SLA accused of using civilians as human shields

[TamilNet, Saturday, 02 December 2000, 14:22 GMT]
Residents of Jaffna accused Sri Lankan Army (SLA) of transporting civilians with SLA troops, after 750 of 1250 people scheduled to travel on the MV Lanka Muditha, a government run passenger service from Jaffna to Trincomalee, were replaced by armed soldiers.
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40000 children to benefit from polio immunization

[TamilNet, Saturday, 02 December 2000, 14:01 GMT]
"Children are the messengers of peace. They should be safeguarded from diseases and war atrocities," said the Sri Lanka and Maldives' representative of United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) Mr.Colin Glennie Saturday morning after inaugurating the second round of the National Immunization Program against Poliomeylitis.
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Tigers ambush SLA convoy

[TamilNet, Thursday, 30 November 2000, 07:43 GMT]
Eight Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers, including a lieutenant were killed and 17 wounded when a bus in which they were travelling was hit by a powerful claymore blast at Piramanalankulam, about 22 km. west of Vavuniya on the Mannar road, around 11.15 a.m. Thursday, security sources said.
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Youth identifies farmer's killers

[TamilNet, Thursday, 30 November 2000, 06:07 GMT]
Two Sri Lanka Army soldiers allegedly involved in the murder of a young farmer, Arunasalam Chandramohan, in Sithaandy in the eastern Batticaloa were identified by a fourteen year-old witness in an identification parade held before the Batticaloa Additional Judge, on Wednesday.
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Clashes near Nagarkovil

[TamilNet, Thursday, 30 November 2000, 01:42 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army soldiers and Liberation Tigers clashed in the Vadamaradchi East sector on the north-eastern coast of the Jaffna peninsula in the early hours of Wednesday, security and civilian sources said.
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Diplomats optimistic over Tiger peace call

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 28 November 2000, 21:51 GMT]
(CORRECTION) Officials representing Norway and India met Monday evening with Mr.Karl Inderfurth, US State Secretary with his officials, Donald Camp and Gary Usery, at the residence of the US Ambassador Mr.Ashely Wills in Colombo, source said. Officials representing Sri Lanka's government, main opposition and a local Tamil party were also present.
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Tigers call for "unconditional talks in conducive climate"

[TamilNet, Monday, 27 November 2000, 12:57 GMT]
In his annual Heroes Day speech, the leader of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) Mr.Velupillai Pirapaharan declared Monday that his organisation is prepared for unconditional peace talks with the Sri Lanka government but insisted on a process of de-escalation of war and the creation of a conducive climate of goodwill and normalcy in the Tamil homeland to facilitate such talks. A translation of Mr. Pirapahran's speech released by the LTTE from its London offices quoted him as saying that by normalcy he meant "the restoration of normal civilian life by removing the economic blockade and other restrictions imposed on the Tamil people".
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Fourteen reported missing in November

[TamilNet, Sunday, 26 November 2000, 17:11 GMT]
Fourteen persons have been reported as missing to the Vavuniya Human Rights Commission by their relatives in November, said sources.
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Protests spread against arrest of Jaffna student

[TamilNet, Saturday, 25 November 2000, 15:07 GMT]
Students of the Jaffna Technical College (JTC) have been boycotting the classes since Thursday demanding the immediate release of a student E. Sri Ranganthan who was arrested by the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers last week.
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PTA detainees released - no evidence

[TamilNet, Friday, 24 November 2000, 14:02 GMT]
Batticaloa District Court on Wednesday released two young men who had been tortured after being detained under the draconian Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) for nearly 9 months with out any charges being filed against them.
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10 LTTE casualties - radio

[TamilNet, Friday, 24 November 2000, 13:38 GMT]
Ten members of the Liberation Tigers were killed in an accidental explosion on 15 November in the Manal Aaru region in the north-east of the island, the Voice of Tigers radio said Friday morning.
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World supports self-determination says UK

[TamilNet, Thursday, 23 November 2000, 03:11 GMT]
(News Feature) Britain’s Foreign Office Minister, Peter Hain, Wednesday expressed his government’s support for Norway’s efforts to bring about negotiations to end Sri Lanka’s protracted conflict and urged compromise on both sides. "I am convinced that both the [Sri Lankan] government’s insistence upon the territorial sovereignty of the whole island and the LTTE’s objective of autonomy can be secured," he said. "But for that to happen the shooting must stop and the talking must start."
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Sinhala nationalists demonstrate against British official

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 22 November 2000, 17:46 GMT]
Hundreds of Sinhala nationalists demonstrated outside the British Council building in Colombo around 3 p.m. Wednesday afternoon as the visiting Foreign Office Minister Mr. Peter Hain attended a seminar to deliver a speech on the topic "British Policy on Devolution and the Northern Ireland Peace Process".
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British minister arrives in Sri Lanka

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 22 November 2000, 07:48 GMT]
Concluding his four-day visit to India, British Foreign Office Minister Mr. Peter Hain arrived Colombo Wednesday morning on a two-day visit. This is his first visit to the island as a Foreign Office Minister and the first by a British Foreign Minister since the late Derek Fatchett visited in 1998.
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SLA raids TELO camp

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 21 November 2000, 08:06 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers Tuesday raided the camp of the Tamil Eelam Liberation Organisation (TELO) at Muthliyakulam in the Cheddikulam area south-west of Vavuniya around 6 a.m. and arrested 13 persons, including 4 civilians said Mr. Selvam Adaikalanathan, MP and the leader of the organisation.
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Postmortem reveals burn marks on youth's body

[TamilNet, Monday, 20 November 2000, 00:50 GMT]
Coroner of Eravur, P.Veerakutty, investigating the Saturday killing of a Tamil youth at Palaiyadithona in Sithandy by Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers, returned a verdict of homicide on Sunday. Dr.K. Sukumar, the Judicial Medical Officer of Eravur, said in his post-mortem report that the death was caused by gun-shot injuries and that the body had several cigarette burn marks.
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SLA operation in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Sunday, 19 November 2000, 10:09 GMT]
Fierce fighting erupted in the Northern Jaffna peninsula as government troops launched a limited operation to advance towards Madduvil-North in the early hours of Sunday. Seven Sri Lanka Army soldiers were killed and 27 wounded in the fighting, said sources in Jaffna. Madduvil is about 3 km. north-west of chavakachcheri.
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Fighting at Omanthai

[TamilNet, Sunday, 19 November 2000, 05:04 GMT]
The Liberation Tigers had repulsed the Sri Lanka Army troops who had attempted to advance at Vilakuvaithakulam in the Omanthai area, north of Vavuniya around 9 a.m. Saturday the Voice of Tigers (VoT) said in its morning transmission today. At least 6 government troops were killed in the fighting, the radio said.
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Youth killed in ambush

[TamilNet, Saturday, 18 November 2000, 19:57 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers lying in ambush shot and killed a youth at Santhiveli, about 29 km. north of Batticaloa around 10 p.m. Friday. The army said the youth was a member of the Liberation Tigers.
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Bus services cancellation inconveniences people

[TamilNet, Thursday, 16 November 2000, 19:25 GMT]
Passenger bus services run by the Peoplized Transport Board and the Multi Purposes Co-operative Society (MPCS) to LTTE held villages through Vavunathivu from Batticaloa town have been stopped on the instructions of the security forces, officials concerned said.
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