Mahinda Rajapakse addresses rallies in Trinco, Kantalai, Kinniya

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 26 October 2005, 17:18 GMT]
Prime Minister Mr. Mahinda Rajapakse, presidential candidate of the United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA) Wednesday addressed election rallies in the towns of Trincomalee, Kinniya and Kantalai in the district. Mr.Wimal Weeravanse, parliamentary group leader of the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna accompanied him, sources said.


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Three children, SLA soldier injured in Batticaloa

[TamilNet, Sunday, 23 October 2005, 07:58 GMT]
Three children were injured in Batticaloa Sunday morning when Sri Lanka Army soldiers opened fire on gunmen who fired at SLA soldiers manning a sentry wounding one soldier. The incident took place around 8:45 a.m. The soldiers were manning a sentry point at the Zahira College on Rosario Road, 2 km north of Batticloa town. The children were refugees stationed in the refugee camp at the Zahira College, civilian sources said.
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Clustered Polling booths to be located 500 meters from SLA checkpoint

[TamilNet, Saturday, 22 October 2005, 11:16 GMT]
Jaffna district Government Agent (GA), Mr K Ganesh, in a meeting with election officials and officers of the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) held at the Secretariat offices Friday, informed that the Election Commissioner has directed him to arrange clustered polling booths near Muhamalai area to allow the voters in the Liberation Controlled areas in Vanni district to exercise their franchise, sources from Jaffna said. Unlike in the previous elections, the polling booths are to be located 500 meters away from the Muhamalai Sri Lanka Army (SLA) checkpoint towards Eluthumattuval direction, he added.
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Massacre anniversary commemorated in Jaffna Hospital

[TamilNet, Friday, 21 October 2005, 11:18 GMT]
Eighteenth death anniversary of twenty-one persons including medical specialists, nurses, attendants, patients and members of public who were massacred inside Jaffna Teaching Hospital (JTH) by Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) troops stationed in Jaffna Fort on 21st October, 1987 was held at the Jaffna Teaching Hospital Friday, sources in Jaffna said. Deputy Director of the Hospital, R Raviraj, presided the event.
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18th anniversary of IPKF Hospital massacre to be held

[TamilNet, Thursday, 20 October 2005, 11:26 GMT]
Eighteenth death anniversary of twenty-one persons including medical specialists, nurses, attendants, patients and members of public who were massacred inside Jaffna Teaching Hospital (JTH) by Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) troops stationed in Jaffna Fort on 21st October, 1987 is to be observed Friday in the hospital premises, civil sources said.
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SLA soldiers, gunmen clash in Valaichenai, civilians injured

[TamilNet, Sunday, 16 October 2005, 17:03 GMT]
Two civilians and two Sri Lanka Army soldiers were seriously injured in Sunkankerny in Valaichenai Sunday evening. The soldiers were wounded when a group of unidentified gunmen launched an ambush on an SLA patrol returning to Kinniyadi military camp, 30 km north of Batticaloa town. The SLA soldiers, who exchanged gunfire with the ambushing gunmen for 30 minutes from 6:30 p.m., continued to fire at random for two hours, civilian sources said. Two civilians wounded in the gunfire were rushed to Valaichenai hospital and later transferred to Batticaloa Hospital in serious condition, hospital sources said.
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"Tin bomb" diffused in Colombo

[TamilNet, Sunday, 16 October 2005, 08:08 GMT]
A "tin bomb" was discovered and diffused by the Sri Lanka Army soldiers on Ferguson Road, Colombo-15, Sunday morning, police said. The detonator of the bomb, with a 50 meters long wire, was disconnected by the bomb squad of the Sri Lanka Army, relocated to Modera beach and exploded. The incident took place around 8:30 a.m. Sunday.


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SLA soldiers, gunmen clash in Eravur

[TamilNet, Saturday, 15 October 2005, 11:31 GMT]
A group of unidentified gunmen and the Sri Lanka Army soldiers exchanged gunfire for more than fifteen minutes in Kaluwankerny, an SLA controlled village in Eravur, 20 km north of Batticaloa, civilian sources told TamilNet. Meanwhile, Eravur Police said SLA soldiers had rushed to the village when a Sri Lanka Police Jeep was confronted by the gunmen. More than 5 armed men were involved in the clash, police said. The gunmen who fled the scene left behind a T-56 rifle, police sources added.
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Kumbam festival held in Trinco town

[TamilNet, Thursday, 13 October 2005, 00:06 GMT]
The annual Kumbam festival at the conclusion of the Navarathiri was held in Trincomalee town Wednesday evening till midnight. Kumbam festival, unique to Trincomalee, was first introduced in Trincomalee by Indian (Punjabi) troops brought by the British to construct the naval dockyard after they captured Sri Lanka (then Ceylon).
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Maruthankerni fisherman missing

[TamilNet, Monday, 10 October 2005, 10:55 GMT]
Vetharniyam Sri Jegan, a fisherman from Maruthankerni in Jaffna district, failed to return Monday morning after he went fishing Sunday night, sources said. Several fishermen from Vathirayan area returned to shore Monday morning with damaged engines and boats after being attacked by Sri Lanka Navy (SLN) soldiers in mid-sea along the northern coast, according to local residents.
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Southern journalists on goodwill mission to Trincomalee

[TamilNet, Monday, 10 October 2005, 02:15 GMT]
About fifty sinhalese journalists and three Buddhist monks from Hambantota, Galle and Matara from south of Sri Lanka arrived in Trincomalee Saturday evening on a four-day good-will mission to obtain first hand information about problems faced mainly by Tamil people and others in the Trincomalee district and in areas held by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). The National Peace Council (NPC) of Sri Lanka organized this visit, sources said.


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Grenade lobbed at SLA sentry, one soldier injured

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 04 October 2005, 06:36 GMT]
An unidentified bicycle-riding man lobbed a grenade into a Sri Lanka Army sentry and road-block, police said. The incident took place at Mankerny in Valaichenai Monday around 9:30 p.m. An SLA soldier sustained serious wounds and was rushed to the Polannarwa Hospital.
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Court remands Tamil youths arrested in Trincomalee seas

[TamilNet, Monday, 03 October 2005, 21:03 GMT]
Trincomalee Magistrate Mr.S.Ramakamalan Monday ordered remand till 14th October for the four Tamil youths who were arrested by the Sri Lanka Navy (SLN) when they were allegedly video-taping the Trincomalee naval headquarters. The arrested youths are from Kayts, Kopay, Mullaitivu and Uyilankulam, and their ages ranged from 19 to 29, legal sources said.


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Thousands attend Jaffna Pongu Thamil rally, seek Army withdrawal

[TamilNet, Friday, 30 September 2005, 14:51 GMT]
An estimated two hundred thousand people attended the Tamil Resurgence celebrations in Jaffna Friday at Jaffna University Grounds, calling for the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) to vacate the Tamil homeland and declaring that the Tamils right to self-determination is non-negotiable. Speakers at the rally said the event recognizes the Vavuniya proclamation and condemned the one-sided punitive measures taken by the European Union against the Liberation Tigers.
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Newspaper distributor killed in Batticaloa

[TamilNet, Friday, 30 September 2005, 08:06 GMT]
Two unidentified gunmen shot and killed Mr. Yogakumar Krishnapillai the distributor of the Batticaloa-Eelanatham newspaper. The killing took place in the heart of Batticaloa town on Central Road in front of HNB Bank, a high security area of Sri Lanka Army, Friday morning around 7:30 a.m. Batticaloa Eelanatham, the only newspaper in Batticaloa, is printed in the LTTE held Kokkadichholai. On 10 September, Sri Lankan Special Task Force soldiers blocked the sales of the Eelanatham paper in SLA controlled areas of Batticaloa and Amparai districts.
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Morning fire guts SLMM's Mannar residence

[TamilNet, Thursday, 29 September 2005, 23:05 GMT]
An electric short circuit was blamed for an early morning fire Thursday that gutted the luxury house located along Field Road in Mannar town rented by members of Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM), sources in Mannar said. The short circuit was traced to an air conditioning unit in the basement of the house. Three members of the SLMM who were asleep escaped unhurt, Mannar police said.
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SLA's failure to honor agreement, leaves thousands stranded

[TamilNet, Thursday, 29 September 2005, 01:43 GMT]
About five thousand Tamil people who came from LTTE controlled areas through Uyilankulam checkpoint to attend Tamil Resurgence Convention Wednesday were stranded in Mannar town when the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) failed to honor the agreement to reopen the checkpoint from 8 p.m. to 10.30 p.m. Wednesday, civil society sources said. During talks held earlier at Thallady main camp SLA agreed to Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarians' request to keep the checkpoint open through extended hours.
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SLN allows students entry into Mandaitivu after protest

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 27 September 2005, 18:49 GMT]
Soldiers of the Sri Lanka Navy (SLN) manning the checkpoint at the Pannai junction who had earlier blocked a group of Jaffna University students from entering Mandaitivu Tuesday allowed the group in, after the students held a three-hour sit-in-protest commencing from 9.30 a.m., sources in Jaffna said.


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SLN blocks Pongu Thamil group from entering Mandaitivu

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 27 September 2005, 11:47 GMT]
A group of students from Jaffna Technical College on their way to publicize forthcoming Tamil Resurgence event were barred from entering Mandaitivu by the Sri Lanka Navy (SLn) soldiers manning the Mandaitivu Junction sentry Tuesday morning, sources said.
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Retired Commanders denounce JVP Leader's call to disband Security Forces

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 27 September 2005, 00:52 GMT]
Retired commanders of the Sri Lanka Armed Forces, General S.C.Ranatunge, Air Vice Marshal Harry Gunatilake, Lt.General Dennis Perera and General Hamilton Wanasinghe, Monday in a signed press release condemned the statement made by Mr.Somawanse Amerasinghe, leader of the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) directing the Prime Minister Mr.Mahinda Rajapakse to disband the government security forces no sooner he is elected Executive President of Sri Lanka if the security forces are unable to safeguard the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Sri Lanka.
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