UN concealed carnage to keep Sri Lanka goodwill – Le Monde: The United Nations deliberately hid the number of Tamil civilians being killed during the Sri Lankan government offensive against the LTTE, according to a report in the French daily Le Monde. The report, translated by FRANCE 24, quotes several UN sources alleging that high-ranking UN officials, including Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, chose to keep silent about the high civilian death toll so as to avoid offending the Sri Lankan government and maintain UN operations in the country. A low figure was even leaked by the UN in mid-May, when it was known that the real toll was approaching 20,000 dead. Click here to read full article
Sinhala thugs harass Tamil women in Ratnapura: Sinhala hoodlums in Rakwana town in Ratnapura district are targeting Tamil women who return home after work in garment factories, and rob them of their gold jewelry and other valuable articles. Ten such incidents have taken place in the last three days, and ll victims are from the upcountry Tamils, media reports said. Click here to read full article
Sinhala thugs destroy Tamil shops in Badulla: Sinhala thugs broke open three shops owned by Tamils in Palakaduwa, a suburb in Badulla police division, and robbed the premises of valueables Wednesday night. The intruders attempted to break open two other shops but failed in their attempt and fled when neighbors rushed to the site, media reports said. Tension prevails among Tamil business community in Badulla town about their future. Click here to read full article
Tamil family man reported missing in Batticaloa: A Tamil family man from Aiyankkea’ni in Batticaloa district has gone missing since 23 May around 7:30 p.m after leaving home to his sister’s house on his bicycle, according to the complaint lodged by his wife at Ea’raavoor police station. The family man had been arrested in a police cordon and search a month ago and released after being detained for a day, sources in Batticaloa said. Click here to read full article
‘Still no access’ – UN, aid agencies: International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and international aid groups Friday protested Sri Lanka’s denial of access to hundreds of thousands of Tamils concentrated in militarized camps in the north and the homes from which the displaced had fled. Sri Lanka is still refusing to provide aid workers with full access despite an appeal by United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, the UN said separately. Click here to read full article
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