SLA weighs Colombuthurai losses

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 06 September 2000, 05:40 GMT]
"It cannot be denied that the loss of lives was greater than what was achieved" Jaffna Sri Lanka army spokesman Brigadier Sanath Karunaratna told the Jaffna daily Uthayan published Wednesday, referring to the heavy losses sustained by the SLA when it attempted to take a section of Colombuthurai, the southeastern coastal suburb of Jaffna town. "There is no point in capturing mere territory " the brigadier told the paper, adding that the Liberation Tigers are continuing to vehemently block the army from constructing new defence lines in Colombuthurai. The SLA's forward defences here were damaged and destroyed in a fierce counter attack by the Tigers on Monday.
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Jaffna fighting claims more

[TamilNet, Monday, 04 September 2000, 05:51 GMT]
The Sri Lanka army said today that 479 soldiers were wounded and 71 including 8 officers were killed in the fighting with the Liberation Tigers in Jaffna Sunday. Fierce fighting erupted when the SLA launched a massive operation into the eastern sector of the Jaffna town which is held by the Liberation Tigers in the early hours of the morning Sunday.
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'Sihala Urumaya' contests in North

[TamilNet, Saturday, 02 September 2000, 12:48 GMT]
A Sinhalese nationalist party, 'Sihala Urumaya' today submitted its nomination papers to contest the northern electoral districts of Jaffna and Vanni in the forthcoming general election.
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SLMC on PA ticket in East

[TamilNet, Thursday, 31 August 2000, 14:25 GMT]
The Sri Lanka Muslin Congress will contest under the ticket of People's Alliance (PA) in the eastern districts of Batticaloa, Ampara and Trincomalee, while it will field its own list in northern Jaffna and Vanni electoral districts, according to an agreement reached between the President Chandrika Kumaratunga and SLMC leader A.H.M.Ashraff.
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Sinhala nationalists contest in East

[TamilNet, Thursday, 31 August 2000, 14:23 GMT]
Two Sinhala nationalist parties are to contest in the next parliamentary elections in the eastern Batticaloa District. 'Bhumiputhra Party' or Sons of the Soil and 'Runhuna People's Party' filed their nominations Thursday, said sources.
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EPDP regrets 'grave' blunder

[TamilNet, Monday, 28 August 2000, 10:30 GMT]
The pro-government Tamil group, Eelam People's Democratic Party (EPDP) Monday said it regretted a major blunder in an election ad it published yesterday in the Jaffna dailies Uthayan and Valampuri which may have cost it the patronage of the Sri Lankan President. "Chemmani exposed the Lady" ('Ammaniyai ambalappaduthiathu Chemmani) ran the EPDP's election ad in the Sunday edition of the papers, implicating the Sri Lankan President in the massacre of more than 600 Jaffna civilians arrested by the Sri Lankan security forces in 1996.
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Parties flock to contest Vanni seats

[TamilNet, Monday, 28 August 2000, 04:14 GMT]
Twelve political parties and independent groups are to field nominations in the Vanni Electoral District in the forthcoming elections to the Sri Lankan Parliament scheduled to be held on 10th of October.
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New SLA commander assumes duties

[TamilNet, Friday, 25 August 2000, 20:55 GMT]
Lieutenant General Lionel Balagalle took over as the 16th commander of the Sri Lankan Army (SLA) on Friday. In a press conference soon after his appointment, Lt. Gen Balagalle, who had served as the commanding officer of the forces in the Jaffna peninsula and the Vanni, admitted that there were problems with the SLA. He said there was a need to strengthen the SLA's manpower, provide better training to the soldiers and modernise the army's weapons. However, he stressed that the SLA was ready for war, and that the current lull had allowed time for the soldiers to regroup.
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PA to contest in northeast

[TamilNet, Sunday, 20 August 2000, 12:53 GMT]
The ruling People's Alliance (PA) has decided to field candidates in all districts, including northeast of the island in the next parliamentary elections, Mr.D.M.Jayaretna General Secretary of the PA said Sunday.
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UNP first to seek Norway's help - Bondevik

[TamilNet, Thursday, 17 August 2000, 19:03 GMT]
The United National Party was the first to seek Norway's assistance in the effort to find a political settlement to the ethnic conflict on the island when it was in power in 1990 according to Mr.Kjell Magne Bondevik, former Norwegian Prime Minister. he made this statement when delivering the keynote address at the commemoration meeting to mark the first death anniversary of veteran foreign minister A.C.S.Hameed, held at Colombo Bandaranaike Memorial International Conference Hall Thursday evening.
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Former Norwegian PM will not speak to leaders

[TamilNet, Thursday, 17 August 2000, 12:50 GMT]
Former Norwegian Prime Minister Mr.Kjell Magne Bondevik will not hold talks with President Chandrika Kumaratunge, Prime Minister Ratnasiri Wickremanayake and Opposition Leader Ranil Wickremasinghe as scheduled, the Royal Norwegian Embassy in Colombo said Thursday.
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Former Norwegian PM visits Colombo

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 15 August 2000, 21:45 GMT]
Former Norwegian Prime Minister Kjell Magne Bondevik will arrive in Colombo on a two day visit Wednesday afternoon. During his stay in Colombo he will have talks with President Chandrika Kumaratunge, Prime Minister Ratnasiri Wickremanayake and Opposition Leader Ranil Wickremasinghe.
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SLAF steps up bombing in Vanni

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 15 August 2000, 10:50 GMT]
The Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) has stepped up bombing raids in the Vanni said sources in the northern border town Vavuniya. The said SLAF jets flew several sorties today towards the northern Vanni region they said.
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Beheaded youth's widow gives evidence

[TamilNet, Friday, 11 August 2000, 18:33 GMT]
"A little boy came running home around 11 a.m. and told me that soldiers had lopped off my husband's head. I ran towards the field where he was working and saw some soldiers taking a human head in a white bag. In the field I found my husband's headless body" said Ambikapathy Santhiramohan, 20, giving evidence at the inquest into her husband's death before Acting Magistrate for Batticaloa, D.C Chinniah, last evening at the Eravur Police station. Ambikapathy was married four months ago to Arunasalam Santhiramoham, 20, who was beheaded in reprisal Wednesday following a firefight at Sithaandy, 24 kilometers north of Batticaloa in which two Sri Lanka army troopers were wounded.
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Opposition fears election fraud

[TamilNet, Friday, 28 July 2000, 11:16 GMT]
Sri Lanka's main opposition party charged Friday that the government is preparing to rig the Parliamentary elections expected to be held in October and November this year. Addressing a press conference this morning, United National Party's general secretary Gamini Athukorala said that polling cards printed at the government press have been taken out for rigging and forgery.
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Several cases of anemia reported

[TamilNet, Sunday, 23 July 2000, 22:38 GMT]
A large number of patients brought from hospitals in the Vanni region to the general hospital in Vavuniya hospital for further treatment were suffering from anemia said medical sources in the northern town.
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Thalaimannar SLN officer under investigation

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 18 July 2000, 11:07 GMT]
An officer of the Sri Lanka Navy base in Thalaimannar, 337 kilometers from Colombo, on the northwestern coast of the island, accused of helping persons in Mannar to take commodities such as cement and spare parts for vehicles to the Vanni region controlled by the Liberation Tigers. The officer was taken in for questioning on information provided by a person arrested by the Navy for transporting these banned commodities by sea, Police investigators in Mannar said.
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Jaffna school boy shot dead

[TamilNet, Saturday, 15 July 2000, 21:53 GMT]
Somasundaram Sanjeevan, a student studying in General Certificate of Education (Advanced Level) at Jaffna Hindu College was shot dead by Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers on Thursday, 13 July, He was returning home after playing soccer at the school ground when he was shot, the sources said.
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Tigers overrun SLA detachment in Trinco

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 11 July 2000, 07:36 GMT]
The Liberation Tigers overran the Sri Lanka army detachment at Vilgam Vihare, northeast of the Trincomalee town Monday night around 8.30 p.m. military sources in the eastern port town said. SLA troops had retreated from their positions in the first phase of the attack when the Liberation Tigers had fired mortars on the detachment.
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Youths killed at Batticaloa checkpoint

[TamilNet, Sunday, 09 July 2000, 15:02 GMT]
Two youths were shot dead by Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers manning a check post in the Batticaloa town area around 1 p.m. Sunday afternoon. Army sources said the youths who were ridding a motor cycle tried to escape as troops stopped them at the check post.
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