SLA soldier, 2 policemen killed

[TamilNet, Thursday, 07 June 2001, 11:30 GMT]
A Sri Lanka Army soldier was killed and another wounded when Liberation Tigers attacked troops on rout-clearing operation, at Arippu in the Seruvila area, 30 km. south-east of Trincomalee town, around 8 a.m. Thursday, police sources said. The soldiers were from Mahindapura camp. Meanwhile a Police constable, M.A.Mohideen, 33, was shot dead by unidentified gunmen in Eravur, 14 kilometers north of Batticaloa around 8 p.m. Thursday, said police sources in the eastern town.
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Mutur magistrate sets a precedent

[TamilNet, Saturday, 17 March 2001, 10:23 GMT]
The Mutur Magistrate this week issued certificates that the deaths of seven Tamil farmers in the Poomarathadihchenai massacre in Trincomalee district were due to gunshot and cut injuries. Representatives of the International Committee of Red Cross on Thursday went to Poonagar and handed over the death certificates to the families of the dead, enabling them to claim compensation and relief. Magisterial inquests are not held for Tamils who are killed thus in border villages. As a consequence, hundreds of Tamil families in border villages that have lost their sole breadwinners are denied poverty relief as they cannot produce death certificates for the diseased required by the authorities to accept and process their applications.
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Prayer meeting held in Trincomalee

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 21 February 2001, 14:15 GMT]
A large number Tamil orphaned children participated in an inter-religious prayer meeting at the Hindu Cultural Hall in Trincomalee Wednesday morning, organised by the Graduates' Union in the eastern town. The meeting was held to urge the Sri Lankan Government to take immediate steps to stop the war and to initiate peace moves to alleviate the sufferings of the people. These children are inmates of 'Anbu Illam', and 'Thapovanam', two main institutions in the eastern town, dedicated to maintaining children who have lost their parents and relatives in the ongoing war.
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Inquest held into death of farmers

[TamilNet, Friday, 15 December 2000, 03:19 GMT]
Inquest into the deaths of seven Tamil farmers from Poonagar in the Mutur area, killed by Sinhala home guards on October 2nd of this year, were held last Tuesday in the presence of Muttur Magistrate and Additional District Judge Mr.R.M.Jayawardene.
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Northern plight - Jaffna MP carts in protest

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 06 December 2000, 14:44 GMT]
United National Party MP for Jaffna Mr.A.Maheswaran led a protest Wednesday against the high price of goods in Jaffna and the government embargo on essentials to the Vanni by riding a bullock cart to the Sri Lankan Parliament. Six UNP Parliamentarians, including Dr.Jayalath Jayawardena and Mahinda Samarasekera joined him in the protest. Mr. Maheswaran told TamilNet that he was protesting over the exorbitant rates charged for taking goods to Jaffna by sea, adding that it is very much cheaper to ship things from Pakistan to Sri Lanka than from Colombo to Jaffna.
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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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Impartial inquiry into civilian massacre - TULF

[TamilNet, Thursday, 05 October 2000, 19:05 GMT]
The Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF) has appealed to the Defense Secretary to hold an impartial inquiry into the killings of seven Tamil civilians, including a woman at Poonagar in the Ichchilampathai division of the Muttur area, south of Trincomalee, on Monday.
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Dissnayake is General Secretary of SLFP

[TamilNet, Thursday, 17 August 2000, 16:09 GMT]
Mr.S.B.Dissanayake, Minister of Sports, Youth Affairs and Samurdhi has been elected new General Secretary of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP), the major constituent political group of the ruling People's Alliance.
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Conspiracy theory as vote adjourned

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 08 August 2000, 21:19 GMT]
Two Ministers Sarath Amunugama and Mahinda Wijesekara raising a point of order told Parliament today that there was a conspiracy to prevent Parliamentarians from voting for the Draft Constitution Bill. They informed the Speaker K.B.Ratnayake that some parliamentarians were sent abroad.
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Government abandons constitution bill

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 08 August 2000, 09:04 GMT]
The Sri Lankan government abandoned Tuesday its effort to introduce a new constitution. Mr.Ratnasiri Wickremanayaka, Minister for Public Administration and Plantations, informed the party leaders' meeting in Parliament today that the new constitution bill will not be further debated nor put to vote. The decision is yet to be announced on the floor of the house by the speaker.
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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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32 detained in Vavuniya

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 26 April 2000, 16:52 GMT]
Thirty-two people, including three women, have been detained by the Counter Subversion Unit (CSU) and police in the northern town of Vavuniya, said the Chairman of the Human Rights Commission (HRC) there.
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PA-UNP agreement draws criticism

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 21 March 2000, 11:37 GMT]
The Sri Lankan government and the main opposition party discussed and agreed upon some modifications to the procedures for appointing governors to regions as spelt out in the draft constitutional proposals of the ruling People's Alliance (PA) of 1997 today during their third round of talks on working out a consensus to solve the ethnic conflict. Reacting to the PA-UNP communique this afternoon, Tamil parties in Colombo said that "this is an agreement to further water down the basis for devolving power to the proposed Regional bodies envisaged in the 97' proposals".
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New cameras for journalists

[TamilNet, Thursday, 09 December 1999, 19:27 GMT]
Journalists whose equipment was smashed, allegedly by pro-government activists, during a rally on July 15 organised by the main opposition United National Party (UNP), received new cameras at a function held in Colombo today.
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Inquest into death of SLAF personnel

[TamilNet, Saturday, 14 August 1999, 09:20 GMT]
The inquest into the death of Flight Lt. Mahinda Rajapakse took place at the Vavuniya district court yesterday.
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News in Brief:

[TamilNet, Saturday, 17 April 1999, 21:30 GMT]
Liberation Tigers and Sri Lankan Army clash in Jaffna; Four arrested in Batticaloa; PLOTE calls For census postponement and Tamil prisoners in Kalutara to be seperated.
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191 new incidents of violence -CMEV

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 10 March 1999, 23:19 GMT]
Centre for Monitoring Election Violence (CMEV) said in statement this evening that One person was killed and 36 were wounded in the latest violence between the PA and UNP supporters this afternoon in Gampola.
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Man killed in pre election violence

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 10 March 1999, 15:57 GMT]
A Governing party supporter, Wimalasuriya, was killed and 20 others were wounded when a grenade was thrown at a People's Alliance (PA) meeting in Gampola district today. A PA candidate for the forthcoming Provincial Council (PC) election and the SLFP organiser in Navalapitty, Mahinda Aluthgama, was also injured in the incident. PA sources have blamed the UNP for the grenade attack.
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Tributes to Charles Abeysekera

[TamilNet, Friday, 05 June 1998, 23:59 GMT]
An array of notable individuals, including political leaders, intellectuals, aesthetes and human rights activists hailed the work of the late Charles Abeysekera (1926-1998), at a commemoration ceremony held in Colombo yesterday evening.
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Massacre suspects granted bail

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 19 May 1998, 23:59 GMT]
The Attorney General will file plaints by June 2, on the members of the police and home-guards involved in the killing of eight persons at Potkunruni near Thambalakamam on February 1 this year, said Krishanthi Mahindaratne, the prosecuting State Counsel.
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