Karuna cadre killed, two injured

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 14 July 2004, 12:56 GMT]
The Liberation Tigers in Batticaloa said that a key associate of renegade commander 'Karuna' was killed in an ambush by one of their special jungle warfare units in Batticaloa Wednesday afternoon around 2.45 p.m. "We ambushed a small group of the paramilitary Karuna Group carrying small arms upon information provided by civilians. We recovered the body of a key person of the Karuna Group. A search is on to apprehend the others", an LTTE military officer said.
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Sri Lanka, LTTE urged to sign anti-landmine treaties

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 14 July 2004, 11:23 GMT]
Landmine Ban Advocay Forum, a group of Humanitarian Organizations, including the UNDP and UNICEF, called on the Government of Sri Lanka and the Liberation Tigers to sign treaties Banning Anti-Personnel Landmines in Colombo Wednesday.
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'Denial of rights basis of our struggle'- Thamilchelvan

[TamilNet, Saturday, 10 July 2004, 04:43 GMT]
"The denial of our human rights is the basis of our struggle. We have not effectively conveyed this message to the world... We will also bring about greater awareness of human rights and related international conventions among our people," said Mr. S. P Thamilchelvan, head of the Liberation Tigers' political division, addressing the opening of the LTTE's Human Rights Secretariat Friday in Kilinochchi.
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Navaly massacre of 147 Tamil civilians remembered

[TamilNet, Friday, 09 July 2004, 13:26 GMT]
The ninth death anniversary of 147 Tamil civilians including men, women and children who were killed in the indiscriminate bombing by the Sri Lanka Air Force bombers and artillery attack by the Sri Lanka Army on Navaly St Peters Church and Navaly Murugamoorthy Kovil in the Jaffna district falls Friday. Several commemorative events were held Friday in Navaly by relatives of those dead and other civil groups in these areas, sources said.
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Woman suicide bomber explodes in Colombo killing 4 police officers

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 07 July 2004, 09:13 GMT]
A woman suicide bomber who was allegedly on a mission to assassinate Minister Mr. Douglas Devananda exploded herself killing four police officers when she was to be subjected to a body check in the Kollupitya Police station Wednesday morning around 11 a.m., police said. The Kollupitya Police Station is located in the heart of the Colombo city next to the Prime Minister's residence "Temple Trees," sources said.
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The cease-fire’s weakest link: Tamil paramilitaries

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 30 June 2004, 17:50 GMT]
When Norwegian Special Envoy Erik Solheim flew into Sri Lanka this week, he was well aware that the problems that have bedeviled his government’s peace process thus far have now been eclipsed by new and far more severe one: a weak link in the formal ceasefire between the Sri Lankan government and the Liberation Tigers has finally snapped.
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Batticaloa turns nightmare for local journalists

[TamilNet, Saturday, 26 June 2004, 10:28 GMT]
A journalist in Batticaloa went into hiding Friday, fearing for his life after persons suspected to be members of a paramilitary group working with the Sri Lankan military intelligence threatened him with death, family members told TamilNet. The journalist, Mr. Thanthiyan Vedanayagam, was working as the Batticaloa correspondent for the independent Tamil daily ‘Thinakkural’. Two journalists fled the eastern town earlier this month after they too were threatened with death by persons suspected to be members of a paramilitary group working with the Sri Lankan military intelligence.
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One accused in Bindunuwewa massacre case acquitted

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 22 June 2004, 13:37 GMT]
Specially constituted five-member bench of the Sri Lanka’s Supreme Court comprising Justices Asoka de Silva, T.B.Weerasuriya, Nihal Jayasinghe, N.E.Dissanayake and Raja Fernando Monday acquitted the fifth accused Sub-Inspector of Police Mr.Tyronne Roger Ratnayake who was sentenced to death along with Inspector of Police Mr. Senaka Jayampathi Karunasena and three civilians in the Bindunuwewa massacre case, for want of evidence, legal sources said. The inquiry into the appeals of four other accused-appellants is continuing.
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Norway persists as stalemate deepens

[TamilNet, Thursday, 17 June 2004, 01:04 GMT]
The stalemate in Sri Lanka’s peace process continued this week, and even as Norwegian diplomats vowed to continue their shuttle diplomacy, President Chandrika Kumaratunga’s government hardened its stance on the agenda for talks.


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Mannar town paralyzed

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 15 June 2004, 04:54 GMT]
Normal life of Mannar town was completely paralyzed Tuesday when civil groups launched one day general shut down (hartal) protesting against the assault on civilians by soldiers of the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) Monday evening.
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Inquiry into Bindunuwewa massacre appeal continues

[TamilNet, Monday, 14 June 2004, 14:27 GMT]
Specially constituted five-member bench of the Sri Lanka's Supreme Court comprising Justices Asoka de Silva, T.B.Weerasuriya, Nihal Jayasinghe, N.E.Dissanayake and Raja Fernando, which began to hear the appeals of the five accused in the Bindunuwewa massacre case last week has fixed the further inquiry for June 22, legal sources said.
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Mannar tense following SLA interrogation of LTTE activists

[TamilNet, Monday, 14 June 2004, 13:08 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army soldiers manning the checkpoint at the entrance to the Mannar town Monday afternoon at about 1.30 p.m. stopped two leading political activists of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) Ms V.Nilavarasi, Mannar District Political Head of Women's wing and her deputy Ms Kavimani and subjected them to severe interrogation when they arrived from LTTE controlled Vattakandal area.
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Sports meet for disabled held in Vavuniya

[TamilNet, Sunday, 13 June 2004, 12:24 GMT]
"Civil society and public oganizations should co-operate to strengthen the skills of our disbled to facilitate participation and excel at a national level," said Vavuniya district Judge, M.Ilancheliyan, speaking at the third annual sports festival held at the Empowerment Campus for the Disabled in Vavuniya, sources said.
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Court to hear appeals of Bindunuwewa massacre accused

[TamilNet, Monday, 07 June 2004, 01:44 GMT]
Chief Justice of Colombo Supreme Court, Sarath N.Silva has appointed five High Court justices to hear the appeals of the five accused, including Sri Lanka police officers, Senaka Karunasena and Roger Ratnayake, and three civilians from Bandarawela who were convicted of the massacre of 27 inmates of rehabilitation camp for young Tamil persons in Bindunuwewa on October 2000 and were sentenced to death, legal sources in Colombo said.
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Sampanthan complains of SLN intrusion into civilian lands

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 02 June 2004, 17:39 GMT]
The Trincomalee district parliamentarian, Mr.R.Sampanthan, Wednesday complained to the Trincomalee Government Agent that the Sri Lanka Navy has intruded into a rectangular plot of land in the Manayaveli-Sandicove residential area, which comes under the Trincomalee divisional secretariat division, and erected concrete fence in an attempt to annex the rectangular plot of land to the SLN-occupied lands.
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SLA, LTTE to discuss Eastern killings

[TamilNet, Sunday, 30 May 2004, 06:28 GMT]
Major General Shantha Kottegoda, Sri Lanka Army’s newly appointed Overall Operational Commander (OOC) for the eastern province, is scheduled to lead the SLA team to a meeting with the politico-military leadership of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in the east, arranged by the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM). The purpose of the meeting is to find ways and means to arrest the continuing killings in the east by unknown gunmen, SLMM sources said.
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IDPs urge re-opening of Vadamarachchi-Nagarkovil road

[TamilNet, Saturday, 29 May 2004, 17:09 GMT]
The Association of Nagarkovil Internally Displaced Families (ANIDF) in Jaffna district Saturday appealed to Sri Lanka's President Ms.Chandrika Kumaratunge to take steps to re-open the Vadamarachchi-Nagarkovil main road for civilian movement, sources said.


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HSZ in Jaffna illegal - JDHAC

[TamilNet, Friday, 28 May 2004, 16:05 GMT]
"The retention of the high security zones in the Jaffna district after the expiry of the State of Emergency in the country is considered illegal," said the Jaffna District Humanitarian Agencies' Consortium (JDHAC) in a memorandum to Sri Lanka's President, Ms. Chandrika Kumaratunge, Friday.
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US to host multinational peacekeeping training in Sri Lanka

[TamilNet, Friday, 28 May 2004, 11:23 GMT]
The Sri Lanka Army's first Multinational Platoon Exercise (MPE) on UN Peace Support Operations Training, orientated to achieve effective inter operability among participating countries is to be ceremoniously launched at the newly established campsite at Kukuleganga on June 12. The Kukuleganga campsite will be renamed as the Institute of Peace Support Operations Training Sri Lanka (IPSOTSL), Sri Lanka Defense Ministry said in a press release.


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Assault, detention of LTTE cadres sparks protest

[TamilNet, Friday, 30 April 2004, 18:36 GMT]
The Sri Lanka Police severely assaulted and detained two members of the Liberation Tigers’ sports division Friday at Puthur Junction in Jaffna. Several civilians and a journalist were also assaulted and manhandled by the Police when the two Tigers were taken away in a truck. Hundreds of people gathered in front of the Atchuvely Police station where the two LTTE cadres were detained Friday night, protesting against the assault and demanding their immediate release.
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