Ministry seeks to retake Estate Housing funds

[TamilNet, Monday, 25 October 2004, 10:43 GMT]
Vice President of the Ceylon Workers United Front, Kanapathy Kanakaraj, condemned the decision of the Estate Infrastructure Ministry of Sri Lanka's United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA) to retake a sum of Rs. 150 millions that had been placed in deposit by the Sri Lanka Government to put up houses for the benefit of people living in huts in the plantation sector, in a media released issued Sunday, sources in Kandy said.
Full story >>

TRO takes over Trinco Children's Shelter

[TamilNet, Saturday, 23 October 2004, 15:30 GMT]
The Tamil Rehabilitation Organization (TRO) headquartered in Killinochchi in Vanni region Saturday took over the administration of "Anbu Illam," a leading children home located along Central Road in the east port town on the orders of Trincomalee Magistrate Mr.M.Ganesharajah, Trinco sources said. Provincial Commissioner of Probation and Child Care earlier recommended to the Judge that Members of the Board of Directors appointed by the TRO to run the institution.
Full story >>

Army occupation of houses must cease, MP tells SLA commander

[TamilNet, Saturday, 23 October 2004, 15:12 GMT]
Mr.Suresh Premachchandran, Jaffna district Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarian Saturday met with Major General Sunil Tennekoon, Jaffna area commander of the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) and discussed issues confronting the people of the district since the ceasefire came into operation. This was the first time Major general Sunil Tennekoon met a TNA parliamentarian at his military headquarters in Palaly military airbase, sources said.
Full story >>

Parliament debates JHU motion against Norwegian facilitation

[TamilNet, Saturday, 23 October 2004, 09:47 GMT]
Sri Lanka's parliament is to debate the motion tabled by the Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU) demanding the United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA) government to ouster the Norwegian facilitators from the country's peace process. The motion, moved by the Sinhala nationalist party, is to be taken up for debate on November 19th. The motion accuses the presence of the Norwegian facilitators as detrimental to the country.


Full story >>

SLA gets new spokesman

[TamilNet, Friday, 22 October 2004, 17:55 GMT]
Brigadier R.M Daya Ratnayake Friday assumed duties as the new spokesman and Director, Directorate of Media of the Sri Lanka army at a brief ceremony held at the SLA Headquarters in Colombo. Former Army spokesman Colonel A.K Sumedha Perera was removed from the post after his name was implicated in a land fraud case. The case is pending in Colombo High Court.
Full story >>

IPKF Jaffna Hospital massacre remembered

[TamilNet, Friday, 22 October 2004, 00:07 GMT]
Seventeenth death anniversary of twenty-one persons including medical specialists, nurses, attendants, patients and members of public who were massacred inside Jaffna Teaching Hospital (JTH) by Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) troops stationed in Jaffna Fort on 21st October, 1987 was observed Thursday in the hospital premises, civil sources said.
Full story >>

Trincomalee Music, Dance School holds annual festival

[TamilNet, Thursday, 21 October 2004, 17:49 GMT]
The fine arts institution, ‘Isai Nadana Kalalayam’ of Sri Muthucumaraswami Thevasthanam in Trincomalee held its annual Cultural Festival at the Muthukumaraswami Temple, Wednesday.
Full story >>

150 farmers honoured in Trincomalee

[TamilNet, Thursday, 21 October 2004, 17:07 GMT]
Northeast Provincial Department of Agriculture Thursday honoured 150 best farmers in the Trincomalee district at an event especially held at Divisional Agriculture Extension Office, which is located in Chelvanayakapuram settlement about three km off east port town. The event was organized by the Trincomalee District Department of Agriculture and sponsored by the Innovative Pesticide Marketing (PVT) Ltd. (IPMP).
Full story >>

Jaffna undergrads in murder case released on bail

[TamilNet, Thursday, 21 October 2004, 15:50 GMT]
Jaffna High Court Mr.K.P.S.Varatharajah Thursday ordered bail for Mr. Jeyabalasingham Thushikanth and Mr.Ratnasingham Thavaseelan, both undergrads of Jaffna University. They were among the eight suspects remanded in connection with the murder of Arunasalam Muththiah of Punnailaikadduwan on 9 September this year, legal sources said.
Full story >>

SLTTA donates sports equipment to Muttur villages

[TamilNet, Thursday, 21 October 2004, 00:33 GMT]
Sri Lanka Table Tennis Association (SLTTA) donated more than sixty thousand rupees worth of Tabel Tennis tables and other accessories to Trincomalee district sports unit of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) to introduce and develop Table Tennis sport in the LTTE controlled Muttur east villages.


Full story >>

Tamil civilian shot dead in Eravur

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 19 October 2004, 13:43 GMT]
Mr.Kathirgamathamby Ganeshamoorthy aged 43 was shot dead by unidentified men Tuesday early morning around 3.30 a.m in his house located in the village Iyankerny in Eravur division in Batticaloa district. He was a supporter of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and the assassins are suspected to be members of Karuna group, Tamil sources said.
Full story >>

Ex TNA MP shot dead in Batticaloa

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 19 October 2004, 12:53 GMT]
Mr.Kingsley Rasanayagam, ex Tamil National Alliance MP for Batticaloa was shot dead Tuesday evening around 6.20 in the eastern town by unidentified gunmen. He resigned his seat soon after he was elected at the April 2004 election to Sri Lanka's Parliament. Mr. Rasanayagam was a close associate of renegade Liberation Tigers commander Mr. Vinayagamoorthy Muralitharan (Karuna). A Policeman who was providing security to him was injured when the gunmen riding a motorbike opened fire, Police said.
Full story >>

Signature campaign demands higher plantation wages

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 19 October 2004, 09:33 GMT]
Kandy based Human Development Organisation (HDO) launched a signature campaign targeting to obtain 100,000 signatures to pressure the the Sri Lanka Government and Private plantation companies to grant wage increase to the Plantation sector workers, civil sources said.
Full story >>

UNP activists demonstrate in Colombo

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 19 October 2004, 09:21 GMT]
United National Party (UNP) parliamentarians including hundreds of party cadres and activists joined in what is dubbed as “Kitchen Revolution," Tuesday in Kollupitiya junction, Slave Island junction, Hyde Park Corner, Maradana overhead bridge junction, Technical College junction and Kochchikade St Anthony’s Church junction, sources in Colombo said.
Full story >>

Trinco LTTE commander meets TNA

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 19 October 2004, 05:03 GMT]
Col. Sornam, the Commander of the Liberation Tigers in Trincomalee, Tuesday met Tamil National Alliance MPs who are on a fact finding and familiarisation visit in the eastern district. The seventeen TNA MPs and the senior LTTE commander discussed the severe poverty and underdevelopment faced by Tamils in the rural parts of Trincomalee and the need to further cement Tamil-Muslim unity. "Our top priority today is to rebuild our society, all but destroyed by the Sinhala state through systematic racial discrimination and genocide", Col. Sornam told the TNA MPs.
Full story >>

ISGA critical to peace- Elilan

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 19 October 2004, 03:15 GMT]
"If the Government of Sri Lanka (GOSL) does not accept our committed stand to find a negotiated political resolution to the Tamil national question on the basis of our Interim Self-Governing Authority (ISGA) proposals then war will be inevitable. We are prepared to face that prospect," said Mr.Elilan, Trincomalee district political head of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) addressing a meeting held in Salli, a Tamil village north of Trincomalee as a part of the three day district level political awareness campaign of the Tamil national Alliance (TNA).
Full story >>

Jaffna Court orders inquiry into habeas corpus application

[TamilNet, Monday, 18 October 2004, 16:12 GMT]
Jaffna High Court Judge Mr.K.P.S.Varatharajah Monday referred the Habeas Corpus application filed by Mr.Kanapathipillai Velupillai seeking the production of his son Mr.Velupillai Uthayakumar who was reported disappeared after the arrest by Sri Lanka Army soldiers during 1996 period to the Chavakachcheri Magistrate for preliminary and report, legal sources said.


Full story >>

Tamils, LTTE, MPs lose patience on peace process -Sampanthan

[TamilNet, Monday, 18 October 2004, 05:08 GMT]
"Tamils, Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and we (parliamentarians) have started losing patience on the current peace efforts with the Norwegian facilitation because of the inability of the Government of Sri Lanka in coming to terms on the basis of resuming peace talks with the LTTE due to internal rift among its constituents," said Mr.R.Sampanthan, Tamil National Alliance parliamentary group leader addressing a series of awareness meetings held in several villages north of Trincomalee district Sunday from morning till midnight.
Full story >>

TNA urges Tamil people to strengthen LTTE hands

[TamilNet, Sunday, 17 October 2004, 16:12 GMT]
Tamil National Parliamentarians (TNA) addressing first public rally held in Trincomalee Town Hall Saturday night as a part of the three day political awareness campaign in the district stressed that Tamils should strengthen the hands of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) to establish the Interim Self Governing Authority (ISGA) which is urgently needed to reconstruct the war torn northeast province and to rehabilitate the lives of several thousands internally displaced peoples now sheltered in camps and welfare centres.
Full story >>

TNA meets with Trinco Muslim leaders

[TamilNet, Saturday, 16 October 2004, 18:59 GMT]
The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) Saturday launched its first district political awareness campaign in Trincomalee district by organizing a discussion with a group of prominent Muslim citizens in the east port town at Trincomalee New Silver Star Hotel, TNA sources said.
Full story >>