SLA trooper dies attacking Tigers

[TamilNet, Thursday, 25 July 2002, 22:07 GMT]
A Sri Lanka Army soldier was killed when he crossed into the zone of separation in Jaffna and opened fire on a group of Liberation Tigers who fired back, international ceasefire monitors said Thursday. LTTE and SLA commanders “showed tremendous responsibility and constraint in a very difficult situation,” Major General Trond Furuhovde, head of the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) said.
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New Army fortifications in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 09 July 2002, 13:44 GMT]
The Sri Lanka armed forces are hurriedly building fortifications and expanding their bases in the Jaffna peninsula while public buildings vacated by the military remain beyond the public use as the surrounding areas are declared high security zones, Tamil press reports said last week.
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SLA troops advance to LTTE lines - report

[TamilNet, Sunday, 30 June 2002, 00:54 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army (SLA) units in the Kilali-Nagerkoil axis in the Jaffna peninsula have advanced closer to the positions of the Liberation Tigers and taken up positions well inside the minimum separation distance stipulated in the ceasefire agreement, according to complaints received by the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM), Tamil press reports said this week.
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SLA reinforces Nagarkovil base

[TamilNet, Sunday, 16 June 2002, 03:07 GMT]
The Nagarkovil Sri Lanka Army (SLA) base, which is part of the military's Forward Defense Line (FDL) in Vadamaradchi East, is being expanded with additional troops moved from SLA positions in Eluthumadduval, Muhamalai and Mirusuvil in the Thenmaradchi sector, the Thinakural reported Saturday.
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SLA bars IDPs returning by sea

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 04 June 2002, 19:42 GMT]
The Sri Lanka army Tuesday refused to permit more than 32 fishermen and their families who came by sea from the Mullaithivu coast to land in Sakkottai, a fishing village near Pt. Pedro in Jaffna, from which they were displaced by the war in 1995. "The fishermen have come with their gear and other belongings to resettle in their village. It is too expensive for them to bring their boats, out board motors and fishing gear by road to Jaffna. They are stranded in mid sea with women and children because of the SLA is refusing to consider their plight", an official of the Federation of Fisheries Societies in Vadamaradchi told TamilNet.
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Ministry officials complain army harassment at Muhamalai

[TamilNet, Sunday, 02 June 2002, 17:57 GMT]
A team of officials from the Ministry of Social Services said Sunday that they were subjected to undue search by Sri Lanka Army personnel at the Muhamalai entry point in when they were on their way to Jaffna yesterday. The officials came to Jaffna Saturday with a consignment of tricycles, spectacles and sewing machines for war affected persons in the peninsula. They were on a two-day tour in Jaffna with Sri Lanka's Minister for Social Services Mr. Ravindra Samaraweera who arrived Saturday by air.
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New licence rules hamper Jaffna travel

[TamilNet, Saturday, 01 June 2002, 11:47 GMT]
The Sri Lankan Army has ordered that all vehicles entering Jaffna through the Muhamalai check-point - and all vehicles on the roads in Jaffna - need to have Sri Lankan Motor Vehicle Authority-issued license plates. As a result, many people in the Vanni region are unable to travel to Jaffna, with only few vehicles having been able to obtain registrations with the SLMVA.
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'Strategic’ camps to remain despite ceasefire terms - Army chief

[TamilNet, Friday, 31 May 2002, 01:07 GMT]
Amid renewed pressure for the Sri Lankan armed forces to vacate schools, places of worship and other public places as stipulated in the ceasefire agreement, Army chief Lieutenant General Lional Balagalle said Friday that his troops would not withdraw from camps ‘of strategic importance and those within the high security zones.’ These withdrawals would happen only if “the two parties agree on disarmament,” he told the state-owned Daily News.
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More Tigers begin political work

[TamilNet, Thursday, 30 May 2002, 16:03 GMT]
Scores of cadres from the Liberation Tigers’ political section arrived in Jaffna and Vavuniya earlier this week, Tamil press reports said. Forty-nine LTTE cadres arrived in Jaffna this week whilst twelve entered Vavuniya. More LTTE volunteers are expected to arrive in Vavuniya and Mannar soon.
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Thamilchelvan says A9 should be open 24 hours, slams SLN

[TamilNet, Thursday, 09 May 2002, 06:57 GMT]
"The Liberation Tigers want the A9 road to be open 24 hours, on all days of the week, to ensure the free flow of goods between Jaffna and the other parts of the island," Mr. S. P Thamilchelvan, the head of the LTTE's political division, told TamilNet Thursday.
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SLA concedes on cyanide capsules

[TamilNet, Friday, 03 May 2002, 00:48 GMT]
Twenty-eight Liberation Tigers entered Jaffna last Monday under the terms of the permanent ceasefire, but only after disagreements with Sri Lanka soldiers manning the checkpoint at Muhamalai over body searches, press reports said this week. Following a heated argument over the LTTE cadres’ cyanide capsules, the Army commander has reportedly accepted that the carrying of these was henceforth not to be opposed.
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Tigers open political office in VVT

[TamilNet, Monday, 29 April 2002, 18:40 GMT]
"The interim administration is a necessary condition for restoring normal life in our homeland that has been destroyed by more than eighteen years of war waged on us by the Sri Lankan state. Therefore it is also an absolutely necessary condition for sustaining our people's faith in this peace process, said Mr. M. K Sivajilingam, Tamil National Alliance MP for Jaffna, addressing the function at the opening of the political office of the Liberation Tigers for the Vadamaradchi division of the northern peninsula Monday morning.
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Jaffna SLMM discusses complaints over military action

[TamilNet, Thursday, 25 April 2002, 13:26 GMT]
The head of the international peace-monitoring mission promised Wednesday to bring the tension prevailing in the islets around Jaffna to the attention of the Sri Lankan government, press reports in the northern peninsula said Thursday. Norwegian General (Retd) Trond Fuhrhovde made his comments at a meeting of Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) officials in Jaffna, the Uthayan reported.
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A-9 barred for PTA suspects' transport

[TamilNet, Monday, 15 April 2002, 22:01 GMT]
The Sri Lanka Army and the Police have refused permission for the Prison officials to transport suspects who are detained under the Prevention of terrorism Act (PTA) to Vavuniya High Court through A-9 highway from Jaffna.
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Tumultuous welcome in Jaffna for Tigers

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 09 April 2002, 11:58 GMT]
(News Feature) Residents in Jaffna gave the Liberation Tigers who entered the northern town Monday a tumultuous welcome, press reports in the northern peninsula said Tuesday. Over fifty thousand people thronged the Sri Lanka Army held northern side of the Muhamalai crossing point to meet the fifteen cadres from the LTTE’s political section, the Uthayan reported. Violence broke out as troops blocked the crowds from reaching the crossing point, the paper, Jaffna’s largest circulating daily said in a front page report Tuesday.
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A9 to Jaffna reopens

[TamilNet, Monday, 08 April 2002, 13:22 GMT]
The last closed section of the A9 highway running from Kilinochchi to Jaffna was reopened Monday in a joint ceremony by senior officers from the Sri Lankan military and the Liberation Tigers. Following the opening of the highway at Muhamalai, fifteen cadres from the LTTE's political section entered Army-controlled territory to travel to Jaffna where they are to begin work under the terms of the indefinite ceasefire signed between both sides on February 22. However, the Army prevented hundreds of civilians on both sides from crossing.
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Norway minister in Vanni on 17 April – VoT

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 03 April 2002, 08:24 GMT]
The Deputy Foreign Minister of Norway Mr.Vidar Helgesen will visit the Vanni on 17 April to meet the leader of the Liberation Tigers, Mr. Pirapaharan, the Voice of Tigers radio said. He will hold discussions and arrive at decisions on direct negotiations between the LTTE and Colombo, according to the radio. The Norwegian ambassador to Sri Lanka, Mr. Jon Westborg and an embassy official flew to Puthukkudiyiruppu in the district of Mullaithivu in a Sri Lanka Air Force helicopter Tuesday morning to discuss the arrangements regarding the meeting between the Norwegian minister and the leader of the Liberation Tigers.
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Elthumadduval families seek resettlement

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 20 March 2002, 17:03 GMT]
Seven hundred forty families displaced from the southern Jaffna have written to Sri Lanka's Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe urging him to allow them resettle in their villages of Eluthumadduval and Karambaikkurichchi as part of the effort to restore normalcy in the north and east under the terms of the cease-fire agreement between his government and the Liberation Tigers.
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"State forces' cease-fire violation would harm govt." -PM

[TamilNet, Thursday, 14 March 2002, 21:10 GMT]
"Cease-fire violations by the State armed forces knowingly or not, would cause irreparable harm to the Sri Lankan government," the Prime Minister Mr.Ranil Wickremasinghe told soldiers and commanders of the Sri Lanka Army at Palali main base in the Jaffna peninsula Thursday. Mr.Wickremasinghe arrived Jaffna morning by a special Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) helicopter accompanied by Defense Minister Mr.Tilak Marapane and Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Minister Dr.Jayalath Jayawardene.
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Pall over last obstacle on road to Jaffna

[TamilNet, Thursday, 14 March 2002, 17:14 GMT]
The defence lines of the Liberation Tigers and the Sri Lanka army in Eluthumadduval are separated by less than 200 meters of the A9 highway. A high tarpaulin hides everything behind the SLA's defence position which straddles the road, the last obstacle on the northern peninsula's main land link to the rest of the island. "We have cleared all the mines on our side as you can see. We got ready to open the road to Jaffna soon after the cessation of hostilities was announced.
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