International Women's Day observed across NorthEast

[TamilNet, Friday, 10 March 2006, 00:00 GMT]
International Women's Day was observed in several parts of NorthEast on Wednesday, sources said. Local women's organizations and Non-governmental organization participated in events held in Vavuniya, Kilinochchi, Mullaitivu, Jaffna and Mannar.
Full story >>

LTTE condemns attack on Vavunathivu sentry point

[TamilNet, Saturday, 04 March 2006, 07:15 GMT]
The Batticaloa Political Wing of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, in a communiqué issued Saturday, condemned the attack by the paramilitary cadres working with the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) on the LTTE Vavunathivu sentry point where two LTTE cadres were killed Saturday early morning 12.30 a.m. "We point out that the killings are a gross violation of the Cease Fire Agreement (CFA), and provides further evidence that Sinhala extremists, SLA, its intellligence wing and the collaborating paramilitary forces are engaged in nefarious activities designed to trigger an all out war in our homeland to bring further calamity to our people," the communiqué further said.
Full story >>

LTTE sentry ambushed in Batticaloa, two dead

[TamilNet, Friday, 03 March 2006, 20:57 GMT]
Two Liberation Tigers cadres were killed Saturday midnight when a heavily armed group of attackers, who entered the Liberation Tigers controlled area beyond the no-go zone in Vavunathivu, launched an ambush on a LTTE sentry point, LTTE's Batticaloa District Political Head Daya Mohan said. A firefight ensued for more than 10 minutes and the attackers withdrew towards Vavunathivu Sri Lanka Army (SLA) base, Daya Mohan added.
Full story >>

10 km race marks International Women's Day celebrations

[TamilNet, Friday, 03 March 2006, 12:13 GMT]
Vavuniya District Rehabilitation Organisation for Women conducted a 10 km marathon race Thursday 6 am celebrating International Women's Day, presided by Ms. Pathmavathy, District Director, sources said. Forty two women took part in the race that extended from Mankulam to Kanagarayankulam.
Full story >>

Japan provides US$185m development loan to Sri Lanka

[TamilNet, Thursday, 02 March 2006, 11:58 GMT]
Japanese Government Thursday announced a new package of loan of US$185 million (Yen 21,560m) for three projects, Galle Port Development (US$125m)), Infrastructure Development of Eastern Province (US$38m), and Tourism Resources Improvement (US$22m). This 37th yen brings the total loan provided by Japan to Sri Lanka in the last 14 months to $370m.
Full story >>

Paramilitary operatives: ultimate victims of covert warfare?

[TamilNet, Sunday, 26 February 2006, 22:41 GMT]
Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL) and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) met in Geneva Wednesday and Thursday and reconfirmed their commitment to honour and uphold the February 2002 Ceasefire Agreement (CFA). The issue of paramilitary groups figured prominently in the discussions and the GoSL delegation undertook a commitment: that no armed group or person other than its security forces will carry arms or conduct armed operations in GoSL controlled territory.
Full story >>

Bus shortage plagues northern region transport system

[TamilNet, Sunday, 26 February 2006, 13:54 GMT]
Sri Lanka Transport Board (SLTB) has sent only five buses to Northern Region Transport Board (NRTB) instead of fifty as promised. The SLTB made an order with a foreign firm to import two thousand buses to be distributed among various depots in the island. Only three hundred out of 2000 buses have arrived in Colombo, sources said..


Full story >>

NEHRP provides carpentry, masonry training for NorthEast youths

[TamilNet, Saturday, 25 February 2006, 02:03 GMT]
The World Bank (WB) funded North East Housing Reconstruction Programme (NEHRP) has started a masonry and carpentry training project in the NorthEast to meet the acute shortage of masons and carpenters in the eight districts of the province. The project now being implemented in the districts of Jaffna, Mannar and Vavuniya are to be extended to other districts in the province from March, NEHRP sources said.


Full story >>

Armed men beat MAG staffers in Batticaloa

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 22 February 2006, 11:49 GMT]
Armed men in civilian clothes claiming to be belonging to paramilitary Karuna Group entered the offices of MAG (Mines Advisory Group) in Batticaloa at 2.55 p.m. Wednesday and beat a local staffer working at the office, and threatened the British national heading the Batticaloa office of MAG, sources in Batticaloa said.
Full story >>

Risk awareness training for NorthEast journalists held

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 21 February 2006, 11:31 GMT]
Two sessions of two-day risk awareness training for journalists, the first session for 25 Jaffna journalists in Colombo, and the second for journalists from the Batticaloa, Amparai and Vavuniya, at Sigiriya village in the North Central Province, organized by the International News Safety Institute (INSI), concluded Sunday, sources said.
Full story >>

Fatal bus accident triggers unrest in Vavuniya

[TamilNet, Monday, 20 February 2006, 09:36 GMT]
Ms Vjayaraj Patmalogini, 26, was killed on the spot and her daughter severely injured when a public bus heading to Okulankulam from Vavuniya town hit them at Vavuniya Good Shed road Monday 20th Feb. at 8.15 am, sources in Vavuniya said. Vavuniya police had to fire teargas and rubber bullets to disperse the angry youths who started attacking the conductor and confronted the Police who arrived at the scene of the accident.


Full story >>

Vavuniya youth reported missing

[TamilNet, Friday, 10 February 2006, 19:01 GMT]
Sithamparanathan Thamileesan, 24, from Vavuniya, has been reported missing since his departure to Colombo on December 15th, his relatives said in a complaint to the Vavuniya Human Rights Commission (HRC), officials of HRC said.
Full story >>

TRO expresses dismay, concern over Govt. allegations of non-cooperation

[TamilNet, Friday, 10 February 2006, 13:28 GMT]
Tamil Rehabilitation Organization (TRO) expressed "dismay and concern" over allegations made to the media by Sri Lanka's Foreign Minister, Mangala Samaraweera, and Cabinet spokesperson Priyadharsana Yapa, that TRO was not helping with ongoing investigations. TRO refuted these statements as politically motivated propaganda by the Sri Lanka Government aimed at discrediting the TRO, TRO officials told TamilNet. TRO said in a press release issued Friday from Colombo that it is fully cooperating with the investigations, and has provided detailed account of the actions taken by TRO from the time of abductions.
Full story >>

Karunanidhi to apprise Delhi on Sri Lanka Tamil issues

[TamilNet, Sunday, 05 February 2006, 06:31 GMT]
Leader of Upcountry Peoples Front (UPF), Periyasamy Chandrasekaran, said in a letter dated 1 February to Dr. Kalaignar M. Karunanithi, President of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhaham of Tamil Nadu, for his early attention to meet India's Prime Minister and Mrs Sonia Ghandi and to release a statement to the media on Sri Lanka Army (SLA) harassment of NorthEast Tamils, UPF media section said.
Full story >>

Vavuniya SLA trooper kills himself

[TamilNet, Saturday, 04 February 2006, 19:41 GMT]
Premaratne Bandara, a Sri Lanka Army (SLA) trooper attached to the Kolluveli SLA camp, fatally shot himself at 4.30 p.m. Saturday, Vavuniya police said. Mr Bandara belongs to the armoured vehicle division of the SLA, military sources said.
Full story >>

SLA mines injure Mannar elephants

[TamilNet, Saturday, 04 February 2006, 15:37 GMT]
Three wild elephants which have sustained injuries from landmines buried in Ganshapuram along Sri Lanka Government controlled Mannar-Vavuniya Road Wednesday morning have crossed over into the jungles at the Madhu side. Wild Department officials and veterinary surgeons are reported to have refused to enter the forest located in the Liberation Tigers controlled area to treat the elephants, sources said.
Full story >>

Reconstruction of 13,000 houses in NorthEast to begin

[TamilNet, Saturday, 04 February 2006, 03:13 GMT]
The World Bank funded North East Housing Reconstruction Programme (NEHRP) has commenced the second phase reconstruction of 13000 houses for the war victim families in the NorthEast. NEHRP officials started distributing forms to collect necessary data to select qualified beneficiaries affected by the two decade-old war in the province to be included in the second phase, a press release of the NEHRP said.
Full story >>

Court begins inquiry into Jaffna students FR application

[TamilNet, Friday, 03 February 2006, 17:55 GMT]
Sri Lanka's Supreme Court Thursday listed the Fundamental Rights (FR) application filed by fifteen Tamil students from the Jaffna district alleging discrimination in university admission for further hearing. The FR application came up for inquiry before a three member Bench of the Supreme Court comprising Justices Shiranee Bandaranaike, Raja Fernando and N.G.Amaratunge, legal sources said.
Full story >>

Another TRO staffer released

[TamilNet, Friday, 03 February 2006, 13:53 GMT]
Tamils Rehabilitation Organisation (TRO) Friday said in a press release that one of the abudcted TRO officials, Ms. S. Dosini, has returned to her relatives in Chenkalady. "Word has reached TRO through the Non-Violent Peace Force (NVPF) office in Batticaloa that Ms. S. Dosini, PSEDC Divisional Coordinator Mamunai North Division, has returned to the home of her relatives in Chenkalady, a Government of Sri Lanka controlled area of the Batticaloa District," the press release said. The fate of the remaining seven humanitarian workers is not yet known.
Full story >>

Vavuniya traders face intimidation by armed groups- TNA MP

[TamilNet, Thursday, 02 February 2006, 19:48 GMT]
"Traders of Vavuniya have brought to my notice that they have become the target of intimidation by unidentified armed groups. The anonymous callers have demanded ransom of cash over the telephone. I am also informed that these men are using mobile phone for this purpose," said Mr.Selvam Adaikalanathan, Wanni district Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarian in an urgent letter to the Sri Lanka President Mr.Mahinda Rajapakse.
Full story >>