TRO compensates victims of hartal violence

[TamilNet, Friday, 27 December 2002, 17:58 GMT]
Trincomalee district secretariat of the Tamil Rehabilitation Organization (TRO) Friday distributed one hundred and seventy seven thousand rupees to the victims of the October 11 hartal violence. Each family of the dead was given ten thousand rupees and the wounded forty-nine persons were given three thousand rupees per head as compensation, sources said.
Full story >>

LTTE's Television unit releases film in NE

[TamilNet, Friday, 27 December 2002, 14:22 GMT]
"Nitharsanam" television unit of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) for the first time is to release a film called "Kadaloorakkatrukkal" (A wind along the coast) in all the eight districts of the northeast province simultaneously on December 31. "The film depicts the sufferings of people of the northeast coast and traces the history of Tamil freedom struggle," said Mr.Veera, a Nitharsanam official at an event held at Trincomalee New Silver Star Hotel Thursday evening.
Full story >>

LTTE rejects army's demand as 'unacceptable and unrealistic'

[TamilNet, Thursday, 26 December 2002, 11:30 GMT]
The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), in an official statement released from its headquarters in Killinochchi, northern Sri Lanka today, accused the state's military hierarchy of imposing unacceptable and unrealistic conditions for the resettlement of the internally displaced Tamils in their own homes and villages in Jaffna presently under heavy military occupation.
Full story >>

TRO to compensate victims of Trinco 'hartal' violence

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 25 December 2002, 14:16 GMT]
The Tamil Rehabilitation Organization (TRO) will compensate the families of victims of the hartal (general shut down) violence on October 11 in Trincomalee town when three tamil civilians were killed and several injured, sources in the eastern town said.
Full story >>

'Vihare construction continues in Tamil village despite protests' - TNA

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 25 December 2002, 13:25 GMT]
Construction of a Buddhist shrine in Vilankulam, a traditional Tamil village, 11 km off west in the eastern port town is continuing despite protests made to the Prime Minister by the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentary group leader and the Trincomalee district parliamentarian Mr.R.Sampanthan, said TNA Member of Parliament (MP) Mr.K.Thurairetnasingham, Thursday.


Full story >>

“Intelligentsia must represent Muslims at peace talks”- Athaullah faction

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 25 December 2002, 13:06 GMT]
Athaullah faction of the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) held its eighteenth annual convention Wednesday at Akkaraipattu where delegates unanimously adopted a resolution that expressed the need for sending a group of independent Muslim intelligentsia to represent Muslims in the peace talks between the Government of Sri Lanka (GOSL) and Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), said sources.
Full story >>

Trinco university campus faces uncertain future

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 25 December 2002, 01:49 GMT]
In a meeting held at Trincomalee Sri Koneswara Hindu College hall Monday evening, leading educationists, citizens and heads of schools in the Trincomalee district expressed serious concern over the lack of support by the University Grants Commission and the Administration of the Eastern University on developing Trincomalee campus of the East University of Sri Lanka to a quaity academic institution, sources said.
Full story >>

Archaeologically significant findings in Kokkavil?

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 24 December 2002, 21:08 GMT]
The Road Development Authority (RDA) has dug out gravel sand from the Kokkavil area in the Vanni, and metal ingots thousands of years old, and possible archaeologically significant evidences, were also dug out while the workers of the RDA were busy excavating gravel in Kokkavil for renovating A9 highway, sources said.
Full story >>

Eight Tamil scholars to be conferred with Governor's Award

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 24 December 2002, 18:22 GMT]
Eight Tamil scholars are to be conferred with Governor's Award at the three-day North East Tamil Literary Festival of the Provincial Ministry of Education scheduled to begin on December 28 in Trincomalee, education sources said.
Full story >>

Nedunthivu residents reject TNA plea to suspend picketing

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 24 December 2002, 18:01 GMT]
Residents of Nedunthivu island in Jaffna district Tuesday rejected a plea made by Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarians to suspend their month long picketing against the presence of members of the para military group Eelam Peoples Democratic party (EPDP) in their village on the basis of the assurance given by the Prime Minister, TNA sources said.


Full story >>

Paramilitary group member shot in Batticaloa

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 24 December 2002, 17:51 GMT]
M. Uthayakumar, 25, a member of the paramilitary Varathan group working closely with the Special Task Force, a paramilitary force of the Sri Lankan government, was shot today at 6:55 pm in Aaraiyampathy in the Batticaloa district, and is admitted at the Batticaloa hospital where he is undergoing emergency surgery and in critical condition, sources in Batticaloa said.


Full story >>

Expatriate co-ordination center opened in Batticaloa

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 24 December 2002, 15:14 GMT]
"We acknowledge the enormous contribution of Tamil expatriates from across the world to the progress of our struggle. On our leader Pirapaharan's directive we are opening co-ordination centers for Tamil expatriate visitors to get any help they need to make their visit an enjoyable and rewarding experience," said Kausalyan, Head of Batticaloa-Ampara political section of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) opening the co-ordination center in Kalladi, Batticaloa, today.
Full story >>

Buddhist monks burn Norwegian flag

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 24 December 2002, 00:22 GMT]
National Bhikkhu Front (Jathika Sanga Sammelanaya- JSS), a Sinhala nationalist organisation of monks with branches in all the Sinhala majority districts of the island and a close ally of the marxist Janata Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) held a demonstration opposite Royal Norwegian Embassy in Colombo demanding the expulsion of Oslo's envoy to Sri Lanka, Mr. Jon Westborg, sources in Colombo said.


Full story >>

SLMM hands over SLA proposals on HSZ to LTTE

[TamilNet, Monday, 23 December 2002, 19:15 GMT]
The Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) Monday handed over a document containing proposals by the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) regarding the normalization of High Security Zones (HSZs) in Jaffna peninsula to the representatives of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), sources in Jaffna said


Full story >>

Minister says majority support federal concept

[TamilNet, Sunday, 22 December 2002, 18:27 GMT]
Health Minister in the United National Front government (UNF), Mr.P.Dayaratne, addressing a public meeting at Kurunagala Sunday said, "Majority of the people in south are supporting the federal concept. Only few communal elements are against a political solution to the ethnic problem based on federal constitution," sources in Kurunagala said.


Full story >>

Body of EPRLF member recovered from Mandoor Lake

[TamilNet, Sunday, 22 December 2002, 18:25 GMT]
Body of Poopalapillai Alaguthurai, Porathivu Predheshya Sabha member from the Eelam People’s Revolutionary Liberation Front (EPRLF) who disappeared on 16 December was recovered from Mandoor lake close to the Batticaloa-Ampara border Saturday, sources in Batticaloa said.


Full story >>

Pooneryn suffers from floods

[TamilNet, Sunday, 22 December 2002, 13:13 GMT]
Recent torrential rain in the Vanni area has inundated Nallur, Mutkomban, Mission Settlement, and Neradamban villages in the Pooneryn district with flood waters forcing 516 families to seek shelters in public buildings, sources in Pooneryn said.
Full story >>

Rehabilitation, Development discussed in Trinco conference

[TamilNet, Sunday, 22 December 2002, 05:27 GMT]
The political section of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) organized a conference Sunday to discuss proposed development and rehabilitation work in Trincomalee district and to establish a framework for the Non Governmental Organizations (NGOs) that promotes close coordination to avoid duplication of effort while facilitating the NGOs to function without any obstacles, sources in Trincomalee said.
Full story >>

LTTE returns children to their parents in Vavuniya

[TamilNet, Friday, 20 December 2002, 17:54 GMT]
Political leader for Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) for Vavuniya, Mr. Ezhilan, returned six children under the age of 18 who wanted to join the LTTE, to their parents, in the presence of Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) officials and journalists in Vavuniya today.


Full story >>

Magistrate orders India returnees to be resettled

[TamilNet, Friday, 20 December 2002, 17:45 GMT]
The Sri Lanka Navy (SLN) arrested seventeen Sri Lankan Tamil refugees Thursday evening in the Talaimannar Sea when they were returning from South India and handed them over to the Mannar Police Friday. When Talaimannar Police produced the refugees before the Mannar Magistrate Mr.M.P.Mohideen later Friday, the magistrate ordered the authorities concerned to resettle the refugees in their villages, legal sources said.
Full story >>