TELO's Vavuniya TV retransmission station attacked

[TamilNet, Thursday, 02 June 2005, 01:07 GMT]
Sun Television retransmission station in Vairavarpuliyankulam in Vavuniya district operated by cadres of Tami Eelam Liberation Organization (TELO) was attacked with hand grenades by unidentified attackers at 1.45 AM Thursday morning, causing damages worth Rs 1 million to equipment.
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Economic embargo imposed in Batticaloa, Vaharai residents protest

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 31 May 2005, 17:14 GMT]
Large number of residents of Vaharai division in the Batticaloa district Tuesday morning staged a peaceful protest march demanding the withdrawal of economic embargo imposed recently by the Sri Lankan military, sources said. Last several days soldiers manning checkpoints in Batticaloa have been blocking civilians from transporting cement, building materials, fuel and other essential materials to the villages of Panichchankerni, Paalchenai, Kathiraveli, Kandalady, Uriyankattu and Mankerni which are located in LTTE controlled Vaharai division.
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Buddha statue installed in Omanthai Pillayar temple grounds

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 31 May 2005, 13:24 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers in Omanthai camp has erected a three foot statue of Buddha in the grounds of Omanthai Pillayar temple in Vavuniya last March, according to local residents. The custodian priest of the Pillaiyar temple fled the area after the soldiers harassed him to hand over the land deeds, residents further said. All residents living close to the temple have been forcibly photographed by the SLA and have been warned against tampering with the statue. Residents say that no one goes near the statue out of fear of the soldiers.


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20,000 quit SLA since truce - General

[TamilNet, Sunday, 29 May 2005, 13:56 GMT]
Revealing that over 20,000 soldiers had quit the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) since the February 2002 ceasefire, a top general blamed lack of appreciation of the military by the public and other departments of the state as key reasons for soldiers deserting their posts in the army, press reports in Colombo said. Officers also blamed poor infrastructure in camps and difficulties in obtaining home leave from duties in forward defence areas also as contributing to low morale.
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Trinco LTTE political activists threatened by soldiers- Elilan

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 24 May 2005, 17:20 GMT]
Mr.S.Elilan, Trincomalee district political head of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) Tuesday lodged a complaint with the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission in the Trincomalee district that a group of soldiers of the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) had threatened two cadres of the LTTE when they were engaged in political activities in Orr's Hill area, a suburb in the east port town Tuesday afternoon, sources said.
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Child soldier figures wrongly quoted- Save the Children

[TamilNet, Friday, 20 May 2005, 07:48 GMT]
Mike Aaronson, Director General of Save the Children UK, in a letter to LTTE's Head of Political Wing, Mr. S. P. Thamilchelvan, expressed regret that the figures for child soldiers including girl soldiers have been "wrongly quoted" in a recent report released by the UK based organisation. The report stated that 50 000 child soldiers, including 21,500 girl soldiers are involved in the conflict in Sri Lanka.
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SLA troops arrest youth

[TamilNet, Thursday, 19 May 2005, 14:43 GMT]
A Tamil youth was arrested “on suspicion” by troops during a search in the general area of Matkeliya junction, Trincomalee Wednesday around 7.55 p.m, the Sri Lanka Army said. Without elaborating the Army claimed unarmed youths tried to attack the soldiers “using some paraphernalia.”
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Krishanthy murder convict complains of death threat

[TamilNet, Saturday, 14 May 2005, 16:39 GMT]
Lance Corporal Somaretna Rajapakse of the Sri Lanka Army who is serving death sentence in Krishanthy Cumaraswamy rape and murder case and a key witness in the several habeas Corpus applications currently under inquiry last week complained to the Jaffna Additional Magistrate that his life is in danger in the Bogambara prison, legal sources said.
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New HC bench to hear Mirusuvil massacre case

[TamilNet, Saturday, 14 May 2005, 16:12 GMT]
The Colombo High Court Trial-at-Bar (TAB) inquiry into the Mirusuvil massacre case has been fixed before a newly constituted three member-bench comprising Judges Mr.Upali Abeyaratne, Mr.D Wijesunthara and Mr.Sunil Rajapakse for July 25. Earlier the inquiry was scheduled to resume on 22 Monday, 2004. However the inquiry was put off indefinitely with the murder of Judge Mr.Sarath Ambepitya who was the chairman of the three-member bench, legal sources said.
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SLA, LTTE discuss Trincomalee ground situation

[TamilNet, Monday, 09 May 2005, 16:30 GMT]
Officials of the Sri Lanka Government security forces and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in the Trincomalee district met for discussions on the ground situation and to review complaints made by both parties to the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) over recent firing incidents, sources said. The hour long meeting was held at the SLMM Trincomalee office in the presence of Mr.Jan Ledang, Trincomalee head of the SLMM.
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Troops fire on Valaichenai protestors, 1 killed

[TamilNet, Monday, 09 May 2005, 10:51 GMT]
A 65 year old man was killed and at least 15 other civilians were wounded when Sri Lankan security forces opened fire on large crowds of people protesting Monday, demanding removal of new Army checkpoints set up near a school in the Batticaloa district. Five women were among those wounded when soldiers and police fired assault rifles for over 10 minutes at Santhiveli, 27 km. north of Batticaloa on the Valaichenai road, sources said. International ceasefire monitors and reporters witnessed the incident, they said.
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SLA fire damages Muttur east LTTE sentry point- Elilan

[TamilNet, Friday, 06 May 2005, 14:10 GMT]
Mr.S.Elilan, Trincomalee district political head of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) Friday morning lodged a complaint with the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) in the east port town that the Sri Lanka Army soldiers located in Kaddaiparichchan camp had fired at the LTTE sentry in the LTTE controlled Muttur east. LTTE sentry point was damaged in the attack, Mr.Elilan said.
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Four soldiers injured, artillery gun destroyed in SLA armoury explosion

[TamilNet, Thursday, 05 May 2005, 03:41 GMT]
The Sri Lanka Army (SLA) has launched a full-scale investigation into the sudden explosion in its armoury located in Thanankilappu in Thenmaradchchi division in the Jaffna district Wednesday morning around 11 a.m where four SLA soldiers were seriously injured and an artillery gun was destroyed, the State run Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation (SLBC) and private electronic media reported in news bulletins quoting army spokesman Brigadier Daya Ratnayake.
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Pirapaharan extols Jeyanthan Brigade on 12th anniversary

[TamilNet, Thursday, 05 May 2005, 00:02 GMT]
In April last year, the world witnessed the prowess, fighting spirit and the commitment of the Jeyanthan Brigade which, by executing in Batticaloa soil “the right operation at the right time and the right place, triumphed against betrayal and reclaimed our soil, our people and our cadre," said LTTE leader, Mr. Vellupillai Pirapaharan in a congratulatory message sent to the fighting unit which celebrated the 12th anniversary of its formation on Wednesday.
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'Sivaram was a terrorist journalist' - JHU

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 03 May 2005, 00:02 GMT]
Sri Lanka’s hardline monks party, the Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU) this week denounced Mr. Dharmeratnam Sivaram, the Tamil political columnist and military analyst who was murdered on Friday, as a “terrorist journalist” working for the LTTE. Saying Mr. Sivaram was akin to “Hitler’s Goebbels” a statement issued by the JHU's General Secretary, Omalpe Sobitha Thera, said he had “undermined the morale of the armed forces who were fighting the fascist Tigers.” Saying Sivaram should have been arrested according to the laws of Sri Lanka, the JHU urged the government to take stern action against others working in support of the Tigers.
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Funeral of Sivaram held in Batticaloa

[TamilNet, Monday, 02 May 2005, 10:13 GMT]
Murdered Tamil journalist Mr D Sivaram's funeral rites began at his family home in Lady Manning Drive, Batticaloa Monday afternoon after his body was taken to LTTE controlled Karadiyan Aaru earlier in the day. The body of Mr.Sivaram is now being taken to the cemetery in Aalayadichcholai, which lies in a High Security Zone of the Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF). The funeral procession is escorted by Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers and Police. Representatives of the SLMM are also following, TamilNet correspondent in the eastern town said.
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SLA bans transport of torch batteries to Muttur east

[TamilNet, Friday, 22 April 2005, 19:06 GMT]
Mr.S.Elilan, Trincomalee district political head of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) Friday lodged a complaint with the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) in Trincomalee that soldiers in the Kaddaiparichchan Sri Lanka Army are preventing people taking torch batteries to and from LTTE controlled Muttur east villages. Kaddaiparichchan SLA camp is located on the border of the SLA and LTTE controlled areas in the Muttur division, sources said.
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Where the truce promise rings hollow

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 20 April 2005, 14:26 GMT]
The cease fire agreement between the Government of Sri Lanka (GOSL) and the Liberation Tigers was greeted eagerly by the people of Batticaloa because it held out the hope that their daily lives would be spared of the tensions, fears, anxieties, stress and trauma which they suffered for two long decades of war. They were glad that they could lead normal lives again. Today the cease fire’s promise rings increasingly hollow to them as the Sri Lankan armed forces reintroduce war era measures, which are tinged indelibly with bitter memories of a past the people of Batticaloa wanted to put behind so that they could start their lives anew.
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LTTE sentry in Muttur attacked by SLA- Elilan

[TamilNet, Monday, 18 April 2005, 17:19 GMT]
The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) Monday lodged a complaint with the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission in Trincomalee that one of their sentry points in the LTTE-controlled Muttur east had been attacked by a group of soldiers of the Sri Lanka Army Sunday night around 7.10 p.m.
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SC holds State responsible for two disappeared youths

[TamilNet, Thursday, 14 April 2005, 12:01 GMT]
TSri Lanka's Supreme Court (SC) held last week that the State was responsible for the disappearance of two Tamil youths who were brothers after their arrest by soldiers of the Sri Lanka Army fifteen years ago on 6th July, 1990 in Trincomalee, legal sources said. The three member bench of the Supreme Court ordered the State to pay the petitioner who is the father of the two youths a sum of Rupees 300,000/= as compensation. The SC directed the State to pay the compensation within three months before the end of June, legal sources added.
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