SLA hands over 30 bodies

[TamilNet, Monday, 25 December 2000, 11:56 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army on Monday handed over the bodies of thirty Liberation Tigers who were killed during the recent fighting in the Kaithady sector, east of Jaffna town, to the International Committee of the Red Cross.
Full story >>

"Offensive against Tigers will continue" - P.M

[TamilNet, Friday, 22 December 2000, 14:11 GMT]
Sri Lanka's Prime Minister, Mr.Ratnasiri Wickremanayaka, told reporters in Colombo Friday that military offensives against the Liberation Tigers will continue and that a response to the month long cease-fire declared by them unilaterally Thursday night could be considered only after President Kumaratunga returns to the island. Meanwhile the massive three pronged offensive launched Friday by the SLA barely 8 hours after the cease-fire offer by the Tigers faced fierce opposition south west of Madduvil but another prong from Nunavil has advanced close to the Kaithady bridge east of Jaffna town sources said.
Full story >>

Tigers shell eastern naval detachment

[TamilNet, Thursday, 21 December 2000, 11:32 GMT]
Five Sri Lanka Navy (SLN) personnel were killed and two others were wounded when the Liberation Tigers launched a mortar attack on a naval detachment at Salaiparu in the Kuchchaveli Division. around 9 a.m. Thursday, security sources in Trincomalee said.
Full story >>

Sinhala nationalists protest against talks

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 20 December 2000, 14:34 GMT]
The militant Sinhala Buddhist nationalist group, the National Movement Against Terrorism (NMAT), urged the Sri Lanka army to continue the war until the Liberation Tigers are defeated when they met the SLA commander Lt.Gen. Lionel Balagalle Wednesday and gave him a memorandum against peace talks to end the ethnic conflict in the island. The NMAT held a protest in downtown Colombo against peace talks Wednesday afternoon. Protesters burnt an effigy of LTTE leader Velupillai Pirapaharan and poked fun at two persons dressed up as Norwegian peace emissary Eric Soleheim and British Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Peter Hain.
Full story >>

Two soldiers shot dead

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 19 December 2000, 08:01 GMT]
Two Sri Lanka Army soldiers attached to the SLA's military intelligence unit were shot dead by suspected members of the Liberation Tigers in the high security zone of Mannar town around 11.10 a.m. Tuesday, security sources said. Two soldiers were also wounded in the incident.
Full story >>

Tigers attack SLN-SLA detachment in east

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 19 December 2000, 02:48 GMT]
A Sri Lanka Navy sailor was killed and three Sri Lanka army soldiers were injured when the Liberation Tigers attacked the Saththurukkondaan SLA-SLN camp by the Batticaloa lagoon, about five kilometers north of the eastern town around 1 a.m. Tuesday.
Full story >>

SLA asked to assist murder investigation

[TamilNet, Monday, 18 December 2000, 15:43 GMT]
The Vavuniya district judge M.Ilancheliyan Monday directed the commander of the Sri Lanka army units in the Cheddikulam region to assist the court in the investigation into the murder of Kanapathipillai Selvakumar (42) of Maniarkulam who was abducted by armed persons from his home on Saturday. Selvakumar's body was found by the village reservoir yesterday.
Full story >>

Fresh SLA operation in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Saturday, 16 December 2000, 11:38 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army launched a fresh operation towards areas held by the Liberation Tigers in t Nunavil-Kaithady sector in Thenmaradchi in the early hours of Saturday. SLA sources in Jaffna said 12 soldiers including an officer were killed and 31 were wounded in the fighting.
Full story >>

Peace efforts at impasse - paper

[TamilNet, Friday, 15 December 2000, 12:03 GMT]
(News Feature) The Sri Lankan government's refusal to lift its economic embargo on Tamil areas not held by its military and Colombo's imposition of fresh conditions for negotiations threaten to stall Norwegian efforts to bring about a peaceful resolution of the island's protracted conflict, the London-based Tamil Guardian said this week. "The Sri Lankan government is well aware that adopting this position effectively creates an impasse," the paper said in the editorial column of its latest issue, which hit news stands Friday.
Full story >>

SLA soldier killed

[TamilNet, Friday, 15 December 2000, 11:59 GMT]
A Sri Lanka Army soldier was killed in a claymore blast near Valaichenai, 32 km. north of Batticaloa around 8 a.m. Friday, security sources said. The blast occurred near Usan Etram SLA camp.
Full story >>

Judge sets date to file objections

[TamilNet, Friday, 15 December 2000, 04:27 GMT]
Eastern High Court Judge, A.N. Ramachandran, last Tuesday ordered the six respondents to the Habeas Corpus petition filed by Jeyakili Pushparatha to file their objections before February 15, 2001, legal sources said. In her petition Pushparatha had asked the respondents to produce in court her husband Vairamuttu Jeyakilli of Salli, arrested by the Sri Lanka Navy (SLN) personnel on February 24 this year.
Full story >>

Two hunters shot dead by SLAF

[TamilNet, Thursday, 14 December 2000, 23:15 GMT]
Pampaimadhu residents, Arulanantham Kamalanathan (29), and Sinnathamby Sivakumar (30) who went hunting in Poovarasankulam, Vavuniya were shot and killed by Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) personnel on Monday evening, said sources. SLAF claimed that the men were LTTE members and that they had recovered two grenades and a pistol from the dead men.
Full story >>

Sri Lanka rejects self-determination for Tamils

[TamilNet, Thursday, 14 December 2000, 11:42 GMT]
The Sri Lankan government Thursday criticised comments by a visiting British Minister last month that the international community will support self-determination for the island’s Tamil community as well as the territorial integrity of Sri Lanka. Foreign Minister Laxshman Kadirgamar was quoted in the state-owned Daily News as saying he “took strong exception” to comments three weeks ago to Britain's Junior Foreign Minister Peter Hain as they were an infringement on Sri Lanka’s affairs.
Full story >>

JVP protests foreign involvement

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 13 December 2000, 22:49 GMT]
Hundreds of people participated in a rally held in Sri Lanka's capital Colombo on Wednesday evening, protesting against the involvement of foreign countries in solving the island's protracted ethnic conflict and soaring cost of living. The rally was organised by the People's Liberation Front (JVP).
Full story >>

Sri Lanka rejects de-escalation before talks

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 13 December 2000, 03:29 GMT]
(News Feature) The Sri Lankan government said Tuesday that it would not accept the Liberation Tigers' call for a de-escalation of the war prior to unconditional negotiations to end the island’s protracted conflict, as the call was “proposed almost as a precondition for talks.” The government instead said de-escalation must be accompanied by talks on a permanent solution, which must be preceded by the Liberation Tigers agreeing the core issues to be covered in any negotiations. The government also re-iterated that any talks must be completed within a definite time frame.
Full story >>

SLA arrests, beats-up students

[TamilNet, Sunday, 10 December 2000, 14:32 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers arrested four youths from Karuvakerni near Valaichenai in Batticaloa at 3 am today morning and severly beat the youths before releasing them, said village residents.
Full story >>

Police say no to Jaffna Church peace march

[TamilNet, Thursday, 07 December 2000, 20:13 GMT]
The Sri Lankan Police Thursday refused permission to the Catholic church in the north to go on a peace procession in Jaffna town. A Catholic church spokesman said that the Police denied permission for the procession on the grounds that the security situation in the Jaffna town did not permit it. He said the march had been organised as a remembrance of a saint of the church.
Full story >>

Northern plight - Jaffna MP carts in protest

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 06 December 2000, 14:44 GMT]
United National Party MP for Jaffna Mr.A.Maheswaran led a protest Wednesday against the high price of goods in Jaffna and the government embargo on essentials to the Vanni by riding a bullock cart to the Sri Lankan Parliament. Six UNP Parliamentarians, including Dr.Jayalath Jayawardena and Mahinda Samarasekera joined him in the protest. Mr. Maheswaran told TamilNet that he was protesting over the exorbitant rates charged for taking goods to Jaffna by sea, adding that it is very much cheaper to ship things from Pakistan to Sri Lanka than from Colombo to Jaffna.
Full story >>

Blast kills 4

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 06 December 2000, 11:30 GMT]
A Sri Lankan policeman and three civilians were killed when a bus was hit by a mine at Sathurokkondan 5 km. North of Batticaloa around 1.15 p.m. Wednesday, police sources said. Twenty other passengers were also wounded in the incident. The bus was travelling behind a Sri Lanka Army (SLA) convoy to Polonnaruwa the sources said.
Full story >>

SLA starts another operation for Jaffna road

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 05 December 2000, 07:36 GMT]
The Sri Lankan army launched an operation towards areas held by the Liberation Tigers west of Chavakachcheri in Jaffna Tuesday morning. SLA troops backed by artillery and armour are attempting to advance on the A9 highway in the direction of Navatkuli sources said. The LTTE held areas between Jaffna and Chavakachcheri were bombed heavily by the Sri Lanka Air Force since Saturday.
Full story >>