VoT hosts Jaffna cultural show

[TamilNet, Monday, 17 June 2002, 10:07 GMT]
Thousands of Tamils in Jaffna gathered Sunday for a cultural performance put on by the Arts & Culture section of the Liberation Tigers, in the first such event in seven years, the Uthayan newspaper reported. The 'Muththamil Kalai Arangam' road show took place at Nallur's Ilam Kalaignar Hall and was presented by the 'Voice of Tigers' radio.
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Jaffna protests planned over truce breaches

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 11 June 2002, 06:32 GMT]
The Jaffna Humanitarian Organisations' Committee called on all residents in the peninsula to observe a day's strike on Wednesday in protest at the Sri Lankan government's reluctance to fulfil the requirements set out in the ceasefire accord it signed with the Liberation Tigers. The organisation appealed for all residents to remain in their homes to demonstrate the strength of their feeling.
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Jaffna fishermen's protests set to continue

[TamilNet, Sunday, 09 June 2002, 14:41 GMT]
Fishermen continued their picketing campaign for the second day on Friday in Jaffna in front of the Secretariat (Kachcheri) and the Divisional Secretariat, demanding their freedom to fish without restriction in the northern waters. Since even the Friday protest failed to produce any result, the Federation of Fishermenís Unions said it has decided to continue with the protests on Monday.
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Jaffna fishermen tell Colombo to lift controls

[TamilNet, Thursday, 06 June 2002, 15:59 GMT]
Hundreds of protesting fishermen paralysed the Jaffna District Secretariat and blocked traffic in a busy part of the northern town Thursday, demanding that Colombo should do away with restrictions on fishing. Colombo promised to lift draconian controls on fishing in the Northeast within ninety days when it signed the cease-fire agreement with the Liberation Tigers on 24 February. Tamil fishermen, however, say that many restrictions remain. "Don't sell our seas to China", the protesting fishermen shouted, objecting to an alleged proposal by the Sri Lankan government to allow the Chinese start a fisheries project on the Jaffna coast.
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Sivasithamparam's funeral in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 05 June 2002, 18:08 GMT]
The funeral of the TNA leader Mr. Murugesu Sivasithamparam will be held at his birthplace Karaveddy in Jaffna district Sunday noon, party sources said. Mr.Sivasithamparam body now lies at his residence at Havelock Road, Thimbirigasaya, in Colombo.
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Senior Tamil leader Sivasithamparam dead

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 05 June 2002, 03:04 GMT]
Mr. Murugesu Sivasithambaram, President of the Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF), the main constituent of the Tamil National Alliance, passed away peacefully early Wednesday morning around two at the age of seventy-nine. The death occurred at the Colombo national hospital after a brief illness.
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Vehicle shortage hampers Jaffna development

[TamilNet, Sunday, 02 June 2002, 17:53 GMT]
A persistent shortage of official vehicles for civil administrators is hampering rehabilitation and reconstruction work in war-ravaged Jaffna, officials in the northern town said. Four Divisional Secretaries in the Jaffna district have not been provided with vehicles for development work by Colombo. The official vehicle of the Chankanai Divisional Secretary (DS), which was commandeered by the Sri Lanka Army under Emergency Regulations for requisitioning of vehicles and property, is yet to be returned.
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SLA said occupying 274 temples in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Monday, 13 May 2002, 05:17 GMT]
The Sri Lanka Army continues to occupy two hundred seventy four Hindu temples in the Jaffna district, according to initial estimates, sources in the Ministry of Hindu Affairs said Sunday. The Sri Lanka army should have vacated 'places of religious worship' by 26 March 2002 under the terms of the cease-fire agreement between Colombo and the Liberation Tigers. The SLA continues to occupy hundreds of temples and churches in other parts of the northeastern province despite the lapse of 46 days since the deadline set by the agreement for vacating them.
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'Hartal' in Mutur condemning Navy atrocities

[TamilNet, Saturday, 04 May 2002, 21:06 GMT]
More than fifteen thousand people took part in demonstrations and public rallies held Saturday in Mutur east, south and west protesting against the shooting incident by the Sri Lanka Navy in Nilaveli, about 14 km north of Trincomalee town, wounding two Tamil women on April 29th night. A 'hartal' (general shut down of shops and other institutions) was also observed Saturday in the Mutur and Eechilampattai divisions covering LTTE held areas and army controlled areas, sources said.
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Massive 'Pongu Thamil' rally in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 17 April 2002, 14:55 GMT]
Over sixty thousand people attended 'Pongu Thamil' (Upsurge) rally held at Jaffna University medical faculty grounds Wednesday afternoon, journalists in the northern peninsula said. Processions from Nallur Kandasamy Temple premises, Kokuvil Hindu College premises and Saththiram junction commenced around 2 p.m. and reached the venue of the rally around four p.m. Most of the roads in the Jaffna peninsula were gaily decorated with red and yellow flags.
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Tumultuous welcome in Jaffna for Tigers

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 09 April 2002, 11:58 GMT]
(News Feature) Residents in Jaffna gave the Liberation Tigers who entered the northern town Monday a tumultuous welcome, press reports in the northern peninsula said Tuesday. Over fifty thousand people thronged the Sri Lanka Army held northern side of the Muhamalai crossing point to meet the fifteen cadres from the LTTE’s political section, the Uthayan reported. Violence broke out as troops blocked the crowds from reaching the crossing point, the paper, Jaffna’s largest circulating daily said in a front page report Tuesday.
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"State forces' cease-fire violation would harm govt." -PM

[TamilNet, Thursday, 14 March 2002, 21:10 GMT]
"Cease-fire violations by the State armed forces knowingly or not, would cause irreparable harm to the Sri Lankan government," the Prime Minister Mr.Ranil Wickremasinghe told soldiers and commanders of the Sri Lanka Army at Palali main base in the Jaffna peninsula Thursday. Mr.Wickremasinghe arrived Jaffna morning by a special Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) helicopter accompanied by Defense Minister Mr.Tilak Marapane and Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Minister Dr.Jayalath Jayawardene.
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Jaffna missing youths' parents protest again

[TamilNet, Monday, 10 December 2001, 10:46 GMT]
The parents of more than 600 youth who went missing in Jaffna after being arrested by the Sri Lanka Army in 1996-97 marched in silence through the northern town Monday to protest against "government apathy". The protestors carried lamps and their mouths were covered with black bands. The march was organised by the Jaffna Mothersí Front and the Missing Persons' Guardian Association.
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Results of Jaffna electorates

[TamilNet, Thursday, 06 December 2001, 10:21 GMT]
The TNA got more than hundred thousand votes in the eleven electorates of the Jaffna electoral district. The southern sector of the electorate of Chavakachcheri is under the control of the Liberation Tigers. Kilinochchi, an administrative district in north which is an electorate of Jaffna, is under the total control of the Liberation Tigers. Only a few persons displaced from Kilinochchi by the war since 1996 were eligible to vote. The EPDP scored highest in the Kayts electorate, which comprises all the islands under its military influence. The ballots of Jaffna voters displaced in Puttalam and Colombo are yet to be counted.
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Large crowds attend final TNA election rallies

[TamilNet, Sunday, 02 December 2001, 23:25 GMT]
Large crowds attended the final election rallies of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) in Jaffna and Trincomalee held Sunday evening. About 15,000 people attended the TNA meeting held close to Nallur Kandaswamy Temple, said sources in the peninsula.
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EPDP preparing to rig Jaffna poll -Maheswaran

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 31 October 2001, 17:21 GMT]
The Eelam People’s Democratic Party (EPDP) is preparing to rig the polls in Jaffna with the connivance of a government official, said Mr. T. Maheswaran, ex-MP and chief candidate of the United National Party in Jaffna, addressing a campaign meeting in Nallur, a suburb of the northern town, Wednesday. ‘The EPDP is a quisling army of the Sri Lankan government. The struggle led by the leader of the Tigers, Pirapaharan, and all the sacrifices made for its progress would be demeaned internationally if members of the EPDP are elected to the Parliament from Jaffna,’ the UNP candidate said.
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Clustered booths enable rigging -TULF

[TamilNet, Monday, 29 October 2001, 19:33 GMT]
The Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF) has complained to the Commissioner of Elections that adequate attention has not been paid to the difficulties of Tamil voters when deciding upon polling stations in the Trincomalee district. Several polling stations are to be clustered near Mahindapura Sri Lanka Army camp and at Muttur Al Hidaya Maha Vidyalayam (school) for about 14,000 Tamil voters, said Mr.R.Sampanthan, the party's Secretary General.
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Three school boys arrested in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Friday, 12 October 2001, 09:13 GMT]
The Sri Lanka Police arrested three schoolboys in Jaffna Thursday. The three are students at the Sri Parvathi Maha Vithiyalayam in Nayanmaarkattu near Jaffna town. Their parents informed the Human Rights Commission about the arrests today. Meanwhile, the Special Investigation Unit of the Police Thursday produced in the Mannar courts a youth who had been taken into custody for possessing a mobile phone. The Sri Lankan government prohibits the use of mobile phones in the northern and eastern parts of the island. Tamil civilians from other parts of the island are, however, allowed to carry their mobile phones when visiting the army controlled parts of the east or the Vavuniya town.
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Two youths shot dead in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Friday, 22 June 2001, 20:29 GMT]
Two youths were shot dead by Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers near Thankaaval Pillayar temple in Nallur, a suburb of Jaffna town, around 4 p.m. Friday. The army said they were members of the Liberation Tigers. The area was sealed off and thoroughly searched by the soldiers following the incident.
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Revenge fire, bombing force 5000 to flee

[TamilNet, Monday, 30 April 2001, 20:38 GMT]
More than five thousand civilians fled their homes in Pooneryn north following heavy shelling and bombing, aid agency sources in the north said Monday. They said that Sri Lanka Air Force jets bombed the area since Friday. The Sri Lanka army had fired mortars and artillery on civilian settlements in the northern parts of Pooneryn. The attacks are in retaliation to the heavy losses sustained by the SLA in the Agni Khiela I Operation last week, sources in Jaffna said.
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