Colombo has launched a large scale Sinhala colonisation at Madu Road Junction, located on Mannaar-Madawachchi Road, which branches off the main route to Madu shrine, situated in the middle of traditional Tamil area, by officially claiming to "resettle" 80 Sinhalese families after renovating a Buddhist temple into a large Vihara at the junction. Categorising the Sinhalese settlers as "Internally Displaced Persons," the Sri Lankan Defence Ministry officials said the Sinhalese "IDPs" had met Resettlement Minister Milroy Fernando and G.A. Chandrasri, the former SLA commander of Jaffna, who is serving as the Northern Province Governor, with the Chief Incumbent Buddhist Monk of the Vihara. Caritas, a Catholic agency for justice, peace and development has been pressurised to construct the houses for the Sinhalese settlers. [ Full Report ]

    Cairn India which is exploring for oil in Sri Lankan waters is to start gathering meteorological data and monitor ocean currents next month ahead of a test drilling programme, an official said. The sub-contract for the 'metocean and currents survey' in the Gulf of Mannar, off the island's north-west is to be awarded soon, said Neil de Silva, head of Sri Lanka's petroleum resources development secretariat overseeing exploration efforts. "You might see a ship going out next month to put instruments in the sea and collect data such as wave heights and ocean current strengths in the drilling area." [ Full Report ]

    Mannar - Marginalized by society, the object of scorn, deprived of a job, often with young children or elderly dependents and no economic support. This is the condition of more than 2 thousand widows in the district of Mannar in northern Sri Lanka, who are living a double tragedy: they have lost their husbands in many cases to the war, and have been abandoned by the government. And, in the heart, they have only one desire: " to start living like everyone else." [ Full Report ]

    Over 400,000 devotees have gathered in Sri Lanka's northern Mannar district Saturday to participate in an annual religious festival, military officials said. The festivities at the Madhu Church, the holiest shrine for the island's Catholic minority, ends Sunday. This was the first large gathering at the church since government troops liberated the northern and eastern provinces from the control of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). [ Full Report ]

    The bishop of Mannar in the country’s Northern Province has called for displaced Tamils to be allowed to leave government camps to celebrate the feast of the Assumption at the revered Madhu Marian shrine. “Allow all to the shrine, including refugees detained in camps,” Bishop Rayappu Joseph demanded on July 2, speaking to reporters in Mannar the day another religious celebration at Madhu was cancelled for security reasons. “More than 300,000 Tamils now held in welfare centers would be denied the opportunity to attend the feast day,” he said. The government has not allowed them to leave since it announced the defeat of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam and end of the 25-year civil war in mid-May. [ Full Report ]

    Nineteen Sri Lankan refugees from Mannar and Vavuniya, including five of a family, were rescued by Indian naval personnel today from the fifth isle near here in two separate operations, naval officials said. R N Sharma, Naval area commander, told reporters here that they received information from fishermen here about a refugee family of five members lying unconscious in a boat off the fifth isle. Naval personnel then proceeded ed to the spot and rescued them early this morning. They were given first aid at the naval office here before being handed over to police, he said. [ Full Report ]

    Hundreds of thousands of pilgrims once visited Sri Lanka's holiest Catholic shrine, but the church now lies empty because the military ordered worshippers to stay away after seizing the area from the Tamil Tiger rebels. Only 12 people _ two priests, three nuns and seven workers _ remain at the shrine of the Our Lady of Madhu. The church is home to a 450-year-old statue of the Virgin Mary, believed to have miraculous healing powers, and is located in territory controlled by Tamil Tiger rebels until six months ago. The army took control in April and has restricted visits to the shrine, saying land mines threaten the safety of pilgrims. [ Full Report ]

    Eighteen refugees from Sri Lanka landed on Arichalmunai, Dhanuskodi, bringing the total number of refugees who have reached Rameswaram this month to 133, according to aid agencies. The refugees, who had travelled in a small fishing boat from Mannar, reached Arichalmunai on Wednesday night in a group that included at least seven children. One of them was a oneyear old, brought to India by his widowed mother wrapped in a large polythene bag. “The sea was terribly rough and being a small boat, we were completely drenched throughout the journey,” the woman’s 18-year-old brother said. [ Full Report ]

    Vatican has denied Sri Lanka state media reports in saying that it has commended the president for 'liberating' the sacred Madhu shrine in Mannar. In a statement, handed to journalists in Colombo by opposition parliamentarian Jayalath Jayawardene on 22 September, the Vatican has denied Cardinal Francis Arinze making such a comment. A state owned Daily news report published in the Sri Lankan defence ministry website quoted the visiting Vatican Cardinal Francis Arinsay as saying that "Catholics should be grateful to President for liberating Madhu". [ Full Report ]

    Cairn India’s subsidiary has got into an agreement with Board of Investment of Sri Lanka to invest $110 million for exploration of hydrocarbons.The subsidiary company Cairn Lanka will do the exploration in an offshore block (SL 2007-01-001) North West Sri Lanka and cover 3000 square kilometer in water depths of 200 metres to 1800 metres in the Mannar basin. The block was awarded to Cairn India in the recent Sri Lanka bid round, informed the company to Bombay Stock Exchange. [ Full Report ]

    With journalists barred from the conflict zone, it is impossible to tell if the Tigers have suffered losses or retreated to avoid confronting the army. But if the army is on the point of victory, the question is: at what price? Madhu, for example, has been recaptured, but the locals — mostly Tamil farmers — have all fled to India or rebel-held areas. Even if they do return, their homes are destroyed, the local economy is non-existent and the army’s heavy-handed tactics have fuelled resentment in the Tamil community...The European Union has gone further, threatening to withdraw the trade benefits that allow Sri Lanka to export garments to the EU duty-free. That could cost tens of thousands of jobs. [ Full Report ]

    A popular annual festival at a revered Roman Catholic church near the front lines of Sri Lanka's civil war has been canceled because the government and Tamil rebels have failed to recognize the area as a peace zone, officials said Thursday. Roman Catholic Church officials said this year's festival has been canceled because of safety concerns."We do not expect therefore pilgrims this time at Madhu," the Rev. Rayappu Joseph, bishop of the northern Mannar region, said in a statement. [ Full Report ]

    Sri Lankan troops repulsed an attempt by Tamil rebels to retake a recently captured guerrilla stronghold in heavy fighting that killed 21 rebels and three soldiers, the military said Monday. The new fighting occurred despite a cease-fire offered by rebels while leaders from eight South Asian countries met over the weekend in the tightly guarded capital, Colombo. The heaviest fighting was reported in Mannar's Vellankulam area, a guerrilla stronghold that was seized by government troops on Saturday, Nanayakkara said. It was the last rebel stronghold in the area. [ Full Report ]

    Internally displaced families in Moon'raampiddi and Ve'l'laangku'lam villages, located in the northern part of Mannaar district, were fleeing their villages and settlements Friday after artillery and mortar barrage from the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) that has approached Iluppaikkadavai, north of Vidaththaltheevu. Meanwhile, IDPs from the administrative areas of Maanthai West division of Mannaar district and Thu’nukkaay division in Mullaiththeevu district are undergoing severe hardships without proper accommodation and relief supplies in Karaichchi division of Ki'linochchi district. [ Full Report ]

    Cairn India, a subsidiary of Cairn UK Holdings Limited, on Monday signed a Petroleum Resources agreement to explore for oil and natural gas in the Mannaar Basin. The signing took place in front of Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa at Temple Trees between the Sri Lankan Minister for Petroleum and Petroleum Development Resources A.H.M Fowzie and the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and Executive Director of the Cairn India, Indrajit Banerjee, who gave USD one million as signature bond to Rajapaksa government, according to informed sources. [ Full Report ]

    Tamil Tiger rebels opened fire on an army post in northwestern Sri Lanka on Wednesday, killing one soldier and wounding another, military officials said. The rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) attacked soldiers in Mannar district under the cover of darkness and troops retaliated, officials said. The latest deaths raise the number of rebels killed by security forces since January to 4,290, according to the defence ministry, which says 388 security personnel and police have died in combat over the same period. The official figures cannot be independently verified since journalists are barred from visiting front-line areas. [ Full Report ]

    At least 42 Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers were killed and 76 wounded Within the past 48 hours at two fighting fronts in Mannaar, Tiger officials cited LTTE Operations Command in Mannaar as saying. The SLA move was thwarted at 10:00 a.m. Meanwhile, at Periyamadu the SLA opened a ground operation on four fronts on Sunday. Meanwhile the SLA has handed over 3 dead bodies of females to Murungkan police claiming that the bodies belong to LTTE fighters killed at Aalangku'lam near Adampan. [ Full Report ]

    Cairn India, a unit of British exploration firm Cairn Energy Plc, has secured rights to explore oil and natural gas deposits off Sri Lanka's coast, the island's petroleum minister said today. The area, known as block one, covers around 3,400 square kilometres off Sri Lanka's northwest coast, AHM Fowzie said. "There were three players who bid for the block and cabinet of ministers decided to give it to Cairn," Fowzie said in a statement. [ Full Report ]

    The Liberation Tigers of Tamileelam (LTTE) on Sunday thwarted a ground movement launched by the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) from Irungka'ndalku'lam towards Va'n'naaku'lam in Mannaar claiming that at least 26 SLA soldiers were killed in the fighting and that more than 50 SLA soldiers were wounded. The Tigers have located 6 dead bodies of the SLA soldiers in the clearing mission. Two Rocket Propelled Grenade (RPG) launchers and six T-56 assault rifles were among the weapons seized by the Tigers. Three Tiger fighters were killed in action, according to the LTTE officials in Vanni. [ Full Report ]

    Soldiers captured Palampiddi Junction in the northern Mannar district after stiff resistance from the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam yesterday, the Media Centre for National Security said in a statement posted on its Web site. ``Heavy confrontations took place in this area and 13 bodies of slain LTTE cadre were found in subsequent search operations,'' the Ministry of Defence said. Rajapaksa's government ended a 2002 cease-fire on Jan. 16, saying the Tamil Tigers used the truce to bolster their forces and plan attacks. [ Full Report ]

    Sri Lanka's military announced the capture of a small town in the north after fighting Friday, calling it an important step in dismantling guerrilla strongholds in the area. Military spokesman Brig. Udaya Nanayakkara said the soldiers took control of Adampan town in northern Mannar district, which could restrict guerrilla movement and transportation of arms. Fifteen rebels and two soldiers were killed in the fighting. Rebel spokesman Rasiah Ilanthirayan could not be reached immediately for comment. It was not possible to obtain independent confirmation of the military's claims because reporters are not allowed in the war zone. Both sides are known to exaggerate death tolls and damage inflicted upon each other while underreporting their own losses. [ Full Report ]

    At the invitation of the Reconciliation and Peace Desk, the Colombo Diocese of the Anglican Church, a team of religious leaders visited Mannar from 15th – 18th April 2008. The team included a senior Buddhist Monk, several Anglican priests, a Methodist priest, a Catholic Priest, a Catholic nun and two lay Christians. The visit was intended as a solidarity visit to the people and religious leaders in Mannar and to better understand the present situation in Mannar. Below are extracts from an eight page report they submitted after returning to Colombo. The excerpts deal mainly with the group’s observations on the ground. The inter religious solidarity group report was released on Monday. [ Full Report ]

    The Madu Road junction located on Mannaar-Madawachchi Road, which branches off the main route to Madu shrine, situated in the middle of traditional Tamil area, became the center of a Sinhala settlement in the 1970s. The Sri Lanka Government had the agenda of transforming the area into a full-fledged Sinhala colony, by using the lands of a cashew farm between the Madu Shrine and the junction. However, the settlement was later abandoned, fearing repercussions following large-scale massacre and arson committed by the Sri Lanka Army in December 1984 after a landmine blast. The spectre of a Sinhalicised Madu area has now become a dangerous new reality with SLA's occupation of Madu shrine. [ Full Report ]

    The Sri Lanka military says troops have taken control of a church containing the country's most important Roman Catholic shrine. The shrine, located in the northern town of Madhu, lies on a front line in the renewed civil war between the army and Tamil Tiger rebels. Both sides in the conflict have accused each other of shelling the shrine area. Meanwhile it has been reported that at least 165 soldiers were killed in fighting in the far north on Wednesday. [ Full Report ]

    The Catholic Church said yesterday that some goons had got into the shrine area in looted it. It said the church was helpless with the ongoing hostilities around the Madhu Shrine area, Former Madhu Church administrator, Fr. J. B. Devarajah, who participated in the prayer service and the peaceful march in Fatima Church Maradana, yesterday, which was organized by the Catholic Church and led by the Centre for Society and Religion, said some goons had entered the shrine area and taken some belongings of the church. [ Full Report ]