Jaffna MPs campaign for cease-fire

[TamilNet, Saturday, 04 April 1998, 23:59 GMT]
A signature collection campaign began in Jaffna today demanding an immediate cease-fire. The campaign, however, is low key and is backed by the EPDP break away MPs Rameswaran and Ramamoorthy. The memorandum states that the Liberation Tigers and the government should come forward to stop the war and create conditions for peace.
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Jaffna Officials warned against LTTE contact

[TamilNet, Friday, 03 April 1998, 23:59 GMT]
The Jaffna Government Agent (GA) Mr. S. Shanmuganathan, speaking at the opening ceremony of the Planning Secretariat in the Jaffna Kachcheri this morning around 10 a.m., said that the Jaffna Town SLA Commander has admonished him about government officials in Jaffna who meet the Liberation Tigers and take instructions from them.
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Refugees denied dry rations

[TamilNet, Friday, 03 April 1998, 23:59 GMT]
More than 1000 civilians who were forcibly evicted by the Sri Lankan Army from the villages of Iththikkulam, Sinnakkulam and Maravattaikkulam south of Trincomalee last month are yet to be issued dry rations by the government authorities, said sources in Muthur.
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Request for boat service turned down

[TamilNet, Friday, 03 April 1998, 23:59 GMT]
The secretary to the Sri Lankan President Mr. K. Balapatabendi turned down a suggestion by the PLOTE deputy leader to begin a passenger boat service to Jaffna from Mannar on the grounds that the A9 highway from Vavuniya to the peninsula would be opened soon at a conference this afternoon to discuss the security related problems of fisheries in Jaffna.
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Parliamentarians to visit Norway

[TamilNet, Thursday, 26 March 1998, 23:59 GMT]
A team of 15 Sri Lankan parliamentarians representing all the political parties in the Parliament will visit Norway from March 29 to April 6 to study the fisheries industry in that country and examine constitutional affairs said government sources today.
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SLA spearheads Sinhala Colonisation

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 25 March 1998, 23:59 GMT]
The Sri Lankan army is continuing to forcibly remove Tamil civilians from their villages in the Muthur area, south of Trincomalee despite protests by Tamil Parliamentarians, said ex-militant Tamil groups in the eastern port town today.
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2 EPDP cadres released

[TamilNet, Monday, 23 March 1998, 23:59 GMT]
The Liberation Tigers released two members of the EPDP to the ICRC this morning at Mallavi in the Vanni around 10.30 a.m. They said the EPDP cadres were being released on humanitarian grounds.
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Ghost candidates submit resignations

[TamilNet, Thursday, 19 March 1998, 23:59 GMT]
Officials at the Elections Commissioner's office in Jaffna said that so far 28 persons elected in January to the 17 local government bodies in the peninsula have resigned from their posts.
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Palmyrah palms become victims of EPDP

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 18 March 1998, 23:59 GMT]
The EPDP is cutting down a large number of Palmyrah palms surrounding its camp in Madaththuveli in the island of Pungudutheevu off Jaffna complained residents today. More than five hundred full grown Palmyrah palms in the area have been cut down by the EPDP cadres for security reasons said a member of the Pungudutheevu Vigilance Committee.
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Batticaloa MPs decline dinner invitation

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 17 March 1998, 23:59 GMT]
The three TULF MPs from the Batticaloa district, Mr. Joseph Pararajasingham, P. Selvarajah and K. Thurairajasingham decided to keep away from a dinner for the government Parliamentary group hosted by Sri Lankan President this evening against the wishes of the party's secretary general Mr. R. Sampanthan.
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Softdrinks for SLA eat 50% of ceremony funds

[TamilNet, Saturday, 14 March 1998, 23:59 GMT]
Jaffna Municipal council officials said that of the 30000 (483 US$) rupees which was spent on the swearing in ceremony of the Jaffna mayor Mrs. Sarojini Yogeswaran on March 12, 17000 (274 US$) had been spent on canned soft drinks.
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Complaints fall on deaf ears

[TamilNet, Friday, 13 March 1998, 23:59 GMT]
Murugupillai Sreetharan (22), father of three children was beaten up by unidentified armed men when he alighted from a bus at Naaranthanai in Kayts, an island off the Jaffna Peninsula at 11:00 a.m. today, said sources in Kayts.
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EPDP ignores its own pledge

[TamilNet, Thursday, 12 March 1998, 23:59 GMT]
The EPDP in a statement released yesterday said that its members, elected to office at the local government polls held in the Jaffna Peninsula in January, would not take oaths unless an allocation of three million rupees was made for each local bodies to function.
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Civilians assaulted after grenade explosion

[TamilNet, Thursday, 12 March 1998, 23:59 GMT]
Civilians were severely assaulted at Kurunagar jetty in the Jaffna town this morning around 10.30 a.m., after a grenade went off nearby. Many fishermen at the jetty were assaulted by the Sri Lankan Army in the area. People who were passing by were also severely beaten up by SLA soldiers, said sources in Jaffna town. No one was injured in the explosion.
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EPDP cadre sought on molestation charge

[TamilNet, Friday, 06 March 1998, 23:59 GMT]
The Jaffna Magistrate M Thirunavukarasu, issued the second warrant on Tuesday for the arrest of Thiagarajah Srikanthan, a member of the Eelam Peoples' Democratic Party (EPDP), on the charge of molesting a young woman S. Pushpalatha (21).
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Tigers release EPDP cadres

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 04 March 1998, 23:59 GMT]
The Liberation Tigers released three members of the Eelam People's Democratic Party (EPDP) who had been in their custody this morning around 9 a.m. in the Vanni. The EPDP cadres had been released on humanitarian grounds on orders from the LTTE leader Veluppillai Prabhahran.
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Cash-strapped TELO seen 'down-sizing'

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 04 March 1998, 23:59 GMT]
Jeyakumar Kaantharooban, a cadre of the Tamil Eelam Liberation Organisation (TELO) from Batticaloa, who surrendered to the Sri Lanka Army (SLA), was remanded till March 18 by the Jaffna District Judge S. A. E Ekanathan today, said sources in Jaffna.
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First flight fiasco

[TamilNet, Monday, 02 March 1998, 23:59 GMT]
Passengers waiting to catch the first flight of the Monara Airlines to Colombo at the Palaly airbase today were stranded as the aircraft of the new service which had flown in from the capital returned without picking them up.
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Twenty-eight released on bail

[TamilNet, Friday, 27 February 1998, 23:59 GMT]
Twenty eight persons detained at the Kalutara prison were released by the Anuradhapura Magistrate T. Costa, said sources in Anuradhapura. Of these, 16 were released on cash bail and 12 on surety bail. Those who could not raise the money to secure bail, were helped by a charity organisation.
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Jaffna MOH unable to control malaria

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 24 February 1998, 23:59 GMT]
Dr. Deivendram, Medical Officer of Health, Jaffna Municipal Council (JMC), told ex-Eelam Peoples' Democratic Party (EPDP) Member of Parliament R.Ramamoorthy on Monday, that of the 24 malathion anti-Malaria spray-guns needed for JMC, only four were available, said sources in Jaffna.
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