Sinhala nationalists' convoy to LTTE camp turned back

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 14 October 2003, 11:25 GMT]
Sri Lankan Police Tuesday peacefully turned back a large convoy of vehicles in which activists of Sihala Urumaya (SU), an ultra Sinhala nationalist party, were travelling towards Kurankupanchaan Kulam in Southern Trincomalee, vowing to enter the camp of the Liberation Tigers, which Colombo claims to be in territory under its control. More than a hundred Buddhist monks and about three hundred SU activists began the drive to the LTTE's camp from Kantalai around 1 p.m. Tuesday with the slogan "The arms are yours, the land is ours".
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$649m aid committed to Northeast

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 14 October 2003, 09:40 GMT]
"The World Bank, the Asian Development Bank, UNHCR, UNICEF, UNDP, the World Food Program, the European Commission, Australia, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, Sweden, the United Kingdom and the United States have committed a total of US$ 649 million to the North East to date. The donor community stands ready to support reconstruction and recovery in the conflict-affected areas," said a joint donor press release issued from the offices of Worldbank in Colombo today.
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Women complete job training in Kilinochchi

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 14 October 2003, 08:08 GMT]
The job training of women conducted by the Centre for Women's Development and Rehabilitation (CWDR)'s Job training division was completed on Monday, and a function to mark the event was held with speeches and exhibitions starting at 10:00 am, sources in the Vanni said.
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SLMM holds discussion on SU threat with SLA, Police

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 14 October 2003, 05:54 GMT]
A conference was held following a message to the SLMM by the Defense Ministry Secretary Mr. Austin Fernando that SLMM should take appropriate steps in consultation with army, police and civil administrative officials if the Sinhala nationalist party Sihala Urumaya (SU) continued its foot march towards Kurankupanchchan beyond Soorankal, sources said.


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LTTE-Muslim representatives meet in Amparai

[TamilNet, Monday, 13 October 2003, 17:14 GMT]
A meeting to discuss land issues of Muslim people in the Amparai district was held Sunday at the Amaparai district political secretariat, sources in Amparai said.
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TRO's third divisional office opened in Trinco district

[TamilNet, Monday, 13 October 2003, 08:22 GMT]
Tamil Rehabilitation Organization in Trincomalee district opened its third divisional office Sunday evening at Kuchchaveli village which is located about 34 km off north of east port town. Trincomalee district political head of LTTE Mr.S.Thilak unveiled the name board of the Branch and TRO's Trincomalee district director Mr.K.Mathavarajah declared open the office, sources said.
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TRO hands over ten houses to Thiriyai resettlers

[TamilNet, Sunday, 12 October 2003, 18:06 GMT]
The Tamil Rehabilitation Organization in Trincomalee district Sunday handed over ten newly constructed houses to ten internally displaced families now resettled in war ravaged Thiriyai, a traditional Tamil village, about 42 km off north of Trincomalee town. TRO launched this housing project funded by the America's TRO last April, sources said.
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Muslim farmers allowed to cultivate Vakaneri fields

[TamilNet, Saturday, 11 October 2003, 19:36 GMT]
In a meeting with muslim farmers from Ottamavadi, Valaichenai and Meeravodai held at the Gokulam Maha Vidyalayam Saturday morning, the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) representatives agreed to allow cultivation of lands within the Vakaneri irrigation scheme except the lands that lie close to the LTTE camps, sources in Batticaloa said.


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Salt threatens eight thousand acres in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Saturday, 11 October 2003, 18:43 GMT]
Yields in more than eight thousand acres of rice fields in Kopay South in the peninsula are steadily declining due to salination of the lands from waters seeping from the saltpans of Chemmani, on the eastern outskirts of the Jaffna town, local farmers told TamilNet Saturday.
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SED bank branch opened in Trincomalee

[TamilNet, Saturday, 11 October 2003, 17:53 GMT]
Socio Economic Development (SED) Bank, which has its headquarters in Killinochchi, opened its first branch in the east of the island, Sunday. The General Manager of the SED Bank Mr.S.Sriskandarajah, declared opened the branch in Kadatkaraichcenai village in Muttur east in Trincomalee district.
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Trade exhibition opens in Kiran

[TamilNet, Saturday, 11 October 2003, 12:06 GMT]
"Samurdhi sponsored development projects play a vital role in the economic progress of our district and for creation of self-employment opportunities," said E. Kausalyan, Batticaloa-Amparai Head of the Political Wing of the Liberation Tigers, when speaking Saturday morning at the opening ceremony of the Trade exhibition organized by the Kiran Pradeshya Sabha in Batticaloa district.
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Women's Awakening Day celebrated in NE

[TamilNet, Saturday, 11 October 2003, 00:01 GMT]
The Tamil Eelam Women's Awakening Day and the sixteenth death anniversary of 2nd Lieutenant Malathi (Pedurupillai Sahayaseeli) were marked Friday throughout the Northeast Province on a grand scale with rallies and public meetings where thousands of women from all walks of life participated in the events, TamilNet sources said.
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SLMM political advisor meets Mannar LTTE

[TamilNet, Friday, 10 October 2003, 18:27 GMT]
The political advisor to the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission, Mr. Gejir Sebeasd Deniy, met officials of the Liberation Tigers in Mannar Friday for discussions about the ground situation in the district during the 17 months of cease-fire between Colombo and the LTTE. Head of the LTTE political division in Mannar Mr. C Amithaab, told Mr. Deniy that there weren't any problems with the Sri Lankan armed forces in the district only during the first five months of the cease-fire.
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LTTE delegation to visit Norway

[TamilNet, Friday, 10 October 2003, 14:27 GMT]
A delegation of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, led by Mr.S.P. Thamilchelvan, head of the political division of the LTTE, will visit Norway during October 14-17, the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement Friday.
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Tamils, Muslims should work for harmony -LTTE

[TamilNet, Friday, 10 October 2003, 12:02 GMT]
The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) Friday said elements that had been responsible for the recent clash in Mutur are now involved in creating ethnic tension in Kinniya division between Tamils and Muslims. The LTTE Trincomalee district political secretariat Friday issued a statement appealing to both communities to maintain patience and to understand the truth behind the current tension in Kinniya.
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Jaffna SLA trains for crowd control

[TamilNet, Friday, 10 October 2003, 08:37 GMT]
Units of the Sri Lanka army’s 51-4 Brigade in Ariyalai East are training for crowd control on the outskirts of Jaffna town from this week, military sources in the northern town said Friday. “The training was initiated to prepare the army too for tackling any civil unrest here”, said a source. “In Jaffna’s present political climate it would be counter productive to deploy the army even to assist Police for managing restive crowds”, Mr. M. K Sivajilingam MP for Jaffna told TamilNet, reacting to the report.
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LTTE commemorates first woman martyr

[TamilNet, Friday, 10 October 2003, 02:36 GMT]
The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam is commemorating the 16th anniversary of its first woman martyr, 2nd Lt. Malathy, throughout the Northeast on Friday. The LTTE’s women wing said in a statement that it would also observe the women’s awakening day on the same day.
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SLA commander dismisses reports of new Trinco LTTE camp

[TamilNet, Thursday, 09 October 2003, 18:11 GMT]
Maj. Gen. Sunil Tennekoon, commander of the Sri Lanka army’s 22 Division, in a meeting with journalists Wednesday night, dismissed reports in the Colombo press that the Liberation Tigers pose a very serious threat to the Trincomalee port by strategically ‘encircling’ it with several new camps, sources said.
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British military team visits Jaffna

[TamilNet, Thursday, 09 October 2003, 15:49 GMT]
A team of British military officers and defence specialists visited Jaffna Thursday. The team met the Bishop and the Consortium of Humanitarian Agencies (CHA) of Jaffna and discussed the situation in the peninsula and the stand of the Liberation Tigers on several issues, including an Interim Administration for the Northeast, sources said.
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TNA briefs new US Ambassador in Colombo

[TamilNet, Thursday, 09 October 2003, 15:36 GMT]
A delegation of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) Thursday told the new US Ambassador in Sri Lanka, Mr. Jeff Lunstead, that the US government should have helped to take forward the peace process by lifting the ban on the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, TNA sources said.
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