TECH assists tsunami affected Muttur east, Vaakarai

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 13 April 2005, 16:22 GMT]
Trincomalee Economic Consultancy House (TECH) in collaboration with a non-governmental organization "SUSTAIN-United Kingdom" distributed ten sewing machines to women who lost their husbands in the tsunami disaster in the Muttur east villages. The donation was channelled through the Muttur East Women Development Association, TECH co-ordinator Mr.N.Kalaisangar said.
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"Mortar training confined to our area" - LTTE

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 13 April 2005, 15:13 GMT]
Responding to Sri Lanka Army (SLA) statement that pieces of artillery shells fired by LTTE fell on the army controlled area where Thoppur army camp is located, Mr.S.Elilan, Trincomalee district political head of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) said Wednesday, "LTTE cadres conducted normal military training in our controlled area in the Muttur east in the Trincomalee district on Tuesday morning," sources said.
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Thamilchelvan meets Archbishop Desmond Tutu in South Africa

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 13 April 2005, 07:40 GMT]
LTTE Political Head Mr. S.P.Thamilchelvan and his delegation met Tuesday Human rights activist, Nobel laureate and Retired Archbishop Desmond Tutu of South Africa in Cape Town. The LTTE Political Head, who briefed the Nobel laureate on the current state of the CFA and post-tsunami humanitarian situation of the NorthEast, said that international engagement is significant for the proposed Joint Mechanism to become a reality. Desmond Tutu, who appreciated the LTTE for its commitment to the Norwegian facilitated Ceasefire Agreement (CFA), expressed his desire to visit NorthEast and see the plight of Tamil people, LTTE sources said.
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Politically motivated focus on child soldiers said detrimental to peace

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 12 April 2005, 19:41 GMT]
Addressing the 61st Session of UN Commission on Human Rights (CHR 61), Ms. Karen Parker, J.D., a human rights lawyer and chief delegate for International Educational Development - Humanitarian Law Project, an NGO accredited by the United Nations Economic and Social Council, warned Monday that politically motivated focus on child soldiers without genuine consideration for the children themselves is detrimental to peace. Ms. Parker urged the UN Commission to give full support to Sri Lankan peace process facilitated by the Norwegian Government.
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Media watchdog says JVP inciting violence against journalists

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 12 April 2005, 16:20 GMT]
Sri Lanka’s main press watchdog, Free Media Movement FMM, Tuesday expressed grave concern that a speech by Mr. Wimal Weerawansa, the powerful propaganda secretary of the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), could incite violence against journalists and media institutions. In a letter addressed to the Patriotic National Movement, a JVP affiliate which organized the meeting where Mr. Weerawansa spoke, FMM said “stop this hate campaign your organisation has launched against journalists and media institutions and to keep criticisms within the limits of democratic freedoms."
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Thenmaradchchi residents demand Joint Mechanism

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 12 April 2005, 14:53 GMT]
Several hundred residents of Thenmaradchchi division in Jaffna district held a protest march Monday morning demanding the establishment of Interim Self Governing Authority (ISGA) for the northeast and joint mechanism for implementing relief and rehabilitation programme for tsunami affected people, the restoration of normalcy in the lives of internally displaced families now sheltered in welfare centres and to stop attack on LTTE cadres by the government security forces, civil groups' sources said.
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Kilinochchi protest condemns delay in Joint Mechanism, ISGA

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 12 April 2005, 09:38 GMT]
Large number of Tamil civilians participated in the protest march held Monday morning in Killinochchi condemning the Government of Sri Lanka for its delay in establishing the joint mechanism to provide relief and rehabilitation to tsunami affected people and for the delay in setting up the interim self governing authority (ISGA) in the northeast. It also condemned the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) for carrying out a shadow war in the east, sources said.
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LTTE Political Head meets South African Deputy President

[TamilNet, Monday, 11 April 2005, 19:29 GMT]
Mr Thamilchelvan, head of LTTE political wing, told South African Deputy President Mr.Jacob Zuma that LTTE is committed to the CeaseFire Agreement and has expressed its readiness to recommence negotiations on the basis of the proposals submitted for the formation of an interim administration, when they met in Durban Monday, sources close to the LTTE said.


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Thousands march in Vavuniya for peace

[TamilNet, Monday, 11 April 2005, 08:35 GMT]
More than three thousand people marched through Vavuniya town Monday demanding that the government of Sri Lanka restart the long stalled peace talks with the Liberation Tigers, set up a joint mechanism for Tsunami relief in the island's northeast and stop using its paramilitaries to attack LTTE activists . A public rally was held on the Vavuniya Urban Council grounds at the conclusion of the march. The march and rally were organised by 84 civil society groups in Vavuniya.
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ICRC escorts injured LTTE cadre to Trinco hospital

[TamilNet, Sunday, 10 April 2005, 17:05 GMT]
Injured cadre of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in Friday's dawn attack on the LTTE sentry point in Poonagar by an unidentified group in army uniforms was admitted to the Trincomalee general hospital Sunday afternoon for further treatment as his condition is reported critical. He was taken to the hospital by road from Kaddaiparichchan army sentry by representatives of the International Committee of Red Cross (ICRC) on a request by the LTTE Trincomalee district political head Mr.S.Elilan, sources said.
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SLMM official: ‘Government must disarm Karuna Group’

[TamilNet, Sunday, 10 April 2005, 17:03 GMT]
The Sunday Times this week published transcripts from the Presidential Commission into the killings of LTTE officials and supporters in Sri Lanka’s restive east, in which the head of the international ceasefire monitors in Batticaloa, Mr. Steen Joergensen, confirmed the presence of anti-LTTE paramilitaries in government-held areas. However, the Sri Lanka Army's senior most officer in Batticaloa, Brigadier Laksiri Amaratunge, denied the charge.
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LTTE releases captured SLA soldier

[TamilNet, Sunday, 10 April 2005, 10:13 GMT]
The Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldier, who was arrested by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eealm (LTTE) on Saturday, was handed over Sunday evening to the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) officials. The handing over event took place at the LTTE Trincomalee Political Secretariat which is located in Sampoor.
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Kumaratunga off to London for New Year holidays

[TamilNet, Sunday, 10 April 2005, 10:03 GMT]
Sri Lanka's President Chandrika Kumaratunga left for London on Saturday night to spend the forthcoming New Year holidays with her children, Yashoda and Vimukthi. According to reports, Ms Kumaratunge before undertaking her private trip to UK has appointed her close confidante, Ratnasiri Wickremenayake, as the Minister of Defence and Dinesh Gunawardene as the Minister of Education until she returns back to Sri Lanka.
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SLMM says LTTE violated CFA

[TamilNet, Saturday, 09 April 2005, 12:24 GMT]
The LTTE has violated article 1.2 of the Ceasefire Agreement (CFA) which states “neither party shall engage in any offensive military operation," BBC Sinhala service quoted Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) spokeswoman Helen Maria Olafdottir as saying, referring to a recent incident where the Liberation Tigers were accused of firing a Sri Lanka Navy (SLN) patrol boat with an SLMM member on board in Trincomalee Bay off Upparu on 5 April 2005.
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SLMM monitors meet Elilan

[TamilNet, Saturday, 09 April 2005, 11:53 GMT]
Members of the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) in Trincomalee Saturday morning met with Mr.S.Elilan, Trincomalee district political head of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), and discussed ways to curb events detrimental to peace, such as those which had recently in the district, SLMM sources said.
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SLA soldier captured in LTTE controlled Muttur village

[TamilNet, Saturday, 09 April 2005, 10:43 GMT]
A soldier of the Sri Lanka Army (SLA), armed with a rifle and a compass, was arrested Saturday morning around 11 AM by Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). The arrest took place in the village of Thanganagar in Muttur east, an LTTE controlled area south of the Trincomalee district.
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LTTE delegation arrives in South Africa

[TamilNet, Friday, 08 April 2005, 19:35 GMT]
The LTTE Head of Political Division, Mr. S. P. Thamilchelvan and his delegation arrived in Pretoria, South Africa on Friday. Senior Advisor to Vice President, Mr. Ibrahim Ibrahim received the delegation, according to soures in Pretoria.
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Truce monitors saw Karuna cadres in Army area - report

[TamilNet, Friday, 08 April 2005, 18:02 GMT]
The head of the international ceasefire monitors supervising Sri Lanka’s three year old ceasefire told a President Commission investigating deadly attacks on members and supporters LTTE that cadres of an anti-LTTE paramilitary group had been seen operating in a government-held area, a Reuters report said Friday.
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Netherlands urged to send fact finding mission to NorthEast

[TamilNet, Friday, 08 April 2005, 13:36 GMT]
Expressing collective Tamil concern over Colombo's handling of the post-tsunami humanitarian crises in the war ravaged NorthEast, Mr. S.P.Thamilchelvan, LTTE's Political Head who is leading an LTTE delegation to Europe on a diplomatic mission, invited Thursday Netherland's Foreign Ministry to send a fact finding mission to the tsunami devastated NorthEast. The LTTE team met with Netherlands Foreign Ministry's Deputy Director-General for Political Affairs, Mr. Herman A Schaper on Thursday, sources close to the LTTE said.
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LTTE sentry in Muttur attacked, one killed

[TamilNet, Friday, 08 April 2005, 07:03 GMT]
A helper of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) was killed and another injured in an attack on a LTTE sentry by an unidentified group Friday early morning around four a.m within the LTTE controlled area, about five hundred meters from the Mahindapura sentry of the Sri Lanka Army (SLA), down south of Trincomalee district along Muttur-Batticaloa highway, sources said.
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