Access route to be opened on Sunday

[TamilNet, Thursday, 05 August 1999, 12:17 GMT]
The movement of civilians and food between the LTTE controlled areas of the Vanni and SLA controlled areas is set to resume on Sunday August 8, said government officials in Vavuniya today.
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Safe passage can be opened next week -Balagalle

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 04 August 1999, 13:15 GMT]
The commander of the Sri Lankan security forces in the Vanni, Maj.Gen. Lionel Balagalle, said this afternoon that the message from the Liberation Tigers regarding the opening of a safe passage for civilians through forward defence positions was received by the Sri Lankan army around 11 a.m. today. He said that a reply by the SLA to the LTTE's message consenting to open a passage at Mankulam on the A9 highway was sent forthwith.
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CID seeks SLA evidence

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 04 August 1999, 11:00 GMT]
Mannar District Courts Judge M, Ilancheliyan Tuesday ordered the commanders of 21-2 Brigade in Mannar and 21-1 Brigade in Vavuniya to hand over any evidence connected to the suspects in the murder of Ida Hamilitta, to the CID officials who are now in charge of the case.
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Vanni patients reach Vavuniya

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 04 August 1999, 10:54 GMT]
Three patients from the Vanni area were brought to Vavuniya yesterday evening from the north-western town of Mannar having been evacuated from the Vanni by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), said hospital sources.
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LTTE agrees Vanni access point

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 03 August 1999, 23:40 GMT]
The Liberation Tigers are agreeable to setting up a demilitarised zone on the A9 highway near Mankulam between the present forward defences of the LTTE and the Sri Lanka Army (SLA), said an official of the LTTE in London who was contacted by TamilNet tonight with regards to the SLA's latest proposals for an access route.
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EPDP to boycott Parliament

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 03 August 1999, 13:07 GMT]
The Eelam People's Democratic Party (EPDP) said today that it will boycott Parliament until the PA government meets its demands. The Tamil group has nine MPs in the Sri Lankan legislature. Two seats, however, remain vacant currently due to a case pending in the courts.
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"Deep concern over deteriorating situation"

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 03 August 1999, 12:43 GMT]
The New York based international monitoring organisation, Human Rights Watch, yesterday urged the Sri Lanka government and the Liberation Tigers to" reach an immediate agreement which would guarantee safe passage of civilians and essential supplies" to the parts of the Vanni which are not under the control of the Sri Lanka Army (SLA).
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Mannar boat ambulance suspended?

[TamilNet, Monday, 02 August 1999, 19:24 GMT]
Six seriously ill patients were brought in fishing boats from the Vanni to Mannar hospital this evening around 5 pm by officials of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and Medicine Sans Frontiers (MSF), said sources in Mannar. Unconfirmed reports say the boat service has now been suspended.
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Jaffna HRC releases figures

[TamilNet, Monday, 02 August 1999, 17:12 GMT]
Ten people were reported missing and eight were said to have been arrested by the Sri Lankan security forces in the Jaffna peninsula during the month of July according to the local office of the government-funded Human Rights Commission (HRC).
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Peace talks ´not ruled out´

[TamilNet, Monday, 02 August 1999, 13:36 GMT]
The Sri Lankan government will not rule out talks with the Liberation Tigers said Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar addressing a press conference today at his ministry in Colombo.
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New access routes proposed

[TamilNet, Monday, 02 August 1999, 13:28 GMT]
New proposals have been sent by the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) to the Liberation Tigers this morning regarding the opening of an access route to the areas held by the LTTE in the Vanni, Major General Lionel Balagalla the Chief of Staff and the Commandar for Vanni told a news conference held in Colombo this afternoon.
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Muslims to oppose new province

[TamilNet, Monday, 02 August 1999, 11:44 GMT]
Muslims outside the Ampara district have reacted strongly to the proposal for a south east province made by Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) leader, MR. M.H.M.Ashroff and organized a petition against it.
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News in brief

[TamilNet, Monday, 02 August 1999, 10:28 GMT]
Police firing damages shops and Fire at Batticaloa airbase
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Father of four killed in shelling - VoT

[TamilNet, Sunday, 01 August 1999, 19:11 GMT]
Sinnathambi Selvagopal (53), of Selvapuram in Pandiyankulam and father of 4 children, was killed in an artillery shell attack by Rana Gosha troops this morning, the VoT said in its night news transmission.
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SLA operation in Batticaloa

[TamilNet, Sunday, 01 August 1999, 11:30 GMT]
The Sri Lanka Army (SLA) launched a limited military operation today towards Paduvankarai, an area administered by the Liberation Tigers (LTTE), from Batticaloa.
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Decapitated body found near Madhu

[TamilNet, Saturday, 31 July 1999, 21:00 GMT]
The decapitated body of a female and a body of a male were handed over to the Mannar hospital this afternoon around 4 p.m by the Sri Lankan Army (SLA) said sources in Vavuniya.
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Colombo students demonstrate

[TamilNet, Friday, 30 July 1999, 12:11 GMT]
Tamil, Muslim and Sinhala students of the Art faculty of Colombo University have been jointly staging a demonstration in front of their faculty today, demanding the Sri Lankan government take steps to hold GCE examinations in the Vanni, when schools elsewhere sit for papers.
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'SLA used civilians as human shield'

[TamilNet, Thursday, 29 July 1999, 18:16 GMT]
The Liberation Tigers in a statement issued today said that they had thwarted an attempt yesterday by the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) to advance using civilians as a human shield through the SLA forward defence lines at Moondumurippu-Nattaangkandal.
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ICRC 'not involved in convoy crossing'

[TamilNet, Thursday, 29 July 1999, 10:58 GMT]
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) was at no stage involved in the organisation or escort of the convoy which transported the Vanni residents who have been stranded in Vavuniya since last month due to the closure of the access route to the areas held by the Liberation Tigers said the organisation's spokesman in Colombo, Mr.Harasha Gunawardena this afternoon.
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Shelling causes further Vanni displacement - VoT

[TamilNet, Thursday, 29 July 1999, 10:45 GMT]
The VoT said in its nightly new bulletin last night that artillery shells fired by Rana Gosha troops towards the Paandiyankulam area yesterday evening damaged the school building forcing about 500 civilians to flee the area to a safer place.
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