High Court takes up Mylanthanai massacre case

[TamilNet, Monday, 30 September 2002, 14:09 GMT]
Thirty Tamil witnesses including thirteen women from Batticaloa were present in the Colombo High Court Monday to give evidence when the Mylanthanai massacre case was taken up for inquiry before a Sinhala speaking Jury. The HC Judge Mr.S.Sriskandarajah fixed October 2, Wednesday, the date to start the inquiry.
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'Trinco Hindu temples singled out for destruction'-TNA MP

[TamilNet, Monday, 30 September 2002, 00:43 GMT]
"From Thennamaravadi, north of Trincomalee district, to south Killiveddy, several Hindu temples were destroyed in the war but places of worship of other faiths did not suffer any damages," said Tamil National Alliance (TNA) national list parliamentarian Mr.K.Thurairatnasingham addressing a meeting held at the office of the Trincomalee District Young Men Hindu Association (TDYMHA) Sunday evening. Hindu temples in Trincomalee district should be safeguarded to ensure the identity of the traditional Tamil villages, said Mr.Thurairatnesingham.


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NIE rejects request for Jaffna Branch office

[TamilNet, Sunday, 29 September 2002, 19:09 GMT]
The National Institute of Education (NIE) that comes under the purview of the Ministry of Education has turned down a request made by the Ceylon Tamil Teachers' Union (CTTU) to open its regional office in Jaffna district. The CTTU said its request was made to ensure equal opportunity to Tamil medium teachers and students in education in the northeast province as in other provinces.
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Supreme Court urges action on torture accused

[TamilNet, Sunday, 29 September 2002, 18:47 GMT]
The Attorney General (AG), on a directive from the Suprem Court, has called for relevant documents from the Registrar of the Supreme Court and instructed the Inspector General of Police to consider taking action against police officers who had been found guilty for violating the Fundamental Rights (FR) of Yogalingam Vijitha, a 27-year-old Tamil woman of Kayts in Jaffna district, legal sources said.
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SLA soldiers assault Tamil civilian

[TamilNet, Saturday, 28 September 2002, 17:57 GMT]
A group of Sri Lanka Army soldiers Saturday afternoon severely assaulted a Tamil youth who was returning from Koddady in the high security zone in Point Pedro town after seeing his resettled relatives, said a complaint submitted to the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission in Jaffna district. Twenty five year old S.Ravindran alias Kannan has been warded in the Valvettithurai government hospital with serious head injures, medical sources said.


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LTTE, GOSL exchange detainees of war

[TamilNet, Saturday, 28 September 2002, 15:46 GMT]
The Liberation Tigers said Saturday that President Chandrika Kumaratunga's government was responsible for delaying the release of the last batch of Sri Lankan army and Navy personnel in their custody by not acting on the matter with "prudent and humanitarian consideration." The LTTE and the Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe's government exchanged prisoners of war as part of the peace building process to end the island's ethnic conflict Saturday in Omanthai, on the southern border of the Vanni region.
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ULF supports autonomous region demand

[TamilNet, Saturday, 28 September 2002, 13:15 GMT]
"The division of the country is inevitable if the majority Sinhalese fail to accept the concept of an autonomous region for Tamils," said the President of the United Left Front (ULF) Dr.Wickremabahu Karunaratne in an interview with the state run Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation (SLBC) Saturday.


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"Muslims rights should be respected" - Karuna

[TamilNet, Friday, 27 September 2002, 17:15 GMT]
"We must respect the rights of Muslims. We will create an environment where the three communities who live in our area can live in unity. We are not warmongers. We have come forward openly to achieve the legitimate aspirations of Tamils through peaceful negotiations," said a senior commander of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, Colonel Karuna Amman, addressing a large gathering at the concluding event of the fifteenth death anniversary of late LTTE senior commander Lt.Colonel Thileepan Thursday evening held at Vellaveli in the Batticaloa district.


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UK envoy holds discussion with Thamilchelvan

[TamilNet, Friday, 27 September 2002, 15:14 GMT]
The British High Commissioner in Sri Lanka, Mr. Stephen Evans, Friday met the political head of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam Mr.S.P.Thamilselvan at Killinochchi and discussed issues related to development of northeast. A team of officials including Mr. Nicholas Brewer, Director General of Programme, Department of International Development, accompanied the UK envoy.


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Disabled Tigers return overland to Batticaloa

[TamilNet, Friday, 27 September 2002, 09:26 GMT]
Seven wounded and disabled Liberation Tigers recuperating at a rehabilitation centre in Mullaitivu Wednesday travelled through Sri Lanka Army controlled territory to meet relatives in Batticaloa, Tamil press reports said Friday.
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LTTE protests Jaffna cadres' harassment

[TamilNet, Friday, 27 September 2002, 08:11 GMT]
Political activists of the Liberation Tigers working in the islands off the Jaffna peninsula under the terms of the ceasefire agreement with the Sri Lanka government say they are being harassed by Navy personnel in the region, Tamil press reports said.
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Lt.Col Thileepan death anniversary concludes in NE

[TamilNet, Thursday, 26 September 2002, 20:10 GMT]
"The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam have begun peace negotiations with the United National Front government sincerely and with confidence that we can achieve full autonomy based on Tamil nationality, Tamil homeland and the right of self determination" said the Head of the LTTE's Judiciary Mr. Pararajasingham addressing the concluding ceremony of the week long observance in honour of the Tiger martyr Lt.Colonel Thileepan in Poonthottam, Vavuniya Thursday morning.
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SLA soldiers in LTTE security zone arrested

[TamilNet, Thursday, 26 September 2002, 11:47 GMT]
The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam Wednesday morning took seven soldiers of the Sri Lanka Army into custody when they entered a security zone between two LTTE camps at Kumburupiddy, 22 km north of Trincomalee town, Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission sources said. “All steps are being taken to release the soldiers in view of the prevailing goodwill between both sides,” an LTTE official in Kilinochchi said.
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Navy intransigence, mines plague Muslim resettlers

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 25 September 2002, 14:48 GMT]
(Feature) “Muslims are still unable to resettle in their villages even after six months of a stable ceasefire because of Sri Lanka Navy’s intransigence and land mines,” said Mr. M. M Saburudeen, the representative of the Government of Sri Lanka (GOSL) in the Mannar Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission and Chairman of the Mannar Citizen’s Committee. “The premises of the Mosques in Talaimannar Pier and Konar Pannai are full of SLN mines. How can Muslims resettle in a place if they cannot pray in the mosque there for fear of the mines?” he asked.
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SLA dismisses A9 reports

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 25 September 2002, 11:40 GMT]
The Sri Lanka army Wednesday dismissed reports in sections of the Tamil press that the A9 would be open 24 hours on all days of the week for public traffic. Sri Lanka Ministry of Defence officials said that they are working on having the road open round the clock on all days of the week. The Liberation Tigers say that limits on the traffic flow through the A9 should be removed.
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SLA escorts LTTE convoy to Vanni

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 24 September 2002, 23:34 GMT]
A large number of Liberation Tigers from Batticaloa-Ampara district travelled to the Vanni region by road Tuesday, escorted by Sri Lankan troops. Sources said 285 LTTE members made the journey.
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New SL Navy base violates ceasefire - LTTE

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 24 September 2002, 11:42 GMT]
The political wing leader of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam Mr.S.P.Thamilselvan said Tuesday that the Sri Lanka Navy (SLN) is building a new camp on the island of Delft off Jaffna in violation of the LTTE's Ceasefire Agreement with the Government of Sri Lanka. He urged the head of the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission to take immediate action on the matter.
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North East Tamil-Muslim unity stressed

[TamilNet, Monday, 23 September 2002, 19:21 GMT]
"Sinhalese politicians have now realized that they can no longer adopt divide and rule policy between Tamils and Muslims when serious negotiations are in progress to resolve the ethnic conflict," said Mr. R.Sampanthan, Tamil National Alliance leader and district parliamentarian addressing the Tamil language day celebrations held Monday in Trincomalee. Tamils and Muslims should shed their differences, especially in the northeast province, if we are to achieve sustainable peace, Mr.Sampanthan appealed.
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SLA stops Sinhala tourists to Nagar Kovil festival

[TamilNet, Monday, 23 September 2002, 17:04 GMT]
Hundreds of Sinhala tourists were blocked by the Sri Lanka army from taking part in the Nagar Kovil temple’s annual festival in Jaffna’s southeastern coast Sunday, sources said. The visitors from the southern parts of the island had come in 30 buses to see the ‘Ship Festival’ (Kappal Thiruvila) of this Tamil temple that lies close to the line of control in the northern peninsula.
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Peace pulls thousands to Kokkaddicholai festival

[TamilNet, Monday, 23 September 2002, 14:33 GMT]
The Chariot Festival of the Kokkaddicholai Thaanthonreeswarar Siva Temple in Batticaloa’s LTTE controlled western hinterland was celebrated Sunday. The prevailing peace between the Liberation Tigers and Colombo drew more than 25,000 devotees to the festival. According to local traditions, the temple’s original structure was built by provincial governors of the Chola Empire in the eleventh century. The island was a province of the powerful medieval Tamil empire for three centuries.
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