The price of peace for the Sinhala rural poor

[TamilNet, Monday, 20 December 2004, 19:42 GMT]
Sri Lanka’s recent massive defence budget allocation, whilst preparing the military for a renewed war against the Liberation Tigers, has another vital role in domestic politics: the economy of the Sinhala rural poor is three times more dependent on military remittances than official poverty alleviation schemes. Earlier this month, Sri Lanka’s ruling party and the main opposition party, in a rare show of unity, joined together to vote in favor of the country's defense allocations for 2005. Only the main Tamil party, the Tamil National Alliance, opposed the defence budget.
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Thousands form human chain protest in Chavakachcheri

[TamilNet, Monday, 20 December 2004, 11:13 GMT]
Thousands of Tamil civilians in Thenmaradchchi division in Jaffna district held a human chain agitation campaign on either side of A-9 highway Monday morning demanding the Government of Sri Lanka (GOSL) to resume peace talks with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) on the basis of Interim Self Governing Authority proposals (ISGA) by the latter. Protestors carried placards and shouted slogans holding hands along the A 9 Jaffna-Kandy road from Kodikamam to Kaithady, sources said. The campaign has been organized by the civil groups federation in Thenmaradchchi.
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Drama spotlights problems of war-widows in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Monday, 20 December 2004, 03:06 GMT]
A drama program held at the Kailasapathy Auditorium of the University of Jaffna on Sunday at 10:30 am for the plan by the Tamil Refugees Rehabilitation Organization (TRRO) to benefit the women widowed by war, sources in Jaffna said.
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Efficient deployments benefit thousands in Batticaloa - TRO

[TamilNet, Sunday, 19 December 2004, 23:08 GMT]
Many villages have been marooned under flood water preventing people from returning to their homes though rain has stopped for the last two days in Batticaloa district. Vaharai divisional secretariat division was the worst affected area by the floods in the Batticaloa district. Hundreds of families had sought refuge at schools and other public buildings. Tamils Rehabilitation Organisation (TRO) was there providing urgently needed assistance to the flood victims, civil sources in Vakarai told TamilNet. 4505 Vakarai villagers have benefited by this timely help, according to a TRO official.
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Floodwaters uproot landmines in Batticaloa

[TamilNet, Sunday, 19 December 2004, 18:48 GMT]
Anti-personnel landmines made of plastic weighing around 100 -150g were observed floating in some areas close to SLA camps in Sithandy, Morakkoddanchenai and Pullumalai in the flood ravaged Batticaloa district, civil sources said. Some animals were killed or injured by landmine explosions during the last few days.
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LTTE leaders discuss Trinco development with NEPC officials

[TamilNet, Sunday, 19 December 2004, 17:08 GMT]
"The utmost goal of our liberation struggle is to free our people from all sufferings and to ensure that they lead a life in their areas with all basic needs are met,"said Mr.S.Elilan, LTTE Trincomalee district political head addressing a one day- discussion with regard to the Trincomalee district development which was attended by top officials of the North-East Provincial Council (NEPC). The discussion was held at Kaddaiparichchan Vipulananda School in the LTTE controlled Muttur east, down south of east port town Sunday.
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Telephone link to Trincomalee cut off

[TamilNet, Saturday, 18 December 2004, 14:01 GMT]
Telephone link between Trincomalee District and other parts of the country has been cut off since Saturday morning around 9.a.m due to damage caused to underground cable lines, Sri Lanka Telecom sources in Tincomalee told TamilNet. The Sri Lanka Telecom has deployed several teams to detect the damage.
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CTTU discusses Jaffna HSZ issue with SL President

[TamilNet, Saturday, 18 December 2004, 03:18 GMT]
Sri Lanka's President, Ms. Chandrika Kumaratunge, told a delegation of the Ceylon Tamil Teachers' Union (CTTU) Friday that the Sri Lankan security forces continue to believe that Liberation Tiger cadres would infiltrate into the high security zones if the internally displaced families were allowed to resettle, according to CTTU general secretary Mr.T.Mahasivam.
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TRO assists flood victims in Trincomalee

[TamilNet, Saturday, 18 December 2004, 03:17 GMT]
The Tamils Rehabilitation Organization (TRO) has been distributing relief packages to flood victims in the Trincomalee district since Thursday. TRO Trincomalee district secretariat workers Thursday and Friday supplied relief packages to all victims irrespective of any differences in the north of the district. Each package contains relief material including dry ration worth about five hundred rupees, sources said.
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Bishop Emeritus Antony felicitated

[TamilNet, Friday, 17 December 2004, 20:45 GMT]
His Lordship L.R.Antony, Bishop Emeritus of Trincomalee-Batticaloa Diocese was felicitated on the day of his Golden Jubilee of Priesthood. The felicitation event was held in Trincomalee St.Mary's Cathedral on Wednesday.
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Civil groups to hold agitation campaign in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Friday, 17 December 2004, 06:08 GMT]
The first human chain agitation campaign demanding the Government of Sri Lanka (GOSL) to strengthen the peace process and to recommence the stalled negotiations with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) on the basis of Interim Self-Governing Authority (ISGA) proposals is scheduled to be held in Thenmaradchchi division in Jaffna district on Monday.
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Veteran writer, poet Reggie Siriwardene dies

[TamilNet, Friday, 17 December 2004, 05:44 GMT]
Mr.Reggie Siriwardene, well-known journalist, social analyst, poet and playwright and who fought for the protection of Human Rights passed away peacefully at the age of 82 in Colombo Wednesday. His funeral was held Thursday evening at Kanatte cemetery amid large gathering of all walks of life. Several leading journalists and educationists condoled his demise as an irreparable loss. He has authored a well-documented analysis that describes the damage done to ethnic relations by government produced school textbooks in Sri Lanka
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Solheim meets President Chandrika

[TamilNet, Thursday, 16 December 2004, 16:19 GMT]
Mr.Erik Solheim, Norwegian special peace envoy Thursday urged the Government of Sri Lanka (GOSL) and Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) to exercise the maximum restraint and refrain from actions that could be interpreted as provocations, especially at a time when peace negotiations were not taking place, states a press release issued by the Presidential Secretariat following the talks between the facilitator and President Ms Chandrika Kumaratunge.
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"LTTE important component in NE affairs"- Tyronne Fernando

[TamilNet, Thursday, 16 December 2004, 15:08 GMT]
"Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) is a very important component in the North East affairs. The LTTE is not prohibited in the island. As such there is no reason to oppose for working with that organization" said Mr.Tyronne Fernando, newly appointed Governor of North East Province Thursday when addressing provincial secretaries, heads of provincial departments and other related officials for the first time after he assumed office Wednesday.
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Tokyo Donors recognise UPFA' inability to rein in JVP - Thinnakural Daily

[TamilNet, Thursday, 16 December 2004, 12:25 GMT]
In its most recent editorial, the Tamil news daily Thinnakural has welcomed the joint statement issued by the representatives of the co-chairs of the Tokyo Donor Conference, after their meeting with the Sri Lankan President. Hailing the timing of the meeting to coincide with the visit of the Norwegian Special Envoy, Mr. Eric Solheim, to Sri Lanka, the editorial pointed out the long history of JVP's antagonism towards the Norwegian role in the peace process and the inability of the President's UPFA to rein in the contrary view and hostile activities of the JVP.
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Tyronne Fernando assumes duties as NE Governor

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 15 December 2004, 17:22 GMT]
Mr.Tyronne Fernando, newly appointed Governor for the North East Province Wednesday assumed duties in the Governor's Secretariat which is located at Orr's Hill, a suburb in Trincomalee. Dignitaries of all faiths blessed him before he started his duties in his office. The Governor spoke in Sinhala first and then in English. His speech was not translated into Tamil language, sources said.
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Twenty Tamil refugees return to Talaimannar by sea

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 15 December 2004, 17:10 GMT]
The Sri Lanka Navy Tuesday evening arrested 20 Sri Lankan Tamil refugees when they landed in Talaimannar coastal area and one of them with about one and half kilogram of ganja. All the twenty were handed over to the Talaimannar Police, sources said. Mannar Magistrate Mr.M.N.M.Abdulla Wednesday released 19 refugees and ordered remand till December 29 for the refugee who was allegedly possessing ganja when they were produced in court by the police.
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GoSL entirely responsible for resuming talks - LTTE

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 15 December 2004, 11:07 GMT]
"The responsibility of resurrecting the stalled peace process is entirely with the government in ensuring that its coalition partners reflect the thinking of the president, if she is in fact really sincere, and her military refrains from coercive and provocative actions", Mr. S. P. Thamilchelvan, Head of the Political Wing of the LTTE told the Norwegian facilitators Wednesday in Kilinochchi. "Norwegian delegation was unable to give assurance that Sri Lanka Government will take any constructive steps to take the peace process forward" Thamilchelvan told the Press after the meeting.
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Urgent need of relief to flood victims in NE - TRO

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 15 December 2004, 09:01 GMT]
"There is an ugent need to supply cooked meals, fresh drinking water, shelter and other immediate necessities to the flood victims in the NorthEast", a TRO official told TamilNet. TRO has provided temporary accommodation to 761 families and is supplying cooked meals, drinking water and other humanitarian assistance to a further 254 families in the Kilinochchi District, the official added.
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Sri Lanka’s credibility for UN Secy. Gen. post questioned

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 15 December 2004, 04:45 GMT]
In an editorial Tuesday, the Colombo-based Tamil language daily, Sudar Oli, questioned Sri Lanka’s credibility to nominate Dr. Jayantha Dhanapala to the United Nations Secretary General post, arguing that Sri Lanka has “earned the status of an oppressive state that seeks to enslave an ethnic minority within its own territory, denying the minority's fundamental rights, even its very existence.”
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