Mannar Bishop requests prisoner transfer

[TamilNet, Monday, 27 November 2000, 11:31 GMT]
Rt.Rev.Rayappu Joseph Bishop of Mannar has appealed to President Chandrika Bandaranaike to transfer all the Tamil speaking political prisoners to the prisons in the Tamil areas taking account of their safety in the wake of the recent killings at Bindunuwewa Rehabilitation Centre in Bandarawela.
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Inderfurth arrives in Colombo

[TamilNet, Monday, 27 November 2000, 11:29 GMT]
Mr. Karl Inderfurth, US Assistant Secretary to the State in charge of South Asian Affairs arrived in Colombo Monday morning. Officials of the Sri Lanka's Foreign Ministry received him at Katunayaka International Airport.
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Inquiry call over civilian deaths

[TamilNet, Thursday, 23 November 2000, 17:08 GMT]
The Secretary General of the Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF) Mr.R.Sampanthan has requested the Secretary of the Ministry of Defense to conduct an "expeditious impartial inquiry" into the killing of four Tamil civilians at Gopalapuram in Trincomalee district Wednesday evening by Sri Lanka Navy personnel. Meanwhile, two children were reported killed when shells hit Muttur jetty Thursday.
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World supports self-determination says UK

[TamilNet, Thursday, 23 November 2000, 03:11 GMT]
(News Feature) Britain’s Foreign Office Minister, Peter Hain, Wednesday expressed his government’s support for Norway’s efforts to bring about negotiations to end Sri Lanka’s protracted conflict and urged compromise on both sides. "I am convinced that both the [Sri Lankan] government’s insistence upon the territorial sovereignty of the whole island and the LTTE’s objective of autonomy can be secured," he said. "But for that to happen the shooting must stop and the talking must start."
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Sinhala nationalists demonstrate against British official

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 22 November 2000, 17:46 GMT]
Hundreds of Sinhala nationalists demonstrated outside the British Council building in Colombo around 3 p.m. Wednesday afternoon as the visiting Foreign Office Minister Mr. Peter Hain attended a seminar to deliver a speech on the topic "British Policy on Devolution and the Northern Ireland Peace Process".
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Views of Batticaloa floods

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 22 November 2000, 07:57 GMT]
(Photographs) TamilNet's photo correspondent's views of floods in the eastern Batticaloa District which has rendered nearly one-hundred thousand people homeless. Officials said transport of relief to remote villages are hampered as several roads are submerged in flood water.
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British minister arrives in Sri Lanka

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 22 November 2000, 07:48 GMT]
Concluding his four-day visit to India, British Foreign Office Minister Mr. Peter Hain arrived Colombo Wednesday morning on a two-day visit. This is his first visit to the island as a Foreign Office Minister and the first by a British Foreign Minister since the late Derek Fatchett visited in 1998.
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SLA raids TELO camp

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 21 November 2000, 08:06 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers Tuesday raided the camp of the Tamil Eelam Liberation Organisation (TELO) at Muthliyakulam in the Cheddikulam area south-west of Vavuniya around 6 a.m. and arrested 13 persons, including 4 civilians said Mr. Selvam Adaikalanathan, MP and the leader of the organisation.
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Postmortem reveals burn marks on youth's body

[TamilNet, Monday, 20 November 2000, 00:50 GMT]
Coroner of Eravur, P.Veerakutty, investigating the Saturday killing of a Tamil youth at Palaiyadithona in Sithandy by Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers, returned a verdict of homicide on Sunday. Dr.K. Sukumar, the Judicial Medical Officer of Eravur, said in his post-mortem report that the death was caused by gun-shot injuries and that the body had several cigarette burn marks.
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ACTC opposes North-East interim council

[TamilNet, Saturday, 18 November 2000, 19:58 GMT]
The All Ceylon Tamil Congress (ACTC) has categorically stated that it would oppose the establishment of an interim council for the north east province. ACTC's leader and Jaffna Parliamentarian Appathurai Vinayagamoorthy told newsmen in Trincomalee Saturday morning that his party was not in favour of the interim administration to the NEP as it would cause immense harm to the Tamil community.
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Calls to raise English proficiency

[TamilNet, Friday, 17 November 2000, 13:59 GMT]
Two percent of the students enrolled for courses in Management and Commerce at the Jaffna University have abandoned their studies midway as they were unable to follow lectures in English language, revealed Prof.Dr.S.Kunarasa, former Register of the university while addressing the inaugural session of the three day Tamil Language Festival in Trincomalee Friday morning.
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PTA detainee released - confessed under torture

[TamilNet, Thursday, 16 November 2000, 19:27 GMT]
The Vavuniya High Court acquitted Balasingham Illakanakanthan, who had been charged under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA), on the basis that the confession of the accused was obtained under duress whilst in Sri Lanka Army custody. The accused had been in remand for about eighteen months.
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Entire village displaced

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 15 November 2000, 19:18 GMT]
The entire hamlet of Soodaikuda in the Muttur area south of Trincomalee town has been displaced due to continuous artillery attack by the government forces. 148 people belonging to 46 families - all Tamils - residing in Soodaikuda have sought refuge in a school at Sampoor village, officials attached to local humanitarian organisations said.
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Twenty arrested in Badulla

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 15 November 2000, 19:14 GMT]
Sri Lankan police arrested twenty Tamils during a search operation in the hill town of Badulla, about 175 km. east of Colombo Wednesday. The operation began around 1 p.m. and went on till 5 p.m. sources said.
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Villagers appeal for bombing to stop

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 14 November 2000, 18:55 GMT]
An appeal has been made to the President of Sri Lanka to take immediate steps to stop the indiscriminate shelling and aerial bombing on Ralkulai and Navaladi villages in the Mutur division, south of eastern Trincomalee town. Hundreds of villagers have signed this memorandum, TamilNet sources in Mutur said.
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Tamil refugees arrested

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 14 November 2000, 15:32 GMT]
Three Tamil refugees staying at Kalmadu camp were arrested on Sunday and are now being detained at the at Welikanda police station for interrogation, sources said.
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Tamils demand International presence in massacre probe

[TamilNet, Monday, 13 November 2000, 02:18 GMT]
Tamil people of Trincomalee has sent a memorandum to the Secretary General of the United Nations (UN) this evening requesting him to take immediate steps to inform the Sri Lankan government to include representatives from United Nations, Amnesty International, European Union and Commonwealth Secretariat to investigate the massacre of 29 Tamil detainees at Bindunuwewa Rehabilitation Center, Bandarawela, last month.
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15 men reported missing

[TamilNet, Saturday, 11 November 2000, 21:45 GMT]
Fifteen Tamils from Kopaveli, a village situated 30 km northwest of Batticaloa town, who went to collect firewood in the forests near Ampara border, have been reported missing by their relatives.
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Court rejects confession, frees PTA detainee

[TamilNet, Saturday, 11 November 2000, 15:35 GMT]
A Tamil youth who was charged under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) was acquitted by the Eastern High Court on Thursday when it was brought to the notice of the Judge that the confession had not been signed by the accused.
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Missing man's wife battles in Court

[TamilNet, Saturday, 11 November 2000, 00:39 GMT]
The Eastern High Court on Friday re-issued notices on the Inspector General of Police, the Secretary of the Ministry of Defense and the Trincomalee Headquarters Inspector of Police to appear on December 12 in the matter of an application for an order in the nature of a Writ of Habeas Corpus filed by the young wife of a missing Tamil civilian, Vairamuthu Jeyakili.
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