AFTA calls for support to Tamil rights

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 03 August 2005, 13:16 GMT]
In a press release issued Thursday, Australian Federation of Tamils Association (AFTA) called on the International Community to recognize Tamils right to self-determination. AFTA said in the release that it fully endorses the proclamation made during the Tamil conference in Vavuniya on 27 July which called for recognition of “our basic right to a life of freedom with peace on the basis of our traditional homeland, our nationhood, self rule and struggle for sovereignty.”
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NE schools to get 2915 graduate teachers, planning officers

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 03 August 2005, 08:53 GMT]
Interviews to recruit 2188 graduates as teachers (1684 Tamil medium and 504 Sinhala medium) and 727 graduates (629 Tamil mediums and 98 Sinhala medium) as Planning and Financial Assistants for schools in the North East province are to begin on August 4 in the districts of Jaffna, Killinochchi, Mullaitivu, Mannar, Vavuniya, Trincomalee, Batticaloa and Kalmunai and will be conducted till August 10, said Mr.R.Thiakalingam, Provincial Education Ministry Secretary.
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Homeguard injured in friendly fire

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 02 August 2005, 11:12 GMT]
Anura Basanayake, a homeguard attached to Thanthirimalai Police station was injured when Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers opened fire while he was hunting near the army camp Tuesday morning, Officer-in-Charge (OIC) C. Abeysinghe said.
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Tamil Conference begins in Batticaloa amidst bomb explosion

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 02 August 2005, 10:35 GMT]
A district level conference supporting the Tamil National Resurgence convention held in Vavuniya on July 27, ceremonially began at 4:15 p.m. at the grounds of Batticaloa Hindu College in Batticaloa town Tuesday. More than 1500 participants from various parts of the districts, comprising Tamil national activists including academics, writers, religious dignitaries, representatives of civil organisations and the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) MPs are participating in the conference amidst threats from paramilitary cadres operating in the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) held Batticaloa town. A powerful time-bomb exploded 50 meters from the grounds at 2:30 p.m., according to the Batticaloa Police.
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SLMM meets LTTE, TNA parliamentarians in Vavuniya

[TamilNet, Friday, 29 July 2005, 23:47 GMT]
Members of the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) met with Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarians Sivanathan Kishor and Sivasakthi Ananthan at 2.30 pm Friday at the SLMM offices in Vavuniya, and had another meeting with Vavuniya district Head of LTTE political wing Gnanam and Peace Secretariat co-ordinator for Vavuniya Mr Kumaravel at 3.30 pm at the LTTE political offices, sources in Vavuniya said. Discussions centered on Thursday's Thirunavatkulam grenade explosion and the recent increase in threats of violence, according to sources.
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LTTE office in Vavuniya attacked

[TamilNet, Thursday, 28 July 2005, 17:22 GMT]
Two unidentified gunmen lobbed grenades at the Administrative Office of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in Vavuniya around 10:00 p.m. Thursday. No one was injured in the attack. The attackers, who came in a motorbike, fired into the building after charging two grenades, Mr. Tharmendra, LTTE's deputy head of political affairs in Vavuniya, told TamilNet. The office is located at Thirunavatkulam, two kilometers north of Vavuniya town. There are two Sri Lanka Army (SLA) checkpoints, each located 100 meters away from the office.
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Tamil convention demands immediate withdrawal of SL military

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 27 July 2005, 14:45 GMT]
Proclaiming that an environment must be created to enable Tamils to decide their political destiny, the Tamil National Resurgence Convention held in Vavuniya, demanded that the occupying Sinhala forces must vacate the land and seas of the NorthEast with immediate effect. The proclamation concluded urging the International Community to recognise the "basic rights and life of freedom with peace on the basis of our traditional homeland, our nationhood and self rule and struggle for sovereignty."


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Tamil National Resurgence Convention begins in Vavuniya

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 27 July 2005, 09:37 GMT]
A Tamil national resurgence conference with more than one thousand Tamil national activists comprising academics, writers, religious dignitaries, representatives of civil organisations and the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) MPs from Amparai, Batticaloa, Trincomalee, Jaffna, Vanni and Mannar, began in Vavuniya at 10:30 a.m on Wednesday at Vairavapuliyankulam Children's Park. Leaders of the Up-Country Peoples Front (UPF) and the Western Province Peoples' Front (WPPF) are also participating in the conference, sources in Vavuniya said.
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286 Tamil medium teachers to be posted to NE schools

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 26 July 2005, 16:45 GMT]
286 GCE Advanced Level qualified Tamil medium teachers are to receive their appointment letters from zonal education offices in their respective districts in the northeast province Wednesday. These teachers have been selected by the Colombo Ministry of Education based on the results of the competitive examination held in December last year and the list has been handed over to the North East Provincial Ministry of Education for posting, education department officials said.
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Tamil Uprising Convention to be held Vavuniya

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 26 July 2005, 10:59 GMT]
Tamil National Uprising Convention is to be held in Vavuniya at the Vairavapuliyankulam Children's Park on Wednesday where about one thousand delegates from civil groups in the northeast province are expected to participate, organizers of the conference said.
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Two youths knifed to death in Vavuniya

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 26 July 2005, 05:44 GMT]
Two Tamil youths, Mr. Kumarasamy Pathmaharan, 23, from Jaffna town and Mr. Subramaniam Kohulan, 26, from Sarasalai west, Chavakachcheri, were found knifed to death at Manippuram 4 km. northwest of Vavuniya, Police said.
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Violence shuts down Mannar private busses

[TamilNet, Monday, 25 July 2005, 13:51 GMT]
Private bus traffic in Mannar came to a halt following three violent incidents between Sri Lankan government operated Transport Board (SLTB) bus drivers from Vavuniya depot and private bus operators from Mannar, affecting large number of passengers Monday, sources from Mannar said.
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Social mobilization workshop begins in Kilinochchi

[TamilNet, Sunday, 24 July 2005, 02:18 GMT]
Opening event of a residential nine-day workshop for nearly 30 staff engaged in social mobilization in different districts of NorthEast was held in Kanagapuram in Kilinochchi Saturday at 3.30 pm, sources said. Director of the Socilal Mobilization section of the Tamils Rehabilitation Organization (TRO), Mr M Selvarajah, presided the event.
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A9 travellers checked at gunpoint

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 19 July 2005, 14:40 GMT]
Passengers reaching Jaffna from Colombo Tuesday evening said that Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers were checking the travellers on A9 at gunpoint at a newly constructed checkpoint at Arasankulam, 1 km. south of Omanthai checkpoint.
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Colombo's political drama shatters hopes for peace- LTTE

[TamilNet, Monday, 18 July 2005, 03:14 GMT]
"As Tamil people have repeatedly witnessed in their tortuous history of the past several decades, Colombo has shown its reluctance to provide remedies to Tamil people even after humanitarian disasters of colossal proportions. Sinhala leaders under severe international pressure, signed the deal after dragging for six long months, the Sinhala chauvinists then staged protests to derail the deal, and when all techniques were exhausted Sinhala nationalists engaged the willing apex court to use constitutional reasoning to scuttle the deal," said S P Thamilchelvan after a 4-hour long meeting with the TNA leaders in Kilinochchi Sunday.
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Vavuniya not safe for doing political work, says LTTE

[TamilNet, Saturday, 16 July 2005, 11:20 GMT]
Vavuniya district Head of LTTE Political Wing, Mr Gnanam, in a meeting held at the District Secretariat Friday 3 p.m., protested to the members of Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) that harrassment by the Sri Lanka Security forces on LTTE cadres engaged in political work has increased and requested the SLMM to take steps to ensure LTTE cadres' safety, sources said.
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NorthEast Governor visits Mannar

[TamilNet, Friday, 08 July 2005, 16:24 GMT]
Fishermen from Pesalai and Talaimannar in Mannar district Friday complained to NorthEast Governor Mr.Tyronne Fernando that deepening of the Palk Straits under the Sethusamudram Canal Project (SSCP) would destroy the breeding ground of fish in the sea territory close to Mannar shore. Mr.Tyronne Fernando during his one-day visit to Mannar Friday afternoon met with groups of fishermen in Pesalai and Talaimannar separately and inquired about their grievances and difficulties, Mannar district secretariat sources said.
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US lends remote-controlled de-mining machine

[TamilNet, Thursday, 07 July 2005, 10:28 GMT]
Government of the United States has lent Sri Lankan de-miners a "remotely operated, self-propelled brush-clearing machine," that will "eliminate the risk of horrible injury when teams go out to clear some of the thousands of mines still active in the country," said a US embassy press release issued in Colombo Thursday. "Three American trainers from the U.S. Army are in Vavuniya to conduct the training," the release further said.
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Youth shot dead in Polannaruwa

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 05 July 2005, 14:51 GMT]
An unidentified gunman, believed to be a paramilitary cadre of Karuna Group, shot and killed a Tamil youth Mr. Nazar Mahalingam, 29, Monday night around 9.30 PM at Muslim Colony in Polannaruwa. The victim was a Muslim convert and had moved from Nelukkulam in Vavuniya to Muslim Colony recently, Police said.
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Playwright, youths felicitated in Trincomalee

[TamilNet, Friday, 24 June 2005, 00:31 GMT]
Sixty-eight -year-old Mr.Sithy Amerasingam who was conferred with "Elder Artist" by the Ministry of Cultural Affairs recently in Colombo was again felicitated in his hometown Trincomalee. Four Trincomalee youths who him four youths who excelled in education, sports, social service and literature were also honoured at the same event held at Trincomalee Hindu Cultural Hall Sunday organized by the Trincomalee Impeesa Scout Association.
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