"SLA is giving shelter to Karuna"- Ramesh

[TamilNet, Saturday, 19 June 2004, 14:17 GMT]
"We have confirmed reports that the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) is giving shelter to Karuna and that the Sri Lanka military is trying to use him against the Liberation Tigers," said Special LTTE Commander for Batticaloa- Ampara, Col.Ramesh speaking to reporters at a press conference held in Thenagam in Kokkadicholai Saturday evening.
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Two Eravur farm workers killed

[TamilNet, Saturday, 19 June 2004, 12:10 GMT]
Two farm workers, Kandakutti Mylvaganam of Kirankulam, and Devamani Kuttickannan of Rajapuram Marpalam, were hacked to death in Eravur Pattu Navundaniya madhu on Friday, security sources said.
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Inquiry into Bindunuwewa massacre appeal continues

[TamilNet, Monday, 14 June 2004, 14:27 GMT]
Specially constituted five-member bench of the Sri Lanka's Supreme Court comprising Justices Asoka de Silva, T.B.Weerasuriya, Nihal Jayasinghe, N.E.Dissanayake and Raja Fernando, which began to hear the appeals of the five accused in the Bindunuwewa massacre case last week has fixed the further inquiry for June 22, legal sources said.
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Two SLA personnel reported missing in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Friday, 11 June 2004, 16:05 GMT]
Second Lieutenant W.A.S.Wikremaretna and soldier private Mr.Joseph Thomas Peter Karunaratne of the Sri Lanka Army are reported to be missing since June 8 from the 551 Brigade of the SLA which is located in Nagarkovil in Vadamarachchi division in Jaffna district, security sources said.
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Court to hear appeals of Bindunuwewa massacre accused

[TamilNet, Monday, 07 June 2004, 01:44 GMT]
Chief Justice of Colombo Supreme Court, Sarath N.Silva has appointed five High Court justices to hear the appeals of the five accused, including Sri Lanka police officers, Senaka Karunasena and Roger Ratnayake, and three civilians from Bandarawela who were convicted of the massacre of 27 inmates of rehabilitation camp for young Tamil persons in Bindunuwewa on October 2000 and were sentenced to death, legal sources in Colombo said.
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SLA, LTTE agree on establishing security measures in the East

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 02 June 2004, 12:23 GMT]
At a meeting organized by the Sri lanka Monitoring Mission in the Batticaloa district Wednesday, Col. Ramesh, the special commander of the Liberation Tigers for the Batticaloa-Amparai region, pointed out to Major General Shantha Kottegoda, the Overall Operational Commander of the Sri Lanka Army for the Eastern Province, that elements of the SLA were involved in the recent killings in Batticaloa and that the SLA was associating closely with the renegade Karuna group. Col. Ramesh also agreed to immediately establish direct liaison with the SLA and Police, LTTE and SLMM sources said.
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RSF condemns Nadesan's murder

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 01 June 2004, 21:57 GMT]
The Paris based world media watchdog, Reporters Without Borders (Reporters sans frontieres) Tuesday condemned the murder of Tamil journalist Aiyathurai Nadesan in Batticaloa and voiced concern that "dissension within the Tamil separatist movement and existing tensions with the security forces could lead to an escalation of violation against the news media".
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North-East to shut down over Nadesan's murder

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 01 June 2004, 14:47 GMT]
Media associations in the North-East province Tuesday called for a general shut down (Hartal) on Wednesday to condemn the slaying of a leading Tamil journalist, Mr. Aiyathurai Nadesan, who was shot dead by unknown gunmen on Monday in Batticaloa town, sources said.
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Vanni journalists condemn Nadesan’s murder

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 01 June 2004, 13:56 GMT]
The Vanni district journalists association Tuesday released a statement expressing its shock and grief at the murder of the Batticaloa-based senior journalist, Mr. Iyathurai Nadesan, Monday. The association strongly condemned the murder and said the journalist's slaying has created a sense of fear and insecurity among Tamil journalists.
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Killings threaten press freedom- SLTMA

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 01 June 2004, 02:53 GMT]
"We urge all those who cherish press freedom and democracy to pressure the Sri Lanka Government to take immediate steps to safeguard the journalists from murder and harassment, and to bring to justice those who perpetrate dastardly crimes on Tamil journalists who question oppression and injustice," said members of the Sri Lanka Tamil Media Alliance (SLTMA), in a memorandum released Tuesday.
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Eastern university don shot dead

[TamilNet, Monday, 24 May 2004, 12:18 GMT]
Mr. Kumaravel Thambaiah, a senior lecturer in the Eastern University was shot dead by unidentified gunmen at his home in Batticaloa town around 4.30 p.m. Monday. Mr.Thambaiah, 48, the head of the economics department of the Eastern University, is from the village of Aasikulam north of Vavuniya.
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Tamil Nadu leaders urged to raise Sri Lanka Tamil issue

[TamilNet, Saturday, 22 May 2004, 20:08 GMT]
"Tamil Nadu political leaders should pressure Delhi to take active interest in Sri Lanka Tamil problem and also to deproscribe the Liberation Tigers," said Leader of the Upcountry People’s Front (UPF) and Member of Parliament, Mr. Periyannan Chandrasekaran, speaking to Canadian Tamil radio after his recent visit to Tamil Nadu to meet with political leaders.
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Military officer gets key peace secretariat post

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 19 May 2004, 13:20 GMT]
Sri Lanka President Chandrika Kumaratunga Wednesday appointed Brigadier Sanath Karunaratna, the General Officer Commanding (GOC) of the Sri Lanka army's 51 Division in Jaffna as the Director of Operations of the government peace secretariat, the institution in charge of handling Colombo's negotiations with the Liberation Tigers. Brig. Karunaratna served as the SLA spokesman from 23 June 2000 to 15 January 2003.
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Snag over TNA MP's resignation removed

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 12 May 2004, 15:54 GMT]
Sri Lanka's Parliament Secretary General, Ms Priyani Wijesekara, said Wednesday she had forwarded the resignation letter of Batticaloa district Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarian, Mr. Kingsely Rasanayakam, to the Commissioner of Elections for necessary action, after Mr. Rasanayakam tendered his resignation letter direct to her, parliamentary sources said.
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Batticaloa Tamil youth shot dead in Trincomalee

[TamilNet, Sunday, 09 May 2004, 06:31 GMT]
Mr. Selvarasa Gunaseelan (28) of School Lane in Kiran in Batticaloa district was shot dead Saturday night around midnight at Paththinipuram, a resettled village in Thampalakamam division, which is located about seventeen km off Trincomalee town along Trincomalee-Kandy highway, Kantalai Police said.
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LTTE Trincomalee new political head assumes duties

[TamilNet, Saturday, 08 May 2004, 17:26 GMT]
Mr.C. Elilan, new Trincomalee district political head of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) Saturday night met with the Tamil media personnel in the Trincomalee district, sources in Trincomalee said. Elilan was introduced to media persons by the outgoing district political head Mr.S.Thilak.


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Kattankudy police arrests man with weapons

[TamilNet, Friday, 07 May 2004, 16:50 GMT]
The Kattankudy Police Friday arrested Mr. Nagoor Faisool Ameen with a pistol and an AK 47 gun. The Batticaloa acting Magistrate, Mr.S.Sinniah, ordered remand for the suspect till May 20th when he was produced in court Friday, legal sources in the eastern town said.
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Eastern University to hold convocation on June 5

[TamilNet, Thursday, 06 May 2004, 21:06 GMT]
The Eastern University’s annual convocation will be held at the Swami Vipulananda School for Music and Dance on June 5, according to Mr. A.D. Harris, the Registrar of the university.
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RSF fears for safety of Tamil journalist

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 04 May 2004, 16:18 GMT]
The Reporters Without Borders (Reporters sans frontières) in a letter to Sri Lanka's minister of home affairs, Mr. Amarasiri Dodangoda, on Tuesday expressed its fears for the safety of Tamil journalist Mr. Dharmeratnam Sivaram ("Taraki"), whose home in Colombo was searched by Sri Lanka police Monday.
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LTTE ready to resume talks based on ISGA- Thamilchelvan

[TamilNet, Monday, 03 May 2004, 09:47 GMT]
Ambassador for Norway in Colombo, Mr. Hans Brattskar, Norway's special peace envoy, Mr. Eric Solheim, and Second Secretary of the Norwegian Embassy in Colombo, Ms. Kjersti Thomsdal, met with Mr. S. P. Thamilchelvan, Head of the LTTE Political Wing at the LTTE Peace Secretariat in Kilinochchi. The talks, started at 10.45 a.m. lasted for more than two hours and focused on the resumption of stalled peace talks and about preparing the agenda for the talks between the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and the Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL), sources in Vanni said.
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