Wednesday, an ICRC spokesman in Colombo said. He said the bombs fell just two kilometres away from the ICRC office in the district of Mullaitivu. "We can confirm that 21 civilians were killed consequent to the air strike at Manthuvil junction," the spokesman said. "The ICRC deplores the fact that the air strikes were carried out in a civilian area."
July 1999 Sinhala Army sacks Tamil village in Mannar...
June 1999 Heavy army shelling causes humanitarian crisis in the Vanni...
April 1999 Indiscriminate shelling of Tamil villages continues...
In a letter to President Chandrika, Batticaloa MP Joseph Pararajasingham says, "despite many written complaints to her, indiscriminate shelling of populated areas continues. According to reports, 75 civilians were killed and over 185 were injured in 1998 in security force attacks."
December 1998 Sri Lanka army uses Tamil villagers as forced labour...
November 1998 Sri Lanka uses Tamils as human shields
"Sri Lanka is using civilians as a human shield for transporting troops and materials to and from the war zone, a Tamil parliamentarian alleged ... The government thinks security personnel may have more cover if they are transported with civilians in the same ship or aircraft. "

October 1998 Cuts in food, fuel & medicine result in humanitarian crisis...
July 1998 Sri Lanka uses food and medicine as weapons of war...
June 1998 Food Aid to Tamil areas slashed says British Refugee Council
9 June 1998 Sri Lanka bombs Tamil villages under cover of new Press censorship
"On 9 June, under cover of the press censorship, Sri Lanka launched a calculated bombing raid on Tamil villages in the Mullaitivu District... The attack launched by Sri Lanka follows an earlier pattern. On 22 September 1996, the Sri Lanka airforce bombed the Nagar Kovil school within hours of Sri Lanka imposing a Press Censorship. The British Refugee Council, Sri Lanka Monitor commented on that occasion: "Hours after the Sri Lanka government imposed military censorship on press reporting ... on 21 September, aircraft bombed a Jaffna school yard crammed with 750 children on their lunch break, killing 34 and seriously injuring over 150 others"

May 1998 Collective Penalties & Systematic State Terrorism are War Crimes
May 1998 Denial of Food & Medicine - a War Crime says Professor Paust
"Are the denial of adequate and available food and the denial of adequate and available medicine and medical supplies violations of human rights law? This Essay demonstrates that such denials are not only violations, but are quite serious violations of basic human rights. Such denials of food or medicine and medical supplies tend to be among the most egregious types of human rights violations, since those who can least afford to suffer tend to be victims... As the authoritative commentary by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC} adds, the duty to respect and protect the wounded and sick is "a categorical imperative which cannot be restricted. Therefore, the intentional withholding of medicine and medical supplies from LTTE controlled areas, as recognised by the State Department, is a clear violation of common Article 3 and a war crime. "

April 1998 Sri Lanka restricts food and medicine to Tamil villages - April 1998
November 1997 Sri Lanka airforce bombs Pooneryn & kills Tamils
November 1997 Sinhala Army runs forced labour camp for Tamils
July 1997 '80% of houses in Jaffna damaged' - British Refugee Council Report
"..Military operations have damaged 80% of the 176,300 houses in the peninsula. Over 17,000 houses have been completely destroyed.... A number of houses and schools are occupied by the Army. People complain that a large number of trees, including coconut and palmyrah trees providing livelihood, are being cut down for military use..."
June 1997 Sri Lanka army shells refugee camp in Batticaloa...
February 1997 Tamil cultivable lands and crops destroyed by Sri Lanka troops
February 1997 Mass exodus as Tamil villages shelled again - Operation Edibala
"Another humanitarian crisis is looming as Sri Lankan forces shell and aerial-bomb Tamil border villages on the edges of Vavuniya and Mannar districts in their latest offensive. Heavy artillery fire is raining down on a number of villages causing civilians to flee in massive waves.."

February 1997 Indiscriminate artillery shelling of Tamil villages: September 1996 - February 1997
June 1996 Sri Lanka uses food and medicine as weapons of war
28 April 1996 "Sri Lanka is trying to kill or terrorise as many Tamil people as possible" - Professor Margaret Trawick
" I have been struggling in my mind against the conclusion that the SL government is trying to kill or terrorize as many Tamil people as possible; that the government is trying to keep the conditions of the war unreported internationally, because if those conditions were reported, the actions of the military would be perceived as so deplorable that foreign nations would have no choice but to condemn them. And this would be embarrassing to everybody. But it seems now that no other conclusion is possible... "
April 1996 Sri Lanka gunships attack Tamil civilians fleeing arrival of Sinhala Sri Lankan Army
April 1996 Sri Lanka Kfir jets kill Tamil civilians in Jaffna peninsula...
"When we first head the noise of the jets, we ran into the air-raid shelters which had been dug into the ground. Two bombs exploded near our bunker. I fainted. When I regained consciousness, I found my father had had his head blown off. My sister's body had been torn apart and pieces of her child were near by. "
March 1996 Helicopter gunships attack and kill Tamil civilians in the East
"Seventeen Tamil civilians, mostly children and the aged were killed by Sri Lanka helicopter gunships on 16 March 1996 in the village of Nachchikuda in the East. About sixty were seriously injured..."

[makinda]

29 December 1995 Sri Lanka's attack was actually a 'steamrollering' and destroying says Indian General Kalkat
"...you are actually steamrollering through the area. Step by step. Do a certain distance first, then clean up, converge on the next one. Any building from which resistance comes or where there is likely to be resistance, bring it down with air bombing or with tank fire. You clean up. But then as you pass -- you're leaving behind rubble as you go. So that was the other problem for which they have resorted to censorship so that this doesn't come out. .. they have made sure that there is no adverse publicity (world opinion, the press, doesn't know what is happening there, because it's all controlled). .."

3 October 1995 Sri Lanka army shells densely populated Tamil villages
"The military's artillery shell machine at Neerveli was switched on at 3.00 AM. on the 29th, and the frequency of shelling (sometimes four to six shells were blasted within a single minute) was so frightening that most of the staff ran for its safety to the University that was already crowded with people rushing from Uduvil, Marutanamadam, Enuvil, Urumpurai, Urelu, Kokkuvil, Kondavil, Kulappiddy and other villages of the Valigamam area. A Supersonic and two Puccara bombers began encircling the Tirunelveli-Kondavil area and suddenly began to fire rockets, the impact of which was like a powerful strike of lightening and thunder.More than ten persons died in and around Tirunelveli, among them three children belonging to one family..."
22 September 1995 Nagerkoil School bombed under cover of press censorship asys British Refugee Council
"Hours after the Sri Lanka government imposed military censorship on press reporting of its bitter and unpredictable war... on 21 September, aircraft bombed a Jaffna school yard crammed with 750 children on their lunch break, killing 34 and seriously injuring over 150 others. Two surgeons from French medical agency Medecins Sans Frontierers (MSF) worked through the night at Point Pedro's Manthikai hospital carrying out 22 amputations, four cases of both legs. Ten of the amputees were under 12. The LTTe says 71 Tamil civilians were killed in bombing raids in Nagarkoil and Vadamaratchy areas in a 24 hour period. Military sources first denied the attack then claimed Nagaroil was a Sea Tiger base where LTTE cadre had gathered to honour Tiger martyr Thileepan.. Civilians are unidentifiable from the air - unless perhaps there are 750 of them all dressed in spotless white school uniforms."

12 July 1995 Sri Lanka armed forces contravened Geneva Convention says NGO

"..Bombing by high flying supersonic jets continue to cause considerable civilian casualties… Sustained shelling from the Palaly army camp has compelled tens of thousands of Tamils to leave their homes. Several houses have been flattened. At the sametime the Sri Lanka Government has imposed an economic blockade on the transport of goods to the Tamil homeland including essential food items and medical supplies.The actions of the Sri Lanka armed forces are a clear contravention of the Geneva Convention relating to non international armed conflicts.."

9 July 1995 St.Peters Church in Navaly bombed with refugees inside
"Having dropped leaflets asking the people to move to places of worship the Sri Lanka air force there after attacked the places of worship where Tamil civilians had sought refuge. St.Peters Church and St.Peters School in Navaly at a great distance away from the line of battle and where hundreds had sought shelter was deliberately bombed on 9 July 1995." "Thirteen babies were among the 65 dead found under the rubble of a Catholic church bombed by the Sri Lankan air force, an International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) official said.."

9 July 1995 Heavy advance bombardment of Tamil villages and towns
"Indiscriminate and continual night shelling on 9, 10 and 11 July of Kokuvil, Thalayady, Maruthanamadam, Thavadi, Uduvil, Manipay, Anaicottai, Sangarathai, Vaddukodai, and Navaly areas led tens of thousands of Tamil civilians to evacuate their homes. During certain periods shells were fired at the rate of almost one per minute... During the first six days of the onslaught, 245 Tamil civilians including almost one hundred women and children were killed"
June 1995 Army fired indiscriminately into Tamil village says Amnesty
June 1995 Sinhala Army compels Tamil civilians to act as human mine detectors
"The Batticaloa (Tamil) civilians are being used as Claymore mine detectors by the (Sri Lanka) forces. The farmers in the Vantharamulla area are being forced to walk ahead of the soldiers and sometimes even asked to dig with bare hands for buried mines, the Batticaloa TULF M.P. K.Thuraisingham told the 'Sunday Leader'. "On the 2nd of May I complained to Brigadier Igadagolla who is in charge of the Kalkudah district about these human rights violations... Also some farmers reported to me that they were forced to feel the ground for hidden mines through a hooked wire, a routine task for the soldier..."
May 1995 Thatched huts burnt with Tamil civilians inside
May 1995 Arbitrary embargo on essential food and medicine to the Tamil homeland
"Reports say 116 people died in the Jaffna hospital in the Jaffna Hospital, the majority of septicaemia. Only a fraction of the 300 lorry loads of food required for 200,000 people has reached Killinochchi District and reports say the GA has no reserve food stocks. Kerosene is hard to obtain even at a high price." - British Refugee Council Publication, Sri Lanka Monitor
April 1995 Sustained shelling compelled thousands of Tamil civilians to flee their homes
"Sustained shelling from Sri Lanka Army Camps in the North has compelled over 5000 Tamil civilians to evacuate from their homes in Panipulam and Chulipuram. In these areas many houses have been badly damaged..."

November 1993/
March 1994 Hospitals bombed in Tamil Homeland
"..On 12 November 1993, at about 2.30 p.m. Sri Lankan supersonic jets bombed the safety zone around the Jaffna Hospital. The bombs were dropped within 50 yards of the main entrance to the Hospital. This area is under ICRC control. Doors, windows and tiles of the Hospital were broken and fell in pieces. The outer wall of the OPD came tumbling down. Glass shutters of some vehicles within the hospital were shattered. Two security guards of the hospital, a Red Cross volunteer worker, and an infant in the hands of a woman who rushed into the hospital for safety were injured..."
November 1993/
January 1994 Sri Lanka Airforce targets Tamil civilian population, March 1994
"Following the overrunning of the Pooneryn camp by the LTTE on 11 November 1993, on the morning of 12 November at about 8.30 a.m. Sri Lanka supersonic planes bombed the Jaffna Secretariat premises. The first bomb hit the Kacheri and splinters caused injury to Mr.K.Manickavasagar, the Government Agent who was at his desk attending to his duties. As the shrapnel hit Mr.Manickavasagar he ran out of his room and down the stairs to reach the lower floor..."
November/
December 1993 Sri Lanka Airforce Bombs Schools in Jaffna
"..On Friday, 26 November Sri Lanka Airforce jet dropped two bombs at Kalasalai Road in Thirunelvely. The houses of Sivapatham and Vijayaratnam were badly damaged. Immediately after this attack the supersonic jet targeted the Sri Ramakrishna Saratha Ladies College in Kokuvil. The Vice Principal of the school , Mrs. T.Sri Pathmanathan, a teacher and some students, six in all, were injured. The Science laboratory was damaged..."

December 1993 Sri Lanka airforce strafes Tamil villages
"..At about 8.40 a.m on Monday, 28 December 1993, two Sri Lanka Airforce bombers dropped five bombs in Alampil, a village in the Manal Aru area. Five houses were damaged. The Multi Purpose Coop Society building was completely destroyed. Siyamani Komala (aged 4) and her brother Siyamani Theepan (aged 12) were killed. Another young girl Priya (aged 18) was also killed by the attack. Siyamani Jayaranjani (aged 8), a sister of the deceased Komala and Theepan, and who was taken to the Killinochchi Hospital, later succumbed to her injuries and died..."
January 1994 Churches and Temples Bombed
"On 13 November , Sri Lankan supersonic bombers attacked St.James Church at Gurunagar at about 7.30 a.m. St.James is one of the largest and oldest Roman Catholic churches in Jaffna. The church was completely destroyed. A nursery school nearby, two shops and ten houses in the neighbourhood were also destroyed. Ten persons were killed and over 30 injured. Of the dead three belonged to the same family. The bodies of the dead were torn and charred. The blown up parts of all the bodies were collected and buried together. "
17 November 1993 "This is organised State terrorism" say Bishop D.J.Ambalavanar, Bishop Thomas Saundranayagam , and Nallai Thiru Sampandar Atheenam
'We religious leaders from the North, belonging to the Hindu, Christian and Catholic religions... strongly protest against the actions of the Sri Lankan Air Force which seems guided by the sole motive of revenge and striking terror among the Tamil people.Following on the recent Pooneryn operations, the Air Force has used its supersonic bombers to bomb the Jaffna Secretariat killing and injuring several. The Government Agent of Jaffna, Mr.K.Manickavasagar being one of those injured. It has bombed a place of worship, the St.James Catholic Church in Main Street, Jaffna destroying that large and venerated house of God and killing and injuring several innocent citizens. It has dropped its bombs within the protected zone around the Jaffna General Hospital damaging the hospital and striking panic among the patients and the public. We have reports that the hospitals in Killinochchi and Mulaitivu have also been bombed. The market block in Chavakachcheri has also been bombed and destroyed..."

September 1993 200 Tamils civilians killed in air and navy attacks in 1993 alone
"... Over 200 have been killed in air and navy attacks this year. In one attack in January which killed 50, a man feigned death while sailors boarded boats mutilating dead bodies to steal jewellery. Another 17 people drowned in August when their boat capsized during shelling. Defence sources in Colombo usually describe the attacks as clashes with the LTTE.''

July 1993 Over 1,000 Tamil civilians killed in the three years bombing of Jaffna says British Refugee Council
'"Daily life in Jaffna is conditioned by the distant drone of aircraft engines and the run to the bunkers behind almost every house...Over 1,000 civilians have been killed in the three years bombing of Jaffna and almost 1,500 have died from gruesome injuries. Another 1,000 children died needlessly in 1992 because Jaffna hospitals lack basic drugs and medical equipment to save them… "

21 July 1991 On the use of Governmental Aggression to Suppress a Minority's Quest for Self Determination - Deanne Hodgin
"..Last summer (1990), I spent five weeks in Sri Lanka reporting on the civil war in the North and East. I am not a scholar of Sub continental politics or history, nor am I a think tank or development agency intellectual -- my work is more a glorified form of visiting with people than anything so respectable. When in Afghanistan, Kashmir, Amritsar and the Middle East, my job description has been amended to visiting with people who are fighting for independence. In my work, I have seen horrific torture, beatings, bombings and shootings, but nothing so terrible as I witnessed in Sri Lanka last year. "

28 June 1990 Sri Lanka bombs Jaffna Hospital & other Tamil civilian centres
"The Sri Lankan government has begun bombing and machine gunning civilians in Jaffna and other cities in the Tamil dominated north after its failure to contain the rebels from the ground. The attacks began before dawn on Monday, a day of intensive fighting. Bombers and Bell helicopter gunships flew sorties of and on throught the day until 9 p.m. The government forces have been sporadically bombing the outskirts of the city for several days but Monday was the first time the centre was the target .." Christopher Lockwood, reporting in the Independent

22 September 1985 Fifty two Tamil villages razed to the ground in Trincomalee district in the last two months by Sri Lankan armed forces
"Fifty two villages have been destroyed in the Trincomalee district in the last two months by the Sri Lankan armed forces according to an eyewitness who fled the country. The middle aged person who claims that he was helped by the Sri Lankan Government to escape from Trincomalee, told PTI many shops and houses in the district had been razed to the ground rendering thousands of Tamils homeless in the Government's bid to "drive away Tamils from the strategic port town of Trincomalee". The person, a non Tamil belonging to a group settled in Trincomalee for generations who wanted to be anonymous said he fled from the town following the ghastly attack by the Sri Lankan Home Guards on September 4 in Trincomalee town. Virtually, the entire town was wiped out in the attack driving away.."

[makinda]

29 December 1995 Sri Lanka's attack was actually a 'steamrollering' and destroying says Indian General Kalkat
"...you are actually steamrollering through the area. Step by step. Do a certain distance first, then clean up, converge on the next one. Any building from which resistance comes or where there is likely to be resistance, bring it down with air bombing or with tank fire. You clean up. But then as you pass -- you're leaving behind rubble as you go. So that was the other problem for which they have resorted to censorship so that this doesn't come out. .. they have made sure that there is no adverse publicity (world opinion, the press, doesn't know what is happening there, because it's all controlled). .."

3 October 1995 Sri Lanka army shells densely populated Tamil villages
"The military's artillery shell machine at Neerveli was switched on at 3.00 AM. on the 29th, and the frequency of shelling (sometimes four to six shells were blasted within a single minute) was so frightening that most of the staff ran for its safety to the University that was already crowded with people rushing from Uduvil, Marutanamadam, Enuvil, Urumpurai, Urelu, Kokkuvil, Kondavil, Kulappiddy and other villages of the Valigamam area. A Supersonic and two Puccara bombers began encircling the Tirunelveli-Kondavil area and suddenly began to fire rockets, the impact of which was like a powerful strike of lightening and thunder.More than ten persons died in and around Tirunelveli, among them three children belonging to one family..."
22 September 1995 Nagerkoil School bombed under cover of press censorship asys British Refugee Council
"Hours after the Sri Lanka government imposed military censorship on press reporting of its bitter and unpredictable war... on 21 September, aircraft bombed a Jaffna school yard crammed with 750 children on their lunch break, killing 34 and seriously injuring over 150 others. Two surgeons from French medical agency Medecins Sans Frontierers (MSF) worked through the night at Point Pedro's Manthikai hospital carrying out 22 amputations, four cases of both legs. Ten of the amputees were under 12. The LTTe says 71 Tamil civilians were killed in bombing raids in Nagarkoil and Vadamaratchy areas in a 24 hour period. Military sources first denied the attack then claimed Nagaroil was a Sea Tiger base where LTTE cadre had gathered to honour Tiger martyr Thileepan.. Civilians are unidentifiable from the air - unless perhaps there are 750 of them all dressed in spotless white school uniforms."

12 July 1995 Sri Lanka armed forces contravened Geneva Convention says NGO

"..Bombing by high flying supersonic jets continue to cause considerable civilian casualties… Sustained shelling from the Palaly army camp has compelled tens of thousands of Tamils to leave their homes. Several houses have been flattened. At the sametime the Sri Lanka Government has imposed an economic blockade on the transport of goods to the Tamil homeland including essential food items and medical supplies.The actions of the Sri Lanka armed forces are a clear contravention of the Geneva Convention relating to non international armed conflicts.."

9 July 1995 St.Peters Church in Navaly bombed with refugees inside
"Having dropped leaflets asking the people to move to places of worship the Sri Lanka air force there after attacked the places of worship where Tamil civilians had sought refuge. St.Peters Church and St.Peters School in Navaly at a great distance away from the line of battle and where hundreds had sought shelter was deliberately bombed on 9 July 1995." "Thirteen babies were among the 65 dead found under the rubble of a Catholic church bombed by the Sri Lankan air force, an International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) official said.."

9 July 1995 Heavy advance bombardment of Tamil villages and towns
"Indiscriminate and continual night shelling on 9, 10 and 11 July of Kokuvil, Thalayady, Maruthanamadam, Thavadi, Uduvil, Manipay, Anaicottai, Sangarathai, Vaddukodai, and Navaly areas led tens of thousands of Tamil civilians to evacuate their homes. During certain periods shells were fired at the rate of almost one per minute... During the first six days of the onslaught, 245 Tamil civilians including almost one hundred women and children were killed"
June 1995 Army fired indiscriminately into Tamil village says Amnesty
June 1995 Sinhala Army compels Tamil civilians to act as human mine detectors
"The Batticaloa (Tamil) civilians are being used as Claymore mine detectors by the (Sri Lanka) forces. The farmers in the Vantharamulla area are being forced to walk ahead of the soldiers and sometimes even asked to dig with bare hands for buried mines, the Batticaloa TULF M.P. K.Thuraisingham told the 'Sunday Leader'. "On the 2nd of May I complained to Brigadier Igadagolla who is in charge of the Kalkudah district about these human rights violations... Also some farmers reported to me that they were forced to feel the ground for hidden mines through a hooked wire, a routine task for the soldier..."
May 1995 Thatched huts burnt with Tamil civilians inside
May 1995 Arbitrary embargo on essential food and medicine to the Tamil homeland
"Reports say 116 people died in the Jaffna hospital in the Jaffna Hospital, the majority of septicaemia. Only a fraction of the 300 lorry loads of food required for 200,000 people has reached Killinochchi District and reports say the GA has no reserve food stocks. Kerosene is hard to obtain even at a high price." - British Refugee Council Publication, Sri Lanka Monitor
April 1995 Sustained shelling compelled thousands of Tamil civilians to flee their homes
"Sustained shelling from Sri Lanka Army Camps in the North has compelled over 5000 Tamil civilians to evacuate from their homes in Panipulam and Chulipuram. In these areas many houses have been badly damaged..."

November 1993/
March 1994 Hospitals bombed in Tamil Homeland
"..On 12 November 1993, at about 2.30 p.m. Sri Lankan supersonic jets bombed the safety zone around the Jaffna Hospital. The bombs were dropped within 50 yards of the main entrance to the Hospital. This area is under ICRC control. Doors, windows and tiles of the Hospital were broken and fell in pieces. The outer wall of the OPD came tumbling down. Glass shutters of some vehicles within the hospital were shattered. Two security guards of the hospital, a Red Cross volunteer worker, and an infant in the hands of a woman who rushed into the hospital for safety were injured..."
November 1993/
January 1994 Sri Lanka Airforce targets Tamil civilian population, March 1994
"Following the overrunning of the Pooneryn camp by the LTTE on 11 November 1993, on the morning of 12 November at about 8.30 a.m. Sri Lanka supersonic planes bombed the Jaffna Secretariat premises. The first bomb hit the Kacheri and splinters caused injury to Mr.K.Manickavasagar, the Government Agent who was at his desk attending to his duties. As the shrapnel hit Mr.Manickavasagar he ran out of his room and down the stairs to reach the lower floor..."
November/
December 1993 Sri Lanka Airforce Bombs Schools in Jaffna
"..On Friday, 26 November Sri Lanka Airforce jet dropped two bombs at Kalasalai Road in Thirunelvely. The houses of Sivapatham and Vijayaratnam were badly damaged. Immediately after this attack the supersonic jet targeted the Sri Ramakrishna Saratha Ladies College in Kokuvil. The Vice Principal of the school , Mrs. T.Sri Pathmanathan, a teacher and some students, six in all, were injured. The Science laboratory was damaged..."

December 1993 Sri Lanka airforce strafes Tamil villages
"..At about 8.40 a.m on Monday, 28 December 1993, two Sri Lanka Airforce bombers dropped five bombs in Alampil, a village in the Manal Aru area. Five houses were damaged. The Multi Purpose Coop Society building was completely destroyed. Siyamani Komala (aged 4) and her brother Siyamani Theepan (aged 12) were killed. Another young girl Priya (aged 18) was also killed by the attack. Siyamani Jayaranjani (aged 8), a sister of the deceased Komala and Theepan, and who was taken to the Killinochchi Hospital, later succumbed to her injuries and died..."
January 1994 Churches and Temples Bombed
"On 13 November , Sri Lankan supersonic bombers attacked St.James Church at Gurunagar at about 7.30 a.m. St.James is one of the largest and oldest Roman Catholic churches in Jaffna. The church was completely destroyed. A nursery school nearby, two shops and ten houses in the neighbourhood were also destroyed. Ten persons were killed and over 30 injured. Of the dead three belonged to the same family. The bodies of the dead were torn and charred. The blown up parts of all the bodies were collected and buried together. "
17 November 1993 "This is organised State terrorism" say Bishop D.J.Ambalavanar, Bishop Thomas Saundranayagam , and Nallai Thiru Sampandar Atheenam
'We religious leaders from the North, belonging to the Hindu, Christian and Catholic religions... strongly protest against the actions of the Sri Lankan Air Force which seems guided by the sole motive of revenge and striking terror among the Tamil people.Following on the recent Pooneryn operations, the Air Force has used its supersonic bombers to bomb the Jaffna Secretariat killing and injuring several. The Government Agent of Jaffna, Mr.K.Manickavasagar being one of those injured. It has bombed a place of worship, the St.James Catholic Church in Main Street, Jaffna destroying that large and venerated house of God and killing and injuring several innocent citizens. It has dropped its bombs within the protected zone around the Jaffna General Hospital damaging the hospital and striking panic among the patients and the public. We have reports that the hospitals in Killinochchi and Mulaitivu have also been bombed. The market block in Chavakachcheri has also been bombed and destroyed..."

September 1993 200 Tamils civilians killed in air and navy attacks in 1993 alone
"... Over 200 have been killed in air and navy attacks this year. In one attack in January which killed 50, a man feigned death while sailors boarded boats mutilating dead bodies to steal jewellery. Another 17 people drowned in August when their boat capsized during shelling. Defence sources in Colombo usually describe the attacks as clashes with the LTTE.''

July 1993 Over 1,000 Tamil civilians killed in the three years bombing of Jaffna says British Refugee Council
'"Daily life in Jaffna is conditioned by the distant drone of aircraft engines and the run to the bunkers behind almost every house...Over 1,000 civilians have been killed in the three years bombing of Jaffna and almost 1,500 have died from gruesome injuries. Another 1,000 children died needlessly in 1992 because Jaffna hospitals lack basic drugs and medical equipment to save them… "

21 July 1991 On the use of Governmental Aggression to Suppress a Minority's Quest for Self Determination - Deanne Hodgin
"..Last summer (1990), I spent five weeks in Sri Lanka reporting on the civil war in the North and East. I am not a scholar of Sub continental politics or history, nor am I a think tank or development agency intellectual -- my work is more a glorified form of visiting with people than anything so respectable. When in Afghanistan, Kashmir, Amritsar and the Middle East, my job description has been amended to visiting with people who are fighting for independence. In my work, I have seen horrific torture, beatings, bombings and shootings, but nothing so terrible as I witnessed in Sri Lanka last year. "

28 June 1990 Sri Lanka bombs Jaffna Hospital & other Tamil civilian centres
"The Sri Lankan government has begun bombing and machine gunning civilians in Jaffna and other cities in the Tamil dominated north after its failure to contain the rebels from the ground. The attacks began before dawn on Monday, a day of intensive fighting. Bombers and Bell helicopter gunships flew sorties of and on throught the day until 9 p.m. The government forces have been sporadically bombing the outskirts of the city for several days but Monday was the first time the centre was the target .." Christopher Lockwood, reporting in the Independent

22 September 1985 Fifty two Tamil villages razed to the ground in Trincomalee district in the last two months by Sri Lankan armed forces
"Fifty two villages have been destroyed in the Trincomalee district in the last two months by the Sri Lankan armed forces according to an eyewitness who fled the country. The middle aged person who claims that he was helped by the Sri Lankan Government to escape from Trincomalee, told PTI many shops and houses in the district had been razed to the ground rendering thousands of Tamils homeless in the Government's bid to "drive away Tamils from the strategic port town of Trincomalee". The person, a non Tamil belonging to a group settled in Trincomalee for generations who wanted to be anonymous said he fled from the town following the ghastly attack by the Sri Lankan Home Guards on September 4 in Trincomalee town. Virtually, the entire town was wiped out in the attack driving away.."

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[Tissaka]

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[makinda]

Aerial attack on Padahuthurai, 14 civilians killed, 35 wounded - "a crime against humanity" says Bishop of Mannar Diocese, Rt Rev Rayappu Joseph

"One may wonder whether this indiscriminate killings of innocent people is the will of God. Man was created by God to live in peace, happiness and freedom. Denying freedom to anyone cannot be the will of God. To survive in this world one has to be strong. We must learn to strengthen ourselves in unity and face any hardships to gain our freedom. Let us pledge ourselves to fight for our freedom and happiness as we pay our deepest love and respect for the innocent lives robbed so cruelly," Rev. Fr. James Pathinathar in his address at the funeral of the Padahuthurai victims of Sri Lanka's crime against humanity
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Sri Lanka Air Force bombers Tuesday morning bombed more than 25 houses, killing at least 14 civilians, including 6 children, and seriously wounding 35 civilians at the coastal hamlet of Padahuthurai in Iluppaikadavai, 24 km northwest of Mannar town. Medical staff at two local hospitals in the area, Mulankavil and Pallamadu, were struggling to transport the seriously wounded, as an ambulance rushed from Mannar hospital, was blocked by Sri Lanka Army soldiers manning the Uyilankulam entry point.

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Only one house remained in the fishing village where 34 houses and huts, flattened in the carpet-bombardment, were ablaze, eyewitnesses said. Four Kfir bombers attacked the Padahuthurai village, located in LTTE controlled Iluppaikadavai GS division in Manthai West, around 9:35 a.m.

Five dead bodies, including 3 children below age 7, a pregnant woman and her husband, were at the mortuary of Mulankavil hospital. A child of the couple was also killed and a child wounded, medical sources at the hospital said.Many of the wounded were being transferred to Kilinochchi, located 50 km northeast.

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There is no LTTE military installation in the fishing village, entirely flattened in the carnage, according to wounded civilians at the hospital.Details from other hospitals are yet to emerge.


The Bishop of Mannar Diocese, Rt Rev Rayappu Joseph, who visited Padahuthurai hamlet, which was completely destroyed by indiscriminate aerial bombardment by the Sri Lanka Air Force Tuesday morning, has condemned the bombardment and said the attack had destroyed the settlement of the Internally Displaced persons. There was no military installation of the LTTE in the area, the Bishop told media. The Bishop, calling the bombardment "a crime against humanity," urged the International Community to send independent observers to NorthEast. Death toll has risen to 15, including 7 children below age nine , a pregnant woman, her child and husband.

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13 victims of the bombardment were identified Tuesday night: Anthonipillai Rasakumari, 52, a mother, Anthonipillai Kutti, 26, Anthonipillai Velastin, 30, a mother and her husband Kugan, their 2-years-old son Dayalan, 4-years-old daughter Dayalini, and 1-year-old baby boy of their relative, I. Madusan, V. Tharsini, 8, Jhomson, 9, Vinosan, 6, Uthayakumar, 55, V. Vijitha, 28, and Kili, 32.

The Bishop, while addresing the media in Tamil, condemned the Sri Lankan military for telling a "barefaced lie," that the airstrike had hit a LTTE military installation.

Bishop of Mannar, Rt Rev Rayappu Joseph, visited Padahuthurai within 4 hours of the attack. ICRC officials visited the attack site after the Bishop and the SLMM is expected to visit the site Wednesday.

"Such an open lie hurts us even further than the gruesome attack itself," Bishop Rayappu said. "There is no hostile military presence [of the Tigers] in this area. These are innocent civilians who have been living here since 1995. These are people who were driven from Navanthurai in Jaffna by the atrocities of Sri Lankan forces.They were leading a simple life barely enough to survive with basic livelihood of small scale fishing on a day to day basis in the shallow waters." "I have known these people for years."

Sri Lanka Army blocked ambulances from Mannar from crossing Uyilankulam entry point to transport the wounded civilians. Critically wounded victims were transported to Mulankavil and from there to Kilinochchi located 50 km northeast of Illuppaikkadavai (geographic distance). The road distance is around 80 km.

There is even not a single boat-yard in the vicinity, the Bishop explained that the hamlet was a peaceful place of refuge for the IDPs who were settled there.

Looking at the headless bodies of women and children the Bishop said the only term he could only characterize the attack as an act of "state-terror."
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Dead children in Mulankavil hospital morgue.

"Innocent civilians are being killed on a daily basis in the East. A big scale war is thrust upon the people of the East. Many civilians are dying there. Also here in Mannar district, we have witnessed the inhumane act of violence," Bishop Rayappu said.

"It is high time that the international community realizes the state of affairs here and send a team of observers who can tell the truth to the world.The international community should censure the Sri Lankan Government for the indiscriminate and terrible violence" he said.

"One should realize the objective of an attack of this magnitude in a purely civilian area where there is no Tiger camp or hostile activity," he repeated.

Most of the 231 persons of 46 famililies were living in 35 huts. The entire hamlet is destroyed, the Village Service Officer (Grama Sevakar) of Iluppaikadavai, Sinnathurai Vijayendran, who was also at the site told TamilNet.

Most of the civilians living in the hamlet were displaced civilians from Navanthurai and the surrounding coastal villages from Jaffna. They were displaced in 1995, Mr. Vijayendran said.

A child admitted at Kilinochchi hospital, succumbed to the wounds Tuesday night.3 children, a pregnant woman and her husband, were pronounced dead at Mulankavil hospital.Two ambulances were rushed from Kilinochchi to Iluppaikadavai. Six severely wounded children were among the ten wounded, brought to Kilinochchi hospital, in the first ambulance.

At least 14 bombs were dropped, each targeting two huts. One did not explode. Many of the huts were completely destroyed. Only a single house, built using concrete, partly survived, a Tamileelam Police official inspecting the site explained.

Bishop Rayappu, after returning to Mannar, wrote a letter to the Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse and issued the copy of the letter to media Wednesday:

02.01.2007
His Excellency Mr. Mahinda Rajapakse,
President of the Social Republic of Sri Lanka,
Colombo.

Your Excellency,

Aerial bombing that took place at Padahu Thurai near ILLUPAIKADAVAI, in the un-cleared area of the District of Mannar at 9.35 am Today the 02nd of January, 2007.

Three Kefir bombers aided by an aircraft that is said to be supplying information to them, had been bombing the above small settlement of displaced people consisting of 35 families from Navanthurai, Jaffna. This aerial bombing took place today the 2nd of January, 2007 at 9.35 in the morning. I saw 12 spots where the bombs had struck and two of these bombs remain unexploded. The area of this attack is just within a radius of 100 meters close to the sea shores. This settlement consisted of 35 Catholic families who were all very poor fisher-folk. There is a Catholic church on this very spot in clear sight. They were living in small cadjan sheds. The Parish priest of this locality in the person of Fr. P. Arulnathan OMI and most of the priests and religious working in this area are very familiar with this location, the people and their day to day life.

I visited this very spot today at 12.45 Noon and the ICRC came there fifteen minutes later. Tomorrow morning i.e. on the third of January 2007, the SLMM is expected to visit this locality. After listening to the people and to the priests and religious working in the area and from my personal inspection, I wish to convey to you that there were no LTTE bunkers nor could we see any sign of their camps nor any individual residence of possible LTTE cadre in or in the vicinity of this area. This attack is clearly on a civilian target which, as far as I had witnessed, has blown to pieces 13 innocent civilians on the very dawn of the New Year 2007. It is feared that many more of the wounded would succumb to their injuries.

I, in the presence of the Catholic priest of this area saw eight civilian bodies of the above tragedy at the Pallamadhu hospital out of whom three were children of 2, 6 & 11 years old. They were all limbless and three of them headless. The parish Priest of this area had seen five bodies of civilians known to him who succumbed to death at Mulankavil hospital, this morning. I was told by the Doctor of the Pallamadhu hospital that more than 35 wounded people had been dispatched to Mulankavil hospital and from there, nearly 25 serious cases had been sent to Kilinochchi hospital most of whom are, I was told children and women. A good number of these may not survive, I was told by a doctor. There were no LTTE killed in this incident except one who was on leave and had come in civil, minutes before the attack to this place to pay New Year visit to his mother-in-law, as I came to know from my inquires.



UN deeply concerned at civilian casualties in Sri Lankan bombardment
[TamilNet, Wednesday, 03 January 2007, 06:52 GMT]

United Nations Assistant Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Margareta Wahlstr๖m, in a statement issued Tuesday, said the aerial bombardment on Iluppaikadavai in Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam controlled Mannar district, by the Sri Lanka Air Force, killing civilians including children, was a "source of deepest concern." The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) also remained concerned about deteriorating livelihoods on the Jaffna Peninsula in northern Sri Lanka as well as all those who have been displaced in the country, the statement said.
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ICRC officials are inspecting the bombed village.

Full text of the Press Release issued by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs

UNITED NATIONS CONCERNED BY CIVILIAN DEATHS IN SRI LANKA

(New York: 2 January 2007): At least 14 civilians, including children, were killed this morning in north-western Sri Lanka during the aerial bombardment of the coastal village of Illupaikadavai, in Mannar District by the Sri Lankan Air Force. At least 35 additional civilian casualties have also been reported.

Some 3,000 civilians have been killed in the conflict between the Government of Sri Lanka and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) since the resumption of armed hostilities in 2006, bringing the total number killed since the start of the conflict to 67,000.

“Sri Lankans continue to suffer deeply due to this conflict, and today’s loss of life is a source of deepest concern,” said Margareta Wahlstr๖m, United Nations Assistant Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Acting Emergency Relief Coordinator. “It is imperative that both sides to the conflict take all measures to fulfil their obligations under international law to protect civilians in this conflict; we have too often seen them fall short in this duty.”

The village of Illupaikadavai is in Manthai West, an area of Mannar District controlled by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and in which more than 4,000 displaced Sri Lankans have sought shelter from the conflict since early 2006.

More than half a million Sri Lankans are displaced throughout the country -- nearly 213,000 of them newly displaced since the resumption of armed conflict in 2006. Additionally, 120,000 to 140,000 people remain displaced following the devastating 26 December 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, which ravaged northern and western coastal areas of Sri Lanka, and nearly 315,000 remain displaced since previous stages of the conflict.

The United Nations calls once more for a cessation of hostilities between the Government of Sri Lanka and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and resumption of the peace process, and recalls the responsibility of all parties to the conflict to protect civilians and uphold international human rights and humanitarian law.

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) also remains concerned about deteriorating livelihoods on the Jaffna Peninsula in northern Sri Lanka -- home to more than 500,000 civilians -- as well as all those who have been displaced in the country. Limited access by land to the peninsula has impeded the population from receiving sufficient food, medicine and other essential supplies since August 2006. The Government of Sri Lanka has recently committed to improve the supply by sea and local distribution networks.


Remains of Padahuthurai victims laid to rest
[TamilNet, Friday, 05 January 2007, 01:02 GMT]


Hundreds of civilians, religious leaders and civil representatives bade farewell to 13 of the 16 civilian victims killed Tuesday in Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) bombardment at the Mother Velankanni Church at Nochchikuda, Wednesday, sources in Mannar said.


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The remains were kept at the Government School at Illuppaikkadavai and taken in procession to Mulankavil town Wednesday morning. The caskets were brought to Mother Velankanni Church for funeral service and laid to rest at Nochchikudah burial site Wednesday noon.

Rev. Fr. M. X. Karunaratnam, Chairperson of the North East Secretariat of Human Rights (NESoHR), and Rev. Fr. James Pathinathar addressed the mourners at the church. Liberation Tigers Deputy Political Head, S. Thangan, also took part in the funeral service.

"One may wonder whether this indiscriminate killings of innocent people is the will of God. Man was created by God to live in peace, happiness and freedom. Denying freedom to anyone cannot be the will of God. To survive in this world one has to be strong. We must learn to strengthen ourselves in unity and face any hardships to gain our freedom. Let us pledge ourselves to fight for our freedom and happiness as we pay our deepest love and respect for the innocent lives robbed so cruelly," said Rev. Fr. James Pathinathar in his address.

S. Thangan said that the Padahuthurai killings of innocent civilians is another action by Colombo that exposes the agenda of ethnic cleansing of Tamils in strategic areas in northeast by the present government and its armed forces

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NESoHR's letter to UN

In a letter sent to the Secretary General of the United Nation on Wednesday, Rev. Fr. M. X. Karunaratnam, Chairperson of the North East Secretariat of Human Rights, said Padahuthurai was a sheltering hamlet for refugees from Navanthurai Jaffna who fled due to Sri Lanka military atrocities in the mid nintees. As the former Parish Priest in Navanthurai Fr Karunaratnam used to visit Padahuthurai often to attend to the livelihood needs and to human rights matters, the letter said

[Tissaka]

* India says LTTE killed five Indian fishermen at sea
Saturday, April 28, 2007, 14:01 GMT, ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka.

Apr 28, Colombo: In a dramatic turn of events, the Tamil Nadu police today accused the LTTE of killing five Indian fishermen off the Kanyakumari coast on March 29.

Issuing a statement, director general of police D. Mukherjee said this was revealed during the interrogation of six LTTE cadres arrested on April 11 off the Tuticorin coast. He said 12 Indian fishermen, who had been reported missing since March 4, were abducted by the Sea Tigers and were in the LTTE's custody now.

The interrogation revealed that the six suspects were involved in the smuggling of arms and ammunition from a LTTE ship in the high seas and transporting them to LTTE camps in Sri Lanka.

Mukherjee said the six LTTE men were transporting arms and ammunition in their boat ‘Maria', which developed a snag and started drifting towards Indian waters. At that time, they chanced upon the Indian fishermen from Kanyakumari.