Second model village opened in Amparai

[TamilNet, Monday, 28 February 2005, 01:00 GMT]
A second model village in Kavadapaddi, a village located in Aalaiyadivembu Division, Amparai district, containing 51 houses, a preschool, a small health office and amenities for establishing small scale businesses was ceremonially opened Saturday 4.30 pm presided by Director of Amparai district Tamils Rehabilitation Organization (TRO), an NGO registered with Government of Sri Lanka and working exclusively in the NorthEast, sources said.
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Solheim meets LTTE in east

[TamilNet, Saturday, 26 February 2005, 14:16 GMT]
Norway’s special peace envoy for Sri Lanka, Mr. Eric Solheim Saturday met head of LTTE’s political division for Batticaloa-Amparai district, Mr. Irasaiah Ilanthirayan for discussions on post Tsunami work and the political-security situation in the region. On an invitation by Mr. Ilanthirayan, the Norwegian peace envoy and his team visited the Tsunami devastated coastal areas of Paandiruppu, a densely populated Tamil village, 38 kilometres south of Batticaloa. Mr. Ilanthirayan and other regional LTTE officers accompanied Mr. Solheim.
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Oxfam, EI to reconstruct tsunami hit schools

[TamilNet, Thursday, 24 February 2005, 17:59 GMT]
Education International (EI) and Oxfam-Netherlands Thursday signed Memorandum of Understanding with the Central Ministry of Education for reconstructing fourteen schools which were destroyed in December 26 tsunami in the northeast and south of Sri Lanka. Mr.Fred van Leeuwen, General Secretary of the Education International, Ms Sylvia Borren, General Director of the Oxfam-Netherlands and Dr Ms. Tara De Mel, Secretary to the Ministry of Education signed the MoU, education Ministry sources said
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Thambattai showcases model resettlement village

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 22 February 2005, 20:52 GMT]
A model village in Thambattai in Amparai district, providing temporary accomodation for the families displaced by the tsunami, built by the Tamils Rehabilitation Organization (TRO), an NGO registered with Government of Sri Lanka and working exclusively in the NorthEast, was ceremonially opened Monday by the President of consortium of Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), Mr Manickavasagam, sources in Amparai said.


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US Tamils call for an end to East violence

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 22 February 2005, 12:00 GMT]
Condemning the recent killing of LTTE's Political Head of Batticaloa-Amparai Mr Kausalyan and others in the East, a group of expatriate Tamil organizations in the US called upon Sri Lankan President Chandrika Kumaratunga "to suspend immediately the military officers who were in charge of Welikanda and Punnai, where this inhuman act took place...[and to take] swift actions and measures to prevent similar atrocities in the future," in a press release issued Tuesday.
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Indian soldiers help reconstruct Arugam Bay bridge

[TamilNet, Sunday, 20 February 2005, 12:03 GMT]
Soldiers of the Indian Army contingent that arrived in Sri Lanka in the aftermath of tsunami disaster have started construction of temporary spans over the partially but heavily damaged Arugam Bay bridge in Amparai district. Multiple spans of a total of 150 feet were destroyed of the 350 feet bridge when the wave struck, engineering sources in Amparai said.
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Sri Lanka blasts Annan’s statement

[TamilNet, Friday, 18 February 2005, 13:37 GMT]
Sri Lanka’s Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar has officially registered his government’s strong objections with the United Nations over Secretary General Kofi Annan’s condemnation of the assassinations on February 7 of E. Kousalyan, head of LTTE's Political Wing in Batticaloa-Amparai district, and his team in a Sri Lanka government-controlled area of the Eastern province, political sources said Friday.
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Bhikku Front protests against Annan's statement on Kousalyan

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 16 February 2005, 19:21 GMT]
Hundreds of saffron-robed Buddhist Monks belonging to the National Bhikku Front (NBF) on Wednesday launched a protest rally opposite the United Nations office in Colombo to condemn the recent statement by UN Secretary General Kofi Annan over the slaying of Head of LTTE's Political Wing in Batticaloa-Amparai district, E.Kousalyan and his team in the Sri Lanka government-controlled areas in the Eastern province.
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US Ex-Presidents Clinton, Bush to visit Sri Lanka

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 16 February 2005, 18:14 GMT]
Former Presidents of the United States, Bill Clinton (1993-2001) and George H.W.Bush(1989-1993) are expected to arrive in Sri Lanka during the weekend as part of their tour of South Asian nations hit by Tsunami, diplomatic sources in Colombo said.
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Paramilitaries, lack of aid agreement blocking talks - Balasingham

[TamilNet, Monday, 14 February 2005, 20:50 GMT]
The Liberation Tigers’ political strategist and chief negotiator, Mr. Anton Balasingham, told Norwegian facilitators Monday that the Sri Lankan government had to take steps to restore confidence in the peace process, in particular by disarming paramilitaries working alongside its armed forces and establish a joint mechanism with the LTTE for post-tsunami aid, sources said.
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Tigers meet Muslim leaders in Batticaloa

[TamilNet, Monday, 14 February 2005, 14:24 GMT]
“First they divided us. Then they divided you. Sinhala leaders will always deny our rights. Tamil Muslim unity should be the foundation of your liberation struggle”, said Mr. I.M Ibrahim, secretary of the Mosque Federations of Amparai District, addressing senior Liberation Tiger leaders at a meeting between LTTE Muslim community leaders of Batticaloa and Amparai districts Monday in Kokkaddicholai, 15 kilometres southwest of Batticaloa town. “There are still problems, fears and doubts between us. We cannot gloss over them. We should grapple with them and build our unity at the grass roots level”, Mr. Thamilchelvan told the Muslims in his address.
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Jaffna transport sector holds protest march

[TamilNet, Monday, 14 February 2005, 11:18 GMT]
Convoy of vehicles joined the Jaffna district transport sector protest march Monday condemning the discrimination shown by the government in providing relief to tsunami victims in coastal areas and the recent killings of LTTE Batticaloa Amparai district political head Mr.Kousalyan and former TNA parliamentarians Mr.A. Chandra Nehru, sources in Jaffna said.
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Nehru, a fearless Human Rights campaigner- NESOHR

[TamilNet, Sunday, 13 February 2005, 13:43 GMT]
Eulogizing Mr. A. Chandra Nehru, founder member of NorthEast Secretariat on Human Rights (NESOHR), as a champion of peoples rights and as one "who steered through the highly militarized and inhospitable environment that prevails in the NorthEast to defend and protect the Human Rights of those who were voiceless and helpless..," Rev Father Karunaratnam, Chairman of NESOHR, said in a press release issued Sunday that Nehru's tragic death "is an irreparable loss for NESOHR, the HR fraternity, both local and International, and the down trodden and helpless citizenry of the NorthEast."
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Pirapaharan honours slain TNA MP

[TamilNet, Saturday, 12 February 2005, 12:39 GMT]
Leader of the Liberation Tigers, Mr. Velupillai Pirapaharan Saturday posthumously honoured Mr. Ariyanayagam Chandra Nehru as Maamanithar, the highest honour granted by the LTTE. The citation signed by the LTTE leader was given to Mr. Nehru's widow and son at a special ceremony in Pavattah, in the interior of Sri Lanka's southeast coast. Nehru's body, draped in the LTTE flag was taken from Thirukkovil to the LTTE conference centre in Pavattah, in the Kannjikudichcha Aaru region which is controlled by the Tigers.
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Jaffna, Vavuniya shut down in hartal, protesters clash with SLA

[TamilNet, Saturday, 12 February 2005, 10:05 GMT]
The entire districts of Jaffna and Vavuniya Saturday came to a standstill following a general shut down, condemning the killings of Mr.Kousalyan, LTTE political head for Batticaloa Amparai district, his colleagues and Mr.Chandra Nehru, former Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarian for Amparai district. In several areas civilians blocked roads and burnt tyres. Clashes took place at the junctions of Puttur and Kaithady in Thenmaradchchi division in Jaffna district Saturday afternoon between groups of civilians and soldiers of the Sri Lanka Army when the latter attempted to remove the roadblocks. Soldiers fled from their sentry points when the angered civilians threw stones at them.
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Killing of Kousalyan has poisoned ceasefire - Akashi

[TamilNet, Saturday, 12 February 2005, 07:50 GMT]
The killing of Kousalyan and his colleagues has "poisoned the cease fire atmosphere" in Sri Lanka, said Mr. Yasushi Akashi, Japan's Special Peace Envoy, speaking to the press after meeting the Liberation Tigers in Solaiyaham, near Kokkaddicholai Saturday. Referring to the distribution of Tsunami aid in Sri Lanka, Mr. Akashi said the "needs in East are probably biggest".
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LTTE names Marshall political head for Batti-Amparai

[TamilNet, Friday, 11 February 2005, 14:39 GMT]
Liberation Tigers said Friday that Mr. Irasaiah Marshall has been appointed as the head of their political division for Batticaoa-Amparai District. Mr. Marshall who takes Mr. Kousalyan's place, was in charge of the Headquarters Secretariat of the LTTE for Batticaloa-Amparai. He was also in charge of project planning for post Tsunami reconstruction in the region.
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Akashi to meet Thamilchelvan in Batticaloa

[TamilNet, Friday, 11 February 2005, 09:55 GMT]
Japan's special peace envoy to Sri Lanka, Mr. Yasushi Akashi, will meet head of Liberation Tigers' politicial division, Mr. S. P Thamilchelvan, Saturday in Kokkaddicholai, 15 kilometres southwest of Batticaloa town, Japanese sources in Colombo said. Mr. Akashi will discuss Tsunami relief work and aid in the northeast and the current state of the island's long stalled peace process when he meets Mr. Thamilchelvan in the LTTE held region.
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Government's ability to prevent killings limited, says Mangala Samaraweera

[TamilNet, Friday, 11 February 2005, 07:46 GMT]
Cabinet Spokesman of President Chandrika Kumaratunga's Freedom Alliance government Minister Mangala Samaraweera said Friday that although the government was taking all steps to prevent killings in the future, there was a limit to which it can prevent them. The killings took place between Sri Lanka army garrisons at Welikanda and Punanai on the Pollonnorawa-Batticaloa road Monday.
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Jaffna to observe hartal Saturday

[TamilNet, Thursday, 10 February 2005, 19:41 GMT]
University Students Union, Students Federation and Tamil Resurgence Movement of Jaffna district have called for a general shut down (Hartal) on Saturday condemning the killings of Mr. E. Kousalyan, LTTE Political Head for Batticaloa and Amparai districts, Mr.Ariyanayagam Nehru, former parliamentarian, and four others on February 7 at Welikanda in the North Central Province, sources said.
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