Supreme Court requests details on HSZ displaced

[TamilNet, Saturday, 01 April 2006, 14:31 GMT]
Sri Lanka's Supreme Court requested details of families displaced from the High Security Zone in Valigamam North and who requested court intervention to allow them to resettle back in their homes, legal sources in Colombo said. The Court ordered the report to be submitted before the 8th April when it took up for further inquiry the Fundamental Rights (FR) applications filed by Mr.Mavai Senathirajah, Jaffna district parliamentarian, who was also displaced due to the HSZ.
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SLN harassment of Ponnalai displaced escalates, complains TNA MP

[TamilNet, Saturday, 01 April 2006, 03:59 GMT]
Harsassment by Sri Lanka Navy (SLN) soldiers on members of displaced families from Ponnalai west in the western coastal area of Jaffna district has increased and the situation has deteriorated such that villagers are fearful for the safety of young girls, Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarian, S Gajendran filed a complaint with the Jaffna Branch of the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) Friday, sources in Jaffna said.
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ITAK victory in Trinco proves NorthEast homeland for Tamils- TNA

[TamilNet, Friday, 31 March 2006, 20:19 GMT]
The victory of the Ilankai Tamil Arasu Katchi (ITAK) in the election for the Trincomalee Urban Council and Trincomalee Town and Gravets Pradesiya Sabah have strengthened the concept that the NorthEast province is the homeland for Tamil speaking people, said Mr.K.Thurairetnasingham, Trincomalee district Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarian Friday evening after the counting of votes came to a close in the local councils held on Thursday.
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Tamil, Muslim candidates elected to Trincomalee UC

[TamilNet, Friday, 31 March 2006, 20:13 GMT]
No Sinhalese has been elected a member to the Trincomalee Urban Council in the election held Thursday. The newly elected council, which is to start functioning from April 15, will have twelve members- 10 from the Ilankai Tamil Arasu Katchi (ITAK) and 2 from the Independent Group. Of the twelve members nine are Tamil members and three are Muslims. The ITAK fielded fourteen Tamils and two Muslims for the Trincomalee UC. Out of them nine Tamils and a Muslim got elected on preferential votes.
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UPFA victory should pave way for progress in peace- TNA

[TamilNet, Friday, 31 March 2006, 12:33 GMT]
"Local electoral rout of Sinhala extremist parties, the marxist Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), and Buddhist monks party Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU) is a clear mandate to Sri Lanka President Mahinda Rajapakse to take immediate steps to move peace process forward. Urgently, the Unitary Constitution and rejection of concepts of Tamil Homeland should be removed from "Mahinda Chintanaya," and replaced with concepts supporting Tamils right to self-determination," said Sivajilingam, Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarian commenting on the unfolding local election results giving UPFA huge victory and ITAK demonstrating its support base in the East.
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Thanthai Chelva's 108th birthday celebrations held in Vavuniya

[TamilNet, Friday, 31 March 2006, 10:59 GMT]
"The dreams of "Thanthai" Chelvanayagam, embodied in the Vaddukkodai resolution, are coming true," said Mavai Senathirajah, Jaffna district Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarian in the special ceremony held Friday 9 a.m, commemorating the 108th birth anniversary of Mr. S. J. V. Chelvanayagam in Vavuniya, said sources.


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Brisk polling in Amparai local election reported

[TamilNet, Thursday, 30 March 2006, 07:04 GMT]
Brisk polling is reported in the elections for the twelve local authorities in the Amparai district, which began Thursday morning at 7 a.m. At noon about fifty percent of voters have registered their franchise. Polling to four Tamil speaking local authorities, Sammanthurai, Thirukovil, Karaitivu and Alaiyadivembu and eight Sinhala local authorities, Amparai UC, and PS of Damana, Dehiyattakendiya, Uhana, Maha Oya, Namal Oya, Padiyattalawa and Laguhala in the Amparai district are in progress, election department officials in the south-eastern district said.
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Muslim regiment, a calculated attempt to seed disunity- TNA MP

[TamilNet, Thursday, 30 March 2006, 00:24 GMT]
"President Mahintha Rajapakse's announcement of launching a Muslim Regiment, recruiting Muslim youth, ostensibly for the security of the Eastern province Muslims, is a calculated attempt to drive a wedge between the Eastern province Tamils and Muslims," said S. Jeyanandamoorthy, Tamil National Alliance Batticaloa parlimentarian, Wednesday. "This can be construed only as a deliberate attempt to derail the peace process and to wage war against the Tamils," added Jeyanandamoorthy in his statement.
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SLA, paramilitary collusion can lead to talks breakdown- TNA MP

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 29 March 2006, 08:15 GMT]
"Escalation of paramilitary activities assisted by Sri Lanka Army (SLA) troops in Valaichenai villages pose serious threat to peace process," said Tamil National Alliance (TNA) Batticaloa parliamentarian S. Jeyanandamoorthy, in a press release, issued Wednesday. Meanwhile, Mr Ariyanendran, another TNA parliamentarian, accused the SLA troops for assisting the paramilitaries in the cordon and search operation held in Valaichenia Tuesday, and urged the International Community to condemn this act which openly violated the commitments made by the Sri Lanka Government in Geneva talks.


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Hoole to work from outside Jaffna

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 29 March 2006, 00:56 GMT]
Prof. Ratnajeevan Hoole, recently appointed Vice Chancellor to Jaffna University (JU), announced Tuesday that Prof. A. D. Parameswaran, senior professor of the Medical Faculty JU, has been appointed as Deputy Vice Chancellor to Jaffna University and Professor Rajendra as Head of Vavuniya Campus of the JU, sources said.
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NECORD funded school buildings opened in Mannar

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 28 March 2006, 08:33 GMT]
Mr.V.Visuvalingam, Mannar Government Agent, Monday declared open three new class room buildings in three Tamil schools in the LTTE held area in the Mannar district. The building were constructed at a cost of about 6.4 million rupees with the funds provided by the North East Community Restoration Development (NECORD) programme. Asian Development Bank (ADB) funds the NECORD, sources said.
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Local election opens fault lines in ruling alliance

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 28 March 2006, 05:20 GMT]
The ruling United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA) and its key constituent, Sinhala nationalist Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), are engaged in battle of words to assert electoral dominance in the forthcoming local council elections, and this combined with the recent escalation in attacks against JVP members by UPFA supporters portend dangers of creating permanent fissures in the alliance, political sources in Colombo said.
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Work on NECORD funded Veerachcholai housing project begins

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 28 March 2006, 02:50 GMT]
War affected families in Veerachcholai, a remote Tamil village in Navithanveli divisional secretariat division in Amparai district are to be provided with permanent houses under a project funded by the North East Community Restoration and Development (NECORD) programme within the next six months. The Asian Development Bank (ADB) funds NECORD. Mr.S.L.A.Careem, Deputy Director of NECORD in Amparai district laid the foundation stone for the housing scheme Monday, sources said.


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SLA troopers' desecration of Hindu Temples condemned

[TamilNet, Sunday, 26 March 2006, 19:21 GMT]
The Eelam Peoples Revolutionary Front (EPRLF-Suresh wing) of Mannar district condemned willful descretion of Hindu Temples by the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) troopers who enter inside temple buildings and at times inside the inner sanctum with their boots on, sources in Mannar said. Mr.Ratnasigham Kumares, District Secretary of the Mannar EPRLF, urged the Head of the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) in Mannar to advice the SLA to obey Hindu customs when entering Temples and to withdraw soldiers of the Sri Lanka Army from the Mannar hospital premises, sources said.
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Capturing Trinco UC, key to scuttle de-merger rhetoric- TNA

[TamilNet, Sunday, 26 March 2006, 18:47 GMT]
"Ilankai Tamil Arasu Katchchi (ITAK) must capture the administration of the Trincomalee Urban Council in the local poll to scuttle the campaign by chauvinist elements for a de-merger of the NorthEast province. Tamil speaking people in Trincomalee district must unequivocally demonstrate that they will not allow any moves of de-merger to materialize," said Mr.K.Thurairatnasingham, Trincomalee district ITAK parliamentarian addressing an election meeting Sunday evening at Anpuvallipuram, a suburb that comes within the Trincomalee urban council boundary, sources in Trincomalee said.
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LTTE, TNA discuss Vavuniya violence with SLMM

[TamilNet, Sunday, 26 March 2006, 13:01 GMT]
Head of Vavuniya LTTE Political Wing, Mr Gnanam, Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarians, and several Vavuniya civil society representatives held discussions with members of the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) on escalating violence in Vavuniya targetted against businesspersons, at the LTTE political office in Puliyankulam at 10.30 a.m. Saturday, sources from Vavuniya said.
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Students hoist Tamileelam flag, continue Poopathy celebrations

[TamilNet, Saturday, 25 March 2006, 12:39 GMT]
Students at the Kokuvil Technical College located 3 km north of Jaffna town hoisted the Tamileelam flag as part of the Annai Poopathy memorial celebrations Saturday 10.30 a.m., student sources said. Students replaced the picture frame Annai Poopathi that was destroyed by Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers who forcefully entered the compound and attacked the students Friday.
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Vavuniya businessman shot dead

[TamilNet, Saturday, 25 March 2006, 01:28 GMT]
Unknown gunmen who came in a white van shot dead Ponniah Murugesu, 40, in front of his shop in Sasthrikulankulam, 6 km north of Vavuniya town, around 8.15 p.m. Friday evening, Vavuniya police said. His assistant at the shop, Mr Ramesh, was also injured in the shooting, witnesses said.
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Norway Campus opens Skills Lab in Kallady

[TamilNet, Saturday, 25 March 2006, 00:14 GMT]
"We have established the Training and Skills Laboratory, the first of its kind in Sri Lanka, to the Eastern University (EUSL) to effectively address the medical needs of the East of Sri Lanka," said Chief Guest Ms. Solveig Wiesener, Director, Centre for International Health (SHI) of Norway Tromsø University Medical Faculty, declaring open the laboratory in Kalladi Batticaloa, Friday at 9 a.m, sources said.
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Businessman, conductor shot dead in Vavuniya

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 22 March 2006, 20:40 GMT]
Unknown gunmen riding in a motorbike shot and killed M. Gunaratnam, a prominent businessman in Vavuniya and his bus conductor Jude in Kurumankadu Vavuniya, Wednesday night at about 8.45 p.m, Vavuniya police said.
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