Headless youth's body found

[TamilNet, Saturday, 27 February 1999, 14:59 GMT]
The body of the youth from Karaveddi who was decapitated earlier this week was recovered from a cess pit behind the office of the PLOTE at Nelliyadi this morning around 7.30 p.m. upon information provided by civilians in the area.
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Vaakarai suffers under SLA restrictions

[TamilNet, Friday, 26 February 1999, 15:38 GMT]
(News Feature) More than eight thousand Tamils who eke out a living on incomes less than 14.50 US dollars a month in the northern corner of the Batticaloa district may soon face semi famine conditions say aid workers in the east.
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Attorney General co ordinates Chemmani investigation

[TamilNet, Friday, 26 February 1999, 11:00 GMT]
Sri Lanka's Attorney General's office said today that it expected the Jaffna magistrate to fix a date for the exhumation of the alleged mass graves of Tamil civilians at Chemmani.
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Father identifies decapitated man

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 24 February 1999, 20:00 GMT]
The father of Rajaratnam Rajeswaran, 23, a youth who was reported missing from Karaveddi since February 21, positively identified the head that was found in Jaffna as that of his son this evening. Human rights sources in Jaffna said that the Police were unable to record his statement as Rajaratnam, a resident of Nallur, had become distraught and disorientated after seeing his son's severed head.
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Displaced civilians cross FDLs

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 24 February 1999, 17:39 GMT]
Sixty five families who had been displaced in the Vanni walked through no-man's land on the Madhu-Mannar road and crossed into areas held by the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) on Sunday said sources.
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Head Found in Jaffna Drain

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 23 February 1999, 10:50 GMT]
A decapitated male head was found in a drain near the New Market in central Jaffna. The Sri Lankan army and Police have cordoned off the area, said sources.
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STF, TELO stage intelligence gathering sweep

[TamilNet, Monday, 22 February 1999, 22:54 GMT]
The Special Task Force (STF) and the TELO paramilitary group began a joint operation this weekend to systematically interrogate all civilians suspected of having links with the Liberation Tigers in Aaraiampathi, a large densely populated Tamil village 8 kilometers south of Batticaloa.
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News in Brief:

[TamilNet, Sunday, 21 February 1999, 20:47 GMT]
Sri Lankan Army (SLA) sources said that six Liberation Tigers were killed during the last two days; Vadamaradchi East civilians face further travel restrictions; The Minister for Industries Development, Mr.C.V.Gooneretna, announces rehabilitation of the Atchchuveli Industrial Estate in Jaffna.
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STF said using child slave labour

[TamilNet, Thursday, 18 February 1999, 19:35 GMT]
(NEWS FEATURE) In a letter sent to the Anti Harassment Committee today, the Forum for Human Dignity has raised the issue of human rights violations committed by the elite commando police unit, the Special Task Force (STF), in the eastern part of the island.
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ICRC reaffirms commitment to ferry service

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 16 February 1999, 22:13 GMT]
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is prepared to provide security for the ship that takes civilian passengers to and from Trincomalee and Kankesanthurai, if the government and the Liberation Tigers agree.
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News In Brief:

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 16 February 1999, 17:21 GMT]
Liberation Tigers put up poster at Jaffna University and fourty-two devotees attended 'Maha Sivarathri Pooja' at Keerimalai Naguleswarar temple.
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Civilian killed in broad daylight

[TamilNet, Monday, 15 February 1999, 22:02 GMT]
A civilian who was on his way to invite relatives for his child's birthday was shot dead by an SLA ambush party yesterday around 7.30 a.m. near Kiran, 28 km. north of Batticaloa.
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UNHCR outlines development plans

[TamilNet, Monday, 15 February 1999, 20:50 GMT]
The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, (UNHCR), signed an agreement today with the Resettlement and Rehabilitation Authority of the North (RRAN) contributing Rupees 77,683,007 towards the rehabilitation of communities and to assist people in the conflict affected areas in the Vanni and the Jaffna peninsula.
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Navy holds up ferry service

[TamilNet, Sunday, 14 February 1999, 22:19 GMT]
The Sri Lanka Navy has refused permission to a private shipping firm to launch a passenger shipping service between Trincomalee and Kankesanthurai. The decision came despite the fact that the International Committee of the Red Cross signed an agreement with the North East Governor and the Commissioner General of Essential Services (CGES), to provide security to the ship when it sails with civilians sources said.
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Religious leaders describe Vanni visit

[TamilNet, Friday, 12 February 1999, 17:54 GMT]
The delegation of Buddhist monks and Christian clergy who visited the LTTE controlled areas of the Vanni said at a press conference held today that the LTTE had expressed a readiness to pursue a peaceful solution to the ethnic conflict in the island.
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MP criticises president's development policy

[TamilNet, Thursday, 11 February 1999, 20:21 GMT]
The elected representative for the Batticaloa district, Mr.Joseph Pararajasingham, M.P., appealed to the government and the President to allow rehabilitation and reconstruction work funded by the Norwegian government to proceed in all areas of his district. The appeal was made during a debate on the extension of the state of emergency in Parliament today.
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LTTE posters lampoon paramilitaries

[TamilNet, Thursday, 11 February 1999, 16:16 GMT]
The Batticaloa-Amparai section of the Liberation Tigers' political wing put up large printed posters in the Batticaloa district this morning. Posters appeared in Sri Lankan Army (SLA) controlled towns, including Valaichenai and Eravur, and areas in the northern part of the district.
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Chemmani graves to be exhumed

[TamilNet, Thursday, 11 February 1999, 10:13 GMT]
The alleged mass graves at Chemmani in the northern Jaffna peninsula, where the bodies of hundreds of people who 'disappeared' in Sri Lankan military custody are said to be buried, is to be excavated, announced the Military spokesman Brigadier Sunil Tennekoon at the cabinet press briefing held today in the Parliament committee room. Excavation will commence on March 5, he said.
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TELO funerals amid apprehension

[TamilNet, Thursday, 11 February 1999, 08:10 GMT]
Most shops in Vavuniya were closed and few people were on the streets today fearing trouble as the TELO prepares for the funeral of its three cadres who were shot dead by the PLOTE on Monday, February 8. Few students turned up for classes in the town's schools.
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Tigers ambush in Palaly zone

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 10 February 1999, 18:21 GMT]
The Sri Lankan Army (SLA) declared curfew in the general area of Erlaalai following the attack by the Liberation Tigers around 1 p.m. in the afternoon yesterday. Sources in Jaffna said that five soldiers were killed and the two were wounded in the ambush.
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