Killing in Mutur raises 'homeguards scare' again

[TamilNet, Sunday, 30 September 2001, 18:28 GMT]
Fear prevails in the interior villages southeast of Mutur following a shooting on Friday night in which a civilian in Thanganagar was killed and another was wounded. Residents of Thanganagar said that Sinhala homeguards working with the Sri Lankan security forces in the Serunuwara Police division had shot the two men while they were watching TV at home. Sinhala homeguards massacred seven villagers on 2 October last year in the Thanganagar area. Tamil villagers in Thanganagar-Poonagar area said they fear that the homeguards may strike again.
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Police arrest Tamils in Colombo, Galle

[TamilNet, Sunday, 30 September 2001, 12:44 GMT]
Sri Lanka Police arrested more than forty Tamil civilians were arrested in Colombo and in the southern port town of Galle in search operations during the weekend. Twenty five were taken into custody in the capital and fifteen in Galle. “All the suspects are from the northeast province and are temporary residents. They are being interrogated for possible links with the Liberation Tigers,” Police sources said.
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IDP visiting home in Thenmaradchi knifed

[TamilNet, Saturday, 29 September 2001, 20:12 GMT]
Mr. Sinnathamby Kandaiah, 53, who went to see his home in Kodikamam in the Thenmaradchi division southeast of Jaffna town Saturday was admitted to the Manthikai hospital with knife wounds. Relatives who brought him to the hospital around 4.30 this afternoon said that he was found lying unconscious and that there were cuts on his body. The man, who regained consciousness later in the day, said he was knifed by Sri Lanka army soldiers in the area. Kandaiah's family was displaced by heavy fighting between the SLA and the LTTE last year.
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PA to discuss no-faith motion on Wednesday

[TamilNet, Saturday, 29 September 2001, 12:51 GMT]
The leaders of constituent parties of the ruling People's Alliance (PA) are scheduled to meet next Wednesday to discuss the present political situation following the submission of a no-confidence motion afresh against the government in parliament by opposition United National Party. Meanwhile opposition leaders are scheduled to meet the Speaker on October 8 to fix the date for debating the no-confidence motion. The parliament is due to meet on October 9.
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Tamils ignored in promoting Principals -CTTU

[TamilNet, Saturday, 29 September 2001, 12:13 GMT]
The Educational Services Board under the Ministry of Education has promoted 200 Principals to Grade One post. One of them is a Tamil from Nawalapitiya in the central province, another is a Muslim. The remaining 198 are Sinhalese. "Not a single Tamil medium Principal in the northeast province has got promotion. In fact about 850 vacancies exist in northeast Tamil medium schools. On the whole about 1,500 vacancies exist throughout the island for Tamil medium principals in all grades," said Mr.T.Mahasivam, General Secretary of the Ceylon Tamil Teachers' Union.
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"Halt resettlement in Thenmaradchi" - Jaffna Mayor

[TamilNet, Saturday, 29 September 2001, 06:30 GMT]
The Jaffna Municipal Council Mayor said that during the past six months sixty civilians have lost their limbs due to landmine blasts in Thenmarachchi area in the peninsula. The meeting of the Jaffna Muncipal Council held Friday discussed the danger people undergo when being resettled in areas captured by Sri Lanka army. The discussion took place following the deaths of six members of a family recently at Kattaithirai, Kopay in Jaffna in a pressure mine blast.
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PA further restrained from expelling SLMC MPs

[TamilNet, Friday, 28 September 2001, 22:46 GMT]
The Colombo District Court Friday extended the enjoining order restraining the Mr.D.M.Jayaretna, General Secretary of the ruling People's Alliance (PA) and three others from expelling three Sri Lanka Muslim Congress parliamentarians A.L.A.Athaullah, M.S.M.Thowfeek and Risvie Sinnalebbe from parliament.
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Pro-Hakeem NUA Parliamentarian retains seat

[TamilNet, Friday, 28 September 2001, 10:39 GMT]
The Supreme Court (SC) held Friday that the expulsion of parliamentarian Basheer Segu Dawood from the National Unity Alliance (NUA) is illegal. The SC, comprised Justices A.R.B.Amerasinghe, H.S.Yapa and C.V.Wigneswaran further ordered the Minister and Leader of the NUA Ms Ferial Ashraff, the first respondent to pay 25,000 Rupees as costs to the petitioner.
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‘Don’t resettle in areas mined by SLA’ - LTTE

[TamilNet, Friday, 28 September 2001, 04:44 GMT]
The Liberation Tigers said Friday that displaced civilians in Jaffna are being resettled in areas where land mines laid by the Sri Lanka army haven’t been removed. They said that the family of six that was killed in a land mine explosion on 24 September was among the displaced residents who were resettled in Irupalai where no SLA mines fields have been cleared so far. Meanwhile, Jaffna court sources said that residents of Irupalai had complained to Jaffna District Judge T. Vignarajah about the danger they face from land mines left behind in the village by the SLA when he visited the scene of the explosion that killed the family on 24 September. The sources said that the matter would be recorded at the inquest.
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Tigers, SLA fight artillery duels in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Thursday, 27 September 2001, 17:02 GMT]
Three soldiers were killed in heavy shelling by the Liberation Tigers on Sri Lanka army positions in Mirusuvil, southeast of Jaffna town Wednesday night. The bodies of the soldiers killed in the attack were taken to the Palaly military hospital in Jaffna.
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'Fundamentalist’ mosque demolished in east

[TamilNet, Thursday, 27 September 2001, 15:42 GMT]
A group of Muslim youth in Oddamavadi, 34 kilometres north of Batticaloa, demolished a mosque built by a ‘fundamentalist’ Islamic sect Wednesday, Police sources in the eastern town said. Friction between the followers of the sect and other Muslims in the general area has been brewing since January this year when a small group of adherents erected a temporary mosque in Brianthuraichenai, a small village on the outskirts of Oddamavadi, sources said. The sect preaches that women should remain at home and should be fully covered if they have to go out and prohibits jewellery. “They were in the habit of denouncing us as Kaffirs (unbelievers) and our mosques as the dwellings of Satan,” a Muslim cleric in the eastern town said.
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TULF undecided on no-confidence motion

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 26 September 2001, 19:38 GMT]
The Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF) has not yet signed the no-confidence motion against the People's Alliance government which is likely to be submitted afresh by main opposition, United National Party this week. "The central working committee of the TULF would meet shortly to take a decision whether to sign the no-confidence motion or not," said a leader of the party.
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Thileepan commemorated in areas under SLA

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 26 September 2001, 16:43 GMT]
The commemoration of Thileepan, a senior member of the Liberation Tigers who fasted unto death on 26 September 1987, was observed Wednesday in many parts of the northeastern province of Sri Lanka which are under the control of the Sri Lankan army.
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LTTE condemns assassination of senior leader

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 26 September 2001, 13:09 GMT]
The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in an official statement issued from its headquarters in Vanni Wednesday, strongly condemned the killing of one of its senior leaders, Colonel Shankar. The statement said the LTTE leadership "shares the Tamil people's outrage and treats the killing of a senior leader with utmost gravity."
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Award for senior Tamil journalists stopped

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 25 September 2001, 16:46 GMT]
Special awards for two senior Tamil journalists were cancelled on a directive by the Sri government, media sources said Tuesday. The North-eastern Provincial Council (NEPC) announced on 2 September that Mr.Ponnaiah Manikavasagam, the correspondent for the Tamil daily Thinakkural in Vavuniya and a regular contributor to the BBC and other international media, would receive the NEPC Governor's special journalism award for 2001. It also announced that Mr. Aiyathurai Nadesan, senior correspondent and political columnist for the Tamil daily Virakesari, would get an award for his book 'The history of the ethnic contradiction in Sri Lanka' published last year. The awards for the two senior Tamil journalists were stopped for political reasons, an official of the NEPC said.
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Family killed in Jaffna mine blast

[TamilNet, Monday, 24 September 2001, 10:41 GMT]
Six members of a family were killed when the autorickshaw in which they were travelling was hit by a landmine blast at Irupalai Junction in Jaffna around 6 a.m. Monday morning. The driver of the auto-rickshaw taxi was seriously wounded in the blast. His condition is critical, Jaffna Teaching Hospital sources said.
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Tamil MPs walk out in protest

[TamilNet, Monday, 24 September 2001, 08:53 GMT]
The MPs of Tamil Eelam Liberation Organisation (TELO) and the Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF) walked out in protest when the bill on the 17th amendment to Sri Lanka's constitution was presented by the Prime Minister in the Parliament Monday morning. Tamil parties are protesting that the government is rushing the 17th amendment according to the dictates of the Marxist Janata Vimukthi Peramuna by ditching the effort to find a solution to the ethnic problem. "For more than fifty years you did not take any interest in solving the Tamil question. If you continue to ignore our problem in this manner, a united Sri Lanka would soon be a thing of the past," said Selvam A. Adaikalanathan, MP for Vanni, addressing the house before walking out with other Tamil MPs.
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TULF to boycott 17th amendment debate

[TamilNet, Sunday, 23 September 2001, 18:17 GMT]
The Tamil United Liberation Front has decided to boycott the debate on 17 th amendment to constitution scheduled for Monday in parliament.A decision to this effect was taken Sunday at the central working committee of the TULF. "The TULF is of view that the proposals presented do not ensure the effective representation of the minority nationalities on the constitutional council, so as to guarantee an adequate and genuine participation on behalf of the minority nationalities in the deliberations and decision making processes of the council", said the Secretary General of the TULF Mr.R.Sampanthan in a statement issued at the conclusion of the central working committee of the TULF held Sunday evening.
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SLMC predicts collapse of government

[TamilNet, Sunday, 23 September 2001, 14:10 GMT]
The Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) predicted that the present government would collapse during November budget debate. "PA has become a servile to the JVP. If the SLMC desired it could rescue the PA government from the clutches of the JVP," said Mr.Rauff Hakeem, Leader of the SLMC and Kandy District Parliamentarian speaking at a meeting at Nintavur in the eastern province of the country Saturday evening.
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Tigers say SLN using civilians as human shield

[TamilNet, Sunday, 23 September 2001, 09:36 GMT]
The Liberation Tigers urged civilians in Jaffna to travel only in ships flying the ICRC's flag or the flags of other recognised international humanitarian organisation in a leaflet issued Saturday in the northern peninsula.
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PA govt. faces no-confidence threat afresh

[TamilNet, Saturday, 22 September 2001, 23:34 GMT]
The Sri Lanka's People's Alliance government said Saturday that the no-confidence motion which is expected to be submitted by opposition parties next week afresh would be defeated with the support of the Marxist Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna.
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TULF should struggle for Tamil liberation -Mavai

[TamilNet, Saturday, 22 September 2001, 18:46 GMT]
"The Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF) should transform itself into a movement that would struggle democratically for the Liberation of the Tamil people. The TULF should take forward the struggle for liberation that was begun by our leader S.J.V Chelvanayagam. We got a mandate from the Tamil people at the general elections in 1977 for establishing the separate state of Tamil Eelam. We have no moral right to ask the Liberation Tigers to give up their goal. We should begin a democratic people's struggle to achieve our liberation," said Mavai Senathirajah, MP for Jaffna, speaking at a seminar organised by the East Lanka Journalists' Association in Batticaloa Saturday.
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Govt-opposition agree for debate on 17th amendment

[TamilNet, Friday, 21 September 2001, 17:17 GMT]
Leaders of all political parties Friday unanimously agreed to debate the 17th amendment to the constitution Monday. At a meeting held at parliamentary complex chaired by the Speaker Mr.Anura Bandaranaike, parliamentarian Mr.Wimal Weerawanse of the Janata Vimukthi Peramuna moved that the 17th amendment should be taken up on Monday and be debated to a finish the same day. Leaders of other political parties attended the meeting agreed to this suggestion, parliamentary sources said.
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Massacre victims remembered in Batticaloa

[TamilNet, Friday, 21 September 2001, 13:07 GMT]
Religious observances were held in Puthukudiyiruppu, 10 kilometres south of Batticaloa, Friday in remembrance of 17 men, women and children who were hacked to death allegedly by the Sri Lanka army soldiers on 21 September 1990. The Sri Lankan government has not made any effort so far to investigate the massacre. Several children escaped the massacre with machete and gunshot wounds. Nineteen civilians were killed here again on 5 December 1995, allegedly by the Special Task Force.
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TULF divided on 17 th amendment

[TamilNet, Thursday, 20 September 2001, 10:44 GMT]
The central working committee of the Tamil United Liberation Front is scheduled to meet on Sunday to decide on whether to support the 17th amendment to the constitution when the ruling People's Alliance and Marxist Janata Vimukthi Peramuna jointly table the draft bill in parliament September 24. The rank and file of the TULF is reported to have divided on this issue, party sources said.
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UNP to oppose PA-JVP sponsored 17th amendment

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 19 September 2001, 15:28 GMT]
The Sri Lanka's main opposition United National Party said Wednesday that it would not support the 17th amendment to constitution drafted jointly by the ruling People's Alliance and Marxist Janata Vimukthi Peramuna. "Several vital clauses included in the draft 17th amendment prepared by the UNP led joint opposition including the JVP earlier have not been incorporated in the present draft bill. Therefore my party is not in a position to support the PA-JVP sponsored draft bill," said Mr.Karu Jayasuriya, Deputy Leader of the UNP and Colombo district parliamentarian.
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Sinhala nationalists jeer peace supporters

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 19 September 2001, 11:41 GMT]
Sinhala Nationalist protestors disrupted 'SriLankaFirst', a massive peace campaign organised by Sri Lanka's big businesses and major NGOs near downtown Colombo Wednesday. A procession of Sihala Urumauya (SU) activists and supporters that was on its way to the US Embassy to express solidarity with the American government jeered and insulted people who were holding hands in the 'SriLankaFirst' peace campaign near the city hall in Colombo.
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World Bank questions Jaffna development

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 18 September 2001, 15:51 GMT]
(NEWS FEATURE) Ahead of the visit to Sri Lanka on Wednesday by a World Bank team intending to study the government’s poverty alleviation plans, its local Director slammed the activities in Jaffna of the Ministry of Northern Development. Dr. Mariana Todorova says that whilst almost two thousand people are being employed there by the Ministry, not one person has actually benefited from its activities. The Ministry is headed by Douglas Devananda, leader of the paramilitary Eelam People's Democratic Party (EPDP).
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SLA penetratiom group strikes again in east

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 18 September 2001, 15:38 GMT]
A member of the communications wing of the Liberation Tigers was killed in a claymore blast set off by a deep penetration team of the Sri Lanka army in the hinterland west of the Batticaloa town Monday around 4.30 p.m. paramilitary sources in the eastern town said. Since June this year, SLA deep penetration teams have killed two members of the Liberation Tigers inside the western hinterland of the Batticaloa district. The LTTE controls 90 percent of the district’s western sector. The Liberation Tigers in Batticaloa say that they have recovered 37 claymore mines set up by the SLA inside areas under their control since 15 June.
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Seventeenth amendment proving difficult

[TamilNet, Monday, 17 September 2001, 19:15 GMT]
The first meeting of Sri Lanka's newly sworn in Cabinet, described in political circles as crucial in the context of the proposed 17th amendment to the constitution, is scheduled for Tuesday. The urgency has been attributed to the disagreement brewing between the ruling People's Alliance and main opposition United National Party over the proposed amendment.
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Human rights seminar spotlights victims' sufferings

[TamilNet, Sunday, 16 September 2001, 21:10 GMT]
Speakers at the human rights seminar held Saturday in Trincomalee appealed to the SriLankan Government that provincial high courts be allowed to hear and determine violations cases filed by victims of torture and illegal arrests.
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Two Dvoras sunk, two damaged in clash

[TamilNet, Sunday, 16 September 2001, 19:53 GMT]
Two Dvora gunboats of the Sri Lanka Navy were sunk and another two heavily damaged in day long fighting off the seas of Point Pedro, official LTTE sources told TamilNet Sunday. The Dvoras were protecting a Sri Lankan troop ship which was also damaged in the attack, the sources said. Ten Sea Tigers, including four Black Tigers were killed along with at least fifteen Sri Lankan sailors, the sources said.
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Several killed, missing in naval clash

[TamilNet, Sunday, 16 September 2001, 16:07 GMT]
At least 47 Sri Lanka army soldiers aboard the troop carrier vessel bound for Jaffna were wounded and 18 sailors were reported missing in the mid sea battle early morning Sunday off the coast of Pt Pedro Sunday. A Sri Lanka Navy attack craft that was guarding the ship carrying more than 1200 SLA troops was very badly damaged; and at least 13 sailors were killed in the fighting sources said.
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Sea battle off Pt. Pedro

[TamilNet, Sunday, 16 September 2001, 06:09 GMT]
Sri Lanka Military sources in Jaffna said that a mid sea battle to save the troop carrier ship MV was raging from early hours of the morning Sunday off the coast of Pt. Pedro in the northern peninsula. “The exact picture is not yet clear. Casualties have been reported,” one of them said. Earlier, the SLA said that an attack by 20 Sea Tigers boats on ‘MV Pride’ carrying 1200 troops to Jaffna was repulsed in the early hours of the morning Sunday. Meanwhile, the Pt. Pedro jetty where MV Komari and MV Sajintha were unloading was closed by 9.30 a.m. and 300 workers there were sent out “for emergency reasons,” .
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Four SLA wounded in claymore attack

[TamilNet, Saturday, 15 September 2001, 17:39 GMT]
Four Sri Lanka army soldiers were injured when their 'Unicorn' armoured vehicle was hit by a claymore mine Saturday around 2.45 p.m. in Eravur, 15 kilometres north of Batticaloa. Five soldiers from the Mylambaavali SLA camp, 4 kilometres south of Eravur were in the vehicle sources said.
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LTTE condemns attack on US

[TamilNet, Saturday, 15 September 2001, 14:58 GMT]
The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) categorically denied reports Saturday in Sri Lanka’s state media that the organization had distributed a message to the people of Jaffna with reference to Tuesday’s attacks on the World Trade Centre and the Pentagon. Anton Balasingham, the LTTE’s chief spokesman and political advisor, when contacted by TamilNet condemned the Sri Lankan government for exploiting the “colossal human tragedy” to gain political advantage. He also condemned the attack as a “brutal crime.”
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Ministers' resignation poses new threat to PA govt.

[TamilNet, Thursday, 13 September 2001, 20:10 GMT]
The political crisis in Sri Lanka's ruling People's Alliance (PA) government took a dramatic turn Thursday with the sudden resignation of four senior ministers. The resignation of these ministers came under severe scrutiny at a discussion held between President and Prime Minister Thursday evening, ruling party sources said.
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Two youth shot in eastern town

[TamilNet, Thursday, 13 September 2001, 12:19 GMT]
The bodies of two Muslim youth with gun shot wounds were found by the road in Eravur town Thursday morning, Police sources in the eastern Muslim town said. The two boys, Mohammed Irsaath, 17 and Mohammed Niyaz, 20 were shot dead while on their way to visit relatives in Mich Nagarm, a suburb of Eravur town around 8.30 p.m. Wednesday night. The boys’ relatives claimed that the Police killed them. Mohammed Irsaath is a GCE Advanced Level student at the Eravur Aligar National School.
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More bones, saree found in hospital grave

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 12 September 2001, 19:41 GMT]
Construction workers digging in the premises of the Jaffna hospital came upon more human bones and a red colour saree on Tuesday, sources in the northern town said. The skeletal remains were found a few feet below the surface in the rear section of the Jaffna hospital that was occupied the Sri Lanka army until two months ago. Neither Police nor judicial officials in Jaffna town have visited the site so far despite being informed of the discovery of the human skulls, bones and saree, hospital sources said.
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Jaffna undergrads defy EPDP tactics

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 12 September 2001, 18:51 GMT]
Jaffna University undergraduates Wednesday forced their way into the office of the Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Authority for the North (RRAN) to protest and argue with officials who refused to grant them travel permits to leave the peninsula. The students protested that they had obtained due permission from the Ministry of Defence to leave Jaffna for their holidays and that the RRAN officials were deliberately refusing to issue them tickets for the ship to Trincomalee at the instigation of the Eelam People's Democratic Party (EPDP).
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Dialogue with LTTE vital for humanitarian ops. -ICRC

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 12 September 2001, 16:51 GMT]
"The LTTE is a major party to the conflict. As such the present dialogue with the LTTE is vital for the continuance of the ICRC's humanitarian services to the people in Vanni and the rest of the country," said Mr.Harasha Gunawardene, the ICRC's press officer, addressing a press conference held Wednesday morning at Trincomalee Seven Islands Hotel.
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Tigers counter attack SLA ambush

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 12 September 2001, 13:20 GMT]
A Sri Lanka army soldier was killed and another was seriously wounded when a group of Liberation Tigers counter attacked a SLA ambush party at Adampan junction, eight kilometres south east of Mannar, Wednesday morning. A firefight erupted as the LTTE group walked into an ambush by three teams from the nearby SLA camp in Maanthai around 9 a.m. sources said. The Tigers had then taken up position to counter attack the SLA ambush teams, killing one and seriously injuring another.
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PA - JVP pact is a serious blow to peace - LTTE

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 11 September 2001, 06:50 GMT]
The Liberation Tigers said Monday that the formation of a probationary government with an alliance between the People's Alliance (PA) regime and the Marxist Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) effected a serious blow to the peace process in Sri Lanka. Commenting on the current political developments in Colombo, Mr. Anton Balasingham, the LTTE's chief negotiator and political advisor told the Tamil Guardian newspaper that one of the clauses of the 'Memorandum of Understanding' reached between the PA and the JVP strictly forbids any discussions on proposals relating to the solution to the Tamil national question.
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Human skulls found in Jaffna hospital premises

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 11 September 2001, 05:15 GMT]
Construction workers digging a ditch in the rear of the Jaffna General hospital compound Monday came upon human skeletal remains, including two skulls. Hospital sources said that work was stopped immediately and the matter has been brought to the notice of the Police. The rear section of the hospital premises where the human skeletal remains were discovered was occupied by the Sri Lanka army from 1995, Jaffna hospital sources said Tuesday . The army vacated the rear section of the hospital two months ago, according to them.
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Mannar Methodist Church farm youth killed

[TamilNet, Monday, 10 September 2001, 16:44 GMT]
The body of a youth shot by the Sri Lanka army on 8 September in Murunkan in Mannar was identified by his father Monday. The SLA claimed that the youth was a member of the Liberation Tigers and that some banned items such as matchboxes and bicycle spare parts were found near his body. However, the boy’s father, Mr. Peduduru Velichchore told the Mannar Hospital authorities that his son, Vincent Roy, 19, had gone to guard their field in the Jeevothayam farm late that night. Mr. Velichchore said he had heard about the shooting over a foreign Tamil radio broadcast.
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Fear said stifling Batticaloa massacre memory

[TamilNet, Sunday, 09 September 2001, 15:51 GMT]
The brutal massacre of 184 Tamil villagers, including 42 children below the age of ten and several pregnant women, on 9 September 1990 in the Sri Lanka army camp in Saththurukondaan, on the outskirts of the Batticaloa town was commemorated Sunday in Valaichenai. A public meeting was organised by the Koralaipattu Human Rights Organisation (KHRO) in Valaichenai town to mark the eleventh anniversary of the massacre.
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Kilinochchi rising from rubble

[TamilNet, Saturday, 08 September 2001, 13:53 GMT]
The Kilinochchi St. Theresa’s Girls’ School will start functioning in its former premises in the northern town after a gap of four years when the third term begins next week, education officials in Vavuniya said. St. Theresa’s is one of the two schools in the town that escaped complete destruction during Sri Lankan security forces operations and bombing five years ago. Kilinochchi was abandoned when the Sri Lanka army captured this once bustling town in August 1996. The Tigers overran the base and recaptured Kilinochchi in September 1998. A program to gradually rebuild and resettle the destroyed town began early this year. A project to remove thousands of anti personnel mines and mine fields left behind by the SLA was launched by the White Dove Movement (WDM) after the garrison fell. More than 50000 APLM’s and explosive booby traps have been recovered by the WDM in the Kilinochchi town and its environs so far, western aid agency sources in the Vanni said.
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Two killed in Vavuniya FDL skirmishes

[TamilNet, Friday, 07 September 2001, 10:08 GMT]
Two Sri Lanka army soldiers were killed and three were wounded in attacks by the Liberation Tigers in the Forward Defence Localities north of Vavuniya Thursday and Friday, military sources in Vavuniya said. The SLA shelled a forward defence locality in Pampaimadu Thursday morning, having observed a group of Tigers in the area. Three soldiers were wounded when the Tigers ambushed an SLA unit that was sent to clear the locality subsequently.
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Parliament reconvened

[TamilNet, Thursday, 06 September 2001, 10:38 GMT]
Sri Lanka's Parliament, which was prorogued by President Chandrika Kumaratunge on 10 July commenced its sittings Thursday morning. The Secretary General of Parliament, Dhammika Kitulugoda read out the proclamation reconvening the parliament. Thereafter the Speaker Anura Bandaranaike informed the House that the ruling People's Alliance and Janata Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) have formed a coalition to end the political instability in the country.
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Remembrance day for University Refugee Camp disappeared

[TamilNet, Thursday, 06 September 2001, 06:39 GMT]
Memorial functions were held Wednesday in Vantharumoolai and Valaichenai to mark the 11th anniversary of disappearance of 158 Tamils who were arrested by the Sri Lanka security forces from the Eastern University refugee camp on September 5, 1990. Posters condemning the security forces for the murdering the refugees were seen in several parts of these towns, sources said.
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Mutur ICRC office attacked

[TamilNet, Thursday, 06 September 2001, 05:31 GMT]
The sub office of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Muttur town, south of Trincomalee was attacked with grenades by unidentified persons Thursday early morning around 1 a.m. The office building was damaged in the attack. An ICRC's vehicle parked in the premises was also damaged in the explosion, police sources said. The ICRC's sub office is situated in the heart of Muttur town, which is in the control of the Sri Lanka Army.
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Tigers say recruitment rising

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 04 September 2001, 23:27 GMT]
(NEWS FEATURE) The Liberation Tigers' Batticaloa and Amparai district political leader, Mr. Karikalan, said this week that his organisation was drawing large numbers of new volunteers and denied press reports of forcible recruitment. In an interview with Tamil language Uthayan newspaper published Tuesday, Mr.Karikalan said many recruits were coming forward with the support and encouragement of their parents amid active participation from many villages in the LTTE's recruitment drive. "There is a firm belief amongst the people that the struggle will succeed. This has given us a fresh impetus."
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Sri Lanka seeks F-16 jets from Pakistan - report

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 04 September 2001, 22:51 GMT]
Sri Lanka's President Chandrika Kumaratunga is likely to ask Pakistan's President Musharraf for military planes, including US-built F-16 fighter bombers, helicopters and other military equipment "to meet [Sri Lanka's] urgent defence needs", when she meets Pakistani President General Musharraf during the UN General Assembly session, press reports said Tuesday.
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No election for two years -President

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 04 September 2001, 18:32 GMT]
Sri Lanka's President Chandrika Kumaratunge said Tuesday there wouldn't be any general election this year or next year. "Government officials should not think about a change of government in the near future. They must be prepared to implement all development projects already finalized in their areas," President Kumaratunge told a group of government officials working in the North-Central Province. The meeting was held at President's House.
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Marxists look for gains from bailout

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 04 September 2001, 11:38 GMT]
The Marxist Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna Tuesday announced it would defeat the no-confidence motion against the PA government when it is tabled in parliament.
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Bills for idependent commissions by 18 Sept.

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 04 September 2001, 10:39 GMT]
The ruling People's Alliance announced Tuesday it would table the draft bills in parliament for establishing independent commissions on September 18. "The debate on these draft bills would commence on the same day. These draft bills would be submitted before the Supreme Court to determine their legality," said Minister Richard Pathirana, the leader of the house for the PA in the Parliament.
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Referendum cancelled, Parliament meets on Sept. 6

[TamilNet, Monday, 03 September 2001, 10:38 GMT]
President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunge Monday issued proclamations cancelling the referendum fixed for October 18 and reconvening prorogued parliament on Thursday, a day earlier of the scheduled date. Meanwhile a top-level discussion is now in progress between the ruling People's Alliance and the Janata Vimukthi Peramuna at the Prime Minister's official residence, government sources said.
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PA accepts JVP conditions

[TamilNet, Monday, 03 September 2001, 06:44 GMT]
President Chandrika Kumaratunge has been empowered by the government parliamentary group Sunday midnight to cancel the October 18 referendum and reconvene parliament on Thursday. The government parliamentary group Sunday requested the President to implement its decisions with immediate effect.
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Community activism urged to confront HR violations

[TamilNet, Monday, 03 September 2001, 03:16 GMT]
A human rights activist appealed to Tamil people to organize and work against the atrocities and human rights violation committed against them. "Do not wait until the violation against humanity knocks at your door," said Attorney-at-Law, Mr.Kasinather Sivapalan, presiding over the morning session of the Tamil Festival organized by the Trincomalee Thirumarai Kala Mantram (Centre for Performing Arts) held Sunday at Trincomalee Sri Koneswara Hindu College hall.
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PA to sign agreement with Marxists

[TamilNet, Saturday, 01 September 2001, 07:18 GMT]
The Sri Lankan government said Saturday that it intends to sign an agreement with the Marxist Janata Vimukthi Peramuna to form an interim coalition to run the country for an year. The signing of the agreement, however, will be subject to approval by the parliamentary group of the People's Alliance, according to Prime Minister, Ratnasiri Wickremanayaka. The JVP's General Secretary, Mr. Tilvin Silva, said that his party will sit in the opposition and extend conditional support to the PA to run the government during the 'probation period'. The JVP is against peace talks with the Liberation Tigers to end the island¹s conflict. The party is also strongly opposed to economic reforms recommended by the IMF and the World Bank.
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