Sri Lankan government steps up genocidal attacks on civilians – Tamil Eelam Political Head
Liberation Tigers of Tamileelam (LTTE) Political Head B. Nadesan Friday blamed Colombo for stepped up genocidal artillery attacks on civilian targets Friday after committing a war crime of issuing ultimatum to civilians to move against their will into the hands of the genocidal military. Most of the civilians are continuously forced to live inside the bunkers and civilian casualties were mounting in Udaiyaarkaddu, Thearaavil and other areas inside the ‘safety zone’, Mr. Nadesan charged.
DMK neither against nor in favour of LTTE, says Anbazhagan
The DMK is neither against nor in favour of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam. The party is only worried about the safety of Tamils in Sri Lanka, said Finance Minister and leader of the House K. Anbazhagan in the Assembly on Thursday. Intervening during a discussion on the Governor’s address in the House, the Minister said people in the State had no two opinions on protecting Tamils in Sri Lanka and safeguarding their interests.
Tamil Nadu Students protest on Sri Lanka issue
Students of Periyar Government Arts College here observed a fast in two batches on Thursday. One group observed the fast inside the campus and another in front of the Collectorate. The students voiced concern over the killing of Tamils in Sri Lanka and called for the immediate intervention of the Union government to save the lives of the innocent.
Where have all the people gone?
ONCE so teeming that Tamil Tiger rebels deployed “traffic police” at its junctions, Kilinochchi is today a desolate, shell-shocked town of headless buildings and crumbling walls. During a tightly controlled tour on January 24th, the army escorted journalists through vast swathes of northern territory—including Pooneryn, Paranthan and Elephant Pass—recently wrested from the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam. Further east, fighting is in one of the bloodiest phases in the 25 years of conflict.
Outcome of Mukherjee’s visit to Lanka disappointing: CPI
Expressing disappointment over the outcome of the External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee’s recent visit to Sri Lanka, the CPI on Thursday said he should have “persuaded and pressurised” the government of the island nation to end its army offensive against the LTTE. CPI General Secretary A B Bardhan told reporters in Chennai that his party was “very much disappointed with Mukherjee’s discussions with Sri Lanka.”
As war nears end, India’s power blunted in Sri Lanka
After decades of strong-arming tiny neighbour Sri Lanka, India finds itself jostling for influence as the civil war nears an end, its power blunted by the island nation’s growing ties with Pakistan and China. While domestic political sensitivities over the fate of Sri Lanka’s Tamils forced India to ease its leverage, rivals China and Pakistan stepped into the breach, offering Colombo military assistance in its war against the Tamil Tiger rebels.
Sri Lanka rejects report implicating government soldiers
Sri Lanka on Thursday rejected a report from the International Committee of the Red Cross that implicated government troops in preventing the aid agency from assisting and evacuating wounded civilians. The aid agency appealed “to both sides to allow and facilitate the safe and voluntary movement of civilians out of the combat zone.”
Croydon mum starves herself over Sri Lankan war
A Sri Lankan mum has gone on a hunger strike over the war raging in her home country. Kanga Atphuthasigamani, 47 from Croydon, began her part in a staggered hunger strike last night at Parliament Square in Westminster. The staggered fast runs from January 19 to February 4 and those taking part include young, old, businessmen, students and the retired.
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay deplores deteriorating situation for civilians
The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay said Thursday she was deeply concerned by reports of the rapidly deteriorating conditions facing a quarter of a million civilians trapped in the conflict zone in northern Sri Lanka, and of alleged human rights abuses and a significant number of civilian casualties, as well as the huge displacement. Pillay also expressed concern at the highly restricted access to the Vanni region for aid agencies and impartial outside observers, including journalists and human rights monitors.
EU calls for humanitarian ceasefire in Sri Lanka
EU Humanitarian Aid Commissioner Louis Michel on Thursday called for a ceasfire between Sri Lankan forces and Tamil rebels to allow trapped civilians to flee the combat zone. “This is an escalating humanitarian catastrophe. We are extremely worried about the terrible situation facing people trapped in the fighting,” in the combat zone in the northeast of the island, Michel said in a statement.
