TRO assists Muslim flood victims

[TamilNet, Friday, 20 December 2002, 16:40 GMT]
Tamil Rehabilitation Organization (TRO) and its support arm Social Economic Development Organization (SEDO) in Trincomalee Friday commenced distribution of relief items to about fifty-nine refugee families, majority of them Muslims, affected by the recent flood, sources in Trincomalee said.
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PTA, ER, instruments to circumvent Human Rights norms – SC Judge

[TamilNet, Friday, 20 December 2002, 13:00 GMT]
Sri Lanka’s Supreme Court Judge Mr. C.V.Vigneswaran Thursday said, “Laws such as Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) and Emergency Regulations (ER) are not conducive to the creation of an environment for peace. Such laws are devious methods by which conformation to the International Covenants on Human Rights are avoided, ” in his keynote address as the chief guest at the International Human Rights Day event held Thursday at Trincomalee Hindu Cultural Hall.
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Military enclaves in civilian areas, a Rights violation - Judge

[TamilNet, Friday, 20 December 2002, 12:51 GMT]
Military camps in heavily civilian populated areas is a form of human rights violation, said M. Sittampalam, President of Vavuniya Attorneys Union and District Court Judge, in a meeting at Vavuniya Suthananda Hindu Youth Association building, celebrating the Human Rights Day.
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Irrigation tanks overflow, A9 repaired

[TamilNet, Thursday, 19 December 2002, 15:53 GMT]
Transport on the A-9 highway was interrupted Wednesday morning as heavy rainfall worsened the conditions of the already damaged highway between Umaiyalpuram and the Chemical factory in Paranthan. The Tamil Eelam Administrative Service, The Tamil Eelam Police Service and the Tamil Eelam Traffic Police jointly repaired the road and transport was restored to normal by Wednesday night, the Voice of Tigers radio said in its news broadcast.
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TRO to assist Trincomalee flood victims

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 18 December 2002, 18:21 GMT]
The Tamil Rehabilitation Organization (TRO) Wednesday said it would distribute dry rations to flood victims in the Trincomalee district. "Already our support organization, Social Economic Development Consortium (SEDC) has started collecting details of the flood affected families in the district from Muttur to Kantalai areas," said Mr.K.Mathavarajah, Co-ordinating Secretary of the TRO in Trincomalee district.
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Trinco workshop emphasizes GO, NGO co-operation vital for NE development

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 18 December 2002, 17:34 GMT]
A one-day awareness workshop on ‘Government Organizations (GO) and Non-Governmental Organizations (NGO) Collaboration in Development’ was held Wednesday at Trincomalee Education Training Center. "It is high time for the GOs and NGOs to work together for the development of the northeast province which has been devastated by the war," said Mr.N. Puhendran, Deputy Director of Planning addressing the workshop.
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Thousands affected by floods in NE

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 17 December 2002, 16:35 GMT]
One hundred thousand families mainly from Batticaloa, Trincomalee, Amparai and Killinochchi, have been badly affected by the flood waters caused by torrential rains in the northeast province since Monday evening, social department officials said Tuesday.
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Muslims rights will be safeguarded - Prime Minister

[TamilNet, Sunday, 15 December 2002, 17:00 GMT]
Sri Lanka's Prime Minister Mr.Ranil Wickremasinghe Sunday assured the Muslim community that his government would do everything in its power to safeguard the rights of Muslims in the eastern province when finding a negotiated political solution to the ethnic conflict in the peace talks between the Government of Sri Lanka (GOSL) and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), and would never let down Muslims at any stage of the peace talks, when he addressed the gathering in Madwela, Kandy, sources said.
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Bomb blast damages Batticaloa TRO Office

[TamilNet, Saturday, 14 December 2002, 14:18 GMT]
Investigations are in progress on the bomb blast that damaged the Tamil Rehabilitation Organization (TRO) building in Batticaloa town Thursday alleged to have been carried out by groups opposed to Liberation Tigers (LTTE) operating in Batticaloa area, sources from the Eastern town said.
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AG urged to file appeal against Mylanthanai acquittal

[TamilNet, Saturday, 14 December 2002, 13:05 GMT]
A delegation of leading human rights lawyers led by President Counsel Mr.Desmond Fernando requested the Attorney General (AG) to consider filing appeal against the acquittal order by the Colombo High Court in the Mylanthanai massacre case in which eighteen soldiers of the Sri Lanka Army were charged with murder, attempted murder of thirty five Tamils including men, women and fourteen children under twelve years, legal sources in Colombo said.
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Self employment help benefits low income Mutur residents

[TamilNet, Saturday, 14 December 2002, 01:03 GMT]
Low income residents of Mutur living below poverty line were given bicycles, sewing machines and water pumps that enhanced their income earning potential, in a function held at Chenaiyoor Central College in Muttur east Thursday as part of the World Bank funded North East Integrated Agricultural Project (NEIAP), sources said.


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Resettlers protest planned colonization of Tamil Village

[TamilNet, Friday, 13 December 2002, 17:01 GMT]
A group of Sinhalese led by a Buddhist priest, assisted by Sri Lanka Army (SLA) are constructing a Buddhist Vihare in a traditional Tamil village Vilankulam, 11 km off west of east port town on the Trincomalee-Kandy road, the East Lanka Peoples' Development Center (ELPDC) Friday said in a memorandum sent to the Minister of Hindu Cultural Affairs Mr. T.Maheswaran, sources said.
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SLFP questions UNF approach to peace

[TamilNet, Friday, 13 December 2002, 14:29 GMT]
The Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) the main constituent of the Sri Lanka opposition the People's Alliance (PA), demanded in a press release that the ruling United National Front (UNF) government should explain to Sri Lankan people different concepts and terms included in the Oslo statement which embodied the agreement between Government of Sri Lanka (GOSL) and Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).
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Sri Lanka Police arrests four LTTE cadres

[TamilNet, Thursday, 12 December 2002, 17:08 GMT]
Four Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) cadres including two women tigers were arrested by Sri Lanka police at the checkpoint in Uthayapuram in Ampara district today, sources in Ampara said.
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Tamil fishermen attacked in Sandy Cove

[TamilNet, Thursday, 12 December 2002, 15:21 GMT]
A group of Sinhalese fishermen Thursday evening attacked Tamil fishermen preventing them from fishing near Sandy Cove in Trincomalee sea claiming that the particular area in the sea belongs to the Sinhala fishermen and that the Tamil fishermen are forbidden from using that area, fisheries sources said.
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LTTE officials study Swiss Federalism

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 11 December 2002, 17:41 GMT]
A top level delegation of the Liberation Tigers this week visited Switzerland at the invitation of the government there to study the country’s federal system, officials said. In a packed schedule, the Tiger delegation met with senior officials of the Swiss government, but squeezed in time to take a guided tour of Bern, they said.
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Parliament approves BOI bill

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 11 December 2002, 17:28 GMT]
The Board of Investment Bill was passed in parliament Wednesday with a majority of fifty-one votes amidst vehement opposition to create one economic commission for the entire northeast province. An amendment brought by the main opposition People’s Alliance (PA) and Sinhala hardliner Marxist Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) to have separate economic commission for the north and east was defeated by a majority of forty-nine votes.
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Vadamaradchy observes hartal

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 11 December 2002, 13:18 GMT]
All business activities in Nelliady, Puloly, Udupiddy, Valvettiturai and Manthikai areas in Vadamarachchi division in Jaffna district Wednesday came to a standstill as hartal (general shut down) was observed in protest against the Police attack on civilians who picketed the office of the para military Eelam Peoples Democratic Party (EPDP) Tuesday afternoon, sources said. Picketing was held against the presence of EPDP cadres in Nedunthivu island others areas in the peninsula.
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Sri Lanka Opposition decries Government's fiscal policies

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 11 December 2002, 04:30 GMT]
The second budget of the United National Front (UNF) government passed in parliament Tuesday night with a majority of thirty-six votes with one hundred and twenty one parliamentarians voting for the 2003 budget and ninety one voting against, parliamentary sources said.
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Police fired live bullets on Nelliady picketers

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 10 December 2002, 18:35 GMT]
Medical sources in the northern Jaffna town said Tuesday evening that Police had fired on the anti-EPDP picketers with live bullets and not with rubber bullets as earlier stated. On Tuesday night three of the eight seriously wounded traders were admitted to the Jaffna teaching hospital with gunshot wounds, the sources said.
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