NECORD conducts capacity building workshop for NE contractors

[TamilNet, Thursday, 15 January 2004, 15:16 GMT]
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) funded North East Community Restoration Development project (NECORD) in collaboration with German Technical Co-operation (GTZ) is to hold seven capacity building workshops in the districts of NorthEast province for small and medium size contractors working in the northeast development projects. Workshops are aimed to enhance the knowledge of the local contractors about the construction industry, sources said.


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LTTE, Muslims, SL Police meet in Amparai

[TamilNet, Thursday, 15 January 2004, 13:25 GMT]
A delegation from Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), representatives from Muslim community and officers from Sri Lanka Police met at the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) in Akkaraipattu Wednesday from 9am to 12 am to discuss ways to resolve disputes that arise between communities, security sources said. Ms. Daria, Head of the Amparai branch of SLMM presided the meeting.
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Tigers await Colombo outcome, vow to observe truce

[TamilNet, Thursday, 15 January 2004, 00:07 GMT]
The Liberation Tigers have given a solemn pledge to the Norwegian facilitators of the peace process in Sri Lanka that their organization would abide by the terms and conditions of the two year old cease-fire agreement and maintain peace, irrespective of the continuing turmoil in Colombo.
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Amparai missing youth still not found

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 14 January 2004, 15:59 GMT]
Muslim youth, Niaz, from Sorikalmunai in Amparai, who disppeared on Friday 9 January is still missing. Nallaratnam Sivakumar who was arrested by Muslim youths and handed over to Kalmunai police has been transferred to the Batticaloa Police for further investigations, security sources said. Mr.Sivakumar was allegedly seen with the missing youth when he was last seen.
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Enjoining order in Anandasangaree case extended

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 14 January 2004, 15:44 GMT]
The Colombo Additional District Judge Mr.W.Ganepola Wednesday extended the enjoining order preventing the Secretary General and Senior Vice President of the Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF) from summoning the central working committee or any meeting of the TULF without the permission of the party's President Mr.V.Ananadasangaree and rejected the application moved by respondents to vacate the enjoining order, legal sources said.


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Sri Lanka PM commits to implement possible provisions of truce

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 14 January 2004, 12:03 GMT]
Sri Lanka's Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said Wednesday that his government would continue to implement the provisions of the cease fire agreement with the Liberation Tigers for restoring normalcy in the northeast. He was addressing a forum for peace and democracy at the Sr Lanka Foundation Institute in Colombo Wednesday.
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GoSL signs $80 million loan package from ADB for NE rehabilitation

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 14 January 2004, 09:01 GMT]
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and Government of Sri Lanka Wednesday signed first part of an US$80 million loan package to address the immediate rehabilitation needs of almost 2 million conflict-affected people in the north and east of the country, said a press release issued by the Sri lanka Resident Mission of the Asian Development Bank.
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"JVP-SLFP alliance before January 31" - Weerawanse

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 13 January 2004, 16:14 GMT]
"The Memorandum of Understanding between the Sri Lanka Freedom Party and the JVP forming a political alliance would be signed before January 31," said the Sinhala nationalist, Marxist, Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) parliamentary group leader Mr.Wimal Weerawanse addressing a public meeting organized by the National Patriotic Movement (NPM) and held at Trincomalee private bus stand in the heart of the town Tuesday evening.


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Sri Lanka President sets hurdle for stateless Tamils

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 13 January 2004, 15:07 GMT]
The Sri Lankan President Chandrika Kumaratunga Tuesday ordered that the granting of citizenship to stateless Tamils in the island “should not be done in a manner that would provide political advantage to one party." The order refers to the Ceylon Workers’ Congress (CWC), the Tamil trade union and political party that lobbied for and succeeded in passing legislation to grant citizenship to thousands of stateless Tamils in Sri Lanka last year. The CWC was recently involved in a program by the UNHCR to help stateless Tamils apply for citizenship.
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Coal piles in Thampalakamam, potential health hazard - MP

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 13 January 2004, 04:30 GMT]
Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarian Mr.K.Thurairetnasingham Monday sent an urgent letter to Minister of Environment and Natural Resources Mr.Rukman Senanayake to take immediate steps to remove large coal piles in a private land in Thampalakamam, on the Trincomalee-Colombo trunk road. The parliamentarian pointed out that the piles pose a severe health hazard to the villagers of Thampalakamam, according to civil sources.


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"No truth in SLMM statement"- Trinco LTTE

[TamilNet, Monday, 12 January 2004, 13:39 GMT]
Trincomalee district political secretariat of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam Monday said ''there is no truth in the statement by the media spokesperson of the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) to BBC that the LTTE detained two monitors in Trincomalee district on 6 January, 2004.''
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Batticaloa villagers live under SLA death threats

[TamilNet, Monday, 12 January 2004, 12:51 GMT]
Residents of Vembu, Kiran, Palaiyavettai and other villages that lie close to the Kumburumoolai Sri Lanka Army (SLA) camp live in constant fear amidst death threats by the soldiers of the SLA camp, residents told TamilNet. Kumburumoolai SLA camp is located about 29kilometers North of Batticaloa town.
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Trinco, Batticaloa writers remembered

[TamilNet, Monday, 12 January 2004, 04:57 GMT]
The seventh death anniversary of Trincomalee born versatile Tamil writer, Mr.Tharmu Sivaramoo, and the 28th death anniversary of Batticaloa poet, Mr.Thuraineelavanan, were observed on Sunday with a public meeting held at the Sri Vigneswara Maha Vidiyalayam in Trincomalee.
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LTTE destroys Pornographic material found in Vavuniya

[TamilNet, Sunday, 11 January 2004, 16:54 GMT]
Liberation Tigers destroyed a set of pornographic books in Sinhala Language found in a package left unattended near the rest room at the Vavuniya Bus station Saturday, civil society sources in Vavuniya said.
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Pirapaharan felicitates Women artists

[TamilNet, Sunday, 11 January 2004, 14:30 GMT]
In a cultural event organized by the Fine Arts and Cultural Division of Women's Wing of Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam Saturday in Kilinochchi, Leader of LTTE, Pirapaharan praised the contributions of Tamil women artists to Theatre, Drama, Tamil struggle and commended the artists for stimulating cultural awareness among the public, sources from Vanni said.
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Jaffna leaflet warns of war

[TamilNet, Sunday, 11 January 2004, 13:55 GMT]
"War would be inevitable if Sri Lankan leaders insidiously reject the LTTE's Interim Self Governing Authority(ISGA) proposal and if they consider this peace period as a time to cheat," warned a leaflet issued in Jaffna Sunday by an organisation called Tamil National Awareness Movement.
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Will fast to death says Jaffna refugee

[TamilNet, Sunday, 11 January 2004, 11:28 GMT]
Mr.Sellakili Anandaraja, a refugee in Jaffna whose home and fields are occupied by the Sri Lanka amy said Sunday he would fast to death if he and more than 600 diplaced families in the Thenmaradchi divison of Jaffna are not permitted resettle in their villages before the end of January 2004.
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"Harsini's demise irreparable loss to women liberation"

[TamilNet, Saturday, 10 January 2004, 15:49 GMT]
North East Provincial Ministry of Education, Cultural Affairs, Sports and Youth Affairs Saturday said that the untimely death of Trincomalee leading women rights activist Miss Harsini Antonysamy was "an irreparable loss to women liberation movement in the NorthEast province."


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Civil group appeals for Muslim, Tamil unity

[TamilNet, Saturday, 10 January 2004, 14:32 GMT]
In a leaflet addressed to "Dear Muslim Brothers and Sisters," distributed in Batticaloa-Amparai district, the Batticaloa Development Committee appealed for co-operation between Tamils and Muslims in the two districts and called on the community leaders to work jointly to combat forces trying to divide the two communities.


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Muslim vigilante group arrests Amparai Tamil youth

[TamilNet, Saturday, 10 January 2004, 12:33 GMT]
Accusing Nallaratnam Sivakumar, a Tamil youth from Sorikalmunai in Amparai district, for the disappearance of a Muslim youth seen with him, a vigilante Muslim group arrested Mr. Sivakumar Saturday morning, security sources said. Mr.Sivakumar was later handed over to the Kalmunai Police.
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