Pirapaharan appeals for international assistance

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 29 December 2004, 14:09 GMT]
Mr. Velupillai Pirapaharan, leader of the Liberation Tigers, Wednesday appealed to the international community and the United Nations to generously assist the people of the northeast devasted by the Tsunami. "I express my deepest sympathies and condolences to my people who lost their kith and kin in this disaster. I also extend my deepest sympathies and condolences to our Muslim and Sinhala brethren in the south who were affected by the Tsunami", he said in a statement issued in Tamil by the headquarters of the LTTE.
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Harim Peiris, UPFA Minister visit Jaffna to view damages

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 29 December 2004, 12:18 GMT]
Mr.Harim Peiris, Presidential Advisor, accompanied by Mr.D.E.W.Gunasekara, Constitutional Affairs and National Integration Minister in the United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA) government, arrived in Jaffna Wednesday to see the devastation of the Jaffna peninsula after Sunday's Tsunami, political sources in Jaffna said.
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NGO's Consortium to co-ordinate relief work in Trincomalee

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 29 December 2004, 06:14 GMT]
The Trincomalee District Consortium of Non-Governmental Organizations (TDCNGO) has established an Operation Room in its office working round the clock to channel the distribution of relief materials brought to the east port town in lorries by several welfare and humanitarian organizations from other parts of the country to Tsunami victims following complaints that such assistance arriving are diverted by parties with vested interests in a haphazard manner not reaching the needy in remote areas, sources said.
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More bodies recovered in Manatkadu village

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 29 December 2004, 03:38 GMT]
One hundred more bodies of Tsunami victims were recovered at government controlled Manatkadu village in the Vadamaradchchi east division in Jaffna district till Tuesday evening. Search operation for missing persons feared to be dead is continuing. The number of deaths in this area has exceeded two thousand in the LTTE controlled Vadamaradchchi east division. Manatkadu comes under the government controlled area, civil sources said.
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Mullaithivu situation grim amid rising toll

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 28 December 2004, 20:42 GMT]
Three thousand three hundred and seventy three people were killed by the Tsunami in Mullaithivu according to local rescue workers and the Liberation Tigers. Kallapaadu, a coastal village near Mullaithivu town, was completely wiped out by the Tsunami. "So far we have been able to recover 1300 of the 2214 who resettled in village after the Sri Lanka army garrison there was overrun in 1996", said Mr. S. Senthan, the village officer (Grama Sevaka) for Kallapaadu told TamilNet Tuesday.
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NorthEast death toll nears 10,000, Amparai badly hit

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 28 December 2004, 15:07 GMT]
"More than 10,000 people are dead in areas across NorthEast. In Amparai alone there were 5350 dead," said Liberation Tigers, Tuesday afternoon. Cadres of Liberation Tigers and local non-Governmental organizations are working round the clock to provide rescue and relief effort to people in Mullaitivu, said Col.Soosai, Head of the Sea Tiger Wing of the Liberation Tigers. "No international aid from Donor agencies have reached Vanni, and we are using our own resources and assistance provided by the expatriate Tamils which is beginning to reach us," Soosai added.
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First Taskforce Unit meets in Puthukkadu

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 28 December 2004, 14:00 GMT]
One of the units of the Disaster Management Taskforce setup by the Head of the Political Wing of the LTTE, S.P.Thamilchelvan, met Tuesaday at 9.15am at its new offices in Puthukkadu juncion on A9 near Thalaiyady, Vadamaradchy East, Sudar, an official with the LTTE Peace Secretariat told TamilNet. S.Thangan, Deputy Head of LTTE Political Wing, presided the meeting.
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Six thousand said missing in Batticaloa

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 28 December 2004, 10:35 GMT]
More than 54,000 families have been displaced in the Batticaloa-Amparai districts due to the tidal wave that struck the North-East coast two days ago. Information is meagre with little improvement in the telephone service. TRO sources said that around six thousand are missing. The displaced are temporarily accommodated in welfare centers located in schools and public buildings.
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Landmines fear hampers rescue work in Batticaloa

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 28 December 2004, 09:31 GMT]
Five villages Devastated by Saturday's Tsunami are marooned as causeways and bridges have been damaged by the tidal waves. "The newly built government hospital, public buildings, schools, LTTE political offices, homes, churches and temples have been completely destroyed by the sea," Mr. S. Jeyanandamoorthy, Tamil National Alliance MP for Batticaloa, told TamilNet Tuesday. He said that relief and rescue work in the former popular tourist resorts of Pasikudah and Kalkudah has been hindered by thousands of landmines uprooted by the Tsunami from the defenses of the local SLA garrison.
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Dispute over power sharing must not impede the relief efforts - NPC

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 28 December 2004, 01:45 GMT]
Noting that there is an immense human tragedy with villages swept away without trace and thousands of deaths in LTTE-controlled areas, the National Peace Council (NPC), a Colombo based Sri Lankan peace group, in a media release issued in Colombo Tuesday said that it is important that the LTTE be brought in as a major actor if any major relief effort is meant to cover all affected areas in the north east. NPC appealed to the government and the LTTE to trust and respect each other's commitment to the best interests of the people they both seek to serve.
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Disaster Management Task Force Units setup in Northeast

[TamilNet, Monday, 27 December 2004, 18:09 GMT]
Mr.S.P.Thamilchelvan, Head of the LTTE Political Wing in an urgent meeting with the International NGOs, District Secretaries, TRO officials and local NGOs requested to set up a North-East Disaster Management Steering Committee and Special Task Force Units consisting of the District Secretaries, INGO’s, TRO,local NGO’s and representatives of the Planning and Development Secretariat of the LTTE. Similar mechanisms for the districts of Trincomalee, Batticaloa and Amparai have also been planned and details would be worked out in the respective districts soon, an LTTE news release said.
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Governor meets NEPC officials on relief work

[TamilNet, Monday, 27 December 2004, 16:30 GMT]
Mr.Tyronne Fernando, North East Provincial Governor Monday issued directive empowering all Deputy Provincial Directors of Health Services (DPDHS) in the districts of Northeastern Province to purchase medicines urgently needed to treat Tsunami victims without waiting for the drugs from central supply store of the Health Ministry, NEPC sources said. The conference held by Mr.Tyronne Fernando was abandoned in half way when he was informed of another Tsunami wave was to hit coastal area. Discussions came to an abrupt end when Mr.Tyronne Fernando left the conference hall suddenly, sources said.
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External aid yet to reach Vanni, 3 000 still missing in Mullaitivu

[TamilNet, Monday, 27 December 2004, 15:49 GMT]
No external aid was received until Monday afternoon to assist thousands of people injured and rendered homeless by the Tsunami in the coastal parts of the Vanni region and Southern Jaffna, a spokesman for the Tamils’ Rehabilitation Organisation (TRO) said. The Political Division of the Liberation Tigers convened an urgent meeting on Monday with international NGOs, local aid agencies and senior officials to assess the magnitude of the humanitarian crisis and to organize and enhance urgent relief and rescue measures in the Tsunami hit areas.
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Mullaithivu, Jaffna South coast devastation said dire

[TamilNet, Monday, 27 December 2004, 15:08 GMT]
Mullaithivu, the main coastal town of the Vanni region has been completely destroyed by the Tsunami. Liberation Tigers and local rescue workers are continuing to search for bodies of people killed along this coast. Eight villages have been totally devastated by the tidal wave. Thousands are still unaccounted for, according to the TamilNet correspondent who visited the area Monday. Public building, homes and schools along the coasts of Mullaithivu and Jaffna South have been completely destroyed by the wave.


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Tsunami death toll expected to increase

[TamilNet, Sunday, 26 December 2004, 17:10 GMT]
Around 3100 persons in Northeast and 1400 in South have died due to tsunami waves that hit NorthEast coast Sunday, according to government sources in Colombo. In the Northeast alone, nearly 12000 people have suffered injuries and around 200,000 people have been affected, administrative sources in Colombo said. Government sources added that death toll is expected to rise significantly. In the meantime, Tamil National Alliance (TNA)parliamentarian Mr. Joseph Pararajasingam has urged the Prime Minister Mr. Mahinda Rajapaksha, to attend to immediate needs of the affected public in the east.
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LTTE appeals for International Assistance

[TamilNet, Sunday, 26 December 2004, 17:00 GMT]
The political wing of the Liberation Tigers appealed for international assistance in providing relief to the people affected by the tsunami waves Sunday. "We appeal to the international community to provide the wherewithal to meet with the exigencies and to avoid a humanitarian crisis. The human disaster and the tragedy the survivors face are unprecedented and need immediate and effective humanitarian intervention. We therefore solicit the support of the Donor nations, UN agencies and INGOs to consolidate their efforts and ensure that the assistance reach the needy in time," the appeal said.
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LTTE to declare National Emergency

[TamilNet, Sunday, 26 December 2004, 14:34 GMT]
To cope with the unprecedented destruction of life and property in the coastal areas of NorthEast brought about by the tsunamic waves that hit the coastal towns Sunday, the Liberation Tigers are planning to declare National Emergency to set up procedures in motion to obtain relief assistance from International Agencies, sources close to the LTTE in Vanni said.
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TRO appeals for urgent assistance

[TamilNet, Sunday, 26 December 2004, 12:50 GMT]
Tamil Rehabilitation Organization (TRO), an independent Non-Governmental Organization registered with Government of Sri Lanka, appealed to the Tamil expatriates Sunday to donate towards meeting the humanitarian crisis unfolding following the tsunami wave triggered flooding in residential areas along the eastern coast of Sri Lanka. Majority of families affected were from the NorthEast of Sri Lanka.
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Student leader decries Colombo's military buildup

[TamilNet, Saturday, 25 December 2004, 21:00 GMT]
"The Government of Sri Lanka is strengthening its military in preparation for renewed hostilities. The Liberation Tigers are ready to confront war if it is thrust on us and are prepared to liberate the occupied lands and people," said Mr Subash, Vavuniya district president of Consortium of Tamileelam students, addressing the audience in a book release ceremony held at the Muthaiah Hall in Vavuniya Friday afternoon, sources from Vavuniya said.
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South gambles with Sri Lanka's destiny- NLF

[TamilNet, Saturday, 25 December 2004, 11:40 GMT]
"The most urgent need today is not to cave in to the antics of the [Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna] JVP," said Mr. Thirunavukarasu, polit bureau member of the New Left Front (NLF) Saturday, political sources in Colombo said. He noted that the deadlock reached in the peace process is not of recent origin, but represents the "cumulative effect of the manner in which the ruling classes have handled the Tamil National issue since the 1950s" and said that the time has come for the two main parties to "shed their predilection just for power and one-upmanship."
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