Soldiers suspended for staging bogus attack

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 17 February 1999, 20:45 GMT]
Twenty soldiers of an army detachment at Vilgamvehera, 6 miles north of Tricomalee along Anuradhapura trunk road, have been suspended by the SLA for misleading the district brigade that the Liberation Tigers had attacked their camp on February 12, sources said.
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Curfew following communal violence

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 16 February 1999, 17:49 GMT]
The Sri Lankan Police declared curfew in Nochchiyagama, in the northcentral province, about 170 kilometers northwest of Colombo, today following an attack on Muslim shops in the town last night.
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Vehicle hijacked on 'cleared' road

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 16 February 1999, 11:31 GMT]
The official vehicle of the President of College of Education in Batticaloa, Mr. K.Nadarajah, was taken away by gunmen suspected to be members of the Liberation Tigers around 10.30 a.m. this morning. The vehicle was stopped at Vanthaarumoolai, 20 km. north of Batticaloa, by the gunmen who drove away with the driver who was released at the next village.
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UNHCR outlines development plans

[TamilNet, Monday, 15 February 1999, 20:50 GMT]
The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, (UNHCR), signed an agreement today with the Resettlement and Rehabilitation Authority of the North (RRAN) contributing Rupees 77,683,007 towards the rehabilitation of communities and to assist people in the conflict affected areas in the Vanni and the Jaffna peninsula.
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Navy holds up ferry service

[TamilNet, Sunday, 14 February 1999, 22:19 GMT]
The Sri Lanka Navy has refused permission to a private shipping firm to launch a passenger shipping service between Trincomalee and Kankesanthurai. The decision came despite the fact that the International Committee of the Red Cross signed an agreement with the North East Governor and the Commissioner General of Essential Services (CGES), to provide security to the ship when it sails with civilians sources said.
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Paramilitaries told to disarm

[TamilNet, Sunday, 14 February 1999, 22:15 GMT]
The Sri Lankan Army (SLA) said today that it has ordered the PLOTE and the TELO, Tamil paramlitiaries operating with the army, to close down their offices and camps in Vavuniya.
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Woman raped by army personnel

[TamilNet, Sunday, 14 February 1999, 22:07 GMT]
The Sri Lankan Police said that a 20 year old woman who was waiting at a bus stop in Anuradhapura in the north central province was kidnapped and raped by men, including two members of the Sri Lankan Army personnel, yesterday around 9 p.m.
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"Distorted" history protest prompts investigation

[TamilNet, Saturday, 13 February 1999, 18:23 GMT]
The Ministry of Education and Higher Education has called for a full report from the National Institute of Education into allegation made by the Ceylon Tamil Teachers' Union (CTTU) that the Year 6 Tamil text book on Social Studies consists of articles distorting the history of Tamils in Sri Lanka.
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Religious leaders describe Vanni visit

[TamilNet, Friday, 12 February 1999, 17:54 GMT]
The delegation of Buddhist monks and Christian clergy who visited the LTTE controlled areas of the Vanni said at a press conference held today that the LTTE had expressed a readiness to pursue a peaceful solution to the ethnic conflict in the island.
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TELO funerals amid apprehension

[TamilNet, Thursday, 11 February 1999, 08:10 GMT]
Most shops in Vavuniya were closed and few people were on the streets today fearing trouble as the TELO prepares for the funeral of its three cadres who were shot dead by the PLOTE on Monday, February 8. Few students turned up for classes in the town's schools.
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'Cancel NWP polls' - Buddhist Council

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 10 February 1999, 20:08 GMT]
The National Sangha Council has called for the cancellation of the scandal-ridden Wayamba provincial council election held last month in which the ruling party, People's Alliance won 33 seats out of 52.
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Sinhala-Muslim tension mounts

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 10 February 1999, 09:56 GMT]
The tension between Sinhalese and Muslims continued to mount in the Pannala, in the Kurunagala district about 100 kilometres northwest of Colombo, despite the declaration of curfew in the general area last evening. Shops and houses of Muslims in Pannala were ransacked and set on fire by Sinhala mobs from Monday.
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Worsening Law and Order situation in Jaffna - report

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 10 February 1999, 07:51 GMT]
The Jaffna District Consortium of Human Agencies in its latest situation report, has stated that the law and order in the Jaffna peninsula have deteriorated to a great extent and the law enforcement authorities are not concerned of the present deplorable status in law and order.
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Teachers protest 'distorted history' in textbooks

[TamilNet, Monday, 08 February 1999, 17:38 GMT]
The 20,000 member-strong Ceylon Tamil Teachers' Union (CTTU) is demanding the immediate withdrawal of the Year 6 Tamil text book for Enviormental Studies from the use of Tamil medium students as it consists of articles distorting the history of Tamils in the island.
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Protest against attack on Christians in India

[TamilNet, Monday, 08 February 1999, 14:19 GMT]
More than three thousand people took part in a peaceful march this afternoon around 3 p.m. in downtown Colombo to protest against the attacks on Christians in India. The protestors wound their way towards the Indian High Commission and stood there peacefully with their placards.
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Date set for 5 PC polls

[TamilNet, Monday, 08 February 1999, 10:51 GMT]
Sri Lanka's Commissioner of Elections, Mr. Dayanantha Dissanayaka, announced today that the polls to the five provincial councils, which were postponed last year by the PA regime, would be held on April 1. The Sri Lankan government postponed the elections by a special presidential proclamation under the emergency regulations of the Public Security Ordinance.
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Curfew amid Sinhala Muslim tension

[TamilNet, Sunday, 07 February 1999, 18:21 GMT]
Curfew was declared by the Sri Lankan Police in Pannala, a town in the Kurunagala district, about 100 kilometers northwest of Colombo, following indications that clashes could erupt between Muslims and Sinhalese in the area.
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United States willing to facilitate peace

[TamilNet, Saturday, 06 February 1999, 19:57 GMT]
The US Assistant Secretary of State for South Asia, Carl Inderfurth, had an informal discussion with UNP leader Ranil Wickremesinghe at the Opposition leader's office this morning from 11.30 a.m. to 1.30 p.m. said diplomatic sources.
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'No new evidence' - Koneswary inquiry

[TamilNet, Friday, 05 February 1999, 23:59 GMT]
The Kalmunai Magistrate Mr.Anton Balasingham at the conclusion of the re-opened magisterial inquest proceedings into the death of a mother of four children, Murugesapillai Koneswary of Central Camp, Ampara district, reaffirmed his earlier verdict of homicide.
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News in Brief:

[TamilNet, Friday, 05 February 1999, 13:25 GMT]
The Sri Lankan Army bans supply of flour to Vadamaradchi east; Police say investigations have revealed that persons detained at TELO's Jaffna camp are being beaten up and over 4500 shortage of Tamil medium teachers in the north-eastern schools.
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