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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Police to investigate mass graves

[TamilNet, Saturday, 01 August 1998, 23:59 GMT]
Police officials from the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) will visit the alleged 'Chemmani mass graves' on August 4 along with Sri Lankan Army copral Somaratne Rajapakse, the first accused in the rape and murder case of Krishanthi Kumaraswamy said sources.
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Fishermen's catch siezed

[TamilNet, Friday, 31 July 1998, 23:59 GMT]
Members of the Batticaloa Municipal Council (BMC) expressed stern disapproval at the way the military and para-military forces in Batticaloa intimidated and robbed poor fishermen returning home with their day's catch, said sources in Batticaloa.
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Refugees' bodies washed ashore

[TamilNet, Friday, 31 July 1998, 23:59 GMT]
The bodies of five Tamil refugees drowned when their boat capsized off the shores of the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu were washed ashore yesterday at Analaitheevu, an island off the Jaffna peninsula, said sources in Jaffna.
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Mass graves cover up alleged

[TamilNet, Friday, 31 July 1998, 23:59 GMT]
Leader of the Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF) Mr. M. Sivasithamparam, has appealed to the Human Rights Commission asking that foreign experts should be brought to excavate the mass graves at Chemmani. Between 300 and 400 people who disappeared whilst in military custody in Jaffna are alleged to have been buried in the graves.
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LTTE member killed

[TamilNet, Thursday, 30 July 1998, 23:59 GMT]
A member of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), identified as 'Murugan', was shot dead by the Special Task Force (STF) at Tirukovil, 70 km south of Batticaloa, yesterday around 3:30 p.m., said police sources in Batticaloa.
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Police bans prayer meetings

[TamilNet, Thursday, 30 July 1998, 23:59 GMT]
Prayer meetings to be held at places of religious worship and schools to commemorate the 15th anniversary of the anti-Tamil riots of 1983 were dashed yesterday, when the police and military authorities in Batticaloa issued orders against holding them , said sources in Batticaloa.
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Informal meetings at India House

[TamilNet, Thursday, 30 July 1998, 23:59 GMT]
The Indian Prime Minister Mr. Atal Behari Vajpayee had brief meetings with leaders of Tamil parties at a function held the India House in Colombo this evening.
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Prayers for peace

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 28 July 1998, 23:59 GMT]
Black flags flew in Batticaloa town and suburbs yesterday to commemorate Black July, the anniversary of the anti-Tamil race riots of 1983, said sources in Batticaloa. Though there were a few incidents where irate policemen tore and destroyed the flags, protests were otherwise peaceful.
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Grenade explosion kills two

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 28 July 1998, 23:59 GMT]
Two unidentified persons died in a grenade explosion at Sangiliyan Road in Nallur, 5 km northeast of Jaffna town, around 12:45 p.m., yesterday, said sources. Their bodies have been handed over to the Jaffna hospital, they added.
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Underage domestic servant rescued

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 28 July 1998, 23:59 GMT]
Rajendran Maharaji (14), an underage girl working as a domestic in a house on Central Road in Batticaloa town and allegedly assaulted by her mistress, was produced on Monday before K. Thatchanamoorthy, Additional District Judge, Batticaloa, who ordered that Maharaji be kept in safe custody until she was claimed by her parents, said sources in Batticaloa.
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Toronto Tamils mark 'Black July'

[TamilNet, Monday, 27 July 1998, 23:59 GMT]
(Adds. photo)The world Tamil Movement (WTM) of Canada held an exhibition and rally Saturday evening in Scarborough, Toronto to mark 'Black July', the anti Tamil pogrom of 1983 in Sri Lanka. TamilNet's Toronto correspondent said that more than four thousand people attended the event.
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Language issue raised again

[TamilNet, Sunday, 26 July 1998, 23:59 GMT]
The Munmunai Pradeshiya Sabha (PS) unanimously voted on Wednesday to inform police authorities in charge of the Kattankudy police area, that in future they should take down statements in Tamil, said sources in Batticaloa.
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Plot foiled - paper

[TamilNet, Sunday, 26 July 1998, 23:59 GMT]
The Terrorist Investigation Division (TID) of the Police Department has discovered a plot to assassinate Sri Lanka President Chandrika Kumaratunga, the Sunday Times reported today.
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India urged to intervene

[TamilNet, Saturday, 25 July 1998, 23:59 GMT]
The Eelam Peoples Revolutionary Liberation Front (EPRLF) has asked for Indian mediation to resolve the ethnic conflict in Sri Lanka. A statement issued by Suresh Premachandran, General Secretary, EPRLF, states that India has a moral obligation to intervene in resolving the conflict because of its long involvement.
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Families without permits ordered to leave

[TamilNet, Saturday, 25 July 1998, 23:59 GMT]
Peoples Liberation Organisation of Tamil Eelam (PLOTE) has ordered the residents of the Kovilkulam, Irambaikulam areas, who do not hold permanent residence permits, to vacate the area before August 10, said sources.
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Festival atmosphere in Batticaloa

[TamilNet, Saturday, 25 July 1998, 23:59 GMT]
Outside the temple premises at Amirthakali, it was carnival time. The Batticaloa Municipal Council, the District Secretariat, the Bank of Ceylon and institutions dealing with the public, set up temporary offices outside the temple.
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Heavy fighting in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Saturday, 25 July 1998, 23:59 GMT]
The Liberation Tigers simultaneously attacked Sri Lankan Army and Police posts at Chinnakkadai, Kurunagar jetty and Kolumbuthurai, 2 km southeast of the high security zone of Jaffna Town, around 12.15 Saturday morning, said ex-militant sources when contacted by TamilNet.
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TELO member dies

[TamilNet, Saturday, 25 July 1998, 23:59 GMT]
Senior member of the Tamil Eelam Liberation Organisation (TELO), Mr. Thillainathan Joseph Thurairajah, alias Christy, died in Colombo today after he mistakenly took insecticide in the early hours of the morning today, said sources close to the TELO.
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Selective appointments

[TamilNet, Saturday, 25 July 1998, 23:59 GMT]
Leader of the Ceylon Workers Congress (CWC) Mr. S.Thondaman will meet the Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee on July 30 at 09.15, during his visit to Colombo to attend the SAARC summit, said CWC sources today.
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