Jaffna town’s redesign discussed

[TamilNet, Thursday, 03 April 2003, 18:31 GMT]
A senior official of Sri Lanka’s Urban Development Authority (UDA) held a consultative meeting at the Jaffna District Secretariat Thursday on re-designing and rebuilding the Jaffna town. The head of the consortium of civil society organisations in Jaffna, Mr. S. Cyril, who took part in the consultation suggested that war damaged buildings should be demolished and that the new plan should do away with unplanned constructions which are causing congestion in the town.
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Trinco development projects to cost Rs.359 million

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 02 April 2003, 00:57 GMT]
The political division of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) submitted twenty-four project proposals for the development of Trincomalee district to the Secretariat for Immediate Humanitarian and Rehabilitation Needs in Northeast (SIHRN), sources said. The total cost of the projects is estimated to be 359 million rupees.
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Inferior quality rice to be distributed to Jaffna displaced

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 01 April 2003, 16:53 GMT]
Civil groups Tuesday complained that officials of the Jaffna district secretariat are planning to distribute to the displaced families in the peninsula as free dry ration, inferior quality rice from six month old three thousand bags stock that was kept at a co-operative store in the Point Pedro high security zone, sources said.


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Electricity supply restored to Karadiyanaru region

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 01 April 2003, 13:43 GMT]
Minister of Power and Energy of the Government of Sri Lanka (GOSL), Karu Jeyasuriya, Sunday declared open electricity supply scheme to Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) controlled areas of Karadiyanaru, Illupadichchenai and Pankudaveli in Batticaloa district, ministry officials said.
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Tamil MPs object to new Jaffna garrison

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 01 April 2003, 10:31 GMT]
The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) raised strong objections to the construction of a new Sri Lanka Army (SLA) garrison on Jaffna Municipal Council grounds when it met Prime Minister Ranil Wicremesinghe at his office in Parliament Tuesday morning. The 12 TNA MPs who met the Prime Minister told him that the military has begun work on permanent structures for the garrison.


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Vanni MP lends moral support to protesting teachers

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 01 April 2003, 01:52 GMT]
Mr.Selvam Adaikalanathan, Vanni district Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarian wearing black band participated in the one month old sit-in-protest by the North East Tamil Medium Volunteer Teachers Monday morning now being held in front of the provincial ministry education office in Trincomalee, sources said.


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Military complex in heart of Jaffna unacceptable - Thamilchelvan

[TamilNet, Monday, 31 March 2003, 16:28 GMT]
"We are totally opposed to the re-occupation of lands in the Jaffna Municipal area and the setting up of a large military complex in the heart of the city," said Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) political head, S.P.Thamilchelvan, in a letter to Government of Sri Lanka (GOSL) Minister of Defense Tilak Marapone today, sources in Vanni said.


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HSZs, scant funds slow resettlement in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Monday, 31 March 2003, 15:09 GMT]
The flow of refugees returning from the Vanni to resettle in Jaffna has slowed down because the fate of their villages and towns occupied by the Sri Lanka army (SLA) inside High Security Zones in the northern peninsula still remains uncertain, a senior government official said Monday.


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Mannar HSZs discussed as re-settler loses arm

[TamilNet, Saturday, 29 March 2003, 19:12 GMT]
The Bishop of Mannar said Saturday that High Security Zones (HSZs) are necessary only during war and that displaced people should return to their homes as there is peace now. The armed forces should understand this and leave the HSZs at least in stages, Rt. Rev. Rayappu Joseph said, speaking at a seminar in Mannar Saturday.
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Opening of Pooneryn causeway urged

[TamilNet, Saturday, 29 March 2003, 13:28 GMT]
“The Sri Lankan government should take steps to re-open the Kerathivu- Sangupiddy causeway to ease the burden of the civilians living in western parts of Vanni region," said that the President of the Kilinochchi branch of the Sri Lanka Red Cross Society (SLRC), Mr. P. Karthigesu, speaking to Tamilnet about recent moves to further improve transport facilities between Jaffna and the mainland.


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SLA warns public from entering Council lands

[TamilNet, Saturday, 29 March 2003, 01:02 GMT]
The Sri Lanka Army (SLA) has put up a notice board Thursday warning the civilians not to enter the Jaffna municipal lands which have been earmarked for establishing new army camps. "This is a government-military property. Any unauthorized intruders will be dealt with minimum force," said the notice board erected near the MC lands, sources in Jaffna said.
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‘Normalcy in NE only when displaced are resettled’ - Sampanthan

[TamilNet, Friday, 28 March 2003, 17:14 GMT]
Normalcy will return to the North East province only after thousands of displaced people now languishing in refugee camps and welfare centers are resettled in their own lands, said Mr.R. Sampanthan, the Tamil National Alliance (TNA)parliamentary group leader, at a function to open the office of the Socio Economic Development Committee (SEDC) in Thiriyai, a traditional Tamil village forty-two kilometers north of Trincomalee, sources said.
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PA-JVP said closer to formula for capturing power

[TamilNet, Friday, 28 March 2003, 16:44 GMT]
Sri Lanka’s main opposition parties said Friday they were closer to striking a deal on forming an alliance to bring down Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe’s government. The People’s Alliance and the Janata Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) had discussions on formulating the crucial clauses of a memorandum of understanding to cement the alliance at the President’s House in Colombo Friday.
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TRO, UNICEF work to build management capacity in Northeast

[TamilNet, Friday, 28 March 2003, 11:55 GMT]
An intensive 40 day course, organized by the Tamil Rehabilitation Organization (TRO) in partnership with UNICEF, on building the management capacity of Non Governmental Organizations (NGOs) working throughout the Northeastern Province, commenced earlier this week at Puthukuddyrippu, sources in Vanni said.
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Sri Lanka Police quibble over spent ordnance

[TamilNet, Thursday, 27 March 2003, 16:57 GMT]
The Sri Lankan Police Thursday produced in the district court of Mannar a person arrested allegedly for transporting empty casings of artillery shells. Police told court that they had found six empty casings, each two feet long, in a lorry bringing scrap metal from the Vanni at the Uyilankulam entry point in Mannar. Legal sources in the Mannar courts, however, said expended ordnance was not illegal.


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Farmers’ protest brings civil admin to standstill in Mannar

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 26 March 2003, 13:38 GMT]
More than 1500 farmers in Mannar demanding fair prices for their rice harvest and the removal of Sri Lankan armed forces units which continue to occupy fields and buildings in the region blockaded the District Secretariat Wednesday and brought all government administration in the Northwestern island town to a standstill.
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Hakone talks focus on federalism, security concerns at sea

[TamilNet, Friday, 21 March 2003, 12:02 GMT]
The Government of Sri Lanka (GOSL) and Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) delegations in their sixth session of peace talks agreed to have their senior naval and political personnel meet to 'workout effective arrangements for the operation of naval units.' The parties also agreed to present a complete plan at the seventh session on the steps to be taken towards negotiating a federal solution for Sri Lanka.


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Akashi hosts Tiger delegation to traditional meal

[TamilNet, Thursday, 20 March 2003, 10:57 GMT]
Japan’s Special Peace Envoy to Sri Lanka, Mr. Yasushi Akashi, Thursday hosted a lunch for the Liberation Tigers’ delegation at the sixth round of direct talks between the LTTE and the Sri Lankan government, officials said. Japanese diplomats and LTTE officials sat down to a traditional Japanese meal at a top restaurant in the hot spring resort of Hakone where the talks are being held.
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Annai Poopathi anniversary celebrated in Batticaloa

[TamilNet, Thursday, 20 March 2003, 04:03 GMT]
"Today represents a historic day in our freedom struggle. The fifteenth year anniversay of the day Annai (mother) Poopathi sacrificed her life waging non-violent struggle against the might of the Indian Army. She demonstrated that no force can suppress the determination of the Tamils to fight for their rights," said Batticaloa-Amparai special commander of Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), T. Ramesh, addressing the anniversary celebrations held in Navalady, Batticaloa, sources said.


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Volunteer teachers threaten hunger strike

[TamilNet, Thursday, 20 March 2003, 03:16 GMT]
The North East Province Volunteer Teachers' Consortium (NEPVTC) Wednesday issued a statement that it would extend its present sit-in protest in front of the provincial ministry of education in Trincomalee to a hunger strike from March 28 if the United National Front (UNF) government fails to grant permanent status to them before March 27, sources said.
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