'LTTE, IRA have political goals' - British Minister

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 29 January 2003, 15:39 GMT]
British Foreign Office Minister Mike O'Brien said Wednesday that the global war against terrorism may be long drawn out because the Al Qaeda has an agenda with which there cannot be negotiations, unlike the LTTE and the IRA who have political goals. He was speaking on 'New Threats to International Security' at the Bandaranaike Memorial International Conference Hall (BMICH) in Colombo Wednesday.
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LTTE rejects Indian General's terms on HSZs

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 28 January 2003, 08:33 GMT]
The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) will not accept recommendations from international military experts that link the "critical humanitarian issue" of resettling internally displaced persons and refugees in Jaffna to disarming of its cadres and de-commissioning of its weapons, the movement's chief negotiator and political strategist, Mr Anton Balasingham, told the Tamil Guardian newspaper Monday. The Tigers "will fiercely oppose and reject any proposal that makes resettlement of refugees conditional upon de-commissioning of LTTE weapons," he said further.


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STF intimidation in Amparai village

[TamilNet, Sunday, 26 January 2003, 12:19 GMT]
"Some officers in the Special Task Force (STF) haven't yet come to terms with the reality that Tamils are not their abject slaves- even after one year of peace," said Mr. Ariyanayagam Chandranehru, Tamil National Alliance MP for the Amparai district, referring to instances of assault and intimidation of civilians by commandos of STF, the elite counter insurgency arm of the Sri Lankan armed forces, deployed mostly on the island's Southeastern coast.


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SLA intelligence said bullying Mannar farmers

[TamilNet, Friday, 24 January 2003, 16:16 GMT]
The Mannar Farmers' Federation said Friday that soldiers from the Sri Lanka army's intelligence unit in the district were harassing and threatening local cultivators and agrarian officials to dissuade them from attending public functions in which representatives of the political and development divisions of the Liberation Tigers take part.
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GA requests data on SLA occupied private properties

[TamilNet, Friday, 24 January 2003, 01:33 GMT]
The Government Agent (GA) of Jaffna, Mr. S. Pathmanathan, ordered the Assistant Government Agents (AGAs) in Jaffna district to obtain details on civilian residences and private lands occupied by the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) in the peninsula, sources in the Northern town said.
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SLMM, SLA to conduct joint visit to Jaffna HSZs

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 21 January 2003, 22:09 GMT]
The Norwegian Head of the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) and high officials of Sri Lanka Army led by Jaffna area commander, Major General Sarath Fonseka, are to commence joint inspection in the high security zones in the peninsula on Wednesday to gather information about civilian houses occupied by the SLA, sources said.
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TNA demands compensation to Tamil victims of police violence

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 14 January 2003, 19:14 GMT]
Following a request Tuesday by the Tamil National Alliance that the relatives of the dead and injured during police violence should be paid compensation, Sri Lanka's Prime Minister, Mr.Ranil Wickremasinghe, directed the Interior Ministry to submit a report about the victims of violence that took place at Kanjirankuda in Ampara district, an eastern port town in the outskirts of Trincomalee district, and Nelliayadi in the Jaffna district last year.
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UN, GOSL, LTTE discuss refugee return from India

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 14 January 2003, 18:53 GMT]
Representatives of the UNHCR, Liberation Tigers (LTTE) and the government of Sri Lankan (GOSL) who took part in a workshop on 'Preparations for Voluntary Repatriation of Sri Lankan Refugees from India' held in Kilinochchi Tuesday stressed that further investments in the northeast remains necessary to create conditions conducive to the "safe and dignified organised voluntary repatriation of refugees from India to Sri Lanka."


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SLA occupies 3500 civilian homes outside HSZ -Jaffna GA

[TamilNet, Monday, 13 January 2003, 16:45 GMT]
Three thousand and five hundred houses outside the high security zone (HSZ) in the Jaffna district are still occupied by the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) preventing thousands of displaced people to return to their homes, said the Government Agent in his report to Colombo authorities, district secretariat sources said.
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Sri Lanka police collect details of Jaffna LTTE offices

[TamilNet, Saturday, 11 January 2003, 17:51 GMT]
The Jaffna District People's Forum and the Consortium of Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs )Saturday condemned the action of the Sri Lanka Police collecting details of persons working in the offices of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam(LTTE) and the buildings where the organisation's offices are located in the peninsula, sources said.
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Sri Lanka judiciary's failure led Tamils to take arms - Ranil

[TamilNet, Friday, 10 January 2003, 17:20 GMT]
Sri Lanka's Prime Minister Mr.Ranil Wickremasinghe said Friday that the failure of the country's judiciary to fulfill its duties and responsibilities to safeguard the right of various ethnic groups has led the Tamils to launch an armed struggle for a separate state.
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Peace talks are going well, say Chief Negotiators

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 07 January 2003, 18:19 GMT]
(News Feature) The Sri Lankan government conceded this week that the resettlement of Tamil refugees and internally displaced people in areas occupied by its military forces could not be made conditional on the disarming of the Liberation Tigers, as demanded by the Army. Following two days of discussion, hailed by both sides as “constructive,” the government also said it would begin to reallocate its troops based amongst civilians in the Jaffna peninsula.
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Picketing in Tellipallai continues

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 07 January 2003, 12:11 GMT]
Several hundred people displaced from high security zone (HSZ) in Jaffna peninsula continued their fast and picketing third day Tuesday in front of the office of the additional government agent in Tellipalai. They launched this campaign Friday demanding that they should be allowed to resettle in their villages, which have been declared high security zone by the State armed forces, Valigamam Peoples Forum (VPF) sources said.
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Japanese Foreign Minister visits Jaffna

[TamilNet, Monday, 06 January 2003, 14:01 GMT]
The Japanese Foreign Minister Ms Yoriko Kawguchi Monday flew to Jaffna by special aircraft and surveyed the progress of resettlement and humanitarian projects in the northern peninsula implemented with Japanese aid. This was the first visit of a Japanese Foreign Minister to the war torn Jaffna district. She also toured Chavakachcheri and Sarasalai areas in Thenmaradchchi areas, worst affected by the war in the district, sources said.
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LTTE leaflets alert residents, invite ex-militants

[TamilNet, Sunday, 05 January 2003, 18:56 GMT]
The Batticaloa-Ampara political section of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) distributed two leaflets, one alerting residents of Batticaloa to be aware of nefarious elements who are trying to sabotage the peace process, and the other appealing to ex-militants collaborating with the Sri Lanka security forces and working with anti-LTTE groups to join the LTTE and participate in building peace, sources in Batticaloa said.
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'Sri Lanka is at a crucial stage' - PM

[TamilNet, Sunday, 05 January 2003, 17:50 GMT]
Sri Lanka's Prime Minister Mr.Ranil Wickremasinghe Sunday in his evening address to people of Sri Lanka said, "arguments over security matters should not be allowed to derail the momentum of the peace negotiation. The country has entered a stage that would decide the future of Sri Lanka."
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Tellipalai displaced fast demanding resettlement

[TamilNet, Friday, 03 January 2003, 15:21 GMT]
Hundreds of displaced people from villages surrounding the Sri Lanka Army HQ in Palaly Friday launched a fasting campaign in front of the office of the divisional secretariat at Tellipalai demanding that they should be allowed to resettle in their villages. The Valigaamam People's Forum (VPF) organised the fasting, sources said.
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LTTE slams SLA Commander, says "decommissioning is non-negotiable"

[TamilNet, Friday, 03 January 2003, 14:28 GMT]
Responding to the Sri Lanka Army's reiterated demand that the Liberation Tigers must decommission their heavy weapons before Tamil civilians would be permitted to resettle in their villages now within High Security Zones, the LTTE Friday said the issue was non-negotiable and expressed "deep disappointment" over the Army's "confrontational" position.
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Ponnalai displaced to discontinue picketing for one week

[TamilNet, Thursday, 02 January 2003, 22:21 GMT]
Hundreds of displaced people of Ponnalai who have been picketing in front of the office of the Chankanai Divisional Secretariat (DS), Thursday called off the protest for a week on a request by the Jaffna Government Agent, sources said.
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HRC hears police statements on Nelliady attack on picketers

[TamilNet, Thursday, 02 January 2003, 19:58 GMT]
The Jaffna office of the Human Rights Commission in Sri Lanka Thursday recorded the statements of two senior police officers regarding the violence that took place on December 10 at Nelliady in the Vadamarachchi division when several hundred people picketed the office of the paramilitary group Eelam People's Democratic Party (EPDP) demanding their withdrawal from Jaffna district, sources said.
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