LTTE "will not extend cease-fire amid Army offensive"

[TamilNet, Friday, 19 January 2001, 11:19 GMT]
The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) will not extend its unilateral month long cease-fire, due to expire next week, if the Sri Lankan government continues the current offensive operation in the southern sector of the Jaffna peninsula, the organisation's chief negotiator, Anton Balasingham, said Friday in a special interview to the popular Jaffna daily, the Uthayan. The LTTE's cease-fire deadline expires on January 24.
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No faith in Colombo say Tamil parties

[TamilNet, Thursday, 18 January 2001, 19:47 GMT]
"We doubt that the Sri Lankan government really wants to bring about peace. We have sought the good offices of the international community because we have lost faith in the Sri Lankan government and because we suspect its motives", representatives of Tamil political parties told the ambassadors of Norway and the European Union (EU) in Colombo during discussions Thursday. Senior politicians and MPs of seven Tamil political parties, including the Tamil United Liberation front, the All Ceylon Tamil Congress, the National Workers Congress and the Tamil Eelam Liberation Organisation, took part in the discussions.
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Heavy casualties in Jaffna fighting

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 17 January 2001, 19:02 GMT]
Airstrikes and heavy exchanges or artillery rocked the Jaffna peninsula Wednesday as the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) continued to face determined resistance from the Liberation Tigers, sources close to the LTTE said. Over 100 SLA troops and 70 Tigers have been killed in the past two days, sources close to the LTTE said Thursday evening. Over 400 SLA troops have been wounded, they added.
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'Pongu Thamil' demos in Batticaloa and Vavuniya

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 17 January 2001, 17:09 GMT]
Demonstrations were held Wednesday in Vavuniya and Batticaloa in support of the Pongu Thamil rally in Jaffna. Hundreds of undergraduates of the Eastern University in Batticaloa and the College of Education in Vavuniya gathered for peaceful rallies urging the Sri Lankan government to start peace talks with the Liberation Tigers and to recognize the Tamil people's right of self determination.
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SLA offensive threatens peace process - LTTE

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 16 January 2001, 13:31 GMT]
The Liberation Tigers said Tuesday that their troops were fiercely resisting a major offensive by the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) in the Jaffna peninsula. The LTTE also said in a statement from its London offices that the organisation had earlier informed the Norwegian peace envoy of the impending offensive and requested him to impress upon the Sri Lanka government that such military action will intensify the conflict and seriously impair the current peace initiatives.
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Army planning 'all-out' offensive - LTTE

[TamilNet, Friday, 12 January 2001, 07:33 GMT]
Exploiting the Liberation Tigers' unilateral ceasefire, the Sri Lanka Army is inducting fresh troops, armour and artillery into the Jaffna offensive in preparation for an "all-out" offensive in the Kilali-Nagerkoil, the LTTE said Friday. In an interview with the London-based Tamil Guardian, the LTTE's chief negotiator warned that the Army's "strategy will result in a major escalation of the war."
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Will not permit student demo- Jaffna commander

[TamilNet, Thursday, 11 January 2001, 20:56 GMT]
The Sri Lanka army's objective is not recapturing Elephant Pass but ensuring the protection of Jaffna and its people said Major. General Anton Wijendra, the Security Forces Commander for the northern peninsula, addressing a press conference for foreign and local journalists flown in Wednesday by the military at his headquarters in Palali. He charged that students of the Jaffna University are engaging in political agitation with the backing of the Liberation Tigers and vowed to stop demonstration the undergraduates are planning to hold on 17 January.
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Peace activists slam SLA warning

[TamilNet, Thursday, 11 January 2001, 16:44 GMT]
The Bishop of the Trincomalee -Batticaloa diocese of the Catholic Church, Rt.Rev.Kingsley Swampillai protested against the Sri Lanka Army's proclamation that it will punish people urging the Sri Lankan government to start peace talks with the Liberations Tigers when he met the military Co-ordinating Officer for the Batticaloa district, Brigadier V.R.Anthonis Thursday. "It is a dangerous development that people who say the war ought to be stopped and call for peace in Sri Lanka should be considered offenders by the army", the bishop said.
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No peace campaigns warns SLA

[TamilNet, Thursday, 11 January 2001, 16:42 GMT]
The Sri Lanka Army on Wednesday issued hand-bills and announced over radio in Batticaloa, appealing to people not become offenders by organising rallies or protests demanding a cease-fire. In a similar announcement last week, the army said that severe action would be taken against those who participate or organise peace rallies.
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Urge President too, suggests British HC

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 10 January 2001, 22:11 GMT]
Britain welcomes the unilateral cease-fire by the Liberation Tigers as a positive move in the right direction towards finding a negotiated political solution to Sri Lanka's ethnic problem, the British High Commissioner in Sri Lanka, Ms Linda Duffield, told a delegation of Tamil political parties that met her Wednesday in Colombo. The Tamil parties urged the British HC to exert pressure on the Sri Lankan Government to positively respond to the cease-fire unilaterally declared by the Liberation Tigers as a goodwill measure last month.
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"Stop war, start talks" - TULF

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 09 January 2001, 21:49 GMT]
The Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF) Tuesday demanded the Sri Lankan Government immediately stop the war and commence negotiations with the Liberation Tigers so as to find a political solution to the island's protracted ethnic conflict. Mr. V. Anandasangari, Vice President of the TULF was speaking at the swearing in of Nadarajah Raviraj as the new Mayor of Jaffna Municipal Council.
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Tamil parties seek Dutch pressure

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 09 January 2001, 21:48 GMT]
A deputation comprising representatives of several Tamil political parties met the Ambassador of the Netherlands in Colombo Tuesday morning and appealed to him to use his good offices to exert pressure on the Sri Lanka government to reciprocate the unilateral cease-fire offered by the LTTE, Tamil party sources said.
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President rejects LTTE ceasefire

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 09 January 2001, 00:43 GMT]
Sri Lanka's President Chandrika Kumaratunga Monday rejected Liberation Tigers' month-long unilateral cease-fire during a televised speech to people in the northern Jaffna peninsula, in her first public response to the LTTE "goodwill" offer last month.
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"No cease-fire, Tigers will be eliminated" - Army

[TamilNet, Friday, 05 January 2001, 13:08 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army announced over loud-hailers in Batticaloa town on Friday that severe action would be taken against those who organise or take part in hunger-strikes, march, picketing or other forms of protest urging the Sri Lankan government to declare a cease-fire or to begin negotiations with the Liberation Tigers.
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ICRC helps Trinco cyclone victims

[TamilNet, Thursday, 04 January 2001, 04:05 GMT]
Over 2,200 families which lost their dwellings in the cyclone that ravaged the Muttur and Eechilampathai divisions of the Trincomalee District on 26 December are being provided with plastic tents and cooking utensils by the International Committee of Red Cross (ICRC). Government relief for the cyclone affected population in this region was not readily available as the Liberation Tigers control most parts of these two administrative divisions in southern Trincomalee.
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'Jaya Gold' resumes humanitarian mission

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 02 January 2001, 23:01 GMT]
The vessel 'Jaya Gold' chartered by the International Committee of Red Cross (ICRC) has recommenced its weekly humanitarian voyages, transporting patients from Jaffna peninsula for specialized medical treatment in Colombo hospitals, sources said.
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Shots fired to mark New Year celebrations

[TamilNet, Sunday, 31 December 2000, 19:22 GMT]
Sri Lankan Army (SLA) troops fired several volleys of shells towards LTTE held western hinterland of Batticaloa and opened up firing from its camps and sentry posts in Batticaloa town to celebrate the dawn of the new year said sources in Batticaloa.
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SLA offensive in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Saturday, 30 December 2000, 13:52 GMT]
Sri Lankan Government troops launched a fresh offensive Saturday morning and have taken control of Navatkuly bridge, about 3 km. east of Jaffna town, army sources said. TamilNet sources in Jaffna said there were no signs of heavy fighting in the area, except sounds of shelling.
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TULF protests Sri Lanka's ceasefire rejection

[TamilNet, Monday, 25 December 2000, 15:31 GMT]
The Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF) Monday criticised the Sri Lankan government's refusal to reciprocate the LTTE's pledge to unilaterally observe a month-long ceasefire over the festive season. "The vast majority of people would have welcomed the prevalence of peace during the festive season of Christmas, New Year and Thai Pongal", the TULF said. Commenting on the government's insistence that any negotiations take place as fighting continues, the party said "The TULF considers it impractical and also irrational to expect a guerilla force to engage in serious negotiations, while at the same time fighting a fierce war."
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LTTE to unilaterally observe "goodwill" ceasefire

[TamilNet, Monday, 25 December 2000, 13:35 GMT]
The Liberation Tigers Monday expressed "great dismay" the Sri Lankan government had rejected its offer of a month-long ceasefire over the festive season, but said they would continue to unilaterally observe a truce and urged the government to reconsider its position. "The LTTE will not embark on offensive armed operations during the festive season ending on the 24th January 2001 but it reserves the right to armed defence. We will only engage in defensive war if and when Sri Lanka armed forces launch offensive military operations against our positions," the Tigers said in a statement from their London offices.
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