4 killed in ambush

[TamilNet, Thursday, 30 November 2000, 14:58 GMT]
The Liberation Tigers ambushed a truck of the Sri Lanka Navy, killing 4 personnel and injuring 4 others around 11.50 am on Thursday, security sources said.. The attack took place between Perkar and Kuchchaveli, about 30 km. north of Trincomalee town.
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Ratwatte back as Dep. Defence Minister

[TamilNet, Thursday, 30 November 2000, 14:55 GMT]
General Anuruddha Ratwatte and Professor G.L.Peiris have been re-appointed as the Deputy Defense Minister and Deputy Finance Minister respectively. Both new Deputy Ministers took oaths before the Prime Minister Ratnasiri Wickremanayake at Temple Trees Thursday.
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Tigers ambush SLA convoy

[TamilNet, Thursday, 30 November 2000, 07:43 GMT]
Eight Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers, including a lieutenant were killed and 17 wounded when a bus in which they were travelling was hit by a powerful claymore blast at Piramanalankulam, about 22 km. west of Vavuniya on the Mannar road, around 11.15 a.m. Thursday, security sources said.
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Youth identifies farmer's killers

[TamilNet, Thursday, 30 November 2000, 06:07 GMT]
Two Sri Lanka Army soldiers allegedly involved in the murder of a young farmer, Arunasalam Chandramohan, in Sithaandy in the eastern Batticaloa were identified by a fourteen year-old witness in an identification parade held before the Batticaloa Additional Judge, on Wednesday.
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Clashes near Nagarkovil

[TamilNet, Thursday, 30 November 2000, 01:42 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army soldiers and Liberation Tigers clashed in the Vadamaradchi East sector on the north-eastern coast of the Jaffna peninsula in the early hours of Wednesday, security and civilian sources said.
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Diplomats optimistic over Tiger peace call

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 28 November 2000, 21:51 GMT]
(CORRECTION) Officials representing Norway and India met Monday evening with Mr.Karl Inderfurth, US State Secretary with his officials, Donald Camp and Gary Usery, at the residence of the US Ambassador Mr.Ashely Wills in Colombo, source said. Officials representing Sri Lanka's government, main opposition and a local Tamil party were also present.
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Seven killed in mine blast

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 28 November 2000, 08:05 GMT]
Seven passengers were killed and 24 others were wounded when a bus in which they were travelling was hit by a land mine in the Anuradhapura district around 6.30 a.m. Tuesday, police sources said.
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Tigers call for "unconditional talks in conducive climate"

[TamilNet, Monday, 27 November 2000, 12:57 GMT]
In his annual Heroes Day speech, the leader of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) Mr.Velupillai Pirapaharan declared Monday that his organisation is prepared for unconditional peace talks with the Sri Lanka government but insisted on a process of de-escalation of war and the creation of a conducive climate of goodwill and normalcy in the Tamil homeland to facilitate such talks. A translation of Mr. Pirapahran's speech released by the LTTE from its London offices quoted him as saying that by normalcy he meant "the restoration of normal civilian life by removing the economic blockade and other restrictions imposed on the Tamil people".
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Mannar Bishop requests prisoner transfer

[TamilNet, Monday, 27 November 2000, 11:31 GMT]
Rt.Rev.Rayappu Joseph Bishop of Mannar has appealed to President Chandrika Bandaranaike to transfer all the Tamil speaking political prisoners to the prisons in the Tamil areas taking account of their safety in the wake of the recent killings at Bindunuwewa Rehabilitation Centre in Bandarawela.
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Inderfurth arrives in Colombo

[TamilNet, Monday, 27 November 2000, 11:29 GMT]
Mr. Karl Inderfurth, US Assistant Secretary to the State in charge of South Asian Affairs arrived in Colombo Monday morning. Officials of the Sri Lanka's Foreign Ministry received him at Katunayaka International Airport.
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Fourteen reported missing in November

[TamilNet, Sunday, 26 November 2000, 17:11 GMT]
Fourteen persons have been reported as missing to the Vavuniya Human Rights Commission by their relatives in November, said sources.
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No ceasefire with LTTE - PM

[TamilNet, Saturday, 25 November 2000, 17:28 GMT]
"The People's Alliance (PA) Government is not prepared to enter into any ceasfire agreement with the LTTE. We take this stand based on our past experiences with the LTTE. The war will continue until terrorism is eliminated," said Prime Minister of Sri Lanka, Ratnasiri Wickremanayake, while addressing a public meeting in Kurunagala, this evening.
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Protests spread against arrest of Jaffna student

[TamilNet, Saturday, 25 November 2000, 15:07 GMT]
Students of the Jaffna Technical College (JTC) have been boycotting the classes since Thursday demanding the immediate release of a student E. Sri Ranganthan who was arrested by the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers last week.
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PTA detainees released - no evidence

[TamilNet, Friday, 24 November 2000, 14:02 GMT]
Batticaloa District Court on Wednesday released two young men who had been tortured after being detained under the draconian Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) for nearly 9 months with out any charges being filed against them.
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Young man "abducted"

[TamilNet, Friday, 24 November 2000, 13:46 GMT]
A young man from Kommanthurai in Batticaloa has been reported 'missing' since 12 November by his relatives. Witnesses said that he was abducted at Morakoddanchenai by unidentified men who arrived in a white van.
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10 LTTE casualties - radio

[TamilNet, Friday, 24 November 2000, 13:38 GMT]
Ten members of the Liberation Tigers were killed in an accidental explosion on 15 November in the Manal Aaru region in the north-east of the island, the Voice of Tigers radio said Friday morning.
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Britain seeks peace, more trade

[TamilNet, Thursday, 23 November 2000, 17:09 GMT]
Mr.Peter Hain, British Foreign Office Minister Thursday expressed happiness that Sri Lanka's Prime Minister has taken up his offer to look more closely at the initiatives which led to the peace agreement in Northern Ireland "where a final constitutional settlement followed, rather than preceded negotiations." The Minister also called for increased trade between Sri Lanka and Britain, particularly in the field of information technology where he said the UK could "rival the US and Japan."
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Inquiry call over civilian deaths

[TamilNet, Thursday, 23 November 2000, 17:08 GMT]
The Secretary General of the Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF) Mr.R.Sampanthan has requested the Secretary of the Ministry of Defense to conduct an "expeditious impartial inquiry" into the killing of four Tamil civilians at Gopalapuram in Trincomalee district Wednesday evening by Sri Lanka Navy personnel. Meanwhile, two children were reported killed when shells hit Muttur jetty Thursday.
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World supports self-determination says UK

[TamilNet, Thursday, 23 November 2000, 03:11 GMT]
(News Feature) Britain’s Foreign Office Minister, Peter Hain, Wednesday expressed his government’s support for Norway’s efforts to bring about negotiations to end Sri Lanka’s protracted conflict and urged compromise on both sides. "I am convinced that both the [Sri Lankan] government’s insistence upon the territorial sovereignty of the whole island and the LTTE’s objective of autonomy can be secured," he said. "But for that to happen the shooting must stop and the talking must start."
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Jaffna University students stage protest march

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 22 November 2000, 22:23 GMT]
Hundreds University students Wednesday morning marched through the roads of Jaffna town and burnt photographs of President Chandrika Kumaratunge and Minister of North-eastern Rehabilitation, and leader of the EPDP, Douglas Devananda. The students were protesting against the murder of journalist M.Nimalarajan and the brutal massacre of 31 detainees at a detention centre at Bindunuwewa in Bandarawela last month.
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Sinhala nationalists demonstrate against British official

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 22 November 2000, 17:46 GMT]
Hundreds of Sinhala nationalists demonstrated outside the British Council building in Colombo around 3 p.m. Wednesday afternoon as the visiting Foreign Office Minister Mr. Peter Hain attended a seminar to deliver a speech on the topic "British Policy on Devolution and the Northern Ireland Peace Process".
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Views of Batticaloa floods

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 22 November 2000, 07:57 GMT]
(Photographs) TamilNet's photo correspondent's views of floods in the eastern Batticaloa District which has rendered nearly one-hundred thousand people homeless. Officials said transport of relief to remote villages are hampered as several roads are submerged in flood water.
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British minister arrives in Sri Lanka

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 22 November 2000, 07:48 GMT]
Concluding his four-day visit to India, British Foreign Office Minister Mr. Peter Hain arrived Colombo Wednesday morning on a two-day visit. This is his first visit to the island as a Foreign Office Minister and the first by a British Foreign Minister since the late Derek Fatchett visited in 1998.
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Three LTTE members killed

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 22 November 2000, 07:33 GMT]
Three LIberation Tigers were killed and 3 military policemen were wounded in a fire-fight at Uyilankulam, 14 km. south of Mannar around 10 p.m. Tuesday, security sources said.
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Red Cross volunteers rescue flood victims

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 21 November 2000, 23:24 GMT]
235 persons mostly women and children, marooned in several villages in the Tiger controlled areas in the Batticaloa district due to the breach of the dikes of Tharavaikulam were rescued late Monday evening by a group of volunteers of the local Sri Lanka Red Cross Society (SLRCS) under the co-ordination of the International Committee of Red Cross (ICRC), officials said.
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Clash in Mannar sea

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 21 November 2000, 21:37 GMT]
The Liberation Tigers and the Sri Lanka Navy clashed in the seas of Pallimunai in the northwestern Mannar Monday morning, the Voice of Tigers radio said in its night news broadcast today.
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SLA raids TELO camp

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 21 November 2000, 08:06 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers Tuesday raided the camp of the Tamil Eelam Liberation Organisation (TELO) at Muthliyakulam in the Cheddikulam area south-west of Vavuniya around 6 a.m. and arrested 13 persons, including 4 civilians said Mr. Selvam Adaikalanathan, MP and the leader of the organisation.
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Hundred thousand displaced by floods

[TamilNet, Monday, 20 November 2000, 19:04 GMT]
Nearly one hundred thousand people have been rendered homeless as heavy rains continue to lash in the eastern Sri Lanka, government officials in Batticaloa said Monday. Many roads are submerged in floods in Batticaloa, Ampara and Polonnaruwa Districts and several rivers have swollen with floods, officials said. Two people have been reported killed in the floods.
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Postmortem reveals burn marks on youth's body

[TamilNet, Monday, 20 November 2000, 00:50 GMT]
Coroner of Eravur, P.Veerakutty, investigating the Saturday killing of a Tamil youth at Palaiyadithona in Sithandy by Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers, returned a verdict of homicide on Sunday. Dr.K. Sukumar, the Judicial Medical Officer of Eravur, said in his post-mortem report that the death was caused by gun-shot injuries and that the body had several cigarette burn marks.
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Policeman shot dead in Vavuniya

[TamilNet, Sunday, 19 November 2000, 16:22 GMT]
A military trained policeman was shot dead by unidentified gunmen at Police Sector II at the 7th mile Post along Vavniya-Mannar road at 5.30 p.m. Sunday, said police sources.
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SLA operation in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Sunday, 19 November 2000, 10:09 GMT]
Fierce fighting erupted in the Northern Jaffna peninsula as government troops launched a limited operation to advance towards Madduvil-North in the early hours of Sunday. Seven Sri Lanka Army soldiers were killed and 27 wounded in the fighting, said sources in Jaffna. Madduvil is about 3 km. north-west of chavakachcheri.
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Fighting at Omanthai

[TamilNet, Sunday, 19 November 2000, 05:04 GMT]
The Liberation Tigers had repulsed the Sri Lanka Army troops who had attempted to advance at Vilakuvaithakulam in the Omanthai area, north of Vavuniya around 9 a.m. Saturday the Voice of Tigers (VoT) said in its morning transmission today. At least 6 government troops were killed in the fighting, the radio said.
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ACTC opposes North-East interim council

[TamilNet, Saturday, 18 November 2000, 19:58 GMT]
The All Ceylon Tamil Congress (ACTC) has categorically stated that it would oppose the establishment of an interim council for the north east province. ACTC's leader and Jaffna Parliamentarian Appathurai Vinayagamoorthy told newsmen in Trincomalee Saturday morning that his party was not in favour of the interim administration to the NEP as it would cause immense harm to the Tamil community.
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Youth killed in ambush

[TamilNet, Saturday, 18 November 2000, 19:57 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers lying in ambush shot and killed a youth at Santhiveli, about 29 km. north of Batticaloa around 10 p.m. Friday. The army said the youth was a member of the Liberation Tigers.
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Grenade attack in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Friday, 17 November 2000, 16:12 GMT]
A Sri Lanka Army soldier was killed and three others were wounded in a grenade attack on a sentry post at Temple road in Jaffna around 2.30 p.m. Friday said sources.
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Youth shot dead

[TamilNet, Friday, 17 November 2000, 15:53 GMT]
Sri Lankan police shot and killed a youth and seriously injured another at Addalaichenai in the south-eastern Ampara District around 11 a.m. Friday. The youths were riding a motorcycle when they were shot at. The police claimed that they were members of the Liberation Tigers.
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Calls to raise English proficiency

[TamilNet, Friday, 17 November 2000, 13:59 GMT]
Two percent of the students enrolled for courses in Management and Commerce at the Jaffna University have abandoned their studies midway as they were unable to follow lectures in English language, revealed Prof.Dr.S.Kunarasa, former Register of the university while addressing the inaugural session of the three day Tamil Language Festival in Trincomalee Friday morning.
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PTA detainee released - confessed under torture

[TamilNet, Thursday, 16 November 2000, 19:27 GMT]
The Vavuniya High Court acquitted Balasingham Illakanakanthan, who had been charged under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA), on the basis that the confession of the accused was obtained under duress whilst in Sri Lanka Army custody. The accused had been in remand for about eighteen months.
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Bus services cancellation inconveniences people

[TamilNet, Thursday, 16 November 2000, 19:25 GMT]
Passenger bus services run by the Peoplized Transport Board and the Multi Purposes Co-operative Society (MPCS) to LTTE held villages through Vavunathivu from Batticaloa town have been stopped on the instructions of the security forces, officials concerned said.
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Buddhist monks burn effigy of Solheim

[TamilNet, Thursday, 16 November 2000, 15:24 GMT]
Hundreds of Sinhala nationalists Thursday evening picketed out side the Royal Norwegian embassy in Colombo and burnt an effigy of Oslo's special envoy to Sri Lanka, Erik Solheim. The majority of the participants were Buddhist monks. Earlier around 4 the far-right Sihala Urumaya party organized a public meeting at Narahenpitiya in Colombo protesting against Norway's involvement in finding a solution to the island's conflict.
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Tigers shell Mannar SLN camp

[TamilNet, Thursday, 16 November 2000, 15:23 GMT]
The Liberation Tigers fired mortars on the Sri Lanka Navy camp at Vangalaipadu in the north-western Mannar around 12.15 p.m. Thursday afternoon. Sources said the tigers fired mortars from two boats in the seas off Pesalai.
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Entire village displaced

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 15 November 2000, 19:18 GMT]
The entire hamlet of Soodaikuda in the Muttur area south of Trincomalee town has been displaced due to continuous artillery attack by the government forces. 148 people belonging to 46 families - all Tamils - residing in Soodaikuda have sought refuge in a school at Sampoor village, officials attached to local humanitarian organisations said.
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Twenty arrested in Badulla

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 15 November 2000, 19:14 GMT]
Sri Lankan police arrested twenty Tamils during a search operation in the hill town of Badulla, about 175 km. east of Colombo Wednesday. The operation began around 1 p.m. and went on till 5 p.m. sources said.
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Villagers appeal for bombing to stop

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 14 November 2000, 18:55 GMT]
An appeal has been made to the President of Sri Lanka to take immediate steps to stop the indiscriminate shelling and aerial bombing on Ralkulai and Navaladi villages in the Mutur division, south of eastern Trincomalee town. Hundreds of villagers have signed this memorandum, TamilNet sources in Mutur said.
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Search operation in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 14 November 2000, 15:34 GMT]
Hundreds of Sri Lanka Army soldiers conducted a search operation in the Neervely area about 12 km. north-east of Jaffna town from the early hours of Tuesday said sources in the northern town.
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Tamil refugees arrested

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 14 November 2000, 15:32 GMT]
Three Tamil refugees staying at Kalmadu camp were arrested on Sunday and are now being detained at the at Welikanda police station for interrogation, sources said.
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ICRC escort for ships suspended

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 14 November 2000, 15:26 GMT]
The International Committee of Red Cross has suspended its escort to the passenger vessel City of Trinco and as the well as the voyager 'Jaya Gold' until further notice, said ICRC's spokesman Harasha Gunawardene. The two ships had been transferring seriously ill patients between Jaffna and Trincomalee.
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Policeman killed

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 14 November 2000, 15:21 GMT]
Unidentified armed youths shot and killed a policeman at a sentry post in Kattankudy, about 8 km. south of Batticaloa around 2.30 p.m. Tuesday security sources said.
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Shelling kills farmer

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 14 November 2000, 11:37 GMT]
A young farmer was killed when Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers stationed at Monkey Bridge fired shells towards Soodaikudah, a village in the Mutur Division, south of Trincomalee Monday afternoon, said sources.
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Fire-fight in Valaichenai

[TamilNet, Monday, 13 November 2000, 07:42 GMT]
Four soldiers were wounded when the Liberation Tigers and the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) clashed Sunday night in the Valaichenai area, about 32 kilometers north of Batticaloa, security sources said.
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Tamils demand International presence in massacre probe

[TamilNet, Monday, 13 November 2000, 02:18 GMT]
Tamil people of Trincomalee has sent a memorandum to the Secretary General of the United Nations (UN) this evening requesting him to take immediate steps to inform the Sri Lankan government to include representatives from United Nations, Amnesty International, European Union and Commonwealth Secretariat to investigate the massacre of 29 Tamil detainees at Bindunuwewa Rehabilitation Center, Bandarawela, last month.
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Search operation in Eravur

[TamilNet, Sunday, 12 November 2000, 13:38 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers and Police cordoned and searched the village in the 5th district of Eravur 12 km north of Batticaloa town today, sources said.
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15 men reported missing

[TamilNet, Saturday, 11 November 2000, 21:45 GMT]
Fifteen Tamils from Kopaveli, a village situated 30 km northwest of Batticaloa town, who went to collect firewood in the forests near Ampara border, have been reported missing by their relatives.
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STF charged with Batticaloa security

[TamilNet, Saturday, 11 November 2000, 16:31 GMT]
Special Task Force (STF) members replaced Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers from the camps and checkpoints in Batticaloa town today and will be responsible for the security of the town, said army sources.
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Court rejects confession, frees PTA detainee

[TamilNet, Saturday, 11 November 2000, 15:35 GMT]
A Tamil youth who was charged under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) was acquitted by the Eastern High Court on Thursday when it was brought to the notice of the Judge that the confession had not been signed by the accused.
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Missing man's wife battles in Court

[TamilNet, Saturday, 11 November 2000, 00:39 GMT]
The Eastern High Court on Friday re-issued notices on the Inspector General of Police, the Secretary of the Ministry of Defense and the Trincomalee Headquarters Inspector of Police to appear on December 12 in the matter of an application for an order in the nature of a Writ of Habeas Corpus filed by the young wife of a missing Tamil civilian, Vairamuthu Jeyakili.
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Town mourns as slain MP is buried

[TamilNet, Friday, 10 November 2000, 17:53 GMT]
The funeral of slain TULF MP for Batticaloa, Nimalan Soundaranayagam took place at the Methodist burial ground in his native town of Morokkottaanchenai, in Batticaloa at 5 p.m. Friday.
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Justice demanded in Bindunuwewa massacre

[TamilNet, Friday, 10 November 2000, 11:22 GMT]
The Centre for Human Rights and Development (CHRD) has requested the President of Sri Lanka and her government to bring to justice those responsible for planning, instigating and carrying out the Bindunuwewa massacre, including those who were responsible for the poster campaign prior to the event.
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Blast at Akkaraipattu

[TamilNet, Friday, 10 November 2000, 11:20 GMT]
Two policemen and a civilian passer-by were wounded in a bomb explosion at Akkaraipattu in the southeastern Ampara District around 9.30 a.m. Friday, police said. The police said the bomb was concealed in a motorcycle parked close to the police station and was triggered by a remote control device.
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President urges unity against terrorism

[TamilNet, Friday, 10 November 2000, 01:17 GMT]
(News Feature) Sri Lanka’s President Chandrika Kumaratunge told Parliament Thursday that she was prepared to talk to the Liberation Tigers about a solution to the island’s conflict within the limits of a united Sri Lanka, but said the war “against terrorism” would continue. Addressing Sri Lanka’s newly formed Parliament, she said that “military action against terrorists”, along with her proposed constitutional reforms and the forming of “national unity” was part of her government’s strategy to solve the island’s ethnic conflict. “It is our expectation to finish this war very soon,” she said.
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State of Emergency extended

[TamilNet, Thursday, 09 November 2000, 16:07 GMT]
A motion extending the state of emergency by a further month was approved in Parliament Thursday by a majority of 98 votes. 113 parliamentarians of the ruling Peoples' Alliance voted for the motion. 15 voted against it. MPs of the TULF, JVP, TELO and the All Ceylon Tamil Congress voted against the motion.
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Friday funeral for slain MP

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 08 November 2000, 23:21 GMT]
The funeral of slain Batticaloa parliamentarian Nimalan Soundaranayagam, of the Tamil United Liberation Front will take place at Morokkottaanchenai burial ground on Friday evening, party officials said.
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TULF condemns Soundaranayagam killing

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 08 November 2000, 15:32 GMT]
The Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF) has condemned the killing of Batticaloa District Parliamentarian Nimalan Soundaranayagam as a "senseless murder" and appealed for an end to all violence, which they say only makes the search for a peaceful political solution to the Tamil question even more complex and difficult.
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Police officer wounded

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 08 November 2000, 15:30 GMT]
A police intelligence officer was shot and wounded when unidentified gunmen opened fire at Kalmunaikudi, south of Batticaloa around 5.30 p.m. Wednesday, police sources said.
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Batticaloa MP shot dead

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 07 November 2000, 13:53 GMT]
Mr.Aslie Nimalan Soundaranayagam (50), a Member of Parliament of the Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF) was shot dead Tuesday at 6pm at Kiran in the eastern province while he was travelling on a motor cycle with one of his party supporters, said sources. Uniformed men were seen in the vicinity of the incident according to residents.
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Sri Lanka revives devolution package

[TamilNet, Monday, 06 November 2000, 18:14 GMT]
Sri Lanka's Prime Minister Mr.Ratnasiri Wickremanayake Monday morning met the leader of the opposition and the United National Party, Mr.Ranil Wickremasinghe at the Parliamentary Complex and discussed Norway's role in finding a negotiated political solution to the island's protracted ethnic conflict. The talks lasted over ninety minutes, parliamentary sources said.
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Chandrasekaran, MP released

[TamilNet, Monday, 06 November 2000, 16:41 GMT]
Mr.P.Chandrasekaran, Leader of the Upcountry People's Front and UNP parliamentarian, was released by the Colombo court around 5 p.m. Monday. The police said he was arrested for his involvement in orchestrating demonstrations in the plantation areas of the Nuwara Eliya district, condemning the Bandarawela massacre.
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Shelling kills child, injures 12

[TamilNet, Sunday, 05 November 2000, 22:39 GMT]
A two-year old child was killed and twelve others were wounded, five of them seriously when Sri Lanka Army and Police shelled the villages of Ramespuram and Sunkankerny north of Batticaloa Sunday evening residents said. Thirteen houses were also damaged in the shelling.
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LTTE boat destroyed -SLN

[TamilNet, Sunday, 05 November 2000, 08:48 GMT]
A sea battle was reported between the Liberation Tigers and the Sri Lanka Navy off the coast of Trincomalee around 8.30 p.m. Saturday said sources in the eastern town. The Sri Lanka Navy Sunday morning claimed that a LTTE boat laden with explosives was destroyed in the sea battle.
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Solheim briefs Kumaratunga on Prabaharan meet

[TamilNet, Saturday, 04 November 2000, 14:40 GMT]
Norway's special envoy Erik Solheim had a two-hour meeting with the Sri Lankan President Chandrika Kumaratunga Friday night to apprise her about the discussion he had with the LTTE leader, V.Pirapaharan at Mallavi in the Vanni on Wednesday.
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Demonstrators protest in Kaluwankerny

[TamilNet, Friday, 03 November 2000, 18:52 GMT]
About 500 villagers demonstrated in Kaluwankerny, about 20 km. north of Batticaloa, protesting against the massacre of Tamil detainees at Bandarawela detention centre last week and the slaying of Jaffna based journalist Nimalarajan.
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Thirty five deputy ministers appointed

[TamilNet, Friday, 03 November 2000, 18:51 GMT]
Sri Lankan president Chandrika Kumaratunga Friday appointed 35 Deputy Ministers to her newly formed coalition government. The new deputy ministers were sworn in at 'Temple Trees', the official residence of the President at 6.30 p.m. Friday.
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JVP slams "secret" talks

[TamilNet, Friday, 03 November 2000, 13:13 GMT]
The Janata Vimukthi Peramuna, (JVP) the Marxist party which secured 10 seats at last month's Parliamentary elections, the third largest tally, Friday condemned the "secret" talks between the Norway's special envoy Eric Solheim and the LTTE leader V.Pirapaharan held at Mallavi in the Vanni region on Wednesday.
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Families of murdered farmers suffering

[TamilNet, Friday, 03 November 2000, 13:12 GMT]
The families of seven Tamil farmers killed by Sinhalese home guards in Eeachilampathai AGA division last month have appealed to the government authorities for financial aid. The families from the Muttur area, south of Trincomalee town, are undergoing undue hardship due to the loss of the family breadwinner, according to the appeal.
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Tigers seek "normalcy in Tamil areas"

[TamilNet, Thursday, 02 November 2000, 17:20 GMT]
Norway's Special envoy Mr.Eric Solheim who returned from Vanni after meeting the leader of the Liberation Tigers, V.Pirapaharan told journalists in Colombo Thursday that the LTTE had not laid down any precondition to begin talks with the Sri Lankan Government. He said the LTTE leader brought to the notice of the Norway's delegation that the Tamil areas the island was suffering under the economic embargo imposed by the Sri Lankan government and that he wanted quick return of normalcy in the northeast, Mr.Solheim said.
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Early international involvement in massacre inquiry urged

[TamilNet, Thursday, 02 November 2000, 16:46 GMT]
The Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF) has told the Minister of Justice that it is only the very early active involvement of neutral independent international investigators that can ensure a credible investigative process into the Bandarawela-Bindunuwewa massacre.
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CTTU requests meeting with Education Minister

[TamilNet, Thursday, 02 November 2000, 16:39 GMT]
The Ceylon Tamil Teachers Union (CTTU) has sought an interview with the new Minister of Education to discuss problems faced by Tamil medium students and teachers before 15th of November.
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Norway meets LTTE in Vanni

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 01 November 2000, 16:32 GMT]
A delegation of the Norwegian government met with the leader of the Liberation Tigers, Mr.Velupillai Pirapaharan, and other LTTE officials in the Vanni this week, the organisation said Wednesday in a statement from its London offices. The discussions, described as "cordial and constructive" covered "several pertinent issues" including the issue of political negotiations, statement said.
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ICRC transfers 13 bodies

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 01 November 2000, 14:50 GMT]
The Sri Lanka army handed over the bodies of 13 Liberation Tigers who were killed on Sunday in the Thenmaradchi sector to the International Committee of the Red Cross in Jaffna Wednesday afternoon.
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