The Lanka Academic
 
FEBRUARY 20, 2009 EST, USA
 
QUAERE VERUM
 
VOL. 9, NO. 320
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Sri Lanka says 27 hurt by rebel bombing of Colombo
Reuters, Feb 20. COLOMBO (Reuters) - Sri Lanka's military said on Friday at least 27 people had been wounded when two Tamil Tiger rebel planes raided the capital Colombo and bombed the country's tax headquarters.

Defense spokesman Keheliya Rambukwella said at least 27 people were wounded by the bombing, in the capital's Fort area.

He said Sri Lankan forces had shot down one of the planes, which had crashed within the territory of the international airport just outside Colombo, and found the body of the pilot. More...Discuss this story
Published: Fri Feb 20 13:12:13 EST 2009

Troops poised to capture last LTTE township
ie, feb 21. COLOMBO: Sri Lankan troops have encircled the last township still held by the gasping Tamil Tigers, the authorities said Friday.

The defence ministry said the army's 58 Division was locked in heavy fighting with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in areas around Puthukkudiyiruppu town in Mullaitivu district.

The soldiers have recovered three bodies of dead guerrillas, seven T-56 assault rifles and three radio communication sets.

Puthukkudiyiruppu is located about 35 km east of Paranthan town on a highway leading to Mullaitivu town, which is already under military control.

The LTTE is now left in control of only a small land area in Mullaitivu district, once its military nerve centre. According to military sources, the built-up area with the LTTE measures just about 25 square km.

"The 58 Division are in the process of dominating Ampalavanpokkani area, just two kilometres from the northern parameters of the Puthukkuddiyiruppu (township)," the defence ministry said. More...Discuss this story
Published: Fri Feb 20 20:20:32 EST 2009 Back to the top

‘Tamils fear peace talks with LTTE’
com, 20 feb. New Delhi: Sri Lankan Tamils are wary of any peace talks that will give oxygen to the Tamil Tigers, say two leading Tamil rights activists, adding that the need of the hour was to give security to the mass of civilians trapped in the conflict zone.

Rajan Hoole and K Sritharan of the University Teachers for Human Rights (UTHR-Jaffna) also said in an interview that India should stop seeing the Tamil conflict from a strategic prism and instead focus on the community's long-term welfare and humanitarian concerns.

Trouble in paradise

Stating that all previous peace parleys had only given a free run to the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), Hoole and Sritharan said: "Presently the indications we have are that the people want an end to the war but are wary of any more peace talks with the LTTE."

Hoole and Sritharan are formerly from the University of Jaffna and have been bitter critics of both the LTTE and the Sri Lankan state. In 2007, they received the Martin Ennals Award for their contribution to the cause of human rights in Sri Lanka. More...Discuss this story
Published: Fri Feb 20 03:51:12 EST 2009 Back to the top

Sri Lanka troops capture Tiger diving gear: military
 google.com, 20 feb. COLOMBO (AFP) — Security forces have captured diving equipment and underwater "scooters" used by suicide bombers after heavy fighting with Tamil Tiger rebels in the island's northeast, according to the defence ministry... Back to the top
Sri Lankan Army captures LTTE s last strategic town
 hindu.com, Friday, February 20, 2009 : 2020 Hrs . Colombo (PTI): Advancing Sri Lankan troops on Friday captured the last stragetic town held by the LTTE in the Mullaitivu district, confining the Tamil Tigers to less than 100 sq km... Back to the top
Sri Lanka, Rebels Must Protect Civilians in War, UN Envoy Says
 bloomberg.com, Feb. 20. Feb. 20 (Bloomberg) -- Sri Lanka’s army and the rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam must protect civilians caught in the conflict in the north, United Nations envoy John Holmes told government officials in Colombo. Holmes, the undersecretary-general for humanitarian affairs, “stressed in his meetings that civilians must be allowed to leave the affected area and that all parties must respect international humanitarian law,” the UN said in a statement... Back to the top
UN envoy tours Sri Lanka camps
 aljazeera.net, 20 feb. John Holmes, the UN's senior humanitarian official, has visited government-run camps in Sri Lanka for the tens of thousands of people fleeing the fighting in the country's northeast... Back to the top
Stop military help to Sri Lanka: Jayasuriya
 hindu.com, 20 feb. NEW DELHI: India should help stop the killing of Tamil civilians by immediately ending all military aid to the Sri Lankan armed forces, said Sri Lankan politician Siritunga Jayasuriya... Back to the top
Tamils set for Geneva mass march over Sri Lanka - UN
 reuters.com, Feb 20. GENEVA(Reuters) - About 20,000 Tamils from across Europe are expected to protest in Geneva on Friday at Sri Lanka's military offensive against Tamil rebels, the United Nations said on Thursday... Back to the top
Sri Lanka stands firm in row over British envoy
 google.com, 19 feb. COLOMBO (AFP) — Sri Lanka's cabinet refused to withdraw its opposition to a British special envoy despite fresh talks between the two sides on the island's growing humanitarian crisis, a minister said Thursday... Back to the top
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