Three SLA soldiers killed -VoT

[TamilNet, Monday, 16 July 2001, 18:37 GMT]
The Liberation Tigers attacked a sentry post in the Manal Aaru region in the north-east of the island, killing three government troops, the Voice of Tigers (VoT) radio said in its night news bulletin Monday.
Full story >>

Police officer shot dead

[TamilNet, Sunday, 15 July 2001, 09:10 GMT]
A Sri Lankan police officer was shot dead Sunday by unidentified attackers, believed to be members of the Liberation Tigers, at Aalankerni, a suburb in Kinniya, about 10 km. north west of Trincomalee town, said police sources.
Full story >>

Two SLA soldiers killed

[TamilNet, Friday, 13 July 2001, 08:55 GMT]
Two Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers were killed and three wounded in an ambush by the Liberation Tigers at Siththaandy, about 20 km. north of Batticaloa, around 9.30 a.m. Friday, local army sources said.
Full story >>

Kumaratunga seeks 'unequivocal' mandate

[TamilNet, Thursday, 12 July 2001, 19:03 GMT]
Sri Lanka's President Chandrika Kumaratunga Thursday blamed the island's constitution for the ills besetting her country and called for unequivocal mandate for a new constitution in an address to the 'nation' on state run television. The speech focused primarily on the need to do away with the proportional representation system of elections introduced under the 1978 constitution.
Full story >>

Constitutional stratagems key to S.L crisis

[TamilNet, Thursday, 12 July 2001, 03:50 GMT]
"Asking us whether we are in agreement with the proposal that the 'country needs a new Constitution?' is akin to asking a person whether he wants to marry or not marry a woman whom he does not know at all. How can they ask us to vote for something when we do not know whether it is black or white," asked Mr. Wimal Weerawansa, MP, the propaganda secretary and senior leader of the radical Marxist Janata Vimukthi Peramuna (People's Liberation Front), condemning the Sri Lankan President's decision to suspend parliament and hold a referendum in August.
Full story >>

Arrested student leader said being tortured

[TamilNet, Thursday, 12 July 2001, 02:06 GMT]
(News Feature) Krishnasamy Thivyan, the former secretary of the Jaffna University Students Union who was arrested by the Sri Lanka Army has been tortured in military custody, fellow students said Wednesday. In a statement published in Jaffna's Tamil Daily, the Uthayan, the students also said that Thivyan, who is being held by the SLA at its Kankesanthurai, had survived earlier attempts on his life by the security forces.
Full story >>

Parliament prorogued until September

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 10 July 2001, 22:14 GMT]
The Sri Lankan government prorogued Parliament until September. An official statement issued late Tuesday said the legislature was "prorogued with effect from midnight July 10 until September 7". The statement said that the President would call a referendum on a new constitution on August 21.
Full story >>

Woman gang raped, mother assaulted

[TamilNet, Monday, 09 July 2001, 05:25 GMT]
A woman allegedly gang raped by Sri Lanka army soldiers in Meesalai on Saturday night was admitted to the Manthikai hospital in Jaffna Sunday. Hospital sources said that the woman has been raped brutally. The women's mother who had attempted to stop the soldiers from molesting her daughter was severely assaulted and has also been admitted to the hospital for treatment, sources said.
Full story >>

Deep penetration group ambush wounds 4 civilians

[TamilNet, Sunday, 08 July 2001, 08:52 GMT]
Four civilians were wounded when the tractor in which they were travelling was hit by claymore mine triggered by a Sri Lanka Army deep penetration team in the Vaakarai region, about 75 km. north of Batticaloa local residents said. The incident occurred at Kathiraveli-Kattumurivu Kulam road, in the LTTE held area, around 3 p.m. Saturday.
Full story >>

SLA stipulates fishing restriction

[TamilNet, Saturday, 07 July 2001, 18:05 GMT]
The Sri Lanka Navy imposed new restriction on fishing in the seas off Mannar from Saturday. The SLN Saturday banned fishermen from using 15 horsepower out board motors and reduced the time permitted for fishing out at sea to six hours.
Full story >>

Tamil parties criticize Colombo for re-imposing ban

[TamilNet, Friday, 06 July 2001, 05:45 GMT]
Tamil parties Thursday criticized the Sri Lankan government for re-imposing the ban on the Liberation Tigers under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA). The legislation proscribing the Liberation Tigers lapsed Wednesday with the Emergency Regulations.
Full story >>

Opposition conspiracy thwarted -president

[TamilNet, Friday, 06 July 2001, 04:42 GMT]
"The government has been able to abort the conspiracy by the United National Party and Janata Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) to get the State of Emergency removed in the bid to serve the needs of the LTTE" claimed President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunge in a special statement Thursday evening, which followed her decree extending the proscription of Liberation Tigers under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA).
Full story >>

Security stepped up for Black Tigers day

[TamilNet, Thursday, 05 July 2001, 16:29 GMT]
Government troops stepped up security measures in towns in the north and east of the island as Liberation Tigers observed Black Tigers day Thursday. In Mannar Sri Lanka Army soldiers announced over loud hailers that stern action would be taken against businessmen who closed their establishments to mark the day. "Shops that remain closed would be forcibly opened, and they would not be allowed to open for the next eight days" the army announced, according to residents in the town.
Full story >>

SLA arrests University student

[TamilNet, Thursday, 05 July 2001, 11:19 GMT]
Former secretary of Science Faculty, Jaffna University, was arrested by Sri Lanka Army in Kokuvil Jaffna on Monday, 2 July, and is being detained at the detention center in Kankesanthurai, sources said. University students and staff boycotted classes yesterday, July 4th, in protest.
Full story >>

PM's statement to reveal new strategy for ER extension

[TamilNet, Thursday, 05 July 2001, 11:03 GMT]
The Government announced Thursday that the Prime Minister Ratnasiri Wickremanayake will issue a special statement in the parliament tomorrow morning about the extension of State of Emergency in the country, amidst speculation in Colombo political circles that Attorney General Department is very busy in drafting alternate legislation instead of Emergency Regulations (ER), to give more teeth to the existing Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) to deal with Liberation Tigers.
Full story >>

Tamil teachers join protest against rape

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 03 July 2001, 18:57 GMT]
The Ceylon Tamil Teachers Union (CTTU) has appealed to its members and Tamil school children throughout the island to boycott schools on Friday 6 July to protest against the rape of a Tamil woman by policemen at a check post in Maradana, in capital Colombo on 24 June. A coalition of ten Tamil political parties and trade unions are planning to hold a protest rally in Colombo, and a general strike in the Northeast and the hill towns of the island. The twenty thousand member strong CTTU will be one of the trade unions joining the protest.
Full story >>

SLA shelling kills fisherman, wounds 3

[TamilNet, Monday, 02 July 2001, 09:58 GMT]
A fisherman was killed and three others were seriously wounded when Sri Lanka Army soldiers shelled the seas off Gurunagar on the south-western coast of Jaffna around 10 a.m. Monday said sources.
Full story >>

Demonstrators demand govt's resignation

[TamilNet, Saturday, 30 June 2001, 20:25 GMT]
Several hundred supporters of Sri Lanka's main opposition United National Party (UNP) held demonstrations in all 38 electorates of the Western Province, including capital Colombo, Saturday, demanding the resignation of the People's Alliance Government. "The Government has no moral right to be in power anymore as it has lost the confidence of the people. We will force this government out of power with the support of the masses," said Mr.Ranil Wickremasinghe addressing picketers at Armour Street junction in Colombo.
Full story >>

Five assaulted by Jaffna SLA warded

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 27 June 2001, 15:16 GMT]
Five civilians who were arrested and severely assaulted by Sri Lanka Army soldiers on Sunday have been admitted at the Manthikai hospital in Jaffna. Hospital sources said they were suffering from serious head injuries. Four were arrested by troops during a search operation in Mandaan and one in Inparutti both in the Vadamaradchi division on Sunday. The four youth from Mandaan said they were taken to a local army camp and were severely assaulted. They said the SLA officer in charge of the camp was drunk at that time.
Full story >>