Three SLA soldiers shot dead in Batticaloa

[TamilNet, Thursday, 30 June 2005, 06:05 GMT]
Three soldiers belonging to Sri Lankan Army (SLA) Intelligence were shot and killed in Urani, a suburb of Batticaloa, at 10.30 AM Thursday, Batticaloa Police said. The soldiers, attached to the Intelligence Unit at the Head Quarters of the 223 Brigade of the SLA, were killed by unidentified gunmen between a SLA mini-camp at Palameenmedu and a Police post at Periyaurani, while they were returing from Palameenmedu fish market in a three-wheeler, sources said.
Full story >>

Alternative to P-TOMS: abolition of CFA, return to war- Prof Oberst

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 29 June 2005, 22:44 GMT]
Warning that failure of P-TOMS will lead to a breakdown in CFA and possible return to war, Robert C. Oberst, Professor of Political Science at Nebraska Wesleyan University, said on the Muslim question, "Although the way in which the P-TOMS was created is an insult to the Muslim community, the actual document appears to enhance their power," when TamilNet asked for his views on the aid deal signed between the Government of Sri Lanka and the Liberation Tigers.
Full story >>

Newspaper delivery agent shot dead in Kalmunai

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 29 June 2005, 10:20 GMT]
Mr Arasakumar Kannamuthu, 38, a newspaper delivery agent for Batticaloa Eelanatham newspaper, was shot and killed by unidentified gunmen Wednesday morning around 8.45 am. The killing took place at Matupola in Kalmunai- Akkaraipattu road, a Sri Lanka Army (SLA) held place 50 km south of Batticaloa. The victim was on his route to Oluvil in a motorbike after delivering newspaper to Ninthavoor newspaper agent, sources said.
Full story >>

Investment climate unattractive in Sri Lanka – World Bank

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 28 June 2005, 10:39 GMT]
Four years after the guns fell silent in Sri Lanka’s conflict, the investment climate remains unattractive due to continued political instability, weak infrastructure, and poor access to finance, according to a recently completed study by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the World Bank.
Full story >>

Bhikku Front accuses Kumaratunge of betraying Buddhist Prelates

[TamilNet, Monday, 27 June 2005, 15:05 GMT]
"President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunge is the number one enemy of Buddhism in Sri Lanka," said the National Bhikku Front (NBF), an organization of Sinhalese Buddhist monks of Sri Lanka in Colombo Monday. The NBF urged the top Buddhist Prelates to withdraw the blessings they gave Ms Kumaratunge as Head of the State and to declare her as a non-Buddhist.
Full story >>

SLA blocks re-opening Amban dispensary

[TamilNet, Monday, 27 June 2005, 11:40 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army refused permission to open the renovated Amban central dispensary located in the high security zone of the Vadamaradchy east division of Jaffna district, sources in Jaffna said. Earlier army gave permission to repair the dispensary damaged during war period, sources said.
Full story >>

Islets residents protest against SLA, SLN harassment

[TamilNet, Monday, 27 June 2005, 11:30 GMT]
Hundreds of civilians of islets in the Jaffna district Monday held a demonstration condemning the harassment by Sri Lanka Army (SLAN) and Sri Lanka Navy (SLN) personnel stationed in islets and the Sinhala Buddhist chauvinists' elements in the south. They went in a procession from Palakattu junction to Kayts Divisional Secretariat office, sources said.
Full story >>

Mirusuvil residents demand to be resettled in own homes

[TamilNet, Monday, 27 June 2005, 10:23 GMT]
Displaced residents from Usan arean in Mirusuvil, Thenmaradchy protested from 10 am till 12 noon Monday demanding that they be allowed to resettle in their own homes, sources said. A9 highway was blocked for traffic for more than half an hour.
Full story >>

Dying to Kill: US Academic examines causes of suicide terror

[TamilNet, Sunday, 26 June 2005, 22:44 GMT]
Author Mia Bloom, assistant professor of political science at the University of Cincinnati examines the external factors that provide motivation for sub-national groups to adopt suicide killings in a recently published book "Dying to Kill." Analysing the phenomenon in Palestinian groups, Kurdish Workers Party (PKK), Liberation Tigers (LTTE) and in insurgent groups in Iraq, she contends that "it is often social and political motivations rather than inherently religious ones that inspire suicide bombers."
Full story >>

LTTE Pottuvil office attacked

[TamilNet, Sunday, 26 June 2005, 14:00 GMT]
Three unidentified armed men entered Komari, Pottuvil political office of the LTTE around 4.30 pm Sunday and caused extensive damage to the office, LTTE sources in Komari said. The office is located in Akkaraipattu-Pottuvil main road in an SLA controlled area. There were no LTTE officials at the time of the attack, Mr Nilakaran, Udumpankoddam Political Co-ordinator told TamilNet.
Full story >>

Businessman shot and wounded in Batticaloa

[TamilNet, Sunday, 26 June 2005, 13:43 GMT]
Mr Thambirajah Maheswararajah (31) was shot and wounded by unidentified gunmen at Lake Road in Batticaloa town. The incident took place inside a High Security area of Sri Lanka Army (SLA), close to paramilitary Razeek Group camp around 2.00 PM Sunday, sources said.
Full story >>

SLA escorted convoy with LTTE officials ambushed

[TamilNet, Sunday, 26 June 2005, 09:18 GMT]
A convoy carrying Amparai Political Head of the Liberation Tigers, Mr. Kuyilinpan and other LTTE political staff, with Sri Lanka Army (SLA) escort facilitated by Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM), was attacked at Welikanda at 2.55 PM Sunday, Welikanda Police said. The bus carrying around 40 eastern LTTE officials from Kilinochchi to Batticaloa was ambushed with a land mine, but none were killed as the vehicle narrowly escaped the impact of the bomb. One LTTE official was injured in the attack. The ambush took place between two Sri Lankan military camps, at Boaththe, around 1 km from Welikanda SLA base. The convoy resumed its journey towards Batticaloa with high security, Police said.
Full story >>

GoSL, LTTE sign P-TOMS

[TamilNet, Friday, 24 June 2005, 09:05 GMT]
Norwegian facilitators, Friday noon reached Kilinochchi with the signature of Mr. Mudiyanselage Sumanaweera Jayasinghe, Secretary of Ministry of Relief, Rehabilitation and Reconciliation, who signed on behalf of the Government of Sri Lanka in the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Post-Tsunami Operational Management Structure (P-TOMS) sources in Colombo said. Mr. Shanmugalingam Ranjan, Deputy Head of Planning and Development Secretariat (PDS) on behalf of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) signed the MoU, after the Government representative had signed the treaty, sources in Kilinochchi said.
Full story >>

JM tabled, pandemoniam in Sri Lanka Parliament

[TamilNet, Friday, 24 June 2005, 03:38 GMT]
As Minister Mr Maithiripala Sirisena, Leader of the House, began to read the Joint Mechanism proposal in Sri Lanka's Parliament at 9.45am Friday, parliamentarians belonging to marxist Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), including its propaganda Secretary Wimal Weerawanse, started shouting disrupting the parliamentary session in progress. Parliamentary sources said the session has been suspended for ten minutes due to continuous disruption of the proceedings. Copies of the proposed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the Establishment of a Post-Tsunami Operational Management Structure (P-TOMS) were distributed to all parliamentarians in three languages.
Full story >>

Civil groups to agitate over Omanthai Buddha statue

[TamilNet, Thursday, 23 June 2005, 15:32 GMT]
Vavuniya civil group leaders Thursday announced at a discussion held in the office of the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) that they would launch an agitation if the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) fails to remove the controversial Buddha statue erected in the Omanthai Pillaiyar temple premises within seven days. The discussion was held between the officials of the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) and representatives of the civil groups including the LTTE district political section and the Hindu priest of the Omanthai Pillaiyar Temple in the presence of SLMM monitors, sources said.
Full story >>

JVP to observe day of "Resistance" over PTOMS

[TamilNet, Thursday, 23 June 2005, 14:50 GMT]
While Norwegian facilitators continued their shuttle diplomacy to get the Government of Sri Lanka and the LTTE to come to an agreement on signing the aid deal, both supporters of aid deal and opposition groups intensified their campaigns in Colombo. Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), the marxist extreme Sinhala nationalist party, said it will start an island-wide campaign against the aid deal beginning from capital Colombo Friday. Mr Wimal Weerawanse, the powerful propaganda secretary of Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) declared Friday as a "Day of Resistance."
Full story >>

Helgesen visits Kalmunai, stresses need for unity among Muslim leaders

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 22 June 2005, 14:07 GMT]
Norwegian Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr Vidar Helgesen who arrived in Kalmunai Wednesday afternoon 1.50 PM met Eastern Muslim community leaders and urged the Muslim leaders to present a united front to raise the concerns of the Muslim community. Talking to Muslim representatives, Mr Helgesen said that the Government of Sri Lanka and the Liberation Tigers, have expressed their committment to ensure a fair representation of Muslim community in the post-tsunami reconstruction process, sources in Kalmunai said.
Full story >>

SL Parliament to meet with JVP in opposition

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 22 June 2005, 00:29 GMT]
Sri Lanka's parliament is scheduled to meet Wednesday for the first time after the Marxist Sinhala nationalist Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) withdrew its support to the 14-month-old United Peoples' Freedom Alliance government (UPFA). JVP, a major constituent of the ruling alliance, and Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) signed an agreement to form UPFA on 20 January 2004 in Colombo.
Full story >>

SLA accused of harassing Chavakachcheri fishermen

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 21 June 2005, 17:18 GMT]
The Sri Lanka Army (SLA) has extended its firing practice in Chavakachcheri lagoon in Jaffna district thus depriving the livelihood of more than one hundred fisher families in the area, fisheries societies in Thenmaradchchi division said in a complaint to the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) in Jaffna Tuesday.
Full story >>

Grenade attack on LTTE Valaichenai office

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 21 June 2005, 14:46 GMT]
Unidentified gunmen lobbed a grenade inside Liberation Tigers Political office in Puthukudiyiruppu, Valaichenai Tuesday evening at 5.45 PM, sources in Batticaloa said. The attackers fired shots towards the building before dousing the windows and the fence with gasoline and setting them ablaze. No one was injured in the attack. Tension prevailed in Valaichenai following the attack.
Full story >>