Wickremesinghe said to agree in principle to IDPs' resettlement in HSZ

[TamilNet, Thursday, 16 October 2003, 16:51 GMT]
Sri Lanka's Prime Minister Mr.Ranil Wickremasinghe, in a meeting with a delegation of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) Thursday, accepted 'in principle' that all internally displaced families are entitled to resettlement in their own lands and houses in the northeast province, regardless of whether those lands or houses come under areas declared as high security zones (HSZ) by the Sri Lanka Army, TNA sources said.
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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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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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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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SLA rejects IDP's resettlement in Jaffna HSZ

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 30 September 2003, 04:20 GMT]
A conference held Sunday in Jaffna between the Sri Lanka Army, representatives of the Consortium of Humanitarian Agencies in Jaffna (CHA-J) and some peoples' organizations ended without reaching a consensus on the question of resettlement of internally displaced persons (IDPs) in their lands that come under the high security zones (HSZ) in the peninsula, civil sources said.
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IDPs launch campaign demanding resettlement

[TamilNet, Sunday, 28 September 2003, 14:32 GMT]
The Valigamam Peoples’ Associations’ Consortium Sunday decided to launch agitation campaign in the Jaffna district demanding that the internally displaced families should be allowed to resettle in their lands which come under the high security zones of the government security forces, civil sources said.


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'GOSL should listen to IDP’s demands' - Ezhilan

[TamilNet, Thursday, 25 September 2003, 15:11 GMT]
"Those who say that the Ceasefire has brought peace and all problems are solved should go to the refugee camps and see the refugees who cannot return to their homes because of the Sri Lanka Army’s occupation of their lands. Only then they will understand the plight of the internally displaced people (IDP) and the fairness of their demands," said Mr. S. Ezhilan, the political head of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in Vavuniya, speaking at the Pongu Thamil event in Vavuniya town Wednesday, sources said.
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Ethnic Reconciliation Programme launched in Trincomalee

[TamilNet, Thursday, 25 September 2003, 02:31 GMT]
The Trincomalee District Development Association (TDDA), founded twenty years ago to provide relief to victims of 1983 violence in the district, Tuesday inaugurated an Inter Ethnic Reconciliation Programme (IERP)with the opening of a computer-training centre and a training hall with the assistance of the Canadian International Development Agency, sources said.
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Resettlement allowance not paid to Thenmaradchchi IDPs

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 23 September 2003, 18:35 GMT]
Eighty percent of the resettled internally displaced persons(IDP) in Thenmaradchchi division in the Jaffna district have not been paid their resettlement allowance by the Sri Lankan government, divisional secretariat sources said.
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SLA disallows resettlement close to HSZ

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 23 September 2003, 10:53 GMT]
The Jaffna regional office of the Human Rights Commission (HRC) of Sri Lanka informed its headquarters in Colombo that the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) authorities are not in a position to allow internally displaced families to resettle in their own lands which are close to the High Security Zones (HSZ) in the Valigamam north of the Jaffna district, authoritative sources said.


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Jaffna HSZ to remain - Marapone

[TamilNet, Friday, 19 September 2003, 01:27 GMT]
Sri Lanka's Defense Minister, Mr.Tilak Marapone, said Thursday that until a permanent solution to the ethnic conflict is found, no concrete decision could be taken regarding the removal of high security zones in the Jaffna district, political sources said.
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Nagarkovil IDPs oppose relocation, demand resettlement

[TamilNet, Thursday, 18 September 2003, 00:05 GMT]
Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) from Nagarkovil in Vadamaradchi east in the Jaffna district, who were displaced during the 1999 military operation by the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) and are now living in a refugee camp close to the St.Lourdes Church in Point Pedro, are opposing the move by the Sri Lankan government to relocate them at a place called Punitha Nagar instead of resettling them in their own village, civil groups said Wednesday.
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SL Defense Ministry to hold conference on Jaffna HSZ

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 17 September 2003, 19:45 GMT]
The controversy over the resettlement of internally displaced people (IDP) in their lands and houses located in the high security zones in the Jaffna district is to be discussed at a high level conference scheduled to be held in Colombo at the Sri Lankan defence ministry office Thursday, security sources said.
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Mines prevent resettlement in 39 Mannar villages

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 17 September 2003, 17:23 GMT]
The Mannar district secretariat Wednesday said the internally displaced families in thirty nine villages in the district could not be resettled as the villages have still not been declared mine-free areas, sources in Mannar said.
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Akashi confers with Amparai Muslim, Tamil leaders

[TamilNet, Saturday, 13 September 2003, 14:10 GMT]
The Japanese special peace envoy, Mr.Yasushi Akashi, Saturday held talks with Muslim and Tamil delegations separately and jointly at Kalmunai in the eastern province. Mr. Akashi arrived at Kalmunai Saturday morning by a special helicopter of the Sri Lanka Air Force, accompanied by Minister and Sri Lanka Muslim Congress leader Mr.Rauff Hakeem and SLMC parliamentarians Mr. H.M.M.Harris and Mr.Anwer Ismail, sources said.


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TNA briefs Akashi on urgent need for IA in NE

[TamilNet, Friday, 12 September 2003, 16:45 GMT]
The Tamil National Alliance (TNA), led by its parliamentary group leader, Mr.R.Sampanthan, Friday told the Japanese special peace envoy, Mr.Yasushi Akashi, that an interim administrative structure with adequate powers is urgently needed to rebuild the war ravaged northeastern province as the Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL) has no political power to implement a permanent political solution to the ethnic conflict immediately, sources said.
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Jaffna IDP Federation to boycott NGO activities

[TamilNet, Saturday, 06 September 2003, 21:17 GMT]
The Valigamam Federation of Internally Displaced Welfare Associations in the Jaffna district Saturday informed the authorities concerned that it would not allow representatives of non Governmental Organizations (NGOs) to enter welfare centres where Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) live as NGOs are exploiting the IDPs for NGOs' benefit, civil group sources in Jaffna said.


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SLA reneges on agreement, orders house demolition

[TamilNet, Friday, 05 September 2003, 20:37 GMT]
The Sri Lanka Army Friday ordered an internally displaced person (IDP), who had constructed a new house in the Ponnalai area of Jaffna district, to demolish his house, saying it is located inside the high security zone, even though permission to construct the house had been granted under a resettlement program, security sources said.
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Trinco Lions assist resettled in Paththinipuram village

[TamilNet, Monday, 01 September 2003, 18:56 GMT]
The District Governor of International Lions in Trincomalee, Ms. Soma Edirisinghe, Sunday evening declared open a children's park constructed by the Trincomalee New Century Lions Club at the Paththinipuram Siththivinayagar Tamil Vidiyalayam, and later handed over school materials to students of resettled families at an event held the same day at the school, sources said.


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