News in Brief:

[TamilNet, Thursday, 08 July 1999, 18:56 GMT]
Thirty held in Colombo; Search operation in Batticaloa and Sick soldier dies.
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UNP absent as Emergency Regulations extended

[TamilNet, Thursday, 08 July 1999, 18:45 GMT]
The bill to extend the emergency regulations by a month was passed in the Sri Lankan Parliament today with 144 voting for the bill while six MPs voted against the extension.
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Concern over NMAT's case

[TamilNet, Thursday, 08 July 1999, 18:43 GMT]
The Ceylon Workers Congress (CWC) MP for Kandy, Rajaratnam said the National Movement Against Terrorism (NMAT) should be banned. He said the NMAT was trying to foment trouble in the tea estate region, and the Sinhala organisation was filing a case against the CWC to this end.
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Taped conversation provokes pandemonium

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 07 July 1999, 16:41 GMT]
The Sri Lankan Parliament was adjourned today amidst pandemonium on the floor of the house when an MP from the main opposition United National Party (UNP), played a tape of a conversation which allegedly took place between the Sri Lankan President's media advisor and a businessman about kick backs with regards to a private TV channel deal.
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Suspected extortionists arrested

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 07 July 1999, 10:16 GMT]
Five people, said to be members of a criminal gang were arrested today by the Mount Lavinia Police at Dehiwala, a suburb of Colombo, the police said. The criminals were carrying 4 pistols when they were arrested.
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SLA expects more defections

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 06 July 1999, 13:21 GMT]
The Liberation Tigers distributed pamphlets encouraging members of Tamil paramilitary groups and auxiliary forces assisting the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) to defect to the LTTE, extending an earlier appeal.
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PLOTE, TELO warned

[TamilNet, Friday, 02 July 1999, 18:29 GMT]
Leaders of the PLOTE and TELO, two paramilitary organisations operating alongside the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) in Vavuniya were summoned to the SLA headquarters today to discuss the situation prevailing the region due to the clashes between the two groups, said sources.
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TELO official resigns

[TamilNet, Friday, 02 July 1999, 13:06 GMT]
Vice Chairman of the Valvettithurai Pradeshiya Sabha, Santhirasekaram Kunasekaram, representing the Tamil Eelam Liberation Organisation (TELO), submitted his resignation from the post yesterday.
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"Political matters beyond our competence"

[TamilNet, Friday, 02 July 1999, 12:56 GMT]
The US Court of Appeals in Washington, D.C has dismissed a petition filed in November 1997 by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) challenging its designation by Secretary of State Madeleine Albright as a foreign terrorist organization, saying that the courts "were forbidden" to speak on the subject.
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PLOTE cadre killed in Vavuniya

[TamilNet, Friday, 02 July 1999, 04:00 GMT]
(Correction) A member of the People's Liberation Organisation of Tamil Eelam (PLOTE), Mookan Uthayakumar, alias Sekar, was shot dead by unidentified gunmen in Veppankulam about 3 km west of Vavuniya, around 8.30 p.m. yesterday.
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Muttur access security stepped up

[TamilNet, Thursday, 01 July 1999, 16:56 GMT]
Commandos of the Special Task Force (STF) and regular policemen conducted a cordon and search operation in Addapallam area in the Ninthavur division today of Tamil and Muslim homes in the Addapallam area.
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Appeal to ease education embargo

[TamilNet, Thursday, 01 July 1999, 16:49 GMT]
The Minister of Education and Higher Education Mr.Richard Pathirana is to request the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) to lift its ban on transporting teaching materials to schools in Vanni region, which is not under the control of the SLA, once the Governor of the North East Province sends his approval with a list of items which may be sent.
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CTTU to whet new textbooks

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 30 June 1999, 19:24 GMT]
The Minister of Education and Higher Education, Mr.Richard Pathirana, has instructed his officials that Tamil medium textbooks meant for Grade 2,7 and 10 under the new education reforms, should be printed and distributed to schools only after a three-member committee of the Ceylon Tamil Teachers' Union had agreed, said sources.
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Vidaththalthivu refugees arrive by sea

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 30 June 1999, 07:33 GMT]
Three hundred and sixty four persons belonging to eighty seven families arrived at the Pallimunai beach near Mannar town from Vidaththalthivu early this morning. The refugees said that the Gnahappar Church and St.Mary's Church in Vidaththalthivu where people had sought refuge were hit by SLA artillery fire yesterday. They said that several civilians were wounded and a 10 year old boy was killed in the shelling.
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Minister intervenes over CTTU action

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 29 June 1999, 13:49 GMT]
Sri Lanka's Minister of Education and Higher Education, Mr.Richard Pathirana has intervened to settle the proposed trade union action by the Ceylon Tamil Teachers' Union on July 2 in the North-eastern Province.
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Doubts over bodies identities

[TamilNet, Monday, 28 June 1999, 14:05 GMT]
The Sri Lanka Army (SLA) handed over 36 bodies to the Mannar base hospital this afternoon around 3.30 p.m. amidst speculation that at least some of these may belong to civilians. The SLA said the bodies were those of Liberation Tigers killed in the fighting near the Pallamadu junction two days ago.
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News in Brief:

[TamilNet, Sunday, 27 June 1999, 11:14 GMT]
Workshop planned to explore social harmony through education; Minister Ashraff addresses Amparai Tamils and Northeast Governor to meet Tamil teachers union.
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Torture victims protest against police

[TamilNet, Saturday, 26 June 1999, 14:50 GMT]
The International Day in support of Victims of Torture was observed in Batticaloa town with a cultural pageant. Large numbers of Tamil women, most of whom had been tortured by the security forces, participated in the pageant, said TamilNet's Batticaloa correspondent.
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Participant at torture victim support meeting arrested

[TamilNet, Saturday, 26 June 1999, 13:42 GMT]
The Counter-Subversive Unit (CSU) of the Batticaloa Police arrested a Tamil youth, T.Gowrithasan, after he concluded his speech at a public meeting held in the William Auld Hall to mark International Day In Support of Victims of Torture.
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Tamil Teachers' union meets Presidential advisor

[TamilNet, Thursday, 24 June 1999, 17:14 GMT]
During a meeting held in Colombo on Tuesday evening, a delegation from the Ceylon Tamil Teachers' Union (CTTU) asked Mr. S. Sivathasan, presidential advisor and Chairman of the Official Languages Committee, to establish a Tamil education zone in the Western province to ensure that Tamil students in the area have equal access to education.
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