North and South cannot remain separate, Rajapaksa tells Jaffna people
“The people of Jaffna peninsula should forget the tragic past and all people of the north and south should live as one people”, Mahinda Rajapaksa, the President of Sri Lanka, said in a special satellite television broadcast Monday night for the people of Jaffna peninsula, which has become an open prison under Sri Lanka Army (SLA) control. Another message, delivered by Mr. Rajapaksa to the people of Jaffna, was that he has taken steps to ‘liberate’ Ki’linochchi and Mullaiththeevu and very soon the people there will ‘live like’ the people of Jaffna. Read more
4 civilians killed, 17 wounded in air strikes, hospital reports blood shortage
Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) bombers attacked a civilian settlement near Murugananda school in Murasumoaddai on Paranthan – Mullaiththeevu Road killing two females of a family and a male on the spot. Another man, who was seriously wounded, succumbed to his injuries at the hospital. 14 civilians, including a couple, were wounded. The attack has targeted three civilian settlements in Murasumoaddai Wednesday around 8:00 a.m. The indiscriminate bombardment on fleeing civilians, Internally Displaced Person’s huts, close to the ICRC Karaichchi branch office, a school, temple and agricultural lands aims at instilling fear at the minds of the civilians in Vanni, observers said. Read more
Batticaloa Muslim trader abducted in Colombo
A Muslim trader was abducted in Colombo Sunday by unidentified armed persons while he was waiting near a mosque in Maradana. He has been identified as M.A.Abdul Majeed 59, a resident of Oaddamaavadi in Vaazhaichcheanai police division in Batticaloa district. Read more
Jaffna SLA, GA accused of delaying HSZ resettlement
Displaced residents in Jaffna and civil society organizations have accused the Government Agent (GA) of Jaffna and the Palaly Military High command of deliberately delaying implementation of Supreme Court’s order to begin resettlement inside designated areas within the High Security Zone (HSZ) in Valikaamam North, sources in Jaffna said. Read more
(2nd lead: pictures added)Sri Lankan air strike: 4 civilians killed, 17 wounded
Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) bombers attacked a civilian settlement near Murugananda school in Murasumoaddai on Paranthan – Mullaiththeevu Road killing two females of a family and a male on the spot. Another man, who was seriously wounded, succumbed to his injuries at the hospital. 14 civilians, including a couple, were wounded.
Christmas gift from a terrorist State to its Tamil subjects
The following were words spoken by the Sri Lankan Head of State and the government and Commander in Chief of the armed forces, President Rajapakse in his 2008 Christmas message celebrating Christmas along with Christian dignitaries particularly the Roman Catholic Archbishop saying:
GA-Mullaithivu laments the plight of the people under her care
The latest influx of IDPs from Oddusuddan and Keppapulavu are occurring in the Mullaithivu district. Though the IDPs newly arriving bring whatever shelter material they can to put up a temporary shelter, the restrictions on shelter material imposed by the Sri Lankan Government is starkly visible in the new IDP settlement in Puthukudiyiruppu. Most of the newly arrived IDPs say that they have so far not received any assistance from anyone.
Sri Lanka will be affected if war breaks out between Indian and Pakistan
Analysts and commentators with expert knowledge of South Asian affairs have begun speculating about the distinct possibility of war erupting between India and Pakistan and how that would affect Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka is caught in the middle with Pakistan helping it greatly to prosecute the war against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam(LTTE) while India has been evincing great concern about the beleaguered Tamil civilians of the North.
LTTE open for peace talks – Nadesan
LTTE are open to restarting peace talks with the government, despite the continuing military offensive aimed at crushing the group, LTTE political chief Balasingham Nadesan told The Associated Press. Nadesan told The Associated Press the rebels did not believe they were facing imminent defeat.
Civilian victims of 27 December 2008 bombing and shelling by SLA
Iyakkachci and Iranaimadu areas in the Kilinochchi District, Puthukudiyiruppu (PTK) and Mullaithivu town in the Mullaithivu District saw extensive aerial bombing and shelling on Saturday 27 December 2008, resulting in the death of one 24 year old woman and injury to 15 more civilians. Among the injured are, an 18 year old woman who lost both her legs and two children.
