MoD says 'no case' amid public protests

[TamilNet, Thursday, 04 July 2002, 01:18 GMT]
(News Feature) A Sri Lankan Defence Ministry inquiry into the assault of two senior political cadres of the Liberation Tigers on June 20 ruled that "there was no evidence ... to establish a case against any individual or person," state media reported. The Defence Ministry statement was issued Wednesday, the day after a massive demonstration in Kilinochchi to protest the attack by Sri Lankan naval personnel and members of the paramilitary Eelam People's Democratic Party (EPDP) on the LTTE cadres.
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Vanni returnee abducted, beaten up in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 03 July 2002, 18:05 GMT]
A father of two children who returned to Point Pedro in Jaffna after more than six years in LTTE held Vanni region Wednesday complained to the Police that he was abducted, beaten up and kept in a dilapidated building for six days. He said that the abductors had chained his hands and legs. Informed sources in Jaffna said his abductors are suspected to be members of the army intelligence unit.
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Jaffna journalist says beaten up, threatened

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 02 July 2002, 05:26 GMT]
The President of the Jaffna journalists' Association, Mr. Veluppillai Thavachelvam complained to the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission and the International Committee of the Red Cross Tuesday that he was abducted and beaten up by armed persons who accused him of working for the Liberation Tigers.
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Ceasefire has reduced human rights violations - Amnesty

[TamilNet, Sunday, 30 June 2002, 11:15 GMT]
Ending a two-week visit to Sri Lanka, Amnesty International (AI) delegates welcomed the positive engagement and cooperation from both the government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) on issues of human rights and the peace process. "The current climate is one of pragmatic hope," Derek Evans, head of the delegation said. "The cease-fire agreement has made a significant impact in reducing human rights abuses in Sri Lanka."
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'Lack of transparency in NGO activities'

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 26 June 2002, 02:14 GMT]
There was a lack of transparency in the activities of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) working in the north and east, with some aid workers putting their personal betterment ahead of the interests of the people they ought to be assisting, speakers told a two-day workshop on the Poverty Alleviation Programme organised by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Ministry assisting Vanni Rehabilitation and sponsored by the Northeast Provincial Planning Secretariat in Trincomalee Sunday. The workshop concluded with a play enacted by a group of artistes who specially came to Trincomalee from the Vanni region.
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LTTE adopts UN policy on recruitment

[TamilNet, Monday, 24 June 2002, 08:00 GMT]
The Liberation Tigers have set the minimum age for recruitment to their organisation at 18, the head of the movement's political section, Mr.S.P.Thamilchelvan, said last week. The LTTE made the policy decision following the adoption by the United Nations of a treaty on recruitment earlier this year, LTTE sources told TamilNet Sunday.
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'Poverty alleviation program neglects Tamil poor in Trinco' -TRO

[TamilNet, Saturday, 22 June 2002, 23:15 GMT]
A large number of Tamil people in Mutur East, in the Trincomalee district, live under the poverty line; they eat yams and green leaves in their areas, and malnutrition has affected many pregnant women and children, but their needs have been neglected by the government, according to Mr.S.Kumaragurparan, Secretary of the Tamil Rehabilitation Organization (TRO).
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Colombo to recruit 1600 for STF

[TamilNet, Friday, 21 June 2002, 17:50 GMT]
Sri Lanka's Minister for Interior, Mr. John Amaratunga, told troops frontline in Mannar Thursday that his government will recruit 1600 to the Special Task Force (STF), the elite counter insurgency arm of the island's military. Speaking among STF commandos and military trained Policemen manning forward defences on the border separating the Vanni region held by the Liberation Tigers at Kannatti, Mr. Amaratunga dismissed rumours that Colombo intends to downsize the elite counter insurgency force.
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Jaffna humanitarian agencies slam Colombo

[TamilNet, Thursday, 20 June 2002, 16:17 GMT]
The Council of Humanitarian Agencies (CHA) in Jaffna Thursday slammed the Sri Lankan government for ignoring the plight of thousands who want to resettle in their villages in the northern peninsula. "In Jaffna, restoring normalcy as promised in the cease-fire agreement means the resettlement of internally displaced people.
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25,245 Vanni children not getting schooling

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 19 June 2002, 20:34 GMT]
Due to the poor education facilities in the Vanni region, 25,245 students in five education zones in the region are not attending school regularly. Prior to the research conducted by the Rural Economic Research and Development Corporation during education awareness week, the number was assumed to be 21,000.
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TRO assists resettlement in Kanniya

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 19 June 2002, 20:17 GMT]
The Trincomalee branch of Tamil Rehabilitation Organization (TRO), Wednesday handed over a cheque for fifty thousand rupees to Swami Sugasthanandaji to facilitate the resettlement of displaced Tamil families in and around Kanniya village by constructing resting hall ('madam').
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MP lists occupied temples, schools in Trincomalee

[TamilNet, Monday, 17 June 2002, 16:10 GMT]
Trincomalee parliamentarian R. Sampanthan Monday sent a letter by fax to the Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe listing schools, places of worship, private lands and public buildings in the Trincomalee district which have not been vacated by the State armed forces even one hundred and fifteen have passed after signing the ceasefire agreement with the Liberation Tigers on February 23. The list included five places of worship, twelve schools and eighteen public buildings and private lands which are still in the hands of State armed forces.
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VoT hosts Jaffna cultural show

[TamilNet, Monday, 17 June 2002, 10:07 GMT]
Thousands of Tamils in Jaffna gathered Sunday for a cultural performance put on by the Arts & Culture section of the Liberation Tigers, in the first such event in seven years, the Uthayan newspaper reported. The 'Muththamil Kalai Arangam' road show took place at Nallur's Ilam Kalaignar Hall and was presented by the 'Voice of Tigers' radio.
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Sri Lanka tourism awaits peace dividend

[TamilNet, Monday, 17 June 2002, 09:18 GMT]
Tourist arrivals in Sri Lanka have not shown any significant increase despite the signing of the ceasefire agreement between the government and the Liberation Tigers, Tourism Minister Gamini Lokuge told The Sunday Leader.
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Military harassment continues in east

[TamilNet, Saturday, 15 June 2002, 11:30 GMT]
Police personnel manning the checkpoint in Kaddaiparicchhan, Muttur in the Trincomalee district have again started harassing Tamil youths, local press reports said. People traveling from Muttur East are stopped and questioned at the checkpoint and those not carrying sufficient identification are barred from crossing, the Uthayan reported last week.
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Displaced find others in their homes

[TamilNet, Friday, 14 June 2002, 11:22 GMT]
People displaced from Manpity in Navanthurai are unable to return to their homes because the Ministry of Rehabilitation has settled other people into their homes, which were originally constructed by the Housing Authority as a housing scheme for fishermen.
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'Just solution will end armed struggle'

[TamilNet, Thursday, 13 June 2002, 14:10 GMT]
The Liberation Tigers are committed to the ceasefire agreement with the Sri Lankan government and will honour its terms and conditions, but must remain strong until the rights of the Tamil people have been secured, a senior LTTE commander said Monday.
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Navy blocks resettlement of Tamil families in Thiriyai

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 12 June 2002, 21:41 GMT]
The Sri Lanka Navy Wednesday refused permission to a group of displaced Tamil families to enter their destroyed village, Thiriyai- a Tamil village about 42 km north of Trincomalee town- to make preliminary arrangements for their resettlement.
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Amnesty to meet LTTE in Vanni

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 12 June 2002, 11:49 GMT]
Amnesty International will, for the first time, meet the leadership of the Liberation Tigers during a visit to Sri Lanka this week, the London based human rights group said Wednesday. “[The delegates] will travel to the Vanni to meet with the LTTE leadership during the first week and then return to Colombo to hold meetings with the new Sri Lankan government,” Amnesty said in a statement.
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Prohibition on unauthorised felling of treess

[TamilNet, Saturday, 08 June 2002, 09:29 GMT]
A notice prohibiting the unauthorized felling of trees in the north and east of Sri Lanka was issued by the Tamil Eelam Forest Conservation Unit of the Liberation Tigers on June 5, to coincide with World Environment Day (WED). Disciplinary action would be taken against violators, a notice published in the Vanni Wednesday said.
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