SLA bans transport of torch batteries to Muttur east

[TamilNet, Friday, 22 April 2005, 19:06 GMT]
Mr.S.Elilan, Trincomalee district political head of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) Friday lodged a complaint with the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) in Trincomalee that soldiers in the Kaddaiparichchan Sri Lanka Army are preventing people taking torch batteries to and from LTTE controlled Muttur east villages. Kaddaiparichchan SLA camp is located on the border of the SLA and LTTE controlled areas in the Muttur division, sources said.
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Workshop on tsunami reconstruction begins in Trincomalee

[TamilNet, Friday, 22 April 2005, 10:34 GMT]
Three-day workshop for workers of Social Mobilization Unit (SMU) of the Tamil Rehabilitation Organization (TRO) began in Trincomalee Friday morning on the topic "Implementation of 3rd Phase of Tsunami Relief Programme." Tamils, Muslims and Sinhalese from districts of Amparai, Batticaloa and Trincomalee are participating in the workshop. Similar workshops were held earlier in Jaffna, Killinochchi and Vavuniya for SMU staff working in those districts, sources said.
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Demonstrations in Velanai, Sandilipay demand Joint Mechanism

[TamilNet, Thursday, 21 April 2005, 17:02 GMT]
Large number of civilians participated in two protest marches held in Sandilipay in Valigamam division and Velanai in Kayts Division in the Jaffna district Thursday morning separately putting forward four demands including the establishment of the Interim Self Governing Authority (ISGA) and the Joint Mechanism to implement tsunami reconstruction and rehabilitation programme in the northeast. Other demands were the resettlement of displaced families due to war in their own houses and lands and to bring to halt the killings of LTTE cadres, members of public and journalists, sources said.


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SLMM and Elilan discuss Trincomalee situation

[TamilNet, Thursday, 21 April 2005, 16:53 GMT]
Ms Helene Fors, acting head of the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) in Trincomalee Thursday evening held discussions with Mr.S.Elilan, Trincomalee district political head of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), about the recent incidents affecting the Ceasefire Agreement (CFA) in the district, SLMM sources said.
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Rocca assures TNA delegation US support for Joint Mechanism

[TamilNet, Thursday, 21 April 2005, 06:30 GMT]
Ms Christina Rocca, US Assistant Secretary of State for South Asia, Wednesday assured the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentary delegation that the US Government would support the establishment of the Joint Mechanism in disbursing foreign aid to tsunami-hit coastal areas in the northeast province, TNA sources said. TNA delegation that comprised Mr.R.Sampanthan and Mr.Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam met with Ms Christina Rocca Wednesday at the US Embassy in Colombo.
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Nilaveli families receive relief from Michigan, ARC

[TamilNet, Thursday, 21 April 2005, 01:45 GMT]
About five hundred tsunami hit families residing in temporary shelters and welfare centres in coastal areas of Nilaveli division in the Trincomalee district last weekend received six hundred thousand rupees worth milk food, medicine, household materials purchased from the funds collected by Sri Lankan Tamils residing in the state of Michigan, U.S, by holding variety entertainment events. The distribution took place under the direction of Dr.S.Arulkumaran, Medical Officer of Health of Kuchchaveli Division.
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Christina Rocca meets JVP delegation

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 20 April 2005, 16:16 GMT]
The Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), Sinhala Marxist Nationalist Party and a major constituent of the United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA) government, Wednesday told Ms Christina Rocca, the visiting US Assistant Secretary of State, that JVP is opposed to the joint mechanism which was proposed to enable the Government of Sri Lanka (GOSL) and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) to disburse funds from foreign governments and international aid agencies to assist tsunami rehabilitation and reconstruction programme in the northeast, sources said.


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Where the truce promise rings hollow

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 20 April 2005, 14:26 GMT]
The cease fire agreement between the Government of Sri Lanka (GOSL) and the Liberation Tigers was greeted eagerly by the people of Batticaloa because it held out the hope that their daily lives would be spared of the tensions, fears, anxieties, stress and trauma which they suffered for two long decades of war. They were glad that they could lead normal lives again. Today the cease fire’s promise rings increasingly hollow to them as the Sri Lankan armed forces reintroduce war era measures, which are tinged indelibly with bitter memories of a past the people of Batticaloa wanted to put behind so that they could start their lives anew.
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Thamilchelvan meets Solheim in Colombo, returns to Kilinochchi

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 20 April 2005, 09:04 GMT]
Visiting Norwegian Special Peace Envoy, Mr. Erik Solheim, on Wednesday met Mr.S.P.Thamilchelvan, Political Head of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), who was returning to Kilinochchi concluding an almost 40 days long diplomatic mission to Europe and to South Africa. Mr. Thamilchelvan during his mission to Europe had held discussions with government leaders of more than twelve countries regarding the current state of the stalled peace process and the hindrance on the part of the Government of Sri Lanka in establishing a Joint Mechanism to implement a tsunami relief, rehabilitation and reconstruction programme in the northeast.
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Short stories on war suffering released in Trincomalee

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 20 April 2005, 00:18 GMT]
"Thoorathu Kodaikala Iravukal" (Distant Summer Nights), a collection of short stories by a young writer Miss Maathumai Sivasubramaniam, a law student from Trincomalee, was released during a weekend event held at Trincomalee St.Mary's Girls College with Rev.Sister Theresa Ranee, former Principal of the institution as the chief guest.
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Rocca goes to Kalmunai, Karaithivu

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 19 April 2005, 15:02 GMT]
US Assistant Secretary of State for South Asia, Ms. Christina Rocca, Tuesday met Tsunami refugees at a transit camp in Karaithivu, a large Tamil village 45 kilometres south of Batticaloa.
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Sewing training centres opened in Vadamaradchi east

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 19 April 2005, 14:53 GMT]
Working Women Development Organization (WWDO) and Rural Rehabilitation Development Organization (RRDO) of the Tamil Rehabilitation Organization (TRO) Tuesday inaugurated two sewing training centres for tsunami affected women at Chempianpattu and Kaddaikadu-Mullian villages in the Vadamaradchi east division in the Jaffna district.
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Annai Poopathi death anniversary observed in NorthEast

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 19 April 2005, 14:20 GMT]
Seventeenth death anniversary of Annai Poopathi, who fasted unto death on 19 April 1988 after placing five demands to the Government of India, was observed in the NorthEast province Tuesday. Several hundreds of students, men and women participated in token fast held separately in the five divisions of the Jaffna district Tuesday, organizers said.


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"Can trust only when Joint Mechanism comes" - Col. Bhanu

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 19 April 2005, 08:39 GMT]
“We can talk about having faith in this process only when the Joint Mechanism for Tsunami Reconstruction is implemented. The suffering of Tamils and Muslims who were affected by the Tsunami in Batticaloa/Amparai is immense. Some of them say they should have died in the Tsunami than face the privations to which they are subjected today as refugees. We explained to the Norwegians the urgent need for a joint mechanism to help these people”, said Col. Bhanu, special commander of LTTE’s armed forces in Batticaloa/Amparai, speaking to journalists after meeting Mr. Eric Solheim, special Norwegian peace envoy who visited Batticaloa Tuesday.
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Tamil Women Confluence held in Thampalakamam

[TamilNet, Monday, 18 April 2005, 17:47 GMT]
About eight hundred Tamil women participated in a Women Confluence ('Penngal Sangamam') Monday held at Thampalakamam, a traditional Tamil village in the Trincomalee district Monday in connection with the seventeenth death anniversary of Annai Poopathi, which falls on Tuesday (April 19), sources said.
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Solheim meets Govt. Peace Secretariat head

[TamilNet, Monday, 18 April 2005, 17:24 GMT]
Mr.Erik Solheim, Norwegian special peace envoy Monday met with the Head of the Government Peace Secretariat, Dr Jayantha Dhanapala, and discussed in detail about resolving issues confronting the formation of the joint mechanism between the Government of Sri Lanka (GOSL) and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). The joint mechanism is proposed to take forward the tsunami relief, rehabilitation and reconstruction programme in the northeast province, sources said.
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LTTE sentry in Muttur attacked by SLA- Elilan

[TamilNet, Monday, 18 April 2005, 17:19 GMT]
The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) Monday lodged a complaint with the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission in Trincomalee that one of their sentry points in the LTTE-controlled Muttur east had been attacked by a group of soldiers of the Sri Lanka Army Sunday night around 7.10 p.m.
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UPenn calls for Tamil volunteers for language research

[TamilNet, Monday, 18 April 2005, 14:24 GMT]
Christopher Glenn of University of Pennsylvania (UPenn)is seeking Tamil speakers domiciled in the US to register for a research study called LVDID – Language, Variety and Dialect Identification, a new multi-language telephone speech study supporting linguistic research, technology development and education, text of an e-mail posted in TamilNation website said.
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Solheim arrives in Colombo, visits Puttalam

[TamilNet, Sunday, 17 April 2005, 14:37 GMT]
Mr.Erik Solheim, Norwegian special peace envoy arrived in Colombo Sunday on a five day visit to Sri Lanka amid expectation that he would seal an agreement between the Government of Sri Lanka (GOSL) and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) that would establish a joint mechanism to take forward the post-tsunami relief, reconstruction and rehabilitation programme in the northeast province, sources said.
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Canada rejects Sri Lanka's diplomatic nominee- paper

[TamilNet, Saturday, 16 April 2005, 21:41 GMT]
"Canadian Government has signalled the Sri Lanka Government that it will not be able to accept Mr. [Chandrananda] de Silva as Sri Lanka's next High Commissioner to Ottawa because under the provisions of the Immigration Act of that country, Mr. de Silva as the one-time holder of office as Secretary of Defence is a person, in respect of whom, if there are any allegations of human rights abuses whether proved or not, would be regarded as an inadmissible person to that country," the weekend Sunday Times said quoting diplomatic sources.
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