General shut in NE against EPDP atrocity

[TamilNet, Thursday, 29 November 2001, 08:32 GMT]
Schools, shops, government offices and banks were closed in the districts of Batticaloa, Trincomalee, Vavuniya, Mannar and Jaffna in response to a call by the Tamil National Alliance for a general shut down in the north and east to protest against the Eelam People's Democratic Party, a major coalition partner of President Chandrika Kumaratunga's regime, for killing two civilians and attacking and grievously wounding four TNA candidates in Kayts, an island off the northern peninsula.
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Grenade attack on Jaffna Univ. hostel

[TamilNet, Thursday, 29 November 2001, 04:46 GMT]
Two grenades were lobbed at the male students’ hostel of the Jaffna University Wednesday night around 9 p.m. Both grenades exploded inside the hostel compound. An undergraduate was wounded, student sources said. Windows in building and a section of the hall ceilings were shattered by the explosions. “The attack is clearly the work of the Eelam People’s Democratic Party goons. The EPDP is attacking us for opposing their terror tactics to intimidate the people in this election”, a Jaffna University Students’ Union spokesman said.
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Hartal call after EPDP assault kills 2

[TamilNet, Thursday, 29 November 2001, 00:13 GMT]
The Tamil National Alliance Wednesday appealed for a general shut down protest ('Hartal') in the northeast province condemning the brutal attack on its candidates and supporters at Naranthanai; Jaffna by armed cadres of the pro-government Eelam Peoples Democratic Party (EPDP). Mr. Anandasangaree, acting President of the Tamil United Liberation Front TULF), a constituent of the Tamil National Alliance made the appeal at a press conference held at the party's office in Jaffna at 3 p.m., Wednesday afternoon.
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Four TNA candidates wounded in EPDP attack

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 28 November 2001, 07:24 GMT]
A group of Jaffna district Tamil National Alliance candidates and supporters who had gone to Naranthanai in Jaffna for campaigning were attacked by armed cadres of the Eelam People's Democratic Party (EPDP), Wednesday morning around 11 a.m with knives and other weapons. One TNA supporter, an employee of the Jaffna University was killed and about twenty others, including four TNA candidates were wounded in the incident, police sources said.
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LTTE leader makes special plea to the Sinhalese: 'reject racist forces, offer justice to the Tamils'

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 27 November 2001, 12:25 GMT]
In a special appeal made Tuesday to the majority Sinhala people faced with crucial parliamentary election early next month in Sri Lanka, Mr. Velupillai Pirapaharan, the leader of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), urged them to reject racist forces committed to militarism and war and to offer justice to the Tamil people to bring about peace, ethnic reconciliation and economic prosperity to the island.
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SC reserves its order on UNP's petition

[TamilNet, Monday, 26 November 2001, 22:27 GMT]
The Supreme Court Monday reserved its order on the Fundamental Rights application filed against the State owned Lake House by the main opposition United national Party. The Deputy Leader of the main opposition United National Party Mr.Karu Jayasuriya has stated that the respondent institution has violated his fundamental rights by publishing distorted news and articles in its publications in favour of the ruling People's Alliance contravening the 17th Amendment to the Constitution.
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Buddhist monks condemn autonomy for Tamils

[TamilNet, Monday, 26 November 2001, 16:41 GMT]
Hundreds of Buddhist monks protested in Colombo Monday against granting an interim administrative council to run the northern and eastern parts of the island. The Sri Lankan government alleges that there is an insidious conspiracy by the United National party against the Sinhala people to hand over the northeastern province to the Liberation Tigers. President Chandrika Kumaratunga and Sinhala nationalists say that granting the LTTE the interim administration is treason. The protest was organised by the National Movement for the Defence of the Unitary State.
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CTTU urges Tamils to vote for TNA

[TamilNet, Sunday, 25 November 2001, 12:30 GMT]
Twenty thousand member strong Ceylon Tamil Teachers' Union (CTTU) has appealed to Tamil people to vote for the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) at the forthcoming general election "As the policy of the four party Tamil National Alliance is based on the decision taken at the 27th annual convention of the CTTU held March this year, the CTTU has decided to support the TNA at the forthcoming parliamentary election," said a resolution unanimously passed at the special executive committee meeting of the CTTU held at Trincomalee Sri Vigneswara Maha Vidyalayam Saturday night.
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Jayakili Habeas Corpus to be heard in Trincomalee

[TamilNet, Friday, 23 November 2001, 19:26 GMT]
The inquiry into the Salli habeas Corpus application was fixed this week for 15th January 2002 by the Eastern High Court in Trincomalee after the Court of Appeal withdrew (vacated) the stay order issued on the application by the Officer-in-Charge of the Navy detachment at Nilaveli, the first respondent, to the Colombo High Court that his case be transferred out of the eastern port town as his life was at risk there. In this Habeas Corpus application Ms Jayakili Pushparatha said that her husband Jeyakili of Salli disappeared in February last year after he was arrested by the Sri Lanka Navy in Nilaveli, 13 kilometres north of Trincomalee town.
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Court dismisses EPDP petitions against TULF

[TamilNet, Friday, 23 November 2001, 18:16 GMT]
The Court of Appeal Friday dismissed two petitions filed by the Eelam People's Democratic Party (EPDP) seeking to order the Returning Officer to reject the nomination list of the Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF) contesting the Colombo district.
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Negotiations to end war said treason

[TamilNet, Friday, 23 November 2001, 17:35 GMT]
The United National Party Friday vehemently rejected Sri Lankan government's assertions that it is involved in an insidious conspiracy with the Liberation Tigers against the Sinhala people. State run print and electronic media gave wide publicity since Thursday to a telephone conversation allegedly between ex- UNP Parliamentarian Dr.Jayalath Jayawardena and an agent of the LTTE.
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Investors sense opposition win - FT

[TamilNet, Friday, 23 November 2001, 04:55 GMT]
(News Feature) Anticipation of an opposition victory in Sri Lanka’s Parliamentary polls next month is driving the present rally on the country’s tiny market despite the decline across Asia, with possibilities of peace efforts and a more market-friendly government drawing investors, Britain’s Financial Times reported Thursday. The respected financial daily said that while stocks on the Colombo exchange are looking over-valued, the market could keep rising if good news on the political front continues.
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President vows to thwart interim administration plans

[TamilNet, Friday, 23 November 2001, 03:57 GMT]
(News Feature) Sri Lanka’s President Chandrika Kumaratunga Thursday vowed to derail the proposed peace efforts of the main opposition United National Party (UNP) if the latter were to come to power in next month’s Parliamentary elections, the state owned Daily News said Friday. Kumaratunga also urged people not to betray the country by voting for the UNP. Meanwhile, the ruling People’s Alliance (PA) stepped up its efforts to portray the UNP as unpatriotic and soft on the LTTE by presenting to Sri Lanka’s influential Buddhist clergy a tape of a conversation that reportedly took place between a UNP MP and LTTE officials.
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Ten TNA offices attacked in Ampara

[TamilNet, Thursday, 22 November 2001, 12:04 GMT]
Ten campaign offices of the Tamil National Alliance in the Ampara district were attacked between 8 p.m. Wednesday night and 3 a.m. Thursday morning. Three were burnt. Mr. Henry Mahendran, spokesman for the TNA in Ampara blamed the Eelam People’s Democratic Party for the attacks. He said that the number plates of the vehicles in which the assailants came were covered. The TNA has complained to the Police in Kalmunai about the attacks.
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President vows to exterminate LTTE

[TamilNet, Thursday, 22 November 2001, 02:36 GMT]
The Sri Lankan government Wednesday stepped up its rhetoric against the Liberation Tigers vowing not to rest until the movement “was exterminated.” “Now I stress that we are determined more than at any time in our struggle to wipe out terrorism and we will continue to wage war against the Tigers to a logical conclusion," President Chandrika Kumaratunga was quoted by the state press as saying at an election rally of her ruling People's Alliance at Hanguranketha on Tuesday night. She also reiterated her accusations against the main opposition United National Party (UNP) saying it was in league with the LTTE to divide the country.
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Home Guards on the rampage in Serunuwara

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 21 November 2001, 20:16 GMT]
Three houses belonging to Tamil villagers were burnt down and several civilians were severely assaulted by Police Security Assistants (PSAs or 'Home Guards') in LB 3 Channel area in Serunuwara division, in the Trincomalee District Tuesday night. Bicycles and motorcycles were also damaged by the PSAs, sources said.
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"Elections in the NE a referendum on TNA policies" -Sampanthan

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 21 November 2001, 20:13 GMT]
Mr.R.Sampanthan, Secretary General of the Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF), Wednesday appealed to the Tamil people to consider the forthcoming general election in the Northeast province as a referendum in support of the policy of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) that any future peace negotiations should be held with the Liberation Tigers only and no parallel talks should be held with any other Tamil groups.
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Protest against Police atrocity in Batticaloa

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 21 November 2001, 16:33 GMT]
More than a hundred people demonstrated against the Sri Lanka Police in Eravur, 14 kilometres north of Batticaloa Wednesday, for indiscriminately shelling and firing on a Tamil neighbourhood Tuesday night, killing five persons, including an 11 year old boy, and wounding nine civilians. The protestors stood with the coffins of three persons who were killed in the incident across the main road in Eravur around 5 p.m., blocking traffic for more than half an hour.
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Four in family killed, eight wounded in east

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 20 November 2001, 17:42 GMT]
Four persons of a family, including an eleven-year-old boy, were killed and eight civilians were wounded when military trained Police in Eravur, 14 kilometres north of Batticaloa, opened fire indiscriminately in the Tamil sector of the town Tuesday night around 8 p.m. The Police had opened fire on suspicion upon seeing a car near a sentry in the town. The car belonged to a lawyer who was visiting a friend in the area. Relatives were able to bring only the bodies of the boy, Pathmanathan Suresh, 11, and Sinnathamby Sellathamby, 60 to the Eravur hospital. The bodies of the boy’s parents are still lying in their house, residents said. Only four wounded persons were able to reach the hospital, sources said.
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SLA soldier killed in Trinco settlement

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 20 November 2001, 16:57 GMT]
A Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldier was killed and another was wounded in an ambush by the Liberation Tigers in the Left Bank- 3 (LB-3) Channel area in the Serunuwara division of the Trincomalee district Tuesday morning, security sources said. A four year old Tamil girl was seriously wounded in retaliatory fire by the army. The injured child was immediately taken to Trincomalee hospital from Mutur, medical sources said. LB3 is one of several state sponsored Sinhala land encroachments in the Allai irrigation project in the Mutur region which were legalised and protected by Colombo despite protests by Tamil politicians.
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