Trinco women rights activist passes away

[TamilNet, Friday, 09 January 2004, 17:38 GMT]
Miss Harsini Antonysamy (26), a leading women rights activist in Trincomalee, died of cancer in a Colombo hospital Friday. She has been the Trincomalee district organizer of the Theatre Action Group of the Jaffna University, sources said.


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Ilamparithy meets Norway Foreign Ministry Officials in Oslo

[TamilNet, Friday, 09 January 2004, 11:53 GMT]
Liberation Tigers' Head of Jaffna District Political Wing, Mr.Illamparithy, who is currently on a tour of European countries met with Norwegian Foreign Ministry officials at the Oslo Foreign Ministry Building Tuesday, 6 January at 11 am, sources in Oslo said. Norway's special peace envoy, Eric Solheim, Advisor to Norway Foreign Ministry, Lisa Golden, and Official of Foreign Ministry, Erik Giercshy were involved in the discussions, sources added.
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Norwegian Ambassador meets Trinco LTTE leaders

[TamilNet, Thursday, 08 January 2004, 15:59 GMT]
The Norwegian ambassador to Sri Lanka, Mr. Hans Brattskar, Thursday afternoon met with the Trincomalee district military commander of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, Colonel Pathuman, and district political head, Mr.S.Thilak, at the LTTE district political secretariat in Sampoor, which is located in the LTTE-held Muttur east division in Trincomalee district.
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Tigers launch drive to stop drug abuse in Mannar

[TamilNet, Thursday, 08 January 2004, 13:45 GMT]
The Liberation Tigers have launched a concerted campaign against drug abuse and AIDS in the Mannar District, Mr. S. Thangan, deputy leader of the political division of the Liberation Tigers, said Thursday. “Drug abuse has been on the increase in this district in recent times. It will ruin the moral fabric of our society. The problem is acute here because Mannar has become a key transit point for drug smuggling between India and Sri Lanka”, Mr. Thangan told TamilNet. He is currently in Mannar to expedite the campaign.
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JVP calls for Wickremesinghe' s resignation

[TamilNet, Thursday, 08 January 2004, 13:30 GMT]
The Sinhala Nationalist and Marxist party, Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), Thursday called for the resignation of Mr.Ranil Wickremasinghe from the post of Prime Minister and from the current parliament if the Prime Minister wanted to withdraw from the two year-old ceasefire agreement (CFA) he signed with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), media sources said.


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Dengue fever spreads in Batticaloa

[TamilNet, Thursday, 08 January 2004, 00:07 GMT]
Dengue fever is spreading throughout the Batticaloa district, with about 10 people in the district dead from the disease within the last two months, and in the first five days of the new year, already 5 people have developed the fever, the director of the Batticaloa teaching hospital, Dr. S. Thevarajan, told TamilNet.
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Chariot festival held in Trinco temple

[TamilNet, Thursday, 08 January 2004, 00:04 GMT]
The statue of Lord Nadesar was taken around the historic Visuvanathaswamy (Sivan) Temple in an improvised structure called “Kattuther" at the conclusion of the ten-day "Thiruvembavai" pooja, sources said. The temple’s chariot, built according to Hindu scriptures, was burnt down in July 1983 by a group of naval soldiers from the Sri Lanka Navy headquarters located at the Dockyard in Trincomalee, sources said
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Armed Muslim youths attack Amparai factory workers

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 07 January 2004, 12:44 GMT]
Wednesday at 1.30pm, about 10 Muslim youths in Nainakadu, Sammanthurai in Amparai district attacked Tamil workers and Muslim owners in a brick factory and forced them to flee the workplace, security sources in Amparai said.


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Norwegian Ambassador visits Trincomalee

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 07 January 2004, 11:27 GMT]
Norwegian ambassador in Sri Lanka Mr. Hans Brattskar said in Trincomalee Wednesday that clarity should prevail in the current political crisis to restart the stalled peace process between the Government of Sri Lanka and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam.
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Sri Lanka’s peace bid takes another nosedive

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 07 January 2004, 09:58 GMT]
The Sri Lanka’s stalled efforts to end two decades of war with the Liberation Tigers took another nosedive Wednesday when Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said he wanted to pull out of the ceasefire agreement he signed in February 2002. His stand has thrown President Chandrika Kumaratunga on the horns of a perilous dilemma. Picking up the gauntlet Mr. Wickremesinghe has thrown is fraught with grave risks for her. She has to either re-negotiate a new ceasefire agreement with the Tigers herself or hand back the three ministries she took over from Prime Minister in November last year.
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Pro-Peace, United Sinhala leadership unlikely to emerge soon - Balakumaran

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 07 January 2004, 00:06 GMT]
"Our expectations of resuming peace talks with the Government of Sri Lanka under a united leadership with clear authority to command Sri Lanka's security forces are fast receding," said V.Balakumaran, a senior member of Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, speaking at the Kumar Ponnambalam commemoration ceremony held at the Kailasapathy Hall of Jaffna Campus Monday, local media in Jaffna reported.
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Sports ministry drops Sinhala only policy due to protest

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 06 January 2004, 16:31 GMT]
Sri Lanka’s Sports Ministry has decided to award certificates in English language to winners of national level sports competitions organized by the ministry from this year onwards. This change will be strictly adhered to in the 30th National Sports Festival scheduled to be held later this year, ministry sources, said.
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Mannar human rights activist Fr Mary Bastian remembered

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 06 January 2004, 14:56 GMT]
Tamils of Mannar district and Vankalai residents Tuesday remembered their parish priest Rev.Fr. Mary Bastian who was gunned down by the soldiers of the Sri Lanka Army nineteen years ago on 6th January 1985 early morning around 12.30 a.m. Fr. Bastian worked for the poor and powerless citizens throughout his life and was instrumental in bringing atrocities and human right violations committed by the SLA in Mannar district to the notice of international human rights organizations.


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Humanitarian demining group adds 40 new staff

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 06 January 2004, 14:20 GMT]
The Humanitarian Demining group of the Tamil Rehabilitation Organization (TRO) is to resume demining in the Batticaloa district with an expanded staff starting from Friday, said S.Thevarajan, Batticaloa district TRO co-ordinator.
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Leftist parties urge PM to sign MoU with President

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 06 January 2004, 14:06 GMT]
The Nava Lanka Sama Samaja Party (NLSSP), Democratic Left Front (DLF), Sri Lanka Communist Party (SLCP) and Lanka Sama Samaja Party (LSSP) Tuesday said they had informed Sri Lanka's Prime Minister to sign a Memorandum of Understanding with the President on three points to bring about a conducive environment to restart the peace process.


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Bus driver attacks student passenger in Valaichenai

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 06 January 2004, 00:01 GMT]
A student traveling from the Naseevantheevu village, a suburb of Valaichenai, to the Valaichenai Hindu college was severely attacked by the driver of the bus Monday, sources said.
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Services of Jaffna NGOs’ consortium commended

[TamilNet, Monday, 05 January 2004, 22:38 GMT]
“Some Non Governmental Organizations in Jaffna are only interested in self-promotion. But a few NGOs have been serving the people quiestly, despite facing several difficulties since 1995 [when the Sri Lanka Army wrested control of Jaffna], and we have to commend their service. We will join you in serving the people,” said Mr. Iniyavan, the coordinator of the Tamils Rehabilitation Organization in Jaffna, speaking at the meeting to elect new office bearers of the Consortium of Jaffna NGOs Monday.
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Pongu Thamil to be held at Eastern University

[TamilNet, Monday, 05 January 2004, 20:02 GMT]
A Pongu Thamil (Tamil upsurge) event jointly organized by the Batticaloa and Amparai districts will be held at the Eastern University on January 21, according to a decision made at a preparatory meeting held at the Batticaloa Government Teachers’ College Monday, sources said.
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‘Saw Tamils’ plight in Jaffna’ says top Buddhist priest

[TamilNet, Monday, 05 January 2004, 18:55 GMT]
“I saw today that the Tamils of Jaffna face difficulties due to the war. The Liberation Tigers and the government should start the peace talks again”, said Ven.Udugama Sri Ratanapala Buddharakkita Thera, chief incumbent of the Asgiriya Chapter of the Siam Nikaya, the highest Buddhist order in Sri Lanka, addressing a special meeting Monday at the Naga Vihara, the Buddhist temple in Jaffna town where Sri Lanka armed forces personnel in the northern peninsula worship.
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SLA officer threatens to shoot Jaffna journalist

[TamilNet, Monday, 05 January 2004, 06:07 GMT]
Jaffna journalists Monday refused to cover the visit of two senior Buddhist monks to the northern peninsula after a Sri Lanka army officer threatened to shoot Mr. Veluppillai Thavachelvam, a leading local correspondent for Sri Lankan and international Tamil media.
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