Jaffna students killed in SLAF bombing remembered

[TamilNet, Monday, 22 September 2003, 16:22 GMT]
Hundreds of parents, teachers, students and well-wishers gathered Monday afternoon at the Puloly Roman Catholic School in the Vadamaradchi division in Jaffna district to commemorate the 8th death anniversary of 40 people, including 26 students, who were killed on 22nd September 1995 in an aerial attack by the Sri Lanka Air Force bombers on the Nagarkovil Maha Vidiyalayam, education sources said.
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SLA, SLN firing exercises hamper fishing in North

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 17 September 2003, 00:05 GMT]
Jaffna district fisheries co-operative sources complained Tuesday that firing practices by the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) and Sri Lanka Navy (SLN) along the coast of northern sea have rendered several areas dangerous for fishermen, sources said.


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Boats return from Tamilnadu after thirteen years

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 09 September 2003, 01:48 GMT]
Sixty one mechanized fishing boats of Tamil fishermen of Trincomalee left Monday morning around eight from Nagapatinam port in South India to Trincomalee towed by twelve Indian trawlers after thirteen years in the custody of Indian officials, northeast provincial council (NEPC) sources said.


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VVT fishermen complain of assault by SLN soldiers

[TamilNet, Thursday, 03 July 2003, 17:03 GMT]
A group of Valvettithurai (VVT) fishermen Thursday complained to the VVT Fisheries Co-operative Society that they had been assaulted and intimidated while fishing in northern sea by Sri Lanka Navy (SLN) soldiers who came in a Dvora gunboat on Wednesday evening around five, fisheries sources said.


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Point Pedro workers protest against body checks by SLA

[TamilNet, Saturday, 21 June 2003, 17:40 GMT]
Point Pedro harbour workers in the Vadamarachchi division in Jaffna district Saturday struck work protesting against the body check by Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers bringing the unloading of cargo from two vessels anchored in the harbour to a standstill, district secretariat sources said.
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Negotiating Tamil sovereignty

[TamilNet, Saturday, 21 June 2003, 00:52 GMT]
“Tamils have only had very compelling political and moral reasons for not acceding their sovereignty to the Sri Lankan state since Britain gave independence to this island. Therefore no road map to peace in Sri Lanka should be allowed to compromise the Tamil people’s sovereign and inalienable right to decide their political status in the land of their forebears," said Mr. Selvam Adaikalanathan, Tamil National Alliance MP for Vanni, reacting Friday to suggestions that the Liberation Tigers should agree to a peace road map in return for workable interim administration for the northeast.
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Jaffna Protesters demand permission to resettle

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 20 May 2003, 11:08 GMT]
Valikamam North residents should jointly support and participate in the protest to be held today in front of Jaffna secretariat demanding permission to resettle in their homes that lie within the High Security Zone (HSZ) demarcated by the Sri Lanka Army (SLA), said Maavai Senathirajah, Jaffna district Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarian in an appeal to residents in Jaffna, local press reports said.


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Youth suicide in Jaffna high among displaced

[TamilNet, Thursday, 10 April 2003, 15:09 GMT]
Suicide among young persons in Jaffna is relatively higher in areas where many refugees live, according to court records in the northern peninsula. Twelve in the Jaffna division, ten in the Sandilipay-Masiyapiddy area and thirteen in the Chunnakam –Uduvil area committed suicide in 2001-2002. All were young persons under 20.
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IG visits Jaffna, promises to tackle Police graft

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 02 April 2003, 14:34 GMT]
“There aren’t good relations between the people of Jaffna and the Police as a consequence of twenty years of war”, said Sri Lanka’s Inspector general of Police, Mr. T. E Anandarajah, speaking to presspersons in the northern town Wednesday. He said his visit is part of the effort to rectify the situation while acknowledging that there is a shortage of Tamils in the Police.
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'Thanthai' Chelva remembered

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 01 April 2003, 00:43 GMT]
One-hundred and fifth birth day of S.J.V.Chelvanayakam, late Tamil leader who launched Tamils' freedom struggle fifty five years ago, was celebrated in Jaffna Monday morning. Thanthai Chelva Trustee Board Vice Chairman and Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarian Mr. Mavai Senathirajah opened the ceremony garlanding the statue of Chelvanayagam, sources in Jaffna said.


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Soldier on leave arrested with explosives in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Monday, 24 March 2003, 19:32 GMT]
A soldier of the Sri Lanka Army was caught Saturday by air force personnel at the main Palaly military base in the Jaffna district when he was allegedly taking explosives to his home in the south, security sources said.
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HRC special committee visits Jaffna HSZ

[TamilNet, Sunday, 02 March 2003, 16:55 GMT]
The special committee of the Human Rights Commission (HRC) of Sri Lanka, which is inquiring into the complaints in regard to the disappearance of more than six hundred Tamil civilians between 1996 and 1997 in the Jaffna district arrived Saturday, to conduct further investigation, sources said.
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Japanese Development team arrives in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Sunday, 02 March 2003, 02:30 GMT]
A nine-member delegation of the Infrastructure Development Institute of Japan (IDI) Saturday held talks with civil officials in Jaffna regarding proposed development of roads, water supply, sanitation and flood control in the peninsula, said Jaffna district secretariat sources. The IDI team is on a fact-finding mission in the northeastern province from February 26 till March 6.
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MPGA to sue army, civil officials

[TamilNet, Saturday, 01 March 2003, 16:38 GMT]
The Missing Persons Guardians' Association (MPGA) in Jaffna has decided to file a case in the High Court against some Sri Lanka Army officials and government civil administrators regarding dozens of Tamil civilians who have been reported missing after being arrested by Sri Lankan government troops during the period between 1996 and 1997 in the Jaffna peninsula.
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Sri Lanka military 'jeopardizing' peace talks - LTTE

[TamilNet, Thursday, 13 February 2003, 06:29 GMT]
The Liberation Tigers this week condemned the attack Wednesday on their unarmed female cadres in Manipay by Sri Lankan soldiers and warned that such incidents would "seriously jeopardize" the Norwegian peace process, the London based Tamil Guardian reported.
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Jaffna Magistrate remands Indian fishermen

[TamilNet, Friday, 31 January 2003, 01:49 GMT]
The Mallakam Magistrate in Jaffna district Thursday ordered remand for ten South Indian fishermen from Nagapatinam who strayed into the high security zone (HSZ) in the northern territorial water of Sri Lanka and were arrested by the Sri Lanka Navy (SLN) Wednesday night, sources said.
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SLMM chief holds talks with LTTE political head

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 28 January 2003, 18:00 GMT]
The Norwegian head of the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission Major General (retd) Trond Furuhovde Monday held discussions with the political head of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam Mr.S.P.Thamilselvan, and said that the LTTE has fully co-operated with the mission in its tasks.
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Picketing campaign in Tellipalai called off

[TamilNet, Friday, 10 January 2003, 15:33 GMT]
As a result of the understanding reached between the Government of Sri LAnka (GOSL) and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in the fourth round of peace talk in Thailand related to the settling of displaced in Jaffna, the one week old picketing and fasting campaign of the displaced people in Jaffna district in front of the office of the Tellipalai Additional Government Agent was called off Friday afternoon, sources said.
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Sri Lanka chief negotiator’s stand absurd- PA

[TamilNet, Friday, 10 January 2003, 10:48 GMT]
Sri Lanka’s main opposition party Friday said the stand taken by Colombo’s chief negotiator Prof. G. L Peiris on the question of high security zones in Jaffna was “absurd” and claimed that it is not endorsed by the Sri Lankan armed forces.
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Father of sixteen identifies headless body as missing son

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 07 January 2003, 12:03 GMT]
The decomposed headless body of Ponnar Gnaneswaran who went missing on December 31 in northern sea, off Thondamanaru coast when a speed boat of the Sri Lanka Navy rammed a fishing craft was identified Tuesday at the Jaffna teaching hospital by his parents. Ponnar identified Gnaneswaran as one of his sixteen children, sources said.


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