Funeral of Sivaram held in Batticaloa

[TamilNet, Monday, 02 May 2005, 10:13 GMT]
Murdered Tamil journalist Mr D Sivaram's funeral rites began at his family home in Lady Manning Drive, Batticaloa Monday afternoon after his body was taken to LTTE controlled Karadiyan Aaru earlier in the day. The body of Mr.Sivaram is now being taken to the cemetery in Aalayadichcholai, which lies in a High Security Zone of the Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF). The funeral procession is escorted by Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers and Police. Representatives of the SLMM are also following, TamilNet correspondent in the eastern town said.
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Sri Lanka President must be answerable for the murder - IFT

[TamilNet, Saturday, 30 April 2005, 07:14 GMT]
International Federation of Tamils (IFT) The purported murder was committed in a High Security Zone which is under the constant and vigilant protection of the Security Forces of the Sri Lankan government. As supreme commander of the armed forces, the Executive President of Sri Lanka, Chandrika Bandaranaiake Kumaratunge should be held responsible and made answerable for the murder. Several Tamil journalists and human rights activists, including Nimal Rajan in Jaffna, G.Nadesan in Batticaloa, Kumar Ponnambalam in Colombo and Chandra Nehru in Batticaloa, have been murdered, all in High Security Zones, during the present President’s tenure.
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CHC conducts eye, dental clinics

[TamilNet, Friday, 29 April 2005, 02:04 GMT]
The Centre for Health Care (CHC), a Non Governmental Organization head quartered in Kilinochchi, that offers medical services, is conducting eye clinics in the refugee camps along the coastal areas of Amparai and Batticaloa districts, and dental clinics in Tsunami affected areas and underprivileged distant villages in Amparai district, officials of CHC said.
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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.
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Human Rights congress concludes in Trincomalee

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 26 April 2005, 01:42 GMT]
Three-day Human Rights Congress held in Trincomalee town since Friday concluded Sunday night with the cultural programme of district delegations from Jaffna, Batticaloa, Mannar, Vavuniya, Puttalam, and Amparai. About one hundred seventy five human rights activists participated in the Congress organized by the National Protection and Durable Solution for IDPs' Project of the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka (HRCSL), sources said.
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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.


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Workshop on tsunami reconstruction begins in Trincomalee

[TamilNet, Friday, 22 April 2005, 10:34 GMT]
Three-day workshop for workers of Social Mobilization Unit (SMU) of the Tamil Rehabilitation Organization (TRO) began in Trincomalee Friday morning on the topic "Implementation of 3rd Phase of Tsunami Relief Programme." Tamils, Muslims and Sinhalese from districts of Amparai, Batticaloa and Trincomalee are participating in the workshop. Similar workshops were held earlier in Jaffna, Killinochchi and Vavuniya for SMU staff working in those districts, sources said.
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Tigers say Vattamadu attack report psy ops

[TamilNet, Thursday, 21 April 2005, 10:31 GMT]
Sri Lanka army claimed Thursday that five Liberation Tigers were killed and seven wounded when a paramilitary attacked their positions in Vattamadu on the island's southeast coast. A senior commander of the LTTE's armed forces in the Batticaloa-Amparai region said that two men had opened fire in the direction of their forward defence positions on the outskirts of the Kanjikudichcha Aaru region Thursday morning. "There were neither casualties nor damage on our side", the LTTE commander said. He dismissed the SLA statement as "routine psy ops".
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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.
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Rocca to meet Solheim in Colombo

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 19 April 2005, 12:33 GMT]
Visiting US Assistant Secretary of State, Christina Rocca, is scheduled to meet visiting Norwegian special peace envoy, Erik Soheim, in Colombo on Wednesday to discuss issues concerning Sri Lanka's stalled peace process and the proposed Joint Mechanism for post-tsunami relief effort, diplomatic sources in Colombo said.
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"Can trust only when Joint Mechanism comes" - Col. Bhanu

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 19 April 2005, 08:39 GMT]
“We can talk about having faith in this process only when the Joint Mechanism for Tsunami Reconstruction is implemented. The suffering of Tamils and Muslims who were affected by the Tsunami in Batticaloa/Amparai is immense. Some of them say they should have died in the Tsunami than face the privations to which they are subjected today as refugees. We explained to the Norwegians the urgent need for a joint mechanism to help these people”, said Col. Bhanu, special commander of LTTE’s armed forces in Batticaloa/Amparai, speaking to journalists after meeting Mr. Eric Solheim, special Norwegian peace envoy who visited Batticaloa Tuesday.
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Christina Rocca arrives in Colombo

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 19 April 2005, 05:18 GMT]
Ms Christina Rocca, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State arrived in Colombo Monday night on a two day visit to survey United States-funded tsunami reconstruction efforts and meet with Sri Lankan government officials. She is scheduled to tour the tsunami devastated coastal areas in the districts of Amparai and Batticaloa.
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Joint-mechanism with LTTE only way out, says Kumar Rupasinghe

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 19 April 2005, 05:09 GMT]
Dr. Kumar Rupasinghe, a leading peace activist in Sri Lanka, said Tuesday that the proposed joint-mechanism between the government of Sri Lanka and the LTTE is the only way out in the decision making process to carryout the much-needed rebuilding and resettlement program for tsunami-affected people in the worst-hit North-East region.
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Danish Red Cross provides psycho-socioalsupport to Trinco tsunami victims

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 12 April 2005, 16:54 GMT]
The Danish Red Cross (DRC) has been actively engaged in the Trincomalee district providing psycho-social support to tsunami-affected people to recover, empower them and increase their capacity to help themselves. DRC, funded by European Community Humanitarian Organization (ECHO) sent a psychosocial delegation to Sri Lanka in January this year following December 26 tsunami disaster, DRC sources said.
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STF hampering Tsunami relief work, Tigers tell SLMM

[TamilNet, Thursday, 07 April 2005, 16:56 GMT]
The Special Task Force (STF), the elite counter insurgency arm of the Sri Lankan armed forces, is blocking the Liberation Tigers from delivering Tsunami aid in many areas of the Batticaloa-Amparai district, LTTE leaders told Nordic truce monitors during a meeting in the eastern district Thursday. Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) officials urged the Tigers to resume meetings with Sri Lankan armed forces in the east during the meeting. LTTE leaders had, however, pointed out that such meetings had been futile in the past.
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Grenades lobbed at liquor dealer's house in Chenkalady

[TamilNet, Thursday, 07 April 2005, 07:46 GMT]
Six grenades were lobbed at the home of a liquor dealer in Chenkalady, 16 kilometres north of Batticaloa, Wednesday night around 9.45, Police said. The house and a vehicle were damaged in the blasts. No one was injured. The liquor dealer's house is in a high security zone.
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Prayers mourning death of Pope John Paul II held in NorthEast

[TamilNet, Monday, 04 April 2005, 10:53 GMT]
Thousands of people wept, prayed and said goodbye Sunday packing chapels and towns across NorthEast and the rest of Sri Lanka to remember the life of Pope John Paul II, the priest from Krakow who lead the resurgence of the Roman Catholic Church in Poland and the world.
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Thousands of Tsunami refugees stranded in rains

[TamilNet, Sunday, 03 April 2005, 19:19 GMT]
Thousands of tents in which Tamil and Muslim Tsunami refugees are sheltered in the Batticaloa-Amparai districts were flooded following non-seasonal rains in the region Sunday. Tsunami refugees in several camps on the eastern and southeastern coast said that they have no place to sleep tonight because of the rains. “The tent floors are wet or flooded. Mats and sheets on which refugee children sleep have got soggy with the unexpected rains”, said Mr. A. K Thavarajah, Divisional Secretary for Thirukkovil, speaking about the situation in Mandaanai, the largest Tsunami refugee camp in the Amparai district.
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East undergrads condemn STF

[TamilNet, Sunday, 03 April 2005, 12:46 GMT]
Eastern University Students' Union (EUSU) Sunday condemned the Special Task Force (STF) of the Sri Lanka Police for unleashing terror in the east by intimidating political activists of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). "We also condemn the Sri Lanka government the delay in resuming peace talks with the LTTE." EUSU said in its press statement issued Sunday.
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Sea Tigers aid Amparai fisheries societies development

[TamilNet, Thursday, 31 March 2005, 15:52 GMT]
The political divsion of the Sea Tigers Thursday donated eight hundred thousand rupees to the Federation Amparai District Fisheries Co-operative Socieites. The money was handed over to the President of the Federation, Mr. Ilayathamby. Thurairasah, by Ms. Thangeswary Kadiraman, Tamil National Alliance MP for Batticaloa at the political office of the Liberation Tigers in Thirukkovil. "The money is from our leader's special national fund. The donation is for building and strengthening fisheries societies on the southeast coast", said Mr. S. Ilakkiyan, head of the Sea Tigers' political division for Amparai, speaking at the brief function to present the money.
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