Begin talks with LTTE - TULF MP

[TamilNet, Saturday, 12 September 1998, 18:26 GMT]
A senior member of the Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF) said that the assassination of the Jaffna Mayor P. Sivapalan indicated that the Sri Lanka Government (SLG) and the Opposition should not play hide and seek in the matter of finding solution to the ethnic problem, but begin talks with the key player in the issue ñ the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).
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Sophisticated mine caused explosion

[TamilNet, Friday, 11 September 1998, 20:53 GMT]
The explosion that killed the Jaffna town commander, Mayor and others this morning was caused by a very sophisticated and well camouflaged claymore device that had been concealed in the ceiling of the municipalcouncil office, said Jaffna security forces commander Major Gen. Balagalla to journalists who were flown to Jaffna this afternoon by the Ministry of Defence.
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Para-military shot dead

[TamilNet, Friday, 11 September 1998, 18:19 GMT]
Suspected members of the Liberation Tigers shot dead a member of the Tamil Eelam Liberation Organisation, a Tamil para-military group operating with the Sri Lankan army. The incident occurred last night in Chenkalady,16 kilometers north of Batticaloa, while the TELO cadre was on patrol duty.
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Rations issued to most refugees

[TamilNet, Friday, 11 September 1998, 18:15 GMT]
Orders have been issued to distribute rations for displaced people in all the other 19 districts, except the LTTE controlled Kilinochi and Mullaitheevu districts.
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Conditional negotiations only - Ratwatte

[TamilNet, Thursday, 10 September 1998, 22:00 GMT]
While maintaining that a settlement in Sri Lanka's war in could only be reached through a political process involving the Liberation Tigers, Deputy Minister of Defence, Anuruddha Ratwatte , said that this could be only be achieved by negotiating on the conditions put forward by the Peoples' Alliance (PA) Government and not unconditionally as the opposition United National Party (UNP) was proposing.
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Three killed in clashes

[TamilNet, Thursday, 10 September 1998, 18:34 GMT]
Two SLA soldiers were killed when the Liberation Tigers attacked a road clearing patrol this afternoon around 3 p.m at Sithandy, 19 miles north of Batticaloa.
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30 killed near Mankulam -SLA

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 09 September 1998, 23:05 GMT]
Six SLA soldiers were killed and 31 were wounded in a battle with the Liberation Tigers in the last 24 hours in an area southeast of Mankulam said army spokesman Brig.Sunil Tennekon while presenting a fortnightly review of the war front in the northeast of the island this morning at the weekly Cabinet press briefing.
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UNP MP interrogated for Vanni visit

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 09 September 1998, 22:11 GMT]
The UNP member of Parliament, Dr.Jayalath Jayawardana, whose controversial visit to the Vanni has created rumblings in the government, was interrogated this evening in Colombo by Police officers.
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UNP conspiring with the LTTE - President

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 08 September 1998, 19:42 GMT]
The Sri Lankan President Chandrika Bandaranayake Kumaratunge accused the main opposition party, the United National Party (UNP), of conspiring with the Liberation Tigers to overthrow the government this evening, while addressing a party meeting in Kurunagala.
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New access road to Vanni

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 08 September 1998, 00:07 GMT]
A new access road to the LTTE controlled part of the Vanni from Vavuniya was opened today through Poovarasankulam on the Mannar road. The new accessroad, according to Vavuniya Kachcheri officials, will greatly ease the difficulties faced by NGOs, hospitals and the Kachcheri in traveling to andfrom the LTTE controlled part of the Vanni currently through Uyilankulam near Mannar.
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Military build-up seen threatening festival

[TamilNet, Saturday, 05 September 1998, 18:06 GMT]
Tension mounted in the Kokkaddicholai area today as rumours spread thatthe SLA and the commandos of the Special Task Force (STF) have movedinto Valakaalai, about 9 kilometers west of this large strategically locatedvillage in Batticaloa's western hinterland.
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Roundup in Mannar

[TamilNet, Saturday, 05 September 1998, 15:27 GMT]
The SLA cordoned off the heart of Mannar town from 10 a.m. this morning, detaining more than 5000 people for screening and questioning. Sources in Mannar said that no one was arrested during the operation which lasted till about 3 p.m. this afternoon.
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Militant Islamic group emerges

[TamilNet, Saturday, 05 September 1998, 10:59 GMT]
A Muslim militant organisation calling itself the PLO is attempting to foment violence against Tamils in Akkaraipattu, on the south eastern coast of the Amparai district said sources there.
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Police arrest Jaffna couple

[TamilNet, Saturday, 05 September 1998, 10:52 GMT]
The Sri Lankan Police at Kankesanthurai (KKS) produced a young couple accused of being members of the LTTE in the Jaffna district courts yesterday.
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Red Cross worker's detention continues

[TamilNet, Friday, 04 September 1998, 23:59 GMT]
Details about the arrest and detention of the Ceylon Red-Cross society's driver, Mr. Thuraisamy Pathmanathan and his prospective wife Ms. P. Mohana, have been published on "Sarinikar", a Tamil newspaper in Sri Lanka.
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Eleven arrested during round up

[TamilNet, Friday, 04 September 1998, 23:14 GMT]
The Sri Lanka Army (SLA) arrested a youth who attempted to take cyanide during an extensive round up in the heart of Pt. Pedro town in Jaffna yesterday. Ten persons were arrested from the civilians who had been herded into the town centre after the youth was taken away.
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Priests meet fasting protestors

[TamilNet, Friday, 04 September 1998, 15:06 GMT]
The second day of the token fast undertaken by displaced persons in front of the Mullaitivu secretariat was well attended, said sources. Over 300 men, women and children participated in the fast, which started at 5.00 in the morning and went on till 5.00 in the evening.
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Razeek group leads Batticaloa's organised crime

[TamilNet, Thursday, 03 September 1998, 23:59 GMT]
The Razeek group, the much-dreaded Tamil unit of the Sri Lankan army (SLA) in Batticaloa, is fast expanding into a business organization - at considerable cost to the local community, say sources.
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Amnesty protests illegal detentions

[TamilNet, Thursday, 03 September 1998, 23:10 GMT]
Amnesty International, the human rights watchdog, has appealed for an immediate halt to use of unauthorized places of detention in Sri Lanka. In a press release issued on 3 September, Amnesty has condemned the PLOTE, TELO and EPRLF for rights abuses.
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Jaffna facing severe rice shortage

[TamilNet, Thursday, 03 September 1998, 23:02 GMT]
More than seventy percent of Jaffna's rice fields may have to lie fallow due to the unavailability of seed paddy from the southern parts of the island, said sources in the peninsula this afternoon.
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