Grenade explosions, tension mark election eve in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 16 November 2005, 22:49 GMT]
Tension prevailed in Jaffna, and streets were deserted at 7.00 p.m. as several grenade explosions marked the election eve. Unidentified assailants lobbed grenades at the offices of the Eelam Peoples Democratic Party (EPDP) offices in Chavakacheri, Manipay, Achchuveli, Point Pedro and Mallakam where the EPDP intelligence operatives and supporters were reportedly co-ordinating plans for vote-rigging. EPDP has campaigned in favour of presidential candidate Mahinda Rajapakse.
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Grenade attacks escalate in Batticaloa

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 16 November 2005, 17:25 GMT]
A grenade attack was reported in Batticaloa at Koolavady junction on Boundary Road Wednesday night around 8:15 p.m. A Sri Lanka Army soldier and a policman were wounded in the incident, police said. Another blast was reported in Chenkalady, Eravur around 9:15 p.m. Casualty details from Eravur incident were not available at the moment. Tension prevailed in Batticaloa and Amparai districts.
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Two grenade attacks in Batticaloa, 3 SLA soldiers, policemen wounded

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 16 November 2005, 15:42 GMT]
Three Sri Lanka Army soldiers were rushed to Batticaloa Hospital with serious injuries following a grenade attack at them in Iruthayapuram 2 km north of Batticaloa town at 8:10 p.m. Wednesday, police said. At least two policeman were wounded in a separate grenade attack in Manmunai, 7 km south of Batticaloa.


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Jaffna election irregularities on voting eve

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 16 November 2005, 12:55 GMT]
Reports from Jaffna reveal intimidating and underhand activities of the Eelam People Democratic Party (EPDP) cadres in organising vote-rigging in Sri Lanka Presidential election. Groups of armed EPDP cadres were seen visiting house to house forcibly collecting the 'ballot-tokens' from residents in islets off Jaffna peninsula, TamilNet learns. With armed protection from the State armed forces, Douglas Devananda's EPDP is holding unannounced short-meetings at market places and actively campaigning for Mahinda Rajapakse, the candidate of the ruling party.
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SLA soldiers dishonor GA permits at checkpoint -TNA

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 15 November 2005, 18:08 GMT]
Soldiers manning the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) checkpoints at Kaddaiparichchan and Mahindapura in Muttur east and Eachchilampathu division are not honoring permits issued by the Trincomalee Government Agent to non-governmental organizations and other agencies to take building materials to LTTE held areas to implement approved reconstruction and rehabilitation projects, said Mr.K.Thurairatnasingham, Trincomalee district parliamentarian in a letter faxed to President Ms Chandrika Kumaratunge Tuesday.
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Body recovered from Varany Temple well

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 15 November 2005, 11:29 GMT]
Partially clothed body of a man around 40 years old was found in a well at the premises of Chuttipuram Amman Kovil in Varani, Jaffna along the Kodikamam-Point Pedro road, sources in Jaffna said. The yet unidentified body was recovered by Kodikamam Police and has been transferred to the Jaffna Teaching Hospital for postmortem examinations.
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Unidentified aircraft comes down in Puttalam

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 15 November 2005, 09:29 GMT]
An unidentified flying object, suspected to be a small aircraft or a helicopter, has come down in the sea 140 km north of Colombo and 2 km off the Ilanthayadi shore at about 10.45 a.m. Tuesday, according to fishermen in the area. None of the Sri Lankan aircrafts or helicopters were reported missing, according to Mr. Ajantha De Silva, the spokesman of the Sri Lanka Airforce (SLAF).
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Five Tamil youths arrested by SL troops in East

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 15 November 2005, 06:51 GMT]
Sri Lankan Special Task Force (STF) soldiers arrested three Tamil youths at Paddiriuppu Bridge in Kaluwanchikudy, 24 km south of Batticaloa, and the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers arrested two Tamil youths at Black Bridge in Chenkalady, 13 km north of Batticaloa Monday. However, the Police in Eravur is yet to confirm the arrest of the two Tamil youths from Kaluwanchikudy, parents said.
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UNP accuses SL Government of plans to sabotage Jaffna poll

[TamilNet, Monday, 14 November 2005, 17:55 GMT]
The main opposition United National Party (UNP) Monday charged Sri Lanka government of trying to disrupt a just and fair presidential poll in Jaffna district by sending nearly three hundred Sri Lanka Army (SLA) deserters to the district. Brigadier Sarath Munasinghe, former spokesperson for the SLA, addressing a press briefing Monday, said that the government has obtained the support of a paramilitary Eelam Peoples Democratic Party (EPDP) activist to sabotage the poll.


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"SL Government's speak soft, hit hard policy" - Taraki, 1992

[TamilNet, Monday, 14 November 2005, 03:33 GMT]
In the 10th June 1992 issue of Sri Lanka's English daily, Island International, late Dharmeratnam Sivaram, popular journalist and Senior editor at TamilNet, sheds light into the then Sri Lanka's President Premadasa and Leader of the House, Ranil Wickremesinghe's strategy of dealing with Tamil national question, a strategy of wooing Tamil votes with political rhetoric and to inflict military defeat on LTTE by planning to allow Sri Lanka forces to "smash their way into Jaffna."
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Vadamaradchy East, Kilinochchi voters can exercise franchise freely- GA

[TamilNet, Sunday, 13 November 2005, 12:42 GMT]
"We have made elaborate arrangements to ensure that voters residing in Liberation Tigers' controlled areas of Vadamaradchy east and Kilinochchi district can exercise their franchise with complete freedom without any requirement to produce identity cards," said Jaffna Government Agent and Jaffna District Election Returning Officer, K Ganesh, during a press meet held at the Jaffna Secretariat offices Sunday afternoon.
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SLA soldier shot in Vavuniya, gunmen seize weapons

[TamilNet, Saturday, 12 November 2005, 09:09 GMT]
Two motorbike-riding assailants shot and wounded a Sri Lanka Army soldier at a checkpost located in Ganeshapuram, 6 km northwest of Vavuniya town, around 1:30 p.m. Saturday. The assailants, who seized two AK-47 rifles from the soldiers, fled away in their motorbike, Vavuniya Police said.
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Two Muslims killed, four wounded in claymore attack in Vaharai

[TamilNet, Saturday, 12 November 2005, 05:19 GMT]
A Claymore mine exploded Friday midnight at Kirimichchai in Vaharai, 44 km north of Batticaloa, killing two Muslim timber workers, Mr. Mohammed Munas, 28, and Mr. Athambava Mohammed Lebbe, 35. Four persons were rushed to Batticaloa Hospital with wounds, Police said. The crew that had gone to the jungle area to cut timber three days ago, was returning from Kirimichchai to Valaichenai through the Welikanda area in a tractor with woods, civilian sources said.
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Two LTTE suspects escape from Jaffna jail

[TamilNet, Friday, 11 November 2005, 12:01 GMT]
Two suspects alleged to be members of Liberation Tigers kept in remand in Jaffna jail escaped with two accomplices who entered the jail posing as spectators and threatened prison officials with hand guns at 4.30 p.m. Friday, security sources in Jaffna said. The four escaped in motorbikes along Columbuthurai Road.
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Malteser to fund Children's Home building construction

[TamilNet, Friday, 11 November 2005, 04:49 GMT]
Malteser International, Order of Malta Worldwide Relief, finalized agreement to fund the second phase of the reconstruction of a three storey building for "Anbu Illam," a Trincomalee children home, for a cost of about Rs.8.3 million, officials said. Anpu Illam has been providing shelter to orphans who lost their parents in the war.
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SLA tightens restriction on food, fuel transport to Muttur

[TamilNet, Thursday, 10 November 2005, 17:57 GMT]
The Sri Lanka Army (SLA) tightened their restriction on transport of goods including eggs, meat and fuel into Muttur east from army controlled areas through the checkpoint of the SLA Kaddaiparichchan army camp from this week. SLA has also barred Muttur east fishermen from fishing after 6 p.m. as they have to pass through the high security zone for deep sea fishing, Mr.S.Elilan, LTTE Trincomalee district political head said Thursday. Muttur east is held by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).


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Heavy rains worsen Tsunami refugees' woes

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 09 November 2005, 17:59 GMT]
Heavy rains drenched Trincomalee town and other villages in the district Wednesday evening for about three hours flooding roads and lanes, bringing the traffic almost to a halt. Several tsunami affected families sheltered in temporary huts located in coastal areas sought refuge in nearby public buildings and temples as rainwater entered their dwellings through roofs and by ground, non-governmental organization sources said.


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Sri Lanka 2006 Defence expenditure to increase by 30%

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 09 November 2005, 02:39 GMT]
Sri Lanka's defence expenditure for fiscal year 2006 is expected to increase by more than 30% of the 2005 levels to Rs 61b, budgetary estimates submitted to the legislative body Tuesday revealed.
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SLA truck entangles in electric fence, eight troopers injured

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 08 November 2005, 12:30 GMT]
Eight Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers attached to the 512 brigade occupying Gnanams and Subash hotels in Jaffna were electrocuted when the truck they were travelling in entangled with the live electric perimeter fence at 10.30 a.m Tuesday, security sources said. All injured have been admitted to Jaffna Teaching Hospital. Two of the soldiers have suffered life threatening injuries, hospital sources said.
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Surrendered cadres expose SLA complicity with Karuna group

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 08 November 2005, 12:15 GMT]
Two underage youths, Suresh Kandasamy (16) and Babu Selvam (15), and another foreign returnee Shanmugam Sarwarajah (21), recruited with promise of financial incentives by paramilitary Karuna Group surrendered to the Liberation Tigers and talked to media Monday evening at Solaiyaham Conference Centre in the LTTE controlled area of the Batticaloa district. The cadres said they were under continuous monitoring by Sri Lanka Army (SLA) and decided to surrender when they were sent on missions to attack LTTE posts.
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