Para-military soldier killed

[TamilNet, Sunday, 05 April 1998, 23:59 GMT]
One Sri Lankan para-military soldier was killed and a Sri Lankan Policeman was slightly wounded in a fracas in Batticaloa this afternoon around 1.45 p.m. said Sri Lankan Army sources in the area. The fracas began when two soldiers of the Razeek group, the much dreaded para-military outfit operating with the SLA in Batticaloa, were stopped by the Sri Lankan Police near Shivananda Maha Viththiyaalayam in Kallady for an identity check.
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Fishing ban reimposed

[TamilNet, Friday, 03 April 1998, 23:59 GMT]
The ban on fishing which was lifted on the Maathagal coast in late January has been imposed again residents in the area said. They said that the lifting of the ban now appeared to be an election gimmick.
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Request for boat service turned down

[TamilNet, Friday, 03 April 1998, 23:59 GMT]
The secretary to the Sri Lankan President Mr. K. Balapatabendi turned down a suggestion by the PLOTE deputy leader to begin a passenger boat service to Jaffna from Mannar on the grounds that the A9 highway from Vavuniya to the peninsula would be opened soon at a conference this afternoon to discuss the security related problems of fisheries in Jaffna.
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Hawks define UNP constitution

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 17 March 1998, 23:59 GMT]
If anyone had the slightest doubt that the suggestions for constitutional reform put forward by the United National Party (UNP) were more in the interest of preserving the unity of Sri Lanka than in giving Tamils and Muslims a voice in the management of their own affairs, it was amply confirmed by the very first paragraph of the party's draft proposals, which were released recently.
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Corrupt practices of Sudu Nelum denied

[TamilNet, Thursday, 12 March 1998, 23:59 GMT]
The Peoples' Alliance (PA), which opened a branch office for the first time in the Jaffna Peninsula today, denied responsibility for the corrupt practices of the Sudu Nelum Movement during the run up to the local government elections held in the Jaffna Peninsula in January this year, said sources in Jaffna.
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EPRLF pursues compensation cases

[TamilNet, Monday, 09 March 1998, 23:59 GMT]
The Eelam Peoples' Revolutionary Liberation Front (EPRLF) has requested Sri Lankan President Chandrika Kumaratunga and the Governor of the North-East Province Council (NEPC) Mr. Gamini Fonseka, to intervene in the Palaly SLAF base expansion project in Waligamam to compensate residents of the area who lost their properties due to their lands being taken over for the project, said sources in Jaffna.
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Militiaman shoots relatives

[TamilNet, Friday, 06 March 1998, 23:59 GMT]
Singarajah Kannan, a cadre of the Razik Group, which is an offshoot of the Eelam Peoples Revolutionary Liberation Front (EPRLF) now operating as a para-military group with the Sri Lankan Army (SLA), shot dead two members of his wife's family and wounded his wife and brother-in-law, at Thalavaai near Eravur, 14 km. north of Batticaloa town early this morning around 2.30 a.m.
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EPRLF calls for united front over PA package

[TamilNet, Saturday, 28 February 1998, 23:59 GMT]
The Eelam People's Revolutionary Liberation Front (EPRLF) sent out an invitation today to all Tamil groups for a discussion towards establishing a 'Tamil National Council' representing all of them. The letter of invitation was signed by the EPRLF leader, Mr. Suresh Premachandran.
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Anti US protest in Vavuniya

[TamilNet, Friday, 20 February 1998, 23:59 GMT]
The Muslims of Vavuniya staged a vociferous protest denouncing American action in the Gulf, by burning the United States' flag in the streets and chanting slogans belittling President Bill Clinton, accusing him of making Iraq a scapegoat for his overactive libido, said sources in Vavuniya.
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Feared militia commander shot dead

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 18 February 1998, 23:59 GMT]
Rasasingham Seevaraththinam, 27, alias Sinnavan, one of the most feared Tamil ex-militants working for the Sri Lankan security forces in the Batticaloa district, was shot dead this morning around 8.30 a.m. near the Manmunai Special Task Force (STF) camp. The STF blamed the Liberation Tigers for the killing.
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Pro-government militia seen bracing themselves

[TamilNet, Thursday, 12 February 1998, 23:59 GMT]
Paramilitary organisations in Batticaloa such as the Peoples Liberation Organisation of Tamil Eelam (PLOTE) and the Razeek Group which is affiliated to the Eelam Peoples' Revolutionary Liberation Front (EPRLF), are strengthening the fortifications around their camps and exercising greater vigilance through more rigorous checking of civilians, in fear of an attack by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), said sources in Batticaloa.
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More internecine clashes in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Thursday, 12 February 1998, 23:59 GMT]
Three cadres People's Liberation Organisation of Tamil Eelam (PLOTE) were abducted from their office in Velanai and a member of the Tamil Eelam Liberation Organisation (TELO), A . G Fernando, had a knife stuck in his throat last night are the latest in the bizarre series of clashes between the Tamil parties in the Jaffna peninsula.
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SLFP Jaffna treasurer fired

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 10 February 1998, 23:59 GMT]
Three ex-militant Tamil groups, the EPDP, DPLF and EPRLF, are opening branch offices in all the electorates in the Jaffna peninsula, in anticipation of Provincial Council elections in June this year, said sources in Jaffna.
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TELO delays assuming office

[TamilNet, Friday, 06 February 1998, 23:59 GMT]
The Tamil Eelam Liberation Organisation (TELO) is to postpone assuming office in the newly set up local government bodies in the Jaffna Peninsula for 100 days. Instead, the ex-militant group is to mobilise opinion for an immediate end to the military conflict and the beginning of talks without conditions, said K Sivajilingam, leader of the organisation.
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New publications in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Saturday, 31 January 1998, 23:59 GMT]
Two Tamil weeklies will begin publishing from Jaffna from next month said sources in Jaffna today. One is expected to be named 'Sooriyakanthi' and the other 'Kaalaikathir'.
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TULF leads council by narrow margin

[TamilNet, Friday, 30 January 1998, 23:59 GMT]
The TULF won the Jaffna municipal council by a thin majority of 358 votes more than PLOTE and, under the proportional representation system of election, secured the three bonus seats which are due to the party with the largest number of votes. However, the TULF is not in a position to form the municipal council with its nine seats.
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Election commissioner releases results

[TamilNet, Friday, 30 January 1998, 23:59 GMT]
These are results of the Jaffna local government polls released by the Commissioner of Elections in Colombo today.
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Varied results seen in Jaffna polls

[TamilNet, Thursday, 29 January 1998, 23:59 GMT]
The Elections Commissioner's office in Jaffna Kachcheri claimed this evening that about 110,000 people had cast their votes in the local government elections in the Jaffna peninsula today. However, the state owned TV station announced that 106,000 people had voted.
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EPDP preparing for massive rigging

[TamilNet, Saturday, 24 January 1998, 23:59 GMT]
The EPRLF accused the EPDP today of setting the stage for a major rigging operation in the Jaffna local polls by collecting the polling cards of persons in the Gurunagar area who are either dead or are resident abroad.
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EPRLF cadres face Tiger music

[TamilNet, Thursday, 22 January 1998, 23:59 GMT]
A group of Eelam Peoples' Revolutionary Liberation Front (EPRLF) members, hard on the campaign trail for the forthcoming local government elections in Jaffna, were stopped by LTTE members on the Kopai- Urumpirai road yesterday, said residents.
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