TNA: Sri Lankan forces unwilling to protect Tamils

[TamilNet, Friday, 11 October 2002, 15:18 GMT]
The Tamil National Alliance Friday blamed the gun and grenade attacks on Tamil civilians in Trincomalee which left three people dead and over thirty wounded on "lawless elements" from the Sinhala community. In a statement, the TNA said the Sri Lankan armed forces, which are predominately Sinhala, "lack the will and capacity to provide security to the Tamil people."
Full story >>

Amparai hartal continues

[TamilNet, Friday, 11 October 2002, 09:20 GMT]
A general strike (hartal) is being observed in Ampara for the second day in protest against the killing of seven Tamil protestors by Special Task Force (STF) commandos on Wednesday at a violent demonstration at the STF camp in Kanjirankudah, sources said Friday.
Full story >>

Monitors urge public restraint after Kanjirankudah deaths

[TamilNet, Thursday, 10 October 2002, 13:15 GMT]
International ceasefire monitors Thursday urged public restraint in the wake of a violent demonstration at the Special Task Force (STF) camp in Kanjirankudah at which the police commandos shot dead seven people and wounded fourteen others. Although the STF alleged Liberation Tigers were part of the 500-1000 strong crowd, the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) said it “has no evidence of this at this time and nothing indicates that the LTTE leadership knew of this attack beforehand.”
Full story >>

Tigers say assaulted in custody

[TamilNet, Thursday, 10 October 2002, 13:00 GMT]
Six Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers being held by the Liberation Tigers were Wednesday released to the International Committee of Red Cross in Trincomalee, while two LTTE members arrested by the SLA were released by the Trincomalee magistrate on as ordered by the Court of Appeal on Tuesday. The SLA soldiers said they had been treated well in custody, but the LTTE cadres said they had been beaten and manacled in police custody.
Full story >>

NE protests in support of fasting PTA suspects

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 08 October 2002, 17:26 GMT]
Token hunger strikes, boycott of classes and rallies were held in Northeast province Tuesday in support of the fast unto death campaign by the Tamil political prisoners now under detention at Kalutara, Welikada and other prisons in the country.
Full story >>

TNA presses PM for immediate action on prisoner release

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 08 October 2002, 17:24 GMT]
The adjournment motion moved by the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) in parliament regarding the hunger strike of Tamil political prisoners that has entered eighth day would be taken up for debate pending on the outcome of the top-level talks the TNA parliamentarians are scheduled to have Wednesday with the Prime Minister (PM) and the Attorney General, sources said. Tamil political prisoners detained at Welikada, Kalutara and other prisons are on hunger strike since October 1 demanding their immediate release.
Full story >>

EPDP cadres, ammunition handed over to SLMM

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 08 October 2002, 11:36 GMT]
Six members of the paramilitary Eelam People’s Democratic Party (EPDP) whose camp in Delft was attacked Sunday by angry residents following the stabbing of a local shop keeper were handed over to international monitors Monday, local press reports said.
Full story >>

SL Tamil refugees rescued at mid-sea

[TamilNet, Monday, 07 October 2002, 14:01 GMT]
The Sri Lanka Navy Sunday rescued twelve members of three displaced families at midsea west of Mannar and handed them over to the Talaimannar police, sources said. They were returning from Rameswaram in South India after spending twelve years in a refugee camp there. They had left in a boat Saturday midnight on the promise that they would be given safe passage to Talaimannar in Sri Lanka. They paid three thousand rupees per head to Indian boatmen as hire. But the boatmen left them on a sandbank in mid-sea around early morning Sunday, sources said.
Full story >>

Minister Morogoda visits Trincomalee

[TamilNet, Monday, 07 October 2002, 11:31 GMT]
The Minister of Economic Reforms, Mr.Milinda Morogoda accompanied by the Commander of Sri Lanka Army Lt.General Lionel Balagalle and Peace Secretariat Secretary General Mr.Bernard Gunatilake visited Trincomalee Sunday morning and attended a top-level conference at the Police Headquarters. Later in the afternoon the party led by Minister Morogoda held talks with the Tamil National Alliance leader Mr.R.Sampanthan at latter's residence regarding the two LTTE members in remand and six SLA soldiers of the SLA in the custody of the LTTE.
Full story >>

RDS building dismantled to strengthen SLA new camp

[TamilNet, Sunday, 06 October 2002, 12:01 GMT]
The Sri Lanka Army (SLA) has dismantled the Rural Development Society (RDS) building at Kayankerni village in the Vakarai divisional secretary division and strengthened its new camp in the area with material removed from roof and other structures, residents complained Saturday. Kayankerni is about 37 km north of Batticaloa town.
Full story >>

SLA deserter handed back

[TamilNet, Saturday, 05 October 2002, 15:11 GMT]
A Sri Lanka Army trooper who surrendered Thursday to the Liberation Tigers asking to be sent home was handed over to international ceasefire monitors Friday, officials said.
Full story >>

Second LTTE convoy uses sea route

[TamilNet, Friday, 04 October 2002, 13:12 GMT]
A large number of Liberation Tigers, escorted by international ceasefire monitors, travelled Thursday from Mullaitivu to the eastern province along the sea route agreed by the Sri Lankan government and the LTTE two months ago. This is the second such convoy to use the route.
Full story >>

LTTE slam new SLN camp

[TamilNet, Friday, 04 October 2002, 06:51 GMT]
The Liberation Tigers Friday lodged a protest with the international ceasefire monitors that the Sri Lanka Navy is preparing to set up a new camp on the coast near the Kuchchaveli divisional secretariat, 34 km. north of Trincomalee. The Navy has formally sought land from the local authorities, sources said.
Full story >>

Demonstrators seek free access to Valaichenai intersection

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 01 October 2002, 11:20 GMT]
More than a thousand protestors demanding the opening of the Valaichenai junction on the Batticaloa-Colombo highway Tuesday smashed road barriers and damaged a Police jeep when Sri Lankan security forces occupying the key intersection declined to accede to their request.
Full story >>

Polio immunisation targets northeast

[TamilNet, Saturday, 28 September 2002, 13:27 GMT]
More than three hundred thousand children under five years of age in Sri Lanka’s northeast province were immunized against Polio Saturday, health officials said.
Full story >>

Disabled Tigers return overland to Batticaloa

[TamilNet, Friday, 27 September 2002, 09:26 GMT]
Seven wounded and disabled Liberation Tigers recuperating at a rehabilitation centre in Mullaitivu Wednesday travelled through Sri Lanka Army controlled territory to meet relatives in Batticaloa, Tamil press reports said Friday.
Full story >>

LTTE protests Jaffna cadres' harassment

[TamilNet, Friday, 27 September 2002, 08:11 GMT]
Political activists of the Liberation Tigers working in the islands off the Jaffna peninsula under the terms of the ceasefire agreement with the Sri Lanka government say they are being harassed by Navy personnel in the region, Tamil press reports said.
Full story >>

Navy intransigence, mines plague Muslim resettlers

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 25 September 2002, 14:48 GMT]
(Feature) “Muslims are still unable to resettle in their villages even after six months of a stable ceasefire because of Sri Lanka Navy’s intransigence and land mines,” said Mr. M. M Saburudeen, the representative of the Government of Sri Lanka (GOSL) in the Mannar Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission and Chairman of the Mannar Citizen’s Committee. “The premises of the Mosques in Talaimannar Pier and Konar Pannai are full of SLN mines. How can Muslims resettle in a place if they cannot pray in the mosque there for fear of the mines?” he asked.
Full story >>

New SL Navy base violates ceasefire - LTTE

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 24 September 2002, 11:42 GMT]
The political wing leader of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam Mr.S.P.Thamilselvan said Tuesday that the Sri Lanka Navy (SLN) is building a new camp on the island of Delft off Jaffna in violation of the LTTE's Ceasefire Agreement with the Government of Sri Lanka. He urged the head of the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission to take immediate action on the matter.
Full story >>

Education said central to Tamil cause

[TamilNet, Sunday, 22 September 2002, 16:35 GMT]
“The National Institute of Education (NIE) discriminates against Tamil medium education, distorts the island’s history taught in schools and is dominated by Singhalese. We can develop and improve our education system when the interim administration for the Northeast is established,” said Mr. Ilankumaran, head of the Education Division of the Liberation Tigers, addressing the inaugural meeting of the Jaffna Education Development Society (EDS) Sunday.
Full story >>