Government submits estimates to donor countries

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 11 January 2005, 14:46 GMT]
Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL) has submitted a special report to donor countries outlining plans and estimates for tsunami relief work. The report's estimated total for tsunami relief work is Rs. 1.5 billion. Report was prepared by the Department of National Planning within the ministry of Finance and Planning.
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Kumaratunga appoints EPDP to tsunami Task Force

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 11 January 2005, 02:23 GMT]
Representatives of the Eelam Peoples Democratic Party (EPDP) have been appointed to the District Task Force (DTF) established in Jaffna, Batticaloa, Trincomalee and Amparai districts to coordinate relief and rehabilitation of tsunami victims who are sheltered in welfare centers, on a directive from Sri Lanka’s President, Ms.Chandrika Kumaratunga, civil sources said.
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Annan hails LTTE-led relief efforts

[TamilNet, Sunday, 09 January 2005, 05:41 GMT]
UN Secretary General, Mr. Kofi Annan, hailed the relief efforts led by the Liberation Tigers in the wake of the Asian tsunami of December 26th and expressed his disappointment over the Sri Lankan governments veto of his plans to visit LTTE held areas devastated by the waves, when he met Tamil parliamentarians Sunday.
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Joint action to ensure safety of Tsunami affected children

[TamilNet, Thursday, 06 January 2005, 11:11 GMT]
The Government of Sri Lanka (GOSL), United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF) and Save the Children Sri Lanka (SCiSL) are working together to ensure safety for children who survived last week Tsunami disaster, from violence, exploitation and abuse, said in a joint press release issued by UNICEF and SCiSL Thursday.
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PDS sets in motion the needs assessment for tsunami relief

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 04 January 2005, 06:39 GMT]
The Planning and Development Secretariat (PDS) of the Liberation Tigers has already set in motion the needs assessment process for Tsunami Relief in the northeast, Mr. S. P. Thamilchelvan, Head of the LTTE's Political Wing told TamilNet Tuesday.
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Muslims on Tsunami hit southeast coast suffer heavily

[TamilNet, Friday, 31 December 2004, 15:42 GMT]
Muslims who live in densely populated villages along the southeastern coast of Sri Lanka suffered heavy casualties in Sunday’s Tsunami, with at least ten thousand killed. Rescue and relief efforts in Muslim towns and villages on the southeastern coast are hampered by lack of coordination and heavy rains. Seventy two Muslim schools were completely washed off and eighty five mosques were severely damaged, Secretary of the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress, Mr. Hassan Ali told TamilNet Thursday.


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Cut red tape to deliver urgent aid- LTTE

[TamilNet, Thursday, 30 December 2004, 18:28 GMT]
The Liberation Tigers Thursday said that red tape should not impede or delay delivery of urgent international aid to the Tsunami hit areas of the northeast. Addressing representatives of international aid agencies and donor community in Kilinochchi Thursday, Mr. Thamilchelvan emphasised that the international community has a "moral responsibility" to ensure that humanitarian aid to Sri Lanka is "equitably distributed to the North-East". LTTE's Political Head stated clearly that the immediate relief measures would be best undertaken by the Task Force mechanism already set up at district level by the LTTE in coordination with the Government Agents of the affected districts.
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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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NorthEast Bishops appeal for permanent peace

[TamilNet, Saturday, 25 December 2004, 06:09 GMT]
Bishops of Jaffna, Trincomalee-Batticaloa and Mannar Dioceses Bishop Thomas Soundaranayagam, Bishop Dr. Kingsely Swampillai and Bishop Rayappu Joseph in their Christmas Messages appealed to all communities, the Government of Sri Lanka and the Liberation Tigers to work hard to sustain the ceasefire agreement and to ensure permanent peace.


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Kodikamam residents hold human chain agitation

[TamilNet, Friday, 24 December 2004, 12:53 GMT]
Several hundreds of Tamil civilians Friday participated in the third phase human chain protest held at Kodikamam junction in Thenmaradchchi division in Jaffna district urging the Government of Sri Lanka (GOSL) to resume peace talks with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) without any more delay, sources said.
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New GoSL 'agenda' for talks with LTTE called smokescreen

[TamilNet, Friday, 24 December 2004, 02:18 GMT]
Sri Lanka’s President Ms. Chandrika Kumaratunga’s claims of a ‘new agenda’ for the resumption of peace talks with the Liberation Tigers through the Norwegian facilitators must be viewed in the context of the hurdle she faces in winning a two-thirds majority in parliament for the constitutional changes to abolish the executive presidency that she plans to table in January 2005, said the Jaffna-based Tamil language daily, Uthayan, in its editorial Wednesday.
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Dhanapala visits Amparai

[TamilNet, Thursday, 23 December 2004, 05:33 GMT]
Mr.Jayantha Dhanapala, Secretary General of Sri Lanka's Peace Secretariat and Senior Advisor to Sri Lanka's President, visited Ampara on Wednesday "in pursuance of a policy of visiting the six district offices of the SLMM for the purpose of ensuring the smooth implementation of the Cease Fire Agreement (CFA)," a media release from the Secretariat said Wednesday.
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Human-chain protest held in Kaithady

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 22 December 2004, 11:17 GMT]
The second phase of the human chain demonstration was held Wednesday morning at Kaithady in Thenmaradchchi division in Jaffna district demanding the Government of Sri Lanka (GOSL) to resume peace talks with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) on the basis of the Interim Self-Governing Authority (ISGA) proposals of the latter. Traffic through A9 highway was not obstructed. Soldiers of the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) who are located in sentries in the vicinity were withdrawn during the period of agitation. Policemen were deployed at the site to maintain law and order.
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PNM wants CFA annulled

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 21 December 2004, 16:54 GMT]
The Patriotic National Movement (PNM), a sinhala nationalist organization, decided at its 19th annual convention of its branches, to annul the ceasefire agreement (CFA) and to remove Norway from its facilitation role in the peace talks, political sources in Colombo said. PNM further decided that peace talks should not resume on the basis of the Interim Self-Governing Authority (ISGA) proposals of the LTTE. The convention was held Tuesday evening at the Colombo Town hall.
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Thousands form human chain protest in Chavakachcheri

[TamilNet, Monday, 20 December 2004, 11:13 GMT]
Thousands of Tamil civilians in Thenmaradchchi division in Jaffna district held a human chain agitation campaign on either side of A-9 highway Monday morning demanding the Government of Sri Lanka (GOSL) to resume peace talks with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) on the basis of Interim Self Governing Authority proposals (ISGA) by the latter. Protestors carried placards and shouted slogans holding hands along the A 9 Jaffna-Kandy road from Kodikamam to Kaithady, sources said. The campaign has been organized by the civil groups federation in Thenmaradchchi.
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CTTU discusses Jaffna HSZ issue with SL President

[TamilNet, Saturday, 18 December 2004, 03:18 GMT]
Sri Lanka's President, Ms. Chandrika Kumaratunge, told a delegation of the Ceylon Tamil Teachers' Union (CTTU) Friday that the Sri Lankan security forces continue to believe that Liberation Tiger cadres would infiltrate into the high security zones if the internally displaced families were allowed to resettle, according to CTTU general secretary Mr.T.Mahasivam.
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Civil groups to hold agitation campaign in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Friday, 17 December 2004, 06:08 GMT]
The first human chain agitation campaign demanding the Government of Sri Lanka (GOSL) to strengthen the peace process and to recommence the stalled negotiations with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) on the basis of Interim Self-Governing Authority (ISGA) proposals is scheduled to be held in Thenmaradchchi division in Jaffna district on Monday.
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Solheim meets President Chandrika

[TamilNet, Thursday, 16 December 2004, 16:19 GMT]
Mr.Erik Solheim, Norwegian special peace envoy Thursday urged the Government of Sri Lanka (GOSL) and Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) to exercise the maximum restraint and refrain from actions that could be interpreted as provocations, especially at a time when peace negotiations were not taking place, states a press release issued by the Presidential Secretariat following the talks between the facilitator and President Ms Chandrika Kumaratunge.
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GoSL entirely responsible for resuming talks - LTTE

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 15 December 2004, 11:07 GMT]
"The responsibility of resurrecting the stalled peace process is entirely with the government in ensuring that its coalition partners reflect the thinking of the president, if she is in fact really sincere, and her military refrains from coercive and provocative actions", Mr. S. P. Thamilchelvan, Head of the Political Wing of the LTTE told the Norwegian facilitators Wednesday in Kilinochchi. "Norwegian delegation was unable to give assurance that Sri Lanka Government will take any constructive steps to take the peace process forward" Thamilchelvan told the Press after the meeting.
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Attack on Bollywood show creates political storm in south

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 14 December 2004, 20:23 GMT]
The grenade attack on Bollywood concert held Saturday in Colombo killing two and injuring several has created a political storm in the south of the country following a speech by President Ms Chandrika Kumaratunge at Matara Sunday accusing a parliamentarian of the main opposition United National Party (UNP) and some monks of the Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU) for causing the crime.
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