Journalists assaulted at slain Intelligence officers house

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 01 November 2005, 11:17 GMT]
Ms. Ranee Mohamed, a feature editor and Mr. Berty Mendis, a photographer at the English weekly Sunday Leader in Colombo, were assaulted by a group of men armed with batons and swords Tuesday morning at the residence of the slain Sri Lankan senior Intelligence officer, Lt. Col. Tuwan Rizwi Meedin, in Kiribathgoda in Colombo when they went to obtain interviews from Meedin's family members, media sources in Colombo said. The attackers had alleged that the Sunday Leader was supporting the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam.
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Thamotheram, social activist, passes away

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 01 November 2005, 02:39 GMT]
Mr C J T Thamotheram, social activist and an expatriate doyen of Tamils in England, passed away on Thursday. Son of Mr CP Thamotheram who was a principal at Hartley College (1915 - 1943), CJT Thamotheram was a student and teacher at Hartley College, Point Pedro, and later teacher at Latymer Upper School in U.K.
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Trinco Anbu Illam students excel in religious competitions

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 01 November 2005, 00:07 GMT]
Three students of the Trincomalee children home "Anbu Illam" who excelled in an island-wide Hindu religious competitions held in Colombo to mark the fifth All Ceylon Sekkilar Conference were honored at an event in Trincomalee Vigneswara Maha Vidiyalayam during the weekend.
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SLMC for non-contiguous territorial autonomy for Muslims - Hakeem

[TamilNet, Monday, 31 October 2005, 16:28 GMT]
Mr.Rauff Hakeem, Leader of the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) Sunday said in Trincomalee that SLMC is for "non-contiguous autonomy" for Muslim territory in the northeast province, which recognizes Muslims right to self-determination. "The SLMC reached an understanding after several rounds of talks with the United National Party (UNP)," said Rauf Hakeem addressing an election rally in Jamaliya Nagar, a suburb north of Trincomalee town Sunday evening in support of Mr.Ranil Wickremasinghe for Sri Lanka presidency.
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LTTE, SLMM meet in Trincomalee

[TamilNet, Monday, 31 October 2005, 16:22 GMT]
Mr.S.Elilan, Trincomalee district political head of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) Monday brought to the notice of the members of the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) in the east port town, several ceasefire violations by the State armed forces in the district, LTTE sources said.
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Rifles, grenades seized in Batticaloa - SL Police

[TamilNet, Monday, 31 October 2005, 15:48 GMT]
Police sources in Batticaloa said that the Sri Lanka Army had seized two T-56 rifles, six grenades and a 9 mm pistol in the search conducted by the Sri Lanka Army in Batticaloa Monday.
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SLMM condemns Meedin killing

[TamilNet, Monday, 31 October 2005, 12:15 GMT]
In a press release issued Monday, the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) condemned the killing of Lieutenant Colonel Meedin in Colombo Saturday and urged "the Government of Sri Lanka and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam to work together to end the violence in the country so that the confidence between the two Parties can be restored and the Peace Process continued."
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SLA rounds up thousand young men, women in Batticaloa

[TamilNet, Monday, 31 October 2005, 11:50 GMT]
More than one thousand young men and women from areas of Mamankam, Jayanthipuram, Iruthayapuram and Urani, some popular and heavily populated suburbs of Batticaloa town were herded into common grounds by the Sri Lankan Military personnel in a cordon and search operation that was launched Monday early morning at 4:00 a.m. Masked paramilitary cadres wearing military uniforms assisted the Sri Lanka army personnel to round up the Tamil youth and parade them to common grounds for identification.
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Puthur East villagers demand safety, resettlement

[TamilNet, Monday, 31 October 2005, 11:30 GMT]
Hundreds of men and women residents displaced from near Annamar Kovil Sri Lanka Army (SLA) camp and others protesting the killing and injuring of civilians by the SLA soldiers on Friday marched from Nallur Temple outer perimeter to the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) offices in Temple Road, Nallur at 12.30 p.m. and demanded security for them to resettle in their homes. Protesters shouted slogans against the conduct of the members of the SLMM on Friday and urged them to take action to immediately to resettle them.
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The LTTE’s New Concept- Confederation: Taraki

[TamilNet, Monday, 31 October 2005, 04:41 GMT]
In the 31st July 1991 issue of Sri Lanka's English daily, Island International, popular journalist and military analyst, late Dharmeratnam Sivaram, portrays the 1991 battle of Elephant Pass as demonatrating the LTTE's capability as a conventional army and predicts how this emergent force will dictate the trajectory of Sri Lanka's war.
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Day of mourning in Jaffna concludes without incidents

[TamilNet, Monday, 31 October 2005, 02:56 GMT]
Residents in Jaffna district observed a day of mourning Sunday called by the Tamil National Resurgence Consortium to pay respect to Nirojan Tharmarajah (20) killed by Sri Lanka Army (SLA) fire and to the several civilians injured during the rape protest at the outside the Puthur East Vaharavathai SLA camp on Friday. Nirojan funeral was also held Sunday, sources in Jaffna said.
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New resettlement village in Puliyankulam celebrates opening

[TamilNet, Sunday, 30 October 2005, 17:25 GMT]
Thirty two war affected families from refugee camps in Adapankulam, Poonthottam, Sithamparapuram and Manik Farm in Chettikulam moved Sunday morning at 10 a.m into a new resettlement village in Puliyankulam North built by Tamil Rehabilitaion Organization with funding support from NewZealand Tamil expatriates, sources in Kilinochchi said. The families were selected as the most poor and deserving of those languishing in the different refugee camps.
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NPC urges NorthEast Tamils to vote

[TamilNet, Sunday, 30 October 2005, 12:26 GMT]
Media Director of the Sri Lanka National Peace Council (NPC), Dr.Jehan Perera, Saturday appealed to the Tamil people vote for a candidate who could promote peaceful political solution to the ethnic problem and not to boycott the presidential election. He was addressing a seminar on "North-South Dialogue for Rebuilding of Sri Lankan Democratic Institutions," held at the Media Research and Training Centre of the Jaffna University.
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Somalian sea pirates release Sri Lankan captive

[TamilNet, Saturday, 29 October 2005, 13:05 GMT]
Selvathurai Mahalingam (58), captain of a Kenyan ship, who had been detained by a group of Somalian sea pirates for 101 days was released and returned to Sri Lanka on Friday (October 28th). The ship had been seized close to the waters of Somalia, Mr.Mahalingam told TamilNet.


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Palmyrah Handicraft center opens in Pallai

[TamilNet, Saturday, 29 October 2005, 11:45 GMT]
A center for training unemployed women and youths in handicrafts from Palmyrah produce was opened in Maazar village in Pallai administrative district last week for a cost of Rs 460,000 funded by International Labor Organization (ILO) and local Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), co-ordinated by Palmyrah Development Board and the Economic Consultancy House (TECH), sources from Pallai said.
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Rice mill worker shot dead in Akkaraipattu

[TamilNet, Saturday, 29 October 2005, 10:11 GMT]
Two unidentified gunman riding in a motorbike shot and killed Mr. H.G.M Abeyaratna, 38, a rice mil worker at Kolavil, 2 km south of Akkaraipattu town, Saturday at 9:30 a.m. The rice mill worker, a Sinhalese from Akurana in Kandy, married to a Tamil woman and a father of a child, was residing at Kannakipuram Refugee Camp wheh he was shot, Police said the motive for the killing was not clear.
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Confrontation avoided as SLA lifts Thandikulam travel restrictions

[TamilNet, Saturday, 29 October 2005, 02:55 GMT]
Tension between Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers manning the Thandikulam checkpoint and civilian escalated Friday as SLA soldiers blocked attendees to the Vavuniay Resurgence Convention to travel north into Vanni and youths who were prevented from attending the convention setup blockade across A9 north of SLA checkpoint, passengers affected by the blockade said.
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Amparai to hold Resurgence Convention

[TamilNet, Friday, 28 October 2005, 17:06 GMT]
The final event in the series of Tamil National Resurgence Convention is to be held in Amparai district in the east at the Thambiluvil Maha Vidiyalayam grounds on November 12, organizers said. Mr.Kanagasabai Pathmanathan, Amparai district Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarian, has been visiting villages in Amparai to conduct consultative meetings with local Tamil activists, sources said.
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SLA fires at Puthur protesters, seven injured

[TamilNet, Friday, 28 October 2005, 11:28 GMT]
Seven Tamil civilians injured and four of them were admitted to the Jaffna Teaching Hospital Friday evening following the shooting by soldiers of the SLA at Puttur junction at the angry crowd which pelted stones and threw a petrol bomb at the army sentry around 3.30 p.m. The crowd later is alleged to have set fire to an army vehicle, sources said. SLA soldiers fired at least 250 gunshots to bring the situation under their control. Monitors of the SLMM arrived at the site at 12.15 and remained there until late evening, Helen Olafsdottir of SLMM has told TamilNet.
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Resurgence event emphasizes Vavuniya Declaration, urges EU to reconsider stand

[TamilNet, Thursday, 27 October 2005, 18:04 GMT]
Thousands of people gathered in Vavuniya Urban Council grounds Thursday at 3:30 p.m. to reaffirm July 27 Vavuniya Declaration. Tamil National Alliance parliamentarians, academics, religious leaders and social activists attended the event which also urged the European Union to reconsider its stand on travel restrictions on Liberation Tigers officials on visiting EU member states. Vavuniya was the venue of the initial Tamil National Resurgence Conference that proclaimed that an environment must be created to enable Tamils to decide their political destiny calling for the Sri Lankan Armed forces to vacate the land and seas of NorthEast.
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