Supreme Court asks MOD to submit report on Jaffna HSZ

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 25 May 2004, 03:18 GMT]
The Supreme Court (SC) Monday directed the Secretary of the Ministry of Defense (MoD) to submit a report on the question of maintaining high security zones (HSZs) in the Jaffna district. A three-member bench of the Court made the order on Fundamental Rights violation applications filed by five Tamil farmers and Mr. Mavai Senathirajah, Tamil National Alliance parliamentarian, in the Jaffna district, legal sources said.


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SLA behind Aalankulam killing- LTTE

[TamilNet, Saturday, 22 May 2004, 12:48 GMT]
Thursday night attack in Aalankulam on Liberation Tigers in which an LTTE cadre, Markandu Punithalingam (alias Rohithan or Kohilan), was killed was carried out with the support of the Sri Lanka Army (SLA), said E.Kausalyan, Batticaloa-Amparai Head of the LTTE political wing, according to sources in Batticaloa.
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Vavuniya Police commended for action against crimes

[TamilNet, Friday, 21 May 2004, 14:22 GMT]
Sri Lanka Police in Vavuniya has arrested fifteen suspects in connection with armed robberies, house-breaks, murders and abductions in Vavuniya town and surrounding areas, and recovered jewelry and cash worth 3 million rupees. The Police are also seeking the arrest of three hardcore criminals involved in the incidents who are currently working with the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) in Jaffna, police sources in Vavuniya said Friday.
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SL President urged not to stop relief to IDPs in Jaffna district

[TamilNet, Friday, 21 May 2004, 14:20 GMT]
The Federation of Jaffna District Civil Organizations (FJDCO) Friday condemned the decision of the Government of Sri lanka to curtail the distribution of dry ration relief given to hundreds of thousands of families, a majority of whom are displaced and languishing in refugee camps and welfare centres without employment. The FJDCO has sent an urgent message to Sri lanka's President, Ms. Chandrika Kumaratunge, to order that all IDPs and those affected by the war be issued dry ration relief as usual without any reduction, sources said.
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Mannar GA declines to send back jailed Indians by sea

[TamilNet, Thursday, 20 May 2004, 17:39 GMT]
The Mannar government agent Thursday declined a directive by the district magistrate to send back by sea three Indian fishermen jailed for illegally ferrying Tamil refugees and for smuggling explosives to the island's northwestern coast last year.
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Elilan meets SLA's Trinco commander

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 19 May 2004, 21:26 GMT]
Mr.S.Elilan, newly appointed political head of the Liberation Tigers in the Trincomalee district, met with the General Officer Commanding (GOC) of the Sri Lanka Army in the district, Major General Sunil Tennekon, Wednesday afternoon in the Trincomalee office of the Sri Lanka Monitoring Commission (SLMM), and discussed the ground situation in the district in detail, sources said.
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SLA soldiers threaten LTTE cadre released to parents

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 19 May 2004, 15:50 GMT]
Parents of Mr.Nadaraja Tharasingham of Point Pedro Wednesday lodged a complaint at the Jaffna regional office of the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka (HRCSL) that his son who was handed over to them by the LTTE in the presence of HRCSL officials recently is being intimidated by the soldiers of the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) for being in the LTTE, civil rights sources said.
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LTTE team completes assessment of development in East

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 19 May 2004, 15:20 GMT]
The team of political and administrative heads of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, led by the deputy head of the political division, Mr. S. Thangan, which visited the Batticaloa-Amparai district to assess development needs and activities, completed its assessment and returned to the Vanni Wednesday morning, sources said.
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Sinister elements behind killing of police constable - Kausalyan

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 19 May 2004, 14:59 GMT]
Mr. E. Kausalyan, the political head of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam in Batticaloa, told TamilNet Wednesday that the LTTE has nothing to do with the killing of a police intelligence operative by unidentified gunmen Wednesday morning at a sub-post office in Batticaloa town.
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Military officer gets key peace secretariat post

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 19 May 2004, 13:20 GMT]
Sri Lanka President Chandrika Kumaratunga Wednesday appointed Brigadier Sanath Karunaratna, the General Officer Commanding (GOC) of the Sri Lanka army's 51 Division in Jaffna as the Director of Operations of the government peace secretariat, the institution in charge of handling Colombo's negotiations with the Liberation Tigers. Brig. Karunaratna served as the SLA spokesman from 23 June 2000 to 15 January 2003.
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"SLA establishes new checkpoints in Vavuniya, Mannar"- Selvam

[TamilNet, Monday, 17 May 2004, 11:22 GMT]
Vanni electoral district Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarian Mr.Selvam Adaikalanathan Monday sent an urgent letter to Sri Lanka's President Ms Chandrika Kumaratunge that the establishment of new check points of the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) in the administrative districts of Mannar and Vavuniya is causing serious apprehension in the minds of the people that the security forces are preparing for renewed military action, TNA sources said.


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Tie aid to ISGA progress, Sampanthan tells Akashi

[TamilNet, Sunday, 16 May 2004, 12:15 GMT]
Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentary group leader Mr.R.Sampanthan Sunday told the Japanese special peace envoy Mr.Yasushi Akashi that flow of foreign aid to Sri Lanka should depend on the progress made in establishing the Internal Self Governing Authority (ISGA) in northeast province. Mr.Sampanthan met with Mr. Akashi in the Japanese embassy in Colombo Sunday morning and held more than an hour long discussion on the current political situation in Sri Lanka, TNA sources said.


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Grenade attack on SLA in Batticaloa

[TamilNet, Saturday, 15 May 2004, 00:32 GMT]
Three Sri Lanka Army soldiers and a policeman were injured in a hand grenade attack when they were traveling on Vinyagar road, Sethukudah, 3 km from the Batticaloa town center, at 12:30 a.m. Saturday, sources said.
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HR cases put off for want of competent translator

[TamilNet, Friday, 14 May 2004, 17:26 GMT]
The Chavakachcheri Magistrate Friday informed the Attorney General that he was not in a position to hold preliminary inquiries into twenty-two Habeas Corpus applications referred to him by the Jaffna High Court due to want of permanent competent translators, legal sources said.
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Rocca: "Ending conflict is the key to prosperity in Sri Lanka"

[TamilNet, Friday, 14 May 2004, 15:43 GMT]
" Peace, prosperity- and, of course, stability are married to each other, here in Sri Lanka no less than elsewhere," said Ms Christina Rocca, US Assistant Secretary of State for South Asian Affairs, said Friday in a press release.


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‘Let’s discuss ISGA first’, LTTE tells Kumaratunga

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 11 May 2004, 13:12 GMT]
Mr. Anton Balasingham, political advisor to the Liberation Tigers said Tuesday that the LTTE have suggested that their proposal for an Interim Self Governing Authority should be taken up for negotiations first, responding to a suggestion by the Sri Lankan President conveyed through the Norwegian foreign minister to the LTTE leadership Tuesday that there should be parallel talks towards a permanent settlement to the island’s ethnic conflict. He said that President Kumaratunga has accepted the LTTE as the sole representatives of the Tamil people.
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SLA, LTTE agree to develop procedures to prevent killings in Batticaloa

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 11 May 2004, 10:30 GMT]
The Sri Lanka army and the Liberation Tigers Tuesday agreed in Batticaloa to “develop mechanisms to ensure information sharing and quick reaction procedures to prevent serious crimes and to ensure proper procedures to apprehend individuals perpetrating serious crimes”. The meeting was arranged amidst killings that threatened to jeopardize the cease-fire agreement between LTTE and Colombo. Col. Thambirajah Ramesh, led the LTTE delegation to the meeting with the SLA at the Vavunathivu divisional secretariat, 5 kilometres, northwest of Batticaloa town.
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Gnanavel appointed Head of LTTE's Vavuniya Political Wing

[TamilNet, Monday, 10 May 2004, 10:38 GMT]
Liberation Tigers appointed Gnanavel as their new Head of Polltical section for Vavuniya district, sources in Vavuniya said. Outgoing Vavuniya head, Elilan, introduced Gnanavel to the security forces commanders and to the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) at the Vavuniya SLMM's office Monday.
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Elilan meets Sri Lanka Security Forces Commanders

[TamilNet, Sunday, 09 May 2004, 14:43 GMT]
Mr.C. Elilan, new Trincomalee district political head of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) Sunday morning held discussion with the Trincomalee heads of Sri Lanka Army, Sri Lanka Navy and the Sri Lanka Police in the office of the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) in Trincomalee, security sources said.


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SLA intelligence operative shot dead in Batticaloa

[TamilNet, Sunday, 09 May 2004, 09:28 GMT]
Mr. Vasantha Colombage, a member of the Sri Lanka Army intelligence unit was shot dead Sunday morning around 10 a.m. inside a private passenger bus when he was returning for duty in Batticaloa from Polonnaruwa, Batticaloa Police said.
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