Red Cross constructs national disaster management centre

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 10 January 2006, 02:05 GMT]
The Red Cross Movement has pledged to construct 15,000 houses to the tsunami affected families and the reconstruction is ongoing in districts destroyed by the natural disaster in the island, said Mr.S.H.Nimal Kumar, National Secretary of the Sri Lanka Red Cross Society, who was elected to chair the Disaster Management and Relief Committee of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescents Societies at its general assembly held in Seoul, South Korea, recently.
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"SL Government's speak soft, hit hard policy" - Taraki, 1992

[TamilNet, Monday, 14 November 2005, 03:33 GMT]
In the 10th June 1992 issue of Sri Lanka's English daily, Island International, late Dharmeratnam Sivaram, popular journalist and Senior editor at TamilNet, sheds light into the then Sri Lanka's President Premadasa and Leader of the House, Ranil Wickremesinghe's strategy of dealing with Tamil national question, a strategy of wooing Tamil votes with political rhetoric and to inflict military defeat on LTTE by planning to allow Sri Lanka forces to "smash their way into Jaffna."
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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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Aid fiasco in Sri Lanka

[TamilNet, Monday, 26 September 2005, 14:53 GMT]
A sweeping investigation into the Sri Lankan government’s use of international tsunami-related aid has found widespread misappropriation of funds and bureaucratic incompetence, an interim report released this week says.
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Bomb scare in Katunayake airport, one passenger dies in stampede

[TamilNet, Thursday, 08 September 2005, 12:02 GMT]
One Sri Lankan Muslim woman died and 83 others including men, women and children wounded in a stampede when all 452 passengers in a Boeing 747 of the Saudi airlines jumped through emergency door following a tip-off from an anonymous caller to the Katunayake international airport authorities that a bomb has been hidden inside the craft. The incident took place Thursday afternoon at about 1.45 p.m. when the airplane was about to take off to Jeddah in Saudi Arabia, airport sources said.
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"Talks venue must be acceptable to both parties"- Thamilchelvan

[TamilNet, Thursday, 08 September 2005, 09:46 GMT]
Liberation Tigers Political Head, Mr. S. P. Thamilchelvan, who met with Norwegian delegation in Kilinochchi Thursday morning told reporters that a southern venue, including the Colombo airport, does not provide the necessary conducive environment for direct talks. The venue for direct talks must be acceptable to both parties, he added. Thamilchelvan further said that while the Emergency Regulations is in force and in the prevailing unpredicatable political atmosphere with serious controversies in the South, LTTE finds the airport venue not conducive for serious talks. Colombo had declined to have talks in Kilinochchi.
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Competition for SriLankan, new Katunayake runway mulled

[TamilNet, Thursday, 19 May 2005, 13:39 GMT]
The Sri Lankan government is set to allow local private airlines to operate international flights using its air service agreements with other countries and thereby competing with the national carrier SriLankan Airlines, press reports quoted the aviation minister as saying. Sri Lanka is mulling adding another runway to its sole international airport, Katunayake. Meanwhile Indian officials may be drafted in to break a strike by air traffic controllers.
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Joint mechanism mired in Sinhala politics

[TamilNet, Monday, 09 May 2005, 15:51 GMT]
The joint mechanism between the Sri Lankan government and the Liberation Tigers called for by international aid donors has become the centre of political manoeuvres by the main Sinhala parties, in whose zero-sum calculations, international aid has a critical role to play.
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Sri Lanka Taxes, bureaucracy limit flow of Tsunami relief

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 02 March 2005, 00:48 GMT]
In camps off the North-East coast of Sri Lanka, over 300,000 people drink water from bowsers brought in from kilometres away. Dependant on an unsustainable water source, they are unaware of the NGOs' struggle with Sri Lanka's bureacracy and fight against Government's mechanisms to throttle relief reaching NorthEast. Nor are the refugees aware of the heavy duties paid to clear high-tech water filtration systems and relief supplies that would otherwise either collect dust in a customs warehouse or distributed to other areas at the fancies of Sri Lanka's Social Services Ministry officials.
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Former US Presidents Bill Clinton and George H.W.Bush arrive in Sri Lanka

[TamilNet, Sunday, 20 February 2005, 10:35 GMT]
Former US Presidents Bill Clinton and George H.W.Bush arrived in Bandaranaike International Airport, Katunayake, Sunday evening at 4.12 PM as part of their tour of tsunami-hit countries in South Asia and Southeast Asia. Sri Lanka's Foreign Minister Mr. Lakshman Kadirgamar, Media Minister Mr. Mangala Samaraweera, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Mr. Vishva Warnapala and Interior Ministry Secretary Mr.Tilak Ranaviraja were present at the Airport to receive the two former US presidents. US President George W Bush appointed the ex-presidents to lead private fundraising efforts in the wake of the tsunami.
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Balasingham to join Norwegian meet in Kilinochchi

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 19 January 2005, 11:30 GMT]
Liberation Tigers’ Political Strategist and Chief Negotiator, Mr. Anton Balasingham, and his wife Adele are scheduled to arrive in Kilinochchi on Friday, sources close to the LTTE told TamilNet. He is expected to participate in the meeting of LTTE leaders with Norwegian Foreign Minister Jan Petersen and Minister of International Development Hilde F. Johnson who are scheduled to arrive in Sri Lanka on Thursday on a four-day visit to assess the damage and the needs of the people of Sri Lanka in the aftermath of tsunami disaster.
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Canadian PM arrives in Colombo to support tsunami relief

[TamilNet, Sunday, 16 January 2005, 14:23 GMT]
Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin arrived in Colombo on Sunday evening for a two day visit to the country. Sri Lanka's Deputy Foreign Minister Lakshman Kiriella welcomed him at the Katunayake international airport. Officials from the Foreign ministry were also present at the welcome, sources in Colombo said.
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US military presence will not affect Peace Process - Colin Powell

[TamilNet, Friday, 07 January 2005, 11:40 GMT]
Pledging USD 25 million for immediate relief and reconstruction of Sri Lanka, US Secretaryof State Colin Powell said in a press briefing held at the runway at the Katunayake Air Force Base, Colombo, that US military presence will not affect the ongoing peace process. Responding to a question about how long the US military would stay, he said they would remain long as it is required by the Sri lankan government and would ensure that the reconstruction and rehabilitation work is complete.


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LTTE delegation to leave for Europe

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 28 September 2004, 01:37 GMT]
A high level delegation of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) led by its political head S.P.Thamilchelvan is scheduled to leave on a three-week visit to European countries on Wednesday through Katunayake International Airport (KIA). The delegation is expected hold discussions with legal and constitutional expert who formulated the Interim Self Government Authority proposals (ISGA), sources said. The team will also meet Government officials of several European countries during the tour.
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Not a principled apology- Elilan

[TamilNet, Monday, 26 July 2004, 01:33 GMT]
"We regard Sri Lanka's President Ms Chandrika Kumaratunge's public apology for the 1983 pogrom against the Tamils as a deceptive attempt, driven by political expediency rather than principles, to placate the Tamils," said Mr.S.Elilan, Trincomalee district political head of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) speaking as the chief guest at a public meeting in Trincomalee Sunday evening held at the Welikada Martyrs Memorial Hall in Trincomalee to remember the 21st anniversary of Black July.
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Karuna meets with Sri Lankan ministers, US officials- paper

[TamilNet, Sunday, 25 July 2004, 00:36 GMT]
Sri Lanka’s tourism minister and brother of President Chandrika Kumaratunga, Mr. Anura Bandaranaike, escorted the renegade LTTE commander, Karuna, to Singapore to address US officials on combating terrorism, The Sunday Leader reported this week, quoting government sources. Another government minister and a close confidante of President Kumaratunga, Mr. Mangala Samaraweera, is to meet with Karuna, the paper also said.
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Kumaratunga hints at "an effective compromise" with the LTTE

[TamilNet, Saturday, 12 June 2004, 15:00 GMT]
Sri Lanka’s President Chandrika Kumaratunga, in a prime-time TV address, has indicated that she is "seeking an effective compromise" to overcome the dragging differences with the LTTE that delay peace talks. The LTTE has been insisting on negotiating its interim administration proposals first, while the government wanted to have parallel talks on the final solution to the conflict. In her nation-wide telecast Saturday night Kumaratunga hinted at her readiness to "prioritise" the LTTE demand while not openly abandoning the government's position to have parallel talks on the final settlement.
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SLAF Mig 27 crashes

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 09 June 2004, 09:28 GMT]
A Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) Mig 27 aircraft crashed near the Colombo international airport, around 9 a.m., Wednesday, military sources said.
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Anton Balasingham arrives in Colombo

[TamilNet, Friday, 07 May 2004, 04:07 GMT]
Mr.Anton Balasingham, The Liberation Tigers' theoretician and political strategist, arrived in Colombo Friday morning around 5.30 a.m. and he was received by the Sri Lanka's Norwegian ambassador, Mr. Hans Brattskar, at the Katunayake international airport, Colombo media sources said.
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JVP leader Amarasinghe returns home

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 20 January 2004, 18:58 GMT]
Mr.Somawanse Amarasinghe Tuesday evening arrived in Katunayake international airport. Senior leaders of the Sinhala nationalist cum Marxist Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) Messrs Tilvin Silva, Wimal Weerawanse, Nandana Gunathilaka and others received him, party sources said.


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