Youth shot dead in Arayampathi

[TamilNet, Monday, 03 May 2004, 02:06 GMT]
Ponniah Jeevaratnam, from Arayampathi in Batticaloa district, was shot dead at the 5th mile post junction in Batticaloa-Manmunai road at 6.40 pm Sunday by an unknown gunman, Jaffna's daily Uthayan reported.
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SLA's complicity claimed in Batticaloa murders

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 27 April 2004, 10:50 GMT]
Head of the Political Wing of Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), S.P.Thamilchelvan, in a letter to the Head of Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM), Major General (retd.) Trond Furuhovde, said that the murder of seven LTTE cadres including four disabled Sunday night was a violation of the Cease Fire Agreement (CFA) and that the LTTE had "credible evidence that the attackers came from the Vavunathivu SLA [Sri Lanka Army] camp direction," according to the LTTE's Peace Secretariat website.
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Batticaloa youth shot dead in Colombo

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 27 April 2004, 09:51 GMT]
Unidentified gunmen shot dead a youth and wounded another in Maligawatte, a congested suburb near downtown Colombo, Monday night around 10 p.m. Police said. The youth are from Batticaloa, according to Police sources. The gunmen who shot the youth while they were negotiating an apartment for rent in Maligawatte got away. No arrests have been made in connection with the killing, the sources said.


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Tamil youth killed in explosion in Kurunagala

[TamilNet, Monday, 26 April 2004, 15:49 GMT]
Mr. Kanagasabai Thurairajasingham was killed in an explosion early morning at about 3 a.m. Monday at Polathapitiya near Kurunagala town in the northwestern province. He was later identified as a member of a Tamil group, probably a supporter of the renegade Karuna group, police said Monday.
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Hidden hand behind murder of disabled cadres- LTTE

[TamilNet, Monday, 26 April 2004, 14:11 GMT]
“The murder of our disabled cadres is clearly the work of criminal elements that are working with the Sri Lanka army. I have requested the SLMM to arrange an early meeting with the SLA to discuss this matter. I hope this would be the last incident of this sort. No one could have gone in a van with arms at midnight in the direction of Vavunathivu without the SLA’s knowledge. There are no jungles in these parts to hide a van and armed men”, said Mr. Kousalyan, head of the political division of the Liberation Tigers for the Batticaloa-Amparai district.
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Youth arrested with grenade in Batticaloa

[TamilNet, Saturday, 24 April 2004, 04:49 GMT]
A youth carrying a hand grenade and live ammunition in a fertilizer bag was arrested Thursday by Sri Lanka Army and Police personnel in Main Road at Mavadivembu, about 22 km northwest of Baticaloa town, sources said.
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UPFA accuses JHU of joining hands with TNA

[TamilNet, Friday, 23 April 2004, 16:52 GMT]
The leaders of Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) and Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), the main constituents of the ruling United People's Freedom Alliance (UPFA), jointly addressing a press conference Friday, said that the "true form" of the Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU) has been revealed in parliament when its two parliamentarians voted in the Speaker's election with the main opposition United National Front, thereby "joining hands" with the Tamil National Alliance (TNA), media sources said.
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Sri Lanka's President betrayed renegade commander - JHU

[TamilNet, Friday, 23 April 2004, 10:31 GMT]
The Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU) blasted the Sri Lanka Government for the pandemonium caused in Parliament on Friday, and asked Ms.Kumaratunge's government to take responsibility for its defeat. Although the JHU assured Ms.Kumaratunge of their votes, her betrayal of renegade Eastern Commander forced them to decide against supporting her, JHU said in a press conference held in Colombo today. JHU further said that its members would willingly sacrifice their lives to prevent the creation of Tamil Eelam.
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LTTE attends to problems of residents in Batticaloa

[TamilNet, Friday, 23 April 2004, 00:49 GMT]
The Batticaloa district has returned to normal after the renegade Karuna group’s activities in the district were brought to an end, and the LTTE is asking the public to contact them over any problems the residents may have, sources said.
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‘No force can destroy Tamil unity’ -Ramanan

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 20 April 2004, 15:01 GMT]
“Our national leader has deep love for our people and land, and our people, likewise, are committed to Tamil unity and remain loyal to the national leader. The people of Batticaloa-Amparai have shown that no force can destroy Tamil unity now,” said a senior commander of the Liberation Tigers, Mr. Ramanan, speaking at the 16th year death anniversary of Annai (Mother) Poopathy, held Monday at the Navalady memorial for the late Tamil activist mother in Batticaloa town, sources said.
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TNA MPs, Pirapaharan discuss peace talks, ISGA

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 20 April 2004, 10:33 GMT]
“The Tamil people voted for you on the basis of the principles of Tamil nationalism. You should understand their feelings and work to realise their aspirations. Love for one’s country comes from one’s love for home, family, village and region. In this sense I encouraged love for one’s region, as it is necessary to strengthen a liberation struggle. But it is dangerous when the affection for one's region is exploited for selfish motives”, said Mr. Velupillai Pirapaharan, speaking to 22 MPs of the Tamil National Alliance at the LTTE’s political division headquarters in Kilinochchi Tuesday.
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Batticaloa-Amparai TNA MPs to meet Thamilchelvan

[TamilNet, Monday, 19 April 2004, 10:36 GMT]
Batticaloa-Amparai Tamil National Alliance (TNA) Members of Parliament (MPs) are travelling to Vanni today to meet with LTTE Head of the Political Section, S.P.Thamilchelvan, Tuesday, sources in Batticaloa said.
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NorthEast to observe Annai Poopathi anniversary

[TamilNet, Sunday, 18 April 2004, 11:01 GMT]
Arrangements have been made in several parts of NorthEast to celebrate the 16th death anniversary of Annai Poopathi on Monday (April 19). She died after fasting for 31 days from 19 March 1988 demanding that the Indian government should stop the war against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam and initiate talks with the LTTE.
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Col.Bhanu, Col.Sornam meet with Batticaloa residents

[TamilNet, Saturday, 17 April 2004, 12:24 GMT]
Senior military Commanders of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, Col.Bhanu and Col.Sornam, who played leading roles in the ouster of renegade commander Karuna from Batticaloa, visited several areas in Batticaloa and met with local residents Friday, reports from Batticaloa said.
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‘Karuna’s colleagues are returning’- Col. Ramesh

[TamilNet, Friday, 16 April 2004, 16:15 GMT]
“We will not punish or victimise or persecute anyone who has been associated with Karuna in his traitorous activities. Our leader has instructed us to take a strictly humanitarian approach in dealing with this issue. Karuna’s colleagues who fled the district four days ago are contacting us now. They are all coming back. We would soon restore the law and order system and the judiciary”, said Col. Thambirajah Ramesh, LTTE’s special commander for the Batticaloa-Amparai district speaking to TamilNet at the ‘Meenaham’ military base Friday.
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Karuna and associates escorted by SLA - Thamil Alai

[TamilNet, Friday, 16 April 2004, 15:29 GMT]
The fleeing renegade Eastern commander Mr. Vinayagamoorthy Muraleetharan (alias Karuna) and his associates were seen running into the Mavadivembu camp of the Sri Lanka Army, and from there were escorted in the direction of Polanaruwa, the Thamil Alai newspaper published from the East said Friday, quoting eyewitnesses among the public.
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'Don't re-recruit released underage LTTE cadres' -UNICEF

[TamilNet, Friday, 16 April 2004, 13:19 GMT]
UNICEF Friday called on the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) to ensure that released underage cadres are not re-recruited. “The LTTE must commit itself to not re-recruiting any of the children that have left the organization in the wake of last week’s fighting,” the UNICEF said in a press release.
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"International community accepts LTTE as Tamils’ saviour”-Gajendran

[TamilNet, Thursday, 15 April 2004, 15:24 GMT]
The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarian from the Jaffna district, Mr.S.Gajendran, said Thursday that the international community has accepted that the Liberation Tigers’ military wing safeguards and protects the Tamil people. "Because of this," said the TNA MP, "the international community remained silent, watching the events that took place when the LTTE launched its military operation to retrieve the areas from its renegade commander ('Karuna')."
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SLA denies giving protection to fleeing renegade

[TamilNet, Thursday, 15 April 2004, 14:03 GMT]
The Sri Lanka Army (SLA) Thursday denied reports in the Colombo-based media that SLA forces provided escort to the renegade commander Vinayagamoorthy Muraleetharan known as Karuna to a destination in Colombo when he fled from his hideouts in the eastern province following a military operation by the Liberation Tigers against him, sources said.
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LTTE, SLA agree to restore relations in Batticaloa-Amparai

[TamilNet, Thursday, 15 April 2004, 12:24 GMT]
The Liberation Tigers and the Sri Lanka army held discussions Wednesday afternoon on restoring relations in the Batticaloa and Amparai districts in Vavunathivu, 5 kilometres northwest of the Batticaloa town. Col. Thambirajah Ramesh, the Special Commander for the Batticaloa-Amparai District, led the LTTE delegation. Head of the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission, Maj. Gen. (ret) Tronde Furuhovde chaired the meeting. Asked whether the issue of renegade LTTE commander Karuna’s whereabouts was raised at the meeting, Col. Ramesh and Maj. Gen. (ret) Furuhovde replied in the negative.
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