New Sri Lanka Army Commander assumes duties

[TamilNet, Thursday, 01 July 2004, 14:06 GMT]
Lt. Gen. Shantha Kottegoda who took his duties as the 17th Army Commander today (Thursday) admitted at a press conference that the statement by the Media Minister Mangala Samaraweera that Army personnel were involved in Karuna’s issue, was “an embarrassment to the Army”.


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2003: The year in review

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 31 December 2003, 18:58 GMT]
The widespread optimism on peace that greeted the dawn of 2003 has evaporated and the power struggle between Sri Lanka's Prime Minister and President that threatens the peace process now occupies the center stage of politics in Colombo. High Security Zones (HSZ) in Jaffna continue to deny displaced Tamils their fundamental rights. Colombo's unwillingness and inability to disburse funds stalls development and rehabilitation in NorthEast, as international aid remains blocked, awaiting concrete signs of progress in peace.
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SLA hands back part of Jaffna suburb

[TamilNet, Monday, 01 December 2003, 12:22 GMT]
The Sri Lanka army Monday handed back part of a densely populated coastal suburb of Jaffna it had been occupying since 1996. “We are vacating this area on the instructions of Maj. Gen. Sarath Fonseka”, Sri Lankan military sources in the northern town said. More than four hundred homes that were inside the garrisoned part of Navaanthurai are all damaged, according to residents.
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SLA, LTTE meet again over Jaffna Heroes’ Day

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 25 November 2003, 09:43 GMT]
The Liberation Tigers and the Sri Lanka army met again Tuesday to resolve persisting friction over the Great Heroes’ Day observations in Jaffna. Speaking to the press after the meeting, Maj. Gen. Sarath Fonseka, the Sri Lankan security forces commander for Jaffna, said his troops won’t interfere in the Great Heroes’ Day arrangements in the peninsula. Responding to a question from TamilNet, he said the SLA won’t allow the Tiger flag to be flown in Sri Lankan government buildings and public places.
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President appoints new regional commander for Jaffna

[TamilNet, Friday, 21 November 2003, 09:26 GMT]
Major General Paramee Kulatunga has been appointed as the new Jaffna regional commander of the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) replacing the incumbent Major General Sarath Fonseka. Major General Sarath Fonseka has been put in charge of the SLA Volunteer Corp, in a shake up in the Sri Lanka military establishment made by the President, military sources said Friday.
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SLA order: no Tiger flags in schools

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 11 November 2003, 16:57 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army's Jaffna area commander, Major General Sarath Fonseka, has instructed all the five zonal directors of education in the Jaffna district not to allow any public events to take place in school premises during school hours. The circular issued in this regard has asked all education officials not to allow students and teachers to attend events in public places in school uniforms, education sources said.
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Confronting collisions in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 29 October 2003, 00:11 GMT]
In the wake of several recent accidents in the Jaffna peninsula in which the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) was involved, resulting in death or injury to Tamil civilians, the question being raised by the people of Jaffna is whether these accidents are caused merely by the suddenly ‘aggressive' driving of the SLA soldiers, or if this is a continuing pattern of behavior that started when the SLA brought the Jaffna peninsula under its control in 1995.
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Maj. Gen. Fonseka reproves Jaffna media

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 21 October 2003, 11:36 GMT]
Commander of Sri Lankan armed forces in Jaffna, Maj. Gen. Sarath Foneseka told a group of northern journalists Tuesday that newspapers in the peninsula publish “half information’ and distorted reports intended to make people angry at the military. Speaking to representatives of the North Ceylon Journalists’ Association about recent attacks on media persons in Jaffna by Sri Lankan armed forces soldiers, he said: “We are not hundred percent happy about the way media people in Jaffna are carrying out their jobs”.
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SLA rejects IDP's resettlement in Jaffna HSZ

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 30 September 2003, 04:20 GMT]
A conference held Sunday in Jaffna between the Sri Lanka Army, representatives of the Consortium of Humanitarian Agencies in Jaffna (CHA-J) and some peoples' organizations ended without reaching a consensus on the question of resettlement of internally displaced persons (IDPs) in their lands that come under the high security zones (HSZ) in the peninsula, civil sources said.
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Jaffna HSZ to remain - Marapone

[TamilNet, Friday, 19 September 2003, 01:27 GMT]
Sri Lanka's Defense Minister, Mr.Tilak Marapone, said Thursday that until a permanent solution to the ethnic conflict is found, no concrete decision could be taken regarding the removal of high security zones in the Jaffna district, political sources said.
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LTTE-SLA meeting held in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Monday, 15 September 2003, 18:43 GMT]
A conference was held between the Jaffna district political head of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, Mr.C.Ilamparuthi, and the northern commander of the Sri Lanka Army, Major General Sarath Fonseka, around noon Monday at the Jaffna office of the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission, sources said.
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New SLA commander post created for the East

[TamilNet, Sunday, 10 August 2003, 15:01 GMT]
Sri Lanka's Defense Ministry has created the new post of Security Forces Commander for the Eastern province, which is to take effect from August 15,Friday, and Major General Nanda Mallawaarachchi of the Sri Lanka Army has been appointed to that post, military sources said.
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HRC requests SLA to submit report on HSZ issue

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 01 July 2003, 18:20 GMT]
The Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka has asked the Sri Lanka Army to furnish a report regarding complaints made by several internally displaced people of the Jaffna district that they are unable to resettle in their homes and do cultivation in their agricultural lands as they have been occupied by the SLA in the name of high security zones (HSZ), sources in Colombo said.
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LTTE, SLA hold discussions in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Saturday, 17 May 2003, 17:10 GMT]
A three-hour discussion was held at the office of the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) in Jaffna Saturday afternoon between the representatives of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) in the presence of the head of SMM Jaffna, sources said.


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SLA-TNA garrison talks fail to reach consensus

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 09 April 2003, 19:00 GMT]
The Tamil National Alliance’s talks with the defense ministry officials at the Jaffna district secretariat Wednesday afternoon failed to arrive at a consensus on the question of finding an alternative site for the SLA’s Jaffna town brigade headquarters, and the TNA is to hold further discussions with the Prime Minister Thursday morning in Colombo, TNA parliamentary group leader, Mr.R.Sampanthan, told TamilNet on his return to Colombo Wednesday.
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US Ambassador visits Jaffna, meets civil group leaders

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 11 March 2003, 17:02 GMT]
The Ambassador for United States of America in Colombo, Mr.Ashely Wills, paid a one-day visit to Jaffna Tuesday and held discussions with representatives of Jaffna civil groups and Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarians, sources said.
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HRC special committee visits Jaffna HSZ

[TamilNet, Sunday, 02 March 2003, 16:55 GMT]
The special committee of the Human Rights Commission (HRC) of Sri Lanka, which is inquiring into the complaints in regard to the disappearance of more than six hundred Tamil civilians between 1996 and 1997 in the Jaffna district arrived Saturday, to conduct further investigation, sources said.
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MPGA to sue army, civil officials

[TamilNet, Saturday, 01 March 2003, 16:38 GMT]
The Missing Persons Guardians' Association (MPGA) in Jaffna has decided to file a case in the High Court against some Sri Lanka Army officials and government civil administrators regarding dozens of Tamil civilians who have been reported missing after being arrested by Sri Lankan government troops during the period between 1996 and 1997 in the Jaffna peninsula.
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Sri Lanka human rights officials to visit Jaffna HSZ

[TamilNet, Friday, 28 February 2003, 17:08 GMT]
The delegation of the Human Rights Commission (HRZ) of Sri Lanka, which is conducting investigation into the disappearance of persons during the period of 1996-1997 in the Jaffna district, is to visit the high security zones in the peninsula Saturday. The HRC delegation comprises Jaffna former government agent Mr.Devanesan Nesiah, Mr. Camillus Fernando, Ms Jesima Ismail and Mr.Iqbal, sources said.


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Muhamalai soldiers interrogate Tamil student leader

[TamilNet, Saturday, 15 February 2003, 15:25 GMT]
The President of the International Thamileelam Students' Forum, Mr.S.Gajendran, is alleged to have been subjected to intimidation and rigorous interrogation for more than two hours by the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) Saturday at the Muhamalai SLA checkpoint, sources in Jaffna said.


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