SLA, Police torture Jaffna resident hung by feet

[TamilNet, Sunday, 12 October 2003, 11:37 GMT]
"Soldiers stopped me at the Maambalam junction last night when I was going home, dragged me inside a building there, hung me upside down by my feet and brutally assaulted me until I fainted, said Mr. Balasingham Daiyaniharan, 21, a resident of Ariyalai, in his statement to the Jaffna magistrate, Mr. R. P Vicknarajah, at the Teaching Hospital in the northern town Sunday noon. Three civilians and two journalists attacked and injured by SLA soldiers and Police Saturday night have been admitted for treatment at Jaffna Teaching Hospital.
Full story >>

‘SLA, Police should vacate Batticaloa MC offices’

[TamilNet, Monday, 06 October 2003, 04:12 GMT]
The Sri Lanka Army should remove its 23-3 brigade headquarters operating at the Batticaloa Municipal Council (MC) buildings and government employees’ quarters, and return the buildings to their rightful owners, the Tax Payers Association of Batticaloa (TPAB) has demanded in a letter to the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission, sources in Batticaloa said.
Full story >>

Army, Police clash with residents in Jaffna suburbs

[TamilNet, Saturday, 04 October 2003, 08:22 GMT]
Widespread clashes erupted between Sri Lanka army and large crowds of angry residents in the Jaffna town suburbs of Gurunagar and Paashaiyoor Saturday morning. Three civilians were injured in the clashes that rapidly spread to all the neighbourhoods of these densely populated coastal suburbs, Police said. Four people and a Policeman were wounded when Police tried to break up a protest at Kondavil junction in the northern environs of the Jaffna town.
Full story >>

SLA intensifies checking in Batticaloa

[TamilNet, Saturday, 04 October 2003, 02:42 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army (SLA) stepped up checking pedestrians and vehicles at several key roads and junctions in Batticaloa district inconveniencing civilians and causing delays to vehicular traffic, sources in Batticaloa said.


Full story >>

More skeletons found in Kilinochchi

[TamilNet, Friday, 03 October 2003, 00:04 GMT]
Human skeletons were found Monday under the debris of the Kilinochchi provincial health services building during its reconstruction, sources said.
Full story >>

SLA agrees Vadamaradchi NECORD work can go ahead

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 01 October 2003, 19:43 GMT]
The Sri Lanka Army Wednesday said it would allow the deepening of fisheries landing points in the Vadamaradchi north coastal areas, from Kerudavil to Katkovalam east, after fisheries societies representatives and Divisional Secretariat (DS) officials brought to the notice of the army officials present at the conference held Wednesday that they had already sought permission from the SLA in this regard, sources said.
Full story >>

TRO launches wind energy project in Kuchchaveli

[TamilNet, Friday, 26 September 2003, 17:17 GMT]
The Tamils' Rehabilitation Organization (TRO) in Trincomalee district Thursday inaugurated a wind energy project in the Kuchchaveli village, 34 km north of Trincomalee town, which has not been supplied with electricity from the national grid even after the country gained political independence, sources said.
Full story >>

Madhu road opened for civilian use

[TamilNet, Thursday, 25 September 2003, 19:28 GMT]
The Madhu road in Mannar district was opened Thursday for the use of over 13,000 villagers living in 11 villages around the historic Madhu church by the Sri Lanka Army after several years, with restrictions on the type of vehicles that can travel on the road, civil sources said.
Full story >>

Nagarkovil IDPs oppose relocation, demand resettlement

[TamilNet, Thursday, 18 September 2003, 00:05 GMT]
Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) from Nagarkovil in Vadamaradchi east in the Jaffna district, who were displaced during the 1999 military operation by the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) and are now living in a refugee camp close to the St.Lourdes Church in Point Pedro, are opposing the move by the Sri Lankan government to relocate them at a place called Punitha Nagar instead of resettling them in their own village, civil groups said Wednesday.
Full story >>

Trinco fishermen return from Tamilnadu with boats

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 10 September 2003, 15:33 GMT]
Fifty-three Tamil fishermen of Trincomalee arrived at the Codbay fisheries jetty in Trincomalee harbour Wednesday morning with 49 boats, which were towed by 12 Indian trawlers with 74 Indian crew, including 12 skippers and escorted by the Sri Lanka Navy gunboats. Two Indian government officials also accompanied the returnees, provincial rehabilitation ministry sources said.
Full story >>

Sathurukondan massacre to be remembered

[TamilNet, Monday, 08 September 2003, 13:52 GMT]
The People of Sathurukondan village in the Batticaloa district will hold the thirteenth year Remembrance Day of 184 Tamil civilians massacred by soldiers of the Sri Lanka Army at the village, on 9th September 1990, civil sources said.
Full story >>

British political leaders visit Jaffna

[TamilNet, Friday, 05 September 2003, 19:46 GMT]
The deputy leader of the opposition in the British Parliament, Mr. Michael Ancram, and former treasurer of the Conservative Party, Lord Ashcroft, Friday arrived in Jaffna and held discussions with the Government Agent, Mr.S.Pathmanathan, representatives of the international and local non-governmental organizations, and heads of government departments at the Jaffna district secretariat, sources in Jaffna said.
Full story >>

Batticaloa remembers Tamils massacred in 1990

[TamilNet, Friday, 05 September 2003, 11:13 GMT]
The people of Batticaloa district Friday observed the Black September Day, remembering the Tamil civilians, men, women, and children killed by Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers and Muslim guards thirteen years ago on September 9 when 158 Tamil civilians who sought refuge in the East University Refugee camp and 184 Tamil villagers from Sathurukondan village disappeared after their arrest by the SLA soldiers, sources in Batticaloa said.


Full story >>

Batticaloa Tamils to observe Black September day

[TamilNet, Sunday, 31 August 2003, 19:45 GMT]
Batticaloa District Peoples Forum, a civil and social organization based in Batticaloa has requested the Tamils in Batticaloa district to observe Friday (05.09.2003) as a day of mourning to remember and a mark of respect to the hundreds of Tamil civilians- men, women and children - killed by Sri Lankan government troops and Muslim home guards since 1990, sources said.


Full story >>

Jaffna IDPs to seek Supreme Court assistance

[TamilNet, Friday, 29 August 2003, 17:49 GMT]
Internally displaced families from Manthuvil village in Thenmaradchchi division in Jaffna district have taken preliminary steps to file suit in the Supreme Court seeking permission to resettle in the their houses and lands which have been occupied by the Sri Lanka Army outside the high security zones, legal sources said Friday.


Full story >>

'De-merger of NE a calamity to Sri Lanka' - TNA

[TamilNet, Thursday, 28 August 2003, 09:01 GMT]
"The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) desires to place on record that the de-merger of the northeast province which has existed for the past fifteen years by the President would be a calamity to the whole Sri Lanka, and urges the President to desist from taking this perilous course," TNA said in a press statement issued Thursday in Colombo.
Full story >>

SLA restricts civilian visit to Point Pedro schools in HSZ

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 27 August 2003, 15:59 GMT]
The Sri Lanka Army Wednesday said civilians would be allowed to visit Hartley College and Methodist Girls High School in the high security zone of Point Pedro town in Jaffna district only on Wednesdays and they will need prior permission obtained from the security forces, civil sources said.
Full story >>

Jaffna undergrads study Potpathi villagers' problems

[TamilNet, Friday, 22 August 2003, 16:55 GMT]
A group of Jaffna university students and members of the International Student's Association of Tamil Eelam held a discussion Friday with the residents of Potpathi village in the Vadamarachchi east division in Jaffna district under the auspices of Jaffna University Students' Union (JUSU) regarding an attempt by the Sri Lanka Army to construct several camps and checkpoints surrounding the village, sources said.
Full story >>

Maintaining ethnic ratio in Police recruitment imperative - TNA

[TamilNet, Thursday, 21 August 2003, 10:40 GMT]
At a conference held Thursday morning between the Sri Lankan Prime Minister Mr.Ranil Wickremasinghe and Tamil National Alliance (TNA) delegation led by its parliamentary group leader Mr.R.Sampanthan at the parliamentary complex, it was decided to summon all Tamil and Muslim parliamentarians for a conference on Tuesday or Wednesday next week before finalizing the list of new recruits for the police force in the eastern province, political sources in Colombo said.
Full story >>

General shutdown paralyzes Kalmunai, Sammanthurai

[TamilNet, Monday, 18 August 2003, 18:01 GMT]
The towns of Kalmunai and Sammanthurai in the Amparai district were completely paralyzed Monday when residents and businessmen observed a general shut down (hartal) protesting against the killing of two Muslim civilians at Sammanthurai Sunday night, police said.
Full story >>