Concern for tortured detainee - Amnesty

[TamilNet, Friday, 07 August 1998, 23:59 GMT]
Amnesty International, the London based human right watchdog said that "there are serious concerns" for Thambirajah Kamalathasan, a Tamil man from Chunnakam, Jaffna, who was subjected to torture for several days following his arrest by police on 15 July 1998 in the capital, Colombo.
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Courts seen preventing divorces

[TamilNet, Thursday, 06 August 1998, 23:59 GMT]
Of the 120 divorce cases filed in the Jaffna Courts since the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) took control of the area in late 1995, only three have been concluded, said sources in Jaffna.
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Presidential order on colonists

[TamilNet, Thursday, 06 August 1998, 23:59 GMT]
An order by K. Balapatabendi, Secretary to the President, issued yesterday to the District Secretary (DS) Trincomalee, is expected to see the Sinhala settlement at Kappalthurai, 8 km south of Trincomalee town, removed soon, said sources in Trincomalee.
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Villagers harassed into leaving

[TamilNet, Thursday, 06 August 1998, 23:59 GMT]
A barbed wire fence and a 'no entry' signboard put up by the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) at Linganagar, 1 km from Trincomalee, has prompted five civic organisations to voice their concern in public.
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Search operation in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Thursday, 06 August 1998, 23:59 GMT]
The Sri Lanka Army (SLA) conducted a cordon and search operation in the Manipay, Kokkuvil and Thavady areas, suburbs of Jaffna town, between 6:00 a.m. - 12:00 noon on Thursday, said sources in Jaffna.
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Emergency Regulations passed

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 05 August 1998, 23:59 GMT]
The Sri Lankan Government has postponed the Provincial Council (PC) Elections scheduled to be held August 28 for an indefinite period.
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Island-wide state of emergency announced

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 04 August 1998, 23:59 GMT]
The Sri Lankan Government is expected to announce postponement of the forthcoming Provincial Council (PC) Elections due on August 28 following the announcement of island-wide emergency regulations today, said sources in Colombo.
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Jaffna couple missing

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 04 August 1998, 23:59 GMT]
Mr. S. Nadarajah, 55, and his wife, Vannakkili, have been reported missing. They had gone to the islands off the Jaffna Peninsula to see the bodies of the refugees drowned in the boat accident on July 25.
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Mass graves road closed

[TamilNet, Monday, 03 August 1998, 23:59 GMT]
"Why is the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) keeping the Kaithady-Nallur Road passing through Chemmani closed? This has led to suspicion and unease in the Jaffna public, and the SLA should take steps to open it as early as possible" said a resolution passed by People's Power Forum (PPF), a civic organisation in Jaffna, headed by former Jaffna Municipal Commissioner, Mr. C. V. K. Sivagnanam, when it met on Sunday.
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Fifteen said held without charge

[TamilNet, Monday, 03 August 1998, 23:59 GMT]
Fifteen persons from Kilinochchi are detained in a house near the Jaffna Kachcheri for no known offence, said sources in Jaffna. They are said to be workers from a coconut estate in Kilinochchi who were arrested by the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) and brought to Jaffna four months ago.
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SLA positions captured - LTTE

[TamilNet, Monday, 03 August 1998, 23:59 GMT]
At least 30 Sri Lankan Army (SLA) soldiers were killed and several others wounded when the Liberation Tigers attacked their positions in Moonrumurippu, south-west of the strategic town of Mankulam, around midnight yesterday said LTTE sources in Europe.
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Tension in Vavunatheevu

[TamilNet, Sunday, 02 August 1998, 23:59 GMT]
Tension is high and continuous vigilance is being maintained in the area surrounding the Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) camp near Vavunatheevu, two km west of Batticaloa, because it is suspected that two Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) members have infiltrated the area, said sources.
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Fourteen held in Pt. Pedro

[TamilNet, Sunday, 02 August 1998, 23:59 GMT]
Fourteen persons from Nelliyadi, near Pt. Pedro, 27 km from Jaffna, have been held since Friday by troops of the Pt. Pedro brigade of the Sri Lanka Army (SLA), for allegedly harbouring two female members of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), said sources in Jaffna.
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Bombs hit Batticaloa diary

[TamilNet, Sunday, 02 August 1998, 23:59 GMT]
A boy and eight cows were killed when bombs dropped by Kfir jets of the Sri Lankan Air Force (SLAF) hit a diary at Sothiyanvettai in Paduvankarai, 6 km west of Batticaloa, on Saturday between 8:00 - 8:30 a.m., said sources in Batticaloa.
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Jaffna Mayor calls for talks

[TamilNet, Sunday, 02 August 1998, 23:59 GMT]
Jaffna Mayor K. Sivapalan (Tamil United Liberation Front), told an international group of journalists that talks to end the ethnic conflict in Sri Lanka should involve all parties, including the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), said sources in Jaffna.
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Vakarai houses being stripped

[TamilNet, Sunday, 02 August 1998, 23:59 GMT]
Soldiers from the newly established Sri Lanka Army (SLA) Vakarai camp are removing timber from deserted houses in the town Vakarai, 60 km north of Batticaloa, said sources in Batticaloa.
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Armed gang snatch gold chain

[TamilNet, Sunday, 02 August 1998, 23:59 GMT]
Audacious thieves siezed an expensive gold chain which was worn by an elderly woman living down Barathi Lane, in an area under the control of the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) in Batticaloa town, on Sunday around 4:00 p.m., said sources in Batticaloa.
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Two killed in firefight

[TamilNet, Sunday, 02 August 1998, 23:59 GMT]
At least two persons were killed and two injured when the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) clashed with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) on the Batticaloa -Valaichenai Road at Sittandy, 15 km north of Batticaloa, , around 11:00 a.m. on Sunday, said sources.
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Agenda for development confused

[TamilNet, Saturday, 01 August 1998, 23:59 GMT]
Five chairpersons elected to head local bodies in Jaffna in the January polls have yet to take oaths, said sources there.
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Refugees bodies identified

[TamilNet, Saturday, 01 August 1998, 23:59 GMT]
Fifteen bodies, believed to be refugees who drowned when their boat capsized in the Palk Straits near Rameswaram on the South Indian coast, have been washed ashore at Delft and Kaytes, islands off the Jaffna Peninsula, said sources in Jaffna.
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