Human skull, bones found in SLA vacated premises

[TamilNet, Thursday, 14 November 2002, 20:34 GMT]
Chavakachcheri Magistrate, Mr.Annalingam Premashankar, Wednesday evening inspected a house vacated recently by the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) in Mirusuvil where a human skull was discovered from the refuse dump, sources said.
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NE Resettlement, Relief Oslo talk focus- Peiris

[TamilNet, Thursday, 14 November 2002, 19:39 GMT]
The Sri Lankan government Thursday announced that it would submit a white paper regarding the issues that are to be taken up for discussion which is scheduled to be held on November 25 at Oslo, Norway. "Priority will be given to resettlement of displaced and relief to the people in the war torn northeast province in the island at the Oslo aid talks," said Minister G.L.Peiris at the weekly cabinet briefing held Thursday.
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Insurrection fears as JVP commemorates dead

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 13 November 2002, 22:25 GMT]
The Janata Vimukthi Peramuna, the third largest party in Sri Lanka’s Parliament, Wednesday commemorated in Colombo its founder leader Mr. Rohana Wijeweera and party cadres who were killed by the Sri Lankan armed forces during two unsuccessful but bloody insurrections in 1971 and 89 to capture state power.
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Sea Tigers, SLN confer on Jaffna issues

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 13 November 2002, 12:44 GMT]
The Deputy Commander of the Sea Tigers Wednesday urged the Sri Lanka Navy not to engage in any action that would disrupt the peace negotiations to end the island’s conflict at a meeting with a Sri Lankan military delegation in the no man’s land in Muhamalai in southern Jaffna Wednesday.
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Fresh water crisis looms large over Jaffna

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 12 November 2002, 16:38 GMT]
Jaffna is running out of drinking water because its underground fresh water sources are getting polluted rapidly, said a German expert in the northern town Tuesday. Mr. H. Karft, the German expert, spoke about the drinking water crisis that Jaffna will have to face if adequate measures are not taken to arrest pollution of the underground water sources of the peninsula at the regional office of the GTZ.
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MP calls for camp removal, opening of road

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 12 November 2002, 01:55 GMT]
Selvam Adaikalanathan, Member of Parliament (MP) of the Vanni district, appealed to the Minister of Interior, Mr John Amaratunge, to remove the army detachment camped at the road leading to Kunjukulam village from the Mannar-Madawachchi road, sources said.
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SLA provides escort to LTTE cadres

[TamilNet, Monday, 11 November 2002, 19:47 GMT]
A contingent of 185 members of the Liberation Tigers (LTTE) arrived in Batticaloa from the northern Vanni region Monday evening with special commander for Batticaloa-Ampara, Mr.Robert and commander of women-wing Nilavini, leading the LTTE members who made the journey to Batticaloa to take part in the annual Heroes' Day celebration which falls on 27 November, sources said.
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SLA asked for EPDP weapons over journalist's murder

[TamilNet, Monday, 11 November 2002, 19:13 GMT]
The Jaffna Magistrate Monday directed the Commander of the Sri Lanka Army to hand over to court all firearms received from the paramilitary group EPDP under the provisions of the Ceasefire Agreement between the Liberation Tigers and Colombo to identify the weapon allegedly used for murdering journalist Mr. Mylvaganam Nimalarajan on 19th October 2000.
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Rebel Muslim MPs cut committee deal

[TamilNet, Monday, 11 November 2002, 15:08 GMT]
The Government of Sri Lanka Monday appointed a committee headed by its Interior secretary to look after the interests and concerns of Muslims in the island’s northeast in a bid to retain the crucial support of eight MPs of the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress, the main partner of Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe’s ruling coalition, who have been boycotting Parliament amid allegations that the opposition was manipulating them to instigate communal tensions in the east to scuttle the peace talks for ending the island’s conflict and to topple the United National Front government.
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Kuchchaveli IDPs urge speedy resettlement

[TamilNet, Sunday, 10 November 2002, 17:34 GMT]
Hundreds of displaced Tamil families from villages in Kuchchaveli division, 34 km north of the Trincomalee district and now residing in refugee camps elsewhere Sunday said that they should be resettled in their areas without delay and should be provided with necessary facilities. They attended a meeting held Sunday at Kuchchaveli Vivekanandan Maha Vidiyalayam where the resettlement of the displaced and their rehabilitation were discussed.
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TEEDOR appeals IDPs to Resettle

[TamilNet, Sunday, 10 November 2002, 14:59 GMT]
Tamil Eelam Economic Development Organization (TEEDOR), a development agency working in the NorthEast, has requested displaced residents from villages of Maiyilavettuvan, Eeeralakulam and Veerakkattaru in Eravur regional boundary, 30 km Northwest of Batticaloa, to consider moving back to their villages, source in the east said.
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Tigers, GOSL optimistic after first defence meet

[TamilNet, Sunday, 10 November 2002, 13:39 GMT]
The Liberation Tigers and the Government of Sri Lanka (GOSL) said they were confident of making further progress in stabilising the island’s peace process on the ground as their high-level defence teams wound up four hours of talks in Omanthai, 18 kilometres north of Vavuniya, on the line of control, Sunday.
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JVP lambasts peace talks

[TamilNet, Saturday, 09 November 2002, 20:07 GMT]
“It is very foolish to believe that Norway, which is America’s quisling, would bring peace to our country. America is trying to oppress and rule over the people of the world. It is America that has unleashed terror on Iraq, Cuba, Afghanistan, Ethiopia and Eritrea,” said the Janata Vimukthi Permamuna (JVP), currently a powerful third force in Sinhala politics, in a pamphlet issued Saturday at the conclusion of a house-to-house campaign against the peace process.
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Tamil member of Kanchirankuda committee dissents

[TamilNet, Friday, 08 November 2002, 17:30 GMT]
The sole Tamil member of the committee appointed by Sri Lanka’s Interior Minister to inquire into the shooting incident at Kanchirankuda on the island’s southeastern coast on October 9, 2002 said Friday that he strongly disagreed with the conclusion of that his colleagues had arrived at.
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Refugees eager to resettle, demand basic facilities

[TamilNet, Friday, 08 November 2002, 09:42 GMT]
"We have been languishing in refugee camps for too long. Although we like to use the current climate of peace to resettle in our own villages, without basic amenities such as housing, roads, drinking water and health facilities it will not be possible for us to move," said the internally displaced living in the Kalmadu refugee camp in Valaichenai.
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Tigers help IDPs resettle in high security zone

[TamilNet, Thursday, 07 November 2002, 18:08 GMT]
(News Feature) In a major gesture to reiterate their commitment to peace in Sri Lanka, the Liberation Tigers Thursday helped displaced civilians settle in a village situated in one of their most heavily defended high security zones in the north. The village of Kudarappu is on Jaffna’s southeastern coast in the Nagar kovil sector where the armed forces of the Liberation Tigers and Sri Lanka face each other across heavily defended and mined Defence Lines.
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MP gives up boycott after meeting SLA commanders

[TamilNet, Thursday, 07 November 2002, 14:22 GMT]
Mr. Gnanamuthu Krishnapillai, Member of Parliament (MP) of Batticaloa district agreed to give up his boycotting of parliament after meeting commanders of the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) Thursday morning. The MP met with Brigadier S.R. Balasuriya, commander of 23rd division in Minneriya and Colonel R. de Silva, commander of 23-3 Brigade in Batticalo at the MP's residence in Kaluwanchikudi on instructions from Joint Chief of Staff, Lionel Balagalle.
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Mannar Co-op council seeks building from SLA

[TamilNet, Thursday, 07 November 2002, 13:09 GMT]
The District Co-operative Council of Mannar has requested Sri Lanka’s Ministry of Defence to return a two-story building at the entrance to the northwestern town, occupied by the Sri Lankan armed forces from 1990, officials said. The building for long functioned as the SLA’s office for issuing permits to civilians for entering and staying in the Mannar Island. The building’s upper floor was used by the SLA for interrogating and detaining civilians arrested on suspicion and during cordon and search operations.
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SLA refuses Vanni returnees to resettle in Point Pedro

[TamilNet, Thursday, 07 November 2002, 07:44 GMT]
The Sri Lanka Army Wednesday refused permission for ten displaced families who returned from Vanni region to resettle at Koddady in Point Pedro in Jaffna district. These families left the area in 1996 following military operation by the SLA.
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MP demands investigation on SLA conduct

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 06 November 2002, 12:28 GMT]
G. Krishnapillai, also known as Vellimalai, Member of Parliament (MP) of Batticaloa district, is boycotting the parliament protesting against the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) for using force in trying to stop him from attending a district development meeting held in Batticaloa Secretariat on 29th October.
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