Pro-Peace, United Sinhala leadership unlikely to emerge soon - Balakumaran

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 07 January 2004, 00:06 GMT]
"Our expectations of resuming peace talks with the Government of Sri Lanka under a united leadership with clear authority to command Sri Lanka's security forces are fast receding," said V.Balakumaran, a senior member of Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, speaking at the Kumar Ponnambalam commemoration ceremony held at the Kailasapathy Hall of Jaffna Campus Monday, local media in Jaffna reported.
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Mannar human rights activist Fr Mary Bastian remembered

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 06 January 2004, 14:56 GMT]
Tamils of Mannar district and Vankalai residents Tuesday remembered their parish priest Rev.Fr. Mary Bastian who was gunned down by the soldiers of the Sri Lanka Army nineteen years ago on 6th January 1985 early morning around 12.30 a.m. Fr. Bastian worked for the poor and powerless citizens throughout his life and was instrumental in bringing atrocities and human right violations committed by the SLA in Mannar district to the notice of international human rights organizations.


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SLA to construct Buddhist Vihare on private property

[TamilNet, Friday, 02 January 2004, 15:55 GMT]
Seventy eight year old father of five children, Mr Vethavanam Varathalingam of 3rd Mile Post, Mulliayadi has appealed to the Human Rights Commission (HRC) to help him to get his five acre paddy land from Sri Lanka Army occupation, civil rights sources said. Mulliayadi is located along Thampalakamam-Kinniya road in Trincomalee.


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Thampalakamam market reopens after thirteen years

[TamilNet, Thursday, 01 January 2004, 13:39 GMT]
The public market in the traditional Tamil village Thampalakamam, which is located 27 km southwest of Trincomalee town, was re-opened Thursday after about thirteen years. Thampalakamam divisional head of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) Mr.Thirumalai declared open the public market.


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SLA hands over houses to civilians in Thenmaradchchi

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 30 December 2003, 18:02 GMT]
The Sri Lanka Army (SLA) Tuesday handed over six houses to civilians, which are located along the Varani-Vembirai road, close to the Vembirai junction in Manthuvil west in the Thenmaradchchi division in Jaffna district, civil sources said. SLA soldiers have been occupying these houses since 2000 when the SLA launched a military operation in Thenmaradchchi division.
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SLA truck collision injures two Jaffna youths

[TamilNet, Friday, 26 December 2003, 13:13 GMT]
A Sri Lanka Army (SLA) truck hit and seriously injured two youths, Paul Raj (18) and Sanjeevan (22) in Kantharmadam, Jaffna, Wednesday night, Voice of Tigers (VoT), reported in its morning broadcast Thursday.
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Paper seller had no grenade say Jaffna Police

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 23 December 2003, 17:06 GMT]
The paper seller who was shot at by a Sri Lankan army soldier in Jaffna town on 9 December pointed out his assailant at an identification parade in the Jaffna district court Tuesday. The Officer in Charge (OIC) of Sri Lanka Police station in northern town states in his First Information Report (FIR) submitted to the court that he found neither evidence of a hand grenade nor any trace of an explosion at the scene of the shooting. The SLA alleged that the paper seller had tried to lob a grenade at the soldier.
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Police suspects in Mannar torture, rape to be indicted

[TamilNet, Saturday, 20 December 2003, 15:57 GMT]
The Attorney General has decided to indict four of the six suspects in the Mannar torture and rape of two married Tamil women S.Sivamani and Vijikala by several police officials and soldiers in March 2001 while the women were being held by the Special Investigation Unit (SIU) of Mannar Police, legal sources said.


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Missing youth last seen arrested by SLA - Witnesses

[TamilNet, Thursday, 18 December 2003, 05:41 GMT]
Two witnesses told the Vavuniya district court Judge, Mr. M.Ilancheliyan, during court proceedings yesterday that they saw Anthonythas Ariyathas, a youth from Mullaithivu, being arrested by the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers at the Mullaithivu beach before his disappearance in 25 August 1985, legal sources in Vavuniya said.


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SLA recruits, readying for closer ties with India

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 16 December 2003, 14:09 GMT]
The Sri Lanka army has begun another recruitment drive for its commando regiment in the Sinhala majority districts of the island, promising good pay and attractive perks, sources in Colombo said Tuesday. The recruitment drive comes amidst indications that India would provide greater training facilities for Sri Lankan armed forces under a defence cooperation treaty which Colombo and New Delhi are expected to sign soon.
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SLA trooper sentenced to death

[TamilNet, Friday, 12 December 2003, 07:29 GMT]
Vavuniya High Court Judge J.Visvanathan Friday sentenced to death Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldier, Dinapalage Jayantha Dinapala, for murdering two brothers, Kanagasabai Kanagalingam, Kanagasabai Kanagendran, and their cousin Thamotharampillai Pulendirarajah, in the village of Chambaikulam in Vavuniya on 03 March 1996, legal sources said.
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SLA prevents student leader from entering Kilinochchi

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 10 December 2003, 16:44 GMT]
Soldiers of the Sri Lanka Army located at Muhamalai sentry Tuesday evening prevented a delegation of the International Students Association of Thamileelam (ISAT), headed by its President, Mr.S.Gajendran, from proceeding to Kilinochchi to meet students of Kilinochchi Technical College, sources said.
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SLA soldiers remanded for firing at Jaffna civilians

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 10 December 2003, 16:30 GMT]
The Jaffna additional Magistrate, Ms Srinithi Nandasekaran, Wednesday ordered remand till December 23 for three soldiers of the Sri Lanka Army when they were produced by the Jaffna Police in connection with the shooting incident that had taken place in Jaffna bus stand Tuesday evening, causing injuries to civilians, legal sources said.
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Jaffna undergrads condemn army firing in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 09 December 2003, 16:45 GMT]
The Jaffna University Students' Consortium Tuesday in a press release condemned the action of the Sri Lanka Army for having opened fire at a newspaper seller at the Jaffna bus stand and causing injury to a private bus conductor. The JUSC further blamed the paramilitary Eelam People's Democratic Party (EPDP) for aiding and abetting the army in this regard.
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Thenmaradchchi civilians assault EPDP members

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 09 December 2003, 16:14 GMT]
Members of the public Tuesday evening assaulted a group of members of the paramilitary Eelam People’s Democratic Party (EPDP), which works closely with the Sri Lanka Army, when they were engaged in distributing handbills with the assistance of soldiers of the SLA at the common market in Kodikamam in the Thenmaradchchi division of the Jaffna district. The EPDP cadres later complained to the SLA officials that some persons had assaulted them, police said.
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Manalkadu villagers say SLA laid new mines

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 09 December 2003, 04:49 GMT]
A group of soldiers of the Sri Lanka Army Monday visited Manalkadu, a village on the southeastern coast of Jaffna district, and asked the residents to make statements to the effect that SLA did not lay mines in their areas. However, several residents of area Tuesday reiterated that they had seen army soldiers laying new mines and ordered them not to enter area where mines had been laid, sources said.
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SLA permits work on Pt. Pedro landing points

[TamilNet, Friday, 05 December 2003, 13:56 GMT]
The Sri Lanka army gave permission on Friday to deepen fisheries landing points on the coast of three villages close to Pt. Pedro town in Jaffna. Soldiers from the SLA’s 52-4 Brigade worked with local fishermen Friday to clear the coral rock clogged micro breakwaters. “We do not have a war to fight now. Therefore would like to engage in development activities such as this”, Col. K. S Ratnayake, the commander of the brigade told TamilNet.
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SLA assaults Thenmaradchchi fishermen

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 03 December 2003, 14:47 GMT]
The Kachchai fisheries society in Thenmaradchchi in Jaffna district Wednesday made a complaint to the authorities concerned that its three members had been assaulted by soldiers of the Sri Lanka Army located in the coastal sentry point when they were returning to shore after fishing in Kachchai lagoon thirty minutes behind the scheduled time, civil groups said.
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Vavuniya Courts hears case of missing youth

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 02 December 2003, 11:33 GMT]
Ariyathas Puvaneswary, mother of Ariyathas Vijayakumar, who went missing after 15 August 2000 when he was arrested by the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers from the Vavuniya 211 Brigade, gave evidence at the Vavuniya courts when the case was taken up for hearing under District Judge M.Ilancheliyan, legal sources in Vavuniya said.
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Organized self-help lifts Vanni villages

[TamilNet, Monday, 01 December 2003, 00:11 GMT]
"Under 'Village Upliftment Project' economically worst hit villages in Vanni are identified and efforts are channelled to improve social and economic well-being of the residents through self-help. Tamil Rehabilitation Organization (TRO), local NGOs and Tamil expatriates are also financially helping us to carryout this project," Administrative Head, Anbarasan, told TamilNet during a recent visit to the interior villages of the Vanni.
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