Former colleague slams Sri Lanka's President

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 11 February 2004, 11:46 GMT]
Mr. S. B Dissanayaka, MP, a controversial Minister in Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe's cabinet, called Sri Lanka's President Chandrika Kumaratunga an utter liar and fraud, addressing a press conference in Colombo Wednesday.
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Batticaloa organizations appeal for Tamil unity

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 10 February 2004, 15:16 GMT]
A consortium of civil organizations in Batticaloa, including Tamil renaissance association and Batticaloa People's Forum, made a public appeal yesterday calling upon the tamil people to demonstrate their unity and strength to the international community and others by voting to the 'Rising Sun' symbol in the general elections scheduled to be held on 2 February, civil society sources said.
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SLA soldiers assault two Jaffna youths

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 10 February 2004, 14:46 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers assaulted two Tamil youths, Mr.N.Partheepan (22) and Mr.C.Kutty (19) of Manipay, Monday night around eight p.m. in Jaffna town inflicting severe injuries to the youths, security sources said. The youths have been admitted to the Jaffna teaching hospital.


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SLA gives back houses in Chavakachcheri

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 10 February 2004, 00:51 GMT]
The Sri Lanka army vacated seventy nine houses in two suburbs on the outskirts of Chavakachcheri town in Jaffna this weekend. The military pulled back its forward defense line (FDL) 400 meters to free the houses it has been occupying since 2000. Meanwhile in a move to woo Internally Displaced Persons’ (IDPs) votes in Jaffna for the general elections on 2 April, the EPDP, a paramilitary group operating with the Sri Lankan armed forces in the northeast, Monday claimed responsibility for securing the release of the garrisoned homes in Chavakachcheri’s environs.
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TNA leaders to meet in Colombo over election strategy

[TamilNet, Monday, 09 February 2004, 18:30 GMT]
Leaders of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) are scheduled to meet Tuesday evening at the Colombo office of the Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF) to work out a common election agenda to field candidates at the forthcoming general election.
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UPFA ex-co to work out election strategy

[TamilNet, Sunday, 08 February 2004, 16:22 GMT]
The executive committee of the United Peoples Freedom Alliance(UPFA), formed by the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) and the Sinhala nationalist cum Marxist Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP). will meet Monday to work out the strategy to face the snap general election, which is to be held on April 2nd. Party sources said.
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SLA sergeant commits suicide in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Saturday, 07 February 2004, 16:25 GMT]
Mr.N.P. Piyatilake, 42-year-old sergeant of the Sri Lanka Army attached to the Achchelu camp in Jaffna district, committed suicide by shooting himself on Friday afternoon in his room, police said.
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Railway strike called off in Sri Lanka

[TamilNet, Friday, 06 February 2004, 17:38 GMT]
The ten day general railway strike in Sri Lanka was called off Friday night after Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe’s government gave an assurance that it will consider reversing the process to run the island’s railways under a semi government authority. More than thirty trade unions in Sri Lanka’s railway system backed by the Marxist Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna started the strike on 26 January demanding that Colombo should abolish the Railway Authority established under World Bank, IMF conditions six moths ago.
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Tires burn in Mannar, A9 blocked in Vavuniya

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 04 February 2004, 11:44 GMT]
Tires were burnt and black flags were flown in several parts of Mannar town Wednesday. Police said that some protestors had pulled down Sri Lanka’s lion flags that were hoisted by the army on the entrance to Mannar town Tuesday night to mark Independence Day. Meanwhile Vavuniya was deserted and buses from this northern border town to other parts of the island were cancelled. Protesters blocked the A9 highway to Jaffna north of Vavuniya town.
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PA-UNF committee meets again

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 04 February 2004, 02:56 GMT]
Amid speculation in political circles that there would be a permanent breakdown of talks between President Ms Chandrika Kumaratunge and Prime Minister Mr.Ranil Wickremasinghe in arriving at a consensus to end the current political crisis, the committee discussing ways to bring an amicable settlement between the executive and the legislative branches met again Tuesday, political sources said.


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Indonesian manpower minister visits Trincomalee

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 03 February 2004, 19:02 GMT]
Indonesian Minister for Manpower and Transmigration, Mr. Jacob Nuwa Wea, and a trade delegation arrived in Colombo on February 2. The Minister held discussions with the Sri Lanka’s Employment and Labour Minister Mr.Mahinda Samarasinghe and officials of the National Chamber of Commerce in Colombo, political officials said..


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SC confirms death sentence on Krishanthy murder accused

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 03 February 2004, 18:22 GMT]
The Sri Lanka’s Supreme Court Tuesday confirmed the death sentence on the five Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers who were convicted for the rape and murder of four Tamils including a high school student, Krishanthy Kumarasamy, in 1996 in Jaffna district, legal sources said.


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LTTE medical corps' feats unparalleled - Balakumaran

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 03 February 2004, 12:42 GMT]
"Committment of cadres of LTTE's medical corps and the ingenious medical evacuation strategies used, paved the way for some of our biggest military successes against the Sri Lanka Army (SLA)," said V.Balakumaran, a senior member of the LTTE speaking at an event commemorating the sixth anniversary of the death of nine members of the LTTE medical division, sources from Vanni said.
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Military readies for Sri Lanka’s Independence Day in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 03 February 2004, 12:19 GMT]
Sri Lankan armed forces flew lion flags on sentries, bunkers and at army camps in Jaffna Tuesday in preparation for Sri Lanka’s Independence Day. The military urged fishermen in the peninsula’s Vadamaradchi coast not to fly black flags on their boats, homes and union offices on Wednesday. The Sri Lanka army gave lion flags to fishermen and government officials in Jaffna. The sword bearing lion on Sri Lanka’s national flag is considered the eponymous ancestor of the island’s Sinhala Buddhists.
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Pallai school reopens after 8 years

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 03 February 2004, 11:39 GMT]
Kilinochchi district Government Agent, T.Rasanayagam, reopened Allipallai Government Mixed School in Pallai in its original location after eight years, local media reported. Displaced residents of Allipallai started resettling in their own lands beginning of year 2003, and have been lobbying for opening of their schools.
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Displaced Jaffna farmers boycott SLA meeting

[TamilNet, Monday, 02 February 2004, 08:16 GMT]
Farmers’ associations of garrisoned villages in Jaffna’s Thenmaradchi division Monday boycotted a meeting called by the Sri Lanka army to discuss the possibility of permitting some families to resettle in their homes inside its vast high security zone in the region. The military arranged the meeting to diffuse a crisis brewing over a farmer who wants to fast to death from Wednesday unless the army allows him and other displaced families resettle in their garrisoned villages.
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Protesters to block A9 on Sri Lanka's Independence day

[TamilNet, Monday, 02 February 2004, 00:15 GMT]
Vavuniya North Consortium of Peoples' Organizations called upon all Tamils in Vavuniya to fly black flags and to observe 4 February, the Independence Day of Sri Lanka, as a day of mourning, civil sources said. Consortium also invited people to come forward to block the traffic along A9 to show people from the South that Tamil struggle will continue until fundamental rights of Tamil people are recognized and respected.
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Resettled village honors its good student

[TamilNet, Monday, 02 February 2004, 00:05 GMT]
Parents and students of Kappalthurai, a village with Tamil resettlers, honored Jenitta Vipulanandan, a student of Saraswathie Vidyalayam, for passing the island wide Year- 5 Scholarship examinations. This was the first in the school's twenty-five year history, school teachers said.


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Pirate power supply for army kills elephant

[TamilNet, Sunday, 01 February 2004, 04:37 GMT]
A wild elephant was electrocuted by an illegal power supply line to the Kayankerni Sri Lanka army camp, 36 kilometres north of Batticaloa, residents told TamilNet Sunday. Three elephants in a herd were electrocuted by the Kayankerni SLA pirate power line last year, they said.


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Public Services Trade Unions to support Railway Workers' strike

[TamilNet, Saturday, 31 January 2004, 02:03 GMT]
The Public Services Trade Union Federation (PSTUF), an umbrella organization for several trade unions warned the United National Front (UNF) government that it would rally all public sector institutions and would launch an island wide strike if the railway employees' strike is not settled by revoking or invalidating the controversial Railway Authority Act (RAA), trade union sources said.


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