LTTE urges aid for Amparai as fighters conduct relief operations

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 04 January 2005, 07:24 GMT]
The Liberation Tigers‚ warned Monday that the recent heavy flooding in the Amparai district has exacerbated the risk of disease by dislodging bodies of victims of the Asian tsunami disaster. The Tigers' top commander in the region, Col. Banu, who crossed into Sri Lanka Army controlled territory with a section of of LTTE troops, is coordinating rescue and relief efforts in the multi-ethnic region, the LTTE's Centre for Emergency Assessment in Kalavanchykuddy said in press release Monday.


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PDS sets in motion the needs assessment for tsunami relief

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 04 January 2005, 06:39 GMT]
The Planning and Development Secretariat (PDS) of the Liberation Tigers has already set in motion the needs assessment process for Tsunami Relief in the northeast, Mr. S. P. Thamilchelvan, Head of the LTTE's Political Wing told TamilNet Tuesday.
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LTTE should handle relief operation in its territory - Ranil

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 04 January 2005, 05:54 GMT]
Leader of the Main Opposition United National Front (UNF), Mr. Ranil Wickremesinghe, has said that the Liberation Tigers should handle the tsunami relief operation in the LTTE-held areas as they were the ones who handled the immediate rescue operation in those areas. Mr. Wickremesinghe, who is scheduled to visit the tsunami-wrecked areas in the Northern province Wednesday, has made these comments Monday in an exclusive interview with the Colombo-based Tamil daily, Sudar Oli.
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Donate liberally towards the relief efforts in the Northeast- CHC

[TamilNet, Monday, 03 January 2005, 23:34 GMT]
The Centre for Health Care (CHC), an NGO based in Kilinochchi, said that sufficient professionals, needed by the organisation for the moment, have already arrived in Northeast. Sources at CHC told TamilNet that they have urged the International community to donate liberally towards the relief efforts. More health professionals will be needed later when communicable diseases tend to break, the sources added. CHC have urged other medical professionals who wish to come to the North-East from around the world to arrive during the later part of next month.
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NLF decries induction of foreign troops

[TamilNet, Monday, 03 January 2005, 18:17 GMT]
The New Left Front (NLF), a vocal leftist group, in statement signed by the group's leader Dr. Vickramabahu Karunarathne and issued in Colombo Monday, condemned the induction of foreign troops into Sri Lanka in the guise of helping the tsunami victims. In a strongly worded statement the New Left Front said 'it is totally unnecessary to commit troops' for relief work and accused the US of having its own agenda of gaining a foothold with designs to suppress the LTTE and control the Tamil liberation struggle on behalf of local capitalist rulers."
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Urgent need for heavy machinery in Jaffna- Ilamparithy

[TamilNet, Monday, 03 January 2005, 11:24 GMT]
Jaffna District Leader of LTTE Political Wing, S Ilamparithy, talking to TamilNet correspondent in Jaffna said that assistance from Sri Lanka Government in supplying heavy machinery required for removal of debris and to reconstruct badly damaged rural and coastal roads have not reached areas of devastation in Jaffna. This has impeded relief supplies reaching many coastal communities and has stalled speedy recovery from the tsunami disaster, he added.
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UNICEF official meets TRO, children in Mullaitivu

[TamilNet, Monday, 03 January 2005, 10:35 GMT]
Ms Carol Bellamy, Executive Director of the United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF), travelled to Kilinochchi Monday morning around 8.30 a.m., where she met with children from Senthalir Illam who had escaped death and Mr. Reggie, Executive Director of the Tamil Rehabilitation Organization (TRO).
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TNA to brief international community on northeast devastation

[TamilNet, Sunday, 02 January 2005, 15:49 GMT]
Tamil National Alliance (TNA) will soon brief the international community about the massive needs of the north-east that suffered the worst in December 26 Tsunami disaster, TNA sources said Sunday.
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SLA accused of burning refuge

[TamilNet, Sunday, 02 January 2005, 13:41 GMT]
A hut at a refuge sheltering 67 families displaced by the tsunami to Kudathanai, Vadamaradchi, Jaffna, was burnt and all the males assaulted in an attack that has been blamed on soldiers of the Sri Lanka Army. Tamil National Alliance parliamentarian Mr. M. K. Sivajilingam had accused local Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers of being responsible for the attack, which left at least three people hospitalized and forced all 67 families to seek new shelter.
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Search for missing persons to resume in Vadamaradchchi

[TamilNet, Sunday, 02 January 2005, 13:02 GMT]
Search for missing persons in last week Tsunami is to resume Sunday in the fishing hamlets of Munai, and Katkovalam in the Vadamaradchchi North division following the retrieval of two bodies, one of an old woman and another of a boy by a group of volunteers of Danish De-mining Group (DDG) Saturday.
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Destroyed bridges, causeways compound relief crisis in east

[TamilNet, Sunday, 02 January 2005, 07:40 GMT]
The Sunday Tsunami has left the main road network of the east and southeast coast of Sri Lanka in tatters, leaving many areas still marooned and hindering relief and rescue work, Col. Bhanu, a senior commander of the Liberation Tigers who is directing urgent humanitarian operations in the region, told TamilNet Saturday. He deplored that helicopters are being used to show Sri Lankan government leaders the disaster in the east and to take photos.
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LTTE stepping up relief ops in Batticaloa-Amparai - Col. Bhanu

[TamilNet, Sunday, 02 January 2005, 07:36 GMT]
“Our leader has instructed me to involve all our fighters, medical corps, vehicles, engineering units and other resources in relief and rescue operations in the Batticaloa- Amparai district. He has sent a large number of troops from the north with supplies for this work. The Malathy Infantry Regiment has also arrived along with head of our women’s wing, Ms. Thamilini, and deputy head of political division for Jaffna, Mr. Semmanan, to help Tsunami affected people in this region and alleviate their suffering”, said Col. Bhanu, a senior military officer of the Liberation Tigers who is the overall commander for Batticaloa-Amparai District, in an exclusive interview to TamilNet.
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TRO provides relief supply to Sinhala victims in Trincomalee

[TamilNet, Sunday, 02 January 2005, 02:21 GMT]
Tamil Rehabilitation Organization (TRO) provided relief to victims in two Sinhala settlements in Trincomalee town, which were badly hit by last week Tsunami. 23 families numbering 95 members in one settlement, Koriyawatte located close to Trincomalee bus stand and to 75 families numbering 328 members in another area. Division No 10 were provided with rice, sugar, flour, dhal and tea, TRO sources said.
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CTTU to contribute to Tsunami relief fund

[TamilNet, Saturday, 01 January 2005, 16:40 GMT]
Twenty thousand member strong Ceylon Tamil Teachers' Union (CTTU) Saturday appealed to its members to donate one month's salary or the salary increase of Rs: 2,500 from December last year to the relief fund of the Tsunami victims in the northeast province. The CTTU launched a special relief fund to assist Tsunami victims, said CTTU general secretary Mr.T. Mahasivam.
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Teams of expatriate Tamil doctors to arrive in NorthEast

[TamilNet, Saturday, 01 January 2005, 16:29 GMT]
Fifteen doctors, including reputed practising surgeons, arrived from London tonight to serve in the tsunami hit Mullaitivu, the worst affected district in the Sunday disaster, said a Tamils Rehabilitation Organization (TRO) spokesperson in Colombo. "More doctors are coming. Medical professionals from U.S, Canada, and Europe are also due to arrive to work in the NorthEast areas at planned intervals," the spokesperson added.
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Trinco veteran Muslim parliamentarian dies

[TamilNet, Saturday, 01 January 2005, 09:41 GMT]
Mr.M.E.H.Mohamed Ali, veteran Muslim politician and a former parliamentarian of the Trincomalee district passed away Friday night at his residence in the east port town peacefully at the age of 77. His funeral was held Saturday morning around 11 a.m. in the Muslim cemetery in the midst of leading citizens, government officials, civil leaders and friends of all communities, family sources said.
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Sri Lanka mourns

[TamilNet, Saturday, 01 January 2005, 08:37 GMT]
Sri Lanka observed Friday as a national mourning day to express shock and grief to the deaths due to Sunday's Tsunami that hit the coastal areas in the northeast and the south killing about 30, 000 and rendering around one million homeless. Sri Lanka's National Flag was flown half-mast on government buildings and Thamileelam National Flag was flown half-mast on all political secretariat offices of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in the North East, sources said.
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Trincomalee Tsunami victims face health hazard in camps

[TamilNet, Saturday, 01 January 2005, 02:18 GMT]
"Sunday's Tsunami has killed lot of our children and mothers. Our national leader Mr.Pirapaharan has issued a clear instruction to us that we should not lose our children anymore in the future. He fears that our children are facing danger of being succumbed to epidemic after Tsunami devastation,"said Mr.Thooyavan, Head of LTTE Planning Department addressing representatives of international and national non-governmental organizations in Trincomalee district now engaged in relief works in Tsunami affected coastal areas.
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Tsunami victims of Vakarai division suffer without basic facilities

[TamilNet, Saturday, 01 January 2005, 00:08 GMT]
Tsunami victims in several villages in the Vakarai divisional secretariat division in the Batticaloa district, now being cut off with their mainland as the Panichchankery Bridge collapsed in Sunday's calamity, suffer without adequate food supply and other essential items such as dry ration, kitchen utensils, milk food, feeding bottles and good drinking water, civil sources said.
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Relief supply to Muslim, Tamil villages in Muttur sabotaged?

[TamilNet, Friday, 31 December 2004, 19:00 GMT]
The relief supply to Tsunami victims in the government controlled Muttur division where majority are Muslims and Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam held Muttur east and Eachchilampathu division where majority are Tamils in the down south of Trincomalee district has come to a grinding halt since Friday evening as the only land route Kantalai- Allai road is flooded with spill water of Kantalai tank when the irrigation authorities suddenly opened the spill gates without any prior notice, civil sources said.
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