TULF politician helped plan 'Jaya Sikurui' - paper

[TamilNet, Thursday, 16 October 1997, 23:59 GMT]
'Thinamurasu' the Tamil weekly tabloid with the largest circulation in Sri Lanka accused a senior Tamil politician today of providing valuable information about a little known, but strategic jungle track to the Sri Lankan army engaged in Operation Jayasikurui.
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News In Brief

[TamilNet, Thursday, 16 October 1997, 23:59 GMT]
The Central bank's research has been disrupted by the Colombo bomb. Sri Lankan press reports of US troops being in the blast area prove unfounded and the Tigers have hit a police station in Jaffna.
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London Tamils plan 'Friendship Train'

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 14 October 1997, 23:59 GMT]
At the end of October, the Commonwealth heads of state will be meeting in Edinburgh, Scotland. The peoples of the Commonwealth will be exhibiting their diverse cultures during the event. London's Tamils are planning to be amongst them.
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News In Brief

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 14 October 1997, 23:59 GMT]
A seventeen year old Tamil girl has been assaulted by Sri Lankan soldiers. Puththur market is seeing a revival after SLA troops pulled out from the area, and Pandaththarippu Co-op is to be repaired by the UNDP.
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Murungan Police Station Overrun

[TamilNet, Sunday, 12 October 1997, 23:59 GMT]
The Liberation Tigers of Thamil Eelam overran the Murungan Police station in the early hours of morning today while they continue to battle the isolated troops of the 53rd Division at Karuppatta Murippu.
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SLA suffers heavy casualties

[TamilNet, Saturday, 11 October 1997, 23:59 GMT]
Over 500 Sri Lankan soldiers have died in bitter fighting in the Vanni in the past 5 days, the LTTE said today. The Liberation Tigers also say that 3 villages occupied by the SLA have been retaken. A huge quantity of arms and ammunition and several vehicles have been captured.
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Military to conduct Jaffna elections

[TamilNet, Saturday, 11 October 1997, 23:59 GMT]
Local government elections will be held in the Jaffna peninsula in January next year said Sri Lanka's deputy minister for defense, Gen.Anuruddha Ratwatte. He stated that the PA government is making arrangements for the elections with a view to creating a leadership for development work in the peninsula.
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News In Brief

[TamilNet, Friday, 10 October 1997, 23:59 GMT]
Heavy fighting is taking place in the Vanni. The Jaffna satyagraha protests are to continue and several Tamil Nadu fishermen have been arrested allegedly for assisting the LTTE. A Sinhala paper says a Buddhist priest raped 4 teenagers.
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LTTE rolls back Sri Lankan advance

[TamilNet, Thursday, 09 October 1997, 23:59 GMT]
In two days of heavy fighting, LTTE units have rolled back Sri Lankan army columns to their former positions in the Periyamadu region, just north of the Nedunkerni-Puliyankulam road. However, the Sri Lankan army claims its forces are 'consolidating' captured positions.
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Tigers keep up Vanni attacks

[TamilNet, Thursday, 09 October 1997, 23:59 GMT]
The LTTE said today that they had surrounding Sri Lankan troops at Kara Patta Murippu who had been trapped when the rest of the 53rd SLA division had been forced back by LTTE counterattacks. Sources close to the army also said that the LTTE had launched a massive attack southeast of Kankarayan Kulam.
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News In Brief

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 08 October 1997, 23:59 GMT]
A Tiger attack in Jaffna forced the Sri Lankan army to use artillery and the a Muslim leader calls for unity between the Tamils and Muslims against Sinhala chauvinism.
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Heavy fighting continues in Vanni

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 07 October 1997, 23:59 GMT]
Heavy fighting continued today at Kanakarayan Kulam and on the Mankulam Ottisuddan road as the Liberation Tigers stepped up attacks on columns of Sri Lankan army's Div.53.
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Sri Lankan depots overrun on Sunday

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 07 October 1997, 23:59 GMT]
The LTTE confirmed today that they had overrun the newly established depots supplying the Sri Lankan army's 53rd division in the Vanni on Sunday night and captured a huge quantity of arms and ammunition.
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Tigers rout Sri Lankan advance

[TamilNet, Monday, 06 October 1997, 23:59 GMT]
Heavy fighting between troops of the Liberation Tigers and the Sri Lankan army which erupted southwest of Mullaithivu at Manavaalan Patta Murippu yesterday (Sunday Oct.5) continues. Although the intensity of the fighting has come down today, the army is expecting a major counter attack by the Liberation Tigers on its hastily organized defenses at Manvaalan Patta Murippu on the Mankulam - Ottisuddan road.
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TULF woos UNP over package

[TamilNet, Saturday, 04 October 1997, 23:59 GMT]
The TULF met with Sri Lanka's United National Party today to discuss the PA government's devolution package. The TULF delegation went to the meeting with the intention of persuading the UNP leadership, ultimately to agree to the main critical portion of the PA's proposals.
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Elections only after military victory: Ratwatte

[TamilNet, Saturday, 04 October 1997, 23:59 GMT]
Sri Lanka's Deputy Minister for Defence General Anuruddha Ratwatte told the Sinhala daily Lankadeepa, today that Provincial council elections to the northeast would be held only after the army succeeds in opening the main road to Jaffna from Vavuniya.
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Former Jaffna GA granted bail

[TamilNet, Friday, 03 October 1997, 23:59 GMT]
Legal sources in Colombo said yesterday that Mr. Chellaiah Pathmanathan, the former Government Agent (GA) for Jaffna had been granted bail by the Sri Lankan government's attorney general. Following a bail application by Mr. Pathmanathan's lawyer, the Colombo Fort magistrate directed that he be produced in court today.
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Heavy going for SLA armour

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 30 September 1997, 12:00 GMT]
With the monsoon underway, heavy rain is affecting the fighting in the Vanni region. The rain is turning the terrain around Puliyankulam into a sea of mud, which is posing new difficulties for the hard pressed Sri Lankan forces there. The conditions are also said to be affecting the Tigers.
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Suicide bomber threat sustains support for war

[TamilNet, Monday, 22 September 1997, 12:00 GMT]
The Colombo public have an abhorrent fear of suicide bomb attacks. The threat seems ever present, even though there have been no suicide attacks in the capital for nearly two years. Surprisingly, the spectre of the suicide bomber is being revived time and again by the Sri Lankan government itself. The fear generated by the official warnings is sustaining public support for the government's war in the Tamil homelands.
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Body count: an illusive index of 'progress'

[TamilNet, Thursday, 18 September 1997, 12:00 GMT]
"In a war without battle lines, perhaps the best overall index of progress is that of casualties". This view was delivered as part of the orientation given to newcomers to the US military's Saigon HQ at the height of the conflict in Vietnam. Despite several Sri Lankan offensives against the Tamil Tigers, the LTTE continues to vigorously resist the Sinhalese army in the Tamil homelands. In a bid to show 'progress' in its war, the Sri Lankans have developed a preoccupation with body counts.
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