Plan afoot to build new Trinco Campus

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 31 August 2004, 22:48 GMT]
Eastern University administration has prepared a master plan to rebuild the Trincomalee Campus of the East University at a new site at Konesapuri, seven km off north of Trincomalee town towards Nilaveli, where two hundred acres of land located has been allocated for the project. The Trincomalee campus is now functioning in buildings in the heart of Trincomalee town, without sufficient space to conduct classes and with substandard residential facilities to students, sources said.
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Thenmaradchchi IDPs demand army withdrawal from their houses

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 31 August 2004, 14:32 GMT]
The Consortium of Thenmaradchchi Civil Organizations in Jaffna district Tuesday handed over a memorandum to the Jaffna Government Agent (GA) with copies to Jaffna regional co-ordinator of the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka (HRCSL) and the Jaffna head of the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) that it would launch a mass agitation bringing the civil administration and public transport system in Thenmaradchchi division to a halt if the houses and lands of internally displaced people (IDP) are not returned by the Sri Lanka Army.
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SLA, LTTE to meet again in Batticaloa

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 31 August 2004, 13:34 GMT]
The Liberation Tigers in Batticaloa said Tuesday they will meet Sri Lankan armed forces again after a long gap on Friday 3 September. The decision was announced following a discussion between Col. Ramesh, special commander of LTTE forces in the Batticaloa-Amparai District and Maj. Gen. (ret) Trond Furuhovde, head of the Nordic monitoring mission in Sri Lanka, Tuesday in Kokkaddicholai, 15 kilometres southwest of Batticaloa.
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Special education project for resettled students in Trinco inaugurated

[TamilNet, Monday, 30 August 2004, 17:57 GMT]
Trincomalee Children Fund (TCF), supported by Trincomalee Tamil expatriates in Canada, last weekend inaugurated a free education project for resettled students in the villages of Sampalthivu, Salli and Aththimoddai, north of Trincomalee town. This project would provide special classes to students of Salli Ambal Vidiyalayam, Aththimoddai Tamil Vidyalaym and Sampalthivu Tamil Maha Vidyalayam in three subjects Maths, English Language and Science by specialized teachers in the subjects.
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Navaly domestic wells turn brackish

[TamilNet, Monday, 30 August 2004, 17:18 GMT]
Almost all domestic wells in Navaly village in Jaffna district have become brackish due to a canal, which goes through the village from Thondamanaru lagoon where seawater enters during latter part of the year. About 300 families living in the village face shortage of good drinking water, sources said.
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Destroyed major bridges in Jaffna to be renovated

[TamilNet, Monday, 30 August 2004, 15:27 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army's Jaffna area commander Major General Sunil Tennekon at a conference held at the Jaffna district secretariat on Monday assured the civil authorities that the SLA would extend its support to renovate major bridges in Jaffna district. These bridges were destroyed in the war, civil sources said.
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TNA to promote ISGA awareness and advocacy

[TamilNet, Monday, 30 August 2004, 14:27 GMT]
"We have created three different action groups for the tasks of promoting awareness in the Parliament, awareness in the South and advocacy in the diplomatic circles," Mr. R. Sampanthan, Secretary General of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) told the press in Kilinochchi Monday. LTTE Political Head Mr. S. P. Thamilchelvan and Mr. Sampanthan met press briefly after TNA's meeting with the LTTE's Political Head at the Planning Secretariat of the Liberation Tigers in Kilinochchi.
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TNA parliamentarians to meet Thamilchelvan

[TamilNet, Sunday, 29 August 2004, 18:01 GMT]
All twenty-two parliamentarians of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) are scheduled to hold talks with Mr.S.P.Thamilchelvan, Political Head of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) Monday morning at the headquarters of the LTTE, Vanni sources said.
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"We will remain strong" - Balakumaran in Oslo

[TamilNet, Sunday, 29 August 2004, 03:01 GMT]
"LTTE has been successfully resisting attempts to weaken its military and political strength during the peace time with the same courage and bravery it displayed during the time of war. Tamils seek a just peace and not a peace with surrender. LTTE leadership will not relent until political and social dignity is restored to the lives of Tamil people," said Mr.V.Balakumaran, a senior member of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), in his address as Chief Guest in the Silver Jubilee of the Tamil Sangam in Oslo Saturday .
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"Peace building" officials visit Kapputhoo

[TamilNet, Saturday, 28 August 2004, 18:04 GMT]
Kapputhoo, a village located in the Vadamarachchi South-West division in Jaffna district, has been selected as "Peace Village" under the Project of Peace Building Measure of the Government of Sri Lanka. A team of officials led by Project Director Professor Laksiri Fernando,Saturday visited the village and assessed the situation, district secretariat sources said.
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Jaffna Bishop urges govt. to recommence talks with LTTE

[TamilNet, Saturday, 28 August 2004, 17:52 GMT]
Jaffna Bishop Rt.Rev. Thomas Soundaranayagam Saturday appealed to the Sri Lanka government to engage in confidence building with the LTTE without delay and to take forward the peace process with sincerity on the basis of the Interim Self Governing Authority (ISGA) proposal submitted by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), sources in Jaffna said.
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SLA detains TNA MP at Omanthai checkpoint

[TamilNet, Saturday, 28 August 2004, 13:23 GMT]
Soldiers of the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) manning the Omanthai checkpoint in the Vanni region Friday detained Mr.M.K.Eelaventhan, Tamil National Alliance (TNA) national list parliamentarian, and his family members for more than one and a half hours under the pretense of checking his family members' identities, sources said.
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Price hikes ease Jaffna farmers' burden

[TamilNet, Saturday, 28 August 2004, 10:50 GMT]
Despite unfavorable market conditions, prices of onions have increased from a July low of Rs.12 per kilo in Colombo markets, to a respectable Rs.40 to Rs.50 per kilo, according to traders dealing with perishable goods. Market watchers earlier warned that unplanned cultivation and increasing use of artifical fertilizers in Jaffna would result in oversupply leading to plunging market prices.
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Paramilitary operative shot dead in Colombo

[TamilNet, Saturday, 28 August 2004, 06:31 GMT]
A person said to be an informant to Sri Lanka Army was shot dead by unidentified gunmen in Pepiliyana in Boralesgamuwa area in Colombo district, around 5 a.m, Saturday, police said. He was identified as Mr.Tissaveerasingam Dushyanthan alias Suresh. The man was an associate of the top paramilitary operative, PLOTE Mohan who was shot dead in Colombo earlier this month.
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UNICEF supported child protection office opened in Trincomalee

[TamilNet, Friday, 27 August 2004, 17:19 GMT]
The office of the Trincomalee District Child Protection Committee (DCPC) was opened Friday afternoon in the Trincomalee General Hospital.
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LTTE women take part in mine ban conference

[TamilNet, Friday, 27 August 2004, 17:13 GMT]
Two senior female members of the Liberation Tigers are taking part in a conference organised by Geneva Call for former women combatants of Non State Actors to identify how they can contribute to the promotion of the landmine ban and other humanitarian norms. The conference began in Geneva Thursday.
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Sri Lanka recommissions disputed Ilmenite factory

[TamilNet, Friday, 27 August 2004, 14:26 GMT]
The Government of Sri Lanka will re-commission the disputed Pulmoddai Ilmenite factory next Wednesday 1 September, officials said. The factory was closed sixteen years ago after the Liberation Tigers blasted its fresh water supply lines from the Yan Oya River. The factory processed sand excavated from the beaches of Pulmoddai, 52 kilometres north of Trincomalee, to separate Ilmenite and Rutile ores for export. Sea Tigers sank two foreign ships that were loading Ilmenite sand off the Pulmoddai coast in 1996 and 1997.
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Norway denies it gave military training to Tigers

[TamilNet, Friday, 27 August 2004, 14:04 GMT]
The Royal Norwegian Embassy in Colombo Friday denied media reports that Norway had allegedly provided military training to the Liberation Tigers. Local media reports were based on allegations about Norway's role in Sri Lanka's ethnic conflict that were made at a conference organised by Sinhala nationalists in Oslo last week.
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ISGA will prevent secession- Thamilchelvan

[TamilNet, Friday, 27 August 2004, 13:49 GMT]
In a meeting with Forum of Federations, Canada, the LTTE's Political Head Mr. S. P. Thamilchelvan Friday told that institutionalising ISGA will ''prevent secession and pave the way for unity and lasting peace,'' according to sources at the LTTE Peace secretariat.
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Suspected paramilitary cadre remanded in Batticaloa

[TamilNet, Friday, 27 August 2004, 12:37 GMT]
Batticaloa magistrate Friday remanded Mr. Subramaniam Yoganathan, believed to be a paramilitary cadre operating with the Sri Lanka army intelligence, for loitering in a suburb of the eastern town with a hand grenade. A Police patrol arrested Mr. Yoganathan Thursday evening in Puthur, a high security zone suburb of Batticaloa. He is the brother of ‘Nithi’, an LTTE defector who became a senior military intelligence operative in the east, according to Police. ‘Nithi’ was killed in a suicide bomb attack in Batticaloa town three years ago.
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VVT celebrates revival of traditional temple festivals

[TamilNet, Friday, 27 August 2004, 08:38 GMT]
For sea faring residents and fishermen from the town of Valvettiturai located in the northern shores of Jaffna, temples dotting the town's landscape provide solace and protection from the dangers that accompany their trade. Boat festivals, where the elephant-faced god 'Ganapathi' is taken around the town in a boat shaped vehicle, are being celebrated with renewed cultural traditions, in the current climate of peace.
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Troubled Vavuniya campus to reopen

[TamilNet, Thursday, 26 August 2004, 17:18 GMT]
The Vavuniya campus of the University of Jaffna will re-open from 1 September, officials said Thursday. The campus has been troubled by student unrest since June.
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Jaffna displaced to file FR applications in Supreme Court

[TamilNet, Thursday, 26 August 2004, 15:21 GMT]
About one hundred internally displaced families (IDP) who have been refused permission to resettle in their homes and do cultivation in their agricultural lands in high security zones in Valigamam north in Jaffna district are to file fundamental rights violation applications in the Supreme Court.
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Major General Tennekoon meets Jaffna civil officials

[TamilNet, Thursday, 26 August 2004, 14:49 GMT]
Major General Sunil Tennekon, newly appointed Jaffna area commander of the Sri Lanka Army, Thursday said problems confronting the people of Jaffna district could be solved when the current peace process progresses towards reaching a permanent solution, during a discussion at the Jaffna district secretariat presided by Government Agent Mr.S.Pathmanathan, sources said.
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Human skeleton washed ashore in Mannar

[TamilNet, Thursday, 26 August 2004, 12:32 GMT]
A human skeleton was washed ashore in Olaithoduvaai, Pesalai, 15 kilometres west of Mannar town Thursday morning, Police said. The skeleton probably belongs to one of the scores of Sri Lankan Tamil refugees from South India who daily embark on dangerous journey's across the sea to Mannar, according to Police.Tamil politicians and government officials in Mannar have urged the governments of Sri Lanka and India to ensure the legal and safe return of refugees to prevent the accidents and hazards of illegal crossings.
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Sri Lanka Internet disruption said not caused by Indian ship

[TamilNet, Thursday, 26 August 2004, 11:52 GMT]
Sri Lanka Telecom Thursday decided to withdraw its case against the Indian ship accused of severing the island's main link to the Internet after conclusive evidence that the vessel had nothing to do with the damage caused to submarine fibre optic cable landing point last Saturday night. The Indian ship, MV State of Nagaland, was nine nautical miles away from the Mt. Lavinia Landing Point at the time of the incident, lawyers representing the vessel's owning company said.
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SLA imposes restrictions on deepening fisheries jetties

[TamilNet, Thursday, 26 August 2004, 08:15 GMT]
The Sri Lanka Army (SLA) has imposed new restriction on fisheries societies in the Vadamarachchi division in Jaffna district on deepening about 21 fisheries jetties, said Valvettithurai (VVT) Fisheries Co-operative Society. The SLA said that it would deploy a group of 15 SLA soldiers to each fisheries jetty area to supervise the deepening work for security reasons, sources said.
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Mannar youths lack vocational training opportunities- TNA MP

[TamilNet, Thursday, 26 August 2004, 08:03 GMT]
"Mannar district youths who leave schools without the opportunity of going to universities and other high educational institutions to obtain high studies are tempted to engage in illegal activities to earn a living. Vocational training for these youths are absolutely necessary to provide alternate employment opportunities for these youths," said Mr.Selvam Adaikalanathan, Vanni district Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarian in a letter Minister Mr.Piyasena Gamage, Ministry of Skills Development, Vocational and Technical Education.
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Sri Lanka's PM visits military frontline

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 25 August 2004, 16:21 GMT]
Sri Lanka’s Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksha Tuesday visited the military frontlines of Weli Oya. He inspected defences on the Forward Defence Lines that separate areas controlled by the Liberation Tigers and the Government of Sri Lanka (GOSL) in this disputed region in the southern corner of the Mullaithivu district. Prime Minister Rajapaksha spoke to Sri Lanka army officers and the Sinhala settlers in Weli Oya during his visit. SLA drove out Tamils from fourteen villages in this region overnight in 1984. GOSL then armed and settled Sinhala convicts here amidst SLA camps.
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US embassy official inspects USAID projects in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 25 August 2004, 15:47 GMT]
Mr. James Endwills, US embassy official in Colombo, Wednesday visited three projects now being implemented in the Jaffna district with USAID assistance. He later attended a conference in the Jaffna district secretariat presided by the Government Agent Mr.S.Pathmanathan and discussed in detail with civil officials related to the ongoing development projects and proposed projects, sources said.
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Greater inclusivity can revive peace process- NPC

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 25 August 2004, 09:16 GMT]
The National Peace Council, in a press release issued in Colombo Tuesday said that killings during ceasefire are "totally unacceptable," and that a bipartisan approach is necessary to take the peace process forward to arrive at a "mutually agreed negotiated political solution."
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USAID funds projects in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 25 August 2004, 09:08 GMT]
Three U.S. Government funded projects aimed at restoring basic services and improving livelihoods for conflict affected segments of the population were inaugurated in Jaffna Wednesday. A statement issued by the Embassy of the United States of America in Colombo said that Charge’ d’ Affairs of the Embassy James Entwistle, inaugurated the projects in Jaffna Wednesday.
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Time for stock taking of truce - SLMM

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 25 August 2004, 08:05 GMT]
It is time for a 'stock taking' of the cease fire between the Liberation Tigers and the Government, of how it has fared since it was signed in February 2002, Head of the Nordic mission monitoring the truce in Sri Lanka, said when he met the LTTE in Kilinochchi Wednesday. LTTE would not resume meeting with the Sri Lankan armed forces in the east until the killings of their cadres in the region are stopped, Mr. S. P Thamilchelvan, head of Tigers' political division, told Major General (ret) Trond Furhovde, chief of the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission.
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Jaffna court postpones Habeas Corpus inquiry

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 25 August 2004, 02:04 GMT]
The Jaffna High Court Judge, Mr.K.P.S.Varatharajah, Monday put off the inquiry into a Habeas Corpus application filed by the father of a disappeared youth, after being arrested by the Sri Lanka Army in 1997, for October 18 as the defense submitted that the accused, Lieutenant Colonel Mahindaretna of the Sri Lanka Army, has been warded in the military hospital for kidney operation, legal sources said.
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Indian ship detained for causing Sri Lanka's internet crash

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 24 August 2004, 13:03 GMT]
Sri Lanka Ports Authority Tuesday detained MV State of Nagaland, an Indian ship, for causing damage to the submarine fibre optic cable landing point off Mount Lavinia, a coastal suburb in southern Colombo. On a plaint filed by Sri Lanka Telecom, the Colombo High Court Monday directed Ports Authority to detain MV State of Nagaland. Sri Lanka Telecom said the damage to the landing point has been estimated to be five million US Dollars. The damage would take a week to repair fully, SLT officials said.
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Paramilitary cadre arrested for rape, murder of girl

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 24 August 2004, 12:16 GMT]
Vavuniya Police Tuesday found the skeletal remains of a girl who was allegedly raped and murdered by a member of a paramilitary working with the Sri Lanka army. The girl's skeleton was found, still bound and gagged, in the toilet of an abandoned house in Sithamparapuram on information by three men, including the paramilitary cadre, who were arrested on suspicion Monday. Two skeletons were found Monday in the village, 14 kilometres southeast of Vavuniya.
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Remanded LTTE cadres protest on jail roof

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 24 August 2004, 11:13 GMT]
Ten cadres of the Liberation Tigers Tuesday afternoon climbed on the Batticaloa jail roof demanding that their case be expedited for their early release, Police said. The LTTE cadres, six males and four females, were arrested in July 2003 after Police found some ammunition in the vehicles in which they were traveling. The protesting LTTE cadres complained that others who were arrested with weapons were released because of their connections with army intelligence.
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Karuna associate shot dead in Akkaraipattu court

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 24 August 2004, 05:52 GMT]
An associate of the renegade LTTE commander Karuna was shot dead inside courts in Akkaraipattu, 64 kilometres south of Batticaloa, Tuesday around 10.40 a.m. An Unidentified gunman shot the man, identified as Mr. Perinpam Jeyakumar, when his name was called in courts to appear before the judge. Special Task Force (STF) arrested Mr. Jeyakumar with a grenade and a pistol on 19 May while he was traveling with a colleague from Akkaraipattu to Kalmunai. A jailer and courts worker were injured in the shoot out.
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UPFA urged to adopt consistent stand on ISGA

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 24 August 2004, 00:41 GMT]
United National Party (UNP) in an 8-page statement issued Monday said that UNP is "saddened by the steadfast refusal of the present UPFA government to adopt a coherent and internally consistent stand in respect of their attitude to the current ISGA proposals," and accused the UPFA government for making confusing and contradictory statements leading to the current impasse, jeopardizing the ceasefire agreement.
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Technology Education key to Tamils' prosperity- Thilak

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 24 August 2004, 00:04 GMT]
"Skills development in information technology across the districts of NorthEast at international levels is key to economic upliftment of our people," said S.Thilak, currently the Director of Economic Development for NorthEast and formerly political head of Trincomalee, when TamilNet talked to him Saturday about his new assignment in the economic division.
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Ex LTTE cadre shot dead in Colombo

[TamilNet, Monday, 23 August 2004, 17:12 GMT]
An ex cadre of the Liberation Tigers who had been working with the Sri Lanka military intelligence was shot dead by unidentified gunmen in a Hindu Ashramam in Wellawatte, a largely Tamil suburb of Colombo, Monday night around 10, Police said. Police identified the ex LTTE cadre as R. Kugananthan, 47.
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Japanese ambassador says concerned by killings in east

[TamilNet, Monday, 23 August 2004, 14:21 GMT]
Japan and the international community are very concerned that killings in Sri Lanka's east coast and in Colombo might affect the peace process adversely, said Mr. Akio Suda, Japan's ambassador in Colombo Monday. He was speaking to the press in Batticaloa after meeting Mr. Joseph Pararajasingham, Tamil National Alliance MP for the eastern district. During the meeting the Batticaloa MP told Mr.Suda that the Sri Lankan military intelligence is behind the murder of several Liberation Tigers in the east.
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Skeletons found near refugee camp in Vavuniya

[TamilNet, Monday, 23 August 2004, 10:29 GMT]
Sri Lanka Police Monday found the skeletal remains of two persons believed to have been murdered in Sithamparapuram, 14 kilometres southeast of Vavuniya. A woman's clothes, half burnt, were discovered near one of the skeletons, which lay 20 yards apart. Police said a refugee woman was reported missing from the Sithamparapuram welfare camp eight months ago.
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SLA support to paramilitaries endangers integrity of the CFA - Thamilchelvan

[TamilNet, Monday, 23 August 2004, 09:03 GMT]
In a letter to the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) regarding the recent killings of two LTTE members in Batticaloa, Mr. S. P. Thamilchelvan accused the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) of accommodating and encouraging the activities of armed groups and warned that it is a serious threat to normalcy and maintaining the integrity of the CFA.
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SLA trooper injured in attack in Batticaloa

[TamilNet, Monday, 23 August 2004, 08:45 GMT]
A Sri Lanka army soldier was injured Monday noon when unidentified gunmen fired on a foot patrol on the A 15 coastal road in Kayankerni, 46 kilometres north of Batticaloa. The soldier, Private Saman Kumara, was wounded below the knee, SLA sources in Batticaloa said.
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Colombo said considering alternative to Nordic truce mission

[TamilNet, Monday, 23 August 2004, 06:36 GMT]
Sri Lanka' Deputy Minister of Defence, Mr. Ratnasiri Wickremanayaka, said Monday that his government is thinking of either enhancing the powers of the Nordic truce monitoring mission in the island or finding a more effective alternative to it.
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Agricultural exhibition to be held in Vattakachchi Model Farm

[TamilNet, Monday, 23 August 2004, 04:19 GMT]
Manufacturers and resellers of agricultural tools using latest technology, and agricultural, livestock producers will be showcasing their products in an exhibition at the Model Farm premises in Vattakachchi organized by the Tamil Eelam Economic Development Organization (TEEDOR) during the first week of September, organizers in Vanni said this week.
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Muslim towns shut down to mourn slain Tiger

[TamilNet, Monday, 23 August 2004, 04:17 GMT]
Muslim towns and villages in the Amparai district observed a total shut down Monday in mourning for 'Bawa', the senior Liberation Tiger who was killed in an ambush north of Batticaloa last Friday. Traffic on the coastal main road of the district was completely blocked beyond Kalmunai for the shut down (Hartal). Large crowds of Muslims thronged to pay their last respects to 'Bawa' when his body lay at the LTTE's political office in Kalmunai and later at the Ramakrishna Mission in Akkaraipattu on Sunday.
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South African Tamil activist dies

[TamilNet, Sunday, 22 August 2004, 18:00 GMT]
The Tamil Co-ordinating Committee and International Centre for Performing Arts Sunday jointly hosted a memorial tribute to Mr. Seeniappah Padmanathan, who passed away on 27th June in South Africa. Mr. S. Padmanathan was the Director of the Tamil Co-ordinating Committee, a promoter of Carnatic Music and a Social & Welfare Worker, according to sources in South Africa.
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Internet crashes in Sri Lanka

[TamilNet, Sunday, 22 August 2004, 17:52 GMT]
The Internet connection to Sri Lanka crashed completey from late Saturday night following major damage to the submarine cable that connects the island to the global network. Sri Lanka Telecom (SLT) sources said that the damage was caused by a ship and that it may take more than 24 hours to repair the cable.
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Parcel bomb defused in Eravur

[TamilNet, Sunday, 22 August 2004, 09:30 GMT]
A parcel bomb is found in front of a shop in Eravur, 14 kilometres north of Batticaloa was defused by the Sri Lanka army Sunday morning around 8, Police said. A shopkeeper in Iyankerni, a large Tamil neighbourhood of Eravur town, had found a suspicious parcel lying in front of his shop early morning.
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Twenty two thousand families hit by drought in Vavuniya

[TamilNet, Sunday, 22 August 2004, 07:49 GMT]
Severe drought and scarcity of drinking water has affected 22,806 families in the Vavuniya district, relief officials said Sunday. Most water reservoirs have dried up. A few which retain water are drying up fast, according to them.
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Kumaratunga ‘more powerful’ than Aung San Suu Kyi

[TamilNet, Saturday, 21 August 2004, 14:14 GMT]
Sri Lanka’s President Chandrika Kumaratunga was ranked 44th in a list of the world’s hundred most powerful women. The list, produced by the business magazine Forbes, is headed by US National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice.
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Garbage dump sparks protest in Vavuniya

[TamilNet, Saturday, 21 August 2004, 13:12 GMT]
Hundreds of people Saturday from four villages affected by a dump for disposing garbage from Vavuniya protested against the disposal of waste to near Rasenthirakulam eight kilometres west of the large northern border town. Protestors blocked tractors carrying garbage to the dump. Residents of these farming villages complain that the garbage dump used by the Vavuniya Urban Council (UC) has become a major health hazard in the area and its foul smell is unbearable. Protestors also blocked vehicle of the International Committee of Red Cross (ICRC) that was carrying waste to dispose at the dump.
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Soldier injured in grenade attack in Batticaloa north

[TamilNet, Saturday, 21 August 2004, 08:57 GMT]
A Sri Lanka army soldier was injured in a grenade attack in Mankerni, about 47 kilometres north of Batticaloa Saturday morning around 6.30 p.m. Police in the eastern town said. The soldier was riding a motorbike with another trooper when unidentified assailants lobbed a grenade at them. The second soldier was unhurt, Police said. Residents of the area, however, said that an army captain was also injured in the attack. He was identified as Captain Wijeratna of Sri Lanka army's 55-2 Brigade in Valaichenai. The trooper is private Tennekoon.
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Policeman shot dead in Kalmunai

[TamilNet, Saturday, 21 August 2004, 07:17 GMT]
A Sri Lanka Police sergeant was shot dead by unidentified gunmen in Kalmunai town, 40 kilometres south of Batticaloa, Friday night around 9 p.m. The sergeant, Mr. G. L Jayaratna was on Resthouse Road with a homeguard when he was shot dead, Police in Kalmunai said.
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Jaffna undergrads smash Sri Lanka President's photo

[TamilNet, Friday, 20 August 2004, 11:37 GMT]
A large group of undergraduates Friday forcibly removed a portrait of Sri Lanka's President Chandrika Kumaratunga from the general hall of the Jaffna University and smashed it in protest against the her government's policy on the Tamil question, staff said. Students of the university had earlier petitioned the Vice Chancellor urging him to remove her photo from the general hall.
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Two Tigers killed in ambush north of Batticaloa

[TamilNet, Friday, 20 August 2004, 11:13 GMT]
Mr. Bawa, a senior member of the Liberation Tigers from the Amparai District and an LTTE rehabilitation affairs official were killed in an ambush near a Sri Lanka army camp at Kayankerni, 36 kilometres north of Batticaloa, Friday around 2.15 p.m. Mr. Bawa was riding a motorbike with Mr. Yoga, an LTTE official in charge of rehabilitation work, when gunmen ambushed them triggering a claymore mine and opening fire at Pullaavi junction in Kayankerni, an area controlled by the Sri Lankan military. A female cadre travelling with them was seriously injured. She was earlier believed dead.
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US calls on Colombo, LTTE to rebuild trust

[TamilNet, Friday, 20 August 2004, 07:11 GMT]
United States of America Thursday urged the Government of Sri Lanka and the Liberation Tigers to “take steps to work to rebuild trust and schedule the promised talks as soon as possible”. The US embassy issued a press release regarding the current state of the peace process in Sri Lanka after US Deputy Secretary of state Mr. Richard Armitage reviewed the situation in Sri Lanka with U.S. Ambassador to Sri Lanka Mr. Jeffrey Lunstead, according to the statement.
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Murder convict said organizer of Sri Lanka conference in Oslo

[TamilNet, Friday, 20 August 2004, 05:20 GMT]
A man convicted of murder is the joint organiser of a conference on Sri Lanka in Oslo, the Norwegian multicultural newspaper Utrop said in its online edition Friday. The conference, which begins Friday, brings together Sinhala nationalist hardliners and Sinhala Buddhist extremists from around the world. The Norwegian, the joint organizer of the Sinhala nationalist conference, was convicted for murdering an immigrant restaurant owner in Oslo and sentenced to preventive detention for ten years in 1997, according to Utrop.
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Nimalarajan murder case struck off from roll call

[TamilNet, Friday, 20 August 2004, 03:50 GMT]
The Jaffna Magistrate, Mr.R.T.Viknarajah, Thursday struck off the murder case of journalist Mylvaganam Nimalarajan from the roll call until the Attorney General sent his determination on the findings of the special police team, which conducted investigation into the murder, legal sources said.
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JVP intensifies its campaign against ISGA

[TamilNet, Thursday, 19 August 2004, 13:48 GMT]
The Sinhala nationalist cum Marxist Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), major constituent of the ruling minority United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA) government has been actively engaged in a campaign in the south of the country against the Interim Self Governing Authority proposals of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) on the topic " Who is the real enemy of peace?" It launched its campaign on August 11
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Maj. Gen. Tennekoon made Jaffna SF commander

[TamilNet, Thursday, 19 August 2004, 13:38 GMT]
Major General Sunil Tennekoon has been appointed the new Sri Lankan Security Forces Commander for Jaffna, military headquarters in Colombo said Thursday. He was the General Officer Commanding the Sri Lanka army's 22 Division in Trincomalee. Maj. Gen. Tennekoon replaces Maj. Gen. Susil Chandrapala who has been made commander of SLA's Volunteer Force.
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EPDP protests against killing of senior member

[TamilNet, Thursday, 19 August 2004, 08:10 GMT]
EPDP cadres and leaders Thursday protested in front of foreign missions in Colombo against the killing of its media spokesman, Mr. Balanadaraja Iyer (Sinna Bala). The EPDP started the protest in front of the Indian High Commission Thursday morning and then moved on to the British High Commission, US, German and Dutch embassies in the city. The EPDP protestors handed over a petition demanding that foreign governments should intervene to stop the killings of their cadres to the British and US missions.
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"Tamil national patriot" Selliah Ratnam passes away

[TamilNet, Thursday, 19 August 2004, 07:40 GMT]
The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) conferred the title "Tamil national patriot" on Mr. Selliah Ratnam, retired Assistant Government Agent and the Jaffna district co-ordinator of SIHRN who passed away Sunday in Colombo Apollo Hospital after a brief illness. The remains draped by the Tiger flag were kept first at SIHRN office in Killinochchi district secretariat and later at Thooyavan Political Science College of the LTTE Tuesday for the public to pay homage.
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SLA, police in Jaffna against hoisting of LTTE flag

[TamilNet, Thursday, 19 August 2004, 02:27 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army and Police in Jaffna district have been exerting pressure on the organizers of public and sports events in the Vadamarachchi division not to hoist the Tamil Eelam national flag, which is also the flag of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). During the weekend, the LTTE flag was hoisted at four sports events in the Vadamaradchchi division. The SLA and police rushed to the sites and ordered the organizers to remove the flags. But the people gathered at the events refused, sources said.
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SC allows petition of Nimalarajan murder suspects

[TamilNet, Thursday, 19 August 2004, 02:26 GMT]
The Supreme Court has allowed the four suspects in the Journalist Mylvaganam Nimalarajan murder case to report to the Vavuniya Police on the last Sunday of each month instead of reporting to Jaffna Police Station as earlier ordered by the Jaffna High Court, legal sources said.
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SLA, Police cordorn, search Valaichenai

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 18 August 2004, 14:10 GMT]
Hundreds of Sri Lanka army soldiers and Policemen cordoned off and searched Valaichenai town and environs, 32 kilometres north of Batticaloa, from early morning Wendnesday. Soldiers and Policemen questioned residents about their contacts with the Liberation Tigers and paramilitaries opposed to the LTTE, sources in the town said. Some Muslim homes in the area were also searched, according to the sources.
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Sri Lanka's railway workers protest in Colombo

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 18 August 2004, 10:02 GMT]
More than three hundred railway workers demonstrated in Colombo Wednesday against moves by the Sri Lankan government to privatise the railway system in Sri Lanka. The Joint Trade Union Front of Railway Services, which comprises 32 unions, wants Colombo to abolish the Railway Authority Act. Unions say the act is designed to facilitate the privatisation of railways in Sri Lanka. Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), which took up the cause of the railway workers stridently when it was in the opposition, did not take part in the raiway workers' protest Wednesday.
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Tamil women's problems spotlighted in Vavuniya gathering

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 17 August 2004, 14:28 GMT]
A gathering of Tamil Eelam Women Associations, Sangamam, was held in Vavuniya Irambaikulam Girls Maha Vidiyalayam Monday on a grand scale. Noting that "women are subjected to more violence than during the war period", Vavuniya district Political Head of the LTTE's Women Wing, Ms Alai, said that the gathering was conducted to study about the violence and the forces behind the atrocities committed against women.
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Army officials' committee holds inquiry into Tamil journalist's complaint

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 17 August 2004, 13:39 GMT]
A three-member committee comprising military officials of the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) commenced inquiry Tuesday into the complaint made by journalist Mr.Velupillai Thavachelvam that he had been threatened with death by a military officer when he was covering the visit of a leading Buddhist prelate to Jaffna during the early part of this year.
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Drug smuggling ring arrested in Mannar

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 17 August 2004, 11:28 GMT]
Sleuths from Sri Lanka's Anti -Narcotics Bureau arrested four persons with 4.5 kilograms of pure heroin in Mannar, Police in the island town said Tuesday. The arrest was made on information provided by a man from Mannar and two Indian nationals with 1490 grams of pure heroin who were taken into custody by Police from the Anti Narcotic Bureau last Thursday in Thillayadi in Puttalam. Mannar has emerged as a key transit point for drug smuggling from South India to Colombo.
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Sri Lanka's controversial anti conversion bill fails

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 17 August 2004, 08:53 GMT]
Sri Lanka's controversial anti conversion bill can be made law only if it gets the support of two thirds of MPs in Parliament and is approved by the people at a referendum, according to the rulng on it by the Supreme Court Tuesday. The ruling was conveyed to the speaker of Sri Lanka's Parliament, Mr. W. J. M Loku Bandara Tuesday morning. The bill was promoted by Sinhala Buddhist nationalists to stop alleged forced conversions of Buddhists by Christian groups.
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Peace talks should be over ISGA proposals - Mannar Bishop

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 17 August 2004, 02:35 GMT]
“The Interim Self Governing Authority [ISGA] document was only a proposal for discussion as a step towards a viable alternative to separation. The current talk of a counterproposal to be made by the [Sri Lanka] government is not acceptable to the Liberation Tigers, as the LTTE feels this will become an opportunity for the government to bide its time…The government can bring up all its proposals at the discussion table over the ISGA proposals,” said the Bishop of Mannar, Rt.Rev. Rayappu Joseph, when TamilNet interviewed him Monday.
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EU urges early recommencement of talks

[TamilNet, Monday, 16 August 2004, 18:03 GMT]
While noting that the meeting with the LTTE was constructive and the matters were discussed in a frank and open manner, the EU in a press statement issued on Monday called upon the LTTE for the earliest resumption of peace talks and stated that the peace process and the development process are inter-linked.
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Tellipalai cancer hospital to get a new lease of life

[TamilNet, Monday, 16 August 2004, 16:46 GMT]
The abandoned Cancer Hospital in Tellipalai, which is located in the Palaly high security zone in Jaffna district, is likely to function with effect from September 15. On this date the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) is to hand over a set of renovated buildings of the hospital to the provincial health ministry, hospital development sources said.
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SLA numbers IDP occupied houses in Palaly HSZ

[TamilNet, Monday, 16 August 2004, 16:42 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army (SLA) Monday started numbering the houses in villages Pannalai and adjacent areas located in the Palaly high security zones (HSZ) where internally displaced families have resettled after signing the ceasefire agreement. The SLA authorities say that they do the numbering enabling them to easily identify the occupants.
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Sri Lanka's Power and Energy Minister assured US, Worldbank support

[TamilNet, Monday, 16 August 2004, 13:54 GMT]
Minister of Power and Energy of Sri Lanka, Mr. Susil Premajayantha, concluded a one day visit to the US receiving a positive response from the US Trade and Development Agency and the World Bank for assistance in diversifying and upgrading the power and energy sector in Sri Lanka, a press release from the Sri Lankan Embassy in Washington DC said Sunday. The minister also met with Senior Executives of two major companies in the US Private Energy Sector and discussed investment opportunities in the energy sector in Sri Lanka, according to the press release.
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Tigers reiterate stand, say Tamils losing peace hope

[TamilNet, Monday, 16 August 2004, 12:13 GMT]
''We explained to the European Union envoys the LTTE leadership's stand that we are ready to restart negotiations with the Government of Sri Lanka on the basis of the Interim Self Government Authority proposal which was endorsed by the Tamil people at the general elections", said Mr. S. P Thamilchelvan, head of LTTE 's political division, speaking to the press after meeting a top EU delegation from Colombo Monday in Kilinochchi.
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British, Dutch, EU envoys meet LTTE

[TamilNet, Monday, 16 August 2004, 07:47 GMT]
The British High Commissioner for Sri Lanka and the ambassadors of European Union and Netherlands met the head of the LTTE's political division, Mr. S. P Thamilchelvan, Monday in Kilinochchi for discussions about the island's long deadlocked peace talks. The visit of three envoys comes in the wake of the Liberation Tigers saying last week they will re-enter peace negotiations only if the Interim Self Governing Authority (ISGA) is institutionalised first.
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Senior EPDP leader shot dead in Colombo

[TamilNet, Monday, 16 August 2004, 05:03 GMT]
Mr. Bala Nadarajah Iyer (Sinna Bala), a senior member of the EPDP, a close ally of Sri Lankan President Chandrika Kumaratunga, was shot dead in Colombo by unidentified gunmen Monday around 8.15 a.m. Mr. Iyer was the spokesman for the EPDP and was on the editorial board of its paper Thinamurasu.
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Devotees throng Keerimalai to fast

[TamilNet, Sunday, 15 August 2004, 18:52 GMT]
Large crowds of Hindu devotees who lost their fathers Sunday thronged the Keerimalai Sea, which is located in the high security zones of the Sri Lanka Army in the Jaffna district, to perform Adi Amavasai 'theertham' (Water cutting religious ceremony held in 'July' according to the Tamil calendar). Soldiers of the Sri Lanka Army who are located in the vicinity had subjected the devotees and their belongings to checks for security reasons before allowing them to enter the Keerimalai area, civil sources said.
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SLA blocks LTTE political activists in Trinco

[TamilNet, Sunday, 15 August 2004, 18:45 GMT]
Soldiers of the Sri Lanka Army Sunday evening surrounded a group of political activists of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) at Mc Heyzer road in Orr's Hill, a suburb in Trincomalee town, and blocked their movement. Later they were allowed to go by the SLA at the intervention of monitors of the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) in Trincomalee following a strong complaint lodged by Mr.S.Elilan, Trincomalee district political head of the LTTE, against the action of the SLA, sources said.
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Trincomalee gets separate High Court

[TamilNet, Sunday, 15 August 2004, 16:18 GMT]
Mr.Anton Balasingham, currently Trincomalee District Judge, has been promoted as the first Judge of the newly established High Court of Trincomalee district. He is to preside over the inaugural sitting of the Trincomalee High Court Monday, legal sources said.
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Record crowds attend Madhu Church festival

[TamilNet, Sunday, 15 August 2004, 15:32 GMT]
The annual festival of Madhu Church concluded Sunday with three Bishops - Thomas Soundaranayagam (Jaffna), Malcolm Ranjit (Ratnapura) and Rayappu Joseph (Mannar) - jointly holding Holy Mass. About three hundred thousand devotees from all parts of the island participated in the final day of the festival of the Madhu Church, which is also called Jungle Shrine, revered by Tamils and Sinhalese, sources said.
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UNHCR to provide permanent houses for Nagarkovil IDPs

[TamilNet, Sunday, 15 August 2004, 05:01 GMT]
The United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) has come forward to construct permanent houses in Point Pedro to those who were displaced from Nagarkovil in Vadamaradchchi division in Jaffna district due to the war. As a first step, 85 permanent houses will be constructed in Punithanagar, a coastal village in Katkovalam area located in Point Pedro, sources said.
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'Solution should be based on what Tamils want' - Thamilchelvan

[TamilNet, Saturday, 14 August 2004, 18:33 GMT]
"We created the conditions for Peace Talks by unilaterly declaring a cease-fire in December 2001. Solution to the Tamil problem should be on the basis of aspirations of the Tamils because they are the ones who have faced discrimination, oppression and war for many years. It cannot be based on what the Sinhala people want. It cannnot be based on what the Sinhala government wants. This is why the political pacts Tamils made in the past with Sinhala leaders came to naught." said Mr. S.P. Thamilchelvan in a press briefing in Kilinochchi Saturday.
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SLA soldiers chase out tourists from Katkovalam beach

[TamilNet, Saturday, 14 August 2004, 15:36 GMT]
Soldiers located in the Katkovalam beach in Vadamaradchchi division Saturday chased out several local tourists who went there to enjoy their weekend, civil sources said.
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Sri Lanka's PM meets with Norwegian PM in Athens

[TamilNet, Saturday, 14 August 2004, 13:31 GMT]
Sri Lanka’s Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapakse met with Norwegian Prime Minister Kjell Magne Bondevik Saturday in Athens. Prime Minister Bondevik believed that the Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL) and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) are committed to the process, a press release from the Royal Norwegian Embassy said Saturday.
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Sri Lanka faces fuel distribution crisis

[TamilNet, Saturday, 14 August 2004, 11:13 GMT]
Sri Lanka is facing a major fuel distribution crisis after trade unions of the state owned Ceylon Petroleum Corporation went on strike against a proposed plan to sell a major share of the institution to an Indian oil company. Panicked drivers jammed fuel filling stations in many parts of the island as distribution of petroleum products stopped after the strike started Friday afternoon.
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LTTE ready to resume talks based on ISGA- Thamilchelvan

[TamilNet, Saturday, 14 August 2004, 10:48 GMT]
Institutionalising the Interim Self Governing Authority (ISGA) proposals put forward by the Liberation Tigers must be viewed on a humanitarian perspective rather than making it a political bargain to satisfy extremist elements in the southern polity, Mr.S.P.Thamilchelvan, the head of the LTTE’s political wing told Norwegian Deputy Ambassador at a meeting held in Kilinochchi, Saturday. "We are waiting for a positive response from the government to recommence negotiations on the basis of ISGA proposals," Mr. Thamilchelvan told the Norwegian diplomat, LTTE’s peace secretariat website reported.
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Killings continue in Batticaloa

[TamilNet, Saturday, 14 August 2004, 04:40 GMT]
A man, suspected to be linked to a paramilitary group, was shot dead by unidentified gunmen close to a Sri Lanka army camp in Valaichenai, 32 kilometres north of Batticaloa, Friday night around 8.30. Twenty eight persons, including a senior journalist and a university academic, have been killed in areas controlled by Sri Lankan armed forces in the Batticaloa and Amparai districts since renegade LTTE commander Karuna fled the region on 9 May this year following a lightening but ruthless assault by the LTTE.
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Madhu Church festival begins

[TamilNet, Saturday, 14 August 2004, 03:05 GMT]
Large numbers of devotees are flocking to the Madhu Church in Mannar to celebrate the annual festival of the Church. The roads leading to the Church will remain open 24 hours from August 13 to August 18, according to Mr. Rupu Gunaratne, the Sri Lanka police officer in charge of the roads.
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SLMM-SLA meeting held in Vavuniya

[TamilNet, Saturday, 14 August 2004, 02:38 GMT]
Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission’s officials coordinating security met with the Commander of the Sri Lanka Army for the Vanni region, Maj. Gen. Sisira Wijesooriya, at the SLMM office in Vavuniya Friday, military sources said.
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Farmers complain NE districts ignored in drought relief

[TamilNet, Friday, 13 August 2004, 17:02 GMT]
Drought-stricken farmers in the Trincomalee district have been ignored by the Central Government in providing relief and other facilities which have been offered to their counterparts in the districts of Kurunagala, Anuradhapura, Puttalam, Badulla, Moneragala, Matale and Polonnaruwa in the south of the country, said the Kappalthurai Farmers' Federation (KFF) in the Trincomalee district in a statement issued Friday.
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Liberation Tigers release Sri Lanka army soldier

[TamilNet, Friday, 13 August 2004, 16:33 GMT]
The Liberation Tigers of Thamil Eelam Friday released from their custody a Sri Lanka army soldier who had crossed the line of control dividing areas held by them and by Colombo. The soldier, Shalitha Pradeep Kumara Hettiarachchi,28, of Warakapola, 68 kilometres east of Colombo, was handed over to the International Committee of the Red Cross in Kilinochchi.
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Bata warehouse gutted by fire

[TamilNet, Friday, 13 August 2004, 16:16 GMT]
Bata company's finished product ware house in Kattubedda on the southern outskirts of Colombo was gutted by fire in the early hours of Friday. Police said that the arsonists would be arrested soon.
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UNICEF supported training course on child rights promotion concluded

[TamilNet, Friday, 13 August 2004, 15:58 GMT]
UNICEF supported 12 day training course for probation and child rights promotion officers in the NorthEast province concluded Friday with the presentation of certificates to the participants at an event held at the Provincial Guest House, Uppuveli, a suburb in Trincomalee town. The training course is a part of a two year-project on "Strengthening the capacity of the Department of Probation and Child Care", UNICEF said in a press release Friday evening.
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Pungudutivu residents demand better medical services

[TamilNet, Friday, 13 August 2004, 15:01 GMT]
Hundreds of residents of Pungudutivu, an islet in the Jaffna district, Friday morning went on a demonstration in the Jaffna town through Hospital Road and picketed the office of Deputy Provincial Director of Health Services (DPDHS) demanding that the medical services provided by the Pungudutivu hospital should be improved and permanent medical officers should be posted. Pungudutivu civil groups organized this agitation.
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TNA MPs welcome POTA's repeal, urge India to revoke ban

[TamilNet, Friday, 13 August 2004, 13:52 GMT]
''We welcome the Indian Central Government for its intention to abolish the Prevention of Terrorism Act (POTA). At the same time, we also urge the Indian Government to consider lifting the ban on the LTTE and create a more meaningful and conducive environment necessary to bring the stalled peace process in Sri Lanka back on track'', TNA MPs Mr. Joseph Pararajasingam and Mr. Selvam Adaikalanathan told TamilNet Friday.
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More killings in Batticaloa

[TamilNet, Friday, 13 August 2004, 03:51 GMT]
Two men were shot dead in Kiran, 27 kilometres north of Batticaloa, Thursday night around 10.30, Police said. A Sri Lanka army patrol on the main road near Kiran junction rushed to the spot on hearing gunfire and found the two bodies, according to Police sources in Batticaloa. "We suspect that the two men might have been linked to Karuna. But there is no clue as yet of their identities", a Police officer said.
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Trinco Rotarians hold medical camp in Eachilampathu villages

[TamilNet, Friday, 13 August 2004, 02:34 GMT]
The Trincomalee Rotary Club last weekend conducted a one-day medical clinic in the village Muttuchenai, which is located in the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam ( LTTE )-held Eachilampathu division in the Trincomalee district. Rotarian Dr.E.G.Gnanakunalan organized the clinic with the assistance of Capt. Charles Gnanakone of Humanitarian Rehabilitation Services of NE (Lanka) Ltd, Colombo, who provided thirty thousand rupees worth of medicine to the clinic, sources said.
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TNA, LTTE map strategy for grass roots campaign

[TamilNet, Thursday, 12 August 2004, 17:29 GMT]
The Liberation Tigers and Tamil National Alliance parliamentarians in the Batticaloa-Amparai districts Thursday mapped out a strategy for grass roots campaign to educate people in the region about ''the political, economic, social and historical background and roots of the Tamil struggle'', an LTTE official in the east said.
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Jaffna TNA MPs to implement common development programme

[TamilNet, Thursday, 12 August 2004, 15:31 GMT]
Jaffna district Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarians Thursday decided to implement a common development programme in the Jaffna district with the funds allocated to them under the Decentralized Budget (DCB) by the central government.
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Police assault protesting Bata workers in Colombo

[TamilNet, Thursday, 12 August 2004, 14:13 GMT]
Twenty Bata workers were injured in Colombo Thursday when Sri Lanka Police assaulted them severely to break up a fifty two day long protest against the international footwear giant for sacking the six hundred strong workforce at its factory in Ratmalana, an industrial area on the southern outskirts of Colombo. Police refused to record their complaint about the assault, workers said. Hundreds of Policemen attacked male and female workers who in front of the Bata factory Thursday.
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Civil Society Forum supports federal constitution in Sri Lanka

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 11 August 2004, 21:06 GMT]
"An Interim Administrative structure should be established in the NorthEast Province on the basis of the Interim Self Governing Authority (ISGA) proposals of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). Thereafter a new constitution based on the fully-fledged federal concept should be formulated. The country would be divided into two in failing to do so," said Civil Socieity Forum Chairman, Dr.Kumar Rupasinghe, addressing a press conference Wednesday at Hotel Nippon in Colombo.
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Jaffna undergrads want President's portrait removed from university

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 11 August 2004, 16:27 GMT]
Arts Faculty Students Union (AFSU) in the Jaffna University Wednesday decided to request the Vice Chancellor to remove the photograph of the Sri Lanka's President Ms Chandrika Kumaratunge from the university common hall as a protest to the occupation of civilian houses and agricultural lands in several parts of the peninsula by the Sri Lanka Army, sources said.
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LTTE, STF meet after long gap

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 11 August 2004, 11:15 GMT]
The Special Task Force, the elite counter insurgency arm of the Sri Lankan armed forces, met the Liberation Tigers Wednesday in Akkaraipattu, 64 kilometres south of Batticaloa for discussions on observing the cease fire and resolving matters that have been cause for friction in the Amparai district. The LTTE delegation told the STF and Police that attacks on their cadres in Sri Lankan government held areas of the district should stop.
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Killings escalate in Batticaloa

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 11 August 2004, 04:13 GMT]
Unidentified gunmen shot dead a person suspected to be linked to renegade LTTE commander 'Karuna' in the early hours of the morning Wednesday around 1.30 a.m. in Kiran, 27 kimoetres north of Batticaloa. He was riding a motorbike when the gunmen ambushed him at Kiran junction, Police said. Another person beleived to be an army informant linked to 'Karuna Group' was shot dead Tuesday night around 7.20 p.m. in Kaluwaanchikudy, 24 kilometres south of Batticaloa.
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SLFP, UNP should act together to recommence negotiations - NLF

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 11 August 2004, 02:57 GMT]
"It is indeed absolutely incumbent on the two so-called major parties (UNP and SLFP) to get their act together to recommence negotiations and take them forward fruitfully to an equitable outcome, especially because it is these two parties that are irrefutably responsible, jointly and severally, for the sins of omission and commission that triggered the 20 year long war," Dr. Vickramabahu Karunaratne, the leader of the New Left Front (NLF), told TamilNet in an interview Monday.
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UNP parliamentarian arrested

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 10 August 2004, 18:13 GMT]
Opposition parliamentarian for the Badulla District and former cabinet minister of the United National Party (UNP), Mr. Abdul Cader was arrested by Sri Lankan police, around 9 p.m. in capital Colombo.
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EPDP cadre shot dead in Trincomalee

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 10 August 2004, 17:44 GMT]
Unidentified gunman shot dead a paramilitary cadre of the EPDP in the heart of Trincomale town, around 9.30 p.m., Tuesday, police in the eastern port town said.
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SC to convey its determination on Anti-Conversion Bill

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 10 August 2004, 17:26 GMT]
Sri Lanka's Supreme Court (SC) Tuesday said that it would convey its determination on the constitutionality of the private member bill titled "Prohibition of Forcible Conversion of Religion Act No. of 2004" published in the Gazette on 28th May, 2004 to the President Ms Chandrika Kumaratunge and the Speaker Mr.W.J.M.Lokkubandara Wednesday, legal sources said.
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IDPs to launch two-prong campaign to retrieve their properties

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 10 August 2004, 13:55 GMT]
Internally displaced families from Valigamam division in Jaffna district have decided to launch two-prong campaign to retrieve their houses and lands from the occupation of the Sri Lanka Army. SLA currently occupies houses and agricultural lands of the several thousands internally displaced people in the Jaffna district in the name of high security zones, IDPs Federation sources said.
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US demining officials arrive in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 10 August 2004, 13:25 GMT]
Mr. Richard Kidd, Director of Weapons Removal and Abatement, US Department of State, and Colonel Stuart C.Harris, Deputy Director of the same and Ms Cody Taylor, Political head in the US Embassy in Colombo Tuesday morning arrived in Jaffna by a special aircraft and held discussion with Sri Lanka Army officials and civil authorities in Jaffna district.
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Demining officials from US State Department to visit Jaffna, Vavuniya

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 10 August 2004, 04:14 GMT]
Mr. Richard Kidd, Director of Weapons Removal and Abatement, U.S. Department of State, and Colonel Stuart C. Harris, Deputy Director of the same office, are visiting Sri Lanka this week, said American Embassy in Colombo in a Press Release issued on Monday.
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“Political solution should be found without delay”-UPFA Dy Minister

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 10 August 2004, 02:21 GMT]
“Political solution to the ethnic conflict in the country should be found during the regime of President Chandrika Kumaratunge. She is committed to peace in the country. We cannot drag on forever a peaceful solution to the national problem,” said Mr. Dilan Perera, Deputy Minister for Ports and Civil Aviation, addressing a gathering to mark the 25th anniversary celebration of the establishment of the Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) under which the management of all ports in the country comes.
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HNDA holders storm Jaffna secretariat

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 10 August 2004, 02:18 GMT]
Hundreds of Higher National Diploma in Accountancy (HNDA) holders who passed out from Jaffna Technical College Monday picketed the Jaffna district secretariat forcing its closure, demanding that they also should be considered for the appointment under the Graduate Employment Scheme now being implemented by the United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA) government to bring down unemployment in the country.
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Corporal Rajapakse calls off his hunger strike

[TamilNet, Monday, 09 August 2004, 22:54 GMT]
Corporal Rajapakse of the Sri Lanka Army who was sentenced to death in the Krishanthy rape and murder case Monday called off his fast unto death in Jaffna prison on an assurance that he would be sent back to Welikada jail in Colombo within two days' time, prison sources said.
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Usan IDPs picket demanding resettlement

[TamilNet, Monday, 09 August 2004, 22:50 GMT]
Internally displaced families of Usan, a village in Thenmaradchchi division in Jaffna district Monday picketed the Thenamaradchchi divisional secretariat demanding that they should be allowed to resettle in their own houses now being occupied by the Sri Lanka Army in the name of high security zone. The picketing crippled the normal function of the Thenmaradchchi DS office, civil sources said.
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"LTTE's ISGA, Govt's interim proposal basis for talks" - Dhanapala

[TamilNet, Monday, 09 August 2004, 12:03 GMT]
"The Sri Lankan Government is also preparing a draft interim proposal like the Interim Self Governing Authority (ISGA) of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). Peace talks between the GOSL and LTTE could commence on the basis of the proposals by the parties concerned," said Dr. Jayantha Dhanapala, Chairman of the Sri Lankan Government Peace Secretariat addressing members of the Consortium of Jaffna District Non-Governmental Organizations Monday afternoon.
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SLMC dissident to be made Minister in UPFA government

[TamilNet, Monday, 09 August 2004, 11:41 GMT]
Mr. Najeeb Abdul Majeed, Trincomalee district parliamentarian who successfully contested the April 2 general election in the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) ticket is to be made a cabinet minister in the United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA) government shortly, political sources said.
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Dhanapala appeals to SLA, LTTE

[TamilNet, Monday, 09 August 2004, 08:57 GMT]
Sri Lankan government peace secretariat chairman Dr. Jayantha Dhanapala said Monday that the second largest number cease fire violations occured in Jaffna. He appealed to the Sri Lanka army and the Liberation Tigers to reduce the number of violations by sticking to the provisions of the cease fire agreement. He was speaking to the local press in Jaffna town during a fact finding mission to the northern peninsula Monday.
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Muslim militants attack un-Islamic activities in east

[TamilNet, Monday, 09 August 2004, 06:56 GMT]
Police in Eravur said an Islamic extremist group is suspected to be involved in the murder of a woman who was shot in the early hours of Monday morning around 3 a.m. and bomb attacks on two houses Sunday night. The Islamic group has been issuing leaflets since last week warning Muslims in Batticaloa north not to indulge in 'immoral' and unislamic activities. The woman was shot dead with T-56 assault rifle, Police said. Her daughter was wounded.
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HNDA holders in Trincomalee demand employment

[TamilNet, Monday, 09 August 2004, 00:57 GMT]
The members of the Association of Unemployed Higher National Diploma in Accountancy Holders (AUHNDAH) in Trincomalee suspended their two-day demonstration against the lack of employment at the request of Mr.K.Thurairatnasingham, Trincomalee district parliamentarian. The MP assured the AUHNDAH that he would meet the Minister of Finance, Dr.Sarath Amunugama, on August 17 and would place their demand for favourable consideration.
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Tamil-Muslim unity stressed at Kurankupanchchan

[TamilNet, Sunday, 08 August 2004, 17:31 GMT]
Mr. S.Elilan, Trincomalee district political of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and Mr.H.Y.Hithayathulla, and Secretary of the Kinniya Jamiathul Ulama Council (Muslim Theologian Council) Saturday addressing Kurankupanchan Muslim farmers pledged to work for the unity of Tamils and Muslims in the Trincomalee district.
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Corporal Rajapakse launches hunger strike in Jaffna prison

[TamilNet, Sunday, 08 August 2004, 16:33 GMT]
Corporal Rajapakse of the Sri Lanka Army who was sentenced to death in the Krishanthy rape and murder case launched a hunger strike in Jaffna prison demanding that he should be transfered to Welikada jail. His hunger strike entered third day Sunday, prison sources said.
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US sniffer-dogs in de-mining operation in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Sunday, 08 August 2004, 15:01 GMT]
The Sri Lanka Army is to deploy six sniffer-dogs from United States of America (USA) in its demining operation in the Jaffna district, an official of the de-mining activities in district secretariat said.
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Sri Lanka renews weapons deal with China

[TamilNet, Sunday, 08 August 2004, 14:56 GMT]
The Sri Lankan government has renewed an agreement with China to continue to procure military hardware from a bonded warehouse Beijing set up ten years ago in the southern capital Galle, the Sunday Times reported. Sri Lanka’s Army, Navy and Air Force have already drawn up their immediate requirements, the paper said.
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Refugees abandoned on mid sea sandbank

[TamilNet, Sunday, 08 August 2004, 12:06 GMT]
Nine refugees who were abandoned by two Indian boatmen on a sandbank in the middle of the sea in the Gulf of Mannar were rescued by a fisherman from Thalaimannar Saturday. Mannar magistrate released them when they were produced before him by Thalaimannar Police Sunday. The refugees said the boatmen had forced them to get off on a small shifting sandbank at midsea around midnight on Thursday. The influx of Sri Lankan Tamil refugees from state run camps in South India who risk illegal and dangerous sea journeys to reach Mannar has increased dramatically recently.
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Slain Batticaloa journalist remembered in Vavuniya

[TamilNet, Sunday, 08 August 2004, 00:12 GMT]
The Listners' Circle of Canadian Tamil Radio based in Toronto Saturday presented three hundred and fifty thousand rupees to the family of slain Batticaloa journalist Mr. Aiyathurai Nadesan at a function held at the Vavuniya Urban Council hall Saturday. Mr. Nadesan, a senior Tamil journalist and the Batticaloa correspondent for the Tamil daily Virakesari and several local and foreign electronic media was shot dead on 31 May by gunmen believed to be associates of renegade LTTE commander 'Karuna'.
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LTTE leader felicitates expatriate language activist

[TamilNet, Saturday, 07 August 2004, 21:16 GMT]
The leader of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, Mr. V. Pirapaharan, Saturday honored 77 year old Mr. Ira. Nagalingam from Germany for his contribution to Tamil language and cultural education among children in the Tamil diaspora in Germany. Mr. Nagalingam received an award embossed with the Tiger emblem from the LTTE leader.
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LTTE allows Kurankupanchan Muslim farmers to cultivate their fields

[TamilNet, Saturday, 07 August 2004, 17:39 GMT]
The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) Saturday told Muslim farmers that they would be allowed to cultivate their paddy fields in Kurankupanchchan village from the oncoming season freely and without any restriction and they could also renovate the abandoned mosque in the area. Kurankupanchan village is located about 25 km. off Trincomalee town.
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SLA refuses to remove camp in Usan village

[TamilNet, Saturday, 07 August 2004, 17:33 GMT]
The Sri Lanka Army (SLA) Saturday told Thenmaradchchi Divisional Secretary in Jaffna district that it is not possible for it to remove the forward defense camp from Usan village for security reasons. However the civil groups of the area have told the DS that they would launch a picketing in front of the DS office from Monday forcing the closure of the office, demanding the removal of SLA camp immediately, sources in Jaffna said.
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Unfair promotion irks Sri Lanka military intelligence chief

[TamilNet, Saturday, 07 August 2004, 02:18 GMT]
Sri Lanka army scources in Colombo Saturday dismissed speculation that head of military intelligence, Brigadier Kapila Hendawitharana, had submitted his retirement papers to army commander Lt. Gen. Shantha Kottegoda over the alleged covert support the spy chief had provided to renegade LTTE commander 'Karuna'. Brigadier Hendawitharana had sent in his retirement papers after his due promotion had been overlooked in favour of a junior who has been given a field promotion, the sources said.
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Gurunagar fishermen in explosives case enlarged on bail

[TamilNet, Saturday, 07 August 2004, 02:09 GMT]
Jaffna Additional Magistrate Ms Srinithi Nandasekaran Friday enlarged all the four fishermen accused for transporting explosives by sea to Jaffna town on surety bail. They were kept in remand since their arrest on the orders of Jaffna Magistrate, legal sources said.
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Jaffna court stopped from inquiring into shooting case

[TamilNet, Friday, 06 August 2004, 23:01 GMT]
The Court of Appeal has instructed the Jaffna Magistrate court to stop all proceedings in a case in which two Sri Lanka Army soldiers have been charged with the attempted murder of an 18 year-old Tamil boy for August 23. The boy was shot at by SLA soldiers when he was selling copies of a Tamil daily ‘Eelanatham’ in Jaffna town in December 2003.
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Passing out parade held for LTTE's special RPG Force units

[TamilNet, Friday, 06 August 2004, 20:24 GMT]
''Liberation Tigers were the first to use Rocket Propelled Grenade launchers (RPG) in the island. Sri Lankan armed forces obtained RPGs after they saw us using the launchers in battles. I created the LTTE's RPG force when I realised that armour was going to be a key component of Op. Jeya Sikurui. Our RPG units were very successful in fighting enemy armour'', said Mr. Velupillai Pirapaharan, leader of the LTTE, addressing the passing out of Special RPG Force units at the Tigers' Military Training College in the Vanni Friday.
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SLN arrests Indian poachers in northern sea

[TamilNet, Friday, 06 August 2004, 19:40 GMT]
Sri Lanka Navy (SLN) Thursday evening took into custody four Indian trawlers poaching in the Sri Lankan northern territorial waters with 21 Indian fishermen and four boatmen and handed them to Kankesanthurai (KKS) Police. The SLN carried out this operation on receipt of information from the members of the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) in Jaffna, TamilNet sources in the northern town said.
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Politicians misleading the South on ISGA issue- Thamilchelvan

[TamilNet, Friday, 06 August 2004, 17:20 GMT]
The Interim Self Governing Authority (ISGA) proposals put forward by the Liberation Tigers is to address urgent humanitarian needs of the people in the areas of resettlement, rehabilitation and reconstruction and it is very unfortunate that politicians are using this issue to mislead the people in the south, Mr. Thamilchelvan, the head of the LTTE’s political wing told a delegation from southern Sri Lanka.
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Two alleged drug smugglers shot in Mannar

[TamilNet, Friday, 06 August 2004, 17:01 GMT]
Two men suspected to be drug smugglers were shot and wounded in Pesalai on the Mannar island in the early hours of morning Friday, Police said. Two gunmen had shot the alleged smugglers on the beach at Murukankoiladi in Pesalai. In June this year, fisheries societies in Pesalai took away the beaching right of the small settler community in Murukankoiladi, saying that the area was being used for drug smuggling and other nefarious activities.
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US Pacific Marine Corps Commander ends visit to Sri Lanka

[TamilNet, Friday, 06 August 2004, 16:03 GMT]
Lieutenant General Wallace C. Gregson, Commander United States Marine Forces Pacific; Commanding General, Fleet Marine Force Pacific; and Commander, U.S. Marine Corps Bases, Pacific, visited Sri Lanka last week, according to a Press release issued by the Embassy of the United States of America in Colombo.
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English learning room opened in Trinco

[TamilNet, Friday, 06 August 2004, 15:41 GMT]
'Lighthouse Resource Room' providing learning facilities to students in the Trincomalee education zone to enhance their knowledge in English language was opened in Trincomalee Methodist Girls' College Thursday. Mr.G.Gunatilake, Director of Navodhya Education Project in the central government declared open the centre.
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Paramilitary operative killed in Batticaloa

[TamilNet, Friday, 06 August 2004, 07:33 GMT]
A person believed to be a cadre of a paramilitary group working with the Sri Lankan armed forces was shot dead in Kaluthavalai, 20 kilometres south of Batticaloa, around 11.15 a.m. Friday, Police sources in the eastern town said. The man was later identified by the paramilitary EPDP as one of its cadres called 'Haran'.
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UK official told permanent peace first, investment later

[TamilNet, Friday, 06 August 2004, 00:02 GMT]
Representatives of the non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in Trincomalee told Mr. Dave Waring, First Secretary (Commercial) of the British High Commission in Colombo, that the stalled peace process in Sri Lanka should be put back on track before holding talks about investments by British trade community in the Northeast Province, NGO officials said. The meeting took place at the office of the Trincomalee District NGOs Consortium Thursday afternoon during Mr.Waring's one-day visit to Trincomalee.
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"Patience running thin"- Gajendrakumar

[TamilNet, Thursday, 05 August 2004, 18:37 GMT]
''Tamil people are fast running out of patience. It has been three years since the ceasefire agreement was signed and our people continue to be denied the fruits of peace,'' Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam, Tamil National Alliance MP told TamilNet Thursday.
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LTTE hand back under age youth to parents

[TamilNet, Thursday, 05 August 2004, 14:41 GMT]
The Liberation Tigers in Batticaloa Thursday handed over to parents fifteen underage youth who had come to join them. A function was held Thursday at Karadiyanaaru, 22 kilometres northwest of Batticaloa, Thursday afternoon around 2.30 p.m. to mark the occasion.
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UK trade community to invest in Northeast -Dave Waring

[TamilNet, Thursday, 05 August 2004, 13:54 GMT]
British trade community has expressed its willingness to invest directly in the Northeast Province in Sri Lanka, said Mr. Dave Waring, First Secretary (Commercial) in the British High Commission in Colombo when addressing a group of industrialists and entrepreneurs in the east port town Thursday morning at the office of the Trincomalee District Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
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Calamity in Sri Lanka Parliament following assault attempt on Tamil MP

[TamilNet, Thursday, 05 August 2004, 10:56 GMT]
Proceedings of Sri Lanka's Parliament were suspended Thursday after a ruling party MP triggered pandemonium in the house by attempting to assault Tamil National Alliance MP Mr. M. K Sivajilingam. Ruling party MP Mr. Mervyn de Silva rushed to assault the TNA parliamentarian who had walked up to the speaker's chair urging him to expunge from Hansard a statement by tourism minister Mr. Anura Bandaranaike that Mr. Sivajilingam was elected "by fluke and by accident".
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Youth tortured in Jaffna police station- HRCSL

[TamilNet, Thursday, 05 August 2004, 07:17 GMT]
The Jaffna regional office of the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka (HRCSL) has determined after an inquiry that the fundamental human rights of Mr.Gajendran (20) was violated by the Police when he was detained in the Jaffna police station for investigation on 17 March this year. The matter has been forwarded to the head quarters of the HRCSL for necessary legal action against the errant police officers, sources said.
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Jaffna court postpones inquiry into HC applications

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 04 August 2004, 18:57 GMT]
Jaffna High Court Judge Mr.K.P.S.Varatharajah Wednesday postponed inquiries into several Habeas Corpus applications filed by relatives of disappeared persons following the arrest by the soldiers of the Sri Lanka Army during 1996-1997 period. Corporal Rajapakse who was sentenced to death in the Krishanthy rape and murder case has been cited as the first respondent in these HC applications, legal sources said.
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Poojas on plastic in Meenakshi

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 04 August 2004, 16:49 GMT]
Devotees of the Meenakshi Sundareswar temple in Madurai, 500 km south of Chennai, can now swipe the card to pay for their poojas and donate for temple charities, IANS reported this week.
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SLRC's peace building training programme concluded in Trinco

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 04 August 2004, 13:53 GMT]
USAID supported one month long residential training programme for 90 youth and social animators in the Trincomalee district on the urgent need of promoting peace and harmony which was conducted by the Sri Lanka Red Cross (SLRC) through its Trincomalee district branch concluded during the weekend at Nilaveli SLRC Training Centre.
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Sri Lanka President resigns as head of ruling coalition

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 04 August 2004, 11:49 GMT]
Sri Lanka's President Chandrika Kumaratunga resigned her post as the leader of the ruling United People's Freedom Alliance Wednesday. The President's office said in brief statement that she was resigning due to pressure of work. Political analysts however said that it could mean fissures in the ruling UPFA over restarting peace talks with the Liberation Tigers. However, sources close to President Kumaratunga's Sri Lanka Freedom Party said the move is intended to make her brother Mr. Anura Bandaranaike leader of the UPFA with a view to sidelining Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksha.
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ISGA critical to prevent secession- MP

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 04 August 2004, 10:50 GMT]
"There is increasing evidence that the Sri Lanka Government is unwilling to accept Interim Self Governing Authority (ISGA) for NorthEast. If this situation is not reversed soon, Tamil people will have no option other than to seek a path of secession, said Tamil National Alliance (TNA) member of Parliament for Jaffna District, M.K.Sivajilingam, during a debate on Regulations on Electricity Board, Wednesday, parliamentary sources said.
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Tamils urge UN to recognize rights to form interim government

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 04 August 2004, 10:12 GMT]
International Federation of Tamils (IFT), an organization of expatriate Tamils, urged the United Nations to recognize the Tamil people's rights, under international economic social and cultural covenants, to form an interim administration to improve their living condition in north east of sri lanka, Tamil sources in Geneva said. The memorandum was submitted to the 56th session of UN sub commission on promotion and protection of human rights.
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Colombo denies it rejected LTTE proposal

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 04 August 2004, 08:29 GMT]
Minister Maithripala Sirisena, the General Secretary of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP), has issued a statement Wednesday denying "there is absolutely no truth in the reports" that quoted him as saying that the Sri Lanka government will not recommence peace talks with the LTTE on the basis of the Interim Self Governing Authority (ISGA) proposals.
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Man with alleged link to Karuna Group killed

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 04 August 2004, 05:22 GMT]
Mr.Kiruparatnam Vimalethiran, 32, believed to be a Sri Lanka military intelligence informant with links to the paramilitary 'Karuna Group' was shot dead by unidentified gunmen in Mavadivembu, 22 kilometres north of Batticaloa Tuesday night. Police in the eastern town said Vimalenthiran was a petty criminal.
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Statue of Liberty reopens despite terror threats

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 04 August 2004, 02:30 GMT]
Statue of Liberty reopened to visitors today for the first time since the 2001 terrorist attacks that destroyed the World Trade Center. The reopening ceremony presided by Mayor of NewYork, Michael Bloomberg, lasted an hour . Over $35 million was raised in private funds for improvements that included upgrading security, according to media reports.
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"No talks on the basis of ISGA"-UPFA

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 04 August 2004, 02:15 GMT]
United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA) led by Sri Lanka's President Ms Chandrika Kumaratunge declared Tuesday that the Sri Lanka government will not recommence peace talks with the LTTE (Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam) on the basis of the Interim Self Governing Authority (ISGA) proposals submitted by the LTTE, State-run Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation (SLBC) announced in its Wednesday morning news bulletin in English, Sinhala and Tamil quoting Minister Mr.Maithiripala Sirisena, the General Secretary of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP).
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Islamic militants stone pilgrims from Jaffna

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 03 August 2004, 17:42 GMT]
Four pilgrims returning from Kataragama, a shrine venerated by Tamils and Singhalese, were injured when persons suspected to be Islamic militant youth stoned the buses in which they were traveling to Jaffna at Kalmunai, 40 kilometres south of Batticaloa, Tuesday. A general shut down was observed in the Muslim towns of Batticaloa and Amparai districts Tuesday to mark the killing of Muslims in Kattankudy 14 years ago.
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Muslim towns shut down to mark massacre

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 03 August 2004, 14:14 GMT]
Muslim towns in the Batticaloa Ampara shut down Tuesday to mark the killing of 103 Muslims in a Mosque in Kattankudy 14 years ago. MPs of the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress wore black arm bands to Parliament Tuesday to mark the mass killing. The Liberation Tigers were accused of killing the Muslims in a Mosque in Kattankudy, 5 kilometres south of Batticaloa.
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Police officer promotions questioned in SL Parliament

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 03 August 2004, 10:29 GMT]
Interior Minister in the former United National Front (UNF) government, John Amaratunge, raised concerns about the service promotions given recently to police officers by the United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA) Government under the leadership of Ms.Kumaratunge. He accused the UPFA government of giving recognition to corrupt officers and those who are associated with drug trade, parliamentary sources said.
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LTTE returns paddy fields to displaced Muslims

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 03 August 2004, 09:44 GMT]
Liberation Tigers returned twenty nine paddy fields belonging to Muslims in Thannimurippu in the Mullaithivu District recently, Mr. Sathasivam Kanakaratnam Tamil National Alliance MP for Vanni told TamilNet Tuesday. The MP said all Muslims displaced from the district during the war can reclaim their lands as soon as they produce documents to prove ownership.
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Five injured in attack on Valaichenai EPDP camp

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 03 August 2004, 02:52 GMT]
Five persons, including a Police constable, were wounded in a rifle grenade attack on the camp of the paramilitary group EPDP in Valaichenai, 32 kilometres north of Batticaloa, Tuesday morning around 7.45, Police said. The EPDP camp is by the Sri Lanka army camp at the Valaichenai fisheries harbour. The local EPDP leader 'Siva' (Anpunan Kandasamy) was also wounded when a rifle launched grenade hit the camp, Police said.
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Memorial for VVT massacre opened

[TamilNet, Monday, 02 August 2004, 19:15 GMT]
"Our leadership and our people have demonstrated that it will not be possible by any power to suppress our freedom struggle", said Mr C.Ilamparithi, Jaffna district Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) political head speaking at the Valvettithurai massacre memorial meeting held Monday evening.
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UNHCR urged to organize boat service to refugees in India

[TamilNet, Monday, 02 August 2004, 16:54 GMT]
Mr.Selvam Adaikalanathan, Vanni district Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarian has appealed to the UNHCR Sri Lanka's Representative to take steps to organize boat service between India and Talaimannar to transport Sri Lankan Tamil refugees who are willing to return to their villages. Currently thousands of Sri Lankan Tamil refugees are in refugee camps in Tamilnadu in South India.
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Grenade explodes in Valaichenai

[TamilNet, Monday, 02 August 2004, 12:12 GMT]
Two men riding a motorbike lobbed a grenade on the road in Valaichenai town, 32 kilometres north of Batticaloa, Monday around 11.15 a.m. The grenade which exploded near the Valaichenai post office caused no damage. "This looks like an attempt to create fear in the town", a Police officer in the area said.
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Jaffna commemorates "Valvettithurai massacre"

[TamilNet, Monday, 02 August 2004, 10:38 GMT]
People of Jaffna district and residents of Valvettithurai town Monday commemorated the fifteenth anniversary of Valvettithurai massacre of 63 innocent Tamil people the Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) which took place on August 2, 1989, civil groups said.
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Demo in Jaffna against wrongs in graduate jobs scheme

[TamilNet, Monday, 02 August 2004, 10:03 GMT]
Hundreds of unemployed graduates demonstrated in front of the Jaffna District Secretariat Monday demanding government jobs. A spokesman for the protestors told TamilNet that Jaffna has been neglected in the Sri Lankan government scheme to give jobs to more than thirty thousand graduates in the island. "There 3400 unemployed graduates in Jaffna. But Colombo has announced the names of only 513 of these for employment", he said.
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Mysterious explosion at checkpoint near Batticaloa border

[TamilNet, Monday, 02 August 2004, 09:02 GMT]
A Police constable, two homeguards and a lorry driver received minor shrapnel wounds when a grenade lobbed by unidentified persons near a Sri Lanka military checkpoint at Sevanapitiya on the Batticaloa-Polannaruwa road exploded Sunday night around 8.30 p.m.
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Seven Tigers remanded in Akkaraipattu

[TamilNet, Sunday, 01 August 2004, 16:07 GMT]
Akkaraipattu magistrate Sunday remanded seven Liberation Tigers and three of their civilian supporters until 13 August. Police said Special Task Force commandos arrested the group Saturday afternoon after two T- 56 rifle rounds and two vials of cyanide were found in the bag of an LTTE cadre. Akkaraipattu is 64 kilometres south of Batticaloa.
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Civil society role vital to peace- SLMM Trinco Head

[TamilNet, Sunday, 01 August 2004, 13:33 GMT]
Lions Club of Trincomalee Town honoured its past presidents at a special event held Saturday at the Trincomalee New Silver Star Hotel with Mr.Dagffin Aadness, Trincomalee head of the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) as the chief guest. Mr Aadness speaking at the event said the civil society including Lions Clubs and other organizations could play a vital role in safeguarding the current peace environs, sources attending the event said.
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HR Group meets to finalize Charter

[TamilNet, Sunday, 01 August 2004, 12:49 GMT]
Northeast Secretariat of Human Rights (NESOHR), formed on the 9 July to monitor the human rights violations and implement actions to strengthen the human rights in the NorthEast, held its second meeting Sunday with Head of LTTE Political Wing, S.P.Thamilchelvan attending, to finalize NESOHR' charter, LTTE's Peace Secretariat website said.
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Child Protection Unit opened in Batticaloa hospital

[TamilNet, Sunday, 01 August 2004, 12:16 GMT]
The office of the Child Protection Unit (CPU) of the Batticaloa DistrictChild Protection Committee (DCPC) was declared open Sunday , 1 August, at the Teaching Hospital in Batticaloa town by the Government Agent Mr.V.Shanmugam by cutting the ribbon, UNICEF sources in Batticaloa said.
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Two Sri Lanka military intelligence operatives arrested says LTTE

[TamilNet, Sunday, 01 August 2004, 10:55 GMT]
Liberation Tigers in Batticaloa said that they arrested two persons working with the Sri Lankan military intelligence Sunday morning in Periyapullumalai, on the A-5 highway, close to the Amparai District border.
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Social mobilization workshop held for Kanniya resettlers

[TamilNet, Sunday, 01 August 2004, 00:56 GMT]
Tamil Rehabilitation Organization (TRO), sponsored by the North East Community Restoration Development (NECORD) project conducted a five day social mobilization workshop for resettled villagers in Kanniya located about eight km off northeast of Trincomalee town.
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