The Tigers blasted two telecommunication installations in the district in early January disabling over 400 telephones. While the LTTE targets Army-controlled areas, the government is reported to have decided not to implement any development programme in Tiger-held territory in the current year. The decision will hit Batticaloa District, where Norwegian development agency NORAD was expected to spend Rs 100 million ($1.5 million) a year under a five-year plan. The Norwegian ambassador, on a visit to Batticaloa on 22 January, made it clear that the responsibility to decide where projects are implemented lies solely with the government of Sri Lanka.
Some areas in the east controlled by the Army earlier were later declared “uncleared” or Tiger-held areas, following the withdrawal of troops for military operations in Jaffna and the Vanni. The fate of the projects already begun in LTTE territory remains unclear. Army camps appear to be a pre-requisite in areas where development programmes will be implemented. Around 90,000 people living in Tiger-held areas of Batticaloa suffer as a result of the government’s economic blockade.
Batticaloa MP K Thurairajasingham says that 92 fishermen arrested by the Army in the east remain in custody. Seventy two Batticaloa residents working in Polonnaruwa District rice mills are also in detention. Nallathamby Sabanayagam who was taking an asthma patient to Eravur hospital was shot dead by police at a checkpoint on 4 January.
Woodcutter E Anantharajah was killed by gunmen at Sathurukondan in mid-January. K Gopal of Vaharai who went into the jungle to collect honey was shot dead by the Army on 13 January. Three others, detained by police were released after the local MP intervened. In a clash at Mankerni on 30 January, nine Tigers and three soldiers were killed.
A shell fired from Usan Etram Army camp seriously injured K Tharmaratnam and his daughter Yasotha at Kayankerni on 11 January. The security forces searched villages in Valaichenai on 16 January and detained over 200 people. Reports say that two civilians from Mandur, asked to report at Vellaveli police station, have disappeared.
The Razik Group, operating in the east with the Army, shot dead Tiger cadre V Selvakumar on 12 January at Mahilavattavan. A week later, Razik Group member, S Ravi was wounded in a grenade attack. In Amparai District, farmer M Thamotham was shot dead by police in Savalakadai on 11 January. The police say that he is an LTTE suspect.