Tigers two pronged strategy- Taraki, 1989

[TamilNet, Friday, 25 November 2005, 01:02 GMT]
On the 3 December 1989 issue of Sri Lanka's English daily, Island International, late Dharmeratnam Sivaram, popular journalist and Senior editor at TamilNet, writes on LTTE's ascendency after the collapse of the Indo-Lanka accord. Beginning of withdrawal of Indian troops, JVP insurrection in the South that made Sri Lanka a killing field, and the start of Premadasa-LTTE talks provide the political context to the article.
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Two civilians, two SLA soldiers injured in Trincomalee grenade attack

[TamilNet, Thursday, 24 November 2005, 18:33 GMT]
Two soldiers and two civilians were injured when unidentified persons lobbed a grenade at an Sri Lanka Army(SLA) camp located along Trincomalee Kandy highway about 3 km off east port town Thursday night around 7:40 p.m. police sources said.
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Five SLA soldiers, civilian injured in Point Pedro

[TamilNet, Thursday, 24 November 2005, 14:57 GMT]
Five Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers were injured, most of them seriously, when the tractor they were travelling along the the Point Pedro Jaffna highway at Maruthady junction, 500 meters south of Point Pedro town, came under grenade attack by unknown assailants at 7.45 p.m. Thursday night, sources in Point Pedro said. Injured soldiers have been taken to the Palaly Base hospital.
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Jaffna Campus Heroes' Memorial unveiled

[TamilNet, Thursday, 24 November 2005, 10:53 GMT]
"People of Jaffna will never forget nor pardon the desecration of the memorials of more than 900 war heroes in the hallowed grounds of Kopay Martyrs Cemetary in 1996 by the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers," Professor. C. Mohanadas, the Vice Chancellor of Jaffna Univeristy told TamilNet after addressing the opening ceremony of a Heroes' Memorial constructed within the Jaffna Campus premises, Thursday. "It was an act, unheard of in the civilized world," the Vice Chancellor said.
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Udathalawinne case concludes, Court's decision in January

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 23 November 2005, 18:06 GMT]
The High Court Trial-at-Bar inquiry into the Udathalawinne massacre case in which General Anurudha Ratwatte, former Deputy Defense Minister, his two sons, Rohan and Chanuka, and thirteen Sri Lanka Army soldiers have been indicted on seventy two counts, including election violence, grabbing ballot papers and ballot boxes, conspiracy to murder and committing the murder of ten Muslim youths on the general election day on December 5, 2001 at Udathalawinne in Kandy district concluded Monday. Three-member bench of the Colombo High Court reserved its order for 20th January 2006, legal sources said.
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Flood waters leave Mannar-Killinochchi road impassable

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 23 November 2005, 11:31 GMT]
Mannar -Pooneryn main road connecting the districts of Sri Lanka Army (SLA) controlled Mannar and the LTTE controlled Killinochchi has been washed away at Illupaikadavai area due to overflowing water from Parangi Aru and Palee Aru following torrential rain of last few days. Both rivers are located in the Manthai West divisional secretariat division held by the LTTE. The main road at Illupaikadavai is still under three feet of water, district secretariat sources said.
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Unexploded Johnny mine recovered in Thallady

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 23 November 2005, 01:20 GMT]
Road Development Authority (RDA) workers Tuesday afternoon around 1.45 p.m. recovered an unexploded Johnny mine when they were repairing a culvert at Thallady in Mannar district. The incident was immediately reported to the 212 Brigade of the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) located in Thallady. Bomb dispersal unit from Thallady camp rushed to the site to diffuse the mine, security sources said.
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SL Military is the intimidatory presence - Thamilchelvan

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 22 November 2005, 10:11 GMT]
Denying accusation they had intimidated Tamils into not voting in last week’s Sri Lanka Presidential election, the Liberation Tigers said the boycott by the Tamil people last week was a reflection of prevailing Tamil opinion towards Sri Lankan leaders, based on their bitter experiences of the past. The near total boycott by Tamil voters took place despite the "oppressive presence of thousands of Sri Lankan troops and Army-backed paramilitaries in Jaffna and other parts of the Northeast," the LTTE's Political Head, Mr. S. P. Thamilchelvan, told TamilNet Tuesday. He reiterated that the LTTE had not ordered Tamils to boycott the elections.
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Sri Lanka, a divided nation

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 22 November 2005, 02:21 GMT]
Predicting that if parliamentary elections were held and the LTTE encouraged Tamils to vote, the United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA) will likely lose the elections, and the United National Party (UNP) wll be able to form a coalition government with the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) and the Tamil National Alliance (TNA), Robert C Oberst, Professor of Political Science at Nebraska Wesleyan University says Sri Lanka remains a divided nation, divided, not only between the Tamils, Sinhalese and Muslims, but also divided among the Sinhalese. He adds that renegade LTTE commander, Mr. Vinayagamoorthy Muralitharan (Karuna), is the biggest loser in the elections.
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Floods in Northeast strands tsunami displaced

[TamilNet, Monday, 21 November 2005, 23:30 GMT]
Over three thousand tsunami and war affected refugees living in transitional shelters and temporary huts in the NorthEast have been again displaced due to heavy rain during the last two days. Normal life in several parts of the northeast province has been disrupted and several low-lying areas in the districts of Jaffna, Killinochchi and Mullaithivu have gone under floodwater. Tamil Rehabilitation Organisation (TRO) has deployed volunteers to provide basic facilities to displaced families who are now being sheltered in public and school buildings and with relatives. Hundreds of families have been affected by torrential rains in Batticaloa and Trinco districts.
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Woman's body found near Vallipuram temple

[TamilNet, Sunday, 20 November 2005, 12:56 GMT]
Unidentified body of a young woman, estimated to be around 25 years, was found inside an abandoned building 200 meters from the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) checkpoint along the Point-Pedro Nagarkovil road near the Vallipuram Vishnu temple, sources from Jaffna said.
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Grenade attack on SLA sentry near Point Pedro schools

[TamilNet, Saturday, 19 November 2005, 17:41 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army (SLA) sentry point, serving as the gateway to Hartley College and Methodist Girls High School located within the Point Pedro High Security Zone (HSZ), came under grenade attack at 7 p.m. Saturday sources said. Gunmen riding a motorbike lobbed the grenade and escaped via the Hostel Road. Point Pedro SLA declined to disclose the damages to the sentry.
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Rajapakse swears in as new President of Sri Lanka

[TamilNet, Saturday, 19 November 2005, 12:51 GMT]
President Mahinda Rajapakse was sworn in as the fifth executive President of Sri Lanka before the Chief Justice Sarath N Silva at the Presidential Secretariat at 1:30 p.m. Saturday. Mahinda Rajapakse, who hails from the southern district of Hambantota, in his first symbolic speech said his priority was to begin talks with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and strengthen the Cease Fire Agreement (CFA).
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Policeman injured in Point Pedro attack

[TamilNet, Friday, 18 November 2005, 11:49 GMT]
Unknown assailant waiting outside the Eelam Peoples Democratic Party (EPDP) offices in Manthikai, 2 km south of Point Pedro, fired at two persons in civilian clothes when they came out of the office premises at 10.50 a.m. Friday. Unconfirmed reports said that one Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldier dressed in civilian clothes was killed in the attack. Palaly military spokesman denied that the dead man was an SLA trooper. The other, a Sri Lanka Police officer, was injured in the attack and has been admitted to the Base Hospital in Point Pedro. He receiving treatment for gunshot injuries amid strengthened security.
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LTTE slams Mosque attack, urges calm

[TamilNet, Friday, 18 November 2005, 10:20 GMT]
A communiqué issued by the LTTE Political Division, Amparai District, Friday, has condemned the attack on innocent Muslim civilians congregated for prayers at the Grand Mosque, Akkaraippattu, during early hours, Friday. The communiqué said that "the LTTE expressed its deepest sympathies to the families and friends of the victims of the atrocious grenade attack." The LTTE message has pointed out that the grenade attack was aimed at disrupting peace and understanding between Tamils and Muslims and creating "division and animosity" among them. Appealing for calm and patience, the LTTE has vowed to help expose soon, the "surrogate paramilitary elements of the crime".
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Rajapakse wins Sri Lankan Presidency

[TamilNet, Friday, 18 November 2005, 07:56 GMT]
Sri Lanka’s hardline Prime Minister has been elected as country’s fifth President. Results released Friday by the election commission indicated Premier Mahinda Rajapakse had received almost 50.3% of the vote, with his main rival, opposition leader Ranil Wickremesinghe, taking 48.4% in a hard fought race that has long been described as too close to call.
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Less than one percent cast vote in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Thursday, 17 November 2005, 12:28 GMT]
Election officials in Jaffna secretariat said in a low voter turnout only 2168 votes (0.3% out of 701,938 registered) were cast in Jaffna district. Low number of incidents of violence were reported during the election day where Jaffna district voters appeared to have heeded the call for total boycott by several student organizations.
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Muttur residents hold demonstration against SLA embargo

[TamilNet, Thursday, 17 November 2005, 11:52 GMT]
Hundreds of Tamil residents of LTTE held Muttur east and Eachchilampathu division in Trincomalee district Thursday held demonstrations against the embargo imposed by the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) on transporting essential food items, fuel and building materials through Kaddaiparichchan and Mahindapura army camps, sources in the east said.
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Low voter turnout in Omanthai

[TamilNet, Thursday, 17 November 2005, 11:33 GMT]
No votes were cast until mid-day at the sixty two cluster booths near Omanthai Sri Lanka Army (SLA) checkpoint. However, few Omanthai residents turned up in the afternoon, sources in Omanthai said. Voting was brisk in Muslim and Sinhala areas in Vavuniya inside SLA controlled areas.
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SL Presidential Polls: Near Fizzle-Out in North East

[TamilNet, Thursday, 17 November 2005, 10:14 GMT]
Very low attendance of voters was reported at the cluster-polling booths in the North-East as the voting in Sri Lanka to elect the fifth executive president began at 7:00 a.m Thursday. Situation in Jaffna remained calm in complete contrast to the polls eve marred with grenade attack incidents in the peninsula. At least six grenade incidents were reported in Batticaloa-Amparai. Two Tamil civilians were killed in Kalmunai. The voting continued till 4:00 p.m. Security was tightened throughout the country.


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