Expel Norway, demands JVP

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 29 March 2006, 01:39 GMT]
"If Norway is not sacked immediately from the peace process, we will amass more than two hundred thousand people in a protest demonstration in front of the Norweigian Embassy," warned Wimal Weerawanse, parliamentarian and propaganda Secretary of marxist Jathika Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), at a meeting in Colombo Tuesday evening, sources said. Patriotic National Movement (PNM), an alliance of extreme Sinhala nationalists, organized the meeting at Mahaveli Centre Colombo.


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TRO inaugurates Children's Home in Batticaloa

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 28 March 2006, 12:26 GMT]
A home for 67 children who lost their parents in the war was opened Tuesday 10 a.m at Arasadithivu by Mr. Christopher, Tamils Rehabilitation Organisation (TRO), Switzerland branch Director, in the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) controlled area in the Batticaloa district, sources said.
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UAV comes down in Vavuniya

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 28 March 2006, 09:35 GMT]
An unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) used by Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) for surveillance and reconnaissance missions crashed down colliding against the television antenna in a private house Tuesday morning at about 10.15 in Poonthodam Maharambaikulam, in Vauniya.
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NECORD funded school buildings opened in Mannar

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 28 March 2006, 08:33 GMT]
Mr.V.Visuvalingam, Mannar Government Agent, Monday declared open three new class room buildings in three Tamil schools in the LTTE held area in the Mannar district. The building were constructed at a cost of about 6.4 million rupees with the funds provided by the North East Community Restoration Development (NECORD) programme. Asian Development Bank (ADB) funds the NECORD, sources said.
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SLA soldiers, paramilitary cadres round up Valaichenai villages

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 28 March 2006, 06:39 GMT]
More than 150 Sri Lanka Army soldiers and around 50 paramilitary cadres belonging to three various paramilitary groups, Tuesday morning rounded up five villages in Valaichenai. The paramilitary cadres, brought in SLA vehicles around 5:00 a.m., summoned the people to Pechiyamman temple grounds and held a meeting where key operatives of Karuna Group warned the people against supporting the Liberation Tigers. Cadres from the ENDLF paramilitary group and a key operative of the EPDP group attached to the Sri Lanka Army camp in Valaichenai Harbour also took part in the show-down paramilitary operation, villagers said.
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Work on NECORD funded Veerachcholai housing project begins

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 28 March 2006, 02:50 GMT]
War affected families in Veerachcholai, a remote Tamil village in Navithanveli divisional secretariat division in Amparai district are to be provided with permanent houses under a project funded by the North East Community Restoration and Development (NECORD) programme within the next six months. The Asian Development Bank (ADB) funds NECORD. Mr.S.L.A.Careem, Deputy Director of NECORD in Amparai district laid the foundation stone for the housing scheme Monday, sources said.


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Army plans new Muslim unit amid militancy furore

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 28 March 2006, 02:01 GMT]
Amid a furore over the Liberation Tigers’ demands that Sri Lankan government disarms a Muslim entity called ‘Jihad’ which is amongst five anti-LTTE paramilitary groups being sponsored by military intelligence, the Sri Lanka Army is reportedly planning to raise an exclusive Muslim unit in the island’s volatile eastern province. The issue of Muslim militancy has been gaining focus amid renewed suggestions by the LTTE that Jihad has links to Pakistani intelligence – a charge leveled by Indian military analysts as early as in 2004.
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SLA, constant threat to security of Jaffna residents– Ilamparithy

[TamilNet, Monday, 27 March 2006, 20:49 GMT]
"Residents from 26% of land area of Jaffna peninsula remain driven out of their homes; Fishermen, trying to recover from the tsunami devastation, are unable to freely pursue their occupation; and the entire student community in Jaffna district is continuously being targetted and victimised by the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers," LTTE's Political Head C. Ilamparithy told media Tuesday after meeting the new Head of Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) Mr. Ulf Henricsson at the LTTE Jaffna district political secretariat located in Pallai.
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Muslim Federation demands separate delegation in talks

[TamilNet, Monday, 27 March 2006, 10:46 GMT]
In a statement released at a press briefing held Sunday evening at Sainthamaruthu Jumma Mosques conference hall, the Eastern Province Mosques Federation (EPMF) demanded that a separate Muslim delegation should be included in any future peace talks between the Government of Sri Lanka (GOSL) and Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), sources said. The statement also said Muslim community should have the complete freedom to decide on the the composition of such delegation.
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New SLMM chief meets Thamilchelvan

[TamilNet, Monday, 27 March 2006, 10:36 GMT]
Former Swedish Brigadier and the new Head of the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM), Mr. Ulf Henricsson, met Head of the LTTE Political Wing, S. P. Tamilchelvan, Monday at 11.45 a.m. at the LTTE Peace Secretariet in Kilinochchi, LTTE sources said.
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Jaffna students protest against SLA intervention on Annai Poopathy event

[TamilNet, Monday, 27 March 2006, 09:23 GMT]
Educational activities in Jaffna peninsula came to stansdstill Monday in a boycott called by Student oragnisations in protest against the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) intervention inside the Advanced Technological Institute (ATI) and the attack on the students of the ATI last Friday. Around fifteen students were wounded when SLA troopers who entered the ATI premises in Buffel APC vehicle and attacked the students smashing the garlanded picture frame of Annai Poopathy and forcefully removing the Tamileelam flag on Friday. Students organisations in Jaffna has called for protests following the SLA intervention.
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Japan-Sri Lanka Friendship Village construction begins in Trincomalee

[TamilNet, Sunday, 26 March 2006, 21:36 GMT]
The construction work on the 246 permanent houses for tsunami affected Muslim and Tamil families in Iqbal Nagar on Trincomalee-Nilaveli road under the Japan-Sri Lanka Friendship Village Project funded by the people and Government of Japan has begun with the ceremonial foundation-laying event held Saturday morning.
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Capturing Trinco UC, key to scuttle de-merger rhetoric- TNA

[TamilNet, Sunday, 26 March 2006, 18:47 GMT]
"Ilankai Tamil Arasu Katchchi (ITAK) must capture the administration of the Trincomalee Urban Council in the local poll to scuttle the campaign by chauvinist elements for a de-merger of the NorthEast province. Tamil speaking people in Trincomalee district must unequivocally demonstrate that they will not allow any moves of de-merger to materialize," said Mr.K.Thurairatnasingham, Trincomalee district ITAK parliamentarian addressing an election meeting Sunday evening at Anpuvallipuram, a suburb that comes within the Trincomalee urban council boundary, sources in Trincomalee said.
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SLN Muttur attacks endanger livelihood of fisher families

[TamilNet, Sunday, 26 March 2006, 18:42 GMT]
Muttur Divisional Fishermen's Co-operative Societies Union (MDFCSU) said a statement released Sunday in Trincomalee that more than two thousand fisher families have seriously affected economically following attacks by Sri Lanka Navy (SLN) on the coastal villages in the Muttur east.
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LTTE, TNA discuss Vavuniya violence with SLMM

[TamilNet, Sunday, 26 March 2006, 13:01 GMT]
Head of Vavuniya LTTE Political Wing, Mr Gnanam, Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarians, and several Vavuniya civil society representatives held discussions with members of the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) on escalating violence in Vavuniya targetted against businesspersons, at the LTTE political office in Puliyankulam at 10.30 a.m. Saturday, sources from Vavuniya said.
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SLMM condemns Kalpitti attack, raises paramilitary issue

[TamilNet, Sunday, 26 March 2006, 11:50 GMT]
Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) in a press release issued in Colombo Sunday condemned the attack on Sri Lanka Navy (SLN) in Kalpitti, and said that the SLMM is conducting inquiries to establish the details of the attack. While appealing to both parties to "refrain from provocative acts," the SLMM urged the Government of Sri Lanka to "take the [paramilitary] matter seriously and not close their eyes to armed elements that to our knowledge still operating in Government controlled areas."
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Fonseka claims credit for successful ‘retaliations’

[TamilNet, Sunday, 26 March 2006, 01:46 GMT]
Sri Lanka’s Army commander, Lt. Gen. Sarath Fonseka, has claimed credit for a number of killings and disappearances of Tamil political activists in during the heightened violence in December and January. The Sunday Times quoted him as telling troops: “we bravely faced the situation and retaliated on those who attacked us. Thereafter we took a proactive role by looking for those who attacked us and retaliated in places like Jaffna and Batticaloa.”
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Students hoist Tamileelam flag, continue Poopathy celebrations

[TamilNet, Saturday, 25 March 2006, 12:39 GMT]
Students at the Kokuvil Technical College located 3 km north of Jaffna town hoisted the Tamileelam flag as part of the Annai Poopathy memorial celebrations Saturday 10.30 a.m., student sources said. Students replaced the picture frame Annai Poopathi that was destroyed by Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers who forcefully entered the compound and attacked the students Friday.
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Provocations and smear campaign cast peace doubts - paper

[TamilNet, Saturday, 25 March 2006, 12:36 GMT]
The vitriolic language increasingly being used by the Rajapakse administration against the LTTE and the concerted smear campaign it has launched against the Tigers casts doubts on Sri Lanka’s commitment to the peace process, the Tamil Guardian argues in its latest editorial. “Protagonists who wish to strike peace deals seek to deescalate tensions, build mutual trust and demonstrate goodwill so as to make securing an agreement more likely. But the Rajapakse administration is doing the exact reverse of that,” the expatriate fortnightly said.
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TECH donates mini-lathe to self-taught craftsman

[TamilNet, Saturday, 25 March 2006, 02:04 GMT]
The Economic Consultancy House (TECH) donated a mini-lathe and other accessories costing about Rs 50K to a self-taught entrepreneur in Muthaiyankattu near Mullaitivu to encourage his inventive spirit amid poverty, and to reward technical astuteness despite his bringingup in an technologically deprived environment, officials at TECH told TamilNet.
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