Centralization, control by armed forces, and equitable aid are incompatible, TNA tells ADB president

[TamilNet, Sunday, 16 January 2005, 06:58 GMT]
Tamil National Alliance (TNA) delegation met the president of Asia Development Bank (ADB), Mr. Tadao Chino, on Sunday and highlighted the context and the developments in the country that are detrimental to the equitable distribution of tsunami relief. The TNA, which has 22 of the 31 parliamentary seats from the northeast, told the president of ADB that the present activities of the government did not represent the democratic will of the people of the northeast and urged the ADB president to ensure that international aid was equitably distributed.
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Kofi Annan's Special Envoy visits Mullaithivu

[TamilNet, Saturday, 15 January 2005, 21:19 GMT]
Margareta Wahlstrom, UN Secretary General's Special Envoy on Relief Operations, met with the Head of the LTTE's Political Wing, Mr. S. P. Thamilchelvan Saturday and expressed condolences and solidarity to the Tamil people affected by the tsunami on behalf of the UN Secretary General, sources said. Urging the UN not to allow political considerations to deter its participation in the rebuilding efforts in the Tamil homeland, Mr. Thamilchelvan told UN Envoy that the Sri Lanka government has "acted in bad faith" by bringing the military into the humanitarian equation.
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Delays in relief worsen woes of Batticaloa affected- MP

[TamilNet, Saturday, 15 January 2005, 14:17 GMT]
Senior Parliamentarian of Tamil National Alliance (TNA), Joseph Pararajasingham talking to TamilNet Saturday charged that the reconstruction and relief in the Batticaloa district are being carried out at "Snail's Pace"' despite the presence of deputy minister of relief' reconstruction and rehabilitation D.M. Dassanayake in the area.
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Canadian parliamentarian meets Thamilchelvan

[TamilNet, Friday, 14 January 2005, 17:20 GMT]
“All Canadian aid for Tsunami relief would be channelled through our own organisations and equitable distribution is the bottom line of our humanitarian aid for relief, rehabilitation and reconstruction” said Hon. Jim Karygiannis, P.C., M.P., and Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Transport in a meeting with the head of the Political Division Mr. S.P.Thamilchelvan, LTTE's peace secretariat reported.
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Eelathunathan demise irreparable loss to Tamil nation- Sampanthan

[TamilNet, Friday, 14 January 2005, 16:45 GMT]
The sudden death of Mr.S.Pathmanathan also known as Eelathunathan, President of the Trincomalee district branch of the Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF) and a member of the central working committee of the TULF has come as a great shock to Tamils of the country, said Mr.R.Sampanthan, Secretary General of the TULF and parliamentary group leader of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) in a condolence message issued Saturday.
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ADB President to visit Trinco Saturday

[TamilNet, Friday, 14 January 2005, 16:21 GMT]
Mr. Tado Chino, President of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) is to pay a one day visit to Trincomalee Saturday to witness the destruction caused to coastal areas hit by Tsunami and visit welfare centres sheltering victims of the natural disaster, sources said.
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Canadian Parliamentarian meets with TRO leadership

[TamilNet, Friday, 14 January 2005, 13:18 GMT]
Mr.Jim Karygiannis, Canadian Liberal MP for Scarborough-Agincourt visited Tamil’s Rehabilitation Organization (TRO) Head Office in Kilinochchi Friday. He was received by Mr.K.P.Regi, Executive Director of TRO, and Mr.Lawrence Christy, Planning Director of TRO.
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LTTE denies UNICEF ‘child recruitment’ charge

[TamilNet, Friday, 14 January 2005, 10:46 GMT]
The grandmother of two children alleged by UNICEF to have been recruited and released by the Liberation Tigers rejected the accusation Friday, saying the youngsters were about to be taken into care by a orphanage as their mother was abroad and their father had abandoned the family and she (grandmother) was unable to look after them after being displaced by the Asian tsunami.
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SLMM facilitates meeting between STF and TRO in Ampara

[TamilNet, Friday, 14 January 2005, 09:44 GMT]
Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission facilitated a meeting between the Tamils Rehabilitation Organisation and Sri Lanka Special Task Force representatives in Ampara Thursday, SLMM said in a media release Friday.
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Sri Lanka unique in deploying armed forces at welfare centers- SLMM

[TamilNet, Friday, 14 January 2005, 00:21 GMT]
"Sri Lanka is the only country to deploy armed forces to manage refugee welfare centres in the aftermath of Tsunami catestrophy," said Major General (retd) Trond Furuhovde, Head of the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) when he met with the LTTE's Trincomalee district military commander Colonel Sornam and the district political head Mr.Elilan in Sampoor in the LTTE held Muttur east, down south of Trincomalee.
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Colombo restricting aid flow to LTTE areas- Col. Sornam

[TamilNet, Thursday, 13 January 2005, 17:58 GMT]
Colonel Sornam, Trincomalee district military commander of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) Thursday told the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) that the Government of Sri Lanka is restricting the flow of foreign aid under the tsunami relief operations to the LTTE controlled areas. Colonel Sornam Thursday morning held discussions with Major General (retd) Trond Furuhovde for the first time since he took over the LTTE military command of the Trincomalee district last year, sources said.


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Macroeconomic approach should govern reconstruction - Don

[TamilNet, Thursday, 13 January 2005, 00:53 GMT]
Professor V. Nithyanantham of the Dept. of Economics, Jaffna University, talking to TamilNet on the socio-economic setting in NorthEast and problems facing the residents in the post Tsunami period, said that planners should adopt a macro-economic approach to reconstruction taking into account relevant humanitarian and social factors.
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Trauma counselling stepped up in Trincomalee

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 12 January 2005, 22:10 GMT]
Following a report that a tsunami victim had attempted to commit suicide by setting fire to him as he was depressed due to the death of his two year old son on December 26, the Tamil Rehabilitation Organization (TRO) in Trincomalee district has stepped up its trauma counselling programme for Tsunami victims, sources said.
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Veteran Tamil activist dies in Trincomalee

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 12 January 2005, 20:55 GMT]
Mr.S.Pathmanathan, veteran Tamil activist and fondly called as " Eelathunathan" in the northeast Tamil political circles passed away Wednesday evening in Colombo hospital after brief illness. He was sixty at that time of death, family sources said.
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Canadian parliamentarian visits Jaffna

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 12 January 2005, 19:04 GMT]
Mr.Jim Karygiannis, Canadian parliamentarian, arrived in Jaffna with a team to witness the destruction caused by Tsunami of December 26 and console the victims. They visited the coastal areas of Valvettithurai, Athikovilady villages and welfare centres sheltering tsunami victims. He met with Mr.C.Ilamparithi, Jaffna district LTTE political head and visited the office of the Jaffna District Task Force, which is co-ordinating all relief and rehabilitation works in the district in Nelliyady.
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Indian returnees in Trinco protest demanding Tsunami relief

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 12 January 2005, 13:48 GMT]
Hundreds of Tamil refugee families who returned from South India some years ago and currently sheltered in a welfare centre at Alles Garden, north of Trincomalee, demonstrated in front of their camp Wednesday morning till noon, demanding that they should also be provided with relief and permanent shelters as the recent Tsunami had destroyed part of their camp and their livelihood, sources said.
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SLBC News Director removed

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 12 January 2005, 11:58 GMT]
Mr. Raja Katukampola, News Director of the Government owned Sri Lankan Broadcasting Corporation (SLBC) has been removed from the duty, media sources said. Katukampola's duties are replaced by Mr.Somapala Perara, the sources added.
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Military intimidation of relief workers escalate in Amparai, Batticaloa - TRO

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 12 January 2005, 08:26 GMT]
The Tamils Rehabilitation Organisation (TRO) in an urgent press statement issued on Wednesday morning said that the intimidation of relief workers by the Sri Lankan Special Task Force (STF) has been escalating in several welfare centres in Batticaloa and Amparai. "The positive relief efforts coordinated by the TRO after the recent devastation are being severely disrupted due to recent STF intervention in the East" said the press release. The organisation said it is in the process of documenting incident reports as they continue to arise.
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Norwegian Red Cross hospital commences its services in Eachchilampathu

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 11 January 2005, 19:33 GMT]
Twenty member of medical team of the Norwegian Red Cross Society Tuesday commenced its services in its temporary hospital put up in Eachchilampathu village which is in the LTTE controlled area down south of the Trincomalee district under the co-ordination of the International Committee of Red Cross (ICRC). This temporary hospital is to function for about three months till the medical services in the area improves, sources said.
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TRO distributes relief to Trinco Tsunami Muslim victims

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 11 January 2005, 14:13 GMT]
Tamil Rehabilitation Organization (TRO) has distributed several thousand rupees worth relief materials to hundreds of Tsunami Muslim victims in the district. TRO Trincomalee district team led by its Director Mr.Jeha visited Kinniya Central College and handed over several packages of relief items to the management of the Kinniya Jamiethul Ulama Council (KJUC).
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