Britain to fund Jaffna NGOs directly

[TamilNet, Thursday, 02 October 1997, 23:59 GMT]
The British government will donate funds for minor reconstruction work and small development projects directly to NGOs and other social service organisations in Jaffna, said the British High Commissioner in Colombo. Mr. David Tatham gave an exclusive interview to the Tamil daily 'Virakesari' on Thursday.
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Relatives of Jaffna's 'disappeared' protest

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 01 October 1997, 23:59 GMT]
Parents and relatives of Tamil civilians who have 'disappeared' in Sri Lankan army custody staged a protest on Sunday in the premises of Jaffna's St. James Church, and vowed to continue their struggle for justice. Several hundred Tamils have disappeared after being arrested by the Sri Lankan army, which captured the Jaffna peninsula in early 1996.
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Buddhist clergy stage protest rally

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 01 October 1997, 23:59 GMT]
The interim report of the Sinhala Commission continued to create powerful reverberations in the Sinhala polity as more than 1500 people, including five hundred Buddhist monks, gathered yesterday to muster public support for the 'Sinhala cause'.
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Tigers repulse SLA assault

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 01 October 1997, 23:59 GMT]
In heavy fighting on Tuesday, Tamil Tiger forces drove back a renewed Sri Lankan army assault in the Puliyankulam area. SLA units which had bypassed Puliyankulam were advancing on Kanakarayankulam when LTTE forces counter-attacked, inflicting heavy casualties and capturing a large quantity of weaponry.
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Sri Lanka plans referendum to split the east

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 30 September 1997, 12:01 GMT]
The Sri Lankan government's cabinet held a very crucial meeting yesterday (29 September) to map out a strategy for conducting a referendum in the island's eastern province. The proposed exercise came under fire from community leaders in the east who heard about the cabinet's discussions on the matter.


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Heavy going for SLA armour

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 30 September 1997, 12:00 GMT]
With the monsoon underway, heavy rain is affecting the fighting in the Vanni region. The rain is turning the terrain around Puliyankulam into a sea of mud, which is posing new difficulties for the hard pressed Sri Lankan forces there. The conditions are also said to be affecting the Tigers.
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Tamil people flock to new LTTE courts

[TamilNet, Thursday, 25 September 1997, 12:00 GMT]
Tamil people in the Amparai and Batticaloa districts have been flocking to make use of the LTTE's judicial system which is being extended in the east of the island. An LTTE courthouse which was recently established in Batticaloa district is proving so popular that many Tamil residents are even crossing over from Sri Lankan government controlled areas to file cases.
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Jaffna is afraid: former UN representative

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 24 September 1997, 12:04 GMT]
A former representative of Sri Lanka to the UN has recently completed a visit to Jaffna and the east of the island. Speaking anonymously to the Independent Broadcasting Corporation, a European Tamil language radio service, the official outlined some his observations and spoke of his concern for the Jaffna populace.
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Buddhist clergy performs in Chandrika's theatre

[TamilNet, Monday, 22 September 1997, 12:00 GMT]
The Sri Lankan Buddhist clergy rejected the government's 'devolution proposals' last week. The Sinhalese people, who dominate Sri Lanka's government and armed forces, are mostly Buddhist, and the clergy wields considerable influence in Sri Lankan politics. The Buddhist clergy has consistently opposed any concessions to the Tamils on the island and their rejection of the proposals was widely expected. However, the Sri Lankan President has a place for the Buddhist clergy's stance within her strategy to win the war.
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Body count: an illusive index of 'progress'

[TamilNet, Thursday, 18 September 1997, 12:00 GMT]
"In a war without battle lines, perhaps the best overall index of progress is that of casualties". This view was delivered as part of the orientation given to newcomers to the US military's Saigon HQ at the height of the conflict in Vietnam. Despite several Sri Lankan offensives against the Tamil Tigers, the LTTE continues to vigorously resist the Sinhalese army in the Tamil homelands. In a bid to show 'progress' in its war, the Sri Lankans have developed a preoccupation with body counts.
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Tamil people mourn LTTE commander

[TamilNet, Monday, 15 September 1997, 12:00 GMT]
The Tamil people mourned the death of a senior LTTE officer in areas not controlled by the Sri Lankan army. Lt. Col. Pavarasan was killed on September 10th at Puliyankulum, where heavy fighting has been raging for the past few weeks. Two Sri Lankan divisions deployed to capture a road between Vavuniya and the Jaffna peninsula have been stalled at Puliyankulum amid stiff Tiger resistance.
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Tigers maul SLA flank

[TamilNet, Friday, 12 September 1997, 00:00 GMT]
In heavy fighting Thursday morning, LTTE units defending Puliyankulum ambushed a Sri Lankan army column attempting to outflank the town's network of defences. Dozens of Sri Lankan troops have been killed in the savage fighting that occurred around midnight Wednesday.
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LTTE allays shipping fears

[TamilNet, Friday, 12 September 1997, 00:00 GMT]
On Thursday, the LTTE allayed international concern over its recent attack on a cargo ship. The Tigers said their destruction of the ship, the 'MV Cordiality', which had been hired by the Sri Lankan government, was intended to prevent the stripping of the Tamil people's mineral resources. The Tigers said that the attack should not be considered 'prejudicial to international trade or shipping'.
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The Jaffna people's dilemma

[TamilNet, Thursday, 11 September 1997, 00:00 GMT]
The city of Jaffna has had some foreign visitors recently. A team from Amnesty International and the United Nations special rapporteur on extra judicial, summary or arbitrary executions spent a few days in the city separately. The human rights officials were intent on assessing local conditions for themselves. However, the brevity of their visits and the pervasive presence of their hosts, the Sri Lankan military, ensured that the picture presented to them was to the Sri Lankan government's liking.
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Tamil children raped

[TamilNet, Saturday, 06 September 1997, 05:18 GMT]
A six year old Tamil girl was reported to have been raped by several Sri Lankan soldiers in Jaffna. The child is said to have been seriously injured during the assault. This is the latest in a number of attacks on children that have been carried out by Sinhalese troops operating in Tamil areas, and fears are growing of a paedophile network within the Sri Lankan military.
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Troubled waters for Tamil fishermen

[TamilNet, Friday, 05 September 1997, 23:59 GMT]
A seemingly innocuous ban on fishing introduced in the Tamil areas by the predominantly Sinhalese Sri Lankan government over a decade ago has steadily destroyed the livelihood of the Tamil fishing community. Ostensibly introduced check the movement of Tamil fighters between the island and nearby India, the ban has had no impact on the growth of the Tamil Tigers, but has crippled the Tamil fishing industry. Many Tamils believe this was the Sri Lankan government's intended aim.
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Polio Truce - but will it hold this time?

[TamilNet, Thursday, 04 September 1997, 23:59 GMT]
The LTTE and the Sri Lankan government said today that they would observe a 4-day truce to enable the annual anti-polio immunization campaign to be carried out by UNICEF. This is the third year that the cease-fire has been declared. However last year, Sri Lankan troops launched sudden raids during the truce, killing Tamil fighters and civilians.
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Equality of Tamil a facade

[TamilNet, Monday, 01 September 1997, 11:10 GMT]
In early July a presidential directive was issued to the pre-dominantly Sinhalese Sri Lankan civil service to give equal status to the Tamil language. As the directive is widely perceived as a public relations exercise staged for the benefit of the international community, it has barely received any attention. From Colombo's jails to Jaffna's streets, the use of the Tamil language is being systematically stamped out in a bid to irrevocably assimilate the Tamil people under Sinhalese control.
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Mankulum takes a pounding

[TamilNet, Friday, 29 August 1997, 23:59 GMT]
Sri Lankan artillery has been targeting the Tamil town of Mankulum. The SLA is believed to be trying to disrupt LTTE plans to fortify the town, in the light of continued stiff resistance at Puliyankulum. Much of Mankulum had been blasted into rubble in earlier SLA shelling, but the latest shelling is pounding the ruins yet again.
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Puliyankulum battle continues

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 27 August 1997, 23:59 GMT]
The Sri Lankan army's latest attempt to capture the small town of Puliyankulum continued into its second week yesterday. Fierce fighting was reported from the area as LTTE units fought off repeated Sri Lankan assaults. The SLA is said to have suffered heavy casualties according to reports from the government held town of Vavuniya.
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