TRO launches wind energy project in Kuchchaveli

[TamilNet, Friday, 26 September 2003, 17:17 GMT]
The Tamils' Rehabilitation Organization (TRO) in Trincomalee district Thursday inaugurated a wind energy project in the Kuchchaveli village, 34 km north of Trincomalee town, which has not been supplied with electricity from the national grid even after the country gained political independence, sources said.
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Trincomalee district commemorates Thileepan

[TamilNet, Friday, 26 September 2003, 16:25 GMT]
The sixteenth death anniversary of Lt. Col. Thileepan, a senior leader of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, was observed in the Trincomalee district on Friday, with token fasting and public meetings and cultural events held in several places, including Sampur in Muttur east, Eachchilampathu, Tampalakamam, Nilaveli and Kumburupiddy and other Tamil villages, sources said.
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SLMM, LTTE meet in Batticaloa

[TamilNet, Friday, 26 September 2003, 11:00 GMT]
Members of the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) and officers of Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) met at the LTTE Batticaloa office at 6pm Thursday to discuss matters related to improving relationship between communities, sources in Batticaloa said.
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Jaffna shuts down as thousands honour martyr

[TamilNet, Friday, 26 September 2003, 08:19 GMT]
Jaffna came to a standstill Friday as thousands gathered at the Nallur Temple grounds to observe the sixteenth death anniversary of Lt. Col. Thileepan, the LTTE leader who fasted unto death in 1987 when the Indian army was in occupation of Jaffna and most parts of the northeast. Shops, offices and workplaces were closed to mark the final day of the weeklong remembrance.
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Parliamentary debate on independent Muslim group in talks

[TamilNet, Friday, 26 September 2003, 02:15 GMT]
Muslim parliamentarians at a meeting held Wednesday agreed on the request by the leader of the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) and Minister Mr.Rauff Hakim that a motion should be moved for a one day debate in parliament on the participation of Muslims as an independent group at the peace talks between the Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL) and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) when the talks resume, sources said.


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British Embassy officials meet TNA's Amparai MP

[TamilNet, Thursday, 25 September 2003, 21:33 GMT]
A team headed by the head of the Press and Public Affairs division at the British Embassy (High Commission) in Sri Lanka, Ms.Margaret Tongue, Wednesday met with the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarian from Amparai, Mr. Ariyanayagam Chandraneru, at his office in Amparai, sources in Batticaloa said.
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Madhu road opened for civilian use

[TamilNet, Thursday, 25 September 2003, 19:28 GMT]
The Madhu road in Mannar district was opened Thursday for the use of over 13,000 villagers living in 11 villages around the historic Madhu church by the Sri Lanka Army after several years, with restrictions on the type of vehicles that can travel on the road, civil sources said.
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Jaffna Osmania College reopened

[TamilNet, Thursday, 25 September 2003, 18:55 GMT]
The Jaffna Osmania College, closed in 1990 following the displacement of Muslims from the Jaffna district, was reopened Thursday with the participation of Mr.Kavianban, the Jaffna district education head of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), education sources in Jaffna said.
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SLA stops NECORD work in Valvettithurai

[TamilNet, Thursday, 25 September 2003, 16:53 GMT]
The Sri Lanka Army Thursday stopped an Asian Development Bank funded project to assist fishermen on Jaffna’s Vadamaradchi coast even though the fisheries societies had obtained permission for the project from the SLA, fisheries sources in Vadamaradchi said.
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'GOSL should listen to IDP’s demands' - Ezhilan

[TamilNet, Thursday, 25 September 2003, 15:11 GMT]
"Those who say that the Ceasefire has brought peace and all problems are solved should go to the refugee camps and see the refugees who cannot return to their homes because of the Sri Lanka Army’s occupation of their lands. Only then they will understand the plight of the internally displaced people (IDP) and the fairness of their demands," said Mr. S. Ezhilan, the political head of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in Vavuniya, speaking at the Pongu Thamil event in Vavuniya town Wednesday, sources said.
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Ethnic Reconciliation Programme launched in Trincomalee

[TamilNet, Thursday, 25 September 2003, 02:31 GMT]
The Trincomalee District Development Association (TDDA), founded twenty years ago to provide relief to victims of 1983 violence in the district, Tuesday inaugurated an Inter Ethnic Reconciliation Programme (IERP)with the opening of a computer-training centre and a training hall with the assistance of the Canadian International Development Agency, sources said.
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Pongu Thamil calls for IA with 'adequate' powers

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 24 September 2003, 19:11 GMT]
At the Pongu Thamil event held in Vavuniya Wednesday, the participants made a declaration emphasizing Tamil people's aspirations, and said that to restore the people's normal life, an interim administration (IA) with adequate powers should be established. "The IA should include powers to deal with Land, Finance, Police and Judicial services," the declaration said.
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Thileepan's commemoration to conclude Friday

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 24 September 2003, 16:08 GMT]
Elaborate arrangements are being made to observe the final day of the commeomration of the 16th anniversary of the death of Lt. Col.Thileepan throughout the Northeast province on Friday with a token fasting and cultural event depicting the freedom struggle of Tamils, sources said.
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Vavuniya Pongu Thamil festival draws thousands

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 24 September 2003, 11:44 GMT]
Thousands of Tamil men, women and students from all walks of life thronged the urban council grounds in Vavuniya Wednesday evening from five corners of the town to attend the Pongu Thamil festival meeting, sources said.
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'Codbay harbor rehabilitation benefits big businessmen' - Fishery Society

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 24 September 2003, 10:17 GMT]
Representatives of fisheries co-operative societies in Trincomalee district complained at a conference held at Trincomalee Town Hall Monday that the rehabilitation of the Codbay fisheries harbour under the Asian Development Bank funded Eastern Province Coastal Community Development Project (EPCCDP) would only benefit the big migrant businessmen who use multi-day boats for fishing and not small fishermen who are natives of the district, sources said.


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Festival atmosphere marks Vavuniya Pongu Thamil

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 24 September 2003, 03:38 GMT]
"If we desire permanent peace let us negotiate a permanent solution to the conflict," said many of the yellow-red banners in the Pongu Thamil celebrations being held in a festival atmosphere in Vavuniya Wednesday, sources in Vavuniya said.
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Pongu Thamil event in Vavuniya tomorrow

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 23 September 2003, 15:21 GMT]
The preparations for the Pongu Thamil (Tamil upsurge) event in Vavuniya have been completed, and the event will be held at the Vavuniya Urban Council grounds on Wednesday at 2 p.m. The theme of the event is, "We want to live in our own homes. The Sri Lanka Armed forces occupying our homes should go back to their homes. An interim administration with full authority should be created toward a permanent solution for permanent peace. We shall tell the world about our aspirations,” organizers of the event said.
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Nine Indians smugglers, fishermen remanded

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 23 September 2003, 13:35 GMT]
Nine fishermen and smugglers from India have been remanded by the Mannar magistrate’s court for smuggling refugees and explosives and for poaching in Sri Lanka’s maritime zone, legal sources in the northwestern town told TamilNet Tuesday.
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Daily edition of Tamil paper launched in Batticaloa

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 23 September 2003, 13:28 GMT]
Thamil Alai, the weekly newspaper published in Batticaloa, was launched as a daily from Monday. “We have started small but hope to soon become the main daily newspaper in the Batticaloa-Amparai region. One of our main aims is to strengthen and promote Tamil-Muslim amity. We also intend to focus on development issues,” said Mr. Pakkiaselvam Ariyanethiran who publishes the paper from Kokkoaddicholai, 15 kilometres southwest of Batticaloa.
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LTTE Eastern commanders visit Vanni to discuss IA proposals

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 23 September 2003, 11:15 GMT]
Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) military officers led by Senior Commander of the East, Col. Karuna departed by a special helicopter from Iluppaiyadichenai Sports Grounds to Vanni at 9am today to participate in discussions towards finalizing the LTTE's Interim Administration (IA) proposals to the Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL).
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