Vakarai captured - SLA

[TamilNet, Monday, 22 June 1998, 23:59 GMT]
Sri Lankan troops have successfully launched an operation, code named "Inthira Sara", in the eastern province today and had taken control of the coastal town of Vakarai, 60 km. north of Batticaloa, from the Liberation Tigers, said ex-militant sources in Europe, quoting Sri Lankan defence ministry officials.
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Mankulam battle rages

[TamilNet, Monday, 22 June 1998, 23:59 GMT]
Fierce fighting is continuing between the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) and the Liberation Tigers for the third consecutive day in the general area of Mankulam said LTTE sources in Europe this evening when contacted by TamilNet.
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Batticaloa Villages assaulted by STF personnel

[TamilNet, Sunday, 21 June 1998, 23:59 GMT]
Three women were whipped publicly by the Special Task Force (STF) on the Batticaloa - Kalmunai highway at Kottaikallar, 25 km south of Batticaloa Friday morning, said ex militant sources in Batticaloa when contacted by Tamil Net.
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Mankulam fighting continues

[TamilNet, Sunday, 21 June 1998, 23:59 GMT]
Heavy fighting broke out between the Liberation Tigers and the Sri Lankan Army yesterday in the general area of Mankulam, when the troops engaged in Operation Jayasikurui made a fresh attempt to advance from their positions around 10.45 a.m. said LTTE sources in Europe.
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Moonrumurippu assault repulsed - LTTE

[TamilNet, Sunday, 21 June 1998, 23:59 GMT]
A fresh Sri Lankan Army assault to advance towards Mankulam via Moonrumurippu, south-west of Mankulam, was beaten back said Liberation Tigers in a press release issued from their International Secretariat in London this evening.
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Attack on Telecommunication Tower in Batticaloa

[TamilNet, Saturday, 20 June 1998, 23:59 GMT]
The telecommunication tower at the Eravur telephone exchange, 12 km north of Batticaloa, was truncated and lines supplying electricity to the area severed, when the the Sri Lanka Telecom (SLT) facility was attacked by suscpected members of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) last night around 12:45 a.m., said Police sources in Batticaloa.
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Army advance repulsed - LTTE

[TamilNet, Friday, 19 June 1998, 23:59 GMT]
An attempt by the Sri Lankan Army (SLA) to advance towards Moonrumurippu, southwest of Mankulam, yesterday morning around 9.45 a.m. was repulsed, said the Liberation Tigers in a press release issued from their International Secretariat in London.
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Two suspected Tigers shot dead

[TamilNet, Friday, 19 June 1998, 23:59 GMT]
Two persons, suspected to be members of the Liberation Tigers (LTTE), who the Police say had fired at Seenithamby Rajan, a TELO member, yesterday morning at Navakudah, were killed by the Ariyampathy Special Task Force (STF) around 3:30 p.m. yesterday at Aariyampathy, 8 km south of Batticaloa, said sources.
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Shooting victims had been arrested

[TamilNet, Thursday, 18 June 1998, 23:59 GMT]
Two persons from the suburbs of Kalmunai, who had been taken away for questioning on Monday night by an armed group in plain clothes, were found shot dead in Kalmunai town, 35 km south of Batticaloa on Tuesday morning, said sources in Batticaloa.
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Batticaloa land owner murdered

[TamilNet, Thursday, 18 June 1998, 23:59 GMT]
K. Murugesapillai, a Grama Sevaka and land owner noted for his affluence, was found dead in a barn in his paddy field at Panichchenai, near Unnichchai, 30 km north-west of Batticaloa on Wednesday morning.
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Conflicting claims in Vanni fighting

[TamilNet, Thursday, 18 June 1998, 23:59 GMT]
Thirty five Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers and 4 officers have been killed and 2 officers and 79 soldiers have been wounded in fighting between 11 and 17 June, in the forward areas of Operation Jayasikurui, said SLA Brig. Sarath Munasinghe at a weekly press briefing held in Colombo today.
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Demonstrators criticize calls for peace

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 16 June 1998, 23:59 GMT]
An organisation calling itself "Peace Loving Citizens of Sri Lanka" marched in the capital Colombo today and handed over memorandums to the British and the Norwegian High Commissions, demanding that their governments ban the Liberation Tigers. The demonstrators also called on the Sri Lankan government to punish those who called for negotiations with the LTTE.
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Behind closed doors

[TamilNet, Thursday, 11 June 1998, 23:59 GMT]
On 5 June 1998, the Sri Lankan President once again imposed censorship on foreign and local media barring them from reporting 'sensitive military information'. The PA promised to introduce legal and institutional reforms to strengthen the freedom of expression when it came to power in 1994. According to ARTICLE 19, the international censorship watchdog that has studied press freedom in Sri Lanka in detail, none of these reforms have been implemented. The following report is based on their research.
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Air-strike kills 20 civilians -LTTE

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 10 June 1998, 23:59 GMT]
More than 20 civilians were killed and more than 50 were critically injured when two Kfir jets belonging to the Sri Lankan Air Force carried out a massive bombing raid on the civilian habitations at 9.15 am this morning in Suthanthirapuram area of Mullaitivu district, said the Libeartion Tigers in a press release issued from International Secretariat in London this evening.
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SLA concealing casualties - MP

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 10 June 1998, 23:59 GMT]
Mr. Joseph Pararajahsingham MP (TULF), when contacted by Tamil Net's European Correspondent, said today that he believes the number of casualties sustained in the recent fighting by the Sri Lankan Army (SLA) are higher than the figures announced by the Deputy Defence Minister, General Anurudha Ratwatte, in parliament today.
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UNP proposes 'no confidence' motion

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 10 June 1998, 23:59 GMT]
The Parliamentary Committee of the main Sri Lankan opposition party, the United National Party (UNP), which met in Colombo today decided to propose a motion no-confidence against the Sri Lankan Government.
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US Court rules on First Amendment case

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 09 June 1998, 23:59 GMT]
The United States Court for the Central District of California yesterday ruled that the actions of the World Tamil Coordinating Committee (WTCC) which distributed LTTE literature and informational materials on LTTE throughout the United States were protected by the First Amendment and accordingly the Plaintiffs were entitled to a preliminary injunction on this ground but denied the Plaintiffs' motion for injunction with respect to provision of material support to the LTTE and Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).
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Another Kilinochchi advance repulsed-LTTE

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 09 June 1998, 23:59 GMT]
Over 75 Sri Lankan Army soldiers were killed and over 200 injured in the fresh fighting that broke out yesterday in Kilinochchi as the SLA launched another offensive to recapture the northern town, said the LTTE in a press release issued yesterday from its International Secretariat in London. Western analysts say that they expect fighting to continue in the area in the short term.
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Man arrested for funding LTTE

[TamilNet, Sunday, 07 June 1998, 23:59 GMT]
An auto-rickshaw driver was arrested by the Counter Subversive Unit (CSU) of the Batticaloa police in Chinna Oorani, 4 km Northwest of Batticaloa, on Thursday around 5:00 a.m, said sources. He was charged with contributing money to the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).
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Two shot dead in Batticaloa

[TamilNet, Sunday, 07 June 1998, 23:59 GMT]
Two fishermen, Chellaiah Anantharaja (26) and Thangaraja Pushparaja (21) were shot dead by the Special Task Force (STF) at Periyaneelavani, near Kalmunai, 32 km south of Batticaloa last Tuesday around 10:00 a.m, said human rights sources.
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