Accidents on the rise on A-9 highway

[TamilNet, Thursday, 17 April 2003, 14:02 GMT]
Following the re-opening of the Jaffna-Kandy road (A-9) for traffic in 2002, there have been seventy-two vehicle accidents that resulted in eight deaths within the Kilinochchi division of the Tamil Eelam Police Service (TEPS), and accidents have increased in the first quarter of this year, LTTE officials said.
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Undeterred by controls, Pt. Pedro celebrates tradition

[TamilNet, Thursday, 17 April 2003, 13:40 GMT]
Pt. Pedro is the oldest harbour town on the Jaffna peninsula’s sea coast. The Portuguese called the town Puntas das Padras (rocky point) on account of the reefs that line its coast. Tamils, however, still refer to it by its old name Paruththithurai (cotton port in Tamil). This week the townspeople celebrated the annual chariot and water cutting festivals of one of their old temples that have lain long and neglected inside the SLA’s high security zone in Pt. Pedro.
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TNA appeals to strengthen Tamil-Muslim unity

[TamilNet, Thursday, 17 April 2003, 10:26 GMT]
Tamil National Alliance (TNA) Trincomalee district parliamentarians Mr.R.Sampanthan and Mr.K.Thurairetnasingham Wednesday appealed to Tamils of Muttur area, south of Trincomalee, to work hard to safeguard and strengthen the support of Muslims in their areas.


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Two Muslim youths disappear, LTTE denies involvement

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 16 April 2003, 01:24 GMT]
The Trincomalee political secretariat of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) Tuesday in a statement denied any involvement in the alleged abduction of two Muslim youths in the Mutur sea a few days ago, sources said.
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New Year day shooting in SLA camp

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 15 April 2003, 15:40 GMT]
A soldier of the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) was arrested by the Kodikamam Police for allegedly shooting a fellow soldier on the Sinhala and Tamil New Year day, in an army camp located at Eluthumadduval, in the Thenmaradchchi area of the Jaffna district, sources said.
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Preliminary aid conference held in Washington D.C

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 15 April 2003, 11:05 GMT]
A preliminary conference to the forth coming international aid conference in Japan was held in Washington D.C on 14 Monday at Loy Auditorium. The seminar, hosted by the State Department, was attended by representatives from 26 countries and 16 international organizations. Japan's special envoy to Sri Lanka Yashushi Akashi, Norway's Deputy Secretary of State, Vidar Helgessen and India's ambassador to U.S, Lalith Mansingh, were also present.
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Returnees face uphill task in rebuilding Illupaikulam

[TamilNet, Monday, 14 April 2003, 11:16 GMT]
Displaced people from Illupaikulum, a village located six kilometers north of the east port town along the Trincomalee Kuchchaveli main road, are returning to resettle in their lands with the signing of the ceasefire agreement. After fifteen years of neglect with the village overgrown with jungles and its basic infrastructure facilities destroyed in war, the returning residents face an uphill task in rebuilding their village, sources said.
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Trains to Batticaloa back on track

[TamilNet, Saturday, 12 April 2003, 13:20 GMT]
Minister of Transportation of Government of Sri Lanka, Minister Upali Piyasoma ceremonially inaugurated the Polannaruwa to Batticaloa train service Saturday morning easing transportation to and from Batticaloa town, sources in Batticaloa said. Recent completion to repairs of the final stretch of the track from Valaichenai to Batticaloa paved the way for the opening of the Polannaruwa to Batticaloa service.


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Trincomalee veteran artists honoured

[TamilNet, Saturday, 12 April 2003, 11:25 GMT]
Six most senior outstanding artists in the Trincomalee district were honoured with special awards at the fourth day Festival of Music, Dance and Drama held Friday at the Trincomalee Orr's Hill Vivekandanda College auditorium. The festival was organized by the Arts and Cultural Society of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).
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LTTE to boycott Japan aid conference

[TamilNet, Saturday, 12 April 2003, 09:58 GMT]
The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) said Saturday it would review its decision to participate in the international conference in Tokyo in June in protest at its exclusion from the preliminary conference to be held in Washington on Monday. "The authentic representatives of the Tamil people should have been invited to this major international conference to articulate the interests and aspirations of our people," the LTTE said in a statement issued in the Vanni Saturday.
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Volunteer teachers' protest called off on PM’s assurance

[TamilNet, Friday, 11 April 2003, 18:04 GMT]
The forty day sit-in protest campaign by the Northeast provincial Tamil medium volunteer teachers, demanding permanent appointment, was called off Friday morning in the presence of the Trincomalee district Tamil National Alliance parliamentarian, Mr.R.Sampanthan, Provincial Ministry of Education Secretary, Mr.R.Thiagalingam, and the President of the Ceylon Tamil Teachers Union, Mr.S.Thandauthapani, sources said.
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TNA opposes locating SLA camps in populated areas

[TamilNet, Friday, 11 April 2003, 17:02 GMT]
The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) Thursday reiterated its stand to the Prime Minister that the Sri Lanka Army should not be allowed to establish or relocate its camps and main bases in densely populated places in the Northeast province, TNA parliamentary group leader, Mr.R.Sampanthan, said in a press release issued Thursday evening.
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Permanency to Tamil volunteer teachers with AG's approval

[TamilNet, Friday, 11 April 2003, 17:00 GMT]
Sri Lanka's Prime Minister Mr.Ranil Wickremasinghe Thursday directed the Minister of Human Resources Development, Education and Cultural Affairs, Dr.Karunasena Kodituwakku, to obtain the approval of the Attorney General before granting permanent appointment to one thousand Tamil medium volunteer teachers serving in the Northeast province, Tamil National Alliance sources said.
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Workshop on welfare of war affected children held

[TamilNet, Friday, 11 April 2003, 00:30 GMT]
A workshop on the welfare of war-affected children, organized with the assistance of the UNICEF, is being held Thursday and Friday at the Tamil Eelam Economic Development Organization's (TEEDOR's) Conference Hall in Kilinochchi. Representatives of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and the Peace Secretariat of the Sri Lankan government, Government agents, Education Officials and Medical Officers of the North-East, representatives of NGOs are participating at the conference, sources said.
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TELO holds annual conference

[TamilNet, Thursday, 10 April 2003, 12:00 GMT]
Tamil Eelam Liberation Organization (TELO), a constituent of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA), held its 3-day sixth annual national conference in its Mannar office starting from Saturday, sources said.


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SLA-TNA garrison talks fail to reach consensus

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 09 April 2003, 19:00 GMT]
The Tamil National Alliance’s talks with the defense ministry officials at the Jaffna district secretariat Wednesday afternoon failed to arrive at a consensus on the question of finding an alternative site for the SLA’s Jaffna town brigade headquarters, and the TNA is to hold further discussions with the Prime Minister Thursday morning in Colombo, TNA parliamentary group leader, Mr.R.Sampanthan, told TamilNet on his return to Colombo Wednesday.
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SLN mines infest Talaimannar Mosque

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 09 April 2003, 15:49 GMT]
More than 300 hundred Muslim families are unable to resettle in Talaimannar because their homes are in minefields laid by the Sri Lanka Navy which are yet to be cleared despite 13 months of ceasefire, rehabilitation officials in Mannar said. Many Muslim and Tamil homes in the once bustling bazaar of Talaimannar Pier are still occupied by the Navy or lie within its security boundary. The area surrounding the local Mosque is infested with land mines and booby traps.
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Sri Lanka Government team arrives for Jaffna garrison talks

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 09 April 2003, 12:12 GMT]
Commander of the Sri Lanka Army (SLA), Lieutenant General Lionel Balagalle, and Additional Secretary to Ministry of Defence, Karaliyadde, are arriving in Jaffna Wednesday afternoon for discussions with Tamil Officials related to identifying a suitable location to move the existing SLA garrison, sources in Jaffna said.
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Fasting Sri Lankan soldiers demand fair treatment

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 09 April 2003, 07:23 GMT]
Sri Lankan armed force soldiers who are on a hunger strike in front of the Fort Railway Station in downtown Colombo in protest against their dismissal from service said Wednesday they would fast unto death in batches of four until their grievance is addressed by the Ministry of Defence. This is the first time that soldiers of the Sri Lankan armed forces have aired grievance in a public protest.
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LTTE holds arts festival in Trincomalee

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 08 April 2003, 19:08 GMT]
"We are not against the Sinhalese and we are not for violence; we do not use the word 'peace' as a mere slogan. Our future depends on the success of peace," said Jaffna district political head of the LTTE, Mr.C.Ilamparuthi, delivering the keynote address at the five-day music, dance and drama festival inaugurated Tuesday at the Orr's Hill Vivekananda College Auditorium in Trincomalee, sources said.
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