SLTMA condemns grenade attack on newspaper office

[TamilNet, Sunday, 21 August 2005, 04:07 GMT]
The Sri Lanka Tamil Media Alliance (SLTMA) in a news release Saturday said it strongly condemned the grenade attack on the Uthayan newspaper’s office in Wellawatte, Colombo, calling it a “cowardly act,” and urged the Sri Lankan government to take prompt action to stop such attacks.
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Emergency raises spectre of past disappearances - Adaikalanathan

[TamilNet, Saturday, 20 August 2005, 23:36 GMT]
"The reimposition of Emergency Regulations has raised the spectre of past disappearances, indiscriminate arrests, torture under custody and the impunity enjoyed by the Sri Lanka security forces for human rights violations against the Tamil people," said Selvam Adaikalanathan, Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarian for Vanni district, when TamilNet asked for his reaction to the adoption by Sri Lanka's parliament Thursday of the motion to extend the State of Emergency.
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SLMM urged to stop SL Army intimidation in Trinco

[TamilNet, Saturday, 20 August 2005, 13:34 GMT]
Trincomalee District Tamil Peoples Forum (TDTPF) Saturday complained to the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) to take immediate steps to stop the Sri Lanka Army from intimidating Tamil civilians in the east port town. The TDTPF in a compliant lodged with the Trincomalee head of the SLMM cited an instance that took place on Friday evening in the town where army soldiers covered their faces with black clothes riding in about 20 field motorbikes at high speed intimidating Tamil civilians by brandishing their weapons, sources said.
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Advertising office of Colombo Tamil daily attacked

[TamilNet, Saturday, 20 August 2005, 12:56 GMT]
Unidentified persons Saturday evening around 5:30 p.m. lobbed two grenades inside the advertising office of the Tamil daily Sudaroli located in Perara Mawatta, Wellawatte, in Colombo. The grenades did not explode. Three employees were inside the office at the time of the attack. None was hurt, Wellawatte Police said.
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Direct talks 'pointless' - JHU

[TamilNet, Saturday, 20 August 2005, 07:18 GMT]
The Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU), the ultra Sinhala nationalist, all Buddhist monks' party, in a strongly worded statement on Friday opposed the direct and high level talks being scheduled between the Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL) and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). The LTTE should "lay down its arms" and "denounce" Tamils' right to secede, before holding any direct talks with the GoSL in future, the party said.
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LTTE agrees to participate in talks on Ceasefire Agreement

[TamilNet, Friday, 19 August 2005, 07:39 GMT]
The LTTE leadership has informed the Norwegian Government of its decision to participate in talks with the Sri Lanka government on issues relating to the implementation of the Ceasefire Agreement. Mr. Anton Balasingham, the political advisor and the chief peace negotiator of the Liberation Tigers, told TamilNet that the LTTE leadership has accepted the Norwegian invitation to "participate in a review of the implementation of the Ceasefire Agreement in order to find practical ways of ensuring full compliance by both parties."
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TRO funded Arabic College halls opened in Kinniya

[TamilNet, Friday, 19 August 2005, 06:45 GMT]
Two new halls for the Kinniya-Munaichchenai Sumaiya Ladies Arabic College constructed with funds allocated by the Tamil Rehabilitation Organization (TRO) were declared open Wednesday evening. Mr.T.A.Ishak, Principal of the College unveiled the name board of the new building, Mr.V.Kalaivarnan, Project Officer of the TRO in Trincomalee and Mr.K.Nallasivam, TRO head in Thampalakamam declared open the two halls, sources said.
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SLN rescues refugees from sandbank in Mannar Sea

[TamilNet, Thursday, 18 August 2005, 16:34 GMT]
Mannar Magistrate Mr.N.M.M.Abdullah Thursday remanded one person and released six other Tamil refugees when they were produced in court by Mannar Police on a report that they had been picked up by the Sri Lanka Navy Wednesday afternoon 12:30 p.m. from a sandbank in Mannar Sea, legal sources said.
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SLA forcibly occupies Thenmaradchchi TRO office

[TamilNet, Thursday, 18 August 2005, 12:56 GMT]
Soldiers of the Sri Lanka Army forcibly opened Thenmaradchchi office building of the Tamil Rehabilitation Organization (TRO) Wednesday midnight. Properties kept inside the office had been damaged by soldiers, Jaffna district TRO office said in a complaint lodged with the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) in Jaffna Thursday, sources said. SLA soldiers are now occupying the TRO building from Thursday afternoon and have prevented TRO employees entering the building, residents of the area said.
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SL parliament approves State of Emergency

[TamilNet, Thursday, 18 August 2005, 12:43 GMT]
Sri Lanka's parliament Thursday adopted a government motion to extend the State of Emergency for a month after a one-day debate with a majority of 103 votes. 124 MPs voted for the motion and 21 against. President Ms. Chandrika Kumaratunge declared the State of Emergency soon after the killing of Mr. Lakshman Kadirgamar, Sri Lanka's Foreign Minister, and summoned the special session of the parliament to approve it on Thursday. According to the Constitution, the State of Emergency should be approved by parliament after ten days of its declaration.
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TNA MP casts doubt on assassination theory

[TamilNet, Thursday, 18 August 2005, 12:01 GMT]
Mr. Mavai Senathirajah, Jaffna district Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarian, speaking during the debate on the motion for the extension of the State of Emergency in Sri Lankan parliament on Thursday, said that the killing of Lankan Foreign Minister, Mr. Lakshman Kadirgamar, had taken place at a time when the international community had changed its position in favor of contributing funds direct to the NorthEast. This has created a reasonable suspicion on the theories about the assassination that Colombo wants the International Community to believe, he said.  
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Tamil youth kidnapped and killed in Colombo

[TamilNet, Thursday, 18 August 2005, 11:08 GMT]
A Tamil youth, Mr. Satheeskumar, residing in Armour Street in Colombo, was abducted Wednesday night around 9:30 p.m and was found dead Friday morning with gunshot injuries behind a bush at Kahathoduwa in Homagama, 22 kilometers southeast of Colombo. The youth, estimated to be 25 years of age is a native of Pungudutheevu division 11 in Jaffna, Police said.
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LTTE, SLMM discuss deteriorating situation in NorthEast

[TamilNet, Thursday, 18 August 2005, 10:30 GMT]
Head of Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission Mr. Hagrup Haukland and the Liberation Tigers' Political Head Mr. S.P. Thamilchelvan met Thursday in Kilinochchi and discussed the deterioting situation in the NorthEast. Mr. Thamilchelvan, talking to press after meeting the truce monitors, said that he has conveyed in "clear terms" to Colombo that abiding by the CFA agreement on which the whole proces has been based upon for more than three and a half years is the "immediate need of the moment." Mr. Thamilchelvan accused the Sri Lankan armed forces in Jaffna for violating CFA agreement by "abducting" a disabled LTTE cadre who was on vacation for medical treatment with his parents.
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SL Parliament begins debate on ER amid chaos

[TamilNet, Thursday, 18 August 2005, 05:51 GMT]
SL Deputy Minister of Defense, Mr. Ratnasiri Wickremanayake, in his opening speech in Sri Lankan Parliament on the special debate on Emergency Regulations on Thursday declared that "the alternate way" would be considered, if failing to find solution to any problem through negotiations with his government. Following his opening remarks, Mr. M.K. Eelavenathan, Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarian, followed with his comments. TNA MP's speech was disturbed by Mr. Mervyn Silva, Deputy Minister, and Mr. Wimal Weeravanse, JVP's parliamentary group leader. Pandemonium prevailed for about fifteen minutes in the Lankan parliament.
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"War is not an option" - LTTE

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 17 August 2005, 09:42 GMT]
The Liberation Tigers said Wednesday they are committed to ceasefire and would return to the Norwegian peace process if the February 2002 truce agreement was implemented in full. In an interview to Reuters, LTTE’s Political Head, Mr. S. P. Thamilchelvan, said the Tigers are ready to defend the Tamils from attack. "War is not an option," he told Reuters. "But if war is thrust upon the Tamil people, we will have no option but to face it... So it's in the hands of the Sri Lanka government", he said.
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Two policemen shot, Jaffna tense

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 17 August 2005, 08:01 GMT]
Two Sri Lankan policemen were shot and injured at Kaladdy in Kokkuvil, a suburb of Jaffna, Wednesday around 11:30 a.m, Police said. One of the two wounded policemen, in critical condition, was airlifted to Colombo Hospital. The Sri Lanka army in Jaffna deployed additional troops in Jaffna town, the areas surrounding the University of Jaffna and Jaffna Teaching Hospital following the incident, sources said.
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Trinco TRO Director released

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 17 August 2005, 07:47 GMT]
Muttur Magistrate Mr.M.Ganesharajah Wednesday ordered the release of Mr.S.Wijekumar, Trincomalee District Director of Tamil Rehabilitation Organization (TRO) following an application by the Muttur Police that he could be released with the money Rs 2 million he was in possession at the time of arrest, legal sources said. Sri Lanka Army soldiers manning the checkpoint at Kaddaiparichchan to the entrance of the LTTE controlled Muttur east Tuesday evening took into custody Mr.S.Wijekumar, and handed him over to Muttur Police.
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SLN arrests youth with explosives in Mannar

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 17 August 2005, 07:41 GMT]
Soldiers of the Sri Lanka Navy conducted a cordon and search operation in the Pallimunai coastal area in the Mannar district Wednesday for about two hours from about 7:00 a.m., civil sources said. During the operation SLN soldiers recovered about three kg of gelatin sticks, 31 detonators and four feet of wire.
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SLA soldiers arrest Trinco TRO director

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 17 August 2005, 06:17 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army soldiers manning the checkpoint at Kaddaiparichchan to the entrance of the LTTE controlled Muttur east Tuesday evening took into custody Mr.S.Wijekumar, Trincomalee district Director of the Tamil Rehabilitation Organization (TRO) and handed over to the Muttur Police on an allegation that he had been carrying about two million rupees, TRO sources said.


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SLA blocks civilian movement, LTTE tells SLMM

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 16 August 2005, 16:29 GMT]
Mr.Semmanan, Trincomalee District Deputy Political Head of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), Tuesday urged the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) to take immediate steps to provide relief to thousands of residents who are prevented from traveling to and from the LTTE controlled areas in the district by the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) since the declaration of State of Emergency Saturday, LTTE sources said.


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