In brief
Killed
EPDP MP and editor of Tamil weekly journal Thinamurasu (Daily Drum), Atputharajah Nadarajah and his driver were shot dead by unidentified persons in Colombo’s Wellawatte suburb on 2 November. Sources say Mr Nadarajah abstained from voting in Parliament for the extension of Emergency while the other EPDP MPs voted with the government in support of extension.
Extended
US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright extended the designation of the LTTE as a foreign terrorist organisation on 8 October. The US first added the Tigers to its list of terrorist organisations in October 1997.
Protection
Six police units were set-up in October to check increasing crime in Colombo following many killings in gang wars. Deputy Inspector General (DIG) HMGB Kotagadeniya says interference by politicians is making effective action to curb crime impossible. The police arrested 500 criminal suspects in the Colombo suburb of Maligawatte on 27 October.
Arrest
Suspected LTTE agent Eric Savundaranayagam was taken into custody in mid-October in connection with the assassination of TULF MP Neelan Tiruchelvam in July. Press reports say he was arrested in Chennai (Madras) by Tamil Nadu police and handed over to Sri Lankan authorities.
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