Arrests over Halo Trust vandalism

[TamilNet, Monday, 05 July 2004, 23:14 GMT]
Six former employees of the HALO Trust have been arrested over their involvement in the recent attack on the British mine clearing agency’s vehicles in Jaffna, The Island newspaper reported Sunday.
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Mannar tense following SLA interrogation of LTTE activists

[TamilNet, Monday, 14 June 2004, 13:08 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army soldiers manning the checkpoint at the entrance to the Mannar town Monday afternoon at about 1.30 p.m. stopped two leading political activists of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) Ms V.Nilavarasi, Mannar District Political Head of Women's wing and her deputy Ms Kavimani and subjected them to severe interrogation when they arrived from LTTE controlled Vattakandal area.
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SLMC suspends three MPs over opposition to Hakeem

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 19 May 2004, 18:55 GMT]
The rank and file of the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) is in disarray following the decision of its politburo Wednesday to suspend three of its parliamentatarians and a member of the party for opposing the leadership of Mr.Rauff Hakeem, sources said.
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LTTE’s ‘Jeyanthan Brigade’ units lead Vakarai offensive

[TamilNet, Friday, 09 April 2004, 19:46 GMT]
Special units of the Jeyanthan Brigade, the most feared infantry formation of the Liberation Tigers, led the multi pronged offensive towards Vakarai Friday, according to LTTE sources in the east. Two counter attacks on the forward defence localities which the Tigers have consolidated at Kandalady, 64 kilometres north of Batticaloa, led by ‘Jim Kelly Thaaththa’ and ‘Robert’, deputies of renegade LTTE commander ‘Karuna’ (Mr. Vinayagamoorthy Muraleetharan), were beaten back Friday evening, according to the sources.
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Batticaloa polling, high in Muslim areas, low in Tamil areas

[TamilNet, Friday, 02 April 2004, 08:34 GMT]
Brisk polling is reported in Muslim areas such as Kattankudy, Oddamavadi and Eravur in Batticaloa district and low polling in Tamil areas till one p.m. Friday, Batticaloa District Returning Officer Mr.S.Punnyamoorthy said
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Vadamaradchi civilian shot and wounded by Police

[TamilNet, Thursday, 12 February 2004, 16:34 GMT]
Mr. Kanapathy Sivakumar,22, was found in Vallipurakurichchi area in Vadamaradchi division in the Jaffna district with gun shot injuries Thursday. It is alleged that Police had shot him when he was transporting sand from Vallipurakurichchi area Wednesday night without heeding to a signal to stop, sources said.
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Peace gives no light to Vakarai

[TamilNet, Saturday, 31 January 2004, 00:32 GMT]
Vakarai is a large backwater on Sri Lanka’s east coast. It is an area with large fertile fields, lagoons and virgin forests in the northern part of the Batticaloa district. Vakarai was subjected to more than fifteen years of a brutal counter insurgency campaign by the Sri Lanka army. It has seen hardly any development even after the war stopped two years ago. Electricity is still a luxury here. “I have never seen electricity used in Vakarai since I was born,” N.Loganathan, a resident of Panichchankerni, told TamilNet.


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Man injured in Manalkaadu landmine explosion

[TamilNet, Monday, 26 January 2004, 17:14 GMT]
A man lost his left leg when a landmine exploded Monday around 10.30 a.m. in the general area of Manalkaadu. Mr. Maaribas Asokananda, 24, father of two children, was returning with four of his colleagues after chopping firewood in the Kandalkaadu area of Manalkaadu when he stepped on the landmine, relatives said. Residents of Manalkaadu lodged a complaint with the Human Rights Commission office in Jaffna last month that the Sri Lanka army had laid a new mine field on the outskirts of the village. SLA denies that it ever planted mines in the area.
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SLA builds camp in de-mining showcase

[TamilNet, Friday, 09 January 2004, 09:01 GMT]
The Sri Lanka army is constructing a new camp in the Kandalkaadu area of Sarasaalai in Jaffna. The region was often presented as a singular showcase for the prolonged de-mining projects supported by the UNDP and the US army in Jaffna. The Federation of Public Organisations in Thenmaradchi on Friday condemned the construction of the new garrison. “Sarasaalai is going to be unsafe again”, a spokesperson for the Federation said.
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Buddhist monks protest against LTTE’s proposals

[TamilNet, Thursday, 04 December 2003, 17:36 GMT]
Hundreds of Buddhist monks from the National Bhikku Front held a demonstration and protest march against the Interim Self Governing Authority (ISGA) proposals of the Liberation Tigersof Tamil Eleam (LTTE) Thursday afternoon in Colombo, sources said.
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Organized self-help lifts Vanni villages

[TamilNet, Monday, 01 December 2003, 00:11 GMT]
"Under 'Village Upliftment Project' economically worst hit villages in Vanni are identified and efforts are channelled to improve social and economic well-being of the residents through self-help. Tamil Rehabilitation Organization (TRO), local NGOs and Tamil expatriates are also financially helping us to carryout this project," Administrative Head, Anbarasan, told TamilNet during a recent visit to the interior villages of the Vanni.
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Kinniya division under dusk to dawn curfew

[TamilNet, Saturday, 29 November 2003, 13:10 GMT]
A dusk to dawn curfew has been imposed in Kinniya police division in the Trincomalee district Saturday evening to defuse escalating tension caused by the killing of three Muslim farmers in Nadu Ootru Muslim village by unknown persons, Trincomalee police said.


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Heroes day celebrations begin in Batticaloa

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 25 November 2003, 12:51 GMT]
Batticaloa-Amparai district began its main celebrations for the Heroes day at the Tharavai Heroes cemetary on Tuesday morning. Col. Karuna, Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) Senior Commander for the East, participated as the chief guest hoisting the Tamileelam flag, sources said.


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SLA prevents Maveerar Day preparations in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Monday, 17 November 2003, 14:42 GMT]
The Sri Lanka Army Tuesday prevented Tamil civilians renovating the welcome arch made of concrete across the junction where the Kachchai and Kandy roads meet in the heart of Chavakachcheri town in Jaffna district. The Chavakachcheri Urban Council (UC) constructed this welcome arch and it was destroyed in the military operation launched by the SLA in the year 2000, UC sources said.
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LTTE restores Heroes cemeteries for November ceremony

[TamilNet, Thursday, 30 October 2003, 12:37 GMT]
Heroes cemeteries in Tharavai in Batticaloa district and Vakarai Kandaladi are being renovated in preparation for the Heroes day ('Maaveerar Naal') celebrations to take place on the 27th November. Work on the heroes day memorials in other parts of Vanni, Jaffna and Trincomalee are also in progress, according to sources.
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Postal employees threaten strike demanding salary hike

[TamilNet, Friday, 03 October 2003, 01:55 GMT]
The United Alliance Postal Employees' Unions (UAPEU) Thursday announced that a picketing campaign would be conducted in Colombo Friday to force the Sri Lanka government to consider three demands including a salary increase, said Alliance organizer Mr.V.Vivekandalingam. At the end of the picketing the date for strike action would be announced, he added. .


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Thileepan's death remembered in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Sunday, 21 September 2003, 02:09 GMT]
The commemoration of the death of Lt. Col. Thileepan, a senior leader of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam who fasted unto death in a campaign during September 15-26, 1987, is being observed fervently in all major towns in Jaffna, including in schools and Sri Lankan government offices, despite threats from the Sri Lanka Army, sources said.
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Police bans Thileepan commemoration in Jaffna school

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 17 September 2003, 19:20 GMT]
Sri Lanka Police in Point Pedro in the Jaffna district Wednesday ordered the principal of Puloly Methodist Tamil Mixed School that he could not organize any event that is connected with the activities of LTTE in school premises without the permission of the police, civil sources said.
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Mines prevent resettlement in 39 Mannar villages

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 17 September 2003, 17:23 GMT]
The Mannar district secretariat Wednesday said the internally displaced families in thirty nine villages in the district could not be resettled as the villages have still not been declared mine-free areas, sources in Mannar said.
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Bhikku Front launches campaign against IA

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 05 August 2003, 17:12 GMT]
The National Bhikku Front (NBF) of Sri Lanka Tuesday commenced a propaganda campaign opposing the establishment of an Interim Administration (IA) for the northeast province by the United National Front government, and the general secretary of the NBF, Ven. Chandaloka Thera, said that the campaign will be held in Colombo and 50 other cities in the south through nearly 1500 Buddhist Vihares in the island.
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