School heads punished for ignoring memo

[TamilNet, Friday, 20 February 1998, 23:59 GMT]
The heads of 23 Tamil schools, in the predominantly Tamil area of Ambagamuwa in the Nuwara Eliya District were denied their monthly salaries today for not answering a circular in Sinhala sent by the Education Department of the Central Provincial Council last year, said sources in Nuwara Eliya.
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Sri Lanka's propaganda conceals truth - Pirabakaran

[TamilNet, Thursday, 19 February 1998, 23:59 GMT]
"We should not be reluctant to state courageously and honestly the true situation and the reality in our land" said the leader of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, Veluppillai Pirabakaran, addressing members of the Voice of Tigers last evening at a special function to honour writers and artistes.
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650 Tamils expelled from Colombo

[TamilNet, Saturday, 07 February 1998, 23:59 GMT]
The Sri Lankan Police closed down three lodging houses in downtown Colombo this morning leaving about 650 Tamils from the north-east stranded on the roads. The Police told them to leave immediately to the north or east.
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Veeramunai's perpetual fear

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 04 February 1998, 23:59 GMT]
On the night of 3rd January, continuous firing by Muslim home guards could heard by the residents of Veeramunai village in the Ampara District.
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Massive Canadian rally said 'significant'

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 03 February 1998, 23:59 GMT]
A large number of Tamil people participated in a march and rally Toronto Sunday, to condemn the Sri Lankan government. According to the organizers, the Federation of Associations of Canadian Tamils, this was one of the largest attendance of their rallies, with about 25,000 people taking part.
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Assaults over Lion flags

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 03 February 1998, 23:59 GMT]
Two auto-rickshaw (three wheel taxi) drivers were assaulted by the police this morning in Batticaloa town, for not flying the Sri Lankan national flag on their vehicle. The Sri Lanka Government has ordered all Government buildings and private citizens in the country to display the national flag tomorrow as a mark of patriotism. Tomorrow is Sri Lanka's fiftieth independence anniversary.
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Independence celebrations overshadowed by conflict

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 03 February 1998, 23:59 GMT]
Events in other parts of Sri Lanka have rendered the golden jubilee of national independence, and its celebration tomorrow in Kotte, the country's administrative capital, almost a non-event.
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Large Tamil rally in London

[TamilNet, Sunday, 01 February 1998, 23:59 GMT]
Thousands of Tamil people staged a march and rally in London today, condemning the Sri Lankan government and expressing support for the LTTE. The event was organised by the United Tamils Organisation to "mark fifty years of oppression by Sinhala Sri Lankan governments" according to a press release issued by it earlier today.
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Police rampage in Akkaraipattu

[TamilNet, Thursday, 29 January 1998, 23:59 GMT]
Anarchy reigned at Akkaraipattu town last evening around 6.30 p.m., as policemen, incensed at the killing of two of their number, fired indiscriminately in the market place killing two people, burning Tamil shops and causing mayhem in the town, said sources in Akkaraipattu.
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Communal violence in Kandy

[TamilNet, Sunday, 25 January 1998, 23:59 GMT]
Communal violence broke out in Kandy, about 110 km from Colombo, this after noon when Sinhalese mobs went on rampage damaging several Tamil shops and burning one completely. Kattukalai Hindu temple was also attacked by the mob. The large Hindu cultural hall in Kandy was also attacked by the mobs which beat up Tamils gathered there for weddings.
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Government cuts off Valaichenai refugee aid

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 20 January 1998, 23:59 GMT]
The Sri Lanka Government has stopped supplying emergency relief and food stamps to Tamil refugee families settled at Vinayagapuram in Valaichenai 30 km north of Batticaloa, said Kachcheri sources in Batticaloa.
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PLOTE condemns planned deportation

[TamilNet, Monday, 19 January 1998, 23:59 GMT]
The PLOTE issued a statement this weekend in Jaffna strongly opposing the deportation of Suresh manickavasagam to Sri Lanka from Canada.
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EPRLF procession draws interest

[TamilNet, Monday, 19 January 1998, 23:59 GMT]
The EPRLF went on a propaganda procession this morning around 9 a.m. with about three hundred people on bicycles in the Jaffna municipality limits. The procession was led by the EPRLF's mayoral candidate Robert who was accompanied by the group's leader Suresh Premachandran.
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Government indifferent to war zone students' hardship

[TamilNet, Friday, 16 January 1998, 23:59 GMT]
The cut off marks for admission to Sri Lankan universities, released to the press last evening by the Ministry of Education, shows the indifference of the authorities for the trials and hardship of the people living in the northeast, said Ministry of Education sources today.
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Crooked cops arrested - with stolen goods

[TamilNet, Thursday, 15 January 1998, 23:59 GMT]
A Sri Lankan Police officer and three Police constables were arrested near Anuradhapura on Tuesday January 13 while transporting furniture and electrical goods removed from the homes of Tamil civilians who fled Omanthai, six kilometers north of Vavuniya, in May last year when the SLA launched Operation Jayasikurui to take control of the Vavuniya - Jaffna highway.
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Canadian Tamils mount vigil in arctic conditions

[TamilNet, Monday, 12 January 1998, 23:59 GMT]
A vigil against the planned deportation of Mr. Suresh Manickavasagam to Sri Lanka continued today. A large number of Tamils, including some on hunger strike, protested for the third consecutive day in front of the Don jail where Mr. Suresh is being held, despite the freezing conditions that Canada is experiencing now.
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Jaffna Bishop rejects polls

[TamilNet, Saturday, 10 January 1998, 23:59 GMT]
The Catholic Bishop of Jaffna along with a group of senior clergymen declined to help the group monitoring local government elections in the peninsula today.
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Canada to deport Suresh

[TamilNet, Friday, 09 January 1998, 23:59 GMT]
The Canadian government intends to deport a Tamil activist, Mr. Suresh Manickavasagam, to Sri Lanka, despite fears that his life would be at risk there, said a Tamil expatriate organization today, which called for public appeals against the move.
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Residents fearful of further reprisals

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 06 January 1998, 23:59 GMT]
The situation in Veeramunai continues to be tense as friends and colleagues ofthe Muslim Homeguard shot dead by the Liberation Tigers have threatened the people here with severe retaliation.
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Tamils group seen exploiting cast in Jaffna election

[TamilNet, Saturday, 03 January 1998, 23:59 GMT]
Community leaders in Jaffna and sections of the Tamil press deplored the spectre of casteism and a host of other social evils which they say are reappearing within Jaffna community, as the campaign for the local government elections gathers momentum in the peninsula. The Tamil groups are said to have selected candidates from castes which dominate constituencies in Jaffna.
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