Norwegian funded boat repair yard opened in Salli

[TamilNet, Thursday, 28 April 2005, 15:37 GMT]
Under the Tsunami Boat Rehabilitation Project funded by the Kystaksjonen of Norway, a boat repairing yard was opened Thursday morning in Salli, a fishing hamlet about eleven km north of Trincomalee under the auspices of Trincomalee Division Fisheries Co-operative Societies Union (TDFCSU). This was the twelfth of the fourteen boats repairing yards scheduled to be opened in the northeast by Kystaksjonen of Norway.
Full story >>

Protest at Sri Lanka truce monitors’ HQ

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 27 April 2005, 13:49 GMT]
An organization calling itself ‘National Fortress for Safeguarding Military Intelligence Officers’ protested in front the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) headquarters in Colombo Wednesday accusing the Nordic truce monitors of impartiality. Five protestors who were allowed into the SLMM office handed over a letter to the truce monitors urging them to secure the release of Inspector Jeyaratnam, the senior Sri Lankan Police intelligence officer allegedly abducted by the Liberation Tigers last week. The protestors shouted at the truce monitors, calling them ‘white tigers’.
Full story >>

Police sleuth gunned down in Chenkalady

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 27 April 2005, 12:48 GMT]
Unidentified gunman riding a motorbike shot a Sri Lanka Police intelligence operative in Chenkalady, 16 kilometres north of Batticaloa Wednesday around 5.30 p.m. He died on admission to Eravur Hospital, Police said. The Policeman was shot near the Chenkalady market, a high security zone area between Sri Lanka army garrison in Kommathurai and the Black Bridge checkpoint. The gunmen got away, Police said. Earlier in the day around 8.30 a.m. gunmen shot and wounded an EPDP cadre in the same area.
Full story >>

"Thanthai" Chelva death anniversary observed in NorthEast

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 26 April 2005, 13:24 GMT]
Twenty eighth-death anniversary of late Mr.S.J.V. Chelvanayakam (1898-1977), prominent leader of the Tamil people for more than three decades of his life and fondly called as "Thanthai (Father)" was observed in Trincomalee, Jaffna and several parts of the northeast province Tuesday, sources said.
Full story >>

‘SLFP campaign a time buying tactic’ – Gajendrakumar

[TamilNet, Monday, 25 April 2005, 13:09 GMT]
Tamil National Alliance (TNA) Monday dismissed the ruling Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) campaign to explain the Joint Mechanism for distributing Tsunami aid in the northeast as “a time buying tactic to gloss over the fact that it cannot overcome JVP’s strident opposition”. SLFP General Secretary Mr. Maithripala Sirisena said this weekend his party will hold a series of seminars to educate its membership about the proposed joint mechanism. “These seminars are the way out for the SLFP leadership which wants to show donor countries that it is committed to a joint mechanism with the Tamils while saving its alliance with the JVP”, Mr. Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam TNA MP for Jaffna told TamilNet.
Full story >>

ORCHARD aims to bring children's homes under one administration

[TamilNet, Monday, 25 April 2005, 10:20 GMT]
Organization for Restructuring Children Homes And (their) Rehabilitation and Development (ORCHARD), an arm of the Tamil Rehabilitation Organization (TRO) in the northeast province held its second annual general meeting in Trincomalee Anbu Illam hall Saturday with Rev.Fr.Francis Xavier, President of the ORCHARD in the chair, sources said. Mr.R.Sampanthan, Trincomalee district parliamentarian and the leader of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) was the chief guest.


Full story >>

Four injured in Batticaloa shooting

[TamilNet, Sunday, 24 April 2005, 06:47 GMT]
A man said to be a former Sri Lanka military intelligence informant was seriously wounded when a gunman opened fire on him in Batticaloa town Sunday morning around 10.50. A Batticaloa jail employee and two children were also wounded in the firing. Police said the seriously wounded man is an ordinary civilian. The gunmen got away, according to Police.
Full story >>

NGOs fund new boat yard and pre-school in Muttur East

[TamilNet, Sunday, 24 April 2005, 03:06 GMT]
Cooperazione Internazionale Sud-Sud (CISS), an Italian Non-Governmental Organization, is providing financial support for the construction of a new boat building yard in Eachchilampathu division to supply fibre glass boats to tsunami affected fishermen. The project was initiated by the Tamils Rehabilitation Organization (TRO) Saturday with Mr.K.Thurairatnasingham, Trincomalee district parliamentarian, laying the foundation stone, sources said.
Full story >>

Discussion on making documentary on Vali North IDPs

[TamilNet, Saturday, 23 April 2005, 15:38 GMT]
A discussion was held at the Tellipalai Divisional Secretary’s office in Jaffna Saturday to prepare a documentary on the plight of the thousands of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Valigamam North division of the northern peninsula. The IDPs homes, villages and entire towns in the division were garrisoned by the Sri Lankan armed forces fifteen years ago. “The documentary will be aimed at drawing the world’s attention to the long suffering of IDPs who lost their homes to the Sri Lankan military”, Mr. T. Ganesh, President of Valigamam North public organizations told TamilNet.
Full story >>

Book on ethnic conflict released in Trincomalee

[TamilNet, Saturday, 23 April 2005, 11:53 GMT]
A Tamil book written by well-known political analyst, Mr. C.A.Jothilingam, titled "Ethnic Conflict and Proposals for Political Solution" was released and introduced to the Trincomalee audience at an event held Friday evening in Trincomalee Town Hall. Mr.K.Sivapalan, Human Rights activist, presided the event.


Full story >>

Senior Sri Lanka Police sleuth said missing

[TamilNet, Friday, 22 April 2005, 15:45 GMT]
A very senior Police sleuth has gone missing in Colombo since Wednesday, Sri Lanka's Inspector General of Police said Friday night. Mr.T. Jeyaratnam was a senior investigator of the Terrorism Investigation Division (TID) of the Sri Lanka Police. He was the most experienced officer in investigations against the Liberation Tigers. Police said Mr. Jeyaratnam may have been abducted.
Full story >>

Demonstrations in Velanai, Sandilipay demand Joint Mechanism

[TamilNet, Thursday, 21 April 2005, 17:02 GMT]
Large number of civilians participated in two protest marches held in Sandilipay in Valigamam division and Velanai in Kayts Division in the Jaffna district Thursday morning separately putting forward four demands including the establishment of the Interim Self Governing Authority (ISGA) and the Joint Mechanism to implement tsunami reconstruction and rehabilitation programme in the northeast. Other demands were the resettlement of displaced families due to war in their own houses and lands and to bring to halt the killings of LTTE cadres, members of public and journalists, sources said.


Full story >>

"Courageous" renamed "Samudura"

[TamilNet, Thursday, 21 April 2005, 16:35 GMT]
"Courageous" naval vessel donated by the US government to Sri Lanka was renamed "Samudra" at an event held Thursday in Colombo harbour with Mr.Ratnasiri Wickremanayake, acting Defence Minister, as the chief guest. Mr.Wickremanayake, Minister of Buddhist Affairs, is holding the acting Defence Minister post in the absence of President Ms Chandrika Kumaratunge. Ms Chandrika Kumaratunge who is currently abroad.
Full story >>

Rocca assures TNA delegation US support for Joint Mechanism

[TamilNet, Thursday, 21 April 2005, 06:30 GMT]
Ms Christina Rocca, US Assistant Secretary of State for South Asia, Wednesday assured the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentary delegation that the US Government would support the establishment of the Joint Mechanism in disbursing foreign aid to tsunami-hit coastal areas in the northeast province, TNA sources said. TNA delegation that comprised Mr.R.Sampanthan and Mr.Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam met with Ms Christina Rocca Wednesday at the US Embassy in Colombo.
Full story >>

Christina Rocca meets JVP delegation

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 20 April 2005, 16:16 GMT]
The Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), Sinhala Marxist Nationalist Party and a major constituent of the United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA) government, Wednesday told Ms Christina Rocca, the visiting US Assistant Secretary of State, that JVP is opposed to the joint mechanism which was proposed to enable the Government of Sri Lanka (GOSL) and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) to disburse funds from foreign governments and international aid agencies to assist tsunami rehabilitation and reconstruction programme in the northeast, sources said.


Full story >>

Where the truce promise rings hollow

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 20 April 2005, 14:26 GMT]
The cease fire agreement between the Government of Sri Lanka (GOSL) and the Liberation Tigers was greeted eagerly by the people of Batticaloa because it held out the hope that their daily lives would be spared of the tensions, fears, anxieties, stress and trauma which they suffered for two long decades of war. They were glad that they could lead normal lives again. Today the cease fire’s promise rings increasingly hollow to them as the Sri Lankan armed forces reintroduce war era measures, which are tinged indelibly with bitter memories of a past the people of Batticaloa wanted to put behind so that they could start their lives anew.
Full story >>

Tamil Women Confluence held in Thampalakamam

[TamilNet, Monday, 18 April 2005, 17:47 GMT]
About eight hundred Tamil women participated in a Women Confluence ('Penngal Sangamam') Monday held at Thampalakamam, a traditional Tamil village in the Trincomalee district Monday in connection with the seventeenth death anniversary of Annai Poopathi, which falls on Tuesday (April 19), sources said.
Full story >>

Sri Lanka army soldier guns down major, two corporals

[TamilNet, Saturday, 16 April 2005, 09:48 GMT]
A Sri Lanka army private shot dead a major and two lance corporals in a dispute over leave Saturday morning around 10.40 at the 7 Sinha Regiment camp in Nunavil in Jaffna. The major was second in command of the camp, Sri Lanka military sources said. The soldier was angry with his superiors for not granting him leave to go home for the Sinhala New Year, Police sources said. He was arrested and handed over to Chavakachcheri Police. The murder weapon was seized from him.
Full story >>

"All Mullaitivu tsunami affected are in transit camps"- Maaran

[TamilNet, Saturday, 16 April 2005, 01:12 GMT]
"Of the 5905 families displaced by tsunami in Mullaitivu district, all 2124 families which needed a place to live have been transferred to transit camps [from welfare centers] and the rest are living with friends and relatives in a temporary setting. We are waiting for funds to start our third phase of resettling the families in permanent state land," said Mr Maaran, Head of Mullaitivu district Emergency Task Force (ETF), when TamilNet spoke to him recently in his offices in Mullaitivu.
Full story >>

Kumaratunga urged to organise ship service for Tamil returnees from India

[TamilNet, Monday, 11 April 2005, 15:07 GMT]
Mr.Selvam Adaikalanathan, Vanni district Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarian appealed Monday to Sri Lanka's President Chandrika Kumaratunge to take immediate steps to arrange a ship for the transportation of Sri Lankan Tamil refugees from South India to Sri Lanka. The refugees frequently risk their lives by illegal travel from Thanushkodi in South India to Talaimannar in Sri Lanka- a stretch of 18 km sea- in their anxiety to return to their motherland, the MP said.
Full story >>