Eastern refugees languish in Mannar

[TamilNet, Monday, 28 December 1998, 15:13 GMT]
Ninety one civilians from the district of Trincomalee who had fled their villages to the Vanni as a consequence of the war since 1990 have been stranded in Mannar for more than a month due to bureaucratic apathy and bungling while attempting to return to the east.
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Body washed ashore

[TamilNet, Monday, 28 December 1998, 15:11 GMT]
A highly decomposed body washed ashore around 11 a.m. this morning in Erukkalampiddy in the Mannar island today. This is the third to wash ashore in the Mannar island since last week.
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Hindu ceremony banned

[TamilNet, Sunday, 27 December 1998, 15:09 GMT]
The Sri Lankan Army (SLA) has banned the early morning Pooja for the Thiruvembaavai ceremony at the Pillaiyar temple in Vaakarai, 56 kilometers north of Batticaloa on the coast said residents of the area.
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SLA launches artillery attack - VoT

[TamilNet, Sunday, 27 December 1998, 08:30 GMT]
Sri Lankan Army (SLA) units in Mankulam and Oddusuddan carried out artillery attacks ahead of their defences from Friday, said the Voice of Tigers (VoT) in its nightly broadcast yesterday.
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Delft EPDP camp attacked

[TamilNet, Sunday, 27 December 1998, 05:04 GMT]
The Liberation Tigers attacked the EPDP camp at Delft, a large island south west of the Jaffna peninsula, from the early hours of the morning today. The Sri Lankan Army (SLA) sources in Jaffna said that communication with the EPDP base in the island was completely cut off.
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Civilians move from Mulliyavalai

[TamilNet, Sunday, 27 December 1998, 05:02 GMT]
A large number of civilians from Mulliyavalai in the Mullaithivu district began moving towards Puthukkudiyiruppu since last night fearing another advance by the Sri Lankan Army (SLA).
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PA crowd smashed office -UNP

[TamilNet, Saturday, 26 December 1998, 12:08 GMT]
A large crowd armed with knives, cudgels, guns smashed up the United National party's (UNP) election office at Ridigama in Dodangaslanda in the Kurunagela district about 100 kilometers north of Colombo this afternoon around 2.30 p.m.
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Ten civilians wounded in shelling

[TamilNet, Saturday, 26 December 1998, 08:35 GMT]
Ten members of a family, including five children, were wounded in the village of Koduvamadu early this morning around 4 a.m. when Sri Lankan security forces fired artillery towards the western hinterland of the Batticaloa district.
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Tigers shell SLA camp

[TamilNet, Saturday, 26 December 1998, 05:03 GMT]
Two soldiers were wounded in the early hours of the morning around 2.30 a.m. today when the Liberation Tigers fired mortars on the Sri Lankan Army (SLA) camp at Chenkalady, 18 kilometers north of Batticaloa.
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Telecom employees plan strike

[TamilNet, Friday, 25 December 1998, 15:53 GMT]
Employees of Telecom Ltd, which was formed after the Government Department of Telecommunication service privatised by the Sri Lankan government recently, are preparing for a general strike, trade union sources said today.
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Eighteen detainees freed

[TamilNet, Friday, 25 December 1998, 14:46 GMT]
Ten detainees among the 47 arrested in the Oddusuddan area have been sent to Rehabilitation Centres at Pitunwewa and Borelasgamuwa sources said today. Eighteen have been released after inquiries. Sources said that the rest of the arrested are detained for further inquiries.
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Bishops call for peace

[TamilNet, Friday, 25 December 1998, 14:40 GMT]
Calls for peace on the island that have been coming from various parts of the world have given people fresh hope said Bishop of Jaffna, Rev. Thomas Saundranayakam in his Christmas message.
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Police patrol ambushed

[TamilNet, Friday, 25 December 1998, 11:10 GMT]
A military trained Policeman was killed and two were wounded when the Liberation Tigers set off a claymore mine at Vammiyadi in the heart of the Eravur town, 16 kilometers north of Batticaloa, on the main road this morning around 8.15 a.m.
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To protect and serve

[TamilNet, Thursday, 24 December 1998, 23:24 GMT]
A lamb was slightly bruised when it darted across a road in Valaichenai and was grazed by a bus. A nearby Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldier, apparently overcome with concern for the little creature, promptly took up the matter with the driver.
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Twenty six officers graduate

[TamilNet, Thursday, 24 December 1998, 22:33 GMT]
Twenty six officers from the Sri Lankan security forces, including one SLAF officer, graduated in military science for the first time in Sri Lanka. The certificates for the degree were awarded by General Anurudha Ratwatte, the Duputy Minister of Defence.
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Sporadic violence kills 5

[TamilNet, Thursday, 24 December 1998, 22:32 GMT]
One soldier was killed when the Liberation Tigers attacked a Sri Lanka Army (SLA) unit on its way to Panichchankerni bridge from local SLA camp yesterday (December 23) around 7.10 am, the Voice of Tigers (VoT) radio said in its night news bulletin.
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Twelve Tigers killed in boat accident

[TamilNet, Thursday, 24 December 1998, 22:32 GMT]
The Voice of Tigers (VoT) radio said today that 12 members of the Liberation Tigers, includig a Lt. Colonel were killed in a boat accident in the "Tamil Ealam waters" on December 12.
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Civilians clear protected vegetation

[TamilNet, Thursday, 24 December 1998, 22:31 GMT]
The Sri Lanka Army (SLA) forced civilians in the Aarumukaththaankudiyiruppu area, north of Batticaloa, this morning to clear the thick rattan undergrowth on the roadside before the weekly convoy passed the area. The cutting of Rattan plant (cane, genera Calamus and Daemonothops) is strictly prohibited under environmental laws in Sri Lanka.
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Tamil millionaire businessman held

[TamilNet, Thursday, 24 December 1998, 22:31 GMT]
A special Sri Lankan Police investigation team has detained a Tamil multi-millionaire in Colombo who had recently bought a ship for sending supplies to Jaffna, for alleged links with the Liberation Tigers.
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Amnesty fears for Vavuniya missing

[TamilNet, Thursday, 24 December 1998, 00:43 GMT]
Amnesty International has expressed its concern about the disappearance of the eight Tamil youths and men who went missing in Vavuniya district between 27 October and 21 December 1998. The disappearances have been attributed to the Sri Lanka Army and members of the Peoples Liberation Organization of Tamil Eelam (PLOTE), said Amnesty, adding that most of the disappeared are internally displaced people.
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