Sri Lankan inflation on the rise

[TamilNet, Friday, 30 June 2000, 19:24 GMT]
Sri Lanka's annual inflation rate increased by 0.3 percent in the June quarter, according to a report from the Department of Census and Statistics. This rate is based on the basis of 12 months' moving average and went up to 3.7 percent, from 3.4 percent in May 2000.
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World Bank money for quarters not utilized

[TamilNet, Friday, 30 June 2000, 19:22 GMT]
A high-powered World Bank team, now in Sri Lanka, told a delegation of the Ceylon Tamil Teachers Union (CTTU) that the money allocated by the WB for the construction of quarters for teachers serving in the war-torn areas in the northeast province have not been utilized by the authorities concerned.
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Eight youths arrested in Potkerni cordon and search

[TamilNet, Friday, 30 June 2000, 19:20 GMT]
Eight Tamil youths were arrested during a cordon and search operation by Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers in Potkerni in Thampalakamam, about 13 km. south-west of Trincomalee according to residents from the area.
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Devolution proposals 'no basis for solution' - LTTE

[TamilNet, Friday, 30 June 2000, 09:36 GMT]
The Liberation Tigers said Friday the Sri Lankan government's devolution proposals were unacceptable as the basis of a solution to the Tamil national question as it "failed to address the national aspirations of the Tamil people" and it was intended to "promote the majoritarian [Sinhala] interests."
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Sunday Leader ban illegal

[TamilNet, Friday, 30 June 2000, 07:52 GMT]
The Supreme Court ruled Friday that the ban imposed on the English language Weekly, Sunday Leader, and its sister Sinhala language Irida Peramuna, was illegal and ordered the state to pay one hundred thousand rupees as costs to the Petitioner, within eight weeks.
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Monks call for political opposition to devolution package

[TamilNet, Thursday, 29 June 2000, 18:52 GMT]
A leading Buddhist monk, Venerable Maduluwe Sobitha Thera, appealed on Thursday to members of Parliament belonging to the two major Sinhala dominated political parties not to become traitors to their own community by supporting the devolution package prepared by their leaders.
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Bomb at opposition politician's house

[TamilNet, Thursday, 29 June 2000, 12:20 GMT]
A bomb exploded at an opposition politician's house in the hill town of Matale, about 100 km. north-east of Colombo, in the early hours of Tuesday morning police said.
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Complaint to World Bank on distortions in texts

[TamilNet, Thursday, 29 June 2000, 12:19 GMT]
The recommendations submitted by the Ceylon Tamil Teachers Union (CTTU) to the Education Publications Department to eliminate distortion of facts from the Tamil medium textbooks to be printed and published next year, have been completely rejected by the authorities. A World Bank team was informed of this by a delegation of the CTTU on Wednesday.
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Two fishermen killed in SLA ambush

[TamilNet, Thursday, 29 June 2000, 05:54 GMT]
Two men from Kalmadhu refugee camp in Valaichenai who were on their way to go fishing in Punaanai lagoon early morning Saturday were killed when Sri Lanka Army soldiers opened fire, said survivors of the incident.
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HRC investigates disappearances

[TamilNet, Thursday, 29 June 2000, 05:45 GMT]
Four young men have been reported missing according to complaints made by their relatives with the Human Rights Commission (HRC) in Vavuniya. The Chairman of the Human Rights Commission in Vavuniya, Mr. Sreetharan said they were trying to trace the whereabouts of the missing persons.
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Drug shortage hits Vanni hospital

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 28 June 2000, 15:47 GMT]
Hospitals in the Vanni region are experiencing shortage of drugs and other medical equipment as they are yet to receive the entire supply approved by the Defence Ministry, for the first quarter of this year, government officers and medical sources said. They said the remaining supplies for the hospitals are lying in Vavuniya, awaiting approval from Sri Lanka Army (SLA) authorities.
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TELO cadres shot dead

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 28 June 2000, 15:44 GMT]
Two members of a pro-government group, Tamil Eelam Liberation Organisation (TELO), were shot dead by unidentified gunmen at Kalladi, about 2 km. north of Batticaloa, around 3.45 p.m. Wednesday evening the police said.
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Grenade attack on Save the Children office

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 27 June 2000, 06:35 GMT]
A grenade was thrown at a Norwegian aid agency office, Save the Children (Redd Barna), in Colombo in the early hours of Tuesday morning according to police sources.
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Detained student admitted to hospital

[TamilNet, Monday, 26 June 2000, 21:03 GMT]
A GCE A/L student from Muttur has been detained at the Trincomalee Police Headquarters since last month. While being interrogated by the Police during this period he has been admitted twice to Trincomalee base hospital for medical treatment for injuries inflicted on him, relatives said.
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NGOs requested to ask for prosecution of torturers

[TamilNet, Monday, 26 June 2000, 16:50 GMT]
An appeal has been made to non-governmental organizations to request the Attorney General to file cases against the alleged perpetrators of acts of torture, under the act passed in 1994, entitled "Convention against Torture and Other Cruel Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment Act". Mr.K.Sivapalan, Legal Aid Officer made this appeal when speaking at a one-day seminar held today at Trincomalee Elephant House Harbor Room, to mark the UN International Day in support of Victims of Torture.
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Arms ship destroyed - LTTE

[TamilNet, Monday, 26 June 2000, 14:30 GMT]
The MV Merces Uhana, a cargo vessel destroyed off the Jaffna coast by the Sea Tigers in a naval battle Monday, was carrying arms and ammunition, the Liberation Tigers said in a statement from their London offices. A Dvora gunboat was also seriously damaged in the 8-hour clash, the LTTE said, adding that ten Sri Lankan sailors and six Tigers were killed.
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Ship hit in seas off Mullaithivu

[TamilNet, Monday, 26 June 2000, 05:20 GMT]
A Sri Lankan cargo ship to Jaffna was damaged when it was hit by an explosive laden suicide boat of the Liberation Tigers in the high seas off the Mullaithivu coast in the early hours of the morning around 2 a.m. Monday. No one aboard was killed in the attack Sri Lanka Navy sources said. The Tigers appear to have mistaken the ship for one carrying weapons to the Sri Lanka army in Jaffna the sources added.
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CTTU appeals to boycott Flag Week

[TamilNet, Monday, 26 June 2000, 05:16 GMT]
The Ceylon Tamil Teachers Union (CTTU) has appealed to Tamil students and teachers not to contribute to the Flag Week scheduled to be held on June 26 by the National Youth Services Council throughout the island. The General Secretary of the CTTU, Mr.T.Mahasivam, in his appeal has pointed out that fifty percent of the money collected by the Flag Week is to be donated to the National Defense Fund of the Sri Lankan Government.
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Sri Lankan officials to recover seized boats

[TamilNet, Monday, 26 June 2000, 05:14 GMT]
A three member team of Sri Lankan government officials will leave to Madras, India on Wednesday to take over all boats and engines seized by the Indian authorities from Sri Lankan Tamil refugees, during the period between 1990-1991.
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Explosion injures child

[TamilNet, Saturday, 24 June 2000, 19:14 GMT]
Tharmalingam Vinodharan, a 10 year old child from Maravanpullo in the Thenmaradchi sector of Jaffna Peninsula, lost both hands below his wrists when an unidentified explosive detonated on Wednesday. He was admitted to the Mallavi hospital and later transferred to Vavuniya General Hospital for surgery, hospital sources said.
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Four more skeletons found in Kilinochchi

[TamilNet, Saturday, 24 June 2000, 17:25 GMT]
Villagers cleaning a compound in Kilinochchi, 45 km. south of Jaffna, found four skeletons, with their hands tied behind their backs in a toilet pit on Thursday, the Voice of Tigers said.
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Victims of Torture Day commemorated

[TamilNet, Saturday, 24 June 2000, 17:24 GMT]
A one-day seminar to mark the UN International Day in support of Victims of Torture will be held on Monday (26.06.2000) morning at Trincomalee Elephant House Hall.
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LTTE not included - President

[TamilNet, Friday, 23 June 2000, 10:25 GMT]
Sri Lanka's President Chandrika Kumaratunge Friday re-iterated her government's position that the Liberation Tigers would not be included in the proposed interim administration for the North and East. A press release by the government's Special Media Information Center said no decision had been made to include the LTTE "which is a terrorist organization" and blamed media reports for the confusion.
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Arrested PLOTE cadres remanded

[TamilNet, Thursday, 22 June 2000, 17:51 GMT]
Six members of the People's Liberation Organisation of Tamil Eelam (PLOTE), who were arrested after a shoot-out with the police in Vavuniya on Tuesday, were remanded till 26 June by the District Judge of Vavuniya, Mrs.K.Sivapathasunderam.
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5000 Jaffna refugees sheltered in Pooneryn

[TamilNet, Thursday, 22 June 2000, 14:56 GMT]
More than five thousand civilians displaced from the Thenmaradchi division of the Jaffna peninsula due to bombing and shelling have been housed in a transit camp in Pooneryn, international aid agency sources said Thursday. The United Nations High Commission for Refugees and the International Committee of the Red Cross are providing limited emergency relief to the displaced civilians they said.
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Relief provisions to Jaffna reduced

[TamilNet, Thursday, 22 June 2000, 11:15 GMT]
The Jaffna Government Agent (GA) was informed on Tuesday that relief provisions for civilians will be reduced to account for those who have fled the peninsula as a result of the war. Sources said about 5000 people who fled the war are currently housed in makeshift accommodation in the Pooneryn area.
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Tigers release Elephant Pass video

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 21 June 2000, 17:44 GMT]
The Liberation Tigers have released a 40 minute long English language video documentary of their assault on the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) base at Elephant Pass, which they overran on April 22, the Tamileela vanoli, the commercial service of the Voice of Tigers (VoT) said Wednesday.
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Judge warns EPRLF factions

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 21 June 2000, 17:42 GMT]
Two factions of the minor ex-Tamil militant group operating in Mannar with the Sri Lankan security forces were severely reprimanded by the Mannar district judge M.Ilancheliyan Wednesday for breaching the peace in Mannar town by quarreling with each other incessantly. The Police filed a case Wednesday in the Mannar courts against both factions of the Eelam Peoples Revolutionary Liberation Front (EPRLF) for being a public nuisance and a threat to law and order in the town. The EPRLF was formerly a group that was fully backed by India.
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Further arrests ordered in Hamilitta murder

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 21 June 2000, 14:05 GMT]
The Mannar Magistrate Mr.M.Illancheliyan ordered the arrest of five more Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers in connection with gang-rape and murder of a young woman on Tuesday. Ida Hamilitta, 21, was raped and killed in the early hours of 11 July 1999 in Pallimunai in the north-west of the island.
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CTTU will not support Defence Fund

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 20 June 2000, 19:22 GMT]
The twenty-thousand member strong Ceylon Tamil Teachers Union has informed the President of Sri Lanka that its members would not contribute two-day salary each month as requested, to the Defence Fund as they consider the present war executed by the government is against the Tamil community. The Union has also threatened to strike if certain demands, including payment of arrears and distribution of textbooks, is not done by July 7.
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Police smash up PLOTE van

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 20 June 2000, 17:52 GMT]
Sri Lankan military trained Police smashed up a van belonging to an ex-Tamil militant group and arrested five of its cadres Tuesday night around 9 p.m near Kulumaattu junction, about 2.5 kilometers west of Vavuniya town on the road to Mannar sources said. An altercation had led to a shoot out when cadres of the People's Liberation Organisation of Tamil Eelam (PLOTE) who went in a van towards Kulumattu junction were stopped by the Police for checking.
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Tigers dismayed over ICRC, UNHCR inaction

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 20 June 2000, 07:16 GMT]
The political section of the Liberation Tigers has issued a statement expressing deep regret and dismay over the inaction of the United Nations High Commissioner of Refugees (UNHCR) and the International Commission of the Red Cross (ICRC) in helping to evacuate Tamil civilians trapped in the combat zones of the Thenmaradchchi sector of the Jaffna peninsula , according to the night broadcast of the Voice of Tigers.
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Five SLA soldiers killed

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 20 June 2000, 06:42 GMT]
Five Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers were killed and four others were seriously wounded in an ambush by the Liberation Tigers at Sri Mangalapaura on Allai-Kantalai road, about 75 km. south west of Trincomalee town, around 8.30 a.m. this morning, security sources said.
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UNP flays govt. for dialogue hypocrisy

[TamilNet, Monday, 19 June 2000, 15:32 GMT]
The general secretary of Sri Lanka's main opposition party, Mr.Gamini Athukorala, charged Monday that the government is hypocritical and insincere in its discussions with his party on constitutional reforms aimed at resolving the ethnic conflict in the island. The United National Party's (UNP) general secretary lambasted the state media for distorting decisions that had been mutually agreed upon and for carrying on a misinformation campaign about his party's role in the current dialogue towards a bipartisan consensus on constitutional reforms.
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Court releases arrested Trinco students

[TamilNet, Sunday, 18 June 2000, 17:03 GMT]
Two students of Chelvanayagapuram Tamil Maha Vidyalayam in Uppuveli in Trincomalee district, who were arrested by the Sri Lankan Army (SLA) and held in detention, were produced before the Trincomalee acting magistrate, Mr. M.K. Selvarajah yesterday.
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No role for LTTE in Interim Council - PA

[TamilNet, Sunday, 18 June 2000, 17:01 GMT]
The Government of Sri Lanka denied on Sunday media
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Rescued refugees remanded

[TamilNet, Sunday, 18 June 2000, 16:32 GMT]
The 24 refugees who were rescued by the Sri Lanka Navy (SLN) from an islet of the Adam's Bridge in the high seas between the southern coast of Tamil Nadu and Mannar on June 14 were remanded until Monday by Mannar's acting magistrate.
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Shortage of Medical supplies in Vanni Hospitals

[TamilNet, Sunday, 18 June 2000, 14:38 GMT]
Hospital authorities in Mullaitivu and Kilinochchi districts have made urgent appeals to the Health Department of the Northern Province to send basic medical supplies to Vanni hospitals.
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STF officer killed in claymore attack

[TamilNet, Sunday, 18 June 2000, 12:48 GMT]
The officer in charge of the elite Special Task Force (STF) commando camp in Thirukkovil, 77 kilometers south of Batticaloa, was killed Sunday morning around 11.30 a.m. when a claymore mine fixed to a bicycle exploded.
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Police accused of sexual brutality

[TamilNet, Sunday, 18 June 2000, 07:57 GMT]
Sri Lankan police officers in Sinnakadai area in Mannar have attempted to rape women in the nearby areas after forcibly opening the doors at night, residents in Mannar said. Sex-related abusive incidents have worsened since last Wednesday, they added.
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LTTE urges Muslims to be vigilant

[TamilNet, Saturday, 17 June 2000, 15:18 GMT]
In a leaflet in Tamil titled "Dear Muslim brothers/sisters" distributed widely in the Batticaloa and Amparai districts this week, the political section of the Liberation Tigers calls on Muslims to be vigilant against a campaign to foment divisions between them and the Tamil people in the east. The LTTE leaflet says that Muslims need not be concerned about "the imminent war of liberation that is soon to engulf the east."
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More casualties due to SLA shelling

[TamilNet, Saturday, 17 June 2000, 15:16 GMT]
One civilian died and two suffered severe injuries whenthe Sri Lankan Army (SLA) intensified their shelling inthe Thenmaradchi sector of the Jaffna Peninsula.
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Mannar conditions said causing refugee trickle

[TamilNet, Saturday, 17 June 2000, 12:39 GMT]
Fifteen youth were arrested and detained by the Sri Lanka army when it cordoned off and searched the coastal village of Pesalai, 17 kilometers west of Mannar, Saturday morning. Sources said that the refugee camp in Pesalai was also searched. The SLA confiscated large quantities of kerosene stored by local fishermen as fuel for the light horsepower out board motors of their fishing boats.
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'City of Trinco' trip cancelled

[TamilNet, Thursday, 15 June 2000, 08:29 GMT]
Due to a confrontation between the Sri Lanka Navy and the Liberation Tigers in the seas of Mullaitivu, in the north-east of the island, the naval authorities suspended the sailing of the vessel 'City of Trinco' to Jaffna from Trincomalee Thursday morning. Informed sources said a SLN gunboat was damaged in the confrontation that took place on Wednesday night.
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PA planning for elections

[TamilNet, Thursday, 15 June 2000, 08:28 GMT]
The ruling People's Alliance (PA) is getting ready to face the forthcoming parliamentary elections, scheduled to be held between August and October this year, political sources said. The President, Ms.Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunge, alerted the constituent political parties of the PA to be prepared for the general election on Tuesday. She made this announcement when she met the leaders of the ruling PA.
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Blast kills two

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 14 June 2000, 06:53 GMT]
Police said two people were killed and thirteen were wounded when a suicide bomber attempted to ram a Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) bus Wednesday morning around 8.30 a.m. at Gemunu junction in Wattala town, a northern suburb of greater Colombo.
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Muttur cordoned and searched

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 13 June 2000, 13:13 GMT]
A large number of Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers and police cordoned off Muttur town, south of Trincomalee, in its entirety and conducted a search operation from 9.30 a.m. till 1.30 p.m. today said residents. At least 25 people were detained on suspicion during the search. Residents were headed to the town hall and interrogated in front of masked spotters.
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Student boycott extended

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 13 June 2000, 11:23 GMT]
The boycott campaign launched by the students of Chelvanayapuram Tamil Maha Vidyalayam on Friday has been extended to all schools in the Trincomalee town from Tuesday.
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Civilians hit by SLA shelling

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 13 June 2000, 11:22 GMT]
A civilian was killed and two others were wounded when shells fired by the Sri Lanka Army hit the Madduvil area in the Thenmaradchi sector of the Jaffna peninsula Sunday, the Voice of Tigers (VoT) radio said.
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Bishop says 500 civilian casualties in Madduvil

[TamilNet, Monday, 12 June 2000, 19:41 GMT]
The Bishop of the Catholic Church in Mannar Rt.Rev.Dr. Rayappu Joseph said in appeal sent to the heads of foreign missions in Colombo that there were more than five hundred civilian casualties due to bombing and shelling by Sri Lankan security forces in the Madduvil area, close to Chavakachcheri in Jaffna. "I am given to understand that the attitude of the armed forces is that 'it is better to kill the people than allow them to go into the LTTE controlled areas' the Bishop states in the appeal.
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India extends $100 million credit to Sri Lanka

[TamilNet, Monday, 12 June 2000, 19:40 GMT]
India's Minister of External affairs of India, Sri Jaswant Singh said his government would extend to Sri Lanka a credit facility of 100 million US dollars, according to a statement regarding his visit to the island issued Monday by Sri Lanka's Foreign Ministry. The statement had been approved by both governments, officials said.
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Indian FM meets minority parties

[TamilNet, Monday, 12 June 2000, 12:00 GMT]
The Indian Foreign Minister Mr.Jaswant Singh held separate meetings with the Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF), the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC), a group comprising representatives of three hill country Tamil parties and five ex-Tamil militant groups at India House, the official residence of the Indian High Commissioner in Colombo Monday Afternoon. The brief discussions mainly centered around India's role as a mediator, devolution, the plight of civilians in the war zone and the need for a ceasefire. Mr. Singh reaffirmed India's stand on the unity, territorial integrity and sovereignty of Sri Lanka to the Tamil and Muslim delegations during his discussions with the minority parties this afternoon.
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Curfew in Colombo

[TamilNet, Sunday, 11 June 2000, 20:46 GMT]
The Sri Lankan government declared curfew from 7 p.m Sunday until dawn Monday May 12 in the suburbs of Ratmalana, Mt.Lavinia and Moratuwa in the southern sectors of Colombo city today.
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Casualties from Jaffna fighting

[TamilNet, Saturday, 10 June 2000, 12:08 GMT]
Twenty-five Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers, including a senior officer, were killed and about 50 others were wounded in the heavy fighting that erupted at Sarasalai in the Jaffna peninsula yesterday, SLA sources in Colombo said.
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Government officials to treat elephant in LTTE area

[TamilNet, Saturday, 10 June 2000, 12:03 GMT]
The Liberation Tigers gave permission to government officials to take steps to treat a wounded elephant lying in the jungles of Sagamam in the eastern Ampara district, ICRC sources said. The Sagamam area is under the control of the Liberation Tigers.
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ICRC, UNHCR urged over ceasefire for civilians

[TamilNet, Friday, 09 June 2000, 16:29 GMT]
The Liberation Tigers said Friday they had urged the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to help arrange a temporary ceasefire between the LTTE and the Sri Lankan armed forces to facilitate the evacuation of civilians trapped in the battle zones of the thenmaradchi division in the Jaffna peninsula. The civilians are unable to leave as the Sri Lankan armed forces are pounding the possible routes of evacuation, the Tigers said in a statement from their London offices.
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SLA assault repulsed -LTTE

[TamilNet, Friday, 09 June 2000, 15:21 GMT]
An offensive assault by the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) in the Sarasalai area of the Jaffna peninsula was repulsed Friday with heavy casualties, the Liberation Tigers said in a statement from their London offices. Civilian settlements in Maduvil and Sarasalai had been hit by artillery and rocket fire, killing six civilians and wounding scores, the statement added.
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Male Tamil detainees raped - report

[TamilNet, Friday, 09 June 2000, 15:03 GMT]
At least 1 in 5 male Tamil detainees in Sri Lanka have suffered sexual abuse, including rape, according to The Lancet, the British medical weekly. "We believe that sexual abuse of Tamil men in detention is common in Sri Lanka," a report by the Medical Foundation for the Care of Victims of Torture published in The Lancet said, adding that the number of victims "is probably higher [than 20%] as some will not have reported it."
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58 Tamil undergraduates arrested

[TamilNet, Thursday, 08 June 2000, 09:17 GMT]
Sri Lankan police arrested 58 Tamil undergraduates of the Engineering Faculty at the University of Moratuwa, south of Colombo, around 11 p.m. last night, student sources said.
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LTTE ambush kills three

[TamilNet, Thursday, 08 June 2000, 05:55 GMT]
Three homeguards militiamen were killed and four policemen were wounded in an ambush by the Liberation Tigers in the Avaranthulawa area about 22 km. west of Vavuniya, around 5.30 a.m. Thursday, police sources said.
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Unofficial curfew in Colombo

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 07 June 2000, 17:09 GMT]
An unofficial curfew has been imposed in the Colombo suburbs of Dehiwala, Mt.Lavinia, Ratmalane and Moratuwa from 7.30 p.m. Wednesday police sources said. Residents said there had been some incidents of arson following bomb attack in Ratmalane.
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Minister killed in bomb blast

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 07 June 2000, 08:56 GMT]
Sri Lanka's Minister of Industries C.V.Gooneratne was killed in a bomb blast in Golumadama Junction, Galle Road, Ratmalana, about 15 km. south of Colombo, around 2 p.m. today police said. Initial reports said at least 20 others, including Deputy Mayor of Dehiwala-Mt.Lavinia, were killed and 27 others were wounded in the explosion. The Mayor of Dehiwala-Mt.Lavinia was seriously injured in the blast.
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Sri Lanka marks War Heroes Day

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 07 June 2000, 08:16 GMT]
The Sri Lankan government observed Wednesday as Ranaviru Day ('War Heroes' Day) in several parts of the island. A two-minute silence was observed at 9.30 a.m. Addressing the ceremony at her offices in downtown Colombo, President Chandrika Kumaratunge said the event was initiated by her government "to salute members of the Sri Lanka Armed Services and the Police who are dead, missing in action, disabled and those who are fighting a valiant battle on our behalf to keep the nation together".
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One killed and five wounded in attacks

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 06 June 2000, 20:00 GMT]
Three military trained Policemen were wounded in the high security zone of Trincomalee town Tuesday night around 8.40 p.m. when a grenade was lobbed at their checkpoint by persons suspected to be Liberation Tigers. Meanwhile, a military trained Policeman was killed and two were wounded in another attack Monday night by the LTTE on a bunker at Poolavady near the border between the Ampara and Batticaloa districts.
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Two super-dvora gun boats sunk

[TamilNet, Monday, 05 June 2000, 15:25 GMT]
Two Israeli made super-dvora fast attack gun boats were sunk and 15 naval personnel were killed when the Liberation Tigers attacked a convoy of Sri Lanka Navy (SLN) off the coast of Vadamarachchi this morning, the LTTE said in a press release this evening. The Tigers said two other gun boats were seriously damaged in the sea battle.
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Tigers sink Sri Lankan gunboat

[TamilNet, Monday, 05 June 2000, 07:09 GMT]
A Dvora Fast Attack Craft (FAC) of the Sri Lanka Navy was sunk by the Liberation Tigers off the coast of Vadamaradchi East in the north of the island this morning, security sources in Colombo said.
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Police post attacked -VoT

[TamilNet, Sunday, 04 June 2000, 20:31 GMT]
The Liberation Tigers attacked a Sri Lankan Police post in Pulmoddai in the Trincomalee district, around 11.50 p.m. yesterday, killing a policeman the Voice of Tigers Radio (VoT) said this evening.
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Eight youths arrested in round up

[TamilNet, Sunday, 04 June 2000, 10:26 GMT]
Eight youths were arrested when the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers and Police conducted a cordon and search operation in Kokkuvil, a village 4 km. north of Batticaloa this morning.
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Mannar SLA shooting victims identified

[TamilNet, Friday, 02 June 2000, 18:20 GMT]
The Sri Lanka army handed over the bodies of five Tamil youth to the Mannar hospital this morning. The SLA told the hospital that the youth were shot dead in a house in Thalvupaadu, four kilometers west of Mannar town, when it was surrounded by troops around 5 a.m. Friday morning on receipt of information that Liberation Tigers were in the village. However, one of the youth shot dead was identified as K. Pirapaharan, a school teacher, by his sister and another was identified by his brother as Victor Sebamalai who had not returned home after reporting to the military intelligence unit at Mannar for an inquiry on May 31.
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Editor's Guild challenges censorship

[TamilNet, Friday, 02 June 2000, 12:19 GMT]
The Editor's guild has filed a fundamental Rights application in the Supreme Court challenging the legality of the Regulation making powers of the President under Section 5 of the Public Security Ordinance. This is the section under which the government has imposed the wide ranging censorship of the news, and banned the publication of three newspapers.
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'Behaviour in combat' booklets for SLA

[TamilNet, Thursday, 01 June 2000, 23:12 GMT]
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) Thursday handed over to the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) 20,000 booklets and 6000 posters depicting basic rules for Behaviour in Combat. Ms. Isabelle Barras, Head of Delegation, ICRC Colombo, stressed that such publications, produced with the assistance of the ICRC, are principally designed as support material for instruction of the Law of Armed Conflict within the SLA.
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Sunday Leader fundamental rights case

[TamilNet, Thursday, 01 June 2000, 10:05 GMT]
The editor of the Sri Lankan English weekly "Sunday Leader", Lasantha Wickrematunge has filed a fundamental rights application in the Supreme Court challenging the ban imposed on his newspaper. The application was filed by him through his counsel G.G.Arulpragasam.
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Chemmani case moved to Colombo

[TamilNet, Thursday, 01 June 2000, 08:25 GMT]
The Magisterial inquiry relating to Chemmani graves came up for hearing before Colombo Chief Magistrate G.D.Kulatilake Wednesday. Initially the Jaffna Magistrate's Court heard the case, but following an order by the Court of Appeal, the matter was transferred to the Colombo Magistrate.
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Three Policemen wounded

[TamilNet, Thursday, 01 June 2000, 08:19 GMT]
Three military trained Policemen were shot and seriously wounded by gunmen suspected to be members of the Liberation Tigers last night around 9.30 p.m. in the heart of Kattankudy, a predominantly Muslim town, 6 kilometers south of Batticaloa. The gun men had lobbed a grenade near the scene of shooting before getting away on a motorbike, Police in Kattankudy said. The Police imposed restrictions on Tamils living and working in this town on May 30 in a bid to curb the activities of the LTTE in Kattankudy.
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