SL Police uses tear gas on demonstrating teachers

[TamilNet, Thursday, 31 July 2003, 21:22 GMT]
Sri Lanka Police Thursday used tear gas and water cannon to disperse three hundred school teachers demonstrating in front of the Education Ministry in Colombo, in protest of what they said was the denial of salary increase and promotions and the Sri Lankan government's privatization policy in education, sources said.
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HRC inquires into new army camp construction in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Thursday, 31 July 2003, 18:43 GMT]
The representatives of the Sri Lanka Human Rights Commission in Jaffna Thursday visited the Potpathi village in Vadamarachchi east, Jaffna district, where the Sri Lanka Army last week commenced the construction of a military camp, sources said.
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North East hospitals suffer due to doctors' shortage

[TamilNet, Thursday, 31 July 2003, 18:36 GMT]
There is a dearth for medical officers in the government hospitals in the northeast, admitted the Health Minister of Sri Lanka, Mr.P.Dayaratne, while addressing meetings that followed the opening of the renovated Intensive Care Unit of the Batticaloa Teaching Hospital and a district Ayurveda hospital at a cost of seven million rupees at Puthukudiyiruppu in the Batticaloa district Thursday, health sources said.
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'Withdraw helicopter facility to Thamilchelvan' -SLFP

[TamilNet, Thursday, 31 July 2003, 16:17 GMT]
The Sri Lanka Freedom Party, the chief constituent of the main opposition People's Alliance in Sri Lanka, Thursday demanded that the United National Front government of Sri Lanka immediately withdraw the helicopter facility provided to the Political Head of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, Mr.S.P.Thamilchelvan, to tour the eastern province, political sources in Colombo said.
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SLA releases a fifth of the paddy fields in Thenmaradchi HSZ

[TamilNet, Thursday, 31 July 2003, 15:08 GMT]
The Sri Lanka Army Thursday said it has released about one thousand acres from the high security zone in the Thenmaradchchi division in Jaffna district for paddy cultivation. The area declared as HSZ in Thenmaradchi by the SLA in 1999, and in effect since then, girdles more than five thousand acres of paddy fields, farmers’ association sources said.
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Thamilchelvan meets journalists in Batticaloa

[TamilNet, Thursday, 31 July 2003, 04:22 GMT]
The political head of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, Mr. S. P. Thamilchelvan, met with journalists from the Batticaloa district Wednesday night at the Kokkadicholai ‘Solaiyam’ guest house.
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LTTE leaders meet Jaffna govt. officials

[TamilNet, Thursday, 31 July 2003, 02:24 GMT]
The Deputy Political Head of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, Mr.Thangan, addressing Jaffna district government officials Wednesday afternoon, stressed that there is an urgent need to co-ordinate all development works in the district. He added that the decision on launching new development projects in the peninsula should come from Jaffna itself, sources said
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SLA,Vadamarachchi fishermen to meet with SLMM help

[TamilNet, Thursday, 31 July 2003, 01:05 GMT]
The Sea Monitors of the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission in the Jaffna district have arranged a meeting between the representatives of the fisheries co-operative societies in Vadamarachchi and Sri Lanka Army officials, and the discussion will be held on August 3, Sunday, at the 524 SLA brigade headquarters located in the Point Pedro town, SLMM sources said.
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SL Army soldiers assault civilians in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 30 July 2003, 19:13 GMT]
Tension prevailed near the Puttur--Meesalai junction in the Thenmaradchi area of the Jaffna district Tuesday night when Sri Lanka Army soldiers came in a motor bike and assaulted N.Subramaniam,63, when he was walking towards his home on foot, civil sources said.
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Supreme Court to hear appeal in Krishanthy murder case

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 30 July 2003, 18:52 GMT]
The appeal of six Sri Lanka Army soldiers sentenced to death by the High Court Trial-at-Bar in the Krishanthy Kumarasamy rape and murder case will be heard on November 4 this year before a five member bench of the Supreme Court, legal sources said, adding that the Chief Justice, Mr.Sarath N.Silva, said he would not serve in the bench for "personal reasons."
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Sri Lankan government denies report on dismantling LTTE camp

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 30 July 2003, 16:39 GMT]
Sri Lanka's Defence Ministry Wednesday categorically denied reports carried by a section of the media, quoting the Defence Secretary, Mr. Austin Fernando, as saying that military force would be used if the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam failed to dismantle the controversial Kurankupanchan camp in the Trincomalee district.
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LTTE leader served notice through the media in MoU case

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 30 July 2003, 15:59 GMT]
The Court of Appeal of Sri Lanka Wednesday served notice by newspaper publication on the leader of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, Mr.V.Pirapaharan, the second respondent in cases filed separately by the Sinhala Jathika Sangamaya, the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna and the Sihala Urumaya, who challenged the Memorandum of Understanding signed by the Government of Sri Lanka (GOSL) and the LTTE on 22nd February 2002 on the grounds that it was “illegal and unconstitutional,” legal sources said
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Workers protest against factory closures, layoffs

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 30 July 2003, 13:47 GMT]
Hundreds of dismissed workers in the private sector, unionized under the Inter Company Employees Union (ICEU) of Sri Lanka, held a demonstration in front of the World Trade Center building in Colombo Fort on Wednesday, protesting against the closure of 50 factories and companies of the Board of Investments and the dismissal of more than 25,000 workers since the United National Front government came to power, sources said.
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SLMM denies media reports on removing LTTE's camp

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 30 July 2003, 13:22 GMT]
The Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission on Wednesday said that some media had misquoted its acting head, Mr. Hagrup Haukland, on Tuesday and Wednesday, on the possibility of the Sri Lanka Armed Forces using force to remove the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam camp in Kurankupanchan in the Trincomalee district, re-emphasizing that the SLMM had not made even “the slightest suggestion of using force" and the parties should continue to use "negotiations and dialogue to solve their disputes."
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Vavuniya Judge gets jurisdiction over Mullaitivu

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 30 July 2003, 03:47 GMT]
The Judicial Services Commission of Sri Lanka has appointed the Vavuniya District judge, Mr. M. Ilanceliyan, to function as the District judge and Magistrate for the Mullaitivu district since June 1, sources said.
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Vavuniya judge remands suspect in abduction case

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 30 July 2003, 01:15 GMT]
When one of a group of ten unidentified men in a case involving a recent abduction of a woman presented himself in court through an attorney Tuesday, the Vavuniya District Judge, Mr. M. Ilancheliyan, ordered remand for the suspect and directed the Police to produce the remaining nine suspects and the three trishaws in which they were said to have gone to the house where the woman was abducted.
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Geologists say sand excavation in the North won't affect environment

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 29 July 2003, 20:39 GMT]
Excavating sand from the coastal areas from Manalkadu to Kudaththanai in Vadamarachchi east in the Jaffna peninsula would not affect the environment, said two geologists of the Mineral Sands Corporation of Sri Lanka in a report to the Jaffna District Government Agent Tuesday.
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Sri Lanka’s President cancels Trincomalee visit

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 29 July 2003, 19:10 GMT]
Sri Lanka’s President, Ms. Chandrika Kumaratunge, cancelled her scheduled Trincomalee visit on August 1 to hand over Millennium Scholarship grants to about four thousand poor students in the northeast province on the advice of the provincial governor, North East Provincial Education Ministry sources said.
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LTTE denies SLBC report on Kurankupanchan camp

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 29 July 2003, 18:25 GMT]
Refuting a news report carried by the State run Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation (SLBC) on its Tuesday night news broadcast, which said that the head of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, Mr. S.P. Thamilchelvan, had arrived at Sampur in the LTTE held Muttur east and was holding discussions with his cadres about dismantling the Kurankupanchan camp, the Trincomalee district political office of the LTTE told TamilNet that its Kurankupanchan camp is still located at the same place without any change, and the report was completely false.
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JVP declares 'war' against interim administration for NE

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 29 July 2003, 15:11 GMT]
The Sinhala nationalist Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) Tuesday vowed to fight tooth and nail against the establishment of an interim administrative council for the northeast province. " The proposed interim administrative council would divide the country for ever," said the JVP General Secretary, Mr.Tilvin Silva, addressing a press briefing Tuesday.
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Open warrant on EPDP suspect in Naranthanai murder case

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 29 July 2003, 14:19 GMT]
The Jaffna Magistrate, Mr.R.T.Viknarajah, Tuesday issued an open warrant on Mr. Namasivayam Karunakaramoorthy, a former Eelam Peoples Democratic Party (EPDP) member in the Delft Pradeshiya Sabah who is a suspect in the Kayts general election 2001 murder and assault case, legal sources said.
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Sea Monitors meet with Jaffna fisheries representatives

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 29 July 2003, 14:06 GMT]
The Sea Monitors of the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) in Jaffna Monday evening held discussions with representatives of the Fisheries co-operative societies in Gurunagar, Pashaiyoor and Colombagam in Jaffna division regarding a complaint made by the Sri Lanka Army and Navy that fishermen ‘encroach’ on the high security zones such as Kerativu and Kilali in the Jaffna lagoon, which, they say, causes a threat to their security, SLMM sources said.
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Thamilchelvan meets eastern NGOs

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 29 July 2003, 10:00 GMT]
Mr. S. P. Thamilchelvan, the head of the political wing of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), who is on a visit to the eastern Batticaloa district held discussions with representatives of various civilian organisations, Tuesday morning.
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Indian boatmen fast in Jaffna prison

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 29 July 2003, 04:31 GMT]
Four Indian boatmen who have been in remand since the middle of March this year in Jaffna prison began fasting Sunday evening, demanding their return to their country without delay, according to Jaffna prison authorities.
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SL Govt. appoints peace committees for Trincomalee, Ampara

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 29 July 2003, 04:22 GMT]
Peace Committees appointed according to the instruction by the Sri Lankan President and Defense Minister are to commence their function in the eastern districts of Trincomalee and Amparai with effect from August 1, according to a communiqué by the North East Provincial Governor's Secretariat.
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Vigilante group rescues abducted woman in Vadamarachchi

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 29 July 2003, 04:19 GMT]
Members of a vigilante group, on guard against anti-social elements in Vadamarachchi in the Jaffna district, rescued an abducted young married woman and released her to her husband during the weekend, and the group is now conducting an inquiry into the incident to find out who were behind the abduction and what their motive was, civil sources said.
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'SLA's HSZ in Nagarkovil prevents resettlement'

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 29 July 2003, 02:03 GMT]
The Hindu Cultural Affairs Minister in the United National Front government of Sri Lanka, Mr. T. Maheswaran, and the Jaffna government agent (GA), Mr. S. Pathmanathan, Monday morning visited the Nagarkovil area in the Jaffna district to inspect the conditions for resettlement in the area, and said that the conditions there are not yet conducive to resettling people, sources in Jaffna said.
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LTTE’s political office in Vavuniya attacked

[TamilNet, Monday, 28 July 2003, 18:19 GMT]
The Liberation Tigers’ political officer for Vavuniya Town was wounded when a grenade was lobbed at the LTTE’s political office in the northern border town Monday night around 11.30 p.m. The Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission, the Sri Lanka army and Police rushed to the spot upon being informed of the grenade attack on the LTTE’s political office in the town.
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Civilian robbed at Muhamalai checkpoint

[TamilNet, Monday, 28 July 2003, 15:41 GMT]
The Sri Lanka Army Monday agreed to hold an identification parade to identify the army soldier who is alleged to have robbed cash from a Tamil civilian at the Muhamalai checkpoint on his way to Jaffna from Mullaitivu through the A-9 highway, and at the intervention of the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka, the 55th Brigade officials of the SLA later agreed to hold an identification parade, HRC sources said.
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'Pongu Thamil' event to be held in Vavuniya

[TamilNet, Monday, 28 July 2003, 14:31 GMT]
Though the ceasefire has brought a halt to the war, "everyone should understand that the fight to win the Tamil people’s political rights has not stopped," said Mr. Sivashakthi Ananthan, the Vanni parliamentarian, speaking at a meeting held Sunday at the Suthananda Hindu Youth Association hall to plan the ‘Pongu Thamil’ (‘Tamil resurgence’) events.
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Thamilchelvan says doors to peace wide open

[TamilNet, Monday, 28 July 2003, 06:42 GMT]
“The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) are keenly studying the proposal for an interim administrative structure sent by the Sri Lankan government although it fails to meet the expectations of the Tamil people”, said Mr. S. P Thamilchelvan addressing more than five thousand troops of the LTTE’s southern front forces on the grounds of ‘Meenaham’, a sprawling military base complex in Tharavai, about 40 kilometres northwest of Batticaloa, late Sunday night.
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SLA allows devotees into Ottahapulam Church after 14 years

[TamilNet, Sunday, 27 July 2003, 21:16 GMT]
The Sri Lanka Army Sunday allowed Christian devotees to hold religious observances at the Ottahapulam St James' Church, located in the high security zone about one thousand meters away from the Palaly military base in the Jaffna district, for the first time in fourteen years, civil sources said.
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Students demand Siddha Medical Faculty at Jaffna University

[TamilNet, Sunday, 27 July 2003, 14:22 GMT]
The Vice Chancellor of the Jaffna University, Professor C. Mohanadas, has appointed a seven-member committee to submit a report on the demand by the Siddha Medical Students' Union that a faculty should be established at the university to teach Siddha medicine instead of creating an institution outside the university, education sources said.
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Thamilselvan visits Batticaloa

[TamilNet, Sunday, 27 July 2003, 13:57 GMT]
The head of the political wing of the LTTE, Mr. S.P. Thamilselvan, arrived at the Illupadichenai school grounds in Batticaloa by a Sri Lankan Air Force helicopter Sunday morning, sources said.
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Two more suspects to be arrested in Nimalarajan murder

[TamilNet, Sunday, 27 July 2003, 06:15 GMT]
The Chief Inspector of Police in Jaffna, Mr.Ranjith de Silva, Friday informed the Jaffna Magistrate, Mr.R.T.Viknarajah, that the police are on the trail of two more suspects who are moving around Puttalam and Mannar areas and who are said to be members of the paramilitary Eelam People’s Democratic Party, in connection with the murder of journalist Mylvaganam Nimalarajan, legal sources said
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NE provincial Tamil Language day held in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Sunday, 27 July 2003, 05:30 GMT]
Addressing the North East Provincial Tamil Language Day celebration, held Saturday for the first time after several years in Jaffna, Mr. Arun Master, the Deputy Head of the Thamileelam Education Board, said, "Educationists and teachers worked hard to preserve the pristine glory of Tamil language and Tamil culture from being destroyed by enemies during the wartime in the northeast."
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'Tamils will not accept hasty decision on land matters’

[TamilNet, Sunday, 27 July 2003, 05:18 GMT]
"We cannot accept any hasty decision taken regarding land related problems in the Trincomalee district at a time when all attempts are made to take forward the peace process and serious consideration is given to the establishment of an interim administrative structure with adequate powers," said the Trincomalee district parliamentarian, Mr.Rajavarothiam Sampanthan, Saturday to the media following the cancellation of Lands Minister's visit to Trincomalee, sources said.
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Land Minister's Trinco visit cancelled, mobile service called off

[TamilNet, Saturday, 26 July 2003, 21:07 GMT]
A four-day mobile service scheduled to be inaugurated at the Trincomalee district secretariat Saturday morning by the Lands Minister of SriLanka, Dr..Rajitha Senaratne, was called off at the last minute as a one-day hartal was observed in the eastern port town the same day, sources said.
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SLMC to talk to SL President on Interim Administration

[TamilNet, Saturday, 26 July 2003, 18:10 GMT]
The Sri Lanka Muslim Congress will meet the President of Sri Lanka, Ms. Chandrika Kumaratunga, to discuss the SLMC’s suggestions to safeguard Muslim interests in the proposed Interim Administration, the SLMC said in a press release Saturday.
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SL Police asks Tamil paramilitaries to avoid unnecessary movements

[TamilNet, Saturday, 26 July 2003, 16:14 GMT]
The Sri Lankan police in Batticaloa have advised the paramilitary Eelam People’s Democratic Party (EPDP), the People’s Liberation Organization of Tamil Eelam (PLOTE) and the Eelam People Revolutionary Liberation Front (EPRLF-Varathar wing) cadres not to move unnecessarily outside their offices in the district, and if there was a serious need to move out, the police would provide security to them, sources said.
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LTTE hands over surrendered SLN soldier to SLMM

[TamilNet, Saturday, 26 July 2003, 13:31 GMT]
The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) Saturday morning handed over a surrendered Sri Lanka Navy soldier, C.Rajapakse, 27, to the head of the Sri Lanka Monitoring Committee Mission in Jaffna, SLMM sources said.
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Junior LTTE officers complete training

[TamilNet, Saturday, 26 July 2003, 13:05 GMT]
At a ceremony held in the Vanni Saturday to mark the completion of training of the junior officers of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, the leader of the LTTE, Mr. V. Pirapaharan, participated, made a speech and awarded certificates to the officers, LTTE sources said.
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Hartal observed in Trincomalee

[TamilNet, Saturday, 26 July 2003, 12:38 GMT]
A hartal (general shut down) was observed in the town of Trincomalee Saturday and all business establishments owned by Tamil and Muslim people were closed down, bringing the normal life to a standstill, civil sources said.
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SLA constructs new camp at Potpathi in Vadamarachchi East

[TamilNet, Friday, 25 July 2003, 18:03 GMT]
The Sri Lanka Army Thursday commenced constructing a large camp at Potpathi, a fishing hamlet in the Vadamarachchi East division in Jaffna district, where about one hundred fishing families reside, and civil sources said that hundreds of villagers immediately launched a sit-in-protest campaign in front of the new camp demanding its removal, civil sources said.
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No need for public apology for July’83 pogroms - Peiris

[TamilNet, Friday, 25 July 2003, 15:52 GMT]
Though the July 1983 pogroms against the Tamil people in Sri Lanka have left an “indelible scar,” no purpose would be served by making a public apology or regret by the United National Front government for it, said Mr. G. L. Peiris, the Sri Lankan Cabinet spokesman, in response to a question from a foreign correspondent in Colombo, the Jaffna-based Tamil daily, Uthayan, reported Friday.
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German expert says ground water situation in Jaffna 'alarming'

[TamilNet, Friday, 25 July 2003, 14:56 GMT]
Speaking at a seminar held at the International Water Management Institute in Colombo on the potential of rainwater harvesting in the Jaffna peninsula, Mr. Herald Kraft, a consultant to the Jaffna Rehabilitation Project, funded by the German Technical Cooperation (GTZ), revealed that the ground water situation in the Jaffna peninsula is alarming, given the thin cover of soil over the ground water table that provides no protection against pollutants, a press release from the GTZ said on Friday.
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Eight SLA officers may be investigated in Habeas Corpus case

[TamilNet, Thursday, 24 July 2003, 16:49 GMT]
The Appeals court of Sri Lanka has ordered the District court of Vavuniya to investigate the eight Sri Lankan military officers in connection with the Habeas Corpus application of a Puthukudiyiruppu villager arrested on August 25, 1995 and still languishing in jail, and submit a report to the Appeals court, sources said.
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Part-time English teachers in Vavuniya want permanency

[TamilNet, Thursday, 24 July 2003, 04:25 GMT]
English teachers in the Vavuniya district, serving for many years as part time teachers, have demanded that in view of the shortage of English teachers Vavuniya, the Sri Lankan Department of Education and the Provincial Education Ministry should take action to make them permanent, and if no action is taken by the start of the third term, they would commence an indefinite strike, sources said.
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Postal services in Mullaitivu to improve

[TamilNet, Thursday, 24 July 2003, 03:33 GMT]
Even in the midst of severe shortages of essential goods and a lack of public transport, the Postal service in Mullaitivu has managed to provide at least 50% of the services it would have provided in normal times, with the support of the Government Agent and the Postal Services workers, the Postal Superintendent for Mullaitivu, Mr. Veerasingham Kumaraguru, said.
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Vavuniya Judge calls for prompt police action to prevent crime

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 23 July 2003, 21:26 GMT]
The Vavuniya District Judge, Mr.M. Ilanchelian, in a meeting he convened, has advised the heads of several police divisions in Vavuniya, that the police should conduct prompt and impartial inquiries based on the constitutional principle that everyone is equal before the Law and everyone is entitled to equal protection, that the police should never allow any kind of political interference in cases, and that if he received any complaints about police misconduct, he would deal with the police sternly, sources said.
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The last polio victim in Sri Lanka gets bicycle

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 23 July 2003, 17:21 GMT]
Mohamed Seyadu Mohamed Ali Rafeek (13), of Jinnapuram in Pulmoddai, about 65 km north of Trincomalee district, who had the last reported case of poliomyelitis before Sri Lanka was declared a polio-free nation by the World Health Organization in 1993, received a bicycle at an event held at Trincomalee Social Service Centre Hall Tuesday, provincial health departmental sources said.
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SL President appoints committee to report on IA proposals

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 23 July 2003, 05:04 GMT]
Sri Lanka’s President, Chandrika Kumaratunge, has appointed a four member committee to study and report on the interim administrative structure proposals which have been submitted to the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam by the United National Front government of Prime Minister Ranil Wickremasinghe, political sources said.
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Vadamaradchi fishermen complain of SLA harassment

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 23 July 2003, 03:10 GMT]
The Vadamaradchi Federation of Fisheries Co-operatives (VFFC) Tuesday requested the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission to take immediate steps to stop the Sri Lankan government security forces from registering their boats, saying that their crafts had already been registered by the Department of Fisheries, federation officials said.
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Vets sought to treat wounded elephant

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 23 July 2003, 02:09 GMT]
The Forest Conservation Division of the Liberation Tigers Wednesday appealed for veterinarian experts to help treat an elephant which had been seriously injured after triggering a landmine, officials said.
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Hartal in the East for the second day

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 22 July 2003, 20:54 GMT]
The hartal (general shutdown) observed on Monday in the Batticaloa and Ampara districts continued for the second day Tuesday, and normal life came to a standstill again, sources said.
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Woman SL soldier suspect in murder case remanded

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 22 July 2003, 16:19 GMT]
The Chavakachcheri Magistrate, Mr.K.Ariyanayagam, Tuesday ordered remand for one of the twelve women soldiers of the Sri Lanka Army who have been charged with the murder of a fellow woman soldier Chandrika while serving in Chavakachcheri in 2001, legal sources said.
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NE local government week celebration concluded

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 22 July 2003, 15:31 GMT]
Sustainable development could be seen in the war-torn Northeast province if the rehabilitation and development projects are implemented with the participation of the people, said North-East Provincial Council Chief Secretary, Mr.S.Rangarajah, addressing the provincial level 2003 local government week celebrations in Trincomalee Monday evening.
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Undergrads, public prevent holding of EU function

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 22 July 2003, 14:48 GMT]
Jaffna undergrads and the public Tuesday prevented an European Union function attended by Sri Lankan cabinet minister Dr.Jayalath Jayawardene from being held at the Kailasapathy auditorium, Jaffna University, for handing over fifty five schools renovated with the funds provided by the EU, saying they would not allow any Sri Lankan minister to hold any function inside the university premises until students in the peninsula were allowed to pursue their studies free of military pressure of the Sri Lankan government, education department sources said.
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NECORD replaces school building destroyed by SLN

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 22 July 2003, 03:33 GMT]
The district commander of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam in Trincomalee, Colonel Pathuman, Monday declared open a new building at the Ilakanthai Tamil mixed school in the LTTE held Muttur east which was constructed under the Asian Development Bank funded North East Community Restoration Development (NECORD) project.
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Contractors signed up for Reconstruction in the Vanni

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 22 July 2003, 03:06 GMT]
Approximately forty contractors have signed up for the rehabilitation and reconstruction of the Kilinochchi and Mullaitivu districts according to information revealed in a recent meeting where the head of the Institute for Construction, Training And Development (ICTAD) participated, Vanni sources said.
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Slow progress in supplying electricity to Omanthai

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 22 July 2003, 03:03 GMT]
Work is currently underway to supply electricity to the Omanthai Sri Lanka Army checkpoint complex, but so far only 20 % of the project has been completed, said Mr. S. Pirabhakaran, Engineer, Vavuniya Region, the Ceylon Electricity Board.
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US demining team to collaborate with SLA in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Monday, 21 July 2003, 19:39 GMT]
The US de-mining team RONCO is to recommence its de-mining work in the Jaffna district with effect from August 15 in collaboration with the Sri Lanka Army, team leader Mr.Don Smith told TamilNet Monday.
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French army officer visits Batticaloa

[TamilNet, Monday, 21 July 2003, 16:25 GMT]
The French army attaché for Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Maldives visited Batticaloa Monday and met with the military, Police, the Catholic Bishop, Muslim civil society leaders and the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM), Sri Lankan Police sources in the eastern town said.
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US demining team hands over cleared area

[TamilNet, Monday, 21 July 2003, 16:23 GMT]
An area of 72,208 square meters, consisting of residential and agricultural lands in Sarasalai in the central of Thenamaradchchi division in Jaffna district that has been fully demined, was handed over to the Thenmaradchchi Divisional Secretariat by the US de-mining team known as RONCO on Monday, divisional office sources said.
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SLA fears big fish in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Monday, 21 July 2003, 16:20 GMT]
Sri Lanka army soldiers in Munai, near Pt. Pedro in Jaffna, insisted that a fisherman cut open a large hammerhead shark he had caught Monday to check whether explosives were hidden inside the fish. Fishermen in Munai said that the SLA has ordered that all big fish brought to the shore by them have to be cut open and checked for hidden bombs and explosive devises from Monday.
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Hartal in the East to protest arrests

[TamilNet, Monday, 21 July 2003, 14:06 GMT]
A complete hartal (general shutdown) was observed in the Batticaloa and Ampara districts Monday to protest the continuing arbitrary arrests of Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam cadres and the killing on July 11 of Mr. Velupillai Paraneetharan (18), a civilian, in Puttur, sources said.
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Baratha Natya Arangetram held in Trincomalee

[TamilNet, Monday, 21 July 2003, 05:01 GMT]
The Baratha Natya Arangteram enhances the cultural pride of the Tamil people, said Rev.Sr.M.Threse Ranee, Principal of St Mary's College, participating as the chief guest at the Baratha Natya Arangetram of Miss Chandrasekaram Sangeetha, held Sunday evening at the Thresian auditorium at St. Mary’s College in Trincomalee, sources said.
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‘HSZ in Jaffna expanded post ceasefire'

[TamilNet, Sunday, 20 July 2003, 18:37 GMT]
The high security zones in the Jaffna district have been expanded since the signing of the ceasefire agreement by the Government of Sri Lanka and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, said the former Jaffna Municipal Commissioner, Mr.C.V.K.Sivagnanam, who is the current President of the Northern Federation of Farmers' Co-operative Societies, addressing a press briefing held at the Jaffna Humanitarian Agencies Consortium (JHAC) office Sunday.
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Batticaloa News in Brief

[TamilNet, Sunday, 20 July 2003, 17:07 GMT]
LTTE Senior Commander Karuna meets Tamil activists, Sathurukondan residents undergo security checks and LTTE to open Eastern Police Head Quarters in Kokkadichcholai.
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Delft local authority to pay SLN's telephone arrears

[TamilNet, Sunday, 20 July 2003, 16:45 GMT]
Sri Lanka Telecom Friday disconnected the telephone line to the Delft Pradeshiya Sabah (PS - village level local authority) in Jaffna district due to the failure of paying arrears incurred to the PS administration when its office building was under the control of the Sri Lanka Navy (SLN), local government ministry sources said.
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SLN lays condition for beaching crafts in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Sunday, 20 July 2003, 16:43 GMT]
Sri Lanka Navy (SLN) Saturday directed the fishermen in Pallappai and Katkovalam in Vadamarachi division in Jaffna district to beach their fishing crafts within six hundred meter area from their positions on the shore enabling them to see fishing boats with their naked eye, fisheries co-operative officials said.
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Best local government bodies in NE chosen

[TamilNet, Sunday, 20 July 2003, 14:22 GMT]
A local government body at each of the Municiapl Council (MC), Urban Council (UC) and Pradeshiya Sabah (PS) levels has been adjudged the best in the North-East in a competition held in connection with the Local Government Week (July 14-21), and the bodies are the Batticaloa MC, the Vavuniya UC and the Vavuniya South Tamil PS, Sri Lanka’s provincial local government ministry sources said.
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Grenade attack in Oddamavadi

[TamilNet, Sunday, 20 July 2003, 14:01 GMT]
Unidentified persons Saturday night hurled a grenade at the residence of the Chairman of the Tamil-Muslim Reconciliation Committee, Mr. Mohamed Hussein Hayat Mohamed, in Oddamavadi in the Batticaloa district, police sources said.
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US group completes clearing parts of Sarasalai region of mines

[TamilNet, Sunday, 20 July 2003, 10:56 GMT]
Mine clearing group from United States America (USA) is to cermonially hand over a mine cleared section of Sarasalai in Thenmaradchy district, Jaffna, to Secretary S.Srinivasan Monday 10am in an event to be held at the Central Community Center in Sarasalai, local papers reported.
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Tamil book on Trinco’s history released

[TamilNet, Saturday, 19 July 2003, 19:55 GMT]
" Historic Trincomalee," a research book written by Mr.Kanagasabapathy Saravanapavan in Tamil, was released Saturday evening at an event held at the Sri Koneswara Hindu College hall in Trincomalee, and several Tamil academicians said that the book is a timely contribution at a time when parties with vested interests distort the history of the country to suit their agenda, sources said.
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Transit centre for war affected Muttur children

[TamilNet, Saturday, 19 July 2003, 18:08 GMT]
Foundation stone was laid Friday for the transit centre for the protection and welfare of children under eighteen years affected by war at Kadatkaraichcenai in the Liberation Tigers held Muttur east in Trincomalee, sources said.
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Bishop protests SLA closure of Madhu Shrine access road

[TamilNet, Saturday, 19 July 2003, 12:40 GMT]
In a meeting at the Mannar Secretariat Friday on issues related to forthcoming festivals at Madhu shrine, Mannar district Bishop Rev.Rayappu Joseph said that the continued closure of the road to Madhu shrine by the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) is a human rights violation, reports in Jaffna daily Uthayan said.
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Workshop on pre-school education held in Trincomalee

[TamilNet, Friday, 18 July 2003, 19:30 GMT]
One-day workshop on curriculum formulation for training pre-school development co-ordinators in the northeast province was held Friday at the North East Provincial Guest House in Trincomalee, sources said. The workshop was organized by the Tamil Rehabilitation Organization (TRO) and the Provincial Education Ministry Secretary Mr.R.Thiagalingam inaugurated the workshop.
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SL Govt. neglects Jaffna fisheries, TRO to build ice factory

[TamilNet, Friday, 18 July 2003, 18:45 GMT]
No assistance has been provided for the development of the fisheries sector in the Jaffna district by the Sri Lankan state since 2000, and international non-governmental organizations have come forward to develop the fisheries industry in the peninsula, said the Assistant Director of Fisheries, Mr.A.Joseph, addressing a meeting following the opening of a second ice factory at Point Pedro at a cost of three million rupees with the aid of the UNDP Friday afternoon.
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World Bank commends LTTE for its cooperation

[TamilNet, Friday, 18 July 2003, 15:43 GMT]
The Country Director of the World Bank in Sri Lanka, Mr Peter C.Harrold, Friday launched the Tamil version the of the publication “Sri Lanka Country Assistance Strategy 2003-2006 (CAS)” at an event held at the North East Provincial Health Ministry auditorium in Trincomalee, where he thanked the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam for the close cooperation the LTTE has extended to the Bank in implementing projects it funded, sources said.
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Resettlement in Talaimannar Pier areas to begin

[TamilNet, Friday, 18 July 2003, 08:26 GMT]
Sittampalam Jeyapalan, a senior officer attached to the international NGO from Switzerland, FSD, said that 1394 land mines, 9 claymore mines and 8 unexploded shells have been removed from the Talaimannar West and East areas in the last one hundred days. Administrative officials in Talaimannar said that the clearing of mines has allowed displaced residents from Talaimannar pier area to prepare for resettlement.
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Civilians foil SLA's attempt to arrest LTTE cadres in Vavuniya

[TamilNet, Thursday, 17 July 2003, 18:31 GMT]
Tamil Civilians in the Kidachoori area of Vavuniya on Thursday foiled attempts by Sri Lanka Army personnel in civvies to arrest four Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam cadres and take them to the SLA camp, saying one of the cadres was carrying a communication set, sources in Vavuniya said.
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HSZ blocks progress of Hartley and Methodist schools

[TamilNet, Thursday, 17 July 2003, 18:06 GMT]
School development society officials in Jaffna complained Thursday that the progress of Hartley College and the Methodist Girls High School, premier educational institutions in the Northen Province and located in Point Pedro in the Vadamaradchi division, has been set back as these institutions come under a high security zone imposed by the Sri Lankan security forces.
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SLA Informant shot dead

[TamilNet, Thursday, 17 July 2003, 18:02 GMT]
Unidentified gunmen Thursday evening 6.30 p.m. shot dead Fowzie, said to be an informant to the Sri Lanka security forces, at third mile post in Uppuveli area, suburb of north of Trincomalee, police said. Fowzie escaped a preveious attempt on his life, police said.
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SL police constable commits suicide in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Thursday, 17 July 2003, 15:16 GMT]
Thirty five year old police constable Mr.Anura Hewawasam of Achchuveli Police in Jaffna district is reported to have committed suicide Wednesday night, police said.
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Norwegian envoy carries IA proposals to Kilinochchi

[TamilNet, Thursday, 17 July 2003, 12:35 GMT]
Norwegian special peace envoy Mr.Jon Westborg Thursday morning left Colombo to Killinochchi with Sri Lanka Government's proposals to establish an Interim Administrative (IA) structure in the northeast province, Cabinet Spokesman and Constitutional Affairs Minister Mr. G.L.Peiris said duirng his weekly press briefing in Colombo Thursday, sources said.
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Nathaswaram Vidwan Alaveddy N.K.Pathmanathan passes away

[TamilNet, Thursday, 17 July 2003, 12:00 GMT]
The world renowned Sri Lankan Nathaswara Vidwan Alaveddy N.K.Pathmanathan passed away peacefully at the age of seventy one and his cremation was held in Jaffna Thursday morning at Kombayanmanal cemetery amid thousand of mourners praising his contribution to the Nathaswara music for about half a century in Sri Lanka. sources said.
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School reopened in Omanthai HSZ

[TamilNet, Thursday, 17 July 2003, 11:15 GMT]
"For the many children who were displaced, denied of basic education and forced to eke a living selling nuts along A9, this event marks an important turning point in their lives," said Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) Vavuniya district Political Head, Sengathir, speaking at the opening ceremony of Omanthai Mahavidyalayam in the High Security Zone (HSZ), sources attending the function said.
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SLA increases motorbike patrols in Vadamarachchi

[TamilNet, Thursday, 17 July 2003, 10:49 GMT]
The Sri Lanka Army (SLA) has increased its field motorbike group patrols in Vadamarachchi division from Thursday, escalating tension and fear among the residents of the area, civil sources said.
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Measles vaccination for Vavuniya children

[TamilNet, Thursday, 17 July 2003, 10:34 GMT]
Vavuniya district Deputy Commissioner of Health Services, Dr.Arumugam Ketheeswaran said that under the country-wide 2003 plan of vaccinating against measles Vavuniya district was the first in the Northeast to complete the vaccination program during six weeks in June-July, sources in Vavuniya said. 95% children in Vavuniya has been vaccinated against measles.
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Media should help unite people - Bishops

[TamilNet, Thursday, 17 July 2003, 01:59 GMT]
Bishops of Trincomalee-Batticaloa and Badulla Dioceses Rt Rev Fr Dr.Kingsely Swampillai and Rt Rev Winston Fernando Wednesday made a plea to the media to work for the unity of all communities and not to create tension among them. Both made this appeal in their inaugural speeches made at the one day workshop on the "Today's impact of social communication in the society" held at the Pastoral House located in Uppuveli area in Trincomalee, sources said.
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Hindu Affairs Ministry to relocate displaced families

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 16 July 2003, 21:21 GMT]
Steps are being taken to relocate about three hundred displaced families from the high security zones in Myliddy and Palaly, who are living elsewhere in the Ilavalai in Valigamam divisions, and in the first phase, thirty families will be resettled, said Hindu Affairs Minister Mr. T. Maheswaran, according to sources in Jaffna.
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Sea Monitors to hold talks with Sea Tiger head next week

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 16 July 2003, 19:42 GMT]
The Norwegian head of the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission, Major General (retd.) Triggve Teleffsen, who on Wednesday held key talks with the head of the Sea Tigers division of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, Colonel Soosai, in Mullaitivu, and concluded his three-day visit to the LTTE held Vanni region, told journalists that the SLMM’s Sea Monitors would visit Kilinochchi next week and hold talks with the Sea Tiger head, sources said.
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Second grenade attack at Trinco PLOTE office

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 16 July 2003, 17:01 GMT]
Unidentified men Wednesday around nine p.m. hurled a grenade inside the premises of the Trincomalee office of the Peoples' Liberation Organisation of Tamil Eelam (PLOTE) and four persons were injured when it exploded. This is the second grenade attack on the Trincomalee PLOTE office within ten days, police said.
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TULF’s Trinco branch wants action against Anandasangaree

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 16 July 2003, 16:20 GMT]
In a strongly worded resolution adopted at the meeting of the Trincomalee district branch of the Tamil United Liberation Front, the main constituent of the Tamil National Alliance, the TULF branch said Wednesday that “appropriate action” should be taken to “ensure that the policies and principles of the TULF are upheld at all times,” and that “irresponsible statements made by a single individual” are not regarded as the position of the TULF.
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SLN search damages fishing boats, SLA constructs new camp

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 16 July 2003, 15:53 GMT]
The Sri Lanka Navy Wednesday searched all fishing boats beached in the coastal villages of Supparmadam and Inbaruty in the Vadamarachchi division in Jaffna district, and several boats were damaged during the search operation, fishermen complained to their Fisheries Co-operative Society, sources said.
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LTTE leader pays homage to Lt. Seelan

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 16 July 2003, 15:27 GMT]
The leader of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, Mr. V. Pirapaharan, unveiled a large photo of the late Lt. Seelan (Charles Antony), the first attack commander of the LTTE, and paid his respects by lighting the sacrificial flame, at a specially organized ceremony in a location in the Vanni, sources said.
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Fourth meeting of Tamil-Muslim subcommittee held

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 16 July 2003, 03:53 GMT]
The fourth meeting of the subcommittee on Tamil-Muslim issues was held Sunday 10am at the Vavunathivu divisional secretariat, sources said. The meeting started by Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) Batticaloa Head lasted about two hours.
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Amnesty concerned over safety of sexually tortured woman

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 16 July 2003, 02:57 GMT]
Amnesty International Tuesday expressed concern for safety of a woman who is being held in the remand prison in Kandy, the island’s hill capital that she and her family may face reprisals after six Sri Lankan Policemen, including an officer were charged with sexually torturing her in custody.
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Sinhala nationalists protest against SLMM in Trinco

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 15 July 2003, 18:37 GMT]
A group of Sinhalese Tuesday held a demonstration in front of the office of the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) in Trincomalee demanding them to go out of the country. The Trincomalee Police gave protection to the SLMM office and the monitors, sources said.
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LTTE members further remanded in Batticaloa

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 15 July 2003, 18:13 GMT]
Batticaloa magistrate, Mr. Abdul Gafoor, Tuesday remanded until 18 July all the members of the Liberation Tigers who were arrested by the Sri Lanka Police in the eastern town Monday night.
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Lt. Seelan commemoration held in Trincomalee

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 15 July 2003, 18:07 GMT]
The twentieth death anniversary of Lieutanant.Seelan (Charles Antony), the first attack commander of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), was observed in Trincomalee, his birthplace, at an event held at the LTTE political office in Eastern port town Tuesday, sources said.
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North East mourns twelve LTTE cadres killed in SLN attack

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 15 July 2003, 16:34 GMT]
The North East Tuesday observed a day of mourning for the eleven LTTE cadres and one patriot who were killed when the Sri Lanka Navy sank an LTTE oil tanker on June 14 in international waters off the Mullaitivu coast.
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SLA calls off search operation due to SLMM intervention

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 15 July 2003, 15:51 GMT]
The Sri Lanka Army Tuesday morning called off its cordon and search operation conducted outside the political office of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam in the Vadamaradchi division, after the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission monitors in the Jaffna district intervened, sources said.
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SLA shifting FDLs inside No-man's zone - Theepan

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 15 July 2003, 13:19 GMT]
Col.Theepan, Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) Commander of Northern Region has complained to the Norwegian head of the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission, Major General (retd.) Triggve Teleffsen, that the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) has shifted their Forward Defence positions inside the no-man's zone in Muhamalai, Kilali and NagarKovil areas, tamil daily Uthayan reported.
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Sinhala nationalists launch de-merger campaign in Trinco

[TamilNet, Monday, 14 July 2003, 19:52 GMT]
The "Sinhala Sanvidhanaya," a Sinhala nationalist movement Monday launched a signature campaign in Trincomalee to urge the de-merging of the North and East. The first signatory of the memorandum was the president of the organization, Venerable Dehiowitte Piyatissa Thera, sources said.
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Late Bishop of Jaffna remembered in Trincomalee

[TamilNet, Monday, 14 July 2003, 18:27 GMT]
The late Bishop of Jaffna, Rt. Rev. V.Deogupillai, firmly stood against injustice, suppression of human rights and fought for the equality of all irrespective of any differences, said Justice C.V.Vigneswaran, in his speech read out at the commemoration meeting for the late Bishop held at St.Mary's College in Trincomalee Sunday evening.
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Northeast to mourn for 12 LTTE cadres killed in SLN attack

[TamilNet, Monday, 14 July 2003, 18:11 GMT]
Arrangements have made to observe mourning day in the northeast for the eleven LTTE cadres and one patriot were killed when the Sri Lanka Nay sunk the LTTE oil tanker on June 14 in international waters off Mullaitivu coast, sources in Jaffna said.
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SLA, police arrest eight LTTE cadres in Batticaloa

[TamilNet, Monday, 14 July 2003, 17:57 GMT]
The Sri Lanka Police and Sri Lanka Army (SLA) Monday around 10 p.m. stopped and searched a LTTE vehicle at the Kallady Bridge in Batticaloa and arrested eight LTTE cadres including four women cadres in the vehicle as they were in possession oftheir personal weapons, security sources said. The LTTE vehicle was taken Kattankudy police station.
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LTTE to commemorate anniversary of Lt. Seelan’s death

[TamilNet, Monday, 14 July 2003, 16:14 GMT]
The twentieth anniversary of the death of Lieutenant Seelan (Charles Antony), a senior attack commander of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, will be observed Tuesday (July 15) in the Northeast province on a grand scale, sources said.
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SLMM head begins three-day visit to the Vanni

[TamilNet, Monday, 14 July 2003, 15:23 GMT]
The Norwegian head of the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission, Major General (retd.) Triggve Teleffsen, Monday began a three-day visit to the Vanni, where he is to meet the leadership of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam and discuss problems in implementing the ceasefire agreement signed by the Government of Sri Lanka and the LTTE, sources said.
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HRC committee concludes probe into Jaffna disappearances

[TamilNet, Sunday, 13 July 2003, 16:58 GMT]
One man committee headed by a former civil servant Mr.Devanesan Nesiah that was appointed by the Human Rights Commission (HRC) of Sri Lanka to probe into complaints of disappearance of persons after the arrest by security forces in Jaffna district Sunday said that it would submit its final report to the HRC next month, sources in Jaffna Sunday said.
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More Tamil refugees in India return to Jaffna

[TamilNet, Sunday, 13 July 2003, 16:49 GMT]
Twenty-one more Sri Lankan Tamil refugees Sunday early morning arrived in Nedunthivu islet in Jaffna district from South India by boats. They are natives of Jaffna district and fled to South India due to military operation by Sri Lankan security forces, sources said.
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Teachers, MPCS officials meet LTTE in Batticaloa

[TamilNet, Sunday, 13 July 2003, 14:14 GMT]
Teachers from Kiran, Koralaipattu from Batticaloa district met with officials from the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) at the Karadianaaru Thenaham Guest House Friday 7pm to discuss matters relating to education in their district, sources said. LTTE's Head of Education, Varathan, presided the meeting.
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Resettlement to begin in Meeravodai

[TamilNet, Sunday, 13 July 2003, 12:07 GMT]
The Batticaloa branch of the Tamil Rehabilitation Organization (TRO) has begun to resettle internally displaced Tamils from the village of Meeravodai inValaichenai district, Batticaloa under the North East Community Restoration and Development Project (NECORD), sources in Batticaloa said.
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Cordon and search operations by SLA violate CFA - LTTE

[TamilNet, Sunday, 13 July 2003, 10:47 GMT]
The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) Sunday lodged a protest with the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) against the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) conducting cordon and search operation in civilian areas. "The SLA's action violates the Ceasefire Agreement (CFA) signed by the Government of Sri Lanka and the LTTE," said LTTE Trincomalee district political head Mr.S.Thilak in a protest note to the SLMM in east port town, sources said.
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Lankan spooks in Mullaithivu posing as contractors - report

[TamilNet, Sunday, 13 July 2003, 08:11 GMT]
All reconstruction work in Mullaithivu has been cancelled after the interior intelligence division of the Liberation Tigers found that many Sri Lankan intelligence operatives had infiltrated the district in the guise of government contractors, according to a Tamil media report Sunday.
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Muttur victims get Rs.32.5 million compensation

[TamilNet, Saturday, 12 July 2003, 18:44 GMT]
Minister of Port Development, Shipping and Eastern Regional Development Minister Mr.Rauff Hakim Saturday started payment of compensation to victims of April violence in Muttur area at an event held in Muttur Al Hilal Girls School. About 585 families affected by April violence were paid 32.5 million rupees as compensation Saturday as first installment, sources said.
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‘Tamil people's confidence in UNF shattered’

[TamilNet, Saturday, 12 July 2003, 17:22 GMT]
The Vanni district parliamentarian from the Tamil National Alliance, Mr.Selvam Adaikalanathan, Saturday said that the visit by Sri Lanka’s Defence minister, Mr.Tilak Marapane, and Sri Lanka Navy Commander, Daya Sandagiri, to Israel to purchase arms, has shattered the confidence the Tamil people had in the United National Front government that it was sincere in its peace initiatives, sources said.
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LTTE's commitment to resolve conflict by peaceful means stands- Thamilselvan

[TamilNet, Saturday, 12 July 2003, 17:15 GMT]
"We are ready to face a war if it is imposed on us with the change of a new government. But we are firm in finding a political solution to the conflict through peaceful means," said the political head of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) Mr.S.P.Thamilselvan to a twelve-member delegation of the Sri Lanka Tamil Media Alliance (STMA)Saturday evening, sources said.
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Names of Tigers killed in Sri Lanka Navy attack released

[TamilNet, Saturday, 12 July 2003, 12:30 GMT]
The Liberation Tigers Saturday announced the names of 11 officers who were killed at mid sea when Sri Lanka Navy attacked their oil tanker vessel last month. The Liberation Tigers charged that the attack was unprovoked. They said the SLN’s action was illegal because their merchant vessel was sailing in international waters off the island’s northeast coast.
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Tension in Jaffna Islet as SLN blocks video show

[TamilNet, Saturday, 12 July 2003, 12:10 GMT]
Attempts by Sri Lanka Navy (SLN) soldiers block a video show on the history of Tamil struggle by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) watched by residents and visitors to the historic Nagapooshani Amman Temple festival in Nainativu Thursday night escalated tension in the island, reports from Jaffna said.
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Trincomalee resettlement problems spotlighted

[TamilNet, Saturday, 12 July 2003, 00:23 GMT]
The delay in demining abandoned villages and resettling the landless among internally displaced families in the Trincomalee district were spotlighted at a meeting of the Eastern Forum of the Consortium of Humanitarian Agencies held in Trincomalee Thursday, sources said.
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PA demands parliament, cabinet review of IA proposal

[TamilNet, Friday, 11 July 2003, 17:57 GMT]
Sri Lanka's main opposition Peoples Alliance (PA) Friday demanded that the United National Front (UNF) government should present to the parliament and cabinet, UNF's proposals on the Interim Administrative (IA) structure for the northeast, before the proposal is submitted to the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), political sources in Colombo said.
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HSZ issue blocks relocation of eighty displaced families

[TamilNet, Friday, 11 July 2003, 17:39 GMT]
Civilian officials in Jaffna are in a quandary to relocate about eighty internally displaced families now temporarily living in a low lying area in Point Pedro, as the security establishment, citing that the areas selected for resettlement are close to High Security Zones (HSZs), is blocking every move to find a suitable site, Jaffna district secretariat sources said.
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TNA refutes allegations against its MPs

[TamilNet, Friday, 11 July 2003, 14:45 GMT]
Strongly denying accusations by some People's Alliance members, inside and outside parliament, that the Tamil National Alliance has entered into a secret pact with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, the TNA’s parliamentary group leader, Mr. R.Sampanthan, said in Sri Lanka’s parliament Friday that the TNA is openly working with the LTTE to take the present peace process forward to find a negotiated political solution to the conflict in the Northeast through peaceful means, parliamentary sources said.
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Supreme Court grants bail to General Ratwatte

[TamilNet, Friday, 11 July 2003, 14:17 GMT]
The Supreme Court Friday granted bail to all the fifteen accused in the Udathalawinne massacre case, including the former Deputy Defence Minister, General Anurudhha Ratwatte, and his two sons Lohan and Chanuka, legal sources said
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First batch of women deminers completes training

[TamilNet, Friday, 11 July 2003, 13:46 GMT]
A function to mark the completion of three months of training for the first batch of thirty-three women deminers from the Humanitarian Demining Unit was held at the HDU’s training facility in Paranthan Thursday, sources said.
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Youth shot dead in Puthur

[TamilNet, Friday, 11 July 2003, 10:58 GMT]
Velupillai Paraneetharan (18), a supporter of Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) was shot dead Friday by unknown gunmen at 1.15pm on Batticaloa-Puthur Vipulanantha road, security sources said.
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Parliamentary debate sought on allegations against TNA MPs

[TamilNet, Friday, 11 July 2003, 10:36 GMT]
Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentary group leader Mr.R.Sampanthan Friday wrote to the Speaker of the Sri Lanka Parliament seeking a parliamentary debate on allegations against TNA MPs by some opposition parliamentarians, political sources said. The allegations include TNA members provide training to members of Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).
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38, 000 houses completely destroyed in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Friday, 11 July 2003, 03:02 GMT]
The Jaffna Humanitarian Agencies Consortium said Thursday that about one hundred and sixty five thousand houses have been damaged or completely destroyed due to the war in the Jaffna peninsula, sources said.
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Supreme Court to deliver order on Ratwatte appeal

[TamilNet, Thursday, 10 July 2003, 18:29 GMT]
The Supreme Court of Sri Lanka is to deliver its order Friday on the appeal made against an order of the three member Trial-at-Bar High Court, refusing bail for all the fifteen accused in the Udathalawinne massacre case, including the former Deputy Defence Minister, General Anurudha Ratwatte, and two of his sons, Rohan and Chanuka, legal sources said.
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Sports festival to go on in Jaffna as planned

[TamilNet, Thursday, 10 July 2003, 16:02 GMT]
Dismissing local press reports that the national sports festival would be moved out of Jaffna due to protests, Sri Lanka’s Director of Sports, Mr. Milton Amerasinghe, said Thursday that the 29th National Sports Festival would be held in Jaffna as scheduled during August 4-9, Jaffna district secretariat sources said.
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LTTE returns captured army truck to SLA

[TamilNet, Thursday, 10 July 2003, 14:33 GMT]
The army truck captured by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) with six soldiers during the latter part of the last year was returned to the Sri Lanka Army Thursday around noon at no man zone close to Welgam Vihare in the Nilaveli area, about sixteen km north of Trincomalee town, the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission head in Trincomalee, Mr.Abdel Burkan, said.
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UNF readies Interim Administration proposals

[TamilNet, Thursday, 10 July 2003, 14:01 GMT]
The United National Front government of Sri Lanka Thursday announced that the basic proposals for the proposed interim administrative structure for the Northeast province are now ready to be sent to the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam through Norwegian facilitators within the next few days, sources said
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SLA, Police step up patrols, checking in Batticaloa

[TamilNet, Thursday, 10 July 2003, 13:13 GMT]
Sri Lanka army and Police intensified checking pedestrians and motorists at key points and junctions in Batticaloa town, heightening apprehensions among residents that the war era atmosphere was returning to the eastern town. Combined army and Police units patrolled the town Thursday.
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Students launch boycott demanding electric fence removal

[TamilNet, Thursday, 10 July 2003, 02:05 GMT]
Students of the Iyanar Vidiyalayam in Thuraiyoor in the Velanai division of Jaffna district Wednesday launched a school boycott campaign, which they said would continue until the Sri Lanka Navy at the Thuraiyoor camp removed the live electric fence bordering the school, sources said.
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Nambiar recommendation unacceptable – ANC expert

[TamilNet, Thursday, 10 July 2003, 00:39 GMT]
“The recommendation made by the Indian army expert General Nambiar that all the long range weapons of the Liberation Tigers should be placed under the supervision of the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission cannot be accepted until permanent peace is achieved,” said retired South African army officer and a member of the African National Congress (ANC) Dr. Rocky Williams at a discussion held at Pandatherippu Meditation Center Wednesday.
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LTTE-SLA meeting held in Kattaiparichchan

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 09 July 2003, 18:54 GMT]
The head of the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission, Norwegian Major General (retd.) Triggve Teleffsen, presided over a discussion between the district military and political leadership of the LTTE and the Sri Lanka Army commanders in the Trincomalee district at Kattaiparichchan in the Trincomalee district Wednesday evening, sources said.
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New Tamil weekly to be launched in Vavuniya

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 09 July 2003, 12:43 GMT]
A Tamil weekly broadsheet 'Senthanal' (Burning Ash) is to be launched by the Sooriyan publications located in Katkuli, Vavuniya in a ceremony at Vavuniya Urban Council Hall on Saturday, 12 July, sources said.
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Colombo-Vavuniya express train service suspended

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 09 July 2003, 05:17 GMT]
Intercity express train service between Vavuniya and Colombo is to be suspended from July 14 said Commissioner of Sri Lanka Department of Railways in a notice sent to the Railway station officials in Vavuniya, according to transportation sources.
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UNDP sponsored RONCO to continue de-mining in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 08 July 2003, 21:22 GMT]
A group from the RONCO consulting corporation, a private US de-mining firm, sponsored by the UNDP, Tuesday agreed to continue its de-mining work in the Jaffna district in association with the Sri Lanka Army de-mining team, Jaffna district secretariat sources said.
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Norwegian envoy Westborg meets Thamilselvan

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 08 July 2003, 18:59 GMT]
Former Norwegian ambassador to Sri Lanka, Mr.Jon Westborg, who is currently a special advisor to the Norwegian government on the peace process in Sri Lanka, Tuesday held wide ranging discussions with the political head of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), Mr.S.P.Thamilselvan, at the Kilinochchi political secretariat of the LTTE, Vanni sources said.
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Velanai residents want SLN's electric fence removed

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 08 July 2003, 18:42 GMT]
Residents of Thuraiyoor area in the Velanai division in the Jaffna district Tuesday made an urgent appeal to the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam to take immediate steps to pressure the Sri Lanka Navy to remove its live electric fence bordering the Iyanar Vidiyalayam, civil groups said.
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EPRLF activist injured

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 08 July 2003, 16:21 GMT]
A group of pedestrians Tuesday admitted Mr.Selvin, a political activist of the Eelam People’s Revolutionary Liberation Front (Varathar wing), to the Jaffna teaching hospital with several injuries sustained Tuesday afternoon at Gurunagar, a suburb of Jaffna town, police said
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Holding of sports festival in Jaffna to be reviewed

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 08 July 2003, 15:52 GMT]
The people of the Jaffna district feel that it is not an opportune moment to hold the twenty-ninth Sri Lankan National Sports Festival in Jaffna, when normalcy has not returned in the lives of displaced people and no concrete proposal has been furnished for the establishment of an interim administration in the Northeast province, said the LTTE’s Jaffna district sports division head, Mr.Mathulan, at a conference held at the Jaffna district secretariat Tuesday morning, sources said.
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Remand for two LTTE members in Batticaloa

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 08 July 2003, 14:19 GMT]
Mr.Chandradasa Jayaweera Paiyas alias Kulatheeparaj and Vadivelu Chandrakumar alias Prasanth, both from Vaharai, who are members of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), were remanded Tuesday by the Batticaloa Magistrate on a charge under the Offensive Weapons Act of 1966 till July 22, legal sources said.
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Jaffna’s GCE exam qualifying rate said among lowest in Sri Lanka

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 08 July 2003, 12:18 GMT]
“The percentage of students who pass the General Certificate of Education (GCE) exams in the northeast is lower than in the other parts of the country. Among the 30 Educational Districts in Sri Lanka, the percentage was lowest in Jaffna until recently. However, the district has now managed to move up to the 28th-27th place ”, said Mr. S. Mahalingam, Provincial Director of Education addressing the annual prize giving function of the Vincent Girl’s High School in Batticaloa Tuesday. Students in Sri Lanka have to qualify the GCE Ordinary and Advanced Level exams to enter universities.
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SLA-LTTE meet Wednesday to resolve Kurankupanchan standoff

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 08 July 2003, 11:45 GMT]
Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) officials said that a meeting has been arranged for Wednesday between Sri Lanka Army and Liberation Tigersof Tamil Eelam to resolve the matter related to the LTTE's establishment of a camp in the Kurankupanchan area which the SLMM claims falls within the Sri Lanka Government controlled area, reports said.
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UNHCR, LTTE meet to discuss Batticaloa refugee issues

[TamilNet, Monday, 07 July 2003, 21:26 GMT]
Batticaloa UNHCR officials and Officials of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) met at the Karadiyanaru 'Thenaham' Guest House to discuss issues related to providing safety and attending to the welfare of refugees in the Batticaloa district, sources from Batticaloa said.
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SLA-Police joint cordon and search in Vadamaradchi

[TamilNet, Monday, 07 July 2003, 19:48 GMT]
A joint cordon and search operation by the Sri Lanka Army and the Police was conducted in the Vadamaradchi area of the Jaffna district Monday evening, civil sources said.
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LTTE returns under-aged Tamil boys, Sinhalese villager

[TamilNet, Monday, 07 July 2003, 19:30 GMT]
The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam in the Trincomalee district Monday handed over two boys aged about ten years to their parents in the presence of UNICEF officials and also handed over a Sinhalese villager who had strayed into the LTTE controlled area of Kumburupiddy, north of Trincomalee, to the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission monitors, sources said.
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Grenade attack on TELO office in Trincomalee

[TamilNet, Monday, 07 July 2003, 19:17 GMT]
Unidentified men Monday night lobbed a grenade inside the premises of the office of the Tamil Eelam Liberation Organization (TELO), a constituent of the Tamil National Alliance, Trincomalee Police said.
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Ex-Jaffna GA charged in RRAN fund fraud

[TamilNet, Monday, 07 July 2003, 18:51 GMT]
The Criminal Investigation Department of Police Monday filed a case in the Jaffna Magistrate's Court, charging that a former Government Agent, Mr.K.Shanmuganathan, defrauded about forty million rupees allocated by the Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Authority for North (RRAN), legal sources said.
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Sinhala Buddhist monks want monitors out

[TamilNet, Monday, 07 July 2003, 17:57 GMT]
Hundreds Buddhist monks protested in downtown Colombo Monday, demanding that Scandinavian peace monitors in Sri Lanka should leave the island immediately. The monks accused the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) of operating in cahoots with the Liberation Tigers against interests of the Sinhala people.
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Trinco LTTE, SLA commanders to meet

[TamilNet, Monday, 07 July 2003, 16:10 GMT]
A top level discussion is to take place between the commanders of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam and the Sri Lanka Army in the Trincomalee district on Wednesday evening at the no-man zone in Kattaiparichchan in Muttur, in the presence of the Norwegian head of the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission, Major General (retd.) Triggve Teleffsen, to thrash out the disputes that have arisen between them, SLMM sources said
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SLMM head’s Vanni visit postponed

[TamilNet, Monday, 07 July 2003, 13:26 GMT]
The Norwegian head of the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission, Major General (retd.) Triggve Teleffsen, has put off his visit to the Vanni till he finds a solution to dispute between the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam and the Sri Lanka Army in the Trincomalee district, SLMM sources said.
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SLMM head meets LTTE Trinco commander Pathuman

[TamilNet, Monday, 07 July 2003, 12:06 GMT]
The Norwegian head of Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) Major General Triggve Tellefsen Sunday held a one hour long discussion with the Trincomalee district area military commander of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) Colonel Pathuman at the LTTE's office at Sampur in the LTTE controlled area, SLMM sources said.
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U.S Embassy drops plans to open Jaffna Political office

[TamilNet, Monday, 07 July 2003, 11:12 GMT]
Plans to open a political office in Temple Road, Jaffna by the United States Embassy in Sri Lanka have been shelved, according to press reports in Jaffna.
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Anandasangaree's attempt to pass confidence motion stopped

[TamilNet, Sunday, 06 July 2003, 18:51 GMT]
The central committee meeting of the Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF) Sunday night around nine p.m.concluded after about seven-hour marathon session thwarting the attempt to pass a confidence motion on the leadership of Mr. V.Anandasangaree. However, Mr.Anandasangaree is reported to have told the committee members that the confidence motion would be brought again at the next central committee meeting, TULF sources said.
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Veteran trade union leader supports Interim Administration for NE

[TamilNet, Sunday, 06 July 2003, 17:39 GMT]
Veteran leftist leader and trade unionist Mr.Vasudeva Nanayakara Sunday said that an interim administration for the northeast province is urgently needed to strengthen the environment of democracy. "We support the call by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) for an effective interim administrative structure for the northeast province," said Mr.Vasudeva Nanayakkara addressing the twenty-fifth anniversary of the New Democratic Front (NDF) held at Jaffna Multi Purpose Co-operative Society hall Sunday, sources said.
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Thiruketheeswaram temple consecrated after 27 years

[TamilNet, Sunday, 06 July 2003, 12:10 GMT]
After twenty-seven years the consecration (Maha Kumbabishekam) ceremony of the historic Thiruketheeswaram Temple in Mannar district was held Sunday morning amid hundreds of thousands of devotees from all over the country especially from the northeast chanting prayers," temple authorities said.
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LTTE releases two police officers

[TamilNet, Sunday, 06 July 2003, 03:58 GMT]
Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) released the two police officers from Eravur, Constable A.G.N. Senadheera and Reserve Police Constable D.S. Nihal Somasiri, who were kept in their custody at 5.40 pm Saturday at the Chenkaladi Karuththappalam area, security sources said.
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Black Tigers’ Day celebrations in Batticaloa

[TamilNet, Saturday, 05 July 2003, 16:14 GMT]
The Black Tigers’ day celebrations were held in Batticaloa on Saturday, with the main event at the Valaichenai-Pethalai play grounds, where the LTTE’s special commander for Batticaloa-Ampara, Mr. T. Ramesh and many other LTTE area leaders attended as the Chief Guest, sources said.
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Black Tigers’ day celebrations in Trincomalee

[TamilNet, Saturday, 05 July 2003, 15:17 GMT]
The Black Tigers’ day was celebrated in the Trincomalee district Saturday, with the opening of a memorial at Sampur village in the LTTE controlled Muttur east for Black Tiger cadres from the Trncomalee district, by the Trincomalee district area commander of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, Colonel Pathuman, as the main event in the morning, sources said.
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Thousands gather to commemorate first Black Tiger

[TamilNet, Saturday, 05 July 2003, 14:50 GMT]
More than five thousand people gathered in Nelliyadi, Jaffna Saturday evening to commemorate the first Black Tiger of the Liberation Tigers, Capt. Miller. “The Black Tigers are the strongest force of a much weakened people”, said Mr. Amithaab, an LTTE official in Jaffna, addressing a ceremony in Nelliyadi Saturday morning at the site where the first Black Tiger destroyed a Sri Lanka army position, killing more than fourty soldiers in 1987.
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Ariyalai skeleton find may lead to more human graves - Judge

[TamilNet, Saturday, 05 July 2003, 11:45 GMT]
Jaffna High Court Judge, R.T.Wignarajah, Friday visited the site in Ariyalai Nedunkulam junction, west of Jaffna-Kandy road, where human remains were found recently, and said that there is visible evidence of the existence of three more human graves in the same area, local reports from Jaffna said.
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Black Tigers day celebrated in Vavuniya

[TamilNet, Saturday, 05 July 2003, 09:40 GMT]
Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) Head of Vavuniya Political Wing, S, Elilan, garlanded and placed flowers to the memorial stone of Lt.Colonel Bork who died in the 1990 attack on Mankulam Sri Lanka Army (SLA) camp, during the Black Tigers day celebrations in Vavuniya, Saturday, Vavuniya residents attending the celebrations said.
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Vavuniya schools destroyed by SLA still not reconstructed

[TamilNet, Friday, 04 July 2003, 18:27 GMT]
As a result of the Sri Lanka Army’s actions prior to the signing of the Ceasefire Agreement, only fifty-eight schools out of the eighty-nine in the Vavuniya North Education Zone are operating from their original locations, said a deputy education director for the zone, Mr. S. Pathmanathan, on Friday.
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Trinco wins provincial sports championship

[TamilNet, Friday, 04 July 2003, 18:08 GMT]
Trincomalee district Friday emerged as overall champions of the northeast province in the Eighth Schools Athletic Meet for the year 2003 for the third consecutive year with 248 points. The Jaffna district came second with 234 points and Amparai district third with 141 points, Assistant Director of Education (Sports) in the NE Provincial Department of Education Mr.T.Arunagirirajah said Friday.
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Techniques to improve milk production discussed in Batti seminar

[TamilNet, Friday, 04 July 2003, 16:25 GMT]
Delegates to a seminar organized at the Artificial Insemination Unit in Karadiyanaru, Batticaloa district, Friday morning, presided by the head of Tamil Eelam Ecomonic Development Organization (TEEDOR), Nizam, reviewed methods to be adopted to increase milk production, seminar attendees said.
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PLOTE cadre shot dead in Batticaloa

[TamilNet, Friday, 04 July 2003, 16:05 GMT]
Vairamuththu Mehanathan (32), alias Justin, a member of the Peoples Liberation of Tamil Eelam (PLOTE), was shot dead by two unknown assailants who came in a motorbike Friday at 6.15pm while he was riding his bicycle home from the PLOTE office in Vaidiyamalai Road in Puthur, Batticaloa district, ex-militant sources said.
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SLA establishes new camp in Ariyalai

[TamilNet, Friday, 04 July 2003, 15:43 GMT]
The Sri Lanka Army (SLA) is constructing a new camp at Ariyalai-Mampalam junction in the Jaffna town area since Thursday evening, civil groups in Jaffna said.
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ER case accused allowed bail after 12 years

[TamilNet, Friday, 04 July 2003, 14:08 GMT]
The East High Court Judge Mr.S.Paramarajah Friday allowed surety bail for Thangarajah Sivakantharajah and Selvam Lingaretnam, who had been in remand for about twelve years accused in a case in which they have been indicted by the Attorney General under the Emergency Regulations (ER) with the murder of six persons in a bomb blast in the year 1992, legal sources said.
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LTTE Puthur political head released on bail

[TamilNet, Friday, 04 July 2003, 14:00 GMT]
The East High Court Judge Mr.S.Paramarajah Friday allowed the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) political head of the Puthur division in Batticaloa district, Mr.Satyaraj (Subaraj Devanayagam), on cash and surety bail at the Trincomalee session of the High Court Friday, legal sources said.
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200,000 mines removed by HDU - report

[TamilNet, Friday, 04 July 2003, 13:41 GMT]
Humanitarian Demining Unit (HDU), the land-mine removal arm of the Tamil Rehabilitation Organization (TRO) operating in Vanni area, has removed and destroyed 182,944 landmines, a report issued by the HDU said.
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Northeast prepares to celebrate Black Tigers' day

[TamilNet, Friday, 04 July 2003, 12:52 GMT]
Red and Yellow flags, decorative ornaments and picture boards adorned streets and junctions in key towns including Jaffna, Point Pedro, Vavuniya, Mannar, Kilinochchi and Mullaitivu, projecting a festival atmosphere as Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and people of Northeast prepared to celebrate the Black Tigers day, Saturday, 5th July, sources said.
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SLA expands Navalady camp

[TamilNet, Friday, 04 July 2003, 11:54 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army (SLA) are taking steps to expand and fortify its camp in Navalady junction near Valaichenai, security sources in Batticaloa said. Efforts by the SLA to make the Kallady camp permanent and the imposition of other arbitrary security measures such as stopping Batticaloa bound night trains at Welikande for more than two hours are causing fear and anxiety among Batticaloa residents, according civil society sources.
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Trinco St. Joseph's college holds education exhibition

[TamilNet, Thursday, 03 July 2003, 18:23 GMT]
A three day education exhibition, displaying the creative talents of students of the Trincomalee St Joseph's College, was inaugurated Thursday by the North East Provincial Director of Education, Mr.S.Mahalingam, sources said.
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Lack of furniture, buildings hamper Thenmaradchchi education

[TamilNet, Thursday, 03 July 2003, 17:08 GMT]
About sixty percent of students in Thenmaradchchi division schools study sitting on the ground due short supply of furniture and about forty percent of school children study in temporary sheds as they are not provided with building facilities, said a North East Provincial Education official.
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VVT fishermen complain of assault by SLN soldiers

[TamilNet, Thursday, 03 July 2003, 17:03 GMT]
A group of Valvettithurai (VVT) fishermen Thursday complained to the VVT Fisheries Co-operative Society that they had been assaulted and intimidated while fishing in northern sea by Sri Lanka Navy (SLN) soldiers who came in a Dvora gunboat on Wednesday evening around five, fisheries sources said.
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Indian boatmen remanded till Friday

[TamilNet, Thursday, 03 July 2003, 15:44 GMT]
The Mannar Magistrate, Mr. N.M.M.Abdullah, remanded six Indian boatmen till Friday, when the boatmen, who were arrested by the Sri Lanka Navy on Wednesday for poaching in Sri Lankan waters, were produced in court Thursday, legal sources said.
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‘Development of Vavuniya district sluggish' - Minister

[TamilNet, Thursday, 03 July 2003, 15:32 GMT]
Though a sum of nine hundred million rupees has been allocated for the current year’s development projects in the Vavuniya district, in the first six months of this year, development efforts have been extremely sluggish, conceded the co-director of the committee for the devlopment of the Vavuniya district and Sri Lanka’s Minister for the development of the Vanni, Mr. Noordeen Masoor.
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Canadian Envoy meets Thamilselvan

[TamilNet, Thursday, 03 July 2003, 14:03 GMT]
The Canadian High-commissioner for Sri Lanka, Ms. Valerie Raymond, visited Kilinochchi Thursday and held discussions with S.P.Thamilselvan, the head of the LTTE’s political division, at the LTTE’s peace secretariat, sources in the Vanni said.
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Detained Indian fishermen to be produced in court

[TamilNet, Thursday, 03 July 2003, 13:32 GMT]
Six Indian fishermen out of the twenty-six arrested by the Sri Lanka Navy in the Pesalai sea are to be produced in court by the ThalaiMannar police, and the remaining fishermen in the custody of the SLN will be handed over to the Indian Navy, police sources said.
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SLA delays Batticaloa bound train for two hours

[TamilNet, Thursday, 03 July 2003, 11:33 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers are refusing to allow Colombo-Batticaloa train to travel past Welikanda before 5.45am in the morning holding the train at the station for two hours citing security concerns, security sources in Batticaloa said.
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LTTE, TNA Parliamentarians meet in Kokkadicholai

[TamilNet, Thursday, 03 July 2003, 04:02 GMT]
Officials of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and Parliamentarians from Tamil National Alliance (TNA) met Wednesday night at the 'Cholai Aham' Guest House in LTTE controlled Kokkadicholai in Batticaloa district to review the current political situation and other matters related to the region's economic development, sources said.
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Grenade attack on Batticaloa EPDP office

[TamilNet, Thursday, 03 July 2003, 03:42 GMT]
No one was injured and the building was slightly damaged when two unidentified youths ridging a motorbike Thursday around 6.30am lobbed a grenade at the front entrance of Eelam Peoples' Democratic Party (EPDP) office located in Batticaloa town, security sources said.
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STF resumes checks at Batticaloa ferry points

[TamilNet, Thursday, 03 July 2003, 00:11 GMT]
Special Task Force (STF) soldiers, Wednesday, resumed checking of bags and goods carried by the passengers at Mandoor and Ambilanthurai ferry points in the Batticaloa lagoon on the side controlled by the Sri Lanka Army (SLA), security sources said.
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Indian trawlers again poaching in northern seas

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 02 July 2003, 18:58 GMT]
Vadamarachchi fishermen in the Jaffna district Wednesday complained to fisheries officials that Indian trawlers once again have started poaching in the northern territorial waters of Sri Lanka, civil sources said.
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NECORD assists Muslim students in Nilaveli

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 02 July 2003, 15:14 GMT]
The North East Community Restoration and Development Project (NECORD) on Tuesday declared open a new two-storied building, constructed with the assistance of the Asian Development Bank at a cost of about 4.5 million rupees, at the Nilaveli Alhambara Maha Vidiyalayam, sixteen km to the north of Trincomalee town, sources said.
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Surgical unit reopens in Manthikai Hospital

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 02 July 2003, 10:20 GMT]
New surgery unit established with the assistance of World Health Organization (WHO) started functioning from Friday at the Manthikai Government Hospital, 2km south of Point Pedro, Jaffna daily Uthayan reported. Dr. Veronica who worked as part of the French medical group has been appointed Head of Surgery by the WHO according to the report.
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Committee to address illegal cultivation by muslim farmers

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 02 July 2003, 02:06 GMT]
Following complaints by cattle owners that muslim farmers are cultivating land that was set aside for cattle grazing in Vattamadu, Thirukovil pradeshya sabha region, Amparai district, the members of Muslim-Tamil subcommittee which was formed to resolve land issues, surveyed the disputed site Tuesday morning, said sources in Amparai.
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’Trincomalee Hindu temple lands encroached’

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 01 July 2003, 18:32 GMT]
The Trincomalee District Young Men Hindu Association (TDYMHA) Tuesday brought to the notice of the Hindu Religious Affairs Minister of Sri Lanka that lands belonging to several Hindu temples in the Trincomalee district are being unlawfully occupied by members of the majority community of the country, thus depriving the income from the lands to these temples, sources said
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HRC requests SLA to submit report on HSZ issue

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 01 July 2003, 18:20 GMT]
The Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka has asked the Sri Lanka Army to furnish a report regarding complaints made by several internally displaced people of the Jaffna district that they are unable to resettle in their homes and do cultivation in their agricultural lands as they have been occupied by the SLA in the name of high security zones (HSZ), sources in Colombo said.
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Grenade explosion damages Trincomalee PLOTE office building

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 01 July 2003, 18:08 GMT]
Unidentified men Tuesday night around eight lobbed a grenade in the premises of the office of the Peoples Liberation Of Tamil Eelam (PLOTE) located along the Power House Road in the heart of Trincomalee town, police said
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SLA-LTTE in standoff over control of area in Trincomalee

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 01 July 2003, 15:37 GMT]
In the wake of the ruling by the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission Monday that the controversial Kurankupanchan area in the Trincomalee district comes under Sri Lankan government control, the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam Tuesday warned of grave consequences if the Sri Lanka Army advanced into Kurankupanchan, sources said
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Bindunuwewa massacre accused receive death sentences

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 01 July 2003, 14:51 GMT]
Two Sri Lankan Police officers and three Sinhala civilians, accused of involvement in the gruesome massacre of 27 inmates of rehabilitation camp for young Tamil persons on October 2000, were sentenced to death Tuesday by a three member bench Trial at Bar, legal sources in Colombo said.
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Returnees find Thanankilapu farmland in ruins

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 01 July 2003, 02:00 GMT]
Residents of Thanankilapu and Maravanpulo in Thenmaradchy district, Jaffna, who returned to inspect their properties and agricultural lands expressed shock at the devastation left behind by the Sri Lanka Army (SLA), local reports said.
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