LTTE delegation meets Norwegian facilitators in Oslo

[TamilNet, Friday, 11 March 2005, 16:45 GMT]
"We told the Norwegians that Sri Lanka Government should without delay extend co-operation to finalize the joint mechanism for aid distribution and should take immediate steps to end the targetting of LTTE political officials and cadres working in the East by paramilitary operatives operating with the backing of the Sri Lanka Army," said Head of LTTE Political Wing, S.P Thamilchelvan in Oslo Friday during a brief press conference held at the Hotel Continental in Norway's capital Oslo at 3 pm.
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Killings escalate in Batticaloa

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 08 March 2005, 03:43 GMT]
A paramilitary cadre waiting to board a bus to Colombo in front of Police headquarters office in Batticaloa town was shot dead by unidentified gunmen around 5.10 a.m. Tuesday. Another paramilitary cadre was gunned in the Eravur area, 14 kilometres north of Batticaloa, Monday night around 9.15. Eravur Police sources investigating the murder said that he was a member of the Razeek Group, an auxiliary of the Sri Lanka army.
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Karuna Group kills six civilians

[TamilNet, Sunday, 06 March 2005, 03:03 GMT]
Four Muslims, a Singhalese and a supporter of the Liberation Tigers were shot dead by gunmen suspected to be from the paramilitary Karuna Group in Kolakunaweli, in the Welikanda area, 65 kilometres northwest of Batticaloa Saturday night around 8.45, Police said. A Muslim man, a muslim woman and a Singhalese were wounded in the shooting. The Karuna Group had attacked the Muslims and Singhalese for providing information to the Liberation Tigers about its activities in the Welikanda area, Police sources said. The gunmen massacred the civilians in place by the Polannaruwa-Batticaloa highway, about 300 metres from Kolkunaweli Police post.
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Suspected Karuna Group operative killed

[TamilNet, Saturday, 05 March 2005, 09:29 GMT]
A man suspected to be a cadre of the paramilitary Karuna Group was shot dead in Vanthaarumoolai, 18 kilometres north of Batticaloa Saturday, Police said. He was identified as Mr. Mylvaganam Pulenthiran, 26. Meanwhile, Sri Lanka Air Force flew the paramilitary cadre who was shot and seriously injured in Batticaloa town Saturday morning to Colombo, Police said.
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Paramilitary cadre shot in Batticaloa town

[TamilNet, Saturday, 05 March 2005, 07:20 GMT]
A paramilitary cadre was shot and seriously wounded in Batticaloa town Saturday morning around 9.10. He was shot near the ICRC office in the eastern town.
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Thousands march in Jaffna, urge talks, condemn attacks on LTTE activists

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 02 March 2005, 12:39 GMT]
More than twenty thousand people marched in Jaffna Wednesday urging the international community to persuade the Sri Lankan government to restart the long stalled peace talks with the Liberation Tigers. The march condemned the killing and shooting of LTTE political leaders and called on Colombo to set up a joint mechanism with the Tigers for the equitable distribution of Tsunami aid to the northeast. Jaffna peninsula was shut down until the march, which wound through the northern town from morning 10.45, concluded in the afternoon.
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Police allege Kuveni shooting suspect from paramilitary

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 01 March 2005, 16:09 GMT]
Sri Lanka Police said Tuesday evening they took into custody a suspect who had allegedly shot Ms. Kuveni and her two colleagues near Akkaraipattu Monday evening. Police sources in Kalmunai, 40 kilometres south of Batticaloa, told TamilNet that the man was identified as 'Pratheepan', a member of a paramilitary working with the Sri Lanka army. He was arrested by the Special Task Force Tuesday afternoon at the Carmel Fatima College Tsunami refugee camp in Kalmunai town, Police said.
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Senior LTTE political official shot

[TamilNet, Monday, 28 February 2005, 13:54 GMT]
A senior political official and two of her colleagues were shot and seriously wounded around 6 p.m.Monday near Akkaraipattu by gunmen suspected to be from a paramilitary working with the Sri Lankan armed forces, LTTE sources in Batticaloa said. Ms. Kuveni, head of LTTE's political division (women) for Batticaloa-Amparai was traveling in a auto rickshaw with two of her colleagues in Thambattai, about six kilometres south of Akkaraipattu when gunmen riding a motorbike opened fire on them, LTTE sources said. "This could not have happened without the knowledge of the Sri Lankan armed forces in that area", charged an LTTE commander in Batticaloa.
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Kumaratunga says no paramilitaries with Sri Lanka army

[TamilNet, Friday, 25 February 2005, 07:17 GMT]
Sri Lanka's President Chandrika Kumaratunga told Norwegian special peace envoy Mr. Eric Solheim that there aren’t any paramilitaries working with the Sri Lankan armed forces, according to a press release by the Presidential Secretariat Friday. The Liberation Tigers say that Colombo had committed to disarm paramilitaries working with the Sri Lankan armed forces in the island’s northeast under the terms of the cease fire agreement (CFA) it signed with them three years ago. The statement said that Mr. Solheim conveyed to Ms Kumaratunge LTTE’s concern regarding the implementation of Article 1.8 of the CFA in relation to disarming of paramilitary groups when he met her Thursday in Colombo.
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US Tamils call for an end to East violence

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 22 February 2005, 12:00 GMT]
Condemning the recent killing of LTTE's Political Head of Batticaloa-Amparai Mr Kausalyan and others in the East, a group of expatriate Tamil organizations in the US called upon Sri Lankan President Chandrika Kumaratunga "to suspend immediately the military officers who were in charge of Welikanda and Punnai, where this inhuman act took place...[and to take] swift actions and measures to prevent similar atrocities in the future," in a press release issued Tuesday.
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Paramilitary ambushed in Polannaruwa, one killed

[TamilNet, Sunday, 20 February 2005, 13:25 GMT]
A paramilitary cadre was killed and another wounded when gunmen ambushed them near the Batticaloa-Polannaruwa district border Sunday around 11.45 a.m. Sri Lanka Police in Welikanda said. The two men, both cadres of the Karuna Group, were traveling on a motorbike from Karapola to Muththukkal, villages in the interior of Polannaruwa District, about 65 kilometres northwest of Batticaloa, when they were ambushed. The injured cadre identified as Mr. Vinayagamoorthy Jeganathan (Suthaharan) was admitted to Polannaruwa Base Hospital.


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Paramilitary cadre injured in shooting

[TamilNet, Sunday, 20 February 2005, 08:40 GMT]
A young person was shot and injured by unidentified gunmen Saturday night around 10.15 in Oddamavady, 34 kilometres north of Batticaloa, Police said. The man, Mr. Vadivel Ravichandran, 22, of Kiran, told Police he was a member of the paramilitary Karuna Group.
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Paramilitaries, lack of aid agreement blocking talks - Balasingham

[TamilNet, Monday, 14 February 2005, 20:50 GMT]
The Liberation Tigers’ political strategist and chief negotiator, Mr. Anton Balasingham, told Norwegian facilitators Monday that the Sri Lankan government had to take steps to restore confidence in the peace process, in particular by disarming paramilitaries working alongside its armed forces and establish a joint mechanism with the LTTE for post-tsunami aid, sources said.
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Government's ability to prevent killings limited, says Mangala Samaraweera

[TamilNet, Friday, 11 February 2005, 07:46 GMT]
Cabinet Spokesman of President Chandrika Kumaratunga's Freedom Alliance government Minister Mangala Samaraweera said Friday that although the government was taking all steps to prevent killings in the future, there was a limit to which it can prevent them. The killings took place between Sri Lanka army garrisons at Welikanda and Punanai on the Pollonnorawa-Batticaloa road Monday.
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Kousalyan killed in ambush

[TamilNet, Monday, 07 February 2005, 16:08 GMT]
Mr. E. Kousalyan, head of the Liberation Tigers' political division for Batticaloa-Amparai district was killed in an ambush on the highway to Batticaloa Monday night around 7.45, Sri Lanka military sources said. Three persons who were travelling with him were killed and four were injured including two policemen in the attack which took place between Sri Lanka army garrisons at Welikanda and Punanai, northwest of Battialoa, according to the SLA. Mr. Kousalyan was traveling with Mr. Ariyanayagam Chandra Nehru, former TNA MP for Amparai district, who was seriously injured in the ambush.
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LTTE official shot dead in Batticaloa

[TamilNet, Friday, 04 February 2005, 15:56 GMT]
An official of the Liberation Tigers was shot dead by gunmen suspected to be members of a paramilitary working with the Sri Lanka army intelligence Friday morning in Kiran, 28 kilometres north of Batticaloa. The slain official was identified as Mr. Sinnathurai Thevathas, 28, who is charge of LTTE’s Forest Conservation Division for Batticaloa.


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Jaffna RRAN fraud case put off

[TamilNet, Saturday, 18 December 2004, 15:04 GMT]
Jaffna magistrate friday ordered to strike off from the trial roll the case on forty seven million rupees fraud in the construction ofl public markets and a home for the aged under the Rehabilition,Reconstruction Authority for North(RRAN) during the Peoples Alliance govt in 2001. Magistrate R.T Viknarajah said the case would off the trial roll until the instruction of the attorney general is received.
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Paramilitary cadre arrested with hand grenade in Valaichenai

[TamilNet, Saturday, 18 December 2004, 10:40 GMT]
A paramilitary cadre, Vellaikutty Tharmakumar (25), believed to be a member of the paramilitary group led by Karuna, was arrested in Valaichenai, 32 kilometres north of Batticaloa, when he was found in possession of a hand grenade Friday evening, Police sources said.
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RSF says concerned over attacks on Tamil media

[TamilNet, Monday, 13 December 2004, 21:12 GMT]
Reporters Without Borders (RSF) Monday voiced concern over threats to the news media in the war-torn north and east of Sri Lanka after a Tamil-language daily newspaper and the premises of a radio and TV group were the targets of violent attacks two days apart. RSF said in a statement that the attacks not only posed a threat to journalists but also denied the public reasonable access to news and information. It called for thorough investigations to identify and punish those responsible.
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‘No Karuna group, only SLA psy ops’ –Kausalyan

[TamilNet, Monday, 13 December 2004, 04:47 GMT]
“Sri Lanka military intelligence has from time to time unleashed brutal state terror in the East, using individuals and paramilitary groups such as PLOTE Mohan and Razeek group. There is no Karuna group operating in the East now. The recent violence in the East in the name of ‘Karuna group’ is a continuation of this state terror by the SLA,” said Mr. E. Kausalyan, the political wing leader of the Liberation Tigers in the East, speaking to journalists at the LTTE secretariat in Kokkadicholai Saturday.
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