No details were given of the arms purchases, but multi-barrel rocket launchers and Israeli-built Kfir fighter jets are reported to be among them. More... Published: Thu Jun 1 20:25:15 EDT 2000

WASHINGTON: The US-based think tank, South Asia Monitor, has suggested a ``confederal Sri Lanka'' as a way out to bring peace to the island. "Resolving the problem will require a much more radical approach to power-sharing. This will be very hard to sell to both the Sinhalese political mainstream and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) but it will only get harder with time," South Asia Monitor, issued by the South Asia programme at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies, said. More... Published: Thu Jun 1 18:26:01 EDT 2000

The posters were prominently displayed in areas densely populated by Tamils. The posters said that suspects who were made scapegoats in the investigations were languishing in state-run prisons without fair and free trials.

At least five soldiers were sentenced to prisons after initial investigations into the mass grave pointed out that the five had-a-hand in murdering at least 17 persons including the 17 year-old-girl Krishanthy Kumaraswamy. The victim was raped and killed by the some soldiers manning a checkpoint a few years ago.

The incident sparked international attention that prompted the government to order investigations immediately.

Initially the magisterial inquiries were conducted in Jaffna, but the case was shifted after the suspects through their lawyers requested the inquiries to be shifted to Colombo, as the climate was not conducive in Jaffna. Published: Thu Jun 1 10:01:29 EDT 2000

The NPC says, "that the blanket censorship imposed on the mass media is far in excess of any reasonable need to protect national security interests and inter-ethnic harmony. The opinions and views of intellectuals, civic activists and politicians are being subjected to extensive censorship by bureaucrats and others who are not specialists in the areas which they censor." "In a perverse manner it also appears that peace-oriented writings are often more severely censored than ones that could whip up inter-ethnic hatreds."

The NPC further adds that the original rationale for the imposition of the blanket censorship may have been to preserve social peace and safeguard Tamil civilians in a time of uncertainty. "However, today, with general elections on the near horizon the people will not be convinced that the national security laws are solely intended for that original purpose." Published: Thu Jun 1 06:08:42 EDT 2000

Meanwhile Special Task Force commando's yesterday successfully repulsed an attack on an STF camp in Ampara killing over a dozen women Tiger cadres who according to reports led the offensive. Published: Thu Jun 1 06:08:42 EDT 2000

Meanwhile President Chandrika Kumaratunge yesterday directed that 5000 plots of land will be allocated to soldiers fighting Sri Lanka's war. June 7th, has been declared 'Hero's Day' and will commemorate all soldiers who have laid down their lives fighting Sri Lanka's 18 year old war.

Relief is also to be provided by the State to all villages that have been threatned by the LTTE. The Seva Vanitha Unit will be used to facilitate such relief measures. Published: Thu Jun 1 06:08:42 EDT 2000

The Government said its soldiers had killed seven LTTE cadres in two separate confrontations at Colombuthurai and Chavakachcheri areas. Other confrontations, far from the battlefields of Jaffna, indicated the kind of pressure the security forces are under in the area claimed as a Tamil homeland. More... Published: Thu Jun 1 05:01:49 EDT 2000

Returning to Colombo on Wednesday, after having visited the war torn area, Ratwatte said, that the Tigers had shelled Palaly and are trying to cut off the supply routes used by the armed forces, namely, Kankasanthurai and Palaly, the military's biggest base after Elephant Pass.

He called upon the public to extend their fullest cooperation towards the war effort, and made a special request that all armed forces personnel who have either desertered their post or are on leave to report back for duty. Published: Thu Jun 1 02:17:03 EDT 2000

Addressing a press conference the Minister said, "We are in a strong position in the northern war and hoefully I don't think that the censorship will have to be extended for more than one more month if the situation improves."

The censorship, he said was necessary in order to stop rumours and lies from spreading while the war in the north was escalating. Published: Thu Jun 1 02:17:03 EDT 2000

The Leader Publications is claiming Rs. 50 million in damages. The paper alleges that its article on May 21, 2000 titled 'War in Fantasay Land' was not prejudicial to the interests of national security. Published: Thu Jun 1 02:17:03 EDT 2000

On Tuesday, special teams rounded up some 30 Tamil youth in Colombo's busy business sector 'Sea Street.' Using informants to help the forces spot possible suspects, the police and army rounded up the young men and women who are believed to be members of the LTTE.

The police say that today too, special teams have been deployed in and around the city in a bid to crack down on mafia type underworld gangs and Tiger sympathizers who have infilterated into Colombo. Published: Thu Jun 1 02:17:04 EDT 2000

The STF claim that the attack by the rebels was unsuccessful as most of the LTTE's key fighters are deployed in Sri Lanka's north to fight security forces determined to hold Jaffna. Published: Thu Jun 1 02:17:04 EDT 2000

The Foreign Office said today that Mr. Mangala Moonesinghe, Sri Lanka's present Ambassador in India will leave to take up his new posting in London. Published: Thu Jun 1 02:17:04 EDT 2000

The National Peace Council believes that the blanket censorship imposed on the mass media is far in excess of any reasonable need to protect national Security interests and inter-ethnic harmony. The opinions and views of intellectuals, civic activists and politicians are being subjected to extensive censorship by bureaucrats and others who are not specialists in the areas which they censor. In a perverse manner it also appears that peace-oriented writings are often more severely censored than ones that could whip up inter-ethnic hatreds. The original rationale for the imposition of the blanket censorship may have to been to preserve social peace and safeguard Tamil civilians in a time of uncertainty. However, today, with general elections on the near horizon the people will not be convinced that the national security laws are solely intended for that original purpose.

The National Peace Council calls on the government to immediately lift the blanket censorship and restrict it only to national security issues pertaining to military plans and movements. The NPC also calls on the government to lift the ban on the Sunday Leader (English language), the Irida Peramuna (Sinhala language) and the Uthayan (Tamil language), which are newspapers that have played a very important role in keeping the population well informed and in providing alternative points of view on national issues.

As a civic organisation whose primary objective is empowerment and awareness creation among people, the NPC is very much dependent on the protection of the right of free expression and the right of people to receive information. We hope that the government will revoke the ban on the three newspapers and lift the blanket censorship which cripples the mass media's ability to keep the people abreast of the situation in their country.

The rights to information and to receive information are basic human rights of the people. They are also a vital component of democratic governance. The NPC affirms its conviction that it is only a citizenry that is in full knowledge of the situation in their country who can be supportive of the complex and difficult decisions that have to be taken by the governmental leadership to overcome the prevailing crisis. Published: Thu Jun 1 00:10:54 EDT 2000

Sarvodaya President Dr. A.T. Ariyaratne welcomed the U.S. Ambassador and his party and received the equipment with thanks. The new computer equipment, he said, would help the Sarvodaya Central Library offer better services to Moratuwa residents -- university students, schoolchildren, teachers and the general public, adding that such improvements in the field of education are needed to meet the challenges of the new millennium. Published: Wed May 31 23:20:19 EDT 2000

In another development, President Chandrika Kumaratunga ordered all soldiers to wear dog tags so that they could be identified if they were killed or wounded. She said that the bodies of soldiers were sometimes disposed of without being properly identified. More... Published: Wed May 31 18:53:02 EDT 2000

''Can you imagine what our friends in England and America would think of this? To us, that was just normal. What has happened to us?'' More... Published: Wed May 31 09:21:32 EDT 2000

Military officials said that no heavy fighting was reported from the northern war theatre, but two naval men were killed on late Tuesday night when artillery shells fired by the Tamil Tiger rebels fell into a navy bunker-line at Kankesanthurai, a government's sea port in northern Sri Lanka.

"It's look like calm before storm", a military source said in Colombo. The fighting was at stalemate amid speculations that Tiger leader Velupillai Prabhakaran was moving his cadres to the war theatre from Wanni.

On Tuesday, government said that its army launched two-pronged attacks in several areas under control by the Tamil Tigers and in the operation at least 100 rebels were killed, but independent sources said that the figure was very much lower, since the army succeeded only a little due to heavy counter offensive actions by the rebels.

Meanwhile, the "city of Trinco", a passenger service inaugurated this month to ferry internally displaced people between Trincomalee and Jafna peninsula arrived at the eastern port city today carrying 250 refugees.

The refugees told local a journalist at Trincomalee that conditions in Jaffna is worst and hundreds of civilians were suffering without adequate food and shelter.

The United States under state secretary of political affairs Thomas Pickering during his visit to Colombo a few a days ago voiced serious concern over the plight of civilians in Jaffna peninsula and urged the government and the LTTE to return to the negotiating tables immediately before a major "human tragedy" occurs.

"We are very much concerned over the civilians in the area", he told a selected group of journalists before flying out of Sri Lanka that had been torn due to 18 years of bloody war. Published: Wed May 31 07:24:21 EDT 2000

Meanwhile, the government admitted for the first time today that the war against Tamil rebels in the northern Jaffna peninsula has forced more than 8,000 people out of their homes.

The commando assault in Ampara, 125 miles east of Colombo, came after rebels attacked a police camp with mortars, state-run radio said. The radio reported 18 rebels killed, including 14 women. More... Published: Wed May 31 07:20:55 EDT 2000

The SMIC said in a statement the haul included assault rifles, machine guns and 81mm mortar which were captured in Ariyalai and Chavakachcheri on the Jaffna peninsula on the island's northern tip.

On Tuesday the government declared that a major Tamil rebel offensive in Jaffna had been stopped but fighting had left more than 100 combatants dead on both sides. More... Published: Wed May 31 05:34:34 EDT 2000

A government statement said the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam(LTTE) rebels had mounted an attack using rocket propelled grenades on army positions in the Chemmani area, close to Jaffna city, but were forced to withdraw when the troops retaliated. More... Published: Wed May 31 05:23:13 EDT 2000

A Security Forces fighting patrol operating ahead of the defences in Colombothurai area confronted a group of terrorists. Two terrorists were killed and two others were wounded. More... Published: Wed May 31 05:16:42 EDT 2000

When Tamil Tiger separatists stampeded a Sri Lankan stronghold called Elephant Pass on April 21, most experts wrote the epitaph for the unity of Sri Lanka and its Army. Armed with rocket launchers, 5,000 Tiger soldiers overwhelmed 40,000 Sri Lankan troops and in three days took a position the Army had captured only after 17 painful months.

It seemed only days or hours before the ferocious LiberationTigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), one of the most feared and efficient guerrilla groups in the world, would roll into Jaffna city. Located near the tip of Sri Lanka's Tamil-majority northern peninsula, Jaffna is considered by Tamils to be the mythic capital of a greatly desired independent Tamil homeland, or "Eelam."

Yet in the past two weeks, the Sri Lankan Army has begun to do what no one expected: They have started to fight back.

Journalists are barred from the fighting areas, but reliable sources report that the military has been rearming. It's using satellite imagery provided by the West to detect guerrilla positions, and it has stalled the Tigers' three-pronged attack in northern Sri Lanka. Early in the week the Army had, at least temporarily, driven the guerrillas from Chavakachcheri, a key city.

More.... Published: Wed May 31 04:52:01 EDT 2000

In Colombia, a Norwegian United Nations official is seeking to cement peace between the Army and Marxist guerrillas.

In Ethiopia and Eritrea, Norwegian church workers are fostering talks between religious leaders on both sides of the war.

"Everywhere there is a crisis, there seems to be a Norwegian," says Geir Lundestad, director of the Norwegian Nobel Institute.

Ever since Norway helped broker the Oslo peace accord between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) in 1993, the Norwegian government has been inundated with requests to help solve conflicts, from Kashmir to Kurdistan, from Cyprus to Guatemala. And wherever it gets involved, Oslo has practiced its unique brand of diplomacy, blending official overtures with freelance initiatives by ambitious private citizens in a way no other country has dared.

More... Published: Wed May 31 04:44:29 EDT 2000