Attack said to mark Koneswary rape and murder

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 22 August 2001, 04:22 GMT]
The Liberation Tigers in Batticaloa said that Tuesday's attack on the Sri Lanka Police detachement in the island's eastern province was carried out to mark the death of Koneswary Murugesapillai, a thirty five year old mother of three who was gang raped and murdered in front of her family allegedly by a group of Policemen from the Central Camp Police station on 21 August 1997. Koneswary was killed, according to her family, when the Policemenmen exploded a grenade on her lower abdomen to destroy evidence of the rape. None of the perpetrators of the woman's rape and murder have been brought to book so far.
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Furore over chemical warheads continues

[TamilNet, Monday, 20 August 2001, 18:30 GMT]
(News Feature) The furore over the Sri Lanka Army's purchase of a thousand units of the RPO-A Shmel infantry flamethrower continued this week as the Sunday Leader published further details of a corruption scandal in which the paper claims Army commander Lt. Gen. Lionel Balagalle is involved. Last week the SLA initially defended its purchase of the chemical warheads which are said to be internationally banned but then reversed its position, asserting that the Shmel was in fact not a chemical weapon and hence was not banned.
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Marxists and Buddhist monks join for protest

[TamilNet, Monday, 20 August 2001, 18:13 GMT]
Sri Lanka's politically powerful Buddhist clergy aligned with the island's radical and 'moderate' Marxists Monday to demand that the Sri Lankan government should reconvene the Parliament and call off the proposed referendum on a referendum for a new constitution. The People's Centre for Democracy and the Freedom of the Country held a demonstration Monday around 2.30 p.m. at the Lipton Circus, a busy intersection in downtown Colombo. Thousands of protestors held placards and shouted slogans against the People's Alliance regime.
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Jaffna students urge Colombo to stop bombing

[TamilNet, Sunday, 19 August 2001, 16:11 GMT]
The Jaffna University Students Union (JUSU) appealed to international community "to intervene and safeguard the lives of Tamil students and civilians in the northeastern province from the continuing reprisal aerial attacks by the Sri Lanka Air Force". The JUSU in a statement issued Sunday said "aerial attacks targeting civilian positions such as schools and residential areas in northeast, particularly in Vanni and other Tigers controlled region are taking place almost daily. These indiscriminate aerial attacks have caused deaths and destruction to lives and properties of Tamil civilians".
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'Mole' kills leader of SLA penetration team

[TamilNet, Sunday, 19 August 2001, 00:35 GMT]
A soldier of a Sri Lanka army deep penetration group was killed in the early hours of the morning Saturday when he was shot by another trooper of the unit that was lying in ambush at Kurinjamunai junction inside the area held by the Liberation Tigers west of Batticaloa town. The trooper got away with the weapons of his dead team leader. Both men are from the SLA's National Guard. Military sources in Batticaloa said that the trooper who got away was an LTTE 'mole'.
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SLAF Mig 27 crashes

[TamilNet, Saturday, 18 August 2001, 06:30 GMT]
A Sri Lanka Air Force Mig 27 aircraft crashed near the Katunayaka international airport Saturday around 11.18 a.m. The Russian built Mig 27 fell over the town of Seeduwa, two kilometres north of the airport. The aircraft was completely destroyed and the Russian pilot was killed in the crash.
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Controversial weapon meant for genocide alleges MP

[TamilNet, Friday, 17 August 2001, 14:26 GMT]
"The Sri Lankan government is going to deploy chemical weapons against the Tamils in the island's north and east. The aim is to annihilate them totally. The use of this dangerous chemical weapon against the Tamil people should be strongly condemned," said Mr. Joseph Pararajasingham, Tamil United Liberation Front MP for Batticaloa, addressing legislators who gathered Friday in the Sri Lankan Parliament and decided to press ahead with the no confidence motion against President Kumaratunga's government.
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SL crisis deepens as majority legislators stake claim

[TamilNet, Friday, 17 August 2001, 12:17 GMT]
The majority of the members of the Sri Lankan Parliamentarian met in the legislature Friday and unanimously resolved to go ahead with the no confidence motion against President Chandrika Kumaratunga's government and defy any attempt by her to suspend Parliament again.
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"Economy in shambles, law and order breakdown"- opposition

[TamilNet, Thursday, 16 August 2001, 19:58 GMT]
"The economy is in shambles. There is no law and order. The government has no majority in parliament. The government is not in a position to present the budget," said Dr.Karunasena Kodituwakku, Media Spokesman and parliamentarian of the United National Party (UNP), addressing opposition demonstrators at Kolonnawa, an outer suburb of Colombo, Thursday. The Marxist Janata Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) demonstrated against President Kumaratunga's government Thursday in front of the island's central railway station in downtown Colombo, despite reports that the party might help her stay in power.
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Hakeem castigates PA for "injustices" to minorities

[TamilNet, Thursday, 16 August 2001, 16:38 GMT]
The Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (Hakeem wing) has blamed the People's Alliance (PA) government for racial violence perpetrated on Muslims and other minority communities in the island since 1994. "The Muslim community in the country has witnessed more than seventy incidents of racial violence against it under the present government," said Mr.Rauff Hakeem, the Leader of the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress, addressing a public meeting at Panduwasnwara in the Kandy district Thursday evening.
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Search operation in Tamil suburb

[TamilNet, Thursday, 16 August 2001, 13:28 GMT]
All private boarding houses and lodges in the Wellawatte police area were searched by special police teams Wednesday night. All inmates were closely questioned and documents in their possession were thoroughly examined. The search operation, which commenced around 9 p.m. ended by midnight, Wellawatte police sources said. Wellawatte is a Tamil dominated suburb in the southern sector of Colombo city.
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LTTE condemns Sri Lankas purchase of chemical weapons

[TamilNet, Thursday, 16 August 2001, 09:17 GMT]
The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), in a statement issued from its headquarters in Vanni, northern Sri Lanka today, warned the Kumaratunga government of disastrous consequences if it inducted the recently acquired weapons with chemical warheads into the north-eastern theatre of war.
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LTTE denies talks with Sri Lankan minister

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 15 August 2001, 09:58 GMT]
The Liberation Tigers Wednesday denied claims by the Sri Lankan government that the organisation had met and held talks with a Sri Lankan cabinet Minister during his visit Monday to the Roman Catholic shrine in Madhu, a town held by the LTTE. When contacted by telephone, the LTTE’s chief negotiator, Anton Balasingham, told TamilNet Wednesday that Aviation Minister Jeyaraj Fernandopulle had merely met with the LTTE’s border security guards.
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Student killed, houses destroyed in SLAF bombing

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 14 August 2001, 19:19 GMT]
A student was killed and a girl was seriously injured in a heavy bombing raid by the Sri Lanka Air Force on villages in Kilinochchi south Monday, the night news broadcast of the Voice of Tigers said. Tharmakulasingham Jegathees, 22, was blown to pieces when his village was hit by the air strike, the radio said. The student was killed when the SLAF’s Kfir fighter jet bombers bombed the village of Puthiya Punnaineeraavi, Monday, according to the radio. The SLAF has stepped up heavy bombing raids in the north and east of the island.
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Anti-Govt. demonstrations in 70 towns

[TamilNet, Monday, 13 August 2001, 19:04 GMT]
Demonstrations were held in seventy towns throughout the island Monday demanding the resignation of the People's Alliance government and "the installation of an interim government to bring in democratic reforms." The People's Movement for Democracy organized these demonstrations at Galle, Kandy, Ratnapura, Matale, Polonnaruwa, Kurunagala, Kadawatte, and other important towns.
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Sri Lanka acquires ‘banned’ weapons

[TamilNet, Monday, 13 August 2001, 16:19 GMT]
(NEWS FEATURE) The Sri Lanka Army has acquired an infantry weapon with a chemical warhead whose use has been shunned internationally except by Russia due to the risk to civilians, press reports said this weekend. In an expose, the Sunday Leader said that the SLA had spent several million dollars to acquire 1000 units of the shoulder-fired RPO-A Shmel Rocket Launcher, but that amidst bribes sought by the SLA commander, Lt. General Lionel Ballagalle, the weapons delivered were of old stock and may have exceeded their shelf life. The US Defence Intelligence Agency says the weapon’s chemical warhead is toxic and hence dangerous even if it fails to detonate.
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TULF appeals against Army offensive

[TamilNet, Friday, 10 August 2001, 10:22 GMT]
The Tamil United Liberation Front Friday urged President Chandrika Kumaratunge to instruct the Sri Lanka Army to stop launching a major operation in eastern province. "The intended military operation will cause mass destruction and loss of life among civilians. I wish to point out that this type of operation will not be tolerated by any right thinking people, in particular by the international community" said Mr.V.Anandasangaree, Senior Vice President of the TULF in a letter faxed tothe President.
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Trincomalee Cadets win Championship

[TamilNet, Thursday, 09 August 2001, 06:51 GMT]
The Trincomalee district Cadet group emerged champions in the island in the 2001 National Cadet Camp organized by the St.John Ambulance Association and Brigade of Sri Lanka held at Labuduwa, a village in the deep south of the country.
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JVP wants "probation" government

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 08 August 2001, 16:02 GMT]
The Marxist-Janata Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) Wednesday called for what they described as a "probationary" government. A party spokesman said that the JVP has submitted a proposal to the Sri Lankan government for the purpose. "The government should have cancelled the referendum instead of postponing it. If the parliament is reconvened it would be possible to consider the governmentÌs proposal for setting up of a constitution planning council," Mr. Wimal Weerawanse, Propaganda Secretary of the JVP, said.
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Referendum postponed

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 07 August 2001, 15:21 GMT]
Sri Lanka's President Chandrika Kumaratunge in a proclamation issued Tuesday evening postponed for October 18 the referendum which has been scheduled to be held on August 21.
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