Pt. Pedro UC wants Sihala Urumaya banned

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 17 April 2001, 14:57 GMT]
The Pt. Pedro Urban Council passed a resolution Tuesday that the Sinhala extremist party, the Sihala Urumaya (SU) should be banned. Mr.Mark Kumanan of the Eelam People's Democratic Party (EPDP) proposed the resolution, which was adopted unanimously by the council. The EPDP member said that the Sihala Urumaya should be banned because it is attempting to scuttle peace talks to settle the ethnic conflict. The Sihala Urumaya is a racist anti Tamil group, Mr. Kumanan told the council.
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Third party 'crucial' in any peace talks- Balasingham

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 17 April 2001, 14:33 GMT]
The Liberation Tigers said this week that the involvement of a third party was crucial in any negotiations between them and the Sri Lankan government, and suggested that Norway might be fill that role as an extension of Oslo's present efforts to bring about talks between the two sides. In an interview to the Tamil Guardian weekly, the latest issue of which hit the newsstands in London Tuesday, the LTTE's chief negotiator, Anton Balasingham said "In our perspective the third party involvement is crucial even after the commencement of the negotiations."
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LTTE to appeal against UK ban

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 17 April 2001, 09:06 GMT]
The Liberation Tigers are preparing to appeal against their proscription under Britain's Terrorism Act and were putting together a legal team for this purpose, Tamil media sources said Tuesday, quoting the LTTE's chief negotiator, Anton Balasingham. "We are already in consultation with eminent lawyers in the field of terrorist legislation and we are advised to apply to the Home Secretary for de-proscription," Balasingham was quoted as saying by sources with the Tamil Guardian weekly.
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Sri Lanka Navy bombards Trinco village

[TamilNet, Sunday, 15 April 2001, 18:52 GMT]
The Sri Lanka Navy bombarded Soodaikkudah, a coastal hamlet south of Trincomalee, Saturday afternoon on Tamil New Year, residents said. Four boats and a house were damaged when the Sri Lanka Navy gunboats shelled the village from 3.30 p.m. Saturday, according to them. People fled the village in November last year following persistent attacks by the SLN. They were sheltered as refugees in a school in Sampoor, a large village west of Soodaikudah until they resettled in February on an assurance the ICRC had obtained from the Navy.
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Released prisoners not LTTE members

[TamilNet, Sunday, 15 April 2001, 18:30 GMT]
A senior member of a Tamil paramilitary group working with the Sri Lanka army said Sunday that at least four among the ten purported 'Liberation Tigers' released by Colombo as a good will measure are actually persons closely associated with the Tamil Eelam Liberation Organisation (TELO) and the Eelam People's Revolutionary Liberation Front (EPRLF). "None of them are members of the Liberation Tigers. They were arrested by the Terrorism Investigation Division (TID) of the Police in September last year because of they are relatives and acquaintances of Jeganahtan Pathmanathan, a senior member of the TELO's Mannar branch who was arrested earlier for allegedly aiding an ex-LTTE member. Jeganathan is still in prison with his wife and two small children. There was no grounds for a case against the others", he said.
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Tamils observe New Year amid fragile truce

[TamilNet, Friday, 13 April 2001, 16:38 GMT]
The Tamil New Year begins Friday night at 9.27 p.m. People wear new clothes and visit friends and relatives. During the festive season there is great demand for new bank notes, which are gifted as good will money ('Kai Muluththam') to friends and relatives. Many indigenous festivities traditionally associated with the New Year have greatly diminished due to SLA restrictions and curfews.
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SLA sounds alarm on first day of truce

[TamilNet, Friday, 13 April 2001, 11:45 GMT]
The Sri Lankan security forces high command, in a clear signal that it was not comfortable with the limited ceasefire declared by Colombo for the Sinhala and Tamil New Year, charged in a SLA news release Friday that the Liberation Tigers are taking advantage of the army halting offensive operations, barely 12 hours into the truce. The Police, army and the Special Task Force stepped up security in areas controlled by them in the north and east of the island Friday although the ceasefire came into effect from midnight Thursday.
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Jaffna Undergrads burn government magazine

[TamilNet, Thursday, 12 April 2001, 15:11 GMT]
The students of the Jaffna University burnt copies of the 'Amuthu', a Tamil magazine published by the state run Lake House news papers Thursday evening as a mark of protest against its anti-Tamil stance, sources said. The 'Amuthu' is dedicated to propaganda aimed at subtly or balatantly promoting the policies of the People's Alliance regime and the activities of the Sri Lanka army. The magazine is edited by Mr. Manoranjan who is a close confidante of the Sri Lankan President and is a director of Rupavahini, the state run TV station.
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PA budget passed, TULF misses MP for vote

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 11 April 2001, 14:11 GMT]
The budget of the People’s Alliance was passed in the Sri Lankan Parliament Wednesday by a majority of nine votes amidst speculation that the opposition might woo the government’s Tamil and Muslim allies to defeat the ruling party. However, the opposition lost one vote from the minimum it expected to be cast against the budget today when the TULF MP for Batticaloa, Mr. P. Selvarajah left for India amidst charges that he had been inveigled at the eleventh hour to stay away from the crucial vote. Mr. Selvarajah was the only MP who was absent in the Parliament today during the vote. The Sri Lankan legislature has 225 members.
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Sri Lanka to observe New Year ceasefire

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 10 April 2001, 18:29 GMT]
The Sri Lankan armed forces will cease offensive operations for three days commencing at midnight April 13, to the traditional Tamil and Sinhala New Year, government sources said. The move was not a reciprocation of the Liberation Tigers unilateral ceasefire, now in its fourth month, the sources said.
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Black badge protest a success- CTTU

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 10 April 2001, 17:45 GMT]
"The protest campaign by Tamil students, teachers and principals condemning the atrocities committed on the two Tamil married women in Mannar in the north eastern province today was a success. Over fifteen thousand teachers and four hundred thousand students participated in the campaign," said Mr.T. Mahasivam, General Secretary of the Ceylon Tamil Teachers' Union (CTTU) Tuesday.
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Tamil parties protest in Colombo

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 10 April 2001, 15:12 GMT]
More than four hundred Tamils demonstrated against sexual violence by the Sri Lankan security forces in the heart of downtown Colombo Tuesday. The protest was led by an alliance of eleven Tamil political parties, including the Tamil United Liberation Front. " We are not, through this demonstration, making an appeal to the government. We believe that there is no point in appealing to this government about atrocities committed by the security forces against the Tamils. We doing this to impress upon the world our predicament" said the chief organizer of the demonstration, Mr. Mano Ganeshan who is the leader of the Democratic Workers' Congress.
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Police seek further imprisonment of Sivamani, Wijikala

[TamilNet, Monday, 09 April 2001, 13:33 GMT]
The Special Investigation Unit (SIU) of the Mannar Police Monday moved in the Mannar district court that Sivamani Weerakon and Nanthakumar Wijikala, the young women who were allegedly raped and brutally tortured in Police custody, be further remanded for fourteen days on grounds that they had confessed to offences under draconian Prevention of Terrorism Act and that they are suicide bombers sent by the LTTE to assassinate important persons. The SIU also stated that it was necessary to keep the women in custody because investigations about them are not yet over. Objecting to the SIU's application, Mr. K.S Ratnavale, the attorney who appeared for the accused, told the court, "this a funny application coming from the prosecution because the B report filed in court by the SIU moving for further remand has been signed by OIC Suraweera who has been accused of committing sexual offences against the two women. He should be the one behind bars".
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Pararajasingham says prisons toll death knell for Tamils

[TamilNet, Sunday, 08 April 2001, 12:25 GMT]
"The prison is said to be a high security, safe place for prisoners. But judging from various attacks on Tamil prisoners detained under the Prevention of Terrorism Act and the Emergency Regulations during the past eight years, prison has become a death knell for Tamil prisoners", said Mr. Joseph Pararajasingham, TULF MP for Batticaloa in a letter faxed to the Sri Lankan President about the brutal attack Saturday on Tamil prisoners held in the Negombo prison under the Immigrants and Emigrants (Amendment) Act No.42 of 1998. Fifteen Tamil prisoners who were on protest fast demanding that they be released on bail were injured when they were brutally attacked by prison guards Saturday. The condition of seven is serious.
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LTTE releases four POWs

[TamilNet, Saturday, 07 April 2001, 17:45 GMT]
The Liberation Tigers on Saturday released four prisoners of war who had been held by them for many years. They were handed over to the International Committee of the Red Cross in the northern Vanni main land ICRC spokesman Harasha Gunawardene told TamilNet. LTTE sources said the POWs were released to show organisastion's support for the Norwegian facilitated peace talks and as a demonstration of its commitment to future peace talks.
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Tamil women have no faith in President - MP

[TamilNet, Saturday, 07 April 2001, 11:30 GMT]
"The Tamil women of this country have no faith in the President or the government because there is no justice when wrongs are perpetrated on them by the armed forces. The recent actions of the President are encouraging the army to further indulge in sexual atrocities against Tamil women. Although she is a woman the President does not bother to take even minimal action against the perpetrators of murder and rape. The President applauds the security forces and does what she can to cover up their heinous activities against the Tamil people. Sexual atrocities have been committed on Tamil women in Mannar many times in the past. But only the 19 March incident has come to light", said Mr. Selvam Adaikkalanathan Member of Parliament for the Vanni, speaking Saturday at the protest fast at the St. MaryÌs Church in Mannar town. More than three thousand people from many parts of the Mannar district took part in the fast to protest against the brutal rape and torture of two Tamil women in custody by the Sri Lanka Navy and the Counter Subversive Unit of the Police on 19 March.
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Tigers urge de-proscription and ceasefire for talks

[TamilNet, Saturday, 07 April 2001, 10:20 GMT]
Mr. S.P.Tamil Chelvan, the Head of the Political Wing of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), has called upon the government of Sri Lanka to lift the ban on his organisation and reciprocate positively to the LTTE's unilateral cease-fire as essential pre-requisites for the commencement of political negotiations. This message was conveyed through the Norwegian Ambassador in Colombo Mr. Jon Westborg when he had lengthy discussions with the political leaders of the LTTE in Mallavi, Vanni, northern Sri Lanka yesterday and today morning, the organisation said in a press release Saturday.
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Ex-SLA commander pays missing youthís parent

[TamilNet, Friday, 06 April 2001, 15:53 GMT]
Lt. Gen. Cecil Waidyaratne, a former commander of the Sri Lanka army Thursday paid 100,000 rupees as directed by Sri Lankaís court of Appeal to the father of a Tamil youth who went missing after he was arrested by the army in the Ampara district in June 1990. The decision of the court of appeal in the Habeas Corpus application on Kandaiah Yoganayagam, 31, is the first instance in which the Sri Lanka armyís high command has been held responsible by the Court of Appeal for the disappearance of a Tamil youth in the Ampara district. Human rights activists and Peace Committees in the district say that more than six thousand Tamil civilians were massacred or reported missing after being arrested by the Sri Lanka army and the Special Task Force commandos of the Sri Lanka Police in the Tamil villages and hinterland of Ampara between 1990 and 1993.
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Emergency extended

[TamilNet, Thursday, 05 April 2001, 18:52 GMT]
Sri Lanka's Parliament Thursday passed a motion extending the State of Emergency for another month by a majority of 22 votes. The United National Party (UNP), Janata Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), Tamil Eelam Organisation (TELO) and All Ceylon Tamil Congress (ACTC) voted against the motion. The solitary Parliamentarian of the Sinhala Urumaya was not present at that time of voting. 111 parliamentarians voted for the motion and 89 voted against.
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Jaffna MP lambastes Colombo's duplicity

[TamilNet, Thursday, 05 April 2001, 18:32 GMT]
Sri Lanka's Deputy Minister for Defence, Gen. Anuruddha Ratwatte, flatly denied that the security forces had raped two women in detention in Mannar, interrupting the All Ceylon Tamil Congress MP for Jaffna, Mr. Vinayagamoorthy, who was on his feet in the Parliament Thursday speaking on the destruction of Tamil temples in the north and east and the rape of women in Mannar. "The statement of the Deputy Minister of Defence is tantamount to a gross intimidation of the judicial process. It shows that the government is more eager to justify such atrocities by its security forces than it is to bring the perpetrators of such crimes to book", Mr. Vinayagamoorthy told TamilNet Thursday evening.
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