Agreement to rebuild A9 signed

[TamilNet, Monday, 23 December 2002, 15:06 GMT]
Asian Development Bank (ADB) signed an agreement Monday morning at the Kilinochchi political head quarters to provide a Rs.600m loan to rebuild 103km segment of Jaffna-Kandy road (A9) beginning from Vilakuvaithakulam in Omanthai to Jaffna Town, sources in Kilinochchi said.


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Pooneryn suffers from floods

[TamilNet, Sunday, 22 December 2002, 13:13 GMT]
Recent torrential rain in the Vanni area has inundated Nallur, Mutkomban, Mission Settlement, and Neradamban villages in the Pooneryn district with flood waters forcing 516 families to seek shelters in public buildings, sources in Pooneryn said.
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European Union to fund NE demining effort

[TamilNet, Friday, 20 December 2002, 02:56 GMT]
Commissioner for Development and Humanitarian affairs with the European Union (EU), Paul Neilson said in a report that the Internally Displace Persons from NE returning to resettle in their homes are facing severe hazards due to the buried land mines, and EU will do its maximum to provide financial support towards NorthEast demining effort.
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Thousands displaced, stranded by floods in Batticaloa-Amparai

[TamilNet, Thursday, 19 December 2002, 23:23 GMT]
Continuing torrential rain in Batticaloa-Amparai has affected 94549 families, 8577 families have abandoned their homes and sought refuge in schools, temples and public buildings, 1406 homes have been damaged and thousands of acres of paddy fields have been destroyed by flood water, officials in Batticaloa said.


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Irrigation tanks overflow, A9 repaired

[TamilNet, Thursday, 19 December 2002, 15:53 GMT]
Transport on the A-9 highway was interrupted Wednesday morning as heavy rainfall worsened the conditions of the already damaged highway between Umaiyalpuram and the Chemical factory in Paranthan. The Tamil Eelam Administrative Service, The Tamil Eelam Police Service and the Tamil Eelam Traffic Police jointly repaired the road and transport was restored to normal by Wednesday night, the Voice of Tigers radio said in its news broadcast.
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UNHCR gets Australia's support to help NE IDPs

[TamilNet, Thursday, 19 December 2002, 04:47 GMT]
The Australian Government has agreed to provide funds to UNHCR to assist the relocation and reintegration of Sri Lankans internally displaced by conflict, sources close to UNHCR said.


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Trinco workshop emphasizes GO, NGO co-operation vital for NE development

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 18 December 2002, 17:34 GMT]
A one-day awareness workshop on ‘Government Organizations (GO) and Non-Governmental Organizations (NGO) Collaboration in Development’ was held Wednesday at Trincomalee Education Training Center. "It is high time for the GOs and NGOs to work together for the development of the northeast province which has been devastated by the war," said Mr.N. Puhendran, Deputy Director of Planning addressing the workshop.
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Thousands affected by floods in NE

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 17 December 2002, 16:35 GMT]
One hundred thousand families mainly from Batticaloa, Trincomalee, Amparai and Killinochchi, have been badly affected by the flood waters caused by torrential rains in the northeast province since Monday evening, social department officials said Tuesday.
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Maldives keen to host Lanka-LTTE talks

[TamilNet, Monday, 16 December 2002, 12:27 GMT]
The government of Maldives Monday said it was keen to host the peace talks between the Liberation Tigers and the Government of Sri Lanka (GOSL) during a two-day visit to the atoll nation by Sri Lanka’s Prime Minister, Mr. Ranil Wickremesinghe. The Maldivian President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom wished success for the peace talks to end Sri Lanka’s ethnic conflict during official talks with Mr. Wickremesinghe in Male, the main atoll that is the country’s capital.
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Bomb blast damages Batticaloa TRO Office

[TamilNet, Saturday, 14 December 2002, 14:18 GMT]
Investigations are in progress on the bomb blast that damaged the Tamil Rehabilitation Organization (TRO) building in Batticaloa town Thursday alleged to have been carried out by groups opposed to Liberation Tigers (LTTE) operating in Batticaloa area, sources from the Eastern town said.
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NE Emergency Reconstruction to begin with World Bank funding

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 11 December 2002, 17:27 GMT]
The World Bank Country Director Mr. Peter Harrold and the North East Provincial Council (NEPC) Chief Secretary Mr.S.Rangarajah will sign an agreement for the North East Emergency Reconstruction Programme (NEERP) Thursday at 12 noon at the auditorium of the NEPC Health Ministry in Trincomalee, sources in Trincomalee said.
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Athaullah group expelled, Hakim leadership strengthened

[TamilNet, Monday, 09 December 2002, 03:57 GMT]
The leader of the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress and Minister Mr.Rauff Hakeem Monday consolidated his position by expelling rival leaders from the party politburo permanently during a five-hour politburo meeting Sunday early morning at party headquarters Darussalam in Colombo and filled the vacancies created by the expulsion with his close confidantes, SLMC spokesman said.
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Jeevan memorial unveiled in Batticaloa

[TamilNet, Friday, 06 December 2002, 15:10 GMT]
Memorial for Lt.Colonel Jeevan and seven LTTE cadres who died in a confrontation with Sri Lanka Army (SLA) last year was ceremoniously opened in Illuppadichenai juntion today at 10.30 am on the day of the first anniversary of their death, sources in Batticaloa said.
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Road blocks remain in Batticaloa district

[TamilNet, Sunday, 01 December 2002, 21:32 GMT]
Speed barriers and road blocks in Batticaloa district roads are still obstructing traffic in many roads in Batticaloa causing severe hardship to residents in several areas of Batticaloa, sources in the east said. Assurance given by the Sri Lanka military chiefs during the meeting of the Sub-Committee on De-escalation and Normalization held in Vavunathivi 20 October that efforts will be taken to remove these barriers still remains to be fulfilled, sources said.
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Children in Armed Conflict and the United Nations

[TamilNet, Saturday, 30 November 2002, 03:21 GMT]
It is estimated that 300,000 children are currently participating in fighting in more than 35 countries. 25 million are uprooted from their homes, while millions more have their lives severely affected by the deprivations of war. Dealing with 'impact of war on children' is high on United Nation's agenda, with an annual Security Council debate, several resolutions addressing the problem and an office of the Secretary General devoted to the topic. Sri Lanka does not figure prominently in the deliberations of the UN, but the outcome of UN decisions has been felt in Sri Lanka.
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Karuna Oslo bound

[TamilNet, Thursday, 28 November 2002, 12:14 GMT]
Colonel Karuna, Senior Commander of Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) took off from Batticaloa in an Sri Lanka Airforce helicopter to Colombo at 9.30 am today on his way to the next round of peace talks between LTTE and Government of Sri Lanka (GOSL) to be held in Oslo, Norway 2 December, sources said.
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'We are sincerely and firmly committed to peace' - Balasingham

[TamilNet, Monday, 25 November 2002, 18:26 GMT]
"We urge the international governments to offer substantial financial assistance for the resettlement and rehabilitation of the war affected people in the northeast..On our part, we can assure the international community that our organisation is sincerely and firmly committed to peace and negotiated political settlement..we will not resort to war or violence. We fervently hope that the Sri Lankan armed forces will also abide by that commitment," said Mr. Anton Balasingham, the advisor and theoretician to Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam in his address to the Oslo aid conference 25 November.
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UNHCR help sought to resettle refugees in TamilNadu

[TamilNet, Monday, 25 November 2002, 02:10 GMT]
When officials of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and Commission on Human Security met Mr. S. P. Thamilselvan, head of the Liberation Tiger's (LTTE's) Political wing in Kilinochchi Friday, Thamilselvan requested the UNHCR to take action as soon as possible to resettle Tamil refugees from NorthEast currently living in refugee camps in Tamil Nadu, India, sources said.
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Ranil leaves for Oslo

[TamilNet, Saturday, 23 November 2002, 08:39 GMT]
Sri Lanka's Prime Minister Mr.Ranil Wickremasinghe Saturday morning left for Norway to attend the Oslo aid conference, which is scheduled to begin on November 25. The Prime Minister's party left around 3 a.m. Saturday from Katunayake international airport on its first leg of the tour to London. From London they will fly to Oslo, government sources said.
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TRO assesses Kumburupiddy resettlement needs

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 20 November 2002, 16:55 GMT]
The Tamil Rehabilitation Organization (TRO) Tuesday conducted a need assessment programme in Kumburupiddy, 22 km north of Trincomalee district where hundreds of displaced Tamil families who have returned from Vanni after the signing of the ceasefire agreement struggle for survival with little rehabilitation assistance.
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