Protesters in Jaffna burn effigies, condemn Manipay attack

[TamilNet, Friday, 14 February 2003, 17:24 GMT]
Protest demonstrations were held Friday condemning the attack on LTTE women cadres, members of public and journalists at Manipay by the Sri Lankan Army (SLA), aided by members of the paramilitary Eelam Peoples Democratic Party (EPDP). Effigies of President Chandrika Kumaratunge and the Jaffna area commander of the SLA, Major General Sarath Fonseka, were taken in processions and burnt down in Jaffna town, Udupiddy junction, Malisanthai junction and Methaikadai junction, sources said.
Full story >>

Sri Lanka military 'jeopardizing' peace talks - LTTE

[TamilNet, Thursday, 13 February 2003, 06:29 GMT]
The Liberation Tigers this week condemned the attack Wednesday on their unarmed female cadres in Manipay by Sri Lankan soldiers and warned that such incidents would "seriously jeopardize" the Norwegian peace process, the London based Tamil Guardian reported.
Full story >>

'Manipay incident will not be repeated-' Jaffna SLA commander

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 12 February 2003, 17:41 GMT]
Jaffna area commander of the Sri Lanka Army, Major General Sarath Fonseka assured at the conference summoned by the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) in Jaffna Wednesday evening that he would take appropriate steps not to repeat incidents that had taken place at Manipay Wednesday morning in which SLA soldiers assaulted eight LTTE women cadres with knives, sources said.
Full story >>

LTTE women cadres, civilians injured in SLA assault

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 12 February 2003, 11:12 GMT]
Four women members of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and several Tamil civilians were injured when soldiers of the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) Wednesday unleashed violence at Manipay junction, about 13 km off Jaffna town following the refusal by LTTE women cadres to remove their waist-belt, sources said.
Full story >>

"France fully supports the Peace Process" - French minister

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 11 February 2003, 16:42 GMT]
The French foreign minister Dr.Renaud Muselier who arrived in Jaffna by air Tuesday said that the international community would not allow the present process to collapse, sources said.
Full story >>

‘Humanitarian, Security issues demand gradual approach to HSZ’ – Nambiar

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 05 February 2003, 15:31 GMT]
Speaking at a conference held at the Jaffna district secretariat Wednesday evening, Lieutenant General Satish Nambiar, retired Deputy Chief of Staff of the Indian Army, said that the humanitarian issue of the high security zone (HSZ) is very important, but the security aspect should not be ignored, and a gradual approach to the issue is warranted, said sources in Jaffna.
Full story >>

General Nambiar to visit Jaffna

[TamilNet, Monday, 03 February 2003, 12:05 GMT]
Lieutenant General Satish Nambiar, retired Deputy Chief of Staff of the Indian Army is to visit Jaffna Wednesday February 05 and will hold discussions with security officials including Jaffna area commander Major General Sarath Fonseka, sources said. The Indian defence expert will also participate at a conference scheduled to be held on the same day afternoon at the Jaffna district secretariat, Government Agent Mr.S. Pathmanathan told media persons.
Full story >>

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.


Full story >>

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.
Full story >>

Opposition leader supports UNF-LTTE peace talks

[TamilNet, Monday, 20 January 2003, 13:29 GMT]
Mr.Mahinda Rajapakse, Leader of the Opposition Monday said in Jaffna that he would not oppose the present peace talks now being held between the United National Front government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), sources in Jaffna said. On his first official visit to Jaffna as the leader of the opposition Mr Mahinda Rajapakse declared open the Hindu Vedic Teaching School constructed by the Ministry of Hindu Cultural Affairs.


Full story >>

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.
Full story >>

‘Defunct’ SDN is shut down

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 07 January 2003, 17:56 GMT]
Following several unsuccessful meetings of the Sub-Committee on De-escalation and Normalisation (SDN), at which the Sri Lanka Army refused to reallocate its troops to pave the way for the resettlement of refugees, the Liberation Tigers and the Sri Lankan government Tuesday decided to shut down and discuss the matter in future at the direct talks between the two sides.
Full story >>

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.
Full story >>

HSZ seriously affects displaced Tamils - Bishop

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 01 January 2003, 00:05 GMT]
The Bishop of Jaffna Tuesday told a government delegation led by a senior minister that the continuance of the high security zones (HSZ) in Jaffna peninsula will not affect the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) but would seriously affect the large number of displaced families living elsewhere under difficult conditions, sources said.
Full story >>

HSZ issue draws Sri Lanka government team to Jaffna

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 31 December 2002, 13:37 GMT]
A high level team of Sri Lanka government officials led by Minister Mr.Milinda Morogoda Tuesday flew to Jaffna to hold crucial discussions regarding the dispute that has arisen between the hierarchy of the Sri Lanka Army and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) on the question of resettling displaced families in villages of the high security zone (HSZ), sources said.


Full story >>

'Terrorist intentions will totally terminate resettlement' – Maj. Gen. Fonseka

[TamilNet, Saturday, 28 December 2002, 08:53 GMT]
The furore over the Sri Lanka Army's High Security Zones (HSZs) in Jaffna orginated this week with a letter sent by its Jaffna commander to the Liberation Tigers, demanding the 'total disarmament' of the movement before Tamil civilians would be allowed back into occupied villages. In his hostile and belligerent letter, littered with grammatical and spelling errors, Maj. Gen. Fonseka addressed the Tigers as 'terrorists' and protested that easing the difficulties of the people of Jaffna would enhance the LTTE's image.
Full story >>

SLMM support for Army over HSZs is 'unacceptable' - LTTE

[TamilNet, Friday, 27 December 2002, 15:17 GMT]
The LTTE Friday rejected the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission's justification of the Sri Lanka Army's High Security Zones on the grounds of security as "unacceptable," saying "this adjudication simply reinforces the SLA's position on the illegal military occupation of public property." Responding to a letter sent Thursday by SLMM head, Maj. Gen. Tronde Furuhovde, the LTTE's Chief Negotiator, Mr. Anton Balasingham, said: "This purely militaristic argument to support your thesis on balance of forces, has completely ignored and trivialised the grave humanitarian issue of the displaced population."
Full story >>

LTTE rejects army's demand as 'unacceptable and unrealistic'

[TamilNet, Thursday, 26 December 2002, 11:30 GMT]
The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), in an official statement released from its headquarters in Killinochchi, northern Sri Lanka today, accused the state's military hierarchy of imposing unacceptable and unrealistic conditions for the resettlement of the internally displaced Tamils in their own homes and villages in Jaffna presently under heavy military occupation.
Full story >>

SLMM hands over SLA proposals on HSZ to LTTE

[TamilNet, Monday, 23 December 2002, 19:15 GMT]
The Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) Monday handed over a document containing proposals by the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) regarding the normalization of High Security Zones (HSZs) in Jaffna peninsula to the representatives of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), sources in Jaffna said


Full story >>

Phased approach agreed to address Jaffna HSZ resettlement

[TamilNet, Saturday, 14 December 2002, 13:54 GMT]
At the second meeting of the Sub Committee on De-escalation and Normalization (SDN) held Saturday at Muhamalai it was agreed that a solution to the resettlement of internally displaced people in High Security Zones (HSZ) and other areas presently perceived as inaccessible to the public could be only solved through integrated plans of action agreed upon by the two parties, said a press release issued by the Royal Norwegian Embassy in Sri Lanka.
Full story >>